South Africa: Nzimande to release revised NSFAS funding eligibility

The Department of Higher Education and Training is expected to soon release the revised National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) Funding Eligibility and Terms and Conditions for 2022.

This follows analysis performed on a group of 2021 students, where NSFAS established that 38 744 continuing students in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and universities continue to be funded, even though they have realised substantial improvement in household income over the funded period.

Briefing media on Tuesday on the state of readiness for the Post School Education and Training (PSET) sector for the 2022 academic year, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Blade Nzimande, said of this group of continuing students, 32 654 have a household income that exceeds R400 000.

Our analysis further shows that 7 081 of these students have a household income that exceeds R1 000 000 and 632 students have a household income that exceeds R2 000 000. These students will be de-funded.

However, NSFAS must lodge criminal charges of fraud in such instances, though the affected students may at the same time be afforded the opportunity to lodge an appeal, Nzimande said.

He warned that NSFAS reserves the right to litigate and recover funds where instances of clear defrauding of the system have been identified.

Over 900 000 NSFAS applications received

NSFAS has received 906 429 applications during the 2022 application period. Of these students, 85% have not studied at a public university before.

Students from poor and working-class backgrounds had from 2 November 2021 to 21 January 2022 to apply for NSFAS bursaries to further their studies at public TVET colleges or universities.

This allowed applicants, who were awaiting their National Senior Certificate results, the opportunity to apply.

NSFAS initiated a system improvement process to improve the turnaround time and facilitate speedy provisional funding decisions for students using third party sources such as the Departments of Home Affairs and Basic Education, South African Social Security Agency, and South African Revenue Service data.

With this initiative, all first-time entering students that were successfully verified as SASSA beneficiaries received immediate confirmation of funding upon submitting a complete application to NSFAS, Nzimande said.

Nzimande said the department will be able to fund all qualifying students on the departments bursary scheme, who have been admitted for funded programmes at public TVET colleges and universities in 2022.

New disbursement of allowances tool

NSFAS is in the last stages of implementing a new disbursement of allowances tool that will enable the organisation to accept registration data and process students allowances speedily and accurately.

The first payments for the 2022 academic year will be processed via the new system.

Other initiatives that the NSFAS Board has approved include the direct distribution of allowances to students [and] a central platform for the management of student accommodation. These are envisaged to be implemented (piloted) in the first half of 2022, the Minister said.

Dealing with historic debt

Meanwhile, NSFAS has undertaken a process called the Close Out Project to deal with historic debt, as well as the historic challenges of outstanding data reconciliation between NSFAS and institutions.

Nzimande said the Close Out Project emanated from the data challenges that were brought about by the 2017 NSFAS implementation of the student-centred model for 26 universities and 50 TVET colleges.

This Close Out Project aims to complete all the work relating to funding of students and disbursement of allowances for the academic years 2017 to 2020, Nzimande explained.

While there has been active participation from some universities and TVET colleges in this process, Nzimande raised concern regarding some institutions which did not provide the required feedback to NSFAS, in order to finalise the reconciliation exercise.

To date, he said, NSFAS is ready to provide Close Out and Historic Debt status reports to universities that have submitted their files for the in-scope years.

There are 16 universities that have fully submitted their files, with 10 having one or two years outstanding; 15 TVET colleges have not submitted their files while, 11 have partially submitted and 19 have fully submitted.

We once again urge all outstanding institutions to submit their full reconciliation files to NSFAS by no later than end of February 2021. Institutions that are not honouring this process will continue to prejudice students that can be resolved to resume their studies, Nzimande said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-02-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
8,744 new COVID-19 cases added to national count on Feb 2

Vietnam documented 8,744 new COVID-19 cases, including 22 imported, over the last 24 hours to 4:00pm on February 2, according to the Ministry of Health.



The capital city of Hanoi continued to log in the highest daily caseload, with 2,716 cases. It was followed by Da Nang with 778 cases, Thanh Hoa 353 and Hai Phong 283.

Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)





The national count now stands at 2,295,494 cases, with a majority of the cases reported since the fourth wave hit Vietnam in late April last year.

There are 2,735 COVID-19 patients in serious conditions nationwide.



A further 6,795 patients were given the all-clear on the same day, raising the total recoveries to 2,068,853.



A total of 181,581,833 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far, including nearly 79.08 million being the first dose, more than 74.18 million the second, and over 28.32 million the third.
Union Pacific Railroad will purchase 20 battery-electric locomotives, marking what the company said will be the largest investment in battery technology by a U.S. railroad.

The locomotives, which use no fuel and have no emissions, are expected to be fully delivered by late 2024, according to the Omaha-based company. U.P. will test the locomotives in Nebraska and California rail yards before wider deployment.

They will immediately be put to work in rail yards where they will be tested for performance in cold and warm weather, Maqui Parkerson, the railroads vice president of labor relations and sustainability, said in a statement. The hope is that lessons learned from this test phase will get us closer to technology that could be used reliably for long-haul service.

The company will spend about $100 million on the locomotives and necessary updates to yard infrastructure. Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, will supply half of the locomotives, and the others will be purchased from WabTec Corp. Both companies will manufacture the locomotives in the U.S.

The announcement builds on previous sustainability commitments by U.P. In December, the company announced that it plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 26% from its 2018 levels by 2030, the Associated Press reported. The company also committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Were committed to actions that reduce Union Pacifics environmental footprint as we work toward our ultimate goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, Lance Fritz, U.P.s chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement.
(CNN) -- The world's first all-electric passenger aircraft is preparing to take flight.

The Alice, a plane developed by Israeli company Eviation, went through engine testing last week at Arlington Municipal Airport north of Seattle. According to Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay, the Alice is just weeks away from its first flight.

With battery technology similar to that of an electric car or a cell phone and 30 minutes of charging, the nine-passenger Alice will be able to fly for one hour, and about 440 nautical miles. The plane has a max cruise speed of 250 kts, or 287 miles per hour. For reference, a Boeing 737 has a max cruise speed of 588 miles per hour. The company, focused exclusively on electric air travel, hopes that electric planes that can fit 20 to 40 passengers will be a reality in seven to 10 years.

A prototype of the aircraft, which debuted in 2019, has been going through low-speed taxi tests since December and will attempt a high-speed taxi test in the next few weeks. In these tests, the aircraft is sent down the runway at different speeds to test its own power and allow ground teams to monitor systems like steering, braking and anti-skid. Though the company initially aimed for the Alice to take flight before 2022, poor weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest at the end of the year hindered testing.

Eviation has developed three versions of the prototype: a "commuter" variant, an executive version, and one specialized for cargo. The commuter configuration in testing holds nine passengers and two pilots, as well as 850 pounds of cargo. The executive design has six passenger seats for a more spacious flight, and the cargo plane holds 450 cubic feet of volume.

All of this is possible while reducing maintenance and operating costs of commercial jets by up to 70% , according to the company.

The electric aviation space is already growing more crowded with both startups and established aviation companies. NASA gave $253 million in September 2021 to GE Aviation and magniX to bring the technology to US fleets by 2035. Boeing is investing $450 million in Wisk Aero, a company building an all-electric, autonomous, passenger aircraft, and Airbus has been working on its own electric aviation endeavors since 2010.

According to industry experts, the largest obstacle for electric aviation becoming the norm in passenger jets is the battery.

"The stumbling block is the battery technology just like with cars, but more so in airplanes. This is because with airplanes, the concern is the weight," said Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts. "As soon as we have better battery technology, which I suspect will be in two or three years, that's when all these electric airplanes will eventually come."

Twelve Alices are on order by international shipping company DHL, anticipated to be delivered in 2024. These planes, out of DHL Express's global fleet of more than 280 aircraft, are set to be used as cargo carriers making shorter distance trips. "Our aspiration is to make a substantial contribution in reducing our carbon footprint, and these advancements in fleet and technology will go a long way in achieving further carbon reductions," said Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express America, in an interview with CNN Business.

Eviation has announced purchases of its proposed fleet by DHL and commuter airline CapeAir and says there are several more to be announced once Alice's first flight occurs. CapeAir's proposed fleet of Alices are expected to enter service in 2023 on routes connecting Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Hyannis.

While we seem to be getting closer to battery-powered air travel for some functions, not everything is nearly ready to go. Cross-ocean flights and jumbo jets are still years beyond the current science, for one. But the most pressing concern for electric aviation is regulation. The FAA has yet to put forward any clear guidelines or regulatory framework for electric airplanes, which fall under the category of Advanced Air Mobility, though Eviation says its is actively working with the FAA to achieve certification for production by 2024. "Some certifications could require the FAA to issue special conditions or additional airworthiness criteria, depending on the type of project. Determining qualifications for these aircraft is an ongoing process," according to an FAA spokesperson.

Electric aviation proponents predict Alice and electric planes like it becoming as commonplace as any other means of transportation. "It really integrates aviation into the fabric of transportation, of our commuter life. It does so while being sustainable, and through being economically viable," said Bar-Yohay. "Once we start seeing planes like this, the entire way we look at where we live, how we commute, how we go on vacation, will change. It will be a high-speed train without the rail."

But electric aircraft big enough to rival large passenger jets may still be a ways off.

"The first step would be to try these in a commuter market or charter market," said Aimer. "Then eventually, if that works well, you're going to have passenger jets. For that we need Boeing or Airbus to come out with a actual electric airplane. I would see that in about 10 years."

The-CNN-Wire

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Dirty Dancing is returning to Mountain Lake Lodge, the Southwest Virginia resort where Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey filmed the iconic romantic movie in 1986.

But this time, its coming back in reality TV form with The Real Dirty Dancing Competition, premiering on Fox on Tuesday at 9 p.m.

In the reality TV series, eight celebrity contestants like professional wrestler Brie Bella and actor Corbin Bleu from High School Musical will compete to be named the best "Johnny" and "Baby" dirty dancers.

Known as Kellermans Mountain House in the movie, the nearly 200-year-old Mountain Lake property is now a modern resort in the center of a 2,600-acre nature preserve, and regularly celebrates its Dirty Dancing legacy.

Viewers will see many resort venues inspired by the movie in The Real Dirty Dancing Competition, including the Stone Lodge, the Harvest Restaurant and Patio, the Gazebo for salsa lessons and Babys cabin, the fictional Houseman family home.

"Viewers will be delighted to see familiar scenes and backdrops at this iconic Virginia property, while they watch their favorite stars relive some of the most memorable moments from the film, Rita McClenny, president and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation, said. Such as the infamous lake lift scene, of course.

The crew filmed on site at Mountain Lake Lodge last summer for six weeks.

They filmed with a full operating resort behind them. We were sold out. Weve been very busy throughout the pandemic. People feel safe coming to the mountains, lots of fresh air, outdoor recreation and cabins, Heidi Stone, CEO of the lodge, said.

But things havent always been so rosy at Mountain Lake Lodge.

Shortly after Dirty Dancing filmed at Mountain Lake in 1986, the owner died and created an endowment to own and operate the resort.

For decades, nothing happened and the resort began to fall into decline. It was beginning to look like the resort might even close in the early 2000s, Stone said. I came about a decade ago to help refurbish, rebrand, rebuild and see if we could save Mountain Lake.

While she couldn't provide a specific figure, Stone said "several million dollars have been reinvested in the property over the past 10 years.

On the show, Stone said that viewers will see "a modern mountain lake lodge. The movie didn't showcase much of the property. We're also a bird sanctuary. In the summer, we have thousands of hummingbirds. The reality series shows much of the natural beauty of the property that you might miss in the film."

Fans of "Dirty Dancing" continue to flock to Mountain Lake Resort for nostalgic weekends of romance. Weve seen many proposals and weddings here, Stone said.

Since the movies release, the resort has been hosting Dirty Dancing weekends where guests get to experience activities inspired by the movie, from dance lessons and guided tours of film locations, to parties, lawn games, scavenger hunts and screenings of the film. Dirty Dancing weekends typically sell out a year in advance, Stone said, with this year's sessions fully booked.

This week, in honor of the premiere of The Real Dirty Dancing Competition and the 35th anniversary of the movie, Mountain Lake Lodge will be releasing reservations for Dirty Dancing weekends in 2023. Reservation can be made at www.mtnlakelodge.com or (540) 626-7121.

Mountain Lake Lodge is located in Pembroke, Va., about a three hour and forty minute drive from Richmond.

The Real Dirty Dancing premieres Tuesday and will run through Feb. 22 on Fox at 9 p.m. The show is hosted by Stephen tWitch Boss and features six more celebrity contestants including Tyler Cameron, Cat Cora, Howie Dorough, Antonio Gates, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes and Loni Love. More information at https://www.fox.com/the-real-dirty-dancing/.
Let's get caught up with today's COVID-19 news for Feb. 1, 2022.

Pfizer asks FDA to allow COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5

Pfizer on Tuesday asked the U.S. to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5, potentially opening the way for the very youngest Americans to start receiving shots as early as March.

In an extraordinary move, the Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to apply earlier than the companies had planned.

Anti-vaccine protest in Canada spurs outrage

In a scene at odds with Canadians reputation for niceness and rule-following, thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital over the weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill.

Some urinated and parked on the National War Memorial. One danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A number carried signs and flags with swastikas.

In the aftermath of Canada's biggest pandemic protest to date, the demonstrators have found little sympathy in a country where more than 80% are vaccinated.

Woman pleads guilty in $1.2M pandemic unemployment scheme

A Massachusetts woman who along with an accomplice submitted 100 fraudulent claims for COVID-19-related unemployment assistance that resulted in more than $1.2 million in payouts has pleaded guilty, federal prosecutors said.

Audri Ford-Victory, 61, faces up to 20 years behind bars when she is sentenced on June 1, the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said in a statement Tuesday, but under terms of a plea agreement she is expected to get prison time at the low end of sentencing guidelines.

Check out more top COVID-19 news here:
Dawson County Commissioner Dennis Rickertsen wants to continue to represent residents of District III and is announcing his plans to run for re-election for another four-year term. He will be running as a Republican in the primary election in May of 2022. Rickertsen will be completing his third term representing District III in 2022.

Some of the things he points to as highlights during his three terms are continuing efforts to maintain roads and replace bridges in the county that carry both more and heavier loads then they ever did in the past. Several major roofing projects have been completed on County buildings. Also, the purchase of the CED Building in Lexington to accommodate the need for both offices and storage space for county personnel and records and removal of the old jail to provide more parking spaces around the courthouse. In addition, Rickertsen notes, One of the biggest challenges of the job is developing a budget that accommodates the increased demand for and cost of services while trying to control increases in property taxes.

The future will include a close look at the one- and six-year road plan and considering what if any changes may be wise for the efficient flow of traffic in the county. In addition security, both physical and cyber, will continue to be a concern as the county moves forward.

Rickertsen and his wife, Yvonne, live on their farm northeast of Lexington. They have three daughters and are proud to call Dawson County their home. Rickertsen said, Dawson County has been good to my family and serving as County Commissioner is a way for me to give back!

A 1963 graduate of Lexington High School, Rickertsen attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science with a minor in business in 1967. He served six years in the Nebraska National Guard where he attended the NNG Military Academy Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. He was company commander of the McCook guard unit for two years before retiring in 1973 as a First Lieutenant.

In 1983 he was selected as one of 30 agricultural leaders from across the state as a member of LEAD Class II. Through the LEAD program he participated in two years of intense leadership training including traveling to Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

Rickertsen has been active in community affairs including roles as District #25 school board treasurer, president of Dawson County Corn Growers and as a member of Dawson County and Nebraska Farm Bureau, including serving as county president. He served on two Lexington school bond committees that were instrumental in developing the current middle school and senior high school facilities in Lexington.

In 2001 he was elected to the Board of Directors of ServiTech, a five-state agronomy consulting and laboratory cooperative with headquarters in Dodge City, Kan., where he has served 18 years as vice president.

Rickertsen served on the first Dawson County Planning Commission appointed by the Dawson County Board of Commissioners in the mid-70s and played an active role in bringing zoning to Dawson County.

Rickertsen feels his 12 years of experience will be valuable in continuing to represent his neighbors and friends and creatively problem solve issues that matter for District III.
Family members and friends of 22-year-old Chance Van Dyne remember him as a hardworking young man and a beloved brother, son and grandson whose life was cut short.

An Omaha native and a fire control seaman in the U.S. Navy, Van Dyne was killed in a car crash amid snowy road conditions in Indiana on Dec. 28. He was on his way back to his base.

Van Dyne, affectionately called Chancie by his family, graduated from Bellevue East High School, was great with computers and loved anime, ramen and animals, according to Sharon Stolp, his grandmother.

I was blessed that I was one of the first people to hold him when he was born and the last to get a hug and an I love you from him, Stolp said.

He called me about an hour before his accident from a visitors center and told me he was about five minutes away from the Indiana border, she said. He was just such a unique young man. He should still be here.

In messages posted after Van Dynes death, his fellow service members described him as dedicated, hardworking and eager to challenge himself with his position in the Navy. He dreamed of being stationed in Japan.

I knew you only for a year, but you were my brother, one of his comrades wrote. I held out hope that someday youd be stationed on my ship or maybe Id see you again in the fleet. If I ever go to Japan, I will leave something for you there.

Services with military honors were held earlier this month at Omaha National Cemetery.
A 37-year-old Omaha man accused of fatally shooting a 46-year-old man last week told authorities he fired several shots at the man, a prosecutor said Monday.

William T. Snoddy was charged Monday with first-degree murder and two firearms charges in connection with the death of Daron Hunter.

Just after 11 p.m. Thursday, Omaha police found Hunter with multiple gunshot wounds inside a car near 45th Street and Laurel Avenue. He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he died.

The next day, police arrested Snoddy. A prosecutor said Monday that witnesses identified Snoddy as being at the scene as well as a vehicle that he was in.

When interviewed, Snoddy told police that he had fired a gun several times at Hunter, the prosecutor said.

Hunter is the citys third homicide this year  all the victims have been men, and all have been fatally shot.

Snoddy served more than a year in jail after he was convicted of strangulation in 2018.

He also was convicted of robbery, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest in 2004. He served about 15 years in prison on those charges.
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Research News

UB researchers working to improve understanding, trust of COVID-19 information for speakers of all world languages

UB linguistics researchers are leading a multidisciplinary project that trains native speakers to create original messages rather than producing translations of standardized public health messages  such as this sign at a dining facility at UB  because translation alone is not enough. Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

By BERT GAMBINI

To be most persuasive and impactful, sharing knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic with a global audience requires messaging in all the worlds languages, including many minority languages that are not associated with standardized writing systems, Western education systems or socioeconomic privilege. As of late 2021, preventative measures related to COVID-19 are available in about 700 languages, with roughly 630 of those translations targeted to speakers of minority or marginalized languages.

But thats only a modest beginning. There are approximately 7,000 languages currently spoken in the world, 6,300 of which are minority languages, including roughly 500 different languages across the five boroughs of New York. Is it possible to reach everyone? A multidisciplinary team, which includes researchers from UB, believes so. And they have designed a system to accomplish the task, not only for COVID-19, but for any critical public health information where the risk communication strategy requires reaching a linguistically and culturally diverse audience.

Their volunteer-run initiative, VirALLanguages, has organizational partners at UB, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, with training in linguistics, social sciences and public health. Pierpaolo Di Carlo, a postdoctoral researcher in the UB Department of Linguistics, is VirALLanguages lead coordinator and first author of a paper published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization that outlines the mechanics of the project, as well as its ambitious goal, which began as a conversation with Jeff Good, UB professor of linguistics.

As the pandemic broke out, Jeff and I started wondering about what we could do to help. As it turned out, our findings on traditional forms of multilingualism in rural Africa provided key insights on how communication actually takes place in many marginalized communities, says Di Carlo. We were fortunate to find enthusiastic partners at the Community for Global Health Equity in Buffalo and further developed our ideas through feedback from our collaborators in Cameroon. Painstaking work from a number of volunteers across the world did the rest.

VirALLanguages design prioritizes message production in minority languages featuring esteemed community members. The project also trains native speakers to create original messages, rather than producing translations of standardized messages, because translation alone is not enough, according to Good, who serves as a VirALLanguages project director and is one of the papers co-authors.

Just because youve translated the institutional language of the World Health Organization into languages that people know doesnt mean those messages will be effective, says Good, an expert in linguistic diversity. Trusting a message depends upon more than translating a message.

As an example, Good points to the colonial legacy responsible for the continued presence of French and English in the Republic of Cameroon in West Africa, where he has focused much of his own research.

French and English are the two official languages, but there are hundreds of other languages that are important instruments for building relationships in local communities, he says. Many speakers of minority languages understand a majority language, so someone in Cameroon might see and understand messaging in French that says Wear a mask, but the message doesnt resonate because layers of repression and colonialism get in the way of trust.

Translation of health and safety information should involve communications that build upon relationships of trust. Linguists know that messages delivered in a primary language are more likely to be memorable and to produce a behavioral change than those shared in a persons second language. From this perspective, behavioral change is critical. Many of the countries where minority languages are spoken have weak health care systems, and lack the resources necessary to roll out blanket vaccination programs and widespread treatment options. That leaves behavioral change as the most viable response to the pandemic.

Trust, in the case of effective messaging, is also about form. The primary domain for most of the worlds languages is not writing. Speakers of minority languages, which account for about one-tenth of the worlds population, often write in a majority language, but their local language is not written. Oral knowledge of a language is important for building connections with the community.

Theres also consideration for how people want to receive a message, Good explains. In parts of Western Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, theres this idea of a greeting culture. You always start with a greeting. But these disembodied COVID-19 translations have no greeting. Theyre institutional. And its hard to build trust if you inherently distrust the institution sending the message.

We need trust-based, not text-based messaging.

VirALLanguages accounts for these nuances by providing public health information to intermediaries in the community who know both the target language and the original majority language of the source material. Project volunteers then test intermediaries to be sure the information is understood. These intermediaries then produce messages in the local language that are subsequently reviewed by another community member as a final verification step prior to dissemination, which could be via social media, radio broadcast, or even a loudspeaker on a vehicle driving through the community.

After an initial period of intense activity in 2020, Good says that VirALLanguages is planning for a new phase of the work that will build community feedback into the model to refine messages to further community understanding.

I dont know of another collaboration of this type that has local speakers working with linguists, social scientists and public health experts to accurately disseminate public health information, Good says.

Other co-authors of the paper are Bradley McDonnell, associate professor of linguistics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; Mandana Seyfeddinipur, director of the SOAS World Languages Institute at the University of London; Katarzyna Kordas, associate professor in the UB Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health; and Lisa Vahapoglu of the UB RENEW Institute.

The work of virALLanguages was supported in part by the Community for Global Health Equity at UB.
Lapwai, ID (83501)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain in the afternoon. High around 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

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Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 47F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
A Riverside man was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a gun
Santa Maria residents are invited to celebrate Black History Month with a host of in-person and virtual programs and events planned by the Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP, Santa Maria Public Library and other organizations.
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John Indelicato, who closed his beloved Marias Pizza on Main Street in Oregon in June 2019 after 41 years, made a triumphant return Tuesday, and was so busy some people waited 2 hours for their pizzas.

The restaurant at 134 S. Main St. isnt open for dine-in and is only selling pizzas by phone that need to be picked up. When the pizza is ready, customers receive a call. Masks are required.

Im doing it more for my grandkids, said Indelicato, 72. They help me here and I hope one day they take over.

Indelicato said he decided to retire 2 years ago after he got sick and spent a month in the hospital.

First, he had Kawasaki disease, which is most common in infants and young children, and in early stages features a rash and fever, and later peeling skin. Then he had Stills disease, a rare type of inflammatory arthritis that is accompanied by fevers, rash and joint pain.

I still take medication for it, not much, but a little bit, Indelicato said. Everything is back to normal, thanks to my doctor.

Indelicato was born in Sicily and learned to make pizzas while living in Rockford, Illinois. He was still living in Rockford when he spotted the empty Oregon building for sale as he was driving by.

Its hard to say if hell ever go back to full service, he said. It all depends on the situation with COVID-19.

About Tuesdays return to business, he said, It was busy. We expected it to be.

It felt great, said Indelicato, who made pizzas solo, while his grandsons, Michael Wells, 17, and Tristan Wells, 15, took and filled orders.

Marias is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Indelicato, who lives a mile and a half from the restaurant, said while he was closed, he would make pizzas for people privately about once a month.

He sells his pizza sauce to 10 grocery stores and bars in the area, and delivers more himself when supplies get low. The sauce is available in Oregon, Fitchburg, Verona, Belleville and Madison.

Indelicato said he chose the name without ever knowing a Maria.

But its been a good name for him, he said. Real good.

Read more restaurant news at go.madison.com/restaurants.

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A man whose car struck and killed the wife of a Madison police officer in 2020 and left the officer with life-threatening injuries as they walked on a bike path in Sun Prairie was charged Tuesday with homicide by negligent driving.

Christopher M. Blume, 35, of Sun Prairie, was also charged with reckless driving causing great bodily harm for the Nov. 23, 2020, crash that killed Julie Nelson, 48, of Sun Prairie, and injured her wife, Madison Police Officer Jodi Nelson.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court, witnesses said they earlier saw Blumes car being driven fast and recklessly as he went eastbound on East Main Street in Sun Prairie, before the crash happened at the intersection with Whitetail Drive.

At the intersection, Blumes Honda Civic struck a Chevrolet Equinox that was making a left turn onto Whitetail Drive. Blumes car then struck the Nelsons as they walked on a bike path that runs along East Main Street.

Julie Nelson died at the scene, while Jodi Nelson sustained injuries that kept her at UW Hospital for 16 days, then in a rehabilitation facility for 10 days. The constellation of injuries she sustained included broken bones, a concussion with a brain bleed, a severed ankle tendon and nerve damage to her face.

Blume is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 7.

The homicide charge carries up to 10 years of combined prison and extended supervision. The reckless driving charge carries up to 3 years.

According to the complaint:

State Patrol Sgt. Michael Marquardt, who took measurements at the crash scene and made calculations based on those measurements, estimated a conservative speed for Blumes Civic between 42 and 51 mph at the time of the crash.

The speed, he said, suggests a poor driving strategy that was likely a factor in the crash.

The driver of the Equinox, however, was intoxicated at the time of the crash, according to a blood test. A search warrant filed in January 2021 states an analysis found the drivers blood alcohol concentration to be just above the 0.08 limit for drivers in Wisconsin.

Theres no indication on the Wisconsin Court Systems database, often called CCAP, that the man was charged with drunken driving, but if it was a first offense it would have been charged in Sun Prairie Municipal Court. Information from the municipal court was not immediately available late Tuesday.

One witness who was driving east behind Blume on East Main Street, but turned before the crash, said Blumes Civic was going 25 mph closer to downtown. But when East Main expands to two lanes in each direction, the Civic sped up to 45 mph in what was still a 25 mph zone, the witness said. The cars movements were captured on the witness dash camera.

Another witness said she was also eastbound on East Main Street when Blumes Civic passed her on the right, just before Wood Violet Lane, at what she estimated to be 60 mph in a 25 mph zone. Another witness estimated the Civic was going about 45 mph just before the traffic light at Grove Street.

Blume told officers he was driving to his parents house in the town of Sun Prairie when a vehicle came out of nowhere. He said he may have tried to swerve to avoid it. Blume told police he did not know how fast he was going.

The driver of the Equinox told police he was westbound on East Main Street and had slowed to make the left turn to Whitetail Drive. He said he saw the green Civic approaching but thought he had time to make the turn. The Civic, however, struck his vehicle, he said.

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JERUSALEM  The Israeli military said Tuesday it would reprimand a senior officer and remove two others from leadership roles over the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian who was dragged from a car, bound and blindfolded after being stopped at a checkpoint.

In a rare statement acknowledging error, the army said the soldiers believed Omar Assad, who has U.S. citizenship and lived in Milwaukee before moving back to his home village, was asleep when they cut his zip-ties and left him facedown in an abandoned building where he had been detained with three other Palestinians last month. The other detainees said they did not know he was there until after the army left.

Its unclear when exactly Assad died. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead after the other detainees found him unconscious.

The investigation concluded that the incident was a grave and unfortunate event, resulting from a moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers, the military said in a statement. A separate criminal investigation by the military police is still underway.

Assad, who lived in the U.S. for four decades, still has family living in the United States. Even after Israel announced the soldiers would be reprimanded and high-ranking leaders weighed in with criticism, the U.S. said Tuesday it remains concerned over his death.

The United States expects a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability in this case, and we welcome receiving additional information on these efforts as soon as possible, said State Department spokesman Ned Price in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking him to launch an investigation into Assads death and whether the soldiers involved used equipment procured with American aid.

The Israeli military says it thoroughly investigates such incidents.

The military commander, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi called the soldiers conduct immoral and reprehensible, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed sorrow over Assads death.

But the Israeli human rights group BTselem pointed out that Israel rarely holds soldiers accountable for the deaths of Palestinians and said Assads case likely got special attention because of U.S. pressure and his American citizenship.

Investigations usually take years and usually close with nothing, said Dror Sadot, the groups spokeswoman. This is very unusual.

Even in the most shocking cases  and those captured on video  soldiers often get relatively light sentences. Palestinians say they suffer systematic mistreatment living under military occupation. BTselem is tracking more than 30 open investigations into the killings of Palestinians in the West Bank, Sadot said.

Heart attack

A Palestinian autopsy said Assad died of a heart attack caused by psychological tension due to the external violence he was exposed to. It said he suffered from underlying health conditions but also found bruises on his head, redness on his wrists from being bound, and bleeding in his eyelids from being tightly blindfolded.

Assad was stopped at around 3 a.m. on Jan. 12 at a temporary checkpoint in his home village of Jiljiliya, in the occupied West Bank. The military said he did not have any form of ID and refused to cooperate with the security check. Its investigation found there was no use of violence apart from when (Assad) was apprehended after refusing to cooperate.

It said the soldiers did not identify signs of distress when they released the detainees a half-hour later. They assumed that (Assad) was asleep and did not try to wake him.

The military said the commander of the battalion will be reprimanded and that the platoon commander and company commander will both be removed from their positions and barred from commanding roles for two years.

A cousin of Assad who lives in the West Bank said the armys response was totally unacceptable but that there was nothing the family could do unless Assads relatives in the U.S. take further action. The cousin asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.

40 years in US

Assad was born in Jiljilya but spent about 40 years in the United States. He became a U.S. citizen before he returned in 2009 to retire with his wife, Nazmia, his family in the U.S. told The Associated Press. They spoke before the military released its findings.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the territory, but its 2.5 million residents live under Israeli military rule. Israeli soldiers often carry out nighttime raids, which they say are necessary for arresting Palestinian militants, and set up temporary checkpoints where Palestinians are stopped and searched.

Assads nephew, Assad Assad, said his uncle and aunt left Jiljilya for Chicago in 1969 in hopes of finding better work. They moved to Milwaukee in 1974 and prospered, opening convenience stores and a restaurant, he said.

They were among dozens of Jiljilya residents who have returned to the village over the years to build retirement homes, Assad Assad said.

They built mini-castles to retire in, he said. Very quiet, all you see is olive trees. At night, because were high in the mountains, you smell the orchards of oranges.

Generous soul

Omars nephew and his son, Hane Assad, both described him as a philanthropist who was the life of the party. Hane Assad told the AP his father would often hand out money to the poor.

He just loved everybody, no matter what race you were, what culture you came from, he said.

His favorite dish was maqluba, a mix of rice and meat  and he loved playing cards, Assad Assad said. He was coming home from playing cards with a cousin when the soldiers stopped him, he said.

Hane Assad said his mother and father were set to visit him at his home in Chesapeake, Virginia, before his father died. Assad said his father was too old and weak to fight anyone, let alone a group of soldiers.

He was very weak, Hane Assad said. He walked with a cane.

Assad said hes always afraid when he returns to Jiljilya because the Israelis who operate the checkpoints are rude and disrespectful. He said he was once detained for four hours on the way to his grandmothers funeral. The troops laugh at his American citizenship, he said.

Every time we got stopped, Dad would say, Whatever they ask for, give it to them. Just be calm, Hane Assad said. I cant believe they did that to my dad. Almost an 80-year-old man. All the soldiers there couldnt handle him? This is uncalled for. You dont treat no elderly person like that.

Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman and Matt Lee contributed to this report.
As other states lighten or completely do away with cash bail, Wisconsin judges would have to factor in defendants charges, criminal record and public safety risk in setting cash bail amounts under a Republican-proposed constitutional amendment coming before a public hearing Wednesday.

Under the state Constitution, judges cant currently impose cash bail to prevent future crimes, only to ensure defendants appear in court. Judges may, however, add conditions to a persons bail that seek to address public safety concerns.

The proposed constitutional amendment comes after a man, released on $1,000 bail and charged with running over the mother of his child, drove through the Waukesha Christmas parade in November, killing six and injuring more than 60.

The constitutional amendment was first proposed in 2017 by Rep. Cindi Duchow, R-Delafield, and Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine. Wanggaards companion Senate joint resolution was reintroduced in December, and Duchows in January.

For the proposed amendment to be implemented, it would have to be passed during two consecutive legislative sessions followed by a statewide referendum. It cant be vetoed by the governor.

Wanggaard in a statement said the amendment isnt a response to any specific incident, including the Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy.

The fact is Wisconsins bail system has been in need of change for a long time, he said.

We want to be safe in our homes and as we walk down the street, and we want to ensure the government does not have unchecked power against an individual, Duchow said in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.

The state public defenders office issued a statement for the January hearing saying the amendment would lead to the increased detention of people presumed to be innocent and create the likelihood that judges would set excessive bail amounts.

The office in a statement also recommended comprehensive discussion by all criminal justice system partners before amending the Constitution.

Months before the lawmakers reintroduced the constitutional amendment to more rigorously assess cash bail amounts, Illinois became the first state in the country to completely eliminate it, with the ban to take full effect in 2023.

This legislation marks a substantial step toward dismantling the systemic racism that plagues our communities, our state and our nation, and brings us closer to true safety, true fairness and true justice, Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said when he signed the bill into law.

California, too, did away with cash bail for people who couldnt afford it in March 2021, with the California Supreme Court stating, conditioning freedom solely on whether an arrestee can afford bail is unconstitutional.

UW-Madison Law School associate professor John Gross said Wisconsins proposed constitutional amendment sets it apart from states reducing or entirely eliminating cash bails use.

Theyre not seeing spikes in recidivism, their costs are down and public safety is at the same level, but more people are out on the street, he said. And so I feel like Wisconsin is bucking the trend here.

Gross added that Eighth Amendment protections against excessive bail and 14th Amendment due process and equal protection issues are raised any time judges set bail beyond a defendants financial capacity, which he said may occur more often if the amendment is enacted.

And while the state Constitution currently prohibits using a defendants charges or criminal history as a factor for setting bail, many judges do it anyway  consciously or unconsciously, Gross said.

All of the science here says cash bail isnt good, Gross said. It could be potentially unconstitutional in some ways, it discriminates against the poor. And at the end of the day, nobodys safer for its use.

New Jersey overhauled its bail system in 2017, allowing more people to remain free while awaiting trial by doing away with cash bail in most instances.

Marginally fewer people attended their court dates after the reforms, but a New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts report stated that was a matter of compiling data differently.

Concerns about a possible spike in crime and failures to appear did not materialize, the report concluded.

New York cited

Addressing the study stating that doing away with cash bail did not elevate crime numbers, Duchow said, We have a cash bail system in the state of Wisconsin, and I dont see us getting away from that anytime soon.

Duchow also pointed to New York, a state that had implemented a law heavily decreasing cash bail use in January 2020 before reversing many of the changes in April 2020 after the New York Police Department presented statistics showing that crime rose after the January changes.

Attorneys, including public defenders, pushed back, saying the New York City police officers were bail reform opponents who were arresting more people to create a false narrative.

Advocates have for years pushed for the elimination of cash bail as a policy particularly affecting people of color.

Racial divide

In a 2019 report, left-leaning Prison Policy Initiative research director Wendy Sawyer found that defendants who are people of color are 10-25% more likely than white defendants to be detained pretrial or have to pay cash bail.

Black and brown defendants receive bail amounts that are twice as high as bail set for white defendants  and they are less likely to be able to afford it, she said.

In response, Duchow said, Im looking at the crimes statistics in Milwaukee. I think 80% of all the murders were committed by African Americans. So there are going to be more African Americans arrested if theyre creating more crimes.

Duchow did not directly address the disparity in bail amounts between white defendants and people of color, saying she would have to look at the study first, but she added that judges take into account a persons financial situation.

Wanggaard did not respond to a request for comment.

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Dept. of Surgery event focuses on medical racism and racist origins of American gynecology

Historian Deirdre Cooper Owens, author of Medical Bondage, and community organizer India Walton will join medical students and faculty to explore these issues

Deirdre Cooper Owens, PhD, The Charles & Linda Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine and author of Medical Bondage"

Its critically important for health care workers to understand the ways that African Americans have been used and misused within the medical industry over centuries. 

BUFFALO, N.Y.  The University at Buffalos Department of Surgery continues its Beyond the Knife series focused on surgerys role in fighting systemic racism with its second annual Anti-Racism and Health Equity event on Feb. 10.

Deirdre Cooper Owens, PhD, The Charles & Linda Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine and director of the Humanities in Medicine Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and author of Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology, will give the keynote lecture, What History Reveals in Our Understanding of U.S. Medicine.

The in-person event is free and open to the public; it takes place at 5 p.m. in Room 2220, the M&T Lecture Hall, in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, 955 Main St., Buffalo. It also will be live-streamed on Zoom. Registration for either in-person or virtual attendance is at this link.

Cooper Owens talk will be followed by a panel discussion with UB faculty, students and community members featuring India Walton, community organizer, co-founder of the Fruit Belt Community Land Trust and former Buffalo mayoral candidate. A book signing and sale of Cooper Owens book Medical Bondage will take place afterward.

Cooper Owens brings an historical perspective to medicine that she says is critical to fully understanding the difficulties that African Americans experience today when they need to access health care. Its critically important for health care workers to understand the ways that African Americans have been used and misused within the medical industry over centuries, she says. The distrust African Americans have voiced about medical workers is rooted in the exploitation and racism that stems from the era of U.S. slavery.

Providing historical context for so many of the issues related to the birthing crisis affecting Black birthing people and the legacy of medical racism that include harmful ideas about supposed biological differences between Black and white people is critical for medical professionals, she says.



That context is an integral part of medical education at the Jacobs School, says Allison Brashear, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School, who will give welcoming remarks. The Department of Surgerys anti-racism initiative is an example of the Jacobs Schools unwavering commitment to providing our students with the social and historical understanding they need in order to be the most effective physicians, she says.

Mayowa Adebiyi, a member of the Jacobs School Class of 2024, will be on the panel following Cooper Owens talk. Beyond the Knife is a necessary platform for this community, she says. These conversations ground us in the details, not only of our history, but of the obstacles currently facing the populations we serve.

As medical students, we are reminded of the twin tasks before us: to build an inclusive and culturally humble workforce, and to heal communities that continue to suffer from health inequities and structural racism.

She adds that the perspectives of Cooper Owens and of Walton, who has been a health care worker in Buffalo, will be a source of inspiration for all who attend.

The Department of Surgery established the Beyond the Knife series following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. This annual lectureship event represents an effort to educate ourselves and others by drawing attention to the tough issues and having the difficult conversations that are so badly needed, says Steven Schwaitzberg, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery and president of UBMD Surgery. We are excited to have Dr. Owens bring a historical perspective and help us understand how we got to where we are today and identify the deep roots of structural racism.

Without a doubt, India Walton captured the hearts and minds of many Buffalonians this year, he adds. Her background in health care will add further perspective to this important conversation.

In addition to the above, speakers on the panel include:

 Henry-Louis Taylor Jr., PhD, professor of urban and regional planning in the School of Architecture and Planning at UB and director of the Center for Urban Studies.

 Thomas J. Ward, Jr., PhD, assistant dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Farmingdale State College.

 Michael Lamb, PhD, research assistant professor of surgery at UB, moderator.

 Rita Hubbard-Robinson, JD, CEO at NeuWater & Associates LLC.

 Vanessa M. Barnabei, MD, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UB; associate dean for faculty affairs in the Jacobs School.

 Beth Harvey, MD, surgery resident at UB.
The Jan. 18 State Journal article Still no ruling on GOP tactic raises a red flag for our democracy. The article was about GOP officials signing official-looking election documents.

Questions linger a year after GOP group cast proxy Electoral College votes for Trump Multiple agencies have yet to rule on complaints filed nearly a year ago alleging the Republicans committed fraud.

Republican Party chairman Paul Farrow said that the signers were acting in accordance with precedent. These Wisconsin Republicans, along with Republicans from other states that narrowly went to President Joe Biden, sent false documents to Washington. The documents sought to certify Donald Trump as the winner in their respective states.

Was the precedent Farrow was referring to, by any chance, the one set in 1876 by the Republicans? Thats when they did it before -- successfully by the way.

In the election of 1876, Democrat Samuel Tilden appeared to win both the Electoral College and the popular vote. Several states submitted dueling slates of electors, and the election got thrown to Congress, which ultimately picked GOP candidate Rutherford B. Hayes as president.

Republicans are trying to pass laws in several state that basically give state legislatures the ability to ignore the outcomes of elections -- potentially making our votes not count.

This is contrary to the integrity and health of our democracy, which the world looks to and depends on.

Jim Schumacher, Eau Claire
South-central and southwest Wisconsin will see cold and quiet weather, while a major snowstorm rages to the south, according to forecasters.

Far southeastern Wisconsin could see up to 2 inches of snow by Friday as the giant storm delivers a swath of heavy snow that was leaving double-digit totals across central and northern Illinois.

The totals reported as of mid-morning Wednesday to the National Weather Service included 11.1 inches in Peoria, 9.5 inches in New Lenox, 9 inches in Homewood, and 8.4 inches in Joliet.

The giant storm was impacting a long stretch of states from New Mexico and Colorado to Maine, with heavy snow from Missouri to Michigan and significant ice predicted along the lower Ohio Valley area from Louisville, Kentucky, to Memphis, Tennessee, the Associated Press reported.

The storm came on the heels of a vicious nor'easter last weekend that brought blizzard conditions to many parts of the East Coast.

Airlines canceled more than 1,400 flights in the U.S. scheduled for Wednesday, the flight-tracking service FlightAware.com showed, including more than three-quarters taken off the board in St. Louis.

"Around the country, we're planning to operate a limited or reduced schedule from some cities in the path of the storm but will make adjustments to the schedule as needed," Southwest spokesman Dan Landson told AP.

AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said the storm will impact around 90 million people at least 19 states and could further strain already strained supply chains.

"We could be looking at a big mess in moving products to where people and businesses need them as a result of our latest winter storm, and this interruption in the supply chain may be felt for weeks," Porter said.

Arctic air will plunge south in the wake of the storm, with wind chills down to zero and below as far south as western Texas, AccuWeather said.

Weather Service meteorologist Marcia Cronce said southeast Wisconsin could see less than an inch of snow on Wednesday, then up to 1-2 inches more from a lake effect snow brand that may brush areas along Lake Michigan like Racine and Kenosha.

In Madison on Wednesday, look for mostly cloudy skies, a high near 16 and north winds at 10 to 15 miles per hour producing wind chills of 5 below to 5.

Jimmy the groundhog didn't see his shadow in Sun Prairie, which by legend means an early spring for the area.

After an overnight low around 3 with wind chills of 10 below to zero, Thursday should be cloudy through mid-morning, then gradually clearing, with a high near 13 and north winds at 5 to 15 mph producing wind chills of 10 below to zero.

After a low overnight Thursday into Friday around 2 below, Fridays forecast features mostly sunny skies a high near 20 and light west winds increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

The Weather Service forecasts no chances for precipitation through Tuesday.

Skies over Madison should be mostly sunny Saturday, partly sunny Sunday, and mostly sunny Monday and Tuesday, with highs near 27, 26, 25 and 36, and lows Friday night through Monday night around 1, 17, 4 and 16.

27 Storm Track meteorologist Max Tsaparis forecasts up to an inch of snow in far southeastern Wisconsin on Wednesday, flurries possible later on Friday, and spotty, light snow possible Sunday.

Tsaparis said highs for Madison Wednesday through Tuesday should be near 17, 13, 18, 27, 28, 25 and 33, and overnight lows around 2, 5 below, 1, 17, 6 and 15.

Tuesdays high in Madison was 44 at 12:15 p.m., 17 degrees above the normal high and 3 degrees below the record high of 47 for Feb. 1, set in 1968.

Tuesdays low in Madison was 20 at 11:59 p.m., 8 degrees above the normal low and 48 degrees above the record low of 28 below for Feb. 1, set in 1985.

No precipitation was recorded at the Dane County Regional Airport on Tuesday, 0.05 inches below normal. The meteorological winter (December through February) precipitation total (rain plus snow converted to liquid) stayed at 2.17 inches, 0.98 inches below normal. The 2022 precipitation total stayed at 0.48 inches, 1.04 inches below normal.

Madisons record precipitation for Feb. 1 is 0.46 inches in 1915.

With no snow on Tuesday, Madisons February total of zero was 0.5 inches below normal. For meteorological winter, Madison has received 15.6 inches, 10.6 inches below normal. For the snow season (since July 1), Madison has received 16.2 inches, 13.6 inches below normal.

Madisons record snowfall for Feb. 1 is 8.3 inches in 2011.

Madisons official snow depth is 5 inches.

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GLENNS FERRY  In 2020, 47% of dairy operations in Idaho had more than 1,001 cows, according to the Idaho Dairymens Association.

Out of 422 dairies, only 18% had fewer than 200 cows.

Over the past half-century, dairy farms increased in size to better support growing populations and stay profitable.

Wilder Jones, a resident of Glenns Ferry, wants people to know there is another option. He owns Wild Spaces Farm, a micro dairy that produces raw milk.

I hope that I can be a model for other communities so that we can all have at least one milk guy down the road that helps service the community, Jones said.

Unfortunately, the landscape of the market has forced producers to add more and more cows to stay in business, Jones said.

You can drive around the Magic Valley and see abandoned dairies and those were like 30 cows and 40 cows and now they need to work up into the thousands, he said.

Two small southern Idaho dairies, Old Almo Creamery in Almo and Picabo Desert Farm in Richfield, closed last year.

Micro dairies allow for consumers to have more awareness of where their food comes from, Jones said. Smaller operations also have a smaller environmental footprint due to lower energy use, less need for transportation, and the ability to recycle waste on the farm.

Jones is not the first family member to produce food differently. His father is a third-generation farmer and rancher who owns Kings Crown Organic Farm. The farm supplies southern Idaho with cattle, hay, sweet corn, feed corn, onions, potatoes, squash, dry beans, melons and more.

Although Jones has helped his dad for years, his family doesnt have experience with dairy farming.

Im not a generational dairy farmer so theres a lot of stuff Im learning, but I just thought, Man, if I can produce this myself, I can get to a place that will be really near and dear to me, he said. And I really do enjoy the company of cows.

Each of his cows has a name: Pumpkin, Betty, Harley, Bambi, Reeba, Ferdinand the Bull and Caramel. The herd will stay under 10 cows.

The breeds range from Holstein and Jersey to Brown Swiss and Gir. Gir cattle  also known as Gyr  originated in India and are tolerant of hot temperatures.

I wanted to get into this and have something to work towards genetically that would be unique and well-adapted, Jones said.

Starting your own business is a daunting task, especially with a micro dairy that will have a smaller income. Jones received support from the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience.

A nonprofit based in Hailey, the institutes goal is to advance community resilience through education, collaboration and investments.

Nate Twichell, deputy director for the institute, said part of their work involves creating relationships with producers and helping everyone have access to fresh, locally grown food.

Jones received assistance through the institutes Impact Idaho Fund. His application was selected for a $75,000 zero-interest loan.

These loans help small operations get started and provide business owners with the tools to make good decisions and create lasting business plans, Twichell said.

Its like the adage that you can give a person a fish or you can teach them how to fish; its that idea that recoverable grants show that accountability to the process of building a solid business model, he said.

The knowledge of the institute has been invaluable, Jones said.

I told them, I feel like I have an MBA now, Jones said. Working with them because they are on the financial side of things, its been so illuminating and reassuring that I am dotting all the Is and crossing all the Ts.

The money he received will help him build a milking barn and parlor. It will also be used to acquire animals, equipment, and the certification required for his operation.

Because Jones will be selling unpasteurized milk, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture requires additional steps to ensure safety.

Raw milk can be a sticky topic, Jones said. The term refers to milk that has not been pasteurized, a process that involves heating the liquid to a specific temperature for a short period of time to kill potentially harmful bacteria.

Raw-milk laws differ between states, and, in some places, raw milk is illegal to sell in stores.

Its hard to know why its become so controversial, because deli meat, seafood, spinach, greens..., he said, are more likely to have a food-borne illness over the last 40 years, according to his own independent research.

And there are actually more cases for (food-born illnesses from) pasteurized milk than raw milk over the last four decades, so its blown out of proportion, he said.

Jones encourages anyone who wants to try raw milk to talk to their doctor, do their own independent research, then try a small amount. People may react differently.

I dont take food-borne illnesses lightly but I know that I am going to produce it in a safe and clean way and not hurt anyone, he said.

Idaho has favorable raw-milk laws, which changed in January. Previously, the law allowed farmers with up to three cows or seven goats to sell raw milk if they complied with both monthly and yearly testing.

The new rules dont have a limit on the number of animals, however, producers are still required to have their animals blood tested once a year. Additionally, raw milk must be sold with a label, in size 10 font, that says, This product has not been pasteurized and could have harmful bacteria.

Jones thinks it is a good idea to go above and beyond the new rules.

As a dairy farmer, I think you should have your milk tested once a month and I am going to have to take that on myself and that will be my own expense, he said.

In the beginning, starting your own business feels like driving a stick shift and popping the clutch, he said.

I can get up to this point and now I am waiting on someone to come insulate, he said. I can do a couple of things on my own and now I am waiting on some guy to come do the flooring.

Everything builds up, Jones tells new entrepreneurs.

Take steps every day, even if they are seemingly small.

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JEROME  Two people were taken to hospitals after a Tuesday evening head-on crash on U.S. Highway 93 in Jerome County.

The crash was at about 8:20 p.m. near milepost 61, about 2 miles north of Idaho Highway 25, Idaho State Police said.

A 29-year-old woman was southbound on U.S. 93 in a Toyota Corolla when the vehicle crossed the center line and hit a northbound 2002 Volkswagen Passat.

The driver of the Volkswagen, a 21-year-old woman, was wearing a seat belt. She was taken by air ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

The driver of the Toyota was not wearing a seat belt. She was taken by ambulance to St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls.

Idaho State Police was assisted by Jerome County Sheriffs Office and Magic Valley Paramedics. The northbound lanes were blocked for about three hours.

The crash remains under investigation.

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TWIN FALLS  Health officials will no longer investigate every COVID-19 case in south-central Idaho as the region sees the latest surge of the pandemic, which is breaking records as case counts climb.

The South Central Public Health District said it would need to hire at least 17 new full-time staff members to keep up with the average of 150 cases being reported in the area each day.

South-central Idaho has a 37% test positivity rate in the latest reports available, almost double the peak rate in the last case surge and more than seven times the recommended safety threshold, the health district said.

A 37% positivity rate means that of every 100 tests, 37 return positive for COVID-19. Health officials nationwide say a positivity rate below 5% is the goal.

More than a third of our neighbors and family members testing for COVID-19 are actually sick with the disease. Thats incredibly alarming, said health district division administrator Logan Hudson said in a statement. This disease is spreading at a rate faster than weve ever seen before.

The health district says it doesnt have the infrastructure to provide for such a large increase in staffing in such a short time period.

Once positive cases are sorted from the other lab results, it takes an average of 10 minutes per case to enter information into databases used for public reporting and an additional 30-45 minutes to conduct a full investigation on a case. Investigations are not required to report a case but are helpful in confirming ethnicity, employment, and other demographic details that help track disease spread and community resource needs.

Following state health officials recommendations, South Central Public Health has scaled back investigations to focus on high-risk residents, including people living in congregated living facilities such as long-term care facilities and jails, residents who have been hospitalized, and health care and other frontline workers.

This change in procedure means we are no longer going to be the first ones reaching out to many of our residents who test positive. We wont be able to collect quite as much data, and we will rely more heavily on the accuracy of the lab reports sent to us, Hudson said.

The district is asking residents who test positive for COVID-19 to assist this new process by self-reporting symptoms and other illness data on a secure online form. This data will stay confidential and will be used to help epidemiologists track the disease.

More people are getting sick in less time

The presence of omicron, a highly infectious COVID-19 variant, has pushed the regions current case surge to grow faster than previous surges. In the 2021 fall wave, it took 11 weeks for reports to climb to more than 1,000 cases in a calendar week. In this 2022 winter wave, it took half the time, requiring only five weeks to make same climb.

Continuing to compare weekly case rates, the first wave peaked at about 14,400 cases reported in a week, the second wave peaked at about 1,200. After just a month of surging case counts in this wave, the region has already reported more than 1,200 cases in a weeks time. Meanwhile, cases in nearly every county in the region are trending upward.

As cases surge, disease investigations are strained. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is reporting a backlog of more than 42,000 positive lab results from around the state. Several thousand of these lab results are in south-central Idaho.

Not all positive lab results are reported as cases. According to DHW, an estimated 20-30% of labs in the state are repeat labs (when someone takes more than one test in a short time period), results from a non-resident, or a positive result from someone who already tested positive less than 90 days ago. This means that approximately 70-80% of the positive lab reports in Idaho are reported as cases.

Protect your health

The health district urges all residents to choose actions that protect their health and mitigate the risk of infection in every setting. This includes getting vaccinations up-to-date, social distancing wherever possible, wearing a mask in areas where social distancing is not possible, protecting personal health with exercise, sleep, and healthy eating, and limiting gatherings with people they dont live with.

We all play an important role in slowing the spread of disease and protecting our community. That role becomes more critical when we are facing a case surge like this one, Hudson said. Please continue to do all you can to protect your health and the health of the people around you.

If residents have any questions about COVID-19, including quarantine guidelines, what to do if you test positive, when to test after exposure, and masking guidance, they can call the districts COVID-19 hotline at 208-737-1138 or check the SCPHD website at phd5.idaho.gov/coronavirus.
TWIN FALLS  Investigators from the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Unit arrested a Twin Falls man Tuesday on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Jordan S. Crockett, 30, was booked into the Twin Falls County Jail. Investigators said he had sexually exploitative material, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said in a statement.

Crockett was arraigned Wednesday with a bond set at $250,000.

The Twin Falls Police Department, Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office, Rupert Police Department and Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorneys Office assisted the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit with the arrest.

Anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact local police, the Attorney Generals ICAC Unit at 208-947-8700, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.

The ICAC Unit works with the Idaho ICAC Task Force, a coalition of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, to investigate and prosecute individuals who use the internet to criminally exploit children.

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BOISE  Legislation for Idahos biggest tax cut in state history headed Tuesday to the governor for his signature.

The Senate voted 27-7 with no Democratic support to approve the record $600 million cut that includes a one-time $350 million in rebates and $250 million in permanent income tax reductions going forward for people and businesses.

Republican Gov. Brad Little has twice sent his budget chief to testify on the bills behalf at committee meetings in the House and Senate to indicate his support.

Tax relief is on the way! Little tweeted within minutes of the Senate vote. Thank you to the Idaho Senate for passing a historic tax cut for Idahoans!

Little promoted the tax cut in his State of the State Address last month as part of his Leading Idaho plan that also includes a record $300 million education spending increase, plus spending $200 million ongoing for roads and bridges, the largest ever increase for transportation. But the tax cut is the first of Littles measures that lawmakers have taken up.

The $350 million tax rebate includes 12 percent of state income taxes returned for filers during 2020, or $75 per taxpayer and dependent, whichever is greater. That money will come from the states $1.9 billion budget surplus.

The permanent tax cuts reduce income tax rates, including dropping the top rate from 6.5 percent to 6 percent and reducing the number of individual income tax brackets from five to four.

People making more than about $8,000 and couples making more than about $16,000 are in the top tax bracket in Idaho, meaning Idaho income tax is essentially a flat tax with most paying the same rate.

Corporate income taxes under the bill would be cut from 6.5 percent to 6 percent. Backers of that cut said it would keep Idaho competitive with surrounding states in attracting businesses. The individual and corporate tax cuts would be retroactive to Jan. 1.

The tax cuts take money off the table and returns this money, which is not our money, said Republican Sen. Steve Vick. This money belongs to the people who work here and live here, and they should have it back in their pocket.

Lawmakers opposed to the bill said the tax cuts mostly benefit the wealthy.

This is people who are saying Heads I win, tails you lose, said Democratic Sen. Grant Burgoyne. Thats the problem with these tax cuts year after year after year. Who gets the benefit? The people at the top.

The tax cut bill is the first to head to Little for his signature. Opponents said taking $600 million in potential state funding off the table before bills dealing with education spending or fixing roads had been passed was a mistake.

We have not yet passed any bills that are investing those dollars, and we have many places in Idaho that we would like to invest, said Democratic Sen. David Nelson.

Some lawmakers also said they would have preferred proposals for property tax cuts or the elimination of the grocery sales tax, though Idaho already refunds money on taxes paid on food.

Nelson noted that Idahos $1.9 billion surplus is likely at least in part due to the billions of dollars of coronavirus relief money that has flowed into the state.

I probably would not have spent this much money this way, said Republican Sen. Jim Guthrie, who voted for the bill but noted he would have rather spent the $350 million in rebates for infrastructure improvements for K-12 and higher education buildings and facilities.

Once that federal spigot dries up, what is the real state of our economy? he said. If it sounds like Im being overly cautious, let me just say that it has always been easier to do a tax cut than a tax hike.

Republican Sen. Scott Grow said reducing income tax rates would make the state more competitive with surrounding states. He noted that Idaho has taxes on property, income, and sales.

The one that seems most out of whack right now compared to other states is the income tax, he said. So were addressing that one first. Other things will be addressed. Property tax bills are coming down the pike.

Grow added: So I wouldnt get overly worried about this being the first bill and thinking that everything has been spent. There is a lot of money still to be allocated out for the needs that have been mentioned.

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TWIN FALLS  Health officials will no longer investigate every COVID-19 case in south-central Idaho as the region sees the latest surge of the pandemic, which is breaking records as case counts climb.

The South Central Public Health District said it would need to hire at least 17 new full-time staff members to keep up with the average of 150 cases being reported in the area each day.

South-central Idaho has a 37% test positivity rate in the latest reports available, almost double the peak rate in the last case surge and more than seven times the recommended safety threshold, the health district said.

A 37% positivity rate means that of every 100 tests, 37 return positive for COVID-19. Health officials nationwide say a positivity rate below 5% is the goal.

More than a third of our neighbors and family members testing for COVID-19 are actually sick with the disease. Thats incredibly alarming, said health district division administrator Logan Hudson said in a statement. This disease is spreading at a rate faster than weve ever seen before.

The health district says it doesnt have the infrastructure to provide for such a large increase in staffing in such a short time period.

Once positive cases are sorted from the other lab results, it takes an average of 10 minutes per case to enter information into databases used for public reporting and an additional 30-45 minutes to conduct a full investigation on a case. Investigations are not required to report a case but are helpful in confirming ethnicity, employment, and other demographic details that help track disease spread and community resource needs.

Following state health officials recommendations, South Central Public Health has scaled back investigations to focus on high-risk residents, including people living in congregated living facilities such as long-term care facilities and jails, residents who have been hospitalized, and health care and other frontline workers.

This change in procedure means we are no longer going to be the first ones reaching out to many of our residents who test positive. We wont be able to collect quite as much data, and we will rely more heavily on the accuracy of the lab reports sent to us, Hudson said.

The district is asking residents who test positive for COVID-19 to assist this new process by self-reporting symptoms and other illness data on a secure online form. This data will stay confidential and will be used to help epidemiologists track the disease.

More people are getting sick in less time

The presence of omicron, a highly infectious COVID-19 variant, has pushed the regions current case surge to grow faster than previous surges. In the 2021 fall wave, it took 11 weeks for reports to climb to more than 1,000 cases in a calendar week. In this 2022 winter wave, it took half the time, requiring only five weeks to make same climb.

Continuing to compare weekly case rates, the first wave peaked at about 14,400 cases reported in a week, the second wave peaked at about 1,200. After just a month of surging case counts in this wave, the region has already reported more than 1,200 cases in a weeks time. Meanwhile, cases in nearly every county in the region are trending upward.

As cases surge, disease investigations are strained. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is reporting a backlog of more than 42,000 positive lab results from around the state. Several thousand of these lab results are in south-central Idaho.

Not all positive lab results are reported as cases. According to DHW, an estimated 20-30% of labs in the state are repeat labs (when someone takes more than one test in a short time period), results from a non-resident, or a positive result from someone who already tested positive less than 90 days ago. This means that approximately 70-80% of the positive lab reports in Idaho are reported as cases.

Protect your health

The health district urges all residents to choose actions that protect their health and mitigate the risk of infection in every setting. This includes getting vaccinations up-to-date, social distancing wherever possible, wearing a mask in areas where social distancing is not possible, protecting personal health with exercise, sleep, and healthy eating, and limiting gatherings with people they dont live with.

We all play an important role in slowing the spread of disease and protecting our community. That role becomes more critical when we are facing a case surge like this one, Hudson said. Please continue to do all you can to protect your health and the health of the people around you.

If residents have any questions about COVID-19, including quarantine guidelines, what to do if you test positive, when to test after exposure, and masking guidance, they can call the districts COVID-19 hotline at 208-737-1138 or check the SCPHD website at phd5.idaho.gov/coronavirus.
Campus News

UB exhibit examines Attica uprising

The traveling exhibition "Open Wounds: The Fifty-Year Legacy of the Attica Prison Uprising" in Abbott Library. The exhibition was developed by the New York State Museum. Photo: Douglas Levere

The traveling exhibition "Open Wounds: The Fifty-Year Legacy of the Attica Prison Uprising" in Abbott Library. The exhibition was developed by the New York State Museum. Credit: Douglas Levere / University at Buffalo

By TESSIE MAR

I wanted to keep in mind prison reform and the ongoing debates taking place now. We imprison people for decades. What about rehabilitation and alternatives? What are conditions like for those prisoners? 

The Department of Africana and American Studies and the UB Libraries are hosting the exhibit Open Wounds: The Fifty-Year Legacy of the Attica Prison Uprising.

In September 1971, inmate frustration over inhumane living situations in the Attica Correctional Facility culminated in the uprising that the exhibit acknowledges today. 2021 marked the 50-year anniversary of the riots that left 43 people dead, almost all of them killed by law enforcement officers retaking the prison.

The display is located on the first floor of Abbott Library on the South Campus. It is a traveling exhibition developed by the New York State Museum, and will remain at UB at least through the spring semester.

All of UBs libraries, including Abbott, are open to the public, with hours of operation listed on the UB Libraries website.

Lillian S. Williams, associate professor of Africana and American studies, and Scott Hollander, associate university librarian for administration and distinctive collections, reflect on the exhibits significance.

I wanted that story to be told, Williams says. This is about trying to get people to think about what we do as an American democracy to perpetuate our goals, our democratic principles, and how we treat people. I wanted to have conversations around such issues: What is incarceration and what does it mean in a democratic society? What about educational opportunities, and the disparities that we still see? What does it mean for our society when we lock up prisoners and throw away the key?

I wanted to keep in mind prison reform and the ongoing debates taking place now, she explains. We imprison people for decades. What about rehabilitation and alternatives? What are conditions like for those prisoners? I remember the Buffalo newspapers coverage when the riots took place at Attica. While conducting research at the Library of Congress some years ago, I found a letter from a Buffalo Attica inmate in the 1930s complaining about the same conditions for which Attica prisoners were seeking redress in 1971, she says. It dealt with racism, it dealt with the paucity of supplies, just basic food, health. Taking a bath was an issue.

Attica serves as a reminder of the issues of a flawed justice system, Williams says. Younger generations that may be unaware of the uprising are offered an opportunity to familiarize themselves with it, as the exhibits panels recount the history.

Attica was incredibly complicated and tragic, Hollander says. The intent of the exhibition was to present and bring back the history into the publics consciousness and encourage conversation, however uncomfortable it may be.

The exhibit location in Abbott Library is a short distance from the UB Stampede Main Circle shuttle stop, and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authoritys University Station Metro Rail stop.

It's a wonderful space because it also allows faculty to bring classes in, and focus upon those issues, Williams says of the library. It also has public access, which is one of the reasons I wanted it there, and people from the community can come to see it.
Ive always been amazed at what can be accomplished by working together. Now is the time to collaborate with our downstream states to restore the salmon runs in the Snake River basin.

My entire 30 year career as Idahos Water Supply Specialist included discussions, projects and success stories about recovering salmon and steelhead. $17 billion spent over 30 years in the Columbia Basin has prevented these species from going extinct, but has not restored them to sustainable numbers.

The coordination and management of the Columbia basins water is amazing. Ive seen firsthand numerous agencies working together to manage our water supplies. Did you know that Brownlee Dam in Hells Canyon Complex and Dworshak Reservoir provide flood control to cities along the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon including Portland?

Success stories include Idaho Powers Collaborative Cloud Seeding Program in the middle and upper Snake basins, and Idahos Managed Recharge Program that diverts excess water into the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer to help stabilize groundwater levels.

Much has been learned to master the art of cloud seeding that increases snow water equivalent by 7-15%. Melting of this snow provides an additional million acre-feet of water annually to be put to use. Success of this cloud seeding program is supported by Idaho State Legislatures recent bill to support additional cloud seeding opportunities.

Cloud seeding opportunities in the Salmon and Clearwater basins should be investigated to help irrigators and benefit salmon. Successful cloud seeding to produce more water will allow water managers the ability to better shape the hydrograph for salmon flows. This may reduce the need for some flow augmentation water from upper Snake reservoirs. Cold snowmelt water from the Clearwater River headwaters will keep river temperatures cooler longer and may reduce or delay the need for Dworshak water to cool downstream river temperatures. This may also allow Dworshak water levels to remain full longer in the summer as was promised when the dam was built. The additional snowmelt water would also generate hydropower at Dworshak and the lower Columbia River dams which would help offset power loss from removing the Snake River dams.

The four lower Snake River dams have outlived their life. The dams primary purpose was to provide an Idaho shipping port and hydropower. These accomplishments came with costs. These dams slowed the Snake River to a crawl in this 140 mile section, creating miles of warm water that drastically impacted Idahos salmon and steelhead migration to the ocean and back.

Today, we are at critical crossroads because of the low number of fish returning to Idaho. Its time to work together with our downstream neighbors to restore this river section to a free flowing river, and explore cloud seeding opportunities that benefit fish, irrigators and power producers.

If you have ever seen these fish in the wild darting under your raft, jumping up Dagger Falls on the Middle Fork Salmon River, or had one tug the end of your line, then you understand the thrill of salmon in the wild.

Ron Abramovich was the USDA NRCS Idaho Water Supply Specialist from 1991-2019 providing snow and water supply information to farmers, recreationists and industries that depend upon Idahos winter snowfall.

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While one bill has made its way out of committee and awaits a vote on the House floor, and another bill awaits its first hearing in a Senate committee, there is a lobbying effort underway in Henry County to persuade delegates and senators to support putting the matter of reversion in Martinsville from a city to a town to a vote by city voters.

Former Iriswood District Board of Supervisors candidate and Henry County-Martinsville Republican Committee chairman Eric Phillips as well as former Henry County School Board member Mary Martin are working separately, but for the same cause: to convince the lawmakers in Richmond to pass legislation that would require reversion to be approved by a referendum.

Im trying to spearhead an effort on this end, said Martin. I have about 10 people that have reached out to friends, and were doing emails or calling today. Ive got someone in Richmond keeping me in the loop, and were working really hard on the delegate list.

Martin said (R-Danville) Del. Danny Marshalls bill could come before a full House vote as early as Thursday, so time was of the essence.

Rules in the House of Delegates require any resolution requiring immediate consideration be approved by a two-thirds majority.

We are going down the list of delegates, and there are two from the Democratic party that we have thanked for their support [getting the bill out of committee] and encouraging them to get their fellow members onboard, said Martin. There are a whole bunch of legislators in the House of Delegates, and it will consume a large portion of my day.

There are 100 members of the House of Delegates: 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats. Although the bill before them, if approved, would put the question Shall the City of Martinsville become a town? to a vote among Martinsville voters, there is some feeling that the votes in Richmond may fall along party lines.

The bills are sponsored by Marshall, a Republican in the House, and Bill Stanley (R-Moneta), a Republican in the Senate.

Im lobbying people within the party, said Phillips. I know a lot of these guys, and Im explaining to them the issue. Its tricky: Am I doing this as the chairman of the Republican Party or as Eric Phillips, a Republican?

Phillips said he had verbal support of the entire local delegation consisting of Stanley in the Senate and Marshall, Les Adams (R-Chatham) and Wren Williams (R-Stuart) in the House.

They will all vote for it and have stated to me their support, because Ive asked them, Phillips said. Adams said he usually is always in favor of allowing people to have the final say, and thats what this referendum does.

Phillips said he has heard the argument that the citizens voices have been heard through their elected members on City Council, but he believes a referendum would not be usurping the authority of power.

Its undeniable that the City says they have been transparent to the best of their ability, but whether you buy that or not, we didnt find out about the possible closing of Martinsville High School until the Commission on Local Government meetings in Martinsville, said Phillips. Obviously the public wasnt aware of that. People were late getting information or not having all the facts until after the process was almost finished.

The Bulletin reached out to City officials for comment, but Public Information Officer Kendall Davis said by email that the City would stay away from speculation on what is happening in the General Assembly, and declined to comment further.

But Stephen Piepgrass, a Richmond attorney who represents Martinsville on matters regarding reversion, told the Bulletin they were taking their cues from existing law without regard to Marshalls and Stanleys bills in Richmond.

The ordinance authorizing the filing of a petition for contested reversion with Martinsville Circuit Court was passed on the second reading on Jan. 27, Piepgrass wrote by email. Ordinances take effect 10 days from the date of passage, so the earliest date for filing a petition with the Circuit Court would be Monday. Once we file the petition, the Circuit Court will forward a request to the Supreme Court of Virginia for appointment of a special court.

Although we do not know the exact time frame for action by the Supreme Court, we expect that appointment of the special court would happen fairly quickly, because the statue under which we are operating provides for expedited consideration of reversion related issues.

Council Member Danny Turner said the whole matter, as he sees it, is regrettable.

Im disappointed the County didnt negotiate in good faith, and they are drawing this out, said Turner. Why would the General Assembly get involved retroactively to punish Martinsville? They are supposed to treat everyone fairly, and this bill would make Martinsville the only city in the state to have this put on them at the 11th hour.

Turner said he even questioned whether approval of the bills by Marshall and Stanley could possibly violate the Constitution of Virginia.

Its already in the judicial branch, and now the legislative branch is trying to go beyond it, Turner said. We went in this under the laws that currently exist, and on the one-yard line the General Assembly is trying to change the rules. They should not have the authority to do that.

But Henry County Attorney George Lyle sees it differently.

During the public hearings in 2021, local citizens made it clear that they wanted more input in the decision of Martinsville to become a town, and the proposed legislation offers that opportunity, which is why the Henry County Board of Supervisors supports the bills currently making their way through the General Assembly, said Lyle.

Most of the vocal support for reversion in the City has come from either current or former City Council members.

There are very few people that are passionate about the City reverting, said Phillips. The comments [at the Commission on Local Governments public hearing] out of some 30 people that spoke, all but three were against it, and those three were Jennifer Bowles, Gene Teague and Barry Greene.

Bowles is the current vice mayor, and Teague and Greene are both former mayors of Martinsville.

Comments among Henry County residents have been fairly consistent.

I believe the citizens of Martinsville definitely should be able to vote on reversion, said Alice Aaron. Actually, I also believe the Henry County residents should be able to vote. It affects all of us ... As an owner of properties in the city, but live in the county, I still feel I should have input, as it will affect my city taxes.

Said Ensign Stephens, also a county resident: All involved should have a voice, both city and county. Its the only fair thing to do.

In the Senate, Senate Bill 85 has been referred to the Committee on Local Government, but they failed to take up the matter at their regular session on Monday and will consider it at the earliest on Monday.

In the House of Delegates, House Bill 173 was reported out of the Counties, Cities and Town Committee on a 14-8 vote on Friday. The full House could consider the bill as early as Thursday, but it has not yet been scheduled.

Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-638-8801, Ext. 2360. Follow him @billdwyatt.

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A crash that resulted in injuries for a Marion police officer is still being reviewed and the Marion Police Department is grateful to the person who pulled that officer out of a burning patrol vehicle.

On Monday at 6:14 a.m., a wreck was reported to the North Carolina Highway Patrol. The traffic crash occurred on N.C. 226 North in Mitchell County. It involved two vehicles: a 2017 Toyota Tacoma driven by Audie Peterson Jr. and a 2021 Dodge Charger belonging to the city of Marions Police Department, driven by Officer Breanna Toney, according to a news release.

According to the investigation, which was conducted by Trooper B.K. Wyatt of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Petersons vehicle traveled across the center line and struck the vehicle operated by Toney, who was commuting to work for the Marion Police Department.

After the two collided, Toneys vehicle caught fire. Due to her injuries and the damage to the vehicle, Toney was unable to exit her patrol car. A brave citizen who came upon the collision scene was able to eventually force the driver side door of Dodge Charger open and pull Toney to safety, according to the news release.

Toney was airlifted to Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City, Tenn., where she underwent surgery to repair several lower-extremity injuries. She remains in the care of JCMC, where she will continue to receive treatment.

She also sustained several broken ribs and other upper extremity injuries that at this time will not require surgery. Toney will require an extended hospital stay and possible rehabilitation, but is expected to make a full recovery, Chief Allen Lawrence said.

Peterson was injured in the crash, but the extent of those injuries is unknown at this time. He was transported to Blue Ridge Regional Medical Center in Spruce Pine. Peterson was cited by Trooper Wyatt for driving left of center.

The Marion Police Department and Lawrence would like to thank all agencies involved and their assistance with this crash. The Marion Police Department would also like to extend sincere gratitude to the brave citizen who stopped and pulled Toney from the burning car. The Marion Police Department and the city of Marion are forever grateful to this citizen for his efforts and would like to formally recognize him in the near future. Peterson Jr. and his family are also in our thoughts and prayers and we wish him a quick recovery as well, reads a statement from the police department.

The Dodge Charger driven by Toney has been returned to the Marion Police Department for further investigation. This incident is still being reviewed and further information will be released as it come available, including updates on Toney, according to the news release.
I recently heard from readers from as far afield as Atlanta, Georgia, and Greene, Rhode Island. They were writing to share stories about over-wintering hummingbirds at their respective homes. But the first report I received this year came from a much closer source.

Darlene Kerns, a Unicoi resident, contacted me on Facebook two days before Christmas.

We live in Unicoi and I just had to share with you, Darlene wrote. We had a hummingbird feeding this morning. Its 22 degrees!

She went on to tell me that there have actually been two winter hummingbirds at her feeders.

We usually bring the feeders in by mid-October but kept one out with fresh food because of continually seeing hummingbirds feeding, she said.

Thats often how it starts. Its easy to miss these different hummingbird species when they mingle with the abundant fall ruby-throated hummingbirds, but they tend to stand out once the last of the ruby-throated hummingbirds depart.

Im just amazed that these sweet little birds are still around in this cold weather, Darlene wrote in her message.

Almost every year since beginning to write this column, I have been contacted by others who, much like Darlene, are stunned to glimpse a hummingbird at their home in the winter months. Ive penned several articles about the phenomenon of wintering hummingbirds. As we are now midway through the 2021-22 winter season, I wasnt too surprised to receive more confirmation that these tiny birds continue to surprise us.

I replied to Darlenes Facebook message by asking her if the hummingbird at her home had an abundance of brown feathers in its plumage. I also suggested she use Google to research rufous hummingbird.

She did as I suggested and discovered the identity of her visitors.

Yes! It is the rufous hummingbird, Darlene confirmed after looking at photos online.

Through the years, I have seen several of these seemingly out-of-place hummingbirds. Ive received reports from such far-flung locales as Ohio and New York. Some of them remain at their hosts feeders for a brief stay of a few days or a couple of weeks, but some of these hummingbirds have extended their stay for several months, lingering throughout the winter months before eventually departing in February or March. Ive even hosted rufous hummingbirds twice at my own home.

The big question concerns whether these hummingbirds are truly lost and out of place. The answer, based on everything I have managed to learn, is that these hummingbirds are precisely where they want to be. For still unknown reasons, some of these western hummingbirds make a migration swing through the eastern United States. The vast majority turn out to be a species known as the rufous hummingbird.

Ill now turn the spotlight onto the individual stories of Eli Mulligan and Pam Price.

Eli Mulligan emailed me about a rufous hummingbird that recently departed from his home in New England.

I am not sure if you are still following the wintering rufous hummingbirds, Eli wrote in his email. If so, I have an interesting story for you.

He went on to mention that he is a resident of Greene, Rhode Island.

This year, we had a confirmed rufous hummingbird show up in mid-September, mingling with the remaining rubies (ruby-throated hummingbirds), he wrote. Well, this little rufous decided to stay for some time. She literally just left us a day ago on the morning of Jan. 18, 2022. During her stay, she had endured heavy rains, high winds, snow and even routine blustery cold nights with temperatures falling as low as 1 degree and wind chills of minus 15 degrees.

Eli described his visitors routine.

While she was here, I would get up before the sun, every morning, and put out fresh nectar for her, he wrote. When we hit the colder days, I invested in a plug-in heated feeder and a mushroom-shaped heat lamp that I would hang the feeders underneath. This definitely helped her on many December and January mornings as she camped right underneath to warm herself.

Eli said he caught numerous glimpses of her feeding from nearby suet cakes, most likely to supplement her protein needs during the colder days, he wrote.

What an incredibly resilient bird, Eli wrote. We ended up naming her Little Greene.

Eli said that his recently departed rufous hummingbird was absolutely one of the most remarkable birds that he has ever seen or known.

She will definitely be missed, he concluded.

Eli created postings throughout Little Greenes visit on eBird regarding his observations and general information about her while she remained at his home.

Readers can look up the name Eli Mulligan on eBird and views postings and photos of Little Greene.

This is truly an amazing creature and I just wanted to share that with those who would have an appreciation for her, Eli wrote.

Pam Price in Atlanta, Georgia, found out how to contact me when a column Id previously written on rufous hummingbirds popped into her news feed.

She wrote in her email that she has had a little rufous hummingbird visiting her feeder since Dec. 14.

As of the Jan. 23, the hummingbird was still present.

I worry about it constantly as I wonder where it is getting any bugs, she said. Temperatures have been in the 20s.

She even took steps to ensure the birds safety when she went on vacation.

I took a feeder to my neighbor next door and made her promise to keep up the feeder and bring in at night so it does not freeze, Pam wrote.

Her recent visitor is not Pams first experience with rufous hummingbirds.

She noted that she had two rufous hummingbirds banded in her backyard when she lived in the Tallahassee, Florida, area.

So I am familiar with that process, she wrote. I did post on Ebird alerts with pictures but have not tried to find someone to band her as she does not visit as frequently as other hummers.

For those who do worry about rufous hummingbirds braving cold winter temperatures, keep in mind that the species spends the nesting season from Baja California to chilly Alaska in its native range. Hummingbirds can also enter torpor, an adaptation that lets them slow down their metabolism when conditions are too exacting.

I enjoyed hearing from Eli, Pam and Darlene. Winter hummingbirds, while always a delightful surprise for their hosts, no longer shock longtime birders. Weve grown to expect them. If anything, Id be surprised more by the absence of reports of these tiny wonders during the bleak winter season. If any readers are still hosting lingering hummingbirds at their feeders, Id love to hear their stories. Email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.
The Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort will host the new exhibit called African American Musicians of North Carolina beginning Sunday, Feb. 6 and running until Sunday, May 1.

African American Musicians of North Carolina celebrates the contributions of individuals and bands to regional and popular culture.

In addition to a title and introductory panel, seven panels feature various musical genres and celebrate some of our states most notable musicians and sounds.

Genres, or musical styles, include string bands, blues, gospel, jazz, soul, funk, and hip hop. A final panel highlights the N.C. Arts Councils African American Music Trail through the states central coastal plain.

An interactive touch screen allows users to learn more about several musicians and listen to examples of Black North Carolinians musical creations, according to a news release.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources created this traveling exhibit to help cultural heritage institutions statewide connect with local communities. The exhibit is part of the departments Come Hear NC initiative, which celebrates North Carolinas musical traditions, artists and legacy. Learn more at www.ncarts.org/comehearnc.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, guests are asked to wear cloth face coverings, practice social distancing, and wash their hands often or use hand sanitizer. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. (with bluegrass music courtesy of Possum Creek). The museum is closed Mondays. Admission is free.

For more information, contact the Mountain Gateway Museum at 828-668-9259, mgm@ncdcr.gov, or visit www.mgmnc.org.

A regional branch of the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, the Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center is the westernmost facility in the N.C. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources Division of State History Museums.

Nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of historic Mill Creek in downtown Old Fort, the museum uses artifacts, exhibitions, educational programs, living history demonstrations, and special events to teach people about the rich history and cultural heritage of the states mountain region, from its original inhabitants through early settlement and into the 20th century.

As part of its education outreach mission, the museum also assists nonprofit museums and historic sites in 38 western N.C. counties with exhibit development & fabrication, genealogical research, photography archives, traveling exhibitions and consultations, according to the news release.
The military junta that has been in power in Burkina Faso since last week met Tuesday at the presidency in Ouagadougou with the leaders of the countrys main political parties, many of whom said they were ready to accompany the transition.

The political leaders were received for just over half an hour by the head of the junta, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

The statements of the head of state are in the direction of bringing peace. We salute him, said the leader of the opposition before the putsch, Eddie Komboogo.

He wants to go quickly and well, he added, calling on the international community to support him so that he can succeed in his mission.

Alassane Bala Sakande, president of the Peoples Movement for Progress (MPP), the former ruling party that was still head of parliament before the coup, was also present at the meeting at the presidential palace.

He did not wish to speak at the exit, as he had been authorized to visit the overthrown president Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who has been under house arrest since the coup.

Like Komboogo, other opponents said they were listening to the proposals of the junta and its leader Colonel Damiba.
Lawyers for Kalilou Dombia, former secretary general of the presidency, Colonel Major Kassoum Goita, former director of state security, and four others arrested in early November on charges of attempting a coup and plotting against the government announced that they had filed a complaint against the current head of Malian intelligence. Colonel Kone is one of five colonels who were members of the junta that seized power in August 2020.

The complaint was filed on December 23 for offenses of criminal conspiracy, torture, and theft. Among the three people named was Colonel Major Modibo Kone, Director of State Security, one of the five colonels of the junta who, along with the current transitional president Assimi Goita, led the August 2020 coup.

Today, six other personalities are accused by the Malian justice system of having wanted to overthrow the transitional regime. Their lawyers have filed a complaint with the public prosecutor of the Bamako Court of Appeal. Kalilou Doumbia, former secretary general of the presidency, disappeared on September 6 and Colonel Major Kassoum Goita, former head of the intelligence services, disappeared on October 4.

The two men and their four co-accused, including a police commissioner and a state security officer, were not formally charged until November

Finally, the lawyers of the six co-accused indicate that they have requested the annulment of the proceedings against them, because of glaring irregularities, starting with the extortion of confessions under torture, which no longer needs to be proven.
In the wake of superintendent scrap, a look at the positions powers
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Researchers at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have identified an abnormal link between the autonomic and central nervous systems, specifically via communication between the heart and part of the brain's frontal cortex, in women with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

The team's objective was to test whether individuals suffering from GAD show dysfunction in the neural circuitry underlying cardiovascular arousal and whether that may be associated with certain disorder-related symptoms such as anxiety and body sensation. To conduct the study, they completed a randomized clinical trial of 58 adult female participants (29 with GAD and 29 matching healthy comparisons). During the study they stimulated the cardiovascular system using a medicine called isoproterenol, which mimics the effects of adrenaline but, unlike adrenaline, cannot cross the blood-brain-barrier to directly impact brain activity. Intravenous infusions of isoproterenol or saline were administered during functional magnetic resonance imaging, allowing them to assess whether the brains of patients with GAD differ in the processing of information received from the body, a function known as "interoception."

The main findings were that patients with GAD differed significantly from healthy participants on several variables, but only during the lower of two dosages of isoproterenol. Specifically, they perceived their heartbeats to be more intense and had relatively higher heart rates and lower neural activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a brain area known to regulate the autonomic nervous system and to facilitate feelings of fear or safety. Self-reported anxiety was significantly higher only for those with GAD compared to healthy participants in response to either dose.

The research findings, "Association of Generalized Anxiety Disorder with Autonomic Hypersensitivity and Blunted Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activity During Peripheral Adrenergic Stimulation," were published in the February 2, 2022 edition of JAMA Psychiatry.

For lead author Adam Teed, a postdoctoral associate at LIBR, the fact that the abnormal results observed for those with GAD occurred during lower, but not higher, doses of medicine was the primary finding from the study: "Administering isoproterenol allowed us to provide causal evidence that an abnormally sensitive cardiovascular system and an abnormally insensitive frontal cortex in GAD patients lowers their ability to regulate bodily arousal. This could help to explain why they experience anxiety so frequently and in a wide variety of contexts." The authors hope that their study prompts further research into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex as a therapeutic target for novel treatments helping individuals with GAD to regulate physiological and emotional responses to stress.

Beyond the novel link revealed by this study, it is noteworthy that cardiovascular hypersensitivity was observed for GAD patients at all. This is because the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5), the standard classification system used by mental health professionals in the United States, describes autonomic symptoms such as sweating, rapid heart rate, or shortness of breath, as being less prominent in GAD than other anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder.

Senior author Sahib Khalsa, MD, Ph.D., a psychiatrist and principal investigator at LIBR, says, "This study shows us that anxiety is not only something that happens within our brains, but within our bodies as well." Thus, these findings show that abnormal functioning of the autonomic nervous system is not only a factor in GAD, but it occurs in combination with abnormal functioning of certain areas of the brain. Such associations are what Dr. Khalsa believes to be the most important product of this research: "It is the interaction between our brain and body that may be essential for determining whether an innocuous situation creates a state of fear in individuals with GAD. We need to better understand how this abnormal physiological response relates to the functional impairments that commonly interfere with the daily lives of such individuals."

Explore further Anxiety cues found in the brain despite safe environment

More information: Association of Generalized Anxiety Disorder with Autonomic Hypersensitivity and Blunted Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activity During Peripheral Adrenergic Stimulation, JAMA Psychiatry (2022). Journal information: JAMA Psychiatry Association of Generalized Anxiety Disorder with Autonomic Hypersensitivity and Blunted Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activity During Peripheral Adrenergic Stimulation,(2022).

Provided by Laureate Institute for Brain Research
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

A new study from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health suggests the air quality inside homes may not stack up against air quality inside office buildings.

The pilot study, published in the journal Atmosphere, delves into indoor air quality and health outcomes in people working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers measured indoor air quality in both the offices and homes of employees in 2019 and 2020 and evaluated their health outcomes during those periods.

Air pollution indoors is most often linked to building materials and the activities of people living and working in those buildings. These pollutants include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from carpet and furniture, paints and other chemicals as well as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and mold.

Prolonged exposure to indoor air pollutants is associated with a wide range of poor health outcomes, from headaches and dry eyes to cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. These outcomes have driven significant work into improving office building indoor air quality. However, the percentage of people working from home has grown dramatically over the past two decades and skyrocketed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning home indoor air quality can be considered a workplace health issue.

Taehyun Roh, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Genny Carrillo, associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, along with colleagues from Houston Methodist Hospital and Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, analyzed indoor air quality in an office building between May and July of 2019 and then at the employees' respective homes between June and September 2020.

The researchers used a standard consumer-grade air quality monitor to collect data on air temperature, relative humidity and concentrations of particulate matter and VOCs. At the same time, the researchers collected data on outdoor air temperature and particulate matter concentration from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Additionally, the researchers had participants complete a survey where they ranked the prevalence of symptoms like dry, itchy or watery eyes, stuffy nose and dry or irritated skin on a scale ranging from not experiencing symptoms to having them every day.

The participants all lived in single-family homes with central air conditioning, and none of the people living in any of the households smoked or worked with hazardous materials.

The study found that the fine particulate matter concentrations were significantly higher in the participants' homes than in their offices, and the home levels were greater than the standard for a healthy work environment. The researchers also found that VOC concentrations were higher in homes compared to offices; however, the VOC concentrations in both places were well below the limit set by health standards. The majority of employees in the study reported higher frequencies of symptoms while working at home.

The findings of this study point to the importance of indoor air quality for people working from home and the need for measures to improve indoor air quality. This could be as simple as opening windows when outdoor air quality allows it or providing remote workers with air purifiers.

Taking steps to improve indoor air quality in both conventional office buildings and home offices will likely become a growing area of study for public health researchers and employers looking to ensure health, safety and productivity.

Explore further Study helps to better understand the link between indoor and outdoor air quality

More information: Taehyun Roh et al, Indoor Air Quality and Health Outcomes in Employees Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study, Atmosphere (2021). Taehyun Roh et al, Indoor Air Quality and Health Outcomes in Employees Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study,(2021). DOI: 10.3390/atmos12121665
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Bed nets save lives in the long run, according to a 22-year study in Tanzania which, for the first time, indicates that children who sleep under them at an early age are more likely to survive into adulthood.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed more than 6,700 children from 1998, tracking them again in 2019 to find out what happened to them. The results showed that survival of children who habitually slept under nets was over 40% higher compared with survival in those who slept under nets less frequently in their early childhood.

Surprisingly, there are very few long-term population-based studies in any African country. With over 6,700 participants recruited and remarkably high completeness of follow-up after 20 years, this study is particularly unusual and provides unique insight into the long-term benefits of malaria control in young children.

Malaria killed more than 600,000 people in 2020 and is especially dangerous for children. The disease, which is common in sub-Saharan Africa, is caused by a parasite transmitted through mosquito bites. In malaria-endemic areas, sleeping under a bed net treated with insecticide is one of the most effective ways to protect young lives. Until now, however, the long-term effect of malaria control in early childhood has been unclear. Theory suggested that preventing malaria in early life could make people more vulnerable later in life due to a lack of immunity, simply delaying life-threatening illness and death.

Estimates from this rare long-term observational analysis appear to counter this theory by finding no evidence that prevention in early life leads to a surge in deaths later on.

The study was led by researchers from Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH).

Dr. Salim Abdulla, Principal Scientist at IHI and study author, said: "We have known for a long time that bed nets save young lives, but we never knew for sure how long the benefits persisted. Our study shows that preventing malaria in early childhood has effects that last into adulthood."

Between 1998 and 2003, the study enrolled 6,706 children born in Kilombero and Ulanga Districts, a part of rural Tanzania where malaria is endemic. Up to 2003, a survey team visited the children's households every four months to collect information about the use of insecticide-treated bed nets. In 2019, 16 years later, the study team did a follow-up survey and was able to gather information relating to 89% (5,983) of the original participants. Sadly, the team learned that over 600 of the children had died.

When the researchers analyzed the data from the study they discovered a positive long-term impact of bed nets. They estimated the association between bed net use and survival, using regression modeling to adjust for other differences between groups.

Dr. Gunther Fink, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Household Economics at the University of Basel and Swiss TPH, and first author, said: "It's so important to be able to go back and find out what happens to children when they grow up. Bed nets have been a huge part of malaria control efforts, and continue to be part of the toolkit. It is reassuring to see these long-term benefits, which further highlight the remarkably high returns to investing into early childhood infectious disease prevention and early life health more generally."

Dr. Joanna Schellenberg, Professor of Epidemiology and International Health at LSHTM and last author on the paper, said: "It's remarkable that we were able to find information on nearly all these children born two decades ago. "While our study shows the survival benefit of early-life malaria control persists until adulthood, it also reveals the potential of long-term community-based research. It's a testament to the deep social connections the interviewers had in the study communities, as well as making the most of mobile phone coverage."

Co-author Mr Sigilbert Mrema, Research Scientist with IHI, said: "One of our respondents was overjoyed simply to be told his exact date of birth. This type of long-term study is important not only in monitoring health but also in strengthening civil registration."

The authors acknowledge limitations of the study, including the fact there was no information on children who died prior to the first study visit, which means that survival rates are not representative of all births.

Explore further Gavi alliance OKs funds for Africa malaria vaccine roll-out

More information: G. Fink et al. Mosquito net use in early childhood and survival to adulthood in Tanzania. New England Journal of Medicine. 2022;386:428-36. Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine G. Fink et al. Mosquito net use in early childhood and survival to adulthood in Tanzania.. 2022;386:428-36. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2112524
(A) Right craniocaudal, (B) mediolateral oblique, (C) spot compression tomosynthesis images show architectural distortion in right breast at 12 o'clock position (arrows). No sonographic correlate identified. Tomosynthesis-guided needle biopsy yielded radial scarnot upgraded at surgery. Credit: American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS), American Journal of Roentgenology.

According to an article in ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), imaging surveillance is a management alternative for architectural distortion on digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) yielding radial scar without atypia and other concordant benign pathologies without atypia at biopsy.

"To our knowledge," coauthors Juan Villa Camacho and Manisha Bahl of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston contended, "this investigation represents the largest study of nonmalignant architectural distortion on DBT."

Defining architectural distortion as parenchymal distortion with no visible mass, Camacho and Bahl's retrospective study included cases of mammographically detected architectural distortion from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019 that were nonmalignant at image-guided needle biopsy and underwent surgical excision. Mammographic examinations included both digital 2D mammography and DBT. With imaging data extracted from radiology reports, upgrade rates were summarized using descriptive statistics.

The overall upgrade rate of architectural distortion on DBT with concordant nonmalignant pathology results at biopsy to malignancy at surgery was 10.2% (13/128). The upgrade rate to malignancy of architectural distortion without atypia at biopsy was 2.2% (2/89) and of architectural distortion with atypia was 28.2% (11/39).

To our knowledge, coauthors Juan Villa Camacho and Manisha Bahl of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston contended, this investigation represents the largest study of nonmalignant architectural distortion on DBT. Credit: American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS), American Journal of Roentgenology.

Noting that, historically, surgery has been recommended for all cases of architectural distortion, including cases that are nonmalignant at biopsy, "our results suggest that imaging surveillance rather than surgery may be considered for radial scars without atypia and other benign concordant pathologies without atypia," the pair concluded.

Explore further Managing architectural distortion on mammography based on MR enhancement

More information: Juan Villa Camacho et al, Management of Architectural Distortion on Digital Breast Tomosynthesis With Nonmalignant Pathology at Biopsy, American Journal of Roentgenology (2022). Journal information: American Journal of Roentgenology Juan Villa Camacho et al, Management of Architectural Distortion on Digital Breast Tomosynthesis With Nonmalignant Pathology at Biopsy,(2022). DOI: 10.2214/AJR.21.27161
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Federal health officials on Monday classified a dozen countries as having "very high" COVID-19 risk, warning U.S. travelers to avoid the destinations regardless of vaccination status.

Mexico, Anguilla, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, French Guiana, Kosovo, Moldova, Paraguay, Philippines, Singapore and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join 116 other destinations on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's level 4 COVID-19 risk assessment level.

Other popular destinations on the level 4 list include Canada, Italy and Fiji.

Larger countries are considered to have a "very high" risk for COVID-19 when they report more than 500 cases of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the past 28 days. The CDC updates its travel health advisory list every week.

"Avoid travel to these (level 4) destinations," the agency says on its website. "If you must travel to these destinations, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel."

Story continues below.

Other recent changes to the CDC's COVID-19 travel health notice page include:

 French Polynesia moved from level unknown to level 3.

 Bhutan, the Gambia, Guinea and Oman moved from level 1 to level 3.

 Brunei, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Liberia and Nepal moved from level 2 to level 3.

Explore further Americans told to avoid cruise travel, even if vaccinated

2022 USA Today

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NP001 targets macrophages, a type of immune cell implicated in the destruction of neurons. Credit: Michael S. McGrath, MD, PhD

A new drug has been found to slow or temporarily stall the progression of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in a select group of patients. The drug, a proprietary form of purified chlorite that inhibits production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, may provide a treatment option in patients aged 40 to 65 with higher levels of inflammation, according to a new study.

The study is the latest milestone in an odyssey of twists and turns for researchers and patients who have a post-diagnosis life expectancy of between two to five years. It follows a previous phase 2A study that showed no significant slowing of decline between the participants who took the drug, known as NP001, compared with those on placebo. But researchers identified a subset of patientsthose on the higher dose of the drug whose blood tests showed elevated levels of an inflammatory markerwho seemed to fare surprisingly well.

In the current phase 2B study, publishing in the journal Muscle & Nerve on Jan. 31, researchers used new data together with data from 2A, restricted to participants with elevated levels of the inflammatory marker who were on the higher drug dose, but the results were again disheartening. It was not until a post-hoc analysis, published in the same paper, which narrowed the field of 154 participants, aged 32 to 76, to 117 participants, aged 40 to 65, that a more promising picture emerged.

Age is a factor in success of new treatment

Researchers, led by senior author Michael S. McGrath, MD, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Medicine at UC San Francisco, found that those who had received NP001 had a 36 percent slowing of decline compared to the placebo group, according to their ALSFRS-R score, a questionnaire that ranks physical changes over time. Similarly, the NP001 recipients experienced a 51 percent slowing of decline in vital capacity, or respiratory functiona second test determining ALS progressioncompared to the placebo group. These effects persisted months after treatment concluded.

Among those patients who did not decline during the six-month duration, 19 of 56 (34 percent) were on NP001, versus seven of 61 (11 percent) of those on placebo.

"It is plausible that the disease mechanism and trajectory for those patients under 40 differs from older patients and is more likely to have a genetic or heritable component as is often seen in other chronic diseases, although this has not yet been proven," said McGrath who is also a cofounder of Neuvivo, Inc., a pharmaceutical company and the study's sponsor.

"People over 65 have a higher level of the plasma inflammatory marker C-reactive protein, the inflammation marker we tracked in our study, so this may have allowed for an overrepresentation of older ALS patients," he said. "These higher levels may be attributed to other conditions unrelated to ALS, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, making interpretation of ALS-specific variables difficult and potentially confounding."

Inflammation drives loss of motor neurons in ALS

The development of NP001 is based on the premise that chronic inflammation is a key factor in the loss of motor neurons, the hallmark of ALS. According to the researchers, ALS starts with the activation of macrophages, a type of immune cell. NP001 reverts these macrophages back to an inactive anti-inflammatory state, thus slowing or stopping the disease.

In the study, participants with a probable or definite ALS diagnosis were recruited at 21 sites in the United States and Canada. They had experienced an onset of ALS-related weakness within the last three years and had a life expectancy of at least six months. Minimal side effects were reported; the main one being burning sensation at the site of infusion.

Currently, two drugs have been approved to slow the progression of ALS: riluzole (Rilutek), shown to increase life expectancy by three months, and edaravone (Radicava), shown to decrease decline of physical function by 33 percent at 24 weeks.

"My hope is that we can continue the study of patients whose disease progression slowed or halted with NP001 as compared to placebo," said McGrath. "We've still got a lot to learn about ALS pathogenesis and how best to treat, but I believe that we've found a path forward for use of an immunoregulatory approach to a large subset of patients with ALS."

NP001 received fast-track status in 2011, allowing frequent communications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for expedited review to facilitate its development.

Explore further Diabetes drug slows kidney function decline

More information: Robert G. Miller et al, Phase 2B randomized controlled trial of NP001 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: prespecified and posthoc analyses, Muscle & Nerve (2022). Robert G. Miller et al, Phase 2B randomized controlled trial of NP001 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: prespecified and posthoc analyses,(2022). DOI: 10.1002/mus.27511
Unexpected heterogeneity of ribosomal RNA genes in human populations revealed by genome studies suggests potential variation in protein translation by the ribosomes. Credit: Wenjun Fan, Ph.D.

A genome study undertaken by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers to look for variants in a gene considered a fundamental building block for microscopic structures that synthesize proteins took a surprising twist.

Human ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes are essential for building ribosomes, or machineries that translate proteins. The study findings, to be published in the Feb. 2 issue of the journal RNA, demonstrated that these geneswhich were thought to be similar among peopleinstead differed significantly based upon a person's geographic ancestry. Particularly high variations were found on a segment called 28S rRNA, an essential component of the protein-translating ribosome.

The team, directed by Marikki Laiho, M.D., Ph.D., director of molecular radiation sciences in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, veered from their regular research focus of developing new molecules that could be potentially useful in the treatment of cancer to delve into a basic biology concept they wanted to better understand.

They had developed cancer drugs that target synthesis of ribosomal rRNAs, a unique process that drives cancer development. Without these, cancer cells cannot multiply. The team wondered if the rRNA gene itself was altered in cancers, and how that could affect their targeting strategy. Despite the importance of this gene, there was no definitive reference sequence published to date.

Team members set out to take a bioinformatics approach to rRNA gene sequences, using high-performance computers at the Maryland Advanced Research Computing Center, a joint venture managed by The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. To start charting cancer alterations, they had to understand whether variants existed in the human population. The rRNA gene sequence was considered "untouchable," or so fundamental that it seemed unlikely to have any variations.

"However, when we started that analysis, we very quickly realized that the cancer genomes were highly aberrant," Laiho says. "In order for us to understand whether that aberration is realmeaning that it changes in a particular cancerwe needed to better understand what a normal human gene looks like."

Next, they used whole-genome sequencing data from the 1000 Genomes Project (an international human genetics database) to analyze variants in 2,504 individuals from 26 populations. They identified 3,791 variant positions on the rRNA gene. This included 470 variant positions seen on 28S rRNA. Most of these variants were located on long protruding folds of the rRNA that vary among species. These represent positions of diversity, and are potentially under continuous evolution.

"The analysis results were beyond our imagination," Laiho says. "We saw perfect conservation of sequences across vast swaths of the gene, and then highly variable sites in the exact locations that we expected to be unaltered. This suggests that the way variant rRNAs are built into the ribosomes could lead to potential alterations in how the ribosomes function."

Many of the variants observed were segregated by population. For example, some variants were far more frequent among African or Asian populations versus American or European populations, and vice versa. This raises the possibility that some of the variants are ancient, ancestry-dependent, yet have been retained in modern populations, Laiho says.

"It's too early to speculate what these variants mean, but what is fascinating is that they are conserved by population, and this means their retention is somehow important," she says.

The study findings suggest there is a need to functionally assess how the 28S rRNA variants affect ribosome functions, which could in turn help lead to more targeted therapies for cancer or other diseases, Laiho says.

Explore further On building ribossomes

More information: Wenjun Fan et al, Widespread genetic heterogeneity of human ribosomal RNA genes, RNA (2022). Wenjun Fan et al, Widespread genetic heterogeneity of human ribosomal RNA genes,(2022). DOI: 10.1261/rna.078925.121
A guinea worm extraction procedure on a child in Ghana. According to the WHO, Guinea worm disease is not usually fatal, but people suffering from it become non-functional for weeks and months. Credit: Mary Glenshaw/CDC

The number of human cases of Guinea worm disease halved in 2021 to a record low of 14, putting the goal of global eradication in sight, the US-based Carter Center has announced.

The parasitic disease is caused by consumption of water contaminated with water fleas, known as copepods, which carry the larvae of the parasite. It affects people in remote and deprived communities who rely on open stagnant water sources such as ponds for drinking.

Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander said eradication was "an approaching reality" thanks to successful interventions by national health ministries, but added: "We need to keep pressing to the finish line."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Guinea worm disease is not usually fatal, but people suffering from it become "non-functional" for weeks and months.

There is no vaccine or medicine for the disease, however community-based interventions, such as teaching people to filter drinking water, have led to significant reductions in recent years, despite the onset of COVID-19, according to the non-profit Carter Center.

Adam Weiss, director of the Carter Center's Guinea worm eradication program, told SciDev.Net: "In the face of a global pandemic, volunteers and local staff carried out household visits to provide health education, distribute filters, and protect water sources from being contaminated.

"In addition, the most endemic country, Chad, began limiting the movement of domestic dogs, which was an intervention developed in Ethiopia."

Chad reported just seven human cases of Guinea worm disease in 2021down from 12 the previous year, according to provisional figures from the charity.

Four cases were reported in South Sudan, two in Mali, and one in Ethiopia, while Angola and Cameroon, which each had one human case in 2020, had none in 2021.

In the same period, animal cases of the disease fell by 45 percent. The majority of animals affected were in Chad, which reported 855 cases, mostly in dogs.

The update by the Carter Center coincided with World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day on 30 January. It comes after the WHO said earlier this month that the disease was on the verge of eradication.

Guinea worm disease, or Dracunculiasis, is classed as a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) and is caused by a parasite called Dracunculus medinensis.

When the larvae enter the body, they mature and mate. "After about a year, a meter-long female worm emerges slowly through an excruciatingly painful blister in the skin, often of the legs or feet," the Carter Center says.

"A sufferer may seek relief by dipping the affected limb in water. However, contact with water stimulates the emerging worm to release its larvae into the water and start the process all over again."

In the mid-1980s, the disease was endemic in 20 countries, with an estimated 3.5 million annual cases (17 in Africa and three in Asia).

The Carter Center, founded by former American president Jimmy Carter, took up a global campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease in 1986, working in collaboration with national programs, the WHO, UNICEF, and other partners.

Ifeanyi Nsofor, senior vice-president for Africa at the Human Health Education and Research Foundation, said the achievements were "commendable," but added: "It is quite disheartening that this disease still affects poor communities."

He said increased advocacy and investment were needed to raise Guinea worm disease and other NTDs on the global health agenda and achieve full eradication.

"The continued reduction in Guinea worm cases globally reinforces that social determinants of health such as provision of clean water and improvements in sanitation are very crucial[for the] prevention of infectious diseases," he added.

Smallpox is the only disease affecting humans ever to have been eradicated, in 1980. For a disease to be declared eradicated, every country in the world must be certified free of human and animal infection, even if no transmission has taken place there.

Isaac Olufadewa, executive director of the Slum and Rural Health Initiative in Nigeria, said there was a need to "leverage more offline and online innovative technologies."

Explore further Debilitating human parasite transmitted via dogs eating fish

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The healthcare costs of female genital mutilation, or FGM for short, are set to almost double to an annual $US 2.1 billion by 2047, unless the practice is abandoned completely, reveals a World Health Organization modeling study, based on 27 countries and published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.

Without sustained intervention, the numbers of women and girls affected will follow population growth trends, rising to an estimated 205.8 million a year by then in these countriesup from 119.4 million in 2018suggest the projections.

The findings come ahead of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on February 6, an annual day designated by the UN General Assembly in 2012 to hasten the end of this practice.

Globally, 200 million women and girls alive today are estimated to have been affected by FGM, which is recognized as a clear violation of human rights and an extreme form of gender discrimination.

The immediate health risks include heavy bleeding, shock, extreme pain, genital swelling, infections, urinary complications and poor wound healing. Longer term consequences can include reproductive system complications, sexual dysfunction, and psychological harms.

Abandonment of the practice by 2030 is included in target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, agreed by the UN General Assembly in 2015. But progress against this target is variable, and few studies have looked at the financial toll FGM takes, while those that have, have focused on the associated obstetric costs.

The researchers therefore wanted to estimate the economic toll of FGM in 27 countries where the practice is common to include a broader range of health issues over the lifespan, with the aim of bolstering initiatives to eliminate the practice.

Benin; Burkina Faso; Central African Republic; Cote d'Ivoire; Cameroon; Chad; Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Ghana; Guinea; Gambia; Guinea-Bissau; Iraq; Kenya; Mali; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Sudan; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; Togo; United Republic of Tanzania; and Yemen were included in the analysis; three others were excluded because the data required weren't available.

The researchers estimated the annual risk of FGM from data recorded in the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) or Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) for each country.

And they drew on fertility rates and population data to work out the age structures over a period of 30 years from 2018, so that they could project the risks of health complications from childhood through to later life.

They then estimated the costs of caring for, and treating these, complications, plus the savings to be made were FGM to be fully or partially eliminated in each of the 27 countries.

Their analyses indicated that if current trends continue, the prevalence of FGM would follow projected population growth, rising substantially from 119.4 million cases in 2018 to 205.8 million cases by 2047 in these countries.

Halving the number of new childhood cases of FGM wouldn't reduce the total number of prevalent cases over time. These would still be expected to number 154.5 million by 2047 across the 27 countries; but abandoning the practice completely would reduce the number to 80 million.

Each prevalent case is associated with increased healthcare use. And based on current trends, annual healthcare costs are projected to increase steadily, rising from around US$1.4 billion in 2018 to over US$2.1 billion in 2047, estimate the researchers.

Halving the number of new cases would slow the rise in healthcare costs to US$1.7 billion a year by 2047. But stopping FGM altogether would gradually reduce these costs to US$0.8 billion by 2047, they estimate.

The researchers acknowledge some limitations to their study: detailed figures on actual healthcare costs attributable to FGM weren't available for each country; many women and girls who have been subjected to FGM won't seek medical treatment; and not all of the included countries will routinely diagnose or provide care for the health issues associated with the practice.

Nor is the picture uniform across the 27 nations: FGM prevalence is declining in some, while in others it is stable, and in yet others, it is increasing.

But the researchers point out that their study focused on healthcare costs, so their projections are unlikely to represent the full scale of the economic, societal, and personal impact of FGM.

"As such, this work presents a highly conservative estimate of the total burden of FGM on individuals and society," they write.

"The practice violates human rights, causes significant suffering and negative impacts on women's health in the short and long term, and should be abandoned for these reasons alone," they insist.

"Demonstrating that it also increases economic costs to society and women and that these costs will increase over time is yet another reason to accelerate efforts to abandon this harmful practice," they add, concluding: "The findings of this study warrant increased political commitment and investment in the abandonment of FGM."

Explore further 200 million girls and women living with FGM: UNICEF

More information: Economic burden of female genital mutilation in 27 high-prevalence countries, BMJ Global Health, DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004512 Journal information: BMJ Global Health Economic burden of female genital mutilation in 27 high-prevalence countries,
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Arguments known to come from the alcohol industry are being put forward by World Trade Organization (WTO) representatives to discourage countries from implementing alcohol health warning labels, according to a qualitative study published in The Lancet Global Health journal. The study also found that a vast majority of WTO representatives' comments on these policies were not explicitly referenced as industry demands, despite featuring arguments commonly raised by industry elsewhere, highlighting the need for greater transparency.

Alcohol consumption is a substantial and growing contributor to ill health and premature mortality worldwide, with 2018 WHO estimates suggesting that alcohol was responsible for 14% of global deaths in people aged 20 to 39 years old. Alcohol control policies, such as health warning labels on alcohol products, are a key tool that governments worldwide can use to tackle the harmful use of alcohol. However, there is evidence that the alcohol industry has played a major role in stalling effective policy implementation in domestic debates, but little is known about its influence in global forums.

This study looks at the influence of the alcohol industry in the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee at the WTO, which governs the international trade agreement that prohibits its members from implementing unnecessary obstacles to international trade, while recognising the protection of public health as a legitimate policy objective. Member states can challenge policies proposed by other governments in this forum, potentially resulting in policies being delayed, modified, or abandoned due to fears of legal action. Previous research has indicated that the tobacco, food, and pharmaceutical industries have lobbied national governments to challenge health policies in this forum to prevent or stall effective policy measures being implemented by other countries.

Dr. Pepita Barlow, LSE, UK, says, "Our study indicates that the World Trade Organization's Technical Barriers to Trade Committee is a key international forum for alcohol industry influence over policy on a global scale. At WTO, country representatives frequently repeat biased arguments used by industry to disseminate doubt about the harms of alcohol consumption and downplaying the nature and causes of alcohol-related health problemstactics similar to those used by tobacco companies to stall effective health policies on their products. Increasing transparency over vested interests in international trade fora and curbing the alcohol industry's influence is essential to accelerate global alcohol policy implementation and reduce the harmful use of alcohol."

The authors examined discussions related to proposed alcohol labelling policies at the TBT Committee from 1995 to 2019. Ten policies on stricter alcohol labelling were put forward by Thailand, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Israel, Turkey, Mexico, India, South Africa, Ireland, and South Korea. Member statements responding to the proposed policies were analysed and compared against a list of arguments regularly advanced by the alcohol industry in domestic policy debates. The authors noted which arguments appeared in their statements and where they were attributed to industry demands.

Eight policy positions and nine tactics for countering interventions were identified as commonly used arguments by the alcohol industry in domestic policy debates. Discussions around the ten proposed alcohol labelling policies in the WTO TBT Committee featured 10 out of 17 of these arguments but they were rarely attributed to industry. 55% (117/212) of member statements included arguments identified as coming from the alcohol industry; while only 3% (7/212) explicitly stated they represented industry interests.

In 22% (46/212) of statements, WTO members used arguments advanced by the industry that deflect attention from and minimise alcohol-related harms. This included reframing alcohol-related problems in ways that downplayed the need for intervention. For example, instead of acknowledging health harms to the whole population, alcohol-related harms were described as arising from excessive or problem drinking, or only applying to certain settings, such as underage, drink driving, or pregnancy. Meanwhile, moderate drinking was portrayed as having beneficial effects.

Claims that labelling policies were unduly burdensome on industry and manufacturers appeared in 27% (57/212) of statements. Although the trade impacts of a measure fall under the remit of the Committee, WTO representatives used specific claims that had come from the alcohol industry to elaborate on these costs. For example, to Ireland, Australia stressed the negative impacts to business due to "the cost involved in developing bespoke labels."

In 20% (42/212) statements, the scientific evidence behind policies and alcohol-related harms were thrown into question. This included trade representatives asking for access to the evidence behind the policy, questioning the quality of evidence, and promoting the ideal of evidence-based policyall whilst using the evidence selectively. For example, Mexico challenged South Korea's proposed labelling policy by arguing that there was "no scientific evidence" to support the claim that "alcohol is carcinogenic", despite substantial scientific evidence to the contrary.

Suggestions to pursue alternative policies addressing alcohol-related harm were present in 7% (15/212) of statements, including policies that do not directly regulate products, such as information and awareness campaigns. For example, the EU urged Kenya to reconsider proposals because "education and information activities seemed to be appropriate means to address the public health objective pursued".

While the TBT Agreement recognises the protection of public health as a legitimate policy objective, the authors conclude from their analysis that the forum may currently prioritise trade over health interests. Acknowledging that industry influence in the TBT may be direct or indirect, they suggest various measures to counteract this.

Dr. Barlow continues, "At a minimum, World Trade Organization members need to be more transparent when they are representing the vested interests of the alcohol industry at policy meetings. To thoroughly counterbalance industry influence in this forum, government public health departments and WHO must be given opportunities to put forward their health expertise when health-related policies are being discussed. Additionally, both health and trade officials need to be equipped to counteract industry pressure."

The authors note some limitations of their analysis. They were unable to look at what happened to policies after being discussed at TBT Committee meetings, and so were unable to determine whether industry influence was effective in preventing, delaying, or weakening domestic policy implementation. In addition, they did not examine the responses to industry arguments, or the interactions between meeting participants. They acknowledge that this is an important direction for future research, as it could provide suggestions for effective ways to counteract industry arguments.

Writing in a linked Comment, lead author, Dr. Maristela G Monteiro, PAHO, U.S., (who was not involved in the study), says, "The key message from the paper, along with the real-world implications, is that key stakeholders in public health need to stop the ability of the alcohol industry to do what they are doing. Governments can unite to develop binding regulations for alcohol corporations, and clear rules to prevent vested interests having an influence on the development, adoption, and implementation of alcohol policies to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. Although alcohol health warning labels are only a small part of public health measures needed to protect consumers from alcohol-related risks, it should be unacceptable to have health warnings that serve only those who cause harms and blame the individual for their choices."

Explore further Alcohol industry resists prioritising health over profits, research finds

More information: Pepita Barlow et al, Industry influence over global alcohol policies via the World Trade Organization: a qualitative analysis of discussions on alcohol health warning labelling, 201019, The Lancet Global Health (2022). Journal information: The Lancet Global Health Pepita Barlow et al, Industry influence over global alcohol policies via the World Trade Organization: a qualitative analysis of discussions on alcohol health warning labelling, 201019,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00570-2
The U.S.-Taliban agreement obliges the Taliban to sever ties with al Qaeda and other Central Asian terrorist groups. Nevertheless, Central Asian Salafi-Jihadi groups celebrate the deal as a victory. The Talibans relationship with these groups will likely continue to develop in secret, and Central Asian regimes must seriously prepare for a new redistribution of power and resources in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

BACKGROUND: Central Asian Salafi-Jihadi groups, backed by Al-Qaeda, were encouraged by the U.S.-Taliban agreement signed in February 2020. Uzbek groups including Katibat Imam al-Bukhari (KIB), Katibat Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ), and the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), along with Tajik Jamaat Ansarullah (JA) and the Uighur fighters of Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) from Chinas Xinjiang region, have expressed clear opinions about the deal through their respective Telegram accounts. The groups have either hailed the agreement or dedicated emotional eulogies to the Taliban.

The KIB, formed primarily by Uzbek, Tajik and Kyrgyz militants from the Fergana Valley, was one of the first Jihadi groups to congratulate the Taliban, denominating the deal as a great victory of the Islamic Ummah. In his congratulatory letter to the Taliban on February 29, KIB leader Abu Yusuf Muhajir labelled it a humiliation, disgrace, and failure of the crusade of U.S. and NATO forces. Abu Yusuf proceeded to praise the former Taliban amir Mullah Mohammed Omar, describing him as steadfast against the Americans. He also congratulated the Islamic Ummah on the Taliban victory and attached a poem, My Dear Taliban, to his letter.

The KTJ group, which swore allegiance to al Qaeda in 2015, enthusiastically praised the Taliban successes. On March 15, the KTJ threatened the Central Asian states via its Telegram account Mujahideen of Sham. Its members reacted furiously to Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, who during the signing ceremony of the U.S.-Taliban agreement in Doha stated that Uzbekistan would not interfere with the internal affairs of the Taliban. KTJ mocked the top Uzbek diplomat by calling him Tahgut [A Quranic term referring to those who rebel against Allah and transgress his will] and threatened the current Central Asian regimes. KTJ also honored the deputy Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, emphasizing that in 2010, he was in Karachi prison as a terrorist and in 2020, he signed an agreement on the surrender of America. KTJ continued to state that America humiliatingly acknowledged its defeat by the lions of Islam and this victory came at the behest of Allah, who subordinated the chief Shaitan [evil spirit in Islamic belief] to Mujahideen [holy warriors].

The Uighur TIP also praised the Taliban victory and described the Afghan government as traitors over its radio Voice of Islam, posted on the Muhsinlar.net website on March 7.

IMPLICATIONS: The U.S.-Taliban agreement sharply raised the morale of Central Asian Salafi-Jihadi groups. They did not hide their cheery emotions on social media, posting gushing praises for the Taliban along with Takbir [Allah is greater].

The reason for the delight among Central Asian Salafi-Jihadi groups is that they have long-term and close ties with both the Taliban and al Qaeda. They are united in their aim to establish an Islamic government in Central Asia and Chinas Xinjiang region, which would be governed by Sharia law.

This structure has a historical background, which should not be underestimated. Many Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz and Uighur extremists, targeted by government forces in their homelands, were forced to flee and found refuge in Afghanistan during the Talibans rule from 1996 until 2001. The ideological views of the Central Asian Muhajireen [foreign fighters] were formed and refined under the influence of al Qaeda and the Taliban. This conception was crucial in determining the later fate of the Taliban, when the U.S.-led invasion toppled its regime for providing refuge to al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden. The Central Asian jihadists became deeply integrated into the ranks of al Qaeda, which today has become the Taliban's Achilles heel in its relations with Washington.

The agreement obliges the Taliban to sever ties with al Qaeda and other Central Asian terrorist groups and refusing them the possibility to threaten the security of the U.S. and its allies using Afghan soil. However, the agreement lacks specified mechanisms, timelines or demands for evidence for breaking the Talibans ties with al Qaeda.

Judging by their reactions, the Central Asian jihadists are not at all concerned over the Talibans commitment to sever contacts with themselves and al Qaeda. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Talibans return to power and the establishment of an Islamic Emirate based on Sharia law, was a long-awaited dream for these groups.

Among the Salafi-Jihadi movements of the post-Soviet area, the Uzbek KIB is closest to the Taliban regarding its ideological views on jihad and Sharia policy. The KIB openly identifies itself as an integral part of the Taliban, having publicly sworn allegiance [Bayat] to the latter in 2014. The group officially refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan  Katibat Imam al Bukhari. It has the same emblem as the Taliban and operates in both Afghanistan and Syria. The Taliban and Sirajuddin Haqqani, one of the Talibans top deputies and leader of the powerful al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network, were instrumental in deploying KIB to Syria from Afghanistan. The U.S. State Department designated KIB to the list of global terrorist organizations affiliated with al Qaeda on March 22, 2018, whereas the UN Security Council has expressed particular concern that KIB leaders view Afghanistan as a new staging ground to project attacks against neighboring Central Asian countries.

The al Qaeda-affiliated TIP and the Taliban have a long and trusting relationship based on the general principles of Jihad. According to the UN Security Council, the ETIM/TIPs leadership and Uighur militants remain present in Afghanistan. The TIPs emir, Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, who is a steadfast brother in arms of Ayman al-Zawahiri and Haibatullah Akhunzada, periodically claims his unfailing allegiance to both al Qaeda and the Taliban. As the TIPs top leader, who was even appointed a member of al Qaedas elite Shura Council in 2005, he has sought to maintain the unity of Sunni Salafi-Jihadi groups under the leadership of the Taliban.

IJU, KTJ and IMU also fight under the auspices of the Taliban in Afghanistan. According to the UN Security Council, IMU is now integrated into Taliban forces operating in the Provinces of Faryab and Zabul, while IJU, led by Ilimbek Mamatov, is operating primarily in the Afghan Provinces of Badakhshan, Sari Pul and Takhar. Almost all of the Central Asian terrorist groups in Afghanistan have reported via their Telegram channels that they participated in the Talibans Al-Fath Jihadi Operations last year.

CONCLUSIONS: The U.S. legitimization of the Taliban by concluding the peace deal will force the five Central Asian governments to build bridges with the Taliban. Prior to this, only Uzbekistan had informal contacts with the Taliban, organizing an Afghanistan peace conference in March 2018 in Tashkent.

Central Asian governments are aware that the Taliban will control Afghanistan in the future. For them, the main security challenge is al Qaeda-linked Central Asian Salafi-Jihadi groups and the remnants of the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) operating in Afghanistan. KIB and IJU have used the U.S.-Taliban deal to recruit new militants from Central Asia.

The Taliban factor could also provide inspiration and a morale boost to underground radical Islamists inside Central Asia and encourage them to raise arms against secular regimes. If the Taliban comes to power in the future and establishes Sharia rule in Afghanistan, this could increase the activity of the Islamic opposition in the five countries to the north.

There should be no illusions that the Taliban will abandon al Qaeda and Central Asian Salafi-Jihadi groups closely aligned with the Bayat easily or quickly. Moreover, the Taliban has a fragmented and networked structure, within which many local armed leaders respect the relationship with Central Asian Muhajireen. Therefore, their relationship will expectedly continue to develop in secret, in order not to provoke the United States. Central Asian regimes must seriously prepare for a new redistribution of power and resources in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of U.S. troops, which could be accompanied by hostilities felt far beyond Afghanistans borders, for several years to come.

AUTHOR'S BIO:

Uran Botobekov, PhD, is an expert on Political Islam and the author of Anatomy of Central Asian Salafi groups, (Modern Diplomacy, 2019).

Image Source: The United States Army accessed on 6/3/20
Figure 1: The Derm.AI mobile app photographs suspicious patches on the skin with precisely defined and standardized settings. Credit: Fraunhofer AICOS

When skin cancer is detected early, there is a good chance of recovery. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a digital solution to significantly speed-up diagnosis. A mobile application assists in recording skin lesions and sends these to dermatology departments in hospitals. Using AI and image analysis, the software analyzes the risk of skin cancer, aiding the dermatologist with prioritizing their analyses.

Skin cancer is a particularly deceptive form of cancer. In the early stages, it looks very much like a harmless mole or birthmark and doesn't cause any pain. According to data from the German Cancer Society, more than 200,000 people suffer from skin cancer every year in Germany. In 2017 alone, 3,764 people died from it. One of the most serious types of skin cancer is malignant melanoma, which is most frequently caused by exposure to the sun's UV rays.

But, if caught in time, even melanoma is very likely to be cured. The survival rate is more than 95% after five years, which means that early diagnosis and prevention are even more crucial. The Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions (AICOS) in Porto and Lisbon has developed a solution to accelerate early recognition. The Derm.AI solution combines smartphone photos of the skin lesion with image-analysis software and artificial intelligence. It provides a swift, first assessment of potentially dangerous changes in the surface of the skin. Dermatologists can access this decision support platform and analyze the cases with increased risk of skin cancer first. The Derm.AI solution aims to improve the existing Teledermatology processes in the Portuguese National Health System.

"In recent years, GPs have been increasingly concerned with spotting skin cancer early. People who notice dark spots or other perceptible changes to their skin need clarity quickly. But in regions with few specialists, it often takes a long time to get an appointment for the initial assessment. Often patients also have to travel long distances for these appointments, too. This is where our Derm.AI solution comes in," says Maria Vasconcelos, Senior Scientist at Fraunhofer AICOS.

Standardized photos with a smartphone

The first step is for the GP to photograph the potential problem area on the skin with a smartphone. The Fraunhofer team developed a special app just for this purpose that runs on both iPhones and Android smartphones. The app ensures that the photos are correctly aligned, taken at the right distance and have the correct resolution. The app takes two photos: one close-up of the suspicious area and one from further away to show the area in context. It also helps to correctly align and position the camera. This creates standardized photos with consistent settings for resolution, color, brightness and contrast. "The standardized shots are easy to compare and can be reliably analyzed by specialists," Vasconcelos explains.

Image analysis with AI

The images obtained at the GP's practice are then sent via the internet to the dermatology department of a hospital. This is where the artificial intelligence software comes into play. It analyzes the photos of the skin lesion, compares them to reference data and the data of other patients and provides a risk assessment. The lesion in question is labeled as "normal," "priority" or "high priority." This is not yet a formal diagnosis, it is simply a first assessment which helps prioritize the order in which the potential cases are examined. The doctors can prioritize examining the cases which the AI software has indicated have a high risk, as these need to be quickly confirmed or clarified. "The software doesn't make a decision; it simply provides a pre-selection based on probability. The actual examination and diagnosis are still in the hands of the dermatologists or skin-cancer specialists," Vasconcelos explains.

Figure 2: DermAI integration with teledermatology processes from National Health Service. Credit: Fraunhofer AICOS

After the images are analyzed, along with the patient data such as age, gender or previous conditions, the dermatologist at the hospital can either provide feedback to the GP responsible for the patient via teleconsultation or schedule a presential consultation with the patient.

Suspected cases need to be examined on-site

In more dubious cases regarding the risk level of the skin lesion, the dermatological specialists book an in-person appointment. In this appointment, they will, for example, examine the patch of skin under a reflected-light microscope or take tissue samples for analysis by means of biopsy.

Around 80% of the cases in which patients present themselves at the GP's practice with a suspicious change in their skin prove to be harmless moles or birthmarks, after image analysis and consultation between the doctor and the dermatologist. This enables GPs to quickly give patients the all-clear, saving them long periods of waiting and an often-long journey to a hospital appointment.

For patients whose skin changes are not clearly identifiable as harmless or for those which indicate a less dangerous form of skin cancer, the GP asks the patient to return, for example in three months, and have another photo taken of the area.

Deep-learning software

During the Derm.AI project, the AICOS researcher and her team developed the algorithm for the image-analysis software. The deep-learning software was fed with image data and information from around 4000 cases. The algorithm also utilized the expert knowledge of dermatologists in the subsequent prioritization. "We had a lot of discussions with GP and dermatologists to really understand what they need. We have received very good feedback from doctors for Derm.AI," Vasconcelos is pleased to announce.

The project was developed in partnership with Shared Services of the Ministry of Health and clinical partners IPO Coimbra, CHUP, and ULS Guarda. The AICOS researchers are currently analyzing the results from the usage of the mobile app and working on further refining the deep-learning model for the software.

Explore further One key question can help spot skin cancer
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Australia has launched a new online tool to assess whether individual pets can safely be accommodated in aged care homes, easing the stress for many older people moving into residential care.

A team of academics, veterinarians, health and consumer representatives has devised a process to assess different risks for both people and pets, focusing on dogs, cats, small mammals, birds, and fish.

Project leader, University of South Australia pet researcher Dr. Janette Young, says the tool assesses a wide range of risks, including allergies, bites/scratches, falls, transmission of diseases and animal stress.

"We want to support older people to keep their pets at an extremely stressful life stage and also reduce the number of pets who become homeless or need to be euthanised when their owner is no longer able to live independently," Dr. Young says.

"But we need to do this in a responsible way, ensuring the safety and health of both animals and people is paramount."

The Companion Animal Multi-Species Risk Management Tool (CAMSRMT) documents three main risks: from humans to animals and vice versa, and risks from animals to animals.

Levels of risks for individual species are rated high to low, assuming pets will be kept in their owners' rooms, or on a leash when outside or in a communal setting.

Credit: University of South Australia

"Good hygiene is essential, and most risks can be managed in an aged care home if scrupulous cleaning practices are followed," Dr. Young says.

"However, there are other considerations, including the likelihood of an animal causing a fall or biting/scratching a resident, and human allergies to different species.

"Some people fear animals in general or just don't like them. Others have a history of mistreating animals. We have to consider a whole range of risks in an aged care home."

Veterinarian advice includes assessing the risks of residents inappropriately or over feeding pets, animals gaining access to residents' medication and even the possibility of animals being injured by other pets on the premises.

Although considered low risk, there is also the possibility of disease and infections spreading from humans to pets (rabies, anthrax) and vice versa.

The tool proposes steps to address all these risks, including the following:

Individual care plans for pets, noting staff and resident animal allergies or fears, and pet alert signs;

Veterinarian checks pre-admission for health and behavior;

Assessing how pets should be kept or moved around the premises;

Maintenance of an infection control program and a pet care plan;

Processes for managing pet medication;

Regular cleaning of litter and cages;

Microchipping or identification tags

"Dogs and cats will have different risks compared to rabbits, birds and fish so we have developed scenarios for each species," Dr. Young says.

"The tool is not about guaranteeing that people can bring their loved pets into aged care; this may not be the best option in the end for people or their pets. However, it enables people to work through this as a realistic option and gives advice and tips on how to make this more likely."

Although developed in Australia, the project was funded by the Society for Companion Animal Studies in the UK and is intended to be used worldwide.

Explore further COVID vaccinations for pets still not recommended, according to veterinarian

More information: More information about the tool can be found at More information about the tool can be found at www.scas.org.uk/home/scas-funded-projects/
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Analysis of social media posts in January 2022 has revealed new insights into stresses on the health system and health workers, the need for fairness and clarity around rules and regulations, and the impact of uncertainty around the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

The TIGER C19 projectTimely Integration of user-GEnerated Responses to C19run collaboratively between Burnet Institute and the University of Melbournehas combined big data analytics of selected keywords and themes from Reddit and Twitter ever since the onset of COVID-19.

TIGER C19 Co-Lead Investigator, Professor Robert Power AM, and his team, collated and analyzed nearly 30,000 Twitter and Reddit posts from 6 and 7 January which contained six separate keywords relating to current COVID-19-related issues.

"There's always been concern around the impact on the health system, but omicron has put health system workers under enormous pressure," Professor Power said.

"This is coming through very clearly in the social media posts with numerous accounts of burnout, of stress, of workers forced to isolate or being COVID-positive themselves."

Professor Power said the Novak Djokovic case evoked a strong response on social media around fairness, clarity and adherence to rules.

"The Djokovic case illustrated that if people don't see that rules are being upheld or being fair across all sectors of society, people are going to begin to doubt their own adherence to the rules," he said.

"There was a call for clarity around COVID rules, how they're adhered to and how they're applied, and the need for clear messaging from both the public health sector and from politicians.

Professor Power said that latest data also provided important insights into the 'shadow lockdown' and barriers to forward planning.

"There is this general sense of wariness, as well as weariness, resulting from the Omicron outbreak. People have become introspective and very circumspect regarding traveling and how they spend time outside of the home.

"Our previous TIGER C19 surveys highlighted a real hope from media posts that we could open up again. Now many people are holding back and it's having a real impact on small businesses, as reports from the current crop of posts and reposts illustrate.

"Social media posts expressed worry that this is not going to be over quickly, and that makes it difficult for people to plan ahead.

"And with uncertainty about the future, there's an increasing number of narratives around the psychological impact of the pandemic on individualsthat's something that came through strongly this time."

Professor Power emphasized that TIGER C19 analysis is a powerful tool to explore social media trends in real-time, with potential and value to inform policy and public health messaging.

"TIGER C19 is a vibrant tool that turns an average of 80,000 posts/reposts into a focused two to three-page report in a matter of days," he said.

"By repeating these exercises in real-time, and by expanding the search terms, we've been able to closely monitor responses and attitudes to COVID-19 in Victoria and Australia.

"In this way and freed from the constraints of more traditional social research methods, TIGER C19 offers a novel and innovative means to observe and measure responses to COVID, and indeed, other relevant public health issues."

As Professor Power put it: "TIGER C19 has its paw on the pulse of community sensibilities, concerns and aspirations."

Explore further Social media analysis shows support for public health measures

More information: The report is available online: The report is available online: burnet.edu.au/system/asset/fil  19_2022_Report_1.pdf
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

In one of the first studies to examine the link between neighborhood characteristics and weight gain during pregnancy, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researchers find that pregnant people who live in walkable neighborhoods in New York City have lower odds of excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) than those who live elsewhere in the city. They also found that living in a neighborhood with high rates of poverty increased the odds of excessive GWG. The findings are published in the journal Obesity.

Excessive or inadequate weight gain during pregnancy poses numerous health risks for both pregnant individuals and children. Excessive GWG is associated with a higher risk of pregnancy complications, including pregnancy-related hypertension and greater long-term postpartum weight retention. Excessive GWG is also associated with the risk for childhood asthma and obesity. Earlier research by Columbia Mailman researchers found that GWG was linked with a three-fold increased risk of childhood obesity at age 7 and excessive maternal weight gain.

Neighborhood walkability refers to urban form characteristics that support and favor walking and is defined by criteria including population density, land-use mix, density of public transit infrastructure, and street connectivity. Residents of walkable neighborhoods have been shown to engage in more walking, greater overall physical activity, and to have lower body mass index (BMI). Walkable neighborhoods are associated with better control of blood sugar among people with Type II diabetes. The most walkable areas of New York City include Battery Park City, Greenwich Village, NoHo, SoHo, Little Italy, and the West Village (Manhattan CBs 1 and 2). The least walkable areas include neighborhoods in eastern Queens and parts of Staten Island (Queens CB13 and Staten Island CB2).

"Given the long-lasting benefits of healthy pregnancies for parental and child health, this research provides further impetus for the use of urban design and poverty reduction to support healthy weight and reduce the risk of excessive gestational weight gain and related health risks," says the study's first author, Eliza Kinsey, Ph.D., formerly a postdoctoral research scientist in the Department of Epidemiology, now an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

The current study was conducted in partnership with researchers at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Bureau of Vital Statistics and used de-identified birth record data for the year 2015 to examine neighborhood-level influences on GWG. Using medical record data, the DOHMH compiles data on all live births in the city, including basic health and demographic information for the pregnant individual and birth outcome statistics (e.g., birth weight, gestational age).

Among the sample of 106,285 births, 42 percent of the pregnant individuals experienced excessive GWG, and 26 percent had inadequate GWG. Pregnant people living in neighborhoods ranking among the poorest quarter of the city had an additional 17 percent greater odds of excessive GWG. Pregnant people living in the top quarter of neighborhoods ranked for walkability had 13 percent lower odds of excessive GWG. These findings align with prior studies in New York City that have found that both neighborhood poverty and walkability predict BMI in the general population.

Adjustment for pre-pregnancy BMI attenuated the association between neighborhood poverty and excessive GWG but had little impact on the association between neighborhood walkability and excessive GWG.

Senior author Andrew Rundle, DrPH, professor of epidemiology, noted, "Neighborhood walkability is likely associated with GWG due to differences in behavior during pregnancy, presumably walking for exercise and daily activitiesnot solely by influences on pre-pregnancy BMI. A significant amount of the exercise pregnant people get comes from low-impact activities like walking. Making neighborhoods more walkable has a host of health benefits, both for those currently living there and future generations."

Co-authors of the current study include Elizabeth Widen, University of Texas at Austin; James Quinn, Columbia Mailman; Mary Huynh and Gretchen Van Wye, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Gina Lovasi, Drexel University, Philadelphia; and Kathryn Neckerman, Columbia University Population Research Center.

Explore further Living environment affects child's weight development from birth to school age

More information: Eliza W. Kinsey et al, Neighborhood walkability and poverty predict excessive gestational weight gain: A crosssectional study in New York City, Obesity (2022). Journal information: Obesity Eliza W. Kinsey et al, Neighborhood walkability and poverty predict excessive gestational weight gain: A crosssectional study in New York City,(2022). DOI: 10.1002/oby.23339
Greg Sestero not only acted in/survived one of the most beloved bad movies ever made, "The Room," but turned a bomb into a bestselling book, The Disaster Artist. He recounted his experience filming the movie and his friendship with director Tommy Wiseau, and it in turn was adapted into a good movie with James Franco.

Now Sestero has stepped into the director's seat with Miracle Valley, a new throwback horror movie that centers on a cult. He's presenting both "The Room" and his debut at The Roxy Theater for a double feature on Saturday, Feb. 5. He answered some questions about both projects via email.

Q: Some people might avoid talking about projects that didnt work out the way theyd hoped, yet youve done the opposite with the book and screenings like this one in Missoula.

IF YOU GO Greg Sestero will host a double feature at The Roxy Theater on Saturday, Feb. 5. "The Room" plays at 8 p.m., followed by his new movie, "Miracle Valley" at 10. For tickets, go to theroxytheater.org.

A: I could have never imagined that The Room would still be a phenomenon 20 years later. Initially, I didnt expect anyone to ever see the movie. Now after two decades, Ive come to appreciate all the joy and laughs it has brought people around the world. For me personally, it gave me a chance to write The Disaster Artist and put me back in touch with my passion for writing.

Q: How have your thoughts about the movie changed over time, and where are they now?

A: Ive only seen The Room around six times with a crowd over the years, so not many. It is such a great time with an audience. What has surprised me is how much the audience interaction with the film has evolved over the years. Its amazing to see so many new people attending live shows, and leaving exhilarated and baffled in the best way. Having now produced a few films of my own now, I admire The Rooms staying power and the support of the fans.

Q: Whats your favorite part of doing these screenings, and whats your favorite scene these days?

A: I enjoy going to new cities and meeting fellow movie lovers and sharing my latest work. I really enjoyed visiting Missoula and The Roxy Theater in 2019, doing the stage play. In fact, we even cast a local Missoula actor, Jesse Brenneman, in Miracle Valley.

These live events are such a communal experience and its interesting to hear how locals discovered The Room universe. Whether its igniting couples getting married or listening to The Disaster Artist audiobook on road trips, its always great to know your work is connecting with people.

As for my favorite scene, I think the Chris-R drug deal rooftop scene truly encapsulates the magic of The Room.

Q: With Miracle Valley, what spurred the move into directing?

A: Ive always been a big horror fan. With each new project I do, I want to challenge myself creatively. I wrote and produced Best Friends with Tommy Wiseau  which was released by Lionsgate in 2018. For Miracle Valley, I wanted to take on the challenge of writing and directing  as well as starring. Sound familiar? Less sex scenes of course. But the new movie has some fun twists and I thought it would be the perfect type of movie to try out directing.

Q: Cults are a natural fit for a horror/genre movie. Which ones did you research for the script?

A: I lived on a ranch in the Arizona desert while I scouted and wrote the script. Each day for inspiration, Id watch a few scenes from my favorite horror films: The Hills Have Eyes, Hereditary, Green Room, It Follows, Psycho, Dont Breathe. I researched the cult of Jim Jones, Helter Skelter, Wild Wild Country. Then I discovered a very obscure cult from the 1960s near Bisbee, Arizona. It revolved around a preacher who believed he could bring people back from the dead based on their blood types. I was sold.

Q: Youve appeared in a horror series and a horror spoof recently. For Miracle Valley, what were some of the touchstone movies and directors you looked to for inspiration?

A: I had a great time working on The Haunting of Bly Manor for Netflix. Its great to see such huge interest in the genre. Ive always been drawn to directors like John Carpenter and 1970s horror: Halloween, The Thing, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Race with the Devil.

Those films have an energy to them thats especially fun to experience with a crowd, as they have great moments of humor and suspense.

Q: In the press release, you mentioned that the film draws on your own experiences at the heart of one of the most inexplicable big-screen cults of all time. What are some of those aspects that crossed over into the script?

A: Cults are fascinating for many reasons. How does it all begin? Why? One of the aspects that crossed over into Miracle Valley is the larger-than-life cult figure. Every cult has that charismatic leader that draws people in, that makes you want to believe and follow  for whatever purpose. They tug at the void you didnt know you had or are hiding from.

Q: Filming during a pandemic mustve been complicated. How did the shoot go? (And did the production happen in so many places because of COVID, or did that go with the travel element in the story?)

A: Luckily, we filmed Miracle Valley in a very remote valley in Arizona. We had a fun dedicated group that bonded while making this film, and the film we were making is about isolation. I was thankful to have a creative challenge during that time and living out in such a beautiful valley was the perfect place to be during the pandemic. We even got to film at this amazing Frank Lloyd Wright designed location, thatll be a fun reveal in the film.

Q: How did it feel having creative control of a project from the script to the shoot, and do you plan on directing again or focusing on acting next?

A: I read a few interviews with Billy Wilder, one of my favorite filmmakers. What I learned is to follow the fun. Not every movie is going to be perfect. But the experience making it can be something you can have some control over. So we went out and had fun and made a movie we hope our fans will have a blast watching with their friends. And maybe start a cult 

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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A trio of new studies are confirming what millions of women already know: Reacting to your man's insecurities can have you pretending the sexual satisfaction you do not feel.

The more a woman thinks her partner's ego is fragile, the more likely she is to protect those feelings and fake orgasms -- and then be less satisfied with the sex they do have, researchers discovered.

"I was talking to one of the collaborators on this project, who hypothesized that men who were insecure in their masculinity would be less likely to ask for sexual feedback," said study author Jessica Jordan, a doctoral student at the University of South Florida. "And my immediate thought was, it doesn't matter, because if a woman senses her partner is insecure, she's never going to tell him the truth."

In the first study, the researchers found that women who made more money than their partners reported they were twice as likely as those with lower incomes to fake orgasms. This study surveyed 157 women anonymously, recruited from social media.

In the second study, if women thought their partner had "precarious manhood" more, this indirectly predicted that they would fake satisfaction, which actually led to lower satisfaction, greater anxiety and less honest communication. That study included 283 women.

For the third study, researchers asked 196 women to imagine a partner who was insecure. How did they react? They were less willing to provide honest communication about sex because of anxiety over their partner's anxiety.

This miscommunication is not the fault of either the man or woman involved, Jordan said. In present-day American culture, sexual skill is considered part of masculinity, Jordan said. So, positive feedback from a woman makes a man feel like they're masculine.

"And that's something that we want men to have in our culture, that society says men should be very masculine and men tend to feel, 'I should be masculine. I should be demonstrating my masculinity.' And so, women are helping men achieve that," Jordan said.

The cost to women is that if theyre not communicating honestly, that means less satisfaction for them.

"My advice would be in general for couples to start talking about needs, both sexual and non-sexual, early and often in a relationship," Jordan said. "And I think it's really helpful to open the door to these conversations before you start having sex in the first place, to say in the beginning, 'Hey, before we have sex, when we do have sex can we talk about how we're going to communicate our needs with each other?'"

The findings were published Jan. 31 in Social Psychological and Personality Science.

This communication issue may be rooted in the fact that people are attuned to their partner's needs and that this precarious masculinity can be thought of as a kind of anxiety, said Sarah DiMuccio, a masculinity researcher and senior research associate at Catalyst, a nonprofit organization working with women, minority groups and leadership roles at large companies. She was not involved in the study.

"A lack of communication is not good for any relationship and that's not just in the bedroom, but in any facet of a relationship," DiMuccio said. "But especially when it comes to sexual satisfaction, there's lots of research that shows that not communicating and not being on the same page on needs is really detrimental, and can really leave men feeling a wrong sense that things are going well and women feeling that things are not going well at all and that he's not noticing that."

This can easily seep into the rest of the relationship, DiMuccio said, so it's important for women to realize that most men who love them would actually like to be fulfilling their needs.

Jennifer Bosson, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida who was not involved in this study, also suggested that men may have a lot of anxiety about their manhood.

It makes perfect sense to me that female partners are aware of this anxiety that men have," Bosson said. "And so, because women are socialized to be caregivers and to be attentive to other people's emotions, it makes sense that women would, if they think their male partner has some underlying anxiety about his masculinity, that women might kind of empathically change their own behavior so as to avoid further threatening a man's masculinity."

Though culture and communication have evolved as a result of feminist and gender equality movements, some women might still find it difficult to communicate about sex, she noted.

"In any kind of intimate relationship, saying what you honestly mean as long as it's done kindly and respectfully is always the best strategy," Bosson said.

More information

The University of Minnesota has more on communication for a healthy relationship.

SOURCES: Jessica Jordan, MA, doctoral student, University of South Florida, Tampa; Sarah DiMuccio, PhD, senior research associate, Catalyst, New York City; Jennifer Bosson, PhD, professor, Department of Psychology, University of South Florida; Social Psychological and Personality Science, Jan. 31, 2022

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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The placenta was designed by nature to keep baby both nourished and safe. Now, research reveals how it protects the developing fetus from a new foe: The virus that causes COVID-19.

"The placenta is one of the few 'success stories' of the pandemic," said study co-author Dr. Elizabeth Taglauer, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine. "If we understand how the placenta is naturally protecting babies from COVID-19, this may provide important information for therapies and strategies to help prevent other SARS-CoV-2 infections from continuing to spread."

To learn why rates of transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy have been very low, she and her colleagues analyzed placentas from two groups of women who delivered at Boston Medical Center between July 2020 and April 2021.

One group had normal pregnancies with no report of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The others had active COVID-19 disease during pregnancy.

The researchers examined their placentas under the microscope and used genetic and protein analysis to compare placental expression of ACE-2, an enzyme that allows SARS-CoV-2 to enter cells.

The investigators found lower levels of ACE-2 in the placentas of women with COVID-19 during pregnancy.

"We think that when a woman has COVID-19 in pregnancy, the placenta is shedding off ACE-2 as a way to block SARS-CoV-2 from being passed to the fetus," Taglauer said in a university news release.

The findings were recently published online in the American Journal of Pathology. They extend beyond learning more about COVID-19 during pregnancy, the study authors said.

Since the placenta has many similarities with the lung, the findings show the importance of studying the placenta to help understand a variety of lung diseases. The researchers said they also highlight the need to control ACE-2 as a way to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19 and pregnancy.

SOURCE: Boston University School of Medicine, news release, Jan. 31, 2022

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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Many American teens and young adults underestimate the risk of sexually transmitted infections from unprotected oral sex, and that's especially true of young men, a new survey shows.

Doctors say oral sex can transmit herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer, and head and neck cancers.

While there is an HPV vaccine, it's not widely used among young men, the researchers noted.

"Youth deserve to know the facts about the risks of oral sex," said Dr. Tammy Chang, an associate professor of family medicine at Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan.

"It's not just about sexually transmitted infections, but also the risk for cancer later in life," said Chang, director of the MyVoice poll based at the university.

"Educating youth about the risks of oral sex today and making protection accessible and easy to use can begin to change the cultural norms around oral sex and save lives," she added in a university news release.

The text-based poll included more than 900 U.S. teens and young adults, average age 19, who were asked to rate how risky oral sex is on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the least risky.

Overall, 60% of participants rated unprotected oral sex at 1, 2 or 3, but young women were nearly twice as likely as young men to rate it as a 4 or 5, while young men were twice as likely to rate it as a 1 or 2.

Those who gave unprotected oral sex a low-risk rating mostly focused on the lack of pregnancy risk and a lower risk of transmitting a sexually transmitted infection, compared with unprotected vaginal sex.

Just over half (54%) of the survey participants believe their generation needs more education about the risks of oral sex, and how to reduce those risks by using protective barriers such as dental dams and condoms.

One in five also pointed out the need for more depictions or discussion of protection during oral sex in popular culture to normalize it, according to the findings.

The results were published in the January issue of Annals of Family Medicine.

More information

For more on oral sex and sexually transmitted infections, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCE: Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan, news release, Jan. 28, 2022

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On November 10, the second war in Nagorno-Karabakh ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire agreement signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia. While the 44-day war caused severe damages to frontline settlements and civilian casualties on both sides, frequent missile attacks carried out by Armenia towards Azerbaijani cities and infrastructure beyond the frontline raised concerns not only in Baku but also in the EU regarding the security of vitally important energy infrastructure. The possibility of damages to energy infrastructure, particularly the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline, would explicitly put the role of these pipelines in European energy security under question.

BACKGROUND: The Tovuz/Tavush incidents on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan in July 2020 became a prelude to the second war between Baku and Yerevan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. On September 27, 2020, fighting escalated beyond the established meeting point (Line of Contact) with the involvement of a significant number of military personnel, artillery units and long-range missiles, threatening the geopolitical stability in the Black Sea-Caspian region.

The war quickly increased the risks to energy infrastructure linking Caspian energy resources with major European markets, stirring concerns in Europe regarding the danger of disruptions to oil and gas exports from the Caspian basin and the security of energy-related infrastructure. For instance, British Petroleum (BP)  Azerbaijans largest foreign investor, stated it was deeply concerned after a reported missile attack on the countrys main crude export artery, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, on October 6. According to Azerbaijans Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, other pipelines were also targeted. However, none of the alleged incidents is believed to have disrupted supplies.

The critical transit energy infrastructure includes two oil pipelines connecting oil-producing fields in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea to the Georgian Black Sea port of Supsa and the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Thus, damages to energy pipelines leading to interrupted exports would harm not only energy producer Azerbaijan, but also transit (Georgia, Turkey) and consumer (EU) countries. Indeed, BP introduced increased security measures to its facilities in Azerbaijan following the missile attack. Nevertheless, pipelines are difficult military targets since they are buried underground and are protected by Azerbaijans advanced air defense systems.

IMPLICATIONS: The renewed fighting in Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan had critical long-term implications for the entire region, including Turkeys growing influence and its open support for Azerbaijan during the war, as well as the declining influence of the West. In contrast to Ankara, the EUs prolonged silence may have damaged its credibility and long-term partnership with official Baku. In this regard, the EU needs to reinforce it engagement with the South Caucasus and directly contribute to the regions stability.

The second Karabakh war surged only a month before the long-awaited Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) entered the operational phase. TAP, a crucial part of the Southern Gas Corridor, will transport 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year from Azerbaijans Shah Deniz II gas field to Greece, Albania and Italy, increasing the security and diversification of natural gas supplies to Europe. The new pipeline is of particular strategic importance to Europe, since it can also transfer natural gas from Central Asian in the future, thus linking this region to Western markets. This would seriously challenge the dominant position of Russias energy giant Gazprom on the European market.

Gazprom is already experiencing a reduction in in gas output and export volumes. According to the Russian Central Bank, the export of natural gas in 2020 fell to US$ 11.44 billion compared to US$ 18.65 billion in 2019. The export volume to Europe in 2019 was around 199 bcm, while Gazprom intended to export 170 bcm of natural gas in 2020. At the same time, the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) allowed Turkey to buy more Azerbaijani gas at a relatively better price, and therefore Turkeys gas imports via SGC increased by 24 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, while Russian gas export to Turkey rapidly decreased.

Although the volume of Azerbaijans natural gas exports will increase, the modest volumes of the SGC project are not sufficient to seriously compete with Gazprom as a leading energy supplier. For this, the project needs additional sources, like Turkmen natural gas. Moreover, the SGCs geopolitical dimension and its potential for future expansion have prompted a policy response from Moscow. Russia has pushed forward its own plans to bring further supplies to Turkey and South Eastern Europe, thus raising the competition for the SGC project.

However, Turkmenistans possible participation in the SGC project would drastically increase its importance for the European gas market. In this regard, a significant development after the end of hostilities was the end of the 30-year feud between Baku and Ashgabat over an offshore oil field located in the disputed area of the Caspian Sea. In mid-January 2021, Ashgabat and Baku agreed to joint development of the large field, now renamed Dostlug (Friendship). The signed Memorandum of Understanding highlighted the ongoing thaw in relations between the two Caspian littoral states. (See February 16, 2021 CACI Analyst)

This rapprochement between two main energy exporters has caused renewed optimism regarding another strategically important energy project  the Trans-Caspian natural gas pipeline, which could feed into the SGC. (See March 12, 2021 CACI Analyst) Azerbaijan seemingly intends to diversify its own energy diplomacy agenda in the post-war period, allowing it to allocate additional funds to invest in the construction of new pipelines and connections. For Baku, the end of the active phase of the conflict eliminated a threat to regional energy infrastructure and opened new opportunities to reinforce its position on the European energy markets by establishing a dialogue with Ashgabat. For Turkmenistan, the agreement with Baku signifies an opportunity to reorient part of its energy exports in the face of the countrys deepening economic stagnation and currency depreciation.

The Dostlug oil field (formerly Kapaz/Serdar) has been an apple of discord between the two countries since the 1990s. With the primary source of the dispute eliminated, Azerbaijan can now refocus on the long-awaited pipeline project, which would bring Baku additional transit revenues and allow it to boost its role in the diversification of Europes energy supply. A major increase in natural gas export (more than 10 bcm annually) to South-Eastern Europe would seriously increase the importance of Caspian energy as an alternative to Russias Gazprom. However, the new joint Dostlug field requires significant development of infrastructure to extract oil and gas for export.

CONCLUSIONS: The second Karabakh war resulted in a full victory for Azerbaijan and shifted the traditional balance of power in the South Caucasus. Turkeys political and economic influence is increasingly felt in the region whereas Russia still retains a strong footprint. However, the outcomes of the war have also allowed Azerbaijan to promote new regional infrastructure and transit projects via the new Nakhchivan corridor, and to reach an agreement unlocking the vitally important Dostlug field.

Azerbaijan has reinforced its foreign policy strategy of stressing the importance of Caspian resources for the West, and has gained more space for political maneuvering to avoid conflict with major powers. Azerbaijan can be expected to redouble its efforts to promote transit and energy-related projects to increase its image as reliable energy and transit partner.

AUTHOR'S BIO:

Fuad Shahbazov(@fuadshahbazov) is a Baku based Senior Research Analyst. He was a Research Fellow (2016-2018) at the former Center for Strategic Studies of Azerbaijan. In 2018, was a Visiting Scholar at the Washington D.C based Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security. He covers regional security and defense industry issues.

Image Source: Public Domain


WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- As the number of U.S. children with COVID-19 continues to surge, there are a number of things parents should know, a pediatric infectious disease expert says.

"What used to be the average number of children with COVID for the whole hospital is now the average just for the intensive care unit," said Dr. Jessica Ericson, of Penn State Health Childrens Hospital in Hershey, Pa.

"Back in October, we were seeing three to five children hospitalized at a time, and now we're averaging about 20 children at a time, with five in the ICU," Ericson said in a hospital news release.

For the week ending Jan. 27, more than 808,000 new cases in kids were reported in the United States, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Childrens Hospital Association. That's 18.6% of all U.S. cases.

And while the Jan. 27 number was down from a peak of 1.15 million the week before, child cases remained three times higher than the 2021 Delta peak.

Hospitalization is rising fastest among kids under age 4, who are too young to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In that age group, the rate in January was more than 4 in 100,000 children -- twice that reported a month ago and about three times the rate at this time last year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Three groups of children appear most susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to Ericson.

They include newborns whose immune systems are immature; children with high-risk medical conditions such as cancer or a genetic syndrome or who are too young to be vaccinated; and unvaccinated teens who are overweight or obese.

As in adults, vaccination offers significant protection to children, but just half of the nation's 12- to 18-year-olds and 16% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

"We are not seeing many vaccinated children needing hospitalization, even among those high-risk children," Ericson said.

She noted that between 2% and 5% of kids need to be admitted to the hospital for a COVID-related problem.

"You dont know if your child will end up being in that group or not," Ericson said. "Why not reduce that risk with a vaccine that's been proven safe and very effective at preventing serious illness and complications?"

That includes diabetes. A recent CDC study found that children and teens who had COVID are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes within the month after infection compared to kids who have not had the virus.

Ericson offered some advice for parents as they try to protect their children from COVID-19.

When your child is invited to a birthday party, playdate or new setting, ask yourself: Is this the right time for my child to go here? Base your decision on the answers to questions such as these: Does a vulnerable person live with us? Is the event outdoors? What precautions will be in place?

Familiarize yourself with school guidelines for quarantining and masking and decide if you want more protective measures for your child. The school policy is the minimum, and parents should feel free to make the best choice based on their child's symptoms and circumstances.

"Overall, I think it's useful for us to hold all our plans loosely," Ericson said. "Make plans, but if someone is ill or was exposed or you know people won't be wearing masks, change your plans and let your kids know you're doing your best to keep everyone as safe and healthy as you can."

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on COVID-19.

SOURCE: Penn State Medicine, news release, Jan. 27, 2022

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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Pfizer Inc. announced Tuesday that it has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize its two-dose COVID vaccine for emergency use in children under 5 while it continues to research the power of a third shot in these youngest Americans.

If the FDA grants the request, the two-shot regimen would become the first approved for use in children this young; older children are already eligible for the vaccine. In December, Pfizer suffered a setback when it announced that two doses of the vaccine, which are one-tenth the amount of an adult dose, did not produce a sufficient immune response in children aged 2 to 4. The company has already started testing a third dose for this age group.

As hospitalizations of children under 5 due to COVID-19 have soared, our mutual goal with the FDA is to prepare for future variant surges and provide parents with an option to help protect their children from this virus, Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, said in a company statement announcing the move.

Ultimately, we believe that three doses of the vaccine will be needed for children 6 months through 4 years of age to achieve high levels of protection against current and potential future variants," Bourla added. "If two doses are authorized, parents will have the opportunity to begin a COVID-19 vaccination series for their children while awaiting potential authorization of a third dose.

It is a strategy federal regulators have encouraged as they have been eager to review Pfizer's data in hopes of authorizing shots for young children as early as the end of February, multiple people familiar with the discussions told the Washington Post. If Pfizer waits for data on three doses, the request would not be submitted until late March.

We know that two doses isnt enough, and we get that, one of the people familiar with the situation told the Post. The idea is, lets go ahead and start the review of two doses. If the data holds up in the submission, you could start kids on their primary baseline months earlier than if you dont do anything until the third-dose data comes in.

Last Friday, Pfizer briefed federal health officials on updated trial data on the shots, an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Post.

Those attending the briefing included Dr. Anthony Fauci; David Kessler, chief science officer for the government's COVID-19 response; a representative from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and other officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Post reported.

The session included a robust conversation that three doses were likely to be much more powerful than just two shots, the administration official said. But to get to three, you have to get two shots first.  Theres interest in seeing this move forward, the official told the Post.

In that vein, an FDA advisory panel will weigh the two-dose regime on Feb. 15.

But at least one panel member voiced concerns about the highly unusual "rolling authorization."

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, suggested that regulators could be short-circuiting the normal process without a clear rationale.

It doesnt make sense we would approve a two-dose vaccine on the assumption the third dose would make up for deficiencies of the two doses, he told The New York Times.

The deficiencies were significant: One person familiar with the data, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Times that children aged 2 to 4 who were given two shots were infected at a rate 57 percent lower than the children who were not, and those between the ages of 6 months to 2 years old who got shots were infected at a rate 50 percent lower than those who were not. There were fewer than 100 cases of symptomatic infection  a small fraction of the participants overall  and the margins of error were wide, the person noted.

FDA panel member Dr. H. Cody Meissner, chief of the pediatric infectious diseases division at Tufts Childrens Hospital in Boston, said he was willing to weigh the "rolling authorization" strategy but he worried that rare side effects might be missed in the small-scale trials conducted so far.

The panels decision will partly depend on what are the rates of hospitalization and severe disease in this age group, and what our sense is in terms of potential harm should the two-dose regimen be authorized, Meissner added.

But Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and Dr. Peter Marks, who oversees the agency's vaccines office, said Tuesday that it was important to act quickly given the surge in Omicron cases and the likelihood that other variants will follow.

The need for a safe and effective vaccine for our youngest children is significant, particularly given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the notable rise in the number of hospitalizations in young children with severe disease and the possibility that future variants could cause severe disease in those who are unvaccinated, Marks said in an agency statement.

As the Omicron variant has spread, there has been a steep increase in pediatric cases of the virus, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which gathers state-level data. Even though most young children tend to do well combating the virus, some can get very ill.

AAP President Dr. Moira Szilagyi said in a statement on Tuesday that she was encouraged that we may be one step closer to shots for the youngest children.

Last month, we reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases among children since the pandemics onset. More than 3.5 million new cases in children were reported in January 2022 alone, she told the Times.

If the two-dose regimen is authorized, not every parent is going to race to their pediatricians office for shots, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation: Only 3 in 10 parents of children under 5 said they plan to get their children vaccinated as soon as shots become available.

More information

Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more on COVID vaccines.

SOURCE: Pfizer, news release, Feb. 1, 2022; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, news release, Feb. 1, 2022; The New York Times; Washington Post

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As of Friday, charges had not been filed against Compton in the Missoula County Attorneys Office.

A man is in custody following a domestic violence incident in the early morning hours of Wednesday in Missoula.

David Allen Compton, 24, was booked into the Missoula jail on three felonies: strangulation, a third offense of partner or family assault and aggravated burglary, and one misdemeanor count of stalking, according to a police news release.

Charging documents have not yet been officially filed in Missoula County Justice Court. He has also not made an initial appearance in court.

Missoula police responded to a disturbance at a home on the 400 block of Washington Street around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, the release said. Descriptions of the incident matched that of a partner/family member assault and burglary. The suspect had fled the scene on foot.

The accuser told law enforcement her former partner, Compton, had forced his way into her house while she was sleeping. When she woke up, she wasnt able to get him to leave. He pushed her multiple times and grabbed her by the throat, she said.

Other officers went out to search for Compton. At 5:15 a.m., they found a car in front of his address and located him inside the vehicle and placed him under arrest.

Strangulation is a significant predictor of future lethal violence, and if someone has been strangled by a partner in the past, their risk of being killed by them is 10 times higher, according to Just Response, a project by the Office on Violence Against Women in the U.S. Department of Justice.

There are many resources available in Missoula for domestic violence survivors.

The Missoula YWCA provides 24-hour crisis counseling, emergency shelter, transitional housing, mental health counseling, legal support and support groups for victims of crime. Their phone number is 406-542-1944.

The Missoula City-County Crime Victim Advocate Program provides legal advocacy for victims of crimes. Advocates can help you obtain a restraining order, report a crime to police or navigate options available to you through the justice system. They can be reached at 406-258-3830.

UM's Student Advocacy Resource Center also provides support for survivors of violence and harassment. They offer free and confidential counseling, advocacy and a 24-hour support line at 406-243-6559.

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Disgusted with the attacks on human rights in the last state legislative session and vowing to be a voice in the room for those not always heard, Zooey Zephyr has decided to run for House District 100.

The district is in urban Missoula and covers the Slant Streets and some of the surrounding area. It was most recently held by Andrea Olsen (D), who has filed to run for Senate District 50.

Zephyr, 33, is a program manager in the Office of the Provost at the University of Montana and has worked at the school for seven years. She has been heavily involved in human rights activism throughout the region and state. She's also done policy work with the city of Missoula.

She is running against Dave Severson and, if elected, would be the first out trans woman to hold public office in Montana.

"If you want to change the conversation, you have to get in the room," Zephyr said. "And for me, that meant running for the state Legislature and that's because that feels like the most important conversation to be a part of to create the kind of changes I think we can really do."

The affordable housing crisis and attacks on human rights pushed her to run for office, she said. She testified during the legislative session against several anti-transgender bills and said she did not feel heard.

"Going and testifying for trans rights and really testifying and begging for your humanity to be seen and then have those pleas fall on closed ears, it made me understand that there are voices that are not listened to in that room and that are not represented in that room," Zephyr said.

Following that and conversations with those close to her, she decided to run for office. Zephyr said she wants to provide justice for those in the community who need it and not just create surface-level signaling.

With a background in municipal policy and administration through UM, Zephyr said that those have "helped me figure out how to take good intentions and create good policy from those intentions."

Good ideas in affordable housing were squashed during the last state legislative session, including inclusionary zoning, she said. That would have given municipalities the ability to mandate some form of permanent affordability into new housing builds.

Housing has been, by far, the most commonly repeated concern during door-to-door campaigning, she said. Rent, property taxes and middle-class families not being able to afford their home anymore are major concerns.

Zephyr rents, and she would be a voice for renters in the state Legislature, she said. She also mentioned health care workers are having a hard time staying in Missoula, too, another common discussion topic while knocking on doors.

She would fight for tenant protections and for cities to be able to have the tools they need to respond to housing crunches, she said. Short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs, are also a concern of hers and she's in favor of stricter ordinances surrounding them.

"The truth I hold at the center of the affordable housing issue is the people who work for jobs in your community should be able to put down roots in that community if they want to," Zephyr said. "That means not being cost-burdened by rent if they choose to rent. It means being able to get into the market if they want to purchase a home."

Zephyr filed as a Democrat and said she would accept that endorsement if she got it. A union employee, she will also seek the endorsement of the Montana Federation of Public Employees.

She already has endorsements from Sen. Ellie Boldman (D-Missoula) as well as Rep. Danny Tenenbaum (D-Missoula). She also has been endorsed by a number of current city councilors as well as Missoula Mayor John Engen and all three Missoula County commissioners. Zephyr is also endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which is the only national organization dedicated to election LGTBQ leaders to public office.

Politically, she most closely aligns with democratic socialism, she said, adding she would take the Democratic Socialists of America endorsement if she got it as well.

The federal primary date is June 7 and the general election will be held on Nov. 8. State House of Representative terms are for two years. Legislators are paid $100.48 per day during the legislative session.

Jordan Hansen covers news and local government for the Missoulian. Shout at him on Twitter @jordyhansen or send him an email at Jordan.Hansen@Missoulian.com

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In a strange quirk of ongoing pandemic-related shortages, there has hardly been a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey to be found at any bar in western Montana for nearly two months.

That's according to multiple bar owners and liquor store managers.

Even in Butte, with its rich Irish history, the upcoming St. Patricks Day celebration will most likely not feature the coveted spirit.

We only have two precious bottles left that weve been saving for St. Patricks Day, said Lacey Clements, a bartender at Maloneys, an Irish bar on Main Street. Itll be first-come, first-served. All of the liquor stores are out and theyve told us any more bottles are still a month or so away.

James Pops Jones, a co-owner of The Press Box bar and liquor store in Missoula, said hes been out of Jameson for about a month and a half.

We get all of our stuff from Grizzly Liquor, so whatever theyre out of we dont get, he said. Grizzly Liquor gets their inventory from the state. Ive heard theres nothing coming in soon. Theres no light at the end of the tunnel. Some of the other bourbons have been out for six months.

Jones has other Irish whiskeys like Tullamore D.E.W., but he usually sells about 10 12-bottle cases a month of Jameson.

We usually go through a bottle of Jameson every other day, depending on the time of year, Jones explained.

Adie Smith, a bartender at the Thomas Meagher Bar, an Irish pub in Missoula, said theyve also been out of the original Jameson for over a month. They have plenty of the other Jameson products, like Black Barrel and an aged stout edition, so she said customers are being forced to try new flavors of the whiskey.

Still, she said, they get a request for the original almost every day.

Jackson Satt at Grizzly Liquor, a state-contracted liquor store in Missoula, said Jameson ran out before Christmas.

We are one of two state stores in Missoula  the other is KrisCo Liquor, he explained. We get our inventory on a semi every week and it comes from the state warehouse. They dont have an estimated date of when they would have Jameson.

People come in almost every day looking for Jameson, he said.

For a lot of the bars in town, Jameson is really important for bar sales, he said. A lot of places use Jameson for their beer and a shot thing around town. So its really affecting alcohol consumption. We go through probably a dozen cases, easy, every week at least.

By law, any spirit must mature on the island of Ireland for three years to be able to call itself Irish. Jamesons website says their original Irish Whiskey is aged at least four years, but theres no acknowledgement of any shortage.

The problem appears to be unique to Montana. The Idaho State Liquor Store on Sherman Avenue in Coeur dAlene had Jameson on Wednesday, as did Discount Liquor in Evanston, Wyoming. Not everywhere in Montana is sold out, either. A bartender at Cassidys Bar and Lounge in Plentywood, in the far northeast corner of the state, said they had plenty.

The Missoulian sent an email to the Montana Department of Revenue, which controls liquor distribution in Montana, asking why Montana cant get hold of the stuff. A spokesperson said she would try to get information but that didnt happen as of press time Wednesday.

Montana is one of 17 alcoholic beverage control states, where the state government regulates liquor, beer and wine sales by acting as the only wholesaler of alcoholic beverages in addition to issuing licenses. However, in Montana, the state is only in charge of wholesale operations for distilled spirits. Idaho and Wyoming are also control states.

Many states are experiencing liquor shortages during the pandemic, according to a report by National Public Radio last year. Thats due to supply chain issues, like increased shipping costs, but also because producers have to anticipate demand many years in advance.

Jones at the Press Box in Missoula said the Jameson shortage is just another headache caused by the pandemic.

We couldnt get jumbo chicken wings for a while either, he said. Theres a lot of things like that on the restaurant side of it. Its ridiculous. Its been an interesting couple years, Ill tell you that.

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I was surprised to see Mike Garritys oped in the Jan. 28 Missoulian, Time to say goodbye to nuclear power, also in other Montana newspapers. Perhaps he was influenced by the Republican majorities in the Legislatures repeal of the Montana initiative 44 years ago to ban nuclear power unless approved by the voters.

Garrity is correct that many large nuclear projects are expensive and often go over budget. However, that is true of almost all very large industrial projects, including major bridges, tall buildings, and conventional power plants.

Advantages of small-modular-nuclear power are that they are 1) Modular; the first installations will be expensive and likely over budget. Later builds will be less expensive because multiple copies of parts can be made and shipped from central factories. Just as Henry Ford mass-produced cars a century ago, costs dropped and reliability improved. 2) Small modular reactors can be transported by truck or rail, to be close to where the power is used. This minimizes large power losses, costs, and fire hazards, of high-power transmission lines.

Safety is the concern often voiced by the public following the Fukushima disaster in Japan. However, no one died or was severely sickened from radiation. Forty or 50 people had physical injuries or radiation burns; 573 people died because of forced evacuation and stress in response to the tsunami and the nuclear disaster. Deaths from stress were because of loss of homes, employment, separation from friends and family, and stigmatization (source: World Health Organization).

Safety in the new designs is enhanced by passive mechanisms in response to unexpected events. For example, automatic responses use gravity in case of electric power outage, so that control rods automatically drop, stopping the nuclear reaction, or water for cooling in case of an accident pours in from above. The whole operation is automated, with few employees and fallible human judgment. Such automation is in wide use in commercial aircraft.

Garrity also disparages storage of nuclear waste on-site in concrete casks. Such storage has worked well for many years at Hanford, near Richland, Washington. The casks provide little benefit to a terrorist and are almost immune to attack. Any damage or deterioration is readily spotted and easily addressed because of above-ground storage.

He ignores the benefits of nuclear. Nuclear power is reliable and flexible regardless of availability of wind or sun, even at night, low sun angle, or cloud cover. Backup battery power, needed by wind and solar, is not needed by nuclear. He also neglects that nuclear generates minimal greenhouse gases, even including building and construction. The number of deaths caused from nuclear power is minuscule in comparison to coal, oil, or natural gas  even gas causes 40 times as many deaths for the same amount of electric power (source: U.S. Energy Information Administration).

Nuclear is not a replacement for wind, solar, geothermal, or other carbon-free fuels, but is critical to meeting our rapidly expanding electric power needs. As physicist Nathan Myhrvold reported 10 years ago, switching from coal to natural gas would cut the warming effect in 100 years by only about 20 percent, but switching to renewables or nuclear would cut it by two-thirds to three-quarters.

I am surprised that the director of an organization which focuses on ecology and wildlife would belittle one of the only power sources that can meet our power needs without detrimental effects on ecology and the environment. Our future power needs, and a lead time of at least seven years for new nuclear power, demands that we get with it. Now.

Don Hyndman is emeritus professor of geoscience at the University of Montana.

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While a feeble effort is being made to expose officers in the Knoxville Police Department for their racist attitudes, it seems that some in the Knox County Sheriff's Department have assumed the mantel of intimidating Black advocates who demand justice. The recent arrest of former Knoxville City Council candidate David Hayes outside a public meeting about policing is the latest in their long history of mistreating all races in this city.

Knox County Sheriff's deputies arrested activist and former Knoxville City Council candidate David Hayes on Jan. 7 at the City-County building outside a public meeting about policing in the city.

According to Hayes, he was punched in the face multiple times and hit in the throat, which forced him to cough in the face of a deputy, who accused him of spitting on him. One can hardly control the sputum forced out by blunt-force trauma to the windpipe. But Hayes was subsequently hooded with a spit mask just the same. He was arrested on a warrant for a single misdemeanor charge of obstructing a highway or other passageway, stemming from peaceful protests last April.

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Some of us remember the time when a former sheriff allowed the use of a restraint device labeled the "be sweet chair."We also remember "angel cuffing," in which inmates were cuffed spread-eagle to cell bars with their feet suspended from the ground. One sheriff said he would round up undocumented workers and "stack these violators like cordwood in the Knox County jail."

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I have great disdain for people who break the law and believe they should not be punished, but I doubly despise those officers who take advantage of helpless people in their charge. We need law enforcement and must hire and pay good men and women to do the job, but we cannot tolerate those who run roughshod over our citizens.

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Our police department is in flux with the top three officials on the way out or already gone. City officials are holding community meetings to determine how we should find a new chief. I have no doubt that we will hire a quality person for the job, but I have little faith that the culture of the department will change. There is too much ingrained racial animus in the ranks that will never be changed by a mayor or chief of police.

Black police officers feel the pain but are reluctant to complain. Although we have had two Black assistant chiefs in our history, we lag far behind other Southern cities in promoting and assigning Black police officers since the first one was hired here in 1870. He caught particular hell for arresting a white man.

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Police chiefs and mayors come and go, but there are veterans on the force with 20, 30 or more years of relationships and loyalties. They offer protection to wayward younger officers and curry favor in the process. They are the ones who could root out the misfits, but then who would do their dirty work? Successfully suing the city over police brutality is simply a matter of further soaking taxpayers.

The case of Hayes is a new twist, but it was encouraging to read the list of pastors who signed on to decry his mistreatment. Yet I was disappointed at the absence of some of the more influential churches that could offer a bigger voice in denouncing bigotry and insisting upon humane treatment and proper law enforcement for all in our city and county.

Robert J. Booker is a freelance writer and former executive director of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. He may be reached at 865-546-1576.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Arrest of Black activist latest in long history of police intimidation
288 East Main Street in Westminster was in the process of being demolished when the project was placed under a stop-work order. The property, which is the site of one of the oldest buildings in Westminster, dates back to the 1700s. (Dylan Slagle/Carroll County Times)

The Westminster Historic District Commission will hold a virtual meeting at 7 p.m., today, to discuss the fate of a structure that is often referred to as the oldest building in the city, dating to the 1700s.

The meeting will be live-streamed through the citys YouTube Channel.

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The building, at 288 E. Main St., is also known as the Christian Yingling House. It was included in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties in 1976 and is reputed to be the oldest residence in the city because it is still possible to see log rafters and uncoursed fieldstone foundations in the brick-floor basement of the eastern half of the structure.

According to city documents, the structures first owner was David Shriver, who bought the land in 1768 and possibly built a 15-foot by 25-foot log cabin on the land that today is occupied by the northeast corner of the existing structure.

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A one-and-a-half-story, gable-roofed, brick outbuilding still stands in the rear of the property. The outbuilding, thought to have been used as a cabin for enslaved workers or possibly as a summer kitchen, has recently been restored.

According to Elizabeth Hughes, director of the Maryland Historical Trust, despite its many alterations over time, 288 E. Main is historically important for its design elements, massing and scale and was identified as a contributing resource to the listing of the Westminster Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

According to the city, it appears the property has not been used since at least 2013; the roof of the structure has caved in and a large portion of the rear wall is also missing.

Taneytown resident Jordan Knox purchased the property in March 2021, and intended to demolish the current structure and develop several apartments there.

When reached for comment on this story, Knox said he did not wish to discuss the situation.

As it stands, the structures contribution to the district is questionable. It exhibits loss of integrity of design, materials, and workmanship due to severe structural damage and subsequent deterioration, Hughes wrote in a Dec. 13 letter to the Westminster Historic District Commission. It does retain its position in the streetscape, although the facade has been altered with replacement windows and temporary siding. The roof has been removed, although the existing cornice line continues to indicate the buildings relationship to neighboring structures.

Despite damage to the building, Hughes wrote that rehabilitation likely remains possible, should the property owner express interest in exploring that option.

Rehabilitation would be the best possible outcome for the property and the historic district, Hughes wrote.

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According to documents posted on the citys website, Knox reached out to the citys Department of Community Planning and Development, and has had several conversations regarding the demolition.

Knox submitted a demolition permit on Aug. 19, but the application is still under review. As part of this review, the department requested and received a draft simplified site plan showing the proposed demolition of the main building and the development of a four-apartment unit building.

According to Westminster city code, the Historic District Commission should also review the demolition permit and accompanying information and provide the zoning administrator with a recommendation for the property.

The commission was first presented with the demolition permit in early October, when the Department of Community Planning and Development recommended that approval of the application be subject to the completion of an historical and architectural archiving report. In addition, any new development of the property should make every effort to re-use the logs of the log cabin incorporated into the existing main building, according to city staff.

Knox confirmed that he had begun demolition of the existing main building before obtaining the demolition permit in an attempt to begin repairs, which were unsuccessful. At a January meeting with the Historic District Commission, he noted that everything he touched crumbled.

The commission discussed the significance of the main building and voted unanimously to require Knox to obtain an historic structure or archival report. At a November meeting, the Department of Community Planning and Development told the commission Knox had not yet completed the report. In December, a draft historical and architectural archiving report was provided to the commission.

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During its most recent meeting in January, city staff coordinated a site visit with city representatives including Historic District Commission members Kristen McMasters and Kevin Wagman; Andrew Gray of the Department of Community Planning and Development; the property owner and Tim Hatfield, a member of the public.
The logo for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

More than 80 Muslim organizations sent a letter to a the U.S. Justice Department on Monday, urging it to investigate the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

The letter, penned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), asks that the government investigate the nonprofit that allegedly paid moles to spy on Muslim organizations, including CAIR, and was working with the Israeli government.

CAIR: Spying on Columbus Muslim advocacy group dates at least to 2008

It was discovered in December that the now former executive director of CAIR-Ohio, Romin Iqbal, had been working with IPT as a spy for more than 10 years, according to CAIR.

CAIR's national office, in Washington D.C., hosted a virtual press conference Tuesday afternoon urging the federal government to find out whether IPT broke any laws when it worked with Iqbal to get access to recordings of CAIR meetings, internal emails and strategic plans. CAIR-Ohio said it supports every aspect of the letter.

Who CAIR wants investigated: What is the Investigative Project on Terrorism, and who is its founder Steve Emerson?

IPT was founded in 1995 by Steven Emerson, a former journalist and pundit, and is based in Washington, D.C.

It has been described as an anti-Muslim organization. The Bridge Initiative, a research project out of Georgetown University, has said that Emerson has "a history of promoting falsified information and conspiracy theories about Islam and Muslims" and the liberal Center for American Progress said that "IPTs chief function is presenting Islam as an inherently radical, violent, and antagonistic religion."

"Did they break the law?" Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the national deputy director of CAIR, asked during the press conference. "That is not for us to determine. That is for the justice department to determine."

Ismahan Abdullahi, with the Muslim American Society, said being targeted is nothing new for the Muslim community, but that the lengths IPT went to in undermining Muslim organizations is "despicable and un-American."

Story continues

December 2021: Romin Iqbal, of CAIR-Ohio, fired for allegedly leaking information to anti-Muslim group

"If it was happening in any other community there would definitely be outcry and the silence is definitely deafening," Abdullahi said.

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: CAIR calls for federal investigation into spies, IPT
As Winter Storm Landon approaches, the Ohio Turnpike has issued a travel ban for all high-profile vehicles across Interstate 80 effective at 7 a.m. Wednesday through Friday at noon. The ban will be evaluated throughout the duration of the storm.

The following types of vehicles are prohibited from traveling the Ohio Turnpike until the ban is canceled:

 All triple-trailer combination commercial vehicles.

 Box-type double-trailer combination commercial vehicles in excess of 90 feet in length.

 Mobile home and office trailers.

 Boat and horse trailers towed by passenger vehicles or pickup trucks.

 High-profile campers and enclosed trailers, which are defined as trailers designed for a person of average height to stand in.

Not included in the travel ban are self-propelled motor homes, low-profile trailers, fold-down camper trailers, pickup trucks with slide-on camper units, vehicles towing fifth-wheel type trailers, or any other type of trailers towed by passenger vehicles or pickup trucks.

Also excluded from the ban are commercial trucks towing single flatbed or box-type trailers, flatbed double-trailer combinations in excess of 90 feet and any double-trailer combination commercial vehicles less than 90 feet.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio Turnpike travel ban for high-profile vehicles during winter storm
Even from Oklahoma's death row, murderer Gilbert Ray Postelle managed to find love  twice.

On Tuesday, his fiancee and ex-wife were joined by death penalty opponents at a rally calling for Gov. Kevin Stitt to delay his execution.

Postelle, 35, is scheduled to be executed at 10 a.m. Feb. 17 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

"Gil is kind, loving, funny, loyal and has a heart of gold," said fiancee Jackie Thompson, of Oklahoma City. "He is amazing in more ways than one.  How can the system say it's wrong to kill but yet they do it? Two wrongs don't make a right. Executing Gil is not going to bring those people back. It's only creating more victims. He deserves a second chance."

Ex-wife Veronica Postelle called the execution "simply revenge."

"The Bible says, 'Forgive your enemies.' Not kill them.'"

They wed in 2017 amid controversy but divorced three years later. Veronica Postelle attended the rally but did not speak directly to reporters. Instead, a family friend read a statement from her.

"When Gil and I decided to get married, every comment from the public was cruel," she said. "Every obstacle that we crossed  was merely because we loved each other and it was worth the fight.  I have no regrets.  The friendship has remained strong. He will always be close to my heart."

A death penalty opponent holds a sign across the street from the governor's mansion in Oklahoma City Tuesday during a rally against the execution of Gilbert Ray Postelle.

More than 30 people attended the rally across the street from the governor's mansion in Oklahoma City on an overcast, windy morning. They want Stitt to delay the execution until after a judge rules on a legal challenge to the lethal injection procedure.

A trial over the procedure begins Feb. 28 in Oklahoma City federal court. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals set Gilbert Postelle's execution after he was kicked out of the lawsuit.

The judge kicked him out after he refused to specify an alternative method of execution. His attorneys said he refused on religious grounds.

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Postelle

He was convicted of murdering four people on Memorial Day 2005 outside a trailer in Del City. He was sentenced to death for two of the murders and to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the other two.

"This is not a monster. This is a person who suffered from real emotional and mental disability," said the first rally speaker, the Rev. Don Heath, chair of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

The Rev. Don Heath speaks during a rally across the street from the Governor's Mansion in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Family members and supporters of death row inmate Gilbert Ray Postelle called at the rally for the governor to delay his execution.

The governor is not expected to delay the execution.

"There have been no discussions regarding staying any pending executions," a spokesman said.

Stitt also cannot commute the death sentence because the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied a clemency request 4-1 in December. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court already has refused to grant him a stay.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Death row inmate's supporters ask Oklahoma governor to stay execution
Two new COVID-19 clusters in Burke County schools were reported Tuesday, and hundreds of new cases of the virus were reported countywide.

W.A. Young and Mountain View elementary schools both had clusters reported Tuesday, said Cheryl Shuffler, public information officer for Burke County Public Schools.

A COVID-19 cluster is defined as a minimum of five positive cases identified through a positive test result within a 14-day period and a plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services notified the school system of the new clusters Tuesday.

The state updates its list of clusters and outbreaks in schools and congregate living settings each Tuesday, but this weeks update wasnt available by The News Heralds press time.

The Jan. 25 list included clusters at Drexel, Ray Childers, Mull, Hildebran and Forest Hill elementary schools, Table Rock, Heritage and East Burke middle schools and Patton High School.

Information from the Burke County Health Department showed that 347 cases of COVID-19 have been added to the countys total since The News Heralds Monday article. That brought the total number of cases up to 23,356.

The health department reported a daily positivity rate of 24.77%, the health department reported.

At UNC Health Blue Ridge, hospitalizations of COVID-19 continued to climb with 42 people hospitalized with the virus and 10 of them in the intensive care unit, according to Anna Wilson, a spokesperson for the hospital system.

Twenty-seven of the hospitals total number of COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated, and seven of the patients in the ICU with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, Wilson said. Five COVID-19 patients are on ventilators, and three of them are unvaccinated.

On top of those who have been admitted to the hospital, 151 people were seeking treatment through UNCHBRs virtual hospital program, Wilson said.

Testing site changes

A mass-testing clinic that was set to move to a local church instead will continue to be held at the health department.

The clinic, provided by the state but hosted in the parking lot of the health department at 700 E. Parker Road, Morganton, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Appointments are not required and testing is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

PCR tests will be the only tests administered, and results will be given in two days or less.

The clinic will remain open at the health department until at least Feb. 18.

CDC guidance

The Burke County Health Department said it will be following the most recent guidance provided from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Dec. 27 for quarantining and isolating. The guidance says:

If you are unvaccinated and have been exposed to COVID-19:

Stay home for five days only if no symptoms develop. After that continue to wear a mask around others for an additional five days.

Get a COVID-19 test five days after your last exposure.

If you are fully vaccinated but have not received your booster and are exposed to COVID-19:

Stay home for five days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for five additional days.

If you cant quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.

Get a COVID-19 test five days after your last exposure, if possible.

If symptoms develop, you should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms your symptoms are not related to COVID-19.

If you are fully vaccinated plus boosted and you are exposed to COVID-19:

You do not have to quarantine but wear a mask properly for the next 10 days.

Get a COVID-19 test five days after your last exposure date, if possible.

If symptoms occur, you should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms your symptoms are not related to COVID-19.

If you test positive for COVID-19 regardless of your vaccination status:

Stay home for five days.

If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after five days, you can leave your house.

Continue to wear a mask around others for five additional days.

For general questions about COVID-19, call the Burke County Health Department public information line at 828-764-9150 or visit the COVID-19 webpage at burkenc.org/COVID-19.

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Crossing partisan battle lines and taking heavy fire from both sides, Oklahoma state Rep. Forrest Bennett unwittingly opened a new front in the abortion wars with a bill tying child support to conception.

The Democratic legislator positioned Oklahoma House Bill 3129 as a countermeasure to state trigger laws that would impose sharp limits on abortion access if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

If Oklahoma is going to restrict a womans right to choose, we sure better make sure the man involved cant just walk away from his responsibility, Bennett wrote in a Jan. 21 tweet.

The bill would require a biological father to pay 50% of the mothers pregnancy expenses, including health insurance premiums and medical costs incurred after the date of conception and before the pregnancy ends. Upon a childs birth, existing child support requirements kick in.

If he was aiming for a clever clapback to male abortion opponents who dont bear the burden of unintended pregnancies, Bennetts message backfired in a big way. H.B. 3129 divided the abortion-rights camp and drew overwhelming support from conservatives, who flooded Bennetts Twitter feed with ringing endorsements.

Every pro-life person Ive ever known would welcome this, Casey Mattox, the vice president for legal and judicial strategy at Americans for Prosperity, wrote. If you think its an own consider that maybe you dont understand the position and people youre opposing.

Anti-abortion activists proceeded to roast Bennett with a meme combining two stock characters: Wojak, who KnowYourMeme.com describes as representing people who do not think for themselves or are incapable of having an internal monologue, and Yes Chad, aka Nordic Gamer, usually used to debase those attempting to mock or bully a person for their personal traits or interests.

In a three-panel version of the meme, a stern-faced Wojak summarizes the premise: If abortion is illegal, then men abandoning women should also be illegal. If this is permanent for the woman, it should be for the man!

Yes Chad leans in and whispers in Wojaks ear: Your terms are acceptable. A crestfallen look replaces the sneer on Wojaks cartoon face.

Bennetts political rivals called his bluff, so he sounded the retreat, tweeting the next day that hes not moving forward with this bill as written and seeking input from his constituents on Herd, an Oklahoma-based platform connecting registered voters with policymakers.

The about-face drew a fresh round of recriminations on Twitter, with most replies blasting him for yanking the bill from consideration.

You found a path with bipartisan agreement and this is what you do with it? one user, Jordan Rhea, scolded.

The legislation represents a Catch-22 for abortion rights supporters. On one hand, theres substantial agreement that women who carry a pregnancy to term should be entitled to financial support. On the other hand, recognizing prenatal responsibilities could be a Trojan horse for expanding paternal rights. Could states that order pregnancy cost-sharing require mens consent for an abortion?

Thats an obvious nonstarter in the abortion-rights camp, and in cases of rape, incest and domestic violence, such a law could produce manifestly monstrous results. Yet if financial obligations could come without a male veto on the right to choose, the practical wisdom is difficult to ignore.

Such considerations could become part of the national debate in a post-Roe landscape. On Dec. 1, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, a challenge to Mississippis state law that bans abortions after 15 weeks. A ruling is expected this summer.

Bennett isnt the first to connect the real or imagined dots between abortion and child support. Dave Chappelle raised the issue in his 2019 Netflix comedy special, Sticks and Stones, though controversy over transphobia allegations overshadowed the brief bit.

First declaring himself an abortion rights supporter, Chappelle proceeds to argue that estranged fathers shouldnt be required to pay for their noncustodial children.

If you can kill this (expletive), I can at least abandon him, he said. Its my money, my choice. And if Im wrong, perhaps were wrong.

Punchlines arent policy prescriptions, so dont expect Chappelle to lead the next anti-abortion march. But the intersection of bodily agency, economics and law is fertile ground for some challenging conversations.

Corey Friedman writes on political conflicts from an independent perspective. Follow him at twitter.com/coreywrites.
Christy Clark has been appointed director of the Montana Department of Agriculture.

Gov. Greg Gianforte announced the appointment Monday. Clark has served as the acting director since May.

I am honored to be a part of Gov. Gianfortes team and lead an agency serving our farmers, ranchers, and other ag-related industries. They are the lifeblood of our state, Clark said in a statement. Agriculture is my greatest passion, and I cant help but feel like everything Ive done in my life up until this point, both personally and professionally, has led me here.

Clark is from Choteau and holds a bachelors degree in English from California State University at Sacramento. She previously served as a Republican in the Montana Legislature for three terms, the Choteau Acantha reported.

Clark, a fifth-generation rancher, has been with the agriculture department since 2015. She previously worked as agricultural sciences administrator and agricultural development and marketing bureau chief. She became acting director when Director Mike Foster took a temporary appointment as the states program director for the American Rescue Plan. Foster then retired in October.

Gianforte said in a statement that Clark shares a commitment to strengthening and supporting agriculture in the state.

Montana producers work hard to feed the world, and today they have a partner and established advocate in Christy Clark as the director of the Montana Department of Ag, he said.

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A Harford Circuit Court judge has denied a motion to dismiss the City of Havre de Graces case against the Harford County Council challenging its process in passing a recent county redistricting map.

Judge Barbara Kerr Howe ruled Jan. 27 in the case of Mayor and City Council of Havre de Grace, et al. vs. Patrick Vincenti, et al, that there was legal sufficiency supporting the claims asserted by the Plaintiffs.

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Martin and the Havre de Grace City Council filed the lawsuit Dec. 8, the day after County Council passed an amended redistricting map, alleging the County Council held secret meetings at the end of October to deliberate on a number of redistricting proposals.

The county, County Council and the council members had filed separate motions to dismiss the plaintiffs first amended complaint. The complaint alleges the County Council violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act and County Charter Section 205 Redistricting Procedure.

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The City of Havre de Grace always maintained that the voice of the people needed to be addressed directly by the council, Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin said, and the redistricting commissions map needed to be recognized whether the council voted it up, voted it down or changed it. The courts decision to allow the case to proceed affirms our feelings in this case.

Harford County, the County Council and its individual members, and County Executive Barry Glassman are listed as defendants. Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin and its City Council are plaintiffs.
Among community college students who drop out, there are a few who are really close to being finished. Nationally, about 10% of all students who leave college without a degree are only a few credits shy of graduation. They are also the most likely to re-enroll and graduate. Some colleges are trying to identify former students and persuade them to come back using a variety of methods that include data analytics and discounts on tuition.

Using these tools, however, isnt always easy. Community college students who leave early rarely tell school administrators why they left. If colleges heard directly from students about why they drop out, the schools could help them with targeted resources. Or, better yet, they might be able to prevent students from dropping out in the first place.

In our recent peer-reviewed study, we contacted over 27,000 former students of five large and diverse community colleges in Florida who had left in the prior four years without a degree. They had stopped taking classes despite having a C average or better and at least half the credits necessary for an associate degree. We asked them to choose from a list of possible reasons explaining why they left. As researchers focused on issues of access and equity in community colleges, we identified 11 of the most important reasons they gave.

1. Costs were too high

Direct financial costs were the most common reasons for early exit from community colleges, even though the colleges are typically more affordable than four-year schools. Over half of the former students in our survey, 53%, said they left due to the cost of tuition and fees. An additional 25% cited the cost of textbooks. Our findings are in line with prior studies of students at four-year colleges that found students also sometimes leave college due to an inability to pay tuition and fees.

2. Living expenses were also too high

Students sometimes drop out for financial reasons that have little to do with school. For instance, the cost of rent, utilities, health care, child care and food may simply be too much to bear in addition to going to school. This is reflected in the 48% of former students who told us living expenses were a reason they left early.

3. Ran out of financial aid

Just under 43% of students told us they left college because they lost eligibility for financial aid. Students can lose aid for a variety of reasons, such as if they fail to keep their grades up or do not finish their degree fast enough.

4. Unpredictable schedules

One out of every five college students is a parent, and nearly half of those students go to a community college. These students face many demands on their time related to work and child care. Among the leavers, 33% said they left because of problems with unpredictable schedules when it comes to work and family obligations. Those between the ages of 26 and 49 were twice as likely as younger and older students to say that unreliable child care contributed to their leaving. Women of all ages were more than twice as likely as men to cite child care difficulties.

5. Students lacked key information

Many community college students say they do not know what they need to do in order to graduate. They also say their academic advising is limited or impersonal. About 24% of former students stopped going to school in part because they were unsure about which courses to take next.

6. Students wrongly thought they had holds placed on their accounts

About 16% of former students said they could not register due to a financial hold on their school account. However, our study was designed so that it did not include any students who had holds that would keep them from taking classes. This indicates that former students had incorrect information, which is possibly due to limited time with advisers or miscommunication. Hispanic and Black former students were over two and three times more likely, respectively, than white former students to say they could not register due to a financial hold.

7. Health emergencies

About 17% of all former students said that a health emergency contributed to their early exit. The percentage was even higher  over 20%  for those over 50.

8. Students got a new job or lost their job

Most part-time community college students work while in college. For that reason, changes to their work life can affect their ability to go to school. About 34% of all former students said they left school due to a switch from part-time to full-time employment. About 15% exited early due to a promotion, and 13% left because they needed to take on a second job. Conversely, 12% said they left early because they lost their job. Men were more likely than women  22% to 13%  to say that a change in career led them to leave college before earning their degree.

9. Math and science courses were too difficult

Many community college students, for a variety of reasons, are not prepared to take college-level classes. So many struggle to meet math and science requirements. Indeed, 25% of former students told us they left college because they found the math and science courses too hard.

10. Students lacked strong connections to campus

Students often leave college when they do not feel a strong connection to the school or its community. Of the former students we surveyed, 11% said they left in part because they did not have many friends on campus, while 8% said they did not feel welcome on campus.

11. Online coursework and unreliable internet access

Though we surveyed students before the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed campuses and shifted much learning online, many former students indicated that factors related to internet access and online coursework led them to leave without a degree. About 25% of former students cited difficulty learning on their own in an online environment. Another 24% stated they did not have enough interaction with the online course instructor, and 9% said they did not have enough interaction with their peers in online courses. About 7% of all former students and 11% of Black former students said unreliable internet access led them to leave school.

What could be done

Community college students who drop out of school for any period of time are much less likely to graduate than their peers who stay in school. To increase the number of students who earn their degree, it would be beneficial if community colleges sought to keep students from leaving in the first place. We believe a few practices might help.

Target financial resources: Community colleges may wish to provide targeted financial assistance to students who are close to finishing their degree but are running out of financial aid. This last bit of support may be what these students need to cross the finish line.

Provide better information and advising: In order for students to better understand which classes they need to take to graduate  or whether they are still eligible to take classes  community colleges must ensure all students have accurate information. This is particularly important for equitable outcomes for students from different backgrounds.

Strengthen the online learning experience: Finally, for students to feel supported and connected to their instructors and peers, community colleges should continue to improve online course offerings. Community colleges with strong online offerings may be able to offer students the flexibility they need to complete their degree as they also work and take care of their families.

___

More than 140,000 readers get one of The Conversations informative newsletters. Join the list today.

Justin Ortagus receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Helios Education Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, Arnold Ventures, and the Joyce Foundation. The study referenced in this article was funded by the Helios Education Foundation, but the views expressed therein remain the sole responsibility of the authors.

Benjamin Skinner and Melvin Tanner do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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MUSCATINE COUNTY  Iowas historical assets are some of its most important aspects, and it's important to preserve them. No group knows that better than the states Cultural Affairs Department.

This week, the department awarded $118,626 grants to 14 historical preservation projects. They are being delivered through the IDCAs State Historic Preservation Office Certified Local Government program, one of the largest Certified Local Government programs in the U.S. with 90 cities and counties.

In a news release, IDCA Director Chris Kramer said, This program offers opportunities for local leaders to preserve and develop the historic character of their communities. Its an effective tool that places historic preservation at the center of placemaking efforts that create more culturally vibrant places to live, work and raise families.

Of the 14 projects selected, two were from Muscatine County, which received a total of $13,300. Commission Chairperson Bill Koellner attributed these grants to the commission having such a good reputation.

Our county commission has done an exemplary job on a lot of things and the last few grants we got, weve done an excellent job with them, Koellner said. So I think (the IDCA) looks at our track record and knows that weve done a good job.

The first grant amount, worth $3,700, is being put toward the Benjamin F. and Susan M. (Jerkins) Nichols House in Nichols. The Muscatine County Historic Preservation Commission will hire a consultant to assist them in preparing the houses National Register of Historic Places nomination.

The Nichols Family and the other families that have lived there have kept the Nichols House in excellent condition, Koellner said. Its unique in its architecture and design, and we felt that it was an icon in our community. So we submitted it as such, and the family that currently lives there is participating with us as we try to get it on the National Register.

In 2021, Ijem Avenue in Downtown Nichols was placed on the National Register. Once the Nichols House is on the National Register, Koellner said the commission hopes to get St. Marys Church on it as well.

The second grant, worth $9,600, is being put toward the amphitheater at the Muscatine County fairgrounds in West Liberty. The commission will hire an engineering firm to develop the planning documents needed for stabilizing the amphitheater.

The Muscatine County Fairgrounds as a whole is on the National Register, and with such, several of the buildings have been modified and have received grants from the state and other private donations in order to improve those buildings, Koellner said. With the amphitheater, the Muscatine County Fair Board wanted to have it evaluated for structural integrity, so this grant will give them that opportunity.

Koellner added that he expects both projects to take approximately a year to complete.

The Louisa County Historic Preservation Commission also received a grant for $2,872, which will be put toward the hiring of a preservation professional. This person will nominate the Fairview Community Church in Wapello to the National Register of Historic Places.

Monday, Feb. 7, the Muscatine County Historic Preservation Commission will give a year-in-review presentation at the County Board of Supervisors meeting. Along with looking back at the previous year, the commission will share its other plans and projects for 2022.

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WEST LIBERTY  The group Escucha Mi Voz (Listen To My Voice) will have to wait for a few weeks to learn if the West Liberty City Council will donate $261,000  half of its American Rescue Plan money  to the group to aid excluded workers.

During Tuesdays meeting, the council declined to make a decision on the request from the group until the citys finance committee has the chance to make a recommendation. The city is also gathering information from Muscatine County about the issue. During the meeting about 75 members of the Iowa City-based group  although many of the members were from West Liberty  attended the meeting. Many of the members attended believing a decision was going to be made that night. Several members of the council were not present at the meeting.

In my opinion, we need to discuss the situation and see if we can provide some kind of relief, council member Jose Zacarias said. He also said that since the request had been made he had shown his intent to help the workers. If funded, the money could provide $1,400 checks to up to 186 excluded workers living in West Liberty. Zacarias said that while many of the people in the area who may qualify for funding are not American citizens, their children are.

Since last year, essential and excluded immigrant workers have been organizing into core teams at their Hispanic Catholic parishes in Iowa City, West Liberty, Muscatine, Columbus Junction, and Washington. The teams formed a new regional organization called Escucha Mi Voz, a spin-off of the Iowa City Catholic Worker. LULAC and Catholic Worker House of Iowa City, a nonprofit that houses undocumented immigrants, are two of the 16 groups that lobbied for the Excluded Workers Fund. Iowa City and Johnson County have contributed $2 million to such a fund.

Under the American Rescue Plan Act, West Liberty will receive $522,000. Mayor Pro Tem Dana Dominguez said the city hopes to collaborate with some people to see if the contribution is even possible. She said she believes contributing money to the fund will benefit many West Liberty residents, but said the city needs to determine the vetting process to be used for awarding funds.

The Muscatine Journal attempted to reach the Iowa League of Cities to ask if American Rescue Plan funds can be used to fund excluded workers but did not receive a comment before press time.

Mayor Katherine McCullough was not present at the meeting. She had previously expressed interest in letting the group know sometime this month if the city would be making a contribution. Dominguez hopes the issue can be on the agenda during the Feb. 15 meeting.

After discussion, several members of the group gave testimony about how the pandemic has impacted them and their families.

Last week, the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors decided against awarding $2 million in aid to the group. The group has also asked many other area governments to help fund the Excluded Workers Fund, which hopes to give $1,400 to every worker in the area that did not receive government stimulus or unemployment insurance during the COVID-19 health crisis.

Also on Tuesday a contingent from the group attended the Iowa City City Council meeting to demand the citys $1.5 million investment in the Johnson County Direct Assistance Program prioritize excluded workers.

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A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest:

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION: A stool and a trash can were props at a subcommittee hearing Monday on legislation requiring Iowa employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers.

The stool would allow a pregnant woman to sit and the trash can would accommodate her morning sickness, ACLU-Iowa representative Pete McRoberts told the House State Government subcommittee considering House Study Bill 603.

The bill, which now advances to the full committee, would require reasonable accommodation, but not accommodations that would impose an undue hardship on employers, McRoberts added. HSB 603 has broad support from labor unions, health care professionals, the bar and a variety of employers.

The bill is similar to Senate File 485, which won support from a Senate Labor and Business subcommittee last week. The Iowa Association of Business and Industry, which along with the National Federation of Independent Businesses opposes both versions, questioned the need for a state law given existing federal regulations.

However, McRoberts said the federal law applies to considering pregnancy in hiring and firing decisions.

He and others said they prefer HSB 603 because the Senate version would create two positions in the state labor commissioners office at a cost of about $300,000 a year.

ANTISEMITISM DEFINED: Legislation requiring law enforcement, prosecutors and courts to consider a widely used definition of antisemitism when determining whether there has been a violation of law of policy prohibiting discriminatory acts was approved by the House Judiciary Committee, but not without dissent.

Democrats on the committee had questions about the approach majority Republicans were taking to require consideration of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, but not put the definition in Iowa Code.

I dont understand how putting a reference to this definition in Iowa Code makes anything better for any class of person, said Rep. Mary Wolfe, D-Clinton. Its crazy to say this is about showing that we understand antisemitism is broader than what we have in Code, but dont put the language in the Code.

House Study Bill 538 was approved 15-4. Those who voted no said they may support the bill if they get more information before it is debated on the floor.

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY: State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald will present Habitat for Humanity of Central Iowa with a $200 check for the funds it recently claimed through the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt as part of his observance of National Unclaimed Property Day at the Capitol from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Habitat will share its story to get the word out about unclaimed property and help the program return more dollars.

INTERNET BLOCKING: The House Education Committee approved House File 2052 to allow schools to limit or block social media access from their own Wi-Fi servers if they so choose.

The bills sponsor, Rep. Garrett Gobble, R-Ankeny, a teacher, said it will solidify current practices.

The creeping in of social media, the cyberbullying that goes with it, the distraction that goes with it, is a burden on teachers and students, he told the committee.

In his experience, its not unusual for students to be on social media platforms during class.

Although some districts already limit or block access to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, Gobble said other schools are concerned about accusations of censorship.

Rep. Tracy Ehlert, D-Cedar Rapids, also a teacher, encouraged her caucus to vote for the bill. It was approved 19-1, with Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Orange City, voting no. It now goes to the full House.

HEARSAY EXCEPTION: The House Judiciary Committee approved an exception to hearsay rule for the admissibility of evidence in cases of physical or sexual abuse of children and people with intellectual, cognitive or developmental disabilities.

House Study Bill 522 would allow out-of-court statements by a victim regarding the offense to be admitted into evidence under some conditions, said Rep. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids. Before passage, it was amended to clarify when the victim would have to testify.

If testimony is admitted under the conditions allowed in the bill, jurors will be instructed it is for them to decide the weight and credibility of the statement. In determining that, the age, maturity and disability should be considered.

Jones offered an amendment to clarify when the victim would have to testify. Rep. Mary Wolfe, D-Clinton, encouraged an enthusiastic yes on the amendment and a less enthusiastic yes on the bill. It passed unanimously.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau

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Former attorney Michael Avenatti cross-examines witness Stormy Daniels  not seen  during his criminal trial at the United States Courthouse in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Jan. 28, 2022 in this courtroom sketch.
A servicemember walks past tanks of a mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during military exercises outside Kharkiv, Ukraine, Jan. 31, 2022.
The test-to-stay policy that was intended to keep more U.S. students in school is on its way out in some states, a casualty of the monthslong omicron wave that has left school districts struggling to find enough coronavirus tests to meet their needs.

Vermont and Massachusetts are turning away from tests that are given in school and sent to labs, in favor of rapid home tests.

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Test-to-stay, endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in mid-December, was meant to allow students to stay in classrooms even if a close contact tested positive for the virus and to restore stability for working parents. Instead of isolating at home, students who were exposed to the virus could keep going to school as long as they were asymptomatic, wore masks and regularly tested negative on rapid coronavirus tests.

The policy also replaced the default plan of quarantining entire classes when there was a positive case among the students.

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At the time, the CDC said that at least 12 states had policies that allowed test-to-stay programs: Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington state. Some districts in other states also started their own programs.

Children stand inside a tent while undergoing coronavirus testing at a fire station in Washington on Jan. 14, 2022. (Tom Brenner/NYT)

Now Vermont is no longer relying on lab-based tests. In Massachusetts, public schools are being encouraged to concentrate on finding symptomatic people, to use rapid home tests and to end contact tracing altogether. Gov. Charlie Baker announced last week that districts could follow the new policy as an alternative to test-to-stay.

Dr. Westyn Branch-Elliman, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School who advises the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said the states test-to-stay program, while previously wildly successful, no longer made sense. At-home testing of students would be the wave of the future, she added.

Daily Top Stories Daily Get the day's top news, sports, opinion, features and local events. >

Test-and-stay was a great program for the fall of 2021. But now its January 2022, Branch-Elliman said. We have vaccines, we have antivirals and we have omicron. And all of those things mean we have to adjust our policies.

Recently, New York City replaced its previous policy of quarantining entire classes that were exposed to the virus with a new policy allowing asymptomatic students who test negative to remain in school. Public schools in the city are providing rapid at-home tests to students and employees who have symptoms or who were exposed to the virus in a classroom.

The Utah Legislature suspended school testing requirements after districts said they were unsure whether they would have enough tests to comply. Utahs state testing sites were overrun in mid-January with a surge of coronavirus cases, and Gov. Spencer Cox called on most people in the state to stop getting tested, even if they had COVID-19 symptoms.

Dr. Adam Hersh, an expert in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Utah who also advises schools in the state, said the program was not designed for the conditions of the omicron surge that has depleted staff and supplies of tests.

Moving away from test-to-stay is endorsed in updated guidelines from the PolicyLab at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. They suggest that schools stop requiring weekly testing for students and school workers who arent showing symptoms, to reduce excessive burden to school staff and families. Those who show mild symptoms should consider testing if tests are available.

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The Biden administration, which aims to keep schools open, has been working to increase testing nationwide. It said that 5 million rapid antigen tests and 5 million PCR lab tests would be provided each month to primary and secondary schools across the country.

c.2021 The New York Times Company
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Netflix subscribers in South Africa have gradually been receiving price increase notifications over the last few months.

The streaming giant first announced price changes to its Standard and Premium plans in October 2021.

Netflix said the new prices reflected improvements to its content catalogue and new features on the platform and were necessary to continuously increase the services value proposition.

The pricing revisions included Standard plans increasing from R139 per month to R159 and Premium jumping from R169 to R199.

The prices of the Mobile and Basic plans remained the same, at R49 and R99, respectively.

This was the first price increase for the streaming giants packages since it launched in South Africa in January 2016.

Netflix said at the time prices would be increased in the coming weeks, and that existing members would be notified by email and within the Netflix app a month before the new prices were applied to them.

New customers would pay the increased prices from day one.

The table below summarises the new and old pricing of each Netflix plan in South Africa.

Netflix pricing in South Africa Tier Current price New price Increase Mobile R49 R49 0% Basic R99 R99 0% Standard R139 R159 14% Premium R169 R199 18%

The extended timeline for the increases has caused some confusion among Netflix subscribers in South Africa.

While certain existing members are still paying the old price, others have cried foul over already paying the new fees.

One MyBroadband employees price increase already came into effect in December, while two others only saw their price changes implemented from February.

A MyBroadband forum member also reported his increase came into effect in January.

Therefore, the confusion comes from Netflix not implementing pricing changes across the board from a set date, like some other online services do.

Instead, it implements price changes to specific customers based on their billing cycles.

Netflix customers are billed on different dates, depending on when they signed up for the service.

That means that some who signed up later in the month would only start paying their new fee at a later stage.

It is unclear why the changes werent implemented during the same month for all customers, however.
Civil rights organisation Afriforum and labour movement Solidarity have launched their legal challenges against the national state of disaster.

The two organisations served papers in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday requesting that the continuation of the current state of disaster be declared invalid.

In its court papers, Solidarity contends that the ongoing extension of the state of disaster is irrational and extremely damaging for the economy as well as for social and political norms in South Africa, Solidarity said in a statement on Wednesday.

Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann argued that the governments relaxation of regulations effectively already confirmed that the Covid-19 disaster was a thing of the past.

President Cyril Ramaphosas cabinet recently announced that people who tested positive for Covid-19 but showed no symptoms, no longer had to isolate.

In addition, the isolation period for symptomatic cases was reduced to 7 days, while persons who came into contact with them were also no longer required to isolate if they showed no symptoms.

Rotational learning and 1-metre social distancing at schools were also abolished.

Solidarity said the Disaster Management Act did not provide for a state of disaster as a preventive action, but could only be used to manage an active threatening disaster.

Hermann warned that clinging stubbornly to the state of disaster would be disastrous in itself.

A continuation of the state of disaster based on the principle that there may well be another wave in the future, is clearly deranged, Hermann said.

How, according to such logic, would one ever return to a functioning democracy? Hermann asked.

The Disaster Management Act [DMA] has always been intended to create a drastic, yet very short-term situation  for the very reason of allowing the government to move quickly, Hermann said.

Hermann said it was absurd that the ruling party wanted to keep South Africa in a semi-autocracy that had become almost permanent simply because they had not created any significant additional capacity at hospitals.

It is time to make an end to the Command Council, to empower people to make their own decisions and to stop the disruptive uncertainty that is crippling our economy, Hermann stated.

Solidarity and Afriforums applications come amid rising public calls demanding the end of the state of disaster and the disbanding of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC).

A collective opinion piece by a group of health experts, including Wits vaccinology professor Shabir Mahdi, proposed a set of alternative measures to manage the pandemic.

Business groups, opposition parties, and several government officials have also called for the state of disaster to be lifted to allow the countrys economy to recover.

President Ramaphosa has acknowledged that there was a good argument to be made for the end of the state of disaster.

The head of the NCCC, cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, recently told the National Council of Provinces that her department had written to other ministries to decide if the state of disaster regulations could be terminated.

Solidarity contends that lifting the state of disaster would not imply that Covid-19 had disappeared but only meant the disastrous consequences that justified an initial lockdown no longer existed.

It is not about whether we are finally done with the virus or that the virus has disappeared, Hermann explained.

If that has to be the criterion, then we will forever be subject to a command council with few checks and balances to regulate it.

Hermann added that Covid-19 had become manageable without the drastic measures enabled by the national state of disaster.

All indications point to the fact that the disease is now endemic. The virus will be with us for a long time, but the disaster is over.

Solidarity court application to declare state of disaster invalid
South Africas top ICT companies all have one thing in common  they advertise on MyBroadband.

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Caltrans will implement one-way traffic control Feb. 22-25 in St. Helena's Highway 29 elm tunnel as crews perform regular tree maintenance and remove 11 diseased elms.

The 11 elms are infected with tree rot and Dutch Elm Disease and have become a safety concern, according to a press release from the City of St. Helena.

Four consecutive days of work are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, through Friday, Feb. 25.

Flaggers will direct motorists during lane closures. Please be aware of all construction signage. Motorists are advised to expect delays and exercise caution while driving in this area. All work is weather and conditions permitting.
St. Helena voters are likely to face a June bond measure that would help the city pay for a daunting array of infrastructure projects.

Last week the council talked about creating a bond measure to fund storm drain repairs. But at Mondays special meeting, the council decided to take a broader approach encompassing water, sewer and storm drain projects.

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A general obligation (GO) bond measure would require a two-thirds vote to pass. A recent survey found 70% support for a $54 million water bond, but the bond measure being formulated by the council would likely be much smaller.

The council hasnt settled on the size of the bond measure or a final project list, but city staff compiled a conceptual list with $19 million worth of projects:

- $10.4 million for storm drains repairs/replacement;

- $3.7 million for water projects, including new water mains and pipelines, fire flow improvements, and repairs at Bell Canyon and the lower reservoir;

- $3.2 million for wastewater projects, including new sewer lines and an upgraded Crinella lift station; and

- $1.7 million for a pump station and 9,000 feet of pipeline to distribute recycled water from the new wastewater treatment plant.

A conceptual $20 million GO bond measure would impose an average tax rate of $15.22 per $100,000 of assessed property value through 2059.

St. Helena has a long list of urgent infrastructure projects and two primary ways to fund them: GO bonds or higher utility rates. Higher rates are likely to be adopted later this year, but the more projects that can be funded with bonds, the less drastic the rate hikes will be.

The new rates would pay for high-priority projects that arent on the $19 million list, such as replacing the Rutherford pipeline ($6.8 million) and introducing smart water meters that can be monitored remotely ($2 million).

Current council policy, which could be changed leading up to the ballot measure, calls for water and sewer capital improvements to be financed solely through utility fees. Councilmember Lester Hardy said he generally supports that principle, but hes open to exceptions when strict adherence  will lead to a bad result.

Thats the situation were in today, he said. Were faced with a pretty daunting list of capital improvement projects.

A GO bond measure devoted only to storm drains, as the council discussed last week, would probably fail because it wouldnt address issues of greater public concern like water security and fire security, Hardy said.

Members of the public and the council have raised concerns about GO bonds  which are paid for by property owners inside the city limits  funding projects that benefit the 15% of water customers who live outside the city limits. Those customers account for about 15% of the citys water consumption.

Hardy acknowledged those equity concerns, but he said the projects that would be funded by the bond would benefit the whole city.

The net result (of the proposed bond measure) benefits the entire city of St. Helena  all the residents and taxpayers within it, Hardy said.

Vice Mayor Paul Dohring agreed.

Were spreading the pain and trying to deal with these issues of equity and urgency we face, Dohring said.

The council could approve a draft ordinance and ballot question on Feb. 8.

You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com.

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Tuesday, Jan. 25

2217  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Silverado Trail just north of Zinfandel Lane.

2238  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop near Silverado/Fawn Park.

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2316  Police helped a drunk guest get back to his hotel room. He was not being belligerent or violent.

2352  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop near Madrona/Main.

Wednesday, Jan. 26

0928  Non-injury accident at Main/Adams.

1003  A dog was running on Spring Mountain Road. Police took the dog back to its house.

1254  Report of a woman lying five feet from the railroad tracks close to Main Street.

1419  Non-injury hit-and-run on Main Street. A silver BMW hit a silver Mercedes and left the scene.

1445  A 3/4-inch gas line was hit on Pratt Avenue.

1448  A man said his vehicle had been hit by a biker on Pratt Avenue.

1725  Report of a reckless driver in a black Silverado passing illegally and running red lights on Main Street. Police pulled over the driver.

Thursday, Jan. 27

1120  A silver Civic parked on Charter Oak Avenue was damaged by another vehicle. A note with the responsible vehicles information was left on the car.

1227  Report of a juvenile issue on school grounds on Hillview Place.

1310  Report of smoke in the hills visible from Vallejo/Sulphur Springs. Cal Fire confirmed that it was a permissible burn day.

1724  Report of a reckless driver passing over double yellows and swerving in and out of lanes on Highway 29 near Big Tree Road.

1802  Medical aid for a juvenile athlete who dislocated their elbow doing a back handspring on Spring Street.

1818  Report of two water tanks overflowing on McCorkle Avenue.

1921  Medical aid for a man shivering and looking pale on Sylvaner Avenue.

2043  Report of domestic abuse on Monte Vista Avenue. Police arrested a 30-year-old St. Helena man on suspicion of domestic battery, violating a restraining order and resisting an officer.

2209  Equipment was running near Crane Avenue. The caller said operations were supposed to stop at 7 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 28

0822  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.

0852  An elderly driver asked an officer for directions to Safeway.

0954  Report of dogs barking for two hours on Pinot Way.

1034  A car ran out of gas blocking one lane of Oak Avenue.

1300  Report of a loose dog near Spring/Valley View.

1709  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.

Saturday, Jan. 29

0206  Medical aid on Park Street.

0727  A customer entered City Hall and created a disturbance on Thursday.

0739  Police followed up on a bullying incident that occurred at school. The mother of the boys involved asked an officer to talk to her sons.

1126  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Charter Oak Avenue.

1354  The lid of an irrigation pipe near the Sulphur Creek Bridge collapsed, creating a hazard.

1511  Garbage was blocking the eastbound lane of Madrona Avenue near Scott Street.

1517  Report of three juveniles on the roof of the elementary school.

1553  Medical aid for a man passed out at a Highway 29 winery.

1844  A camera captured motion in the backyard of a Hunt Avenue home.

2201  Report of loud music and dirt bikes in the Riesling/Sylvaner area.

Sunday, Jan. 30

1751  A fire alarm was going off at a McCorkle Avenue home, but there was no visible smoke. Cal Fire was notified.

Monday, Jan. 31

0004  Possible DUI near Main/Deer Park.

0758  Report of three vehicles parked in a red zone on Pine Street.

0909  A caller said someone went through their vehicle on Signorelli Circle. The caller didnt know if anything had been stolen, but the person had smoked a cigarette inside the vehicle.

0938  Non-injury accident on Hunt Avenue.

1025  A water truck was reported stolen from Silverado Trail outside the city limits.

1409  An officer met with a vice principal on Grayson Avenue.
Theories are formulated to explain, predict and understand phenomena, and to challenge and extend existing knowledge. Theorists, those who develop the theories, are academics, scientists, legal scholars and economists. To ensure theories are valid and relevant, data, critical thinking and research are essential. For example, Jean Piagets Constructivist Theory was considered a "radical concept" in 1936. He theorized that humans create knowledge through the interaction between their experiences and ideas thus affirming that human development is socially situated and that knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. In other words, we have the opportunity reconstruct our perspective when we encounter those whose beliefs/values, experiences and worldview may be different that our own.

Enter Critical Race Theory, a term which I dare to say most of us had never heard of until the summer of 2020 when protests over the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin took center stage. In September 2020, former president Trump issued an Executive Order excluding from federal contracts any diversity and inclusion training, interpreting it as Divisive Concepts. Critical Race Theory (CRT) was considered a divisive concept.

According to the Brookings Institute, legislatures in nine states have passed laws to ban teaching of critical race theory. Twenty more states have pending legislation. None of these state bills actually mention "critical race theory" explicitly, but rather ban discussions and training that infer that the United States is inherently racist. Topics such as conscious and unconscious bias, privilege, discrimination and oppression are banned from that discourse. Furthermore, school boards in Georgia, Utah, Alabama, and Florida have introduced new guidelines to ban CRT-related discussions. At a recent conservative Christian conference, former Vice President Mike Pence said critical race theory is racism pure and simple and should be rejected by every American of every race. Senator Ted Cruz went on to say critical race theory is bigoted, it's a lie, and every bit is racist as the clansman in white sheets. We hear commentators and pundits extolling their expertise on the subject  except theyve got it wrong.

Legal scholars Kimberle Crenshaw, Derrik Bell, Richard Delgado first coined the term critical race theory in the early 1980s. It expanded on the work of Critical Legal Studies which originated in the 1970s to examine how the law and legal institutions serve the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the poor and marginalized. CRT posits that race and racial inequality are reproduced through the law and could be used to deepen racial inequality. The Brookings Institute states CRT does not attribute racism to White people as individuals or even to entire groups of people. Simply put, CRT states that U.S. social institutions (criminal justice, educational system, labor market, housing market and healthcare system) are laced with racism embedded in laws, regulations, rules and procedures that lead to differential outcomes by race.

Race is a social construct. It was devised in 1776 and embedded into the U.S. Constitution to ensure that power, control and privilege was limited to a few. In order to give the South one third more seats in Congress, Article 1, Section 2, Clause 2 declared that slaves held a 3/5 of a persons status. This was the law. Not until the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments was this law repealed. Within ten years, Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation and denying basic civil rights were "the law." It took 100 years and the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to right the wrong. The past informs the present.

CRT recognizes that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies to address inequity and inequality that persists today. Perhaps Piagets Constructivist Theory could help us maneuver that metamorphosis from previously held beliefs to an awareness of how history informs our present dialogue. It is through open discussions about the lasting impact of racism, slavery and segregation that we, those of us having never experienced such atrocities, have the opportunity to see, feel and understand its impact on the lives of others. Its time to open door to those conversations  in the classroom, at city council meetings, with civic groups and community forums. We can deconstruct previously held perspectives and reconstruct an awareness that leads to equity for all. Are you ready to enter into the conversation? Are you ready to be a voice for equity and justice? One would hope ...

Beth Lincoln is the founder of Women Stand Up St. Helena, and Monday Vigil  Black Lives Matter. She is a national speaker with expertise in cultural awareness and diversity in healthcare, education and law enforcement. Ms Lincoln is a Family Nurse Practitioner and adjunct faculty at Pacific Union College.
As a young man Ken Boyd dedicated himself to learning and mastering all aspects of glass art, including glass painting.

His business, Napa Glass Art, specialized in stained glass, restoration repair, sand-blasted glass, glass tiles and painting on glass. Though he gave up his business in 2017, after 22 years, Boyd continues bringing beauty into the world through his glass creations.

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I never want to stop working because I want to keep my skills up. I get a huge thrill from making useful things that are attractive, Boyd said during an interview in his Napa studio garage.

Neighbors know that when the garage door is open, they are welcome to enter and visit Boyd as he works. In addition to seeing stained glass windows in various stages, they might see unique glass beads, glass tiles, wooden frames and wooden handled eating utensils as well as theater backdrops.

Boyds stained glass windows and restored leaded glass windows are in many private residences throughout the Bay Area and in Carmel.

In Napa, the public can see Boyds stained glasswork at Blackbird Inn and Finch Guest House, 1755 First St.; Cedar Gables Inn, 486 Coombs St.; Napa River Inn, 500 Main St., Napa, and the historic Akerman Heritage House, 608 Randolph St.

In St. Helena his stained glasswork can be seen at First Presbyterian church, 1428 Spring St.

Mentors in glasswork

A few years after Boyd moved to Napa with his parents in 1973, he was introduced to glasswork by Hubert Huether, the father of local artist and city planning commissioner, Gordon Huether.

Hubert never told us you have to learn this or know this, he simply showed us as he was doing it (glasswork) himself and it fascinated Gordon and me," Boyd said.

Boyd and Huether, both young men at the time, threw themselves into learning about and creating traditional glass art.

Hubert was responsible for Gordons art career and for mine. He was a mentor to him and to me as well, Boyd said, smiling as he recalled times spent working together.

Jerry Sinclair, who owned Gothic Glass, was also a mentor in glasswork.

Trends in using stained glass come and go, Boyd said. It had been popular until around 1920 when design trends changed. Architects like Frank Lloyd Wright stopped using it and it wasnt until the 1960s that stained glass came back with a vengeance.

Stained glass was extremely popular through the '70s to '90s, Boyd said. "Fortunate for me.

The kind of work I do isnt as fashionable anymore but Ive always wanted to be a really, really good craftsman artist. I wanted to keep doing what I was doing.

Gordon saw the coming trend and changed, Boyd said. He came up with new concepts of glass art -- what to do and to sell to the public to graduate away from the traditional art glass. So, he was able to grow his business because of that change. We both got what we wanted long ago.

Boyd and Huether have remained friends who respect each others work.

An American original

Ken is an American original," Gordon Huether said. "He is an Old World craftsperson  the kind you dont see much anymore. He stayed with classical glass art. Whenever someone is restoring a Victorian home or a B&B, I refer them to Ken.

Heuther added, When my daughter Erika was young, she created a pattern for a stained glass window that Ken made for her. It hangs in the office.

Though he still does commission work Boyd jokes about keeping his best work for himself. Each year, since 2014, he has challenged himself to make increasingly difficult stained glass windows for his own pleasure. He keeps these in his home and shares photos of them on his blog.

People ask me where these stained glass windows will go, Boyd said. I dont know. The important thing to me is that they have been done -- that they exist, Boyd said. Long after I am gone, they will still exist. They will be in someones possession.

Finding inspiration

The seed of inspiration for Boyds musical stained glass series came from seeing two quite old stained glass windows in a Mill Valley antique store in 1979. One was a lyre and the other a lute.

I snuck photos of them because they were so beautiful and talked to my mentor and friend Jerry at Gothic Glass, Boyd said. I asked him how I could do something like this and he advised me on how it could be done.

Boyd reproduced the stained glass windows from the photos and sold them to an antique store for a good price. They were the first stained glass art he ever sold.

Two remarkable creations from this series are a violin window and a mandolin window.

Music is as important as visual in a positive way. It puts you in a good place, Boyd said. I might add to my music stained glass series.

Boyd also finds inspiration for his stained glass art from travel, especially from visiting old churches in Europe and photographing them.

There are places in Europe that are magical, he said.

When I think of the amount of work and the amount of dedication and skill that went into the stained glass windows in old European churches I am astounded, he said. Imagine how they did so much and did it so well  there is no junk from that time  no wasted windows.

We're fortunate that theyve survived, he continued. Of course, theyve been restored many times, but still the glass is still there.

The tradition of glasswork

Very little has changed in stained glass art over the centuries.

Glass cutting is easier now, Boyd said. We have wonderful carbide cutters now that do a great job and kilns are now powered by electricity and not by wood, which means we can do precise work reliably. Believe it or not, thats about it.

Glass is still the same, lead is still lead and putty is still putty," he added. "If I could transport myself back 800 years, I could jump back into making stained glass -- but Id take my glass cutter with me and surprise everybody, he said, laughing.

In the past, stained glass windows were done for practical reasons as well as for beauty. For centuries glass could only be made a certain size so leading together many small pieces of glass was a necessity.

There was another practical incentive for using stained glass.

The reason those great churches had that glass was the changes in architectural style from Romanesque to Gothic, Boyd said. The churches were opened up with huge windows whereas before they had tiny slits in the walls. The design of Gothic allowed for much bigger windows and many more of them so that created the opportunity to fill them with the message of religion.

Boyd begins his stained glass projects by fully sketching out the design.

The fabrication, to me, is the fun part -- the dealing with colors and textures and materials of wood, metal, glass and paint, Boyd said. I get to use gold and silver and lead and copper and brass and some of the most beautiful glass made in the world by hand from Germany, France and the USA. To use those fabulous materials is a great pleasure.

He also enjoys making his own tools and using the tools that once belonged to his grandfather. When his grandfather was only 15 years old, he bought a vise, which is a cherished tool these days in Boyds studio garage.

Inside the garage studio

Theres a friendly ambiance within Boyds studio garage that attracts other artists like his friend and neighbor Bill Mellberg, who works with wood, ceramics and glass.

Napa jewelry designer Sue F. Payne has been coming there for years.

Ken delights in sharing his newest creation when I come to buy beads for my jewelry design. Of course, Im always dazzled and have to add them to my collection, Payne said. "His glass is exquisite and exciting. Im proud to have his flame work beads be part of my designs.

Boyds unique beads are a result of blending various metals with molten glass.

Questioned about the theater backdrops in his garage, Boyd said that he made them for the Dreamweavers Theater from 1995 to 2006. After that, he began making stage settings for local high school productions. He is currently working on stage backdrops for Napa High Schools upcoming performances of Little Shop of Horrors.

Recently, Boyds desire to share what he sees as beautiful and amazing in the world has led him into travel writing.

To see more of his stained glass art, go to kenboydart.blogspot.com.
World Insights: Why U.S. keeps stoking Russia-Ukraine tensions

09:10, February 02, 2022 By Deng Xianlai, Zhang Yisheng and Feng Yasong ( Xinhua

UN Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo (C) speaks at a Security Council meeting on Ukraine at UN Headquarters in New York on Jan. 31, 2022. DiCarlo on Monday called for dialogue to defuse the current tensions between Russia and Ukraine. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. and Russian diplomats on Monday had a heated debate at the United Nations Security Council over the Ukraine crisis, with the U.S. side blaming Russia for intending to invade Ukraine and Russian diplomats accusing Washington of "whipping up tensions" over the current crisis.

Analysts said that the current U.S. administration has reasons to keep fueling the already-strained Russia-Ukraine tensions: one is to use the crisis to divert domestic attention and build momentum for the upcoming mid-term elections; the other is to revive its influence over Europe by uniting its European allies against Russia.

U.S. TOOLKIT

Experts said the U.S. administration has taken three major moves over the crisis on the Ukrainian border.

The first is to exaggerate an imminent Russian "attack" on Ukraine by disclosing relevant "intelligence" obtained by the U.S. and its allies, revealing so-called "evidence" of Russia's continued destabilization of Ukraine, and ordering the departure of U.S. staff at its embassy in Ukraine.

The second is to beef up the threat of economic sanctions against Russia. The potential sanctions target several large Russian banks and some important financial institutions, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an effort to cut Russia's ties with the Western financial system.

The third is to strengthen military deployment within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), while assisting Ukraine without directly sending troops to the country. Several shipments of weapons have been sent to Ukraine and more military and economic aid has been promised by the United States.

Moscow disapproves of Washington's moves over the current crisis surrounding Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that U.S. news outlets in recent months "have been publishing a very large amount of unverified, distorted and deliberately false and provocative information about what is happening in Ukraine and around it."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow did not want war, but would not allow its interests to be undermined or overlooked.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday also called on the West not to create "panic" over the current crisis, adding that warnings of an imminent attack were putting Ukraine's economy at risk.

U.S. MOTIVATION

Analysts said that Washington's overblown description of a looming war relates to its own domestic and diplomatic concerns.

On the domestic front, the current administration's move on the Ukraine crisis could show its toughness in foreign policy, over which Republicans have been keen to accuse U.S. President Joe Biden of being weak.

As Biden's approval ratings are at a low point, local media said that his hawkish attitude toward Russia is likely to gain more votes in the November mid-term elections.

Diplomatically, the Biden administration could use the Russia-Ukraine tensions to further pressure Moscow, and consequently to woo and unite European allies to take a tougher stance against Russia.

Given that the U.S. international image has been tarnished by its hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, the Ukraine crisis would be a chance for the Biden administration to show off its leadership in the West.

However, foreign policy is not a top priority in the U.S. election campaign at this stage. Americans, instead, are more concerned about the economy, the pandemic and other issues closer to their personal lives. In addition, many European countries, which rely on Russia for energy, do not want to escalate the tensions and do not want to be bound by the U.S. policy towards Russia, experts have said.

CALL FOR DIALOGUE

In contrast to U.S. efforts to fan the flames, the international community has been actively mediating to cool the current tensions through dialogue.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Monday called for quiet diplomacy instead of megaphone diplomacy on the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

The parties concerned should persist in seeking to resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiations, Zhang said. "China once again calls on all parties concerned to remain calm, not to do anything to aggravate tensions or hype up the crisis, and to properly resolve their differences through consultations on an equal footing on the basis of mutual respect and fully taking into account each other's legitimate security concerns," Zhang said.

China's position on Ukraine is consistent, said Zhang, adding that to resolve the current issue, there is a need to return to the original point of implementing the new Minsk Agreement, which was endorsed by the Security Council in its Resolution 2202.

Putin has said that he would continue Russia's dialogue with the West, while Zelensky also expressed hope for increased diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.

Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone conversation on Friday to discuss the establishment of long-term and legally binding security guarantees between Russia and the West.

Putin stressed that the U.S. and NATO responses did not take into account such fundamental concerns of Russia as stopping NATO's expansion and refraining from deploying offensive weapons near Russian borders, among others.

When discussing the situation in Ukraine, the Russian leader emphasized the importance of Kiev's strict compliance with the 2015 Minsk Agreements and other deals.

"Dialogue with Russia is not a gamble, it is an approach that responds to a necessity," an anonymous senior official was quoted by The New York Times as saying.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
Mary Ann Love, who served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1993 to 2015, died Jan. 27 with her family by her side. The Glen Burnie resident was 81.

Mary Ann Elizabeth Loftus, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Loftus, was born in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 21, 1940.

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Her husband, Josef Love, said he met his wife on a blind date in her hometown around 1960 and got married the next year.

I will miss having her around as a companion, and we were married 60 years, Mr. Love said.

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The couple lived in England for seven years and, when Mr. Love left the U.S. Air Force, they moved to Maryland. Their neighbor at that time was then-Anne Arundel County Council member Ron McGuirk, and Ms. Love became his legislative aide from 1974 to 1982. She then worked as a community service specialist for the Anne Arundel County Department of Aging from 1982 to 1994.

Ms. Love was appointed to the House of Delegates to represent District 32 in western Anne Arundel County in 1993. She won the seat on her own right in the 1994 election, and she kept it through four elections after that until she decided to not run for reelection in 2014. She was the first woman to serve as chair of the Anne Arundel County delegation, holding the post from 1999 to 2010.

Del. Mary Ann Love speaks during the opening of the 2014 General Assembly at the State House in Annapolis. Love, who represented western Anne Arundel County in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1993 to 2015, died Jan. 27. The Glen Burnie resident was 81. (By Joshua McKerrow, Staff, Capital Gazette)

Patrick Armstrong, former chair of the Anne Arundel Democratic Central Committee, met Ms. Love when he was a volunteer with the Anne Arundel Community College Democrats Club in the early 2000s.

She used to go to the county fair and give out nail files with her name on them to get the word out about her campaign. Shed hand out stickers that read, Keep Love in the House, with a big red heart, Mr. Armstrong said. She worked hard to win and was quite successful as a legislator. There were not too many women serving in state government when she first came along in the early 90s.

Ms. Love, current state Sen. Pam Beidle and the late Ted Sophocleus were a strong team in District 32 for many years, according to Mr. Armstrong.

Ms. Beidle said she met Ms. Love in the late 1990s when Ms. Beidle was running for Anne Arundel County Council.

She was always a loving person, and you liked her as soon as you met her. She was always helpful to everyone and nonpartisan, Ms. Beidle said.

Ms. Beidle said she enjoyed her time working with Ms. Love and loved when Ms. Love was chair of the delegation during a time when there were only three Anne Arundel County women in the House of Delegates: Ms. Love, Ms. Beidle and Virginia Clagett.

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She had a way with people and a gentle leadership that got things done, Ms. Beidle said. I miss her a lot. We used to go to dinner after work. I used to see her every day, and our offices were down the hall from each other.

Mr. Love said his wife was very patriotic and loved the flag.

She is the most loyal person I knew, and I dont think she had a mean bone in her body, he said. She was super fair to everyone, and it didnt matter what party the person belonged to  she was friends with them.

Some of Ms. Loves favorite hobbies included reading, going to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina and attending Ravens games in Baltimore.

She cast one of the votes to have the [Ravens] stadium built, and I remember it being a close one, Mr. Love said.

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In addition to her husband, Ms. Love is survived by two sons, Brian Love and his wife, Susan, of Glenelg, and Eric J. Love and his wife, Teresa, of Severna Park; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Bernadette Church, 801 Stevenson Road in Severn. A reception will follow at Hellas Restaurant, 8498 Veterans Highway in Millersville. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations to be made to the Greater Maryland chapter of the Alzheimers Association.
A vulnerability has been discovered in the WhatsApp messenger, according to the New York Post. It allows owners of Android devices to view messages and media files deleted by the other party using third-party WAMR software. While the app is currently only available for Android, it also tracks messages from iPhone.

The service can monitor other popular messengers. Once installed on a smartphone, WAMR detects all messaging services installed on the smartphone and prompts the user to select the one they are interested in.

After that, the application starts to monitor notifications from the selected services. If WAMR notices that the other party has deleted an audio or text message, it will offer to view its contents.

In addition, WAMR can carry hidden dangers. According to the publication, the application requires too many permissions to work. This means that this utility can be used to steal data from other applications installed on the device.

At the time of writing, the app is still available on Google Play and has been downloaded over 50 million times.
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna

Dollar rises slightly after long decline, euro also goes up in Armenia

Civil disobedience actions in regions: Yerevan-Goris highway blocked

Azerbaijan settling occupied Armenian Hadrut, Shushi cities of Artsakh

New colors and new services: Team Telecom Armenia completes rebranding

Armenia legislature speaker receives France-Armenia Friendship Group delegation
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna

Dollar rises slightly after long decline, euro also goes up in Armenia

Civil disobedience actions in regions: Yerevan-Goris highway blocked

Azerbaijan settling occupied Armenian Hadrut, Shushi cities of Artsakh

New colors and new services: Team Telecom Armenia completes rebranding

Armenia legislature speaker receives France-Armenia Friendship Group delegation
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna

Dollar rises slightly after long decline, euro also goes up in Armenia

Civil disobedience actions in regions: Yerevan-Goris highway blocked

Azerbaijan settling occupied Armenian Hadrut, Shushi cities of Artsakh

New colors and new services: Team Telecom Armenia completes rebranding

Armenia legislature speaker receives France-Armenia Friendship Group delegation
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna

Dollar rises slightly after long decline, euro also goes up in Armenia

Civil disobedience actions in regions: Yerevan-Goris highway blocked

Azerbaijan settling occupied Armenian Hadrut, Shushi cities of Artsakh

New colors and new services: Team Telecom Armenia completes rebranding

Armenia legislature speaker receives France-Armenia Friendship Group delegation
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

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Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

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Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

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Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

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Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

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Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

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Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

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Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

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Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

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NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

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Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

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Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

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EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

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Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

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Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

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The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) National Assembly (NA) on Wednesday passed, in the first reading, the draft law on making an amendment to the Artsakh Constitution.

Also, the NA decided to send this proposed law to the Supreme Court of Artsakh to determine its constitutionality.

With the aforesaid amendment, the period for reviewing the administrative-territorial division of Artsakh shall be increased from 5 years to 10 yearsand that period ends in March.

Several other matters are also on the agenda of the current sessions of the Artsakh NA.
Armenia has not yet made a decision regarding participation in the forum in Antalya. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced this on February 2 at a joint press conference with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schalenberg.

The Minister said that he and the Armenian Special Representative for the normalization of relations with Turkey Ruben Rubinyan received an invitation from the Turkish side.

According to Mirzoyan, the forthcoming conference was also discussed at his meeting with his Austrian colleague.

There is no solution yet. The issue is being discussed, Mirzoyan noted, adding that the issue should not be considered in the plane of bilateral relations, on the contrary, this is an important international diplomatic event in which Armenia may decide to take part. According to the minister, even if we associate participation with the process of normalizing relations, there is nothing but positive shades here.

In turn, the Austrian Foreign Minister noted that it was a good gesture on the part of Ankara to invite representatives of Armenia.
YEREVAN.  By and large, there has been no change in Armenia's position. Both in recent years and in the past 25 to 30 years, Yerevan finds that it is necessary to open the borders with Turkey and establish diplomatic relations without preconditions. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this at Wednesdays joint news conference with Alexander Schallenberg, the visiting Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs.

According to Mirzoyan, the Armenian side has now entered the respective process with the same expectations.

The FM noted that so far just one meeting of the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey has taken place.

"It could not include many substantive issues. But there are signs that the process will be successful. However, this is the matter that does not depend on the position of [solely] one party," the Armenian Foreign Minister added.
The international community cannot replace the political will of the parties, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schalenberg told Wednesday at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.

The Austrian minister was asked about the solution of humanitarian problems arising from the aggression of Azerbaijan, primarily the Armenians held captive in Baku and the protection of the Armenian cultural heritage in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan, and the role of the international community in solving humanitarian issues.

Ignoring a directly asked question, the minister launched into arguments about the political will of the parties. Reaffirming the position of Austria and the EU that the conflict should be resolved within the framework of the OSCE, the minister said that the international community cannot replace the political will of the parties.

According to him, Yerevan and Baku should show their will.

He added that the international community, can only contribute, but the courage of the parties is needed.
The international community must decide on the matter of the activity of the principle of non-use of force. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this at Wednesdays joint news conference with Alexander Schallenberg, the visiting Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs.

Answering the question about the possibility of signing a peace agreement with Azerbaijan and the respective "red lines" of Armenia, the FM noted that the answers are more than obvious.

"I have already said that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing is the only international format endowed with a mandate to find ways to resolve the Karabakh conflict. The solution has not been found yet, and the negotiations in that format must continue," Mirzoyan stressed.

The Armenian Foreign Minister noted that one of the results of this work should be the clarification of the parameters of the universal peace agreement and, in fact, its signing.

"One of the principles is the right of peoples to self-determination. The other principle, the principle of non-use of force, was grossly violated [by Azerbaijan] in 2020. Not only Armenia and Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)], the whole world must decide whether this principle remains on the agenda, or the states can resolve the fates of the peoples by force. If the rule is violated for one, then such a door is opened for the others, too," Ararat Mirzoyan warned.
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No matter how much the international community uses its tools, the parties themselves must have political will. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this at Wednesdays joint news conference with Alexander Schallenberg, the visiting Austrian Minister for European and International Affairsand regarding the avenues for building peace and stability in the region.

"The whole world sees Armenia's readiness and desire to build peace and stability in the region and resolve problematic issues. (). However, opposite messages are coming from Baku," Mirzoyan added.

Speaking about the recent aggressive statement by the president of Azerbaijan, the Armenian FM stressed that the aggressive anti-Armenian Azerbaijani rhetoric and moves at the border, refusing to resolve humanitarian issues, and holding Armenian detainees do not contributeto put it mildlyto the creation of a constructive atmosphere.

"Although it was not assumed by trilateral statement, the Armenian side handed over the maps of the minefields, as we do not want people to die, and we resolved the issue unilaterally," Mirzoyan recalled.

"In conditions when Armenia is really interested and announces its readiness and desire to build peace and stability, there must be a constructive approach from the other party as well. Aggressive and anti-Armenian rhetoric does not contribute to thatbut the opposite," said the Armenian FM.
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Azerbaijan puts obstacles to the work of international organizations in Artsakh, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

Asked that Azerbaijan puts obstacles for representatives of international organizations to visit Artsakh, the Foreign Minister noted that Baku's non-constructive position is also visible here.

According to him, even the ICRC, this purely humanitarian organization, is forced by Azerbaijan to fit into the policy dictated by it. The minister recalled that the ICRC is the only organization that has previously worked in Karabakh. Now Azerbaijan limits this too, Mirzoyan noted.

We wish a constructive dialogue and resolution of all issues, our goal is peace and stability in the region. And here a similar position of Azerbaijan is required, the minister said.
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Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
YEREVAN.  The delegation led by Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg, who has arrived in Armenia on a working visit, on Wednesday visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevanand accompanied by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, reported the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

The FMs of the two countries laid wreaths at the memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Subsequently, the guests placed flowers at the Eternal Flame and observed a minute of silence in memory of the sanctified martyrs of the Armenian Genocide.
YEREVAN.  After his previous visit to the region, his impression is that it is a region very rich in natural and human resources and potential. Alexander Schallenberg, the visiting Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs, stated about this at Wednesdays joint news conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

Commenting on the question addressed to his Armenian colleague about the "red lines" for Armenia in establishing relations with Azerbaijan, Schallenberg noted that "red lines" do not contribute to the development of the region.

The Austrian FM noted that as EU representatives, the Austrians want the region to be stable and prosperous, where people will see prospects again.

He noted that the last elections that they witnessed are about the fact that people voted for the future, economic development, separation of powers, that is very encouraging, and he would like to see more in the region, and the EU is ready to helpif it can do something.

The Austrian FM added that talked about interconnectednessbe it railways, roads or electricity networks, this is something the EU can help in the 3+1 format, and they are ready to do that.
YEREVAN.  An Armenian-Austrian business forum will be held in Yerevan Thursday. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, and the visiting Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg stated about this during their joint news conference in Yerevan Wednesday.

The Armenian FM noted that the current visit of his Austrian colleague coincides with the 30th anniversary of Armenian-Austrian diplomatic relations. According to Mirzoyan, many respective programs have been implemented during these past three decades, and there is a considerable track-record of bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, and cultural spheres. The Armenian FM added, however, that the full potential of Armenian-Austrian relations has not been used, but there is hope that this visit will be a stimulus to pass to the next stage of these relations.

Mirzoyan informed that the visiting Austrian delegation is accompanied by a business delegation, and that an Armenian-Austrian business forum will be held in Yerevan tomorrow. There are representatives of 20 companies in the Austrian business delegation, and the parties expect that the aforesaid business forum will be productive. Ararat Mirzoyan said that Armenia has a competitive market, the country's authorities are fighting uncompromisingly against corruption, and this creates the necessary conditions for Austrian companies.

During the current visit of the Austrian FM, the office of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) will be opened in Armenia, and this will also become one of the important elements of Armenian-Austrian cooperation.

During their talk, the parties touched upon bilateral issues, as well as the situation in the region and the world. The Armenian FM informed his Austrian counterpart about the processes taking place in the region, the avenues for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the dialogue with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Mirzoyan noted that the Austrian FM welcomed and supported the format of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the efforts aimed at resolving the Karabakh conflict, and expressed support for the solution of all humanitarian issuesfirst of all, the return of prisoners and the protection of cultural heritage.

In his turn, Schallenberg stated that this is the second visit by the Austrian FM to Armenia during the last 12 months, and this attests to the importance of the Armenian-Austrian relations. He said that on behalf of the EU they send a clear message that they want to see and contribute to peace, stability, and prosperity in the South Caucasus.

The Austrian FM said he is in Armenia along the lines of a bilateral format, and that his message is also clear: they will continue to assist the region and Armenia, they are interested and confident that the region has great potential, and the opening of the ADA office in Yerevan gives more space to them on the map of Armenia and the region, and is a reflection of cooperation.

Schallenberg said that since 2011 Armenia has been a partner country in the context of development assistance, but it is not only about development, and it assists in the important processes taking place in the region.

The Austrian FM said the last time he was in Armenia was in June 2021, and since then the mood has changed, it has become more reassuring, and he believes that there is potential and prospects.
Judge Boris Bakhshiyan's respective powers have been suspended. Such a decision was made by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) of Armeniaand during its closed session on Monday.

This decision states that Bakhshiyan's powers as a judge are suspended until the end of the proceedings in the criminal case that has been launched against him.

As reported earlier, SJC on Monday authorized the launching of criminal proceedings against Judge Boris Bakhshiyan, and consenting to remanding him in custody.

In the framework of a criminal case being investigated by the National Security Service, the Prosecutor General had submitted petitions to the SJC to consent to launching criminal proceedings against Judge Bakhshiyan and arresting him.

To note, Bakhshiyan is the judge who commuted the pretrial measure of detention that was imposed against Ashot Minasyana.k.a. Ashot the Iron, the commander of the "Sisakan" detachment and a participant in the three warsand released him on bail and a signature bond not to leave Armenia.

The Association of Judges of Armenia had expressed concern over this process against Judge Boris Bakhshiyanand which is conditioned by the actions of this judge.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk is in Yerevan on a working visit, the government of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

A meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan of Armenia and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk of Russia took place during this visit.

The parties discussed matters on the agenda of Russian-Armenian bilateral relations, including trade and economic cooperation. Both sides stressed the important role of the South Caucasus Railway company for the Armenian economy, and conferred on questions related to the further development of cooperation with this companyand within the framework of the respective concession agreement.

During the meeting, the interlocutors touched also upon the matters on the agenda of the trilateral working group chaired by the deputy PMs of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, as well as the prospects for the restoration of transport communications in the South Caucasus.
In 2021, 11 gas explosions were recorded in Armenia. As a result, 2 people died and 11 were injured, said the head of the Crisis Department of the Armenian Emergency Situations Ministry Arsen Mkrtchyan.

Meanwhile, in 2020, according to him, 9 cases were recorded.

Then 3 people died and 2 people were injured. Basically, these are explosions in apartments and houses. There was also a case of an explosion of a vehicle and a gas station, Mkrtchyan said.
Wedding photo on Aug. 17, 1957, of David and Sondra Zorn, who were together 64 years, and died a few days apart following hospitalization with COVID-19. (Zorn family)

David and Sondra Zorn spent nearly every minute together during the 64 years they were married.

Theyd spend days together in the home they shared with their children, listening to gospel music or watching Jeopardy.

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Ever since they met at a South Side churchs youth group, then married at ages 18 and 24, the couple had been inseparable. They had lived in the same home in Lombard since 1962.

And so their children always thought that when they passed away, they would do that together, too.

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But never did anyone imagine it would be so very close.

The Zorns died within days of each other after sharing a room at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, following hospitalizations with COVID-19. The staff, and their family, worked to place them in the same room, where their hands could rest together and their children could know they felt the comfort of being near.

Deanna Wilkins' parents, David and Sondra Zorn, were together 64 years, and died a few days apart following hospitalization with COVID-19. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

We always said they would probably pass away together, because they were so close, but we didnt know this close, said Deanna Wilkins, their daughter.

Wilkins described her parents as people who loved God and loved their family, spending time as a young family with growing children going on vacations and welcoming foster children. They loved to collect Coca Cola memorabilia, even going to conventions for collectors. Later in life, with 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, they spent summer weekends at a lake house in Michigan, soaking up the water. Thanksgivings were spent around fire pits there.

Family photo of David and Sondra Zorn with their family. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

David Zorn sold supplies for laundry and dry cleaning, and Sondra Zorn stayed at home and ran a day care until the kids were older, later working as a bookkeeper. Throughout the years, the family remained close.

Even in the ups and downs, you just stick together, Wilkins said.

Even in their 80s, they were able to live in their Lombard home, where two children also lived with them.

That was until October, when Sondra Zorn had a stroke and was hospitalized. Complications from the stroke kept her in a hospital and later in rehab. But she kept up her will.

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She had a lot of ups and downs, Wilkins said. She kept on wanting to fight. We would ask her, and she kept on wanting to fight.

Meanwhile, David Zorn, who had dementia, was at home without her, asking his children, Wheres Ma?

In January, Sondra Zorn was transferred to Good Samaritan after she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was having trouble breathing.

Throughout recent months, her children were prepared that it might be time.

But what surprised them was suddenly facing their fathers potential death, too.

We expected my mom, but we didnt expect my dad, Wilkins said.

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David Zorn was hospitalized in January after testing positive for COVID-19.

When Advocate patient relations specialist Johnny Gillespie realized that they would both be there, he knew they should share a room. Years ago, the hospital had moved away from shared rooms to single rooms. This time, it would be the opposite.

Having talked to Wilkins before, when her mom was hospitalized, he had leaned down to whisper in Sondra Zorns ear that he was in constant touch with her daughter, and let her know by touching her hand that someone was there.

And he knew the spouses were not used to being apart. There were these moments where her dad was asking about her mom because they werent together, and that was something that really grips at the heartstrings, Gillespie said.

He asked supervisors, who approved the idea, and they moved their two beds into a room large enough to comfortably hold two, and pushed the beds close enough so their hands could touch.

For what turned out to be their final day alive together, they laid beside each other.

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When Wilkins visited, she could tell being near her father was calming her mother.

I knew my mom knew, Wilkins said. You could see her body relax.

Wilkins would play gospel music they loved, like the Blackwood Brothers. Her fathers favorite song was What A Beautiful Day (For The Lord To Come Again).

She put together two photos of her parents holding hands, a black-and-white photo from their wedding day, the brides hand placed on top of her grooms, showing their new rings. Next to it, from January, a photo with hands covered with hospital tubes and arms in hospital gowns, together.

The Zorns' family recreated a wedding photo of their hands while they were in the hospital. (Zorn family)

Sondra Zorn died Jan. 5, at age 83. Days later, her husband died Jan. 9 at age 89.

Once my mom passed, he just was done, Wilkins said.

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Erin Stafford, an Advocate nurse who has cared for COVID-19 patients including the Zorns, said the moment was one shell remember as a time she was able to help during a pandemic in which she often felt helpless during patients final moments, at times only able to offer FaceTime calls.

The Zorns family did not want to discuss the couples vaccination status.

They were able to be together, and not every husband and wife have that opportunity, especially in this climate and pandemic, Stafford said. Its one of the moments that I will cherish.

Wilkins said the family takes comfort in knowing the couple had more than half a century together and are now in heaven.

It was a very, very peaceful time just to be able to see them be together one last time, Wilkins said. Theyre together now.

abowen@chicagotribune.com
The Italian prosecutors have launched an investigation against the ex-premier Giuseppe Conte.

Documents related to the consulting assistance of the former head of the Italian government to a number of large companies were confiscated, the Roman newspaper Domani reported.

The Italian prosecutor's office gave the sanction for the seizure of documents as part of an investigation into corruption and fraud. A few weeks ago, in secrecy, the Italian Financial Guard seized invoices worth 300,000-400,000 euros, which were issued as payment for Conte's consulting services.

During the investigation, it turned out that the companies to which Conte provided services belonged to the well-known Italian businessman Francesco Bellavista Caltagirone. The prosecutor's office opened a case against the entrepreneur after the testimony of the lawyer Piero Amara, at the moment he is in prison on charges of construction fraud.

Law enforcers believe that Caltagirone's companies are connected with the criminal schemes of the arrested Amara. As part of the investigation, the prosecutor's office also seized documents from three more lawyers who assisted the entrepreneur.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned on January 26 amid the political crisis in the country. Conte announced his decision to step down during a meeting of the Council of Ministers on 26 January.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded to a statement made by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan about Baku's attempts to limit ICRC activities.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart on 2 February in Yerevan, the Armenian Foreign Minister highlighted the attempts of the Azerbaijani authorities to hinder the work of international organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh by stating that Azerbaijan forces ICRC, purely humanitarian organization, to fit into the policy dictated by them.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry immediately responded. Leyla Abdullayeva, head of the MFA Press Service said that the activities of international organizations in the territory of Azerbaijan, in accordance with a resolution of the UN General Assembly of December 19, 1991 "On the coordination of humanitarian assistance", must be carried out on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state. She pointed out that in accordance to that principle the activities of international organizations in the territory of Azerbaijan were implemented.

The representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reminded Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan that the activities of any international organization in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan are a subject of discussion between the international organization and Azerbaijan.

She labeled the comment of the representative of a third state as inappropriate. Leyla Abdullayeva concluded by saying that the Armenian Foreign Minister was better to comment on the issues related to the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by the country to establish peace in the region.

Meanwhile, the resolution mentioned by the representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and its annex have a completely different meaning and context. The UN document implies the consent of the affected party to provide humanitarian assistance and, in principle, on the basis of its request. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh, as a side suffering from Azerbaijani aggression, are asking international organizations for help. However, Azerbaijan, having in reality neither legal nor factual rights to Artsakh, in violation of both OSCE and UN principles, is trying to oppose this.

The endless cynicism with which the Azerbaijani authorities refuse to help solve Artsakh's humanitarian problems should be a grave warning to the international community, confirming Baku's genocidal policy against the Armenians of Artsakh.
Cases of poisoning in Armenia decreased significantly in 2021, said the head of the Crisis Management Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Arsen Mkrtchyan.

According to him, in 2021, 2,486 cases of poisoning were recorded, which is 1222 less than in 2020.

Basically, these are cases of chemical poisoning. There are also cases of poisoning with food, drugs, gas, etc. Last year, most cases of poisoning were associated with the use of alcohol, Mkrtchyan said.

He also added that in 2021, 30 people died as a result of poisoning, while in 2020 this figure was 85 people.

The number of victims of poisoning has also decreased. In particular, in 2020 there were 4188 of them, and in 2021 - 3728, he added.
Emin Colasan, a journalist of the Turkish Sozcu daily, who is implicated in various scandals because of his racist views, this time made a statement about Armenia.

He began one of his articles with ironic words - "so-called Armenia".

Speaking about Armenia, Colasan also allowed the following expression in quotes - "our friend and brother".

The Turkish journalist tried to criticize the authorities for their unprincipled behavior, stressing that Erdogan first threatens some countries and then, under pressure from the US, retreats and improves relations. He cited Israel, Egypt and the UAE as examples.
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
European Union and US envoys called on Kosovo and Serbia to make concrete progress in EU-brokered talks, AP reports.

EU Special Envoy to the Negotiations Miroslav Lajcak and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar will conclude a three-day visit to Pristina, where they met with local leaders and the international community.

According to Lajcak, the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia will contribute to stability in the region.

The international community expected faster progress in the dialogue in 2021, and we hope that this will also be the case in 2022, he added.

The countries of the Western Balkans are at different stages of the process of integration with the European Union.

Brussels has made it clear to both countries that they will not be able to move forward in their efforts to join the EU until relations are normalized.

Since the EU-brokered talks began 11 years ago, Belgrade and Pristina have agreed on a number of issues, including free passage or trade.

Escobar reiterated that the US administration has strongly supported the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Kosovo. However, both countries must decide how to normalize their relations and what should be discussed.
Sweden will provide Ukraine with SEK 50 million ($5.4 million) over three years to support economic development, dialogue and overall resilience in southern and eastern Ukraine, AP reports.

The money will go to the Partnership Fund for a Sustainable Ukraine, set up jointly with the UK, Switzerland and the US.

This fund will help strengthen the resilience of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Ann Linde said in a statement.

It will be able to respond quickly and flexibly to the needs that have evolved and materialized as a result of Russian aggression since 2014.

This money is in addition to the 240 million crowns that Ukraine receives annually from Sweden for civil society reform.
The USA is ready to negotiate with Russia a mutual agreement on the deployment of land-based missiles or combat forces in Ukraine, according to documents published by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The documents, which the newspaper claims are Washington and NATO's response to Russia's recent security demands, also outline possible measures to limit military incidents and assure Moscow that Tomahawk missiles are not installed in Romania and Poland.

The documents said that NATO always sought peace, stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic region and Europe. El Pais did not tell how it received the documents.

The documents were handed over to the Kremlin last month amid a diplomatic push to ease tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.

"We firmly believe that tensions and disagreements should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, not through the threat or use of force," the documents published by El Pais said.
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 02.02.22:

The delegation led by Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg, who has arrived in Armenia on a working visit, on Wednesday visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevanand accompanied by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

Meanwhile, during the join press conference with Mirzoyan, the Austrian FM noted that the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey will be a major step for the whole region.

The Austrian minister was asked about the solution of humanitarian issues arising from the aggression of Azerbaijan, primarily the Armenians held captive in Baku. However, he noted that the international community cannot replace the political will of the parties.

In turn, Mirzoyan noted that Azerbaijan puts obstacles to the work of international organizations in Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh].

According to him, even the ICRC, this purely humanitarian organization, is forced by Azerbaijan to fit into the policy dictated by it. The minister recalled that the ICRC is the only organization that has previously worked in Karabakh. Now Azerbaijan limits this too, Mirzoyan added.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reacted to the statement of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan regarding Baku's attempts to limit the activities of the ICRC.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry immediately reacted to this message. According to the head of the Azerbaijani MFA press service, "the comment of the representative of a third state in this matter is inappropriate."

"It would be good if the Armenian Foreign Minister directly commented on the issues related to the fulfillment of the country's obligations to establish peace in the region," the MFA added.

Turkish presidential press secretary Ibrahim Kalin and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had a telephonic conversation.

The interlocutors spoke about the issues of the region, including Armenian-Turkish relations, reported Milliyet daily of Turkey.

They noted that the normalization of these relations, as well as the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is important for stability and development in the region.

FlyOne Armenia airline's first Yerevan-Istanbul flight took place Wednesday.

The airline tickets start from 90 euros.

Among the Armenian citizens heading for Istanbul on board these flights there are also businessmen, especially traders who, as a result of the lifting of the ban on the import of Turkish goods, are ready to startby airtheir trade relations with Turkish partners.

5,570 die in Armenian emergency incidents. It is 2,293 more than in 2020.

Besides, in 2021, 196,641 people were injured in various accidents, which is 23,483 more than in 2020. The increase in 92% of deaths and 94% of the victims is due to coronavirus, since the pandemic is also considered an emergency.

The US public debt for the first time exceeded 30 trillion dollars, the New York Times reported.

This figure has become a record for the entire time of its existence and in the column total public debt is 30.012 trillion dollars.

Of these, $5 trillion was used to pay extended unemployment benefits, financial support for small businesses and stimulus payments.

For the first time since seizing power in Afghanistan, Taliban announced the appointment of women to leadership positions in the country, Deutsche Welle reports.

These came after a number of meetings with representatives of international organizations.

Afghanistan has one of the highest birth death rates in the world, and this problem needs to be addressed urgently.

Ukraine and Turkey will sign a free trade agreement on Thursday during Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Kyiv, Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus said on Wednesday, Milliyet newspaper writes.

In 2021, trade volume amounted to $7.4 billion, an increase of 59%, Mus added.
The European Union says it is ready to impose massive economic sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine, but officials and diplomats say that depends on complex negotiations involving 27 member states that are far from complete.

Energy dependence makes the deal more difficult for the EU than for the United States. It is more difficult to achieve political agreement, said a senior EU diplomat.

It is not clear which EU countries have been the most hesitant in the negotiations or when the EU may be ready to impose sanctions, which it says will have enormous consequences.

Negotiations are conducted secretly between the capitals of the EU and the European Commission.

Negotiations are underway with member states. We don't want to do it publicly. Moscow knows how to use differences, said a second EU diplomat, Reuters reports.

The EU economy is more at risk than the US. According to the EU, its exports to Russia have fallen by a fifth in the two years since Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Germany's position as the largest consumer of Russian gas in the EU will be decisive in the negotiations.

Russia is the fifth largest trading partner of the EU as a whole, and supplied 44% of the gas imported by the EU in 2020. But gas makes up 75% to 100% of the value of gas imports in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

Germany and Italy are among the largest exporters to Russia with sales in sectors ranging from industrial goods to mining.
Evanstons FEW Spirits has been acquired with a portfolio of craft distilleries by Heaven Hill Brands, FEW founder Paul Hletko said Tuesday.

Hletko already sold his business once, in 2016, to Samson & Surrey, a Miami-based spirits portfolio started by two former Bacardi executives. Hletko became a partner in that company as Samson & Surrey went on to acquire five more spirits brands, all of which were acquired by Heaven Hill: Bluecoat Gin, Brenne Whisky, Widow Jane Whiskey, Mezcal Vago and Tequila Ocho.

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Paul Hletko, owner of FEW Spirits, displays products at his craft whiskey and gin distillery in Evanston July 29, 2014. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

Hletko said FEW will continue to operate from its warehouse at the end of an Evanston alley, where it was founded in 2011. Any changes resulting from the sale will be out of customer view, he said.

The changes for the most part will be in distribution, sales and marketing, he said. For FEW, it should be business as usual. Well continue doing what we do. Well just do it with the sophistication and market access of a Heaven Hill behind us.

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FEWs core brands are FEW Straight Bourbon and FEW Straight Rye; it also produces a smattering of smaller brands including gins and small-batch whiskeys.

Distiller Mark Anunson checks inventory at FEW Spirits LLC, a whiskey and gin distillery in Evanston. (Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune)

Heaven Hill Brands is a wide-ranging spirits company that includes Heaven Hill Distillery, which is among the nations hallmark whiskey producers, making brands including Heaven Hill, Elijah Craig and Evan Williams.

The Samson & Surrey portfolio has grown 60% annually, doing $40 million in sales across more than 30 markets globally, according to a news release.

Throughout our 86-year history, our focus has been building a business with a portfolio of great brands sold through a great team, Max L. Shapira, president of Heaven Hill Brands, said in the news release. The Samson & Surrey portfolio strategically enhances our portfolio with emerging brands in strong growth categories. Together with their team, Heaven Hill is poised to leverage the tremendous potential of these exciting brands.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

jbnoel@chicagotribune.com
Republican U.S. Senator Josh Hawley is urging the Biden administration to withdraw U.S. support for Ukraine's possible NATO membership, arguing that a commitment to defend the country would undermine efforts to counter China.

Hawley defends a position that is supported by a growing number of Republicans, but is historically at odds with the mainstream GOP consensus still held by his Senate colleagues.

Former President George W. Bush and all NATO leaders agreed at the 2008 Bucharest summit that Ukraine and Georgia would "become" members of the alliance, although no specific roadmap was proposed at the time. NATO does not plan to accept Ukraine in the near future.

Hawley asked the US Secretary of State to clarify how Ukraine's future NATO membership would serve US interests, Axios reports.

Hawley said he supports sending aid that Ukraine needs to defend itself, but argues that US interests are not strong enough to justify a war with Russia.

Biden himself has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine, but plans to move troops to Eastern Europe to bolster NATO defenses, a position supported by most Republicans in the Senate.

Pointing to the inability of NATO member states to spend 2% of their GDP on defense, Hawley urged Biden to rethink underlying assumptions about US foreign policy that have been collapsed by the rise of China.
Armenia is a very important partner, neighbor and friendly country for Georgia, Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said.

His remarks came during the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on 2 February.

Pashinyan in his welcoming remarks said that he was glad for the new dynamic emerging in the relations between two nations, the press service of the Armenian government informed NEWS.am.

Nikol Pashinyan asked to convey his greetings and wishes of health to the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili, who has been tested positive for COVID-19.

Vakhtang Gomelauri thanked for the reception, conveying to the Armenian PM the warm greetings of the Georgian PM.

Georgian Interior Minister expressed their readiness for further cooperation and added that they are always ready to support and to consider Armenian extensive experience.

Prime Minister Pashinyan highlighted the continuous strengthening of the effective cooperation between the law enforcement systems of the two countries.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on sectoral reforms in Armenia and Georgia, and shared information on the progress and results of the Patrol Service reform process. Both sides stressed the importance of experience exchange and permanent contacts in the spirit of Armenian-Georgian friendly relations.
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Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

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Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

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Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

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Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

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Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

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Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

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Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

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Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

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Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

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Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

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US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

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Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

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Japan protests against North Korean missile

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U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

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Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

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Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan

Blinken tests positive for Covid

Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Madrid: Rafael Nadal's successful start

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

Diego Maradona's shirt sold for 8.5 million euros

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

Ter Stegen to miss next German team matches

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Nutritionists name healthiest vegetables for heart

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Youth World Cup: Gor Sahakyan becomes bronze medalist

Justin Bieber about 'emotional breakdown' after marrying

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Can Guardiola stop Benzema? (cartoon)

US comedian attacked on stage in Los Angeles

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Kim Kardashian hints she dreams of marrying fourth time

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Will Smith's Oscar speech disappears from official YouTube channel of film awards

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Premieres in May: Let's go to the cinema!

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Inter reach agreement with Paulo Dybala

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Armens: Louisa Sharamatyan on cooking tolma on Food Networks Worst Cooks and being compared with Kim Kardashian

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Scientists analyze unobvious consequences of wearing masks

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Klopp on par with Ferguson, Ancelotti and Lippi

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet

Roma intend to buy Atalanta forward

International premiere of animated film about Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora to be held during famous festival

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Pregnant Rihannas statue appears at Metropolitan Museum of Art (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Liverpool set club record

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Champions League: Liverpool reach final

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

Villarreal win Liverpool 2-0 (first half)

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Ararat-Armenia defeat Noravank

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions
Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future

EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate

US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine

Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey

Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates?

Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later

Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan

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Adapted Material means material subject to Copyright and Similar Rights that is derived from or based upon the Licensed Material and in which the Licensed Material is translated, altered, arranged, transformed, or otherwise modified in a manner requiring permission under the Copyright and Similar Rights held by the Licensor. For purposes of this Public License, where the Licensed Material is a musical work, performance, or sound recording, Adapted Material is always produced where the Licensed Material is synched in timed relation with a moving image. Copyright and Similar Rights means copyright and/or similar rights closely related to copyright including, without limitation, performance, broadcast, sound recording, and Sui Generis Database Rights, without regard to how the rights are labeled or categorized. For purposes of this Public License, the rights specified in Section 2(b)(1)-(2) are not Copyright and Similar Rights. Effective Technological Measures means those measures that, in the absence of proper authority, may not be circumvented under laws fulfilling obligations under Article 11 of the WIPO Copyright Treaty adopted on December 20, 1996, and/or similar international agreements. Exceptions and Limitations means fair use, fair dealing, and/or any other exception or limitation to Copyright and Similar Rights that applies to Your use of the Licensed Material. Licensed Material means the artistic or literary work, database, or other material to which the Licensor applied this Public License. Licensed Rights means the rights granted to You subject to the terms and conditions of this Public License, which are limited to all Copyright and Similar Rights that apply to Your use of the Licensed Material and that the Licensor has authority to license. Licensor means the individual(s) or entity(ies) granting rights under this Public License. Share means to provide material to the public by any means or process that requires permission under the Licensed Rights, such as reproduction, public display, public performance, distribution, dissemination, communication, or importation, and to make material available to the public including in ways that members of the public may access the material from a place and at a time individually chosen by them. Sui Generis Database Rights means rights other than copyright resulting from Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases, as amended and/or succeeded, as well as other essentially equivalent rights anywhere in the world. You means the individual or entity exercising the Licensed Rights under this Public License. Your has a corresponding meaning.

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Creative Commons is not a party to its public licenses. Notwithstanding, Creative Commons may elect to apply one of its public licenses to material it publishes and in those instances will be considered the Licensor. The text of the Creative Commons public licenses is dedicated to the public domain under the CC0 Public Domain Dedication. Except for the limited purpose of indicating that material is shared under a Creative Commons public license or as otherwise permitted by the Creative Commons policies published at creativecommons.org/policies, Creative Commons does not authorize the use of the trademark Creative Commons or any other trademark or logo of Creative Commons without its prior written consent including, without limitation, in connection with any unauthorized modifications to any of its public licenses or any other arrangements, understandings, or agreements concerning use of licensed material. For the avoidance of doubt, this paragraph does not form part of the public licenses.
Alessandro Nivola looks like a conventionally handsome leading man, but has largely had the career of a character actor so far -- something that may factor in his being relatively under-sung for an impressive screen resume stretching back two decades now. That, and the fact that he's often most effective as the quiet, watchful center around which more histrionic characters revolve (whether they know it or not) in indies such as "Junebug" and the recent "Disobedience." They're not the types of performances that typically attract awards, yet those films would lose much of their impact without the subtle gravitas he contributes.

Nivola is just about able to pull off the same trick as the central figure in "Weightless." But Canadian music-video and commercials veteran Jaron Albertin's U.S.-produced first feature proves unfortunately named -- despite the emotional terra firma Nivola and other cast members try to provide, this drama about a taciturn loner forced into single-parenthood drifts into the ozone.

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More interested in aesthetic texturing than anything else, the film shows signs of an interesting sensibility, and has some effective, atmospheric moments. Yet it obfuscates a relatively simple tale in ways that aren't enigmatic so much as evidence of a grasp on storytelling somewhere between the unconcerned and oblivious.

Joel (Nivola) works at the county dump in an unspecified rural location (shot around Johnstown in upstate New York). He's not exactly the life of the party, but he does have a good thing going with Janeece (Julianne Nicholson), a warmhearted girlfriend of recent vintage who seems able to coax him out of his shell. That pleasant status quo changes when Joel gets a call from an ex-partner's mother, who curtly informs him her daughter has disappeared, and the 10-year-old son he fathered but has never met is now "your responsibility."

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Joel is no born conversationalist, but heavy-set, diabetic, 10-year-old Will (Eli Haley) is so withdrawn that nearly 40 minutes pass before we hear him speak. (He was apparently alone in an apartment for three weeks after his mother took off, a situation that like many here is referenced but never explained.) They're an uneasy match: Joel has no idea how to behave around most people, let alone a child, and low-self-esteem case Will appears to expect neglect as his due. Only Janeece is appalled when she realizes that Joel simply leaves the kid in the empty house all day while he's at work. What she takes for callousness, however, is something else. Joel really is trying his best; he just doesn't know any better.

Was he, too, neglected by his parents? Who knows? Though four writers are credited on "Weightless," the script feels like a rough sketch for an as-yet-to-be-worked out feature screenplay. Nivola is game to play Joel as a haunted, solitary man. Yet the movie barely probes the present-tense reality of that, leaving whatever past made him that way a near-complete blank (until the film belatedly kick-drops something vague about Joel's mental-health history, which is the first and last we hear about it).

Nicholson is very good, and Johnny Knoxville sparks interest as the protagonist's amiable boss, but their characters feel like they've just been introduced before they fade out of the narrative. Subplots -- a neighborhood bully targets Will, social workers want to place him in a foster home -- likewise introduce promising elements of conflict, then lead nowhere in particular. The film ends with one of those classic "break for freedom" fade-outs that are meant to be liberating, and may indeed feel that way -- so long as you don't stop to realize that simply skipping town doesn't solve these characters' problems at all.

"Weightless" treads familiar ground in revolving around an adult hermit of sorts drawn out by the needy child who lands on his doorstep. It's to Albertin's credit that he doesn't milk that for predictable sentimentality or melodrama. But too often, it seems he'd rather just be shooting the locations without the people for maximum evocative pathos. Some moments of forced visual lyricism aside, the movie has a handsome, thoughtful look in Darren Lew'snuanced color cinematography. Still, the evident care put into its occasionally mannered stylistic aspects only underlines how little affinity Albertin has for basic narrative and psychological concerns.

One suspects he would have preferred to more or less drop those last elements entirely, in favor of an audiovisual tone poem about rural alienation. But "Weightless" hangs awkwardly between that kind of "pure" conceptual abstract, and the straight drama about baggage-laden personalities it refuses to unpack. The result is artful (and well-acted) enough to intrigue, yet underdeveloped enough in the writing to frustrate. Not the least frustrating thing here is that Nivola gives a serious, hardworking performance in a role that nonetheless remains more opaque than many past ones in which he's had a fraction of the screen time.

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Celebration planned to honor the late Earl and Bernice Mitchell

Media Contact: Mack Burke | Editorial Coordinator | 405-744-5540 | news@okstate.edu

Members of the Stillwater and OSU communities are planning a celebration to honor the late Earl and Bernice Mitchell for their impact, both academically at OSU and through their civic contributions.

The celebration  Celebrating Stillwaters Black History: Honoring Earl and Bernice Mitchell and Washington School  will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Stillwater History Museum in the Sheerar, 702 S. Duncan St. It will feature a brief program at 6 p.m. and a New Orleans jazz band and decor representing the Mitchells original home in Louisiana before they relocated to Stillwater in the mid-1960s.

Earl and Bernice Mitchell

Earl Mitchell, who died June 2 at the age of 83, first joined OSU as a research associate in 1967. He became OSUs first Black tenure-track faculty member in 1969. By the time he earned tenure in 1982, he was already recognized as a highly accomplished academic researcher and biochemist. He went on to serve in key administrative positions, such as assistant dean of the graduate college, associate vice president for multicultural affairs and the first director of the Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (OK-LSAMP).

Bernice, who preceded her husband in death by less than a month, was a similarly revered figure, both at OSU and the Stillwater community. She was instrumental in helping to form what would become the precursor to the Womens Faculty Council at OSU, served as county commissioner for Payne County  making history as just the second woman elected in Oklahoma to a county commissioner post and the first Black person to be elected co-commissioner in Payne County  and has received many awards for her civic contributions, particularly to the advancement of womens issues in Oklahoma.

Bernice and Earl were true role models for many, said event co-organizer Mike Woods, OSU professor emeritus. They focused on serving their neighbors in our community, our county and our state. They wanted everyone to have access to opportunity for growth and success.

They were such integral parts of our community  both at OSU and in Stillwater  that we believe a joint acknowledgement of their contributions and lives would be both fun and appropriate.

The event, which will be hosted by the Friends of Bernice and Earl Mitchell, also will serve as a springboard to raise funds for a new, tax-deductible scholarship created in the Mitchells name.

The scholarship will benefit outstanding students involved in OSUs Division of Institutional Diversity.

Earl and Bernice Mitchell were trailblazers, said Dr. Jason Kirksey, OSU vice president for institutional diversity and chief diversity officer. As we celebrate their legacy, we are reminded of their great example and how we too can make a lasting impact on the world around us. I look forward to seeing the university community and the city come together to celebrate the Mitchells and continue their amazing legacy through this new scholarship.

There will be an opportunity to donate at the event. For more information about the celebration, visit cfok.org/scfmitchell. For more information about the scholarship, contact Mike Woods at 405-880 1521 or mdw1mike@gmail.com.



The reception will be in conjunction with Black History Month. Along with the celebration for Bernice and Earl, it will include Dr. Laura Aratas Washington School exhibit and the Stillwater History Museum in the Sheerar open house.
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], February 2 (ANI/NewsVoir): Benchmarking has become a mainstay in the process of continuous improvement in higher education. With the belief that a robust framework for benchmarking higher education quality standards enables contextual comparisons, provides a basis for peer learning and performance improvement, Jagran Lakecity University in association with The Association of the Universities of Asia and the Pacific organised a virtual workshop for AUAP members on an innovative perspective of benchmarking developed by JLU on 23rd January 2022. Large number of experts and representatives from many universities of Asia and the Pacific participated at this global consultation & deliberations. This workshop called on universities in the Asia Pacific to establish "appropriate benchmarks" in the higher education level. The consultation focused on an innovative benchmarking framework proposed by Jagran Lakecity University, known as HAPPI model. This framework of 'HAPPI' model anchors around five quality pillars of Headway, Academics, Process, People and Impact and emphasises on learning as central to the process. Speaking on the occasion Hari Mohan Gupta, Chancellor Jagran Lakecity University and AUAP Second Vice President said, "We need to foster improvements in education outcomes through enhanced alignments, commitments, monitoring and accountability. In that regards dashboards and regular assessment reports should be used to visualize progress at various levels." Abhishek Mohan Gupta, Pro Chancellor, JLU and Secretary Quality Assurance Committee of AUAP opened the workshop and warmly welcomed the participants on behalf of the Jagran Lakecity University and Quality Assurance Committee of AUAP. The workshop was addressed by Prof. (Dr.) Sandeep Shastri, Vice Chancellor JLU as well who pointed that this was first of many workshops for AUAP members and JLU shall continue contributing to its global commitments. #AUAP #HigherEducation #Benchmarking #NEP. Jagran Lakecity University is a state private university established under Section 2(f) of UGC Act 1956 and is based out of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. JLU Bhopal is one of the fastest growing and one of the most awarded universities of Central India having practice-based pedagogy at its core. Currently, the university is offering 50+ degree programs under 5 faculties to more than 2500 students and has a strong alumni network of over 3000 graduates from 8 countries and 27 states of India. JLU Bhopal is the only participating university from Central India to the ERASMUS+ programme under the Tuning India Project, funded by the European Commission and is also currently the country chair for Association of Universities of Asia Pacific (AUAP). JLU became the first university in MP & CG to be awarded the DIAMOND rating by QS I-Gauge, an International Rating agency in June 2021. Recently Education World ranked, JLU as the number 1 University in M.P. and No. 30 In India. Also, the E-Learning Excellence for Academic Digitization (E-Lead) Certification by QS, was bestowed on JLU for state-of-the-art digital infrastructure in the year 2020. Other prestigious awards of JLU include, being the 'University of the Year' by Government of Madhya Pradesh for consecutive five years from 2015 to 2019 and being recognized as a Global League Institution in 2015 at the House of Commons, London, UK. The Association of the Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP), holds the highest formal consultative status with UNESCO. Its primary purpose is to be the main platform for interaction and collaboration between members and to be the effective voice of universities in Asia and the Pacific region. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Pune (Maharashtra) [India] February 2 (ANI/PRNewswire): QuEST Global, a global Product Engineering Services company, announced the top 10 finalists of its engineering innovation contest 'Ingenium', an initiative aimed at fostering innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset amongst engineering students. Through Ingenium, QuEST provides a platform for the young talent to apply their engineering skills to solve real world problems. For the past 10 years, Ingenium has successfully identified and influenced the lives of many talented engineering students in India by helping them live their dream before a forum of like-minded tech enthusiasts. The contest, available for students across the nation, focuses on aligning the needs of industry with that of the academic institutes by establishing the industry-academia connect and helping build "industry-ready" professionals. The solutions provided by the shortlisted projects showcase innovative solutions that advance the way we live, work, travel and engage. QuEST is dedicating industry experts to mentor the ten finalists to help them improve their ideas and work towards the finale. The finalists include teams from P.E.S. Institute of Technology (PESIT), MVJ College of Engineering (MVJCE), CMR Institute of Technology, P. E. S. College of Engineering (PESCE), and PES University in Karnataka. They also include teams from Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering & Technology, and Amal Jyothi College of Engineering (AJCE) from Kerala; along with Jayawantrao Sawant College of Engineering, Bennett University, and Vel Tech University from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu respectively. The winners of Ingenium will be announced in a virtual ceremony on February 11, 2022 at 5:15pm. Speaking on the announcement Srikanth Naik, Global Head - Delivery, QuEST Global said, "QuEST is driving the future of engineering by converging digital, electronics and mechanical engineering services to build a safer and smarter world. We know that the future depends on these capable young engineers of tomorrow and we are proud to support them. QuEST Ingenium is a wonderful example of industry-academia collaboration that is fueling innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset. At QuEST, investment in people is part of our culture and we are happy to share this spirit more broadly through the Ingenium program. I look forward to seeing the great work of these teams as they progress through the competition." Ingenium is closely aligned with QuEST's belief in fostering a culture of innovation and imbibing an entrepreneurial mindset amongst engineers. The platform successfully utilizes QuEST's engineering expertise to bridge the industry-academia gap and create a pool of skilled workforce that will help in bridging the skill gap faced by the industry. For nearly 25 years, QuEST Global has been a trusted global product engineering and lifecycle services partner to many of the world's most recognized companies in the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, Healthcare and Medical Devices, Rail and Semiconductor industries. With a presence in 13 countries, 54 global delivery centers and 11,500+ personnel, QuEST Global is at the forefront of the convergence of the mechanical, electronics, software and digital engineering innovations to engineer solutions for a safer, cleaner and sustainable world. QuEST Global's deep domain knowledge and digital expertise help its clients accelerate product development and innovation cycles, create alternate revenue streams, enhance consumer experience and make manufacturing processes and operations more efficient. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 2 (ANI/NewsVoir): AVITA, a US-based lifestyle gadget brand, is launching its flagship store in the city of joy, Kolkata at Chittranjan Avenue, Bowbazar. The international name making strides across the globe is a leading name in the industry as it flaunts an extensive array of products for its patrons. With top-tier services and features with high-performance capability. Establishing its presence in the state with intelligently-crafted laptops and under the umbrella of Nexstgo Company Limited, the brand aims to catch the eye of tech enthusiasts and people of the city. Bragging of smart products with vibrant colors and features designed specifically to thrive in the Indian market, AVITA's products have contemporary technology and are lightweight and ultra-portable, bringing their uniqueness to the market and satiating all the tech cravings of the tech buffs in Kolkata. Some of the most-embraced products of AVITA are Liber V, Pura E, Essential and Cosmos 2-in-1. AVITA has also stepped into the IoT segment with its offering in smart lighting under the name AVITA DOMUS, thus offering diversity in innovation. AVITA DOMUS will be launching soon offering smart lighting devices ranging from Bulb, Downlight, Batten and Emergency Lights. The company projects its concrete foundation and bolstered presence align with principles and ideals of Liberty, Diversity, and Individualism. The brand's products combine usability and performance with sensational and diverse craftsmanship which give its customers an edge in terms of choice of products. Nexstgo Company Ltd. also host exclusive brand stores for VAIO. The Kolkata brand store will have VAIO E15, VAIO SE14 and the brand's flagship World's First 3D Contoured Carbon Fibre Laptop - VAIO Z on display. VAIO would also be launching the SX14, and VAIO Z Kachi-iro edition soon. Commenting on the launch of the new flagship store, Seema Bhatnagar, Regional Business Director - South Asia & MEA, Nexstgo Company Limited said, "We are not only creating a brand and expanding our footprint across the states, but we are also creating a legacy that coming generations will get intrigued as well as inspired from. AVITA, as a name, has created its own space across the map and been tagged as a leading brand in the industry by The Economic Times - the most esteemed financial publication. Carrying forward the spirit to serve, we are now entering the city of joy and living up to the expectations of the people there while interconnecting with the global AVITA ecosystem." Reaching out to more and more people by the day, it intends to warm the hearts of the Indian audience and cater to them to the best of its capabilities. AVITA is the international consumer arm of Nexstgo Company Limited which is known for its catalogue of vibrant, youth-centric, contemporary technology and IoT products. The brand has launched a range of offerings including laptops, IoT products, and IT accessories for multiple consumer segments in India. The brand's offerings are in line with the style, ideologies, and preferences of the new generation tech users, intending to use contemporary technology for its advanced offerings. Built on the ideals of Liberty, Diversity, and Individualism, the brand's products combine usability and performance with sensational and diverse craftsmanship which give its customers an edge in terms of choice of products. Available in various vibrant colours and patterns, the brand's lightweight, ultra-portable laptops are distinct and highly appealing for the young demographic. The AVITA Liber V earned worldwide recognition as it won Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021. AVITA was also recognized as one of the best brands by Economic Times. LIKE ME. LIKE AVITA. #IAMAVITA. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI/NewsVoir): Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, is excited to announce the launch of the new Lexar ARES DDR4 Desktop Memory, which enhances your PC with vibrant RGB lighting and blazing-fast DDR4 overclocked performance for an elevated gaming experience. It is ideal for gamers who want to boost their gaming performance with overclocked memory. Key Features Delivering blazing-fast DDR4 overclocked performance to elevate your gaming experience Full range RGB support - customize your colors and effects with a vibrant RGB light bar Features an aluminum heat spreader and wing design for optimal heat dissipation Customize your RGB with Lexar RGB Sync to match your build perfectly Designed for the latest Intel XMP 2.0 and AMD Ryzen platform Lifetime limited warranty With Lexar RGB Sync, a powerful RGB lighting control software, you can customize your lighting effects by setting colors, intensity and speed with full range RGB support. Additionally, you can also create a dynamic ambience and save your RGB lighting effect profiles, rendering your gameplay more immersive and adding a touch of style to your gaming journey. Lexar ARES RGB DDR4 is also compatible with the RGB control software of major motherboard brands. Lexar ARES DDR4 Desktop Memory features an aluminum heatsink and an aggressive wing design for optimal heat dissipation to keep your motherboard and system cool, even when overclocked. Each kit is optimized for peak performance and has been rigorously tested for stability, reliability and compatibility with latest Intel XMP 2.0 and AMD Ryzen systems to enhance your gaming experience. "We're excited to announce Lexar ARES RGB DDR4 Desktop Memory to our product portfolio. With outstanding performance, Lexar ARES DDR4 Desktop Memory is ready for gamers. We will continue to expand our memory product lines to fulfill consumers' needs," said Joel Boquiren, General Manager of Lexar. All Lexar product designs undergo extensive testing in the Lexar Quality Labs, facilities with more than 1,100 digital devices, to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability. For more than 25 years, Lexar has been a trusted leading global brand of memory solutions. Our award-winning lineup includes memory cards, USB flash drives, card readers, and solid-state drives. With so many options, it's easy to find the right Lexar solution to fit your needs. All Lexar product designs undergo extensive testing in the Lexar Quality Labs with more than 1,100 digital devices, to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability. Lexar products are available worldwide at major retail and e-tail stores. For more information or support, please visit www.lexar.com. Longsys - a leader in consumer NAND flash applications, is committed to supporting Lexar in its quest to reach new achievements in high-performance, quality, and reliability while maintaining its position as a leading global brand in memory cards, USB flash drives, readers, and storage drives for retail and OEM customers. Instagram: instagram.com/lexarmemory Twitter: twitter.com/lexarmemory Facebook: facebook.com/lexarmemory YouTube: youtube.com/c/LexarMemoryOfficial This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Mysuru (Karnataka) [India], February 2 (ANI/NewsVoir): Sundaram Auto Components Limited (SACL), a TVS Group Company and one of India's leading plastic auto component manufacturers has been recognised in the category, 'Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Excellence Award'- presented by Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) for its Mysuru plant. With this award, SACL joins the elite list of other 24 companies globally and six within India to be conferred this award. JIPM's TPM award is globally coveted and is a testimony to SACL's commitment to improving the quality of its products and production efficiency by preventing equipment breakdowns, enhancing the quality of the equipment, and standardising the equipment at its Mysuru plant. With the TVS Group being a torchbearer of TQM and TPM implementation in India, it was only natural for its group company SACL to follow suit. The journey started at its Mysuru plant in August 2016 with the aim to improve customer satisfaction through on-time delivery with the best quality levels at minimum cost. As a result, the plant's overall equipment efficiency improved by 20 per cent between 2016 and 2021, 50 per cent reduction in lead time to service the customers, reducing line defects by 33 per cent. All of this resulted in a considerable reduction in manufacturing costs, which allowed the company to sustain itself in an ever-increasing competitive market. This exercise massively improved the morale of the people working in the plant. Reflecting on the significance of the award, Rajesh Oommen, President - SACL, said, "We are delighted to get this honour from JIPM, which is the highest standard of TPM awards at the global level. The team has worked diligently to implement, imbibe, and standardise the overall framework of TPM, which has resulted in higher productivity by minimising losses. I am sure this recognition will further inspire the team to achieve higher performance." Conducted in two stages, a team of experts from JIPM carries out the assessment for the TPM award. The assessment aims to evaluate the factory's policies, practices, and performances around the eight pillars of the TPM technique. Sundaram Auto Components Limited is a part of Sundaram Clayton Group and the wholly-owned subsidiary of TVS Motor Company. Since its inception in 1988, the company has grown to a full-service provider of injection moulded plastic solutions to the automotive industry. At Sundaram Auto Components Limited, we strive for uncompromising commitment to overall customer satisfaction by meeting stringent quality standards, challenging technical requirements and meeting customer programme timelines. We strongly believe that our growth philosophy is - "being the first choice for all stakeholders". We achieve this through our passion for automobiles and our continual endeavour in using plastic as a medium to provide innovative solutions to meet the requirements of automobiles. We can achieve this through the experience gained over 25 years in developing plastic parts and solutions for automobiles and establishing seamless integration of processes from design engineering to manufacturing, ensuring that best practices are deployed across locations. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI/Hunk Golden and Media): Commenting on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement related to housing & urban planning, Rohit Gera, Managing Director, Gera Developments said, "PMAY scheme has helped lakhs of Indians achieve their home aspiration dreams over the last few years. The extension of the scheme with 48,000 crores being allocated this year will continue to help the EWS and LIG sections of society get their own homes." Harish Sharma, Founder and CEO - PLINTHSTONE REMA said, "FM's decision of allocating Rs 48,000 cr for affordable housing under PMAY for rural and urban categories is a brilliant move by FM. A large portion of the Indian population (EWS & LIG) will be benefitted by this move. Food, clothing and shelter being the necessity of every individual, having a roof under head of every Indian citizen should be a priority to contribute to the development of the nation. Since, additional 80 lac houses will be constructed in the upcoming FY, we can see the forecast of India being one step ahead in becoming a "developed country" While highlighting Highway to New-Age Digital "Bharat" - Amrit Kaal to establish India on Global Platform and giving a rating of 8/10, Ushik Gala, Chairman & Managing Director of Suumaya Industries Limited said, "The Budget FY2022-23 is quite a dynamic, forward-looking and growth-oriented budget paving the way for driving the all the growth engines of the Indian Economy. The underlying of the budget is quite futuristics taking into account the significance of adoption and development of new age technology, which has become an integral part of global economy and our life. Finance Minister has done a commendable job by addressing all the fundamental and essential drivers of the economy and paving the way for accelerating the growth momentum in the same - Infrastructure, Agriculture, Micro - SME - MSMEs, Manufacturing, Education, Healthcare, Technology, Telecom, Green energy, etc. Right measures initiated in empowering the core industries with the new-age technology, which is going to be the key differentiator going forward. PM Gatishakti and Inclusive Development addressing all the key sectors of the economy - Road, Railways, Airports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistic Infrastructure is a step forward in the right direction. Empowering farmers & vast Micro, Small & MSME population is an important initiative as this segment is likely to be a driving force to drive Indian Economy from USD 3 trillion to USD 5 trillion. Government has made all efforts to encourage start-ups and R&D initiatives, which would aid to fuel economic growth. Promoting digital economy & fintech, technology enabled development, productivity enhancement & investment, sunrise opportunities, energy transition and climate action has remained at the forefront. Commitment to create a conducive environment to gear up for future enabled is quite overwhelming. Launch of 'Digital Rupee' is another path-breaking initiative as it would give confidence to the World that India is future ready on all aspects. One major highlight of the Budget is that the Government has taken due cognisance of the need to fund the growth aspirations. Accordingly, it has realised the significance of stepping on public capital expenditure to attract private capital expenditure. Substantial increase in capital allocation would significantly augur well for the growth momentum and reviving the capex cycle. Government has also tried to maintain fiscal prudence by trying to maintain fiscal deficit target at 6.4 per cent. Taking a look into the future, we at Suumaya have tried to evolve our business model over the last two years in the areas of Agriculture, Supply Chain, Technology and Financial Inclusion. We are all geared up to usher into the new era in sync with emerging Bharat." Applauding the incentives for start-ups, Anamika Pandey, Founder, NaariO, India's 1st woman led food startup that offers natural and organic products, all pioneered by women said, "COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the world economy, including disruption of nations' varied industries like manufacturing, supply chain, food processing, etc. Lockdowns did not just halt the mobility of goods, services, and humans but also pulled back the governance receipts affecting the fiscal balance. From the perspective of overall macroeconomic stance, increased GST collections present a favourable picture indicating two key aspects - Economic Recovery and Reduced anti evasions activities. Now Economic Recovery also means Financial Inclusion of the marginalised and unemployed who are contributing to the economy more than before for instance women- especially homemakers. It also indicates the formalisation of the workforce. This is aligned with Naario's vision of empowering women and making them participate in the formal sector. However, every good indication comes with some fallouts. What people often ignore is the differential contribution of varied sectors and direct vs indirect taxes in this overall illusive figure. Recent trends have shown that corporate taxes in comparison to income taxes of non-corporates and higher indirect taxes. This is problematic as indirect taxes do not distinguish between rich and poor and it shifts the burden of tax to the poor and deprived majority which may lead to a rise in inequality and deprivation of select classes and communities." Commenting on the benefits to the agri-sector, Bimal Kothari, Vice Chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) said, The Finance Minister of India has announced various steps particularly focusing on technology in agriculture, which is a very progressive move. Crops like pulses and edible oil seeds require special attention, because India has been importing them. Though the production of pulses has definitely been given a boost, but still, we are importing about 2.5 million tons of Pulses annually. Also, the demand for pulses is increasing to one million ton annually, so by 2030 India's demand will be around 30 to 33 million tons of pulses. Therefore, we need to enhance the production and not just focus on increasing the minimum support price (MSP) every time as its going to hurt the consumers in the long run. Our Prime Minister's vision to double farmers' income can be attained by increasing productivity. As of now our productivity is really low in comparison to international levels. The finance minister's announcement to use Kisan drones to map the production is indeed a very good step. This will allow us to estimate the production and understand the crop losses accurately. It will also be very useful in spraying of insecticides. Not just the farmers but even the government will benefit from this drone scheme. Many times we are unable to get accurate numbers of production, whereas government policies are totally dependent and designed based on these numbers. Getting the most accurate numbers related to productions and losses will immensely benefit government, trading associations and farmers. The measures announced for startups in the budget will encourage Agri-tech although this is at a very initial stage as there is still a lot that needs to be done. The contribution of farming sector in GDP is very less hence we need to bring in more value addition. This will happen only if we stop relying on sales of raw materials and use these raw materials to sell value added products. In the pulses sector, a lot of development is being done in the western world in terms of alternative protein or plant-based meat which is now being introduced in India as well. Therefore, if advanced technologies are brought and set up in India it will not only help the trade and industries but it will also help the farmers immensely. As value addition will definitely have an impact in the farming sector. Also, finance minister has earmarked Rs. 2,37,000 crores for procurement of various crops at MSP. Government is doing lot of programs for wheat and rice which is going on for decades but now more focus is required on oil seeds and pulses. In pulses sector there has been significant procurement in last three to four years, but this needs to be enhanced more and buffer stocks need to be created as its being done in case of wheat and paddy. So, that government can do market intervention to control the prices when the production gets affected due to unavoidable events. This is more important in the pulses sector because pulses production of other origin is much less than our requirements/shortfalls. Therefore, if India faces any shortage of pulses, it won't be possible to make it up though international markets as well. Also, this buffer stock needs to be liquidated from time to time through public distribution system to tackle the issue of malnutrition in the country. Since India has the largest population of vegetarians, pulses becomes a very important source of protein to overcome the issue of malnutrition. This story is provided by Hunk Golden and Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Hunk Golden and Media)
New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI/SRV): La Marque-M is a fine jewellery luxury brand known for its light-weighted diamond jewellery, handcrafted in gold and encrusted with internationally certified diamonds. The brand La Marque-M has an online and offline presence. It is focused on providing modish jewellery that is wearable at any point in time. The thought process behind the concept of the brand is to bring in power accessories that go with your power dressing. La Marque-M has designed jewellery that can be worn from 9 AM to 9 PM. Gone are the days, when we used to look for heavy jewellery. Nowadays, heavy jewellery are only worn at some festivities or weddings but accessories for daily wear are the need of the hour. Minimalistic jewellery style has come to the rescue for every woman out there, who wants to look glamorous at every moment of the day. Be at the office, at family dinner, or out with a friend, look fabulous with designer jewellery that goes with every style of yours. La Marque-M, a sister concern of Aarna diamond having over 3 decades of experience has made the process of choosing the right accessory for daily use easy. La Marque-M has years of experience in curating designer jewellery that reflects the personality of the clients. In line with the vision of Moumita, the founder of La Marque-M, the company has launched its online diamond jewellery boutique store. The online store has launched three collections namely, "Queen Bee", "Ocean", and "Forever" You. Each of these collections has a range of rings, earrings, pendants with gold chains, and bracelets. The company is focused on giving the right jewellery with the highest quality at the right price, so it becomes affordable for every girl out there. The brand leaves no stone unturned to build its relationship with its clients. Recently the firm has also tied up with Lakme Salon to enhance the client's experience. Queen Bee, the first collection of La Marque-M, is all about every woman who is queen in their ways and style. Queen bee is the reflection of being strong and a leader. This collection is inspired by the sweetness of honey and the strength of queen bee. La Marque-M makes its collection available to every corner of the country, with insured and free shipping. La Marque-M with the launch of its online store launched its collection inspired by the ocean and lives inside the ocean. This collection also has a range of rings, earrings, bracelets, and pendants. La Marque-M with its modish collection wants to reach every girl, not only metro cities but also tier-I and Tier-II cities along with international destinations like the United States of America, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, United Arab Emirates. The Forever Collection of La Marque-M is all about shining forever like a diamond. The collection is curated keeping in mind the powerful personality of every woman of today. The collection is all about minimalistic and elegant jewellery, where internationally certified diamonds add glamour to the jewellery and your enigmatic personality. "Our brand La Marque-M is all about celebrating the strength of women of today, who excel in each and all fields". Contemporary designs of La Marque-M make it different from the minimalistic jewellery brands. Moumita, founder, La Marque-M said, "We are focused on delivering minimalistic diamond jewellery from the comfort of your home, without worrying about the quality. Further, we also make sure that every jewellery delivered from us to you is insured and reaches you on time with utmost care." To know more: call or WhatsApp at +91- 931848284 Or Visit: https://lamarquem.com/ For updates on new collections and offers, follow La Marque-M on:- https://www.facebook.com/lamarque.Mou | https://www.instagram.com/lamarque.mou/ This story is provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)
Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], February 2 (ANI/PR Newswire): FirstHive, a Customer Data Platform, today announced a new round of funding led by India based VC Mela Ventures. With this investment, FirstHive continues to invest in existing geographies while it expands its global presence across various geographies (including India, North America, Middle East and SEA) in the B2C large enterprise marketplace. FirstHive will continue to drive innovations in its product offerings. FirstHive, founded in 2016, became the world's first Customer Data Platform to deliver on the true vision of providing enterprises with a single source of intelligence that can build unified customer identities & streamline data usage across the enterprise's marketing and analytics stack. FirstHive has won numerous awards and recognitions on the back of its features & customer ROI delivered. Arka Ventures (Palo Alto; Blume, BGV, Emergent VC), New Wave Partners (VA, US), InfoEdge Ventures (India AIF) and leading angel investors like Amit Midha (President of Dell Technologies, APAC) have backed FirstHive. Aditya Bhamidipaty, Founder and CEO, FirstHive, said, "I am very excited about this investment from Mela Ventures. With Krishnakumar Natarajan, Managing Director, Mela Ventures joining the FirstHive board, we are strengthening our capabilities for global growth. The leaders backing Mela have built a global, billion-dollar business - their mentorship will be invaluable as we make plans to continue to dominate certain market segments while aiming to establish a foothold in newer regions. The investment will also allow us to add key talent to our incredible team at this critical stage of our growth." Krishnakumar Natarajan, Managing Partner, Mela Ventures, said, "There is a pressing need for an intelligent Customer Data Platform to address the fundamental shifts in consumer behavior, increased focus by brands on providing 360-degree CX both online and offline, and ever-changing data privacy laws. FirstHive has already made great strides in this space by recording over a billion customer touchpoints. We see great potential in 'Team FirstHive' to build a world-class Enterprise SaaS company and we are thrilled to be partnering with Aditya and his team through our investment." FirstHive (FirstHive.com) is a premier global Customer Data Platform for consumer marketing enterprises to consolidate all their opt-in first-party consumer data. Once deployed, FirstHive becomes the single source of truth for customer identity & data within the enterprise's marketing and analytics ecosystem. FirstHive acts as the central brain or system of intelligence by delivering seamless cross-tool & cross-channel communication for the marketing teams. Additionally, it's out-of-the-box recommendation & assisted decision engine directly enhances CX and marketing ROI objectives. FirstHive is a California headquartered company with operations and customers across the US, India, and ASEAN. Mela Ventures Trust is a SEBI-approved AIF Category-2 fund for early stage companies. With a goal to build next-gen entrepreneurs, the fund focuses on building a portfolio in areas, such as AI/ML, AR/VR, IoT, Cloud Migration and Deep Technologies. Mela Ventures was founded by Industry veterans, Krishnakumar Natarajan and Parthasarathy NS who have co-founded Mindtree and taken it from a startup to a multi-billion-dollar market cap enterprise. For more information, visit https://www.melaventures.in/ This story is provided by PR Newswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PR Newswire)
New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI/Oswaal Books): CBSE Term 1 Exam finished in November 2021, and speculations are stating that CBSE Term 2 Exams will be held in March-April. CBSE has released its Sample Papers on January 14, 2022, which noted the pattern of the paper with a subject-wise marking scheme. Students are eagerly waiting for their term 1 result, but they should also focus on their CBSE Term 2 Board Exams 2022, as it's only one and a half months left for the exam. To score maximum in the upcoming board exams, it is very important to practice. Mere collecting knowledge won't land students anywhere if they don't practice as required. Students are always anxious about how sample papers help them much? Can they go with the sample papers to boost their performance? As exams are coming near, sample papers are the best material to perform best in your exam 2022. 5 Reasons why practice with sample papers: Many students think that practice doesn't have any role to play in the exam score. But it is not the case. Below are some of the important and concrete reasons why students need to focus on practice for the upcoming CBSE Term 2 board Exams 2022. * Know the pattern and creates ease for students: Sample papers help the students to know the pattern of the board exam. It gives you an overview of the exam paper with a marking scheme. It also gives you an idea of long questions, short questions, essential, and most likely questions with its marking scheme. * Robust your Preparation Analysis: Sample papers are always based on the latest syllabus of board exam directives to give an idea to the students. When students prepare a lot, they become familiar with the repetitive questions from every chapter, which increases their understanding and helps in learn more. Sample paper helps the students improve their analytical performance in each chapter. Students can also plan their exams with Oswaal CBSE Term 2 Sample Paper Class 10 & 12 For Board Exams 2022. Students will get different ways of learning: * Self-Assessment Papers for Term 2 Board Exams March-April 2022 * Oswaal CBSE Term 2 Sample Paper Class 10 & 12 For Board Exams 2022 include all latest typologies of Questions as specified in the latest CBSE Sample Papers Released On 14th Jan 2022 * On-Tips Notes & Revision Notes for Quick Revision * The CBSE Term 2 Sample Paper Class 10 & 12 For Board Exams 2022 include Mind Maps for Better Learning * The Book provides Free Oswaal 360 E-Assessments based on the latest Typologies of Questions as per CBSE Term 2 Board Exams 2022 Here is the recommended link for CBSE Term 2 Sample Paper Class 10 for Board Exams 2022, click here https://bit.ly/3gjaMPm Here is the recommended link for CBSE Term 2 Sample Paper Class 12 for Board Exams 2022, click here https://bit.ly/32PZsXW * Raise Accuracy and Speed: "Practice makes a man perfect," it is rightly said, as when you practice more, you can learn more. Students can quickly improve their accuracy and speed by practicing sample papers daily. It also helps avoid mistakes and makes your syllabus easy for your board exams in 2022. * It helps in deciding a Deadline: Sample papers are just a copy of the paper that would be coming to your boards. Sample papers also come with time to finish your exam in the given time. Students can also set a deadline for solving the paper in 3 hours or 90 minutes, according to the time allotted for the paper. It will improve your writing and decoding speed and prepare you for the Term 2 exams 2022. For CBSE Board Exam term 2, improve your scorecard with sample papers! Read to know how! * Helps in revision When students start solving the practice papers after completing the entire syllabus, it also acts as a revision for them. They can quickly join the dots from their memory about what they remembered or where they need to emphasize. More the practice will be the clarity about the concepts. Conclusion Students should never forget the power of practice for the upcoming CBSE Term 2 Board Exams Class 10 & 12 2022. Only a couple of months are left for the exam, so it's high time that students should complete their syllabus at the earliest and start practicing. It will ultimately help to score maximum marks in the board exams. For further updates, keep on checking the official website and stay tuned!! All the Best!! This story is provided by Oswaal Books. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Oswaal Books)
President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania as demonstrations of Americas commitments to allies on NATOs eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Russia fired back with a sharply worded objection, calling the deployments unfounded and destructive.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a new telephone exchange with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Readouts from both governments showed no progress, with Putin saying the West was giving no ground on Russias security concerns and Johnson expressing deep concern about Russias hostile activity on the Ukrainian border.

In this photo taken from video and released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Feb. 2, 2022, Russian and Belarusian tanks and military helicopters attend a joint military drills at Brestsky firing range, Belarus. (AP)

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the soon-to-deploy U.S. forces are intended to temporarily bolster U.S. and allied defensive positions and will not enter Ukraine.

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These are not permanent moves, he said, stressing that the purpose is to reassure allies at a time of heightened tension over Russias buildup of an estimated 100,000 troops along Ukraines borders. Kirby said Russia had continued its buildup, even in the previous 24 hours, despite U.S. urgings that it deescalate.

The newly announced U.S. troop movements are in line with expectations based on Biden administration efforts to reassure allies and demonstrate U.S. resolve without undermining efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. In Moscow, however, a senior official said they will complicate the crisis.

The unfounded destructive steps will only fuel military tensions and narrow the field for political decisions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in remarks carried by the Interfax news agency.

Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again played down fears of a Russian attack in a call with reporters but said that if Russia makes moves that could signal an imminent invasion Ukraine would react as necessary.

The U.S. already has several thousand troops in Poland, and Romania is host to a NATO missile defense system that Russia considers a threat to its security. Biden notably has not sent American military reinforcements to the three Baltic countries on NATOs eastern flank  Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania  that are former states of the Soviet Union.

Of the 2,000 newly deploying from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, about 1,700 are members of the 82nd Airborne Division infantry brigade, who will go to Poland. The other 300 are with the 18th Airborne Corps and will go to Germany as what the Pentagon called a joint task force-capable headquarters.

Polands Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter that the U.S. deployment to his country is a strong signal of solidarity in response to the situation in Ukraine.

The 1,000 U.S. troops going to Romania are members of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based at Vilseck, Germany. They will augment about 900 U.S. troops already in Romania, Kirby said.

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The cavalry deployments purpose is to deter aggression and enhance our defensive capabilities in frontline allied states during this period of elevated risk, the Pentagon said in a separate written statement.

Its important that we send a strong signal to Mr. Putin and to the world of the U.S commitment to NATO, Kirby said.

He said France has decided it, too, will send troop reinforcements to Romania under NATO command, and he noted that a number of other European NATO countries are considering adding forces on NATOs eastern flank.

NATO has been beefing up its defenses around allies in Eastern Europe since late last year. Denmark, for example, said it was sending a frigate and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania, and Spain was sending four fighter jets to Bulgaria and three ships to the Black Sea to join NATO naval forces. The Netherlands plans to send two F-35 fighter aircraft to Bulgaria in April and is putting a ship and land-based units on standby for NATOs Response Force.

Biden has said he will not put American troops in Ukraine to fight any Russian incursion, although the United States is supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend itself and seeking to reassure allies in Eastern Europe that Washington will fulfill its treaty obligation to defend them in the event they are attacked. Ukraine is not a NATO member and therefore the U.S. has no treaty obligation to come to its defense.

The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia over its military buildup at Ukraines borders. And they underscore growing fears across Europe that Russian President Putin is poised to invade Ukraine. Smaller NATO countries on the alliances eastern flank worry they could be next.

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The Pentagon also has put about 8,500 U.S.-based troops on higher alert for possible deployment to Europe as additional reassurance to allies, and officials have indicated the possibility that additional units could be placed on higher alert soon. The U.S. already has between 75,000 and 80,000 troops in Europe as permanently stationed forces and as part of regular rotations in places such as Poland.

Washington and Moscow have been at loggerheads over Ukraine, with little sign of a diplomatic path forward. However, Kirby on Wednesday confirmed the validity of a document reported by a Spanish newspaper that indicated the United States could be willing to enter into an agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine.

The daily El Pais published two documents that Kirby confirmed were written replies from the United States and NATO last week to Russias proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe. The U.S. State department declined to comment on them.

In reference to the second document, NATO said that it never comments on alleged leaks. But the text closely reflects statements made to the media last week by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as he laid out the 30-nation military organizations position on Russias demands.

The U.S. document, marked as a confidential non-paper, said the United States would be willing to discuss in consultation with its NATO partners a transparency mechanism to confirm the absences of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland.

That would happen on condition that Russia offers reciprocal transparency measures on two ground-launched missiles bases of our choosing in Russia.

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Aegis Ashore is a system for defending against short- or intermediate-range missiles. Russia argues the site in Romania could be easily adapted to fire cruise missiles instead of interceptors, a claim that Washington has denied.

Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have mounted in recent months, after Putin deployed more than 100,000 troops to areas near Ukraines borders, including in neighboring Belarus, backed by tanks, artillery, helicopters and warplanes. Russian officials have insisted that Moscow has no intention of invading.

In his first public remarks on the standoff in more than a month, Putin on Tuesday accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russias central security demands but said that Moscow is willing to keep talking.

Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, and in 2014 annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. Around 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict that still simmers in eastern Ukraine.

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Litvinova reported from Moscow. Baldor and Madhani reported from Washington. AP writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Matthew Lee and Robert Burns in Washington, Aritz Parra in Madrid and Mike Corder in The Hague contributed to this report.
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 2 (ANI/NewsVoir): WhizHack Technologies, in partnership with IIT Jodhpur TISC (Technology Innovation and Start-up Centre), has launched India's 1st Multi-leveled Teenager Program that is exclusively curated to inspire teenagers to combat online attacks and also to pave a career pathway in Cyber Security Industry - one of the highest growth global industries with a 0 per cent unemployment rate. WhizHack is aiming to revolutionize the concept of learning by pioneering in providing virtual labs and India's most prestigious TISC IIT-J certification to students successfully completing the training program. Teenagers across the country will have the opportunity to crack codes, fix security flaws and examine the trails left behind by cyber criminals as part of a new learning experience they can take part in from home. First Level for the course is Cyber Ninja Awareness Program where kids learn about cyber hygiene and opportunities, Level-2 Cyber Samurai is especially designed to pave students' career paths, and the final Level - Cyber Guru Advanced Program is the complete learning program that makes the kids industry-ready. The three-tiered training will have self-paced modules, complemented by live mentoring and doubt clearing sessions by the industry experts in addition to access to live simulations labs to provide hands-down experience to the kids. After the completion of first tier, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from WhizHack Technologies, while those kids who ace Cyber Samurai and Cyber Guru will be awarded by the Certification from IIT-J TISC. The program is an initiative to introduce cyber security training at the school level for the betterment of children's future and the society as the dependency on the digital space is even expanding. "India needs to create mass scale ecosystem of young cyber defenders and WhizHack & IITJ TISC endeavour is to build a sustainable & self-reliant digitally secure India. We want teenagers to work on gamified cybersecurity challenges based around cracking codes, finding and fixing security flaws and dissecting digital trails left behind by criminals, all as part of a game. Through these programs, young people will learn the concepts and ideas that real agents use when dealing with real cyberattacks and lay the foundation for their bright future in this flourishing industry," said Kaushik Ray, Co-founder, and COO of WhizHack Technologies. WhizHack Technologies is India's 1st vertically integrated cyber security organization, developing security softwares, providing managed security services and building training program across diverse segments. WhizHack and IIT Jodhpur have an MoU for the establishment of a new Centre of Excellence (CoE) for innovations in Cyber Security, AI, and IoT. It also has forged deep scientific collaboration in strategic fields with top knowledge institutions in Israel, the USA, Canada, EU and Israel. For more information, please visit www.whizhack.com. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
India's exports to China rose by 21 per cent to USD 22.9 billion in the 2021 calendar year while imports surged by 49 per cent to USD 87.5 billion during the same year, according to data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics. Bilateral trade between the two countries rose to USD 110.4 billion in 2021 against USD 77.7 billion in 2020, registering a year-on-year growth of 42.2 per cent. When compared with 2019 data, India's exports to China rose by 33.9 per cent in 2021. India's exports to China have risen consistently in the last three years despite the COVID-19 pandemic. India's exports to China stood at USD 17.1 billion in 2019. It rose to USD 19 billion in 2020 and further to USD 22.9 billion in 2021. However, India's imports from China declined from USD 68.4 billion in 2019 to USD 58.7 billion in 2020. But it rose sharply to USD 87.5 billion in 2021. In 2019, India's total trade with the United States was highest with a value of USD 90.1 billion (share 11.1 per cent in total trade) as against China with a value of USD 85.5 billion (share 10.5 per cent). With a share of 12.0 per cent, China became the largest trading partner of India in 2020, whereas, the United States' share stood at 11.7 per cent. In 2021, the US has again taken a top slot as India's merchandise trade partner with a value of USD 112.3 billion and in the same year, India's trade with China was USD 110.4 billion. (ANI)
Thane (Maharashtra) [India], February 2 (ANI/PNN): Fermenta Biotech Limited ('Fermenta') announced that it has signed a Binding Term Sheet today with Mextech Property Developers LLP ('Mextech') for the balance development of its Thane property through Mextech, whose key partners are Anil Mutha and Rajesh R Patel. Anil Mutha is the Promoter of Nandivardhan Constructions Private Limited, a major real estate player in Thane and Mumbai. Rajesh R. Patel is the Promoter of RRC Ventures Private Limited which is one of the top construction service providers in India. Fermenta owns, as a part of its legacy properties, freehold land in Thane which was partly developed by constructing Thane One, an IT/ITES Building. Fermenta has now signed a Binding Term Sheet with Mextech and granted the development rights to Mextech for construction of residential-cum-commercial buildings ('Property") in the balance portion of Land. In lieu of this Fermenta would receive affordable luxury residential flats on an area sharing basis aggregating to 120,000 square feet RERA carpet area along with amenities in the Property. Within 75 days of the execution of the Binding Term Sheet, the parties would sign the Definitive Agreement and the Property is expected to be constructed within 6 years of signing the Definitive Agreement. Prashant Nagre, Managing Director of Fermenta Biotech Limited, commented on the alliance: "We are pleased to partner with reputed names in the industry for the balance development of our Thane property. As our partners with their experience and expertise will take complete responsibility of the development, this allows Fermenta to focus on the growth of its core nutrition business by enabling greater availability of management bandwidth and access to financial resources." Anil Mutha, Promoter of Nandivardhan Constructions Private Limited, said: "We are pleased to partner with Fermenta, an organization of long-standing repute, for the development of its property in Thane, where Nandivardhan has successfully architected multiple residential towers. With the current project's proximity to the upcoming metro, we expect this to become a prime location for the residential as well as commercial space." Rajesh R Patel, Promoter of RRC Ventures Private Limited, said: "Thane One has redefined the corporate landscape in Thane, with its green ambience and environmentally conscious facilities. With our experience in high quality development, our constructions would be complementary to the aesthetics of the existing building." Fermenta is one of the leading manufacturers of Vitamin D3 globally. Fermenta's manufacturing facilities in Kullu and Dahej are certificated by global accreditations and its world class R&D centre is located at Thane. Apart from Vitamin D3, Fermenta also possesses expertise in integrated biotechnology solutions such as enzymes for antibiotic synthesis and other niche APIs. Fermenta possesses legacy properties, freehold land in Thane, wherein it constructed an IT/ITES business park in 2015, called Thane One. The Thane One building has been conferred with the Indian Green Building Council Award for achieving LEED India Core & Shell Platinum Rating.For more information about the Company and its businesses, please visit our website www.fermentabiotech.com. Anil Mutha, Promoter of Nandivardhan Constructions Private Limited, and Mr Rajesh R. Patel, promoter of RRC Ventures Private Limited, are partners of Mextech Property Developers LLP. One of the most well-renowned real estate builders in Thane & Mumbai, the Nandivardhan Group has been the architect of numerous luxury projects. Since its inception, building & construction has been the group's core business. In the next three years, the group plans to complete construction of 1 million square feet and finish 8 projects in the coming five years. In Thane, it has completed seven residential towers, one residential-cum-commercial tower, exclusive bungalows and a residential project is currently underway. For more information, visit the company website www.nandivardhan.com . RRC Ventures Pvt Ltd has delivered many premium projects for renowned developers in Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Leveraging its core skills, the RRC group's residential and commercial projects of about 1.5 million sq. ft. are under various stages of development. Few of the recently completed construction projects are One Hiranandani Park, Regent Hills and Neelkanth Regent. Development projects currently under progress include Charms Global City, RDC Woods, Konar Business Park and Legacy Park. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 2 (ANI/NewsVoir): The Union Budget for 2022-23 has extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee scheme (ECLGS) up to March 2023 and its cover will be expanded by Rs. 50000 crore to total cover of Rs. 5 lakh crore. "This is a very positive step as it will provide the much-needed additional credit to the MSMEs," said Manoj Patodia, Chairman of The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL). The Budget has also extended the last date for commencement of production for newly incorporated domestic manufacturing companies by one year from March 31, 2023 to March 31, 2024 to become eligible for concessional tax of 15 per cent. Further, for eligible start-ups established before March 31, 2022, a tax incentive has been provided for three consecutive years out of ten years from the date of incorporation. The Budget has extended the period of incorporation for the eligible start-ups by one more year i.e., up to March 31, 2023. The Budget has also proposed to replace the Special Economic Zones Act with a new legislation that will enable states to become partners in Development of Enterprise and Service hubs. All these are steps in the right direction as they will enable our country to become Atmanirbhar and encourage "Make in India", according to Patodia. However, Manoj Patodia expressed his concern that Made ups sector that contribute significantly towards exports has been left out of the facility of duty free imports of specified goods by bonafide exporters that has been extended to the exporters of apparel, handicraft and leather goods in the Budget. The Chairman, TEXPROCIL also appealed to the Government to re-consider the Customs duty imposed on Cotton and its abolition. For more information, please visit, www.texprocil.org. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI/PNN): Genius students across the globe compete to win Champion, Gold and Silver titles at the 7th International Brainobrain Abacus Competition 2022, held on January 29, online. Brainobrain conducted the most acclaimed global event of the year on skills and mathematical ability assessment. On this online event, 23,537 students from 72 countries participated to win various winning titles. This competition is designed for the students of Brainobrain International, who are part of Brainobrain's abacus course for kids. Kids participating in the Brainobrain International Online Competition solves sixty complex sums within four minutes. Junior kids derive the answers using the abacus tool, while elder children derive answers through mental arithmetic skills. Children who present the answers with maximum speed and accuracy are declared as winners in this international competition. "When my son Jaden's teacher suggested about Brainobrain Course, I could easily locate their abacus class near me, as they have lots of branches. He is a student of Brainobrain for the past one year. Needless to say, this has become one of the best extra-curricular activities of Jaden. I have observed that his confidence and concentration skills have increased manifold, especially during the practice sessions of Brainobrain Abacus Competition. This is something that caught my curiosity. Because, normally, kids would get nervous and be afraid during any exam. But, Brainobrain's competition itself is strengthening their skills. In these unfortunate times, children need such events to reinstate their winning spirits", says Gerald, a parent from Dubai. Pandemics has brought in far-reaching changes in all aspects of our lives. Education is one of the sectors which underwent a paradigm shift with innovative strategies, in implementing quick alternatives and in reaching out the students all across the globe. Assessment methods were reinvented, evaluation processes were reformed and active participation methodologies were approached even by conventional institutions. This transformation has been phenomenal in terms of adaptation from the students and implementation from the institutions. Brainobrain was way ahead in identifying the potential of e-learning platforms in reaching out to a larger student base and also in effectively introducing its personality development programme for kids to some of the untapped pockets of the globe. Brainobrain's unique approach was well received all over, which continues to yield astounding results by bringing out the best in every student and by keeping their performance levels high despite the pandemic circumstances. Anand Subramaniam, CEO, Brainobrain Kids Academy said, "Unlike being a mere catalyst, we at Brainobrain continuously push ourselves in understanding young minds. When we started to create franchisee opportunities, within no time, it became an ideal part time business opportunity for women. Our women entrepreneurs have been quite successful in providing differential methodologies which ensures active voluntary participation from the young leaders. Brainobrain research team will continue to strive hard in bringing out the best from the young aspiring leaders. Our handholding will certainly help in shaping them for the future". Brainobrain's Advanced Abacus Skill Development Programme for 4-14 years children is designed to tap the hidden potentials of our young children, thus empowering the future-leaders and young-geniuses in them. Brainobrain Course mainly focusses on developing the Brain Skills, Life Skills and NLP Skills through carefully crafted syllabus and modules. Brainobrain is empowering the young geniuses of 75+ countries through 975 franchise centres. It has transformed the lives of more than 400,000 children worldwide through its high-quality programmes. To know more details about Brainobrain Abacus Classes: Website : https://www.brainobrain.com/ Email : office@brainobrain.com Phone : +91-44-2436 3555 / 4555 This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
The government has not slashed the allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan told ANI on Wednesday, rubbishing media reports. Talking to ANI, Somanathan said, "if we compare budget to the budget allocation of MGNREGA from Union Budget 2021-22 and Union Budget 2022-23 we have allocated Rs 73000 crore for MGNREGA. In supplementary allocation, we had pushed up to Rs 98,000 crore in revised estimates for the financial year 2021-22 due to pandemic and demand by states." "For 2022-23 we have allocated the same amount of Rs 73,000 crore as we assume that this time situation is not looking so bad as we have seen an April-May 2021. But yes if such a situation arises and there is a demand to increase the MGNREGA allocation, we can increase the allocation in the revised estimate," he said. MGNREGA is a demand-driven scheme, guaranteeing 100 days of unskilled work to any rural household that wants it. Somanathan pointed out that capital expenditure in the Union Budget 2022-23 has been stepped up sharply by 35.4 per cent from Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the current year to Rs 7.50 lakh crore in 2022-23, which is an increase of more than Rs 2 lakh crore. "From this 2 lakh crore central government will give Rs 1 lakh crore to states for the development of public infrastructure on every district. This Budget will make our economy Aatmanirbhar," he said. Finance Secretary said that Union Budget 2022-23 is a growth-oriented budget. About 2,000 km of the rail network will be brought under the indigenous world-class technology Kavach. He said Kavach is an indigenously developed anti-collision device to prevent accidents to achieve railways its goal of zero accidents. 400 new Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured in the next three years with Indian technology providing security and speed. Somanathan said, "we had proposed import duty in certain items which were exempted earlier will help our MSMEs." "The more business we generate, the more opportunities will create. If we spend on rail network this will not only benefit manufacturers but also those MSMEs who provide raw materials to manufactures," he said. (ANI)
Bob Wall, the martial arts expert, actor and stuntman who fought with Bruce Lee in 'The Way of the Dragon', 'Enter the Dragon' and 'Game of Death', has died at the age of 82. Wall passed away on Sunday in Los Angeles, his family announced in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. They chose not to reveal the cause of death. "He was a pillar of strength and inspiration to all who encountered him, and his radiant spirit and legacy will never be forgotten," they wrote. "He was a brilliant martial artist, a never-ending source of jokes, a gifted speaker and a passionate man whose unconditional love and support were unmatched." A 9th-degree black belt, Wall for years trained alongside good friend Chuck Norris, they first met in the mid-1960s and were business partners in a chain of karate studios. In addition to 'The Way of the Dragon' (1972), they appeared together in 'Code of Silence' (1985), 'Invasion U.S.A.' (1985), 'Firewalker' (1986), 'Hero and the Terror' (1988), 'Sidekicks' (1992) and in episodes of 'Walker, Texas Ranger'. In 'Enter the Dragon' (1973), Lee avenges the death of his sister by easily taking care of Wall's evil O'Hara in competition, then kills his opponent when he comes at him with a broken bottle. Lee, who insisted on authenticity in all his movie fights -- real bottles were used here, Wall noted -- was cut in the sequence and needed stitches. Born on August 22, 1939, in San Jose, California, Wall said his father, Ray, was an alcoholic. "He beat me often, gave me no love, but the terrific beatings toughened me up, and I know that I definitely would not be me without his beatings," he wrote on his website in 2016. He left home at 13 but came back three years later and "beat (his father) up real bad; he never abused anybody in the family after that," he told stuntman Bruce Willow in a 2020 podcast interview. Wall took up wrestling in high school, attended San Jose State on a scholarship and moved to Los Angeles, where he trained with Al Thomas, Gordon Doversola, Gene LeBell, Joe Lewis, Norris and the Machado Brothers. Lee, who died in 1973 at age 32, made only five films after 1968, and Wall was in three of them. He said he was paid USD 75 a week for 'Way of the Dragon' and USD 500 a week for 'Enter the Dragon'. "It's not the money. I said to my wife, 'I love this kid,'" he said of Lee. "He can beat and stomp on me, I have world professional champion after my name." Wall also served as the fight coordinator on 'Black Belt Jones' (1974), starring Jim Kelly -- he had hired Kelly for 'Enter the Dragon' -- and appeared onscreen in 'Blood and Bone' (2009), starring Michael Jai White. Inducted into the Professional Karate Hall of Fame in 1975, Wall taught combat skills to the likes of Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen, Jack Palance, Brian Keith, Freddie Prinze Sr. and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also hired Jackie Chan as a stuntman for 'Enter the Dragon'. He received his black belt in Tang Soo Do from Norris. He is survived by his wife, Lillian, children Shana, Kara, Gennine and Ron, sister-in-law Mary, grandchildren Jason and Boe, and his siblings, nieces and nephews. (ANI)
'#Homecoming', a youth buddy musical drama starring Sayani Gupta, Tushar Pandey, Plabita Borthakur, Hussain Dalal and Soham Majumdar is all set to be released soon. The film has been written, directed and produced by Soumyajit Majumdar, who has made his directorial debut with this 90-minute feature. The plot revolves around a group of friends from Kolkata who reunite after 7 years on the occasion of Durga Puja at their old theatre rehearsal space which is in the danger of being converted into a heritage hotel. The film is touted to be a unique cosmopolitan film, featuring dialogues in Bengali, Hindi and English, to make it appealing to audiences across all regions. The first look poster has captured the life of a regular college theatre group, with glimpses from their college life and how theatre played a huge part in it. It also gives an insight into the 'city of joy', Kolkata from the first look. It also used small hashtags to describe each character in the film, in short. Speaking of the film, director Soumyajit said, "The indomitable spirit of a dream team with the best of talents from Bollywood and Tollywood as part of an ensemble of more than 30 actors, a national and international award-winning crew is the driving force behind making my first film #Homecoming. This musical was a lifetime experience for all of us. The love and passion of the misfits towards the film will reflect on screen. Reunions, friendships and comebacks have found a home in #Homecoming." Adding to his thoughts, Sayani Gupta said, "#homecoming is truly special for many reasons.. working in Kolkata finally.. working with old friends and making some new. Soumyajit is a force to reckon with and I am so happy I could be part of his debut film. This film has been made with immense love and undeniable passion.. and I hope it's able to reach as many people as possible." She went on to talk about her character in the film, "I play Sri.. Sri is love. She is the woman you cannot look past and get over. You will know what I mean when you watch the film." Plabita Borthakur added, "It was special working on this film because of the cast and crew, so many amazing actors coming together. It was also my first shoot in Kolkata, one of my favorite cities. I love the spirit of the film and the filmmakers. I was excited about it since I read the script and when it all came together it was beautiful. I love my character Nargis, she's a lot like me. I was little nervous about the poetry bit though". The film has been presented by Soumyajit Majumdar Collaborations and is a Lok production. '#Homecoming' was also selected for South Asia's largest film market collection, NDFC Lab in 2019. The film is all set to release on SonyLiv on February 18. (ANI)
As per People Magazine, Goth, 28, was recently photographed baring her baby bump while running errands in Pasadena, California.

The actor was spotted wearing black leggings and a white long sleeve shirt that exposed the bottom of her belly. She paired the look with black sunglasses.

Goth and LaBeouf, 35, were married in 2016, but in 2018, a rep for the actor confirmed the pair had decided to officially part ways.

"Shia and Mia have filed for divorce. The separation is amicable and all details pertaining to the divorce proceedings will remain private," the rep said at the time.

However, the pair -- who have split multiple times since meeting in 2012 -- sparked reconciliation rumors when LaBeouf was spotted wearing a wedding band in April 2020, while Goth was seen wearing both a diamond ring and wedding band.

The couple was photographed arm-in-arm at Disneyland in June 2021.

The couple first met while filming 'Nymphomaniac: Vol. II'. Goth later appeared in a music video LaBeouf directed in 2014.

In December 2020, LaBeouf was sued by FKA Twigs, 33, for emotional, physical and sexual abuse. LaBeouf denied "each and every allegation" brought against him by Twigs in a response to her pending suit. (ANI)
'The Red Table Talk' host is gearing up for a guest role on the CBS series, Deadline reported. Pinkett Smith is set to portray a witty thief named Jessie Cook, who also has a photographic memory.

Cook and Latifah's character, Robin McCall, have very different personalities and a history together, as Cook previously spent time working for the CIA.

Pinkett Smith celebrated the casting announcement on her Instagram Story Tuesday, writing over a screenshot of the news, "@queenlatifah and I are at it again."

This is the latest on-screen appearance Smith and Latifah will have together after co-starring in films like 1996's 'Set It Off' and 'Girls Trip', which was released in 2017, but it won't be their last.

Producer Will Packer has announced a 'Girls Trip' sequel earlier this month. Tiffany Haddish and Regina Hall starred in the original alongside Smith and Latifah.

Back in March 2020, Haddish revealed that she and her 'Flossy Posse' costars had met via Zoom to brainstorm a potential 'Girls Trip' sequel together.

Before that, in May 2019, Latifah expressed interest in a follow-up movie, "Everybody's in, Everybody's down for No. 2 ... so we're just waiting for a script."

As per People magazine, she had ideas for where the friend group could travel this time. "I've been throwing Rio [de Janeiro] from the beginning ... definitely down with South Africa too," Latifah said of bringing their antics overseas. (ANI)
Amanda Bosserman, right, talks with fellow members of Dry Naperville Social as they paint ceramics at Color Me Mine on Jan. 28, 2022, in Naperville. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

After Michelle Flynn stopped drinking, the anxiety that had dogged her since childhood slowly started to subside. She grew more energetic and got new compliments at work: Youre such a go-getter. Youre a natural-born leader.

Still, there was a nagging problem, one that was bad enough to sometimes keep the Naperville real estate agent up at night. How could she find friends who fit her alcohol-free lifestyle?

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As it turned out, Flynn wasnt the only one asking that question.

When Flynn, 52, reached out via a Naperville-based Facebook moms group, she was deluged by support: No, members said, they didnt know of a group for sober socializing in their area. But if such a meetup existed, they would really love to join.

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Five months later the group that Flynn formed in response, Dry Naperville Social, has 560 members, an estimated 30% of whom are in recovery from alcohol addiction. There are also women who abstain for religious, cultural or health reasons; women who dont particularly like to drink; women who are allergic; and drinkers who enjoy the clarity and sincerity of alcohol-free socializing.

Michelle Flynn, right, and Amanda Bosserman talk with fellow members of Dry Naperville Social as they paint ceramics at Color Me Mine on Jan. 28, 2022, in Naperville. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

I was just blown away, said Flynn. It seems that  who knew?  a lot of people dont want to do events that center around alcohol.

Alcohol-free socializing has been a trend for at least five years, with people in their 20s and 30s embracing the sober curious or mindful drinking approach, in which you closely examine your drinking, with an eye to making changes ranging from drinking less to abstaining. There are sober curious meetups and low or no-alcohol events.

Flynn is connecting with an older and more suburban demographic, mostly women in their 30s, 40s and 50s, among whom interest in no-alcohol lifestyles is also quite strong.

A 2021 Gallup Poll found that 60% of U.S. adults currently report drinking alcoholic beverages, a decrease from 65% in 2019. About 30% of those in the 35 to 54 age group were abstaining from drinking, compared with about 40% of those in the 18 to 34 age group and about 48% of those 55 and older

Members of Naperville Dry Social have gotten together to walk, eat out, go for coffee, get temporary henna tattoos applied to their hands and paint pottery. In December, member Madhu Choudhary hosted a small holiday get-together, where women chatted, laughed and played games.

Such gatherings defy the notion that you need alcohol to have fun, and thats healthy, said Choudhary, a Reiki healer who said she doesnt want the altered mental state that alcohol offers: You know how some people say, I want to be zoned out? Ive never felt the need to be zoned out.

Choudhary said a lot of people assume that she doesnt drink because shes from India, but thats a misconception; many Indian people drink. Her husband drinks, she said, as do many of her friends. Her kids, ages 9 and 12, are old enough to notice that she doesnt imbibe, and to ask questions, so she was delighted that they had the chance to hear the laughter, giggling and nonstop chatter when she hosted the Dry Naperville Social holiday gathering.

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Layne Drever, center right, talks with fellow members of Dry Naperville Social while they paint ceramics at Color Me Mine. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

This group (challenges) the idea that drinking is connected to fun, and thats healthy, said Choudhary, 42, a dance school owner and diamond jeweler. Thats what I want to show my children.

Kim Kolkman will have a drink with dinner when she genuinely wants one, but at age 51, shes tired of the pressure to have a drink at every party and social gathering.

She was looking for a community where alcohol wasnt emphasized and was delighted to find Dry Naperville Social.

When people are sober you can make authentic connections, Kolkman said. She can go out for lunch with a fellow group member and just chat for an hour at a downtown restaurant. She can drink her go-to beverage, 7UP and orange juice, without fielding any probing questions.

Unlike some members, she isnt particularly surprised that Naperville Dry Social has drawn a following so quickly: I am a woman of faith  a majority of the people I know have not drunk alcohol ever. My mother-in-law has never had a drop of alcohol.

Kolkman said Dry Naperville Social allows her to connect with women from a wide range of backgrounds in an environment of trust and acceptance.

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You dont even have to talk about (why youre not drinking)  and thats refreshing, she said.

Two years ago, as she was turning 50, Flynn took stock of her life. She had a great marriage, she said, but beyond that, she wasnt happy. Alcohol, she suspected, might be part of the problem.

Sandra Acero outlines letters on a ceramic mug during a Dry Naperville Social outing at Color Me Mine. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Flynn, who had suffered from severe anxiety since she was a child, liked the way wine wiped away those negative feelings. Unfortunately, after a night when she drank, she actually became more anxious, worried about relatively minor gaffes, such as getting too excited about a great marketing idea that, in the cold light of day, wasnt really all that great.

She was drinking four nights a week, she said, and she didnt have friends because she was afraid that if people got close to her, they would tell her she was drinking too much.

She stopped drinking and gradually started seeing benefits. Today, she said, shes braver, more energetic and more positive  in part because shes really worked on her mindset.

I realized that people do like me. I realized I have a lot to offer. I realized that Im good at my job, Flynn said. Its been a great journey so far.

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nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com
Actor Jamie Dornan, who has been basking in the success of his new film 'Belfast', has joined actor Gal Gadot in the international spy thriller 'Heart of Stone', from Netflix and Skydance. As per Variety, the upcoming film is being helmed by Tom Harper from a script by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder. The plot details surrounding the story are being kept under wraps. Dornan's involvement in the high-profile project comes amid a wave of acclaim for the actor, who has nabbed Critics Choice and Golden Globe nominations for his performance in 'Belfast', written and directed by Kenneth Branagh about his experiences growing up in Northern Ireland (where Dornan is also from). The actor is also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award alongside the film's talented ensemble cast, which boasts Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jude Hill, Ciaran Hinds and Colin Morgan. Dornan, who is widely known for the 'Fifty Shades' film franchise, also stars in 'The Tourist' series, which premieres March 3 on HBO Max. The actor's recent resume includes 'Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar', 'The Fall' and 'A Private War'. 'Heart of Stone' is produced by Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger, along with Mockingbird's Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn and Pilot Wave's Gadot and Jaron Varsano. Patty Whitcher serves as an executive producer, alongside Harper and Rucka. Netflix nabbed worldwide rights to the project last January, marking another partnership between the streamer and Skydance, after teaming for 'The Old Guard' with Charlize Theron, Ryan Reynolds' '6 Underground' and the upcoming 'The Adam Project' starring Reynolds and directed by Shawn Levy. Gadot and Netflix have their own strong partnership, with the actor set to appear in two sequels to 'Red Notice', which has become the streamer's most-watched movie of all time. (ANI)
"2,000 kilometres of the rail network will be brought under Kavach, the world-class technology for railway safety. 400 new Vande Bharat express trains will be manufactured. It is a game-changing and growth-oriented budget," Arora said.

Earlier while lauding the budget, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that Union Budget has a provision of Rs 1.37 lakh crore of the capital investment support for the Railways and it will help complete the stalled Railways projects.

He also lauded the announcement about 2,000 km of the network to be brought under Kavach, the indigenous world-class technology for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23 as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

"Indigenously-developed anti-collision technology Kavach is SIL4 certified which means there is the probability of a single error in 10,000 years. The Union Budget has a provision of Rs 1.37 lakh crores of the capital investment support for the Railways. It will help complete the stalled Railways projects," Vaishnaw said.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled Union Budget 2022-23 in the Parliament on Tuesday. (ANI)
India's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki, sold 1,28,924 passenger vehicles in January 2022 against 1,39,002 units sold in January 2021, registering a 7.25 per cent YoY decline in domestic PV sales, the company said on Tuesday. However, the company's overall sales stood at 1,54,379 units in January this year, registering a YoY decline of 3.96 per cent. Total sales include domestic sales (passenger vehicle + light commercial vehicle) of 1,32,461 units, sales to other OEMs of 3,981 units, and exports of 17,937 units. The company sold 160,752 units in January 2021. According to the company, the shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles that are primarily sold in the domestic market and all possible measures have been taken to minimise the impact. (ANI)
Social media influencer Vikas Fhatak, also known as 'Hindustani Bhau' has been sent to police custody by the court till February 4. "We have tendered an unconditional apology in court. Our cause was right, we had come to support the students. Unfortunately, it was misused and it turned into a riot. We will cooperate in the police investigation," Mahesh Mulya, Advocate of Vikas Pathak alias Hindustani Bhau told the reporters. Earlier on Tuesday, Dharavi Police arrested two people including Fhatak, for allegedly instigating students to protest to demand online exams for classes 10th and 12th in view of COVID-19. The second accused who was arrested has been identified as Iqrar Khan Vakhar Khan. In a video posted by 'Hindustani Bhau' earlier, he allegedly asked the students to assemble in the Dharavi area near the residence of Maharashtra education minister Varsha Gaikwad to protest. In the video, he could be heard saying, "Many deaths took place due to COVID-19. People have not come out of its fear, now the Omicron variant has come. The government itself is saying to stay at home and take precautions." He had said that the professors are also holding meetings via online mode, so why the risk is being taken with children's health by taking offline exams. "I would like to request you (government) to cancel the offline exams. If not then, my students and I would take to protest at the doorstep of the Varsha Gaikwad. I won't stop until they get justice...," Bhau had said in the video. After the video went viral, students had staged a protest outside State School Education Minster Professor Varsha Eknath Gaikwad's residence in Maharashtra's Mumbai, against offline exams. The protesting students had demanded online exams for classes 10 and 12 in view of the COVID-19 situation. Following which, an FIR was registered against Fhatak and Khand under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code. (ANI)
According to the police, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Shabir Ahmad was coming back from a mosque after prayers in his native place when the terrorists fired at him. A case has been registered in the matter.

Meanwhile, the Army and police have cordoned off the entire area.

"Terrorists fired upon ASI Shabir Ahmad while he was coming back from the mosque after prayers in his native place Amishijipora area of Shopian. He has been referred to Srinagar hospital. The area has been cordoned. Case registered and investigation started," Kashmir Zone Police said in a tweet.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
As per the notice submitted to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Viswam has demanded to take up the urgent issue regarding the government's purchase and use of the Pegasus spyware.

"The Government of India has not been transparent about these allegations and as such the reports in the public domain require the attention of this house urgently," the CPI MP said in the notice.

Viswam had also given a notice of breach of privilege against Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw for his statements on the floor of the House regarding the Pegasus controversy.

Names of some political leaders including Rahul Gandhi and some Indian journalists appeared on the leaked list of potential targets for surveillance allegedly using Pegasus spyware after a report published in 'The Wire'.

Vaishnaw had responded to the allegations in Parliament and said "there is no substance behind the sensationalism". (ANI)
Six reports of department-related Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and Motion of Thanks to the President's address among key business listed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. These reports will be laid on the table soon after the Upper House will assemble at 10 am. The reports are linked to Transport, Tourism and Culture, including Three Hundred Fourth Report on Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations and observations contained in its Two Hundred Ninety-Third Report on 'Status of Aviation Connectivity in the country'; Three Hundred Fifth Report on Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations and observations contained in its Two Hundred Ninety Fourth Report on Development and Conservation of Museums and Archaeological Sites - Challenges and Opportunities'; and Three Hundred Sixth Report on Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations and observations contained in its Two Hundred Ninety-Fifth Report on 'Potential of Tourist Spots in the country - Connectivity and Outreach'. Other reports include Three Hundred Seventh Report on Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations and observations contained in its Two Hundred Ninety Sixth Report on "Role of Highways in Nation Building', Three Hundred Eighth Report on Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations observations contained in its Two Hundred Ninety Seventh Report on "Functioning of Airports Authority of India' and Three Hundred Ninth Report on Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations and observations contained in its Three Hundredth Report on "Promotion of Infrastructure in India's Maritime Sector'. Besides these, obituary references will also be made to the passing away of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu of South Africa and David Sassoli, the then serving President of the European Parliament. The government will also table papers related to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Subsequently, the discussion on Motion of Thanks on President's address is slated. Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha Geeta alias Chandraprabha is scheduled to initiate the discussion with a move that the "Members of the Rajya Sabha assembled in this Session are deeply grateful to the President for the Address which he has been pleased to deliver to both Houses of Parliament assembled together on January 31, 2022." Bharatiya Janata Party leader and MP in the Upper House Swati Malik will second the motion. (ANI)
Delhi Police arrested a cloth businessman based in Sarojini Nagar market for allegedly killing his employee. Deputy Commissioner of Police Southwest Gaurav Sharma informed that the employee, who was 22-year-old, allegedly threatened the businessman to circulate a video showing him in a sexual act. The police arrested two more persons including the nephew of the businessman who allegedly aided in the murder of the employee, further informed the DCP. Earlier on Saturday, the police received information regarding the dumping of an unknown dead body near Sarojini Nagar. "During the investigation, it was revealed to the police team that the deceased had a homosexual relationship with the cloth businessman," according to the police. The deceased had secretly recorded the businessman's videos while engaging in the sexual act and was blackmailing the businessman and extorting money by threatening to make the video viral, stated the DCP. "During the investigation, on the basis of technical surveillance, both deceased and businessman were found to be present at Sarojini Nagar Metro Station i.e. near the place where the body was dumped. On the basis of CCTV footage, the deceased was last seen alive with the businessman," he said. The businessman told the police that in order to execute the plan, he contacted his nephew, a resident of Village- Bandai, Khurja, Uttar Pradesh and called him to Delhi. "The nephew along with his friend came to Delhi on the evening of January 28, 2022. They booked two rooms at a guest house in Yusuf Sarai. CCTV footage showed them entering the premises with a trolley bag. They stayed there in one of the rooms while the businessman went to Sarojini Nagar market to take deceased Shamsher Khan," the DCP said. "The businessman reached the guest house, as seen in footage captured on a CCTV camera. The nephew and his friend cut the nylon rope from the guest house balcony area which was used for drying clothes. After 5-10 minutes, all of them overpowered the 22-year-old and strangulated him with the nylon rope and later used muffler to strangulate him," the DCP stated. The accused persons put the dead body in a big sized trolley bag and dumped it near the metro station. Raids were conducted at Khurja, Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh and the accused persons were arrested. The police have recovered the car used to transport the deceased body and accused persons. Meanwhile, the police have also recovered the mobile phone of the deceased, trolley Bag in which the dead body was packed and taken from the hotel have also been recovered. (ANI)
The explosives were brought to be supplied to someone in Bhiwandi in Thane district in Maharashtra, said a press note by Maharashtra Police.

"Three accused persons, residents of Palghar had reached Bhiwandi with 1000 gelatin sticks and 1000 detonators in a car. The illegally brought explosives were brought to be supplied to someone in Bhiwandi," the police said.

The accused persons have been identified as Alpesh alias Balya Hiraji Patel (34), Pankaj Chauhan (23) and Sameer alias Samya Ramchandra Vedga (27). (ANI)
The 2022 Budget Session of the Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address. The first part of the budget session is being held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part will take place from March 14 to April 8.

On January 25, the Government of India extended immediate relief assistance of USD 200,000 to support relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts in the Kingdom of Tonga in the wake of Tsunami, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed.

"As a close friend and partner under the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and as a gesture of solidarity with the friendly people of Tonga, Government of India extends an immediate relief assistance of USD 200,000 to support relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the Kingdom of Tonga," MEA statement reads.

In December 2021, floods in Malaysia displaced thousands of people after heavy rainfall. (ANI)
More than 91,000 students have registered for Chicago Public Schools free, weekly COVID-19 testing program, officials said Tuesday, but there are still about 50 schools that have not received enough sign-ups from unvaccinated students.

Over 90% of our schools have the minimum 10% of unvaccinated students (signed up) for testing, so were not going to stop until we get that number to all 100% of our schools, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said Tuesday at a COVID-19 news conference.

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As part of the safety deal CPS reached with the Chicago Teachers Union last month, the district and the union agreed to work together to persuade more students to sign up for the in-school testing program. Around 41,000 students had registered for the testing by the end of December, when the omicron variant was starting to make its presence known in Chicago.

The testing news comes as CPS has reported a drop in COVID-19 cases among students and staff and relaxed its quarantine and isolation rules. The new policy, which aligns with guidance from the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, allows students to return to classrooms after five days if they are not experiencing symptoms.

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Before Tuesday, students were directed to spend 10 days in isolation because they tested positive for the virus or in quarantine because they were not fully vaccinated and they encountered an infected person.

About 8,200 CPS students and 400 adults were in quarantine or isolation as of Tuesday evening, according to online CPS data. There are about 330,000 students enrolled in CPS, the nations third-largest district. The districts online COVID-19 data does not include charter school information.

Nearly 54% of CPS students 12 and older are fully vaccinated, while more than a third of students ages 5 to 11 have received their first shot, according to CPS. The district said about 91% of its staff is fully vaccinated.

Martinez said the district is encouraging staff members to get their booster shots, but could not say if a deadline is in place for that vaccination. CPS initially said staff members would be ineligible to work this school year if they were not fully vaccinated or had not received an exemption for medical or religious reasons. The district later backed off of this requirement and allowed unvaccinated staff members to work if they were tested for COVID-19 at least once a week.

CPS said later Tuesday that employees were recently reminded to report their booster shot status by March 1. But the district said it has not incorporated booster information in our vaccination policy nor have we communicated any consequences for employees who do not submit their booster information.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, talks about the impact of COVID-19 on schools on Jan. 4. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

In order for staff not to be quarantined, we actually need them not just to be vaccinated, but to be boosted as well, Martinez said Tuesday. And then well work with staff who have medical waivers and religious waivers.

Nearly 55,500 COVID-19 tests were given to students and staff last week through CPS in-school program, with a positivity rate of 1%. That is the most tests the district has administered this school year after a slow start to the program and the lowest test positivity since early December.

About 1,200 CPS student and 300 adult cases were reported last week, a decrease in both student and adult cases from the prior week. There were no classes Friday because it was a school-improvement day for the district.

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CPS reported the most COVID-19 cases of the school year the week of Jan. 9, when in-person classes resumed districtwide after a work stoppage by the CTU. Chicago, too, has seen its case numbers and test positivity drop in recent weeks.

Several elementary schools logged high case numbers last month, and the safety committees for six of these schools voted to shift to remote learning for five days, per the terms of the CTU-CPS agreement.

The six schools are James Madison Elementary School in the Grand Crossing neighborhood; Nixon Elementary School in Hermosa; Burnham Mathematics and Science Academy in Jeffery Manor; Goudy Technology Academy in Uptown; Socorro Sandoval Elementary School in Gage Park; and Tilton Elementary School in West Garfield Park.

CPS said last week five other schools met the metrics that would allow them to transition to remote learning, but their safety committees elected to continue in-person learning.

Those five schools are Hamline Elementary School in the Back of the Yards neighborhood; Casals School of Excellence in Humboldt Park; Woodlawn Community Elementary School; Nash Elementary School in South Austin; and Cullen Elementary School in the Roseland area.

tswartz@tribpub.com
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday termed the Union Budget 2022 "pro-capitalist" and alleged that it has been made keeping in mind the states going to polls only. He further added that the Budget has nothing to offer to farmers, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers, and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) communities. Speaking with ANI, Kharge said, "This is a pro-capitalist Budget that has nothing to offer to farmers, MGNREGA workers, and SC/ST and OBC communities. This Budget has been prepared, keeping in view of the ensuing Assembly elections." Expressing displeasure over Nirmala Sitharaman calling Rahul Gandhi's statement a "UP kind of an answer", Kharge said that the statement of the Finance Minister reflects "frustration" as the government has nothing to say on the Budget. Speaking on the statement made on the basis of regionalism, he said that it is not in the interest of the country and is also an insult to the nation. Sitharaman, during a press conference, commented on Rahul Gandhi for his remarks terming the Union Budget as "zero-sum" and said, "I think he (Rahul Gandhi) has given a very UP kind of an answer, which is good enough for an MP who ran away from Uttar Pradesh." (ANI)
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Members of the House to ensure a productive Budget Session as it was taking place at the confluence of the historic 75th year of Independence and 70 years of electoral journey of free India. During his observations in the House today, Naidu highlighted the significance of the context of this session and urged all sections to ensure the best performance of the House during this session by reminding the Members of 93.50 per cent of productivity during the Budget Session last year. Informing the Members that there will be a 13-hour debate on Motion of Thanks to President for his address to Members of both the Houses (from today) and more than 11-hour debate on the Union Budget, Naidu stressed that "These two important overarching discussions enable Members to raise any and every issue while adhering to the spirit of the Rules and Conventions of the House". He urged the Members to make the most out of the opportunities during these debates. Stating that this Budget Session is taking place at the mid-point of the 75th year of Independence fought and won for 'Swaraj' by the people, Naidu urged the Members to reflect on the functioning of the House during this historic year. He reminded that the House lost 52.10 per cent of functional time during the last winter session, the first in the 75th year of freedom and a high of 70.40 per cent during the monsoon session last year. The Chairman said, "This trend of disruptions is highly disturbing. I refer to the same with a fervent hope that we all reflect on the same and conduct in a manner befitting the historic time that we are passing through". The Vice President noted that the 50 per cent increase in voter turn out from 45 per cent in the elections to the first Lok Sabha during 1951-52 to the highest ever of over 67 per cent in 2019 is a clear demonstration of the continued faith of citizens of the country in democracy. He expressed disappointment saying, "However, our legislatures and elected representatives of the people do not seem to be reciprocating in equal measure with the functioning of legislatures declining over the years." The Chairman urged the 5,000 MPs, MLAs and MLCs to resolve in this historic year to return to the people the favour they have doing by relentlessly nurturing the democracy over the last 70 years. He further said: "The only way of doing so is to conduct themselves (the 5,000) in a manner befitting the trust the citizens still have in our parliamentary democracy". Marshalling evidence Naidu sought to dispel the perception that the special allowance of 25 per cent of airfare allowed to MPs till April 1, 2018 and discontinued thereafter, had a bearing on their participation in the meetings of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committees. He cited findings of the research undertaken by the Secretariat in the impact of this allowance on attendance in the meetings of the 8 committees of Rajya Sabha. Referring to the commendable achievement regarding anti-Covid vaccination in the country, Naidu placed on record the appreciation of Rajya Sabha to all stakeholders. Naidu fervently appealed to all sections of the House to ensure a safe and productive Budget session keeping in mind the spirit of the occasion. Rajya Sabha would meet from 10 am to 3 pm, the Lok Sabha would sit from 4 pm to 9 pm from today onwards. The debate on the motion of thanks will be held for 12 hours and the Union Budget will be debated for 11 hours in Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply is expected on February 8 and that of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 11. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled Union Budget 2022-23 on Tuesday. The 2022 Budget Session of the Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address. The first part of the budget session is being held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part will take place from March 14 to April 8. (ANI)
Ahead of Punjab assembly polls, villagers in Mahawa village situated in Attari Block of Amritsar district spoke about unfulfilled promises and complained about various problems that they face like poor transport and agricultural facilities, and demanded immediate action. Voting for the assembly elections in Punjab is to be held on February 20. Before that, campaigning by political parties is underway in the state with leaders visiting different parts of the state and presenting their party's agenda. Mahawa village in Attari block spoke to ANI about the issues which affect them. Kaabil Singh, district head of Punjab Border Kisan Union, claimed, "Merely painting the walls does not make the school perfect in all aspects. The Chief Minister had said that we have made schools 'smart', but the primary school in our village has only one permanent teacher for 220 students and has hired 2 private teachers on its own money, while the vacancy is for 5 teachers. At the same time, there is a vacancy of 13 teachers in the secondary school of the village, but there are only 5 teachers." The village lacks proper health facilities. There is one dispensary in the village, which is in a state of disrepair. Kaabil Singh said, "Medicine is not even available here. There is a doctor in the dispensary, who comes only once or twice a week. When someone falls ill, one has to go to Gururamdas Hospital in Amritsar, 35 km away. The condition is that after getting the vaccine, we did not even get the paracetamol tablet from here." Harpal Singh, who has studied up to the 12th standard, said "There is no hope of a job, so I do farming. Politicians walk away only by talking." Poor facilities like an 8-foot bridge built in the 1970s which they have to use to reach Amritsar are also a cause of concern. Mikki Singh, a youth from the village said, "This is the only bridge connecting the village to Amritsar. I am 27 years old and have been looking at this bridge since I was born. Tractor trolleys have fallen here many times. Today we cross this bridge with fear. We have complained to the government many times, but no hearing has taken place." Sukha Singh, an elder of the village said, "We complained to the MP, MLA, but no action was taken. When a school bus fell here many children were killed, many leaders had arrived, but there was no change, the plight is still the same," he said. A problem faced by the farmers is that the fields are behind the BSF fencing in no man's land. Kaabil Singh said, "After 1988, the government had installed fencing and since then our problem started because there are 21,600 acres of land in 220 villages of 6 districts across the fencing. Only two crops can be grown on that land, paddy and wheat and the problem in that too is that the gate of the fencing opens at 9 in the morning and closes at 4.30 in the evening. Due to this, we do not even get time for farming." "There is also a fear of wild boars in those fields. They ruin the crops. In view of all these problems, there is a provision of compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre for us from the government. Out of which Rs 5,000 is given by the central government and Rs 5,000 by the state government. But since 2018 to date, not a single rupee has been received. We took this matter to the tribunal as well. The court also directed the government to give the money, but the money was not received," he claimed. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Arunachal Pradesh Tapir Gao on Wednesday claimed that Arunachal youth Miram Taron, who was handed over to India by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on January 27, days after he went missing, was given electric shock and was beaten up by China's Peoples Liberation Army. He urged the Centre to raise issues with the authorities concerned. "I have received news that Miram Taron (who was handed over to India by PLA on January 27 days after he went missing) was beaten up and given electric shocks by the PLA. This is a serious matter. I urge the government to raise this issue with authorities concerned," Gao told ANI. He further added that this issue is not limited to Miram Taron. "We have dense jungles in border areas where intruding PLA troops abduct our people when they go hunting and collecting herbs. Such incidents will keep happening until we resolve the boundary," the BJP MP said. "Until we settle the border issue, this type of action will keep happening, till then the PLA will keep doing the violence, give an electric shock, tomorrow they will also shoot. Therefore, there should be a flag meeting between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA. A settlement should come that this kind of thing should not happen in the future. The Indian Government, ITBP, Army should look into this matter," he added. On reports of three more labourers getting kidnapped in the Longding district, he said "this is a very disturbed area, in this, I have also contacted the deputy commissioner of police. Which underground organization has kidnapped the three labourers, it will have to be seen. One worker was released but two others are still captive. I request the government of India to tackle the issue to get them released." Earlier In January, Arunachal East MP Tapir Gao had claimed that a 17-year-old youth has been abducted from inside Indian territory. Gao claimed that the youth was 'abducted' from Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district. He further claimed that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has abducted the youth from where the Tsangpo River enters India in Arunachal Pradesh. He tweeted, "Chinese PLA has abducted Sh Miram Taron, 17 years of Zido vill. yesterday 18th Jan 2022 from inside Indian territory, Lungta Jor area (China-built 3-4 km road inside India in 2018) under Siyungla area (Bushing village) of Upper Siang dist., Arunachal Pradesh." In his tweet, Gao had tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the Indian Army. (ANI)
The Supreme Court has granted bail to one accused in connection with a case relating to a paddy scam in Bihar. A bench headed by Chief Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana has granted bail to one Ashok Kumar, observing that the petitioner has suffered incarceration for a period of two years and more and the charge sheet has been filed in the matter. "Taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner has suffered incarceration for a period of two years and more particularly the fact that the investigation is complete and the charge-sheet has been filed, we deem it to be a fit case to grant him bail," the Court said. The court said that the petitioner Ashok Kumar was directed to be enlarged on bail on terms and conditions to be imposed by the trial court. Ashok Kumar was represented by advocates Utkarsh Singh and Sureshan P while respondent Bihar state was represented by advocate Samir Ali Khan, advocate on record. Ashok Kumar has filed his bail plea in a case filed at Belhar Police Station, Banka, Bihar. The present criminal case is a part of a paddy scam that has taken the entire state in its sweep. According to the prosecution, the main accused/petitioner Ashok Kumar was posted as extension officer (Industrial and commerce cum purchase in-charge) and co-accused Sandeep Kumar Singh was posted as Krishi Saman Wayak (Agricultural Coordinator) at Belhar in the Banka district of Bihar. The prosecution has alleged that the prima facie role of the petitioner Ashok Kumar was established as he was responsible for storing and procurement of paddy. The prosecution has alleged that when the go-down was physically inspected, 1659.90 quintals of the amount of paddy was missing and hence the same was allegedly misappropriated by accused Ashok Kumar. Advocate Utkarsh Singh, appearing for petitioner Ashok Kumar, said that the petitioner has been writing several letters to the concerned senior officials about the dilapidated conditions of the Belhar SFC Go-down and other issues of security time and again. Despite the same, he has been made a main accused in the FIR and is in judicial custody since Jan 2020. (ANI)
Meerut MLA and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Rafiq Ansari on Tuesday alleged that the BJP government has tried to suppress the Muslim population and youth in Meerut over the last five years. In a viral video, while campaigning for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Ansari said, "Meerut's Muslims, youth have never been suppressed, but they (BJP) attempted to suppress you. Circumstances are not right. If their government is formed, there will be goons in Meerut." He further said that "Hindugardi" has been created at every police station over the last five years. "Within five years, Hindugardi was created, Hindugardi was created in every police station. The youth of Meerut and the Muslims of Meerut are not suppressed by anyone, this government has done the work of crushing you," he added. The video is becoming increasingly viral on social media, who seen is using spoiled words during his campaign. Slamming the SP leader, BJP's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that this is a true face of "Hindu hating and Jinnah loving" party. "This is the true face of Hindu hating, Jinnah loving Samajwadi Party. Jinnah lover, the real face of anti-Hindu SP," he tweeted the video with the caption. In Uttar Pradesh, the first phase of polling will be held on February 10, the second phase on February 14, the third phase on February 20, the fourth phase on February 23, the fifth phase on February 27, the sixth phase on March 3 and the seventh phase on March 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)
Delhi Police on Thursday arrested three accused in North Delhi road rage incident, informed Sagar Singh Kalsi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) North. The police also seized country-made weapons from the accused persons, added the DCP. Three people were injured in a brawl that led to road rage near Red Fort on the night of January 3, he stated. (ANI)
"Samajwadi Party wants Muslim votes, but it wants to end Muslim leadership," Rizvi told ANI.

He also said that Muslims are looking for a better alternative in this upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections that are scheduled to take place in seven phases beginning from February 10.

"Muslims are looking for a better alternative in this assembly elections, not for Samajwadi Party, but for Congress or All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen," he added.

Elections for the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 10. The second phase on February 14, the third phase on February 20, the fourth phase on February 23, the fifth phase on February 27, the sixth phase on March 3, and the seventh phase on March 7.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)
With this, a total of 11 arrests have been made by the police in this case.

Police didn't reveal more details on this arrest because the identification parade is yet to take place.

Kerala Government informed this while considering a petition by Arshika, wife of the slain RSS worker A Sanjith, seeking a CBI probe into the murder.

It also informed the Court that it will file the charge sheet soon.

In the petition filed by Arshika, it is alleged that banned organizations were involved in the murder. The court posted the matter for further hearing to February 18.

Sanjith (27) was allegedly hacked to death by SDPI workers on November 15 in front of his wife. (ANI)
When a baby leaves the protection of its mother's womb and comes into the world, its body takes time to adjust to the new environment. It is natural for them to have infections in their first few days and weeks, but a recent research has something else to say. The research suggested that asymptomatic viral infections in the first days and weeks of a baby's life are associated with an increased risk of respiratory infections later in life. The research has been published in 'Nature Microbiology'. Viruses were found to interact with newborns' immune systems and microbiomes -- the community of microbes that live in our body -- in a way that affected both a child's risk and number of subsequent infections. Prevention of such early viral infections, or strengthening immune systems with specially designed probiotics, may avert this risk, experts said. The microbiome of a new born baby can be influenced by many things, including delivery method -- vaginal or caesarean section -- breastfeeding, antibiotics and the hospital environment. Respiratory infections are a major health concern. They are responsible for 15 per cent of deaths for children under the age of five globally and are one of the three main causes of doctors' visits and hospital admittance in the first years of life. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and University Medical Center Utrecht examined mucosa samples taken from inside the noses of 114 babies at various stages of life as part of the Microbiome Utrecht Infant Study, which has been running for six years. The team analysed the gene activity of the babies' nasal mucosa -- tissue that lines the nasal cavity, the microbes present in the lining of the nose and any viruses that infected the children. When a viral infection was detected in the first days after birth, which largely occurred asymptomatically, the team found that specific mucosal genes were activated, coinciding with a change in the composition of the microbiome, promoting the growth of potentially harmful microbes. The investigators found in particular changes in immune system genes in response to early viruses in affected babies, with especially in genes involved with interferons -- proteins released by immune cells to defend against viruses -- over the first year of life. The interferon-related gene activity caused by an early first viral infection is thought to create a pro-inflammatory environment that makes babies susceptible to future infections, experts said. The cohort study was carried out in close collaboration with the Spaarne Hospital, The Netherlands. The work was funded by Scotland's Chief Scientist Office and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. Professor Debby Bogaert, Chair of Paediatric Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said: "We were surprised to see viral infections occur so early in life, and go mostly unnoticed, probably because the infants immune system is in what as known as a state of tolerance after birth. Despite this, these infections seem to affect a normal immune development, which is important to know." "Only from birth onwards will an infant start to develop its microbiome. Limiting the number of viral encounters in those first days to weeks of life might be essential for a healthy immune and microbiome development, and consequently long-term respiratory health." Dr Wouter de Steenhuijsen, post-doctoral investigator at University Medical Center Utrecht, said: "Although further work will be needed to confirm the causality of our findings, the data from this study indicate that early-life encounters with respiratory viruses -- especially during the first days of life -- may set the tone for subsequent non-beneficial host-microbe interactions, which are related to an infection risk and possibly long-term respiratory health." (ANI)
Mayor Lori Lightfoots deadline has passed for Chicago firefighters and thousands of other city workers to either get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or face suspension without pay and possible firing  setting up another showdown between her and unionized employees who dont want to comply with the edict.

The city touted that nearly 84% of its workforce of more than 30,000 employees is fully vaccinated and pledged this week to follow through on putting workers who missed Mondays deadline on no-pay status, but offered no timeline.

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The move could potentially have the most serious consequences at the Chicago Fire Department. More than 550 firefighters and paramedics  about 12% of the department  have reported they are not vaccinated, according to city records.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, right, with acting Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt following a graduation for firefighter and paramedic candidates at Robert Quinn Fire Academy last May. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

But Firefighters Union Local 2 President Jim Tracy said the real number of unvaccinated firefighters and paramedics is lower than the citys numbers reflect.

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Many members of the department got vaccinated in recent months, but didnt tell the city theyd done so, Tracy said. Still others listed among the unvaccinated 558 are out on some kind of disability status, and wont be reporting for duty anytime soon, he said.

Only a couple, like two or three unvaccinated firefighters were forced to get the inoculation as the Jan. 31 deadline approached when Fire Department officials informed them they could either do so or go on no-pay status, according to Tracy. More unvaccinated firefighters will get the ultimatum in the coming days. Others have applied for religious or medical exemptions, he said.

Theyre making the best of a rotten situation, Tracy said. Theyre still furious. Im furious. They should never be in a situation where theyre being forced to get vaccinated. When youve got guys with 15, 17, 18 years on the job, though, they stand to lose their pensions if they dont comply.

Its (Lightfoots) ballgame, its her rules, Tracy said. If you dont play by her rules, you cant be on the team.

Asked when unvaccinated city workers will start getting suspended, mayoral spokesman Ryan Johnson on Tuesday released a statement saying the city is addressing those employees who are not in compliance at an individual and department level.

Employees were fully advised of the deadline and the consequences, and we are taking action, Johnsons statement reads in part. This includes placing employees in no-pay status and disciplinary action up to and including termination.

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Chicago police are not included in the latest vaccine deadline, as the Fraternal Order of Police is in a separate arbitration with the city, challenging the mandate. A total of 2,967 Police Department employees, nearly 24% of the departments full complement, have told the city they arent vaccinated.

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Mondays deadline for Fire Department personnel and other city workers was also the result of arbitration between the city and several unions. But local FOP President John Catanzara said in a recent video that its case is distinct and that COVID-19 testing for employees, rather than the vaccine, is a preferred solution.

I dont want anybody to think that its going to be the same decision that Local 2 got. We went an entirely different route in making its arguments, he said. Hopefully the arbitrator understands that testing is the most logical path forward.

The matter landed in arbitration after the FOP and the city took each other to court over the vaccine mandate and a Cook County judge suspended the Dec. 31 vaccination deadline for union members. A ruling is expected soon.

For Lightfoot, Mondays deadline and the ongoing showdown present obvious challenges. She has proved reluctant to bend to union demands, and has a particularly icy relationship with the FOP. If the mayor doesnt stick to her no-pay pledge, her acquiescence could be seen as weakness.

But if she suspends workers, critics might try to make her wear the jacket for city service disruptions such as longer Fire Department response times or snow plowing delays.

Johnson, the mayoral spokesman, said Tuesday that there were eight firefighters on no-pay status. Additionally, the city has contingency plans in place but do not anticipate any interruptions in service or operations, he said in a statement.

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Mondays cutoff point was just the latest attempt by the mayor to force city employees and the unions that represent many of them into line on the vaccines.

Lightfoot announced the vaccine mandate in August, saying all city employees had until Dec. 31 to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. But the unions successfully argued their collective bargaining agreements gave them the right for arbitration over the matter.

In a mid-December ruling, an arbitrator said several unions, including the one representing firefighters, had to follow the vaccination policy, giving them until Dec. 31 to get the first shot and until Jan. 31 for the second if they opted for a two-dose vaccine. Employees covered by the decision who didnt comply or get a religious or medical exemption could lose pay, the ruling said.

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com

ayin@chicagotribune.com
The Supreme Court has in an interim order stayed the suspension of Somya Gurjar from the post of Jaipur-Greater mayor, till the conclusion of the judicial inquiry which was set up to look into the alleged allegation of misconduct by Gurjar and others. A Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul in the order stated, "We are thus of the view that in the given facts of the case and considering the role of the petitioner, it is appropriate that the suspension order qua the petitioner be kept in abeyance till the conclusion of the inquiry and will abide by the decision of the inquiry."The Rajasthan government had suspended Gurjar and three other councillors after they allegedly assaulted JMC commissioner Yagyamitra Singh Deo on June 6, 2021. Following the suspension, the state government appointed Sheel Dhabhai as the new mayor. The state government had also started a judicial inquiry into the matter after the suspension. In the apex court, the Bench on Tuesday was informed by Gurjar's counsel that now an application has been filed by the State on December 28, 2021, seeking to club the two inquiries, on which order is recorded on December 31, 2021, that the final hearing will take place together. "We are also informed that while a recording of the evidence is complete in the case of the petitioner, in respect of others, evidence of eight more witnesses has to be recorded. We do not appreciate the endeavour of the State at this stage to have sought clubbing of the two matters and though counsel for the State now submits that they will withdraw the application, the fact is that the Commission has kept the application pending but directed final hearing together and we would not like to interfere with those proceedings," the top court in its order further stated.Keeping the suspension of Gurjar in abeyance till the conclusion of the inquiry, the Bench posted the matter for hearing before it after the inquiry report is received and filed before the court. Gurjar had challenged her suspension in the Rajasthan High Court, but it refused to interfere. Then she filed an appeal in the apex court against High Court's order. Commissioner Deo had alleged that Gurjar and four councillors misbehaved and assaulted him at the mayor's chamber after calling him for a meeting on June 4, 2021. (ANI)
Condemning the acid attack on a 24-year-old woman in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, the people in the city on Wednesday staged a protest at Jahangir Chowk demanding justice for the victim. The protesters raised the slogans like "We want justice" and "Hang the culprit" while holding the placards with different remarks expressing their anger over the incident. These remarks included "Don't throw acid on humanity", "Hang the culprit", "Change the laws" among many more. Demanding justice for the victim, a protester said that this acid attack is not only on one daughter but on a whole community. "We all should unite and raise our voices against it so that we can secure our future generation. This acid attack is not only on one daughter but on a whole community. The culprit should be hanged," the protester stated. Another protester demanded that the culprit should be hanged for throwing acid on the girl. "This boy (culprit) should be hanged in front of everyone, just like the culprits are treated in another country. The government should amend the laws and take action against the accused," she added. Earlier today, Jammu and Kashmir police arrested three persons for allegedly throwing acid on a 24-year-old woman in Srinagar. According to police, the prime accused threw acid on the victim over the rejection of his engagement proposal. The incident took place in the Hawal area on Tuesday. The other two arrested persons assisted the main accused in the crime. Further investigation into the matter is underway. (ANI)
BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand Mahesh Poddar on Wednesday raised an issue in Rajya Sabha through a special mention on Indian Medical students studying in China facing difficulties in their studies due to COVID -19 pandemic and stringent lockdown over a couple of months there. Poddar urged the Centre to make arrangements for the students so they are not devoid of their practical experience. The paper BJP MP laid on the table of Special Mention in Rajya Sabha said that two years since the start of the pandemic, Indian students who were studying abroad have been housed within the country. In some cases, they have returned to pursue their education abroad but around 23,000 medical students who were studying in China prior to the pandemic are left in limbo about theireducation. "China has been experiencing stringent lockdown over the past couple of months, this had made their return to the country very difficult which is impacting their education," BJP MP further said Poddar in Special Mention added that Medical education unlike any other education cannotbe pursued virtually which has been the case till now. "Therefore, I would request the Government to make some arrangements for these medical students wherein they are not devoid of their practical experience," he added. (ANI)
The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Wednesday said that trade wings of all political parties, except the BJP, will participate in a protest in Kerala against the privatization of the public sector units from March 28 to 29. CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said that the Centre is trying to "sell public properties and give them to large corporates". Rajendran said, "Trade unions will stage a 48-hour long protest against privatization move of the Union government. Trade unions of all opposition parties have offered their support to the strike." "As many as 10 national trade unions and unions of public sector units and its employees will participate in a protest in 48-hours long March 28 and 29, concerning 12 demands. The Union government is attempting to sell public properties and give it to private companies. The Central government has taken several initiatives which are against the federal system and three farm laws are examples," he added. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to respond to extradited gangster Abu Salem's plea raising the issue that as per the extradition treaty between India and Portugal, his jail term cannot be extended beyond 25 years. A bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh asked the Centre to reply file on the Salem plea. Salem has raised issues that the 2017 judgment of a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) Court sentencing him to life imprisonment was against the terms of the extradition treaty. Salem's advocate Rishi Malhotra said that on December 17, 2002, the Government of India gave a Solemn Sovereign assurance to the Government of Portugal that if the Appellant Salem is extradited for Trials in India he would neither be conferred with death penalty nor be subjected to imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years. He also said that the TADA Court were not according to the Extradition Order. He further added that the Government can exercise its powers under section 432, 433 CrPC to commute the sentence of Life imprisonment in order to bring down within the ambit of assurance of sentence of not more than 25 years as the execution of the sentence was purely in the domain of Government. The petitioner also said that the government should ensure to bring down punishment consistent and commensurate with the assurances but it cannot be said that the Court's hands were tied in not awarding punishment to the Appellant Salem for more than 25 years. He also mentioned that the issue of 'Set Off'. According to the Appellant Salem, though he was in custody for some offences of passport violation in Portugal since September 18, 2002, and was undergoing a sentence of 4 1/2 years, yet, the Appellant was detained also on September 18 2002 in pursuance to the Red Corner Notice issued by the Designated Courts, Mumbai. "Even if the said date is not to be taken into consideration for the purposes of Set Off, the Ministerial Order dated 28.3.03 of the Ministry of Justice Portugal by which it had admitted the Extradition request of the Appellant of the Government of India to be tried for various offences ought to have been taken into consideration," the lawyer said. The TADA Court, however, held that since the Appellant was released in the Portugal case on 12.10.2005, therefore, the custody for the purposes of Set Off would be counted from 12.10.2005. The Appellant Salem as per the imprisonment certificate has undergone around 17 years of sentence by counting his Set Off period from November 2005 whereas his Set Off period should be counted from March 28 2003, the lawyer said. (ANI)
Rajasthan police have exposed a honey trap gang in Jodhpur accused of allegedly attempting to honeytrap state minister Ramlal Jat two days ago, said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bhuvan Bhushan Yadav. The police have arrested three accused in the matter for blackmailing a model, who jumped off the top floor of a hotel after being blackmailed by the accused to take a file to the minister on the pretext of showing her objectionable pics/videos to him. The accused have been identified as Akshit and Deepali. "Three arrested for blackmailing a model and allegedly trying to honey trap Rajasthan minister Ramlal Jat Two days ago, a woman attempted suicide by jumping from the top floor of a hotel. She's currently in hospital and undergoing treatment," Yadav said. The police further informed that Gungun had gone to Udaipur last year for modelling and came in contact with Akshit and Deepali who later blackmailed her into honey trapping the Minister. "We found out that she went to Udaipur in (October 2021) for modelling and came into contact with accused Akshit and Deepali. She was later contacted by Deepali who blackmailed her to do their work of taking a file to the minister-on pretext of her objectionable pics/videos," he said. The police further informed that Akshit used to run the honey trap gang and was booked even before in a famous case. "The accused Akshit used to run a honey trap gang and was booked earlier also in a famous case. This time also he was planning to do this and blackmail that person (the minister) later," he said. Further probe into the matter is underway. However, speaking on the issue, Rajasthan Minister Pratap Khachariyawas said that such conspiracies have been happening in politics for long and the Minister did not know anything about it. "Honey trap cases and conspiracies have been underway since the inception of dynasties. Earlier, kings were killed in this way. So these conspiracies will happen in politics. But what can the minister do? He didn't know anything," Khachariyawas said. (ANI)
Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday, launched a scathing attack on Samajwadi Party leader Rafiq Ansari for the controversial remark, accusing Samajwadi Party of creating a "fear psychosis" among people to gain votes in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. Speaking to ANI, Thakur said, "Some people do politics of appeasement, hooliganism. They (SP) is working on a policy of creating fear psychosis to gain votes (creating an atmosphere of fear). They should remember that the manner in which hooliganism has ended in Uttar Pradesh in the past five years, would be continued in the next five years as well. We have promised the people of the state security for the women, rule of law along with the development of the state. Every woman feels safe in the state today." Thakur reacted after Meerut MLA and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Rafiq Ansari on Tuesday alleged that the BJP government has tried to suppress the Muslim population and youth in Meerut over the last five years. In a viral video, while campaigning for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Ansari said, "Within five years, Hindugardi was created, Hindugardi was created in every police station. The youth of Meerut and the Muslims of Meerut were suppressed by this government and not by anyone else." Asked about Congress' decision to not field its candidate in Karhal constituency from where Akhilesh Yadav is contesting, the BJP leader said that it would hardly make a difference of nearly 700 votes. "They formed Mahagathbandhan in 2017 and 2019, still could not defeat Modi-Yogi duo and we secured a huge win in the state and the country. Even if Congress does not field its candidates from there, it would hardly make a difference of 500-700 votes. Congress has a 2 per cent vote share remaining in Uttar Pradesh which would drop to less than 1 per cent this time," he said. Exuding confidence in winning the upcoming polls, Thakur said that the BJP would retain the power based on the work that it has done in the past five years. "The BJP government has made Uttar Pradesh the second biggest economy in the country from the 14th rank with Sabka Sath, Sabka Prayas. We have given homes to 43 lakh people in the state. We have taken steps to end hooliganism in the state. We have jailed 47,000 criminals with more to come. Where would the tap thieves give food to the public from?" he said. (ANI)
The Centre will be called as India Innovation Centre for Graphene (IICG) in Ernakulam.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said, "Kerala opens its doors to develop India's first Graphene Innovation Centre (IICG), a joint project of @dukerala & @cmetindia, with @TataSteelLtd as the main industry partner. This world-class facility will catalyse India's innovations in cutting-edge graphene-based technology."

The cost of the project is Rs 86.41, of which Rs 49.18 crore will be funded by the Central government and Rs 11.48 crore by business partners, said CM Vijayan in a Facebook post. (ANI)
India's merchandise export in January 2022 increased by 23.69 per cent to USD 34.06 billion over USD 27.54 billion in January 2021; records increase of 31.75 per cent over USD 25.85 billion in January 2020, informed the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. According to the ministry, India's merchandise export in 2021-22 (April-January) rose by 46.53 per cent to USD 335.44 billion over USD 228.9 billion in 2020-21 (April-January), marking an increase of 27.0 per cent over USD 264.13 billion in 2019-20 (April-January). The value of non-petroleum exports in January 2022 was 30.33 USD billion, registering a positive growth of 19.4 per cent over non-petroleum exports of USD 25.4 billion in January 2021 and positive growth of 33.81 per cent over non-petroleum exports of USD 22.67 billion in January 2020. The cumulative value of non-petroleum exports in 2021-22 (Apr-Jan) was USD 287.84 billion, an increase of 37.59 per cent over USD 209.19 billion in 2020-21 (Apr-Jan) and an increase of 25.8 per cent over USD 228.8 billion in 2019-20 (Apr-Jan). The value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in January 2022 was USD 27.09 billion, registering a positive growth of 20.1 per cent over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 22.56 billion in January 2021 and positive growth of 36.92 per cent over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 19.79 billion in January 2020. The cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in 2021-22 (April-January) was USD 255.69 billion, an increase of 34.95 per cent over the cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 189.47 billion in 2020-21(April-January) and an increase of 29.18 per cent over cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 197.94 billion in 2019-20 (April-January). (ANI)
Slamming the central government over the faulty policies, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said India is facing the highest level of unemployment in 50 years under the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre. Rahul Gandhi said, "Government speaks of providing employment. 3 crore youth lost their jobs in 2021. Today India is facing the highest unemployment in 50 years. You talk of Made-in-India, Start-Up India, but the youth did not get the employment they were supposed to. The one they had has disappeared. The government pushed 23 crore people back into poverty." The Congress MP said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had pulled 27 crore people out of poverty in 10 years. "There was not a single word on unemployment in the President's Address. The youth across the country is looking for jobs. The government is unable to provide them with one. They talk about 'Made-in-India'. But there cannot be Made-in-India today. The matter has ended because who are the people involved in Made-in-India? Small and medium industry, unorganized sector - whom the Centre has finished. Made-in-India is not going to take place," said Rahul Gandhi while addressing Lok Sabha during the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. Gandhi further slammed the government for having made huge strategic mistake in foreign policy which brought China and Pakistan together. "The single biggest strategic goal of India's foreign policy has been to keep Pakistan and China separate. But what you have brought the two countries (Pakistan and China) together. This is the single biggest crime you have committed against the people of India," says Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha. Criticizing the President's address that marked the beginning of the Budget Session of the Parliament, the Wayanad MP said the speech had no strategic vision and did not touch upon the main challenges that our country is facing currently including the growing gap between the extremely rich and the poor in the country. "Unfortunately, the President's Address was a long list of things that the government claims to have done but did not really contain the deeper strategic issues that we would have liked to see. It did not touch a couple of central challenges facing our country." "To me, it seemed that Presidential Address was a list of bureaucratic ideas instead of a strategic vision. It looked to me as if it has been constructed not by a vision of leadership but by a group of bureaucrats who had to simply put something down on paper," stated the Congress MP. He further said that the Presidental Address did not mention the idea of "two Indias". "I think there were three fundamental things that were not spoken about in the Presidential Address. First, and what I consider to be the most important, is the idea that there are now two Indias. There is now no longer one India," said Rahul Gandhi. "One India is for the extremely rich people - for those who have immense wealth, immense power, for those who do not need a job, those who do not need water connection, electricity connections, but for those who control the heartbeat of the country. And then another India for the poor. The gap between these two Indias is widening," he added. The 2022 Budget Session of the Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address. The first part of the budget session is being held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part will take place from March 14 to April 8. (ANI)
U.S. traffic deaths surge at record pace in 2021

Xinhua) 09:38, February 02, 2022

NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. traffic deaths surged at a record pace in 2021, with 31,720 people dead from causes related to motor vehicles in the first nine months, a 12 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the latest official data.

The data represented the highest number of fatalities during the first nine months of any year since 2006 and the highest percentage increase in the history of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which has been in use since 1975.

Releasing the data on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) projected that fatalities increased in 38 states, remained flat in two states and decreased in 10 states and the District of Columbia during that period.

"This is a national crisis. We cannot and must not accept these deaths as an inevitable part of everyday life," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was quoted as saying in the release. "People make mistakes, but human mistakes don't always have to be lethal."

Steven Cliff, NHTSA's deputy administrator, said in the release that "we have to change a culture that accepts as inevitable the loss of tens of thousands of people in traffic crashes ... This will require a transformational and collaborative approach to safety on our nation's roads."

Buttigieg also said that "the good news is we now have a strategy, as well as the resources and programs to deliver it, thanks to the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The National Roadway Safety Strategy is America's first-ever national, comprehensive plan to significantly reduce deaths and injuries on our roads."

The new estimates came days after the U.S. Department of Transportation released the federal government's first-ever National Roadway Safety Strategy, a roadmap to address the national crisis in roadway fatalities and serious injuries.

"Vehicle automation and assisted driving programs have been proposed as technological solutions to making roads safer, but those developments may be years if not decades away," reported major U.S. news portal Axios.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
Maurice Hamilton, left, brother of victim Rhoda McFarland, and Michele Talos, sister of victim Jennifer Bishop, arrive for a prayer service at St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr Church in Tinley Park on Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, in remembrance of five women slain Feb. 2, 2008, inside a Lane Bryant store. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

Fourteen years after five women were slain inside a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park, police say fresh eyes on the case may help in yielding critical clues needed to solve it.

Two new detectives with the department were assigned in December to the case and theyre reexamining the evidence collected since the Feb. 2, 2008, shooting deaths at the Brookside Marketplace store southwest of Harlem Avenue and Interstate 80.

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Killed that day were 42-year-old store manager Rhoda McFarland of Joliet; Jennifer Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Indiana; Sarah Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Connie Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; and Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort.

A sixth woman, also a store employee, was shot in the neck but survived and provided police with a description of the killer.

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Jennifer Bishop (Associated Press)

Carrie Hudek Chiuso (David Pierini)

Rhoda McFarland (Family photo)

Sarah Szafranski (Jos Mor / Chicago Tribune)

Connie Woolfolk (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune)

Since the slayings, police said they have processed some 7,500 leads.

The department has a tip line for the investigation, 708-444-5394, and an email address, lanebryant.tipline@tinleypark.org.

Ray Violetto, who had been lead investigator, retired last November. Tim Poulos, who worked alongside Violetto, came off the case last October when he was promoted to commander of the departments patrol division.

Replacing Violetto and Poulos in the departments investigation are detectives Jeff Graves and Roger Davisson.

They are hard chargers, Poulos said. They are taking a look at it from Day 1.

Despite the passing of years, Poulos said he firmly believes the case will be solved.

We are waiting for that tip to come in, that lead, he said. I remain confident after 14 years, praying and hoping that day comes. We have hope this is going to come to a resolution some day.

Bringing fresh eyes

Police Chief Matt Walsh said the detectives taking over bring fresh eyes to the investigation. One room in the departments headquarters is devoted to the case, with photos of the victims posted on a wall and several filing cabinets filled with reports and other paperwork the detectives are converting to digital form to make it easier to review.

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Maybe there was something we missed initially, Walsh said.

Larry Rafferty, the departments deputy chief, noted that in the beginning, with assistance of South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, there were about 50 detectives working the case.

Those leads were coming in fast and furious, Rafferty said, adding that the new detectives might spot something.

I have faith in them, I really do, Rafferty said. Its an arduous task, it really is.

Each year, as it gets close to the anniversary of the slayings, tips start ticking up to the department, Poulos said.

Some tips, investigators know, are not likely to result in a solid lead, such as someone who sees somebody in a store who might resemble the killer.

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We weigh those things out, Rafferty said. There has to be some value to the tip.

Still, he said, police dont just dismiss out of hand something that might at first seem a dead end in the investigation.

You never know whats going to crack it, he said.

Still standing and unclaimed is a $100,000 reward, much of it put up by the parent company of Lane Bryant, that was hoped to pry loose key information that would lead to an arrest and conviction.

Rafferty said he is surprised the lure of the reward hasnt prompted someone who has solid information to step forward.

I find it very difficult to believe one person did this and didnt talk to somebody about it, he said.

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Police were nearby

Shortly after 10 a.m. on the day of the shootings, which was a Saturday, an African American man about 6-foot to 6-foot-2, with a husky build and broad shoulders, came into the store posing as a delivery man, according to police.

Based on the description by the surviving woman, police said he had three to five puffy corn rows running from the back of his head to the front, with one strand with green beads hanging over his right cheek.

In 2008, the Tinley Park Police Department released this 3-D image of the man suspected of killing five women at a Lane Bryant store on Feb. 2, 2008. (Tinley Park police)

Four women, including McFarland and the other surviving employee, were in the store at the time. The man pulled out a .40-caliber Glock pistol, told them he was robbing the store, then herded the women into a backroom, where they were bound with duct tape and ordered to lay facedown on the floor, according to police. Two other women who came into the store also were similarly restrained.

McFarland managed to call 911 on her cellphone, whispering her location to an operator, who told her to stay on the line. McFarland pleaded hurry before the connection was lost. An edited version of the 911 call is at the Police Departments website.

The call was first received by the Will County sheriffs office and immediately transferred to Tinley Park, which took the call at 10:44 a.m., according to authorities. A Tinley Park police officer was on a call in Brookside Marketplace, in the parking lot of Super Target a few hundred yards away, and was on the scene within a minute, but the gunman had already fled.

Police said they know, by the survivors account, that the man was in the store for 40 minutes and suspect the womens deaths were the result of a botched robbery.

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Police had previously said their investigation didnt uncover any evidence to suggest that any of the women knew their assailant.

Poulos said that, over the years, he and Violetto visited many jails and prisons, talking to inmates who claimed to have solid information on the case in hopes it would get their sentence reduced.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

In some cases it meant a face-to-face visit with an inmate, but in others it was a simple matter of looking up records and seeing that someone was in prison at the time of the crime and likely lacked firsthand knowledge, Poulos said.

They never panned out, Poulos said of jail visits.

Rafferty said that as years have passed, Tinley Park hasnt scaled back its commitment to supplying the financial resources the department needs to continue the investigation.

Tinley Park has spent a ton of money on this case, Rafferty said. (Village officials) have never stopped providing the money to do what needs to be done.

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Rafferty said that as testing advances, that could shed new light on physical evidence collected in the case.

We are still exploring everything, he said.

mnolan@tribpub.com
Mamata Banerjee, who was re-elected as TMC chairperson at a party event on Wednesday, said Trinamool Congress will support Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

"In Uttar Pradesh, I am not going to contest Assembly polls but I am going to support Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on February 8. We (TMC) will contest from Uttar Pardesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," she said, reflecting her national ambitions in the next general elections.

Mamata Banerjee urged party workers to strengthen the party unit and said the goal is to win all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the next polls.

"I have built my unit in Goa. In Tripura, our vote percentage is over 20 per cent. We have to make Bengal stronger in the next two years so that we get all 42 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. We have to chase BJP away," she said.

Mamata Banerjee emphasised unity in the party. "I will do my first working Committee meeting in Delhi," she said.

She called for a untied fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by all regional parties in the 2024 elections.

The Trinamool Congress is seeking to increase its footprint nationally ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. (ANI)
Ahead of Assembly polls, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urged the electorates to ask representatives of political parties "seeking votes in the name of religion and caste", their development plans for the state. While releasing the Congress manifesto for the Uttarakhand Assembly polls, Vadra here today said, "You'll have to decide that development should be an issue in polls. Ask political parties, that come to talk about religion & caste, what are they saying for your development? Ask them what did they do for you in 5 years." Meanwhile, earlier last week, the Congress released its third list of candidates in which the party has changed the seat of Harish Singh Rawat and four other leaders. Rawat is in the fray from Lalkuwa, while Mahender Pal Singh has been fielded from Ramnagar. The change has been done after the crisis within the party due to infighting among the leaders, as one of the working presidents of Uttarakhand Congress Ranjeet Rawat was uncomfortable with the candidature of Harish Rawat from Ramnagar Assembly Constituency. Notably, Congress has given the ticket to the daughter of Harish Rawat, Anupama Rawat from Hardwar Rural constituency defying its own policy of 'one seat, one family'. Uttarakhand will go to the polls on December 14 and the counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)
IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar visited Handwara to review the security scenario, anti-terrorist operations in the region, said a press release. During the visit, the IGP chaired a joint security review meeting of senior officers of Police and CAPFs. On the occasion, SSP Handwara Sandeep Gupta briefed the chairing officer about the prevailing security scenario, the recent trend of infiltration, the existing security grid, operational aspects and other measures being adopted to counter the challenges in the police district. IGP Kashmir while interacting with the officers urged upon them to strengthen the general security grid and ensure great synergy and coordination among the agencies working on the ground. He also reiterated the need to adopt proactive measures to enhance the anti-terrorist grid by generating specific intelligence and intensifying anti-terrorist operations in their areas and taking all proactive steps for maintaining peace and stability in the district. He also emphasized upon the officers to keep a strict vigil over the terrorist associates and take all necessary measures under the law against them. Moreover, IGP Kashmir also expressed serious concern about the different modules of narco-terrorism and directed the officers to ensure strict action against criminals involved in narco-terrorism. (ANI)
As per a statement issued by the CMO, during his tenure as Managing Director of the Odisha Rural Housing Corporation, Kumar illegally sanctioned Rs 33.34 crore for various fake farms and individuals after the Super Cyclone in 1999.

"As a result, the state government suffered huge financial losses. As a result, the Odisha government has filed 27 vigilance cases against Kumar and he has been convicted in two of the cases," added the statement.

The CMO also informed the Centre has approved the proposal of the state government to terminate Kumar from his services.

"The state government has always taken strong action against corruption and the government is determined to take exemplary action against the perpetrators, no matter how high they are. In recent past, a senior All-India Forest Service officer was also fired from his service on corruption charges." added the statement. (ANI)
Following Rahul Gandhi's attack on judiciary and Election Commission, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday demanded an apology from the Congress leader saying "he has no regard for constitutional authorities". Taking to Twitter, the Union Minister said, "Not only as India's Law Minister but also as an ordinary citizen, I condemn what Rahul Gandhi has said about India's judiciary and Election Commission. These are vital institutions of our democracy. Rahul Gandhi should immediately apologize to the people, judiciary and EC." "We know that Rahul Gandhi does not believe in democracy and he has no regard for constitutional authorities. We do not take his habitual senseless comments seriously but since he has abused constitutional authorities from the Parliament house, he must tender unconditional apology," added Rijiju. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the BJP-led government in Lok Sabha stating that "institutions of our country are being attacked and captured by one idea" and "the judiciary, the Election Commission, Pegasus, are all instruments of destroying the voice of the union of states". Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, Gandhi accused the Centre of having a "flawed vision" and centralising power. He said, "the idea of king has come back". "There are two visions-- one is the union of states, the union of languages and the union of cultures. This is like a bouquet of flowers and no power in the world could challenge this bouquet. There is another vision of ruling by a stick by Centre. You people have no idea of history. Because every time it has been attempted, the stick to be broken and smashed. The result of the flawed vision of the centre is two Indias being created," he said. "This centralised vision of king has been removed by Congress in 1947. Now the idea of king has come back. Now there is a king, a Shahenshah, a ruler of rulers and master of masters. As a result the instrument of conversation between states and our people which we call the institutions of our country are being attacked and captured by one idea. The judiciary, the Election Commission, Pegasus, these are all instruments of destroying the voice of the union of states," he added. In July 2021, names of several opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and over 40 Indian journalists appeared on the leaked list of potential targets for surveillance allegedly using Pegasus spyware, according to a news report. Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had responded to the opposition allegations in Parliament and said "there is no substance behind the sensationalism". The 2022 Budget Session of the Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address. The first part of the budget session is being held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part will take place from March 14 to April 8. (ANI)
Criticizing the foreign policy of the BJP-led government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the Centre has committed a crime of bringing China and Pakistan together and made a "huge strategic mistake" in Jammu and Kashmir. Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, Rahul Gandhi said, "China has a plan. The Chinese have a very clear vision of what they want to do. The single biggest strategic goal of India's foreign policy has been to keep Pakistan and China separate. What you (Centre) have done is, you have brought them together." "Do not be under any illusion, do not underestimate the force that is standing in front of you. You have brought Pakistan and China together. This is the single biggest crime that you could commit against the people of India,huge strategic mistake in Jammu and Kashmir." stated the Congress MP. He further alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's foreign policy has made India isolated. "Ask yourselves why you are not able to get a guest on Republic Day. Today India is completely isolated and surrounded. We are surrounded by Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China. Everywhere we are surrounded. Our opponents understand our position," he added. Referring to the India-China border stand-off in Doklam, Rahul Gandhi said,"This is the single biggest crime you have committed against the people of India. China has a clear-cut plan which they have implemented in Doklam and Ladakh. This is a very serious threat to the Indian nation. We have made a huge strategic mistake in our foreign policy," he added. Gandhi also accused the Centre of having a "flawed vision" and centralising power. He said "the idea of king has come back". The 2022 Budget Session of the Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address. The first part of the budget session is being held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part will take place from March 14 to April 8. (ANI)
Ahead of the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday launched an attack on opposition parties in the state saying the Congress and Samajwadi Party are practising "anti-social" politics. Speaking to ANI, Naqvi said, "Congress and Samajwadi Party are doing anti-social politics. They are gathering the people who are propagating anti-social engineering." "Congress would have to understand the culture and values of this country. There is no need to go to a foreign school for that, they can learn it here in India itself. The anti-Hindu stance of Congress is destroying the party," he added. Responding to former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram's comment on the Union Budget 2022-23 presented in the Parliament on Tuesday, Naqvi said that Congress was the one that destroyed the economy by converting it from "Udaarwaad" (liberalism) to "Udhaarwaad" (borrowing). Notably, Chidambaram had slammed the Budget and called it "capitalist". "They are those people who had destroyed the economy. They had converted "Udaarwaad" to "Udhaarwad". The country was under huge debt under their rule. Today, our economy is growing amid the pandemic," Naqvi said. The Union Minister further lauded the Budget and said that it is not made keeping in view the upcoming elections in five states and is an inclusive Budget. "It is not a budget for the elections. This is the Budget of inclusive development visioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When the world was suffering from the pandemic, PM Modi was making efforts to save our people. Those who cannot even imagine the concept of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat will not understand this Budget," he said. Elections for 403 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 10. The polling in the state will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)
Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), accompanied by Kala Hari Kumar, President, Navy Wives Welfare Association(NWWA) arrived in Visakhapatnam on a two-day maiden visit to the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) on Tuesday. He was received by Vice Adm Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command (ENC) at INS Dega and was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour. Admiral Hari Kumar held discussions with Vice Adm Biswajit Dasgupta, FOC-in-C on ongoing issues of the Eastern Naval Command. He was given an overview of the operational and administrative activities of ENC and was briefed on the COVID mitigation measures undertaken by the Command. The CNS was apprised about the preparatory activities for President's Fleet Review (PFR) and Multinational Naval Exercise, MILAN, which are scheduled at Visakhapatnam later this month. The CNS along with C-in-C embarked ships of the Eastern Fleet and reviewed the operational preparedness of the fleet which included weapon firings and Special Forces operations. The CNS visited key operational and maintenance facilities including the Naval Dockyard and reviewed the progress of ongoing projects. He addressed the officers and sailors of ENC and interacted with them. He was briefed on the recently activated Portable Containerised Medical Facility onboard INS Gharial, a key HADR enabler of the Indian Navy. The Admiral also visited NSTL to review the Indian Navy's developmental projects being progressed with DRDO during his visit. Kala Hari Kumar, President NWWA interacted with Sarbani Dasgupta President NWWA (Eastern Region) and Group Coordinators of the association. She was briefed on various welfare initiatives and activities undertaken by NWWA during her visit to some of the facilities at Visakhapatnam. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday expressed its displeasure over treatment not yet provided to the children suffering from the rare disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) despite the direction of the court. and directed to start the treatment immediately. Justice V Kameswar Rao said, ''It is surprising that even after a period of one month no treatment has yet started. Insofar as funds are concerned, the court in the last order has clearly stated that it is the responsibility of the Union of India to ensure that necessary funds are provided to all centres of Excellence including AIIMS as and when demanded for the treatment of these children." The High Court had on 14 December 2021 passed an order on the issue of petitioners required to receive necessary treatment as covered under the National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021. The bench said in the order uploaded on Wednesday, ''I must state here that the submissions made by the counsel appearing for AIIMS are not at all appealing. The order passed on December 14, 2021, is very clear that the treatment of the petitioner children must start immediately. Advocate Ripudaman Bhardwaj, Counsel appearing for Government of India submitted that the necessary directions in terms of the last order shall be issued to the Centres of Excellence. The bench directed that the Government of India shall issue communication to the AIIMS as well as to the Centres of Excellence for starting the treatment of the petitioners children (whichever petitioners approach such a centre, being nearer to the place of residence) without any delay. The bench also directed that the instructions must also go to the AIIMS as well by tomorrow fixing the date and time for reporting as 2 pm on February 3, 2022. The bench noted that the Counsels for the petitioners stated that despite efforts to reach out to the authorities for starting the treatment, no response has been received from the All India Institue of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Advocate Tanveer Oberoi, the Counsel for AIIMS, submitted that the disease of petitioners primarily being DMD/ non-DMD, an expert committee has been constituted to undertake the study as to the nature of the treatment to be given, to consider the efficacy of the medicines which need to be procured from the manufacturers and the committee report need to be placed before the Government of India for its approval before the treatment can be started. He also submitted that the children having non-DMD disease, their details have been uploaded on the portal after evaluation, and with regard to rest shall be uploaded at the earliest. The treatment with regard to those petitioners can be started after the necessary funds are allocated. On the other hand Advocate Siddharth Luthra, Senior Counsel for the petitioners stated that the submission advanced by Advocate Oberoi was made even at the last date of hearing but the same were negated resulting in the passing of the order on 14 December 2021. He further submitted that the treatment of petitioner children had to start immediately. He said that in fact, the obligation was put on the Union of India to ensure appropriate instructions were sent to the centre for excellence. Senior Counsel for petitioner argued that what is being contended by Oberoi may not be correct as the nature of treatment is known and is being given in the AIIMS. He said that it is surprising that an institution like AIIMS is still considering through a committee the nature of treatment be provided to the DMD patients. He submitted that the treatment has not started even after a lapse of more than one month of the order passed by the court on 14 December 2021. The primary reason for the AIIMS not to start the treatment is the sanctioning of the funds. The Counsel who appeared on behalf of AIIMS submitted that AIIMS is not in a position to utilise the annual budget sanctioned to it, for the treatment of petitioners. He also submitted that the petitioners who are suffering from non-DMD disease, can be directed to report to the Chairman of Rare Diseases, Dr Madhulika Kabra day after tomorrow, on which date they shall be attended to and the treatment shall be started. (ANI)
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday lauded Rahul Gandhi's speech in Lok Sabha and said that his speech was the voice of the common man of the country alleging that the focus of the Centre is on the service of big "capitalists". Earlier today, criticizing the President's address, Gandhi said the speech had no strategic vision and did not touch upon the main challenges that our country is facing currently including the growing gap between the extremely rich and the poor in the country. Taking to Twitter, Gehlot said in Hindi, "Rahul Gandhi's speech in Lok Sabha is the voice of the common man of the country. In India today, an attempt is being made to abolish institutions and implement the rule of just one person. The gap between rich and poor is increasing. The focus of the Modi government is only on the service of the big capitalists." The Chief Minister further said that the Central government takes "unilateral decisions" without consulting the states which leads to disputes between the Centre and the states. "Raising the voice of the states, Rahul ji said the truth that the central government does not believe in dialogue with the states. The central government takes unilateral decisions without consulting the states on which there are disputes. The people of the country have decided to make up their minds against the repressive policies of the BJP," he said. (ANI)
A man charged last year in a 1992 cold case murder in Niles died last week while awaiting trial.

Richard J. Sisto, 73, was pronounced dead Jan. 26 at Stroger Hospital while in Cook County Sheriffs Police Department custody, a statement from the department said.

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Sisto had been in sheriffs police custody since Nov. 24 when he was extradited from Texas on charges of first degree murder. He had spent most of his time in Stroger Hospital receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, according to the sheriffs department.

Autopsy results were pending, according to the Cook County Medical Examiners Office.

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Sisto, who appeared in a police booking photo last year using oxygen for breathing assistance, was charged with murder by Niles police in the November 1992 strangulation death of Helen Cardwell, 35, in her room at the Leaning Tower YMCA residential building.

Police said DNA from the crime scene, which was entered into a nationwide database in 2021, matched Sisto, who had previously been convicted of sexual assault in Texas.

A Cook County grand jury indicted Sisto on murder charges in December, according to court records. An arraignment was scheduled for Dec. 16, but court records did not indicate whether a plea was entered.

Sisto had a court appearance scheduled for Jan. 27, the day after he died, records showed.

Though the case will now never go to trial, Niles Mayor George Alpogianis said this week that he believed the evidence against Sisto was strong.

Im very proud of the Niles police for cracking the cold case and bringing this man to the beginnings of justice, Alpogianis said. Also important is the fact that (Helen Cardwells) family was able to receive some closure and truly know what happened.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Helen Cardwell and her family, Niles Deputy Police Chief Nick Zakula said in an emailed statement.

Cardwell, a native of West Virginia who had previously lived in New Jersey, was found strangled to death in her sixth-floor room inside the residential portion of the Leaning Tower YMCA, 6300 W. Touhy Ave., on Nov. 8, 1992, police said. Cardwells sister and brother-in-law discovered her body during a weekly visit, Det. Sgt. Mike Boba of the Niles Police Department said during a press conference last year.

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According to Niles police reports obtained by Pioneer Press/Chicago Tribune, Cardwells hands had been bound with a pink shirt and a red sweater was found tied around her mouth. These were among the items that were submitted for DNA testing, the report indicated.

Cardwell had been living at the Leaning Tower after undergoing treatment at a Park Ridge rehabilitation center for a stroke she suffered the previous year, family members told police.

According to police reports, in 1992 Sisto worked at the Jewel store in Village Crossing, located just blocks from the Leaning Tower YMCA, and lived in a nearby Chicago neighborhood. He had been released in April of that year from a Texas prison where he had served a sentence for aggravated sexual assault, according to Texas Department of Public Safety criminal records.

While in prison, Sisto was accused of raping a female prison guard in 1984, the Chicago Tribune reported on Aug. 28, 2005.

At the time that Niles police announced murder charges against Sisto in October 2021, he was in police custody in Harris County Texas on a parole violation warrant, police said.

jjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday told Enforcement Directorate (ED) that former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh is the mastermind of Mansukh Hiren death case and Antilia bomb scare case. He also said that Singh gave false information and concealed facts. In his statement to ED, Anil Deshmukh further told that when Param Bir Singh was called to Vidhan Bhavan and Chief Minister's residence to get information on the matter, he did not give correct information. Following this, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and he (Deshmukh) as the then Home Minister decided to remove Singh from the post and depute him as Director-General, Home Guard. Anil Deshmukh said that the allegations made by Param Bir Singh on him are baseless and false. He said Param Bir Singh and Sachin Waze were very close. Deshmukh told ED that Singh used to give the extortion work to Sachin Waze. The Former Maharashtra Home Minister was arrested by ED in November, last year in connection with the alleged Rs 100-crore extortion and money laundering case. He is currently lodged at Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had accused Anil Deshmukh of asking dismissed assistant inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore from hotels and bars in Mumbai every month. ED registered a case against Deshmukh and others based on a corruption case filed against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in March 2021 in connection with the investigation into the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's house Antilia in Mumbai. Waze was also accused of the murder of Mansukh Hiren, the owner of the vehicle that was found containing explosives materials outside Antilia. Hiren was found dead on March 5 in Thane. (ANI)
There was incitement to violence, preparations were made, well-planned attacks were carried out on police officials and people were brought to protest sites for this, argued special public prosecutor while opposing bail plea of Umar Khalid on Wednesday in connection with North East Delhi violence case. "There was masking by deleting the data from phones, blame game and creation of a new narrative to show that the riots did not happen due to the acts of the accused person," the prosecution argued. Arguing before Additional Session Judge Amitabh Rawat, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad referred to the statement of prosecution witnesses and chat of accused persons in DPSG WhatsApp group. He also argued that there were phone calls between Umar Khalid, Nadeem, Khalid Saifi, Natasha Narwal, Jhanvi, Tabrez in the evening of February 24 after the riots had started. Though they were at different places but all of them were well connected. During his argument, Prasad highlighted the chats referring to violence. He also referred to a statement of a witness in which he said there was a meeting at Chand Bagh and people were asked to gather stones, sticks, red chilli powder and acid. In this meeting accused including Natasha, Athar, Suleman were present. Other witnesses also said that the same thing took place in a meeting at Seelampur where members of Pinjra Tod were asking women to bring sticks, red chilli powder, bottles etc. Prasad also referred to another witness, during his arguments, which said that he attended a meeting in which Umar Khalid was saying that 'Bhashan se kuch nahi hoga, Khoon Bahana padega (Speeches won't achieve anything; there is a need for bloodbath). SPP during his argument also shared footage of CCTVs installed near Chand Bagh area in which preparation for violence was captured on February 24, 2020. "It shows the mob with sticks, swords and other weapons. After some time the CCTV cameras were dislocated and disconnected. All this was started after police action on protestors at Noor e Ilahi area," said Prasad. He also argued that the preparation of the attack on police officials in the Chand Bagh area was done at around 1 pm on February 24, 2020. The footage also shows the visuals of people attacking the police officials. By referring to the killing of a policeman in the Maujpur area, he said that "this news was a game-changer." "Since then the accused person and their masters had started to change their narrative. This news was shared at 4.40 pm in their WhatsApp group," he added. Prasad argued before the court that some members of the group criticised this violence. But at the same time, the masters were silent on what was happening. Then he referred to WhatsApp chats in which attempts to shift the blame were done. Some of them said the escalation of violence happened only after the call of Bharat Band by the Bhim Army. Some of them said if the police were serious in taking action, then Kapil Mishra would have been arrested. He also referred to phone calls made among the JCC group members after riots broke out in the Northeast Delhi area and after the killing of police personnel in Maujpur. At the time Umar Khalid was in Bihar, he called up Natasha Narwal, who was incharge of Jafrabad. Amit Prasad also referred to a chat message by Yogendra Yadav in which he was talking about the irresponsible behaviour of a girl. SPP also argued that after the first arrest there were messages to delete the group and clear the chats and there was a message that we can reconvene on Signal. After that data from mobile phones was deleted. No data till April 2020 was found from the mobile of Umar Khalid whereas he was a participant in chats. He said that there were messages in the DPSG group planning a solidarity march on March 25 and their mass addition of people in the group was done to show that it is a good group and is involved in some good work. Some people were also removed from the group including Athar and Shadab and two others. (ANI)
According to the police, Gholve and others are arrested on a complaint by a local shopkeeper (trader) Mohammad Taiyyab Ali Shaikh. All the accused have been sent to four days of police custody.

"Accused have been taking money from the complainant and other traders with a promise to help them in getting shops for their business which were likely to be displaced due to acquisition for the Metro works in the area," said the police officer.

Shop owners would anyway get the shop in compensation by authorities as part of acquisition rehabilitation.

"They asked the complainant to pay Rs 1,200 per year as a donation to the organisation named BJP Kamgaar Aghadi Maharashtra. Complainant has been giving this money from 2019 till now," the officer added.

"Accused have also extorted a total amount of Rs 55,000 from the complainant and were further demanding Rs 1 lakh while threatening to kill him if the money is not paid to them," the officer said.

Other accused arrested in the case are Guddu Yadav, Ghanshyam Yadav, Malka Yadav and Hasrat Ali Shaikh. (ANI)
A new study has found that more than half of the ocean surface has exceeded a historical heat extreme threshold on a regular basis since 2014. The research has been published in the 'PLOS Climate Journal'. And it is these heat extremes, researchers said, that increase the risk of collapse for crucial marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and kelp forests -- altering their structure and function, and threatening their capacity to continue to provide life-sustaining services to human communities. Researchers conducted the study by mapping 150 years of sea surface temperatures to determine a fixed historical benchmark for marine heat extremes. The scientists then looked at how often and how much of the ocean surpassed this point. The first year in which more than half of the ocean experienced heat extremes was 2014. The trend continued in subsequent years, reaching 57 per cent of the ocean in 2019, the last year measured in the study. Using this benchmark, just two per cent of the ocean surface was experiencing extremely warm temperatures at the end of the 19th century. "Climate change is not a future event," said Dr Kyle Van Houtan, who headed the research team during his tenure as chief scientist for the aquarium. "The reality is that it's been affecting us for a while. Our research shows that for the last seven years more than half of the ocean has experienced extreme heat," Houtan added. "These dramatic changes we've recorded in the ocean are yet another piece of evidence that should be a wake-up call to act on climate change. We are experiencing it now, and it is speeding up," he continued. The study grew from separate research into the history of kelp forest changes throughout California. Van Houtan and his team discovered that sea surface heat extremes, which are key stressors for canopy kelps, needed to be quantified and mapped along the California coast throughout the last century. The researchers then decided to expand the investigation beyond California to better understand the long-term frequency and location of extreme marine heat across the global ocean surface. Using historic records, aquarium scientists first determined the average temperatures for the ocean's surface over the period spanning 1870 to 1919. Then they identified the most dramatic ocean warming that occurred during that period -- the top two per cent of temperature increases -- and defined that as "extreme heat." The team then mapped the extremes over time, examining whether they occur regularly or are becoming more frequent. "Today, the majority of the ocean's surface has warmed to temperatures that only a century ago occurred as rare, once-in-50-year extreme warming events," Van Houtan said. The researchers said that the new normal of extreme heat across the majority of the ocean's surface is further evidence for the urgent need to drastically reduce emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, which are the driver of climate change. "When marine ecosystems near the tropics experience intolerably high temperatures, key organisms such as corals, seagrass meadows, or kelp forests can collapse," Van Houtan said. "Altering ecosystem structure and function threaten their capacity to provide life-sustaining services to human communities like supporting healthy and sustainable fisheries, buffering low-lying coastal regions from extreme weather events, and serving as a carbon sink to store the excess carbon put in the atmosphere from human-generated greenhouse emissions," he added. (ANI)
Following the signing of MoU for the construction of a motorable bridge over Mahakali, the Minister said, "The movement in between two nations which was stalled after this agreement has been sealed and works expedited, the relation between nations would be stronger. Transport, trade, religious and cultural beliefs, this project would further support it."

Earlier today, India and Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a motorable Bridge over the Mahakali River, connecting Dharchula (India) with Darchula (Nepal), under Indian grant assistance.

This agreement was signed by Ambassador of India, Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Government of Nepal, Rabindra Nath Shrestha.

"Today's MoU, I would say is a milestone step because with this MoU the two countries have started the process of establishing deeper connectivity, wider connectivity between Sudurpaschim of Nepal and the state of Uttarakhand of India," Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra said.

"It would immensely benefit not just only people across Mahakali River on both sides, on the banks of the Mahakali River, after its' completion it would establish a new foundation for economic prosperity in those areas which are connected," he added.

The construction of the bridge is planned to commence soon. (ANI)
"We had a shooting that occurred at the Salt Education Center," Henthorne said during a press briefing on Tuesday. "Officers arrived and discovered two students had been shot on the sidewalk outside of the school... Unfortunately, one of the students succumbed to his injuries, the other student remains in critical condition at this time."

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing and the authorities are searching for the suspects, Henthorne said.

There is no further threat to the area and the lockdowns placed at various schools earlier have been lifted, Henthorne said.

Henthorne did not disclose the names or the ages of the victims or the possible motive for the shooting.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wrote on Twitter that he was briefed on the incident and noted that state police is working in tandem with local law enforcement. (ANI/Sputnik)
A Hindu businessman was shot dead in Pakistan's Sindh province on Monday by influential elements allegedly belonging to the Dahar community, living 2 km away from the Daharki town of Ghotki district, reported local media. Satan Lal, the businessman, was shot dead on Monday over a piece of land in Ghotki district, reported The Express Tribune. "There was an inauguration of a cotton factory and flour mill on the land of Satan Lal where some people shot and killed him," The Express Tribune quoted Lal's friend Mukhi Anil Kumar, who was present at the scene, as saying over the phone. "We initially thought that it was the aerial firing to welcome Saen Sadhram Saheb, spiritual leader of the community," he added."They are threatening to kill me, smash my eyes and cut my hands and feet. They are asking me to leave Pakistan. I belong to this country and will prefer to die here but will not surrender," said Satan Lal in a video that went viral a few months ago."The roadside land belongs to me and why should I give it up," he was further quoted as saying. Late Lal had requested the chief justice of Pakistan and other authorities to provide him justice, naming those who were threatening to kill him. On Tuesday, a large number of protesters blocked the National Highway to protest the killing of the Hindu businessman. Following the sit-in, police arrested ring leader Bachal Dahar and his accomplices accused of killing Lal. Earlier, in an attempt to press the law enforcement agency to apprehend the culprits, the locals had staged a protest in front of the Daharki police. The culprits involved in the incident have been arrested and protesters have now cleared the highway, said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police Sukkur.A two-acre land triggered the dispute. Around eight years ago, some people had shot and injured Satan Lal who also came under attack a few months ago, claimed local journalists from the area. Efforts were afoot to tarnish the image of co-existence in Sindh where Hindus and Muslims live peacefully for centuries, said Khehal Das Kohistani, a lawmaker of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Girls of the Hindu community were forcibly converted and people were being kidnapped and killed, claimed the PML-N leader. Stressing that the situation will spiral out of control if protection is not given to the minorities living in the province, Kohistani urged the Chief Minister, IG police and others to take notice of the situation and provide justice and protection to the aggrieved Hindu families facing threats, according to The Express Tribune. The incident came after a 44-year-old Hindu businessman Sunil Kumar was shot dead by unidentified persons at Anaj Mandi in Sindh Province of Pakistan in early January. The recent attacks on Satan Lal and Kumar are yet another example of continuing atrocities against minorities in Pakistan, especially Hindus, Ahmadiyyas and Christians. In recent years, there has been a surge in attacks on minorities and also their places of worship in Pakistan. The country has been slammed by the international community for not safeguarding the interests of minorities. (ANI)
A fresh medical report of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was submitted to the Lahore High Court on Tuesday, which advised the former premier against travelling to Pakistan over possible health risks posed to him amid the ongoing COVID-19, according to a media report. The PML-N supremo had undergone extensive investigations since he arrived in London in 2019, and the investigations confirmed that "he has significant ischemia (a condition in which the blood flow is restricted or reduced in a part of the body) in the distribution of his left circumflex artery", noted Dr Fayaz Shawl on Tuesday sharing details of Nawaz's medical history and medications prescribed to him, according to Dawn. Shawl recalled that Nawaz had had two episodes of non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, a type of heart attack, during his stay in prison before he was allowed to travel to the UK. "Any further solitary confinement will have a negative effect on his health, both physically and psychologically," Dawn quoted Shawl as saying. The doctor further stated that during his stay in London amid a pandemic crisis, Nawaz had been "managed medically and is under close surveillance". On Tuesday, Advocate Amjad Pervez submitted the three-page report at the Lahore High Court during a hearing of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case, in which members of the Sharif family have been accused of being involved in money laundering under the garb of sale and purchase of the mills' shares. Pakistan's former Prime Minister has been in London since November 2019, when he was undergoing medical tests, and he was scheduled to undergo cardiac catheterisation at the time, according to Dawn. (ANI)
Jim Inhofe, a top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday (local time) vowed to press US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a classified briefing scheduled for Wednesday on any plans to carry out over-the-horizon strikes against terrorist targets in Afghanistan. "Here's what I'd like to hear from Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin... I want to understand what threats we face from terrorist organizations in Afghanistan today. I want to know how the administration plans to counter these threats, seeing as we have conducted zero over-the-horizon counterterrorism strikes since August - not even to punish the terrorists who killed 13 American service members at Abbey Gate, as the president promised to do," Inhofe said in a press release. The Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a classified briefing on Afghanistan with Blinken and Austin on Wednesday, reported Sputnik. Inhofe also said he will seek an update on the number of Americans still in Afghanistan since the mass exodus in August. As part of the Doha pact, the Taliban provided the US with assurances that it would not become a terrorist safe haven. In December, the Afghanistan Ambassador to Tajikistan Muhammad Zahir Agbar told Sputnik that the Taliban grants Al-Qaeda and Islamic State Afghan passports. The practice is a signal that terrorism is being legalized there, the ambassador said. (ANI)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply concerned with the news of heavy fighting in Bissau and asked for an immediate end to the fighting and for full respect of the country's democratic institutions.

However, after some hours of the attempted coup, President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo reasserts control and said that the armed personnel were thwarted.

Embalo said that many of his own security forces members were killed in the conflict with possible links to drug trafficking, reported the newspaper.

He termed the attempted coup as a "failed attack against democracy" and said that he could not comment as to how many had been arrested.

"It wasn't just a coup. It was an attempt to kill the president, the prime minister and the entire cabinet.", he added.

Notably, Guinea-Bissau has seen a total of four successful coups. The last coup was in 2021.

As far as attempted coups are concerned, perhaps a dozen ones must have been attempted since the small West African nation gained independence from Portugal 48 years ago, reported the newspaper. (ANI)
Editor's note: The annual Spring Festival Gala, adance drama featuring the "poet god," a concert preluding Chinese Lunar New Year, a Broadway musical comedy, and a much-anticipated blockbusterhere are five events you won't want to miss this week.





1, 2022 CCTV Spring Festival Gala





For several decades, the Spring Festival Gala has been a staple of every Lunar New Year's Eve. This year's program is designed to resonate with audiences emotionally, depicting cultural heritage, themes of the times, and rural revitalization. In addition, the Winter Olympics will feature heavily, with an original song and dance called "China Welcomes You" and New Year greetings from Chinese athletes. Furthermore, the astronauts of China's Shenzhou-13 mission, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu, will appear.





Date: 20:00, Jan. 31





Channels: CCTV and platforms such as CCTV.com, Tencent, Aiqiyi.com, etc.





2, Dance Drama'Li Bai'





Honored as the "poet god," Chinese poet Li Bai holds an important place in the history of Chinese literature. Several fragments of his life will be acted out in a dance drama to celebrate his patriotism and the favorable and unfavorable turns in his life. Ultimately, the show will reveal his unrestrained and remarkable personality and why his poems are still widely read.





Dates: Feb. 2-3





Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Beijing





3, Concert Preluding Chinese Lunar New Year





This concert selects classical music suitable for the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival, but also different styles that are close to the modern human emotions. The famous melodies will include "Jasmine Flower," "In That Distant Place," "The White-Haired Girl," and "The Moon Represents My Heart," to name a few.





Dates: 19:30, Feb. 2





Venue: Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Shanghai





4, Chinese version of classic Broadway music comedy 'Happy Kitchen'





Featuring excellent body language and vivid expressions, chefs in this musical comedy will take all "instruments" at hand, such as pots, spoons, and scoops to perform percussion music. A Kungfu stunt and magic show will also be included.





Dates: Feb. 4-18





Venue: Zhengjia Grand Theatre, Guangzhou





5, Blockbuster 'The Battle at Lake Changjin II'

The much-anticipated sequel to China's highest-grossing film of all time, "The Battle at Lake Changjin," will hit Chinese screens during Spring Festival. The film promises more powerful stories and stronger emotions. Meanwhile, the plot of "The Battle at Lake Changjin II" will pick up where its record-breaking predecessor left off to tell more heroic stories and the final fate of the Chinese soldiers after the epic battle at Lake Changjin.







Director: Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, and Dante Lam





Leading cast: Wu Jing and Jackson Yee





Release Date: Feb.1, nationwide





Questions and Discussions for our readers: What is your favorite upcoming cultural event? We appreciate your comments. Thank you!





Cultural events of the week: Jan. 24-30
The Russian envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov on Tuesday said that Moscow is ready to receive delegates of both Afghanistan's authorities and opposition forces to prevent war in Afghanistan, in case they are interested. In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, Kabulov said that Russian officials have repeatedly declared they will host such meetings, reported Tolo News. "As for visits to Moscow by representatives of both the new Afghan authorities and opposition forces, we have repeatedly confirmed our readiness to demonstrate hospitality if they are interested in that," Kabulov told TASS. Meanwhile, a source close to National Resistance Force (NRF), the only defiant group who are fighting the Taliban told Tolo News that Russia had mediated a meeting recently between the Islamic Emirate and the Resistance Front, in which Ahmad Massoud met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, first deputy of the PM, in Moscow. The meeting has not been officially confirmed yet, and Islamic Emirate officials have neither confirmed nor denied the meeting. "There is no official information on hand about the trip of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to any country," said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate. This unconfirmed report follows a meeting of the Islamic Emirate delegation led by Amir Khan Mutaqqi with Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the Resistance Front, and Ismail Khan, a jihadi leader, in Tehran. However, the negotiations between NRF and the Taliban ended without any results in Tehran. After the fall of Kabul on August 15, NRF remained the only defiant group led by Ahamd Masoud, the son of late former Afghan guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who are resisting the Taliban. In November 2021, the Afghan National Resistance Front said that more and more people were joining the organization to fight the Taliban rule, with members of the NRF gathering in Panjshir, Kapisa, Parwan, Badakhshan, Balkh, and Baghlan provinces, as per the media outlet. Recently Norway hosted meetings between a delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Afghan women and as well as representatives of several countries in Oslo, and there were reports released that Abdul Ghani Baradar had left Kabul for Moscow to meet Ahmad Massoud, however, the Russian ministry of foreign affairs denied the meeting, reported Tolo News. (ANI)
The petitioner, Babar, appeared before the commission and maintained that he was being subjected to delay tactics on the provision of documents pertaining to PTI's foreign funding, reported The Express Tribune.

"Sometimes it is said that the petitioner should appear in person to obtain the documents and on other occasions, we are told that the lawyers should come too," he complained.

His lawyer requested the commission to provide the documents at the earliest.

The lawyer representing Babar said there were irregularities in the findings of the scrutiny committee on the basis of which the report had been submitted, reported The Express Tribune.

He complained that ECP's Director-General for law did not want to obey the orders of the commission.

The chief election commissioner directed the ECP secretary that he would be responsible for the provision of documents to the petitioner.

Meanwhile, the ECP adjourned the case till February 9.

Earlier, ECP had rejected PTI's request for confidentiality of scrutiny committee report in the foreign funding case.

ECP had revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan's party, PTI had given false information on funding received from abroad and in fact, hid its real assets to the tune of Pak Rupees (PKR) 310 million.

The report of the ECP's scrutiny committee has come like a bombshell to the party and its leader at a time when the Prime Minister stands isolated both domestically and internationally. (ANI)
A Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) official attributed the shortage of Paracetamol, the most commonly prescribed medicine for COVID patients, to the rising number of dengue cases and the subsequent demand for the painkiller, reported the newspaper

Drap on Tuesday issued show-cause notices to 15 pharmaceutical companies for failing to manufacture, Paracetamol, despite having licences.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is currently facing the fifth COVID wave and the number of active cases across the country has crossed the 100,000 mark.

Pakistan's national positivity rate is at 9.65 per cent and National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) recorded 32 deaths across the country over the past 24 hours. (ANI)
China is not only exporting steel and concrete but also corruption, opacity, and waste in Bangladesh. Pia Sherman, writing in Global Strat View, an independent media group based in Washington said that China's approach to economic recovery comes with waste, fraud, and political manipulation. Chinese-driven corruption now permeates into several layers of Bangladeshi business enterprises, even government transactions. In a post-pandemic situation where Bangladesh too is looking at economic recovery, it runs the risk of becoming even more dependent on Beijing, which is rife with systemic corruption, paired with a lack of accountability. Several detailed case studies of Chinese projects in Bangladesh demonstrate the consequences of China's failure to engage in open and transparent conduct, said Sherman. Chinese investments in Bangladesh have systematically failed to respect human rights by creating long-lasting negative results for people and the environment. Chinese projects in Bangladesh also show faulty payment, poor labour facilities, impracticality, and corruption. A criminal case recently revealed that the Chinese were facilitating the illegal printing of 'bandrolls,' which are supposed to be exclusively printed by order of the Bangladeshi government by paying tax/VAT, known as cigarette tax, reported Global Strat View. A Chinese company based in Shenzhen called 'Digit Anti Fake Company Ltd' (DAFC) had supplied these counterfeit band rolls/stamps to Chittagong-based Arafat Enterprise under the guise of supplying Art/ A4 size papers. Furthermore, this Chinese company, 'Digit Anti Fake Company Ltd' (DAFC), is involved in printing other counterfeit documents, including passports, ballot papers, national identity cards, and birth registration certificates, said Sherman. The Bangladesh authorities detected a website run by DAFC mentioning bandroll with 'Bangladesh's National Board of Revenue, Customs Paid.' Moreover, Bangladeshi workers are risking their lives in dangerous Chinese-run illegal factories in the country. The massive fire that broke out at a factory in Bangladesh's Narayanganj in July 2021, killing at least several dozen people, should be a wake-up call for the South Asian nation, said Sherman. The ill-treatment of workers is a significant concern regarding working conditions in the construction process of coal-fired power plants as part of the Chinese megaprojects in Bangladesh. In April 2021, a group of workers of the SS Power Plant gathered in Chattogram to peacefully protest for higher wages and reduced working hours. Police authorities intervened to quell the protest through violent means. The Bangladeshi press recorded five deaths and a dozen injured people in the clash. As more and more cases of Chinese embezzlement of funds in projects came to the forefront, China was forced to withdraw from financing three infrastructure projects in Bangladesh -Building a mixed gauge double line from Joydebpur in Gazipur to Ishwardi in Pabna near the capital Dhaka; Converting the meter gauge line from Akhaura to Sylhet and construction of a mixed gauge double railway line from Joydebpur to Jamalpur via Mymensingh. Beijing has never been committed to transparency, engaging in unequal trade relations with the relatively weaker states. Chinese syndicates and criminals have been highly efficient in creating loose, flexible multinational structures that are often linked with legitimate business enterprises and exploit weaknesses in Bangladesh's law enforcement systems, said Sherman. (ANI)
Senior Correspondent at Iran International News, Tajuden Soroush, said the journalists from Ariana TV, an Afghanistani media network, confirmed the arrest of two of their journalists, Wares Hasrat and Aslam Hejab, by the Taliban. Taking to Twitter, Tajuden Soroush said, "Ariana TV journalists confirmed me that today Taliban arrested Wares Hasrat and Aslam Hejab, two @ArianaNews_ journalists. Taliban didn't say why they arrested them but last night in one of the Ariana TV's program, a guest criticised the Taliban and their behaver." Notably, The Free Speech Hub, an organization supporting open media in Afghanistan, in a statement said that the two reporters--Aslam Hejab and Waris Hasrat--were arrested by the Taliban on Monday and so far the reasons for their arrest remain unknown. Furthermore, the European Union, Amnesty International and UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) have called upon the Taliban to provide information about the case of two Ariana News reporters. On Tuesday, Amnesty International said that the arrest of the two journalists was "unjustifiable" and called on the Islamic Emirate to release them. "Such escalating attacks on media freedom are a grave threat to the right to freedom of expression. The Taliban must unconditionally and immediately release them," Amnesty International said in a tweet. The EU ambassador to Afghanistan, Andreas von Brandt, also reacted to the arrest of the journalists. "Still hard to grasp why those you claim to work for justice and better governance don't respect journalists working to improve transparency, governance and justice in Afghanistan," he tweeted. (ANI)
He will continue as the Chief Justice till his retirement on September 18, 2023.

This followed the departure of former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Gulzar Ahmed, from the position.

Identifying the 'scandalisation' of judges and a massive backlog of undecided cases as major challenges facing the judiciary, Chief Justice Bandial on Tuesday, spoke at length about the challenges faced by the superior judiciary during the former CJP's term, reported DAWN.

He criticised Pakistani mainstream media and social media for resorting to attacking judges rather than criticising their judgements.

Furthermore, coining the idea of performance audits of all courts, including the apex court, to identify and remedy weaknesses, Justice Bandial called on the legal fraternity to help save the court's time.

He urged judicial use of time by ensuring a greater reliance on written briefs, concise statements and skeleton arguments by counsel and an end to the culture of seeking adjournments at the time of the hearing, reported the newspaper. (ANI)
Earlier on Tuesday, the EU delegation to the UN in Geneva issued a joint statement on the first anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, expressing concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country and calling for the cessation of violence.

A year after the coup by Myanmar's military on February 1 last year, millions of people are resisting a return to repression and isolation and the movement has become stronger.

Myanmar also extended the state of emergency in the country for six more months, just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the military coup that toppled the Aung San Suu Kyi-led civilian government.

The military coup triggered a wave of civil protests that shook the country from February-May 2021, resulting in more than 1,300 people killed in clashes with law enforcement officers. (ANI)
The European Union (EU) Parliament is hosting 'Afghan Women Days', a series of events from February 1st to 2nd, to address and cast light on the extremely worrying situation of women in Afghanistan following the Taliban's return to power last year. The high-level conference is being attended by members of the EU parliament, prominent Afghan women who were finalists for Parliament's 2021 Shakarov Prize, as well as activists, UN representatives and representatives from several other international organizations, according to a statement from the European Parliament. Sima Samar, human rights advocate, former Minister of Women's Affairs and former chair of the Afghan Independent, Human Rights Commission thanked the EU for organizing the program in honour of women of Afghanistan. "We have seen war for last 40 years but we still hope for betterment. The situation is much worse than what is being projected in the media or social media. Afghanistan has been a collective failure of its people, the Afghan govt. and the international community," she said. She called out for the international community not to abandon Afghanistan after just like the Soviet war. "Women are being pushed down as the second-grade citizens and education system has been destroyed as the Taliban rulers have stated that Universities are more destructive than bombs. Violation of human rights against women has become a norm. They have closed Afghanistan Human Rights Commission and replaced the Ministry of Women Affairs.", she said. Roberta Metsola, President of European Parliament and Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Special envoy also spoke on the Taliban's gender apartheid against women. Roberta addressed women of Afghanistan facing struggle, selling and other atrocities. "Taliban promised no society but humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Afghanistan under Taliban. Women are being subjugated and targeted. Violent crackdown and disappearance of women activists.", she pointed out. She said that the Universal goals of human dignity particularly women's rights have to be respected and EP will demand this from the Taliban. Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Special envoy also saluted the bravery of Afghan women who have survived after atrocities against women. "Women were killed, imprisoned and driven away for showing courage in Afghanistan but brave women have faced all these. I appeal to Taliban rulers to open schools for women and allow them to participate in politics, work and decision making. I call upon the international community and free-thinking women to hold the rulers accountable for these atrocities. ", she added. Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General thanked the EU for their role in highlighting this burning issue of gender equality in Afghanistan. Amina said, "Over the last two decades, progress was made but today the women and girls are being marginalized. They are yearning for stability. UN is trying to open schools for women and girls. UN and EU solidarity with women of Afghanistan will surely pave the way for the betterment of women in Afghanistan.". Mounir Satouri, a Member of the European Parliament urged the international community to act against the Taliban. He urged EP to "remind the member states of their responsibilities and demand that no diplomatic relations with Taliban should be started and Taliban should not be recognized." Moderator Maria Arena, Chair of Sub-committee on human rights said that no access to education and health care to women is provided despite promises made by the Taliban. "Afghanistan should not be abandoned to their sad fate and Europe is determined to see a better future for Afghanistan.", she added. J. Lenarcic, European Commissioner for Crisis Management commented that decisive action is needed by International Community. "Women are being ostracized and stopped from accessing health care and education. We are funding women-led families and encouraging women to be teachers and participate in society. Taliban recently promised to open schools for women from 21st March 2022.", he said. Shaharzad Akbar, Sakharav Prize 2021 Finalist and chair of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) also pointed out that presently brutal starvation is prevailing in Afghanistan. "Taliban has been carrying out extra-judicial killings and have severely limited the movement of women. There is no freedom of expression in Afghanistan. Healthcare and Education have to be funded by the international community but it has to be ensured that the money does not go to the Taliban. Taliban has to allow women to work. Taliban has been indulging in gender apartheid against women.", she said. (ANI)
Taking to Twitter, Additional Directorate General of Public Information for Indian Army said, "General MM Naravane #COAS had telephonic interaction with Lieutenant General Rick Burr, Chief of Army, #AustralianArmy and discussed issues of bilateral defence cooperation."

In September 2021, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Minister of External Affairs, Dr S. Jaishankar, welcomed Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator Marise Payne, and Minister for Defence, Peter Dutton, to New Delhi for the first India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, MEA said in a statement. (ANI)
Freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Pakistan last year remained under 'severe pressure', according to the report released by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) on Monday. The "Pakistan Media Freedom Report -- 2021" was compiled under the supervision of CPNE's press freedom and monitoring committee and is based on first-hand information as well as material obtained from media outlets and websites, reported DAWN. "Freedom of the press and freedom of expression remained under severe pressure and faced a myriad of challenges during the previous year," the report said. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz President (PML-N), Shehbaz Sharif, while taking a dig at the Pakistani Prime minister, described the media report as yet another charge sheet against the Imran Khan government. Sharif said, "The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE)'s report is yet another charge sheet against the PTI government. Such reports may affect Pakistan's GSP Plus status and prospects for foreign investment" He added that "The report is a testimony to 'fascism of this government'." The report highlighted the state of media in Pakistan for 2020 and showed concern over increasing attempts to stifle the media and to negate the right of access to information. It further recalled incidents that took place in the country suggesting that the year 2021 has been an extremely difficult year for journalists, media workers and media organisations in Pakistan in different ways, reported the newspaper. "A number of journalists faced attempts on their lives, lawsuits and telephone calls from unknown numbers," the report said. The report recalled that five journalists lost their lives in the line of duty, including Nazim Jokhio, a Karachi-based social media activist and community journalist who was abducted and murdered mercilessly. In another incident, the report added, a total of 9 journalists lost their lives due to the pandemic and media persons committed suicide due to unemployment. (ANI)
"As a result of the shutdown of enterprises, 4,500 workers lost their jobs," Kaminzada said.

Amid complaints about the shortage of power in the capital city of Kabul, the transmission of power from Uzbekistan has been halted due to technical problems found in the electricity system that includes the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan said Tolo News.

In November 2021, the Afghan national energy company stated that the amount of energy required by Afghanistan is 850 megawatts, with 620 being provided from neighbouring countries, reported Sputnik.

Earlier in January, Uzbekistan reduced the import of electricity to Afghanistan, causing a disruption of electricity supply in a number of Afghan provinces. Uzbekistan suspended electricity exports to Afghanistan amid a large-scale power disruption in the region on January 25 and restored the supply on Tuesday. (ANI)
Ottawa [Canada], February 2 (ANI/Sputnik): Two men were arrested in the Canadian capital of Ottawa for committing minor infractions during the largely peaceful trucker-led COVID-19 demonstrations, local police said on Wednesday. "Today, the Ottawa Police Service arrested and charged Matthew Dorken, 29 year old, of Ottawa, with Mischief under $5000. On January 29, a man caused mischief to property. He was not arrested at the time in order to avoid a larger confrontation. On January 30, Andre J Lacasse, 37 year old, of Ottawa, was charged with Carry a Weapon to a Public Meeting under the Criminal Code of Canada," the Ottawa police said in a statement. On Saturday, thousands of truckers gathered in Ottawa to protest the recent COVID-19 restrictions, in particular vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the US-Canada border. They were joined by hundreds of other people, with the protest remaining peaceful. Police said on Sunday that they were investigating several incidents in connection with the protest, including people jumping on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the desecration of the statue of Terry Fox on Saturday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family were moved to a different location from their home in the capital city amid the trucker protest. (ANI/Sputnik)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said the US and NATO 'ignored' Moscow's key concerns over Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference following a five-hour meeting in Moscow with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Putin said, "It is already clear -- I informed the Prime Minister about this -- that the fundamental Russian concerns were ignored. We did not see an adequate consideration of our three key requirements," reported CNN. Putin added that Russia had not seen "adequate consideration of our three key demands regarding NATO expansion, the renunciation of the deployment of strike weapons systems near Russian borders, and the return of the [NATO] bloc's military infrastructure in Europe to the state of 1997 when the Russia-NATO founding act was signed." The Russian President also accused the US directly of attempting to "draw us into armed conflict" over the Ukraine crisis by using the country as a "tool" for NATO operations. He claimed that Washington's main goal is to force "allies in Europe to impose the very tough sanctions against us," or "draw Ukraine into NATO". Meanwhile, the US and NATO have said that Putin's demands -- which include a promise to never expand eastward to countries including Ukraine -- violate NATO's open-door policy and are non-starters in negotiations, reported CNN. Putin did not offer any solutions but did say he was open to more talks. "I hope that this dialogue will continue," he said, adding, "I hope that we will eventually find this solution, although it is not an easy one, and we are aware of this. But what that will be, I'm not ready to say today, of course." He also reiterated his opposition to the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, and said Kyiv was attempting to retake Crimea -- the Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014 -- by military force, potentially bringing the alliance into open conflict with Russia. "This [Crimea] is sovereign Russian territory, the question is closed for us," he said. "Let's imagine that Ukraine is a NATO country and starts these military operations. Then what, we should fight against the NATO bloc? So, has anyone thought about this? Looks like no." Diplomats from the US, Russia, Ukraine, NATO and the European Union have been engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent weeks, reported CNN. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a phone call Tuesday. Following that call, a senior State Department official said Lavrov did not give an indication that Moscow will de-escalate from the border with Ukraine. Meanwhile, US State Department officials confirmed on Monday that they had "received a written followup from Russia" to a document of proposals the US sent to the Kremlin last week on how to defuse tensions and pave the way for further security talks in response to Russia's demands on security. Also, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday, reported CNN. Johnson accused Russia of "holding a gun to Ukraine" and warned that a potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia would be a "political" and "humanitarian disaster." "The potential invasion completely flies in the face of President Putin's claims to be acting in the interests of the Ukrainian people," Johnson said. Zelensky said that should a war between Russia and Ukraine start it will be a "big war in Europe," adding that there "will be no occupation of any territory or city in Ukraine... but there will be a bloody tragedy if the invasion of our country starts." (ANI)
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday dismissed media speculation over the party's "relations" with the "establishment" (Pakistan Army) and said that PPP is not interested in ties with the establishment. Talking to senior journalists in the Punjab provincial capital, the PPP chairman said the long march would be successful if the "establishment opts to play a neutral role," Geo News reported. "We have never been interested in [forging relations] with the establishment, and we never will be," he said. Imran Khan's ascendancy to the Islamabad throne was made possible by the army, especially Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and is often referred to as the hybrid regime. Moreover, Pakistan's elected representatives and ministers rejoice in reading the military general's statements, words like civilian leadership and military leadership are used with pride. It is often claimed that it is the army and establishment and not peoples' power behind it. Last month, the PPP had said the anti-government long march from Karachi to Islamabad would take place on February 27, with Bilawal demanding immediate and transparent elections in the country. He had said that the nation wants to get rid of the "selected" government (Imran Khan) and a transparent election is the only solution, reported Geo News. Speaking about the Leader of the Opposition in Senate Yousaf Raza Gillani, Bilawal said he has complete confidence in him. "Ever since the long march was announced, some elements have been trying to tarnish our image." Gillani had on Monday announced to step down as the Leader of the Opposition in Senate as he was among eight Opposition senators whose absence the passage of the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill. (ANI)
Poor planning and lack of infrastructure have left residents of Pakistan's Gwadar and other parts of Makran division homeless washing away their limited resources after recent heavy rains, reported Dawn. Prime Minister Imran Khan announced development packages to improve the situation however the ground realities show the opposite. On September 12 last year, during his brief visit to Quetta, Prime Minister Imran Khan hinted at a special development package said to be worth nearly USD 1 billion for southern Balochistan, which exclusively revolves around the Makran division. However, when Dawn visited the Makran division over four months after the people of Balochistan had been first informed about the special development package, the water shortage was still there, let alone other basic facilities reported the newspaper. Again on November 14, 2020, PM Khan during his visit to Turbat announced a southern Balochistan package that he said was aimed at creating more employment opportunities, highways, dams, electricity, and other developmental infrastructure for the region. The situation in the Kulanch region is similar, as the acute water shortage, which makes women, men and children bring water-filled containers either on their shoulders or use wheelbarrows though some have donkeys and motorbikes for the purpose. There is poverty and drought in Kulanch from where many villagers over the past two decades had gone to Pasni town for good, reported the newspaper. (ANI)
London [UK], February 2 (ANI/Sputnik): A UK warship has been tracking two Russian naval vessels passing through the English Channel amid increasing tensions in Russia-West relations over Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday. On Monday, the French army said that it had monitored Russia's Soobrazitelniy and Stoykiy corvettes as they left the port of the exclaved Russian city of Kaliningrad to conduct combat exercises. Later, the French military tweeted that it had handed over the tracking of the Russian ships to UK frigate HMS Argyll and US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. "As part of a unified response with our allies, the Royal Navy monitor the presence of Russian naval ships as they transit through the English Channel," a spokesperson for the UK defense ministry said, as quoted by British newspaper Mirror. According to the spokesperson, monitoring ships is a "normal response." In the past few months, the West and Ukraine have accused Russia of massing troops near the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for invasion. Russia said that it has no intention of invading Ukraine, while stressing that it has the right to move its forces within its own territory. Russia has also expressed concerns over NATO's military activity near its borders and the ongoing military support of Ukraine, including an increase in the number of Western instructors in the breakaway Donbas region. ussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow does not exclude that the "hysteria" around Ukraine fueled by the West is aimed at covering Kiev's plans to sabotage the Minsk Agreements on Donbas. (ANI/Sputnik)
Moscow [Russia], February 2 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia has banned entry to State Secretary of the Interior Ministry of Montenegro Zoran Miljanic due to Podgorica granting asylum to Russian businessman Telman Ismailov, whom the Russian investigation put on the international wanted list, the Russian foreign ministry said on Wednesday. "On February 2, a note from the Russian foreign ministry was sent to the Embassy of Montenegro in Russia on a ban on entry into Russia to State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Zoran Miljanic," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry added the measure was in response to "the unfriendly step taken by the Montenegrin authorities in October 2021 -- granting political asylum to a Russian citizen T.M.Ismailov put on the international wanted list for committing extremely serious crimes on the territory of Russia." (ANI/Sputnik)
"It is necessary to strengthen criminal liability measures, completely block mobile applications on the internet, which do more harm than good, such as TikTok," Sputnik News Agency citing party statement reported.

The party also said that despite the existing connectivity restrictions in the country, TikTokers have the opportunity to access the network using VPN applications, and that "this issue should be examined."

The initiative came in the wake of a high-profile case involving an underage TikTok user who filmed himself kicking an elderly man in the city of Samarkand last week, according to the news agency.

Last month, a court in Pakistan had issued a written order to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ban "immoral content" shared on TikTok.

According to the report presented by PTA, it has blocked 28.9 million videos from the app, while 1.4 million accounts are blocked for sharing immoral content, Geo News reported.

The first time TikTok was banned in Pakistan was in October 2020, However, the ban was lifted 10-day later after the company assured that it would block accounts "spreading obscenity". (ANI)
At least 50 people were killed by rebels of the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) in a camp for displaced people in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Xinhua News Agency reported citing local sources. Militiamen of the CODECO launched the attack late Tuesday against a site for displaced civilians in Bule village of the Djugu territory, in DRC's northeastern province of Ituri, killing at least 50 civilians, said the local sources. An official of the Caritas Internationalis, an organization in charge of the site under attack, confirmed the tragedy, Xinhua reported. The official added that there are several bodies of the displaced found Wednesday morning. CODECO is an armed group structured around a religious sect in Ituri. The group is accused of being behind the violence that has been engulfing this gold-rich region since late 2017, after a 20-year lull, as per Xinhua. (ANI)
Pakistan's energy sector circular debt flow is still soaring with an average growth of about Rs 38 billion per month recorded during the first six months (July-December) 2021-22. Total circular debt has reached Rs 2.476 trillion during the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to Rs 2.303 trillion in the same period of 2020-21, with total growth of Rs 196 billion as compared to Rs 152 billion during July-December 2020-21, as noted by Business Recorder. Circular debt is a persistent headache for the Pakistan government and sends an unpleasant message to the International Financial Institutions and local banks is a product of incompetence, unbridled theft, high losses, rampant corruption and other factors, according to Business Recorder. Power sectors' average Transmission and Distribution losses are 17 per cent against targets of 13.4 per cent. However, Power Division is determined to bring circular debt down to Rs 1.880 trillion at the end of the current fiscal year. Unpaid subsidies have been reduced by Rs 8 billion during the first six months of the current fiscal year against a growth of Rs 77 billion in the same period last year. The volume of unbudgeted subsidy was Rs 17 billion during this period from negative Rs 5 billion in the same period last fiscal year, according to sources. The Independent Power Procedure interest charges on delayed payments increased to 67 billion July-December 2021-22, against Rs42 billion in the comparable period of the year before, posting a growth of over 60 per cent. The amount of Distribution company (Disco) inefficiency was recorded at Rs 46 billion from Rs 8 billion during this period last year, showing an increase of 475 per cent, according to Business Recorder. The sources maintained that Discos under-recoveries recorded at 66 billion during July-December 2021-22 as compared to negative 37 billion. However, prior year recovery has declined to Rs 8 billion from 99 billion, as noted by Business Recorder. (ANI)
Taking to Twitter, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that Mauritius is integral to our vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).

"Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla welcomed High Commissioner of Mauritius Santi Bai Hanoomanjee. Had a productive discussion on enhancing bilateral cooperation & strengthening the uniquely warm relations between our countries. Mauritius is integral to our vision of SAGAR," Bagchi tweeted.

Through SAGAR, India seeks to deepen economic and security cooperation with its maritime neighbours and assist in building their maritime security capabilities.

Further, India seeks to safeguard its national interests and ensure the Indian Ocean region become inclusive, collaborative and respect international law.

In 2015, India unveiled its strategic vision for the Indian Ocean i.e. SAGAR. It is increasing recognition of the increasing importance of maritime security, maritime commons and cooperation. (ANI)
China will benefit if Russia invades Ukraine and precipitates a drawn-out conflict with the US and its Western allies (though a direct military confrontation is unlikely), China stands to benefit, as noted by Channel News Asia. America will need to divert strategic resources to confront Russia, and its European allies will be even more reluctant to heed US entreaties to join America's anti-China coalition. But if US President Joe Biden defuses the crisis by acceding to some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands, China will likely end up worse off strategically. While Putin will reap the benefits of his coercive diplomacy, and Biden will avoid a potential quagmire in Eastern Europe, China will find itself the sole focus of America's national security strategy, as analyzed by Channel News Asia. Further, after Putin has skillfully exploited the US obsession with China to re-establish Russia's sphere of influence, the strategic value of his China card may depreciate significantly. For Putin, capitalising on Biden's fear of being dragged into a conflict with a secondary adversary (Russia) in order to extract critical security concessions is a risky but smart move. But ordering an invasion of Ukraine - and thus effectively volunteering to be America's primary geopolitical adversary, at least in the short to medium term - is hardly in the Kremlin's interest. Crippling Western sanctions and the high costs of fighting an insurgency in Ukraine would almost certainly weaken Russia significantly and make Putin himself both domestically unpopular and more dependent on Chinese President Xi Jinping, as analyzed by Channel News Asia. Strategic uncertainty aside, China's rulers know that explicitly supporting Putin will almost certainly antagonise the European Union, which is now China's second-largest trading partner. In Chinese policymakers' strategic calculation, it is vital to prevent the US from recruiting the EU into its anti-China coalition. Ukraine's independence and security are crucial to the EU, and Chinese efforts to aid and abet Putin would trigger a European backlash. At a minimum, the EU could make China pay by restricting technology transfers and expressing more diplomatic support for Taiwan. China's leaders are realists and know that they can do little to influence the outcome of the current crisis in Ukraine even if they choose to intervene publicly. With Putin holding most of the cards in the ongoing standoff, China's diplomatic support is unlikely to alter the strategic calculus of the principal protagonists in Washington, Brussels, or even Moscow. Beijing's influence will increase dramatically only if Putin rolls the dice and invades Ukraine because he will then need Chinese economic support to lessen the impact of Western sanctions. But for now, all this is speculative as far as China's President Xi Jinping is concerned. Although a superpower, China is temporarily reduced to being an onlooker, watching both anxiously and hopefully on the sidelines as the Ukraine crisis unfolds, as analyzed by Channel News Asia. (ANI)
Uzbek-Pashtun ethnic fissures in the Taliban regime in Afghanistan have deepened with the arrest of Taliban stalwart, Makhdoom Alam. By all accounts, Makhdoom Alam was a Taliban stalwart. The 45-year-old ethnic Uzbek commander fought US and Afghan forces for two decades and was held for five years in a US-run prison. Last summer, his fighters seized three northern provinces, helping pave the way for the Taliban to take over the nation. With each victory, his influence grew and two weeks ago, the Taliban arrested him, according to Washington Post. That was enough to touch off a minor rebellion in this Uzbek-dominated northern provincial capital. Hundreds of Alam's supporters took to the streets on January 13th their anger fueled by long-simmering ethnic grievances -- and accusations that the predominantly Pashtun Taliban didn't want an Uzbek to gain too much power within its ranks. Alam's detention represents one of the first internal challenges to the Taliban regime. Like previous Afghan governments, the Taliban is led by Pashtuns, the ethnic majority in a country where minorities have been marginalized or underrepresented for decades. To many Uzbeks, Alam's saga signals a continuation of such policies. But even Ferdous doesn't know why Alam was arrested. Some local media reports suggested that he underrepresented to Taliban officials in Kabul the amount of heavy weaponry he and his roughly 4,000 fighters possessed. But most people, including Alam's family and military comrades, said he was falsely accused of kidnapping a boy from a wealthy family two years ago. The boy is still missing. Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban, replied that "investigations are underway in this regard" and "are not yet completed." He declined to comment further. The controversy over Alam comes at a delicate time for the Taliban. When the Taliban returned as Afghanistan's rulers in August, their leaders vowed to create a government inclusive of all of Afghanistan's ethnic groups and religions, a move to convince the international community that the new government deserved diplomatic recognition and financial backing. But nearly six months later, that promise has yet to materialize, as analyzed by Washington Post. In Faryab province, where Uzbeks are a majority, the ethnic fissures have been deepening for months. Even though many mid-level security and political officials are Uzbek, most residents viewed the Taliban's appointment of an ethnic Turkmen governor and a Pashtun as his deputy as an attempt to dilute their community's influence. The most powerful Uzbek was Alam, and then he was gone. "The demonstrations sent a clear message to the central government," said a professor of politics at Faryab University. "If they continue discriminatory policies, they will face a popular reaction that will create problems for the Taliban to rule this province and neighbouring provinces." The professor added: "It could also inspire other ethnic groups to rise up against them and their policies." Earlier, Alam once was a Taliban poster boy for diversity. Born in Faryab Province, he was among the first Uzbeks to join the Taliban in the mid-1990s, when the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan, according to Washington Post. (ANI)
Speaking at the rally held at the Shah Faisal Gate, president of Kohat mobile phone sellers' association Alif Noor and president of the main bazaar union Amir Khan said the overseas Pakistanis, who sent billions of dollars in remittances, had been asked to pay huge taxes on activation of their mobile phones in Pakistan, or have them blocked, Dawn reported.

They said taxes had been raised from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 on all kinds of phones sold locally. They said the mobile phone traders were already paying huge rents of their shops, and the new taxes would ruin their businesses.

Speaking on the occasion, Shafiullah Jan, a local Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader, said the government was pushing the mobile phone traders against the wall.

Jan further stated that purchasing power of people had already eroded due to price hike, and the taxation on cell phones would badly affect the business community, Dawn reported. (ANI)
The Peshawar Qaumi Jirga has expressed protest over hours-long power and gas load shedding and warned of ringing the offices of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) to convey their message. The jirga, a representative body of different political parties, in a statement said people in the provincial metropolis were fed up with the ever-increasing energy crisis, as noted by News International. Power and gas supply remains disrupted for hours on a daily basis despite the fact the province produces both the commodities more than its consumption, it added, according to the statement of the local jirga. Further, the jirga spokesman Arbab Khyzer Hayat said there was no electricity and gas shortage but severe mismanagement was there on the part of the PESCO and SNGPL. "The consumers were facing great hardships because of gas and power outages for hours," he said. PESCO and SNGPL are sending inflated bills loaded with a number of taxes but not providing the facility to consumers, he said, adding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had failed on all fronts as it lacked the capability to run the institutions let alone provide relief to the masses. The jirga spokesman said the consumers in the capital city could no more tolerate the PESCO and SNGPL cruelties and would besiege their offices if the load shedding was not stopped forthwith. Meanwhile, consumers in the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are facing an energy crisis as the power and gas supply remains cut off for hours daily. Further, people in almost all parts of the province are holding protests against natural gas and electricity outages. Consumers are either faced with low gas pressure and low power voltage or load shedding for hours. The gas shortage could not be removed even after closing the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations. On the other hand, electricity load shedding is carried out despite the fact that the power consumption is very limited because of winter as there is no use of air conditioners or electric fans. People of the province believe that the issue is mismanagement as the PESCO has failed to manage the system and control line losses, which are mostly because of the PESCO own staff. Keeping in view the worst situation, the demand for PESCO privatization has increased as consumers opined the power company staff itself is either involved or facilitating power theft and line losses, adding allowing them free power supply was one of the main causes of the line losses, as noted by News International. (ANI)
Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday refuted linkages with Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organization which launched an anti-India campaign in September last year. The Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir also detached itself from the Russell's Tribunal on Kashmir held recently at Sarajevo, Bosnia and said it "was not involved in the conduct of any conference". "All the queries raised about the participation of Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir in the conference Russell Tribunal on Kashmir held at Sarajevo, Bosnia openly or tacitly are not justified at all. Jamaat before the ban was a social-religious organization working for the betterment of humanity at large in accordance with the divine guidance of Islam," Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir said in a statement today. "Organizations and individuals should not claim to be part of Jamaat and try to malign the image. We are not involved in the conduct of any conference," it added. Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir had been banned for five years in 2019 on grounds that it was "in close touch" with terror outfits. Muslim Brotherhood (MB), a transnational Islamist organization, had launched a boycott campaign against India in September last year to dent its image and discredit its prominent figures, all in name of human rights, according to a media report. This anti-India campaign, launched in collusion with domestic elements, tried to replace the non-violent image of India with a "radical narrative". The campaign is initiated with the larger aim to create a conflict space in the conflict industry, using the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction, Movement model. Certain anti-India narratives that have been built in the last few years are building blocks for this conflict industry, which runs into billions of dollars, according to reports. Backed by Turkey and Pakistan, it was a campaign by Muslim Brotherhood through the new emerging nexus of Qatar-Turkey-Pakistan, to target India via a malicious Kashmir narrative. The key features of such an industry are that it involves different states and different religions or ethnicities. Another important feature is that most vocal faces and organizations would generally have nothing to do with the conflict situation, would have no direct experiences, and yet would be the foremost noisemakers. Experts and fact-checkers say Kashmir is not new to the conflict industry. Previous reports have revealed how scores of fund-raisers are being run in the name of Kashmir by random 'activists' and 'NGOs' and 'humanitarian relief' organizations.Several of these organizations do not have the basic capabilities to carry out any actual work. (ANI)
Vilnius [Lithuania], February 2 (ANI/Sputnik): The Lithuanian government at a meeting on Wednesday decided to suspend the use of COVID-19 certificates in the country starting February 5. "With the spread of the much more contagious Omicron variant, both the unvaccinated and vaccinated or recovered people are at risk of infection. As a result, the effectiveness of Covid certificates as a means of limiting Covid spread is significantly diminished," the country's health ministry was quoted as saying by Lithuanian National Radio and Television. The ministry proposed to stop the use of certificates, known as "opportunity passes" in Lithuania, given their low effectiveness with the possibility to re-introduce them in the future. The proposal was supported by the government, which suspended the use of COVID-19 certificates from February 5. The certificate has been issued to those vaccinated against the coronavirus or recovered from it, and allowed entry to shopping centers, beauty salons, cafes and restaurants, as well as social events held indoors. (ANI/Sputnik)
Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman and deputy minister of Information and Culture, said the Taliban has studied the mass media law drafted under the previous government and have found no problem, according to Ariana News.

Mujahid made the remarks on Wednesday at a meeting in Kabul of the Committee to Protect Journalists and said that the Taliban did not see any flaws in the law.

"We studied the previous media law, which did not have any flaws," Bilal Karimi, the Taliban's deputy spokesman, tweeted, quoting Mujahid.

Mujahid added that the IEA was seeking to revive the Media Violation Commission to prevent "misunderstandings" and to take action through the commission if any problems arose.

"The Taliban's position is that it supports any sound criticism of the media, but the media should refrain from spreading rumours," Mujahid added.

Mujahid stated that the media conveys the voice of the nation to government officials, which is why the Taliban supports the media, as noted by Ariana News. (ANI)
National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha urged for an immediate and speedy investigation of the attack, The News International reported.

On Sunday, unknown assailants attacked two Christian priests in Peshawar.

They launched indiscriminate firing on the car carrying the two while they were returning from Church.

Cleric William Siraj succumbed to bullet injuries and another one is being treated in a hospital. No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting. Minority institutions and experts have condemned the attack.

The NCHR Member Minorities Manzoor Masih attended the funeral of Priest William Siraj. They demanded the justice and protection of the Christian community from the Government.

He further said that such attacks highlight the law and order situation of the country, according to The New International.

Christians have historically been mistreated, marginalised, and attacked in Pakistan.

In 2013, at least 78 people were killed in a suicide attack outside an Anglican church in Peshawar after Sunday Mass. (ANI)
Hundreds of people from the Christian community gathered outside Karachi Press Club in Pakistan to protest against the land mafias who are driving them out from their properties, houses and land, in Korangi city. Christians and other minorities in Pakistan are facing atrocities at the hands of Muslims and the government authorities. Quoting a church elder, Dawn reported that some gangsters threw away all the belongings of Christian people from their houses. "I'm a salesman. I was at my shop at around 6 pm when I got a call from my neighbour Abid to inform me that some gangsters had arrived at my place and that they were throwing away all our belongings. I rushed back home to find my little family trembling outside under the open sky. They had been slapped around and threatened. The house door was padlocked by the gangsters, who said that they had a court order to vacate our house," Amir Pervaiz, the church elder said. Sakina Lal, a Christian woman and a resident of 20 years in the same area, said she is being threatened and harassed too. While, a young Christian mother of three little girls and one son expressed fear for her children. "Whatever they do or say to us, we can still handle. But what we cannot deal with is when our children have to witness it all. They cry, they can't sleep. They beg us to leave the place, go somewhere safe. But where are we to go? This is our home," she said, according to Dawn. Christians have historically been mistreated, marginalised, and attacked in Pakistan. Recently, a Christian priest was slain and another was wounded by gunmen on a motorcycle as they drove home from church in Peshawar, Pakistan's northwest, police authorities said on Sunday, reported the DW News. (ANI)
Stockholm [Sweden], February 2 (ANI/Sputnik): Sweden has allocated USD 5.3 million for the newly-created Partnership Fund for Resilient Ukraine (PFRU), which also includes the UK, the US, Canada and Switzerland, and aims to provide Ukraine with financial assistance amid rising fears of a Russian invasion, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted on Wednesday. "Sweden contributes 50 million SEK [USD 5.3 million] to Partnership Fund for Resilient Ukraine - a flexible new instrument to support Ukraine's resilience against Russia's aggression, launched today in partnership with the UK, the US, Canada and Switzerland," Linde said on Twitter, adding that "our unwavering solidarity & support remains steadfast." In December, the Swedish government approved a new strategy to strengthen democracy in Eastern Europe. Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to receive a total of USD 678 million until 2027 from Sweden for sustainable economic development and support of democracy. The precarious situation around Ukraine has worsened over the past several months after Russia was accused by NATO and Ukraine of building up troops near the Ukrainian border and allegedly preparing for an invasion. Russia has consistently denied any plans to invade Ukraine, saying it has the right to move troops inside its territory, responding to what it considers threats to its national security, such as a growing NATO presence in Eastern Europe. (ANI/Sputnik)
Washington [US], February 2 (ANI/Sputnik): The United States and the European Union are in talks with China and other natural-gas importers in Asia about sending their fuel to Europe if a conflict erupts in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. While the Biden administration's engagements with China about potential natural gas deliveries to Europe have been limited, US and EU officials are discussing possible options with several major importers in Asia, including Japan, South Korea, and India, the report said. EU officials are discussing possible swaps of long-term gas contracts with Asian countries in case Russia reacts to additional sanctions over Ukraine by reducing gas flow to European consumers, the report added. (ANI/Sputnik)
A Tibetan monk, who was jailed for six years for taking part in a peaceful protest against China's rule, is still being watched years after his release by Chinese police, said a media report. Geshe Tsewang Namgyal, formerly a monk at the Draggo monastery in Sichuan's Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was released in failing health on January 24, 2018, and is now in critical condition, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported citing a Tibetan living in exile as saying. "He is succumbing to weak health due to the beatings he received in prison, and is now in critical condition with both his legs crippled," RFA's source said, citing contacts in the Draggo area and speaking on condition of anonymity to protect his sources. According to RFA's source, still closely monitored by Chinese police, Namgyal was arrested on January 23, 2012, after taking part in a peaceful protest in Draggo against China's rule that turned deadly when police fired into the crowd. Namgyal was later released from prison on several conditions. "He was not allowed to return to Draggo monastery, could not take part in any gatherings or own a cell phone, could not describe his experiences in prison with anyone, and had to obtain permission from the police before traveling or seeking medical treatment in a hospital," source said. Arrested with Namgyal during the protest in Draggo were the monastery's accountant, Dralha, and Khenpo Tenga, a religious instructor. Both are now also in failing health, the source added. "Dralha has lost his vision, and due to severe injuries to Khenpo Tenga's head, he cannot hear and has difficulty sleeping," RFA quoted the source as saying. "But in spite of their deteriorating health, the Chinese government is constantly watching them and their daily activities, and they can't obtain proper medical treatment for their injuries because they can't afford it," the source said. Wangden Kyab, a researcher at London-based Tibet Watch, criticized the excessive attention paid by police to the three former prisoners. "Even after these Tibetan political prisoners had served their sentences and were released in failing health, the Chinese authorities are keeping an eye on them because they want to be sure they don't engage in such activities again, and because they want to eventually wipe them out," he said. Tibet was formerly an independent country that was conquered and absorbed into China by force 70 years ago. Tibetans living in Tibet and Tibetan areas of western China frequently complain of discrimination and human rights abuses, and say they fear Beijing is pursuing every more aggressive policies aimed at eradicating their national and cultural identity. (ANI)
The Taliban have released two journalists of Afghan broadcaster Ariana News, who had recently been detained, media report citing Ariana News chief Sharif Hassanyar said on Wednesday. On Monday, Hassanyar posted on Twitter saying that Aslam Ejab and Waris Hasrat had been detained by the movement "in a horrific manner" for unknown reasons. The United Nations urged the Taliban to make public the reasons for the detention, Sputnik reported. "Finally TB release Aslam Ejab and Waris Hasrat," Hassanyar posted on Twitter. Earliar, senior correspondent at Iran International News, Tajuden Soroush, said the journalists from Ariana TV, an Afghanistani media network, confirmed the arrest of two of their journalists by the Taliban. Taking to Twitter, Tajuden Soroush said, "Ariana TV journalists confirmed me that today Taliban arrested Wares Hasrat and Aslam Hejab, two @ArianaNews_ journalists. Taliban didn't say why they arrested them but last night in one of the Ariana TV's program, a guest criticised the Taliban and their behaver." Notably, The Free Speech Hub, an organization supporting open media in Afghanistan, in a statement said that the two reporters--Aslam Hejab and Waris Hasrat--were arrested by the Taliban on Monday and so far the reasons for their arrest remain unknown. Furthermore, the European Union, Amnesty International and UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) have called upon the Taliban to provide information about the case of two Ariana News reporters. On Tuesday, Amnesty International said that the arrest of the two journalists was "unjustifiable" and called on the Islamic Emirate to release them."Such escalating attacks on media freedom are a grave threat to the right to freedom of expression. The Taliban must unconditionally and immediately release them," Amnesty International said in a tweet. The EU ambassador to Afghanistan, Andreas von Brandt, also reacted to the arrest of the journalists. "Still hard to grasp why those you claim to work for justice and better governance don't respect journalists working to improve transparency, governance and justice in Afghanistan," he tweeted. (ANI)
No official statements on the details of the meeting have yet been made.

The last meeting of Erdogan and Barzani was held in September 2020. The sides deliberated on bilateral relations between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan and ways to enhance them.

Iraqi Kurdistan views Turkey as an important trading partner, with Erbil seeking to maintain good relations with Ankara. Nonetheless, the cooperation is hampered by Turkey's protracted struggle against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has for decades striven for the autonomy of Turkish Kurdistan from the central government.

Erdogan said Wednesday that operation Winter Eagle, conducted by the Turkish Air Force in northern Syria and Iraq against Kurdish militias, had been successfully completed.

The military conflict between Turkey and PKK began in 1984 and entered one of its deadliest phases in 2015. PKK military bases are located in the northern part of Iraq, which are being targeted by the Turkish armed forces. Erdogan has said that since July 2015, 6,000 PKK members have been killed in Turkey and 6,900 outside the country's borders. Turkey has lost more than 1,200 military personnel. (ANI/Sputnik)
As serious dissensions are ripping through the Taliban over ethnic issues, several reports say that if the divisions continue to deepen in the near future, they may potentially become a source of instability in Afghanistan. In its report, Al Arabiya said, various reports have underlined widening rift between numerically superior Kandaharis (Loya Kandahar) and Pak-controlled Haqqanis (Loya Paktiya). "This division is clear between the Mullah Baradar-led group and that of Interior Minister and leader of the Haqqani Network (HQN) Sirajuddin Haqqani over the latter's overt pro-Pashtun stance. It is feared that these differences could lead to depletion in Taliban ranks, particularly in provinces dominated by non-Pashtun ethnic groups," the report said. The report further stated that it is widely known that the swift Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was made possible without the help of non-Pashtun cadres under its banner. Five months down the line, the non-Pashtuns are becoming restless at the overt Pashtun preference shown by the ruling Taliban. The growing disgruntlement among the minority partners of the Taliban is acutely visible in the Northern provinces, dominated by non-Pashtun ethnic groups, the reprot noted. "Reports from the provinces indicate sporadic incidents of Tajik and Uzbek Taliban fighters attempting to disarm Pashtun cadres, while accusing them of having links with global terrorist group Da'esh operating out of Afghanistan," Al Arabiya reported. It further reported that the tensions between the Pashtun and non-Pashtun Taliban, particularly in the Northern provinces, were apparent in street protests in January that shook Maimanah City of Faryab following the arrest of senior Uzbek Taliban Commander Makhdoom Alam Rabbani (known to have influence in Faryab, Jowzjan, Sar-e-Pul and Samangan provinces). "So far, it appears that the Taliban regime has managed to quell the brewing dissent with a heavy hand. Although there has not been open violence, a sense of betrayal amongst non-Pashtun locals in the north remains like a burning ember. Such ethnic fissures could be exploited by the nascent resistance led by Ahmad Massoud to challenge the Taliban regime in Kabul," the report stated. Since the regime has so far been unable to tackle the intra-Pashtun power struggle, the brewing dissent among the non-Pashtuns could further undermine its stranglehold and influence, Al Arabiya reported. If the ethnic fissures deepen in the near future, they may potentially become a source of fragmentation and instability in Afghanistan, a threat that could further weaken the Taliban regime, still struggling to consolidate its hold, the report added. (ANI)
The members of PTM were staging a peaceful protest in the Qilla Saifullah districts of Balochistan and the military went with machine guns brutally against peaceful demonstrators, according to reports.

PTM, a rights-based resistance movement in Pakistan, which has been critical of state policies in the tribal belt has ruffled feathers among the Pakistan military with its demand of probe into gross human rights violations conducted by the Army.

It has also been vocal against the government on the issue of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Ever since it was founded in 2018, the PTM has organised regular demonstrations against Pakistan Army's heavy-handed operations in tribal regions while the military has evidently chosen to crush the movement with its all too familiar tactics.

Last year in September, Balochistan had demanded the withdrawal of Frontier Corps and armed forces from the district after three levies personnel were killed in a roadside explosion.

"5th day of Sit-In in Ziarat along with 3 dead bodies of Levies personnel who were killed by a roadside bomb. Even people had to protest for state personnel killed. The state had exonerated itself from its basic responsibilities. No apathy. #StopSiegeOfZiarat #RemoveFCFromZiarat," Manzoor Pashteen had tweeted. (ANI)
US withdrawal from Middle-East owing to strategic preoccupation to strengthen its commitment towards Asia Pivot will allow Beijing to further explore its interest in the region, according to a report. American proponents of abandoning the Persian Gulf often cite the need to pivot to Asia. However, Washington's regional retreat may achieve the exact opposite of U.S. objectives, ultimately emboldening and empowering China, according to National Interest. Further, in early January this year, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and the Islamic Republic of Iran travelled to China in the span of a week to strengthen their ties with the Chinese Communist Party. China, the emerging global superpower, has become the number one trading partner for these nations, thereby deepening Beijing's political influence in the Middle East. Over the last decade, on average, China imported half of its oil from the region. In 2020, China imported USD 82.6 billion of oil from Persian Gulf countries. Unlike Western democracies, China is in no rush to divest from fossil fuels. As the demand for Persian Gulf oil fades in the West, Chinese imports play an even more critical role in the region's economic life, writes Saeed Ghasseminejad National Interest. According to the World Bank, in 2000, trade between Saudi Arabia and the United States was USD 20.6 billion. Twenty years later, in 2020, it was USD 20.1 billion. By contrast, the trade between China and Saudi Arabia grew from USD 3.1 billion in 2000 to USD 67.1 billion in 2020. The contrast becomes more evident in light of the disparities among American, Chinese, and Saudi Arabian imports and exports. U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia rose from USD 6.2 billion in 2000 to USD 11.1 billion in 2020, while its imports dropped from USD 14.4 billion in 2000 to USD 9 billion in 2020. China's exports to and imports from Saudi Arabia have risen from under USD 2 billion each in 2000 to USD 28 billion in exports and USD 39 billion in imports in 2020. The picture is clear: Chinese and Persian Gulf economies are becoming more integrated, while regional and US economic interests are on diverging paths, writes Saeed Ghasseminejad National Interest. (ANI)
Pakistan's media freedom has been under question as highlighted by the report compiled by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors. The media freedom report paints an abysmal picture of the realities of being a journalist in the country. It highlights how, in the last year alone, five journalists were killed in the line of duty and how overall attempts to stifle the media and block access to information have grown, according to Dawn. In the past year, the financial standing of media houses has also worsened. Two media workers took their own lives due to unemployment. The situation today, the report concludes, is worse than during the previous two years. The report is a damning indictment of the state of freedom of the press in the country, but it only just about captures the everyday hardships faced by journalists who risk their lives in mostly low-paid jobs to fulfil a critical role in our democracy, according to Dawn. Media workers, both field reporters and desk staff are increasingly experiencing either harassment or financial hardship or both. They are being threatened, silenced and squeezed. Be it a prime time TV anchor or a beat reporter, the threats exist for everyone. Even media group owners are not immune to such harassment. Just this week, Mir Shakilur Rehman, the owner of the Jang Group, was acquitted in a case relating to a property purchase over 30 years ago. Rehman endured arrest and was in National Accountability Bureau custody for about eight months while the accountability bureau persecuted him, as reported by Dawn. All these examples point to an ugly truth, that the space for free speech and truthful accounts in our country is shrinking. Unfortunately, the ruling party has no concern for the media's plight. The prime minister has little sympathy for journalists under threat and has spoken dismissively about serious cases such as the disappearances of journalists. His media advisers, too, are often in the limelight for trolling journalists on social media or making unprofessional and personal comments about them. It is not enough to praise the media when one is in opposition, Imran Khan needs to address this situation as the plight of the media will be part of his legacy, as noted by Dawn. (ANI)
The blasts occurred in Balochistan's Noshki and Panjgur areas on Wednesday. The blasts were followed by firing, which is ongoing, Dawn quoted a Frontier Corps (FC) spokesperson as saying on Wednesday.

The blast in Noshki occurred near an FC building and the one in Panjgur took place at an FC camp, said the spokesperson.

So far, no casualties have been reported and the officials are yet to determine the nature of the blast, according to Dawn.

The blasts came near a week after the ten soldiers were killed in Balochistan in a terrorist attack on a security forces' checkpost in the province's Kech district.

After the killing of the soldiers, Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had also paid a visit to a city in southern Balochistan amid the worrying security situation in the province. (ANI)
Taliban government in Afghanistan, which wishes to get international donor agencies to help its struggling economy, has a lot to answer to the world on its continued pursuance of suicide bombing squads and child soldiers, according to a report. Earlier, the Taliban went from an insurgency to a self-declared state when they entered the abandoned presidential palace five months ago. The leadership immediately professed to have changed from their brutal rule of the 1990s in a desperate attempt to obtain recognition and foreign aid. However, it is clear that some unsettling elements are unlikely to change, as noted by National Interest. Despite their transformation from an insurgency into a government charged with caring for a country of 38 million, suicide bombing remains a key strategy for the Taliban. After assuming power on August 15, the Taliban posted a picture of one of their Istish-haadi squads, displaying their vests, bombs, and improvised explosive devices on social media. After all, the Taliban no longer needs to keep its suicide endeavours--and training schools--hidden deep in the mountains or in pockets across the Pakistani border, writes Hollie McKay for the National Interest. During the war, they claimed suicide attacks only targeted the military, but the facts and figures prove otherwise. The crossfire has caught countless civilians over the years. Over the course of the war, scores of Afghans and some Americans were killed by suicide attacks everywhere, from outside North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters in Kabul to police stations and checkpoints to the Ministry of Defense and Shia neighbourhoods across the country. On the other hand, almost all of the Taliban's armed units have a wing for those who are ready and capable of doing the duty at any moment should they be needed. In particular, the elusive Haqqani Network has been deemed the most successful, carrying out hundreds of such attacks throughout the US occupation. The US-designated terrorist group now holds several key positions within the government, including the powerful position of minister of interior. While the Taliban once used the tactic primarily against members of now-defunct Afghan National Forces, they now seek to use it against their rival colloquially known as the Daesh. In many ways, the emirate has sent the message that its dedication to the cause is what makes it strong and that its internationally illegal practice is a response to the West's well-grounded and expensive military capabilities and technology. Child soldiers are one of the six "grave violations" against children listed by the United Nations and are banned by the Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Additionally, opponents of such a crime claim that opposing forces too readily detain children for their involvement in the conflict instead of rehabilitating and treating them as victims of war. Afghanistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, two years before the first Taliban regime came to power. In practice, however, the signing seems to have been of little effect, as noted by National Interest. (ANI)
In a shocking revelation about China hiding its losses in the Galwan Valley clash with India in June 2020, new research has shown that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) lost at least nine times more soldiers than its official count of four. At least 38 PLA troops drowned while crossing a fast-flowing, sub-zero river in darkness, according to an article in the Australian newspaper 'The Klaxon' which cited a report prepared by a group of social media researchers after a year-long investigation. Of the four soldiers China has confirmed died, only one - Junior Sergeant Wang Zhuoran - is reported as having drowned, the investigative newspaper said. The report cited "several Weibo users" and said, "at least 38 PLA troops along with Wang were washed away and drowned that night...of which only Wang was declared among the four officially dead soldiers". The report cited a year-long investigation involving discussions with mainland Chinese bloggers, information obtained from mainland-based Chinese citizens and media reports that have since been deleted by Chinese authorities. India had said that 20 of its soldiers had died in the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020 which was fought in hand-to-hand combat in sub-zero temperatures in the near pitch-black night of June 15 and June 16, 2020. The Galwan Valley clash was the deadliest confrontation between India and China in over four decades. China's state media has almost entirely failed to cover the skirmish or its aftermath. The clash took place along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladkah following a standoff over actions of the Chinese Army. China repeatedly refused to disclose its total casualties but in February last year it announced posthumous medals to four of its soldiers who died in the Galwan clash. The Klaxon said that claims of substantial Chinese casualties of the high-altitude Galwan Valley clash are not new. However, evidence provided by a group of social media researchers which the newspaper has independently built on, appears to support assertions that China's casualties extended well beyond the four soldiers named by Beijing. The evidence provided by the group of social media users also shows extreme lengths Beijing has gone to in order to silence discussion about the battle, especially discussion about the true number of Chinese casualties, according to The Klaxon. In around April 2020 Chinese forces began further ramping up activities in the Galwan Valley, setting up infrastructures such as tents, dugouts and machinery. From early May 2020 skirmishes broke out between Indian and Chinese troops, not just at Galwan Valley but at various points along the China-India border, including near Pangong Lake in Ladakh and Tibet. The report titled "Galwan Decoded" prepared by a group of social media researchers has shed significant light on the saga. It cites a year-long investigation involving discussions with mainland Chinese bloggers, information obtained from mainland-based Chinese citizens and media reports that have since been deleted by Chinese authorities. "A lot of facts about what really happened, what led to the skirmish, have been hidden by Beijing. What was told by (China) to the world were mostly fabricated stories. Many blogs and pages have been culled by (Chinese authorities) but digital archives of mainland China reveal a different story," the report states, according to the newspaper. At the heart of the disclosure is that many Chinese soldiers were killed while attempting to cross back over the fast-flowing Galwan River in the early stages of the June 15-16 battle. The newspaper said of the four soldiers China has confirmed died, only one - Junior Sergeant Wang Zhuoran - is reported as having drowned and other three, PLA Battalion Commander Major Chen Hongjun, Private Chen Xiangrong and Junior Sergeant Xiao Siyuan, were killed by Indian forces. The research document includes a report since deleted from the internet. "In June 2020, during the border defence struggle, Wang Zhuorang's company was ordered to perform a support mission," the document states, according to The Klaxon. Crossing the river, "comrades in arms kept slipping and being rushed downstream. Wang Zhuran pushed four comrades ashore one after another but his legs became stuck by stones at the bottom of the river. His physical strength was too weak and he drowned," the document states. The Klaxon also obtained footage of the battle, released by Chinese media in August last year, that appears to strongly support the claims. The researchers say the deadly June 15 battle was sparked over a temporary bridge, which Indian soldiers had erected across a stream of the Galwan River three weeks earlier, on May 22. Indian and Chinese military officials had agreed to a "buffer zone" along the border in attempt to "de-escalate the crisis" amid rising tensions. India had said that China had been building "illegal infrastructure" including erecting tents and creating dugouts and had moved machinery into the area. "According to a Weibo user alias name Qiang who claims to have served in the area, the PLA was creating infrastructure in this buffer zone, violating the mutual agreement and had been trying to expand its patrolling limits within the buffer zone since April 2020," the researchers state. The report states that on May 22 Indian troops, led by Colonel Santosh, Commander of the 16th Regiment of Bihar, "created a temporary walk-over bridge" over a stream of the Galwan River to allow troops to monitor Chinese activities. "Though PLA was constructing its own infrastructure in the buffer zone, the construction of a temporary bridge by Indian troops aroused strong opposition by the Chinese," report states, according to the newspaper. Videos of confrontation between Chinese and Indian troops - ostensibly of the June 15-16 clash - have been broadcast by Chinese media. The report notes that one video, of a stand-off between troops, is clearly shot "in broad daylight", while the other video is of a clash at night. The report states: "On June 6, 80 PLA soldiers came to dismantle the bridge and nearly 100 troops came to defend it". "That is when the video of the standoff was probably shot, which Chinese media claimed to be shot on 15 June, 2020". It states that during the June 6 standoff, officers from both sides "agreed to withdraw all personnel who crossed the buffer zone line" and to "dismantle all the facilities that crossed the line". However, the report says China failed to adhere to the agreement. "PLA did not adhere to its promise...and instead of dismantling its own infrastructure as agreed upon, secretly dismantled the river crossing bridge constructed by the Indian army," it says. Three days later, on June 15, Col Santosh Babu and his troops returned. The Chinese forces were led by Colonel Qi Fabao. "On 15th June 2020, Col. Santosh Babu along with his troops went to the disputed area in the Galwan Valley at night in an attempt to remove the Chinese encroachment where Col. Qi Fabao was present along with nearly 150 soldiers," the report states, according to The Klaxon. It says that Fabao "ordered his troops to form a battle formation, instead of discussing the issue on the lines of mutual consent made on June 6, 2021". "The moment Col. Fabao attacked he was immediately besieged by the Indian army troops. To rescue him, PLA battalion commander Chen Hongjun and soldier Chen Xiangrong entered the encirclement of Indian army and started (a) physical scuffle with Indian troops using steel pipes, sticks and stones to provide cover for (their) commander to escape." It says Colonel Qi Fabao was "hit in the head by an Indian army solider" and "rushed back with serious injuries". Hongjun and Xiangrong were "immediately silenced by the Indian army," it added. Another Chinese soldier, Xiao Siyuan, "of the Motor Infantry Battalion of the 363rd Regiment, Frontier Defence, Xinjiang Military Region" had been "recording the event". "In the ongoing scuffle, he left the camera and attacked but was severely wounded by an Indian soldier and later succumbed to his injuries," the report states. It states that "after Col. Fabao left the arena", and watching the "bodies of Major Chen Hongrun, Junior Sargeant Xiao Siyan and Private Chen Xianrong," that "PLA soldiers panicked into retreat". "Wang Zhuoran, a 1996-born native of Luohe City, Yancheng County, Henan, came forward along with his companion Ma Ming to help his scattered retreating comrades out of danger by guiding (their) way to retreat back. The PLA soldiers didn't even have time to wear water pants. They decided to cross the icy water of the river in pitch dark under the guidance of Wang. The river rose suddenly and injured comrades kept slipping and (being) washed downstream," the report states. "Information gathered by a blogger from people who attended Wang's funeral at Luohe Martyrs Cemetary, Henan, reveals that Junior Sergeant Wang Zhuoran pushed four of his comrades across the river successfully but his legs became stuck by stones at the bottom of the river. At least 38 PLA troops along with Wang were washed away and drowned that night...of which only Wang was declared among the four officially dead soldiers. After the incident, the bodies of the soldiers were first taken to Shiquanhe Martyr Cemetery, followed by local ceremonies at the local towns of the killed soldiers," the report notes, according to the newspaper. The Klaxon cites the report as saying that a division of Xinjiang Miltary Region "organized officers and soldiers to go to the Shiquane Martyr Cemetary to lay flowers to the revolutionary martyrs, organize party members to take an oath and sweep the tombs for heroes". After the initial deadly clash it appears both sides called for reinforcements. It appears to be during the subsequent fighting that many of the 20 Indian soldiers were either killed, or wounded and later died of their injuries or hypothermia, the newspaper said, adding that numerous reports have stated that numerous soldiers were pushed or fell to their deaths over steep cliff edges. India has said that China broke protocol and the 1996 agreement by arming soldiers with lethal weapons, including iron rods, batons wrapped in barbed wire and "clubs embedded with nails". The Defence Ministry's review also said that China had used "unorthodox weapons". Footage of the daylight confrontation published by Chinese media - which the researchers say was of June 6 - show Chinese soldiers more heavily outfitted, wearing body armour, neck shields and large helmets which can cover the face against attack. After Galwan clash, there has been disengagement from some areas along LAC following talks between India and China but friction points remain. India has insisted on complete disengagement and restoration of status quo ante in eastern Ladkah in its military talks with China. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks that the BJP government's policies have brought "China and Pakistan together," stating that "some history lessons are in order" and that Pakistan illegally handed over the Shaksgam Valley to China in 1963, when a Congress government was in office. He said that China built the Karakoram highway through PoK in the 1970s and CPEC was started in 2013 when Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre. Jaishankar also slammed Gandhi over his remarks in Lok Sabha during debate on the motion of thanks on President's Address that the government could not get a foreign guest for Republic Day. Taunting Gandhi over his frequent foreign visits, Jaishankar said "those who live in India know we were in the midst of a corona wave" and added that India held a virtual summit with presidents of five central Asian countries. "Rahul Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha that it is this Government which brought Pakistan and China together. Perhaps, some history lessons are in order: -In 1963,Pakistan illegally handed over the Shaksgam valley to China. -China built the Karakoram highway through PoK in the 1970s," Gandhi said in a tweet. Referring to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor started in 2013, he asked Gandhi to ask himself if China and Pakistan were distant then. "From the 1970s, the two countries also had close nuclear collaboration. -In 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor started. So, ask yourself: were China and Pakistan distant then?" he asked. Jaishankar asked if Rahul Gandhi also missed the India-Central Asia Summit held on January 27. "In Lok Sabha, @RahulGandhi said we could not get a foreign guest for Republic Day. Those who live in India know we were in the midst of a corona wave. The 5 Central Asian Presidents, who were to come, did hold a virtual summit on Jan 27. Did Rahul Gandhi miss that as well?" he asked. Rahul Gandhi in his speech said the government has brought China and Pakistan together. "The Chinese have a very clear vision of what they want to do. The single biggest strategic goal of India's foreign policy has been to keep Pakistan and China separate. What you have done is, you have brought them together," he said. "Do not be under any illusion, do not underestimate the force that is standing in front of you. You have brought Pakistan and China together. This is the single biggest crime that you could commit against the people of India," he added. (ANI)
The Taliban rejected allegations of its interference in the recent unrest in Kazakhstan stating that there was no truth in such accusations, reported local media. "We strongly reject the claim that the Islamic Emirate allows anyone to use Afghanistan's territory to the detriment of any other country, or to interfere in the affairs of other countries, nor has there been any evidence available," Ariana News quoted the Taliban as saying in a statement on Wednesday. Further, the statement said that some media outlets have quoted Russian officials as saying that some individuals from Afghanistan also took part in the protests in Kazakhstan. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's spokesperson, in the statement said, "While we want a reasonable and peaceful solution to the problems in Kazakhstan, we assure all parties that there is no threat to any country from Afghan soil." A wave of protests against a hike in gas prices across Kazakhstan led to nationwide uproar earlier in January, resulting in clashes with the police, casualties and looting. The president declared a nationwide state of emergency, effective until January 19, and invited the peacekeeping forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization to help bring the situation under control. (ANI)
A 11-year-old girl suffered a serious injury in a shooting at a north Charlotte shopping center Monday afternoon, according to police.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers found the girl around 4:20 p.m. after a shooting was reported in the 600 block of West Sugar Creek Road, according to a CMPD report.

The girl was taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, police spokesman Justin Davies told the Observer.

A 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy also were at the scene but did not suffer any injuries, according to a police report.

According to the report, unknown suspect(s) fired into occupied property. A 2009 burgundy Honda Accord was reported damaged at the scene, but its unclear if the teenagers and child were in the vehicle during the shooting.

CMPD did not release a motive or information on suspects.

Anyone can leave information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or charlottecrimestoppers.com/.

One dead, two wounded when shots are fired into northeast Charlotte home, CMPD says
Ice hangs from a south Abilene tree limb as freezing rain developed Wednesday.

The city of Abilene's administration, emergency management coordinators and partner organizations met at Wednesday afternoon to review the latest information on the winter weather entering the area.

Roads are wet, but with no accumulation of sleet, which has begun to fall, the city said in a statement.

The National Weather Service reports most expected accumulation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, with a projected 1 to 4 inches of snow.

There is a 90% probability of 1 inch or more, a 73% probability of 2 inches or more and a 15% probability of 4 inches or more.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a news release just before noon stating it will have sufficient generation to meet demand during the winter weather event.

AEP Texas is ready to respond to power outages due to ice on lines and tree limbs.

ATMOS Energy said gas capacity is sufficient to meet demand during this winter weather event.

The city reported its water utility facilities are operational.

The National Guard will be providing three to six Humvees to assist authorities with transportation across the area. An ambulance and wrecker are stationed at Dyess Air Force Base to assist with winter response, if needed.

Reports from the Big Country

The Sweetwater Police Department put out a statement just before 1 p.m. indicating road conditions were quickly deteriorating west of Abilene, with sleet mixing with rain to cause slush.

The Jones County Sheriff's Office reported just before 2 p.m. that U.S. Highways 83/84 between Anson and Hamlin was icing over, though still drivable.

Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene-area weather: Roads drivable now, conditions will deteriorate
Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, left, and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images; Tom Brenner-Pool/Getty Images

Kinzinger criticized Hawley over his stance on how the US should handle the Russian-Ukraine crisis.

"I hate to be so personal, but Hawley is one of the worst human beings," Kinzinger tweeted.

Hawley urged Biden to abandon any support for Ukraine joining NATO.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger blasted Sen. Josh Hawley Wednesday after the senator criticized President Joe Biden for ordering troops to Europe as Russia ramped up its preparations for what could be an invasion of Ukraine, while calling on the White House to block Ukraine from joining the NATO alliance.

"I hate to be so personal, but Hawley is one of the worst human beings, and a self egrandizing con artist," Kinzinger wrote on Twitter. "When Trump goes down I certainly hope this evil will be laid in the open for all to see, and be ashamed of."

Insider caught up with Hawley Wednesday and showed him Kinzinger's tweet, which he was seeing for the first time.

"And what prompts this outburst?" Hawley asked. When we informed him that Kinzinger seemed to be taking issue with Hawley's stance on Ukraine's relationship with NATO, he laughed. "Weird," he said.

Responding to Hawley's comments in a tweet, Kinzinger said: "It is weird. We are in weird times. Like having a Senator more interested in pleasing Tucker and playing to worst instincts than leading. Denying Jan 6th truth despite fomenting it, among other things."

This isn't the first time Kinzinger has attacked Hawley. Kinzinger, a member of the House's January 6, 2021, committee and one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection, previously criticized the senator for bragging about his role in leading the effort to object to the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Hawley's position on Ukraine, which was first reported by Axios, mirrors that of the Fox News host Tucker Carlson and other conservative commentators who have questioned whether it's in America's interest to firmly align NATO behind Ukraine.

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"Such a deployment can only detract from the US military's ability to ready and modernize forces to deter China in the Indo-Pacific," Hawley, who is from Missouri and widely viewed as a prospective presidential candidate, wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Hawley said US support for Ukraine's eventual admission into NATO, a policy President George W. Bush's administration set in motion, was not strong enough "to justify committing the United States to go to war with Russia over Ukraine's fate."

"We should urgently deliver to Ukraine assistance it needs to defend itself against Russia's military buildup and other threats," Hawley said.

The US has provided Ukraine with roughly $2.7 billion in security assistance since 2014  the year that Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea  including $650 million in the past year. Russia has also supported rebels in a war against Ukrainian forces since 2014.

The Biden administration has said Russia it will face severe economic sanctions if it invades Ukraine. The Pentagon on Wednesday also announced that Biden formally approved the deployment of US troops to NATO member countries in Eastern Europe to serve as a signal of Washington's support for the alliance. But Biden has ruled out sending troops into Ukraine to defend it against Russia, given Ukraine is not a NATO member.

Read the original article on Business Insider
KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban fighters will no longer be allowed to carry their weapons in amusement parks in Afghanistan, the group's spokesman said on Wednesday, in what appeared to be another effort by the country's new rulers to soften their image.

Taliban fighters, many of whom have spent most of their lives in a 20-year insurgency against a U.S.-backed government, flocked to amusement parks in Afghan cities in towns after they took over in August.

"Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate are not allowed to enter amusement parks with weapons, military uniforms and vehicles," the main Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter.

"(They) are obliged to abide by all the rules and regulations of amusement parks."

The Taliban earned a reputation as uncompromising and often brutal enforcers of their strict ways then they last ruled, between 1996 and 2001.

But since taking over in August, they have tried to present a more moderate face to their fellow Afghans and to the wider world, as an interim cabinet grapples with a looming humanitarian crisis.

Of particular attraction for Taliban fighters was one of Kabul's largest amusement parks and a waterside park at the Qargha reservoir, in the city's western outskirts.

Fighters clutching automatic rifles queued for up carousel and swinging pirate ship rides - with regular visitors looking on nervously.

Most of the fighters Reuters spoke to then had never been to Kabul until the Taliban took control of the capital on Aug. 15, and some were eager to visit the amusement park before returning to duties around the country.

(Reporting by Kabul newsroom; Editing by Robert Birsel)
WASHINGTON  Three weeks ago, an imprisoned woman known as "Lady al-Qaida" inspired a hostage-taking at a Texas synagogue. This week, an American woman appeared in court on charges she trained other women in the Islamic State and plotted bomb attacks.

International terrorism charges against women are extremely rare, according to experts, because men tend to dominate the misogynistic groups such as al-Qaida, the lslamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, and related groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. But a dozen cases over the last decade of U.S. citizens or permanent residents revealed women shedding traditional caretaker roles to recruit fellow warriors, train others to use rifles and explosives, and even kill.

ISIS leader dies, but the terror network has expanded: ISIS leader who died in US raid in Syria assumed low profile as terror network expanded

Veteran counter-terrorism officials say that while the latest case against Allison Fluke-Ekren, a former teacher from Kansas, is unusual in terms of the senior operational rank she allegedly achieved in ISIS, women have played important roles in the international Islamic jihad movement.

I think it's startling to the American people because they're like, 'Wait, women do this too?' But they've been doing it all along, Tracy Walder, a former CIA counter-terrorism officer who served extensively in the Middle East, told USA TODAY.

Fluke-Ekren, 42, is accused of plotting U.S. bomb attacks at a college or a shopping mall, and allegedly training a female ISIS battalion in Syria how to use AK-47 rifles, grenades and suicide belts, according to court records. Her first court appearance was Monday and she has a detention hearing scheduled Thursday.

What is unique with this case is the allegation that she was the leader of her own brigade. Especially for someone coming from the west, this is exceptionally rare, said Amarnath Amarasingam, a terrorism expert at Queens University in Ontario, Canada, and associate fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation.

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Law enforcement officers search for the suspects of a mass shooting Dec. 2, 2015 in San Bernardino, Calif. A man and a woman suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting at a center for the disabled were killed in a shootout with police, while a third person was detained, police said.

Besides Americans joining the fight, the ranks of women in ISIS could grow because Syria detained thousands of women and children who could become recruits for the Islamic terror groups, experts say.

DHS warning: Terrorism warning issued, citing 'diverse and challenging threat environment'

Fluke-Ekren and other women were able to assume roles in combat units and provide ideas for attacks abroad, which made them different since women in al-Qaida and its associated groups had more traditional family responsibilities, Javed Ali, a former senior U.S. counterterrorism official at the FBI and Defense Department and at the National Security Council in the Trump administration, told USA TODAY.

The Islamic State's power and influence peaked in 2015 with between 20,000 and 32,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria. But Ali and other current and former U.S. counter-terrorism officials fear it is rebuilding  and once again training its sights on American targets.

DOJ:Former Kansas teacher charged with plotting US attacks appears in court, ordered detained

Fluke-Ekren rose in stature with ISIS while her former husbands were killed, according to court records. One late husband was a sniper trainer for the group, another husband specialized in drones before his death and a third husband was responsible for defending Raqqa, where ISIS was headquartered, according to court records. Her lawyer, Joseph King, declined to comment.

Walder, author of the 2020 book "The Unexpected Spy," said in as male-dominated an environment as ISIS, Fluke-Ekren would likely have been helped immeasurably by those alleged marriages to a number of prominent and influential male leaders  especially ones who died fighting and became martyrs for the cause.

As a female, I'm sure that it wasnt, Lets all bow down to her,  Walder said of the men in ISIS. However, I think she was respected enough to give her the position that she had," if the accusations listed in the charges against Fluke-Ekren are true.

Brian Levin, a former New York police officer who monitors extremist groups, said having an American woman as a member of such an international Islamic terrorist organization is considered highly advantageous because they are familiar with the United States and engender less suspicion.

Not only was she radicalized from the heartland and traveled overseas for one, but she actually participated in an all-female fighting force, said Levin, a professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State UniversitySan Bernardino. While there is debate in some extremist circles about the role of women and Americans, in some organizations they are highly prized because they are not the 'stereotypical' terrorist.'

This undated photo provided by the Alexandria, Virginia, Sheriff's Office in January 2022 shows Allison Fluke-Ekren. Fluke-Ekren, 42, who once lived in Kansas, has been arrested after federal prosecutors charged her with joining the Islamic State group and leading an all-female battalion of AK-47 wielding militants. The U.S. Attorney in Alexandria announced Saturday that she has been charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization.

Other American women have been charged with recruiting and fundraising for ISIS

Women contributing to Islamic terrorist causes are rare, but not unique.

The FBI estimated that 300 people left the U.S. to try and join jihadists in Iraq and Syria since 2011, according to a 2018 report by George Washington Universitys Program on Extremism. Of the 64 the report studied in detail, 89 percent were men, the report said.

Many of the women implicated in terrorism became involved with their husbands, just as Fluke-Ekren's husbands were also active in ISIS.

An Alabama woman, Arwa Muthana, was arrested with her husband, James Bradley, in April 2021 and charged with trying to support the Islamic State when they tried to travel to the Middle East aboard a cargo ship leaving from Newark, New Jersey. They have pleaded not guilty.

Jaelyn Delshaun Young of Starkville, Mississippi, and her husband, Muhammad Oda Dakhalla, pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiring to support ISIS as Mississippi State University students who sought to travel to Syria.

Participants in terrorist groups  including some women  have brought the fight to America. A Pakistani-born permanent resident of the U.S., Tashfeen Malik, and her husband killed 14 people and injured another 22 at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California, in December 2015. The FBI investigated it as a terrorist incident, saying the couple was radicalized by foreign terrorist organizations.

Some American women have admitted recruiting others for violent attacks or raising money for the Islamic State.

A Wisconsin woman, Waheba Issa Dais, pleaded guilty in 2019 to attempting to support the Islamic State through Facebook accounts encouraging people to conduct attacks and distributing information about how to make explosives and biological weapons.

A New York woman, Zoobia Shahnaz, pleaded guilty in 2018 to supporting the Islamic State by raising more than $150,000 in wire transfers to Pakistan, China and Turkey.

A Georgia woman, Kim Anh Vo, pleaded guilty in June 2019 to conspiring to support the online group United Cyber Caliphate, which distributed propaganda online and posted lists of thousands of people targeted for killing in the New York City area.

Protesters rally near the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan on Sept. 23, 2010, to condemn the arrest of alleged Al-Qaida suspect Aafia Siddiqui.

Role of women in jihadist movements is a topic of debate

Terrorism scholars have long debated the role of women in jihadist movements, whether in raising families or joining the fight.

There has always been contradictory information coming from their own propaganda, sometimes arguing that their role is primarily domestic and other times arguing that combat roles may be required, said Amarasingam from Queens University.

Before Fluke-Ekren, there was Aafia Siddiqui, commonly known as Lady al-Qaida. Siddiqui was detained in July 2008 by Afghan authorities, who found handwritten notes in her possession about a mass casualty attack listing locations such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.

As U.S. troops tried to interview her in Ghazni, Afghanistan, she grabbed an Army officers M-4 rifle and fired it at others while vowing to kill Americans. Siddiqui learned how to use firearms as a student in Boston, according to evidence at her trial.

She is serving an 86 year prison sentence at a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, after being convicted in 2010 of attempting to murder U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Last month, a British national, Malik Faisal Akram, took hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue near Dallas, demanding Siddiqui's release before authorities shot him to death.

More: All Texas synagogue hostages safe after hourslong standoff

Women are not new to the broader Islamist cause either. Before Siddiqui, there were the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan insurgent group that pioneered the use of female suicide bombers in the 1970s as it rose to become what the FBI would later describe as the most dangerous and deadly extremist outfit in the world.

And before the Tamil Tigers, there was Leila Khaled, the longtime active leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. A former Palestinian refugee, Khaled rose to fame for becoming the first female airplane hijacker, first as part of the team terrorizing TWA Flight 840 from Rome to Tel Aviv in 1969 and another flight headed from Amsterdam to New York City a year later.

In recent decades, al-Qaida has also trained and equipped women to become terrorists, including the notorious Chechen squad known as the Black Widows.

From 2000 to 2006, female terrorists were involved in 22 of the 27 suicide attacks attributed to Chechen rebels, one of many militant groups around the world that are allied with al-Qaida, according to Anne Speckhard, the director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism.

The Black Widows included the first Chechen female suicide bombers, Khava Barayeva and Luisa Magomadova, who detonated a truck filled with explosives June 7, 2000, at the temporary headquarters of an elite Russian Special Forces unit, Speckhard said.

Mass shootings:Why aren't more shooters charged with hate crimes or terrorism?

Speckhard, who has worked with U.S., NATO and United Nations counter-terrorism agencies, has personally interviewed at least 273 ISIS members, mostly in Iraq and Syria. About one-quarter of the subjects were women and each interview lasted at least two hours, she said.

She said that even among international terrorist organizations, ISIS has been particularly brutal in its treatment of women. Many have been subjected to sex trafficking and human slavery, and suffered harsh physical punishments for violating strict Islamist rules restricting their personal freedom and education.

But ISIS warmed to the idea of using female terrorist operatives in circumstances where they could be more successful than males, such as hiding bombs under their loose clothing while passing through checkpoints. But women still served their husbands first, and the other males of ISIS second, she said.

Speckhard voiced skepticism about the charge that Fluke-Ekrent trained a battalion of female ISIS fighters.

They were not training all the women. There's no way. I have 273 in-depth ISIS interviews, and I've never heard that. Ever," Speckhard said. "I heard from one Albanian in Kosovo that said, 'I trained my wife to shoot so that when we left them alone to go and fight in the ISIS battles, that if they got attacked they could pick up a weapon and shoot.' But that was it."

Experts say ISIS is extremely misogynistic and chauvinistic toward women, and would never allow a woman to ascend to any position of authority in the overall organization.

But the terror network did use women to train other women and children in how to use weapons and suicide bomb techniques, they said. And ISIS also allowed women to join its brutal morality police known by various names, including hisbah or the Khansa Brigades.

As a woman, she wouldn't have been allowed to have authority over men, which basically rules out most of what matters in ISIS, said Peter Neumann, professor of Security Studies at the Department of War Studies at Kings College London.

She might, however, have been a significant player in the Khansa Brigades, whereby women were policing women's behavior, said Neumann, author or of seven books on terrorism, including Radicalized: New Jihadists and the Threat to the West.

The morality police -- men and women alike -- would patrol the ISIS stronghold of Raqaa toting Kalashnikov automatic rifles, and would enforce a dress code that required women to cover every inch of their bodies in black, including their hands, feet and eyes.

If you got on the wrong side of the hisbah, you got hauled into prison. And if you were a woman, you were undressed, and flogged, or they bit you with metal teeth," Speckhard said. "I've seen pictures of scars and had it described to me and some women were bitten so badly that they bled to death."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Allison Fluke-Ekren: Women charged with helping terror groups rare
Augusta commissioners can do more traveling at taxpayers expense this year after on Tuesday voting to increase their travel budget to $7,500 each.

Multiplied by 10, the increase amounts to more than twice what members spent on travel and training last year, when some events were canceled due to COVID-19.

When you stop and think about what is required to run a billion-dollar government, and you come off the street doing whatever it is that you did, to think that you can run a government efficiently is ridiculous, said interim commissioner Alvin Mason, who is pursuing another term in May.

Read More: Two commissioners call for audit, mayor's office says no Qatar documents exist

Mason said during his prior two terms ending in 2014 he learned things at conferences that helped him right Augustas troubled path developing a convention center, the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center and its associated parking garage. We saved you millions of dollars of inequities that were going on.

The 10-member commission, not the mayor, is saddled with oversight of the city budget, which swelled to more than $1 billion this year. The city administrator and department heads report directly to the commission.

Commissioners John Clarke, Catherine Smith McKnight and Dennis Williams were the only members opposed. Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams, who called for the increase, said Clarke and McKnight had asked him to do it. Introducing the measure at an earlier meeting, Williams said the increase would allow each commissioner to attend multiple state- and national-level conferences each year.

McKnight said she supported the increase in a committee meeting last week but had changed her mind. Im not going to sit there and think about Catherine when Im supposed to be thinking about the citizens, who dont see it that way, she said. Clarke made an unsuccessful motion to deny the increase.

As a consolidated city and county, Augusta opts to double up on conferences held by city and county associations, while some consolidated governments pick one. At annual conferences in Savannah, commissioners get to mix and mingle with the heads of the states lesser-populated cities and counties, as well as members from Columbus and Atlanta.

The annual dues that allow the commission to attend Association County Commissioners of Georgia conferences were $19,803 last year, while for the city group, Georgia Municipal Association, dues paid were $37,952, according to city budget documents. Add in a combined $16,118 for the National League of Cities and National Association of Counties brings membership dues to $74,574.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta GA commission votes to increase its travel budget
Runners set out across the bridge at the start of the 2020 Beer and Chili Run in Newport. The event returns live this year after a virtual version was held in 2021 due to the coronivirus pandemic.

NEWPORT  With wintry weather looming for the end of the work week, the weekend promises the return of the live Beer and Chili Run to Newport.

One of the final regular sporting events prior to the local onset of the coronavirus pandemic in February 2020, the five- and 10-kilometer races were run virtually in 2021.

Runners will set out across the bridge together again at 10 a.m. Saturday and then along the streets and roads in and around the village, breaking for refreshments at the water station at the 5K turnaround.

Runners and walkers uncomfortable with starting in a crowd can depart shortly before or after the official start time.

More: Newport's Beer and Chili Run going virtual for 2021

This year will not mark a full return of the winter tradition as its popular after-party remains on hold  Fingers crossed for 2023, wrote Dan Capron, one of the events organizers.

Newport's Beer and Chili run and walk is a good time for all participants ...

Capron describes this version of the Beer and Chili Run as an outdoor-only format with no post-race gathering at the Masonic Temple. He said he expects 150 to 200 runners to hit the course.

This unique event tends to attract a rather lively field of participants, Capron wrote in an email. Im sure as a group well manage to make the event lots of fun (even if its 15 degrees). Folks around here really look forward to our event, and weve had lots of feedback supporting our decision to give it a cautious go.

The forecast for Newport predicts an overnight low Friday of 3 degrees with temperatures peaking at 15 on Saturday.

Entry fees and donations from the race are contributed to area food pantries each year and its looking like well be able to proudly write those checks again this year, according to Capron.

Polands Alamo Bar and Grill, Middlevilles Dibbles Inn and Newports own Newport Town Tavern sponsor teams of runners and annually support the run. Capron suggests they also will take up some of the slack for our postponed party.

... no matter how you dress for the conditions.

For those inclined, the races online registration page suggests a possible tailgate-style party. Got a favorite chili recipe? the site suggests, Cook it up and bring it with you. Drop that tailgate  and share with your friends. Well be outside. Well be spaced apart. So why not?

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Online registration at runsignup.com/Race/NY/Newport/BeerandChiliRunWalk closes Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. Day of race registration and runner check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at The Village Fountain on Bridge Street.

The entry fee is $15.

Jon Rathbun is a sportswriter for the Times Telegram. Email Jon at sports@timestelegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Beer and Chili 5K, 10K run and walk returning to Newport, NY
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Ive never been a fan of Valentines Day. Or rather, Im not a fan of the traditional gifts given on Valentines Day, like chocolates and flowers. Flowers die, and you may get sick of yet another box of so-so candy from Russell Stover or Whitmans. And Im not alone; lots of people would prefer a PlayStation 5 to a parcel of purple pansies. If your loved one is a gamer, why not show them your affection with something that actually makes their hobby more enjoyable (and wont need to be watered)?

8BitDo Pro 2

8Bitdo Pro 2 controller

Maybe you love playing games together on a Nintendo Switch, but youre far less fond about having to split the teeny tiny Joy-Con controllers. Why not upgrade the experience with 8BitDos Pro 2 controller, shaped to fit comfortably in most hands, highly customizable and available in a few colors to fit a few gamer styles. It also works with PC, macOS and even the Raspberry Pi if your gamer likes to tinker.

Buy 8BitDo Pro 2 at Amazon - $50

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2

Microsoft Xbox Elite Series 2 controller

When you really want to pamper your Xbox player, why not upgrade them from the standard gamepad to the Elite Controller? This premium accessory looks classy and feels great in the hand, thanks to its rubberized grips and interchangeable thumbsticks. The paddles on the back add yet another control scheme for your player to take advantage of, and the dual triggers are even adjustable for the type of game being played.

Buy Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 at Microsoft - $140

Scuf Instinct Pro

Scuf Gaming Instinct Pro with map patterned face

If youre not a fan of the paddle style of the Elite Controller, know that the Scuf Instinct Pro offers a lot of the same features with a different twist. The back features two horizontal paddles that fit nicely under the fingers, and the hex pattern on the grips is great at wicking away sweat. Pro gamers will especially love the Instant Triggers, which can switch to a mouse-like click at the flip of a switch.

Buy Scuf Instinct Pro at Amazon - $230

SteelSeries Arctis 1

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SteelSeries Arctis 1

Wireless headsets are a dime a dozen these days, but one that can work seamlessly with the Nintendo Switch and Android phones are still somewhat rare. Of those, the SteelSeries Arctis 1 is probably still the best. Its sleek, comfortable and highly portable, connecting to devices via the easy USB-C dongle. Even if your loved one already has a wireless gaming headset in their arsenal, this is one thats made to travel and makes a great buy.

Buy SteelSeries Arctis 1 at Amazon - $100

Razer Kraken Kitty

Items for the Engadget 2021 Holiday Gift Guide.

Not every gamer accessory has to be intimidating and hardcore. Razer makes a great line of products aimed at gamers who dont want all-black everything  or those that really like pink  and they dont compromise on quality. The Kraken Kitty is famous for its kawaii design that looks great and feels great, making it ideal for long hours streaming on Twitch or YouTube. If youre not into the cotton candy look, the headset is also available in black for a grimmer style.

Buy Kraken Kitty at Razer - $150

Logitech Litra Glow

Logitech

Streaming is the hot thing for a lot of players right now, whether they do it for fun or profit. But it can take a bit of an investment to get started, so gifting them some of that gear is a great idea. Sure, a camera is an obvious necessity, but good lighting is also key and Logitechs new Litra Glow will create bright, even light thats easy to hook up thanks to the companys expertise and software.

Buy Litra Glow at Amazon - $60

Logitech StreamCam

Logitech Streamcam clipped to a computer monitor with a cork board in the background.

If your gamer is in the market for a new webcam, preferably one that can stream for both PC and mobile, the Logitech StreamCam is right up their alley. Its easy to use, sure, but the real appeal is that it can film in either landscape or portrait mode, making it ideal to create content for not just YouTube and Twitch, but also TikTok and Instagram.

Buy Streamcam at Amazon - $150

Elgato Stream Deck Mini

Elgato Stream Deck Mini

Beyond a webcam and a mic, one tool thats becoming increasingly common for streamers is an Elgato Stream Deck. The sheer amount of customization options might seem a bit intimidating at first, but the company makes a smaller mini version with six buttons for triggering various actions, set up via the incredibly easy software. If your gamer is already streaming with ease, you can step up to the larger and more expensive Stream Deck MK.2 instead, which features more buttons and a customizable faceplate.

Buy Stream Deck Mini at Amazon - $80

Animal Crossing Winter Collectors Box

Animal Crossing Winter Collectors Box

Not every gamer gift has to be one used to play games with  some can just be an expression of style, like this adorable Animal Crossing Collectors Box. For only $40, your player gets an adorable winter-themed tote bag, a heat-reactive mug and coasters for their favorite hot drink and, of course, a fuzzy blanket for curling up on the couch.

Buy Animal Crossing collectors box at GameStop - $40

Danielle Nicole Zelda Wallet

Danielle Nicole Zelda Wallet

Forget the expensive jewelry, give your gamer a bit of Zelda bling this Valentines Day with this new Zelda-themed wallet from Danielle Nicole. The bag features 12 card slots, a coin purse and plenty of room for cash as well. Best of all is how subtle it is in gold and white, so your player can get their geek on even at the fanciest functions.

Buy Zelda wallet at GameStop - $30
Just two years after joining the U.S. District Court bench in Michigan's Eastern District, Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis was named Wednesday by President Joe Biden to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, based in Cincinnati.

Davis, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, would become the second Black woman to serve on the 6th Circuit and the first from Michigan. The court handles federal court appeals arising from Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

She currently serves at the U.S. Courthouse in Flint.

Davis grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and graduated from Washington University Law School in 1992. From 1997 to 2016, she worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, including as executive assistant U.S. attorney from 2010 to 2015.

She became a federal magistrate in Flint in 2016 and was nominated to U.S. District Court by former President Donald Trump. The Senate confirmed her and she was commissioned and sworn in on Dec. 31, 2019.

More: Jan. 6 attacks haven't proved a setback to Republicans. Here's why

At the time, she said: "Serving the cause of justice has been my life's work and I appreciate the trust that has been placed in me. I will diligently apply the law and honor the humanity of all who appear before me."

The White House put out a statement Wednesday indicating that Biden considers Davis "extraordinarily qualified, experienced and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution."

Biden has nominated 84 people for federal judicial positions since taking office a year ago.

Contact Todd Spangler at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stephanie Dawkins Davis nominated to Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Ukraine Russia

Members of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, train in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. Dozens of civilians have been joining Ukraine's army reserves in recent weeks amid fears about Russian invasion. Credit - Efrem LukatskyAP

The United States and Russia claim to have no interest in fighting a war over Ukraine, yet the two nations have spent the past several weeks building up military forces and inching them closer together on the European continent.

The most recent move came Wednesday when the U.S. announced it was deploying 3,000 troops to eastern Europe to demonstrate solidarity with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies confronting a possible Russian ground invasion of neighboring Ukraine. For several months, Moscow has sent troops, tanks and artillery units to encircle Ukraine in a show of force not seen since the Cold War.

The Biden Administration had initially relied on diplomacy to resolve the deteriorating situation, but the lack of progressand continued build-up of Russian forceshas prompted the U.S. to draw up more aggressive strategies to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin. In addition to the troop deployment, the White House in recent days has unveiled a sweeping package of sanctions designed to cripple Russias economy; a top U.S. cybersecurity official visited NATO leadership in Brussels in preparation for debilitating cyber attacks; and the Defense Department has mobilized military units, warplanes and naval ships to eastern Europe.

Thus far, no additional U.S. troops are being sent directly into Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, but rather as reinforcements to allies. There are about 200 U.S. troops are currently in Ukraine, where members of the Florida National Guard have been training forces in the western part of the country far from the front lines. But after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden has made clear that he has no plans to send combat troops into Ukraine, though hes sent more than $600 million of security assistance to its government over the past year.

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On Wednesday, Biden directed an Army Stryker squadron consisting of 1,000 troops to move from Germany into Romania in order to join the 900 U.S. forces already there. An additional 1,700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and 300 troops from 18th Airborne Corps are heading to Poland, where NATO allies are concerned about the security of their eastern borders.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday the moves were not permanent but necessary amid heightened tensions over Russias massing combat power in the region. Its important that we send a strong long signal to Mr. Putin and, frankly, to the world that NATO matters to the United States, Kirby said. It matters to our allies. And we have ironclad Article 5 commitments that an attack on one is an attack on all.

NATOs defining Article 5 principle for collective defense has only been invoked only once, by North American and European allies after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. The 30-member alliance principal purpose is to ensure theyre prepared to defend themselves, particularly in the face of Russian aggression. Russia now has more than 100,000 troops surrounding Ukraine and enough fire power that U.S. officials fear will lead to a grinding, bloody operation.

Lon Tweeten/TIME

The U.S. has about 70,000 troops on the continent, but only around 6,000 are in eastern Europe. They are mainly in Poland, where forces are on a rotational basis, including an armored brigade combat team. The Pentagon has alerted more than 8,500 U.S. service members for possible deployment to bolster NATO allies defenses should Russia invade, Kirby said. We are making it clear that were going to be prepared to defend our NATO allies if it comes to that, he said. Theres no reason for there to be armed conflict in Ukraine or anywhere else on the European continent. And Mr. Putin can go a long way to serving that end, by taking seriously the proposals that we have put forward diplomatically.

Michael OHanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, said he doesnt expect the new U.S. troop deployments to make much of a difference in altering Putins calculus in whether to invade. I dont think its important since they arentand wont begoing to Ukraine, he said. It raises the temperature slightly, but nothing like Putins own moves.

Read More: The Untold Story of the Ukraine Crisis

Ukrainian officials, for their part, have urged calm, saying there is no reason to panic in the face of U.S. intelligence warnings that an invasion is imminent. Putin has maintained all along that he has no plans to move on Ukraine, but he has voiced his concerns over NATOs military expansion along its borders in recent decades. Perhaps chief among these worries is that the U.S. could one day deploy midrange missiles inside allied countries that could reach Moscow and other Russian cities. Biden has publicly stated the U.S. has no plans to do so and there is no indication that any European ally would want them in their country. Nonetheless, Putin said Tuesday at a news conference it was clear the principal Russian concerns turned out to be ignored by the U.S. and allies.

On Wednesday, the Spanish newspaper El Pais published previously undisclosed diplomatic documents that indicated the U.S. and NATO was willing to enter into an agreement with Russia over placement of missiles in Europe should Moscow relieve tensions in Ukraine. Specifically, the paper said the U.S. was willing to give Russian inspectors access to American missile defense systems in Poland and Romania to ensure they have no offensive capabilities.

We did not make this document public, Kirby said, referring to the El Pais report on Wednesday. But now that it is, it confirms to the entire world what we have always been saying: There is no daylight between our public statements and our private discussions. NATO and its partners are unified in their resolve and open to constructive and serious diplomacy.

Putin may say he has no plans to invade, but his words provide little assurance to U.S. and NATO officials who watched as Russian forces invaded Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine six years later. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has supported separatist militias in several eastern Ukrainian cities ever since. The military action came after those countries moved farther from Moscows sphere of influence.

Read More: The Man Putin Fears

The decision to send U.S. military forces to Romania helps resolve the imbalance of forces protecting the northern and southern parts of NATOs borders in the east, said Jorge Benitez, NATO expert at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank. For many years, the Black Sea region desperately needed more attention and resources from NATO. The Black Sea region is where Russia; attacked Georgia in 2008, attacked Ukraine in 2014, seized three Ukrainian military vessels in 2018, and has been regularly attacking and killing Ukrainians in the Donbass area.

The U.S. has also planned for other contingencies in preparation for war. Russia supplies about 40% of the European Unions natural gas; the U.S. has already begun lining up natural gas supplies from various areas of the worldfrom North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the U.S.to make up for the shortfall if Russia moves on Ukraine and supply is shut off, according to two senior Biden Administration officials who spoke to the media last week on the condition of anonymity.

There is still natural gas in storage in Europe, but just not enough, one official said. We would be able to draw on storage for the first couple of weeks as these supplies come in and supply the rest. Thats the contingency effort that were putting in now to cut down that effort from months to just days and weeks, and to be able to have a seamless continuation of winter supplies and into the spring.

If Putin does invade, the U.S. and its European allies plan to target Russian banks and individuals linked to the invasion and try to hobble foreign investment, borrowing costs and the value of the Russian ruble, the officials said. Unlike past U.S.-led sanctions campaigns, in which measures were rolled out incrementally and ratcheted up over several months, the Biden Administration intends to create an abrupt impact on the Russian financial system. The gradualism of the past is out, and this time well start at the top of the escalation ladder and stay there, one official said, adding that the goal is to inflict an immediate and visible effect on the day they are implemented.

In December, Moscow publicly issued a set of the documents that laid out what it sought from Washington and NATO. The most controversial of these demands was for the alliance to stop allowing new members into the alliance and a request for NATO members to withdraw troops, equipment and weaponry from countries bordering Russia. The U.S. responded that these issues were non-starters and urged Russia to focus on areas where they could agree. Instead of finding that common ground in the intervening weeks, the U.S. has watched as thousands of additional troops have joined their comrades along Ukraines borders.

Mr. Putin continues to add forces even over just the last 24 hours, Kirby said. And its not just the United States thats noticed this. Our NATO allies have noticed this, and we have been in constant communication and consultation with them, and they have expressed their concerns Were not ruling out the possibility that there will be more (troop movements) coming up in future days and weeks.
Scottsdale Police were still on the scene at a local hotel Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, in Scottsdale, Ariz., after an 11-year-old boy died on Sunday evening.

Court documents revealed that a boy who was found unresponsive at a hotel in Scottsdale and died Sunday was severely abused by relatives. His brother was found with injuries too.

The biological grandmother of the child, Stephanie Davis, 51, and her husband, Thomas Desharnais, 33, were charged with one count of first-degree homicide and two counts of child abuse each, the court documents state. Davis had custody over the boy, whom the Arizona Department of Child Safety identified as Chaskah Davis Smith, and his half-brother.

Both children had multiple wounds and bruises on their bodies. The "injuries are severe and are in various stages of healing and scarring," according to court documents.

Police said Davis called 911 and said she found Chaskah not breathing in the bathtub of their room Sunday. When authorities arrived, Davis was performing CPR on him.

When emergency personnel took over, they noticed Chaskah had injuries, including a bruise on his forehead and a cut elsewhere on his body. They also said they had removed "a half liter of water" from his body through his mouth while they were trying to save him, according to the court documents. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

His half-brother was in the hotel room when authorities arrived. Officers said he had an injury as well and bruising on his eyes.

Court records: Husband said boys' mother is suspect in another homicide

During the interviews with Davis and Desharnais, he said that the biological mother of the children is a suspect in the death of Davis' son. Scottsdale police on Wednesday told The Arizona Republic they are working on verifying the validity of Desharnais' claim.

Court records state the mother lost custody of the boys in 2015 and her whereabouts are unknown.

Desharnais told police that Chaskah's biological father is unknown and his brother's biological father is in an out-of-state prison for child molestation, according to court documents.

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Court records said over the past three months, Davis had become more verbally and physically abusive with the children. Desharnais told police he believes Davis was hurting the boys as a way to get back at their mother.

Davis said hurtful statements to both boys such as "lower than a piece of dirt, you're a dog," and made Chaskah sleep in the bathtub so that he would not get blood all over the room from his wounds, according to police in court records. Desharnais told police he saw Davis use metal tools to hit and hurt both children.

The abuse also included starving Chaskah for days, according to Desharnais. He never intervened in the acts of abuse he witnessed or reported them to authorities such as the Arizona Department of Child Safety, court records state.

The official cause of death will be determined by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office.

Grandmother told police 11-year-old boy harmed himself

Davis said Chaskah allegedly had a history of self-harm and he had hurt himself earlier that day while the family was watching a movie. Court documents state neither she nor her husband treated his injuries.

She said Chaskah then asked for a bath so she prepared it and left him in the bathroom.

The first time she spoke with a Scottsdale police officer she said she left the bathroom for 15 minutes. The second time, she told the same officer she had only been outside of the bathroom for one minute, according to the documents. When she returned, she said Chaskah was unresponsive.

Davis denied ever hurting the children and said they would not "touch a hair on those boys." Court records state evidence in the room was consistent with what Desharnais said.

Couple were reported to DCS multiple times in 2017

The Arizona Department of Child Safety received three reports the children were abused in 2017.

Darren DaRonco, a department spokesperson, told The Republic on Tuesday that the department received a report on March 22, 2017, that Davis struck Chaskah, leaving a bruise behind his ear and a scratch to his face, but the department determined the allegations were unsubstantiated.

The department received another report on May 15, 2017, that said Davis, Desharnais and another adult physically abused Chaskah and left him with a deep purple and red bruise under his right eye, which the department also found to be unsubstantiated.

DCS received a third report on Aug. 31 alleging Desharnais picked up another child and threw him down, leaving him with an injury to his forehead. The family moved out of state during the investigation and was cross reported to that state's social services agency. DCS later determined the third claim was unsubstantiated, but didn't specify what determination the other state agency reached.

DaRonco said Chaskah's sibling was removed and placed into foster care after the death.

Elementary school noticed boy was injured in 2017

The staff of Anasazi Elementary School had reported to police in 2017 that Chaskah was injured, according to court documents, which state neither child had been enrolled in a Scottsdale Unified School District school in the years since. The district declined to comment, citing the police investigation.

Police also said in a previous investigation related to the family, Davis said she home-schooled both children. She also refused to let the kids be interviewed by detectives. No charges were filed in that investigation.

Police had contacted the family multiple times near the Extended Stay America Hotel where they lived since 2019.

Davis is being held on a $3.5 million cash bond. Desharnais is being held on a $1.5 million cash bond. Both are scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 9.

Resources for Arizonans experiencing domestic violence include:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-SAFE (7233)

Phoenix.gov/DomesticViolence

Chrysalis: 602-944-4999, noabuse.org.

Arizona Coalition to End Sexual & Domestic Violence: 602-279-2980.

Republic reporter Jane Florance contributed to this article.

Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Records: Boy who died in Scottsdale was severely abused by relatives
A raft's remains.

Many mornings I walk along sections of the largely unspoiled beach that runs in front of our winter home on Jupiter Island.

On a handful of mornings during the past six years that we have lived here, I have encountered the battered remains of rickety boats that carried desperate migrants to our shores. A number landed successfully with some or all of their passengers surviving the journey and fleeing into the thick mangroves and sea grapes that guard our beach before being captured or heading off to points unknown. Many others likely met a more uncertain fate with an unknown number perishing at sea.

This morning I encountered a particularly chilling sight. It was the remains of a handmade craft constructed of panels of Styrofoam, wooden planks and re-bar. There was evidence that it had once had an engine as an uncoupled propeller shaft was the sole evidence of any mechanical device. It came ashore upon one of the many areas on our island where there are rugged limestone reefs a few yards off the beach. We had been experiencing high seas and pounding surf for several days and the punishment that this craft endured as it was raked across the reef was evident. It is doubtful that anyone could have survived this journey, given recent sea conditions, as well as the merciless beating that it would have experienced once it entered the surf line. The lone sneaker dangling from the makeshift gunwale nearly brought me to tears. I stared slack-jawed thinking what level of desperation would prompt someone to set out across the sea in such a sad contraption?

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Robert Kelly

I had the privilege of serving a combined 26 years of active and reserve service in the U.S. Coast Guard. I also served in the White House for two presidents and in the Pentagon as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. During my years of federal service, I had the opportunity to travel to developing nations around the world in such far flung places as West Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean basinincluding Haiti. It was a world class education in different cultures, and I had the opportunity to observe the impact of despotic regimes, corruption, rampant violence, hopeless poverty, hunger and disease on some of the poorest people on the planet. I remember many heartbreaking sights.

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There are precious few nations on the face of the planet that have endured the natural and man-made ravages that have befallen the people of Haiti, once the most successful colony in the Caribbean.

Located atop a notoriously unstable seismic fault and in the heart of the so-called hurricane belt, Haiti has often found itself in the crosshairs of natural disasters. Having little infrastructure to help endure the ravages of nature, natural disasters have wreaked outsized impacts. Between 2004 and 2008 Haiti was pummeled by three major hurricanes and a deadly tropical storm. More than 3,000 were killed and hundreds of thousands were made homeless. The year 2010 was a particularly deadly year for Haiti when it suffered a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left 1.6M homeless. In the same year, a cholera epidemic wiped out more than 10,000 people. As recently as last August, Haiti was again hit by a massive earthquake that killed more than 2,250 people and left yet another 650,000 homeless.

Man-made catastrophes have had an equally deadly impact on Haiti. For much of its history, Haiti has suffered at the hands of corrupt and incompetent governments and the, sometimes well intended, but ham-handed meddling of foreign nations, often the United States. The current acting prime minister has been accused, by some, of being complicit in the assassination of the last one. Meanwhile, as a corrupt and makeshift replacement of a viable government, some 90 criminal gangs control nearly every aspect of daily life.

We bear a special responsibility to Haiti, a nation crumbling on our doorstep. Many of Haitis problems can be directly traceable to the bizarre combination of neglect and bumbling interference that has been the hallmark of U.S. policy for decades. Countless human beings will continue to die on the Straits of Florida, the Windward Passage, the Bahama Bank and the Cay Sal Bank, risking everything to get to our shores unless things change quickly.

Of the passengers who traveled on this raft, only a sneaker remains.

U.S efforts, led by USAID and primarily consisting of disaster funding, have largely proven ineffective in dealing with the root causes of Haitis collapse. Congress must authorize the Administration to create and lead a multinational coalition of hemisphere partners, Caribbean nations and legacy nations (France and Spain) that will contribute military, judicial, law enforcement, humanitarian, medical, industrial, educational, governmental, commercial, NGO and other necessary components to a Haiti Reconstruction Task Force.

The U.S. and its allies have, for generations, sent forces around the globe, often to areas where there was a much less clearly defined national interest. Helping to rebuild Haiti is a moral, practical and strategic imperative. It cannot wait.

Robert Kelly, a winter resident of Jupiter Island, is a former Coast Guard officer and former deputy assistant secretary of defense.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Commentary: The U.S. must create a multinational task force for Haiti
In this week's business news, hospitals in Shreveport and Bossier City gained something new, COVID has closed a government office, and a Shreveport man is bringing a wedding trend to Northwest Louisiana.

Ternium gifts Shriners Hospital for Children $15,000

Ternium USA announced that they donated $15,000 to Shriners Hospital for Children, to impact the lives of children in Shreveport and Bossier City.

Shriners is a non-profit organization that offers medical care for children regardless of a family's ability to pay.

Shriners offers care for a range of orthopedic issues, as well as medical care for burn injuries, craniofacial conditions, spine care and spinal cord injuries, colorectal and gastrointestinal care and sports medicine.

Need a driver's license, new tags in Bossier City?

The Bossier City OMV location, located at 5050 Industrial Drive Extension Suite 600, is temporarily closed due to COVID precautions.

Customers can also visit expresslane.org to view a complete list of online services and open OMV locations.

CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center's new $43 million heart health investment

CHRISTUS Cardiovascular Center of Excellence now open

The new Cardiovascular Center of Excellence at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center is now open.

This state-of-the-art heart center is the capstone project of a $43 million investment to completely transform the existing hospital footprint.

The CHRISTUS Cardiovascular Center completes a series of expansion projects over the past 5 years.

The modern space is the integration of a catheterization lab and a surgical operating room into a single space, making it possible for the surgeon to perform a procedure, if necessary, with no interruption for the patient.

Shreveport Regional Airport interim director resigns after seven months

Shreveport Regional Airport

The Shreveport Regional Airport interim executive director stepped down.

Tucker's last day was Friday, Jan. 28.

Tucker has been serving as director for over seven months but announced Thursday, Jan. 20 that she would be resigning from her position during the Shreveport Airport Authority meeting.

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Caesar is in Shreveport: Mobile sports betting goes live in Louisiana

Mobile sports betting is live in Louisiana. The Shreveport-Bossier area received its first in-person sports betting thanks to Caesars Sportsbook.

Horseshoe Casino was the first in northwest Louisiana to usher in sports betting, in October 2021.

Three months later Caesars Sportsbook is expanding their capabilities with mobile sports betting.

Shreveport man brings unique photo trend to weddings in Northwest Louisiana

Bayou Photobooth Co. is a local photo booth company that serves the Shreveport-Bossier area. This photo is of wedding guests using the photo booth.

Matthew McAlister, owner of Bayou Photobooth Co., began this journey in early 2021 after years of dreaming of owning his own business.

The photo booth is a free-standing booth that has a tablet surrounded by LED lights that can be adjusted for each event. When the photo is taken it gives the user the option to receive the photo via email or text.

Be on the lookout Thursday and Sunday for Life in the 318 and The 318 to catch up on all the best stories you might have missed.

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Business in the 318: Shriners, CHRISTUS, driver's licenses, COVID
Male's Vinny Anthony ran for a 56-yard receiving touchdown in the first quarter as the host Bulldogs beat the Rocks 24-10 Friday. Sept. 18, 2021

Here's a list of Class of 2022 athletes from the Louisville area who have announced signings or commitments to colleges. Athletes added in recent days are listed in bold.

If an athlete is missing, please contact Jason Frakes via email at jfrakes@courier-journal.com.

Baseball

Austin Akridge, Holy Cross, Asbury

Cody Akridge, Holy Cross, Asbury

Chase Armstrong, Trinity, Ohio Northern

Jake Bennett, St. Xavier, San Jacinto

Garrett Brunstetter, Trinity, Western Kentucky

Korbyn Dickerson, Trinity, Louisville

Chase Edmonds, North Oldham, Berry

Trent Floden, Collins, Lindsey Wilson

Jack Harris, Oldham County, Lincoln Memorial

Hunter Hennessey, Trinity, Transylvania

David Hinkle, Oldham County, Indiana University Southeast

Matt Klein, Trinity, Louisville

Luke Lantz, St. Xavier, Yale

Michael Lynch, Christian Academy, Centre

Houston Manning, Oldham County, Transylvania

Logan McNair, Christian Academy, Transylvania

Paul Osting, Trinity, Bellarmine

Jack Perdue, Christian Academy, Thomas More

Jacob Price, Christian Academy, Heartland

Tyler Pyles, North Oldham, Midway

Robert Reed, Trinity, Ohio Northern

Aaron Rothballer, South Oldham, Alice Lloyd

Cade Rusch, North Oldham, IU Southeast

Nic Schutte, Male, Western Kentucky

Males Nic Schutte pitches in to the Ballard side during their Seventh Region tournament quarterfinal game, Saturday, Jun. 5, 2021 in Louisville Ky.

Quinten Shewmaker, St. Xavier, Centre

Nate Tencza, Trinity, DePauw

Nathanial Turner, Christian Academy, Union

Ryan Welch, Eastern, Southwest Tennessee

Nick Wilder, Eastern, Midway

Nick Willey, Oldham County, Kentucky State

Brady Willis, Trinity, Bellarmine

Basketball

Maker Bar, Ballard, Missouri-Kansas City

More coverage: Ballard's Maker Bar signs with Missouri-Kansas City

Emma Egan, Bullitt East, La Salle

Josie Gilvin, Sacred Heart, Western Kentucky

Olivia Kaufman, Sacred Heart, Centre

Samantha Lyons, Bullitt East, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

Haleigh Mason, Bullitt East, Judson

Jaya McClure, Christian Academy, Ohio

Gracie Merkle, Bullitt East, Bellarmine

Riley Neal, North Oldham, Miami (Ohio)

Sam Powell, Oldham County, Freed-Hardeman

Sienna Slaughter, Sacred Heart, Mount St. Joseph

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Bass fishing

Evan Fields, Collins, Campbellsville

Bowling

Nathan Shannon, Brown, Midway

Cheerleading

Peyton Lehring, Bullitt Central, Georgetown

Cross country/track and field

Conner Arroyo, Eastern, Cumberlands

Emily Bird, Eastern, Cumberlands

Ella Henage, Oldham County, Cumberlands

Baxter Keith, Walden, Centre

Jimmy Mullarkey, Fern Creek, North Carolina State

Tommy Ott, Christian Academy, Indiana Wesleyan

Marissa Polio, Mercy, Centre

Reese Ragland, Collegiate, Tulane

James Schroeder, Eastern, Centre

Alex Wright, Trinity, Thomas More

Field hockey

Lainey Baker, Sacred Heart, Delaware

Grace Bowling, Assumption, Transylvania

Kathryn Denham, North Oldham, Slippery Rock

Amelia Frey, Manual, Wake Forest

Izzy Hass, Assumption, Miami (Ohio)

Lexi Hirtzel, Sacred Heart, Towson

Emma Hulsmeyer, Manual, Lindenwood

Kara Kimery, Mercy, Lindenwood

Caroline Krebs, Assumption, Providence

Haley Kruse, Sacred Heart, Central Michigan

More coverage: Sign up for The Courier Journal's high school sports newsletter

Hadley Kuzmicky, North Oldham, Appalachian State

Ella Martin, Assumption, Louisville

Aubrey Rahiya, South Oldham, Transylvania

Lindsay Schiavone, Sacred Heart, Syracuse

Emeline Schmittel, North Oldham, William & Mary

Emma Seger, Assumption, Kent State

Alana Wang, North Oldham, Goucher

Football

R.J. Anthony, Male, Anderson

Vinny Anthony, Male, Wisconsin

James Atkinson, DeSales, Centre

Caleb Benton, Ballard, Kentucky Wesleyan

Selah Brown, Male, Louisville

Robert Byrd, Male, Charleston

Troy Churchill, Doss, Lindsey Wilson

Alex Cline, Collins, Eastern Kentucky (preferred walk-on)

Jacob Cox, Eastern, Anderson

Elijah Davis, Trinity, Thomas More

Jacob Davis, Oldham County, Centre

Isaiah Delaquis, Eastern, Cumberlands

E.J. Dickerson, Kentucky Country Day, McKendree

Brandon Dobbs, Male, Campbellsville

Keaton Edwards, Collins, Thomas More

Malachi Farmer, Ballard, Findlay

Daniel Gilbert, Bullitt East, Cumberlands

David Griffith, DeSales, Indiana State

Jansen Hayden, Bullitt East, Campbellsville

Daelen Hill, Fern Creek, Georgetown

Pierce Humpich, Eastern, New Mexico State

Eastern running back Pierce Humpich exploded for 416 rushing yards in last week's win over Bethlehem. Humpich is our Aug. 23-27 Player of the Week.

Caleb Irving, Ballard, Indianapolis

D'Jure Johnson, Central, Georgetown

James Johnson, Seneca, Kentucky Christian

Dustin Keown, Oldham County, Lindsey Wilson

Elijah Manning, Male, Air Force

Chaunte Marrero, Ballard, Charleston

Ethan Mays, Male, Centre

Devlin McGee, South Oldham, Thomas More

Easton Messer, Christian Academy, Western Kentucky

Jayshawne Monroe, Male, Mount St. Joseph

Larry Montgomery, Butler, Lindsey Wilson

Landon Nokes, Eastern, Fairmont State

Ja'Waun Northington, Manual, Murray State

Jeremiah Payne, Atherton, Union

Will Prinkleton, Atherton, Georgetown

Curtis Rearden, Manual, Murray State

Elijah Reed, Pleasure Ridge Park, Kentucky

Eli Scott, Eastern, MIssouri Western

J.T. Self, South Oldham, Morehead State

Darius Shipley, Eastern, Lindsey Wilson

Tyler Shipp, Eastern, Centre

Zachary Shofner, Bullitt Central, Centre

Ronnie Simpson, South Oldham, Trine

Jadairion Smith, Ballard, Findlay

Jamarion Smith, Fairdale, Wabash

Zach Stevens, Eastern, Cumberlands

Jaylen Thomas, Central, Charleston

Noah Thomas, Male, Charleston

Garrett Thornsberry, Holy Cross, Eastern Kentucky (preferred walk-on)

Ramont Townsend, Manual, Central State

Dominic Vrbancic, Male, Dayton

Kheisean Walker, Eastern, Lindsey Wilson

Ty Wickliffe, Ballard, Charleston

Malachi Williams, Central, Murray State

Emari Young, Ballard, Lindsey Wilson

Sam Young, Oldham County, Louisville (preferred walk-on)

Ryan Zoeller, St. Xavier, Indianapolis

Equestrian

Grace Gerbus, Oldham County, South Dakota State

Golf

Kash Albarado, St. Xavier, Bellarmine

Lucas Bischoff, Christian Academy, Bellarmine

Peyton Bonny, Trinity, Western Kentucky

Jackson Finney, St. Xavier, Cincinnati

Ella Hardy, Assumption, Northern Kentucky

Owen King, South Oldham, Rose-Hulman

Janie Morgan, Sacred Heart, Centre

Ben Spencer, Oldham County, Midway

Abigail Sutherland, Sacred Heart, Kentucky

Matthew Troutman, Christian Academy, Oklahoma

Previous coverage: Troutman leads CAL golf to state championship

Drew Wallace, North Oldham, Murray State

Brady Westwood, Bullitt Central, Spalding

Carl Williams, Kentucky Country Day, Dickinson

Jaden Wilson, Oldham County, Southern Indiana

Gymnastics

Megan Bingham, Eastern, Bowling Green

Lacrosse

Michael Adams, Trinity, Cumberlands

Sarah Cole, Eastern, Alabama-Huntsville

Talitha Goodman, South Oldham, Limestone

Abbie Grogan, Kentucky Country Day, Ohio Wesleyan

Wyatt Hoetker, Christian Academy, Lewis

Reese Kulmer, Oldham County, Cumberlands

Clare Martin, Kentucky Country Day, Catholic

Jackson Meyer, South Oldham, Savannah College of Art & Design

Liam Murray, Trinity, Mars Hill

Peter Osborne, South Oldham, Trine

Keller Riede, St. Xavier, Centre

Megan Robertson, Kentucky Country Day, Alabama-Huntsville

Brandon Shaffner, St. Xavier, Montevallo

Stephanie Sheehan, Eastern, Alabama-Huntsville

Colleen Stahl, Oldham County, Centre

Olivia Sweasy, Oldham County, Centre

Avery Swope, Eastern, Lee

Tate Watts, Eastern, Florida Tech

Soccer

Rose Barnes, Oldham County, Mount St. Joseph

Clayton Brooks, St. Xavier, DePaul

Jeffrey Cox, St. Xavier, Bellarmine

Riley Givens, Assumption, Centre

Mallory Glass, Sacred Heart, Kentucky

Sacred Heart's Mallory Glass (10) heads the ball between Lexington Catholic's Sophie Skinner (25) and Kylie Archer (7) during the KHSAA Girl's Soccer championship game in Lexington, Saturday, Oct. 31.

Virginia Goins, South Oldham, Cincinnati

Kendal Guzzardo, Assumption, Cincinnati

Daniel Karlen, Trinity, Anderson

Grayson Klehr, South Oldham, Transylvania

Sammy Murphy, North Oldham, Louisville

Evelyn Pazienza, South Oldham, Louisville

Austin Perry, Beth Haven, Midway

Meg Ralston, Assumption, Centre

Brendan Schonwetter, Kentucky Country Day, Carnegie Mellon

Zach Schonwetter, Kentucky Country Day, Carnegie Mellon

Payton Seymour, Assumption, Southern Indiana

Lucas Sherrard, Shelby County, Cumberlands

Hadley Snyder, Assumption, Louisville

Clara Spurlock, South Oldham, Bellarmine

Maddie Sutherland, Assumption, Gardner-Webb

Parker Touma, Kentucky Country Day, Transylvania

Nate Traughber, Kentucky Country Day, Transylvania

Taylor Zebarth, North Oldham, Spalding

Softball

Kaylee Batts, Oldham County, Evansville

Ashlyn Becker, Oldham County, Asbury

Kennedy Clark, Collins, Lindsey Wilson

Lilly Davis, Male, Eastern Kentucky

Madison Davis, Oldham County, Bellarmine

Jewell Fentress, Manual, Lincoln Memorial

Karly Sue Fetter, Christian Academy, Asbury

Jordan Fico, Oldham County, Transylvania

Cheney Floyd, North Oldham, Centre

Morgan Gambrell, Holy Cross, Shawnee State

Raegan Gibson, Assumption, Southern Indiana

Macie Howes, Christian Academy, California Baptist

McKenna Ingram, Collins, Lindsey Wilson

Jillian Jeffries, Holy Cross, John Logan

Marlee Pettit, Christian Academy, Asbury

Jordan Poppleton, South Oldham, John Logan

Samantha Schaefer, Assumption, Ohio Dominican

Jadyn Thompson, Male, Murray State

Squash

Xander Scott, Collegiate, St. Lawrence

Swimming and diving

Jack Anderson, St. Xavier, Notre Dame

Kaitlin Calvery, Sacred Heart, Denver

Charlie Crush, St. Xavier, Louisville

Olie Dabney, Eastern, Cumberlands

Robert Ehrenborg, Christian Academy, Louisville

Raylynn Elder, Assumption, Southern Illinois

Brinly Hardy, Sacred Heart, Purdue

Eden Humphrey, Assumption, Houston

Lily Jones, Eastern, Cincinnati

Mackenzie Lanning, Sacred Heart, Northwestern

Caroline Mercer, Collegiate, Vanderbilt

Madeline Meredith, Sacred Heart, Duke

Isaiah Perkins, Christian Academy, Transylvania

Lucas Thomas, St. Xavier, Auburn

Ella Welch, Assumption, Louisville

Isaac Wilson, St. Xavier, IUPUI

Tennis

Eli Wood, North Oldham, Bellarmine

Volleyball

Kayla Bryant, Sacred Heart, Tennessee-Martin

Joy Carstanjen, Kentucky Country Day, Kenyon

Emma DeSensi, Assumption, Colorado

Ellie Fox, Eastern, West Georgia

Sidney Haysley, Seneca, Pittsburgh-Greensburg

Emily Hodge, Ballard, Spalding

McKenna Humphrey, Bullitt East, Midway

Emily Huntsman, Bullitt East, Kentucky Christian

Alice Kempf, Sacred Heart, Denison

Julia McNeley, Sacred Heart, James Madison

Marlee Minor, Seneca, Reinhardt

Addison Poehner, Mercy, Furman

Emily Ready, Assumption, South Alabama

Mary Schneidtmiller, Mercy, Cumberlands

Mercy's Mary Schneidtmiller hits the ball over Holy Cross's Rivers McDonald during the Sixth Region final at Valley High School Wednesday night. The Jaguars would take all three sets over the Cougars to win the 2021 Sixth Region title. Oct. 27, 2021

Tess Schrenger, Sacred Heart, Tampa

Madi Winfield, Mercy, Centre

Brenna Wyman, Assumption, Connecticut

Brenna Young, South Oldham, Thomas More

Emily Young, Sacred Heart, Dayton

More coverage: Emily Young named state's top defender

Wrestling

Kyle Rufra, Trinity, Thomas More

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Class of 2022 signings: Where Louisville-area athletes are heading
The former director of financial aid at a Virginia community college was accused of nepotism after prosecutors said she manipulated applications on behalf of family and friends to maximize money they received from the government  and kept about half of it for herself.

Now she faces federal charges.

A grand jury indicted 47-year-old Kiesha Pope on wire fraud and identity theft charges in the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday, Feb. 1, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a news release. Court filings show an arrest warrant was issued the same day.

Pope could not be reached for comment by McClatchy News on Wednesday, Feb. 2, and information regarding her defense attorney was not immediately available.

Prosecutors said the alleged scheme spanned several years while Pope was director of financial aid at J. Sargent Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia. The college has three campuses as well as an online program. It enrolled nearly 5,500 full-time students in the 2018-2019 school year.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Reynolds Community College said the school has cooperated with federal investigators and is in full compliance with the U.S. Department of Education to continue administering financial aid.

Leadership of the Reynolds Financial Aid Office, as well college leaders responsible for its oversight during the time frame referenced, are no longer employed at Reynolds, the spokesperson said. New leadership of the financial aid office has been in place since March of 2018 and has worked diligently to ensure the integrity of all aspects of our financial aid operations.

According to the indictment, Pope agreed to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, on behalf of friends and family members while ensuring they continued to meet eligibility requirements.

In exchange, she received a portion of the refunds in the form of checks, PayPal payments and prepaid cards, prosecutors said. Pope is estimated to have received roughly half the total refund amount each person was awarded, which the government said she spent on car repairs, shopping trips and expenses for her daughter.

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The recipients she allegedly helped included her son, goddaughter, ex-fiance and cousin.

From 2011 to 2017, Popes son received $117,708 in refund disbursements from financial aid, the indictment states. He reportedly did not attend any classes at Reynolds Community College for at least two of those years. It is not clear if he attended the community college in other years.

Popes former fiance received about $79,906 between 2011 and 2015, despite spending several of those months in the Sussex County Jail, prosecutors said. Between 2013 and 2015, her cousin also received more than $60,000 in refunds.

Her goddaughter was awarded about $43,525 in refunds from 2011 to 2017, prosecutors said. Pope is also accused of inflating her disbursement amounts at various points by making manual entries into the financial aid system, which eventually caught the attention of the colleges central business office.

In a 2017 email sent to someone who worked under Pope, the office questioned how in the world (she) qualified for the amount of aid she received the last three semesters while only enrolling in 3-6 credits, according to the indictment. No one in the office reportedly knew at the time that she was Popes goddaughter.

Prosecutors said Pope replied that the student had breast cancer and thats why she was approved for such a large amount of financial aid, which Pope said she needed because of extremely high medical bills.

Still, the central business office reportedly said it was an odd combination of financial aid, few enrollment credits and a very low grade point average.

About a month later, prosecutors said, Popes boss confronted her about whether she had any relation to the student.

Pope replied no, prosecutors said, then immediately scanned several documents into the financial aid system that backed up her story about the student having cancer. According to the indictment, hospital records showed Pope was lying about the diagnosis, and the documents she used were from another students file.

By October 2017, higher-ups were questioning Popes relationship with several students who had received a significant amount of financial aid during her tenure.

Pope never showed up for work on Oct. 4, 2017, and submitted her resignation the following day, prosecutors said.

A grand jury indicted Pope on charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on the fraud charges and a mandatory two-year prison sentence for identity theft, though prosecutors said a defendants sentence is typically less than the maximum.

College enrollment shrinks by over 1 million students during pandemic, report say

Missouri woman poses as 24-year-old, enrolls in college and racks up debt, feds say

$700,000 student aid scheme went undetected for years in North Carolina, feds say

NC woman had no plans to attend college  she just wanted the financial aid, feds say
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
The James A. Rhodes State Office Tower is a 41-story, 629-foot skyscraper, at 30 E. Broad St., in downtown Columbus. Opened in 1974, it is the tallest building in Columbus.

Columbus firefighters rescued an Ohio principal assistant attorney general uninjured Tuesday afternoon after a cable snapped on the elevator he was riding in the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, Downtown.

Fire personnel were called just before 5 p.m. to the 41-story building located at 30 East Broad St., on a report of an unknown number of occupants becoming trapped in the elevator, said Battalion Chief Steve Martin, a spokesman for the city fire division.

Columbus Division of Fire units on East Broad Street in downtown Columbus on Tuesday afternoon while firefighters made a technical rescue of an Ohio principal assistant attorney general from an elevator inside the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower.

Once on scene, it was determined that one man  identified by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in a tweet as one of his principal assistant attorney generals  was in the elevator. He did not identify the man in the tweet.

Martin said the elevator car's cable apparently snapped and the elevator droppedd an undetermined distance before the elevator's emergency braking system automatically engaged and brought the elevator to a stop on the 12th floor.

The man was extricated from the elevator at 5:04 p.m. and indicated he was not injured and did not require medical attention, Martin said.

"Thankfully, he is unhurt, although it appears the elevator car may have fallen several floors," Yost said in his tweet.

The elevator, one of several in the building across the street from the Statehouse, remained out of service Wednesday, said Melissa Vince, spokeswoman for the Department of Administrative Services.

At 629 feet, the Rhodes Tower is the city's tallest building. The LeVeque Tower has more stories (47), but is just over 555 feet tall.

Eric Lagatta is a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, breaking news and social justice issues. Reach him at elagatta@dispatch.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLagatta

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Firefighters rescue man from Rhodes Tower elevator after cable snaps
The Governor's Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The governor's mansion in Sacramento looks like a good place to shoot a horror movie  looming and empty.

It sits on a busy corner at a nexus of our dual crises of homelessness and unaffordable housing  topped by a turret where Kathleen Brown once tossed water balloons at trick-or-treaters while her father, then-Gov. Pat Brown, was out of town. One of Sacramentos largest homeless service providers is walking distance away. But the neighborhood is also gentrifying after a decades-long slump. Kitty-corner to the mansion, a 492-square-foot studio is renting for upward of $1,800 a month.

California sends the wrong message by leaving the Peoples House empty while rents shoot up and homeless people wander by. The governor isnt using the place. Should we give it to someone who can?

We are at a unique moment with homelessness. The pandemic, for all its hardship, has generated a slew of federal funds. This year, the state budget is also flush, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing to add billions in spending for shelter, mental health services and cleanups of encampments, urging us to "advance a resourceful mindset" during a Los Angeles news conference Monday. But anger is piling up as quick as the money, and people are tired of hearing the same old same old. We are increasingly skeptical and frustrated  and in need of radical proof that this moment won't be wasted.

I asked the governor's staff for a tour of the mansion, though I didn't mention my idea of offering it to new tenants. They politely rebuffed my requests. So I turned to someone familiar with the property, John Ackerley, a landscaper who said his five years tending the grounds has brought him a lot of pride. Talking to me through the wrought iron fence when I stopped by recently, Ackerley said he thought my idea was terrible. Most people did.

"You know homeless," he said, explaining that it was too important of a historical site to risk its ruin.

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Yes, it may seem impractical or problematic to house unsheltered people in the governor's mansion or other empty or underutilized public buildings. Imagine UC Berkeley's Campanile or San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts turned into temporary shelters. But these are drastic days, and a failure of imagination is one reason California is making only halting progress helping its homeless citizens, estimated at 161,000 as of last year.

Oakland City Councilmember Carroll Fife agreed with Ackerley that "rational people, probably your friends," would say the idea is "pushing it too far." But she's no stranger to pushing. She made headlines not long ago when she and a group of mothers took over an empty corporate-owned house, eventually forcing its sale to a trust that will keep it for homeless families.

If something doesn't give, "potentially taking over the governor's mansion ... all the mansions ... is what we are going to have to do," she said.

It is not as if California is doing nothing to shelter people. Projects Roomkey and Homekey, which quickly moved 58,000 people off the streets and into hotels and motels, show that action can happen when it suits us. But Roomkey wasn't entirely altruistic. It was fueled by fear that coronavirus outbreaks among unsheltered populations could overwhelm care systems, endangering everyone.

The impasse we face now is driven by ambivalence and stigma  who we think "those" people are and where we think they deserve to live. The vast majority of Californians want unsheltered people off the streets so long as their neighborhood isn't affected.

Its an anxiety I understand. My husband and I own a house in a comfortable Sacramento neighborhood, one that has long fought the idea of a shelter nearby and where there is little affordable housing. But the crisis of homelessness is everywhere. Not long ago, a homeless man hit an 8-year-old boy in the face near the local doughnut shop. My daughters have watched men, presumably homeless, use our lawn as a restroom. We have homeless neighbors sleeping on the sidewalk of the church across the street and in the bushes of the parklet in front of our house. For a while, a gentleman we called Rapper Man would put on nightly music shows at about 3 a.m. They were not kid-friendly.

This house is our financial plan, and we need it and our neighborhood to be safe. But Ive spent years covering homelessness from every angle, and I can no longer try to remain professionally detached. I believe its a moral crisis, that housing is a human right. Every neighborhood and possibly every street will have to be part of the answer, since helping our most vulnerable will ultimately help us all.

Jonathan Russell, who helps run a housing program in the Bay Area that buys single-family homes and rents rooms to those in need, says he hears fears like mine all the time.

"The problem is an economy where middle-income earners, their only hope of an assured retirement, of safety if crisis should befall, is that property," he pointed out. For lucky property owners and renters who feel stable, there's a "profound fear of anything that would risk it."

Jonathan Russell helps run a housing program in the Bay Area that buys single-family homes and rents rooms to those in need. (Paul Kuroda / For The Times)

Fife said even in her famously liberal city, where unsheltered people occupy nearly every freeway ramp and underpass, housed residents show up at city meetings swearing they want equitable solutions, "but the outcomes don't necessarily match the rhetoric." It's hours of people explaining why they are all for progress, just not whatever particular plan is being discussed.

California is increasingly using its stick to pressure local governments to approve affordable housing and homeless plans. But for local elected officials, there is a political calculus. Voters from less enfranchised areas will fume if services and shelters are forced into their neighborhoods, but they often don't show up at meetings. Certain neighborhoods bear the brunt of hosting homeless facilities over and over because, for elected leaders, they are easier to deal with.

Those realities have created something of a homeless industrial complex. Every project has to count because it's so hard to make anything happen. So instead of five people in a house in neighborhoods across our cities  as Russell's program advocates  we usually end up with hundreds in an unused lot on the edge of nowhere that then becomes a dystopian cautionary tale.

"The homeless" become a homogenous mass, not individuals with unique circumstances and needs.

Fife and her family were homeless once. She tried to hide it from her two young children, telling them it was an adventure to try new hotels. But she felt embarrassment so deeply she didn't talk about it publicly for years.

What would it have meant to her not just to have shelter, but to have a place like the governor's mansion offered to them, I asked her. What would it have felt like to walk up its 18 stairs to the front door, pick a room for her kids where maybe Kathleen Brown plotted her water balloon attack? To have a home where not only did she feel like they belonged, but one that said the rest of us believed they belonged too?

"It would have meant the world to me," she said. "It's just the symbolism."

A historical site run by the state Parks and Recreation Department, the mansion was most recently used for occasional receptions. Jerry Brown was the last governor to stay for any length of time, after remodeling the joint in his second term with upgrades like a $16,000 refrigerator. The Newsom family moved in for a few months when he took office, then decamped for a compound in the suburbs.

The house has been closed since COVID hit, frozen in time. But sometimes it's better to make history than preserve it.

Would it really be terrible to give the governor's mansion, despite all its historic glory, to a regular family or two? Could it serve as a sign that theres no right or wrong place for homeless people to have a roof over their heads? That fixing California is going to require risk-taking, and that we all will need to share those risks, even when they feel personal?

For homeless people such as Alana Howard, who was walking by the mansion with a tattered blue sleeping bag in a hand cart while I was talking to Ackerley, it's obvious an empty house is just an empty house, regardless of our feelings about it.

"It's a waste," she said. "Talk to the governor and put [people] in there."

I wouldn't try to block housing in my neighborhood, even though it might worry me. I'd love to build an ADU in our backyard if we could afford it. I'd probably even be OK with Rapper Man moving into it, if he agreed to keep it down at night.

It will take more than money and a "resourceful mindset" to solve homelessness. I think it's going to take us all giving up a bit of what makes us comfortable, starting with our ambivalence.

I'd like to know what you think, if you have time to answer a few questions. I'll read all your responses and share some in a future column.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on December 13, 2021 in Brandywine, Maryland. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

GOP leaders want Jennifer Granholm's stock trades thoroughly scrutinized.

It's the second complaint Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso has filed against Granholm.

Both parties are latching onto stock disclosure issues ahead of the midterm elections.

A pair of congressional Republicans are demanding that the Energy Department's internal watchdog investigate agency chief Jennifer Granholm's late stock filings, according to a letter obtained exclusively by Insider.

The lawmakers' demands come in response to Insider's report that revealed Granholm had violated a federal conflicts-of-interest and transparency law by failing to report up to $240,000 in stock sales in a timely manner over the past year.

"It is not clear if Department of Energy (DOE) ethics officials have given proper attention to these flagrant violations," Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ranking member John Barrasso of Wyoming and House Committee on Energy and Commerce ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington wrote to Energy Department Inspector General Teri Donaldson in a joint letter sent to the agency late Tuesday.

Granholm, whose personal finances have come under fire before, reported making nine stock trades between April 30, 2021, and October 26, 2021. But she disclosed the sales to the Office of Government Ethics on December 15, 2021, and December 16, 2021  either weeks or months past a 30-day disclosure deadline prescribed by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012.

Barrasso asked Donaldson to dig into Granholm's affairs a year earlier, calling for an investigation into her financial ties to Proterra, Inc., a developer of zero-emission electric vehicles, last April.

Barrasso and McMorris Rodgers wrote that they were concerned, this time around, by Granholm disavowing any knowledge of being notified about the series of stock transactions past the 30-day deadline baked into the law.

"A plea of ignorance by Secretary Granholm is not an acceptable defense for the violation of federal law," the Republicans wrote, adding that investigators must do their due diligence.

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"It is imperative that impropriety on the part of federal officials is taken seriously and that the dignity of the offices in which they serve is upheld."

The lawmakers gave Donaldson until February 28 to conduct a thorough review and deliver her findings to Congress  which is two days shorter than lawmakers and senior congressional staff have to comply with STOCK Act requirements.

Department of Energy staff did not respond to a request for a comment about the Barrasso-McMorris Rodgers letter.

Granholm's STOCK Act violations follow Insider's "Conflicted Congress" project, which revealed how dozens of federal lawmakers and at least 182 senior-level congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act, and detailed how conflicts-of-interest abound. Together, they've avoided serious consequences.

Read the original article on Business Insider
State prosecutors have closed the books on the strange, 17-year-old murder of the self-described chief apostle to Brother Julius Schacknow, a Connecticut cult leader who turned his claim to divinity into a multimillion-dollar business and real estate empire in the 1970s and 80s.

New Britain States Attorney Brian W. Preleski dismissed murder charges against against 77-year old accused killer Rudy Hannon, who died last month in prison after contracting COVID-19 while awaiting trial. Last week, Hannons co-defendant in the murder case, Sorek Minery, 45, was sentenced to 20 years in prison suspended after nine years.

The two men were accused of beating to death, freezing, dismembering and burying Paul Sweetman, who was second in command of the religious cult known as The Work, founded by the charismatic Schacknow, who died in 1996 at age 71. Preleski has said in court that Hannon and Minery - who turned on one another after their arrests, each accusing the other - committed the crime at a time when there was a struggle among cult leaders for control after Schacknows death.

Schacknow was a slightly built man, who had piercing green eyes, wore a full beard and liked to appear in a white robes. He called himself a sinful messiah who, as he explained, had to sin to know what sin was like. He was accused of having a voracious sexual appetite and of grooming girls and young women in the cult for sex. Over time, his explanation of himself moved from prophet to Jesus Christ incarnate to God.

While Schacknow was proclaiming divinity in the late 1970s, his Meriden-based cult was generating as much as $100 million in income, primarily through real estate and construction businesses that included the then most profitable Century 21 real estate franchise on the east coast and now defunct County Wide Construction. At his peak, Schacknows followers, numbered about 300 and many worked for the businesses, investigators said.

According to information presented in court, the events leading to Sweetmans murder began in a dispute between he and his wife Joanne Sweetman for control of the cult and its income after Schacknows death. Joanne Sweetman, in addition to being a top cult leader known as the holy spirit, was a top officer in its real estate business and one of Schacknows former wives.

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Joanne Sweetman allegedly wanted Paul Sweetmen dead so she could control the businesses, according to court filings and other material presented in court.

Mrs. Sweetman enlisted co-defendant Rudy Hannon, who is the biological son of Brother Julius, to eliminate Paul Sweetman, Preleski has said in court. That was in large part motivated by profit.

Joanne Sweetman died in 2011 before she could be charged, he said.

Hannon recruited Minery, who eventually confessed after agreeing in a deal with prosecutors to testify against Hannon, Preleski said.

Minery told the police, according to an arrest warrant, that Hannon spent months persuading him that Paul Sweetman needed to be killed because he was hurting his wife, Joanne Sweetman, and that God would have wanted them to kill [Paul] Sweetman.

Paul Sweetman, then 70, was beaten to death in 2004, inside Blue Ridge Construction, Minerys Plainville-based business. Police say Hannon and Minery were both involved in the death, but each pointed at the other in statements to New Britain detectives.

The case was dormant until 2016, when New Britain detectives were able to link a human thigh found by a dog 12 years earlier to Sweetman, who vanished and had by then been reported missing.

New Britain detectives arrested Hannon and Minery in 2018.

Minery told police he and Hannon stuffed Sweetman into freezer in his shop. He said he returned to the shop three or four days later and dismembered the body with an electric saw. He said he buried the head and legs in a shallow grave on land near the New Britain reservoir, and buried the torso and arms beneath a shed at his New Britain home.

Hannon, who was scheduled for trial when he died, gave police a slightly different story. He said he watched Minery beat Sweetman brutally, but helped stuff the body in the freezer. He claimed he believed Sweetman was still alive and Minery allegedly put something heavy on top of the freezer to keep Sweetman inside.
COSHOCTON  Eleven candidates have applied to fill an open seat on the board of education for Coshocton City Schools.

The board had a special meeting to review applications on Jan. 28. Interviews with candidates will be on Feb. 7, with a second round on Feb. 10, if needed. Interviews are not required, but being conducted as a best practice, the board stated.

The board is expected to interview seven of the 11 candidates, but have not announced who. Interviews would be done in executive session.

The seat is open due to the Jan. 15 resignation of Steve Clark, who cited personal reasons for stepping down. The board has until Feb. 15 to fill the slot with an announcement to likely be made on Feb. 10.

The selected individual will fulfill the remaining term, ending Dec. 31, and is expected to run for re-election.

Those submitting applications:

Cynthia Abood  A retired registered nurse who worked for the Coshocton County Health Department and was once assistant to the nurse at Coshocton City Schools.

Kelly Bratton  A law clerk for Gottlieb, Johnston, Beam & Del Ponte. She also served as a guardian ad litem for Coshocton County Juvenile Court and guardianship investigator for Coshocton County Probate Court.

Heidi Collins  A homemaker who was previously on the board of directors for BlueHelp and a corrections officer in Minnesota.

Lisa Timmons Gibson  Director of Yankee Wire Cloth Products.

Joshua Kempf  A civil engineer with the Coshocton County Engineer's Office who served as an intern with the Holmes County Engineer's Office and Ohio Department of Transportation District 5. He also worked an engineer for Hull & Associates and a surveyor's assistant for Ward & Emler Surveying.

Opha Lawson Jr.  A police officer for the Village of Newcomerstown and former officer with the Village of West Lafayette. He was a candidate for Coshocton County Sheriff in 2020.

Jerrod Norman  A business computer instructor for East Guernsey Local Schools for seventh to 12th grades. He previously worked as a substitute at Coshocton City Schools and for the media center of Ridgewood High School.

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Wesley Shook  An IT analyst for Coshocton Regional Medical Center.

David Shutt  Director of sales and marketing for Wonder Grip USA. He also worked for S.W. Safety, Showa and Best Glove.

Carly Thompson  A real estate agent and owner of HER Realtors, Grason Properties and Construction and Thompson Business Center.

Eric Underwood  An engineer and project manager for American Electric Power.

llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com

@llhayhurst

740-295-3417

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Coshocton Board of Education: 11 candidates apply for open seat
COVID FOR ONLINE

The COVID-19 positivity rate in Cascade County is the highest it has been since the fall of 2020, as confirmed by City-County Health Department spokesperson Ben Spencer Wednesday.

According to CCHD's weekly report published Wednesday, the COVID-19 positivity rate from this past week is 30.9%, up from 24.7% last week.

"The highest weve reported is 32.1% in November 2020," Spencer said in an email to the Tribune.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Case Rate per week is also up, with CCHD reporting 1,834.9 cases per 100,000 people this week. As cases climb, the community is still considered a high transmission community for COVID-19.

There have been two new reports of COVID-19 deaths since last week, both unvaccinated men with underlying health conditions, one in his 50s and the other in his 70s, according to Spencer on Wednesday. There have now been a total of 293 lives lost in the county from the virus.

Acting Health Officer Bowen Trystianson said COVID-19 continues to be widely spread in the community during the Board of Health meeting Wednesday morning.

Trystianson said theres been a small dip in cases, but overwhelmingly cases are very high in the city and state.

Trystianson spoke about CCHD starting to distribute rapid COVID-19 tests from the state to the community this week. Tests are available Monday- Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. He explained the limited hours were due to staffing shortages, however he said CCHD is making an effort to deliver tests to local businesses and organizations.

We're hoping by distributing these cases to local businesses and other organizations that their workers who are working during those times will have access to the kits as well, Trystianson said. It also helps those businesses stay open and make sure they're doing everything they can to prevent the spread of COVID amongst their employees, staff.

Interim Board Chair Dr. Matt Martin asked about how the tests fared in detecting omicron variant cases, to which Trystianson said that they are not as effective as PCR tests but are adequate and are especially effective if testing when youre experiencing symptoms.

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Board member and infectious disease specialist Dr. Ray Geyer echoed Trystiansons analysis of the at-home antigen tests.

If done during the symptomatic period of sensitivity is quite high, but when we use them if we feel perfectly well and decide to run an antigen at home and test, it can miss an asymptomatic COVID cases, he said. Sensitivity is not very good without some sort of respiratory symptom."

Trystianson said in terms of reporting positive cases it was most effective to report them through the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services website, which will eventually make its way back to CCHD. The website to report positive cases is at: https://montanagovernment-aijle.formstack.com/forms/montana_covid_home_test_reporting.

If you do not have internet access, CCHD asks you to call the department to report a positive result. The number is 406-454-6950. It is recommended that positive results be confirmed through a PCR test.

Deputy County Attorney Carey Ann Haight asked if county departments would be permitted more rapid tests as the supply is low. Trystianson said they can email CCHD to request the number of tests they need.

Haight provided an update to the board on the status of the governing body that is required under HB 121 to oversee the Board of Healths emergency orders, saying there wasnt much to add.

There has been lots of back and forth between the city and county over the makeup of the governing body, with the countys stance having been that exclusively county commissioners should makeup the body and the city expressing interest in participation. Last fall the city requested a legal judgment over who can participate.

Haight gave an update on the legal suit, saying the county received the declaratory relief paperwork from the city attorney's office which they had previously filed. She said that as of now Judge Elizabeth Best will be presiding over the case.

Haight said the interim governing body has yet to meet.

I think they're all waiting pending some outcome or resolution to the declaratory relief petition that is pending, she said.

As it stands now the interim governing body has until June to determine the structure of the permanent governing body.

Martin said there were no updates regarding the hiring of a new health officer. Haight said she had not heard about any new applications from County Human Resources, but said that didnt necessarily mean there were no new applicants. She said the county was likely to want to know the process the Board of Health would like to use to hire the new Health Official as the board has done it differently in the past.

Martin expressed that he would like to see the County Commission discuss the matter as they will be making the final decision on the hire and said he would be speaking with County Commission Chairman Joe Briggs about getting it on the county commission agenda.

Daily COVID-19 Update

The state posted 1,372 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing Montanas total active confirmed reports to 14,436.

Montana reported 3,026 total deaths, seven additional deaths since Tuesdays report, and 340 active hospitalizations from the virus, 11 more since Tuesday, according to the state website covid19.mt.gov.

Cascade County reported 125 new cases and now has 1,719 active cases.

Of the states eligible population, 54% are fully vaccinated. Of the countys eligible population, 49% are fully immunized against the virus.

The first case of COVID-19 in Montana was reported on March 11, 2020.

Missoula County added 297 cases for a total of 2,672 active cases on Wednesday. Yellowstone County added 213 new cases for a total of 2,944 cases. Gallatin County added 185 cases for a total of 1,614 cases. Flathead County added 156 cases for a total of 1,263 cases.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: COVID-19 positivity rate highest in Cascade County since Fall of 2020
President Biden's forthcoming Supreme Court nominee will have to navigate a fiercely divided Senate to secure confirmation. But the nominee's first hurdle will be a series of meetings with senators in a Capitol complex teeming with COVID cases.

It has long been a tradition for Supreme Court nominees to visit with senators in a series of one-on-one meetings as a prelude to the formal confirmation hearings. Nominees have often been accompanied by a "sherpa," often a former senator of the same party as the sitting president, to help the nominees ingratiate themselves. That person has been selected by the White House: former Alabama Senator Doug Jones, who also served as the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 1997 to 2001.

The logistics for the one-on-one meetings will be more complicated this year. The Omicron COVID-19 variant is still wreaking havoc across the country, though the rate of new infections has been falling in Washington, D.C. However, the Capitol remains closed to visitors, many committee hearings continue to be staged virtually and masking protocols among staff and members of Congress are inconsistent.

The possibility of virtual meetings between the nominee and senators is causing an early political fault line in a process that's likely to be fraught with political division.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, said he would not rule out virtual meetings for the nominee. Durbin said, "We're going to be very careful to protect the safety and health of every member as well as the nominee, whoever it may be."

He said no decision has been made yet. But when asked by CBS News about the possibility of Zoom meetings for the nominee, Durbin responded, "We have become so accustomed to zoom meetings, virtual contact, I don't see how it would slow down the process at all. In fact, practically speaking, it may speed it up. "

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Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, told CBS News it would be "ridiculous" to stage virtual meetings with a Supreme Court nominee. Cruz said, "The Senate is back in business. It's been two years. Yes, we should meet in person."

Cruz said, "If they try to push for virtual meetings it's because they want to hide the nominee because they're afraid of scrutiny. I can tell you I'm doing in-person meetings with nominees from this administration every day. It would be ludicrous if they tried to hide the nominee from the advice and consent of the Senate."

The traditional meeting process was also altered in 2020, during the confirmation process of Amy Coney Barrett, which occurred before the approval of COVID vaccines. Barrett did not have a "sherpa," and instead was escorted by then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone. Meadows said Barrett did not have a sherpa because of concerns about the coronavirus.

Barrett was stationed in a room in the U.S. Capitol over several days, where she was visited by senators. In pre-coronavirus days, the nominees went to see senators in their offices.

In a memo to members of Congress Thursday, the Office of the Attending Physician said, "Breakthrough infections among Members and staff have not led to hospitalizations, serious complications, or deaths, attesting to the value of coronavirus vaccinations." The memo said positive rates had declined from prior weeks, but recommended continued precautions. The memo said, "All individuals should continue essential measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Congressional offices, Committees, and Agencies should continue to adopt a maximal telework posture to reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities to the maximum extent possible."

Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CBS News, "In 2020, before a COVID vaccine was available, Justice Amy Coney Barrett safely attended in-person meetings with senators on Capitol Hill. With vaccines, boosters, KN95s readily available, there's no reason why the nominee can't meet face to face with senators this time around. Preventing such in-person discussions is a disservice to the nominee and the senators alike."

Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, in a statement to CBS News said, "I am immensely looking forward to the opportunity to meet with President Biden's first nominee to the Supreme Court, however that meeting may be able to occur. Should that exchange need to occur virtually out of an abundance of caution due to the COVID pandemic, I would respect the discretion of Senate leadership and the nominee alike."

Because the Democrat-led Senate is split 50-50, when a Democrat contracts COVID or falls ill, it cripples the majority's ability to pass legislation. Already this year, Senate Democrats have been slowed by illness in their ranks  Senator Brian Schatz, of Hawaii, contracted COVID in January, and Senator Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico suffered a stroke this week.

New York City mourns police officer killed in shooting

Pentagon announces plans to deploy 3,000 U.S. troops to Europe

MoneyWatch: Rent prices soar across the U.S.
Makayla Ignacio is assisted by Principal Kevin Eady during an Elevate K-12 math class at Columbia Central High School in Columbia, Tenn., on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.

Maury County's school board members are speaking out about ongoing issues of staffing, sharing concern that students are being left behind in the process.

The discussion was sparked during the board's monthly study session last week, as the elected board members reviewed a plan for acquiring new textbooks and learning materials, including new digital devices.

"I don't want to hear about money," said Michael Fulbright, chair of the school board. "I want to know is there a plan? And I want to know what the plan is for the students who don't have teachers."

MCPS currently has 56 openings for licensed educators, including special education instructors, interventionists, coaches and traditional educators.

The district also currently has 47 openings for positions in maintenance, school transportation and classroom assistants.

"I like the resources and the money, but I want to see what our actual plan is to address some of these things that we have been wrestling with now for over three years and to put an end to a cycle of unprepared students and teachers," Fulbright said.

Maury County School Board Chairman Michael Fulbright speaks during a meeting at Horace O. Porter School in Columbia, Tenn., on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Fulbright supports pausing on the sale of McDowell Elementary School.

Fulbright said the school district's teacher shortage will cause a significant detrimental impact for the public school district's students.

More: 'Barely getting by': Maury County schools' extra funds a result of staff shortage

More: Hot mess: Remote instruction brings concern for school board leaders

Although the district's students improved in accordance to the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, the state's measure that reviews a school's or district's year-over-year growth and improvement, student proficiency scores in reading and math continue to lag behind their peers across the state in 2020.

According to district-level test data released in August, 18.1% of Maury County Public Schools students are proficient in mathematics, while 21.2% of students are proficient in English Language Arts in grades K-12 in 2020-2021.

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The scores continued a downward trend seen in 2019.

As the new year begins, the district currently has more open positions than it did two months earlier.

In order to draw interested candidates, the school board has offered sign-on bonuses and increased pay for some positions.

More: 'The well is very dry': Maury County teacher shortage leads to inadequate staffing, 'mass' instruction

More: 'We need to do better': Student performance promised to continue at Maury County Schools

"We don't have teachers," said Bettye Kinser, the board's vice chair and a former MCPS educator.

"That is the priority here. What good are textbooks if we don't have someone to teach these kids. That is the crisis that we have going here. That is a crisis in math, a crisis in ELA, it is a crisis across the board. It is embarrassing in a way because we should have seen them coming. So I am thrilled there are textbooks coming, but I hope they don't just sit there with dust on the shelf."

More: Maury County district plans to extend remote learning platform amid teacher shortage

More: 'We need to do better': Student performance promised to continue at Maury County Schools

The shortage has created additional strains for educators, students and their parents and incited the district to spend thousands on a program, which provides educators teach courses remotely.

The situation comes at a time when many students struggle with learning loss due to extended periods of time out of the classroom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Not only are we limiting them in their academic future, in a lot of cases, we are limiting them as far as what their choices are for the future," Fulbright said. "There are some colleges that are not going to take these kids in the way that we are leaving them. That is really where we have to focus ourselves."

Reach Mike Christen at mchristen@c-dh.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeChristenCDH and on Instagram at @michaelmarco. Please consider supporting his work and that of other Daily Herald journalists by subscribing to the publication.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: School leaders in Maury County are concerned for student's future
NEW YORK  Actor Michael K. Williams tragic overdose death last year resulted from a narcotics conspiracy carried out by callous drug dealers who knew they were peddling a deadly product, officials said Wednesday.

Four people were charged in Manhattan Federal Court in the death of the popular The Wire actor, who died in September from a deadly mix of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.

Among those arrested on federal charges of participating in a narcotics conspiracy was Irvin Cartagena, 39, a Brooklyn man accused of selling to Williams the deadly dose of fentanyl-laced heroin.

This is a public health crisis, said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. And it has to stop. Deadly opioids like fentanyl and heroin dont care about who you are or what youve accomplished. They just feed addiction and lead to tragedy.

The top prosecutor, who is not related to the actor, vowed to keep the pressure on.

The (Manhattan-based) Southern District of New York and our law enforcement partners will not give up. We will bring every tool to bear. And we will continue to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison, exploit addiction, and cause senseless death.

Williams, an East Flatbush native who publicly struggled with addiction, was found dead Sept. 6 in his Williamsburg, Brooklyn, penthouse.

Police found a glassine envelope containing drugs inside his apartment, according to sources.

Over the years, Williams, 54, had spoken openly about his struggles with drug addiction, both before breaking into show business and during his time on HBOs groundbreaking hit series set in Baltimore, The Wire.

The medical examiner said Williams death was accidental.

Police and prosecutors connected the deadly dose to a drug trafficking organization in Williamsburg.

The organization sells heroin laced with fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue in front of and inside an apartment building on Third Street and other locations, authorities said.

Cartegena sold Williams the heroin on Sept. 5 in a hand-to-hand transaction caught on surveillance video, said prosecutors.

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NYPDs narcotics and precinct detectives in Brooklyn North lived this case, never relenting in their investigation until they could bring a measure of justice to Michael K. Williams and his family, said Police Commissioner Keychant Sewell.

Cartegena is accused of causing Williams death in connection with the narcotics conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life.

Cartegena and three other suspects  Hector Robles, 57; Luis Cruz, 56, and Carlos Macci, 70  were also charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analogue, fentanyl and heroin, which carries a mandatory five-year minimum sentence and a maximum sentence of 40 years.


Democratic candidate Alex Lasry received the Wisconsin Teamsters endorsement for U.S. Senate Thursday, May 6, 2021.

In his first economic policy paper of the campaign, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alex Lasry released a pro-union blueprint Wednesday to raise wages, boost apprenticeships and encourage more unionization.

The document calls for the renewal of several tax deductions that were eliminated during the 2017 tax overhaul under then-President Donald Trump.

Lasry pressed to make union dues deductible, restore home office deductions for employees and allow contract workers to itemize deductions on gas mileage, work clothes, lodging and dining.

Subscribe to our On Wisconsin Politics newsletter for the week's political news explained.

Many of Lasry's proposals are similar to Democratic policies that are currently bottled up in Congress, including an extension of the child tax credit, extending paid family and medical leave, and an expansion of labor rights contained in the PRO Act.

Lasry said "we should be rewarding companies that invest in America" and said his program sought to raise wages and bring more investment back to the United States.

He called for free tuition for the the first two years of public community college or technical school and pushed for incentives for high schools "to set up dual enrollment programs in technical schools."

He urged passage of the "Made in America Act," a bill co-sponsored by Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin to strengthen provisions to use American-made products in infrastructure projects funded by the federal government.

Three other top Democratic contenders, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson have also staked out many of the same positions.

Like Lasry, all favor a $15 an hour minimum wage, passage of the Pro Act and strongly back Baldwin's bill.

Godlewski has also called for breaking up parts of the stalled Build Back Better agenda so that key initiatives can be passed, including making the expanded child tax credit permanent.

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Nelson has written a book, "One Day Stronger," about the role he and others played in saving the Appleton Coated Mill, which was renamed Midwest Paper Group.

Barnes, the son of a public school teacher and auto worker, has called for investments in infrastructure and the economy.

"Unions not only raise wages but they also protect our workers and make our workplaces safer," Lasry said in the document. "We need to create a workers' Bill of Rights to safeguard workers' right to fair working hours, safe working conditions, and humane treatment."

Lasry is on leave from his executive job with the Milwaukee Bucks. The centerpiece of his campaign is the work he and others did to get Fiserv Forum built and forge labor agreements, including implementing a $15 an hour minimum wage for arena workers.

"We have shown that progressive values are good for business and good for the economy," Lasry said.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Alex Lasry releases pro-union blueprint to raise wages
Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Wayne Health and ICNA Relief Michigan (Muslim Family Services) have joined forces for a monthly initiative offering residents in need a combination of services from their organizations including COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters, free health screenings, access to a food pantry, and resources for rental and utility assistance, weatherization and home repair. The event will be held the first Tuesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and can accommodate up to 100 people. Health screenings are available free of charge to persons of all ages with or without insurance. Approximately 50 pounds of food, including fresh produce, will be available for persons with ID.

A group of nonprofits launched a series of monthly "one-stop" shops Tuesday to provide free health screenings, COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, rental and utility assistance and a food pantry for residents in Detroit and Hamtramck.

Through next year, the Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency is collaborating with Wayne Health, which is affiliated with the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and ICNA Relief Michigan Muslim Family Services to offer the combination of services and to increase vaccinations. The work is supported by a roughly $99,000 grant Wayne Metro received from the CDC Foundation.

"This is like a one-stop place," said Syeda Mohideen, office manager and case manager for the transitional house at ICNA Relief Michigan Muslim Family Services.

More: Ex-Catholic school in Detroit gets $7.2M renovation, transformed into affordable housing

More: Nonprofit looks to help Detroiters get furnace repairs after summer flooding

Anyone can come in, she said. They don't need to have insurance. They can stop by the nonprofit in Detroit and get a health checkup, access mental health resources, get employment help and  with an ID  grab food items from a pantry nearby. They can also get help applying for rental and utility assistance through a statewide program and resources for weatherization and home repair.

Mary Ann Windham checks Ali Suleiman Ali's temperature while checking his blood pressure during a resources fair provided by Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Wayne Health and his organization ICNA Relief Michigan (Muslim Family Services) on Feb. 1, 2022. The event will be held the first Tuesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and can accommodate up to 100 people. Health screenings are available free of charge to persons of all ages with or without insurance. Approximately 50 pounds of food, including fresh produce, will be available for persons with ID.

As an immigrant herself, Mohideen knows how challenging it can be to find ways to get help. The neighborhood is diverse. It is home to a large population of Bangladeshi families, along with African American, Yemeni, Polish and Bosnian residents. The resource events, however, are also open to residents of broader metro Detroit. Translation assistance may be available in Arabic, Bengali and Pashto.

"Serving this community means, we are here, if you need that extra help," Mohideen said. "There are people who are working, who are trying to support themselves, but they're not able to put the food on the table, or by the end of the month, they do not have the money. So, this is a place where they can come in. We can help them."

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The resource events can accommodate up to 100 people and organizers expect to help as many as 1,200 people.

Ali Suleiman Ali, Director of ICNA Relief USA attends the resources fair hosted by ICNA Relief in partnership with Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency offering residents in need a combination of services including COVID-19 vaccinations, boosters, free health screenings, access to a food pantry, resources for rental, utility assistance, weatherization and home repair on Feb. 1, 2022. Ali signs in with Patient Service Representative Asia Kelley, 31, of and Volunteer Yasir Mehmood. The event will be held the first Tuesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and can accommodate up to 100 people. Health screenings are available free of charge to persons of all ages with or without insurance. Approximately 50 pounds of food, including fresh produce, will be available for persons with ID.

"We know that today and historically health equity has been really hard to achieve, especially in Black and brown populations and non-U.S. born and yet, these are the populations we know are bearing the brunt of the COVID burden," said Mia Harnos, chief operating officer of Wayne Metro.

The effort is also meant to increase vaccine acceptance, Harnos said, through "healthy dialogue" and by listening to the concerns and fears people may have. As of Jan. 28, about 59% of Michiganders  or about 5.5 million people  have been fully vaccinated, according to a statewide dashboard. In Wayne County, 66% of people are fully vaccinated.

The CDC Foundation last summer awarded more than $30 million to community-based organizations across the country to provide "culturally appropriate and community-tailored information" about COVID-19 mitigation measures and the importance of vaccination, according to a news release. Wayne Metro was one of 10 organizations in Michigan which received the support.

Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Wayne Health and ICNA Relief Michigan (Muslim Family Services) have joined forces for a monthly initiative offering residents in need a combination of services from their organizations including COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters, free health screenings, access to a food pantry, and resources for rental and utility assistance, weatherization and home repair. The event will be held the first Tuesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and can accommodate up to 100 people. Health screenings are available free of charge to persons of all ages with or without insurance. Approximately 50 pounds of food, including fresh produce, will be available for persons with ID.

Resource events will take place the first Tuesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at ICNA Relief Michigan, located at 12500 Mitchell St., Detroit. Health screenings are free to people of all ages with or without insurance. A food pantry also is available for those with an ID.

Nushrat Rahman covers issues related to economic mobility for the Detroit Free Press and Bridge Detroit as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA.

Contact Nushrat: nrahman@freepress.com; 313-348-7558. Follow her on Twitter: @NushratR. Sign up for Bridge Detroit's newsletter. Become a Free Press subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit groups launch drop-ins for health screenings, other resources
Plans are underway to renovate the Juvenile Probation Department under the direction of Judge David Bennett at the Guernsey County Courthouse. V2 Architects will design the renovation plan with input from various county departments, according to Architect Ron Van Wey.

Ron Van Wey of V2 Architects in Cambridge met with county commissioners and others Tuesday to discuss renovations for the Juvenile Probation Department in the Guernsey County Courthouse.

"We need to make some serious improvements there," Commissioner Dave Wilson said referring to the probation offices before soliciting direction from the veteran architect.

"When we first started building this project we had a few different options so I think the first part is to understand what the scope and the budget is," said Van Wey referring to a future walk-through at the courthouse.

Commissioners confirmed the renovation plan is to address all of the needs discovered during a previous walk-through with Van Wey. The cost of the project will be determined after the final walk-through, and funding will come from the Juvenile Court.

The group discussed which parts of the renovation project could be performed in-house by the county's IT and maintenance departments and which jobs would be submitted for bids by outside contractors.

"We need to do the actual design and construction documents and then work with your staff in terms of existing facilities and delve into preferred systems that you want put in," said Van Wey. We have a couple different options.

"We need to look at the infrastructure on the technology side and get our engineers in to do that work. I think then we would develop a plan of action and recommendations to make sure it fits with your operation in terms of facilities.

"Then we can begin to identify those scopes of work that county employees would want to perform and what we would want to bid out," concluded Van Wey.

With input from Chief Probation Officer Travis Stevens and Tim Welch of the Juvenile Court, the group decided to relocate the staff instead of trying to complete the work in phases to limit displacing a few employees at a time.

"Can this be done in phases in terms of do we have to displace the entire department or do half and half," asked Wilson referring to how renovations that are nearing completion were done for the Adult Probation Department at the courthouse.

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The county utilized the jury room on the third floor to house probation staff displaced by the work and Wilson said Judge Daniel Padden is willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job done.

Guernsey County Library director also offered space in the main library downtown for temporarily housing the staff, if necessary, according to commissioners.

In the end, the group decided to utilize county-owned vacant space at a building located at the corner of Wheeling Avenue and North Fourth Street that is otherwise occupied by the county prosecutor's office and title department after Stevens expressed concerns regarding the other locations.

"We are not dealing with just one offender like adult probation is," said Stevens. "When we deal with an offender, we are dealing with a family. We've got families coming in and out of the office every single day along with all the groups that we do.

"There's going to be a lot of extra traffic on the third floor bringing kids and families in and out," added Stevens.

Maintenance Supervisor Todd Carpenter advised commissioners that Stevens and staff would have access to multiple rooms at the building on Wheeling Avenue to include a conference table and desks already being stored by Clerk of Courts Jennifer Johnson.

Van Wey said it would also be more economical to relocate the staff as a whole instead of completing the work in phases.

"Doing it in phases would drive the cost up," said Van Wey.

The next step in the design process will be Van Wey building a design team and establishing a design schedule with input from the various county departments.

The project is expected to be submitted for bid by early summer with the probation department staff being relocated in mid- to late summer.

"With everything in hand in terms of materials and equipment, I would estimate the project would take about 60 to 90 days to complete," said Van Wey. "We should be able to have it finished this year."

In other business, commissioners met with Kenny Mathews and Christ Bergerson of the county's IT department regarding updates including the county's Facebook page.

"We are looking at some modifications to the Facebook page and website," said Wilson.

Commissioners want to utilize the county's social media platforms to submit surveys to residents to learn more about their needs.

Commissioners also met with Prosecutor Lindsey Angler and Jennifer Zaayer of the prosecutor's office in executive session regarding personnel issues. No action was taken following the meeting.

Miscellaneous items approved by commissioners included:

Extended the period for filing application for registration of dogs to Feb. 12.

Appointed Wilson to replace Dave Jacobs on the 2022 Policy Advisory Committee for the SouthEastern Ohio Joint Solid Waste Management District.

A lease for the Cambridge/Guernsey County Visitors and Convention Bureau in the County Administration Building in downtown Cambridge. The monthly rent for the VCB is $1,264 covering gas, electric, water and trash removal, plus $334 monthly for IT services.

Appointed Guernsey County Engineer Paul Sherry to serve as sanitary engineer for oversight, planning and supervision of water and sewer services in the county. Sherry will be compensated $30,000 from the Special Projects Fund.

Memorandum billing for the Guernsey County Department of Job and Family Services, county highway department and county water and sewer department.

Guernsey County commissioners meet each Tuesday and Thursday in the County Administration Building, 627 Wheeling Ave. in Cambridge. Call the office, 740-432-9200, for more information or to be placed on the meeting agenda.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Discussions continue for Juvenile Probation Department renovations
Romania issues Zodiac Tiger stamps to celebrate Chinese New Year

Xinhua) 10:36, February 02, 2022

BUCHAREST, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Romfilatelia, the institution designed to issue Romanian postage stamps, launched on Tuesday commemorative stamps to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Tiger.

The issue consists of two stamps modeled in a mini-sheet of 8 stamps with 8 vignettes, a "first day" cover and two maxicards.

The design of the two postage stamps, both with a face value of 10 lei (2.28 U.S. dollars), features the symbol of the zodiac sign Tiger in two different life scenarios harmonized with lush vegetation and water, according to a promotional flyer of Romfilatelia.

Romania began to issue stamps to celebrate the Chinese New Year in 2020, featuring playful images of the Rat, the first sign in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac which also includes the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

The Year of the Tiger is the third zodiac sign in the Chinese zodiac cycle. It starts on Feb. 1, 2022 and lasts until Jan. 21, 2023, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
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People fleeing the fighting between M23 forces and Congolese army find refuge in a church in Kibumba, north of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo





Dozens of people were killed in an attack on a displacement camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), a local humanitarian organization, said 59 people were slain at the Plaine Savo displacement camp near Ituri Province. Another 40 were injured.

Two of the deceased were students from a nearby school supported by the NRC.

The assailants used guns and machetes in the attack, according to the NRC, with Reuters reporting the attack was carried out by the CODECO militia.

"I first heard cries when I was still in bed. Then several minutes of gunshots. I fled and I saw torches and people crying for help and I realized it was the CODECO militiamen who had invaded our site," Lokana Bale Lussa, a camp resident, told the outlet.

The United Nations said CODECO has killed hundreds of citizens during its fight with other militias for resources and land in the country.

"We have counted more than 60 dead and [more] seriously injured," Lussa said. "We really need security because we can't access our farms and now we're pursued even in our camps."

The NRC stated 24,000 people live in the camp that was attacked. At least 68 people have been killed in five other camps since November.

"This is the latest in a series of brutal attacks in Ituri. Plaine Savo is populated by families - vulnerable families - who have fled similar violence with their children and are seeking only the right to live in peace," Caitlin Brady, director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in DRC, said. "There has never been and never will be any justification for attacks on civilians. Those responsible for must be held to account."
Backpacking is more complex than throwing a tent, a sleeping bag and some Ramen Noodles in a pack, and hitting a trail. If youre going to cover a number of miles and stay out for a night or more, you must consider the essentials of food and shelter. You should also consider the quality of the rest of your gear. For an enjoyable backpacking experience, comfort is king.

When I first started backpacking, I had no idea how to properly prepare for an extended hike with extra weight on my back. After many blisters, lacerated shoulders, and enough chigger bites for one lifetime, Ive learned a few lessons. Winter weather takes care of the bugs but demands a bit more gear for overnight warmth. Then there are your boots.

In my opinion, a backpackers most critical piece of equipment is their boots. I would rather have sore shoulders or a worn-out back, than blistered, broke-down feet. In todays world of high quality, technologically advanced footwear, there is no excuse for having foot trouble on the trail. Buying quality boots is the first step.

Quality boots are essential for comfortable backpacking.

Backpacking boots can be intimidating. Words like crampons, footbed, Gore-Tex, Cordura, midsole, outsole, shank and rand are just a few of the many high-tech terms that can confuse a person. The most important aspect of any boot is that it fits you perfectly. It cant be too tight or too loose, or else blisters will most likely end your adventure. You need a boot that is durable and versatile. Your boots must be able to handle multiple terrains, from mud to steep rocky inclines.

Way back in the day, I worked at J.L. Waters outdoor shop in Bloomington, Indiana. During my time there I learned a lot from expert co-workers, including our in-house professional boot fitter. This guy went through a three-week-long training workshop in Utah to learn how to match peoples feet to boots.

Most people dont realize how many possible problems they may have with their feet and the way they walk. Issues like supination, which occurs when a person walks primarily on the anterior of their feet, making them appear bow-legged. Or they could have pronation, the opposite of supination, which occurs when people walk on the exterior of their feet, making them walk like a duck. Issues like these need to be addressed when selecting a boot.

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During my boot fit experience, I tried on several pairs of high-quality boots. I walked laps around the store, climbed stairs and performed multiple foot exercises under the guidance of the boot fitters watchful eye. In the end, I was fitted for a pair of LOWA Banffs.

The Banffs fit my feet perfectly. They allow my ankle to flex naturally but hold my heel for improved stability. The boots breathe well, and have performed great under all the circumstances Ive put them through, including long-distance adventures, like through hiking the Knobstone Trail and aggressive hikes in the Rocky Mountains and Ozarks.

If youre serious about buying a pair of boots for backpacking that will last, then dont turn to the clearance rack. Footwear is not a piece of gear you should cut corners on. Do some research. Learn about your feet. Learn what determines quality in a boot. There are a number of companies out there producing great backpacking boots. Try on as many as it takes for you to match your feet to the boots you need. Your backpacking adventures will be more enjoyable if your feet are comfortable.

See you down the trail

For more Driftwood Outdoors, check out the podcast on www.driftwoodoutdoors.com or anywhere podcasts are streamed.

This article originally appeared on Evening World: Driftwood Outdoors: Backpacking boots essential to trail comfort
A driver who caused a horrific crash that killed nine people, including himself, had pleaded guilty to speeding just days before the fatal accident.

Gary Dean Robinson, 59, was behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenger when he ran a red light at more than 100mph ploughing into several cars.

Four children and four other adults were also killed in the Saturday afternoon crash, including seven members of one family inside their vehicle.

The coroners office identified the family members who were killed as five-year-old Fernando Yeshua Mejia, 10-year-old Adrian Zacarias, 13-year-old Lluvia Daylenn Zacarias, 15-year-old Bryan Axel Zacarias, 23-year-old Gabriel Mejia-Barrera, 25-year-old David Mejia-Barrera and 35-year-old Jose Zacarias-Caldera, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.

I lost all my family, my kids, 7 out of those lives lost, there are no words to describe my pain an suffering that I will not be able to hug my children again my brother and 2 step sons lost there lives also me and my husband are in so much pain we are asking you for help with out heart in hands anything would be helpful thank you, wrote Erlinda Zacarias in a GoFundMe post.

Members of the Zacaria family. (GoFundMe)

Authorities say that Robinson, of North La Vegas, had an extensive criminal history dating back to 1989.

And that according to court records, Robinson pleaded guilty on 20 January to speeding 10 miles over the speed limit on 15 December 2021, for which he paid a $150 fine.

Gary Dean Robinson booking photo from arrest in 2008 (North Las Vegas Police Department)

He also had felony convictions for the following crimes:

1989 Attempted larceny and possession of controlled substance

1989 Possession of a controlled substance

1991 Attempted to sell a schedule 5 drug

1993 Assault on a police officer

2001 Cocaine possession

2004 Cocaine possession

2009 Battery on a protected person

And Robinson also had the following misdemeanor convictions:

2004 Battery domestic violence

2008 Open container in vehicle and driving on a revoked/suspended drivers license

In 2017 he also received a speeding ticket for going 86mph in a 65mph zone on US-95, which was eventually reduced to a parking ticket.

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Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families who are experiencing a tremendous and unnecessary loss due to a careless and senseless act, said North Las Vegas Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown.

Our hearts ache for the families & loved ones of the 9 people killed in this senseless act  Kathy & I will be keeping them in our hearts & prayers during this very difficult time, tweeted Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak.

The accident comes just weeks after another six-vehicle crash south of Las Vegas killed four people.

It is the deadliest event in the Las Vegas area since the October 2017 mass shooting killed 60 people.
Feb. 2The chairwoman of the Eagle Point School Board is running for a seat in the state Legislature.

Emily McIntire announced her bid to represent the newly formed House District 56 in a news release Tuesday.

McIntire, the daughter of a former Jackson County Republican Party chairman, described herself as a "community leader who is passionate about restoring local control of education, beating back government overreach, and securing real solutions for the wildfire crisis in Southern Oregon."

"Change for our community has to start in Salem, and I am going to be a tireless advocate that Southern Oregonians can count on," McIntire said in a prepared statement. "I am thrilled for this opportunity to bring my experience in education and strong community values to complement the great Republican leadership already in place in our state capital. It's not about politics, it's about people."

District 56 now runs from Eagle Point to Klamath Falls. The changes come about after a redistricting bill was passed, according to a McIntire aide.

Emily and her husband, Ryan, have lived in Jackson County and Eagle Point for over 20 years, where they have raised their two children, Grace, 19, and Korbyn, 13. She was elected to the Eagle Point School Board in 2018 and again in 2021.
Miller firefighters were just wrapping up at the scene of a fire at Miller High School shortly before noon Wednesday.

A morning fire at Miller High School is out, but the cause remains under investigation.

Emergency officials were called to the school Wednesday morning at 8:44 a.m. Hand County Emergency Management Director Arlen Gortmaker said something exploded upward in the school's ag shop, which caught a classroom ceiling on fire.

Gortmaker said emergency officials initially heard reports of both an explosion and a fire and the school's emergency system automatically paged the Miller Fire Department.

Gortmaker said no one was injured. The fire was out by 10 a.m.

The fire was contained to the school's ag shop, but the rest of school took on heavy smoke damage, said Gortmaker. Six students were in the classroom.

More: No injuries reported in early morning fire Tuesday

The elementary, middle and high schools are connected, but the ag shop is part of the high school. Students will be out of school for the remainder of the week because of the smoke damage, said Gortmaker. It has not been determined exactly when students will be able to return to school.

Students were evacuated to nearby churches, where parents were directed to pick up their children.

Miller Junior High and High School Principal Steve Schumacher said teachers and staff rose to the occasion and were able to safely evacuate the students. A plan was already in place to evacuate students to the churches in the event of a fire.

Schumacher said that the damage to the ag shop can be fixed and the most important thing is that everyone is safe.

The room is not completely destroyed but is currently unusable, said Gortmaker. The roof is still intact but is unstable.

Emergency responders on scene included the Miller Fire Department, Ree Heights Fire Department, Wessington Fire Departments, Hand County Ambulance, Hand County Emergency Manager, Miller Police Department and Hand County Highway Department are assisting with the fire.

Miller firefighters were just wrapping up at the scene of a fire at Miller High School shortly before noon Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: South Dakota emergency officials battle Miller High School fire after explosion
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday announced the appointment of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr of Nigeria as force commander for the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

Abyei is a region contested by Sudan and South Sudan.

Sawyerr succeeds Maj. Gen. Kefyalew Amde Tessema of Ethiopia to whom the secretary-general is grateful for his dedication, invaluable service and effective leadership during his appointment with UNISFA, said the secretary-general's press office.

Sawyerr has a military career spanning more than 34 years of service with the Nigerian Army, including as the director of defense information of Nigeria's Defence Forces since 2021.

He holds a Bachelor's degree in political science from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in Nigeria and a Master's degree in defense and strategic studies from the University of Madras in India. 
After a years-long process, data protection officials across the European Union have ruled that Europes ad tech industry has been operating unlawfully. The decision, handed down by Belgiums APD (.PDF) and agreed by regulators across the EU, found that the system underpinning the industry violated a number of principles of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has declared victory in its protracted battle against the authority which administers much of the advertising industry on the continent: IAB Europe.

At the heart of this story is the use of the Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF), a standardized process to enable publishers to sell ad-space on their websites. This framework, set by IAB Europe, is meant to provide legal cover  in the form of those consent pop-ups which blight websites  enabling a silent, digital auction system known-as Real-Time Bidding (RTB). But both the nature of the consent given when you click a pop-up, and the data collected as part of the RTB process have now been deemed to violate the GDPR, which governs privacy rights in the bloc.

Back in December, I wrote a deep (deep) dive on this situation*, and the potential privacy violations that the RTB process caused. After all, ad-tech companies working across a number of different platforms can collect real data about you, marry that to your browsing habits and create a detailed portrait of your life, which is known as a TC String. Dr. Johnny Ryan, who lead the legal campaign on behalf of the ICCL, called this the worlds biggest data breach, since these Strings are broadcast online to a wide number of recipients without direct oversight.

The APD has ruled that any and all data collected as part of this Real-Time Bidding process must now be deleted. This could have fairly substantial implications for many big tech companies with their own ad businesses, including Google and Facebook, as well as big data companies. It may also have a large impact on many media platforms and publishers on the continent who will now need to address the fallout from the finding.

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Regulators have also handed down an initial fine of 250,000 to IAB Europe and ordered the body to effectively rebuild the ad-tech framework it currently uses. This includes making the system GDPR compliant (if such a thing is possible) and appoint a dedicated Data Protection Officer. Until now, IAB Europe has maintained that it did not create any personal data, and said in December that it was a standards setter and trade association, rather than a data processor in its own right.

In its own statement, IAB Europe says that the ruling did not ban the use of Transparency and Consent Frameworks. It added that it is looking to reform the process and submit the Framework for approval as a GDPR transnational Code of Conduct. It has said, however, that it may launch a legal challenge to fight the accusation that it is a data controller, a decision it says will have major unintended negative consequences going well beyond the digital advertising industry.

* Honestly, even though the subject is dense, its very easy to read.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
By Patricia Zengerle and Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former high-ranking Justice Department official appeared on Wednesday before the congressional committee probing the assault on the U.S. Capitol for questions about his bid to bolster former President Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud.

Jeffrey Bossert Clark was seen by TV cameras entering a room inside a U.S. House of Representatives office building where the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack takes its depositions. A committee spokesman declined to comment.

Clark's attorney Harry MacDougald declined to comment on Wednesday's deposition.

Clark is among a growing list of Trump supporters who have balked at requests to cooperate with the investigation, though the panel has scored some legal victories over Trump's efforts to keep certain government records under wraps.

The National Archives said it would be providing some of former Vice President Mike Pence's records to the committee.

The committee has so far interviewed about 400 witnesses, issued more than 60 subpoenas and obtained more than 50,000 pages of records.

Committee investigators on Wednesday also interviewed by video Stewart Rhodes, the detained leader of the right-wing Oath Keepers group, his attorney told CBS. Rhodes was arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy https://www.reuters.com/world/us/founder-right-wing-oath-keepers-await-capitol-riot-trial-washington-judge-2022-02-02 last month.

Clark, who served as the acting head of the Justice Department's Civil Division, drafted a Dec. 28, 2020, letter to Georgia state lawmakers that falsely claimed the department had found "significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia."

The draft letter urged state legislators to convene a special session https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-democrats-give-new-details-trumps-bid-overturn-election-2021-10-07 to overturn the election results there.

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Clark tried to persuade former Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Rich Donoghue to send the letter, but they refused.

Rosen and Donoghue later told U.S. Senate investigators that Clark also privately met with Trump to lobby the then-president to oust Rosen so Clark could be installed as acting attorney general, paving the way for him to send the letter and launch voter fraud investigations.

Clark in November declined to answer the committee's questions about his legal advice to Trump, saying such discussions were privileged.

The panel voted https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-committee-seeks-contempt-charge-trump-era-justice-dept-official-2021-12-02 on Dec. 1, 2021, to seek contempt of Congress charges against Clark, but it has not sought a vote of the full House after Clark's attorney said his client intends to invoke his right against self-incrimination, protected by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Alistair Bell)
By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian officials have held heated discussions with Google, Twitter and Facebook for not proactively removing what they described as fake news on their platforms, sources told Reuters, the government's latest altercation with Big Tech.

The officials, from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), strongly criticised the companies and said their inaction on fake news was forcing the Indian government to order content takedowns, which in turn drew international criticism that authorities were suppressing free expression, two sources said.

The sources, who were familiar with the proceedings at the virtual meeting on Monday, described the conversation as tense and heated, signalling a new low in ties between American tech giants and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration.

The officials did not issue any ultimatum to the companies at the meeting, the sources said. The government has been tightening tech sector regulations but wants companies to do more on content moderation.

The meeting was a follow-up to the I&B ministry's use of "emergency powers" in December and January to order the blocking of 55 channels on Google's YouTube platform, and some Twitter and Facebook accounts

The government had said the channels were promoting "fake news" or "anti-India" content and that the disinformation was being spread by accounts based in neighbouring Pakistan.

The I&B ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the meeting, which was also attended by Indian content-sharing platforms ShareChat and Koo, which have millions of users in the country.

Facebook, now known as Meta, Twitter and ShareChat declined comment.

Without commenting on the meeting, Alphabet Inc's Google said in a statement it reviews governments requests and where appropriate, we restrict or remove content in keeping with local laws. Koo said it complies with local laws and has strong content moderation practices in place.

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In its transparency reports, Twitter has said the Indian government makes among the highest number of requests to remove content from its platform. Technology website Comparitech in October said India made 97,631 content removal requests in 2020, the second-highest in the world after Russia, mostly to Facebook and Google.

STRAINED TIES

During the meeting, senior tech executives told the officials that they take adequate measures to remove or curb the spread of misinformation on their platforms, and act on legally-valid content removal requests, said the sources.

The officials told Google to review its internal guidelines to remove fake content automatically, said the sources.

The officials also said the government was disappointed that big social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, weren't detecting and removing such content on their own.

Instead, the government was forced to order takedowns, opening it to criticism and damaging its public image, the officials said during the meeting, according to the sources.

Executives from Google told the I&B officials that one way to resolve that was for the ministry to avoid making takedown decisions public. The firms could work with the government and act on the alleged fake content, which could be a win-win for both sides, Google said, according to one of the sources.

The idea was summarily rejected by the government officials, who said the takedowns also publicise how the companies weren't doing enough to tackle fake news on their own, the person said.

While ordering takedowns of certain online accounts in January, the government said it was doing so to "secure the overall information environment in India", adding that such fake content was on "sensitive subjects" such as the Indian Army, India's foreign relations and local state elections.

Digital rights advocates say such government orders curb free speech and set a worrying precedent.

"Detailed takedown orders are not made public by the government," said Apar Gupta, the executive director at Internet Freedom Foundation, adding that the basis for the action was not explained.

This allowed authorities to censor content even if it does not violate public order or the security of the state, he said.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Culliford in New York; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Nearly three years after their self-declared caliphate was dismantled and their forces defeated in a battle by the Euphrates river, Islamic State fighters are waging a guerrilla campaign from remote regions of Iraq and Syria.

The March 2019 battle of Baghouz, by the Syria-Iraq border, ended Islamic State control which once extended across swathes of both countries, including the cities of Raqqa and Mosul.

It also completed the group's strategic shift from a force which had ruled over the daily lives of millions of people back to an insurgency launching attacks from the shadows.

Here is a summary of Islamic State's status in Iraq and Syria.

LEADERSHIP AND STRUCTURE

After the killing of Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019, the group named his successor as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi.

Beyond Quraishi, an Iraqi who was once held in U.S. custody, little is know of Islamic State's leadership - partly because it now operates in a secretive structure of autonomous local cells, rather than the centralised administration of the "caliphate".

Last year Iraq captured Sami Jasim, another Iraqi national who was a deputy to Baghdadi and a close aide to Quraishi, in northern Syria with Turkish help.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State said in mid-2019, after the last stand in Baghouz, that the group retained 14,000 to 18,000 members, including 3,000 foreigners, though there have been other varied estimates.

Analysts say many local fighters may have slipped back into normal life, ready to re-emerge when the opportunity comes.

"This is an organisation that has retained a significant amount of manpower," said Charles Lister of the Washington-based Middle East Institute. "In terms of kinetically operating cells, I imagine we are talking in the very low thousands in both countries together. But it's virtually impossible to measure."

ATTACKS

Islamic State fighters attacked a jail holding militants in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka nearly two weeks ago, their biggest operation since the defeat of their caliphate.

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Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who control the area said 40 of their troops, 77 prison guards and four civilians were killed, as well as 374 Islamic State attackers or detainees, in the attempted jail break.

Also in late January, IS fighters attacked an Iraqi army base in Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, killing 11 soldiers.

Meanwhile it has continued targeted assassinations, ambushes, suicide bombings and lesser noticed - but daily - attacks with improvised explosive devices.

The latest U.S. government report said Islamic State claimed 182 attacks in Iraq and 19 in Syria over a three-month period. While that was lower than previously, the report noted the group was still able to carry out lethal and complex operations.

"What we have seen in the last six to 12 months, on both sides of the Syrian and Iraq border, is that (IS) cells have been more willing to launch bolder raids," Lister said.

BASES

Syria's 11-year civil war and Iraq's turbulence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion have provided fertile ground for Islamic State to embed in populations alienated by political corruption, violence, insecurity and ethnic or religious divisions.

In Iraq, the hinterlands between central government control and the Kurdish regional government in the north offer opportunities for the group to evade capture.

Areas of Syria's eastern desert outside government control also provide a haven for Islamic State, while Syrian Kurdish-led forces that rule northeast Syria are ill-equipped for a counter-insurgency role needed to keep the group from regrouping.

FUTURE STRATEGY?

Islamic State's past may offer clues to it future plans.

Its predecessor, Islamic State in Iraq, was largely crushed in 2007-9 when the United States reinforced troops and allied them with local fighters to put down that insurgency.

The group went underground, playing a long game until growing disenchantment among Iraq's Sunni Muslim population at the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad, combined with the conflict in neighbouring Syria, offered fresh opportunity.

In 2012 and 2013, in a series of operations similar to this month's Hasaka attack, Islamic State targeted prisons in western and southern Iraq and released hundreds of detainees including prominent militants.

At the same time, using intimidation, extortion and theft they gained resources and power over local populations - preparing them for the moment in 2014 when they seized control of the city of Mosul and a large part of northern Iraq.

(Reporting by Dominic Evans; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is fighting for his premiership after a series of scandals including the revelation that alcohol-fuelled events were held in his offices and residence during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Johnson could face a vote of confidence in his leadership if 54 of his 359 Conservative lawmakers submit a letter to the chairman of the partys "1922 Committee" which represents lawmakers who have no government jobs.

The letters are confidential, so only 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady knows how many have actually been submitted and the , below are the six Conservative members of parliament (MP) who have stated publicly that they have written one. The true number of letters may well be higher and nearer the threshold.

1. Roger Gale, MP since 1983 and former Conservative Party Vice-Chair

"This prime minister has clearly 'inadvertently' misled the House (of Commons) and he must take the consequences of so doing," he said on Twitter.

2. Douglas Ross, MP since 2017, Scottish Conservative leader

"Regretfully, I have to say his position is no longer tenable," he told broadcasters.

3. Andrew Bridgen, MP since 2010

"Sadly, the Prime Ministers position has become untenable," he wrote in the Telegraph newspaper. "Leadership is not just about the job title, or even making big decisions; it is equally about having a moral compass. Of knowing not just right from left but right from wrong."

4. Peter Aldous, MP since 2010

"I have never taken such action before and had hoped that I would not be put in such an invidious position. Whilst I am conscious that others will disagree with me, I believe that this is in the best interests of the country, the Government and the Conservative Party," he said on Twitter.

5. Tobias Ellwood, MP since 2005, chair of defence select committee and former junior minister

"This is just horrible for all MPs to continuously have to defend this to the British public," he told Sky News. "It's time to resolve this so the party can get back to governing."

Story continues

6. Anthony Mangnall, MP since 2019

"Standards in public life matter. At this time I can no longer support the PM. His actions and mistruths are overshadowing the extraordinary work of so many excellent ministers and colleagues," he said on Twitter.

(Compiled by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Chinese spying in the U.S. has become so widespread that the FBI is launching an average of two counterintelligence investigations a day to counter the onslaught, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in an interview.

Wray has become the U.S. governments most outspoken critic of the Chinese governments spying. In an exclusive NBC News interview, he said the sheer scale of Chinese efforts to steal U.S. technology shocked him when he became FBI director in 2017.

This one blew me away. And Im not the kind of guy that uses words like blown away easily," he said.

Wray said the FBI is opening a new China related counter-intelligence investigation on average every 12 hours, with over 2,000 such cases currently underway.

There is no country that presents a broader, more severe threat to our innovation, our ideas and our economic security than China does, he said.

In a speech Monday at the Reagan Library in California, Wray warned that Chinas economic espionage has reached a new level, more brazen, more damaging than ever before.

The Chinese government has repeatedly insisted that it doesnt steal U.S. business secrets. But the FBI has accused Chinese spies of targeting a wide range of U.S. innovations  including Covid vaccines, computer chips, nuclear power plants, wind turbines and smartphones, for example.

Last November a Chinese intelligence officer, Xu Yanjun, was convicted of trying to steal closely guarded technology developed by GE aviation for making jet engine fan blades from composite materials. Investigators said he helped hackers in China get access to company computers and tried to persuade a GE engineer to travel to China.

GE alerted the FBI, and the engineer was given altered documents to let the scheme play out so investigators could build a criminal case. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Sometimes a companys technology is stolen by planting spies inside company, the FBI said. But other cases involve theft committed remotely through computer intrusions. And when it comes to that method, Wray said, China has no equal.

Story continues

"The scale of their hacking program, and the amount of personal and corporate data that their hackers have stolen, is greater than every other country combined, he said in the interview.

Wray has long accused China of using pressure tactics to block criticism from dissidents and members of the immigrant community in the United States, which he said amounts to Chinese officials exporting their oppressive tactics.

"China may be the first country to combine that kind of authoritarian ambition with cutting-edge technical capability. Its like the surveillance nightmare of East Germany combined with the tech of Silicon Valley, Wray said.

Wray cited the example of Zhihao Kong, who was a graduate student at Purdue University in Indiana in 2020 when he publicly praised student protesters who were killed in 1989 at Tiananmen Square. After doing so, Kong said Chinas Ministry of State Security visited his parents in China to warn them about his activism.

Wray emphasized that the source of the trouble is Chinas leaders, not its citizens.

Im referring not to the Chinese people, not to people of Chinese descent or heritage," he said. "What were talking about here is the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party.

Some Asian-American groups have accused the Justice Department and the FBI of overreaching, especially with a Trump-era national security program called the China Initiative, created to address Chinese economic espionage in universities and research institutions. The groups say federal agents too often go after academic researchers for paperwork offenses that have no effect on national security.

Last month, the Justice Department dropped its case against a mechanical engineering professor at MIT, Gang Chen, after the federal government determined that he had no obligation to declare Chinese affiliations when submitting grant proposals, such as being an adviser to the Chinese Scholarship Council and a review expert for Chinas National Natural Science Foundation.

FBI officials, while acknowledging some missteps, said the bureaus focus is on efforts to steal from American companies, not on academia.

We dont investigate based on race, or ethnicity, or constitutionally protected activity, Wray said. In fact, in many cases, Chinese Americans are some of the people most victimized by the Chinese governments tactics that were describing.

While other nations, including North Korea, Russia and Iran, have carried out sustained attacks on American computer networks, Wray said China stands in a class by itself.

Theres just no other country that presents a broader threat to our ideas, innovation and economic security than China.
Firefighters from several counties join forces to extinguish flames at the Iron Hog Saloon in the Town of Port Washington.

A cherished Port Washington saloon and an apartment was brought to ash after a basement fire scorched the building Wednesday.

Firefighters spent nearly eight hours at Iron Hog Saloon, 4885 Highway LL, battling the fire, which still smoldered Thursday morning.

Port Washington Fire/Rescue requested help from 15 area fire departments for the three-alarm fire due to its size and department staffing.

At about 1 p.m., the first fire crews to arrive at the scene reported smoke coming from the apartments above the tavern, according to emergency radio traffic. About 30 minutes later, the incident was upgraded to a second alarm.

Julia Gruber's sister, Sabrina, lived in the apartment above the saloon with her two cats. She was at work when she heard about the fire. Gruber organized a GoFundMe to replace her sister's belongings since she doesnt have renters insurance, and to cover the vet bills for her cats.

A firefighter aims a hose upward while crews take on a fire at Iron Hog Saloon.

Both cats were rescued during the fire but one was stuck inside the burning building for about four hours, Gruber said. The injured cat was expected to remain on a ventilator until Thursday night.

The goal for me is really for her to re-establish herself with clothes, furniture  you know, everything you need in your house, she said.

Her sister is staying at a motel for now, and then will stay with family, Gruber said.

Cause of the fire is under investigation

The Ozaukee County Sheriffs Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Mark Mitchell, Port Washington Fire/Rescue chief, said people were disassembling a cooler in the saloons basement when they left to buy supplies at The Home Depot and returned to see fire had started.

Firefighters continue their hours-long battle against the fire that destroyed the Iron Hog Saloon.

Crews chased the flames throughout the entire building using thermal imaging cameras to shoot water at heat signatures, Mitchell said.

It gets to the point where its not safe to have people inside the building anymore, and we just basically have to call an excavator and start tearing it apart, he said.

Story continues

It got into the walls, and the building has had numerous additions and remodeling over the years, Mitchell added. It was a tough building to deal with. Normally you can get in and start pulling the walls apart, but we were just chasing fire all over the place.

Crews returned to the site at 5:30 a.m. Thursday and dumped another 6,000 gallons of water on it.

Town Chairman Mike Didier said Iron Hog Owner Chad Arndt put a lot of work into modernizing the saloon, making it a very clean, nice establishment.

It's a very popular spot on the Ozaukee County snowmobile trails during winter also, he added.

The Iron Hog Saloon property is steeped in the towns history. Some locals still call it the Dixie, said Town Chairman Mike Didier.

The site has served several purposes in the past including taverns and gas stations since the 1930s, said Didier.

Eddie Morales can be reached at 414-223-5366 or eddie.morales@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @emoralesnews.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fire occurs at Port Washington Iron Hog Saloon
Democratic Rep. Dan Rayfield of Corvallis was elected speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives on the opening day of the 2022 legislative session Tuesday, the first time a new speaker has been elected since 2013.

Later, initial public conversations about the more than 250 bills under consideration began in virtual committee hearings as hundreds outside protested masks, COVID-19 vaccinations and pandemic-related restrictions.

The rally ended in a march around the Capitol and an eventual standoff with Oregon State Police officers at one of the Capitol's entrances as protesters attempted to enter without face coverings, which is against Oregon's indoor mask mandate.

Protesters who put on masks were allowed through the doors, and the standoff ended when police began allowing individuals indoors who were able to state a religious or medical exemption. Most protesters removed their masks once they made it past the security checkpoint.

Protesters are confronted by Oregon State Police after refusing to put on masks to enter the state Capitol for the first day of the legislative session Tuesday.

Republican lawmakers, particularly in the House, also spoke out against the building's rules requiring mask wearing.

But others tried to start session with a nod toward cooperation.

In his acceptance speech, Rayfield said this session is the most important in the state's history, and called on his colleagues to legislate with empathy toward one another as they all work to improve the lives of Oregonians still struggling with the effects of the pandemic.

"We're at a critical point in our recovery from the pandemic," Rayfield said. "During the next five weeks, we will have the opportunity to support the people and the communities that were impacted the most the last two years."

Want to participate?: Here's what to expect when visiting the Oregon Capitol this session

Rayfield recounted his troubled youth. He grew up in a divorced household, traveling between Oregon and southern California, splitting time between his Dan Quayle-supporting Republican father and his Democrat mother, who was once arrested protesting at a Nevada nuclear test site.

Story continues

Rayfield said the "chaos" of his childhood followed him into adolescence where he experienced scholastic failure, abuse, drinking, drug use and arrests on charges including DUI and criminal mischief.

His rock bottom was getting fired from a job at Disneyworld; his life was dominated by feelings of failure and lack of self-confidence. But it was then when he started to put himself on a path that would lead him to the Oregon Legislature.

"There are so many Oregonians that find themselves where I was two decades ago," Rayfield said. "I stand before you as living proof that the worst moment of our lives doesn't have to be our destiny. I believe you are not defined by your failures but instead how you move forward. We can, and must, see the positive potential in people."

Newly sworn-in Speaker of the House Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, speaks in the House of Representatives on the first day of the session.

Rayfield went on to attend Western Oregon University and then Willamette University College of Law, according to his legislative biography. He is currently a partner in a law firm, representing individuals with consumer and civil rights cases against corporations.

During his speech, he also touted his experience navigating different political perspectives, which began with his parents.

Time for a new generation: 2 Oregon titans head into their final legislative session

Rep. Wlnsvey Campos, D-Aloha, nominated Rayfield to the position, saying his collaborative work on the Legislature's budget-writing committee demonstrates why he would make a good presiding officer.

"Many of our colleagues can attest that he has spent time listening and learning about the priorities of the different communities we represent and has demonstrated that he is someone who values all voices in this chamber," Campos said.

Rayfield was elected with 32 votes. Two other representatives were also nominated for speaker: House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, who received 18 votes, and Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Clackmas, who received four.

Bynum had previously expressed her interest in serving as House speaker, but a majority of Democrats decided to support Rayfield during a private vote in mid-January.

The votes Bynum received signified the first time in Oregon's history a Black person received votes for speaker of the House.

This session's agendas

The first day of the session is also marked by caucuses releasing their agendas.

House and Senate Democrats have pledged to tackle: housing costs, support for educators, workforce training and development, childcare availability, access to health care services and climate change resiliency.

The pandemic continues to show us the important work we must do, watching out for those struggling around the state, Senate Democratic Leader Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, said. Oregon Senate Democrats are committed to making sure every community in the state gets the support they need during these challenging times."

House Republicans said their priorities include: restoring the state's educational standards, enabling law enforcement to do its job, removing barriers to health care access and rebalancing the power of the executive and legislative branches.

But some said they were hopeful new leadership in the House could lead to more productive dialogue about legislation.

Previous Democrat leaders lost the trust of House Republicans and Oregonians because of broken promises and partisan power-plays," House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with their new leadership, but will be judging their actions and not their words.

Jitters on the first day

Meanwhile, across the Capitol, first-day bugs were being ironed out.

In the Senate, the Republican and Democratic caucus leaders had trouble remembering the correct parliamentary order for their various motions and statements.

Senate staff struggled with having the correct items listed on the digital board that displays what lawmakers are currently considering.

Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, accidentally avoided going through the metal detectors when he entered the Capitol in the morning by using his building ID card to scan through an adjacent door after getting inside.

He later contacted Oregon State Police and legislative administration about his mistake. Building staff said their focus right now is educating people about the new security checkpoint, which went live Thursday. The door Bonham walked through has since been locked.

"I wasn't even paying attention," Bonham said.

House staffers said their side of the building feels particularly unsettled as the session gets underway with inexperienced leadership, a raft of new lawmakers, an upcoming election and new security protocols.

Staff also said they are still getting re-accustomed to seeing members of the public wandering through the legislative offices and seeing some former frequent flyers for the first time in nearly two years.

Reporter Connor Radnovich covers the Oregon Legislature and state government. Contact him at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich.

Support local journalism by subscribing to the Statesman Journal.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: First day of session: Call for empathy followed by public mask protest
TEHRAN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian lawmaker said on Wednesday that the ground is de facto prepared for reaching a win-win agreement in the Vienna talks on the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, official news agency IRNA reported.

This will take place if the Western sides show goodwill and determination, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, spokesman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee noted, adding Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani described the trend reflected in the Vienna talks as positive.

However, no direct talks have so far been held between the Iranian and U.S. delegations, Meshkini quoted the chief negotiator as saying.

The Iranian lawmaker explained that by the conclusion drawn at the end of the committee's Tuesday meeting, it is not clear yet whether direct negotiations with the United States would produce any concrete outcome under the present circumstances.

Although the talks are showing a positive and progressing trend, there are still important unresolved issues, which need to be discussed and agreed upon, as the other side has so far only agreed to lift part of the sanctions against Tehran, he noted.

The Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was signed in 2015. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the pact in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, which prompted the latter to breach the deal's restrictions one year later, and advance its once-halted nuclear programs.

Since April 2021, several rounds of talks have been held between Iran and the other remaining parties to revive the deal. 
TALLAHASSEE  With premiums soaring and homeowners flooding into the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida Senate and House members started moving forward Wednesday with proposals to address the troubled insurance market.

But in the coming weeks, the Senate and House will have to bridge differences about how far they will go in making changes  especially when the changes could affect homeowners pocketbooks.

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee on Wednesday approved bills (SB 1728 and HB 1307) that include steps aimed at shifting policies from Citizens Property Insurance to private insurers.

While lawmakers would ultimately need to reach agreement on those steps, a thornier divide could focus on part of the Senate bill that would lead to reduced coverage for roof damage for many homeowners throughout the state.

Insurance industry officials have blamed roof-damage claims  including claims involving allegedly unscrupulous contractors  for playing a key role in driving up premiums. The Senate bill would allow insurers to sell policies that would not offer replacement coverage for roofs when the roofs are at least 10 years old.

Instead, such policies would reimburse homeowners for roof damage based on depreciated values or the actual cash values of roofs. An exception would be that insurers would have to pay replacement costs when roofs are damaged in named hurricanes.

Opponents of the proposal contended Wednesday it would hurt low-income residents, who could get stuck with higher costs for fixing roofs without replacement coverage.

Considering that lower-income families are more likely to own older homes, wont this bill as currently written disproportionately affect lower-income homeowners, including some of our seniors and veterans on fixed incomes? asked Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg.

Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman Jim Boyd, a Bradenton Republican who is sponsoring the bill, said the change would apply broadly and wouldnt just affect low-income families.

Story continues

If you have an older home with an older roof, regardless of the value of the home, its still a problem, Boyd said, adding that after 15, 20, 25 years, most people have to replace their roof. And thats something thats just sadly a cost of homeownership.

Other supporters of the Senate bill pointed to what they described as a crisis in the property-insurance market, which they also said affects home sales.

We are going to have to fix this problem, Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, said. Its not even a matter of the cost of insurance. Youre not going to be able to get insurance. Thats an even bigger problem.

Lawmakers have approved measures during the past few years to try to address issues such as reducing lawsuits over property-insurance claims. But insurers have continued to face financial troubles, which has led to seeking hefty rate increases and dropping customers.

That has resulted in a surge of homeowners seeking coverage from Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort. As of Dec. 31, Citizens had 759,305 policies, up from 542,739 a year earlier. Citizens officials said the insurer could grow to more than 1 million policies.

State leaders have long sought to move policies out of Citizens into the private market, at least in part because of financial risks if major hurricanes or multiple hurricanes hit Florida. If Citizens runs a deficit in paying claims, it could lead to homeowners throughout the state getting hit with charges to cover the tab.

The Senate and House bills include changes to try to push policies out of Citizens, with the House bill focusing only on Citizens-related issues.

For example, the Senate bill would address situations in which homeowners would receive coverage offers from private insurers. Under the bill, such customers would not be eligible for renewal with Citizens unless the private insurers premiums are more than 20 percent higher than what Citizens would charge.

The House bill also would include such a 20 percent threshold, but the change would be phased in over four years.

Rep. Matt Willhite, D-Wellington, questioned the proposal as it could eventually lead to Citizens customers paying as much as 19 percent more for coverage if they are picked up by private insurers.

Were still going to tell Floridians they are going to have to pay 19 percent more just to get it from another company than one (policy) that we could offer and save them money on? Willhite asked.

House sponsor Tommy Gregory, R-Sarasota, said the goal is not to increase homeowners costs but to bring more into the private market.

I think what the message to Floridians is, is the government is not here to subsidize your insurance, Gregory said. I mean, if we wanted to subsidize everybodys insurance, we could certainly do so. We could drive everybodys insurance rate down by 19 percent. Of course, wed have to apply a tax to all Floridians to come up with that 19 percent.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida House, Senate seek to address homeowners insurance market
With premiums soaring and homeowners flooding into the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida Senate and House members started moving forward Wednesday with proposals to address the troubled insurance market.

But in the coming weeks, the Senate and House will have to bridge differences about how far they will go in making changes  especially when the changes could affect homeowners pocketbooks.

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee on Wednesday approved bills (SB 1728 and HB 1307) that include steps aimed at shifting policies from Citizens Property Insurance to private insurers.

Home insurance bill: DeSantis signs home insurance bill sought by industry and opposed by some consumer advocates

Property insurance revamp: Florida Senate passes property insurance revamp targeting roof damage, lawsuits

While lawmakers would ultimately need to reach agreement on those steps, a thornier divide could focus on part of the Senate bill that would lead to reduced coverage for roof damage for many homeowners throughout the state.

Insurance industry officials have blamed roof-damage claims  including claims involving allegedly unscrupulous contractors  for playing a key role in driving up premiums. The Senate bill would allow insurers to sell policies that would not offer replacement coverage for roofs when the roofs are at least 10 years old.

Instead, such policies would reimburse homeowners for roof damage based on depreciated values or the actual cash values of roofs. An exception would be that insurers would have to pay replacement costs when roofs are damaged in named hurricanes.

Rate increase: Regulators dig into proposed Citizens Insurance rate increase

Opponents of the proposal contended Wednesday it would hurt low-income residents, who could get stuck with higher costs for fixing roofs without replacement coverage.

Considering that lower-income families are more likely to own older homes, wont this bill as currently written disproportionately affect lower-income homeowners, including some of our seniors and veterans on fixed incomes? asked Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg.

Story continues

Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman Jim Boyd, a Bradenton Republican who is sponsoring the bill, said the change would apply broadly and wouldnt just affect low-income families.

If you have an older home with an older roof, regardless of the value of the home, its still a problem, Boyd said, adding that after 15, 20, 25 years, most people have to replace their roof. And thats something thats just sadly a cost of homeownership.

These aerial shots captured with a drone show flooding and structural damage to homes spread across intracoastal areas in Escambia County caused by Hurricane Sally.

Other supporters of the Senate bill pointed to what they described as a crisis in the property-insurance market, which they also said affects home sales.

We are going to have to fix this problem, Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, said. Its not even a matter of the cost of insurance. Youre not going to be able to get insurance. Thats an even bigger problem.

Lawmakers have approved measures during the past few years to try to address issues such as reducing lawsuits over property-insurance claims. But insurers have continued to face financial troubles, which has led to seeking hefty rate increases and dropping customers.

That has resulted in a surge of homeowners seeking coverage from Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort. As of Dec. 31, Citizens had 759,305 policies, up from 542,739 a year earlier. Citizens officials said the insurer could grow to more than 1 million policies.

State leaders have long sought to move policies out of Citizens into the private market, at least in part because of financial risks if major hurricanes or multiple hurricanes hit Florida. If Citizens runs a deficit in paying claims, it could lead to homeowners throughout the state getting hit with charges to cover the tab.

The Senate and House bills include changes to try to push policies out of Citizens, with the House bill focusing only on Citizens-related issues.

For example, the Senate bill would address situations in which homeowners would receive coverage offers from private insurers. Under the bill, such customers would not be eligible for renewal with Citizens unless the private insurers premiums are more than 20 percent higher than what Citizens would charge.

The House bill also would include such a 20 percent threshold, but the change would be phased in over four years.

Rep. Matt Willhite, D-Wellington, questioned the proposal as it could eventually lead to Citizens customers paying as much as 19 percent more for coverage if they are picked up by private insurers.

Were still going to tell Floridians they are going to have to pay 19 percent more just to get it from another company than one (policy) that we could offer and save them money on? Willhite asked.

House sponsor Tommy Gregory, R-Sarasota, said the goal is not to increase homeowners costs but to bring more into the private market.

I think what the message to Floridians is, is the government is not here to subsidize your insurance, Gregory said. I mean, if we wanted to subsidize everybodys insurance, we could certainly do so. We could drive everybodys insurance rate down by 19 percent. Of course, wed have to apply a tax to all Floridians to come up with that 19 percent.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida Senate, House weigh options to address insurance market
Former boxer Floyd Mayweather will join a growing list of big-time names in the world of NASCAR this season.

Mayweather announced earlier this week his plans to start his own team  The Money Team Racing  which will make its debut at Daytona Speedweeks later this month.

Kaz Grala, a 23-year-old racer who won a NASCAR Trucks Series race at Daytona in 2017, will drive the No. 50 Chevy and attempt to qualify for the Feb. 20 Daytona 500.

Mayweather, the 44-year-old former prize fighter, will team up with co-owner William Auchmoody, who will also serve as TMT Racings general manager.

The team indicated that it intends to compete in select races during the rest of the Cup Series season.

Money Mayweather: Floyd Mayweather starts NASCAR team, will enter car in Daytona 500 with Kaz Grala

Rolex winners: A look at all 5 class winners from the 2022 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway

Michael Jordan waved the green flag to start the 2010 NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

I love fast cars and I love to compete. I know NASCAR will not be easy, but anything easy isnt worth doing to me, Mayweather said.

Michael Jordan, Pitbull start NASCAR teams

Mayweather is just the latest worldwide name to jump into the NASCAR world.

Last season, Mr. Worldwide himself  Pitbull  started Trackhouse Racing with co-owner Justin Marks. Last summer, just a few months into its inaugural season, that team then acquired Chip Ganassi's racing operation  Chip Ganassi Racing.

This season, Trackhouse will now field two cars with Daniel Suarez returning for his second season and Florida native Ross Chastain joining the operation.

Pitbull, the Grammy-winning artist, will also perform at this weekend's Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Coliseum.

"Its an honor to integrate culture, music and NASCAR racing as the universal language to unite new audiences around the world," he said.

While Pitbull and Mayweather are big names, it doesn't get much bigger than Michael Jordan, who started up 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin last season.

"Growing up in North Carolina, my parents would take my brothers, sisters and me to races, and I've been a NASCAR fan my whole life," Jordan said at the time. "The opportunity to own my own racing team in partnership with my friend, Denny Hamlin, and to have Bubba Wallace driving for us, is very exciting for me.

Story continues

The 23XI team, with driver Bubba Wallace, won its first race last fall at Talladega and, like Trackhouse, has also expanded this season with the addition of a second car.

Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup Series champion, will drive the No. 45 Toyota alongside Wallace's No. 23 machine.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Michael Jordan, Pitbull and now Floyd Mayweather enter NASCAR world
A former Fresno State student who alleges she was raped twice in 2020 during Super Bowl weekend is suing her alleged attackers and a campus fraternity.

The former student, who is identified as Jane Doe, had posted a video on YouTube in 2020 outlining two incidents, which were investigated by Fresno and Sanger police.

The plaintiff states in her lawsuit that on Jan. 31, 2020 she was invited to a party at the Kappa Sigma Fraternity house, just west of Bulldog Stadium.

Although she was only 17 years old, one of the fraternity members sneaked her in through the back door. At the party, she was encouraged to drink out of a specific bottle and was nearly unconscious after about 30 minutes, the lawsuit states.

One of the defendants dragged her upstairs, pushed her into a room, locked the door and proceeded to rape her, the lawsuit states.

Plaintiff desperately tried to push ( the defendant) off while he was raping her and tell him to stop, but Plaintiff failed and fell unconscious, according to the lawsuit.

She regained consciousness and left. Outside of the fraternity house, she yelled, Ive been raped, I want to go home.

The next day, several students who knew what happened encouraged her not to say anything to anyone, the lawsuit states.

But she did speak out. On March 12, 2020, she requested that Fresno State hold a Title IX hearing regarding the defendants alleged sexual assault and battery. Five months later, university officials suspended the defendant.

The students second alleged assault happened on Feb. 2. One of the students who she met at the fraternity party invited her to a Super Bowl party at his home. As soon as she arrived, according to the lawsuit, she was given alcohol to drink.

At one point during the party she asked to leave, but before the defendant agreed to call her an Uber, he convinced her to drink large amounts of beer out of a beer bong funnel.

After finishing the beer, the defendant had her drink tequila to the point of nearly passing out. He then took her to his bedroom where she alleges he raped her, according to the lawsuit.

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The plaintiff, who has since left Fresno State, is suing for monetary and punitive damages. She said the sexual assaults have caused her to suffer anxiety, worry, embarrassment, humiliation, mental anguish,and emotional distress.

Police investigated the allegations against the fraternity member, but ultimately no sexual assault charges were filed against him. Jerry Stanley, Fresno County assistant district attorney, said charges were declined against the defendant at the fraternity party due to insufficient evidence.

Stanley said there is no record of any assault charges being submitted or requested by law enforcement against the other defendant.

Fresno State temporarily suspended the fraternity that year. That suspension expired on Dec. 31, 2020.

The defendants lawyer, Matt Finkelberg with the Derek Smith Law Group in Los Angeles, said anyone who has been sexually assaulted or harassed always has two options to get justice  criminal or civil courts.

Some despicable and disgusting things allegedly happened to her, he said. And she needs to be heard.
A former Licking Heights Local Schools employee pleaded guilty to a theft in office charge in Licking County last week.

According to the Ohio Auditor's Office, former LHLSD human resources and curriculum secretary Jennifer Peters-Ryan pleaded guilty to one count of theft in office, a fifth-degree felony, in Licking County Common Pleas Court.

The plea followed an investigation by the office's Special Investigations Unit, which they said was opened after fingerprint collection fund discrepancies were found during the district's regular financial audit.

The auditor's office said Peters-Ryan was responsible for collecting fingerprint money used for background checks on potential and current employees for about 3.5 years. District officials noticed a "sharp increase" in fingerprint funds being deposited when a different employee took over the responsibility.

"After an abbreviated internal audit was conducted, district officials notified the Independent Public Accounting (IPA) firm engaged in the financial audit," the auditor's office said. "The IPA subsequently notified SIU and an investigation was launched."

Marcelain sentenced Peters-Ryan to five days in the Licking County Justice Center, two years of probation, and ordered she pay restitution for $7,172 for the district's loss and $1,435 for audit costs. The auditor's office said Peters-Ryan made payment for the full amount of the ordered restitution and audit costs.

"On behalf of the school district, we are satisfied justice has been served," Licking Heights Superintendent Philip Wagner said in a statement to The Advocate. "The issue was discovered internally and reported to authorities by the district. We appreciate the efforts of law enforcement and the judicial system. Additionally, we are pleased the school district received financial restitution from the former employee."

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Former Licking Heights employee pleads guilty to theft in office
A former Orthodox Presbyterian minister in Georgia faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a girl while he was on a mission trip to Africa, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Eric Tuininga, 44, of Milledgeville, was charged with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, DOJ officials said in a news release.

The girl was 14 at the time the offense occurred in 2019, officials said.

Tuininga will be sentenced May 3 and he faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, officials said. The federal system does not offer a chance of parole, officials said.

Tuininga was supposed to be someone that could be trusted, but instead he abused that trust and victimized a child, Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger said in the release.

The investigation began in June 2019, when a U.S. citizen contacted the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda, and reported Tuininga was having sex with Ugandan female minors as young as 14-years-old, federal officials said.

He was working with a group of ministers in Mbale, Uganda, as part of an organization affiliated with the U.S.-based Orthodox Presbyterian Church, officials said. The girl was under the care of the ministry, officials said.

Investigators say the U.S. citizen who made the accusation was also affiliated with the ministry in Mbale.

Tuininga had already returned to the United States when the accusation was made, prompting the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Investigations to become involved, officials said.

Federal agents identified a Ugandan minor who was 14-years-old in March 2019 when Tuininga had sex with her as he was working as a pastor, officials said.

Tuininga now admits that he came to know the victim in his capacity as a religious leader and that the victim would often visit the OPC church, including a religious compound, overseen by Tuininga. Tuininga also now admits that he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with the child, officials said in the release.

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Luis Nieves

Conscience likely got the better of a Fort Myers man in a more than 20-year-old cold case murder.

On Tuesday, the man, Luis Nieves, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter with a weapon and sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 15 years of probation.

Nieves was arrested in April 2019, after the Lee County Sheriffs Office received a tip from the defendants daughter that he confessed to murdering 35-year-old Thelma Storrs, who had babysat the defendants daughter when she was 5.

Thelma Storrs

Cold case arrest: Lee County Sheriff's Office makes arrest in 21-year-old cold case homicide

Unsolved homicides: Cold cases: 12 Southwest Florida unsolved homicides from 2000-2003

1990s mysteries: Cold cases: 9 Southwest Florida unsolved homicides from the 1990s

On March 17, 1998, Storrs was found dead in a cow pasture off of Lexington Avenue near Tice Street. She had been reported missing on March 2.

There was little evidence, and the case went cold for 21 years.

Based on the daughter's tip, the Sheriffs Office investigated and did a controlled call between the defendant and his now-adult daughter. During that call Nieves confessed again and deputies arrested him.

The victims sister, Deanna Perez, told the court, The grief and sorrow, I feel and felt of losing my sister, there are no words that can comprehend or say. She and her family said they were grateful this case resolved.

This was one of the first cases assigned to the state attorney's office Cold Case Homicide Unit, formed in January 2019.

Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers cold case suspect gets prison 21 years later after LCSO tip
Work continues on the High-Performance Computing Data Center (HPCDC) Globe Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in Mount Pleasant. Coming in at 100 feet tall, the globe will house Foxconn's Network Operations Center.

The first product coming out of the Foxconn Technology Group facility in Mount Pleasant was supposed to be robotic coffee kiosks. But the coffee kiosks  along with ventilators and large LCD screens  join the list of products that were promised for the massive site, but never delivered.

The high-tech coffee machines were announced in September 2019 with considerable fanfare.

Foxconn Industrial Internet, a subsidiary of Foxconn, said it had entered into a partnership with Briggo Coffee to produce its Coffee Haus kiosk, which customers can find at the San Francisco International Airport.

At the time, Kevin Nater, CEO and co-founder of Briggo, said Foxconn Industrial Internet provides the company "the scale and speed necessary to revolutionize the global specialty coffee market."

Then-president of the Foxconn division, Foo-Ming Fu said that "adding Briggo to our customer portfolio, we now have the opportunity to produce a cutting-edge, cloud-based, robotic retail platform through smart manufacturing capabilities needed to support their aggressive growth plans.

But the deal with Foxconn never came together.

In May 2020, Briggo was bought by Coca-Cola. By then, the Foxconn coffee deal was long dead.

"The agreement between Briggo and Foxconn Technology Group was dissolved prior to Briggo being acquired by The Coca-Cola Company," a spokesperson for Coca-Cola said, declining to provide details.

Foxconn has not responded to questions about the deal with Briggo.

Uncertainty about plans for site

The company has continued to be very quiet about what its plans are for the nearly 3,000-acre site it spent roughly $182 million to acquire and to develop in rural Racine County.

Foxconn promised a $10 billion, 20-million-square-foot electronics factory that would result in 13,000 jobs. The county and Village of Mount Pleasant have spent $200 million on land acquisition, $185 million on the development of water and sewer lines and $12 million on roads to prepare for the project.

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The state agreed to provide up to $2.85 billion of tax incentives if Foxconn met certain hiring and capital investment thresholds.

There have been indications that the company is considering new ways to use the largely empty facility.

On Feb. 24, it was announced Foxconn entered a new partnership with Fisker to build electric cars. It's possible those cars could be built in Mount Pleasant.

In late November 2020, it was reported Foxconn might assemble servers for Google in Mount Pleasant. Neither company has commented publicly on if and when such a project will happen.

Foxconn has confirmed that it is making data servers but has not commented on if those servers are in partnership with any company.

Before the pandemic, Foxconn was developing servers called FoxMOD and planned to show prospective customers the product during an event in spring 2020. But the pandemic prevented any such event from happening.

Still, the only thing that has come out of the facility in Mount Pleasant from beginning to end has been masks.

Deals dissolve, politicians bicker

Last year Foxconn experienced a number of disappointments.

In October, the company was denied tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and has yet to fulfill the minimum job requirements for earning tax credits.

Foxconn needed to have hired 520 full-time employees at the end of 2019 to qualify for the public money, but WEDC determined only 281 employees were eligible.

WEDC has noted that the agreement with Foxconn calls for the company to build a Generation 10.5 LCD manufacturing facility, but the company has shifted away from that plan. The change in the size of the facility has counted against Foxconn in the WEDC's determination for tax credits.

Jenny Trick, executive director of Racine County Economic Development Corp., announces the location of the Foxconn plant during a news conference on October 4, 2017, at the SC Johnson iMET Center in Sturtevant, Wis. The site for Foxconn Technology Group's $10 billion, 20-million-square-foot electronics factory was announced at the event.

State Republicans have put much of the blame for Foxconn not receiving tax credits on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said the Evers administration is "not following existing law."

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the Evers administration is looking for a "loophole" and called the reasoning not to award tax credits "a bunch of B.S."

"I think its a bad sign for Wisconsin that somebody does what we asked, and now because a change in administration occurs, the new administration wants to undercut the new deal," Vos said.

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, said the state has held up its side of the deal by paying for the infrastructure upgrades.

Theres already been more than a billion dollars of public money into this and, of course, some of that was taken away from other statewide projects, Hintz said.

Aside from the deal with Briggo ending, Foxconn also tried to produce ventilators through a partnership with Medtronic.

In November, that deal fell apart as the demand for ventilators decreased. Medtronic stated it is working with Foxonn to "to evaluate if other contract manufacturing opportunities exist between the companies."

Also in November, one of Foxconn's biggest allies, former President Donald Trump, lost his reelection bid to Joe Biden.

Staying committed to Wisconsin

Perhaps the best thing to happen to Foxconn in 2020 didn't occur in Wisconsin, but in a courtroom.

Microsoft sued Foxconn in 2019 for allegedly blocking an auditor from looking at its books. According to the federal lawsuit, Microsoft alleged Foxconn "refused to honor the most basic commitments it made" in its contract with the tech giant to use Microsoft's patented technology in electronic devices manufactured by Foxconn.

In September 2020, the two companies settled the lawsuit.

A Microsoft spokesperson stated:

Microsoft and Hon Hai (Foxconn) settled all legal disputes between them and moved on to a new and constructive relationship. We continue to value and respect the collaborative nature of our partnership.

On November 10, 2017, Gov. Scott Walker and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou signed the contract between the State of Wisconsin and Foxconn at SC Johnson in Racine. Among other state, local and national government and Foxconn officials there, were Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson who hosted the event, Speaker of the House, congressman Paul Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker, and Chairman of Foxconn Terry Gou. Terry Gou, Chairman of Foxconn (left) gets a custom Wisconsin auto license plate presented to him by Gov. Scott Walker.

Despite the setbacks, Foxconn says it remains committed to Wisconsin.

"The world has changed a lot since Foxconns partnership with Wisconsin began, but Foxconns commitment to the state has not wavered," Foxconn founder Terry Gou said in a statement in October. "Market conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic have altered the timing of our expansion, the specifics of our manufacturing plans, and our product lines have changed. But through it all, Foxconn has pressed forward with its Wisconsin plans."

Throughout 2020, Foxconn negotiated with WEDC for a new incentive deal. As conversations continue, Foxconn has stated it is willing to take fewer tax credits "in exchange for flexibility."

Both Foxconn and WEDC said they are optimistic that a new deal can be reached.

Vos, who is a major supporter of Foxconn and also represents the Foxconn area in Mount Pleasant, appointed himself to the WEDC board.

I think we need to do everything we can to make sure its successful so that the folks that I represent dont end up, because of the actions of the governor or the WEDC, getting stuck with the bill, Vos said.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Foxconn promise to make coffee kiosks dies - another unfilled promise
Police in Colleyville and the U.S. Secret Service arrested two people Monday on charges of engaging in organized crime, theft from the elderly, money laundering and exploitation of the elderly, according to a news release from Colleyville police.

Ke Xu, 56, and Robert J. Lang, 67, were arrested and charged after Colleyville police, the Secret Service and the Tarrant County District Attorneys Office began investigating reports of scamming that began in March 2021, according to the release.

Colleyville police said they received a report from a local resident who was scammed into purchasing thousands in gift cards after being told he owed money for a Norton Antivirus scan, according to the release. The law enforcement agencies partnered with Walmart Global Investigations and initiated an investigation that developed into several gift card scams with victims nationwide.

The funds raised in the scams were eventually transferred to China, according to the release. The investigation showed Xu and Lang could redeem scammed gift cards within just four minutes after the victim purchased them, preventing the cards from being canceled. The cards were often redeemed in a different state than they were purchased.

The investigation ultimately identified an Asian Money Laundering Ring, according to the release, with multiple suspects and more than $3 million taken from victims. In September 2021, the investigation led to the arrest of Lin Qiu, 28, according to the release. Police said they have confiscated more than $681,000 in gift cards thus far.

Xu and Lang are being held at the Tarrant County Jail, each with a $2 million bond, according to the release. Qui is being held in Tarrant County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

The Federal Trade Commission warns that gift cards are for gifts, not for payments, and that if someone demands payment in gift cards, saying they are a legitimate company or government agency, hang up on them or ignore the message, according to the release. The gift cards create a payment to the scammers that can be difficult to trace.

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Michael C. Miller, chief of Colleyville police, said the arrests are a small victory in a complex investigation.

The work this team has done over the last year to track down these suspects is not only incredible, but is a true testament to their service to our community and to the partnerships we continue to cultivate, Miller said in the release.

More information on gift card scams can be found at consumer.ftc.gov/articles/gift-card-scams.
Photo credit: Instagram

Gigi Hadid "still can't believe" that she's a mom to her one-year-old baby daughter, Khai Hadid Malik.

In a new interview for InStyle, the supermodel opened up about Khai's personality, as well as finding community with fellow mom friends.

When asked what she appreciates most about her daughter, whom she welcomed with ex-boyfriend Zayn Malik in September 2020, Hadid said, "She's just so smart, and she's so aware. She watches everything, she's always learning, she's always looking. She's just awesome."

She added that it sometimes still feels incredulous to be a mom. "I still can't believe it. It's wild," Hadid continued. "A lot of my mom friends feel like that, and we're nearing the first couple years [with our kids]. You're obsessed with them, but sometimes you turn and you're like, 'Oh my god. Where did you come from?'"

Of her group of fellow mom friends, the model joked, "We only talk about babies and sleeping and what bottles don't leak. One of them was like, 'Hey, do you ever want to get dinner without the kids?' I was like, 'Yeah, girl. Let's go.'"

Hadid previously spoke about coping with the anxieties of motherhood for Harper's BAZAAR's August 2021 cover story.

"During my pregnancy, I had one journal that I called my good journal and one journal that I called my bad journal. They weren't that literal, but one was more for the memories, for Khai. Maybe one day I'll give her the bad journal just to be real about it," she said. Inside the "bad" journal are, as she explained, "Anxieties and days where I felt like, 'Am I good enough to be a mom?' I didn't want to feel guilty about feeling those things or writing those things down."

She also said that Khai, then 10 months old, enjoyed being out in nature while on the Hadid family farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

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"She loves the birds, the animals," the model continued. And, when asked if Khai will one day follow in her mother's equestrian footsteps, Hadid answered, "Yes. She will one day definitely be on a horse."

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Photo taken on Jan. 31, 2022 shows the China Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. (Xinhua)

Themed "Experience China - Into Dubai Expo," the China Pavilion at the Dubai Expo hosts a special cultural event to celebrate the Chinese New Year and promote the Chinese culture.

DUBAI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A special cultural event celebrating China's lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, kicked off on Monday at the China Pavilion at the Dubai Expo, showcasing the Chinese culture and nature preservation efforts.

Children greets visitors to the China Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Kaixiang)

The highlights of the event included an elephant-related exhibition, live video streaming of giant pandas, Chinese costume music flash mob, and Spring Festival couplets giveaway, allowing the expo-goers to know China better and enjoy the festive mood of the Chinese New Year.

Outside the China Pavilion, the elephant exhibition records the 110-day adventure in summer 2021 of a herd of 14 wild Asian elephants wandering across south China's Yunnan Province, which aroused worldwide attention.



Photo taken on Jan. 31, 2022 shows various Chinese characters on the "tree of Chinese characters" outside the China Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. (Xinhua)

The herd's unexpected encounter with the local residents tells about a moving story of harmonious co-existence between humans and animals, which also demonstrates the great efforts made by China on conservation and care of nature.

The "Giant Panda Chinese New Year Concert," an animated short film produced by China's iPanda TV channel, won applause as the chubby pandas played traditional Chinese music instruments including Pipa and Guzheng.

People wearing ancient Chinese costumes pose for a group photo in front of the China Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 31, 2022. (Xinhua)

Chinese calligraphers handed out Chinese Lunar New Year couplets, while workers wearing ancient Chinese costumes embroidered with auspicious elements such as gourds, persimmons and koi gave visitors a deeper sense of the Chinese culture.

Themed "Experience China - Into Dubai Expo," the event was hosted by the State Council Information Office of China and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
The winter's heaviest snowfall yet was accumulating Wednesday in Greater Lansing.

The Lansing area is now expected to get around a foot of snow from overnight Tuesday to Thursday evening, said Mark Sekelsky, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids.

"It's going to snow very hard today," Sekelsky said Wednesday morning. "It will taper off gradually tonight and into tomorrow. So, the heavy snow is expected today."

For some, that meant extra work or snowy fun.

Hardly anyone was in downtown Lansing around 1 p.m., save for a couple of cars and snowplow drivers at work. One of those drivers was 32-year-old Blake Dolph.

Snowplowing is Dolphs second job.

I actually went to my first job, and they were like, Nah, dude, go home. Its going to be too hard to get out of here if you guys dont leave now,'" he said.

Dolph had been plowing since 8 a.m., and said, after some breaks, he would likely start again at 11 p.m. or midnight. He said he enjoys plowing.

I like all this excitement, he said. You see people, help people get unstuck. I don't know, its fun to me. I enjoy it.

A snow sweeper removes snow from the sidewalk near Sparrow Hospital on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Lansing.

The sledding hills at Hawk Island County Park on the citys southeast side werent open, but Brian Ramon, 57, and his 4-year-old dog Zeke took a snowy trip to the dog park, where several other pet owners and dogs were out.

He said after several years of not having heavy snow, it was great to get out in the snow with his pet.

He thinks hes a Husky, Ramon said of Zeke. He rolls in snow. We could be out here for a good hour, hour and a half.

Brian Ramon, 57, and his dog Zeke, 4, get ready to head home after a snowy trip to the dog park at Hawk Island County Park on the southeast side of Lansing on Feb. 2, 2022.

Michigan State University operated as normal including in-person classes and monitoring conditions as the day went on, spokesperson Dan Olsen said.

"There may be a case or two where a faculty member decides to cancel a class for their own personal reasons or goes online for one reason or another, but we have not provided explicit direction that you have to go online or you have to go in-person," Olsen said.

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For MSU junior Crystal Rosas, Wednesday was her first real snow day on campus after the past couple of years were interrupted by the pandemic.

"I've never been in person (for it). It's interesting," Rosas said as she headed back from her art studio.

Many area school districts canceled Wednesday classes. Lansing School District students already had the day off, due to a professional development workday for staff. Employees had the option to work from home or school and most chose to connect virtually, said spokesperson Robert Kolt.

"The timing worked well considering the snow," Kolt said.

Thursday school cancellations started coming in on Wednesday afternoon, including Lansing, Okemos and Williamston.

Julia Kramer of Lansing shovels her sidewalk Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, on Lansing's eastside.

Lansing Community College operated remotely Wednesday, said Marilyn Twine, director of public relations, in an email.

"We will continue to monitor weather conditions throughout the day and keep our LCC community updated moving forward," Twine said. Later they announced remote operations again on Thursday.

City of Lansing offices were open on Wednesday, although some employees were working from home, Scott Bean, spokesman for Mayor Andy Schor, said in an email.

"As of right now, we are planning to be open and let each department director work to ensure city services are being provided, whenever possible," he said. "Residents may want to call ahead if they plan to come to City Hall to conduct business."

If the snow stops early enough, public service crews should be able to clear downtown and all main roads by Thursday morning, he said. If that's the case, City Hall should remain open on Thursday, as well. If not, officials will reassess, he said.

East Lansing City Hall closed at 4 p.m., city officials said. East Lansing Public Library and East Lansing Prime Time were closed Wednesday, while the Hannah Community Center closed at noon, they said.

54B District Court was closed to the public and was operating remotely.

Both Lansing and East Lansing declared snow emergencies on Tuesday night, prohibiting on-street parking to let plows get through. Lansing's snow emergency was expected to end at 7 p.m. Thursday. East Lansing's order expires at 6 a.m. Friday. Parking in downtown East Lansing will be free in gated lots and garages during the snow emergency, officials said.

Ingham County Controller Gregg Todd said the county would suspend operations at noon Wednesday in accordance with county policy.

"We will continue to monitor weather conditions and will pass along any information regarding future closings," Todd said in a press release.

Traffic moves along Saginaw Street in winter conditions on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Lansing.

Eaton County Board of Commissioners announced plans to halt non-emergency government operations, starting at noon Wednesday and lasting until 8 a.m. Thursday.

In a press release, Board of Commissioners Chairman Jeremy Whittum said the county's zoning and board of appeals special meeting, previously scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, will be postponed and scheduled for a later date yet to be determined. He cited worsening travel conditions and anticipated snowfall as reasons for the closure.

The Capital Area District Libraries closed all branches on Wednesday.

A pedestrian crosses Capitol Avenue at Allegan Street during a winter storm on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Lansing.

Greater Lansing will see some of the heaviest snowfall across the state, Sekelsky said.

"Basically, the heaviest snow is going to be from Lansing to Kalamazoo, to the south and east," he said. "As you go further north and west, the snow amounts will drop off."

Sekelsky recommended that people only travel if necessary. In those cases, he said it's important to take precautions.

"If you need to travel, allow extra time to reach your destination. Be prepared for slippery travel conditions. In some places, roads may become impassable. You definitely want to carry a winter safety kit in your car to go out," he said. "And ... we'll see the wind chills falling below zero tonight and into tomorrow morning, so very cold temperatures outside as well."

Ken Palmer contributed to this report. Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Greater Lansing sees heaviest snowfall of the winter yet
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Hundreds of people have crowded into a shelter in Haiti as authorities said Wednesday that they're struggling to provide drinking water and have been unable to reach several communities affected by heavy flooding in recent days.

At least four people died and one was reported missing after a cold front hit Haiti's northern and southern regions on Sunday, unleashing heavy rains that caused widespread flooding and fierce winds that uprooted trees.

More than 2,580 homes were damaged, and some 500 people are staying in a temporary shelter in the north coastal city of Fort Liberte.

Haiti's Civil Protection Agency said people urgently need water, food and blankets.

In the neighboring Dominican Republic, authorities reported at least one death, according to the Listin Diario newspaper.
Popular Indonesian destination Bali plans to reopen to international tourists this week, according to government officials.

Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said Monday that fully vaccinated international tourists from all countries will be able to enter Bali starting Friday. The island will also cut down its mandated quarantine period from seven days to five.

The change comes after months of strict travel restrictions. Currently, U.S. travelers can only enter Indonesia with a valid residence permit or certain types of visas, according to the U.S. Embassy.

Bali reopened to domestic tourists in the middle of 2020, and in mid-October began allowing tourists from just 19 countries  not including the United States  to enter.

A beach in Bali, Indonesia.

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The reopening is meant to boost Bali's economy, which relies heavily on tourism. More than 6 million foreigners traveled to the island in 2019.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers Indonesia to have a "low" risk of COVID-19 and suggests travelers get fully vaccinated before visiting. The State Department however has assigned the country a "level 4" travel warning because of terrorism and natural disasters but notes that demonstrations are "less common in Bali."

Contributing: Associated Press. Follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bali to reopen to fully vaccinated international tourists
Springfield-Greene County Health Director Katie Towns speaks during a press briefing about the surge in COVID-19 cases in Greene County at the Greene County Public Safety Center on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022.

Springfield health care leaders said Wednesday that the area has "made progress" in dealing with COVID-19's omicron variant when compared to last month.

Springfield-Greene County Health Department Director Katie Towns said Greene County experienced a 30 percent decline in new COVID-19 cases in the past week. "This is a trend that we hope continues," she said, "but there's still a lot of disease present in our community."

Towns told the public that this is a time to stay vigilant.

"We cannot allow hundreds of cases per day to be a new normal that we all grow accustomed to," she said, as a new omicron subvariant discovered in November, BA.2, is now quickly spreading elsewhere in the world and has arrived within U.S. borders.

Declining case numbers in the Springfield area match trends in the rest of Missouri.

On Tuesday, St. Louis University health sociologist Chris Prener posted data graphics to social media that show the St. Louis region started its omicron peak in early January, with Kansas City and other parts of the state showing similar drop-offs beginning in mid-January. Prener credited his data to the New York Times, which gets its numbers from state and local health agencies.

While declines in cases are significant, the actual case loads remain very high. During a live-streamed press conference Wednesday morning, Springfield health officials said the county's rolling 7-day average of COVID-19 cases was 460, through Tuesday.

That's down from a peak average of 770 cases recorded nine days ago, but still nearly double the worst case load recorded during the delta variant wave last summer.

That summer wave peaked at just 237 cases for the week ending July 20, about one-third the omicron peak.

More: Missouri health department asks non-urgent patients to avoid ERs during COVID-19 surge

More: Amid omicron surge, City Hall lowers capacity to 48 ahead of Monday meeting

'No time to let our guard down' with omicron, health department director says

Story continues

Omicron is more transmissible than previous versions of the novel coronavirus. While its effects are often characterized as "mild," the variant has sent record numbers of southwest Missouri residents to already-strained hospitals, which lack the staffing levels they could rely on to deal with the delta wave and earlier phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Towns said county hospitals had 253 COVID-positive inpatients on Wednesday, only 18 fewer patients than the number hospitalized at the delta wave peak.

"Even if we hit the peak of the omicron surge, we can still expect thousands more cases over the next few weeks as things start to trend downwards," she said. "So this is no time to let our guard down."

In January, at least 37 local residents died of COVID-19, Towns said.

"The best thing that we can do to help prevent severe illness and (not) overwhelm our hospitals and to save lives is to get vaccinated and to get a booster dose," she said. She reminded the public that the county offers "up to $100" in incentives for individuals getting their first and second doses of the vaccine. Meanwhile, pharma developer company Pfizer applied to receive emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to begin distributing a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 5 years.

Towns said, "If the authorization is granted, we will make vaccine available to your children as soon as we can."

More: Missouri health director resigns as Gov. Parson calls Senate opposition 'an embarrassment'

More: Why this week's flip to virtual learning in Springfield Public Schools will be short-lived

Roughly 53 percent of Greene County residents age 5 and older were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, the county said. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services data show that only about 316 vaccine doses per week are being administered right now in Greene County.

Towns said vaccination had "slowed considerably" recently in the Springfield area. When the News-Leader asked why, she said, "Without completely understanding, no, I don't have a clear picture exactly what that is."

The health department plans to continue to "evolve" its response to the pandemic by continuing to promote vaccination, Towns said. Last year, the health department and its partners added vaccine outreach as a way to meet people in their own communities, she said. "So I would suggest that folks can look for that, as we start to see these numbers decline."

Reach News-Leader reporter Gregory Holman by emailing gholman@gannett.com. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 'Still a lot of disease present in our community,' health dept warns
A months-long investigation by NorthJersey.com into the leadership team breakup at Holy Name medical center  the Teaneck hospital whose valiant response to the COVID pandemics first wave gained national attention  found that its two top executives split over issues involving the treatment of some Black physicians at the hospital.

The report relied in part on emails obtained by NorthJersey.com that had been sent by Holy Name's chief medical officer to the hospitals board of trustees, as well as emails exchanged among an advisory group of Black doctors, nurses, and others at the hospital.

Dr. Adam Jarrett, the hospitals chief medical officer, told the board in an email last July that CEO Michael Maron had instructed him to take what Jarrett described as immoral and illegal actions. Maron immediately denied the charges in his own email to the board and suspended Jarrett. The post of chief medical officer has remained vacant through successive waves of the COVID pandemic.

In honor of National Hospital Week, the ankh at Holy Name Medical Center is illuminated with a red heart and white lights on Sunday, May 17, 2020, in Teaneck. The heart represents patients lost and the surrounding white lights represent the patients returned to health.

After NorthJersey.coms story was published, Maron told hospital employees in a staff memo that these accusations are entirely false and do not reflect Holy Names deeply held values. He declined to be interviewed.

Investigation: Emails reveal how issues of race tore Holy Name leadership apart after battling COVID

Denial: Holy Name CEO affirms commitment to Black hospital staff, denies reports of racial dispute

Mike Kelly: Amid COVID, an internal dispute disrupted Holy Name. Here's why it matters | Mike Kelly

Here are key takeaways from NorthJersey.coms investigation:

Was asked to 'get rid of' a Black doctor

Jarrett, the chief medical officer and executive vice president, emailed the Holy Name board of trustees on July 13 that he had been asked by Maron to get rid of a Black emergency physician, an action that Jarrett considered unethical, immoral and illegal. He said that Maron sought to retaliate against the Black physician, who had asked Maron for the hospital to make a public statement of support for Black staff and racial justice, as many other hospital systems had done following the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests.

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Holy Name Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Adam Jarrett (L) and CEO Michael Maron (R) listen as Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco (not shown) speaks on the recent developments in connection with COVID-19 during a news conference at One Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack on 03/15/20.

Immediately after Jarrett sent the email, Maron suspended him. Maron told the board Jarretts assertions were malicious and totally false.

Last week, after months of negotiations, the hospital and Jarrett issued a joint statement. It said Jarretts concerns were based on a misunderstanding related to managerial direction and that an independent investigator concluded that Dr. Jarretts concerns were not substantiated.

'Troublemaker'

Jarrett, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, said in his email to the board of trustees that he felt compelled to let the board know about Marons behavior, because it could expose both the hospital and me to liability.

Maron had referred to the Black emergency physician as a troublemaker, Jarrett wrote, and asked him to get rid of her. Jarrett said the doctors supervisors considered her an excellent physician and that Maron did not produce any complaints about her. Jarrett took no action on Marons request.

Dr. Adam Jarrett

Disappointed at failure to take public stand

The Black emergency physician had written to Maron and Jarrett on June 6, 2020 to suggest the hospital take a public stand in support of its Black employees and racial justice. The two executives met with the doctor a few weeks later.

Subsequently, a group of eight Black doctors, nurses and other staff met with Maron a few times to talk about racial issues at Holy Name. A survey of employees was commissioned, and goals were set, but in December 2020, Maron let the group know that he did not feel it necessary to continue its work.

The Black emergency physician emailed the advisory group that she was disappointed in the failure to take a public stance.

Mixed record on diversity

Located in a township with a long history of racial integration, Holy Name's staff is diverse, but its governance is not. Of 17 board members, 13 are white men and three are white women, including two nuns. Five are in their 80s and four are in their 70s.

Of 16 senior managers listed on the hospitals website, one is Black. Of 929 health care providers shown on the hospitals Find a Physician web page, 3% are Black.

Hospital board silence

After Holy Names board of trustees learned of Jarretts concerns, a five-member investigative subcommittee was named. It retained a law firm to investigate the allegations. The full board did not participate in the investigation, did not receive the investigative report, and was not asked to consider the response. The hospital did not make the investigative report available, but said it concluded that Jarrett's concerns were unsubstantiated.

Last week, the hospital issued a statement on behalf of the board chair, Dr. Henry A. Frascino. In it, Frascino said he had full faith and confidence in Mike Maron to continue leading the Holy Name health care system.

Dr. Joseph A. Frascino, chair of Holy Name medical center's board of trustees, in a 2018 file photo.

Holy Name has always promoted a culture of inclusivity, diversity and respect for all employees and patients under Marons leadership, he added.

Marons staff memo on Thursday said the hospital remains steadfastly committed to supporting Black staff members and all members of our diverse family.

Lindy Washburn is a senior health care reporter for NorthJersey.com. To keep up-to-date about how changes in health care affect you and your family, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: washburn@northjersey.com

Twitter: @lindywa

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Holy Name leadership rupture: Key takeaways from investigative project
All eyes will be on Punxsutawney Phil today as the famous rodent meteorologist emerges from his burrow  escorted by several nattily dressed men in tuxedos and top hats  and predicts either an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, has hosted its Groundhog Day ceremony since 1887, drawing crowds from all over the country with its mixture of pomp, circumstance and wishful thinking.

As far as American traditions go, this ones pretty unusual. However, there are several local traditions in the region that rival Groundhog Day in creativity and community spirit.

Here are a few of them:

Massachusetts state groundhog, Ms. G

Feeling some deja vu, like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day?

While the most famous of the weather-predicting groundhogs resides in Pennsylvania, you dont have to travel far to observe this Feb. 2 tradition.

Ms. G, the official Massachusetts state groundhog, gets ready to make her annual forecast at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln.

Groundhog Day explained: Can a fuzzy rodent predict the weather better than a meteorologist?

At Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln, Ms. G  the official state groundhog of Massachusetts  has been forecasting the end of winter since 2003. According to Drumlin Farm, shell be making her 2022 prediction via Facebook Live at 10 a.m. today.

Framinghams toy soldiers

For decades, Framingham has displayed several 12-foot-tall wooden toy soldiers around the city each holiday season, a tradition dating back to the earlier years of the Shoppers World mall.

In recent years, the Framingham Parks and Recreation Department has offered clues on its Facebook page to help community members find the 34 soldiers hiding spots.

A female version of the iconic Shoppers World toy soldier at the Bowditch Field Athletic and Cultural Complex in Framingham, Dec. 8, 2021.

Related: Bah humbug! Scrooge swipes wooden gun from Framingham toy soldier

Last year, the city also added some new faces to the mix: two soldiers of color and two women soldiers, intended to reflect Framinghams growing diversity.

The Boston Post Cane

In 1909, the Boston Post newspaper distributed walking canes to 700 New England towns, with instructions to present the canes to the oldest living man in each community (women were added to the list in 1930).

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While the newspaper went belly up in 1956, many of the canes  carved ebony with 14-karat gold engraved heads  are still around today.

Several MetroWest communities continue to observe the tradition of honoring their oldest residents in style. Mary Lindsey, who turned 107 years old in December, is the proud keeper of Hopkintons cane. And in 2020, Mary Stanowicz, then 103 years old, was bestowed Framinghams cane.

Concords cheese parade

Each year, The Cheese Shop in Concord celebrates the arrival of a certain type of Italian cheese  Crucolo  by parading the enormous wheel through town in a horse-drawn carriage, heralded by a band parading through Concord Center.

The 10th annual parade in 2019 featured a 1,000-pound wheel of the cheese, which hails from a single cheese maker in the village of Scurelle.

Cut the cheese: COVID forces cancellation of annual Concord parade

The event typically draws hundreds of onlookers, though The Cheese Shop decided to cancel the 2020 and 2021 events due to concerns about COVID-19. A staff member said a decision on the 2022 parade is expected by the spring or summer.

Sudburys 'A Christmas Carol'

This annual tradition in Sudbury will fill even the biggest Scrooges with holiday cheer.

The Sudbury Savoyards, a community theater organization, present a dramatic reading of the classic Christmas tale each year, often drawing crowds to the Wayside Inns Martha Mary Chapel and other venues.

This 2008 file photo shows Framingham actor Al LePage in costume ahead of a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury.

A virtual reading in 2020 was paired with a takeout traditional English dinner from the Wayside Inn: roasted chicken breast with apple and apricot stuffing and tangerine sauce, harvest salad, twice-baked potatoes, green beans, rolls, muffins, and candy cane cheesecake.

Abby Patkin is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. Follow Abby on Twitter @AMPatkin. She can be reached at apatkin@wickedlocal.com.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Traditions to rival Groundhog Day: Framingham soldiers, Concord cheese




House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Republican leadership members that he had been informed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that they were instituting a 25-House member cap for the State of the Union address, Axios reported, citing two sources.

McCarthy said on Tuesday that he was informed of the 25-House member cap by Pelosi, which reportedly upset Republican leaders, including the House GOP leader himself, Axios reported.

A spokesperson for Pelosi said that McCarthy's figures were incorrect and that no final decisions have been made. The spokesperson added that her office "will work closely with the Office of the Attending Physician to accommodate as many Member requests as safely as possible."

The report comes one month before President Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address.

The United States is still reporting at least 100,000 new daily infections, often well over that figure. Over 676,000 cases were reported on Monday while over 120,000 were reported on Sunday, per data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It has also meant that a handful of lawmakers have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Friday and Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) on Monday.

Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden said in an op-ed published on Tuesday by CNN that while other serious COVID-19 variants could emerge, he felt "cautiously optimistic" about the rest of the pandemic.

"Although it's possible that deadly new coronavirus variants could emerge, I'm more optimistic today than at any point since the Covid-19 pandemic began," he wrote.

"Despite growing pandemic fatigue and rough weeks ahead as the Omicron tsunami recedes, we're better defended against Covid than ever. Vaccines and prior infection have steadily strengthened our collective immune defenses. We have now built up a wall of immunity -- although we have lost far, far too many people along the way to get here," Frieden added.

The Hill has reached out to McCarthy's office for comment.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the representative tweeted Tuesday afternoon. He added that he is vaccinated and boosted.

The 82-year-old from Maryland said he will work from home this week and use proxy voting.

This afternoon, I tested positive for COVID-19, and I am experiencing mild symptoms. Read my full statement: pic.twitter.com/ef9mMRZ8hc

 Steny Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) February 1, 2022

His announcement came just days after fellow lawmaker Mitt Romney said he tested positive for the virus. Virginia Senator Mark Warner, Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have also announced positive test results in recent weeks.

While being vaccinated significantly lowers the chances of contracting COVID-19, breakthrough infections are still common, according to the CDC. Research has shown that vaccines significantly lower a person's chances of being hospitalized or dying from the virus.

Victoria Albert and Caroline Linton contributed reporting.

Teenager helps sick kids one book at a time

Biden reviewing more than a dozen Supreme Court candidates

Trump involved in plans to seize voting machines, reports say
ANKARA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has launched airstrikes against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The operation, dubbed Winter Eagle, was aimed at destroying shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots, headquarters, and training camps in areas of Derik, Sincar, and Karacak, according to the ministry.

Turkish warplanes returned to their bases safely after the military operation, according to the statement, which did not specify the number of casualties.

The airstrikes aimed at "neutralizing terrorist elements in order to eradicate terrorist attacks against our people and security forces from the north of Iraq and Syria and to ensure our border security," said the statement.

The word "neutralize" is often used by Turkish authorities to refer to "terrorists" killed, wounded, or arrested during security operations.

Turkey has carried out a number of ground operations and airstrikes in northern Iraq in the past to target hideouts and bases of the PKK, a group outlawed by Turkey as a terror organization seeking autonomy in the southeastern part of the country.

The YPG is seen by Ankara as the PKK's Syrian branch. Turkish forces and YPG members frequently exchange fire on the Syrian border. 
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
The Indian government may be seeking to define just what is or is not a non-fungible token (NFT).

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the nation's budget on Tuesday, revealing it will tax digital assets at a 30% rate. A different section, however, is raising more alarm within the crypto industry.

The section in question defined "virtual digital assets," the phrase the government used in the budget to describe cryptocurrencies or NFTs. According to the budget, "for the purposes of this clause, (a) 'non-fungible token' means such digital asset as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify."

This clause can be interpreted in three different ways. It is possible the government has proposed a law that gives it the authority to decide what is or isn't an NFT. Every NFT would have to go through a certification process and the power to select, qualify, classify or label a collectable as an NFT will be in the hands of the government.

The second, gentler interpretation is the government will certify categories of NFTs. For instance, a memorable moment in Indian history or a portrait of a celebrity may be certified as historical moments or celebrities, respectively, but a digital artwork by an unknown artist may not be certified/specified at all.

The third, most lenient interpretation is the government has labeled an NFT as a "virtual digital asset" but has retained the power to say this is not an NFT. In other words, the government has retained the power to exclude through a notification.

At least three senior representatives of the industry confirmed that their legal teams are trying to make sense of this clause.

A senior legal representative at a major Indian crypto exchange explained that reading the fine print as is suggests the government is saying it will specify or certify each and every NFT.

Shehnaz Ahmed, senior resident fellow and lead (Fintech) at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, explained how both cryptoassets and NFTs fall under the definition of "virtual digital asset" although the government has treated NFTs separately from cryptocurrencies.

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"Unlike the definition of cryptoassets, which is clearly laid out in clause 3(b) of the bill, what qualifies as an NFT will be set out in a notification to be issued by the central ghovernment. One has to wait to understand if the notification sets out the broad features of NFTs or specific categories of NFTs," Ahmed said.

Bibin Babu, co-founder of Colexion, a marketplace for NFTs, said he was "OK" with the government's role in certifying either each NFT or categories of NFTs.

However, Babu believes only one interpretation is possible. Babu said "it is impossible" for the government to "specify" each NFT when "millions of NFTs are minted every day."

"They will categorize it like an artwork, nostalgic memorabilia or sporting moment, etc.," Babu said.

A representative from another exchange that focuses on trading rather than NFTs, who requested anonymity, said the clause was "striking" and that "the question is who or which department will define" or specify what is an NFT and what isn't.

"Legal teams will take time to dig deeper into what the clause means since at the moment the focus is on asset and remittance tax clauses and consequences," the person said.

Anirudh Rastogi, managing partner at Ikigai Law and who regularly advises several stakeholders on cryptocurrency-related policy issues, believed "the interpretation that they will list out all NFTs is impractical."

"No other regulator has tried to define NFTs. The bill regrettably provides an over-broad definition. They have recognized NFTs but not defined them. It is good that they have left it undefined. They realized this is nuanced and required deliberation so let's leave it for later," said Rastogi.

Some industry leaders interpreted that the wording is by design to give the government power to exclude or stay away from certain NFTs, but that for the moment anything selling as an NFT falls under the purview of the government and its 30% taxation policy.

Shivam Thakral, CEO, BuyUcoin was one such industry leader and said the government has "broadened its spectrum" to account for "future advancements" they may want to stay away from.

A senior lawyer who has worked with the government on crypto in the past confirmed India's government has retained extraordinary power, which gives it the ability to discourage certain artworks.

"For instance, the government may want to stay away from currencies in vogue on Silk Route. [It] may specify only the most popular NFTs, the most frequently traded or they may go by volume, class or type," the lawyer said.

Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, a crypto asset management platform, also believes the government has used a "very broad definition as an exclusionary mechanism," kind of a "catch all statement" that includes all NFTs as a virtual digital asset but gives the government the power to exclude some NFTs at a later stage.

"Details are missing, language is loose and more will unfold as we get more documents from the finance bill," Patel said.

India's Finance Ministry did not return a request for comment.

UPDATE (Feb. 2, 10:10 UTC): Updates the first line in the fourth paragraph to say three ways.












By Ernest Scheyder, Byron Kaye and Praveen Menon

(Reuters) - Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto's admissions of sexual assault, racism and bullying in an internal report have sparked calls from investors for the entire industry to clean up its act.

An 85-page report released by Rio on Tuesday that pointed to a culture where harmful behaviours are often normalised and bullying is rife put a spotlight on the broader industry, which has long been accused of tolerating inappropriate behaviour.

"We ...want to see the normalisation of a zero tolerance approach to sexual assault and discriminatory practices, in much the same way as we have for zero workplace fatalities," said Camille Simeon, investment director at abrdn, a top-30 investor in Rio's London-listed shares according to Refinitiv data.

"We are committed to holding investee companies to account on such matters...(and) expect that the findings of this report will motivate other boards into action," Simeon said, adding that abrdn would follow up with Rio on the report.

Two other top-20 investors told Reuters they also planned to speak to the company about the report, but declined to comment further ahead of the meeting.

Pension fund Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia also said it was writing to mining companies to ask how they are addressing similar potential issues.

Miners, who have struggled to attract female workers, even as they grapple with a labour shortage, have been trying for several years to change a "boys club" culture. Top global miner BHP Group has an "ambitious, aspirational goal" of achieving gender balance globally by 2025.

Investors and industry players gave Rio Tinto credit for publishing the damning findings from an external review but said others in the industry, and beyond, needed to act as well.

"It shouldn't be left to Rio Tinto. This is an industry problem. It's a society problem. It's no good them solving the problem on their side and it continues elsewhere," Greg Busson, the Mining and Energy Union's Western Australia state secretary, said.

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Rio Tinto launched the review in March last year, not long after CEO Jakob Stausholm took over the top job in the wake of a backlash over the company's destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters to expand an iron ore mine.

In the last year, 142 individuals had sanctions against them and 38 had their employment terminated, a Rio spokesperson said.

Activist investor group Market Forces said Juukan Gorge highlighted a culture of arrogance and other deep seated issues at Rio Tinto, which had bubbled to the surface through this report.

"The findings of this report demonstrate the need for increased and strong investor scrutiny of Rio Tinto and its governance practices," said Will Van De Pol, asset management campaigner at Market Forces.

"Clearly there is a need to improve culturally at Rio Tinto and this is yet another moment that needs to catalyse further change, and that would be something that we would be really keen to see infiltrate throughout Rio Tinto."

TOXIC CULTURE

Tuesday's report, which took nearly a year for an outside firm to complete and involved feedback from nearly a quarter of Rio's 45,000 employees, provides a detailed disclosure of toxic workplace practices.

One female worker described being asked to perform oral sex on a male colleague. When the request was reported, a supervisor said he was sure the man was joking and Rio would "make sure you're not alone with him."

Another worker said pejorative name-calling of people of colour is routine and accepted as normal work site banter.

One female employee said she would not recommend Rio to her friends as a place to work, a stinging indictment of a company that has said publicly for years it aims to boost gender diversity. Women comprise 19% of Rio's workforce.

"Other companies need to take this as a signal that the human element can't be ignored," said Katie Mehnert of Ally Energy, a networking group connecting workers with companies in the renewable energy industry.

"You can have the best assets on the planet, but if your culture is trash, who will want to work for you?"

Rio CEO Stausholm, who commissioned the report, vowed to push for change.

"As CEO, I own the culture," Stausholm told Reuters. "Now I know what I know, and I clearly have an obligation to address it."

Advocacy groups for women in mining and other extractive industries cautiously welcomed the report, which tacitly acknowledges what many in the mining industry have whispered about for years.

"We hope this example Rio Tinto is setting will foster dialogue and will make other mining companies follow suit," said Barbara Dischinger, director of London-based International Women in Mining, a nonprofit that promotes gender equality in the mining industry.

BHP said it was committed to an inclusive and diverse workplace where people were respected. Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines said the miner had a "zero-tolerance approach" to harassment and bullying and all complaints were taken seriously.

Miners often work long hours in harsh environments for weeks at a time, living side by side in small camps with little privacy.

A Reuters reporter in 2018 witnessed miners, gathered for an industry convention, dropping their pants to sing karaoke in their underwear.

The perception of mining as hostile to women and people of colour has only exacerbated the industry's talent problem, with enrolment in mining engineering programs plunging across the United States, Canada and Australia.

Employees in Rio's report described immense stress and anxiety trying to avoid sexual harassers, harming their concentration and productivity on the job.

"It is clear there are significant challenges that need to be addressed both at the company level and across the sector," said Louise Davidson, CEO of Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, which represents 37 asset owners and institutional investors which collectively own on average 10% of every ASX200 company.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Praveen Menon and Byron Kaye, additional reporting by Melanie Burton and Simon Jessop; editing by Richard Pullin)
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
When Walt Kelly was taken to Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas in November 2017 for two counts of delivering an ounce of marijuana, he was undergoing treatment for bipolar disorder. He had a notarized letter from his psychiatrist explaining his need to continue taking his medication  a cocktail of lithium, lamictal, seroquel and klonopin.

But when he arrived at the jail, he told CBS News, jail staff "basically" laughed at him.

"I was literally  I hate to sound so pathetic  but left to die in my own misery, in my mental health nightmare," Kelly told CBS News.

Kelly, 49, was only held at Washington County Detention Center (WCDC) for 24 hours before he was transferred to another facility. He says neither facility gave him his doctor-recommended treatment, and even just one day without his medicine took a toll on him, he said, impacting his ability to sleep, and quickly putting him in a manic state.

Missing doses of lithium, lamictal and seroquel, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, can increase risk for a relapse in bipolar disorder symptoms. Missing doses of klonopin after using for two or more weeks can cause withdrawal reactions.

Kelly's 24-hour stay at WCDC five years ago, he said, was the beginning of "the most traumatic experience of my life." Some others have expressed similar sentiments for years  many specifically related to the health care they received at the facility.

Last year, WCDC made headlines after it was revealed that the facility's medical provider, Dr. Robert Karas, was prescribing detainees the anti-parasite drug ivermectin to treat COVID-19, allegedly without their knowledge. Karas, who has admitted to administering the drug but said detainees were "not forced" to take it, is the same doctor that Kelly said refused to see him during his stay.

The ACLU of Arkansas filed a lawsuit against the facility and Karas last month on behalf of four inmates who said that when they had COVID last year, they were treated with ivermectin without their knowledge. Some of the inmates allegedly received several times the dosage amount of ivermectin than what is recommended for their weight and height.

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We sued: No one - including incarcerated individuals - should be deceived and subject to medical experimentation. https://t.co/3nqpjSeIFA

 ACLU of Arkansas (@ArkansasACLU) January 18, 2022

Neither WCDC, Sheriff Helder, and Dr. Karas, nor their attorneys, have returned CBS News' request for comment.

The medication has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for COVID treatment and the CDC issued a health advisory warning people not to take the drug for COVID.

A fifth and sixth inmate, Thomas Fritch and Andre Lamont Williams, have also filed separate lawsuits against the same defendants, alleging they were misinformed about the medication. Karas has denied both Fritch's and Williams' claims and has requested a trial by jury, according to Karas' answers to the complaints, and Williams' case is still in discovery phase.

A seventh person who was detained around the same time as the other plaintiffs reached out to CBS News, alleging medical staff at the jail told detainees they were receiving vitamins and steroids rather than ivermectin.

Sarah Moore of the advocacy group Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition told CBS News that when it was revealed the physician was attempting to treat COVID-19 with ivermectin, it "didn't come as an incredible surprise."

For years, she said, people detained at the facility have claimed that medical staff refused to provide them adequate treatment, including some who say they were refused "life-saving" medication.

"There's been a lot of concern about medications and the lack of appropriate medications and the lack of access to needed life-saving medications," she said. "We've had individuals I've known, they're going into the facility and they've taken their meds with them and not been able to have access."

"They come outworse off than when they arrived"

Karas has been contracted to work as a doctor at the detention center since 2016, court documents show. According to his 2021 contract, he has "sole authority" in determining "whether to continue, replace or discontinue a detainee's medications."

Karas' contract says he makes more than $1.3 million a year for providing medical services at the jail, and that he also receives copayments from detainees for his medical assistance. Detainees also have to pay for their care  $20 for provider and dental calls, $10 for sick calls, $10 for prescription medication, and $5 for over-the-counter medication.

Dr. Robert Karas' 2021 contract with Washington County Detention Center.

Since Karas' arrival at the jail, at least 37 federal lawsuits have been filed against the doctor and/or WCDC about the quality of health care services at the facility, all but three of which have been dismissed. Several more lawsuits, dating back more than five years, have been filed against Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder and previous medical staff about the jail's conditions.

Thirty-four of the cases have been closed, and only one of those cases was settled and dismissed without prejudice. The remaining 33 closed cases were dismissed without prejudice, in many cases because the court was no longer able to get in touch with the plaintiff.

Moore told CBS News that Karas' history is "concerning," as many of those who end up detained at Washington County "come out of the facility harmed and worse off than when they arrived."

"We're renewing a contract when we've shown that there's been some harm, a tremendous harm that's come to our community members," Moore said.

Lawsuits depict inmates with "serious" medical conditions

Gary Wayne Guilliams sued the facility, the sheriff, and Karas in 2016 for allegedly denying him medical care. According to his complaint, Guilliams had injured his wrist the day before he was arrested for public intoxication and taken to the detention center. The day he was arrested, doctors confirmed Guilliams had fractured his arm and wrist and ordered him to wear a splint so he could heal. He was also urged to get surgery, but he testified that he was not able to do so because he was homeless and could not afford it.

But as cited in the judge's opinion, jail staff would not allow him to wear the splint during his multiple stays at the facility throughout the year.

Guilliams "made numerous requests for medical treatment for his fractured wrist using the 'kiosk' at the jail, including requests for pain medication, a splint, and to be seen by an outside orthopedic specialist," the complaint says, adding that all the requests were denied.

During court proceedings, Karas testified that his staff "couldn't 'fix' all the inmates medical problems and had to be judicious about what they treated," according to the judge's opinion. Karas testified that his staff considers how long someone will be incarcerated, whether they should address their issue post-incarceration, and "whether the patient would follow-up and take good care of themselves" when making that decision, the opinion states.

Ultimately, in 2017, a hand surgeon concluded Guilliams' injuries worsened because the bones were not able to heal, the judge's opinion shows.

"He should not have been denied orthopedic review in April or any of the early months following his injury," the surgeon said in an initial report. "These delays exacerbated his injury, deformity, arthritis, and more extensive considerations for later surgical management."

The defendants denied the majority of Guilliams' allegations. In regards to the allegation that his fractures and nerve damage "constituted an objectively serious medical condition requiring treatment," the defendants said the "medical records speak for themselves," and denied anything that's not strictly proven by those records.

After the judge issued an opinion saying "it is clear from the record that Plaintiff was suffering and that his condition was worsening," and held that the defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity, the case was set to go to trial. But it was dismissed without prejudice two months before its scheduled start.

Also in October 2016, Michael Turner filed a lawsuit against Karas and the sheriff, alleging they "did not provide much needed dental care for 51 days" when he was complaining of a bad cavity, and eventually, a broken tooth "just above the gum line."

According to case information laid out in a court order, Turner alleged that it took more than a month for him to receive dental care, and that when he was finally seen, "his gums were swollen, red, and infected."

While Turner was waiting, the facility gave him so much pain medicine, one doctor said if he had more than a week's worth more, it "could cause intestinal bleeding and increase cardiovascular risk." Later tests showed he did not ultimately suffer from these or other side effects from the prolonged use of the medication.

Court documents say Karas' contract makes a dentist available between 6 and 8 hours a month, and that according to Karas, the list of people needing dental treatment is "generally full" with "20 to 40 patients on it at a time."

"Emergency dental needs are treated immediately in the same way that  emergent medical needs are. However a broken or decayed tooth would not be considered an emergency dental need," Karas said, according to court documents.

In a written opinion, the judge said that the "defendants make no argument" Turner's toothache "did not constitute a serious medical need," and said that despite Turner's complaints, "no physical examination was performed until more than a month" after his initial request and nearly two months after he arrived at the facility.

Turner's claims against Helder and a sergeant at the jail were dismissed on summary judgment, but Karas' request for the judgment was denied. The case was set for jury trial, but was ultimately dismissed when Turner was released from custody and the court could not find his address.

In 2020, Michael Todd Bailey said that while he was detained, he had an infection on his forehead. Karas allegedly told him to put a bandage on it, and a week later, they had to "cut it open" because the infection got so bad. He claimed they told him the infection didn't warrant antibiotics.

"[They] wouldn't give me antibiotics early when it could have healed, now left with a scar after my eye swelled shut almost. Very painful," Bailey said in his complaint.

Karas and the other defendant denied all of Bailey's claims, and the case was dismissed two months later because he didn't pay a filing fee, which he was charged after being released from custody.

Moore told CBS News it's not uncommon for lawsuits from inmates to get dismissed.

"What happens is that folks file them and they don't have access to counsel, they're pro se," Moore said. "...Because of a lack of return of communication from the party, they end up a lot of times closing the cases out, but it's because the person is incarcerated and they get moved within the systems and they don't have any way to stay in contact with the court."

"A culture of acceptance"

Kelly has said he vividly remembers his experience at both WCDC and the state facilities "minute by minute." He said that after he arrived at the state's Southwest Arkansas Community Correction Center, he was immediately put in isolation, a move he said was part of the process for new inmates to "get you used to the rules."

Much of that time in isolation, he said, was spent without his bipolar disorder medication. Kelly said it took somewhere between two and six weeks to be given lithium, a drug that, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, "should be taken every day" to prevent relapses in stabilized mood symptoms.

A letter from Walt Kelly's psychologist lays out the medication he was taking for his bipolar disorder when he detained in 2017. / Credit: Walt Kelly

When they did eventually offer him lithium, it was a once-daily dose of 150 mg, he said. As stated in the letter from his doctor that was obtained by CBS News, he had been taking 300 mg of lithium twice a day prior to his incarceration.

The drug is intended to be part of a long-term treatment plan, as Kelly had established with his psychiatrist before being jailed. Kelly said he started to feel the effects of not being able to take the medication "immediately," and that he was "basically losing my mind."

When he was released in May 2018 after six months, Kelly claims he didn't get his prescription medications back, or his $1,000 wedding band. He never filed a lawsuit against either of the facilities because he "was terrified of them."

"They took everything.  They changed my family's life forever. They changed my world. They were in charge. I was at the mercy of the conditions in those jails," he said. "...The place that I was sent to was just like a glorified 'we are going to reprogram these humans with their thinking errors and change their lives,' and it was highly unsuccessful."

When asked by CBS News for comment on Kelly's situation, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections told CBS News that "regular medical care was afforded to him by our contract medical provider."

The Arkansas facilities are not the only detention centers accused of providing inadequate care.

Correctional health care, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, is "low-quality and difficult to access." Ongoing lawsuits nationwide allegations of "tortuous" and "inexcusable" neglect in Washington state, and preventable infections going untreated in New Mexico. In 2021, a judge found the Arizona Department of Corrections in contempt for a statewide failure of health care service.

A 2020 Reuters investigation found that jails with private health care have higher death rates on average than those handled by government agencies.

"It is widespread. It is a culture of acceptance, of 'that is the way it is,'" Kelly said. "From the intake, to the jailers there at the jail, to the transporters from Washington County to this facility, to the people at this facility, it was a laugh-in-your-face ha ha ha."

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Police investigate the scene of a shooting at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater.

BRIDGEWATER  All classes and events have been canceled Wednesday at Bridgewater College as the community grapples with the aftermath of Tuesday's shooting that killed two campus officers.

"All staff offices will be closed tomorrow, but everyone is welcome to be on campus so that we can begin to heal and to take care of each other," David Bushman, college president, wrote in an email sent to students.

More: 2 officers killed in Bridgewater College campus shooting

More: 'Active shooter on campus.' Bridgewater College shooting photos

During Tuesday's press conference, Bushman said Bridgewater College is in touch with nearby academic institutions about potential resources students affected by the shooting can use. Here's how one university responded to the incident and what it's offering to help.

James Madison University, nestled in the Shenandoah Valley just 10 minutes north of Bridgewater sent out its first tweet at 2:16 p.m. Tuesday acknowledging the incident.

JMU is aware of a situation at Bridgewater College. JMU PD is highly visible on JMU's campus as a precautionary measure. Anyone who sees suspicious activity should always report it to the JMU Police Department at 540-568-6911.  JMU (@JMU) February 1, 2022

Tim Miller, JMU's vice president for student affairs, told The News Leader Tuesday evening that all classes and university events will take place as normal Wednesday. JMU has also extended its counseling center team for Bridgewater College to use.

More: 'I couldn't notify my family.' Bridgewater College student shares experience of shooting

More: 'I didn't feel safe.' Bridgewater College student shares experience of shooting

 Katelyn Waltemyer (she/her) is the government watchdog reporter for The News Leader. Have a news tip on local government? Or a good feature? You can reach Katelyn at kwaltemyer@newsleader.com. Follow her on Twitter @Kate_Waltemyer.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: JMU shares counseling aid with Bridgewater after Feb. 1 shooting
BAGHDAD, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Five Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Wednesday in an airstrike in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, said the Iraqi military.

According to a statement by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, Iraqi forces carried out an airstrike at dawn on a cave, which was used as a hideout by the IS in the Hatra desert in the southern part of the province, and killed five militants inside.

An anonymous army source said that a security force was dispatched there to search the area.

Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have carried out deadly attacks against IS militants to stem their intensified activities.

The security situation in Iraq has improved after Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. Yet IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. 
The Koningshaven Bridge in Rotterdam, Netherlands. SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images

Jeff Bezos' new megayacht is so big, a historic bridge will need be dismantled to allow it to pass.

The bridge in Rotterdam, Netherlands, has a 131-foot clearance, but the ship's masts are too tall.

The yacht is expected to be the biggest and most luxurious sailing yacht in the world once finished.

Jeff Bezos' new yacht is so big, it won't make it out to sea unless a Dutch city removes part of a historic bridge.

Dutch broadcaster Rijnmond reported Tuesday that the 417-foot vessel is currently being built in the city of Alblasserdam, Netherlands. Once finished, it will need to pass through Rotterdam, largely considered the maritime capital of Europe, in order to reach the ocean  and, presumably, Bezos.

There's only one problem: The megayacht has three masts, and the masts are too tall to pass underneath the Koningshaven Bridge in Rotterdam, despite its clearance of over 131 feet.

The bridge, which locals refer to as De Hef, is nearly 100 years old, and while it no longer functions as a railroad crossing, it's become something of a monument in the city. It was renovated and then put back together in 2017, after which the city pledged it wouldn't be taken apart again, Rijnmond reported.

But now, the city is reportedly planning to remove the center portion of the bridge to allow the vessel to pass through.

Frances van Heijst, a spokesperson for the municipality of Rotterdam, confirmed to Insider that the city is able to grant permission to the maritime sector to take a ship to sea. But van Heijst told the Washington Post Wednesday that the city will not be paying for the cost of dismantling the bridge and reassembling it  the shipbuilder, Oceanco, will pay for it.

A spokesperson for Oceanco did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The existence of Bezos' megayacht was first reported last May in Brad Stone's book, "Amazon Unbound." The custom yacht, currently known only as Y721, is predicted to cost $500 million and is expected to be "one of the finest sailing yachts in existence," Stone reported.

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In addition to the mega-yacht, the Amazon founder  who is currently worth $176 billion  has reportedly commissioned a second, smaller "support yacht" that will include its own helipad.

In October, new photos and videos surfaced of what appeared to be the yacht rolling out of a shipyard in Zwijndrecht, Netherlands. The massive vessel was still unfinished, but photos published by Boat International and Daily Mail showed a ship with a black hull and multiple decks.

Boat International reports that the project will be completed in 2022 and will become the largest sailing yacht in the world.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
A North Carolina Superior Court judge approved the release Wednesday of body camera footage from the five officers who were present when one of them shot and killed Daniel Turcios on Interstate 440 last month.

The decision comes after the Raleigh Police Department petitioned the court for the release of the footage  a step required by state law when seeking to release such footage. At a Wednesday hearing, the department said that footage is critical in maintaining transparency with the community.

Turcios, a 43-year-old native of El Salvador, was shot at five times by Officer A.A. Smith over the course of about five seconds on Jan. 11.

Judge G. Brian Collins Jr. approved the release of the five videos from responding officers with minor redactions, blurring graphic images of Turcios injuries, the face of a child present in the video and muting portions that show witnesses giving their personal information to officers.

No portions of the footage were cut, he said.

What police, family say led to the shooting

Prior to the shooting, Turcios had been involved in a crash that caused his car to flip over, police and family members said.

He had a limited understanding of English and was severely disoriented by the crash, his family said.

When officers arrived at the scene, Turcios was holding a knife and walking away with his 7-year-old child. Officers followed him, ordering him to drop the knife.

Police say he refused, but family members and community advocates have said he did not understand their commands.

Officers followed Turcios, with Sgt. W.B. Tapscott firing a Taser at him. Turcios fell to the ground, and as officers attempted to take him into custody, they say he swung a knife at them.

Smith fired two shots, striking Turcios. Police say Turcios tried to get back up, prompting Smith to fire three additional shots. Police have not said whether those shots hit Tucios.

Dawn Blagrove of Emancipate NC previously told The News & Observer that while Turcios had a very small pocket knife, it did not justify police shooting him.

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Both Smith and Tapscott have been placed on administrative duty, as is police department procedure. The State Bureau of Investigations is conducting a criminal investigation, while RPD conducts an internal investigation to determine whether officers violated policy.

The SBI will turn over its findings to Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, who will decide whether charges are filed.

At the Wednesday hearing, Freeman said the SBI had completed all key interviews, but said she had not received their findings. She said her office took no position on the release of the footage.

Attorneys representing Turcios family supported the release of the footage.

Multiple residents voiced concerns over police brutality and militarization at a city council meeting on Tuesday, pointing to the shooting of Turcios as an unwarranted killing.

How can (city council members) claim to care about communities of color while failing to address the recent murder of community member Daniel Turcios? one resident asked.

I call on the city council to stand by the people of Raleigh and help us in holding these officers accountable, the resident added.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Decades into the relentless decline of the Great Lakes regions technological strength, the State of Wisconsin in 2014 made a brilliant decision.

Rather than hire one of the national firms that run state-supported programs, Wisconsin chose Sun Mountain Kegonsa to invest $25 million of taxpayer money into high-potential startups. The newly formed partnership was the brainchild of Ken Johnson, a successful investor with a unique idea for growing our own stable of young venture capitalists.

I cant think of any other state that adopted such a creative way to address the challenges we face in Americas middle, where were losing our competitive edge because we dont innovate as quickly as the venture-fueled ecosystems on the coasts.

Sun Mountain Kegonsa started Badger Fund of Funds, which supported five new funds run by young, homegrown venture capitalists who invest in Wisconsin companies. But politically driven agendas on both sides of the aisle and a cacophony of other players trying to horn in on the action have stymied further state investment.

After months of wrangling, the states 2021-23 budget has no allocation to venture capital. Heres what went wrong.

Prodded by Democrats in the venture community, Gov. Tony Evers in February proposed a $100 million venture fund of funds in his budget. Rather than build on the Badger Fund, Evers proposed a whole new structure that didnt necessarily include it. And he put the Democrat-led Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) in charge, rather than the Department of Administration, which oversees Badger Fund.

Funny choice. When Republicans tried in 2013 to have the then-Republican-led WEDC oversee Badger Fund, Democrats accused them of playing politics.

Republicans, who in 2013 championed legislation that led to the creation of the Badger Fund, kept Evers' proposal in the budget anyway  until June, when four conservative groups dropped the bomb that would kill it. The Free Market Coalition - Badger Institute, Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin, MacIver Institute and Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty sent legislators a letter urging them to jettison the proposal.

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Boom. The venture fund was out of the budget.

Here we go again. Another false dichotomy that government and business are categorically different and shouldnt be allowed to mingle. Of course, no one on either side of the aisle really believes this. Its an overly pious version of a cheap shot at a good idea.

Governments around the world are investing in business with great success. China is the leading example; European governments have been doing it for years. Our politicians support propping up Wall Street bankers and hedge funds  the Federal Reserves balance sheet has climbed above $8 trillion  in exchange for big campaign contributions. The Chinese government makes direct investments to encourage innovation in critical technologies that will drive the future economic prosperity of the nation.

Free Market Coalitions letter is based on a blog by Andrew Hanson, an associate professor focused on real estate at the University of Illinois Chicago and Badger Institute fellow. It relies on a 2012 Wall Street Journal article about a single study to prove venture capital investing is risky. Duh.

Im surprised the conservative organizations board members  particularly savvy financial managers like Heartland Advisors Bill Nasgovitz and former MBO Cleary executive Maureen Oster  tolerated such an unsophisticated argument. And how can Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, condone the Free Market letter as a member of the Badger Institute board and have MMAC supporting Evers fund proposal through the Wisconsin Fund Coalition at the same time?

Regardless, the letter missed entirely the unique value of Badger Fund. The compelling idea here is that Wisconsin is seeding development of a homegrown venture capital industry  a first step in growing our own high-tech industries.

Ken Johnson has all the experience you could ask for: A chemical engineer and former licensing manager at WARF, one of the worlds biggest academic tech transfer organizations; experience doing tech transfer in private industry; and a record as one of the states most successful venture capitalists in terms of return on investment. Instead of grabbing the typical retired Wisconsin executive tax dodge and moving to Florida, Johnson is focused on building out the venture capital industry here.

Im not sure anyone else would have had the tenacity and singlemindedness to lure Jon Horne back home from Wall Street to run Idea Fund. Or convince Richelle Martin to leave the security of her job as assistant director in UW-Madisons Office of Industrial Partnerships to forgo a salary for more than two years while raising Winnow Fund. Or recruit the other three Badger Fund managers for that matter. Theyre young, ambitious and diverse  and they wouldnt have had the opportunity to benefit from Johnsons tutelage and invest in our high-potential startups if the state hadnt seeded Badger Fund.

Rather than doing less, legislators should do more. If the politicians and other players were looking forward, theyd see that information technology is transforming everything, driving a tectonic change that will soon make entire industries obsolete. Until now, health care, manufacturing, transportation and government have been too complicated to be dramatically impacted. But the explosive growth since 2007 of smartphones, internet connectivity, big data and artificial intelligence has ushered in a new paradigm. We can wish it werent so, but theres no looking back

Wisconsins $25 million helped attract nearly $50 million more  including $500,000 from Sun Mountain Kegonsa  for Badger fund managers to invest in more than 25 (and counting) high-potential companies around the state. If every one of those portfolio companies failed  and theyre not all going to  wed still have this new crop of more experienced venture capitalists who arent going anywhere.

Supporters say theres a chance legislators will introduce a stand-alone bill to revive the $100 million venture fund proposal. Maybe they should add a companion bill for a $100 million fund that provides matching grants to investors in technologies that come out of UW-Madisons new School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences.

It isnt enough just to throw bread on the water. We must focus our resources on the critical organizations and technologies that will prepare Wisconsins workforce and economy to compete in the 21st Century Information Age.

As part of that effort, why wouldnt we continue the work we started with Badger Fund?

Read previous columns by Kathleen Gallagher here.

Kathleen Gallagher was a business reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Milwaukee Sentinel for 23 years. She was one of two reporters on the team that won a 2011 Pulitzer Prize for the One in a Billion series. Gallagher is now executive director of 5 Lakes Institute, a nonprofit working to grow the Great Lakes region's high technology entrepreneurial economy and culture. She can be reached at Kathleen@5lakesinstitute.org.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kathleen Gallagher: Political bickering doomed venture capital plan
Memphis Democratic leaders defended the now-former State Sen. Katrina Robinson, who was expelled from the Tennessee Senate on a party-line vote Wednesday after her conviction on federal wire-fraud charges.

Many Memphis elected officials expressed dismay at Wednesday's vote and attributed her ouster from the Senate  something that has no precedent in Tennessee's recorded history  to the double-standard that exists for Black politicians in Tennessee, particularly women.

"Often in all different levels of [government]  city, state, federal  Black women are treated with a different level of respect; a different level of disrespect; a different level of decorum; a different level of standards than white males are  There are too many examples for us to point to. Sadly, this is another one," said Michalyn Easter-Thomas, a Memphis City Councilwoman and member of the Shelby County Democratic Party.

It will fall to the Shelby County Commission to appoint a replacement to Robinson's seat. At least one of Robinson's former colleagues in the Tennessee General Assembly would like to see the commission hold off on appointing a replacement.

"I hope that [the Shelby County Commission] does not entertain the option of filling a vacancy until Senator Robinson's final opportunity in court. This isn't over," State Rep. Torrey Harris, D-Memphis, said Wednesday.

Related: Tennessee Senate expels Sen. Katrina Robinson from legislature, a first for the chamber

What we know: Sen. Katrina Robinson expulsion

Harris lives in Robinson's district. He was drawn out of House District 90 and into House District 91, which is represented by State Rep. London Lamar. In theory, if he applied, Harris could be a potential replacement for Robinson.

Harris's wish for the commission to delay an appointment follows the same line of defense Robinson's Senate colleagues took in defending her Wednesday when they sought to delay a vote on her expulsion.

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State senators Raumesh Akbari and Sara Kyle, both Memphis Democrats, made floor speeches Wednesday in which they argued for the Senate to delay until after Robinson's sentencing hearing on March 3.

If removal occurs today, thats something that cannot be undone, Akbari said. We as a body will have removed a member based on something that was not final and not true. I dont want that on my conscience.

Sen Katrina Robinson is embraced by her constituents following her expulsion trial in the Senate Chambers at the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022.

Kyle and Robinson's attorneys noted that the federal government's case against Robinson for improperly using federal grant funds at her nursing institute dwindled from 48 to a conviction on just two.

Robinson, they said, would resign after the March 3 sentencing hearing if Robinson's conviction on two felony counts were upheld and not dismissed. Attorneys for Robinson did not rule out filing an appeal.

State Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, described Wednesday's vote as "a jolting reminder that we operate in the most powerful building in the land where the rules for citizens, the governor, the courts and members are made by the ruling parties."

More: Sen. Katrina Robinson expulsion: What we know

Hope for 'equitable' appointment process

Despite the call from Harris to delay an appointment, the Shelby County Commission's Democratic leadership said they should appoint a replacement for Robinson to ensure that her district has full representation in the legislature. The seat is also up for election this year.

Commissioner Van Turner said Wednesday since the expulsion occurred that day, the commission will have to take a good hard look at whether to appoint someone to the position. At the same time, he leans toward moving forward with an appointment, he said.

Obviously this is an election year for that senate seat, so there may be some worth in just allowing the voters to decide at that particular time since the election is so close. However, the legislature is still in session now. If Sen. Robinson is out today, then we need a representative from that senate district to represent the interest of that senate district right now," Turner said

Not appointing someone would almost concede that what the Senate has done is correct, Turner said, which he does not concede.

Commissioner Mickell Lowery said the commission had an obligation to fill the vacancy.

I think anybody whos looking to fill those shoes should have some similarities there as well as whats best for the area because that district voted for Sen. Robinson for a reason, Lowery said. Its because of the work shes done, what she stood for, what she campaigned on. I believe anyone looking to fill those shoes should have that at a minimum.

The process of filling a vacancy would likely take at least three weeks, with commissioners accepting applications, hearing from applicants and then voting, said Commission Chairman Willie Brooks Jr.

We really want to thank Sen. Robinson for her service and the capacity of serving her constituents, Brooks said. We really are so sorry this has occurred with her. But just following the protocol of making sure theres representation within her district and making sure the citizens are being properly served as well as making sure the votes are there when we need it, its going to be critical.

Easter-Thomas, who, as a city council member, is not involved in the appointment process, said she hoped that "this appointment process...will be the most equitable and quick that we need to to get someone to have representation until voting time."

Melissa Brown contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Katrina Robinson expelled from TN Senate: Is there a double-standard?
On Wednesday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker gave his annual State of the State and Budget address at the Old State Capitol in Springfield.

His $45.4 billion budget proposal includes provisions shifting money for nearly every aspect of state government. Here are three key takeaways.

Tax cuts for Illinois families

Pritzker rolled out a proposal he's calling the "Illinois Family Rescue Plan, which includes reductions in taxes and fees that he claims will save Illinois residents $1 billion.

The Family Relief Plan cant solve all the challenges of global inflation, but we can do our part to alleviate some pressure on Illinois working families, said Pritzker.

State of the State: Gov. JB Pritzker's $45.4 billion budget plan includes $1 billion in tax cuts

The plan has four elements:

A one-year elimination of a 1% sales tax on groceries

Holding the gas tax at its current rate until next year. It is scheduled to increase this summer.

A one-year fee waiver for healthcare worker and liquor license fees

A one-time property tax rebate program for Illinois homeowners.

These cost-saving measures could be implemented as soon as summer if lawmakers go along with Pritzker's proposal.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker gives the State of the State and budget address Wednesday Feb. 2, 2022. [Thomas J. Turney The State Journal Register]

Finances are OK, but need improvement

Pritzker announced a $1.7 billion surplus, which he said was the "first of its kind in 25 years."

This surplus is due to responsible fiscal policy and will be used to pay down Illinois' debts and pension obligations, according to Pritzker.

He said the surplus is not a result of the billions of COVID-relief money which came into the state last year.

Republicans criticized this characterization, saying the federal government is the cause of the surplus, not Pritzker's policy.

"He said today that it doesn't count on federal money, but this surplus is largely because of that," said Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield.

Springfield weather: 5 to 17 inches of snow expected for Springfield area; city declares snow emergency

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More money for violence prevention and police

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are interested in Pritzker's budget proposals for public safety and policing in the state.

His budget proposal outlined $2.1 billion in spending on public safety, an increase of $197 million from last year.

The budget includes $250 million to programs focused on violence prevention, as well as spending on more traditional police initiatives, like increasing the number of Illinois State Police cadets and staffing at a new forensic laboratory in Decatur.

"I thought it was very inspiring," said Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, of Pritzker's plan.

She added later that she is particularly interested in Pritzker's support of local police forces because of her time on the Springfield City Council.

Contact Andrew Adams: aadams1@gannett.com; (312)-291-1417; twitter.com/drewjayadams.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: What to know from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's budget address
Kristen Bell in "The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window." Colleen E. Hayes

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Netflix's "The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window."

Kristen Bell spoke to Insider about filming her new Netflix thriller parody's "dark" ending.

Her main concern, she said, was her costar's safety during the sequence.

It's hard to describe Kristen Bell's new Netflix series "The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window" in only a few words  just consider the title. But one thing is for sure: Parts of the thriller-comedy spoof are as disturbing as they are funny.

Bell plays an alcoholic woman named Anna grieving the loss of her daughter and the destruction of her marriage when she begins to suspect her neighbor Neil's girlfriend has been killed. By the final episode, it's revealed that Neil's young daughter, Emma (Samsara Leela Yett), is responsible for murdering Neil's girlfriend, her own mother, and Neil himself.

Ultimately, Anna must fight for her life in a physical battle against the young girl armed with a knife (and a gun). It's the perfect ending for a satire.

Samsara Leela Yett and Kristen Bell in "The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window." Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix

Speaking to Insider in a joint interview with costars Tom Riley and Michael Ealy, Bell opened up about what was going through her mind while filming the climactic scene with Yett.

"Practically, my main thought about those scenes is the safety of my scene partner," she said.

Bell said she cares "very much about" Yett and was concerned with protecting her while shooting scenes that Bell said Yett may or may not "fully comprehend."

Physical safety was important, but Bell was also looking out for Yett "emotionally." Bell said she was focused on "checking in" with Yett, recalling that she'd periodically ask her young costar "Is this fun? Is this okay?"

"Because a lot of it was kind of dark," Bell added.

But the "Good Place" star said Yett came prepared for the work. "She is so game and so intelligent beyond her years, that I didn't find I had to do a ton because she ended up getting it all," Bell told Insider of Yett.

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Samsara Leela Yett in "The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window." Colleen E. Hayes

"The Woman in the House" is a smart parody of a very specific thriller subgenre, but difficult topics like grief are layered underneath the humor. Bell told Insider that because "no one handles grief the same way" she had many paths she could go down with Anna.

"I chose middle-of-the-road sadness. But I also know  as someone who has certainly experienced grief, and suffers from anxiety and depression  there's a lot of comedy underneath these hard emotions," Bell said.

She continued: "Usually, when you get to the root of it, I can laugh at myself if I've been in a dark place. I was hoping to play a woman who was in a dark place, and I guess hope that the audience was laughing a little bit."

"It's a very fine line to walk," Bell admitted.

"The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window" is available to stream now on Netflix.

Read the original article on Insider
BAGHDAD, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- An unknown Iraqi armed group calling itself the Brigades of the Promise of Righteousness on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the attack on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with four drones.

A statement by the group posted on its account on Telegram said that its members had launched a strike on the UAE earlier in the day with four drones that targeted vital facilities in the capital Abu Dhabi.

"The group confirmed that it will continue to launch strikes until the UAE lifts its hand from interfering in the affairs of the countries in the region, especially Yemen and Iraq," said the statement, whose authenticity could not be independently verified.

"The coming strikes will be more severe and painful," it added.

Earlier in the day, the UAE Defense Ministry said in a statement that it had intercepted and destroyed three drones that penetrated the Gulf country's airspace over unpopulated areas in the early morning. 
A coalition of voting rights advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the new Michigan House of Representatives voting districts adopted by the state's redistricting commission, alleging that the new map provides an unfair advantage to Republicans.

It's the third lawsuit challenging the work of the Michigan Independent Citizen's Redistricting Commission, but the first to argue that the group did not meet their constitutional mandate to create fair political maps established through a voter-backed referendum in 2018.

"We believe that the map does not comply with the Michigan Constitution," said Mark Brewer, the former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party and a lawyer for the coalition, during a press briefing last Friday.

"The voters were very clear in 2018, that the goal of Proposal 2 was to end partisan bias in our legislative districts. And the commission failed to achieve a mandatory goal of the Michigan Constitution. We think we have a very strong case."

The groups filing suit include the League of Women Voters of Michigan, Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote Michigan and Detroit Action, among other organizations and individuals.

The lawsuit  filed in the Michigan Supreme Court  asks the court to suspend the implementation of the new state House map and order the commission to redraw it in an effort to achieve more partisan fairness.

The lawsuit offers a state House map drawn by the group Promote the Vote as evidence that the commission's adopted map "could have been much better on partisan fairness," and asks the court to require the commission to adopt a map that matches or improves upon the partisan metrics of the Promote the Vote map.

More: Michigan Supreme Court hears arguments in redistricting lawsuit centered on Black voters

More: Yelling, accusations of bullying turn Michigan redistricting meeting into chaos

Under the Michigan Constitution, the commission was required to draw maps that do not provide "a disproportionate advantage to any political party."

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The complaint argues that the Republican advantage identified in the new state House map violates that requirement. Instead of adopting criteria to comply with the partisan fairness requirement, the commission "ad hoc'ed its way through the entire map-drawing process" and ended up with a map that "effectively tilts State House elections toward Republican control of the Legislature for the next decade," the complaint argues.

Political candidates are both scrambling to decide where they should run for office and waiting any court-ordered map changes that may result in pushing their homes into different voting districts. Brewer said he believes there's plenty of time for the commission to change the House map before the April 19 filing deadline.

The League of Women Voters of Michigan has been a strong advocate of Michigan's new citizen-led redistricting process. In 2017, the organization challenged the GOP-drawn congressional and state legislative maps. That lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful, but emails that emerged as part of that lawsuit suggested that Republicans tried to draw the lines to lock in an advantage over Democrats. One email from a GOP staffer talked about ways "to cram ALL of the Dem garbage" in southeast Michigan.

The League and other organizations now challenging the work of the state's inaugural independent redistricting commission organized numerous town halls and trainings to help voters across Michigan provide input on how the lines should be drawn. The lawsuit alleges that the commission failed to act on that public feedback, particularly comments urging the group to draw fairer maps.

"Unfortunately, no community has suffered more from Michigan's unfair mapmaking process than Detroit, which is home to some of the most extreme cases of packing and gerrymandering," said Branden Snyder, co-executive director of Detroit Action, a community based advocacy organization.

"The commission did not take the time that they needed to provide Michigan and Detroiters with fair maps that the Constitution called for. The adoption of the Commission's maps failed to achieve partisan fairness and still proved to be biased."

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lawsuit alleges new state House map unfair to Democrats
US officials were making decisions on Afghanistan evacuations hours before the Taliban takeover.

Axios reported that leaked documents showed basic decisions hadn't been made as of August 14.

The Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, and US troops withdrew by the end of that month.

President Joe Biden's administration reacted slowly and was unprepared to evacuate Afghans who helped the US after the Taliban took Kabul in August, according to notes from a White House Situation Room meeting obtained by Axios.

The outlet said a National Security Council "summary of conclusions" document from an August 14 meeting held between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET, when Taliban fighters were closing in on Kabul, showed the Biden administration made several crucial decisions just hours before the Taliban took over on August 15.

Senior officials were still talking over basic mass-civilian-evacuation actions. Axios reported that though the document it obtained featured the word "immediately" several times, officials on August 14 were still determining which countries would be transit stops for evacuees.

The document also said officials in that meeting decided the embassy in Kabul should "immediately" inform locally employed workers "to register their interest in relocation to the United States and begin to prepare immediately for departure."

Gen. John Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was among senior officials said to have attended the meeting.

Axios added that earlier in 2021, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who ended up fleeing the country, had asked Biden not to start a mass evacuation because he was worried it would show a lack of faith in his government; at the same time, Biden officials overestimated the Afghan military ability to withstand the Taliban.

More than 120,000 people were ultimately evacuated from Afghanistan by the August 31 deadline to withdraw troops.

The White House didn't respond to a request for comment from Insider. In a statement to Axios, a National Security Council representative, Emily Horne, said: "While we're not going to comment on leaked internal documents, cherry-picked notes from one meeting do not reflect the months of work that were already underway."

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Erikas Mwisi Kambale

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - At least 60 people were killed in a militia attack early on Wednesday at a displaced persons' camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the head of a local humanitarian group and a camp resident.

Both sources told Reuters that the CODECO militia was responsible for the killings at about 0200 GMT at the Savo camp near Bule in Ituri province.

Ituri army spokesman Jules Ngongo confirmed the attack by CODECO and gave a provisional toll of about 20 dead.

Congolese troops came into contact with the militia Tuesday night but the assailants changed direction and got past them to reach the camp, he said.

CODECO is one of an array of militias operating in eastern Congo amid longstanding tensions over land and resources. Its fighters have killed hundreds of civilians in Ituri and forced thousands to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

In recent months it has targeted displacement camps, where some people had settled after fleeing other attacks by CODECO.

"I first heard cries when I was still in bed. Then several minutes of gunshots. I fled and I saw torches and people crying for help and I realized it was the CODECO militiamen who had invaded our site," said Lokana Bale Lussa, a camp resident.

"We have counted more than 60 dead and (more) seriously injured," he said. "We really need security because we can't access our farms and now we're pursued even in our camps."

Charite Banza Bavi, president of the humanitarian group for the Bahema-North area, put the death toll at 63.

"Initial reports indicate that as many as 59 civilians were killed and a further 40 injured," the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said in a statement. Two students at a school supported by the NRC were among the dead, it added, and the assailants had used both guns and machetes.

Wednesday's attack took place far from eastern Congo's tin mines. The NRC said about 68 people had been killed in previous attacks on five different camps in the same area since November.

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CODECO's fighters are drawn mainly from the Lendu farming community, which has long been in conflict with Hema herders.

The Savo displacement site is home to 24,000 people, among 1.7 million displaced in Ituri province, the NRC said. At least 1,200 civilians were killed in Ituri province in 2021.

(Reporting by Erikas Mwisi Kambale; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Mark Heinrich)
Lee Westwood has signed an NDA related to possible involvement in the Super Golf League (Steven Paston/PA) (PA Wire)

Lee Westwood has signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding his possible participation in the proposed Super Golf League.

And two-time major winner Dustin Johnson said he is not allowed to disclose whether or not he has received a multi-million pound offer to contest the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit.

Speaking during last years US PGA Championship, the 48-year-old Westwood said it would be a no-brainer for him to sign a multi-million pound contract at this stage of his career.

However, players joining the SGL have been warned they face a lifetime ban from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, a sanction which would rule them out of playing in the Ryder Cup or being captain.

Westwood was the odds-on favourite to captain Europes attempt to regain the trophy in 2023 until ruling himself out in November, saying he wanted to focus on his playing career.

Asked about the SGL on Wednesday during a press conference ahead of the Saudi International Westwood said: I dont know whether I want to answer questions on that. Ive signed an NDA.

Johnson also mentioned disclosure agreements when asked about reports that Ian Poulter had been offered up to 22million to join the SGL.

Obviously whether they have or havent, Im not allowed to disclose. Youd have to ask Ian on that one, Johnson said.

The former world number acknowledged that he had been offered a deal, but said with a smile that it was not similar to Poulters.

While Westwood could not go into any specifics about the SGL, he did speak approvingly about the concept, in particular the team aspect which would see the 48 players competing in 12 four-player teams, as well as individually.

When Im at home I watch a lot of sport but not a lot of that sport is golf because it seems to me its just 72-hole stroke play week in and week out, and when Im playing it, Ive had enough of it by then, Westwood said.

The weeks and days that I would watch I would turn on for the Ryder Cup if I wasnt in it. I would turn on for the Match Play. I think the first day at the Dell Match Play when youve got 32 matches going is one of the most exciting days viewing all year really.

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I think golf has got to move with the times and become more heat-of-the-moment, volatile and impactful right from the word go. Certainly if you do it like the team aspect, theres more action happening in more different places.

Massive appearance fees have helped attract a world-class field to Royal Greens Golf and Country Club for the Saudi International, with Westwood joined by the likes of Poulter, Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry.

The tournament was previously part of the European Tour but is now the flagship event on the Asian Tour, which is being revitalised by a 300 million US dollar investment from Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund.

PGA Tour members were only granted releases to play in the event on condition of future support of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California which is also taking place this week, a tournament won five times by Mickelson and twice by Johnson.

The players of the other tours see the Asian Tour as a threat now, dont they, because of the huge investment, Westwood added.

Its kind of like a game of poker really where the European Tour and the PGA Tour have had the biggest hand, and now theres somebody else come to the table with more chips, so everybody is on their guard and very defensive and are clearly seeing the Asian Tour as a threat.

Nobody can deny that. There wouldnt have been all this trouble with releases and things like that if that wasnt the case.
Masks an important tool to fight COVID

I write in response to the letter in the Jan. 19 edition, "Mask distribution equals more pollution."

The 400 million masks being made available by President Biden is just another tool along with vaccines to keep us safe from the devastating effect of COVID. If that causes certain people to pollute, as bad as that is, it has nothing to do with President Biden's distribution of masks.

As far as Great Britain is concerned, why should we want to emulate a country where the prime minister mandates mask-wearing and then parties hearty, mask-free at 10 Downey St.?

Roberta Libby, Yarmouth

Print the voting rights bill for readers

It would be very beneficial to your subscribers if you actually printed in full the actual voting rights bill that is being proposed to Congress, instead of your paper continually, every day, bombing your readership with one-sided opinions. This way, an informed citizen can make up his or her own mind on this matter.

John OCoin, West Yarmouth

Let's not demonize one another

Previous letters on COVID require a response. Omicron proves anyone can catch COVID from anyone else, vaccinated or not. Adverse events reported by the government's own VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) database also give reason for concern. I believe these facts make COVID vaccines a personal decision that does not impact the safety of others.

Catholics believe that everyone has a God-given and constitutional right to life and to follow their conscience. Neither the government nor the pope should force a person to act against their conscience. Catholics also believe that unborn children have the same right to life. Call me crazy, but I believe an unborn child would choose life over abortion if given the chance.

This is not a Democrat or a Republican issue. These are human rights that are fundamental to American values and religious liberty.

To further suggest that unvaccinated people not be given medical care is particularly disturbing. Using this logic, we should also refuse medical care to those with unhealthy lifestyles, who overeat or eat unhealthy food, smoke or don't exercise.

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There are many examples in history where one faction of people demonized another to the point of wishing them physical harm. America is a better than that and is why I can be unvaccinated, pro-life and pro-choice.

Joe Meeks, South Chatham

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: possible pollution from masks doesn't devalue their worth
Sen. Lindsey Graham and President Joe Biden. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images

Sen. Lindsey Graham said he "absolutely" still considered President Joe Biden a friend.

He's emerged as a prospective GOP ally to Biden as the president considers a Supreme Court nominee.

Graham, a prominent Trump supporter, said he hadn't spoken to Biden since the president took office.

Sen. Lindsey Graham told Politico in an interview published Wednesday that he "absolutely" still considered President Joe Biden a friend, despite the South Carolina Republican's criticism of the president and his support for former President Donald Trump.

Graham has emerged as a prospective Republican ally to Biden as the president considers a Supreme Court nominee to replace the retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.

Over the weekend, Graham heaped praise on a contender for the vacancy and backed Biden's decision to pick a Black woman for the position.

"I can't think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs," Graham told CBS on Sunday about J. Michelle Childs, a federal district judge in his home state.

"She has wide support in our state. She's considered to be a fair-minded, highly gifted jurist. She's one of the most decent people I've ever met," he added. "It would be good for the court to have somebody who's not at Harvard or Yale."

Unlike Graham, some Republicans have ripped into Biden's plans to choose a Black woman for a seat on the bench. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said Biden's pick would be a "beneficiary" of affirmative action, while Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called Biden's decision "offensive."

"Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America," Graham told CBS. "You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America."

He added: "Michelle Childs is incredibly qualified. There's no affirmative-action component if you pick her."

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Biden has said he will introduce his nominee by the end of the month. Senate Democratic leaders hope to move quickly to confirm his pick and can do so without any Republican support if all 50 Democrats are on board and Vice President Kamala Harris casts the tiebreaking vote.

Still, Graham's support could be an opportunity for a bipartisan confirmation of Biden's nominee. Last year, Graham was one of three Republicans to confirm another prospective Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, for a seat on the powerful US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Graham, a prominent Trump ally, told Politico he and Biden hadn't spoken since the president took office. Graham had heavily advocated for Trump during his term and launched attacks on Biden during the 2020 campaign.

Graham once spoke highly of Biden, and the two had strong ties. But the pair's relationship seemed unsalvageable after Graham pushed for an investigation into Biden's son Hunter and refused to recognize the 2020 election results. Biden at the time called Graham a "personal disappointment because I was a personal friend of his."

The New York Times reported Graham called Biden shortly after the election in an attempt to mend their friendship. Graham told Biden that he went after his son to satisfy Trump supporters, the report said, but a spokesperson for the senator denied that account.

In fall, Graham suggested his friendship with Biden was all but over, saying the president was a "decent man" but that he "will never forgive him for" how he handled the Afghanistan withdrawal over the summer.

Graham's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The White House also did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Sen. Lindsey Graham and President Joe Biden. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images

Sen. Lindsey Graham said he "absolutely" still considered President Joe Biden a friend.

He's emerged as a prospective GOP ally to Biden as the president considers a Supreme Court nominee.

Graham, a prominent Trump supporter, said he hadn't spoken to Biden since the president took office.

Sen. Lindsey Graham told Politico in an interview published Wednesday that he "absolutely" still considered President Joe Biden a friend, despite the South Carolina Republican's criticism of the president and his support for former President Donald Trump.

Graham has emerged as a prospective Republican ally to Biden as the president considers a Supreme Court nominee to replace the retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.

Over the weekend, Graham heaped praise on a contender for the vacancy and backed Biden's decision to pick a Black woman for the position.

"I can't think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs," Graham told CBS on Sunday about J. Michelle Childs, a federal district judge in his home state.

"She has wide support in our state. She's considered to be a fair-minded, highly gifted jurist. She's one of the most decent people I've ever met," he added. "It would be good for the court to have somebody who's not at Harvard or Yale."

Unlike Graham, some Republicans have ripped into Biden's plans to choose a Black woman for a seat on the bench. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said Biden's pick would be a "beneficiary" of affirmative action, while Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called Biden's decision "offensive."

"Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America," Graham told CBS. "You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America."

He added: "Michelle Childs is incredibly qualified. There's no affirmative-action component if you pick her."

Story continues

Biden has said he will introduce his nominee by the end of the month. Senate Democratic leaders hope to move quickly to confirm his pick and can do so without any Republican support if all 50 Democrats are on board and Vice President Kamala Harris casts the tiebreaking vote.

Still, Graham's support could be an opportunity for a bipartisan confirmation of Biden's nominee. Last year, Graham was one of three Republicans to confirm another prospective Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, for a seat on the powerful US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Graham, a prominent Trump ally, told Politico he and Biden hadn't spoken since the president took office. Graham had heavily advocated for Trump during his term and launched attacks on Biden during the 2020 campaign.

Graham once spoke highly of Biden, and the two had strong ties. But the pair's relationship seemed unsalvageable after Graham pushed for an investigation into Biden's son Hunter and refused to recognize the 2020 election results. Biden at the time called Graham a "personal disappointment because I was a personal friend of his."

The New York Times reported Graham called Biden shortly after the election in an attempt to mend their friendship. Graham told Biden that he went after his son to satisfy Trump supporters, the report said, but a spokesperson for the senator denied that account.

In fall, Graham suggested his friendship with Biden was all but over, saying the president was a "decent man" but that he "will never forgive him for" how he handled the Afghanistan withdrawal over the summer.

Graham's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The White House also did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Heading into the first couple months of the new year, all holiday-induced stress and winter sales jingles begin to wind down. Any empty hype around self-deluding resolutions makes way for the work we decide matters enough to us to actually do it. And the peppermint-infused holiday spirit dissipates into the gray mornings of January. Until the first new moon when local Asian markets suddenly get a bit busier.



Lunar New Years of the past



Having grown up in the dark ages, before there were zodiac-themed Lego sets or cheongsam-wearing Barbies, I dont remember the bright red, heavy commercialization you see painted across the internet nowadays. At school, maybe someones mom would come in either with a plate of songpyeon for the class to share or to attempt to conduct a room full of mouths unfamiliar with the construction of tonal languages to say, Kung Hei Fat Choi.



It wasnt until towards the end of college that it even occurred to me to wonder why my own family had never celebrated Lunar New Year, or Seollal to Koreans. I grew up accepting that it was mostly a Chinese holiday and shrugging off the cultural gaps between me and half my ancestry. It took the curiosity and guilt of an early-20s reckoning with racial identity to figure out that, as it turns out, we had celebrated. For many years.



Every winter, my dads mom, or Halmoni, would invite me, my dad, my mother and brother over around late January or early February for a hot bowl of tteokguk, or rice cake soup, and an immaculate tower of carefully sliced fruits. At the front door lay slip-on house slippers in my parents sizes that they would change into as we entered the house, while Halmoni quietly scuffed along the kitchen floor in the next room, busily chopping and preparing. Knowing it was one of the few Korean foods at the time my little brother would gleefully inhale, she would give him an extra helping of chewy tteok. And we sat and ate, occasionally sharing a recent family success but mostly in silence, for about an hour.



I didnt ever process why we did this or what the exact components of the interaction were or even that it seemed to happen around the same time every year. I just took for granted that it happened. No fanfare or complicated rituals  just good food and family. I hadnt made the connection between my third culture conscious expectation as an adult that I be able to provide some sort of anthropological explanation of what the holiday was, and the childhood version of myself who was suddenly and viscerally reawakened by the sounds of slippers on linoleum kitchen floors, the smell of warm brisket soup and garlic sesame oil, or the taste of those perfectly round, white rice cakes.



Across the chasmic language and generational barriers, my Halmoni and I had few ways of communicating directly with one another, but I processed countless memories of fruit plates made for five, consisting of 50% kiwi  my favorite fruit that even I am too cheap to buy more than two to three times a year.



Lunar New Years of the present



Several years after she had passed, when I moved into my first lonely New York apartment, I scoured the blogs of other Korean moms who could help me recreate the flavors of a holiday tradition I hadnt realized I ached for. Once a year, I began snacking on songpyeon and splurging on singo pears while attempting to refine my own recipe.



Eventually, I began inviting a few friends to partake in what somehow became full-blown annual festivities. First, second and third generations of Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Taiwanese, Indian, Jewish and whatever other friends were willing to help out gathered in cramped Brooklyn apartments for two or three days at a time to labor in the kitchen together, sharing the foods that connected each of us to our families.



Weeks of planning, grocery shopping and methodical transportation of ingredients turned into several rounds of scallion pancakes, followed by har gow and steamed fish, gang hung le curries, tteokguk, mochi desserts and every variety of anything-you-can-boil-into-a-tea. In between competitive grabs for the fish sauce, some admittedly clumsy dumpling wrapping and chaotic transfers across the stove burners, we took turns shoving bites of food that reminded us of our homes into each others mouths.



As 10 a.m. became 3 p.m. became 10 p.m. became 3 a.m., people filtered in and out, many of us fell to the floor in heaps to chat and chill, pick at a guitar, flip through a book. The artists among us snapped photos of the wreckage or discussed foreign films and potential collabs, while the dancers improvised a genre of movement that was entirely their own. By the end of it all, no one could be bothered to care about the rice flour that found its way into every crack in the floor, the puddles of glassware casualties and soy sauce, the Bruce Lee-inspired yellow Jordans toppled over by the piles of shoes in the front doorway.



None of our families could have imagined us children of immigrants celebrating in this particular way  paying unintentional respects to ancestors by carrying their recipes forward into the future, welcoming in good health and prosperity by feeding our extended makeshift family and supporting each others artistic endeavors or offering career advice. But in those fleeting moments, we gave permanence to tradition by taking time to be truly present in what matters.



Feature image via Elizabeth Lee

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A Hagerstown man who pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree rape and abducting a child under 12 was ordered Friday to spend 15 years in prison, according to online court records.

Nelson David Garcia Vicente, 31, was also placed on five years supervised probation by Washington County Circuit Court Judge Viki M. Pauler. He was also ordered to register as a Tier III sex offender, court records show.

Vicente pleaded guilty to the charges on Oct. 27. Other charges including attempted first-degree rape and kidnapping were dropped, court records show.

A Washington County Sheriff's Office deputy responded April 22, 2020, to a residence for a reported sexual assault and found Vicente walking out of the home. He was taken into custody on an unrelated outstanding warrant, according to the charging document filed against him.

More: 50-year-old man charged with sexually assaulting girl at Hagerstown-area home

Pending case: Charges in 1988 attacks on girls in Hagerstown aren't 'going away' despite long trial delay

A woman at the residence told the deputy that one of her daughters witnessed her younger sister being dragged out of the house by Vicente, the document states.

The victim told her mother that Vicente took her to his car and drove her to a parking lot. While there, Vicente forced what the child described as a rag over her mouth, pulled his and her pants down and touched her "privates," the document states.

Later that night, the girl's mother saw her daughter with Vicente's bank card. When the mother asked about the card, the girl said Vicente told her she could use it to buy video games if she "would not tell anyone what happened," according to the document.

After the mother learned what happened, Vicente contacted her using WhatsApp. The communications included recorded messages, in one of which Vicente apologized for what he had done and offered her money in exchange for keeping quiet, the document states.

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The girl was taken to Meritus Medical Center for a forensic examination, the document states.

Vicente initially denied the girl's allegations, but later told investigators he was going to see someone that evening and the girl asked to go along. Vicente, who said he was intoxicated, drove to a commercial parking lot in the Robinwood area, according to the document.

Vicente admitted pulling his and the girl's pants down. To stop the girl's crying, he said he put body spray on a towel and held it over her mouth and nose, then grabbed her by the waist and pulled her toward him "to hug her by the waist," the document states.

When the girl continued to cry and asked to go home, Vicente drove her home, according to the account he gave investigators.

Pauler sentenced Vicente to 20 years in prison on the attempted rape charge and suspended five years. She sentenced him to 10 years on the abduction charge, suspended the prison time and ordered that sentence to be served consecutively, court records show.

The sentence has the net effect of ordering him to serve 15 years in prison. He was given credit for the 645 days he has already been in custody, court records show.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown man gets 15 years for attempted rape, abducting child
by Elias Shilangwa

LUSAKA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's resilience, determination and hard work in transforming itself from a poor country to the second-largest economy in the world should inspire African countries in their development aspirations, a Zambian expert said on Wednesday.

Sande Ngalande, Director of the Belt and Road Research Center of the University of Zambia, said Africa needs to look to China for advice and solutions on how to accelerate its development agenda.

"China is a great country coming from a humble background. It offers us, especially in Africa, a great lesson about how a people united, a people focused on a common goal, a people speaking the same language, having one vision and getting together to fight anything in their way can make sure they achieve great things," he told Xinhua.

China, he said, has shown that it was possible to achieve anything because of what the Asian nation has done in the last couple of years in ensuring that the living standards of its people are improved.

According to him, the lifting of about 800 million Chinese people out of poverty was a phenomenon that African countries need to learn from on how to tackle poverty, adding that this was made possible by the dedicated leadership.

Ngalande, who is also Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zambia, further commended China for going out of its way in helping other countries, especially in Africa, to improve not only infrastructure but human capacity and technical services.

He thanked China for its generosity in giving Zambia a railway link to the sea at the time the southern African nation had problems in exporting and importing goods, adding that this was done despite the Asian nation having problems of its own.

"By the time they were helping us with the TAZARA (Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority), China was also a poor country and nobody could think they could do such a thing," he added.

He hoped that the friendship between China and Zambia will continue to blossom despite the COVID-19 pandemic. 
A year after the national downsizing of minor league baseball, the Maryland Stadium Authority is pitching the creation of a $200 million fund for improvements to the states minor league ballparks.

The idea is to strengthen the hands of clubs in preserving their big league affiliations and remaining in the state.

Stadiums in Aberdeen, Bowie, Frederick, Hagerstown, Salisbury and Waldorf would be eligible to apply to the stadium authority to tap into the capital improvements fund.

Legislation creating the fund was drafted by stadium authority and expected to be introduced in the General Assembly soon.

Proceeds from the state lottery  as much as $25 million per year  would be used to pay debt service on bonds needed to finance the projects.

Major League Baseball has reorganized their minor league system, said Michael Frenz, the authoritys executive director, in an interview. Cities have lost teams, and the primary reason has been the adequacy of their facilities. This will help Marylands municipalities keep their minor league teams.

MLB reorganized the minor leagues after the canceled 2020 season, leaving each of the 30 franchises with four full-season affiliates. That restructuring meant more than 40 minor league teams lost their affiliations to major league organizations in December 2020.

Three of Marylands remaining minor league teams  in Aberdeen, Bowie and Salisbury  are Orioles affiliates.

Frenz said the farm clubs and the parent club generate interest in one another.

There are synergies associated with the minor league teams and the Orioles, he said.

But the Frederick Keys, who served as the Orioles High-A team, were cut loose in the reorganization. Their stadium now will host games in the newly formed MLB Draft League, designed for amateur players to showcase their abilities ahead of the Major League Baseball draft.

Hagerstown lost a team that was affiliated with the Washington Nationals. But the city is in the process of building a new stadium with the help of stadium authority and state funding  scheduled to open in a few years  and will host an Atlantic League team.

The new fund also could be tapped by other sports entertainment venues such as equestrian centers, the stadium authority said.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) addresses reporters after the weekly policy luncheon on Tuesday, February 1, 2022.





Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is looking to dial down the drama as he plots his party's strategy for the upcoming Supreme Court fight.

McConnell is navigating complex political headwinds. He's got conservative firebrands, including some GOP senators with White House dreams, who could use the nomination to garner attention from the party's base. Meanwhile, a handful of Republicans are viewed as swing votes, meaning there's no guarantee the caucus will ultimately be unified.

McConnell is warning President Biden against making a pick that caters to progressives, but also indicated Republicans will keep the upcoming confirmation battle civil and focused on qualifications of the nominee, who is expected to be the first Black woman selected for the Supreme Court.

"I think you would anticipate the Senate Republican minority ... treating the nominee with respect and going through the process in a serious, thoughtful way," McConnell told reporters.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a McConnell ally, summed up how he sees the upcoming fight by contrasting it to the vitriolic battle over Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation: "It won't be a replay of Kavanaugh."

McConnell spoke with Biden, whom he cut deals with during the Obama era, on Tuesday about his forthcoming Supreme Court pick as the White House ramps up its outreach to Republicans.

The looming decision will be the first time since McConnell led Senate Republicans to nix the 60-vote hurdle for Supreme Court nominees in 2017 that he won't be in control of the Senate, allowing Democrats to use his own rules change against him.

If all 50 Senate Democrats stick together, they'll be able to confirm whomever Biden picks even without GOP support, though Democrats are hoping to peel off at least one Republican.

Democrats have united to confirm more than 40 judicial nominees for Biden over the past year, and McConnell and his allies are urging Republicans to set their expectations accordingly.

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"We have to keep in perspective what we can and we cannot do and keep expectations realistic, because they do have the majority," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), McConnell's No. 2, told The Hill.

With the outcome of the Supreme Court fight likely baked in and the 6-3 conservative balance not expected to change, Republicans also believe there are better issues for them to focus on heading into November, when they think making the midterm elections a referendum on Democrats will pay political dividends for them.

Thune, speaking to reporters, added that Republicans wouldn't let a focus by Democrats on filling the Supreme Court seat "take away from the many things that the Democrats don't want to talk about."

A GOP senator added Republicans have a "better argument" to make to voters on issues besides the Supreme Court.

"We're almost certainly going to lose, and there's no reason to look worse while losing than you have to," the GOP senator added.

McConnell met with Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as the caucus starts to strategize about its path forward.

GOP senators stressed afterward that they would focus on the nominee's qualifications and legal philosophy once Biden nominates her, not her race.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, added, "I think it will be challenging for the nominee, it should be - challenging and respectful."

Supreme Court fights have become increasingly heated in recent years in the Senate.

In 2016, Republicans, led by McConnell, refused to give a hearing or a vote to Merrick Garland, former President Obama's final nominee, sparking years of bad blood with Senate Democrats.

Then, in 2017, Republicans nixed the 60-vote filibuster for Supreme Court nominees so they could confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch, who won three Democratic votes. In 2018, Kavanaugh's confirmation battle got upended by sexual assault allegations, which he denied. And in 2020, Republicans moved at lightning speed to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the seat held by the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just days before the 2020 elections.

Democrats are hopeful they'll be able to win over at least one Republican senator, with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, saying that he views "several" as open to supporting Biden's eventual pick.

Some Republicans are warning that their colleagues should be prepared to fight if Biden's nominee is what they see as outside of the mainstream.

"I think that our voters, our constituents, sent us up here to do a job," said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). "They expect us to scrutinize Supreme Court nominees. ... We have an obligation to do that."

Republicans aren't expected to be able to block Democrats from confirming a nominee if they all remain united. But there are procedural steps they could take to create headaches for Democrats and slow down the process, including delaying the vote by a week in committee, boycotting the committee vote or trying to force the Senate into a closed session, which Democrats did during their consideration of Barrett's nomination.

Judiciary Committee Republicans say they didn't get into the procedure during their meeting with McConnell, but there's early skepticism in the caucus that there would be widespread support for going all-in on using the Senate's rulebook to make the confirmation process more painful for Democrats.

And though several GOP senators, including Hawley, have been critical of Biden for limiting potential nominees to Black women, that stance has drawn strong pushback from some within their own party.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said that he had "no problem with the president making that pledge during the campaign."

"I would love to vote to put the first Black woman on the court," Blunt added.

Republicans say once Biden makes his pick, they'll focus their strategy on the nominee's qualifications and temperament, pledging to avoid making their attacks personal - pledges some delivered with a dig at Democrats.

"Whoever he nominates, once we get a nomination, that person needs to have a very thorough process focused on their judicial record ... as opposed to the kind of character assassination that unfortunately we've seen with Justice Kavanaugh," Hawley said.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said that Republicans on the committee and McConnell agreed that they would focus on the nominee's record, credentials and public statements.

"All of us were agreed that what we will not do ... is engage in the kind of partisan circus of personal smears that Democrats have repeatedly resorted to," Cruz said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Justice Neil Gorsuch is speaking this weekend to the conservative legal group that boosted his Supreme Court candidacy, in a session at a Florida resort that is closed to news coverage.

Gorsuch is billed as the banquet speaker Friday at the Florida chapter of the Federalist Society's annual meeting, which is being held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista.

The schedule on the organization's website notes, The banquet is closed to press.

Neither the Federalist Society nor the Supreme Court immediately offered any explanation.

The two-day meeting also will feature former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as a session billed The End of Roe v. Wade? that will be moderated by a federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump. The high court is weighing a major rollback of abortion rights, and could overrule the 1973 Roe decision.

The Federalist Society typically allows reporters to cover its meetings. That was the case in 2017, when Gorsuch addressed more than 2,000 people at a black-tie dinner at Washington's Union Station, seven months after he joined the Supreme Court.

Gorsuch's ascension to the nation's highest court owes at least in part to his inclusion on a list of possible nominees that the Federalist Society helped compile and that Trump issued during his 2016 campaign for the presidency.

Shortly after taking office, Trump nominated Gorsuch for the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016. Republicans who controlled the Senate refused to confirm former President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland.

With DeSantis and Gorsuch on the schedule, the meeting features two prominent public figures who have made a point of not wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

At high court arguments in January, Gorsuch was the only justice who did not wear a mask on the bench. His seatmate, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, has had diabetes since childhood and did not attend arguments in person, although she did not ascribe her absence to Gorsuch's decision.

Disney's website says, Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) in all indoor locations, regardless of vaccination status.
Pope Francis. (WikiCommons)

The postponed December meeting between Indigenous leaders, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Pope Francis to discuss the churchs role in Residential Schools will now take place this spring, the groups announced yesterday.

The originally planned Dec. 17-20 trip to Italy was cancelled due to the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The Holy Father is now scheduled to meet with individual Indigenous delegations the week of March 28, 2022, Tuesdays press release reads. A final audience with all participants will take place on Friday, April 1, 2022.

The meeting is meant to foster meaningful encounters of dialogue and healing for the Catholic Churchs role in its more than 100-year operation of Indian Residential Schools for Indigenous, First Nations, Metis and Inuit youth in Canada.

About the Author: "Jenna Kunze is a reporter for Native News Online and Tribal Business News. Her bylines have appeared in The Arctic Sounder, High Country News, Indian Country Today, Smithsonian Magazine and Anchorage Daily News. In 2020, she was one of 16 U.S. journalists selected by the Pulitzer Center to report on the effects of climate change in the Alaskan Arctic region. Prior to that, she served as lead reporter at the Chilkat Valley News in Haines, Alaska. Kunze is based in New York."

Contact: jkunze@indiancountrymedia.com
On Feb. 2, at the start of Black History Month, Miami-Dade also observes Arthur McDuffie Day.

What happened to McDuffie is a dark day in Miami-Dade history that should never be forgotten.

McDuffie is our George Floyd. Unfortunately, though his horrific death led to a riot, it did not spark a national movement.

On Dec. 17, 1979, McDuffie, a 33-year-old Black insurance agent and former Marine, ran a red light in his Kawasaki motorcycle. One Metro-Dade police officer and then many began to chase him. When they finally stopped McDuffie, up to a dozen officers were on the scene and beat him into a coma, cracking his skull with a police baton. The officers conspired at the scene to cover up the beating and staged an accident.

McDuffie died several days later from his injuries. An investigation led to the arrests of six officers when one of them confessed to the cover-up. All were charged.

In May 1980, five months after McDuffie was killed, an all-white jury in Tampa, where the trial had been moved, acquitted the officers. The blatant denial of justice in the death of a Black man led to an immediate outcry in Miami-Dades Black community.

It led to three days of violence in Liberty City, Brownsville and Overtown ; 18 people were killed, including white motorists who were pulled from their cars by rioters and beaten to death by angry crowds. The toll of looting and fires set was about $100 million in property damage. The neighborhoods impacted never quite recovered from the businesses destroyed by fires which never rebuilt.

After two days of rioting, Florida Gov. Bob Graham deployed the National Guard to calm the city and the neighborhoods that were set ablaze.

Since then, a stretch of Northwest 17th Avenue, where McDuffie was stopped, has been named for him.

But it took until 2020, in the wake of Floyds murder by a Minneapolis police officer and the outrage it sparked, for Miami-Dade to declare Feb. 2 Arthur Lee McDuffie Family Day.

That offers some, but still small, comfort at a time when police brutality, especially against African-Americans, is an enduring danger.
(Reuters) - Myanmar's shadow government, set up after last year's military coup, said it accepts the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hear allegations that the country committed genocide against its Rohingya minority.

Before the military seized power last year, Myanmar's government led by the now-ousted Aung San Suu Kyi had filed preliminary objections to the ICJ over the case brought by Gambia in a move seen as likely to delay proceedings.

The National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel administration including deposed lawmakers in exile, said in a statement issued on Tuesday that it had withdrawn all preliminary objections to the case.

Still, it is not clear whether this would affect the legal process since the NUG said that through a "bureaucratic idiosyncrasy" the ICJ has been communicating with Myanmar diplomats in Brussels who were under the control of the junta.

"Should the ICJ recognise the military, it would embolden the junta to continue and escalate its daily atrocity crimes," the NUG said in a statement.

It urged the ICJ to deal with Myanmar's permanent representative to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun.

The ICJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment and a spokesman for Myanmar's junta did not answer a telephone call seeking comment.

More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar's Rakhine State in 2017 after a military crackdown.

Rights groups documented killings of civilians and burning of villages and U.N. investigators concluded that the military campaign, launched after attacks on the security forces by Rohingya insurgents, had been executed with "genocidal intent".

In December 2019, Suu Kyi, then Myanmar's civilian leader, attended hearings at The Hague to ask judges to dismiss the case.

Suu Kyi has been put on trial by the junta and faces years in jail, though the removal of her government has sparked mass protests and a bloody crackdown on dissent by the army.

With Myanmar's military government fighting for international recognition, sources close to the case have previously said the junta has been engaging with the ICJ to submit court-ordered reports every six months on the situation with the Rohingya. The reports are not public.

(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Robert Birsel)
NAACP calls for changes at St. Pete Catholic High, citing racist graffiti

The NAACP St. Petersburg Branch and community leaders are calling for changes at St. Petersburg Catholic High School, where Black students have been the target of racist graffiti and other acts.

Branch president Esther Matthews met with principal Ross Bubolz before a news conference Tuesday at the school after hearing about violent, racist graffiti written in a school restroom in mid-January. The incident was first reported by WTSP-Channel 10.

Matthews also detailed other recent allegations shes heard about at the school: a Black student being referred to as slave by a classmate, a teacher who had the word monkey carved in a door and a dean who called Black students hoodlums.

When these things happen here, it says that we have students in an environment where we have allowed racial hatred to fester unchecked, Matthews said at the news conference. These are teachable moments.

In an interview, Matthews said she first heard of the graffiti when a student and her grandmother reached out with a photo.

This racial tension has been festering and has been festering for quite a while, she said. They did not feel they were being heard by the school and school administration.

Matthews wrote a letter to the school asking for a meeting with Bubolz, who had met with a small group of Black students to discuss the incident. Matthews said it is her understanding that 56 of the roughly 300 students at St. Petersburg Catholic High are Black.

I believe having the conversation with him allowed him to hear from a different voice what his students are saying, Matthews said of Bubolz. I feel like he received it.

At the news conference, Bubolz said he would not comment on personnel matters regarding the dean.

But in a video message to families, he addressed the steps the school would be taking, including faculty training and engaging students in conversations about race and prejudice. He said St. Petersburg Police investigated the graffiti but have not been able to identify the person or persons responsible.

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This is not acceptable, Bubolz said. Hate and prejudice do not have a place here.

He quoted Pope Francis in the schools commitment to do better. We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of human life, he said.

Ella Coffee, a legislative assistant for State Sen. Darryl Rousson and an alumna of the school, spoke at the news conference, pointing to the irony of having to address these issues the same day the citys first Black mayor, Ken Welch, raised the Black History Month Flag.

Were living in a day and time where these things are rearing their heads all over, Matthews said.

Pinellas County Commissioner Rene Flowers also spoke, calling on the school to fire the dean. She said she was reminded of the long-ago struggles faced by parents of students in newly integrated schools. She told students she stood in solidarity with them.

Not only do you have your parents, your biological parents, you have us, Flowers said. We will no longer stand idly by and allow our children to be considered second-class citizens.

Rev. Louis Murphy, pastor of Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, said he too had vivid memories of segregation and the taunts he faced as a sixth grader.

Here it is, Murphy said. Almost 50 years later, were still dealing with this type of racism.

Though the nation is divided, he said, one of the most contentious topics could be one of the most useful. Learning the history and meaning of racial slurs is important, he said.

This is the reason critical race theory needs to be taught in our schools, Murphy said, referring to efforts by Republican lawmakers to outlaw the topic in Floridas schools and workplaces. So we can understand the history of how we got here.
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia dispatched the 12th batch of 184 peacekeepers, including 29 women, to join a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon on Wednesday.

The military engineer corps will replace the 11th batch, whose one-year term has come to an end, Gen. Sem Sovanny, director-general of the National Center for Peacekeeping Forces, said during a sending-off ceremony at Phnom Penh international airport.

"It's another pride for our nation and our peacekeepers, and again, it shows Cambodia's active contributions to maintaining peace in war-torn countries," he said.

Sovanny advised the peacekeepers to strictly abide by the UN rules and disciplines, the Royal Cambodian Army's code of ethics, and the host country's laws.

They all have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and have tested negative for the disease before their departure, he said.

The peacekeepers will work on landmine clearance and construction of roads, bridges, shelters and pumping wells, he added.

The southeast Asian nation first sent troops overseas on the UN peacekeeping mission in 2006. To date, the country has dispatched a total of about 8,000 peacekeepers to join UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Syria, Lebanon and Mali. 
Jacksonville's City Hall.

COMMENTARY | By mid-October, Jacksonville City Hall will have distributed more than $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan funding to outside organizations to help them recover financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A review of those grant recipients, city legislation, interviews and other documents suggests the process city officials used to distribute that money guaranteed influence  an organization's connection to a city official  rather than need played an outsized and often decisive role in determining who got a piece of that money and why.

In many cases, that process still benefitted good causes that are well-known and well-regarded. But it also meant scores of Jacksonville's less well-connected nonprofits with genuine need received little or no slice of that money.

Instead, some of the money is set to go to more obscure organizations with a less clear public record of delivering on good causes and no backup documentation demonstrating their need. But they had a key advantage: For one reason or another, getting the attention of a City Council member.

SEE THE LIST: Jacksonville City Council members had $6.5 million in COVID-19 relief to provide to outside groups. Where is it going?

More: Nate Monroe: In dead of night, City Council quietly approves money for colleagues' nonprofits

More: Nate Monroe: Last-minute request for COVID cash from nonprofit run by City Council member needs scrutiny

The city says the onus will be on grant recipients in the end: They must attest that their organizations are eligible to receive the federal money and could be held accountable on the back end with future city or federal audits.

Still, members of the City Council remarkably had few constraints when deciding how to divvy up a portion of $6.5 million in federal funding. All 19 council members have been given slices of that money in equal batches to dole out. Nonprofit status was not even a requirement: One council member, Michael Boylan, decided to share more than $100,000 with a for-profit publishing company headquartered in the Panhandle.

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The council already selected and approved dozens of groups to receive an initial $1.9 million batch of money. On Oct. 12, council members are set to approve a list of recipients  which they've already selected  for a second $4.5 million round of funding.

To the extent there was competition for a slice of this money, the competition was to curry favor with a council member or to win their sympathy  the only eligibility requirement necessary to land on the list of potential grant recipients. It's perfectly possible individual council members carefully reviewed all the funding requests and strived to find the neediest among them; the reality is there was no process to guarantee that.

This was a major departure from the way the city has distributed public funding to nonprofits and good causes in the past: With a detailed and competitive application process vetted and scored by professionals.

Most notably, this process allowed a nonprofit founded and run by a member of the council, Reginald Gaffney, to receive a $500,000 slice of American Rescue Plan funding to compensate it for economic losses  more than almost any other organization got this year for that purpose, and without any documentation showing his organization's need. It was more than the city provided to the Town of Baldwin  $200,000  in the latest round of ARP funding.

Many in Jacksonvilles nonprofit world are deeply frustrated by this process, but few of them are comfortable airing those grievances publicly because they rely on city support every year.

Not everyone, however, was unwilling to talk.

"There are many of us who could have really used $5-$10K," Katie McCaughan, executive director of the Jacksonville Dance Theatre, a smaller nonprofit in good standing with the citys Cultural Council, told me. "Instead, one group got $500,000. What? Why?"

"I'm no big fish. I don't have a lot of weight to throw around," she told me. "We just love what we do and who we serve and work very hard to not operate in the red and deliver on our mission."

The process of determining recipients

Few people Ive spoken to outside of city government, and even a few within, had a clear understanding of how City Hall is pushing $6.5 million out the door.

In short, there were two pots of money council members were provided to dole out at their own discretion.

The better known of those two pots is $4.5 million, which wont be finalized until the councils Oct. 12 meeting. In that pot, each council member received $242,000 to give out, either all to one organization or divided between two.

On Aug. 31, the Cultural Council emailed several nonprofits in its system about this funding potential, informing them they had only until Sept. 10 to fill out a request form  an incredibly rapid timeline in the world of nonprofits, where a grant application process can often take months, if not years.

Adding to the oddity was how unusually easy it was to apply: All it took was filling out a request form. No financial paperwork was required; no demonstration of need necessary; no detailed plans for how the money would be spent.

But there was that catch: To get any money, the nonprofits would have to lobby individual members of the Jacksonville City Council. Get on their list, and get funding. Fail to do so, and get nothing. There was no standardized scoring matrix or eligibility requirements  or, rather, winning a council member's favor was the minimum eligibility requirement.

The Cultural Council's Aug. 31 email set off a mad scramble among less well-connected nonprofits to get on any council member's radar. Some organizations found it was too late: Several council members had already decided how to divvy up their $242,000 share of the money before the Sept. 10 deadline. Some nonprofits found just getting anyone on the phone, or to respond to an email, impossible.

The winners

The list of recipients, set for approval Oct. 12, reflects an array of interests. Many of them are legitimately good causes: Two council members awarded Edward Waters University $100,000-plus grants; the Jacksonville Historical Society, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (a group Ive argued the city should better fund every year), and The Arc Jacksonville are also among the potential recipients.

At first blush, there are also definite oddities, like Councilmember Boylans decision to include $121,000 for Havana Publishing, a for-profit company headquartered in Havana, Fla. and with a second office in St. Johns. The company produces highly localized neighborhood newspapers, including one called the Mandarin Newsline, which covers its namesake neighborhood in Boylans district, and which regularly features him and another Mandarin-area elected official, School Board member Lori Hershey, in a monthly Q&A feature. Its the only for-profit organization included in the list of recipients.

Boylan told me he recognized the publishing group "wasn't a perfect fit" for relief money, but he focused his efforts on providing money specifically to Mandarin-area organizations and he felt the Mandarin Newsline was providing a worthy public service.

In hindsight, Boylan said it might have been helpful for the council to have had some uniform eligibility requirements or guidance for choosing award recipients.

A nonprofit Gaffney chose to provide a $121,000 relief grant, the Orange Park-based Summit Vision Foundation Inc., has an annual budget of less than $50,000, according to IRS records.

In one case, two council members doubled down on a lesser-known organization: Gaffney and Council President Sam Newby both proposed separate $121,000 grants to The Church International Inc., which lists an Argyle Forest address that is home to The Church 3:20. The churchs lead pastor, Stanley Williams, is also listed as an officer on The Church Internationals corporate papers, along with Stanley Williams Jr. and Eunice Williams.

Three people of the same names  Williams, Williams Jr. and Eunice  contributed $1,000 each to Gaffneys state Senate campaign Aug. 29.

Newby, the council president, also earmarked $121,000 for Wayman Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit run by Mark Griffin, lead pastor at Wayman Ministries, where Newby attends church. Griffin, a Republican, has previously run for local office. Newby is a two-time vice chair of the Republican Party of Duval County.

First pot of money

In mid-September, the council first got to divide up a pool of $1.9 million  $100,000 per member  to provide to up to four organizations per member.

The vast majority of those 61 recipients, similarly selected at the great discretion of council members, got $25,000, with a few getting more and only two getting all $100,000 of a council members share.

Those smaller grants put into even starker relief the $500,000 that is set to go to Community Rehabilitation Center Inc., the nonprofit Gaffney, the council member, founded in 1993, and a separate round of $100,000 grants set to go to three nonprofits run by council members JuCoby Pittman, Kevin Carrico and Terrance Freeman: Clara White Mission, where Pittman is CEO; the Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Florida, where Carrico is vice president of operations; and Read USA, where Freeman is CEO.

The City Council signed off on all four grants this past Tuesday near the end of a marathon meeting around 11 p.m., and they did so largely in silence. None of the 19 members asked any questions of their four colleagues before unanimously signing off on the grants (the four members recused themselves from voting when their respective nonprofits were up).

Several people I spoke to said they had never seen so many recusals take place in a single meeting, an eyebrow-raising spectacle by itself.

The three $100,000 grants were part of the citys annual budget  they werent part of COVID-19 money the rest of the nonprofit community had to fight over  but the council had to waive rules normally requiring a competitive process to award them. The grants were for specific projects and are being paid on a reimbursement basis, but they are also the kind of opportunities that would ordinarily attract competition.

The $500,000 for Gaffneys nonprofit did come from American Rescue Plan money, but it originated from legislation filed by Mayor Lenny Currys administration rather than the council-based process the vast majority of the citys nonprofits had to navigate  and had to navigate in hopes of landing awards ranging from about a fifth of Gaffneys award to, most often, significantly less.

On Gaffney, the mayor's office has said it takes requests for funding it receives and puts them up for council approval. "Ultimately, its up to them (organizations) to sell it to the policy-makers on why its justified and what theyre going to use it for," Jordan Elsbury, the mayor's chief of staff, told my colleague David Bauerlein last week.

Elsbury noted every organization that receives the ARP money must sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury and can be found liable on the back end if money is misspent or if it went to an ineligible group.

That puts the onus on the council to be the first line of scrutiny in evaluating funding requests  which means colleagues asking one another hard questions about their various choices to receive ARP money. Perhaps there are good reasons council members selected some of the lesser-known organizations for funding. The only way to hash it out is for the council to discuss it.

But that is a task the council showed itself unwilling to perform last week.

The problem

The four organizations that employ City Council members in top positions won significant money while escaping the kind of intense competition and lobbying the vast majority of even well-regarded nonprofits often have to navigate.

And it sends a powerful message: People and groups in power are treated differently in Jacksonville.

The Tuesday-night vote caused immediate outcry, and already one City Council member, Rory Diamond, has proposed reforms: A requirement that any grant going to a nonprofit that employs a council member must be competitively bid and be evaluated in a separate public hearing to ensure it receives more vetting.

The city has the infrastructure in place already, through the Cultural Council and its public-service grant program, to have administered any and all COVID-19 money going to outside organizations. And last year, with CARES Act money approved during the Trump Administration, the city required nonprofits to submit financial information demonstrating need and scored applications. Most groups received less than they requested.

Eschewing those checks was an unforced error and has deepened divides that already exist in Jacksonvilles nonprofit community. It created a free-for-all that disproportionately awarded some nonprofits, while neglecting others entirely. With council members free to follow their own preferences, there was no one in charge of ensuring the money was being distributed for maximum possible impact across the community, and few guardrails in place to ensure some of it won't be wasted entirely. Accountability will only come on the back end, if at all, when the money has already vanished.

Most of all, the raw politics it has all laid bare reviled a public already frustrated with a city government that is struggling to provide basic services, like regular trash pickup.

The stench, both literal and metaphorical, is becoming too much to bear.

To view a list of all the approved and still-under-review recipients of the $6.5 million funding, visit jacksonville.com.

Nate Monroe's City column appears every Thursday and Sunday.

nmonroe@jacksonville.com

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: In Jacksonville, influence dictated who got COVID relief cash, not need
Feb. 1The 19 National Guard members stationed at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center are working in a hospital that is the busiest its been with COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began.

"We broke records I never wanted to break," said Susan Stacey, chief executive of Providence Health & Services' Inland Northwest service area, in a call with reporters Tuesday. "Yesterday, we broke a record at Sacred Heart with the most COVID patients we have ever had through this pandemic. And today, we broke that record."

More than 100 patients are hospitalized at the regional hospital with COVID-19, increasing the demand for health care providers who are "exhausted physically and emotionally," Stacey said.

The team at Sacred Heart, part of a 100-member deployment announced by Gov. Jay Inslee late last month as cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 began surging in the state, includes Master Sgt. Ralph Godinez. Godinez said his usual job with the National Guard is in logistics, and past assignments have included work on the state's raging wildfires.

"It's just the ability to adapt quickly, and to overcome, and to just  even if you don't know what you're expecting, you can do it," Godinez said.

Guard members have been working in nonclinical roles since their arrival Jan. 21, Stacey said. That includes stocking supplies and helping arriving patients in the emergency department, as well as assisting with contact-tracing, mask-fitting and viral testing of caregivers working at Sacred Heart. Those tasks had been handled by a specific team of providers at the hospital, Stacey said.

"Having the Guard here frees up clinical staff to be able to go back and take care of patients, or do the other duties they would typically do," she said.

Even with the spike in patients needing care for COVID-19, Stacey said there are not currently plans to extend their assignment at Sacred Heart past Feb. 19.

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"We are grateful to have them here until the middle of February," she said.

Members of the Guard have worked well with the hospital staff, Godinez said.

"They're meshing well with the day-to-day operations," he said. "They've become part of the team here."

Here's a look at local numbers

The Spokane Regional Health District reported 687 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.

There are 211 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Spokane.

The Panhandle Health District reported 264 new COVID cases on Tuesday. The district continues to have a backlog of about 4,900 cases to confirm.

There are 103 Panhandle residents hospitalized, and Kootenai Health is treating 97 patients with COVID-19.

Health departments continue to deal with record case counts and data, making data reporting fluctuate, and departments encourage evaluating trends instead of individual numbers or cases .
Native American tribes will receive a collective $590 million to settle claims that three drug distributors and drug maker Johnson & Johnson fueled the opioid crisis in Indian Country.

The settlement  open to all tribes, regardless of whether they sued  will be paid over seven years, according to documents filed Tuesday in federal court. The deal marks the latest in a series of financial payouts to governments grappling with a surge of painkiller addictions and deaths.

More than 400 tribes and tribal organizations had accused the prescription drug industrys largest players of purposely flooding their communities with highly addictive opioids, causing overdose deaths and health care costs to skyrocket.

More: Oklahoma may sue tribes over hunting dispute, Stitt says

Cardinal Health, McKesson, more cited in opioid settlement

Former Oklahoma U.S. District Court Judge Layn Phillips had a central role in negotiating the settlement among tribes and the three distributors, AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health, according to court filings. Those firms agreed to pay $440 million, and Johnson & Johnson will pay $150 million.

Phillips and another mediator will oversee how to split up the money among tribes. A woman who answered Phillips' office phone said he did not speak to news organizations about cases. In 2020, he oversaw talks between Oklahoma and tribes entrenched in a dispute over the states model gaming compact.

More: McGirt decision spurs fierce debate on Oklahoma tax issues

Oklahoma has 38 federally recognized tribes, including at least 13 that initially filed lawsuits against opioid makers and distributors; the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, based west of Oklahoma City, among them.

In court filings, the tribe described the opioid crisis as oppressively vast, reaching every facet of its society. The tribe said a financial settlement would help initiate the long path of recovery for its peoples, community and future.

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Attorneys for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes were not available to speak about the settlement Tuesday.

How will the opioid settlement funds be used?

The Cherokee Nation in northeast Oklahoma was among the first tribes to sue over prescription painkillers. There were so many opioids within the tribe's 14-county reservation in 2015 that it amounted to 107 pills for every adult resident, court documents say.

In a statement, the Cherokee Nation said it will receive $18 million from Johnson & Johnson's portion of the settlement announced Tuesday. The tribe previously reached a separate, $75 million settlement with three drug distributors involved in the case: AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health.

Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the tribe plans to use the money to increase access to mental health care and other services.

The drug distributors are working on a massive settlement deal with states, allowing officials to opt in until Jan. 26. Its unclear whether Oklahoma is one of the 43 states that have signed on.

Oklahomas fight against prescription drug makers faced a setback in November when the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned the states $465 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson.

Molly Young covers Indigenous affairs for the USA Today Network's Sunbelt Region of Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. Reach her at mollyyoung@gannett.com or 405-347-3534

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Opioid settlement with Native American tribes reached with drug maker
NEWTON, MA  A Lesley University biology instructor has received a $90,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife grant to study sick bats.

Christopher Richardson, a Newton resident, will use the funding to study the continued effects of white-nose syndrome, a disease that has killed millions of bats since it was first discovered in 2007, to learn how well colonies of little brown bats are recovering from the disease. He will do this by examining their excrement.

Animal droppings have very valuable information, said Richardson in a statement.

Although not glamorous, the work stands to provide invaluable data on bat populations that have been devastated by white-nose syndrome and give clues into what resources recovering colonies may need.

So far, there is no cure for white-nose syndrome, a disease caused by a fungus that leaves a white powder on bats noses. In some cases, entire colonies have died, but others are rebounding.

For the grant, Richardson is teaming up with Harvard University, MIT's Broad Institute, which does genomic sequencing, and bat researchers from Tulane University and the University of Las Vegas to examine the top indicators that show if and how quickly a bat population will rebound from white-nose syndrome.

Richardson will evaluate cortisol, the stress hormone, as well as inflammation and coronavirus strains that can be detected in bat poop and may correlate with the mammals ability to fight off the fungus.

In addition to preserving mosquito-eating bats, the data could help humans in a similar way that studying different diseases in mice does.

There could be some insight from studying a bat model for understanding humans, too, said Richardson.

The grant begins in May 2022 and will last two years.



This article originally appeared on the Newton Patch




A New York City police officer has been charged with assault as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harassment after allegedly using anti-Muslim slurs and assaulting a man following a traffic altercation while off-duty.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a press release on Monday that Riggs Kwong, 50, allegedly videotaped himself calling the victim a "terrorist," "Mr. Mohammed" and other slurs.

Kwong allegedly told the victim, "I'm trying to make a left here on the service road and this terrorist is terrorizing me. You're upset because I didn't let you make a U-turn, Mr. Mohammed ... Al Qaeda, Terrorist, ISIS ..."

According to the release from the DA's office, the incident began after Kwong blocked the vehicle of a 32-year-old man who was driving a Toyota Rav 4.

Allegedly, the victim followed Kwong's vehicle, a Honda Accord, and cut him off, leading to the off-duty officer becoming angry and using racial slurs against the victim.

The victim then allegedly got out of his vehicle and slapped the hood of Kwong's car.

After that, the release says that allegedly Kwong and the victim spat in each other's faces and then Kwong punched the victim several times, "causing him to fall to the ground" where Kwong "continued to punch him and use anti-Muslim language."

Kwong allegedly continued to strike the victim until he lost consciousness.

District Attorney Gonzalez said in a statement, "This defendant is charged with brutally assaulting a man until he lost consciousness while using anti-Muslim slurs following a traffic altercation."

"We have no tolerance for hate-motivated violence in Brooklyn, and the alleged conduct is especially reprehensible because the defendant is a law enforcement officer," Gonzalez continued. "The prosecution of hate crimes is a priority for my office, and we will vigorously seek accountability and justice in this case."

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Kwong also allegedly called 911, stating that he was an off-duty officer, and said that the victim threw the first punch and that he then punched the victim back. He allegedly said the same thing to officers who arrived at the scene, per the release.

However, the DA's office noted that "video surveillance allegedly shows the defendant punching the victim without the victim ever punching the defendant."

Kwong was released without bail and ordered to return to court on March 22.
Oakland 4-star running back Jordan James signed with Oregon during Wednesday's National Signing Day, choosing the Ducks over Georgia and Florida.

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound James announced the decision live in a ceremony held at Oakland High School.

James, rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 16 player nationally at his position and No. 4 overall player in Tennessee, committed to Georgia last March, but did not sign with the Bulldogs during the December early period.

He then took visits to both Oregon and Florida during the final two weeks before signing day.

BEST FIT: Where would 4-star RB Jordan James fit best between Georgia football, Florida and Oregon?

MORE: What Jordan James said about his 'crazy' last month, Georgia football and Oregon visit

James rushed for 1,653 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2021, earning all-area Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. He finished his two-year Oakland career with 3,393 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns after transferring from Brentwood Academy.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Jordan James signs with Oregon football over Georgia, Florida
A police officer collects caution tape outside the scene of a shooting at Kume Spa on Tuesday in Oakland. (Gabrielle Lurie / San Francisco Chronicle)

A shooting at an Oakland spa left one employee critically wounded and another, the suspected shooter, dead, authorities said.

Officers responded to calls reporting an active shooter shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to Officer Kim Armstead of the Oakland Police Department.

When authorities arrived, they discovered two people suffering from gunshot wounds inside the business. They were described only as a woman from Berkeley and a man from Oakland.

Both were transported to a nearby hospital, where the woman was pronounced dead. The man remains in critical condition, officials said.

"Both individuals that suffered gunshot wounds were employees at Kume Spa, one suspect and one victim," Armstead said. "The suspect is deceased."

Oakland Police spokeswoman Candace Keas said Wednesday that the womans injuries were self-inflicted.

Calls to the business Wednesday went unanswered, and a representative reached via email declined to comment.

In an email to customers, spa officials said they were "truly heartbroken by what took place at our Grand location this morning," the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The email said officials were closing the location until further notice to provide counseling and support to those involved.

In 2021, eight people were killed in a series of shootings at three Atlanta-area spas.

Armstead said that the shooting appears isolated and that there is no threat to the community.

"We do not believe this was a random act of violence," she said, adding that authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
HOWARD COUNTY, MD  A decrease in both non-fatal and fatal opioid overdoses was seen in Howard County in 2021, according to an update provided by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. In 2021, nonfatal overdoses fell from a high of 171 in 2017 to 137 in 2021, a 20 percent decrease. Fatal overdoses fell from a high of 51 in 2017 to 20 in 2021, a 61 percent decrease.

Ball pointed to Howard Countys collaborative efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, including a new innovative partnership between the department of fire and rescue services and grassroots that allows the transport of opioid-presenting patients to the New Beginnings Crisis Stabilization Center rather than the hospital.

In Howard County, weve redoubled our efforts to combat this crisis and weve made immense progress, Ball said. This new initiative is one more tool in our arsenal to combat the opioid endemic in Howard County  connecting those in crisis with the valuable resources and support they need to recover."



Prior to the pandemic, Howard County made measurable progress in the fight against the opioid crisis with a continued decrease in both non-fatal and fatal overdoses from 2017 to 2019. Nonfatal overdoses fell from a high of 188 in 2018 to 152 in 2020, a 19 percent decrease. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges to those facing substance misuse. In 2020, Howard County saw a 43 percent increase in opioid related deaths compared to 2019, part of a national and statewide trend as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated opioid and substance misuse. The state saw its highest opioid fatality number to date in 2020 at more than 2,500 deaths statewide. That trend continued for many communities in 2021 throughout the country.



However, Howard County made positive progress in 2021 compared to 2020, with nonfatal overdoses decreasing by nearly 10 percent and fatal overdoses decreasing by 57 percent. In 2020, Howard County reported 47 fatal overdoses compared to 20 in 2021. Notably in 2021, Narcan was administered to every non-fatal overdose.

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In December, the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services began a program to allow for the transportation of opioid-presenting patients directly to the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center as an alternative to conventional hospitals. Stable patients with opioid-related complaints can now be taken directly to the Grassroots facility for prompt, and often same day, referral to a treatment center. This is only the second EMS program in the state that takes stable opioid-use disorder patients directly to a stabilization center.



This initiative is part of the state opioid response program at Grassroots, providing an alternate destination besides a hospital for opioid-related patients and supportive care. To be transported directly to Grassroots, individuals must have opioid-related complaints, meet certain criteria and voluntarily consent to be transported to Grassroots. Patients are then provided supportive care, can be treated for opioid withdrawal and are screened for referral to a recovery treatment program. Grassroots SOR program is one of only two in Maryland and has a success rate of 75 percent in getting these patients into a treatment facility, most within 24 hours



Howard County is leading the way in supporting individuals seeking help for opioid-related issues. Immediate referral to a treatment program is the critical first step in the journey of recovery, Grassroots Executive Director Dr. Mariana Izraelson said. The partnership between Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services and Grassroots means people in need will be able to access immediate care upon arrival at the crisis intervention center, receive treatment for withdrawal there, followed by referral to a recovery program. This timely care has the best chance of success.

This article originally appeared on the Ellicott City Patch
The Frank Bogert statue in front of Palm Springs City Hall, Thursday, August 19, 2021. Bogert served as mayor from 1958-1966 and from 1982-1988.

The statue of former Palm Springs Mayor Frank Bogert came closer to being removed from the front of city hall Tuesday after the city's historic site preservation board voted 4-2 to pass a motion permitting its removal.

However, the vote to approve came with what the board called " a strong recommendation that the city, and perhaps that means city council, will ensure the statue's relocation to a suitable publicly-accessible site in perpetuity."

Board chair Katherine Hough and member Stephen Rose voted against the motion to issue the certificate, while members Scott Miller, Janet Hansen, Daniel Kiser and Erik Rosenow voted in favor. Board member Jade Nelson abstained from the vote.

Mayor was in office during Section 14 removal

Bogert was a former Hollywood actor who lived in Palm Springs for seven decades and served as the mayor of the city from 1958 to 1966 and then again from 1982 to 1988. The statue was placed in front of city hall in 1990.

Bogert, who died in March 2009, is considered a key figure in Palm Springs' history because he helped popularize the city as a glamorous resort destination. However, he also was mayor in 1966 when the Agua Caliente tribe evicted residents of around 200 homes on tribal land known as Section 14.

Section 14 is a one-square mile section of land in the central city where many Black and Hispanic residents lived after the city pushed them out of downtown in the 1960s.

The Agua Caliente tribe had leased to Black and Hispanic residents because of land leasing laws that prevented the tribe from being able to lease land for longer than five years at a time. However, in 1959, a change in Federal law allowed tribal land to be leased for up to 99 years, paving the way for development.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Palm Springs' then-city manager reported in 1966 to the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the city had been able to demolish, burn and clean up approximately 200 dwellings and structures.

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In September, the Palm Springs city council voted to begin the process of removing the statue, which would include getting the historic preservation board to determine the statue can be removed without compromising the integrity of the city hall historic site.

Some took issue with latest report

The Historic Preservation Board first considered whether to issue a certificate of appropriateness in December, ultimately voting to request that the city provide an evaluation of the statue itself as "historic resource."

That vote came after several board members took issue with a city staff report which suggested that the statue does not support, and arguably detracts from, city hall's status as a historic landmark because it was added to city hall decades after its completion and city hall's original architecture is the basis for it being a historic landmark in the first place.

The requested report was completed Jan. 24 by Architectural Resources Group, a firm specializing in architecture, historic preservation and planning. The report supported the city's assertion that the "period of historical significance" for city hall was 1956 to 1965, when the main building and an addition were completed. It labeled the statue as a non-contributing structure.

The report also noted that when the city initially designated city hall as a historic structure in 1996 it did not list "character-defining features" that contribute to the site's significance.

However, in 2012, the city council adopted a resolution stating that an historic designation "includes the structures, features and land" of the site bounded by the north parking lot and curb edges along Civic Drive to the north, Tahquitz Canyon Way to the south and El Cielo Road, except the landscaping materials therein," the report notes. The Bogert statue, which is located on the lawn, is within that boundary.

The report noted that "based on the original 1996 designation it is assumed that the building was landmarked for its Mid-Century Modern architectural design by master architect Albert Frey." The report did not further elaborate on how that conclusion was reached.

The report generated a mixed reaction from the council, with some taking issue with its assertion that the statue did not contribute to the historic nature of the site and should not be considered while others said they seemed consistent with prior preservation board precedent.

"In no instance can I recall a much later addition that was found to be contributing to the original historic resource...," said Miller of why he agreed with the report's findings. "So for me, it's very easy to come to the conclusion of this "addition," which is a statue placed on city hall grounds in 1990 will not have significant adverse effects on city hall as a historic resource."

But the board's discussion of the issue, which lasted a little over an hour, seemed to hinge on two issues: whether the fate of the statue should be decided by the board at all and if the board should, and even could, require that the statue be relocated to the historic Village Green Heritage Center in downtown Palm Springs as a condition of granting the certificate.

The Village Green Heritage Center is a group of historic structures in downtown that includes the city's first pioneer home and a recreated general store from the 1930s.

The latter possibility was suggested by Hough, who asked "why can't we all agree to relocate it, along with the rocks, to the Village Green where it can be re interpreted within a historical context?"

"Tell the history that has occurred in our city at the Village Green village," Hough said. "This is my recommendation so that we can all get along and resolve this controversial issue."

But while there initially appeared to be support for going that direction, the majority of the board ultimately agreed with Miller, who made the motion to grant the certificate and said he "did not want to go there."

Among those in agreement was Hansen, who said she felt the most the board could do was approve the issuing of the certificate and then make recommendations about what would happen to the statue going forward.

"I don't think we really have any say in where (the statue) goes specifically or what happens to it, once it is off the class-one historic site," she said.

Ken Lyon, the associate planner and historic preservation officer for the city who was advising the board on their decision, also said he did not feel the board had such power.

Instead, city law limits the board to deciding whether the removal of the statue would harm the integrity of city hall as a protected historic site. Therefore, it is not up to the board to determine what should happen to the statue, he said.

However, he suggested such a recommendation would probably be welcome by the city council, which he said would ultimately now decide what will happen to the statue. However, city attorney Jeff Ballinger has previously said that any decision by the board could also be appealed.

At one point, Kiser argued that it would only make sense to issue the certificate after it is determined where the statue should be moved to, a decision he said should be made either by the council or a vote of the people. Rose expressed agreement, saying "it feels like an integral part of this is knowing what they are going to do with the statue."

Miller, however, expressed strong disagreement, arguing that waiting until it is determined where the statue would go would put the board in an awkward position.

"That should not be in our motion, but I do support that we encourage the city to relocate it to an always accessible site," he said. "But to suggest otherwise and delay this issue again is ridiculous."

Following the vote, Lyon praised the board for "taking the uncomfortable position of taking a position."

"I want to just acknowledge this board because this is probably one of the most difficult decisions this board has been faced with in perhaps my entire tenure here..." he said. "And I think the motion was a good one that balanced everything you are hearing as well as your own views."

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs historic board authorizes removal of Bogert statue
What does Pam & Tommy (Disney Plus) want to be? Despite their notoriety, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee are not obvious subjects for an eight-episode bells-and-whistles biopic series. Their union was short and unhappy. The Baywatch actress and Motley Crue drummer were married in Cancun in 1995, four days after they met. They had two sons, but divorced in 1998, when Lee was sentenced to six months in jail for assaulting her. In the public imagination, they are forever associated with the sex tape, made on their honeymoon and leaked by Rand Gauthier, a disgruntled contractor working on their house, who stole the tape and sold it. Not exactly a laugh a minute.

It makes an interesting companion piece to the BBCs A Very British Scandal, which used a miserable marriage with a notorious sex act at its heart to tell a wider story about class and gender relations in Britain after the war. In the opening scenes of Pam & Tommy, we see Anderson (Lily James) on the Jay Leno talk show. He asks her about the tape, with a kind of knowing locker-room leer. Is this a period piece about the final moment before everyone and their uncle recorded all their activities, clothed or otherwise, and broadcast them 24/7 on the internet? Or perhaps it is going to be a Nineties morality tale, in which Anderson is a kind of proto-Britney, objectified and exploited by every man she encounters.

It may develop into something like that. But for all Pam & Tommys wry evocation of the mid-Nineties, complete with a gratifying soundtrack  I noted Belinda Carlisle, Munk, Nine Inch Nails and Primal Scream  on the evidence of the first episode it sits a bit uneasily. Its pretensions to commentary on the Nineties are undermined by a curious mix of comedy, drama and period piece. The pre-publicity focused on Lily Jamess transformation into Anderson, with the help of hair, makeup and  to the inexpert eye  possibly occult prosthetics. As it would, I suppose. You dont make a biopic about Pam & Tommy if youre not going to use her picture on the poster. James has reportedly said she sees this as an opportunity to show the world her versatility, and apparently remained in accent between takes.

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Yet she hardly features in the opening. A glimpse now and then. We hear her a fair bit more, especially in the opening minutes, although the hotly tipped accent doesnt get much of a look in. She and Lee (Sebastian Stan) rut away unseen upstairs, grunting and cursing, to the distraction of the workers trying to finish their house.

Chief among these contractors is Gauthier (Seth Rogen), here a carpenter rather than an electrician, as he was in real life. Rogen is almost as unfamiliar in appearance as James, clean shaven with a curly mullet and blue jeans, but he brings all his usual hangdog sympathy to the part. The script, by Robert Siegel, who wrote the films The Wrestler and The Founder, portrays Gauthier as an honest, hardworking American, down-on-his-luck, indebted and alleviating the gloom of his life with smoke and masturbation. Tommy represents everything he isnt: rich, dishonest, obnoxious, and with the eras ultimate trophy, Pamela Anderson, by his side. Stan and James are not an unglamorous pairing. Stan, clad in nothing but tattoo ink and a succession of posing pouches, hams it up to 11, as fits the role, with the odd flash of real darkness.

Yet while Pam & Tommy sometimes plays it seriously, most of the time it is content to stick to the laughs. An overlong heist scene, in which Gauthier contrives to steal Lees safe as karma for unpaid wages, might have come out of another Rogen film altogether. Pineapple Express, perhaps. This isnt really Pam & Tommy  its Rand. He might be a more relatable figure, but nobody ever went to Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee for relatability.

Pam & Tommy is out on Disney Plus on 2 February
DHAKA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- People from different walks of life in Bangladesh have sent Chinese New Year greetings as China welcomes the Year of the Tiger.

In Chinese culture, the tiger symbolizes bravery, vigor and strength that can lift people from adversity and usher in final auspiciousness and peace.

On the sidelines of Bangladesh's largest trade fair, the 26th edition of the Dhaka International Trade Fair that concluded Monday at a Chinese funded and built new venue in Purbachal on the outskirts of Dhaka, Rehana Akter, an entrepreneur, said it's time to celebrate the Lunar New Year to reinvigorate the spirit of peace, prosperity and fraternity among people.

"I wish the Chinese a Happy New Year. Happy Tiger New Year," said Akter, the owner and founder of Clay Image Ceramic.

Zahid Hossain, a Dhaka dweller, said this Chinese new year is a special one to boost the morale of people against COVID-19.

Talking to Xinhua, Squadron Leader (Rtd) M Sadrul Ahmed Khan, a leader of Bangladesh's ruling Awami League party, sent "heartiest" new year greetings, saying the Chinese New Year is the most prominent traditional festival of the Chinese culture marked by family reunion and celebrations.

"Today we take the privilege to recognize many contributions the Chinese have made and continue to make, to develop the infrastructure of our country," said Khan.

Meanwhile, he appreciated measures taken by the Chinese government to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and beyond.

"From our family to yours, we wish everyone celebrating a peaceful, prosperous and joyful Year of the Tiger. Happy Chinese New Year Everyone." 
Paul and Ruben Flores have asked for a change of venue for their trial in the Kristin Smart murder case, the judge said in a Wednesday court hearing. They plan to file a motion to do so on March 9, court officials told the Tribune.

The trial is scheduled to begin April 25 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court. The defenses argument to move the trial out of San Luis Obispo County will be heard March 30. A status conference is scheduled for March 16 via Zoom.

Paul Flores is alleged to have killed Kristin Smart after an off-campus Cal Poly party in May 1996. He was the last person to see the Cal Poly student alive.

Her body has never been found.

Ruben Flores, Paul Flores father, is charged with accessory after the fact. The two were arrested in April 2021  25 years after Smarts disappearance.

The Flores legal team previously asked the court to dismiss the case against them, citing a lack of evidence for probable cause. Judge Jacquelyn Duffy denied the request on Jan. 21.
A pawn shop owner in Washington made up to $3.5 million selling stolen goods after listing them on Amazon and eBay, federal officials said.

Aleksandr Pavlovskiy, 46, of Auburn was sentenced to six years in prison after being charged with trafficking in stolen goods and possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Western District of Washington said in a news release.

A defense attorney for Pavlovskiy told McClatchy News they did not have a comment on his sentencing.

Pavlovskiy is accused of directing employees to buy stolen items from shoplifters at his two pawn shops in Kent and Renton, according to the release.

Stolen items were also purchased at his shops from delivery drivers who officials said stole the packages and sold them to Pavlovskiys businesses, the news release said.

The business owner began selling repackaged stolen items in 2016 until 2019, prosecutors said.

Detectives pieced together the scheme after noticing a large amount of stolen items showing up at Pavlovskiys businesses, prosecutors said.

After serving search warrants on his business, authorities said they found racks of stolen goods ready to be resold.

Law enforcement confiscated Pavlovskiys electronic devices while executing the search warrant and found over 20,000 images and videos of child pornography, the news release said.

In addition to six years in prison, Pavlovskiy was sentenced to 15 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution to six of the sexual abuse victims, feds said. He will be required to register as a sex offender.

Prosecutors said 65 sexual abuse victims were identified during the investigation.

Man made lavish purchases at Chanel, Gucci in $500 million credit card scheme, feds say

Grandma, husband arrested after boy found unresponsive at Arizona hotel dies, cops say

Polar bear skulls shipped to New York by boutique owner from Canada, feds say
Feb. 1Police shot and killed a man Tuesday morning outside a North Valley motel during an auto theft investigation.

Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina said the officers are OK and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

He said a gun was found near the man, who has not been identified, in the parking lot of the Court John Motel. Medina didn't say if the man pointed the gun at officers or how many fired at him.

He said all three officers involved have been placed on standard administrative leave. The incident marked the first shooting involving Albuquerque police so far this year.

It began with a sighting of a pickup truck that had allegedly been stolen months earlier.

Medina said around 9 a.m. a person called 911 to report seeing the truck, which had been stolen from a friend, at a gas station near Carlisle and Montgomery. He said officers tried to stop the truck but the driver sped off.

Medina said a police helicopter followed the truck until the driver ditched the truck and went to the motel at Menaul and Fourth NW. He said officers found the man trying to get onto a motorcycle outside the motel.

Medina said the man tried to run and at least three officers gave chase. He said one officer used a Taser before there was "some kind of altercation."

"We don't know what that was but we do know it resulted in officers firing their weapons," Medina said. "The subject is deceased on scene and we're working to identify him."

He said they found a gun "in very close proximity" to the man.

A man who lives at the motel told the Journal that he saw police shoot the man in the back as he was running away.

Charlie Gabaldon said the man, who also lives at the motel, looked "terrified" as police approached.

"He looked at me like 'what the (expletive) did I do?" he said. Gabaldon said the officers chased the man around the parking lot yelling for him to "stop."

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He said they ran in circles as one officer tried to tackle the man and another used his Taser. Gabaldon said as the man ran toward Fourth street the third officer pulled out a gun.

"All of a sudden, 'boom, boom, boom,'" he said.

Gabaldon had video of a man laying on his belly in the parking lot as police approached with guns drawn.

He said the man has been living at the motel for a month, had children, was real friendly and didn't cause any problems.
Jim Leonard Jr.'s Anatomy of Gray will be Feb. 10-27 from Prattville's Way Off Broadway Theatre./

Prattvilles Way Off Broadway Theatre will present Anatomy of Gray on February 10-27.

Directed by Brady Walker, Anatomy of Gray was written by Jim Leonard Jr., the award-winning author of The Diviners, And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson, and Crow and Weasel.

Set in Indiana during the late 1800's, Leonard describes his play as "A children's story for adults." Anatomy of Gray deals with death, love, loss, and healing in a unique coming-of-age story.

Set in Indiana during the late 1800s, Anatomy of Gray deals with death, loss, love, and healing in a unique coming of age story.

When June's father dies, she prays for a healer to come to the small town of Gray, so that no one will ever suffer again. The next thing she knows, there's a tornado, and a man in a balloon blows into town claiming to be a doctor.

At first, the new doctor cures anything and everything, but soon the town's preacher takes ill with a mysterious plague. And then the plague begins to spread.

The Anatomy of Gray is presented with special permission through Concord Theatricals. For more information, contact the Cultural Arts Office at 334-595-0850 or visit www.prattvilleal.gov.

Anatomy of Gray is by the award-winning author of The Diviners, And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson, and Crow and Weasel,

Cast members include:

Galen Gray will be played by Kevin Morton

June Muldoon will be played by Margaret Lind

Rebekah Muldoon will be played by Tammy Arvidson

Pastor Phineas Wingfield will be played by Eric Arvidson

Tiny Wingfield will be played by Bre Gentry

Crutch Collins will be played by Rodney Winters

Belva Collins will be played by Janie Allred

Maggie will be played by Jan Roeton

Homer will be played by Gage Parr

Meet and greet, and season announcement

Prattvilles Way Off Broadway Theatre currently has openings on its board of directors  and would like to invite you to come check out what they do Saturday at 4 p.m. at 203 W 4th Street, Prattville.

That afternoon will also be the announcement of WOBT's full lineup for the 2022 season.

Auditions Sunday and Monday for Proof

Prattvilles WOBT'S production of Proof by David Auburn, directed by Xandria Hataway, is being presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. The production will run March 31 through April 17.

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Auditions will be held at the Doster Community Center in Prattville on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. and Monday, February 7, from 6-8 p.m., with potential callbacks on Tuesday, February 8. Actors do not need to attend both nights.

Auditions will include cold readings from the script, but actors are free to prepare their own 30-60 second monologue if they so choose. There are parts for two females, ages mid-twenties and thirties, and two males, ages fifties and mid-twenties.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Prattville's WOBT presenting Anatomy of Gray, opening Feb. 10
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN  A Vietnamese restaurant that opened late last year is struggling to stay open after a winter storm and the omicron surge, according to a new GoFundMe.

Owners of Coconana, found on Sixth Avenue between Bergen and Dean streets, are hoping to raise $35,000 after a difficult few months since opening in November, according to the fundraiser.

The money will help pay rent, payroll and suppliers for the cafe, which serves up a menu of Vietnamese lunch, pastries and coffee.

"...We really need support from all of you to sustain a healthy business and stay in the neighborhood for a longer time to come," owners, Hoa Nguyen and HanhUyen Nguyen, wrote.

Coconana is a longtime dream for the owners, who both immigrated from Vietnam more than a decade ago and met on a travel Facebook group, according to their website and the GoFundMe.

The women discovered after meeting up for udon noodles that they not only had the same last name  Nguyen  but the same dream to open a restaurant. The pair teamed up and built out the Sixth Avenue space themselves, their website notes.

"Our dream is to inspire residents with our authentic Vietnamese cuisines and bring our childhood memories to everyone in the neighborhood," the owners wrote on the fundraiser.

The Coconana fundraiser had raised just over $300 as of Wednesday morning.

It is one of several GoFundMe's that have popped up in Brooklyn as restaurants struggle to stay afloat during the recent surge in coronavirus cases. Recent fundraisers also include a comfort food eatery in Bed-Stuy, a Bedford Avenue coffee shop and a Crown Heights New Mexican spot, which is looking for a new home given its temporary lease.

Patch has reached out to Coconana for more details about their fundraiser and restaurant.

This article originally appeared on the Prospect Heights-Crown Heights Patch
There was plenty of news across Connecticut on Tuesday. If you missed any of it on your local Patch, here's a roundup of some of the most-read stories.

Each suspect faces several charges in connection with the purse snatching and with attempted car break-ins at the mall, police said.>>>Read More.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched in support of the teacher.>>>Read More.

University of Connecticut officials have paid Kevin Ollie the $11.1 million an arbiter said he is owed in an employment dispute.>>>Read More.

Police said "Highway" the cat was found with two broken legs and trauma to an eye, but "remains a sweet and trusting animal.">>>Read More.

"During the course of the dispute, it escalated and moved into the parking lot of the gas station where Colson is alleged to have produced a pistol and discharged a round at the other male in the dispute," police said.>>>Read more.

The owner of a business was sentenced to federal prison.>>>Read More.

50-plus home-growers, sellers and consumers gather to share business strategies.>>>Read More.

Other top stories:

The Patch community platform serves more than 100 communities all across Connecticut in Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, New London, Hartford, Tolland, and Litchfield counties. Thank you for reading.

This article originally appeared on the Across Connecticut Patch
UN chief condemns DPRK's missile launch

Xinhua) 10:36, February 02, 2022

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Sunday's ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said his deputy spokesman on Tuesday.

"The secretary-general condemns the launch of a ballistic missile of possible intermediate-range by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Jan. 30. This is a breaking of the DPRK's announced moratorium in 2018 on launches of this nature, and a clear violation of Security Council resolutions," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman, in a statement.

"It is of great concern that the DPRK has again disregarded any consideration for international flight or maritime safety. The secretary-general urges the DPRK to desist from taking any further counter-productive actions and calls for all parties to seek a peaceful diplomatic solution," said the statement.

The official Korean Central News Agency of the DPRK reported that the country test-fired a Hwasong 12-type ground-to-ground intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile on Sunday.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
KABUL, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan caretaker government's Ministry of Public Health has inaugurated a cardiac surgical unit in a key children's hospital in Kabul, a senior health official said Wednesday.

The ministry inaugurated the surgical unit in Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Wazir Akbar Khan, a diplomatic district on Tuesday, Deputy Public Health Minister Abdulbari Omar tweeted.

"Henceforth, the complicated surgeries that were normally referred abroad will be performed in Afghanistan," he said.

"We are working hard to further enrich this unit and provide standardized health care services to our people," he said.

A total of 135 children in Afghanistan died of pneumonia and malnutrition in hospitals or road hospitals in December last year, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Also in December, UNICEF appealed for a 2 billion U.S. dollars fund to respond to humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. 
The National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee Washington in 2019. Andrew Harnik/AP

Alexander Vindman, an impeachment witness, filed a civil lawsuit against Trump and his allies.

The suit accuses Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and two Trump aides of violating the KKK Act of 1871.

It says they conspired to retaliate against Vindman for doing his duties as a federal official.

Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against former President Donald Trump, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and the Trump aides Dan Scavino and Julia Hahn.

The civil suit accuses the defendants of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which among other things prohibits conspiracies to prevent someone from holding or discharging the duties of their office or to retaliate against them for doing so. It also bars conspiracies to stop witnesses from testifying or to retaliate against them for doing so.

Vindman worked as a top Ukraine expert on Trump's National Security Council and was among several witnesses who testified to Congress during Trump's first impeachment about the president's efforts to strong-arm the Ukrainian government into launching political investigations against the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election.

After it became public knowledge that he was cooperating with Congress' impeachment inquiry, Vindman, whose family fled the former Soviet Union when he was a child and arrived in the US as refugees, was subject to a slew of antisemitic and xenophobic attacks from Trump's allies and the right-wing media.

He and his twin brother, Yevgeny, who was a lawyer on the NSC but did not participate in the impeachment hearings, were also abruptly fired and escorted off White House grounds two days after the Senate acquitted Trump of the charges in his first impeachment trial.

"We can't have a functional government or healthy democracy if witnesses can't testify, and if federal officials can't do their jobs, without fear of payback," Vindman wrote in a USA Today op-ed announcing the lawsuit on Wednesday. "I filed this lawsuit because I believe in the active role all citizens must play in upholding our democracy."

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He continued later: "I hope this lawsuit will shed more light on the abuses that are chipping away at our democracy, and eventually bring a measure of justice to those who are responsible."

The suit accuses Trump and the other defendants of trying to intimidate and retaliate against Vindman by:

Holding meetings to "coordinate strategy regarding impeachment witnesses";

Putting out talking points amplifying "false narratives" about Vindman's loyalty to the US;

Publishing and repeating lies that Vindman "was a spy for Ukraine and had disparaged the United States to foreign officials";

Leaking classified information to further "the false disloyalty narrative";

Falsely claiming that Vindman lied under oath;

Publicly firing Vindman and his brother;

Trying to stop Vindman's promotion to full colonel.

Vindman's complaint also drew a direct line between efforts to stop witnesses from cooperating with Congress' impeachment inquiry and problems that the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot is having securing witness testimony.

Specifically, the defendants' actions "sent a message to other potential witnesses as well: cooperate and tell the truth at your own peril," the lawsuit said. "The message reverberates to this day, as witnesses subpoenaed by Congress in connection with its investigation into the events of January 6, 2021, continue to heed former President Trump's instructions to defy those subpoenas, undermining Congress's constitutional oversight role and the fundamental principle of checks and balances between three co-equal branches of government."

Vindman was a crucial witness in Congress' first impeachment inquiry into Trump's actions regarding Ukraine. He directly listened in on the infamous July 25, 2019, phone call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens and the Democratic Party as a whole over bogus claims of corruption involving Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and the Ukrainian natural-gas company Burisma Holdings.

The former lieutenant colonel told lawmakers that he thought Trump's conduct was "inappropriate" and "improper" and threatened US national security.

He testified that he immediately flagged his concerns to the NSC's top lawyer "out of a sense of duty," adding that the lawyer, John Eisenberg, told him not to discuss his concerns with anyone else. A transcript of the phone call was also subsequently moved to a top-secret code-word level NSC server typically used to house sensitive information pertaining to national security.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee Washington in 2019. Andrew Harnik/AP

Alexander Vindman, an impeachment witness, filed a civil lawsuit against Trump and his allies.

The suit accuses Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and two Trump aides of violating the KKK Act of 1871.

It says they conspired to retaliate against Vindman for doing his duties as a federal official.

Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against former President Donald Trump, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and the Trump aides Dan Scavino and Julia Hahn.

The civil suit accuses the defendants of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which among other things prohibits conspiracies to prevent someone from holding or discharging the duties of their office or to retaliate against them for doing so. It also bars conspiracies to stop witnesses from testifying or to retaliate against them for doing so.

Vindman worked as a top Ukraine expert on Trump's National Security Council and was among several witnesses who testified to Congress during Trump's first impeachment about the president's efforts to strong-arm the Ukrainian government into launching political investigations against the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election.

After it became public knowledge that he was cooperating with Congress' impeachment inquiry, Vindman, whose family fled the former Soviet Union when he was a child and arrived in the US as refugees, was subject to a slew of antisemitic and xenophobic attacks from Trump's allies and the right-wing media.

He and his twin brother, Yevgeny, who was a lawyer on the NSC but did not participate in the impeachment hearings, were also abruptly fired and escorted off White House grounds two days after the Senate acquitted Trump of the charges in his first impeachment trial.

"We can't have a functional government or healthy democracy if witnesses can't testify, and if federal officials can't do their jobs, without fear of payback," Vindman wrote in a USA Today op-ed announcing the lawsuit on Wednesday. "I filed this lawsuit because I believe in the active role all citizens must play in upholding our democracy."

Story continues

He continued later: "I hope this lawsuit will shed more light on the abuses that are chipping away at our democracy, and eventually bring a measure of justice to those who are responsible."

The suit accuses Trump and the other defendants of trying to intimidate and retaliate against Vindman by:

Holding meetings to "coordinate strategy regarding impeachment witnesses";

Putting out talking points amplifying "false narratives" about Vindman's loyalty to the US;

Publishing and repeating lies that Vindman "was a spy for Ukraine and had disparaged the United States to foreign officials";

Leaking classified information to further "the false disloyalty narrative";

Falsely claiming that Vindman lied under oath;

Publicly firing Vindman and his brother;

Trying to stop Vindman's promotion to full colonel.

Vindman's complaint also drew a direct line between efforts to stop witnesses from cooperating with Congress' impeachment inquiry and problems that the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot is having securing witness testimony.

Specifically, the defendants' actions "sent a message to other potential witnesses as well: cooperate and tell the truth at your own peril," the lawsuit said. "The message reverberates to this day, as witnesses subpoenaed by Congress in connection with its investigation into the events of January 6, 2021, continue to heed former President Trump's instructions to defy those subpoenas, undermining Congress's constitutional oversight role and the fundamental principle of checks and balances between three co-equal branches of government."

Vindman was a crucial witness in Congress' first impeachment inquiry into Trump's actions regarding Ukraine. He directly listened in on the infamous July 25, 2019, phone call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens and the Democratic Party as a whole over bogus claims of corruption involving Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and the Ukrainian natural-gas company Burisma Holdings.

The former lieutenant colonel told lawmakers that he thought Trump's conduct was "inappropriate" and "improper" and threatened US national security.

He testified that he immediately flagged his concerns to the NSC's top lawyer "out of a sense of duty," adding that the lawyer, John Eisenberg, told him not to discuss his concerns with anyone else. A transcript of the phone call was also subsequently moved to a top-secret code-word level NSC server typically used to house sensitive information pertaining to national security.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A week after verbally agreeing to become Marylands defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele is taking the same job at Miami, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Steele was working in the office at the Jones-Hill House in College Park on Friday and met with recruits on official visits over the weekend before informing the Terps staff Tuesday that he was taking the Miami job, according to the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

A former head coach at Baylor and interim coach at Auburn and Tennessee, Steele was expected to become Marylands third defensive coordinator since coach Mike Locksley took over the program in 2019. Brian Stewart served as the defensive coordinator during the 2021 season after Jon Hoke became the secondary coach for the Atlanta Falcons.

Steele, 63, was the defensive coordinator at Auburn, LSU, Alabama and Clemson before serving as the interim coach for Tennessee last season after the Volunteers fired Jeremy Pruitt. He was also named the interim coach at Auburn for the teams bowl game when Gus Malzahn was fired in 2020. The South Carolina native was the head coach at Baylor from 1999 to 2002 after spending three seasons as a linebackers coach for the Carolina Panthers.

While working at Alabama in 2013 and 2014, Steele overlapped with Mario Cristobal, who was hired as Miamis head coach after four seasons at Oregon.

The new coordinator is tasked with taking over one of the worst defenses in the Big Ten Conference, as Maryland ranked 13th in points allowed (30.7) and 12th in total yards allowed (404.3) among the 14 programs. Marylands defense is also losing defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu, linebacker Lawtez Rogers and defensive backs Nick Cross and Jordan Mosely to the 2022 NFL draft, while linebackers Branden Jennings, Terrence Lewis and Deshawn Holt transferred.

On3sports first reported that Steele is taking the job at Miami.
Winter Storm Landon is coming for a visit whether we like it or not.

And depending on where you call home  the impact of the storm heading toward Ohio will be one of annoyance to one to tell your grandkids about.

More: Portage Administration Building, courthouses closed Thursday in anticipation of storm

More: Here is the latest on the status of Wednesday's Portage County high school athletic events

More: How much snow and ice will Winter Storm Landon bring to northern Ohio?

The weather service said a wide swath from Mansfield to Medina to Akron to Ravenna could see 8 to 12 inches of snow with lesser amounts further south.

Workers in Kent work to clear sidewalks after the last big snow hit the area.

The difference-maker, the weather service said, will be the temperature.

The switchover from rain that is expected to spread across Ohio on Wednesday from the west to east to all snow by the wee hours of the morning on Thursday will be the determining factor in where the snow will pile up the most.

Those areas where it switches over first  particularly western Ohio along the lakeshore  will get the most snow.

More: Are you too old to shovel snow? If you're over 45, beware of heart attacks, doctor says

More: What's the best way to remove ice from your windshield? Vinegar is not involved

And as the temperature drops, the weather service said there will be freezing rain and sleet making matters worse for motorists and which could result in some downed power lines and trees.

Heavy snow is likely throughout the day on Thursday making, travel in the northern counties like Lucas, Wood, Ottawa, Sandusky, Hancock and Seneca "very difficult to impossible," according to the weather service.

Travel in places like Cleveland, Macedonia and Lorain County, the weather service said, will be "hazardous" to "very difficult."

The mere threat of the storm has already prompted some communities, such as Ravenna, to issue parking bans to ensure the streets will be clear of vehicles as snowplows get to work. The Ravenna parking ban will run from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Friday morning and could be extended, according to Ravenna Service Director Kay Dubinsky.

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Kent Service Department employees work to clear snow from the city's sidewalks last month. On Thursday, the area is expected to get hit again, with between 8 and 12 inches of snow expected.

Clearing snow to make room for more snow

The Ohio Department of Transportation along with several city service departments were working Tuesday to clear snow from everything from interstates to downtown streets to make room for more snow.

"Weve been trying to remove snow from our downtown areas where parking meters and benches are," said Kent Facilities Manager Brad McKay. "We've also been trying to clear fire hydrants and drains."

More: Kent officials call snow piles a safety issue, look for solutions

In Streetsboro, crews are working to clear cul de sacs of giant piles of snow so more snow can be plowed into small mountains, said Service Director Bill Miller.

"We take it to other city properties, and dump some of it behind the shop here and pile it up," he said, adding the city dumps some excess snow at Wilcox Park.

Miller said he rotates crews in two 10-truck, 12-hour shifts throughout the storm so drivers get time off.

The city has between 2,000 and 2,500 tons of salt available which he said would be enough to handle the city's more than 220 lane miles of road, he added.

By comparison, Dubinksky said Ravenna has about 121 lane miles to salt and plow.

"We use 12-hour shifts with four plows," she said, adding the city also is working to remove snow already on the ground.

Ohio Department of Transportation District 4 Public Information Office Ray Marsch said crews can't leave existing snow on the sides of roads because it will make it more difficult to move new snow off the roads.

"We are out removing snow from areas with higher snow build up on the edges of roads," he said. "We've taken the right lane and are pushing snow off into ditches."

Aurora Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin said crews there have been working this week to clear snow from drainage areas in case of flooding.

"We are also having a crew come in tomorrow at the end of the workday to be here on site because we don't know when the cold weather will hit and when it will change from rain to ice to snow," she said.

While several cities have two rotating 12-hour driver shifts, Womer Benjamin said Aurora uses three rotating crews.

"We also just got another thousand tons of salt today; I think we have about 2,500 tons on hand," she said.

Maintenance crews around the county are working to make sure plow trucks have fresh oil changes, good brakes and are ready to go, according to area service directors.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Region prepares for Winter Storm Landon to roll into town
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia and China will discuss closer gas and financial ties during President Vladimir Putin's trip to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, and a long-held idea for a new gas pipeline to China is being examined.

Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will have lunch together on Friday, and could sign more than 15 agreements, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, with lots of new deals being prepared in relation to natural gas.

Competition got underway in the Beijing Winter Olympics on Wednesday as the shadow of war in Ukraine and the impending arrival of Putin, who will attend Friday's opening ceremony, loomed over an event already transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ushakov said the possibility of Russia building a new gas pipeline to China through Mongolia was being looked at, a project that has been discussed for a long time and would take years to be fully realised.

Deliveries via an existing pipeline, the Power of Siberia, a 4,000 km (2,485 miles) project that transfers gas from eastern Russia to China, began in 2019. It took around a decade to reach an agreement on supply terms.

Some experts doubt that a second gas pipeline from Russia to China, which recently overtook Japan as the worlds largest importer of sea-borne liquefied natural gas, will come to pass.

But Putin's visit comes at a time when the reliability of Russian gas supplies to Europe is being questioned by some Western politicians and when Moscow is keen to show it potentially has other options even if they are not realistic overnight.

"It is worth noting that the Chinese gas market is the most promising and fastest growing in the world," said Ushakov.

Spot gas prices in Europe reached all-time highs in December amid soaring demand and limited supply.

Russian gas supplies to Europe have come under scrutiny as thousands of Russian troops have massed near the border of traditional gas transit nation Ukraine, raising fears of an invasion, something Moscow denies planning.

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Western nations have threatened a slew of sanctions should Russia make an incursion onto Ukrainian territory. Ushakov said China supported Russia's effort to extract security demands from the West.

Ushakov also said Moscow and Beijing were making serious efforts to create joint financial infrastructure that could safeguard Russia-China cooperation from potential sanctions from third countries.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov and Igor Sechin, CEO of oil major Rosneft will be among the Russian delegation, Ushakov added.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin Writing by Alexander MarrowEditing by Andrew Osborn)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed Ukraine and the issue of security guarantees for Russia in a phone call on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

Putin told Johnson the NATO bloc was not ready to adequately react to Russian concerns, according to the statement on the Kremlin website.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russia mocked Johnson as "utterly confused" and ridiculed British politicians for their "stupidity and ignorance", hurling more scorn at the West after President Vladimir Putin accused Washington of trying to provoke war.

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Jan Harvey)
In a continued hearing on Tuesday, the immigration judge wanted more insight into Ameen and his attorney's claims that he will be tortured and killed if he is deported to Iraq. She asked professor Hamoudi if an arrest warrant is issued out of Iraq, does it change the likelihood that someone could be tortured upon their arrest of the warrant. In short, Hamoudi replied that in his experience, "There's an overreliance in forcing confessions" due to an "almost complete lack of forensics," and those forced confessions are "extracted through force." The judge followed up by asking if police and prison guards are known to physically abuse detainees while they await trial. Hamoudi stated that information he has gathered from "independent observers and non-governmental organizations is consistent" and that type of physical treatment does occur.
A man with a history of sex crimes against children will remain committed under the care of the California Department of State Hospitals, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office announced in a news release Monday.

On Monday, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Michael Duffy ordered Richard Mullin, 63, to be committed to Coalinga State Hospital after a jury found him to be a sexually violent predator.

Mullin had reached the end of his criminal sentence, and if not committed, could have potentially been released in SLO County.

Mullin had a long history of sexual crimes and specifically, crimes against minors, prosecution claimed during the trial.

In her closing argument Friday, Deputy District Attorney Melissa Chabra said Mullin told doctors in 1978 that he beat his 3-year-old stepson. In 1980, he was convicted for indecent exposure, and in 1981 he was charged with false imprisonment of a 10-year-old girl. In 1983, he was convicted of forcible lewd acts on a child, attempted rape and rape of child under the age of 14 while he was on probation.

He was also convicted of felony sexual battery and exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl in 1996.

The majority of Mullins crimes occurred in Riverside County but his trial last week took place locally because his most recent offense occurred in San Luis Obispo County: Mullin had previously been committed to Atascadero State Hospital, where he was caught with illegal substances, according to the San Luis Obispo District Attorneys Office.

(The jurys) finding will ensure this dangerous sexual predator will stay out of our community, District Attorney Dan Dow said in a news release Monday. We are committed to doing everything within our authority to protect the people of San Luis Obispo County from dangerous offenders like Mr. Mullin.

Under Californias Sexually Violent Predator Act, a person can be committed as a sexually violent predator (also known as an SVP) once they have finished serving a felony term. That person must have a pattern of sexually violent acts in the past and a diagnosed mental health condition that contributed to the sexually violent acts theyve committed to be declared an SVP.

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The SVP law is civil, not criminal, and focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

Two doctors diagnosed Mullin with contributing mental health conditions that qualify him as an SVP, the prosecution claimed Friday.

Chabra said one of those doctors diagnosed Mullin of non-exclusive pedophilia and exhibitionist disorder, and another diagnosed him with paraphilia  a sexual desire condition  with concentrations of pedophilia and exhibitionism. He was also diagnosed with stimulant and alcohol use disorder and antisocial personality disorder, she said.

The doctors testified his conditions made it likely that he would engage in sexually violent behavior if released in the community, Chabra said.

Mullins defense argued he hadnt committed a sexually violent act since 1996, but Chabra noted that Mullin has been in custody of either prison or a state hospital since that time so he has not been in the community.
BEDFORD  Lawrence County Sheriff Mike Branham reported Tuesday morning that the jail was at more than 75% capacity, a downward trend in recent months.

Branham provided multiple updates related to the sheriff's department at Tuesday's meeting of the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners.

He told county officials there were a total of 136 inmates housed at the Lawrence County Jail as of Tuesday morning.

This total features 115 males, 21 females, one convicted level-six felon, 12 Department of Correction holds, one parole hold and one ICE detainee.

"The average daily population in January was 142. That is the first month since the very beginning of COVID that it's been below the 80% mark for a month," he said.

Lawrence County schools: Enrollment in Lawrence County schools continued to decline in fall 2021 semester

Despite the average daily population numbers experiencing a decline, the average length of stay, 44 days in January, has been steadily rising.

"That's a really long time," the sheriff said. "I think some of that can be attributed to the number of DOCs (Department of Correction) we've had to hold because typically they're sentenced and out of the jail in a couple of weeks. We've had several for a couple of months now. So I think that's contributing some. I'll be curious when we move those folks out and start seeing the February and March numbers to see if that comes down."

Branham also said the department has received some hospital bills due to inmate hospitalizations.

"At the end of last year, we had a couple of instances where we had inmates admitted to hospitals," he said. "One in particular for 10 days. That was in Indianapolis and we were having to shuttle officers back and forth. We finally got him released by the courts. I knew that was going to be an expensive bill."

Branham said the county inmate health insurance policy offers a maximum of $90,000 to pay for medical care. The department has exceeded this total and has a remaining balance of around $38,000 to pay.

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Highway & Emergency Management

County Commissioner President Rodney Fish provided the Highway Department's report. The report featured the latest updates on the preparations the Highway Department and Emergency Management are undertaking as the winter storm moves closer to Bedford and the surrounding areas.

A winter storm watch is in effect from Wednesday night to Thursday night. The National Weather Service has revealed that Lawrence County could receive up to 4 inches of snow in addition to one-tenth of an inch of ice. The exact trajectory of the winter storm remains unclear at this time of writing.

Bedford weather: Line of snow, ice could hit Lawrence County.

Fish said the vehicles are fully prepared for the impending winter storm, the road crews have a strong supply of sand and salt to treat roads and to be on the lookout for any travel advisories in the coming days. He also urged everyone to prepare appropriately.

"Ultimately, every individual is responsible for their own safety. We're going to work as hard as we can and as long as we can to make everything as accessible as we can," he said. "If we get this major ice accumulation that they're talking about, please be prepared. Stay home and be responsible for your own safety. That's the main thing. Also, be aware that there could possibly be some public service announcements about restrictions. We're going to do our very best to not restrict anyone beyond what's necessary. So just be aware and be listening to your media outlets."

In other Lawrence County business news

Lawrence County Tourism Director Tonya Chastain requested permission to use Williams Bridge to host the Williams Covered Bridge Dinner Sept. 10 from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.

This year's event marks the fourth consecutive year that the dinner has been hosted. Chastain said she is expecting around 200 guests to attend. The commissioners approved the request.

Community Corrections Director Chad Shew sought approval for a juvenile probation grant worth a total of $57,226. That amount includes a $25,000 increase compared to last year's total.

Shew said the grant must be submitted to the Indiana DOC by Feb. 17. He needed the commissioner's approval before he could submit the grant. The commissioners approved the request.

County Clerk Billie Tumey presented a three-year MicroVote contract before the commissioners that is worth an annual sum of $13,000. The contract was approved.

The commissioners also approved a contract with T.G. Construction to construct a dividing wall at the voter registration office at Courthouse Plaza. The contract is worth $22,703.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Lawrence County Jail inmate population decline, Commissioners meeting
DHAKA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's total exports in the first seven months of the current 2021-22 fiscal year (July 2021-June 2022) reached nearly 30 billion U.S. dollars, up 30.34 percent year on year, showed official data released on Wednesday.

The increase was attributed to good performance in the ready-made garment sector.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data posted on its website showed that Bangladesh earned 29,548.92 million dollars from exports in the July-January period, compared to 22,670.24 million dollars a year earlier.

Of the total earnings, those from ready-made knitwear and woven garment items surged 30.3 percent to about 24 billion dollars during the cited period.

In the first seven months of the current 2021-22 fiscal year, the knitwear garment export rose 32.89 percent year on year to 13.27 billion dollars, and the woven garment export registered an increase of 27.23 percent to 10.71 billion dollars.

With hefty growth in garment exports, Bangladesh shipped goods worth 4.85 billion dollars in January, an increase of 41.13 percent year on year.

Bangladesh set its export goal for the 2021-22 fiscal year at 43.50 billion dollars, including 35.14 billion dollars from ready-made garment products, which usually account for about 85 percent of the national shipment in a year. 
A Sioux Falls man was robbed at his residence Tuesday night by three people he didn't know, according to the Sioux Falls Police Department.

The robbery occurred at about 11 p.m. at a residence on the 1000 block of South Norton Avenue near 19th Street and Norton Avenue, police department spokesman Sam Clemens said.

The 35-year-old victim heard a knock at the door and answered it, Clemens said. Three people, all armed with guns, came inside and proceeded to take two of the victim's TVs and his wallet.

More: Second teen from 2020 Sioux Falls homicide case has charges dismissed; another pleads guilty

The victim did not know any of the suspects, Clemens said.

Two of the intruders left, leaving the victim with one of the alleged robbers who had a shotgun, Clemens said. The victim decided to wrestle the gun away from the suspect and then the gun went off, striking a door.

The suspect ran off with the other two suspects, Clemens said. No injuries were reported.

Police are continuing to investigate the robbery, Clemens said. The three suspects have not been identified.

More: Out-of-state drug convictions could soon be part of South Dakota criminal records

Follow Annie Todd on Twitter @AnnieTodd96. Reach out to her with tips, questions and other community news at atodd@argusleader.com or give her a call at 605-215-3757.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Robbery in Sioux Falls leaves man without TVs and wallet
UPDATE: Benjamin Noble was found "safe" around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.

EARLIER: The Sioux Falls Police Department is asking for the public's help in finding a missing man, according to a release by the agency.

Around 2 p.m., police were notified of a missing man, last seen around East 8th Street and Weber Avenue, according to the release.

More Argus911: Sioux Falls police search for 3 men tied to robbery of man's two TVs and wallet.

Benjamin Noble, a 63-year-old man, left that area on foot. He has medical issues and was not properly dressed for the weather. Benjamin is 510 tall, 180 pounds, has shoulder length gray hair and was wearing a darker colored coat, according to the release.

If you see Benjamin, call 911.

Got a story idea from your community? Email reporter Alfonzo Galvan at agalvan@argusleader.com or follow him on Twitter @GalvanReports.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Benjamin Noble reported missing in Sioux Falls by police
Has the "slim-thick" body type officially replaced the thin ideal? (Image via Getty Images)

Images of unrealistically thin models and celebrities have permeated popular culture for decades, causing severe damage to women's body image and mental health in the process. However, a recent study reveals that a new body ideal may be causing even more harm than the ultra-thin heroin chic look that came to prominence in the 90sand we have Kim Kardashian to thank for it.

Researchers at York University in Toronto conducted a study to find out how pervasive imagery of the slim-thick ideal, which has become popularized in mainstream media by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Beyonce, contributes to young womens dissatisfaction with their body. Described as a curvier or more full body type with a small waist and flat stomach but large butt, breasts and thighs, the study found that the slim-thick physique is actually more damaging to the way young women feel about their bodies compared to the ultra-thin body type.

The thin-ideal has long been identified as a threat to womens body image, and theres been a call for body image campaigns and the media to showcase a greater diversity of body types, researcher Sarah McComb tells Yahoo Canada. However, even though the slim-thick body type touts a larger frame, it is not a healthier alternative to the thin-ideal for media consumersit was actually more threatening to womens body image.

Kim Kardashian's "slim-thick" frame has replaced the thin ideal. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

McComb and Jennifer Mills, a registered clinical psychologist, surveyed 402 women between the ages of 18 and 25, which are proven to be the heaviest users of Instagram. The participants viewed 13 photos of influencers with different body types: slim-thick, thin and fit.

Both McComb and Mills say they were surprised to discover that those who compared themselves to slim-thick-ideal imagery experienced significantly more weight and appearance dissatisfaction, and less body satisfaction than those who compared themselves to thin-ideal imagery.

While the thin-ideal has long been considered the most desirable body type for women, at least in white-centred mainstream media, this research suggests beauty ideals may be shifting. The study points to the Kardashian-Jenner clan as well as other influencers and celebrities who regularly share these kinds of images with their massive social media followings as the reason for the change.

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According to McComb, the slim-thick body type appeals to a greater number of women across ethnic backgrounds, while previous research shows that the thin-ideal has mainly appealed to white women.

Kate Moss's thin frame was an example of '90s thin ideal. (Image via Getty Images)

Unfortunately, the slim-thick body type isn't more attainable than the thin ideal. The study notes that it would likely require plastic surgery or strategic exercises that increase muscle mass on specific body parts to achieve the curvaceous look.

And yet, social media trends from 2021 show just how idealized this body type has become in recent years. According to the study, the hashtags #thick, #thicc, and #slimthick have earned millions of posts on Instagram while the hashtag #slimthicc currently has more than 134 million tags on TikTok.

The media is the most powerful and impactful sociocultural transmitter of beauty ideals in our society, McComb says. What types of people and bodies are advertised in the media tells young women what body types are deemed as attractive and which are celebrated, and gives them the impression of what they should be aspiring to."

Click here to sign up for Yahoo Canada's lifestyle newsletter.

However most of what we see in the media has been edited, airbrushed and altereda process with which the Kardashians are notoriously familiar. This leads to imagery that is even more unattainable and can result in people taking dangerous steps to try and achieve the unachievable, especially those who are prone to physical appearance perfectionism.

Appearance perfectionism, or the act of holding unrealistic goals and expectations for ones appearance and body, has been associated with many negative body image outcomes, the study explains, including disordered eating symptoms, appearance social anxiety, appearance and body shape dissatisfaction, unhealthy weight control behaviours, low appearance self-esteem, high impression management, high appearance management behaviours and perfectionistic self-presentation.

Kylie Jenner's curves make her an example of the "thin-thick" body type. (Photo by David Livingston/WireImage)

Internalized pressure to have [a] slim-thick body type can lead to risky body modification practices, such as waist trainers and plastic surgerythat have no benefit to one's health and are solely about appearance, Mills tells Yahoo Canada.

If we want to protect young people from the negative effects of over-consuming these images, Mills says regulations around how social media platforms collect data and use tricks to hack into our attention span could become essential.

People should get to choose what they look at, she says. The combination of the current business model of social media and the way humans naturally think and feel makes it hard for people to ignore all the images around them. For some vulnerable people, that is going to lead to mental health problems.

Mills also suggests being proactive in monitoring our social media use if we want to try and avoid the harmful impacts of constantly being bombarded with this unrealistic, unattainable imagery.

Set your own limits, take a break from social media and the news, she recommends. Be mindful about the effect that your internet and social media use have on how you feel about yourself and your life.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter.
When the snow falls, its time to go exploring.

Brad Frazee said the winter is the best time of year to go hiking, especially if you have snowshoes.

The 36-year-old from the Uniontown area of Fayette County has always enjoyed hiking but got into snowshoeing about four years ago. Since then, hes walked through deep snow on both sides of the country. While he recently hiked on the Laurel Highlands Trail in southwestern Pennsylvania, hes also adventured several times to New Hampshire and one time to Mount Rainier in Washington.

Making the trek: Father and son hike more than 2,100 miles on Appalachian Trail

The views are unbelievable, he said about climbing Mount Rainier and being able to see for miles across the countryside.

He explained you need at least 5 to 8 inches of snow to consider wearing snowshoes over hiking boots, and you should have poles to help keep your balance.

Its pretty similar (to hiking).  I actually enjoy it," he said. "I dont see it being too much more effort. You probably do have to walk with your legs out a little bit just so youre not tripping over your snowshoes, but you get used to it almost instantly.

Here's what's planned: Pennsylvania's 121 state parks have facility improvements, more job opportunities planned

He pointed out if there isnt enough snow for snowshoeing or if its packed down and icy, then micro spikes are a good option for hiking to provide extra grip.

Snowshoeing is a fun activity for a solo hike, but its a great group activity as well. Frazee and his coworker Chris Hawk and cousin David Hulton go on trips together and normally hike about 6 to 22 miles a day. They did a guided winter ascent of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It got us really addicted to going up there," Frazee said.

They ended up trekking the 48 peaks, that are more than 4,000 feet, over the past three years.

Help stock fish: PFBC to soon stock trout across Pennsylvania waterways

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Hiking in the snow has its advantages over trekking through the woods in warmer months.

We do all seasons, but winter definitely is our favorite," he said. "The White Mountains are super rocky so when youre on those trails in the summer youre constantly paying attention to rocks. The snow makes it easier for walking because it fills everything in.

"I just like it because there are less people in the winter, less crowded trails and its easier to dress. Its easier to dress for extreme cold than extreme heat or any heat because you just layer up.  I just like the season better for hiking.

While most conditions are fine for regular snowshoes, he has mountaineering snowshoes that have cleats that provide traction for navigating hilly terrain. Its pretty impressive what they can do, he said about maintaining their grip going up and down steeper grades in the snow. There are even smaller versions that trail runners can use.

For your protection: Permits serve as legal insurance for pistol owners in Pennsylvania

Winter does have other advantages of over summer. In the mountains, you dont have to worry about snakes or bugs or anything in the winter," he said. "Thats nice.

Frazee recalled hiking last summer on the Laurel Highlands Trail near Ohiopyle State Park and he almost stepped on a rattle snake. You dont have to worry about that when theres snow on the ground.

For those starting out, Frazee suggested making sure you have proper gear and knowing your physical limits. Some parks, like Black Moshannon near State College, have trails that loop and intersect to bring you back to your starting point. With other trails that are out and back style of hiking, you need to think about when you should turn around.

Getting started

Craig Rosman started Route 31, Bike, Board & Ski, 32 years ago in Somerset, and hes seen a growing interest in snowshoeing. Its one of my favorite things to do, he said about the outdoor hobby.

Craig Rosman, owner of Route 31 Bike, Board & Ski, shows an example of a popular style of snowshoe Jan. 28, 2022, that people can rent or buy in Somerset.

The snowshoes are specifically designed for the size of the user. There are short ones for children and longer ones for adults based on their weight.

He said people are buying and renting them for when they want to head out in the snow on a whim. When theres a base of about one foot of snow, he said the state parks and other wilderness areas are a great place to explore.

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In southwestern Pennsylvania, he recommended going to the Pumphouse Trail in Laurel Hill State Park. Its a 1.6-mile scenic wilderness trail leading to Jones Mill Dam. Its one of the best, most hidden gems of the area," he said. "The waterfall is just breathtaking.

With Pennsylvania having 121 state parks, there are plenty of places around the state to adventure in the snow.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources manages the state parks and reports snowshoeing is a great exercise that burns between 400 and 1,000 calories an hour.

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While all of Pennsylvanias parks receive some snow, the DCNR reports the following parks are known to have consistent snow depth throughout the winter for snowshoeing: Black Moshannon, Blue Knob, Chapman, Clear Creek, Cook Forest, Hickory Run, Kooser, Laurel Hill, Laurel Ridge, Linn Run, Nescopeck, Ohiopyle, Oil Creek, Parker Dam, Raymond B. Winter, Ricketts Glen, Sinnemahoning and Worlds End.

Sign up for outdoor news: Go Outdoors PA free newsletter

Go out and have some fun," Rosman said. "Its the easiest exercise youll ever have and the funnest thing other than watching Netflix.

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on your website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on social media @whipkeyoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Snowshoer explains why hiking is better in winter in Pennsylvania
Editor's note: Due to incorrect information from UF Health, an earlier version of this story misstated the number of days Fabian Granado was hospitalized.

To stay connected with our comprehensive coverage of COVID-19 in Florida, sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter.

Fabian Granado will celebrate his 27th birthday on Feb. 8. It's a day his close-knit family feared he wouldn't live to see.

Hospitalized 164 days  often near death including two months in a coma  from COVID-19, Granado walked out of UF Health Jacksonville on Tuesday to tears of joy, cheers, handshakes and hugs from the masked medical staff who cared for him day and night.

"I'm feeling wonderful," said Granado in a soft, raspy voice. "It's been a long 5 months at the hospital getting my lungs healed and being able to talk, walk and you know, be alive and a human again."

The from ground zero: A day of life and death in a COVID hotspot: Jacksonville

During the Delta surge: Duval County becomes nation's COVID-19 hot spot for hospitalizations

After 164 days at UF Health Jacksonville fighting COVID-19, Fabian Granado, 26, is escorted by healthcare workers  including one carrying his oxygen tank  to his father's car. Granado, who was not vaccinated against COVID, is now encouraging others reluctant to get vaccinated to "do the right thing."

Granado said he wouldn't be alive but for God's will. He praised as a blessing the hospital's doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, medical technicians and other medical personnel for saving his life.

He was admitted to UF Health Jacksonville on Aug. 21, 2021, when the city was in the grips of the virus's delta surge, hospitalizing one out of every 813 Duval County residents, placing it among the country's top 10 counties for COVID-19 hospitalizations.

On that day, Granado was one more than 200 patients, including about 60 in intensive care, being treated at UF Health for COVID-19 complications.

For 109 of his 164 days at the hospital located just north of Jacksonville's downtown, Granado was hooked up to an ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) machine, a device that pumps blood and oxygen for patients who have lung and heart damage, Dan Leveton, spokesman for UF Health Jacksonville, told the Times-Union.

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Rene Granado provided this photo of his son, Fabian Granado, who was hospitalized for 164 days at UF Health Jacksonville. In this photograph medical personnel work with Fabian Granado during his extended battle with COVID-19 at UF Health Jacksonville on Nov. 11, 2021.

That treatment involves pumping blood outside the body to a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygen-filled blood back to tissues in the body, according to Mayo Clinic.

Leveton said UF Health Jacksonville is among the few area hospitals using ECMO to treat adult patients, including those with COVID-19 complications. Mayo Clinic uses ECMO for transplant patients and Wolfson Children's Hospital has used it for its young patients, Leveton said.

'I thought I was invincible'

Granado of Garland, Texas, near Dallas, said he contracted COVID while in Jacksonville training at a commercial diving school to become an underwater welder. He was healthy and in good shape but wasn't vaccinated against the virus.

"I thought I was invincible. I didn't think it would happen to me and of course, it did happen and I was wrong," said Granado, whose father had encouraged him to get vaccinated.

He fell ill amid the Delta variant surge in August. It started with a cough. He couldn't stop coughing and as he grew sicker. It was the middle of the night, Granado said, when his roommate got him out of bed, called an ambulance and first responders rushed him to the hospital.

"I was short of breath, couldn't stop coughing. From then on, I was in bad condition. Apparently, my heart stopped a couple of times. It was a long rough road," said Granado, who was admitted to UF Health Jacksonville on Aug. 21, 2021.

By then it was too late to be vaccinated, he said.

"I'm pretty sure that if I had gotten the vaccine to start with, it would have been a lot better. I wouldn't have suffered nearly as much," Granado said.

Granado doesn't want anyone else and their family to go through what happened to him.

"Feel free to get the vaccine. It can't hurt and it won't hurt, you know. Just do the right thing," Granado said.

With his father, Rene Granado, holding his wheelchair, Fabian Granado talks with members of the media as he leaves UF Health Jacksonville following a 164-day stay battling COVID-19.

The scariest thing about the ordeal, he said was "thinking that I'm not going to be able to go back home see my dog, see my family and just missing a bunch of people."

'I was coming to bury my son'

His father, Rene Granado, flew to Jacksonville to be with his son about a week after he was hospitalized as his condition deteriorated.

"My dad didn't leave my side this whole entire time," said Granado, noting when he woke up from the coma it was his father who told him that he had COVID.

On Monday, the elder Granado pushed his son in a wheelchair out the hospital doors. When they got close to their car, he stopped. His son, still using oxygen, stood up and walked to the vehicle unassisted and got inside the passenger seat.

"I came to Florida from Texas thinking I was coming to bury my son. When I got here and saw the condition he was in, I saw there was a real possibility he was not coming home alive. That's the worst experience that any parent can go through," said Rene Granado, who would sit beside his son's hospital bed and rock it like he did when he was a baby.

"This has been an incredible miraculous journey brought to us by none other than God," Rene Granado said, attributing his son's recovery to their strong religious faith, countless prayers by friends, neighbors and strangers alike and the UF Health Jacksonville medical team.

"If it hadn't been for them and the ECMO program, my son would not be here right now," Rene Granado said.

The medical team has become part of their family, he said.

They celebrated Granado's discharge from the hospital with an honor line, rousing cheers and applause.

Sheena Estalilla, who was Granado's occupational therapist, was among those saying goodbye to him.

"I'm sad to see him go because he's one of my favorite patients that I've ever had. But happy because he's been through a lot. And seeing somebody walk out of the hospital is very encouraging and very nice with all the bad news going on," Estalilla said.

Holding photo cutouts of their patient, healthcare workers at UF Health Jacksonville await Fabian Granado's exit as he ended his 164 days at the medical center battling COVID-19. A gauntlet of doctors, nurses and other medical team members cheered on Granado as he was wheeled from the hospital and released from their care Tuesday.

Granado will spend some time at a Jacksonville rehabilitation hospital before going home to Texas. But he already knows what he's going to do when he gets there: "Play with my puppy dog and get some good barbecue."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Texas man leaves Jacksonville's UF Health after 164 days fighting COVID
Stanley Tucci with S.Pellegrino

Courtesy of S.Pellegrino

Team Tucci, assemble. Stanley Tucci, whose show Searching for Italy returns for a second season on March 13, has just announced a multi-year collaboration with S. Pellegrino, and there's Tucci-themed water involved.

Not only will the third-generation Italian-American actor appear in an ad campaign shot in San Pellegrino Terme  the idyllic locale in Bergamo, Italy, where the brand sources its water  but there will also be a limited-edition "Stan Pellegrino" bottle set released for lucky fans. It includes a cutting board and stemless water glasses, and each bottle in the set is engraved with Tucci's signature.

Stanley Tucci with S.Pellegrino

Courtesy of S.Pellegrino

"I loved visiting the source of the water I have been drinking for yearswhat a beautiful spot. I certainly would recommend it to visit," Tucci told Food & Wine. "The shooting was great fun, and creating the Stan Pellegrino bottle sets for fans was the perfect way to celebrate our partnership."

It's no surprise, then, that when asked which area of Italy he's most fallen in love with, he told us Northern Italy  "particularly Lake Como and the Alps," he said. "It is stunningly beautiful and the food is amazing." For his favorite regional pasta dish, however, you'll have to head down south.

"'Spaghetti con zucchine alla nerano' is a very simple dish from Campania made with zucchine, basil, olive oil, and Parmigiano," Tucci said. "It's brilliant."

The limited-edition Stan Pellegrino bottle sets will be available via a giveaway starting today until February 16. Throughout the year, the brand will announce more collaborations with Tucci.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Netflix

Technology both giveth and taketh awaya fact proven by The Tinder Swindler, a new Netflix documentary (Feb. 2) about Simon Leviev, who met various women on Tinder and wooed them with claims that he was the heir to a billion-dollar diamond-industry fortune. With the aid of that dating app, as well as Instagram, WhatsApp and Google Maps, Simon convinced his new girlfriends that he was living the high lifeand moreover, that he wanted to share it with them. The only problem, he cautioned them, was that he had enemies who wanted to take him out, which meant that he needed their financial help.

Directed by Felicity Morris (producer of the streaming services Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer), The Tinder Swindler is equal parts non-fiction expose and thriller, primarily told through the stories of two women. The first, Cecilie Fjellhy, is a Norway native and self-described Tinder expert. Via the popular hook-up app, she crossed paths with Simon, who presented himself as a stylish businessman who attended lots of professional meetings and liked to visit the beach. They turned out to be a Tinder match, and promptly had a date at the Four Seasons in London, where he told her about his job as CEO of LLD Diamonds. During that first get-together, he invited Cecilie to join him on a business trip to Bulgaria, and in the blink of an eye she was traveling to the airport in a Rolls Royce, and flying on a private jet alongside a woman who claimed to be Simons ex, a little girl who was purportedly his daughter, and a hulking man named Peter that Simon said was his bodyguard. For someone who had grown up fantasizing about a Beauty and the Beast-style whirlwind romance, this all struck Cecilie as a dream come true. (Disclaimer: Tinder is owned by Match Group, which was formerly owned The Daily Beasts parent company, IAC).

Adults Adopting Adults Is a Bonkers and Creepy Reality Show About Adult Adoption

Their ensuing courtship was overwhelmingfull of caviar meals, lavish displays of affection, and amorous texts and voice messages sent while Simon was gallivanting around Europe. When Cecilie and her friends googled Simon, they discovered articles about his powerful family and its ties to Vladimir Putin, as well as the potential dangers that he faced from industry rivals. All of this helped convince Cecilie that the man she was falling for was a bigwig operating in a stratospheric sphere of wealth, power and peril, and recounting those early days now, she candidly admits that the situation was intoxicating. So smitten was she that, even when she deduced that Simon was still active on Tinder, she believed his protestations that he had deleted the appan assertion that, as with so many of the voice messages and photographs that he sent her during their relationship, is presented for all to see in The Tinder Swindler.

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At the same time that Simon was romancing Cecilie, he was additionally connecting on Tinder with Pernilla Sjholm, who similarly liked that he was a well-traveled, hard-working grown-up. As with Cecilie, Simons initial move was to spirit Pernilla away on a private jetin this instance, from Stockholm to Amsterdamand to take her to a restaurant where the entire staff seemed to know him. True sparks didnt ignite between them, but Pernilla maintained contact even after this first date, because she found him to be a battery charger sort of personality who enlivened everything and everyone. A short while later, she joined him and his new girlfriend Polina (a Russian model) on a lavish European summer vacation.

Simon pretended to be a man of limitless means, but The Tinder Swindler makes clear that the source of his funds was Cecilieand, also, others just like her. Thanks to photos and videos of an alleged assassination attempt on his life that had left Peter injured, Simon convinced Cecilie that his security team had cut off his financial resources (for his own protection), and that he needed urgent monetary assistance. Since she was now in loveand even looking to purchase an apartment for them to shareshe didnt hesitate to get him a credit card on her account, and to begin taking out loans to keep him afloat. Big surprise that, once shed racked up enormous debts, Simon continually failed to keep his promises to pay her back, leaving her in desperate straits.

In response to her circumstances, which eventually landed her in a psychiatric hospital, Cecilie came clean to American Express, whose agents informed her that Simon was actually a notorious Israeli con man named Shimon Hayut. This bombshell drove Cecilie to Norways VG newspaper, whose reporters embarked on an investigation that soon led them to Pernilla. What they uncovered was a criminal whod previously been incarcerated for fraud, and who was now using comparable cover stories to dupe other unsuspecting women out of everything they had. When confronted with such accusations, Simon vacillated between denials and threats, and The Tinder Swindler lays bare his duplicity and rage through a shrewd formal structurerife with animated text conversations, online videos, and audio missivesthat details the intricate method of his digital ruse.

Director Morris aesthetic approach illustrates the way in which real and virtual realities can be exploited for deceptive ends, which helps transform the film into a cautionary tale about the dangers of believing what you see or hear on your smartphone (even when its backed up by in-person experiences). At the same time, though, The Tinder Swindler also paints modern technology as a double-edged sword, given that once VGs bombshell article was publishedand Cecilie and Pernilla began making the media roundsanother of Simons long-term paramours, Ayleen Charlotte, came out of the woodwork with an eerily identical account of emotional and financial manipulation. The difference in Ayleens case, however, was that she was still in touch with Simon, thereby allowing her to take direct action against the charlatan.

In its closing sequences, The Tinder Swindler becomes a suspenseful recap of the race to capture Simon before he vanishes with a new alias and a plastic surgery-reconfigured face. Even if its conclusion isnt nearly as comforting as one might like, its a damning portrait of a man who cant be trustedand who, courtesy of this documentary, will have a far harder time hiding his genuine identity in the future.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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KIEV, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met in Kiev on Tuesday to discuss security issues, in particular Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border, the presidential press service said.

In a joint statement after their talks, Zelensky and Johnson warned that any further Russian incursion in Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and have a stark humanitarian cost.

The leaders said that Ukraine and Britain agreed to work together to strengthen Ukraine's security and the ability to defend itself. They also expressed their commitment to strengthen Ukraine's energy security and support its efforts toward the green transition.

At the briefing after the talks, Zelensky said that although he does not support all the provisions of the Minsk agreements, it is the "only format that works."

"We must do something that can de-occupy our territories in particular, protect our state in one form or another," Zelensky said.

He also said that Britain will allocate some 2 billion British pounds (around 2.7 billion U.S. dollars) for joint infrastructure and energy projects with Ukraine.

For his part, Johnson announced that Britain will also provide 88 million pounds (around 119 million dollars) of new funding for Ukraine to help it reduce the reliance on Russian energy supplies.

Johnson arrived in Kiev earlier in the day for a working visit. According to local media reports, later this week, he will hold phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Since November, Kiev and some Western countries have accused Russia of assembling heavy troops near the Ukrainian border with a possible intention of "invasion."

Russia denied the accusation, saying that Russia has the right to mobilize troops within its borders to defend its territory as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's activities constitute a threat to Russia's border security. 
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating after police shot a man in Robertson County near the Kentucky border Tuesday night.

The shooting took place on Payne Road, near Portland, and involved deputies from Simpson County, Ky, the TBI reported.

According to preliminary information from the TBI, Simpson County Sheriff's Office deputies chased a vehicle over the state line into Robertson County.

It was not immediately known why deputies pursued the vehicle.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the cause of a fatal fire in Watertown.

The vehicle wrecked on Payne Road, the TBI reported, and during an attempt to apprehend the driver and the passenger, a deputy shot the passenger.

The passenger was transported to a Nashville hospital for treatment. His condition was not immediately known on Wednesday.

The driver was not injured, the TBI reported, and was taken into custody by the Kentucky deputies. The TBI did not release what charges he faces.

No law enforcement officers were hurt.

As of Wednesday, the TBI had not released the names of the men inside the vehicle being pursued by deputies.

The TBI does not identify officers involved in shootings, and as the Simpson County Sheriff's Office has not yet released the name of the deputy who opened fire.

At the request of 19th District Attorney General Robert Nash, TBI agents are investigating the circumstances that led up to the shooting.

Natalie Neysa Alund is based in Nashville at The Tennessean and covers breaking news across the South for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TBI: Kentucky deputies shoot passenger in vehicle chased into Portland
A Texas parent called for a book about Michelle Obama be pulled from schools, NBC News reported.

The parent said it unfairly depicted Trump as a bully and would make white girls feel "ashamed."

Some conservatives say books depicting race, sexuality, and gender should be kept out of schools.

A parent in Texas called for a children's biography about former first lady Michelle Obama to be pulled from school libraries because they viewed it as unfair to former President Donald Trump.

The Katy, Texas, parent took issue with a book titled "Michelle Obama: Political Icon" by Heather E. Schwartz, saying it "unfairly" depicted Trump "as a bully," according to NBC News, which on Wednesday published a list of 50 books that parents in Texas have asked schools to remove.

Former first lady Michelle Obama. Rob Grabowski/AP

The request came as books depicting race, sexuality, and gender have faced heightened scrutiny from conservatives in the US, with many demanding certain titles be pulled from school libraries.

The parent in Katy, who was not named in NBC's report, said the book about Obama gave the impression that "if you sound like a white girl you should be ashamed of yourself," NBC News reported.

In a statement to Insider, Schwartz said she was "shocked" that someone wanted to ban her book because it "is a nonfiction book that doesn't strike me as at all controversial."

Video: How 100-year-old books are professionally restored

Maria Corrales DiPetta, a spokesperson for the Katy Independent School District, told Insider the district reviewed the book after the complaint and determined it would not be removed. Any book that is challenged is reviewed by the district, even if only one parent submits a complaint, she said.

"We could have gotten hundreds of requests, and it would have gone through the same process," she added.

In December, the district began pulling books from the shelves after parents complained about their vulgarity, the Houston Chronicle reported.

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"The Board of Trustees and I stand by this policy and firmly believe that there is no place for books that contain pervasively vulgar content in Katy ISD libraries," Superintendent Ken Gregorski said at the time.

"It is our expectation that books within our collections are age-appropriate for the students and families we serve," Gregorski added.

Similar efforts have gained traction from state legislators and other community leaders in the US. Last year, a state legislator in Oklahoma proposed a bill that would've prohibited books in school libraries that depicted sexual activity or included discussions around sexuality and gender identity, The New York Times reported.

In October, a Wyoming prosecutor declined a request to prosecute library employees in one conservative town for stocking several books about sex education and others with LGBTQ+ themes, The Associated Press reported.

"As an author, a reader, and a parent, I'm against book banning on principle," Schwartz, the author of the Obama biography, said. "There couldn't be a safer way for kids to learn about difficult topics, gain new perspectives, and explore the world and their place in it than by reading words on a page."

Read the original article on Insider
TUNIS (Reuters) - A political novice, Tunisia's president stunned opponents and admirers alike by seizing near total state power in a move that thrust his country's young democracy into turmoil.

Kais Saied, a former law professor with an awkward public manner, denies accusations by critics that he has dictatorial aspirations and vows to uphold the rights of Tunisians.

But six months after sacking the North African country's prime minister, suspending parliament and assuming executive power -- moves his opponents call a coup  his declared roadmap out of the crisis appears a work in progress.

For some Tunisians it is an open question whether he will ultimately become a populist hero, a dictator who undermines democracy or a president brought down by a collapsing economy.

Tunisia is regarded as the only democratic success to emerge from the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, but the country faces a looming public finances crisis, and painful reforms needed to secure international assistance risk triggering social unrest.

Saied seems to have decided that he embodies "the consensus of the Tunisian electorate, and that in order to move Tunisia forward, he needs to move aggressively and uncompromisingly," said H.A. Hellyer, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

To those who back Saied, his actions were the necessary work of a rare man of integrity who managed to oust a corrupt political elite and relaunch the 2011 revolution that toppled Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

The solemn, balding 63-year-old, who speaks an ultra-formal style of classical Arabic, has started online consultations in order to write a new constitution, which he plans to put to a referendum in June.

ECONOMIC FRUSTRATIONS

His critics, drawn from across Tunisia's political spectrum and elements of civil society, say he is inexperienced, isolated and uncompromising, and fear that when economic frustrations breed opposition, he will grow autocratic.

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But Saied says he wants to lead Tunisians on an enlightened political path free of corruption and that problems stem from the current 2014 constitution, which analysts say he wants to change in order to focus power in the presidency.

"The way forward is to return to the people in a completely new and different way. There must be a legal solution based on the will and sovereignty of the people," he said in December.

Saied's inflexible approach contrasts with the tumultuous days of the 2011 revolt, when he would wander at night through the narrow streets of the Kasbah and grand colonial boulevards downtown asking protesters about their demands.

He became prominent after the revolution by appearing on media shows to talk about the constitution.

Saied swept into office in a 2019 landslide second-round vote as a scourge of corruption, his severe, formal manner contrasting vividly with that of the groomed political elite.

Saied's campaign headquarters reflected his austere approach: a small upstairs apartment in an old building with no elevator, broken windows and peeling paint work equipped with little more than a small television and some plastic chairs.

He won the support of leftists, though his radical but socially conservative politics do not neatly chime with the group. His social views - favouring the death penalty and opposing homosexuality and equal inheritance for men and women - appear to have won him support among Islamists.

As time passed after his election, he showed impatience with the messy politics of parliament and a succession of governing coalitions. Growing demonstrations indicate he has since lost some of the support evident in his early months in power.

""It looks like he is en route to creating a presidential system that oversees weakened democratic institutions such as parliament," said Andreas Krieg, Associate Professor at King's College London's School of Security.

'DEMOCRACY OF INDIVIDUALS'

Tunisia is pursuing talks with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package predicated on painful economic reforms. The discussions were halted in July, when Saied seized wide powers, but resumed after he laid out plans for a referendum and parliamentary elections this year.

Jalel Harchaoui of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, said Saied's most daunting task could be ensuring Tunisia can carry on importing medicine, food, fuel and raw materials that the population needs daily.

But instead of tackling economic challenges he has demonized opponents in his rhetoric, hoping that will ultimately resolve Tunisias macroeconomic predicament, said Harchaoui.

Saied appears contemptuous of party politics and a directly elected parliament, something he wants Tunisia to entirely abandon in favour of a democracy of individuals.

He has previously championed local councils elected based on the character of their representatives rather than party. They would in turn choose regional representatives who would choose national ones.

Whether that sort of system is what emerges from the constitutional process he has launched, and whether it makes much difference to the economic woes that infuriate Tunisians, remains in the balance.

(Writing by Michael Georgy, Editing by William Maclean)
ISTANBUL (AP)  Charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan resumed after a two-year hiatus on Wednesday amid efforts by Turkey and Armenia to normalize strained ties.

A Fly One Armenia plane, with 64 passengers on board, landed at Istanbul Airport Wednesday evening, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. A plane belonging to Turkish low-cost Pegasus Airlines was scheduled to take off from Istanbuls second airport, Sabiha Gokcen, for Yerevan at 11:55 pm (2115 GMT).

Turkey and Armenia have appointed special envoys in a bid to end their decades-long hostile relationship and to establish diplomatic ties. The envoys held their first meeting in Moscow last month and both nations said their talks were held in a positive and constructive atmosphere.

Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Armenias independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but the two neighbors have no diplomatic ties.

Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, shut down its border with Armenia in 1993, in a show of solidarity with Baku, which was locked in a conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In 2020, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan in the six-week conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan gain control of a significant part of the region.

Turkey and Armenia also have a more than century-old bitter relationship over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey.

Historians widely view the event as genocide. Turkey vehemently rejects the label, conceding that many died in that era, but insisting that the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest.
MINSK, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The government of Belarus is imposing a ban on rail transit from Lithuania for a group of goods including oil products, and chemical and mineral fertilizers loaded at stations of the Lithuanian Railways.

Anatoly Glaz, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, said on Wednesday that the ban will come into force on Feb. 7. It will affect the supply chains of about 1.5 to 1.6 million tons of cargo worth more than 1 billion U.S. dollars annually.

The decision is related to Lithuania's ban on the transit of potash fertilizers from Belarus. The Belarusian side emphasizes that the decision violates the norms of law, direct bilateral and multilateral obligations of the Lithuanian side. 
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Feb. 2Tensions in eastern Europe between Ukraine and Russia are being felt all the way to the Georgia gas pumps.

According to the American Automobile Association, gas prices all around Georgia have jumped significantly this week. A motorist with a 15-gallon tank will spend an average $48 to fill it up, AAA reported.

In a news release Monday, AAA reported that Georgia's average gas price is seven cents more than last week, 10 cents more than last month and nearly a dollar more than this time last year.

The potential war in Ukraine is being blamed for the increase in crude oil prices and subsequently the price at the pump. According to CNN, a Russian invasion will further increase prices because Russia is the No. 2 oil producer behind the U.S., and a large amount of Russian natural gas exports to Europe flow through Ukraine.

An invasion of Ukraine would likely lead to U.S. sanctions on Russia's expansive energy resources, and it is speculated that Russian President Vladimir Putin would likely weaponize exports of natural gas and crude oil if those sanctions were implemented, according to that same CNN report.

Local residents aren't over the moon about rising gas prices, but they aren't panicking.

"It hasn't really affected me, not in a major way," Kilani Hansen, a student at Kennesaw State University's Marietta Campus, said. "Just because we need gas to get from point A to point B."

Eusebio Rico, a Marietta resident, said gas prices aren't bothering him much right now despite the current price increase.

"I'm not worried about (gas prices)," he said. "Not yet."

To save money on gas, the AAA suggests combining several errands into one trip to drive fewer miles, taking things out of your car that might add weight, removing things like bike racks to reduce wind resistance, avoiding fast takeoffs and fast braking and looking around for the lowest prices and local discounts.
An old school friend I met up with recently was astonished to find that, not only did I host my own podcast, but that I made a portion of my living from it too.

Talking over dinner, my friend  who has a very regular office job, as far removed from the media industry as you can imagine  seemed to envy my life as a freelance content creator subsisting off 5 monthly donations. He may have attained the monikers of middle class success  a mortgage, a marriage and an Audi  but he found the prospect of having a podcast enticing, and the idea of being able to make a living by influencing people to be the real signifier of success.

It wasnt long before I found out where these ideas had come from: his favourite podcast, and one of the worlds largest, the Joe Rogan Experience.

As one of the first podcasts to emerge in the late 2000s, Joe Rogan  already an American household name as the host of Fear Factor and a well known commentator on the UFC circuit  had over a decade to cultivate a loyal audience, using his American everyman charm in interviews with guests ranging from stand-up comedians, fringe UFO conspiracy theorists and flat-earthers, to cultural icons such as the late Anthony Bourdain.

In 2021, when Spotify bought the Joe Rogan Experience for $100m  one of the biggest podcast acquisitions in history  it had close to 10 million listeners per episode.

In the past fortnight, however, Rogan has come in for heavy criticism for spreading anti-vaccination narratives and misinformation regarding Covid-19. This has resulted in artists such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and India Arie to remove their music from Spotify. Market reports suggest this has devalued spotify by $2bn. The reaction to Rogan giving a platform to conspiracy theorists has also shaken some investors.

The internet is split on whether the podcast is putting people in danger or if its the last bastion of free speech. I would argue that neither of these positions is quite valid. Both overestimate how influential Joe Rogan actually is. A recent investigation by The Verge suggests that, since Rogan signed the deal with Spotify, the rate of new followers, as well as the number of people who encounter his content, has significantly declined. The investigation also suggested that the number of Rogans dedicated listeners had declined by close to a third over the first year of the pandemic  potentially a result of people no longer commuting into work.

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The extent of Rogans influence remains elusive  something that doesnt just apply to him, but to anyone making content. While platforms like Apple and Spotify provide some insight into how many people listen or download episodes of a podcast, they provide very little insight into how people listen, what aspects of a podcast they pay attention to, whether they share the podcast, or who they share it with. Moreover, platforms like Spotify provide very little insight into how they define what a listen actually is, meaning that if someone were to listen to one of my podcasts, even for a matter of seconds, it would be logged as if they had listened to the entire hour.

If this sounds like a familiar story, its because its a standard practice by big tech companies. Between 2016-18, Facebook, the biggest platform for publishing news, changed its algorithm to favour videos over text, incentivising news organisations to get rid of print journalists and replace them with video editors in order to better monetise their content. While Facebook promised that pivoting to video would make newsrooms more profitable and efficient, in 201 it was revealed that the company had actually been inflating video viewing figures in such a way that even scrolling past a video on a Facebook feed would classify as a view.

To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter by clicking here

This isnt to say that Rogan, and other content creators who use their content to air hate speech and harmful misinformation, shouldnt be widely condemned, or even penalised by the platforms they use. But attributing too much influence to Rogan isnt only counterproductive  it absolves Spotify of its social responsibilities by placing the blame on creators.

It is worth remembering that Spotify bought Joe Rogans podcast knowing the podcasts long history of giving airtime to political extremists and conspiracy theorists. In paying millions for the show, Spotify signalled that not only were these views welcome, they were of an extremely high value too.

Indeed, if Joe Rogans influence over politics and international public health strategy is now an existential threat, perhaps the ire is better directed at unaccountable tech platforms, which, in asserting their financial value and cultural relevance, give rise to such influencers.
OLYMPIA, WA  As the omicron wave tore through Washington state this winter, hospital leaders warned over and over again about high staff turnover as doctors and nurses struggled to care for the swelling number of COVID-19 patients.

In response, Washington lawmakers have introduced two bills to address the issue and bolster the state's health care system. But while legislators and supporters say the bills are designed to fix hospital staffing issues and improve worker safety, the state's hospital association says their "one-size fits all" approach could instead create further problems.

The bills in question, House Bill 1868 and Senate Bill 5751, promise to address staffing needs by improving the job: banning required overtime, and guaranteeing meal and rest breaks, among other benefits. Both bills have drawn bipartisan support, KING 5 reported, and the support of some hospital employees.

"By having this law in place, it's actually going to make things better because people that are coming in that we're going to recruit, we'll be able to retain them because the work is manageable," Jane Hopkins, a registered nurse and the executive vice president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW told KING. "Those that are thinking about leaving will actually stay."



However, response from the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) has been less positive. The association on Tuesday released a statement expressing concerns over the bill's "rigid" staffing standards, which WSHA leaders warn could raise health care costs and further limit patient access.

Imposing these one-size-fits-all requirements will make many of the care delays weve seen during the pandemic a permanent feature in Washington State, said June Altaras a registered nurse with MultiCare Health System and WSHA member. We share legislators desire to continue supporting the health care teams that have been so strained over the last two years. However, this proposal will make the problem worse.

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Both bills do require hospitals to meet minimum staffing standards. For example, under HB 1868, ICU units would be required to staff at least one RN for every two patients. The WSHA says, Washington already has a shortage of about 6,000 registered nurses, and their estimates show the bill would require hospitals to hire at least 15,000 more to meet the minimum staffing requirements a combined cost of over a billion dollars, the association said.

Converesely, HB 1868 sponsor Rep. Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane), argues that worker protections like these are needed to prevent current workers from leaving, pointing to a recent poll which found that 84 percent of healthcare workers said they were burned out. Nearly half of all respondents said they were likely to leave the healthcare profession in the next few years.

"Safe staffing standards will protect our healthcare workers and ensure that hospitals are prepared for emergencies like the one we are having right now," writes Riccelli. "Washington should be a place where healthcare workers can have long and successful careers. Ultimately, by protecting them we are also protecting ourselves by ensuring that patients can get the care they deserve."

Instead of the current proposals, the WSHA says it would rather the state focus on investing in health care education, increasing payment rates for long term care to incentivize patients moving out of hospitals and into extended care facilities, and to join the interstate nurse compact, which allows nurses to more easily transfer in from other states.



Most of our hospitals in Washington are public hospital districts or not-for-profit and are operating with little to no financial margin," said Lourdes Schoch, a registered nurse with Summit Pacific Medical Center. "We will not be able to absorb these additional costs and hospitals will be forced to increase costs or cut critical services. Im concerned about what that would mean for people in my community."

The first of the bills, HB 1868, on Friday was heard by the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standard, who recommended that the law be passed with substitutions. It has since been referred to the appropriations committee for future action.



This article originally appeared on the Lakewood-JBLM Patch
LONDON (Reuters) - Russia could use cyberattacks as part of its efforts to destabilise and further invade Ukraine, a White House cyber official visiting her European counterparts said on Wednesday.

Anne Neuberger, U.S. deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, was meeting European Union and NATO officials in Brussels to discuss the threat of cyber attacks against Ukraine by Russia.

"We've been warning for weeks and months, both publicly and privately" of potential attacks, Neuberger told a virtual news conference.

"The Russians have used cyber as a key component of their force projection over the last decade, including previously in Ukraine," Neuberger said.

Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops along the border with Ukraine, spurring fears of war. Although Russia denies it is planning an invasion, it is demanding sweeping security guarantees including a promise NATO never admit Ukraine.

Neuberger's visit comes after a massive cyberattack warning Ukrainians to "be afraid and expect the worst" hit government websites in mid-January https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/expect-worst-ukraine-hit-by-cyberattack-russia-moves-more-troops-2022-01-14, leaving some pages inaccessible and prompting Kyiv to open an investigation.

Kyiv believes a hacker group linked to intelligence in Belarus, a close ally of Russia, carried out the cyberattack https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-ukraine-suspects-group-linked-belarus-intelligence-over-cyberattack-2022-01-15 using malware similar to that used by a group tied to Russian intelligence.

Shell said on Tuesday it was re-routing oil supplies https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-re-routes-oil-supplies-after-cyberattack-german-logistics-firm-2022-02-01 to other depots following a cyberattack on two subsidiaries of German logistics firm Marquard & Bahls this week.

The nature of the attack or the identity of the attackers who carried out the Marquard & Bahls hack was not clear. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Will Dunham)
WISCONSIN  Milwaukee Public Schools would be broken up into smaller districts in a proposal announced by state Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) on Friday.

The school district would be dissolved in 2024 and turned into four to eight small public school districts inside Milwaukee, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. A commission made up of the governor, the mayor of Milwaukee and the state superintendent would draw boundaries for the new districts.

Other measures included in the package include expanding top performing charter schools and setting up a commission to allow new independent charter schools across the state.

Darling called the overhaul of the state's school system "an opportunity to build on our reputation and reclaim our status as a national model for reforming K-12 education." The COVID-19 pandemic and parental involvement exposed a need for reform, she said in a statement.

But the state superintendent, Jill Underly, called the proposals disingenuous and detached from the needs of students, families and educators, who have all suffered under the pandemic in Wisconsin.

"They do nothing to help public schools and instead will cause great harm," Underly added.

Milwaukee School Board President Bob Peterson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that splitting the school district up would be "disastrous" for families who rely on the district for education and other forms of support, like meals.

However, former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, a high-profile Republican candidate in the race for governor, said she supported the proposal to break up MPS.

"I refuse to accept more of the status quo from the education establishment that continues to fail Milwaukees children," Kleefisch said in a video.

If she is elected governor, Kleefisch said she would continue the plan to dissolve the district.

It's unlikely that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will sign the bills as long as he is governor.

Patch has reached out to state Sen. Darling and Milwaukee Public Schools administrators for comment.

This article originally appeared on the Milwaukee Patch
A Boston police officer was found unresponsive outside a home during a massive snowstorm in Massachusetts and died hours later, according to the Norfolk District Attorneys Office.

A woman who officials say drove with the officer to the area beforehand was arrested in connection with his death, the district attorneys office said.

Karen A. Read, 41 of Mansfield, is charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death and motor vehicle homicide after Officer John OKeefe, of Canton, died Jan. 29, the district attorneys office said Feb. 1 following an intensive investigation.

OKeefe, 46, was a Boston police officer for 16 years who served admirably in several assignments during his career, the department wrote on Twitter Jan. 30.

Read appeared in court 9 a.m. Feb. 2 for an arraignment, prosecutors said.

She was OKeefes girlfriend, according to CBS, and pleaded not guilty to the charges against her in court.

The officer was found outside the Canton home in the early hours of Jan. 29, according to the district attorneys office, as a winter noreaster struck the Northeast, WCVB reported. Eastern Massachusetts, where Canton is located, saw over 2 feet of snow.

The district attorneys office said OKeefe was taken to a nearby medical center and later pronounced dead.

Read reportedly dropped OKeefe off at the home after they were out at a bar and made a three-point turn to leave, according to details that emerged in court, CBS reported.

When he didnt come home, she contacted a friend, and they both went back to find OKeefe with injuries lying in the snow, according to the outlet. Read reportedly asked Could I have hit him? Did I hit him? prosecutors said.

Read was released on a $50,000 bail by order of a judge who said she has plenty of reason to flee, according to CBS.

Her attorney tried to have Reads bail lowered in court and said she has multiple sclerosis and a brain tumor, according to a tweet by NBC10 reporter Katie Brace. He said she has no reason to run and that she has done the opposite, NBC10 reported.

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He also argued that the manslaughter charge is a tremendous reach.

John was a kind person, dedicated to his family, and will be greatly missed by his coworkers and anyone who had the privilege of meeting him, Boston police Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long said in a statement on Feb. 1.

Canton is located 21 miles south of Boston.

Beloved officers known as dynamic duo shot and killed at Virginia college, cops say

Driver pleads guilty in car crash that killed three passengers at Maine park, feds say

Deputy fatally shoots off-duty officer he mistook for suspect, Washington police say

College student found lying on pavement, dead of exposure to cold in Central New York
A long-time orchestra teacher in Ames took her final bow Monday night, and though it came earlier than expected, Mary Kay Polashek said teaching has been a rewarding journey for her.

Polashek has been Ames High School's orchestra director and teacher for 35 years and has been in teaching 40 years in total.

In the high school's auditorium Monday night, she took to the stage, shoeless, and assumed her familiar spot as conductor while the audience applauded  a vase of flowers on the stage between her and the crowd.

Ames High School orchestra director Mary Kay Polashek conducts the school's orchestra during the Monday, Jan. 31 winter concert in the school's auditorium.

She then led students in performing a Bach concerto, variations on musical chopsticks, some winter holiday tunes, a Russian ballet song and an arrangement of the cinematic themes from Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.

Polashek said later that she didn't know when she picked those pieces that it would be the set for her last concert.

"I had planned to teach all year and at one point even thought of teaching another year," she said, but a diagnosis last August of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, changed that.

For subscribers: Two women, worlds apart, and a rare disease that could offer clues about ALS

The disease attacks the nerve cells that control muscles and is ultimately fatal, though people can live for years or even decades after a diagnosis.

Polashek said her voice "started to get rough" more than a year ago  she lost her ability to sing in December 2020  but after her diagnosis with bulbar ALS, she could still talk some at school. Soon, however, "I had to type it and have my computer talk to the students. This meant it was impossible to give the verbal comments instantly during a rehearsal."

She said she was impressed and thankful that her students adapted and played well, but, "In early January I realized that my energy level and my arm strength combined with my inability to talk necessitated my being done teaching sooner than I planned. I told my students on January 20 that this would be my last concert."

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She posted on Facebook that she'll be on sick leave starting next week.

During a standing ovation at the end of the concert and as her husband, Emil, brought her more flowers on stage, Polashek was obviously emotional.

Mary Kay Polashek breaks down in tears as she hugs her husband Emil after her final school orchestra winter concert at the school's auditorium, Monday, Jan. 31. After 35 years as the orchestra director, she is retiring.

She said the concert was difficult  physically as well as emotionally  but, "I was relieved I managed to make it through the concert and very overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from the audience and the students. And I was so proud of the students for performing so well."

"Being a music teacher and specifically an orchestra director is the only vocation I ever wanted," she said.

In addition to her career at Ames High, she plays piano at church on Sundays, used to play violin and viola in the Central Iowa Symphony and was a founding member of the Ames Chamber Artists, singing soprano.

She stopped playing the string instruments in August, and though the loss of singing is hard for her, she said music is "so much a part of my life" and she's thankful to still be able to play the piano.

Her final concert brought together people from throughout her life  former students, community members, friends, family.

Ames High School orchestra director Mary Kay Polashek receives emotional congratulations from former students Sarah Beisser-Ling (left) and Jennifer Erbes after her last school orchestra winter concert Monday, Jan. 31. Polashek is retiring after 35 years of working with the Orchestra.

Steve Linn, a former director of choral music at Ames High School, said that he had taught alongside Polashek for 26 years, before he retired in 2017.

Linn said he also thought of Polashek as a good friend, even a sister. He also credited her with an ability to relate to her students.

"Being in orchestra and most musical ensembles develops so many life skills of teamwork, fine motor skills, listening, emotional growth, stress relief, confidence building, creativity and so many more skills needed in life," Polashek said.

Beyond skills, she hopes to leave her students with an appreciation of music and the willingness to follow their passions.

Emil Polashek said his wife is "going to miss it, but it's been very rewarding for her."

All four of their children were at the concert, too some as a surprise  hailing from Winterset, Dubuque, Wisconsin and Austin, Texas. All four played in her high school orchestra.

"I've love teaching and am sorry to be going out sooner than I had planned," Polashek said. "However it has been a wonderful long symphony for me."

For subscribers: Hopes high in community as new Ames school superintendent Julious Lawson steps in

Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Retiring Ames High School orchestra teacher conducts last concert
NEW YORK  A Brooklyn judges son pleaded guilty to felony charges Wednesday for storming the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot while dressed as a caveman, the Department of Justice announced.

Aaron Mostofsky, 35, copped to civil disorder and theft of government property charges for his role in breaking into the Capitol building with hundreds of other Donald Trump supporters during the siege of the building as Congress was about to certify the vote from the 2020 presidential election.

What Im doing here today is to express my opinion as a free American, my beliefs that this election was stolen, Mostofsky said during a video interview inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. We were cheated.

Mostofsky is the son of Steven Shlomo Mostofsky, a judge on the Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn.

He posted videos to his Instagram account showing him on a bus to the Capitol, and included clips taken inside and outside the building, federal prosecutors said.

Wearing a fur pelt and carrying a long wooden walking stick, Mostofsky entered the Capitol just after 2 p.m., when other rioters broke the window next to the door to the buildings Senate wing.

During the mayhem, Mostofsky picked up a police vest and a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield, prompting the theft of government property charge.

A Capitol Police officer took the shield from Mostofsky after he left the building.

In their complaint against Mostofsky, the feds included a meme that another Instagram user sent to him after the riots.

Imagine coming off 10 hits of acid and u look around and ur in the US Capitol like s--t, the meme reads, along with a photo of Mostofsky in the Capitol.

Prosecutors discovered another Instagram message in which Mostofsky told a buddy to look for a guy looking like a caveman near the Capitol building, referring to his costume, said court papers.

He was arrested in Brooklyn less than a week after the riots and released on $100,000 bail.

Mostofsky faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on May 6.


Justin Faulconer

Two felony charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer against a Madison Heights man will proceed to an Amherst County jury, a judge ruled on Feb. 1.

Dakota Jordan Cash, 21, is charged with two counts of attempted capital murder of an officer in connection with a June 20, 2021, incident.

Amherst County Sheriffs deputies responded to a call that day for a reported assault in the Colony Road area of Madison Heights. Deputies met with a woman who said she was assaulted and had physical signs she had been, the Amherst County Sheriffs Office said in a previous news release.

The woman identified Cash as the assailant, the release said. As deputies approached a residence where Cash is known to live, they were met with gunfire from a rifle and were able to identify Cash, 20, as the person shooting at them as he was running away from the officers, according to the release.

No one was hit by gunfire and deputies involved did not fire their weapons, the sheriffs office has said. Cash later was taken into custody in Lynchburg.

Arrest warrants filed in Amherst General District Court state Cash, a resident of Thacker Lane in Madison Heights, attempted to willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation kill and murder [Deputy S.W. Martin and Sgt. Steven Bodek] for the purpose of interfering with the performance of the officers duties.

Cash on Feb. 1 waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Amherst General District Court. Judge Sam Eggleston III certified the two charges to an upcoming session of the grand jury, which decides if evidence is sufficient to send the case to trial.

 Justin Faulconer

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A group of parents of students with disabilities filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday against Gov. Glenn Youngkin, alleging his executive order allowing masks to be optional for schoolchildren violates the Americans With Disabilities Act and other federal law.

This is the third lawsuit filed against Youngkin and state officials since he issued the executive order on Jan. 15, the day he was sworn in.

The children of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit have illnesses like cancer, cystic fibrosis, asthma, Down syndrome, lung conditions, and weakened immune systems. Because of that, the parents allege that Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares and other officials are excluding their children from access to a public education.

The Executive Order shows a reckless disregard for students with disabilities across Virginia, said Kaitlin Banner, the deputy legal director of the Washington Lawyers Committee said in a news release. The Order prevents schools from taking reasonable steps to make sure their students can go to school and enjoy the same educational experiences as their friends.

The first lawsuit against Youngkin's mask order was filed in the Supreme Court of Virginia three days after he was sworn in. A group of Chesapeake parents allege Youngkin doesn't have the power to suspend a 2021 state law that requires schools to adhere to federal COVID-19 mitigation guidance as closely as possible; that guidance currently recommends masking.

And then a week ago, seven school boards, including Richmond, filed a lawsuit against Youngkin in Arlington County Circuit Court. Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for Wednesday, also arguing that the state Constitution gives local school boards - not the governor - the power to determine school safety rules.

Youngkin and Miyares assert that a different state law gives parents rights to make decisions about their children's education and health.

The order divided school divisions across the state. Some opted to make masks for children optional, as the governor's order directs. Others opted to keep their rules requiring masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Chesterfield County's school board, for example, voted last week to make masks optional, prompting some parents to keep their children home and some teachers to call in sick. In the capital region, masks are also now optional in Hanover County schools, but required in Richmond and Henrico schools.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
Democrats on a Senate committee on Tuesday removed lightning-rod Cabinet nominee Andrew Wheeler from a list of appointments working its way through the legislature, pushing new GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin closer to being the first Virginia executive in 16 years to have such a choice rejected by the legislature.

Youngkin's choice of Wheeler to be Virginia secretary of natural resources was immediately met with a backlash earlier this month by Democrats and environmental groups because of Wheeler's record of trying to roll back environmental protections as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump.

A governor's Cabinet choices are subject to General Assembly approval. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted 9-6, on a party line vote, to remove Wheeler's name from a resolution that now goes to the full Senate.

Governor Youngkin has said time and time again he would like to bridge the partisan divide and work together for Virginias next generation," Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke of Hampton said in a statement. "However, his choice of Trump alum Andrew Wheeler for the position of Secretary of Natural Resources proves his unwillingness to bring properly qualified officials into our government.

"Mr. Wheeler will not protect - but instead will destroy - our efforts to move away from fossil fuels, maintain air and water quality, and prevent further global warming. His nomination is dangerous for Virginias future."

Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said: "Andrew Wheeler is a highly qualified individual with an extensive background on natural resources and issues critically important to Virginians. The governor is disappointed that the committee put partisan politics over the selection of an experienced public servant who would prioritize cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and James River."

In 2006, Republicans defeated Daniel LeBlanc, then-Gov. Tim Kaine's nominee for secretary of the commonwealth.

Wheeler, of Alexandria, did not apply for the job, but served on Youngkin's transition committee handling energy issues and Youngkin offered it to him.

The Union of Concerned Scientists in 2019 created a list of 80 Trump administration attacks on science and called Wheeler a driving force behind many.

Three former EPA administrators who served under Republican presidents expressed concerns in 2019 about Wheeler.

And a group of former EPA employees wrote a letter to Virginia senators expressing concerns about Wheeler.

Wheeler got support in a letter sent to Virginia senators on Sunday from other EPA employees who worked with him and support his nomination. The letter was coordinated by Mandy Gunasekara, a former Trump EPA official who in 2019 started an anonymously-funded group to promote Trump's energy agenda and then rejoined the agency in 2020 as chief of staff under Wheeler.

The letter defended Wheeler's commitment to clean air and water:

"All told, over the course of Mr. Wheelers career, he has improved the lives of millions of Americans through his steadfast commitments to a better, healthier environment."

This is a developing story and will be updated.
COLUMBUS  On Saturday, Jan. 24, the Nebraska American Legion honored Papillion Police Lt. Christopher Goley as the 2021 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year at its mid-year conference.

American Legion Department of Nebraska Commander Dan Benes presented Goley with a certificate and plaque thanking him for his dedication to duty. Following selection as Nebraskas Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, Goleys name has been submitted for consideration as the National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

In a press release, the Legion said Goley has been with the Papillion Police Department for 20 years.

He has performed his demanding and, at times, dangerous duties in Papillion and surrounding areas. He has been instrumental in moving his department forward with the implementation of equipment training and educational programs that impact other officers and the safety of the community.

In 2017, Officer Goley was able to save the life of a 17-year-old boy during a high-stress situation. He said that no matter what happens in his career, he knows that he saved at least one person. Their connection continued when he helped the boy graduate high school and venture to college.

He also has been working with Trinity, a police service dog, for the last year and has proven how indispensable the role is to the department. He also has trained a second K-9 Unit for the department. He instructs a multitude of classes for department members and is known to step up to the plate whenever help is needed.

In his spare time, Goley is a guest instructor at Creighton University for future paramedics, teaching them about real-life situations. He can also be found instructing at UNMC in emergency medicine training for resident physicians. He also serves on the advisory board for Nebraska Police Service Dogs.

Goley, a military veteran, has received the Papillion Medal of Valor. He is credited with lifesaving twice: the youth suicide attempt described above and the Bellevue Sonic mass shooting, according to Papillion Post 32 Commander Ted Pafford.

Pafford also said Goley is the team leader of STacMed (Sarpy County Tactical Medic Team.) It deploys alongside Sarpy Countys SWAT team, providing Tactical Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) during critical, hot zone incidents. This specialized team has dual-trained law enforcement officers, firefighters and physicians to provide care during a crisis.

It is my understanding this may be our Papillion American Legion Post 32s first award winner, Pafford said.

The Legion also selected James E. Liptrott of Omaha as 2021 Firefighter/EMS of the Year.

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Choteau, MT (59422)

Today

Mostly cloudy with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. High 76F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy and windy early, becoming partly cloudy late. Low 46F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph.
Shelly Phillippi has been showing her Eagle pride for the last 20 years.

Phillippi was born and raised in Council Bluffs, and she still lives here today. She attended Heartland Christian School, and she was actually part of the schools first graduating class in 2002. Phillippi met her husband, Dan, during high school at Heartland Christian.

Following graduation, she went to the University of Nebraska at Omaha to study social work. Phillippi decided to stay at home when her two daughters, Alice and Audrey, were young. However, when the two began having the same schedule at school at Heartland Christian, she was presented an opportunity to return to the very halls she once learned in.

Shes now in her second year of running the school office, and she said its been great to be back.

I just love the atmosphere and how friendly teachers are and how the kids get to study the Bible every day, she said. Theres actually a couple teachers still working here that I went to school with. Its great catching up with everybody.

Phillippi said its been nice seeing how the school has changed over the years, and she loves getting to know all the students, staff and parents who come through her door each day. She also said its nice being close to her girls, who are both in elementary school.

Outside of school, Phillippi said her family loves traveling. They plan on making a trip out to the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina to visit grandparents. The household is also very into Disney, and she said they look forward to visiting the Magic Kingdom Park in Florida soon, as well.

Phillippi said its been another great school year at Heartland Christian, and she hopes it ends on a high note for all students and staff.

 Joe Shearer
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge will host turkey hunts for youth and mobility impaired hunters in April.

The weekend turkey hunts, offered annually, are limited in numbers to provide a safe and enjoyable hunt for all participants.

A shotgun turkey hunt for youth will be held on April 9-10 at the refuge, according to a press release. Interested hunters may apply for the hunt by sending a letter with their name, address and telephone number. The letter must also include the name and phone number of the adult mentor who will accompany the youth on the hunt. Applications should be sent to DeSoto Refuge, 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, IA 51555 or emailed to Park Ranger Peter Rea at peter_rea@fws.gov.

A random drawing for the limited slots will be done on March 9, the press release stated. Those whose names are drawn will receive a letter regarding the hunt details and refuge-specific regulations. All applications must be received by March 8 to be included in the drawing. Any remaining slots will be filled on request.

A shotgun hunt for mobility impaired hunters will be held on April 23-24, the release stated. During this hunt weekend, the refuge will provide a limited number of accessible blinds. Interested mobility-impaired hunters can find out more about the hunt or sign up by calling Rea at 712-388-4803 or emailing him at peter_rea@fws.gov.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is located along U.S. Highway 30 five miles west of Interstate 29.

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DES MOINES  Competing proposals to lower Iowans taxes received largely positive feedback during a pair of legislative hearings Tuesday night at the Iowa Capitol.

The feedback from various business groups, conservative tax policy organizations and water quality and environmental advocates was not unanimous, but certainly largely in support of Republican state legislators varied proposals to lower the state tax on income to a single rate; reduce the state tax on businesses; and create a shift in taxes that provides funding for the long-starved state fund for conservation and water quality projects.

Majority House and Senate Republicans held the first legislative hearings on their proposals almost simultaneously Tuesday evening at different rooms in the Capitol.

Eventually, those Republican legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds will have to agree on one proposal that could contain different elements of the various plans.

This is an opportunity that we have.  I think this is the structure to get something done. Im not saying this bill is perfect, said Sen. Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs who is shepherding the Senate Republican proposal.

Most widely popular at the hearings among the plans were the water quality and conservation funding proposal and the lowering of the states corporate tax rates.

Advocates gushed over the water quality and conservation funding piece at the Senate hearing. The Senate version is the only proposal to include that provision.

We are absolutely thrilled to have IWILL (the states conservation and water quality fund) part of this bill, said Tammi Kircher, with Iowas chapter of Ducks Unlimited.

Dustin Miller, executive director of the Iowa Chamber Alliance, said the water quality and conservation funding will help communities attract new residents. Iowas population growth has been largely stagnant over the past decade.

The thing we are most excited about is the inclusion of IWILL, Miller said. What we hear repeatedly is quality of life projects is what they are looking for.

At the House hearing, environmental advocates urged Republicans there to consider addressing the trust fund.

Dan Cohen of the Buchanan County Conservation Board said investing in Iowas natural areas would be consistent with the goals of revitalizing rural Iowa, and Craig Patterson of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation also said it would improve workforce attraction and retention.

The consensus from interest groups at the House hearing was that the simplification of Iowas income tax code will be an advantage of the proposed flat tax  a rate that all pay.

Thats one of the biggest issues we deal with in the economic development world because if youre explaining, youre losing, the chambers Miller said.

Business leaders praised the Senate proposal to reduce corporate income taxes. At the House meeting, those business interests urged Republicans there to consider adding that piece.

Miller said the Chamber Alliance is undecided on the House bill because it lacks that corporate income tax reduction.

When we try to attract business investment from other states, were not even on the playing field, he said.

That message was repeated numerous times, as business leaders noted that Iowa has the third-highest top corporate income tax rate in the country.

While the lower individual income tax rates will make Iowa more competitive and promote more growth and opportunity, not including corporate tax reform would be disappointing, said Joe Murphy of the Iowa Business Council.

Weve put a lot of good effort and good faith work into reforming the tax code in the past three or four years, Murphy said. Keep an open mind on corporate tax rates, be bold and seize this opportunity.

The proposals were not without their detractors.

Mike Owen, with the progressive fiscal advocacy group Common Good Iowa, said flat taxes place an outsized burden for the funding of government services on lower-income residents. Owen also pushed back at the repeated claims that lowering income taxes will attract more people to live in Iowa.

Unfortunately, this bill fails every test. It guts fairness and revenue, Owen said.

A lobbyist for counties and county supervisors said those groups have some apprehension about the way the water quality and conservation fund will be financed under the Senate bill.

The Senate proposal would eliminate local governments local-option sales taxes, replace them with a statewide sales tax and return that revenue to the local governments while triggering the water quality and conservation funding.

The Sierra Club, which advocates for environmental policies, opposes the Senate plan because of that funding mechanism.

That method, we believe, is inappropriate, said Pam Mackey Taylor, director of the Sierra Clubs Iowa chapter.

Both proposals are scheduled for their next hearing in the legislative process, full committee hearings, on Thursday.

Reynolds: Everything on the table for tax reform

A day after Tuesdays hearings, Gov. Kim Reynolds declined an opportunity Wednesday to put her thumb on the scales.

Reynolds said that everything is on the table when it comes to the three tax plans that will ultimately have to become one. She touted her tax plan and fielded questions from reporters during an event at LBS, a publishing and packaging company in Des Moines.

Im optimistic we are going to get something done (on tax policy) this year, Reynolds said. I think well end up in a good place.

With a $1.2 billion state budget surplus, plus another $800 million in the state fund for tax relief, and a full budget reserve and emergency accounts, Republicans  who with their majorities pull all the state lawmaking levers  have pledged to cut state taxes.

Reynolds, Senate Republicans and House Republicans each have offered proposals that are similar in many ways, but decidedly different in others. All seek to reduce the state tax on individual workers income. Some also reduce the state tax on business income, and one creates a tax shift that triggers funding for the long-empty fund for conservation and water quality programs.

There has never been a better time for bold yet practical reform, Reynolds said Wednesday. We have a great story to tell (about Iowa). So if I can get the (tax) rates competitive, watch out.

When asked by reporters, Reynolds declined to endorse any of the three proposals or comment on the elements that differ among them. She said she will have those conversations as she and legislative leaders work to agree on one tax plan.

Thats not a discussion Im going to have with media, she said. Were going to look at all three bills and see where we end up.

Reynolds proposal is not moving through the legislative process, but it is very similar to the House bill.

Supporters of the proposals say lowering Iowans income taxes to one rate is fair for all workers, that the business tax rate needs to be lowered to make Iowa more competitive with other states and that funding the conservation and water quality fund will help provide amenities that people look for in choosing a place to live.

Critics of the proposals say flat taxes like those proposed force lower-income workers to shoulder a larger burden than higher-income workers in the funding of government services, and that state revenue would be better dedicated to other services rather than a tax break for businesses.
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Moroccos car industry sales rose 16% to stand at 84 billion dirhams, or $9 billion, contributing largely together with phosphates and agri-food products to a significant rise in exports.

Morocco is home to two plants of French carmakers PSA and Renault as well as car part suppliers.

Last years car exports outperformed pre-pandemic levels posted in 2019, further highlighting Moroccos competitiveness as a car manufacturing hub.

Phosphates and fertilizers exports came second with 80 billion dirhams ($8.5 billion), thanks to higher prices in international markets.

In total, Moroccan exports in 2021 rose 24.3% to 327 billion dirhams but they were still below imports which posted an increase to 526 billion dirhams, up 24.5%.

The surge in the cost of imports was largely due to a rise in the bill of finished products and energy.

Morocco imports most of its energy needs and last year the energy bill expanded 51% to 75.6 billion dirhams amid a rise in prices in the international market in a context of global post-pandemic recovery.

Remittances from Moroccans abroad hit a record 93.2 billion dirhams, while tourism receipts stood at 34 billion dirhams.
Guinea-Bissaus President Umaro Sissoco Embalo escaped a coup attempt on Tuesday, the latest in a series of coups across West Africa.

Mr. Embalo, a former general who arrived in 2020 at the head of this country with a political history marked by such events, appeared Tuesday evening before the press unharmed and serene, after having been trapped with ministers in the government palace, the scene for several hours in the afternoon of heavy gunfire.

The head of state and members of the government were surprised inside the palace, the headquarters of the ministries where an extraordinary council of ministers was taking place, by armed men whose motives are still unknown, according to witnesses. The aim was to kill the president of the Republic and the entire cabinet, he said.

Mr. Embalo did not specifically name the perpetrators of the coup attempt. This one must come from those who are against the decisions I took, especially in the fight against drug trafficking and corruption, he said, speaking of a very well prepared and organized act, but also of an isolated act.

He said he found himself under heavy gunfire for five hours, alongside his aide-de-camp, two bodyguards and a minister, while the fighting raged.

There were many deaths, he said. After several hours of confusion and rumors, the president was let off the hook.

Guinea-Bissau, a nation of about two million people bordering Senegal and Guinea, seems to have a history of coups. Since its independence from Portugal in 1974, it has seen four putsches (the last in 2012), a slew of coup attempts and a succession of governments.
Choteau, MT (59422)

Today

Mostly cloudy with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. High 76F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy and windy early, becoming partly cloudy late. Low 46F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph.
Following the decision of the Malian authorities to expel the French ambassador in Bamako, the French government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, said on Tuesday that the situation cannot remain as it is. According to him, Paris and its European allies are giving themselves until mid-February to rethink their military device in Mali.

Gabriel Attal said that France took note of the expulsion of the French ambassador from Malian territory before specifying that we recalled our ambassador, we will not wait for him to be expelled to make him return to France.

The situation cannot remain as it is. Between now and mid-February, we will work with our partners to see how our presence there is evolving and to plan an adaptation, he said on France Info the day after the announcement of the expulsion of the French ambassador.

The French government spokesman also said that there is a progressive isolation of Mali. The junta first expelled the ECOWAS representative in Mali. This is not acceptable. We had the opportunity to say so, we are not the only ones to have said so, ECOWAS had the opportunity to say so.

However, he said that we will continue to fight against terrorism.

For his part, Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, assured that the fight against terrorism will continue in the Sahel, it will continue with the agreement of other countries in the region, it will continue in support of the countries of the Gulf of Guinea which today see, because of the porosity of the borders, terrorist groups penetrate the north of their territories.

Le Drian said: Our will is intact and it is not an event due to the irresponsibility, I repeat my words, due to the illegitimacy of a coup government that will make us stop our fight against terrorism, reiterating the words he said last week in response to which the Malian authorities decided to expel the French diplomat.

According to him, the only partner today of Mali is Wagner. The Malian transitional government assures for its part that it is Russian instructors present in the framework of bilateral cooperation.

As a reminder, the French ambassador in Bamako, Joel Meyer, was ordered on Monday to leave Mali within 72 hours, in reaction to comments made by the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Malian government said in a statement.

Posted by North Africa Post North Africa Post's news desk is composed of journalists and editors, who are constantly working to provide new and accurate stories to NAP readers.
The Libyan parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR), has accepted the candidacies of former members of Government of National Accord (GNA), the previous Libyan administration, as candidates to replace incumbent Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh being pushed out.

Fathi Bashagha, former interior minister of the GNA and Ahmed Maiteeq, deputy head of the GNA, both from Misrata, have submitted their applications following decision by the HoR on Monday to replace Dbeibeh, Update Libya reports citing Muhammad Al-Abani, a member of parliament.

The HoR has set February 08 as the date to vote for the Libyan Prime Ministers replacement.

Dbeibeh, in power since February last year, is being ousted for failing to organize the general elections that were supposed to take place in December 2021.

Dbeibeh has accused the HoR speaker Aqila Saleh for trying to bring back division and fragmentation to the country.

Speaking to Al Jazeera network on Monday, the Libyan Premier said that his government will continue its work until the holding of elections.

He added that he had contacted all international parties and they had all assured him of their opposition to Salehs attempts to create a new transitional period.

Bashagha and Maiteeq also enjoy the support of Khalifa Haftar, the warlord and Eastern Libya strongman. The three met in December in Benghazi to bring together their visions for the upcoming stage of the political process.

It was reported that the three met up to agree on forming a new government to replace the Government of National Unity headed by Dbeibah.
The Tunisian government has recovered a portion of money stolen by members of late President Zine el-Abidine Ben Alis regime, deposited in Swiss banks, the North African countrys lawyer in charge of the States litigation has revealed declining to indicate the amount.

Ali Abbas told local media Assabah that the sums have been recovered after their owners have automatically waived them.

The Tunisian state since 2011 has launched legal actions against 13 people in the entourage of the former Tunisian leader ousted during the first Arab uprising.

The North African country has set up rogatory commissions in collaboration with international partners to monitor, track, freeze, confiscate and recover certain documents, bank accounts, property and cash, Abbas reportedly said.

Ben Ali fled Tunisia in 2011 for Saudi Arabia where he died in September 2019.

The Tunisian Association for Financial Transparency (ATTF), a small NGO, The Guardian reported in 2012, estimated the stolen money at about $17 billion (11bn), including 41m hidden in Swiss banks.

In 2013, the United Nations Stolen Asset Recovery team returned $29 million to Tunisia. The money was held in a Lebanese bank account belonging to Laila Trabelsi, the wife of Ben Ali, BBC then reported.
Moroccos Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, held, Tuesday in Kuwait city, talks with her Kuwaiti counterpart, Abdelouahab Errachid, on ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

According to a statement by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Finance, relayed by KUNA News Agency, the two parties welcomed, on this occasion, the strong relations between the two sisterly countries and expressed their keenness to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields.

The two sides also discussed the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken by the two countries to mitigate these economic effects.

The Moroccan official was on Monday in Riyadh where she conferred with Saudi Minister of Finance, Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, on ways of strengthening cooperation in the financial and economic fields.

The two sides examined several other topics of interest to the two countries finance departments.
Nebraska needs to promote public-private partnerships in extending last-mile broadband internet access to its most remote areas, former state Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion said Tuesday.

The Platte Institutes chief strategy officer introduced a report on the issue as state leaders mull how to reduce coverage gaps with $500 million to $600 million in state and federal funds.

As large as that amount is, he said, its less than half of the estimated $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion cost to offer broadband to all Nebraskans.

Because we only get halfway to the need with public funds, we have to have a continued investment by the private sector to get us there, Smith said during an online Zoom press conference with Nebraska reporters.

The 2018-19 Blueprint Nebraska initiative included statewide broadband coverage as one of the states 15 key recommendations, said Smith, former CEO of the statewide planning process.

Gov. Pete Ricketts, the Legislature and the states Public Service Commission all have recognized the urgency of erasing rural Nebraskas many dead spots for high-speed internet, he said.

The PSC already is awarding grants for rural broadband upgrades from the universal service funds it collects on landline and cell-phone bills.

State lawmakers already have set aside $20 million a year for broadband grants, with further commitments expected this session from state revenue surpluses and Nebraskas $1.04 billion share of federal American Rescue Plan money.

State leaders must coordinate broadband expansion projects to avoid wasting funds through duplication, said Smith, a former chairman of the Legislatures Transportation and Telecommunications Committee.

He said senators should charge the PSC with managing the various expansion efforts in collaboration with a stronger broadband czar within the Governors Office.

While lawmakers created a broadband coordinator position in a 2020 law, its more of a middle-level position, Smith added. The law currently puts that person under the state chief information officer.

The ideal person to spearhead broadband projects would be a Nebraskan who knows what rural areas are up against and understands how to bring the various players together, he said.

Broadband (extension) is such a complex, complicated issue. Its not going to be explained in sound bites, he said. It has to really be fully understood in order to effectively address it.

Last mile in broadband terms, Smith said, refers to customers connected to an internet service providers middle mile network. The internet as a whole is the first mile.

He said providers usually are located in larger towns and cities, whose residents and businesses typically enjoy the best and fastest services.

Its a different story in much of rural Nebraska, he said, with fewer people to interest private service providers to extend last-mile broadband access to their homes, farms and ranches.

Nebraska faced similar challenges in extending electricity to its rural areas a century ago. They drove the public power movement that completed rural electrification and accounts for Nebraskas status as the nations only all-public-power state.

That model doesnt make sense in meeting the rural-broadband challenge, Smith said, but Nebraskas public sector needs to team up with private providers to reach a similar end.

While competition between providers offers the best outcomes for customers in larger cities, small towns and rural areas can struggle to find even a single provider, he added.

Smith said public utilities serving Nebraskas rural areas should be able to get involved in broadband services when thats what it takes to get service to rural residents.

Rural areas already have technicians working for public and private utilities to maintain power, cable and fiber-optic lines in rural areas, he said.

Allow the private sector to manage the (financial) risk and engage the public sectors that may already have technicians in the field in the process of deployment and maintenance, he said. I think that serves everyone quite well.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who three years ago placed a moratorium on executions, now is moving to dismantle the United States' largest death row by moving all condemned inmates to other prisons within two years.

The goal is to turn the section at San Quentin State Prison into a "positive, healing environment." Newsom said Monday it's an outgrowth of his opposition to what he believes is a deeply flawed system, one that "gets my blood boiling."

The prospect of your ending up on death row has more to do with your wealth and race than it does your guilt or innocence, he said. We talk about justice, we preach justice, but as a nation, we dont practice it on death row.

California, which last carried out an execution in 2006, is one of 28 states that maintain death rows, along with the U.S. government, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. While other states like Illinois have abolished executions, California is merging its condemned inmates into the general prison population with no expectation that any will face execution anytime in the near future.

"We are starting the process of closing death row to repurpose and transform the current housing units into something innovative and anchored in rehabilitation," corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters told The Associated Press.

Oregon similarly transferred its much smaller condemned population to other inmate housing two years ago.

Newsom, a Democrat, imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019 and shut down the state's execution chamber at San Quentin, north of San Francisco. Now his administration is turning on its head a 2016 voter-approved initiative intended to expedite executions by capitalizing on one provision that allowed inmates to be moved off death row.

"The underlying motive of the administration is to mainstream as many of these condemned murderers as possible," said Michael Rushford, president of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which backed the initiative. "Our objective was to speed up the process."

He added he doesn't think victims are happy with the administration's decision.

"They're moving condemned murderers into facilities that are going to make their lives better and offer them more amenities, while the victims still mourn the death of their family member," Rushford said.

Corrections officials began a voluntary two-year pilot program in January 2020 that as of Friday had moved 116 of the state's 673 condemned male inmates to one of seven other prisons that have maximum security facilities and are surrounded by lethal electrified fences.

They intend to submit permanent proposed regulations within weeks that would make the transfers mandatory and "allow for the repurposing of all death row housing units," Waters said.

The ballot measure approved six years ago also required condemned inmates to participate in prison jobs, with 70% of the money going for restitution to their victims, and corrections officials said that's their goal with the transfers. By the end of last year, more than $49,000 in restitution had been collected under the pilot program.

Newsom's proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 seeks $1.5 million to find new uses for the vacant condemned housing.

It notes that death row and its supporting activities are in the same area as facilities used for rehabilitation programs for medium-security San Quentin inmates. The money would be used to hire a consultant to "develop options for (the) space focused on creating a positive, healing environment to provide increased rehabilitative, educational and health care opportunities."

San Quentin's never-used $853,000 execution chamber is in a separate area of the prison, and there are no plans to "repurpose" that area, Waters said.

California voters supported the death penalty in 2012 and 2016, though legislative opponents have said they hope to put the issue before voters again in coming years. An advisory panel to Newsom and lawmakers, the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code, in November became the latest to recommend repealing the death penalty, calling it "beyond repair."
The most prominent among those seeking Nebraska elective office in 2022 are spending thousands of dollars and untold amounts of mental energy to discern what expected voters want to hear from them. Then, they and their campaigns spend their time and money spewing preapproved sloganeering in the be-all-end-all effort to win.

This apparently will not be a campaign in which would-be leaders will be revealing their positions on issues vital to the positive future of our state and country so that voters can make informed decisions. Sadly, early campaigning suggests this election will follow the downward slide into garbage politics focused on irrelevant political boogeymen, appeals to grievance and undeliverable promises.

Jim Pillen is campaigning for the Republican nomination to be Nebraskas next governor. He is running a television ad in which he stands holding a shotgun, dog at his feet, proclaiming his dissatisfaction with Washington, poor opinion about President Biden, and dont get me started on Dr. Anthony Fauci. He then pumps the shotgun, at which the dog dutifully scurries off while Pillen disgorges more inane partisan blather as the ad closes. An objective observer might conclude that this is a bad Saturday Night Live satire of a generic, uber-conservative candidate. It is not. It is the ad of a leading contender to be our next governor.

Chuck Herbster, another front-runner for that office, is running a slew of ads whose primary purpose appears to be conveying Donald Trumps endorsement of Herbsters campaign and the promise to secure Nebraskas border with Mexico. First, Herbster is talking about the Donald Trump who asserted that there were very fine people among the neo-Nazi and white supremacy groups at Charlottesville in 2017; who encouraged those who committed violence and vandalism at our Capitol a year ago and who is now indicating that he would pardon those criminals; who continues to divide this country with the blatant lie that he won the 2020 presidential election. Second, Herbster is talking about the Nebraska that shares no border with Mexico and is, in fact, hundreds of miles from that southern neighbor of our country, the border with which Nebraska exercises exactly zero authority over.

Also, state Sen. Mike Flood is challenging incumbent Congressman Jeff Fortenberry for the Republican nomination for Nebraskas 1st Congressional District. Fortenberry is charged with three felonies in federal court alleging false statements to federal agents about, and concealing the source of, campaign contributions. Fortenberrys campaign is running an ad attacking Floods 2012 vote in the Unicameral to provide prenatal care to immigrants in the country illegally  the Fortenberry campaign apparently banking on the immigration boogeyman trumping the pro-life feelings of Republican primary voters.

Not to be outflanked on the political right, Flood  who as a state senator from 2005 to 2013, including six years as speaker of the Unicameral, was considered a thoughtful and rational leader, as reflected in his vote on the prenatal care bill  spent much time on the Legislatures floor last week espousing hardline partisan positions on crime and a constitutional convention. For sure, congressional candidate Flood sounds nothing like Leader Flood did during his earlier stint in the Legislature.

Noticeably absent from this campaigning is any reference to real issues that impact Nebraskans lives: how to provide quality public education while easing the overreliance on property taxes to fund it; how to attract and retain quality employees to our state, which is experiencing historically low unemployment; how to intelligently address incarceration rates as our state jostles with Alabama as the most overcrowded prison system in the country.

Perhaps most disturbing about what we are seeing in Nebraskas infant 2022 campaign season is what it reflects about us, the voters this sloganeering is custom-designed to influence. It is not some errant, fly-by-the-seat-of-some-ad-agencys pants that has candidates seeking politically partisan primary votes by display of firearm, embrace of Trump, anti-immigration rhetoric and furtherance of partisan divide. That is what polling and study are telling campaigns will work. That is why candidates blast away on this nonsense; it might get them elected, but only leaves us further from effective governance.

Alexis De Tocqueville is attributed with having said, In a democracy, the people get the government they deserve. Maybe we could prove ourselves to be deserving of better government than these campaigns are giving us credit for.
Photo: Melissa Golden/Redux

At first, it seemed like Jeff Zucker was just another piece of collateral damage from Andrew Cuomos demise, caught in the same blast radius that knocked Chris Cuomo out of CNN months earlier. It all seemed so rich, considering Zucker was the one who canned Chris for getting wrapped up in Andrews own workplace scandal.

But for many CNN staffers, something isnt adding up about Zuckers surprise resignation on Wednesday. The networks president said in a statement that he failed to disclose a romantic relationship with his No. 2, Allison Gollust, before it was raised during an investigation into Chris Cuomo. (Gollust used to work as Andrew Cuomos communications chief before she moved to CNN and was replaced by the notorious Melissa DeRosa.)

For starters, Zucker and Gollusts relationship was one of the biggest open secrets in media. CNN staffers awkwardly navigated the pairing, since every time they dealt with her, they were keenly aware that she was involved with the boss. They were rolling their eyes at Gollusts own statement that said recently, our relationship changed during Covid. It had been going on for much longer: Page Six would wink at it from time to time, and the two have known each other since they worked together at NBC decades ago. As Katie Couric wrote in her dishy memoir: I had to wonder why Jeff was angling so hard to bring Allison on board at Courics talk show, Katie. She and her husband and kids had moved into the apartment right above Jeff and Caryns  everyone who heard about the arrangement thought it was super strange.

Allison Gollust when she worked for Andrew Cuomo in 2013. Photo: Mike Groll/AP/Shutterstock

So how could WarnerMedia, CNNs parent company, not have known? A source close to Jason Kilar, the outgoing boss at WarnerMedia who accepted Zuckers resignation, claims he didnt know the rumors to be true until the Cuomo investigation surfaced them. The source says Kilar had first heard about the relationship when Radar Online put up an item in December but thought it was just rumormongering. (This is why you shouldnt hire a Silicon Valley person to run a New York media company  they dont even know the good gossip.) The honchos did not get along: Zucker was infuriated by Kilars scrambling the companys org chart so that Gollust and other senior CNN staffers would report directly to WarnerMedia. Its like Allison and Jeff were on some sort of codependent power trip, says someone who has known the pair since their NBC days.

Zucker hadnt been on the networks morning editorial calls this week, where he closely guided coverage, but that wasnt necessarily seen as odd  some assumed he was merely preparing for a bigger job to come. Indeed, Zucker was about to be in the catbird seat: Discovery, run by his pal David Zaslav, is in the final stages of merging with WarnerMedia, and Zuckers continued reign seemed all but assured. Everyone thinks this is Kilar taking his succession swipe back at Jeff, says one CNN staffer. I feel like people didnt think that this didnt need to be this way; Jeff said he would stay till the merger, and thats just around the corner.

Many CNN staffers were dismayed by his departure, given how he was credited with turning around the network when he took over nine years ago. Jeff was a great leader during a tumultuous time in the country, says one senior network correspondent. This is a huge waste of talent and vision at a critical time for the network and a damn shame. Another staffer says, Its a mixture of shock and heartbreak. Jeff had relationships with everyone, from anchors to reporters to producers. Everyone loves Jeff. And its still Zuckers shop. One of three interim bosses put in charge today is Michael Bass, who has been friends with Zucker since their days at Harvard together. Hes Jeff Jr., says one person who knows both men.

Its a long fall for Zucker, who began his career as the the Today shows 27-year-old executive producer and bratty child star, in the words of Spy magazine at the time. Of course, his legacy will also be bound up with that of Donald Trump. Zucker rehabbed Trumps career in 2004 by green-lighting The Apprentice. During the early days of his first presidential run, Trump was ratings gold for CNN, which covered him incessantly before he turned on it as fake news. When tapes leaked of Zucker on a call with Michael Cohen in 2016, offering up debate advice for Trump and saying that he had all these proposals for a weekly show with Trump, few were surprised. As Trump himself put it in a 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reporter: Jeff is a friend of mine, but if I didnt get ratings he would not have all Trump all the time. I kid him about it.

Now Zucker, Trump, and both Cuomos are out of work. Maybe they can start something together.
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Brad Hundt came to the Observer-Reporter in 1998 after stints at newspapers in Georgia and Michigan. He serves as editorial page editor, and has covered the arts and entertainment and worked as a municipal beat reporter.
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Earlier this month, the Energy Information Administration reported that oil output in the Permian shale play had hit a record, and it was going to continue growing. And now, the two biggest Permian operators have revealed plans for signficant production growth.

Exxon and Chevron both said within the past week that they had plans for a substantial ramp-up in Permian oil production during the release of their financial reports for 2021. Exxon eyes an increase of 25 percent. Chevron, although a little more modest, still expects to boost output in the start shale play by 10 percent.

According to Bloomberg, this is a clear indication that the U.S. shale industry is back into growth mode after two years of strict discipline. Whether the increase of oil production in the Permian would be sufficient to weigh on global oil prices, however, is another matter.

Crude oil output at the Permian hit 4.92 million bpd in December, according to the Energy Information Administration, which forecast that it would expand further to 4.996 million bpd in January. The February forecast of the authority was for output of close to 5.1 million barrels daily.

In a further sign that the Permian is thriving as oil prices climb higher, the shale play hosts the most drilling rigs nationally at the moment. Merger and acquisition activity in the Permian has picked up substantially, with three deals worth a combined $1 billion completed in the last week alone, according to Texas media.

U.S. producers are going to be able to manage dual objectives in 2022, said IHS Markit executive director Aaron Brady, as quoted by Bloomberg. Theyll be able to return record cash to investors and also grow volumes to help meet fast-recovering world oil demand.

Yet higher output in the Permian will not be enough to compensate for lower OPEC+ additions to global supply, according to another analyst.

U.S. production may surprise to the upside this year, but not by so much that it will significantly bring down oil prices, Elisabeth Murphy from ESAI Energy told Bloomberg. On top of that, OPEC+ is having trouble lifting output to add the additional barrels.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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While the worlds media is focused on either Ukraine or OPEC+ developments, Saudi Arabia is quietly but aggressively pursuing Vision 2030. During one of the worlds largest technology conferences LEAP, which is held in Riyadh, Aramco unveiled the launch of a US$1-1.4 billion venture capital fund, Prosperity7Ventures. The new fund, which was introduced by Aramco Chief Technology Officer Ahmad Al-Khowaite, will focus on the development of next-generation technologies and business models. Officially, the main function of the new fund, which in reality has already been operational for around a year, is to support exceptional entrepreneurs in building transformative companies striving to solve some of the world's most pressing challenges. Whether the fund will be focused exclusively on none oil and gas opportunities remains unclear, with Saudi Arabias main investment fund PIF having always focused on a mix of conventional and unconventional opportunities. During LEAP, more than $6.4 billion in technology and start-up investments were presented. In addition to Aramcos Prosperity7, the Saudi gigaproject NEOM launched its own $1 billion investment from Neom Tech and Digital Company in future technologies. Both those entities are focused on digital transformation, aiming to boost the Kingdoms digital economy. The main question at present with regard to the new Aramco venture capital fund is where it will be focusing in the next couple of years. Al Khowaiters statement to the press highlighted the fund's intentions as developing next-generation technologies and business models. He also made it clear that Aramco will be using its international network and ecosystem to set up the right projects. Through the breadth of the Saudi Aramco ecosystem, its vast resources and its far-reaching footprint across geographies and sectors, Prosperity7 can present unparalleled opportunities for scalability and impact, Al Khowaiter said. He also emphasized that the fund would aim to to strengthen the foundations for success for its (Aramco) portfolio companies. Considering previous Aramco venture capital strategies, it is very likely that the strength of the worlds largest oil company will be of paramount importance.

LEAP is a clear example of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 drive. During the event, Singapore-based logistics and supply chain company J&T Express Group announced an investment of $2 billion with venture capital fund eWTP Arabia Capital and other partners. According to the parties, the investment will allow J&T to establish its Mena headquarters in Riyadh and set up a network of smart logistics and distribution facilities that will extend the kingdoms reach as the regional center for advanced logistics. Logistics is a major part of Vision 2030 and will also benefit Saudi Arabias largest companies such as Aramco, SABIC, Bahri (National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia).

While the link has not yet been made officially, a recent acquisition by Aramco has likely been influenced by both LEAP and its new fund. Aramco has taken a 7.4% stake in Norwegian industrial software group Cognite from oil firm Aker BP. According to Cognite, the stakes value is set at "around 1 billion Norwegian crowns," or about US$113 million. That means that the total market value of Cognite is more than US$1.5 billion. The new acquisition will strengthen the partnership between Aramco and Cognite to provide digitalization services in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East region. Aramcos SVP Ahmad Al Saadi stated that "Cognite has proven that their technology delivers complex real-time insights seamlessly and is optimizing how energy is being supplied to the world". Both Cognite and Aker BP are part of Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke's group of companies, whose investment firm Aker ASA has a 50.5% stake in Cognite. The new deal is also a sign of the growing interest of Norwegian-based companies to take part in the developments on the Arabian Peninsula, especially in the Kingdom. Saudi investors and the PIF have had their eyes set on possible new acquisitions in Scandinavia for a while now. For Norwegian companies, the ongoing energy transition drive of the Norwegian government means new investors are needed.

In recent days, Aramco has also signed a major chip manufacturing deal with Japanese conglomerate Yokogawa. On January 28, both parties agreed that Aramco will seed and localize semiconductor chip manufacturing in Saudi Arabia and boost growth in the industrial digital business domain. According to the deal, the Saudi oil giant will explore the possibility of utilizing Minimal Fab technology for semiconductor manufacturing. The technology entails a production system that enables high-mix, low-volume manufacturing of semiconductors and microelectromechanical systems without the need for a cleanroom. Saudi Arabia, and especially Aramco, have been confronted by the ongoing logistical challenges of the global market due to a shortage of chips. According to the US government, this shortage is sure to continue for longer. Localization of manufacturing of critical products and semi-conductors is high on the list of priorities for the Kingdom as it aims to counter possible delays to its Vision 2030 projects. These developments will have a secondary effect of making Saudi Arabia a central player in the region when it comes to high-tech programs. Aramcos overall pivotal position in all of this, as a customer, user, developer, and now financial supporter is clearly critical.

A combination of the venture capital powers of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Aramco, the Kingdoms main income generator for the next decade or longer, is a powerful one. It also shows the determination of Saudi Arabia to pursue its Vision 2030. Aramcos business intelligence, international ecosystem, and political powers on the global scene will make this new investment fund a formidable one.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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The United States will have the worlds largest LNG export capacity as soon as this year, exceeding the capacity of the top LNG exporters, Australia and Qatar.

The role of gas in the energy transition will continue to be called into question, yet the current crisis could be an opportunity for U.S. export projects to secure supply contracts and financing.

High natural gas prices globally, the historically low storage levels in Europe, and the growing gas demand in Asia could incentivize more long-term U.S. LNG contracts.

The global gas crunch and skyrocketing prices in Europe and Asia are laying the foundations for a revival in final investment decisions in new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects in the United States.

Following a nearly three-year-long hiatus in project sanctioning in America, the high natural gas prices globally, the historically low storage levels in Europe, and the continuously growing gas demand in Asia could incentivize the signing of more long-term offtake LNG contracts. Such deals would secure supply commitments for decades for LNG projects and show financiers that export facility developers could make handsome profits by selling gas to energy-starved regions, despite the recent backlash against fossil fuels, including natural gas.

Several U.S. LNG projects hope to move to final investment decisions (FIDs) this year, and at least three have good chances of doing so, according to analysts and industry professionals.

The United States will have the worlds largest LNG export capacity as soon as this year, exceeding the capacity of the top LNG exporters, Australia and Qatar.

And America could add more capacity to ship gas worldwide in the coming years if more projects get the financing needed to proceed. The current gas crisis in Europe is an opportunity for U.S. LNG developers as the crunch showed that gas demand is not going anywhere and will remain growing and resilientespecially in Asiaeven as renewable energy capacity soars.

Long-Term Contracts

With the volatile and surging spot LNG prices, more buyers are looking to lock in long-term contracts, which is crucial for projects to secure funding and make it to final investment decisions (FIDs), analysts say.

Global gas demand, on the other hand, is expected to remain resilient even as the energy transition questions the role of the fossil fuel in long-term power mix plans. The rationale for gas use in Asiaa key consuming regionwill remain strong as the coal-to-gas switch will continue when the dust settles over the current energy crisis.

2021 saw the return of contracting activity to its highest levels over the last five years. Asia accounted for 85% of global contracts signed, with China leading the pack, Valery Chow, Vice President, Head of APAC Gas & LNG Research at Wood Mackenzie, said in a report last month.

At the end of 2021, Chinese firms signed long-term supply deals for U.S. LNG, including a Cheniere agreement with Sinochem Group, and one between Venture Global LNG and Sinopec, which, Venture Global says, will be the largest single LNG supply deal ever signed by a US company and will double imports of US LNG to China.

A Venture Global project in Louisiana, as well as Tellurians Driftwood LNG Project in Louisiana and Cheniere Energys export facility in Corpus Christi, Texas, top the list of LNG projects that could receive financial approval soon, Craig Pirrong, a finance professor at the University of Houston and commodity trading expert, has told Reuters recently.

The return of the long-term supply deals and Asias insatiable demand for natural gas will likely incentivize several low-cost projects to move towards sanction over the next 12 months, Gavin Thompson, Vice Chairman, Energy Asia Pacific, at Wood Mackenzie, said in December. These include Chenieres Corpus Christi Stage 3 and Venture Globals Plaquemines project, WoodMac says.

China Returns As Big Buyer of U.S. LNG

Chinese LNG importers are back on the market for long-term deals with American exporters after the year-long hiatus of zero Chinese imports of American gas at the height of the trade war in 2019 and early 2020.

The United States has returned to exporting LNG to China after a year without U.S. LNG shipments to China between March 2019 and February 2020. American exports to China started rising toward the end of 2020 to reach a record high in August 2021, the latest available EIA data shows. In November 2021, China was the single largest recipient of U.S. LNG exports, the U.S. Department of Energys latest LNG Monthly published in January 2022 showed.

Momentum Behind New LNG Projects

With LNG prices expected to be structurally higher and oil indexation on the rise, there is plenty of momentum behind new LNG projects, Wood Mackenzie said in its 2022 outlook.

The consultancy expects 79 million tons per annum (mmtpa) of additional LNG to take the final investment decision over the next two years, of which North America will lead with an expected 33 mmtpa in projects getting financial approval, followed by 20 mmtpa in Russia and 16 mmtpa in Qatar.

The banks are finally realizing that this is an existential issue

Global gas prices show that we are at the beginning of a structural shortage of natural gas on a global basis that could last a decade, Charif Souki, Executive Chairman at Tellurian, said last month, noting that America can produce low-cost gas which is sorely needed on a global basis.

The banks are finally realizing that this is an existential issue around the world, Souki added as he said that Tellurian was focused on getting financing for its Driftwood LNG Project finalized this quarter so that construction starts in earnest in the second quarter of this year.

Financial institutions have changed pretty dramatically their posture from six months ago, driven mostly by fundamentals and the acuteness of the crisis on a global basis, Souki said.

The role of gas in the energy transition will continue to be called into question, yet the current crisis could be an opportunity for long-planned (and sometimes stalled) U.S. export projects to secure supply contracts and financing.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The benchmark U.S. natural gas price surged by more than 10 percent early on Wednesday as frigid weather and below-freezing temperatures in many parts of the United States stoked demand for heating and electricity.

As of 10:14 a.m. EST on Wednesday, the Henry Hub price was surging by 12.12% at $5.327 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).

Natural gas prices are surging as demand is expected to be high and very high through the weekend due to a winter storm with below-freezing temperatures that is spreading out of the Midwest south to north Texas.

Freezing temperatures and snow and sleet are expected to hit north Texas this week and put to the test the electric grid following last years deadly deep freeze that left millions of Texans without electricity for days and led to the largest ever decline in oil production as wells froze.

Ahead of this weeks expected winter storm, some analysts are concerned that natural gas production in parts of the Permian could be affected by the freeze and leave power plants with lower gas availability.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has assured the public that it was taking early preventative action ahead of the expected increase in demand to ensure the grid remains reliable and that 321 of 324 electric generation units and transmission facilities fully passed inspection for new winterization regulations.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday that the state was better prepared for winter storm weather this year. Yet, he didnt rule out that local power outages could occur because of ice on power lines or trees falling on lines.

According to NatGasWeather.com, U.S. natural gas demand will increase from February 2 through the next several days as an Arctic blast spreads south and east out of the Midwest with frigid lows of -20s to 20s, including lows of 0s to 30s into Texas and the South, along with snow and ice. Forecasts are for high and very high natural gas demand later on Wednesday through the weekend.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Russia will be able to resume its oil production to 90% of the levels it was producing prior to the pandemic, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview aired on Russian television on Wednesday.

Novak attributed Russias ability to ramp up its oil production to the decision made by OPEC+ earlier on Wednesday. That decision saw the group agree to ease production cuts by another 400,000 bpd.

For Russia it means that in March it will be able to additionally increase by 100,000 barrels per day again. It will enable us to restore the level of reduced volume by 90%, Novak said.

Russia took 2 million barrels per day offline in May of 2020 as part of the efforts to restore balance to the oil markets that were saturated with inventory, with prices dipping into negative territory.

Novak said that 1.8 million barrels per day of this will be restored as early as in March, adding that Russias compliance has been close to 100%, even in December.

The March output schedule shows that Russia will be able to produce 10.331 million barrels per day on averageequal to Saudi Arabias share.

OPEC+s over compliance with the production cut deal has generated skepticism in the market over the groups future production abilities and accuracy of spare capacity figures. In December, this compliance was at 122%--raising the question in a rather tight market whether OPEC+ can actually rise to meet demand if called upon.

The issue of spare capacity is significant for a tight market. Spare capacity figures are what determine the ability of producers to ramp up production in response to market demand. As OPEC+ continues to ramp up productionalbeit slowlyit is also using up its ability to respond to future demand increases that are likely to follow the pandemic.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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OPEC+ still expects the global oil market to be in a surplus this year, but has revised the overhang by 100,000 bpd to 1.3 million bpd, Reuters reported citing the group's Joint Technical Committee, which met yesterday ahead of today's monthly meeting of OPEC+.

The meeting itself is unlikely to produce any shocks: according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters, the cartel planned to stick to its arrangement of adding 400,000 bpd in collective output to its monthly total until national production levels returned to pre-pandemic levels.

This, however, may be tough for many members of the group, which have been struggling for months to meet the quotas assigned to them under the agreement that marked the beginning of a reversal in the deepest oil production cuts ever made by OPEC and its Russia-led partners. In response to the pandemic and the destruction of oil demand it caused, the group agreed to take almost 8 million bpd off the market.

The production cuts, combined with lower investments in maintenance and lower oil exploration, reduced OPEC+'s spare capacity substantially, prompting warnings that this would bring down global spare oil capacity to the lowest in more than two decades.

Even high prices seem to have not managed to convince OPEC+ to pump more, based on information from Reuters' unnamed sources from inside the cartel, with one of them saying, "The issue (of speedier increases) did not come up and I doubt it will."

This could be because OPEC+ likes prices where they are, or it could be because of the spare capacity problem that has been behind the consistent failure of the group to deliver on its monthly quotas for several months in a row.

"The oil market is currently unreservedly bullish," Tamas Varga from PVM told Reuters this week. "It is international tension, the perception of tight supply and the cold winter that are the most important factors behind the strength."

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The United States and Europe are talking to major LNG importers in Asiaincluding Japan, South Korea, India, and even Chinato potentially send some of their gas supply to Europe in case the Russia-Ukraine crisis escalates into a conflict, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources with knowledge of the discussions.

The contacts with China have been limited, two of the sources told Bloomberg. The Biden Administration has approached officials from Japan, South Korea, and India about the possibility to divert some natural gas supply to Europe, Bloombergs sources said.

The U.S. Administration is also in talks with energy companies and major gas-producing countries globally about the potential for a large supply of natural gas to Europe in case Russian deliveries are interrupted.

Major LNG exporter Australia said last week it was ready to ship LNG cargoes to Europe to support its friends and allies, while Qatar has signaled willingness to divert some cargoes if the European Union restricts the resale of gas cargoes outside the EU.

International energy companies approached by the U.S. told officials that natural gas supplies globally were tight, and there wasnt too much gas available to replace Russias large amount of supply, industry sources told Reuters last month.

Russia, which supplies over one-third of the natural gas that Europe consumes, could weaponize gas deliveries if the West imposes sanctions on Moscow over a possible invasion of Ukraine, European allies of the United States fear. In addition, in the event of military action and subsequent energy sanctions against Russia, Europe will be hit the first and the most, including in its gas supply from Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, analysts say.

Russian natural gas supply to Europe cannot be replaced with LNG sourced from other top gas producers, analysts say.

You would have to divert half of the LNG that Asia consumes in order to replace Gazprom PJSC. And what would that mean? That would mean massive energy shortages all across Asia, you would export Europes energy crisis to Asia, BCS Global Markets Senior Analyst Ron Smith told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Choteau, MT (59422)

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COLUMBUS  On Saturday, Jan. 24, the Nebraska American Legion honored Papillion Police Lt. Christopher Goley as the 2021 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year at its mid-year conference.

American Legion Department of Nebraska Commander Dan Benes presented Goley with a certificate and plaque thanking him for his dedication to duty. Following selection as Nebraskas Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, Goleys name has been submitted for consideration as the National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

In a press release, the Legion said Goley has been with the Papillion Police Department for 20 years.

He has performed his demanding and, at times, dangerous duties in Papillion and surrounding areas. He has been instrumental in moving his department forward with the implementation of equipment training and educational programs that impact other officers and the safety of the community.

In 2017, Officer Goley was able to save the life of a 17-year-old boy during a high-stress situation. He said that no matter what happens in his career, he knows that he saved at least one person. Their connection continued when he helped the boy graduate high school and venture to college.

He also has been working with Trinity, a police service dog, for the last year and has proven how indispensable the role is to the department. He also has trained a second K-9 Unit for the department. He instructs a multitude of classes for department members and is known to step up to the plate whenever help is needed.

In his spare time, Goley is a guest instructor at Creighton University for future paramedics, teaching them about real-life situations. He can also be found instructing at UNMC in emergency medicine training for resident physicians. He also serves on the advisory board for Nebraska Police Service Dogs.

Goley, a military veteran, has received the Papillion Medal of Valor. He is credited with lifesaving twice: the youth suicide attempt described above and the Bellevue Sonic mass shooting, according to Papillion Post 32 Commander Ted Pafford.

Pafford also said Goley is the team leader of STacMed (Sarpy County Tactical Medic Team.) It deploys alongside Sarpy Countys SWAT team, providing Tactical Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) during critical, hot zone incidents. This specialized team has dual-trained law enforcement officers, firefighters and physicians to provide care during a crisis.

It is my understanding this may be our Papillion American Legion Post 32s first award winner, Pafford said.

The Legion also selected James E. Liptrott of Omaha as 2021 Firefighter/EMS of the Year.

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An Omaha man was drunk and driving 20 mph over the speed limit when his SUV hit and fatally injured a pedestrian in Omahas Blackstone district on Dec. 4.

The pedestrian, 20-year-old Kaitlyn Van Essen of Omaha, was crossing a street against a dont-walk signal and a red light. She also was intoxicated.

Weighing those facts, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Wednesday that he could not conclude that William Wrights drunkenness was the proximate cause of Van Essens death, any more than her crossing the street against the red light was. In turn, Kleine has declined to charge Wright with motor vehicle homicide.

The 30-year-old Wright likely will face a drunken driving charge and citations associated with other traffic offenses he is accused of committing that night. The Omaha city prosecutor will make that determination, Kleine said.

Kleine said he would have had to prove to jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that the crash happened primarily because Wright was drunk. But Van Essens crossing against the traffic light weighed against that, Kleine said.

Wrights blood alcohol content was 0.182, which is more than twice the legal limit. Kleine wouldnt provide Van Essens BAC but said it also was more than twice the legal limit for driving.

An airbag sensor on Wrights 2019 Mazda CX-5 showed that Wright was driving 50 mph in the 30 mph zone. Wright has no criminal record.

Its a very sad situation, Kleine said. You have two people who are probably equally to blame.

With her crossing against the red light, he said, we cant show that the proximate cause was him being drunk.

The area near 38th and Farnam Streets where Van Essen was struck is a popular spot for bars. It has had its share of pedestrian issues, including one crash in which a woman suffered severe injuries. Just a few feet beyond the intersection is a sign alerting motorists to pedestrians, with two orange flags attached to it. On the pavement of Farnam Street are large reflective letters with the words SLOW spelled out.

Kleine said he was bothered by Wrights speed. But he also couldnt conclude that Wrights speeding caused the crash rather than the pedestrian crossing against the light.

Kleine noted that he has filed motor vehicle homicide charges in excessive-speeding cases, including a November crash in which a driver was traveling 97 mph and caused a crash that killed a 78-year-old retired Millard Public Schools teacher. That case was different, he said, in that the 78-year-old woman who died had simply been stopped at an intersection.

Surveillance video from a business near 38th and Farnam shows the crash and the events that led up to it, Kleine said. Wrights headlights were on and he stopped immediately after hitting Van Essen.

Van Essen, described by friends as beautiful, outgoing and full of life, was a graduate of Millard West High School and had been studying cosmetology at Capitol Beauty School.

Its always difficult when theres a tragic loss of life, Kleine said. But its not a situation where we just file (a charge) to file something. We weigh all the factors.

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Mutual of Omaha's plan to build a skyscraper in downtown Omaha comes at a time when many workers, Mutual's included, have shifted to working remotely.

Mutual of Omaha plans to embrace work flexibility for the foreseeable future, company spokesman Jim Nolan said. Long-term, he said, workers likely will adapt a hybrid schedule, coming into the office for certain meetings or a few days a week.

But having a physical presence in downtown Omaha will help to maintain a strong company culture and may help to attract new talent, Nolan said.

Meeting in person, he said, helps to foster collaboration and creativity.

"We've shown during the pandemic that we can be successful in a remote work environment. I think we'll be embracing that flexibility," Nolan said. "That's kind of our new working model."

Of the 125 million full-time jobs across the country, about half  roughly 60 million  can be tackled remotely, according to Gallup.

Of those 60 million employees, Gallup found that 30% said they would prefer to never come into the office during the week. Ten percent said they prefer working all five days in the office. The remaining 60% wanted a hybrid schedule of one to four days per week, with two to three office days preferred.

The top reasons for wanting to work from home included eliminating a commute, improving overall well-being and offering flexibility to balance family needs or other obligations.

"Put another way, a tall office building in a big city where all desk jobs can be done remotely  on any given week  will have 37% fewer desks occupied than it did that same week in 2019," Gallup CEO Jim Clifton wrote in a December blog post.

Even in this new environment, office space won't go away entirely, said Sam Nelson, director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Entrepreneurship.

"It's going to be a much more hybrid scenario," Nelson said. "It's going to be interesting and neat to see how it plays out. Ultimately, it will be good for all of us, but we'll go through growing pains."

Many office workers have been eager to get back in person. Nelson said face-to-face interactions allow for better problem-solving sessions and simply are easier to have.

But other employees are thriving under the flexibility offered by working remotely. Many of those people have been more efficient working from home or have been better able to manage work-life balance, Nelson said.

Previously, when companies built large office buildings, it was under the assumption that every employee would work from that location. Now, some employees may opt to work remotely or under a hybrid model.

"The biggest challenge I see for companies is figuring out what that balance looks like," Nelson said.

Conagra, which employs about 1,300 workers across three buildings on its downtown Omaha campus, has a mix of employees working on campus and remotely, said spokesman Dan Hare.

"We believe that it is important to have face-to-face interaction as part of the way we collaborate and operate the business, so having flexible work arrangements helps facilitate this," Hare said.

Despite many workers splitting their time between the office and home, the company does not plan to change its real estate footprint in the city, Hare said.

Conagra already downsized its real estate footprint in Omaha when it moved the company's headquarters to Chicago in 2015.

First National Bank of Omaha has a mix of employees working in the office, remotely or on a hybrid schedule. About 30% of employees are on site all the time, with another 25% working remotely. The remaining work a hybrid schedule, coming into the office two to four days a week, said Ken Bunnell, senior vice president.

With the recent surge in COVID cases, Bunnell said, employees have been encouraged to work from home if they're able.

"Folks have expressed that they like the flexibility," he said. "It certainly doesn't work for all jobs. I believe we will see this continuing beyond the pandemic."

Bunnell said First National officials don't anticipate shrinking the company's real estate footprint in Omaha. Instead, he said, they're enhancing existing spaces by modernizing branch locations and investing in more technology.

Office space and remote working are both here to stay, Bunnell said.

"It will continue to evolve," he said. "We and the employees will continue to adapt. The key is a more flexible environment that allows both."

Mutual officials are factoring the uptick in remote workers into plans for its new office building, which is set to be built on the site at 15th and Douglas Streets that now houses the city's main library. Nolan said the company is working with an international architecture firm to plan "what the future workspace looks like" and how Mutual can create a "dynamic, engaging and inviting workspace."

It's too early to say how much the building will cost or how many floors and workspaces the building will have. But Nolan said the building will have less square footage than the company's current 1.7 million square feet of headquarters space at 33rd and Dodge Streets.

"Our space now is inefficient and inflexible," Nolan said. "We realize that we have opportunities for improvement there."

Being in downtown Omaha will be exciting, Nolan said, with the revitalization of downtown parks and other amenities in the area.

"This also will continue the positive trend that's occurring in downtown Omaha so that we do have a vibrant, busy, interesting and engaging urban core that's easily accessible," he said.

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The Millard school board on Wednesday announced three superintendent finalists, all from school districts in eastern Nebraska.

The finalists are Josh Fields, superintendent of Seward Public Schools; John Schwartz, superintendent of Norris Public Schools; and Jami Jo Thompson, superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools.

Thompson is also a finalist for superintendent in the Lincoln Public Schools.

Both the Lincoln and Millard districts  the states second- and third-largest in enrollment behind Omaha Public Schools  are in the hunt for new superintendents.

The school boards are using different consultants to assist in the searches: Millard is using Ray and Associates of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Lincoln is using Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates.

The Lincoln school board is looking to replace Superintendent Steve Joel, who is retiring.

Millard board members aim to replace the retiring Jim Sutfin. He has been Millard superintendent since 2014, when the board selected him over two out-of-state candidates.

The Millard finalists are employed in districts with significantly smaller enrollment than Millard, which has 24,000 students, 35 schools and nearly 3,000 staff members.

Seward Public Schools, about 35 miles northwest of Lincoln, is a district of just over 1,500 students.

Norris Public Schools is located 12 miles south of Lincoln and has nearly 2,500 students.

Norfolk Public Schools is about 85 miles northwest of Omaha. The districts enrollment is nearly 4,500.

Fields has been superintendent in Seward since 2017.

According to his resume, he started his education career in Missouri teaching elementary school and then was an elementary administrator. In 2007, he was hired as assistant elementary principal at Millards Wheeler Elementary. He subsequently worked four years as principal at Black Elk Elementary, another Millard school.

In 2012, Fields was hired as director of curriculum and staff development for Seward Public Schools, and in 2017 he was selected superintendent.

He received his bachelors degree from Wayne State College and his masters, specialist and doctorate degrees from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Schwartz was assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Papillion La Vista from 2015 to 2019, when the Norris school board tapped him as superintendent.

He has worked in several districts, among them Bellevue Public Schools, as a high school principal, director of secondary education and social studies teacher. He is an adjunct graduate instructor for Doane University.

Schwartz holds a bachelors degree, two masters degrees, an education specialist degree and a doctoral degree from Doane University.

Thompson has been Norfolk superintendent since 2013.

According to her resume, she previously worked for Beatrice Public Schools as a special education teacher, special education and staff development coordinator, director of student programs and interim superintendent.

Thompson earned her bachelors degree in special education and masters and doctorate degrees in educational administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Members of the Millard board have scheduled a special meeting Feb. 10 to conduct public interviews with the finalists.

The agenda for that meeting indicates that the board will hold an executive session after that and then select the new superintendent that same night.

The board advertised that the salary will be in the range of $270,000, plus a compensation package, with final salary dependent on experience, qualifications and meeting the boards criteria for the job.

Members of the Lincoln school board are holding public interviews with four finalists this week. Thompson is scheduled to appear before the Lincoln board Friday night.

Other Lincoln finalists are: Peter Licata, south regional superintendent for the Palm Beach County School District in Boca Raton, Florida; Antwan Wilson, assistant professor for Nebraska Wesleyan University and chief executive officer of Schoolwise Educational Consulting; and Paul Gausman, superintendent of Sioux City Community School District in Sioux City, Iowa.

Sutfin announced in October that he will retire after this school year. He is a graduate of the Millard district and worked most of his career there, starting as a science teacher and then moving into administration.

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State lawmakers have officially recognized the survivors and descendants of Nebraskas federal Indian Boarding School.

Introduced by State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, the resolution approved by the Legislature on Monday acknowledges survivors of the school, their descendants and impacted communities. It also establishes Feb. 20 as an annual day of remembrance.

The recognition comes nearly 88 years after the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School closed. Judi gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, said the measure is one more step in the process of remembrance, understanding and now healing.

I am deeply grateful to Sen. Pansing Brooks and all the co-sponsors for introducing this resolution, gaiashkibos said. We have finally reached our day of reckoning in confronting this dark, hidden history.

The fourth federal boarding school to be built in the U.S., the Genoa school operated from 1884 to 1934. It was one of the largest in a system of 25 federal Indian boarding schools. At its peak in 1932, the schools 640-acre campus housed 599 students, who ranged in age from 4 to 22 years old and came from more than 40 tribes.

The resolution also officially acknowledges the physical and emotional abuse students were subjected to at the school.

In drafting the resolution, Pansing Brooks said she felt it was important to tell the story of the Genoa Indian School.

When discussing the resolution with senators before it was introduced, Pansing Brooks said, many had never heard of the boarding school.

I think its important we understand the trauma First Peoples went through, Pansing Brooks said. These children were taken away from their communities, often involuntarily. As a mother I cant imagine my children being ripped from my arms.

Nebraska researchers believe that all who attended the Genoa school are now deceased. But a local and national push to understand the full scope of the U.S. Indian Boarding Schools that were built across the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries has brought new attention to their stories.

A massive effort by researchers with the Genoa U.S. Indian School Foundation and the Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project has identified 86 children who died at the school. The true count of students who died there is likely much higher.

A corresponding effort is underway to find the schools lost cemetery. That search is led by the Nebraska State Archaeology Office and gaiashkibos, a citizen of the Ponca Tribe whose mother attended the school.

After so many years, through the efforts of many, this story, the whole story, has been brought into the light, gaiashkibos said. Our lost children can now be remembered and hopefully found.

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A bill to name the post office in Benson after an Omaha sailor who was one of the most celebrated Black war heroes of World War II cleared the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The full House approved HR 4168 to rename the facility at 6223 Maple St. the Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French Post Office. The bill had been co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Don Bacon, Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith, all Republicans from Nebraska. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, also signed on.

French had been hailed as the hero of the Solomons after the sinking of his Navy ship, the USS Gregory, Sept. 5, 1942, near Guadalcanal. He was credited with swimming for several hours through shark-infested waters towing a lifeboat filled with wounded shipmates, all of whom were White, until they could be rescued.

French was born in Arkansas in 1919 but moved to Omaha as a youth to live with his married older sister, Viola. He enlisted in the Navy in 1937 and became a mess attendant, one of the few military jobs open to African Americans in the segregated U.S. armed forces of that era.

French became famous after his commander, Ensign Robert Adrian, told the story on a radio program broadcast across the country. Adrian also recommended him for a Navy Cross  the Navys second-highest award for valor  but he never received anything more than a letter of commendation.

His heroism was recognized in popular culture, though. In addition to newspaper and radio, his story was told in bubble gum cards, comic strips, a calendar, even a poem called The Strong Swimmer by a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.

French stayed in the military until the end of the war, but he died in 1956, at age 37, of depression and alcoholism from untreated post-traumatic stress, family members say.

His story was largely forgotten until Bruce Wigo, a former director of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, unearthed it several years ago. It was amplified on social media this spring, prompting USA Swimming to honor him during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha last June. Four of Frenchs living relatives were present.

Bacon later introduced the legislation to name the post office in his honor. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., introduced a companion bill, but the Senate hasnt yet acted on it.

I am pleased that the House passed my bill honoring Petty Officer French for his selfless valor and service to our country, Bacon said in a statement. This recognition is long overdue, and I look forward to getting this passed in the Senate.

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A wind chill advisory with a feels-like temperature of 20 degrees below zero will be in effect through late Thursday morning.

The winds overnight will be gusting at 12 to 17 mph, which isnt that much, said meteorologist Brett Albright of the National Weather Services office in Valley. Combine that wind with a temperature around zero and it will be plenty cold.

The advisory, which is set to end at 11 a.m. Thursday, is intended to alert the public that the cold poses a threat to human health. If adequate protection is not taken, hypothermia and frostbite are possible.

The cold front dropping down from the north is expected to be short-lived, Albright said. Temperatures start to climb again Friday, with a high of 36 forecast for Omaha. Saturdays high is expected to be 49.

We have seen a good trend this year with the cold outbreaks lasting only two or three days, he said. From that standpoint, were fortunate.

Most of eastern Nebraska also was lucky to miss out on the snowstorm that dipped farther south. Albright said the storm will leave only traces of snow along the Iowa-Missouri border and the Kansas-Nebraska border.

The high temperature for Omaha falls back to 35 on Sunday, but much warmer conditions are predicted for Monday through Wednesday. People in the Omaha area can expect highs of 49 on Monday, 57 on Tuesday and 53 on Wednesday, Albright said. Those temperatures will be around 20 degrees above average, he said.

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Roundup: U.S. prepares new vaccine as COVID-19 affects life expectancy, labor market

Xinhua) 11:06, February 02, 2022

NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are expected as soon as Tuesday to ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a coronavirus vaccine for children under 5 years old as a two-dose regimen while they continue to research how well three doses work.

Federal regulators are eager to review the data in hopes of authorizing shots for young children on an emergency basis as early as the end of February, The New York Times on Tuesday quoted sources familiar with the discussions as saying.

If Pfizer waited for data on a three-dose regimen, the data would not be submitted until late March and the vaccine might not be authorized for that age group until late spring, according to the report, which also noted that federal officials and Pfizer executives had been suggesting for days that an application for emergency authorization of a vaccine for children as young as 6 months was in the works.

Every age group above that is eligible for shots, and the highly contagious Omicron variant has led to a sharp rise in infections among all ages, including children. There are more than 19 million Americans under 5 years old, according to the report.

EXCESS DEATHS

Federal authorities estimate that 987,456 more people have died since early 2020 than would have otherwise been expected, based on long-term trends. People killed by coronavirus infections account for the overwhelming majority of cases. Thousands more died from derivative causes, like disruptions in their healthcare and a spike in overdoses, reported The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

"Unlike the 1918 flu pandemic or major wars, which hit younger people, COVID-19 has been particularly hard on vulnerable seniors," said the report. "It has also killed thousands of front-line workers and disproportionately affected minority populations."

It could take years to fully realize the lasting social changes the pandemic and its human toll will yield, said the report, noting that major wars can redraw maps, shift the balance of global power and leave memorials in the nation's capital, while the pandemic is a reminder our biggest enemies are often too small to see.

"It's catastrophic," Steven Woolf, director emeritus at the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University, was quoted as saying. "This is an enormous loss of life."

JOB QUITTING

Some 4.3 million people in the United States quit or changed jobs in December, down from last month's all-time high but still near record levels, as "the labor market remained unsettled and the Omicron variant swept through the United States," reported The Washington Post on Tuesday.

"December proved to be an incredibly disruptive month for the U.S. labor market," said the report. "And the vaccine-evading omicron variant shook the nation's confidence that a future without the virus was on the near horizon."

These forces magnified the desire for many workers to quit their jobs. At least 4 million workers resigned each month during the second half of 2021, with many of them departing to find work that had better pay, benefits, or more flexible schedules, according to the report.

Many companies have been racing to compete with each other for workers, raising wages, adding cash bonuses and sweetening the pot in other ways to try to attract applicants. And that in turn has created "a climate for workers to have more leverage and options than perhaps any other time in recent history," it added.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
Introduction

The intellectual father of Protestant Liberalism, Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), correctly discerned a great turning away from Christianity in educated European culture. This has continued in our Western world up until today.

To protect religion against its cultured despisers Schleiermacher proposed that the foundation of religious practice could not be found in rationality nor in ethics but in a feeling of absolute dependence common to humanity.

Schleiermacher had insight to see that enshrining divine revelation in propositions about God was like turning the dynamic of a lava flow into cooled and hardened dead rock.

This is an error many orthodox Christians have unconsciously submitted to, substituting sound theological ideas for personal Gods personal self-exposure. Liberalism however failed by substituting a generic human feeling of absolute dependence for Christs own personal consciousness of his unity with the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Worryingly, just as Schleiermacher saw the doctrine of the Trinity as a sort of appendix to practical lived religion, I fear that many Pentecostal and Evangelical believers has done the same to the spirituality of Jesus today!

Conscious of Whom?

As the essence of Liberal spirituality is listening to ones own heart above other sources of authority, such as Scripture or tradition, similar trends can be discerned in the praying of contemporary non-liturgical churches. It is not wrong to pray about the many this worldly needs which continuously confront us all, like illness, economic distress, relational breakdown, summer fires and so on.

There is a problem however when these causes become a predicable focus for our prayers to the neglect of the cause of the kingdom of God. Jesus was quite emphatic, But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew chapter 6 verse 33). The haphazard prayers of our free assemblies seem to have forgotten that the reason all things were created was for the glory of God (Isaiah chapter 43 verses 6-7; Revelation chapter 4 verse 11).

Once great Christian composers placed S.D.G. (for Soli Deo Gloria = Glory to God Alone) at the end of their works; that spirit has largely disappeared. The traditional ending of the Lords Prayer For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew chapter 6 verse 13) isnt in scripture, but we desperately need a revival of its emphasis in our churches today.

Self-Consciousness Gone Mad

The ever lengthening of the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community, at times satirised as the alphabet people, is a witness to the wrath of God intensifying in our society (Romans chapter 1 verses 18-32).

If what sets humanity above the beasts is a true consciousness of God, today we see humanity turning in on itself in a tyranny of consciousness of self. As a lost teenager my inner sensitivity led me at times to bash my head against the wall or desire an escape into non-existence, later, Gods grace later helped me mercifully realise these were a foreshadowing of the absolute solitary confinement with ones self we call hell (Matthew chapter 8 verse 12).

As the name of Jesus is driven out of our culture, e.g., Happy Holidays, the more we will witness psychological distress amongst youngsters trapped with themselves. We need a revival of Christ-consciousness.

Christ-Consciousness

Christ-Consciousness isnt focussed on our consciousness of Jesus but a sharing in Jesus own consciousness. As the perfectly Spirit-filled person Christ had an immeasurably more powerful awareness of his Father than of his own I or self. A such he could testify, If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. (John chapter 14 verse 28).

The single great all-saving exception to Christs complete Father awareness is the cross. This is where we hear the heart of the Son of God crying out in the darkness of being left alone with his self to carry away the sin of the world, My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Mark chapter 15 verse 34; John chapter 1 verse 29).

Praise God that the fruit of this cry is a resurrection into glory where the human consciousness of God in Christ is perfected for all time. Wonderfully beyond words, when we savingly enter into union with Christ (1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 17), we begin a journey of becoming increasingly aware of God as our Father in the presence of Holy Spirit. This is what the glory of God is all about.

Conclusion

To be saved is much more than having sins forgiven to get to heaven. Salvation is the gift of grace in being empowered to share in Gods own ability to intimately know God. This means nothing less than to live eternally in the glory of God. As Jesus prayed for each of us as the gift of the Father, And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John chapter 17 verse 3).
The Information Age may have turned into the information plague. If hot chips at the beach were political subject matter then starving seagulls are the squarks of opinions surrounding it.

When you have the ability to slap a link down to support your opinion with as much care and effort as an overpaid abstract artist uses to fling paint onto a canvas, and more than a trillion dollars is made from media publications per year, its easy to see why we are swimming in oceans of highly motivated information.

But Im not blaming the individualthe macro political changes fuelled by a globalised propaganda regime has pushed it. Theres been an organised malicious proliferation of information.

All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to Adolf Hitler

Whether it be demonising pubic profile people with a moral compass, over-celebrating homosexuality and calling it equality then pushing it onto primary school children or ramming science down peoples throats hoping they swallow before it can be questioned in order to sell a mass of useless untested unnecessary dangerous drugs or trying to recreate race divides that have been largely removed for generations; whatever it is -

. the governmental changes inflicted on citizens lives today in sync with the prevailing consistent narratives injected into the airwaves by the puppet media is so pervasive that it creates a tiring exhaust of strong opinions and conversely an information plague. This calls for our discernment to step up in our lives with the same intensity or be lobotomised by propaganda.

The word discernment

The word Discernment has been marred as its often its been used as a spiritual sounding cloak word in Christendom to cover for being judgemental or critical about something that makes us uncomfortable. Maybe this is why it doesnt quite make the cut on the spiritual gifts elective at ministry school. Throwing the baby with the bath water is as problematic as the analogy suggests.

The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.Proverbs 14:15

To discern means to recognise or find out, to perceive or understand what would otherwise be hidden. Motives in published information from organisations and individuals are all immaterial and therefore spiritual and can be perceived spiritually.

Paul the apostle in Corinthiansspecifies a gift of the spirit called of discerning of spirits. It allows you to see in a clear distinction what is the underlying spirit or intent of an organisation, a sickness, an article, a particular circumstance or a response in an individual, even a prophetic word.

Gift of discernment

Far more beneficial to a believer than knowing the factsis knowing the spirit of something. The gift of discerning of spirits is like popping on spiritual X-ray goggles to reveal intent and motivation of something that is hidden. Not only valuable but essential we operate in this.How can we get these goggles?

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

. those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:14

Exposure: Sensitivity to the discern spiritually is a gift of the spirit granted to them that have trained their senses by the constant exposure of their own hearts to the word of God. The Word acts as a sword to divide our motives so we can see whats hidden in ourselves, both the ugly and the beautiful.

Its a mirror that enables us to see who we are in Christ but also shines on the bits that dont look him. Love for this truth and desire for it in ourselves will make us sensitive to discerning other spirits outside of us.

Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understandingyou will find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:3

Hunger:

Solomon, the wisest man outside of Jesus was the one that said to cry out for discernment and you will arrive at the right information. Not Just the knowledge about God but the knowledge that God knows in a given situation. Our hunger to find and know the truth is like a magnet for understandingspiritual senses to be sharper.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 1 John 2:20

Confidence: As believers we need to back our knower and need to realise that we have the spirit abiding in us to reveal truth about all things. We have an anointing to know and often we have exchanged this confidence in the spirit to discern something for human reasoning and logic. Maybe from social pressure and persuasion or just doubt. Confidence grows through practice, first in our own hearts then expands to whats going on outside of us.

Its not hard to believe the large majority of Germans were disgusted by the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. However its more of a challenge to understand that during the regime they were largely convinced and in total support not realising the underlying spirit of what was happening until after the fact.

They were deceived by the charismatic repetition and curation of propaganda. Id like to point out that evidence based science was the number one justification that Hitler used to justify and implement his eugenics program.

If there was ever a time in history to pop your spiritual x ray goggles on and position yourself to sharpen your discernment, its now.
A proposal to spend $450 million in federal COVID-19 relief in North Omaha could change the trajectory of a community that has been historically neglected, according to testimony supporting the proposal Tuesday.

Dozens of people joined several state senators in backing the proposal during a hearing before the Legislatures Urban Affairs Committee.

State Sens. Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney of Omaha introduced the proposal, Legislative Bill 1024, which calls for using $450 million to help North Omaha recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. With the state receiving more than $1 billion through the American Rescue Plan Act, Wayne said now is the time for big and bold ideas.

The bill would address housing and homelessness, community and small-business recovery, community well-being, and community assistance and programming.

For generations, North Omaha has been neglected by state and local government officials, Wayne said. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the gaps in services that are needed in the community.

North Omaha has been neglected, Wayne said.

Some projects in the plan call for matching funds from the city, county or private sources. Wayne said the plan would enhance what the city is doing, not compete with existing programming.

Among the proposals in LB 1024:

Building 100 homes, rehabbing 200 more and constructing two mixed-use developments.

Graduating 500 people from high-demand job training programs and providing financial support for 1,000 interns to help them graduate on time.

Stabilizing and assisting 100 small businesses, creating an industrial park adjacent to the existing Airport Business Park and creating a North Omaha business generator.

Developing a state-of-the-art mental health treatment center and supporting crime and gang prevention and violence intervention programs.

Expanding access to parks and trails and making improvements to tourism sites.

If successfully executed in North Omaha, Wayne said, the effort could be replicated in other communities across the state.

Wayne said hes been in talks with South Omaha senators and that area  which also was hard hit by the pandemic  could be incorporated into the plan, too.

Senators from both communities have criticized Gov. Pete Ricketts spending proposal for the federal ARPA money, saying it does not provide enough funding to their communities. The Governors Office has noted, among other points, that both Douglas County and the City of Omaha have received separate allocations of federal COVID-19 relief money.

LB 1024 would create a five-member committee, modeled after the recent Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access Resource Sustainability (STAR WARS) special committee.

McKinney, whose district includes much of North Omaha, said the community historically has been passed over when it comes time to distribute resources.

During the pandemic, he said, North Omaha residents made inquiries about housing, shelter and utility assistance. The area has seen an uptick in evictions, crime and food insecurity.

Money is not the end all, be all, but money is a tool that will go a long way in changing the trajectory of North Omaha, McKinney said.

More than 30 people  including community members, representatives of local organizations, an artist and filmmaker  spoke in favor of the plan. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, Douglas County Board member Chris Rodgers and Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha also were among those who spoke in favor of the proposal.

Proponents of the bill cited the potential for violence prevention, job training and affordable housing, as well as mental health outreach and the potential to grow businesses in the area.

No one spoke in opposition to the plan.

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In the Republican primary race to succeed Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, candidate Charles W. Herbster announced that he has received an endorsement from South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

The development positions two prominent Republican governors, Ricketts and Noem, on opposite sides of the primary race. Ricketts in January endorsed Jim Pillen, a livestock producer and University of Nebraska regent.

Pillen and Herbster are viewed as front-runners in the race.

Herbster, a Falls City businessman who touts his support of and from former President Donald Trump, announced the Noem endorsement in a press release from his campaign Wednesday morning.

I am proud to endorse Charles W. Herbster to be the next governor of Nebraska. Charles is a strong conservative, and with decades of experience as a farmer, rancher, and successful businessman, Noem said in the Herbster campaign release.

Herbster said it was an honor to receive the endorsement.

I look forward to working alongside her as a powerful ally in the fight against federal government overreach, he said in the release. As governors of neighboring states, Kristi Noem and I will collaborate to bring additional jobs and resources to our states, and advance opportunity and prosperity for all.

Noem has become an increasingly recognized figure in national Republican politics. Though she has dismissed such speculation, some view her as a potential Republican presidential contender in 2024  speculation largely tied to her efforts aimed at building a national profile, particularly by condemning restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. She has registered a political action committee and engaged in a nationwide speaking circuit.

Ricketts also has been the source of speculation in Nebraska, where political observers noted the governor seemed to be increasingly vocal in his criticisms of federal policies during Joe Bidens presidency. In October he joined eight other prominent Republican governors in traveling to the southern border.

Like Noem, Ricketts over the summer dismissed speculation that he might be positioning himself for higher office, saying that there was simply an abundance of policies that merited his criticism.

Last month Ricketts, a two-term governor barred from seeking reelection because of term limits, joined former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr to formally endorse Pillen in the Republican primary  a race that also features State Sen. Brett Lindstrom and former Sen. Theresa Thibodeau.

Ricketts has criticized Herbster for headquartering his business outside Nebraska and for his support of a proposed consumption tax plan that would replace Nebraskas income, corporate, sales and property tax system. Ricketts has said he does not believe Herbster is qualified to be our next governor.

Those remarks came after Trump formally endorsed Herbster in October, stating in a press release that Herbster will do a fantastic job. The former president called Herbster an extraordinarily successful businessman, adding that he will fight for our farmers and ranchers, support our military and vets, and protect and defend your under siege Second Amendment rights.

The news outlet Politico reported in November that Ricketts had asked Trump to stay out of the Republican primary fight  a request that Trump ultimately disregarded.

Like Herbster, Noem has aligned herself with the former president. Last year both she and Herbster cut ties with political adviser Corey Lewandowski, a longtime confidant to Trump, after Lewandowski became embroiled in scandal.

Noems endorsement is the latest announcement to come in the Republican primary race.

On Tuesday, Pillen received an endorsement from the Nebraska Farm Bureau. A survey found Farm Bureau counties resoundingly supported the endorsement, President Mark McHargue said.

Both Pillen and Herbster have received criticism in recent days for failing to commit to a debate scheduled for March.

Both candidates are slated to participate in a forum Thursday hosted by the Nebraska Chamber. Theyll be joined by Lindstrom and Thibodeau, along with Democratic candidate Carol Blood and another Republican candidate, Breland Ridenour.

The primary is May 10.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

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I saw a post on social media the other day that said: If you want to feel old, subtract your current age from your birth year. I didnt want to feel old. Still, the year I landed in was during Theodore Roosevelts presidency, before Henry Ford started producing the Model T. Just out of curiosity, I did the math with some others in the family. My folks would have been in the early days of the Civil War, my oldest childs span would have stretched back to Elvis Presleys release of Heartbreak Hotel, and my youngest child would have seen Michael Jordans Rookie of the Year season.

While a fun exercise, I think for Americans, this is instructive: None of us is that far separated from significant moments of American history. Doing the same exercise with my grandparents (who would all be 100-plus if living) would have taken them to the presidency of James Monroe (who served in the Washington administration and later helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase). It doesnt take much imagination to get us back to the founding era.

I think we need that perspective sometimes. Americans, it seems to me, are unique in our compressed perspective of history. Maybe it makes us more impatient and demanding of change now. Perhaps it makes us less circumspect.

For example, while the exercise takes a British centenarian back near the rule of George III, thats nowhere close to Englands founding generation. Because of chronological proximity, we can imagine our history in ways that many societies cant.

Time flies for us all, though, and in my corner of southeast Nebraska, I cant help but see how much culture has changed in my lifetime  some for the better, but some for the worst.

My eighth-grade English teacher, Mrs. McKinstry, made liberal use of her red pen as she taught us to diagram sentences. At the same time, she was one of the most demanding and delightful teachers I ever had. She was also a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, and I was a teenage activist in a family of Republicans. I was playing the math game thinking of her the other day (she passed away just over a year ago), and it appears that though she seemed ancient to a 14-year-old, she would have been 12 years younger than I am now when I had her in school. That makes me feel old.

At the Jefferson County Fair in 1976, I was on duty at the Republican Party booth, and my former teacher was staffing the Democratic booth. We spent a lot of time chatting  she was not a big Jimmy Carter fan but liked Morris Udall for the presidential nomination. Although we were a Reagan family, we supported President Gerald Ford once he was nominated. Our chats were about politics, and they were pleasant.

People were part of their community and accepted that not everyone would agree on all political things. Still, they treated one another (and elected leaders) with at least a modicum of respect. I thought about the world weve created in my lifetime as I drove by a farmhouse the other day. The house had a tall flagpole in front. The flag flying was not an American flag but rather a F**k Biden flag.

Politics can be a mean and ugly business, although historically, it seems like most of the meanness has been between the two candidates, or at least during an election year. When flags in rural Nebraska are displaying profanity aimed at a president who has barely been in office for the first year of his four-year term, I wonder what hope we have as a society and whether we can reclaim any level of community again.

I think that we need to stop and think not just about the here and now (or even about what would have been happening 20 or 60, or 100 years ago), but what the future will look like if we continue on the current path.

Take 2022 and add your current age to it. Many of us wont be here, but what would we like to see our corner of the world look like for our kids and grandkids, and are we contributing to the chances of that happening? Its time to build a sense of community spirit again.

Laura Ebke is a wife, mother of three and grandma of one. A lifelong Nebraskan who has lived in Crete for more than 25 years, she has a doctorate in political science from the University of Nebraska, serves as senior fellow at the Platte Institute and previously served four years in the Nebraska Legislature and 12 years on the Crete school board.
How can Nebraska solve the problem of making new construction and maintenance start happening right now across rural Nebraska?

It is widely understood that Nebraska has a critical shortage of workers, including those with high-level construction skills. At the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission meeting Dec. 17, three construction workers testified, explaining the need for legal protections for their profession.

One mentioned knowing some construction workers who are homeless in Lincoln, even though they are working full-time, because of the very low wages they are getting. They are likely hired by third-party contractors. They dont get workers compensation, so when they are injured at work, they lose their job, have no income and have no way to pay for emergency health care.

Nebraska also needs to get significant construction work done on infrastructure projects for which federal money is available, including for critical housing needs.

Let me propose a program that would train construction workers while it addresses that housing shortage so the state can attract other workers.

All new construction and maintenance projects must plan how to attract workers for the construction sector by offering full-time, paid job training centered on the construction of quality low-cost housing and facilities for high-quality, subsidized child care in rural Nebraska.

How would this roll out?

If a project has 10 new workers, they will be joining experienced crews making the work on the new affordable housing and child care centers go more quickly, learning while they pitch in. And their pay will boost spending right here in rural Nebraska, as they buy groceries, gas, clothing, etc.

When the first 10 homes (new or refurbished) are ready, they will each be available to a local community to sweeten their job offers  for an important position they cant fill right now  and 10 new families join Nebraskas workforce. And this building cycle will continue.

Eligibility: Preference will be given to anyone age 18 or older willing to relocate to any rural area for a minimum of five years.

Benefits: Immediate temporary housing, perhaps in trailers. Paid training (coordinating community colleges, apprenticeships, etc.) including any needed language training or GED studies; wages well above $15/hour; workers compensation; unemployment benefits; access to adequate health care; help with child care and transportation; an option to eventually get help to buy one of the new houses.

Requirements: agree to live, perform quality work and participate in a local community for the next five years.

Whats needed:

Networking and cooperation among local leaders, town, county and state governments, nonprofits and businesses  for planning, problem-solving, fundraising, grant writing etc. Ho-Chunk Inc. has considerable relevant experience.

Goal: To maximize the returns on investment by sharing resources, cooperating to choose locations, with nonprofit associations to provide program management, services for new arrivals and other needs.

Could this be attractive to rural youths, so they would be able to make a good living where they grew up?

You can help by advocating for this plan, sharing the idea with friends. We can urge Open Sky Policy Institute and Nebraska Appleseed to take up the idea.

The impact on Nebraskas rural economy three years out would be significant and sustainable, due to real economic multiplier effects.

Loretta Fairchild is a Ph.D. economist, raised on a small dry-land wheat farm in the Panhandle.
Accessible parking

I am a 100%, combat-disabled, retired Marine. I am unable to leave my vehicle without my wheelchair and somebody to push me. My spouse, who has a heart condition, is the one who helps me. Therefore, it is imperative that we park as close as we can to the entrance until I can transfer to an electric scooter. If my destination has no scooter available, I have to stay in my vehicle. Many times, handicapped-accessible parking spots are taken by persons that have no disability, no handicapped placard or handicapped plates. In my community, police are reluctant to issue citations even to repeat offenders. Nebraska Statute 18-1741.01, outlines the procedures for issuing a citation for persons violating handicapped spaces. Section 2 of Nebraska Statute 18-1741.01 states, in part, for any offense classified as a handicapped parking infraction, a handicapped parking citation may be issued by any peace officer. It is the word, may, that should be changed to shall or will issue a citation. I am sure that many of you have friends or family members who are disabled that have had their rights violated. Please let your state senator know that you have concerns about the way the statute is worded. Thank you for your support and God bless.

Carl Munford, Columbus, Neb.

Library land

No matter how much lipstick is put on the new library it will still be a pig; no offense intended to pigs. To give up the premier piece of property on the new mall, owned by the citizens of Omaha, to a for profit development company is a tragic loss for Omaha. I just wish I had some swamp land to sell Omaha.

Layne Yahnke, Elkhorn

Pillen ad

Seriously? Jim Pillen pollutes my TV screen by showing up time and time again to encourage someone to defy the federal government, minimize the existence of this pandemic and cock his gun. I am embarrassed that he somehow got a seat on the Board of Regents and that he, in any way, could represent me as the governor of Nebraska. No, I will never vote for Herbster either. And this is Nebraska? Really?

Helen Jordon, Omaha

Mask mandate

Thank you, Douglas County Health Director Lindsay Huse, for issuing Omahas emergency temporary mask mandate. The facts are clear. COVID case counts in Nebraska are skyrocketing, hospital beds are filled with unvaccinated COVID patients, and on Jan. 10, adult ICU occupancy in the metro area was 92%. Yet our governor, attorney general, and three city council members are fighting this reasonable public health response.

Early in the pandemic, Gov. Pete Ricketts spoke forcefully of the need to flatten the curve to avoid overwhelming the health care system. Thats the real goal, the governor said on April 16, 2020,  to make sure that anybody who needs that hospital bed, that intensive care unit bed, or that ventilator has access to get that. Now we are there. Hospitals are full. The dedicated health care professionals we all rely on are overburdened. On Jan. 13, Nebraska Medical Center entered Crisis Standards of Care. On Jan. 14, Gov. Ricketts announced a new directed health measure that suspends pre-scheduled, non-emergency surgeries until Feb. 13. The governor and other like-minded political leaders are choosing a course of action that denies necessary health care to untold numbers of Nebraskans, and puts us all at risk, while also resisting a sensible solution to reducing the spread of the virus.

What can be done to keep our healthcare system from being overwhelmed? Dr. Mark Rupp, chief of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers infectious disease division, says that wearing masks will help. Its such a small ask, Dr. Rupp said, for people to take precautions for the next few weeks, try to get this thing slowed down, and cushion the blow.

We obey traffic regulations, refrain from smoking in public areas, and follow many other rules to protect ourselves and each other. Lets all get on board and support the mask mandate. Its such a small ask.

Joan Sudmann Shapiro, Omaha

Road work

In regards to Peter Gadzinskis letter regarding substandard roads (Pulse, Jan. 9), the Loveland situation is not exactly a unique situation. The same situation existed just a few short years ago in the neighborhood surrounding Oakdale school. The roads around the school were substandard, falling apart and near a very large school.

Neighbors in surrounding homes were not given any extra consideration due to the fact that the roads led to the school.

Similar to Loveland, we also had neighbors on our street who were retired, and we even had a person who had no children and had never driven or owned a car in his lifetime due to a medical condition.

And, right down the street from Loveland sits Christ the King School and the roads leading to that school are also substandard, etc.

I dont see how the Omaha City Council could possibly have offered a greater subsidy to those in the Loveland neighborhood without other nearby neighborhoods crying foul. It is an unfortunate situation that the roads were built in the fashion they were and not maintained, but the precedent already has been set.

Karen Wells, Omaha
BLOOMINGTON  Eight Class X felony charges have been filed against a Bloomington man who a prosecutor accused of being one of the biggest drug dealers in McLean County.

Edward L. Holmes, 50, had more than 14 ounces of cocaine and about 130 grams of methamphetamine when police stopped him after authorities learned he had gone on a drug run.

Holmes is charged with the following:

Controlled substance trafficking of between 400 and 900 grams of cocaine

Unlawful possession of between 400 and 900 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver

Controlled substance trafficking of between 100 and 400 grams of cocaine

Unlawful possession of between 100 and 400 grams of cocaine with the intent to deliver

Methamphetamine trafficking of between 100 and 400 grams of a substance containing meth

Unlawful possession of between 100 and 400 grams of meth with the intent to deliver

Methamphetamine trafficking of between 15 and 100 grams of meth

Unlawful possession of between 15 and 100 grams of meth with the intent to deliver

A prosecutor said more charges are expected to be filed, as Holmes was involved in over a dozen controlled buy transactions, for drugs.

Holmes was jailed in lieu of posting $30,035.

An arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 10.

Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather

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BLOOMINGTON  Criminal filings and sentences in McLean County rebounded to typical rates last year after taking a dip in 2020 as the county grappled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of DUI cases filed by the McLean County States Attorneys Office jumped back up to 777 in 2021, an increase of 187 filings from the 590 DUI cases in 2020, according to the latest report from the prosecutors office.

The 777 DUI filings last year is nearly identical to the number of DUI cases filed in McLean County in 2019, 2018 and 2017: 776, 787 and 778, respectively.

Traffic charges took the largest drop in 2020. There were 16,996 traffic cases filed in 2020 after there had been about 21,000 filings in 2019 and almost 23,000 in 2018. There were about 26,000 traffic offenses filed in 2017.

In 2021, traffic charges bounced back to 18,647 filings.

Felony filings, however, decreased a bit in 2021 from the previous year but remained consistent with the three or so years prior to then.

The McLean County States Attorneys Office reported 1,377 felony charges were filed in 2021, a decrease from the 1,444 felony cases recorded in 2020.

Misdemeanor and juvenile cases also remained fairly consistent with years past.

There also was a significant increase in the number of felony cases sentenced in 2021 compared to the prior year, according to the most recent circuit clerks report.

A little more than 1,000 felony cases (1,028) were sentenced in 2021, up from the 651 felonies sentenced in 2020.

Of the 1,028 felonies sentenced last year, 307 of them were sent to prison and 690 were ordered probation, while 31 cases were sentenced to other.

McLean County States Attorney Don Knapp explained to committee members that the 2022 report and other future years reports will look different from the past due to changes in the law for record keeping.

This is going to skew our historical data a little bit as misdemeanors or felonies may not be as high because there will be some other types of cases woven in that, Knapp said.

Cases such as domestic violence or major traffic offenses are now split into their own categories.

Also during Tuesdays justice committee meeting, McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage said the county jail continues to be in a space crunch, in efforts to socially distance inmates during the pandemic.

The jails COVID outbreak reported in December dramatically eased after a couple weeks.

McLean County Jail Nursing Supervisor Suzanne Scott said in a health committee meeting Monday that the jail had nine active COVID cases at the time.

Sandage said the Illinois Department of Corrections halting inmate intakes from county jails severely limits the space we have to socially distance.

He said the McLean County Jail currently has 63 inmates who should otherwise be in prison. IDOC is expected to pick up 20 inmates Friday if weather permits, the sheriff added.

In other news, Wednesday's McLean County Finance Committee meeting has been rescheduled to 2:30 p.m. Monday before the executive committee meeting due to severe snowfall.

Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather

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Hate crime charges were filed Tuesday against a man who allegedly smashed windows and spray-painted swastikas on synagogues and the property of a Jewish girls school over the weekend.

Shahid Hussain, 39, of Niles, faces four counts of a hate crime along with multiple charges of criminal damage and defacement, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference Tuesday. Hussains bond is set at $250,000, with special conditions that he is not allowed near any institutions affected, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx said at the news conference.

These acts of hate gripped the West Rogers Park community and shocked the city of Chicago, Brown said.

Hussain was arrested following a series of vandalism incidents around West Rogers Park discovered over the weekend.

He was initially detained Sunday after a 911 caller reported hearing a suspicious person yelling antisemitic slurs and threats in the 6300 block of North Sacramento in West Rogers Park, Brown said. Detectives found Hussain matched the description of the person responsible for the property damage, Brown said.

Additionally, a member of a separate Jewish congregation was reportedly accosted near their synagogue along the same corridor of Devon Tuesday, police said.

A 35-year-old man was outside Congregation Bnei Ruven at 6350 N. Whipple St. Tuesday morning, when three people in a silver sedan approached, according to a police report. One person exited the car and verbally threatened the man, who Brown said was a member of the congregation.

The people in the car drove into a parking lot and damaged the window of a parked vehicle, police said.

No injuries were reported and no one was in custody related to that incident, police said. Detectives are investigating, they added.

Brown declined to give more details on the case or comment on whether it might be related to the vandalism in the community, and said police were still looking to establish facts needed to bring charges.

Hussain was on parole for a burglaryin DuPage County and a forgery in Cook County, according to records from the Illinois Department of Corrections. He also pleaded guilty to an aggravated DUI in 2013, according to court records.

The case will be handled by hate crime specialists in the states attorneys office, Foxx said. The hate crime distinction means prosecutors must be able to establish motivation due to someones identity, she added, taking what might have been a misdemeanor property damage case to the level of an enhanced felony.

Brown did not disclose suspected motives or the defendants mental state at the conference.

Light prevails over darkness, Rabbi Baruch Hertz with Congregation Bnei Ruven said at the news conference, as Foxx, Brown and additional police officers and rabbis stood behind him. I encourage everybody to take this moment to bring more good and more light into the world, Hertz added.

Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th, said diversity brings strength to her ward.

That means an attack on any of us is an attack on all of us, Silverstein said. An attack on the Jewish community is an attack on the entire 50th Ward.

Hussain allegedly spray-painted F.R.E.E. Synagogue and a storage container on the property of Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School near the 2900 block of West Devon Avenue Sunday, according to police. He then allegedly yelled at a man nearby, a police report said.

Hussain is also charged with allegedly smashing windows at a synagogue in the 3600 block of West Devon Avenue, and one in the 2800 block of West North Shore Avenue, police said. A man kicked out the side window of the Pulaski Park neighborhood synagogue Sunday, a witness reportedly told officers at the time.

Hussain was not charged in additional cases of vandalism reported at Jewish businesses in the West Rogers Park neighborhood Saturday. Police are using video footage and looking to connect him with more cases, Brown said Tuesday.

Kol Tuv Kosher Foods and Tel Aviv Bakery, both in the 2900 block of West Devon Avenue, each had windows broken last weekend.

Because nothing was stolen from his store, the owner of Kol Tuv Kosher Foods described the damage as pure vandalism for the purpose of vandalism.

The window of the store was still boarded up Tuesday. The owner, Chayim Knobloch, said costs for repairs will come out of his pocket, and said he has refused financial assistance.

Knobloch found out about the vandalism after attending an early morning service Saturday morning, and was initially unable to use a phone to call for the boarding company because of the sabbath, he said.

While he said hes aware of the fact that anything could happen, Knobloch said he still feels safe in his neighborhood.

Were nowhere near the point where we have to stop functioning, and move out, and run out of here, he said.

He praised the city for taking the crimes seriously, and said he wished he had government assistance in implementing more security measures such as a camera system.

It takes everybody hearing and everybody watching over us, Knobloch said.

Daniel Goldberg, a 35-year-old Rogers Park resident who said he frequents F.R.E.E. Synagogue, said he also feels safe in the neighborhood. He was surprised when he found out about the incidents over the weekend, he said.

But that doesnt mean there doesnt have to be some type of police presence or something else, Goldberg said.

A trio of Chicago and Rogers Park community members also held a news conference Tuesday about the attacks and called for harsher laws and sentences for hate crimes and antisemitic crimes.

Chicago activist Raul Montes Jr. was joined by two members of the Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce, who asked elected officials to speak out and hold one another accountable.

Its a human right we have, to walk on the streets and feel safe, Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce President Bill Morton said.

The group said they had reached out to members of the West Rogers Park Jewish community but were not in contact with any synagogues Tuesday morning. They plan to organize a march if violence continues to surge, Montes said.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was among those who commented Monday on the attacks.

Make no mistake: this attack, as well as the deep hatred and bigotry that drives other anti-Semitic acts like it, is an attack on our citys Jewish community and social fabric, Lightfoot said in a statement.

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CHICAGO  A suburban Chicago man has been convicted in the 2017 slaying and dismemberment of his mother, whose partial remains were found in a Chicago lagoon.

A Cook County jury deliberated about 2 hours on Tuesday before finding Brian Peck of Elgin guilty of first-degree murder, dismembering a human body and concealing a homicide death.

Peck, 59, had testified on Monday that he killed his 76-year-old mother, Gail Peck, in self-defense on Oct. 25, 2017.

Peck, who is 6 feet tall and weighed about 250 pounds at the time, claimed that his mother, who was 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 140 pounds, came at him with a military-grade survival knife after becoming annoyed at him for playing loud music, The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported.

He said a struggle ensued, during which he "swept her leg," causing her to fall.

Authorities said Peck stomped on his mother's head, dismembered her body and put some of her remains in garbage bags that he tossed into Lake Michigan the same day she was slain.

Some of her remains were later discovered in a lagoon at Chicago's Lincoln Park, but her head and one of her arms remain missing.

An assistant Cook County medical examiner determined that Gail Peck's cause of death was homicide by unspecified means.

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Not since the Crosstown Classic of (much) warmer days has there been more at stake between the division of Chicagos North and South sides. But it isnt a Cubs-White Sox thing this time: Forecasters suggest as much as 10 inches more snow could fall in the southern half of Cook County than in the northern half.

A line will be drawn somewhere, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Romeoville, and wherever it eventually falls during the first round of a winter storm beginning Tuesday evening, residents can expect a dramatic difference in snowfall from one side to the other.

Itll be an incredibly sharp cutoff. There could literally be a 10-inch difference from northern to southern Cook County, or more. Theres going to be a sharp line between the haves and have-nots, but its still tough to say exactly where the line will be, said Gino Izzi, a meteorologist with the weather service. Somewhere over a relatively short distance, were looking at an 8- to 10-inch difference in snowfall.

The first round of what could be a two-round storm is expected to drop as much as a foot of snow in some areas, leading to dangerous road conditions, particularly during the Wednesday morning commute. Much of northern and central Illinois is under a winter storm warning as forecasters track a major system moving east across the country, Izzi said.

Approaching 6 p.m. Tuesday, Chicago Public Schools had not yet made an announcement about whether in-person classes would take place Wednesday.

Other Chicago-area schools and districts, particularly in the western and southern suburbs, had already announced a weather-related switch to e-learning Wednesday.

The brunt of the storm is predicted to hit farther south. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday issued a disaster proclamation ahead of the storm, activating 130 members of the National Guard to assist with emergency operations in central Illinois. Its the first time since a blizzard 11 years ago that the National Guard was tasked with assisting during a winter storm.

On Jan. 31, 2011, Chicago saw a rare meteorological mix of constant snowfall, freezing high winds and highly charged lightning, bringing on Snowmageddon, a storm that turned parts of Lake Shore Drive into an arctic parking lot. The storm left about 84,000 city residents without power and led to a two-day closure of all Chicago Public Schools, both airports, and nearly all ground and rail traffic.

The Guard soldiers and airmen will be assigned to 18-member winter weather platoons and equipped with tactical vehicles to assist Illinois State Police in rescuing stranded drivers.

Major General Richard R. Neely, commander of the Illinois National Guard, said since 2011 theres been GPS technology that allows the Guard to keep better track of its units.

Weve learned some lessons back then about what type of equipment, what type of ... Humvees that may not have done as well on the ice because of the weight, weve learned that, Neely told the Tribune after a news conference.

The Illinois Department of Transportation also is deploying more than 1,800 trucks and snowplows to clear roads across the state.

By Tuesday afternoon, flight cancellations for the coming days were rolling in at OHare and Midway airports. As of 5 p.m., 247 flights had been canceled for Wednesday at OHare International Airport and 68 flights had been canceled at Midway, according to the tracking website FlightAware. Southwest Airlines, which made up the vast majority of the Midway cancellations, said they were due to the impending winter storm.

Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, encouraged people to stay inside as much as possible and suggested those who are able to work remotely from home to do so during the storm.

Given the predicted severity of the storm thats coming, we wanted to assure residents that well do all we can to try to ensure your safety, Preckwinkle said in a news conference Tuesday. We also wanted to arm you with information that youll be able to keep yourselves and your family safe.

Several cities across Cook County will be opening warming centers as temperatures are expected to drop to single digits in the coming days, she said.

Pritzker was set to deliver his budget address Wednesday to lawmakers at the state Capitol, but the House and Senate canceled scheduled session days due to the looming storm. Instead, Pritzker will give his noon speech in front of a smaller audience at the Old State Capitol.

The northern suburbs may not see a single snowflake during what initially had been expected to be a two-round storm. But as of Tuesday morning, the second portion of the storm was beginning to look more like a no event than a snow event, Izzi said  particularly for communities north of Chicago.

By snowfall rate  often a better indicator of a storms severity  the storm could drop as much as an inch of snow an hour in the area after some afternoon rainfall transitions to snow flurries Tuesday night, forecasters said.

Snowfall is expected to continue through most of the day Wednesday, according to meteorologists. As much as 8 inches to 1 foot of snow could fall in the Chicago area and points south.

Widespread snow totals of 8 to 12 will make travel difficult, if not dangerous, the weather service said in a social media post. Prepare for a difficult Wednesday (morning) commute.

If youre in the area thats going to be harder hit, especially the southern suburbs, if you dont have to travel late (Tuesday) and into (Wednesday) youre better off staying off the roads and giving road crews time to plow and salt. You can also keep your fuel tank at least three-quarter filled or full and practice safe winter driving  no sudden lane changes or following too closely, Izzi said, adding both the morning and possibly the evening commute Wednesday will be heavily impacted by the snow, particularly the farther south you are.

The storm is expected to begin to taper off by the early hours on Thursday, forecasters said. Izzi said areas such as Kankakee and Joliet could bear the brunt of the second round.

The second round is kind of going to stay south and east of Chicago proper, Izzi said.

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It's been a wild ride for the 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Normal, who made the top 7 on Sunday. Take a look back at her time on "Americ
Illinois optometrists strive to incorporate the latest technology in our practices for our patients in a safe environment while seeking to increase access to timely care. However, rapid changes accelerated by the pandemic began to raise concerns over patient safety. The Illinois Optometric Association moved to address concerns about patients when offering care through telemedicine by introducing legislation.

On behalf of our members and their patients, we wish to express our appreciation to chief sponsors of Senate Bill 567, Senator Ram Villivalam and Representative Ann Moeller for their unwavering support. Governor JB Pritzker signed the bill into law in July.

We are very pleased that effective in 2022, the new law amends the Optometric Practice Act. The legislation requires an optometrist using telehealth to meet the existing standards of care that are applicable for optometric services provided in an office setting, protects the doctor-patient relationship, complies with state licensure, and maintains patient safety.

It requires an optometrist treating a patient through telehealth to perform a minimum eye exam as required by the current admin rules when prescribing glasses or contact lenses.

We are honored to provide services to our patients in Illinois, and we look forward to meeting the highest standards while working in the safest environment possible.

Timothy Cundiff

President and Chair

Illinois Optometric Association

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The footprint of the storm extended as far south as Texas, where nearly a year after a catastrophic freeze buckled the state's power grid in one of the worst blackouts in U.S. history, Gov. Greg Abbott defended the state's readiness. The forecast did not call for the same prolonged and frigid temperatures as the February 2021 storm and the National Weather Service said the system would, generally, not be as bad this time for Texas.

No one can guarantee that there won't be any" outages caused by demand on the power grid, Abbott said Tuesday. But what we will work to achieve, and what we're prepared to achieve is that power is going to stay on across the entire state.

In November, Abbott had, in fact, made a guarantee for winter: I can guarantee the lights will stay on," he told Austin television station KTBC.

Abbott, whose handling of last year's blackouts is a top line of attack for Democrats as the Republican seeks a third term in 2022, said thousands of miles of roads in Texas will become "extraordinarily dangerous" over the coming days. Energy experts said the forecast this week, although below freezing, should not pose a challenge for Texas' grid.

The question has always been if we get a repeat of last year, would the power stay on? And this is nowhere near a repeat of last year, said Doug Lewin, an energy consultant in Austin who has criticized Texas' response to the blackouts as insufficient.

No large-scale power outages were reported early Wednesday in Texas or elsewhere, according to poweroutage.us.

Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights in the U.S. scheduled for Wednesday, the flight-tracking service FlightAware.com showed, including more than half taken off the board in St. Louis. In an effort to stay ahead of the weather, Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday that it would suspend all of its flight operations Wednesday at St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Thursday at its Dallas Love Field hub. Airports in Chicago, Kansas City and Detroit canceled more flights than usual.

Around the country, were planning to operate a limited or reduced schedule from some cities in the path of the storm but will make adjustments to the schedule as needed, Southwest spokesman Dan Landson said.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency as school districts and universities shifted classes to online or canceled them entirely.

Illinois lawmakers canceled their three scheduled days of session this week as the central part of the state prepares for heavy snow, ice and high wind gusts in the region. In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt has declared a statewide state of emergency as the winter storm approached that would remain in effect for seven days.

The National Weather Service said 6 to 12 inches of snow was expected by Thursday morning in parts of the Rockies and Midwest, while heavy ice is likely from Texas through the Ohio Valley.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the weather service said 8 to 15 inches of snow was possible in parts of Michigan. That includes Detroit, where the mayor activated snow emergency routes and city crews were expected to work 12-hour shifts salting and plowing major roads.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, where up to 7 inches of snow and sleet was forecast but little ice, emergency management director Joe Kralicek said the event is not expected to cause large-scale power outages based on an ice index used by the National Weather Service.

We could see some power outages, however, its also suggesting that they be limited in scope and nature and very short term in duration, Kralicek said.

Becky Gligo, director of the nonprofit Housing Solutions in Tulsa said teams are working to move homeless people into shelters ahead of overnight lows that are expected to drop into single digits by Friday night.

 Associated Press
The footprint of the storm extended as far south as Texas, where nearly a year after a catastrophic freeze buckled the state's power grid in one of the worst blackouts in U.S. history, Gov. Greg Abbott defended the state's readiness. The forecast did not call for the same prolonged and frigid temperatures as the February 2021 storm and the National Weather Service said the system would, generally, not be as bad this time for Texas.

No one can guarantee that there won't be any" outages caused by demand on the power grid, Abbott said Tuesday. But what we will work to achieve, and what we're prepared to achieve is that power is going to stay on across the entire state.

In November, Abbott had, in fact, made a guarantee for winter: I can guarantee the lights will stay on," he told Austin television station KTBC.

Abbott, whose handling of last year's blackouts is a top line of attack for Democrats as the Republican seeks a third term in 2022, said thousands of miles of roads in Texas will become "extraordinarily dangerous" over the coming days. Energy experts said the forecast this week, although below freezing, should not pose a challenge for Texas' grid.

The question has always been if we get a repeat of last year, would the power stay on? And this is nowhere near a repeat of last year, said Doug Lewin, an energy consultant in Austin who has criticized Texas' response to the blackouts as insufficient.

No large-scale power outages were reported early Wednesday in Texas or elsewhere, according to poweroutage.us.

Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights in the U.S. scheduled for Wednesday, the flight-tracking service FlightAware.com showed, including more than half taken off the board in St. Louis. In an effort to stay ahead of the weather, Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday that it would suspend all of its flight operations Wednesday at St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Thursday at its Dallas Love Field hub. Airports in Chicago, Kansas City and Detroit canceled more flights than usual.

Around the country, were planning to operate a limited or reduced schedule from some cities in the path of the storm but will make adjustments to the schedule as needed, Southwest spokesman Dan Landson said.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency as school districts and universities shifted classes to online or canceled them entirely.

Illinois lawmakers canceled their three scheduled days of session this week as the central part of the state prepares for heavy snow, ice and high wind gusts in the region. In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt has declared a statewide state of emergency as the winter storm approached that would remain in effect for seven days.

The National Weather Service said 6 to 12 inches of snow was expected by Thursday morning in parts of the Rockies and Midwest, while heavy ice is likely from Texas through the Ohio Valley.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the weather service said 8 to 15 inches of snow was possible in parts of Michigan. That includes Detroit, where the mayor activated snow emergency routes and city crews were expected to work 12-hour shifts salting and plowing major roads.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, where up to 7 inches of snow and sleet was forecast but little ice, emergency management director Joe Kralicek said the event is not expected to cause large-scale power outages based on an ice index used by the National Weather Service.

We could see some power outages, however, its also suggesting that they be limited in scope and nature and very short term in duration, Kralicek said.

Becky Gligo, director of the nonprofit Housing Solutions in Tulsa said teams are working to move homeless people into shelters ahead of overnight lows that are expected to drop into single digits by Friday night.

 Associated Press
Commodity prices to increase between eight and 12 percent from February if the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) implements the amended Value Added Tax (VAT) rate, Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has predicted.



Mr. Samson Awingobit Asaki, IEAG Executive Secretary stated that Ghanaians are going to experience some increases in prices of commodities if GRA implements the new VAT which is moving the business community from three percent flat rate plus the one percent COVID-19 levy to a whooping percentage of 19.2 percent.



Mr. Asaki in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema explained that there was the need for the GRA and other relevant state institutions to educate the public on the amended tax component to prepare them for the implications of its implementation.



He said even though standard VAT should not be more than 12 per cent, per the amendment, Ghanas own was increasing to 19.2 per cent for businesses whose capital was from GHC500, 000.00.



According to him, the amendment would affect goods that had already been cleared in 2021 and yet to be sold, adding that the business operators and retailers would have no option other than to pass on the difference to consumers therefore the need for the GRA to sensitize the public.



Mr. Asaki said the amendment which was gazetted on December 31, 2021 was expected to be implemented in February, indicating that the time frame was short and consumers would be in shock when prices increased without any proper education.





Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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There was a near clash between the police and traders at Circle in Accra on Tuesday, February 1, during the enforcement of sanitation by-laws under Governments "Operation Clean Your Frontage.

Traders at "Maame Dokuno - VVIP" enclave protested their eviction by the "Operation Clean Your Frontage," campaign led by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, bringing the exercise to a halt momentarily.



A bulldozer, deployed to demolish some illegal structures had its windscreen smashed, compelling the driver to retreat.



The traders, mainly young males, looking visibly agitated, blocked the entrance to the area with wooden kiosks and anything they could lay their hands on to prevent access.



They chanted war songs and hooted at the police and other members of the campaign team, with some heard saying: "We have families just like you; we cannot all work in offices."



The Police, fired a warning shot to disperse the protesting youth, but they charged on, making the Police look on and waited for the next line of action.



The Government last year launched the "Operation Clean Your Frontage" in Accra towards making the national capital the cleanest city in Africa.



Over 3,500 people have been deployed to implement sanitation by-laws under the initiative.



The policy by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council seeks to, among other objectives, make it obligatory for all individuals and corporate entities to be responsible for the cleaning and greening of their immediate surroundings.



The necessary by-laws have been passed and gazetted by the 29 Assemblies in the Region to enable the lawful implementation of the initiative.



All Assemblies in the Region are undertaking the exercise. At 0600 hours, participants of the campaign converged at the Independence Square to be deployed in busses to the various districts.









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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Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources has given the assurance that the Government is committed to taking action against anyone or institution found culpable in the Appiatse explosion.



He stressed that the government wouldn't spare anyone who is deemed to have shirked his or her responsibility in the incident.

Mr Jinapor gave the assurance in Accra on Tuesday when a Ministerial Committee set up him to independently investigate the Appiatse explosion presented its report to him.



According to the Minister, President Akufo-Addo had taken a keen interest in the issue and will crack the whip on anyone who breached the regulations leading to the accident that claimed 14 lives and injured more than 170 persons in the January 20 disaster.



He also promised that the recommendations and findings of the committee would be implemented to the letter to forestall future occurrences.

I want to assure the country that the President is fully committed to ensuring that whoever is found culpable and whoever is found to have breached any rule will be made to face the full rigours of the law.



"Whatever lessons we have to learn, we will do so and do that dispassionately," he added.



He said that the work and report of the committee is exclusive of and without prejudice' to ongoing investigations by the Ghana Police Service and other state agencies.



Mr Abu Jinapor stated that the report of the committee would serve as a guide to the government on the measures that ought to be taken to avert such situations and improve safety in the mining sector.



The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Benjamin Aryee commended members of the committee for their sacrifice and thanked the Minister for the confidence reposed in them to execute the task.



I am convinced beyond equivocation that the comprehensive, dispassionate and objective work done by the committee will be put to action by the government, he said.



The three-Member committee Chaired by Mr. Benjamin Aryee also included; Mr. Peter Awuah and Mr. Cletus Alengah.





Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Former VC for University of Ghana Legon has been inducted into Office a the 3rd President of Presbyterian University College, Ghana, (PUCG)

at a special ceremony organised by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the PUCG Council at the Ramseyer Chapel of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), at Kwahu Abetifi.



Addressing the gathering after his investiture, Prof. Oduro Owusu said he has taken over the mantle of leadership of the Great university, He will do so with humility and the firmest conviction that leadership is a great call to serve humanity.



According to the President, this would need the collective efforts of the entire leadership, backed by the commitment and hard work of all academic and non-academic staff as well as students to couch an enviable reputation for the University as a beacon of discipline, excellence, and moral uprightness.



Prof. Oduro Owusu expressed gratitude to all past and present faculty and staff of the University for their relentless efforts and commitment to the success of the mission and vision of the University.



He trust that he can count on the strong commitment of all towards the full attainment of the Universitys mission, he said.



The New President disclosed that since assuming office, he has visited the Omanhene, Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II and interacted with almost all the Chiefs in the Kwahu State, for introduction and to engage in strategic consultations.



He noted that the interactions with the traditional leaders exposed him to a valuable learning curve after ample diagnosis of the problems bedevilling the University.



He said the Presbyterian Church of Ghana is celebrated not only as a religious organisation but as a distinguished pioneer in the introduction of quality education in Ghana.



It is in that light that the Presbyterian University College, Ghana was established and dedicated in 2003 to design and implement academic programmes within the context of Christian ethics that produce holistic human development, research and outreach for the global population (In our case as Presbyterians, the Head, the Heart, and the Hands).



He therefore appealed to Nananom and all Opinion Leaders who have in one way or the other been offended by the University, to forgive us and come on board once again.



He also implored all their stakeholders and especially staff who in the past 2 years have left for whatever reasons to consider re-joining the University in whatever form to rebuild a stronger and more reputable university that will serve humanity in all terms.



Prof. Oduro Owusu said his leadership philosophy is based on the biblical concept that all humans are created by the same God in His own image and therefore, consider his good self as only Primus inter pares, i.e., first among equals. To this end, he expect them to show absolute respect to one another in our various lines of duty, he reiterated.



According to the President, Respect, Truthfulness, Humility, Integrity and Resource Mobilization are the keywords going to shape the future direction of the institution; and expect this to run through the entire staff and student body of the university.



He posited that as a Presbyterian institution, the expectation is that the University provides the needed missing puzzle in the national developmental language, i.e., discipline and morally upright leadership, to ensure that we find our rightful place as a nation in world development and economic order, he underscored noting that students of the University will have to stand out in terms of moral and ethical behaviours reminding them of its motto: Discipline in leadership!



Prof. Oduro Owusu said that Innovation and Excellence in teaching and research are key parameters for recognition and attainment of worldwide respect of an academic institution.



He stated that these areas would be strongly encouraged, specially recognized and rewarded in all segments of the University to motivate commitment, passion and dynamism in the staff towards the development of a respectable research and training institution.



He said each Campus in the University would be tasked to identify specific areas of achievement to enable them leverage on them for excellence stimulation.



Under my leadership, the pursuit of excellence and innovation would particularly be encouraged for their relevance to the development of the nation  directly or through the training of high calibre morally upright result-oriented graduates  and partnering with other research and development institutions/agents worldwide to make recognized outstanding contributions to the global community, he stated.



Prof. Oduro Owusu disclosed that he will lead a strategic team of achievers from different segments of the University to plan, raise resources, implement concrete actions, and evaluate their contributions to the advancement of the University as a top-notch Academic, Research and Development-oriented institution.



As President of the Presbyterian University College, Ghana, I commit myself to fairness, firmness and remain highly dedicated to the promotion of high academic and moral standards through judicious application of the statutes and other relevant regulations/policies, while providing a conducive environment for excellent teaching, learning, research, and service delivery, Prof. Oduro Owusu pledged.



He said the major focus will be on how to promote the adoption of appropriate innovations through basic and demand-driven research, as well as effective student enrolment and other outreach programmes. I will provide strategic leadership to ensure that the Presbyterian University remains financially stable and make a mark on world Universities rankings in all possible ranking categories.



The Moderator for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante called on the new president to live up to expectations and deliver beyond doubts.

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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Medical Items And Ppe Including 2,000 Pieces of KN95 face masks, 2,200 pieces of disposable hand gloves, 2,300 pieces of disposable surgical nose masks,29 pieces of thermometer guns, 2,080 pieces of disposable bedsheets,2,100 pieces of coveralls, 3,200 pieces of cloth nose masks,155 gallons of liquid soap,140 gallons of hand sanitizers and 408 pieces of tissue rolls have been presented to five (5) medical facilities providing care to victims and displaced persons of the Apiate explosion disaster.



The items were delivered by a 3- member team from the COVID-19 National Trust Fund Secretariat at Bogoso the capital of the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality on Thursday, January 27, 2022.



Presenting the items, the Spokesperson for the Trust Fund Kwame Bempah Osei-Hweree expressed the sympathies of the Board of Trustees and Staff of the Trust Fund to the families of those who lost their lives in the explosion as well as those who were injured and were receiving treatment at the beneficiary medical facilities.



He stated that the disaster had occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic so it was important to provide the needed items that would enable the survivors to protect themselves and their relatives from contracting the Corona Virus, as well as supporting the frontline workers to protect themselves whilst they continued to care for the sick and the injured.



The items were received by the Prestea Huni Valley Municipal Director of Health Services, Mr. Joseph Sampson, who expressed his appreciation to the COVID-19 National Trust Fund for the timely intervention. He indicated that the items would go a long way to help protect the displaced victims and create the awareness that the COVID-19 pandemic was still not over.



He called on the Trust Fund to still come to support the displaced victims with more of such items now that they had been settled at a permeant camp at Bogoso until the national efforts of reconstructing the devastated Apiate town were completed.



The beneficiary medical facilities are the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital, Bogoso Health Centre, Wassa Akropng Government Hospital, Inner City Hospital at Bogoso and Apinto Hospital, a private medical facility at Tarkwa.



The Director of Public Health of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe; the Western Regional Director of Public Health, Dr. Gifty Amugi; Municipal Chief Executive of the Prestea Huni Valley Municipal Assembly, Hon. Dr. Isaac Dasmani and Mr. Francis Abeiku Yankah, the Municipal Director of NADMO, accompanied the Director of Health Services of the Municipality to receive the items.





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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Currently, one of the controversial policies by the Akufo-Addo government that is being fought at all levels especially with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a section of the Ghanaian populace kicking against its implementation is the electronic tax, popularly called the e-levy.



The e-levy, which was first announced by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, during his presentation of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy at Parliament, has been met with strong opposition as the citizens are not ready for the policy amidst fears it will aggravate their hardships.



However, the government is bent on passing the E-levy Bill to ensure this electronic tax comes into force as soon as possible.



The government believes it is the solution to the infrastructure developmental problems confronting the nation, thus the revenue generated through this avenue will help the government to revamp the economy.



Although the government is certain about the benefits of the e-levy, seasoned journalist, Kwesi Pratt has joined the many Ghanaians speaking against its relevance.



Speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' on Tuesday, he noted that recent surveys conducted prove that more than 98% of Ghanaians do not support the e-levy, so wonders why the government still wants to implement it.



Also alluding to some statements shared by the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin in which he quoted him as saying that Ghanaians have legitimate concerns over the e-levy, Kwesi Pratt was stunned by the adamant posture of the government to implement the policy.



He admonished the government to heed the legitimate concerns of Ghanaians.



He also disclosed another survey which tells Ghana has lost 8 billion dollars due to the undervaluation of the country's gold exports and additional 2 billion dollars regarding the gold exports which cannot be accounted for, hence asking why the government is not focusing on this area to recoup adequate revenues to develop the country.



Mr. Pratt further wondered how the e-levy has all of a sudden become the foremost panacea to Ghana's economic problems saying, "now, our leaders are overdoing this. They say without the e-levy, farmers won't get fertilizer. They claim without the e-levy, government workers cannot be paid. There will be no roads if the e-levy isn't implemented. They claim without the e-levy, there will be no water accessibility . . . without the e-levy, health delivery will reduce. I mean how?...So, now the e-levy has become the answer to every problem''.



Expressing shock at how this electronic tax has now turned into somehow the savior for Ghanaians, Mr. Pratt exclaimed; ''If you have headache, e-levy! If you have leg pains, e-levy!! Stomach pains, e-levy!!! Why?...Now, e-levy has turned into 'akobalm'. Why?''







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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Chief Executive Officer of the State Transport Corporation (STC), Nana Akomea, has called the ECOWAS to set up a West Africa force against Islamic insurgence on the African continent.



Nana Akomea, speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', was worried about the anarchy that goes on in some African countries like Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire among others.



Burkina Faso, on Monday, experienced a coup d'etat when the countrys army led by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba ousted the President, Roch Kabore and dissolved the government and the national assembly as well as closed the borders.



The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in the aftermath of a military coup, has suspended Burkina Faso making it the third member nation to be punished for a military takeover in only 18 months.



To Nana Akomea, in order to end the insurgence, there is the need for ECOWAS to fight back, so suggested it established a military unit to deal with this problem.



" . . maybe this is the good time to set up a West African High Command which will be like a standing Army for West Africa," he told host Nana Yaw Kesseh.







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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Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged all Ghanaians to emulate the peaceful nature of the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills.



Mr Mahama said Prof Mills was truthful and had integrity. He was also a moral political colossus.



These attributes he said are worth emulating.



Mr Mahama said this during the launch of the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage at the Cedi Conference Centre at the University of Ghana on February 1 2022, under the theme: The man John Evans Atta Mills  10 years on.



I call on each one of us Ghanaians to uphold truth and integrity and the peaceful nature of Prof Mills. Let us stay united even in the face of adversity, let us uphold tolerance yet we must endeavour to proceed in unity and in truth, we must also strive to defend the cause of freedom and we must fervently the public course to protect our democracy



Prof Mills was such a moral political colossus and there can e no limit on the vehicles and instruments that eulogises his memory and history in the hearts and minds of Ghanaians.



Mr Mahama further said stated the rationale behind the Heritage saying it seeks to inspire humanity for a better society,



The Heritage seeks to inspire humanity for a better society, a virtue that President Atta Mils lived and died for. Prof Atta Mils simply was a good man. It therefore gladdens the hearts of many millions of people who loved him that this decision was taken to launch the Atta Mills heritage here on campus of our Alma Mata, University of Ghana.



This is because it was right here this university grounds, the hail of knowledge and the nations hope and glory where we are taught to proceed on integrity and truth which prof Mills stood for.



Mr Mahama further noted the Professor Mills grew the economy to an unpresented level.

Source: 3news.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 Executive Director of the Atta Mills Institute, Mr. Koku Anyidoho, has accused former President John Dramani Mahama of not showing any commitment and concern toward the building of Asomdwee Park, the burial ground of the late Prof John Evans Atta Mills.



Mr. Anyidoho said Mr. Mahama refused to build the park to preserve the heritage and memory of their late boss even though the 2020 flag bearer of the NDC, in the view of the former Jubilee House Communication Director, was the first beneficiary of Prof Mills death.



Mr. Anyidoho explained that although Mr. Mahama woke up one morning as Vice-President and went to bed the same day as President, following his swearing-in after Prof Mills passed away in 2012, he abandoned the Asomdwee Park.



The former Deputy General Secretary of the NDC in charge of Operations said this in relation to the launch of Atta Mills Memorial Heritage today, Tuesday, 1 February 2022 by some appointees of Mr. Mahama.



He told Accra100.5FMs morning show host Kwame Obeng Sarkodie in an interview that Mr. Mahama left the Asomdwee Park to rot even though there was a plan by the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) to develop the place into a befitting memorial park in remembrance of Ghanas only president who died in office.



Mr. Anyidoho said Mr. Mahama was in office for four-and-a-half years as president but he was never bothered about the Asomdwee Park, which, according to him, was subsequently taken over by illicit sex workers and drug peddlers.





Source: class fm









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The hearing of an application seeking to restrain James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself as the Member of Parliament for Assin North has been adjourned indefinitely by the Supreme Court.



Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of Assin Breku, the plaintiff, had obtained judgement from a Cape Coast High Court nullifying Quaysons election because of his alleged Canadian citizenship.



Mr Nimfah has, therefore, gone before the Apex Court of the land restraining Quayson as MP for Assin North, and seeking the interpretation of Article 94 (2) (a) of the Constitution, which prevents a person from holding allegiance to another country.



The hearing of the Supreme Court was, however, adjourned sine die (indefinitely) because processes of the court had not been served on Mr Quayson.



The seven-member panel presided over by Justice Jones Victor Dotse, ordered the Plaintiff to assist the Court to serve the first defendant (Mr Quayson).



Other defendants are the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Attorney General (AG).



When the court asked the Registrar if all parties had been served, the Registrar indicated that all parties had been served except Mr Quayson.



The Court Registrar said a Court Bailiff, one Haruna Nelson, first attempted serving the court processes on the Clerk of Parliament.



The Clerk of Parliament informed us that our service was wrong and that the processes should go through the Speaker of Parliament.

On January 31, this year, the Bailiff went to serve the Speaker of Parliament and the Speakers Secretary said the Speaker of Parliament was out of the country and, therefore, she could not receive the processes, the Registrar told the court.



Mr Frank Davies, counsel for the plaintiff told the court that your direction would help us effect the services of the Court processes.



Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General, who was in court with his deputies, told the Apex Court that it was wrong to have attempted service through the Parliament because the status of the person we are dealing with has been determined by a superior court.



The processes should have been served through personal service instead of through Parliament.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Shei Zakaria, a former Deputy Secretary of the Yendi branch of the New Patriotic Party, has implored the Disciplinary Committee of the party to throw out a petition filed against the Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, Hajia Abibata Shani Mahama Zakaria, by some three members of the party.



Shei Zakaria in a statement argued that the petition is not only flawed but also does not meet the conditions precedent for it to be considered by the party.



He elucidated in the statement that, in their attempt to soil the hard-earned reputation of the MASLOC boss, the petitioners breached the constitution of the party.



I write to draw your attention to a widely circulated document purported to be emanating from three elements that are known loyalist of the Member of Parliament for Yendi, Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama which sorts to soil the hard earned reputation of the CEO of MASLOC, Hajia Abibata Shani Mahama Zakariah.



The said elements have flagrantly and brazenly violated the constitution of the party by misapplying the provisions and articles in the constitution in their desperate attempt to get Hajia Abibatas image dented.



It is imperative to note that those antics, gimmicks, shenanigans and mudslinging have the tendencies of causing intra-political bifurcation in our party and the ramifications will be teary for the masterminds, he stated.



While defending the constitutionality of the actions by the MASLOC boss, Shei Zakaria exhorted the minds of the petitioners to similar activities carried out by the Member of Parliament for Yendi, Farouk Mahama in the aftermath of the 2016 elections.



These three individuals have jointly written a petition and they have made reference to the fact that the CEO of MASLOC has been having media engagements, organizing meetings and visiting communities and all this are geared towards promoting her parliamentary ambition. Thus, the petitioners have seen this to be a violation of the constitution of the party since nominations are not yet opened.



In 2017, immediately after the investiture of the president, the self-shadow scared Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama then Deputy Procurement Director at Cocoa board blatantly defied and disregarded the guiding spirit of the party and organized those same meeting, parties, media engagements and many others all calculated to unseat the then Member of Parliament, Hon. Alhaji Mohammed Habib Tijani. What has changed? Or is your self-shadow scared MP an angel? How absurd!, he stated.



He went on to defend the loyalty and commitment of Hajia Abibata to the party and explained the reason behind some of the activities undertaken by her.



He stated that the media activities undertaken by Hajia Abibata were to bring to light the life-changing and impactful initiatives by MASLOC to improve the lots of Ghanaians.



It however, should be borne in mind that Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama is an integral member of the government and holds a coveted position and therefore cannot be stopped by any individual from discharging her official duties even if it affects your selfish interest.



As a respectable and proud daughter of Dagbon, born and bred in Yendi, the only northern female appointee of the government. She thought it wise to pay homage to opinion leaders in the constituency and also to inform them of the confidence the President, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo has reposed in her by making her the substantive CEO of MASLOC. She did not meet any polling station executive or delegate.



Again, she had engagements with TV and Radio stations basically to educate the masses on how her outfit (MASLOC office) operates and nothing more, he said.

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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Former General Secretary of the Convention People's Party (CPP), James Kwabena Bomfeh, popularly called Kabila, has vehemently descended on government officials claiming without the e-levy, it will be difficult for the Akufo-Addo government to manage Ghana's economy.



Thomas Kusi Boafo, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Sector Reforms Secretariat, has urged Ghanaians to accept the contentious e-levy or risk the opportunity to keep enjoying the government's free SHS policy and also have infrastructure developments.



Speaking on Kessben FMs Amansan Ntie, Mr. Kusi-Boafo strongly held that if the e-levy is not implemented, there will be no road for you, no schools, no tier two payment for workers''.



So, Ghanaians must make a choice: we dont want free education, we dont want to employ our children, we dont want to raise wages and salaries, and Kusi Boafo has triggered the sacking of workers . . . I will, and there will be no e-levy for anyone.



Ghanaians want the government to do all of these things, and as a listening government, it is incumbent on the government to assist, particularly Appiatse people, so that God will bless us. This is the time for us to show that we are redeeming the country, he is quoted as saying.



But Kabila is ashamed of these statements made by Mr. Kusi Boafo and other members of the ruling New Patriotic Party who are trying to force the e-levy down the throats of Ghanaians.



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Kabila poured out his rage saying, "that we don't pay e-levy, the government cannot do its work. Are you part of Akufo-Addo administration? From 2020 during COVID, this President managed this country and Ghana became an example of the best managed countries around the globe. In fact, when you look at the WHO list, Ghana was three. When you take out China and Sweden or Norway, Ghana was next. Akufo-Addo did not use e-levy to do that. So, how can you tell me without e-levy, you cannot govern".



He added; ''2020 was the first time that Ghana held elections without financial assistance from any other government. The election 2020 was 100% funded by Ghana government. There was no e-levy. Government did that. I'm telling you that if you take the line that without the e-levy, you cannot manage the economy or handle your spending and so forth, it is a wrong communication.''





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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Managing Editor of The National Forum newspaper, James Kwabena Bomfeh, has asked the Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin to resign as Speaker of Parliament.



Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin is currently in Dubai on sick leave.



In a letter dated 6th January 2022 and directed to the Presidency, the Speaker noted his travel to the United Arab Emirates on 7th January 2022 is for a medical review.



A letter issued and signed on behalf of the Clerk of Parliament to the Head of Mission of Ghana Embassy in UAE stated; I have been directed by the Clerk to Parliament to inform you about the arrival of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, in Dubai to undergo a medical review.



Reacting to the Speaker's travels abroad, Mr Bomfeh, a former acting CPP General Secretary, opined that the Speaker is delaying Parliamentary proceedings particularly regarding the E-levy Bill which is pending approval with his medical condition that demands that he travels for treatment.



"How can we be so helpless as a country just because of one man?'', he fumed.



Kabila, as he is affectionately called, stressed the Speaker's travels are becoming an impediment to the operations of the Legislative House and so implored Mr. Bagbin to step down.



"If we need to save the Speaker, let save the Speaker by asking him to resign quietly so that somebody who is healthy and stronger can occupy the space. After all, when he resigns today, he's entitled to all the things that he is entitled to till he dies.



''He swore that he won't allow anything to become an impediment in the function and functioning of Parliament. Mr. Speaker, by your own word [on your honour] these your travels on health grounds are becoming an impediment to functioning of that second arm of government, the Legislature. With the greatest respect, in the name of your own words and on your honour, I'm pleading with you 'save Speaker Bagbin' by resigning and let's get a new Speaker," he said on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' Wednesday morning.







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Some residents of Walewale in the North East Region have called on the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, to intervene and stop the passage of the E levy Bill.



According to them they are able to safeguard their business capital on the mobile money platform rather than holding cash, hence are spared from robbery attacks.



The residents therefore noted that the levys passage will have adverse implications, including the collapse of their businesses.



Speaking to JoyNews, a fridge technician, Hamidu Abakar said implementing the levy will put pressure on his little income.



As for the E-levy, we dont want it today; we dont want it tomorrow. So we want the Vice President, [Mr Bawumia] to come out and tell the Majority to stop pushing for it, he stated.



One Civil Servant, Mohammed Rabiw, believed that the tax policy is regressive and should be aborted immediately.



It [E-levy] is not the solution to Ghanas problems. Are they [government] telling us that they will not add extra taxes next year if they pass this levy? I think they are just finding the easiest way out.



Our senior brother, Dr Bawumia, has even said that it is not good to tax MoMo, so are we saying that all that he was telling us was a lie? he quizzed.



Adding his voice, a former Northern Region Minister, Abubakari Abdallah, sent what he described as an important word to Dr Bawumia.



According to him, the Walewale constituency is a prime location for armed robbers, especially on market days; thus, traders can secure their business capital by saving it on mobile money.



In view of that, imposing the 1.75% tax will only intensify the hardships of these traders.



When market women travel to and from the big markets in the region, they are rampantly attacked by robbers where they lose their capital. The only haven for these women is to elude the robbers by saving on their momo wallets.



So if the policy is good for everyone in Ghana, I would want to remind my big brother that tax is not good for his people in the Walewale area, so he should reconsider, he intimated.



He further noted that the desperate attempt to impose the tax policy on the citizenry exposes governments incompetence.



Nobody needs to tell you that this government is desperate. They have mismanaged the economy, and their performance so far is so abysmal and appalling that they have decided to look everywhere and anywhere for money, he said.

Source: myjoyonline









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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President Nana Akufo-Addo has appointed a new Board of Directors for the Tema Oil Refinery Company Limited (TOR).



The seven-member board includes the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwesimintsim Constituency, Dr. Prince Hamid Armah, and former National Nasara Coordinator of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kamal Deen Abdulai.



Others on the appointment letter dated January 31, and signed by Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asare are Albert Ahenkan, an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Ghana Business School, Nana Akua Bakoma Prempeh and Irene Osei Bonsu.



The President retained two former board member; Edith Sapara-Grant and Leon Kendon Appenteng in a letter to the Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.



They were among persons appointed as members of the Board of Directors of TOR in 2017.



Meanwhile, the Office of the President has urged the Energy Ministry to take the necessary steps to have the said appointments implemented in accordance with the Companys Act (Act 992) and the regulations of the Company.











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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" " Demonstrators demand statehood outside a San Juan hotel where then-VP Dick Cheney was speaking in 2004. In 2012, a referendum on the island showed statehood received the most votes for the first time ever. Getty Images

In 2012, for the first time since Puerto Rico became a commonwealth in 1952, a majority of Puerto Ricans voted against the current relationship with the U.S. It was a close contest, with 54 percent saying "no." But when asked what political status they preferred, "statehood" received the most votes by a large margin [source: Fabian], though a quarter of voters of the first question left that second question blank. In 2017, the question was asked again in a low turnout contest. More than 500,000 people favored statehood in that referendum, followed by nearly 7,800 votes for independence/free association and more than 6,800 votes for the current status.

A non-binding referendum on the subject was once again held in November 2020, with a yes/no choice to the question "Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted into the Union as a state?" Fifty-two percent voted "yes" while 47 percent voted "no." But even so, it's not enough to make the commonwealth a state.

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Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth that is "associated" with the U.S. Thanks to a 1917 law, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but since Puerto Rico isn't a state, the island's inhabitants cannot vote in presidential elections. In an odd twist, they can vote in presidential primaries, because primaries are organized by the Democratic and Republican national committees, not the federal government [source: Helgesen].

According to Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the ability to authorize the creation of a new state. Specifically, Section 3 prohibits the creation of new states from the territory of others without their consent, or the combining of two or more states without congressional approval [source: Monk].

In practice, a majority of the 50 states began as U.S. territories. Either the territories petitioned Congress for permission to draft a state constitution and elect representatives, or they followed the more aggressive "Tennessee Plan." Tennessee, the very first U.S. territory, was rejected in its first bid for statehood, but decided to draft a state constitution anyway, and send two senators and a representative to Congress [source: Lehleitner]. Although Congress refused to seat the men, they successfully lobbied for statehood. Several other states followed the Tennessee model, including Alaska.

Official admission to the Union requires Congress to draft  and the president to sign  a bill called an "enabling act." For Puerto Rico to become a state, it would need to convince Congress and the president that statehood is not only in the best interest of the Puerto Rican people, but in the best interest of the United States as a whole. The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives would need to approve the statehood admission by a simple majority vote, though some members of Congress want to raise that threshold to two-thirds majority [source: Longely, Rifkin].

For some perspective, let's look at where the other 50 states came from, and how the United States grew from 13 coastal colonies to the world's third-largest country.
" " An interior view of the courtroom of the U.S. Supreme Court as seen in August 2003 before a five-year modernization project was completed in 2008. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. As the judicial branch of the U.S. government, it serves to balance the powers of the legislative and executive branches and stands as the final word in any given legal dispute. Once the Supreme Court makes a decision, no other court can review or overturn that decision.

Today, the authority of the Supreme Court is very clear. Roughly 7,000 to 8,000 cases are submitted to the court every year, but it only has time to take on about 80 of them [source: Supremecourt.gov]. Usually, the Supreme Court only accepts cases that:

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involve some crucial question related to the U.S. Constitution

have been appealed from a lower federal court

involve treason , ambassadors or disputes with other countries

The Supreme Court did not always have this power, however. The Constitution is very vague about the authority of the court, saying only that its "Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution." The specifics, such as where and when the court would meet, how many justices there would be and exactly what is covered under "cases arising under this Constitution" were left to Congress to decide later. It wasn't until Justice John Marshall's 1803 decision in Marbury v. Madison that the Supreme Court's authority to judge matters of constitutionality was determined.

When the Supreme Court renders a decision (by a simple majority, or at least five of the nine justices), all other courts in the country follow the precedent set by that decision. So when a case comes before the court, the ruling affects not only the specific case and law in question, but also similar laws and cases nationwide.

For example, if the Supreme Court decides that a law in Maine banning signs on front lawns with anti-war messages is unconstitutional, any state or municipality with the same kind of law would be unable to prosecute anyone for breaking it. Judges all the way from county courts to state supreme courts would look to the Supreme Court's decision and throw out the case because it was based on an unconstitutional law.

Supreme Court justices have a great deal of power for another reason, too: They are appointed for life. That means that they never have to face re-election, and they don't have to make sure that their decisions please the president who appointed them. The average justice serves for 14 years and retires at age 71 [source: Supremecourt.gov].

When a justice retires, he or she usually tries to time it with the court's summer recess so a replacement can be found before the next session. If a replacement hasn't been found in time, the court can operate with however many justices are present. If the court operates with an even number of justices, and a decision results in a tie, the lower court decision in the case is "passively upheld." That is, it is upheld for that particular case, but the Supreme Court doesn't issue an opinion or set any kind of legal precedent. Thus, a similar case could come before the Supreme Court in the future.

Next, we'll find out how Supreme Court justices are nominated and approved.
Mask-wearing activists accused EU leaders of killing their green ambitions by according both gas and nuclear energy a sustainable finance label.

The European Commission on Wednesday defied angry dissent from EU governments and protests from green campaigners to give a sustainable finance label to investments in both gas and nuclear power.

Austria warned it will go to court to try to halt the measure, while Germanywhich backed the inclusion of gascalled extending the labelling to nuclear "unacceptable".

Critics of nuclear energy point to the threat posed by accidents and nuclear waste, while opponents of gas want to discourage investment in a fossil fuel technology they say only adds to the climate change crisis.

But the EU executive, under pressure from nuclear-powered France and gas-reliant Germany, argues that both have a role to play as cleaner power sources during the transition to a net-zero carbon future.

The decision "may be imperfect, but it is a real solution", EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness said.

While the EU is aiming for renewable energy to secure its low-carbon ambitions, she stressed that "we do not have the capacity for that yetbut we still need to act urgently with all the means at our disposal".

The commission's announcement on Wednesday makes the labelling a done deal, unless a supermajority of EU countries or a majority in the European Parliament blocks it. Insiders said that was unlikely.

The controversy around the issue reflected the fact that EU countries each have very different energy mixes, and while they agree on goals for combatting climate change, they do not want to face disproportionate pain to achieve them.

'A major mistake'

EU heavyweights Germany and France each rallied other member states around their respective backing of gas and nuclear.

But Germanywhich relies on Russia for most of its imported gaswas scathing on nuclear being included in the labelling exercise, which Brussels calls its "taxonomy".

"Germany is clearly and unequivocally against the inclusion of nuclear power in the taxonomy," German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said.

"Nuclear power is anything but sustainable," she said, calling its inclusion "a major mistake that will... endanger our climate targets".

EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness defended the decision.

Austrian Environment Minister Leonore Gewesslerwhose Alpine country produces most of its energy from hydropowerwas also critical, but of both nuclear and gas.

"The decision is wrong because it endangers the future... We are giving our children a backpack full of problems... It's irresponsible," she said.

Before the announcement, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden jointly signed a letter firmly opposing gas projects as "largely incompatible" with the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

'Attempted robbery'

In a sign of the hurdles faced by the commission in pushing through the labelling text, agreement among the commissioners drawn from the EU's 27 member states was not unanimous.

A vote had to be held before the announcement and three commissioners voted against, one EU official said on condition of anonymity.

Green activists, too, expressed outrage.

Greenpeace sustainable finance campaigner Ariadna Rodrigo said she wanted "to report an attempted robbery, please".

"Someone is trying to take billions of euro away from renewables and sink them into technologies that either do nothing to fight the climate crisis, like nuclear, or which actively make the problem worse, like fossil gas," she said.

But McGuinness defended the decision, and argued that the plan imposes safeguards on how nuclear and gas projects are conducted under sustainable finance rules.

The fight over the European Union's classification of power sources is the latest dust-up in discussions between the member states on how to achieve a net zero-carbon economy by 2050.

Brussels had high hopes that the EU would help set a global standard on determining sustainable projects and direct big flows of Wall Street money towards saving the planet.

Berlin and Paris were adamant that their chosen energy industries are fit to receive the Green label and the commissionthe EU executivewas handed the politically poisonous task of reconciling the positions.

To win the label, gas and nuclear projects are subject to constraints: projects must be approved by 2030 and 2045 respectively, as well as meeting a long list of sector-specific criteria.

Explore further EU presses on with green label for gas, nuclear

 2022 AFP
This is one of the ExoAnalytic Solutions observing facilities. The company has over 30 observatories and more than 300 telescopes worldwide. Credit: ExoAnalytic Solutions

A Chinese satellite pulled a defunct navigation satellite out of the way of other satellites on January 22. The satellite, called SJ-21, appeared to operate as a space tug when it grappled onto the navigation satellite from the Chinese CompassG2 network. The operation details didn't come from Chinese authorities but from a report by ExoAnalytic Solutions, a commercial space monitoring company.

Chinese authorities are tight-lipped about the operation, but what can observations tell us about Chinese capabilities?

Earth's geosynchronous orbit is crowded, so on the face of it, having one less piece of space debris is a good thing for all satellite operators. But people can get suspicious when China does something like this. Is suspicion warranted?

The details of the operation are in a report from ExoAnalytic Solutions that was presented in a webinar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Secure World Foundation (SWF.) Brien Flewelling from ExoAnalytic presented the report.

ExoAnalytic Solutions owns and operates more than 30 observatories and more than 300 telescopes worldwide. The company says they monitor the full 360 degrees of the GEO belt and the graveyard region. Their Global Telescope Network is the world's largest network of optical telescopes. According to the company's website, they provide "ubiquitous, automated, real-time space domain awareness for space superiority."

Here's what happened, according to ExoAnalytic Solutions.

On January 22, SJ21 went absent from its orbital slot for several hours. Before that, it performed close proximity operations with the defunct CompassG2 satellite, moving closer and closer. SJ21 docked with the dead satellite, but ExoAnalytics didn't observe the actual docking. The docking took place in daylight when the company's telescopes couldn't image the satellite. ExoAnalytics reacquired SJ21 after it pulled the inoperative satellite out of geosynchronous orbit.

A video from ExoAnalytic Solutions explains their observations.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) operates SJ-21 (Shijian-21), but they haven't been very open about the satellite's operations and capabilities. They launched the satellite on October 24, and China's Xinhua news agency said, "The satellite will be mainly used to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies."

Space debris is a growing problem, so any efforts to mitigate it are welcome. But China is tight-lipped about it. Compare their lack of details with other countries' space debris mitigation efforts.

The ESA has a comprehensive web presence detailing its ongoing efforts to deal with space debris. Individual articles describe using drag sails to deorbit dead satellites, graphics explain the problem, and interviews with experts flesh out the whole issue. NASA is similar. The Canadian Space Agency also practices openness, especially when their a piece of space debris struck the Canadarm2 robotic arm in April 2021.

The Canadarm2, the Canadian-made robotic arm used on the International Space Station, suffered limited damage after it was hit by space debris in 2021. Credit: NASA/Canadian Space Agency

The United Nations' Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines apply to all UN member states, including China. It can be challenging for citizens of western democracies to understand why China would be so secretive about something as innocuous as space debris mitigation. But China practices secrecy and obfuscation as a matter of course.

What do SJ-21's operations mean? First of all, this isn't the first time SJ-21 has been in the news. In November, it attracted attention when the U.S. Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron watched as the satellite orbited alongside another object. The 18th SCS said the object was probably a spent apogee kick motor. Typically, a rocket puts a satellite into a transfer orbit, and an apogee kick motor on the satellite itself provides the final thrust to bring the satellite into geostationary orbit.

China never confirmed it.

Other space agencies are concerned that China could use SJ-21 to interfere with operational satellites from other countries. Whether or not that's China's intent, the suspicion won't go away.

The U.S. Air Force's China Aerospace Institute is a think tank that examines China's activities in space. The institute released a report in December 2021 focusing on SJ-21: " one can reasonably argue that SJ-21 is probably going to be China's second On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) practice-series satellite (Shijian) in GEO," the report says."

"One could also reasonably expect SJ-21 to advance work China has already done in lower orbits to practice rendezvous and proximity operations (RPOs) and the use of a robotic arm," the report says. "This time, China might practice using multiple arms, a different type of debris mitigation technology such as that needed for refueling or deorbiting, or a combination of those, based on Chinese academic publications"

But the report also says that "China's activities in OSAM have not been examined in-depth to date."

China is framing SJ-21 as part of their On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) operations. But is there something more to it?

In an article at Breaking Defense, Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, pointed out something unusual in SJ-21's activities. McDowell said that the satellite's orbit "is highly elliptical, ranging from 36,076 km in altitude to 38,886 km."

Satellites are moved into the graveyard orbit when it's easier to boost them into that orbit than to deorbit them. Satellites can stay in the graveyard orbit for millions of years. The graveyard orbit is about 300 km above the geostationary orbit, about 36,000 km. But JS-21 moved its dead passenger into an elliptical orbit that takes it well beyond that.

In order to eliminate collision risk, GEO satellites should be moved out of the geostationary ring at the end of their mission. Their orbit should be raised by about 300 km, according to the ESA, which is considered a safe distance to avoid future interference with active GEO spacecraft. Credit: ESA

"Usually, GEO graveyard raising is done more symmetrically," McDowell explained in the Breaking Defense article.

ExoAnalytic Solutions reported that SJ-21 is now back in a geosynchronous orbit. So was this a harmless debris mitigation maneuver? If it was, why hasn't China said so? Do they like keeping other countries in the dark, just in case? Is something potentially sinister going on? Asking these questions isn't to invite conspiracy theories. This is global politics.

China isn't the only one to develop and employ satellites like this. The Northrop-Grumman company developed their MEV-1 (Mission Extension Vehicle 1) satellite to help mitigate space debris. But the MEV-1 is designed to dock with customers' satellites and re-fuel them to extend their lives. They can't use that capability offensively. Could SJ-21 be a precursor to offensive satellite operations? People are reluctant to say that publicly, but must be wondering behind closed doors.

Northrop-Grumman made a promotional video of their MEV-1 satellite.

This could all be much ado about nothing. Many space agencies are putting more resources into space debris mitigation. It's sensible operationally, scientifically, and economically. Maybe SJ-21 is purely a business venture, and China is keeping their cards close to their chest to protect any hoped-for economic advantage. But NASA, the ESA, and others are far more open about their activities.

Why so tight-lipped, China? Maybe they're just following Sun-Tzu's advice when he said, "Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night "

Explore further China satellite in close encounter with Russian debris: state media
Princeton researchers are leading the genetics work for the Dog Aging Project, which is studying tens of thousands of dogs over the course of their lives to develop a full picture of dog aging. Dogs and humans experience many of the same symptoms of aging and decline, including arthritis, dementia, diabetes and more. This puppy, Koa, pictured in front of Princeton University's Nassau Hall, was trained as a service dog by Camden Olson, a member of the Class of 2018, for her senior thesis. Koa learned to monitor a diabetic's blood sugar and to give sound alerts for out-of-range blood sugar levels. Olson chronicled their journey together on Instagram. Credit: Camden Olson

How old is your dog in human years? And what factors contribute to a long and healthy life for a dog?

For years, it's been generally accepted that "dog years" are roughly human years times seventhat a 1-year-old puppy is like a 7-year-old child, and an 11-year-old elderly dog is like a 77-year-old senior citizen. But it's actually much more complicated, say experts.

Part of the problem is that while humans have clear metrics for healthy aging, little is known about "normal aging" for our four-legged friends. Big dogs tend to age the fastestmaybe 10 times faster than humanswhile little breeds may live to be 20 years old, with "dog years" about five times human years.

The Dog Aging Project, founded in 2018, is by far the most ambitious project tackling the question of canine longevity, enrolling and studying tens of thousands of dogs of all sizes, breeds and backgrounds to develop a thorough understanding of canine aging. Their open-source dataset will give veterinarians and scientists the tools to assess how well a specific dog is aging and will set the stage for further research into healthy agingin both dogs and people.

The researchers detailed their project and its potential implications for both human and veterinary medicine in an article published in the current issue of the journal Nature. One of their most intriguing avenues of inquiry will analyze the DNA of exceptionally long-lived dogs, the "super-centenarians" of the dog world.

"This is a very large, ambitious, wildly interdisciplinary project that has the potential to be a powerful resource for the broader scientific community," said Joshua Akey, a professor in Princeton's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and a member of the Dog Aging Project's research team. "Personally, I find this project exciting because I think it will improve dog, and ultimately, human health."

Akey, a dog lover with a 5-year-old rescue dog named Abby and a 1-year-old purebred lab named Zoey, co-leads the genetics analyses with Elinor Karlsson at the Broad Institute.

"We are sequencing the genomes of 10,000 dogs," Akey said. "This will be one of the largest genetics data sets ever produced for dogs, and it will be a powerful resource not only to understand the role of genetics in aging, but also to answer more fundamental questions about the evolutionary history and domestication of dogs."

Left) The dogs enrolled in the Dog Aging Project, known collectively as the DAP Pack, come from all 50 states. On this map, one dot represents five dogs. (Right) Dogs can be enrolled in the Pack at any age. This chart shows the age distribution of current DAP Pack members, stratified by size. The palest colors are the smallest dogs, under 10 pounds, and the darkest colors are the largest dogs, over 90 pounds. Credit: Dog Aging Project

The Dog Aging Project (DAP) expects to run for at least 10 years. To date, more than 32,000 dogs have joined the "DAP Pack," as the researchers call their canine citizen scientists.

"We are still recruiting dogs of all ages, all breedspurebred or mixed breeds, all sizes, all across the United States," said William Thistlethwaite, a graduate student who works with Akey in the Lewis-Sigler Institute. "Especially puppies and young dogs up to 3 years old."

When a dog joins the Pack, their owners agree to fill out annual surveys and take measurements of their dogs for the duration of the project; some may be asked to collect cheek swabs for DNA sampling. In addition, the DAP team works with veterinarians across the country who assist by submitting fur, fecal, urine and blood samples of select Pack members.

The researchers hope to identify specific biomarkers of canine aging. They anticipate that their findings will translate to human aging, for several reasons: Dogs experience nearly every functional decline and disease of aging that people do; the extent of veterinary care parallels human healthcare in many ways; and our dogs share our lived environments, a major determinant of aging and one that cannot be replicated in any lab setting.

"Given that dogs share the human environment and have a sophisticated health care system but are much shorter-lived than people, they offer a unique opportunity to identify the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors associated with healthy lifespan," said Dr. Daniel Promislow, the principal investigator for the National Institute on Aging grant that funds the project and a professor of biology at the University of Washington (UW) College of Arts and Sciences and of laboratory medicine and pathology at the UW School of Medicine.

In particular, the researchers want to look at 300 oldest dogs in the Pack to see if they can identify the keys to their longevity. "One part of the project that I am super excited about is a 'super-centenarian' study, comparing the DNA of exceptionally long-lived dogs to dogs that live to the average age for their breed," said Akey, the Princeton geneticist. "This is the first study of its kind in dogs (to my knowledge), and I think it's a clever way of trying to find genetic differences that contribute to exceptional longevity."

Within a few months, the team plans to open their enormous datasetfully anonymizedto share with scientists around the world. Researchers from many different fields will have the opportunity to contribute to the study in countless different ways, based on their interests.

"It is an honor to share our work with the scientific community," said Kate Creevy, lead author on the paper and DAP's chief veterinary officer. "The Dog Aging Project is creating a resource with the power to transform veterinary medicine, aging research, and many scientific and non-scientific fields of inquiry."

More information: Daniel Promislow, An open science study of aging in companion dogs, Nature (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04282-9 Journal information: Nature Daniel Promislow, An open science study of aging in companion dogs,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04282-9
This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows tents set up on the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. A large iceberg broke off the deteriorating Thwaites glacier and along with sea ice it is blocking two research ships with dozens of scientists from examining how fast its crucial ice shelf is falling apart. The smaller Dotson ice shelf is about 87 miles (140 kilometers) west of the Thwaites ice shelf. Credit: David Holland via AP

Antarctica's so-called Doomsday Glacier, nicknamed because it is huge and coming apart, is mostly thwarting an international effort to figure out how dangerously vulnerable it is.

A large iceberg broke off the deteriorating Thwaites glacier and, along with sea ice, it is blocking two research ships with dozens of scientists from examining how fast its crucial ice shelf is falling apart.

Scientists from around the world are part of a multi-year $50 million international effort to study the Florida-sized glacier by land, sea and below for the brief time the remote ice is reachable during the Antarctic summer.

Plans to examine the glacier's crucial ice shelf haven't been stopped but are sidetracked a bit, officials said.

This was the last of three international scientific expeditions aimed at the vulnerable ice shelf, said British Antarctic Survey geophysicist Rob Larter, chief scientist of the first research mission.

New York University environmental scientist David Holland, who planned to drill deep through the Thwaites ice shelf to measure the water's warmth below it, is achingly close but not quite there.

Improvising, Holland decamped at the nearby Dotson ice shelf to do his research where no human had been before. He's hoping that along that blinding white ice and its rugged frozen cliffs he can learn about the unseen warm ocean water nibbling away at both Dotson and Thwaites from below. The smaller Dotson ice shelf is about 87 miles (140 kilometers) west of the Thwaites ice shelf.

This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows him on the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. "Nobody can get to Thwaites this year," Holland said Monday. "We tried to cut through it for a week. Couldn't do it. So we're next to it." Credit: David Holland via AP

The ice shelf "is the most important part of Thwaites and it's protecting itself and hiding from us," Holland said in a first video interview from the Dotson ice shelf. He called Dotson's ice shelf "this beautiful white desert-like landscape, brilliantly white actually. And it will all be gone and replaced by the Pacific Ocean in due course."

"Nobody can get to Thwaites this year," Holland told The Associated Press Monday. "We tried to cut through it for a week. Couldn't do it. So we're next to it."

Thwaites is spawning more icebergs as it's falling apart, Holland said. This iceberg used to be the tongue or leading edge of Thwaites until it broke off about 20 years ago, Larter said. It measures about 43 miles by 28 miles (70 kilometers by 44 kilometers), almost the size of Rhode Island, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Much of the problem is that loads of sea ice have gravitated around the huge iceberg. And that's ironicand troublesome for researchersbecause overall Antarctic sea ice is unusually low for this time of year, Larter said.

While parts of Thwaites' edges have fast-spreading cracks like a car windshield, safety mountaineers inspected where researchers set up camp on Dotson, and Holland isn't worried much about danger. As he spoke, a red helicopter landed to evacuate one of his eight-member team the ship because of a sprained ankle, which Holland said isn't too serious.

This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows equipment set up on the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. A large iceberg broke off the deteriorating Thwaites glacier and along with sea ice it is blocking two research ships with dozens of scientists from examining how fast its crucial ice shelf is falling apart. The smaller Dotson ice shelf is about 87 miles (140 kilometers) west of the Thwaites ice shelf. Credit: David Holland via AP

The key to the future of Thwaites is the ice shelf and its tongue. These edges with warm water underneath border the ocean and provide "back support" that holds the rest of the glacier in place, preventing it from falling into the sea, Holland said.

What worries scientists is that leading edge of the huge glacier is breaking apart in many places. Even though total collapse of the glacier could take hundreds or thousands of years, the edge is falling apart much sooner. And if that goes, researchers fear nothing may stop the rest from doing the same.

"I think the ice shelf will be gone in a matter of years to decades," Holland said via Zoom on a computer set up on an outdoor table in the 24-hour sun, where the morning temperature was -4 (-20 Celsius). "But the actual inland ice, that's the really unknown question."

If all of Thwaites collapses, it could raise seas around the globe more than two feet (65 centimeters) but that could take hundreds of years, scientists say.

"Ultimately over time it's going to rewrite the global coastline," Holland said.

This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows members of a research team gathered for dinner on the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. A large iceberg broke off the deteriorating Thwaites glacier and along with sea ice it is blocking two research ships with dozens of scientists from examining how fast its crucial ice shelf is falling apart. The smaller Dotson ice shelf is about 87 miles (140 kilometers) west of the Thwaites ice shelf. Credit: David Holland via AP

While places like Greenlandwhere in 2019 Holland studied the melting Helheim Glacier are melting from warm air above, Thwaites and its neighboring glaciers have it worse because they are melting from the warm water below the ice, which acts faster, Holland said. Part of that is natural weather variations but on top of that climate change is playing a role, he said.

Computer models show that greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels "are tilting the winds in a way that's bringing more warm water south," Holland said.

That warm underground ocean water is what Holland came to study with plans to drill hundreds of feet down and put sensors below the ice in the pools of warm water. Warm is relativeit's about 32 to 34 degrees (0 to 1 degree Celsius), which is still liquid because salt water needs a lower temperature to freeze.

University of Washington ice scientist Ian Joughin, who isn't part of the research consortium, cautioned that while Thwaites is a big concern, especially the collapse of giant ice cliffs, the earliest his computer simulations show that happening is 200 years from now.

"We need to take these glaciers seriously without sounding like Chicken Little," Joughin said in an email.

This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows the midnight sun seen from the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. A large iceberg broke off the deteriorating Thwaites glacier and along with sea ice it is blocking two research ships with dozens of scientists from examining how fast its crucial ice shelf is falling apart. The smaller Dotson ice shelf is about 87 miles (140 kilometers) west of the Thwaites ice shelf. Credit: David Holland via AP

But if Thwaites goes, neighboring glaciers could follow, said U.S. National Science Foundation glaciology program director Paul Cutler.

"Once you lose Thwaites you also start draining other ice into that basin," Cutler told The Associated Press Tuesday. "And so in all the forecasting models, it tends to cause the rest of West Antarctica to collapse over time scales of thousands of years."

The South Korean icebreaker ship Araon that Holland traveled on has a helicopter so they've been able to improvise a landing at Dotson. But the U.S. National Science Foundation research ship the Nathaniel B. Palmer, which has about 35 scientists and two underwater drone ships, has been unable to make it to Thwaites yet and doesn't have helicopters.

So the researchers on the Palmer are studying Dotson and hoping to wait out the berg, said NSF's Cutler. Science is getting done, he said. Earlier, researchers coming on land from other parts of Antarctica did put measuring devices on Thwaites, he noted.

"There's a lot to learn about Dotson," Cutler said.

This Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 satellite image from the European Space Agency, annotated by marine geophysicist Robert Larter, shows the positions of research vessels RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer and the RV Araon on Feb. 2., on the ice shelf areas extending from Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. "EIS" indicates the Eastern Ice Shelf where a lot of work was conducted in 2020, and which recently published studies have suggested is likely to break up sometime within the next couple of decades. Credit: Robert Larter/British Antarctic Survey, ESA via AP

For Holland there's an appreciation for nature, even its monotone whiteness, where the only sounds are wind and an occasional seagull.

"It's kind of a lonely place, but in a beautiful way," he said from Dotson's ice shelf. "It's very serene. and it's kind of unfortunate that it will all be gone."

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

In California and seven other states, and Washington, D.C., some hourly workers, by law, have to be compensated if they report to work only to have their shift cut short. But some hourly workers may not be receiving this pay, and if they are not, it's often on the employees to call attention to the law, according to a University of California, Davis, study.

"Shift cuts undermine the well-being of workers and their families," said Savannah Hunter, doctoral student in sociology and co-author of a new article published in the journal Social Forces. "The law may not be enforced consistently. We really need better support of labor in this country, generally."

Ryan Finnigan, associate professor of sociology, and the lead author, said, "Places like San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia and Oregon recently implemented similar policies to improve the predictability and regularity of workers' schedules. But we found that the enforcement process for these kinds of policies really needs to improve for them to be effective." Finnigan is also a faculty affiliate with the UC Davis Center for Poverty and Inequality Research.

In a nationwide survey of over 1,000 hourly workers, only 4% knew they were covered by such a law, and only 17% of supervisors responding said they were aware of laws in their jurisdictions, Hunter said. In an informational session in California that Finnigan attended, he found that there was minimal information on the state's reporting pay policy. The six-hour session, which is voluntary for employers, focused heavily on rest and meal breaks, and payment following employee terminations, researchers said.

The survey researchers used, distributed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., asked questions about job characteristics, work schedules, experiences with cut shifts and wage theft, and awareness of local pay and minimum wage policies.

The survey was conducted in 2019.

Reporting pay policies

"Reporting pay" policies require employers to pay workers for some portion, or even all, of their shift if they report to work but the employer ends their shift much earlier than scheduled. Besides California, other states that have the laws are Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island. Laws vary among jurisdictions, but most policies require that the employee be paid their normal wage or minimum wage for some or all of the shifts cut short by employers, said Hunter.

The survey showed that 37% of employees had experienced shift cuts in recent months, and that only a quarter of them reported usually or always receiving compensation for a cut shift.

Few people are aware of the law, researchers found, even though they are generally aware of minimum wage and other labor regulations. Hunter said that in California, for example, the policy may be mentioned in a posted document in a break room, but it's in small print and several pages in.

Cut shifts can substantially reduce hourly workers' total earnings and increase earnings instability. For example, retail workers experiencing one six-hour shift cut relative to their average 30-hour work week lose 20% of their weekly earnings, the article states. Last-minute shift changes are most common among retail and food service workers.

Given that reporting-pay-covered workers are disproportionately workers of color, immigrants, and in service occupations, more effective reporting pay policies could partly address related economic disparities associated with lack of compliance, the article concluded.

Explore further Majority of U.S. hourly workers face unpredictable scheduling in absence of fair workweek law protections

More information: Ryan Finnigan et al, Policy Regulation of Precarious Work Schedules and Bottom-Up Enforcement: An Evaluation of State Reporting Pay Policies, Social Forces (2021). Ryan Finnigan et al, Policy Regulation of Precarious Work Schedules and Bottom-Up Enforcement: An Evaluation of State Reporting Pay Policies,(2021). DOI: 10.1093/sf/soab164
Research from the University of Aberdeen states current UK conservation polices fail to protect important insect species. Credit: University of Aberdeen

Current UK conservation policies fail to protect important insect species such as bees which "are vital for our everyday lives and future existence," according to new research from the University of Aberdeen.

Love them or loathe them, insects provide a wealth of daily resources, from chocolates to cold remedies but researchers Natalie Duffus and Dr. Juliano Morimoto warn that current conservation policies are falling short of protecting them from the threat of extinction.

Published in Biological Conservation today the researchers assert that current policies are biased and ineffective and are failing to protect a large portion of insect biodiversity in the UK and Ireland.

The team analyzed key conservation policies already in place and found that some groups of insects including butterflies and moths were more stringently protected than others, such as flies and bees, species that are known to be equally important and which have undergone recent known extinctions in the UK and Ireland.

Natalie Duffus, the lead author who is currently a Natural Environment Research Council doctoral trainee at the University of Oxford but completed the research while an undergraduate at the University of Aberdeen, explains: "Insects fulfill a range of vital roles in the ecosystem, including pollination, pest control, and decomposition.

Credit: University of Aberdeen

"These services are important not only for maintaining healthy ecosystems, but also for a range of human needs, for example crop pollination by insects contributes directly toward food security.

"Unfortunately, data shows that some insect species are declining. This could have a direct impact on the roles insects play in our societies.

"Policies such as those evaluated in our study are the strictest way in which protection can be enforced. However, our study shows that these policies are failing in doing their job by being biased and not accounting for the breadth of insect biodiversity."

The study evaluated current conservation policies in the UK and Ireland including the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Wildlife Order 1985 and Wildlife Act 1976. It found that insects were largely overlooked when compared with the protection to mammals.

Natalie added: "We hope our findings will stimulate policy revisions and amendments and fuel the push for better initiatives for insect biodiversity."

Research fellow at the University of Aberdeen and project lead Dr. Juliano Morimoto said: "This research is vital as it shows our policies are failing to protect the majority of insects, and those insects that are protected, may not be the ones in most need. Our study reveals this major gap in our legislation and is likely to reflect a global pattern. Such policy gaps, if overlooked, can have catastrophic damage to the sustainable future of our societies."

Explore further Insect DNA metabarcoding to assess the state of health of forests

More information: Current conservation policies in the UK and Ireland overlook endangered insects and are taxonomically biased towards Lepidoptera. Biological Conservation, doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109464 Journal information: Biological Conservation Current conservation policies in the UK and Ireland overlook endangered insects and are taxonomically biased towards Lepidoptera.
International and domestic tourism activity correlates to detection of exotic organisms. Credit: M.R. McNeill

Tourism is an important economic driver of the world's economy, providing a significant contribution to the income of many countries. However, tourism can also contribute to the introduction and spread of unwanted exotic organisms such as insect pests or weed seeds across countries. These can be harmful to the natural environment and agriculture, causing social, environmental, and economic damage.

Tourists, albeit unwittingly, may help such unwanted organisms spread further and conquer new landsthey can carry them over in their luggage or on their clothes and shoes. In 2011, a study from New Zealand found that, for every gram of soil on the footwear of aircraft passengers arriving from abroad, there were 2.5 plant seeds, 41 roundworms, 0.004 insects and mites, and many microorganisms, such as fungi that could cause plant diseases. Moreover, these organisms were alive, and some of them were known to be biosecurity threats. Importantly, tourism can introduce risk in two directions, namely from the arrival of international travelers and also the return of residents from international travel.

An important question, then, is to what degree they play a role in the spread of exotic organisms. A study, carried out by Dr. Andrew Robinson of the Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis at the University of Melbourne and Mark McNeill of AgResearch New Zealand, looks to answer that question.

To do so, the researchers compared data on the interceptions of exotic organisms in New Zealand against accommodation data for international and domestic tourists, factoring for the country's population distribution. The study, recently published in the open-access journal NeoBiota, covered the period between 2011 and 2017, and the exotic organisms that were detected included insects, spiders, mites, snails, plants, and roundworms.

Robinson and McNeill found a significant relationship between levels of incursion detection and tourism accommodation records: the number of nights spent in hotels significantly correlated to the detection of exotic pests for that period. Importantly, the study found no significant difference between the effect of international and domestic tourism, proving that even travel within the country can facilitate the spread of exotic species. A significant positive correlation was also found between the detection of exotic organisms and population numbers across different regions.

"The core take-home message is that within-country tourism movements are significantly correlated to the detection of exotic pests," the researchers explained. That is, tourists and returning residents bring bugs in, and both are implicated at spreading them once they are in the country. They suggest that biosecurity authorities should continue allocating resources to the management of invasive species and pests that get carried around by tourists and their activities.

However, they also point to the biosecurity risk posed by other possible pathways for of exotic organisms, such as sea freight. A comparison between the different ways of introduction and dispersal would provide a better understanding of relative risk, they conclude.

More information: Andrew P. Robinson et al, Biosecurity and post-arrival pathways in New Zealand: relating alien organism detections to tourism indicators, NeoBiota (2022). Andrew P. Robinson et al, Biosecurity and post-arrival pathways in New Zealand: relating alien organism detections to tourism indicators,(2022). DOI: 10.3897/neobiota.71.64618 Mark McNeill et al, Transportation of nonindigenous species via soil on international aircraft passengers' footwear, Biological Invasions (2011). DOI: 10.1007/s10530-011-9964-3 Journal information: Biological Invasions , NeoBiota
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Elementary students from low-income families increasingly attend different schools than middle-class peersa nationwide trend that holds negative consequences for learning among kids who are living in poverty, a new study finds.

This worsening segregation of children by economic class stems from climbing Latino enrollments, uneven levels of "white flight" from many school districts, and parents with financial resources moving farther from people living in poverty, say researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and University of Maryland.

"The growing segregation of the haves and have-nots over the past two decades makes it more difficult to narrow widening racial gaps in student learning seen during the COVID era," said Bruce Fuller, Berkeley professor and director of the new study. "As educators and policy makers help families recover from the pandemic, they must recognize this deep-seated shift in American societythe isolation of children who start-out way behind."

Researchers tracked trends across more than 14,000 school districts nationwide and found that children of color and from low-income households attended schools with a diminishing number of predominantly white, middle-class peers.

In 2000, the average child from a family living below the poverty line attended an elementary school where 45 percent of those enrolled were children from families defined as middle class. By 2015, that figure fell to 36 percent nationwide. Children from Latino families living in poverty were hit especially hard, researchers said, in both urban and suburban areas, where they grew increasingly isolated from white peers from middle-income families.

At the same time, educators in several metropolitan areas were able to improve the integration of children from poorer families who are schooled with a rising share of peers from middle class families.

Earlier research shows that children from low-income families markedly benefit when attending the same classrooms of peers from middle class families. Yet, disparities in student learning had begun to widen even before the pandemic, national test scores have revealed.

The study, "Variation in the Local Segregation of Latino ChildrenRole of Place, Poverty, and Culture," published this week in the American Journal of Education from the University of Chicago Press, highlights what gave rise to worsening segregation, describing the demographic and economic forces at play among the nation's elementary schools between 2000 and 2015. The study focused on trends in Latino and white enrollment, along the variable isolation of students according to economic status, in districts across the country.

Explore further School segregation worsens for Latino children compared with a generation ago

More information: Bruce Fuller et al, Variation in the Local Segregation of Latino ChildrenRole of Place, Poverty, and Culture, American Journal of Education (2022). Journal information: American Journal of Education Bruce Fuller et al, Variation in the Local Segregation of Latino ChildrenRole of Place, Poverty, and Culture,(2022). DOI: 10.1086/717674
In most animal species, males and females differ. This is true for people and other mammals, as well as many species of birds, fish and reptiles. But what about dinosaurs? In 2015, I proposed that variation found in the iconic back plates of stegosaur dinosaurs was due to sex differences.

I was surprised by how strongly some of my colleagues disagreed, arguing that differences between sexes, called sexual dimorphism, did not exist in dinosaurs.

I am a paleontologist, and the debate sparked by my 2015 paper has made me reconsider how researchers studying ancient animals use statistics.

The limited fossil record makes it hard to declare if a dinosaur was sexually dimorphic. But I and some others in my field are beginning to shift away from traditional black-or-white statistical thinking that relies on p-values and statistical significance to define a true finding. Instead of only looking for yes or no answers, we are beginning to consider the estimated magnitude of sexual variation in a species, the degree of uncertainty in that estimate and how these measures compare to other species. This approach offers a more nuanced analysis to challenging questions in paleontology as well as many other fields of science.

Differences between males and females

Sexual dimorphism is when males and females of a certain species differ on average in a particular traitnot including their reproductive anatomy. Classic examples are how male deer have antlers and male peacocks have flashy tail feathers, while the females lack these traits.

Dimorphism can also be subtle and unflashy. Often the difference is one of degree, like differences in the average body size between males and femalesas in gorillas. In these modest cases, researchers use statistics to determine whether a trait differs on average between males and females.

In many species, like these mandarin ducks, males (left) and females (right) look very different. Credit: Francis C. Franklin via WikimediaCommons, CC BY-SA

The dinosaur dilemma

Studying sexual dimorphism in extinct animals is fraught with uncertainty. If you and I independently dig up similar fossils of the same species, they are inevitably going to be slightly different. These differences could be due to sex, but they could also be driven by ageyoung birds are fuzzy, adult birds are sleek. They could also be due to genetics unrelated to sex, like eye color in humans.

If paleontologists had thousands of fossils to study of every species, the many sources of biological variation wouldn't matter as much. Unfortunately, the ravages of time have left the fossil record painfully incomplete, often with less than a dozen good specimens for large, extinct vertebrate species. Additionally, there is currently no way to identify the sex of an individual fossil except in rare cases where obvious clues exist, like eggs preserved within the body cavity.

So where does all this leave the debate on whether male and female dinosaurs had differences within traits? On the one hand, birdswhich are direct descendants of dinosaurscommonly show sexual dimorphism. So do crocodilians, dinosaurs' next closest living relatives. Evolutionary theory also predicts that, since dinosaurs reproduced with sperm and egg, there would be a benefit to sexual dimorphism.

These things all suggest that dinosaurs likely were sexually dimorphic. But in science you need to be quantitative. The challenge is that there is little in the way of statistically significant analyses of the fossil record to support dimorphism.

Its possible that variation among individual dinosaurs of the same species could be due to sexual dimorphism, but there are rarely good enough samples to assert so using traditional statistics. Credit: James Ormiston, CC BY-ND

Statistical shifts

There are a couple of ways paleontologists could test for sexual dimorphism. They could look to see if there are statistically significant differences between fossils from presumed males and females, but there are very few specimens where researchers know the sex. Another method is to see whether there are two distinct groupings of a trait, called a bimodal distribution, which could suggest a difference between males and females.

To tell whether a perceived difference between two groups is true, scientists have traditionally used a tool called the p-value. P-values quantify the probability of a result being due to random chance. If a p-value is low enough, the result is deemed "statistically significant" and considered unlikely to have happened by chance.

But p-values can be heavily influenced by sample size and the design of the study, in addition to the actual degree of sexual dimorphism. Because of the very small sample size of fossils, relying on this statistical technique makes it exceedingly difficult to categorically proclaim what dinosaur species were dimorphic.

The weakness of the black-or-white approach that focuses solely on whether a result is statistically significant has led to hundreds of scientists calling to abandon significance testing with p-values in favor of something called effect size statistics. Using this approach, researchers would simply report the measured difference between two groups and the uncertainty in that measurement.

Very large sex differences can create a bimodal distribution that looks like two distinct groupings of a certain measurement. Credit: Maksim via WikimediaCommons, CC BY

Effect size statistics

I have begun to apply effect size statistics in my research on dinosaurs. My colleagues and I compared sexual dimorphism in body size between three different dinosaurs: the duck-billed Maiasaura, Tyrannosaurus rex and Psittacosaurus, a small relative of Triceratops. None of these species would be expected to show statistically significant size differences between males and females according to p-values. But that approach does not capture the nature of the variation within these species.

When we instead used effect size statistics, we were able to estimate that male and female Maiasaura demonstrate a greater difference in body mass compared to the other two species and that we had a higher confidence in this estimate as well. A few of the characteristics within the data helped reduce the uncertainty. First, we had a large number of Maiasaura fossils, from individuals of various ages. These bones very nicely fit with trajectories of how size changes as an individual grows from juvenile to adult, so we could control for differences due to age and instead focus on differences due to sex.

Additionally, the Maiasaura fossils all come from a single bone bed of individuals that died in the same place at the same time. This means that variation between individuals is likely not due to them being different species from different regions or time periods.

If my colleagues and I had approached the problem expecting a yes or no answer on whether males and females differed in size, we would have completely missed all of these intricacies. Effect size statistics allow researchers to produce much more nuanced and, I think, informative results. It is almost as much a difference in the philosophical approach to science as it is a mathematical one.

Using effect size statistics, researchers were able to determine that the duck-billed dinosaur Maiasaura showed a larger amount of dimorphism with the least uncertainty in that estimate compared to other dinosaurs. Credit: Daderot via WikimediaCommons

Studying dinosaur dimorphism is not the only place p-values create issues. Many fields of science, including medicine and psychology, are having similar debates about issues in statistics and a worrying problem of unrepeatable studies.

Embracing uncertainty in datarather than looking for black-or-white answers to questions like whether male and female dinosaurs were sexually dimorphiccan help elucidate dinosaur biology. But this shift in thinking may be felt far and wide across the sciences. A careful consideration of problems within statistics could have deep impacts across many fields.

Explore further Using math to examine the sex differences in dinosaurs

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A top (a), rear (b), bottom (c) and front (d) view of the vertebra discovered at 'Ubeidiya. Credit: Dr. Alon Barash, Bar-Ilan University

A new study led by researchers from Bar-Ilan University, Ono Academic College, The University of Tulsa and the Israel Antiquities Authority presents a 1.5 million-year-old human vertebra discovered in Israel's Jordan Valley. According to the research published Wednesday, February 2 in the journal Scientific Reports, ancient human migration from Africa to Eurasia was not a one-time event but occurred in waves. The first wave reached the Republic of Georgia in the Caucasus approximately 1.8 million years ago. The second is documented in "Ubeidiya, in the Jordan Valley, south of the Sea of Galilee, about 1.5 million years ago.

The research was led by Dr. Alon Barash of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University, Professor Ella Been of Ono Academic College, Professor Miriam Belmaker of The University of Tulsa, and Dr. Omry Barzilai of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

According to fossil evidence and DNA research, human evolution began in Africa about 6 million years ago. Approximately 2 million years ago, ancient humansnearly, but not yet in modern formbegan to migrate from Africa and spread throughout Eurasia "Ubeidiya, located in the Jordan Valley near Kibbutz Beit Zera, is one of the places where researchers have found archaeological evidence for this dispersal.

The prehistoric site of "Ubeidiya is significant for archaeological and evolutionary studies because it is one of the few sites of preserved remnants of the early human exodus from Africa. The site is the second oldest archaeological site outside Africa and was excavated by several expeditions led by Professor M. Stekelis, Professor O. Bar-Yosef and Professor E. Tchernov between 1960 and 1999. The finds from the site include a rich and rare collection of extinct animal bones and stone artifacts. Fossil species include saber-toothed tiger, mammoths and a giant buffalo, alongside animals not found today in Israel, such as baboons, warthogs, hippopotamuses, giraffes and jaguars. Stone and flint items made and used by ancient humans show resemblance to those discovered at sites in East Africa.

Recently, excavations in "Ubeidiya were resumed by Belmaker and Barzilai under a grant that Belmaker received from the U.S. National Science Foundation. The project uses new absolute dating methods to refine the site's dating and to study the paleoecology and paleoclimate of the region. While looking at the fossils from the site, now housed at the Hebrew University's National Natural History Collections, Belmaker, a paleoanthropologist from The University of Tulsa's Department of Anthropology, encountered a human vertebra. Initially unearthed in 1966, the bone was studied by Barash and Professor Ella Been. They identified it as a human lumbar vertebra, the earliest fossil evidence of ancient human remains discovered in Israel, approximately 1.5 million years old

The site at 'Ubeidiya. Credit: Dr. Omry Barzilai, Israel Antiquities Authority

According to Barash, human anatomy and evolution researcher at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University, there is an ongoing debate in the literature about whether the migration was a one-time event or occurred in several waves. The new find from "Ubeidiya sheds light on this question. "Due to the difference in size and shape of the vertebra from "Ubeidiya and those found in the Republic of Georgia, we now have unambiguous evidence of the presence of two distinct dispersal waves."

According to Barzilai, head of the Archaeological Research Department at the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The stone and flint artifacts from "Ubeidiya, handaxes made from Basalt, chopping tools, and flakes made from flint, are associated with the Early Acheulean culture. Previously, it was accepted that the stone tools from "Ubeidiya and Dmanisi were associated with different culturesEarly Acheulean in "Ubeidiya and Oldowan in Dmanisi. After this new study, we conclude that different human species produced the two industries."

Belmaker explained, "One of the main questions regarding the human dispersal from Africa were the ecological conditions that may have facilitated the dispersal. Previous theories debated whether early humans preferred an African savanna or new, more humid woodland habitat. Our new finding of different human species in Dmanisi and "Ubeidiya is consistent with our finding that climates also differed between the two sites. "Ubeidiya is more humid and compatible with a Mediterranean climate, while Dmanisi is drier with savannah habitat. This study showing two species, each producing a different stone tool culture, is supported by the fact that each population preferred a different environment."

1.5 million year old flint cutting tool found in 'Ubeidiya. Credit: Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority

"The analysis we conducted shows that the vertebra from "Ubeidiya belonged to a young individual 612 years old, who was tall for his age. Had this child reached adulthood, he would have reached a height of over 180 cm. This ancient human is similar in size to other large hominins found in East Africa and is different from the short-statured hominins that lived in Georgia," said Been, paleoanthropologist at the Ono Academic College Faculty of Health Professions and an expert in spinal evolution.

"It seems, then, that in the period known as the Early Pleistocene, we can identify at least two species of early humans outside of Africa. Each wave of migration was that of different kind of humansin appearance and form, technique and tradition of manufacturing stone tools, and ecological niche in which they lived," concluded Barash.

Explore further Remains of ancient dogs found among early human ancestral remains in Georgia

More information: The earliest Pleistocene record of a largebodied hominin from the Levant supports two outofAfrica dispersal events, Scientific Reports (2022). Journal information: Scientific Reports The earliest Pleistocene record of a largebodied hominin from the Levant supports two outofAfrica dispersal events,(2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05712-y
Figure 1. Annual trends in (a) white shark relative abundance, (b) predatory attacks on seals and (c) seal rafting proximity to Seal Island prior to (gray) and following the decline (black) of white sharks. Data are mean  standard error of (a) white shark sightings per hour, (b) white shark predations per hour and (c) seal rafting distance category, averaged across sampling days for each year. Seal rafting distance was estimated according to one of three categories: (i) seals rafting <5 m from the island; (ii) seals rafting >5 m and <10 m from the island and (iii) seals rafting >10 m from the island perimeter. Credit: DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0476

A team of researchers has documented the changes that occurred to a type of prey (cape fur seals) when their predator (great white sharks) disappeared from their environment. In their paper published in the journal Biology Letters, the group describes their study of the seals both before and after the sharks left the environment.

As the researchers note, much research has been conducted regarding the impact on prey when new predators enter an environment, but few efforts have sought to learn more about the opposite scenario. In this new effort, the researchers found a unique opportunity to learn more about what happens to prey in general when a predator departsfor whatever reasonswhen great white sharks began disappearing from the shores of South Africa.

Prior research has shown that approximately 1.5 to 2 million cape fur seals live along South Africa's coasts and nearby islands. Research has also shown that the only predator of cape fur seals has been great white sharks because the seals are too large to be bothered by other meat-eating ocean dwellers. Ocean scientists in the area began to notice declines in the number of great white sharks living in the area in 2015 and since that time, they have disappeared from the area entirely, though it is still not clear why. With the disappearance of the sharks, the researchers found themselves with a golden opportunity to learn more about what happens to prey when their predator is removed from the scene.

The work by the team first involved simply watching the seals as they went about their normal lives to see if they could spot any behavioral changes. They found that the seals began venturing farther out to sea and rafting over deeper watersactivities that would have previously put them at an increased risk of an attack.

The researchers also began comparing seal scat samples gathered from beaches from the time before the sharks disappeared to after. The scat contains traces of fecal glucocorticoid concentrations, which can be used to measure stress levels. Researchers found that the stress levels of the seals were greatly reduced after the sharks disappeared.

More information: Neil Hammerschlag et al, Loss of an apex predator in the wild induces physiological and behavioural changes in prey, Biology Letters (2022). Journal information: Biology Letters Neil Hammerschlag et al, Loss of an apex predator in the wild induces physiological and behavioural changes in prey,(2022). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0476

 2022 Science X Network
View of the Gurbe valley. A team led by the University of Bern was able to document the occurrence of a 155 meters deep so-called overdeepening beneath the present surface filled with debris and lake deposits. Credit: F. Schlunegger

A team led by the University of Bern was able to prove that the glaciers of the penultimate ice age (the "Riss' glaciation) mainly eroded the bedrock between Thun and Bern, but that during the last glaciation ( the "Wurm' glaciation) glacial carving resulted in a widening and not in a further deepening of the valleys. The researchers reconstructed the geometry of the bedrock using gravity measurements to reach their conclusions.

The glacial cycles repeat themselves every hundred thousand years. This was also the case during the recent geological past in the Alpine region. During the "Riss' Ice Age, between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago, the glaciers advanced far into the Swiss Plateau and shaped the landscape. The same occurred during the "Wurm' glaciation between 100,000 and 20,000 years ago, when several smaller ice advances and then the large glaciers 20,000 years ago led to a further change of our landscape. These ice masses not only sculpted the hills and the mountains, they also resulted in the formation of valleys and gorges several hundred meters deep, the so-called over-deepenings. These were then covered with gravel and debris after the glaciers retreated, and therefore they are hidden under the present surface.

The city of Bern is built on such an underground valley system. The same is also the case for the Aare and Gurbetal valleys. There the bedrock is hidden up to 200 meters below the valley floor. What do these valleys look like now? Do they have a steep flank and a U-shaped cross-section, or are they more V-shaped with gently sloping flanks? What is the shape of the valleys that the two major glaciers formed? These questions have now been answered in a study conducted by the Institute for Geology at the University of Bern. The researchers were able to prove that glacial erosion during the "Riss' glacial period mainly led to the deep carving of these overdeepenings. They were also able to show that the glaciers of the last major glaciation 20,000 years ago did not further deepen these valleys, but widened them. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Mapping of the overdeepenings using gravity data

The overdeepenings are laterally bordered by the sandstones of the Swiss Plateau; it is the Molasse bedrock. The overdeepenings themselves were filled with moraines, gravel and lake sediments after their formation. These deposits are unconsolidated and therefore they have a lower density than the Molasse bedrock. In fact, the backfills of these overdeepenings are about 20% lighter than the Molasse bedrock. These small differences can, however, be measured with a Swisstopo gravimeter. A gravimeter measures the acceleration due to gravity at a survey point, and this depends on the density of the subsurface.

"These devices are very carefully adjusted so that even the slightest deviations in the density distribution can be measured," explains Professor Fritz Schlunegger, who initiated the study together with his colleague from the ETH Zurich, Professor Edi Kissling. The researchers have now conducted gravity measurements across the Gurbe and Aare valleys. They could document the occurrence of overdeepenings beneath both valleys that are filled with debris and lake deposits.

"In the Gurbe valley this structure is about 155 meters deep, whereas in the Aare valley the overdeepening is at least 100 meters deeper. Thanks to exploratory drillings, it was already known that such deepenings are hidden underneath both valleys. With the gravity measurements, however, we were able to show for the first time that the flanks of these overdeepenings are nearly vertical and that their bottoms are flat," explains Dimitri Bandou, who carried out the study as part of his dissertation. This allowed the team to document that the overdeepenings have a U-shaped cross section. "Therefore, these depressions were formed by glaciers," confirms Bandou.

Asymmetric cross-section

The gravity measurements also showed that the overdeepenings are made up of two segments. "In the upper part, the flanks of the overdeepenings are significantly flatter than at depth. Thus the upper part is wide and flat, and the lower part is narrow and deep." The researchers explain this special geometry to the erosion of the glaciers during an older and a younger ice advance. "There have been several ice advances in the Alps during the geological past, including in the Bern area," explains Bandou. A very large glaciation occurred during the "Riss' Ice Age between around 200,000 and 150,000 years ago. "The glaciers of this Ice Age were larger and thicker than the glaciers during the last Ice Age between 100,000 and 20,000 years," explains Schlunegger. Because of the greater thickness, the "Riss' glaciers were able to deeply carve into the bedrock. The younger "Wurm' glaciers were less powerful, and glacial erosion mainly resulted in a widening but not in a further deepening of these overdeepenings.

Erosional mechanisms not fully understood

It is still not fully understood why glaciers form overdeepenings. "In contrast to the formation of valleys by rivers, we still cannot simulate the erosive effects of the glaciers and, in particular, the formation of the overdeepenings with modeling software packages," explains Schlunegger. Apparently, there is a lack of detailed information about the bedrock surface and especially about the flanks of such overdeepenings. "Glaciers erode not only in depth but also in width, and that is why valley flanks provide diagnostic information so that the erosional mechanisms of glaciers can be better understood." The study that has just been published is expected to yield in a better understanding of how glaciers shape the landscape.

Explore further How some of Earth's most breathtaking landscapes are created by glaciers

More information: D. Bandou et al, Three-dimensional gravity modelling of a Quaternary overdeepening fill in the Bern area of Switzerland discloses two stages of glacial carving, Scientific Reports (2022). Journal information: Scientific Reports D. Bandou et al, Three-dimensional gravity modelling of a Quaternary overdeepening fill in the Bern area of Switzerland discloses two stages of glacial carving,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-04830-x
During ultrafast demagnetization, the rotation of the magnetic moments leads to an immediate rotational movement of the atoms. Credit: Hannah Lange, Andreas Donges and Ulrich Nowak, University of Konstanz

In a closed physical system, the sum of all angular momentum remains constant, according to an important physical law of conservation. Angular momentum does not necessarily need to involve "real" bodily rotation in this context: Magnetic materials even have angular momentum when, seen from outside, they are at rest. Physicists Albert Einstein and Wander Johannes de Haas were able to prove that in 1915.

If such a magnetized material is now bombarded with short pulses of laser light, it loses its magnetic order extremely quickly. Within femtosecondsa millionth of a billionth secondit becomes demagnetized. The electrons' angular momentum in the materialalso called spinthus decreases abruptly, much faster than the material can set itself in rotation. According to the conservation principle, however, the angular momentum cannot simply be lost. So, where is the spin angular momentum transferred to in such an extremely short time?

The solution to the puzzle was now published in the scientific journal Nature. In the study, a team led by Konstanz researchers investigated the demagnetization of nickel crystals using ultrafast electron diffractiona highly precise measuring method in terms of time and space that can make the course of structural changes visible at the atomic level. They were able to show that the electrons of the crystal transfer their angular momentum to the atoms of the crystal lattice within a few hundred femtoseconds during demagnetization.

Much like the passengers on a merry-go-round, the atoms are set in motion on tiny circuits and thus balance the angular momentum. It is only much later and more slowly that the macroscopic rotation effect named after Einstein and de Haas begins, which can be measured mechanically. These findings show new ways of controlling angular momentum extremely quickly, opening up new possibilities for improving magnetic information technologies or new research directions in spintronics.

Magnetism in metallic solids

Magnetic phenomena have become an indispensable part of modern technology. They play an important role especially in information processing and data storage. "The speed and efficiency of existing technologies is often limited by the comparatively long duration of magnetic switching processes," explains Professor Peter Baum, experimental physicist at the University of Konstanz and one of the heads of the study. All the more interesting for materials research, therefore, is a surprising phenomenon that can be observed in nickel, among other things: ultrafast demagnetization caused by bombardment with laser pulses.

Just like iron, nickel physically belongs to the ferromagnetic materials. Permanent magnets as we know them from our everyday lives can be made from these materials, for example refrigerator magnets. The permanent magnetization results from a parallel arrangement of the magnetic moments of neighboring particles of the material. "To illustrate this, we can imagine the magnetic moments as small arrows that all point in the same direction," explains Professor Ulrich Nowak, theoretical physicist at the University of Konstanz and also one of the project leaders. Physically, the angular momentum or spin of the electrons of the ferromagnetic material is the cause for these "arrows" and their direction.

Ultrafast demagnetization via laser

Through bombardment with laser light, the perfect alignment of the magnetic moments can be destroyed within a very short time. "A laser pulse of under 100 femtoseconds is enough to do so. Such laser pulses belong to the shortest human-made events that exist," explains Ulrich Nowak and continues: "The laser pulse heats the material to such an extent that the 'arrows'to stay with the imageare swirled around. In the end, one half points one way and the second half points the other way."

This is where the law of conservation of angular momentum comes into play, because the change in direction of the "arrows" changes the spin of the electrons and thus the angular momentum. However, since the sum of all angular momentum in the material must be maintained, the spin cannot simply disappear. Instead, it must be transferred somewhere else in some form. How this can happen within femtoseconds was unclear until now and only contradictory theoretical considerations on this phenomenon existed.

How the puzzle was solved

To solve the physical puzzle, close cooperation between theorists and experimentalists was needed: Based on a hypothesis by the two Konstanz professors Peter Baum and Ulrich Nowak, a team from theoretical physics first used computer simulations to work out a series of predictions about possible atomic movements during ultrafast demagnetization. The experimental physicists then verified these predictions through experiments with femtosecond lasers and ultrashort pulses of electrons. Professor Wolfgang Kreuzpaintner's team at the Technical University of Munich provided the ultrathin nickel crystals.

"For our experiment, we first magnetized our nickel crystal in a specific direction and then demagnetized it with a femtosecond laser pulse in an ultrafast way," says Peter Baum, describing the basic set-up of the experiment. Meanwhile, the researchers led by first author Dr. Sonja Tauchert observed the crystal using ultrafast electron diffraction. This method makes it possible to obtain information about the temporal changes in the structure of materialsand to do so with atomic spatial precision and a temporal resolution in the femtosecond range. The resulting sequences of diffraction patternsatomic slow-motion recordings of demagnetization, so to speakcould then be interpreted using the computer-assisted predictions of the theorists.

"Our experiments and simulations showed that the angular momentum of the electrons is transferred locally to the atoms of the crystal lattice on the same time scale on which the magnetic order of the crystal is lost," explains Ulrich Nowak. At first, a few atoms begin to move in circular orbits around their original resting position. Through interaction with neighboring atoms, this movement and thus the angular momentum is very quickly transferred to all other atoms. Finally, the entire crystal lattice uniformly oscillates in tiny circular orbits. Physicist generally refer to such a collective lattice vibration as "phonon." In the special case described, these phonons are circularly polarized and therefore carry angular momentum.

Spintronics

"This not only solved an old mystery in solid-state physics, but simultaneously provided experimental proof that polarized lattice vibrations can indeed transport angular momentumvery effectively and in an ultrafast way," says Peter Baum. "The Einstein-de-Haas effect has an intermediate step on atomic dimensions," he adds. Such effects might be used to control magnetic materials using laser light and potentially create more efficient alternatives to conventional electronics. "We hope that this will enable us to produce improved components in the future. Unlike current electronic circuits, these would work with spin transport instead of charge transport, which would be significantly more energy-efficient," explains Ulrich Nowak. "By demonstrating that lattice vibrations can transport a spin, we open up a new, potentially promising path towards novel devices in spintronics."

More information: Peter Baum, Polarized phonons carry angular momentum in ultrafast demagnetization, Nature (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04306-4 Journal information: Nature Peter Baum, Polarized phonons carry angular momentum in ultrafast demagnetization,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04306-4
Car exhaust fumes contain poisonous gasses. Credit: Pixabay / Alexei_other

Cities that adopt roadside emissions sensors to detect high polluting vehicles, together with an enforcement program to inspect and repair these vehicles, could significantly improve urban air quality, new research shows.

Vehicle emissions are the most significant source of air pollution in the urban environment worldwide, impacting the climate and the health of millions of people. Reducing air pollution is a key target of the United Nations sustainable development goals.

"Car exhaust fumes contain poisonous gasses such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter that cause lung cancer, heart failure, asthma and other diseases," says research co-author, Professor John Zhou from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

"Remote sensing equipment uses a sensor and light beam to measure chemical concentrations in the exhaust as a vehicle drives past. A camera records the license plate, so vehicles can be identified for inspection and repair," he says.

Although new cars are required to meet emissions standards, older cars, those with high kilometers and cars that have been modified, or not well maintained, can malfunction and have significantly higher emission levels, leading to high levels of air pollution.

Researchers from UTS partnered with the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (HKEPD) and the Hong Kong Vocational Training Council to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of Hong Kong's remote sensing enforcement program.

They examined data from the start of the program in September 2014 to December 2018, which included around 2.9 million vehicle counts from over 150 monitoring sites. They also looked at air quality monitoring and chassis dynamometer testing data.

In total, 16,365 high-emitting LPG and petrol vehicles were identified by remote sensing and issued with emission test notices. Among them, 96.3% of the high emitters were successfully repaired and subsequently passed the Hong Kong Transient Emission Test (HKTET).

Only 1.4% of vehicles failed the HKTET, and 2.3% of vehicles did not take the test, causing the cancelation of 558 vehicle licenses.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, found that Hong Kong's remote sensing enforcement program led to a significant and continuing reduction in the level of harmful chemicals at the roadside and in the wider atmospheric environment.

"This is the first study of its kind to link on-site measurement of vehicle emissions with follow-up actions for repair of the high polluting vehicles. It provides insights for policymakers not just on monitoring but also implementing enforcement programs," says first author Yuhan Huang.

"Targeting the small portion of high emitters for vehicle emission control significantly reduces the repair cost and time for both the government and vehicle owners, compared to passive sampling or periodic inspection," he says.

The researchers estimate that total hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitric oxide can be reduced by 22%, 47%, and 39% respectively when all high-emitters are repaired.

Baseline testing undertaken by the HKEPD showed the overall failure rates for petrol and LPG vehicles were 13% and 63%, respectively. The percentages of high emitters in the taxi and light bus fleets were much higher than for private cars.

The worst high emitters were more than 10 times over the limit for carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Older vehicles were more likely to fail the emissions standards, although some newer vehicles also failed.

A pilot repair demonstration program was carried out on 600 selected LPG taxis. After repair, the emissions failure rate reduced from 63% to 7%. Nearly 90% of the repairs needed were related to three-way catalytic converters (TWCs) and oxygen sensors.

The Hong Kong government subsequently provided $150 million in funding to the HKEPD to subsidize the replacement of TWCs and oxygen sensors in taxi and light bus fleets. Repairing engine faults not only reduced emissions but also improved fuel consumption.

The researchers note that training workshops established for automotive industry and repair associations, including both technical seminars and laboratory demonstrations, were an important part of the implementation program.

They also highlight current challenges, including conservative setting of emission cut points, the need for single-lane measurement sites, and the lack of application in diesel vehicles. Developing more sensitive remote sensing systems, and vertical systems, will help address these issues.

Explore further Nepal must scrap aging diesel buses and trucks

More information: Yuhan Huang et al, Rapid detection of high-emitting vehicles by on-road remote sensing technology improves urban air quality, Science Advances (2022). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abl7575 Journal information: Science Advances Yuhan Huang et al, Rapid detection of high-emitting vehicles by on-road remote sensing technology improves urban air quality,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl7575
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Ancient indigenous people in Peru had a unique response to the looting and destruction of their ancestors' graves during the European colonial period, an international team of archeologists has discovered.

A study led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) found nearly 200 examples of human vertebrae threaded onto reed posts in the Chincha Valley, dating from AD 1450-1650. The period spanned the Inca rule and the start of the European colonizationa turbulent time of extensive famine and epidemicsthat coincided with widespread desecration of indigenous people's graves by Europeans.

This distinctive treatment of the deceased has never before been documented in the regionalthough it's not unlike rituals observed in other parts of the world, such as ancient Egypt.

Dr. Jacob L Bongers, an archeologist from the Sainsbury Research Unit at UEA, is the lead author of the paper "Assembling the dead: human vertebrae-on-posts in the Chincha Valley, Peru." The study is published today in the journal Antiquity.

Andean peoples were known to have valued bodily integrity, Dr. Bongers said, and the reconstruction of the dead may have been a way for indigenous groups to restore the potency of their ancestors' damaged remains.

Dr. Bongers said, "Our findings suggest that vertebrae-on-posts represent a direct, ritualized indigenous response to European colonialism."

Researchers discovered most of these reed post remains in large, elaborate indigenous graves known as chullpas, hundreds of which are scattered throughout the region.

Radiocarbon dating suggests the threading of vertebrae onto reeds was done after the initial burial. People were returning to chullpas to reconstruct their dead, likely after they were damaged by looters.

Ultimately, the team discovered 192 examples of vertebrae-on-posts in the valley. In almost every case, each appears to have been made from the remains of a single individual. Adults and juveniles were selected for this practice.

Isotopic and ancient DNA analyses of the remains would yield insights into who was selected for the practice.

The Chincha Valley was home to the complex Chincha Kingdom from AD 1000-1400. They established an alliance with the Inca Empire and were eventually consolidated into it.

The arrival of Europeans precipitated a period of profound socio-political change. The indigenous population declined catastrophically from more than 30,000 heads of household in 1533, to 979 in 1583.

Dr. Bongers, whose previous research documented hundreds of looted graves in the region, said, "Looting of indigenous graves was widespread across the Chincha Valley in the Colonial period.

"Looting was primarily intended to remove grave goods made of gold and silver and would have gone hand-in-hand with European efforts to eradicate indigenous religious practices and funerary customs."

Bodily integrity after death was important to many indigenous groups in the region. For instance, in Inca capacocha ceremonies, children were sometimes killed in non-bloody techniques, such as strangulation, drowning or live burial, so nothing "incomplete" was offered to the sun.

The nearby Chinchorro people developed the first-known techniques for artificial mummification, millennia before ancient Egyptians. When mummies in the Andes were destroyed by Europeans, indigenous people salvaged what they could to make new ritual objects.

Dr. Bongers said, "Ritual plays important roles in social and religious life, yet can become contested, especially during periods of conquest in which new power relationships become established.

"These finds reinforce how graves are one area where this conflict plays out."

While there are strong indications that bodily reconstruction was in response to desecration by colonial invaderssupported by the fact that the threaded vertebrae were mostly found in graves that had been lootedthere are many other plausible explanations that cannot be ruled out.

The threaded vertebrae may have been used to transport the remains of the dead to tombs, or as trophies or representations of status and power. They even may been used as ceremonial "rattles," Dr. Bongers said.

"Overall, our research demonstrates that body parts continued to live social lives beyond biological death.

"We're planning to carry out additional analyses to learn more about the identities of individuals whose vertebrae were strung on reed posts in the Chincha Valley."

More information: Assembling the dead: human vertebrae-on-posts in the Chincha Valley, Peru, Antiquity (2022). Journal information: Antiquity Assembling the dead: human vertebrae-on-posts in the Chincha Valley, Peru,(2022). doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2021.180
Credit: University of Southern California

Scholars looking for underground water sources on the Eastern Arabian Peninsula for a project funded by the United State Agency for Aid and International Development, have accidentally uncovered the outlines of a settlement that appears to be more than 3,600 years old. A symmetrical 2 x 3 kilometer, landscaped areaor trace outlines of a settlement (and one of the largest potential settlements uncovered in the area) was identified using advanced radar satellite images in an area of Qatar where there was previously thought to be little evidence of sedentary, ancient civilizations. Their new study, published in the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, counters the narrative that this peninsula was entirely nomadic and evidence mapped from space indicates that the population appears to have had a sophisticated understanding of how to use groundwater. The research also points to the critical need to study water and safeguard against climate fluctuations in arid areas.

"Makhfia," the name attributed to the settlement by researchers at University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (and which refers to an invisible location in the local Arabic language), was discovered using L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar images from the Japanese Satellite ALOS 1 and specially acquired, high-resolution radar images by its successor, ALOS 2. While the settlement was not visible from space using normal satellite imaging tools nor through surface observation on the earththe large, underground rectangular plot, it was determined, had to be manmade due to its shape, texture and soil composition which were in sharp contrast to surrounding geological features. Independent carbon dating of retrieved charcoal samples suggest that the site is at least 3,650 years old, dating back potentially to the same era of the Dilmun civilization.

Lead author, Essam Heggy, of the USC Arid Climate and Water Research Center, describes the site as akin to "natural fortress surrounded by very rough terrain," almost making the area inaccessible.

This discovery has significant historic and scientific implications. Historically, this may be the first piece of evidence of a sedentary community in the areaand perhaps evidence of an advanced engineering for the time period. While we cannot see the remains of a monument or walls of a settlement, the proof is in the soil. The properties of the soil at the site have a different surface texture and composition than the terrain surrounding ita disparity typically associated with planting and landscaping.

A settlement of this size in this particular area, which is far from the coastline where most ancient civilizations were located, is unusual, says Heggy.

"With this area now averaging about 110 degrees Fahrenheit in summer months, this is like finding evidence of very green ranch in the middle of Death Valley, California dating back thousands of years ago."

Further, the site yields new insights on the poorly understood climatic fluctuations that occurred in the region, and how these changes may have impacted human settlement and mobility.

Most critically, the scholars believe that this settlement must have been in place for an extended period due to its development of agriculture and reliance on groundwater, a fact which speaks to the civilization's advanced engineering prowess given Qatar's complex aquifers and harsh terrain.

The researchers believe that a population with sufficient knowledge to leverage such unpredictable groundwater resources inaccessible by digging through hard limestone and dolomitewould have certainly been ahead of its time in mitigating droughts within harsh, inland environments. There is strong evidence that this settlement's inhabitants relied on deep groundwater sapping, a method by which one accesses water from deeper aquifers through fractures in the ground, in order to use this water for crop irrigation and to support daily life.

Drone shot of survey of settlement area in the Eastern Arabian Peninsula. Credit: University of Southern California

This presence of this settlement is now enabling researchers to piece together the most recent paleoclimatic changes that took place on the Eastern Arabian Peninsula.

The bleak side of this, says Heggy, is that we do not fully know who this culture was and why they disappeared. However, based on the presence of charcoal found on the site, Heggy and his colleagues suggest that fire could be one of several plausible explanations for its demise.

This evidence calls for increased study of this area by archeologists, says Heggy.

The work also has some implications for how we study and address climate fluctuations today.

"Deserts cover about 10 percent of our planet. We might think today that they were always inhabitable, but this discovery (along with others in the area) shows that this might not have been always the case," says Heggy who is a research scientist at the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering at USC.

His concern is that the increase in climate fluctuations in arid areas can worsen food insecurity, migration, and degradation of water resources.

Why should people care about the ruins of this ancient settlement? To Heggy, this culture's ability to mitigate climatic fluctuations could be our story.

"This story is very important today. In arid areas, we have widespread disbelief in climate research. Many think climate change is something in the future or far away in the 'geologic' past. This site shows that it has always been here and that our recent ancestors have made its mitigation a key to their survival," he says.

Heggy remains hopeful. He says the forthcoming NASA Earth Observation missions focused on desert research will bring new subsurface mapping capabilities and will provide unique insights on deserts' paleoclimatic evolution as well as human presence in desert areas during climate fluctuations.

Explore further New evidence of deep groundwater on Mars

More information: Essam Heggy et al, Exploring the nature of buried linear features in the Qatar peninsula: Archaeological and paleoclimatic implications, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (2021). Essam Heggy et al, Exploring the nature of buried linear features in the Qatar peninsula: Archaeological and paleoclimatic implications,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2021.10.007
PLATTSBURGH  Former U.S. Rep. Bill Owens announced his endorsement of Democrat Matt Castellis campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, outside the Clinton County Government Center Tuesday morning.

The Plattsburgh Democrat, who is Stefaniks immediate predecessor, said he thinks Castelli has the right stuff.

I think that he has the experience, the background and the personal commitment to get the job done, Owens said. I think hes a person who has had the experience of serving the nation in a number of different roles that are significant to give him a wonderful insight into foreign policy and issues that will have national impact, but at the same time hes in a position to understand what our friends and neighbors need every day.

Make name for himself

In his remarks, Owens posited that Stefanik has been focused on D.C. and her role in the Republican party, less so her district, and that she takes positions that are not even Republican, but radical.

He is hopeful Castelli will bring things back to a conversational level for the districts citizens and in his interactions with fellow members of Congress.

Hes not trying to make a name for himself in D.C., hes trying to make a name for himself here in Plattsburgh and in Glens Falls and the balance of the district, and thats what we need, Owens added.

Castelli expressed gratitude for Owens support. He drew parallels between himself and the former congressman, pointing to how they both swore oaths to support and defend the Constitution  Owens as a member of the Air Force and Castelli as a CIA officer.

He touted Owens work to redevelop the former Plattsburgh Air Force base and his role in local economic development, as well as his support for the military and record of bipartisanship.

If I might be so bold as to describe what kind of Democrat Bill Owens was, he was a country-before-party Democrat and we sure need a lot more of that in Washington now more than ever.

Stefanik camp weighs in

Stefaniks senior advisor, Alex deGrasse, contended the endorsement was announced so Castelli could avoid his abysmal plummeting fundraising numbers.

His statement then turned to Owens, rhetorically asking if it was the same Bill Owens who never cracked 51% of the vote, endorsed every Democrat who challenged and lost to Stefanik, was the deciding vote on Obamacare and who supported Nancy Pelosi for House speaker and Andrew Cuomo for governor.

Although this will be Bills first endorsement of a candidate from downstate Poughkeepsie who has never voted in New York until he moved here to run for Congress, deGrasse claimed.

Congresswoman Stefanik is running on her strong record of delivering results for North County families, farmers, veterans, small businesses, manufacturers, seniors, military families and law enforcement.

Prior to Castellis press conference, Stefanik announced on social media that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had endorsed her reelection run. Pompeo said in a statement that she had unified the party as House Republican Conference chair and was a strong national leader for the America First agenda.

Castelli said he had no comment on the endorsement.

Republicans welcome

Castelli confirmed that his current residence in the town of Saratoga would remain in NY-21 under the state legislatures proposed redistricting maps.

The Associated Press has reported that NY-21 would become one of three Republican super districts once the lines are ratified. Asked if that detracted from Owens endorsement, Castelli said he was excited about the support his campaign had received from Republicans and that they were welcome to join him.

He contended that Stefanik represents an extreme faction of the Republican Party, and that there isnt a home for moderate Republicans working with Democrats and independents in her version of the GOP.

They have a home in this campaign, because were going to put country before party to solve problems for working families throughout the 21st District.

Farrell, Watson to still run

Even without Owens endorsement, Castelli had already racked up support from seven of the 12 county Democratic committees in the district, including in Clinton and Essex counties, and 11 Democratic committee chairs.

On whether the former congressmans support would convince any other Democrats to drop out of the primary race, Castelli said that question would have to go to them.

Ive always welcomed and applauded anyone who wants to step up and serve their community and their country, he said.

Both Bridie Farrell, a crime victim advocate and former U.S. speedskater who lives in North River, and Ezra Watson of Wilton, a technician in the semiconductor industry, said the announcement did not change their plans to stay in the race.

I am looking forward to running a grassroots primary campaign that empowers voters to get involved in the democratic process because it is time for a change in the North Country, Farrell said.

Watson said there are more progressive endorsements he is hoping to get.

I believe the political climate, and our circumstances, as well as the views of the voting public, are always in flux, and anything can happen.

A spokesperson for attorney Matt Putorti of Whitehall, another Democrat, said his campaign would not be commenting on Owens endorsement.

Ploy to sway voters

The other Republican in the race, truck driver Lonny Koons of Carthage, said it doesnt matter who endorses who, and that it was a ploy to try to sway voters.

I will speak for myself and will talk directly to the people and show them that I am the right person for this job, he said.

He added that, until another candidate publishes real stances with actual solutions, everything they say is political rhetoric and/or hate.

I am the only candidate in the district offering viable solutions and plans because the other candidates are more worried about party support instead of the endorsement of those we hope to represent, he said.

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Glens Falls would be redrawn into a reconfigured 113th Assembly District where Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, would be the incumbent, under a proposed final redistricting plan the Senate and Assembly are expected to vote on in the coming days.

The plan fits with a recommendation of Warren County Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Boecher to link Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs in the same Assembly District because of their common interests in downtown revitalization.

The district also would encompass the city of Mechanicville and the villages of Hudson Falls, Fort Edward, Schuylerville, Greenwich and Round Lake, many of which are attempting to revitalize downtown business districts.

Glens Falls Republican Chairman Michael Borgos, however, said Wednesday that it is illogical to isolate Glens Falls from the rest of Warren County.

Glens Falls has always been the downtown of Queensbury, he said.

Hartford, in Washington County, where Woerner routinely attends Hartford Fire Department Sunday pancake breakfasts and United Methodist Church services, would be redrawn into a reconfigured 114th Assembly District where Matt Simpson, R-Brant Lake, would be the incumbent.

Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff, a Republican, said he would be disappointed to lose Woerner, a Democrat, as the towns Assembly member.

Carrie is a personal friend of mine, and I hate losing friends. I consider this kind of like that, he said. Carrie is in Hartford a lot, regardless of party.

That said, Haff continued, he is sure that Simpson would be equally attentive to the towns needs.

The reconfigured Assembly district where Simpson would be the incumbent would add towns in Washington and Saratoga counties, and one town in Fulton County.

In the Senate, all of Warren, Washington, Essex and Hamilton counties would remain connected to the district where Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, is the incumbent.

Franklin County and towns in St. Lawrence County would be drawn out of the reconfigured district and parts of Fulton County added in, but the district would still encompass much of the Adirondack Park.

Geographically, the reconfigured district would be more compact, said Borgos, the Glens Falls Republican chairman.

I think Dan Stec will save some miles on his car. I think he will drive less, he said.

Borgos said he is pleased that the district keeps Warren County whole and connected with other Adirondack counties.

Two previous redistricting proposals would have drawn Stec into dramatically altered Senate districts largely outside the Adirondack Park  one oriented west of Queensbury and the other south of Queensbury.

Elsewhere in the region, Columbia County, which has a strong conservative base, would be drawn out of a reconfigured district where Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, would be the incumbent.

Locally, the district would include Saratoga Springs and Wilton.

From a statewide perspective, the geographic influence of Stec and Jordan, if reelected, would be diluted as the redistricting plan adds two new Senate districts in New York City and reduces the number of upstate districts accordingly.

If the plan passes the Senate and Assembly, is signed into law and withstands any legal challenges, candidates would run in the new districts in November.

State legislative district and congressional district boundaries are redrawn every 10 years, based on the latest census.

The state Legislature took over the redistricting process after it rejected two proposals from the states Independent Redistricting Commission.

One plan was drawn by Democratic members of the commission, and the other plan by Republican members of the commission.

After the plans were rejected, commission members said they were not able to reach agreement on a consensus plan.

The Assembly and Senate on Wednesday approved a congressional redistricting plan that would redraw Glens Falls, Queensbury and Moreau into a reconfigured district where Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, would be the incumbent.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, would be the incumbent in a reconfigured district that would include much of the local region.

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The Washington County Planning Agency returned a variance request for a proposed professional building in Kingsbury to the towns Planning Board, finding that no county interests would be affected.

Meeting Tuesday morning, the planning agency reviewed the request from developer Thomas J. Burke of Malta for 3092 state Route 4, north of the Hannaford supermarket on Burgoyne Avenue. Burke wants to demolish a single-family house on the east side of Route 4 and build a 3,500-square-foot one-story medical building. The building would have parking in front, to the north, and behind.

The parcel is owned by the estate of Carolyn Vaughn. The section to be developed is in the towns commercial 1-A zone along the state route. Denise Drive is immediately north. The larger section of the parcel, extending east, is zoned Low Density Residential-25, although Burkes application made no mention of plans for that area.

Town zoning requires a minimum setback of 40 feet from a road, and another 30-foot setback for buildings fronting state or county highways. Burke requested a variance from the extra 30-foot setback so the building could be closer to the road and more visible to customers. In his application, Burke noted that other commercial buildings nearby have 40-foot setbacks, and the lower setback would allow the building to be centered on that section of the parcel.

County Attorney Roger Wickes was concerned about the number of driveways already in the area, including those for Hannaford to the south and CVS and Saratoga Quality Hardware across Route 4. Department of Public Works Superintendent Deborah Donohue agreed that the traffic is busy but added that the speed limit is only 30 mph. The state Department of Transportation would grant a permit for the buildings driveway, she said.

The agency recommended that the Kingsbury Planning Board determine whether the setback requirement applies to the parking area or the building.

The agency also reviewed the village and town of Greenwichs draft revitalization plan. The plan, prepared by a team led by Chazen, a LaBella Company, under a state Brownfields Opportunity Area grant, looks at potentially contaminated and vacant, abandoned and underutilized properties in the town and village commercial districts along Routes 29 and 372.

Greenwich Town Supervisor Jim Nolan said the plans area extends from the Route 40-29 rotary in the northwest to the Batten Kill in the southeast. The plan considers possibilities for remediation, commercial development, affordable and senior housing, beautification, and access to the Batten Kill, he said.

Laura Oswald, county director of economic development, said the plan will make the town and village eligible for grants to help implement it.

Chazen did a really, really nice job on the plan, she said.

The agency found the plan was a matter of local concern and no county action was necessary.

Documents for the Kingsbury project and the Greenwich Revitalization Plan are available at the planning agencys website, https://washingtoncountyny.gov/537/General-Municipal-Law-Referrals.

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GLENS FALLS  Black artist and printmaker Robert Blackburns work and life are now on display at The Hyde Collection. The exhibit opened on Saturday and will be on display until April 24.

Johnathan Canning, director of curatorial affairs and programming at The Hyde, said the exhibit brings an artist, one who is not a household name for most, into the spotlight.

Blackburn was an influential artist in the progression of printmaking in the country. As a teenager, he was afforded the opportunity to access great artists and techniques because of workshops and community provisions provided through the New Deal.

He graduated from The Art Students League, an art school in New York City, in June 1943. Four years later, he acquired his own lithographic press and opened his own workshop that was open to everyone.

The exhibit includes work from Blackburn, work from artists that he worked alongside or inspired, and work from artists who inspired Blackburn.

The show is this sort of mixture of Blackburn as an artist and Blackburn as a teacher and a technical adviser to other artists, Canning said.

The exhibit was organized by The Smithsonian Institution. Canning said that The Hyde signed up roughly three years ago to bring the show to Glens Falls.

The exhibit has been shown in Detroit, Kansas City and Davenport, Iowa. After the exhibit closes at The Hyde in late April it will go on to Colorado Springs, according to Canning.

It includes artists who are already a part of The Hyde Collection, like Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers and John Von Wicht.

The inclusion of other artists to this exhibit will serve the tale of art in the second half of the 20th century that The Hyde has started to tell.

This helps to fill out that story that weve started to tell, Canning said.

Blackburn wasnt able to support himself through his art alone.

He took a job with Universal Limited Art Editions in Long Island as a primary printmaker. ULAE produced prints of works from modern artists at that time. It was through this role that Blackburn was able to work with artists such as Rauschenberg.

The artists come in and they dont necessarily know what they can achieve with prints. He helps them realize their vision, Canning said.

The idea of an artists work being produced as a print is second nature in todays climate. But Canning said that prints go in and out of favor.

He pointed to different times where media, book and magazine illustration dominated printmaking. Lithography, which is a method of printmaking where a design onto a flat stone and affixed with the use of a chemical reaction was closely related to advertising and book media.

For that reason artists didnt typically get involved with lithography.

Blackburn was incredibly skilled at it. So hes able to entice artists to use that medium because he can show them how to make it look better than just a magazine ad, Canning said with a chuckle.

He pointed out that because of Blackburn, an artist like Rauschenberg, who normally would have left lithography to marketing media, would try this and other techniques for their art.

Canning stated that the addition of the Blackburn exhibit diversifies the artists highlighted by The Hyde. In 2019, the museum had an exhibit of works from Dox Thrash, an African American artist who provided a look into what African American life was like to the country prior to the civil rights movement.

Thrash was one of the many artists involved in the Federal Art Project, a New Deal program sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, to fund visual arts in the United States.

Blackburn sort of picks up where that story left off with Blackburn as a teenager, amazingly at 13, meeting some of these WPA artists in the 30s, Canning said.

The addition of the Blackburn exhibit allows for The Hyde to participate in the wider discussion involving artists of color nationally.

Youve got this great print technician whos also an artist who helps and supports the work of artists we know like Rauschenberg, Canning said. He helps them go from painting into printmaking, and yet we dont know about Robert Blackburns role in that.

Jay Mullen is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls, Warren County and crime and courts. You can reach him at (518) 742-3224 or jmullen@poststar.com.

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Until Friday morning, the New York City calendar in my office at Castleton University was stuck on March 2020  the month that life as we knew it changed forever.

Despite us teaching in-person again last semester after a year of online-only classes, I kept it up there on the wall.

It was almost symbolic  and so was the picture.

March 2020 was when we got scared. It was when we started becoming a masked nation, afraid to breathe the air and touch surfaces of anything.

It was also the month I was supposed to take students to New York City for an annual journalism conference.

March 11 was scarier for me than most.

I had driven a school van home to Queensbury, and the next morning, nine students were driving to my home and we were headed to New York City to attend the conference  just like I had with students for more than a decade.

It was a perk for working hard: two nights in the city for both learning at the conference and fun.

But I was petrified.

New York seemed to be the epicenter of COVID-19 at the time  but the conference was still going to be held and I wasnt going to be the one to crush the students and cancel it.

These werent ordinary students.

They were overachievers who worked so hard to put out six editions of the eight-page Castleton Spartan student newspaper out throughout the semester.

They EARNED this trip!

Later Wednesday evening, as I sweated out the trip we were about to take in mere hours, the president of the university sent out an email canceling all trips and saying all study abroad students were coming home.

I was relieved.

So relieved.

The decision to kill the trip was one I agreed with, and most of the students did, too, and it was made by someone else. I wasnt going to kill the trip. I couldnt do that to them.

As it turns out, the conference got cut short  and there were positive cases stemming from it.

Im so thankful for the presidents decision because I did not want to be the one to bring COVID-19 to the CU campus.

The picture for the month of March 2020 interestingly is an aerial shot of lower Manhattan. Also symbolic, Id say.

But now, as of 8:30 a.m. Friday morning, Jan. 28, 2022, it has been covered up by a snowy picture of Southards Pond on Long Island.

I didnt throw the old calendar away, though.

The March 2020 page is still under the new calendar, both held up by a pushpin.

But Im ready to not look at it anymore.

Im ready to move forward  and in a week or so Im signing us up to go to that College Media Association journalism conference in March at the Marriott Marquis, and some of those students who lost that opportunity two years ago will be going with me.

David Blow is a freelance journalist and professor of media and communication at Castleton University. He may be reached at davent67@gmail.com.

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PLEASANTVILLE  The Press of Atlantic City is relocating this year following the sale Monday of its building at 1000 W. Washington Ave.

The Press, a part of Lee Enterprises, a leading provider in local news, is searching for office space in Atlantic County. In the meantime, Press editorial, advertising and circulation employees are working remotely.

Regional Publisher Paul Farrell said the sale and relocation will not affect The Press more than 100-year-long tradition of serving South Jersey as its premier news source.

We are not missing a step as we transition to a different location, Farrell said. From our journalists covering news to our advertising and circulation personnel, well keep providing top-notch service to our communities.

The sale is between seller BH Media Group Inc. and buyer Dhiren Parikh of Keshav Developer LLC.

Hamilton Mall tenants frustrated by abrupt schedule changes MAYS LANDING  Sudden closures and delayed openings at the Hamilton Mall have left shoppers 

BH, a subsidiary of Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Co., bought The Press in 2013. In 2020, BH sold the business to Lee Enterprises but retained ownership of the building at 1000 W. Washington, which it then leased back to The Press until the sale.

The newspaper is printed in Cherry Hill at Evergreen printing.

Readers can contact the newsroom at 609-272-7231. Contact information for reporters and editors can be found online, in print and at the end of each article published.

Regular mail intended for the newsroom or advertising should be mailed to The Press of Atlantic City, PO Box 234, Pleasantville, NJ 08232.

If you are sending a subscription payment or address change, they should be mailed to The Press of Atlantic City, PO Box 2795, Mechanicsville, VA 23116.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  A local student who has attended school in multiple countries is reaching new academic heights.

Hyeonjin Choi, an 18-year-old senior at Atlantic Christian School, scored a perfect 800 on the mathematics section of the SAT. It was his second time taking the test, having scored a near-perfect 780 on the math section during his first attempt.

Choi, who also goes by Isaac, is an international student from South Korea. He first came to the United States and enrolled in Atlantic Christian in 2019 with his twin brother, Hyeonbin, who also goes by Joseph. Prior to his move to the United States, Choi lived and studied in China for a little more than a year in 2017 and 2018. He said his parents, who still live in Gumi, South Korea, wanted Choi and his brother to become more worldly and experience different cultures.

Choi credited his teachers at Atlantic Christian for helping him achieve his 800 score. He said his previous math classes in South Korea were anchored in lessons about rote memorization and the recitation of formulas. Teachers at Atlantic Christian encouraged him to approach problems in creative ways and explore different methods of solving problems.

I started to actually like math, and I studied really hard, he said.

Such creativity may be crucial when taking the math section of the SAT. According to the 2021-22 SAT student guide, the SAT math section tests problem-solving skills and a students ability to apply procedures flexibly and strategically.

The types of question are really different and unexpected on the SAT, so I can react to those kinds of questions better, because I have those experiences, Choi said.

The national average for a math SAT score is 528, according to a 2021 report from The College Board, the company that administers the SAT and Advance Placement exams. The average math SAT score for New Jersey test takers was 563. The math and reading sections of the SAT are scored on a scale from 200 to 800.

Beyond his standardized test scores, Choi has excelled in other areas during his time at Atlantic Christian. He is a violinist for the school band. Having played the violin since elementary school, Choi said he was happy to have the opportunity at Atlantic Christian to work with his fellow bandmates and put on collaborative performances. He said he also plans to play the violin in college.

He added that Atlantic Christian allowed him to explore his faith. He noted that his aunt is a pastor in Gumi, South Korea, and that growing up, he often felt that going to services was a perfunctory obligation. His experiences at Atlantic Christian have given him a new appreciation for his Christianity.

When your family has a pastor, you just go to the church every Sunday mandatorily, so it becomes more of a habit than something important to you, Choi said. I didnt really have my own faith until I came here  being separate from my family, it helped me grow my own faith.

Choi also expressed gratitude for his host family in the United States, which includes Pastor Matthew Mouliert. He said his hosts helped him prepare for the SATs and showed him and his brother support while they were away from their family in South Korea.

Mount Laurel swears in its first Black mayor MOUNT LAUREL  Mount Laurel kicked off the new year with the historic swearing in of the tow

He added it was helpful to have his twin, Hyeonbin, going to school with him. While he said they had a more competitive relationship in South Korea, he and his brother have supported one another abroad as they adjust to new environments.

Choi is exploring plans for the future. He said he wants to attend college, and that his first choice is New York University. He said he was excited about the opportunity to live in New York City, having visited during Christmas. Other schools he is considering are Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland.

He is interested in technology, and spends some of his free time watching tech-themed videos on YouTube. He said he wants to study computer science in college and then work on app development. Choi said his brother, meanwhile, was interested in studying business, perhaps taking after their father, who owns a business in Gumi. Schools Choi said his brother was considering include Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, Hudson County.

Choi, for his part, is taking inspiration from his mother, who works as a social worker in Gumi. He said he wants to make an app that can help disadvantaged students learn and get a quality education.

I saw many children in my community that dont have a lot of educational opportunity, so I want to make some apps to help children like that, Choi said.

Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com

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Atlantic City

Job skills lab: Library card holders can get free help with online job searches, how to write a resume, filling out an application and other skills from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Atlantic City Free Public Library, 1 N. Tennessee Ave. Those who wish to attend the lab must register in advance by calling 609-345-2269, ext. 3060.

MBCA annual luncheon: The Metropolitan Business & Citizens Associations rescheduled new year luncheon business meeting will be held at noon Feb. 11 at Caesars Atlantic City. Mayor Marty Small Sr. and members of City Council will present their vision for the city. Special guest will be Lt. Gov. Shelia Oliver. The program is open to the public. Tickets are $45 for members, $50 for nonmembers. To RSVP, call 609-348-1903 or visit mbcanj.com.

Captain Tables Reception to benefit local food banks: The Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Southern Branch, along with its member charity, Let Us Eat, Please, will once again host the Captains Table Reception at the Progressive Insurance Atlantic City Boat Show. The evening of food, cocktails and desserts will be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center from 6 to 8 p.m. March 3. More than 20 chefs from across South Jersey will be serving guests their most popular dishes. All proceeds will be equally shared by the food bank and Let Us Eat, Please to support local hunger relief efforts. Tickets are $125 per person, which includes admission to the Progressive Insurance NY Boat Show on March 3. To purchase a sponsorship or tickets, visit give.cfbnj.org/CaptainsTable.

Clothing drive: Turning Point Day Center for the Homeless at 1717 Bishop Richard Allen Ave. is accepting donations of gently used mens clothing as well as personal care items, cleaning supplies, bottled water and other food items. The center was founded by Second Baptist Church to help those in need in the community. This is an ongoing project. The public may bring donated items to the center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. For information, call 609-246-6080.
PLEASANTVILLE  Residents looking for a forum to discuss a proposed debris-waste transfer station will, yet again, have to wait for a later date.

Organizers have chosen to further postpone a town hall meeting on the subject, citing a high volume of COVID-19 cases in the region. A new date has not been announced.

The town hall had been scheduled for Wednesday at Mount Zion Baptist Church, after being pushed back from Jan. 19. COVID-19 was cited as the reason then as well.

COVID-19 cases have been declining in the region as the holiday surge of the omicron variant wanes. Atlantic County reported three new COVID-19 cases and one new death in Pleasantville on Wednesday. On Jan. 19, the date the town hall originally was supposed to be held, the county reported 30 new cases in Pleasantville.

The event is being advertised on the website for the Stop the Dump movement, a campaign being spearheaded by the Atlantic County Utilities Authority. The website says the event has been postponed and tells visitors to await updates, as does a Facebook page where the event was to be livestreamed.

Pleasantville waste transfer station town hall postponed to Feb. 2. A town hall for the transfer station planned off West Washington Avenue has been postponed t

Proponents of the Washington Avenue project, including Mayor Judy Ward, say it would be a valuable ratable property and would generate $400,000 per year for the city via trash-transfer fees as well as create local jobs. Other advocates argue the project is necessitated by the impending obsolescence of the ACUA landfill in Egg Harbor Township, which is forecasted to close within the next seven years.

Opponents argue the transfer station for construction debris would emit offensive noises and smells in the surrounding neighborhood. They also maintain the proposed facility would be too small to handle the amount of waste it is slotted to receive. ACUA President Rick Dovey, meanwhile, has insisted the authority would be able to transport waste to a landfill in another county once the one in Egg Harbor Township closes.

The developer of the project, James DiNatale, has disputed that the facility would be too small, noting there are smaller sites in New Jersey that handle similar amounts of waste. He also argues there would be no noise or smell pollution. He stressed that the facility would be equipped with a filtration system and handle only construction and demolition debris waste, not typical household waste. The proximity of the project to a rail line, meanwhile, would actually reduce the numbers of trucks transporting trash in Pleasantville, he said.

The ACUA projects it would lose $9 million in annual revenue if the Pleasantville station is built, which would necessitate an increase in rates charged to municipalities and potential tax increases on residents.

Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com

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Our report today affects up to 2,000 residents, Comptroller Kevin Walsh said in an online news conference on the report. Hundreds of millions of public dollars have gone to one-star nursing homes that are overwhelmingly owned by for-profit companies.

Ratings are made on a five-star system, with one star being the poorest. They are based on issues found during health inspections, quality measures reported by nursing homes and the ratio of nursing staff to residents.

In South Jersey, Oceana Rehabilitation and Nursing Care on Route 9 in Cape May Court House and South Jersey Extended Care on Manheim Avenue in Bridgeton were named. No one from either facility was available for comment Wednesday.State Health Department spokesperson Donna Leusner said Wednesday night the department is reviewing the comptrollers report and discussing its recommendations.

Leusner said since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the department has taken numerous steps to strengthen the resiliency of the industry, including creating a New Jersey Task Force on Long Term Care Quality and Safety, developing a comprehensive testing plan for staff and residents, and requiring long-term care facilities to establish stockpiles of personal protective equipment.

South Jersey nursing homes keeping visitors away from seniors Barbara Makoski would have loved to celebrate her mothers 94th birthday in person last Tues

She added that the Office of Long-Term Care Resiliency, established in February 2021, has made more than 1,000 direct outreaches to the facilities.

The 15 lowest-rated homes are spread throughout the state, Walsh said, and 14 are owned by for-profit companies or private equity groups.

The states long-term care ombudsman, Laurie Brewer, said the government has increased Medicaid reimbursement for nursing homes in the wake of the pandemic, and has provided funds for PPE and more to help facilities cope.

Legislation to increase transparency on who owns nursing homes has yet to pass.

These are private companies, Brewer said. We dont know where all the public dollars are going.

Brewer said ownership groups that own several nursing homes often own other service companies, such as nursing staffing agencies, food service and landscaping companies.

National Guard arrives at Meadowview to assist amid COVID-19 surge New Jersey National Guard teams have been deployed to several long-term care facilities in S

All the companies they are doing business with may be owned by the parent company of the nursing home, Brewer said. When you only look at the profitability of the individual nursing home, it always looks like they are losing money, but they are paying money out to their own owners.

The report did not analyze the demographics of the residents in the 15 lowest-performing homes for racial or ethnic backgrounds, but Brewer said the worst homes are more likely to take younger disabled patients.

Many are large facilities, including Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center (formerly Andover Subacute and Rehab II) in Andover, Sussex County, which is the largest in the state with a capacity of about 500, she said.

Andover was in the news early in the pandemic, when 17 bodies were found piled in a morgue there in April 2020, and government authorities found seriously deficient conditions. Lawsuits over the conditions there continue.

But its problems predated the pandemic. In 2017, the Andover facility agreed to pay to the United States and the State of New York $888,000 to resolve allegations that it provided materially substandard or worthless nursing services to some patients, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Jersey.

They do seem to be facilities that have perhaps a larger percentage of younger disabled people and post psychiatric hospitalizations, Brewer said.

State inspections have found serious health and safety issues year after year, Walsh said.

None of the 15 ... have made sustained improvements, yet the Medicaid program continues to pay, Walsh said.

The report recommends that change.

The department of Human Services and the Department of Health we recommend work together to get these nursing homes to improve the quality of care or risk losing Medicaid funds, Walsh said.

Withholding Medicaid funds may require state agencies to work with the federal Medicaid program, Walsh acknowledged.

Its a massive tool  leverage the state can and should use, Walsh said. New Jersey taxpayers should not be funding nursing homes that are disproportionately likely to put people in harms way.

The comptrollers data dashboard at nj.gov/comptroller gives a variety of information on the homes rated at just 1 star out of 5 for extended periods.

Walsh said his office is primarily a watchdog, looking out for the interests of New Jersey residents and taxpayers. Part of its job is to act as the inspector general for the Medicaid program in the state, he said, to root out waste, fraud and abuse.

Medicaid is the single biggest nursing home care payer in New Jersey and nationally, Walsh said.

I want to emphasize the criticism here is not of the people who work in long-term care, who are the unsung heroes, Brewer said. They are showing up in the face of significant adversity.

In facilities like this, conditions are not just bad for the residents, they are also bad for the staff.

REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com

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Murder charges have been filed against a Colona man who police say battered a 14-month-old girl on Thursday and who died of her injuries about 2 p.m. Sunday.

Rahsaan Malik Strawder, 38, of 710 4th St., is charged in Henry County Circuit Court with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated battery to a child, according to electronic circuit court records.

Murder is a Class M felony under Illinois law that carries a prison sentence of 20-60 years and can be extended to life under certain circumstance.

Aggravated battery to a child is a Class X felony that carries a prison sentence of six to 30 years.

Strawder made a first appearance Friday in Henry County Circuit Court. He was charged at that time with aggravated battery to a child, according to a news release issued Friday by Colona Police Chief Mike Swemline.

Strawder was being held in the Henry County Jail on a bond of $1 million, 10%.

Strawder is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Henry County Circuit Court.

According to Swemline's news release, Colona Police were notified by the Moline Police Department on Thursday of an aggravated battery to a child that had occurred in Colona. Moline had initially taken the report believing that the incident had occurred in Moline.

Colona Police detectives met with investigators from Moline. Interviews were conducted by both agencies.

A search warrant was obtained for Strawders home. The Illinois State Police Crime Scene Unit processed the scene.

The child was flown to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria with complications.

Neighbors both across the street and directly next door to the home where Strawder was living and where police spent considerable time after his arrest said they never saw a baby there. They said he moved in with a woman already living in the home last May. When the woman moved out, they said, another moved in.

Strawder was on parole from the East Moline Correctional Center at the time and is a registered sex offender.

He was incarcerated in the East Moline Correctional Center after being convicted in 2016 of robbery and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in Kane County, according to Illinois Department of Corrections electronic records. He was released from prison and placed on parole on June 25, 2021, or about seven months ago.

Strawder is required to register as a sex offender. He was convicted in 2002 in Kane County of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim age 13-16. The victim was 16 at the time, according to the Illinois Sex Offender Registry.

An across-the-street neighbor in Colona said she was aware he was a registered sex offender, but a next-door neighbor said he didn't know.

Strawders criminal history also includes convictions for aggravated arson, residential burglary and fraud, according to Illinois Department of Corrections electronic records.

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NEW YORK (AP)  It started as just another January morning, the damp chill prompting a family on the third floor of a drafty Bronx apartment tower to run a space heater for extra warmth, as residents had done countless times before.

In the moment, that decision hardly deserved a second thought.

Soon, though, it would prove the first in a series of fleeting choices and troubling circumstances that combined to fuel a staggering tragedy.

If only the heat inside apartment 3N had been sufficient. If only the family, fleeing a fire sparked by the malfunctioning space heater, had pulled the door closed behind them. If only their neighbors, conditioned to ignore frequent alarms that nearly always proved false, had not disregarded them this time. If only the blaze hadn't started near the bottom of the building, quickly turning the structure into a chimney that funneled impenetrable black smoke up stairwells and down hallways as scores struggled to escape.

If only so many seemingly minor factors had not aligned, then 17 people, including eight children, might now be alive.

"I dropped on my knees and started to pray to God and said, 'Please help me. Please help us,'" said Tysena Jacobs. 68, who was making breakfast in her 15th-floor apartment when acrid smoke started billowing under the front door. "It was like a nightmare."

Most nightmares, though, are solitary.

This one, all too real, was endured by hundreds spread over 19 floors -- taxi drivers and teachers, the elderly and newborns, many of them west African immigrants. From the outside, their brown block building set on a cement corner appeared anonymous. But inside it was a community, only vertical. That amplified both the damage and the grief.

If only, after an almost eerily mild December, the weekend's weather in New York had not turned cold. Each winter, some apartments in the Twin Parks tower stayed comfortable while others did not, forcing residents to improvise, said Stefan Beauvogui, a 67-year-old immigrant from Guinea who lives on the fourth floor.

On Sunday, he and his wife had space heaters running in both bedrooms and their sitting room because the building's heat "don't work for nothing." He said he had complained, but it hadn't been fixed.

Fathia Touray's family was the first to arrive at Twin Parks from the west African country of Gambia in the mid-1980s. They and other new arrivals bought space heaters. But sometimes her family had to turn on the oven or boil pots of water to keep the chill at bay, said Touray. She moved out in 2005 but her family remained, forced to flee Sunday's blaze.

Investigators say an electric space heater set up in one of the bedrooms of a duplex on the third floor of the building had been on for a "prolonged period" when an unspecified malfunction set off a fire around 11 a.m. Soon, flames began billowing from the unit's windows.

Down the hall, resident Karen Dejesus heard one of the building's hard-wired smoke alarms going off on the other side of her apartment door. At first, she ignored it.

"So many of us were used to hearing that fire alarm go off, it was like second nature to us," said Dejesus, 56, who was in the apartment with her son and 3-year-old granddaughter. "Not until I actually saw the smoke coming in the door did I realize it was a real fire and I began to hear people yelling 'Help. Help. Help.'"

Up on the 10th floor, Jose Henriquez had the same reaction.

"It seems like today, they went off but the people didn't pay attention," Henriquez said in Spanish.

By that point, smoke was spreading fast. When residents of 3N fled, the door to the unit was left open and stayed that way, investigators say, despite New York City law that requires entrances to apartments and stairwells be spring-loaded so they close automatically. The company that owns the building said in a statement Monday that maintenance workers repairing a lock on that door recently had inspected the self-closing mechanism and found it working.

Within minutes, air rushing through the open doorway had sucked flames, soot and thick black smoke into the hall, and then under Dejesus' door. Before she could stuff towels into the opening, it filled the room, forcing the family to flee down the stairs to the lower floor of their duplex.

When firefighters arrived a few minutes after the blaze was reported, they broke down her door and rushed all three family members out a window onto a waiting ladder.

But while the flames never escaped the third floor, smoke poured into the building's stairwells and, with a second door left open on a 15th-floor landing, rapidly swept throughout the building. There was little to hold back the blaze in a structure that has sprinklers in its compactor and laundry rooms but none elsewhere.

Glenn Corbett, a fire science professor at John Jay College in New York City, said closed doors are vital to containing fire and smoke, especially in buildings without systems to douse a blaze.

"In a building that doesn't have sprinklers in it, that has very little fire safety in it, this door became literally life and death for hundreds of people," he said.

On the ninth floor, Kweesam Wood, a train station cleaner for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was in the shower when his 6-year-old daughter Dasanii ran to tell his wife that she smelled smoke. The family grabbed clothes and started down the building's fire stairs.

But "there were people, glass, bodies," Fatima Wood says. They only made it down a few flights when heavy smoke forced them to turn around.

The smoke, though, kept rising.

On the 15th floor, Jacobs and her brother rushed toward the door as the air in their apartment took on the odor of soot. But they decided not to open it when they saw plumes of smoke billowing from beneath it.

Four floors up, Renee Howard was startled by a banging at her door. She opened it to find a firefighter, his face covered in soot, standing in a hallway filled with black smoke, asking her if everyone inside was OK. Assured she was safe, he ordered her to keep away from the door and stay near the window and wait for further instructions.

"I didn't move from there for at least seven hours because I didn't know where the fire was," she said.

Staying put kept her safe. But in a building without fire escapes, many residents flooded into the stairways, leaving what refuge they had in their units. Members of another family who lives on the same floor as Howard died trying to escape the building.

In the chaos, though, others made it to safety.

"I just ran down the steps as much as I could but people was falling all over me, screaming," said Sandra Clayton, 61, who was able to grope her way through the smoke. Gasping for air outside, she could think only of the wails of those who would not make it.

As residents returned to the building Monday hoping to gather personal items, they despaired pondering all the ways in which the tragedy and its terrible toll might have been averted.

"I saw the firefighters taking the children out. Their lives have been snatched away in a second," Howard said, breaking into tears. "I don't want to go back there. It's such a heartache."

***

Associated Press writers Bobby Caina Calvan, Deepti Hajela, Dave Porter, Bernard Condon, Mike Sisak and Andrew Selsky and video journalists Robert Bumsted and Ted Shaffrey contributed to this story.

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Activists Tuesday called for officials to release people accused of immigration violations who are being held during the last days of federal detention at McHenry and Kankakee county jails.

The jails are expected to end their federal contracts to hold immigration detainees by Feb. 12, activists said. A new state law effective Jan. 1 prohibits such contracts. County officials had delayed the effective date while they challenged the law as unconstitutional, but federal judges ruled against them.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are deciding whether to transfer the detainees to another detention facility out of state, or to release them while they wait for court hearings.

Advocates called the detentions inhumane and costly, while McHenry County States Attorney Patrick Kenneally and county board Chairman Mike Buehler, both Republicans, called the state law hasty and politically motivated.

Advocates held a news conference outside ICEs field office in Chicago Tuesday, asking the agency to free the detainees. Seven Democratic members of Congress from Illinois sent a letter to ICE asking it to release the detainees, along with an online petition.

Two detainees told the Tribune about their experiences in jail.

Angela Osorio, a mother of three who lives in Cicero, said she was held at the McHenry jail from April until October, then transferred to a jail in Kansas, far from anyone she knew.

She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2000 and overstayed, and is waiting for a ruling on her appeal of her case.

During her time in jail, she said, It changed my life, not for the good.

Detainees were kept in cells, about 6 feet by 4 feet, with a metal bunk and mattress, toilet and sink. Its like youre sleeping in the bathroom, she said.

She said she was depressed and suicidal, being cut off from her family and worried about deportation. The food was terrible, and any goods for sale in the commissary were twice as expensive as normal, and in Kansas she was held with criminals.

Alejandro Ortiz, 27, said he flew from Zacatecas, Mexico, into Midway Airport in October on a tourist visa to see his family, but officials did not accept it and took him into custody. He said that he has some issues in Mexico he didnt want to talk about, but had come on a tourist visa before and didnt anticipate any problem.

Upon arrival at the McHenry jail, he was forced to quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the worst part was being kept in solitary confinement in his cell 24 hours a day, with no contact with anyone, except for one hour every other day when he was allowed to go into a larger common area.

His cousin in Chicago sponsored Ortiz, promising to house and support him, and ICE released him on parole in January, pending a hearing in civil immigration court on his request for asylum due to dangers he said he faces in Mexico.

He said many detainees had to miss appointments to meet family or attorneys because the jail kept changing schedules for lockdown and free periods.

Both detainees described their experiences as very scary.

As of Jan. 21, ICE had released 34 detainees, according to Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. About 30 more remained at McHenry and 10 at Kankakee at that time, with ICE allowing 10 days for the individuals and their attorneys to submit additional information to argue for their release.

About 20 people demonstrated to release the detainees, representing Organized Communities Against Deportation, Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants, National Immigrant Justice Center and the Collaborative for Health Equity Cook County.

Before state law ended the ICE contracts, last May, after contentious debate, the McHenry County board voted to continue to hold federal detainees, noting that the contract typically brought in around $8 million a year in federal fees. Officials said the McHenry jail is accredited with high standards for safety and humanity, and warned that ending the local jail detentions would only lead to some detainees being transferred out of state, far from their families, friends and attorneys.

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A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest:

OBSCENE MATERIALS: Legislation to make it an aggravated misdemeanor to provide obscene products or services to public or private schools has been introduced in the Iowa House.

HF 2176 permits a county attorney to begin a civil proceeding to stop the dissemination of the materials. Also, a parent of a student in the school or a child using the library may bring a civil action for injunctive relief, punitive damages  a minimum of $10,000, and other equitable relief.

The fine for an aggravated misdemeanor is at least $855, but not more than $8,450. If the person has been convicted of a prior violation, they could be charged with a Class D felony punishable by a fine of up to $10,245 and five years in prison.

It would not be a defense to label the materials as curriculum approved for educational use. The bill would not prohibit the use of appropriate material for educational purposes and does not prohibit the attendance of minors at an exhibition or display of artworks.

FAMILY FIRST: Since becoming the 11th state to adopt an approved Family First Prevention Plan, Iowa has reduced the number of youths in group care by 48 percent.

Its the departments philosophy that children do best in their own families, Janee Harvey, Iowa Department of Human Services Adult, Children and Family Services division administrator, told the House Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday. Social workers are expected to support parents whenever possible, Harvey said. If children must be removed from their home, the DHS looks first to extended family, then to fictive kin  a person not related by blood but who provides a stable connection  and then to licensed foster care and, finally, residential care.

The number of youths in residential care settings has dropped from 635 in fiscal 2016 to 333 last year, Harvey said. The department expects that number to tick up slightly.

Fifty-five percent of all children and youth in foster care are living with fictive kin, and there has been a 20 percent reduction in children entering foster care, she said.

Harvey also told the legislators DHS is seeking a number of changes to remove redundant mandatory reporter requirements, limit the length of time allegations of child abuse, denial of care and dangerous substance are considered to the most recent five years, extend foster child care from 19 to 21 years of age if the youth wants to remain in foster care, and reduce barriers for accessing information about siblings and other records to adult adoptees when parental rights are terminated.

TABLED: A bill to limit the range of topics teachers may talk about in the classroom has been tabled for the year.

HF 2053, sponsored by Rep. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, would prohibit teachers from discussing topics such as the so-called systematic nature of racism as well as curb how teachers talk about current events or controversial topics. That could limit discussion of pretty much any topic, Nathan Arnold of Professional Educators of Iowa told the House Education subcommittee Tuesday.

HF 2053 also would have prohibited students from lobbying lawmakers and prevented schools from accepting private contributions to support class or civic activities.

COVID-19 VACCINATIONS: HF 2040, a bill to prohibit requiring COVID-19 immunization for anyone to be enrolled in a licensed day care or school sailed through a House Education subcommittee Tuesday.

For the most part, speakers told lawmakers decisions whether to vaccinate children should be left to parents, not schools or the state.

School boards dont want to be put in the position of deciding which vaccines  beyond those currently required by state law  should be required for students, Emily Piper of the Iowa Association of School Boards said.

Gabby Fistler, a member of the AGWSR school board headquartered in Ackley and concerned parent, agreed that decision is the responsibility of parents. Brei Johnson of Johnston, speaking to Informed Choice Iowa, pushed back on misleading information about the risk to children. Vaccinating children to protect adults is unethical, she said, adding that herd immunity is a myth. Also, supporters said children should not be denied education based on their vaccination status.

Only Chaney Yeast of Blank Childrens Hospital spoke against the bill that had 30 Republican co-sponsors. Listening to the comments was a tale of two worlds when I look at our current hospital census, she said. While childrens admissions for COVID-19 had been stable, in December and January they began to double.

Its no longer kids dont get COVID. Its no longer kids dont get it as bad as adults, Yeast said. She encouraged lawmakers to visit Blank or their local hospital to see how children are being affected by COVID-19.

A similar bill, SF 2079, is in the Senate Education Committee.

CHILD CARE: A package of child care assistance proposals passed the Senates human resources committee. SSB 3066, which was presented by the state Department of Human Services, would remove a cap on the amount of time a child is eligible for child care assistance when his or her parent is hospitalized or ill, and expand foster care eligibility from 18 years old to 21. With its committee passage, the bill is now eligible for consideration by the full Senate.

DEMOCRATS SCHOOL FUNDING: Statehouse Democrats are proposing the state boost K-12 public school funding by 5 percent for the next school year. That would amount to an investment of nearly $300 million in new funding.

Democrats noted that is roughly the same as how much a corporate income tax cut proposed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds would cost, although that cost is spread out over five years.

I think its fair to say that our plan helps to make up for years of underfunding public schools across the state, House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said during a news conference. It gives schools flexibility to do what they need to do in their own classrooms, in their own schools, in their own communities.

Majority Republicans in the House and Senate have not yet announced their proposal for K-12 public school funding levels. Reynolds proposed a 2.5 percent increase, which would be roughly $154 million in new money.

EMINENT DOMAIN: A bill to ban the use of eminent domain to acquire agricultural land for private projects, such as the recently proposed underground pipelines, has been introduced by a northwest Iowa senator.

Although generally, Iowa law prohibits the use of eminent domain to take agricultural property except for a public purpose or if a property owner consents, that does not apply to utilities under the authority of the Iowa Utilities Board.

SF 2160, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Taylor, R-Sioux Center, strikes that exception.

The proposed legislation comes as Summit Carbon Solutions has indicated it wants to use eminent domain to build a carbon dioxide pipeline through 30 Iowa counties in northern and western Iowa. It doesnt have voluntary easements from property owners to build the 681-mile pipeline, so it is asking the IUB for permission to use private property with payment, but against owners wishes.

TEACHER INCENTIVES: A package of proposals designed to help schools recruit and retain teachers passed out of a Senate subcommittee with bipartisan support, and compliments from across the spectrum of stakeholders and advocacy groups.

SSB 3067 would expand a state program that provides grants to teachers and add some focus to small, rural schools; provide an accelerated path to a teachers license; and authorize districts to use their funds to create a student loan forgiveness program.

All three members of the subcommittee  two Republicans and a Democrat  said they support the legislation. And advocacy groups for teachers, school boards and other educational bodies expressed their support for elements of, if not the entire, bill.

Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, the Senate Education Committee chairwoman who is leading the bill, called it an all of the above kind of strategy to helping schools address a shortage of teachers and other staff.

With its passage out of subcommittee, the bill is eligible for consideration by the full Senate Education Committee. It is on the agenda for the committees meeting Thursday.

MANDATORY E-VERIFY: All Iowa employers would be required to use the E-Verify program that searches federal databases to determine whether an individual is living in the country legally and thus eligible to work here under legislation approved on a party-line vote in the Senate.

Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, said roughly 5,500 Iowa employers already use the program voluntarily. SF 339 would make using the program mandatory.

Hiring people who are in the country illegally is a violation of federal law, and there are pretty serious penalties for those who do that, Garrett said.

With its passage, the bill is eligible for consideration by the full Senate.

ANTISEMITISM DEFINITION: The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would match the states definition of antisemitism to the definition used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, said the legislation is important and timely because of the increase in acts of violence against Jewish Americans.

SSB 3010 now is eligible for consideration by the full Senate. A companion bill is advancing in the House.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau

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The Rock Island-Moline Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) meeting will be held Feb. 5 with a presentation "From Nepal to STEM Scientist, to be given by Dr. Ritu Gurung, chairperson of the Chemistry Department, St. Ambrose University.

The program will begin at 10 a.m. at the Butterworth Center, 1105 8th St., Moline.

Gurung has lived in different parts of Nepal and earned her bachelors and masters degrees in chemistry in Nepal. She joined St. Ambrose as an assistant professor in 2015.

Gurung is volunteering to be a commissioner in the Office of the Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, Iowa Department of Human Rights.

For more information, call 614-436-3531.

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An armed man who refused to surrender his employers company pickup took his own life after failing to stop for Scott County Sheriffs deputies Tuesday.

Scott County Sheriffs Major Shawn Roth said in a news release that Scott County Emergency Communications Center received a call for a disturbance in the area of Lowe's Home Improvement on Elmore Avenue in Davenport.

The caller reported a problem with terminating an employee at US Infrastructure Company, or USIC, and retrieving the companys vehicle, a Chevrolet Colorado pickup with USIC decals.

The man refused to return the vehicle to the company, and threatened that he was armed with a pistol and a rifle.

Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane said the incident began about 2:20 p.m.

The man fled the scene but the pickup was equipped and tracked via a GPS signal.

The vehicle left Davenport and proceeded northbound on U.S. 61 into Clinton County.

The vehicle returned to Scott County on Scott Park Road, where it was located by a Scott County Sheriffs Deputy.

The deputy followed the vehicle until additional backup units were able to converge.

Deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the pickup as it traveled south in 24000 block of Utica Ridge Road, which is also 210th Avenue in that area. Because the man was armed, a felony stop was initiated, Lane said.

Lane said that units kept their distance and didnt try to stop the vehicle by activating their emergency lights until everyone was in place, and speeds never got beyond 65 mph.

Sheriffs deputies were told the vehicle was equipped with OnStar, and they tried to get the company to stop the vehicle remotely. The man failed to stop for deputies, and a pursuit ensued. There were some technical difficulties and OnStar was not able to stop the vehicle remotely.

A Scott County Sheriffs deputy deployed a spike strip at the intersection of 210th Street and 210th Avenue. One tire was punctured. The vehicle continued southbound on Utica Ridge Road.

The vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly ran off the roadway to the east, entering the ditch and striking a tree just north of 7721 Utica Ridge Road in Davenport.

Attempts to communicate with the man were unsuccessful.

Officers approached the vehicle using the armored BEARCAT from the Bettendorf Police Department.

The driver was found unresponsive due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by Medic EMS paramedics. A weapon was recovered from the vehicle.

The name of the man is being withheld pending family notifications.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has trained crisis counselors available 24/7 at 800-273-TALK (8255).

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U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Wednesday said he is urging a "fair and thoughtful" confirmation process to vet President Joe Biden's eventual nominee to succeed retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Grassley met Tuesday with Biden and U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, to discuss the forthcoming Supreme Court vacancy as the White House ramps up outreach to Republicans in hopes of avoiding a heated confirmation battle.

Grassley serves as the ranking Republican member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"From my point of view, it was a very successful meeting," Grassley said Wednesday during a weekly conference call with Iowa reporters.

His remarks echoed those of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who this week pledged to treat Bidens nominee with respect during a "thoughtful" process.

With the outcome of the confirmation process unlikely to change the 6-3 conservative majority and ideological composition of the court, and Republicans believing there are better issues on which to focus heading into the November midterm elections, both Grassley and McConnell indicated Republicans will keep the upcoming confirmation battle civil and focused on the qualifications of the nominee, who is expected to be the first Black woman selected for the Supreme Court.

Durbin this week expressed confidence that Republicans will not seek to boycott a hearing and slow the confirmation process in the evenly divided U.S. Senate, NBC News reported.

Grassley refused to hold a hearing on Merrick Garlands 2016 nomination to the Supreme Court. Former President Barack Obama nominated Garland, now serving as U.S. Attorney General, after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. But Republicans who controlled the Senate refused to consider the nomination during an election year.

Asked if he is open to supporting Bidens eventual nominee and his pledge to nominate the first-ever Black woman to the court, Grassley said: "We need the nominee first."

"I'm going to be focused on not man or woman, (or) race," Grassley said. "I'm going to be focused on the qualification, in particular ... that we want somebody that's going to interpret the law and not make law."

Grassley added it's Congress' "responsibility to make law, and we shouldn't be having judges or justices usurp the constitutional power of Congress."

Biden on Tuesday said he hope to announce a nominee by the end of the month, and that once announced he is hoping for a 40-day confirmation process, a similar timeline to other nominees.

"The Constitution says 'advise and consent' -- 'advice and consent.' And Im serious when I say it: that I want the advice of the Senate as well as the consent, if we can arrive on who the nominee should be, Biden told reporters following Tuesday's meeting, according to pool reports and remarks provided by the White House.

Some Republicans and conservative media outlets have decried Biden's promise to nominate a Black woman as the next justice. Both President Donald Trump and President Ronald Reagan pledged to nominate women to the nation's highest court during their terms.

Fellow Republican Senate Judiciary Committee member Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday defended Bidens pledge, saying it was no different than Reagans promise to nominate the nations first female justice, Sandra Day OConnor, in 1981.

"Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America," Graham said. "You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America."

Among top contenders to succeed Breyer is South Carolina U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, whom Graham praised as "highly qualified" and "fair-minded, highly gifted jurist."

"If she's nominated, she will not be treated like Judge Kavanaugh, I promise you, by Republicans," Graham said, referring to the heated fight over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's 2018 confirmation after he faced allegations of previous sexual misconduct.

Biden on Tuesday said he is looking for "a candidate with character; with the qualities of a judge, in terms of being courteous to the folks before them and treating people with respect; as well as a judicial philosophy that is more of one that suggests that there are unenumerated rights in the Constitution, and all the amendments mean something, including the Ninth Amendment."

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The city of Moline is partnering with Western Illinois University Quad Cities Campus to offer another child care option in an effort to return more people to the workforce.

Gorman & Company, a housing and downtown redevelopment firm, joined the partnership by offering long-vacant space on the first floor of Enterprise Lofts, 1871 River Drive, as the future site of the Spanish Bilingual Early Learning and Family Empowerment Lab.

The child care center, which will be available for first- and second-shift working families, is expected to open in late August and will serve up to 65 children.

"It hasn't only been local leadership that has identified educational opportunities such as child care as a good fit for places like this one," Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati said as she gestured around the cavernous room that will soon be transformed into a child care center.

"Today we are celebrating the beginning of a journey to build this space with hope and opportunity for many people in our city and the Quad Cities at large," she said. "This lab will help add tools in our tool belt for addressing the needs of care for our community's children and their parents who move our economy forward."

Lindsay Meeker, a professor of early childhood education at WIU's Quad Cities campus, said she was excited to partner with the community to advocate for early learning and child care opportunities. She said WIU had been working for the past couple of years to combat the child care shortage.

"The child care crisis is a Moline problem, but it's also a larger Quad-City problem and a nationwide problem," Meeker said. "The Quad-Cities, state of Illinois and Iowa are committed to collaborative solutions. WIU is showing up to be part of the solution alongside community partners, cheerleading access to high-quality early learning and child care across the Quad-City region."

Kristi Mindrup, WIU's Vice President of Quad Cities Campus Operations, said the new child care center "creates a safe and welcoming space to provide a solid learning foundation and a much-needed service."

Mindrup said the center also would provide a hands-on learning environment for WIU early childhood students as they prepared for a career in child care and teaching.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with Mayor Rayapati, Gorman (& Company) and many community supporters to innovate and connect Western's tradition of teacher education to enhance the quality of life in our city and our region."

Ron Clewer, Illinois market president for Gorman & Company, said when people had access to affordable child care, they were able to find jobs and access to health care, too.

"We know that when folks have access to affordable housing that keeps a roof over their head and takes the stress of rent away, they're not only able to get a job, but keep a job," Clewer said.

"We develop in 10 different states and service community developers. The barriers to employment for most of our residents is indeed child care. The shortage of child care workers was solved by (WIU) providing educational opportunities through this site but also providing child care at the same time."

In addition to the child care center in Enterprise Lofts, the city of Moline also announced another part of the program that offers forgivable loans to child care businesses.

City Council members approved using up to $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds during the Jan. 25 meeting for the creation of the Childcare and Workforce Infrastructure Forgivable Loan Program to assist families and Moline businesses that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The city began accepting applications Feb. 1 for the loans, which range from $10,000 to $50,000.

"The city of Moline has recently put ARPA dollars to work through a program to expand existing or create new child care facilities within the city," Rayapati said.

"I'm very thankful for the bi-partisan support."

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LOMBARD - David and Sondra Zorn spent nearly every minute together during the 64 years they were married.

Theyd spend days together in the home they shared with their children, listening to gospel music or watching Jeopardy.

Ever since they met at a South Side churchs youth group, then married at ages 18 and 24, the couple had been inseparable. They had lived in the same home in Lombard since 1962.

And so their children always thought that when they passed away, they would do that together, too.

But never did anyone imagine it would be so very close.

The Zorns died within days of each other after sharing a room at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, following hospitalizations with COVID-19. The staff, and their family, worked to place them in the same room, where their hands could rest together and their children could know they felt the comfort of being near.

We always said they would probably pass away together, because they were so close, but we didnt know this close, said Deanna Wilkins, their daughter.

Wilkins described her parents as people who loved God and loved their family, spending time as a young family with growing children going on vacations and welcoming foster children. They loved to collect Coca Cola memorabilia, even going to conventions for collectors. Later in life, with 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, they spent summer weekends at a lake house in Michigan, soaking up the water. Thanksgivings were spent around fire pits there.

David Zorn sold supplies for laundry and dry cleaning, and Sondra Zorn stayed at home and ran a day care until the kids were older, later working as a bookkeeper. Throughout the years, the family remained close.

Even in the ups and downs, you just stick together, Wilkins said.

Even in their 80s, they were able to live in their Lombard home, where two children also lived with them.

That was until October, when Sondra Zorn had a stroke and was hospitalized. Complications from the stroke kept her in a hospital and later in rehab. But she kept up her will.

She had a lot of ups and downs, Wilkins said. She kept on wanting to fight. We would ask her, and she kept on wanting to fight.

Meanwhile, David Zorn, who had dementia, was at home without her, asking his children, Wheres Ma?

In January, Sondra Zorn was transferred to Good Samaritan after she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was having trouble breathing.

Throughout recent months, her children were prepared that it might be time.

But what surprised them was suddenly facing their fathers potential death, too.

We expected my mom, but we didnt expect my dad, Wilkins said.

David Zorn was hospitalized in January after testing positive for COVID-19.

When Advocate patient relations specialist Johnny Gillespie realized that they would both be there, he knew they should share a room. Years ago, the hospital had moved away from shared rooms to single rooms. This time, it would be the opposite.

Having talked to Wilkins before, when her mom was hospitalized, he had leaned down to whisper in Sondra Zorns ear that he was in constant touch with her daughter, and let her know by touching her hand that someone was there.

And he knew the spouses were not used to being apart. There were these moments where her dad was asking about her mom because they werent together, and that was something that really grips at the heartstrings, Gillespie said.

He asked supervisors, who approved the idea, and they moved their two beds into a room large enough to comfortably hold two, and pushed the beds close enough so their hands could touch.

For what turned out to be their final day alive together, they laid beside each other.

When Wilkins visited, she could tell being near her father was calming her mother.

I knew my mom knew, Wilkins said. You could see her body relax.

Wilkins would play gospel music they loved, like the Blackwood Brothers. Her fathers favorite song was What A Beautiful Day (For The Lord To Come Again).

She put together two photos of her parents holding hands, a black-and-white photo from their wedding day, the brides hand placed on top of her grooms, showing their new rings. Next to it, from January, a photo with hands covered with hospital tubes and arms in hospital gowns, together.

Sondra Zorn died Jan. 5, at age 83. Days later, her husband died Jan. 9 at age 89.

Once my mom passed, he just was done, Wilkins said.

Erin Stafford, an Advocate nurse who has cared for COVID-19 patients including the Zorns, said the moment was one shell remember as a time she was able to help during a pandemic in which she often felt helpless during patients final moments, at times only able to offer FaceTime calls.

The Zorns family did not want to discuss the couples vaccination status.

They were able to be together, and not every husband and wife have that opportunity, especially in this climate and pandemic, Stafford said. Its one of the moments that I will cherish.

Wilkins said the family takes comfort in knowing the couple had more than half a century together and are now in heaven.

It was a very, very peaceful time just to be able to see them be together one last time, Wilkins said. Theyre together now.

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The Rockin H Ranch in Piedmont is slated to be the site of a new I-90 RV Supercenter.

The ranch has been for sale since 2018, owner Monty Hight said. The ranch is under contract with the buyer, according to Diana Evans, finance officer for the city of Piedmont. Hight didnt disclose the sale price but confirmed the buyer was the I-29 RV Supercenter, a company based in Tea.

The I-29 RV Supercenter dealership serves Sioux Falls and the surrounding area. It sells new and pre-owned RVs and trailers and services and customizes RVs. Hight said the company plans to open a dealership called I-90 RV Supercenter in Piedmont. The I-29 RV Supercenter could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

The 34-acre Rockin H Ranch is near the Secora Station Campground and Secora Station Trailer Court. Its location is just what the RV Supercenter company wanted, Hight said Tuesday.

They need all of the space for as big as theyre going to make the operation, he said.

(The offer) comes at a time when the economy is what it is and people are going to take advantage of buying property when they can, and we have to take advantage of that, Hight said.

Hight and his two sons own the ranch as Rockin H Ranch LLC. One son lives out of state, and the other hopes to leave South Dakota. Hight said his sons urged him to sell it to the RV supercenter.

The folks boarding horses dont want me to sell the ranch, but nobody is stepping up to take over, he said.

When selling Rockin H Ranch, Hight said he wanted to ensure a tax advantage for Piedmont. He said estimates indicate the I-90 RV Supercenter could produce about $60,000 of sales tax annually for the small Meade County town near Rapid City.

Rezoning the property is in progress. Hight requested the property be rezoned from single family residential to general commercial, Evans said. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval during a Jan. 18 meeting. At Mondays Piedmont Board of Trustees meeting, the board voted to accept the recommendation to rezone the property to general commercial.

Rezoning the ranch to general commercial makes sense, Evans said, because the ranch is bordered by other general commercial property on one side and by single family residential land used by a church on the other.

A special meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at Piedmont City Hall specifically for the second reading of the ordinance, Evans said.

Its another hearing. The public can always come and because its going to be a special meeting, the only thing on the agenda is the new ordinance, she said.

After the hearing, the ordinance will be published in the Rapid City Journal and 20 days later, it becomes effective.

The sale of the ranch is a blow for the Black Hills horse community. At Mondays Board of Trustees meeting, 26 people  the majority of whom live in Rapid City or the surrounding area and board their horses at the ranch or use it for equestrian activities  showed up to comment on the rezoning and the ranchs transition to commercial property, Evans said.

Everybody said its hard to find places to board horses, Evans said. Monty has done a great job, and theyre all really going to miss it.

The ranch, which includes the Don Hight Memorial Arena, has a location and size thats been ideal for multiple equestrian uses.

I feel like it will be a great loss to the horse community thats here, Kathy Hart of Piedmont said Tuesday. What were losing is a very iconic western way of life. The ranch has been here over 50 years.  Its a whole horse community; its not just boarding a horse.

We would love to stay here, Hart said. Everyone here feels that way.

The horse community uses the Rockin H Ranch daily for activities such as barrel training, riding clinics, and riding lessons for kids. Seven different horse shows are held at the ranch, Hart said, and the ranch is used by organizations including South Dakota Ranch Horse Versatility Club.

We have a great variety of people that use this facility, including special needs children, veterans and families, Hart said.

Gretchen Burgess of Rapid City is the president of the Giddyup Open Horse Show Club. The club organizes horse shows and events. Shes been boarding horses at the Rockin H Ranch for three years. Burgess said Tuesday that Hight told her that she and others can board their horses until May 1.

Although finding places to board horses in the Black Hills is a challenge, she said the greater loss is finding another location that can serve the horse community as well as Rockin H Ranch does.

One of our horse shows will have 180 entries. This has been a hub for many organizations, Burgess said. Montys been wonderful to work with. Hes very caring and supportive. We understand he has the right to sell. Its just sad.

[There are] quite a few sad and disappointed people including us, Holly Downs-Snyder of Rapid City said Tuesday. Its a very convenient place  to practice, and not much else like it around. Truly the end of an era.

The Rockin' H Ranch has been owned by the Hight family since 1975, when Monty Hights uncle, Don Hight, purchased it. When Don died in 2013, Monty Hight said he was supposed to sell the ranch at an auction. The ranch did go to auction in 2015 and Hight purchased it.

In addition to running Rockin H Ranch, Hight, 68, cares for his parents. Hes currently looking for new property near Rapid City where his parents can live, and Hight said he hopes to find property that will allow him to continue boarding horses.

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PIERRE | A Republican-controlled South Dakota House committee on Wednesday declined to consider a bill from Gov. Kristi Noem aimed at banning nearly all abortions, stifling a top item on the governor's agenda.

The Republican governor loudly trumpeted her proposal this year, which would have mimicked the private enforcement of a Texas law and prohibited abortions once medical professionals can detect fetal cardiac activity.

But it quickly met resistance when lawmakers on the House State Affairs committee declined to give it a hearing  a move rarely seen in the Legislature that signaled defiance of the governor.

While Republicans on the committee have pushed for abortion restrictions in the past, they moved on the argument that Noem's proposal could jeopardize other legal battles between the state and Planned Parenthood, which operates the state's only clinic that regularly provides abortions.

While Noem has touted support for the proposal from several national groups opposed to abortion access, in-state groups have remained silent on the bill.

Noem unveiled the proposal last month. It would all but outlaw abortions in the state by prohibiting abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around the sixth week and is before some women even know theyre pregnant.

The committee's move gave the governor's office just hours to find a legislator willing to carry the bill, though it could also be resurrected later in the session through other major revisions.

Noem told reporters she was caught off-guard by the committee's decision not to hear the bill.

Theyre not listening to national leaders in the pro-life movement on the momentum we have in front of the Supreme Court and what this legislation means to South Dakota, she said, adding that she didn't believe her proposal takes any credibility away from the case in front of the Supreme Court.

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U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., visited Box Elder last week to discuss the arrival of the B-21 bomber with leaders from Ellsworth Air Force Base, the Douglas School District and the city of Box Elder.

The B-21 Raider bomber will impact western South Dakota for the next 50 years, Rounds said Thursday. While the bomber continues to be developed, its important that community leaders prepare for the arrival of the B-21 and the thousands of people it will bring to Ellsworth Air Force Base and the region."

South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority Executive Director Scott Landguth praised Rounds' efforts in Washington to help bring the B-21 program to western South Dakota. Rounds sits on the Senate Committee on Armed Services.

Sen. Rounds continued support of the growth related to the B-21 expansion at Ellsworth Air Force Base remains a crucial piece to the success of the B-21 bed down, Landguth said. The senators role on the Armed Service Committee is extremely valuable to these efforts. The South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority looks forward to continue to partner and work with the senator to address challenges the local community will face in the coming years.

Douglas Superintendent of Schools Kevin Case said the meeting with Rounds was encouraging.

I am confident that he understands the importance and urgency of being prepared for the thousands of military-connected students coming to the Douglas School District as a result of the B-21 mission at Ellsworth Air Force Base," Case said. "Sen. Rounds support and advocacy on Capitol Hill is critical as we continue to prepare for our enrollment to double in the next five to seven years.

In addition to his visit to Box Elder, Rounds also visited Rapid City to meet with leaders from Elevate Rapid City and to attend the grand opening of his new West River office location. The office, located at 603 Omaha Street in Rapid City, is open to constituents who need help with a federal agency or would like to voice an opinion.

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Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 Scholarship program from Farmers State Bank.

A $10,000 scholarship is available to a qualifying student in Darby, Hamilton, Corvallis, Victor, Stevensville, Florence, Missoula, Helena and Kalispell. Applications will be accepted from Feb. 1 through March 15. Apply online at farmersEbank.com/scholarship.

Since 2001, Farmers State Bank scholarships have benefited 151 students, with a total award distribution of over one million dollars. The awards are for $2,500 each and renewable for up to three years, for a total of $10,000 per student.

To ensure impartiality, this program is administered by Scholarship America, the nations largest designer and manager of scholarship, tuition assistance and other programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals. Awards are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, disability or national origin. For more information, visit www.farmersebank.com/scholarship.

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A Corvallis woman was charged with felony DUI after being pulled over for driving without her headlights on Monday night.

Shelly Bliesner Gasvoda, 62, appeared Tuesday before Ravalli County Justice Jim Bailey.

A Ravalli County deputy was patrolling Monday night on U.S. Highway 93 near the Woodside Cutoff Road about 8:30 p.m. when he noticed a vehicle without its headlights on, according to the charging affidavit.

When the deputy flashed his lights to tell the driver to turn on theirs, Gasvoda flashed her bright lights and then proceeded to drive through the intersection without her headlights on.

The deputy initiated a traffic stop.

The deputy noted that Gasvoda had bloodshot and watery eyes and there was a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on her breath, the affidavit said. She was unable to provide her drivers license, registration or proof of registration.

Gasvoda admitted to drinking a Keystone beer before leaving her home. She told the deputy she had gone to the store in Hamilton and bought a hard cider, which she mostly consumed in the stores parking lot, the affidavit said.

Gasvoda said she then pulled into the Woodside Town Pump, finished the cider and threw the can away.

The woman was unable to complete the physical portion of the field sobriety test. She told the deputy she had previously broken her neck and had hip problems.

A preliminary breath sample yielded a breath alcohol level of .066, which was lower than the .08 level used to consider a driver impaired in Montana. Gasvoda told the deputy she had taken an Oxycodone and a muscle relaxer before driving.

She was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Her blood was drawn at the Hamilton hospital for testing.

Gasvoda has previous DUI convictions in 1997, 2003 and 2012.

Bailey set bail at $5,000.

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The former director of financial aid at Reynolds Community College was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of orchestrating a scheme spanning eight years that defrauded Virginia and the U.S. Department of Education of $379,608 in federal and state student loan funds.

Keisha Lashawn Pope, 47, is accused of using her access to Reynolds financial aid systems to boost the financial aid eligibility for several co-conspirators  her son, her former fiance, her goddaughter and a cousin  who were not eligible for aid at the college, authorities said.

The 10-count indictment alleges that Pope had kickback agreements in place with the co-conspirators to receive roughly half of the illegally obtained funds as compensation, which she used for personal expenses that included car repairs, retail shopping and expenses for her minor-aged daughter.

She stands charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identify theft.

Pope suddenly resigned from her position at Reynolds on Oct. 5, 2017, approximately two days after she was confronted by a supervisor about the alleged student aid fraud involving her goddaughter.

Eight months later, on June 18, 2018, she was hired by Virginia Union University as the schools director of undergraduate and graduate school financial aid services and scholarship programs. VUU spokesperson Pamela Cox said in an email Wednesday that Pope is no longer employed by the university, but didnt say when Pope left. We do not comment on personnel matters, she said.

With Popes manipulation of the Reynolds system, the four co-conspirators collectively received $246,450 in federal financial aid funds and $133,158 in state financial aid from about 2011 through 2018, to unlawfully enrich themselves.

Pope concealed the failures of parties to earn satisfactory academic performance to receive financial aid, or their lack of eligibility to continue to receiving aid, along with spending the illicitly acquired funds for non-educational purposes, according to the indictment.

For example, Pope procured financial aid for her son knowing he was not attending Reynolds in the 2011-17 time frame, authorities alleged in the indictment. In another instance, Pope obtained financial aid for her ex-fiance from about 2010 through 2015 while he was incarcerated in the Sussex County Jail and not attending the college, the indictment alleges.

Pope is accused of falsifying supporting documentation for the financial aid that she procured for the co-conspirators. In one case, Pope forged medical documents from Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems, along with financial aid documents, that indicated her goddaughter had failed to meet academic eligibility due to a breast cancer diagnosis, knowing that was false. She also falsely stated to her supervisor that she was not related to her goddaughter, according to the indictment.

Popes lies were designed to conceal Popes improper use of student aid funds, the indictment says.

Federal financial aid applications submitted by Pope and the co-conspirators resulted in Reynolds issuing refund disbursements, consisting of federal and Virginia financial aid, to Popes son, goddaughter, cousin and former fiance, authorities said in the indictment.

Pope would then receive a portion of the proceeds from the parties in a variety of ways. She directed her cousin and former fiance to cash their disbursement checks and remit a portion to her; she directed her goddaughter to initiate PayPal payments to Pope; and a disbursement prepaid card issued to her son was used to pay Popes personal expenses directly, according to the indictment.

The indictment further alleges that around September through October 2017, Reynolds officials confronted Pope about her relationship with the academically ineligible students receiving high amounts of financial aid.

In those conversations, Pope is alleged to have claimed not to know these students, when such students were, in fact, Popes son, goddaughter and cousin, authorities said in a statement. Pope allegedly claimed that all such students had supporting justification for receiving continued financial aid, but when pressed for the documentation, Pope resigned.

Pope was hired by Reynolds in 2006. The leadership of J. Sargents financial aid office  as well as college leaders responsible for its oversight during the time of the theft  are no longer employed, said Joe Schilling, the colleges director of communications.

New leadership of the financial aid office has been in place since March of 2018 and has worked diligently to ensure the integrity of all aspects of our financial aid operations, Schilling said in an email. Reynolds is in full compliance with the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the administration of federal financial aid.

Reynolds Community College has fully cooperated with relevant law enforcement organizations as part of the investigation referenced by the U.S. Attorneys Office, he added.
A former Hanover County man accused of killing two officers at Bridgewater College has ongoing mental health issues and needed help, his mother said in an interview Wednesday as her son made his first appearance in court.

My son is mentally ill and he did something that I could not control and no one could come to help him, Cheryl Campbell told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in her Hanover home. Im sorry for what has happened. I could not prevent it.

Her son, Alexander Wyatt Campbell, a 27-year-old former Bridgewater student, appeared by video Wednesday for his initial hearing in Rockingham County General District Court and was arraigned on several murder charges and a firearm charge.

Attorney Gene Hart, who was appointed Wednesday to represent Wyatt, said in court that his client would undergo a mental health evaluation. Hart did not specify during the hearing any mental health issues his client may have and he later declined to comment.

Cheryl Campbell said she does not know the facts of what happened Tuesday at Bridgewater. When asked what specific mental health challenges her son has faced, she said: I just dont even know how to respond to that. As a parent, I have not been able to help him because hes a legal adult.

This is a very hard time for Wyatt and his family and for the families that he has affected, added Campbell, in tears, her voice quavering. It is not about gun control. It is not. And I need you as a journalist to get that out there. It is about mental illness and how we have no control over that, the way society is right now. I cant help my son.

Campbell did not wish to answer specific questions about her sons background during the brief interview. Hanover sheriffs Lt. James Cooper said the department has not responded to any mental health-related calls to Cheryl Campbells address or any temporary detention orders involving her son.

Wyatt Campbell graduated from Patrick Henry High School in Hanover in 2013. He was a student from 2013 to 2017 at Bridgewater, where he was a member of the track and cross country teams. His last known address was listed as his mothers home in Hanover, but it was unclear Wednesday how recently he had been there.

Campbell is accused of fatally shooting Bridgewater campus police officer John Painter, 55, and campus safety officer Vashon J.J. Jefferson, 48, on the campus in Rockingham County on Tuesday.

At 1:20 p.m. that day, Painter and Jefferson responded to a call of a suspicious man on the grounds of Memorial Hall, the oldest building at Bridgewater, which has a student body of about 1,500. After an interaction with the two officers, Campbell shot them and ran away, a police spokesperson said.

Minutes later, the college announced there was an active shooter on campus, instructing people to shelter in place.

Campbell sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound before he was taken into custody. Police have not determined whether he was shot by Bridgewater campus police or if he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Campbell was apprehended shortly before 2 p.m. after he waded through water onto an island on the North River, just a short walk from Bridgewaters athletic fields. During the investigation, police recovered multiple firearms both on and off campus.

Campbell faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated murder of multiple persons, aggravated murder of multiple persons within a three-year period, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to court records.

Rockingham Commonwealths Attorney Marsha Garst declined to comment on the case.

Campbells next court date is set for Feb. 16.

Wyatt Campbell has two convictions in Virginia, according to a search of the Virginia Supreme Courts case management system that preserves records of state court cases.

Records show Campbell was convicted in 2017 of trespassing after being forbidden. The charge had been reduced from illegally entering a structure, which is a felony, for an offense that occurred on June 9, 2017, in Rockingham County. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail with 100 days suspended.

He also was convicted of shoplifting goods valued at under $200, reduced from felony grand larceny, for an offense that also occurred on June 9, 2017 in Rockingham. He was sentenced to 12 months of supervised probation.

Details of those offenses were not immediately available.
Before Tina Watkins took the oath to become Petersburgs fire chief, she recalled a memory she had as an 8-year-old girl, when a neighbor told her she couldnt be a firefighter because it was a mans job.

Years later, Watkins stood before her peers from fire departments across Virginia and said from that moment on, the word cant was not part of her familys vocabulary.

I stand before you today to prove that dreams do come true, Watkins said.

On Monday, the City of Petersburg celebrated Watkins history-making achievement during her swearing-in ceremony.

City leaders recognized Watkins journey to becoming the first woman and first African American woman to lead Petersburgs Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services.

In Watkins 34 years of experience, she is no stranger to breaking the mold. Starting her career in 1988, she was Richmonds second female firefighter.

Watkins went on to perform nearly every administrative and field operations role within the department. From driver, pumper operator and emergency medical operator, she climbed up the ladder to battalion chief, where she supervised five stations and six fire companies for the past 11 years.

Watkins also served four years in the U.S. Coast Guard and earned a masters degree in leadership with an emphasis in emergency management and executive fire leadership and a bachelors degree in public safety and business administration. She holds professional certifications through FEMA, the National Fire Academy and the Virginia State Fire Program.

Petersburg City Manager Stuart Turille said it became clear that of the 13 candidates who were vetted for the position, Watkins brought a wealth of experience to the table.

Theres not anything about the fire department or running a fire department that she does not know, Turille said. She has earned the right to be here at this place at this time.

Watkins mentor and friend, Richmond Fire Chief Melvin Carter, said hes happy to welcome Watkins to the ranks of Virginias seven African American fire chiefs. Carter, who started his career in Petersburg, said this moment was long overdue as he remembered the journey the two have shared.

To all of us in the room today to witness this awesome occasion  never stop believing, Carter said. Today starts a new chapter in your life for what youve been preparing for.

Petersburg Mayor Samuel Parham and Vice Mayor Annette Smith-Lee said they were proud to welcome Watkins into the city and to be present for such a historic moment. Watkins, who reflected on overcoming many challenges and obstacles in her career, said the moment felt like a blessing from God, and oh-so real.

I remain humble, Watkins said. My blessings come from Him, my mother and father who are smiling down on me from heaven, along with other family members that are with them.

Although the job was not easy, Watkins said shes most thankful for her peers words of encouragement, the support of her three brothers and extended family, and the opportunity to continue her commitment in fire service, fulfilling a dream shes had since she was a little girl.
A local NAACP activist is accusing Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, of threatening violence against him during a meeting about proposed casino legislation, quoting Morrissey as saying: Ill rip your heart out of your chest.

Lafayette Jefferson, the president of the Petersburg chapter of the NAACP, said the threat came during a meeting Monday afternoon inside the office of Del. Kim Taylor, R-Dinwiddie, that started off as a constituent meeting about a Morrissey bill that Jefferson opposes.

Jefferson said in an interview that after he expressed opposition to Morrisseys bill, which would let Petersburg voters approve a casino in their locality through a referendum, Morrissey confronted Jefferson about a 2019 Facebook post in which Jefferson compared the senators relationship with his wife to that between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, who was enslaved at Monticello.

Morrissey, in an interview, confirmed he made the threat to Jefferson, saying the post was offensive. He put a posting that referred to my wife being concurrently and continually ... [raped], Morrissey said, spelling out the word. And Ill repeat it again. If he ever does anything that threatens my wife or children, thats exactly what Ill do.

Capitol Police confirmed they responded to an incident on late Monday afternoon involving a dispute between a lawmaker and a citizen, and that the citizen reported being physically threatened. The incident, the agency said, occurred on the fourth floor, where Taylors office is located.

Arriving officers determined that an argument had occurred during a meeting that involved a senator, a delegate and a citizen. The citizen alleged that the senator made a statement that the citizen interpreted as a physical threat, said Col. Anthony S. Pike, the Capitol Police chief.

Capitol Police are continuing to gather information, and the investigation is ongoing.

Taylor declined a request for comment. Another NAACP official who was in the room, Chioma Adaku-Griffin, confirmed Morrisseys statement to Jefferson in a signed account provided to the Richmond Times-Dispatch by Morrisseys office. In the same document, Adaku-Griffin said Jeffersons Facebook post was extremely rude and offensive.

Morrissey was convicted in 2014 for a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor due to his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old law firm assistant who later became his wife. Morrissey and his wife, Myrna, are now raising four children.

Then-Gov. Ralph Northam pardoned Morrissey last month shortly before Northam left office.

By law, Virginia lawmakers cant be prosecuted for crimes while the General Assembly is in session, barring some exceptions, like treason.

Jefferson said the threat by a sitting lawmaker inside a government building violates general decorum and sends a signal to constituents that they should hesitate before lobbying their lawmakers.

Coming from a city lacking good representation, we cannot afford for individuals or organizations from Petersburg to be afraid to approach their state representative with concerns they have, Jefferson said. I want people to know that what he did was wrong and irresponsible.
Virginia Republicans are partying like its 1885.

Just in time for Black History Month, the GOP  by way of its apprentice governor and restored majority in the House of Delegates  is attempting a rerun of an era in state politics that Virginia repudiated over the past three years, largely because of a Democratic governors racial humiliation and the caught-on-camera death of a Black man in Minneapolis at the hands of police.

Because even in a suburban-dominated state more mid-Atlantic than Southern and in which the majority of people who live here are come-heres, what it is new is old: 21st-century Republicans by deed and dogma are hearkening to the late 19th century, when Virginia did as it is doing now in partially restoring the GOP to power: angrily rejecting racial, social and cultural advances as too much, too soon.

This manifests itself in legislation that Gov. Glenn Youngkin and General Assembly Republicans are pushing to thwart Democratic reforms such as 45 days of unrestricted early voting and the use of drop boxes. Republicans also want to restore the requirement  ended by Democrats  that Virginians produce a photo ID before casting ballots. Never mind that these changes contributed to the GOP comeback in November, aided by record turnouts in red localities.

There is also a Republican push to junk a measure that kicks in this year: allowing Virginian to register and vote on the same day. Its been spiked in the Senate, the remaining, albeit tenuous, redoubt of Democratic authority. Those other Republican bills rolling back voting rights, assuming they clear the House, will likely perish in the Senate, with its one-seat Democratic majority.

More insidious, if only because its being considered concurrent with the annual month-long reflection on Black history: Republican bills that ban teaching Black history. Not all of it, Republicans argue, only parts deemed by the thought police, be they noisy parents or nosy politicians, to be inherently divisive  whatever that means. Senate Democrats have already consigned the bill to the ash heap of legislative history.

That loss, nonetheless, could be a win for its Senate sponsor, Republican Jen Kiggans of Virginia Beach. Shes running for Congress in Hampton Roads 2nd District, angling to challenge Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria. Kiggans has to get through the primary. Comporting herself as the culture warrior could reassure conservatives. Maybe thats what Kiggans meant in describing herself as a normal Republican in her kickoff video.

And speaking to her election-integrity bona fides  a must for Trump voters  Kiggans is carrying a measure that makes it tougher to harvest the graveyard vote. Her bill requiring registrars to purge the dead from voter rolls every week rather than monthly passed the Senate on a lopsided bipartisan vote. It now goes to the House.

Much of the Republicans attempted rollback on voting rights recalls an actual restoration of restrictions roughly 140 years ago by conservative Democrats.

In 1885, Virginia elected as governor Fitzhugh Lee, a Confederate cavalry general and nephew of Robert E. Lee. Fitzhugh Lee would be the first of 21 consecutive Democratic governors, nearly all dedicated to the old ways. That is, concentrating power in the hands of the few. Read: well-born conservative white guys, horrified that once-enslaved Black people and poor whites should have a say in Virginias affairs.

And they did.

It was a consequence of a rare moment: a brief burst of progress, attributed to an unlikely biracial coalition cobbled by a Rebel-turned-railroad tycoon and future U.S. senator, William Mahone. It put in place a reform government that would end the poll tax that denied the vote to most Black Virginians and working-class whites, and finance educational and social-service advances by trimming payments and interest on debts from the states pre-Civil War investments in roads, rails and canals.

The very un-Virginia initiative in 1882 that freed cash for public services was the handiwork of a legislator with a very Virginia name: Harrison Holt Riddleberger of Shenandoah County, historically, a hotbed of political moderation but now hot-red, producing the current House Speaker, Todd Gilbert.

Riddleberger was among the so-called Readjusters, named such because of their debt stance and who identified as Republicans, members of a pro-business, comparatively forward-thinking party synonymous with Abraham Lincoln, the end of slavery and saving the Union through the Civil War.

Their dominance in Richmond, at its peak in the early 1880s, ended with internal divisions over Mahones refusal to include Blacks in the partys command structure and a broader public backlash over the Black political ascendancy.

This fueled the restoration of the Conservative Party, renamed the Democratic Party. The first step in its comeback was in 1883, when Democrats took back the General Assembly, in no small part because of white fury over a race riot in Danville just before the election. Perhaps there was an echo of this in Virginias statewide and House elections in 2021  a good year for the small-c, small-p conservative party: the GOP.

When the legislature convened in 1884, Democrats used their new numbers to enact new controls over the electorate. One ensured Democratic authority over the election apparatus by requiring local electoral overseers be picked by the legislature. Historians say this promoted fraud, ballot-box stuffing and, occasionally, bribery to keep Democrats adversaries from the polls. Most notably: Black Virginians loyal to the Republicans who had liberated them two decades earlier.

The poll tax, the most effective weapon for compressing the electorate and guaranteeing Democratic hegemony, would not be reinstated until 1902, when Virginia  along with other states in the Old Confederacy  adopted Jim Crow constitutions that disenfranchised Blacks and poor whites and fully restored racial segregation. The poll tax, in Virginia and elsewhere, endured until 1966. That year, it was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court, ruling in two cases from Virginia.

Since then, the Supreme Court has shifted right, viewing voting rights issues with skepticism if not hostility. This compelled Virginia, under total Democratic sway from 2020 to 2022, to enact reforms and protections once included in federal law.

But for Republicans, emboldened by recent gains, its 1885 again.
Spotsylvania County Supervisor David Ross is joining an already crowded Republican field of candidates who are seeking to challenge Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th.

Ross announced Wednesday that he is running for the GOP nomination in the new congressional district, which now is anchored in Northern Virginia and the Fredericksburg area under a redistricting map the Virginia Supreme Court approved last month.

I am running for Congress because of my concern of federal government overreach, which I feel we must push back against as hard as we can in order to preserve the individual liberties that made this country great, he said.

Ross is supervisor for the Courtland District and vice chair of the county board. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and father of six who describes himself as a liberty loving conservative Republican. He previously chaired the Spotsylvania Republican Committee and served on the partys state central committee.

Another Spotsylvania resident, Michael Monteforte, also has declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 7th. He describes himself as a small-business owner and federal contractor serving the intelligence community.

Ross and Monteforte join a field that includes: state Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania; Prince William Supervisor Yesli Vega; Derrick Anderson, a Spotsylvania native and former Green Beret; Prince William educator Gina Ciarcia; Gary Adkins, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who lives in Stafford County; and, potentially, Del. John McGuire, R-Goochland, who has not said if he will run in the new district.

Three former candidates dropped out of the GOP race after the Supreme Court adopted the new map: Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield; Chesterfield businesswoman Tina Ramirez; and former U.S. Army intelligence officer John Castorani of Orange County.
Legislators are beginning to remember why eliminating the sales tax on groceries has been hard to do, after decades of trying.

The Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, led by Democrats, balked on Wednesday at acting on a bill that would partly fulfill the campaign promise that Gov. Glenn Youngkin made in running for governor last year. The panel deferred a vote until next week because of bipartisan concern over a proposal for state tax funds to replace a portion of the tax that now goes to local school divisions.

The proposal would distribute the state funds through the local composite index, based on a localitys ability to pay instead of student enrollment, as the money from the 1% share of the tax is now distributed to school divisions.

This is a pretty significant policy change involved, said Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City, who added that my comfort level is increasingly discomfort.

Later Wednesday, the GOP-led House Finance Committee voted 13-8 to back House Bill 90 from Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, to eliminate the grocery tax. The panel referred the bill to the House Appropriations Committee to assess its effect on the budget. Two Democrats, Dels. Mark Keam, D-Fairfax, and Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, voted for the measure.

McNamara, a certified public accountant who has shepherded most of Youngs tax cut package, sought to reassure Democrats who were angry about the committees decision on Monday to kill a bill to make a portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit refundable through direct payments to low-income families.

Im here to tell you this bill helps low-income families, he said of the grocery tax repeal.

The committee also advanced three other key pieces of Youngkins tax plan and sent them to the budget committee for review:

House Bill 472, proposed by McNamara to double the standard deduction on state income tax from $4,500 to $9,000 for individuals and $9,000 to $18,000 for couples, by an 11-10 party-line vote. The increase will end on Jan. 1, 2026, unless Congress extends the temporary provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that doubled the standard deduction on federal income tax.

House Bill 1144, proposed by Del. Michael Webert, R-Fauquier, to suspend the most recent 5-cent-per-gallon state gas tax for 12 months, also on an 11-10 party-line vote.

House Bill 935, proposed by House Finance Chair Roxann Robinson, R-Chesterfield, to provide one-time tax refunds of $300 for individuals and $600 for families, on a 20-1 vote. Del. Candi King, D-Prince William, voted against it.

Virginia eliminated most of the sales tax on grocery almost 20 years ago. Youngkin campaigned on eliminating the final 2.5% of the tax  1% for localities, 1% for the state to distribute to K-12 school divisions and 0.5% for state transportation projects.

During the campaign, Youngkin estimated the cost of eliminating the tax at $225 million a year, but legislators are faced with an estimated cost of more than $1.2 billion over two years, most of it dedicated to local governments who rely upon it.

Former Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat who had campaigned on repealing the tax in 2017, proposed to eliminate the states portions of the tax, including the 1% distributed to school divisions and the half-percent for transportation, and pay for it in his proposed budget.

The Senate and House of Delegates are grappling with how to eliminate the tax without hurting localities, especially public school divisions, and the states transportation program. The House Finance Committee is scheduled to consider one of the proposals on Wednesday afternoon.

Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, a close political ally of the governor, proposed to eliminate the tax entirely, including the 1% local option tax. His proposal would cost the state more than $700 million over two years, on top of the money that Northam included in his budget to pay for the states share for public education.

I think that every single one of us understands that this is a regressive tax and we need to do something about it. ... My hope is that we would get rid of all the tax, Newman said.

Deputy Secretary of Finance Charles Kennington said the governor agrees with Newman that the state should eliminate all the grocery tax, including the local portion.

Instead, the finance committee proposed a substitute that tracks Northams approach to eliminating the tax by leaving the local option in place and using state money to replace about $500 million that would go to local school divisions over the next two years.

Norment called the proposal a double whack on the state budget.

The substitute would not replace the lost transportation money, but members of the panel say theyre looking for ways to do so.

But the attempt to protect local school divisions from losing money would change the way the new state funds are distributed to local school divisions, which alarmed two senators from Fairfax County, which has the largest school enrollment in Virginia.

Were not going to suddenly change a funding formula on the fly like this, said Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City.

Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, said the proposed change in the funding formula would badly hurt Fairfax, which would receive only 28 cents for every $1 lost if the state used the local composite index to replace the portion of the tax that local school divisions currently receive based on student enrollment.

Wed only barely get a little more than a quarter back, Saslaw said.

The issue is further complicated in the Senate by including Newmans bill and related legislation in Senate Bill 451, proposed by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, to eliminate the sales and use tax on menstrual products and other personal hygiene items, including diapers. (The House Finance Committee killed a similar proposal by Keam by a 16-5 vote.)

Her proposal would cost the state $3.5 million in revenue over two years, on top of the $1.8 million that Northam included in his two-year budget to eliminate a portion of the tax on hygienic products.

Newman agreed that eliminating the sales tax on groceries without hurting localities isnt easy to do.

It is not cheap he said, but it is the right thing to do.
Lawmakers from both parties on Tuesday voted down proposals that would have ended monopoly electric utility Dominion Energys ability to give massive sums of campaign money to the lawmakers who regulate it.

Bills to scale back the utilitys political influence in Richmond arent new, but they took on new life this year after Dominion upset conservatives during last years race for governor by pumping more than $250,000 into a political action committee that attacked GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin, now governor.

But Dominions allies in the Capitol remain numerous, and Virginia lawmakers have opposed any attempts to limit their campaign cash. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted 11-4 Tuesday to kill bills from Sens. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, and Richard Stuart, R-King George, that would have ended the utilitys ability to bankroll lawmakers campaign funds.

Petersens bill would have stopped lawmakers from accepting campaign money from any public utility, and he told his colleagues the states largest electric utility had undue influence on them.

Petersen said hes wanted to end Dominions ability to influence lawmakers with money ever since the utility won major legislation in 2015 that temporarily stripped state regulators of their ability to order refunds or rate cuts if the utility earned profits above the margin it agreed to under the law.

As a result Dominion made billions of dollars, Petersen said. That was a piece of legislation that literally shifted wealth from the ratepayers of the commonwealth to Dominion.

Now, he said, Virginia customers of Dominion Energy pay more for electricity than people in sister states like West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Because lawmakers write laws that determine the profitability of Dominion Energy, it makes the corporation unique from others, he said.

If were taking money directly from Dominion, that, in my opinion, is a conflict of interest.

Sen. Lionell Spruill, D-Chesapeake, a close Dominion ally on the Senate committee, questioned Petersens motives and accused him of having personal reasons for bringing the bill.

Ive been hearing you speak for five years, and you really, really have a real hard on, just like, for Dominion, Spruill said. It sounds to me its a personal thing ... with Dominion.

Petersen responded that he wouldnt reiterate the question, prompting awkward laughter in the committee room, and told Spruill he doesnt have any animosity toward anybody but wants Virginia to be in line with others states that dont allow such utility influence on elected officials.

Spruill, who has not had competitive races for the Senate, chairs a Senate subcommittee on energy and has received $277,569 from Dominion  $125,000 of that since July, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

A similar bill in the House remains alive, but even if the House passed the bill, the Senate has spoken.

Appalachian Power Co., another regulated monopoly that would be affected by the bill, and several gas utilities opposed the bill.

Christopher Nolen, an attorney and executive vice president of McGuireWoods Consulting, represented Dominion at the hearing and said the legislation was unconstitutional.

We do not believe that it is appropriate to single out one type of corporation and suppress its political speech, he said. Both of these bills go at the heart of political speech and the ability to freely associate.

Members of Youngkins staff told Petersen and Stuart that the governor would sign a bill if it got to his desk. But Youngkin remained mum on the sidelines.

Virginia is one of few states with no limits on campaign donations to state lawmakers, and theyre allowed to use the money for anything they want. Some, but not a majority, of lawmakers use money from their campaign committees for alcohol and food at restaurants.

Senators who voted to advance the bill to end Dominion campaign donations were John Bell, D-Loudoun; Creigh Deeds, D-Bath; Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria; and Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond.

Senators who voted to kill the bill and allow Dominion to continue donating to lawmakers were Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax; Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell; Janet Howell, D-Fairfax; Monty Mason, D-Newport News; Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover; Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg; Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania; Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenburg; Spruill; Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax; and Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier.
Press freedom groups expressed concern Tuesday after a powerful state senator used a Twitter account run by political consultants to attack a reporter who asked her questions on Capitol Square.

Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, the president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, posted the attack from her Twitter account, which Democratic consultants in recent weeks have promoted to reach a national audience. She now has more than 40,000 followers.

The reporter, Ned Oliver of the Virginia Mercury and formerly of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, rudely harassed me in the hallway, Lucas wrote, even following me outside.

She wrote that a reporter asking her questions in between meetings disrupts my work as a legislator. She complained that Oliver didnt reach out to her office first before approaching her.

If the Mercury wants to maintain any credibility with legislators they need to hold their journalists to a better standard.

Journalists covering the legislature in Richmond approach and confront lawmakers daily in the hustle and bustle of Capitol Square to ask questions, often recording them or walking alongside them, in or outside the Capitol. Lucas public attack against a journalist over what happens in the normal course of legislative business was extremely rare by a member of the General Assembly.

Dina Weinstein, president of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter in Virginia, said elected officials are accustomed to speaking with the press on Capitol Square, and Lucas tweets werent an appropriate way to handle her concerns.

I think its important not to villainize the press, Weinstein said.

The Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association, which for many years has represented print, online and broadcast journalists covering Virginias Capitol, issued a statement through President Michael Pope:

Members of the press need to have the ability to ask lawmakers questions in between meetings, with or without having reached out to their office first. Its an essential part of holding legislators accountable.

In an interview, Lucas said Ben Tribbett, a Northern Virginia political consultant, and other consultants post some of the tweets from her account. She said she approves in advance anything that is posted.

I call him for advice and he helps me out sometimes, she said of Tribbett, who she said does not receive any pay for the work.

She said she doesnt have a problem with reporters approaching her, but she was late for a caucus meeting Tuesday and she didnt like the questions.

He kept walking and asking me questions, she said. Im upset that theyre doing this story at all.

I told him I was in a hurry and I would talk to him later but he just persisted.

Mercury editor Robert Zullo, also formerly of The Times-Dispatch, said the public attack was disappointing.

Ned, who was named Virginias outstanding journalist for 2020 by the Virginia Press Association, was doing what reporters in the Capitol do every day. Asking lawmakers questions is not harassment and its disappointing Sen. Lucas would use that characterization.
Gov. Glenn Youngkins choice for Virginia natural resources secretary has at least half a million dollars in investments in mutual funds, according to a required state form filed in January.

Nominee Andrew Wheeler disclosed the information on his statement of economic interest, a form he and other choices of the governor for high-level posts must submit to the state government. Wheeler said in an interview he does not control any stocks purchased within the funds.

Even though the General Assembly is now debating whether to approve the governors selections of Wheeler and others for the posts, the state has not released the economic interest forms publicly.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch obtained Wheelers form from a source who provided it on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release it. The newspaper on Wednesday asked the state Division of Legislative Services for a copy of all forms submitted by Youngkins choices for Cabinet and agency head positions.

Wheeler is the most controversial, and Democrats who control the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Tuesday removed his name from a list of gubernatorial appointments they plan to confirm because of his record of trying to roll back environmental protections as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Should the General Assembly reject him, it would be the first time since 2006 that lawmakers have scuttled a governors choice for a Cabinet-level position.

Wheeler and his supporters say his record has been distorted and hed be a good steward of air and water in Virginia, and would help the state get federal money because of his experience.

Wheeler did not report owning stocks in any particular corporation. He reported owning 38 mutual funds and exchange-traded products.

Wheeler has at least $480,037 invested in those funds. The amount could be a lot higher, but its difficult to know because of the loose requirements of the state form. For a listing of one mutual fund, the category simply requires a listing of more than $250,000.

Wheeler reported income of $50,000 or less from his consulting business in Alexandria.

In an interview, Wheeler said hes received no income from his consulting business because he hadnt launched it. And he said his investments are all passive and he doesnt control what stocks are purchased within the funds.

State lawmakers also must file a statement of economic interest each year. But lawmakers wont release their forms until after the General Assembly adjourns in March.

Megan Rhyne, executive director of the nonprofit Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said the public should have access now to forms for the governors top appointments and for lawmakers.

If they are to be useful to the public, they should be made available during the session when votes still matter rather than after the fact, she said.
Virginia leaders recently received some encouraging news about the states economy.

Per a Jan. 25 Times-Dispatch report, the commonwealths recovery from COVID-19 keeps progressing. The states unemployment rate was 3.2% in December, and roughly 80% of the jobs lost during the public health crisis have returned.

Yet one key caveat in this positive picture is the labor force participation rate: the segment of Virginians age 16 and older who have jobs or are actively seeking employment. That figure was 63% in December 2021, down from 66.3% in February 2020.

In real people terms, Joe Mengedoth, a regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, told the RTD that about 190,000 fewer Virginians are working today than just before the pandemic.

The question around that is how do those people become re-engaged, and how many will remain out permanently? Mengedoth asked.

The Youngkin administration and General Assembly cant ignore this sidelined set of contributors. To re-engage these workers, elected leaders must build on the successes of two career and technical training programs. The G3 and FastForward initiatives provide financially sustainable pathways to high-demand job opportunities.

Launched in July 2021, G3 is a tuition assistance opportunity for students pursuing professions in early childhood education, health care, information technology, public safety and skilled trades. Virginias 23 community colleges work to align their individual lists of approved G3 programs with local employment opportunities.

To be eligible for G3, students must qualify for in-state financial aid and have a household income of no more than 400% of the federal poverty level. They will have earned a high school diploma or GED and carry a minimum of six credit hours at a community college.

Students also are required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which supports a separate policy goal of boosting completion rates. G3 funds are last dollar, meaning they pick up the difference on any tuition, fees and books not covered by other grants or scholarships.

While not every student meets G3 eligibility criteria, the programs presence has helped boost overall enrollment and affordability at schools in the Virginia Community College System. According to recently released data, in the fall of 2021, 26,179 students enrolled in G3-eligible programs  a 9% increase from the previous year. Total financial aid awarded to students in such programs jumped 20% over that span, and $4 out of every $5 awarded was non-loan aid, requiring no repayment.

If you want to come to school and get certifications or a degree that leads to a career, we can help you find money to make it happen  through G3 or other funding, the G3s FAQ section says.

Thats the right message to send. Too many students enter a bachelors degree track, only to not graduate and still accrue thousands of dollars in debt. A January 2020 prepandemic report from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia tallied more than 1 million borrowers in the commonwealth, owing an average of nearly $37,000.

Beyond avoiding higher education choices that result in crippling debt, FastForward has made real progress in the opposite direction: higher wages. In the fall of 2021, 6,836 students were served by the programs short-term opportunities. They typically last six to 12 weeks, and initial parts of a G3 associate degree trajectory often are FastForward credentials.

Not every high-demand job requires an associate degree, and VCCS survey data from 2020-21 showed how a FastForward credential alone can make a financial difference. Average wage gains were $11,626 (on an annualized basis), with education ($27,806), information technology ($19,403) and welding/manufacturing ($16,975) fields trending even higher.

These programs still are in their infancy. FastForward started in 2016, and the first group of G3 students has not even obtained its associate degrees. Moreover, G3 and FastForward are built to evolve with the needs of industry and society.

John Tyler Community College (soon to be renamed Brightpoint) offers one local snapshot. The COVID pandemic has placed an immense strain on our health care workers. For spring 2022, a record high 98 students enrolled in the schools nursing program, up from a typical class of 80 to 90, an official said.

And while COVID disrupted essential, high-demand careers, it brought new work opportunities to the Richmond region. Phlow Corp., AMPAC Fine Chemicals, Civica Inc. and VCUs Medicines for All Institute are working together to establish a local cluster of pharmaceutical development and production.

Community colleges are a key part of the process: Tyler is considering a G3-eligible pharmaceutical manufacturing program under the skilled trades category, which would support local employers by training students to fill forthcoming jobs.

We can celebrate low unemployment numbers and cite job creation figures. Or we can think harder about the relationships behind those numbers. There always is someone out there who could make an impact in our hospitals, in our classrooms, in manufacturing or in cyberspace, who just hasnt found  or even heard about  the right opportunity yet.

The G3 and FastForward programs create channels for employers, educational institutions and employees to work together to create highly skilled, good-paying futures. By building on their successes, Virginia increases its chances of creating the strongest economy possible  one that engages, and even re-engages, every capable worker.

 Chris Gentilviso
Biden sends greetings on Lunar New Year

Xinhua) 11:26, February 02, 2022

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden sent his greetings on Tuesday to those celebrating the arrival of the Lunar New Year.

Biden tweeted he and his wife, Jill Biden, "got to celebrate Lunar New Year with White House Staff" on Monday, while attaching a group photo of them posing under red lanterns hanging in a hall.

"We send our warmest greetings to everyone celebrating -- and we wish you peace, prosperity, and health in the year ahead," he wrote.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris posted a short video on Tuesday to mark the Lunar New Year.

"For people all over the world and here at home, Lunar New Year is a time of joy, the joy of being together with family and friends," Harris said.

"Lunar New Year is a time of celebration, the celebration of culture and of the warmth and love of community," she continued. "And it is a time of hope, the hope of a new year and a new beginning."

This Lunar New Year has ushered in the Year of the Tiger, a Chinese zodiac animal that Harris described in the video as "the symbol of strength, confidence, and courage."

"Happy Lunar New Year," she said. "I wish you all happiness, health, and prosperity. Take care."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that he sends "best wishes to those in the United States and around the world celebrating the Lunar New Year."

"May the Year of the Tiger bring opportunity, success, and good health to all," Blinken added in a release.

The Lunar New Year, commonly known as the Spring Festival in China, is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar.

It is the most important festival in China and is also celebrated in many parts of the world, including the United States.

Lunar New Year celebrations returned to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. this year.

Approximately 100 stunning winter lanterns, made up of 10,000 colored LED lights and crafted by Chinese artisans, are on display outdoor at The REACH at the Kennedy Center, offering a whimsical experience for visitors.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. also sent Lunar New Year greetings to its fans by sharing a lighthearted clip on Monday that features activities of a tiger and giant pandas living in the renowned facility.

The Year of the Tiger, according to the Chinese zodiac, runs from Feb. 1, 2022 to Jan. 21, 2023.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
A Roanoke man has admitted to shooting a police informant whose work led to the arrest of his friend on drug charges.

Joseph C. Martin, 42, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and use of a firearm during a hearing late Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Roanoke. He will be sentenced later on a charge that is seldom seen in the courts western district of Virginia.

The informant, who was not named in court documents, had been assisting federal authorities in an investigation that led to the arrest of William Ramey-Woodard on charges of distributing heroin and fentanyl.

While Ramey-Woodard was being held in jail, he and Martin began to have coded telephone and email conversations about the informant and whether he ought to suffer consequences as a result of his work with the police, an agreed statement of facts presented at Martins hearing stated.

On May 31, 2020, Martin went to the informants Roanoke home and confronted him. He fired a single shot at point-blank range that grazed the mans neck, according to court records.

The informant, who was not seriously injured, called 911 and repeatedly identified Martin as the assailant. As part of a plea agreement reached in the case, prosecutors will seek no more than 20 years when Martin is sentenced later. He had faced a maximum term of life in prison. The agreement, which does not bind a judge to the governments recommendation, also calls for the dismissal of other charges against Martin, which include possession of ammunition as a convicted felon.

Ramey-Woodard, who is charged with conspiring with Martin to kill the informant in addition to drug offenses, is being held pending trial.

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RICHMOND  An election reform bill sponsored by state Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, survived a Democratic-led panel of his colleagues Tuesday as it chose not to move on other such legislation.

Senate Bill 3 proposes to change how absentee ballots are tallied in Virginia, reporting them by the precinct from which they are cast. Currently, all absentee votes are lumped into their own centralized precinct, which is often counted last.

The bill received a 15-0 vote from the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, allowing it to advance to another Senate panel for financial considerations.

Its incredibly important that absentees are recorded by their precinct, Suetterlein said. It will help restore more confidence in the election results.

The intent of the bill is to avoid election night mirages, Suetterlein said. Such mirages occur when election results swing drastically after absentee ballots are counted, as happened, for example, during 2020 presidential elections.

Why youve heard so much about it from me for the past two years is because of election night mirages, Suetterlein said. We need to know what the election results are in different areas.

Similar bills passed through the Virginia Senate with bipartisan support at least twice before, he said. The Senate panel combined Suetterleins bill with the comparable SB 306, sponsored by Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, who sits on the Senate elections committee, before passing it along to finance.

The Senate committee also approved SB 744, which would establish a Virginia Elections Commission to act in an advisory capacity for studying and making recommendations on matters related to elections.

Several bills aiming to change how Virginia elections are audited were not moved forward by the Democrat-controlled committee, many on a 9-6 partisan vote.

Other legislation that failed to pass the panel on Tuesday included bills that would have limited the ability for publicly regulated entities such as power utilities to make campaign donations.

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RICHMOND  Lawmakers from both parties on Tuesday voted down proposals that would have ended monopoly electric utility Dominion Energys ability to give massive sums of campaign money to the lawmakers who regulate it.

Bills to scale back the utilitys political influence in Richmond arent new, but they took on new life this year after Dominion upset conservatives during last years race for governor by pumping more than $250,000 into a political action committee that attacked GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin, now governor.

But Dominions allies in the Capitol remain numerous and Virginia lawmakers have opposed any attempts to limit their campaign cash. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted 11-4 Tuesday to kill bills from Sens. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, and Richard Stuart, R-King George, that would have ended the utilitys ability to bankroll lawmakers campaign funds.

Petersens bill would have stopped lawmakers from accepting campaign money from any public utility, and he told his colleagues the states largest electric utility had undue influence on them.

Petersen said hes wanted to end Dominions ability to influence lawmakers with money ever since the utility won major legislation in 2015 that temporarily stripped state regulators of their ability to order refunds or rate cuts if the utility earned profits above the margin it agreed to under the law.

As a result Dominion made billions of dollars, Petersen said. That was a piece of legislation that literally shifted wealth from the ratepayers of the commonwealth to Dominion.

Now, he said, Virginia customers of Dominion Energy pay more for electricity than people in sister states like West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Because lawmakers write laws that determine the profitability of Dominion Energy, it makes the corporation unique from others, he said.

If were taking money directly from Dominion, that, in my opinion, is a conflict of interest.

Sen. Lionell Spruill, D-Chesapeake, a close Dominion ally on the Senate committee, questioned Petersens motivations and accused him of having personal reasons for bringing the bill.

It sounds to me its a personal thing ... with Dominion.

Petersen told Spruill he doesnt have any animosity toward anybody but wants Virginia to be in line with other states that dont allow such utility influence on elected officials.

Spruill, who has not had competitive races for the Senate, chairs a Senate subcommittee on energy and has received $277,569 from Dominion  $125,000 of that since July, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

A similar bill in the House remains alive, but even if the House passed the bill, the Senate has spoken.

Appalachian Power Co., another regulated monopoly which would be affected by the bill, and several gas utilities opposed the bill.

Christopher Nolen, an attorney and executive vice president of McGuireWoods Consulting, represented Dominion at the hearing and said the legislation was unconstitutional.

We do not believe that it is appropriate to single out one type of corporation and suppress its political speech, he said. Both of these bills go at the heart of political speech and the ability to freely associate.

Members of Youngkins staff told Petersen and Stuart that the governor would sign a bill if it got to his desk. But Youngkin remained mum on the sidelines.

Virginia is one of few states with no limits on campaign donations to state lawmakers, and theyre allowed to use the money for anything they want. Some, but not a majority, of lawmakers use money from their campaign committees for alcohol and food at restaurants.

Senators voting to advance the bill to end Dominion campaign donations: John Bell, D-Loudoun, Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, and Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond.

Senators voting to kill the bill and allow Dominion to continue donating to lawmakers: Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell, Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, Monty Mason, D-Newport News, Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenburg, Spruill, Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax and Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier.
A group of parents of students with disabilities filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday against Gov. Glenn Youngkin, alleging his executive order allowing masks to be optional for schoolchildren violates the Americans With Disabilities Act and other federal law.

The lawsuit is the third filed against Youngkin and state officials since he issued the executive order on Jan. 15, the day he was sworn in.

The children of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit have illnesses like cancer, cystic fibrosis, asthma, Down syndrome, lung conditions, and weakened immune systems that make COVID-19 more dangerous for them. Because of that, the parents allege that Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares and other officials are excluding their children from access to a public education.

The Executive Order shows a reckless disregard for students with disabilities across Virginia, Kaitlin Banner, the deputy legal director of the Washington Lawyers Committee, said in a news release. The Order prevents schools from taking reasonable steps to make sure their students can go to school and enjoy the same educational experiences as their friends.

The lawsuit states that universal masking in schools allows students with disabilities to attend school safely during the pandemic.

Students with disabilities need in-person schooling even more than other student groups, and they must be able to receive their instruction and services safely, the lawsuit states.

The first lawsuit against Youngkin's mask order was filed in the Supreme Court of Virginia three days after he was sworn in. A group of Chesapeake parents allege Youngkin doesn't have the power to suspend a 2021 state law that requires schools to adhere to federal COVID-19 mitigation guidance as closely as possible; that guidance currently recommends masking.

And then a week ago, seven school boards, including Richmond, filed a lawsuit against Youngkin in Arlington County Circuit Court also arguing that the state Constitution gives local school boards - not the governor - the power to determine school safety rules. Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for Wednesday.

Youngkin and Miyares assert that a different state law gives parents rights to make decisions about their children's education and health. Youngkin has said previously that he expects his order to stand up in court.

On Monday in South Carolina, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled to keep mask mandates in specific school districts. The ruling allows for students with disabilities to continue attending school, according to the ACLU of South Carolina.

The Virginia order divided school divisions across the state. Some opted to make masks for children optional, as the governor's order directs. Others decided to keep their rules requiring masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Chesterfield County's school board voted last week to make masks optional, prompting some parents to keep their children home and some teachers to call in sick. In the capital region, masks are also now optional in Hanover County schools, but required in Richmond and Henrico schools.

Lindsey Dougherty, a Chesterfield parent mentioned in the lawsuit, has a 10-year son who has asthma, an autoimmune disorder and a Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS).

Her son, a fifth-grader at Enon Elementary, is currently not attending school and will stay home until a universal mask mandate is back in school. His younger sister, who also attends Enon Elementary, was pulled out of school for the safety of her brother.

Without the mask mandate, Dougherty's son is at risk of contracting and becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, according to the suit.

The families mentioned in the ACLU lawsuit are from across the Commonwealth including, Albemarle, Bedford, Fairfax, Manassas, Loudoun, Chesapeake, York, Henrico and Chesterfield. Not all of these public school districts have rescinded the mask mandate.

Children with underlying medical conditions are more at risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared with children without underlying medical conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as stated in the lawsuit.

In Henrico, where masks are still required for all students, Elizabeth Burnett joined the lawsuit for her 11-year-old son who has chronic lung disease and is immunocompromised. If Henrico rescinds the mask mandate, Burnett will have to decide between risking his educational progress by withdrawing him from school or keeping him in school, putting his health at risk.

A 10-year-old who attends Southeastern Elementary School in Chesapeake City remains in school despite the mask mandate being rescinded. With fellow students not wearing a mask, the student's, who has Type 1 Diabetes, health and safety are at risk, the lawsuit states. His family asked for him to be seated six feet away from unmasked students but the request, according to the lawsuit, was refused by the schools assistant principal, who asked for further medical documentation.
Press freedom groups expressed concern Tuesday after a powerful state senator used a Twitter account run by political consultants to attack a reporter who asked her questions on Capitol Square.

Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, the president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, posted the attack from her Twitter account, which Democratic consultants in recent weeks have promoted to reach a national audience. She now has more than 40,000 followers.

The reporter, Ned Oliver of the Virginia Mercury and formerly of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, rudely harassed me in the hallway, Lucas wrote, even following me outside.

She wrote that a reporter asking her questions in between meetings disrupts my work as a legislator. She complained that Oliver didnt reach out to her office first before approaching her.

If the Mercury wants to maintain any credibility with legislators they need to hold their journalists to a better standard.

Journalists covering the legislature in Richmond approach and confront lawmakers daily in the hustle and bustle of Capitol Square to ask questions, often recording them or walking alongside them, in or outside the Capitol. Lucas public attack against a journalist over what happens in the normal course of legislative business was extremely rare by a member of the General Assembly.

Dina Weinstein, president of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter in Virginia, said elected officials are accustomed to speaking with the press on Capitol Square, and Lucas tweets werent an appropriate way to handle her concerns.

I think its important not to villainize the press, Weinstein said.

The Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association, which for many years has represented print, online and broadcast journalists covering Virginias Capitol, issued a statement through President Michael Pope:

Members of the press need to have the ability to ask lawmakers questions in between meetings, with or without having reached out to their office first. Its an essential part of holding legislators accountable.

In an interview, Lucas said Ben Tribbett, a Northern Virginia political consultant, and other consultants post some of the tweets from her account. She said she approves in advance anything that is posted.

I call him for advice and he helps me out sometimes, she said of Tribbett, who she said does not receive any pay for the work.

She said she doesnt have a problem with reporters approaching her, but she was late for a caucus meeting Tuesday and she didnt like the questions.

He kept walking and asking me questions, she said. Im upset that theyre doing this story at all.

I told him I was in a hurry and I would talk to him later but he just persisted.

Mercury editor Robert Zullo, also formerly of The Times-Dispatch, said the public attack was disappointing.

Ned, who was named Virginias outstanding journalist for 2020 by the Virginia Press Association, was doing what reporters in the Capitol do every day. Asking lawmakers questions is not harassment and its disappointing Sen. Lucas would use that characterization.
The city of Richmond announced the removal job Tuesday morning, 20 months after Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the monuments brought down amid a surge of racial justice protests here and across the country.

The city is paying Team Henry Enterprises $1.6 million to remove the pedestals that previously held the monuments of Matthew F. Maury, Thomas Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis and J.E.B Stuart on Monument Avenue.

The work also includes the removal of the pedestals for the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Confederate Cannon, Williams Carter Wickham in Monroe Park, the Virginia First Regiment Monument in Meadow Park and the A.P. Hill monument that is still standing at the intersection of West Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road.

Richmond officials said the work could last as long as two months, depending on the details of the A.P. Hill removal, which will involve the transfer of the generals buried remains from underneath the monument.

Workers started dismantling the pedestals Monday, a week after the Richmond City Council voted unanimously to authorize giving the monuments to the museum, including that of Robert E. Lee, which the state recently took down and gave to the city.

According to the Department of General Services, the state contracted Team Henry Enterprises for $2.9 million. The Newport News-based company started the job with the removal of the Lee statue in September, more than a year after a shell company associated with Team Henry took down more than a dozen of the citys Confederate statues for $1.8 million.

The city plans to give the monuments and all related materials to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, which will work with the Valentine Museum, other cultural organizations and the public to determine what to do with them.

I really appreciate the opportunity to have two major historical entities in our city ... work together to ensure that there is authentic, extensive citizen engagement in the disposition of the monuments, City Council President Cynthia Newbille said last week.

Only one person, Clark Glave, spoke at a public hearing regarding the transfer, criticizing it as illogical.

Rather than the Black History Museum, Glave said the monuments should be moved to a museum dedicated to the preservation of the Civil War story.

Glave said he also is concerned that Richmond officials havent ruled out the possibility of the statues being melted down, such as in Charlottesville, where city officials recently voted to give their own statue of Robert E. Lee to a museum that plans to melt the materials and create new public art.

Send these statues someplace where they can generate some tourist dollars and be treated as historical artifacts, not fodder for the forge of reimagination, Glave said in his comments to the council. Like it or not, Richmond has a Confederate past. Your job should be promoting and profiting from it for the benefit of your citizens.

While Glave and others have taken issue with the citys plans to give the statues to the Black History Museum, 2nd District Councilwoman Katherine Jordan said some people have misunderstood the citys plan and reiterated that the museum will decide where the monuments go next.

The city originally received about two dozen offers from museums, cultural organizations and a few individuals for the various monuments after the removal of the statues in 2020. The Black History Museum did not make a request for any of the monuments at the time.

There were not great options presented, Jordan said of the original offers.

While state law requires governing bodies to decide the disposition of the monuments if they are removed, the council later asked for support from the mayors administration to decide what should be done.

The Black History Museum has stepped forward to work with the Valentine to lead a process for an ultimate disposition, Jordan said. Folks are not following it the same way they have, but I hope that people will reengage with these items and help us find an appropriate conclusion for them.

Ninth District Councilman Michael Jones, who originally called for the removal of the citys Confederate monuments in 2017, said he and other officials have been reluctant to rush a decision, fearing that an organization could use the monuments in a way that venerates the Confederacy or ignores the history of slavery.

Its the right thing to do, Jones said of the councils decision.

We will move on and chart a new course because the city is bigger than our Confederate past, he said. We have an opportunity to continue to write who we are as citizens of this great city.
RICHMOND  Democrats on a Senate committee on Tuesday removed lightning-rod Cabinet nominee Andrew Wheeler from a list of appointments working its way through the legislature, pushing new GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin closer to being the first Virginia executive in 16 years to have such a choice rejected by the legislature.

Youngkin's choice of Wheeler to be Virginia secretary of natural resources was immediately met with a backlash earlier this month by Democrats and environmental groups because of Wheeler's record of trying to roll back environmental protections as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump.

A governor's Cabinet choices are subject to General Assembly approval. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted 9-6, on a party line vote, to remove Wheeler's name from a resolution that now goes to the full Senate.

Governor Youngkin has said time and time again he would like to bridge the partisan divide and work together for Virginias next generation," Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke of Hampton said in a statement. "However, his choice of Trump alum Andrew Wheeler for the position of Secretary of Natural Resources proves his unwillingness to bring properly qualified officials into our government.

"Mr. Wheeler will not protect  but instead will destroy  our efforts to move away from fossil fuels, maintain air and water quality, and prevent further global warming. His nomination is dangerous for Virginias future."

Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said: "Andrew Wheeler is a highly qualified individual with an extensive background on natural resources and issues critically important to Virginians. The governor is disappointed that the committee put partisan politics over the selection of an experienced public servant who would prioritize cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and James River."

In 2006, Republicans defeated Daniel LeBlanc, then-Gov. Tim Kaine's nominee for secretary of the commonwealth.

Wheeler, of Alexandria, did not apply for the job, but served on Youngkin's transition committee handling energy issues and Youngkin offered it to him.

The Union of Concerned Scientists in 2019 created a list of 80 Trump administration attacks on science and called Wheeler a driving force behind many.

Three former EPA administrators who served under Republican presidents expressed concerns in 2019 about Wheeler.

And a group of former EPA employees wrote a letter to Virginia senators expressing concerns about Wheeler, which Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, made note of when Republicans asked why Wheeler's name was being pulled.

We think that members of the governors Cabinet ought to be people that unite us as Virginians, and certainly the secretary of natural and historic resources ought to be one that we have confidence in," Deeds said.

Wheeler got support in a letter sent to Virginia senators on Sunday from other EPA employees who worked with him and support his nomination. The letter was coordinated by Mandy Gunasekara, a former Trump EPA official who in 2019 started an anonymously funded group to promote Trump's energy agenda and then rejoined the agency in 2020 as chief of staff under Wheeler.

The letter defended Wheeler's commitment to clean air and water:

"All told, over the course of Mr. Wheelers career, he has improved the lives of millions of Americans through his steadfast commitments to a better, healthier environment."
Two recent back-to-back snow storms have Virginia Beach councilors members thinking about lifting the ban on sledding at Mount Trashmore Park, once the site of the city's landfill.

Councilman Rocky Holcomb said he had numerous requests from residents to allow sledding at the park.

I would like for the manager and the city attorney to find a way that we can figure something out for Mount Trashmore, to maybe have some fun for folks out there to do some sledding, Holcomb said at Tuesdays council meeting.

Sledding has been prohibited on the man-made, 65-foot hill since 2000, after several people were injured over the years. Holcomb, who works for the sheriffs office, said he guarded the mountain in the early 1990s.

Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson thought it was a good idea to look into modifying the rules about sledding.

Its something people really enjoying doing, Wilson said. It sounds kind of mean that we dont allow them to do it.

Before a snow weather event, the city announces that the park will be closed and pays employees to monitor the hill.

Were already expending people with overtime to keep people from doing it; maybe we can utilize some of those same resources to letting people enjoy themselves, Wilson said.

Mayor Bobby Dyer was on board, too.

We want to be the city of yes, Dyer said. Maybe people can sign liability waivers.
The Washington Post says that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkins selection of Angela Sailor as director of diversity, opportunity, and inclusion has left Democrats fuming.

How could Democrats be upset when not only a woman, but a Black woman, has been appointed to such an office?

Any frustration on Sailors appointment proves that our interactions and political desires revolve solely around ideas rather than skin color or gender.

Sailor not only believes in education choice, but opposes Critical Race Theory, calling C.R.T. poison, a wolf in sheeps clothing, she compares it to Brutus stabbing Julius Caesar in the back.

Sailor is a strong promoter of education in American history, believing that while there are plenty of blemishes there are also many shining moments. As we approach February, Black History Month, I believe one of the best ways to learn about America is to read the classic literature that shaped it and helped pave the way for emancipation.

While many today use Harriot Beecher Stowes Uncle Tom as a slur, Abraham Lincoln referred to Stowe as, the little lady who brought about the great big war. In the preface to her book Stowe wrote, Another and better day is dawning more in unison with the great master chord of Christianity. Her religion led her to be an abolitionist.

The larger-than-life Ralph Waldo Emerson, famous for saying, And I ate the world also said as the Civil War loomed on the horizon, Gunpowder smells good.

When the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed Emerson said, This filthy enactment was made in the 19th century, by people who can read and write. I will not obey it, by God.

While Emerson did not like sectarianism he believed in God, and this led him to be an abolitionist.

Many could correctly answer: Who wrote Huckleberry Finn? However, fewer would know that the author, Mark Twain, was a former Confederate volunteer who came from a slaveholding family. While there are some that believe Huckleberry Finn shouldnt be in public-school libraries because of its use of racial slurs, I believe that all should read this American classic. Finn might be the protagonist, but in 1885 Twain wrote Jim, a recently enslaved black man, as the real hero who sacrifices his newly found freedom in order to save Tom Sawyer.

While the above works are likely to be read in high school the following is more likely to be discussed in a college level American Religious History course. The years from 1801 to the 1830s in American History are often referred to as The Restoration Movement. According to Robert Davidsons History of the Presbyterian Church in Kentucky hundreds of thousands of Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians were abandoning their creeds and sectarian titles in order to follow only the Bible and call themselves only Christians or disciples. While none of these men intended to create their own sect, they wished to restore the church of the New Testament and reform the sects into the church found in the New Testament. Three of the most famous men were Barton Stone, Thomas Campbell, and his son, Alexander Campbell.

In his autobiography, Barton Stone tells that upon leaving Presbyterianism in 1801 he emancipated what slaves he had, and added that his reasoning for emancipation was, For of what avail is a religion of decency and order, without righteousness?

In 1845 Alexander Campbell wrote in his widely read paper, Millennial Harbinger, I have set free from slavery every human being that came in any way under my influence or was my property. Leroy Garrett, a Ph.D. from Harvard, wrote in his 1971 book The Restoration Mind, If a master freed his slaves, he was required by law not only to provide a living for them, but he was also responsible for all their conduct, being liable for any crimes they might commit. Alexander took great risk to do what was right.

Alexander certainly had a good example in his father, Thomas. Dr. Ed Harrell documents in his book, Quest for a Christian America, that in 1819 Thomas Campbell, then living in Kentucky, was reprimanded for violating state law in that he was publicly teaching an assembly of negroes. Rather than submit to an unjust law Thomas moved his residency from Kentucky to Pennsylvania.

American history is filled with shining moments and Mrs. Sailors appointment is one of them. While some fume, Sailor ought to receive, as Alexander Campbell said addressing the Virginia legislature in 1832, the countenance, support, and prayers of every Virginian in the hills and valleys.

Martinville resident Robertson serves as an evangelist with the Martinsville Church of Christ and is a co-host of the live television and YouTube broadcast, What Does the Bible Say?
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FLORENCE, S.C.  Isaac Wilson will be seeking a seat on the Florence City Council.

Wilson, the owner of the Isaac Wilson Project and a local political activist, announced in a video released Tuesday that he would be seeking the City Council District 1 seat.

District 1 is home, Wilson said in the video. Its where my mom and dad met. Its where my grandparents still live. I am Old Carver, North Vista, Williams Middle and working for Weed and Seed as a safe haven at 14 years old.

Wilson said he was running for the future of the city. He said there was an opportunity to bring real change to the city. Wilson added that District 1 needed a representative focused on the community, working to ensure vibrant urban neighborhoods, safe communities and public transit for the neighborhoods. He also called for ensuring the success of small businesses and creating a culture of volunteerism.

Im running because I care too much not to and to serve the people I call family, Wilson said.

Wilson most recently ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2020, receiving the highest number of votes for a Democrat in House District 63.

He attended Wilson High School and Denmark Technical College, and graduated from Morris College in 2011.

The District 1 seat is held by Republican William Schofield. He won the seat in a 2021 special election that was called when previous District 1 representative Teresa Myers Ervin was elected mayor in 2020.

Schofields election turned the seat for the Republicans for the first time, possibly ever. Prior to Myers Ervin, the seat was held for several years by Democrat Billy D. Williams.

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Even though 2022 is just a month old, it has had a tumultuous start. The omicron variant of COVID has infected hundreds of thousands of Americans, there is a new stealth omicron variant identified called the subvariant BA.2, children in some states and schools are back to virtual learning, on January 10, President Biden visited our neighbor to the west, Georgia, to give a speech on voting rights, and on Jan. 20, the majority leader of the Senate, senator Schumer, tried to alter the Senate filibuster rules and allow the voting rights measure to move forward with a simple majority. The last two events really do deserve a more thorough review.

The United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 4, states The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of chusing Senators.

Over the course of 246 years, there have been five amendments to the Constitution involving voting rights. The 14th Amendment in 1868 gave voting rights to all male citizens 21 years of age. The 15th Amendment in 1870 stated that voting could not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. In 1962 the 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes in federal elections, and the 26th Amendment in 1971 changed the voting age to 18.

The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Archivist then sends the amendment to the state governors for ratification. Once ratified at the state level it is returned to the Archivist. Thirty-eight of the 50 states must ratify the amendment for it to become part of the Constitution.

As you can see from the amendment process, the act of amending the Constitution requires significant bipartisan involvement and support.

Not only have been there the constitutional amendments, there was also the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that was amended in 1970, 1975, 1988, 1992, and 2006.

On March 3, 2021, the House of Representatives passed For the People Act of 2021, H.R. 1. This act was to address voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance, and ethics for the three branches of government. Since the 2020 elections, over 30 states have made changes to their voting laws, mostly involving mail-in balloting and deadlines, voter identification requirements, and the early voting period. For the 2020 election more than 100,000,000 (100 million) votes were cast before election day. Two-thirds of the 100 million votes came from mail-in ballots. H.R.1 did not pass in the Senate in June 2021.

In September 2021 and October 2021, the Senate introduced two voting rights bills, The Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021. The two bills were combined. According to Jaclyn Belizyk, Jurist executive editor, Jan. 20, the passing of the acts would have been the most significant overhaul of the U. S. elections since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

There were several parts to the act. Related to voting access was a provision that election day would be a federal holiday. Online, automatic, and same-day voter registration would occur. There would be a minimum of 15 days of early voting, including at least two weekends. There would be no-excuse mail-in voting with ample access to ballot drop boxes, and stricter regulations on voter list maintenance that make it harder for states to remove eligible voters from the rolls.

Under election and administration and redistricting, the act would prohibit partisan gerrymandering by requiring states to use certain criteria when drawing new congressional districts. Included was a section on campaign finances which creates a public financing program for House elections which allows candidates to use campaign funds for personal use services including child care. On Jan. 20, the Democrats in the Senate wanted to alter the Senate filibuster rules and allow the voting rights measure to move forward with a simple majority. It failed.

There are some serious questions that need to be answered. How do we guarantee that only citizens are voting? We need some honest discussions. We as citizens of the United States of America have constitutional voting rights. Each of the 50 states per the Constitution have certain rights as to providing the opportunities for the American citizen to vote. Our democracy is dependent on our constitutionally given right to vote. Legal votes should not be canceled out by an illegal vote. It is the validity of the vote that we as citizens need to ensure is being protected.

The wife of citizen columnist Tom Sheehy, Michelene Sheehy moved to Florence from Fairfax, Virginia, nine years ago. Married for 48 years, she is the mother of two sons and four grandchildren. She was a high school math teacher, Georgetown Universitys budget director, Catholic Universitys associate vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer. She is a past president and treasurer of the Florence Symphony Guild, past vice president of the Wildwood Garden Club and a past member of the Florence Symphony Orchestra board. She loves gardening, arts, crafts and floral designing.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Cloudy in the morning, then thunderstorms developing later in the day. A few storms may be severe. High 86F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low near 65F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
 Fourth Circuit panel upholds a "quirk" in Virginias sex-offender registry against various constitutional challenges | Main | "Gender Favoritism Among Criminal Prosecutors" 

February 1, 2022

Different perspectives one year after Measure 110 took effect decriminalizing low-level drug possession in Oregon

Via an email with this press release from the Drug Policy Alliance, I received a reminder that today marks one year since the effective data of Measure 110, Oregon's ballot initiative decriminalizing personal possession of all drugs. The DPA release suggests there is much to celebrate on this anniversary:

While the robust support infrastructure is still getting off the ground, early results show over 16,000 people have already been able to access services. Additionally, there has been a nearly 60% decrease in the amount of people who have been arrested for any drug offense (approximately 3,700 drug offense arrests in the first 10 months after decriminalization took effect compared to over 9,100 arrests in the same 10-month period of 2020.... According to the first round of data from the Oregon Health Authority (based on grant reports from the Access to Care grants that went out last spring and summer  representing the initial $31.4 million previously mentioned  to 67 organizations and 11 tribes and tribal organizations), the funding has been used to: Provide grant funding to 67 harm reduction, treatment, housing, peer support and recovery organizations across 29 counties

Provide funding to 11 Tribes and Tribal organizations through Tribal set aside

Provide services to 16,000 people, 60% of which engaged with harm reduction services

Hire 115 staff to provide a variety of health, harm reduction, treatment, housing and recovery services

Purchase 12 vehicles to provide mobile health and harm reduction services

Purchase three housing units - one motel, one duplex, and one gender and culturally-specific recovery house, plus 10 tiny houses

Secure four leases on new facilities

Purchase 154,535 harm reduction supplies

Pay for four 24-hour peer support and crisis phone lines

This Filter article reports on the one-year anniversary in a somewhat similar vein under the headline "One Year on, Oregon Drug Decriminalization Is Boosting Harm Reduction and Housing":

Housing is another particularly important need that Measure 110 is helping to address. Not everyones going to get into residential treatment and not everyone needs residential treatment, [Tera Hurst, executive director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance] said. Some people actually have better outcomes if youre able to house them in their community and offer these wraparound services. Hurst acknowledged Oregons huge task of setting up the behavioral health resource network in 2022. But advocates like her are also on the defensive  already, state lawmakers are making plans to take money allocated for expanding services and spend it instead on more police. Challenges and battles remain, therefore. But thousands of people in Oregon, whether receiving services or avoiding arrest, have already felt benefits from Measure 110. And with major funding soon to be rolled out, many more positive impacts are expected in 2022.

But some other media sources have a somewhat different perspectives on how things are going in Oregon. This local press piece, headlined "As Meth and Fentanyl Tighten Their Grips on Oregon, the State Scrambles to Implement Treatment Services: Measure 110 will provide a massive infusion of new money but overdose deaths are skyrocketing," provides some sobering statistics:

The good news, Oregon State Medical Examiner Dr. Sean Hurst recently told lawmakers, is that the jump in Oregons alcohol-related deaths in 2020 flattened in the first half of 2021. The bad news: Drug overdose deaths, particularly those involving fentanyl and methamphetamine, soared to new highs. Deaths attributable to meth jumped from 2019 to 2020, and are on pace for a bigger increase in 2021, Hurst told lawmakers Jan. 13. Though slightly less numerous, fentanyl-related deaths are rising much faster: They more than doubled from 2019 to 2020 and are on pace to rise steeply in 2021. Together, medical examiner figures show, the two drugs will account for the deaths of more than 1,000 Oregonians in 2021  thats nearly three per day. Substance use disorder is prevalent and its everywhere, says Tony Vezina, chairman of the Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission. Hurst presented his dismal news on drug deaths as the state races to implement Measure 110, the 2020 ballot measure that forced two major policy shifts. It decriminalized the possession for personal use of many hard drugs, including heroin, meth, cocaine and some opioids. Measure 110 also shifted funding from Oregons cannabis taxes  well over $100 million a year  to fund new referral and treatment services for substance use disorder.... The idea was that those cited for possession could avoid a fine by calling a phone number on their ticket; that connection would open a gateway to evaluation and servicesand get up to $100 of their fine waived. Data collected by the Oregon Judicial Department from February 2021 through Dec. 31, however, shows that avenue has not worked. Police wrote 1,826 tickets last year for hard drugs (nearly two-thirds for meth) but few  only 55 for the whole year  prompted users to telephone the number for services. Advocates of Measure 110 say it will take time for the benefits to become apparent, as was the case in Portugal, which decriminalized hard drugs in 2001 and saw its overdose death rate plummet  but only after services were in place. Tera Hurst, executive director of the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance (and no relation to the medical examiner), says voters signaled they wanted an explicit shift away from treating people with substance use disorders as criminals and to instead direct energy and money toward treatment. She says its unsurprising that citations are not driving drug users to seek help. She and other advocates did not expect they would. Even arrests rarely motivated users to seek treatment, they say  most go only when they are ready.

This other local press stories also set forth distinct perspectives on drug-related challenges in the Beaver State:

"Oregon is No. 2 in nation for addiction, last on access to treatment"

"Oregons drug decriminalization measure fails to fund treatment"

February 1, 2022 at 06:16 PM | Permalink

Comments

Where's Bill Otis' response to this? The voice of Mr. Otis, who has regularly and vociferously argued against drug legalization and/or decriminalization laws, is eerily absent in the face of empiracal data that flies in the face of his previously stated positions. I would find it difficult to believe that outspoken Mr. Otis has lost the courage of his convictions when presented with this illuminating information. Perhaps one of Bill's friends can ask him to comment.

Posted by: Where's Bill? | Feb 3, 2022 6:32:58 PM

What exactly are the empirical "data that flies in the face" of anti-legalization/decriminalization laws?

The linked articles say there have been fewer arrests while drug overdose deaths have skyrocketed. Is your implication that letting people die is better than jailing them?

I'd guess the family members of dead addicts will disagree.

Posted by: Oregonian | Feb 4, 2022 3:14:45 PM

Oregonian --

Just saw this from the Harvard School of Public Health (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/drug-overdose-deaths-hit-record-high/):

DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS HIT RECORD HIGH

"More than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses between May 2020 and April 2021the most ever recorded in a single yearaccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The number of drug overdose deaths was up almost 30% from the 78,000 deaths in the prior year, and was nearly three times that of traffic accident deaths and twice that of gun deaths during the same period.

"Most of the deaths were due to opioids, fueled by the powerful drug fentanyl, which is often added to illegal drugs to enhance their potency."

But if the easier availability of drugs contributes to a record number of deaths, hey, look stuff happens! And if the death toll falls disproportionately on black people, hey, look, that happens too!! What's important is the ideology, and if the ideology has some costs here and there, well, just as in rape cases, it's all most unfortunate, but her skirt was too short and she should have known better.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 6, 2022 11:00:51 PM

Bill, there is a sound basis in both ideology and science that these overdose deaths are fueled by prohibition, not by efforts to end prohibition. During alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, it is estimated that tens of thousands of persons died from alcohol poisoning because of the unsafe nature of bootleg alcohol. With a legal and safe supply, alcohol poising deaths are much rarer in modern times. Advocates of drug reform reasonably hope that providing a safer supply of opioids and other drugs could reduce the high number of overdose deaths being driven by fentanyl which has polluted the illicit drug market.

Perhaps if the federal government would support states that want to explore alternatives to drug prohibition, we could have a laboratory of democratic efforts to explore alternative paths on these challenging issues. That's among the reasons I think it important to keep a close eye on Oregon's experience with decriminalization and other local attempts to find a sound way out of this public health crisis. It seems that the ideology of many on the right are troubled by a federal one-size-fits-all response to COVID, and anyone adopting a local control ideology in other public health settings ought to be supporting of local efforts to find a better drug policy path.

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 7, 2022 8:42:57 AM

Doug --

"...there is a sound basis in both ideology and science that these overdose deaths are fueled by prohibition, not by efforts to end prohibition."

That must be why, as steps toward legalization have progressed over the last couple of years, in Oregon and around the country, overdose deaths have skyrocketed, in Oregon and across the country.

Oh........wait............

The data matter. Where access becomes easier, more drugs will be consumed. Where more drugs are consumed, more overdose deaths will ensue. This is both the logic and the lived experience of it. Drug users are simply never going to live with the limits, on amount and potency, that the government will impose in order to get the electorate to approve legalization legislation. So they do not, and are not going to, live within whatever the standards are, and will find ways to evade them, which they are ingenious at doing. As I once said in a debate with the very distinguished Prof. Randy Barnett, drug users don't want a safer high. They want a higher high, and they will keep the black market open and doing a good business in order to get one. So we're going to continue to get exactly what we're seeing, in Oregon and elsewhere, to wit, the morgue filling up.

The way to cut down on overdose deaths is to make drugs harder and more costly to get, hence to cut back on their use. This is why almost the entire world, in vastly different legal systems and cultures, from the USA to Africa to the Middle East to Asia, keeps drugs illegal (and has punishments for them more severe than ours).

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 7, 2022 2:45:54 PM

What "steps toward legalization" have there been regarding fentanyl, Bill? We tightened opioid supply by going after the pill mills, and that contributed toward a turn to street heroin and then fentanyl invaded. The modern uptick in overdose deaths produced by opioids seems to be a story, not of steps toward legalization, but what's called the "iron law of prohibition": https://filtermag.org/infographic-the-iron-law-of-prohibition/

Time will tell if decriminalization efforts in Oregon, based on a model with great success in Portugal, can and will prove effective here in the US. (Notably, Oregon has more than 1% of the US population but seemingly less than 1% of its overdoses, so it may be doing better than average. But the data is limited and reforms take time. As this post highlights, I am eager to see if that state can have real success with a less punitive model, though what Oregon is doing is not "legalization" by any sensible definition.)

Meanwhile, the federal government and others have mostly blocked harm reduction approaches which seems to hold more promise than the prohibition regimes we keep trying. I think it remains to be seen whether experiments with other drug control models can do better in the US, but I have a hard time finding examples of prohibition models working well in the US (and these approaches have many casualties beyond those just in the morgue). Can you give any examples of prohibition models working well in the US? I can cite to alcohol and marijuana prohibition working poorly AND the 100,000 deaths you note as prohibition's failures. Where are the success stories in the US?

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 7, 2022 3:11:25 PM

Doug --

"What 'steps toward legalization' have there been regarding fentanyl, Bill?"

Did I say there've been steps toward legalizing specifically fentanyl? That's odd, I can't find that. Could you quote me? But, on the other hand, you have said in the past that you favor the legalization of ALL drugs, fentanyl, heroin, meth, LSD, the whole deal. So in fact you favor legalizing fentanyl, yes? No? Do you think more plentiful fentanyl will bring us a healthier country?

"Time will tell if decriminalization efforts in Oregon, based on a model with great success in Portugal, will prove effective."

Actually, there's already been quite a bit of time, slightly more than 20 years. You'd think we could get some good data over two decades. And in fact, the White House examined the data about Portugal and was not so enthusiastic. Now I know, what we can expect from Orange Bad Man's White House? Only it wasn't Orange Bad Man. It was Barack Obama, who, partly for reasons outlined in this short paper, never came close to recommending drug legalization to Congress, on Portugal's model or anything close to it. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/drug-decriminalization-in-portugal-challenges-and-limitations

Yes, it's all true! I'm almost as much of a Puritan prude as Barack Obama. Oh, the shame!

And while we're at it, why haven't Portugal's neighbors, the ones with an up-close view for quite a while now, adopted Portugal's regimen? Just too dumb?

"Meanwhile, the federal government and others have most blocked harm reduction approaches which seems to hold more promise than the prohibition regimes we are trying now."

The only federal government I'm aware of is the one headed by Joe Biden in the Executive Branch and Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi in the legislative branch. And for all their frantic activity to pass this and pass that, I haven't seen their drug legalization bill. Does the administration and the leadership have a Portugal-type legalization bill out there that I've missed? Or are they prudes too?

"Can you give any examples of the prohibition models working well in the US? I can cite to alcohol and marijuana prohibition working poorly AND the 100,000 deaths you note as prohibition's failures. Where are the success stories?"

The 331,000,000 who are still with us, despite decades of pro-drug propaganda. Here's the deal: The massive majority of people in this country don't take hard drugs, don't want their kids taking them, don't want them to become more accessible and oppose legalizing them by huge margins (just like almost all the rest of the world, which I note you decline to address. Is that because people in Africa, the Middle East and Asia are so much less advanced than we are? That would be news to me, but I'm all ears if that's what the drug lobby thinks).

Here's the poll on American's views of drug legalization, undertaken by that Right-Wing-Trump-Loving Freak Show, the Huffington Post: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/drug-legalization-poll_n_5162357

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 7, 2022 4:36:13 PM

Bill, you link to a Aug 2010 ONDCP two-pager which is (properly) stating that a single 2009 Cato report about Portugal does not conclusively establish that its reforms are ideal. If you really care about data on these matters, here are some more up-to-date accounts of overdoses, drug policies and practices in Portugal and Europe and worldwide:



https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/11331/portugal-cdr-2019_0.pdf

https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/13762/TD0221591ENN.pdf

https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/chart-of-the-day-5/

https://www.hri.global/files/2021/03/29/HRI_Western_Europe_Final2.pdf

https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/13838/TDAT21001ENN.pdf

If you take the time to review just some of these data, you will see that the US overdose rate is as much as 15x to 30x worse than some Western European countries (and Portugal has some of the lowest overdose rates). And what is most obviously different in all these EU nations, as a matter of law and policy and practice, is that they rely much more broadly on harm reduction (non-punitive) services and rely much less on incarceration and other punitive drug control means than does the US.

And, as you know, Bill, this is not a simply red/blue issue (and nothing really is). Many Progressives pushed alcohol Prohibition and and Milton Friedman famously advocated for full legalization (as did Donald Trump once long ago). A serious look at the data shows less punitive approaches seem to work better around the world than the punitive approaches adopted in the US. But US markets and cultures are unique, so it remains to be seen if what works (imperfectly) around the world could work here. But you are right that our politics seems to greatly limit a willingness to move away from prohibition and punitive approaches despite the poor track records of prohibition.

Because punitiveness seems to produce more harms in the US, I favor exploring alternative approaches. That is why I am pleased Oregon and some localities are exploring alternatives. But those who want to close their eyes to real data are unlikely to learn from modern history and I fear the body count from failed punitive policies will continue to grow.

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 8, 2022 2:25:10 AM

Doug --

Just very briefly, since I seem to be occupied on another thread fighting off the idea that it would be awful, just AWFUL, to have a bit more truthfulness and candor in the legal profession.

-- The Obama Administration and the current Administration, the two most left wing in history, are not supporting Portugal-style legalization, having had years to study it. Some of Portugal's closest neighbors, while supporting some legalization of pot, don't take the same indulgent approach to harder drugs, and others maintain complete prohibition, as does almost all of the rest of the world. A consensus that broad for that long can't be made to sit in the corner by just repeating the word "data." It reminds me of threads where commenters seemed to think that if they repeated the word "innocence" enough, they could prove that our jails are filled with the innocent.

The opinion of the world, including of almost every non-white country, has to count. It does with me. People in Asia, the Mideast and Africa are just as smart and just as caring as we are and as Europe is.

-- The body count is not a result of punitive policies. It's a result of the illegal (and stupid) decisions of those who choose to take drugs. If they obeyed the law they's stay out of the morgue. They should give it a try. This would not require new legislation. It would require a new attitude, which would be massively in their interest and in ours.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 8, 2022 2:14:30 PM

Portugal has not legalized drugs, Bill, it has decriminalized and generally seeks to help people who use drugs rather than just jail them. That is the approach Oregon is now trying and there is talk the Biden Administration is now open to the harm reduction tool of safe consumption sites which are widely used throughout Europe:

https://apnews.com/article/business-health-new-york-c4e6d999583d7b7abce2189fba095011

https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/2734/POD_Drug%20consumption%20rooms.pdf

The politics in the US are shifting, slowly, toward more European approaches in part because the US body count is now so high. But the drug war has always been "good politics" in the US, in part because the US has a long history of embracing punitive approaches (see, eg, alcohol prohibition as a constitutional amendment; high modern incarceration rates). And there may be reason to worry, especially in an internet age with ever fewer personal connections and other aspects of modern US culture and capitalism, that no particular policies will dramatically alter the current sad US realities. But trying something different than the punitive status quo seems worth exploring when decades of European experience provides a guide to some reasonable tools to try to lower the body count.

Meanwhile, the extent to which you are eager to spout bromides rather than engage with data (or even be knowledgeable about basic facts) is sadly emblematic of far too many on all sides of debates over drugs and crime.

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 8, 2022 11:21:38 PM

Doug - What's the overdose rate in Singapore where they cane users and kill dealers? If prohibition causes overdoses, surely Singapore's overdose rate must be through the roof.

Posted by: Oregonian | Feb 9, 2022 3:26:24 AM

Good point, Oregonian, as a useful reminder that I should highlight that there is clearly far more to the story of drug use and impact than just formal legal policies. Singapore seems to have had considerable success with prohibition/punitiveness as a drug control strategy. The experiences and details of drug policy and drug harms in Asian nations generally, and Singapore particularly, are quite interesting and quite distinct from experiences in western nations. I could not quickly find clear overdose data for Singapore, but here are some reports/discussions on these topics:

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2733.html

https://www.mha.gov.sg/docs/default-source/media-room-doc/home-team-journal-jan-2020-issue17e1a5b21df14567924fbde0000a6c25.pdf

The last article in the second link reviews the Singapore story to make the case that Singapore has had considerable success with prohibition/punitive approaches to drug control. Clearly this approach can work in some settings at some times.

To be clear, Oregonian, I do not mean to argue in all settings that prohibition (or decriminalization or legalization) directly "causes" drug overdose deaths or that the impact of particular policies are entirely predictable or inevitable. For drug use, access and policy impact, set, setting, culture, politics and other factors all seem to play important roles. I surmise Singapore has had relatively good success with punitive approaches to drug control --- including the mandatory death penalty for trafficking large amounts of drugs and physical punishments like caning --- because there seems to be broad public support among the Singapore citizenry for these approaches.

But in the US, there has rarely been widespread support for various forms of prohibition, and the harms/failings of how we fought the "war on alcohol" and the "war on drugs" in our nation can be broadly identified (though they have always been unevenly distributed). We pride ourselves as a nation of freedoms and free markets and individualism, which seem to contribute to prohibitionist/punitive approaches to drug control being generally less successful. But, again, you are wise to highlight Singapore as an example of a nation that has found relative success with this model, and everyone would be wise to remain ever open-minded as to "what works."

Perhaps as Oregon tries out replicating the "Portugal" model of decriminalization another US state might try out the "Singapore" model. I wonder if Gov DeSantis or Gov Abbott might try to make Florida or Texas a vanguard in this respect. I truly wish to be open minded as to how we might try to do better with drug policies and harms in the US, and we should all be open to agreement that we are now not doing very well in the US in this arena by any metric.

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 9, 2022 9:50:17 AM

Doug - Thanks for your response.

Broadly, we're talking about three different approaches: (1) Decriminalization/treatment (Portugal), (2) Prohibition with serious punishment (Singapore), and (3) Prohibition with lax enforcement (U.S. and most of Europe).

Why is the U.S. "lax"? After all, we sentence repeat dealers/traffickers to long prison sentences and sometimes sentence first-arrest, large-quantity dealers get serious sentences as well. We are lax because our typical approach to drug use and low-level dealing ranges from open toleration (streets of SF & PDX) to minor punishments that fail to deter. Based on my personal experience in a couple of states, punishments for heroin/meth possession (even in repeat cases) is at most a few months in jail, and is often much less. As of a few years ago in the suburbs of Boston, your first heroin possession charge was "free" - cases were automatically dismissed if a defendant *promised* to attend drug education classes, with no follow-up by the DA's office.

It seems intuitive that the Portuguese system could lead to fewer overdoses among drug addicts than the American system. In the U.S., we do just enough to make drugs difficult to obtain (increasing purity), while foregoing serious deterrence policies. There are other problems with the Portuguese system - (1) Portugal has higher HIV rates from needle sharing than Spain/central-Europe (though lower than Italy) and (2) it seems likely that decriminalization will lead to more overall drug addiction than the U.S. system (controlling for cultural variables). That said, you could convince me with controlled studies that decriminalization is better than lax prohibition, particularly in a place like Portland where street-addict drug use has long been decriminalized as a practical matter.

However, the Singaporean system is statistically far superior to either the U.S. or Portuguese system in preventing use and overdoses. Your main objection above seems to be practicality and popularity within U.S. culture. But corporal punishment has a long history in the U.S. (and as far as I know has never been found unconstitutional) and our last President briefly broached the idea of the death penalty for heroin dealers. If Trump actually focused on the issue (highly unlikely), I think he could create a base of support for serious drug deterrence efforts, a least in red states.

More broadly, I think Americans are uncomfortable with serious deterrence because of (philosophical) assumptions about individualism (as you point out) and an aversion to perceived cruelty.

As to philosophical liberal individualism, I think Americans are just wrong. Take Mr. Otis's statement above:

"The body count is not a result of punitive policies. It is a result of the illegal (and stupid) decisions of those who choose to take drugs. If they obeyed the law they'd stay out of the morgue. They should give it a try."

This seems to reflect the philosophical liberal assumption that blank-slate individuals use reason to reach considered decisions. If so, it is wrong. Of course every drug user in some sense "chooses" to begin using drugs. But humans are not blank-slate and they rarely (if ever) use detached reasoning. Genetic and environmental factors drive drug use, just as they drive every other "choice" we make. A 90-IQ white male in a WV holler is more likely to OD from heroin than a 120-IQ asian female in SLC not because of free, rational "choice" but because of genetics and environment.

Put differently, the idea that a free, rational mind "chooses" to use illegal drugs rests on the same philosophical liberal foundation as the idea that we should legalize drugs and allow individuals to "choose" whether or not to use them (and focus on "harm reduction" when they make the wrong choice). Both ideas are wrong because that foundation bears no weight.

I support corporal punishment, the death penalty, and other serious deterrent measures for drug dealing/use not because I think people "deserve" them for making "stupid decisions . . . to take drugs." I support those measures because they would change the environmental factors that lead to mass drug abuse and overdoses. (And, by the way, I also support changes that would improve the economic and spiritual lives of vagrants in SF and welfare addicts in WV and hopefully reduce abuse/overdoses as well).

That brings me to the cruelty of serious deterrence policies like corporal punishment and the death penalty. These polices seem harsh in their application to specific individuals. But I think lax prohibition is truly cruel. We knowingly condemn millions of people to a life of addiction and hundreds of thousands to early death. We fail to punish "low-level" or first-time drug dealing/use and then lock up the unlucky for decades after their 4th or 5th or 6th conviction that is the natural result of drug addiction. Lax prohibition causes and will cause more death and more suffering for addicts and their families than Singapore's ever could.

I'll end with this. Last summer, one of my best friends from high school died from a Fentanyl overdose in Portland at age 37. He was a functioning addict who had a wife and good job, but he had struggled with addiction for over a decade. Maybe he survives under the Portuguese model because he could have found a precise or fentanyl-free dose of heroin. Maybe. But my friend did not *want* to use heroin. He grew to hate it and went through treatment a half-dozen times. But like the strong majority of heroin addicts, treatment was ineffective.

If we had adopted Singapore's model 20 years ago, I believe my friend would be alive. There would be trade-offs. We would have executed perhaps tens of thousands of drug dealers (and hopefully some pharma executives) -- but compare that to the 100k+ overdose deaths last year alone. My friend might have born scars from humiliating and painful corporal punishment -- but if Singapore's success was at all replicated, it is much more likely he would be living with those scars.

We shrink from the "cruelty" of serious deterrence. Much more cruel, however, is our studied neglect of the mass suffering and death we inflict through lax prohibition founded on philosophical liberalism.

Posted by: Oregonian | Feb 9, 2022 3:11:59 PM

So many interesting points here, Oregonian, far too many to engage adequately here. On the politics I will note that, even in deep red states, responses to the deadly opioid crisis has often been to call for more support for users and to assert distinctions between punishing "dealers" and helping "users." Prez Trump himself echoed that kind of distinction when talking about about getting tougher, which reinforces my sense that what you call "serious punishment" remains a political/cultural non-starter. (The fact no single red state is now even talking about moving in that direction, as blue states move to harm reduction approaches, strikes me as also politically telling.)

Politics aside, I will play law professor and ask whether you also think "prohibition with serious punishment" is the right model for other widely used drugs like marijuana and tobacco and alcohol (and even sugar). The health harms from these products typically do not produce immediate overdose deaths --- though there are a few thousand from alcohol each year --- and yet they can often be as addictive and can produce broad public harms to both users and those in their ambit. Are there only certain drugs that you think justify "prohibition with serious punishment" and other drugs that you think can and should be legal/commercialized or at least decriminalized? I ask because in part because I think the US failure over the last 50+ years to focus on the drugs that present the biggest harm risks --- legally, socially, culturally --- contributes to some of our problems.

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 9, 2022 3:58:37 PM

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Adrianne Kruger, a junior studying education at Wayne State College, testified to a state panel Monday about the test that's left her and other would-be teachers frustrated and discouraged.

A tearful Kruger told members of the Legislature's Education Committee that she's tried for years to pass the basic skills test that Nebraska requires to enter a teacher prep program, without success.

"I personally have spent almost $850 trying to pass one test," she said. "That $850 could have gone toward my tuition, books or even personal bills."

Her story was among several stories of frustration shared at the hearing on three bills that would either eliminate the test or allow alternative methods for would-be teachers to demonstrate basic math and English skills.

It was clear from the steady stream of supporters for the bills that the idea of ending the test has gained steam among some lawmakers, educators and teachers college professors. Support has been boosted by a teacher shortage that's been exacerbated by the pandemic.

School districts across Nebraska and the nation are struggling to hire and retain enough teachers, paraprofessionals, nutrition service workers, bus drivers and more.

Supporters of the proposals said eliminating the test would boost enrollment in teacher prep programs overall and among students of color, who they said are overrepresented in the failure rate.

Previous attempts to relax the testing requirement met with opposition from Gov. Pete Ricketts over concerns that the state was lowering the bar to enter the profession.

But at Monday's hearing, proponents dominated the discussion.

Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha told the committee that the test is "an expensive hurdle" that's not serving prospective teachers or the education system.

"A standardized test does not and should not determine what type of teachers they will be in the classroom," he said.

Vargas' bill (LB960) would eliminate all basic skills testing, as well as content testing that prospective teachers take later in their academic career in their chosen area of expertise.

Sen. Carol Blood's bill (LB690) would not eliminate testing but would allow applicants to demonstrate basic skills competency by taking certain coursework as determined by the Nebraska Department of Education.

Blood said she would rather give educators a choice instead of doing away with testing.

LB1218, an Education Committee bill introduced by Chairwoman Lynne Walz and designated a priority bill, would strike the requirement for a basic skills test and provide other ways for candidates to prove competency.

According to Walz, the bill would ensure that educators from other states have a path to joining the profession in Nebraska. It would allow an applicant to demonstrate basic skills with a college admission exam, college coursework or successful employment experiences, including student teaching.

The bill also contains a provision for $1,000 in loan forgiveness for students who intern for a semester in a Nebraska school.

Tim Frey, dean of the College of Education at Doane University, shared stories of well-qualified students who ran up hundreds of dollars in costs and months of delay while repeatedly taking the test.

Recent data show that more than half of the students entering Doane's undergraduate teaching program did not pass at least one of the three test areas on their first attempt, he said.

"On average, it took 3.9 attempts for those students to pass the Praxis Core if they did not pass on their first attempt, and it cost those students an average additional $360," he said.

In the past three years, 18 prospective teachers left the Doane program when they were unable to pass the test, he said.

For decades, Nebraska has required applicants to pass a basic skills test for admission to an approved educator preparation program.

The test is also required to apply for a teaching certificate.

In 2014, the Nebraska State Board of Education adopted the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators as the admissions test for teacher prep programs.

The test, a product of Educational Testing Service, replaced the Praxis I Pre-Professional Skills Test the state had used for decades.

The old test was built on what educators in the 1980s believed that teachers should know and be able to do.

The new test proved harder. Some applicants struggled with it, especially the math.

Even as Nebraska students struggled, their performance was better on average than their peers in other states who took the same test.

Three years ago, members of the Board of Education tried to eliminate the basic skills test but backed off when Ricketts signaled that he didn't want to lower the bar for entry.

Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, testified Monday in favor of ending the test.

Benson said the test presented an obstacle to her daughter, Joy, who is pursuing a degree in early childhood education.

Her daughter has struggled to pass the test despite having an associate degree in early childhood education and experience teaching in Head Start and as a paraeducator in Lincoln Public Schools, she said.

After multiple tries, she passed the math and reading sections but has yet to pass writing, Benson said.

"She has trouble with timed tests, and she's about to give up," she said.

Benson noted that David Steiner, executive director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, reviewed Nebraska's teacher prep approach for the Nebraska Department of Education and recommended that Praxis Core not be used as an entrance exam.

Steiner, she said, concluded that tests are expensive for applicants who take them multiple times and have not been shown to correlate with teaching effectiveness.

At least 17 states use the same tests and same passing scores as Nebraska either to enter a teacher prep program or for certification.

Passing scores are 156 on the reading portion, 150 in math, and 162 in writing for a total of 468. A student can pass with a composite score of 468 on all three portions of the test, as long as no single test score is more than one point below the score for that subject.

The math test had been the most troublesome section for Nebraska students until 2019, when ETS changed the test.

The company reduced the emphasis on algebra and geometry and increased the emphasis on statistics, probability and data interpretation and representation.

That boosted the passing rate substantially in Nebraska. For example, 88% of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students passed in 2020-21, compared with 62% in 2018-19. The University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska at Omaha saw similar jumps.

Since that change, Nebraska students have had the most trouble with the writing test.

For instance, at UNO in 2020-21, more than 90% of students passed the math test on the first attempt and almost 93% in reading, but in writing, just more than 78% passed on the first try.

Kruger said a bilingual friend of hers struggled with the writing portion, even though she passed reading and math.

"She felt many times, when she failed the Praxis, she wanted to give up on education," Kruger said.

According to Kruger, the friend feels that the test doesnt determine whether someone's going to be a great educator but instead who knows basic skills better than others.

Kruger said another friend, a mother of three who works three jobs, has passed the math and reading parts of the test but has been trying to pass the writing portion for more than four years. The friend has now taken the writing portion 10 times at a cost of $900, she said.

Kruger said she's had to change her own plans because of the test. She said she recently submitted an application to be an interdisciplinary studies major in education and family studies just so she could graduate on time.

Michelle Warren, an associate professor of Spanish at UNK, said she's been preparing future educators to teach Spanish in the state.

Many students in her upper-level courses are from first-generation immigrant families and the first to attend college, and they struggle on the test, Warren said.

"In no way are these students from immigrant families less intelligent or less prepared," she said.

They excel in campus leadership, earn high GPAs and take advantage of tools available to them, such as extra study sessions and tutoring, Warren said.

"I have watched dozens of students become frustrated," she said.

Warren said it's important not to discourage the state's young professionals and to get them in the classroom.

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SIOUX CITY -- Tim Duax, branch chief of the U.S. Attorney's office in Sioux City, has been named acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa.

Duax replaces U.S. Attorney Sean Berry, who announced his retirement, effective Monday.

"I am honored to serve the people of the Northern District of Iowa in the capacity of acting United States Attorney. By faithfully enforcing the law, we help make our communities safer places to live, work and raise families," Duax said.

Experienced in prosecuting child exploitation cases and violent crimes, Duax has been an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Iowa since 2007 and has served as the Sioux City branch chief and first assistant.

Prior to 2007, Duax served for four years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Arizona in the Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Section in which he prosecuted cases involving violent drug trafficking organizations and other organized crime.

Before joining the Department of Justice, Duax spent six years in private practice and 10 years as a prosecutor in the Maricopa County Attorneys Office in Arizona. He graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law in 1989 and received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1986.

Berry retires after more than 30 years with the Justice Department, beginning his career as a federal prosecutor in 1989, when he joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. After 10 years in Los Angeles, Berry moved to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa, prosecuting complex fraud cases and child exploitation cases for 20 years. Berry served as acting U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney on multiple occasions when there was no presidentially appointed U.S. attorney in the district.

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SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man has been charged with having sexual contact with a minor female on numerous occasions during the past year.

Ronnie Reynolds, 43, was arrested Monday and booked into the Woodbury County Jail on three counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. All are Class C felonies that carry 10-year prison sentences. Reynolds' bond was set at $50,000.

According to court documents, Sioux City police were contacted on Jan. 14 by the Iowa Department of Human Services with a report of possible sexual abuse. A police investigation revealed that Reynolds had sexual contact with the minor from June 27-July 6 and more than 20 encounters were discovered. Reynolds is accused of repeated inappropriate touching of the minor.

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SIOUX CITY -- Siouxland leaders asked Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and other top state officials for assistance on a myriad of issues as they lobbied at the Capitol Tuesday.

Nearly 30 local government, business and education officials took part in the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce's 45th annual Des Moines Legislative Day. They were joined by about a dozen high school students who serve on the Mayor's Youth Commission.

During the meetings with Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, House and Senate leaders and state lawmakers from Sioux City, topics included economic development, income tax reform, the workforce shortage, education and quality of life.

"The biggest thing going on at the Capitol right now is income tax reform and the tax bills and reducing taxes," said Sioux City Economic Development Director Marty Dougherty, who was in attendance. "So, that's a positive thing for Sioux City."

The visit came as the House and Senate held their first subcommittee hearings on a major overhaul of the state's income tax system.

Plans backed by the GOP-controlled House and Senate are similar to Reynolds' proposal for a 4% flat-rate state income tax and a phase out on state taxes on retirement income.

"They recognize the competitive situation we have here in Sioux City," Barbara Sloniker, the Chamber's executive vice president, said of lawmakers.

Neighboring South Dakota has no income tax on personal or corporate income. Dakota Dunes, a planned community created in the late 1980s just across the border in southeast South Dakota, has long attracted retirees from neighboring Iowa.

Taryn Frideres, Reynolds' chief operating officer, also outlined the governor's proposals to increase increase child care in the state and make it more affordable.

Sloniker said child care is one of the keys to increasing the state's labor force.

"If they don't have anywhere to leave their child, they're not going to go to work," she said of parents. "They're going to stay home and take care of their child."

For years, employers in metro Sioux City and other communities across the state have struggled with an acute worker shortage that has stymied their efforts to grow and expand their businesses.

At a luncheon Tuesday, the local delegation heard from former Siouxland Chamber President Debi Durham, who is now director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority, as well as Beth Townsend, Iowa Workforce Development Director.

"We had presentations and a discussion with Debbie and Beth primarily about attracting more people and more workforce to Iowa and training programs and all of those issues that are really critical for Sioux City and for our state," Dougherty said. "We heard what the latest plans are and the new programs that they're doing."

Dougherty described the meetings as "tremendously positive."

"The mood there is very good, because they have some extra funds. The state of Iowa has managed its funds very well with federal money that was available," he said. "There's several billion dollars of extra funds available, so they're talking about how that best can be used in a responsible way, including an opportunity to reduce income taxes for individuals and for businesses."

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SIOUX CITY -- At the Sioux Gateway Airport on Tuesday morning, Jim Pillen, was on hand to receive a campaign endorsement from the Nebraska Farm Bureau. But agriculture was far from the only thing the Republican candidate for Nebraska governor touched on during his 20 minutes at the podium.

In front of a banner stamped 36 times with his name, Pillen, a University of Nebraska regent and pig farmer, told a small crowd of staffers and local media members that he wanted to: "protect" adolescent minds, "attack" property taxes and solve problems without the "federal government's invasion."

On the children front, Pillen, who tweeted in January he would "ban Critical Race Theory in Nebraska classrooms," said the state board of education in Nebraska had been "hijacked" by a "very far left mind." He then alleged "grossly inappropriate sex education" was being taught in the public school system.

"It's a parent's job. It's parents' jobs to decide how and when they're going to have those conversations," Pillen said.

Per the Lincoln Journal Star: In June 2021, while speaking specifically about Critical Race Theory, which is intended to look at how inequities can disadvantage groups of people based on their race, Pillen said he preferred "teachers and professors focus on 'facts and common sense Nebraska values.'" Within the article, Pillen did not explain what specific values those were.

Does having kids matter in Nebraska governor race? Pillen and Herbster disagree Nebraska gubernatorial candidates Charles W. Herbster and Jim Pillen are trading barbs over the importance of parenthood as a qualification to be the state's next top executive.

While discussing property taxes, Pillen told those in attendance the issue is one affecting all Nebraskans.

"Whether you own a commercial property, whether you're renting a home or whether you're buying a home, it's affecting all of us. We have to get that solved," Pillen said. However, he didn't go further on what the best solution would be and his website issues page only says: "We need to limit the growth in spending by local taxing entities and modernize our tax structure..."

During the question and answer segment of the event, Pillen was asked about the topic of Second Amendment sanctuary states and cities. Such government entities are ones with language intended to oppose any restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms. A Des Moines Register story from July 2021 noted that such ordinances and laws don't trump federal decisions.

"We can solve our problems and we don't need the federal government's invasion of having us solve our problems. Nebraskans are innovative, entrepreneurial and great thinkers. We can solve our problems without having the federal government's intrusion," Pillen said.

At the beginning of the event, Mark McHargue, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said the agency polled people about whether or not they should get involved in the race and, if they did, who they should back.

"They said, Jim Pillen is the guy to do that job," McHargue said. McHargue then mentioned Pillen's experience as a pig farmer and said that he values agriculture. Pillen started the business with his dad and it now has more than 1,000 employees.

"It's important that as we think about how we're going to grow Nebraska, we have a governor who understands that AG has to be a critical part of that conversation," McHargue said.

Statewide primaries in Nebraska are set for May 10. According to Ballotpedia, Pillen is one of six GOP candidates vying for the chance to succeed current Gov. Pete Ricketts. In Sept. 2021, Nebraska State Sen. Carol Blood became the first Democrat to announce her candidacy.

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OMAHA -- In the Republican primary race to succeed Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, candidate Charles W. Herbster announced that he has received an endorsement from South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

The development positions two prominent Republican governors, Ricketts and Noem, on opposite sides of the primary race. Ricketts in January endorsed Jim Pillen, a livestock producer and University of Nebraska regent.

Pillen and Herbster are viewed as frontrunners in the race.

Herbster, a Falls City businessman who touts his support of and from former President Donald Trump, announced the Noem endorsement in a news release from his campaign Wednesday morning.

"I am proud to endorse Charles W. Herbster to be the next governor of Nebraska. Charles is a strong conservative, and with decades of experience as a farmer, rancher, and successful businessman," Noem said in the Herbster campaign release.

Herbster said it was an honor to receive the endorsement.

I look forward to working alongside her as a powerful ally in the fight against federal government overreach," he said in the release. "As governors of neighboring states, Kristi Noem and I will collaborate to bring additional jobs and resources to our states, and advance opportunity and prosperity for all."

Noem has become an increasingly recognized figure in national Republican politics. Though she has dismissed such speculation, some view her as a potential Republican presidential contender in 2024  speculation largely tied to her efforts aimed at building a national profile, particularly by condemning restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. She has registered a political action committee and engaged in a nationwide speaking circuit.

Ricketts also has been the source of speculation in Nebraska, where political observers noted the governor seemed to be increasingly vocal in his criticisms of federal policies during Joe Bidens presidency. In October he joined eight other prominent Republican governors in traveling to the southern border.

Like Noem, Ricketts over the summer dismissed speculation that he might be positioning himself for higher office, saying that there was simply an abundance of policies that merited his criticism.

Last month Ricketts, a two-term governor barred from seeking reelection due to term limits, joined former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr to formally endorse Pillen in the Republican primary  a race that also features State Sen. Brett Lindstrom and former Sen. Theresa Thibodeau.

Ricketts has criticized Herbster for headquartering his business outside Nebraska and for his support of a proposed consumption tax plan that would replace Nebraskas income, corporate, sales and property tax system. Ricketts has said he does not believe Herbster is qualified to be our next governor."

Those remarks came after Trump formally endorsed Herbster in October, stating in a news release that Herbster "will do a fantastic job. The former president called Herbster an extraordinarily successful businessman, adding that he will fight for our farmers and ranchers, support our military and vets, and protect and defend your under siege Second Amendment rights."

The news outlet Politico reported in November that Ricketts had asked Trump to stay out of the Republican primary fight  a request that Trump ultimately disregarded.

Like Herbster, Noem has aligned herself with the former president. Last year both she and Herbster cut ties with political adviser Corey Lewandowski, a longtime confidant to Trump, after Lewandowski became embroiled in scandal.

The primary is May 10.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

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Adrianne Kruger, a junior studying education at Wayne State College, testified to a state panel Monday about the test that's left her and other would-be teachers frustrated and discouraged.

A tearful Kruger told members of the Education Committee that she's tried for years to pass the basic skills test that Nebraska requires to enter a teacher prep program, without success.

"I personally have spent almost $850 trying to pass one test," she said. "That $850 could have gone toward my tuition, books, or even personal bills."

Her story was among several stories of frustration shared at the hearing on three bills that would either eliminate the test or allow alternative methods for would-be teachers to demonstrate basic math and English skills.

It was clear from the steady stream of supporters for the bills that the idea of ending the test has gained steam among some lawmakers, educators and teachers college professors. Support has been boosted by a teacher shortage that's been exacerbated by the pandemic.

School districts across Nebraska and the nation are struggling to hire and retain enough teachers, paraprofessionals, nutrition service workers, bus drivers and more.

Supporters of the proposals said eliminating the test would boost enrollment in teacher prep programs overall and among students of color, who they said are overrepresented in the failure rate.

Previous attempts to relax the testing requirement met with opposition from Gov. Pete Ricketts over concerns that the state was lowering the bar to enter the profession.

But at this hearing, proponents dominated the discussion.

Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha told the committee that the test is "an expensive hurdle" that's not serving prospective teachers or the education system.

"A standardized test does not and should not determine what type of teachers they will be in the classroom," he said.

Vargas' bill (LB960) would eliminate all basic skills testing, as well as content testing that prospective teachers take later in their academic career in their chosen area of expertise.

Sen. Carol Blood's bill (LB690) would not eliminate testing but would allow applicants to demonstrate basic skills competency by taking certain coursework as determined by the Nebraska Department of Education.

Blood said she would rather give educators a choice instead of doing away with testing.

LB1218, an Education Committee bill introduced by Chairwoman Lynne Walz and designated a priority bill, would strike the requirement for a basic skills test and provide other ways for candidates to prove competency.

According to Walz, the bill would ensure that educators from other states have a path to joining the profession in Nebraska. It would allow an applicant to demonstrate basic skills with a college admission examination, college coursework or successful employment experiences, including student teaching.

The bill also contains a provision for $1,000 in loan forgiveness for students who intern for a semester in a Nebraska school.

Tim Frey, dean of the College of Education at Doane University, shared stories of well-qualified students who ran up hundreds of dollars in costs and months of delay while repeatedly taking the test.

Recent data show that over half of the students entering Doane's undergraduate teaching program did not pass at least one of the three test areas on their first attempt, he said.

"On average, it took 3.9 attempts for those students to pass the Praxis Core if they did not pass on their first attempt, and it cost those students an average additional $360," he said.

In the past three years, 18 prospective teachers left the Doane program when they were unable to pass the test, he said.

For decades, Nebraska has required applicants to pass a basic skills test for admission to an approved educator preparation program.

The test is also required to apply for a teaching certificate.

In 2014, the Nebraska State Board of Education adopted the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators as the admissions test for teacher prep programs.

The test, a product of Educational Testing Service, replaced the Praxis I Pre-Professional Skills Test the state had used for decades.

The old test was built on what educators in the 1980s believed that teachers should know and be able to do.

The new test proved harder. Some applicants struggled with it, especially the math.

Even as Nebraska students struggled, their performance was better on average than their peers in other states who took the same test.

Three years ago, members of the Board of Education tried to eliminate the basic skills test but backed off when Ricketts signaled that he didn't want to lower the bar for entry.

Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, testified Monday in favor of ending the test.

Benson said the test presented an obstacle to her daughter, Joy, who is pursuing a degree in early childhood education.

Her daughter has struggled to pass the test despite having an associate degree in early childhood education and experience teaching in Head Start and as a paraeducator in the Lincoln Public Schools, she said.

After multiple tries, she passed the math and reading sections but has yet to pass writing, Benson said.

"She has trouble with timed tests, and she's about to give up," she said.

Benson said the test doesn't help students to become a qualified educator. "They just cost a lot of money," she said.

Benson noted that David Steiner, executive director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, reviewed Nebraska's teacher prep approach for the Nebraska Department of Education and recommended that Praxis Core not be used as an entrance exam.

Steiner, she said, concluded that they are expensive for applicants who take them multiple times and have not been shown to correlate with teaching effectiveness.

At least 17 states use the same tests and same passing scores as Nebraska either to enter a teacher prep program or for certification.

Passing scores are 156 on the reading portion, 150 in math, and 162 in writing for a total of 468. A student can pass with a composite score of 468 on all three portions of the test, as long as no single test score is more than one point below the score for that subject.

The math test had been the most troublesome section for Nebraska students until 2019, when ETS changed the test.

The company reduced the emphasis on algebra and geometry and increased the emphasis on statistics, probability and data interpretation and representation.

That boosted the passing rate substantially in Nebraska. For example, 88% of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students passed in 2020-21, compared with 62% in 2018-19. The University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska at Omaha saw similar jumps.

Since that change, Nebraska students have had the most trouble with the writing test.

For instance, at UNO in 2020-21, over 90% of students passed the math test on the first attempt and almost 93% in reading, but in writing, just over 78% passed on the first try.

Kruger said a bilingual friend of hers struggled with the writing portion, even though she passed reading and math.

"She felt many times, when she failed the Praxis, she wanted to give up on education," she said.

According to Kruger, the friend feels that this test doesnt determine whether someone's going to be a great educator but instead who knows basic skills better than others.

Kruger said another friend, a mother of three who works three jobs, has passed the math and reading parts of the test but has been trying to pass the writing portion for more than four years. The friend has now taken the writing portion 10 times at a cost of $900, she said.

Kruger said she's had to change her own plans because of the test. She said she recently submitted an application to be an interdisciplinary studies major in education and family studies just so she could graduate on time.

Michelle Warren, an associate professor of Spanish at UNK, said she's been preparing future educators to teach Spanish in the state.

Many students in her upper-level courses are from first-generation immigrant families and the first to attend college, and they struggle on the test, Warren said.

"In no way are these students from immigrant families less intelligent or less prepared," she said.

They excel in campus leadership, earn high GPAs and take advantage of tools available to them, like extra study sessions and tutoring, Warren said.

"I have watched dozens of students become frustrated," she said.

Warren said it's important not to discourage the state's young professionals and to get them in the classroom.

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Nebraska is spending prodigiously on its prisons: Over the past decade, costs increased 51%, from $179.8 million in 2011 to $272.3 million last year. Were getting a horrible return on this investment.

While our prison population has grown more than any other states in the past decade, violent crime in Nebraska is up 17%; recidivism is up; and our prisons are badly overcrowded, dangerously understaffed hellholes.

As Nebraska legislators tackle this crisis, they must focus on fiscal responsibility and public safety. These are not mutually exclusive goals, and neither will be achieved by building a new quarter-billion-dollar prison advocated by Gov. Pete Ricketts and others.

Like adding lanes to freeways in an effort to address traffic jams, additional prison beds will quickly fill up, and the same troubles will emerge if we fail to address their root causes. Legislators and the administration have significant work to do before we can figure out what construction and renovation will actually help solve our problems.

Corrections workers and inmates describe staffers working around the clock, maximum-security units left unguarded, and a 19-year-old woman the sole officer assigned to a gallery of 60 prisoners. At the Tecumseh prison  opened in 2001 in a failed effort to alleviate crowding  inmates are locked down from Thursday night until Monday morning because of staff shortages.

This is dangerous to inmates, to officers and to the general public, which 95% of inmates will eventually rejoin, their mental health and substance abuse problems largely unaddressed and their life skills barely enhanced  if not eroded by the conditions of their confinement.

Its ridiculously expensive. The Flatwater Free Press, which is collaborating with The World-Herald on Paying the Price, an examination of the states prison crisis, reported Friday that overtime has cost Nebraska taxpayers $48 million in the past three years.

Thats going to grow dramatically in the coming months because to combat the staff shortage, starting pay has gone up $8 an hour  and overtime is now double pay rather than the traditional time and a half. I think were going to get blown away by overtime costs, said Doug Koebernick, the states inspector general for prisons.

At the end of 2021, the Corrections Department had 650 staff vacancies. While the big pay increases have attracted applicants, Koebernick said Nebraska would be wise to wait a few months to see if applicants interest is sustained and the staff shortage is being meaningfully alleviated. Even with the increased applications, many have concerns about the states ability to adequately staff a new prison.

Koebernick believes that if construction is needed, it would be wise to expand or model a larger facility after the Work Ethic Camp in McCook, a 200-bed center focused on treatment and education.

Such programming ultimately plays an important role in public safety, but the staff crunch makes it less available throughout the prison system. Paroles are down, the most common reason being that an inmate has not completed required programming.

It serves fiscal responsibility and public safety to give inmates every tool possible to be productive members of society through education, addiction and mental health counseling, and incentives to comply with their terms of release.

The Legislature has in its hands a report from the Criminal Justice Reinvestment Working Group that includes 21 policy recommendations. The options ... provide an avenue for Nebraska to avoid additional spending over the next decade, and establish the ability to invest a portion of what would have been spent on new prison beds on measures to strengthen public safety and address behavioral health issues across the state.

The working group, which included Ricketts, Judiciary Committee Chairman Steve Lathrop, the Nebraska chief justice, the corrections director and others, reached consensus on 17 options that would streamline parole, reduce the number of inmates released without parole, improve access to problem-solving courts and behavioral health services, invest in housing and more.

The report includes four options that did not have consensus support, including establishing misdemeanor penalties for simple possession of small amounts of drugs other than marijuana  a nonviolent crime that indicates substance abuse better treated as a health disorder than as felonious conduct.

The Legislature can make progress in reforming our criminal justice system by drawing on the various policy options.

None of these fiscally responsible ideas are soft-on-crime, bleeding-heart thinking. Recommendations from the Justice Reinvestment Initiative are being used in Mississippi, Texas, Utah and other states that, unlike Nebraska, are reducing their prison population.

None of this is a magic bullet, either  criminal justice changes take years to play out. But these recommendations promise the opportunity to unplug Nebraskas escalating crisis at less cost than simply expanding capacity and with greater lasting benefit to public safety.

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Before Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton had their sex tapes stolen, iconic pinup Pamela Anderson and notably priapic Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee found their most intimate moments splashed across the internet in the dial-up days of 1997. And while Kardashian and Hilton were essentially famous for being famous before scandal made them notorious, Anderson was already a genuine celebrity, the star of Baywatch, the most-watched television series in the world, with more than 1 billion viewers in 150 countries.

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Hulus eight-episode miniseries Pam & Tommy explores the impact of the tapes release, not just on the lives of the lovers but on the culture in general, ushering in assumptions that are now commonplace but were then startling, new concepts: that there was money to be made providing the public with X-rated material directly via the internet; that bestselling porn didnt have to feature professional performers; that celebrities were considered, simply by dint of being famous, to have sacrificed any reasonable expectation of privacy; that people would upload private sex tapes in search of revenge; and that legacy media could be consumed by a viral sensation. We look at how much in the shows first three episodes is fiction and how much is over-the-top reality. (The remaining five episodes will premiere on subsequent Wednesdays.)

Did Tommy Really Lick Pams Face the Moment They Met?

Celebrating her birthday in a club with her girlfriends, Pam (Lily James) declares she is done dating bad boys and orders shots for the entire club. Tommy (Sebastian Stan) is there with a date, but when the waitress tells him the shots are courtesy of Pamela Anderson, he looks over and is transfixed, a coup de foudre that convinces him Pam is The One. Abandoning his date, he goes over to her table, sits down next to her, and, high on ecstasy, licks her face. Fortunately for him, Pamela finds this charming and licks her friends face, and soon everyone is licking each others faces.

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This actually happened, albeit on New Years Eve and not Andersons birthday. According to Lees memoir Tommyland, I went out with some of my best bros to a [Los Angeles] club called Sanctuary. We all sat in a booth popping E, drinking champagne and being fucking maniacs.  Suddenly, a waitress came over and said, Tommy, heres a shot of Goldschlager. Its for you, from Pamela Anderson. 

I pushed my way into [her] booth, slid over her girlfriends laps and forced myself a space right next to her. Then I grabbed her face and just licked the side of it, from chin to temple. Moreover, She was so beautiful, I couldnt even bring myself to think of defiling her with thoughts of lust. I just stared at her all night, and she just stared back.

Did Pam and Tommy Get Married After Only a Few Days?

After the nightclub meeting, Tommy calls Pam all the time but she is too busy to meet. When she mentions that Baywatch is sending her to Cancun for a long weekend to schmooze the programs syndicators, Tommy flies down (even though she has told him not to come as shes there for work) and searches every hotel in the resort until he finds out where shes staying. He whisks her off to a nightclub thats a lot more fun than the dreary conference, and they spend a wild, E-fueled weekend, culminating in getting married on the beach in Mexico.

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Again, this is largely true. I called every hotel on the strip, searching for her. The sixth hotel on my list was the Ritz-Carlton, and when they said there was a Pamela Anderson staying there, I practically wet myself with excitement. I left a message, or six, asking if she wanted to meet for a drink. We found a place called Senor Frogs, which reeked of beer and margarita vomit. We were both shy and embarrassed, especially after all the buildup to this first date, but as the night progressed  the outside world melted away, Lee recalled. Four days later, they got married on the beach. As the series depicts, Anderson wore a white bikini and Lee wore cutoffs. Instead of exchanging rings, they tattooed each others names on their ring fingers.

Did Pam and Tommy Save Themselves for Marriage?

In the program, Tommy confides to a band member that although he and Pam have spent most of the past four days in her hotel suite, he wants to wait until their wedding night before going all the way.

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Unsurprisingly, this is not necessarily true. Lees account is that the couple went to clubs, to restaurants, to bars, to the beach, and all we did was stare at each other and kiss all night. Then we went home and made love. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that Lees attachment was deeply romantic, as he continued, it felt like our hearts had been hot-glued together.

Was Tommy a Diva Homeowner?

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Episode 1 starts with contractors remodeling the marital bedroom to Tommys demanding specifications. The carpenter, Rand Gauthier (Seth Rogen), finishes a complicated and cumbersome built-in bed, only for Tommy to say on completion he wants it moved across the room to accommodate a sex swing. The contractor warns him that this will cost quite a bit extra, but he says money is no problem. However, after Rand and the contractor perform additional work amounting to $20K, Tommywho has changed his mind again and brought in another set of workmen to install a water bedrefuses to pay up, claiming the work is shoddy and he is being ripped off. When Rand shows up to insist, Tommy chases him off at gunpoint and refuses to let the carpenter collect his tools.

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This is more or less correct, although Gauthier was an electrician, not a carpenter. According to the 2014 Rolling Stone article on which the script is based, Lee did abruptly fire the contractor and workmen, refusing to pay for the work already performed on the grounds that it wasnt up to scratch. Gauthier was so fed up with the couples demands he was ready to write off the $20,000, but Lee preventing him from retrieving his tools pushed him over the edge. Nor, as the Times of London reported, were these the only tradesmen Lee and Anderson fired on spurious grounds. And Lee was a terrible client, with ever-changing demands that included a koi pond, a 20-foot mural of heaven and hell in the elevator shaft, and a 30-foot swing in the living room above a white baby grand piano.

Was Rand Gauthier Ever Married to a Porn Star?

Infuriated by his treatment at Tommys hands, Rand decides to steal a safe from the rock stars garage, figuring the valuables inside will be a partial restitution. And yes, as the series depicts, he did cover himself with a yak fur rug so that the security cameras might mistake him for the couples English sheepdog. When he finds a Super 8 tape the honeymooners made of themselves singing Getting to Know You from The King and I in the privacy of their bedroom before falling into each others arms, he seeks out a porn producer friend for advice on how to monetize it. He also consults his ex-wife Erica, a porn performer, who five years earlier had him fill in, as it were, when her scheduled partner for an anal scene failed to show up, a role he rather diffidently assumes.

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In fact, Gauthier was well connected in the porn world. He met porn star Erica Boyer on a blind date in the late 80s and moved in with her after six weeks. She introduced him to some directors, and over the next decade he performed in over 75 porn videos, including such epics as Big Boob Bikini Bash and Willie Wankers and the Fun Factory. Far from being only tangentially attached to the industry, when not performing he built sets and dated performers like Wendy Whoppers and Stacy Valentine. Moreover, in the series Gauthier is played by Seth Rogen and so has a cuddly, Rogenesque body, but in real life Gauthier was broad-shouldered and strapping.

Did Pam Really Idolize Jane Fonda?

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In the tradition of previous blond bombshells like Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, Pamela wants to be taken seriously as an actor, but finds that, as far as male producers and directors are concerned, any acting ability is an optional extra. So she is thrilled to be given a long, dramatic speech for a Baywatch episode. She makes sure she has it down and puts Tommy off so she can get a good nights sleep before the shoot, but then on the day finds her big speech has been cut and they just want her to run into the surf, as per usual. When the publicist for her upcoming film Barb Wire asks her who her role model is, she replies Jane Fonda, because Fondas work as a sex kitten in Barbarella didnt prevent her from being taken seriously as an actress, an activist, and an entrepreneur.

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At the time, Anderson didnt reveal much about her aspirations to do more serious work, but in later years she said, Ive always got away with murder, running around in a bikini and what have you. But I knew I was capable of more than Id been asked to do in the past. Besides, I want to try new things, and if Im going to act I want to play different people. At one point, one of these new things involved working with none other than Werner Herzog on an adaptation of Vernon God Little, a project that remains in limbo due to copyright issues.

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And while we were unable to find a reference to her identifying Fonda specifically as a role model, in 2015 Anderson co-starred with Fondas voice at least in a short film called Connected, in which she plays an aging trophy wife and spin instructor who is seeking to reinvent herself (Fonda voices the host of a self-improvement podcast). This is the first time Ive ever been in a serious role, she noted at the time, while Luke Gilford, the films director, observed, She was someone clearly searching for meaning, having been a symbol of everything plastic for so long. She was really scared but up for the challenge. She is very hardworking and did a ton of research and rehearsals, because people didnt believe she could pull it off.
A full version of this essay appears in the January issue of the Journal of Democracy.

Why did the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapse so suddenly? Tens of thousands of people flooding the Kabul airport to escape the Talibans rapid advance prompted foreign policy analysts to argue that Afghanistan was ungovernable. The conventional wisdom was that its government and society were hopelessly corrupt, and its values were incompatible with democracy. President Joe Biden echoed this view as well. He recently argued that efforts to build an Afghan state, no matter what strategy was employed, would never have worked. He said, Its been the graveyard of empires for a solid reason: It is not susceptible to unity.

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Such thinking, while perhaps understandable, is completely wrong. Painting Afghan society with a broad brush only obfuscates the mistakes of those in power. The policy choices made by Washington and Kabul since the 2001 invasion are largely to blame for Afghanistans collapse. The international community made many avoidable errors in its state-building attempts. These contributed to the creation of an overcentralized and unaccountable Afghan state that lacked legitimacy in the eyes of its people. While the sources of this legitimacy crisis were multiple and interwoven, as I have recently argued, three stand out: the post-invasion constitution, the priorities of the donor community, and President Ashraf Ghanis arrogant leadership. Had the Afghan state not been considered illegitimate by the people, the Taliban would not have had a fighting chance inside of Afghanistan. In other words, without the kindling of poor governance, the fire of insurgency would never have been lit.

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It is easy to believe that Afghanistan was not fit for democracy given the rapid collapse of its government. But during the early days after the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, there was a groundswell of support in Afghanistan for the international effort and the United States. The hope for democracy was even greater: After two decades of fighting, citizens were no longer content being subject to a distant government in Kabul.

Thus the original sin of the U.S. intervention was to resurrect old institutions that had their roots in Afghanistans authoritarian past rather than giving citizens the opportunity to build something new that embodied the countrys self-governance norms. Despite Afghanistans ethnic diversities and autonomous regions, there was no effort to reform the highly centralized system that had been a source of Afghan instability for generations.

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The 2004 constitution produced one of the most highly centralized governments in the world. Based on the 1964 constitution, which introduced limited democratic elements to a primarily authoritarian system, the 2004 charter also resurrected Soviet-era government regulations and introduced a powerful elected presidency. An initial ban on partisan affiliation in parliament and the countrys electoral system hindered the development of strong parties, making the legislature at best a weak check on the executive. This top-down model of control provided citizens with few real opportunities for democratic decision making and bore little resemblance to genuine Afghan society.

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While the 2004 constitution reflected a political choice made by Afghan leaders, the United States made clear its preference for a powerful presidency atop a centralized state. Ambassador Robert Finn claimed that Afghanistan needed a strong president given all the vectors of power. Many in the international community believed that centralization would produce an effective state. In reality, the new Afghan government and its international partners had revived the rotten political system of the authoritarian era and simply slapped a veneer of democracy on it. Although there were civil society organizations supported by the international community on the ground, few made a direct impact on policy, especially not those outside the capital.

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Moreover, this international coalition was focused on fighting an insurgency and consolidating powermissions distinct from and often at odds with democracy-building. International donors desperate for quick fixes poured vast resources into Afghanistan with minimal monitoring. And rather than reforming dysfunctional state institutions, they created parallel ones, further undermining state legitimacy.

For example, the World Bankfunded National Solidarity Program, one of the largest and most celebrated aid programs in Afghanistan, promised to build social capital and reconnect Afghans to their government by creating more than 30,000 Community Development Councils. Through ostensibly participatory processes, these councils would allow citizens to identify problems and then receive large block grants to solve them. My research indicates that communities with the councils were more likely to have disputes and less likely to solve them than were those that lacked councils. The World Banks own evaluation of the program found that governance outcomes in communities with the councils were worse than in those without them. These councils were ineffective because they fostered corruption and created parallel decision-making processes that undermined long-standing social norms about community governance.

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The National Solidarity Program is indicative of the widespread belief among donors that Afghanistans traditional decentralized political order was anathema to the proper underpinnings of a modern state. Yet this robust system of informal and local governance, maintained through decades of war, provided numerous public services in a manner that could be more inclusive than the formal state: In Herat province in 2007, for example, I found a community that was electing its traditional leaders via secret ballot. This was ironic, given that after 2001, citizens were never granted the opportunity to elect their formal local leaders, who were all appointed by Kabul. I even found women who had climbed the ranks of traditional authority structures. Rather than create space for these widely trusted community bodies engaged in democratic practices, international donors intentionally sought to undermine customary authority to allow for greater state control over society.

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The intemperate rule of Ashraf Ghani also hastened state collapse. Ghani, who kept a small circle of insiders and had only a narrow base of support, micromanaged both the economy and the state, and he discriminated against ethnic minorities. Many had expected that the erudite president, who has a doctorate in anthropology and had worked for the World Bank, would rule as a technocrat. But his behavior was more authoritarian than democratic: While he had appointed many women and young people to important government positions and initially tolerated public dissent, Ghani restricted civil liberties after protests in 2017.

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Ghani, repeating the mistake of many of his predecessors, centralized control to speedily realize his vision of reform. But by doing so, the president alienated almost everyone around him, including the Afghan people. During his final two years in office, his inner circle numbered two advisers; together they were known as the Republic of Three.

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Rather than strengthening state institutions, Ghani again mimicked his predecessors and donors, creating parallel bodies and decision-making mechanisms to get around the levers of government. Critics charged that Ghani was wasting time micromanaging decisions that should have belonged to the ministries. Just a week before Kabul fell, Ghani famously convened his National Procurement Commission to grant permission for a dam to be built in Kunduz provincewhich was no longer under government control. Ironically, his efforts to defang his rivals, the mujahedeen commanders in the provinces, left his government without its strongest source of protection against the Taliban.

The rapid collapse of the Ghani government seems to have shocked the Taliban as well, and they are still figuring out how to govern Afghanistan. For now, they are doing things differently than the last time they held power (19962001). For instance, they have not banned women from public life, nor have they required them to wear a burqa or travel with a male companion. An authoritarian movement, the Taliban have no desire to decentralize authority or to allow meaningful opposition. But if the past 40 years of Afghan history teach us anything, it is that without devolving some authority away from the capital, the Talibans current reign will be violent and short-lived.

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Diagnosing what went wrong in Afghanistan is important not only to understand the countrys future trajectory but also to prevent a repeat of the same foreign policy mistakes. Clearly, the Afghan government was deeply corrupt. But that corruption was not rooted in Afghan society or culture. Rather it was incentivized by the rules governing society combined with the absurd amount of money being pumped into an economy that could hardly absorb such sums. By 2021, nearly 40 percent of the countrys GDP came from foreign aid.

Corruption undermined the Afghan republic. But that was only possible because the central government was accountable not to society but to international donorsand therefore lacked popular legitimacy. Money cannot win hearts and minds. Gaining trust in Afghanistan did not require vast resources, complicated plans, and sophisticated military strategies. It required treating people with dignity and giving them a role to play as citizens. The U.S.-led state-building effort prioritized strengthening state capacity but did not bother establishing effective constraints on state powerthe key to accountability. The tragedy is that Afghans were largely left as onlookers, never granted a genuine chance to put their country on a better course. The future appears as grim as it does familiar.
Last week, the sole elected juvenile judge in Rutherford County, Tennessee, who built and fed a capacious school-to-prison pipeline, announced that she will retire. For years, Judge Donna Davenport presided over a system with a juvenile incarceration rate 10 times the state average, with Black children bearing the brunt of the carceral cruelty.

While Davenports retirement is welcome and overdue (she was facing an impeachment effort at the state legislature), it wont solve the underlying structural problem with juvenile prisons, in Rutherford County or across the country. The countrys episodic exposures of high-profile juvenile court rot arent mostly about individual bad actors. Theyre about judicial monopoliesconcentrations of power that arent supposed to be tolerated in American government.

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A unique feature of many U.S. juvenile court systems is the unitary judiciary, which controls everything from arrest to charging to pretrial detention to trial to post-conviction probation. That concentration of power over the lives and liberty of children allows abuses to spread unchecked. In fact, the most salient juvenile court scandals of the last 20 years have arisen in jurisdictions that give judges autocratic control over entire systemsa wildly inappropriate, if not unconstitutional, merger of judicial and executive functions. The result, far too frequently, is damaging to both childrens lives and public safety, since unnecessarily drawing children into the deep end of the juvenile system is criminogenic, actually increasing the likelihood of future lawbreaking behavior.

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ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom, first broke the news on Davenports abuse of power in October 2021. First elected to the bench in 2000, she came to exercise control over not just the courts but the entire juvenile system. Under her rule, jail became a default response to run-of-the-mill adolescent behavior. Not even misbehaviorin the most outrageous incident cited in the article, officials colluded to invent a fictional offense to justify arresting middle schoolers whose non-crime was failing to intervene in a schoolyard fight.

Its normal to expect Davenport, as the elected juvenile court judge, to preside over juvenile court, making individual release, adjudication, and sentencing decisions in the cases that come in front of her. Thats what judges are supposed to do, broadly speaking. But Davenports sphere of control is much more expansive. She also appoints and supervises the head of the jail and sets jail policies. She appoints and supervises youth services officers, who perform law enforcement functions ranging from reviewing allegations against youth to supervising them on post-conviction probation.

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In many juvenile court systems, judges power over the lives and liberty of children allows abuses to spread unchecked.

This should give us pause. In a normal system of government, there are checks and balances, which help prevent the kind of abuse that is rampant in juvenile lockups. Consider the ethical and legal issues raised by having one person preside over every aspect of the justice system for kids. How does a person whose sole putative qualification is legal expertise also become a prison warden? Isnt it predictable that the official responsible for growing the jails budget also wants to fill the jail, which charges the county on a per-head basis for the cost of incarcerating each child? How does that same judge also come to run a law enforcement agencythe countys juvenile probation departmentthat recommends whether to arrest, charge, and pursue revocation for children? Do we really want the same person who decides cases in court also deciding which cases come to court in the first place? Can the judge who runs juvenile probation impartially evaluate the testimony of her employees in revocation hearings? What about the separation of powersthe principle that is supposed to prevent executive branch officers from deciding what the law is, and judicial officers from executing their own sentences?

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Davenport may be an extreme instantiation of bad judicial behavior, but Rutherford County is hardly alone in building and tolerating a unitary juvenile judiciary that invites, and too frequently actually experiences, scandal.

Remember Luzerne County, Pennsylvania? There, in the infamous Kids for Cash scandal, state court judges took more than $2 million in bribes from the managers of private juvenile prisons. In return, the judges kept the private prisons full. They shut down the local government-run juvenile jail, rode roughshod over due process protections, and sent kids to the private facilities by the busload. The criminal corruption earned the judges federal prison time. But the structural problem remains unresolved.

The judges scheme only got off the ground because they were empowered to unilaterally shut down the countys publicly run juvenile detention facility. The Luzerne judges werent just adjudicators; they were also wardens, until they decided to outsource that role for personal profit. And the countys lead juvenile judge, Mark Ciavarella, also ran the probation department that was responsible for recommending that kids be revoked and detained for minor misbehavior, promoting a free flow of bodies into the for-profit jail.

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Pennsylvania responded to Kids for Cash by putting together a largely thoughtful and far-reaching inquiry into the scandal and the conditions that made it possible. But the resulting report never proposed that judges should stop being wardens or law enforcement officers.

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That same patternpolicy change and perhaps staffing changes, but either no effort or no success in breaking up judicial monopoliesheld true in other scandal-laden juvenile jurisdictions over the past decade.

For instance: During President Barack Obamas second term, the U.S. Department of Justice for the first time used its statutory authority to bring investigations and lawsuits aimed at eliminat[ing] patterns and practice of civil rights violations by officials or employees of any governmental agency with responsibility for the administration of juvenile justice. The three jurisdictions it targetedthe worst of the worstwere Shelby County, Tennessee (Memphis and its surroundings); St. Louis County, Missouri; and Lauderdale County, Mississippi (centered on the city of Meridian).

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In each jurisdiction, the story was the same: Local judges had seized or been granted broad control over executive branch functions. In Shelby, a single juvenile judge ran the juvenile jail, probation, and even the indigent defense function. In Lauderdale, too, the judges ran the indigent defender, controlling the entity that is supposed to be the biggest in-court check on runaway court authority. In St. Louis, juvenile judges even controlled the prosecutorial functionin other words, they decided whether to sustain accusations brought by their own employees.

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The DOJs interventions in each of those jurisdictions brought positive change, but none of them solved the problem of judicial autocracy and the erosion or elimination of checks and balances. When the DOJ pulled outin the face of massive judicial resistance that the DOJs due process monitor characterized as persistent non-compliance with efforts at structural reformthe Shelby County juvenile court still controlled a big chunk of juvenile public defense. Ditto in Lauderdale County. And in St. Louis County, prosecutors still work for the judges.

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The consolidation phenomenon is widespread. Juvenile detention is run by judges in jurisdictions from Indiana to Arizona to Connecticut. Juvenile probation is a court function in Chicago, Seattle, and Houston.

Court monopolies dont seem to be limited to progressive or to conservative jurisdictions, or to big or small or rural or urban jurisdictions, or to systems that are highly localized, or to systems with statewide scale. But the monopolies are, to a significant extent, unique to the juvenile legal system. In Connecticut, where the judiciary controls the juvenile prisons, the adult prisons are run by the states Department of Correction. In Cincinnati, where the judges run juvenile detention, the sheriff runs adult pretrial detention. In Atlanta, the Fulton County Juvenile Court runs juvenile probation. The adult equivalent, though, is run by the states Department of Community Supervision.

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There are compelling doctrinal and developmental reasons to treat kids differently in the legal system. But why shouldand, legally, how canthat extend to throwing out our commitment to checks and balances and the separation of powers?

As far as I can tell, only one scholar in the last 20 years has spoken to accumulations of judicial power over entire systems. To Daniel Hatcher, whose research focuses on the governments machinery for processing poor people into cash, building monopolies is about minimizing costs and maximizing revenue, not for judges personal use but for their court empires. Hatcher convincingly argues that the consolidation makes financial sense for the judges. It creates economies of scale, rationalizes costs, opens up new revenue streams, and gives judges leverage in budget negotiations with the legislature.

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But theres no reason to assume (and Hatcher doesnt argue) that every judge who embraces court overreach is empire-building. Its likely that many judges think they should run detention centers or probation offices merely because theyre well intentioned and smart. The fox doesnt necessarily know that he makes a poor guardian of the henhouse, and he certainly doesnt think theres anything wrong with being a fox. At the very least, many judges probably think that theyre the least bad choice. Sometimes, the options for juvenile detention operators may seem limited to the judges or the criminal sheriff. What are you going to do, let the wolf guard the henhouse?

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Also, in many jurisdictions its likely that the construction of judicial monopolies isnt driven by judgesat least, not at the outset. Instead, consolidation may stem from a legislative urge toward efficiency married to a guess about effectiveness. Think about it from a well-meaning but underinformed legislators perspectiveand recognize that legislators cant help but be underinformed on this: Despite a well-intentioned and mostly helpful push toward evidence-informed juvenile practices, theres almost no research on the best structural options for juvenile courts and the systems that surround them.

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But there are real-world alternatives worth examination. Theres no shortage of better models that protect children by imposing checks, balances, and constraints on the power of judges and executives alike. In Massachusetts, for instance, the state Department of Youth Services operates a statewide network of juvenile detention centers, combining expertise in youth development with scaled-up efficiency. Utah has a similar statewide detention center network, again run by a (non-corrections-focused) state agency, the Department of Human Services Division of Juvenile Justice Services. In Multnomah County, Oregonhome to Portlanda separate Juvenile Services Division provides probation services for youth from within the county executives Department of Community Justice.

These jurisdictions, of course, continue to have juvenile judges. But the judges are busy judging, not supervising jails or probation offices or schools or prosecutions.
Sen. Lindsey Graham told Politico a beautiful little tale on Tuesday about meeting constituents while taking out the trash. At the dump this weekend, the South Carolina Republican said, he was approached by three guys in pickup trucks who wanted to share their thoughts on whom Joe Biden should nominate to replace Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court.

The gentlemen told Graham that J. Michelle Childs, a judge of the U.S. District Court for South Carolina, seems like a nice lady, Graham said.

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He said the men also expressed that Childs state-school education would be a welcome addition to SCOTUS, which is dominated by Ivy League alumni. Im tired of this Harvard-Yale stuff, Graham said they said.

Reasonable people can disagree on whether the prevalence of Ivy League pedigrees makes a material difference to the workings of the Supreme Court. But the anecdote relayed by Grahamwell, Im not going to say it definitely didnt happen, but lets just say it stretches the bounds of credulity almost to the point of breakage.

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First of all, Americans are not exactly known for keeping an eagle eye on the judiciary. In a 2018 C-SPAN survey of likely U.S. voters, a majority of respondents could not name a single sitting Supreme Court justice. Only 48 percent couldand more than half of those people cited Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is no longer on the court. How many of those people could tell you where any of the nine justices went to law school? These are likely voters, by the way, also known as the subset of Americans who actually pay a modicum of attention to the goings-on in Washington.

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Are we to believe that three random individuals Graham met at the dump were not only all aware of the forthcoming vacancy on the Supreme Court, but also the name of one member on Bidens shortlist, her perceived disposition (nice lady), and how her educational background differs from that of the remaining justices on the court? Get these guys a gig on CNN!

I asked Grahams communications director, Kevin Bishop, for comment. In an email, he did not answer specific questions about the dump menwere they in three separate pickup trucks or did they come together? Did they all independently say that they didnt like the Harvard-Yale thing, or did one of them say it and the others agree?but he offered some possible explanations for why three random South Carolina men would know so much about a federal judge whom Graham just happens to favor for the Supreme Court.

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Keep in mind the Harvard-Yale angle has probably been discussed more in South Carolina than other locations, Bishop wrote in the email, in part because Childs got her law degree at the University of South Carolina. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, has also been talking to the press about how great it would be for Childs to bring her state-school background to bear on cases before the Supreme Court.

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OK, fine. Maybemaybethe type of person who would recognize their senator while hauling trash would also be the type of person to be following the news on the shortlisted federal judge from their home state, and three of those types of people happened to be at the dump at the same time as Graham.

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That they were in pickup trucks, however, doesnt say what Graham thinks it does.

In the story Graham told Politico, he called the garbage dump the great equalizer, the implication being that he was visiting a place where hifalutin senators mix with people of diverse social statusesincluding salt-of-the-earth types, far removed from the social elite and politically powerful.

But pickup trucks are hella expensive. And most truck owners dont even use them for their intended purpose. According to an annual survey of new vehicle owners from the consumer-research firm Strategic Vision, the vast majority almost never employ their rough-and-ready vehicles for towing or off-roading. Only 65 percent of pickup truck owners put anything in the bed of their trucks more than once a year!

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Presumably, when they do, its to take trash to the dump.

In other words, the typical truck owner is a financially comfortable person who rarely has to do anything truck-y with his truck. And, hey, maybe thats exactly the kind of guy who would join two of his friends in gushing to his senator about a potential Supreme Court nominee.

Update, Feb. 2, 2022, at 3:18 p.m.: HuffPosts Igor Bobic reports that Graham has clarified that the incident took place at a recycling center. As far as Im concerned, this new information has no bearing on the anecdotes believability.
What does Madison Cawthorn have in common with an ex-Confederate running for public office after the Civil War? They both think that Congress granted them amnestybut only one of them is right, and it isnt Cawthorn.

On Tuesday, the beleaguered North Carolina Republican congressman asked a federal judge to block a challenge to his candidacy in 2022. The challengers claim that Cawthorn is ineligible to run because he allegedly facilitated the Jan. 6 insurrection, an argument with surprising force under North Carolina law and the U.S. Constitution. Rather than adjudicate this challenge through the normal process, Cawthorn seeks an injunction holding that federal law forbids the state from investigating, let alone disqualifying, his candidacy. But the legal team contesting his reelection has boxed in the congressman so dexterously that he has resorted to an argument of eye-popping gall and inanity: Cawthorn asserts that the Amnesty Act of 1872a shameful law that perpetuated white supremacy in the Southabsolves him of disqualification from office even if he engaged in an insurrection.

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Some background: The 14th Amendments disqualification clause states that no one who engaged in insurrection or rebellion may hold public office unless Congress grants them amnesty by a two-thirds vote. Thats a problem for Cawthorn, because before, during, and after Jan. 6, the congressman made multiple statements that seemingly condoned or outright encouraged violence against the federal government. Did Cawthorn have advance knowledge of the insurrection? Did he directly abet the participants? We dont know, and the Jan. 6 committee hasnt found out because it probably cant compel sitting members of Congress to testify.

North Carolina law, however, may provide a route around this roadblock. It allows any voter to challenge a candidacy if they have reasonable suspicion or belief that the candidate does not meet the constitutional  qualifications. The candidate must then show by a preponderance of evidence that they are, in fact, qualified. A panel of local election officials conducts this inquiry and has the power to compel witnessesincluding the candidateto testify under oath. If the panel removes the candidate from the ballot, its decision can be appealed to the state courts. A progressive nonprofit, Free Speech for People, triggered this process by filing a challenge to Cawthorns candidacy in January.

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Currently, that challenge is on hold while the North Carolina Supreme Court evaluates the states new congressional maps. Cawthornalong with his lawyer, longtime Republican litigator James Boppthinks he can head off this headache by filing a federal suit in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where every active judge was appointed by a Republican. Their arguments are remarkably scattershot and weak. First, they claim that North Carolina law violates Cawthorns First Amendment right to run for political office. There isnt much precedent establishing or defining this right, so its unlikely that a state violates free speech by simply allowing voters to contest a candidacy. Moreover, the whole point of this challenge is that the 14th Amendment does not permit Cawthorn to run for office. The First Amendment cannot require what the 14th Amendment prohibits.

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The Amnesty Act allowed these traitors to seize political power and perpetuate white supremacy in the South.

Second, Cawthorn and Bopp assert that North Carolinas voting procedures violate due process; its hard to see how that could be since the state provides notice and a hearing before an impartial tribunal. Third, they argue that only Congress can judge the qualifications of its members, so states cannot disqualify congressional candidates. Although this theory has gained a bit of traction among Federalist Society professors, it is not rooted in any precedent and would lead to absurd results; for instance, a state could not prevent a 15-year-old from running for Congress, even though they are constitutionally ineligible to serve.

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Finally, we get to the zaniest argument: The 14th Amendments disqualification clause cannot disqualify Cawthorn from running for office because Congress already absolved him under the Amnesty Act of 1872. This law, the product of a shameful chapter in American history, allowed most ex-Confederates to serve in public office, removing the disqualification so recently imposed by constitutional amendment. It stated that this disqualification was hereby removed from all persons whomsoever, save for a list of specific exceptions. In doing so, the law allowed these traitors to seize political power, which they used to ruthlessly suppress Black civil rights after Reconstruction.

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All available evidence suggests that, with this law, Congress intended to grant amnesty to almost everyone who rebelled against the U.S. in the Civil War. Cawthorn and Bopp read it more broadly: They argue that the act extended amnesty to future insurrectionists, as well. The plain language of the 1872 Act, they write, removed the political disability from any Representative, including those not yet born. Thus, the application of the disqualification clause to Cawthorn is prohibited by federal law.

This claim rests on one factual presumption and one constitutional theory. Both are wrong. Gerard Maglioccaan Indiana University McKinney School of Law professor and expert on both the disqualification clause and the Amnesty Acttold me that Congress did not intend to give amnesty to the unborn. Even if lawmakers had wanted to do so, they could not: Much like the president cant pardon someone for future crimes, Magliocca said, Congress lacks the power to grant amnesty for future insurrections. In addition, Cawthorn and Bopps reading would mean that Congress amended the disqualification clause out of existence forever. But any effort by the legislative branch to amend the Constitution by itself would contradict Article V and the actual amendment process.

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The fact that Cawthorn is turning to absurd arguments rooted in an old, odious law to defend himself helps to illustrate the bind hes in. Free Speech for Peoples challenge cannot be dismissed out of hand; it was, after all, crafted with the help of two former North Carolina Supreme Court justices, James G. Exum and Robert Orr. Bopp is no crank: He has argued before SCOTUS five times and played a major role in dismantling the nations campaign finance regulations. Yet even he appears to be so flummoxed by this challenge that he is turning to metaphysical arguments about the Amnesty Act of 1872 to keep his client on the ballotand out of a deposition. Even if he ultimately prevails, the lawyers contesting Cawthorns candidacy have already succeeded in transforming a largely forgotten constitutional provision into a genuine threat to the insurrectionist caucus.
So far, the Ukrainian crisis is going very badly for Vladimir Putin.

Yes, the Russian president has arrayed roughly 100,000 troops on Ukraines borderenough to mount a major invasion, if thats what he wants to do. But threatening Ukraine is only a means to Putins main strategic goals, which are a) to carve out a sphere of influence that as much as possible re-creates the old Russian (or Soviet) empire, b) to deepen the politico-economic fissures within the European Union, and c) to drive a wedge between the United States and its NATO allies.

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And yet his military gambit has accomplished the opposite. The overt threat to Ukraine has rallied the European nations around a common menace, revitalized NATOs original mission to deter and contain Russian expansion, and thus bonded the European allies to the United States (the prime guarantor of their security) more tightly than at any time since the end of the Cold War.

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Putin had reason to believe things would go otherwise. He saw President Joe Biden touting the Quadthe shiny new alliance of the U.S., Japan, India, and Australia, which would unify the Asian and Pacific allies and fend off a rising Chinaand may have figured that NATO had receded in importance. He also watched Biden bug out of Afghanistan, and while he may have sympathized with the move (his beloved Soviet Union was among those entombed in that graveyard of empires), he no doubt noticed the withdrawals rushed incompetence and the concern, if not panic, that it roused among U.S. allies. Meanwhile, the U.K. was out on its post-Brexit own; Angela Merkel had retired as Germanys chancellor, leaving NATOs largest, richest country in momentary flux; and French President Emmanuel Macron was seeking to take her place as the continents leader with a vision of Europes strategic autonomy from Washington.

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Who knows whether all this was passing through Putins mind, but objectively it must have seemed a good time to make a moveespecially since the pesky Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was drifting ever further to the West, renewing his request for NATO membership, and U.S. officials were indulging him, saying theyd invite him in the club someday. Meanwhile, the U.S. was supplying Ukraines soldiers with weapons and sending American soldiers as trainers, along with corps of special forces and CIA agents, who were up to who knows what mischief.

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From Putins viewpoint, the combination of threat and opportunity could only have seemed alluring. In 2014, hed annexed Crimea and mounted armed incursions into eastern Ukraineprompting some consequences (economic sanctions, expulsion from the G-8, and other inconveniences) but nothing dreadful. Why should this time be any different?

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So, starting in November (perhaps earlier), he moved dozens of tank battalions, rockets, infantry fighting vehicles, and tens of thousands of the troops to go with them toward the border of Ukraine. We do not know whether he planned to invade or merely use the threat of an invasion to force concessions on his demandsfor NATO to stop expanding its membership eastward and for the American military to roll back its presence in areas once held by the Soviet Union.

He may have figured that, even if Biden raised a fuss, the Europeans would be split. Some, including Germany, would be fearful of alienating Moscow, lest oil and gas supplies be cut off just as the winter temperatures were plunging. Certainly they wouldnt risk hardship for the sake of Ukraine, which few Europeans wanted as a fellow NATO member and which most understood was of special importance to Russia.

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In other words, Putin may well have expected resistance to fold before it mountedcompelling Zelensky to succumb to Moscows pressure without having to fire a shot.

But it didnt turn out that way. Putins moves were too blunt, and his denials of any unusual activity were too blatant. Then came another surprising twist: Biden and his diplomats, who had made missteps in other realms, suddenly turned super competent. Biden was comfortable with trans-Atlantic matters; NATO had been the centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy during his decades on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as vice president. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been at his side, as top staffer, for many of those years. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman had eked out results at the toughest negotiating tables. Their efforts held together the 30-state NATO alliance in opposing Moscows moves and threatening firm action in response to any further invasion of Ukraines territory.

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Whatever Putin winds up doing, his plan of driving the NATO allies apart and reducing the U.S. presence near Russias borders failed. In fact, Washington has put 8,500 more troops on high alert for deployment to Poland and Estonia, to shore up the eastern flanks of NATO. Poland and Britain have announced a trilateral security pact with Ukraine, and, though no one knows quite what it means, the two countries are in the meantime redoubling their recent arms shipments to Kyiv. Sweden and Finland, Russias thoroughly Western neighbors, which have stayed militarily neutral for all these decades, are now mulling the prospect of joining NATO.

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So what will Putin do now? The troops and tanks poised on the border are reportedly capable of overrunning the Ukrainian army, which, though much improved in recent years, would still be profoundly outmatched. But the Russian army has never been very good at maintaining supply lines. That would be a problem if they have to occupy a stretch of Ukrainian land, especially in cities. And they would be met not only by regular troops but civilian resistance fighters, whoofficials have warnedwill be aided by U.S. and NATO arms, logistics, and intelligence.

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In Putins 22 years as either president or prime minister, his military moves have been cautious and limited. His annexation of Crimea was bloodless; not a shot was fired. (Most Crimeans viewed themselves as Russian anyway.) His incursion into eastern Ukraine was mainly to assist ethnic Russian separatists; Kremlin officials continue to deny that Russian soldiers ever crossed the border, though an estimated 500 of them have died in the eight-year-old war. (More than 14,000 Ukrainians have died.) His invasion of Georgia took less than a week. The one time he sent ground forces to Syria, they were routed in an armed confrontation with U.S. troops; since then, he has assisted Bashar al-Assads regime almost entirely with air power.*

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If he did invade Ukraine, it would be not only the largest battle in Europebut also by far the most complex military operation Russia has undertaken anywheresince World War II. And the Russian boys returning home in body bags would have died not for the homeland, as they did fighting Nazis, but while trying to conquer a neighboring country.

Finally, if the U.S. does impose the severe sanctions that Biden has consideredincluding barring major banks and individual oligarchs from transactions in dollars, as well as banning the import of U.S. parts (which would gut Russias high-tech industries)the masses and elites may start growling at Putins harebrained schemes (the epithet that the Kremlins commissars pronounced when they ousted Nikita Khrushchev for instigating the Cuban missile crisis, which ended in defeat and roused the U.S. to mount a crash buildup in nuclear arms).

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Then again, if Russian tanks roll across the border, NATOs much-touted unity may fall apart. If Putin responds to sanctions by cutting off oil and natural gas to Europe, Germanywhich is particularly dependent on Russia for energy suppliesmay fold. (It has already blocked Estonia from reselling German arms to Ukraine and barred British planes carrying arms for Ukraine from flying across German airspace.) Many Russian oligarchs spend a lot of money on real estate in London; if they can no longer pay mortgages or property taxes, British businesses and Boris Johnsonor whoever succeeds him as prime ministermay lose patience as well.

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Biden probably knows that broad expressions of unanimity tend to waver when blood starts to flow and money dries up, which is why he and the other Western leaders would prefer a diplomatic settlement as soon as possible. Nobody knows what Putin prefers. If hes looking for an exit ramp off this highway to catastrophe, the question is how to get him to take it while giving him a way to save face. Simply backing him into a corner would probably push him to double down.

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At his press conference on Tuesday with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Putinwho, until then, hadnt spoken a word in public about the Ukraine crisis since Decemberhinted at a possible way out. Mainly, he put on a pessimistic pose, complaining that Washington has ignored his main demand, a permanent ban on Ukraines entrance into NATO. (Orban assisted him by taking Putins side in the conflictthe first, utterly predictable NATO member to jump off the alliance bandwagon.*)

However, Putin also made two remarks that mightmightshine a thin ray of hope on the gloomy landscape. First, he said that he had not yet responded to the letter Biden wrote last week in reply to Putins demands. In other words, diplomacy has not hit a dead end.

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Second, he referred to (without mentioning their names) a few East-West agreements signed over the yearsthe 1975 Helsinki Final Act, the 1990 Charter of Paris, and the 1999 Istanbul Declarationwhich U.S. officials have also referred to. The Americans have noted that these accords allow all countries to choose their own defense alliances, meaning that Russia has no right to dictate whether Ukraine can be a member of NATO. Putin noted that these same accords also say that no country can increase its security while threatening the security of others. Putin considers the further expansion of NATO, to include Ukraine, as a threat to Russian security.

One can imagine Biden acknowledging Putins point and calling for negotiations to begin on shaping 21st century European security in a way that protects the interests of all partiesincluding Russia. As a first step, Biden could propose that Russia withdraw at least some of those troops and tanks from the Ukrainian border. In return, the U.S. might suspend military activities in Ukraine and, for the moment, elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Naval exercises in the Black Sea could also be halted while the talks go on. International inspectors could monitor all these movements and suspensions. Russians could inspect missile defense sites in Eastern Europe, to verify that they cannot be used to support offensive missiles, as Russians say they believe.

The pointthe most that can be done for the momentwould be to de-escalate the tensions, make all military activities more transparent, and reduce the chance of miscalculations that could lead to war. And, at some juncture, Biden needs to find some way to assure Putinsometime after thousands of tank turrets are no longer aimed at Ukrainian headsthat Ukraine is not going to join NATO anytime soon. Its not going to happen for the foreseeable future; it shouldnt be a cause of war.

Meanwhile, Putin is going to Beijing for the Olympics. He wont draw attention from the grand spectacle put on by Chinese President Xi Jinpingwho, as of late, has geopolitically speaking become his new best friendby invading Ukraine. So for the next two weeks, war is very unlikely. Biden and NATO should use the opportunity to keep up the show of unity but turn down the heatquietly prod Putins intentions by offering a path to a diplomatic solution. This venture may be playing out poorly for Putin so far, but if it escalates, it could become a disaster for everyone.
Welcome to State of Mind, a new section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter.

Clio Sady doesnt remember how many times the police took her to the hospital. Theyd find her, loaded down with plastic bags, bantering with strangers or taking off her clothes, and bring her to the ER in a spit hood. There she would be strapped down, forcibly injected with a booty shot of anti-psychotic drugs, and detained for days or weeks under Californias conservatorship law.

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You may be more familiar with the 14-year conservatorship of Britney Spears, which was ended in November by a Los Angeles County judge. The saga has drawn the countrys attention to the opaque process by which Americans can be compelled to forfeit their liberties, including choosing their own medical treatment, because a judge has decided they are unfit to care for themselves. The #FreeBritney movement was international news. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey demanded national data on conservatorship, and journalists told stories of abuse. Free Britney, reformers said. Free them all.

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In California, however, the wind has been blowing the other way. Prompted by the growing number of homeless people in visible mental and physical suffering, lawmakers have been trying to make it easier, not harder, to force residents into the states care. Under that controversial process, which begins with the kinds of police-initiated hospital stays that Sady endured, a court can appoint a guardian to compel medical treatment, including placing a person in a locked psychiatric unit for periods of months or years. It is the state saying: You are unable to take care of yourself, so we are going to do it for you.

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We are not conserving a whole bunch of people who we should.  San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman

The year Sadys episodes started, 2016, California initiated more than 200,000 of those short-term holdsknown as 5150s (72 hours) and 5250s (two weeks), for their numbers in state statute. Sadys experience was typical in that many people are detained over and over again. That is evidence of something that just about everyone in California agrees on: The nations largest state is failing its citizens.

What to do about it is another story. Public anxiety about homelessness and mental illness in California is at an all-time high, and the crisis at the intersection of the two issues is particularly acute. Theyre linked by what some psychiatrists call a never-ending loop in which homelessness and mental illness reinforce each other. Its harder for someone to take care of themselves when they dont have a safe, warm place to sleep every night, and its harder for someone to find and keep a job and an apartment when they dont have access to the medication they need. Thanks to a dearth of such support, plus easy access to drugs like alcohol, meth, and heroin, the inescapable distress and misery on the streets of California cities has become the states great shame.

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Some politicians, physicians, and homeless service providers say these revolving-door cycles of arrest and hospitalization show that it needs to be easier to convert short-term holds of disabled, homeless Californians into long-term conservatorships.

Conservatorship allows us to provide the wraparound services needed to stabilize people suffering from severe mental health and substance use issues, and help them begin their recovery to get their lives back on track, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in 2019. Allowing them to deteriorate on our streets when they are incapable of caring for themselves is not humane.

Civil rights advocates and many people with disabilities counter that long-term conservatorship is unethical and illegal, particularly in the absence of voluntary access to housing, medication, and drug treatment. Susan Mizner, the director of the disability rights program at the ACLU, has said that conservatorship is Americas most extreme deprivation of civil liberties, aside from the death penalty. But even practically, she told me, studies have shown that coerced treatment is not better than voluntary treatment. We havent provided them the support. If wed spent six months saying, Heres housing, heres support, and that has failed? Then we can discuss.

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Sady has her bipolar disorder under control now, thanks to regular access to medication in her Oakland neighborhood. But she did not mince words when she talked about the states psychiatric holds that kept her confined in the hospital for days on end. I would not wish it on my worst enemy, she said.

Legally, Britneys conservatorship was in a different category from the more common procedure for Californians suffering from a grave disability or deemed to be a danger to themselves or those around them. Spears was under a probate conservatorship, a court-mediated arrangement begun and managed by family for someone thought to be unable to handle their own affairs. Conservatorship under Californias Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, by contrast, often starts with short-term psychiatric holds initiated by police but must be ultimately initiated by a county judge.

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Ethically, however, the questions are not so far apart. When does a person lose their right to care for themselves? At one time, it took as little as a parents affidavit to have a kid committed for life. The enduring document of midcentury Americas approach to mental health is Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, which depicts an asylum of abusive authority figures and patients with varying degrees of mental divergence. In California, reformer Frank Lanterman recalled in 1982, the average court hearing for committing a person to a psychiatric institution lasted five minutes.

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The backlash to that system came to California in 1967 with the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, which established the process of short- and long-term holds as a precursor to eventual conservatorship for people who are gravely disabled. Its civil rights protections were a direct reaction to what had come before, and part of the national trend of deinstitutionalization that diminished the size and importance of state mental hospitals.

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Many advocates hoped state asylums would be replaced by community facilities where patients could get more flexible treatment, but budget cuts and a shift toward the private sector meant that the per capita number of long-term beds for psychiatric care plummeted from its midcentury high and never recovered. Instead of a victory for civil liberties and community care, deinstitutionalization came to be associated with the withdrawal of public aid.

In a landmark study of the NYC homeless in 1983, the sociologist Frank Lipton declared the movement a failure: We should not continue to deceive ourselves that we have deinstitutionalized these patients; rather, we have created a new institutionan asylum without walls in which the homeless psychiatric patient is disgracefully abandoned to meander like a vagabond.

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Fifty years after LPS, the pendulum has swung back. Jocelyn Wiener, a journalist with CalMatters, has written a series of heartbreaking stories on families fruitless quest to get the state to take responsibility for its disabled citizens. One of her subjects is a man named Mark Rippee, who received a traumatic brain injury in a motorcycle accident decades ago and is now homeless. Unable to have him conservedentrusting his care to a public guardianhis sisters rely on a 2,000-person Facebook group devoted to keeping them aware of his whereabouts. Elsewhere, parents are forced to call 911 on their own children and exaggerate their conditions to persuade police, hospitals, and courts to bring them into the system.

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In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that was supposed to ease the path to conservatorship in the states largest cities, where homelessness has both exacerbated mental illness and made it highly visible. In the three years since, San Francisco has used its new authority to conserve just two people. Advocates always knew the bill would target a relatively small number of people with serious problems, among the larger homeless population. But not that small.

It is a gross dereliction of civic duty, says Rafael Mandelman, a San Francisco supervisor, of what he sees on the streets of his city. We are not conserving a whole bunch of people who we should. Conservatorship is personal to him: His mother suffered from psychosis and spent time homeless before ending up conserved. It left me with a real impatience for people unwilling to acknowledge that we have folks who need that higher level of care, he said. I have confidence that well expand [conservatorship law]. It will take more than a decade for reform, and thousands of people will go without the help they need.

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Mandelman argues that San Francisco Generals many repeat customersduring one four-month period, nine people visited the psych ER 168 timesare evidence that long-term conservatorships are too hard to establish: If interactions with law enforcement are traumatizing, and I have no doubt they are, theyre being subjected to constant traumathe worst things youd be concerned about with involuntary treatment, without any of the benefits. (Or possibly even worse: As state Sen. Scott Wiener, who sponsored the 2019 conservatorship measure, put it a few years ago, We do have a very large conservatorship program in Californiaits called jail.)

Why does the states program fall short? One of the experts on Californias conservatorship is the sociologist Alex V. Barnard, who teaches at New York University. Barnard has spent years talking to people up and down the conservatorship chain, and his report on the subject is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the byzantine process that ends with involuntary medical treatment in a locked bed.

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One answer is a predictable one: A lack of resources shapes decision-making, from crowded long-term care institutions to overworked public guardians to frenetic hospital emergency rooms to worried parents. Many on the pro-conservatorship side want to lower the bar for what constitutes a grave disability. And its true, Barnard said, that the bar can be very high: In some counties, if you can open a water bottle, if you can pitch a tent, if you are able to get a sandwich to your mouth, youre not getting conserved.

But its not judges, for the most part, who are rejecting conservatorship candidates. Rather, this winnowing is the function of a highly stressed system, Barnard observed, in which a strained supply of long-term care beds pushes nondecisions down the chain. The placement tail ultimately wags the conservatorship dog, he writes.

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The court knows the public guardian will have nowhere to put a conserved man. The hospital, facing pressure from the insurance company, puts that man back on the streets instead of sending him to court. The police will have foreseen all this and will not bother to take the man into the hospital, and a worried neighbor who knows the drill wont make a call. There is no oversight, and no one person or agency that has responsibility for the system from start to finish. And so the revolving door of psychiatric holds spins on.

Opponents of conservatorship say politicians and public health officials are leaping to implement an extreme solution because they have failed to provide more fundamental services. People are taken away from their home, their community, and their support system, and thats another form of displacement happening alongside the eviction crisis, said Raia Small, an organizer with Senior and Disability Action in San Francisco. How much of this debate would be superfluous had the state properly addressed peoples need for housing, psychiatric care, and drug treatment years ago? Or if it did so tomorrow?

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Many anti-conservatorship advocates also express concerns about the quality of care in the private institutions whose beds house conserved patients. They point to a 2020 California audit of Lanterman-Petris-Short, which concluded that the problem was not a reluctance to conserve, but a broken and underfunded system. The number of facilities with inpatient psychiatric beds has fallen by 20 percent since 1995, even as the states population has increased.

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And the most vehement arguments in favor of conservatorship make it seem like a tactic to institutionalize the homeless for the crime of being unable to afford an apartment. If homeless people will not voluntarily walk through the many doors open to assist them, its time to drag them in, Robert Austin, a retired lieutenant with the Sacramento Police Department, wrote in 2020.

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Its hard to dispute that California has failed to offer some pretty basic aid to people living on the street, from a safe, warm place to sleep to food itself. But those who work most closely with mentally disabled homeless people say that failure is many years in the making, almost intractable. We need an extreme step right now if we truly care about the 70,000-plus people suffering the devastation and death of homelessness, said Andy Bales of the Union Rescue Mission on Los Angeles Skid Row, the 54-block area that is home to one of the largest concentrations of homeless people in the world. (The most recent survey of Los Angeles County, from nearly two years ago, counted more than 66,400 homeless individuals.) Bales said: That anti-conservatorship argument seems like a smoke screen. Its not talking about where do we go from here. Its easy to say, Well, if we would have done it right from the beginning   

In other words, affordable housing and accessible health care might indeed have kept many people off the path toward conservatorship. But thats not the path we took. And here we are, said Bales, with tens of thousands of people living on the streets of Los Angeles, a number that is growing even as four of them die every day.

State of Mind is a partnership of Slate and Arizona State University that offers a practical look at our mental health systemand how to make it better.
This piece originally appeared in the Conversation

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is planning to require citizens to create accounts with a private facial recognition company in order to file taxes online. The IRS is joining a growing number of federal and state agencies that have contracted with ID.me to authenticate the identities of people accessing services.

The IRSs move is aimed at cutting down on identity theft, a crime that affects millions of Americans. The IRS, in particular, has reported a number of tax filings from people claiming to be others, and fraud in many of the programs that were administered as part of the American Relief Plan has been a major concern to the government.

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The IRS decision has prompted a backlash, in part over concerns about requiring citizens to use facial recognition technology and in part over difficulties some people have had in using the system, particularly with some state agencies that provide unemployment benefits. The reaction has prompted the IRS to revisit its decision.

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As a computer science researcher and the chair of the Global Technology Policy Council of the Association for Computing Machinery, I have been involved in exploring some of the issues with government use of facial recognition technology, both its use and its potential flaws. There have been a great number of concerns raised over the general use of this technology in policing and other government functions, often focused on whether the accuracy of these algorithms can have discriminatory effects. In the case of ID.me, there are other issues involved as well.

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ID.me is a private company that formed as TroopSwap, a site that offered retail discounts to members of the armed forces. As part of that effort, the company created an ID service so that military staff who qualified for discounts at various companies could prove they were, indeed, service members. In 2013, the company renamed itself ID.me and started to market its ID service more broadly. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs began using the technology in 2016, the companys first government use.

To use ID.me, a user loads a mobile phone app and takes a selfiea photo of their own face. ID.me then compares that image to various IDs that it obtains either through open records or through information that applicants provide through the app. If it finds a match, it creates an account and uses image recognition for ID. If it cannot perform a match, users can contact a trusted referee and have a video call to fix the problem.

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A number of companies and states have been using ID.me for several years. News reports have documented problems people have had with ID.me failing to authenticate them, and with the companys customer support in resolving those problems. Also, the systems technology requirements could widen the digital divide, making it harder for many of the people who need government services the most to access them.

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But much of the concern about the IRS and other federal agencies using ID.me revolves around its use of facial recognition technology and collection of biometric data.

To start with, there are a number of general concerns about the accuracy of facial recognition technologies and whether there are discriminatory biases in their accuracy. These have led the Association for Computing Machinery, among other organizations, to call for a moratorium on government use of facial recognition technology.

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A study of commercial and academic facial recognition algorithms by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that U.S. facial-matching algorithms generally have higher false positive rates for Asian and Black faces than for white faces, although recent results have improved. ID.me claims that there is no racial bias in its face-matching verification process.

There are many other conditions that can also cause inaccuracyphysical changes caused by illness or an accident, hair loss due to chemotherapy, color change due to aging, gender conversions and others. How any company, including ID.me, handles such situations is unclear, and this is one issue that has raised concerns. Imagine having a disfiguring accident and not being able to log into your medical insurance companys website because of damage to your face.

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There are other issues that go beyond the question of just how well the algorithm works. As part of its process, ID.me collects a very large amount of personal information. It has a very long and difficult-to-read privacy policy, but essentially while ID.me doesnt share most of the personal information, it does share various information about internet use and website visits with other partners. The nature of these exchanges is not immediately apparent.

So one question that arises is what level of information the company shares with the government, and whether the information can be used in tracking U.S. citizens between regulated boundaries that apply to government agencies. Privacy advocates on both the left and right have long opposed any form of a mandatory uniform government identification card. Does handing off the identification to a private company allow the government to essentially achieve this through subterfuge? Its not difficult to imagine that some statesand maybe eventually the federal governmentcould insist on an identification from ID.me or one of its competitors to access government services, get medical coverage and even to vote.

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As Joy Buolamwini, an MIT AI researcher and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, argued, beyond accuracy and bias issues is the question of the right not to use biometric technology. Government pressure on citizens to share their biometric data with the government affects all of usno matter your race, gender, or political affiliations, she wrote.

Another issue is who audits ID.me for the security of its applications? While no one is accusing ID.me of bad practices, security researchers are worried about how the company may protect the incredible level of personal information it will end up with. Imagine a security breach that released the IRS information for millions of taxpayers. In the fast-changing world of cybersecurity, with threats ranging from individual hacking to international criminal activities, experts would like assurance that a company provided with so much personal information is using state-of-the-art security and keeping it up to date.

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Much of the questioning of the IRS decision comes because these are early days for government use of private companies to provide biometric security, and some of the details are still not fully explained. Even if you grant that the IRS use of the technology is appropriately limited, this is potentially the start of what could quickly snowball to many government agencies using commercial facial recognition companies to get around regulations that were put in place specifically to rein in government powers.

The U.S. stands at the edge of a slippery slope, and while that doesnt mean facial recognition technology shouldnt be used at all, I believe it does mean that the government should put a lot more care and due diligence into exploring the terrain ahead before taking those critical first steps.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Welcome to State of Mind, a new section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter.

I lay flat on my back, pouring sweat and heart racing, in a hotel room with a woman who had just overdosed me.

Lets call her Sarah. To be clear: Neither of us was here to party. Sarah, in fact, was a therapist, a licensed clinician. Outside of her office hours, she offered patients like me psilocybin and MDMA, for PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. She did this at fairly extreme risk to her career, because, as she said, she believed in it. This was my second time trying a guided, high-dosage cocktail of psychedelics to address my ongoing PTSD, a result of my surviving the 2008 terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai.

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The goal with such an experience is to go inside yourself, surrender the trappings of the ego, and through that process transcend or soothe damage caused by a fundamental trauma. The idea is fairly simple: By letting go of yourself (commonly known as ego loss, or ego death), you become one with everything else. Put another way, you can experience a sense of wholeness that transcends yourself, and that wholeness can be very healing. In conversations with underground practitioners, I learned this was achieved through taking a combination of medicines. (For example: MDMA, the main ingredient in what is commonly referred to as ecstasy, paired with psilocybin, otherwise known as magic mushrooms.) But equally important, they said, was the guided support for the experience itself, followed by integration (processing of the experience) with that same guide. My first trip had been very positive and had resulted in a sense of peace and calm with respect to the particular anguish I had been experiencing for years. Indeed, recent scientific research increasingly supports the potential for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to be an innovative, efficacious treatment for PTSD.

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There was just one problem: My first guide had had no medical background or psychiatric credentials. This had made me uncertain about continuing with her. I came from the Wall Street world, where qualifications matter. (Believe me, at the time, the irony of being driven by my ego in pursuit of letting it go was entirely lost on me). So I kept up my inquiries, thanks to an acquaintance who had given me a short list of psychedelic practitioners. Finally I talked to Sarah, who on paper was extremely qualified, with degrees from great schools. Her demeanor on the phone made me feel confident that she was qualified to do this.

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When we finally met in the hotel room, I was ready to continue therapy that would ease my PTSD. After some awkward small talk, she asked me to sit on the bed. I watched as she weighed out crystals on a cheap-looking scale, explaining that for my trip she was going to administer a dose of clinical trial-grade MDMA, along with psilocybin. She inserted a quantity of the crystals into a gel cap, and I washed the pill down with a glass of tap water. She then gave me a small brownie, which contained the psilocybin. I lay back, and she covered me in a blanket and handed me a sleeping mask.

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Very quickly, I knew something was wrong. Whatever I had taken was already bringing on a rush of anxiety. I tried to listen to Sarahs brief guided meditation, then the ambient music that was playing, but it was no use. I tore off the mask and the blanket covering me, and I told her it wasnt working. I watched as the hotel room seemed to shrink around me, and my shuddering heart grew larger and larger inside my chest. There was no going inside.

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OK, she said. Lets talk. But her questions felt invasive, inappropriate. Too aggressively, she asked about my childhood, my marriage, and my anxieties. Suddenly I felt vulnerableand defensive. We argued about what was happening. Far from feeling safe, this qualified practitioner had created a dangerous environment, and all I wanted to do was leave. Except I couldnt. The idea of going anywhere in the state I was in was next to impossible.

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In the aftermath, as I struggled to come down from the effects of whatever it was that Sarah had given meI was fairly certain it wasnt MDMA and psilocybinit became clear that she did not have a healthy approach to using psychedelics as therapy, and she certainly did not have the knowledge to prescribe them to others. There was no plan to help me cope afterward. Back home, as my sleeplessness mounted from one night, to two, and finally three, I repeatedly tried reaching out to her. No response. I was being ghosted. Still high, my mind racing, I madly typed 35,000 words that I believed would help integrate what had happened to me. All of it felt insightful and real, but in the sober light of day, I saw it was fairly incomprehensible gibberish. In desperation, I called my regular therapist, who told me to throw out the writing and helped walk me back off the edge. Without him, the experience could have led to irreparable harm.

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This was, to say the least, a learning moment. It was January 2019, and access to aboveground treatments involving any kind of psychedelics was extremely limited, usually through clinical trials or experiments. (This has now changed in some states.) Because of draconian drug scheduling laws, many other promising drugs remained largely unavailable (among them mescaline, psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, and MDMA). So, like many others, I went underground to find help, which is how I ended up in a hotel room out of my mind.

And no wonder: Ultimately, when I finally managed to reach her, Sarah admitted that what I had thought was a trial-grade dosage of MDMA had been a bit more speedy. In fact, she said, the crystals had turned out to be largely methamphetamine, cut with a bit of MDMAwhat on the street might be sold to a rave kid to stay up all night. (I was so high on speed I hadnt even felt the psilocybin shed given me.) In such a case, legitimate psychedelic treatment can feel like a contradiction in terms. But the underground looks poised to change.

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Today, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy remains the only psychedelic treatment you can access at a clinic aboveground. While doctors have been prescribing it as an antidepressant for years, Johnson & Johnsons March 2019 Food and Drug Administration approval for a nasal delivery form of ketamine (called esketamine) marked the first time the drug was given specific governmental clearance to be prescribed for mood disorders. Many studies, including government-led research, suggest that ketamine can offer rapid lifting of symptoms in otherwise treatment-resistant forms of depression. But as is frequently reported, most research has not looked into the long-term effects of ketamine treatment, and many insist that more studies are needed. On top of all this, the jury remains out on whether ketamine (and its reported dissociative or out-of-body effects) should properly keep company with other classic psychedelics like LSD or psilocybin.

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While MDMA and psilocybin treatments are only legally available via clinical trials, wider accessibility may not be so far off, if they follow a similar trajectory as ketamine. So far, dozens (perhaps even hundreds) of ketamine centers have popped up all around the country. Individual treatments range from $400 to $1,000, and typically clinics recommend up to six treatments, sometimes followed with regular maintenance. In look and feel, the website branding for these commercial enterprises can exude a spa-treatment type of vibe. Meanwhile, access to other psychedelics remains either underground (in the U.S.) or as part of the now-booming psychedelic tourism industryan industry that promotes psychedelic retreats around the world, echoing much of the wellness jargon you read about with the ketamine clinics.

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Many centers and professionals in the psychedelics industry offer a veneer of qualified expertise, but it is difficult to verify their credentials or the safety and efficacy of their practices. Major investment in psychedelics has generated a rush to normalize use in culture at large. The success of the recent Hulu miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers, starring Nicole Kidman as a glamorous if unstable psychedelic guru, ultimately seems to suggest psychedelic tourism is a good thing, that an ad hoc, instinctual approach to treatment can work just as well as clinical treatment. But thats dangerous. What most conversations around the use of psychedelics as a treatment for PTSD, depression, or anxiety fail to acknowledge is that the beneficial effects come from a high-dosage experience. This is decidedly not the same as a recreational trip with a few college friends in the desert. It is something else. Its effects can be lasting, deep, and unpredictable. And it needs to be done right. That makes the recent emergence of startups like Mindbloom and TripSitter, which offer self-administered at-home ketamine therapy delivered in the form of lozenges (along with online access to virtual guides for processing the experience), all the more concerning.

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As the collective marketing muscle that pervades America touts psychedelic wellness and unleashing your inner healer, one critical piece of protocol is too often overlooked: the container. The container is basically everything surrounding your psychedelic experience, to make sure that it is beneficial, safe, and integrated into your life. The container is not the same as set and setting, a common phrase used in the psychedelic community relating to where you trip and whom you trip with. Nor is it simply about having a guide who assists and supports you through whatever challenges the trip may present. Rather, the container is a combination of agreementsprimarily with yourself, about your intentions for such a treatment. The container also includes the person or people who accompany you before, during, and after your experience, as well as the therapeutic work you yourself have done to prepare for taking a high dosage of a psychedelic drug, and the work you will do afterward, to integrate it with your life in a meaningful way.

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Without the right container, people who seek substantive treatment for serious mental health conditions could easily find themselves in a dangerous place, unsupported, as I did. The best metaphor for a high-dose psychedelic experience may be that of a scalpel: It cuts straight through your psychological armor, taking you to the formative physiological experiences that define your sense of self. A scalpel in the hands of a trained therapist can be remarkably healing, helping you to find transcendent comfort in your darkest places. However, that same knife can be devastating in the hands of an ill-prepared, inexperienced, or even predatory guide, in which a users experiences on the drug are not integrated with their actual life (causing disruption, disassociation, or trauma); or sometimes, even worse, the experiences can be used to disempower or exploit vulnerabilities.

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Even before the pandemic placed a tragic and terrifying spotlight on our collective sense of isolation and disconnection, it seemed like our society was facing a fundamental crisis of meaning. Among other things, the internet had fractured reality into an infinite collection of disaster loops and self-interest bubbles. No wonder that, even as the COVID era was just beginning in 2020, 1 in 5 American adults reported experiencing mental illness, amounting to well over 50 million people. Considering such an environment, unregulated, misguided, or reckless distribution of high-dose psychedelics does not necessarily mean a positive result, especially for those most vulnerable.

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More than 422,000 seniors picked up their cheques at the post office.

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More than 422,000 seniors picked up a cheque of 300 value at the post office for getting the third dose of the vaccination, stated the Finance Ministry which evaluated the data of paying benefits to seniors over 60 years.

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Overall, there almost 127 million was paid by the end of January, the TASR newswire reported.

Three doses

As the press department of the ministry reported, Monday was the last day for seniors to get vaccinated and fulfil the basic conditions to gain financial benefit.

The exception applies to seniors who were vaccinated with the single-dose vaccine Janssen by January 15. They have time for a booster shot until March 15, 2022.

The ministry claimed that the Slovak post office will send the remaining 300 cheques to seniors for vaccination with a booster dose in the upcoming days. The ministry asks seniors for patience.

Seniors who were vaccinated without registration or in the office of the general practitioner do not have to fear they will lose the financial bonus. Their data is being processed and the ministry will then send it to the Slovak post office information about payments.

Ministry asks for patience

The ministry expects that they will start to send cheques of 200 to seniors who are vaccinated with only two doses in the second half of February.

The ministry, together with the National Health Information Centre (NCZI) and Slovak post office, also deals with individual complaints, such as a wrong addresses, names, or unsent cheques.

The ministry also noted several cases when the date of birth on the cheque was wrong. The ministry said that in this case, if all other data on the cheque are correct, financial aid can be paid at a branch of the Slovak post office.

The Health Ministry says the situation is still under control and the increase in new cases has been predicted.

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The pandemic situation in Slovakia is under control, said Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee) when commenting on the developments related to Omicron.

Our paywall policy: The Slovak Spectator has decided to make all the articles on the special measures, statistics and basic information about the coronavirus available to everyone. If you appreciate our work and would like to support good journalism, please buy our subscription. We believe this is an issue where accurate and fact-based information is important for people to cope.

The steep increase in both new daily cases and the positive rate of PCR tests is nothing the ministry would not expect, he added.

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Meanwhile, PM Eduard Heger (OLaNO) said that after the Omicron wave is over, some measures might be relaxed.

This wave will be swift and quick, he added.

Steep increase in cases and positive rate

The daily average of new positive cases revealed through PCR testing increased to 16,788, up 83 percent compared to last week.

The positive share of PCR tests at the national level accounts for 47 percent on average; in 30 districts, it was even more than 50 percent.

As for the seven-day incidence of cases, it rose by 107 percent to 1,711 compared to the previous week, with two districts reporting three times the number of cases (Puchov and Gelnica), and 57 districts with a more than 100 percent increase.

Seven-day incidence of cases in Slovakia. (Source: NCZI)

Currently, there are seven districts with a seven-day incidence higher than 2,500, with the most being in the Namestovo (4,100), Tvrdosin (3,200) and Dunajska Streda (2,950) districts.

The number of people in hospitals increased as well, to nearly 1,700 (from some 1,500 reported last week). Also the number of cases when ambulances had to be dispatched to Covid patients has increased, throughout all regions. The highest increase was reported by the Presov Region.

Despite the gradual increase in hospital admissions, Lengvarsky says the hospitals are ready. He expects patients to spend a shorter time in hospitals and their condition to be less serious than during the Delta wave. Even though they have not been notified about any problems so far, he expects the possibility of problems with hospital staff members who will be under self-isolation.

Positive share of PCR tests on the total number of tests (weekly average) (Source: NCZI)

Booster helps

Analysts from the Institute for Health Analyses, which runs under the Health Ministry, said that the slowest increase in new cases is being reported in districts with high share of boosted inhabitants.

This means the booster is really helping to fight Omicron, said analyst Martin Pavelka.

Nearly 1.5 million people have been administered the booster so far, which represents 63 percent of fully vaccinated people. At the same time, 88 percent of people aged 60 and over have the booster. Pavelka called this the biggest success of the vaccination campaign.

More on the coronavirus developments in Slovakia:
It will stop after public health officials issue a respective ordinance.

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Employers will no longer have to mandatorily test their staff members before they enter the workplace.

Our paywall policy: The Slovak Spectator has decided to make all the articles on the special measures, statistics and basic information about the coronavirus available to everyone. If you appreciate our work and would like to support good journalism, please buy our subscription. We believe this is an issue where accurate and fact-based information is important for people to cope.

The cabinet approved the proposal to cancel the ordinance that introduced the duty of testing those employees not fully vaccinated or who did not recover from Covid in the past 180 days, back in late November 2020.

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Itll be up to everyone to protect themselves, to get tested, but we alleviated employees of this duty today and will leave it up to them on how to approach this issue, said Economy Minister Richard Sulik (SaS) on February 2, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

Officially, testing in companies will end after the Public Health Authority (UVZ) issues a respective ordinance. It should be published by the end of this week.

The Economy Ministry meanwhile launched a scheme for reimbursing testing in companies for December and January.

Firms can now apply for reimbursement of testing costs Read more

No reason to test in the current situation

Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee) also confirmed the end of mandatory testing in companies.

He said that the current model of testing staff once a week does not make sense under current conditions.

Moreover, several companies that are part of the critical infrastructure of the state, like energy and water companies, already test their employees more frequently, as reported by SITA.

More on the coronavirus developments in Slovakia:
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/a-gazan-opts-for-cooking-career-to-stay-afloat-in-unemployment-ridden-strip-1092675376.html

A Gazan Opts for Cooking Career to Stay Afloat in Unemployment-Ridden Strip

A Gazan Opts for Cooking Career to Stay Afloat in Unemployment-Ridden Strip

High unemployment in the enclave has been largely attributed to the coronavirus pandemic that erupted in March 2020 and that led to the closure of many private... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T06:27+0000

2022-02-02T06:27+0000

2022-02-02T06:27+0000

middle east

israel

gaza strip

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Maha Ahmed, a 43-year-old mother of six from Gaza, has started to attend cooking courses at a local culinary college called Smile Kitchen.In 2021, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip grew 50 percent, recent reports have suggested. As a result, more than 250,000 of the enclave's 2 million people have lost their jobs. The coronavirus-related restrictions and last May's Gaza- Israel military confrontation are largely blamed for the spike.The Smile Kitchen college was established by a Palestinian couple back in 2017 in a bid to encourage locals to cook healthy food but later on it expanded its curriculum and started offering classes on various cuisines as well as serving and etiquette.Mahas goals, however, went far beyond cooking. Apart from her desire to cook exotic dishes, she also sought to acquire skills that would help her set up a business.Before she started taking the cooking classes, Maha had been a house keeper, and her family had been relying on the salary of her husband, which is slightly more than $460 per month.Under these conditions, raising six children has not been an easy task and Maha says she wanted to contribute to their upbringing by pursuing a hobby that would eventually generate cash.New Career, New HopesMaha is not alone. The class is attended by 40 other people, including both men and women. Overall, Smile Kitchen is training over 3,500 students, many of whom flock to the school in the hopes of starting a new career.Some are then trying to find jobs in local cafes and restaurants. Others strive to participate in international competitions that will land them jobs outside of Gaza. There are also those, like Maha, who are hoping to establish their own businesses, either at home or by opening up a dedicated place.Fulfilling that dream will not be easy for her. Right now, Maha lacks basic funds to finance her project. She lacks a solid base of customers but she says she's got the determination to keep on going.

israel

gaza strip

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Elizabeth Blade

Elizabeth Blade

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Elizabeth Blade

middle east, israel, gaza strip
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/biden-administration-aims-to-reduce-cancer-death-rate-by-50-over-next-25-years-1092694899.html

Biden Administration Aims to Reduce Cancer Death Rate by 50% Over Next 25 Years

Biden Administration Aims to Reduce Cancer Death Rate by 50% Over Next 25 Years

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The Biden administration has set a goal of reducing the death rate from cancer in the country over the next 25 years by at least half... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T17:37+0000

2022-02-02T17:37+0000

2022-02-02T17:35+0000

us

cancer

joe biden

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In a statement, the White House said that President Joe Biden is reviving the Cancer Moonshot initiative he launched in 2016 as vice president with a view to making progress against cancer."Because of recent progress in cancer therapeutics, diagnostics, and patient-driven care, as well as the scientific advances and public health lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, its now possible to set ambitious goals: to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years," the statement read.This program will allow people with cancer or those who have survived cancer and their families to improve their lives, and, "by doing this and more, end cancer as we know it today."The Biden administration will also take action to jumpstart cancer screenings missed as a result of the pandemic, the statement read.Other steps include diagnosing cancer sooner and preventing the disease.The White House also called for action to speed up progress in fighting the most deadly types of cancer, including childhood cancers, and provide additional support to patients, caregivers and survivors.

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us, cancer, joe biden
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/censored-digital-artist-teases-nft-collection-in-support-of-julian-assange-1092694208.html

Censored: Digital Artist Teases NFT Collection in Support of Julian Assange

Censored: Digital Artist Teases NFT Collection in Support of Julian Assange

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)  blockchain-based sellable and tradable photos, videos, audio files or even games  have racked up tens of billions of dollars in... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T17:10+0000

2022-02-02T17:10+0000

2022-02-02T18:54+0000

julian assange

nft

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Pak, the mysterious digital artist or artist collective known for the creation of non-fungible token artwork which has sold for tens of millions of dollars, is collaborating with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to launch a new NFT collection entitled "Censored."The collection is set to drop on 7 February, the day Assanges lawyers are expected to continue their battle to stop the activists extradition to the US, and will consist of two parts  a dynamic limited edition token and a dynamic open edition token which changes over time using smart contract data.Few other details have been made available about the NFTs, apart from WikiLeaks teasing publication of the words one thousand in white letters on a black background accompanied by the phrase J x O, which Pak retweeted in his/her/their announcement.Pak attracted major attention on the NFT scene late last year after the "Merge" NFT collection generated a whopping $91.8 million in sales in 48 hours as nearly 29,000 collectors quickly snapped up 312,686 assemblable mass tokens, making Merge the most expensive-ever NFT ever minted. Before that, Paks "The Fungible Collection" sold for $16.8 million.Assange won the right to ask the UKs Supreme Court to block his extradition to the US in late January in a bid to challenge a December ruling by Londons High Court in support of an appeal by the United States government to have him delivered to the US for prosecution on criminal charges including espionage. If extradited and convicted, Assange could face a sentence of up to 175 years behind bars.Journalists, human rights activists and civil rights defenders the world over have condemned US and UK authorities over their persecution of Assange, arguing that efforts to prosecute him for WikiLeaks publication of leaked information, including evidence of US war crimes in Iraq, are an attack on press freedom that could serve as a dangerous precedent, after which any journalist or media organization that the US happens to disagree with could be subjected to similar treatment.Assange has been jailed at Britains Belmarsh Prison since 2019. The activist was confined there after being dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on breach of bail charges. Assange took shelter in the Embassy in 2012 amid fears of politically motivated persecution and extradition to the US via Sweden, where two women accused him of sex crimes. The latter charges were dropped, with Assange maintaining his innocence throughout the affair.

https://sputniknews.com/20220124/uk-court-allows-assange-to-challenge-us-extradition-decision---wikileaks-1092480050.html

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Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

julian assange, nft
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/dutch-publication-company-halts-the-betrayal-of-anne-frank-book-release-amid-backlash-1092670995.html

Dutch Publication Company Halts The Betrayal Of Anne Frank Book Release Amid Backlash

Dutch Publication Company Halts The Betrayal Of Anne Frank Book Release Amid Backlash

Ambo Anthos Publishers apologized Monday and said they would suspend publication of a disputed book which claimed to reveal the individual responsible for... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T00:49+0000

2022-02-02T00:49+0000

2022-02-02T00:48+0000

book

publication

backlash

anne frank

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The Betrayal of Anne Frank received harsh criticism from researchers and historians when it revealed the accusatory finding of its investigation: Anne Frank and her family were betrayed by Arnold van den Bergh, a Dutch legal notary based in Amsterdam who was also a member of the Joodse Raad - the Jewish Council in the Netherlands.The book which was written by Canadian writer Rosemary Sullivan with the help of a retired FBI investigator, as well as dozens of advisers, data scientists, and experts, used artificial intelligence and metadata to discover an anonymous letter written to Otto Frank, which accused Van den Bergh of selling out the location of the Frank family to the Nazis as a way to buy his freedom.While experts take no issue with the letter itself, they say that there is no other evidence to back it as it was sent by an unknown individual during a contentious postwar period in the Netherlands. The note only proves that shortly after the war, someone believed, or wanted Otto Frank to believe, that Van den Bergh had been the traitor, said Dr. Bart van der Boom, a history professor at Leiden University.Big conclusions demand big proof, said Johannes Houwink ten Cate, a professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at the University of Amsterdam. I cannot believe that a member of the Jewish Council traded addresses for freedom. After the Council was abolished, its members were sent to camps, if they did not go into hiding, he added.The Amsterdam-based publication company says it should have taken a more critical stance on the publication of the controversial book, according to Reuters.This is problematic because the Jewish Council is an organization around which so many misconceptions already exist, said Laurien Vastenhout, a researcher and lecturer at the National Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The [books] investigative team should have been very careful in dealing with this topic. At least, they could have approached a historian who has dealt with the topic and with the archives. They failed to do so.The researchers have not been able to identify who sent the notice to Otto Frank, nor what his/her motives were. Van den Bergh was a prominent Jew, also in postwar Jewish society, and taken into consideration that he had worked for the Jewish Council, someone might have wanted to show him in a bad light, Vastenhout added.Another criticism voiced by historians is that the book propagates the problematic idea of Jews betraying Jews, and John Goldsmith, president of the Basel-based Anne Frank Fund, said that the claim was comparable to that of a conspiracy theory.Perhaps all this will blow over once its established that this book proves nothing. But considering the very extensive media coverage, including a spot on 60 Minutes, the damage might already have been done, said Van der Boom. Anne Frank, the worldwide symbol of innocence, was betrayed by a Jew.Arnold van den Berghs relatives have also been angered by the accusation, saying it destroys his legacy and reputation.Though books and documentaries have attempted to discover who sold the location of the Frank family to the Nazis, if there even was such a person, many scholars say the possibility of finding such a culprit is unlikely.For their own reasons, the Nazis destroyed 95% of their archives relating to the persecution of the Jews, so the one who did the betrayal took the secret with him to his or her grave. If there had even been a betrayal, that is. The Frank family was taking so many risks, so the arrest also may have been the result of lack of caution, Johannes Houwink ten Cate said.

https://sputniknews.com/20220125/head-of-anne-frank-fund-calls-new-claims-of-familys-betrayal-full-of-errors-1092495753.html

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Mary Manley https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg

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book, publication, backlash, anne frank
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/engineers-used-leonardo-da-vincis-500-year-old-sketches-to-build-a-drone--and-it-worked-1092686300.html

Engineers Used Leonardo Da Vinci's 500-Year-Old Sketches to Build a Drone ... and It Worked!

Engineers Used Leonardo Da Vinci's 500-Year-Old Sketches to Build a Drone ... and It Worked!

Italian genius and renaissance icon Leonardo da Vinci in 1483 made one of the earliest drawings of a rotor-driven aircraft propelled by an "aerial-screw" or... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T15:15+0000

2022-02-02T15:15+0000

2022-02-02T15:15+0000

helicopter

design

helicopter

leonardo da vinci

mona lisa

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A team of engineers at the University of Maryland were so inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's design for a helicopter that they used his 500-year-old sketches to develop a functional drone for a flight design contest.Since 2019, the crew has been working on the aircraft, with Austin Prete - a member of the engineering team - submitting its first rendition, called Elico, in 2020. Coincidentally it was on the 500th anniversary of Da Vinci's death, and the team won first prize for their design. However, dissatisfied with the work, Prete spent about 15 more months on developing Crimson Spin, a quadcopter drone that shares more aspects of Leonardo's original design.Crimson Spin is a small unmanned quadcopter drone with wings inspired by Leonardo's aerial screw design. It used an Archimedean screw to expel air and obtain flight."The drone has four corkscrew-shaped wings made of plastic, but instead of having someone hand spin (or pump) them as Leonardo proposed, these wings are powered by batteries and electric motors," leading tech news website, CNET, reported.The team also introduced a few changes to the drone, for instance to the propeller speed to tilt in one direction or the other."I was absolutely surprised, it worked," Prete was quoted by CNET as saying.Even though the drone built by Prete is rather small, it could be scaled up to a giant size capable of carrying human beings, Prete said while presenting his results and the first video of the aircraft flying, at the Transformative Vertical Flight 2022 conference in San Jose, California, last week.

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Deexa Khanduri https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0c/1e/1081607388_0:0:961:960_100x100_80_0_0_e9e931b8c1e18fb41f3074e2145d7a3a.jpg

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helicopter, design, helicopter, leonardo da vinci, mona lisa
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/germany-bans-broadcast-of-rt-de-1092686148.html

Germany Bans Broadcast of RT DE

Germany Bans Broadcast of RT DE

On 17 December, German media regulator MABB launched an investigation into RT DE Productions GmbH after RT announced the launch of the RT DE news channel in... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T12:51+0000

2022-02-02T12:51+0000

2022-02-02T15:20+0000

europe

germany

rt

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The German media regulator announced on 2 February that it was banning the German-language version of the Russian channel RT in the country.RT DE productions to appeal German regulator's ban in court, RT deputy editor in chief Anna Belkina said.Anna Belkina accused MABB of ignoring facts, and painting a false reality to suit a clearly politically motivated threat by denying that RT DE TV channel broadcasts are based in Moscow.It is ironic that just the idea of a new TV news channel with a different voice appearing in Germany has made the local authorities, including the regulator MABB, so nervous and desperate, as to abandon their much-touted principles such as freedom of speech, she added.RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan called a German regulators ban on the broadcasting of RT DE Productions in Germany "pure nonsense," adding that the channel will not stop broadcasting.In December 2021, RT announced the launch of the RT DE news channel in German. The head of the German media regulator MABB, Eva Flecken, announced the start of an investigation against the RT broadcaster due to the launch of a program in German allegedly without a broadcast license. The European representative of the Directors' Conference of the Media Authorities, Tobias Schmid, said that RT DE was "irritant" and would "be taken care of."The launch of RT DE has been surrounded by controversy in the European Union, with German media and politicians accusing the broadcaster of manipulations with facts targeting Germans of Russian origin. In August 2021, RT DE was refused a broadcasting license in Luxembourg after reportedly receiving a recommendation from the German authorities. In September, YouTube removed two RT DE channels without the right of recovery for alleged "violations of community rules."

germany

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Maxim Minaev

Maxim Minaev

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Maxim Minaev

europe, germany, rt
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/israel-reportedly-holds-drills-simulating-massive-attack-on-irans-nuclear-facilities-1092688351.html

Israel Reportedly Holds Drills Simulating Massive Attack on Irans Nuclear Facilities

Israel Reportedly Holds Drills Simulating Massive Attack on Irans Nuclear Facilities

A senior US official warned Monday that there were only a handful of weeks left to return to the Iran nuclear deal before Washington would consider it... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T13:38+0000

2022-02-02T13:38+0000

2022-02-02T18:55+0000

israel

iran

drills

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The Israeli Air Force conducted large-scale drills over the Mediterranean last month involving several dozen jets and simulating a massive attack against Irans nuclear programme, Israels Kan broadcaster has reported.A US Air Force officer reportedly observed the exercises, with the Kan broadcaster treating this development as evidence of a "shift" in Washingtons approach to the Iranian nuclear programme.The drill was the second major Israeli aerial exercise taking place in January, with the IAF and US forces stationed in the Middle East completing Desert Falcon, a series of joint training exercises simulating airstrikes and dogfights, in the middle of the month.This week, Israel indicated that the Israeli Navy would be deployed alongside US forces during "International Maritime Exercise 2022," an 18-day naval training event in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea and the northern Indian ocean involving forces from the US 5th Fleet and "over 60 partner countries." Iran has warned repeatedly that it considers Gulf maritime security a matter for regional countries, and has demanded that outsider powers like the US and Israel stay out.Nuclear TensionsIsraeli officials have said repeatedly that Tel Aviv will not be bound by any international agreements on the Iran nuclear deal  including the ongoing Vienna negotiations on a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the landmark 2015 treaty which committed Iran to reduce its enrichment and stockpiling of enriched uranium in exchange for the easing of Western sanctions. Washington unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018, and the Biden administration has been negotiating with Iran on its restoration. US officials have warned however that the talks cant go on forever because of Irans nuclear advances and have suggested that only weeks remain for a deal to be reached.Under the "Begin Doctrine," named after former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Israel reserves itself the right to attack militarily any Middle Eastern nation it believes may be building or planning to build a nuclear weapon. Tel Aviv has implemented this doctrine twice, against Iraq in 1981 and then against Syria in 2007, and has allegedly used it to murder Iranian nuclear scientists and conduct sabotage operations against Irans peaceful nuclear energy programme.Iran vocally denies that it is pursuing a nuclear weapon, and has accused the international community of double standards in its approach to Israels own suspected nuclear weapons arsenal, which the Jewish State neither confirms nor denies possessing in a policy known as deliberate ambiguity.Last year, Israel set aside a special $1.5 billion fund from its $19.2 billion defence budget (over $3 billion of which was subsidized by the US) to prepare for possible strikes against Irans nuclear facilities. Iran has warned that Tel Aviv should instead set aside tens of thousands of billions of dollars to repair damage caused by Tehrans shocking response in the event of aggression.In December, Iran conducted a drone and missile strike against a target meant to simulate the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center  the suspected birthplace of Israels nukes, ostensibly in a message to Tel Aviv not to start any trouble.Last month, former Israeli national security advisor Chuck Freilich warned that even if Israel did manage to strike and destroy Irans nuclear facilities, the Iranians would be able to quickly rebuild, and would be certain to carry out potentially devastating reprisal attacks against Israeli cities in retaliation. For this reason, Freilich suggested that a US return to the JCPOA was the best of the bad options for Israel.

https://sputniknews.com/20220201/only-handful-of-weeks-left-before-jcpoa-return-deemed-impossible-senior-us-official-claims-1092647736.html

https://sputniknews.com/20211226/clip-shows-iranian-missile-attack-on-target-that-looks-suspiciously-similar-to-israeli-nuclear-1091817000.html

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https://sputniknews.com/20220202/johnson-i-will-comply-with-the-law-over-parties-1092685744.html

UK PM Boris Johnson: I Will Comply With Law Concerning Parties

UK PM Boris Johnson: I Will Comply With Law Concerning Parties

A report by senior civil servant Sue Gray on the "partygate" allegations was published on Monday, and the police investigation into the parties continues. 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T12:38+0000

2022-02-02T12:38+0000

2022-02-02T13:24+0000

uk

boris johnson

investigation

law

parties

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been fielding questions from MPs during a regular session at the House of Commons on Wednesday. The Labour Party's Abena Oppong-Asare asked him whether he would resign if he received a Fixed Penalty Notice from the Met Police as a result of their "partygate" investigation. "Of course I will comply with the law, but I've got to wait for the process to be completed," Johnson answered. The Prime Minister also said he would get on with the job of governing, in response to an MP on his own side who was planning to submit a letter of no confidence in Johnson. The British Prime Minister has been repeatedly pressed by lawmakers to step down after revelations surfaced both in the media and in a report by a senior government official that parties were held in Downing Street in 2020-21, a time when strict COVID-related guidelines were in place throughout the UK. Johnson admitted that he attended one of the gatherings in May 2020 which he thought was a work event; he apologised and later promised that the report into the parties would be published in full.Since then, details of more parties at No 10 have been leaked to the media, resulting in lawmakers declaring their intention to submit a letter of no confidence in Johnson. The Prime Minister has been refusing to comment on calls by some lawmakers for him to resign, saying only that it is important to wait for the "partygate" report to be published and the Met Police investigation into the matter to be completed.

https://sputniknews.com/20220202/partygate-johnson-attended-prosecco-fuelled-leaving-do-during-post-christmas-lockdown-1092673392.html

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Sofia Chegodaeva

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uk, boris johnson, investigation, law, parties

https://sputniknews.com/20220202/moscow-vows-mirror-response-to-german-regulators-ban-on-rt-de-broadcast-1092694130.html

Moscow Vows Mirror Response to German Regulator's Ban on RT DE Broadcast

Moscow Vows Mirror Response to German Regulator's Ban on RT DE Broadcast

German media regulator MABB has officially banned the broadcasting of RT DE in the country, claiming that the broadcast organisers had no necessary permission. 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T17:09+0000

2022-02-02T17:09+0000

2022-02-02T17:43+0000

world

rt

ban

freedom of speech

germany

russia

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German watchdog's decision to ban RT DE from broadcasting is forcing Moscow to retaliate against German media in Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday."This step leaves us no other choice but to start implementing retaliatory measures against German media accredited in Russia, as well as Internet intermediaries who have arbitrarily and unreasonably deleted the channel's accounts from their platforms." While the media regulator, MAAB, claims that the broadcaster had no necessary permission, Moscow emphasised that the ban was imposed despite RT DE having a license.The foreign ministry further stressed that Russia's concerns regarding the ban were explicitly ignored by Germany.According to Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Maxim Buyakevich, Germany has engaged in "media segregation on the basis of ethnicity": Earlier in the day, MAAB banned RT DE from broadcasting in Germany.The organisation and broadcasting of RT DE via live broadcasts on the Internet, through mobile applications or smart TV applications, as well as via satellites, should therefore be stopped, the regulator said added.RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan called the German regulators ban on the broadcasting of RT DE Productions in Germany "pure nonsense," adding that the channel will not stop broadcasting.Meanwhile, RT's Deputy Editor-in-Chief Anna Belkina described the decision as absurd and said RT DE Productions would appeal the ban in court. She added that RT DE will continue broadcasting from Moscow, and stressed that RT DE Productions does not broadcast in principle, but produces several programs for the RT DE channel, which has broadcasting rights in Germany and other 32 European countries.Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, following talks with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, that Moscow did not want to create any obstacles to the work of German journalists in Russia, but may be forced to do so if the clampdown on Russian media continues.On 16 December, RT was finally able to launch a 24-hour news service in German, which was to broadcast live news, talk shows and documentaries from studios in Moscow and Berlin. However, on the same day, YouTube blocked the channel. Later, the head of German media regulator MABB, Eva Flecken, announced an investigation into the RT broadcaster due to the launch of a program in German allegedly without a broadcast license in Germany. At the time, Belkina said that the German legal complaints were unfounded and even absurd as they target the RT DE Productions company, not the channel itself.The launch of RT DE has been surrounded by controversy in the European Union, with German media and politicians accusing the broadcaster of manipulations with facts targeting Germans of Russian origin. In August 2021, RT DE was refused a broadcasting license in Luxembourg after reportedly receiving a recommendation from the German authorities. In September, YouTube removed two RT DE channels without the right of recovery for alleged "violations of community rules."

https://sputniknews.com/20220202/germany-bans-broadcast-of-rt-de-1092686148.html

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world, rt, ban, freedom of speech, germany, russia
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/mp-asks-trudeau-to-apologize-to-truckers-says-he-wore-blackface-more-times-than-he-can-remember-1092698296.html

MP Asks Trudeau to Apologize to Truckers, Says He Wore Blackface More Times Than He Can Remember

MP Asks Trudeau to Apologize to Truckers, Says He Wore Blackface More Times Than He Can Remember

Tens of thousands of truckers and their supporters descended on the Canadian capital over the weekend to protest the Trudeau governments vaccine mandates. The... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T19:21+0000

2022-02-02T19:21+0000

2022-02-02T19:43+0000

truckers

justin trudeau

protest

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Candice Bergen, the deputy leader of Canadas Conservative Party, has lashed out at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his claims that the Freedom Convoy truckers in Ottawa are a bunch of misfits spreading hateful rhetoric, accusing him of stoking tensions and dividing Canadians, and recalling his own past when it comes to the subject of racial insensitivity.All Canadians want to see a leader who will work to heal rifts, not further divide, a leader who will listen even to those voices he might not agree with, a leader who will work to understand, not dismiss, name-call and gaslight, Bergen said, speaking before the House of Commons.Trudeau has faced multiple scandals related to his inexplicable affinity for dressing in brownface and blackface as a young man. In 2019, Time published an image of him wearing brownface makeup in 2001 while he dressed up as Aladdin. Later the same year, Trudeau admitted to wearing blackface at a high school event, and media later published more footage showing him in blackface a third time. The prime minister eventually said that he could not remember how many times hed worn blackface and brownface, and apologized for his actions, knowing how racist and hurtful this type of thing was.Trudeau, the Liberal Party and most of Canadas media have dismissed the truckers taking part in the ongoing anti-Covid vaccine mandate Freedom Convoy as a small fringe minority of people who do not represent the views of Canadians. Pro-government media including the CBC have highlighted instances of inappropriate behaviour by individuals involved in the protest such as protesters dancing and drinking on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial, and others reportedly hurling racial slurs at volunteers at a local soup kitchen.Trudeau went into self-imposed isolation last Thursday after being exposed to the coronavirus. The self-isolation was meant to last five days, but on Monday the prime minister announced that he had tested positive for Covid-19 and would continue to work remotely. Its now unclear when he will end his self-isolation, but the truckers who have braved hundreds of kilometers of icy roads and freezing temperatures have promised to stay in Ottawa until their demands to end vaccine mandates end.On Monday, Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly warned that all options are on the table to bring the truckers protest to an end. Sloly indicated that so far, there have been no riots, no injuries, no deaths from the protests. That is a measure of success for any jurisdiction in Canada, and quite frankly anywhere in the world, he said.The Freedom Convoys organizers have stressed all along that their protest will remain peaceful, and have urged supporters to report any suspicious persons or activities to police to prevent potential provocations. Organizers also maintain that they are not against vaccines per se  but want Covid vaccinations to be a matter of individual choice. Some have also expressed concerns that the vaccine passport QR codes handed out to those who have been given the jab could be used as a means to keep tabs on Canadians at all times.

https://sputniknews.com/20220131/freedom-convoy-trucker-protest-continues-in-ottawa-1092627779.html

https://sputniknews.com/20220130/canadas-prime-minister-moved-from-ottawa-home-amid-protest---reports-1092614030.html

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Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

truckers, justin trudeau, protest
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/putin-johnson-discuss-ukraine-russias-security-guarantee-proposals-1092695466.html

Putin & Johnson Discuss Ukraine, Russia's Security Guarantee Proposals

Putin & Johnson Discuss Ukraine, Russia's Security Guarantee Proposals

Speaking to reporters on Monday, the British prime minister promised to give his Russian counterpart a piece of his mind about Ukraine during their call. The... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T17:46+0000

2022-02-02T17:46+0000

2022-02-02T18:58+0000

russia

uk

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President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a telephone conversation Wednesday, discussing tensions in Ukraine and Russia's proposals on security guarantees, the Kremlin has announced.Putin told his interlocutor that NATO had demonstrated a lack of readiness to respond adequately to Russia's legitimate security concerns, and brought to Johnson's attention Kiev's "chronic" efforts to "sabotage" the Minsk Agreements on Ukrainian peace.The Kremlin characterised the phone call as "a fairly detailed exchange of views."Ahead of the phone call, Johnson promised UK media that he would tell Putin that Russia "needs to step back from the brink" in Ukraine, and warn him that "an invasion of Ukraine, any incursion into Ukraine beyond the territory that Russia has already taken in 2014 would be an absolute disaster for the world, and above all, it would be a disaster for Russia."Monday's call was cancelled and rescheduled to Wednesday so that Johnson could issue a statement on partygate  the scandal that has been hounding his government for weeks now related to booze-filled holiday parties at Number 10 in 2020 while the rest of the country was put under hard Covid lockdowns.Johnson travelled to Kiev on Tuesday, announcing the delivery of another 88 million pounds in economic aid to the country 'to fight corruption' alongside lethal weaponry to show British solidarity with the Ukrainian government. In a video put out by his office on Wednesday, the prime minister accused Russia of "threatening" Ukraine with "about 125,000 troops" on the border and pointed to what he said was "the very, very real prospect of an imminent invasion, incursion into more sovereign Ukrainian territory."Johnson warned that the UK was "working together with our friends and partners to provide a very, very tough package of economic sanctions that would apply instantly the moment the first toecap of a Russian soldier intrudes upon more sovereign Ukrainian territory."Ahead of Wednesday's call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that President Putin was always prepared to explain the situation in Eastern Europe, "even to someone who is utterly confused."Separately, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova poked fun at UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss after she vowed that Britain would support "our Baltic allies across the Black Sea"  two different bodies of water. "If anyone needs saving from anything, it's the world, from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians," Zakharova said in a blog post.The crisis in Ukraine began in 2014 when Western-backed political forces backed by ultranationalist gangs overthrew the country's democratically elected government after it tried to opt-out of European integration in favour of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. The coup in Kiev prompted Crimea to stage a referendum to break off from Ukraine and rejoin Russia, and sparked a civil war in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian army and nationalist battalions on one side and local separatist forces on the other. The civil war was frozen in February 2015 with the signing of the Minsk Agreements, which demanded a ceasefire, a pullback of troops and heavy weapons and changes in Ukraine's constitution to provide heavy autonomy to the breakaway eastern regions.

https://sputniknews.com/20220202/uk-reportedly-scrambles-jets-to-track-unidentified-aircraft-north-of-scotland-1092685902.html

https://sputniknews.com/20220202/uk-conservative-lawmaker-urges-johnson-to-take-lead-in-ukraine-crisis-1092684560.html

russia

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Ilya Tsukanov

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https://sputniknews.com/20220202/rebirth-and-reunion-beijing-sees-cleanest-lunar-new-year-air-amid-olympics-related-fireworks-ban--1092672922.html

Rebirth and Reunion: Beijing Sees Cleanest Lunar New Year Air Amid Olympics-Related Fireworks Ban

Rebirth and Reunion: Beijing Sees Cleanest Lunar New Year Air Amid Olympics-Related Fireworks Ban

China and the Asian diaspora rang in the Lunar New Year on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, marking the end of the Year of the Ox and the beginning of the Year of... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T04:08+0000

2022-02-02T04:08+0000

2022-02-02T04:06+0000

lunar new year

beijing

china

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On Tuesday, nearly 2 billion individuals worldwide celebrated Chinese New Yearalso known as the Spring Festival in Chinaobserving a traditional time to honor ones' ancestors and deities with street parades and other reunions. While fireworks are typically fired off to ward off evil spirits during these ancestral reunions, those in Beijing were subject to a full ban on fireworks ahead of the Winter Olympics. Zhangjiakou, a city co-hosting the Winter Olympics, also introduced limitations on the selling and igniting of firecrackers and other fireworks. The move sullied a decades-old Lunar New Year tradition for the capital city, according to the Beijinger. Retail has also been suspended during Spring Festival 2022. The sole exemption was granted to Universal Studios Beijing, which has been permitted to hold a display during the holiday. While fireworks didn't accompany Chinese New Year, the negative situation had a positive impact on the city's air quality, according to Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau. The group revealed in a Tuesday statement that Beijing recorded its cleanest air for a Chinese New Year since the bureau first started monitoring air pollutants. On Monday, the average concentration of air pollutants in Beijing stood at approximately five micrograms per cubic metre, compared to the average 289 micrograms recorded in Beijing during last year's Chinese New Year.

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https://sputniknews.com/20220202/russia-and-us-tangle-at-unsc-meeting-zelensky-pushes-back-against-us-invasion-narrative-1092671518.html

Russia and US Tangle at UNSC Meeting; Zelensky Pushes Back Against US Invasion Narrative

Russia and US Tangle at UNSC Meeting; Zelensky Pushes Back Against US Invasion Narrative

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back against what he described as "panic" speculation from NATO countries arguing that Russia is poised to invade... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T10:48+0000

2022-02-02T10:48+0000

2022-02-02T10:48+0000

mali

burkina faso

nato

unsc

jcpoa

the critical hour

nicolas maduro

volodymyr zelensky

radio

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/02/1092671358_33:0:1277:700_1920x0_80_0_0_6a5b76cb68eb3262b65dd84324c3566f.png

Russia and US Tangle at UNSC Meeting; Zelenskyy Pushes Back Against US Invasion Narrative Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back against what he described as "panic" speculation from NATO countries arguing that Russia is poised to invade his nation.

Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Ukraine. Russia accused the US of exhibiting a desire for an invasion of Ukraine during heated exchanges at a meeting of the UN Security Council. Also, observers are discussing the possibility of a US-inspired coup in Ukraine due to a number of significant policy disagreements between Washington neocons and Ukrainian leadership.George Koo, journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, joins us to discuss US foreign policy in Asia. Philippine Presidential hopeful Ferdinand Marcos, the son of the infamous late leader of the Pacific nation, has staked out a claim for close relations with China and secondary relations with the US empire. Also, China has again warned the US about close talks with Taiwan signaling that a military conflict is inevitable if this behavior continues.KJ Noh, activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss China. Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping will be meeting in Beijing soon to discuss bilateral security issues. Also, Russia's strategic alliance with China is getting more difficult for the US empire to navigate. Netfa Freeman, host of Voices With Vision on WPFW 89.3 FM, Pan-Africanist and internationalist organizer, joins us to discuss Africa. The government of Mali has kicked out the French ambassador after he made derogatory comments about the nation's relationship with Russia. Also, the African Union has suspended Burkina Faso from all activities. Andrew Korybko, Moscow-based American journalist and analyst, joins us to discuss the US foreign policy crisis. Ukrainian authorities have arrested thousands of citizens, arguing that they were plotting an illegal coup. Many observers argue that the suspects were part of a legitimate protest movement. Also, President Zelensky's pushback against the Russian invasion narrative reveals serious political divisions between the US neocons and those whom they wish to sacrifice as cannon fodder. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss Iran. While the US says that there are only weeks left to renew the JCPOA, Iran argues that there are significant differences between the two sides.Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, joins us to discuss Honduras. Ending the nightmare of right-wing rule orchestrated by the US empire, the Central American nation of Honduras inaugurates its first female president who is viewed as a visionary socialist. Nicholas Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion of Iraq," joins us to discuss the Global South. A retired Venezuelan general has revealed that the US was aware of the coup plot against President Nicolas Maduro. Cliver Alcala, facing charges in the US for narcotics trafficking, stated in a letter that The efforts to overthrow the Maduro regime have been well known by the United States government. Also, a large number of nations are joining Cuba in a demand that the US empire drop sanctions against the island nation.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com

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mali, burkina faso, nato, unsc, jcpoa, the critical hour, nicolas maduro, volodymyr zelensky, , radio
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/russia-has-plans-to-hedge-risks-in-event-of-new-us-economic-sanctions-kremlin-says-1092681724.html

Russia Has Plans to Hedge Risks in Event of New US Economic Sanctions, Kremlin Says

Russia Has Plans to Hedge Risks in Event of New US Economic Sanctions, Kremlin Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has plans to hedge risks and mitigate consequences in the event of new US economic sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T11:28+0000

2022-02-02T11:28+0000

2022-02-02T11:47+0000

us

russia

sanctions

ukraine

uk

russia-nato row on european security

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"The Kremlin, of course, is concerned because the sanctions behaviour of the United States is absolutely unpredictable. The US retains its unpredictability internationally in this regard. There are plans, risk hedging plans to minimise the consequences of such unpredictable actions," Peskov told reporters.Moscow once again urges Washington to abandon its provocative actions and escalating tension on the European continent, the Kremlin spokesman added.Earlier this week, the US said it was preparing a package of sanctions that would be imposed against Russia in the event that it invades Ukraine and would target the country's banking sector and export controls, as well as "key people and industries" that were spared by Washington in sanctions it introduced in 2014 after Russia's reunification with Crimea. The UK, for its part, also threatened Russia with sanctions, with UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss saying that the government was preparing a draft law that would expand the anti-Russian sanctions list that is already in place in Britain and would hit Russian energy companies and other "strategic" industries. Europe has been reportedly considering sanctions against Russia as well, and they will possibly include restrictions on currency conversion, export control measures, import and export bans, as well as limiting access to the SWIFT interbank system.Reports about new Western sanctions against Russia have been made in the past few weeks amid a continuing row between Russia, the US and NATO over Ukraine. There has been speculation in the Western media about Moscow amassing tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine and preparing to "invade" the country, an allegation Russia has repeatedly denied as groundless and stressing it has no plans to attack any country. Moscow also said that NATO's increased military activity in Eastern Europe and active technical assistance to Ukraine pose a serious threat to Russia's national security.

https://sputniknews.com/20220201/new-sanctions-against-russia-may-reinforce-chinas-competitive-edge-german-businessman-says-1092664805.html

https://sputniknews.com/20220131/kiev-trying-to-hide-movement-of-heavy-weaponry-equipment-to-donbas---lpr-head-1092627910.html

ukraine

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us, russia, sanctions, ukraine, uk
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/russian-embassy-in-serbia-slams-article-by-us-ambassador-to-pristina-as-russophobic-1092699678.html

Russian Embassy in Serbia Slams Article by US Ambassador to Pristina as 'Russophobic'

Russian Embassy in Serbia Slams Article by US Ambassador to Pristina as 'Russophobic'

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - An article by US Ambassador to Pristina Jeffrey Hovenier about the situation around Ukraine is "completely false and Russophobic," the... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T21:47+0000

2022-02-02T21:47+0000

2022-02-02T21:46+0000

russian embassy

serbia

belgrade

pristina

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On Tuesday, the US Embassy in Kosovo published Hovenier's opinion piece, which examines Russias policy towards Eastern Europe, in particular in relation to Ukraine. In the article, Hovenier accused Russia of breaching Ukraines territorial integrity and manufacturing crisis, expressing joint commitment by the US and Kosovo to support sovereignty of Ukraine.According to the embassy, some statements by Hovenier cannot be explained by anything other than complete ignorance or the intention to mislead readers. The embassy also noted the inconsistency of the thesis about alleged observance of the Minsk agreements by Kiev.The embassy also said that Hovenier allows himself to talk about the fact that "the borders and territorial integrity of states cannot be violated by force," being in the administrative center of the Serbian Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, which is now not controlled by Belgrade due to the armed aggression of the United States and NATO against Yugoslavia in 1999. The Russian mission also urged Hovenier to make efforts to resolve disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija."Hovenier should take up his immediate duties. Try to ensure that Pristina finally fulfills the Brussels commitments to establish the Community of Serbian Municipalities of Kosovo, whose powers would guarantee the protection of the Kosovar Serbs from the growing pressure and attacks of the Kosovo Albanian majority. Contribute to ensuring the democratic rights of all willing voters in the provinces of Kosovo and Metohija to vote in the elections scheduled for April in Serbia," the Russian embassy noted and concluded that the future of the Balkans is in the hands of the Balkans themselves.The precarious situation around Ukraine has worsened over the past several months after Russia was accused of building up troops near the Ukrainian border and allegedly preparing for an invasion. Moscow has denied the accusations, pointing to NATO's military activity near Russian borders, which it deems a threat to its national security.

https://sputniknews.com/20220202/white-house-stops-calling-ukraine-invasion-imminent-says-putins-decision-remains-unknown-1092699319.html

serbia

belgrade

pristina

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russian embassy, serbia, belgrade, pristina
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/s-400-air-defense-system-deliveries-turkeys-internal-affair-erdogan-says-1092674028.html

S-400 Air Defense System Deliveries Turkey's Internal Affair, Erdogan Says

S-400 Air Defense System Deliveries Turkey's Internal Affair, Erdogan Says

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Deliveries of Russian S-400 air defence systems are an internal affair of Turkey, they are not negative toward NATO, Turkish President Recep... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T05:25+0000

2022-02-02T05:25+0000

2022-02-02T05:38+0000

world

turkey

s-400

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"The agreement on the acquisition of Russian S-400 air defence systems by Ankara is an important step in terms of developing cooperation between Turkey and Russia. Russian systems are very important... Deliveries are an internal affair of Turkey. This is our decision. We made this decision, we agreed with Russia. From the NATO point of view, this step does not carry any negative meaning," Erdogan said at a meeting with Turkish youth in Trabzon.Russia and Turkey signed a contract for the supply of four S-400 air defence system battalions worth $2.5 billion in 2017, deliveries to the Turkish side were made in the summer and fall of 2019. The contract included an option for another regimental set. At the end of August 2021, Erdogan said that he had no doubts about buying a second S-400 regiment from Russia.Turkey caused a rift with the US, its NATO ally, when it bought Russian-made S-400 air defence systems. The United States cancelled the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey in 2019 over claims that it could leak military secrets to Russia. The Kremlin and Ankara have both strongly rejected such a possibility.

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world, turkey, s-400
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/saabs-shares-rise-as-brazil-reaffirms-interest-in-more-gripen-fighter-jets-1092675193.html

Saab's Shares Rise as Brazil Reaffirms Interest in More Gripen Fighter Jets

Saab's Shares Rise as Brazil Reaffirms Interest in More Gripen Fighter Jets

Brazil remains the largest operator of Saab Gripen jets worldwide outside Sweden and its further interest has bolstered the company, which has seen its plans... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T06:58+0000

2022-02-02T06:58+0000

2022-02-02T06:58+0000

brazil

news

military & intelligence

europe

sweden

finland

saab

scandinavia

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Brazil's Air Force Chief Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior has announced that he wants to see another 30 JAS Gripen aircraft purchased in addition to the current order of 36 fighter jets from Saab.According to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, the Brazilian Air Force has come to the conclusion that a total of 66 fighter jets would be ideal for the world's fifth largest country. However, the discussion is still ongoing, Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior warned.Still, the announcement was well-received in Sweden.Following the news, Saab's shares rose by 3.8 percent on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, national broadcaster SVT reported.When Brazil bought 36 Gripens in 2014, it was celebrated as the largest deal in the history of Swedish industry, estimated to be worth almost SEK 40 billion ($4.3 billion). If the Brazilian Air Force buys 30 more planes, it will mean yet another huge order for Saab.Brazil is currently in the process of upgrading its Air Force. The first Gripen jet arrived in Brazil in 2020 and over the next six months, four more fighter jets will be delivered. The Gripen jets sold to Brazil are manufactured together with Brazilian Embraer, which sent Brazilian engineers to Sweden to learn how to assemble the plane. Together, Saab and Embraer are developing joint-technology for the plane's construction.The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a light single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft with a delta wing and canard configuration.Headquartered in Stockholm, Saab is a pillar of Sweden's defence industry and is present in the list of the world's largest arms exporters by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).Over the course of 2021, Saab was pinning its hopes on Finland to pick the Gripen as replacement for its ageing fleet of F/A-18 Hornets, but suffered a setback as Helsinki chose to follow its Nordic peers Denmark and Norway in settling for F-35 warplanes due to its capability and lifespan.

https://sputniknews.com/20211207/saab-shares-plunge-as-finland-reported-to-pick-f-35-in-fighter-fleet-upgrade-1091305106.html

brazil

sweden

finland

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2022

Igor Kuznetsov

Igor Kuznetsov

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Igor Kuznetsov

brazil, news, military & intelligence, europe, sweden, finland, saab, scandinavia
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/teen-shaking-down-musk-for-50k-using-plane-tracker-now-tracking-trump-gates-bezos-1092682552.html

Teen Shaking Down Musk for $50K Using Plane Tracker Now Tracking Trump, Gates, Bezos

Teen Shaking Down Musk for $50K Using Plane Tracker Now Tracking Trump, Gates, Bezos

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO offered the college student $5,000 to take down an automated Twitter account tracking the billionaires private plane, but stopped... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T11:29+0000

2022-02-02T11:29+0000

2022-02-02T11:37+0000

elon musk

plane

tracker

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Jack Sweeney, the 19-year-old University of Central Florida student who made headlines last week after being offered a four-figure payoff to take down @ElonJet, an automated Twitter account monitoring Elon Musks Gulfstream G650 jet, has set up over a dozen more bots to monitor the planes of other public figures, and moved to keep them secure in the event that Twitter takes down the accounts on its platform.The new bots reportedly use available ADS-B Exchange data to follow jets belonging to billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, investor Mark Cuban and former president Donald Trump. Aubrey Graham, the Canadian rapper better known as Drake, is also on the list, which now includes a total of 16 automated accounts.Sweeney was contacted by Musk last year and offered $5,000 to take down the @ElonJet account, a Twitter account keeping 281,000 followers up-to-date on the whereabouts of the billionaires jet at any particular moment.The teen made the South African-born emerald mine-owner-turned tech and aerospace entrepreneur a counteroffer, saying he wants $50,000, a Tesla Model 3, or an internship at Tesla. Musk responded by blocking Sweeney and has not contacted him since.Before blocking the teen, Musk complained that @ElonJet was a security risk and said he doesnt love the idea of being shot by a nutcase. When informed by Sweeney that he got his data from public sources, Musk complained about air traffic control being so primitive.Sweeney has planned ahead in the event that Twitter takes down his tracking bots, setting up a service called Ground Control on his website, Jackstech.net. The 90s throwback-style site, still apparently under construction, features aircraft tracking data, plus Musk-related merch including T-shirts, hoodies and stickers featuring the quote I know how high Elon is and a picture of Musk smoking a doobie during his 2018 appearance on Joe Rogans podcast.@ElonJet is going strong for now, reporting early Wednesday that Musks jet landed near Brownsville, Texas.

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2022

Ilya Tsukanov

Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

elon musk, plane, tracker

https://sputniknews.com/20220202/theft-of-human-remains-from-australian-cemetery-triggers-police-probe-into-satanic-ritual-1092688951.html

Theft of Human Remains From Australian Cemetery Triggers Police Probe Into 'Satanic Ritual'

Theft of Human Remains From Australian Cemetery Triggers Police Probe Into 'Satanic Ritual'

There have been two separate incidents of grave sites being disturbed in Australia's Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne, with THE suspects yet to... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T15:27+0000

2022-02-02T15:27+0000

2022-02-02T15:27+0000

cemetery

world

australia

police

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Australian police have appealed to the public for information about the theft of human remains from a cemetery. Officers suspect links to a "satanic ritual," according to CNN affiliate 7 News.The first theft took place at the Geelong Road cemetery sometime between 7.30 pm on 27 January and 6.15 am on 28 January, according to the police. The second incident is said to have taken place between 6 pm on 31 January and 10 am on 1 February.Police believe that unknown offenders broke into a mausoleum before stealing partial human remains  according to 7 News, two human heads were stolen. It is not clear if the two incidents are linked.But criminologist Xanthe Mallett told 7 News that she's never observed such activity in Australia before.According to 7 News, police say there's no indication there was anything of value inside the mausoleums, apart from personal items.

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Daria Bedenko

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cemetery, world, australia, police
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/trump-accuses-ny-ag-of-selective-prosecution-in-civil-fraud-probe-requests-dismissal-of-subpoenas-1092672310.html

Trump Accuses NY AG of 'Selective Prosecution' in Civil-Fraud Probe, Requests Dismissal of Subpoenas

Trump Accuses NY AG of 'Selective Prosecution' in Civil-Fraud Probe, Requests Dismissal of Subpoenas

The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James announced last month that the AG had taken legal action to compel former US President Donald Trump and... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T03:08+0000

2022-02-02T03:08+0000

2022-02-02T03:07+0000

new york

donald trump

ivanka trump

donald trump jr

letitia james

new york attorney general's office

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Lawyers for former US President Donald Trump argued in a Tuesday court filing that the NY AG's office had violated the Equal Protection Clauses of both the US and NY State Constitutions through a practice of "selective prosecution" as a means to boost political clout. Trump's lawyers, who are also representing Ivanka and Don Jr., went on to claim that information subpoenaed as part of the civil-fraud probe could be inappropriately used in a separate criminal investigation. Per New York state law, witnesses who appear before a grand jury are traditionally granted immunity, prohibiting prosecutors from using the individual's statement in a separate case. The filing made no direct mention of the AG's claim that the Trump Organization obtained a host of economic benefits due to its consistent use of "fraudulent or misleading asset valuations." Trump attorneys backed their "selective prosecution" assertion by referencing several tweets and comments made by the NY AG, including a campaign video from September 28, 2018, when James publicly stated that she believed Trump had "engaged in a pattern and practice of money laundering " and "can be indicted for criminal offenses." James' December 2021 appearance on ABC's "The View" was also presented by the Trump lawyers as an example of the AG unfairly targeting the ex-president and his family with statements that "are in blatant violation of the presumption of innocence, a hallmark of prosecutorial ethics."Trump's legal team urged the judge to block James' subpoenas, or pause them until the conclusion of a parallel criminal probe into the Trump Organization launched by the Manhattan District Attorneys office. The Manhattan DA probe was launched by former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance and has been taken over by Alvin Bragg, the new DA. James previously stated that two lawyers from her office are working with Manhattan prosecutors. James defended her civil probe in a brief Tuesday statement that accused both Trump and his Trump Organization of attempting to "evade accountability."

https://sputniknews.com/20220124/daddys-favorite-trump-would-let-don-jr-go-to-prison-before-ivanka-ex-fixer-michael-cohen-claims-1092474371.html

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Evan Craighead

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Evan Craighead

new york, donald trump, ivanka trump, donald trump jr, letitia james, new york attorney general's office
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/uk-navy-ship-tracking-two-russian-vessels-in-english-channel-defence-ministry-says-1092680176.html

UK Navy Ship Tracking Two Russian Vessels in English Channel, Defence Ministry Says

UK Navy Ship Tracking Two Russian Vessels in English Channel, Defence Ministry Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A UK warship has been tracking two Russian naval vessels passing through the English Channel amid increasing tensions in Russia-West... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T09:57+0000

2022-02-02T09:57+0000

2022-02-02T09:57+0000

russia

english channel

uk

navy

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"As part of a unified response with our allies, the Royal Navy monitor the presence of Russian naval ships as they transit through the English Channel," a spokesperson for the UK defence ministry said, as quoted by British newspaper Mirror.According to the spokesperson, monitoring ships is a "normal response."On Monday, the French army said that it had monitored Russia's Soobrazitelniy and Stoykiy corvettes as they left the port of the exclaved Russian city of Kaliningrad to conduct combat exercises. Later, the French military tweeted that it had handed over the tracking of the Russian ships to UK frigate HMS Argyll and US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.In the past few months, the West and Ukraine have accused Russia of massing troops near the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for invasion. Russia said that it has no intention of invading Ukraine, while stressing that it has the right to move its forces within its own territory.Russia has also expressed concerns over NATO's military activity near its borders and the ongoing military support of Ukraine, including an increase in the number of Western instructors in the breakaway Donbas region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow does not exclude that the "hysteria" around Ukraine fueled by the West is aimed at covering Kiev's plans to sabotage the Minsk Agreements on Donbas.

russia

english channel

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russia, english channel, uk, navy
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/uk-reportedly-scrambles-jets-to-track-unidentified-aircraft-north-of-scotland-1092685902.html

UK Scrambles Typhoon Jets to Escort Four Russian Bear Bombers North of Scotland

UK Scrambles Typhoon Jets to Escort Four Russian Bear Bombers North of Scotland

Earlier, the UK Ministry of Defence reported that at least one Royal Navy warship was monitoring a pair of Russian naval vessels as they passed through the... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T12:45+0000

2022-02-02T12:45+0000

2022-02-02T16:37+0000

uk

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/103131/41/1031314182_0:174:5509:3273_1920x0_80_0_0_31f8594e90d7a3ec927855e9e433d66e.jpg

The Royal Air Force scrambled Eurofighter Typhoon jets out of RAF Lossiemouth in Moray in Scotland on Wednesday to track four Russian strategic bombers operating to the north of Britain, an RAF spokesman has confirmed.The fighters, classed as 4.5 generation air superiority fighters, were joined by a Voyager tanker jet operating out of RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.The RAF typically conducts Quick Reaction Alerts (QRAs) whenever Russian military aircraft fly in areas near the UK's airspace. During similar incidents in the past, the Russian Aerospace Forces have maintained a respectful distance from Britain's boundaries, something that cannot always be said for British ships and aircraft operating near Russia's frontiers.The aerial mission follows an announcement by the MoD earlier Wednesday that the Royal Navy had deployed at least one warship to "monitor the presence of Russian naval ships" transiting through the English Channel, possibly on route to an area 240 southwest of Ireland for drills to be held 3-8 February.Relations between Russia and Britain have suffered another deterioration in recent weeks over London's role in fueling the Ukraine crisis, with British officials joining their US allies in accusing Moscow of preparing to "invade" its neighbour, despite denials from Moscow and even Kiev.The UK has promised to continue beefing up its military support to Ukraine in the form of additional equipment and small numbers of trainers and is reportedly being wooed by Washington to deploy additional troops elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Britain has also reportedly been tinkering with new sanctions against Russian energy projects in Europe, and has threatened to target Russian oligarchs with assets and property in the UK, a prospect which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called "extremely alarming."Prime Minister Boris Johnson travelled to Kiev on Tuesday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky. A planned conversation between Johnson and Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for Monday was put off, ostensibly over the "partygate" Covid-restriction-ducking scandal which continues to hound the prime minister.

https://sputniknews.com/20220202/uk-navy-ship-tracking-two-russian-vessels-in-english-channel-defence-ministry-says-1092680176.html

https://sputniknews.com/20220131/russian-assets-in-uk-may-be-frozen-in-accordance-with-new-sanctions-bill-foreign-secretary-says-1092643372.html

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2022

Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

uk
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/us-national-archives-readying-release-of-former-vp-pences-records-to-jan-6-panel--1092699806.html

US National Archives Readying Release of Former VP Pence's Records to Jan. 6 Panel

US National Archives Readying Release of Former VP Pence's Records to Jan. 6 Panel

Marc Short, who served as chief of staff for former US Vice President Mike Pence, responded to a subpoena last week and testified before the House Select... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T22:23+0000

2022-02-02T22:23+0000

2022-02-02T22:22+0000

mike pence

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The US National Archives is readying the release of former Vice President Mike Pence's White House records to the US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, the body investigating the deadly US Capitol riot, according to a memo issued approximately two weeks after former US President Donald Trump's records were released to the panel. While some vice presidential records do qualify for certain restrictions "they are not subject to claims of the presidential communications privilege," noted White House counsel Dana Remus, who ordered the release. Unless blocked via court order or presidential intervention, the records will be delivered 30 days after the memo (March 3, 2022). David S. Ferriero, the 10th Archivist of the United States, alerted Trump of the intended transfer. Pence is considered a crucial witness in the House Select Committee investigation, as it is partly looking into the details surrounding Trump's hours-long absence from public view amid the chaos created by his supporters.The decision comes days after Trump unsuccessfully attempted to block the release of more than 100 documents, citing executive privilege. Although it was made clear that some supporters were threatening violence against Pence, who was leading the Senate in the certification of Electoral College votes, it remains unclear whether the former vice president will voluntarily cooperate with the panel's investigation.Citing sources said to be familiar with Pence's feelings on the matter, the New York Times reported last month that the former VP has grown increasingly disillusioned with the idea of assisting with the probe, due to the 9-member panel's partisan divide, and potential criminal referrals to the US Department of Justice. At the same time, informal conversations between the House Select Committee and Pence's lawyers have been ongoing since the panel's formation last summer. Short, Pence's former chief of staff, testified before the panel on Wednesday, January 26, in response to the group's subpoena. While details about his hourslong session remain unknown, it is known that Short was inside the US Capitol building with Pence on January 6, 2021, as both had to be evacuated during the incident. Additionally, Greg Jacob, former counsel to Pence, met with the House Select Committee on Tuesday.

https://sputniknews.com/20220106/ex-vp-mike-pences-team-reportedly-collaborating-with-6-january-house-committee--1092058097.html

https://sputniknews.com/20220201/mike-pences-former-chief-of-staff-testifies-before-jan-6-capitol-riot-house-panel-1092650284.html

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2022

Evan Craighead

Evan Craighead

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Evan Craighead

mike pence
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/us-nato-told-russia-they-are-refraining-from-deploying-nukes-in-eastern-europe-spanish-media-says-1092677026.html

US, NATO Told Russia They Are Refraining From Deploying Nukes in Eastern Europe, Spanish Media Says

US, NATO Told Russia They Are Refraining From Deploying Nukes in Eastern Europe, Spanish Media Says

Earlier, the Russian government expressed concerns over NATO's military activity near its borders and over the alliances plans to further expand eastward... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T07:19+0000

2022-02-02T07:19+0000

2022-02-02T15:09+0000

world

russia

us

russia-nato row on european security

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The US and NATO told Russia that they are refraining from deploying nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.The United States is ready to consider the possibility of signing a document with Russia on security issues of mutual interest, the newspaper reports."We are ready to consider arrangements or agreements with Russia on bilateral issues, including written and signed instruments, to address our security concerns," the document says.The Spanish newspaper claims that the United States and NATO, in their response to Russia, said that Moscow's proposals could be the subject of a constructive dialogue.NATO seeks that Russia refrains from testing anti-satellite weapons, as it creates a large amount of weapons, according to the alliance's reply to Russia's security proposals.A diplomatic source confirmed to Sputnik the authenticity of the US and NATO response to Russia's security proposals which had been published by El Pais.Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday declined to comment on the responses of the US and NATO to Russia's security guarantees proposals published earlier in the day by Spain's El Pais newspaper.When asked who could have conveyed the US and NATO responses to the media outlet, the official advised against guessing.Moscow published its security suggestions for NATO and the United States in late 2021 as tensions flared around Ukraine. Moscow specifically requested guarantees that NATO would not expand eastward to include Ukraine and Georgia.In recent months, Western countries have accused Russia of a troop buildup near the border with Ukraine and plans to attack the neighbouring country. Moscow has dismissed the claims, which it considers to be a pretext for NATO military deployment near Russia's borders and plans to expand further eastward.

us

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2022

Maxim Minaev

Maxim Minaev

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Maxim Minaev

world, russia, us
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/us-was-still-debating-details-of-afghan-evacuation-hours-before-taliban-blitzed-kabul-doc-reveals-1092680907.html

US Was Still Debating Details of Afghan Evacuation Hours Before Taliban Blitzed Kabul, Doc Reveals

US Was Still Debating Details of Afghan Evacuation Hours Before Taliban Blitzed Kabul, Doc Reveals

Taliban* militants took control of the Afghan capital on 15 August, weeks after capturing their first major city and just over four months after President Joe... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T10:32+0000

2022-02-02T10:32+0000

2022-02-02T10:51+0000

kabul

afghanistan

taliban

evacuation

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Less than 24 hours before Taliban fighters entered Kabul, the Biden administration was still tinkering with the basic details of how to evacuate US officials and personnel and the tens of thousands of Afghans who had assisted the US during its 19+ year war in Afghanistan, an internal memo first published by Axios has revealed.The document, dated 14 August 2021 and summarising a meeting of senior administration officials, concluded that US Embassy personnel, US citizens, government contractors, CIA priority partners, Afghan special immigrant visa applicants would be given preference for evacuation.The State Department and the Department of Defence were also asked to begin planning transit processing and to coordinate manifests for onwards travel to US military bases, with the DoD expected to assess current capacity and additional time needed to increase it.The leaked memo shows the apparent disarray in Washington over the speedy rate of the Talibans advance across Afghanistan. The militants had captured their first city only on 6 August, took 18 of 34 provincial capitals by 11 August, and advanced on Kabul on 15 August, with the US and NATO-trained, armed and financed security forces showing almost no resistance and shattering amid the blitz.Just two days before the capital fell, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby continued to assure reporters that Kabul was not right now in an imminent threat environment. Days before that, Kirby urged the Afghan security forces to step up and use its US-provided ground and air capabilities, as well as nominal superiority in numbers over the Taliban, to step up and use those advantages.After Kabul fell, the Biden administration cut a deal with the Taliban to evacuate US personnel, citizens and Afghans who assisted the US and NATO during the war.The Kabul airlift ran from mid-to-late August, during which time over 122,000 people were airlifted abroad, among them 75,000 Afghan evacuees who were taken in by the US. The airlift was marked by scenes of panic, including horrific images of people falling to their deaths while trying to grab on to US transport planes taking off, and a suicide terror attack on 26 August attributed to Daesh (ISIS)** which claimed the lives of over 180 people, including 13 US troops.Late last year, The Intercept revealed that members of a CIA-sponsored commando team accused of execution-style killings of civilians were given priority for evacuation. Last week, Sputnik reported on documents released by the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had personally approved the evacuation of dogs and cats out of the country over people.* The Taliban is sanctioned by the United Nations for terrorist activities.** A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

https://sputniknews.com/20211007/cia-reportedly-airlifted-commandos-suspected-of-execution-style-killings-of-civilians-out-of-kabul-1089738036.html

https://sputniknews.com/20220101/over-52000-afghan-evacuees-resettled-across-america-under-operation-allies-welcome-1091967179.html

kabul

afghanistan

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2022

Ilya Tsukanov

Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

kabul, afghanistan, taliban, evacuation
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/warsaw-says-us-will-deploy-additional-2500-troops-to-poland-1092676425.html

Warsaw Says US Will Deploy Additional 2,500 Troops to Poland

Warsaw Says US Will Deploy Additional 2,500 Troops to Poland

Currently, there are some 5,500 US soldiers deployed in Poland. More troops are expected to be sent to the country as US President Joe Biden earlier announced... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T06:54+0000

2022-02-02T06:54+0000

2022-02-02T07:20+0000

europe

us

poland

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The United States will deploy additional 2,500 troops to Poland as it transfers soldiers to Eastern Europe, Pawel Soloch, the head of the Polish National Security Bureau, said on Wednesday.Soloch also said there are currently two plans in development, with one scenario envisaging American soldiers being physically present in Eastern Europe, including in Poland, and the other one considering the creation of a mechanism to deploy significant amount of troops, should there be such a need.On Friday, US President Joe Biden said that US troops will be moving to Eastern Europe and to NATO countries in the near future. Later, the Pentagon asserted that while additional troops have been put on high alert to prepare for the possibility of being deployed to Eastern Europe, they will not be part of the planned 8,500 contingent designated to support the NATO Response Force in the region.The increased military assistance from the United States comes in light of the tense situation in Ukraine, with the Western countries accusing Russia of "amassing troops" on the border with Ukraine and claiming that Moscow is preparing to "invade" the neighbouring country. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegations, underlining that Russian troops located within the country's territory do not pose a threat to anyone. Still, the Pentagon continues to assert that "the Russians have no intensions of de-escalating", even though the Ukrainian authorities have stated otherwise.

https://sputniknews.com/20220201/canadas-non-lethal-military-equipment-begins-arriving-in-ukraine-1092664673.html

us

poland

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2022

Daria Bedenko

Daria Bedenko

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Daria Bedenko

europe, us, poland
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/whoopi-and-the-others-what-celebrities-got-in-trouble-for-public-statements-1092679555.html

Whoopi and the Others: What Celebrities Got in Trouble For Controversial Claims

Whoopi and the Others: What Celebrities Got in Trouble For Controversial Claims

On Monday's live broadcast of the talk show "The View", Whoopi Goldberg happened to claim that Holocaust "isn't about the race", and immediately faced a strong... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T11:43+0000

2022-02-02T11:43+0000

2022-02-02T11:59+0000

us

cancel culture

whoopi goldberg

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Actress Whoopi Goldberg has already been suspended from ABC's show "The View" for two weeks and apologised for her controversial remarks about Holocaust, but, according to insiders cited by Page Six, she is in "deep s**t" and should be fired."The Holocaust was about the Nazi's systematic annihilation of the Jewish people - who they deemed to be an inferior race'. I stand corrected," she stated later.However, it has not fixed the situation for Goldberg. The outrage over her remarks is fueled online by those who immediately recalled other controversial statements by people who, according to the critics, "were fired for less". Goldberg, in her turn, has only received a two-week suspension - something that a lot of people deemed to be a "free pass" that she got just "because she's black".Why does Whoopi seemingly get a pass when others dont? Perhaps this time she wont. Many at the network  including her fellow hosts  believe Whoopi is too controversial now for the show," one ABC insider told Page Six.Gina CaranoAmong the first names that immediately popped up in wake of the scandal around Whoopi Goldberg was Gina Carano, formerly star of the show "The Mandalorian".Last year, Carano compared being a Republican in the United States to being Jewish in the times of the Holocaust.Lucasfilm - the company behind the Star Wars franchise - was quick to immediately fire the actress, saying her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable." Lucasfilm is owned by Disney - as is ABC, the network that broadcasts "The View".United Talent Agency also dropped her as a client after her statements. Many have launched petitions to have her reinstated in "The Mandalorian", asserting that her fallout is a result of "cancel culture".Roseanne BarrActress and comedian Roseanne Barr is another celebrity that faced public condemnation and was "cancelled" after she targeted Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to Barack Obama, in a tweet blasted by the public as racist. Barr said that Jarrett looked like the muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.In this case, ABC also swiftly scrapped Barr's sitcom "Roseanne", with the network denouncing her statement as "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values."Barr later apologised, admitting that her joke "about [Jarrett's] politics and her looks" was "in bad taste".Marilyn MansonThe iconic rock musician Marilyn Manson has also discovered himself in the crosshairs of those willing to "cancel" him over accusations of antisemitism.Particularly, actress Evan Rachel Wood said that Manson would call her "Jew" in a derogatory manner at the time when the two were in a relationship. When he was mad at her, the actress added, he would "draw swastikas over my bedside table". Additionally, Wood claimed that some of Manson's tattoos were "Nazi-inspired".Following the allegation, Manson has been dropped by his record label and by the talent agency CAA. He has never admitted to any wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as "horrible distortions of reality".DaBabyThe scandal around American rapper DaBaby was among the most resonant of the year 2021. The now notorious rapper discovered himself in hot water after his Rolling Loud festival set in July, when he rolled out what many deemed as a homophobic rant.Particularly, he told the crowd to put their cell phone lights up "if you didn't show up today with HIV/AIDS or other STDs that'll make you die in two-three weeks". This and some other remarks about the LGBTQ+ community swiftly got him grilled on social media, with some of the fellow musicians even moving to throw him away from the already recorded feats.DaBaby later apologised for his remarks, saying that he had no intention to offend people.J.K.RowlingThe world-famous author J.K.Rowling has been accused of "transphobia", with a movement to "cancel" her beginning back in 2018 when she liked a tweet that referred to trans women as men in dresses", and then later mocked an article online that used the words "people who menstruate" instead of "women". Despite the fact that Rowling positioned herself as a LGBTQ+ ally, many people were outraged by her stance on issues related to trans people, and the heated debates continue to this day. Rowling rolled out an essay where she tried to elaborate her views, assuring that she "loves" trans people and knows a lot of them, but also underlining her strong support for the concept of biological sex.Most recently, she blasted the decision by Police Scotland to log in male rapists as women if they identify themselves that way. When she criticised the decision with a paraphrase of the quote from Orwell's "1984", she received a yet another wave of backlash - along with a lot of messages from people willing to side with her.Additionally, Rowling is no stranger to accusations of antisemitism either: earlier in January, goblins from her universe of "Harry Potter" were blasted for allegedly being based on antisemitic stereotypes. The scandal was quick to receive pushback from people who defended the author and argued that sometimes "a goblin is just a goblin".

https://sputniknews.com/20210206/marilyn-manson-used-n-word-and-drew-swastikas-on-my-bedside-table-claims-ex-gf-evan-rachel-wood-1081996971.html

https://sputniknews.com/20210728/dababy-in-hot-water-after-hiv-remarks-on-live-show-as-elton-john-dua-lipa-join-in-to-lambast-rapper-1083480794.html

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2022

Daria Bedenko

Daria Bedenko

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Daria Bedenko

us, cancel culture, whoopi goldberg
https://sputniknews.com/20220202/whoopi-goldberg-reportedly-suspended-from-the-view-for-two-weeks-over-holocaust-remarks-1092671957.html

Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From 'The View' for Two Weeks Over Holocaust Remarks

Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From 'The View' for Two Weeks Over Holocaust Remarks

Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended for two weeks from the daytime talk show "The View" for remarks she made regarding the Holocaust. The Academy Award winning... 02.02.2022, Sputnik International

2022-02-02T02:40+0000

2022-02-02T02:40+0000

2022-02-02T04:03+0000

us

suspension

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/06/1092052884_0:0:3345:1881_1920x0_80_0_0_a45528a5e6d5579b0574c0349741c5ee.jpg

Kim Godwin, ABC News president, released a statement on Tuesday explaining her decision to suspend Goldberg for two weeks. Sources have indicated that Goldbergs co-hosts on "The View," Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, and Ana Navarro are fuming over the networks decision. It is uncertain if Goldberg's co-hosts are disappointed by the network's slow reprimand or the severity of it.Goldberg opened the Tuesday episode of "The View" by apologizing, which came after she previously apologized for the remarks during Monday's episode of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert."The moment in question came on Monday's episode of "The View", when the topic veered to the subject of the graphic novel "Maus" being banned in a Tennessee school district. Goldberg offered an unfiltered opinion on the Holocaust and was met with resistance from fellow co-host Joy Behar. "Maus" depicts Art Spiegelman's father's experience as a Polish jew and Holocaust survivor. The iconic graphic novel has been described as a memoir, biography, history, fiction, and autobiography, and remains the only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.Goldberg has been a co-host and moderator on "The View" since 2007. The show is one of the most-watched daytime television programs in the United States.

us

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2022

Nevin Brown

Nevin Brown

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Nevin Brown

us, suspension
Coronado, CA (92118)

Today

Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High near 70F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies with a few passing clouds. Low 54F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Jim Pillen, a University of Nebraska regent and Republican candidate for governor, announced his endorsement by the Nebraska Farm Bureau on Tuesday. He traveled across the state to promote the endorsement, including a stop at the Western Nebraska Regional Airport in Scottsbluff.

Bureau president Mark McHargue and Sherry Vinton, chair of the bureaus political action committee NEFB-PAC, joined Pillen for the campaign stops. They introduced the candidate, lauding his agricultural background and his connections to the state.

One of the things I appreciate about Jim is he understands Nebraska is a really diverse state, and as you travel west, its really important that you have a governor that understands the needs and the differences of agriculture here in the Scottsbluff area versus eastern Nebraska, McHargue said. He said the bureau sent out a survey to their members across the state asked if and when they should endorse someone, and who they should endorse.

McHargue and Vinton did not say how many votes they got back, or what percentage of the vote Pillen received. However, they did say Pillen received overwhelming support. Vinton said the votes came from almost all of Nebraskas counties, which is unusual for such responses. The bureau has more than 58,000 members.

It was very, very clear that our members wanted to get involved early because they wanted to lead and ensure that that person has the best chance of getting elected governor, McHargue said. ...Our members felt like Jim Pillen was the guy to do that.

Pillen is far from the only candidate on the ballot. Half a dozen other candidates  most of them fellow Republicans  are also running for governor. Incumbent governor Pete Ricketts is unable to run again, as he is term-limited to just two terms in office.

Vinton said bureau members were encouraged to learn more about the candidates. The group held a forum featuring the candidates late last year.

(Pillen has) got the conviction and the courage to lead our state and help our people continue with the good life and make it the great life, she said.

Pillen spoke for only a short while at the Scottsbluff campaign stop. He described his history expanding his family pig farm and his goal of making Nebraska a global agricultural producer.

Im really, really excited about where we are in this state and about the future, Pillen said. ...I believe that the state of Nebraska, with our agriculture and with all of us working together, that we can thrive ... so that we can really grow our communities and grow great opportunities for our kids.

He focused greatly on what he called protecting adolescent minds. One aspect of this was the decision by the Nebraska State Board of Education to cancel proposed sexual education standards after significant parent backlash.

Pillen described the event as where some far-left folks invaded the state board of education and disguised a health standard with nothing but gross, inappropriate sex education. Nebraskan parents stood up across the state and  no pun intended being a pig guy  said this is hogwash and lets get this stuff stopped. He also said there has been significant pushback against critical race theory (CRT), adding that theories are to be debated, not taught, and (theres) certainly no place for it in K-12.

Pillen said people had launched political campaigns for other offices based on their opposition to the sex education standards and CRT.

These issues are on everybodys minds, he said, and Nebraskans are engaged.

Besides Scottsbluff, the campaign made other stops in South Sioux City, North Platte and Kearney. Nebraskas primary election is on May 10, and the general election will take place on Nov. 8.

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Jim Pillen and Charles W. Herbster, front-runners in the Republican primary race for Nebraska governor, are facing criticism for failing to commit to an upcoming debate hosted by two local news outlets.

Editors at KMTV and the Omaha World-Herald have been planning a debate among the top four Republican candidates, aiming to broadcast the debate live before early voting starts for the May 10 primary. KMTV took the lead on coordinating and communicating with the campaigns.

Geoff Roth, news director at KMTV, reached out to the campaigns for Pillen, Herbster, state Sen. Brett Lindstrom and former Sen. Theresa Thibodeau on Dec. 28 to schedule the event for March 21.

The email included a tentative set of rules: A journalist from each outlet would serve as moderator, it says, and ask "serious, issue-oriented questions." The candidates would each get a minute to respond, and there could be follow-up questions. Any candidate whos personally attacked would have a chance to respond.

The candidates would not be allowed notes or prepared statements, the rules read, but could take notes.

Roth said he received the Lindstrom campaigns acceptance within a week and Thibodeaus a few days later. But he never heard back from Herbster or Pillen after that email or a follow-up.

Last week, Roth said he called both campaigns. Pillens never followed up, he said, and Herbsters said the date wouldnt work. When Roth asked for alternative dates that would work, the staffer cited a busy schedule and also never followed up, he said.

At that point, Roth said organizers made the assumption that neither wanted to participate. So, he emailed the Lindstrom and Thibodeau campaigns Monday to tell them the event was on hold.

In the three years that Ive been the news director here, weve done several debates, Roth said, noting congressional and mayoral races. And weve never had top candidates running for a major office just not accept a proposal to do a debate.

Thibodeau was quick to condemn her opponents apparent dodge in a statement posted to Twitter.

Jim Pillen and Charles Herbsters unwillingness to participate in an open debate proves that they cannot adequately address the critical issues facing our state, she said.

As candidates who seek to lead Nebraska, we are responsible for communicating our positions to the voters. Pillen and Herbsters refusal begs the question: If they are incapable of a public debate, are they committed to addressing the concern of Nebraska voters.

In the statement, Thibodeaus campaign said the two front-runners wouldnt debate unless questions were provided in advance. However, Roth said that was never part of the discussion  the candidates' unwillingness to commit was interpreted to mean they didnt accept.

Lindstroms campaign said in a statement that the senators focus remains solely on the people of Nebraska  not any political distractions.

We look forward to upholding our commitments by participating in the debates ahead of us, answering the tough questions directly and meeting with the great people of our state throughout the campaign and beyond to share our message of a New Generation of Conservative Leadership, campaign manager Tori Mahoney said.

Pillen was questioned about the decision not to debate at a news conference in the Capitol on Tuesday. He was there to announce another big-ticket endorsement, this one from the Nebraska Farm Bureau. Gov. Pete Ricketts recently endorsed Pillen at a similar event.

Asked about the decision not to debate, Pillen, a University of Nebraska regent and livestock producer, mentioned debates at a Farm Bureau forum in December, a Cow Country Gubernatorial Forum at Hyannis High School in January, and another forum coming up this week in Lincoln.

Were getting our message out across the state, he said. And were getting it out eyeball-to-eyeball.

In a prepared statement after the news conference, campaign manager Kenny Zoeller said the two forums Pillen has participated in so far didnt provide questions in advance.

"Jim is the only candidate in this race to have campaigned in all 93 Nebraska counties, Zoeller said. We have never requested questions in advance as a condition of participation in a debate, and any assertion to the contrary is false.

Herbster campaign manager Ellen Keast also said the campaign never asked for questions and said they "technically never declined to participate in the debate." Asked if they were willing to participate in a debate, Keast said she had no comment.

Among other gubernatorial forums held so far was a town hall in Weeping Water that Pillen and Herbster did not attend, and a Lincoln County Cattlemen forum that Herbster attended but Pillen did not, according to KNOP-TV. Herbster and Pillen also did not attend a forum in November hosted by the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, according to the online news site Sandhills Express.

The state GOP announced in October that it would hold three debates, but has not announced any details.

Thursday, the Nebraska Chamber is hosting a forum in Lincoln for which candidates have been provided questions in advance. All four of the candidates are slated to attend, along with Democratic candidate Carol Blood and another Republican candidate, Breland Ridenour.

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Much of the good that Democrats do gets washed away in their tributes to identity politics. Their actual policy proposals tend to poll quite well, but then their leaders blow a lot of support when they announce hiring decisions that leave huge numbers out of consideration.

Yes, President Joe Biden campaigned promising to put a Black woman on the Supreme Court. No, he shouldnt have.

The problem is not nominating a Black woman to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. There are plenty of qualified legal scholars who are Black and female. The problem is making a big announcement that only Black women need apply.

One can argue that Republicans play that game, too. Right-wing mutterings about white superiority are an appeal to identity -- a rather ugly one, given this countrys painful racial history. But Republican strategists also cross the tracks and select nonwhites and women for visible positions, just with more delicacy.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan openly announced plans to nominate the first woman to the Supreme Court. He also shouldnt have, but it was notable that, until then, the court never had a member from the gender shared by half the American population. Fortunately, Sandra Day OConnor was a superb pick.

Other Republicans did the identity thing without taking out the trumpets. When Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice retired in 1991, George H.W. Bush replaced him with another Black justice, Clarence Thomas. And it was undoubtedly no coincidence that Donald Trump named a woman, Amy Coney Barrett, to the chair vacated by the feminist hero Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The political analysis of Bidens promise, mainly from the left, leans on the dubious assumption that Black women voters, a significant part of the Democrats base, need some kind of reward for their loyalty. (Such arguments often come with unhelpful carping about the things that Biden wanted to do for them but couldnt magically pull off with a split Congress.)

The idea that Black women vote identity rather than their interests is itself a bit insulting. It presupposes a lack of sophistication in making political calculations. Perhaps, just perhaps, these voters are more focused on who could serve their economic interests than on the appearance of the person theyd entrust with them.

If Black Democrats insisted on being represented by Blacks, the Democrats would have nominated Kamala Harris or Cory Booker in 2020, rather than Biden. Biden rose from the back of the primary pack thanks to the support of Rep. Jim Clyburn, the Black power broker from South Carolina. Clyburn saw Biden as an ally who could beat Trump, and he was right.

In recent elections, some Latino and Black support for Democratic candidates has edged down. So much for the allure of racial pandering.

The allegedly liberal-friendly media continues to encourage the race-obsessed labeling. After the recent New York mayoral election, it was almost funny to see the winner, Eric Adams, routinely described as the citys second Black mayor.

Fourteen years after Barack Obama became the first Black president, there is absolutely nothing remarkable about New Yorkers electing a mayor who is Black. The more notable part of the outcome was that Adams was arguably the most conservative of the Democratic candidates. Of course, describing a politicians race, ethnicity or gender is a lot less work than analyzing where he or she stands on the various issues.

I dislike references to Bidens age, but there is something dated about his habit to view race as either Black or white. There are no Asians on the court or American Indians. But if Biden insists on going the identity route, could he at least be subtle about it? Please.
Jim Pillen, a University of Nebraska regent and Republican candidate for governor, announced his endorsement by the Nebraska Farm Bureau on Tuesday. He traveled across the state to promote the endorsement, including a stop at the Western Nebraska Regional Airport in Scottsbluff.

Bureau president Mark McHargue and Sherry Vinton, chair of the bureaus political action committee NEFB-PAC, joined Pillen for the campaign stops. They introduced the candidate, lauding his agricultural background and his connections to the state.

One of the things I appreciate about Jim is he understands Nebraska is a really diverse state, and as you travel west, its really important that you have a governor that understands the needs and the differences of agriculture here in the Scottsbluff area versus eastern Nebraska, McHargue said. He said the bureau sent out a survey to their members across the state asked if and when they should endorse someone, and who they should endorse.

McHargue and Vinton did not say how many votes they got back, or what percentage of the vote Pillen received. However, they did say Pillen received overwhelming support. Vinton said the votes came from almost all of Nebraskas counties, which is unusual for such responses. The bureau has more than 58,000 members.

It was very, very clear that our members wanted to get involved early because they wanted to lead and ensure that that person has the best chance of getting elected governor, McHargue said. ...Our members felt like Jim Pillen was the guy to do that.

Pillen is far from the only candidate on the ballot. Half a dozen other candidates  most of them fellow Republicans  are also running for governor. Incumbent governor Pete Ricketts is unable to run again, as he is term-limited to just two terms in office.

Vinton said bureau members were encouraged to learn more about the candidates. The group held a forum featuring the candidates late last year.

(Pillen has) got the conviction and the courage to lead our state and help our people continue with the good life and make it the great life, she said.

Pillen spoke for only a short while at the Scottsbluff campaign stop. He described his history expanding his family pig farm and his goal of making Nebraska a global agricultural producer.

Im really, really excited about where we are in this state and about the future, Pillen said. ...I believe that the state of Nebraska, with our agriculture and with all of us working together, that we can thrive ... so that we can really grow our communities and grow great opportunities for our kids.

He focused greatly on what he called protecting adolescent minds. One aspect of this was the decision by the Nebraska State Board of Education to cancel proposed sexual education standards after significant parent backlash.

Pillen described the event as where some far-left folks invaded the state board of education and disguised a health standard with nothing but gross, inappropriate sex education. Nebraskan parents stood up across the state and  no pun intended being a pig guy  said this is hogwash and lets get this stuff stopped. He also said there has been significant pushback against critical race theory (CRT), adding that theories are to be debated, not taught, and (theres) certainly no place for it in K-12.

Pillen said people had launched political campaigns for other offices based on their opposition to the sex education standards and CRT.

These issues are on everybodys minds, he said, and Nebraskans are engaged.

Besides Scottsbluff, the campaign made other stops in South Sioux City, North Platte and Kearney. Nebraskas primary election is on May 10, and the general election will take place on Nov. 8.

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The Tan Cang Sai Gon (Saigon Newport) Corporation (SNP) served seven container ships on the Lunar New Year's eve (January 31) at its Tan Cang-Cat Lai Port in Thu Duc city, Ho Chi Minh City.

Tan Cang-Cat Lai is a specialised container port which is ranked 29th among the largest and most modern container ports around the globe.

According to the corporation, more than 910 workers are on duty every shift at the port during the Lunar New Year festival, which receives around 10 vessels per day.

The recovery of the food service industry in big export markets of the Southeast Asian country such as the US, Europe, Japan, and China, is expected to facilitate the export growth prospect of Vietnamese seafood.

Despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, SNP fulfilled its business targets last year, handling over 9.2 million TEUs or 130 million tonnes of goods, up 4.7 percent year-on-year, accounting for more than 55 percent of the total container throughput of seaports across the country.

Tan Cang Cat Lai port alone handled 5.3 million TEUs.

On the occasion of Tet, the corporation donated 2.4 billion VND (105,960 USD) to HCM Citys fund for the poor./.
Coronado, CA (92118)

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Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High near 70F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

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Dream big and you can do whatever you set your mind to were messages that Rockie Lynne shared with those attending the premiere Music Speaks series, which will be held each month through the end of the year.

This program of the Childrens Hope Alliance and Heartstrings Therapeutic Music & Art Program in conjunction with their collaborative partner, the Iredell Arts Council, was held Jan. 27 from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Gracie Building on the Barium Springs Campus.

Paula Miller, Heartstrings program manager, welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming out for this first event of the year. She likewise thanked Susan Rash as she noted this was really her idea for us to have a monthly series where we could bring in musicians that could talk about their personal inspiring stories and their music and share that with our community and especially the kids and families here. There was no better way to kick this off than to have Rockie Lynne perform first for us and speak tonight.

After Miller shared thanks to the Iredell Arts Council for their partnership and to the Exchange Club of Mooresville-Lake Norman for providing refreshments, and making introductions, Lynne took the stage and expressed his thanks for the opportunity to visit with them, noting the flood of emotions that were coming back being in this room, which is where his story began.

It was around Nov. 16 or 17, 1964, Lynne said, that he was found outside the door of this building when he was around 3 or 4 days old, wrapped in a blanket and placed in a basket.

This room, he said, used to be a laundry, and then it became a storage building and then a place where events were held. During one of those events, Lynne said he heard a man playing the guitar and singing. He pointed to the actual place he was sitting at the time and said, I knew right then that for the rest of my life I was going to play guitar. I was going to sing. I learned what I wanted to do right here in this room.

Lynne looked around the room and told the crowd, especially the young people in attendance, that he felt it was important for him to say that you can do this. I dont have any special talent. I dont have any gift. I just have a really serious, fierce work ethic, and I believe in you. And I believe that you can do anything that you set your mind to.

During the sharing of his story, one which he didnt tell for many years of his life but one now that he says he doesnt shy away from, Lynne told how it was tough being at the home as they had hundreds of kids to take care of, but if it wasnt for them, he would not be here. He told of his being adopted as a young boy, around the age of 4- or 5 and how when he was in the seventh grade, he was able to raise the money by mowing yards to purchase his very first guitar. He taught himself to play by listening to Kiss and Jimi Hendrix records, which he bought from a church yard sale.

After graduating from North Iredell High School, he entered the United States Army and served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne. He shared that he would like to say he entered the military because of he was patriotic and wanted to serve, but the truth was and the truth is that was just my next best option.

Upon graduating from jumping school in Georgia, Lynne told the story of receiving his wings and the sergeant who pinned those wings on looked him right in the eyes and said, Son, if you can do this, you can do anything. And that was the first time that an adult had ever said anything positive to me. The first time that someone ever said, you know what, son, you are as big as you want to be. Dream big!

When he left the Army, Lynne decided to move to California and be, as he said, Eddie Van Halen, except taller and more handsome. That was my plan. He attended guitar school there and taught at the school for several years and auditioned for 100 rock bands. He shared the story of auditioning for a band and while he knew he played well, he didnt get the job probably because of the things he would not participate in, like drinking and drugs. This, he said, led to a point he wanted to stress, which was to stay away from things that will hurt you. Stay away from any sort of thing that will keep you from reaching your goals.

Lynne later moved to Nashville where he said with a smile, his plan was to become Tim McGraw, but taller and more handsome.

When he signed to a record deal from Universal Records, Lynne met Susan, the senior vice president of publicity, who would in time become his wife. It was her job to tell the recording artists stories, and it was she who got Lynne to share his whole story with her.

The founder of the Tribute to the Troops, Lynne and Susan are now dedicated to bringing comfort to Gold Star families, those who have lost their children in service to their country. The organization has purchased college scholarships for 112 children in five states, it was shared.

Interspersed between the stories, Lynne shared multiple songs, both those he has written as well as others, with the group and as he concluded his program, he pulled a challenge coin from his pocket. The coin had the 82nd Airborne Unit on it and the combat infantry symbol. He shared this with two little sisters, and told them to take this home and if you ever doubt for one second that you dont have everything it takes, put this in your hand and know that I came from that door step and did it, nowhere near what you can do.

A time of questions and answered followed, which will be the format for following programs as well. After sharing a final song, Lynne thanked all for the chance to come and be with them, and Miller thank him for sharing his story, which she noted came straight from your heart and we appreciate all your words of wisdom.

Everyone was invited to come back Feb. 24 for the next program at which time Eli Yacinthe would be performing.
Russia has lost export sales for its new Su-35 fighter to Algeria, Egypt and Indonesia because of economic sanctions Russia has been under since 2014. Exports of more than fifty Su-35s have been delayed or cancelled by these three countries, though the latest version of the original Su-27; the single-seat Su-35, is good for 6,000 flight hours and has some stealth capabilities added. The Su-35 was an apparently successful effort to offer some competition, as a Generation 4.5 fighter, for the American F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters, which set the standard for Generation 5 aircraft. Russias Su-57 effort to build a Gen 5 fighter failed but a lot of the tech worked and that was transferred to the SU-30s to produce the Su-35, Su-30MKI, Su-30SM and Su-30SMs. The Su-35 is an impressive piece of work. It is a 34-ton fighter that is more maneuverable than the original, 33 ton, Su-27, and has much better electronics. It can cruise at above the speed of sound. It also costs at least fifty percent more than the Su-27. That would be some $60 million, for a barebones model as sold to the Russian Air Force. This is about what a top-of-the-line F-16 costs. The Su-27 was originally developed to match the F-15, which is larger than the single engine F-16. The larger size of the Su-27/35 allows designers to do a lot more with it in terms of modifications and enhancements.

The Su-35 has some stealth capabilities, or at least can be less detectable to most fighter aircraft radars. Russia claims the Su-35 has a useful life of 6,000 flight hours and engines good for 4,000 hours. Russia promises world-class avionics, plus a very pilot-friendly cockpit. The use of many thrusters and fly-by-wire will produce an aircraft even more maneuverable than Su-30s (which were Su-27s tweaked to be extremely agile). The Su-35 was in development for two decades before it was declared ready for production in 2005. But even then, there were problems with the new engines that gave it its superior performance. Russia says the engine problems are solved, but only time will tell if that is true.

The Su-35 is not meant to be a direct rival for the F-22 because the Russian aircraft is not nearly as stealthy. The Su-35 carries a 30mm autocannon (with 150 rounds) and up to eight tons of munitions, hanging from 12 hard points. This reduces stealthiness, which the F-22 and F-35 get around by using an internal bay for bombs and missiles. But if the maneuverability and advanced electronics of the Su-35 live up to the promises, the aircraft would be more than a match for every fighter out there except the F-22. Since the Su-35 is to sell for well under $100 million each, there should be a lot of buyers.

There was a lot of interest, and orders from Algeria, Egypt and Indonesia. But then sanctions on Russia led to delays in delivering on schedule. There were also problems with the radar and some other components. Algeria, Egypt and Indonesia are looking at other modern fighters while telling Russia they will restore some of their orders if the Su-35 becomes available with the same performance the demonstration aircraft displayed.
In 2021 the Islamic terrorists continued to fade while tribal violence was responsible for more casualties than Islamic terrorists, whose main activity now is staying alive as bandits. Back in 2004, Islamic terrorist violence in the northeast appeared and created some lasting problems. There are still millions of refugees plus substantial economic damage in the northeast (Borno State), where it all began. There seems to be no end in sight because of the local corruption, but more competent leadership in the security forces reduced the violence. All this was caused by a local group of Taliban wannabes calling themselves Boko Haram. Their activity in the capital of Borno State grew for a decade until in 2014 it seemed unstoppable. It took over a year for the government to finally muster sufficient military strength to cripple but not destroy Boko Haram. This did not get much media attention outside Africa, even though in 2014 Boko Haram killed more people than ISIL did in Syria and Iraq. The main reason for Boko Haram gains in 2014 and 2015 was corruption in the army, which severely crippled effective counterterror efforts. By itself Boko Haram was too small to have much impact on a national scale but the inability to deal with this problem put a spotlight on the corruption that has hobbled all progress in Nigeria for decades. A new president (Muhammadu Buhari. a former general who is Moslem) was elected in early 2015 and made progress in changing the corrupt army culture but that is still a work in progress even though he was reelected in early 2019. Two terms as president are the limit and Buhari is old and in declining health. It is unclear who might prevail in the 2023 elections.

While Islamic terrorism continues to fade as a source of mayhem, there are too many bandits and tribal feuds, not enough oil money and too much corruption creating growing unrest throughout the country. This is especially bad down south in the oil producing region (the Niger River Delta). Violence against oil facilities continues. Worse, local politicians and business leaders had taken over the oil theft business. Northern Moslems want more control over the federal government and the oil money. In northern and central Nigeria, you have increasing violence as nomadic Moslem herders move south and clash with largely Christian farmers over land use and water supplies. For the last few years these tribal feuds have killed more people than Boko Haram and that trend continues. The situation is still capable of sliding into regional civil wars over money and political power. Corruption and ethnic/tribal/religious rivalries threaten to trigger, at worse, another civil war and, at least, more street violence and public anger.

Survival Of the Prudent

In the northeast (Borno State) some Islamic terrorist gunmen have been attacking civilians while avoiding the army for over a year. There are several locations that have been hotspots of activity up there and one of them is the town of Chibok and the nearby Sambisa Forest. This is where Boko Haram raided a girls boarding school in 2014 and kidnapped 276 students. Eight years later 110 of the victims are still unaccounted for. Kidnapping for ransom, wives or slave labor continues. Extortion by Boko Haram and especially ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) has become more organized and constant. Islamic terrorists come and go as they please while the security forces only show up when they have an opportunity to attack an Islamic terrorist base or large concentration of gunmen.

These attacks make spectacular headlines, but are rare. In these operations troops kill, wound or capture hundreds of the Islamic terrorists while also capturing weapons and camps as well as freeing civilians being held for ransom. These tactics have not destroyed Boko Haram and ISWAP, but it has eliminated commanders who did not pay sufficient attention to security and concealment. Sambisa remains a popular hideout for ISWAP groups. The military uses air reconnaissance and regular multi-day ground operations to act on air recon discoveries and tips from locals. That still works, but not against the veteran Boko Haram commanders who know how to avoid ending up on an army target map.

ISWAP is trying to gain sufficient control of population and territory to establish a physical manifestation of their caliphate. That is what the West Africa Province in ISWAP implies. This was a reality in the Middle East and Nigeria in 2014 but faded after a few years because the provinces could not survive against the military might of established nations and the unpopularity of ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) rule with most Moslems. Boko Haram has been absorbed into ISWAP but not before learning this when they tried to establish Islamic terror operations elsewhere in the Moslem north. Outside of northern Borno State no one wanted anything to do with Islamic radicalism. The secular gangsters and tribal militias would, at best, allow a live-and-let-live policy towards Islamic radicals and would fight back if Islamic terrorists from northern Borno sought to move in. That rarely happened because the local gangsters were able to recruit a lot of the Islamic terrorists from Borno because business was better when you didnt add the complication of religious fanaticism.

Islamic terrorism survives in Borno State because that is where it began, in response to the violent government response the initial, non-violent, Boko Haram generated. Boko Haram was always about reducing corruption and improving the economy in Borno. For governments and gangsters, its all about profits and power. ISWAP has evolved into a profitable criminal enterprise with a fading veneer of religious fanaticism.

January 24, 2022: In the northeast (Borno State) ISWAP declared Gudumbali, a town 125 kilometers north of Maiduguri, the state capital. Maiduguri was the birthplace of Boko Haram two decades ago. Gudumbali normally has a population of about 10,000 and is the capital of the local Guzamala district, which covers 2,500 square kilometers. Thats about 3.5 percent of Borno State. Guzamala contains an even smaller fraction of the state population. Guzamala lies astride a paved road and is a local market town. It has been occupied by Boko Haram before but after 2017 the Islamic terrorists could not hold it for any length 0f time. The army would roll down the highway and chase Boko Haram out, doing a little more damage to the town with each visit. Gudumbali is in a region where ISWAP extortion and control of markets and road traffic, where bribes, or taxes must be paid to get past an ISWAP checkpoint. ISWAP will even issue tax receipts.

The Gudumbali announcement was not a complete surprise, and seen as part of a plan by ISWAP leadership to complete its defeat and absorption of Boko Haram in 2021. By the end of 2021 it appeared that Boko Haram was gone and ISWAP was hustling to retain as many Boko Haram members as possible. Over the last few years Boko Haram and ISWAP turned much of northern Borno into an economic wasteland, full of local self-defense groups, anti-terrorist vigilantes and a much more effective military. The Islamic terrorists experienced heavy personnel losses because of a lack of new recruits while suffering higher losses from sickness and desertion. A combination of hunger, fewer places to loot and more danger from the security forces or armed civilians Boko Haram and its more radical spinoff ISWAP a less attractive career option for the many young Moslem men who are poor, unemployed, and angry. The state government had also noted that in January ISWAP was establishing a long-term presence in some villages and towns.

A major source of disappointment with Islamic terrorism was the civil war within Boko Haram, which escalated in 2021 to the point where there were major Boko Haram and ISWAP losses from desertion, particularly those true believers who had family members with them, surrendering to the army. This was encouraged by an army process for housing and sustaining surrendered Islamic terrorists until they could move on. This encouraged more Islamic terrorists to officially surrender rather than just walk away, which many still do. By the end of 2021 about 20,000 Boko Haram and ISWAP men, including family members living with them in remote camps, had turned themselves in. This is remarkable because the total was only 8,000 in August. The rapid increase in surrenders overwhelmed the system and exhausted the resources available. Some of the former Islamic terrorists went back to the group they deserted and were accepted. This led to rumors that the massive increase in surrenders was largely a ploy by those clever Islamic terrorist fellows to let the army provide paid vacations for themselves and their families. That was a myth, with an element of reality. Most of those surrendering, especially the women and children, were starving and many were ill. The family members wanted nothing to do with returning to life in the forest. The adult men were a different matter and ISWAP leaders increased the number of raids and attacks. The only Islamic terrorists still active were the most fanatic and experienced ones. Most of these attacks were successful because the government were reporting the defeat of Islamic terrorism in Borno. Boko Haram was gone and replaced by a smaller but more determined and experienced ISWAP.

One area where ISWAP excels is in exploiting the mass media and the recent offensive was organized to gain maximum positive media coverage. Its a big gamble for ISWAP but thats one feature of ISIL operations; taking big risks and going down fighting it the gamble is lost. The current plan is apparently designed to minimize those losses. Several recent encounters between ISWAP raiders and local militias have led to ISWAP retreating when it was apparent that the locals were steadfast and that army reinforcements were on the way. The tribal militias and army are now more adaptable and have more resources in the form of better air support (surveillance and airstrikes) and more flexibility in modifying tactics.
Accused of pointing a gun at an off-duty deputy who followed her SUV after it struck his vehicle, a Wythe County woman is facing several felony charges, including attempted murder.

Melissa Gail Huffman, 50, of Max Meadows was arrested on Friday evening and charged with attempted malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, felony hit and run, misdemeanor failure to stop at the scene of an accident (two counts), and driving while intoxicated. A warrant charging her with attempted second-degree murder was taken out on Monday, according to Wythe County Chief Deputy Anthony Cline.

Cline said Investigator E.W. Kirby was visiting family on Danner Road on Friday when Huffmans SUV struck his parked vehicle, kept going and hit another parked vehicle.

Cline said Kirby, who called 911 to report the collision, followed the SUV to the Super 8 Hotel on Fort Chiswell Road. Another motorist whose vehicle had also been hit and was following the SUV started yelling at Huffman, the chief deputy said.

Cline said Kirby identified himself as a deputy, and the woman pulled out a revolver and pointed it at him. Kirby grabbed the gun and Huffman cocked the hammer, Cline said.

The other motorist then went through the SUVs passenger side and ripped the gun away, Cline said.

Kirby got the woman on the ground, and the motorist retrieved the officers handcuffs from his vehicle, the chief deputy said.

In his criminal complaint, State Trooper C.T. Viars said Huffman, who said she had two drinks of beer, was unruly when he arrived.

Due to the unruly behavior, I Trooper Viars was unable to perform field sobriety tests, he wrote.

He said Huffmans blood alcohol content was .05 when she was later tested.

Self-employed and with no criminal record, Huffman was given a court-appointed attorney on Monday during her video arraignment.

Shes being held without bond in the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin.

Her preliminary hearings been set for March 3.
BRISTOL, Va.  After its downtown lease was canceled in August 2021 because the building was sold, Bristol Ballet has begun a series of renovations that will transform the building that used to be Athens Steak House into its new home.

Michele Plescia, artistic director of Bristol Ballet, is excited to start a new chapter. But shes also aware that the new building is in desperate need of repair, and the renovations will come at a cost, at a time that is not ideal.

This could not be a worse time to do something like this. I mean, we are excited, but on the other hand, with the pandemic and the chain supply issues and the cost of materials doubling and tripling, were gonna have to raise a lot of money, Plescia said. Were looking at a minimum of $500,000, probably more to get all of it done.

Want to help?  You can contribute to Bristol Ballets capital campaign, Raising the Barre, by contacting Moira Frazier at mfrazier@bristolballet.org or calling 276-669-6051. You can also get involved in the Buy a Brick fundraiser, through which individuals or businesses can have their names inscribed on a brick that will go into the renovated building for $150.  The Bristol Ballets next production will be Cinderella, which is set to take place May 14 at the Paramount Theatre.

The new location, at 330 Buford St. in Bristol, Virginia, is one level and totals about 10,000 square feet.

Karen Tillison, a member of the Bristol Ballet board, sees the abrupt end to the lease as a blessing in disguise. She said shes excited that the organization will finally have a place of its own to call home.

Im excited, first of all, this building will finally be a building that the Bristol Ballet after 74 years, that we will own. You know, its a huge step, because for 74 years they (we) rented or leased property, Tillison said.

History

Bristol Ballet, a nonprofit dance school and performance company, was founded in 1948 by Constance Hardinge, who moved to the Tri-Cities region from New York to work as a substitute dancing instructor at Sullins College, which closed in 1976. She quickly fell in love with the area.

Under Hardinges guidance, the organization became one of the nations most respected regional dance companies. Tillison, who was one of Hardinges students as a young girl, remembers her as caring yet demanding.

Discipline is definitely something she instilled in us, and we respected her, and you just didnt misbehave or cut up or laugh or joke around. I mean, she wasnt mean at all, Tillison said. She always respected her students, but you just knew you had a place to be, and you were there to learn.

Hardinge died in 1992, but her legacy lives on through her students. Some have gone on to achieve great things in the world of ballet, while others applied that discipline she taught to their everyday lives.

Joey Jackson, 73, who was a student in 1961, went on to have a career as a biology professor and dance instructor at Sullins College. He recalled a meeting between his mother and Hardinge during which they arranged a deal for him and a friend to attend classes.

He summed up the three lessons that Hardinge drilled into him.

She offered to give us classes for free if we would help out around the studio, you know, sweeping the floors and doing odd jobs, so we did it, Jackson wrote in an email to the Bristol Herald Courier. Work hard, pay attention to detail and sit up straight!

In 2004, Plescia, who was also Hardinges student, returned to Bristol to take on the role of artistic director. She has been in charge ever since. Tillison believes the legacy of Hardinge lives on through Plescia and what she teaches her students today.

I think Michelle really exhibits and took from Miss Hardinge, Tillison said. Were lucky to have her, and I hope that when, I dont know when she plans to retire, but I hope whoever replaces her that well be as fortunate to have someone to carry on her legacy and Miss Hardinges legacy as well because, you know, I just feel like that she learned a lot from Miss Hardinge.  Therefore, I think that that legacy continues.

Today

The age range of the students is children as young as 3 years old to adults over 40. Currently, there are 80 students enrolled, a drop from the pre-pandemic total that was closer to 100.

Bristol Ballet has performed The Nutcracker every year since 1966. However, due to COVID, the organization had to get creative to continue the tradition.

Emerson Gillispie, 15, who was cast in the leading role of Clara in the 2021 performance at the Paramount Center in December, remembers what it was like to film their performance of the show in 2020 and take ballet through Zoom calls. She now has a newfound appreciation for their studio space.

The adrenaline wasnt as much as it was, as it would normally be. If you mess up during a live performance, you can just carry on, but if you kind of like messed up in the other take, you have another one, Gillespie said. Zoom, it was just so discouraging. I felt like there was just like nothing there, and then as soon as we were back in the studio, it was just, it was so good. I think I had a newer appreciation for the space and  just being there in general because  it was taken from us. We just had nothing else to do. We were just at home, and we were stuck in these little spaces to do anything, and it was just awful.

Gillespie spoke about the hours of practice she and her fellow dancers put in on a weekly basis and how it has taken some time to get accustomed to Bristol Ballets new home.

It just depends on really the role and depending if its The Nutcracker season or not, cause (during) Nutcracker season on Saturdays Im there from 9 to 5.  On regular weeks, Im usually there from like 4 to 5, Gillespie said. At first, I was kind of hesitant about it (the new Bristol Ballet studio), but every day it just becomes more and more like home.

Renovations

Currently, Bristol Ballet is operating out of a temporary studio on one side of the building. Much of the energy is going toward dismantling the old material in the building.

A big part of the plan is the creation of three dance studios with the dining room of the restaurant being converted into the main studio, which will make the parking lot by that dining area the main entrance. Plescia is happy that there will now be three studios.

Were thrilled though because weve always only had two, so well have at least one more, she said. So we can offer more classes and do more outreach to the community.

What used to be the kitchen will be converted into administrative offices, as well as a waiting area for the kids and what used to be the Athens Steak House office will become the ballets sewing room.

An important change will be replacing all the floors in the studio rooms with cushioned floors that Plescia explained are necessary for the safety of the dancers.

This is Pergo on top of concrete. So, we need to do something to have, its called a sprung floor, so, theres a little bit of give when they jump, and its not so hard on the joints and the bones, Plescia said.

Bristol Ballet has kicked off a capital campaign called Raising the Barre. To start the first phase of renovations, the organization needs $50,000 to $100,000 in donations because a total of $300,000 is needed.

There is also a Buy a Brick campaign through which individuals can pay $150 to have their name written on a brick that will go into the renovated building.

The time frame for the renovations will be based on the amount of time it takes to raise the funds to complete the two phases of construction and how long it takes Burwil to get the materials. The total amount needed to complete both phases is $500,000. However, that number could change due to supply chain issues and the rise in costs due to COVID.

Those at Bristol Ballet hope to start the first phase renovations in the next year.

Plescia said she is grateful to the Bristol Ballet community for their efforts in helping make their new space a home where students can thrive and grow.

Thank goodness for our parents. Weve got several parents who have pretty much adopted us. They helped clean this place, and it was in dire need of a good cleaning because it hadnt been operational in five years, Plescia said. The community is really important to us, and thats who we serve. We serve children and students in the community and then audience members. We want people to, not just to come see the shows because we have one, but to experience the art and usually that has a blossoming effect.

Burwil Construction is handling the renovations, which will be done in two phases. This means that at some point, as renovations take off, Plescia and her students will have to relocate once more from their current temporary studio space to another space in the building. While giving a tour of the building last week, Plescia described what she imagines their new home will look like in the future.

This is the main dining room (of the Athens Steak House), and what we want to do is pick out all the middle support beams and relocate all the ducts and electrical, so itll be a nice wide open space. This will be our main studio.  Were so excited.
Stop us if you have heard this before, but Amity is the new No. 1 team in the GameTimeCT Top 10 Baseball Poll. The Spartans claim the top spot after previous No. 1 Warde dropped a 2-1 decision to...
ABINGDON, Va.  Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin visited the least vaccinated region of the commonwealth Monday to seek relief from a federal vaccination mandate for health care workers and gather input on promoting more widespread vaccination for COVID-19.

Youngkin and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Monday wrote to federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure asking for a waiver or other temporary relief from its mandate that health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Locally, that mandate could force Ballad Health System to terminate about 1,000 unvaccinated workers, or about 8% of its total workforce. Concurrently, just 47.4% of all Southwest Virginia residents are fully vaccinated, a rate that is 20 percentage points below the rest of the state and comparable to the rate in neighboring East Tennessee.

Were having a crisis right now with staffing. We had it before the pandemic, and here we are with a real challenge, Youngkin said during a stop in Abingdon. Were asking her [Brooks-LaSure] to give us an extension or just a break in forcing our rural hospitals to terminate healthy workers when they havent gotten the vaccine. Weve got a staffing crisis, and the last thing we need to do is make it even worse.

The letter reads, in part, Rural and state health care facilities in our states are facing an urgent staffing crisis that we believe necessitates relief from the rule. As you undoubtedly know, our healthcare facilities are strained. After two years of the pandemic and the temporary surge in cases related to the omicron variant, some are even at a breaking point. Unfortunately, the CMS interim rule compounds this problem, potentially forcing thousands of healthcare professionals to be fired for failing to comply with the rules requirement to be vaccinated.

We write today to respectfully request a limited waiver from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services interim rule on COVID-19 health care staff vaccinations, the letter concludes.

Last week, Ballad Health initiated crisis staffing, meaning employees who were positive for the virus but asymptomatic, or who no longer tested positive, should return to work immediately, as more than 800 workers were out with a COVID diagnosis or awaiting test results.

Under the mandate issued last November, CMS is requiring all health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they work at a facility that receives funds from either federal health insurance program. Levine said last week said the potential impacts would be catastrophic.

I appreciate the governor taking the same position we have, which is lets be logical and reasonable with the regulatory structure here, Levine said. Why do you want to create a worse staffing problem than we have? One has been inflicted by COVID; the other is potentially going to be self-inflicted. I think it would be a big mistake.

Additionally, Attorney General Jason Miyares intends to join a lawsuit filed in Louisiana by about 20 states challenging the mandate, Youngkin said.

The governor also visited Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon to hear firsthand about staffing issues and participated in a 40-minute town hall-style conversation with regional health care, elected and business leaders about promoting vaccinations.

Both events excluded members of the news media.

We want to encourage people to get the vaccine, but we also want to understand why folks are hesitant to get it, Youngkin said. I think there is an opportunity to more clearly explain the benefits of the vaccine. We just saw that 85% of the folks in the hospital are unvaccinated, and 90% of folks in the ICU are unvaccinated, and 95% of those on ventilators are unvaccinated.

Youngkin said he and members of his family are fully vaccinated, but he has no plans to mandate it.

Asked about suggestions from the town hall, Youngkin mentioned four.

One is to acknowledge there have been changes in views along the way. Sometimes, people lose faith in government spokespeople, the governor said. Second is to recognize telling people they must do things sometimes is the worst way to get someone to do something. And finally, local folks who people know and trust sometimes are the best spokespeople. I am hoping Virginians are learning to trust me. When I said Im going to do things, I go do them. I hope that folks, when I encourage them to go get the vaccine, will listen to me.

Another theme, Youngkin said, is to encourage more dialogue between people and their doctor or pharmacist.

Its really exciting to have a commitment to this from Richmond, and a new perspective never hurts anything, said Breanne Forbes Hubbard, population health specialist with Mount Rogers Health District. I really appreciate the governor and his team coming down here and showing that this is a priority and really taking to heart some of the successes weve had and lessons from the challenges weve had. He and his team really seem committed to helping Southwest Virginia.
Four drive-by shootings have been reported on two different days within 12 days of each other in the Longview-Kelso area.

Friday shooting

A juvenile was shot in the leg Friday night in a gang-related drive-by shooting involving two vehicles on Washington Way and 28th Avenue, police say.

No arrests have been made but a suspect has been identified, said Longview Capt. Branden McNew.

The driver of the victims vehicle took the 17-year-old male to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, Longview police say.

Police received a report of the alleged shooting around 10 p.m. Friday. A dark colored passenger car was allegedly following the victims light colored passenger car on Washington Way and the shooting occurred at the intersection at 28th Avenue.

Several people were in both vehicles and bullet casings were found at the intersection and a bullet was found in the victims car, police say. No one from the victims vehicle fired gunshots.

Jan. 16 shootings

Twelve days before, four young men were arrested in Rainier for allegedly shooting into occupied homes and a driving vehicle in three locations in Longview and Kelso. No one was injured and it is unknown if those shootings were gang related.

Police received reports of a light-colored, four-door sedan leaving the sites of two drive-by home shootings early Jan. 16. A third shooting the same day hit another driving vehicle, Kelso Capt. Rich Fletcher said.

Fletcher could not disclose whether the suspects and people shot at knew each other.

The Jan. 16 shooting reports occurred:

at 1:13 a.m. in the 900 block of Cedar Street in South Kelso,

at 1:53 a.m. near Long Avenue and West Cowlitz Way, in Kelso and

at 2:13 a.m. in the 4100 block of Ocean Beach Highway, outside Longview in Cowlitz County.

Fletcher said officers later learned the first incident occurred a few blocks from the reported location, in the 700 block of South Ninth Avenue, in Kelso.

The people arrested in the Jan. 16 shootings were Mateo Emery Chavez, 18, Andres Gabriel Gonzalez, 18, Peterson P. Kasa, 18, and Riki Aron Vasquez Bracken, 20, for suspicion of attempted first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, Columbia County Sheriff Brian Pixley said.

Cowlitz County deputies used their vehicles to force the fleeing car to stop, just after the car allegedly sped over the Lewis and Clark Bridge into Oregon and attempted to enter U.S. Highway 30 the wrong way, Fletcher said.

This story was updated to confirm where the bullet and bullet casings were found prior to the articles print publication.

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A new variant of BRATA malware can steal money and reset phone.

As many as 85% smartphones run on an Android operating systems. Unlike Apple iOS operating system, the former is an open source based system which allows users to install apps from third parties making it more vulnerable to cybercrime. That is why Google has been warning people of malware that may infect their phone through such route and one such malware that is posing great danger to phone users is BRATA (Brazilian Remote Access Tool, Android). The BRATA malware was originally identified in 2019 and now it has surfaced with a new variant that can steal money from bank apps and wipe out data from Android devices.

Researchers have warned people that the new variant of the malware is capable of performing a factory reset on the targeted device and can lead to a complete wipeout of data without the victims permission or knowledge.

BRATA can steal money via e-banking apps

An IT security researcher at Milan, Italy-based fraud-management firm Cleafy, stated that the malware aims at stealing money from the victims bank account by accessing the bank apps installed on the device.If successful, it then factory reset the phone to divert the victims attention. The victim ends up losing all the data from their phone.

Cleafy also noted that BRATAs new variant can even track GPS and keylogging. This means, the malware can, not only track the users location, but also access data based on their activity on the infected device. According to the report, BRATA is initially a banking trojan that can remotely access users Android devices and steal their money via e-banking apps. However, the new variant can remotely factory reset an Android smartphone following malicious activities.

The researchers discovered the new BRATA variant in November 2021 and the list of targeted countries includes Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Latin America.

How to secure your device from BRATA malware?

If you are an Android user, its better to avoid downloading apps from third-party app stores. It is also advised that if you are downloading an app from Play Store, do check the permissions it seeks.

It is highly recommended to use reliable anti-malware software on your phone. This will keep your device updated and regularly scanned for potential threats. But remember, anti-malware software is not always successful, so you should try and not download any third party apps without thoroughly verifying them. This 2-pronged strategy should give you good results.
Phones launching in February 2022: Galaxy S22 series, Redmi Note 11 series, Oppo Reno 7 series and more.

Phones launching in February 2022! There are plenty coming our way. After a fairly busy January, smartphone manufacturers are coming back with a slew of launches across all price points. The biggest launch of the year from Samsung is happening in February 2022  the Galaxy S22 Ultra is going to be the biggest announcement of the year with its Galaxy Note DNA. Other than Samsung, there are some high profile launches from other brands also happening.

Within this week, it is Oppo starting the month with the Reno 7 and Reno 7 Pro. In the coming weeks, it will be Samsung taking charge with the Galaxy S22 series, followed by the Redmi Note 11 series and Vivo T1 5G. A couple of unconfirmed launches are also coming in from iQOO and Infinix later this month.

Phones launching in February 2022

Note that some of the launch dates are yet to be revealed/confirmed.

Oppo Reno 7 series

The Oppo Reno 7 series is launching on February 4 and so far, the leaks have suggested two models with slightly different specifications. The Reno 7 is said to be based on the Reno 7 SE from China relying on a MediaTek chip whereas the Reno 7 Pro is expected to be the same phone ported from the Chinese market. The prices are expected to be on the same lines as the Reno 6 series from last year.

Realme 9 Pro series

The Realme 9 Pro and Realme 9 Pro+ are launching soon in India, with Realme already teasing some aspects of the phones. The Realme 9 Pro+ will have a heart rate sensor embedded in the fingerprint sensor. Rumours also suggest a 90Hz AMOLED display, some high-end camera hardware, and a 5G chipset. The Realme 9 Pro is expected to feature a 120Hz LCD display, and a 4G-only chipset. Realme does not say anything about the Realme 9 yet.

Galaxy S22 series

Samsung is all set to launch the Galaxy S22 series on February 9, and leaks have already revealed everything there is to know about these. The Galaxy S22 Ultra will have the S Pen integrated but get the S21 Ultras rear camera system. The regular S22 and S22 Plus will retain similar design and specs from the Galaxy S21 series, with minor updates to cameras and chipset.

Redmi Note 11 series

The Redmi Note 11 series is also launching on February 9, with two models in the pipeline. There is a Redmi Note 11 with a Snapdragon 680 4G chip, while the Note 11S gets a Helio G96 chipset. Both phones are expected to get a 90Hz AMOLED display, 108MP main camera for the Note 11S, and come with MIUI 13 out of the box. No hints on the pricing yet.

Vivo T1 5G

Vivo is also launching its T1 5G on February 9. The Vivo T1 5G has been confirmed to get a waterdrop notch on the display, a gradient rear, a triple camera setup, and promising fast performance. Vivo is yet to confirm whether the T1 5G in India will be based on the Dimensity 700 series chipset or the Snapdragon 778G chipset.

iQOO 9, iQOO 9 Pro

The iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro are expected to break cover in India this month. iQOOs teaser confirms the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip for the iQOO 9 Pro, a 120W fast wired charging, a 4700mAh battery, and a dual X-axis linear vibration song. The iQOO 9 is expected to be a watered-down variant of the Pro model, relying on last years Snapdragon 888 chipset.

Infinix Zero 5G

The iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro are expected to break cover in India this month. iQOOs teaser confirms the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip for the iQOO 9 Pro, a 120W fast wired charging, a 4700mAh battery, and a dual X-axis linear vibration song. The iQOO 9 is expected to be a watered-down variant of the Pro model, relying on last years Snapdragon 888 chipset.

Infinix Zero 5G

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Infinix hasnt announced a date yet but the Zero 5Gs specs have been leaked. The Zero 5G is said to rely on a Dimensity 900 chipset with 13 5G bands, a 48MP triple rear camera, XOS based on Android 11, 5000mAh battery, and a 33W fast charging support.
The Micromax IN Note 2 surprised us for a phone costing less than Rs. 15,000. Should you choose it over the Redmi Note 10, Realme 9i and Moto G31?

A resurgent Micromax showed its aggression on marketing pamphlets in 2021 for its IN Note 1, and despite offering a decent entry-level phone, it could not stand out when compared to its cheeni rivals. This year, Micromax is back with a phone that shows more of that aggression instead of its marketing materials. The IN Note 2 succeeds its predecessors with a long list of upgrades and ends up making it the best Micromax phone we have seen in a while. Yes, we arent exaggerating  this is the best phone it has made ever since Xiaomi arrived in India.

The IN Note 2 is good enough that it makes us wonder what happened to the rest of the industry stalwarts. A comparative phone from Redmi, Realme and Motorola seem like artifacts from the past! As long as Micromax manages to keep good hold over its stocks, we believe this is the best smartphone you can buy right now for less than Rs. 15,000.

Wonder why? Join me in my account of using the Micromax IN Note 2 for almost a fortnight to see how it sidelines its rivals like a pro!

Micromax IN Note 2 Design

Which phones are currently the most striking looking for the masses? iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, right? Micromax takes inspiration from these two make the IN Note 2 the prettiest phone we have seen in this price segment in a long time. It has got the boxy flat-sided design of the iPhone 13, and the petal-shaped camera hump design of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. Clubbed together in a beautiful Oak colour (read brown), the IN Note 2 looks unlike any other phone in its price segment!

It even feels unlike anything else in the price segment! Micromax has used an actual glass rear panel on the IN Note 2, which not only looks high-end but imparts a heft only associated with expensive flagships these days. Glass on the rear and front (Gorilla Glass protection) makes it heavy at 205 grams but this isnt new for affordable phones these days. The glass rear has resisted scratches despite going in and out multiple times from my trouser pockets.

Micromax IN Note 2 Display

Going on the lines of the Moto G31 and Infinix Note 11, the IN Note 2 offers a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution. No fancy high refresh rate here, as is the norm with affordable AMOLED-equipped phones, but there's support for Widevine L1. The display quality, however, is among the best in the class. Whether it is the Android interface or my Instagram feed, everything appears vibrant and lively. The trademark AMOLED contrasts make for a great video watching experiences. Viewing angles are pretty wide and it goes decently bright under the sun.

Micromax IN Note 2 Performance

With the MediaTek Helio G95 chip, Micromax gives the IN Note 2 a colossal performance advantage over the Moto G31s Helio G85 and Infinix Note 11s Helio G88. Paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, this has got enough firepower to hold its might when it comes to gaming. Lighter games such as Shadow Fight 4 Arena and F1 Clash run just fine, whereas demanding multiplayer titles keep chugging fine in low graphics. BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile run well in low-medium graphics settings with smooth frame rates.

However, despite the liquid cooling solution present, the IN Note 2 heats up just after 40 minutes of gameplay on an average. Frame drops are visible in such scenarios and the phone becomes warm to touch.

When gaming goes out of the equation, the IN Note 2 is a pleasant phone to use. Micromax offers a near-stock Android 11 experience that is clean that Motorolas MyUX near-stock Android. The phone boots up with no third-party apps, other than the Google suite and FM radio apps. I did not witness any advertisements throughout the UI. A light user interface also translates to slick performance, whether I am scrolling through social media feeds, or switching between a couple of Chrome tabs, or texting. Micromax does offer a few gesture-based features of its own to make life easier on the IN Note 2, and I can confirm that they arent just gimmicks! You can find them under the Intelligent Assistance option under Settings menu.

Sadly, it is still on Android 11 and theres no news on when an Android 12 update is heading here. Another disappointment is the loudspeaker quality, which while being loud, lacks the audio quality of some of its rivals. The 3.5mm headphone jack is present though.

Network reception has been good so far on the Jio network, with the IN Note supporting Carrier Aggregation (LTE+). I havent faced issues with slow internet speeds either on mobile data or Wi-Fi. The phone held on to a phone call even while in the basement.

Micromax IN Note 2 Cameras

The IN Note 2 is up there with the Infinix Note 11 and Moto G31 when it comes to the camera performance. Photos taken via the 48MP main camera looks good with a warm tone but theres a certain amount of over-sharpening going on. It struggles with details as soon as the ambient light levels drop but you can still have useable photos.

For sample images, click here.

The ultrawide camera takes good pictures in daylight, despite its oversaturated tones and lack of details; it is barely useable in low light and at night. The macro camera is serviceable during the day only. The portrait mode makes good use of the depth camera but it shows blurred edges on human subjects occasionally. Selfies via the 16MP front camera are good enough with decent skin tones and details, although it struggles slightly with low light.

Micromax IN Note 2 Battery life

With moderate usage involving no gaming, the IN Note 2 can easily last a full day on a single charge, even spare some for the next day. My usage mostly involved social media browsing, taking 2-3 hours of calls, streaming music, occasional photography, and 30-minute sessions of gaming; all that made the phone show battery levels of 30-40 percent on an average. The 30W wired charging solution takes just over an hour to recharge the battery from 15 percent to 100 percent.

Verdict

With the IN Note 2, Micromax is back to its winning ways of its pre-Xiaomi glory years. The IN Note 2 properly marks the brands comeback to this space, by being a smartphone that offers more than expectations. It is built supremely, has a great display, gets decent cameras, and offers a reliable battery life. Those looking for a clean Android experience can consider this, if you dont want to go for the Moto G31.

It is not flawless though. It lacks a high refresh feature for the display, which some of its rivals offer. The cameras lack the polish that a Redmi Note 10 offers. Micromax also does not clarify when and whether an Android 12 update is on the way. Plus, it lacks 5G connectivity. Additionally, the upcoming Redmi Note 11 could match, or even outdo, the IN Note 2, if Xiaomi prices it right.

That said, when compared to the competition, the Micromax IN Note 2 definitely comes across as the best one we have seen so far in the sub- 15,000 segment. If you do not care for 5G connectivity, we recommend the IN Note 2 for its great overall user experience.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A multiple naive Bayes algorithm can classify artworks by preprocessing and analyzing the histogram of the hues in the image with 99.6 percent accuracy according to work published in International Journal of Arts and Technology.

Gang Liang of the School of Art and Design at Taizhou University in Taizhou, China, points out that in the digitized world there is a pressing need to find ways to search for specific images but too many classification systems for those images to allow us an efficient and simple way to home in on a particular image. Liang hopes his approach will change that by allowing the rapid classification of digital images of artworks, which can then be used as the source material for a search engine.

Until very recently classification of artworks was an entirely subjective process carried out by visual inspection. The advent of digital image analysis then allowed curators of even the largest collection of artworks to classify the images using image brightness, color entropy, and other characteristics, all with varying degrees of success. However, even though such approaches might be automated they are nevertheless rather time consuming and not without other problems such as low accuracy of classification.

Quantifying the hues within an artwork and comparisons with other artworks is difficult, hence Liang's turning to the multiple naive Bayes approach. Liang points out that in the current iteration of the system it takes just 2 seconds to carry out a classification of a terabyte of image data. This compares rather well with earlier approaches which take 30 or 40 seconds to classify the same amount of image data.

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More information: Gang Liang, Image classification of artworks based on multiple naive Bayes algorithm, International Journal of Arts and Technology (2022). Gang Liang, Image classification of artworks based on multiple naive Bayes algorithm,(2022). DOI: 10.1504/IJART.2021.120580
The feasibility study was carried out as part of Bath Abbey's Footprint campaign. Credit: Bath Abbey

Installing solar panels could help historic buildings beat the rising costs of energy, according to a new study by a team of UK researchers led by the University of Bath.

Researchers from the Centre for Doctoral Training in New and Sustainable Photovoltaicsa consortium of seven universities led by the University of Bath that trains doctoral students in different aspects of solar energy technologylooked at the dimensions, tilt and orientation of the Abbey roof, along with historic weather data, and shading of the roof from spires, to model the best configuration for 164 photovoltaic (PV) panels and estimated the amount of electricity that could be generated in a normal year.

They found that the setup could produce around 45 megawatt hours per year, which accounts for roughly 35% of the Abbey's annual usage. The equivalent amount of carbon dioxide saved, versus buying the electricity from the National Grid, would be around 10 tons per year, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the building.

A cost-benefit analysis showed that the system could pay for itself in 13 years and provide a profit of 139,000 pounds over a lifespan of 25 years. It would also future-proof the Abbey from rising costs of energy bills. The findings show that despite a large initial outlay, the system would be financially feasible for the historic Grade I listed building.

They have published their findings in the journal Energy Science & Engineering.

Matthew Smiles, Ph.D. researcher at the University of Liverpool who is first author on the study, said, "It's very difficult to insulate historic Grade I listed buildings like Bath Abbey, so installing solar panels is a good way to reduce the carbon footprint of these buildings.

"Most of the Abbey's electricity is used during the day, when the solar panels would be generating energy from sunlight, making it an ideal building to implement them.

"With increasing energy prices, installing solar panels could result in large cost savings."

In the model, the panels were sited such that they couldn't be seen from the street, only from a distance from the Bath skyline, so would have minimal visual impact on the historic building.

Professor Alison Walker, Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in New and Sustainable Photovoltaics at the University of Bath's Department of Physics, has collaborated with Bath Abbey for several years on the project.

She said, "This paper is an amazing collaboration between the Ph.D. students and the Bath Abbey Footprint Project, who first invited us to look into solar for the Abbey and arranged for the students to visit the Abbey roof to see how solar could work.

"It's great for the students, whose research projects are all on solar power, to see a practical application of the training they have done in universities across the UK."

Ph.D. student Adam Urwick, who performed the Abbey modeling, module design and shadings analysis from the University of Sheffield, said, "The proposed installation would generate 45MWh and save about 10 tons of CO 2 emissions in its first year of generation. This is equivalent to the emissions of an average vehicle driving 80,000kmalmost twice the circumference of the Earth.

"Not only does it make financial sense, but the installation of solar panels on Bath Abbey could inspire reinvigoration of solar PV deployment in the UK, which has stagnated over the past five years."

The research was performed as part of a feasibility study for the Abbey's Footprint program, as part of the Church of England's campaign Shrinking the Footprint, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of its historic buildings.

The Bath Abbey Footprint program has already reduced its carbon footprint by using the geothermal hot springs of the local area to provide underfloor heating and installing LED light bulbs to illuminate the interior.

Although environmental and planning rules must also be considered carefully, installing solar panels is another potential way the Abbey could reduce its footprint further.

Nathan Ward, Footprint Project Director at Bath Abbey, said, "It's been fantastic working with the University of Bath and the other universities on this project. The students and staff have shown a high level of commitment, knowledge and enthusiasm and have provided us with well-considered and invaluable research that we would like to use practically in the future.

"The research will help us greatly in exploring the use of solar panels on the Bath Abbey roof. The Abbey is highly committed in the outstanding care of both our built and natural environment and to reduce our carbon footprint.

"This has been achieved in part thanks to our Footprint project which saw the installation of new LED lighting and eco-friendly underfloor heating that uses energy from Bath's natural hot water, but the use of solar panels would enable us to reduce our carbon footprint further."

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More information: Matthew J. Smiles et al, Next steps in the footprint project: A feasibility study of installing solar panels on Bath Abbey, Energy Science & Engineering (2022). Matthew J. Smiles et al, Next steps in the footprint project: A feasibility study of installing solar panels on Bath Abbey,(2022). DOI: 10.1002/ese3.1069
Kevin Fu. Credit: University of Michigan

American hospitals witnessed an onslaught of security breaches throughout 2021, with more than 40 million patient records compromised in incidents reported to the federal government. Some attacks even threatened healthcare delivery, knocking communications systems offline for weeks or causing an outage in radiation therapy.

Kevin Fu, associate professor at the University of Michigan and Acting Director, Medical Device Cybersecurity at the US FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health, met with us and discussed the alarming trend and what measures are possible to address it.

Tell us about the scope of this issue

2021 was a fairly substantial year for ransomware attacks on healthcare delivery. It's very disruptive, and it cuts to the heart of weak points in securitythe human element sneaking its way in.

In April at the FDA we saw the first instance where ransomware went further than disrupting electronic health records, which to date was a fairly common and inconvenient issue. This attack affected the safety and efficacy of radiation therapy for cancer radiation oncology.

This attack targeted a manufacturer, invading a private cloud they used for the dosimetry of radiation oncology with ransomware and causing a significant outage for hospitals using their technology. What's interesting is that it wasn't the ransomware itself, but the remediation process, that caused the outage. The manufacturer followed their IT security playbook by taking their cloud offline when it was infected.

Unfortunately, that meant the cloud was unavailable for a particular product line of radiation oncology, and so hospitals using the product were not able to deliver the radiation therapy.

When we think about hospital ransomware, we tend to think about the building itself and the devices that are confined to those walls, but really it sounds like the failure points at risk extend well out into the supply chain

Yes, and I think a real challenge is a change in thinking. There are IT systemsemail, classroom lectures, things like thisand they have their own set of risks. But on the other hand you have operational technology, what we call OT, including things like medical devices, autonomous vehicles, or satellite assets in space. They have a different set of requirements and tend to be focused on safety first.

So, whereas you might tolerate taking the email system down for an enterprise because of a security incident, that's not really something on the table for a kinetic system where people's lives depend on it.

Why now? Is there any particular reason this is a rising problem?

I would suggest multiple factors. These problems have been baked into computing since the beginning, and this type of attack very well could have been executed in the 1960s.

But I think the reason why it's happening in 2022 is that we've reached an inflection point where the degree of connectivity between devices and services in all sectors has exploded. We are now dependent on distributed computing. Five or ten years ago we might have employed cloud computing for convenience, or perhaps for backup or secondary storage. But now it's moving into the critical path, it's part of the essential components of a medical device. And if it goes down, the medical device loses its core therapeutic functionality.

It's a tough era. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with cloud computing, but you have to control for the risks according to your threat model. And my observation is that the threat model for a medical device is very different from corporate email.

Are there any primary weaknesses that are low hanging fruit to tackle?

The low hanging fruit in terms of ease of repair would be what's become known as threat modeling. This is something we actually teach in computer security courses. It involves playing the role of the adversary, trying to think about how the system could resist not just today's threats, but future threats.

This is something that I think can be very helpful because, even with a legacy device, manufacturers can better understand what's at risk. They start by acknowledging that the device is susceptible to modern malware because it was designed 20 years ago.

Do patient record attacks more often target isolated hospitals, or do they target shared servers?

I am not yet aware of a cloud provider being targeted specifically because it serves a multitude of medical device manufacturers. I would not be surprised if this happens accidentally at some point.

We certainly hope that the cloud service providers that serve the healthcare industry are paying attention to some of the standards development to ensure that hospitals' devices remain safe and effective, even if they do use the cloud.

This is possible to achieve from an engineering perspective but requires conscious, deliberate steps if you want reasonable assurance. You don't want to have security by luck, you want to have security by design.

What's the message for stakeholders and the public?

This is not a run for the hills kind of event, it's more of a slow boil.

The public can have some degree of satisfaction that the different regulatory agencies across different countries are actually working together ahead of time on these issues. They're working on helping to keep hospitals informed about the security risks of each device, so that they can deploy them in a safe manner.

There are a lot of things going on in the background, both technical and in policy, that are going to improve devices.

The FDA is working strategically on standards development to design out a lot of security risks, but a challenge is that there's quite a bit of legacy software out in the marketplacemuch of it decades old. Trying to keep those devices secure is incredibly challenging once the horse is out of the gate.

To that end there are also a lot of temporary measures underway to address the outdated, legacy devices. It's challenging, but not impossible, to keep these devices safe and effective until a more ideal device, with security built in from the get-go, becomes available.

Explore further Ransomware surge imperils hospitals as pandemic intensifies
Residential combustion sources (household coal/biomass burning) may induce more significant adverse health impact than large scale coal-fired power plants. Credit: Wu et al.

The color of smoke coming out from chimneys can vary greatly based on its source and how it is produced. For instance, small coal or biomass stoves typically release dense, black smoke, while power generation plants produce lighter-colored plumes of smoke.

While these color differences are known to be linked to the different aerosols contained in smoke, so far not many studies have closely examined the major components of these aerosols and their effects on health. Researchers at Fudan University, Tsinghua University, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University recently published a paper in Nature Energy outlining new interesting findings about the levels of toxicity of aerosols originating from different combustion sources, such as stoves in residential homes and coal-fired power plants (CFPPs).

"Differences in the color of smoke coming out from distinct chimneys can indicate different aerosols in plumes," Prof. Xiangdong Li, one of the authors of the paper, told TechXplore. "A crucial question is, are the major components of aerosols from these emission sources different, and can they have different health impacts? To investigate this, we collected the aerosols from large scale CFPPs and common household stoves burning wood and coal."

When Prof. Li and his colleagues analyzed the aerosols produced by CFPPs and common household stoves in the lab, they found that they had significant chemical differences. Interestingly, those emitted by household stoves primarily contained carbonaceous matter resulting from the incomplete combustion of coal or biomass material. On the other hand, large-scale powerplants that rely on efficient boilers could attain the complete combustion of fuels. This resulted in better pollution control metrics and a lower number of aerosols containing inorganic materials, such as transition and heavy metals.

In the second part of their study, the researchers used real cells from human lungs (i.e., pulmonary cells) to determine the toxicity of the inhalable particulate matter (PM) produced by household stoves and CFPPs. They specifically examined the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) prompted by the PM, as well as cell viability and toxicity.

"Combining the chemical data with our previous information on chemical toxicity, we conducted a further aerosol toxic experiment with respiratory cells," Prof. Li said. "In this experiment, we demonstrated that the toxicity of aerosols emitted from household coal/wood burning is more than 10 times higher than that from large scale coal-fired power plants."

The team used the data collected during this experiment to estimate the toxicity of the aerosol emissions. In addition, the same data helped them to create an advanced air quality model that simulates the ways in which aerosols disperse in the wind.

Finally, the researchers estimated the population-weighted toxic potency adjusted PM 2.5 exposure risk, based on simulated PM 2.5 concentrations and PM 2.5 -associated toxic equivalent values.

"Professor Qing Li's group examined chemical characteristics from various emission sources in the last few years, Professor Xiangdong Li's group has experience on chemical toxicity for aerosols, while Professor Shuxiao Wang's group has done large scale aerosol emission inventory and air quality simulation," the researchers said. "Thus, the current study is a fully collaborative research project, in which our three teams joined forces to address this important environmental and health issue."

The overreaching goal of the study was to gather new insight that could help to enhance strategies for improving the quality of air and reducing pollution. Prof. Li and his colleagues hope that their findings will encourage policy-makers to update current pollution control strategies, taking the differences in aerosol-related toxicities that they identified into account.

In the Nature Energy paper, the team also proposed a series of health-oriented strategies for mitigating air pollution caused by coal-based residential stoves and CFPPs. In the future, they hope that the World Health Organization (WHO) will add these strategies to its mass concentration-oriented air quality guidelines.

"We now plan to construct a full picture of health risks of aerosols derived from all major sources and try to propose some new pollution control measures in consideration of aerosol toxicity and achieve better economic benefits," Li added.

Explore further New research helps to understand regional aerosol models in China

More information: Di Wu et al, Toxic potency-adjusted control of air pollution for solid fuel combustion, Nature Energy (2022). Journal information: Nature Energy Di Wu et al, Toxic potency-adjusted control of air pollution for solid fuel combustion,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00951-1

 2022 Science X Network
Hartford  Connecticut has registered more than 10,000 deaths associated with COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

There have been 10,010 deaths linked to COVID-19, marking the 29th highest overall death count in the country, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins.

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While the number is profound and marks a very sad statistic for the state, Dr. David Emmel, chairman of the Connecticut Medical Societys legislative committee, said whats even more discouraging is that people are continuing to die when they dont have to because most of them, almost all them, are people who are unvaccinated.

For the week beginning Jan. 16, unvaccinated people in Connecticut were nearly 13 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated persons, according to state of Connecticut data.

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Dr. Manisha Juthani, Connecticut's public health commissioner, receives a flu vaccine from a Community Health Center nurse in 2021. Juthani urged all residents to get vaccinated against the flu to guard against a "twindemic" of flu and COVID-19 (Alex Putterman)

Dr. Manisha Juthani, the states public health commissioner, said in an interview with The Associated Press that while a very small percent of Connecticut residents whove been vaccinated and boosted have died  eight people who received a booster shot were among a recent group of 212 deaths reported earlier this month  COVID-19 has become a largely vaccine preventable disease.

[ Hartford ends COVID-19 indoor mask mandate ]

News @3 Daily Catch up on the days top headlines sent directly to your inbox weekdays at 3 p.m >

And for those who have been still waiting, who still can consider getting a shot, it just makes me continue to want to try to reach those people before the virus gets them, said Juthani, who acknowledges some people will never agree to get vaccinated.

Juthani said the state is currently headed in the right direction when it comes to COVID-19, citing declining case rates and hospitalization numbers. But she stressed the pandemic is not yet over and new variants may arise.

The commissioner said she now faces the challenge of convincing a pandemic-weary public it might have to deal with the ups and downs of COVID-19 as it eventually becomes an endemic disease.

The challenge is trying to help people understand that we have the tools we need to try to mitigate how this virus overtakes our life, she said. We dont need to live under the same circumstances we had been in the beginning of this pandemic. How do we make that transition to accepting that this virus is here to stay and that we will ramp up and ramp down some of these interventions that we know that work?

Juthani said the state might have to impose some of those interventions for a while but it is largely going to go back to people.

The commissioner said she hopes to launch a media campaign to help people understand how the state plans to transition to learning to live with the virus and managing such flareups.

My hope is that we continue to see a decline in cases over the next several weeks and that trajectory continues, she said. And if we see that, then I think well be able to help people understand and then think about how we discuss and report on this virus thereafter.
Photographer Bob Hayes displays some of his shots of Pittsburgh during the 2019 Spring Art Show at the Galleria of Mt. Lebanon.
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.
NEW YORK (AP)  Following protests of Spotify kicked off by Neil Young over the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, the music streaming service said that it will add content advisories before podcasts discussing the virus.

In a post Sunday, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek laid out more transparent platform rules given the backlash stirred by Young, who on Wednesday had his music removed from Spotify after the tech giant declined to get rid of episodes of "The Joe Rogan Experience," which has been criticized for spreading virus misinformation.

"Personally, there are plenty of individuals and views on Spotify that I disagree with strongly," wrote Ek. "It is important to me that we don't take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them."

Ek said that the advisories will link to Spotify's fact-based COVID-19 hub in what he described as a "new effort to combat misinformation." It will roll out in the coming days, Ek said. He did not specifically reference Rogan or Young.

Rogan responded to the fallout on Sunday, saying in a video on Instagram that he was only seeking to have conversations on his podcast with people who have "differing opinions."

"I'm not trying to promote misinformation, I'm not trying to be controversial," Rogan said. "I've never tried to do anything with this podcast other than to just talk to people."

He also said that he schedules the guests on his podcast himself, and that he would try to book doctors with different opinions right after he talks to "the controversial ones." Rogan noted that he earlier sat down on the show with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the chief medical correspondent for CNN, Dr. Michael Osterholm, who is a member of President Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory board, and Dr. Peter Hotez from Baylor College of Medicine.

Rogan additionally welcomed the idea of adding advisories before podcasts related to COVID-19.

"Sure, have that on there. I'm very happy with that," he said.

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who have signed a multi-year deal to produce and host podcasts for Spotify under their production company Archewell Audio, on Sunday urged Spotify to tame virus misinformation.

"Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform," an Archewell spokesperson said in a statement. "We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis. We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does."

Earlier Sunday, Nils Lofgren, the Bruce Springsteen guitarist and a member of Crazy Horse, a frequent collaborator with Young, said he was joining Young's Spotify revolt. Lofgren said he had already had the last 27 years of his music removed and requested labels with his earlier music to do likewise.

"We encourage all musicians, artists and music lovers everywhere to stand with us and cut ties with Spotify," wrote Lofgren in a statement.

On Friday, Joni Mitchell said she is seeking to remove all of her music from Spotify in solidarity with Young. Earlier, hundreds of scientists, professors and public health experts asked Spotify to remove a Dec. 31 episode from "The Joe Rogan Experience" in which he featured Dr. Robert Malone, an infectious-disease specialist who has been banned from Twitter for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

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Candidates for Texas land commissioner, railroad commissioner, agriculture commissioner and comptroller will attend two events on Saturday to meet voters. A free outdoor event at Rudder Plaza on the Texas A&M University campus begins at 1:30 p.m. The Texas Democratic Women of the Brazos Valley will host a Blue Denim Cocktails fundraiser from 4 to 6 p.m. at Pebble Creek Country Club. Tickets are $50.

WEDNESDAY

EVENTS

AARP Tax-Aide, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Larry J. Ringer Library, 1818 Harvey Mitchell Parkway in College Station. Tax-preparation assistance. Appointments required. Masks encouraged. Call 281-826-9337 to make an appointment. Visit bcstaxaide.com for more information.

Salvation Army food distribution, beginning at 9 a.m. at 2506 Cavitt Ave. in Bryan. Food will be distributed to those in need until supplies run out.

One Million Cups, 8:30 a.m. at Lake Walk Innovation Center, 3891 S. Traditions Drive in Bryan. A weekly meeting that brings entrepreneurs and community members together for coffee and conversation.

Blood drive, 10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at Brenham Veterinary Hospital, 2455 US 290 in Brenham. Email limerick1414@yahoo.com for more information.

Comedy night, 9 p.m. at 3rd Floor Cantina, 201B W. 26th St. in Downtown Bryan. No cover charge. Open mic starts at 8:30 p.m.

Pool tournament, 8 p.m. at Bottlenecks, 1789 F.M. 60 in Caldwell. $10 entry fee.

Story time for Babies and Toddlers, 10 a.m. at Clara B. Mounce Public Library, 201 E. 26th St. in Bryan. A musical, puppet-filled story time for children ages 3 and under.

Ready to Read story time, 10:30 a.m. at Clara B. Mounce Public Library, 201 E. 26th St. in Bryan. Longer stories geared toward children ages 4 to 6 years old.

Teens Relax, 4 p.m. at Larry J. Ringer Library, 1818 Harvey Mitchell Parkway in College Station. Teens ages 13 to 18 are invited to visit the library for an hour after school to unwind.

COVID-19 TESTING

St. Teresa Catholic Church, 201 Hall St. in Bryan, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Due to high demand, walk-ins may not be accepted. curative.com.

Lincoln Recreation Center, 1000 Eleanor St. in College Station. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Due to high demand, walk-ins may not be accepted. curative.com.

Kohls parking lot kiosk, 1509 Texas Ave. in College Station, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Rapid PCR testing. Due to high demand, walk-ins may not be accepted. curative.com.

Blinn College, 651 Blinn Blvd. in Brenham, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Due to high demand, walk-ins may not be accepted. curative.com.

Rudder Plaza kiosk, 275 Joe Routt Blvd. on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For Texas A&M students, faculty and staff members. Appointments required.

Mays Plaza kiosk, 210 Olsen Blvd. on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For Texas A&M students, faculty and staff members. Appointments required.

A.P. Beutel Health Center, 311 Houston St. on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For Texas A&M students, faculty and staff members. Appointments required.

EXHIBITS Oceans of Plastic at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station. A collection of art made from plastic pollution acquired from beaches along the Texas coast. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults, and tickets must be purchased at bush41.org/visit/admission.

Astrophotography: Exploring Celestial Mysteries, through March 19 at the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, 4180 Texas 6 in College Station. A collection of work by Randall Light, a photographer and member of the Brazos Valley Astronomy Club. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.

Lovin That Lone Star Flag, through April 2 at the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, 4180 Texas 6 in College Station. A collection of work by E. Joe Deering. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.

Fire and Earth, the Story of Ceramics, through May 28 at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, 3232 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan. Exhibit highlights include the origins of ceramics, current uses and the future of the material. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults.

Taking Shape: Geometry in Art, through March 9 at the J. Wayne Stark Galleries in the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station. The exhibit features works by artists who expressed themselves and the world around them through geometric forms, optical illusions and abstraction. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. tx.ag/geometry.

In Actuality: Social Realism and Its Legacy, through April 10 at the Forsyth Galleries in the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station. The exhibit features more than 40 images by nine photographers, highlighting their contribution to the social realism movement. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. tx.ag/inactuality.

Pulped Under Pressure: The Art of Handmade Paper, through March 20 at the J. Wayne Stark Galleries in the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station. The exhibit features art with traditional papermaking at its core. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. tx.ag/pulped.
As a Lone Star FFA Degree holder, an Academic All-District recipient, a District 26-2A first-team All-District infielder, varsity volleyball player and Area IX FFA vice president, Normangee High School senior Jordan Noack has risen to the occasion with no plans of slowing down.

Growing up on a small ranch assisting in raising cattle and growing fresh produce will do that  teach you how to get things done right, Noack said.

I think I speak for everyone in the ag industry when I say time management is huge, Noack said. We have to feed the whole herd and check all the fence lines. Its a big chore every day after practices, meetings and school. Making sure your time management is good is so important. Its about being a servant leader. Im giving up my time and putting in effort for the safety of these animals, and that doesnt only pertain to my home life. In FFA, Ive learned a lot about serving and time management  having priorities and keeping priorities.

Noack joined FFA as a freshman in high school with a wealth of experience and knowledge, but when she learned of the lack of knowledge in America about where food comes, she was shocked.

I thought, How can people not know? Noack said. I became grateful that I was born and raised into it  that I had opportunities to learn about it that others didnt. So, it became my goal to educate others on the importance of the industry. We do feed the world. That is where my passion started  informing others how important the industry is as a whole, to how our world operates.

That passion has led Noack to agricultural leadership where she has been studying parliamentary procedure for the past four years and competes at the FFA Parliamentary Procedure Contest. Shes learning procedures used in government when creating laws that impact current issues like climate change, the increasing food crisis and economic insecurity.

Especially right now after the whole COVID pandemic  we are in a food crisis, Noack said. The population is increasing rapidly, and we cant feed everyone in the population in the future, so its important to be aware of this problem. FFAs job is to advocate for the need for more agricultural workers so we can meet that demand for the future for food.

Agricultural workers are more than ranchers or farmers, though that is important, Noack said, but includes careers like ag teachers, politicians and animal care and service workers.

It should be the countrys number one priority to support agriculturists  and there are a lot more ways to be an agriculturalist than being a farmer, she said.

Also, passing on the love for the industry to the younger generations is a large part of the FFA tradition that Noack has strived to accomplish through her previous roles of FFA chapter reporter, FFA Sam Houston District treasurer and FFA junior class fundraiser chairman.

This industry depends on future generations carrying on the most important job of feeding the world, Noack said. People think FFA is just cows, sows and plows, but you learn so much more about the industry and how to support it.

Noack plans to study agricultural economics at Texas Tech University and eventually go into the field of politics to support farmers, ranchers and agriculturists.

Noack can be a politically powerful voice because not only is she a doer and self-starter, but she has the real-life experience of living and working on a ranch, said Renita Schroeder, Normangee High School agricultural science teacher.

She can be that voice because she is that person, Schroeder said. She will be very successful. She will offer a unique perspective. And people wont have to worry about her riding the fence  they will know where she stands. Not that shes not diplomatic or willing to listen to where people stand. She just knows how to stand up for what she believes in and how to get things done. She is going to do great things. Im very proud of her.
WASHINGTON  The Army said Wednesday it will immediately begin discharging soldiers who have refused to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine, putting more than 3,300 service members at risk of being thrown out soon.

The Armys announcement makes it the final military service to lay out its discharge policy for vaccine refusers. The Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy have already discharged active-duty troops or entry-level personnel at boot camps for refusing the shots. So far, the Army has not discharged any.

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Christine Wormuth speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on May 13, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

According to data released by the Army last week, more than 3,300 soldiers have refused to get the vaccine. The Army has said that more than 3,000 soldiers have been issued official written reprimands, which suggests they are already identified in the disciplinary process, and some of them could be among the first to be discharged.

The Pentagon has ordered all service members  active-duty, National Guard and Reserves  to get the vaccine, saying it is critical to maintaining the health and readiness of the force. COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the country as a result of the omicron variant.

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Roughly 97% of all Army soldiers have gotten at least one shot. More than 3,000 have requested medical or religious exemptions.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth issued the directive Wednesday ordering commanders to begin involuntary separation proceedings against those who have refused the shots and do not have a pending or approved exemption.

Army readiness depends on soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nations wars, she said. Unvaccinated soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.

The order includes active-duty soldiers, reserves serving on active duty, and cadets at the Military Academy at West Point, its prepatory school and ROTC.

The detailed order said soldiers will be discharged for misconduct, and noted that those who are eligible to retire may do so before July 1.

Overall, nearly 600 Marines, airmen and sailors have been thrown out of the military or dismissed from entry-level training at boot camps as of last week.

The military services have been going through a methodical process to deal with those who refuse the vaccine as well as those who request medical, administrative or religious exemptions. The reviews require counseling with medical personnel and chaplains as well as senior commanders.
President Joe Biden wants credit for nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.

But here is the shameful irony: As a senator, Biden warned President George W. Bush that if he nominated the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, he would filibuster and kill her nomination.

The story begins in 2003, when Bush nominated Judge Janice Rogers Brown to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The D.C. Circuit is considered the countrys second-most important court, and has produced more Supreme Court justices than any other federal court.

Brown was immediately hailed as a potential Supreme Court nominee. She was highly qualified, having served for seven years as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court  the first Black woman to do so.

She was the daughter and granddaughter of sharecroppers, and grew up in rural Alabama during the dark days of segregation, when her family refused to enter restaurants or theaters with separate entrances for Black customers.

She rose from poverty and put herself through college and UCLA law school as a working single mother. She was a self-made African American legal star. But she was an outspoken conservative  so Biden set out to destroy her.

Biden and his fellow Democrats filibustered her nomination, along with several other Bush circuit court nominees, all of whom had majority support in the Senate. Columnist Robert Novak called it the first full-scale effort in American history to prevent a president from picking the federal judges he wants.

Democrats argued that she was out of the legal mainstream, but Republicans responded that she had written more majority opinions than any other justice on the California Supreme Court  and she was reelected with 76% of the vote, the highest percentage of all the justices on the ballot.

When Democrats derailed her nomination, Bush renominated her in 2005. Brown eventually was confirmed by a vote of 56 to 43  after Democrats released her and several other Bush nominees in exchange for Republican agreement not to eliminate the filibuster for judicial nominations.

Biden voted a second time against her nomination. He never explained why, if Brown was so radical, Democrats let her through but killed 10 other Bush nominees.

The following month, when Justice Sandra Day OConnor announced her retirement, Brown was on Bushs shortlist to replace her. She would have been the first Black woman ever nominated to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

But Biden appeared on CBSs Face the Nation to warn that if Bush nominated Brown, she would face a filibuster. I can assure you that would be a very, very, very difficult fight and she probably would be filibustered, Biden said.

Asked by moderator John Roberts Wasnt she just confirmed?, Biden replied that the Supreme Court is a totally different ballgame because a circuit court judge is bound by stare decisis. They dont get to make new law.

What Biden threatened was unprecedented. There has never been a successful filibuster of a nominee for associate justice in the history of the republic. Biden wanted to make a Black woman the first in history to have her nomination killed by filibuster.

Bush eventually nominated Samuel A. Alito Jr.

Today, Biden calls the filibuster a relic of the Jim Crow era. But he threatened to use that relic as a tool to keep a Black woman who actually lived under Jim Crow off the highest court in the land.

The irony is that now he wants to get rid of the filibuster, and claim credit for putting the first Black woman on the court.

There were many conservatives on Bushs shortlist whose legal philosophy Biden opposed. But Biden only promised to filibuster the one Black woman. Why? Perhaps a clue lies in another confirmation fight that Biden helped wage.

In 2001, Democrats blocked the nomination of Miguel Estrada to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. According to internal strategy memos obtained by The Wall Street Journal, they targeted Estrada at the request of liberal interest groups who said Estrada was especially dangerous because he is Latino, and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment.

They did not want Republicans to put the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court. So, Biden and his fellow Democrats killed Estradas nomination  the first appeals court nominee in history to be filibustered successfully.

It paid off when President Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice.

Democrats commitment to diversity is a ruse. Biden was willing to destroy the careers of an accomplished Latino lawyer and a respected Black female judge, and stop Republicans from putting either on the Supreme Court.

For Democrats, its all about identity politics. Indeed, Biden might not have become president had he not made the pledge to nominate a Black woman. That promise helped secure the endorsement of Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-South Carolina  which won Biden the South Carolina primary and rescued his faltering campaign.

So, when Biden tries to bask in the glory of his historic nomination, remember Janice Rogers Brown  the Black woman who does not sit on the Supreme Court today because of Bidens disgraceful obstruction.

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.
To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.s Poor People Campaign, Emmy Award winner Ron Jones visited Ferrum College on Jan. 27. The actor presented MLK and the Strength of Shared Dreams in the Vaughn Chapel.

The event was postponed because of a recent snowstorm affecting Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 17.

Jones received an invitation to present from Ferrum Colleges Director of Student Activities, Justin Muse, as he thought the presentation would be a great way to represent the historical figure.

Ron has done an amazing job with his thought-provoking presentations on diversity and hot topics, Muse said.

The event was also sponsored by Ferrum College; the Black Student Union; and the Committee on Diversity, Inclusion & Equity.

Jones is the director of the Dialogues on Diversity Company. It has made several programs regarding different historical happenings, such as Juneteenth, contemporary Black history and the busing crisis in Boston during the mid-1950s. His improv group won an Emmy Award in 2002 for Best Childrens Programming for the television special Re: Action.

Jones described the program as depicting the final third of Kings life and how it still has resonance and meaning today.

With a total of 36 audience members, the atmosphere of the event was very receptive to Jones presentation and Martin Luther Kings impact he had on America, even if it was for a short amount of time.

His program was great because you got a chance to see King from a different perspective and learn more about his transformation to equality for all of us, Muse said.

Audience members also were invited to discuss any questions or comments they wanted to make to Jones regarding the subject of his presentation.

Attending this event made me really open my eyes and understand that we must pay attention to the things going around the world. Then, hopefully, changes will begin with all of us, audience member and Ferrum College Senior Elexus Chamberliss said.

Starting off the presentation, Jones discussed his thoughts about King and how he had an impact on the country.

I believe that Martin Luther King was arguably the greatest single non-elected American ever, Jones said.

He proceeded to speak about Kings visions for America and how King preached equality for everyone.

Its easier to make Martin Luther King the champion of the Black people, rather than the champion of all people, Jones said.

To continue the presentation, Jones mentioned the current generation is the same now as it was then regarding issues involving diversity, and he showed a visual example.

Jones also commented about events happening in and around the world.

It makes us believe that we are far more of a divided country than we actually and honestly are, he said.

Jones continued the subject, saying that people thought America was ending then, as people do today.

I would assert that weve gotten better but havent figured out the way I believe we should, he said.

To compare the past with today, Jones also recalled that there were people who thenand still arelaying back and watching what is happening in the world and not taking action.

The presentation then transitioned, and Jones went into detail about how King wanted to be diverse toward everyone and talk about different issues affecting different groups, not just one specific group, starting with Kings Poor People Campaign.

He understood that the issue has to be bigger than just a single touchpoint, Jones said.

Within the campaign, King brought to peoples attention issues regarding poverty no one had seen, including women who were disproportionately affected by poverty and how young children at times had to work hard like their parents. King gave voices to those who did not have one previously.

I believe thats the King we need to focus on, the King who was an advocate for intersectional dignity, Jones said.

From Kings Poor People Campaign to the Mothers Day brunch, King held what was called his Minority Peoples Conference.

It was oddly the first multicultural conference in American history, Jones said.

A month after the conference was held, King was then assassinated.

I believe that Kings intersectional advocacy is the blueprint we all need to follow now for how we need to intersect and deal with real issues, Jones said, regarding Kings assassination.

For the final section of his presentation, Jones considered how people all need to step up and be the change for the country.

Any authentic, legitimate movement takes anywhere from a half of a generation to a generation and a half to really stick. Until the people who are a part of it become human allies, until we can see them in ourselves Jones said.

He continued:

You can have people stand up and protest all day long, but that says little if nothing to those folks sitting off on the sidelines who can choose to opt-out, Jones stated.

As a real-life example, Jones mentioned the Black Lives Matter movement regarding the Washington Post statistics from 2019 and who was affected most in police killings.

Black people proportionately died in the highest count with brown people right behind, but do you know who were dying (in) the largest number of police killings? White people, Jones stated.

While he mentioned several issues in the world within his presentation, he also discussed that people have to put themselves in the shoes of those affected to actually understand what happens in any part of history.

Jones also shared that there is one thing he wants everyone to take away from his presentation:

We are in the midst of a social justice moment that is demanding more people to get out and advocate beyond their own issue, Jones stated.

America is the most beautiful experiment in civics that the world has ever seen, Jones said to conclude his presentation.
Adrianne Kruger, a junior studying education at Wayne State College, testified to a state panel Monday about the test that's left her and other would-be teachers frustrated and discouraged.

A tearful Kruger told members of the Education Committee that she's tried for years to pass the basic skills test that Nebraska requires to enter a teacher prep program, without success.

"I personally have spent almost $850 trying to pass one test," she said. "That $850 could have gone toward my tuition, books, or even personal bills."

Her story was among several stories of frustration shared at the hearing on three bills that would either eliminate the test or allow alternative methods for would-be teachers to demonstrate basic math and English skills.

It was clear from the steady stream of supporters for the bills that the idea of ending the test has gained steam among some lawmakers, educators and teachers college professors. Support has been boosted by a teacher shortage that's been exacerbated by the pandemic.

School districts across Nebraska and the nation are struggling to hire and retain enough teachers, paraprofessionals, nutrition service workers, bus drivers and more.

Supporters of the proposals said eliminating the test would boost enrollment in teacher prep programs overall and among students of color, who they said are overrepresented in the failure rate.

Previous attempts to relax the testing requirement met with opposition from Gov. Pete Ricketts over concerns that the state was lowering the bar to enter the profession.

But at this hearing, proponents dominated the discussion.

Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha told the committee that the test is "an expensive hurdle" that's not serving prospective teachers or the education system.

"A standardized test does not and should not determine what type of teachers they will be in the classroom," he said.

Vargas' bill (LB960) would eliminate all basic skills testing, as well as content testing that prospective teachers take later in their academic career in their chosen area of expertise.

Sen. Carol Blood's bill (LB690) would not eliminate testing but would allow applicants to demonstrate basic skills competency by taking certain coursework as determined by the Nebraska Department of Education.

Blood said she would rather give educators a choice instead of doing away with testing.

LB1218, an Education Committee bill introduced by Chairwoman Lynne Walz and designated a priority bill, would strike the requirement for a basic skills test and provide other ways for candidates to prove competency.

According to Walz, the bill would ensure that educators from other states have a path to joining the profession in Nebraska. It would allow an applicant to demonstrate basic skills with a college admission examination, college coursework or successful employment experiences, including student teaching.

The bill also contains a provision for $1,000 in loan forgiveness for students who intern for a semester in a Nebraska school.

Tim Frey, dean of the College of Education at Doane University, shared stories of well-qualified students who ran up hundreds of dollars in costs and months of delay while repeatedly taking the test.

Recent data show that over half of the students entering Doane's undergraduate teaching program did not pass at least one of the three test areas on their first attempt, he said.

"On average, it took 3.9 attempts for those students to pass the Praxis Core if they did not pass on their first attempt, and it cost those students an average additional $360," he said.

In the past three years, 18 prospective teachers left the Doane program when they were unable to pass the test, he said.

For decades, Nebraska has required applicants to pass a basic skills test for admission to an approved educator preparation program.

The test is also required to apply for a teaching certificate.

In 2014, the Nebraska State Board of Education adopted the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators as the admissions test for teacher prep programs.

The test, a product of Educational Testing Service, replaced the Praxis I Pre-Professional Skills Test the state had used for decades.

The old test was built on what educators in the 1980s believed that teachers should know and be able to do.

The new test proved harder. Some applicants struggled with it, especially the math.

Even as Nebraska students struggled, their performance was better on average than their peers in other states who took the same test.

Three years ago, members of the Board of Education tried to eliminate the basic skills test but backed off when Ricketts signaled that he didn't want to lower the bar for entry.

Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, testified Monday in favor of ending the test.

Benson said the test presented an obstacle to her daughter, Joy, who is pursuing a degree in early childhood education.

Her daughter has struggled to pass the test despite having an associate degree in early childhood education and experience teaching in Head Start and as a paraeducator in the Lincoln Public Schools, she said.

After multiple tries, she passed the math and reading sections but has yet to pass writing, Benson said.

"She has trouble with timed tests, and she's about to give up," she said.

Benson said the test doesn't help students to become a qualified educator. "They just cost a lot of money," she said.

Benson noted that David Steiner, executive director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, reviewed Nebraska's teacher prep approach for the Nebraska Department of Education and recommended that Praxis Core not be used as an entrance exam.

Steiner, she said, concluded that they are expensive for applicants who take them multiple times and have not been shown to correlate with teaching effectiveness.

At least 17 states use the same tests and same passing scores as Nebraska either to enter a teacher prep program or for certification.

Passing scores are 156 on the reading portion, 150 in math, and 162 in writing for a total of 468. A student can pass with a composite score of 468 on all three portions of the test, as long as no single test score is more than one point below the score for that subject.

The math test had been the most troublesome section for Nebraska students until 2019, when ETS changed the test.

The company reduced the emphasis on algebra and geometry and increased the emphasis on statistics, probability and data interpretation and representation.

That boosted the passing rate substantially in Nebraska. For example, 88% of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students passed in 2020-21, compared with 62% in 2018-19. The University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska at Omaha saw similar jumps.

Since that change, Nebraska students have had the most trouble with the writing test.

For instance, at UNO in 2020-21, over 90% of students passed the math test on the first attempt and almost 93% in reading, but in writing, just over 78% passed on the first try.

Kruger said a bilingual friend of hers struggled with the writing portion, even though she passed reading and math.

"She felt many times, when she failed the Praxis, she wanted to give up on education," she said.

According to Kruger, the friend feels that this test doesnt determine whether someone's going to be a great educator but instead who knows basic skills better than others.

Kruger said another friend, a mother of three who works three jobs, has passed the math and reading parts of the test but has been trying to pass the writing portion for more than four years. The friend has now taken the writing portion 10 times at a cost of $900, she said.

Kruger said she's had to change her own plans because of the test. She said she recently submitted an application to be an interdisciplinary studies major in education and family studies just so she could graduate on time.

Michelle Warren, an associate professor of Spanish at UNK, said she's been preparing future educators to teach Spanish in the state.

Many students in her upper-level courses are from first-generation immigrant families and the first to attend college, and they struggle on the test, Warren said.

"In no way are these students from immigrant families less intelligent or less prepared," she said.

They excel in campus leadership, earn high GPAs and take advantage of tools available to them, like extra study sessions and tutoring, Warren said.

"I have watched dozens of students become frustrated," she said.

Warren said it's important not to discourage the state's young professionals and to get them in the classroom.
Hall County Commissioners Tuesday voiced opposition to LB921, a proposed bill that would sentence Class III and Class IV felons to county jails.

The bill was submitted on Jan. 27 by state Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha.

The seven-person county board at their regular meeting Tuesday addressed the new legislation as part of their agenda.

Per the bill: All sentences for Class III, IIIA, or IV felonies, regardless of the length of the terms of imprisonment, and all sentences for maximum terms of imprisonment of less than one year shall be served in the county jail.

It would take them out of the state prison and put them in county jails long term, said county board President Ron Peterson. They would be here one to three years.

The maximum sentence for a Class III felony is four years imprisonment and two years for a Class IV felony.

LB921 would require that all sentences of Class III, IIIA or IV felonies, or for a maximum term of imprisonment of less than one year, to be served in county jail. This will prioritize state prison beds for the most serious criminal offenders, according to the bills statement of intent.

That doesnt make any sense because were not designed to be a long-term facility. Plus, theres the cost, Peterson said.

Per its fiscal statement: LB921 proposes changes where certain sentences of imprisonment are served. Under the bill, incarcerated persons would serve their sentences in county jails, rather than the state correctional facilities.

In other business two current legislative bills are receiving support from Hall County Commissioners.

LB310, submitted by state Sen. Robert Clements of Elwood would change inheritance tax rates, inheritance tax exemption amounts, and individuals who are considered relatives of a decedent.

The bill, as revised, aims to increase the exemption amount and reduce the percentage (people) have to pay based on categories, Peterson said.

For descedants dying prior to Jan. 1, 2023, the rate of the tax will be 1% of the clear market value of the property received by each person in excess of $40,000, and for descedants dying on or after Jan. 1, 2023, 1% of the clear market value of the property received by each person in excess of $100,000.

Nebraska is one of only five states that still has the inheritance tax.

Hall County receives roughly $1 million per year in inheritance tax funds, which are primarily used for property tax relief.

The board also supports LB791, which will change population requirements relating to county surveyors, engineers, and highway superintendents.

The bill, submitted by state Sen. John Lowe of Kearney, increases the population base by which a county surveyor serves as the head of the county roads department from 60,000 to 100,000, Peterson said.

According to the 2020 U.S. Census released in August, Hall Countys population has increased by 7.3%, from 58,607 people in 2010 to 62,895 in 2020.

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FILE -- Long lines for coronavirus testing in Jonesboro, Ga., on Jan. 5, 2022. (Dustin Chambers/The New York Times)

Connecticut has fewer than 1,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 for the first time since December, as the state slowly moves past its omicron variant wave.

Cases and hospitalizations in Connecticut and much of the Northeast have dropped steadily for about three weeks, prompting optimism from many experts that the region will have a quieter next few months.

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[ As Connecticuts COVID-19 numbers improve, whats next? Experts are optimistic  with some important caveats ]

Still, the state continues to see levels of transmission above the level public health experts say is acceptable. Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist at Hartford HealthCare, said Tuesday he recommends Connecticut residents continue wearing masks and taking other precautions until cases slow further.

Even though the numbers are much better, were not in the place we need to be at this point, Wu said.

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Cases and positivity rate

Connecticut on Tuesday reported 1,240 new COVID-19 cases out of 14,293 tests, for a daily positivity rate of 8.68%. The states seven-day positivity rate now stands at 9.1%, down from 23.6% in early January and the lowest it has been since mid-December.

Connecticut has now averaged 1,869 daily COVID-19 cases over the past week, down from more than 10,000 at one point earlier this month. Unvaccinated residents have been about three times as likely to test positive in recent weeks as vaccinated residents, according to state numbers.

Still, all eight Connecticut counties  along with nearly the rest of the country  are recording high levels of COVID-19 transmission as defined by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With this level of transmission, the CDC advises people to wear a mask in public indoor settings.

Hospitalizations

As of Tuesday, Connecticut had 995 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, down 56 from Monday and down from nearly 2,000 earlier this month.

Hospital officials say some patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were admitted for non-coronavirus reasons before testing positive upon arrival but that a majority have significant COVID-19 symptoms.

According to the state, 54.1% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Hospital officials say the rate is significantly higher when considering only patients with severe symptoms.

Deaths

Breaking News As it happens Get the latest updates on Coronavirus and other breaking news events happening across Connecticut >

Connecticut reports COVID-19 deaths on Thursdays. Last week, the state reported 225 deaths, bringing its total during the pandemic to 9,908.

COVID-19 deaths  which typically tend to lag other metrics by several weeks  have continued to increase in recent weeks even as cases and hospitalizations have slowed. Unvaccinated people in Connecticut have been about 14 times as likely to die from COVID-19 in recent weeks as those who are vaccinated, according to state numbers.

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The United States has now recorded 888,588 COVID-19 deaths, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

Vaccinations

As of Tuesday, 92.6% of all Connecticut residents and 95% of those 5 and older had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, while 76.6% of all residents and 80.7% of those 5 and older were fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Additionally, about 51% of fully vaccinated Connecticut residents 18 or older have received a booster dose.

The CDC warns that booster shots are sometimes misclassified as first doses, likely inflating the reported number of first-dose coverage and understating the true number of people who have received boosters.

Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com.
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CARBONDALE  Southern Illinois University kicked off its celebration of Black History Month with a program featuring a virtual speech by Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of Illinois Department of Public Health.

She told the crowd how Black History Month started. Dr. Ezike said it started as Negro History Week in the 1920s. It was celebrated as Black History Month in the 1970s and was signed into law by then President Gerald Ford.

She said the fight is still necessary to do so much more even though gains were made in the 1960s.

Here we are again, Ezike said.

She also talked about the pandemic and about the work of the Illinois Department of Public Health to protect minority populations, especially the Black population.

Since March of 2020, the state of Illinois has lost 31,000 people, many of whom are Black.

To help insure the organization was taking steps to promote diversity and reach those communities with information, vaccines, antiviral medication and antibody infusions, Ezike made sure their health equity members were involved in all the planning.

Weve always known Black people need special consideration, she said.

She said minority families tend to live in high density, multigenerational settings. They are more likely to live in healthcare desserts. They were and are working on the front lines on jobs that cannot be done over Zoom, like driving a bus.

IDPH helped by opening testing sites and vaccination clinics. Ezike said IDPH staff even took COVID-19 vaccines door-to-door in Cairo to urge people to get the shot.

They created health care ambassadors to help get accurate information out through social media.

There are health care ambassadors in every county, she said.

Ezike added the IDPH Wellness on Wheels or WOW van was used a lot more, too. It can be used to administer both tests and vaccines.

Black History Month is a time of remembrance, but it is also a time of honoring, she said.

Other speakers at the kickoff included Chancellor Austin Lane, Mariosol Urquyo and Charah McKinzie.

Black history is something that should be celebrated all month, Lane said.

The event also featured performances from the Africana Theater and songs by students.

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CARBONDALE  As part of a broad, long-term effort to improve the states early childhood education and care system, the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Association has committed to creating regional councils to promote the growth of high-quality early childhood programs across the state. Those councils, known as Birth to Five Action Councils, will be created in 39 regions.

Southern Illinois will have three councils: Region 20 in Edwards, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Pope, Saline, Wabash, Wayne and White counties; Region 21 in Franklin, Johnson, Massac and Williamson counties; and Region 30 in Alexander, Jackson, Perry, Pulaski and Union counties.

Lori Longueville, a long-time early childhood educator and former director of the Child Care Resource and Referral Network at John A. Logan College, is helping launch the councils in Southern Illinois regions as a consultant for the group.

I know first-hand that the coalitions are model of what true collective impact efforts can accomplish when community partners work together to implement change, Longueville said.

Longueville said the councils should represent a broad section of the community, including parents, child care workers, schools and businesses. They will be involved in comprehensive planning, looking at the communitys needs, resources already available and ways to maximize access to those resources.

Longueville said the data for Region 30 is stunning.

The region is rural. The area has almost twice the percentage of the statewide average. The number of families who identify as white is 72%. This might make understanding the strengths and needs of non-white families a challenge.

Eighty percent of the children living at 200% of the poverty level do not access resources. It is estimated that 3,800 children are in that gap between services and those who access them.

Longueville said the reasons for not getting children into preschool programs can be transportation or a parent who cannot leave work to take a child to a part-day class.

She stressed that to understand what families need in both services and accessing services is helped by including parents in the councils and their planning. They need to have more feedback and be allowed to weigh in.

Longueville said different kinds of parents need to be part of the process, such single parents, parents in traditional families, parents in nontraditional families.

During a virtual kick-off for the councils, Larry Lovell, superintendent of Trico School District, said their district does not have special education program for preschoolers. Students have to be bused 35 miles to Murphysboro to attend school.

This is one kind of problem the councils will look at and plan to overcome.

They will also look at improving access to healthcare, social services and mental health. They will look at resources in the area and who is using them.

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CARBONDALE  Young girls of Carbondale High School have a chance to get hands-on firefighter training this March, according to Carbondale Firefighter Abby Burnham.

We know it can be intimidating as young girls, and even women, to walk into a male-dominated field, Burnham said. We chose to start the program this coming March because March is International Womens Month. We feel and hope that this will encourage girls in the Carbondale community, and (hopefully) eventually the surrounding region, to get a unique opportunity to ask women questions about working in the fire service and possibly pursuing a career of their own.

Female firefighters Courtney Looft and Burnham have partnered with Jenna Jamieson, a teacher and coordinator for Carbondale Community High Schools Career and Technical Education program, to develop a new yearly job shadowing program centered on girls interested in the field of firefighting.

The program is to take place across three days in March.

The group hopes to make the program a yearly event so they can give as many girls as possible the opportunity they never had, Burnham said.

As women in the fire service, and still a minority, Courtney Looft and I have wanted to start some kind of outreach program to young girls and women to encourage any interest they may have and give them opportunities that we ourselves missed out on as young women, Burnham said. Courtney and I both grew up as daughters of firemen, and thus we had limited exposure to the fire service. However, we never had the opportunity to get hands-on experience of what a day in the life of a firefighter is really like.

The program will accept six girls who will receive one-on-one training with both female firefighters one day in March, Burnham said.

The training and job shadowing will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch included and cooked by the firefighters on duty. Girls will be paired with Burnham or Looft in the morning to shadow and then switch mentors after lunch, Burnham said.

The experience will include going through training evolutions in full turnout gear with an accompanying air pack. Then in the afternoon, they hope to put them in a live-fire training evolution to give them first-hand exposure to what being in a burning building can be like, Burnham said.

Another goal of the program is for students to leave high school being better humans, Jamieson said.

I think opportunities in our school-based work program, Cooperative Education, and job shadowing program are important and vital to ensuring students are aware of the job options in the career and technical education field within our community, Jamieson said. Beyond that, my biggest hope as a teacher is that students leave as a better human than when they entered my classroom. If that is happening and they are gaining some skills too, then I think I am doing the job that I should be doing to help students in our community.

The program is open to girls aged 16 to 18, enrolled at CCHS and who have a 2.0 GPA or higher, according to Burnham.

Applications and liability forms can be picked up in Jamiesons classroom, and the deadline to apply is by Feb. 15.

The program also serves as a way for Looft and Burnham to give back after they both were given the opportunity to do what they love.

We feel that we have both been given an incredible opportunity to pursue a career that we both love, but we want to encourage more girls to know that they can do the same job that a man can do, Burnham said. It is still very uncommon in non-metropolitan areas such as the Southern Illinois region to see a woman on a fire department, much less two as is the case for Carbondale Fire Department. Courtney and I are even on the same shift together. We want to use that opportunity to give back to the community and give every girl that wants to learn a chance to see what being a woman in the fire service is and can be.

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CARBONDALE  Kennadee Gabby only enrolled in art as a high school freshman because her twin sister Kassidee did. She did not consider herself artistic and really had no overwhelming interest in drawing, painting, sculpture or photography.

That was nearly four years ago and since then, not only has she become an artist, she has been recognized as one of the best in Illinois. Again and again.

Gabby, 17, recently was named the grand prize winner for the Illinois Art Education Associations Youth Art Month design contest. Again. The Marion High School senior also won the contest as a junior. And as a sophomore, she won the high school division of the same competition.

As the winner, Gabbys work will be used on posters as part of the March observance of Youth Art Month throughout the state. Again. Her work will be included in a statewide publication for art teachers. Again. It also will be judged in national completion. Again.

Her winning is no fluke, Marion High School art teacher Amber Akes said; each years contest is scored by a different panel of judges. Akes said not only was she surprised to learn her student had won again, so was Gabby. The judges were taken aback, too.

They were very surprised when I talked to them and they were flabbergasted that she had won again, Akes said. Like us, they were amazed.

Hundreds of entries from across the state were considered for the honor. Akes said to have a student be among the best three years in a row is very special.

In fact, Akes said Gabby, the daughter of Chad and Wendee Gabby of Marion, was reluctant to enter again. Ive already done it twice. Theyre not going to pick me again, Akes recalled her student saying.

But they did pick her. Again.

When I found out last year that I won, I was like No way! I really did not expect it at all, Gabby said. To win again is so weird. This is amazing. Its a great honor and makes me smile like crazy. I cant even put it into words, she said.

Her winning entry in the contest themed Dreams, is a colored pencil portrait as well as a splattered paint technique. In addition to having her work featured on the posters and advancing to national competitions, Gabby receives an art supply gift certificate. Her school also receives free art supplies.

She said her time in Akes class has changed her perspective on both herself and art.

I think it was my sophomore year when I realized I really liked doing this and that this was kind of my thing, she added.

Gabby has taken her skills outside the classroom as well, designing earrings and other pieces of jewelry which she sells online at a local retailer.

She said she plans attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the fall, majoring in art.

Art is really in every aspect of my life. I dont know where I could go in life without doing art and be happy, she said. Ive discovered that I have an amazing gift.

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CARBONDALE  Dane Inman had a job interview last week. Things went well and the Southern Illinois University Carbondale senior from Cobden received an offer for a full-time position with a marketing company after graduation.

Apparently, his resume and experiences were impressive and he interviewed well. He also looked good, thanks to a free resource provided by the SIU College of Business and Analytics. Since 2016, the colleges career closet has loaned hundreds of suits, dresses, shirts, neckties, shoes and accessories to students who need to make a good impression, including Inman.

The closet is part of the colleges Career Resource Center, an office that helps students with resumes, interview skills and hosts company representatives for meetings with students. Thomas Becker, employer relations coordinator with the college, said the closet is a step toward student success.

We have pretty much everything that a student would need, Becker said, adding the closet includes more than 300 suits and blazers, as well as dozens of ties, dresses, shoes and even purses.

Items in the closet have been donated by alumni or community members. Financial donations helps in cases where inventory does not meet a particular need.

If we dont have an item, well go out and add them to our inventory, he explained.

For students, the ability to walk in, pick out clothing or accessories and use them free of charge is a benefit. Since inception, more than 600 students have borrowed from the closet.

Ive used the career closet for interviews both on and off campus and more, Inman explained. I borrowed a suit and tie for my interview last week. Its great when you cant go home or dont have time to get something of your own. To have that sort of a resource as a student is a big deal.

Becker said students often use the clothing to make a positive impression on visits to businesses or at career fairs. The closet recently added padfolios  nice presentation folders perfect for carrying resumes and materials  especially for career fair attendees. The pandemic also necessitated the addition of one other item available for check-out.

With more and more interviews being done virtually, weve added web cams that students can use, Becker said.

He added that the center also makes dedicated rooms available for students to interview online with prospective employers.

That way they can interview in a quiet, professional space with reliable internet, he said.

Students use the closet in the same fashion as a library, picking up items to check-out for two weeks. Once they are returned, everything is professionally dry cleaned before being made available again.

Inman said the ability to dress professionally for his interview was a big help.

It means a lot to be able to look good, he said. It gives confidence and if your confidence is high, youll do well in the interview.

Donations are always accepted at the center, Becker said. Items which for one reason or another cannot be used by the closet are made available for students to keep or donated to other charities.

The closet is just another way that we try to support our students, Becker said.

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We dont even know the womans name yet.

In fact, we dont know much of anything about her except that she is Black. Thats not a lot, but its more than enough for some people.

Ever since last week, when Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement, and President Biden said he would keep a campaign promise to nominate an African-American woman to the court, Republicans have stumbled all over themselves to decry this terrible thing.

Like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who said on his podcast: Black women are what, 6 percent of the U.S. population? [Biden] is saying to 94 percent of Americans, 'I don't give a damn about you, you are ineligible'."

Yeeeah, but no. By that logic (if you want to call it that) no one could be a Supreme Court justice. White men, after all, are just 30 percent of the population; if Biden made a group of them his de facto favorites, would that not tell 70 percent of Americans, 'I don't give a damn about you, you are ineligible"?

Then theres former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who tweeted, Would be nice if Pres Biden chose a Supreme Court nominee who was best qualified without a race/gender litmus test. Which conveniently overlooks the fact that Haleys former boss, that retired steak salesman from Florida, vowed to  and did  name a woman to the Supreme Court. For that matter, Ronald Reagan made and kept a similar vow and went on to nominate Antonin Scalia because he wanted a jurist of Italian heritage.

Which brings us to the most insidious criticism of this woman weve not yet met. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, among others, has dubbed her a beneficiary of the dread affirmative action.

The term, of course, refers to setting aside a coveted slot  a job, a spot in school and now, apparently, a Supreme Court seat  for an applicant of the preferred race or gender. Think about that and then, think about this: Since 1790, there have been 115 Supreme Court justices; five have been women, two have been African American. So it seems fair to ask who, precisely is it that has had slots set aside for them and who has not?

The same goes for the institution in which Wicker serves: 1,994 senators, 58 of them women, 11 of them Black. Is it just coincidence that white men like Wicker got the nod roughly 97 percent of the time? Were they really the best, the brightest and the most deserving?

Or did he, like thousands before him, not benefit from a tacit understanding that certain things are set aside for white men, a de facto affirmative action that clears most Americans from the competition before it even begins? And were expected to be upset because Biden wants to name a Black woman to the High Court? Um ... no. He understands what his critics pretend not to. Which is that achieving diversity requires intentionality. If you are counting on it to simply happen by dint of white males good intentions and pure hearts, you will be waiting a very long time.

Wickers whining is emblematic of the moral myopia and intellectual sclerosis that too often comes from a lifetime of unearned advantage. You learn to think of it as your entitlement and any small deviation therefrom as an unbearable affront to The Way Things Are Supposed To Be. So now comes this unnamed Black woman getting some taste of the kind of preference hes enjoyed his entire life, and the senator feels put-upon. One can only marvel at the hypocrisy. Affirmative action? Oh, please.

If it werent for that, Roger Wicker might not even have a job.

Leonard Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald. His columns include his own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinion or editorial position of The Southern. Readers may contact him via email at lpitts@miamiherald.com.

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They touched our shore with deeds and accomplishments that greatly contributed to our country in its early history. There are many that could fill this category, but my reasoning for this selection of the following is because they hold a unique position in the history of our city, Grand Tower, Illinois, by simply being here. They all left their footprints in the sands of our shore, either physical or otherwise. Some were only a short passing, while others stopped and mingled among our citizens.

Did their passing, or being here have any profound effect, per se, on Grand Tower at that time? Probably not. But in time they all became famous and deserve to be remembered. We are grateful that they left their footprints here, in our sands of time.

Lewis and Clark camped on the Missouri shore just above Tower Rock. This was on their exploration, of 1803 to 1804. This information was taken from the journals of Lewis and Clark from a period dated in those journals as Nov. 20 to Dec. 12, 1803. During this time period they were in this vicinity. Grand Tower did not yet exist, but in a couple years settlers would arrive. In their notes they speak of the surrounding area and had explored the entire area as noted in those logs. No doubt they walked along our shore while making their assessments. Our area was just one small part of their expedition, but is worthy of mention, occurring over two hundred years ago. We are proud for them to have mentioned, that which would become our namesake, the Grand Tower Rock.

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born Nov. 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri. In 1839 the family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, where Clemens led the adventurous boyhood that formed a basis for the novels that later made him famous. His father died in 1847, and he left school to become a printers apprentice. In 1855, he went to work in Keokuk, Iowa, and later in Cincinnati. Then he set out for South America, but instead of going there, he apprenticed himself to Horace Bixby in 1857 to become a Mississippi River pilot. He mastered this work completely and stayed on the river until 1861. The Civil War was the reason for him leaving the river as the river from Cairo south was closed.

While working on the river as pilot, Clemens boat often stopped at Grand Tower, known then as Evans Landing, to load or unload freight. He visited around town while his vessel was there and got to know several people. He later in his book, Life on the Mississippi talks about Grand Tower.

We are proud of his association with Grand Tower.

The Eads bridge opening was a spectacular event at St Louis. It was called the wonder bridge of the world, when it was dedicated, tested and opened to the public on July 4, 1874. The designer and chief engineer of the project, was Capt. James B. Eads.

Eads had been a resident of Grand Tower on a number of occasions while working on different project. Eads was known for his achievements in raising sunken steamboats and successful efforts in clearing the Mississippi of dangerous snags, sawyers and planters that hampered steamboat traffic on the river. Eads also had established a reputation for building iron-clad steamers during the civil war.

On the evening of July 3, 1874 a number of important Jackson County residents took a train from Murphysboro to Grand Tower, where they boarded the steamer Emma C. Elliott, for St. Louis, captained by Shep Lightner, a native of Thebes. It was reported by the Chicago Tribune, that about 300,000 people had jammed into St. Louis for the occasion.

After all the speeches and fireworks were completed, the Jackson County travelers again boarded the Emma C. Elliott and made there way back down to Grand Tower. When Eads lived in Grand Tower on a number of occasions, he lived in the Tremont Hotel parallel with the ally behind The First Southern Bank.

Charles F. Burdick is a lifelong resident of Grand Tower. After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Navy and then went on to a 42-year Maritime career including 35 years as Master Pilot. He has been retired for 28 years and enjoys local history and writing poetry.

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A longtime Orangeburg city councilman is being remembered as a hardworking businessman who loved the family he created and the city he served.

Charles Jernigan, 82, died Friday, Jan. 28.

He served on Orangeburg City Council from 1999 until he lost his District 2 seat to Dr. Kalu Kalu in the Sept. 10, 2019 election. He was also a local businessman who owned a camera shop in the city.

We were definitely proud of him and proud of all of the effort he put in over the years. He had his camera store, which took care of the family. Then when he got out of that and I had moved away from town, he had gotten involved in city council and the Aviation Commission he had done some work with," said Jernigan's son, Edward.

Edward, who now lives in Hilton Head, said his father liked being involved in projects to help bolster the city's growth and development, including helping out with the establishment of the Samaritan House homeless shelter alongside his wife, Ginger, who started it.

He was definitely involved and tried to do a lot with the town and do what he could. We were very proud of him for that. He had been sick. Since from either July or August of last year, he got a bout of pneumonia. He had kind of been struggling, but he came through, Edward said.

He continued, We thought we were going to lose him last summer, but he came through and spent Christmas with my family and I and got to see his new grandson. He was doing good. But Jernigan got sick again a week or so ago, Edward said.

Jernigan passed away a little over five months after former Orangeburg Councilman Charles Buddy Barnwell, who died on Aug. 17 at the age of 79.

Both of them were long serving on council, former Orangeburg Mayor Paul Miller said.

The former mayor recalled how he encouraged Jernigan to run for city council.

I remember when Everette Salley decided to retire that I encouraged Charlie to consider running for council. Dr. Salley was a long-serving member of council. I'd known Charlie for a long time long before council. I knew him from church and the camera store, Miller said.

Charlie was a true gentleman. One of his main passions was the airport, and he also was responsible for the city making a significant contribution to South Carolina State. That was something that he felt really strongly about. We didn't always vote the same way, but I respected any vote that he made, the former mayor said.

Miller said, He was an excellent council member. He represented his district well. I think he spent a lot of time communicating with his constituents to try to find out how they felt about certain issues before he voted. I don't think he ever missed a meeting, and he was always on time.

Former Orangeburg City Administrator John Yow said he was saddened by Jernigan's passing.

It was a real pleasure working with Mr. Jernigan and going back as far as even his time on the Aviation Commission. He served on the Aviation Commission and was a big advocate and supporter of building Runway 17/35, which was one of the largest projects that the city had ever undertaken at that time, Yow said.

He first got to know of Jernigan through his work on the Aviation Commission.

Mr. Jernigan and his wife were big supporters of the Samaritan House and getting it up and started. He cared a lot in his heart, as did other council members, for the homeless people in the community. He was a big advocate, the former city administrator said.

Yow said Jernigan's motion for the city to allocate $1 million toward infrastructure improvements at South Carolina State University stood out.

When South Carolina State was working hard to maintain its accreditation, Mr. Charlie Way, who was the board chairman at that time, came to city council and asked for assistance with infrastructure repairs at South Carolina State. He thought that was one thing that would help them maintain their accreditation, Yow said.

Yow continued, Mr. Jernigan made the motion to fund South Carolina State $1 million toward infrastructure repair. He had discussions with me and staff and others, but that always stood out in my mind that he really was willing to take a step forward for the city to assist South Carolina State in maintaining its accreditation.

It was a pleasure working with Mr. Jernigan on both the Aviation Commission and as a city council member. He truly loved Orangeburg, Yow said.

Miller said, He was a good man, and he was a good businessman. He ran the camera store for a long number of years until people buying film and taking pictures and getting them developed became a thing of the past.

The former mayor continued, Charlie loved to fly. ... One of his main passions would be the airport and trying to make sure that we always were able to continue to upgrade and do the things necessary to get more money out there.

Miller said Jernigan loved the city and was very supportive of his wife in helping to make the Samaritan House a reality.

They were faithful members at St. Andrews. He was supportive of a lot of things around Orangeburg, he said.

It was in 2019 following his election defeat that Jernigan said, "I feel like I had a good run on 20 years.

A lot of things got accomplished, a lot of good things. I think theres going to be a lot of good things happening in the future. Ill be interested in watching the future for Orangeburg because I think its going to be good.

Orangeburg City Council issued a statement Tuesday, saying it expresses sincere condolences to the friends and family of former City Councilman Charles Jernigan.

The statement noted Jernigan was committed to representing his constituents and he was dedicated to making the City of Orangeburg a better place for those who live here.

Mr. Jernigan also worked tirelessly for the homeless and was devoted to keeping Samaritan House open to serve them. Mr. Jernigan will be missed but will always be remembered for his service to the City of Orangeburg.

Edward said Jernigan was a good father to him and his sister.

He was a good dad. I never heard anybody say anything negative about him. He seemed to treat everybody nice. We're very proud of him, he said.

Edward continued, He would try to stand up for something if he believed in it. He definitely treated everybody nice. If he saw something going on that he didn't think was proper, he definitely wouldn't stand on the sideline. He would say something about it. That's about all anybody can do.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD.

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A statue of the late civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis will be on display at South Carolina State University for one week as part of a traveling exhibition en route to Washington, D.C.

The statue will be unveiled Friday, Feb. 4, in a 2 p.m. ceremony adjacent to the Orangeburg Massacre Monument on Geathers Street.

State Rep. Jerry Govan Jr., D-Orangeburg, and S.C. State Interim President Alexander Conyers will be among those making remarks.

The statue will remain in place until Friday, Feb. 11.

After the unveiling, the public also is invited to view the statue during regular campus business hours, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lewis died at age 80 in July 2020 amid his 17th term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

His official biography on the Houses History, Art & Archives website states that Lewis dedicated his life to advancing the cause of freedom and equality in America.

As a leader in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, he challenged Jim Crow segregation and oppression across the South through nonviolent protest.

Lewis often put his own physical safety on the line and his bold, peaceful stands against discrimination were often met with violence. In 1965, Alabama state troopers in the town of Selma attacked Lewis and other demonstrators with clubs and tear gas during a march for voting rights.

Two decades later, in 1986, Lewis was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from an Atlanta district.

-- This story has been changed.

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Brother Julius Schacknow, left, walks with Paul Sweetman, one of Schacknow's apostles and closest aides, right, in a 1987 photograph. (Steve Dunn | Hartford Courant)

State prosecutors have closed the books on the strange, 17-year-old murder of the self-described chief apostle to Brother Julius Schacknow, a Connecticut cult leader who turned his claim to divinity into a multimillion-dollar business and real estate empire in the 1970s and 80s.

New Britain States Attorney Brian W. Preleski dismissed murder charges against against 77-year old accused killer Rudy Hannon, who died last month in prison after contracting COVID-19 while awaiting trial. Last week, Hannons co-defendant in the murder case, Sorek Minery, 45, was sentenced to 20 years in prison suspended after nine years.

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In this undated file photo, Brother Julius, aka Julius Schacknow, cult leader who proclaims to be God, during an interview. (Photo by Stephen Dunn./Stephen Dunn.)

The two men were accused of beating to death, freezing, dismembering and burying Paul Sweetman, who was second in command of the religious cult known as The Work, founded by the charismatic Schacknow, who died in 1996 at age 71. Preleski has said in court that Hannon and Minery, who turned on one another after their arrests, each accusing the other, committed the crime at a time when there was a struggle among cult leaders for control after Schacknows death.

[ A Cult, A Killing And Brother Julius: What You Should Know About The Murder Of Paul Sweetman ]

Schacknow was a slightly built man, who had piercing green eyes, wore a full beard and liked to appear in a white robes. He called himself a sinful messiah who, as he explained, had to sin to know what sin was like. He was accused of having a voracious sexual appetite and of grooming girls and young women in the cult for sex. Over time, his explanation of himself moved from prophet to Jesus Christ incarnate to God.

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While Schacknow was proclaiming divinity in the late 1970s, his Meriden-based cult was generating as much as $100 million in income, primarily through real estate and construction businesses that included the then most profitable Century 21 real estate franchise on the East Coast and now defunct County Wide Construction. At his peak, Schacknows followers, numbered about 300 and many worked for the businesses, investigators said.

According to information presented in court, the events leading to Sweetmans murder began in a dispute between he and his wife, Joanne Sweetman, for control of the cult and its income after Schacknows death. Joanne Sweetman, in addition to being a top cult leader known as the holy spirit, was a top officer in its real estate business and one of Schacknows former wives.

Joanne Sweetman allegedly wanted Paul Sweetmen dead so she could control the businesses, according to court filings and other material presented in court.

Mrs. Sweetman enlisted co-defendant Rudy Hannon, who is the biological son of Brother Julius, to eliminate Paul Sweetman, Preleski has said in court. That was in large part motivated by profit.

Joanne Sweetman died in 2011 before she could be charged, he said.

Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. >

Hannon recruited Minery, who eventually confessed after agreeing in a deal with prosecutors to testify against Hannon, Preleski said.

Minery told the police, according to an arrest warrant, that Hannon spent months persuading him that Paul Sweetman needed to be killed because he was hurting his wife, Joanne Sweetman, and that God would have wanted them to kill [Paul] Sweetman.

Paul Sweetman, then 70, was beaten to death in 2004, inside Blue Ridge Construction, Minerys Plainville-based business. Police say Hannon and Minery were both involved in the death, but each pointed at the other in statements to New Britain detectives.

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The case was dormant until 2016, when New Britain detectives were able to link a human thigh found by a dog 12 years earlier to Sweetman, who vanished and had by then been reported missing.

New Britain detectives arrested Hannon and Minery in 2018.

Minery told police he and Hannon stuffed Sweetman into freezer in his shop. He said he returned to the shop three or four days later and dismembered the body with an electric saw. He said he buried the head and legs in a shallow grave on land near the New Britain reservoir, and buried the torso and arms beneath a shed at his New Britain home.

Hannon, who was scheduled for trial when he died, gave police a slightly different story. He said he watched Minery beat Sweetman brutally, but helped stuff the body in the freezer. He claimed he believed Sweetman was still alive and Minery allegedly put something heavy on top of the freezer to keep Sweetman inside.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is not in favor of relocating the Confederate memorial statue from downtown Orangeburg, the organizations state president said Tuesday.

We are not in any agreement to move the monument from where it is located, said Darlene Dowdy of Anderson in response to a Times and Democrat report about legislation that would authorize relocation. The legislation has Senate approval but Orangeburg Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter said it faces an uphill battle in the House.

Cobb-Hunter said Orangeburg Sen. Brad Hutto, who introduced the bill along with Bowman Sen. Vernon Stephens, indicated the legislation has the backing of Confederate heritage organizations. Such support for relocation of the statue would be crucial to support in the House, she said.

And Stephens said, I believe the bill will pass. Theres been conversation with a Confederate group, and theyre in favor of that monument being relocated to a Confederate cemetery. I dont see that as being an issue.

We have not made an agreement with anyone, Dowdy said. We have always been against the moving of the monument.

Hutto, who was not available for comment for the Tuesday story, said later in the day that he consulted with city leaders about the legislation but has not talked with the UDC or other groups.

The protocol was followed, Hutto said. The city approved removal of the statue and the Supreme Court ruled a legislative vote could remove the statue. Legislation to do so was introduced.

"I spoke to city officials and asked were they prepared to move forward," Hutto said. The city owns the land upon which the statue is located and wants the monument moved.

All were doing is following the same set of steps as other folks.

Hutto said city officials and the legislative delegation were aware the legislation had been introduced.

"My conversations have been with the city and the delegation," he said.

Dowdy said the forerunners of the UDC raised the funds to put up monuments in Orangeburg and around South Carolina. So we feel kind of like watch-guards over their work.

Moving the 33-foot, 129-year-old monument to a Confederate cemetery in Orangeburg and away from Memorial Plaza, once the site of the county courthouse, would make it seem like its not important, she said.

The legislation calls for relocating the statue to The Pioneer Graveyard, also known as the Old Pioneer Cemetery, a burial site for Confederate soldiers located at the Old Dixie Club Library, also known as Dixie Hall.

Buzz Braxton of Orangeburg, who wants to keep the monument on Memorial Plaza, said he made contacts in the wake of Tuesdays T&D report. His non-profit S.C. History Preservation Committee has intervened along with the UDC and others in a legal case seeking removal of the Orangeburg statue.

I sent out a mass email across the state. I wanted people to be aware of the article, he said.

Braxton said he contacted the UDC and was told unequivocally that the organization is not in favor of the legislation.

South Carolinas rich traditional heritage is under attack, the attorney for Braxtons organization, Lauren Martel, said. We need to be sure we follow the law. This statute clearly falls under the Heritage Act.

The Heritage Act of 2000 forbids removal of Confederate, civil rights and other monuments without approval of the General Assembly. The state Supreme Court in 2021 upheld the law but struck down its provision that a two-thirds vote of approval in both houses is required to remove monuments.

UDC believes in protecting all monuments, not just those from the Civil War, Dowdy said. The Heritage Act protects all monuments and that is what we think should happen.

Were not racists, Dowdy said. UDC is an organization that provides scholarships and supports the military in addition to preserving history.

Orangeburg City Council voted in 2020 to remove the Confederate monument from Memorial Plaza but only after legislative approval.

We understand the city voted to move the monument. They did the right thing by waiting for the Heritage Act, Dowdy said.

The monument in Orangeburg is where it stands, Dowdy said. To move it is against the law at this point.

The lawsuit seeking removal of the Confederate monument from Memorial Plaza has been on hold. Orangeburg attorney Skyler Hutto, Sen. Huttos son, represents the plaintiffs seeking removal of the monument.

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As former chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has played a significant role in the confirmation process for federal judges.

No confirmation process gets more focus than a U.S. Supreme Court nomination. Graham and Republicans now must decide how to approach the coming process to replace retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer.

Will they continue the attack-the-nominee-at-all-costs approach as was demonstrated by Democrats with President Donald Trump's nominations, or will they go about the Senate's role as prescribed by the Constitution?

Here's what Graham had to say about the retirement of Breyer:

"I appreciate Justice Breyer's service to our nation. He has always been a scholar and a gentleman whose record on the Supreme Court is solidly in the liberal camp.

"Justice Breyer has always shown great respect for the institution and his colleagues, and I wish him well in the next phase of his life.

"As to his replacement: If all Democrats hang together -- which I expect they will -- they have the power to replace Justice Breyer in 2022 without one Republican vote in support.

"Elections have consequences, and that is most evident when it comes to fulfilling vacancies on the Supreme Court."

Graham has been outspoken in the past about the Senate's role of advice and consent. He has voted for Democratic court nominees when many other Republicans would not.

It's not that Graham agrees with the political or legal viewpoints of nominees, it's that he is right: Elections have consequences.

Just as Trump won in 2016 and subsequently got to nominate three conservative high court justices, Biden now has the opportunity to appoint someone with views closer to his liberal stands on the law and issues facing the court.

The role of a senator is not to vote on a nominee based on whether the lawmaker agrees with the judge's views. It is to determine whether there is anything in the nominee's background that would disqualify him or her from service on the court. If there is no disqualifying factor, the nominee should be approved.

Make no mistake, in these partisan times, there is going to be a high-profile vetting on the Biden nominee. And there should be. But in the end, the 50-50 Senate will confirm the nominee.

The vote well could be 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. After all, Trump appointees got few Democratic votes.

But if the process works as it should, Republicans will be as aggressive as they can in getting information about the nominee before voting to confirm the Biden appointee.

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Where were you sleeping the night of Jan. 26?

Thats the question volunteers have been polling community members about for the past week.

The annual homeless point-in-time count, a rough estimate of housing instability, returned to Casper on Friday following a partial hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey is mandatory for organizations that receive money from Continuum of Care, the biggest federal program geared toward assisting the homeless.

Volunteers were dispatched downtown to query people about their living situations.

A lot of people are pretty open, said Krystal Wallace, a client advocate at Community Action Partnership of Natrona County. Wallace has been part of the local count for about a decade.

The hardest part of the count is finding people to talk to, Wallace said. Not many homeless people are out and about this time of year, but the volunteers check anyway. On the list of places to visit: the underpass beneath McKinley, the Platte River Pathway and the library.

The goal is to determine how many people in Casper are homeless on a given night.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses the point-in-time count to figure out if homeless populations served by Continuum of Care organizations are going up or down. Those numbers, in turn, influence how the grant money each of those organizations get.

The survey is always conducted during the last 10 days of January. Thats because homeless shelters are at their fullest in mid-winter, said Bobbie Nielsen-Rogers, treasurer of the Wyoming Homeless Collaborative. People are also more likely to be tight on resources at the end of the month.

The point-in-time count distinguishes between people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness.

If people say they were on the streets, camped outside or in their cars, theyre considered unsheltered. If they were staying at a place like Wyoming Rescue Mission, theyre considered sheltered.

The unsheltered and sheltered counts are conducted separately, but both collect information about how long respondents have been homeless, and why. The survey also records data on their demographics, like their age, race and gender.

Take a look at totals from the statewide point-in-time count from 2007 to 2020. Homelessness rose in 2011, spiked in 2012 and fell off in 2013 and 2014. Thats partly because Department of Housing and Urban Development narrowed its definition of homeless around that time, Nielsen-Rogers said. But the numbers also reflect Wyomings economic downturn during the recession.

Casper didnt conduct the unsheltered count last year, so 2022 will be the citys first look at how homelessness has changed since the start of the pandemic. (The results of the survey are usually published a little over a year after they take place.)

In recent years  even before the COVID-19 pandemic  theres been an uptick in families experiencing homelessness, Nielsen-Rogers said.

The survey also recently started collecting information on people who are doubled up: those without a permanent residence, but temporarily living with family or friends.

The point-in-time count could provide insight into whether coronavirus relief programs made a difference for people experiencing homelessness.

Initiatives like the one-time stimulus payments, expansions to unemployment insurance and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) helped keep millions of Americans afloat in 2020 and 2021.

On the other hand, theres evidence that relief was slow to reach the homeless. Many faced barriers to getting stimulus checks, the New York Times reported. And it was only in October that Wyomings Department of Family Services introduced a way for the homeless people to apply for ERAP money.

Still, Nielsen-Rogers cautioned about what the figures do and dont show.

The point-in-time count only gathers information about one day a year, for one. And only Continuum of Care programs participate. Other housing organizations, including homeless shelters, that arent part of Continuum of Care. Caspers homeless student population, for example, isnt represented in the survey.

So while it can reveal patterns in housing instability, point-in-count data is far from a complete picture.

While its informational, its hard to use it for decision-making, Nielsen Rogers said.

As of Wednesday, Community Action Partnership had collected surveys from 23 people who said they were unsheltered, and 20 people who said they were doubled-up.

Thats pretty on par with a typical year, said executive director Marilyn Dymond-Wagner. If that seems low, thats because it probably is, she said. More people find ways to double-up during the winter, she said, even though they might be out on the streets in the summer.

When I first started doing this, I was like, What? Thats all we get? said Dymond-Wagner.

For the past handful of years, Casper held hosted a resource fair called Project Homeless Connect in conjunction with the point-in-time count. The event helps connect those experiencing housing instability with social services.

Area organizations collaborate to provide visitors with hot meals, haircuts and medical assistance, along with workforce, legal and housing services. Free supplies, like clothes and toiletries, were also given out.

Visitors can walk out with anything they need that they can carry, said Kim Summerall, executive director of the Casper Housing Authority. The housing authoritys nonprofit arm organized the event.

About 80 people showed up to the resource fair last Friday, which is a bit lower than years past, Summerall said. She said there was some confusion over where it was taking place. Previously, Project Homeless Connect was held in the old Kings Corner building, but they had to move it to Wyoming Food For Thought Projects Good Food Hub after that location sold.

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SMALL business owners in three Caribbean countries will get the opportunity to showcase how their enterprises are transforming their communities, and themselves, due to support from the social enterprise, Nudge Caribbean.

The opportunity comes tomorrow, at an event called Nudge Now, which is being organised by Nudge Caribbean, which was founded by Anya Ayoung-Chee, design strategist and social entrepreneur, and Julie Avey, Massy Groups senior vice president of People and Culture.
SMALL business owners in three Caribbean countries will get the opportunity to showcase how their enterprises are transforming their communities, and themselves, due to support from the social enterprise, Nudge Caribbean.

The opportunity comes tomorrow, at an event called Nudge Now, which is being organised by Nudge Caribbean, which was founded by Anya Ayoung-Chee, design strategist and social entrepreneur, and Julie Avey, Massy Groups senior vice president of People and Culture.
SMALL business owners in three Caribbean countries will get the opportunity to showcase how their enterprises are transforming their communities, and themselves, due to support from the social enterprise, Nudge Caribbean.

The opportunity comes tomorrow, at an event called Nudge Now, which is being organised by Nudge Caribbean, which was founded by Anya Ayoung-Chee, design strategist and social entrepreneur, and Julie Avey, Massy Groups senior vice president of People and Culture.
SMALL business owners in three Caribbean countries will get the opportunity to showcase how their enterprises are transforming their communities, and themselves, due to support from the social enterprise, Nudge Caribbean.

The opportunity comes tomorrow, at an event called Nudge Now, which is being organised by Nudge Caribbean, which was founded by Anya Ayoung-Chee, design strategist and social entrepreneur, and Julie Avey, Massy Groups senior vice president of People and Culture.
SMALL business owners in three Caribbean countries will get the opportunity to showcase how their enterprises are transforming their communities, and themselves, due to support from the social enterprise, Nudge Caribbean.

The opportunity comes tomorrow, at an event called Nudge Now, which is being organised by Nudge Caribbean, which was founded by Anya Ayoung-Chee, design strategist and social entrepreneur, and Julie Avey, Massy Groups senior vice president of People and Culture.
SMALL business owners in three Caribbean countries will get the opportunity to showcase how their enterprises are transforming their communities, and themselves, due to support from the social enterprise, Nudge Caribbean.

The opportunity comes tomorrow, at an event called Nudge Now, which is being organised by Nudge Caribbean, which was founded by Anya Ayoung-Chee, design strategist and social entrepreneur, and Julie Avey, Massy Groups senior vice president of People and Culture.
The Point is to Change the World, a collection of writings by Guyanese political activist Andaiye, was in the spotlight on Thursday, the first day of the 2022 Bocas Lit Fest, which kicked off with a series of virtual events.

Thursdays conversation centred on Andaiyes writings and legacy.

Journalist Sunity Maharaj said while Andaiye left a legacy through her work, she also used her platform to be open and honest about every aspect of her life, including her battle with cancer.
Manchester mayor Jay Moran speaks for Connecticut's official state groundhog, Chuckles XI, held by Ashley Little, Animal Program Curator for The Lutz Children's Museum. (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

Chuckles XI did his job.

Whether anyone likes the result remains to be seen. Especially as more wintry weather is likely to bear down on the state.

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But in the inaugural year of Chuckles XI (after last years ceremony was closed to the public and a hedgehog stood in for the late Chuckles X), Mayor Jay Moran announced that Chuckles predicted six more weeks of winter.

Further, the new Chuckles is very good with a Sharpie, said Lutz Childrens Museum staff member Allison Kaufman, during the first public appearance of the Lutz Childrens Museum mascot. The giant groundhog waved to passing cars outside the museum early Wednesday morning after a ceremony with Connecticuts official state groundhog, Chuckles XI.

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The first public appearance of the Lutz Children's Museum mascot. The groundhog waved to passing cars outside the museum early this morning. (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

The states official groundhog had died in 2020 and then the search got underway to fill the crucial role.

Lutz Children's Museum animal curator Ashley Little with the new state groundhog, Chuckles XI. (Lutz Children's Museum)

Chuckles X, a female woodchuck that conveyed forecasts to Moran in 2020 and in 2019, was cremated, Lutz Childrens Museum interim Director Kate Morrissey said at the time.

Chuckles X, who was 5-6 years old when she died, was blind. A chemical  probably some kind of poison put out to kill her  burned her when she was young, and her eyes were surgically removed.

Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. >

Tradition says that if a groundhog emerges from its hole on Feb. 2 and sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter will follow. No shadow means an early spring.

Thousands of people from around the nation and other countries gathered at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., as members of Punxsutawney Phils inner circle summoned him from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he had seen his shadow, a message they said Phil communicated in groundhogese. After Phils prediction was announced, the crowd repeatedly chanted six more weeks!

Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 136th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger) (BARRY REEGER/AP)

The annual event has its origin in a German legend about a furry rodent.

According to records dating back to 1887, Phil has predicted winter more than 100 times. Ten years were lost because no records were kept, organizers said.

The 2020 forecast called for an early spring.

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Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer but hes certainly not the only one, and one competitor disagreed with his prediction. New York Citys Staten Island Chuck expects an early spring, according to Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon, who presided over a ceremony that was livestreamed from Chucks home at the Staten Island Zoo.

Groundhog handler AJ Derume holds Punxsutawney Phil, who saw his shadow, predicting a late spring, during the 136th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Feb. 2, 2022 in Punxsutawney, Penn. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Groundhog Club President Jeff Lundy interacts with Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 136th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Penn. on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter. (BARRY REEGER/AP)

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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A Barrackpore woman returned to her house in the early hours of last Saturday and found an i
A Barrackpore woman returned to her house in the early hours of last Saturday and found an i
A Barrackpore woman returned to her house in the early hours of last Saturday and found an i
PHOENIX  The top House Republican is unilaterally quashing legislation that would have given lawmakers the power to reject election results.

Strictly speaking, Speaker Rusty Bowers is not killing House Bill 2596, he told Capitol Media Services on Wednesday. Thats something he could do by simply refusing to assign it to any committee to be considered.

Instead, Bowers has taken the unprecedented step of assigning the proposal to each and every one of the 12 House committees, saying he knows full well there is no way it can secure approval of each. Most bills go to no more than two committees.

The maneuver drew an angry reaction from the bills sponsor, Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction. He complained to Capitol Media Services that his highness was abusing his powers in deep-sixing a measure that 14 other Republicans, out of 47 in the Legislature, support fully enough to sign on as co-sponsors.

He does things like hes God, Fillmore said of the speaker. But Fillmore acknowledged he doesnt have the votes  at least among those in his caucus willing to stand up  to oust Bowers as speaker and install someone who would allow the plan a chance of getting to the House floor for a vote.

Sometimes there are a great many of the legislators (who) dont have the intestinal fortitude to do what is right, Fillmore said.

His proposed legislation is a grab bag of changes to election laws. It would:

Repeal laws allowing anyone to get an early ballot, saying only those with an excuse, like being hospitalized, would get that right.

Bar all other forms of early voting, requiring that ballots be cast only on Election Day.

Prohibit the use of Election Day voting centers available to anyone within a county, restricting people to casting ballots only in their home precinct.

We need to get back to 1958-style voting, Fillmore said.

But the provision that alarmed Bowers and some others would have required the Legislature to call itself into special session after every election to review the ballot tabulating process for both the primary and general elections.

More to the point, it would permit lawmakers to accept or reject the election returns, with the latter option paving the way for anyone to file suit to seek a new election.

That is unacceptable, Bowers told Capitol Media Services.

We gave the authority to the people, the Mesa Republican said.

For somebody to say we have plenary authority to overthrow a vote of the people for something we think may have happened, where is it (the evidence)? Bowers said of the unproven and unverified claims made by those seeking a new 2020 vote.

He said the audit of Maricopa Countys 2020 election returns ordered by Senate President Karen Fann has not produced any evidence that, as some have contended, the election was stolen from Donald Trump.

The point is, when we gave a fundamental right to the people, I dont care if I win or lose, that right was theirs, Bowers said. And Im not going to go back and kick them in the teeth.

The speaker also said he could not go along with another provision that would have scrapped the current system of having ballots tabulated by machine, replacing that with a hand count of the all the votes cast, a figure that exceeded 3.4 million in 2020.

Proponents have argued that machine counts cannot be trusted, with allegations  all never proven  that the tabulators were either hacked or programmed to produce winning numbers for Joe Biden. Bowers said the solution of hand counts is worse than any potential problem.

Theres individual elements (of the bill) that harm accuracy, speed and dependability of a vote, Bowers said. And if I can stop it, Im not going to let that happen.

Bowers acknowledged there are those within his own party who continue to insist the last presidential election was rigged. And he said he is willing to consider changes in law designed to protect the right to vote and protect against cheating.

For example, he has allowed bills to go forward that would alter the early voting process or increase identification requirements.

But Bowers said hes not willing to go along with capricious alterations to the law sought by people of that ilk, the screaming, demanding, arrogant, self-righteous bunch. And the speaker said it is his job to stand up and say no, even when others cannot  or will not.

I would say that most Republicans dont like it that way, he said of the election-results deniers. Theyre just intimidated by these people.

Killing Fillmores bill is just a message, Bowers said.

Fillmore said Bowers has it wrong in saying the Legislature should have no role in reviewing  and potentially voiding  election returns.

The Supreme Court has said that voting is our responsibility, he said Wednesday after being informed of the speakers decision. Who else, if not the state Legislature, would deal with this?

Fillmore, in introducing the legislation, said he isnt buying arguments by election officials who say that machine counts are more accurate.

Nor was he swayed by the fact that current law already requires there be a hand count of ballots from selected precincts to compare that tally with what the machines registered. If those results are within a specified percentage, then the results statewide are presumed accurate. That is what happened after the 2020 election.

A judge separately ordered inspection of more than 1,600 ballots cast in the general election after allegations the machines had not properly tabulated the presidential race. In that case, the hand count found just nine with errors in the presidential race, not enough to declare Trump the winner here, even if that error rate ran through all similar ballots.

Bowers said that, in assigning HB 2596 to all 12 committees, he actually is giving Fillmore what he wants: the chance for one or more hearings. That could not have occurred if he refused to refer it to any committee at all, he said.

But Bowers made it clear that there is no way this bill would ever become law.

He gets that power not just by virtue of being the speaker and deciding what bills are put up for votes of the full House.

Theres also the fact that there are only 31 Republicans in the 60-member chamber. And with no Democrats in support, that means a single GOP vote against it  including his  would kill it if if even got that far.

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Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly has raised more than $27.5 million for his reelection bid this fall, almost twice the total raised by a half-dozen Republican challengers, according to new campaign finance reports.

But political analysts said Kellys giant war chest  the fourth deepest among Senate campaigns nationwide in 2021  does not guarantee a win in a state like Arizona during a year that is expected to be rough for Democrats.

He could have unlimited amounts of money  but if the political environment is really bad for Democrats, as it might be, there may be no amount of money he could spend that saves himself, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. He calls the Arizona Senate race a toss-up.

But for now, Kellys in a good position. Besides a sizable fundraising lead, he does not have a Democratic primary challenger, while his would-be Republican opponents face a bruising and costly primary before they can turn their sights on Kelly.

A poll released Tuesday by OH Predictive Insights suggested Kelly would get 42% of the vote to 38% for any Republican candidate, with 19% of voters undecided. The online poll of 855 registered Arizona voters was taken Jan. 11-13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4%.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich led the Republican field in the poll, with 25% of GOP voters, with Mick McGuire, the former adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard, in second place with 11%. The two biggest fundraisers on the Republican side, relative unknowns Jim Lamon and Blake Masters, finished in the single digits in the poll.

In reports released Monday by the Federal Election Commission, Lamon reported raising almost $8.6 million and having $5.9 million in the bank as of Dec. 31, while Masters reported raising $2.6 million and having $1.8 on hand.

Brnovich raised $1.8 million last year and had $768,002 on hand while McGuire reported pulling in $946,965 and having $225,477 in the bank.

Lamons campaign has been largely self-funded so far: The businessman loaned $8 million of his own money to his campaign.

And Masters FEC report does not include the Saving Arizona PAC, a political action committee funded with $10 million from PayPal founder Peter Thiel. Masters is a Thiel protege, co-authoring books with him and serving as an officer of Thiel Capital and the Thiel Foundation.

If you compare the candidates and take out the self-funding, everyones on competitive ground, said McGuire campaign spokesperson Lisa James, who said the campaign is very confident about its current position.

The crowded field could work to the detriment of the GOP, with the primary not until August, just three months before the general election.

Because of the long campaign, youre going to see the candidates turn on each other to try and differentiate themselves from each other, said Bill Scheel, a partner with the Arizona consulting firm Javelina.

Another challenge for Republicans is name recognition. Except for Brnovich, few are well-known to state voters.

Its pretty obvious that none of the Republican candidates have really caught on with the donors yet, Scheel said. And I think the fact that you have four candidates makes that more difficult because there hasnt been a clear front-runner.

That could change if former President Donald Trump gets involved. He has so far refused to endorse a GOP candidate in the Senate race.

One of the biggest questions in the Republican primary is what does former President Trump do? said Nathan Gonzales, the editor and publisher of Inside Elections. Having his endorsement, particularly in a crowded race, could help one candidate get over the top.

But Gonzales added that Trump can be a blessing and a curse for Republicans, particularly in a state like Arizona which narrowly went for President Joe Biden over Trump in 2020.

Whoever emerges on the GOP side, analysts expect the race will tighten and the fundraising on both sides will continue to increase.

Few doubt the ability of Kelly, who raised more than $101 million for his 2020 election and who analysts variously referred to as a fundraising juggernaut and fundraising behemoth. His latest FEC report said he had $18.6 million cash on hand compared to $8.7 million for all the GOP candidates combined.

I would expect him to keep getting bigger and bigger totals as we get closer to election day, said Jessica Taylor, the Senate and governor editor of Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

Kondik said Kelly has enough money to get his message out, but so do the Republicans. Kellys current funding lead will only go so far in a year that will be pretty challenging for the Democrats, both in Arizona and across the country, Kondik said.

The campaign is sure to draw national attention: Arizona is considered a swing state and, with the current Senate divided 50-50, control of the body goes to whichever party can pick up a seat.

Every single Senate race is the tiebreaker, given that we are in a 50-50 Senate, Taylor said.

Gonzales agreed with Kondik that Kelly is on track to have the resources that he needs and the money that he needs to get his message out, but that he may need it if the campaign proves to be as challenging for Democrats as many expect.

This is a race to get the most votes and not a race to raise the most money, Gonzales said.

For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.

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PHOENIX  A House panel voted Tuesday to give Arizonans fewer choices for who sets the rates they're charged by utilities.

The measure crafted by Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, would require candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission to be at least 30 years old and have been a state resident for two or more years.

Moreover, House Bill 2536 would disqualify anyone from running for the commission in 2024 and beyond unless they have at least five years experience in specified areas. These include accounting, business administration, finance, administrative law or professional engineering.

"This is a highly technical job," said Griffin, who chairs the Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Water. She told colleagues the qualifications were "suggested'' to her, though she denied they came from the utilities the commission regulates.

But Sandy Bahr, lobbyist for the Arizona chapter of the Sierra Club, suggested the requirements were drawn so narrowly as to eliminate other people who have a legitimate role in setting energy policy and rates.

For example, if lawmakers are looking for qualifications, they should also consider those who have training in water or energy policy, she said.

"Why not a background in climate science or a consumer advocate?" said Bahr, whose organization appears before the Corporation Commission to talk about the environmental implications of its decisions.

She scoffed at the idea that the work done and the policies set by the five-member commission are any more technical than the work done at the Capitol.

"You don't require legislators to have any qualifications," Bahr said. "You all deal with a broad range of technical issues. You don't have to have a background in education, in environment, in any of those things."

Griffin's proposal also drew derision from Kris Mayes, who served as a Republican commissioner from 2003 through 2010 and was instrumental in adopting clean-energy requirements for utilities.

"This is an attempt to prevent Arizonans from voting for strong consumer advocates," Mayes, who did not attend Tuesday's meeting, told Capitol Media Services. Mayes, now running for attorney general as a Democrat, called it the bill a "pro-utility, anti-consumer" measure.

While only the Republicans on the committee voted for HB 2536, its effects would appear to be bipartisan.

Rep. Andres Cano, D-Tucson, said had this been in law, a whole list of Republicans who served on the commission would not have been qualified to run.

For example, he said Republican Mike Gleason, who chaired the commission, got his bachelor's degree in forestry.

"Gary Pierce?" Cano continued. "He was a car dealership manager."

Bob Stump's background included being a journalist and freelance writer for newspapers.

Bahr pointed out that attorney Marc Spitzer served on the Corporation Commission until 2006 when he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

"But with this in place, (he) wouldn't be qualified to serve on the commission here because, well, he's just a lawyer," Bahr said.

Bahr said individual expertise in technical issues isn't necessary for commissioners, just as it is not necessary for legislators, as both groups have access to highly qualified staff to provide that expertise.

That didn't convince Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, who is running for secretary of state, a position that does not have specific qualifications.

"We rely a little too much on staff and not enough on unique qualifications of individuals who are uniquely certified, uniquely prepared, uniquely educated for various roles in leadership," Finchem said. He said that is particularly true at the Corporation Commission in "an increasingly technologically challenged energy environment."

Cano, however, said the measure, which now requires approval of the full House, is overly restrictive.

"We should be expanding voter choice and we should be allowing a wide range of candidates to be able to be on the stage and have that ability to convince voters that they can handle energy policy," he said.

Last year, Griffin sponsored unsuccessful legislation to strip the commission of its power to set energy policy for utilities.

That followed the commissioners' decision to propose that half of the state's energy be generated from carbon-free sources and that power be totally carbon-free by 2050. Griffin said the panel should have considered what she said are lower-cost alternatives like coal and gas-fired power plants.

Just this past week, however, the three Republicans on the commission quashed the clean-energy rules.

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Sara Chamberlin cared for COVID-19 patients in intensive care for the first year of the pandemic and so, when the chance to get vaccinated arrived, she got the shots  even though she was pregnant.

I remember doing chest compressions on a man while I stared at his daughters quinceanera photos on the wall, she said of her job as a registered nurse.

He was too young to die. I didnt want to be on a ventilator when my daughter was born, or leave my daughter without a mother.

Chamberlin was in her second trimester when she received the Pfizer vaccines in March 2021. Her healthy baby was born in July.

At the time, there was no recommendation about pregnant women getting the vaccine because there wasnt enough information to make a recommendation so I had to do a risk-benefit evaluation for myself, Chamberlin said.

I knew there was possible unknown risk with the vaccine, but there were several known real risks with infection.

Currently, those who are pregnant are one of the lowest vaccination groups nationwide. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that only 42.6% of pregnant people were fully vaccinated as of Jan. 15, 2022, compared to about 64% of the population ages 5 and older overall.

Those who are pregnant or were recently pregnant are more likely to get severely ill if infected with COVID-19 compared to women who are not pregnant, the CDC reports. This is because pregnancy causes changes in the body that makes it easier to get severely ill from viruses.

To help people in Pima County make the decision about vaccines during pregnancy, the Pima County Health Department is partnering with Tucson Medical Center to bring two virtual town halls.

The first of these online sessions will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, and a second one, in Spanish, will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 9. For more information, to register and to see the list of panelists, visit pima.gov/covid19pregnancy.

The recommendation for vaccinations during pregnancy is very unambiguous, said Dr. Francisco Garcia, the countys chief medical officer whose medical training is in obstetrics and gynecology.

Its normal for women to want to do a double take, he said, but the evidence is incontrovertible that the vaccinations are a real benefit to the mom and to the baby.

Chamberlin said there is now enough data for medical professionals to recommend vaccination to those who are pregnant. Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the CDC now emphasize the importance of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

If I were pregnant now instead of when I was, she said, I would get it in the first trimester, or before becoming pregnant.

Thats what Cassie Breneman and her husband decided was their best course of action: dont try to get pregnant with their second child until after becoming fully vaccinated.

I was definitely nervous about doing the shot while I was pregnant, she said, explaining that while she is not hesitant about vaccines in general, she did not want to risk running a fever early on in pregnancy.

The science was all so fresh at that point. Fortunately we didnt have to make that choice.

The couple received their vaccinations early last spring and their second child was born mid-January. Breneman received her booster when she was about 32 weeks pregnant.

At that point, we felt he would probably be fine even if I did get a fever, she said, referring to the babys weight and development at that time.

Jenna Matty was in her third trimester when she got vaccinated in October. Like Breneman, she was concerned about running a fever any earlier in her pregnancy.

Her second child was born in mid-December.

The decision to get the vaccine while pregnant was a tough decision, she said. We went back and forth a lot.

Matty said she didnt have any complications from the vaccine shots, other than an achy arm.

Photos: Drive-through COVID testing site opens on Tucson's west side FEMA Drive-through COVID-19 testing FEMA Drive-through COVID-19 testing FEMA Drive-through COVID-19 testing FEMA Drive-through COVID-19 testing FEMA Drive-through COVID-19 testing FEMA Drive-through COVID-19 testing FEMA Drive-through COVID-19 testing FEMA Drive-through COVID-19 testing

Contact reporter Patty Machelor at 806-7754 or

Town halls on pregnancy and COVID-19 The Pima County Health Department is collaborating with Tucson Medical Center to provide two online town halls about healthy pregnancy, COVID-19 and vaccine safety. The event for English-speakers will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. online Wednesday and another event for Spanish-speakers will be held at the same time on Wednesday, Feb. 9. A panel of community-member experts, including new parents, will address concerns individuals might have about staying healthy during a pandemic pregnancy, including getting vaccinated during pregnancy, while trying to get pregnant, or after recent delivery. To register, see the list of panelists and find out more, visit pima.gov/covid19pregnancy. Recordings of both town halls will be available on that page the day after they occur.

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City officials are considering a permanent fare-free transit system, an initiative that is intended to keep money in the pockets of those who rely on bus, streetcar and Sun Van rides to get around  but the money typical riders could save each month is about the cost of a tank of gas.

Free transit is not an entirely new idea: Rides have been free in Tucson since early 2020 as a COVID-19 mitigation measure, and the City Council later extended that moratorium until June using federal relief funds.

"My office received a lot of phone calls from Ward 5 constituents about them losing their jobs, losing their homes, getting their water, gas and electricity shut off and those losing their businesses, Councilman Richard Fimbres said about his push to pause fares in 2020.

But as the pandemic wanes, those federal dollars will dry up. When that happens, city officials will have to spend an extra $800,000 to $1 million of general fund money each month to run the transit system if they choose to nix fares permanently.

The monthly savings for a typical transit user? About $40.

It really is a policy decision based on where (the councils) priorities are going forward, City Manager Michael Ortega said. There are a variety of areas that are in need of dollars, but its a function of where that is in terms of priority for the community, those partners, but also for the mayor and City Council.

Brian Flagg, a founding member of the Tucson Bus Riders Union, believes eliminating fares is worth the cost to city taxpayers. He said $40 in monthly savings, while relatively small, could make a significant difference to some of the city's poorest transit users.

"It's a matter of equity and what might not seem like a lot to some people is a big deal to other people who are struggling to survive," Flagg said. "Transportation to your job and other essential things is an absolute necessity. It's not a luxury, it's a necessity. It will really help people out. It's worth it."

Tucsons pre-COVID transit fares were already inexpensive, however. The low income or economy rates for qualifying residents were the single lowest in the country, for example, and the city didnt even collect enough fare money to cover its transit system costs.

But breaking even was never the goal, according to Councilman Steve Kozachik, who said the transit system was always more of a social service than a revenue generator. He added that money will always need to be pulled from the general fund to subsidize public transit; now it's just a question of "how much should be coming out of the general fund?

Before the pandemic, the City Council's goal was to reduce that general fund loss by attracting more transit customers who would, in turn, generate more fare revenue. Officials have yet to refocus on that goal, but appealing to more riders at this point might be trickier than it was.

We have had reports from some of our operators that we have people who are just kind of hanging out, and I dont want to lose ridership because it turns into an unsafe environment, said Kozachik. I dont want to sound heartless, but I dont want to turn it into a taxi for the homeless who are kind of hanging out on buses and making people who would otherwise be riding feel uncomfortable riding it.

Assaults (against riders and drivers) on city buses also tripled between 2019 and 2021  from 21 to 64  despite ridership decreasing by 12% in that same timeframe. The number of incidents is still low considering Sun Tran operates over 12 million bus rides each year, but the trend has consistently been on the rise since fares were paused.

Rhett Crowninshield, the citys transit administrator, said he believes the rise in violent incidents is driven more by mask mandate outbursts and mental health issues than it is by increased homeless activity in the transit system.

Do we see homeless people on our system? Of course. I think thats part of what our mayor and council are trying to do, theyre trying to help them get to health care appointments, to employment opportunities, I think thats kind of where they wanted to go with this, Crowninshield said. Were trying to allow them to have some opportunities to get where they need to go.

Kozachik said he could support the fare-free transit system if the city can put protocols in place to make it a safe environment and welcoming to anybody who wants to get on, though he admits hes not sure how you do that.

Both Crowninshield and Steve Spade, Sun Trans general manager, said theyre working to improve security but did not provide specifics on whats being done. Councilman Fimbres said he also has been working to address the problem.

These issues have been pre-pandemic and post-pandemic so that cant be linked to just one factor, Fimbres said. I am working to get more security measures at the bus stops, transit centers and other items for buses.

Ortega will make a recommendation about whether to pursue a fare-free system after considering the financial cost-benefit, the impact on community partners such as school districts, and how the level of service might be affected.

That process will be ongoing until the city's budget discussions, when council members are expected to vote on whether to eliminate transit fares indefinitely.

My responsibility is to provide them with that information, those data sets. Ill give them options, provide them a recommendation, and then they ultimately make a call on it, the city manager said. When I scrub all of that data, then Ill have some recommendations.

Photos: Archive photos of transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson Transit strikes in Tucson

Reporter Sam Kmack covers local government. Contact him at skmack@tucson.com.

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An image of federal Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain is installed by protesters in front of Purdue Pharma's headquarters, in Stamford, Conn., on Sept. 1, 2021. With a settlement possibly near, Judge Robert Drain is giving the family who owns OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma 16 more days of protection from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids. The legal protections for members of the Sackler family were set to run out on Tuesday, Feb. 1, a move that would have opened the floodgates for litigation. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) (Mark Lennihan/AP)

The attorneys general for eight holdout states and the District of Columbia are close to reaching a new settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would require members of the family who own the company to increase their contribution to the deal, according to a court filing.

A judge Tuesday gave them 16 more days of protection from lawsuits over the toll of the drugs while the details are worked out.

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Legal protections for members of the Sackler family had been set to expire Tuesday, opening the floodgates for new or resumed claims that individuals in the billionaire family bore personal responsibility for an opioid crisis that has been linked to the deaths of more than 500,000 Americans over the past two decades.

At a hearing held by video conference from his White Plains, New York, courtroom, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain agreed to the extend legal protections for family members for the 12th time since 2019.

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The ruling came a day after a second bankruptcy judge who is serving as a mediator in the matter said the Sacklers and other parties are close to a new settlement.

The judge, Shelley Chapman, said in the court filing Monday that members of the Sackler family would contribute a substantial additional consideration above the $4.5 billion in cash and charitable assets theyve already agreed to pay as part of a deal, along with giving up ownership of Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue.

She said that the attorneys general for eight states and the District of Columbia who objected to a previous settlement deal were close to agreeing in principle to the new one.

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Chapman said mediation should wrap up by Feb. 7.

Drain said he would OK that and also grant Purdues request to keep legal protections in place for Sackler family members until Feb. 17.

Drain said that if a deal isnt in place by then, all bets are open as to whether he would protect the family again.

The effort to reach a new settlement is the latest chapter in a complicated legal saga through bankruptcy court.

Last year, the overwhelming majority of Purdues creditors, including state and local governments, Native American tribes and individual victims of the opioid crisis agreed to a settlement, which Drain approved. But in December, another judge dismissed it, ruling that Drain lacked jurisdiction to let the Sacklers off the legal hook when some parties disagreed. That ruling is being appealed.

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At Tuesdays hearing, only one lawyer pushed against extending legal protections for members of the family, which is collectively worth billions: Joe Rice, a lead lawyer for local governments who had sued Purdue. He argued that it was time to open other legal options in a case that has rung up legal and professional fees of $740 million so far.

A Purdue lawyer pointed out that more than half of those costs were to pay to notify victims they could request a piece of a settlement and to pay the legal costs of the companys creditors.
Laissez les bons temps rouler is a French-Cajun expression used commonly around the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, specifically when referring to Mardi Gras, and translates to let the good times roll.

For the past eight years, Chris and Amanda West kept the spirit of New Orleans rolling in their popular downtown spot, Lassalles New Orleans Deli. They created a loyal customer base of folks who craved traditional and authentic Cajun and Creole food  muffulettas, poboy sandwiches, red beans and rice, jambalaya and seafood gumbo. Oh, that delicious seafood gumbo.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Wests to a temporary shutdown in 2020, they started thinking of ways to pivot to try to stay in business. Naturally, they turned to their Louisiana roots for inspiration.

Lassalles New Orleans Deli was more than just a way to make a living. It was our culture, lifestyle and identity, Chris West said.

Chris and Amanda used the pandemic downtime to start OklaNola Pepper Co., named for the West familys past and present, a name that Chris West has had trademarked for some time.

The fermented hot sauces, made from peppers grown by the Wests on their 25-acre farm in rural Rogers county, were available in limited quantity at Lassalles and through a few other outposts in the area. The bottles sold out almost instantly. However, as has been the case for many local businesses, the pandemic got the best of the Wests.

Chris shared on social media that they closed Lassalles for good on Dec. 23.

We tried everything we could to keep our doors open, Chris West said. But in the end, the pandemic has just outlasted our financial resources.

As I wrote in a past Tulsa World Magazine feature about Tulsa chefs with unique tattoos, Chris West wears his heart on his sleeve, and his heart bleeds New Orleans. Wests arms represent his life in New Orleans before arriving in Tulsa post-Hurricane Katrina, as they are inked with images of local musicians and local seafood.

Chris and Amanda West, both New Orleans-area natives, escaped to Tulsa after the hurricane decimated their apartment and most of the Gulf Coast. They chose Tulsa because Amandas mother, Charlotte, as well as other family members, lived in town.

We were New Orleanians, and we tried to represent that in everything we did in every way, West lamented in a lengthy social media post announcing the closing of their beloved restaurant.

In that same post, Chris shared that he and Amanda will be expanding OklaNola Pepper Co. and plan to be in several retail spaces and hopefully available for nationwide shipping in 2022.

We hope to have Lassalles products in a few of our friends restaurants, coffee shops and markets sometime soon, Chris West said.

The Meat & Cheese Show and Macs Barbecue are two of the local spots that currently stock OklaNola products, but they dont linger on shelves for long, so if you see a bottle or jar, be sure to grab one.

Adam Green, owner of Macs Barbecue in Skiatook, is a huge fan, as well as a friend.

Chris went from surviving Katrina to moving here and opening his dream, Green said. Then having to close it during the pandemic  I just want to support my buddy.

Green said he and West share a lot of the same customers, so selling Lassalles products at Macs was a natural fit.

I had to fight for a case of hot sauce to sell here, Green said. And I already have customers asking if were going to sell his soups.

The Wests have decided to refocus on the food  growing it and cooking it.

Chris and Amandas plan is to transition the Lassalles brand into a market farm. They will soon be approaching small restaurants and others in the community to try to supply them with responsibly grown produce. There will be an OklaNola booth at the Tulsa Farmers market on Saturday mornings selling produce, plants and seedlings, and quarts of the Cajun and Creole classics for which they are known.

Well continue to bring new classic Cajun and Creole dishes, meats and sausages to the market, West said. Well also have a variety of seedlings focusing on Louisiana tomato plants (Creole tomatoes), Louisiana okra and LSU purple figs all grown by us here in Green Country.

OklaNola will grow its own chili peppers at the farm to use in the sauces and grow extra chilis to bring to the market. Chris and Amanda also plan to produce spice mixes from ingredients grown and milled on the farm.

We realize this is a lot, and we expect to roll things out in phases and seasons, but this is our total vision, and we cant wait to get started, West said.

Green said that in the near future there could be a gumbo night at The Kitchen at Cains, Green and Hunter Gambills kitchen inside Cains Ballroom. Recently, Gambill hosted the Wests for a pop-up Lassalles lunch at Gambills Pastaria & Grocery restaurant. Word of the pop-up spread throughout social media like wildfire.

If the line out the door on that afternoon is any indication, the Wests future will be rolling along deliciously.
The Darien Board of Education voted Tuesday to narrowly reject moving forward with plans to participate in a pilot Open Choice program that would bring 16 Norwalk students to the district, despite support from the boards Republican chairperson and a passionate call to action by the superintendent of schools.

The program, designed to bring more diversity and equity to Connecticuts racially segregated schools, has prompted lengthy, intense debate since its inclusion in Superintendent Dr. Alan Addleys proposed budget for the 2022-23 school year.

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Under Addleys plan, the highly regarded district likely would have admitted a total of 16 kindergarten-aged students, chosen via lottery, from Norwalk into Dariens four elementary schools this fall. The students would have been mostly Black or Hispanic, to reflect the Norwalk districts minority-majority demographics.

But a slim majority of members on the board, which voted 5-4 against the measure, echoed concerns shared by some Darien residents regarding cost and implementation, and suggested that the community was still reeling from COVID-19 and not ready to take the program on.

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Our administration, staff and most importantly, our kids, are watching tonight, Addley said moments before the vote. Theyre watching with hope that our words will match our actions.

Matters related to finance, space, timing, are all legitimate issues, but they have been addressed. Lets not kick the can down the road, Addley added. There is nothing that we have heard that should prevent us from moving forward. The majority of the board disagreed.

Fundamentally where I come down is, I dont think this is the year, said Jill McCammon, Darien board vice-chair. So I wont be voting for it tonight, but I do look forward to future conversations.

Board chair David Dineen, elected as a Republican, joined the boards three Democrats in voting in favor of Open Choice. The boards other five Republican members, including McCammon, voted against.

The debate that has unfolded in Darien could shed light on discussions imminent in the suburban communities around Hartford, which may soon weigh whether to bring more students from Hartford into their school districts.

A Hartford Superior Court judge granted preliminary approval last Thursday to a sweeping agreement to settle 30 years of litigation in the Sheff v. ONeill Case. If finalized, Connecticut will pledge to create as many as 2,737 Choice seats by 2028-29  or however many it takes to meet 100% of demand  or potentially face another lawsuit.

The state plans to meet demand in part by increasing the financial incentives for suburban schools to admit as many as 450 more Hartford students through Open Choice.

According to the Capitol Region Education Council, 2,170 students from Hartford attended schools outside the city this year through Open Choice. Nearly 900 more wanted to, but couldnt because there werent enough seats, according to Martha Stone of the Center for Childrens Advocacy and plaintiffs attorney in the Sheff case.

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During the public comment period of Tuesdays board meeting, several Darien residents said that, while they support diversity, they feel participation in Open Choice would have a detrimental impact on the affluent, mostly white community.

Some expressed worry over the programs expense, offering alarming projections of snowballing marginal costs.

Others shared concerns centered on school capacity, particularly as wealthy families fled New York City during the pandemic for Connecticuts shoreline communities, and with a handful of local residential projects imminent.

Addley and Open Choice officials paint a different picture in presentations and testimony to the board.

Darien schools project stable enrollment over the next five years, according to Addleys proposed budget document. Enrollment at Middlesex Middle School is projected to decrease by 23 students next school year.

As a first time Open Choice participant, Darien would have received $4,000 from the state for every student admitted. The grant would have changed to $3,000 per student in subsequent years.

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According to Addley, that would have resulted in a positive balance of more than $260,000 for Darien schools by the time the 16 kindergarteners matriculate into middle school.

Eric Nyquist, who coordinates Open Choice for Cooperative Educational Services, told board members last week that he doesnt know of any district that has cited financial concerns with operating the program.

If [a district is] spending inordinate amounts of money on a program that is not supposed to cost them a lot, they wouldnt still be involved, Nyquist said.

Dineen, board chair, suggested before the vote that moving forward with Open Choice could be a way to change the conversation about how the town is perceived throughout the rest of the state, and would send a positive message to legislators as the town seeks funding for school renovations.

We do need to lead, as a high-funded, high-performing district, Dineen, who voted for Open Choice, said Tuesday. Its important ... We are looked at as a leader.

Open Choice has been around for decades, starting in Hartford as Project Concern in 1966 and evolving in 2003 as the state adopted it as a strategy to address the racial segregation outlined in the 1996 Sheff v. ONeill case.

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And the program is active close to Darien, with six suburban districts currently educating 296 students from Bridgeport.

The fact that this existed 40 years ago, but is being contested now in Darien gives me pause, one Darien resident said Tuesday, also voicing her support for Open Choice.

One group of parents formed Open Choice Wrong Choice, which describes itself as an independent group of Darien parents in favor of diversity and opportunity who believe there are better choices than this for our schools and community.

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On its website, the group touts the quality of Darien schools  consistently ranked among the states best  as a driving factor behind people moving to the town, and of real estate values.

The groups Facebook posts caught the attention of state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, a Democrat representing Norwalk and Darien.

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While Im certain this does not represent the thoughts of the entire Darien community, it is concerning this group thinks Norwalks kids are second class, Duff wrote on Facebook.

Open Choice has been a tough sell in some communities despite its benefits, Robert Rader executive director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, told the Courant.

But to me, these are all our kids, Rader said. If we can help kids get a better education, thats what we should be focused on.

Its a great program, not only for the kids who take advantage of it and come to a suburban school, but its great for the suburban kids to go to school with more diversity, he said.
Voters in Broken Arrow Public Schools Zone 2 will be asked to pick a new school board member on Tuesday.

With incumbent Steve Majors choosing not to seek another term, J.W. Berry, George Ghesquire, Robyn Havener and Debbie Taylor are all seeking to succeed him.

Schools within Zone 2 include Arrow Springs Early Childhood Center; Leisure Park, Lynn Wood and Vandever elementary schools; Sequoyah Middle School; and the Freshman Academy.

Early walk-in voting is scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the Tulsa County Election Board. Absentee ballots must be received by the Election Board by 7 p.m. Tuesday in order to be counted.

If no one candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the top two finishers will advance to the general election on April 5.

A retiree and former City Council candidate, Berry is a founding member of OK for Tea, a group affiliated with the tea party movement.

With several grandchildren still in school, Berry said he chose to run in part to prevent Broken Arrow Public Schools from having to deal with issues facing districts in other parts of the country, including mask mandates in response to COVID-19.

I dont want the issues that you see coming up in places like San Francisco, New York or Oregon, he said. My thing is I want to protect the kids because its all about the kids. I dont want them to have to wear a mask. If a parent thinks its a good idea, thats fine, but there is no role for anyone else to say they have to do that.

In an effort to redirect more funds toward classroom resources, Berry also said he would welcome the opportunity to scrutinize the districts finances, including the costs associated with the Education Service Center on South Main Street.

Its just a lot of wasted space up there, he said. The district may not have a mortgage on it, but they still have to pay utilities.

A parent of three current Broken Arrow students, Ghesquire has more than 20 years of experience working for a local commercial drywall contractor, something he said could be an asset to the Board of Education. The districts 2015 bond package still has several capital projects that have not started yet, including the construction of a new elementary school.

While appreciative of the collaborative efforts between district and municipal leaders to address the immediate need for substitute teachers, Ghesquire also said he wants to work toward addressing the long-term challenge of bringing additional permanent teachers to the growing district.

The simplest solution is to have a culture at BAPS that teachers are drawn to, Ghesquire said. This is something that existing teachers, parents, students and administration can all rally around and help implement.

Superintendent (Chuck) Perry is already aware of the importance of BAPS culture, and I would work with him and his staff to recruit parents to help make our culture stronger. If teachers know they are supported by their community, they are less likely to leave and more likely to invite their friends to join them.

Havener has two middle school students attending Broken Arrow Public Schools. She has been involved with her childrens schools for several years and decided to run more than two years ago to offer an additional perspective on areas that might not already be on board members radars.

Among the areas Havener specifically mentioned was the need to build stronger relationships and lines of communication among district leaders, parents and area legislators. An active member of the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Broken Arrow, she said building that trust is critical in order to have everyone working together to better serve the community as a whole, including the districts students, employees and their families.

Those legislators are making decisions with the best intentions, but they might not always have all the necessary information to understand the ramifications of those decisions, she said. We have to bridge those connections so that school board members and administrators are better connected to be able to review and understand the effect of the bills that come up each session, then communicate to parents so they can advocate as needed.

Taylor is a small-business owner and has lived in Broken Arrow for more than 30 years. Her four sons are all graduates of Broken Arrow High School, as is the oldest of her 10 grandchildren.

Similar to Berry, Taylor said she decided to run in an effort to prevent Broken Arrow Public Schools from dealing with issues facing districts in other parts of the country, including concerns about critical race theory in the classroom.

Critical race theory is a concept that argues that certain aspects of American society, including its laws, politics and economic system, have been shaped in ways to benefit white people at the expense of minorities.

Although the phrase critical race theory is not explicitly used in the statute, state law bars teaching that one race or gender is inherently superior. It also prohibits causing a student to feel guilty or uncomfortable because of race or gender, and it prohibits teaching that anyone is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or otherwise.

Theres a lot of talk about critical race theory, Taylor said. The supporters call it diversity, equity and inclusion, but in reality, it is a Marxist idea.

It looks like were seeing it (Marxism) here in America, and it needs to stop. Instead, we need to teach the Constitution to our children  its the one document in this country that protects the peoples liberties.

To that end, Taylor said she would prioritize reviewing the districts curriculum choices to ensure students are receiving a well-rounded education that fosters critical-thinking skills.

I agree with Gov. (Kevin) Stitt  our students are smart, she said. There is no reason why they cant be among the top 10% nationwide.

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OKLAHOMA CITY  Oklahomas state auditor and inspector on Tuesday said mismanagement by co-founders of Epic Charter Schools is the largest amount of reported abuse of taxpayer funds in the history of this state  and she has no idea why the attorney general has not brought criminal charges in the case.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation confirmed to the Tulsa World on Tuesday afternoon that it has just completed its years-long investigation and turned it over to the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office for review.

I am shocked this hasnt been prosecuted yet, State Auditor Cindy Byrd told lawmakers at a joint meeting of the Oklahoma House of Representatives common education committee and Appropriations and Budget education subcommittee. I do expect charges to be filed  or an explanation for why charges will not be filed.

Attorney General John OConnor, who was appointed to office in late July by Gov. Kevin Stitt, went on Tulsa radio station KRMG on Jan. 20 and said he was still waiting for the OSBIs report but expected an update within 10 days.

Asked Tuesday afternoon for a comment or status update, OConnors press secretary told the Tulsa World: We cannot comment on open investigations.

Amid these new questions about inaction by state law enforcement, federal authorities including the Internal Revenue Service are reportedly now zeroing in on financial irregularities alleged to have occurred at Epic Charter Schools during the decade it was managed by co-founders Ben Harris and David Chaney.

Byrd had been asked to present her offices forensic audit findings about Epic before the two House education committees.

Byrd, a Republican serving her first term in elected office, noted that she accepted no campaign funds from education political action committees and has nothing against charter schools, parent choice in education or even free market enterprise.

She likened charter schools like Epic, which she described as intentionally established for charter school management companies to milk for profits  as the Enron of public education.

Wow. It gets worse and worse, said Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, at the conclusion of Byrds presentation.

Two Oklahoma City men, Chaney and Harris, co-founded Epic One-on-One statewide virtual school and Epic Blended Learning Centers in Tulsa and Oklahoma counties, and then ran the Epic school system for a decade through their for-profit school management company called Epic Youth Services.

Combined, Epic Charter Schools was Oklahomas largest public school system in 2020-21, when the pandemic prompted its enrollment to surge to around 60,000 students.

Byrd said inaction by law enforcement and the lack of new legal safeguards by the Legislature allowed Chaney and Harris to siphon off tens of millions more in taxpayer dollars under false pretenses since her office first issued its findings on Oct. 1, 2020.

She said she had personally given documentation to the Attorney Generals Office that proved EYS submitted false invoices in order to justify much of the 10% cut of all state and federal funding it took from the schools.

That amounted to $68 million total since 2015.

When several lawmakers asked why no criminal prosecution has occurred in the case, Byrd said of the Attorney Generals Office: I just dont know where they are.

Byrd said all along, Epic Charter Schools was limited by state law to spending no more than 5% of its taxpayer dollars on administrative costs. And Chaney and Harris hired an entire administrative staff at the schools, at public expense, to do the work their for-profit management company invoiced the school for.

She said that is the very definition of embezzlement.

Byrds office is also still involved in a district court battle to obtain access to information about how at least $145 million in public money Epic allocated for its student Learning Fund, which EYS took into its private bank accounts and expended using personal credit cards, was spent between since 2015.

Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, asked whether there was any way to freeze the accounts containing public school student funds.

Ive asked for that. This is students money, Byrd said, before referring to how long ago she reported on the matter in her offices official audit report. Ive been ringing this bell since Oct. 1, 2020.

Byrd looked over at Paul Campbell, the new chair of Epic Charter Schools governing board, who was seated nearby, and said he told her Epic was just informed by the IRS that it is now under federal audit.

If the IRS comes in, I believe they will find it as egregious as we do, said Byrd, adding that EYS has claimed in district court that the student Learning Fund became private money when it was transferred into private business accounts.

In late May, Epics governing board was overhauled and voted to cut all ties between the schools and Epic Youth Services.

EYS has since sued Epic for more money and Epic has countersued. That matter is still pending in district court.

Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, asked how none of the Epic schools authorizers, nor the state Board of Education, law enforcement, or the Legislature has been able to put a stop to so much wrongdoing over the course of so many years.

Byrd said she believes it is worth noting that it took forensic auditors to suss out what annual financial statement audits required for all schools do not check for.

She said she is not aware of any forensic auditor on staff at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, which had been investigating allegations of financial wrongdoing at Epic for six years. And charter school sponsors in the state, which received a total of $10 million last year, had not been using any public funds they receive to check for schools compliance with state and federal laws previously.

This was just a very complex scheme that was hidden, Byrd said.

Several lawmakers inquired what new policies or changes in state law could prevent such activity in the future.

Rep. Hilbert zeroed in on the question of how Epics managers could use personal credit cards for public school student expenditures.

If this is an air miles card, the owner of the card could fly free the rest of their lives, he said. Or if its a 2 percent cash back card, thats $20,000 for every $1 million spent.

Byrd responded that state law against such practices do not currently apply to school employees,  so that may be worth looking at.

Rep. Brad Boles, R-Marlow, and Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, asked whether Oklahomas laws could be improved to better prevent conflicts of interest and nepotism with school vendors, employees, and even governing board members.

It could always be made very clear, Byrd responded.

Video: State Auditor Cindy Byrd speaks to lawmakers about Epic audit.

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Citing the pivotal role higher education plays in workforce and economic development, leaders for the states public colleges and universities are emphasizing several key areas in their annual budget request.

Our State Regents recognize the significant workforce needs of our state and are seeking additional investment in health care, technology, engineering and teacher education initiatives, said Allison Garrett, chancellor of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, in announcing the fiscal year 2023 budget request and 2022 legislative agenda for public higher education in Oklahoma.

The request is for $898 million, a 10.5% increase of $85.2 million over the previous appropriation of $812.8 million.

Garrett, starting her first year as chancellor, presented the request and agenda Tuesday at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah to a gathering that included area legislators, community leaders and public higher education representatives.

Higher education officials will discuss the budget request and agenda at different sites around the state in the coming weeks. An event is planned for noon Feb. 18 at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa.

The request includes $40 million for critical workforce development initiatives, including funds to help meet engineering, nursing and teacher education workforce needs; increase physician residency capacity in the state; fund pre-collegiate STEM summer academies; and provide scholarships for adult students.

The majority of the 100 Critical Occupations identified by Oklahoma Works as vital to our states economic growth, and each of the 10 highest-paying critical occupations, require a postsecondary degree, Garrett said.

Joining her for the announcement, NSU President Steve Turner said, Higher education plays an important role in addressing workforce needs in the state. That is why NSU remains committed to support efforts to increase degree attainment and access to needed training of in-demand skills to help meet the workforce needs of our students and community partners.

Requests described as priorities include $4 million to fully fund the concurrent enrollment program for high school juniors and seniors and $6.85 million to increase investments in need-based financial aid and scholarship programs.

The regents are also requesting $34.3 million for system operations, including campus operational support needs and deferred maintenance for campus infrastructure.

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Oklahoma could be eligible to receive as much as $300 million from a newly created federal fund to cap abandoned oil and gas wells, the states secretary of energy and environment confirmed Tuesday.

Weve already identified nearly 17,000 sites, Ken Wagner said after the first round of allocations was announced by the White House.

Oklahomas initial eligibility is $78.2 million, but Wagner said he believes the state will receive an additional $200 million or more over the five-year life of the program.

By comparison, Oklahoma currently budgets $4 million a year to cap abandoned wells and often does not spend the entire amount, Wagner said. He attributed that to difficulty in the contracting process.

Besides the state program to cap wells, the industry-supported Oklahoma Energy Resources Board has spent more than $130 million over the years rehabilitating old well sites.

We got a lot of money because we have an existing program, but it clearly hasnt operated at the efficiency to accelerate to spend $78 million, Wagner said.

The goal is not to spend $78 million but to cap as many wells and put as many people to work as we can as efficiently as possible.

Abandoned wells have been a problem in Oklahoma for more than a century. They often leak methane gas, brine and other pollutants into the environment and have become a leading target of policymakers who are concerned about greenhouse gases.

Although less common than carbon dioxide, on a volume basis methane is about 85 times more damaging to the atmosphere.

Besides addressing environmental concerns, the measure will provide work for oil field-related businesses in a time of diminished exploration, supporters believe.

The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in November included up to $4.7 billion for abandoned wells. On Tuesday, the White House announced it was making the first $1.15 billion of that available to 26 states, including Oklahoma, that had submitted notices of intent to apply for shares of those funds.

The plan here, Wagner said, is to ramp up the existing program overseen by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and carried out by private contractors.

Wagner said red tape and the cost of gearing up for a relatively small number of wells under the current program has limited its effectiveness but hes optimistic that the promise of as much as $300 million over five years will make the investment of time and money worthwhile to more potential contractors. He said he also hopes to simplify the contracting process.

Federal officials said Tuesday that 129,000 abandoned wells have been identified by the 26 states filing notices of interest, but experts say the real number could run into the millions. Just a few years ago, Oklahoma listed fewer than 3,000 abandoned wells, about one-sixth the number it now reports.

Although the infrastructure bill passed largely along party lines  and with zero votes from Oklahomas congressional delegation  the idea of a massive federal program to cap the nations abandoned wells had some bipartisan support before it was rolled into the larger measure.

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Military medical personnel soon will arrive to help a couple of overwhelmed hospital systems  about a month after aid was requested and more than a week after what so far is the record for COVID-19 hospitalizations in Oklahoma.

The University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City will receive either a 25- or 18-member team from the Army, while Integris Health in Oklahoma City will get two 20-member Air Force teams, said Patti Davis, Oklahoma Hospital Association president.

Its going to help, but its not a total solution to where we are, Davis said.

The state put in the hospitals requests to the federal government around Jan. 9 or 10, Davis said, and the medical teams are expected at both facilities in Oklahoma City between Saturday and Monday.

Oklahoma posted an overall record for COVID-19 hospitalizations Thursday at a three-day average of 2,243  248 or 12% above the previous high in January 2020. Back then, the state included patients under investigation for COVID and reported daily counts instead of averages.

Federal data reported that one in three inpatients in Oklahoma were COVID patients at that point, down to about three in 10 as of Monday  still the highest in the nation, though.

Davis said she couldnt give specifics on how OU and Integris were chosen by the federal government other than to say that metro areas with an ability to increase capacity were important considerations. She said there are high demands for these teams and that most every hospital would welcome one.

The teams could stay for 30 days or 60 days, Davis said, according to the information OHA has received.

COVID hospitalizations statewide had decreased to 2,017, according to the states three-day average reported Tuesday. That level is 22 inpatients, or 1%, above the prior record from January 2020.

Tulsa Countys COVID hospitalizations also set a record Thursday at 548  44 inpatients or 9% above the prior high of 504 set during the delta variant wave in August. That has come down by 5% to 521 inpatients.

Davis said the need for hospital beds hasnt significantly diminished yet.

Its still tight in hospitals. ICU beds are still at a premium, and we know that this is not over for our hospitals, Davis said.

She made her comments Tuesday afternoon during a regular COVID-19 update provided by the Healthier Oklahoma Coalition.

Dr. Matthew Payne, an internal medicine specialist at Stillwater Medical Center, told reporters his hospitals seven intensive-care beds were more than adequate until COVID arrived.

Now, Payne said, there are days when the emergency room has more intensive-care patients than the ICU itself does  and many on ventilators. The ER isnt designed to hold critically ill patients for more than a couple of hours, he said, but the average length of stay in an ICU for a COVID patient is almost four weeks.

The time lags are exacerbated by individuals with mild COVID symptoms seeking testing from hospitals instead of elsewhere  taking valuable personnel and time away from patients in need of emergency or critical care.

All hospitals are dealing with these sorts of issues, Payne said, which makes it more difficult to transfer patients who need specialty services to other facilities.

This is now forcing my team to practice medicine way outside of our comfort zones, Payne said. To sum this up: What starts as an ICU patient floor problem has a trickle-down effect thats putting our entire system  particularly our emergency departments  under extreme stress.

Featured video: We are in a dire situation: COVID surge strains Oklahoma hospitals again

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The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted foreign direct investment (FDI) companies in Vietnam to speed up digital transformation and equip their employees with digital skills.

Digital transformation will not only solve problems related to labor shortage but also change how businesses operate and boost their value.

Digital training for employees

Recruiting competent laborers in the era of digital transformation remains a challenge for many enterprises, said Dang Thanh Thuy, country human resources manager at 3M Vietnam.

Very few candidates apply for positions related to data science, digital transformation, and e-commerce at the company, Thuy continued.

To solve this problem, 3M Vietnam has exerted a lot of effort to equip its staff members with skills in association with digital transformation.

We are trying to digitize our training, development, and evaluation platforms to boost the adaptation of both corporate leaders and employees, Thuy elaborated.

These changes are especially necessary as people across the world are changing their way of living and working under 'new normal' conditions.

Vietnams digital transformation has progressed rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Pham Thi Thu Diep, country general manager of IBM Vietnam.

Diep encourages her employees to acquire new technology skills as well as sharpen their existing skills in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning in order to meet the market demand.

IBM Vietnams digital learning platform Think Academy recorded a 20 percent increase in learning hours in 2021, with key topics including cloud and cognitive practitioner training, enterprise design thinking, and automation essentials.

The company also coordinated with University of Science and Technology of Hanoi and Institute of International Experience Education and Community Health to introduce a training program on AI and robotics combined with STEAM education.

Inevitable trend

Nguyen Tram Anh, operation director of Hekate technology company, believed that laborers need to learn new technology skills to boost their productivity and prevent themselves from falling too far behind.

Specializing in AI technology, Hekate has provided many businesses with technology solutions to deal with labor shortage.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation is a growing trend in Vietnam, particularly in such big cities as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Anh elaborated.

A large number of laborers have left big cities and returned to their hometowns, resulting in labor dearth and driving businesses to seek more assistance from technology, she explained.

Nguyen Minh Duc, head of government affairs and markets at 3M Vietnam, considered the 2020-21 period a foundation for Vietnams digital transformation, which has become an inevitable trend.

This is an important driving force for sustainable growth and development in the post-COVID scenario, Duc assessed.

In February 2021, an IBM study revealed that digital transformation has created the biggest impact on the efficiency of all institutions across all spheres.

The study showed that cloud computing, mobile technology, and AI have the most considerable effect on the operations of all businesses.

About 74 percent of the companies surveyed said they were using hybrid cloud, a solution that combines a private cloud with one or more public cloud services, to improve the security and resiliency of critical business processes.

Firms in Vietnam are improving themselves by leveraging the benefits of hybrid cloud to digitize their products and services, enhance customer experience, beef up business resilience, and minimize cyber security risks.

Companies are seeking ways to apply modernization, automation, and AI technology to their operations, said Diep, country general manager of IBM Vietnam.

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The city of West Haven paid more than $182,000 over the past two years to two women who are linked to Michael DiMassa, the former state Democratic lawmaker and municipal employee who was accused last fall of wire fraud in the diversion of federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Newly released documents from the city show that more than $147,000 in taxpayer money went to Lauren Knox, who wed DiMassa in October 2021, just before he was arrested by the FBI and charged with federal wire fraud.

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The records also document $34,250 that was paid to Erika Pocock, a former Republican legislative staffer who is shown with DiMassa in a January 2020 social media post captioned Date night.

DiMassas signature appears on all of the payment vouchers.

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Knox and Pocock did not respond to calls and emails for this story. Neither did DiMassa or his defense attorney, John Gulash. West Havens finance director, Frank Cieplinski, also did not respond to an email seeking comment.

West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi on Tuesday denied any prior knowledge of the payments to Knox or Pocock, and she said all of the payments to the women could be considered fraudulent.

This is fraud. It shouldnt have happened. But it did happen, Rossi said.

This was a theft, like thefts happen in banks, like thefts happen in financial institutions, Rossi said. We are doing our best to correct it and move forward.

It isnt clear if those payments are part of any ongoing investigation.

A member of the states Municipal Accountability Review Board, which has overseen West Havens finances since 2018, also raised concerns about the transactions.

Patrick Egan said the payments to the two women should prompt the state to order a comprehensive review of every contract and expense approved by the city over the past three years.

I think every expenditure of that city, probably for the last 36 months, should be audited and justified, said Egan, who has been an outspoken critic of West Havens government for several years.

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Egan attributed the questionable expenditures to the lack of controls within West Haven government and the failure of the citys elected leaders to get their finances in order. Those are problems that auditors and MARB members have been pointing out for years, he said.

This is a problem from the top down, Egan said. The fact is there has just been a continued failure to be good stewards of the taxpayer money in West Haven.

$12,500 worth of tote bags

Knox and Pocock were paid for a variety of services and supplies, according to the invoices and payment vouchers.

The documents show Knox was paid for a youth violence prevention program. She billed the city through that program for various travel costs, staffing costs, personal protective equipment, computer equipment and services that are described as in-home counseling and students with special needs.

One of the payment vouchers suggested that program ended in October 2020, and an invoice included a notation that reads As instructed by City  No new Individuals will be accepted into 20/21 Program Year.

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But Knox continued to bill the city long after that point, reporting that the extra money she charged was for additional costs, program fees, and COVID-19 overage charges.

New Haven, Ct. - 10/20/2021 - State Rep. Michael DiMassa leaves the United States Courthouse after he was arrested by the FBI in a probe of misuse of COVID relief funds. DiMassa is accused of wire fraud in diversion of more than $600,000 in federal COVID relief money. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

West Havens annual audit from 2020 shows the city received nearly $113,000 in grant funding from the states Judicial Branch to cover expenses related to youth violence prevention initiatives. But its unclear from the citys records whether the payments that went to Knox came from that grant.

The violence prevention grant money from the state, Rossi said, was intended to go to things like summer camps for kids and other related activities. But she didnt know whether that was the fund from which Knox was paid.

The $34,250 Pocock received, on the other hand, was largely for materials, which the citys records referred to as an essential supplies giveaway.

Invoices from Pocock show charges for 5,000 bottles of hand sanitizer at $1.25 each, 10,000 hand sanitizer wipes at $0.20 each, 10,000 cotton face masks at $0.50 each, 5,000 waterproof containers to hold vaccine cards at $1.30 each, and 5,000 tote bags  at $2.50 each  branded for West Havens centennial celebration last year.

Its unclear why Pococks company, which operates under the name Koda Lane, was chosen to supply those items to the city. Her businesss website shows that it specializes in womens clothing, skin care products and fashion accessories.

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DiMassas authority and lack of bids

The checks that were cut to the two women are also raising questions about why DiMassa had such a free hand in spending tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money.

Rossi could not answer why DiMassa, who was an hourly employee, was able to sign off on payment vouchers within the city government, even though that power is supposed to rest with the heads of each city department.

In December 2020, the city council appointed DiMassa to oversee roughly $1.1 million in federal CARES Act funding, of which he is now accused of stealing more than half.

But that doesnt explain why he was able to sign off on the payments to Knox and Pocock. Many of the payments issued to Knox, for instance, were approved long before the council gave DiMassa authority over the CARES Act funding.

According to Rossi, the business deals that the two women entered into with the city were never offered to other companies, as West Havens laws require.

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The citys charter mandates that any supply or service contract that is valued at more than $10,000 should be put out for bid so the city can sort through competing offers and get the best price for taxpayers.

There are exemptions to those rules in the case of emergencies, but if the city wants to sidestep the public bidding process and hand-pick a company, the mayor is required to sign off on the move.

The citys department leaders are also required to explain to the city council in writing why normal purchasing procedures could not be followed.

Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. >

There is no evidence that ever happened.

Any contracts over $10,000 in the city of West Haven are supposed to go out to bid, Rossi said, but again, if youre committing fraud, youre not going to go through the proper channels.

Former West Haven Mayor Ed OBrien, who was defeated in a Democratic primary election by Rossi in 2017, said there was obviously a serious breakdown in the citys finance department.

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West Havens elected leaders, he said, need to investigate why nobody within the citys finance department halted the payment vouchers that had DiMassas signature on them.

If I was currently the mayor, thats where I would investigate first, said OBrien, who announced another run for mayor last year but did not make it onto the ballot after missing a deadline to register. How does that happen? How does an hourly employee just sign off on a voucher?

Maybe him being a state representative, they just looked the other way, he said, or they thought he had the authority to do that. But he was not a department head.

DiMassa is due back in federal court on March 10.
Seven tiger cubs have been given a new life at a nature reserve in Vietnam after being saved by Vietnamese authorities from illegal wildlife traders last year.

The animals were rescued in August by environmental police officers in the north-central province of Nghe An.

Prior to their rescue, the tigers had been held in cages and would have likely been sold and slaughtered for bone paste and other tiger-derived products.

Much of Vietnams illegal tiger trade is fueled by beliefs that tiger meat, bones, and skin can cure bone and joint illnesses in humans.

The tigers are currently in the care of Save Vietnams Wildlife (SVW), an animal rescue center at Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An.

A tiger cub feeds on milk at the rescue center in Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An Province, Vietnam. Photo: SVW / Le Ngan

Gentle fathers

Amongst the tiger cubs are two males and five females, each of which weighed a mere 2.9 to 4.5 kilograms when they were found last year, Dang Thanh Tuan, leader of the SVW, said, adding they now range from 13 to 16 kilograms each.

Tuan also explained that the tigers were very weak when they were first rescued, forcing SVW members to spend significant time feeding them milk from nursing bottles and closely monitoring their conditions.

Aside from Tuan, two other members of the SVW  Dung and Trieu  have been caring for the seven tigers from the beginning, treating them as if they were their own children.

The first month was a serious challenge, Tuan recalled, adding that they had to feed the cubs with a special type of milk made specifically for felines.

Tuan decided to sleep at the rescue center during this period because the cubs needed to be fed every four hours.

Rescuers check the condition of the tiger cubs in Nghe An Province, Vietnam. Photo: SVW / Le Ngan

He and the other fathers also had to prepare the milk and wash the bottles afterward, as well as pay close attention to each animals behavior and be on the watch for any signs of sickness.

In the second month, the caretakers began mixing cooked meat with milk to help the tigers get used to eating.

During the third month, the tigers began consuming fresh meat, with their favorites being chicken, rabbit, and beef, as well as soft bones.

Each tiger is now kept in a separate area where human contact is kept to a minimum, according to Tuan.

We dont treat them as pets, name them, or cuddle them as these actions can prevent them from acquiring their natural habits, he explained.

However, it is unlikely that these tigers will ever be able to live in their natural habitat.

A man prepares meat for the rescued tigers at Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An Province, Vietnam. Photo: SVW / Le Ngan

Ambassadors

As the tigers continue to grow bigger, Pu Mat National Park will not be able to provide shelter to all of them, according to Tran Xuan Cuong, the parks director.

Cuong said he has been looking for new places capable of caring for rescued tigers.

If the COVID-19 pandemic subsides in the near future, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) will coordinate with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to conduct genetic mapping on the tigers.

Pu Mat National Park has requested that Nghe An authorities draw up a long-term plan for wildlife rescue, including expanding the parks rescue center and turning it into a biodiversity conservation facility.

A rescued tiger is fed chicken at Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An Province, Vietnam. Photo: SVW / Le Ngan

Cuong believes that this proposal will be approved, but funding will likely remain a challenge.

These tigers are now considered ambassadors for wildlife conservation and the fight against unlawful wildlife trade in Vietnam, he continued.

Many people disregard the law and hunt down tigers for their parts, lock them in small cages, and even force them to inbreed to maximize the number of offspring.

Everyone must understand that just like humans, wild animals have the right to live and it is important that they get to live in their natural habitats, Cuong stressed.

Earth is home to all species, and all species must live to ensure a balanced ecosystem.

A tiger cub at the rescue center in Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An Province, Vietnam. Photo: SVW / Le Ngan

About 7,000 to 8,000 tigers are kept in captivity across East Asia and Southeast Asia, nearly double the number of tigers in the wild, according to the WWF. It is impossible to release captive tigers back to the wild as they either do not have or have lost their hunting and survival skills. Tigers that are inbred can suffer birth defects and health issues, making them unsuitable for introduction into the wild.

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The death toll following a landslide in Ecuador's capital Quito rose on Tuesday to at least 22 people, with 47 reported injured so far, Mayor Santiago Guarderas said, as firefighter rescue crews continue searching homes and streets covered by mud.

Torrential rains on Monday night caused a build-up of water in a gorge near the working class neighborhoods of La Gasca and La Comuna, sending mud and rocks down on residences and affecting electricity provision.

"As of now, 22 deceased have been taken to the morgue; 47 have been injured, two of them are in critical condition," Guarderas, told reporters.

"There are reports of 20 missing," he added.

Firefighter rescue crews are seen as they continue searching homes and streets covered by mud in Quito, Ecuador, February 1, 2022. Photo: Reuters

The updated figures are higher than those reported late on Monday, when nine people were recorded missing, with 32 injured.

"We saw this immense black river that was dragging along everything, we had to climb the walls to escape," said resident Alba Cotacachi, who evacuated her two young daughters from their home. "We are looking for the disappeared."

Social media videos showed a muddy river flowing through neighborhood streets, carrying with it trees, vehicles, dumpsters and even electricity poles, as residents screamed for help.

Firefighter rescue crews are seen as they continue searching homes and streets covered by mud in Quito, Ecuador, February 1, 2022. Photo: Reuters

Other images showed some people being rescued from the current by neighbors.

Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of further landslides. The mayor's office has set up shelters for affected families and has started clearing streets in the city.

Ecuador is facing heavy rains in several areas, which have caused rivers to overflow and affected hundreds of homes and roads.

Rains in Quito on Monday were equivalent to 75 liters per square meter, the highest figure in nearly two decades.

Residents are seen in an area of a landslide as firefighter rescue crews continue searching homes and streets covered by mud in Quito, Ecuador, February 1, 2022. Photo: Reuters
Thai warehouse and industrial zone developer WHA Corporation Pcl announced plans on Wednesday for new income streams by investing 50 billion baht ($1.51 billion) over the next five years to expand in Vietnam and in digital technology.

It will focus on technologies including artificial intelligence, robotics and will explore opportunities like green transportation, it said in a statement.

"For the next five years, we will continue the digital transformation across all our businesses," chief executive Jareeporn Jarukornsakul said.

The bulk of the investment will be through its logistics and industrial development arms and 10 billion baht will be under utilities and the remaining 4 billion baht will go to digital, the company said

WHA plans to add 268.8 hectares (664 acres) to its industrial estate in Thailand this year.

In Vietnam, WHA plans to expedite a 352-hecatre expansion of an industrial zone in north-central Nghe An province in the first quarter of 2022.

The company expects land sales in Thailand and Vietnam to rise by 46% and reach 200 hectares this year.
Here are todays leading news stories:

COVID-19 Updates

-- Vietnams Ministry of Health reported 11,023 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the national tally to 2,286,750, with 2,062,058 recoveries and 37,777 deaths.

Society

-- The weather condition in northern Vietnam will continue to be influenced by a cold spell on Wednesday, while it will remain sunny with a high UV index in southern provinces, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported.

-- Thousands of visitors from across the country flocked to the famous Ba Chua Xu Temple at Sam Mountain in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Tuesday, the first day of the 2022 lunar year.

-- Police in southern Dong Nai Province confirmed they had dealt with 73 people for lighting firecrackers against the law on Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

-- Container ship MSC Aurora docked at Cai Mep - Thi Vai International Port in southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province on Tuesday for the transport of nearly 13,000 shipping containers of imports and exports between Vietnam and the United States.

Lifestyle

-- The central city of Da Nang is expected to welcome more than 400 flights carrying 44,000 tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday, according to deputy director of the municipal Department of Tourism Nguyen Xuan Binh.

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Thousands of visitors from across Vietnam gravitate to a famous temple in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Lunar New Year's Day to wish for good luck and safety.

Ba Chua Xu (local goddess) Temple, located within the Sam Mountain Tourist Area in Chau Doc City, attracted a lot of visitors on Tuesday.

People lit incense and offered flowers to the goddess in order to pray for a lucky and healthy year.

While the crowds filled the entire premises of the temple, congestion also occurred along the roads leading to Sam Mountain.

Many people who were unable to enter the venue had no choice but to pray to the goddess from afar.

I traveled here from Hong Ngu District, Dong Thap Province [about 45 kilometers away] early in the morning, but a lot of people had already been here by the time I arrived, said a visitor.

Aside from paying respects at Ba Chua Xu Temple, riding a cable car to the top of Sam Mountain is another popular activity at the tourist site.

People flock to Ba Chua Xu Temple at Sam Mountain in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

Visitors had to wait in long queues on Tuesday for a chance to witness the beauty of the mountain from above.

A round trip costs VND150,000 (US$6.6) during the holiday, while children under one meter tall are allowed to ride the cable car free of charge.

The number of visitors to the Sam Mountain Tourist Area on the first day of the week-long 2022 Lunar New Year festival was about 60 percent of that in previous years, according to Tran Quoc Tuan, vice-chairman of Chau Doc City.

Congestion occurs on a road leading to Sam Mountain in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

This is a promising sign for the tourist site during the 'new normal' situation, Tuan continued, referring to Vietnam's strategy of living safely with the coronavirus.

Most people remembered to put on a face mask and follow other pandemic prevention measures while visiting the venue, the official added.

Young visitors to Chau Doc City also spent time at the Thien Anh flower field located just about five kilometers from Sam Mountain.

People flock to Ba Chua Xu Temple at Sam Mountain in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

People wait for their turn to ride a cable car to the top of Sam Mountain in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

A birds-eye view of the Sam Mountain Tourist Area in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

Visitors ride a cable car to the top of Sam Mountain in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

Visitors pose for a photo at the top of Sam Mountain in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

Visitors pose for a photo at the top of Sam Mountain in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

People visit the Thien Anh flower field in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

People visit the Thien Anh flower field in An Giang Province, Vietnam, February 1, 2022. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre

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Tyler, TX (75702)

Today

Variable clouds with thunderstorms - possibly severe this afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Tyler, TX (75702)

Today

Variable clouds with thunderstorms - possibly severe this afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Tyler, TX (75702)

Today

Variable clouds with thunderstorms - possibly severe this afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Glasgow residents woken up by huge Russian military jet flying 300 cats and dogs

After the Chinese New Year fireworks, Glasgow residents were awoken by another object in the sky on Monday morning.

People in the north of the city woke up to a huge Russian plane flying over the Central Belt with 300 rescue cats and dogs on board, Glasgow Live reports.

Plane tracker site Flightradar highlighted the path of the Ilyushin Il-76 heading from Kabul, Afghanistan, to Vancouver, after a stop in Reykjavik, Iceland.

READ MORE: Here is why you could hear fireworks across Glasgow last night

The 50m wingspan military jet could be heard despite flying over at 32,000 feet.

The aircraft is appropriately nicknamed cargo beast, with four engines and a 40 tonnes capacity.

On this occasion, it was particularly fitting as it was flying animals from the Kabul Small Animal Rescue to Canada.
Photo credit: .

'Has anyone ever cried this much doing this, or am I just having an absolute nightmare?' Nicola Coughlan asks, as we film a game of Ask Me Anything during the shoot day for her debut ELLE UK cover.

The Bridgerton star is two minutes into filming when she is played a video by Lin-Manuel Miranda, asking her what he should do when he visits Ireland for the first time. Spoiler alert: Coughlan insists he should head to her home city of Galway.

'I can't cope, oh my God,' she says, dabbing her eyes. 'I'm obsessed with Lin-Manuel Miranda.'

Also joining Miranda to ask the Irish actor questions are her Derry Girls co-stars Louisa Harland and Dylan Llewellyn, Bridgerton co-stars Luke Newton, Polly Walker and its creator Shonda Rhimes. 'Just a casual Shonda Rhimes appearance, ok, no problem,' says Nicola.

Photo credit: LIAM DANIEL - Netflix

When Newton asks for Coughlan's biggest 'pinch me' moment, she immediately settles on one they share as co-stars: the overwhelming overnight success of Bridgerton, during a global pandemic and the fact it led to a direct line between herself and Kim Kardashian.

Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness, Chewing Gum and Enola Holmes star Susan Wokoma and Encanto actor Stephanie Beatriz also had questions for their friend. Reflecting on how she makes way for self-care and downtime during hectic back-to-back production schedules, Coughlan told Wokoma it's a mixture of sleep, baths and Escape To The Chateau.

'The days that I'm not working, I'm like a slug, so I just retreat completely, will stay in bed and have baths. I really need a day a week just to not do anything, because if you have had the privilege, like I've had in the last year, of being super busy, you need to take those times to recharge.'

Self-care done well, if you ask us.

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UN Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo (C) speaks at a Security Council meeting on Ukraine at UN Headquarters in New York on Jan. 31, 2022. DiCarlo on Monday called for dialogue to defuse the current tensions between Russia and Ukraine. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

by Xinhua writers Deng Xianlai, Zhang Yisheng and Feng Yasong

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. and Russian diplomats on Monday had a heated debate at the United Nations Security Council over the Ukraine crisis, with the U.S. side blaming Russia for intending to invade Ukraine and Russian diplomats accusing Washington of "whipping up tensions" over the current crisis.

Analysts said that the current U.S. administration has reasons to keep fueling the already-strained Russia-Ukraine tensions: one is to use the crisis to divert domestic attention and build momentum for the upcoming mid-term elections; the other is to revive its influence over Europe by uniting its European allies against Russia.

U.S. TOOLKIT

Experts said the U.S. administration has taken three major moves over the crisis on the Ukrainian border.

The first is to exaggerate an imminent Russian "attack" on Ukraine by disclosing relevant "intelligence" obtained by the U.S. and its allies, revealing so-called "evidence" of Russia's continued destabilization of Ukraine, and ordering the departure of U.S. staff at its embassy in Ukraine.

The second is to beef up the threat of economic sanctions against Russia. The potential sanctions target several large Russian banks and some important financial institutions, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an effort to cut Russia's ties with the Western financial system.

The third is to strengthen military deployment within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), while assisting Ukraine without directly sending troops to the country. Several shipments of weapons have been sent to Ukraine and more military and economic aid has been promised by the United States.

Moscow disapproves of Washington's moves over the current crisis surrounding Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that U.S. news outlets in recent months "have been publishing a very large amount of unverified, distorted and deliberately false and provocative information about what is happening in Ukraine and around it."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow did not want war, but would not allow its interests to be undermined or overlooked.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday also called on the West not to create "panic" over the current crisis, adding that warnings of an imminent attack were putting Ukraine's economy at risk.

U.S. MOTIVATION

Analysts said that Washington's overblown description of a looming war relates to its own domestic and diplomatic concerns.

On the domestic front, the current administration's move on the Ukraine crisis could show its toughness in foreign policy, over which Republicans have been keen to accuse U.S. President Joe Biden of being weak.

As Biden's approval ratings are at a low point, local media said that his hawkish attitude toward Russia is likely to gain more votes in the November mid-term elections.

Diplomatically, the Biden administration could use the Russia-Ukraine tensions to further pressure Moscow, and consequently to woo and unite European allies to take a tougher stance against Russia.

Given that the U.S. international image has been tarnished by its hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, the Ukraine crisis would be a chance for the Biden administration to show off its leadership in the West.

However, foreign policy is not a top priority in the U.S. election campaign at this stage. Americans, instead, are more concerned about the economy, the pandemic and other issues closer to their personal lives. In addition, many European countries, which rely on Russia for energy, do not want to escalate the tensions and do not want to be bound by the U.S. policy towards Russia, experts have said.

CALL FOR DIALOGUE

In contrast to U.S. efforts to fan the flames, the international community has been actively mediating to cool the current tensions through dialogue.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Monday called for quiet diplomacy instead of megaphone diplomacy on the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

The parties concerned should persist in seeking to resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiations, Zhang said. "China once again calls on all parties concerned to remain calm, not to do anything to aggravate tensions or hype up the crisis, and to properly resolve their differences through consultations on an equal footing on the basis of mutual respect and fully taking into account each other's legitimate security concerns," Zhang said.

China's position on Ukraine is consistent, said Zhang, adding that to resolve the current issue, there is a need to return to the original point of implementing the new Minsk Agreement, which was endorsed by the Security Council in its Resolution 2202.

Putin has said that he would continue Russia's dialogue with the West, while Zelensky also expressed hope for increased diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.

Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone conversation on Friday to discuss the establishment of long-term and legally binding security guarantees between Russia and the West.

Putin stressed that the U.S. and NATO responses did not take into account such fundamental concerns of Russia as stopping NATO's expansion and refraining from deploying offensive weapons near Russian borders, among others.

When discussing the situation in Ukraine, the Russian leader emphasized the importance of Kiev's strict compliance with the 2015 Minsk Agreements and other deals.

"Dialogue with Russia is not a gamble, it is an approach that responds to a necessity," an anonymous senior official was quoted by The New York Times as saying.
Landis Meeks was honored by Glacier County on his last day of work, Monday, Jan. 31. He is pictured above with his wife of nearly 40 years, Juanita, and their son, Byron. Folks at the Glacier County Courthouse will miss Landis Meeks smile and distinctive laugh.
A fake claim about a new ferry link between Scotland and Belgium has been circulating on social media

A TWEET claiming that a new ferry service between Scotland and mainland Europe has gone viral - unfortunately, it is not true.

The author of the tweet, one RS Archer, claimed: Dirk De Fauw, chairman of the Zeebrugge port in Belgium has announced a new ferry service that will by-pass England and go straight to Scotland.

Planning for the future perhaps? #Scottishindependence

Well this is interesting, Dirk De Fauw, Chairman of the Zeebrugge port in Belgium has announced a new ferry service that will by-pass England and go straight to Scotland. Planning for the future perhaps ?#ScottishIndependence  RS Archer (@archer_rs) February 2, 2022

The claim has sparked excitement in the online Yes movement, being shared on Facebook groups and even prompting a response from an MP.

However, it is not true.

Dirk De fauw is the Mayor of Bruges and the chair of the Zeebrugge Port Authority, but he has not said any such thing.

In fact, a Sporza report from February 1 quoted the mayor as saying that a new ferry link between Belgium and the UK could be up and running with a bit of luck  before the start of the summer season.

There is no guarantee this would be with Scotland though, as a possible connection to north east England has also been suggested.

READ MORE: Talks to bring back direct Scotland to Europe ferry link at 'crucial stage'

De fauw said: These are not easy matters to get organised. A passenger line on its own is loss-making. Shipping companies are not interested, they favour a mixed line combining passengers with freight.

But at the minute there arent all that many ships available with the right capacity to carry both passengers and freight. We have to wait and see if there is enough interest.

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The National: Douglas Chapman, SNP MP for Dunfermline and West Fife

SNP MP Douglas Chapman (above) has been working with authorities in Belgium to try and restore a link between Scotland and the continent. Rosyth previously had Scotlands last direct ferry link to Europe, but passenger services were scrapped in 2010, with freight following in 2018.

The Dunfermline and West Fife MP said on Wednesday: "Given the disastrous effects of Brexit on our exporters, its vital to keep up the pressure over this issue.

I do think there is momentum building, and I am determined to keep pursuing this until we see results.

Who is RS Archer?





The short answer is, nobody. He doesnt exist.

The Twitter profile @archer_rs has just shy of 90,000 followers and claims in its bio to belong to the author of the 'David Saunders' book series.

My wife and I are to be found either in the Dordogne or on our travels, it adds.

Previous versions of the biography ended or in our GXV Patagonia. A photograph of this expedition vehicle also previously featured, but has since been replaced with generic images of French countryside.

The David Saunders book series does not exist.

So whos that in the picture?





The RS Archer account has used several different images of different men through its existence.

The first archived version of his Twitter profile - made in July 2020, three months after the account was created - shows a younger, bearded man. Searching for this image on the internet shows it has been used widely and is most likely a stock image.

The National:

One example of its use is on a Glasgow-based dentistry practice, while the website Top Doctors UK features it on an article about stress management.

The second image the account used was in fact an image of Hollywood megastar George Clooney wearing a facemask. An article from People magazine suggests the image of Clooney was taken in October 2020.

The National:

The third, the current image being used by the anonymous troll, seems to be of model Gary Greenwood.

The photo used by the account appears on the modeling agency Kult Londons website. The National was told there is "absolutely no chance" that the image would be featured as such if it were not Greenwood.

The account addressed the fact it uses a fake profile image in an earlier series of tweets, claiming that it also used a fake name, but insisting that the other content was real.

Whats the trolls aim?





It seems the trolls sole aim is to sow disinformation and harvest likes and retweets.

Regardless of the accounts dubious intentions, it provides a good example of how such falsehoods can rapidly spread on social media. Too often people are taken at their word, especially if that word confirms our own inherent biases or plays to news wed like to hear.

Archer's first major hit came on June 29, 2020, after a series of tweets claiming to tell the story of some angry and dense Brexiteers with a home in France went viral. The tweet thread went on for days, only finally concluding on July 2.

Just had conversation with a British couple who have a holiday home near us. They voted for Brexit and have made no arrangements whatsoever for what happens on Jan 1. They have now discovered the reality of their situation.



The blame apparently is with "Brussels".  RS Archer (@archer_rs) June 29, 2020

By that time it had attracted the anger of many Brexiteers and allowed countless Remainers to bathe in schadenfreude. The first tweet in that thread is now pinned to RS Archers account as a kind of trophy. It has more than 136,000 likes, 53,000 retweets, and almost 6000 comments.

However, like RS Archers claims about his book series, the tweets were complete fiction.

Arguments with Unionists

The ferry tweet is not the first time the RS Archer account has waded into Scottish politics.

On January 25 the account accrued around 3000 likes after writing: It is fitting on this day, of all days I have just made a substantial financial donation to the cause of Scottish independence.

There was a time I was firmly opposed but those days are past. The Union must end for the good of Scotland and England.

Many Yessers praised the message, taking it at face value.

Kevin Hague, the founder of pro-Union think-tank These Islands, took exception to the claim.

guess youll be spared the economic consequences pic.twitter.com/xe1GJZXsh1  Kevin Hague (@kevverage) January 25, 2022

After sending tweets attacking the trolls declared pro-independence position, Hague began to catch on.

So youve made up a fake author profile and used a stock image and you expect to be taken seriously?

Theres a huge difference between choosing to remain anonymous and creating a phoney identity to try and deceive people. Begone, he wrote in the end.
Gove appeals directly to NIcola Sturgeon in levelling up efforts

A SILICON Valley style research and jobs scheme is to be launched in Glasgow.

As part of the UK Governments so-called Levelling Up agenda, three areas across the country have been selected to become Innovation accelerators, with the aim of producing highly-skilled jobs.

Projects in Glasgow, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will be able to bid for a share of 100m as part of the scheme.

The announcement comes ahead of todays launch of the delayed white paper into Levelling Up.

Michael Gove is set to appeal directly to Nicola Sturgeon to ask for her help in the UK Governments drive to create a more equal playing field in all four nations of the UK.

He will also ask the same of the leaders of Wales and Northern Ireland, citing the coronavirus vaccine rollout as inspiration for the appeal to work together.

Mr Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, said: The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story with one of the worlds biggest and most dynamic economies.

But not everyone shares equally in the UKs success. Great cities like Glasgow, Belfast, Swansea and Manchester, and proud towns from Aberystwyth to Armagh, to Bangor and Yeovil, have huge potential but contain inequalities which hold too many back.

Our ambitious plan to unite and level up the whole UK seeks to end that historic injustice and call time on the postcode lottery.

We will only succeed if all layers of government  UK, devolved, and local  work together.

We have seen through the success of the vaccine roll-out what we can achieve when we pull together. United, there is no challenge we cannot meet.

Along with the jobs-boosting scheme, the UK Government will announce 12 missions to create greater opportunities for everyone living outside London and the South East of England.

Among them will be closing the gap between the UKs highest and lowest performing cities, improving the attainment and narrowing the life expectancy gap between different areas of the country.

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The UK Government said that in areas where policy is devolved, they will seek to work collaboratively with the devolved governments to deliver for the people we jointly serve.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack welcomed the announcement, and added: I urge the Scottish Government and local partners to work closely with us improving lives across Scotland.

He said:  Initiatives such as the Glasgow City-Region becoming an Innovation Accelerator, unlocking access to a share of 100 million of new funding, will help Scotland continue its vital role in keeping the UK at the forefront of global science and research.

He said the investment would see Glasgow become a major innovation cluster delivering high end jobs.

However, a critical report published today by the National Audit Office (NAO) stated that the Governments levelling up department ignored guidance on how to ensure its policies are working, before committing 11 billion to the scheme.

Officials and ministers have wasted opportunities to learn lessons from past investments, and relies on EU-funded research for many of its assessments, the NAO said.

Despite committing 11 billion to try to regenerate towns and communities, the Government has limited understanding of what has worked well.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has wasted opportunities to learn lessons, and relies on others to do its research.

It does not know whether previous policies achieved their aims, the auditors said today.

Instead, it has built its evidence base for what works in local growth by drawing largely on external sources such as academic studies and evaluations conducted on place-based funding from the European Union.

The report also shows that at the blessing of the Treasury, the department has cut corners in developing a proper plan for the 4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund.

Instead of going through the normal three-stage process to design a business case for the fund, the department produced a report that did not properly explore the alternatives.

The Treasury said that it had taken this decision because its officials had already been heavily involved in how the proposals were developed. They also built on funds that had already been in place before.

While there may have been good reasons to move quickly, bypassing the earlier stages of a business case review limits the amount of scrutiny and independent challenge, the NAO said.
Already celebrating the success of a top win at Series Mania, as well as 80% national audience approval, RUVs Icelandic series Blackport has now been nominated for 2022s 6th Nordisk Film and TV Fond Prize at Goteborg. The prize will be presented during the film festivals industry conference TV Drama Vision on Feb. 2, and serves to reward exemplary writing in Nordic drama series.

Blackport, which follows Icelands 1980s fishing quota power struggle, is tightly paced for action, and the three nominated writers pull no punches, leaving only their characters arms to the cutting room floor. Two Blackports writers  Gisli Orn Gardarsson and Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson  direct and star in the series. Writer Mikael Torfason (Made in Iceland, The Valhalla Murders) is also nominated for the prize.

More from Variety

Variety spoke with all three of the nominated writers ahead of the Goteborg Film Festival.

Gisli Orn Gardarsson, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson and Mikael Torfason

How well known is the story of Blackport among Icelanders? How much did the events of the show shape the history of Iceland?

Gisli Orn Gardarsson: During the period of Blackport, 1983-1991, a fishing quota system was created in Iceland. Basically, the fishing grounds went from being a collective property of the people of Iceland to a privately owned entity. Everyone in Iceland knows this happened. Still, we are confused by it because our fishing-law clearly states that the fish around Iceland belong to the people of Iceland, when in fact it does not. As a result, it is a discombobulating thing. And for many reasons there is a distraction towards what happened  or why. So, our characters become the embodiment of the system. They become the system and the system becomes them. And through their personal journey we hopefully get a pretty clear view of what happened.

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Its a major thing, because the events changed the history of Iceland forever.

The series is an international co-production between Arte France and RUV. Did this affect how you went about your writing process, specifically the kinds of scenes you were allowed to write?

Gisli Orn Gardarsson: No one ever said we couldnt do this or that. Or write this or that. Even sticking amphetamine up someones ass was not challenged. There was nothing but superb support from everyone involved.

How is the writing process when approaching a story like Blackport, considering its based on a true story yet is one which is not well known outside of Iceland?

Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson: We were all kids when these events occurred so our knowledge of the matter was childlike to say the least. We approached the writing in a way like outsiders and/or foreigners. And that meant researching everything and everyone who had anything to do with the quota laws during that time. We knew what the law was of course, but we did not know how it came about or why it ended up the way it did. We believe most viewers around the globe want to take a peek into a microcosmic world that they dont know beforehand. We are intrigued by a terrifying accident in a nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union in 1986 as much as we are eager to follow a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico become a crystal meth drug lord.

There are plenty of cheeky laughs even among the dark and violent moments in the series. Did you set out from the start to tell the story with humour?

Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson: Yes, that was always very clear to us. I mean, if you are about to tell a story about the politics behind fishing in a small pitch-dark town in the Westfjords of Iceland in the 1980s, there really has to be a humorous way to tell that tale. Otherwise it will most definitely become too bleak, in our minds at least. We always set on a kind of 50-50 balanced blend of darkness/drama vs. lightness/comedy. Also what we always aimed at was driving the story with a rather vast amount of tempo and energy. Every scene has to be there for the story. No scene can easily be cut out. And we asked every actor who worked with us to in a way take care of their character, so to speak. If something wasnt clear or if a character wasnt human enough, we tried our best to give that character more life.

In Blackport, family and politics intersect and intertwine. How did you go about balancing the relationships in the series?

Mikael Torfason: In Iceland there are no six-degrees of separation. In 1983, when our story started, only 235,000 people lived in Iceland. Reykjavik, the capital was a town basically, with only 100,000 inhabitants. It is a country where everyone knows everyone, and family and politics are so intertwined that corruption would be the norm rather than something abnormal. We were one big family, with little or no diversity, and everyone was related. Fast forward twenty years and Iceland put up a website called the Book of Icelanders where you can go and write your name and find out how youre related to just about anyone in the country. Me and Gisli Orn are related through his father and my mother, but me and Bjorn Hlynur are related through his mother and my father, and we went to the same school as children. So, I dont know if we even tried balancing these relationships in the series. We just wrote it as we saw it. This is a pretty accurate picture of Iceland in the 1980s.

How did you approach writing a series between the three of you? What was the dynamic like?

Gisli Orn Gardarsson: Wed been working on it for some time, without finding the right tone. So, wed binned a few drafts, but then we invited Mikael to the room and he got it and found the right tone of what we were after and wrote a draft. Thats when we got really excited and felt we were on the right path.

Mikael Torfason: Gisli and Bjorn Hlynur are not only great actors and directors but theyre also pretty good writers and really good dramaturgs. It was so great to work with them and their passion for the project was extreme. Like, really extreme. And when I saw the outcome, I was just blown away. It takes a lot to pull something this off, and the sacrifice that they have made both in the writers room and then by both starring and directing. I just cant get my head around that, but I am so proud and grateful to have been a part of this journey.

I think a part of what I brought to the table was my background in journalism and my understanding of how Iceland works. Both in business and politics. Blackport is a realistic series and our scripts have a deep understanding of how everything works in Iceland. You need to mix that up with dramatic storytelling but this story is not only about the drama or the politics or the business but all of these things.

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Priest's killing in Pakistan reignites fear in Christian community Funeral of priest William Siraj, who was killed by unknown armed men, at the All Saints Church in Peshawar

By Jibran Ahmad

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The killing of a Christian priest in the city of Peshawar has reignited fear amongst local parishioners and brought back painful memories of one of Pakistan's bloodiest attacks on the community in the same city.

Gunmen shot and killed Pastor William Siraj and wounded another Christian cleric as they drove home from Sunday service at a small church located on the outskirts of Peshawar.

"We felt insecure before this. The feeling of insecurity increases when these kinds of incidents take place," Naqqash Bhatti, a relative of Siraj, told Reuters at the funeral service for the slain priest on Monday.

The service, attended by hundreds of mourners, was held at the British colonial era All Saints Church in Peshawar - the site of a twin suicide bombing that killed scores of worshippers in 2013.

Following the bombing, a small Christian community set up a smaller discreet church on the outskirts of Peshawar in 2014 - and named it the "Martyrs of the All Saints Church" in memory of the attack.

Siraj was targeted just after he had attended Sunday mass at the memorial church, which is nestled in a crammed brick-walled lane surrounded by the modest houses of the local Christian community - many of whom shifted there after the 2013 suicide attack.

The intimate community and the memorial church served as a comfort zone for many who lost friends and family in the suicide attack, and struggled to get on with their lives.

"We are poor people and work till late night in the city and then return home quite late at night," said Waheed Masih, 36, who lives across from the church, where Siraj was a regular.

"The killing...has created panic and nobody wants to leave their homes due to fear and terror," he added.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on Siraj yet, but it comes amidst a resurgence in Islamist militant attacks in Muslim-majority Pakistan, particularly along the country's western border with Afghanistan.

Story continues

Protestant Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz, who also attended Siraj's funeral service, told Reuters he had requested the region's top police official to arrange more security for the Christian clergy and enhanced patrolling on for Sunday services.

Religious minorities in Pakistan continue to face violence as authorities fail to provide adequate protection or hold perpetrators to account, global rights watchdog Human Rights watch said in a report released this month.

(Reporting by Jibran Ahmad; Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Burkina Faso boss Kamou Malo vowed on Tuesday that his team would stick to their playing style despite facing Africas strongest team Senegal in the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The sides clash on Wednesday night at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde.

Senegal  under Aliou Cisse  go into the tie as favourites. Not only were they the beaten finalists at the Cup of Nations in 2019 but they entered the 2022 tournamment at 20 in the rankings of world footballs governing body Fifa.

Burkina Faso are 40 places lower down that particular food chain but despite the gap, Malo insisted his players would maintain the attitude that had propelled them to the brink of the countrys first final since 2013 when they lost to a Nigeria team under the legendary Stephen Keshi.

They have impressed with their defensive solidity and their ability to keep possession or break swiftly on counter-attacks.

Power

Its not a secret that Senegal have a big armada and you have to test yourself when you play a team like that, said the 58-year-old former police officer. But we will keep our identity and our style.

We have a young team and that can bring vitality but that can also bring mistakes at critical moments. Games like these will help to give them experience so there will be fewer errors.

Hosts Cameroon take on Egypt in the other semi-final at the Olembe Stadium on Thursday night.

The arena was cleared for the match after local fixers and the Cameroon government assured Caf - the overall organisers  that safety measures would be tightened up to prevent the string of events that led to the fan stampede which left eight people dead and 38 injured just before Cameroons last-16 tie against Comoros on 24 January.

Sub-plots

Both Cameroon and Egypt are led by Portuguese coaches - Toni Conceicao and Carlos Queiroz respectively  and the nationalities of the coaches as well as the political events in Burkina Faso have emerged as some of the intriguing sub-plots in the latter stages of the competition.

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Malo dedicated Burkina Fasos quarter-final victory over Tunisia to his compatriots who had just experienced a military coup and the overthrow of President Roch Marc Christian Kabore over his apparent failure to deal with a jihadist insurgency.

Burkina Faso was suspended from the African Union on Monday because of the takeover.

"We have been dealing with this terrorism for a number of years now, said Malo on Tuesday. And it continues to plunge our people into mourning, so our objective is to give them something to smile about.

"People are already asking me to bring back the trophy and that is what we would love to do."

Achievements

Cisse, a former Senegal international, retained his job despite losing the 2019 final.

The 45-year-old has steered his country to next months play-off with Egypt for a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as well as the unprecedented feat for the national team of successive semi-final appearances at the Cup of Nations.

I have lots of respect for Cisse, added Malo. It is a good moment for African coaches to come to the fore.

"I would encourage those running federations in Africa to recruit local coaches. It was a risk for us in Burkina Faso but the results speak for themselves," he said.

"We should have more confidence in ourselves and give local coaches the same opportunities.
Photo credit: marina petti/ getty images

All it takes is one picture of a good-looking stranger to change your life forever. One minute, you could be slumped on the sofa, mindlessly swiping left and the next, you could swipe the other way, get a match and be heading off on a first date with the future love of your life. This is exactly what happened for both Cecilie Fjellhy and Pernilla Sjoholm, or at least, so they thought.

For these two women and numerous others, what started out as a search for love eventually spiralled into an ongoing nightmare of deceit, manipulation, and eye-watering amounts of debt.

In January 2018, 29-year-old self-proclaimed Tinder expert Fjellhy was swiping through the dating app looking for something to pique her interest when she came across Simon Levievs profile. Tanned, dressed in Louis Vuitton, sitting inside a private jet, Leviev  whose Tinder profile stated he was also aged 29  had the look Fjellhy would typically be attracted to. He had the package, she tells me over Zoom, reeling off the qualities (vulnerable, super funny, normal) that first drew her to the Israeli.

After they had exchanged a couple of messages, Leviev invited her to meet him for a coffee date in the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel in London, where he was staying while in the capital for business. Leviev told Fjellhy that he was the CEO of LLD Diamonds, a diamond company previously owned by his father, Lev Leviev (once dubbed the King of Diamonds by Forbes). A quick Google of the businessmans name and a scroll through his photos (which included one of him seemingly standing next to Lev Leviev) and the claim appeared to be substantiated. At the end of the date, the billionaire invited her to join him on a private jet to Sofia, Bulgaria where he had work. They later spent the night together.

I always fall in [love] very quickly, Fjellhy admits. When I first meet the one  or the one I think is the one  I don't need to date them for several months. I'm very trusting if I feel something is right. Two months later, Leviev asked Fjellhy to move him in with him in London, and tasked her with finding their future flat with a 11,000 monthly budget. One night in April 2018, however, Fjellhy picked up her phone to see a message from Leviev. Blood, the message read. Peter, hurt, read another, accompanied by a photo of his security guard Peters head splattered with blood.

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Leviev claimed that the pair had been ambushed by his enemies, who had intended to kill him. Out of danger, but still fearing for his safety, Leviev told his girlfriend that his security team suggested he stopped using his credit cards in case he was being traced by his assailants. As a result, the supposed billionaire asked his partner of only four months to use her credit cards and encouraged her to sign over her American Express card to him. After increasing the cards limit, flying to Amsterdam to give him more than 20,000 in cash (Fjellhy taking out a loan to make it possible), and facing increasing demands for more money from Leviev, he finally gave her a cheque for over 369,000 ($500,000) to pay back the money hed borrowed, and more. But when she tried to cash the cheque, it bounced. She was soon contacted by American Express investigators who, upon hearing her story, told her Leviev wasnt who he claimed to be.

Photo credit: Cecilie Fjellhy - Netflix

Unbeknown to Fjellhy, Leviev was employing the same scheme with Swedish former sales employee Sjoholm. Flying her from Stockholm to Amsterdam for a coffee date after matching on Tinder in March 2018, the pair agreed they didnt feel a romantic spark, but would like to be friends. He was a nice person to be around, she says, describing their friendship as a brother-sister relationship. Months passed and the pair enjoyed holidays to Mykonos and Rome, five-star hotels, and lavish nights out. Little did Sjoholm know that Fjellhy was footing the bill.

Today, the two women are chatting to me from a hotel room via Zoom. Both dressed in colourful silk shirts  Fjellhy in grey, Sjoholm in pink  the two blonde Scandinavians could be mistaken for sisters, for more than just their appearance. Weve become good friends because were both very caring humans, says Sjoholm of her close friendship with Fjellhy. [This is a quality] he hunted. In the years since learning about Levievs scam, the pair have visited each others hometowns, enjoyed holidays together and regularly feature on each others Instagram pages.

Oslo-born Fjellhy, now 33, has been living in London for five years and currently works as a user experience designer. Sjoholm, 35, is based in Stockholm and looking for a new job  (a well-paid job, she laughs), while setting up a cleaning product line. The pair met while working with the Norwegian newspaper VG to expose the truth of Levievs con, after learning theyd both been swindled out of hundreds thousands of pounds to fund his exuberant lifestyle in a Ponzi-scheme-like structure. Hed use one victims money to fund the courting of the next, and so on. The story of Levievs con and its aftermath for victims forms the basis of the new Felicity Morris-directed (of Dont F**k with Cats fame) Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler.

Photo credit: Pernilla Sjoholm - Netflix

In 2019, Leviev  born and known to the authorities in several counties as Shimon Hayut  was arrested in Greece after another one of his victims, Netherlands-based Ayleen Charlotte, uncovered some of his lies and concocted a plan to swindle him out of money (by selling his designer clothing on eBay), before contacting Interpol to inform the organisation of his whereabouts. Leviev was later extradited to Israel, where he was sentenced to 15 months in prison in Tel Aviv for theft and fraud charges dating back to 2011  charges unrelated to the aforementioned womens claims. Its worth noting that four years earlier hed served a two-year prison sentence for aggravated fraud in Finland after stealing money from three women, after which he changed his name to Simon Leviev. Despite being locked up in an Israeli prison, Sjoholm claims Leviev continued to send her threats from a mobile phone, telling her you are going to pay. Fjellhy claims he also had the gall to launch a civil lawsuit against her and Sjoholm. And just five months after his imprisonment, he was set free.

At present, Leviev lives in Israel, has a model girlfriend and continues to boast about his designer clothes and Rolls Royce-filled lifestyle on social media (his Instagram account @simon_leviev_official is private, but is followed by over 97,000 users). He declined to participate in the Netflix documentary, but did send voice notes to the filmmakers in which he denies the womens claims of fraud and threatens legal action.

Its still unclear how many women Leviev has conned over the years, but, from the numerous voice notes from those who claim to have been swindled by the Israeli that feature at the end of the documentary, the number is likely to be in the hundreds.

Whats most remarkable about the success of his con, is the fact he didnt make his victims fall for him by buying them material possessions, as one might assume, rather by striking up deep emotional connections with them. He was an adapter, Sjoholm says of Leviev. He would adapt to become that person you want to know.

Photo credit: Netflix

Unfortunately, the suffering didnt stop when he was behind bars. In fact, it was just beginning. After learning of Levievs con, Fjellhy checked herself into a psychiatric ward, and both women have admitted to having felt suicidal because of the pain theyve endured. As for their finances, Sjoholm says she gave Leviev all of her savings, is unable to own her home and continues to pay legal fees. We're still fighting. We still have the aftereffects of all this trauma that we went through, she adds. Approximately, he took between 50,000 and 60,000 [from me]. I can never go [into my accounts] and look at the exact amount because it's too traumatising.

Fjellhy, meanwhile, is bankrupt and in over 200,000 of debt. She says shes been taken to court by four banks, has eight creditors currently chasing her for payment, and her debt continues to accumulate. I'm the only one who has been a defendant in court, she says of the victims. She also claims to be unable to return to her home country for fear of creditors in Norway. You experience true anxiety and panic attacks from checking your emails and letters because you never wanted to be [in this situation] and scared of debt collectors. Sjoholm interjects: You have your life organised  everything is good  and then this totally destroys your life.

While the women are clearly devastated by Levievs lies even four years on (the pair regularly appear close to tears on the call), theyre also frustrated by the actions of the banks, and lack thereof, from the authorities. Fjellhy claims she reported Leviev to the authorities in May 2018, but only had her phone taken in for evidence the following April. They are ruthless, she says of the banks behaviour towards the two of them. Sjoholm continues, noting that even when Fjellhy was at her lowest, mentally, her mother asked the banks to stop calling her daughter and speak to her in the first instance. They refused. They would just call and harass her, says Sjoholm. This is the reason why people commit suicide. Nobody cares, as long as they get their money, they dont care why this happened. Fjellhy says that one of the banks shed taken a loan out with wrote off her debt, and one of its employees even appeared as a witness in one of her court cases. He said I dont understand what the banks are on about  we have insurance for these kinds of situations, she recalled of their shared confusion over the banks insistence to chase payment from her.

Photo credit: Netflix

The pair believe that sexism has a huge role to play in their experiences, not only in how Leviev got away with his con for so many years, but also in the way theyve been treated since. If a woman cons a man, it's like, poor man, evil woman,' says Sjoholm. 'If its a woman who gets conned by a man, it's like stupid woman, blame yourself. [As a society] we love victim shaming. We don't blame the criminal. We blame the victim.'

During the documentary, the pair  who say theyve been referred to as gold diggers since speaking out about Levievs con  touch on how they know some viewers may think them naive or stupid to give away money to someone they met on Tinder. I'm going to be completely honest, before this happened to me I was like, Oh, my God, this would never happened to me",' Sjoholm says, before Fjellhy admits to having been judgmental of those who have been conned prior to her experience. We really want to take away this victim shaming its so important to not blame a victim because someone who's been through this type of journey really needs love and support more than ever, and to have someone to talk to and get help, adds Sjoholm.

What viewers might be surprised to learn, is that Fjellhy has returned to Tinder and is still on the search for love. This type of scam has nothing to do with online dating, she explains, joking that it was a lifeline as a single woman during the pandemic. Sjoholm agrees with her friend: We have severe trust issues and really bad days, she says, but we can't go around mistrusting everyone. Its not like we can send out private detectives for every new person we meet in life, or go around thinking that everyone is out to harm us.

Ahead of the documentarys release, I ask Fjellhy and Sjoholm what their hope is for the future. Fjellhy, who is now the founder of the non-profit organisation Action:Reaction, which aims to support individuals impacted by fraud, wants their experiences to help create legislation to protect others who may find themselves in similar situations in the future. Theres wasnt a single law that could have protected me from this type of scam she says. Sjoholm hopes that by speaking out about their experiences, theyll be able to make a positive change. We honestly just want our lives back and to have a morning or go to bed and not have to worry about the mail to have a little bit of peace, calm and happiness, she says.

The Tinder Swindler is available to watch on Netflix.





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The University of North Georgia (UNG) has received a $26,000 grant from the Olmsted Foundation for 2022 to support international opportunities for cadets from UNG, three historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Atlanta, and Georgia State University.

These trips, typically one to three weeks in length, take place in non-English-speaking countries for cadets who display outstanding leadership and plan to commission into a combat arms branch in the active-duty Army.

"We're very grateful for the enduring support from the Olmsted Foundation to enable our cadets and those from the Atlanta HBCUs and Georgia State University to develop greater cultural understanding, a critical competence for future military leaders," retired Lt. Col. Keith Antonia, UNG associate vice president of military programs, said.

The funds are generally used to offset travel and international health care costs. The latest trip supported by an Olmsted grant came in fall 2021 when cadets Mark Cordovado and Christopher Hood completed a 10-week internship at the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany.

American and Canadian flags alike were flown in solidarity Saturday afternoon as many supporters made their way to the overpass to cheer on and show their support for the trucker convoy protesting government mandates.




Move over Project Darwin Biggest, a new prospect planning to invest $4 billion somewhere now appears on the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerces list of companies it is communicating with.

This mystery company would build a 3-million-square-foot plant and employ about 4,000 people, according to a description the chambers lead industry recruiter, Kris Collins, presented to McLennan County commissioners Tuesday.

It has been assigned the name Project Ocean Wave, which is how it is identified in chamber-generated correspondence for confidentiality.

We are a community of consideration, Collins said.

She said the prospect in question is looking statewide, even nationally, but she would not have placed it on the list had interaction been only cursory. Its status as a prospect deserving of attention dates to October, she said.

Collins said Project Darwin Biggest has moved on from considering Waco and Central Texas. It would have represented an investment of $3.5 billion and created 4,200 jobs. Collins said Tuesday it no longer appears on the radar.

Collins updated list identifies 21 active projects valued at $4.5 billion, with Project Ocean Wave lapping the field at $4 billion. Another of note is Project Rocket, a 1-million-square-foot distribution center that would represent a $150 million investment and employ 1,000. Then theres Project Gimme Shelter, an 860,000-square-foot manufacturing facility employing 800 and costing $100 million, as well as Project Sundance, a 400,000-square-foot manufacturing plant costing $211 million and employing 425.

McLennan County commissioners on March 1 will consider giving tax abatements to AstenJohnson Nonwovens Manufacturing, a South Carolina-based enterprise interested in placing a 100,000-square-foot plant in Waco International Aviation Park, an industrial area near Texas State Technical College and L3Harris Waco operations. It would spend $22 million on real property and $18 million on personal property such as equipment.

It would create 11 jobs this year, 36 jobs by 2026, with an average salary of $47,360, according to documents presented to commissioners.

Collins said she also will request tax abatements from the city of Waco, the moves meant to persuade AstenJohnson to build in Waco.

Commissioners voted Tuesday to give five local volunteer fire departments about $65,000 from the countys $49 million American Rescue Plan Act funding. They include Bruceville Eddy, $4,000; China Spring, $30,000; Crawford, $2,000; Elm Mott, $18,000; and Robinson, $10,300, according to figures provided by McLennan County Administrator Dustin Chapman.

The county is working with a consultant to determine eligibility for other requests submitted for the federal coronavirus relief money, Chapman said.

Commissioners also are considering requests for American Rescue Plan funding from McLennan Community College, which is seeking $1 million, and Trinity Sports Association, 1010 Elm Ave., which says its mission is to improve the spiritual, educational, financial and physical fitness of youth.

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Lincoln, NE (68508)

Today

Periods of rain. High 54F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

A steady rain in the evening. Showers continuing late. Low 49F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
When Donald Trump and his allies set out to alter the results of the 2020 election, they targeted local election officials and legislators all over the country. Very often the people in these critical positions, and most vulnerable to Trumps influence, were Republicans. Many were his supporters.

Time and again, those officials refused to be cajoled or bullied into altering their election results, or to decline to certify them.

Clint Hickman, president of the Maricopa County, Arizona, Board of Supervisors  over the opposition of his own party, and with protesters calling for his arrest on the front lawn of his home  shunned last-minute phone calls from the president himself and voted along with his majority-Republican board to certify the vote count he knew was accurate.

Aaron Van Langevelde, a little-known Republican member of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, ignored intense pressure to cast the deciding vote to certify the count in that state. Georgias secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, famously stood up to Trumps demand that he find 11,780 votes.

One of the more remarkable instances happened in tiny Antrim County, Michigan, where County Clerk Sheryl Guy refused to lie in order to advance Trumps cause.

Her case is of particular interest. On election night, Guy made a mistake tabulating the presidential vote. She accidentally transferred thousands of Trump votes to Biden. Antrim County, fingertip of the mitten shape made by Michigans lower peninsula, is almost all white and almost all Republican. It is solid Trump country. Guy voted for him.

She promptly recognized her tabulation error, and, horrified, fessed up to it, and corrected it. Trumps victory was duly recorded. But she did not move fast enough to beat the Klaxon warnings that sounded across the country. Antrims brief flicker of blue was exactly the kind of red flag Trump and his allies were looking for. Private jets brought his campaign lawyers and activists to the peninsula, determined to prove that the error had not been Guys, but the countys voting machines. Here, at last, was proof that the machines had been rigged. Except Guy refused to budge. The mistake, she insisted, was her own.

Her case illustrates three things often overlooked by those who believe the American election system can be rigged.

First, in little Antrim County the switch of only a few thousand votes  not the millions alleged by Trump  tripped immediate alarm countrywide. Voting patterns in the U.S. are well known and closely watched. Voter data are public. Legislators, reporters and scholars are intimately familiar with it. When any voting district veers dramatically off course, everyone notices.

Second, there is little chance that widespread fraud could happen. The voting system in America is completely decentralized, and therein lies its strength. Elections are orchestrated not by a single agency in Washington, but by hundreds of thousands of local officials in every district, county and state in the union. Elections are run not by some faceless deep state bureaucrats, but by your friends and neighbors. The notion that a significant number of these people, most of whom have never met, could be enlisted in a plot to alter enough votes to change a national election is absurd.

But the third and most important point is this: The American people are not as dishonest or cowardly as Trump would like them to be. Clint Hickman, Aaron Van Langevelde, Brad Raffensperger, Sheryl Guy and hundreds of others like them did not let their personal preference for Trump interfere with their duty or their integrity. Many have paid a price.

Van Langevelde has been dumped from the Michigan canvass board. Raffensperger faces a difficult primary challenge in Georgia from a Trump loyalist who enjoys the ex-presidents endorsement. Hickman notes with dismay that his own party in Arizona has made denial of the 2020 election results a requirement for its support. Guy suffered so much abuse that she had decided not to run again for the office that she loved.

Election workers all over the country endured similar persecution and worse. In Atlanta, for instance, police reports show that part-time election helper Ruby Freeman received hundreds of messages  too many for police to read  including death threats. Strangers turned up at her home. Trump himself urged Raffensperger to have her investigated, and Trumps lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, testifying before the state legislature, accused her  without evidence  of orchestrating an enormous election scam. She went into hiding.

In key states, legislators still espousing Trumps groundless and destructive theories are supporting efforts to ensure that they can set aside the popular vote entirely and appoint a slate of electors for their preferred candidate.

Democracy is not automatic. It rests on the integrity of ordinary Americans who supervise and certify votes in every county of every state. In 2020, despite intense pressure, these people in case after case, under duress, did their duty. We should take heart from that, but Congress should also act to protect them from harassment, and to ensure that the outcome of every election is determined not by partisan officials, but by the vote. This is so basic that it is hard to imagine an American who would not support it.

Mark Bowden and Matthew Teague are columnists for The Los Angeles Times.
Every once in a while something happens that brings everything into perspective. For me, it was Newt Gingrichs recent interview on Fox News in which he said that if Republicans win a majority in Congress in the next election, the people who have participated in the Jan. 6 investigation will go to jail. We have arrived at a place I never thought was possible for the United States of America: We are becoming what we used to call in a disparaging way a banana republic.

And it is not just Newt  the mainstream Republican Party feels the same way. The Gingrich interview followed the announcement that Glenn Youngkin, the new governor of Virginia, just fired Timothy Heaphy, the University of Virginia counsel, who is currently on leave to be the chief investigative counsel for the Jan. 6 investigation. And at a recent Defeat the Mandates rally in Washington, Dana Milbank of The Washington Post reports one of the speakers said, Mark my words: We will hold Tony Fauci accountable, we will hold Deborah Birx accountable, we will hold Joe Biden accountable, but unlike the Nuremberg trials  we are going to come after the press. And all of this is just an extension of Trumps lock them up rallies during the 2020 campaign, where he called for Biden to be jailed for the crime of campaigning against him. So here we are.

Americans, who characteristically look down on their neighbors, used the term banana republic to describe countries in Central America as not just economically and politically unstable but as characterized by a politics of lawless revenge, where new governments coming in would arrest those from the previous governments for just doing their jobs and even go after the press. We saw ourselves as superior to our neighbors in every way. But now Newt Gingrich and others have made clear that while the movement toward autocracy had already begun here, it has now reached the point where it is proclaimed without equivocation or apology. We are now becoming that which we once scorned. And the irony of it all seems lost on almost everyone.

Congress is absolutely honor-bound to investigate an attack on the U.S. Capitol. There was an effort by a crowd to interrupt the counting of the electoral votes for the presidency. This was an insurrection, pure and simple. Technically, it was not a coup, because the armed services were not involved. But that could be ahead of us. And during the attack, several people were targeted for death, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the vice president of the United States. It would be irresponsible for Congress to not investigate. Surely the individuals responsible should be held accountable. This includes an inquiry into those who propagated the lie that the election had been stolen, and those who were involved in sending false alternative electoral votes to Congress, as well as the involvement of the former president, Donald Trump, and other political leaders who encouraged the angry crowd on Jan. 6. This investigation is responsible government. Nothing more.

The call to jail the investigators is frightening enough for the investigators themselves. But there is more to it. The real goal is to intimidate others. This is how democracy dies. Intimidation. Crowds in the street. Extra-legal militias, carrying weapons and shouting. And little by little, violence increases until it becomes accepted. There are decent people in this country, but one by one they are being silenced. Fear has a way of doing that. And if the intimidation succeeds, an insurrection wont be needed next time.

I have always loved my country, and I devoted most of my life to teaching college students about it. So it hurts me to see what is happening today. I worry that my wife and I will not be able to live out our retirement in peace. I fear for my daughters and my grandchildren. What will happen to them?

What can we do to prevent what seems like an inevitable slide toward disaster? What can we do to prevent the United States from becoming that banana republic? The answer is simple: Decent people must speak up, in spite of their fear. What does this mean? We have to read newspapers (and more than one) and watch the news. We have to disagree with friends and neighbors when they say something dangerous, even if it means that we lose a friend or create some tension in the neighborhood. We have to go to school board meetings. We have to write our representatives. And when election day arrives, we absolutely must vote. Even all of this may not be enough, but the consequences of not trying are too terrible to contemplate.

We cannot remain silent, go about our daily lives, and hope that things will get better on their own. But time is short, and the enemies of democracy are pursuing their goals with passionate intensity.

Solomon D. Stevens has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston College. His publications include Religion, Politics, and the Law (co-authored with Peter Schotten) and Challenges to Peace in the Middle East. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
So 1960s!

While in Waco on Saturday, I read Robert Bairds opinion piece in the Tribune-Herald.

It is puzzling and amusing to hear someone speak of a colleges religious affiliation possibly interfering with academic freedom in 2022. Academic freedom? That term is so 1960s!

In most colleges in America, there is neither religious influence nor academic freedom. Nowadays, almost all American colleges are dominated by political correctness and differing viewpoints  be they religious, academic or scientific  are distinctly unwelcome.

The piece mentioned several prominent colleges with a sectarian founding, Harvard being the oldest and most famous among them. Do they allow their religious foundings to influence their campus cultures? Harvards chief chaplain, Greg Epstein, unanimously elected in August 2021 by his fellow university chaplains, is an atheist.

He says We dont look to a god for answers. We are each others answers. So its hard to see Harvard or any other colleges being in any danger of allowing religious founding to interfere with academics. Its hard to see the majority of American colleges pursuing truth while wokeism reigns supreme.

Edith Hoad, Weatherford

Musk a nuisance

Elon Musk is becoming a nuisance. Has anyone stopped to wonder why a South African war merchant would take up roots in Texas? Making a living is one thing, and I get that, but he doesnt seem to like it here very much.

Every article that I read about him illustrates how much he hates us (as he continues to do whatever business he does here, besides selling Teslas and digging giant tunnels). Just something to think about. I leave it to you.

Jason Duggan, Woodway

Tired of labels

Are there any qualifications for the nomination to the Supreme Court other than being a woman and being Black?

I am not opposed to the person being a woman or the person being Black, but that is the only qualifying aspect of President Bidens nomination that we are hearing. I am tired of everything being about gender and race.

Gloria Hill, Woodway

Multiple losses

The twice-impeached Trump did not just lose his reelection  he bombed. He lost three separate recounts, including a hand recount, in Georgia.

A Trump-supported sham audit in Arizona produced even more votes for Joe Biden. Trump lost in his desperate coup attempt to have state legislators overturn the results in states that voted for Joe Biden.

Trump could not even get his own vice president to overturn the results of the Electoral College; even though he tried his best to subvert democracy. Trump lost over 60 court challenges.

He even lost when the super-conservative Supreme Court turned up their noses at him.

Do you know of anyone else who lost an election more profoundly? This appears to be the perfect definition of a defeated loser.

Nancy Glasscock, Temple
Don't bet the house, since 1887, Punxsutawney Phil has been correct just 37%-40% of the time.

Although the actual start of spring does not occur until late March, the weather does not always adhere to a schedule.

Groundhog Day has been celebrated in the United States for generations as a way of predicting when winter would come to an end.

According to History.com, the first Groundhog Day was celebrated on February 2, 1887, at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Learn all you need to know about the history of Groundhog Day and how it truly works in this informative guide!

It is customary to celebrate Groundhog Day on February 2 to foretell the onset of springtime. Celebrations are organized early in the morning to see the groundhog emerge from its burrow, which is the day's highlight. Traditionally, if the groundhog emerges from its burrow on a gloomy morning, the spring season will come early, maybe even before the vernal equinox, according to folklore. If the groundhog appeared on a bright day, they would retire to its hole upon seeing its shadow, and spring would not officially begin for another six weeks.

Punxsutawney Phil was still predicting a chilly winter on Wednesday. Phil does not anticipate any significant changes in the next six weeks.

After crawling out of a tunnel at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday morning, the nation's most famous marmot noticed his shadow for the first time. According to mythology, this implies that temperatures will be below normal for the following six weeks across the United States.

Don't put away your cold-weather clothing just yet  Punxsutawney Phil hasn't seen his shadow yet. Phil has just prophesied that winter would last for another six weeks.

Early Wednesday morning, at the annual Groundhog Day ritual at Gobbler's Knob in western Pennsylvania, the famed prognosticating rodent selected the shadow scroll, indicating that Old Man Winter would not be letting up anytime soon, according to legend.

Last year, pandemic fears compelled organizers to webcast the annual event live on the internet, during which Phil asked for six more weeks of Old Man Winter. This year, Phil's devoted supporters returned to the remote venue after pandemic worries forced organizers to live stream the annual event last year.

It is believed that the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club began performing the yearly ceremony in Pennsylvania as early as 1887. The custom originated in Europe during the Candlemas celebration on February 2, when Christians would bring candles to a church to be blessed.

Following a year in which the pandemic restricted attendance, tens of thousands of people descended to the tiny hamlet in Western Pennsylvania to see the ritual, which the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club organized.

By seeing his shadow, Punxsutawney Phil foretold the arrival of six additional weeks of winter last year. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Phil was partially correct  temperatures in the contiguous United States were below normal in February. Still, they were above average in March, according to the NOAA.

The results of Canadian research done in 13 locations over a period of 30 to 40 years found that just 37% of weather forecasts made on Groundhog Day turned out to be correct. The Punxsutawney Phil weather forecast has been correct just 39 percent of the time, according to records dating back to 1887 and the StormFax weather forecast almanac, Groundhog Day organizers believe that Phil and his predecessors have a natural ability to foresee the arrival of spring, with its predictions being accurate to within 75 percent to 90 percent of the time.

NOAA reports that Phil has been accurate 40 percent of the time over the last ten years, nailing his forecasts in 2020, 2016, 2014, and 2013. Phil has also been correct 40 percent of the time during the previous ten years.
PRESS RELEASE  B-29 Doc has added three air shows in Texas to its 2022 tour season schedule. Doc is among the list of performers for the Great Texas Air Show at JBSA-Randolph in April, along with the Rose City Airfest and Thunder Over Cedar Creek Air Show in Tyler, TX in July. This is the first of many announcements regarding the 2022 tour season for Doc, which will include stops in 13 states and more than 20 cities.

The Great Texas Air Show at Joint Base San Antonio Randolph (JBSA-Randolph) is a two-day event that will include B-29 Doc as a static display and air show demo performer April 23-24. Doc will arrive at JBSA-Randolph on Friday, April 22.

B-29 Doc is honored to be among the list of performers and warbird static displays as the JBSA team hosts the Great Texas Airshow as part of the 75th-anniversary celebration of the United States Air Force, said Josh Wells, B-29 Doc Executive Director, and General Manager. We look forward to sharing the ramp with other historic warbirds, as well as current military aircraft, of which have all shared the joint mission of protecting freedom at home and abroad.

Information about the Great Texas Airshow can be found here: https://greattexasairshow.com/.

Doc will return to the Lone Star State in July for the Rose City Airfest, Warbird Expo, and Thunder Over Cedar Creek Lake Air Show July 1-4, in Tyler, TX. Both events at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport are hosted by Cedar Creek Veterans Foundation (CCVF).

The mission of the Cedar Creek Veterans Foundation is inspiring and we are humbled to be a part of helping honor those men and women who have served our nation and who need the services that the Cedar Creek Veterans Foundation and its mission support, Wells said. We know this event will further promote the mission of the CCVF in the Northeast Texas region and we are proud to be a partner.

B-29 Doc Flight Experience ride tickets are on sale now for the events in Tyler, TX. Details can be found at www.b29doc.com/rides or www.b29doc.com/events. Information about the Rose City Airfest, as well as the Thunder Over Cedar Creek Lake Air Show, can be found at https://ccveteransfoundation.org/.
GRUNDY CENTER  A traffic stop that preceded a fatal standoff with authorities will be part of the murder trial for a Grundy Center man accused of killing a state trooper.

Attorneys for Michael Thomas Lang, 42, had asked the court to remove charges of assault on an officer related to the stop into a separate trial to keep those facts out of his upcoming murder trial.

The defense argued it would be unfairly prejudicial for jurors in the murder trial to hear about Langs alleged struggle with police before the shooting. Defense attorneys suggested pairing the assault charge with an eluding charge that is already set for a separate trial.

In a decision handed down last week, Judge Joel Dalrymple sided with the state and ruled the assault allegations followed a common scheme similar to the murder and attempted murder allegations from the standoff that resulted in the death of Sgt. Jim Smith with the Iowa State Patrol. He noted that both incidents also shared a common location and timeframe.

The trial will be moved out of Grundy County on a venue change, but a location hasnt been decided.

Authorities allege Lang struggled with a Grundy Center police officer following an April 9 traffic stop. He then went home and shot and killed Smith when officers entered his home in an attempt to detain him, according to authorities.

After negotiations failed, tactical team officers moved on the house, sparking a gun battle. Lang was shot in the head and chest.

The defense is also asking the court to suppress statements Lang made to investigators while he was hospitalized. The hearing on that matter will be at a later date.

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WATERLOO  A Waterloo woman who bought guns that were later linked to two shootings and whose car was found stuck in a snowbank after a third has been convicted of federal weapons charges.

A jury found Allyssa Jo Stovall, 23, guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by a drug user on Tuesday following trial in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Jurors deliberated for about two hours.

Authorities allege Stovall bought a 9 mm SCCY pistol from Scheels in Cedar Falls and a 9 mm Ruger handgun from Mr. Guns in Waterloo in July 2020.

The SCCY was used in a July 26, 2020, shooting in the area of Iowa and Saxon streets, and the Ruger was used in an Aug. 2, 2020, shooting on Argyle Street, according to court records.

Police has also found Stovall in her vehicle stuck in the snow while investigating a Feb. 11, 2021, shooting, according to court records. Her vehicle was searched later, and police found loose marijuana flakes inside, court records state.

Investigators determined Stovall posted photographs on social media of herself holding a marijuana blunt and spoke about her marijuana use during a recorded telephone call with her boyfriend, Dumarkus Gibbs, prosecutors said.

Authorities with an ATF task force approached her at her home on July 22 and found drug paraphernalia.

In November, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Gibbs with felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in connection with the 9 mm Ruger. His trial is tentatively scheduled for March.







Photos: Guns in Northeast Iowa crime cases(tncms-asset)008a5a44-0fd1-11ea-bd86-00163ec2aa77[2](/tncms-asset)

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Lincoln, NE (68508)

Today

Periods of rain. High 54F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

A steady rain in the evening. Showers continuing late. Low 49F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
WATERLOO  Hawkeye Community College is proposing a 5.33% property tax increase, raising an additional $659,172 during the next fiscal year.

The board of trustees last week approved publishing the 2022-23 budget estimate of $75.7 million, including the higher tax askings. Trustees also set a public hearing for Feb. 22, when the budget is expected to be approved.

A total of $13.02 million in property and utility replacement tax collections are projected for the colleges 10-county service area during the year starting July 1.

Growth in property valuations across the 10-county area and the proposed boost in the tax rate are behind the increased collections, said Dan Gillen, Hawkeyes vice president of administration and finance.

Taxable value grew by $484 million, according to board documents. Gillen noted that the tax rate would see a very slight increase of less than a penny. That brings the rate to just under $1.19 per $1,000 of taxable value.

Yet, the owner of a home whose value hasnt increased would see a drop in the Hawkeye portion of the annual property tax bill. The state-determined residential rollback used in calculating tax bills includes a smaller percentage of a homeowners property for next year.

For a home valued at $100,000 in the current and next tax year, the colleges portion of the tax bill would drop $2.18 to $64.18.

The proposed $75.7 million budget is a $2.46 million increase from the re-estimated budget for the current fiscal year.

Besides property taxes, other major revenues for the college in the budget include $20.27 million from tuition and student fees, $18.36 million from all types of state aid and $2.13 million in federal aid.

This is all about setting the property taxes, because everything else is an estimate, Gillen told trustees. That goes for the number of students who will be enrolled and how much they will pay in tuition.

I based it on an assumption of a flat enrollment, he said. Tuition and fee levels have not yet been determined by the college, but a 1.2% increase is assumed in the numbers. Theres also an assumption built in that state general aid will grow.

We do show that we will be spending down our proposed fund balances, said Gillen. The fund balances are projected to drop by $7.64 million during the course of the next year to $26.38 million, with money spent largely from the plant fund. Those expenditures relate to the remodeling of Grundy Hall, which is currently underway.

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WATERLOO  Jared Smith wasnt looking for a way to get back to Waterloo Community Schools when he heard the district needed a new superintendent.

He told employees and parents who initially reached out about the position that he wasnt ready to leave South Tama County Community Schools, where he has been superintendent since 2018. But Smith, who grew up in Waterloo and once worked for the district, began considering the possibility of applying for the job.

I spent a lot of time thinking about it, talked to people whose opinions I trust, the 39-year-old said in an interview. It made sense the more I thought about it.

In the end, he noted, I think it was just kind of the perfect time.

He was among 22 people who submitted applications for the opening and was chosen as one of six semifinalists and four finalists interviewed by the Board of Education. On Thursday, the board extended Smith a contract and announced Monday that he had verbally accepted the offer. Formal approval of the new superintendents contract is expected at the boards Feb. 14 meeting.

Since the announcement, hes gotten congratulations from a lot of people via text and social media.

Its been overwhelming, he said. Im absolutely excited and honored to have gotten the position. Im excited to get up there again.

The 2000 graduate of West High School was a teacher in Florida and Chicago for four years before returning to Iowa in 2008 as a building administrator in Fort Dodge. He then served as assistant principal at East High School in Waterloo from 2012 to 2016. He was principal of Muscatine High School prior to becoming superintendent in Tama.

His mom and dad both still live in the Cedar Valley, along with two of his four siblings.

As Smith prepares to begin leading his second school district July 1, he wants to build relationships with some of the employees, with the community; learn about things going on and see how I can bring some of my experiences, my ideas to add them to whats already going on.

The couple times Ive transitioned (to new administrative positions), I always find value in visiting the district and participating in conversations, meetings, reaching out to start building relationships, he said. Retiring Superintendent Jane Lindaman is among those Smith expects to be talking to. Weve already had some conversations, Dr. Lindaman and I, (about) how she can help.

Things wont be too different when he starts the job.

Really, its going to be listening, again, said Smith. Im not just saying that. Ive learned that you dont make big changes right away. ...

Youve got to start with listening and understanding, making sure you wrap your head around (various concerns) before making changes.

A written entry plan he shared with The Courier includes meeting with a wide variety of district employees, community members and other stakeholders during the first six weeks. By the end of this year, he plans to make in-person contact with all 1,400 Waterloo Schools employees through a combination of focus groups and visits, both formal and informal.

The key themes and patterns that emerge during those conversations will help guide our district vision work in the years ahead, he wrote.

Smith also plans to continue a practice he started as South Tama superintendent: Sending a personal handwritten postcard to every district student on their birthday. The list of about 1,500 students in South Tama will grow to more than 10,000 in Waterloo.

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DES MOINES  Competing proposals to lower Iowans taxes received largely positive feedback during a pair of legislative hearings Tuesday night at the Iowa Capitol.

The feedback from various business groups, conservative tax policy organizations and water quality and environmental advocates was not unanimous, but certainly largely in support of Republican legislators varied proposals to lower the state tax on income to a single rate; reduce the state tax on businesses; and create a shift in taxes that provides funding for the long-starved state fund for conservation and water quality projects.

Majority House and Senate Republicans held the first legislative hearings on their proposals almost simultaneously Tuesday evening in different rooms at the Capitol.

Eventually, Republican legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds will have to agree on one proposal that could contain different elements of the various plans.

This is an opportunity that we have.  I think this is the structure to get something done. Im not saying this bill is perfect, said Sen. Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs who is shepherding the Senate Republican proposal.

Most widely popular at the hearings among the plans were the water quality and conservation funding proposal and the lowering of the states corporate tax rates.

Advocates gushed over the water quality and conservation funding piece at the Senate hearing. The Senate version is the only proposal to include that provision.

We are absolutely thrilled to have IWILL (the states conservation and water quality fund) part of this bill, said Tammi Kircher, with Iowas chapter of Ducks Unlimited.

Dustin Miller, executive director of the Iowa Chamber Alliance, said the water quality and conservation funding will help communities attract new residents. Iowas population growth has been largely stagnant over the past decade.

The thing we are most excited about is the inclusion of IWILL, Miller said. What we hear repeatedly is quality of life projects is what they are looking for.

At the House hearing, environmental advocates urged Republicans there to consider addressing the trust fund.

Dan Cohen of the Buchanan County Conservation Board said investing in Iowas natural areas would be consistent with the goals of revitalizing rural Iowa, and Craig Patterson of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation also said it would improve workforce attraction and retention.

The consensus from interest groups at the House hearing was that the simplification of Iowas income tax code will be an advantage of the proposed flat tax  a rate that all pay.

Thats one of the biggest issues we deal with in the economic development world because if youre explaining, youre losing, the chambers Miller said.

Business leaders praised the Senate proposal to reduce corporate income taxes. At the House meeting, those business interests urged Republicans there to consider adding that piece.

Miller said the Chamber Alliance is undecided on the House bill because it lacks that corporate income tax reduction.

When we try to attract business investment from other states, were not even on the playing field, he said.

That message was repeated numerous times, as business leaders noted that Iowa has the third-highest top corporate income tax rate in the country.

While the lower individual income tax rates will make Iowa more competitive and promote more growth and opportunity, not including corporate tax reform would be disappointing, said Joe Murphy of the Iowa Business Council.

Weve put a lot of good effort and good faith work into reforming the tax code in the past three or four years, Murphy said. Keep an open mind on corporate tax rates, be bold and seize this opportunity.

The proposals were not without their detractors.

Mike Owen, with the progressive fiscal advocacy group Common Good Iowa, said flat taxes place an outsized burden for the funding of government services on lower-income residents. Owen also pushed back at the repeated claims that lowering income taxes will attract more people to live in Iowa.

Unfortunately, this bill fails every test. It guts fairness and revenue, Owen said.

A lobbyist for counties and county supervisors said those groups have some apprehension about the way the water quality and conservation fund will be financed under the Senate bill.

The Senate proposal would eliminate local governments local-option sales taxes, replace them with a statewide sales tax and return that revenue to the local governments while triggering the water quality and conservation funding.

The Sierra Club, which advocates for environmental policies, opposes the Senate plan because of that funding mechanism.

That method, we believe, is inappropriate, said Pam Mackey Taylor, director of the Sierra Clubs Iowa chapter.

Both proposals are scheduled for their next hearing in the legislative process, full committee hearings, on Thursday.

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Let's get caught up with today's COVID-19 news for Feb. 1, 2022.

Pfizer asks FDA to allow COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5

Pfizer on Tuesday asked the U.S. to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5, potentially opening the way for the very youngest Americans to start receiving shots as early as March.

In an extraordinary move, the Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to apply earlier than the companies had planned.

Anti-vaccine protest in Canada spurs outrage

In a scene at odds with Canadians reputation for niceness and rule-following, thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital over the weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill.

Some urinated and parked on the National War Memorial. One danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A number carried signs and flags with swastikas.

In the aftermath of Canada's biggest pandemic protest to date, the demonstrators have found little sympathy in a country where more than 80% are vaccinated.

Woman pleads guilty in $1.2M pandemic unemployment scheme

A Massachusetts woman who along with an accomplice submitted 100 fraudulent claims for COVID-19-related unemployment assistance that resulted in more than $1.2 million in payouts has pleaded guilty, federal prosecutors said.

Audri Ford-Victory, 61, faces up to 20 years behind bars when she is sentenced on June 1, the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said in a statement Tuesday, but under terms of a plea agreement she is expected to get prison time at the low end of sentencing guidelines.

Check out more top COVID-19 news here:
When the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2020 data, it confirmed that Iowas population growth has been anemic. Our overall population increased by 4.7%, but the report acknowledged that most of these gains occurred in a few metros and suburbs, while 68 of Iowas 99 counties lost people. In fact, two-thirds of our counties hit their peak population in the 1950s or earlier. To add to our population issues, we are facing the most acute worker shortage in a generation. Eventually, if Iowa employers cant find qualified workers here, they will relocate elsewhere. Thats a sobering fact for those of us who enjoy calling Iowa home.

The Iowa Business Council focuses on efforts that help attract, retain and re-engage a talented workforce. We know addressing important issues such as rural broadband, affordable child care and workforce housing will play a critical role in making our state a better place to live and work. However, there is one major policy initiative that has the potential to accelerate Iowas path to a much stronger future. That opportunity is tax reform.

Iowa currently ranks 38th nationally in overall corporate and individual tax climates. To be more competitive, lawmakers must focus on providing a simple and transparent tax structure that will grow Iowas economy. Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed flat tax on individual income would make Iowa one of the 15 most competitive states to live and work in the country. Under the plan, individual rates would start gradually reducing in 2023, culminating in a 4% flat tax for all by 2026.

On the corporate side, the governors plan provides a pathway to an eventual 5.5% flat tax while codifying specific revenue performance standards and guardrails before reductions can occur. For every fiscal year in which net corporate income tax receipts exceed $700 million, the surplus will be used to lower the top line tax rate for the following year. This is a prudent approach to begin addressing one of Iowas most distressing economic realities. From a corporate rate perspective, only New Jersey and Pennsylvania charge more than we do. This is a major barrier to entry for prospective businesses that might otherwise consider locating in our state and for current Iowa businesses looking to expand.

Taken together, this tax reform proposal is great news for employees and job creators alike. Businesses of all sizes and all individuals will benefit from the new flat tax policies. If enacted, good news like that doesnt stay quiet for long. It will be a major recruitment tool for attracting businesses to Iowa, while ensuring we retain the companies that have kept our communities thriving.

Modernizing our tax system will not only save current residents hard-earned money, it will make Iowa a more attractive place to live and do business. Our state is in a strong economic position. Iowa has a $1 billion budget surplus and $1.2 billion in its taxpayer trust fund. The time is right to advance tax cuts for all Iowans.

Joe Murphy is executive director of the Iowa Business Council.

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Weather Alert

...MORE WINDY DAYS ON THE WAY, WITH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND... --Thursday and Friday-- * A pair of systems brushing through the region will bring gusty winds both days, with even stronger winds possible on Friday. Winds will bring travel difficulties both in the air and on the ground. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with CalTrans/NDOT for the current road information. Please see the latest hazard text products for the latest information on anticipated wind speeds. * Area of blowing dust are possible both afternoons downwind of the Carson Sink, possibly affecting portions of I-80, US 50, and Highway 95. In addition, backcountry and ski recreation could be impacted along with choppy conditions on area lakes. * A few light showers with minimal liquid totals are possible in far northern Nevada and northeast California. --Mother's Day Weekend into Early Next Week-- * It will remain breezy throughout the weekend, with a secondary max in wind speeds on Sunday due to a strong cold front. This front will usher in a much colder air mass and high temperatures on Mother's Day will be 15-20 degrees below normal. * There will be rain and snow showers with the front, but again, liquid amounts will be minimal. There are solid chances for snow levels to fall to all valley floors by Sunday evening, which may catch many off guard, though it is hard to get snow to stick to roadways in lower elevation valleys this late in the spring. * Well below normal temperatures and chances for light showers will continue into Monday and Tuesday next week. While still some uncertainty due to winds and cloud cover, it's possible we could have frost and freeze concerns Sunday and Monday nights.

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. Wind prone areas may experience gusts in excess of 60 mph. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph and waves of 2 to 4 feet expected on Pyramid Lake. * WHERE...Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake. * WHEN...From 11 AM to 9 PM PDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects and high profile vehicles will be prone to tip over. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Blowing dust may locally reduce visibility downwind of dry lake beds and sinks. Small boats, kayaks and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with NDOT for the latest on road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage. Check lake conditions before heading out on the water and be prepared for a sudden increase in winds and wave heights. Consider postponing boating activities on the lake until a day with less wind. &&
Weather Alert

...MORE WINDY DAYS ON THE WAY, WITH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND... --Thursday and Friday-- * A pair of systems brushing through the region will bring gusty winds both days, with even stronger winds possible on Friday. Winds will bring travel difficulties both in the air and on the ground. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with CalTrans/NDOT for the current road information. Please see the latest hazard text products for the latest information on anticipated wind speeds. * Area of blowing dust are possible both afternoons downwind of the Carson Sink, possibly affecting portions of I-80, US 50, and Highway 95. In addition, backcountry and ski recreation could be impacted along with choppy conditions on area lakes. * A few light showers with minimal liquid totals are possible in far northern Nevada and northeast California. --Mother's Day Weekend into Early Next Week-- * It will remain breezy throughout the weekend, with a secondary max in wind speeds on Sunday due to a strong cold front. This front will usher in a much colder air mass and high temperatures on Mother's Day will be 15-20 degrees below normal. * There will be rain and snow showers with the front, but again, liquid amounts will be minimal. There are solid chances for snow levels to fall to all valley floors by Sunday evening, which may catch many off guard, though it is hard to get snow to stick to roadways in lower elevation valleys this late in the spring. * Well below normal temperatures and chances for light showers will continue into Monday and Tuesday next week. While still some uncertainty due to winds and cloud cover, it's possible we could have frost and freeze concerns Sunday and Monday nights.

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. Wind prone areas may experience gusts in excess of 60 mph. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph and waves of 2 to 4 feet expected on Pyramid Lake. * WHERE...Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake. * WHEN...From 11 AM to 9 PM PDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects and high profile vehicles will be prone to tip over. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Blowing dust may locally reduce visibility downwind of dry lake beds and sinks. Small boats, kayaks and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with NDOT for the latest on road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage. Check lake conditions before heading out on the water and be prepared for a sudden increase in winds and wave heights. Consider postponing boating activities on the lake until a day with less wind. &&
Weather Alert

...MORE WINDY DAYS ON THE WAY, WITH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND... --Thursday and Friday-- * A pair of systems brushing through the region will bring gusty winds both days, with even stronger winds possible on Friday. Winds will bring travel difficulties both in the air and on the ground. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with CalTrans/NDOT for the current road information. Please see the latest hazard text products for the latest information on anticipated wind speeds. * Area of blowing dust are possible both afternoons downwind of the Carson Sink, possibly affecting portions of I-80, US 50, and Highway 95. In addition, backcountry and ski recreation could be impacted along with choppy conditions on area lakes. * A few light showers with minimal liquid totals are possible in far northern Nevada and northeast California. --Mother's Day Weekend into Early Next Week-- * It will remain breezy throughout the weekend, with a secondary max in wind speeds on Sunday due to a strong cold front. This front will usher in a much colder air mass and high temperatures on Mother's Day will be 15-20 degrees below normal. * There will be rain and snow showers with the front, but again, liquid amounts will be minimal. There are solid chances for snow levels to fall to all valley floors by Sunday evening, which may catch many off guard, though it is hard to get snow to stick to roadways in lower elevation valleys this late in the spring. * Well below normal temperatures and chances for light showers will continue into Monday and Tuesday next week. While still some uncertainty due to winds and cloud cover, it's possible we could have frost and freeze concerns Sunday and Monday nights.

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. Wind prone areas may experience gusts in excess of 60 mph. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph and waves of 2 to 4 feet expected on Pyramid Lake. * WHERE...Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake. * WHEN...From 11 AM to 9 PM PDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects and high profile vehicles will be prone to tip over. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Blowing dust may locally reduce visibility downwind of dry lake beds and sinks. Small boats, kayaks and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with NDOT for the latest on road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage. Check lake conditions before heading out on the water and be prepared for a sudden increase in winds and wave heights. Consider postponing boating activities on the lake until a day with less wind. &&
One of the most exciting new voices, or brands, to join the Virginia wine industry is Richmond-based Shockoe Wine. (Provided by Shockoe Wine)

John June Lewis Sr. cultivated a love for viticulture and winemaking while serving in the U.S. Army in Germanys Rhine Valley during World War I.

Lewis returned to Virginia after the war and worked in lumber until the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. He then planted 10 acres of grapevines in the Ivy Hill area of Mecklenburg County  about 2  hours west of Norfolk  and opened Woburn Winery in 1940, Americas first African American-owned winery.

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He made wine from labrusca and hybrid grapes for more than three decades until his death in 1974. The winery closed soon after.

Today, Virginia is home to more than 300 wineries and wine brands but fewer than five are owned by African Americans.

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One of the new voices in the industry is Richmond-based Shockoe Wine.

Founded by Ricky Parker, Steve Johnson III and Chris Randolph, Shockoe Wine is an homage to the historic Shockoe Bottom area on the east side of the city. For decades prior to the Civil War, Shockoe Bottom was the largest slave-trading district in the U.S. north of New Orleans.

Few places hold as much significance for Black Americans as Shockoe Bottom, Johnson said. Just by founding the Shockoe wine label, weve already exceeded our ancestors wildest dreams.

Steve Johnson III is co-founder of Shockoe Wine. (Provided by Shockoe Wine)

A reminder is printed on the back label of each bottle: Every glass poured is a nod to our ancestors!

Shockoe Bottom is important to our understanding of our history, this citys history, as well as the history of Virginia and the nation, Parker said. Its a place where history and courage and resilience converge.

Establishing a winery is risky from the substantial upfront capital requirements for equipment, land and facilities, coupled with being at the mercy of Mother Nature. Access to capital has disproportionally limited Blacks.

To navigate the maze, the trio partnered with Veritas Vineyards and Winery near Charlottesville for their first vintage. Parker said Chauncey Jenkins, the general manager and sommelier at Common House Richmond, connected him with George Hodson, CEO of Veritas.

Shockoe wine is made by Veritas winemaker Emily Pelton, who sources the grapes from two historic properties nestled on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The inaugural release, the 2019 Shockoe Red, is a blend of 48% Petit Verdot, 48% Cabernet Franc and 4% merlot.

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Teaming with an established winery to use its equipment, production facility and winemaking expertise provides an economical entry into the industry.

The collaboration allowed Johnson, Parker and Randolph to focus on marketing, shipping and other logistics.

As entrepreneurs, restaurateurs and creatives, Parker, Johnson and Randolph bring diverse skills and experience to the industry.

Launching a wine brand in the middle of a pandemic was a gutsy move. They didnt have in-person tastings and events, traditionally an important way to connect with new consumers; they turned to social media to share the Shockoe story.

One of the most exciting new voices, or brands, to join the Virginia wine industry is Richmond-based Shockoe Wine. (Provided by Shockoe Wine)

Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news >

They hosted live sessions on Instagram and the inaugural vintage sold out in early October, less than six months after release  a rare achievement for a new brand and a testament to how the Shockoe mission is resonating with consumers.

Parker said working on marketing and distribution for a whiskey brand in 2019 helped give the team the knowledge and confidence to launch Shockoe wine.

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By supporting Shockoe wine, Johnson said, people are supporting future opportunities in this space for people who look like us.

To attract more diverse voices to the industry, the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office is developing a diversity, equity and inclusion plan to create opportunities for winery management and ownership.

Johnson said: We understand the opportunity we have. We want to make sure everything were doing we are in a position to give back to our community. We want people to know this is bigger than us!

Shockoe wine is sold at Wegmans in Virginia Beach and Common House Richmond.

Reach Frank Morgan at frank.morgan@icloud.com
Weather Alert

...MORE WINDY DAYS ON THE WAY, WITH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND... --Thursday and Friday-- * A pair of systems brushing through the region will bring gusty winds both days, with even stronger winds possible on Friday. Winds will bring travel difficulties both in the air and on the ground. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with CalTrans/NDOT for the current road information. Please see the latest hazard text products for the latest information on anticipated wind speeds. * Area of blowing dust are possible both afternoons downwind of the Carson Sink, possibly affecting portions of I-80, US 50, and Highway 95. In addition, backcountry and ski recreation could be impacted along with choppy conditions on area lakes. * A few light showers with minimal liquid totals are possible in far northern Nevada and northeast California. --Mother's Day Weekend into Early Next Week-- * It will remain breezy throughout the weekend, with a secondary max in wind speeds on Sunday due to a strong cold front. This front will usher in a much colder air mass and high temperatures on Mother's Day will be 15-20 degrees below normal. * There will be rain and snow showers with the front, but again, liquid amounts will be minimal. There are solid chances for snow levels to fall to all valley floors by Sunday evening, which may catch many off guard, though it is hard to get snow to stick to roadways in lower elevation valleys this late in the spring. * Well below normal temperatures and chances for light showers will continue into Monday and Tuesday next week. While still some uncertainty due to winds and cloud cover, it's possible we could have frost and freeze concerns Sunday and Monday nights.

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. Wind prone areas may experience gusts in excess of 60 mph. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph and waves of 2 to 4 feet expected on Pyramid Lake. * WHERE...Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake. * WHEN...From 11 AM to 9 PM PDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects and high profile vehicles will be prone to tip over. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Blowing dust may locally reduce visibility downwind of dry lake beds and sinks. Small boats, kayaks and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with NDOT for the latest on road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage. Check lake conditions before heading out on the water and be prepared for a sudden increase in winds and wave heights. Consider postponing boating activities on the lake until a day with less wind. &&
Weather Alert

...MORE WINDY DAYS ON THE WAY, WITH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND... --Thursday and Friday-- * A pair of systems brushing through the region will bring gusty winds both days, with even stronger winds possible on Friday. Winds will bring travel difficulties both in the air and on the ground. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with CalTrans/NDOT for the current road information. Please see the latest hazard text products for the latest information on anticipated wind speeds. * Area of blowing dust are possible both afternoons downwind of the Carson Sink, possibly affecting portions of I-80, US 50, and Highway 95. In addition, backcountry and ski recreation could be impacted along with choppy conditions on area lakes. * A few light showers with minimal liquid totals are possible in far northern Nevada and northeast California. --Mother's Day Weekend into Early Next Week-- * It will remain breezy throughout the weekend, with a secondary max in wind speeds on Sunday due to a strong cold front. This front will usher in a much colder air mass and high temperatures on Mother's Day will be 15-20 degrees below normal. * There will be rain and snow showers with the front, but again, liquid amounts will be minimal. There are solid chances for snow levels to fall to all valley floors by Sunday evening, which may catch many off guard, though it is hard to get snow to stick to roadways in lower elevation valleys this late in the spring. * Well below normal temperatures and chances for light showers will continue into Monday and Tuesday next week. While still some uncertainty due to winds and cloud cover, it's possible we could have frost and freeze concerns Sunday and Monday nights.

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. Wind prone areas may experience gusts in excess of 60 mph. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph and waves of 2 to 4 feet expected on Pyramid Lake. * WHERE...Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake. * WHEN...From 11 AM to 9 PM PDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects and high profile vehicles will be prone to tip over. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Blowing dust may locally reduce visibility downwind of dry lake beds and sinks. Small boats, kayaks and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with NDOT for the latest on road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage. Check lake conditions before heading out on the water and be prepared for a sudden increase in winds and wave heights. Consider postponing boating activities on the lake until a day with less wind. &&
Study researchers attribute the increase in the number of African Americans being willing to get vaccinated to more information being available about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID vaccines, as well as a concerted education campaign by Black organizations and leaders trusted in their communities to reassure people that the vaccines are an excellent preventive measure. Vaccine advocates also had to get past the institutional distrust of the medical system that many black Americans have, dating back to abuse and experimental treatments foisted on African Americans. "So there's a tendency to be cautious," Padamsee, the lead author of the study, said in an interview with AARP.

Other barriers to vaccination

Padamsee said the evidence that Black Americans are no longer more hesitant than white Americans to get the COVID vaccine doesn't explain why the vaccination rate for them is still slightly lower than the rate for their white counterparts. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of December 2021, 77.8 percent of white Americans were fully vaccinated, compared with 76.2 percent of Black Americans. Not every community reports racial and ethnic data to the CDC, so agency officials have cautioned that these are estimates.

"Something else is probably going on that's holding Black Americans back from getting vaccines as often as white Americans do," Padamsee said. "If it's not about willingness, it's usually about access barriers."

She said that among the common barriers that public health experts worry about are people not being close to a vaccination site or not having transportation to get to one. Financial concerns also play a part. People may be worried that they wont be able to afford a vaccine.

"The fact is that in the U.S., vaccines are free to all Americans, but many people don't know that," especially if they are uninsured and used to being anxious about medical bills, Padamsee said. "People also worry about taking time off work to get vaccinated or taking time off if they get sick after they get vaccinated."

Dena Bunis covers Medicare, health care, health policy and Congress. She also writes the Medicare Made Easy column for the AARP Bulletin. An award-winning journalist, Bunis spent decades working for metropolitan daily newspapers, including as Washington bureau chief for the Orange County Register and as a health policy and workplace writer for Newsday.
Courtesy of victim's nephew

Kicked out of credit union

It turned out the credit union expelled the couple because crooks had sent them four checks totaling $27,700, supposedly to cover the money theyd expended. The personal checks were from a Louisiana credit union but mailed from Michigan.

Three of the Louisiana checks bounced  one for $8,700 and two for $5,000  and the Illinois credit union refused to accept the fourth, the nephew says.

Signatures faked

Contacted in Louisiana and shown copies of the checks, the wife of the supposed signatory tells AARP the documents are forgeries. Her husband, in his 80s and suffering from dementia, has been battling identity theft and bank fraud since he lost his wallet some time ago, she says. In no way, shape or form are the check signatures his.

What happened next sent the nephews anxiety through the roof. After his aunt and uncle opened a checking account at a new bank, he heard his uncle on the phone giving the new routing and account numbers to a scammer. Those are numbers consumers should safeguard, but the uncle still seemed hopeful for the windfall dangled in front of him.

We were in a crisis situation, says the nephew, who canceled the new account. I am convinced that if somebody didn't help them, they would now be homeless.

Here are the 10 steps he took next:

1. Spent hours sorting through bills, junk mail and paperwork collected from their home to try to piece together what happened.

2. Assembled YouTube clips describing how older Americans are scammed, so his aunt and uncle could understand the subterfuge. A 2013 Dan Rather Reports series called Just Hang Up was persuasive, the nephew says. Doug Shadel, a veteran fraud fighter and AARPs Washington state director, was among those interviewed in the series.

3. Obtained financial power of attorney.

4. Froze their credit so new accounts or loans could not be taken out in their names.

5. Contacted the gift-card companies involved to report the fraud. He was able to get back about $300 from eBay and about $200 from Visa Vanilla. The nephew surmises that most often the uncle gave away the gift card redemption codes, but sometimes he failed and left balances on the cards.

6. Worked the phones. He installed a call blocker on the couples landline to prevent incoming calls from Jamaica, where some of the scam calls originated. When the crooks persisted and called his aunt on her new cellphone, the nephew obtained a new number online from her telephone service provider.

7. Told his aunt and uncle to each use only one credit card with a low spending cap for daily needs. The nephew keeps another one of their cards and her cellphone to monitor their finances and pay their monthly bills.

8. Installed a doorbell camera.

9. Set up Informed Delivery with the U.S. Postal Service. The service gives consumers a digital preview of the letter-sized mail scheduled to arrive and tracks incoming packages, and the nephew keeps a close eye on whats coming.

10. Signed up the couple for DMAchoice.org, which lets consumers opt out of unwanted catalogs and offers for credit, magazines and such. The service for 10 years costs $2.

Today, the nephew often talks about the couples monthslong ordeal in hope that others are spared. He believes that while his uncle never won the sweepstakes, his luck never ran out. Luck that I was around, the nephew says. Luck that they trust me and luck that I could attack from a technical front to stop the calls, watch the money and help without depriving them of their independence.
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High Grade Drilling Results From Crake And Coote Projects

Perth, Feb 2, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Horizon Minerals Limited ( ASX:HRZ ) is pleased to announce further excellent high grade drilling results from the Crake and Coote projects, within the Binduli gold project area located 8km west of Kalgoorlie - Boulder in the heart of the Western Australian goldfields (Figure 1*).The drilling forms part of the 50,000m CY21 program testing high priority resource growth and new discovery targets across the 1,100km2 portfolio. The aim of the program is to organically grow the project pipeline within a 75km radius of Kalgoorlie and establish Ore Reserves. The Company is currently experiencing significant delays in assay turnaround due to labour shortages and has over 6,000m of drilling at the laboratories awaiting assay.Project GeologyThe geology at Crake and Coote is similar to the 390,000oz Janet Ivy open pit, located approximately 1,500m to the south, where the structurally controlled gold is hosted in a feldspar porphyry. At the nearby Fort William and Fort Scott open pits, where over 100,000oz have been produced to date, gold is hosted within sheared units of volcanics and clastic sediments.At Crake, the gold mineralisation strikes NW and dips shallowly to the SW with a poorly developed southern plunge. The gold lodes are generally tabular shaped and 3m to 5m thick but due to thrusting the mineralisation can be stacked to 50m in thickness. High grade zones appear to result from intersecting structures. The Crake and Coote drilling focussed on a mineralised, variably altered pink porphyry with minor amounts of pyrite and magnetite. Higher grades usually coincide with stronger pyrite mineralisation (up to 3% by volume).Highly successful drilling completed at Crake in 2019 - 2021 enabled the compilation of an independent Mineral Resource estimate (MRE) which currently stands at:- 1.4Mt grading 1.46g/t Au for 66,500oz at a 0.8g/t Au lower grade cut-offThe latest drilling program focussed on testing extensions to the known mineralisation along strike to the northwest and in between the Crake and Coote deposits.Results and DiscussionAt Crake, 3 RC holes for 358m were drilled in the NW area where the mineralisation remained open. Significant new high-grade mineralisation was discovered including:- 6m @ 1.61g/t Au from 52m, 2m @ 1.32g/t Au from 62m (BRC21001)- 12m @ 2.70g/t Au from 48m (BRC21002)- 40m @ 1.58g/t Au from 39m including 2m @ 1.24g/t Au from 39m,2m @ 1.26g/t Au from 43m,2m @ 1.26g/t Au from 47m,2m @ 1.99g/t Au from 53m,2m @ 2.49g/t Au from 65m,1m @ 1.85g/t from 70m,4m @ 9.27g/t Au from 75m,1m @ 1.08g/t Au from 104m,4m @ 1.14g/t Au from 110m (BRC21003)The mineralisation in the NW area sits on the periphery of the resource block model (Figure 2*). There is very limited drilling in this area highlighting the potential upside for further resource expansion with additional drilling.The Coote drilling comprised 8 RC holes for 879m. Significant results were returned from CRC21004 and CRC21007 as shown below:- 5m @ 10.52g/t Au from 12m inc. 1m @ 42.98g/t,3m @ 1.59g/t Au from 50m,2m @ 1.37g/t Au from 60m,1m @ 1.18g/t Au from 66m,2m @ 1.08g/t Au from 88m (CRC21004)- 8m @ 1.19g/t Au from 42m,1m @ 1.25g/t Au from 56m,1m @ 1.03g/t Au from 63m,1m @ 1.18g/t Au from 66m,2m @ 1.57g/t Au from 74m,1m @ 1.01g/t Au from 79m,1m @ 1.01g/t Au from 79m (CRC21007)Significant widths at high grade were intercepted to the west of the Crake resource and the east of Coote demonstrating the potential for the two deposits to converge and extend to the northwest (Figure 2*).Next StepsWith the significant large scale porphyry orebody 1,500m to the south at Janet Ivy and the sheared units to the southwest at Fort William and Fort Scott, the Company will commence further extensional and infill drilling in 2022 testing the connection and potential convergence of the two deposits. The new data will now be compiled to generate an updated MRE for Crake and a maiden MRE for Coote expected in the June Quarter 2022*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.


Investor Presentation 11.30am AEDT 9 Feb 2022

Sydney, Feb 2, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Vango Mining Limited ( ASX:VAN ) is pleased to announce that it will host an investor webinar presentation with Executive Chairman Bruce McInnes on the Company's exploration and development programs and plans for its flagship 100%-owned Marymia Gold Project in the Mid-West region of Western Australia.The Company is pleased to invite shareholders, and other interested parties to attend the webinar presentation, which will commence at 11.30am (AEDT) / 8.30am (WST) on Wednesday 9 February 2022.Investors can attend the webinar via the below link;Passcode: 4R0A8A (if required).Vango is focused on exploring and developing the Marymia Project in the Mid-West region of WA. In the near-term, the Company is focused on expanding its high-grade resource base to support its future plans to become a significant gold mining and production company.About Vango Mining Limited

Vango Mining Limited (ASX:VAN) is a minerals exploration mining company with ambitions of becoming a high-grade WA gold miner by developing the 100% owned Marymia Gold Project (Marymia) in the mid-west region of Western Australia. The Project comprises 45 granted mining leases over 300km. It has an established high-grade resource of 1Moz @ 3g/t Au, underpinned by the Trident Deposit, whose resource is 410koz @ 8g/t Au, with immediate extensions open at depth/along strike.

The Marymia Project has the potential to become one of Australia's largest high-grade producers. The Greenstone Belt in the Marymia region includes six major gold corridors, which remain largely un-tested beyond 100m depth - supported with an extensive drilling and geophysical database. Previous mining between 1992-2001, produced 580,000 ounces of gold almost entirely from open-pits.

Vango is focused on growing its high-grade gold resource to support a proposed stand-alone gold mining and production operation at Marymia. The Project is located along strike, immediately to the north of Superior Gold's (CVE:SGI) Plutonic Gold Mine which has produced more than 5.5Moz of gold.
Their daughter was gone, taken by COVID-19 at just 10 years old.

If Nicole and Jeff Sperry had chosen to hide away from the rest of the world, who would have blamed them? Instead, the Suffolk couple decided that Teresas death would not be in vain.

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After Teresa died on Sept. 27, the Sperrys threw themselves into becoming vaccine advocates  first by helping to host a series of vaccine clinics with the YMCA, and later by starting a website and a Facebook page dedicated to not only promoting vaccines, but also helping to remember the lives of those COVID has taken.

The only way this makes sense to me is if it saves people, Jeff Sperry said. Were trying to help others so they dont have to go through this.

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Teresa, a fifth grader at Hillpoint Elementary School, was healthy before she first complained of a headache one day late last September. Her symptoms escalated quickly, and she died five days later of coronavirus complications. At just 10, Teresa wasnt yet eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Approval of the vaccine for children ages 5 to 12 came about a month after she died. A vaccine for children younger than 5 still has not been approved.

At the time of her death, Teresa was one of 10 children under 18 who had died from COVID-19 statewide, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Since then, two more children have died. More than 196,000 children have been diagnosed with the illness statewide, with about 1,000 hospitalized with serious illness.

The Sperrys dont really know why the coronavirus affected Teresa the way it did. They chose not to get an autopsy afterward.

It doesnt affect all kids, but it took Teresa, Jeff Sperry said. Teresas not here. She was healthy and happy, and she was strong. And it took her. It devastates me every day.

The Sperrys began their advocacy in November at a vaccine clinic at the Suffolk Family YMCA. Their son Michael, a year younger than Teresa, got his vaccine. Then he encouraged other kids who showed up.

It only feels like a tiny little pinch, said Michael, who told his parents he hoped he could have sleepovers with friends again after getting vaccinated. One second. Then they give you a Band-aid. And youre fine.

Michael Sperry got a vaccine at a YMCA clinic in November. Courtesy of the Sperry family

Teresa would have done the same. She cared about everyone and went out of her way to help other people, her parents said.

Teresa would have been scared, but she would have held one of our hands, Nicole said. Afterward, she would have commented, That wasnt that bad. And she would have told others it was OK.

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In early December, Our Missing Stars appeared as a Facebook page and website, dedicated to Teresa and with the intent to educate others about why vaccinations were important. One of the first things posted was a short video sharing Teresas story and a message encouraging people to seek info at vaccine.gov.

The Facebook page says its intended to bring together families whove lost children to COVID-19 & MIS-C. We hope to encourage/inform about vaccinations and other ways we can help prevent any more heartbreak.

It didnt take long before the Sperrys began hearing from people, both those who lost loved ones to COVID and those who said Teresas story touched them.

We heard from countless people that they got their vaccines because of Teresa, Nicole said. People who were on the fence and got it for their kids.

That means something to the Sperrys.

Thats been the amazing part in all this, Jeff Sperry said. So many people all over have heard about her and heard what happened. Its just been crazy to me  were just average people and there are so many people who are listening and caring. There are actual people who are safe because theyre vaccinated.

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Nicole and Jeff Sperry's 10-year-old daughter Teresa died on Sept. 27 due to coronavirus complications. Courtesy of the Sperry family

The Sperrys admittedly took a little downtime over the holidays, quietly remembering their curly-haired, spitfire of a daughter  the only girl out of their four children. Together the couple, along with sons Michael, Sean and Jonathan, leaned on each other. They handed out gifts to other children in Teresas memory. They put up a small Christmas tree at her gravesite. On Christmas Eve, they took hot chocolate and cookies out to the cemetery to share together and then went back the next day to wish Teresa a Merry Christmas.

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They noticed how quiet the house suddenly was all the time.

Each moment was heartbreaking, but also left the Sperrys determined to keep going and to keep fighting. To keep spreading the word that vaccines can save lives. To stop the spread of misinformation. To spread the word about vaccine clinics and maybe help hold some, too.

Already, Nicole Sperry is thinking of new ways to use the website and Facebook page, perhaps doing interviews with other families who have lost loved ones to COVID. Recently, she posted a story about a 15-year-old California teen who lost his life to MIS-C, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, which is linked to COVID. A Northern Virginia child died of MIS-C in November.

The Sperrys dont want any of the deaths to just be statistics. They want people to know there are real people, real children, behind those COVID numbers.

I want to share the kind of impact they had on their families and friends, Nicole Sperry said. And hopefully get one more person to say this vaccine is one little thing they can do. That wearing a mask over their nose is one little thing they can do.

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We just hope that her story can keep inspiring others to not just care about themselves and their immediate circle, she added, but to care about others around them.

For more information on this initiative, visit facebook.com/OurMissingStars or ourmissingstars.org.
LOS ANGELES  A former lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles who was arrested Tuesday after police say he emailed an 800-page document and posted videos threatening violence against the school had previously sent messages saying he would hunt and kill a professor, court documents show.

Matthew Harris, 31, was taken into custody in Colorado following a standoff at his Boulder apartment complex that ended peacefully.

The investigations in California and Colorado began this week after Harris, who had lectured in the UCLA philosophy department, sent the email to some of his former students. UCLA officials canceled classes on campus Tuesday and the universitys police department tracked Harris to Boulder and reached out to law enforcement there.

University officials did not describe the email but Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said Harris was potentially planning for a mass violence or shooting event at UCLA. The university has more than 31,000 undergraduate students and 14,000 graduate students.

In Boulder, Police Chief Maris Herold said officials reviewed the manifesto and we identified thousands of references to violence, stating things such as killing, death, murder, shootings, bombs, schoolyard massacre in Boulder and phrases like burn and attack Boulder outside of the university.'

Herold said police had contact with Harris in October, though no criminal charges were filed, and authorities are reviewing their reports from that encounter.

Authorities said he attempted to buy a handgun in November but his purchase was denied. Officials believe the transaction did not go through because of a California-based protection order that said he could not purchase or possess a firearm.

Harris was placed on leave from UCLA last year and a female University of California, Irvine philosophy professor was granted a restraining order against him after he sent emails to his mother threatening to hunt the professor and put bullets in her skull. Harris mother alerted the woman.

Harris mother and the woman could not be reached for comment.

Harris was being held in Colorado on state charges and federal charges may be pursued. It wasnt immediately known if Harris had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

The police search for Harris began after he sent his former students an email early Sunday that was full of slurs against Jewish and East Asian people, according to the Los Angeles Times. The email included links to what police termed a manifesto and videos, the Times reported, including one titled UCLA PHILOSOPHY (MASS SHOOTING).

Harris makes racist comments in several of the videos and cryptically names specific locations on the UCLA campus, noting that theyve been added to his list, according to the Times.

The UCLA video included footage from the 2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival, the newspaper reported, as well as clips from Zero Day  a 2003 film that was loosely based on the mass shooting at Colorados Columbine High School.

Harris, who didnt appear to have any criminal record, began working at UCLA in the spring of 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow, according to a newsletter from the universitys philosophy department. His focus was on philosophy of race, personal identity, and related issues in philosophy of mind.

On bruinwalk.com, a website where UCLA students can post anonymous reviews of professors and other staff members, Harris got low ratings. In one review, a student wrote that Harris is extremely unprofessional.

I have no idea how this guy is still teaching, another student wrote.

Harris came to UCLA after completing his dissertation, Continents in Cognition, at Duke University in 2019. Duke is where he first met the woman who was the subject of the restraining order. They had minimal contact but he reached out to her to discuss career advice in September 2020 because he had recently moved to Los Angeles, according to the court documents.

The woman initially was happy to meet with Harris, but their initial interaction left her feeling very uncomfortable and concerned about his behavior, the court documents said.

Harris allegedly began an aggressive campaign of text messages and emails to the woman, leading her to fear for her safety. She told him to stop contacting her in March 2021.

Separately, UCLA that month placed him on investigatory leave for predatory behavior when the school had found he sent pornographic and violent content to students, court documents state.

In April, the professor was contacted by Harris mother, who told her that four months earlier her son had sent her emails saying he wanted to move closer to the Irvine campus where the professor worked so he could kill her, court documents show. UC Irvine is about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) south of UCLA.

I wouldnt be able to live with myself if I did nothing and someone got hurt, Harris mother wrote to the woman. His mother had not seen her son in five years and believed he was in need of psychiatric help, court document show.

The University of California regents sought a workplace violence restraining order last May, the day after UCLA officials learned Harris had been released from a mental health facility and was back in Los Angeles. A temporary restraining order was granted immediately, and a longer protective order  in place until 2024  was approved less than a month later.

The court documents say that UCLAs police department and its Behavioral Intervention Team were aware of the threats against the professor and reached out to the FBI.

The UCLA director of media relations did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday about the restraining order. The FBI did not immediately comment.

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Slevin reported from Boulder, Colorado. Associated Press journalists John Antczak and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed.
NEW YORK  Former President Donald Trump is intensifying his effort to advance the false narrative that his vice president, Mike Pence, could have done something to prevent Joe Biden from taking office.

In a statement on Tuesday, Trump said the committee investigating his role in sparking the violent Jan. 6 insurrection should instead probe why Mike Pence did not send back the votes for recertification or approval. In another statement on Sunday, he blasted Pence by falsely claiming that he could have overturned the Election!

The vice president does not have the authority to unilaterally overturn the results of an election, and doing so would have amounted to a profound break from precedent and democratic norms in the U.S.

Trumps escalating rhetoric comes in response to at least two developments on Capitol Hill. He is under growing scrutiny from the committee investigating the insurrection for his role in sparking the attack. And a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing changes to the Electoral Count Act to eliminate any ambiguity that a vice president could reject electors to prevent a future president from making the same threats.

Vice presidents play only a ceremonial role in the counting, but Trump has long insisted that Pence could have overturned the election results by sending the results back to state legislatures, falsely citing mass voter fraud. Numerous state and federal election officials, as well as Trumps own attorney general, have said the vote was fair.

The renewed attacks by Trump come as Pence has been traveling the country, visiting early voting states, delivering speeches and hosting fundraisers for midterm candidates as he mulls a run for president in 2024. Pence, unlike some possible contenders, has notably declined to rule out running against Trump, who has been teasing his own comeback campaign.

A Pence spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trumps attacks. Pence will be delivering a speech Friday at the conservative Federalist Society and may respond then.

Pence has so far tried to thread a needle on his actions Jan. 6, which continue to enrage large portions of Trumps base. Pence has said he and Trump will likely never see eye to eye on what happened that day, when a mob of Trump supporters violently smashed through the U.S. Capitol building, assaulting police officers and hunting down lawmakers, including Pence. But Pence has defended his actions, saying he was abiding by his constitutional role.

Pence said in an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters last month that he and Trump hadnt spoken since last summer, but insisted that they had parted amicably.

You know, Ive said many times we  it was difficult, Jan. 6th was difficult. It was a tragic day in the life of the nation. I know I did my duty under the Constitution of the United States. But the president and I sat down in the days that followed that. We spoke about it, talked through it. We parted amicably, he said.

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the chair of the Jan. 6 committee, and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California have both said they plan to call Pence to testify as part of their investigation. But its unclear what Pence will do.

During a trip to New Hampshire in December, Pence declined to say how he would respond, telling The Associated Press that well evaluate any of those requests as they come.
WASHINGTON  How far the Federal Reserve can go to compel banks to consider the consequences of climate change in their lending policies could take center stage at a Senate hearing Thursday on the nominations of Sarah Bloom Raskin and two economists to the Feds influential Board of Governors.

The Fed is already moving toward analyzing the risks that banks face from rising temperatures and changing weather patterns. What many in the oil and gas industry fear is something more far-reaching: That the Fed may eventually take steps to discourage banks from lending to energy companies  the first time, they say, that the central bank would be acting to disadvantage a specific industry.

A host of trade associations and business groups have written to the Senate Banking Committee in advance of the hearing, expressing concern about the nomination of Bloom Raskin to be the Feds vice chair of supervision, the board member who leads its regulation of banks. Bloom Raskin has been outspoken in her belief that climate change poses risks to the economy and the financial system and that regulators should factor those risks into their oversight.

For now, most of the groups have stopped short of opposing her nomination. The Chamber of Commerce, in a letter to the committee last week, urged the senators to simply raise several important issues during the hearing.

Her supporters argue that Bloom Raskin is highly qualified and that her views on climate and the Fed are similar to those expressed by Chair Jerome Powell.

I dont see her positions as being radical or out of the mainstream, said Cam Fine, a former lobbyist for small banks.

Bloom Raskin, who previously served on the Feds seven-member board from 2010 to 2014, was subsequently chosen by President Barack Obama to serve as a deputy Treasury secretary.

On Thursday, the Senate committee will also consider the nominations of Lisa Cook, an economics professor at Michigan State and a former staffer in the Obama White House, and Philip Jefferson, an economist and dean at Davidson College. Cook would be the first Black woman to serve on the Feds board. Jefferson would be the fourth black man in the Feds 108-year history.

Raskins opponents have zeroed in on comments she has made suggesting that regulators should discourage banks from lending to oil and gas companies. Two years ago, in an opinion column in the New York Times, Raskin called oil and gas a dying industry. She went on to criticize the Feds willingness to support lending to fossil fuel companies in its efforts to bolster the financial sector in the depths of the pandemic recession.

And at a conference last year, Bloom Raskin suggested that financial regulators should support a rapid, orderly and just transition away from high emission assets.

Despite opposition from Republicans, most observers say she will likely be confirmed by the full Senate, which could vote as early as this month.

On Monday, 13 trade associations wrote to Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who leads the Banking Committee, to express our concerns with Bloom Raskins views on climate change.

Ms. Bloom Raskins statements suggesting financial regulations should be used as an instrument to direct climate change policy will only raise energy costs and make America more dependent on foreign sources of energy, said Liz Bowman, a spokeswoman for the American Exploration and Production Council, which spearheaded the letter.

A larger group of 41 energy-focused trade groups went further last week and urged committee members to defeat Bloom Raskins nomination.

Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, the senior Republican on the committee, echoed these concerns in a letter to Biden in which he asserted that Raskin has also advocated for the Federal Reserve to pressure banks into choking off credit to traditional energy companies.

A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the administrations views, disputed Toomeys characterization and said Bloom Raskin is firmly opposed to the Federal Reserve allocating credit by sector or choking off sectors from access to credit.

The rising profile of climate change as an issue for the Fed to consider reflects the growing pressure on the central bank to address issues that traditionally have been outside its purview of keeping unemployment low and prices stable. Powell has increasingly embraced that shift, though not to the extent that Bloom Raskin has or many environmentalists would prefer.

At his confirmation hearing in January, Powell said, Our role on climate change is a limited one but it is an important one, and it is to assure that the banking institutions that we regulate understand their risks and can manage them.

Environmental advocates argue that climate change clearly fits in the Feds legal mandate to ensure the safety and soundness of the financial system. Banks could experience damaging losses on their loans to commercial and residential property from increased weather-related damage. And if businesses and consumers increasingly move away from fossil fuels, causing the price of oil and gas to fall, they argue that this could cause losses on loans to oil and gas drillers.

Early last year, the Fed became the last major central bank to join the Network for the Greening of the Financial System, an international group focused on global warming and financial regulation.

This is a train that has been moving at the Fed for awhile, said Sarah Dougherty, director of the NRDCs Green Finance Center and a former staffer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Lael Brainard, a Fed governor whom Biden has nominated to the central banks No. 2 post, said last fall that the Fed is considering conducting climate scenario analysis, which would involve modeling the impact of climate change on the financial system. Under questioning at her confirmation hearing last month, Brainard said that analyzing data was different from telling banks how they should lend.

We dont tell banks what sectors to lend to, she said. We just ask them to risk manage.

Some who support Bloom Raskins nomination suggested that some critics may be refraining from public opposition to her nomination because they have calculated that an all-out fight might be a losing battle.

The Fed is clearly headed in this direction one way or the other, said Adam Jentleson, a former top Senate aide who is coordinating support for Bidens three nominations. Whats the point of picking a huge fight over this if youre just going to get another nominee who may not have made the same statements on the record but has the same views?
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden is reaching out for Republican support for his eventual Supreme Court nominee, inviting the GOPs top Judiciary Committee senator to the White House Tuesday along with the panels Democratic chairman and phoning Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell for a one-on-one discussion.

Biden and fellow Democrats are working for significant GOP backing for the still-to-be-named nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer  a steep challenge in a Senate that has been sharply and bitterly divided over the past three confirmations.

At the White House, former longtime Sen. Biden called Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and the panels top Republican, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, two good friends and noted they had worked on many Supreme Court nominations together in their decades on the committee.

Biden noted that the Constitution calls for Senate advice and consent, on a nominee, and he said, Im serious when I say I want the advice of the Senate as well as the consent.

As Biden mulls a replacement for Breyer  a Black woman, he has promised  Durbin has been proposing a ceasefire of sorts after the wrenching partisan fights over former President Donald Trumps three nominees. The Democratic senator has been vigorously reaching out to GOP colleagues since Breyer announced last week that he will step down this summer.

The White House outreach is a similar attempt at detente by the president, who along with Durbin and Grassley is a veteran of a bygone era when Supreme Court justices were confirmed with overwhelming support from both parties. Biden was chairman of the panel in 1994 when Breyer was confirmed 87-9.

It was old home week, Durbin said as he returned from the White House.

Winning much GOP support for Bidens nominee will be a challenge, though, as advocates push him to nominate a strong liberal and some Senate Republicans have criticized the president even before he makes his decision.

McConnell, who also served with Biden for many years, has urged the president to pick a moderate. His office said he spoke with Biden Tuesday afternoon and emphasized the importance of a nominee who believes in judicial independence and will resist all efforts by politicians to bully the Court or to change the structure of the judicial system.

At a committee meeting Tuesday morning, Grassley condemned Democratic advocates who pressured Breyer to retire, and he said nominees should be judged solely on their qualifications. After the White House meeting, he said he told the president that I want somebody thats going to interpret law, not make law.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who might be the most likely GOP senator to vote for a Biden nominee, on Sunday called the presidents handling of the nomination so far clumsy, saying he had politicized the process.

Other Republicans have openly stoked a debate over Bidens promise to nominate a Black woman. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker said he views the process as affirmative action. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said its offensive because Biden is saying white men and women have the wrong skin pigment and wrong Y chromosome.

The court was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. Justice Clarence Thomas and the late Thurgood Marshall are the only two Black men who have served on the court. There has never been a Black woman.

Durbin has noted that Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump both promised to pick women and were praised when they nominated Sandra Day OConnor and Amy Coney Barrett, respectively. There have been only five female justices in U.S. history, while there have been 110 men.

It is not uncommon for a president of the United States in filling a Supreme Court vacancy to announce in advance what type of person he wants, Durbin said Monday.

Collins is a particularly important target for Democrats. She has voted for some of Bidens lower court judges and against Barretts nomination in 2020. Durbin called her within hours of learning that Breyer would step down, and has made clear that Democrats wont rush the confirmation, in line with her call for a deliberate process.

While criticizing Biden, she has also thanked Durbin for reaching out and saying he will provide whatever information she may need.

Collins said she wants dignified hearings and bipartisan support  but added that it depends on who the nominee is.

The reason for us to try to get the nomination process back to the way it used to be when Supreme Court nominees were frequently confirmed overwhelmingly is the credibility of the court is at stake, she said. If the court is perceived by the American public as a political institution, that is harmful and undermines support for its decisions.

Two other Republicans have signaled they could vote for a Biden nominee  if it is the right one. South Carolina Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott have both praised J. Michelle Childs, a federal judge who got her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. The White House has said Childs is under consideration.

She has wide support in our state, Graham said Sunday on CBS, adding that the Supreme Court should look like America.

Other Republicans could be open to voting for a Biden nominee, as well. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is up for reelection this year, has supported some of his lower court nominees. And some GOP senators said this week that they have no problem with Bidens approach. Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said he would be happy to vote for the first Black woman.

Working to win bipartisan support will be former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat who often crossed party lines before he was defeated for reelection in 2020. Jones will serve as the lead official for the White House to shepherd the nomination, said two people familiar with the discussions who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The former senator and U.S. attorney is another old friend of the presidents, dating back to Bidens first presidential campaign in 1988.

Durbin acknowledged the challenges ahead, and the balance Biden will have to strike in picking the right person. He said that in reviewing early names that have been floated, he believes each is open to more moderate or conservative rulings.

So that will be a plus and a minus, Durbin said. Some Republicans may point to it as a reason to vote for her. Some in the far left may find it as a reason to vote against her.

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Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe, Michael Balsamo, Kevin Freking and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
DENVER  Colorado lawmakers passed a bill to increase wildfire mitigation efforts, just a month since a devastating fire tore through suburbs north of Denver, destroying more than 1,000 homes and businesses and killing at least one person.

The bill heard Tuesday afternoon in the Senate Local Government committee, creates a working group of federal, state and local fire and public safety officials to increase wildfire education and develop yearly outreach campaigns on wildfire awareness and mitigation for those in the wildland-urban interface.

The measure passed with two Republican members voting against it and will go to the Appropriations Committee before its heard on the Senate and House floors.

Democratic Sen. Pete Lee, one of the bills sponsors called the measure proactive and preventative and said the goal is to educate and motivate homeowners on how to take care of their properties and protect against fires in the wildland-urban interface.

Republican Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer pushed back on the bills use of state funds to solve issues she sees as pertaining to local government and where the disaster actually occurs. Kirkmeyer asked the committee why hundreds of thousands of dollars should be used for fire awareness and mitigation plans that have existed since the 1990s.

Why didnt all these others plans work and why are we supposed to put another $820,000 into a national campaign when basically this is a campaign thats already been out there? she said.

Matt McCombs, director of the Colorado State Forest Service testified in support of the bill and said the funds would help the department increase its impact and reach for wildfire education and resources for individual homeowners who may be affected by future fires.

While the public is aware we have wildfires, they dont necessarily understand the depth of what perhaps their responsibilities are as a property owner, nor do they necessarily understand that they live in the (wildland-urban interface), said Democratic Sen. Tammy Story, a bill sponsor. The Marshall fire certainly changed how we look at this.

The Legislature is considering several other fire-related measures that would increase funding for local volunteer fire departments, give tax credits to people who do their own fire mitigation and another that would require new fire disaster insurance and casualty coverage.

Decembers fire caused nearly $513 million in damages and state lawmakers have promised to use this legislative session to address issues raised in the fires aftermath such as affordable housing shortages, insurance coverage and plans for urban fire mitigation.

Experts say similar events will become more common as climate change warms the planet and suburbs grow in fire-prone areas. Ninety percent of Boulder County is in severe or extreme drought, and it hadnt seen substantial rainfall since mid-summer.

The fire spanned 9.4 square miles (24 square kilometers) and ranks as the most destructive in state history in terms of homes and other structures destroyed and damaged.

____

Nieberg 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.
Whether its deciding on how much to pay your brother or managing relationships with family members who are also coworkers, family-run businesses face some hurdles not often seen at other workplaces.

To help navigate these unique challenges, the Parker Center for Family Business is launching a new series of educational classes to address these issues.

The in-person classes begin Thursday and will tackle topics from paying family members to the root causes of conflict to succession planning.

We pulled eight critical topics we feel organizations and specifically, family businesses run into and some of them are challenges and some of them are opportunities that are unique to family businesses, Parker Center board president Jocelyn Gorman said.

Founded in the mid-00s, the Parker Center for Family Business is a not-for-profit organization that supports family business owners through educational programs and networking events. The center later became affiliated with the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Business, where it now operates out of.

As the vice president of Document Solutions, a company founded by her parents, Gorman is familiar with the inherent challenges of family owned businesses like dealing with family members and succession planning.

Many of the topics covered in the eight educational classes stem from challenges she and other members of the board have experienced while working for or owning their family businesses, Gorman said.

The challenges discussed in the educational classes are also common to many New Mexican business owners  around 50% of businesses in the state are family-owned, Gorman said.

We can be in plumbing, or construction, or the medical space or technology, it doesnt matter what industry and we all have similar and unique challenges in a business, she said.  How do we get along with mom and dad? How do we make sure to continue to drive our personal relationships with our siblings, our aunts, uncles, cousins while also growing a business?

The classes are also a chance for the organization to connect in-person with family run businesses, something it hasnt done since the beginning of the pandemic.

Its like-minded people that understand the challenges that you go through, she said. Gorman said the organization usually holds a large early symposium, but that hasnt been able to happen for several years now which is why the board decided to offer the small classes.

Learn more

Learning Labs are $149 and include a one-year Family Business Connectors membership.

Each in-person lab is limited to 10 people on a first-come, first-serve basis, but there is a waiting list.

Classes will take place in the Parker Center for Family Business room at the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Business. The topics are are:

Feb. 3: The meaning of money and financial literacy

Feb. 24: Women in family business

March 17: How do you pay your family?

April 7: Couples in family business

April 28: Every family business is in the sales business

May 19: Succession planning and exit strategy

June 9: Nextgen leadership investing

June 30: The root causes of conflict

Visit theparkercenter.org/events-1 to learn more or register for a class.
PHOENIX  The Arizona Supreme Court says an attack ad aired during a contentious congressional primary campaign was protected by the First Amendment.

In a 4-3 ruling on Tuesday, the court sided with Wendy Rogers, who is now a Republican state senator with a national profile for trumpeting false claims that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election because of fraud.

Rogers was sued over a radio ad she aired during the 2018 GOP primary in Arizonas 1st Congressional District, in which she faced Steve Smith, a state lawmaker who worked as a modeling agent. Smith posted a profile on a modeling website that had been the subject of allegations that it was linked to sex trafficking.

Rogers won the primary but lost to Democrat Tom OHalleran in the general election.

The contested ad said: Smith is a slimy character whose modeling agency specializes in underage girls and advertises on websites linked to sex trafficking.

After the campaign, Pamela Young, who owned the modeling agency that employed Smith but wasnt directly named in the ad, sued Rogers for defamation. Young conceded that the words were true on their face but argued that they created the false implication that her agency was involved in sex trafficking.

Rogers argued that her statements were protected by the free speech guarantee in the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed, finding that allowing the case against Rogers to proceed under the circumstances would inevitably and intolerably chill political speech.

While politicians are not immune from liability for defamatory statements that rain shrapnel upon innocent third parties in the heat of political battle, Justice Clint Bolick wrote, Young wasnt named, and the implied allegations against her business werent obvious enough to allow the case to continue. He was joined in the opinion by Justices John Lopez, James Beene and Kathryn King.

But other justices disagreed.

This view effectively weaponizes the First Amendment against innocent bystanders ensnared by often-vitriolic political campaigns, disregards well-established precedent, and is unnecessary for protecting political speech, Vice Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer wrote in a dissenting opinion.

The allegations against Youngs business were obvious, and she didnt need to be named for listeners to identify her as the subject of the claim, Timmer wrote. She was joined in her opinion by Chief Justice Robert Brutinel and Court of Appeals Judge Philip Espinosa, who heard the case in place of Justice Bill Montgomery, who recused himself.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

A bill aimed at banning storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in New Mexico has reignited debate over Holtec Internationals plans for an interim nuclear waste storage facility between Carlsbad and Hobbs.

Senate Bill 54, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, cleared the Senate Conservation Committee 5-3 on Tuesday, with no recommendation.

The U.S. does not have a permanent storage site for the nations spent nuclear fuel.

This is our chance to  send a very strong message to the federal government that New Mexico does not consent to this project, Steinborn said.

Holtec representatives said Tuesday that the company expects a facility license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the next few months.

The transport and storage is safe against any natural disaster, whether it be an earthquake or a tornado, and its safe against manmade disasters like terrorist events, said Ed Mayer, Holtec program director.

A draft NRC analysis reports that the project would have minimal impacts on land and water, industry and public health.

But, even with NRC approval, New Mexico could not issue Holtec permits for such things as industrial wastewater if the bill passes.

With a license in hand, then we would work with the state and take the next step, Mayer said. Thats a company decision that will have to be made.

Holtec is planning an initial $230 million facility to store spent nuclear fuel in 500 stainless-steel canisters.

The company would ship waste by rail from nuclear power plants to the 1,000-acre New Mexico site.

A full buildout would cost $2.4 billion and store up to 10,000 canisters.

New Mexico has sued the NRC over the facility. The lawsuit alleges the agency is rushing a project that the state says would jeopardize both the economy and the environment.

Texas is also opposed to an interim storage facility in that state.

Sarah Cottrell Propst, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department secretary, said there is no funding to help New Mexico ensure safe transport.

Interim in this case effectively means permanent, Cottrell Propst said. We have great concern about that public safety component of any private waste moving through the state to a facility.

Southeast New Mexicos elected officials tout the project as an economic boon.

Holtec says the site could employ 325 people for construction, security and manufacturing.

The company has promised a regional job training center, which could diversify the areas energy economy, said Lea County Commissioner Jonathan Sena.

I want safe, good jobs for my kids and for other young families, other minority families like mine, Sena said.

The bill now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

An argument among teenagers about music ignited a violent encounter that left one person dead and three others seriously wounded, prosecutors told jurors Tuesday in the murder trial of Nathaniel Hernandez.

Attorneys made opening statements in the trial of Hernandez, now 20, who is charged with first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated battery and other charges.

Prosecutors allege Hernandez was one of six men who burst into a house near Downtown Albuquerque in 2020 with the intention of robbing people inside at gunpoint.

Prosecutors allege Hernandez opened fire on Jeff Baca, 38, then shot and injured a woman in the bedroom of a house in the 600 block of Arno SE, near Broadway and Coal.

Richard Pugh, Hernandezs attorney, said Hernandez played a more passive role than prosecutors allege, and had to be persuaded to enter the house.

Assistant District Attorney Shonnetta Estrada told jurors in opening statements that Hernandez was the first to fire gunshots in the house.

He shoots Jeff Baca twice, killing him, Estrada said. Hernandez then fired a shot that struck Ashley Chapito in the abdomen, she said.

Moments later, 15-year-old Nathan Peco opened fire on two girls in the living room, Estrada said. Multiple gunshots seriously injured the girls, ages 16 and 17.

Nathan fires shot after shot after shot, Estrada said. As they lay there bleeding out in agonizing pain, (Hernandez) and his friends run out.

Peco, now 18, faces seven felony charges, including first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery. He has not been scheduled for trial.

Defense attorney Pugh also contends that one of Hernandezs co-defendants, Anthony Lopez, 21, signed a favorable plea agreement that requires him to testify against Hernandez.

Lopez told jurors Tuesday that he was standing in the bedroom doorway and saw Hernandez fire the gunshots that killed Baca and injured Chapito.

Lopez pleaded guilty in July 2021 to second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and aggravated burglary, according to court records. He faces between 20 and 22 years in prison. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

Prosecutors allege Lopez had been kicked out of the house earlier that evening after getting into a heated argument with a girl over music they were playing.

Lopez told jurors that he later called Hernandez and others, and hatched a plan to return to the house with handguns to steal money and drugs.

We were going to go to the house and rob the people there, Lopez testified. That was something we all agreed we should do.
SANTA FE  Republican Sen. Mark Moores of Albuquerque introduced legislation that would exempt law enforcement officers from state income taxes.

He said the proposal, Senate Bill 184, would give New Mexico a recruiting edge and help retain experienced officers as it faces a shortage of officers.

We have a once in a generation opportunity to change how this state treats our law enforcement officers before we chase every one of them across state lines, Moores said in a written statement. These brave men and women put their life on the line daily to defend our citizens and keep the peace.

Legislative analysts havent yet evaluated how much revenue the proposal would cost, but lawmakers have been evaluating a number of tax proposals in the 30-day session now underway.

The bill has been assigned to two Senate committees.
Codi Bigsby, 4, was reported missing Monday morning from a Hampton residence in the Buckroe Beach neighborhood. He's seen here in two different images. (Hampton Police Division)

The father of a 4-year-old Hampton boy reported missing Monday is a person of interest in the childs disappearance, police said Wednesday.

Cory Bigsby, 43, has been at Hampton police headquarters willingly  and continuously  for more than two days, police spokesman Sgt. Reggie Williams said at a news conference outside the Buckroe area apartment complex where the boy lives with his father and three siblings.

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He has been at police headquarters since the day he reported Codi missing, Williams said of the father. He is choosing to be there voluntarily and is answering the questions that were asking.

Bigsby is not in police custody, Williams said, and no formal charges have been issued at the current time.

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Also on Wednesday, Williams asked the public for assistance in identifying places Codi and his father visited in the time leading up to the boys disappearance.

Were still seeking information on Codis last known whereabouts, Williams said. But were also seeking information on his father for any information that you may have. Specifically regarding where he shops, who hes with, and what he does.

Cory Bigsby called police just after 9 a.m. Monday to say he last saw his son asleep at the home about seven hours earlier, at about 2 a.m. When he woke up, the father told police, the boy was gone.

Person of Interest - Cory Bigsby pic.twitter.com/HmG4uPACgv  Hampton VA Police (@HamptonVAPolice) February 2, 2022

Hampton Police Chief Mark Talbot said Tuesday that the fathers information isnt credible, saying that evidence that police have gathered in the case doesnt match the story that the father and others gave to detectives.

We dont believe that 4-year-old Codi wandered off, and we dont believe that he was abducted, Talbot told reporters on Tuesday.

Williams declined to shed light Wednesday on why police believe the father is unreliable.

While Williams said were not ruling anything out in terms of other persons of interest, at this time our focus is going to be directed toward the father.

Police have said Codi lives with his father, and that there were other young children in the home when the boy was reported missing. The other children are in safe locations, Williams said.

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Williams declined to comment on whether investigators found any other clues inside the familys apartment.

Codi is a 4-year-old Black male, roughly 3-foot tall. He may be wearing black clothing and Spider-Man flip-flops.

The search for the boy has focused on the Buckroe Pointe Apartment Townhomes complex, off Old Buckroe Road, north of the Hampton Soccer Park, and surrounding areas.

Williams said the search area is a circle about a mile wide  with new areas within that grid being searched Wednesday.

Police are using canines  search and rescue dogs and cadaver dogs  and aerial drones to help in the search. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management also is assisting, Williams said. A search of the Hampton trash incinerator was completed Tuesday, Williams said.

The search for the missing boy had garnered interest from residents across Hampton Roads.

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Aubrey Japharii Jones, who runs the Black Lives Matter 757 organization, arrived at the Hampton police command post around noon Wednesday in a pick-up truck, and used a bullhorn to call out to residents to help look for Codi.

Jones said he organized three search parties that went out Wednesday, starting west of Old Buckroe Road and south of Lafayette Drive.

There are a lot of marshes and woods, he said. People are bringing water and flyers so we can knock on doors.

Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news >

Another man, Richard Coleman of Norfolk, also arrived at the scene of the police press conference. He described himself as a child psychologist and father of four who said hes written two books on solving crimes.

I heard about this two nights ago, said Coleman, adding that he wanted to help any way he could.

Hampton police officers walk outside the Buckroe Pointe Apartment Townhomes Tuesday morning February 1, 2022. (Jonathon Gruenke/Daily Press)

Those efforts are separate from a police-led team of about 50 local volunteers who registered to search and fanned out in the morning from a local elementary school. Williams said police are limiting the official volunteer teams to 50 people a day to keep track where they are searching.

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If youre looking to help us formally, stay tuned to your social media platforms, Williams said. If you dont receive a call, that means weve reached our capacity for the day.

Williams also asked that residents of Old Buckroe search their properties and neighborhoods for signs of anything amiss. Residents are much more familiar with their own property, Williams said. They would be more likely to spot something thats out of place or suspicious.

If anyone sees anything that appears suspicious, he said, call the Hampton Police Division at 757-727-6111.

Peter Dujardin, 757-247-4749, pdujardin@dailypress.com
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The field of Republican candidates for governor narrowed considerably Tuesday as five GOP candidates filed the documents necessary to challenge Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Three others who had announced plans to seek the nomination either switched to another race or changed party affiliation.

As it stands now, the five Republican candidates are Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block, state Rep. Rebecca Dow, anti-abortion activist Ethel Maharg, ex-KRQE meteorologist Mark Ronchetti and financial adviser Greg Zanetti.

Each filed paperwork with the Secretary of States Office on Tuesday to seek the Republican nomination in the June 7 primary election.

Two other candidates who had initially announced Republican campaigns switched their affiliation to Libertarian and will seek that nomination instead: business owner Karen Bedonie and retired teacher Tim Walsh.

A third candidate, Louie Sanchez, who owns an indoor shooting range, decided to run in the 1st Congressional District rather than for governor.

The winner of the Republican and Libertarian nominations will take on Lujan Grisham, a former congresswoman seeking reelection to a second term.

State Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said any of the Republican candidates can beat Lujan Grisham in the Nov. 8 general election.

This governor has damaged New Mexicos economy, its businesses and its education system, Pearce said. We need strong conservative leadership, and we are confident that we will see a Republican in the governors office next year.

State Democratic Party Chairwoman Jessica Velasquez said Lujan Grisham is in strong position to win reelection.

None of the GOP candidates for governor have a plan to lead New Mexico, she said, and instead of offering up concrete policy proposals, they continue to pander to extremists with empty rhetoric.

The field isnt necessarily set. Candidates may face challenges to the validity of the petition signatures they submitted or drop out on their own.

Heres a look at how the races in newly drawn congressional districts are shaping up:

 Four Republicans filed for the nomination to challenge Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury. They are nurse practitioner Jacquelyn Reeve; retired police detective Michelle Garcia Holmes; Sanchez, the former governor candidate; and Joshua Neal, a city planner.

Stansbury, who lives in Albuquerque, is seeking reelection to a second term in the 1st Congressional District, covering much of eastern Albuquerque, most of Rio Rancho, the East Mountains and part of Roswell.

 Two Democrats filed for the chance to take on Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo.

Las Cruces City Councilor Gabe Vasquez and Darshan Patel, a physician who works in Lea County, are seeking the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District.

Herrell is seeking her second term in the district, which was redrawn to include much of the West Side, South Valley and parts of the Barelas neighborhood in Albuquerque, in addition to southern New Mexico.

 Two Republicans are seeking the nomination to challenge Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez of Santa Fe in the 3rd Congressional District.

The candidates are Alexis Martinez Johnson, an oil and gas engineer living in Santa Fe, and Jerald Steve McFall, a farmer from Angel Fire.

The district stretches from Farmington and Santa Fe into the oil patch, including part of Hobbs.
The judges of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court once again plan to perform free virtual Valentines Day weddings on this traditionally highly sought-after wedding day.

We are committed to and enjoy providing this service for the community and have found a way to continue doing it safely throughout the pandemic, said Presiding Civil

Division Judge Frank A. Sedillo, who has been performing weddings for the public for 22 years.

The ceremonies will take place via Zoom, and we just ask that couples schedule an appointment, get their marriage license in advance and have two witnesses with them on their wedding day to sign the marriage certificate, he said in a statement.

The judge noted that a benefit of a Zoom ceremony is that all the family and friends who may not otherwise be able to make it, can attend on a virtual platform.

Virtual weddings will be scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 14.

Safety procedures to be followed by participants and witnesses include social distancing and mask wearing.

There is no fee for the service. Appointments are limited.

To schedule an appointment, call 505-841-8287.

For information on how to obtain a marriage license, call 505-468-1243, or visit the countys website at bernco.gov and look for the marriage license link.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden is ordering 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 more from Germany to Romania, demonstrating to both allies and foes Americas commitment to NATOs eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Russia fired back with a sharply worded objection, calling the deployments unfounded and destructive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a new telephone exchange with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But readouts from both governments showed no progress, with Putin saying the West was giving no ground on Russias security concerns and Johnson expressing deep concern about Russias hostile activity on the Ukrainian border, referring to Putins buildup of 100,000 troops there.

The Biden administration is aiming to demonstrate U.S. resolve without undermining efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Biden notably has not sent military reinforcements to the three Baltic countries on NATOs eastern flank  Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania  that are former states of the Soviet Union.

No U.S. troops are being sent to Ukraine, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said the administration has stopped calling a Russian invasion imminent, because that word implies Washington knows Putin has made a decision to invade. Officials say Putins intentions remain unclear.

However, increasing U.S. troop levels in Eastern Europe is exactly what Putin has said he finds intolerable, along with the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO. The U.S. already has several thousand troops in Poland, and Romania is host to a NATO missile defense system that Russia considers a threat. The U.S. presence in the region has increased since 2014 when Russia made its first invasion of Ukraine.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the soon-to-deploy U.S. forces are intended to temporarily bolster U.S. and allied defensive positions.

These are not permanent moves, he said, stressing that the purpose is to reassure allies. Kirby said Russia had continued its buildup, even in the previous 24 hours, despite U.S. urgings that it deescalate.

In Moscow, a senior official said the U.S. movements will complicate the crisis.

The unfounded destructive steps will only fuel military tensions and narrow the field for political decisions, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in remarks carried by the Interfax news agency.

Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again played down fears of a Russian attack in a call with reporters but said that if Russia makes moves that could signal an imminent invasion Ukraine would react as necessary.

Of the 2,000 U.S. troops newly deploying from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, about 1,700 are members of the 82nd Airborne Division infantry brigade, who will go to Poland. The other 300 are with the 18th Airborne Corps and will go to Germany as what the Pentagon called a joint task force-capable headquarters.

Polands Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter that the deployment to his country is a strong signal of solidarity in response to the situation in Ukraine.

The 1,000 U.S. troops going to Romania are members of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based at Vilseck, Germany. They will augment about 900 already in Romania, Kirby said.

The cavalry deployments purpose is to deter aggression and enhance our defensive capabilities in frontline allied states during this period of elevated risk, the Pentagon said in a separate written statement.

Its important that we send a strong signal to Mr. Putin and to the world of the U.S commitment to NATO, Kirby said.

He said France has decided it, too, will send troop reinforcements to Romania under NATO command, and he noted that a number of other European NATO countries are considering adding forces on NATOs eastern flank. Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron touched base in a phone call Wednesday night.

NATO has been beefing up its defenses around allies in Eastern Europe since late last year. Denmark, for example, said it was sending a frigate and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania, and Spain was sending four fighter jets to Bulgaria and three ships to the Black Sea to join NATO naval forces. The Netherlands plans to send two F-35 fighter aircraft to Bulgaria in April and is putting a ship and land-based units on standby for NATOs Response Force.

Biden has said he will not put American troops in Ukraine to fight any Russian incursion, although the United States is supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend itself and seeking to reassure allies in Eastern Europe that Washington will fulfill its treaty obligation to defend them in the event they are attacked.

Ukraine is not a NATO member, and therefore the U.S. has no treaty obligation to come to its defense.

The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia over its buildup at Ukraines borders. And they underscore growing fears across Europe that Russian President Putin is poised to invade Ukraine. Smaller NATO countries on the alliances eastern flank worry they could be next.

The Pentagon also has put about 8,500 U.S.-based troops on higher alert for possible deployment to Europe as additional reassurance to allies, and officials have indicated the possibility that additional units could be placed on higher alert soon. The U.S. already has between 75,000 and 80,000 troops in Europe as permanently stationed forces and as part of regular rotations in places such as Poland.

Washington and Moscow have been at loggerheads over Ukraine, with little sign of a diplomatic path forward. However, Kirby on Wednesday confirmed the validity of a document reported by a Spanish newspaper that indicated the United States could be willing to enter into an agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine.

The daily El Pais published two documents that Kirby confirmed were written replies from the United States and NATO last week to Russias proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe. The U.S. State department declined to comment on them.

In reference to the second document, NATO said that it never comments on alleged leaks. But the text closely reflects statements made to the media last week by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as he laid out the 30-nation military organizations position on Russias demands.

The U.S. document, marked as a confidential non-paper, said the United States would be willing to discuss in consultation with its NATO partners a transparency mechanism to confirm the absences of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland.

That would happen on condition that Russia offers reciprocal transparency measures on two ground-launched missiles bases of our choosing in Russia.

Aegis Ashore is a system for defending against short- or intermediate-range missiles. Russia argues the site in Romania could be easily adapted to fire cruise missiles instead of interceptors, a claim that Washington has denied.

In his first public remarks on the standoff in more than a month, Putin on Tuesday accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russias central security demands but said that Moscow is willing to keep talking.

Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, and in 2014 annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula and provided military support for a pro-Russian separatist movement in eastern Ukraine. Around 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

___

Cook reported from Brussels, Litvinova from Moscow. AP writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Matthew Lee in Washington, Aritz Parra in Madrid and Mike Corder in The Hague contributed.
CHICAGO  A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path brought a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow to the central U.S. on Wednesday as airlines canceled thousands of flights, officials urged residents to stay off roads and schools closed campuses.

The blast of frigid weather, which began arriving Tuesday night, put a long stretch of states from New Mexico and Colorado to Maine under winter storm warnings and watches. On Wednesday morning, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan saw freezing rain, sleet and snow.

By midday Wednesday, some places had already reported snow totals exceeding or nearing a foot, including the central Illinois town of Lewistown with 14.4 inches (36.6 centimeters) and the northeastern Missouri city of Hannibal with 11.5 inches (29.2 centimeters).

And its still snowing across these areas, said Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

Central Illinois and northern Indiana appeared likely to receive the most snowfall, with expected totals ranging from 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 centimeters) by the end of Thursday, Orrison said.

Snow had begun to taper off in Missouri by early afternoon but much of the state could wind up with 8 inches to a foot (20 to 30 centimeters) of snow. Parts of Michigan also could snow totals around a foot by Thursday.

In Chicago, Elisha Waldman and his sons welcomed the opportunity to hit a sledding hill Wednesday morning, even as snow continued to fall.

Cold and wet and wonderful, and getting cold and wet is part of the fun with the guys, and we get to go inside and have hot cocoa and warm up, Waldman said.

In Detroits western suburbs, Tony Haley also found an advantage to the weather. He owns a landscaping and irrigation company that offers snow removal and salting services, but the early winter weeks offered few opportunities for business.

This one here, were looking for a good two, three days of work, Haley said after clearing snow away from several businesses in Canton.

But for those on the roads, the heavy snow created hazardous conditions.

Were receiving a lot of snow over here in northwest Indiana and its the wet, slushy snow that causes treacherous driving conditions to say the least, Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield told WFLD-TV.

In central Missouri, officials shut down part of Interstate 70 midday after a crash made the roadway impassable.

Areas south of the heavy snow were expected to see freezing rain, with the heaviest ice predicted along the lower Ohio Valley area from Louisville, Kentucky, to Memphis, Tennessee.

If everything holds to where it is right now, this is the real deal, said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who ordered state government offices to close on Thursday. It is dangerous. People need to be prepared.

The disruptive storm moved across the central U.S. on Groundhog Day, the same day the famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter. The storm came on the heels of a noreaster last weekend that brought blizzard conditions to many parts of the East Coast.

The storms path extended as far south as Texas, nearly a year after a catastrophic freeze buckled the states power grid in one of the worst blackouts in U.S. history. The forecast did not call for the same prolonged and frigid temperatures as the February 2021 storm, and the National Weather Service said the system would, generally, not be as bad this time for Texas.

No large-scale power outages were reported by early afternoon Wednesday in Texas or elsewhere, according to poweroutage.us.

Snowfall totals reached 22 inches (56 centimeters) in Colorado Springs and up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) in the Denver area, with more expected, prompting universities, state government offices and the Legislature to shut down.

Airlines canceled nearly 8,000 flights in the U.S. scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday, the flight-tracking service FlightAware.com showed. Airports in St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City and Detroit canceled more flights than usual. Almost 700 flights were canceled Thursday alone at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and more than 300 were canceled at nearby Dallas Love Field.

In an effort to stay ahead of the weather, Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday that it would suspend all of its flight operations Wednesday at St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Thursday at its Dallas Love Field hub.

National Weather Service forecasters in Little Rock put their own spin on the Groundhog Day tradition with a photo of their office cat, Tarmac, and the caption: SHADOWS EVERYWHERE! THE WINTER STORM IS HAPPENING!

___

Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press writers John OConnor in Springfield, Illinois; Paul J. Weber in Austin, Texas; Terry Wallace in Dallas; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; Rick Callahan in Indianapolis; James Anderson in Denver; Teresa Crawford in Chicago; Mike Householder in Canton, Mich.; Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Ky. and Jeff Martin in Woodstock, Georgia, contributed to this report.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexico would establish a clean fuel standard intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under legislation advancing in the state Senate.

Senate Bill 14 calls for a 20% reduction in the emissions from each unit of fuel used for transportation by 2030 and 30% by 2040. The baseline for comparison would be 2018.

The bill passed the Senate Finance Committee on a 6-4 vote Wednesday, sending it to the full Senate for consideration. Democrats supported the measure, while Republicans opposed it.

If passed by the Senate, the proposal would also have to win House approval by Feb. 17 to reach the desk of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has made its passage a priority. A similar proposal failed to make it through the House in time last year.

Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said the bill would substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and improve air quality.

Plenty of our impacted communities, including schools, are near highways or in areas where theres worse air pollution,  she said. We believe this will help clean up our air and reduce those health impacts.

Opponents said the proposal would raise fuel prices and disproportionately harm rural communities. Testifying in opposition this week were the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, wool growers and the Independent Petroleum Association.

Sen. William Sharer, R-Farmington, said New Mexico should let the free market push the state toward new fuels rather than engaging in myopic hatred of oil and gas.

This is a hammer thats not necessary, he said.

The proposal, supporters say, would create a market to spur investment in clean energy. Companies that make, produce or refine fuels would have the option of buying credits from producers of low-carbon fuels or from businesses that reduce their emissions.

Supporters included the Sierra Club, the Public Service Co. of New Mexico and others.

Its critical we enact this bill for our climate and the health of New Mexicans, said Sandra Ely, director of the state Environmental Protection Division.

Transportation fuels are the No. 2 source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico, accounting for about 14% emissions, state officials said.

California, Washington and Oregon have similar laws.

Sen. Crystal Diamond, R-Elephant Butte, raised a host of questions about how the market for credits would work in practice. She joined every Republican on the committee on opposition.

Theres a lot of uncertainty in the bill, Diamond said.
Detectives released the names of two people killed over the past few weeks around Albuquerque.

Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said the deaths of Shania Spencer, 22, and Angel Varela, 30, are being investigated as homicides.

He said the Jan. 2 death of Rochelle Dedman, 36, is being investigated as a suspicious death and not a homicide.

On Jan. 22 police were called around 8:30 a.m. to an apartment near Zuni and Pennsylvania and found Spencer dead inside.

Then, on Jan. 28, officers responded around 6:45 p.m. to reports of an unconscious man outside the Skyline Uptown Apartments at 1200 Louisiana NE, near Mountain. Police found Varela dead on the property.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has named longtime New Mexico water official Mike Hamman to serve as the state engineer, the Governors Office announced Wednesday.

The move comes as New Mexico grapples with extended drought and Supreme Court litigation with Texas over groundwater.

The position administers the states water rights.

Hamman replaces John DAntonio, who resigned at the end of 2021, and said water infrastructure will be a major focus for his agency.

Last years federal infrastructure bill includes $355 million for New Mexico water projects.

We want to get to a place where were ahead of the curve instead of just reacting to emergencies, Hamman said. It will be quite a challenge bringing rural drinking water and wastewater systems up to standard and making sure theyre set for the likelihood of drought and climate change impacts on water resources.

The state engineer is also secretary of the Interstate Stream Commission, which oversees water compacts with neighboring states.

In a statement, Lujan Grisham said Hamman is an expert in his field and a homegrown New Mexico professional widely respected across the state.

In light of a warming climate, protecting our most precious resource and planning for New Mexicos future is more important than ever, Lujan Grisham said. I am grateful to Mike for his continued commitment to New Mexicos water future and look forward to his leadership at the Office of the State Engineer.

The Corrales resident grew up in Taos working at his familys motel.

We had rights to an acequia that ran through the property, and one of my jobs was to schedule water with the other users, who were oftentimes pueblo members upstream, Hamman said. I kind of fell in love with working with people and acequias then.

Hamman is a registered professional engineer with a civil engineering degree from the University of New Mexico.

The former Bureau of Reclamation area manager and City of Santa Fe water resources director will now head an agency crafting a 50-year water plan.

Hamman was the Jicarilla Apache Nations water administrator for eight years. Since 2015, he was the CEO and chief engineer for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District.

Lujan Grisham appointed Hamman to the Interstate Stream Commission in 2019 and recently named him as the states water adviser.

Hamman will start in the state engineer post on Monday, with an annual salary of $158,000.

Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal.
SANTA FE  The state Senate voted 37-4 on Wednesday to confirm the appointment of Kurt Steinhaus as public education secretary.

Steinhaus is a former Los Alamos superintendent, deputy public education secretary and Alamogordo teacher.

The PED really needs someone like you, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said.

In a committee hearing before the vote, Steinhaus, responding to questions, said critical race theory isnt part of New Mexicos social studies standards and wont be incorporated into them in the future.

He also indicated he supports efforts to extend the school year or learning time, a strategy legislative analysts say can help boost academic outcomes.

If we learned anything in this pandemic, Steinhaus said, its that kids need time with their teachers.

Republican opponents of the confirmation said they didnt necessarily object to Steinhaus but to the education policies of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, including school closures during the pandemic.

They also noted that Steinhaus is the third public education secretary since 2019.

We have failed our children, Senate Minority Whip Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, said.
PHOENIX  A judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the states rules for implementing a program to award 26 social equity business licenses that the state Department of Health Services will award under Arizonas 2020 law legalizing recreational marijuana.

The ruling issued Tuesday by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner said the rules published by the department satisfy the broad mandates set under the voter-approved law put on the ballot through an initiative campaign.

The potentially lucrative social equity licenses will be issued under the laws provision to set aside 26 licenses for people from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws.

The lawsuit filed by the Greater Phoenix Urban League and a corporation said the rules are deficient, lacking provisions such as a prohibition against license transfers and a requirement that licensees expenditures and profits remain in their communities.

Warner said the laws drafters gave the department leeway on how to write the implementation rules. As drafted, those rules are reasonably designed to meet its objectives, the judge concluded.

James Cool, a lawyer representing the lawsuit plaintiffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, including whether his clients will appeal.
The 'America's Got Talent' judge is already back at home after being rushed to a hospital in London after he 'fell off his bike and broke his arm' while not wearing a helmet.

Feb 2, 2022

AceShowbiz - Simon Cowell is currently on the mend after being rushed to a hospital in London following another terrifying electric bike accident. The "America's Got Talent" judge is reported to be "absolutely fine."

"He fell off his bike and broke his arm. He's absolutely fine," a source confirmed to PEOPLE on Tuesday, February 1. The insider also added that the 62-year-old music mogul is already back at home.

A separate source informed The Sun that Simon "is lucky to be alive" after he was propelled over the handlebars and onto the road at 20mph while not wearing a helmet. "The X Factor" judge was rushed to hospital with a suspected concussion and a broken arm.

"He was pedaling along, with his electric motor on, when the wheels suddenly went from under him after hitting a wet patch," the informant detailed. "He slipped and went flying over the handlebars into the middle of the road."

The so-called inside source went on saying, "Stupidly, Simon wasn't wearing a helmet, and blood was pouring from his face. He looked like something from 'Phantom of the Opera'." The insider added, "Three kindly passers-by jumped into action, and stopped the traffic so he wouldn't be run over."

"After being ambulanced to hospital and given an X-ray, Simon was eventually released that evening. His arm in a yellow cast all the way up to the shoulder. He was told to rest," the source explained further. "Despite this being his second great escape, Simon insists he's not ditching the bike but he will start wearing a helmet."

This was not the first time Simon has been hospitalized for an accident involving an electric bike. In August 2020, the "American Idol" judge underwent surgery after he fell while testing out a bike in the courtyard of his Malibu, California home.

"He hurt his back and was taken to the hospital. He's doing fine, he's under observation and is in the best possible hands," Simon's rep explained at the time. A metal rod was inserted in his back during six hours of surgery.
An angel statue faces in the direction of billowing smoke from a fire at the Weaver Fertilizer Plant on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Allison Lee Isley /AP)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.  An uncontrolled fire at a fertilizer plant in North Carolina forced thousands of people to evacuate as firefighters stood back Tuesday because of the danger of a large explosion.

Authorities drove through neighborhoods and knocked on doors urging residents to leave within a one-mile (1.6-kilometer) radius of the Winston Weaver Company fertilizer plant on the north side of Winston-Salem, where the fire began Monday night. Overnight, bright orange flames and thick plumes of smoke could be seen shooting into the sky. No injuries were reported.

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We heard the explosion. It shook our house, said Michelle Shepherd, who evacuated from her home near the plant. We werent sure what it was. I opened up my front door and the entire sky was nothing but orange. I could see the flames shooting over the trees.

The citys fire chief said the fire had been relatively static overnight, but with 600 tons of combustible ammonium nitrate stored at the site, the risk of an explosion would remain through Wednesday.

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Ive been in this business 33 years and when I learned how much ammonium nitrate was on site last night, I felt as uneasy at a fire scene as Ive felt in my 33 years in this business, Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo told reporters.

Wake Forest University, most of which lies just outside the evacuation zone, canceled classes and urged students in dormitories to stay indoors with windows closed.

The area included about 6,500 people in 2,500 homes, the Winston-Salem Fire Department said.

At least 90 firefighters fought the fire for about 90 minutes after it was discovered at a loading dock around 7 p.m. Monday, but the risk of an explosion forced them to retreat, Mayo said. The fire quickly consumed the entire building and it collapsed. An unmanned fire truck was left behind to continue pumping water onto part of the site.

Drones and a helicopter monitored the fire from above, and teams of firefighters were on standby, letting the fire burn for now, the chief said.

Mayo told reporters an estimated 500 tons of ammonium nitrate were housed at the plant and another 100 tons of the fertilizer ingredient were in an adjacent rail car. He said that is more of the chemical than was present at a deadly blast at a 2013 Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people.

So if that doesnt convey the gravity of the situation and how serious folks need to take it, I dont know how else to verbalize that, he said.

Mayo said the chemical generally needs to be in a confined space to explode, so the risk will depend on whether the material is stacked deep enough for the top layers to put enough pressure on the bottom layers.

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Authorities warned of smoke and poor air quality in the city of about 250,000. Matthew Smith, a hazardous material expert with a regional state task force, said the gases released by the blaze are more of an irritant than something that could cause serious harm, barring an underlying lung condition.

A representative of the Winston Weaver plant issued a statement Tuesday that no workers were injured or killed in the explosion. It thanked firefighters and first responders.

Richard Van Erp, who lives blocks from the fertilizer plant, said late Tuesday morning that so much smoke was billowing into his apartment complexs parking lot that he couldnt see the cars at times.

Van Erp, who doesnt have a car, said he had called a non-emergency police number to ask for a ride to a shelter and was waiting to be picked up.

It takes a lot to spook me, and I will say Im pretty shaken right now, he said. They said that, more than likely if it blows, the evacuated area will be leveled completely. Im not even a quarter of a mile away.

Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news >

Norvell McDowell, who lives less than half a mile away, was awakened early Tuesday to sirens and first-responders telling him to seek shelter elsewhere. The 68-year-old double amputee who uses a wheelchair said he was aware of the fire before going to bed, but didnt know the urgency of the situation. He was taken to a shelter opened at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds.

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We woke up about 3:30 and they came through the parking lot with sirens, McDowell said.

Shepherd, the evacuee who felt her house shake, said she used a phone app to listen to emergency scanner traffic and heard firefighters talking about abandoning their equipment.

Thats when I started thinking we needed to evacuate, she said, adding that several hours passed as she and her partner debated whether to relocate.

All of sudden, there were three more, almost consistent, explosions and we could feel the house rock again, Shepherd said. I said, You know what? Im not even going to take a chance. We need to go.

___

Finley reported from Norfolk.
Instagram Celebrity

At her daily press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki says Spotify's decision to add disclaimer is 'a positive step,' but 'more' can be done to call out 'mis- and dis-information.'

Feb 2, 2022

AceShowbiz - White House has jumped into the controversy of COVID-19 misinformation Joe Rogan's podcast. After Spotify responded to the concerns by announcing that it would begin adding disclaimers to podcasts that discuss COVID, WH press secretary Jen Psaki thinks it's not enough.

At her daily press briefing on Tuesday, February 1, Jen was asked by Politico's Max Tani about Spotify's decision to add content advisories to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19 and related issues. "This disclaimer, it's a positive step," Jen said, before adding, "but we want every platform to be doing more to be calling out mis- and dis-information, while also uplifting accurate information."

"Ultimately, our view is that it is a positive step, but there is more that can be done," she added. Addressing all streaming platforms in general, she continued, "Our hope is that all major tech platforms, and all major news sources for that matter, be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the American people have access to accurate information on something as significant as COVID-19. That certainly includes Spotify."

Spotify took the action after musicians such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren removed their music from Spotify in the wake of controversial comments on "The Joe Rogan Experience".

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were among those who have voiced their concerns over the same issue. In a statement released on Sunday, a rep for the couple said, "Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all-too-real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform. We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis."

The statement added, "We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does."

Joe, meanwhile, has addressed the controversy in an Instagram video. Disagreeing with the term "misinformation," he argued that "many of the things we thought of as mission a short while ago is now thought of as fact," including some that are not being promoted by the mainstream media, such as the effectiveness of vaccines against contracting the virus and the effective of cloth masks.

He, however, agreed with Spotify's decision to add disclaimers. He also promised to do his "best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people's perspectives." He added, "I would most certainly be open to doing that. And I would like to talk to some people who have differing opinions on the podcasts in the future. I do all the scheduling myself and I don't always get it right."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson praised the UFC color commentator for his response to the controversy. "Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated," so the former wrestler commented underneath the post. "Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you."
Instagram Celebrity

The 'Aston Martin Music' spitter, who famously owns more than 100 collectible cars, gives himself a 1955 Chevy to mark his latest milestone and shows it off on social media.

Feb 2, 2022

AceShowbiz - Rick Ross went all out for his 46th birthday. The "Purple Lamborghini" rapper reportedly celebrated his latest milestone by partying four nights in Miami, Florida.

According to Page Six, the Mississippi native was seen at Club XXIII on Sunday night, January 30. The record executive allegedly arrived in "head-to-toe Balenciaga and dripping in bling" at that time.

A source further shared, "At 3 A.M. Rick sent the entire club 50 bottles of his Belaire Champagne, with the party going strong till 5 A.M." The source added that the emcee entertained the crowd with his track "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)" just before 3:45 A.M.

Prior to that, the "Aston Martin Music" spitter, whose real name was William Leonard Roberts II, was spotted partying in Miami with Antonio Brown, Nelly and Timbaland at hot eatery El Tucan from Mr. Hospitality. French Montana reportedly also attended the bash.

To mark his latest milestone, the Maybach Music Group founder gifted himself a 1955 Chevy. The hip-hop star gave fans a look at his new car by sharing a video on Instagram. Alongside the clip, he wrote, "Bday boy gift: introducing 'Arthur Fonzarelli' 55' Chevy to the collection lol."

Rick famously owns more than 100 collectible cars. However, it was not until last year that he finally got his driver's license. When speaking on the "Today" show in September 2021, he admitted, "I actually was driven to the test. I have over 100 cars, and I just hadn't had my license."

"So whenever I go joy riding, know, it was just one of those things. My mom and sister pressured me, finally, so I went, took the test. It took me an hour," the Grammy nominee further explained. "You know, I missed a few answers but I got it, I got it."
WENN/FayesVision Celebrity

The Emmy Award-nominated actor takes to his Twitter account to slam people who have 'unsolicited comments' on his actress wife's or '*anybody* else's body.'

Feb 2, 2022

AceShowbiz - Jason Ritter is rallying behind his wife, Melanie Lynskey. The Emmy Award-nominated actor defended his wife against body-shamers in a cheeky statement on January 29.

Jason took to his Twitter account to quote-retweet Melanie's post which saw her calling out some haters. "If anyone has any further unsolicited comments about *anybody* else's body, they can feel free to write them in permanent ink onto their own foreheads and swan dive directly into the sun," he wrote on the blue-bird app.

Jason Ritter defended wife Melanie Lynskey against body-shamers.

Jason's post arrived after Melanie clapped back at critics who made negative comments on her body after "Yellowjackets" premiered in November 2021. "Most egregious are the 'I care about her health!!' people b***h you don't see me on my Peloton! You don't see me running through the park with my child," the actress wrote on the platform.

Prior to this, Melanie revealed that she was body-shamed on the set of the Showtime series. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she shared that a member of the production criticized her physical appearance. "They were asking me, 'What do you plan to do? I'm sure the producers will get you a trainer. They'd love to help you with this,' " she alleged.

Thankfully, her co-stars, including Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Tawny Cypress, jumped to her defense. Melanie said that they showed support for her with Juliette even writing a letter to the producers on Melanie's behalf.

The interview also saw Melanie discussing the criticism of her character Shauna for hooking up with a younger man, mysterious, curly-haired artist Adam (Peter Gadiot). "I'm just like, 'Wow, really? That's where people's heads are at, that the most important thing is being thin or young?' " the 41-year-old New Zealand native wondered. "It was really important to me for [Shauna] to not ever comment on my body, to not have me putting a dress on and being like, 'I wish I looked a bit better.' "
Noninvasive and Point-of-Care Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)-Based Breathalyzer for Mass Screening of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) under 5 Min

ACS Nano

According to experts, bringing an end to the pandemic will require rapid screening of people attending large gatherings, such as conferences and weddings. Even those who are asymptomatic can still transmit COVID-19 to others, making it important to identify and isolate them until they are no longer contagious. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a prototype breathalyzer that can sensitively and accurately diagnose COVID-19, even in asymptomatic individuals, in less than 5 minutes.

Currently, the gold standard for COVID-19 testing is a technique called reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which is slow, requires an uncomfortable nasopharyngeal swab for sample collection and must be performed in a lab. The rapid antigen test is much quicker but has a higher rate of false negatives and positives. Scientists have also developed breathalyzer-type tests for COVID-19, which rely on differences in concentrations of volatile organic compounds exhaled by those infected with the coronavirus, but most require bulky, nonportable instruments for analysis. Xing Yi Ling and colleagues wanted to develop a quick, convenient and accurate breathalyzer test that would be suitable for on-site screening of large numbers of people.

The researchers designed a handheld breathalyzer that contains a chip with three surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors attached to silver nanocubes. When a person exhales into the device for 10 seconds, compounds in their breath chemically interact with the sensors. Then, the researchers load the breathalyzer into a portable Raman spectrometer that characterizes the bound compounds based on changes to the molecular vibrations of the SERS sensors.

The team found that Raman spectra from COVID-positive and -negative people were different in regions responsive to ketones, alcohols and aldehydes, which they used to develop a statistical model for COVID diagnosis. They tested the breathalyzer on 501 people in hospitals and airports in Singapore, who were shown by RT-PCR to be negative (85.2%), positive and symptomatic (8.6%), or positive and asymptomatic (6.2%) for the coronavirus. The method had a 3.8% false-negative and 0.1% false-positive rate, comparable to RT-PCR tests, but it could be completed on-site in less than 5 minutes. The breathalyzer could someday be a new tool to reduce the silent spread of COVID-19 in communities, the researchers say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Medical Research Council, Singapore, A*STAR Singapore, the Max Planck Institute-Nanyang Technological University Joint Lab and Nanyang Technological University.
Authored by Mahadev Srivatsa, Vice President - Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically

EdTech has caused a paradigm shift in the Indian academic space. It has made education accessible and affordable, especially for a vast nation like ours where we have learners living in rural and urban cities. Before the world was struck by Covid, Edtech was emerging as a popular option but there were notable barriers like adoption & relevance of the course/degree in the outside world. The pandemic broke both these barriers and today Edtech is seen not just complementing learning but in some cases even serving as the primary source of learning.

For our generation, we had an option to juggle between online and offline worlds. In fact, online learning only came into the picture during post-graduation. For students of this era, the blended learning scenario has become a norm, thereby establishing ed-tech as an essential part of their lives which has also resulted in Edtech becoming a habit for this generation.

In the past two years, several Edtech platforms have mushroomed and have tried to be as comprehensive as possible offering everything from e-learning tools to high school management and many more niche solutions. According to the KPMG report 2021, the Edtech space is very cluttered and there are more than 4000+ ed tech startups in India alone.

Consequently, the competition has tightened, and companies are now steering towards driving differentiation. While product and tech will determine the utility and a great idea carries seeds of success, marketing is now more crucial than ever for scaling EdTech business by driving differentiation as a brand. Lead generation, customer acquisition, engagement and customer success all need to be woven to drive a consistent and positive brand imagery and ultimately this will determine the future of these companies. Consumers today also look for these traits that inspire loyalty and want differentiated and quality offerings & services given numerous players in the market.

Charting a well-rounded strategy that is aligned with your offering is extremely important. Sharing a few reads here: -

1. Understand your target audience and create a strategy that is robust

The good ol cliche of knowing your audience will always stand true for Edtech. The segment of learners you cater to and the decision-makers will vary here especially for K-12. For young learners, their parents will play a crucial role in deciding which product or service they want to opt for whereas a working exec will have the autonomy to make his own decision. To get started, identify your market, launch a campaign and study the response. If you are willing to go by data analysis and not by gut alone, then you have won half the battle. The learnings will make it easier for you to hit the right marketing channels and design a campaign that hits the target. You can also effectively try to dodge competition by allocating & experimenting with your budgets to areas where others are not investing in that way you are more likely to generate revenue from the path that others have overlooked.

2. Time your announcements - Drive Intrigue

Gone are the days when a marketing strategy was put into execution only when a product was ready. Now teasing your audience ahead of the launch helps strengthen brand recall. You can create a teaser or let the audience know that they are up for a pleasant surprise. The iconic pug that became our fondest memory of Hutch (now Vodafone Idea) is one such example. We all remember the happy looking dog popping out of the newspaper ad before the larger brand announcement came through. The element of surprise raised curiosity. Building an intrigue will help drive people to approach your product faster.

3. Leverage social media marketing and content marketing

Students, young and old alike are social media savvy. From a marketers lens, social media opens the door to interactive campaigns that are filled with promotional videos, infographics, and even interactive chatbots. Innovation and personalization are the key. From blogs to your social media and Youtube channels, the world of internet for your brand has to be upbeat.

4. Dont spray and pray with cash, invest in good creative content & optimize campaigns.

Edtech today in terms of spending has started dominating the landscape similar to ecommerce and telecom of old.

Edtech is a very sensitive space and overburdening your customers with constant messages might not achieve the purpose. While investments in branding are an encouraging sign, deployment of the same for better creative output seems to be taking a backseat to aggressive execution. Your marketing strategy will naturally need various touchpoints. A product launch will need more communication and a new feature or dedicated service launch will be more targeted; and for both your involvement in various marketing mediums should differ. Choose your mediums meticulously and dont bombard the same set of users across mediums. Can result in fatigue and brand boredom.

Any new idea that makes the consumer aware and, in a way, engage with your product or feature directly will always cut the cake especially when you want to drive differentiation. For instance, the recent Scan Anything feature launched by Practically introduced consumers to the option of experiencing the feature right within the print ads in regional and national dailies making them understand its revolutionary prowess. Result ~3X scans came in on the day when print was released demonstrating the power of the idea

When it comes to the Edtech space, for any marketer, the axis is now pivoting towards sustenance. Building deeper customer relations, showcasing success metrics, being authentic to their brand identity and keeping an eye out for differentiation is the definite way forward. Today, an EdTech company cannot afford to not invest in Brand Building. The race has in fact moved to the next level towards Brand Equity. Apart from driving acquisition & engagement, efforts need to be put to steer loyalty towards the brand. In a cluttered market, brand loyalty alone can make you secure & profitable in the long run while scaling up and this is exactly what every marketer needs to ultimately gun for.
The Federal Council

Bern, 02.02.2022 - The Federal Council approved the Foreign Policy Report 2021 at its meeting on 2 February 2022. Switzerland's foreign policy was marked last year by the termination of negotiations on the institutional agreement with the European Union and the growing importance of good offices. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences continued to shape foreign policy.

Switzerland's policy towards the European Union was marked in 2021 by the decision to discontinue the negotiations on the institutional agreement with the EU. The Federal Council nevertheless underlined its determination to pursue the bilateral path. It implemented a series of measures to stabilise relations with the EU and took mitigating steps to address a number of matters. Nevertheless, breaking deadlocks that hamper progress on these dossiers has been a major challenge for the Federal Council.

While geopolitical tensions became more pronounced in 2021, the major powers also expressed their willingness to address their differences through dialogue. Switzerland's good offices and role as a neutral host state took on greater importance. This was underlined by the choice of Geneva to host the summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June, as well as the discussions between US and Chinese representatives in Zurich in October. In the face of growing tensions over security issues in Europe, Switzerland continues its efforts to promote an inclusive dialogue on European security and find solutions to conflicts.

COVID-19 remains front and centre

The pandemic remained a major concern of Swiss foreign policy in 2021. In order to support third countries in their fight against the pandemic and to respond to changing needs, Switzerland continuously realigned its development programmes and contributed to the mechanism to give developing countries speedier access to tools to combat COVID-19. As part of its humanitarian aid, Switzerland sent respirators, testing kits and protective equipment to several countries.

The health crisis also slowed down diplomatic work. For example, the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons could not be held last year.

The FDFA's Crisis Management Centre was kept very busy in 2021, and not only because of the pandemic. The situation in Afghanistan necessitated the evacuation of 385 people with links to Switzerland and the temporary closure of the Swiss cooperation office in Kabul.

Innovation and science diplomacy

In line with the Digital Foreign Policy Strategy 202124, science diplomacy was one of Switzerland's priorities in 2021. The first Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) summit took place in October. This foundation was established in 2019 at the initiative of the Federal Council and the State Council of the Canton of Geneva in order to enable better adaptation to the rapid pace of scientific and technological advances. A special representative for science diplomacy was appointed during the year under review in order to strengthen Switzerland's action in the field of science diplomacy.

Coherent foreign policy

Overall, good progress was made in implementing the foreign policy strategy 2020-2023. Switzerland's foreign policy was further strengthened with the adoption of new geographical follow-up strategies (China and Sub-Saharan Africa). Furthermore, as part of its cascading foreign policy strategies, the FDFA issued the Human Rights Guidelines 202124.

Address for enquiries

For further information:

FDFA Communication

Tel. +41 58 462 31 53

Tel. Press service +41 460 55 55

kommunikation@eda.admin.ch

Publisher

The Federal Council

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html



Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html




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DES MOINES, Iowa  While pork producers are concerned about the consequences of Proposition 12 in California, there is still the possibility the situation will somehow get resolved.

California is the fifth largest economy in the world and it holds 12% of the U.S. population.

Those are heavy pork consumers, folks, said Cody McKinley of the National Pork Producers Council.

McKinley moderated a panel discussion on the subject during the Iowa Pork Congress Jan. 26. Joining him was Michael Formica, an attorney with NPPC, who talked about the legal issues surrounding Prop 12. The proposition, which was passed as a ballot initiative by California voters in 2018, has not yet been implemented. A California court ruled last week that implementation should be delayed by six months after regulations are finalized.

Formica said opponents of Prop 12 have taken the case to the United States Supreme Court but do not know yet if the court will take up their case.

Between those court cases, Formica said there is the possibility the proposition could be overturned or limited by the courts.

The major legal question is in regards to interstate commerce. The California proposal would not only put space requirements on pork production in California but would ban the sale of products sold in the state that were not produced in facilities that meet the required space provisions. That would impact pork producers across the country.

There is a similar proposal in Massachusetts that pork producers are also watching, Formica said. Question 3 in Massachusetts was approved by voters there in 2016, but before the end of the year the legislature extended implementation until Aug. 15 and moved jurisdiction from the state attorney generals office to the state Department of Agriculture.

If Prop 12 does end up becoming law as is, some packing plants will likely work with farmers to meet the requirements of that market, which would mean certifying that a certain amount of space is allowed for all breeding stock. That could lead to more open pen gestation because all gilts over six months of age that could be breeding stock would require 24 square feet of space.

Stalls could still be used for farrowing, but changes would need to be made to most breeding facilities. The total cost per pig might be in the range of $5, according to Kent Bang of Compeer Financial, who joined Formica for last weeks session. But he said the move could also lead to increased sow mortality as animals fight, and fewer pigs born alive due to embryo loss.

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We take rocket fire here regularly. There are very few farmers who are anxious to get out in the field just yet. Being out on tractors in the middle of the field, you feel like a sitting duck.
The screenshot from a video of time-lapse photos off the Outer Banks shows "red trails" that some say are UFOs. (Wes Snyder Photography)

A man taking time lapse images of the Milky Way also captured a series of odd light swirls in the sky, and the resulting footage has ignited talk of UFO activity off North Carolinas Outer Banks.

Artist Wes Snyder is well known in the Southeast for his coastal photography  particularly images taken at night  but even he is at a loss for what the rotating red trails might be.

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The lights are seen multiple times in his video  always along the horizon  and they appear to be circling something.

Snyder says the movement defies easy explanation, when taking into account the time lapse process: Each photo is taken with a 10-second exposure, with one second in between.

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Ive caught thousands of plane trails and never have any of them looked like this, so Im certain they are not your typical aircraft, Snyder told McClatchy news.

Ive caught these trails before in several other time lapses, but I have yet to figure out what kind of plane possibly has these capabilities. ... Whatever they are, they have some incredible maneuverability.

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The photos were taken between 8 and 10 p.m. on Sept. 27, with cameras facing west, toward the mainland. Snyder says the trails were visible for 10-20 minutes. The video was only recently posted online, because of the time it takes to edit images taken simultaneously by three cameras, he said.

We (the Outer Banks) are not too far away from a bombing range and eastern North Carolina is known for lots of military aircraft, Snyder said. My bet is that its military aircraft training over the Pamlico Sound.

All I want to know is, how can I get a ride in whatever it was, he added.

The video was shared Jan. 21 on Facebook, where it has been viewed 13,000 times and gotten hundreds of reactions as of Jan. 31. (He posted it Jan. 27 on YouTube.) A recently removed shipwreck known as the Ocean Pursuit is included in the foreground of the video.

Many commenters on the Facebook post seem to agree the lights were likely military craft or drones, while others werent afraid to call it a UFO. Thats technically correct, since the lights are tough-to-identify flying objects.

I believe they exist ... and have been visiting us for a long time, one woman wrote.

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Whatever they are, I hope theyre on our team! another commenter posted.
Sometimes the stress of living on a farm means couples need a getaway to re-energize and plan for the future.

With that in mind, Iowa State University Extension is bringing back its Farm Couple Getaways, said Jennifer Bentley, coordinator for the getaways and a facilitator.

Larry Tranel, an Iowa State University Extension dairy specialist, first offered the program in Iowa in 2017, featuring a one-night getaway within driving distance with activities to help couples to improve their communication, work on farm or family goal setting, plan farm transitions or just enjoy time away from their routine.

The programs started in response to high levels of personal and financial stress and was initially for dairy couples, but has expanded to include couples with other livestock, crops or specialty products. The diversity has made the discussion groups better as couples exchange information from their own experience, Bentley said.

Farm transition and generational change is always a big topic, and the 10 couples at each event often help provide perspective for each other, she said. Often the older and younger couples share insights which are helpful to each other.

They appreciate the different experiences, she said.

The program has also expanded its reach. So far, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin couples have attended. Now Illinois and Missouri couples are welcome as the getaways are within driving distance for many.

The first getaway for 2022 will be Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-19 at the Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah in northeastern Iowa. Its at a historic building which helps set the mood for a special getaway, Bentley said.

The second, on Feb. 25-26, will be at the Cobblestone Inn & Suites in Holstein in northwest Iowa. Next year a getaway will also be offered in Dubuque.

The programs include a one-night stay and begin with icebreakers on Friday afternoon followed by a dinner out and group exercises. Participants are asked to think about what they like and dislike about their own operations and be ready to set goals and problem solve the next day.

On Saturday, the couples are given tools for action. They take the time to write things down. Having goals on paper is a good thing, Bentley said.

Couples also gain tips for work-life balance and tools to help with stress, led by Tranel. They receive resources on topics about the stress on farmers, spouses and children. One participant of the getaway said the program helped her consider the effects of farm live on their kids and the value of making it a great growing up experience for them, Bentley said.

A $50 deposit is required and returned on attendance. Iowa Farm Bureau, local banks and milk cooperatives help sponsor the event. To qualify, the couples major income should come from the farm, although many families also have off farm jobs, Bentley said. She speaks to the couples in advance to let them know what to expect and see if its the right fit for them.

She said spots are still open for the Feb. 18-19 and Feb. 25-26 getaways. Contact jbentley@iastate.edu or county Extension offices.

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Many seed companies in Montana offer WestBred wheat varieties for its reputation of breeding spring wheat and other wheat that grows well for farmers in the states varied climates.

Erik Fevold, Montana regional business representative for Bayers WestBred, said 2021 was a tough year to evaluate wheat in the states WestBred plots.

WestBred has plots throughout Montana, with dryland plots mostly in the Golden Triangle, and irrigated plots in the Gallatin Valley.

Overall, it was a tough year in Montana because of the drought, but we had some pleasant surprises, Fevold said.

Some of their WestBred plots were in areas that received low rainfall, so agronomists thought they might find disasters or plots with nothing but weeds.

Fortunately, it didnt turn out that way. For the conditions these plots were in, the wheat varieties turned out better than expected, he said.

While the wheat harvest did not yield in high numbers, many of the wheat acres had average yields.

Fevold explained that wheat withstands drier conditions better than some other crops.

On the one hand, wheat is a pretty drought-tolerant crop and there is a lot of that built into the plant itself, he said.

While they did not specifically have drought-tolerant WestBred varieties growing at their plots in Montana, they were able to evaluate how varieties yielded and what the quality was under mostly dry conditions.

Fevold talked about new genetics that are coming out for spring wheat in Montana.

One new WestBred hard red spring wheat variety that has been tested in plots and was released a couple of years ago is WB9516.

It isa newer Montana spring wheat that has just been getting traction. We are targeting the variety to the dryland areas of the state, such as some areas in the Golden Triangle, he said.

The variety shows outstanding yield potential compared to other top-yielding varieties in the market.

It depends on the environment as to what the high yields are. In good rainfall areas in Montana, we have seen WB9516 yield from 45-48 bushels per acre, Fevold said. In lower rainfall areas, Ive seen anywhere from 30-35 bushels per acre.

Fevold said WB9516 is a semi-solid stem and has shown good tolerance to wheat stem sawfly in WestBred fields.

We really like it because it has pretty good tolerance to the wheat stem sawfly, Fevold said.

WestBred asks farmers who are growing WB9516 in their fields where there has been sawfly cutting damage, to score how well the variety is standing up  from the cab of the combine.

If there has been sawfly damage, the farmer can spot the cut stems that have fallen over in the fields from the cab, he said.

The farmers scored the variety with a 1 or 2, on a scale of 1-9, with 9 having the most damage.

In addition, scientists have identified WB9516 as having the low pH tolerance gene in the wheat.

Soils with low pH can create challenges for growers, and anything below 7 is considered acidic, he said.

According to John Breker, soil scientist with AGVISE Laboratories, when there is low pH in the soil, nutrient tie-up is likely, and aluminum toxicity may impact root growth and water uptake.

WB9516 is more tolerant of low pH than some other wheat varieties, Fevold said.

Fevold explained in Montana, there is more awareness to low pH, because low pH has been a problem especially for farmers that have been growing wheat on wheat. Fields with low pH end up having sparse or no yields.

If we keep going with wheat on wheat, acidic soils could definitely be a problem, he said.

Fevold recommended scouting for low pH by taking soil samples at different depths and growing specific varieties to deal with it.

We are ahead of the curve on low pH. As it starts to be more of a problem in the state, WB 9516 would be a good wheat to plant for low pH tolerance, he said.

In plot trials, WB9516 has also been shown to have good disease tolerance against Fusarium head blight, leaf rust, yellow stripe rust and powdery mildew.

The variety has demonstrated excellent milling and baking quality and has good falling numbers.

WB9516 has medium maturity.

This variety was not bred to replace another variety. It was bred for that market where sawfly and low pH were problems, Fevold said.

Fevold grew up in Iowa, on a small acreage farm.

We grew corn, soybeans, and raised show cattle. I was in 4-H and FFA, he said.

After high school, Fevold earned a bachelors degree in agronomy from Iowa State University. Between his junior and senior year, Fevold accepted an internship with Bayer in Sioux Falls, S.D. After graduation, he accepted a training position with Bayer in Fargo, N.D.

In March 2021, Fevold was transferred to Bozeman, Mont., for his first full-time position as an agronomist with Bayer.

Currently, with supply chain problems across the country, will the WestBred seed be available at local co-ops by spring?

We are not beholding to the supply chain. Our issue was the drought, and we lost some production of our certified acres because we couldnt produce as much seed as we wanted to, Fevold said.

For that reason, certain varieties of seed may sell out faster this spring than in a typical year.

I would recommend getting your seed orders in as early as possible, so you can get your seed early, Fevold said.

WestBred plans to have some crop field tours in 2022.

COVID put a damper on that last year, as well as the drought, he said. But this year we will get back to normal. The tours will probably be held in July.

Fevold said they partner with their seed selling companies, such as farm co-ops. Those agribusinesses will invite farmers to field tours in their area of WestBred varieties, as well as advertise the date.

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Friends of plantations: The fire bird

Special Photo: Jones Center at Ichauway. Naturalist Herbert L. Stoddard introduced the concept of controlled burning or prescribed fire to maintain natural vegetation and wildlife on Southern plantations. Special Photo: Doug Porter Herbert L. Stoddard, a 33-year-old naturalist, ornithologist, and taxidermist who ran the bird department at the Milwaukee Public Museum, is credited with helping Southern plantation land and quail habitat flourish. Special Photo: Doug Porter Herbert L. Stoddard said he was was greeted with great hostility when he suggested controlled burns to benefit quail habitat on Southern plantations.

EDITORS NOTE: Third in a series on southwest Georgia plantations.

ALBANY  I grew up thinking fire was the enemy of the forest. It killed trees, injured animals, and spawned a ruined, blackened landscape. I saw the horrors of a forest fire as a child when I watched the Walt Disney classic Bambi. It wasnt until I took over management of Chehaw Park that I learned the truth about the benefits of fire from our Natural Resources Manager, Ben Kirkland.

I assumed it was Smokey Bear and the U. S. Forest Service that had steered me wrong. Only YOU can prevent forest fires! But in truth, the problem was much older than Smokey Bear  who came on the scene in the 1940s  and it was plantation owners who shattered a dangerous myth and helped save the Southern forests.

In the early 1920s, plantation owners around Thomasville began to notice a serious decline in quail populations and feared that the birds might become extinct in the region. They recognized the need for a scientific study of the bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in hopes of reversing the decline. So in the fall of 1922, they reached out to Herbert L. Stoddard, a 33-year-old naturalist, ornithologist, and taxidermist who ran the bird department at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

To finance the quail research project, plantation owners organized. They dug into their own pockets, reached out to friends, and raised the necessary funds. By fall 1923, Stoddard was stalking the woods between Thomasville and Tallahassee, trapping quail, studying what they ate, and what ate them. He had no college degree  no formal education or scientific training. But, as it turned out, that is what allowed him to discover the real problem that faced the bobwhite quail and the habitat they needed to survive.

Stoddard was from the North but had spent much of his boyhood in central Florida. He was well familiar with the practice of Florida cattlemen and Native Americans who intentionally set fire to their land. One of his first recommendations was that the effects of burning might be important to the Thomasville quail studies.

The bobwhite, Stoddard noted in his 1969 book, Memoirs of a Naturalist, might properly be called the fire bird so closely is it linked ecologically with fire in the coastal pinelands.

He knew that quail thrive in the aftermath of fire. He told the plantation owners that quail need the perennial legumes and grasses that sprout after fire. Excluding fire allowed the buildup of what he called rough habitat. The thick cover of shrubs and small hardwood trees favored rodents  especially cotton rats  which attracted predators like foxes, birds of prey, and the huge abundant diamondback rattlesnakes he encountered when he first moved to Georgia. It was exactly the wrong habitat for bobwhite quail.

His clients apparently bought his argument. Others were skeptical at best. Some were downright hostile.

Stoddard was classified by the professional forestry community as an enemy of the forests because he not only suggested Southern forests could be burned but insisted they should be burned. He introduced the concept of controlled burning or prescribed fire to maintain natural vegetation and wildlife.

In those days, the U.S. Forest Service was against any use of fire for land management purpose, even in the Southeast where fire was a natural process. American forestry, Stoddard noted, was rooted in European (especially German) forestry practices where there were no fire-type forests. In addition, all U. S. forestry schools in those days were located in the North, where forestry classes and textbooks did not acknowledge fire-type forests.

Forestry experts assumed fire would have a disastrous effect on game and wildlife management. They pointed to uncontrolled wildfires in the western mountains and in the northern forests. At the American Forestry Association meeting in February 1929, Stoddard presented the chapter on fire from his soon-to-be-published book The Bobwhite Quail: Its Habits, Preservation, and Increase to the assembly. He was greeted, he recalled, with great hostility.

The Forest Service eventually came around, and today burning the Southern pine forests is accepted practice. The Georgia Forestry Commission and the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council say prescribed fire is a safe way to apply a natural process, ensure ecosystem health and reduce wildfire risks. They note that habitats across the state have evolved with fire and that the strategic application of fire mimics this natural cycle.

Even Smokey Bear has updated his message to Only You Can Prevent Wildfires in an attempt to clarify that he is promoting the prevention of unplanned outdoor fires, not prescribed burns.

At most modern plantations, prescribed fire is the primary land management tool for managing thousands of acres of forest and wildlife resources. At Robert W. Woodruffs Ichauway Plantation, for example, I saw fire used on a massive scale during my first visit there in the fall of 2004. According to the website of the Jones Center at Ichauway, healthy longleaf pine forests depend on frequent fire. In the absence of fire, longleaf pine forests shift to hardwood dominated forests over time. The unique plants and animals found in longleaf pine forests have adapted to frequent fire and depend on it to maintain their preferred habitat structure.

The pine forests of the Southeastern United States are thought to have once covered 50 percent of the land across thousands of miles of nine states from Virginia to Texas. The late biologist E.O. Wilson once identified 12 of the best places on earth to see a living natural environment. He placed our longleaf pine savanna in the same category as the Amazon rainforest and the Serengeti grasslands.

A hundred years ago, plantation owners brought in a maverick, Yankee forester who convinced them to go against all of the experts and burn their property. They bought his radical concept, and they are still burning today. Without the stewardship of these wealthy landlords and the radical ideas of Herbert Stoddard, southwest Georgia probably wouldnt have thousands of acres of one of the worlds most important natural ecosystems  the Southern pine forest.
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Altavista, VA (24517)

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A mix of clouds and sun. High 76F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Students exit Flory Hall on the campus of Bridgewater College following a shooting that claimed the lives of a campus police officer and a campus security officer in Bridgewater, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (Daniel Lin/Daily News-Record/AP)

A former student at a private college in Virginia was arraigned Wednesday on murder charges, a day after authorities say he returned to his alma mater and fatally shot two campus officers.

Police identified the gunman in Tuesdays shooting at Bridgewater College as Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27. A spokeswoman for the small liberal arts school about 125 miles northwest of Richmond said Campbell was a student there from 2013 to 2017.

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Campbell made his first court appearance Wednesday in Harrisonburg/Rockingham General District Court.

Alexander Wyatt Campbell (Virginia State Police) (AP)

WWBT-TV reported that Campbell appeared via video conference for his arraignment and appeared to be restrained in a chair. Gene Hart, an attorney appointed by the judge, asked that Campbell undergo a mental health evaluation. Hart declined to comment after the hearing.

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Campbells mother, Cheryl Campbell, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that her son needed help.

My son is mentally ill and he did something that I could not control and no one could come to help him, Campbell said in an interview with the newspaper on Wednesday. Im sorry for what has happened. I could not prevent it.

This is a very hard time for Wyatt and his family and for the families that he has affected, she said through tears. It is not about gun control. It is not. ... It is about mental illness and how we have no control over that, the way society is right now. I cant help my son.

Campus safety Officer J.J Jefferson, left, and campus police Officer John Painter. (Matthew Cosner/Courtesy of Bridgewater College/AP)

School president David W. Bushman identified the slain officers as campus police officer John Painter, 55, and campus safety officer J.J. Jefferson, 48. He said the campus was mourning the loss of the well-known and well-loved officers. In a statement, Bushman said the two were known as the dynamic duo and that Painter was the best man at Jeffersons wedding this year.

Virginia State Police said the shooting happened shortly after the campus officers responded to reports of a suspicious man on campus around 1:20 p.m. Tuesday. Spokeswoman Corinne Geller said that after a brief interaction, the man opened fire on the officers, shot them and fled on foot. The two officers died on the scene.

Officers from state and local law enforcement agencies then joined the search and found the suspect off campus. He had waded into a river and was taken into custody on an island in the river, state police said. Police said multiple guns were recovered as evidence both on and off campus.

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Campbell was treated for a gunshot wound that was not life threatening. Geller said that it wasnt clear if he received the wound in an exchange with police or if it was self-inflicted.

Authorities have so far not offered any motive for the shootings.

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Two members of the Bridgewater College family were senselessly and violently taken from us. The sadness is palpable. Words are not adequate, not nearly so, to express the grief, sadness, fear and  justifiably  the anger we all feel, Bushman said in a statement.

Logan Bogert, a spokesperson for Bridgewater College, said that while Campbell was a student at the school, he was on the track and cross country teams. His last known address was in Ashland. Campbell attended Patrick Henry High School in Ashland.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin ordered flags to be flown at half-staff across the state Wednesday to honor the officers.

Bridgewater College has been historically affiliated with the Church of the Brethren. It had an enrollment of about 1,500 full-time students in the fall of 2021, according to its website.

Campbells next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 16.
Recently the incidences of racist attacks on Asians in the U.S. have noticeably increased. Why has this happened? Who is responsible?

The mainstream medias narrative is that President Trumps using the terms China virus, Wuhan virus, and kung-flu, while suggesting China made and spread the coronavirus, generated hatred of Asians. This, it was said, caused increases in assaults against Asians.

There are flaws in this narrative. It can be questioned to what degree the Chinese, the largest group of crime victims, were upset because of what President Trump said. Did they complain? Certainly not to any great extent as many liked the former president.

In 2017, Trump traveled to China and made a hit there. His grandchildren went with him and spoke to President Xi and the First Lady in Chinese, which they had been speaking at home for some time. They even recited Chinese poems. This was on television and went viral in China. Locals opined that Chinese people perceived that President Trump fancied China and Chinese more than any other U.S. leader ever had.

Meanwhile, studies showed that Americans who espouse antipathy toward the Chinese were not influenced significantly by President Trumps words. According to a Pew Research Center poll, only 14 percent of respondents connect the coronavirus to racial incidents in the U.S.

In counterpoint, American hostility toward Chinese Americans was obviously stirred by candidate Joe Biden calling President Xi a thug during the campaign and stating that Xi did not have a democratic bone in his body.

After Joe Biden became president, the U.S. governments and medias rhetoric about China became more hostile than it had been under President Trump. President Biden and his aides railed against Chinas authoritarian system, President Xi ending term limits, Chinas human rights abuses (especially against Uyghurs), and its quashing freedom and democracy in Hong Kong. Much more was said about Chinas efforts to destroy the Western liberal world order and dominate global financial matters than during the Trump presidency.

When President Biden addressed the issue of racist attacks on Asian-Americans, he declared a main cause was Shite supremacy. Contradicting this view, Ying Ma, a Chinese American living in Oakland, California, wrote a book entitled Chinese Girl in the Ghetto in which she described many incidences of racist attacks on local Chinese over an extended period. She noted that proportional to their percentage of the U.S. population Whites were less likely to be perpetrators; other minorities were more likely.

Her data likewise confirms overwhelmingly the fact that, by a large margin, most of the racist incidences against Asian-Americans occurred in Democrat-controlled cities and statesninety-five percent plus. Most Chinese and other Asian-Americans, of course, live in Democrat districts. But still, the numbers show disproportionality. The data also show there have been many more incidents in California and New York (Democrat-run states), than in Texas (a Republican state), the three states where more Asian-Americans live.

In addition, the huge spike in the number of incidences in March 2021, two months after Joe Biden became president, insinuates he was more responsible for the problem than President Trump. The incidences of racial attacks on Asians increased a whopping 164 percent in the first quarter of 2021.

What then, may we ask, are the real or not-often-cited causes of racial assaults against Asian Americans?

One reason is jealousy. Asian-Americans have higher levels of education and better incomes than other Americans, both by significant margins. They also register higher numbers on the lists of people of attainments in the sciences, business, and elsewhere. A significant number have become founders, presidents, and chief executive officers of major companies. Many are millionaires. Republicans, who believe in hard work and meritocracy, support them. Democrats fancy egalitarianism.

Image: Attack on an elderly Asian man. YouTube screen grab.

Another matter is the admission policies in Americas colleges and universities, especially the prestigious ones, that patently discriminate against Asians. Asians must offer much higher SAT and GRE scores than others. These are used to operationalize this racial bias. In fact, to many Asians and Asian-Americans, this formalizes and legitimizes racism and explains racist attacks on Asian-Americans. If racism by colleges and universities is acceptable, why isnt racism in other ways?

Democrats support affirmative action and using quotas to restrict the number of Asians in American colleges and universities. Conservatives favor performance. Last year, Asian students attending Harvard sued the school over racial bias in admissions. President Trump supported the students. Just recently, the case has gone to the Supreme Court.

A similar suit was filed against Yale University. President Bidens justice department refused to take the case.

Asian-Americans have also taken umbrage at many colleges and universities limiting or even excluding national tests used for admission decisions as anti-Asian because Asians do better on them. Recently Asian-Americans were incensed to hear that the California education system is debating dropping math courses from various curricula because Asian students do so well on the subject.

In any event, racist attacks on Asian-Americans led President Biden to issue an executive order denouncing the incidences almost as soon as he became president. But nothing of consequence happened. In March, after a big spike in cases, the Biden administration proposed formal legislation to deal with the problem.

Congress responded. The bill, called Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19, passed Congress in May. It stressed the fact anti-Asian American racist incidents increased with the rise of the coronavirus in the U.S. It cited the fact elderly Asian-Americans were targeted (though it did not mention women were also). It condemned tying the virus to China with China or Chinese used in its various names. It mentioned Asian-American businesses being targeted and even noted that there are 2 million Asian-American businesses that generate a whopping $700 billion in annual revenue and employ millions of workers, though it did not focus on where they were located or when they were damaged or destroyed.

The bill cited taking action. But this amounted to collecting data and coordinating assessments between and among government agencies. The bill cited prosecution but gave no details as to how this would be accomplished or even what agencies of government would be in charge.

Critics called the bill biased and portrayed it as bureaucratic, toothless, and suggested it will have little impact. That, of course, remains to be seen. In any event, subsequent polls recorded that most Asians did not think they would gain influence with the new president.

In January this year, following attacks on Asians in New York and San Francisco, the Asian communities, led by Chinese Americans, protested. Some of the biggest protests in New York followed the death of Michelle Go, an American-born Asian woman working in New York. An assailant pushed her in front of an oncoming subway train. The police report mentioned only that the perpetrator was mentally deranged.

In San Francisco, after vicious racist attacks on several Asian-Americans, Asians gathered to protest. They demanded more police. The city promised to hire 200 more but that merely replaced those recently leaving the force. Asians complained that the city prosecutor and other high officials who had supported defunding the police did not seek to prosecute. At the time it was reported that anti-Asian crimes had spiked a whopping 457 percent in 2021 under President Biden.

In any case, the tsunami-like rise of racist comments and untoward actions toward Asian-Americans and even killings constitute serious problems that deserve attention, objective assessments, and real action.

John F. Copper is the Stanley J. Buckman Professor (emeritus) of International Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the author of more than thirty-five books on Asia and U.S.-Asian policy.
At the beginning of January, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, posted a message on Twitter in which he announced that he had just received his Covid vaccine booster and urged others to do likewise.

At the end of January, Justin Trudeau posted a message on Twitter in which he announced that he had tested positive for Covid-19.

Astoundingly, at the conclusion of his message, Trudeau urged everyone to get the shots even though they failed to protect him from the disease. Everyone, please get vaccinated and get boosted, he insisted.

Trudeaus message shows the depth of irrationality  bordering on insanity  to which many have fallen victim. We propose to call this phenomenon the Vaccine Insanity Syndrome (VIS). Those who suffer from VIS have largely lost touch with reality and things like common sense, evidence and logic no longer gain any traction in their thinking.

Just to summarize the absurdity of the whole situation: Having been previously vaccinated, Trudeau gets additionally boostered and three weeks later contracts Covid-19.

To put it in a different way, shortly after getting his third shot, Canadas Prime Minister falls ill with the very disease against which these effective injections were supposed to protect him.

But rather than repenting of his mistake, he goes on Twitter and advises the Canadian people to do the same.

Where is any logic in this? Has Covid affected Trudeaus brain? Or was it the injections that somehow diminished his capacity for thought and reflection?

If anything, Trudeau should be Exhibit One for why people should not get vaccinated and boostered, since he is now Canadas poster boy for vaccine failure.

Why, then, is he telling Canadians to do what he did?

It cannot be because the vaccines and boosters will protect them against infection. The opposite is, in fact, the case.

The data coming from all over the world is showing that the vaccinated are more likely to become infected than the unvaccinated. According to Steve Kirsch, The numbers in the Denmark study described below are now confirmed by government data from Germany showing that vaccinated people are 8X more likely to develop Omicron than unvaccinated people. This is not surprising since a paper from Germany showed the same thing: the more you vaccinate, the worse it gets.

Justin Trudeau, however, does not have to go to foreign lands to learn of vaccine failure. Below is a chart from Ontario which gives case numbers according to vaccination status. You will notice that the numbers for the fully vaccinated are more than three times those of the unvaccinated.

You may think that perhaps Trudeau may be urging his compatriots to submit themselves to the shots because that will immunize them against severe Covid. But this also is not the case. In England, Scotland, Israel, and Denmark, for example, the boostered and vaccinated comprise the bulk of Covid hospitalizations and deaths. In Scotland, in the second week of January, 87 percent of Covid related deaths occurred among the vaccinated.

In the Canadian province of Alberta, so many people were contracting and dying of Covid after receiving their vaccine that the government decided to remove the data from the internet so that people could not see the truth.

A couple of weeks ago an Israeli study found that the vaccines are not good enough against Omicron, which is the prevailing strain in Canada as well as in the rest of the world.

Not only are these shots not good enough but they also happen to be dangerous. To see this, one only needs to look at the explosion of reports of deaths and other adverse reactions in the VAERS database which coincided with the introduction of the Covid vaccines in late 2020. This did not escape the notice of researchers all over the world and, to date, more than one thousand articles and studies appeared in peer-reviewed scientific journals and magazines discussing the serious side effects of the Covid vaccines.

All this, however, did not stop Justin Trudeau from making video messages in which he personally urges five-year-old children to get these dangerous shots. What makes Trudeaus incitement especially ludicrous is the fact that healthy children are at virtually no risk from Covid. They are, in fact, more likely to be struck by lightning than to die from this illness. The facts notwithstanding, this is what Trudeau said to Canadian five-year-olds in a recent video missive:

Youre going to be able to get your vaccine as soon as you turn five. And I know youre excited and I know that you are eager. In some places across the country, you can even start making your appointment now for shortly after your [fifth] birthday.

It is instructive to watch him say this so that one can directly see just how misguided and dangerous this man really is.

Trudeau: "You're gonna be able to get your vaccine as soon as you turn five ... I know you're excited, I know you're eager" pic.twitter.com/BrTg6OYPFY  The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 3, 2021

As one commenter noted aptly, Are we living in the film The body snatchers? I mean it's like I went to bed one night and woke up with half the world's gone bat s--t crazy.

For two years Trudeau has tormented Canadians with lockdowns and restrictions in the name of the virus whose average survival rate is more than 99.8 percent for healthy people of productive age.

In May of last year, Trudeau promised Canadians that the safe and effective vaccines would end the pandemic and that if enough people took them life would return to normal.

With an 80 percent vaccination rate, Canada is infested with Covid-19 and life is nowhere close to normal.

Being Covid positive even though he has been boostered, Trudeau now urges Canadian men, women, and children to subject themselves to dangerous vaccines that do not work against the coronavirus currently prevailing variant.

Even as Canadians rise in a mass peaceful protest to express their disapproval of Trudeaus misconceived and failed policies, he implies they are fascists and racists.

A demagogue disconnected from reality, Justin Trudeau is a bungler and a menace to his country and his people.

Vasko Kohlmayer was born and grew up in former communist Czechoslovakia. You can follow his writings by subscribing to his Substack newsletter Notes from the Twilight Zone. He is the author of The West in Crisis: Civilizations and Their Death Drives.
Is the climate changing? Yes. Is mankind contributing to the change in climate? Yes. Should major national policy respond to this change? No!

Climate changes continuously, both warming and cooling. There is nothing new in this and probably nothing to get excited about. Man inevitably modifies the climate. The only questions are by how much and in which way. Historically, man has modified the landscape sufficiently to make a noticeable impact on the climate. The essential question we must address is, how much are we, today, impacting the climate, and is that impact harmful?

The answer is we don't know! My suspicion is that we have had only a modest, and probably benign, influence.

Given that we don't know, it is seriously bad policy to imperil our future in an attempt to control the climate. It also smacks of hubris to believe we have that much control over Mother Nature.

Before we look at the current situation, let us consider how man influenced climate in the past. In prehistoric times, the Mediterranean area was well forested. During the Neolithic period, wild goats were domesticated. The proliferation of domesticated goats caused major damage to the vegetation around the Mediterranean basin and beyond. Much of the land became deforested.

A second example is northern Europe. Once these lands were heavily forested. With the invention of the horse collar and the wheeled plow during the Middle Ages, it became possible to efficiently turn the heavy soil in northern Europe. As a result, the woodlands there were rapidly cleared for farming. Europe today looks very different from the Europe of two thousand years ago.

These modifications of the landscape changed the rates of water exchange with the atmosphere and the local reflective albedo. Modification of the regional climate was the inevitable consequence. What impact these regional climate modifications have had on the rest of the world's climate is unknown, but it may be significant.

Obviously, we have successfully adapted to these changes. And certainly, no one is proposing that we restore Europe, South Asia, and North Africa to pre-Neolithic conditions. Moreover, man's past impacts on the climate pale in comparison to natural climate variation, as we shall see.

Today, the climate debate is highly politicized. A powerful establishment is attempting to deindustrialize America in response to a hypothetical global warming crisis. This establishment uses the predictions of a certain class of climate models as its excuse to suppress our individual liberties and reduce our standard of living. Do they have a valid case? Let us examine the science to see.

We must consider climate models because their outputs are driving the politics. I am a physicist, not a climatologist. I do not know the internal details of the climate models. I don't have to. All I need is an understanding of the limits of computer models and their proper application. In this, I have copious experience.

The first thing to understand about models is that they are not nature. They are tautologies. They only tell you the consequences of your assumptions. Get the assumptions right, and a model has substantial predictive ability. Mathematically expressed quantum mechanics is marvelously predictive. So is general relativity. Climate models aren't even close. In a computer model, get any one of its assumptions wrong, and the model no longer can predict. It is evident from the incorrect predictions of the complex climate models that one, or more, of the many built-in assumptions are wrong.

How do we know this? They can't predict the past! Earth perpetually undergoes a complex choreography of change. Variations in Earth's orbit combine with precession and nutation of the poles, and the dance of colliding continents, to modify the climate in historical, as well as geological, times. Then, too, the sun is a variable star, and its changing moods profoundly influence our climate.

Since the warmth burst that ended the last ice age glaciation, the world's climate has been steadily cooling. Superimposed on this cooling trend are significant fluctuations. The Minoan warming was followed by the long winter that caused the Bronze Age collapse. The Roman climate optimum declined to the cold-caused age of migrations and the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The High Middle Ages that followed were substantially warmer than today. We are still recovering from the severe "Little Ice Age" that ended the Middle Ages optimum. Our current warming trend is, probably in major part, the recovery from that centuries-long cold spell

All of this is well known. Unfortunately for climatologists, their computer models cannot account for these known climate fluctuations. Something unknown is actually controlling.

There is more. Starting around 5,000 years ago, a major change in the world's climate began. The West African monsoon began its migration south. This also influenced the Indian Ocean monsoons. The Sahara started drying out. The culminating crisis, with civilization collapse, occurred about 2200 B.C. It was signaled by a major reduction in the flow of the Nile. The monsoon migration had suddenly accelerated. In Egypt, the Old Kingdom disintegrated into centuries of anarchy. In Mesopotamia, the Akkadian Empire fell. Harappan civilization in the Indus Valley was nearly destroyed. Climatologists have tried hard to explain the shift in the monsoons. But they have failed. Something is seriously wrong with their models.

Richard Feynman gave us this dictum: "It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with the experiment, it's wrong."

It isn't just that the climate models are demonstrably wrong. There has been substantial cheating as well. The Golden Rule is in play here: "He who has the gold rules." The Establishment recognized that "climate crisis" gives them much more power, and they have the gold. To survive professionally, everyone must fall in line to make it so. Science is not a monastery filled with saints  some willingly cheat.

The cheating has taken multiple forms: the U.S. government, politically motivated, has deliberately shut down temperature monitoring stations in natural woodland settings and relied entirely on similar stations in urban heat islands. Naturally, this imposed bias in siting the measurement apparatus delivers apparent warming.

Major scientific journals have been captured by the climate crisis crowd. Censorship reigns. Only orthodox articles are published. The absence of contrary published research is taken as verification that the climate really is in crisis.

Climate modelers adjust their many controlling parameters to "curve fit" their models to the last few decades. This is analogous to fitting a polynomial to data. In this regard, mathematician John von Neumann sarcastically observed: "Give me four parameters and I will give you an elephant." The problem with curve fitting is that the fit blows up outside the fitted region. We see exactly this with all of the major climate models. They all have predicted a rapid rise in temperature that just hasn't happened.

Yet another problem is the assumption that the sun is constant. This isn't unreasonable because the modelers don't know what to do with the sun. The reality is that the sun blasts the Earth in a variable solar wind of great power. This blows around our magnetic field, which, in turn, modulates our atmosphere. Moreover, the influx of cloud nucleating cosmic rays is also affected by the sun's variability. How can the climate models successfully predict the future when these powerful effects are not understood and are therefore ignored?

Finally, the influence of carbon dioxide on the climate is likely way over-estimated. Carbon dioxide is a very minor contributor to the greenhouse effect; water vapor overwhelmingly dominates. The lower atmosphere is already opaque with carbon dioxide. Adding still more means little.

Besides, carbon dioxide is an essential plant nutrient. Horticulturists tell us that plants flourish in a carbon-rich environment. Commercial greenhouses deliberately increase their carbon dioxide. Conversely, during the Ice Ages, the bitter cold oceans absorbed much of the atmosphere's carbon dioxide. The levels got so low that most plant life was pushed into starvation mode.

So it is reasonable to treat the climate disaster predictions with great skepticism. It is also reasonable to recognize that the Powers that Be likely have a nefarious agenda. So it is best to reject "climate crisis." Don't take this wooden nickel!

Image via Pxhere.
Numbers mean things.

Public companies use numbers to convey the health, growth, and promise of their firm. If their numbers are fake, dont reconcile, or have hidden data not conveyed to the investors, CEOs and CFOs can and do go to prison.

Why should election rolls meet a lesser standard?

Why do election rolls fail to reconcile internally? Why do election rolls have hundreds to thousands of dead people or voters whose address is a church or RV park? Why are citizens forced to pay $12,500, $30,000, or $5,000 for a single copy of their election roll?

Why do most states (likely all) have hundreds to thousands of voters on their rolls born on the same day before World War I? Why do some states allow voters to use a prison as their mailing address?

Voter rolls must be given the same scrutiny as public companies financial statements. They are notits not even close.

Sarbanes-Oxley demands CEOs and CFOs review all financial reports to make certain they do not contain any misrepresentation. Every statement must be fairly presented. No scammy stuff; no sleight of hand.

Secretaries of state and election officials are not required to do any of these things. So, guess what happens?

In Alabama, there are over 3,300 voters on the rolls over the age of 100. The top 9 are over 1,000 years old.

Most Americans have never met someone over 112 years of age. Just go to Alabama: They have 482 of them on their current election roll.

2,500 or more Alabama voters share a phone number, some of whom started using that number in 1972.

There are even 18 active voters in one of their city jails.

Georgia is a very religious place with over 2,500 registered voters who claim to live in a church. Another 600 or more of their pals live in a UPS Box, often calling it an APT.

We did a deep dive on one of them and could not determine if he lived in the UPS location or the Genghis Grille next door.

Like Alabama, Georgia is a healthy place to live.

Some of their voters are 260 years old. Over 1,600 of their current voters are over 112. Maybe one will become the oldest person alive.

These southern states dont own the age thing though. In Michigan, there are over 10,000 people over 100, down from even more a few years ago. Pretty healthy up there.

Thousands of Michiganders live in a location that appears to be a church and over 300 live in that old UPS box. We drilled into one and he seemed to be a UPS Box residentbut maybe it was the Sears Appliance Repair Shop next door. For sure, it was not a residence, like a house.

If you ever visit Branson, Missouri, a very cool Ozark thing, there is a hotel where you can stay...and vote. This hotel has 15 active voters registered at its address. For fun, we called the hotel and asked how long people could stay there. The manager, who does not live there, said most people stayed a few days and never more than a week.

Visit Branson, stay at this nice place, register to vote, and vote in Missouri. Obviously, nobody cares.

Voter rolls dont just fail these identification tests; they fail reconciliation tests, as well. Our friends in Missouri have over 47,000 people classified as inactive yet their roll shows they voted in elections during those years.

North Carolina voters are very fond of the number 9. Why not? Its a nice number.

Several thousand Tarheel voters selected ten 9s as their phone number. For years they have been doing this and nobody seems to notice it. Why would they? Nobody ever looks at voter rolls, until now. Again, who cares?

Image: Post office boxes in Schuyler, Nebraska, by Ammodramus, edited with text. Across America, innumerable registered voters call these home, sweet home. Public domain.

Lets not leave Ohio out of our chat here.

They are more into U. S. Postal Boxes as addresses up there. Over 400 registered voters appear to live in boxes at the local Post Office. One was a close call when we zoomed in on it. We couldnt tell if the guy lived in the Post Office or the Meijer Pharmacy next door.

We found over 600 registered voters at a local university. We sorted them by age, which we now do for all college students, and guess what? The oldest was 103 and the next 260 were 25 and up.

In Pittsburgh, we found the same patterna college with 900 registered voters, with the oldest 105 and most of the 900 over 25, many much older.

In state after state, we find 25 people living in an 1100-square-foot house. Thats pretty hard, particularly if any of them have children or pets. But in every state, we have seen, they appearin droves.

Lets not leave out our Texas friends. In one of its largest cities, there are thousands of ballots that were changed after they were cast. Its not a rumor. Its not a conspiracy theorywe have the data.

We use a new technology called Fractal Programming. It runs 1,000 to a million times faster than any current computer technology. Thats why we can run every state in the country, all 3,200 counties, on a computer you can fit on your dining room table.

We dont just run the voter rolls for the major swing states, we run multiple snapshots of each. In Pennsylvania, we do not look at one voter roll, we look at 31 voter rollseach from a different date. For North Carolina or Georgia, think 40 or 50 snapshots.

We cross-compare every voter roll, from a different date, against every other and we find interesting stufflike the guy in Texas who cast an in-person ballot that was later replaced with a mail-in ballot.

No current technology can find that.

We are working with voter integrity groups in over 30 states. We brought up the large swing states multiple snapshots and turned them over to the voter integrity groups. Well load the rest of the states in mid-February and turn them over to their teams as well.

This is a big system, with well over a billion records, online, instantly searchable from a phone or tablet.

There is a clear conclusion: regardless of state, citizens must constantly audit voter rolls.

America needs a Sarbanes-Oxley equivalent for voter rolls and any candidate for secretary of state must commit to the following:

All voter rolls will be made available without onerous fees. For you political types, that means no more than $100.

The secretary of state will cross-search the voter rolls monthly to identify phantom voters who live in hotels, UPS Boxes, cemeteries, and scores of other non-residential housing units. Then, remove them.

The secretary of state will apply a voter ID numbering sequence incrementing by 1 where any new voters come at the end of the sequence. That eliminates Wisconsin-style voter ID insertions.

90 days before early voting begins, and during early voting, the list of who voted will be made available via a URL so citizens can track who votes and how many times.

The secretary of state and election officials will sign off on the voter roll each year and, if there is fraud found in such a roll, those election executives are liable to criminal prosecution.

If Sarbanes-Oxley is good enough for corporate management, it sure is good enough for election officials who hold in their hands the most important voter resource we possess.
Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 Republican primary reflected the feelings of ordinary Americans that the political class  especially the Republican political class  had betrayed them. Whether these politicians were simply lukewarm conservatives or actual false-flag Democrats was irrelevant. What mattered was that they, along with the Democrats, sold out America through open borders, sending manufacturing to China, and bowing to the racism industry. These same Republicans-who-are-not-conservatives are now working hard to make sure that Trump's MAGA agenda stays good and dead.

The Reuters report alerting me to the congressional Republicans pushing back against MAGA candidates frames them as heroes who are fighting back against "the former president's desire for vengeance." While it's true that Trump is working to keep those House members who voted to impeach him from returning to Congress, the reality is that these House members oppose Trump because they're effectively pro-Democrat. Call them quislings, Vichy Republicans, Manchurian politicians, or what you will, but these are the people who, along with the Democrats, want open borders, China's control over all American production, and the continued ascendency of the racism industry. They hate you as much as the Democrats do.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, I guess, that these Vichy Republicans are getting a lot of support from their fellow Republican congresspeople as they head into their primaries:

At least 71 Republican members of the House of Representatives and Senate transferred money to the campaigns of seven House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection arising from last year's Capitol riot and Senator Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict him. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, and a group aligned with Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, were among those making the donations. [snip] [C]ongressional Republicans are donating to colleagues who Trump has disparaged as "disloyal" and "losers," according to financial disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission ahead of a Monday deadline. The incumbents targeted by Trump ended 2021 with more money in their campaign war chests than any of their challengers, including those backed by Trump.

For those of you who like Elise Stefanik, she's one of the leaders of the anti-MAGA pack, giving $5,000 to Jaime Herrera Beutler, an anti-Trump Republican.



Image: Et tu, Dubya? (cropped and edited in befunky). YouTube screen grab.

It's not just congresscritters who hate ordinary Americans. George W. Bush maxed out on his contributions to Liz Cheney and Lisa Murkowski, two people who are the living embodiment of "Republican in Name Only." In other words, Bush, who helped destroy the Republican brand, hates Trump so much that he'd rather empower Democrats than help Americans. Meanwhile, Scooter Libby, whom Trump pardoned when Bush wouldn't, is attending a Liz Cheney fundraiser. For whatever reason, the word "scum" keeps floating in my mind.

Frankly, for me, this isn't about Trump. It's about the MAGA movement that I'd like to think is bigger even than the man who started it. Every one of those NeverTrumps was and is effectively a pro-Biden person. They are in bed with a Democrat administration that is the most inept, racist, anti-American, tyrannical, corrupt administration in America's history. Whether because they've always been closet Democrats or because their personal dislike for Trump blinds them to all other considerations, they have arrayed themselves with the enemies of ordinary Americans.

I've said before, and I'll say again: this year's primaries matter tremendously. Do not be blinded by snazzy campaign ads from soft-leftist "Republicans" overflowing with ill gotten NeverTrump cash. Pay attention to alliances and principles.
When President Trump called Ukraines president in the summer of 2020, he askedwithout conditionsthat Ukraine investigate whether then-Veep Biden used taxpayer money to force the discharge of a Ukrainian prosecutor who was coming close to Burisma Holdings, which had Hunter Biden on the payroll. Democrats called this an illegal quid pro quo and impeached Trump. It now turns out that Biden was lying big time when he claimed he needed to fire a corrupt prosecutor. In fact, the Obama State Department strongly supported the prosecutor. Biden was just giving Burisma its moneys worth.

In 2016, Ukraines Prosecutor General, Viktor Shokin, was investigating Burisma Holdings. Not coincidentally, Hunter Biden, whose father was then Obamas vice president, was on the companys board and getting $83,000 a month. Hunter did not speak a word of Ukrainian and knew nothing about Ukraine or the oil and gas business. His only benefit to Burisma was his father.

Most people might not have known or cared about these facts were it not for Bidens inability to resist puffing about himself. He showed up at a talk at the Council of Foreign Relations in 2018 and boasted about how he had bullied Ukraines government into firing Shokin before he would release foreign aid money upon which Ukraine depended:

Once the video was made public, alert people figured out that, at the same time that Biden was strong-arming Shokins firing by threatening to withhold taxpayer money, Hunter was a stuffed animal sitting on the board of a deeply corrupt company Shokin was investigating. Hmmm.

When Trump had his 2020 phone call with incoming Ukraine President Zelensky, he first discussed foreign aid. Only after hed wrapped up that discussion did Trump casually ask if Zelensky could look into whether there was any malfeasance involving Biden and Shokins firing. It was this request that the Democrats used to justify impeaching Trump.

Biden helped the Democrats cause by insisting that there was nothing untoward about his conduct. He was, he said, carrying out the Obama administrations official policy of rooting out corruption in Ukraine:

What I did in Ukraine was carry out the official policy of the United States government: to root out corruption in Ukraine in conjunction with our European allies, the International Monetary Fund and its leader, our closest democratic allies, Biden said. It was a fully transparent policy, carried out in front of the whole world, and fully, fully embraced by the international community of democracies.

Now, though, thanks to documents that Just The News and Southeastern Legal Foundation obtained via FOIA, we know that Bidens statement wassurprise!a bald-faced lie. The State Department was completely supportive of Shokin:

We have been impressed with the ambitious reform and anti-corruption agenda of your government, then-Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland personally wrote Shokin in an official letter dated June 9, 2015 that was delivered to the prosecutor two days later by then-U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt.

Nuland, who is now Bidens undersecretary of state, managed to keep this fact a secret during the impeachment. Indeed, she lied under oath to the Senate, telling them that she and other officials in the State department were frustrated by Shokins performance.

Image: Joe Biden boasts about his corruption (edited in befunky). YouTube screen grab.

All this material, of course, was exculpatory when it came to Trump asking Ukraine to investigate possible corruption in the American government. Yet someone at State (or was it Adam Schiff?) withheld this evidence from him.

But while everyone is talking about the impeachment and how Trump was railroaded, Id like to talk about something else: BIDEN LIED!! This was not a little lie about something inconsequential. This was not puffery. This was not a failed memory. This was a bold, deliberate lie that Biden told intending not only to hide his own corruption but also to destroy a sitting president running for reelection.

Looking at the panoply of American presidents, I do not believe that there has ever been anyone as blatantly corrupt as Biden, and thats including Andrew Johnson and Warren G. Harding. And I know with certainty that theres never been an American president who so willingly sold out his own country to the highest bidder, using his debauched, drug-addicted son as his bagman.

It's not clear to me that Biden will face his just deserts in this life. However, to the extent that he claims, however risibly, to be a man of faith, I sincerely hope that, when he departs this earth, he has a true come to Jesus moment with Jesus and that it does not go well for him.
It's not huge news that the Biden administration was a colossal failure on Afghanistan, or that Joe Biden still thinks there's nothing to apologize for.

What's news now is the colossal incompetence that went on inside that administration as Afghanistan was collapsing, according to a leaked memo that Axios got hold of:

Leaked notes from a White House Situation Room meeting the day before Kabul fell shed new light on just how unprepared the Biden administration was to evacuate Afghan nationals who'd helped the United States in its 20-year war against the Taliban. Why it matters: Hours before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan's capital on Aug. 15, 2021, senior Biden administration officials were still discussing and assigning basic actions involved in a mass civilian evacuation. Outsiders were frustrated and suspicious the administration was having plenty of meetings but was stuck in bureaucratic inertia and lacked urgency until the last minute.

While the word "immediately" peppers the document, it's clear officials were still scrambling to finalize their plans  on the afternoon of Aug. 14.

For example, they'd just decided they needed to notify local Afghan staff "to begin to register their interest in relocation to the United States," the document says.

And they were still determining which countries could serve as transit points for evacuees.

It's nasty stuff.

The group involved here, known as the "deputies small group" of lower-level officials in charge of this operational planning, didn't know what they were doing. Apparently, they hadn't even started thinking about evacuating Afghan translators and collaborators until the day the capital fell. Their "Relocations out of Afghanistan" meeting began at 3:30 P.M. on August 14 and ended a mere hour later, the same day the Taliban was marching into Kabul in triumph, flashing their flags, waving their captured rifles, and riding in stolen American military vehicles.

They were a little slow on the uptake, and in any case, they didn't give this issue much attention at all. They had no idea whom they needed to get out of there. They had no idea where to take them for stopovers. In the end, they transported people who couldn't get visas the normal way, while the actual allies, and a lot of Americans, were simply left behind, out of sight, out of mind, no problematic "optics" for Team Biden, which is the only thing they cared about.

I don't see anything at all on the issue of abandoned and stolen U.S. military equipment, some $85 billion's worth, making the Taliban the most armed-up military outside the U.S. It may be that they never got around to that at all.

While these slow Joes were getting their act together on the evacuations, the other Joe, the Big Guy, Joe Biden, was even more out of it. He was refusing to take phone calls from our allies, including Ally Number One, Britain, and its prime minister, Boris Johnson, who tried to get through multiple times. Little did he know, Biden had better things to do on his five-day vacation at Camp David. His secretary of state, Antony Blinken, was also vacationing  in the croquet-loving preppie seersucker-suited Hamptons, being a man of priorities and all.

Axios notes that they had plenty of warnings about how south the whole thing could go, well before the disastrous August 1415 weekend:

"I kept being told by people in the [White House] the thing they were most concerned about was the optics of a chaotic evacuation," said Matt Zeller, a former CIA officer who contacted administration officials in February 2021 about protecting Afghans who worked with the Americans. "They treated us like we were Chicken Little. They didn't believe the sky was falling."

"On the 13th of July, we offered to work with them to help evacuate our partners," Zeller added. "We all saw this disaster coming before the inevitable occurred. They didn't get back to us until Aug 15, the day Kabul fell."

They really were sure they were dealing with normal people in trusting the Taliban not to attack the capital and imagining that nobody would really want to get out of Afghanistan as they did. This, despite the fact that in the preceding weeks, regional capital after regional capital was falling to the Taliban. I noticed the emerging chaos on Aug. 8 and wondered if there was a plan. On Aug. 14, the very day that the memo meeting Axios cited took place, I wondered again if there was a plan and wrote this for AT:

Third, what's going on with the refugees, many of whom have collaborated with the U.S. and have legitimate reasons to flee. Anybody plan for that? Biden announced his pullout in April and apparently nothing was done. According to this piece here, Biden officials are scrambling to find some, any, country that can take some of them at least temporarily, starting with the 80,000 in the Kabul perimeter with obviously more outside. They're trying to muscle Albania and Kosovo into taking them, while Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, have all said no. Putin's Russia might have been a good place to put them, given Russia's spacious land and its huge Central Asian population, but Biden blew up that bridge earlier with his insults to Putin, he apparently never planned for that. Meanwhile, the refugees are desperate, given that they are crowded into broiling hot Kabul with no housing, no food, no services. Some are threatening to set themselves on fire if they don't get papers. And in reality, they should be shown mercy, these are real refugees, not people in designer clothes with cash to pay smugglers in a quest for a bigger benefits package. No planning, nobody home.

I am not an Afghanistan specialist and don't pay much attention to Afghanistan affairs, but it turned out the Bidenites paid even less. To them, a withdrawal of U.S. troops (before civilians) would all go swimmingly, there would be no "Saigon-style" trouble, all Joe needed to do was beg the Taliban not to take over the embassy, and Joe would have his 9/11 closure speech to boost his poll numbers. For Joe, it was always all about the optics.

Instead, it was the biggest military disaster the U.S. has ever experienced, a national humiliation, a message to Russia and China about U.S. leadership and military readiness, and a grotesque wholesale defeat impossible to conceal from the television cameras. Unless there's a victory somewhere, somewhere else, which would necessitate a very unpopular war, this global view is not going to change any because everybody saw it. In the span of a few days, Joe squandered the perception of U.S. military invincibility, which was a tremendous tool for projecting U.S. power abroad, and instead turned the U.S. into a huge exclamation mark for incompetence, a butt of global scorn, still ringing like a bell from hell from us.

Worse still, Biden fired no one, signaling his satisfaction with this turn of events, and after that brazenly told the outraged American people, "I make no apologies" and have " no regrets." "I can still stand," he yawped at that news conference, before offering to do push-ups.

The incompetence isn't something that came and went with the news cycle. It still has consequences.

Axios links to an Atlantic piece that ran a day earlier about how bad it was for the translators as Biden and his staff crowed about the war's end:

But the war wasn't over  not for Afghans, not even for some Americans. A week after Biden's speech, a group of refugee advocates  many of them veterans of the 9/11 wars  released a report on the dire situation of the thousands of Afghans who'd worked at great risk for the United States during its two decades in their country. In 2009, Congress had created the Special Immigrant Visa to honor the service of qualified Afghans by bringing them to safety in the U.S. But the SIV program set up so many procedural hurdles  Form DS-230, Form I-360, a recommendation from a supervisor with an unknown email address, a letter of employment verification from a long-defunct military contractor, a statement describing threats  that combat interpreters and office assistants in a poor and chaotic war zone couldn't possibly hope to clear them all without the expert help of immigration lawyers, who themselves had trouble getting answers. The program, chronically understaffed and clogged with bureaucratic choke points across multiple agencies, seemed designed to reject people. Year after year, administrations of both parties failed to grant even half the number of visas allowed by Congress  and sometimes granted far less  or to meet its requirement that cases be decided within nine months. By 2019, the average wait time for an applicant was at least four years.

They didn't even start their planning until Aug. 14, and by then, it was too late for them. They are still on their own, and word is out about the worth of America's word to its allies and collaborators. You can bet we won't get many more after this one.

The Bidenites never even got started on planning for their welfare as they insisted on pulling out of Afghanistan at any price. No wonder veterans of that war are heartsick. No wonder Afghanistan is now a hellhole and America's name is mud. That's Joe Biden's legacy now, that's his monument, and he's culpable. He ought to be impeached for this, which unfortunately is unlikely. For those of us who are left, at a minimum, it must not be forgotten.

Image: Screen shot from NBC Nightly News via YouTube.
The only thing that's more tiring than the COVID-19 obsession is the ongoing witch hunt obsession with Donald Trump.

President Clinton gave U.S. technology and advanced military weapons know-how to China, but no one is obsessing over hunting him down to finish him off.

Obama put critical U.S. assets off-limits, such as low-pollution coal, to send business to his old home in Indonesia. Yet no one calls a search party to apprehend him for declaring U.S. coal reserve areas "historic sites."

So why on Earth is there a nearly psychotic obsession with destroying Donald Trump and his family? Is the left that afraid that it may not have a candidate who can compete in 2024 for the miserable Oval Office job of trying to undo all the damage Biden did during his term?

What's wrong with resurrecting Al Gore or ponying-up Hillary? It's not as if she ran off with top secrets in her laptop and hid it in her bathroom or anything, right? Even if she did, the mainstream media wouldn't give an investigation like that the time of day. They still haven't held Hunter accountable for his laptop.

Yet the Washington Post reports that the House committee sent a letter to Trump's daughter, seeking her testimony. The Independent of London says Ivanka Trump is "isolated and frustrated." Can you blame her? Do they ever stop?

Whom will they go after next? Donald Trump, Jr.? Oh, yeah, they are doing that, too. Even Melania is not off-limits.

Now they're trying to subpoena phone records of Eric Trump's girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle. Does it ever end? It's like the Whack-a-Mole carnival game. The faster you bop them on the head, the quicker they pop up again.

Newsweek recently ran a story titled "Donald Trump Can Be Arrested over Jan 6. Subpoenas." Its first sub-heading was "Jail for Trump," under which the author wrote that failure to comply with a congressional subpoena is a criminal offense punishable with a fine and up to a one-year prison sentence.

And what is this about? That Donald Trump was behind a January 6 rally? That's free speech. If everyone urging people to attend rallies were arrested and incarcerated for other people's actions, there'd be no one left to be wardens to police the inmates!

And speaking of "policing," leftists don't limit their attack against a past president. They seem to demonize any authority other than their own  including the police! Defund the Police! Yeah, now there's a respective movement worth promoting through mainstream media. Barf bag, please. At least the Albany Herald in New York had the decency to stand up for police in a recent editorial, "Police Are Human, Too," by policeman Michael Letts from Columbia, S.C.

This isn't right. This isn't the America I grew up in. It's called character assassination. It's un-American  and it must stop.

Jerry McGlothlin is a freelance writer who showcases issues that make a moral difference in a world going to heck in a handbasket, encouraging courageous souls to stand up for what is right.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Canada's truckers are pushing back against tyrannical COVID restrictions that have made life a misery in that once free nation. The government will not yield, and the establishment  politicians and their propaganda (i.e., "news") outlets  using both defamatory statements and efforts at physical force to remove the truckers from Ottawa, but the truckers won't go, and the locals seem to be on their side.

One of the things that's not being said about Canada's draconian rules, which have culminated, most recently, in a mandate that anyone entering the country must show proof of vaccination, is that COVID is not a big deal. Despite the Western world's refusal to allow early treatment for COVID with well known, safe antivirals, the COVID mortality rate for people under 65 is less than 1%. It would almost certainly be significantly lower if treatments were allowed.

Instead, the world's leaders are doubling down on forcing vaccines onto people and, in Canada, continuing lockdowns and mask mandates. At this point, these policies have nothing to do with saving lives and everything to do with erasing the last vestiges of liberty in once free countries. You will obey.

But then there are the Canadian truckers, rugged individualists who resent the fact that they are being denied a livelihood shipping goods between Canada and the United States unless they show an electronic vaccine passport. The truckers have captured the imagination of those in the world who still value freedom with their 45-mile-long convoy through the country and the huge and rapturous crowds that have met them in Ottawa, Canada's capital.

The multi-vaccinated Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, announced that he could not meet with them because he had COVID. Think about that: he's forcing on them vaccinations he is proving are useless. Then he went into hiding in a secret location, afraid of his own citizens.

But from his secret location, Trudeau has vilified the truckers. The truckers, mind you, are single-issue protesters: stop the COVID madness. No forced masks, lockdowns, or vaccines. But look how Trudeau defines them:

Today in the House, Members of Parliament unanimously condemned the antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia that weve seen on display in Ottawa over the past number of days. Together, lets keep working to make Canada more inclusive.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 1, 2022

He genuinely despises the ordinary middle- and working-class people of the country he leads.

By the way, this is also Trudeau:

He likes blackface. A lot.

The Globe and Mail, which is Canada's version of CNN, The New York Times, MSNBC, and The WaPo put together, is cranking out defamatory articles. My favorite is the one entitled "Ottawa police probe desecration of monuments by trucker convoy protests." Like me, I bet you're thinking of American monuments in the summer of 2020 after BLM was finished with them: covered with spray-painted obscenities, splattered with paint, and often dragged down by a roaring mob.



Image: Terry Fox statue "desecrated." (He does look kind of shocked to be attired in his country's flag.) YouTube screen grab.

But if you scroll through the article, you'll see one lonely picture of a "desecrated" monument. It's a sculpture of Terry Fox, a single-leg amputee who ran across Canada in 1980 for cancer awareness. He is much admired for his courage. So how did those truckers desecrate this humanitarian's statue? They draped a Canadian flag around its shoulders, put a hat on its head, tucked a flagpole with an allegedly upside-down flag in the crook of an elbow, and balanced a sign on his chest reading "Mandate Freedom."

Ratcheting its hysteria even higher, The Globe and Mail also said (I kid you not) that people shouldn't be fooled by the fact that the protests are "peaceful." That's because of their "non-violent dangers." And what are those dangers? Racism! Islamophobia! The usual. (Although mysteriously enough, the G&M article has no photos of this overt racism. I wonder why not...)

And then there's this marvelous video, in which a woman explains what happened when another politico, in this case, the Mayor of Ottawa, tried to have the trucks towed:

Towing companies reportedly support the truckers and will not help the Mayor of Ottawa pic.twitter.com/EVwCHpefHs  The Juggernaut (@TheJuggernaut88) February 1, 2022

What we're seeing in Ottawa is the end of the lie that our politicians are people just like the rest of us. Well, the fact is that they are like the rest of us: they put their pants on one leg at a time, although I'd say many are dumber than most, although more credentialed. However, they hold power, and, more importantly, they believe themselves to be superior to the people whose lives they control. Their fake populism is being exposed, and they're frightened and lashing out.
Three months after Hitler invaded Poland triggering a series of nasty and costly wars across the world, the Soviet Union took the opportunity to invade Finland to settle some longstanding political issues, mostly to take land from Finland to use it as a buffer between the newly christened city of Leningrad and the rising power of Nazi Germany. The Finnish fought hard in freezing temperatures and repelled Soviet attacks for two months, inflicting substantial losses on the invaders initially. But the Red Army came back hard and overcame Finnish defenses during the later stages of the war. Hostilities finally ceased with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty, but it was Finland who got the short end of the stick. They were forced to ceded substantial territory to the Soviet Union amounting to nearly one-tenth of their entire land, which translated to a loss of 30 percent of its economic assets. Understandably, the conditions of the peace treaty left Finland bitter. The world was sympathetic to the Finnish cause and the Soviet aggression was deemed unjustified. Fifteen months later, when Nazi Germany prepared for an invasion of the Soviet Union, Finland joined in hoping that a combined attack would bring the mighty Soviet Union down to its knees and Finland would regain its lost territories. This second conflict was called the Continuation War.

Finnish soldiers celebrate after recapturing Viborg in August 1941.

Finland with the help of Hitlers army managed to drive back the Soviet army and by the summer of 1941, just three months into the war, Finland had regained all of its territory that it had lost to the Soviet Union during the Winter War and more. As the Red Army retreated from the city of Vyborg on the Karelian Isthmus, about 130 km to the northwest of St. Petersburg, they hid radio-controlled mines throughout the region.

At first the Finns wondered at the strange mine explosions that seemed to go off at random times. They suspected they might be time-triggered. Then on August 28, 1941, the Finnish army found around 600 kg of explosive charge installed under the Moonlight Bridge. The charge was rigged to a strange device, apparently the trigger. The troops quickly delivered the device to the Communications Department where Captain of Engineering Jouko Pohjanpalo, an expert in radio communications, dismantled the device and discovered that the trigger was radio controlled. Inside the radio receiver were three sound irons that oscillated at specific frequencies. When the three of them vibrated together, in response to a three-note chord that was played on the frequency the radio was tuned to, the mine exploded.

Map of the areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War 1940. Image: Wikimedia Commons

In order to prevent the Soviets from triggering the mines, they needed a jamming signal at that specific frequency. Usually, a jamming frequency is a high-powered white noise, but in this case the triggering frequency was 715 kHz, which was within the AM band used by radio. Any signal broadcast on that frequency could be heard on a radio receiver tuned to that particular frequency. So why not transmit music at the jamming frequency instead of random noise? A fast-paced polka song called Sakkijarvi polkka was chosen and was played on loop 24 hours a day by the Finnish public broadcasting company Yleisradio. When the Russians realized what the Finns were doing, they changed the triggering frequency. In the meantime, an examination of the dismantled triggers had revealed that radio mines could be operated on three different radio frequencies. So the Finns began playing Sakkijarvi polkka on all the three frequencies. This continued non stop for three months, until the batteries in the mines had depleted. The strategy was so effective that out of one thousand or so mines in the city, only 12 went off.

After the war, Sakkijarvi polkka became one of the country's most prized national mementos, a sort of honorary national anthem, as it signified their defiance against the Soviets' occupation. Over the years the polka has become popularized by a number of musical groups such as Viljo "Vili" Vesterinen, the Oulu Hotshots, and Netta Skog.

Listen to this famous Finnish folk song below.
BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Tuesday refuted the adoption of China-related resolution by Japan's House of Representatives, stressing that Japan has no authority whatsoever to make wanton remarks about other countries' human rights conditions.

Earlier in the day, Japan's House of Representatives adopted a resolution related to China's human rights conditions, which expressed concerns about so-called human rights issues in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Hong Kong.

The so-called resolution about human rights adopted by the Japan's House of Representatives is extremely vile in nature, Zhao said in a statement, noting it disregards facts and truth, maliciously denigrates China's human rights conditions, gravely violates international law and basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs.

The so-called human rights issues claimed by the Japanese side are purely China's internal affairs, bear on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and allow no irresponsible comment by any external forces, he stressed.

With a deplorable track record in human rights, Japan has no authority whatsoever to make wanton remarks about other countries' human rights conditions, Zhao said, noting that Japan committed innumerous crimes during the war of aggression it waged in the past.

Some Japanese politicians, in utter disregard of overall China-Japan relations and norms of state-to-state interaction, went to great lengths to piece together the so-called resolution, Zhao said, stressing "this is a severe political provocation against the Chinese people."

The Chinese government and people are firmly resolved to defend national sovereignty, security and development interests, he stressed, adding that the competent official in China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side.

"The Chinese side reserves the right to take further measures, " said the spokesperson.
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has asked the state government how it could ban the exhibition of the Chintamani Natakam if a character in the play was unacceptable.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the court also asked as to how exhibition was banned as no such ban was imposed on the book titled Chintamani.

The government pleader told the court that this was done based on a representation received by the government.

The court, in response, asked the government to place the representation before it and directed it to file a counter affidavit by next Monday.
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(Image source from: twitter.com/TelanganaCMO)

KCR calls the Union Budget a Golmaal One with No Direction:- The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Union Budget 2022 in the Parliament house today. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the budget calling it the one for the common man. Telangana Chief Minister and TRS President KCR revealed that he is deeply disappointed with the budget allocation and called it a Golmaal Budget. He said that he was disappointed badly with the budget as it ignored the farmers, salaried employees and various sections of the society including SCs and STs. The BJP-led government has no intent and it is a useless budget told KCR in a statement during his media interaction this afternoon. He said that the budget was hollow.

"The NDA government heaped praises on themselves and this is an insult for the commonman. It did not project the facts. The budget is a big zero for farmers as the Centre is not focused on helping the farmers. Even the handloom sector has no offerings or benefits. The employees are left behind and the small traders will not get any benefits. The trading community too are not getting any benefits and the salaried class are left disappointed. The Centre also neglected the healthcare and the field of infrastructure. There are no efforts kept to develop the health sector and the medical fields even after the arrival of the coronavirus" told KCR.

Telangana MP and BJP President Bandi Sanjay Kumar called the budget a revolutionary one and the future of the country is in the hands of the BJP.

(Video Source: NTV Telugu)
North Andover, MA (01845)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 69F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. Low around 45F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
North Andover, MA (01845)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 69F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. Low around 45F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Recently, Google started publishing changelogs for its Google Play System updates. Thanks to this, we understood all the changes last months update brought to the devices. Now, the company is rolling out a new February 2022 Google Play System update.

The support page for this new update also includes the official changelog. It mentions all the new changes the devices will receive with the February 2022 Google Play System update.

Notably, according to the support page, the latest update mainly fixes several bugs related to device connectivity, safety, emergency, system, and more.

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Furthermore, it also includes fixes for the Play Stores Play-as-you-go download feature. This latest February 2022 Google Play System update also adds new app discovery, enhancements for Google Play Billing, and new Play Pass and Play Points features as well.

To view the complete changelog for the latest Google Play System update, you can head over here. With the new update, Play Protect will also continuously bring improvements to safeguard your device.

Google Play Store changes will arrive with the Google Play Store v29.2 starting February 8

Google has also improved the performance of downloads and installations on the Google Play Store. The improvement to the Play-as-you-go feature will allow users to start playing mobile games, while they are being downloaded to reduce waiting times.

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Overall, the update is quite feature-loaded, and thanks to the availability of the official changelog, we now know all the changes you should expect from a new Google Play System update.

It also includes some new developer features. These developer features will help Google and third-party app developers support ads, accessibility, machine learning, and AI-related processes in their apps.

As noted on the official support page, all the critical bug fixes for device connectivity, developer services, safety and emergency, system management, and other services will reach users with the Google Play System update for February.

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On the other hand, all the mentioned Google Play Store changes, including improvements in Play-as-you-go, new app discovery feature, Play Pass and Play Points program changes, etc., will go live with Google Play Store v29.2 starting February 8th.

Whereas the developer services and system management changes mentioned in the official changelog will be available beginning February 10 via Google Play services v22.06.2.

Comparing the Google Play System February update with the January update shows it is a nearly identical list. In fact, last months update packed in more goodies as compared to the upcoming update.
Posted on: February 2, 2022 11:02 AM

The Archbishops Council considers a proposal to change the make-up of the body which nominates future Archbishops of Canterbury.

The Church of Englands Archbishops Council has launched a consultation on a proposal to change the make-up of the body which nominates future Archbishops of Canterbury. The proposal would give the worldwide Anglican Communion a greater voice on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) for the See of Canterbury.

Currently, the entire Communion outside of the Church of England is represented by just one of the 16 voting members, compared to six from the Diocese of Canterbury.

The proposal would increase the Anglican Communion representatives to five, while reducing the number of members from the diocese to three. There would also be nine other members from the Church of England, including six elected by General Synod.

The proposal is to be discussed at the Anglican Consultative Councils Standing Committee meeting later this month and will also be discussed at the Primates Meeting in March.

The consultation, which will include key partners from across the Anglican Communion and the Church of England, will run until 31 March. It is expected that a final proposal will be put to the C of Es General Synod for a vote in July.
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The order said that any violation of Covid-19 norms will result in prosecution under sections 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, section 189 of the IPC as well as other applicable laws. (DC)

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to extend the night curfew by two weeks until February 14 in order to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the state.

Principal secretary of health, medical and family welfare Anil Kumar Singhal issued GO no. 48 in this regard on Tuesday.

The order said that any violation of Covid-19 norms will result in prosecution under sections 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, section 189 of the IPC as well as other applicable laws.

The state government had imposed a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am between January 18 to 31.
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(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 2 - Artificial intelligence and Big Data will boost people's health, Israel's Expo Dubai 2020 commissioner Elazar Cohen said at the "Artificial Intelligence & Cybersecurity for human health" international event organized by Italy, Israel and the United Arab Emirates at the Italian pavilion at the world's fair.

"Faced with the pandemic, I think the theme of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity in health is something really significant," said Cohen.

"The world is changing very fast an we must be very flexible in order to adapt.

"I think artificial intelligence and Big Data are already giving their contribution in health, in the pharmaceutical sector, in medical devices." Cohen recalled that he had been lucky enough to sign the first accord between Italy and Israel on research and development and technology, in 2000, along with then industry minister and future premier and Democratic Party leader Enrico Letta.

"We must make every effort to create synergies between Italy, Israel and the UAE", said Cohen. (ANSA).


(ANSAmed) - DUBAI, 02 FEB - Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday opened the national day dedicated to Spain at Expo 2020 Dubai, during an official ceremony under the iconic dome of Al Wasl Plaza. "This is Spain: solidarity, creativity and innovation" and with the Emirates "we will develop a strategic partnership to contribute to stability and regional and global prosperity, to promote human rights, to participate in multilateral efforts to deal with the challenges of climate change", the prime minister said.



"Our most urgent priority is to overcome the pandemic. Spain and the Emirates have successful vaccination campaigns that have become international" and we both "understand that international solidarity to fight Covid-19 is a moral duty. My country is committed to offering over 50 million vaccines with a particular focus on Latin America and Africa".



Spain and the Emirates "continue to walk together in these efforts and, in this regard, we will sign an important agreement today", stressed Sanchez.



During economic recovery, "Spain and the Emirates will continue to cooperate. We want to increase jobs, opportunities of investment and development projects. We are proud to have 200 of our best companies here and am expanding Spanish community.



Our community is expected to grow above the EU average in the coming years" and "we are attracting an increasing number of Emirati and international investments", said the Spanish premier.



The Spanish prime minister was welcomed at the official ceremony by the Emirati minister of tolerance and general commissioner of Expo 2020 Dubai, Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.



"The Emirates and Spain share a deep friendship that culminated in bilateral exchanges that exceeded 2 billion dollars" and we hope "to expand our horizon of collective efforts in several areas of common interest, like food, security, education and cultural exchanges".



After the ceremony, the Spanish premier walked to Spain's pavilion to visit the country's exhibition space, accompanied by the general commissioner of Expo Dubai. In the afternoon, he will take part in a press conference at the Spanish pavilion.



Sanchez arrived last night in the Emirates as part of an official visit, 11 years since the last trip by a Spanish head of government to the Gulf country. The premier will hold a round of political and economic meetings aimed at promoting investments in Spain. During the visit, a memorandum of agreement will be signed between the Emirati sovereign fund Mubadala to help Emirati investments in the European country.



The agenda of the Spanish premier's visit includes a meeting in Dubai with Emirati vice president and prime minister, Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum, and a meeting in Abu Dhabi with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and de-facto ruler, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Madrid has reassured that during the trip there will be no contacts between Sanchez and king emeritus Joan Carlos, who has been living in Abu Dhabi since August 2020, as he waits for prosecutors to complete investigations on him.



(ANSAmed)
Covid: West Bank schools, nurseries close starting tomorrow Measure for next two weeks

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, FEBRUARY 2 - The Palestinian health ministry has ordered the closure of schools and nurseries starting on Thursday until February 12 due to the spread of the Covid pandemic, the official Wafa news agency reports. The news agency said this period will be used to organize a vaccination campaign for students. Contrary to the West Bank, Gaza will keep schools open at least until February 17.



Yesterday, according to local media, a total number of 11,000 cases were reported: 8,500 in the West Bank and 2,500 in Gaza.



Since the start of the pandemic, over 5,000 Palestinians have died due to the virus. (ANSAmed)
Migrants die of hypothermia at Turkey-Greece border At least 12 fatalities, Turkish TV reports

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, 02 FEB - At least 12 migrants have died due to cold weather near the border between Greece and Turkey, Turkish State broadcaster Trt reported, quoting the interior ministry.



According to the ministry's statement, the migrants were allegedly pushed back by Greek border guards towards Turkey while they were trying to illegally cross into Greece. Turkish authorities reportedly found a group of 22 migrants, whose clothes and shoes had been taken away, near the border crossing of Ipsala, including 12 who had died of hypothermia. (ANSAmed).




Syria: 4 killed, 22 wounded in attack north of Aleppo - NGO In alleged Kurdish retaliation after Turkish raids in north-east

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, 02 FEB - At least four people have been killed and 22 wounded, according to a provisional toll expected to rise in the coming hours, following a rocket attack Wednesday against an area full of civilians north of Aleppo in northern Syria, in an area under forces controlled by Turkey, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.



The UK-based monitoring group said the attack occurred in al Bab, a town north-east of Aleppo close to the border line between the area controlled by local Kurdish forces led by the anti-Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).



According to the NGO, the attack on al Bab struck a road full of shops crowded with civilians. Some of those wounded are in serious condition and the death toll could rise.



During the night, the PKK in Syria denounced Turkish air raids against a power plant in northeastern Syria which reportedly killed four people.



Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack on al Bab but local sources alleged that the rockets were fired by PKK artillery located beyond Turkish lines. (ANSAmed).




Turkey-Armenia: first direct commercial flights start today Steps for normalization after two-year break

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 2 - The first direct commercial flights between Turkey and Armenia are resuming on Wednesday after two years as part of a normalization process in relations between the two countries that started recently.



The first flight of low-cost Moldavian company FlyOne, which has a branch in Armenia, is expected early in the evening at the international airport of Istanbul, coming from Yerevan. Another, operated by Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines, will take off late tonight from the other airport of Istanbul, the Sabiha Gokcen, for the Armenian capital. Pegasus Airlines will operate three flights a week, while FlyOne will have two. (ANSAmed).




Egypt buys howitzers for $1.7 billion from South Korea After 2.6 billion dollars of U.S. weapons bought in January

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, FEBRUARY 2 - Egypt has signed a contract worth 1.66 billion dollars (1.5billion euros) to buy South Korean howitzers, the Egyptian army announced on Wednesday, just a week after Washington approved an important arms sale to Cairo.



The memorandum of agreement was signed yesterday at the presence of Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki and the head of the administration of the program to buy weapons of South Korea, Kang Eun-Ho.



The agreement provides for the "management and joint production of the howitzers system K9A1" in local weapons factories with South Korean conglomerate Hanwha, said a spokesman of the Egyptian army in a statement.



The value of the agreement was not revealed but South Korea already said that it was worth over 2 trillion of South Korean won (some 1.5 billion euros) and represents "the largest export" of K9 howitzers, said the office of the South Korean president.



The agreement comes after the signature in January of an accord on the sales of arms for a value of 2.6 billion dollars (2.3 billion euros) between Egypt and the United States: transactions that obscure the suspension of military aid worth 130 million dollars inflicted on Egypt because of its lack of progress on the respect of human rights, abuses that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has constantly denied. (ANSAmed).




Due to the night curfew, Yakshagana Mela (troups) were forced to change timings and Kambala events (Buffalo Race) were suspended. (Photo: PTI)

Mangaluru: After the withdrawal of the night curfew in the state, cultural and religious events like Kambala, Yakshagana and Rathotsav will now be held as they used to be held earlier.

Due to the night curfew, Yakshagana Mela (troups) were forced to change timings and Kambala events (Buffalo Race) were suspended. Temples had to make changes in the annual Chariot festivals (Rathotsav).

However, the state government has withdrawn the night curfew from Jan 31.

Following this normalcy has returned in all the activities.

During the night curfew, we had changed the timing of Yakshagana shows. After the state government decided to withdraw the night curfew, From Feb 1 shows are being held as per the schedule. Chowki Pooja is held at 8.30 pm and the show is held overnight, Kateel temple hereditary archak Sriharinarayanadasa Asranna told Deccan Chronicle.

Similarly, the Kambala Committee too has prepared a revised timetable and is awaiting permission from the District Administration.
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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
A new collection of books, documents and artefacts belonging to pioneering 20th-century writer James Joyce will shed light on his close relationship with his protege Samuel Beckett, experts have said.

Joyces grandson, Stephen James Joyce, and his wife Solange, have donated letters and telegrams between the two influential Irish writers, along with personal items including pens, rings, and a manuscript of his poetry collection, to the University of Reading.

The donations will be accessible to anyone via appointment with the universitys collections service, alongside its existing Samuel Beckett Collection.

A telegram sent by Beckett to the Ulysses author in Paris on his 49th birthday is among the items in the collection, which reads: Teems of times and happy returns. Beckett.

Dr Mark Nixon, an English Literature researcher at the University of Reading and co-director of its Beckett International Foundation, describes the document as a historic gem.

Solange and Stephen James Joyce at their wedding, with Samuel Beckett (who was the best man) in the foreground (Sean Sweeney/University of Reading/PA)

The unusual birthday telegram from Beckett to Joyce says much about them as friends, he said.

Short and sweet, the playful language hints at a shared sense of humour and shows the respect Beckett had for the writer who greatly influenced his own writing style.

The new collection silver-plates the relationship we knew existed between Beckett and Joyce, with their personal correspondence shedding fresh light on the closeness between the two.

Such gems among the collection will prove invaluable to those studying these two historic writers.

Other documents in the collection include several letters to Joyce from Beckett and other writers including Brave New World author HG Wells, and from his friends Harriet Shaw Weaver and Paul Leon.

Visitors will also be able to survey a necklace belonging to Joyces wife Nora, a handwritten poem expressing his love for her, called Ecce Puer, and a manuscript of his poetry book titled Chamber Music.

Edward Beckett, the nephew of the Waiting For Godot author, welcomed the joining together of the two writers collections.

It is wonderful to have the Beckett and Joyce archives together under the same roof, he said.

The two writers were close friends and their Estates and families had also stayed close.

That it was possible to unite their literary archives is an achievement to applaud.

Birthday greetings telegram from Samuel Beckett to James Joyce, February 2 1931 (The Beckett Estate/University of Reading/PA)

Professor Robert Van de Noort, vice-chancellor of the University of Reading, said the treasured artefacts will be much-used by researchers and the public.

James Joyce was a writer who transformed our ideas about the world, about creativity and about humanity, he said.

His letters, manuscripts and artefacts are rightly treasured but we are taking this collection not just to protect it but to share it.

Due to the extraordinary scale and breadth of the published material, I know that the collection will be heavily used by researchers, scholars and the public at all levels of study and from around the world.

It will of course enhance teaching, learning and research within our own University community and will inspire even more innovation and creativity in how collections are accessed, used and understood in an increasingly digital world.

Guy Baxter, head of archive services at the university, said staff are working hard to catalogue the collection to make it easily accessible.

The introduction of The Solange And Stephen James Joyce Collection collection has been announced on the 140th anniversary of the writers birth, and on the centenary of the publication of his flagship novel, Ulysses.
Michael Gove defended the funding of landmark levelling up promises launched on Wednesday as he insisted the Government will change the economic model of this country.

The Levelling Up Secretary said there are 12 big missions the Government wants to achieve by 2030 in order to improve the lives of those outside London and the South East.

But his Labour counterpart, Lisa Nandy, criticised the Levelling Up White Paper as being a series of rehashed announcements, some of which are so old they were actually originally made by Gordon Brown when he was the Labour prime minister in 2008.

The White Paper will set out a series of wide-ranging national missions  from improving public transport to ensuring access to 5G broadband  to be enshrined in law.

But Mr Gove was asked how much of the money committed to the plans is fresh funding.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: What were doing is were taking numbers from a Treasury spreadsheet and transforming it into real change in peoples lives.

Speaking on LBC, he said: Theres a difference between Rishi (Sunak) announcing that hes going to give me money and me spending it.

But if you are in Wolverhampton or Sheffield, and youre getting new cash to invest in your city centre, that is new money.

(PA Graphics)

Mr Gove suggested he has asked the Chancellor for more cash to play with for the measures, telling Today: Well, in this life we never get everything we want, but, in the words of Mick Jagger, you might not always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need.

Treasury Chief Secretary Simon Clarke later said the Government had committed a fresh 150 billion across all departments.

Speaking on the BBCs World At One he conceded this was not all earmarked for levelling up, but insisted it underpins our wider work on all of these areas.

That money is heavily targeted at those communities that need it the most, he said.

However, leading health expert Professor Michael Marmot suggested the Government had not invested enough.

The 5-6 billion currently allocated to levelling up is tiny given the historic scale of the problem, he said.

Mr Goves reliance that the money he is putting in will trickle down to those who will benefit is, simply, inappropriate by an order of magnitude.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer added: Todays set of repackaged, rehashed and recycled announcements is yet another sign the Conservatives are out of ideas and out of energy.

A Labour government would be focused on enabling communities across the UK to thrive, providing security and prosperity for all.

The promise to level up forgotten and deprived communities was a key theme of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons 2019 general election campaign which saw the Tories make huge gains in Labours previously impregnable red wall heartlands.

In all, the White Paper includes 12 national missions to be achieved by 2030 to be enshrined in a flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

Mr Gove, who will deliver a statement to the Commons later, said mistakes had been made by parties of both colours and that one of the things in the past is there have been sincere and committed attempts by politicians left and right to deal with this.

But nothing as comprehensive or as long term as the plan that were setting out today, he said.

However, Labour MP Yvette Cooper said that, despite promises, those in the North of England have yet to see any changes.

The shadow home secretary told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Theres an awful lot of talk about levelling up, but its not what people are actually seeing on the ground.

We want to see support for our towns, support for our transport systems.

Yvette Cooper said people in the North of England have yet to see any changes (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

She said that investment in Castleford in her constituency announced in the Governments plan doesnt outweigh the huge scale of cuts in the area over the last decade, adding that cuts to buses and trains have recently been announced.

However, Tracy Brabin, Labour Mayor of West Yorkshire, said there is lots to be pleased about in the plan for the UK, although the devil is going to be in the detail.

(PA Graphics)

She told Today: Its like a love letter to levelling up, isnt it?

Lots of ambition, lots of hope, but unless you actually have the money and the resources, you are going to be struggling.

The Northern Research Group of Conservative MPs welcomed the Governments ambitions.

A spokesman said: We are happy that not only has the Government set out a bold timescale in which to deliver levelling up by 2030, but that the Government has also embraced many of the ideas set out by the Northern Research Group, including attracting foreign direct investment devolution and driving up educational skills and standards.

This demonstrates that the best ideas to drive the future economy of the North are derived from the North.
Simon Cowell has been pictured with his arm in a cast after reports he injured himself falling off an electric bike.

The music mogul and Britains Got Talent judge, 62, is said to have taken a tumble over the bikes handlebars while out riding near his home in West London, The Sun said.

The accident is his second on an electric bike, following a crash in August 2020 in the US, which saw him break his back and undergo six hours of surgery which involved having a metal rod inserted.

From left to right: Judges David Walliams, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon arrive for Britains Got Talent auditions (PA)

A source told The Sun that The X Factor boss, who was reportedly not wearing a helmet, was lucky to be alive and that passers-by had stopped to help him.

He was taken to hospital and given an X-ray, the source said, adding: Simon was eventually released that evening  his arm in a yellow cast all the way up to the shoulder  and told to rest.

Despite this being his second great escape, Simon insists hes not ditching the bike  but he will start wearing a helmet.

Pictures of Cowell show him sporting yellow plaster  complete with doodles by his son Eric  on his left arm, The Sun said.

The music executive is back in London to film Britains Got Talent alongside Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams, with the show slated to return to screens in Spring.

Some good adviceIf you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time.I have broken part of my back. Thank you to everyone for your kind messages.  Simon Cowell (@SimonCowell) August 10, 2020

The judges were photographed attending auditions and posed for pictures on the red carpet outside the London Palladium in mid-January.

The ITV series was cancelled in 2021 due to the pandemic.

Cowell recently became engaged to his long-term partner, Lauren Silverman, with whom he shares Eric.

His representatives have been contacted for comment.
Congress is getting better at heading off devastating recessions. Yet the gusher of stimulus money Congress provided to offset the COVID recession during the last two years included hundreds of billions of dollars for wealthy Americans, with little benefit to the ordinary workers the money was supposed to help.

New research by MIT economist David Autor and nine others finds that the Paycheck Protection Program, an $800 billion aid package Congress passed in March 2020, was one of the costliest but least effective Congressional efforts to combat the COVID recession. The PPP was supposed to help workers by keeping their employers afloat. Low-interest loans were available to nearly every U.S. business with 500 workers or fewer. The money was for keeping workers on the payroll, hiring back laid-off workers and otherwise keeping the lights on. Most of those loans are likely to be forgiven under terms Congress established when it passed the program.

The PPP did help hasten the end of the COVID recession in 2020. The Autor research found that the program preserved nearly 3 million jobs in the second quarter of 2020 and a smaller number of jobs in ensuing quarters. It also aided the financial system by allowing smaller businesses to continue making payments for mortgages, equipment and supplies.

A remarkably open program

But the Autor research also found that the distribution of Paycheck Protection Program loans overwhelmingly accrued to high-income households. Thats because the money went principally to business owners and shareholders, who tend to be wealthy. Some of that money made its way to workers, but much of it didnt, an outcome that could change the way Congress structures fiscal stimulus in the future.

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The Autor research traced $510 billion in PPP loans the government issued in 2020, and found that only $144 billion made its way to the bottom 80% of earners. That left $366 billion going to the top 20% of earners. That doesnt mean wealthy Americans got taxpayer cash they could use to buy boats or beach houses or spend any way they want. Instead, those funds preserved and boosted the value of ownership stakes in businesses. Even that was probably good for the U.S. economy. Its just not the paycheck protection the law promised.

WASHINGTON, DC - President Biden announces changes to the Paycheck Protection Program. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

There were two other huge COVID relief programs  stimulus checks that went to most U.S. families, and federal jobless aid that supplemented state unemployment benefits. Those were more effective at reaching lower-income Americans who needed the help most. The vast majority of the money from those two programs went to the bottom 80% of earners, and much of it went to the bottom 40%.

Stimulus checks and expanded jobless aid are standard forms of fiscal aid Congress has relied on before. The PPP was more novel. Unlike most recessions, which materialize gradually, the 2020 downturn was an abrupt shock with a single cause  the COVID virus. As businesses shut down temporarily and consumers huddled at home, the unemployment rate soared from 3.5% to 14.8% in a mere two months. The goal of the PPP was to keep businesses afloat until the economy recovered, and prevent a wave of bankruptcies that could stress the credit system and turn an economic crisis into a financial one.

The urgency of the problem led to a remarkably generous PPP program. Virtually any business below the size threshold could get a loan, without having to show any financial need whatsoever. That changed when Congress approved a third round of PPP loans for 2021. At that point, any firm taking out a second PPP loan needed to show it had a financial need for the money.

A tradeoff for getting money into the economy quickly

The tradeoff for injecting tons of money into the economy rapidly was that the money was untargeted and didnt necessarily go to those who needed it most. A 2021 study by the Dallas Federal Reserve, for instance, found that some parts of the country where workers suffered the most during the early weeks of the COVID pandemic got relatively small amounts of PPP aid. One reason is that banks administered the loans and tended to arrange them first with businesses they already served. Businesses without an existing banking relationship might have desperately needed a loan, but might also have been at the back of the line.

Still, the Dallas Fed found that PPP did aid the labor market recovery, calling the program a qualified success. In at least one way it was definitively better than the back door bailouts the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators executed during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. In some instances, financial firms in no danger of failing got billions of dollars in aid through loopholes, effectively swallowing taxpayer money without explicit authorization by Congress. That made a multi-pronged rescue plan meant to prevent widespread bank runs look like corporate welfare, at a time when unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies were surging. Outrage ensued, undermining support for an ugly rescue that was nonetheless necessary.

The 2008 and 2009 bailouts stabilized hundreds of big companies in the hope that would keep workers employed. But there was no requirement that businesses protect jobs. The PPP was supposed to improve on that by linking federal aid directly to worker protection. Yet the latest data suggests theres still a long way to go. If another recession calls for such aid, Congress may target it more carefully at the neediest businesses from the outset.

The Autor research also points out that high-income nations in Europe and elsewhere have work sharing or wage subsidy programs that give federal authorities more flexibility when doling out aid during a downturn. The U.S. system relies on unemployment insurance to help workers who lose their jobs, whereas other systems are meant to keep workers on the payroll, even if they work or earn less while the economy shrinks. That keeps workers connected with employers, enabling a smoother road back as the economy recovers. If the U.S. had such a system, it would also make it easier to subsidize workers directly, instead of counting on business owners to do it. Maybe during some future recession.

Rick Newman is a columnist and author of four books, including "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. You can also send confidential tips.

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Michael Gove promised to reshape British economy and society under the Governments levelling up agenda, but was criticised for a lack of ambition by Labour while a senior Tory hit out at his socialist plans.

The Levelling Up Secretary based his plan around 12 national missions covering areas including economy, housing, education, transport and culture with targets for dramatic improvements by 2030.

But Labour pointed to the Tories record in office since 2010 turbocharging the decline of our communities.

Setting out the contents of a much-anticipated White Paper, Mr Gove told MPs it would make opportunity more equal and to shift wealth and power decisively towards working people and their families.

We need to allow overlooked and undervalued communities to take back control of their destiny, he said.

Because we know that, while talent is spread equally across the United Kingdom, opportunity is not.

Boris Johnson made levelling up a key theme of his 2019 election campaign, but the Covid-19 pandemic and the hit it caused to the nations finances have complicated efforts to develop the strategy.

Funding for schemes announced in the plan comes from allocations previously set out in the spending review, rather than new pots of cash.

Mr Gove said boosting business activity in poorer areas towards the national average would dramatically improve the UKs economy by tens of billions of pounds each year.

But the measures were also about repairing the social fabric of our broken heartlands, with 20 new urban regeneration projects, starting in Wolverhampton and Sheffield but extending across the Midlands and northern England, with 1.8 billion in new housing projects.

There are large inequalities in wages across regions. These are underpinned by large inequalities in educational attainment, and then by the best educated moving to richer areas. Half of the children from Grimsby who get degrees have moved away by age 27. pic.twitter.com/fG8ykWQyl9  Institute for Fiscal Studies (@TheIFS) February 1, 2022

The plans also involve devolving powers from Whitehall to Englands cities and regions, enabling them to take back control.

Measures highlighted by Mr Gove included:

 More than 100 million for innovation accelerators in the West Midlands, Glasgow and Greater Manchester.

 Some 5 billion of investment in bus services and active travel.

 A new, digital national academy to provide high quality online teaching to all pupils in the country.

 Priority for British firms and British jobs in Government procurement activity.

Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said the plan amounted to ministers scurrying around Whitehall shuffling the deckchairs, cobbling together a shopping list of recycled policies and fiddling the figures.

She told Mr Gove: Only two thirds of children leave primary school with the basic skills to get on.

Forgive me if Im missed something but wasnt he the education secretary for four years?

Meanwhile Tory former minister Steve Baker hit out at the socialist plans.

We should be using our 80-seat majority to implement Conservative policies, not policies that wouldnt look out of place in Labours manifesto, he said.

But the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs said: We are happy that not only has the Government set out a bold timescale in which to deliver levelling up by 2030, but that the Government has also embraced many of the ideas set out by the Northern Research Group, including attracting foreign direct investment devolution and driving up educational skills and standards.

(PA Graphics)

In all, the White Paper includes 12 national missions to be achieved by 2030 to be enshrined in a flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

They include a promise that public investment in research and development outside the greater South East of England will increase by at least 40%; more than 90% of children will leave Englands primary schools meeting the expected standards in reading, writing and maths and the gap in healthy life expectancy between will have narrowed between the highest and lowest areas.

Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said some of the targets were highly unlikely to be met, there was little detail on how most of them will be met, and less detail on available funding.

He added: Meeting the core ambition of simultaneously improving education and skill levels and availability of high paying jobs in poorer regions will prove extremely challenging.

Without that, levelling up will not happen.

It will require the level of focus that has gone into this White Paper being developed and maintained over decades.

Steve Rotheram, the Labour Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: Although there were a few encouraging elements, it is largely a rehashing of things we have already heard before. On the whole though, it reads like a recipe cooked up during Veganuary  something severely lacking in meat.

But Tory West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said the White Paper would finally address the imbalance of opportunities across the UK.

He added: Prior to the pandemic we already had the fastest growing economy outside of London, with record homes being built, record numbers in work, and record investment in public transport.

But with Covid knocking us for six we needed the White Paper to help get us back on track, and that is exactly what it will do.
The right wing leader said the school management should strictly tell the girls that there is no need to come to school wearing Hijab. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

Hubballi: Amid row over Hijab (Islamic headscarves) in some schools in Karnataka, Sriram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik on Tuesday said the insistence for wearing them, ignoring the uniform shows 'terrorist mindset' and such students should be kicked out of the school.

"This obduracy has the mindset of taking them (students) to the level of a terrorist. Now they say Hijab, next they will ask for Burqa (veil), further they will insist on Namaz and mosque. Is this a school or your religious centre?" he told reporters here.

He asked the government not to allow any public discourse on the issue and take steps immediately.

"What I say is that without giving chance for public debate, they (students asking for Hijab) should be issued a transfer certificate and kicked out. This mindset is most dangerous," Muthalik said.

The right wing leader said the school management should strictly tell the girls that there is no need to come to school wearing Hijab.

Noting that uniform means uniformity and equality, Muthalik said the dress code is introduced so that there is no display of upper and lower caste or religious identities.

"You have freedom at home to do whatever you want but once you step into the school, you have to abide by the rules and regulations of your school," he said.

He claimed that a Hindu teacher was transferred after she was working at a school in a Muslim dominated village Bommanahalli in Kunigal Taluk of Kolar district.

Referring to another incident in a school in Chintamani Taluk of Kolar, where children performed Namaz, Muthalik sought to know, "Are you out to make it (India) Pakistan or Afghanistan? With your separatist mindset, if you demand Hijab and Burqa, then go to Pakistan."

He demanded that the government should not allow such mindset to grow and give room for public discussion.

About a month ago, Hindu students started attending classes wearing saffron scarves protesting against the Muslim girls wearing Hijab in classroom in Chikkamagaluru district.

A similar incident took place in Udupi where five students of the Government Girls' Pre-University College refused to enter classes without Hijab.

After they stayed away from the classroom for about a month, the local MLA K Raghupati Bhat, who is the president of the college development authority, too decided two days ago that they cannot enter the classroom wearing it.
Boris Johnson has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that a further incursion into Ukraine would be a tragic miscalculation as they finally held their delayed call.

The Prime Minister expressed his deep concern about Russia massing an estimated 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border when they spoke on Wednesday afternoon.

Downing Street said Mr Johnson stressed during a call lasting around 45 minutes that Ukraine has a right to aspire to Nato membership, a move strongly opposed by Mr Putin.

Boris Johnson held crisis talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv (Peter Nicholls/PA)

But No 10s version of the call did contain positives, with the pair said to have agreed that aggravation was in no-ones interest as they discussed dialogue and diplomacy.

Mr Johnson had been due to speak to the Russian leader on Monday, but was forced to delay it as he dealt with the fallout from Sue Grays report into parties in Downing Street.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said he expressed his deep concern about Russias hostile activity on the Ukrainian border during the call.

Any further incursion into Ukrainian territory would be a tragic miscalculation, he added.

I spoke to President Putin this afternoon to express my deep concern about Russias hostile activity on the Ukrainian border. Any further incursion into Ukrainian territory would be a tragic miscalculation. Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward. pic.twitter.com/zljO2y9Tj9  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 2, 2022

Downing Street said Mr Johnson stressed that all European democracies have the right to aspire to Nato membership, and that the right fully applies to Ukraine.

With the call being characterised as constructive and thorough, a No 10 spokeswoman added that the pair welcomed communications on issues such as the climate crisis.

They agreed to apply this spirit of dialogue to the current tensions in order to find a peaceful resolution, she added.

The Kremlin said the leaders had a detailed exchange of views on the crisis but indicated Mr Putin raised concerns about Nato.

Mr Putin has said he does not intend to order an invasion, but there are more than 100,000 Russian troops on Ukraines eastern border, backed by tanks, artillery, helicopters and warplanes.

The Pentagon said US President Joe Biden was ordering around 2,000 more troops to Poland and Germany this week and roughly 1,000 more who are already based in Germany will go to Romania.

On Tuesday, Mr Johnson flew to Kyiv for crisis talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Prime Minister warned that the UK and other allies would impose sweeping sanctions on Moscow the moment the first Russian toecap crosses further into Ukrainian territory.
A man has lost a fight against extradition from England to Ireland after being accused of raping a woman 21 years ago.

Lawyers representing the man mounted a High Court challenge after a judge at Westminster Magistrates Court had ruled that he should be extradited.

They said the man had mental and physical heath difficulties and argued that extradition would be oppressive and unfair.

But a judge dismissed the mans challenge on Wednesday.

Mr Justice Chamberlain had considered the case at a High Court hearing in London earlier this month.

Lawyers representing the Irish state had said the mans appeal should be dismissed.

The judge heard that the man had been accused of committing rape in Waterford in 2001 and prosecutors wanted him to appear in court in Ireland.

He was told the man, who lives in supported accommodation in Essex, had been accused of rape after police reviewed the case.

Mr Justice Chamberlain said the woman could not be identified in media reports of the case.
President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. troop deployments to reassure NATO allies amid the standoff with Russia over Ukraine.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby was expected to announce the imminent deployment of several thousand U.S. troops -- some already in Europe and some from the U.S. -- to NATO allies in eastern Europe at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday -- the first major movement of U.S. forces in response to concerns Russia will invade Ukraine.

A senior defense official confirmed to ABC News that about 3,000 U.S. troops will be given orders to deploy to Europe or if theyre already in Europe to head to countries in eastern Europe.

The official says that troops from the U.S. will be sent to Europe and that troops based in Germany will be sent further east into eastern Europe.

A U.S. official says one of the units moving into eastern Europe from Germany is an armored Stryker unit.

MORE: US warns Russian attack may be 'imminent,' Ukraine disagrees: Here's why

The announcement comes after Biden told reporters on Friday that he would be moving American forces "in the near term."

The troop movements are separate from the 8,500 U.S. troops put on "heightened alert" to reinforce NATO's Response Force if needed -- and none would go to Ukraine.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy in the White House, Feb. 1, 2022, in Washington. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

MORE: Biden meets with Europeans about Ukraine as US puts 8,500 troops on 'heightened alert' to be sent to region

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the escalating tensions on the U.S. and the West for having "ignored" Russia's key demand that NATO bar Ukraine from joining the organization. The U.S. and NATO allies argue Russia is the aggressor, having already invaded Crimea and massing troops at the border.

This a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Biden orders US troop deployments to reassure NATO allies amid Russia standoff originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
WASHINGTON (AP)  The son of a New York City judge who referred to himself as a caveman eager to protest Donald Trumps presidential election loss pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Aaron Mostofsky was seen inside the Capitol wearing a fur costume and a police bullet proof vest that he was accused of stealing during the mayhem. He also gave a video interview inside the building, telling the New York Post he was there to express my opinion as a free American that this election was stolen.

Mostofsky, 35, pleaded guilty to charges of civil disorder, theft of government property and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

Mostofsky is scheduled to be sentenced May 6. He faces 12 to 18 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said. Mostofsky also agreed to pay $2,000 restitution.

Mostofskys father is Steven Mostofsky, a state court judge in Brooklyn. A message seeking comment was left with a court spokesperson.

Aaron Mostofskys unusual garb made him stand out from the crowd of camouflage-wearing, flag-waving rioters. At one point, he was photographed sitting on a bench near the Senate chamber holding a stick and the riot shield, which he said he picked up off the floor.

According to prosecutors, Mostofsky took a bus from New York to Washington and joined protesters in overwhelming a police line and storming the Capitol. Along the way, he picked up and put on the bullet proof vest, valued at $1,905, and the riot shield, worth $265, prosecutors said.

Before the protest, Mostofsky messaged another demonstrator that he could be found at the protest by looking for a caveman, adding, Even a caveman knows it was stolen, prosecutors said. Afterward, as his photo circulated, he said the image was unfortunate because now people actually know me.

More than 730 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than 200 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors punishable by a maximum of six months imprisonment. Mostofsky is one of approximately two dozen rioters to plead guilty to a felony. More than 90 riot defendants have been sentenced.
A memorial sprang up outside Michigan's Oxford High School after a sophomore opened fire Nov. 30, killing four students. A new California bill would require school administrators to collect information from parents about guns stored at home and mandate backpack, locker and car searches if there is a credible threat or danger of mass casualty. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)

Two months after four people were killed and seven injured during a Michigan high school shooting, a California lawmaker said he will introduce a bill that would require school administrators to collect information from parents about guns stored at home and would mandate backpack, locker and car searches if there is a credible threat or danger of mass casualty.

State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge), author of several California gun safety laws, said he decided to introduce the legislation after the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School reignited a national conversation over how to prevent such incidents.

That shooting occurred despite teachers reporting concerning behavior by the 15-year-old suspect, Ethan Crumbley, the day before and morning of the shooting, including searching for ammunition on his cellphone during class. He also had a graphic drawing that depicted a gun.

School officials called a meeting with the boy's parents Nov. 30, but he was allowed to return to class, and his backpack wasn't searched. Hours later, he allegedly used a gun that his parents bought him as a Christmas present to open fire at the school.

"We saw what inaction does in Michigan," Portantino said. "Inaction leads to a tragedy. By empowering school districts with information and the mandate to investigate, we're taking that inaction off the table."

The legislation, which Portantino said he plans to formally introduce Wednesday, contains three provisions that he believes could help prevent school shootings.

Starting in 2023, public and charter schools would have to annually provide educational material on safe firearm storage to parents or guardians of students. Families would be required to notify the school during student registration of any guns in the home "and to answer questions about the ownership, storage, and accessibility by the pupil of the firearms," the draft bill states.

If there is a threat or perceived threat of a shooting by a student at school, officials would have to notify local law enforcement and the Department of Justice and must launch an investigation and threat assessment, which includes checking the family's firearm disclosure form. The student and his or her property  including car, locker and backpack  would be searched if there is reason to believe the student is in possession of a firearm or otherwise violating the law and school safety policies.

The state Department of Education and state Department of Justice would have to develop "model content" for schools to use when dealing with the threat or perceived threat of a deadly incident, according to a bill fact sheet.

"Go find those weapons before they get used to kill a kid," Portantino said.

There were 34 school shootings in 2021, according to data from Education Week, and the Michigan shooting was the deadliest since May 2018.

On Tuesday, UCLA moved classes online after a former lecturer sent threatening messages to people on campus that included a video referencing a mass shooting and an 800-page manifesto. The suspect was later taken into custody by police in Boulder, Colo.

Portantino said his bill could stir opposition from both left-leaning and conservative groups, given its privacy implications. But the Legislature, Portantino argued, must act to prevent another tragedy.

"One more shooting is one more too many. One more dead student is one more too many. One more tragedy is one more we don't want," he said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, shown at her home in San Francisco, became the state's first surgeon general in 2019. (Paul Kuroda / For The Times)

California's top physician is stepping down.

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, who became the state's first surgeon general in 2019, announced her resignation Tuesday, her office confirmed. Dr. Devika Bhushan, chief health officer, will serve as acting surgeon general.

Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked Burke Harris for "the impactful initiatives and frameworks she has put in place as Californias first-ever surgeon general."

Dr. Burke Harris expertise and leadership in championing equity, mental health and early childhood development have been instrumental in advancing the health and well-being of Californians," Newsom said in a statement.

When the governor appointed Burke Harris to the role, he charged her with "tackling the state's health problems," according to a May 2021 profile in the Times. She was particularly focused on screening and treating children for adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress, and played a key role in the state's navigation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement provided to The Times on Wednesday, Burke Harris said serving as the surgeon general during the "greatest public crisis in a century has been the experience of a lifetime."

"I am incredibly proud to have been part of a team that, together, worked tirelessly to protect the health and well-being of all Californians," she said. "Our efforts ensured that California had the lowest cumulative mortality rate among patients with COVID-19 of any large state."

The office of the surgeon general will continue to support efforts to advance vaccine equity and invest in children and youth well-being, she said.

Burke Harris told the Times in 2021 that the health inequities exacerbated by the pandemic weighed heavily on her.

The hardest part of the job is sitting in proximity to so much harm and suffering, and sitting there long enough to be a difference, she said at the time.

She alluded again to those pressures Wednesday.

"I have always said, self-care isnt selfish," Burke Harris said. "That isnt just something I say. They are words that I live by. As I transition out of this role and focus on prioritizing care for myself and my family, I will never stop supporting efforts to improve the health and well-being of our communities."

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly lauded Burke Harris for disrupting "persistent stubborn health inequities and disparities" during the pandemic, including her work on COVID-19 vaccine distribution and early childhood health.

"The important work of the office of the California surgeon general is only beginning, and I am grateful to Nadine for her vision and contributions and for setting us on this path," Ghaly told The Times.

Only a handful of states have a surgeon general. Burke Harris was not only California's first surgeon general, but also the first Black person and the first woman to hold the role.

Born in Canada and raised in Palo Alto, Burke Harris received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and attended medical school at UC Davis. She received her masters of public health at Harvard and did her medical residency at Stanford.

In 2007, she became the first medical director for the California Pacific Medical Center Bayview Child Health Center in San Francisco, and in 2012, she founded the Center for Youth Wellness, a clinic focused on identifying and treating toxic stress in children.

The governor's office did not say when a new formal appointment would be made.

Burke Harris's last day will be Feb. 11.

Times staff writer Marissa Evans contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Workers protest for better working conditions and to demand passage of AB 257 at a Burger King in San Diego in November. (Ariana Drehsler / CalMatters)

For Perla Hernandez, 42, working through the pandemic at a Burger King outside San Jose has been a harrowing experience.

Eight of her fellow workers came down with COVID-19 during her two years on the job. She says that included a supervisor whose positive test was kept from her until she had been working with him for hours; another supervisor pleaded with her not to go home because the restaurant was so short-staffed.

The company provided her with a mask and protective gloves early in the pandemic but didn't arrange to replace them, even though the gloves were in shreds before her shift was over.

Powerful global corporations like McDonalds use the franchise model to ensure they extract profits from the business.

Catherine Fisk and Amy Reavis, UC Berkeley

In the back of the restaurant, where Hernandez works as a cook, there's no air conditioning. When she was injured on the job and had to stay home for eight days with stitches in both legs, there was no sick pay.

"We need the job, so we have to do whatever the managers ask," she told me through an interpreter.

Hernandez isn't alone in feeling pressure to work through the pandemic, no matter the workload or the risks to workers' and customers' health.

"Just wear a mask and dont tell anyone, the manager of a Jack in the Box in Folsom told worker Maria Bernal after she appeared to come down with COVID-19, according to a Jan. 14 complaint Bernal filed with Sacramento Countys public health department.

The fast-food industry has long been a dark corner of the American workplace. Now, California is poised to bring that corner some light.

On Monday, the state Assembly passed AB 257, a measure that for the first time would impose workplace standards on the entire statewide industry. The bill garnered 41 votes, the bare minimum needed for passage, and now heads to the state Senate.

There may be no more consequential measure for labor rights in Sacramento this session.

The so-called Fast Recovery Act (the full name is the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act) would create a fast-food industry council with the power to set statewide standards for wages, working hours, sick leave, training and working conditions applicable to the more than 550,000 fast-food workers in the state, the largest such workforce in the country.

"They're some of the lowest-paid and least protected essential workers in our state," says Tia Orr, interim executive director of the Service Employees International Union of California, the sponsor of AB 257. Of those workers 80% are people of color and 60% are Latinos and Latinas.

The goal of the bill, Orr told me, is to give those workers a voice  and indeed to give franchisees a voice too.

The bill would bar discrimination or retaliation against any worker for identifying workplace violations. Perhaps most important, it would make franchisers jointly liable with their franchisees for those violations. That would represent a dramatic and long-overdue change in the existing business model.

The main reason for the disgraceful working conditions in the fast-food industry is its fragmentation into franchisers and franchisees.

The former are the big branded companies such as McDonald's and Burger King, which supply tens of thousands of their branded restaurants with supplies and advertising support, and insist that the restaurants meet brand standards  worker uniforms, restaurant designs and locations, etc., etc.

Typically the big brands operate a handful of restaurants directly while placing the vast majority in the hands of franchisees. The actual owners and operators of those restaurants, they're traditionally depicted as small businesses, those putative cornerstones of American commerce.

Whenever something goes wrong on the restaurant floor  wage theft, harassment, unsafe and unhealthy practices and other violations of labor standards, the franchisers point the finger at the franchisees.

Franchise establishments "are locally owned small businesses operating under a national brand or identity," the International Franchise Assn., a lobbying group mostly representing franchisers, asserted in a statement opposing AB 257.

The bill, the association said, "makes the improper assumption, and reaches the improper conclusion, that the franchisor and franchisee have some collective control over each other's day-to-day business affairs.

This is just subterfuge. "Powerful global corporations like McDonald's use the franchise model to ensure they extract profits from the business," Catherine L. Fisk and Amy W. Reavis of UC Berkeley's law school observed in December. "They control the prices and much of the power over quality, hours, and other operations, and the franchisee ... has no way to increase its profits other than cutting labor costs."

The result, they wrote, is that "operators fail to pay wages to which workers are entitled, deny sick leave, ignore harassment, safety hazards, or disease transmission  they are so squeezed by their franchisors that there is little incentive to comply with the law."

David Weil, a former Department of Labor official under President Obama and currently a Biden administration nominee for his old post, documented in his 2014 book, "The Fissured Workplace," that half of the top 20 franchiser brands "had no violations and owed no back wages at any of their company-owned outlets even though the franchisees in those same companies often owed substantial back wages to employees." (Emphases in the original.)

Investigations of wage and hour violations generally found that unpaid back wages were 50% higher at franchisee locations than at company-owned locations, Weil found.

What do the big companies gain from pushing expenses down to the franchisees? They gain profits while their front-line workers are mired at the minimum wage  when their pay is not being stolen through forced overtime and unpaid hours.

McDonald's reported net income in 2020 of $7.3 billion on sales of $19.2 billion; Yum Brands (the owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and the Habit), $1.57 billion on sales of $6.4 billion; and Restaurant Brands International, the parent of Burger King, a profit of $750 million on sales of $5 billion.

"On the corporate side, there's billions of dollars of profits that should be shared with the folks working every day to bring those profits in," Orr says.

The big franchisers tend to get their way in Washington. For example, they've been able to bottle up President Biden's nomination of Weil as wage and hour regulator at the Department of Labor. What's their objection? It's that as a long-term spokesman for the rights of workers he would be a powerful guardian of employee rights.

To the McDonald's and Burger Kings of the world what the Wall Street Journal described as Weil's "labor union sympathies" make him "unfit" to serve in an agency devoted to serving the interests of labor.

The biggest threat to the fast-food industry's business model is the joint employer standard, which would make companies like McDonald's responsible for the workplace conditions at their franchisees' stores. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that they've fought ferociously against joint employer regulations at the federal and state levels.

Under Obama, the National Labor Relations Board overturned dodges through which big employers outsourced to subcontractors their responsibility for working conditions and wages. Trump's NLRB issued a rule that in effect absolved the big companies of that responsibility. Biden's NLRB is now poised to restore the Obama-era rule, which has franchisers shaking in their boots.

Just last month, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, which despite its heartwarming name is a lobby for industry and chambers of commerce, demanded that two newly installed Democratic, pro-labor members of the NLRB recuse themselves from cases involving the joint employer standard or other issues involving the fast-food industry.

The franchise industry and other critics have tried to portray AB 257 as an economy killer. The International Franchise Assn. lamented the impending demise of the fast-food sector if the bill passes: "It will have disastrous impacts to the thousands of franchise restaurants across the state and effectively dismantle the business model, spokesman Jeff Hanscom said.

Assemblyman Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) predicted that the bill would drive "entire franchises and franchise brands away from California." That sounds like some sort of a gag, as though any franchise chain would abandon the biggest state in the Union.

The franchise association also asserted that the measure would place labor regulation in the hands of a council "unaccountable to the Legislature and outside of existing labor regulation."

Perhaps the association's crack team didn't bother to read the bill before issuing its broadside: It specifically states that the Legislature would have 60 days to rule on any standard devised by the council, and that in no case could the council devise a standard weaker than that in existing law.

In any case, the Fast Food Sector Council's 11 members would be appointed by the governor, the speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Rules Committee. The body would have to include representatives of the state public health, occupational safety and health, labor standards, and industrial relations regulatory agencies, as well as six members representing franchisers, franchisees and employees.

Up to this point, the only voices that have mattered in the debate over how fast-food employees are treated have been the franchisers. It's time for the others to be heard.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
WASHINGTON (AP)  When President Joe Biden met with U.S. governors at the White House on Monday, he was the only one given a glass of water  lest anyone else remove their mask to take a drink.

The president was seated more than 10 feet from everyone, including Vice President Kamala Harris and members of his Cabinet.

A White House staffer who was wearing a surgical mask when Biden entered the room was quickly handed an N95 version.

These are just some of the extraordinary efforts on the part of the White House to keep the president from getting COVID-19, even though he's gotten both of his regular vaccinations and his booster.

Its no surprise that unusual steps are taken to protect any president. But the strict precautions could also threaten to undercut the Biden administration's own efforts to tell Americans  especially those who are vaccinated and boosted  that they can get on with something closer to their normal lives in the face of the omicron wave.

And it's emblematic of the messaging challenges surrounding the administration's approach to COVID-19 as the virus becomes endemic, familiar and somewhat controlled but still menacing, with hard-to-follow guidelines often unevenly implemented.

For months, Biden aides have fretted that the people who are most protected against COVID-19 remain the most cautious, a dynamic they view as a drag on the nations economic and psychological recovery.

When the highly transmissible omicron variant hit, Biden said it was a cause for concern, not cause for panic.

In recent weeks, his aides and science advisers have highlighted study after study showing the strong protection offered by the COVID vaccines against the variant and reassuring vaccinated people they can go about their daily lives. At a Jan. 19 press conference, Biden declared: We have the tools  vaccines, boosters, masks, tests, pills  to save lives and keep businesses and schools open" and rejected the notion that still-widespread restrictions reflect a 'new normal."

It will get better," he promised.

Since even before Biden was elected, his aides have gone all-out to protect the now-79-year-old president from potential infection. He spent much of the 2020 campaign season holding remote events from a studio in the basement of his home, venturing out for travel in a bubble of frequently tested aides subject to an array of restrictions.

That caution continued well after he was fully vaccinated and living at the White House. The president has held up his administrations fidelity to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines as a virtue, after they were regularly flouted by former President Donald Trump, who became seriously ill after contracting the virus.

As the nations virus response and vaccination campaign has become increasingly politicized, White House officials have expressed both political and policy concerns over a possible Biden infection. Though the vaccines are highly effective, a breakthrough case could erode public confidence in the shots and be used as a political cudgel against a president who was elected to bring an end to the pandemic.

Biden himself has at times taken a more relaxed approach to restrictions.

When the CDC last May surprised the White House by easing its guidelines on indoor mask-wearing by fully vaccinated individuals, Biden sought to publicly model the policy for the rest of the nation. He was meeting with vaccinated Republican lawmakers when the change was announced and led the group in removing their masks.

But that CDC guidance proved to be premature and was reversed over the summer, because vaccinated people could still transmit the virus, potentially endangering the tens of millions of Americans who are still unvaccinated.

When the delta strain surged last fall, the White House strengthened its testing protocols for everyone close to Biden  restrictions that had been lessened once aides were fully vaccinated and case counts began to fall nationally. In-person meetings were once again curtailed. Aides began increasing the distance between Biden and even vaccinated-and-tested individuals as a precaution, reminiscent of his earliest days in office.

In early January, as the nations capital led the country in per capita COVID-19 cases, White House press secretary Jen Psaki highlighted the very strict precautions taken to keep Biden and Harris safe, including mandatory mask-wearing and daily testing for those coming in contact with them.

She also said the White House had taken to limiting gatherings to under 30 people. But there were nearly 40 participants named by the administration  as well as two dozen members of the press  at Bidens Monday meeting with the governors.

Psaki said the administration takes extra precautions any time the president removes his mask to speak to a group. She noted that the nation continues to set records in reported cases and hospital admissions.

The presidents view is that right now we still need to keep our heads down and stay at it to fight what is still surging in parts of the country," she said. "But we do have the tools to get to a point where it does not disrupt our daily lives.

Biden, aides say, has relished opportunities outside the White House when he can engage in the sort of political glad-handing that has been suppressed by the pandemic. And in public, he's chafed at some of the precautions, saying that the first thing he aims to do differently in his second year in the White House is Im going to get out of this place more often.

He's hardly alone in his impatience.

On Monday, seated across a large gap from Biden in the East Room, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the chair of the governors association, appealed for the government to more clearly define a pathway out of the pandemic.

We need the CDC to help us to have the right standards to end this pandemic and move to more endemic status, he said. We want to go from today to more normal.

The night before, the president and first lady Jill Biden did attend the black-tie National Governors Association dinner at Mount Vernon. Biden spoke, but he didn't stay for dinner.
While President Joe Biden works to address the crisis over Russia menacing Ukraine, there is another critical one looming, with a senior State Department official telling reporters the "end game" is just weeks away.

Iran nuclear talks are scheduled to resume this week for their ninth round -- with the U.S. and Iran still negotiating indirectly about both countries returning to the Obama-era nuclear deal that is in tatters.

This could be the final round before a deal is reached or the U.S. and its European allies call it quits -- because after 10 months of negotiating with two different Iranian governments, the country's nuclear program is advancing to the point of no return, the U.S. says.

MORE: Iran returns to negotiations, with a nuclear crisis still looming large for Biden

"This can't go on forever because of Iran's nuclear advances. This is not a prediction. It's not a threat. It's not an artificial deadline. It's just a requirement... Given the pace of Iran's advances, its nuclear advances, we only have a handful of weeks left to get a deal -- after which point it will unfortunately be no longer possible to return to the JCPOA and to recapture the nonproliferation benefits that the deal provided for us," said the senior State Department official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks using an acronym for the deal's formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

PHOTO: An Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility, Nov. 10, 2019. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Some critics have said the U.S. should have called it quits long ago, with Iran enriching uranium up to 60% and enriching uranium metal, spinning more advanced centrifuges and more of them, and obstructing access for the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear weapons-grade uranium is enriched at 90%, while the nuclear deal capped Iran's enrichment at 3.67% for 15 years.

With those steps, Iran is now a matter of weeks away from having enough fissile material to build a nuclear bomb, the official said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others have warned for a couple of weeks now that Iran is just a "few weeks" away from that critical threshold -- although the senior State Department official said it would take some additional time to actually build a nuclear bomb, declining to provide a timeline for that.

"Do the math. There are many fewer weeks left now than there were when we first said it," they added.

MORE: Iranian protester who says he was injured by police gunfire speaks out

That puts the pressure on this new round of talks to reach a conclusion before time runs out. The Iranian delegation returned to Tehran after the eighth round broke up last Friday, just as chief U.S. negotiator Rob Malley returned to Washington.

Ahead of talks resuming, the senior State Department official said Biden remains ready to make that decision and return to compliance by lifting sanctions on Iran.

"Now is a time for political decisions. Now is the time to decide whether -- for Iran to decide whether it's prepared to make those decisions necessary for a mutual return to compliance," they said.

PHOTO: Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and delegations wait for the start of a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 17, 2021. (EEAS via Reuters, FILE)

But notably, they repeatedly took the occasion to bash the "prior administration's catastrophic error" and "terrible mistake" of withdrawing from the deal -- seeming to lay the groundwork for a blame game if talks blow up and Iran's enrichment only grows.

Former President Donald Trump exited the deal in May 2019 and reimposed strong U.S. sanctions on Iran, driving down its oil exports and sparking tit-for-tat attacks across the Middle East region. His administration repeatedly said its campaign of "maximum pressure" would drive Iran to negotiate a new deal, but Iran refused to meet U.S. officials, even after Biden took office.

With talks expected to resume this week, according to Enrique Mora, the senior EU diplomat who coordinates the talks, one key sign to watch will be whether the U.S. and Iran finally engage directly. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed an openness to it last week if Iran sees a "good deal" in sight, but the senior State Department official said there's no indication so far the Iranians will sit down. The U.S. has consistently said it's prepared to meet directly, calling the indirect talks an impediment to reaching a deal so far.

MORE: Biden struggles with Trump's withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal amid growing threat

If a deal isn't reached soon, the U.S. is "ready" to "fortify our response, and that means more pressure -- economic, diplomatic, and otherwise," the senior official said, adding, "We will use the tools that we have to ensure that our interests are preserved and that Iran cannot acquire a nuclear weapon."

Notably, the Biden administration has refused to say out loud whether that includes supporting the use of force, including by Israel -- just that no option is off the table.

The one thing the U.S., European allies in the talks, France, the U.K., Germany, and even China and Russia seem to agree on is that time is running out. But while the senior State Department official called a deal a "big if," Russia's envoy was been more buoyant about a resolution.

PHOTO: U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley and Barry Rosen, campaigning for the release of hostages imprisoned by Iran, sit at a table during an interview with Reuters in Vienna, Austria, Jan. 23, 2022. (Francois Murphy/Reuters)

"My instinct tells me that agreement will be reached soon after mid February," Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted Friday as the talks ended.

That's in stark contrast to the heavy pessimism in early December after talks finally resumed under Iran's new government, with its much more hard-line approach.

But the Iranians now are "back in a serious, businesslike negotiation in which there are still significant gaps -- so I don't want to in any way understates those -- but we are in a position where... we can see a path to a deal if those decisions are made and if it's done quickly," the senior State Department official said.

MORE: No body, no burial, no peace for Iran hostage Bob Levinson's family

In the meantime, the U.S. continues to press for the release of four U.S. citizens detained by Iran on specious charges, including father and son Baquer and Siamak Namazi. At 84-years old, Baquer is in particularly vulnerable health and had emergency heart surgery in Tehran in October to clear a "life-threatening" blockage in his carotid artery, according to his lawyer Jared Genser. This month marks his sixth year in Iranian custody, while his son Siamak has been held since October 2015.

"We are negotiating on the release of the detainees separately from the JCPOA, but as weve said, it is very hard for us to imagine a return to the JCPOA while four innocent Americans are behind bars or are detained in Iran," the senior State Department official said.

In addition to the Namazi's, Iran has detained conservationist Morad Tahbaz and businessman Emad Shargi. All four men are dual U.S.-Iranian citizens whose detentions have been called "hostage diplomacy" by Tehran.

'End game': Iran nuclear talks nearing resolution or nuclear crisis, US warns originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Those on strike said the wages were fixed seven years ago and wanted the revised pay. (Photo: PTI)

Coimbatore: Powerloom owners and workers, on an indefinite strike for the last 23 days for revised wages, are contemplating to boycott the forthcoming civic elections on February 19.

Nearly five lakh workers were on strike from January 9 that resulted in a Rs 60-crore loss per day.

As part of the agitation, the owners on Wednesday hoisted black flag atop units and also carried the flags in a procession.

Those on strike said the wages were fixed seven years ago and wanted the revised pay. The government ordered payment of revised wages from December last, but it was alleged that the master-weavers were claiming they cannot pay higher wages because of increase in price of yarn. PTI NVM

Those on strike said the wages were fixed seven years ago and wanted the revised pay. The government ordered payment of revised wages from December last, but it was alleged that the master-weavers were claiming they cannot pay higher wages because of increase in price of yarn. Therefore, the workers are mulling to keep off the polls.
Germany rejects use of word 'apartheid' in connection with Israel

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany rejects the use of terms such as "apartheid" in connection with Israel, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"We reject expressions like apartheid or a one-sided focusing of criticism on Israel. That is not helpful to solving the conflict in the Middle East," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christopher Burger told a regular government news conference.

Amnesty International accused Israel on Tuesday of subjecting Palestinians to a system of apartheid founded on policies of "segregation, dispossession and exclusion" that it said amounted to crimes against humanity.

(Thi story corrects to attribute statement to Foreign Ministry spokesperson, not government spokesperson)

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt and Andreas Rinke; Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Kevin Liffey)
Dr. Faraiba Faqeerzada examines a 2-year-old at South Central Family Health Center in Los Angeles. The center is in a neighborhood with the highest Omicron case rates in the county. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

The Omicron wave swept through Los Angeles over the last two months with unprecedented speed, but ultimately traced a grim path that is becoming increasingly familiar two years into the pandemic.

Cases first exploded in affluent communities, where air travel likely introduced the latest coronavirus variant, which got a head start in places like South Africa, London and New York.

At first, it appeared the variant might be a great unifier, spreading equally throughout the county, but then it took a hard turn toward lower-income communities of color that had already suffered the most throughout the pandemic.

By Januarys end, officials with the L.A. County Department of Public Health said South and South Central Los Angeles, East L.A. and parts of the San Fernando Valley once again had the highest coronavirus case rates in the county.

The shifts likely reflect the fact that were now seeing increased transmission among those whose jobs are putting them in close contact with others and who often live in crowded housing, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

The findings lay bare how even a highly contagious variant like Omicron couldn't overcome the pervasive and systemic inequities of public health in a massive county like Los Angeles.

Though Omicron is proving to be generally milder than earlier strains of the coronavirus, essential workers, people who live in dense or multigenerational housing and those with underlying health issues remain the most at risk.

We havent, in two years, really changed any of those things that led to COVID impacting those communities or those regions more throughout this entire pandemic, said Joanne Preece, director of government and external affairs at the Community Clinic Assn. of Los Angeles County. Those same structural issues remain.

Indeed, nearly every stage of the pandemic has been marked by inequities. The first phase saw the coronavirus sweep through Black and Latino communities at a rapid clip, while the initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 disproportionately favored white people, young people, residents with money and those with access to transportation, among other groups.

Even today, nearly two years into the pandemic and a year into vaccine distribution, only about 52% of Black and Latino people in Los Angeles County are fully vaccinated, compared to 70% of white people and 82% of Asian residents and Pacific Islanders, according to the Times tracker.

Gabriela Martinez gives Blandy Amaya a vaccination at South Central Family Health Center on Jan. 27. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Though county officials have worked to overcome disparities through community-driven efforts, such as door-knocking and mobile clinics, many barriers remain, and the virus continues to take the highest toll on L.A.s most vulnerable residents.

And while those with greater access to vaccines, transportation or work-from-home options are not immune to Omicron, their outcomes continue to be much better.

At the South Central Family Health Center, development director David Roman said its not at all surprising that case rates are highest in his community. Many of the health centers patients are essential workers who never had a choice about stopping work or not being in public, he said, and many still cant get time off to get vaccinated or recover from illness.

We have people who work in this informal economy who are most vulnerable, he said. They dont get time off, and not only that, they dont get paid time off. So if they dont work, their families dont eat.

At the clinic, patients queued up in a covered parking lot that had been converted into a testing and vaccination site. Many people were seeking services early in the morning before work.

One patient, 21-year-old Ana Ortiz, said that between her two toddlers and her job at Wingstop, she had trouble finding time to get the vaccine. She was at the clinic awaiting her second dose of Moderna while her 3-year-old, Adrian, wriggled in her lap.

But there are other factors beyond time that are keeping the community sick, Roman said, including housing density and multigenerational living that can easily translate to six or eight people under one roof where the virus can easily spread.

Even the new federal program to provide COVID-19 tests to Americans is limited to four tests per household, which doesnt meet the unique needs in our community, he said.

Whats more, many in the community have secondary or underlying health conditions  such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension  that make them more susceptible to the coronavirus, in large part due to a lifelong and systemic lack of access to healthcare. Roman called it the trickle-down economics of healthcare.

Many patients waiting at the South Central clinic described the pandemics toll on their families, livelihoods and community.

Blandy Amaya, 41, is a vendor who sells hot dogs outside large stadium events. She said the cancellation of events because of the virus hit her hard economically, and there are still many months without steady work.

She was grateful for free school lunches, which helped keep her youngest children fed during the pandemic, she said as she waited to get her first dose of the vaccine  a decision she ultimately made for their protection.

Another patient, Jose Gasca, said hes been out of work for eight months because he worked in the restaurant industry. He said tonier neighborhoods like Hollywood, where he worked in the past, seemed more strict in their response to the pandemic and more in control.

The experience has been better over there than over here, he said.

Gasca, 59, was waiting to get his booster shot but said he was still concerned about the lack of clear information being given to his community about the vaccines and the Omicron variant, noting that it would be better if we knew more.

Jose Gasca removes his hat as his temperature is checked before getting his COVID-19 vaccination at South Central Family Health Center on Jan. 27. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

One factor that has made the Omicron surge more challenging than earlier stages of the pandemic is healthcare staffing shortages tied to the highly transmissible variant. The problem has been nearly universal in California, but it has created a particular crunch for clinics that staff from within communities that are already sick.

We are part of the community, said Ilan Shapiro, medical director of health education and wellness at AltaMed Health Services, a community health group headquartered in East Los Angeles. Most of our nurses and doctors and everybody else, we live in and are part of our community, and we are still exposed to everything thats happening now.

Like South Central, East L.A. has been hit hard by the Omicron wave. The area reported nearly 5,800 new cases in the last two weeks, among the highest in the county.

But misinformation, miscommunication and confusion have compounded the crisis, Shapiro said, noting that its painful watching people get sick because they thought that vaccines didnt work, for whatever reason. His team is working to reach more community members and help them get immunized and boosted, among other efforts.

And while earlier surges of the pandemic felt like a horror movie, Shapiro said, the Omicron surge was more akin to a drama because so little has changed.

The drama is that we know right now what to do. Its not the first year, when we didnt have any idea, we didnt have vaccines, we didnt have medications, we didnt have technology. ... Right now, after two years, we know what works, he said.

Some things are indeed making a difference, including plans to expand sick pay and improve the Medi-Cal system, said Preece, of the Community Clinic Assn. There are also some signs that the Omicron surge is beginning to wane, and the general mildness of the variant means fewer patients are becoming severely ill.

Those factors, along with countywide efforts to reach more people through mobile clinics, information campaigns and improved accessibility are helping move the needle.

Theres small glimmers, small rays of light, if you will. I hope that the desire is there and that we remain committed to it, she said.

But while some sectors are already focusing on an equitable recovery from the pandemic, many of the communities the clinic association serves are still focused on an equitable response.

I hope that we really continue to carry this conversation forward when  if  we get to recovery, and really think about the structural issues that led to those disparities in the first place, she said.

Building up the healthcare infrastructure in those communities, along with investing in staffing and safety net services, are urgent and necessary goals, Preece said, as is getting more vaccines into arms.

But there is also a difference between managing the short-term surge and responding to the long-term crisis that lead to communities like South Central and East L.A. bearing the brunt of the pandemic in the first place, she noted.

Overcrowded housing, high cost of living? These are really tough nuts to crack, she said. Its going to take a really long time, and I hope we dont forget the lessons were learning through this pandemic.

Times staff writer Sean Greene contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A woman posts photos of murdered journalists last week during a national protest in Mexico City against the murder of journalists Lourdes Maldonado Lopez and freelance photojournalist Margarito Martinez Esquivel. (Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

Mexico trails just Syria and Iraq as the deadliest country in the world to be a journalist. Thats according to data collected from 2000 through 2022 by the Committee to Protect Journalists. And the Mexican government has done little to stop it.

But in the wake of the murder of four reporters so far this year  Jose Luis Gamboa, Margarito Martinez Esquivel, Lourdes Maldonado Lopez and Roberto Toledo  Mexican journalists are openly criticizing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and government officials like never before.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guest: L.A. Times Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell

More reading:

Journalists throughout Mexico say enough to killings and crimes against press

Photojournalist shot to death outside his home in Tijuana

She told Mexicos president she feared for her life. Then she was killed





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
In this image courtesy of Kristi Magnusson, Kurt Groszhans in one of his fields in Ukraine in July 2021. The American farmer is jailed in Ukraine on charges he attempted to assassinate a former business partner who is now a government minister. The family of Groszhans says the charges are bogus and designed to stifle his claims of corruption. His former partner, Roman Leshchenko, has denied that he embezzled money from the American's company. (Kristi Magnusson via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

WASHINGTON (AP)  When Kurt Groszhans set out from North Dakota for Ukraine in 2017, he was eager to connect with his family's ancestral homeland and to farm the rich, black soil for which the country is known.

But his farming venture with a law professor who's now a high-ranking Ukrainian government official soon collapsed in acrimony and accusations, culminating in his arrest last November on charges of plotting to assassinate his former business partner. His family and supporters say the accusations are bogus and designed to silence Groszhan's claims of corruption in Ukraine, a country pulled between Russian and Western interests and straining to shed its reputation for graft and cronyism.

The case is unfolding as Ukraine braces for a potential Russian invasion and as the U.S. has ordered the families of American personnel at the U.S. Embassy there to evacuate,. The upheaval has Groszhan's family afraid that the North Dakota farmer could be left behind, with the U.S. government preoccupied with broader concerns of possible military action and geopolitical chaos.

We're terrified for my brother's well-being right now, especially everything that you're hearing in the news with the Russian troops on the border, his sister, Kristi Magnusson, said in an interview with The Associated Press. With fears an invasion could force the evacuation of U.S. diplomatic staff, she called on the Biden administration and the State Department to "use their leverage to get him home.

If the embassy is not there to check on him and make sure that he's doing OK, we don't know what will happen, she added.

Asked for comment, the State Department said the administration took seriously its responsibility to help detained Americans and was closely following the case, but declined to comment further.

Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, who recently visited Groszhans at the detention center where he awaits trial, said the episode has created friction between at least me and them, if not our two governments, that should be alleviated" at a time when U.S. and Ukrainian interests should be aligned in countering the threat from Moscow.

This bit of friction is unnecessary," he added. And I think we could relieve all of us of it simply by releasing Kurt.

Groszhans, a 50-year-old farmer from Ashley, North Dakota, traveled in 2017 to Ukraine, where his ancestors are from. The chance to work the country's coveted black earth was a dream come true, and he invested a large sum to get a farming operation up and running, his sister said. In a country with a prized agricultural sector, Groszhans was proud of his work, she said, sending pictures to his family of his crops.

Once there, he connected with a law professor, Roman Leshchenko, who offered himself up as a native speaker with knowledge of the local farming business and regulatory requirements. Grozhans named him the director of his company.

Things fell apart quickly.

Groszhans has alleged in a lawsuit and in an internet post that Leshchenko began embezzling money from him, defrauding him of over $250,000 in total and transferring funds to a family company. Groszhans has been vocal about his allegations, describing himself in a Medium post in August as a humble but deceived investor.

Probably, I am not the first or the last American investor who made a mistake in the person hired as a manager. But the personality of this manager makes my case unique, he wrote.

Leshchenko declined to comment to the AP, but has denied the embezzlement claims in interviews with the Ukrainian media and has insisted that the men had agreed that Leshchenko's company would run the farming business.

He's leveled his own accusations against Groszhans, alleging that the American farmer planted genetically modified soybean that is banned from cultivation and sales in Ukraine and it was that discovery that prompted Leshchenko to resign from the company and was the source of their dispute.

The circumstances of this criminal proceedings must be verified as part of the pre-trial investigation conducted by the National Police and only on the basis of the results of which, after the relevant facts and their evidence have been clarified and established, the prosecutors office can make appropriate procedural decisions, Tetyana Kozachenko, a lawyer for Leshchenko, told The Associated Press.

Ukrainian media that began looking into the conflict reported that Leshchenko had used some of the funds for a roughly $60,000 contribution to the 2019 campaign of current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who later named Leshchenko the government's minister of agrarian policy and food.

The AP was unable to independently confirm the contribution. Zelenskyys office did not respond to a request for comment.

Amid controversy about the contribution, Leshchenko was interviewed by the Kyiv Post last year. The article said the $60,000 donation came from Leshchenkos dying father. Leshchenko said he and his father saw Zelenskyy as the only person who wants to change Ukraine, bring structural reforms."

Magnusson says Leshchenko ultimately did return some money to her brother, but also threatened to have him arrested if he didn't stop talking publicly about his fraud accusations.

In November, Groszhans was arrested along with his assistant on charges of plotting to assassinate Leshchenko, allegations that Groszhans' supporters say are wholly fabricated but may have arisen from Groszhans' hiring of a private investigator to dig into Leshchenko as part of his litigation.

The arrest, his family and supporters believe, was a pretext for silencing his allegations, particularly in a country that has sought to shore up diplomatic and military support from the U.S. through reassurances it is making a serious effort to curb corruption.

My brother has never in all of his 50 years of life ... been in trouble with the law, Magnusson said. And we dont believe any of this can be true because why would you want to assassinate somebody if youre trying to collect money back that is legally owed to you?

His supporters are asking the Biden administration to formally designate him a wrongful detainee, a classification that would allow for his case to be reassigned to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department.

But his family fears the window for attention to Groszhan's case may be limited, given the potential for an incursion by Russia and the dwindling diplomatic presence by the U.S.

It just makes us more and more concerned for him and for his safety to know that these people could be leaving and Kurt is forgotten about, and he's left behind," Magnusson said.

____

Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Students walk through a near empty campus after UCLA moved classes online Tuesday in the wake of violent online threats. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

To his students at UCLA, the warning signs about lecturer Matthew C. Harris seemed abundant and longstanding.

By the spring 2021 quarter, the philosophy lecturer had gained a reputation as odd and quixotic, speaking haltingly, changing his syllabus willy-nilly and spending the first four weeks of his Philosophy of Race class without once showing his face over Zoom.

Things got weirder as the term progressed, students said, leading up to a final exam that included an essay question about the hate-filled manifesto of Christopher Dorner, a former LAPD officer whose 2013 shooting rampage killed four people and wounded three others. Students were asked to consider the "oppression, disrespect and loss of dignity" suffered by the homicidal ex-cop.

Eventually, one student said she reported Harris to campus authorities and the FBI, after he directed another student to his YouTube channel, which included disturbing references to sexual perversion and bomb threats at Los Angeles International Airport. UCLA removed the post-doctoral fellow from his post last spring, after emails he sent to his mother uncovered even more graphic, and specific, alleged threats.

What galled and frustrated some UCLA students Tuesday was what they deemed a slow and nebulous response by university administrators to threats of mass violence, allegedly made by Harris, that surfaced a day earlier. It was a delay they said left them anxious and under-informed for long hours through the night and up to Harris's arrest Tuesday in Boulder, Colo.

Though the indications of potential violence arrived Monday afternoon, it was not until more than eight hours later, just before midnight, that UCLA tweeted all classes would be held remotely out of an abundance of caution. Campus police were actively working with out-of-state & federal agencies, the tweet said. At the time, UCLA did not release information about the location of the person of interest.

High anxiety on the universitys Westwood campus finally began to dissipate around noon Tuesday, when police and prosecutors in Boulder announced that they had arrested Harris, 31, for unspecified state charges. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold called Harris' manifesto "very violent" and "very disturbing."

But the relatively quiet ending felt far from certain around the Westwood campus, where the first warning signs of potential trouble emerged in the wee hours of Sunday morning, escalating to the alleged violent threats beginning Monday afternoon. Some of Harris' menacing statements were delivered via more than 300 YouTube videos, most of which were uploaded that day.

It began just before 1 a.m. Sunday, when Harris sent an email to his former students, replete with racist slurs against Jewish and East Asian people. Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck confirmed in an Instagram video Monday night that UCLA staff members were aware that Harris had messaged students.

At about 3:30 p.m. Monday, philosophy department Chair Sherrilyn Roush sent an alert to department members that Harris had begun directing threats at UCLA. She said campus police and behavioral specialists were "investigating with urgency."

By 6:30 p.m., someone posted on Reddit a department alert recommending that professors hold classes remotely, as the material included a video titled "UCLA Philosophy Mass Shooting" and an "800-page manifesto with specific threats toward some members of the department." Several emails from philosophy department leaders and multiple instructors, obtained by The Times on Monday night, alerted students that in-person classes would not be held.

At 9:25 p.m., the first campus-wide message went out, saying that campus police were aware of the "concerning email and posting." Police were engaged with out-of-state law enforcement and would keep the community informed, the tweet added.



That created an instant backlash on Twitter. "What @UCLA and @UCPDLA are failing to inform students and staff of is that this 'concerning email' is a major mass shooter threat at UCLA," one person tweeted.

It was not until 11:57 p.m. that UCLA canceled in-person classes for Tuesday. The alert said campus officials "do not have specific information that this individual is in CA," adding: "Out of an abundance of caution, all classes will be held remotely Feb 1. We will keep you updated." By Tuesday morning, UCLA sent another notice, saying that the individual who had made the threats was outside the state and "under observation."

Mini Mishra, a freshman neuroscience major, said she and others felt strung along by UCLA administrators. It's incredibly frustrating to see that we as students have to deal with finding information instead of being updated by UCLA admin., Mishra said in an email to The Times. Students shouldn't have to fight to have information given to them, especially seeing as it is threatening the lives of everyone on campus.

Lizette Garcia, a 22-year-old sociology student at UCLA, was in a Zoom class Monday evening when her phone started blowing up with messages on a GroupMe chat with her classmates. She felt frustrated that it took until past midnight to get word that in-person classes would not be held the next day.

"I just feel like the school continues to treat us like commodities," Garcia said.

In a campus message Tuesday, UCLA officials told students they were "greatly relieved" that Harris is in custody and offered campus counseling for anyone needing it. Classes would resume Wednesday.

"The threats made yesterday were frightening for many of us and caused our community to feel vulnerable at an already challenging time," said Suzanne L. Seplow, assistant vice chancellor for student development and health, and Michael Deluca, assistant vice chancellor for campus life.

Asked about the delay in notifications, a UCLA spokesman pointed to the administrators' statement and thanked campus police and other law enforcement for "thoroughly investigating these threats as soon as we learned of them and for coordinating to locate and arrest the individual in Colorado."

It was not until a midday press conference in Boulder that the details emerged: Harris had barricaded himself inside his apartment, across the street from the University of Colorado campus. It took three hours before he surrendered, 11:07 a.m., Mountain Time. He did not put up a struggle, authorities said.

Suspect Matthew Harris, was apprehended at this apartment complex on Tuesday in Boulder, Colorado. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Because he made the alleged threats across interstate lines, Harris was turned over to federal authorities and was expected to face charges in U.S. courts, likely involving threats and weapons.

Harris had been on law enforcement's radar since at least last spring, when the LAPD's mental evaluation unit made contact with him, Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. Police began to monitor his whereabouts after he was released from a mental health facility, according to a court filing.

Last May, lawyers for the University of California sought a restraining order to bar Harris from all campuses and to prevent him from coming near two individuals he allegedly threatened  a philosophy professor at another UC campus and a UCLA administrator. Much of the evidence a judge used to grant the order in June came from Harris' mother, in the form of troubling emails her son sent her, the court filing said.

In one of the emails attached to the court action, Harris detailed his plan to "hunt" the professor and "put bullets in her skull." Harris had once pressed the professor, via texts and emails, to date him. In his email to his mother, he blamed the professor for "giving me schizophrenia," the court filing said. Another email said: "I am ready to go Chris Dorner on these white people," in reference to the Black ex-officer who went on the 2013 murder spree.

In the January 2021 emails Harris sent his mother, he also compared himself to the shooter who massacred 26 people, most of them children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012.

The university attorney described behavior by Harris that "steadily escalated from reported incidents of conduct with students involving graphic materials of a sexual and violent nature which resulted in him being placed on investigatory leave ... to now outright death threat to petitioner's employee."

It's unclear when Harris moved to Boulder, and residents in his apartment building told a reporter Tuesday they didn't know him or what he was doing in the university town. But police said they were aware of his presence. They had one contact with him in October, though they did not not describe the nature of that incident.

In November, he tried and failed to buy a gun in Colorado's Jefferson County. Officials said the purchase was denied because a special "gun violence" restraining order prohibiting Harris from buying or possessing firearms had been requested by UC attorneys and granted by a Los Angeles judge

Then came this week's fusillade of video and written threats, describing "killing, death, murder, shootings, bombs," that Harris planned to unleash, the Boulder police chief said.

The UCLA PHILOSOPHY (MASS SHOOTING) video, posted Sunday, contained disturbing imagery, including footage of the 2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival and clips from the 2003 movie Zero Day, which is loosely based on the Columbine High School mass shooting.

In several of his videos, Harris made racist comments. He cryptically named specific locations on the UCLA campus and said they were added to his list.

The Times obtained a partial copy of Harris email to the UCLA philosophy department, which included additional evidence of a troubled mind.

Da war is comin, he wrote. forward dis [expletive] to our tha goldhead caucasoid princess.

The restraining order filing said that Harris' mother sent the menacing emails in April to the professor, saying that she "felt physically ill reading them." The professor passed them on to university officials.

"I'm sorry to drop all this on you out of the blue," the elder Harris wrote to her son's professed target. "I only know I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did nothing and someone got hurt."

Times staff writers Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Boulder, Colo., James Rainey, Kevin Rector and Gregory Yee contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media Tuesday in Moscow. (Yuri Kochetkov / Associated Press)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused the United States and its allies of ignoring Moscows security proposals, while Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to take tougher measures to deter a Russian invasion of his country.

The rhetorical volleys from Moscow and Kyiv came against a backdrop of intensifying diplomatic activity aimed at staving off a Russian military move into Ukraine, the neighbor it invaded eight years ago. Although more than 100,000 Russian troops are massed on Ukraines border, Putin faulted the West for causing tensions, depicting a deliberate attempt to goad Moscow into making a military move.

Ukraine itself is just an instrument to achieve this goal, the Russian leader said. This can be done in different ways, by drawing us into some kind of armed conflict that would trigger harsh Western sanctions against Russia.

The Kremlin, Putin said, was still weighing written responses from Washington and NATO over his demands that NATO rule out ever allowing Ukraine to join the alliance  a scenario that would almost certainly be years away, if it happened at all  and that it restrict alliance activities in eastern Europe.

But it is already clear that Russias fundamental concerns have been ignored, he said. NATO refers to the right of countries to choose freely, but you cant strengthen someones security at others expense.

At the same time, the Russian president said he still hoped for a diplomatic resolution to the standoff. I hope that we will eventually find a solution, although we realize that its not going to be easy, he said.

In Kyiv, Zelensky praised allied backing for Ukraine, but suggested the West should do more to dissuade Putin from any aggression, rather than waiting until after the fact to punish Moscow. At a side-by-side news conference with visiting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Zelensky said the two discussed deterrence.

Prevention is better than treatment, the Ukrainian president said. He said a pullback of Russian troops massed near Ukraine would be the only true answer to a question: whether Russia is going to continue the escalation or not.

Zelensky has made a concerted effort to play down the likelihood of a Russian re-invasion, suggesting in recent days that Western warnings of an imminent threat were overly alarmist. Johnson, though, portrayed Putin as holding a gun to Ukraines head, saying there was a clear and present danger of a Russian attack.

Were that to happen, Johnson said, Russian troops would face very, very fierce and bloody resistance from Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine is far outmatched by Russia militarily, but on Tuesday, Zelensky signed a decree expanding the army by 100,000 service members over the next three years, which would bring its troop total to 350,000. The countrys military posture has changed considerably since 2014, when Russia seized Ukraines Crimean Peninsula without a fight, and fomented a separatist rebellion in Ukraines east, a simmering conflict that has killed 14,000 people.

Earlier Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Echoing a pattern of previous U.S.-Russian talks  and coming a day after an acrimonious U.S.-Russia showdown at the U.N. Security Council  the session did not appear to produce any breakthroughs.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken further reiterated the U.S. commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances.

Blinken also repeated warnings of swift and severe consequences if Russia were to move against Ukraine. And the administration again conveyed mistrust of Russian protestations that Moscow had no intentions of renewed aggression.

We continue to hear those assurances that Russia is not planning to invade, but certainly every action we see says otherwise with the continued buildup of troops and heavy weapons moving to the border, said a senior State Department official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity to characterize sensitive discussions.

In the meantime, Putin appeared to relish the chance to highlight any sign of tensions among Western allies. Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is considered the most Russia-friendly leader in Europe although his country is a NATO member, traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for talks with Putin. Appearing by Putins side at a joint news conference, Orban urged de-escalation.

Other Western leaders have sought to telegraph solidarity with Ukraine by visiting Kyiv. Among them was the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, who met with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal, and pledged humanitarian aid as well as arms supplies to Ukraine.

And he expressed sympathy over Ukraines plight.

Living close to a neighbor like Russia, he said, we have the feeling of living at the foot of a volcano.

Bulos reported from Kyiv and King from Washington. Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The 2022 Winter Olympic opening ceremonies will be dotted with empty seats as some major world VIPs skip the festivities in protest against the Chinese government's human rights violations.

In December, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced America wouldnt send an official delegation to the Beijing Games citing the government's mass detention camps and forced sterilization campaign against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the country's western province.

High-ranking officials often attend Olympic Games' opening ceremonies, including presidents, vice presidents, secretaries of state, ambassadors and other officials. First lady Jill Biden attended the Tokyo Olympics as leader of the U.S. delegation.

MORE: US announces diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics in China over human rights

Human rights activists around the globe have called for athletes and leaders to boycott the Games because of the government's policies.

"As the president has told President Xi [Jinping], standing up for human rights is in the DNA of Americans. We have a fundamental commitment to promoting human rights," Psaki told reporters on Dec. 6.

PHOTO: A rehearsal of the Beijing 2022 opening ceremony is conducted at the National Stadium on Jan. 22, 2022 in Beijing. (VCG via Getty Images)

The United States' move, however, stopped short of prohibiting athletes from competing.

"The athletes on Team USA have our full support, we will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home," Psaki said.

MORE: Australian Open organizers reverse ban on T-shirts supporting Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., tweeted out a response to the Biden administration shortly after its announcement claiming they "are doing so for their own political interests and posturing."

PHOTO: Activists hold placards calling for the BBC to boycott the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, on Jan. 4, 2022, in London. (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In 1980, Team USA boycotted the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow to protest Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. Russian, in turn, boycotted the following Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

In 2014, top U.S. officials didn't attend the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in protest of Russia's policies of discrimination against its LGTBQ population.

Russia criticized the U.S. diplomatic boycott in Beijing, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov telling reporters in December, "The Olympic Games should be free of politics."

Other countries join in

Several major nations have joined the U.S. in its diplomatic boycott of the Games.

One day after the U.S. announced its plans, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would not send an official diplomatic representative to the Games, also citing the Chinese government's human rights violations.

PHOTO: The Olympic rings and the National Stadium are pictured amid snowfall on Jan. 20, 2022 in Beijing. (Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)

On Dec. 8, the United Kingdom and Canada joined the diplomatic boycott.

MORE: Uighur woman living in France speaks out about alleged Chinese re-education camp horrors

The Japanese government said it wouldn't send a delegation to the Games but hasn't declared a boycott, as of January.

By the end of January, several other European countries joined in the diplomatic boycott, including Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Why US, other nations are holding diplomatic boycott of Beijing Games originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Russia is conducting military exercises on a scale never seen before on the Ukrainian border, the head of the UKs armed forces has warned, in a pattern of coercion and intimidation against the West.

Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin addressed a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Downing Street said, as Boris Johnson flew to Ukraine in a bid to quell tensions between Russia and the former Soviet state.

But before boarding his flight Mr Johnson told his Cabinet that the situation was deeply concerning and that there were no indications of Russia de-escalating with more than 100,000 troops currently amassed on Ukraines border.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives to board an aircraft in London for a flight to Kyiv, Ukraine (Peter Nicholls/PA)

Sir Tony said a significant proportion of Russias land combat power was now gathered on the western border, coupled with deterrence operations such as military exercises on a scale never seen before.

No 10 said he warned this fitted into a pattern of coercion and intimidation that sought to undermine the values and principles of the West.

Mr Johnson is expected to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, where it is thought he will again urge the leader to dial down the aggression.

A planned call on Monday had to be rescheduled due to the Prime Minister defending himself in Westminster over the partygate allegations engulfing No 10.

In Kyiv, Mr Johnson will discuss with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the support the UK can offer, before the two leaders hold a joint press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said Mr Johnson had been very much spearheading the international response to this.

He insisted that totting up the numbers of calls was not necessarily the sole arbitrating factor of how this is decided when he was asked about French President Emmanuel Macron holding two calls with President Putin in four days.

Mr Johnson, who travelled on a chartered plane from Stansted with staff and a small pool of journalists late on Tuesday morning, last spoke to the Russian leader in December.

The Government announced overnight that 88 million in aid would be sent to Ukraine to support the country.

The cash  part of the UKs Good Governance Fund  will help support stable governance and energy independence, by supporting transparency and anti-corruption initiatives and efforts to reduce Ukraines reliance on Russian energy supplies.

But the cash injection and the Prime Ministers visit have been criticised as being too little too late.

Layla Moran (Aaron Chown/PA)

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran said: Britain deserves so much better than having Boris Johnson represent us on the world stage. Hes been missing in action while war looms in Europe  and while he might be playing catch-up now, its too little, too late.

This is the man who picked pleading with his backbenchers over talking tough to Vladimir Putin. Hes spent the last month phoning wavering Tory MPs when he should have been meeting foreign leaders.

Labours shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said: The situation in Ukraine is immensely serious. We want diplomacy to succeed.

This crisis requires the attention of a focused Prime Minister, but Boris Johnson is playing catch up and the Government is in disarray. Yesterday he missed a call with Putin because he was in Parliament defending the indefensible.

Meanwhile former Tory leadership hopeful Rory Stewart told Times Radio the investigation into parties held across Downing Street and Whitehall had distracted from the crisis in Ukraine.

Mr Stewart, who previously worked as a diplomat, said it was embarrassing, and added: This idea that somehow Boris Johnson is, you know, single-handedly defending Ukraine from Russia is pure fantasy. Pure fantasy.

Former Tory MP Rory Stewart (Jonathan Brady/PA)

It comes as the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee launched a new inquiry into the dirty money associated with corruption.

Committee chairman and Tory MP Tom Tugendhat said the Government had done little to address these dangers, and added: As a global financial centre, the UK is in a unique position to act and to protect against threats to the rules-based international order.

Russias intimidation of Ukraine, and the pressure the Kremlin is putting on other European states, makes it clear we must act.

On Monday, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced plans for legislation with new powers to sanction individuals and businesses linked to the Russian state and she said those sharing responsibility for the Kremlins aggressive, destabilising action could have their assets in the UK frozen.

Ms Truss was meant to join Mr Johnson on the trip to Kyiv but tested positive for coronavirus on Monday evening.

No 10 said the Prime Minister took a Covid test which was negative before travelling.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: Obviously hes seen the Foreign Secretary a number of times, hell continue to take daily Covid tests in line with the current rules.
VISAKHAPATNAM: In a tragic incident, a marlin, the giant fish with a spear-like snout, killed a fisherman in the Bay of Bengal, off Visakhapatnam coast, on Wednesday.

The victim, 40-year-old Molli Joganna, from Visakhapatnam district, was fishing in the deep sea 60 nautical miles away from the shore under Parawada police station limits on the south of Visakhapatnam, along with four other fishermen when the tragedy took place. The fishermen, who ventured into the deep sea for catching fish on Tuesday at 4 pm, continued fishing till Wednesday morning.

At around 7 am, they found a marlin (local fisherfolk call it Kommu Konam), weighing nearly 70 kg in their net. As they were unable to haul the fish into their boat, Joganna jumped to the sea to help others. The huge fish then attacked Joganna with its upper snout on his stomach, killing him on the spot.

Joganna was a resident of Jalaripeta, a coastal hamlet in Mutyalammapalem panchayat in Parawada mandal.

Confirming this to Deccan Chronicle, Parawada circle inspector P. Eswara Rao said Jogannas body was shifted to NTR Hospital in Anakapalli for post-mortem. The case was referred to the Marine Police, who registered a case and were investigating, he added.

When contacted, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) head at Visakhapatnam branch Dr Subhadeep Ghosh said marlin fish are very aggressive and fast swimmers. Visakhapatnam coast has plenty of marlin fish. They come close to the shore during the winter months from November to February due to changes in wind direction. They generally swim in the deep sea. Due to their sharp upper snouts, there could be chances of tearing them into the body of fishermen, Ghosh told this newspaper.

He said that he came across several people getting injured by the fish in his 15 years of research on the marine species, but it is the first time he heard that this fish could kill a man. Usually, these kinds of incidents of human death due to fish attacks are reported on the coasts of the US and Australia, he said.

Visakhapatnam Fishermen Youth Welfare Association leader Arjili Das said none of their fishing community people died of fish attacks so far in the known history. We also tell our people to be cautious after learning a lesson from Wednesdays incident, he said.

Marlin, the merciless

 Belongs to Istiophoridae family

 It has a spear-like snout or bill

 Long rigid dorsal fin

 Marlins are the fastest marine swimmers

 A fish can reach 110 kmph in short bursts

 Atlantic blue marlin and white marlin are endangered due to overfishing

Marlin sold at Rs 40K in Hyd last February!

In February 2021, a black marlin fish weighing 78 kg was sold for Rs 40,000 at a non-fish mart at Manikonda in Hyderabad. The fish, which is usually found in the Pacific Ocean, was caught in seawater along Vizag shore.
Two campus police officers were killed Tuesday in a shooting at Bridgewater College in Virginia.

A male suspect has been arrested and the school gave an all-clear notification to students who had been sheltering in place after the shooting around 1:20 p.m.

Police approach a person of interest on the south bank of the North River in Bridgewater, Va. following a shooting at Bridgewater College Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022.





Police approach a person of interest on the south bank of the North River in Bridgewater, Va. following a shooting at Bridgewater College Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (Daniel Lin/)

The suspect was apprehended about a half mile from the campus near the North River at around 1:55 p.m. after the shooting, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Ecliff Graves, a witness, told the Times-Dispatch he saw a man running toward the river carrying a heavy duffel bag. After the man disappeared from Graves line of sight, multiple police officers ran in the same direction as the suspect and Graves heard a gun shot.

Police conduct an investigation following a shooting at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022.





Police conduct an investigation following a shooting at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (Daniel Lin/)

I heard one little pop, he said. It sounded like a handgun. I said, thats sort of weird. "

According to the Times-Dispatch, a police scanner report said the suspect had been shot once.

Students exit Flory Hall on the campus of Bridgewater College following a shooting that claimed the lives of a campus police officer and a campus security officer in Bridgewater, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022.





Students exit Flory Hall on the campus of Bridgewater College following a shooting that claimed the lives of a campus police officer and a campus security officer in Bridgewater, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (Daniel Lin/Daily News-Record/)

The school identified the deceased as campus police officer John Painter and campus safety officer J.J. Jefferson, who were known as the dynamic duo. The school added that the two men were close friends.

The school said it was safe to move about the campus at 4:30 p.m. Earlier it had warned students through email and social media.

A police officer tapes off the scene of a shooting at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022.





A police officer tapes off the scene of a shooting at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (Daniel Lin/)

This is not a test. More info to follow, the school tweeted after initial reports of an active shooter.

Bridgewater College is a liberal-arts college with about 1,500 students about 140 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.
The Home Secretary has hit back at criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron about Britains attempts to tackle migrant crossings as just wrong.

Mr Macron reportedly told French newspaper La Voix du Nord that the UK economy relies on low-paid, illegal immigrant labour.

The British continue to have a system from the 1980s, which manages economic immigration through hypocrisy.

There is no legal immigration route, he is quoted as saying, adding: The British must articulate their needs in terms of the economy and reopen a path to legal asylum requests. We are going to step up the pressure.

Asked for her response to the comments when she appeared in front of MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Priti Patel said: Macrons comments are wrong. Theyre absolutely wrong. So, let me be very, very clear about that.

Alongside that, I should also say that the French government, the entire French government  both the interior minister and President Macron  are fully aware through the very good work, actually, that our ambassador in Paris and her team does, in terms of number one: the co-operation that we have to have with France to combat the dangerous and unnecessary crossings, dealing with illegal migration, but also working with like-minded partners across Europe. So, those comments are just wrong.

Last month Mr Macron warned that the problem of migrant crossings in the Channel cannot be solved unless the UK changes its policies.

The latest comments echo some of those he made while speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to mark France taking over its six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, when he also said there needs to be legal, stable routes to be able to migrate to the UK.

Bella Sankey, director of charity Detention Action, said: President Macron is right to step up the pressure on the UK Government and to point out that unsafe small boat crossings are a result of the UKs refusal to open up safe routes for those fleeing persecution.

A safe passage to allow asylum seekers in France to reach the UK is urgently needed and we welcome the French Governments recognition that the status quo is not sustainable.

More than 1,300 people crossed the English Channel to the UK on board small boats in January 2022, according to data compiled by the PA news agency.

This is more than six times the number who succeeded in making the dangerous journey in January last year.

Facing persistent questioning on the subject, Ms Patel told the committee it was not right to say nothings working, highlighting that out of 51,000 attempted crossings last year, 28,000 migrants arrived in the UK and 23,000 were prevented.

But she admitted the number of people who have been subsequently removed from the UK was tiny, citing a range of reasons including the coronavirus pandemic, asylum processing issues and the inability to remove people to certain countries, adding: But that doesnt mean were not doing any work on these individuals.

She insisted suggestions that the UK could process and determine asylum claims from centres in France would not stop the crossings, adding: That proposal will effectively make France a big magnet for more migrants to come.

Asked about plans for the military to take over command of tackling migrant crossings from Border Force, Ms Patel described the work as a hybrid role involving both the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and said the details are still being worked through.

Facing questions over whether navy vessels would be called in to intercept boats, she added: That work is taking place. Im not going to comment on operational planning.

She was unable to say whether the navy would be involved in push back operations  to turn migrant boats back towards France at sea  reiterating that work had not been finalised and was still under way.

Ms Patel also rejected concerns that the MoDs involvement could encourage more people to cross the Channel, adding: I have confidence in the expertise of our teams that are working through operational details. I think actually it is incredibly irresponsible for any speculation around this area.
Boris Johnson is facing fresh calls from senior Tories to withdraw his discredited claim that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

Former minister Tobias Ellwood said the Conservative Party needs to improve our standards, while Simon Hoare, chairman of the Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, said the false allegation should be withdrawn.

However Communities Secretary Michael Gove defended the Prime Minister, insisting that he had nothing to apologise for.

Mr Johnson has been heavily criticised after claiming that, when Labour leader Sir Keir was director of public prosecutions, he used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

The attack came during heated Commons exchanges on Monday following the publication of the interim Sue Gray report on lockdown parties in Downing Street.

It led to widespread condemnation, including from lawyers representing many of Saviles victims.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Ellwood, who became the latest Tory MP to call for Mr Johnson to resign, said: Who advised the Prime Minister to say this?

Were better than this, we must seek to improve our standards and rise above where we are today.

FWIW: 1) the Sue Gray report must be published in full; 2) likewise any Met report; 3) if fines are issued we should know; 4) the Jimmy Saville false allegation should be withdrawn.  Simon Hoare MP (@Simon4NDorset) February 2, 2022

Mr Hoare tweeted: The Jimmy Savile false allegation should be withdrawn.

On Tuesday, Sir Charles Walker, vice chairman of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee, told Channel 4 News that the comment had been a mistake and Mr Johnson should apologise.

I wish he hadnt done it. I suspect he wishes he hadnt done it, he said.

I think it might have been at the time in the heat of battle, because it gets very heated on the floor of the House. Its very febrile. But I think it was a mistake.

Of course he should withdraw it. It didnt add to the overall debate. Its really good though to be able to apologise. I think you never get marked down for an apology. Its not a sign of weakness.

Tobias Ellwood said the Tories need to improve their standards (Yui Mok/PA)

Mr Gove however said that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had issued an apology for its handling of the case.

I think this is a uniquely sensitive issue and it does need to be handled with care, and I listen with enormous respect to those who act for victims of the actions of a terrible, terrible criminal, he said.

But  and its not a subject that I want to dwell on because it is uniquely sensitive  it is the case that the CPS apologised for the handling of this case and what happened in 2009, and I think we should acknowledge that an apology was given at the time and respect that.

He added: Keir Starmer acknowledged that mistakes had been made by the organisation of which he was head, to his credit. He was very clear about those mistakes.

In 2020, fact-checking charity Full Fact looked into the claim that Sir Keir had stopped Savile being charged in 2009.

It said Sir Keir was head of the CPS when the decision not to prosecute was made on the grounds of insufficient evidence, adding: The allegations against Savile were dealt with by local police and a reviewing lawyer for the CPS.

A later investigation criticised the actions of both the CPS and the police in their handling of the situation.

It did not suggest that Mr Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made.

Savile  who is now thought to have been one of Britains most prolific sex offenders  died in 2011 aged 84, having never been brought to justice for his crimes.
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We wrote a story this week about a component of President Bidens Build Back Better Act that would provide an employment tax credit for local newspapers that would encourage them to hire and retain more journalists.

I was asked to provide a quote for the article on why that provision of the bill was important and what it would mean for newspapers and local journalism across the country, should the provision stay in the bill and make it to the presidents desk for signature.

The assignment made me think about a recent planning retreat that the Alpharetta City Council took to Greenville, South Carolina.

On the retreat, the council and city staff talked about its priorities, where it can and should spend money, strategies for promoting and continued planning one of its largest infrastructure investments ever  the Alpha Loop trail system, and much more.

No votes were taken. No money was officially allocated. But still, a lot happened.

And sitting front row for it all, taking furious notes to bring back with him to Alpharetta, was our reporter, Jake Drukman.

He was the only person that was not a member of city staff or an elected official in attendance. No one from the community was there, no one voiced their opinion in favor or against an agenda item, and there was not a live stream of the meetings available to those at home.

We paid for Jakes travel, food and hotel. He spent his entire weekend reporting on the retreat.

He was there, representing the eyes and ears of the citizens of Alpharetta, to ensure they would know what had happened when hed finished writing his report.

We have no reason to believe anything nefarious would have happened had he not been there, taking notes and asking questions, but it doesnt matter, because he was.

And thats the case in local newsrooms across the country: they show up. They ask the hard questions. They help readers understand issues and hold government officials accountable.

But many of the newspapers who employ those journalists are in a tough spot, especially the ones in rural communities where businesses and residents that support local newspapers through more traditional means, like advertising and paid subscriptions, just arent there anymore.

Google the term news desert and youll see what I mean.

A tax credit for employing journalists in those communities could be the difference between keeping one or two journalists on staff, if they keep any at all.

The Build Back Better Act has already passed in the House of Representatives, but it has not made it to the floor of the Senate yet for a vote. Both Georgia Senators Warnock and Ossoff have signaled their support for the bill, should they be given the opportunity to vote on it, but I would still encourage you to take the time to give their offices a call and thank them for supporting local journalism.

It matters.

The phone number for the United States Capitol is (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.
Ramakrishna Reddy said the government is crediting salaries into accounts of the employees as per the new PRC and hence a cancellation of the GOs is not possible.  By arrangement

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday promised its employees that there will not be any recoveries from their salaries under the new PRC mode.

The government resumed the consultation process with the protesting employees in which the leaders of the PRC struggle committee reiterated its demand for cancellation of the GO on the PRC as a prerequisite to resume the talks. Adviser to the government Sajjala Ramakrishna assured them that there would be no recovery from their salaries.

Ministers Buggana Rajendranath and Bostsa Satyanarayana alo joined the meeting from the government side while employee leaders Suryanarayana, Venkateswarlu, Bandi Srinivasa and Venkatrami Reddy attended the consultations.

Employee leaders demanded that the government cancel three GOs issued for the implementation of 11 (new) PRC, dismissal of CCA, reduction of HRA etc. They later said the government turned down their three demands. They objected to the forceful disbursal of salaries to the employees under the new PRC.

They said the employees will continue protests including the indefinite strike from February 7.

Ramakrishna Reddy said the government is crediting salaries into accounts of the employees as per the new PRC and hence a cancellation of the GOs is not possible. The government will not effect recoveries from salaries of the employees. We will continue talks with the employees to correct the mistakes, if any, he said and appealed to the employees to cancel their strike plan in view of the financial difficulties of the state.
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, 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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria Alexander Schallenberg discussed the bilateral relations and the regional, international developments during their private meeting in Yerevan.

The Armenian FM shared his information about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Armenian-Turkish dialogue with his Austrian counterpart.

I must praise the fact that Mr Schallenberg , definitely, welcomes and supports the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format and the efforts of the Co-Chairs aimed at the settlement of the still unresolved Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as expresses his support to the solution of all existing humanitarian problems, such as the issue of the Armenian prisoners of war and the preservation of and access to the cultural monuments, the Armenian FM told reporters today.

The Austrian FM arrived in Armenia on a working visit on February 2. He is scheduled to meet also with Armenias Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament.
Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy talks to the media at his residence during the Union Budget session in New Delhi on Wednesday, 2 Feb 2022. (DC Image)

HYDERABAD: Finding fault with Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for making objectionable comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, the Union tourism minister G. Kishan Reddy on Wednesday said the Chief Minister and his family members and other ministers hatched a plan to malign the BJP after the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) was defeated by the BJP in Huzurabad byelections.

Chandrashekar Rao, who failed to keep his promise to erect a massive statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar in Hyderabad, abused the leader who drafted the Indian Constitution.

The Chief Minister tried to divert attention by making false and fake issues in the state. He promised to provide three acres land to each Dalit family, Dalit Bandhu, Nirudyoga Bruthi and to make a Dalit the Chief Minister. All these promises were unfulfilled by the Chief Minister," Kishan Reddy alleged.

"The Central government had allocated Rs 73,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to provide employment in the country. In the latest Budget, the funds to MGNREGS had gone up to Rs 93,000 crore. The Chief Minister falsely quoted that the funds for MGNREGS had been reduced. The funds in the present budget for the scheme was increased to 33 per cent as compared to the budget of 2021-22," the Union minister said.

"After the Covid-19 pandemic, the Central government has provided huge funds to the health sector. In the 2021-22 Budget, the government allocated Rs 71,268 crore to the health sector. In the present Budget, the government allocated Rs 83,000 crore and it is almost 15 per cent increase of funds to the health sector," he said.

Kishan Reddy said at least 274-kilometre-long national highway works were completed by spending Rs 7,040 and 336-kilometre distance of highway works were being taken place at different places in Telangana by spending Rs 8,563 crore. The Central government proposed to develop 865-kilometre-long national highways in Telangana in 2022 by providing Rs 23,000 crore, he pointed out.

The Union minister blamed the Chief Minister for not providing double bedroom houses to the poor people. In Andhra Pradesh, the government built at least 20 lakh houses with the assistance of Central government funds and provided to the poor and middleclass people.

"I wrote to the Chief Minister for giving a clarification on MMTS train service to Yadadri. There was no response from the TRS government till today. The TRS government deliberately delayed in acquiring land for several projects such as RRR road connectivity. The TRS government has failed to construct new hospitals in the city," Kishan Reddy alleged.
YEREVAN, 2 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 2 February, USD exchange rate down by 0.86 drams to 482.52 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.05 drams to 545.34 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.04 drams to 6.32 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.20 drams to 653.57 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 21.72 drams to 27921.75 drams. Silver price up by 5.35 drams to 354.95 drams. Platinum price up by 297.52 drams to 16180.45 drams.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. The process of resolving all issues resulted by the 44-day war and any other issues related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict should take place within the framework of the OSCE, in particular, the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, ARMENPRESS reports Alexander Schallenberg, Federal Minister for European and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria, said during a joint press conference with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, answering the question what role the international community can have in the repatriation of Armenian POWs and ensuring the entry of humanitarian organizations to Artsakh.

Alexander Schallenberg noted that the will of the international community can never replace the will of the conflicting sides to reach a settlement.

The will of Baku, Yerevan, Azerbaijanis and Armenians is needed to move forward in that direction. We know that the wound is still open, you mentioned the existing problems, the issue of the status of Nagorno Karabakh, the issue of borders. There are still some open issues, but I have the impression that the moods have changed a bit since my previous visit, I am more encouraged now than I was last summer as I see signs of moving in the right direction. I am speaking on behalf of Austria, the European Union, I hope the OSCE, that we are ready to help, but you must be willing to accept our help," said the Austrian Foreign Minister.

Responding to the Austrian counterpart's comment, the Armenian Foreign Minister agreed that no matter how much the international community uses its toolkit to encourage the parties to reach an agreement, it is essential that the parties first and foremost exercise that political will. And the whole world has seen that Armenia is ready, really wants to build peace in our region, to solve all the problems. But the problem, according to Minister Mirzoyan, is that by expressing that readiness, Yerevan always receives the exact opposite messages from official Baku.

"As an example, I can advise my colleagues to look at the recent statement of thepPresident of Azerbaijan. As in the past, I repeat today that anti-Armenian rhetoric, aggressive rhetoric, aggressive steps at the border, failure to solve humanitarian problems, such as the continued presence of prisoners of war in Azerbaijan, to put it mildly, do not contribute to a constructive atmosphere. I would like to add that though it was not provided by the trilateral ceasefire statement, however, the Armenian side provided Azerbaijan with maps of minefields, as we are not interested in the death of people, we have unilaterally resolved this issue," Mirzoyan said.

Mirzoyan also touched upon the issue of international organizations, again noting with regret that Azerbaijan shows a unconstructive approach to this issue, forcing international organizations, even the International Committee of the Red Cross, to put up with their policy.

"This is the only organization that has had a presence, an entry and exit to Nagorno Karabakh during these years, and now Azerbaijan restricts even this. I must summarize and reaffirm that we want a constructive dialogue, a solution to all issues, as you mentioned, with the aim of establishing peace, stability in the region, but a similar position of Azerbaijan is required here," he added.
According to Telangana Today, Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and the Indian Army have signed a contract for the manufacture and supply of KonkursM Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (NATO reporting name: AT-5B Spandrel-B) to the Indian Army. The contract, which was signed in New Delhi on February 2, will be executed in three years.

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Konkurs-M anti-tank guided missile (Picture source: Tula Machinery Design Bureau)

BDL produces an updated variant of the Konkurs, designated Konkurs-M. BDL offers the 9K111-1M upgraded anti-tank system that comprises the 9M113 missile. KonkursM can be launched either from a BMP-2 IFV or from a ground launcher. It has a range between 75 to 4,000 meters, with a flight time of 19 seconds. The original 9M113 with a single-charge warhead can penetrate 600 mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA). Tandem warhead  with an extended explosive probe. The warhead penetration is 750800 mm vs RHA: tandem (800 mm (behind a layer of Explosive Reactive Armor)) at 4,000 m (3,500 m in night (passive) mode).

The CMD, BDL Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd) said KonkursM is being manufactured by BDL under a license agreement with a Russian OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer): the 9M113 Konkurs was developed by the Tula Machinery Design Bureau (Tula KBP). The missile has been indigenized up to the maximum extent. The Indian defense industry claims that BDL has manufactured some 25,000 Konkurs-M ATGMs for the Indian Army since 2008.BDL is also offering Konkurs-M missiles for export.
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This week in the archives: business awards, principal of the year and a visit from then-governor Pat McCrory
The minister also announced setting up 75 digital banking units (DBUs) in 75 districts by scheduled commercial banks

Currently, post offices provide savings account services and payments bank services through the India Post Payments Bank. (Representational Image/DC)

Mumbai: In a bid to help expand the reach of financial services to the last mile, the Union Budget 2022 announced bringing 1.5 lakh post offices into the core banking system, and setting up digital banking units (DBUs) in 75 districts, to mark 75 years of Independence, by scheduled commercial banks.

In 2022, 100 per cent of 1.5 lakh post offices will come on the core banking system enabling financial inclusion and access to accounts through net banking, mobile banking, ATMs, and provide online transfer of funds between post office accounts and bank accounts. This will be helpful, especially for farmers and senior citizens in rural areas, enabling interoperability and financial inclusion," said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Currently, post offices provide savings account services and payments bank services through the India Post Payments Bank.

The minister also announced setting up 75 digital banking units (DBUs) in 75 districts by scheduled commercial banks.

Ashish Singhal, managing director of SVC Co-Operative Bank, said, "Connecting post-offices to the core banking system will help reduce the distance between urban-rural economy."

Ketan Doshi, managing director of PayPoint India, said, "The move to connect 150,000 post offices in India to the core banking system, allowing people, especially in rural areas, to access their accounts online and transfer money within post office accounts and other banks will deepen financial inclusion."
Nirmala Sitharaman proposed setting up a digital university on the hub-and-spoke model

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha, at Parliament, in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed setting up a digital university on the hub-and-spoke model and expansion of one class-one TV channel programme through 200 channels for providing supplementary education in regional languages in schools.

The overall financial allocation for the education sector for 2022-23 has increased to Rs 1.04 lakh crore  said to be for the first time it crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, from Rs 93,224 crore in 2021-22. The minister laid emphasis on digital modes of education to reverse learning losses caused by the shutdown during the pandemic.

The minister said that five institutions will be recognised as Centres of Excellence on urban planning and the AICTE will take the lead on developing curriculum for them, while world-class foreign universities will be allowed in Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT), City.

The digital university will be established to provide access to students across the country for world-class quality universal education with personalised learning experience at their doorsteps. This will be made available in different Indian languages and ICT formats, she said.

The finance minister proposed that in vocational courses, to promote crucial critical thinking skills and give space for creativity, 750 virtual labs in science and mathematics, and 75 skilling e-labs for a simulated learning environment, will be set up in 2022-23.

High-quality e-content in all spoken languages will be developed for delivery via internet, mobile phones, TV and radio through Digital Teachers. A competitive mechanism for the development of quality e-content by the teachers will be set up to empower and equip them with digital tools of teaching and facilitate better learning outcomes, she said.

Sitharaman announced that for developing India-specific knowledge in urban planning and design, and to deliver certified training in these areas, up to five existing academic institutions in different regions will be designated as centres of excellence.

The country's biggest school education scheme, the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, has been allocated Rs 37,383.36, an increase of more than Rs 6,000 crores from Budget 2021.
There were protests in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh by railway job aspirants against the alleged erroneous results of the exam

AISA, AIDSO, SFI, NSUI and AISF activists take part in a protest march against alleged erroneous results of the Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB NTPC) exam, during Bihar bandh, in Patna. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday asked the government to examine the allegations of irregularities in the Railways' Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) and Level 1 exams leading to violence in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh last month.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Fauzia Khan of the NCP said recruitment process of the railway examination has exposed the deeper issues of unemployment and a failed education system.

There were protests in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh by railway job aspirants against the alleged erroneous results of the Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB NTPC) exam.

Khan demanded that the overall issue of unemployment particularly in Bihar must be looked at.

"The irregularities that are alleged by the students in this examination must be examined and corrected," she sought.

BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi said earlier one exam was announced from Group-D, but all of a sudden it was announced there would be two exams.

There is no requirement of two exams as Group-D exams are not selection of IAS and IPS, he said.

AAP's Sanjay Singh demanded an inquiry into the results declared by the railways.

He also demanded that FIRs registered against some protesting students should be withdrawn.


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Sitharaman also announced an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem

'National Tele Mental Health' programme will be operated under a network of 23 mental health centres of excellence under National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. (Representational Photo: DC)

NEW DELHI: With the pandemic affecting psychological and emotional health, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the roll-out of the national tele-mental health programme to improve access to quality mental health counselling.

Presenting the Budget for 2022-23, Sitharaman also announced an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem, which will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, consent framework and universal access to health facilities.

In the budget, the government has proposed an allocation of Rs 86,200.65 crore to the health sector, a hike of 16 per cent over Rs 73,931 crore in 2021-22. Of this, Rs 83,000 crore have been allocated to the department of health and family welfare and Rs 3,200 crore to the department of health research.

The government has increased the budgetary allocation for central sector schemes and projects from Rs 10,566 crore to Rs 15,163 crore.

Among these Central sector schemes, the allocation for the Pardhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana has been raised from Rs 70,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore.

The allocation for National Digital Health Mission has been hiked from Rs 30 crore to Rs 200 crore. For the National Health Mission, the proposed allocation has been increased from Rs 36,576 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 37,000 crore in 2022-23. The budget allocation for autonomous bodies has been increased from Rs 8,566 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 10,022 crore. The allocation for statutory and regulatory bodies has been slightly raised from Rs 315 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 335 crore.

In her budget speech, Sitharaman talked about the ongoing Omicron wave, saying that the speed of India's vaccination campaign has helped greatly and she was confident that with 'Sabka Prayaas', this wave shall overcome.

Sitharaman also said that 95 per cent of 112 aspirational districts had made significant progress in health and other parameters and that efforts would now be made to work on districts that were lagging.

On the 'National Tele Mental Health' programme, the finance minister said it will be operated under a network of twenty-three mental health centres of excellence under National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). The International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIT-B) will be providing technological support to the programme.

The centre for psychosocial support in disaster management at NIMHANS had launched a nationwide toll-free 247 helpline to address the mental health and psychosocial concerns of the public during the pandemic and lockdown. Currently, the government is also operating the SAMVEDNA tele-counselling service that offers psychological support to children to address their stress, anxiety, fear, and other issues during the pandemic.
The research found that the compound can block the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the receptor protein ACE2

Spike protein is used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to infect the cells, while ACE2 acts as a gateway to enter the cells. (Photo: Representational/PTI)

Washington: A compound found in the medicinal and culinary herb rosemary may potentially block the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and prevent inflammation caused by COVID-19, a preliminary study suggests.

The research, published in the journal Antioxidants, found that the compound, carnosic acid, can block the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the receptor protein ACE2.

Spike protein is used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to infect the cells, while ACE2 acts as a gateway to enter the cells.

The researchers also reviewed evidence from prior studies that carnosic acid has a separate effect in inhibiting a powerful inflammatory pathway that is active in severe COVID-19 as well as in other diseases including Alzheimer's.

"We think that carnosic acid, or some optimised derivative, is worth investigating as a potentially cheap, safe, and effective treatment for COVID-19 and some other inflammation-related disorders," said study senior author Stuart Lipton, a professor at Scripps Research, US.

Rosemary is an economically important plant species that is widely distributed due to its culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic uses.

In a 2016 study, Lipton and colleagues showed that carnosic acid found in rosemary activates an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant signalling pathway called the Nrf2.

They found evidence that this pathway reduces Alzheimer's-like signs in mouse models of that disease, which is known to feature brain inflammation.

For the new study, Lipton and colleagues from the Tokyo University of Technology, Japan, described their further studies of this anti-inflammatory effect on the immune cells that drive inflammation in COVID-19 and Alzheimer's.

The researchers proposed that this effect could be beneficial against the inflammation observed in COVID-19 and in some cases of the post-COVID syndrome known as long COVID.

Long COVID is characterised by symptoms such as cognitive difficulties often described as "brain fog."

Using a standard infectivity assay, the researchers showed that carnosic acid can directly block SARS-CoV-2's ability to infect cells, with progressively greater infection-blocking activity at higher doses.

While the finding is preliminary, the researchers propose that carnosic acid has this antiviral effect, despite being a safe and relatively unreactive compound, because it is converted to its active form by the inflammation and oxidation found at sites of infection.

In that active form, they suggest, the compound modifies the ACE2 receptor for SARS-CoV-2 -- making the receptor impregnable to the virus and thereby blocking infection.

"Carnosic acid represents a 'pathologically activated therapeutic' in preclinical models of disease -- inactive and innocuous in its normal state, but converted to an active form where it needs to be active," Lipton said.

The researchers are working to synthesise and test more potent derivatives of carnosic acid with improved drug characteristics for potential use in inflammation-related disorders.
by Sumon Corraya

His son testified last year against a Muslim man in a rape case involving a neighbour who was attacked while she was alone in her home. Local Catholics are outraged and pained by the event. We Christians are citizens of this country, but they persecute us because we are a minority, lamented one protester.

Barisal (AsiaNews)  Malkam D'Costa, 91, died last week at his home in Padrishibpur, a village in Barisal (south-central Bangladesh). He was the eldest member of the local Catholic community.

His lifeless body was found in the morning, killed by drugs, which were also given to five members of his family who ended up in hospital.

No one is able to say what happened. But the incident has outraged and sparked fear among local Christians who have reason to believe that it was not just a robbery gone wrong, but a deliberate attack against a Christian family.

In fact, in 2021, a neighbour of Malkam D 'Costa was also forced to take a sleeping pill and then raped while she was alone at home. Her husband is employed as a nightwatchman at a Catholic school.

Once she regained consciousness, she filed a complaint against a Muslim man, Mohammad Alam, and Malkam D Costa's son testified in her favour despite the fact that the accuseds family put pressure on him to get the charges dropped.

For this reason, the Christians in Padrishibpur believe that the killing was an act of revenge connected to the rape case.

Yesterday a hundred Christians held a protest in the village. Voicing their anger, they shouted: We want justice and Brother Malkam is in the grave, why are his killers still out?

One of the demonstrators, Andrio DCosta, spoke to AsiaNews. We Christians are citizens of this country, but they persecute us because we are a minority, he said. We want to live peacefully and see the perpetrators of this murder punished.

Following the incident, Archbishop Lawrence Subrato Howlader of Chattogram visited the victims and express his closeness and sadness to them.

Anol Terence D'Costa, convener of the Commission for Social Communication of the Diocese of Barisal, also spoke on the matter.

Christians, he told AsiaNews, have been attacked twice in a year in the same way in Padrishibpur. For him, this is clearly an act of persecution. We want exemplary punishment.
Israeli Prime Minister Bennett announced that the defensive wall will be ready "within a year" in the south, followed later by the rest of the country. The technology, which has been under development for some time, should integrate and improve on Israels Iron Dome. Set to be operational by 2025, work on it has been speeded up. Sceptics within the military see it as a pie in the sky because its development will take years.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wants Israel to defend itself using laser technology that would create a wall against missile attacks that is more efficient and sustainable and less expensive than the existing Iron Dome.

During a security conference, Bennett said that new technology would allow the Jewish State to raise a laser wall that might be operational within a year in southern Israel, and in the rest of the country later on.

The plan has met with a certain scepticism within Israels military circle over its feasibility within the stated timeframe.

The decision to accelerate the plan to boost Israels defensive shield was prompted by the escalation of violence south of Israel, in particular in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which are vulnerable to rocket and drone attacks by Houthis in Yemen.

At present, not much information is available about the new technology, most notably its effectiveness, timing and costs, but it is thought that it might include land, air and sea defences.

If we can intercept a missile or rocket with an electrical pulse that costs a few dollars, we will essentially neutralize the ring of fire that Iran has set up," Bennett told the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.

What is more, This new generation of air defense can also serve our friends in the region, he added.

Laser technology aims to integrate the Iron Dome defence and other systems to address and thwart new threats. It is also a warning to Iran and its regional allies, most notably Hezbollah.

Bennett explained that a rocket worth a few hundred dollars can be fired against Israel, but intercepting it costs tens of thousands of dollars. For this reason, a laser wall makes sense.

Israel's military will begin testing what is designed to become the laser wall" against missiles, rockets and drones. But development of laser technology has been underway for years, but was not expected before 2025.

A confident Bennett said that within a year the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will implement a laser-based interception system, Initially, as a trial, afterward operationally.

However, within the military, the prime ministers plans are seen a bit like a pie in the sky because it takes years to build a new system.

Still, defence officials recently cited promising tests with aircraft-mounted laser defence systems capable of intercepting unmanned aircrafts.

A laser system could also address longer-range threats at high altitudes regardless of weather conditions.

For its part, Iron Dome has had a 90 per cent interception rate against incoming rocket fire during four wars against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
by Fady Noun

The Secretary for Relations with States in Beirut to relaunch the dialogue between the parties and avert an escalation of the crisis. The Pope will go to Lebanon "soon", but there is no set date yet. The meeting with the highest civil authorities and the speech at the university. The unresolved issue of Palestinian and Syrian refugees.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - Will he come or not? Responding to questions about a possible visit by the Pope to Lebanon, the Holy See's secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Richard Paul Gallagher, left the Lebanese anxious yesterday without dispelling the doubt. He announced that the Holy Father would keep his promise and come to Lebanon "soon", but added that "it all depends on what we mean by soon".

He also addressed the question of a confrontation between the parties in order to resolve the controversies and tensions that are tearing Lebanon apart and a possible role for the Vatican: "If this were to happen," said the prelate, using English alternately with French, "the Holy See would take into serious consideration the fact of participating in, and perhaps even hosting, a national dialogue between the Lebanese. But this must be the result of a request made by all the parties involved in the matter".

On the first day of his visit (31 January - 4 February), Mgr Gallagher met the Head of State, Michel Aoun, the Speaker of the House, Nabih Berry, and the Commander of the Army, General Joseph Aoun (no relation to the President). He then met with the academic staff and members of the Strategic Council of Saint Joseph's University, giving a short lecture in the university's newest amphitheatre. Today's agenda includes a speech at the opening of a symposium on "John Paul II and Lebanon-Message" at the University of the Holy Spirit in Kaslik, then a meeting with the Maronite Patriarch and, in the afternoon, a planned visit to a reception centre run by Caritas Lebanon.

The meeting at the presidential office was attended by the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Msgr. Joseph Spiteri, and the charges d'affaires at the papal embassy, Msgr. Giuseppe Franconi and Msgr. Marco Formica.

According to the Lebanese presidential office, Archbishop Gallagher began the meeting by conveying Pope Francis' greetings to President Aoun, stressing his "meticulous attention to developments in the Lebanese situation". Msgr Gallagher then stressed that the pontiff had once again expressed his desire to visit the country of the cedars. He then reciprocated the courtesy by inviting President Aoun to visit the Holy See. The head of state had visited the Vatican for the first time in 2017, at the beginning of his mandate.

After the meeting, Msgr Gallagher reminded the press of the circumstances that led him to Lebanon and some of the words Pope Francis addressed to the diplomatic corps this year and last. "The Holy Father," he said, "instructed me to convey to the Lebanese people his closeness and concern for Lebanon and the Lebanese [...]. In his address to the diplomatic corps this year, Pope Francis said the following about Lebanon: I hope that the necessary reforms and the support of the international community will help the country to remain firm in its identity as a model of peaceful coexistence and brotherhood among the various religions present. And on this occasion, I appeal to the international community to continue to help Lebanon on the path to resurrection. We hope that the country can continue to be an example for a pluralistic, tolerant and diverse Middle East in which the Christian community can make its proper contribution".

In 2021, again addressing the diplomatic corps, Pope Francis said: "Christians constitute the historical and social connective tissue of Lebanon, and through their many educational, health care and charitable works, they must be assured the possibility of continuing to work for the good of the country of which they were founders. Weakening the Christian community risks destroying the internal balance and the Lebanese reality itself".

After recalling the pope's words, Mgr Gallagher expressed "closeness and solidarity" with the victims of the explosion at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020.

"Finally, he said, allow me to remind you of what Pope Francis said on July 1, 2021, when he gathered the Christian leaders of the Churches in the Vatican. In these woeful times ,we would like to emphasize that Lebanon was, is and must remain a peace project. Its vocation is to be and remain a land of tolerance and pluralism. An oasis of fraternity () I would reiterate the need for those in power to make the decisive decision to work for true peace and not for their own interests. Let this be the end of the few profiting of the sufferings of many. No more letting half truth continue to frustrate frustrating the peoples aspirations. Stop using Lebanon and the Middle East for outside interests and profits. The Lebanese people must be given the opportunity for the architects of a better future in their land, without undue interference.

Msgr Gallagher then met reporters at a press conference. Recalling the fears of Pope Wojtyla, who as early as 1989 feared the danger of Lebanon's "disappearance", the prelate did not rule out the "risk" that the nation's future "is not assured", which is why "the national and international community" must do everything to "preserve" Lebanon as a "message of coexistence and fraternity". On the subject of refugees (Syrians and Palestinians), he confirmed the Holy See's commitment to the issue and its desire for their return, even though in some contexts the security conditions are not in place to proceed, starting with the fundamental issue of "reconstruction in Syria".
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Metropolitan Ilarion: new law needed on "age of consent for sexual relations". In 2021 the sale of sex-toys in the country grew by 18%. Patriarchate points to need to protect the population from excesses.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Moscow Patriarchate intends to call for a new law on the "age of consent for sexual relations", as Metropolitan Ilarion (Alfeev) explained in his programme "The Church and the World" on the Russia-24 channel. According to the Orthodox Church, which remains opposed to extramarital relations, this measure could help to distinguish between cases of truly consensual sexual relations and those in which the extremes of violence can be seen.

As Ilarion explained, "the line between the two situations is often quite thin, and jurists and courts are not always able to resolve the issue fully". It is not by chance that the Church considers sexual contact to be permissible only within the marital union, the Metropolitan said, because "relationships outside the age limits and marriage consent are always fraught with dangers and consequences".

The various initiatives and abuses by people older than the partner are especially to be watched, while a new law could prevent any abuse, according to the patriarchate. Ilarion also called for a ban on so-called "adult shops" in Russia, arguing that the Church's position on this is very clear: "We are opposed to any form of degradation in the sexual sphere", although the Church certainly cannot force the State to close such shops or prevent advertising in this area.

In fact, even in the absence of official statistics, the sale of sexual gratification products in Russia grew strongly in 2021: according to the marketing sites Ozon and Wildberries, to the tune of +18%. Sex toys in Russia do not have to undergo any special certification, and are also sold in general shops.

Adult items in Russia are often marketed by large cosmetics brands, such as L'Etoile and the Russian Zolotoe Yabloko ("Green Apple"), and are often equated with household goods and intimate hygiene products. They are especially popular in the major cities (Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk), where sales increased more than fivefold last year, reaching astronomical figures.

There have also been large increases in online trade, with unusual records for different types of articles in even very remote regions such as Tuva, Ingushetia and North Ossetia. In part, the boom in sex products is linked to international dumping mechanisms, with which many companies have tried to exploit the various lockdowns of the past months.

The concern of the Orthodox Church is therefore not only linked to the need to protect the population from abuses and excesses, but also to prevent a general moral degradation in the difficult transition of pandemic times, as Metropolitan Ilarion himself pointed out.
by Mathias Hariyadi

The vice-president of the Council of Muslim Theologians said he was against the opening of the museum, proposed by the local Jewish community. The German ambassador to Indonesia was present at the opening. Many Indonesian Jews, however, still prefer not to go public about their faith.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Holocaust Remembrance Day had never received much attention in Indonesia before this year, when the Indonesian Council of Ulama (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI) declared that the Holocaust museum in Minahasa, recently opened, should be dismantled.

Muhyidin Junaidi, vice president of the MUI, explained that the museum would only provoke outrage in Indonesian society. He added because of this 'itshould be razed to the ground'. The Muslim theologian also argued that the museum is an offence against the Indonesian Constitution: "A tough action is expected from the administration as the presence of the museum is politically tendentious and a provocation to cause uproar among the people".

"Instead of a museum about the Holocaust,' Junaidi continued, 'the government should open a museum depicting Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia. Or it would make more sense to show the Zionist violence against the Palestinians; this would be a way to support their right to self-determination.

There are about 200,000 Jews in Indonesia, but they rarely exhibit themselves in public. Many, for example, no longer wear a yarmulke for fear of receiving death threats. A single synagogue still exists in Tondano, 25 km south of Manado, in North Sulawesi, where local Jews usually gather to pray.

Both the synagogue in Shaar Hasyamayim and the Holocaust Museum were proposed for construction by the region's Jewish community. Other Jews reside in Java, Surabaya and East Java, where another synagogue once stood, but was razed by radical Islamists in 2013.

Last week, German Ambassador to Indonesia Ina Lepel attended the opening of the museum in North Sulawesi. Due to the tense atmosphere, many Jews preferred not to attend the opening. "What an honour to be in Minahasa and speak at the opening of its Holocaust museum," tweeted the head of the German foreign mission. "Germany will always uphold the memory of this 'universal lesson' and fight against racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance," he added.

The Holocaust museum in Minahasa is probably the first ever built in Southeast Asia.

In response to Mui's remarks, the deputy governor of North Sulawesi, Steven Kandouw, commented that the establishment of the Holocaust museum had gained international attention. During Ambassador Lepel's visit, he added that 'interfaith tolerance in North Sulawesi is good'.
In 2020, a Chinese court sentenced the Hong Kong bookseller, who is Swedish national, to 10 years in prison for espionage, a charge Sweden and the EU dismiss as groundless. The reasons for the row between Sweden and China are multiplying.

Beijing (AsiaNews)  At least 21 Swedish publishers, journalists and writers have published a letter asking for the release of Gui Minhai, the Hong Kong bookseller with Swedish citizenship, sentenced in February 2020 to 10 years in prison by a court Chinese.

Gui, who was deprived of his political rights for five years, was convicted of providing intelligence information to a foreign power.

The appeal for his release, addressed to the new Chinese ambassador to Sweden, Cui Aimin, appeared in yesterdays Dagens Nyheter, Swedens main newspaper.

Chinese authorities targeted Gui for publishing and selling texts about the lives of certain members of the Communist Party of China.

Chinese agents seized him in Thailand along with four of his associates. Brought to China, he was convicted of wrongful death in connection with a car accident in 2003.

After serving two years in prison, the bookseller was released, only to be detained again by Chinese police in January 2018.

The signatories to the appeal stress that Guis detention has led to a diplomatic row between Stockholm and Beijing.

All Swedish political parties, human rights groups and media view the charges against the bookseller as groundless.

Backed by the European Union, Swedish authorities have complained that they were unable to attend the trial.

Beijing has defended itself by arguing that the issue is a domestic affair, claiming that Gui applied and regained his Chinese citizenship. For Sweden he remains a Swedish citizen.

China does not recognize dual citizenship and for this reason denies Gui the right to consular assistance from Sweden.

Since Gui's first arrest, relations between China and Sweden have soured. Last year, the Chinese government orchestrated a trade boycott of foreign companies that criticised China for its inhumane treatment of Xinjiang Uyghurs.

One of the targeted companies was Swedens H&M after it announced that it would no longer buy cotton from the Chinese autonomous region. As a result of the boycott by Chinese consumers, the apparel company lost US$ 74 million in just three months.

UN experts, academics and human rights groups say that Xinjiang cotton is produced by forced labourers, mostly ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims.

Yesterday, during a meeting in Stockholm with her Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde expressed support for Lithuania, which has been subjected to trade restrictions by China for months.

Beijing has eliminated almost all Lithuanian imports in retaliation for the Baltic states decision to allow Taiwan to open a representative office under its own name.

According to the Chinese government, the failure to use the name Taipei is a violation of the one China policy. For the Communist Party of China, the island is a rebel province to be reunited with the fatherland by force if necessary.
Supercharge Your Sexting by Figuring Out Your Lust Language

Use Lust Languages to Take Your Sexting to the Next Level

Between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on peoples love lives the world over, the rise of tech, and an increasing comfort with long-distance relationships, sexting makes more sense now than ever before.

But just because its a logical skill to develop and a good one to have in your arsenal doesnt mean every guy immediately is a competent sexter. In fact, if you ask anyone whos attracted to men what its like to sext with most guys, especially straight men, youre likely to be met with complaints. Regardless of how good they are at being sexy in person, too many guys simply dont have the basics of good sexting down yet.

However, as with most aspects of sex, sexting is something you can get good at with a little practice and some instruction. (And it doesnt hurt that getting good at sexting can make for much stronger in-person dirty talk, either.) One issue that seems to befall many would-be sexters is not having a clear idea of what turns the other person on.

RELATED: How to Become a Sexting Expert

If youre familiar with the idea of love languages  different people feeling loved by different forms of affection  consider what it might be like to break different approaches to sexting into lust languages. Think of it as you getting turned on by one kind of talk, but your partner needing another approach entirely to get off. If you don't have a grasp on their lust language, what should be a sexy exchange can turn boring or unpleasant in a hurry, ending all too quickly with zero desire to sext again.

In order to paint a clearer picture of how lust languages might work, AskMen spoke to a handful of sex experts. Heres what they had to say:

What Are Lust Languages?

By no means is this concept all-encompassing, but here are four broad lust languages you might already be familiar with, listed in alphabetical order:

Ambition

Examples: "I can't wait to make you cum," Im going to make you squirt so much, Im going to fuck your brains out.

Desire can sometimes be less about getting what you want so much as it is the unattainable. Maybe thats why for some people, sexting is a matter of describing pleasure thats yet to come. If your mode is ambition, youre someone who loves to talk about the intensity of the sex, describing the pleasure youre going to give the other person, or hearing them describe it to you, rather than getting bogged down in the details of how to get there.

Domination

Examples: "Who's your daddy?", Im going to make you beg for it, You like that I own your pussy, dont you?

Lots of people will argue that sex is about power, and if youre turned on by domination talk, youll agree. Sexting or dirty talk in this mode is all about one person asserting control over the other person, with each participant in a clear role, either Dominant or submissive. That might mean the Dominant person is doing more of the talking, or all of it, but not necessarily. Its primarily a question of whats being said, whos leading the conversation, and the rules or dynamic within it.

Sensation

Examples: "You smell so damn good," Oh God, you're so tight, Touching your perfect tits is driving me crazy.

At its core, what separates physical, in-person sex from dirty talk or sexting is its physical component. Whether youre doing penetration, oral, hand stuff, or just massaging each other, the embodied component is the hottest part for many people, and sensation-based texting acknowledges this by focusing on the physical senses. If youre into this kind of sexting, youll be most turned on by very descriptive texts that spend a lot of time going into detail about the bodies involved in this experience.

Transgression

Examples: "This is so naughty," Youre so bad, You like it when I indulge in all your dirty fantasies, dont you?

In part because many people are taught that sex, desire, and pleasure are bad growing up, its common for people to associate sex with a certain kind of wrong-ness. It turn, that can become a certain pleasure of its own. Inflecting your sexy talk with references to the fact that youre being kinky, naughty, or dirty will rub some people the wrong way, but if transgression-style conversation is a plus for them, itll rub them, well, just the right way.

How to Use Lust Languages in Your Sexts

Why It's Important to Understand Your Lust Language

Whether you call them lust languages or not, knowing what gets you and your sexting partner going is a core element to good sexting.

We might tend to think romantically about it, but sex isnt just some nebulous incomprehensible cloud where everything inside is hot to everyone equally. People have varying kinks and fetishes; different tastes, curiosities and boundaries that mean that something thats dead sexy for one person might be a huge turnoff for the next, and it is possible to get analytical about it.

Sexting is all about co-creating a mutual sexual fantasy, says Stephen Quaderer, creator of Headero, an app for people who love oral pleasure. To do that effectively, you need to know what your partner fantasizes about  what are their turn ons, and crucially, their turn-offs?

Quarderer goes on, adding: You dont want to go full steam into a fantasy that leaves your partner in the cold. At best, it will leave you sexually frustrated and them unsatisfied. Or worse, you may find yourself feeling alienated by your un-matched amorousness  and leave your partner feeling lustless, or even revulsed.

Of course, theres one other very good reason to have an idea of what someones into sexually before you go wild with the sexting: consent.

The expression of sexuality without consent is always a bad idea, states Janet Brito, a sex therapist based in Hawaii. It is important to sext only if you want to and the other person you are sexting wants to. You want to make sure youre both in agreement about privacy and how and what youre sexting about. Perhaps someone is only interested in sending sexual text messages, but not pictures or videos. Best to be on the same page at the start.

Of course, receiving a deeply unpleasant sext isnt the same as being raped, but that doesnt mean that its not a consent violation and potential sexual harassment, and that it cant feel deeply unpleasant.

For sexologist Jess OReilly, host of the Sex With Dr. Jess podcast, getting on the same page about sexting is kind of like when youre going to be cooking a meal for someone  you probably want to know if they have any allergies or food preferences, [and] you wont know unless you ask.

Figuring Out Someone Elses Lust Language

Unfortunately, directly asking someone to explain what turns them on is far from common practice, and it might ruin a sexting session before its even begun. Still, a lot of sexting happens between people who have enough pre-established trust that one person can ask the other something along those lines.

RELATED: What She's Thinking When You're Sexting Her

Regardless of whether the next person you sext is a complete stranger or the love of your life, Kenneth Play, sex educator and creator of the Sex Hacker Pro Series, says step one is getting comfortable with sex yourself.

The main way that the conversation wont be awkward is if you arent feeling awkward when you start the conversation, he tells AskMen. The way to get over being awkward when it comes to talking about sex is to do it more. Talk to your friends and lovers or significant other about sex. Even if it starts out feeling awkward, it will eventually get easier.

If you dont have anyone you feel comfortable talking to about sex, Play suggests consuming sex media  at least, specific kinds of sex media.

Reading sex books or listening to podcasts and shows that are educational and informative, which speak in sex in plain language, is a good idea, he says. If the only way youve ever heard sex talked about is either in porn/erotica or as locker room talk or other joke-like conversational styles, youll tend to go either too hot and heavy or awkward and funny. Look for models that make talking about sex more normal, and youll get a feel for tone and manner.

As for the conversation itself, it could take a few different forms. OReilly suggests asking playful questions" such as:

Would you be into it if I? Have you ever thought about trying? What are your thoughts on?

Brito agrees that playful questions can strike the right note: Use the what if game before sexting, she suggests. What if I send you a video of me doing something naughty? What if I sent you a picture of my breasts?

Framing it like that gives the other person the option to say theyre not into it in a polite and casual way.

Another option, OReilly says, is asking would you rather questions, such as sending pictures or descriptions of two different sexy situations. Or you could share what youre into, and ask for feedback:

So one thing Im into is _______. What do you think of that? Ive always been turned on by ___________. Does that appeal to you? I sometimes think about __________. Would you be into it if I ___________?

If that feels too intense, a last resort is what Quaderer calls the toe in the pool approach, where you drop little hints and see if the other person responds with interest or not.

Take a lust language for a spin to gauge your partners reaction (e.g., a casual 'good pet' or 'kinky slut' to test the waters for domination or transgression, respectively), he says.

RELATED: Most Common Sexting Mistakes That Guys Make

However, if the other person doesnt explicitly respond to a little textual hint like that, it could be a sign of a few different things: that theyre not interested in that kind of talk, that theyre confused, grossed out, or that theyre simply distracted. Thats why addressing the issue with direct questions is probably a safer bet.

How to Use Lust Languages in Your Sexts

Ambition

If the person youre sexting with is all about ambition, they wont be fully satisfied unless the sexting reaches a hot climax. Meaning, theyll want to hear about orgasms galore. To that end, Quaderer suggests having a loose narrative in mind before you start as a way of building up to the big moment.

If youre creating an ambition fantasy, establish your end ambition to yourself, and start to build a loose plan for how you want to take your partner there, he says. Youre going to want to take your time to reach your ambition, teasing your partner and only giving them glimpses of what theyre craving  itll make them crave it that much more.

You can also tease someone whos more ambition minded with shorter one-offs, Brito says, talking about future orgasms, like this:

I am looking forward to making you squirt in my face. I want to make you cum multiple times. Its going to be so exciting the next time you can cum in my mouth.

That being said, dont see this mode as a sign that the word orgasm is all you need to say. As Play notes, instead, you want to build up to it.

Domination

In domination mode, one partner is in control. If thats the other person, your job is pretty easy  do what they say and follow their cues.

Domination is a perfect lust language for sexting, because the dynamic has the thrilling potential to escalate beyond the blue bubble into some real-world fantasy play, says Quaderer.

Play agrees, noting that D/s texting can be used outside of strict sexting as well.

For instance, if you figure out that someone likes being dominated, you can begin taking control of things, he says, like, instead of asking what theyd like to do and so on, text them something like, Meet me at Olivettos at 7 p.m. on Friday. I want you to wear a short black dress and put your hair up. No underwear allowed.

Sensation

If your partner loves sensation-based sexting, they get turned on by description of the act itself. They dont want you to skim over the details, they want you to dig into them. How does their body smell? How does their mouth feel? How do their juices taste? What do their moans sound like? What does your cum look like, pooling on their skin?

Brito suggests sending messages like:

I'd love it if I could smell you right now. Im imagining tasting you as we text. I want to hear you moaning.

When youre sexting in sensation mode, OReilly suggests sending one short message at a time, leaving time to elapse between each sentence, allowing the other person can really imagine each sensation in turn.

Because sensation is such an immediate mode, its a good place for story-telling and setting the scene. OReilly suggests that you can run through scenes in the past, present and future with sensation-laden phrases like these:

Remember that time I blindfolded you and left you waiting? Your body was quivering. Youre making me tingle right now. My heart is racing. I have goosebumps all over. I want to slowly undress you. I want to peel off every layer and just admire your glow.

Transgression

If your sexting partner loves kinky, transgression based-sexts, you want to make sure youre playing on how naughty and wrong they are. That could mean roleplaying situations where youre being inappropriate  having an affair, an illicit workplace romance, getting it on in public, violating the others consent, etc.  or it could mean focusing on humiliating them or punishing them.

Because transgression-based sexts can be jarring for people who dont find them erotic, this is an area where youll want to be clear on what your partner likes about transgressive talk before diving in headfirst. You really need to find out what this means to them, says OReilly.

If theyre into being punished, for instance, your sexts could focus on spanking, and you could up the ante by including a photo of your hand, or a photo you took of them after a previous spanking session.

Its a question of finding out what wrong or naughty means to them and leaning into that.

Combining Lust Languages for Maximum Effect

Its possible that you and whoever you are sexting with will be turned on by the same kinds of sexts, but thats far from guaranteed. What's more likely is that youll have a mix of ones that turn you on between the two of you. Luckily, theres nothing to stop you from combining sexting modes in order to turn both participants on.

Combining Domination and Ambition

If domination is about control and ambition is about orgasm, then combining the two is about who has control of the others orgasm.

Some lust languages just pair well together, says Quaderer. Domination and ambition are a delicious example. With the knowledge that orgasm is the ultimate goal for your ambitious little plaything, you can use it as a reward or punishment.

RELATED: Sexting Etiquette

In short, you may find yourself engaging in a lot of edging. To tease and edge your partner  tell me when youre 15 seconds away from orgasm, and in withholding it, to bring them further and further into your lustful fantasy world, says Quaderer.

Combining Ambition and Transgression

Transgression and ambition could be read as opposites  the former is about things being wrong, and the latter is about things going oh-so right. Still, thats no reason they cant work in sync in your sexy text messages.

Ambition and transgression are a fiendish match, says Quaderer. You can use transgression to highlight the perversity that your partner is brought to ever deeper satisfaction through humiliation.

If you want to get really meta, Quaderer says, you can even acknowledge the absurdity of a situation where your partner finds sexual gratification from being humiliated via little blue bubbles.

Combining Sensation and Ambition

Ambition and sensation may be the most so-called vanilla combination out of the six listed here, but that definitely doesnt mean it cant be sexy as hell.

The trick for combining the two is to recognize that the difference may be in how each deals with time, with sensation-based sexting being very in the moment while ambition is racing ahead.

If youre used to talking about orgasms first and foremost, adapting that mode to please someone who loves sensation-based texting will push you to explore the build-up; if youre all sensation, adapting to ambition will mean crafting those moments into an arc that explores climax in equal measure.

Combining Sensation and Transgression

Sensation and transgression dont necessarily have any obvious relationship or interplay. To combine the two, youll need to explore how you feel about each others bodies, and which aspects of the body feel the kinkiest and most transgressive to you.

RELATED: Dirty Emojis and How to Use Them

One suggestion OReilly has is using a multimedia approach by focusing textually on transgressive vibes, but including photos, videos, or voice notes to satisfy the senses of the other person.

Voice notes are a great way to tap into audial lovers sensational desires, she explains. Audial lovers can be turned on not only by words, but by the tone, volume and cadence of your voice. Do not neglect voice notes in sexting! Theyre probably the most undervalued tool.

Combining Sensation and Domination

Almost any physical play can be sensational, says OReilly.

Thats good news for you if youre trying to combine sensation and domination, because D/s relationships so often involve incredible sensations, whether that's with spanking, ropes, leather, or so forth. Describe the marks youre leaving on your partners skin, the tightness of what youre using to tie them up, the sound of a whip on their backside.

OReilly suggests speaking in I statements if youre being Dominant, and sprinkling lots of detail, like in this paragraph:

Ill want to tear your skirt off myself. Youll feel it dragging across your skin. Maybe then Ill blindfold you. Ill light some candles so you can only see the flickering lights from beneath the cloth. You wont know what comes next, but youll hear it. Youll feel my lips on your body. You might even hear the rumble of a vibrator.

Combining Transgression and Domination

Perhaps more than any other two lust languages mentioned here, transgression and domination go perfectly together.

Sexting that combines these two modes could make great use of the Dominant punishing the submissive for being bad, or it could highlight how kinky and transgressive the domination play itself is. In fact, for some people, transgression and domination may be so interlaced that theyre obviously meant to go together.

RELATED: How to Have Cybersex

However, the flip side to combining these kinky modes is that someone whos into one is definitely not guaranteed to be into the other. Thats why, if youre exploring more intense sexting, you should remember this:

Sexting is still a sexual activity, so all of the same principles apply here that apply in any sexual encounter, explains Quaderer. Consent and safety are absolutely paramount. Make sure that you and your partner have discussed and established boundaries, and make sure that those boundaries are respected.

With real-life kinky sex, sometimes people need to flip the switch and step out of the moment. Thats no different when it comes to sexting.

Establish a safe word or phrase that allows either partner exit the sexting fantasy for any reason (including that your coworker might be looking over your shoulder), states Quaderer. And as with all activities (sexual or non-sexual) remember that consent can be revoked by either party at any time.

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South Africa: SA-Mauritius flights to resume on SAA

South African Airways (SAA) has announced that it will be resuming flights to Mauritius after the island nation lifted its travel ban on the country in January.

The nation banned travel from Southern African countries in November last year following the emergence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

SAA interim CEO, Thomas Kgokolo, said the airline welcomed the decision to re-open border gates and flights will resume on 1 March.

We are delighted to welcome our customers back on the Mauritius route following the decision by the Mauritian government to rescind its decision to stop operations, particularly during the height of the summer season, due to COVID-19 concerns.

We are also thrilled that we can add Durban to our local network. The short-haul flight is a vital one in linking two economically important cities. We will be announcing a special Durban fare deal for our Voyager programme members shortly, Kgokolo said.

He said the airline is looking forward to a successful operation start to the year following a tumultuous past two years, where the airline was grounded and put under business rescue.

With a constant eye on finances, we are evaluating passenger load on our routes, with a view of adding and subtracting if necessary.

In addition, one of our principle focus points in the coming months will be strengthening existing relationships with our alliance partners, with a view of offering passengers more international flight opportunities, as well as looking for more cargo prospects, Kgokolo said.

According to the airline, since its relaunch in September last year, it completed at least 1 000 flights.

SAA has also recorded a 100% completion rate - the percentage of completed scheduled flights excluding uncontrollable cancellations. The carrier is poised for more growth in its first full year of operations since exiting business rescue, the airline said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-02-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
NAIROBI, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is developing a plan that will help accelerate socioeconomic transformation as well as build resilience amid the COVID-19 disruptions, Ukur Yatani, the cabinet secretary for National Treasury and Planning, said on Wednesday at a briefing in Nairobi.

Yatani said the plan dubbed the Fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP) will cover the period 2023-2027 and will focus on implementing strategic interventions aimed at driving Kenya's economy toward a sustainable growth path.

"The fourth MTP will seek to continue implementing the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals and aspirations of the Africa Agenda 2063," said Yatani.

"The plan will also incorporate strategic programs and projects aimed at addressing climate change, gender equality and plight of the vulnerable groups in the society," he added.

Yatani said the government will endeavor to deepen private sector participation in the implementation of programs and projects within the public private partnership framework.

He noted that Kenya is emerging from a challenging period due to the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to loss of lives and livelihood including massive loss of jobs due to the subdued economic activities that saw the country's gross domestic product contracting by 0.3 percent in 2020.

"However, the year 2021 looks promising from the strong recovery indicators, as shown by the second and third quarter economic performance where the country recorded a rebound growth of 11.9 and 9.9 percent respectively," said Yatani. 
Their latest creation is dubbed MC Edition, a new specification that you can get on not just the Ghibli, but also the Levante and the Quattroporte flagship. Buyers can choose between two special colors in Giallo Corse and Blue Vittoria.Both are impressive, but its that deep yellow that really stands out. Its a bold color for a sedan , and the Ghibli, for one, really pulls it off. Giallo Corse is a three-layer yellow hue with blue mica interfering with the light in a highly sophisticated manner, resulting in a sporty appearance.Meanwhile, Blue Vittoria is a three-layer matte blue thats extremely deep, impactful and contemporary. Its worth noting that both yellow and blue are the colors of Modena, which is Maseratis home city.Other exterior highlights include the distinctive Piano Black accents and a specific badge on the rear fender and B-pillar. If you opt for the Levante MC Edition, you get 22-inch wheels, while the Ghibli and Quattroporte feature 21-inch wheels  gloss black with blue calipers across the board.Inside, youll find blue carbon fiber trim, yellow and blue stitching on the seats, Nero Pienofiore black leather upholstery, MC Edition logo for the headrest and a dedicated badge on the center console. As for convenience and safety features, all models come with an electronic sunroof, a Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system and the Driver Assistance package.To conclude, if youd like your Maserati to flaunt its iconic connection to the city of Modena, then you might be really happy opting for an MC Edition variant. There is one catch though: theyre only available in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific) regions, as well as China.
kW

The companys chief chassis engineer, Joakim Rydholm, has been with the Swedish brand for over a decade and is a big fan of fine-tuning cars in such environments.Tuning a chassis on snow and ice allows us to develop our cars in what feels like slow motion and with better accuracy, he explains. With such low levels of grip, we can feel and analyze the dynamics at a much slower pace than on tarmac, which means we can really fine-tune the way our cars behave, down to the smallest details. This is my absolute favorite place to develop cars.In his spare time, Rydholm is a rally driver with several trophies to his name, and the one-off Polestar 2 Arctic Circle is his creation, based on the regular Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor variant, fitted with the Performance Pack plus several specific tweaks.For example, the ride height was increased by more than 30 mm (1.18 inches), while the power was boosted to 350(470 hp) and 500 lb-ft (680 Nm) of torque. Other highlights include the custom studded winter tires, each with 4 mm metal studs, plus 30% softer springs, three-way performance Ohlins dampers and front and rear strut braces.The vehicle also features a new prototype launch control system , integrated via steering wheel-mounted paddles. Meanwhile, a carbon fiber snow shovel and a recovery strap can be found in the trunk.In terms of visuals, the Polestar 2 Arctic Circle boasts 19-inch OZ Racing rally wheels, four Stedi Quad Pro LED front lights, a unique matte grey and white exterior livery, custom Recaro front bucket seats, and a carbon fiber skid plate for the front bumper, offering additional under-body protection.The balance and predictability we have achieved with the raised ride height and specialized tires are particularly noticeable when you enter a bend completely sideways, with a bigger-than-usual smile on your face, and in total control, concluded Rydholm.Unfortunately, the Polestar 2 Arctic Circle isnt production-bound and will remain a prototype.
FSD

NHTSA

Hes actually a lobbyist, not a journalist. There are many who pose as the latter while behaving like the former. No integrity.



Indeed, there were no safety issues. The car simply slowed to ~2 mph & continued forward if clear view with no cars or pedestrians.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2022

Here are the #FSDBeta V10.10 release notes. "No more stop sign rolling" update has already begun coming to cars.



I'm sure we'll see many headlines TESLA PULLS "ROLLING STOPS" ABILITY LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER NHTSA RECALL NOTICE. pic.twitter.com/5BWG3L0b9X  Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesla) February 1, 2022

Now that the big automotive advertisers are making EVs, you will see far fewer articles about EVs catching on fire.



It is not surprising that internal combustion engine cars have a tendency to combust externally too.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2022

After Tom Krisher wrote about Teslas secondrecall for Associated Press, one of Elon Musks most devoted fans said the journalist was a moron. His sin was writing for a renown media outlet about something everybody covered: autoevolution was one of the first outlets to break the news. Elon Musk reinforced the offenses stating that Krisher was actually a lobbyist, not a journalist.The Tesla CEO amplified the attacks to the press as a whole. Musk said that many who pose as the latter while behaving like the former, accusing them of having no integrity. Due to Musk's fans attacks, Krisher set his Twitter account to private. Yet, Musk gave a clear example that he blamed the AP journalist and the press for something he failed to demonstrate in the same tweet.Musk insisted that there were no safety issues involved with FSD performing rolling stops as if they were not illegal in multiple states in the U.S. If there were no safety issues involved with the software settings,(National Highway Traffic Safety Agency) would not have demanded Tesla to change it and the company would not have complied with the request.Integrity is defined by Merriam-Webster as the quality of being honest and fair. It is not honest to deal with FSDs latest recall as if there were no safety issues at the core of the measure. It is not fair to accuse journalists of being lobbyists without stating precisely and with strong evidence what these professionals would be lobbying for and what is the personal gain they extract from that.Musk also expressed evident trouble with numbers, as Tesla had when it exaggerated its sales numbers in Australia . He said that the car simply slowed to ~2 mph & continued forward if clear view with no cars or pedestrians. Tesla itself contradicts its CEO.On the Part 573 Safety Recall Report about the second FSD recall, the company said that the vehicle must be traveling below 5.6mph for the rolling stop functionality to work. A little further, it stated that, when all conditions were met, the vehicle would travel through the all-way-stop intersection at a speed from 0.1 mph up to 5.6 mph without first coming to a complete stop.The first screenshots of the OTA (over-the-air) update that emerged show that Tesla referred to the same speed once more when it said that a vehicle speed less than 5.6 mph was a requirement for the rolling stop to work. In other words, it was not around 2 mph, as Musk stated.Considering Musks willingness to make it sound as if the car was traveling at a slower pace, Tesla should have used the more favorable speed in its communication with NHTSA if it was true. It didn't. Regardless of these efforts, a lower speed would not make the functionality any less illegal: the law says the car must stop.To make that look less severe, Tesla fans are now trying to qualify the recall as just an ordinary OTA update, which is a plain lie. They are also trying to make it seem less serious than it really is. According to Tesla itself, FSD is beta software that may do the wrong thing at the worst time. That includes not detecting a pedestrian or another car in an intersection. The fact that Tesla did not have any report of that happening does not mean it never will, especially considering how FSD truly drives.Apart from attacking the press, Musk only speaks with those who accept not to ask him tough questions or who are notorious cheerleaders for him and his company. Meanwhile, more and more negative news emerges about the company not because journalists are looking for them. They just keep popping up. Teslas silence about all of them implies it is trying to hide something or counting that people will forget about it soon.Elon Musk came to the extreme of saying that now that the big automotive advertisers are making EVs, you will see far fewer articles about EVs catching on fire. He seems to have forgotten the Chevy Bolt cases , which were widely covered by the press. The Hyundai Kona Electric fires also did not go unnoticed.Was it not for the insistence of multiple journalists, these cases could have ended as a mere example of bad luck for these owners. If Chevy or Hyundai fans were like those supporting Tesla, the victims would probably be blamed for the fires. Despite the press telling their stories, some of them are still waiting for compensation. Nobody would have heard about them without due press coverage. Volkswagen ID.3 spontaneously caught fire in Groningen , and autoevolution went after this story. Luckily for the German brand, it seems no other blaze involving MEB products happened. Were still waiting for the official results of the investigation Volkswagen is performing.By bringing up the fire situation, Elon Musk brought unto himself how Tesla deals with fire concerns. After a spontaneous blaze in Shanghai in 2019 , the company released an OTA update that capped the cell voltage in thousands of Model S units worldwide. Tesla said it was a safety measure, but it never disclosed why it did that. When American customers sued the company for losing range and charging speed, Tesla rushed to cut a deal with them. That saved the company from exposing why it did the voltage cap in the first place.We journalists do make mistakes, as any human being does. Yet, our mission is to tell stories that bring awareness about important issues, even if powerful people do not want to see them exposed. The best among us even risk their lives to make sure society knows what is happening. Unfortunately, society often just contemplates these stories while the world burns.As the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk fits perfectly in the description of a powerful person badly in need that people believe hell finally deliver a self-driving car after promising that for nearly a decade. Most of his wealthiness  measured by the Tesla stock he owns  depends on that.When bad news about that effort emerges, blaming the press for doing its job and attacking one journalist for his coverage on something everybody wrote about is a sign of desperation. Admitting that an illegal functionality on FSD was created on purpose is evidence of disregard for authorities and, in this case, traffic safety.Fallacies are the resort of those who want to avoid an honest discussion. Remember: integrity is the quality of being honest and fair. Unless you are too obsessed with your investments or world views, it is pretty evident who is lacking honesty and fairness in this story.
And when its not working on the highly-anticipated Coolwalk update , the Android Auto team is focused on additional polishing supposed to help deal with the many bugs reported lately.One of them concerns the audio playing on Android Auto, be it music or any other kind of content. A significant number of users who were trying to listen to music in the car discovered that the audio sometimes cuts off when switching to another app or when receiving a notification.A 2021 Android Auto update was originally believed to be the culprit for the whole thing, as everything was running properly for these users before installing a certain version of the app.But as it turns out, Android Auto wasnt necessarily the one to blame for this glitch.A member of the Android Auto team said on Googles forums that the problem has been fixed by Samsung in the recent Android 12 OS update shipped to its devices.The update in question is actually the One UI 4.0 release thats going live in stages to Samsung devices out there  its based on Android 12, therefore the fix is included as well.Google seems to suggest that only Samsung users were affected by this glitch, and indeed, someone on the forums says that after installing this latest update on their smartphone, the problem is entirely gone.The only concern right now is that the One UI 4.0 update is rolling out in stages, so it could take a while until everybody with an eligible Samsung device gets this patch. For the time being, however, the good news is the bug has finally been resolved, though itll certainly be interesting what non-Samsung users are supposed to do if they come across the same problem.
What youre looking at in the attached gallery was once a bland V-Rod boasting a black body over other not-shiny bits of metal. Somehow, the motorcycle landed in the garages of an Estonian customizer named Fredy Jaates.Now, if youve been following us these past few months, then you might have noticed that Jaates has a soft spot for two things: V-Rods, and impressive amounts of brilliant chrome. The unnamed custom project we have here is yet another manifestation of his passion.There are no less than 21 major motorcycle bits on this thing made in chrome, from the most obvious ones, like the wheels (sized 19 inches front and 18 inches rear) and the custom exhaust system, to the less massive, like various covers and mirrors.The chrome theyre made of is extremely polished, being capable of reflecting whatever color happens to be in the vicinity with incredible accuracy. The blue tint seen in some of these photos comes from a combination between the angle of the light hitting the bike, and the clear blue sky.As usual when it comes to his builds, Jaates did not limit himself at repainting the motorcycles. The project boasts a full body kit with custom fuel tank and new fenders, a new seat, and even a Legend air suspension system.The bike is one of the shops older builds, and we are not being told how much it cost to put together.
Well, what does the wealthiest man in the world have to do with a historic bridge in The Netherlands ? As you may know, the former CEO of Amazon commissioned the Oceano company, based in Alblasserdam, to build a gigantic yacht for him.It appears that the vessel is too large to go through the bridge's 40-meter clearance, and Bezos will have to pay for it to be dismantled and put back together again. The ship in question is 127 meters (ca. 416 feet) long, not just taller than the bridge's clearance.The shipbuilding company has contacted the municipality of Rotterdam and requested the temporary dismantling of the bridge. If the request is approved, Oceanco and Bezos will reimburse the costs. For the moment, it appears the municipality is willing to approve the request, but this does not fare well with the Rotterdam Historical Society, as Rijnmond notes.The Koningshaven Bridge dates back to 1878, and it was damaged by bombing during WWII, in 1940. It was one of the first buildings in the city to be restored after the war. Ever since 1993, the bridge has been replaced by the Willemspoort tunnel as the way to ensure crossing the river.At the time, the municipality intended to demolish the bridge, but it faced fierce resistance from Rotterdam residents. Since that point, the bridge has been a national monument of Rotterdam. With that in mind, it takes one week for the bridge to be dismantled and another week to be put back together again.Since the structure is a national monument, Rotterdam's Historical Society stepped in to address concerns about the move, and their representatives say that there are limits to what someone can do to the country's heritage, as Dutchreview reports.Meanwhile, the shipbuilder's representatives have explained that it would be impractical to partially finish the ship , move it under the bridge, and then complete it somewhere else.They also underline the fact that employment is important. Rotterdam is considered the maritime capital of Europe, and shipbuilding is an important activity within that sector, and the municipality considers it a pillar of importance.
According to earlier reports, Cowell was riding in London on a pedal-assisted bike when, as he was taking a sharp corner, his wheels skid off the wet road and he crashed. Cowell was rushed to the hospital, where his left arm, which he broke as he fell, was put in a cast. He was also believed to have suffered a concussion, since he wasnt wearing a helmet at the time. As a side note, Cowell rarely, if ever, wears one.More details on the terrifying crash have emerged, including the claim that Cowell is lucky to be alive. This is coming from British tabloid The Sun , so some caution (and a grain of salt) is recommended when reading. Cowell did slip on the wet road, but not when turning a corner: according to the tab, he was doing about 20 mph (32 kph) when he hit a wet patch, and he fell. He was thrown over the handlebars, more precisely.A source says that he landed on the side of his face, so when three passers-by rushed to see if he was ok, he was gushing so much blood that he looked like something from Phantom of the Opera, whatever that means. His arm is immobilized in the cast up to his shoulder, but he is expected to make a full recovery.Despite the severity of the crash, the second one hes been in these past 18 months, Cowell wont ditch bicycles , whether pedal-powered or pedal-assisted. But there is a lesson for him in these accidents, and that is, according to the same unnamed source, that he will start wearing a helmet.
On the note that a tree that falls in the forest did not fall if its not on social media, a Ukrainian millionaire entrepreneur and one of the richest men in the country is taking to Instagram to show a good look at a relatively recent crash he got involved in. It happened during a test drive in Dubai and the car it happened in was a $1+ million Ferrari SF90 Stradale Alex Slobozhenkos video has been deleted, and his account turned private. As the photos in the gallery show, the video included edits from inside the Ferrari, before and during the crash, and exterior footage from at least two more cameras. At best, he wanted to turn the test drive into content for his social media platforms; at worst, youd be justified to think this many cameras filming are a hint that he may have staged the crash for clicks In support of the latter theory is also Alex Slobozhenkos caption to the video, which hints that the crash happened a while back, and asks followers to guess in the comments what might have caused it. It also conveniently mentioned the $1 million price tag of the car damaged. After all, if youre on the hook for a car that you dont own, you might as well make some of that lemonade.According to Automedia (hat tip to CarScoops ), Slobozhenko is claiming the accident was due to an unspecified technical problem, and obviously not the fact that he accelerated too hard and oversteered, eventually losing control of the powerful hybrid. The Ferrari is reparable, and not one of the three people inside was injured, since it seems that Slobozhenko hit a curb. But the suggestion that he might be to blame for the crash, especially considering he owns  or at least drives  several other powerful cars, including Lamborghinis and McLarens, definitely stings.Automedia also says that Slobozhenko was test-driving the SF90 Stradale to see if it was worth him trading a Lamborghini Huracan EVO for it. That technical problem made choosing very easy for him.
NHTSA

Part of the road death increase is associated with the number of vehicle miles traveled in the first nine months of 2021. According to the Federal Highway Administration, this was higher by 11.7% compared with the same time of 2020. The results, which Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called a national crisis, suggest people continued with dangerous driving habits during the global health crisis.Not all states are on the same page in this regard, as shown by NHTSAs repor t that provided the first look at state-level traffic fatality estimates during the health crisis. The number of traffic fatalities increased in 38 states, led by those in the West and South such as Idaho, Nevada, and Texas. Statistics remained flat in two states and decreased in 10 states and the District of Columbia.Traffic deaths began to spike in 2019, following a three-year streak of decrease in the number of fatalities.reports blamed reckless driving for the increased number of road deaths during the health crisis. Behavioral research showed speeding and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol became common practice.People make mistakes, but human mistakes dont always have to be lethal. In a well-designed system, safety measures make sure that human fallibility does not lead to human fatalities, Buttigieg said in a statement. Thats what we will be doing for Americas roads with the National Roadway Safety Strategy and the safe system approach that it embraces.NHTSA intends to move forward with plans to mandate automatic emergency braking in all new passenger vehicles. Although no firm deadlines have been set, other crash-avoiding systems such as lane-keeping assistance are also on the table for increasing vehicles safety performance.
Another successful Virgin Orbit satellite launch was carried out at the end of January. The RAF pilot was back on the flight crew, alongside Eric Bippert, Virgin Orbit's Chief Pilot Cosmic Girl , a modified Boeing 747-400, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Several small satellites were flown into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), including one manufactured in Scotland and operated by Spire Global, plus others operated by the U.S. Department of Defense.Stannard talked about the incredible experience of watching the LauncherOne be deployed, after which it propels itself into LEO, in a recent video shared by the UKs Royal Air Force. The participation of an RAF pilot in Virgin Orbits Above the Clouds mission is also a milestone for UKs space strategy, which involves the countrys first-ever satellite launch, scheduled for this year.The UK Space Agency is currently working with Virgin Orbit for this upcoming launch from Spaceport Cornwall, representing the first time in history when satellites are launched from the UKs territory. In addition to this pioneering spaceport in England, six more are going to follow  the Snowdonia one in Wales, plus Scotlands Shetland Isles, Sutherland, Argyll, Prestwick, and the Outer Hebrides.The National Space Strategy set up ambitious goals for the nations orbital launch capability, and the domestic spaceports are meant to support the fast-growing local satellite industry.In just a few months, the RAF Flight Lieutenant will be part of an even more exciting, unique launch in UKs history.
Wingcopter is busy trying to expand its business globally, constantly signing partnerships all over the world. It recently announced a new $16 million deal signed with Spright, whose purpose is to develop a drone network that increases healthcare access in rural and underserved communities in the United States. According to the agreement, Wingcopters drones will be used to deliver medical supplies within minutes.Now the German company announces a new partnership, this time with a holding from South America. Wingcopter teamed up with UAV LATAM to carry out medical drone delivery operations in Peru. Just like for the Spright deal, Wingcopter plans to use its flagship drone for the gig, namely the Wingcopter 198.UAV LATAM will thus be among the first companies in Latin America to use delivery drone technology for commercial and humanitarian applications. The infrastructure in the area is a deficient one, especially in the health sector, which affects millions of lives. It is why Juan Bergelund, the companys CEO, is confident that deploying the Wingcopter eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) will save and improve many lives.The Wingcopter 198 autonomous drone has a triple-drop system that allows the aircraft to make three separate deliveries to multiple locations, on a single charge. It has a 198 cm (78 in) wingspan and can fly at altitudes of 16,400 ft (5,000 m), reaching a maximum speed of 90 mph (144 kph). Depending on the payload, it offers different ranges. When carrying up to 11 lb, it can cover up to 46 miles (75 km) on a charge. A smaller payload of up to 2.2 lb (1 kg) will increase that range to approximately 60 miles (95 km).
EV

If you thought the Chevrolet Bolt is dead, you couldnt be further from the truth. Although it is hard to imagine someone would buy the Bolt again, the crippledwill continue to be a part of many peoples lives, at least in San Francisco. Thats because Cruise, a GM-backed driverless ride-hailing service that started public service in the Golden City uses the Chevy Bolt to drive people around. If this sounds like Sci-Fi, it is just normal in San Francisco.If you fancy a free ride in a driverless car you should head to Cruises website and sign up, but dont expect an easy ride soon. Theres a waiting list there and the service is only available from 11 pm to 5 am, at least for now. It makes sense, as the traffic at night is more manageable, even for an automated system like that deployed by Cruise. Also, the service is limited to certain areas and streets within the Haight-Ashbury, Richmond District, Chinatown, and Pacific Heights neighborhoods. We guess this is because the system was trained in these areas.The service was trialed in the past three months by Cruise employees and even GMs CEO Mary Barra took a ride in the automated Chevy Bolt. It looks like the system is now ready for commercial service, although there seems to be only a limited number of cars available, hence the waiting list. Cruise wants to ramp up progressively, and we expect the SoftBank investment to buy a lot more Chevy Bolts.If you watch the video below youll notice people behaving childishly, marveling at how far the technology has come. Youll surely excuse them since even Mary Barra described the ride as surreal and a highlight of her career as an engineer. This comes as a surprise since Waymo was already hailing people in the San Francisco area using driverless cars.
This is the 2022 E-Class, and its now in the Philippines. Featuring a stylish new look inside and out, the luxury sedan gets a more upscale design, a more high-tech and comfortable interior, and a long list of advanced safety features.

After making its regional debut at the Bangkok International Motor Show last year , Mercedes-Benz distributor Auto Nation Group (ANG) has officially launched its refreshed executive sedan.

Starting with its exterior, the E-Class gets a more dynamic design. No longer borrowing styling cues from the S-Class, the updated executive four-door now looks more like a stretched CLS.

It gets a new front end that features a revised grille complete with chrome diamond pins and high-gloss black inserts. Also present are a pair of redesigned LED headlights, restyled LED daytime running lights, and a tweaked hood.

Aside from its face, Mercedes-Benz was busy changing up the rear of the E-Class. The two-piece LED taillights have been updated and now wrap around the quarter fenders giving the vehicle a wider and stronger appearance. Meanwhile, it also gets the new geometrically-designed LEDs that replace the crystalline optics of the previous design.

As an added bonus, the E-Class is available with the AMG Line body styling. It comes with a set of 19-inch AMG 5-twin spoke lightweight alloy wheels painted in Tantalite Gray. Paired with a high-sheen finish, the distinct set of alloys provide the 2022 E-Class with an unmistakable look.

Open the doors, and the passengers are immediately greeted by dual 12.3-inch displays arranged side-by-side. Powered by the latest MBUX infotainment system, it connects to your smart devices via Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and Bluetooth; an intelligent voice command system can be activated by saying Hey Mercedes. Dont expect to find a scroll-wheel on the center console as it now has a new touchpad for easier menu navigation.

Other available features present in the 2022 E-Class include power-closing doors, wireless charging for mobile devices, a Burmester surround sound system, electric roller blinds for the back window and rear side windows, automatic climate control, 64-color LED ambient lighting, sport seats with horizontal quilting, Articol leather with Dinamica microfiber interior, brushed stainless steel AMG sport pedals, power-adjustable front seats with memory function, split-folding rear seats, and a Nappa leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Under the hood, the 2022 E-Class is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It makes 197 PS at 5500 - 6100 rpm along with 320 Nm of torque at 1650 - 4000 rpm. Power is sent to the wheels via a 9-speed automatic transmission.

Mercedes-Benz says it can go from 0 - 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds and reach an estimated top speed of 240 km/h. Compared to the 2022 5 Series, the updated E-Class is 0.5 seconds faster from 0 - 100 km/h and has a slightly higher top speed.

When it comes to keeping the occupants safe, the E-Class comes with a wide array of active and passive safety systems. These include anti-lock brakes, active brake assist, electronic stability program, acceleration slip regulation, hill-start assist, tire pressure monitoring system, cruise control, and 9 airbags. It also comes with a Pre-Safe system, Attention Assist drowsiness detection, pedestrian protection with active bonnet, and Active Parking Assist with reverse camera.

The 2022 E-Class E 200 AMG Line is now available at all Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the Philippines and retails for PHP 5,390,000.
So when the refreshed Mercedes-Benz E-Class finally arrived in ASEAN during the Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS) last year , we were expecting it to be available as early as mid-2021. However, we were surprised that it actually took Mercedes-Benz distributor Auto Nation Group nearly a year before they were able to bring in the updated luxury sedan.

When automakers launch vehicles in Southeast Asia (i.e. Thailand, Indonesia, or Malaysia), it usually means that the vehicle is set to arrive in other markets like the Philippines in just a few months.

What caused the long delay between the E-Class launch in Thailand and its eventual arrival in the Philippines? And could this type of delay continue to happen in the not-so-distant future?

According to Benjamin Bautista, Auto Nation Group Senior Product Manager, the delay was caused by a problem automakers are all too familiar with, parts and semiconductor shortage. Thats right, even the three-pointed star is not immune to the global chip and parts shortage that continues to plague car brands around the world.

Just last year, Mercedes-Benz, along with other automakers such as Toyota, Ford, Mini, Nissan, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi had to temporarily stop production several times due to the lack of semiconductors. This was caused when automakers had to cut back orders of semiconductors as car production temporarily stopped in early 2020.

As a result, semiconductor manufacturers then shifted to supply consumer electronics following the high demand for smartphones, gaming devices, and laptops. As vehicle sales bounced back in 2021, automakers found themselves waiting in line for chips and semiconductors. To this day, some automakers continue to experience chip shortages.

It is very unfortunate for Mercedes-Benz to be affected by the parts bottleneck that is still happening to this day, said Bautista.

Does this mean future product launches by Mercedes-Benz Philippines will be affected by the ongoing shortage? Fortunately, Bautista believes that the situation will normalize as both the production of cars and semiconductors will eventually smoothen out.

We are very positive that parts allocation will normalize, added Bautista.

Even with the aim of selling 50 to 60 units of the 2022 E-Class per month, Mercedes-Benz Philippines guarantees that they have enough stocks to supply the expected demand.

But the next time you're wondering why a new model launch is delayed, you can blame the ongoing parts and chip shortage.
Tesla has recalled 53,822 cars and SUVs in the United States because of a feature that lets vehicles automatically roll past stop signs. According to records published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday, February 1, Tesla will disable the feature on its so-called Full Self-Driving Beta (or FSD Beta) software with an over-the-internet update.

The cars affected by the recall are Tesla's Model S, X, 3, and Y vehicles. The recall covers X SUVs and Model S sedans from 2016 to 2022 and 2020 through 2022 Model Y SUVs and 2017 to 2022 Model 3 sedans.

The cars in question have been given a relatively new version of the company's FSD Beta software. The newer versions of FSD Beta (2020.40.4.10 or later) give Tesla drivers a "rolling stop" feature that lets their vehicles automatically roll through an all-way stop intersection without first coming to a complete halt.

Rolling stop feature increases the risk of a crash

According to the NHTSA, this function can "increase the risk of a crash." This particular feature allows cars to go through intersections with all-way stop signs at a speed of up to 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) per hour.

The agency said that the "Vehicle Safety Act prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles with defects posing unreasonable risks to safety, including intentional design choices that are unsafe." NHTSA added that it would act immediately on an issue if the information shows that a safety risk may exist.

According to the recall documents, Tesla appears to have programmed its cars to violate the law in most states, where police will issue drivers' tickets to disregard stop signs. The Governors Highway Safety Association said that it is not aware of any state where a rolling stop is legal.

The documents also showed the NHTSA meeting with Tesla executives on January 10 and 19 to discuss how the software operates. Tesla eventually agreed to the recall after these two meetings with U.S. safety regulators, with the company agreeing to disable the rolling stops with a software update on January 20.

Related Article: Kia Carens Set to Launch Soon After Mass Production Starts in Anantapur Assembly Line in India

Tesla reports no injuries or crashes relating to the software issue

A week later, Tesla gave an update to the NHTSA regarding the problematic feature, saying that it is not aware of any warranty claims, field reports, crashes, injuries, or fatalities related to this condition as of January 27, 2022.

Customers affected by the recall do not have to take their Tesla cars to a store or service center to address the issue as the world's leading electric car maker will remove these features via a free over-the-air software update.

In its most recent earnings update on January 26, Tesla divulged that it had expanded this controversial testing program to around 60,000 cars in the United States. Elon Musk said during that earnings call that Full Self-Driving would become the most important source of profitability for Tesla over time.

READ MORE ON AWN:

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Toyota Remains the World's Biggest Automaker Despite Chip Crisis in 2021; Widens Lead Over Volkswagen
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Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Sunshine and a few clouds with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. High 86F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

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Partly cloudy skies. Low 59F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Sunshine and a few clouds with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. High 86F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 59F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Danish officials lifted most of the country's pandemic-related restrictions on Tuesday, as the country no longer considers COVID-19 to be a "socially critical disease," AP reports.

Why it matters: The move highlights the divergent approaches European countries are taking as the Omicron variant continues to drive caseloads upward for many.

What they're saying: From Feb. 1, in only a few days, Denmark will be open again, completely open," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a press conference Wednesday.

The pandemic is still here but with what we know, we now dare to believe that we are through the critical phase, she added.

I dare not say that it is a final goodbye to restrictions, she told Danish radio, per AP. We do not know what will happen in the fall, whether there will be a new variant.

State of play: Virus cases in Denmark have been surging during the Omicron wave, but hospitalizations and deaths have remained stable, according to Deutsche Welle.

More than 60% of people in Denmark have received three coronavirus vaccine doses, higher than the E.U. average of 45%, per DW.

The big picture: Denmark's Nordic neighbor, Sweden, announced last week that it would extend its current health restrictions by another two weeks.
Israel doesnt think there will be a violent confrontation between Russia and Ukraine anytime soon, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tells me.

Why it matters: The Biden administration has been warning publicly in recent weeks that the Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine could lead to an invasion at any moment.

Israel is in a unique situation of having close relations with both Russia and Ukraine. It proposed a Russia-Ukraine summit in Jerusalem last October.

Behind the scenes: Secretary of State Tony Blinken called Lapid on Monday and asked that Israel convey to Russia a message of the need for de-escalation, Israeli officials tell me.

This was the second time in recent weeks Blinken asked Israel to pass on such a message.

Israeli officials say they have been talking to the Russians about the need to de-escalate and Lapid is planning to speak to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov about it in the coming days.

What they're saying: At the moment, the [Israeli] assessment is that we dont see a violent confrontation soon. I also dont think a world war is about to start there," Lapid tells me.

He stresses that Israel is in a complicated situation because the second largest Jewish community is in Russia and the fifth largest Jewish community is in Ukraine.

We have a duty to act with caution about the Russia-Ukraine crisis that no other country has," he says.

The big picture: Lapid says Israel is concerned that the Russia-Ukraine crisis will drive the attention away from the Vienna nuclear talks with Iran.

"We would have liked the U.S. to give a much closer attention to this issue in order to prevent dangerous things from happening," he adds.

Worth noting: The U.S. said this week it sees a path to a deal in the Vienna nuclear talks, but Iran must make tough political decisions now."

Go deeper: Biden sending thousands of troops to Eastern Europe
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is calling on the Biden administration to drop longstanding U.S. support for Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO, arguing that a binding commitment to defend the country would undermine efforts to counter China.

Why it matters: Hawley is staking out a position increasingly supported by the Republican base but historically at odds with the mainstream GOP consensus still backed by his Senate colleagues.

Context: Former President George W. Bush and all NATO leaders agreed at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine and Georgia "will become" members of the alliance  though no specific roadmap was offered at the time.

Russia, which vigorously opposed the accession of either former Soviet republic, went on to invade Georgia later that year, and Ukraine in 2014.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens to renew his invasion of Ukraine with a massive military buildup on its borders, he is demanding legal guarantees that the country will never be allowed into NATO.

NATO has no plans to admit Ukraine any time soon but has refused to allow Putin to set limitations on its foundational "open-door policy."

Driving the news: Ahead of a pair of all-member Ukraine briefings for the House and Senate on Thursday, Hawley is asking for "clarity" from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on how Ukraine's future membership in NATO would serve U.S. interests, according to a letter obtained by Axios.

Hawley said he supports sending assistance that Ukraine needs to defend itself, but contends that the U.S. interest "is not so strong" to warrant going to war with Russia.

Biden himself has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine but plans to deploy forces to eastern Europe to bolster NATO's defenses  a position overwhelmingly supported by Senate Republicans.

What they're saying: "Such a deployment can only detract from the U.S. militarys ability to ready and modernize forces to deter China in the Indo-Pacific," Hawley writes, arguing that "Americans security and prosperity rest upon our ability" to curtail Beijing's dominance.

"But those opportunity costs pale in comparison to what would be expected  indeed, required  of the United States, were NATO actually to admit Ukraine as a member."

Pointing to the failure of NATO member states to spend 2% of their GDP on defense, Hawley called on Biden to rethink "basic assumptions" about U.S. foreign policy that have been "collapsed" by the rise of China.

Read the letter.
The U.S. has resumed its mediation efforts in the maritime dispute between Israel and Lebanon.

Why it matters: An agreement over a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea could allow Lebanon to begin natural gas exploration, which may boost its imperiled economy.

Catch up fast: Lebanon and Israel each claim a potentially gas-rich, 330-square-mile area off their borders in the Mediterranean Sea.

The latest round of U.S.-mediated talks began last year, but stalled due to the pandemic and the political crisis in Lebanon.

State Department energy envoy Amos Hochstein, who is leading the mediation efforts, had last visited the two countries in November.

Driving the news: Hochstein in Jerusalem on Sunday met with Israeli Minister of Energy Karine Elharrar, who told the U.S. envoy that Israel wants a deal and is willing to consider creative solutions as long as its security and economic interests are maintained, a senior Israeli official told me.

The official declined to give any details about Hochsteins proposal, but stressed the U.S. envoy sees an opportunity to get a deal and wants to try to reach one as quickly as possible.

A State Department spokesperson said a decision on the maritime boundary is one for Israel and Lebanon to make.

"America stands ready to facilitate negotiations, and we strongly support efforts to reach a mutually beneficial agreement," the spokesperson added.

What to watch: Hochstein is expected to visit Beirut next week, according to Lebanese media.

The Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Tuesday that the Lebanese team made it clear the broad-demands position it presented during direct talks in May was only a negotiation tactic and it did not represent Lebanon's real demands.

Lebanon is ready to go back to its original position, which includes narrower demands .

Lebanese presidential adviser Elias Bou Saab told the newspaper that President Michel Aoun signaled that time is not on our side and it is in our interest not to postpone the issue and take a national decision on this issue."

Between the lines: Hochstein told the parties in November that if they cant come to an agreement before Lebanon's March 2022 parliamentary elections, he would end the mediation efforts.
Turkish and Armenian officials held the first round of the negotiations in Moscow on January 14. The foreign ministries of the two neighboring nations described the talks as positive and constructive.

They said special envoys representing the two sides agreed to continue the dialogue without preconditions. It is still not clear when they will meet again.

I must say that the first meeting didnt address many substantive issues, but there are some positive signs that the process will unfold successfully, Mirzoyan said after holding talks in Yerevan with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

But again, these are issues which dont depend only on the position of one side, he told a joint news conference.

The minister insisted that just like its predecessors, the current Armenian government stands for normalizing bilateral ties without preconditions. It is with these expectations that we embarked on this dialogue, he stressed.

Mirzoyan complained as recently as in November that the Turks are setting new preconditions for establishing diplomatic relations and opening their border with Armenia. He alluded to their statements making the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations conditional on Armenia agreeing to open a land corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave.

Turkish leaders have also cited Bakus demands for a formal Armenian recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian opposition leaders have accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of being ready to accept these demands. Pashinians political allies have denied that.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has repeatedly made clear that Ankara will continue to coordinate its Armenian policy with Baku.

Cavusoglu announced two weeks ago that he has invited Mirzoyan to an international conference that will be held in Turkey in March. Pashinian signaled last week that Yerevan will likely accept the invitation.

Mirzoyan likewise said that he has no problem with attending the Antalya Diplomacy Forum organized by the Turkish government. But he also cautioned: The Armenian Foreign Ministry has made no decision on this yet. The issue is being discussed.
Overchuk arrived in the Armenian capital with Oleg Belozerov, the chief executive of the Russian Railways (RZD) state monopoly managing Armenias railway network. They met with Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian.

An Armenian government statement on the meeting said they discussed, among other things, issues on the agenda of a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani working group dealing with practical modalities of opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani border to passenger and cargo traffic. The statement gave no details.

The working group co-headed by Overchuk and his Armenian and Azerbaijani opposite numbers last met in Moscow on December 1. It had been expected to formalize relevant understandings reached by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Sochi on November 26.

The trilateral body announced no deals on the transport links, however. It emerged afterwards that Baku and Yerevan disagree on the status of a highway that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenias Syunik province.

The two sides appear to be much closer to establishing a rail link between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan, which would also pass through Syunik. The Armenian government set up last month a task force that will coordinate work on the 45-kilometer railway

Grigorian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service in December that its planned construction will likely cost $200 million and take about three years. Russian officials have not said publicly whether RZD is ready to invest or participate otherwise in the project.

RZD runs the Armenian railway network, called South Caucasus Railway (SCR), in line with a 30-year management contract signed with the former Armenian government in 2008.

The statement on Grigorians talks with Overchuk and Belozerov said the two sides emphasized the SRCs important role in the Armenian economy and discussed further development of the companys cooperation with the current government.

Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in early January that Moscow is aiming for a quick completion of the elaboration of the parameters of joint infrastructure initiatives agreed with Yerevan and Baku.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter.
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With the impending retirement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a process that used to be fairly routine but has become increasing bitter is about to get underway. That would be finding 50 votes in the U.S. Senate to confirm his successor.

Supreme Court confirmation hearings have never been a walk in the park, but they used to be reasonably straightforward. Senators would study the qualifications of the nominee, which were almost always very high, and whether he or she had any scandals that would be a disqualifier.

It wasnt that long ago  1993, actually  that the very liberal nominee Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed by the overwhelming margin of 96-3. That of course meant that many conservative Republicans voted for her, something thats almost inconceivable today.

Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz should consider President Bidens nominee fairly, and its possible that Cornyn might do that. He even managed to say a few nice things about Breyer when he announced his retirement, praising him as an impartial and evenhanded arbiter of the law.

Those kinds of generalized remarks used to be predictable from senators of both parties, and of course have become increasingly rare today. Judging by his recent performance, Cruz will probably use this opportunity to score cheap political points, curry favor with former President Donald Trump and automatically vote no against whoever Biden nominates.

Although the focus will be on Republican senators this time because a Democratic president is nominating a justice, both parties have contributed to the dismal decline of a once-respected process. When Justice Brett Kavanaugh was nominated by Trump in 2018, he was almost derailed by something he was accused of in high school. It was a serious allegation  sexual assault  but it was never proved conclusively, and it appeared that many Democratic senators were looking for any reason to oppose him because he would tip the balance of the court more toward conservatives.

That shouldnt happen this time because Bidens nominee will be replacing a liberal. If he or she is confirmed, the court will still be divided 6-3 with conservatives in the majority. That could motivate some Republican senators to vote for the nominee if he or she is qualified. Biden has already pledged to nominate a Black woman for this post, a move that some voters will view as inspiring and others as blatantly partisan. Either way, the decision should get back to her expertise and knowledge of the law.

Both parties should try to get the confirmation practice back to its constitutional design. Politics will never be completely removed from it, but this shouldnt be such a divisive spectacle. One side has to stop seeking revenge for previous hearings. It can start with this one, and for the good of our republic, it should.
Markos Kounalakis is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is the author of Freedom Isnt Free: The Price of World Order.
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Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, 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Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, 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Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe


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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, 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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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Let them eat cake!

In a decision that would have pleased Marie Antoinette, a Bangladesh court has penalized two men for defaming the countrys founding father by cutting bread instead of cake to mark his birth anniversary last year.

As punishment, the court on Tuesday ordered the convicts  both madrassa teachers  to plant 20 trees and read five books, including three written by the nations founder, the late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was also the father of Sheikh Hasina, the current prime minister.

Md. Abdus Salam and Golam Kabir, of the Baurtala Dakhil Madrassa in northwestern Chapainawabganj district, were convicted under the draconian Digital Security Act for live streaming the bread-cutting event on Facebook, according to a copy of the judgment seen by BenarNews.

The two convicts will be under the supervision of a probation officer appointed by the court for the next one year, the judgment said.

At this time, they will have to read three books written by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation.

The court said the convict Salam cut the bread while his partner in crime, Kabir, broadcast it on Facebook last year on March 17, to mark Mujibs 100th birth anniversary. Mujib was born in 1920, but centennial celebrations were delayed by the pandemic.

A leader from the Awami League, the party headed by Hasina, filed a complaint against the duo, who were arrested soon after. They were in jail until Tuesdays probation order set them free.

Md. Abdus Salam, (left) talks to the media as Golam Kabir stands next to him, in front of the Rajshahi Cyber Tribunal, in Bangladesh, Feb. 1, 2022. [BenarNews]

A trivial incident

If the pair violates probation conditions  including reading five books and planting 20 trees  they will be thrown in prison for a year and fined 100,000 taka (U.S. $1,168), the judgment said.

Wasting no time, convict Salam has begun his reading and planting assignments.

I have already started reading the books following the courts verdict. I have not received all the books yet. I hope to get all within one or two days, Salam told BenarNews.

In addition, I have started to plant trees. I have already planted 15 saplings of mahogany and mango trees in the madrassa complex, as there is no space to plant trees near my house.

Salam told BenarNews he and Kabir did not mean to offend anyone with their actions last year.

We earlier held prayers in his [Mujibs] name, Salam told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

But when students wanted to celebrate, we could only find bread in a local shop as we live in a remote village where good quality cake cannot be found instantly, said the 57-year-old, according to AFP.

Faruq Faisel, the South Asia Coordinator of a pro-press freedom group called Article 19, said the incident did not merit such attention.

This incident is an example as how a trivial incident is being given state-level importance, which is unfortunate, he told BenarNews.

If someone does not have enough money, he can observe a birthday with bread. Where is the problem?
A fishing community in Indonesias Aceh region is demanding protection from prosecution after three fishermen were sentenced to prison last year on immigration offenses linked to helping bring Rohingya ashore.

That court case, the first of its kind, has made fishermen in Indonesias westernmost province more hesitant about helping the persecuted minority from Myanmar as they make perilous boat journeys in search of work and safe haven.

In June, a court in North Aceh regency sentenced fishermen Abdul Aziz, Faisal Afrizal and Raja bin Husen to five years each in prison after finding them guilty of smuggling dozens of Rohingya into Indonesia in return for payments of 1.5 million rupiah (U.S. $104) each.

According to a copy of the verdict obtained by BenarNews, Faisal received 7 million rupiah ($487) from a smuggling ring and used some of the cash to rent a boat for picking up the Rohingya.

The fishermen received a payment, took the money and they were told: Please bring my people ashore, said Miftach Cut Adek, a leader of the Acehnese fishing community.

It was wrong that they took the money, but should they be jailed for five years just for taking 5 million rupiah ($348)? he told BenarNews. They are just poor fishermen.

Close to 800 of Myanmars persecuted Rohingya minority have ended up stranded in Indonesia on their way to third countries, according to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency.

In December, months after the three were sentenced, Acehnese fishermen were anxious to rescue more Rohingya who were found in a damaged boat drifting off the coast, but were afraid they could be arrested for doing so, local activists said.

How can we bear to see women and children drifting on a boat without food or drink, and being ill? Were talking about humanity, said Badruddin Yunus, the leader of the fishing community in Bireuen.

Local authorities initially refused to allow the boatload of 120 Rohingya to land, but let them in on Dec. 28 after UNHCR and human rights groups appealed to Indonesia to permit the Rohingya come ashore.

Badruddin said his fellow fishermen have done what they could to assist their three colleagues who are in prison.

We tried to help because we sympathize with their families and children. They wanted to help people but were punished instead, Badruddin said.

Miftach said the community had appealed to the authorities to show leniency, arguing that their main motivation was to save lives.

We talked to the police  asking them not to be punished harshly. We accept that they are guilty, but they should not be severely punished, Miftach said.

When corrupt officials get caught, their children have everything they need, but when [fishermen] are in jail, their children and wives may die of starvation, Miftach said.

Families breadwinners

The jailed fishermen were their families only breadwinners, according to Thariq Fharline, who heads Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT), a charity group in the North Aceh town of Lhokseumawe.

They [families] are now struggling, especially economically. We help them with food and there are other NGOs that donate to them, Thariq told BenarNews.

Since a brutal August 2017 crackdown by security forces in Myanmars Rakhine state against the Rohingya, hundreds of people from the stateless ethnic group have paid traffickers to transport them by sea to Thailand and Malaysia.

The Rohingya hope to find work away from Myanmar or crowded refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. The crackdown led about 740,000 to flee to the camps in and around Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar, now home to about 1 million Rohingya.

Over the years, groups of Rohingya have packed into boats and sailed off in search of asylum in other countries where they have often been refused entry.

Indonesia is not a party to the U.N. 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. It prohibits refugees from obtaining jobs and attending formal schools.

Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International in Indonesia, urged countries in Southeast Asia to immediately address issues involving Rohingya.

There will always be potential for people smuggling in border areas and this must be investigated effectively and transparently, Usman told BenarNews.

All countries, including Indonesia and neighboring countries, have an obligation to provide assistance to people found at sea who are in danger of drowning and are in distress, he said.

Badruddin, meanwhile, said Acehnese fishermen would step up despite fears of prosecution.

Our fishermen are 100 percent ready to help. Not only will we bring them ashore, but well also provide food for them, he said. But we hope that they will not run away from their shelters.

Rohingya flee

On Sunday, four Rohingya escaped from a shelter in Lhokseumawe, said Marzuki, a spokesman for the local task force caring for Rohingya. This followed an incident where eight Rohingya fled from the same camp two weeks earlier.

Marzuki, who goes by one name, said he worried that they would be victims of human trafficking.

They are refugees, not prisoners. They are looking for a better life like us. But, it looks like theres a group behind their escape because someone saw a car that looked like it was waiting for them, he told BenarNews.

Marzuki said the task force had met with UNHCR representatives, immigration officials and the International Organization for Migration to discuss building a permanent shelter for Rohingya in neighboring North Sumatra province.

They wont have to worry. There will be plenty of food and decent beds, he said.
Tamano Kamaong Mamalapat (center, polo shirt), a former rebel who led a private armed group, hands over 50 high-powered rifles to the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Cotabato, Philippines, Aug. 13, 2021.

The Philippine military said Wednesday it would dispatch troops to the central Visayas region to control private armed groups employed by local politicians, following an uptick in politics-related violence ahead of the May 9 general election.

Voters will be going to the polls to elect a new president and vice-president, half of the seats in the 24-member Senate, all 316 House seats, and about 18,000 official positions ranging from town councilor to mayors and governors. As many as 155 private armed groups (PAGs) operate across the Philippine archipelago, with about half functioning to intimidate voters, according to the national police and government officials.

I requested it because we have a mandate to support the Comelec (Commission on Elections) in ensuring peaceful elections, Maj. Gen. Edgardo De Leon, commander of the Armys 8th Infantry Division, told reporters. It was granted.

We are monitoring for private armed groups or political armed groups, were hunting them. The guidance given to us is to destroy the private armed groups, De Leon said.

The commander said about one-quarter of the 500-member 3rd Infantry Battalion already is in Samar, a province considered an election hot spot. The battalion is part of the 8th Division.

The government identifies PAGs as organized groups hired by politicians to intimidate or sow violence against opponents. Officials said the groups exist because of a long-running gun culture in the Philippines.

Despite a constitutional ban, a PAG controlled by the Ampatuans, a Muslim political clan, waylaid supporters of a rival in 2009, killing 58 including 32 members of the local media who were covering the unfolding events. Ten years later, 28 Ampatuan clan members were convicted while 56 others were acquitted.

More recently, a gunman shot and killed an elections officer in Catarman, a town in Samar, in November 2021. One month later, gunmen ambushed and killed a mayor and injured another mayor who was accompanying him on a trip to the southern island of Basilan.

In both cases, police have said political rivalry could be the motive.

In late June 2021  nearly a year ahead of the election  the government announced plans to get rid of the PAGs over fears of violence.

These gun-wielding thugs continue to strike fear among the innocent, spark vicious clashes with rival clans, or push the agenda of the powerful. This must stop altogether, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said at the time.

Red rebels

In the volatile southern Philippines, communist guerrillas as well as Muslim militants have moonlighted as members of PAGs, complicating the security situation in the Mindanao region, according to officials.

Communist New Peoples Army (NPA) guerrillas have been waging one of Asias longest-running insurgencies, which began in 1969. They are also known to operate in Samar and in other impoverished areas. President Rodrigo Duterte ended peace talks with the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines in 2017 after accusing its rebel wing of carrying out deadly attacks despite the negotiations.

The NPAs strength is estimated at around 5,000 fighters nationwide, down from at least 20,000 at its peak in the 1980s.

My troops are focused on counter-insurgency. Their attention will be divided (by the elections) if I am not going to request additional forces, [an] additional battalion, De Leon said.
Villagers displaced due to Myanmar military attacks sit outside their makeshift huts on the banks of the Moei River by the Thailand Myanmar border in Mae Sot, northern Thailand, Jan. 24, 2022.

Thailand, which shares a long history and border with Myanmar, should do more to address the crisis there, experts and activists said, one year after the Burmese military seized power in a coup.

While the Thai foreign ministry says it has been calling for a peaceful solution to the turmoil in neighboring Myanmar, U Kyaw Win, executive director of the Burma Human Rights Network, says that is not nearly enough.

Thailand should be more vocal than Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, because Thailand, as a frontline state, is facing more consequences than these three countries, economically and security-wise, he said.

He was referring to the three influential ASEAN countries that have consistently  and vocally  condemned the coup. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore were also instrumental in shutting out coup leader Min Aung Hlaing from the regional blocs big summit last October.

The three countries, along with Thailand, were among the five founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But Thailand, which has long been considered a linchpin in ASEAN-Myanmar relations, has been criticized throughout the past year as being relatively soft on the post-coup crisis and the mass killings since then that have divided the regional bloc.

On Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of the coup, Indonesia and Singapore also issued strongly worded statements, with the former saying it deplores the militarys actions and the city-state expressing concern that conditions in Myanmar for the people continue to deteriorate a year on from the overthrow of an elected civilian government.

Thailand should join the world community in condemning the violence and prohibit the selling of arms to the Myanmar army, a retired Thai diplomat, Russ Jalichandra, told BenarNews.

When contacted about the allegations that the Thai government had not done enough, foreign ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat defended the governments stand.

Thailand has been closely following developments in Myanmar with concern and wishes to see a quick return to peace and stability, Tanee told BenarNews on Wednesday.

Thailand has been consistently calling for de-escalation and a cessation of violence, the further release of detainees, and a peaceful solution through dialogue among relevant parties in Myanmar, he added.

Russ was derisive about the governments statements.

We would like to see a peaceful settlement to the conflict, blah blah. But I dont see any condemnation from the Thai side. There are Thai people along the border who are affected by the ongoing fighting in Myanmar, said Russ, a former Thai ambassador to Mozambique and Kazakhstan.

We have reports of some Thai boats being shot by the Myanmar army along the river bordering Thailand and Myanmar.  I have seen no evidence of the Thai government even defending their own people. This is gravely, gravely wrong. It's unbelievable in my opinion, he added.

Myanmar Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing toppled the democratically elected government in Myanmar on Feb. 1 last year, threw many democratic leaders in jail, and then turned the guns on his own people who were protesting the militarys actions.

At least 1,685 civilians  most of them pro-democracy protesters  had been killed by security forces as of December 2021, according to the Burma Human Rights Network.

Both have no respect for human rights



Why has Thailand lagged in condemning the coup? Because the Thai government and the Burmese junta share certain crucial characteristics, according to Russ, the former ambassador.

Both the Thai government and Myanmar junta share a similar uniform, similar values, and similar traits. Both have no respect for human rights and international law, he said.

Russ alleged that the 2014 Thailand coup by Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the then-army chief of staff and the current prime minister, may have been an inspiration for the Burmese junta when it decided to rob power from the civilian government.

On a certain level, the coup detat in Thailand was like an influence, more or less, for the Myanmar army to copy, the ex-diplomat said.

Russ said that the Thai governments previous and recent actions reflect its stand on the Burmese military and the military coup in Naypyidaw.

For instance, Min Aung Hlaing was the first foreign dignitary to visit Thailand within two months after the 2014 Thai coup. Whats more, in 2018, he received the (First Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant, a military-civilian order awarded by the king of Thailand.

And since the coup, Thailand didnt vote against selling arms to Myanmar last year, so its quite clear what the current Thai government is thinking, Russ said.

So, while [the Thai government and Prayuth] do wield some influence over the Myanmar military, this closeness will not be of any advantage to the people.

Russ was referring to a June 2021 vote in the General Assembly on a U.N. resolution calling for preventing the flow of arms to Myanmar. ASEAN members Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand abstained from the vote.

Burmese activist Pan Hsu Pyae Eain, who fled to Myanmar for Thailand after last years coup, attends an exhibition on the Myanmar protests, in Bangkok, Feb. 1, 2022. [Subel Rai Bhandari/BenarNews]

A mixed bag

Not all are critical of Thailand, though.

Burmese activist Pan Hsu Pyae Eain, who managed to flee to Thailand last October, said she considered herself lucky.

Thailand is always the first country many human rights defenders and activists like me think of when we think about leaving the country, she told BenarNews in Bangkok.

Thai [people] are really in line with us Burmese people. They are very supportive. I feel like they have solidarity with our cause, she said.

Pan Hsu said she did not expect the Thai government to support the Burmese peoples fight for democracy.

[B]ut I hope they will extend more humanitarian assistance to the displaced and migrants who cross the border. They can do more.

U Kyaw Win, of the Burma Human Rights Network, agreed with Pan Hsu.

We are very appreciative of what Thailand has done so far  Thailand needs to do more to help us, especially in cross-border humanitarian aid, which is extremely important to save millions of lives, he told BenarNews.

For Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, the Thai government has exhibited a mixed bag of reactions toward the political and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.

On the one hand, a significant number of political refugees  have been able to flee to Thailand, have been able to stay in Thailand, Robertson, who is based in Bangkok, told BenarNews.

If the Thai authorities wanted to stop that, they could, and they have not. So, there is, in some ways, positive recognition by Thai authorities that they have to maintain some humanitarian principles in terms of allowing people to flee here.

However, he said, there has been a real reluctance, particularly by the Thai Army, to allow people fleeing the aerial bombardments in Myanmar to come across the border to Thailand and receive basic humanitarian protection.

Thai authorities believe that if some come, many people will come in; they will stay, and they will have another refugee crisis, Robertson said.

I dont think thats the case.

Nontarat Phaicharoen in Bangkok contributed to this report.
People release birds to celebrate the start of the Lunar New Year in Surabaya, Indonesia, Feb. 1, 2022. [AFP]

Workers hang a few of the 6,000 lanterns at the Thean Hou temple in Kuala Lumpur, Jan, 30, 2022. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews]

Filipinos purchase charms to celebrate the Year of the Tiger at the Seng Guan temple in Manilas Chinatown, Feb. 1, 2022. [Basilio Sepe/BenarNews]

The five-generation Lim family gathers for a reunion dinner to mark the Chinese New Year in Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 31, 2022. [A. Ammaruddin/BenarNews]

A vendor arranges boiled chickens to sell at the Old Market in Bangkoks Chinatown, Jan. 30, 2022. [Yostorn Triyos/BenarNews]

Philippine monks follow COVID-19 protocols as they pray to mark the Lunar New Year at the Seng Guan temple in Manilas Chinatown, Feb. 1, 2022. [Basilio Sepe/BenarNews]

Visitors take a photo in front of a tiger lantern at the Dong Zen temple in Jenjarum, Selangor, Malaysia, on the eve of the Year of the Tiger, Jan. 31, 2022. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews]

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, ethnic Chinese communities in Southeast Asia nations are ringing in the Year of the Tiger as best they can.

In Bangkok, members of the Thai-Chinese community changed their buying habits as they prepared for feasts to mark the start of the Chinese New Year.

Because pork prices have climbed as a result of a deadly outbreak of African swine fever at pig farms, many revelers were shopping for other meats to replace pork for festive family dinners, according to the daughter of a meat-shop owner at the Old Market in the citys Chinatown.

No matter what the economy is, they are willing to pay for the faith they inherited from their ancestors. Pigs were expensive, but ducks and chickens sold better. And the pigs can still be sold even though they are expensive, Miss Sukanya, who asked that her last name not be used, told BenarNews.

In Malaysia, the government allowed travel this year despite the pandemic so people could return to their homes to mark the holiday.

The two-week new years festival is the biggest holiday for Chinese communities as people honor deities and their ancestors. Red symbolizes good fortune  so money often is distributed in red packets during family dinners.

Basilio Sepe in Manila, Yostorn Triyos in Bangkok, S. Mahfuz in Kuala Lumpur and A. Ammaruddin in Penang, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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Former ChemFab Corp. operations in Bennington involved coating fiberglass fabric with liquid Teflon and drying it at high temperature. The state determined years later that chemical contamination emanated from the exhaust stacks and polluted soil and groundwater and hundreds of wells. Vermont is poised to enact legislation that was spurred by the pollution discovered here in 2016.
PITTSFIELD  Have you ever wanted to explore the ocean floor? Or wanted to travel 20,000 leagues under the sea?

If You Go "Voyage to the Deep" What: An exciting new interactive exhibit  based on Jules Vernes 1870 classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"  brings to life the deep-sea adventures of Captain Nemo, his fantastical Nautilus submarine and the mythical world he inhabited. Where: Berkshire Museum, 39 South St., Pittsfield When: Through May 8, 2022 Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m, Sunday. Admission: $15 adult, $8 child, $13 student; free for children ages 3 and under, Berkshire Museum members, and EBT card holders. More information: 413-443-7171; berkshiremuseum.org COVID-19 safety protocols: Proof of full vaccination (digital or printed card) and photo ID required of all visitors 18 and older. Masks required for all visitors ages 2 and older.

Upcoming Events Songs of the Sea with Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle What: Join award-winning singer-songwriters Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle as they perform sea shanties, folk tunes, and some popular songs about the ocean. They'll also share fun facts about sailing and sea creatures. Where: Atlantis Stage, Voyage of the Deep exhibition, Berkshire Museum When: 11 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 1:30 p.m., Sat., Feb. 19 Cost: Included with museum admission. Documentary Screening: Chasing Coral What: Vivid imagery and expert insight reveal the majestic ecosystem of coral reefs and their vital contributions to ocean health, human vitality, and environmental balance in this documentary directed by Jeff Orlowski. Film runtime is 1 hour, 33 minutes. Best enjoyed by ages 9 and up. Screening will be followed by a discussion with experts in marine biology and environmental science. Where: Little Cinema, Berkshire Museum When: 2 to 4 p.m., April 23 Cost: Included with museum admission. Registration recommended.

A new exhibit at the Berkshire Museum, "Voyage to the Deep," based on French novelist Jules Verne's 1870 classic, "20,000 Leagues Under the Seas," lets visitors do just that by bringing to life the deep-sea adventures of Captain Nemo and his crew via an interactive model of the fictional Nautilus submarine.

The Nautilus, which spans two rooms of the second floor of the museum, is designed to allow visitors to explore the ocean depths  allowing them to take up the controls at the helm, peer through the periscopes, crank the propeller, test out the bunks, and explore Captain Nemos Cabinet of Curiosities full of wonderful marine specimens.

"What I love about this is that it's super fun, kids love to do this, but it's also very interactive and kids will learn what it's like to live in a submarine," said Hilary Dunne Ferrone, chief engagement officer and interim co-executive director, during a recent tour of the exhibit.

The exhibit, which is presented in both English and Spanish, originated at the Australian Maritime Museum in 2015. Prior to arriving in Pittsfield, the exhibit had been to Milwaukee and San Antonio.

When finalizing the 2022 exhibition schedule, we wanted to push ourselves to think outside the box and utilize our new capital improvements, while maintaining the high-quality, inspiring experience our patrons have come to expect when they walk through our doors. Inspiration for such exhibitions is rooted in our mission and collections," said Craig Langlois, chief experience officer and interim co-executive director, in a release.

Not only will visitors have a chance to learn about ocean exploration, but they'll also learn how the Berkshires has and continues to play a role in the exploration of our world.

At the start of the exhibit, visitors are greeted by past and present Berkshire contributions to world exploration  from the race to be the first to reach the North Pole to today's continued exploration of the ocean floor.

On view are the fur suit Arctic explorer Matthew Henson wore as a member of Robert Peary's 1908-1909 expedition to Greenland and one of the sledges they used to make the trip. Henson, who accompanied Peary on seven expeditions, is credited with being the first of Peary's party to reach the geographic North Pole in 1909. Peary, leader of the expedition, was credited with being the first to do so. Henson, who was Black, is often thought to have been overlooked because of his race.

Zenas Crane, founder of the Berkshire Museum, was one Peary's 1908-1909 expedition. In return, Peary donated 16 items from the journey to the museum.

"What we wanted this [part] to be just about human exploration and how it has grown technologically," Dunne Ferrone said. "We wanted to show the extremes of human exploration."

Nearby sits a model of a Bluefin-21, an unmanned underwater vehicle [UUV] made by General Dynamics Missions Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics.

"General Dynamics is partnering with us on this exhibit," she said. "This is their cutting-edge technology."

General Dynamics' Maritime and Strategic Systems business, headquartered in Pittsfield, serves the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and restricted customers. The General Dynamics Pittsfield team is responsible for making the worlds most advanced ships and submarines even smarter, focusing on surface ship integration, submarine combat systems, strategic weapons systems, unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles.

General Dynamics is proud to partner with the Berkshire Museum on their 'Voyage to the Deep' exhibit. Our teams perform some incredible work in the undersea domain, and we are excited to show our community and beyond some of the work we perform for our customers," said Paul Dalton, vice president of undersea systems at General Dynamics Mission Systems, in a release.

The Bluefin-21, is a 1:3 scale model, as the full-size UUV is 16.2-feet-by-21-feet.

"It's amazing to think this technology is being made right next door to Dick's Sporting Goods," Dunne Ferrone said.

Among other items from the museum's collections on display as part of the exhibit are several nautical paintings and a pocket gallery exhibition, "Blue," curated by the museum staff, features works and objects with the unmistakable blue color of the water often referenced by deep sea explorers.

Whether found on a peacocks feather or 19th-century ceramics, our visitors will be able to explore objects from our collection that share the same hue, Langlois said.
The Checkup: Fewer than 100 new recorded cases, for the first time since late December
GREAT BARRINGTON  For students who might have struggled with school and life before the pandemic, now the risk is even greater.

Quote Were seeing people vulnerable, anxious and depressed, and the skills they would typically fine-tune in school they havent had the opportunity to do." Berkshire Hills Superintendent Peter Dillon

With the crisis barreling toward year three, the direction of more than $1.2 million in federal pandemic relief money shows what Berkshire Hills Regional School District educators and families are worried about.

Students trying to learn English, as well as the most vulnerable students whose learning, development and mental health have taken the hardest hit during the pandemic, are the focus of future plans for this third round of federal Elementary and Secondary Emergency Education Relief Funds, also known as ESSER III. Meetings with the school community helped decide where to focus the funds.

The money will help a growing immigrant student population learn English, and add support staff for all students amid a continuing crisis. This includes the hiring of one full- and part-time English as a second language teacher. It also includes a new administrator for the Career and Technical Education program as well as money for tutoring.

The spending plan can shift if needs change, said Superintendent Peter Dillon.

Pandemic policies and restrictions have been particularly harmful for young students.

Were seeing people vulnerable, anxious and depressed, and the skills they would typically fine-tune in school they havent had the opportunity to do, Dillon said. I think well have to work on this for years. We may be working on this until they graduate.

Berkshire Hills has so far received roughly $1.87 million in ESSER funding since 2020, beginning with $80,784 that year, and $559,315 in 2021. North Adams Regional School District received the most in ESSER III funding, at $4,252,534, followed by Central Berkshire Regional School District, at $2,576,425.

ESSER funding in your school district ESSER II and ESSER III funding amounts can be found on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website. Click here.

The grants are part of $122 billion in American Rescue Plan Act education money sent to states across the country. In July, $611.3 million in ESSER III money was distributed to Massachusetts to support schools in reopening safely while also tending to the full range of students needs.

At least 20 percent has to be spent on catch up from all the lost schooling, particularly for vulnerable students. Other priorities are providing meals for those struggling to buy food, buying educational technology and providing mental health services.

The planned addition of a speech language pathology assistant is particularly important, officials say.

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly interrupted speech services for our most vulnerable age and demographic populations and our current staffing levels cannot meet the current demand, says an overview of the grant use.

For vulnerable students, the situation is worse. Case in point: Parent Erica Mielke told officials at the Jan. 27 School Committee meeting that she had heard unsettling anecdotes from people about what is happening in some of the classrooms at the high school, as students who dont speak English flounder.

It sounds like a lot of these immigrant kids, youth, who are some of the most recent arrivals are not really being fully there in these classes, Mielke said, referring to some of more than 20 students who recently arrived here from another country to reunite with family.

Im just wondering if were doing everything we can or if theres something that can happen more in the short-term  to make sure that these kids have a friendly face that can speak their language that they know they can turn to.

School officials agree and have worked to add support to about 29 newcomers. Most are at Monument Mountain Regional High School.

Some plans include creating a buddy system with English learners and native English speakers, and possibly starting a Newcomers Academy that will shore up basic fluency before students try to learn other subjects, Dillon told The Eagle.

We always have more work to do and figure things out, he said.

The schools are moving in the right direction, said America Lopez, the parent liaison for the English Learners of other Language families.

Theres still a gap with whats happening, Lopez said. The school is trying to meet their needs  to listen to their voices, to create programs and to include the students.

It's the high schoolers who need the most support, Lopez said. For many reasons, it's not easy to integrate and certainly not during a pandemic.

Many are here with just one family member, so that makes things even more difficult for them, she said.
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989.
In a month, consultants contracted by Massachusetts utilities companies must complete an analysis of how those companies can help the state meet its climate goals.

If a Tuesday stakeholder meeting provides any indication of what is to come, climate groups do not expect any real change to come from the process.

In the comments section of the virtual meeting, several of the more than 120 participants expressed disapproval of plans to include decarbonized gas  which a consultant defined as synthetic natural gas, hydrogen and renewable natural gas  in the plan. Many also expressed concern that a Feb. 22 deadline would leave the public with only a week to comment on a draft report scheduled to be released on Feb. 15, and they questioned whether their input would have any impact on the final report.

Irrelevant is how Rosemary Wessel, director of the Berkshire Environmental Action Teams No Fracked Gas in Mass program, described what she heard at the meeting.

I would really have liked to have seen them approach the idea that they need to switch business models significantly, and Im not seeing that, Wessel said in an interview after the meeting. Im seeing definitions that defy logic, like decarbonized gas.

The process began in June 2020, when Attorney General Maura Healey asked the Department of Public Utilities to investigate the significant changes that the states target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 would require from gas distributions companies.

Berkshire Gas, EverSource, National Grid, Liberty Utilities and Unitil will use the consultant report and stakeholder input to formulate their plans, and the DPU will use the investigation to create a framework that protects customers, the DPU said in an October 2020 news release.

Wessel, however, does not believe the process is advancing as intended.

This was one of the thickest smoke screens I have seen, Wessel said. I think we may need to take this back to our legislators and the attorney generals office and say this needs to be led from outside the utilities.

The companies selected Energy & Environmental Economics for the job with ScottMadden as a subcontractor, and they retained Energy Resources Management to manage the stakeholder engagement process.

Gas is part of most of the decarbonization pathways that consultants have identified.

Its really to look at their procurement strategies today and be adding decarbonized gas supply as part of that, whether its biomethane/renewable natural gas or later on, when technologies become more available, [it] could be hydrogen or synthetic natural gas, ScottMadden partner Tim Lyons said at Tuesdays meeting. And so near-term strategies can be ramping that up, introducing portions of that into the supply stream and blending that with the natural gas.

Renewable natural gas, which is taken from organic waste, has become popular in the gas industry, although climate scientists have debated its environmental benefits. While renewable natural gas can divert emissions from waste processes, it still releases carbon dioxide and results in worse air pollution than fossil natural gas.

Synthetic natural gas is derived from coal, and its carbon emissions are greater than burning coal directly, although it leads to less air pollution than coal, a team led by Princeton University researchers found in 2017.

Climate groups prefer moving entirely off of gas and toward electric solutions that use solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower energy, although they say the state government must invest in affordability to make it work.
A fire destroyed the house they rented. Now a Sandisfield family has a future to figure out
Emporia, KS (66801)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. High 61F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A steady rain in the evening. Showers continuing late. Low 52F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
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REED CITY  After a successful first year, the 131 Music Festival will return to Reed City this summer.

The festival is scheduled for June 18.

Inspired by the life and music of Jason Hardy, who led the organizing of the first festival prior to his passing of COVID-19 in April 2021, the 131 Music Festival was born out of Hardys love of rocking on.

Hardy died before the inaugural first music festival took to the stage, which left his family to carry on with the plans that year. Quickly, the festival became a memorial.

Eric Schmidt, Hardys brother-in-law, said continuing the festival in honor of Jason is a way to honor his memory.

[Jason] and I were band members for about 20 years with each other, and we're just continuing his legacy, Schmidt said. I want to continue the festival to make it a place to carry on his memory, and that hes not forgotten. Celebrate the impact that Jason made on so many lives in the area with this music."

"We've only had the one [festival], and last year that was kind of different because it was a benefit for his kids, he added. Hed just passed away before the memorial festival, and Jason had had it in the plans. He probably had an 80% thrown together and then he passed away. Well, the question was, 'Do we continue with it? Or do we just give everybody their money back?' Well, we continued with it.

The outdoor music festival will take place on a 10-acre plot of land 6 miles north of Reed City, and will showcase local bands from around West Michigan.

Schmidt said there is a lot of planning left to do before the festival begins.

We're probably going to limit the tickets to 1,000, and we might go over that, so we don't quite know yet, Schmidt said. Because we have about 1,000 guests plus, we'll have vendors there too. We'll probably expect in about 1400 people minimum, depending on many of the vendors bring with each other.

It is an outside venue and it's held just north of Rock City, he added. We have and the bands come from all over Michigan. Lots of local people, and it's everywhere. Everybody wants to play, so I'm getting bombarded with messages right now from bands.

The events featured bands still have yet to be chosen, and the festival will feature a range of sounds from performers.

Schmidt said he personally reviews each bands submissions.

Well feature anywhere from country to Christian to rock, Schmidt said. It's all genres, we're not giving it just a rock show. We're keeping it all around the spectrum. I have not confirmed any bands yet only because I don't want to hire seven right off the bat to only know that another 15 want to play. I want to go through, listen to them, and see what the best fit is. I don't want any just any garage band. We want people that have been in the [music] scene, have been out and about, and have the experience.

The festival will also be raising money for the Jason Hardy Education Scholarship Fund, which will support students going into trades or music.

Jason was a union pipefitter, and we want to get the scholarship started to honor that, Schmidt said. We don't know the amount yet, but it will be for students going into a trade or for anybody going into music. I think people really look forward to it and help in any way they can. Last year people were very giving, so I know this year they will be too.

Everybody wanted us to continue with the festival in his name, he added. It was a break from this whole COVID madness, and get people out and about and helping the public again, in a positive way. It brings in people from all over Michigan, there are people that traveled quite a ways to come last year, and I know it brings in other revenue to the city. Were looking forward to continuing that.

Schmidt said that bands will be chosen in the coming months and decisions on vendors will continue to be made. Bands or vendors interested in being featured can contact Schmidt directly through the 131 Music Festival Facebook page.

For more information and updates on the 2022 131 Music Festival, visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/131musicfest.
Photo courtesy/Amy Schroeder

BIG RAPIDS  Two Big Rapids Middle School students had the honor of being chosen to participate in the State Honors Choir through the Michigan School Vocal Music Association (MSVMA).

Emily Balch and Grace Edwards joined students from around the state of Michigan to sing at the Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids this past weekend. In order to be considered, they had to complete an audition process and participate in Regional Honors Choir.
BISSAU, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The minister of tourism and spokesman for the government of Guinea-Bissau, Fernando Vaz, confirmed on Wednesday 11 people died during the failed coup attempt that took place in the country on Tuesday.

During a press conference, he specified that the dead included civilians, security guards and soldiers, calling the act "violent and barbaric".

Vaz stressed the role of the security forces in the "well-planned coup d'etat, aimed at assassinating the President of the Republic, Umaro Sissoco Embalo", adding that "the government salutes the courage and determination of the defense and security forces which have prevented the subversion of the constitutional order."

He accused the actors of this act of wanting to install "chaos in the country", denounced external funding, and promised a thorough investigation to bring to justice "the material and moral authors" of this act.

The spokesman reiterated the commitment of the authorities to defend "democracy and the rule of law". 
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
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The nation was shocked when 32-year-old Kate Steinle was murdered in San Francisco just about one year ago.

Forty-five-year-old Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an illegal alien from Mexico with seven felony convictions in the USA, is charged with the murder.

Not only was Sanchez allowed to roam the streets by San Francisco authorities, but he had been deported five times and returned illegally six times.

So I proposed Kate's Law, which would incarcerate illegal aliens convicted of aggravated felonies for at least five years if they were caught defying deportation.

My question - who would oppose that law?

Apparently Senator Harry Reid would and we'll see about the other senators next week.

That's when Kate's Law will finally be offered for a standalone vote in the Senate.

Sixty votes are needed out of 100 to get the law in place for a full vote.

Again, I simply cannot believe any sitting senator would not support Kate's Law and we will tell you exactly who steps up and who doesn't.

By the way, Senators Grassley, McCain, Cruz, Rubio and Sasse have been heroes on this.

Also standing alone next week in the Senate, a new law that would withhold some federal funds from sanctuary cities, places that will not cooperate on federal immigration law.

The bill is sponsored by Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey and has a lesser chance of success than Kate's Law because so many Democrats are invested in the illegal alien industry.

Now the reason Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is finally getting these two bills to the floor in solo situations is two-fold.

The British vote to leave the EU ramped up the illegal immigration issue.

And the upcoming election in November will mean that any Democrat voting against protecting Americans from violent aliens and cities that harbor them will have to defend that vote when they run against Republican opposition.

It is assumed that all Republican senators will support Kate's Law and the punishment of sanctuary cities.

Summing up, it is simply inconceivable to me that any elected official would vote against harshly punishing violent foreign nationals who defy deportation.

I can't fathom any responsible person doing that.

And if a senator does vote against Kate's Law, we will deal with that person.

On the sanctuary front, again, in order to protect Americans from harm, immigration law must be obeyed.

The issue is not as stark as Kate's Law but it is a litmus test of settled law versus anarchy.

Is it not?

And that's the memo.
As we reported extensively last night, a 14-year-old girl in Rockville, Maryland was raped in a high school bathroom by two men allegedly in this country illegally.

The incident is beyond shocking. An 18-year-old from Guatemala and a 17-year old from El Salvador were freshmen at the school. Freshmen.

Authorities say they dragged the 14-year-old into a bathroom and brutally raped her.

Fox News covered the story extensively last night, but ABC, NBC and CBS did not cover it on their nightly news broadcasts.

Nor did they cover it this morning.

CNN did not cover the Maryland story in primetime last night.

Ditto MSNBC.

That is beyond anything I have ever seen in my forty years of journalism.

A story of that magnitude ignored by the national media.

We all know why illegal immigration is a political issue.

President Trump has made the apprehension of undocumented criminals a top priority.

The Democratic Party is resisting that, saying that all illegal aliens are being demonized and that presents danger to that community.

Now every fair-minded American knows the immigration system is broken, and Congress has refused to fix it.

As I said last night, we don't know who is here. We don't know where they are and we don't know what they're doing.

'They' being people who illegally enter this country.

It is beyond the pale that even after this poor 14-year-old girl had her life brutalized, the Maryland House of Delegates actually voted to make the state a sanctuary situation.

Thankfully, the Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan has said he will veto that legislation.

But how on earth could members of that Maryland body after this poor young girlgets attacked do that?

It is incomprehensible.

Many Americans have had enough. For decades, Congress has looked the other way as millions of people have poured into the USA without proper credentials.

Most of these people are harmless and many do contribute to our society.

But the fact remains that the federal government has lost control over the immigration process and that many states and cities will not obey federal law, creating anarchy.

Here's the best example I can give you - between January 28th and February 3rd of this year, more than three thousands detainers were ordered by the Department of Homeland Security.

That means that local jurisdictions were asked to hold illegal aliens considered dangerous.

Two-hundred-six of those aliens were released by sanctuary places despite the federal demand.

One-hundred-forty-two of those released came from one place - Travis County in Texas. That's Austin.

We trust Texas officials will stop the madness in Travis County as they have promised.

But you can see how anarchy is being openly practiced in some places.

There comes a time when citizens of any country have to demand justice, demand protection, demand the law be respected.

We have not - have not - come to that time in America.

We have a president who vows to stop the illegal alien criminal madness.

But we have a media that openly opposes that - allowing the sanctuary movement to pretty much run wild.

And that's the memo.
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com The big reason Donald Trump and Ben Carson are polling well is that many Republicans not only want an effective leader, they also want someone to dismantle the policies of President Obama. They want an avenger, not just a politician to be elected president. Thus, we have two outsiders leading the latest political polling. According to NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, Carson's support now stands at 29%. Trump, 23%. Rubio, 11%. Ted Cruz, 10%. Jeb Bush, 8%. The rest of the candidates are at three percent or below, so we can expect some of them to drop out soon. Now Trump and Carson both believe America is in serious trouble, but Jeb Bush sees it a bit differently. While the governor does recognize the economy is soft and there is chaos overseas, he believes America is close to turning it around. JEB BUSH, FMR. FLORIDA GOVERNOR (R): "They say our best days are behind us. Look, I acknowledge the difficulties and challenges we face. But I reject this kind of thinking (EDIT) I believe America's best days are not behind us, but squarely in front of us, if we elect the right leadership." Talking Points believes that America's potential is enormous. However, there are many serious problems that our impotent Congress simply refuses to deal with. Three examples after all these years: the southern border with Mexico is still not secure. That's a scandal and has led to many social and economic problems, not to mention security difficulties. Problem number two: the economy. The Obama administration has run up staggering debt, which will soon hit $20 trillion. In fact, Mr. Obama will add nearly as much debt as all of the American presidents combined by the time he leaves office, an astounding legacy that will damage the nation big time down the road. And all of the trillions spent on social justice and instituting a nanny state has led to even more poverty. Problem number three: the jihad threat overseas. It is beyond any doubt that ISIS has grown in power and that American policies have failed in the Middle East and Afghanistan. The new nuke deal with Iran could be one of the worst foreign policy blunders of all time, but that is speculation at this point. But like the debt trouble, down the road is almost guaranteed. So whomever the new president is will have to deal with huge problems. The American leader will have to get tough with ISIS, the other jihadists and Putin and will have to solve problems like the southern border and immigration in general. If the new president can accomplish those things, and that's a huge "if," America's potential might be unleashed. But it will take a strong, tough, leader to do that, especially with an inept Congress. And that's the memo.
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

So far this month Homeland Security has apprehended 121 Central Americans, all with outstanding deportation orders.

It's the same old story: Immigration judges order people to be deported, they don't show up for hearings, and ICE has to track them down.

That costs millions of dollars.

So far 146 House Democrats have sent a letter to Mr. Obama, demanding that he halt the deportations.

Also Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley have all denounced the raids.

That's because many Democrats want open borders and amnesty in order to change voting patterns in the states.

It's interesting that President Obama is enforcing immigration law when he really has no will to do it.

Perhaps the president is looking at the Supreme Court, which today announced it will hear his executive order granting some aliens temporary residence in the USA in apparent violation of immigration law.

That will be a landmark case and "Is It Legal?" has the details in just a few moments.

Summing up: Illegal immigration a major issue in the presidential race, no doubt.

And that's the memo.
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com This is day four of the jihad controversy whereby the president and his acolytes will not say the world is threatened by Islamic terrorism." White House press briefing yesterday JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These terrorists are individuals who would like to cloak themselves in the veil of a particular religion. But based on the fact that the religious leaders of that religion have roundly condemned their actions, those religious leaders have indicated that their actions are entirely inconsistent with Islam. But what Mr. Earnest and his boss the president refuse to acknowledge is that there are thousands of Muslim imams all over the world who do support the violent jihad. And some of them are considered leaders in their communities. But let's get right down to it. Here's the real reason the Obama administration avoids the Islamic jihad label: DAVID IGNATIUS, WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST: I think the White House and Attorney General Holder are right to caution about that kind of rhetoric and the whole mindset that goes with it. You need to be smarter this time around and understand much of the work is not military. It's not even going to be done by governments. It's going to be done by people in these communities and the question is, how do you facilitate them without delegitimizing or stigmatizing them? Mr. Ignatius is generally very sympathetic to Barack Obama and apparently believes that only folks who believe in Allah can stop the jihad. The military can't do it, the government can't do it according to Mr. Ignatius. That point of view is naive and somewhat frightening. We are now in year 14 of the War on Terror. If the so-called Muslim street folks were going to take action against the jihadists, they would have done so long ago. What does it take? The world saw 9/11, the beheadings of innocent people on the net, and we've seen thousands of Muslims murdered by the jihadists. What else do they need to see? The truth is that while many Muslims don't like the jihad, there is not an organized effort to combat it in the Muslim world. Some nations like Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco help the U.S.A. and the West in fighting the jihad. But they do so quietly; they don't want to stir up the radical Muslim element in their countries. President Obama, David Ignatius, and all other people who think the jihad will be defeated from within are putting the rest of us in grave danger. The Muslim world is as frightened of the jihad as the Western world and they have fewer protections. If you are a poor Muslim sitting in Yemen and you say something against al Qaeda you're a dead man or woman. So let's stop the nonsense, shall we. Radical jihadists threaten the world much like the Nazis did in the 1930's. Responsible nations, not individuals, must confront and destroy the jihadists in a methodical worldwide campaign. Do you get that Mr. Ignatius? More importantly, do you get that President Obama? And that's the memo
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Because of politics, you are not being told the true story about the Syrian refugee situation. The Democratic Party wants the world to believe that Republicans are mean-spirited and anti-immigrant. The Republican Party wants the world to believe that Democrats are soft on terrorism and sympathize more with Muslims than other people. So let's get to the truth of the matter. According to a recent ABC News poll, 54% of Americans oppose taking in Syrian refugees even after they've been screened for security. Forty-three percent of Americans are okay with admitting those refugees. Now the reason most Americans do not want to accept Muslim refugees is not based on ethnicity or religion, it is based on security. The cold truth of the matter is the majority of Americans have no confidence that the Obama administration can protect them from harm. That is the crux of the matter -- that President Obama and the Democratic Party are so liberal, so frightened and so chaotic they cannot provide security for we the people. Talking Points believes the majority of Americans firmly believe that. And the opinion is based on fact. The southern border of the United States is still insecure. According to Border Patrol statistics, nearly 5,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended in October trying to cross the border illegally. In the first half of November, three thousand more were caught. That is a record number for that period of time and again highlights the fact that the southern border remains porous. So after seven years, the Obama administration has not been able to secure the southern border despite the deadly terror threat facing America. Want more? Here we go. According to a document obtained by the Center for Immigration Studies, the Department of Homeland Security freed 36,000 convicted criminal aliens in the year 2013. Among those 36,000 freed, 193 had homicide convictions, 426 sexual assault convictions, 1,075 aggravated assault convictions and more than 9,000 were convicted of dealing dangerous drugs. All told the 36,000 criminal aliens freed by ICE had 88,000 criminal convictions in the USA. That is simply disgraceful, a danger to all of us and is directly on the president of the United States, who could not care less. Instead Barack Obama chastises the Republican Party and others who oppose allowing Syrian refugees into the country: OBAMA: Apparently they're scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America as part of our tradition of compassion. You know at first they were worried about the press being too tough on them during debates, now they're worried about three-year-old orphans. That doesn't sound very tough to me. What President Obama does not understand is that he has lost all credibility in matters of security. Allowing 10,000 Syrians into America would not endanger us any more than we are already endangered. The bad guys are already here waiting to do their damage. Ten thousand Syrians languishing in refugee camps is not really the issue. The signal sent to the president is we do not trust you to protect us. So no more generosity to overseas visitors. Talking Points would allow certain Syrian refugees to come here. But I am simply appalled by what is happening in Washington. The Democratic Party is completely ineffective in fighting terrorism: NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: We are prepared to defeat ISIS by any definition. The president has engaged with more than 65 other countries to defeat ISIS. The president knows better than any of us the threat that they pose to the security of the world and to the American people. So I have confidence in the president's take on what is out there. Congresswoman Pelosi is an intellectual zombie. No sane person could think that Americas policy toward ISIS has been effective. No sane person could put forth that 65 countries are united to defeat ISIS. It is a myth, a dangerous deceit. But that is what the leadership of the Democratic Party is saying. When you have a man like Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid blocking a bill that would require a mandatory five-year federal prison term for any convicted aggravated felon who defies deportation, when you have Harry Reid saying no to that, you have anarchy. The fact that President Obama and the Democratic Party will not support Kate's Law says it all. Again, these people are not interested in protecting us from harm and the folks know it. When asked in the Fox poll to describe the Obama administration's policy on ISIS: 65% say it is not aggressive enough. 26% about right. 4%, too aggressive. Therefore, you would think that the Republican Party would be in a superior position to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016. You would think. But Republicans must convince the majority of Americans that they are reasonable. All of this talk about religion - Christians versus Muslim registries - all of this stuff is counter-productive for the GOP. What Americans want is security not demonization. The Republican Party should understand that liberals will attempt to paint them as extremists, as sons of Joseph McCarthy. And that kind of marginalization can work, especially in minority communities. So if the Republicans want to win and actually protect this country, they have to be very precise in their language and very strong in saying exactly how they would defeat ISIS, how they would secure the border, and how they would deal with illegal alien criminals. Keep it simple. Keep it clear. And use the facts to promote your case. According to all the polls, Americans well understand how weak President Obama is in foreign affairs. They know the USA is no longer considered an effective force against evil. The folks get it, yet many still fear the other side. And if the Republican candidates do not allay some of those fears, Hillary Clinton and her party will be very happy. And that's the memo.
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Does the truth hurt? Or did Mr. Trump unfairly malign Mexico and millions of Mexican illegal aliens? Talking Points will now answer those questions. The primary mistake Donald Trump made in his campaign kickoff speech was speaking too generally about the border problem. Most Mexicans who sneak into the USA or overstay their legal visitation status do so because they are economically deprived. They are largely under-educated folks who are trying to feed their families. Also, the vast majority of illegal aliens do not commit crimes while on American soil, apart from their immigration offense. But there are big problems stemming from Mexican illegal immigration, and the statistics tell the story. As we all know, Mexico is the major supplier of illegal drugs to the USA. The drug cartels down there have corrupted the police and many politicians. They are brutal thugs who commit mass murder, torture and generally shame their nation. ISIS has nothing on these drug cartels; they are both savage enterprises. The government of Mexico is not capable of defeating the drug lords and rejects direct American intervention. U.S. drug agents are not allowed to carry firearms in Mexico, thereby putting themselves at great risk assisting Mexican authorities. For decades Mexico City has allowed organized crime to brutalize its own people and Americans, as well. Some of the drug organizations have branched out into people smuggling, charging money to get desperate migrants across the border. In the process many, perhaps most, migrant women are sexually molested, and that was the rape situation Donald Trump mentioned. But it's not ordinary Mexicans doing the raping. It's the gangsters, and Trump should have made that clear. The truth is there is little supervision on the Mexican side of the border. Cities like Juarez and Nuevo Laredo are literally run by the drug cartels. Border security in Mexico is non-existent and has been for decades. That situation will not improve. So Trump is correct in saying that only a massive wall will stop the chaos. And even then, drugs and people will get through, although not to the extent they do now. Washington knows all this but has turned away from securing the border ever since President Reagan promised to do so after he signed an immigration amnesty in 1986. Mr. Reagan did not keep his promise, and every single president since has failed to secure the southern border. Every one. Now what about the immigrants themselves? Fifty-nine percent of Mexican residents and illegal aliens have less than a high school education. Only four percent have a college degree. Sixty-eight percent are poor or near poor. Fifty-seven percent receive means-tested welfare of some kind. Fifty-six percent do not have health insurance. Many of those will receive Obamacare subsidies. So, Trump's analysis is correct. The majority of Mexicans coming to the USA are not achievers in the economic sense. To be fair, that was the case with the Irish, Italian and European immigration waves of the past  hard-working people trying to improve themselves. But here is the dangerous part. According government statistics, 71% percent of non-American citizens in federal prisons are from Mexico. Colombian nationals are second, just 4%. Mexican criminals represent a whopping 16% of all convicts serving time in federal penitentiaries. That is a huge burden on the American taxpayer, and a dangerous situation for ordinary Americans like 32-year-old Kate Steinle. Last Wednesday Kate was walking with her father in San Francisco when she was shot dead on the street for absolutely no reason at all. Police say 45-year-old Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an illegal alien from Mexico, murdered Kate. Apparently Sanchez has seven felony convictions and had been deported five times. Yet he was still walking around the streets of San Francisco. That's because Mayor Ed Lee and the eleven members of the San Francisco City Supervisors refuse to cooperate with the federal government on criminal aliens. The feds asked the city of San Francisco to keep Sanchez in custody; the city refused. Ms. Steinle paid for that irresponsible and unconstitutional decision with her life. San Francisco is a sanctuary city, and violent crimes committed by criminal aliens have happened before. City authorities refuse to say how many because they know this is a huge scandal -- a black mark on the history of San Francisco, the most tolerant of cities. The family of Kate Steinle is asking for calm, not vengeance. But Talking Points is not as charitable. In 1996 President Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act, which stipulated that local and state authorities were to cooperate with the feds in apprehending illegal aliens, especially criminals. In 2007 then Mayor Gavin Newsom issues an Executive Order stating that as a Sanctuary City, San Francisco would not cooperate with federal authorities on illegal immigration matters and would protect even criminal aliens. The feds did nothing. In 2010 the Obama administration openly said it would not punish cities that refuse to obey the 1996 law. So here's the deal. The mayor and city supervisors of San Francisco are directly responsible for the death of Kate Steinle and the Obama administration is complicit. Attorney General Loretta Lynch could order FBI agents to arrest Mayor Lee and the supervisors for violating federal law. She is within her authority to do that. I know that will never happen because racial politics drives the law these days, which is why Trump caught so much hell. The Constitution demands that the federal government protect Americans from foreign intruders. Obviously, that responsibility is not being met. And if you point that out as Trump did, you are a racist, a pinata for the open-border crowd to bash. The fact that a felon could be deported five times and still be walking around the USA should shame Congress. Where is a law that says if you are deported one time and come back you serve five years in prison. Where is that law? Congress should pass it, and if President Obama doesn't sign it, everything will then be on the table. That legislation should be called the Kate Steinle law, much like Jessica's Law. So who will sponsor the new law? Please let me know. We are looking for some legislators of courage. Are you out there? Talking Points is disgusted with the cowardice of our elected officials, from the crazy left San Francisco people to the president to the Congress. Most of them are rich folks who could not care less about the violence and chaos out of control criminal activity south of the border is creating here. If Mexico does not crack down hard on border intrusions and drug trafficking, we should punish them economically. Period. This entire disaster has been going on for far too long. The excuse that America is at fault because we use drugs and do not secure the border on our side is valid. We are at fault. But that does not excuse Mexico's rampant corruption and abuse of its own people. Drug and people smuggling injure millions and cost lives. It's the dirtiest of crimes. Finally, the poor people sneaking in here to paint your house are not the problem. The cowardly politicians who will not uphold the law and the Constitution of the United States are the problem. That's what Donald Trump should have said. And that's the memo.
When I started out in the industry, 'media monitoring' used to be a phrase that struck dread into the hearts of junior PR people. It often meant physically cutting media mentions out of newspapers and magazines, and pasting them into a clippings book. If you were really unlucky, you'd have to listen to broadcast interviews and manually transcribe them. It was soul-destroying stuff.

Image supplied

What is media monitoring? And who uses it?

Why is media monitoring important?

What is media monitoring software and why is it important?

So why do we need humans, then?

How do you choose a media monitor provider?

Thankfully, technology has fundamentally changed the media monitoring industry. But yet, I still find myself having to explain what it is, and why people pay money for it. So, as they say on Twitter, Im not sure who needs to hear this, but heres the lowdown.As I always say, knowledge is power. Media monitoring allows you to track how your company and your campaigns are being talked about across print, online, broadcast and social media. It enables decision-makers to track trends, and know where their narrative lands (and doesnt). Reports can also zoom in to provide insights into how a single campaign or announcement was received, and track the longevity and impact of the message.Practically every organisation, from big consumer brands to listed companies to non-profits and government agencies, that uses public relations will invariably have some form of media monitoring in place.At a basic level, it helps organisations understand the impact of their PR and marketing efforts. But its more than that. Its also a critical reputation management tool: it listens for any negative publicity, and helps companies deal with crises quickly and effectively.On the upside, media monitoring identifies trends and conversations that help companies understand their audiences better, and get closer to them. Modern monitoring services also offer analytics and insights that help businesses understand their key metrics better, and shape their plans accordingly.We live in a world thats increasingly online. Humans simply cant track every hit, alert and search term out there. People increasingly get their news and content from a range of channels thats impossible to track manually. Thats where media monitoring software helps monitor as many different sources and platforms as possible while providing critical data and insights around sentiment, share of voice and many other metrics that help you see how your brand is perceived.Great question! Fact is, while media monitoring technology is making great strides, making sense of the information still needs the human touch. Artificial Intelligence (AI) simply hasnt reached the stage where it can match the quality, accuracy or nuance that trained analysts bring to the table.We still need skilled people to interpret the stories behind the data and extract meaningful and relevant insights that inform business decisions. Automated systems also struggle with nuanced wording  and when it comes to irony, they have no clue.There are many media monitoring tools and providers out there. I always say, find yourself a vendor who will take the time to understand your business, and become a true partner, rather than just a supplier. That way, theyll help you make the most of your media monitoring efforts and your budget.
Pernod Ricard's corporate affairs director Pamela Nkuna has taken on the additional role of chairperson at South African Liquor Brandowners Association (Salba), an NPO representing manufacturers and distributors in the liquor industry on issues of common interest. Effective late last year, Nkuna replaces Sibani Mngadi as chairperson.

Pamela Nkuna, Salba chairperson. Source: Supplied.

Pamela, congrats on your selection as chairperson of the South African Liquor Brandowners Association. Whats at the top of your to-do list in your new role?

How do you think your positions at Pernod Ricard and Aware.org have prepared you for this additional responsibility as Salba chairperson?

It's been a tough two years for businesses in your industry with a handful of alcohol bans implemented during the pandemic. What's the road to recovery been like and looking like moving forward?

Where do you think the most work needs to be done in limiting harmful alcohol consumption and related behaviour? What role do liquor companies have to play in this?

What do you enjoy most about your work in the industry?

In your opinion, what are the qualities of a great leader?

In closing, what impact do you hope to make in your industry?

Among Salba's members are industry-leading alcohol companies including Distell, Heineken, Diageo, Pernod Ricard and DGB. As part of the association's mandate, it aims to promote the long-term sustainability of its liquor business members through responsible brand building in a competitive environment.During the Covid-19 pandemic, associations such as Salba played a notable role by acting as a mouthpiece for the liquor trade, articulating the industrys position in respect of the alcohol bans and highlighting the impact that these have had on the alcohol value chain and in fostering the growth of illicit trade in the country.With the topic of alcohol misuse coming to the fore during the pandemic, Nkuna's experience on the board of NPO Aware.org, which works to develop a culture of responsible drinking in SA, stands her in good stead to help advance Salba's commitment to harm reduction initiatives.In addition to this, Nkuna boasts over 10 years of experience in the alcohol industry, focusing on regulatory matters and stakeholder engagement at national government and provincial levels and with local, civil society and NGOs.Commenting on Nkuna's appointment, Salba CEO Kurt Moore commented, Pamelas appointment comes at a crucial point for the alcohol industry as we start to rebuild our economy and focus on the future of a post-pandemic world. Her experience in regulatory matters and her work on harm reduction will be critical in steering the industry during this next season..."We chatted to Nkuna to find out what's on her to-do list as Salba's new chairperson, and what the road to recovery is looking like for the alcohol industry.Thanks so much. I am very happy to have been appointed. During my tenure, I would like to strategically elevate Salba to operate with maximum impact. By this, I mean strengthening existing key stakeholder relationships and mapping out our most important objectives to ensure that our industry continues to operate in a fair and open market.At Pernod Ricard, I was initially appointed as the head of corporate affairs and recently to corporate affairs director. I am responsible for both sustainability and responsibility as well as regulatory and public affairs. The leadership at Pernod Ricard fully supports my appointment and is always readily available to equip me with the necessary tools required for me to achieve the desired impact.Working with Aware.org since its launch and now being appointed as director of the Aware.org board has equipped me with a detailed understanding of what is needed to reduce harmful consumption of alcohol in SA.It may be too early to say, but I believe we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Government acted responsibly during the fourth wave and did not impose restrictions on a sector struggling to recover from the previous measures and allowing the alcohol, tourism, restaurant and hospitality sectors to continue to trade as normal during the festive season.Going forward, the industry remains committed to helping rebuild our economy and focus on the future of a post-pandemic world. We can do this by ramping up the vaccination programmes urgently as is being done in other countries, imposing common-sense limits to unsafe gatherings and following the basic health protocols of wearing face masks in public, social distancing and basic hygiene.In addressing the major problem of alcohol misuse in the country, it is vital that we work to change behaviours with regards to harmful alcohol consumption. This requires a multi-stakeholder, multi-faceted approach which includes taking interventions into communities and creating opportunities for change that can grow into sustainable impact in the long term.These interventions must be evidence-based with clear and concise key performance indicators that achieve the desired impact of reducing harmful consumption of alcohol.Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the progress is key. Impact assessments would be advantageous. In order for these programmes to be impactful, we need to do the necessary research, to understand what the challenges are and to continuously monitor and evaluate the progress.In order to make South Africans aware of the need for socially responsible alcohol consumption, the alcohol industry has invested more than R450m in funding programme interventions and initiatives through Aware.org, the not-for-profit organisation funded by the alcohol industry.Its mandate is to reduce the harmful consumption of alcohol with a focus on drunk driving and walking; underage drinking; binge drinking; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD); responsible trading; responsible marketing and social norms, public education and awareness campaigns.I really love being able to merge my qualifications and my passion to make a meaningful difference in society. I enjoy being part of the solution to societal ills both from a strategic and regulatory point of view, as well as from a hands-on approach to helping society.I love working with the most passionate people across the industry, private sector, government, and civil society. Even though we all come from different backgrounds and cultures, when it comes to doing what is right for society, we all work hand in hand as a strong united force fighting for humanity. That satisfaction is what drives me to do more.A great leader is one who leads by example, displaying qualities of transparency, integrity, tactfulness and strategy. A great leader does the necessary research, displays empathy, strategically assesses the situation and then tactfully responds.I hope to make meaningful change to society and continue to strengthen partnerships with government and our stakeholders. Leading the industrys social responsibility is both a professional and personal cause and I am grateful for the opportunity.
Forex derivative platforms are popular tools that enable South Africans to invest and access diversified financial markets. They have also unfortunately been identified as a space where scammers and fraudsters ply their trade.

Source: Supplied. Khwezi Financial Services' Cape Town head office.

An ethical and transparent trading platform

Almost 10 years in the making

ODP licensing requirements

The Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) is cracking down on these platforms by creating a regulatory framework for the supervision of entities that operate in the Over-the-Counter (OTC) derivative market.Khwezi Financial Services has officially become a FSCA-licensed South African-owned forex platform and can now offer OTC products on forex, indices and commodities for trading."This is the kind of progress that we should be celebrating together as a nation because getting approved by The FSCA is a great achievement that many forex platforms (local and global) fail to achieve," a spokesperson for the company said.Khwezi Financial Services is providing a safe, secure, and accessible environment to trade.There are numerous unethical forex trading platforms in South Africa, but the FSCAs regulation aims to clean up the industry. Its purpose is to regulate OTC derivatives markets in South Africa through a new regulatory framework to reduce the risk and create a safer environment for those taking part in the market. This aligns South Africa with the G20 obligations to regulate the OTC derivatives market.The regulation requires brokers to perform enhanced due diligence on their clients, as trading speculative financial products are high risk. It will also enforce strict capital adequacy measures and various other requirements.The onus is on the broker to submit an end-of-day transaction report to a central repository. These reports provide transparency to the FSCA, ensuring that all forex trading clients are treated fairly and that brokers are operating responsibly.Monty Barnard, chief operating officer of Kwezi Trade, says: "We are pleased to be identified by the FSCA as one of the leading and competent forex trading platforms in South Africa. This shows that we are not a fly-by-night organisation. We are here to stay and will continue to deliver a consistent and dedicated service to our clients."Khwezi Trade, a division of Khwezi Financial Services, is an authorised financial services provider, established in 2013. It is a proudly South African regulated forex broker with a category 1 and category 2 Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) licence and has now become the first South African-owned forex trading platform to have an Over the Counter Derivative Provider (ODP) licence.Although some financial service providers are licensed under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 (FAIS Act), this is not enough; they also need to be licensed as ODPs in order to trade as Contract For Difference (CFD) providers.The FSCA has instituted this regulation because of the substantial risk to the public in instances where entities and individuals act as issuers of derivative products without adequate financial reserves, risk management systems, or knowledge. The regulation is an ongoing effort to remove FSPs that are prepared to act outside of the law.Khwezi Trade provides South African traders with a safe trading environment using both state-of-the-art online, desktop and mobile trading platforms. The company exemplifies exceptional compliance standards as a forex broker with FSCA-authorised representatives and a management team that holds over 60 years experience in the forex and CFD industry.ODP licensing requires Khwezi to:* Meet the operational capital requirements.* Maintain and hold sufficient capital and reserves in the Republic of South Africa proportional to the risks relating to the business as the derivative provider.* Meet the fit and proper requirements of honesty, integrity and competency.* Show the ability to maintain the operational ability to fulfil the responsibilities imposed by the Act.* Possess financial soundness of the business and members of its controlling body.* Meet risk management and internal controls.* Have established an effective compliance function with systems and controls in place to promote and monitor its regulatory obligations.* Have an adequate business continuity plan with proper record-keeping.Co-founder and managing Director of Khwezi Trade, Mark Wurr, says, "After being involved in the Forex/CFD online trading business for more than 20 years, I welcome the more stringent regulation that the licence brings. It will certainly help eradicate the unethical providers that seem to have crept into the market over the years.''Khwezi Trade offers Rand-based forex and CFD trading accounts, providing safeguarding of client funds through segregated third-party administrative bank accounts. Unlike foreign brokers, clients trading money does not go offshore, but remains within the borders of South Africa, and this complies with the South African Reserve Bank laws.The FSCA reminds the industry that extra care should be taken when dealing with any platform. One level of assurance is to check whether the provider is registered with the FSCA as an FSP or ODP. All ODPs need to be licensed by the FSCA.
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South Africa's first round of load shedding for 2022 is here and with Eskom's continuous woes, the national power grid is likely to be under strain for years to come. A growing number of South African homeowners and business leaders are thus looking at ways to become more independent, however many are uncertain about what going off-grid really means, what it costs and where to start.

Source: Supplied

1. I want to take my home or business off the municipal electricity grid. What do I need to achieve my goal?

2. So, what are my first steps towards becoming more independent from the grid?

Batteries to keep your essential power loads running when the grid is down;



Solar panels to generate your own power; and



A hybrid inverter to manage the energy flow between the solar panels, batteries and essential electrical loads.

3. How will reducing my dependence on Eskom or my municipality affect my electricity bill?

4. When is going off-grid a real option?

5. Can I use my solar installation to power my electric vehicle (EV)?

6. How will a solar installation affect the value of my home?

Christiaan Hattingh, managing director of AWPower, answers some of the most common questions he gets when load shedding commences.Many people start out their investigation of the possibility of investing in solar power with the dream of taking their building completely off the Eskom or municipal power grid. However, achieving complete grid independence and a zero municipal electricity bill is prohibitively expensive for most businesses and households.The reality is that without a connection to the grid, you will need to make large investments in batteries and generators to provide power at night or during winter. You will need to oversize battery capacity and the solar panel installation to ensure you have enough power during extended times of low solar generation. In addition, it is advisable to have generators available in case the solar system fails.For most homes and businesses, a grid-connected system will be much more cost-effective and lower in maintenance than an off-grid system. We recommend a solar hybrid system as a great way to save on your monthly electrical bill while also safeguarding your home or business against loadshedding. The main components of such a system are:A solar hybrid system can be installed in modular steps and scaled up to give you more independence from the grid over the years.Depending on your needs and budget, you can start with the hybrid inverter and batteries and add solar panels later, or vice versa. Starting with the solar panels enables you to start saving money on power immediately, while starting with the batteries gives you energy security during loadshedding.Installing solar panels and using the power they generate will enable you to start harvesting immediate savings on your monthly bill. A typical household system (5kW inverter, 4kWp of panels and 10kWh of battery) will generate roughly 600kWh average per month, enabling you to save R1,500 per month on a R2,000 electricity bill, paying for itself within seven years. The more panels you install, the quicker the payback period will be. Batteries are a large capital expense and they do not generate direct cost-savings, but adequately sized batteries are required to reach full system performance. This is because not all energy usage will be during daylight hours.Complete grid independence isnt financially viable or attractive for most suburban or city households and businesses. However, it might be an option for you if you live in a remote area with poor or unreliable grid coverage.You will need to have a spacious property to accommodate the oversized solar panels and batteries you will require to power your entire household. You will also need to make a large capital investment to achieve full grid independence  so you may have to take a substantial loan if you dont have cash on hand.Yes, you can and should, for reasons of sustainability and affordability. Using solar PV to charge your EV will vastly reduce your total well-to-wheel emissions, compared to using Eskoms coal-fired power. When charging your EV from solar PV-generated power at home or the office, you can reduce your direct running cost of the EV to almost nothing.A solar installation will certainly be an increasingly attractive feature for property buyers in the years to come, although the value it could add to your home depends on several factors. These include where your property is located, the type of installation you have put in place, and the impact of the installation on the monthly electricity bill.A high-quality installation with a long warranty will be more attractive to a buyer than a poorly specced system with low-quality components. Its wise to get professional advice to avoid overcapitalising if increasing the value of your home is a primary consideration.
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A new study out of the renowned Johns Hopkins University has concluded that global lockdowns have had a much more detrimental impact on society than they have produced any benefit, with researchers urging that they are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument.

The study was authored by Jonas Herby, special advisor at Center for Political Studies in Copenhagen, Denmark; Lars Jonung, professor emeritus in economics at Lund University, Sweden; and Steve H. Hanke, a Professor of Applied Economics and Founder & Co-Director of The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.

The authors wrote that While this meta-analysis concludes that lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted.

The focus of the study, according to the authors was to determine whether there is empirical evidence to support the belief that lockdowns reduce COVID-19 mortality.

The researchers defined lockdowns as any government mandate that directly restrict peoples possibilities, such as policies that limit internal movement, close schools and businesses, and ban international travel.

The researchers further noted that To answer our question, we focused on studies that examine the actual impact of lockdowns on COVID-19 mortality rates based on registered cross-sectional mortality data and a counterfactual difference in-difference approach.

In other words, did lockdowns reduce COVID deaths?

The conclusion is no.

Lockdowns have had little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality. More specifically, stringency index studies find that lockdowns in Europe and the United States only reduced COVID-19 mortality by 0.2% on average, the study notes.

It adds shelter-in-placeorders (SIPOs) were also ineffective, only reducing COVID-19 mortality by 2.9% on average, further noting Specific non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) studies also find no broad-based evidence of noticeable effects on COVID-19 mortality.

In other words, lockdowns dont do anything to save people from COVID.

The authors concluded, our meta-analysis fails to confirm that lockdowns have had a large, significant effect on mortality rates.

In a further analysis of lockdown vs. no lockdown, facemasks, closing non-essential businesses, border closures, school closures, and limiting gatherings, the study also found no broad-based evidence of noticeable effects on COVID-19 mortality.

The findings bolster a host of previous scientific findings that all conclude lockdowns are ineffective instruments of virus control, and have actually caused more damage to peoples health and well being.

Stanford University professor of medicine Jay Bhattacharya noted last year that in years to come lockdowns will be looked back upon as the most catastrophically harmful policy in all of history.

The epidemiologist added Every single poor person on the face of the earth has faced some harm, sometimes catastrophic harm, from this lockdown policy, adding that We will be counting the catastrophic health and psychological harms, imposed on nearly every poor person on the face of the earth, for a generation.

A peer reviewed study by Stanford researchers found that mandatory lockdowns do not provide more benefits to stopping the spread of COVID-19 than voluntary measures such as social distancing.

The researchers found no clear, significant beneficial effect of [more restrictive measures] on case growth in any country.

The effects of lockdown have been devastating, with leading cancer charities in the UK warning that there is a crisis underway with huge numbers of people not receiving referrals or treatment because theyve been told to stay at home and not to burden the National Health Service.

According to Professor Karol Sikora, an NHS consultant oncologist, there could be 50,000 excess deaths from cancer as a result of routine screenings being suspended during the lockdown in the UK.

Professor Richard Sullivan also warned that there will be more excess cancer deaths in the UK than total coronavirus deaths due to peoples access to screenings and treatment being restricted as a result of the lockdown.

His comments were echoed by Peter Nilsson, a Swedish professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at Lund University, who said, Its so important to understand that the deaths of COVID-19 will be far less than the deaths caused by societal lockdown when the economy is ruined.

A major study by German scientists at Munich University also found that lockdowns had no effect on reducing the countrys coronavirus infection rate.

Statisticians at Munich University found no direct connection between the German lockdown and falling infection rates in the country, reported the Telegraph.

As we also previously reported, Academics from Duke, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins have concluded that there could be around a million excess deaths over the next two decades as a result of lockdowns.

The World Health Organizations Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge also warned governments should stop enforcing lockdowns, unless as a last resort, because the impact on other areas of health and mental well-being is more damaging.

NEW: WHO Europe Director, Hans Kluge tells me, no government should enforce another national lockdown unless it is absolutely necessary, a last resort



He says damage to other health areas, mental health, domestic violence, schools and cancer treatment is too great pic.twitter.com/jzbh9YbH7z  Darren McCaffrey (@darrenmccaffrey) October 13, 2020

Kluges warning matched that of the WHOs special envoy on COVID-19, Dr David Nabarro, who told the Spectator in an interview that world leaders should stop imposing lockdowns as a reflex reaction because they are making poor people an awful lot poorer.

WATCH: Dr David Nabarro, the WHO's Special Envoy on Covid-19, tells Andrew Neil: 'We really do appeal to all world leaders: stop using lockdown as your primary control method'. Watch the full interview here: https://t.co/XLdaedsKVS #SpectatorTV @afneil | @davidnabarro pic.twitter.com/1M4xf3VnXQ  The Spectator (@spectator) October 9, 2020

The warnings resonate with numerous other experts who have desperately tried to warn governments that lockdowns will end up killing more people than the virus itself, but have been largely ignored.

Germanys Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Muller, warned that COVID-19 lockdowns will result in one of the biggest hunger and poverty crises in history.

We expect an additional 400,000 deaths from malaria and HIV this year on the African continent alone, Muller said, adding that half a million more will die from tuberculosis.

Mullers comments arrived months after a leaked study from inside the German Ministry of the Interior revealed that the impact of the countrys lockdown could end up killing more people than the coronavirus due to victims of other serious illnesses not receiving treatment.

Another study found that lockdowns will conservatively destroy at least seven times more years of human life than they save.

A Guardian analysis has found that there have been thousands of excess deaths of people at home in the UK due to the lockdown.

Government data showed that Englands lockdown caused an extra 1 million people to become addicted to alcohol since the start of the pandemic.

Figures released by the the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that there were 8,974 deaths from alcohol-specific causes in 2020, an 18.6% increase compared with 2019.

Experts in the fields of health, academia and charity have warned that the lockdown in the UK is creating a runaway pandemic of anxiety and depression. Paul Farmer, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind said Its no understatement to say that the nation is facing a mental health pandemic. Since the lockdowns, hospitals have reported an explosion in suicides and intentional injury.

Infectious diseases expert and University of Edinburgh professor Mark Woolhouse acknowledged that the decision to lockdown the UK was a crude measure that was enacted because we couldnt think of anything better to do.

Woolhouse said the lockdown was a panic measure and a monumental mistake on a global scale, adding I believe the harm lockdown is doing to our education, health care access, and broader aspects of our economy and society will turn out to be at least as great as the harm done by COVID-19.

Another infectious diseases expert Professor Steven Riley warned that current research certainly doesnt support the conclusion that lockdown is working.

As we further previously highlighted, a data analyst consortium in South Africa found that the economic consequences of the countrys lockdown will lead to 29 times more people dying than the coronavirus itself.

Experts have also warned that there will be 1.4 million deaths globally from untreated TB infections due to lockdowns.

In addition, a study published in The Lancet that notes physical distancing, school closures, trade restrictions, and country lockdowns are worsening global child malnutrition.

Thousands of doctors and scientists are also on record as opposing lockdown measures, warning that they will cause more death than the coronavirus itself.

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Boulder, MT (59632)

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Boulder, MT (59632)

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Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 69F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph..

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Esports organization Misfits Gaming Group announced they signed Minecraft streamers Toby "Tubbo" Smith and Ranboo. The organization aims to diversify its content line for YouTube and Twitch and widen its appeal to younger audiences.

"Elite creators like Ranboo and Tubbo will help us engage and nurture a younger demo while 'Minecraft' provides a fun testing ground for new content formats and ideas," said Misfits' CMO Steve Brauntuch.

The former has 3 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and 3 million followers on Twitch since his streaming career in 2018, while the latter started streaming in 2020. Later on, he has had 4,2 million followers on Twitch.

Both Tubbo and Ranboo will join the South Florida-based gaming organization's roster of Minecraft content creators Aimsey, Cassie "Snifferish" Anne, and Callum "SeaPeeKay" Knight. The company has its own server, Misfits Craft server, where fans can play and connect with the streamers.

His enemies fear him

His comrades revere him

The strongest, most skilled, most majestic "esports pro" of all time...



Welcome to the #MisfitsCraft family, @TubboLive! pic.twitter.com/PYhGPZZBSK  Misfits Gaming (@MisfitsGG) February 2, 2022

Before the announcement, the organization had teased the coming of the two streamers on social media, including retweets from Aimsey's Twitter page, where she met a visiting Ranboo in the United Kingdom.

READ ALSO: 'Minecraft' Streamer TommyInnit Reveals To Be Homeless, Fans Are Shocked

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Spoont, founder and chief executive officer of Misfits Gaming Group, believed that with the inclusion of Ranboo and Tubbo, there would be fun community events, accessible content, and a total elevation of their programming.

Steve Brauntuch, the gaming organization's chief managing officer, added that the two streamers would help them engage and nurture a younger demographic while providing a fun testing ground for new content formats and ideas.

In an announcement video uploaded in Misfits Gaming Group's YouTube Account, Tubbo revealed that he is excited to be a part of the team.

On the other hand, Ranboo has yet to announce his signing to Misfits Gaming Group on his Social Media accounts.

Despite the addition of both Ranboo and Tubbo, Misfits Gaming Group said that they remain committed to the competitive side of Esports.

The organization owns five active teams, including Florida Mayhem in the Overwatch League, Florida Mutineers in Call of Duty League, and Misfits Gaming in League of Legends' North America LCS.

After signing the two Minecraft streamers, Misfits Gaming Group now has 25 active content creators and streamers on their roster across multiple gaming titles and platforms, including YouTube and Twitch.

READ ALSO: Minecraft Dungeons 'Echoing Void' DLC Guide: What Would Players Expect, Price, Bonuses
Americans who have been investing in digital assets such as Bitcoin could be charged up to a 37% tax on purchases of nonfungible tokens (NFT) under a possibly new NFT tax.

Intuit Inc. Chief Executive Officer Sasan Goodarzi warned that U.S. residents who have tried their luck in digital assets and actively traded equities on commission-free websites could be surprised with their tax bill this year. He said that the situation was going to be common throughout tax season.

NFT Tax Bill

The CEO said that a lot of people simply did not understand the consequences of their actions within the crypto industry. Goodarzi said there were plenty of millennials in the United States who actively traded with digital assets amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview, he said that a lot of these Americans would be shocked to see how much money they actually lost or how much they actually owe because they were, in essence, gambling their money. Recently, lawmakers have suggested that they are planning to aggressively act against the crypto industry, according to MSN.

They said they wanted to ensure that people who purchased NFTs were taxed appropriately based on the sale price. However, a vague tax code may also provide Bitcoin investors with some advantages.

A vague tax bill could allow investors to claim deductions over losses that they later reinvested within a certain time frame. On the other hand, some people who used platforms such as Robinhood Markets Inc. to trade over the past year, the majority of whom are most likely first-time investors, are confused about the possible implications of an NFT tax code.

Read Also: Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Warns Against Crypto's Potential Threat to World Economy

Intuit is taking the initiative to assist confused investors by hiring experts to help filers online in a service called "TurboTax Live." Goodarzi said that the program had become the company's fastest-growing platform in history.

The CEO said that in most cases, investors were unaware of the effects of the money that they made in the crypto industry. Goodarzi noted that Intuit already had more than 50 million TurboTax customers. He said they were anonymously monitoring data patterns and providing insights to help investors, as per Bloomberg.

Bitcoin Tax

The situation comes as Indian authorities similarly look at implementing a tax on digital assets and NFTs. The country's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said that the government planned to impose a tax of 30%.

During his remarks on Tuesday, Sitharaman noted that losses from sales of NFTs and the use of cryptocurrencies could not be offset against other income sources. The official pointed out that this was another disadvantage in trading and investing in digital assets.

The crypto industry suggests that roughly 15 million to 20 million investors are trading within the market in India. The numbers have resulted in around $5.37 billion total crypto holding.

Some proponents of digital currencies have been hoping that implementing a formal tax framework could spare the industry from much more aggressive suggestions. According to Reuters, ZebPay Chief Executive Avinash Shekhar noted that the 30% tax may be high, the proposal was a positive step as it allows for the legalization of crypto.

Related Article: Biden Administration Eyes Executive Order To Regulate Crypto For National Security

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A new program for farmers and their families is being praised for filling a critical gap in mental health.

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FILE The Manitoba Farmer Wellness program aims to provide mental health support to farmers and their families.

A new program for farmers and their families is being praised for filling a critical gap in mental health.

The Manitoba Farmer Wellness program is in its final stages of development and looking for people to help deliver and support it. The service will provide one-on-one counselling sessions by professional counsellors with a background in agriculture to farmers and their families. Farmers and their immediate family members can access six free, one-hour confidential sessions.

To accommodate farmers unique schedules, it offers day, evening and weekend appointments and can be in person, by telephone or video chat depending on the farmers preference. Appointments will be available beginning in March.

The issue of mental health in farming and rural areas has been a topic of study for some time at the Centre for Critical Studies of Rural Mental Health at Brandon University.

Rachel Herron, Canada Research chair for rural and remote mental health based out of the university, said she could not speak specifically to the program, but lauded it for addressing gaps in delivering services to farmers and rural areas.

She could only speak about her work on a stakeholders report on mental health in men in southern Manitoba. However, she said during her research she noticed people wanted to talk about their mental health, but said they lacked spaces nearby where they would feel safe in doing so.

"One of the key messages is that mental health is lacking in rural areas. Generally, there is a lack of services within rural communities specifically related to mental health. People usually have to come into Brandon, or a larger centre to access services," Herron said.

There would be mental health support workers that would travel to communities, but people couldnt see them as often due to work constraints and other timing issues. As well, workers may not understand rural culture, making it difficult for services to be relevant and accessible. Workers have to understand the perspective of the individual.

Brandon used to have an office for Manitoba Farm, Rural and Northern Support Services, which was dedicated to offering support services for farmers and rural residents. Herron said before it closed and moved to Winnipeg, there were local volunteers on staff that had farming backgrounds who were trained to counsel people on the stress phone line.

"They could talk to people based on experience. Sometimes that is lacking in our provision in understanding relevance to farmers," she said.

Affordability and time are other issues. Farming is a demanding occupation and often insurance doesnt cover mental health.

This program helps fill those gaps, she said, as it embeds cultural relevance into the program. The program has been created to address the identified gap in the availability of counselling services for farmers, whatever stage of the journey they are at.

"Farmers have a demanding lifestyle, and stigma remains a barrier for some to reach out for help," board member Gerry Friesen said.

The program is looking for donations so they can keep offering services. Any group or individual who works with farmers and is interested in financially supporting the Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program should contact them, said vice-chair Roberta Galbraith.

"We are working collaboratively with the agriculture community in our province to bring this program to fruition for the health and wellness of the industry."

Anyone who is interested in booking an appointment with a counsellor, donating, applying to work as a counsellor, or learning more about the program can visit manitobafarmerwellness.ca.

 kmckinley@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @karenleighmck1
Since the Omicron variant was first identified 10 weeks ago, 90 million COVID-19 cases had been recorded, which is more than the number of cases in the entire year 2020, the World Health Organization's chief stated on Tuesday.

Omicron should not be underestimated even if it has been proven to cause less severe disease than earlier forms and highlighted "a very disturbing increase in mortality in most parts of the world" with several governments reducing their restrictive restrictions under public outrage.

WHO sounds alarmed about Omicron variant

According to the World Health Organization, mortality rates are rising in four of its six global regions. Britain, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands, among other European countries, have begun to relax their lockdown restrictions. This month, Finland will lift its COVID-19 ban.

Even though the country of 5.8 million population has seen more than 50,000 new cases a day in recent weeks, the number of patients in intensive care units has decreased. The government of Denmark scrapped most of the measures put in place to combat the pandemic on Tuesday, saying it no longer considers COVID-19 "a socially critical disease."

The WHO's emergency chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said countries with higher vaccination rates "have more options" when it comes to easing restrictions, but they should consider factors such as current epidemiology, at-risk populations, population immunity, and access to healthcare tools to combat the pandemic.

"Political pressure may result in individuals in some nations opening prematurely, and it will result in needless transmission, serious sickness, and death," Ryan voiced worry.

A group of experts set up last year to investigate the emergence of new pathogens and assess their origins is expected to issue a report in the coming weeks, according to Van Kerkhove, who said the group, known by the acronym SAGO, has met about a half-dozen times since its first meeting in late November.

Among other things, she said the group would look at early epidemiological studies and "our current understanding of the origins of this particular pandemic, building upon previous missions that have gone to China and worked with Chinese scientists," as well as the work of another WHO-led team that traveled to China and reported on the pandemic in March of last year, she said, Associated Press via MSN reported.

In the United States, the death toll from COVID-19 had risen to more than 2,400 a day on average over the preceding seven days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Because areas with lower vaccination rates were affected later by Omicron and haven't yet seen the full brunt of the variation, Jennifer Nuzzo, chief of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Resource Center, said COVID-19 mortality may climb even more.

The last time COVID-19 fatalities in the United States were this high, vaccines weren't readily accessible. The vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna didn't obtain emergency permission until December 2020. By this time last year, just 28 million COVID-19 injections had been given out, with 4.7 million individuals receiving a second dosage. Nearly 250 million Americans have received at least one shot as of Monday, with more than 88 million receiving both main and booster doses.

Vaccines have at least kept serious sickness and mortality from rising at the same rate as infections in recent years. Although just one-quarter of Americans have received a single vaccination, many are still at risk. According to Dr. Scott Braithwaite, a professor of public health and medicine at NYU Langone Health, states that have not yet peaked in infections are anticipated to do so over the next two weeks, with peak mortality following around two weeks after, as per CNBC.

Read Also: US Diabetes Deaths Hit 100,000; Experts Warn Disease Is Not Just A Medical Problem

Omicron has four different strains

Omicron has now four strains circulating all over the world, according to WHO. Since its discovery late last year, the mutant variation has evolved into a variety of distinct lineages.

Delta divided into more than 200 sub-variants before Omicron overcame it, which is not surprising because it is a normal pattern for viral strains. The majority of the strains are so identical to the original that they have little effect on the severity or immunity of the disease.

Health experts have frequently said that COVID-19 booster shots protect against Omicron and provide the best chance of surviving the epidemic. B.1.1.529 is the first known form of Omicron, and it was named a variation of concern by the WHO. BA.1 became hyper transmissible, spreading to 171 nations and generating a backlash against liberties in many areas as a result of this. In the Omicron classification, BA.2 and BA.3 have now been logged as new sub-variants, according to The Sun.

Related Article: 2 New York Pediatric Nurses Rake Over $1.5 Million in Selling Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Card

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Members of Parliament returned to the House of Commons Monday for the first time in six weeks, but they were not alone on the Hill.

JUSTIN TANG/THE CANADIAN PRESS People hold a sign against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and vaccinations during a rally against COVID-19 restrictions on Parliament Hill, which began as a cross-country convoy protesting a federal vaccine mandate for truckers, in Ottawa, on Saturday.

Members of Parliament returned to the House of Commons Monday for the first time in six weeks, but they were not alone on the Hill.

They were "greeted" by a convoy of truckers and their supporters camped out in front of Parliament in Ottawa, calling for an end to all COVID-19 health measures, including vaccine and mask-wearing mandates.

Organizers have also demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  a demand echoed and supported by Conservative MPs in the House on Monday.

For Canadians who watched the situation unfold over the weekend and into the week, it was certainly confusing as there were multiple angles to the protest being reported by dozens of media outlets. There are simply too many aspects to address in a single editorial. Without being on the ground yourself, it can be hard to discern what is really going on.

But taken as a whole, there are a number of authenticated news reports of problems on scene that cannot be so easily dismissed as a couple of "bad apples."

While some of the rally participants were there to simply express their fairly held frustrations with the government, others took the opportunity to show their true colours  waving Nazi and Confederate flags, calling for Trudeaus assassination, harassing paramedics and homeless shelter staff, urinating on statues; the list goes on.

The convoy claims it is advocating for all Canadians freedom  including the ability to work, which protesters say has been interrupted by the vaccine mandate  but it has essentially taken downtown Ottawa hostage. Several businesses in the area have closed, and transportation routes have been delayed due to the protest, meaning hundreds of people are unable to work.

Although not every protester should be associated with these actions, the fact of the matter is that even one neo-nazi or white supremacist flag in any protest on Canadian soil is simply one too many. That anyone within the trucker convoy would tolerate them at all  or argue that such agitators have been merely planted within the group by "antifa" to make them all look bad  should make all Canadians think more carefully about the aims of this movement.

Before the convoy even arrived in Ottawa, the movement was already attracting far-right rhetoric, dangerous enough that the prime minister expressed concern about the potential for violence on the Hill. The convoy even garnered support from former U.S. president Donald Trump as it entered the city.

These actions may be part of the reason Trudeau has refused to meet with the groups organizers.

"Freedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy. But Nazi symbolism, racist imagery, and desecration of war memorials are not," Trudeau told reporters Monday morning.

Nevertheless, a handful of Canadian politicians on the political right have joined in the chorus of those calling Trudeau a coward, and have continued to defend the movement and tried to separate the "honourable" intentions of the group from the fringe ideologies. Unfortunately for them, it is not that simple. The fact that the organizers of the convoy have even allowed such ugly, hateful and racist rhetoric into the group is proof enough that the movement is about more than ending COVID-19 health measures; it is about privilege.

While Canadians have the right to protest, they do not have the right to intimidate. And yet some of the people parked on the Hill right now know there will likely be few consequences for their actions, at least in the short term. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson even said that ticketing the protesters for bylaw infringements may only incite more dangerous and harmful behaviour.

He has to know that negotiating with and making concessions for people using intimidation tactics to achieve their demands will likely only add fuel to the fire. Yet Watsons admission shows that some politicians are either too afraid to stand up for what is right, or uncertain of the potential consequences for doing so.

Perhaps that is why some elected officials have decided to back the group instead. For others, we can only guess that it comes down to political opportunism.

On Monday, the Manitoba Conservative MP for Portage-Lisgar, Candice Bergen, caused an uproar among members from all parties after she defended the convoy and equated the less savoury actions that have taken place during the convoy protest to  among other things  the contentious actions of Indigenous peoples following the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites.

"We all condemn hateful and destructive acts by a few, at any protest," Bergen, the deputy leader of the federal Conservative party, said in the House.

"Whether its beheading the state of Queen Victoria in Manitoba  whether its burning churches, whether its wearing blackface, whether its Hezbollah flags or Nazi flags, we all condemn this. But Im not talking about that."

In response to her comments, Manitoba Liberal MP Dan Vandal expressed his dismay to the Winnipeg Free Press.

"You cannot compare this to the frustration and the anger felt by the people who are recovering Indigenous bodies, and being angry about it," Vandal said.

"The three main leaders [of the convoy] would like to overthrow our democratically elected government, and here is Candice Bergen and the Conservative party asking us to sit down with them. Its just embarrassing on their behalf."

While violent destruction of public and private property is not a solution, Vandal is right in saying that Bergens comments are out of line.

It is worth asking how far political leaders are willing to go to defend toxic behaviour and what consequences will that tolerance ultimately have for Canadians.

But its equally concerning that ordinary Canadians  those who have reasonable grievances against government overreach and want elected officials to fairly hear them out  are willing to allow hateful actions and symbols to taint what should have been a peaceful protest.

They need to be better than this. We all do.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Pfizer Inc. announced Tuesday that it has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize its two-dose COVID vaccine for emergency use in children under 5 while it continues to research the power of a third shot in these youngest Americans.

If the FDA grants the request, the two-shot regimen would become the first approved for use in children this young; older children are already eligible for the vaccine. In December, Pfizer suffered a setback when it announced that two doses of the vaccine, which are one-tenth the amount of an adult dose, did not produce a sufficient immune response in children aged 2 to 4. The company has already started testing a third dose for this age group.

As hospitalizations of children under 5 due to COVID-19 have soared, our mutual goal with the FDA is to prepare for future variant surges and provide parents with an option to help protect their children from this virus, Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, said in a company statement announcing the move.

Ultimately, we believe that three doses of the vaccine will be needed for children 6 months through 4 years of age to achieve high levels of protection against current and potential future variants," Bourla added. "If two doses are authorized, parents will have the opportunity to begin a COVID-19 vaccination series for their children while awaiting potential authorization of a third dose.

It is a strategy federal regulators have encouraged as they have been eager to review Pfizer's data in hopes of authorizing shots for young children as early as the end of February, multiple people familiar with the discussions told the Washington Post. If Pfizer waits for data on three doses, the request would not be submitted until late March.

We know that two doses isnt enough, and we get that, one of the people familiar with the situation told the Post. The idea is, lets go ahead and start the review of two doses. If the data holds up in the submission, you could start kids on their primary baseline months earlier than if you dont do anything until the third-dose data comes in.

Last Friday, Pfizer briefed federal health officials on updated trial data on the shots, an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Post.

Those attending the briefing included Dr. Anthony Fauci; David Kessler, chief science officer for the government's COVID-19 response; a representative from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and other officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Post reported.

The session included a robust conversation that three doses were likely to be much more powerful than just two shots, the administration official said. But to get to three, you have to get two shots first.  Theres interest in seeing this move forward, the official told the Post.

In that vein, an FDA advisory panel will weigh the two-dose regime on Feb. 15.

But at least one panel member voiced concerns about the highly unusual "rolling authorization."

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, suggested that regulators could be short-circuiting the normal process without a clear rationale.

It doesnt make sense we would approve a two-dose vaccine on the assumption the third dose would make up for deficiencies of the two doses, he told The New York Times.

The deficiencies were significant: One person familiar with the data, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Times that children aged 2 to 4 who were given two shots were infected at a rate 57 percent lower than the children who were not, and those between the ages of 6 months to 2 years old who got shots were infected at a rate 50 percent lower than those who were not. There were fewer than 100 cases of symptomatic infection  a small fraction of the participants overall  and the margins of error were wide, the person noted.

FDA panel member Dr. H. Cody Meissner, chief of the pediatric infectious diseases division at Tufts Childrens Hospital in Boston, said he was willing to weigh the "rolling authorization" strategy but he worried that rare side effects might be missed in the small-scale trials conducted so far.

The panels decision will partly depend on what are the rates of hospitalization and severe disease in this age group, and what our sense is in terms of potential harm should the two-dose regimen be authorized, Meissner added.

But Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and Dr. Peter Marks, who oversees the agency's vaccines office, said Tuesday that it was important to act quickly given the surge in Omicron cases and the likelihood that other variants will follow.

The need for a safe and effective vaccine for our youngest children is significant, particularly given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the notable rise in the number of hospitalizations in young children with severe disease and the possibility that future variants could cause severe disease in those who are unvaccinated, Marks said in an agency statement.

As the Omicron variant has spread, there has been a steep increase in pediatric cases of the virus, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which gathers state-level data. Even though most young children tend to do well combating the virus, some can get very ill.

AAP President Dr. Moira Szilagyi said in a statement on Tuesday that she was encouraged that we may be one step closer to shots for the youngest children.

Last month, we reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases among children since the pandemics onset. More than 3.5 million new cases in children were reported in January 2022 alone, she told the Times.

If the two-dose regimen is authorized, not every parent is going to race to their pediatricians office for shots, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation: Only 3 in 10 parents of children under 5 said they plan to get their children vaccinated as soon as shots become available.

More information

Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more on COVID vaccines.

SOURCE: Pfizer, news release, Feb. 1, 2022; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, news release, Feb. 1, 2022; The New York Times; Washington Post
Awaken Music - Come What May | Hoganson Media / Awaken Music

San Diego-based collective Awaken Music from the 10,000 member, multi-campus Awaken Church, released Come What May Jan. 14 via The Fuel Music. Available now at digital and streaming outlets internationally, the single was added upon release to the worlds largest Christian Spotify playlist with nearly 1.4 million likes, Top Christian & Gospel, as well as added to WorshipNow, New Music Friday Christian, Ultimate Christian Alternative and Sing A New Song playlists. These five editorial lists alone reach nearly three million followers.

The song is also at Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Tidal and more outlets internationally. Worship Leader premiered the songs lyric video, and outlets like GOD TV, CCM Magazine, JesusFreakHideout, The Christian Beat, Breathecast and many more have further covered Awaken Music.

Welcome to the world of Awaken Church and their worship music expression Awaken Music, invites Tony Patoto, Founder and President of The Fuel Music. Their music is as fresh as it can get, without any compromise of the intent: worshiping the God of all creation and encouraging people to meet with God. Excellence is quite evident, but the heart and passion of serving their community and the wider church is clearly the essence of their DNA. Musical and spiritual integrity are keen partners for this offering.

Declaring a staunch, steadfast trust in the Lord regardless of circumstances, the anthemic new chorus is meant to encourage Christians in 2022 and harkens back to bold praises heard in songs like Blessed Be Your Name.

"Come What May is a rallying cry for people facing trial and tribulation and is a stake in the ground that gives people the vocabulary of praise, shares Mike Yeager, who leads Awaken Music, is the Eastlake Campus Pastor and co-wrote the new song with Deshauwn Tagliareni and Providence Cordell. The first verse alludes to Jericho falling and talks about praising when everything is going right and victories are being had, and the second verse talks about praising in drought seasons when you are expecting God to move.

Like its recent Lionheart (Deluxe) album, Come What May was produced by GRAMMY Award-nominated Stephen Blake Kanicka (Kanye West, for KING & COUNTRY, Danny Gokey) and mixed by David Cook (Chris Tomlin, Zach Williams, Shawn Mendes).

And like the album, the current single represents Awaken Churchs fierce stance on the importance of gathering together as believers to encourage and support one another. In August 2020, the church became one of the first to open its doors in California after pandemic lockdowns in order to support and minister to their community that was wrestling with rising cases of drug abuse, suicide and a host of other mental and physical ailments. Growing from 8,000 to 10,000 members during this time, and ministering to 25,000 people online, the church found courage and strength in the lyrics and melodies being created by its worship team.

As new melodies are carried out into the world, Awaken Music hopes people will find encouragement to join in the outworking of Gods plan, being active and hopeful in their mission and purpose as Christians.

For all the latest Awaken Music news and more, go to: www.awakenmusic.com, Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.

About Awaken Music:

San Diego-based Awaken Music is a collection of worshippers with a heart for Holy Spirit-filled, declarative and prophetic worship. It's the musical expression of Awaken Church, a vibrant, life-giving multi-campus and multi-generational church led by Pastors Jurgen and Leanne Matthesius. With the Great Commission to win souls and make disciples of all nations at its heart, Awaken Musics international debut album, Lionheart (Deluxe), featured the CCM Magazine-premiered Fearless, which is meant to remind listeners that the Kingdom of God is unshakeable, regardless of the shaking we see in the world around us, and Authority, a rallying cry for the Church.

About The Fuel Music:

Established in 2008, The Fuel Music & Management, LLC, is a leading artist management and artist solutions company that independently distributes music internationally. Based in Nashville, TN, the Fuel team brings well over 70 years of combined music industry experience in record label operations, major label distribution and marketing, and artist management for artists ranging from upstart bands to GRAMMY Award-winning, multi-Platinum artists. More information on the company can be found at www.thefuelmusic.com.
Perth millionaire and accused fraudster Eugeni Zhenya Tsvetnenko is in plea deal negotiations with US authorities and hopes to serve any remaining sentence for fraud and money laundering charges in Australia so he can be closer to his two children.

Mr Tsvetnenko, who once graced the BRW Rich List and famously hosted Snoop Dogg at his wifes birthday party, was extradited to the US late last week to face charges relating to his involvement in an SMS subscription scam that netted $US41.39 million ($58.35 million) from mobile phone users, marking it the biggest US message scam in history.

Eugeni Zhenya Tsvetnenko and Lydia Tsvetnenko, who is not accused of any crime, party with rapper Snoop Dogg.

US authorities  including the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service  alleged the scheme netted Mr Tsvetnenko and his co-conspirators more than $US20 million in proceeds which they used to fund their lavish lifestyles in the US and Australia.

Mr Tsvetnenko faced a hearing in New York on Friday after flying in the company of US Marshalls from Perth where he has been in pre-trial custody in a West Australian prison since 2019.
Hotel Portofino 

Foxtel, from February 8

All it takes is a pair of dazzling blue eyes and one stray scusi? and were off to the whimsical Italian cove of Portofino in 1926. Or, more specifically, the Hotel Portofino, a sort of rent-by-the-night Downton Abbey where the curtsies and pearl-twirling dance slowly around the limoncello and conversational Italian.

Based on the book by J.P. OConnell, Hotel Portofino has a touch of television-made-to-order about it. A sort of post-Downton Abbey, post-The Durrells video postcard about the world in a seemingly more innocent age. At least as far as the romantic side-eye and unravelling bodices will allow.

Lucian (Oliver Dench) in Hotel Portofino. Credit:Eagle Eye Drama

Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone) is your charming hotelier, a transplanted Englishwoman who has spent three years readying the Hotel Portofino for business. Typical for the time, it is pitched at an English clientele, but a few foreign faces, such as Count Albani (Daniele Pecci) and son Roberto (Lorenzo Richelmy), and Dr Anish Sengupta (Assad Zaman), pepper the dining room.
Citipointe Christian College will be reviewed on Thursday for its enrolment contract asking students to agree to specific gender roles and denounce homosexuality, as Queenslands human rights watchdog confirmed it had received complaints regarding the schools stance.

The college, in the southern Brisbane suburb of Carindale, which receives a combined $13 million in government funding, sparked public outrage this week after the principal issued the contract requiring students to sign or risk being excluded from the school.

Citipointe Christian College principal Brian Mulheran issued a video to parents defending the enrolment contract.

Thursday will be the first day of what could be a lengthy review of Citipointes push to impose the contract, with the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board meeting to assess the schools case.

The board, which ensures all schools meet the criteria required for state funding, will consider whether the college was in breach of a requirement that students be treated equally.
A former member of the Australian Defence Force has appeared in court charged with defrauding a 95-year-old man of almost $700,000.

Former RAAF member Nathan Partlin has been charged. Credit:Facebook.

The case was heard at Brisbane Arrests Court on Wednesday.

Nathan Partlin, 33, who was discharged from the Royal Australian Air Force, had been charged with three counts of fraud, one count of stealing and one count of computer hacking.

The man was arrested during a house raid in the Redlands suburb of Birkdale and charged on December 13, following a months-long investigation.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has opposed Citipointe Christian Colleges enrolment contract asking students to agree to specific gender roles and denounce homosexuality.

The college in the southern Brisbane suburb of Carindale, which receives a combined $13 million in government funding, sparked public outrage this week after the principal issued the contract requiring students to sign or risk being excluded from the school.

Parents are challenging Citipointe Christian Colleges contract demanding families reject homosexuality and transgender rights. Credit:Citipointe Christian College

Speaking in an unscheduled interview, Mr Morrison told radio station B105.3 on Thursday morning that students should not be discriminated against for what they believed in.

I dont support that, he said. My kids go to a Catholic school in Sydney and I wouldnt want my school doing that either.
I thought it was a bit of a strange request at first, but I complied. I removed the suppressor from my M4 assault rifle and handed it to Person 4. Loading Asked by the newspapers barrister, Nicholas Owens, SC, why he thought this was a strange request, Person 41 said: I would have thought that Person 4 would have had his on him at the time. In my patrol at least ... you had it on you at all times. Mr Roberts-Smith and Person 4 began to walk back towards the Afghan man squatting against a wall, he said, and he thought to myself, I think I know whats about to happen here. RS then walked down and grabbed the Afghan male by the scruff of the shirt, picked him up, marched him a couple of metres forward [until] he was in front of Person 4. He then kicked him in the back of the legs behind the knees until he was kneeling down in front of Person 4. He pointed to the [Afghan man] ... and said to Person 4, Shoot him.

Person 41 said he didnt want to witness what was about to happen, and he stepped back into a room he had been inspecting. I heard a single suppressed shot which I knew was from an M4 rifle. I have fired thousands and thousands of rounds from an M4 with a suppressor on, and I know what it sounds like. I waited in that room for probably another 15 or so seconds. When he returned to the courtyard, there was a dead Afghan male at the feet of Person 4, he said. Person 4 returned the suppressor to him, he said, and it was still warm. I knew it had just been used to shoot that Afghan. He said he witnessed Mr Roberts-Smith executing the other Afghan man shortly after Person 4 shot the man in the courtyard. Person 41 said another soldier in his patrol, Person 40, asked him if he knew what happened to two Afghan men who had been discovered in a tunnel in the compound.

He said he claimed to have seen nothing because I just wanted to keep quiet about the whole thing. It was his first trip with the SAS, he said, and there was an unwritten rule that you just go along with whatever happens. Under cross-examination by Mr Roberts-Smiths barrister, Arthur Moses, SC, Person 41 agreed he did not tell his patrol commander while on deployment in 2009 about the series of events he said he had witnessed. He also did not report the matter to the Australian Defence Force when he returned to Australia in 2009, nor did he seek an investigation. Person 41 agreed he had no issues with Mr Roberts-Smith in 2009, and regarded him as a brave and good soldier. He was somebody you could rely upon to have your back? Mr Moses said. Absolutely, he replied.

He agreed he was aware of talk among some soldiers that Mr Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, did not deserve awards he had received for his service in Afghanistan, but said he put that down to the haters, so to speak. Person 41 agreed that under the rules of engagement soldiers were permitted to use lethal and non-lethal force against a person, depending on the threat, but said you couldnt just straight away shoot somebody if they were just being ... non-compliant, if theyre there unarmed, not really posing much of a threat. Mr Roberts-Smith gave evidence in June last year about the alleged events at Whiskey 108. He flatly rejected a suggestion that he had encouraged Person 4 to shoot the Afghan man in the courtyard and said the other man had posed a threat. The media outlets allege a third SAS soldier, Person 5, had already ordered Person 4 to kill the man in the courtyard in Mr Roberts-Smiths presence, an allegation Mr Roberts-Smith described last year as completely false. The trial, which is slated to run for 10 weeks, had entered its fourth week last June when Sydneys growing coronavirus outbreak led to the hearings being halted.

The trial resumed temporarily for a week in July to hear evidence from a group of Afghan villagers, who spoke via video link from Kabul, before it was adjourned. Loading The parties, witnesses and lawyers are appearing in person in court, but the courtroom is not open to the media or members of the public. There are arrangements in place for the hearings to be viewed online, in some cases after a delay. Justice Anthony Besanko explained this morning that some of the witnesses who will be called in the trial are current or former Special Operations Command members, whose identities cannot be revealed owing to national security considerations. Some of their evidence may also be heard in closed court sessions involving only the judge, the parties and their lawyers.
Anti-lockdown activist Monica Smit has pleaded not guilty to incitement over her role in protests which were in breach of strict lockdown directions put in place by the Victorian government.

Ms Smit, a founder of activist group Reignite Democracy Australia, told an online hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday that she was not guilty, meaning she will fight the two incitement charges in the County Court later this year.

Reignite Democracy leader Monica Smit will fight the incitement charges in the County Court. Credit:Facebook

Ms Smit is also charged with three counts of breaching the Chief Health Officers directions, which will be considered alongside the incitement charges in the County Court.

Magistrate Kieran Gilligan extended Ms Smits bail until her next court appearance in March, and set down the trial, which will be held at a later date, for seven days.
In order to receive the remainder of your increased Child Tax Credit, you might want to file your tax return with the IRS as soon as possible.

Although the monthly payments terminated in December, the increased credit will still bring in additional money. If you opted out of advance payments or had a new baby later in 2021, any Child Tax Credit money you haven't yet received would be included in your refund, which may be at least half or more.

How to get a $1,800 stimulus payment in CTC?

Keep track of IRS Letter 6419 to make sure you collect the rest of your money. You'll need it for your taxes since it provides information about your Child Tax Credit status. The amount of money you received in 2021 and the number of qualified dependents utilized to compute payments will be listed in that letter from the IRS.

However, before completing your taxes, double-check that all of the information on the letter is correct, or you risk delaying your return. You might be asking if the Child Tax Credit has been extended until 2022, or if the enlarged child tax credit or the advance payments will ever be reauthorized by Congress, according to CNET.

For the last six months of 2021, families in Ohio that preferred the Child Tax Credit's early installments got between $250 and $300 per month. In December, the payments came to a halt.

Ohio households were helped by the fronted money, according to the Center for Community Solution, which is located in Cleveland and Columbus. It was a $3,600 increase for children aged 5 and under and $3,000 for children aged 6 to 17 years old for some households.

Letter 6419 from the IRS has already been delivered to you, which you should save. It will decide whether or not the money has been received. You must contact the IRS if it varies from what is stated in the letter. Be prepared to wait; owing to personnel shortages and a backlog of refunds from 2020, significant hold periods have been recorded.

"All of the recipients of the Child Tax Credits are in touch with the IRS," said Eric Thiergartner, a CPA and the CEO of Hessen in Columbus. According to the Center for Community Solutions, everyone who is eligible should file so that they don't miss out on additional government tax incentives, as per 10WBNS.

Read Also: You Could Get Double Stimulus Payment in Child Tax Credit in February; Here's Why and How

Will my tax refund be smaller after receiving Child Tax Credit?

If you're one of the millions of parents in the United States who spend their tax season filling out forms and waiting for a return from your tax software, you might be wondering if the monthly Child Tax Credit stimulus checks you received late last year would cut into your refund. It will for some people.

A typical household receives $300 per month for each child aged 5 to 17 from July to December 2021 and $250 per month for children aged 6 to 17. On their 2021 taxes, the so-called forward payments accounted for half of the total credit that most parents were entitled to. When submitting their taxes for the year 2021, check recipients will no longer be able to claim that portion of the money.

The Treasury Department unveiled a new website, ChildTaxCredit.gov, to assist parents in better understanding the credit's qualifying conditions and how it would affect their refund, just in time for tax season. The Child Tax Credit is completely refundable; so even if you don't owe any taxes, you may earn the credit if you file your annual tax returns.

According to the Associated Press, the Biden administration claims that the 2021 enhanced Child Tax Credit paid out $93 billion during six months of pre-payments. In December alone, a staggering 36 million households were given out, WKBN27 reported.

Related Article: IRS Sends Last Batch of Stimulus Checks; Here's What You Can Expect Instead

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All of this, I think  its a price or a cost of getting our kids back into the classroom. Mr Weimar said the statewide trends were being closely watched. If you look at the numbers now, we peaked at around 1500 hospitalisations about two weeks ago. Were now at around 750, he said. We do think that we are past the peak at this point in time, and it will be interesting to see how the next few weeks go.

Mr Weimar said health authorities were preparing for the emergence of new variants of the virus, as well as a surge in flu and COVID-19 cases during winter. Most measures being contemplated revolved around social distancing, mask wearing, vaccination and hand hygiene, he said. Those will be the hallmarks of how we get through the months ahead. Like Mr Andrews, Mr Weimar expects the definition of fully vaccinated to change to include a third dose soon.

The Premier cautioned that while we all want the same thing, and that is to see the CBD vibrant; to see as much economic activity as possible, it has never been more important for Victorians to be guided by safety principles. Australians aged 16 and 17 will now be eligible to get that third dose at state-run clinics, GPs and pharmacies after the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation approved them for it. The change follows provisional approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for the same age bracket last week and similar moves by the US, the UK, and Israel. Health Minister Greg Hunt welcomed the change.

With the return to school this week and many of these young people in, or approaching, their final year of schooling, the ability to extend the vaccines protection even further will help provide stability and reassurance during this important period of their studies, Mr Hunt said. More than 114,000 16 and 17-year-olds are automatically eligible for the third dose because their second vaccination was at least three months ago, while a further 30,000 teens will be able to get their third jab in coming weeks once their three-month wait has passed. So far more than 8.1 million adults have received a booster and, as of Wednesday, 90 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Victorias COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said authorities were updating the states QR check-in app to include a persons booster status.

More than 15,900 Victorians received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a state-run clinic on Thursday, taking the proportion of triple-vaccinated Victorians to 41 per cent of the adult population. More than 80 COVID-19 deaths were reported in Australia on Thursday, including 34 in Victoria, 38 in NSW and nine in Queensland. Pfizer boosters have been approved for 16 and 17-year-olds. Credit:Bloomberg The 34 people who died with COVID in Victoria were aged in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 100s, and their deaths bring the total number of COVID fatalities in the state since the pandemic began to 2088. Four of the deaths were from November, December and mid-January.

Loading Nationwide, more than 8 million adults have received a booster and about 90 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds have had two doses of the vaccine. It is estimated more than 60 per cent of teenagers in that age cohort will become eligible for a booster this week. There are currently 66,648 active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria. Of the new cases announced by authorities on Wednesday, 5588 came from PCR tests and 6569 were self-reported from rapid antigen tests. As of Thursday, a total of 752 COVID-positive Victorians were being cared for in the states hospitals, including 82 in intensive care and 29 on ventilators. About 91.6 per cent of COVID-positive patients admitted to hospital and 93.9 per cent of those in intensive care on Tuesday were yet to receive a third dose of the vaccine.
Mother Teresa and her sisters chat with a tourist in Bourke airport whilst waiting for her Sydney flight. Credit:Anthony Lewis

Mother Teresa, the Nobel Prize-winning nun, renowned for her work among the poor people of Calcutta, flew into Melbourne yesterday to visit a convent she started in Fitzroy.

For a woman who has lived nearly all her life in poverty, the philosophy was beautifully simple. The more we have, she said, the less we give. The less we have, the more we give.

Her arrival was meant to have been a secret, but anonymous telephone calls from a woman to most news organisations yesterday, ensured that the media knew of her visit.

She seemed unfussed that the news had leaked oat. Clasping her hands in front of her as she stood on the verandah of the George Street convent, Mother Teresa spoke of abortion, world peace and her visit last month to Ethiopia.

She described the situation there as one of great suffering. There was a need, she said, for water to be found for the people. People are dying of thirst as much as of hunger, Mother Teresa said. If there is water, there is always new life for them.

Having flown overnight from Tokyo, the 74-year-oid nun looked tired and drawn in yesterdays heat. She had spent the past few weeks visiting convents in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan.

She said she had also been in China, where the national church had invited her to set up a convent. The Chinese Government, she said, had made the arrangements for her visit.
The mystery of the flesh-eating ulcer that came out of nowhere to menace metropolitan Melbourne has now largely been solved, scientists working on the disease say.

About 90 years after the Buruli ulcer  usually found in sub-Saharan Africa  was first seen in Victoria, scientists can say with a high degree of confidence that ringtail and brushtail possums are the key carrier. Mosquitos probably also play a part in carrying Mycobacterium ulcerans, the bacteria that causes the ulcer, from marsupials to humans.

A ringtail possum. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer

In science, no hypothesis can be proved, only disproved, says Professor Paul Johnson, director of the Melbourne-based World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Mycobacterium Ulcerans.

But one of our reviewers recently said, Do we really need more evidence? It is mission accomplished in Victoria.
Fewer than two-thirds of the nations 190,000 aged care residents have received a booster shot, leaving almost 80,000 exposed to serious illness or death from COVID-19 as Omicron sweeps through the sector.

Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck told a Senate hearing on Wednesday that 34 per cent of those residents who had received two jabs had not had a booster for a variety of reasons, including hesitancy to get a third jab.

Richard Colbeck says some aged care residents are refusing a booster. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The minister also stood by his decision to attend a three-day Ashes Test as Omicron ran through aged care homes, telling a COVID-19 Senate committee hearing he continued to pay attention and spoke daily with providers and departmental officials.

Im very careful to balance and acknowledge the different elements of my portfolio, Senator Colbeck, who is also the Minister for Sport, said.
Home hunters are forking out more than $1 million for the median Australian house, hundreds of thousands of dollars more than a year ago, but what they can buy varies widely.

The national median house price, for the capital cities combined, hit a record high of $1,066,133 last quarter, Domain figures show, after lifting almost $215,000 over the year.

The median house price for the capital cities is at a record high of almost $1.07 million, but that wont stretch far in some cities. Credit:Peter Rae

Depending on location, everything from a 32-square-metre inner-city property to a four-bedroom home with a pool can sell for close to the median price tag.

Heres what such a budget can get you across different capital cities.
Washington: The US has approved the deployment of 3000 additional troops across eastern Europe to shore up its NATO allies amid the threat of Russian aggression.

The Pentagon announced on Wednesday (US time) that President Joe Biden had approved the deployment of the troops, which would be sent to Romania, Poland and Germany.

Ukrainian soldiers walks at the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels near Katerinivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine. Credit:AP

These are not permanent moves  they are designed to respond to the current security environment. Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine. They are there to provide a robust defence to our NATO allies, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

These movements are unmistakable signals to the world that we stand ready to reassure our NATO allies and deter and defend against any aggression.
Toronto: Ottawa police say that a significant element from the United States has been involved in the participation, funding and organisation of a self-described Freedom Convoy that has for several days jammed streets in the capital to protest public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

They have converged in our city, and there are plans for more to come, said Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly. He said that the participants, who also include locals and other Canadians, are putting our city and our residents, our partners and our officers at great risk.

Trucks block a street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Credit:AP

The number of protesters has declined substantially from the thousands on Parliament Hill over the weekend. But a determined core group remains, officials say. With trucks noisily blocking streets, businesses shut down and residents frustrated for the sixth day, pressure has mounted on police to bring a resolution to the disruption.

We are trying to be responsible, lawful, ethical and measured, Sloly said. The longer this goes on, the more I am convinced there may not be a police solution in this demonstration.
New York: Four men face charges that they were members of the drug distribution crew that supplied a deadly mix of narcotics to Michael K. Williams, the renowned actor from The Wire who overdosed just hours after buying fentanyl-laced heroin in a deal recorded on security camera video.

The man seen on camera handing Williams the drugs on a Brooklyn sidewalk, Irvin Cartagena, was charged with directly causing the actors death, authorities said.

Williams death was investigated by the New York City police department, but the charges were brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who revealed that the suspects had been under surveillance even before the actors fatal overdose last September.

It was a sting that bore a striking resemblance to the kind depicted on The Wire, where Williams gained fame playing the bandit Omar Little.
SME lender OnDeck Australia has announced the completion of a management share buyout, with the current senior management increasing their stakes in the business to 80%.

CEO Cameron Poolman, CFO Jerry Yohananov and COO Charlene Batson have bought 58% of the company, buying shares from US-based Enova International, who will maintain their control of 20% of OnDeck. 22% will remain in the hands of Australia-based long-term investors.

OnDeck has pioneered tech-based lending platforms such as Lightning Loans, their two-hour approval lending product, and enjoying significant success in 2021, with 175% growth in broker-originated loans.

CFO Jerry Yohananov said that the management had backed brokers in the past and that the buyout would enable them to further support the channel.

The right factors are in place for OnDeck Australia to enjoy sustainable growth, he said.

Our delinquency rates are low, our loan book is performing amazingly well, and we have the ongoing support of outstanding business partners including many in the broker space.

With senior management now owning the business, our focus on brokers will be amplified, and we will be able to offer even better product features, execution and service.



Read more: Median capital city house price passes $1m as boom continues apace

CEO Cameron Poolman said that the management taking financial control was a sign that the business model was working.

A management buyout is always clear evidence of the faith a management team has in a company  and this is definitely the case for OnDeck Australia, said Cameron Poolman.

The executive team sees significant opportunities for OnDeck Australia. The back end of 2021 saw an impressive uptick in demand for our unsecured small business lending products.

Loan originations were over 50% higher in November and December 2021 compared to the four previous months, and we believe additional tailwinds will contribute to further growth in 2022.

Looking ahead, we are highly optimistic that Australias small business community will flourish as the economy regains momentum. Businesses will require credit to reach their full potential, and this will support sustainable growth for OnDeck Australia.
Bryan, OH (43506)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High near 60F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
Joe Biden gets a positive response from Qatar; after getting let down by other countries that produce energy.

Until now, no one has taken stock of the US president who has insisted Russia will attack.

But, it is still no assurance to the NATO countries who have seen the consecutive failures of the current US government.

Someone listened to Sleepy Joe

Last Tuesday the White House said that Doha has answered a request by President Biden for assistance if Moscow cuts gas supplies to the EU. The assistance of the middle eastern country will be important due to the screws Putin tightened that made the west sweat, report the Expressed UK.

In the discussion with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani where the two agreed they had a good relationship.

From the meeting, he said that Congress will be instructed that Doha will be a non-NATO ally.

He wrote a letter to Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives that outlined the reasons why the Arab country is relevant.

It would be the second gulf country after Kuwait designated as a non-NATO ally, with economic and military perks that follow, cited Reuters.

The president discussed with the Sheik the stability of global energy supplies as the Qataris have one of the biggest producers of natural gas.

EU is dependent on Russian gas

Bloc members are dependent on Russian natural gas that should be offset with Qatar; amassed army of 100,000 troops with hardware like artillery and missiles. Berlin will not listen to President Joe Biden as their gas supplies are more important, noted CNBC.

Read also: Russian Navy Live-Fire Drills in the Baltic Sea Causes NATO To Shudder, Adds Tension To Western Provocation

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the US leader remarked the US and EU are working to source LNG which is under Russian control. Having an alternative if the Kremlin orders the pipes shutdown.

Less gas has been flowing to bloc members for several months which has caused an energy crisis. A move accusing Vladimir Putin to make sure the Gazprom-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline project is opened.

Starting from west Russia that reaches northeast Germany right under the Baltic Sea which was completed in late 2021. All it needs is a green light to move ahead from Brussels.

Once up and running the joint project involving several EU members would have 55 billion cubic meters of gas going to Germany.

But, the bloc is threatening the Kremlin that it will not allow it to operate should Ukraine get invaded.

Other details

If it was not for the Qataris who are important to the US in the Middle East; they assisted in the evac of US Citizens in Kabul but more are trapped. One of the reasons for the fall is Joe Biden did not listen to warnings.

Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense said that more than 124,000 people were airlifted with Doha's help. The Gulf nation took in those affected by the fall of Afghanistan.

The Emir of the gulf nation said it demonstrated how two nations could help in other in such extreme conditions. Adding they will find ways to bring peace to the Middle East.

So far, it's only Qatar that is interested in helping Joe Biden in the fix he's in; trying to convince that his leadership is worthwhile. But Mr. Putin is ahead of the flailing US leader.

Related article: Joe Biden Proves Weak in Rallying EU Members Against Russia; Vladimir Putin Runs Rings Around US

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Bryan, OH (43506)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High near 60F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
Bryan, OH (43506)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High near 60F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
Bryan, OH (43506)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High near 60F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
Bryan, OH (43506)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High near 60F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
Life Insurance Corporation, which is bound for the nation's largest share sale by March, is the strongest and the largest brand in the country with a valuation of USD 8.656 billion (around Rs 64,722 crore), which also makes it the third strongest insurance brand globally, according to a brand valuation report.

According to the London-based Brand Finance, which is a brand consultancy, the market value of will become Rs 43.40 lakh crore or USD 59.21 billion by 2022, and Rs 58.9-lakh crore or USD 78.63 billion by 2027.

LIC's brand value also climbed in overall global brand rankings by 32 places to become the world's 206th most valuable brand in 2021, from 238th slot in 2020.

According to this valuation, is largest and strongest brand in the country with a valuation of USD 8.655 billion in 2021, which grew by 6.8 per cent from USD 8.11 billion in 2020, when the value of top 100 insurers declined by 6 per cent globally.

The corporation ranks first in brand strength amongst the competitor set with a score of 84.1 and it ranks third in brand strength globally after Poste Italiane of Italy and Mapfre of Spain and is also the 10th most valued insurance brand globally, according to the report prepared in November 2021 but is yet to made public.

Interestingly, the state-owned insurance behemoth gained in brand value by 6.8 percent last year, all other top 100 insurers saw their brand value decline by 6 percent from USD 462.4 billion in 2020 to USD 433.0 billion in 2021.

Of the top 10 as many as 5 are Chinese insurance companies, with by Ping An Insurance emerging the world's most valuable insurance brand, despite recording a 26 per cent drop in brand value. The US has two in the top 10, while France, Germany, and India have one each in the list.

This has becoming the only domestic insurer to rank in top 10 list strongest brands and top 10 most valuable insurance brands.

At this valuation LIC could have commanded a market cap of USD 51.2 billion in 2021, marginally down from USD 53.71 billion in 2020 in dollar terms and in rupee terms it could be Rs 37.5 lakh crore in 2021 down 1.2 per cent from Rs 38.2 lakh crore in 2020.

The agency forecasts that LIC's value will touch Rs 43.40 lakh crore or USD 59.21 billion by the end of 2022, and become a Rs 58.9-lakh crore or USD 78.63 billion behemoth by 2027.

LIC has grown 151 percent since 2014 clipping at 14 percent annually. LIC percentage across all three pillars remains positive between 2020 and 2021 with a notably large growth of 11 per cent in brand performance measures. After four years of steady decline, the brand strength of LIC shot up by nearly 14 points between 2018 and 2021.

(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.)
Google-backed DotPe, technology-enabled platform for merchants across scale, said it has added 55,000 merchants in the last 20 days as the third wave of pandemic spread across the country.

DotPe has not only managed to secure a triple-digit growth, but has also enabled merchants to clock a 139 per cent growth in orders. The one-stop shop for merchants has already onboarded 7.5 million retailers across tier 1, 2 and 3 cities, said the company.

DotPe helps these merchants scale up their operations by providing holistic solutions across processes such as creating a webstore, online delivery and payment, store management, and providing the requisite marketing management tools, among other digital transformations.

Shailaz Nag, Co-Founder, DotPe stated, The third wave is expected to bring further uptick to the business. Growing at the rate of 20%, month-on-month, we have already onboarded over 55,000 merchants within the last 20 days. DotPe has a long-term vision of empowering 30 million retailers in India by creating a customer base of 1.3 billion.

With a 48 per cent of signups from retail businesses in tier-3 cities, 18 per cent from tier-2 cities, and 34 per cent from tier-1 cities, DotPe is fostering financial inclusion and empowerment in the heart of Bharat. Interestingly, the pandemic has thrown spotlight on tier-2 and 3 cities scope of digitisation, making them the growth engines of the economy.

The company said most of the traction is coming from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh. The key verticals generating huge demand are: Clothing & Fashion, Supermarkets, Departmental stores and Kirana stores, Electronics, Vegetables, Bakery, Restaurants, Beauty Products, Food Products, Artificial Jewelry, Mobile Accessories.

DotPe's signups have beem increasing with each wave. It has a robust clientele across categories such as Clothing & Fashion, Supermarkets, Departmental stores, and Kirana stores, Electronics, Vegetables, Bakery, Restaurants, Beauty Products, Food Products, Artificial Jewellery, Mobile Accessories.

The startup has expanded its business pan-India in a short duration, with a larger focus on Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh. Owing to the ever-increasing demand by offline merchants for a complete digital renovation, DotPe has become Indias third-largest domain seller. With an employee base of 500, the Google-backed firm is eyeing over 100 per cent growth in the current year as well.
HCC Group on Wednesday said it has signed an agreement with Cube to sell Baharampore-Farakka Ltd (BFHL) at an enterprise value of Rs 1,279 crore.

It is a 101-km long road which is part of National Highway-12 in West Bengal connecting Kolkata and the port of Haldia to the northern part of the state and North-East India.

HCC Concessions Ltd (HCON), a subsidiary of HCC Ltd, owns the road project, and the transaction with Cube is structured in a way that will be resulting in total liquidity to the group of up to Rs 900 crore.

"Besides this, we have another terminated project in the books of HCON and two arbitration awards are awaited for claims. We will continue to utilise the company's expertise in bidding for future road projects," HCC Infrastructure COO Atul Kumar told PTI.

HCC Infra is the immediate parent of HCC Concessions Ltd.

HCC Group has signed binding terms with Cube Highways and Infrastructure V Pte Ltd for 100 per cent sale of BFHL at an enterprise value of Rs 1,279 crore, implying an equity valuation of Rs 600 crore. In addition to the equity value, Rs 200 crore of earnout is payable in May 2024 contingent on achieving revenue thresholds," HCC said.

HCON will be entitled to a material revenue share for the life of the concession.

The company said it will be securitising part of these future BFHL receivables through a loan of up to Rs 300 crore, resulting in total liquidity to the group of up to Rs 900 crore.

BFHL has a balance concession period of 19 years. The transaction is subject to closing adjustments, customary due diligence, and approvals including from the NHAI.

Baharampore-Farakka Highways is a special purpose vehicle of HCON which was incorporated in 2010, for design, build, finance, operate, and transfer (DBFOT) toll of the four-lane highway between Baharampore and Farakka section of NH-12 (earlier NH-34).

NHAI has granted a concession period of 25 years (extending to 30 years) to the company and BFHL commenced toll operations on May 14, 2014.

HCC Concessions Ltd has developed and operated over Rs 7000 crore NHAI concessions.

The holding company, HCC Ltd had defaulted on debt. It has outstanding debt at consolidated level of Rs 9,727 crore, and a restructuring process is on.

(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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HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Ltd (INAH), one of the shareholders in Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Co Ltd, has expressed its intention to acquire Punjab National Bank's stake in the insurance company, according to a filing.

"The bank has received a communication from HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Ltd (INAH), one of the shareholders of the company, conveying its intention to acquire Bank's stake in the company," PNB said in the regulatory filing.

However, the communication from INAH is subject to further evaluation by PNB, it added.

The city-headquartered state-owned bank had acquired a stake in the life insurer post amalgamation of the erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) with the bank in FY20.

The erstwhile OBC held 23 per cent stake in the life insurer, which by virtue of amalgamation has come to PNB.

Canara Bank owns 51 per cent stake, while HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Ltd as a foreign partner owns 26 per cent.

PNB is also a promoter of another insurer PNB Metlife Insurance, owning the highest stake of 30 per cent. The company was set up in 2001, in which other shareholders include US-based Metlife with 26 per cent, Elpro (21 per cent) and M Pallonji & Company (18 per cent).

As per extant insurance guidelines of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), one promoter cannot hold more than 10 per cent stake in two insurance ventures.

In May 2021, PNB had said that it will divest stake in Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Co Ltd.

(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.)
Ltd (JFL), which operates quick service restaurant (QSR) chains like Domino's Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts, on Wednesday reported a 7.48 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 133.19 crore for the third quarter ended December 2021.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 123.91 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, JFL said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations during October-December 2021 stood at Rs 1,210.77 crore, a jump of 13.23 per cent as compared with Rs 1,069.27 crore in the year-ago period.

"The growth was driven by an improved recovery in the dine-in channel, well supported by a continued strong momentum in delivery channel," said JFL in its post-earnings statement.

JFL's total expenses rose 13.06 per cent to Rs 1,040.23 crore in the December 2021 quarter, compared with Rs 920.02 crore in the year-ago period.

"When compared to the pre-COVID-19 period of Q3FY20, Domino's system sales recovered by 112.9 per cent.

"This was attributed to recovery in delivery and takeaway channels by 128 per cent and 148.2 per cent, respectively. Dine-in channel witnessed a healthy recovery at 71.7 per cent," JFL said.

During the October-December 2021 quarter, JFL opened 75 new restaurants for Domino's Pizza, entering into 17 new cities.

The quarter also saw record new store openings with a landmark 75 new Domino's stores being opened. This is the highest ever number of new store openings by any franchisee in any quarter in any market.

Besides, JFL recently also achieved a milestone of 1,500 Domino's stores in India.

During the quarter, JFL witnessed 8.2 million downloads of Domino's app taking the total number to 79.5 million.

It has also opened one new restaurant each for Dunkin' in the third quarter, taking the total count to 29.

JFL also opened one restaurant each of its new QSR Brands  Hong's Kitchen and Ekdum!, taking the total count to 22 by the end of the quarter.

In January, JFL had also launched the iconic US fried chicken brand Popeyes in India by opening two stores in Bengaluru.

"The early customer response and feedback have been encouraging," said JFL adding that one more Popeyes QSR is scheduled to open shortly.

While sharing the information about its overseas operation, JFL said that in Sri Lanka, it has registered its highest-ever system sales in a quarter with a system sales growth of 95.9 per cent. While, in Bangladesh, system sales grew by 38 per cent.

"The company launched a new outlet each in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh," it said.

JFL Chairman Shyam S Bhartia and Co-Chairman Hari S Bhartia said in a statement, "We have delivered a strong, all-round Q3FY22 performance, along with a record expansion of the Domino's store network. The company continues to create benchmarks, surpass key milestones and we remain excited with the growth opportunity that lies ahead. Meanwhile, in a separate filing, JFL said its board in a meeting on Wednesday approved and recommended a sub-division of equity shares from a face value of Rs 10 each to the face value of Rs 2 each.



This would "enhance the liquidity of the company's equity shares and encourage the participation of small investors by making it more affordable", said JFL.

Shares of Ltd on Wednesday settled at Rs 3,301.25 apiece on the BSE, down 4.04 per cent from the previous close.

(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.)
Officials confirmed Monday that the death of an 11-year-old kid at an Extended Stay America motel near Old Town Scottsdale is being investigated as a murder.

Shortly before 5 pm, authorities got a medical call concerning a non-responsive individual. According to Sgt. Kevin Quon, a Scottsdale Police Department spokeswoman arrived at the motel at the intersection of Goldwater Boulevard and Osborn Road on Sunday.

Boy died at Scottsdale motel

The boy was found with "serious injuries" and was rushed to a local hospital, where he was confirmed dead on arrival. On suspicion of child abuse and homicide, Stephanie Davis, 51, and her husband, Thomas Desharnais, 33, were detained.

According to the Scottsdale Police Department, Davis is the boy's biological grandmother. Based on evidence from police interviews, the matter is being regarded as a homicide investigation.

The inquiry was taken up by Scottsdale police investigators. As of midday Monday, detectives were still gathering evidence on the site. The accused had another child in their care, according to the police. The Arizona Department of Youngster Safety has seized care of this child. A $3.5 million cash bond has been placed on Davis's head. A $1.5 million cash bond is being held against Desharnais, according to the Arizona Republic.

According to court filings, Davis was administering CPR when first responders arrived; the kid was declared dead at a local hospital less than two hours later, according to KPHO. A 9-year-old kid, another grandson of Davis, was also seen on the scene with bruises around his eyes and a facial injury.

Davis, was allegedly physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive to her grandsons, who are half-brothers. According to investigators, she took custody of the boys in 2015 and they had been residing in the Scottdale Extended Stay America motel since then.

Read Also: 100 Bags of Drugs Discovered Inside the House of 13-year-old Connecticut Boy Who Died From Fentanyl Overdose

Arizona grandmother reportedly abuses grandson prior to death

According to court filings, the mother of the boys is a wanted homicide suspect. The father of the youngster who died is unknown while the father of the 9-year-old is in prison for child abuse in another state. Davis was not the only one that was detained. According to police, Davis's husband, Thomas James Desharnais, 33, was aware of the assault but did nothing to stop it, and was present on Sunday.

The 11-year-old kid, according to Davis, had a history of self-injury and "had been hurting himself all day." She said that the youngster sliced his genitals after hitting himself in the head with a wrench in the toilet. She claimed to have hidden the wrench and cleaned the knife, but she and Desharnais did not seek medical care for the boy.

Instead, she bathed the youngster and left him alone after that. He was unresponsive when she returned. She stated she started CPR and emptied the tub. Desharnais, on the other hand, gave a completely different story. He told investigators that Davis molested both boys regularly and that the abuse was growing worse, according to court filings.

His wife, he claims, used to force the kid to sleep in the bathtub and refused him food and drink. He claims she struck both boys with a wooden broom and bent their fingers with needle-nose pliers. He further said that Davis frequently informed the youngsters that they were nothing more valuable than dirt or a dog.

Asserting that the evidence against her was just circumstantial and that those children were always taken care of, Davis made her first court appearance on Tuesday. She also stated that she had talked with her husband before the hearing and that he had expressed his dissatisfaction with the way he was being treated.

There have been previous allegations of alleged mistreatment dating back to 2017, when the youngster was injured at Chaskah School, according to KPHO. After that, the boys were not enrolled in school. There were three separate investigations, but they were all halted due to a lack of evidence, Crime Online reported.

Related Article: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Condemns Gang Violence Following the Murder of 8-Year-Old Girl

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Digital maps company CE Infosystem, which operates under the brand, on Wednesday said it will acquire 9.9 per cent stake in geospatial company Pupilmesh Private Limited for about Rs 49 lakh.

expects the acquisition to support its business opportunity in the area of navigation, it said in a regulatory filing.

According to the filing, the company requires no government approval for the acquisition and expects the transaction to be completed in a month.

The board of the company had approved the acquisition on January 27.

Pupilmesh's turnover in the financial year 2021 increased to Rs 2.37 lakh from Rs 37,454 in FY 2020, according to the filing.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
leader asked Sachin Waze to retract, while deposing before an inquiry commission, his statements recorded earlier by the (ED), IPS officer has claimed.

Waze was also being pressurized in prison to change his statements, Singh, a former Mumbai police commissioner, has alleged. Singh made the allegations in his statement to the ED which is part of the charge sheet filed by the agency against Deshmukh, a former Maharashtra home minister, last month.



Waze, who was dismissed from the police force in 2021, denied before the inquiry commission last December that he had made any payments to Deshmukh. He also denied collecting money from bars and restaurants in Mumbai at Deshmukh's behest.



The Justice (retd) K U Chandiwal commission is probing corruption allegations leveled against Deshmukh by . The CBI and ED are conducting separate probes against Deshmukh who is now in judicial custody. In his statement to the ED, Singh said, "I learned from sources that met Sachin Waze at (the office of) Chandiwal commission on November 30, 2021, and pleaded with him to withdraw his statement given to ."Singh was apparently referring to a meeting between Waze and Deshmukh in the building where the commission is conducting its hearings. The meeting had caused controversy as Waze was under judicial custody. Singh further said in the ED statement that he had "learnt" that Waze was being pressurized in jail and "is being strip-searched and abused on daily basis for the same." A deputy commissioner of police from Thane met Waze and pressurized him, Singh alleged. Waze, then an assistant inspector, was arrested in March 2021 following the discovery of an SUV with explosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's south Mumbai residence 'Antilia' and subsequent death of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran. In its aftermath, Singh, now suspended, was transferred from the post of Mumbai police commissioner.

He then accused Deshmukh of corruption, who had to step down as minister. In his statement before the ED, Waze had alleged that after becoming home minister, Deshmukh asked him to collect money from bar and hotel owners.

(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 has directed the Centre to communicate to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as well as to other Centres for Excellence to start the treatment of certain children suffering from rare diseases without any delay.

Justice V Kameswar Rao, who was hearing a batch of petitions by these children, noted that it is the responsibility of the central government to ensure that necessary funds are provided to all Centres of Excellence including as and when demanded the treatment of these children.

The high court was told that petitioner children are suffering from rare diseases, including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Mucopolysaccharidosis II or MPS II (Hunter Syndrome), and seek a direction to the Centre to provide them uninterrupted and free of cost treatment as the therapy is very expensive.

DMD, one of the various forms of muscular dystrophy, is a rare genetic disease that affects boys almost exclusively and causes progressive weakness. MPS II is a rare disease that is passed on in families and it mainly affects boys and their bodies cannot break down a kind of sugar that builds bones, skin, tendons, and other tissues.

The judge's order, passed on February 1, came in response to the petitioners' stand that even after one month since the court directed the and other Centres of Excellence to forthwith begin their treatment, there was no development.

It is directed that the respondent No.1 (Centre) shall issue a communication to the as well as to the Centres for Excellence for starting the treatment of the petitioners (whichever petitioner approach such a centre, being nearer to the place of residence) without any delay, the court said.

Counsel for the central government said necessary directions in terms of the court's order shall be issued to the Centres of Excellence.

Observing that it was surprising that even after a period of one month no treatment has yet started, the court added, the order passed on December 14, 2021, is very clear that the treatment of the petitioners i.e., children must start immediately.

Insofar as funds are concerned, the Court in the said order has clearly stated that it is the responsibility of the Union of India to ensure necessary funds are provided to all Centres of Excellence including AIIMS as and when demanded treatment of these children, the judge said.

Counsel for the AIIMS said that an expert committee has been constituted to undertake the study as to the nature and manner of treatment and the committee report needs to be placed before the Government for its approval before the treatment can be started.

He also stated that in some cases of the non-DMD disease, treatment would start after requisite details are uploaded on the concerned portal and necessary funds are allocated.

On December 14 last year, the court had directed the AIIMS to forthwith start the treatment of eligible children suffering from rare diseases and asked the Centre to provide funds, saying it is painful to see kids in this situation and they cannot be made to suffer.

It had directed the AIIMS and other Centres for Excellence (COE) to commence the medical treatment of these children that would include procurement of medicines whose expense would be borne by the central government and funds will be given to COE.

The court had said the amount spent on the treatment of these children would be adjusted to the funds received through a crowdfunding platform made operational for medicines and treatment for rare illnesses or national disability fund, whenever received.

The high court had earlier said the Centre has not given any sufficient justification for Rs 193 crore lying unutilised in the rare diseases fund for children and emphasised that it will not let kids die from such illnesses despite funds being available.

It had pulled up the authorities for making a mockery of the whole thing and said it was strange that the allocated funds are available but not being spent on children suffering from rare diseases.

On March 23 last year, the court had passed a slew of directions in connection with the treatment of persons with rare diseases, including a direction to notify the National Health Policy for Rare Diseases by March 31 and setting up a National Consortium for Research, Development and Therapeutics, a rare diseases committee at AIIMS and a fund for such ailments.

(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.)
Seventeen more Covid-related deaths were reported in on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 10,337, while 3,267 fresh cases pushed the infection count to 9,55,693, according to a Health Department bulletin.

Gurgaon district reported 970 fresh cases while Faridabad, Hisar and Sonipat reported 307, 269 and 192 cases, respectively, it said.

The fatalities include four from Gurgaon and two each from Hisar, Karnal, Yamunanagar, Mahendergarh and Fatehabad districts, according to the bulletin.

While has witnessed a significant decline in cases over the past few days, there has been no drastic change in the fatality count.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
recorded 14,013 fresh positive cases on Wednesday, registering a further decline in infections from 16,096 a day ago, and 37 deaths, taking the count to 33,75,329 and the toll to 37,636.

The cumulative recoveries, including 24,576 COVID-19 positive patients getting discharged after treatment today, rose to 31,59,694. The total active cases further decreased to 1,77,999 from 1,88,599 on Tuesday, a bulletin from the state health department said.

Since January 23, the new infections have been declining steadily after breaching the 30,000 mark on January 22.

The cases peaked to 30,744 cases on January 22, and further declined to 14,013 cases today.

Chennai, Coimbatore, Chengalpattu and Tiruppur districts too saw a marginal decline in cases albeit registering new infections in thousands. On Wednesday accounted for 2,054 fresh cases, followed by Coimbatore with 1,696, Chengalpattu 1,198 and Tiruppur 1,159.

Ariyalur, Kallakurichi, Mayiladuthurai, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tenkasi and Vellore districts saw cases below 100, while Erode, Kanyakumari and Salem registered cases above 500.

With 4,413 persons getting discharged today, Chennai's total recoveries mounted to 6,98,342 and the fatalities including 10 deaths today, rose to 8,970. The metro accounted for 7,36,806 positive cases, while the active cases stood at 29,494, the bulletin 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 Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is likely to meet on Friday to discuss further relaxations in COVID-19 curbs, including reopening of schools, in view of the declining cases in the national capital.

The number of daily cases in has been on the decline after touching the record high of 28,867 on January 13. The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic.

It took just 10 days for daily cases to drop below the 10,000-mark.

The DDMA is scheduled to meet on February 4 to review the COVID-19 situation in the national capital and take a call on reopening schools and other relaxations, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi BJP demanded reopening of gyms and spas, alleging that the AAP government was discriminating against them as restrictions like weekend curfew have been lifted, and restaurants and bars have been allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity.

In a statement, Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri urged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to immediately send a proposal in this regard to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who is also the DDMA chairman.

In the last DDMA meeting, the Delhi government had recommended reopening of schools saying it was necessary to prevent further damage to the social and economic well-being of children as the COVID-19 situation in the capital had improved.

Asserting that online education can never replace classroom studies, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said the government had closed schools when it was not safe for children, but "excessive caution" was harming them.

A delegation of parents led by Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and public policy specialist, had earlier met Sisodia and submitted a memorandum signed by over 1,600 parents demanding that schools be reopened.

Schools in the city were briefly reopened before being closed again on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant.

(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 has received 1,300 responses from the people ranging from setting up mohalla libraries to providing cheaper parking for electric vehicles for its 'Swaraj Budget', according to sources.

Introducing "participatory budgeting" in Delhi, the government has sought the suggestions of people for its 2022-23 .

As on date, around 1,300 responses have been received from all sections of the society.

"The suggestions aim to overcome on-ground problems faced by the residents. A major share of responses concern the areas of education, health and economic growth, all of which the government devotes a major share of its to every year," said a source.

Apart from these, citizens have also given their opinion on policies for tourism promotion, better transportation, rural development, pollution, beautification of the city and social welfare among others, said the source.

Citing an example, he said a city-based journalist has sought the development of 'Mohalla Libraries' on the lines of 'Mohalla Clinics'.

"They argue that such a system can vastly help those who live in densely populated areas and do not have privacy to study. Similarly, another resident has called for cheaper parking fares for electric vehicles, suggesting the move may further incentivise people to adopt the greener mode of transport," said the source.

Other responses suggest the concept of small scale community solar power plants, localised sewage treatment plants, use of treated water for irrigation of parks, and e-waste collection from doorsteps.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is also the finance minister, had earlier said the government was conducting surveys to find ways to boost the capital's economy and increase job opportunities during the times of COVID-19.

"Delhi 2022-23 will bring back the derailed economy of the city on track and foster economic growth," he had said.

The upcoming budget would be very important for industrial development and will focus on developing Delhi as a hub for business and services. Different schemes of public welfare, including education, health, electricity, clean drinking water, would also be focussed on in the budget, he had said.

Last year, the had called its budget for fiscal year 2021-2022, the Deshbhakti Budget.

Under the Deshbhakti Budget, the Kejriwal Government had allotted 25 per cent of the funds to education.

During the 2021 Delhi Budget, the Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had announced the introduction of the 'Deshbhakti Curriculum' to instil the spirit of patriotism and nationhood among every child studying in schools and prepare them to be responsible citizens who shall contribute to nation-building.

The focus of the Deshbhakti Budget lay on key areas such as health, education and infrastructure including electricity and water supply. The total outlay of the Budget was 6.1 per cent more than the Budget presented for the financial year 2020-21, said an official.

(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.)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said he has postponed his scheduled trip to New Delhi for February 7, on the request of Members of Parliament from the state.

The Chief Minister had earlier planned to leave for Delhi tomorrow morning.

"I had planned to go to Delhi tomorrow, for a meeting with Members of Parliament from the state there, but on the request of all our MPs I will go to Delhi on Monday," Bommai told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, he had said that he is likely to travel to Delhi tomorrow morning for a meeting with MPs from the state during the ongoing Parliament's budget session, and for a meeting with lawyers representing Karnataka regarding inter state water disputes.

Responding to a question on possible discussion with the high command regarding expansion or reshuffle of his cabinet, during the Delhi visit, he said, "I don't want to have any open discussion on this matter."



There is pressure mounting on the CM to expand or rejig his cabinet soon, amid talks in party circles that the exercise is likely, only after the Assembly elections in five states.

Citing assembly polls in the state in 2023, several legislators including Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and M P Renukacharya have openly said that if cabinet exercise is delayed and carried out after election in five states, it will be too late for new ministers to make any mark, even in their own constituencies.

Recently some legislators have even been advocating Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka Cabinet soon, to make way for new faces.

In September, the completely overhauled the Gujarat's Council of Ministers by selecting new faces for the Bhupendra Patel government, with no Minister from the previous Vijay Rupani-led Ministry being inducted.

Bommai had repeatedly stated that he is waiting for the leadership's consent on going ahead with the cabinet exercise.

There are currently 30 Ministers in the State Cabinet, including the Chief Minister, against the sanctioned strength of 34.

Noting that the union budget presented on Tuesday has separate documents that will have department and state wise allocation details, among others, the CM, in response to a query, said a detailed study will give a clear picture on allocations for old and new schemes, and about grant in aid for the state from the Centre and regarding loans.

"Based on all this we will decide on our (state) budget....after February 7, I will have pre budget consultative meetings with various departments. After gathering their opinion I will take budget related decisions," he said.

Bommai, who also holds the finance portfolio, is likely to present the state budget, his first, in the first week of March.

(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 north and the east municipal corporations have extended the last date for availing the amnesty scheme for payment of property tax with 100 per cent waiver of both interest and penalty to February 15, officials said on Wednesday.

The previous last date for the same was January 31.

Standing Committee Chairman of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Jogi Ram Jain said the has extended the last date for the first phase of tax amnesty scheme from January 31 to February 15.

He said in the first phase of the amnesty scheme, 100 per cent waiver of interest and penalty and 15 per cent rebate on principal amount is being given to property tax payers on lump sum payment of outstanding property tax.

Due to the weekend curfew amid the ongoing Covid pandemic, citizens were not able to take advantage of the first phase of the amnesty scheme, in view of which the last date for it has been extended.

Jain said the corporation has started a three-phase amnesty scheme, adding that if a citizen is not able to deposit the outstanding property tax in the first phase due to any reason, they can take advantage of this scheme by depositing the amount in the second and similarly in the third phase.

Meanwhile, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation on Wednesday also announced that it has extended the last date for availing the amnesty scheme for depositing property tax till February 15.

Earlier, the last date for this scheme was January 31. Under this scheme, in the first stage, 100 per cent rebate on interest and penalty will be given on deposit of outstanding property tax.

(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 Bureau has recorded the statement of former police commissioner Param Bir Singh in connection with an open enquiry being conducted against him on a complaint lodged by a police inspector, an official said on Wednesday.

Singh appeared before the investigating officer at the ACB's office at Worli in central on Tuesday afternoon, he said.

He was at the ACB's office for about two hours during which his statement was recorded, and he was later allowed to go, the official said.

Singh was suspended from service after multiple extortion cases were registered against him.

The ACB had earlier summoned him three times, but he had not appeared before it citing various reasons, the official said.

This time, he was called to record his statement on February 2 (Wednesday), but he submitted a letter to the ACB saying he had some court-related work on Wednesday and was available on Tuesday.

The investigating officer allowed Singh to appear before him on Tuesday and recorded his statement, the official said.

The ACB is conducting an open enquiry against Singh on the complaint lodged by police inspector Anup Dange, who had levelled allegations of corruption against the former top cop.

(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.)
Woburn, MA (01801)

Today

Sunshine and a few clouds. High 69F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 46F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
EU fears that Russia will cut off the gas supplies when the Kremlin sends zero gas to the pipeline. The tensions at the Ukraine border were only made worse by the warmongering of Joe Biden. Add the reluctance of Germany to get its supply cut off due to NATO, which is provoking Moscow.

Kremlin controls gas flow

The pipeline has been a major project of Moscow over successive Russian leaders before Vladimir Putin sat in the Kremlin. A network of pipes have been laid out all over Europe, even Britain, reported the Express UK.

Gas firms are under the Kremlin umbrella, which has the ex-KGB leader ready to shut it down, but profits are in the billions.

Despite what Washington says, Putin can crash energy supplies to zero, send it highs and make Brussels scramble to the US, which may or may not help.

The Kremlin leader has the bloc at his mercy, and the EU leaders had a taste of what no gas can do. White House statements for unity are largely dependent on who's listening.

During the late part of 2021, gas supplies were shut down and redirected back, justified by the need of Moscow for the energy for the country, cited Hellenic Shipping News.

Europe gas reserves could run out

Price increase of gas had caused financial hardship on many bloc members who are reeling from decreased supplies. Many firms crashed in this period.

Only one pipeline caused the mad scamper of Brussel's trying to deal with members asking for a solution. Some prefer to buy independently, but Russia and its gas supplies are needed.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Asks the West to Stop Provocations at the Ukraine Border That Might Lead to Conflict

Should the Kremlin play hardball and stop pumping gas, prioritizing it for the country and its allies, ignoring what happens to Ukraine, Western Europe will not have a single drop until their supplies run out.

But the European Union has a backup reserve that is supposed to tide the members until the threat of Putin is negligible.

This is contradicted by the think tank Bruegel saying it will not be enough; Russian gas will still be needed, noted Reuters.

Reserves spoken of will be suitable for ninety days till April, determined by the weather and kind of energy used mostly.

Dependence on Russian gas

If colder winter is experienced, it will shorten how long the reserve could hold out, although coal is used as alternative energy to store more gas.

Most central and eastern countries in Europe will not have it easy, and gas would be in the west.

Several nations are dependent on Russian gas, and getting cut off is the worst scenario. Their options will be a new deal for supplies or paying other providers to get the needed supplies.

Prices would be too high for them, and the crisis tells the score. Sourcing LNG from the US will be higher due to shipping costs. The US has been asking for providers to step up.

Vladimir Putin wants the Nord Stream 2 to operate and continue earning from the gas, but the US does not understand the dynamic.

Russia provides gas supplies for Western Europe, but the Ukraine tensions caused by the US have made things deadly; Washington is dead set on provoking the Kremlin.

Related Article: ITV Host Peston Interviews Former US Security Chief Who Said Putin Is Straining the Western Alliance Due to Weak US Leadership

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More than 6,000 URLs, accounts or websites were blocked in 2021, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Blocking directions are issued following the due process as prescribed in the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009, Minister of State for Electronics and IT said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

He added that the Indian government is committed to ensuring an open, safe and trusted and accountable Internet.

"Under section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is empowered to issue directions for blocking in specific scenario of any information impacting or likely to impact sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence relating to these," he added.

The minister said 471, 500, 633 and 1,385 accounts/websites/URLs were blocked during 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively.

The number of accounts, websites and URLs stood at blocked during 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 stood at 2,799, 3,603, 9,849 and 6,096, respectively, he added.

Chandrasekhar said the directions are issued to intermediaries including social media intermediaries and also to the Department of Telecommunications, wherever appropriate.

Responding to another question, Chandrasekhar said online gaming is one of the new emerging category of intermediaries that is also rapidly expanding all around the world.

"The government is aware of the possible risks and challenges including that of user harms associated with online games and, therefore, also about the advertisements of these online games. This ministry has received grievances regarding effects of online games," he added.

He said that as per the information provided by Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, the total number of cases registered under the Gambling Act (Online Gambling) (involving communication devices as medium/ target) for cyber crimes are 20, 22 and 63 for the year 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

"Online gaming platforms are intermediaries and they have to follow the due diligence as prescribed in the IT Act, 2000 and the Rules thereunder.

"State governments under List-II of the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution have enacted their laws to deal with betting and gambling within their jurisdictions. Some states have recently legislated for online gaming also," the minister added.

MeitY regulates all the intermediaries as per the IT Act and the Rules therein and does not have any role in the sanction or licensing of online gaming platforms currently.

Chandrasekhar said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had issued an advisory to all private satellite TV channels stating that no advertisement should present online gaming for real money winnings as an income opportunity or an alternative employment option.

According to the advisory, private television channels will have to follow the guidelines issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

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The collegium headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana has recommended to the Centre the names of six judicial officers for appointment as judges of the .

The collegium, which also comprised senior most judges Justices U U Lalit and A M Khanwilkar, held deliberations on Fenruary 1 and recommended the names of Poonam A Bamba, Neena Bansal Krishna, Dinesh Kumar Sharma, Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, Swarana Kanta Sharma and Sudhir Kumar Jain.

The Collegium in its meeting held on 1 st February, 2022 has approved the proposal for elevation of the following Judicial Officers as Judges in the Delhi High Court, a statement said.

There are three women judicial officers whose names have been recommended for judgeship of the which is functioning with 30 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 60 judges.

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U.S. regulators are considering the first COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5, the only age group not yet eligible for the shots, after Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE began the regulatory approval process on Tuesday.



A decision is expected as soon as this month.

The companies said they began submitting data for an emergency use authorization even though they did not meet a key target in their clinical trial of 2- to 4- year olds. They are submitting the data at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in order to address an urgent public health need in the age group, they said.



The arrival of a vaccine for younger children could help harried parents who have had to contend with quarantines and closures of pre-schools and daycare centers.

"Having a safe and effective vaccine available for children in this age group is a priority," acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said. She said the agency asked for the application because of the recent Omicron surge.

The FDA said an outside committee of expert advisers would meet on Feb. 15 to discuss the authorization. If that goes forward, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention also needs to sign off on how the vaccinations will be implemented, following a meeting of its own advisers. Those meetings have tended to follow within a week or so of FDA decisions.

The drug companies said they are asking the FDA for authorization of the first two doses of a planned three-dose regimen.

"If two doses are authorized, parents will have the opportunity to begin a COVID-19 vaccination series for their children while awaiting potential authorization of a third dose," Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said.

He said the company believes three doses of the vaccine will be needed "to achieve high levels of protection against current and potential future variants."

The companies expect to complete submitting data to the FDA in the coming days, with data on the third dose to follow.

Pfizer and BioNTech are testing a 3-microgram dose of the vaccine in the age group, compared with a 10-microgram dose in 5- to 11-year-olds and 30 micrograms for people aged 12 and older.

The companies said they expect to have ample supply of the 3-microgram shots should the FDA authorize the vaccine.

EVIDENCE OF CLINICAL BENEFIT?

The move could speed up the inoculation timeline for this age group by months. If a third dose is eventually authorized, many children could already have begun the regimen. Pfizer is currently testing two doses three weeks apart, followed by a third dose at least eight weeks later.

In December, Pfizer said it was amending its clinical trial to test a three-dose version of the vaccine because the lower-dose generated an immune response in 2- to 4-year-olds that was inferior to the response measured in those aged 16 to 25. In 6- month- to 24-month-old children, the vaccine generated an immune response in line with 16- to 25-year-olds.

John Grabenstein, former executive director of medical affairs for vaccines at Merck, said he believes regulators should consider the vaccine as a two-dose course, rather than as the first two doses of a planned three dose regimen.

"I cannot think of any example ever where the FDA reached a regulatory decision without knowing the data from the end of the trial," Grabenstein said. "I just can't believe that they would authorize getting started without knowing what the third dose would do."

But John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, said the plan "sounds like a creative solution to a real problem, and there's no safety implications, which would otherwise be a dealbreaker." The vaccine is already approved for emergency use in children in the United States as young as 5. It has full approval for adults.

The FDA also has authorized a third booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot for adults and children aged 12 and older.

It gave the green light for a two-dose vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

It remains unclear how many parents will choose to vaccinate their younger children.

Vaccinating children has been slow in the United States with only around 22% of 5- to 11 year-olds having received two shots since the campaign to inoculate that age group began in November.

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Chairman of the M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday referred to the devastation in and Tonga, which have recently been badly hit by the torrential rain and Tsunami respectively, and observed silence as a mark of respect to the memory of those who lost their lives in these tragic incidents.

"Hon'ble Members, between December 17 and 19 last year, was hit by severe torrential rains causing severe flood calamity in several parts of the country which was one of the most devastating floods in hundred years in Malaysia, causing displacement of 70,000 people and reportedly 50 people lost their lives," Naidu said. The unprecedented floods wreaked extensive damage to the property and livelihoods of the people, he added.

He further said that in another tragic incident that took place on January 15, 2022, a massive underwater volcanic eruption near the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa, triggered 1.2-1.5 meters high Tsunami waves causing flooding in the island Kingdom of Tonga. "The country is reported to have suffered significant infrastructure damage and more than 80 per cent of the country's total population is said to be affected by the eruption and tsunami," the Chairman said, adding that people have also reportedly lost their lives in the disaster.

Naidu further said that as an immediate measure, an assistance of US Dollar 200,000 is being announced by the Indian government while the Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR), including relief and reconstruction efforts, are also being ascertained.

Describing that the loss of precious lives and extensive damage to property in these tragic incidents are indeed painful and unfortunate, the Chairman said, "This House joins me in expressing our heartfelt condolences as well as deep sympathy and sorrow on the losses suffered by the people of and the Kingdom of Tonga and reiterate India's stand of solidarity with them."

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India is on track to achieve the USD 400-billion export target in the current fiscal and is negotiating trade agreements with countries like the UAE, the EU and Canada, Commerce and Industry Minister said on Wednesday.

In a reply during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, he said the prices of most of the commodities, including petroleum products, are prevailing high and because of this there is a stress on all sectors.

However, international prices of finished products have commensurately increased and hence the exports of these products have not faced detriments.

"For 10th month in a row, April 2021 to January 2022, India has posted over USD 30 billion of exports. It is a record, we have already crossed USD 334 billion of exports which is more than the highest ever that India has done in full 12 months period.. We are well on track to achieve USD 400 billion of exports," Goyal said.

The minister said that the government is working to negotiate free trade agreements (FTA) or comprehensive economic partnership so that Indian exporters too get similar price advantage benefits.

"We have launched FTA negotiations with the UAE, Australia, the United Kingdom, the EU, Canada. We are also in dialogue with GCC countries -- the bloc of six countries in the Middle East-- who have shown keen interest in FTA with India and we hope to launch the negotiation in the near future," Goyal said.

With regard to support to small and medium industries, the minister said Rs 4.50 lakh crore government-guaranteed loans were given to 1.30 crore MSMEs during the Covid pandemic.

"Government is committed to increasing manufacturing and see India as manufacturing hub," Goyal added.

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India's exports to China have increased by 24 per cent to USD 21.54 billion during January-November 2021, while imports jumped to USD 78.88 billion in the same period as against USD 52.16 billion in the corresponding period of 2020, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

The major items of import from China include telecom instruments, computer hardware and peripherals, fertilisers, electronic components/ instruments, project goods, organic chemicals, drug intermediates, consumer electronics, and electrical machinery, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

However, the imports were static between 2019-20 and 2020-21, she said.

"The exports to China have increased from USD 17.33 billion in Jan-Nov 2020 to USD 21.54 billion in Jan-Nov 2021 exhibiting an increase of 24 per cent. The imports have increased from USD 52.16 billion in Jan-Nov 2020 to USD 78.88 billion in Jan-Nov 2021," the minister said.

She added that some of India's imports from China, like the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and drug formulations, provide the Indian pharma industry raw material for producing finished goods, which are also exported out of India.

In a separate reply, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that imports from China have increased from USD 60.41 billion in 2014-15 to USD 65.21 billion in 2020-21, exhibiting a marginal increase of 7.94 per cent over FY15.

The imports stood at USD 59.03 billion during April-November this fiscal. It was USD 65.21 billion in 2020-21.

"For the seven years period prior to 2014-15, the imports from China increased from USD 17.47 billion in 2006-07 to USD 51.03 billion in 2013-14 exhibiting an increase of 192 per cent," he said.

The minister added that India's exports to China are growing steadily and increased from USD 11.93 billion in 2014-15 to USD 21.19 billion in 2020-21, exhibiting an increase of 77.6 per cent over FY15.

"The commodities exhibiting increase in exports include engineering goods, petroleum products, organic and inorganic chemicals, electronic goods, cotton yarn, marine products, minerals and ores etc," Goyal said.

The government, he said, has made sustained efforts to achieve a more balanced trade with China, including bilateral engagements to address trade issues.

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Indian officials have held heated discussions with Google, Twitter and for not proactively removing what they described as fake on their platforms, sources told Reuters, the government's latest altercation with Big Tech.

The officials, from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), strongly criticised the companies and said their inaction on fake was forcing the Indian government to order content takedowns, which in turn drew international criticism that authorities were suppressing free expression, two sources said.

The sources, who were familiar with the proceedings at the virtual meeting on Monday, described the conversation as tense and heated, signalling a new low in ties between American tech giants and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration.

The officials did not issue any ultimatum to the companies at the meeting, the sources said. The government has been tightening tech sector regulations but wants companies to do more on content moderation.

The meeting was a follow-up to the I&B ministry's use of "emergency powers" in December and January to order the blocking of 55 channels on Google's YouTube platform, and some Twitter and accounts

The government had said the channels were promoting "fake news" or "anti-India" content and that the disinformation was being spread by accounts based in neighbouring Pakistan.

The I&B ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the meeting, which was also attended by Indian content-sharing platforms ShareChat and Koo, which have millions of users in the country.

Facebook, now known as Meta, Twitter and ShareChat declined comment.

Without commenting on the meeting, Alphabet Inc's said in a statement it reviews government's requests and "where appropriate, we restrict or remove content in keeping with local laws." Koo said it complies with local laws and has strong content moderation practices in place.

In its transparency reports, Twitter has said the Indian government makes among the highest number of requests to remove content from its platform. Technology website Comparitech in October said India made 97,631 content removal requests in 2020, the second-highest in the world after Russia, mostly to and .

STRAINED TIES

During the meeting, senior tech executives told the officials that they take adequate measures to remove or curb the spread of misinformation on their platforms, and act on legally-valid content removal requests, said the sources.

The officials told to review its internal guidelines to remove fake content automatically, said the sources.

The officials also said the government was disappointed that big social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, weren't detecting and removing such content on their own.

Instead, the government was forced to order takedowns, opening it to criticism and damaging its public image, the officials said during the meeting, according to the sources.

Executives from Google told the I&B officials that one way to resolve that was for the ministry to avoid making takedown decisions public. The firms could work with the government and act on the alleged fake content, which could be a win-win for both sides, Google said, according to one of the sources.

The idea was summarily rejected by the government officials, who said the takedowns also publicise how the companies weren't doing enough to tackle fake on their own, the person said.

While ordering takedowns of certain online accounts in January, the government said it was doing so to "secure the overall information environment in India", adding that such fake content was on "sensitive subjects" such as the Indian Army, India's foreign relations and local state elections.

Digital rights advocates say such government orders curb free speech and set a worrying precedent.

"Detailed takedown orders are not made public by the government," said Apar Gupta, the executive director at Internet Freedom Foundation, adding that the basis for the action was not explained.

This allowed authorities to censor content even if it does not violate public order or the security of the state, he said.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has denied ticket to Assembly Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit. The party decision comes in view of the fact that the veteran leader has crossed 75 years of age.

Dixit was lobbying for a ticket for his son on his Bhagwant Nagar seat but the has fielded Ashutosh Shukla.

Meanwhile, Law Minister Brajesh Pathak, who had won from Lucknow Central in 2017, has been shifted to Lucknow Cantonment, denying ticket to the sitting MLA Suresh Tiwari. Rajnish Gupta has been fielded from Lucknow Central.

With the announcement of Pathak's ticket, speculations of the fielding Aparna Yadav from the seat have come to a halt.

The seat was also being eyed by BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi who wanted her son Mayank Joshi to contest the same.

minister Swati Singh, who has been embroiled in a series of controversies, has been denied ticket from her Sarojini Nagar seat which now has former ED joint director Rajeshwar Singh as the new candidate.

Rajeshwar Singh had joined the BJP a day before he was named candidate.

Among those who were able to retain their seats are urban development minister Ashutosh Tandon, Neeraj Bora from Lucknow North and Jai Devi, wife of union minister Kaushal Kishore from Malihabad.

The Lucknow West has gone to Anjani Srivastava, a loyal BJP worker for years. However, Avinash Trivedi from Bakshi Ka Talab has also been denied the ticket this time. Yogesh Shukla, brother of a senior journalist, has managed to get the ticket from Bakshi Ka Talab in place of Trivedi.

The BJP sprung surprises outside Lucknow also as it has fielded Manish Rawat, who switched over from Samajwadi Party to BJP only a few days back, from Sidhauli.

Rawat is the son-in-law of former Samajwadi Party MP Sushila Saroj.

Interestingly, Samajwadi Party has fielded Anurag Bhadauria, who is also son-in-law of Sushila Saroj, as candidate from Lucknow East.

The BJP had won eight out of the nine seats in Lucknow in the last state elections.

Lucknow goes to polls on February 23.

--IANS

amita/shs

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After residents of a village in Shamli district, it is now the farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri who have decided to use the option in the Assembly polls.

The farmers, who have yet to come to terms with the October 3 incident, in which four farmers were allegedly mowed down by an SUV belonging to Union Minister Ajay Misra Teni's son Ashish Misra, said that they feel 'cheated' by various political parties on the issue.

"Some parties have cheated us while others have proved ineffective," said Gurwinder Singh, a local farmer.

"We have no hope from any political party," he said, adding that the BJP, SP, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress gave them false assurances and want to "use us as commodities" during the .

On October 3, eight people, including four farmers, were killed in violence during the farmers' protest at Tikunia village in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Union Minister Ajay Misra Teni's son Ashish Misra is named as the prime accused and is in jail.

V.M. Singh, head of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan, alleged that the SP and the BJP had "cheated" the farmers.

"The SP-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance and the BJP are fooling the farmers. Why should we support either of them?" he asked.

Farmers constitute the bulk of the population in Lakhimpur Kheri district located in the Terai belt.

They said that they will not support the BJP after the October 3 incident and neither do they want to support the Samajwadi Party which had waived off Rs 2,000 crore interest amount payable by sugarcane mill owners to the cultivators.

According to the Cane Control Order 1966, in case of non-payment of the outstanding cane price within 14 days, sugar mill owners will have to pay an interest of 15 per cent to the farmers.

However, the then SP government waived off this interest amount, which swelled up to about Rs 2,000 crore citing that the industry was going through a lean phase.

About 75 per cent of the farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri district cultivate sugarcane. Nine sugar mills, run by co-operative organisations and the private sector, crush about 15 lakh quintals of sugarcane here.

Another farmer, Raj Singh, said, "Our children are unable to study and get married. We do not wish to vote for any party and will use the option."

Earlier, a panchayat of the Kashyap community in Shamli district had announced that its members will not vote for any candidate in the upcoming Assembly polls as the government has not fulfilled their demand to shift 17 OBCs into the Scheduled Castes list.

--IANS

amita/dpb

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The on Tuesday released its second list of 10 candidates for the upcoming assembly election.

Former minister Ningthoujam Biren Singh and legislator Pukhrem Sharatchandra Singh are among the nominees featured in the second list.

The party had on January 22 released the first list of 40 candidates with former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh contesting from Thoubal assembly seat.

Election to the 60-member assembly will be held in two phases on February 27 and March 3. The result will be declared on March 10.

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Due to excessive rain in So Paulo, which has caused floods and landslides across Brazil's state, at least 24 people have died since Friday.

According to a statement made by the State Civil Defense, more than 1,546 households have also been affected, with at least eight children among the fatalities.

Search ongoing for Brazil deadly landslide victims

On Sunday, Governor Joo Doria of So Paulo announced the deployment of a working group of firemen, military police, and civil defense forces to assist the mayors of the affected cities.

After a landslide demolished homes, images from the municipality of Franco da Rocha showed portions of main roadways underwater while others showed rescue personnel searching through wreckage in search of survivors and important goods. According to a statement from Doria's office, 15 million reais (approximately $2.8 million) would be awarded to the 10 most-affected towns.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the southern region of Brazil, has been witnessing a rise in average rainfall as well as extreme rain events since the 1960s, mainly due to increases in global greenhouse gas emissions and the loss of the atmosphere's ozone layer, as per CNN.

Over the weekend, some 500,000 residents were forced to abandon their houses due to rising water levels. Three members of the same family died after a landslide destroyed their home in the city of Embu das Artes, according to the local authority, while four others were saved by firemen.

Four children died in Francisco Morato, and four more people died in Franco da Rocha, according to Joao Doria, the governor of the state of Sao Paulo. There have also been deaths in Ribeiro Preto and Ja. Three of the victims were washed away by floods, according to the state fire department.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Governor Doria dispatched a helicopter to assess the damage caused by the rains in Brazil, and he committed $2.8 million in relief to the afflicted communities. Overflowing rivers, according to the state government, forced 500,000 residents to flee their homes.

Several highways and roads were blocked as a result of the rising seas. In addition, owing to rain-related disruptions, the city of Sao Paulo suspended scheduled immunization efforts against the COVID-19, Republic World reported.

Read Also: Pittsburgh Bridge Collapsed On Biden's Infrastructure Visit, 10 Injured; Human Chain Helps Rescuers

Family of five were among killed in Brazil landslide

One-year-old infant and a family of five people were killed when their home in Brazil was demolished by a landslide. Rescue workers discovered the dead bodies of Ricardo dos Santos, 40, his wife Tatiane, and their children Richard, 12, Nicole, 10, and Tayane, one, in their house in Varzea Paulista, a city in southern Brazil.

The Fire Department, along with the Civil Defense and Military Police of So Paulo, excavated for around eight hours before being able to rescue the remains late on Sunday afternoon, impeded by the torrential downpour.

Over the weekend, half of the typical January rainfall, nearly four inches, dropped in a 24-hour period, creating floods and catastrophic landslides, according to local officials. In a statement issued by the Ministry of Regional Development, the federal government stated that it is keeping an eye on the situation.

Aruja, Francisco Morato, Embu das Artes, and Franco da Rocha were among the hardest-hit areas in and surrounding the city of So Paulo. State officials said the storms also caused damage in Varzea Paulista, Campo Limpo Paulista, Jau, Capivari, Montemor, and Rafard upstate. At least 500 households were forced to flee their homes.

Heavy rains have been causing devastating floods in northeast Brazil since December, threatening to postpone crops and temporarily halting mining activities in the state of Minas Gerais, according to Mail Online.

Related Article: Two Weekend Storms Shut Down Power Supply in the UK, Affecting Thousands of Homes, Schools

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deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has said that the 'cycle' (poll symbol) of the Samajwadi Party stands punctured and the 'hand pump' (poll symbol) of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has become redundant.

"The cycle has been punctured and the people no longer need a hand pump because water is now supplied to every house through pipeline," he told reporters.

Responding to RLD president Jayant Chaudhary's statement that he would not flip like a coin, Maurya said that in 2019, the people had already flipped away the alliance by voting the to power.

Maurya further said that in 2022, the 'bua' (Mayawati) and 'Babua' (Akhilesh) are contesting separately and were aware of their impending defeat.

He said that in Mainpuri, the would win all seats.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the Karhal assembly seat in Mainpuri and is sure of his easy win since Mainpuri, besides being a SP stronghold, is also his father Mulayam Singh Yadav's parliamentary constituency.

The has fielded union minister S.P. Singh Baghel to challenge Akhilesh Yadav in Karhal.

The deputy chief minister further said that "No amount of campaigning will help Akhilesh who has been pursuing the policy of anarchism.

"His cycle will disintegrate into pieces and his Samajwadi Party will turn into 'Samaptwadi Party'," he added.

--IANS

amita/svn/skp

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Defence Minister on Wednesday claimed that no other prime minister has been as sensitive to farmer issues as who announced repeal of the agri laws because "some farmer brothers disagreed with them".

He termed the as a party that has chosen the path of development and where casteism, regionalism and communalism are not acceptable.

Lashing out at the Samajwadi Party, Singh alleged that "crimes like loot, murder, abduction were a routine" during its rule.

Whereas "the Yogi Adityanath government during its five-year term has changed the scenario and even hardcore criminals are behind the bars", he said.

The Union minister was scheduled to address a meeting at the local Yuvraj Palace and then go on a door-to-door campaign for candidates Yogesh Verma from Lakhimpur and Manju Tyagi from Srinagar constituencies.

However, owing to poor visibility caused by dense fog and rough weather conditions, his helicopter could not land in Lakhimpur. He addressed the meeting through the mobile handset of a local leader around 1.30 pm.

He highlighted the agriculture-based economy of Lakhimpur Kheri and said the Narendra Modi-led BJP government was committed to the welfare of the farmers and farming.

"No other prime minister in Independent India except has been so sensitive towards the farmers that he repealed the three farm laws all of a sudden only because some farmer brothers disagreed with them."



"While repealing the farm laws, the way he (PM Modi) said he failed to convince the other farmers reflected his sensitive approach towards farmers," Singh said adding the BJP government was striving hard to make farming profitable.

Appealing to the people to vote for BJP, said the BJP is a party that works for both the development of India and its heritage.

He cited the renovation of Somnath and Kedarnath temples and the construction of Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya and the Kashi-Vishwanath corridor to buttress his claim.

Singh told the gathering, "BJP is the party which has chosen the path of development. Casteism, regionalism and communalism are not acceptable to BJP at all."



Lauding the Modi government for "rooting out corruption", Singh said "Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had expressed his helplessness in curb graft when he had admitted that only 15 paise out of Rs 100 reached the beneficiaries.

"But without expressing any helplessness ensured that that full amount of Rs 6000 reached the beneficiaries of Kisan Samman Nidhi when the same was transferred to them from Delhi," he added.

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West Bengal Chief Minister on Wednesday said that Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not contest the but will field candidates in the state in the in 2024. Mamata Banerjee, who was re-elected as chairperson at a party event on Wednesday, said Trinamool Congress will support Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav in the assembly polls in .

"In Uttar Pradesh, I am not going to contest Assembly polls but I am going to support Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on February 8. We (TMC) will contest from in the 2024 polls," she said, reflecting her national ambitions in the next general . urged party workers to strengthen the party unit and said the goal is to win all 42 seats in the state in the next polls.

"I have built my unit in Goa. In Tripura, our vote percentage is over 20 per cent. We have to make Bengal stronger in the next two years so that we get all 42 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. We have to chase away," she said. emphasised unity in the party. "I will do my first working Committee meeting in Delhi," she said.

She called for a united fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by all regional parties in the 2024 elections. The Trinamool Congress is seeking to increase its footprint nationally ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

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Prime Minister is likely to address a digital rally on February 4 covering nearly 20 assembly constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh, sources said on Tuesday.

It would be Modi's second digital rally with the first one being on January 31.

Thursday's digital rally would cover nearly 20 assembly seats in western Uttar Pradesh.

While the first phase of assembly polls is on February 10, the second and third phases are on February 14 and 20. Most of the western UP constituencies would go for polls in the first three phases.

The Election Commission has so far not allowed full-fledge physical rallies, and only public meetings with a cap of 1000 people are allowed.

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The on Wednesday released its seventh list of 27 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The list has 11 women, including four replacing candidates previously announced.

The party has replaced its Lucknow East candidate, nominating Manoj Tiwari in place of Pankaj Tiwari.

The is contesting the state polls with women in focus and has also released a separate manifesto for youth, assuring them of employment opportunities and have laid down a roadmap of how to provide jobs, if elected to power.

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U.S. President has approved sending additional forces to eastern Europe, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday, as Washington reinforces its allies against what it describes as a Russian threat to invade .

One of the officials said about 2,000 American troops would deploy from the United States to Poland and Germany, while around 1,000 troops now based in Germany would head to Romania.

In signs that, publicly at least, is in no mood to signal compromise, the Kremlin mocked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as "utterly confused" and ridiculed British politicians for their "stupidity and ignorance".

Moscow, which has massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, denies any plan to invade its neighbour but says it could take unspecified military measures if demands are not met, including a promise by NATO never to admit Kyiv.

The Kremlin turned its rhetorical fire on Johnson, who cancelled a phone call with Putin on Monday to answer questions in parliament about boozy events in his Downing Street office during the COVID-19 lockdown. Johnson visited Kyiv on Tuesday, where he accused of holding a gun to Ukraine's head.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said had not announced any phone call with Johnson but added: "It makes sense to speak to anybody. Russia and President Putin are open to communicating with everyone. Even to someone who is utterly confused, he is prepared to provide exhaustive explanations." Russia's foreign ministry went further, mocking Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for saying Britain was sending supplies to its "Baltic allies across the Black Sea" - two bodies of water that are on opposite sides of Europe.

"Mrs Truss, your knowledge of history is nothing compared to your knowledge of geography," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote in a blog post. "If anyone needs saving from anything, it's the world, from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians."

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companies whose online platforms carry advertisements for scams should be made to reimburse victims, British lawmakers said, as part of wider efforts to combat a growing epidemic of online fraud in Britain.

While banks have signed up for a voluntary code to reimburse fraud victims who do enough to protect themselves, there is not sufficient regulation governing social media and other websites where victims are often first lured in, Mel Stride, chairman of the cross-party Treasury committee, told Reuters.



"The government should look at some kind of arrangement that makes the polluter pay," he said.



"Online platforms are hosting this stuff, not really putting enough effort into weeding it out, and indeed financially benefiting because they're getting the advertising revenues," Stride said.



TechUK, a trade body that represents major tech companies in Britain, including Facebook, Twitter and

Microsoft, declined to provide an immediate comment.



Stride's comments came as the Treasury committee on Wednesday published the findings of a report on economic crime, which urged the government to seriously consider forcing online platforms to help to refund victims.



The report noted that TechUK in December said Facebook (now known as Meta), Twitter and Microsoft had committed to requiring potential financial services advertisers to be authorised by the Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, following similar steps taken by Google, TikTok and Amazon.



But the report said there was no set timeline for these changes and other major online platforms have not followed suit.

The government is due to respond to the report's findings that not enough is being done to prevent the growing online fraud epidemic, and that fraud-fighting efforts should be centralised under one minister or department.



Britain has become a global epicentre for bank scams https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/welcome-britain-bank-scam-capital-world-2021-10-14, Reuters reported in October, with a record 754 million pounds ($1 billion) stolen in the first six months of this year, up 30% from the same period in 2020.



"We think the government's been too slow in various areas to really catch up with it...it's people being, quietly in many cases, defrauded of large amounts of money, people losing life savings," Stride said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
says his 2018 tweet about plans to take Inc. private was entirely truthful and that investors who claim the missive was a fraud are wrong.



Lawyers for the billionaire chief executive officer of the electric-car maker said in a court filing Tuesday that Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund had indeed agreed to support his attempt to take the company private.



Elon Musks August 7, 2018 tweet informing the public that he was considering taking private was entirely truthful, according to the heavily redacted filing by attorney Alex Spiro. Mr. Musk was considering taking private at $420 a share. Funding was secured. There was investor support.



The tweet roiled the companys shares and led the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to sue Musk for fraud. Musk and Tesla settled with the agency, agreeing to pay $40 million in fines. Musk stepped down as chairman of the company for three years.



Shareholders claim in a class-action suit pending in federal court in San Francisco that Musks tweets spurred wild swings in the companys share price and caused billions of dollars in losses.

The investors are seeking a judges ruling -- ahead of a trial set for May 31 -- that the tweets were false statements. A hearing is scheduled in March.



Not only did Mr. Musk firmly believe funding was secured when he tweeted, in reality (per Mr. Musks discussions with the PIF) it was secured, according to Spiros filing, which refers to the acronym for Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund.

Teslas stock surged as much as 13% after the take-private tweet, hammering short sellers who hadnt covered their positions.



Other investors who read Musks message as a buy sign sustained losses when doubts mounted about his ability to follow through and the companys share price plummeted.



Musk announced he was keeping Tesla public via a Friday night blog post a few weeks later.



The case is In re Tesla Inc. Securities Litigation, 18-cv-04865, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
Ethiopian Airlines, Africa's largest aviation group, flew its jet for the first time on Tuesday after a tragic crash in 2019.

" has returned its back to the skies today with the airline's board chairman and executives, Boeing executives, ministers, ambassadors, government officials, journalists and customers onboard the first flight," the group said in a press release.

"Safety is the top most priority at and it guides every decision we make and all actions we take," Xinhua news agency reported citing Tewolde Gebremariam, Group CEO of .

On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after departing Addis Ababa Bole Airport, killing 157 people on board.

The incident prompted Ethiopia's flag carrier, along with many other airlines worldwide, to ground jets.

--IANS

int/sks/bg

(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.)
More than a dozen former senior U.S. national security officials have pressed congressional leaders to quickly pass legislation to boost technology funding, calling it "critical" to compete against China.

A letter signed by 16 officials from past Democratic and Republican administrations - including Leon Panetta, who served as defense secretary under President Barack Obama, and President George W. Bush's national security advisor Stephen Hadley - said the legislation would "ensure the U.S. stays on the cutting-edge of microelectronics."



The Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act last year, including $52 billion for the semiconductor industry and authorizing $190 billion to strengthen U.S. technology and research to compete with China.



The House of Representatives began considering its "America Competes" act this week. If it passes, the two chambers will have to resolve differences with the Senate bill.



"This is the time to prioritize comprehensive, bipartisan competitiveness legislation, which will ensure that federal investment matches our national security interests and allows the United States to maintain strengths and comparative advantages against rising adversaries," the officials wrote in the letter dated Feb. 1, seen by Reuters.



The letter was addressed to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as Republican House and Senate leaders Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell.



Former CIA directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, deputy national security advisor in the Trump administration Matthew Pottinger, and under secretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration Michele Flournoy also signed it.



Signers also included former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, who served on a government artificial intelligence commission, and Jane Harman, a former ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee.



More than 500 amendments to the House bill have been submitted, including one that would bar semiconductor firms receiving government subsidies from paying dividends or repurchasing company stock.



The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said it was pleased the House had begun to consider its version of the bill, and the largest U.S. labor organization said on Monday it strongly supported the House legislation.



Keith Krach, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment during the Trump administration, who also signed the letter, told Reuters passage of the legislation would bring significant onshoring of semiconductor technology.

"It would do so much to rally high tech companies in the U.S., and it would do a lot around the world to show we're serious about working together," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
According to Insiders, Prince Harry removed his oldest buddy off his wedding reception guest list after he expressed his displeasure with the Duke's marriage to Meghan Markle.

Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand allege in their book "Finding Freedom" that Harry's old Eton buddy Tom "Skippy" was furious when he was left off the guest list for their evening celebration, alleging that he'd "lost his pal" after meeting the Duchess.

Prince Harry's pal commented about relationship with Meghan Markle

Among the 600 guests allowed to witness the couple's vows in St. George's Chapel in Windsor in May 2018 were George and Amal Clooney, Elton John, David and Victoria Beckham, Oprah Winfrey, and Serena Williams, to name a few. However, some of Harry's closest pals, as well as some of his longest friends, didn't make the cut.

The newlyweds began their private festivities with family and friends after the public ceremony, which was carried live on television for the entire world to see. The Queen gave a lunch reception for the visitors. Guests proceeded on to a second celebration, given by Prince Charles and Camilla at Frogmore Cottage and with a guest list of 200 people, once the sit-down event had concluded.

Despite the fact that a number of A-level celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and Amal Clooney, were on the guest list for the evening celebration, Skippy was not present for the church service. Skippy stated he felt like he'd eternally "lost his friend" the day after the wedding, according to the writers, and the book also mentioned Skippy's fears about how quickly Harry's relationship with Meghan was progressing, according to Mirror.

Read Also: Virginia Giuffre's Father Brands Prince Andrew "Coward" For Trying To Dismiss Sexual Abuse Case; Duke Wants Kevin Spacey To Testify at Trial

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle labeled "disingenuous clowns"

Following the Sussexes' comments on Spotify, claims were made. Following a growing list of celebrities putting pressure on Spotify over COVID-19 falsehoods, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have raised their "concerns" over the streaming service's deception over the controversial podcast of Joe Rogan.

According to a spokesman for their organization, Archewell, the two originally addressed the matter in April and have continued to call on Spotify to correct any misrepresentation.

In response to the famous "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, in which the presenter has frequently made incorrect and erroneous assertions about vaccinations and COVID-19, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell both urged Spotify to remove their music from the platform.

After announcing an exclusive relationship with Spotify in December 2020, the Sussexes are one of the most well-known audio personalities in the world. "We will host and create podcasts that foster community via shared experience, storylines, and beliefs," Spotify said in a press statement, as per CNN.

In both Britain and America, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's public slam on Spotify over Joe Rogan's vaccination comments has provoked a right-wing response. The outrage was not restricted to the United States, but Harry and Meghan also enraged their British opponents. The prince told Oprah Winfrey that the negative press in the United Kingdom was a factor in the couple's decision to leave the throne.

This isn't the first time Harry and Meghan have sparked outrage on both sides of the Atlantic, though the United Kingdom is generally more critical of them than the United States is. After delving into the 2020 presidential race in the United States, the Sussexes were met with calls for their titles to be revoked, with Donald Trump being brought into the fray, Newsweek via MSN reported.

Related Article: Prince Charles Reportedly Offers Prince Harry, Meghan Markle a Place To Stay in the UK; Future King Fears Son's Memoir Will Harm Camilla

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Hedge-fund billionaire has warned against investing in China which is witnessing a decline in the real estate boom, citing the example of Evergrande which is finding it difficult to pay its debts in the face of government policies designed to curb the boom.

China is facing an economic crisis after a real estate boom ended with a bang last year, according to investor Soros, reported CNN.

At a speech at Stanford University's Hoover Institution on Monday, Soros said that President Xi Jinping may not be able to restore confidence in the troubled industry, which has been hit by a series of defaults by developers and falling prices for land and apartments.

Falling prices will "turn many of those who invested the bulk of their savings in real estate against Xi Jinping," Soros said, adding that the current situation "doesn't look promising."

"Xi Jinping has many tools available to reestablish confidence -- the question is whether he will use them properly," said Soros.

China's real estate boom was based on an "unsustainable" model that benefited local governments and encouraged people to invest the bulk of their savings in property, Soros said.

Government policies designed to curb the boom made it difficult for indebted real estate behemoth Evergrande to pay its debts, he added.

The developer is reeling under more than USD 300 billion of total liabilities, including about USD 19 billion in offshore bonds held by asset managers and private banks on behalf of their clients, reported CNN.

Government officials have been sent in to the company to oversee a restructuring, but there's little clarity about what comes next. Evergrande has appealed for more time, but some lenders appear unwilling to wait.

Moreover, Soros, the legendary investor and chair of the Open Society Foundations said in September that asset manager BlackRock was making a "tragic mistake" by doing more business in China.

He has criticized Beijing over its surveillance policies and a crackdown on private business.

Analysts have been concerned that Evergrande's collapse could trigger wider risks for China's property market, hurting homeowners and the broader financial system. Real estate and related industries account for as much as 30 per cent of the country's GDP, reported CNN.

China's expanded 8.1 per cent last year, but weakening growth in the closing months of 2021 suggests the real estate crisis, renewed COVID outbreaks and Beijing's strict approach to controlling the virus are taking a toll.

The Monetary Fund expects economic growth to slow dramatically to 4.8 per cent in 2022.

(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.)
Yousif Ibrahim no longer travels by night along the roads around his hometown of Jalawla in northeastern Iraq. He fears getting caught up in attacks by Islamic State.

"The police and army don't come into our area much anymore.

If they do, they get shot at by militants," said the 25-year-old, who sells fish for a living in a nearby market.

Nearly three years after the group lost its final enclave, are re-emerging as a deadly threat, aided by the lack of central control in many areas, according to a dozen security officials, local leaders and residents in northern Iraq.

Islamic State is far from the formidable force it once was, but militant cells often operating independently have survived across a swathe of northern Iraq and northeastern Syria, and in recent months they have launched increasingly brazen attacks.

"Daesh (Islamic State) isn't as powerful as it was in 2014," said Jabar Yawar, a senior official in the Peshmerga forces of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdistan region.

"Its resources are limited and there's no strong joint leadership," he told Reuters in the city of Sulaimaniya. "But as long as political disputes aren't solved, Daesh will come back." Some fear that could be starting to happen.

In late January, Islamic State carried out one of its deadliest attacks against the Iraqi army for years, killing 11 soldiers in a town near Jalawla, according to security sources.



The same day, its militants stormed a prison in Syria under the control of U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in an attempt to free inmates loyal to the group.

It was the biggest attack by Islamic State since the collapse of its self-declared caliphate in 2019. At least 200 prison inmates

and militants were killed, as well as 40 Kurdish troops, 77 prison guards and four civilians.

Officials and residents in northern Iraq and eastern Syria lay much of the blame on rivalries between armed groups. When Iraqi, Syrian, Iranian and U.S.-led forces declared Islamic State beaten, they faced off against each other across the territory it had ruled.

Now Iran-backed militias attack U.S. forces. Turkish forces bomb Kurdish separatist militants. A territorial dispute rumbles on between Baghdad and Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

The tensions are undermining security and good governance, causing confusion that Islamic State once thrived on.

For Ibrahim, that means crossing checkpoints manned variously by Iraqi soldiers and Shi'ite Muslim paramilitaries to get to work in a town controlled until a few years ago by Kurds.

The remote farmland between each military outpost is where hide out, according to local officials.

A similar pattern plays out across the 400-mile corridor of mountains and desert through northern Iraq and into Syria where Islamic State once dominated.

Towns like Jalawla bear the scars of fierce fighting five or so years ago - buildings reduced to rubble and scarred with bullet holes. Banners honouring slain commanders from different armed groups jostle for space in town squares.

IRAQI DISPUTES

In some parts of Iraq where Islamic State operates, the main dispute is between the government in Baghdad and the autonomous northern Kurdish region, home to huge deposits of oil and strategic territory that both sides claim.

The jihadists' deadliest attacks in Iraq in recent months have taken place in those areas. Dozens of soldiers, Kurdish fighters and residents have been killed in violence that local officials blamed on militants loyal to the group.

According to Yawar, use the no-man's-land between Iraqi army, Kurdish and Shi'ite militia checkpoints to regroup.

"The gaps between the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga are sometimes 40 km (25 miles) wide," he said.

Mohammed Jabouri, an Iraqi army commander in the province of Salahuddin, said the militants tended to operate in groups of 10-15 people.

Because of the lack of agreement over territorial control, there are areas where neither the Iraqi army nor Kurdish forces can enter to pursue them, he added.

"That's where Daesh is active," he told Reuters by telephone.

Iraqi state paramilitary forces aligned with Iran in theory coordinate with the Iraqi army, but some local officials say that does not always happen.

"The problem is that local commanders, the army and the paramilitaries ... sometimes don't recognise each other's authority," said Ahmed Zargosh, mayor of Saadia, a town in a disputed area.

"It means can operate in the gaps." Zargosh lives outside the town he administers, saying he fears assassination by if he stays there at night.

SYRIA AND THE BORDERS

Islamic State militants at the other end of the corridor of contested territory, in Syria, are taking advantage of the confusion to operate in sparsely populated areas, according to some officials and analysts.

"Fighters (are) entering villages and towns at night and having complete free rein to operate, raid for food, intimidate businesses and extort 'taxes' from the local population," said Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute think-tank.

"They've got many more local fissures, be they ethnic, political, sectarian, to exploit to their advantage." Syrian government forces and Iran-backed militias hold territory to the west of the Euphrates river and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces are stationed to its east, including where the prison attack occurred.

The picture on the Iraqi side of the frontier area is no less complex.

Soldiers and fighters aligned with Iran, Turkey, Syria and the West control different segments of land, with separate checkpoints sometimes just a few hundred feet apart.

Iran and its proxy militias seek to maintain control of Iraqi-Syrian border crossings that are Tehran's gateway to Syria and Lebanon, according to Western and Iraqi officials.

U.S. officials blame those militias for attacking the 2,000 or so American troops stationed in Iraq and Syria fighting Islamic State. Tehran has not commented on whether Iran is involved.

Turkey, meanwhile, launches drone strikes from bases in northern Iraq against Kurdish separatist militants operating on either

side of the border.

COLLAPSE OF THE CALIPHATE

At the peak of its power from 2014-2017, Islamic State ruled over millions of people and claimed responsibility for or inspired attacks in dozens of cities around the world.

Its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his caliphate over a quarter of Iraq and Syria in 2014 before he was killed in a raid by U.S. special forces in northwest Syria in 2019 as the group collapsed.

Armed forces in northern Iraq and northeast Syria say that the sheer number of groups, all enemies of Islamic State, would squash any resurgence.

In the wake of the prison assault, the U.S.-led military coalition fighting Islamic State said in a statement that recent attacks had ultimately made it weaker.

Not all local communities are convinced.

"After the Syria prison attack, we're scared Daesh could come back," said Hussein Suleiman, a government worker in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, which Islamic State overran in 2014 and where it slaughtered thousands of members of the Yazidi minority.

"Islamic State came from Syria last time. Iraqi troops and Kurdish forces were here then too, but they fled."

(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.)
will consider imposing tighter curbs on companies in security-sensitive sectors that procure overseas software as part of efforts to ramp up steps to counter cyberattacks, according to a proposal by a key panel released on Tuesday.

The move would be part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's initiative to defend Japan's economic security mainly against China, such as by preventing leaks of sensitive technology and building more resilient supply chains.

In the proposal, the panel called for crafting legislation that allows the government to order companies to provide advance information when updating software or procuring new equipment, and vet purchases that could put at risk of cyberattacks.

The regulation would target companies in industries critical to national security such as energy, water supply, information technology, finance and transportation, the proposal said.

"Due to rapid digitalisation in today's world, almost all areas of economic activity including those involving critical infrastructure are targets of cyberattacks," the panel said, in explaining the need for fresh legislation.

"It's important to ensure any regulation does not excessively restrict business activity," it said.

The proposal by the panel of academics will serve as a platform for legislation the government will submit to parliament later this month.

Advanced economies, including the United States and Japan, have faced several major cyberattacks recently including those with ties to Russia and .

is under pressure to follow in the footsteps of the United States in boosting counter-measures against cyberattacks and compete with Beijing's growing push to export sensitive technologies such as commercial drones and security cameras.

Aside from domestic efforts, Tokyo is coordinating with its allies to help Asia boost resilience against risks to economic security, Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for affairs, told Reuters.

"Japan is working with the United States and Australia to support the creation of trustworthy communication infrastructure in Asia, mainly through funding aid via state-owned financial institutions," Kanda 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.)
President is reaching out for Republican support for his eventual Supreme Court nominee, inviting the GOP's top Judiciary Committee senator to the White House Tuesday along with the panel's Democratic chairman and phoning Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell for a one-on-one discussion.

Biden and fellow Democrats are working for significant GOP backing for the still-to-be-named nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer a steep challenge in a Senate that has been sharply and bitterly divided over the past three confirmations.

At the White House, former longtime Sen. Biden called Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and the panel's top Republican, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, two good friends and noted they had worked on many Supreme Court nominations together in their decades on the committee.

Biden noted that the Constitution calls for Senate advice and consent," on a nominee, and he said, I'm serious when I say I want the advice of the Senate as well as the consent."



As Biden mulls a replacement for Breyer a Black woman, he has promised Durbin has been proposing a ceasefire of sorts after the wrenching partisan fights over former President Donald Trump's three nominees. The Democratic senator has been vigorously reaching out to GOP colleagues since Breyer announced last week that he will step down this summer.

The White House outreach is a similar attempt at dtente by the president, who along with Durbin and Grassley is a veteran of a bygone era when Supreme Court justices were confirmed with overwhelming support from both parties. Biden was chairman of the panel in 1994 when Breyer was confirmed 87-9.

It was old home week, Durbin said as he returned from the White House.

Winning much GOP support for Biden's nominee will be a challenge, though, as advocates push him to nominate a strong liberal and some Senate Republicans have criticized the president even before he makes his decision.

McConnell, who also served with Biden for many years, has urged the president to pick a moderate. His office said he spoke with Biden Tuesday afternoon and emphasized the importance of a nominee who believes in judicial independence and will resist all efforts by politicians to bully the Court or to change the structure of the judicial system.

At a committee meeting Tuesday morning, Grassley condemned Democratic advocates who pressured Breyer to retire, and he said nominees should be judged solely on their qualifications. After the White House meeting, he said he told the president that I want somebody that's going to interpret law, not make law.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who might be the most likely GOP senator to vote for a Biden nominee, on Sunday called the president's handling of the nomination so far clumsy," saying he had politicized the process.

Other Republicans have openly stoked a debate over Biden's promise to nominate a Black woman. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker said he views the process as affirmative action. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said it's "offensive" because Biden is saying white men and women have the wrong skin pigment and wrong Y chromosome."



The court was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. Justice Clarence Thomas and the late Thurgood Marshall are the only two Black men who have served on the court. There has never been a Black woman.

Durbin has noted that Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump both promised to pick women and were praised when they nominated Sandra Day O'Connor and Amy Coney Barrett, respectively. There have been only five female justices in U.S. history, while there have been 110 men.

It is not uncommon for a president of the United States in filling a Supreme Court vacancy to announce in advance what type of person he wants, Durbin said Monday.

Collins is a particularly important target for Democrats. She has voted for some of Biden's lower court judges and against Barrett's nomination in 2020. Durbin called her within hours of learning that Breyer would step down, and has made clear that Democrats won't rush the confirmation, in line with her call for a deliberate process.

While criticising Biden, she has also thanked Durbin for reaching out and saying he will provide whatever information she may need.

Collins said she wants dignified hearings and bipartisan support but added that it depends on who the nominee is.

The reason for us to try to get the nomination process back to the way it used to be when Supreme Court nominees were frequently confirmed overwhelmingly is the credibility of the court is at stake, she said. If the court is perceived by the American public as a political institution, that is harmful and undermines support for its decisions.

Two other Republicans have signaled they could vote for a Biden nominee if it is the right one. South Carolina Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott have both praised J. Michelle Childs, a federal judge who got her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. The White House has said Childs is under consideration.

She has wide support in our state, Graham said Sunday on CBS, adding that the Supreme Court should look like America.

Other Republicans could be open to voting for a Biden nominee, as well. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is up for reelection this year, has supported some of his lower court nominees. And some GOP senators said this week that they have no problem with Biden's approach. Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said he would be happy to vote for the first Black woman.

Working to win bipartisan support will be former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat who often crossed party lines before he was defeated for reelection in 2020. Jones will serve as the lead official for the White House to shepherd the nomination, said two people familiar with the discussions who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The former senator and U.S. attorney is another old friend of the president's, dating back to Biden's first presidential campaign in 1988.

Durbin acknowledged the challenges ahead, and the balance Biden will have to strike in picking the right person. He said that in reviewing early names that have been floated, he believes each is open to more moderate or conservative rulings.

So that will be a plus and a minus, Durbin said. Some Republicans may point to it as a reason to vote for her. Some in the far left may find it as a reason to vote against her.

(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.)
North Korean leader and his wife attended a Lunar New Year's Day concert in Pyongyang where he received thunderous cheers from audience members and artists who praised him for heralding a new era of national power, state media reported.

The North's official media has been highlighting Kim's authoritarian leadership following a spree of missile tests in January, which some experts see as an attempt to pressure Washington over deadlocked nuclear negotiations after two years of pandemic border closures and economic decay.

The Biden administration has called for the U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday to discuss North Korea's most recent test of an intermediate-range missile potentially capable of reaching Guam, a key U.S. military hub in the Pacific. Sunday's test signaled a resumption of major weapons testing that Kim had suspended in 2018 while initiating diplomacy with then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since the collapse of the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korea's demands for a major release of crippling U.S.-led sanctions in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

The Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday said Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, were greeted with stormy cheers after arriving at Pyongyang's massive Mansudae Art Theater for Tuesday's concert. KCNA said the audience appreciated that Kim was ushering in on this land a new world and a new era when the people's ideals and happiness and desire for building a powerful country are comprehensively translated into reality."



Artists performed songs and dances that demonstrated the single-minded unity of North Korean people and their devotion to build a socialist country to be envied by the world, the report said.

North Korean TV on Tuesday showed Kim galloping through a forest on a white horse a symbol associated with his family's dynastic rule over the country in a new documentary praising his alleged accomplishments in 2021, including anti-virus campaigns, construction projects and weapons development.

One scene showed Kim noticeably slimmer than in previous months walking gingerly at a rainy construction site as a narrator said he showed his motherly side by entirely devoting his body into realizing people's dreams.

South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers in October that Kim has lost about 20 kilograms (44 pounds) in weight, but that he remains healthy and is trying to boost public loyalty to him as he navigates the toughest period of his rule due to economic hardships worsened by the pandemic.

The North's accelerated weapons tests, which came amid efforts to strengthen internal unity and tighten the government's grip over the economy, possibly reflect a sense of urgency within Pyongyang's leadership for outside relief, analysts say.

While tentatively reopening freight train traffic with China last month, Kim is also reviving his playbook in brinkmanship to wrest concessions from the Biden administration, which has offered open-ended talks but shown no willingness to ease sanctions unless Kim takes real steps to abandon his nuclear weapons program.

Sunday's flight test of the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile marked the longest-distance weapon the North has tested since 2017, when it twice flew Hwasong-12s over Japan and, separately, three intercontinental ballistic missiles that demonstrated the potential to reach deep into the American homeland.

The launch came days after Kim called a ruling party meeting where officials issued a veiled threat to end the North's 2018 moratorium on the testing of nuclear devices and longer-range missiles, citing U.S. hostility.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa by phone and condemned North Korea's recent ballistic tests, which were in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and vowed trilateral cooperation with South Korea to deal with the North Korean threat, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.

Experts say the North could halt its testing spree after the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics this week out of respect for China, its major ally and economic lifeline. But there are also expectations it could significantly up the ante in weapons demonstrations once the Olympics end later this month to grab the attention of the Biden administration, which has been focusing more on confronting China and Russia over its conflict with Ukraine.

(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.)
Oil prices climbed on Wednesday toward last week's seven-year highs as a draw in U.S. crude stocks confirmed strong demand and tight supplies, but investors remained cautious ahead of an OPEC+ meeting later in the day.

Brent crude rose 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $89.27 a barrel by 0743 GMT, after easing 10 cents on Tuesday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $88.34 a barrel, having gained 5 cents the previous day.

Tight global supplies and geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have boosted oil prices by about 15% so far this year. On Friday, crude benchmarks hit their highest prices since October 2014, with Brent touching $91.70 and U.S. crude hitting $88.84.

"A drop in U.S. crude inventories provided support, though an increase of gasoline stocks partially offset bullish sentiment," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

"OPEC+ is likely to maintain its policy unchanged, which means a supply shortage and an upward trend in oil prices will continue," he said.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 28, against analysts' estimate of an increase of 1.5 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

But gasoline inventories rose by 5.8 million barrels, above analysts' expectations for a 1.6 million barrel build.[EIA/S]

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together known as OPEC+, will likely stick to existing policies of moderate output increases on Wednesday, five sources from the producers' group said, even as it expects demand to rise to new peaks this year and as oil prices trade near seven-year highs.

But Goldman Sachs said there was a chance the oil market's rally would prompt a faster ramp-up.

Sources said an OPEC+ technical panel meeting on Tuesday did not discuss a hike of more than the expected 40,000 barrels per day from March.

"If Saudi and Russia show any signs of raising their production to shoulder shortfalls of some members who cannot meet their output targets, oil prices will likely fall," said Tetsu Emori, CEO of Emori Fund Management Inc.

"But if there are no such surprises, the market is expected to keep a bullish trend as demand is recovering and geopolitical tensions linger," he said.

Tensions between Russia and the West also underpinned crude prices. Russia, the world's second-largest oil producer, and the West have been at loggerheads over Ukraine, fanning fears that energy supplies to Europe could be disrupted.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of deliberately creating a scenario designed to lure it into war and ignoring Russia's security concerns over Ukraine.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Richard Pullin and Kim Coghill)

(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.)
prices ended little changed on Tuesday, as geopolitical tensions and tight global supplies supported the market even as some speculated that OPEC+ might boost supplies more than expected.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together known as OPEC+, has been expected to decide at a monthly meeting on Wednesday to keep gradually increasing production. But Goldman Sachs said there was a chance the market's rally would prompt a faster ramp-up.

On Friday, crude benchmarks hit their highest prices since October 2014, with Brent touching $91.70 and U.S. crude hitting $88.84. They gained about 17% in January on a supply shortage, political tensions in the Middle East and between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

Still, sources said an OPEC+ technical panel meeting on Tuesday did not discuss a hike of more than the expected 40,000 barrels per day from March.

undershot its promised output boost in January, a Reuters survey found, and other analysts expected the rally to persist. [OPEC/O]

"The Saudis will likely avoid any major adjustments as they have proven adept in recent years at treading a fine line in manoeuvring global pricing in their preferred direction," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates LLC in Galena, Illinois.

Brent crude settled down 10 cents, or 0.1%, at $$89.16 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 5 cents to $88.20.

"The market is currently unreservedly bullish," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. "It is tension, the perception of tight supply and the cold winter that are the most important factors behind the strength."

Prices were under some pressure from expectations that this week's U.S. supply reports will show an increase in crude stockpiles. Analysts expect stocks to have risen by 1.8 million barrels. [EIA/S]

The first of this week's two supply reports, from the American Petroleum Institute, is due out at 4:30 p.m. (2130 GMT). [EIA/S]

Rising differentials in the physical crude market imply concern about tight supply, Varga said. One of the North Sea crudes that underpins Brent, Ekofisk, was bid on Monday at its highest in more than a decade.

(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler, Noah Browning, Yuka Obayashi and Gavin MaguireEditing by David Goodman, Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)

(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.)
Oil prices jumped on Wednesday, heading near a previous seven-year high, after OPEC+ decided to stick to its planned output increase despite pressure from top consumers to raise production more quickly.

A source told Reuters that OPEC+ agreed to increase oil production by 400,000 bpd from March after a short meeting.

Brent crude was up $1.16 cents, or 1.3%, at $90.32 a barrel by 1303 GMT.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.28 to $89.48 a barrel.

Tight oil supplies and geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have boosted oil prices by about 15% this year. On Friday crude benchmarks hit their highest since October 2014, with Brent touching $91.70 and U.S. crude hitting $88.84.

"Bearish EIA statistics this afternoon might be used as an excuse for profit-taking. Unless the weather warms and Ukraine tensions are settled, oil should remain supported," said PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga, adding that cold weather in the United States should also support prices.

A major winter storm is expected to wallop much of the central United States and stretch to parts of the Northeast this week, bringing heavy snow, freezing rain, and ice, the National Weather Service said on Monday. The storm comes days after a deadly winter blast.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 28, against analysts' estimate of an increase of 1.5 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

But gasoline inventories rose by 5.8 million barrels, above analysts' expectations for a 1.6 million barrel build. The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, is due to release fresh weekly data later on Wednesday.[EIA/S]

Tensions between Russia and the West also underpinned crude prices. Russia, the world's second-largest oil producer, and the West have been at loggerheads over Ukraine, fanning fears that energy supplies to Europe could be disrupted.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of deliberately creating a scenario designed to lure it into war and ignoring Russia's security concerns over Ukraine.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Julia Payne; Editing by David Evans and David Goodman)

(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.)
dismissed criticism about the conduct of his government after further reports of parties in Downing Street during lockdown prompted renewed pressure within his ruling Conservative Party for him to resign.

The U.K. prime minister told the House of Commons on Wednesday that it was more vital than ever for the government to get on with the job -- pointing to a long-awaited plan to reduce economic inequality, and his efforts to help ease tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

But he faced fresh turmoil on Wednesday when Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons defense committee, joined rebels in submitting a letter to the influential 1922 committee calling for a vote of no-confidence in Johnsons leadership. That came hours after the premier returned from Kyiv after talks with the Ukrainian leadership.

The relentless flow of allegations of rule-breaking gatherings, dubbed Partygate by the U.K. media, has damaged Johnsons standing within his Conservative Party, and the danger for the prime minister is that enough of Ellwoods colleagues are also persuaded to submit letters. If the total reaches 54 -- or 15% of the partys MPs -- it will trigger a no-confidence vote in the premier.

So far about a dozen Tories have publicly either called for Johnson to go or said theyve written a letter. Tory MPs Andrew Mitchell, a former cabinet minister, and Peter Aldous also this week called on him to quit. But many others have said theyre reserving judgment until a police inquiry into 12 gatherings reaches its conclusion.

Distraction

Johnson faced multiple questions from opposition MPs at Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday over fresh allegations of parties during the lockdown. The Telegraph reported that he was seen heading up to his flat on Nov. 13, 2020, when a gathering was held which is now being investigated by the police. The Guardian said hed attended another boozy leaving do for staff in January 2021.

Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Partys Westminster leader, branded Johnson a dangerous distraction at home and a running joke on the stage. The premier said he could not comment on alleged gatherings while the Metropolitan Police was investigating.

The police probe into potential criminal offenses -- which could take weeks or even months --has delayed the publication of the full findings of a civil service inquiry by the senior official Sue Gray. Johnsons official spokesman Max Blain told reporters in a regular briefing Wednesday the prime minister had not yet been contacted by police for interview.

Grays final report and the police investigation will provide moments of danger for the prime minister and ensure the lockdown parties remain in the public eye.

In an attempt to shift the narrative, Johnsons government on Wednesday fleshed out his vision to level up Britain -- a key catchphrase in the Conservative Partys election-winning campaign of 2019 -- and said it would move many decision-making powers away from London and seek to boost pay and productivity in the U.K.s most deprived regions.

Key measures in the plan include creating more local mayors, a commitment to boost public investment outside the south-east of England and regenerate town centers, according to a statement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
President is sending about 2,000 troops from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland and this week and shifting roughly 1,000 Germany-based soldiers to Romania, a senior administration official said Wednesday. Biden has said he will not put American troops in to fight any Russian incursion, although the is supplying with weapons to defend itself. The military moves come amid stalled talks with over its military buildup at Ukraine's borders. And they underscore growing fears across Europe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to invade . Smaller countries on the alliance's eastern flank worry they could be next, although has said it has no intention of initiating conflict and is willing to continue diplomatic efforts. The administration official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military moves not yet announced. Biden had said recently that he intended to provide additional US forces to allies in Eastern Europe as reassurance of an American commitment as treaty allies. The Pentagon also has put about 8,500 US-based troops on higher alert for possible deployment to Europe as additional reassurance to allies. Leaked text hints at US- missile deal The could be willing to enter into an agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine, according to a leaked document published in a Spanish newspaper on Wednesday. The daily El Pais published two documents purported to be written replies from the and last week to Russia's proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe. In reference to the second document, NATO said that it never comments on alleged leaks. But the text closely reflects statements made to the media last week by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Ex-Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage remarked that Meghan Markle would be taking up politics from the money earned from Spotify and Netflix to fund a political career.

He sarcastically shot the discredited actress to royal wannabee, who could be the next AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). As the new darling of the hard-left, she'll be part of the questionable Democrats, but left politics would suit her.

Farage says Meghan Markle is next AOC

Farage spoke about the couple and what they were concerned about coronavirus misinformation. Others working on the platform have boycotted Spotify and removed content, compared to the two still opting to be part of the media streaming firm, reported the Express UK.

He thinks that is the case and uses the money to run for office like Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an avowed leftist.

On Sky News Australia, the host asked what he thought about Prince harry and the ex-actress. The host said they've come out and are a bit concerned about Joe Rogan, adding that others are also getting into the issue.

Farage said they are paid millions to make a podcast for Spotify but have only one episode for a podcast so far. He found the situation comical, remarking how the two are making it waves on the West Coast of America are even noticing them. He was aghast how the Harry and Meghan thing is even talked about, noted the World News.

Ex-Brexit Party leader stressed that Meghan Markle would not be able to keep those contracts, and others would be canceled in a matter of time.

Read Also: British Broadcaster Nigel Farage Not Happy With Joe Biden Ignoring Calls of Boris Johnson Amid Afghan Crisis

Markle will be announcing a run for the House or the Senate. Next thing, she'll be part of leftist American politics. They will get $30million from Spotify to fund a political career, mentioning that it will be her next move.

Meghan Markle's podcast on Spotify

The controversial couple had earlier made statements on Spotify about COVID-19 misinformation. It was due to Joe Rogan speaking on the subjects with coronavirus skeptics on his segment. Due to this, musicians are not allowing their albums on the streaming firm, like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.

A representative of the Sussexes stated that last April said the two are concerned over the alleged misinformation from the platform.

They are concerned that Spotify is not safely fending fake COVID-19 information. Adding that their concerns are relevant to the streaming giant, they want changes to deal with the pandemic. How it affects their podcast is in question.

A common goal is for the streaming platform to work together regarding their concern and do what is needed for the contract, citing News Deal.

Daniel Elk, the co-founder of Spotify, commented on a blog post in his response. He said there is an obligation to have balanced access to accepted information from all sources.

Joe Rogan is supposed to have not been accurate on the coronavirus information on his podcast. Recently the streaming firm published its rules on COVID-19 as well.

Farage is perplexed by how Meghan Markle wants to be part of leftist politics; since she expressed support for that component of the Dems.

Related Article: Former Brexit Leader Nigel Farage Critiques Joe Biden in Scathing Rant Referring to the US President's Missteps in Kabul

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UN Secretary-General on Tuesday condemned the latest launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile by as a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

confirmed the test-firing of the Hwasong-12 type missile on Sunday -- the latest in a series of its missile launches over the month and the first to draw the UN chief's condemnation this year, reported NHK World.

Guterres said in a statement released by his spokesperson that it is of great concern that has disregarded any consideration for an international flight or maritime safety.

He also urged the North to desist from taking any further counter-productive actions and called for all parties to seek a peaceful diplomatic solution, reported NHK World.

The UN Security Council held emergency meetings on January 10 and 20 to discuss how to respond to the launches by the North. But they failed to reach an agreement as China and Russia took a different position from Western nations.

North Korea tested seven missiles in the first four weeks of 2022. Those seven missile tests are believed to be a hypersonic glide vehicle -- potentially one of the most powerful weapons on the planet -- to an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), Pyongyang's longest-range missile tested since 2017 -- to cruise missiles, arms that powers like the US have had in their inventory for decades.

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The called for the UN Security Council to meet Thursday on North Korea's most recent test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of reaching Guam, its most significant launch in years that could target American territory.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Sunday's launch, saying it broke the North's announced moratorium on such launches and clearly violated Security Council resolutions, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

The UN chief urged to desist from taking any further counter-productive actions, expressing great concern that Pyongyang again disregarded any consideration for flight or maritime safety, Haq said Wednesday. Guterres also called for all parties to seek a peaceful diplomatic solution.

The State Department confirmed late Tuesday that the US Mission to the UN requested closed council consultations be held Thursday.

After Sunday's launch, White House officials said they saw the latest missile test as part of an escalating series of provocations over the last several months by that have become increasingly concerning and are aimed at winning relief from sanctions.

The Hwasong-12 missile launched Sunday was the most powerful missile has tested since 2017. That's when the country launched Hwasong-12 and longer-range missiles in a torrid run of weapons firings to acquire an ability to launch nuclear strikes on US military bases in Northeast Asia and the Pacific and even the American homeland.

In recent months, North Korea has launched a variety of weapons systems and threatened to lift the four-year moratorium on more serious weapons tests such as nuclear explosions and ICBM launches. Sunday's launch was the North's seventh round of missile launches in January alone, and other weapons tested recently include a developmental hypersonic missile and a submarine-launched missile.

The Security Council initially imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and made them tougher in response to further nuclear tests and the country's increasingly sophisticated nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

China and Russia, which border North Korea, circulated a draft resolution in November stressing the North's economic difficulties. They called for lifting sanctions that include 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.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country took over the Security Council presidency Wednesday for the month of February, told reporters earlier Tuesday that the draft remains before the council though some members consider that it is not yet timely.

The Biden administration again called on North Korea to return to long-stalled talks on its nuclear and missile programs after the latest launch, but made clear it doesn't at this time think it would be constructive to hold leader-to-leader meetings like those Donald Trump had with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Nebenzia told reporters that Russia has repeatedly and continuously called for resumption of negotiations between key parties on the North Korean nuclear issue.

Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, discussed Pyongyang's latest ballistic missile launch with the Japanese Foreign Ministry's director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs, Funakoshi Takehiro, and South Korean nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk during calls on Friday and Saturday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday.

Kim condemned the North's missile launches as violations of Security Council resolutions and destabilizing to the region, and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to the defense of South Korea and Japan, Price said.

He also underscored the United States' continued readiness to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy with North Korea to make tangible progress toward denuclearization, Price said.

The Security Council's last meeting on North Korea was a closed-door discussion Jan. 10 on the North's launch of what Pyongyang characterized as a hypersonic missile five days earlier.

There was no action by the 15-member council, but the and five allies urged North Korea to abandon its prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programs. They also called on the Security Council to oppose Pyongyang's ongoing, destabilizing and unlawful actions, including missile launches.

(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.)
Alembic Pharmaceuticals rose 1.12% to Rs 770.65 after the company announced the receipt of US FDA tentative approval for Fesoterodine Fumarate extended-release tablets.

The drug maker said that it has received tentative approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (US FDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Fesoterodine Fumarate extended-release tablet.

The tentatively approved ANDA is therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD) Toviaz extended-release tablets of Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer).

Fesoterodine Fumarate extended-release tablets are indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) in adults with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and frequency. It may not be indicated for certain other uses due to unexpired exclusivities for the RLD for such uses.

Fesoterodine Furnarate extended-release tablets have an estimated marketsize of US$ 225 million for twelve months ending September 2021 according to IQVIA.

Alembic has received year-to-date (YTD) 20 approvals (14 final approvals and 6 tentative approvals) and a cumulative total of 159 ANDA approvals (137 final approvals arid 22 tentative approvals) from US FDA.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals is a vertically integrated research and development pharmaceutical company. It manufactures and markets generic pharmaceutical products all over the world.

On a consolidated basis, the drug maker's net profit dropped 49.22% to Rs 169.29 crore on 11.31% decline in sales to Rs 1,292.32 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21.

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Responding to the budget proposals, Mr T V Narendran, President CII, applauded the Hon'ble Finance Minister for recognizing the need for public investment to crowd in private investment and for setting the virtuous cycle of demand, investments, and jobs in motion. The proposed 35.4 per cent increase in the allocation for capital expenditure on top of the last year's increase of 34.5 per cent, is a booster shot for the economy. It will pump prime demand and private investment and create jobs; said Mr T V Narendran. In absolute terms the budgeted capital expenditure has increased from Rs 4 lakh crores in FY21 to Rs 7.5 lakh crores in FY23.

The capex push has been balanced well with fiscal consolidation, with fiscal deficit for FY 23 pegged at 6.4 per cent, he commendable. This is in line with the economic strategy of higher capex along with a gradual glide path for fiscal consolidation, as suggested by CII in its pre - budget suggestions to the Government. The capex push is not only limited to the spending by Union Government, but the budget also proposes to support State Governments in their capital expenditure. The allocation for the 'Scheme for Financial Assistance to States for Capital Investment' has been increased to Rs 1 lakh crores as against Rs 15,000 crores spent on the scheme this year. The scheme provides fifty-year interest free loans to states for capital expenditure.

The increase in public expenditure will not only help speed up infrastructure development, create demand and shore up economic growth but would create the much-needed jobs and provide the requisite impetus to our development journey. The budget proposals cater to multiple important dimensions of the Indian economy. It takes forward the thrust on infrastructure through the Gati Shakti interventions, which will boost the overall competitiveness of the Indian economy and create jobs.

It takes forward the thrust on manufacturing through interventions like the Ease of Doing Business 2.0, with trust as the basis for government business interface, and extending the 15 per cent corporate tax rate to manufacturing units coming into production by 31 March 2023, from the earlier 31 March 2022. The budget provides boost to startups, the engines of innovation, job creation and social impact. Climate Change action and sustainability have received significant attention, in line with the Hon'ble Prime Minister's commitments at COP26. The additional allocation of R 19,500 crores for the Production Linked Incentive for manufacture of high efficiency modules will help India achieve the ambitious target of 280 GW of solar capacity by 2030.

The budget has also extended support to the pandemic hit MSMEs, through the extension of the ECLGS upto March 2023 and an additional allocation of Rs 50,000 crores taking the total allocation to Rs 5 lakh crores. The tax proposals in the Union Budget have focused on stability and predictability, which is very important for nurturing the incipient revival in the private capex cycle. The higher gross GST collections for the month of January 2022 at Rs 1,40,986 crores which is the highest since the inception of GST is an indicator of the industry coming to a fast track, added Mr Narendran.

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SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 115 points at the opening bell.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading higher on Wednesday, with multiple major markets in Asia remaining closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are closed on Wednesday for the Lunar New Year holidays.

US stocks rose for a third day Tuesday, as Wall Street tried to recover its footing after a wild January. Bank stocks led the market higher.

On the macro front, the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index came in at 57.6 for January, down 1.2 points from December. The data also showed that prices jumped by 7.9 points to 76.1 month over month.

Domestic markets:

Back home, the main indices ended a volatile session with robust gains on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 848.40 points or 1.46% to 58,862.57. The Nifty 50 index advanced 237 points or 1.37% to 17,576.85.

Investors cheered the union budget 2022-23 with its higher capital expenditure and thrust on infra. The government's focus on boosting manufacturing as well as an underlined emphasis on areas such as startups, modern mobility and clean energy, boosted investors sentiment.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 21.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,597.70 crore in the Indian equity market on 1 February, provisional data showed.

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was re-elected the chairperson on Wednesday, urged party leaders to put up a united fight against the BJP and warned against infighting.

Banerjee's message to party leaders came amid differences between the generation next leaders and a section of the old guard.

"I want all my party leaders and workers to promise they will not fight among themselves. Infighting will not be tolerated....groups within the party will not be tolerated. There are no different groups in TMC, the party is one united group.

"The party has to fight hard to win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the next polls in Bengal. We have to take along everybody," she said after being re-elected.

The TMC, she underscored, is synonymous with "struggle", which it has done since its inception in 1998.

In a sign of strife in the state's ruling party, veteran and MP Kalyan Banerjee had said he doesn't consider anyone else but his leader. He had also criticised national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee over some suggestions he made about tackling COVID-19.

Abhishek, the Lok Sabha MP from Diamond harbour, is a nephew of . He has fast emerged as the unofficial No. 2 in the party, which apparently has not gone down well with some senior leaders.

Suvendu Adhikari, now with the BJP and currently holding the position of the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, had quit the TMC as he felt marginalised in the party due to the growing clout of Abhishek Banerjee.

Abhishek Banerjee had, however, sought to downplay Kalyan Banerjee's veiled attack on him on the leadership issue, stating that both of them agreed to the fact that is their undisputed leader.

Following the controversy, Banerjee had directed all TMC leaders not to embarrass the party by airing their differences in public.

The Trinamool Congress held its organisational elections after a gap of five years.

According to TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, Banerjee was declared elected without a contest as no other leader entered the fray.

"A total of 48 proposers and seconders had submitted nominations in favour of Mamata Banerjee. As there was no other nomination for the post of chairperson, Mamata Banerjee has been re-elected unopposed," Chatterjee, the returning officer for the organisational polls, said.

Mamata Banerjee had founded the party in 1998 after breaking away from the Congress and has headed it ever since.

After two unsuccessful attempts at the hustings in the 2001 and 2006 assembly polls, the party came to power in 2011, defeating the mighty Left Front regime, riding the crest of massive public outrage against the Communists over a raft of issues including alleged forcible acquisition of farmland for industrialisation.

It stormed to power for the third consecutive term in May last year after bagging 213 out of the 294 seats in the state assembly.

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Union Power Minister said the Budget 2022-23 has everything that is required for energy transition, including a provision for additional Rs 19,500 crore to boost domestic solar equipment manufacturing by up to 45 gigawatts (GW).

In the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman provided additional Rs 19,500 crore for the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for solar cells and modules manufacturing domestically.

This will raise the existing PLI scheme for solar equipment from Rs 4,500 crore to Rs 24,000 crore, which will translate into creating an additional manufacturing capacity of up to 45 GW in the country.

"Whatever was required for energy transition has been provided in this Budget (presented on Tuesday). We have a challenge of energy transition before us. The energy transition is necessary to deal with climate change," the minister said.

He added that the government has to move towards lower energy sources which cause either lower emissions or none at all.

"We need to do two things. First, we need to produce solar equipment here (in India) which is imported. The government has provided additional Rs 19,500 crore for PLI for solar manufacturing," Singh said.

He also stated that PLI is a big scheme and helps to create a production capacity of 40 GW to 45 GW of solar equipment here in India, which ranges from polysilicon to modules.

In her Budget Speech, Sitharaman said that to facilitate domestic manufacturing for the ambitious goal of 280-GW installed solar capacity by 2030, an additional allocation of Rs 19,500 crore for the PLI scheme will be made.

In April 2021, the Union Cabinet approved a Rs 4,500-crore PLI scheme to boost the domestic manufacturing capacity of solar PV modules.

When the scheme was approved in April 2021, it was aimed at adding a 10,000-megawatt (MW) manufacturing capacity of integrated solar PV modules, entailing a direct investment of Rs 17,200 crore at present.

About raising import duty on solar modules from 20 per cent to 40 per cent, Singh stated that "we will use made-in-India solar modules and, therefore, 40 per cent customs duty will be imposed from April 1, 2022".

The Budget document has also proposed to raise import duty on solar cells to 25 per cent from 20 per cent from April 1, 2022.

The minister also said, "(The) government has also provided for green bonds for investment in clean energy projects like green hydrogen".

Sitharaman also proposed that as part of the government's overall market borrowings in 2022-23, sovereign green bonds will be issued for mobilising resources for green infrastructure.

The proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects, which helps in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.

She also talked about co-firing five to seven per cent biomass pellets in thermal power plants, resulting in CO2 savings of 38 MMT (million metric tonnes) annually.

Regarding giving the infrastructure status to battery energy storage systems, Singh stated that this will improve the credit facility for big projects.

The Budget has proposed that energy storage systems, including dense charging infrastructure and grid-scale battery systems, will be included in the harmonised list of infrastructure. This will facilitate credit availability for clean energy storage.

Singh said the government will also bring out a battery-swapping policy and make green mobility zones.

He added that there could be such zones in overcrowded areas like Connaught Place or Sarojini Nagar.

The minister also lauded the provision of blending of biomass pellets with fuel in thermal power plants.

Jakson Solar Chief Operating Officer Anurag Garg said, "An additional allocation of Rs 19,500 crore for PLI for the manufacturing of high-efficiency modules with a priority to fully integrate manufacturing units from polysilicon to solar PV modules is a welcome move for the sector."



He added that it will give further impetus to investments in India, generate more employment and pave the way for an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

(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 industry experts have expressed mixed reactions to the Union .

Some experts have welcomed the provision for National Digital Health Ecosystem in the post vaccination first budget while some have opined that other essential services have been ignored.

K. Sujatha Rao, former secretary, Health Ministry, termed the budget "disappointing" for health and education. She tweeted, "A disappointing budget 4 health & education. Need to remember that roads and ports don't make sense if people are illiterate and sick! And such disdain for these human capability sectors after the trauma we have faced due to a poor health system is simply being irresponsible".

Meanwhile, Sudarahan Jain, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceuticals Association, said that this is India's first post vaccination budget and the policy consistency is maintained. The planned increase in capital expenditure is likely to boost economic growth and employment, he added.

"There is a thrust on macro areas like digital, VC-ecosystem, ease of doing business and supportive measures for R&D and industry-academia collaboration with Pharma included in the Sunrise sectors. The extension time limit for the commencement of business to claim benefits of concessional tax regime for manufacturing companies has been extended by a year to 31 March 2024. This will support the investment in pharma manufacturing. Details are being examined and the implementation will be key going forward," said Jain.

"The budget has not addressed many of the issues highlighted by large parts of the industry like streamlining of GST and reduction of Customs Duty. The rolling back of the health cess is other demand which will help us preserve jobs which are instrumental in making the workers become patient ready", said Pavan Choudary, Chairman, Medical Technology Association of India.

Choudary added that some demands have not been accepted, but still budget is reflective of the realisation that healthcare is a vital sector. The focus on Gati-Shakti will bolster infrastructure and increase overall competitiveness of the industry and is therefore most welcome.

Satyender Goel, Founder & CEO, India Health Link, said that the National Digital Health Ecosystem in the age of digitation and rollout of 5G technology would make healthcare accessible to the needs of over 1.4 billion population in India.

"The digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities provided under the National Digital Health Ecosystem will provide access to healthcare digitally in the remotest of areas," he added.

--IANS

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The (ICSI) has applauded the Union and said its focus on productivity, climate action, financing investment and the PM Gati Shakti plan is aimed at promoting growth and sustainability.

"It is a very progressive Budget aiming at inclusive development through incentivising MSME sector and start-ups. It proposes to strengthen the digital payment ecosystem, which will have a positive impact on the ease of doing business and will promote FDI as well," ICSI President Devendra V Deshpande said.

He added that besides this, the introduction of a Digital Currency is a forward-looking step and will place India at the international platform in this arena.

Separately, ICAI in a statement said the Budget is "forward-looking" and added that the proposal to tax virtual digital assets at 30 per cent provides certainty.

"A proposal aimed at promoting voluntary tax compliance and reduce litigation is the introduction of an enabling provision permitting the filing of an updated return i.e. revised within two years from the end of the relevant assessment year, on payment of an amount equal to 25 per cent/ 50 per cent as additional tax on the tax and interest due on the additional income.

"This proposal serves the dual purpose of revenue mobilisation and reducing litigation," it said.

On proposals with respect to indirect taxes, it said the proposals are in tandem with the government's endeavour of overcoming the challenges in GST compliance processes and bolstering the ease of doing business.

Also, the proposal to cap the tax at 15 per cent on the rate of surcharge on long-term capital gains arising on transfer of any type of assets is aimed at providing relief to the taxpayers.

(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.)
Tonga residents face another struggle as the Pacific island nation enters lockdown after recording two local cases of the coronavirus in the aftermath of two environmental disasters.

Authorities reported that there were two positive cases recorded among frontline workers at a port in the capital Nuku'alofa. The area is where officials continue to provide aid in support of recovery efforts. Tonga Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni announced the news during a press conference.

Tonga Enters Lockdown

The archipelago was one of only a small number of countries that did not report a single COVID-19 infection due to immediately closing its borders in March 2020. But in November 2021, a traveler who came from New Zealand was found positive for the virus and was later picked up in the country's quarantine hotel system. The incident also caused the region to enter lockdown to contain the infection.

On Tuesday, Tonga health minister Saia Piukala said that the two reported cases, who were both males, showed no symptoms of the infection. The official added that the infected were found following increased testing of frontline workers at the port, as per CNN.

Sovaleni said that the lockdown would Start from 6:00 p.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Wednesday. The official noted that authorities will continue to monitor the situation and review the lockdown every 48 hours.

Read Also: Brazil Ravaged by Destructive Floods Amid Heavy Rains; 20 People Dead, Thousands Displaced

The prime minister said that the most pressing issue at the moment was to slow down the spread of the infection and mitigate the number of people exposed to the individuals. Sovaleni also announced that no boat will be allowed to travel from one island to another and that all domestic flights will be grounded.

BBC reported that the small remote island suffered a devastating volcanic eruption weeks earlier that triggered a tsunami that flooded the region. Tonga authorities heavily relied on foreign humanitarian aid that countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, led in bringing supplies of fresh drinking water, shelter kits, and rescue equipment.

Environmental Disasters

Authorities were unsure whether or not the new COVID-19 cases were connected to the Australian Navy ship, the H.M.A.S. Adelaide, which was stranded at Nuku'alofa last week. The Australian government previously reported that among the crew of the vessel, 23 people tested positive for the coronavirus and were forced to isolate themselves.

A United Nations spokesman said that Adelaide docked at the port to deliver aid and machines were unloading cargo at the time. Tonga's lockdown involves schools shutting down and mass gatherings and travel being banned across the region's 169 islands.

The previous natural disasters, the volcanic eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano and subsequent tsunami with up to 50-foot waves, affected several islands. The eruption also damaged the region's only fiber optic cable. This has caused many residents to lose access to the internet and officials expected that repairs would take weeks to finish. This has caused concerns among the country's people as they struggle to recover from the devastation of the subsequent disasters, according to the New York Times.



Related Article: Pittsburgh Bridge Collapsed On Biden's Infrastructure Visit, 10 Injured; Human Chain Helps Rescuers

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Senior Congress leader and MP, Shashi Tharoor, who had earlier courted controversy for adopting a supportive stand for the LDF government's mammoth Silver Line rail corridor project in Kerala, has opined that the announcement on the launch of 400 services in three years could be an alternative for the multi-crore semi high speed initiative.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP tweeted that one interesting element for in the 2022 was the announcement of 400 new Vande Bharat trains, which can travel at 180 kmph.

Whether the Centre and the state government could see the Vande Bharat trains as a "cheaper and more energy-efficient substitute" for the Silver Line? he asked. He also said it could address Chief Minister's Pinarayi Vijayan's concern for speedy train travel to promote development and alleviate the concerns of his own party, Congress's concerns about land acquisition and environmental impact.

"Bringing #VandeBharat trains to could address @vijayanpinarayi's concern for speedy train travel to promote development, & alleviate @INCKerala 's concerns about land acquisition & environmental impact. GOI & GOK should discuss a win-win outcome in the interests of the state," Tharoor further tweeted. He later told reporters that he was not sure whether the budget announcement of the services would materialise, but the state and central governments should discuss its possibilities and thus end the ongoing controversy regarding the project. Pointing out that the Centre's nod for the Silver Line project was still pending, Tharoor also said not controversy but development is what everyone needed for the state. Vijayan on Tuesday slammed the Centre for not including in the the southern state's proposal for building the semi-high speed railway line for which his government has already initiated steps for acquiring land.

State Finance Minister K N Balagopal also criticised the Centre for not considering the state's demand for budgetary allocation for the project.

He said the state government initiated the project with a hope that the Centre will provide necessary support to transform the transport system of the state as per the needs of modern times.

However, the Opposition Congress and the BJP welcomed the Centre's decision and urged the state government to withdraw from the project citing the budget announcement of the launching of 400 services in three years. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, V D Satheesan, urged the state government to withdraw from the SilverLine project as the Centre's semi-high speed Vande Bharat train services will connect India's every corner including .

He said the Vande Bharat project to be implemented by the Indian Railway has features similar to the SilverLine project of the state government and the operational speed of the Vande Bharat train is also 160 to 180 km/hr.

The SilverLine project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is being opposed by the opposition Congress-led UDF, which has been alleging that it was "unscientific and impractical" and will put a huge financial burden on the state.

The 540 kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod would be developed by K-Rail, a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry for developing railway infrastructure in the southern state.

Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.

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QuEST Global, a global Product Engineering Services company, announced the top 10 finalists of its engineering innovation contest 'Ingenium', an initiative aimed at fostering innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset amongst engineering students.

Through Ingenium, QuEST provides a platform for the young talent to apply their engineering skills to solve real world problems.

For the past 10 years, Ingenium has successfully identified and influenced the lives of many talented engineering students in India by helping them live their dream before a forum of like-minded tech enthusiasts.

The contest, available for students across the nation, focuses on aligning the needs of industry with that of the academic institutes by establishing the industry-academia connect and helping build "industry-ready" professionals. The solutions provided by the shortlisted projects showcase innovative solutions that advance the way we live, work, travel and engage.

QuEST is dedicating industry experts to mentor the ten finalists to help them improve their ideas and work towards the finale. The finalists include teams from P.E.S. Institute of Technology (PESIT), MVJ College of Engineering (MVJCE), CMR Institute of Technology, P. E. S. College of Engineering (PESCE), and PES University in Karnataka.

They also include teams from Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering & Technology, and Amal Jyothi College of Engineering (AJCE) from Kerala; along with Jayawantrao Sawant College of Engineering, Bennett University, and Vel Tech University from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu respectively. The winners of Ingenium will be announced in a virtual ceremony on February 11, 2022 at 5:15pm.

Speaking on the announcement Srikanth Naik, Global Head - Delivery, QuEST Global said, "QuEST is driving the future of engineering by converging digital, electronics and mechanical engineering services to build a safer and smarter world. We know that the future depends on these capable young engineers of tomorrow and we are proud to support them. QuEST Ingenium is a wonderful example of industry-academia collaboration that is fueling innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset. At QuEST, investment in people is part of our culture and we are happy to share this spirit more broadly through the Ingenium program. I look forward to seeing the great work of these teams as they progress through the competition."

Ingenium is closely aligned with QuEST's belief in fostering a culture of innovation and imbibing an entrepreneurial mindset amongst engineers. The platform successfully utilizes QuEST's engineering expertise to bridge the industry-academia gap and create a pool of skilled workforce that will help in bridging the skill gap faced by the industry.

For nearly 25 years, QuEST Global has been a trusted global product engineering and lifecycle services partner to many of the world's most recognized companies in the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, Healthcare and Medical Devices, Rail and Semiconductor industries. With a presence in 13 countries, 54 global delivery centers and 11,500+ personnel, QuEST Global is at the forefront of the convergence of the mechanical, electronics, software and digital engineering innovations to engineer solutions for a safer, cleaner and sustainable world.

QuEST Global's deep domain knowledge and digital expertise help its clients accelerate product development and innovation cycles, create alternate revenue streams, enhance consumer experience and make manufacturing processes and operations more efficient.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.

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The government on Friday appointed 59-year-old V Ananth Nageswaran as the Chief Economic Adviser, a post which was lying vacant for the last over one month after incumbent Krishnamurthy Subramanian quit and returned to academia. Subramanian announced his decision on October 8 last year, just before the budgetary exercise for FY23 was to begin. And he demitted the office on December 17, 2021. After about four months of hunting, the government last Friday announced the name of 59-year-old V Ananth Nageswaran for the top post. An IIM graduate and former member of Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council, Nageswaran has hit the ground running. Although he wasnt part of the budget making exercise and didnt author the Economic Survey, he was seen answering questions during the customary post-Economic Survey media briefing on Monday. In his first public appearance as the CEA, Nageswaran said the growth projections in the Economic Survey were conservative and the assumption that crude oil prices will average at $70-$75 a barrel through the year is realistic. Nageswaran is a man of many facets. He is a writer, author, professor, macroeconomist and a consultant. After completing his schooling and undergraduate degree in Tamil Nadus Madurai, he earned a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the countrys top-ranked business school IIM Ahmedabad in 1985. For the next five years, he worked as a Deputy Manager at Chennai Petroleum Corporation. In 1995, he obtained a PhD in Finance from the University of Massachusetts, where his dissertation was on 'Empirical Behaviour of Exchange Rates'. His post-doctoral corporate career spanned seventeen years from 1994 to 2011 across Switzerland and Singapore. During this period, he has been a Currency Economist at UBS and head of Research and Investment Consulting in Credit Suisse Private Banking in Asia, and Head of Asia Research and Global Chief Investment Officer at Julius Baer. Nageswaran took to consulting, writing and teaching from July 2011. He has taught at several business schools and institutes of management in India and in Singapore. Currently, he is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Krea Universitys IFMR Graduate School of Business, where he was also a Dean for a short while.

In October 2019, he was appointed as a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister for a period of two years.

He has co-authored four books - The Rise of Finance  Causes, Consequences and Cures, Derivatives, Can India Grow?, The Economics of Derivatives. He serves as Independent Director on the boards of Sundaram Fasteners, TVS Tyres and Delphi-TVS. He helped co-found the Takshashila Institution, an independent centre for research and education in public policy

Nageswaran has been writing columns commenting on economic developments for 15 years. In his articles, he had criticised demonetisation but later also spoke on the effects it had in aiding formalisation.

Last year, he advocated for a one-time additional tax on corporates and before the farm laws were repealed he wrote that policymakers should have wider consultations

Economist Rathin Roy, the managing director of Overseas Development Institute and a former member of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM described Nageswaran as an accomplished policy professional who will bring much needed expertise back to the finance ministry.

Nageswaran has taken charge at a time when household consumption continues to be stressed and job creation remains a concern. His expertise across a range of matters will help him in advising the finance minister on these challenges. And we can see the results from his primary responsibility of drafting the Economic Survey next year.

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Children four years old and under could be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech after the companies announced on Tuesday they were seeking emergency use authorization for their treatment.

The news comes as a positive thing for many parents who have been eager to have their young kids vaccinated against the coronavirus infection. However, it also raises concerns regarding personal freedom among guardians who are against vaccinations.

COVID-19 Vaccine for Children

The announcement came much sooner than the companies expected and could make more than 19 million children in the United States eligible for the jabs. The situation comes as the country faces a continued rise in pediatric coronavirus cases.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, officials have tallied more than 10 million children in the country testing positive for the illness. Roughly 1.6 million of the cases are among kids aged younger than four.

The vaccines could offer parents a chance to return to a level of normalcy amid the Omicron surge while they are concerned about the impacts of the virus on their families. Pfizer chairman and chief executive Albert Bourla said that the pharmaceutical company believes it would likely recommend three doses to be able to provide complete protection against the virus. However, if the vaccine is authorized, a two-dose regimen can potentially ease parents' worries, as per the Washington Post.

Read Also: Tonga Enters Lockdown After Suffering From Volcanic Eruption, Tsunami

The two companies said that they have already initiated a rolling submission of data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as per the agency's request. Authorities expect that they can complete the EUA submission in the following days. They added that they would soon submit clinical data to the European Medicines Agency and other agencies worldwide.

The FDA's vaccine advisory committee is scheduled to meet on Feb. 15 to discuss the issue at hand. A member of the committee, Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said that the two main factors were safety and effectiveness.

Trial Results

The official added that the confidence of the American public in the vaccines depended heavily on these two factors. He said that the pharmaceutical companies should be recommending something that they would be willing to give their children. CNN reported that Offit and his team would base their decision on available data.

The situation comes as the highly transmissible Omicron variant has resulted in a record number of infections throughout the nation. It also comes after the companies received disappointing results announced in December. The data prompted officials to test a third low dose of the shot in the age group.

Government officials argued that two doses of the pharmaceutical company's vaccine were proven safe despite not providing an immune response in the whole age group. It was revealed that children involved in the trials received one-tenth of the adult dose.

Some officials reasoned that if children can already get an initial injection this month, they could be ready for a third dose once researchers achieve desired results from their tests. The first two shots of the vaccine will be given a three-week gap, while the third dose will be given two months after the second shot, the New York Times reported.

Related Article: COVID-19 Omicron Variant Warning: WHO Chief Warns Global 'Increase in Deaths,' US Death Toll on the Rise

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Several Royal Navy vessels shadowed Russian ships in the English Channel as they steamed forward. The ships passed by last night amidst concern over Russia at several points in Ukraine. Identified were the RFS Marhsall Ustinov and RFS Adml Kulakov that transited with the HMS Kent and HMS Mersey not far behind.

Russian ships cross the English Channel

The destination of these warships is said to be the Black Sea as extra units to allegedly attack Ukraine, reported the Express UK.

Russian sources have announced that they are going to have drills which are about 240 km towards the South Western part of Ireland, from the third to the 8th of February.

Originating from the Baltic Sea a day ago, followed by another three days before noted the Drive. Over the past few days, many Russian maritime vessels were followed by EU units.

Three of the ship were escorted in international waters by several units; a helicopter and a vessel from the Royal Netherlands Navy. During their passage in the Channel.

Escorts changed when Belgian and British forces took charge of the non-NATO ships at the Channel. One French ship took part in escorting the Russian vessels en route.

Caution for NATO

Crossing of the Russian ships in NATO territory was influenced by the event on the Ukraine border, touted by President Joe Biden as a prelude to invasion.

According to the Daily Mirror, a Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesperson verified that it was a regular thing to do by the UK Navy. Both the allies and the Royal Navy would monitor if there were Russian warships in the English Channel and see them out.

Read Also: Russian Navy Live-Fire Drills in the Baltic Sea Causes NATO To Shudder, Adds Tension To Western Provocation

As a precaution against Russian aggression, there are 4,000 troops in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland. They have tanks and aerial assets with intel surveillance units as preventive measures.

About 8,500 US troops were ready for an alleged Russian invasion in Eastern Europe, as the fearmonger Biden administration claimed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the US and NATO it is violating the security of Russia's borders by using Ukraine as a tool.

He called Biden a warmonger who has authored with the allies for provocation of Russia. He said Washington wants to bring the world to the brink of war by causing all sorts of actions for the Kremlin to act.

Speaking at a news conference held with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Putin said that Joe Biden instigates another conflict, and Ukraine is used as a tool.

The Russian leader said that the US is trying to do this in many ways, like drawing in allies to help them. Even sanctions directed against Russia.

Insinuated what if Ukraine is a NATO member and the west invades Russia. He added should Moscow give orders to attack. Highlighting a scenario that the failed Biden administration wants. Causing fighting that no one wants. For that reason, he opposes NATO allowing Kyiv into the alliance.

Russia has demanded that NATO promise to block Ukraine's entry into the alliance. The US intends to prove an attack will happen, and one senior State Department official said the Russians should pull back.

Between the US and the UK, they are pushing for a conflict. Russian vessels passed peacefully in the English Channel, not coming in with guns blazing.

Related Article: China Joins Russian Naval Forces in the Arabian Sea Drills Causing Brussels and Washington Jitters Over the Show of Force

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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, 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Country

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Country

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Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
A new TikTok trend allows people to have smoother skin using Vaseline. However, an expert said that there are numerous drawbacks for this beauty hack including clogged pores, and breakouts.

TikTok Vaseline Trend: What is Slugging Skincare?

TikTok is a popular social networking software that allows users to record, watch, and share 15-second videos using their smartphones. The app is known for its addictive appeal and high levels of engagement, thanks to its tailored feeds of humorous short films set to music and sound effects, per Investopedia.

Amateur and professional artists alike can use filters, background music, and stickers to enhance their films, as well as collaborate on content and make split-screen duet videos from various locations.

To make the best out of it, several users have been creating different challenges for everyone.

To further emphasize, a LinkedIn user added that a TikTok challenge is a call to action in which a user or account encourages other users to perform an action that they then video and publish on TikTok. These challenges frequently involve a specific song, audio clip, hashtag, movie quotations, and so on.

Additionally, TikTok has supplied its users with a variety of useful beauty recommendations. For instance, a new TikTok trend called Slugging, a Korean skincare obsession, has been popular on the app for a while now.

Slugging is a South Korean K-Beauty trend. The said beauty trend involves applying an occlusive petrolatum material to the face - most commonly Vaseline - to lock in moisture and reduce transepidermal water loss, which is a primary cause of dry skin, per The Sun.

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Prevention.com explained that applying an occlusive layer like Vaseline to prevent moisture loss is only effective if you have excessively dry skin or a weakened barrier on your face.

Moreover, the word originated from the idea that after applying petroleum jelly, your face will appear glossy and slimy, comparable to what a slug would leave behind.

Is The TikTok Vaseline Trend Beneficial or A Dangerous Hack?

Aesthetic doctor and founder of Skin Science Clinic Dr. Adil Sarwar explained that many people claim that their skin is noticeably smoother and more radiant when they wake up in the morning, per Refinery29.

Dr. Sarwar added that this is due to the fact that petroleum jelly is not absorbed into the deeper layers of the skin. Instead, petroleum jelly functions as a barrier on the surface, keeping debris out and preventing moisture loss.

Despite the benefit that numerous people claims, Refinery 29 also noted that there are a number of drawbacks to the skincare craze, particularly if you're prone to breakouts, whether whiteheads, blackheads, or under-the-skin areas.

In addition to this, Dr. Sarwar stated that while slugging may bring immediate gratification in the form of softened skin, the doctor believes that if just petroleum jelly is used to hydrate the skin, pores will become blocked over time, and the skin will lose moisture in the long run.

This only means that using a moisturizer is preferable than Vaseline.

If you have a skin problem, Dr. Sarwar recommends avoiding slugging altogether before stocking up on Vaseline. He notably mentions acne and rosacea, stating that adding any extra cosmetics could irritate the skin even more.



Related Article: [RUMOR] TikTok Brings Back 'Who Viewed Your Profile' Function; How to Check User Engagement
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Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to the media during a joint news conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban following their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. Putin says the U.S. and its allies have ignored Russia's top security demands. In his first comments on the standoff with the West over Ukraine in more than a month, Putin said Tuesday that the Kremlin is still studying the U.S. and NATO's response to the Russian security demands received last week. (Yuri Kochetkov/Pool Photo via AP)
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The Carter Center will train fellows on effective mental health reporting and support them as they report on a mental health topic of their choice.

Upcoming Event:

March 16, 1 p.m. ET | Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowship Information Session

ATLANTA  The Carter Center is pleased to announce that applications for journalists who are U.S. citizens and residents are now being accepted for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. Selected fellows will join a top-notch cohort of more than 225 fellows awarded over the past two decades.

The yearlong, nonresidential fellowships aim to equip journalists with resources to produce compelling and balanced reporting on mental health and substance use issues and to develop a diverse cohort of journalists who can effectively report on the topics across evolving and emerging platforms.

The application for the 2022-2023 Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism is available at cartercenter.org/mhjfellows.

Applications must be completed and submitted online. The deadline is Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Fellows will be announced in July on the Center's website. The 2022-2023 fellowship year begins in September 2022. See other important dates and deadlines here.

Too often we only hear about mental health in the news following a crisis or tragic event. Yet every day, millions of Americans living with these illnesses go to work, care for their children, and contribute to their communities, said former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter. They are valuable members of society, and their stories deserve to be told.

Each U.S. fellow is awarded a $10,000 stipend, intensive training on behavioral health reporting, and networking opportunities with advisors and other fellows.

Fellows from across mediums pursue a range of innovative journalism projects that tackle some of societys biggest behavioral health challenges and seek to drive change in their communities and help reduce stigma through storytelling.

Fellows are selected by a committee of current and former journalists, mental health experts, and the Fellowship Advisory Board, with an emphasis on diversity across ethnicity, geography, mediums, and the communities their fellowship projects will cover.

Shedding light on underreported issues and driving change

Fellows undertake timely projects that have a significant impact on their communities regarding mental health and substance use issues. In the past, projects have affected effected changes in services and public policies. Previous projects have investigated problems with psychiatric housing in hospitals that eventually led to a state Supreme Court ruling; inspired policymakers in a major American city to allocate millions of dollars to address homelessness; and exposed the complex and devastating mental health and substance use challenges faced by returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Fellowship projects have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. They also have earned Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and awards from the Association of Health Care Journalists, Public Radio News Directors Inc., the American Psychiatric Association, Mental Health America, and the National Alliance for Mental Illness.

The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism are part of the Carter Center's Mental Health Program, which works around the world to improve access to mental health care and reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses. The program is committed to providing journalists with the tools they need to report on behavioral health and distributes a Journalism Resource Guide on Behavioral Health so journalists can accurately cover stories that include behavioral health. Fellows reporting is curated on @CarterFellows on Twitter.

For more details on how to apply, read here and review our frequently asked questions. For additional inquiries not covered in the FAQs, please email carterfellows@cartercenter.org.

Contact: Rennie Sloan, rennie.sloan@cartercenter.org +1-404-420-5129

###

About The Carter Center

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
At Ghibli, each directed his own features more or less independently of the other. While Miyazaki forged the studios house style with blockbusters like Kikis Delivery Service (1989) and Spirited Away (2001), Takahata released a more disparate set of films that were often formally experimental. While not all box-office hits, they depict social relations with a nuance and depth rare in animation, earning the director critical acclaim.

Takahata is best known in the U.S. for his five Ghibli films, which range from the searing World War II drama Grave of the Fireflies (1988) to his rapturous folkloric swansong The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013). They will all play at the Academy Museum, as will several key early collaborations with Miyazaki: Takahatas debut feature The Great Adventures of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968), and his theatrical specials Panda! Go Panda! (1972) and Panda! Go Panda! The Rainy Day Circus (1973).

Takahata Rarities

Of greater interest to hardcore fans are the screenings of Takahatas other features, which have never received a home release in the U.S. Chie the Brat (1981) is a ribald comedy set in the Osaka demi-monde, while Gauche the Cellist (1982) is a warm, quirky adaptation of a Kenji Miyazawa story about a musician trying to learn Beethovens Pastoral Symphony.

Then there is the The Story of Yanagawa Waterways (1987), the directors only venture into live action. A slow-burning study of the titular citys canals and the efforts of locals to preserve them, the documentary is Takahatas most meditative work  and his most pedantic. Animated inserts depict the ins and outs of canal engineering.

Long overshadowed by Miyazaki, Takahata once again plays second fiddle at the Academy Museum, which has devoted a full-blown exhibition to the former (it runs until June 5). Admittedly, Miyazaki won an Oscar (for Spirited Away), whereas his colleague only ever managed a nomination (for Kaguya).

But Takahatas remarkable six-decade career deserves more. Sure enough, since his death in 2018, his work has been made the subject of a magisterial exhibition in Japan. Heres hoping something like it comes Stateside soon.

For details of the retrospective, head to the Academy Museums website.

Image at top: My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
Surprise, surprise. (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau tested positive for Covid, just two days after he tested negative.

Despite that, he said he felt fine, so he obviously didn't have Covid or he'd feel like crap. Nevertheless it gave him a bona fide excuse not to meet the truckers. Instead, he was been taken to a safe place, from which he told us he will not be intimidated.

I'm sure he feels very brave sitting in his bunker somewhere in Ontario, surrounded by his security detail.

The reality is Trudeau is not interested in what the truckers have to say, nor is he interested in the views of ordinary Canadians on any other subject.

He is quick to meet with world leaders and fly to summits in Davos and Glasgow surrounded by his retinue of fawning admirers, but meet with a trucker? That would be his worst nightmare.

He condemns the truck convoy but on Dec. 1, 2020 he supported action by famers against new laws in India, which led to truck convoys in several places.

He stated: "Let me remind you, Canada will always be there to defend the rights to peaceful protest.

Really? But not in Canada apparently. Do you think any Canadian other than a lobbyist or parliamentary worker could actually meet the PM and discuss their concerns? Not a chance, and yet a Swedish teenager (environmental activist Greta Thunberg) can show up and get an immediate audience with him. It was a great photo-op, wasn't it?

I have am reading a book about the demise of democracy in Canada. When the British North America Act (AKA the Confederation Act) was passed, it was essentially to prevent more wars between Britain (Ontario) and France (Quebec).

The Maritimes were reluctantly dragged into the federation, mainly because the two larger provinces didn't want them to end up joining the United States, so they promised them a railroad.

The Western provinces were not even involved in the treaty discussions.

Fast forward 155 years and it still feels like we are on the outside looking in. The prime minister has all the power and since the PM invariably comes from Ontario or Quebec, those two provinces receive the full benefit of "national government".

(Former Conservative prime minister) Stephen Harper broke the mould briefly, but he continued the autocratic nature of government that started under (former Liberal prime minister Jean) Chretien, and that was what turned many voters against him.

It was a breath of fresh air when (Justin) Trudeau announced that the 2015 election would be the last under the first past the post system. Until he got elected that was. Then he decided PR wouldn't work.

We'll never know how he reached this conclusion but it is obvious he enjoys the power. Anyone inside the Liberal Party who questions his authority is unceremoniously dumped, and I have little doubt if the Conservatives were elected the same situation would arise.

So where do we go from here? It is quite clear that Western interests are not being considered by the government, who sees its job as a benevolent dictatorship, dishing out tax money to the provinces as they see fit.

Parliament has effectively been sidelined. Even the cabinet has less and less power, as Trudeau prefers to listen to lobbyists and activists.

Maybe it's time for the Western provinces to break away from a federation that never really wanted us in the first place.

With all the resources in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the territories, we would have a powerful economy and one which could focus on Western interests instead of pumping money into Ottawa to redistribute to lame duck projects in Quebec and the Maritimes.

The only thing we seem to be lacking is a leader. Any ideas?

Peter Emery, Kelowna
Recent investigations on the infamous spyware firm, NSO Group, uncovers a serious allegation.

A whistleblower reported that the group had once offered a telecom security company "bags of cash" to illegally access its cellular network.

If the deal had succeeded, NSO could trach the mobile users registered to the network within the US.

For reference, the NSO Group is the firm that developed the notorious Pegasus malware.

This zero-click cyberattack was launched against thousands of victims across the world, including Apple devices.

Up to date, some of its traces are still found on the internet.

NSO Group Spyware

Note that the NSO attacks might be a lot worse than just malicious codes.

According to Gary Millers, a cybersecurity professional who previously served as vice president at network firm Mobileum, NSO representatives had even resorted to underhanded tactics, per Gizmodo.

Miller said that during a 2017 conference call between Mobileum and NSO, the spyware executives asked for access to SS7, which is an insecure networking protocol that could be exploited for covert surveillance on unsuspecting phone users.

When asked how the transaction would work, NSO co-founder Omri Lavie responded to Mobileum officials "we drop bags of cash at your office."

To emphasize, the SS7 is reportedly a vector exploited by hackers for shady surveillance. It could be used to tap into phone calls and even track the devices.

According to Gizmodo, the Saudi and Chinese governments have often encountered this dangerous program.

It is often used to hack into mobile networks.

Read Also: Security Researchers Warn About DazzleSpy Mac Malware That Can Spy on Users

NSO Group Software Issues

Miller did not elaborate if the transaction had succeeded or not. He also failed to mention if this issue was related to his departure from the company.

Miller claimed he reported the situation to the FBI via online tip back in 2017.

Unfortunately, he never received a response. Miller then resubmitted his accusations in 2021, amidst the DOJ investigation on NSO.

Miller said he submitted his claims directly to the Justice Department for investigations.

He also gave a copy to The Federal Communications Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, note that in response to Miller's claim, the NSO representative said they have "never done any business with" Mobileum.

NSO also emphasized they "(do) not do business using cash as a form of payment."

Mobileum also disavowed any relations to the spyware vendor.

Their top executive, Bobby Srinivasan, explained that "Mobileum does not have - and has never had - any business relationship with NSO Group,"

The investigations are still ongoing, so it's hard to determine which party is answering truthfully about the matter.

For now, the FBI and DOJ are carefully looking into the matter.

Fans interested in the progress of this investigation are recommended to watch out for updates, which can drop at any time this week.

Hopefully, officials can put an end to all these spyware attacks.



Related Article: Apple NFC Wireless Tap-To-Pay Technology: iPhone Users May Soon Use Their Devices to Pay Contactless
Photo: The Canadian Press Anti-mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. Obscured by blowing snow, about 100 commercial trucks, pedestrian vehicles and camper vans continued Monday to block a busy U.S. border crossing in protest of public health measures. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A trucker blockade in southern Alberta at the United States border turned violent Tuesday after some protesters breached police barriers to join the demonstration and Mounties backed off out of concern for safety.

Premier Jason Kenney called for demonstrators to voice their condemnation of COVID-19 safety measures peacefully and to stop blocking a crucial commerce route.

This kind of conduct is totally unacceptable," Kenney said during a news conference in Edmonton. Without hesitation, I condemn those actions and I call for calm.

Kenney said he heard reports that RCMP officers had been assaulted during the day, but Mounties could not confirm them.

Events moved swiftly after RCMP announced in the afternoon that negotiations to have the convoy leave had failed and it was time to enforce the law at the Coutts, Alta., crossing.

As teams of officers approached truck cabs, a handful of drivers began slowly peeling off and heading away. At the same time north of Coutts, other protesters breached an RCMP roadblock on Highway 4 and joined the blockade.

"They did that by driving at quite high speeds through the ditches and fields," said Cpl. Curtis Peters in Coutts.

Some tractors crossed into the northbound lanes, going south, in a dangerous manner, he added. High-speed farm equipment also weaved by RCMP vehicles into ditches with Canadian flags ripping in the wind.

A head-on crash happened at that time, which resulted in an assault, said Peters. RCMP don't know if the people involved were part of the convoy and the altercation is under investigation.

He said there were no significant injuries.

"Our intention remains to restore movement of goods and vehicles on the road but not at the risk of public safety, which is why we had to reposition and reconsider for the time being today," said Peters.

"I'm calling for calm. I'm calling for a return to diplomacy."

No arrests were made, though RCMP said previously they were prepared to do so and tow away vehicles if necessary.

Peters added that protesters also visited the home of the Coutts Mayor Jim Willett and his wife to take photographs and wave through the windows. He said the couple should not be subjected to harassment and urged protesters to leave them alone.

The blockade has snarled and stalled traffic at the border crossing since Saturday, leaving travellers and truckers on both sides stranded and locals unable to access goods and services, including medical care.

The RCMP noted that while peaceful assembly is allowed, the demonstrators were contravening federal and provincial laws that forbid anyone from impeding access to critical infrastructure.

Kenney said the situation remained fluid and urged travellers to use border crossings at other points of entry in the province. He is working with the federal government to see if it can extend service and working hours at those locations.

We can expect there will continue to be some interruption at the Coutts border crossing perhaps for some time to come as the RCMP deals with the road blockage there, said Kenney.

The demonstration started in solidarity with demonstrations countrywide and in Ottawa against cross-border truckers having to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and other public health measures.

Early Tuesday, the line of trucks had thinned out but still stretched two abreast as far as the eye could see in chilling wind and -20 C temperatures.

Canadian flags flew from some trucks. Others sported upside-down Maple Leafs and homemade signs and placards: "True North Strong Proud and Free." "Mandate Freedom or Liberation is Coming."

The mayor said the protest is isolating the villages 250 residents.

Mail delivery had been stopped and some children were forced to stay home from school Monday because their bus could not get into the community. There were reports of residents not receiving at-home medical care.

The blockade also left truckers stranded in the U.S.

Lovepreet Singh said he arrived in Edmonton on Tuesday after waiting in Montana with 150 other trucks and a full load of fruit and vegetables for more than two days.

Singh said it was a frustrating wait that put the health of some truckers at risk.

That's not how Canadians behave, said Singh in an interview.

There are people (who) have medical issues like blood pressure issues, thyroid issues, asthma.

He said many of those waiting ate pizza every day from a nearby store while listening to a constant refrain from police to sit tight and wait.

Singh said he eventually detoured through icy roads in British Columbia at a cost of seven extra hours and $400 in gas.

Some truck drivers who left earlier risked driving through snow squalls, he said. One rig hit the ditch.

We don't make enough money to survive in these kinds of situations, said Singh. It's even hard for us to pay all the bills and (provide) for our family.
Photo: The Canadian Press A pedestrian wearing a mask to curb the spread of COVID-19 uses an umbrella as snow falls in downtown Vancouver on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Winter is reminding British Columbians that it is not done yet with more snow forecast for parts of the province Wednesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Snow is back in the forecasts for parts of the British Columbia on Wednesday.

Environment Canada has issued special weather statements for Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Sunshine Coast, east Vancouver Island and the Malahat Highway, saying those areas could see up to five centimetres of snow.

The weather agency says a Pacific frontal system will move onto B.C.'s South Coast Wednesday, initially bringing snow before warmer air pushes in allowing a change to rain.

It says higher accumulations of snow are also possible through the central and eastern Fraser Valley, including Chilliwack and Hope into Thursday morning.

Kelowna is expecting just one to three centimetres on Wednesday while Kamloops is forecasting around five centimetres.

Elsewhere in B.C., a frontal system from the Gulf of Alaska will bring up to 10 centimetres of snow to the Cariboo, Prince George and Stuart-Nechako regions.

Environment Canada says another 10 centimetres is also forecast for northwestern B.C. in Teslin, Atlin, and Dease Lake along with a similar forecast for the Whitehorse region.
Photo: SPCA International / Facebook 1 / 3 Crew in Turkey where veterinarians checked on the animals.

After months of work, an international group has come together to move more than 300 dogs and cats from Afghanistan to Vancouver.

And they're arriving today, Feb. 1.

It started when the American army pulled out of the war-torn country at the end of August, 2021 when SPCA International and the Kabul Small Animal Rescue (KSAR) began rescuing animals due to the unrest and as people fled the country.

"Both people and animals were increasingly affected by the fallout," says SPCA International in a press release. "Dogs and cats were left behind in shelters and abandoned as their owners as were forced to flee the country, and crucial evacuation attempts were threatened by serious safety issues, including the explosions outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, skyrocketing flight costs, plane restrictions, permit requirements, and other barriers."

Unfortunately, they weren't able to move them. The cats and staff taking care of them weren't allowed at the airport during the evacuation period. The dogs weren't allowed on military aircraft and a private charter couldn't be lined up either. At one point the dogs had to be released into the airport to live as strays for a period.

Efforts were further hampered as the USA's Centre for Disease Control doesn't allow dogs from Afghanistan to be imported.

Transportation and a destination were lined up a few weeks ago with Vancouver as the end goal for the 158 dogs and 146 cats. Before arriving in Vancouver the animals were taken to Turkey and then Iceland, and checked out by veterinarians.

After doing everything in our power to make this evacuation a reality, we are thrilled to report that the animals will soon arrive in Vancouver, Canada, where were excited to finally welcome them to the shelter weve eagerly prepared for their arrival, says SPCA International spokesperson Lori Kalef.

The group, which includes No Dog Left Behind and War Paws, along with local groups like RainCoast Dog Rescue Society and Thank Dog I Am Out Dog Rescue Society, isn't done, though. The hard part of moving the 314 animals to Canada, is done, but while a shelter has been set up and some dogs will return to their families (in a new country), many need care and new homes.

We cant wait to fill our incredible temporary shelter with canine and feline friends, and were thankful to each and every volunteer helping to operate this space for making our mission possible, says Susan Patterson, founder of Thank Dog I am Out Rescue Society. We are committed to creating new and wonderful lives for the animals left behind during the chaos of the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

A registration website has been set up for those interested in adopting the cats and dogs. Donations can also be made to help cover the costs of care and shelter.
Photo: The Canadian Press

More provinces say they are preparing to loosen COVID-19 restrictions in the coming weeks, even as virus-related hospitalizations remain high.

British Columbia's provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said gathering restrictions will begin to slowly be eased later this month.

Even as Alberta reported a record 1,585 people in hospital with the virus, Premier Jason Kenney said he is optimistic the province will be able to relax some public health measures and remove its vaccine passport program by the end of February, providing hospital pressures decline.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced yesterday that gyms and spas, which have been closed since Dec. 20, will be able to reopen on Feb. 14.

He also said he is scrapping a plan to tax people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the plan has proven to be divisive at a time he wants to bring Quebecers together.

After allowing restaurant dining rooms to reopen Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will continue with plans to further ease restrictions on Feb. 21 and March 14, despite a warning from the province's scientific advisory panel.

On Tuesday, a panel of scientists that advises the provincial government said that COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and intensive care admissions will likely rise following this week's reopening, with modelling showing "prolonged'' pressure on the health system.

Prince Edward Island's chief public health officer said she will announce a loosening of restrictions next week, which could include isolation requirements for travellers arriving on the island as well as restrictions on organized gatherings and recreational activities.
Re.: Truck rally in Ottawa

I was one of the people that watched hours of the live stream of the truckers from Western Canada on their journey to Ottawa.

It has been a very long time since I have seen this kind of support from all walks of life. First Nations, Hutterites, Mennonites, farmers and families. Every side road, small community, off-ramp and overpass were lined with Canadians proudly waving the Canadian flag. I cannot remember the last time I saw that many Canadian flags, in all types of weather, they were there supporting the convoy.

I totally support (Kelowna-Lake Country) MP Tracy Gray in her statement. At least she was out on the streets, talking with the people.

You cannot call (thousands of) people on the streets of Ottawa the fringe minority. Our prime minister has made so many divisive remarks towards the Canadian people. He has called anyone that doesnt agree a racist, misogynist and the fringe minority.

We have been told by the mainstream media the truckers (desecrated) the war memorial and Terry Fox statue.

The media never showed you the truckers picking up garbage, scrubbing the Terry Fox statue or the flower laying ceremony at the war memorial. When you have (that many) people together, you are going to have people there trying to disrupt the message.

The protest was about our freedoms freedom to work, assemble, worship, freedom of body autonomy, freedom to travel across our country, to leave and re-enter as per our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Our prime minister recently said if he did not agree with a group's opinion, he would not meet with them. He gave an example of a group that he agrees with: Black Lives Matter.

To me, in this great country of Canada, all lives matter. Our prime minister is elected to represent all Canadians, not just a select group he agrees with.

It is time to end the mandates, restrictions, division of family, friends and communities.

It is time for peace and healing.

Mary Mann, Kelowna
Photo: Brendan Kergin / Vancouver is Awesome

Police in downtown Vancouver were busy Tuesday, Feb. 1, as three men were arrested for a series of unrelated crimes.

In the first case a man walked into a Davie Street grocery store around 8 a.m. and assaulted a 23-year-old man while attempting to take a carton of cigarettes behind the counter.

Staff at the store were able to catch the 34-year-old suspect and hold him down until officers arrived, according to a police press release. He was arrested and taken to jail.

Later in the day, on Robson Street, a 33-year-old man walked into a store around 5 p.m. and walked out with more than $300 of clothing. He then went to the store next door to get try to get staff to take the tags off. He then went to a third store and grabbed $144 in lipstick.

Security tried to stop him, but he pulled a folding knife out and walked away.

However, witnesses kept an eye on him and called 9-1-1. Police arrested him for robbery.

A couple of hours later, around 7 p.m. and back on Davie Street, a 22-year-old man pulled a box-cutter on an employee at a vape store and grabbed some items.

While the suspect fled the scene the employee called police and officers were able to locate and arrest him.

Police are trying to clamp down on the number of violent thefts in Vancouver says spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison, even as violent robberies appear to be on the rise. In these cases, he adds, staff and witnesses were of great help.

"Each of these arrests occurred because someone called 911 immediately and provided real-time information that helped VPD officers locate and arrest the suspects, says Addison.
Following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's address in Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address on Wednesday, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi called Wayanad MP a "confused, mindless leader" who needs lessons in history.

Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi hit out at the central government for the faulty domestic policies as well as a flawed foreign policy that brought Pakistan and China together.

Speaking to ANI, Joshi said, "Rahul Gandhi is a confused leader. The industrialists that he was talking about inside the Parliament, did not come up during the BJP rule. If he is getting the opportunity to speak as a Congress leader, it is only because he is from the Gandhi family. PM Modi is a democratically elected Prime Minister."

Gandhi, in his speech, alleged that the present dispensation has defied the strategic goal of India's foreign policy of keeping China and Pakistan separate and has brought both countries together.

"The single biggest strategic goal of India's foreign policy has been to keep Pakistan & China separate...You have brought Pakistan and China together. This is the single biggest crime that you could commit against the people of India," Gandhi said inside the Parliament.

Responding to his allegations, Joshi said that he should have knowledge of history.

"While talking about China, he should have knowledge of the history," he said.

"Instead of giving constructive suggestions, the ones who signed a free-trade agreement with China taking money for the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, is saying that China has got a clear vision. It was a directionless speech. Tibet problem is because of Congress only," he added.

"They(Congress) have not understood China from the days of "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai" till today. They are the same people who used to retreat when China behaved in such a way. For the first time, India has retaliated and was successful. Nobody should have any doubts that India is capable of keeping itself secure, be it with Pakistan or China," he said while criticising him for trying to politicise defence and foreign policy matters.

The 2022 Budget Session of the Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address. The first part of the budget session is being held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part will take place from March 14 to April 8.

(ANI)
A coup attempt took place in a small coastal nation in West Africa, Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday as military trucks raced through the streets and civilians fled amid heavy gunfire, reported New York Times.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply concerned with the news of heavy fighting in Bissau and asked for an immediate end to the fighting and for full respect of the country's democratic institutions.

However, after some hours of the attempted coup, President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo reasserts control and said that the armed personnel were thwarted.

Embalo said that many of his own security forces members were killed in the conflict with possible links to drug trafficking, reported the newspaper.

He termed the attempted coup as a "failed attack against democracy" and said that he could not comment as to how many had been arrested.

"It wasn't just a coup. It was an attempt to kill the president, the prime minister and the entire cabinet.", he added.

Notably, Guinea-Bissau has seen a total of four successful coups. The last coup was in 2021.

As far as attempted coups are concerned, perhaps a dozen ones must have been attempted since the small West African nation gained independence from Portugal 48 years ago, reported the newspaper.

(ANI)

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World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday announced that it needs urgent funding of USD 2.6 billion to boost operations for 8.7 million starving Afghans as the freezing winter is deteriorating the situation.

Communication chief of WFP in Afghanistan Shelley Thakral said that this was a race against time and that she was worried about not being able to keep up, reported The Khaama Press.

"We do not have enough funds and we are asking for USD 2.6 billion to scale up as we must in 2022 - that's about 30 cents of a US dollar per person we need to reach per day. We're currently nowhere close to this," said Thakral in a video call to Herat.

Thakral said that over half of the Afghan population suffering from food insecurity while 8.7 million people are at risk of starvation.

The chief of communication also expressed concern about electricity blackout in Afghanistan and that people do not have money to buy wood or fuel, reported The Khaama Press.

"Mothers are telling me that most of the time we decide who to eat and who doesn't have to and most of the time that is the mother who chooses not to eat," said Thakral.

She also said that there are fewer labour opportunities and that industries are stalled that have obliged people to sell their home items, reported The Khaama Press.

The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has led the Afghan people to sell their children and parts of their bodies to survive.

Afghanistan is struggling with drought, a pandemic, an economic collapse, and the effects of years of conflict. Some 24 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity. More than half the population will be facing famine this winter and 97 per cent of the population could fall below the poverty line this year.

(ANI)

Also Read: UN chief Antonio Guterres calls for immediate end to fighting in Guinea-Bissau
Huawewi launches a series of new features to be enjoyed by their users across all devices.

In some Huawei devices, the new features will automatically have them.

The set of updates is also called Petal One Exclusive Packages, which includes Petal Maps and Petal Search that allows Huawei users to receive help in having a better digital experience.

Petal Maps provides features including lane-level guiding, real-time route planning, progress display, new route recommendations, and more to make navigation stress-free.

Users of the HUAWEI P50 Pocket can enjoy a smooth user experience by displaying navigation on both the inner and outer surfaces of the screen.

According to Pablo Ning, the President of Huawei Consumer Business Middle East and Africa, Huawei is focused on giving premium improvements for the consumer experience through innovative products like Petal Maps and Petal Search.

Petal One, the most recent subscription package offered to the Huawei Mobile Services' ecosystem, solidifies the company's position as a tech firm that provides consumers with a wide range of solutions.

Huawei Petal Journey

Mar Tech Series reported that the Petal Maps and Petal Search were recently demonstrated by a group of cool and influential Huawei users from different parts of the world.

These creatives gathered with a simple idea in mind: take and film a one-of-a-kind Petal Journey and let their imagination run wild to showcase to their audience.

Some influencers even went so far as to edit their videos with Petal Clip.

The expedition was open to a group of 33 talented Instagrammers from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, and Turkey.

They used their Huawei phones to make interesting Instagram reels and tales.

In addition, Petal Maps and Search come in helpful no matter where users are, according to the video clips these influencers have shown.

Uniquely enough, Petal services can also help users with everything from antique shopping in Milan to touring in Berlin to camping in Turkey.

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Huawei Petal Maps

As reported by Huawei Central, Petal Maps 2.2.0.205 is the most recent software version from Huawei, and it comes with a slew of new features and changes to better the user experience.

In comparison to earlier version, the new feature makes the user's tasks easier.

Virtual navigation, voice search, lane assistance, offline maps, and levels & badges are among the new features in Petal Maps 2.2.0.205, according to the report.

If users haven't already, it is recommended that they update to the newest version of Huawei Petal Maps.

Huawei Petal Maps was first released in 2020 with Huawei P40 series smartphones. Since then, Huawei has been expanding Petal Maps' coverage into new countries and upgrading it with fresh OTA upgrades.

When it comes to services, Petal Maps offers more convenient navigation and mapping options.

Positioning, immersive map displays, place searches, vehicle navigation, user favorite place lists, real-time traffic updates, and more are among the services available.

Petal Maps features voice notifications in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Mandarin, among other languages.

Furthermore, this app safeguards and protects personal information. E2EE (end-to-end encryption) and other advanced privacy security methods safeguard all of your personal location data.

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Since it was established more than 75 years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has focused on issues of global health significance.

Founded as part of the U.S. Public Health Service in 1942, CDCs predecessor, the Office of Malaria Control in War Areas, focused on malaria control in the southeastern United States, a major health problem in the region at the time. Since its inception in 1946, CDC carried the work of malaria prevention forward, and by 1951 when malaria was eliminated in the U.S., CDCs mission had expanded.

Though 2021 marked 70 years since malaria was eliminated from the U.S., CDC continues to monitor malaria in the U.S., where there are still approximately 2,000 cases each year, mostly related to international travel. Today, CDC also helps health care providers promptly and correctly diagnose and treat malaria in the U.S. and educates U.S. citizens traveling abroad about malaria prevention. As with other infectious diseases, continued vigilance at home and abroad is needed as long as malaria remains present in the world.

CDC established the Center for Global Health (CGH) in 2010 to focus on important synergies across the global health portfolio, drawing on CDCs unique expertise in global health security, epidemiology, surveillance, laboratory systems, emergency response, and workforce development. The Center for Global Health leads CDC efforts to work with U.S. government agencies, multilateral partners, and ministries of health in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and other regions. The Center is a steward of the agencys domestic and global malaria and parasitic disease activities that date back to CDCs origins, is a co-implementer of the Presidents Malaria Initiative (PMI), along with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and is a key implementer of the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In addition, the Center for Global Health oversees the implementation of programs to address leading causes of death worldwide, including tuberculosis, and implements prevention and vaccination activities across the globe. Through leveraging CDCs longstanding partnerships and the agencys unique scientific and technical capacities, CDCs Center for Global Health works closely with ministries of health and other partners to implement programs and tackle profound health threats, including COVID-19.

True global health security requires equity in public health across the globe.

No community, district, or province within a nation will be truly safe and healthy until all are. No nation, including the United States can be truly safe until all nations have the core public health capabilities and the health systems in place to protect the most marginalized. This is why the Center for Global Health works on behalf of the American people to save lives around the world, partnering with other nations to prevent, prepare for, and respond to infectious disease threats. This work is integral to the CDCs mission to protect Americans from health, safety, and security threats.
CDC supports Mozambique laboratory capacity for TB diagnosis. Credit: Ricardo Franco/CDC.

CDCs Center for Global Health (CGH) works through CDC Country Offices in more than 60 countries, and with CDC experts from across the agency to provide specialized scientific and program support to bilateral country partners, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other multilateral institutions, and to other U.S. government agencies.

As the nations lead public health agency, CDC is uniquely positioned and leads many critical aspects of the U.S. Government-wide effort to address the worlds leading global health challenges. Drawing on the CDCs skilled workforce, and the decades of experience and lessons learned from addressing some of the worlds toughest global health challenges, CGH uses data-driven, locally appropriate approaches that are constantly informed by and adapted based on the latest innovations and the best science available.

From its inception, CGH has supported infectious disease outbreak response, elimination, and eradication efforts in the U.S. and across the globe. Through partnerships, CDC enhances country capacity in key areasaddressing the leading causes of death and disease worldwide, including HIV, TB, malaria, and vaccine preventable diseases, and working with countries to respond to and better prepare for outbreaks and pandemic threats.

In all aspects of our global work, CGH proactively partners with ministries of health, local implementing organizations, and multilateral partners. Today, CGH has more than 1,700 in-country staff around the world working directly with ministries of health, local partners, WHO, and others to maximize global health impactsaving lives, improving health, and addressing disease outbreaks at their source.

All of CDCs global work prioritizes country ownership, and CGH deliberately works to strengthen core public health capabilities and services around the world. Led by country offices, CGH provides peer-to-peer support to ministries of health and others on the ground, strengthening governments public health systems and response to health threats. CDC also provides support from headquarters to partner countries on a wide range of shared priorities.
Healthcare workers gather for training at the regional public health office in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports local and national health departments through indigenous partners to help Guatemala respond to public health threats and prevent the spread of disease regionally and globally. Credit: Nicholas Tenorio/CDC.

In December 2021, WHO released a report, The State of Health Equity: HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. [1]external icon In that report, the authors note that,  although remarkable progress has been made in reducing the overall burden of each disease, particularly in the past decade, certain groups still have persistently higher disease mortality and morbidity, and lower access to life-saving interventions. The report reminds us that while progress is possible, much work remains. Among that work, global health programs must do more to assess and address the impact of the worlds leading health challenges among those with fewer resources.

True global health security requires strong public health systems, partnership, and collaboration. Tackling the challenges of the worlds leading causes of death and disease, responding to the on-going COVID-19 crisis, and working with countries to be better prepared for and respond to the next infectious disease threat are inseparable from health equity. Long-term, comprehensive strengthening of public health systems is the foundation of equity in global health and is the foundation for health security.

CDCs close work with countries focuses on developing integrated, functional, and flexible public health systems that are country-owned and that that can be sustained over time. These include public health systems needed to identify and track infectious diseases as well as response capabilities and a skilled workforce that can mobilize an effective responseall critical assets in the current global fight against COVID-19. In the coming year, CDC will continue to partner with countries to address COVID-19 and long-standing global health challenges, and CDCs Center for Global Health will:
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and 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Woburn, MA (01801)

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Sunshine and a few clouds. High 69F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 46F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Actor Park Bo-gum / Captured from MBC





Actor Park Bo-gum, currently serving in the Republic of Korea Navy, has passed the state exam to become a licensed barber, military officials said Wednesday.







Park, who has been fulfilling his mandatory military service since 2020, took the exam last month, the officials said. He is currently stationed in the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.







Park is set to complete his military service in April.







All able-bodied Korean men must carry out compulsory service for about two years in a country that faces constant security threats from North Korea.







Making his silver screen debut in the thriller "Blind" (2011), Park gained huge popularity after taking a lead role in the hit TV series "Reply 1988" (2015) and "Love in the Moonlight" (2016). (Yonhap)


Private sector supports corruption case against Nepalese cement sector

02 February 2022

Three umbrella organisations representing the private sector have protested against the corruption case filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) against the cement industry. They have complained that CIAAs move discouraged the entire private sector.

The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Nepalese Industries and Nepal Chamber of Commerce issued a joint statement Monday defending the industrialists and cement companies.

In the statement they have reminded the contribution of private sector during the hard times such as the 2015 earthquake and COVID-19 outbreak.

The recent corruption case against investors in the cement industry, which has been making significant contributions to import substitution, investment growth, job creation and revenue, has discouraged the private sector, the statement said.

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Buena Vista, CO (81211)

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A mainly sunny sky. High 63F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

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A few clouds. Low 38F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
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Danville City leaders get ready to breathe new life into the old mill village; Danville leaders ready to weigh proposal to provide real estate tax help to elderly and disabled; Danville native taking his place in Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Danville City leaders get ready to breathe new life into the old mill village; Danville leaders ready to weigh proposal to provide real estate tax help to elderly and disabled; Danville native taking his place in Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
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Silverdale Baptist Academy has established itself in the community as a private school. Now, they plan to provide that same excellence and commitment to area homeschool families with the launch of their new umbrella school, Silverdale Homeschool, said officials.

While there are many umbrella schools available online, Silverdale Homeschool will be the only in-person umbrella school in Chattanooga. Their website states: The purpose of Silverdale Homeschool is to provide a place for you to come for support and guidance as you navigate the education of your children at home. It is important to have an accurate record of your student's education. We will offer services online but also the option of having a friendly in-person contact to walk you through any decisions for which you may need help.

To properly launch Silverdale Homeschool, Silverdale Baptist Academy is hosting the first annual Silverdale Homeschool Fair on Feb. 27 from 3-6 p.m., where visitors can connect with vendors of various services for homeschoolers in the region. The first 50 families in the door will even receive a special gift.

For more information on Silverdale Homeschool and the Silverdale Homeschool Fair, visit www.silverdalehomeschool.org.
Charges in a shooting in Soddy Daisy were dismissed on Tuesday night against "the wrong man" and will be brought against a man with a similar name who lives a block away.

Nashville Assistant District Attorney Tammy Meade, who was brought into the case when DA Neal Pinkston recused himself, said she had discussed the matter extensively with TBI agents who were also brought in.

She said she was "comfortable and confident" that Hugo Garcia Padilla was not the man who fired two shots toward a pregnant female at a house on Barbee Road.

Charges, including two counts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, were dismissed against Hugo Garcia Padilla in a hearing before Soddy Daisy Judge Marty Lasley.

Officials said, instead, warrants have been taken against Hugo Garcia Robles.

Ms. Meade said the two men with similar names live near one another in an Hispanic section of Hixson, and they also drive similar vehicles.

She said, "The witnesses did not change their story."

She said a "very vague description" was given of the shooter and police wound up with the wrong Hugo Garcia ..... in custody.

Judge Lasley said he had held up on issuing the warrants against Robles, but, after hearing the testimony, he would further review them and then issue them in a short time.

DA Pinkston had asked the TBI to look into the involvement of his campaign foe, Coty Wamp, in the case. She said she had received a call from Jeff Cannon, a friend of Padilla, who had put some of the people involved in the case on the phone and they insisted Padilla was innocent.
The city of Red Bank has received a grant from Tennessee Department of Transportation to build a bike trail through the city. The path built along Linden Avenue, paralleling the main throughfare of Dayton Boulevard, will be known as Red Bank Bicycle Boulevard. The 2.2-mile-long path will be part of a larger network of pedestrian and bike paths in the Chattanooga area. The portion running through Red Bank will go from Midvale to Morrison Springs Road and will connect to other sections of the bike path in Chattanooga, on both ends.

The total cost for the paved connector portion through Red Bank is estimated to be $766,920. The grant from TDOT is $613,536 and will require the city to provide a 20 percent match of $153.384. The commissioners unanimously agreed to accept the grant with Commissioner Pete Phillips saying this is the type of amenity that makes a city good. The citys portion will be paid from the State Street Aid fund.

There are a lot of questions to be answered before the public will be included in meetings to make plans for the Bicycle Boulevard, said City Manager Martin Granum, and he said he plans to keep the Red Bank citizens updated with facts about the project on the citys website and with emails.

Plans for the property located at the site of the former Red Bank Middle School on Dayton Boulevard are beginning to move forward. The city manager has proposed a plan for developing the 12-acre site in the center of town that will begin by finding the right developer to partner with. A citizens advisory committee will be instrumental in determining the type of concept they want to see at the location before the development is planned. The city manager recommends for the city to also use a consultant to help guide the process, and to have an executive leadership team. The decision making will come back to the commissioners multiple times during the process at critical points, said Mr. Granum.

Commissioner Phillips suggested also having a larger look at the area as opposed to strictly focusing on the 12 acres. He said the city surrounding that property needs to be looked at during the same time to be able to see the big picture. Mr. Granum agreed saying that he believes the new development in the center of Red Bank will shape the vision of the whole city. Also factored into what is built there is how Red Bank will satisfy the agreement with the National Park Service for conversion of park property. The city must replace old park property that was used where the current Red Bank Middle and High Schools were built. The 2035 strategic plan for the city will also be a consideration.

A series of unfortunate events is to blame for the failure of a developer to get a special use permit for 1109 Dayton Blvd. before the time allowed to get it had expired, officials said. The permit is for a multi-family housing development. The commission voted to re-approve the project and extend the time to get the needed permits for 45 days.

In regular business, the commissioners approved the purchase of four solar-powered radar speed signs for the amount of $10,896. Payment will come from the State Street aid fund. The signs can be moved to different locations around the city as needed.

An agreement was made between the city and R.J. Young, for an email upgrade for all city users. The entire platform will be replaced for a one-time cost of $25,440 and a monthly charge of $855.

City Manager Granum announced that re-zoning of property at 2101 Dayton Blvd., which currently holds a Save-A-Lot grocery store, will be on the agenda of the next Red Bank Planning Commission meeting. It will be held on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. The rezoning would allow the old grocery store building to become office space and the adjacent strip center to be replaced with townhouses.
Screenwriter Lee Na-eun, who recently wrote "Our Beloved Summer" / Courtesy of SBS





By Kwak Yeon-soo







Screenwriter Lee Na-eun is relatively young and inexperienced compared to other established writers, including Noh Hee-kyung of "It's Okay, That's Love," Kim Eun-hee of "Kingdom" and Kim Eun-sook of "Descendants of the Sun." However, she is unrivaled when it comes to depicting sweetly nostalgic young romance as she lives in the same time as her characters.







Calling SBS's rom-com "Our Beloved Summer" a semi-autobiographical series inspired by her personal stories, the 29-year-old writer spoke on why she keeps writing about young adult romance.







"I don't consider myself a technical or a talented writer. However, I can say with confidence that I have a true depth of understanding toward the characters that frequently appear in my works because I'm going through my twenties, just like they are. Viewers can empathize with the series because the story of Ung and Yeon-su in some ways mirrors their own stories," Lee said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.







Lee said becoming a screenwriter was purely coincidental. She initially worked at a web drama production company, creating subtitles and so-called "card news" (a Konglish term for images with embedded text as seen in online news feeds). Her debut web drama "The Omniscient Viewpoint on Crushes" (2016) aired for three seasons and has exceeded 100 million views.







"When I started out as a screenwriter, I wanted to tell a story that I know pretty well other than something beyond my reach. It all began with a simple thought that I might be able to write a 1-minute drama. 1-minute became 5-minutes, and 5-minutes became a 1-hour drama," she said.







Actors Choi Woo-shik, right, and Kim Da-mi in a scene from SBS's "Our Beloved Summer" / Courtesy of SBS





Her latest "Our Beloved Summer" revolves around a free-spirited illustrator, Choi Ung (Choi Woo-shik), and a workaholic PR specialist Kook Yeon-su (Kim Da-mi), who were high school sweethearts.







When a documentary they filmed during high school resurfaces and goes viral online, the two are forced back into each other's lives, five years after their breakup, to film a follow-up documentary.







Lee said she was inspired by a documentary that aired on EBS in 2015, observing how a boy with poor academic performance gets along with the smartest kid in high school. She changed the title roles to a boy and a girl and added the story of those who are starting the second chapter of their romance together after having broken up in their teens.







The writer recalled she was elated when she heard that her script would be turned into a drama to be aired for major TV broadcaster SBS.







"I was both excited and anxious because it's rare for a junior writer to have the opportunity to come on board to work on such a big project and receive credit for it. Director Kim Yoon-jin supported me through the process and the cast did an amazing job in portraying the characters," she said.







She admitted she took ideas from actor Choi's real-life personality featured in interviews and reality show, "Summer Vacation" (2020).







"One thing I'm sure of is that I want to work with Choi again. If I ever come up with a new script that is more than satisfactory, I'll take it to him," she said.







Hinting that her next drama will be about lives of women in their 30s, Lee said, "Since 'Our Beloved Summer' went to air, I've received a lot of social media comments that the drama provided 'solace' to them. I think that's the answer to why I write dramas," she said.







"Our Beloved Summer" is screening on Netflix.


Elections and politicians come and go and people fade from memories. What lasts is the impact they have on people which can be fore the public good or bring public disgrace. Listening to Matt Hullanders concession speech touched me greatly as he spoke from the heart and he spoke the truth with integrity. Matt was advised by political consultants to attack and counter those who ... (click for more)

Ill admit I know so little about Roe versus Wade that I did not know which side of the argument over abortion either party represented yet I am intensely interested in anything that draws this much passion from the American people. I am an on-line subscriber to the Nashville Tennessean, along with several other news sites that I include in my Morning Readings, and Mariah Timms, ... (click for more)
The Tennessee Attorney Generals Office and the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance are participating in a consolidated enforcement action to stop a fraudulent precious metals scheme that resulted in solicitations exceeding $68 million from at least 450 investors nationwide.

The Tennessee Attorney Generals Office- on behalf of the TDCI- joined the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and 26 other state securities regulators to file a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging Safeguard Metals, LLC and Jeffrey Santulan, AKA Jeffrey Hill, solicited investors nationwide by touting precious metals at grossly inflated prices that were not disclosed.

The investors in this case were advised to liquidate their holdings at registered investment firms to fund investments in precious metals, bullion, and bullion coins through self-directed individual retirement accounts. Self-directed IRAs should not be confused with traditional IRAs or other retirement vehicles.

The defendants are accused of failing to disclose the markup charge for their precious metals bullion products and that investors could lose most of their funds once a transaction was completed. In many cases, the market value of the precious metals sold to investors was substantially lower than the value of the securities and other retirement savings investors had liquidated to fund their purchase.

In Tennessee, nine investors were defrauded out of $2,123,014.70 in the execution of this national scheme. Many Tennessee investors liquidated their existing retirement accounts, which contained securities, to obtain funds to purchase the metals.

Dont fall for this. Its another nationwide scheme that is causing many people- especially our seniors- to lose their retirement funds, said Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III. Our Office will do whatever is necessary to enforce our securities laws and get funds like these back to victims.

"This is one of many large-scale precious metals investment schemes weve endeavored to stop since the pandemic began and we are investigating numerous more precious metals investment companies on similar allegations," said TDCI Assistant Commissioner for the Securities Division Elizabeth Bowling. "To prevent any further damages, investors are advised to be particularly cautious when purchasing precious metals and to check for outrageously high commissions, spreads, or markups as high as 30 to 70 percent. As the market continues to fluctuate, we anticipate seeing more fraudsters capitalize on investors uncertainty and use fear to manipulate good people out of their hard-earned money.

In expectation of additional precious metals investment schemes, investors are advised to check the registration of all investment products and professionals, diligently research investments, ask tough questions about the fees, markups or spreads, risks, and potential returns, said Director of the Securities Division Financial Services Investigation Unit Michelle Stone. If the answers seem too good to be true, or dont make sense, protect your wallet by just walking away.

To prevent any further loss, investors are advised to:

Exercise caution when purchasing precious metals and to check for outrageously high commissions, spreads or markups as high as 30 to 70 percent.

Verify the registration of all investment products and professionals, diligently research investments, ask tough questions about the fees, markups or spreads, risks, and potential returns.

The Tennessee Attorney Generals Office encourages investors who suspect they may have been targeted to contact the Securities Division Financial Services Investigations/Enforcement Section at (615) 741-5900.
Bob Culkeen of WTCI joins other distinguished public media leaders from across the country to participate in the Public Media Diversity Leaders Initiative, a program of the Riley Institute at Furman University offered in partnership with South Carolina ETV and modeled after the Institute's award-winning South Carolina Diversity Leaders Initiative.

Mr. Culkeen is one of 33 individuals to be a part of the initiatives third cohort. Participants will take part in a highly interactive curriculum comprising scenario analyses and other experiential learning tools that supports public media leaders in their efforts to apply diversity, equity, and inclusion principles to behaviors, systems, and cultures within their organizations.

Todays heightened awareness of racial and other inequities in American institutions has magnified and accelerated organizational and stakeholder expectations that public media leaders establish diversity, equity, and inclusion as core values within their organizations, said Anthony Padgett, president and CEO of South Carolina ETV. Recognizing that, we are proud to partner with the Riley Institute to offer this unique virtual program to our peers from across the country.

Collectively, PMDLI participants reflect a vast public media ecosystem, representing both television and radio as well as a variety of geographic regions, audiences, affiliate organizations, and diversity dimensions. Upon graduating from the program in June, members of the class will help identify future program participants.



The Riley Institute is proud to play a role in connecting a network of public media professionals who are committed to managing, leading, and meeting the needs of increasingly diverse workers, clients, and audiences, said Don Gordon, executive director of the Riley Institute. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this program will have in communities across the country.

For more information about PMDLI, visit furman.edu/public-media-dli.
This is the fourth of 10 essays I'm writing about why I'm running for Hamilton County mayor before the May 3 primary.

Growing up, I learned early there are many paths to success other than a four-year college degree. I was the first person in my moms family to earn a degree, but I was far from the first person in the Watts family to make a good living. My grandfather worked in manufacturing for Southern Champion Tray for decades. My uncles, Johnny Watts and Jeff Watts, are an electrician and a mechanic, both of whom have used their skills to start small businesses on the side of their full-time employment over the years. My cousins have followed in their footsteps.

In business, over my seven years at Lamp Post Group and the technology investment fund Dynamo, I learned a similar lesson. Technology companies dont care about where you went to college, all that matters is whether you can write and manage code.

Needless to say, when Governor Lee selected me to serve on the Tennessee Board of Regents, which oversees our states largest college system of 40 community and technical colleges, I took a lifetime of skepticism about the four-year path with me.

At our local Tennessee College of Applied Technology, Jim Barrott leads one of the most competent public institutions Ive ever seen. A 94 percent job placement rate for those who complete a certification, most ranging from 12 to 18 months, is evidence of the colleges overwhelmingly successful model.

Students are taught applied mathematics in a way that seems to simply connect better than a high school classroom. Those who teach almost all come from industry. The HVAC instructor, like many of his colleagues, used to own his own HVAC company. I recently saw the auto body repair instructor working on the weekend at a local car show to recruit new students to his program, which has a 100 percent job placement rate.

In a county where less than 40 percent of our graduating public school seniors meet the state standard for readiness to go to college or go to work, we appear to have a costly disconnect.

How does our local, state-run technical college maintain a job placement rate of 94 percent after 18 months of working with students, but our public school system runs a Ready Graduate success rate of just 39.6 percent after 13 years working with students?

Part of the answer is that K-12 education in America is fundamentally broken. We put a one-size-fits-all mold on our children, pushing them towards a four-year college degree, even when it doesnt fit their passions, their gifts or their learning style.

As a result, our community, and particularly our city, is full of hopeless young people. In raw numbers, nearly 1,800 Hamilton County 18-year-olds enter adulthood every year unprepared for whats next.

Undoubtedly, this leads to more crime and less economic advancement for our community.

There is no silver bullet to reforming public education in Hamilton County. But our saving grace could be to increase career training, expand paid apprenticeships and reinvest in vocational education options, like Sequoyah High School, where many programs like welding are on a waiting list due to demand.

Its no secret that the skilled trades pay well, but these are also the jobs that built our country  that once made Chattanooga famous as the Dynamo of Dixie. Our students should be introduced to career and technical education as the profoundly dignified path that it is. Next year, when we open the beautiful, new $22 million facility at TCAT-Chattanooga, we will, for the first time, be able to welcome students to a facility commensurate with the quality of the education and training they will receive there.

Lastly, as evidenced by so many of Hamilton Countys most prominent business leaders, mastering a skill is the most realistic path to small business ownership. We should never forget that.

A conservative approach to education should challenge the failed status quo with a heavy emphasis on career training. The highest calling of county government is to prepare our young people for lives of success and dignified work  whether that means they attend a university or not. My desire to lead that transition is a big part of why Im running for Hamilton County mayor.

Weston Wamp

westonwamp.com
The cast of Netflixs All of Us Are Dead zombie Korean drama is gaining attention from worldwide fans. Many of the actors in the K-drama have had notable careers in other well-known works, while some of their costars got their big break with the Netflix drama. Actor Cho Yi-hyun plays the role of Choi Nam-ra in All of Us Are Dead, but she had drastically different ideas of what K-drama she wanted to star when speaking with the director.

Actors Cho Yi-hyun and Lee Yoo-mi in All of Us Are Dead | via Netflix

All of Us Are Dead is a coming-of-age teen story with a zombie horror twist

Part of the reason why All of Us Are Dead gained traction before and after its release on Netflix is its storyline. While most zombie dramas and movies focus on the survival of adult characters, the K-drama centers on high school teenagers. With no help from the government and teachers, students are forced to survive on their own and distrust adults. School bullies and their friends turn into their worst enemies.

A normal day at school becomes a scene from Train to Busan when a student is infected by the Jonas virus created by the science teacher. The school becomes ground zero as the government declares Martial Law. While All of Us Are Dead follows many zombie cliches, it focuses heavily on moral values and societal issues.

All of Us Are Dead actor Cho Yi-hyun did not want to star in a bloody and emotional K-drama

High school is quite literally hell when the halls are overrun with blood-thirsty zombies that used to be your best friends.



All of Us Are Dead is now on Netflix pic.twitter.com/ie1jVxq1BJ  Netflix (@netflix) January 28, 2022

RELATED: All of Us Are Dead Episode 4: What Happened to Lee Byeong-chan in the K-Drama?

The All of Us Are Dead cast graced the pages of Vogue Korea and talked about their experience auditioning for the K-drama. Fans could not help but chuckle at the circumstance of Chos audition and talk with director Lee Jae-kyoo. According to Soompi, Cho had a different idea of what K-drama she wanted to star in.

She explained, Before I filmed Hospital Playlist, I mostly did roles where I shed lots of blood, sweat, and tears so I said, I want to do something calm. I want to stop with the blood, sweat, and tears. He replied, What do we do? This is a zombie project.'

All of Us Are Dead is the exact opposite of what Cho was expecting. Her character, Nam-ra, goes through it all, from killing zombies, being sprayed with blood, and emotional scenes. Despite Cho looking for a different kind of drama than All of Us Are Dead, director Lee was in luck.

Fortunately, I really like zombie projects. If Im going to spill blood ambiguously, I might as well spill it impetuously. Bawling your eyes out can look cool too, said Cho. She also explains the cast attended action school to build stamina to run away from fast zombies.

Before Hospital Playlist and All of Us Are Dead, Cho Yi-hyun starred in two emotional K-dramas

RELATED: All of Us Are Dead: Park Solomons and the Main Casts Instagrams, Age, and More

Cho is widely recognized for her role as hospital resident Jang Yun-bok in both seasons of Hospital Playlist. Per her interview with Vogue Korea, Cho has played emotional and tear-jerking roles before All of Us Are Dead. In Hospital Playlist, her kind character has an impactful scene about her dead mother. Before the medical K-drama, she starred alongside actors Yang Se-joon and Woo Do-hwan in My Country: The New Age.

She played the character Seo Yeon, the leading characters younger sister. The historical K-drama entailed a rivalry between two best friends at the cusp of a new political era. In 2018, Cho played the role of Bae Yeo-wool in Less Than Evil. Her character is a murder victim the leading detective cannot forget.
When it comes to online dating, theres no guarantee that the person behind the profile pic is who they say they are. The women featured in Netflixs new true-crime documentary, The Tinder Swindler, learned that the hard way. The film, which hit the streamer on Feb. 2, tells the story of Simon Leviev a bold con artist who conned multiple women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by posing as the heir to an Israeli diamond fortune.

The Tinder Swindler tells the story of an international con man

This is what it feels like when a con artist woos you.



The Tinder Swindler is now on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/3xKCupIIew  Netflix (@netflix) February 2, 2022

RELATED: Curse of the Chippendales: True-Crime Series Explores Murder Plot That Rocked All-Male Strip Show

After Cecilie Fjellhoy, who describes herself as a bit of a Tinder expert, matched with Leviev on the app, it didnt take him long to sweep her off her feet. The suave playboy whisked her off on trips on his private jet and showered her with affection. But then he began to drop hints about vague enemies who were out to get him. Before long, he was asking to borrow her American Express, and then running up huge bills on the card.

As Leviev was romancing Fjellhoy, he was also busy pursuing other women, including Tinder Swindler interviewee Pernilla Sjoholm. Though she didnt get involved with him romantically, they did become friends. And like Fjellhoy, she also gave him money when he said he had gotten into financial trouble after a business deal gone wrong. He even sent bloody photos to both women to back up his story that his life was in danger.

Eventually, the women realized that Leviev was using them. Working with Norweigan journalists, they set about exposing the scammer. In the process, more victims emerged from the woodwork.

Simon Leviev was released from prison in 2020

Joe Stassi as Simon Leviev in The Tinder Swindler | Courtesy of Netflix

One woman who saw the news reports about the Tinder Swindler was Ayleen Charlotte. The Dutch woman had been dating Leviev for more than a year after meeting him on the app. As she read the article, she realized he had used many of the same tricks on her as he had on the other women. She decided that she was going to beat Leviev at his own game. Charlotte got him to hand over his designer clothes, which she quickly resold, keeping the money for herself.

With Charlottes help, authorities eventually apprehended Leviev  whose real name is Shimon Hayut  in Greece. He was returned to his native Israel in 2019 and sentenced to prison for fraud he committed in that country. But he was not charged with any crimes against the women featured in the documentary. And he ended up serving only 5 months of his 19-month sentence. Leviev was released in 2020. As of 2022, he is reportedly still living in Israel. And it sounds like he hasnt given up his glamorous lifestyle.

Up until recently, his Instagram was open, it wasnt set to private and Simons driving around in Ferraris, filmmaker Felicity Morris told Newsweek. Hes taking pictures of himself in private jets, hes dating glamorous women. And so, therefore, you think, Well, that doesnt look like justice to me.

The Tinder Swindler filmmakers hope the Netflix movie exposes the truth about Simon Leviev

Leviev is a free man today. But the Tinder Swindler filmmakers (who also produced Netflixs 2019 docuseries Dont F*ck With Cats) hope their documentary does more to expose him for who he really is.

What weve hoped with this film  and Cecilie really started the relay race or held the baton first  is that it will act as justice for them in some way, Morris said. Because obviously, Netflix is such a huge global platform. Lots of people watch it, and lots of people will see Simon for who he really is. He cant sort of hide behind the guise that has been Simon Leviev, the heir of the Israeli diamond fortune anymore.

Meanwhile, those conned by Leviev hope he eventually leaves Israel so that he can be arrested for the crimes he allegedly committed in Europe.

Private investigators and Interpol people are waiting for him to leave Israel to arrest him, one of his victims, who declined to give her name, told Israels Channel 12 (via the Times of Israel). He ruined my life and shattered me emotionally and financially.

The Tinder Swindler is currently streaming on Netflix.

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RELATED: True Crime Documentaries: Netflix Tackles the College Admissions Scandal in Operation Varsity Blues
Outlander was not Caitriona Balfes first role. She had roles in the movies Super 8 and Escape Plan before joining the Outlander cast. In fact, one of her first movies was The Devil Wears Prada, although you dont see her face. Perhaps if she hadnt quit after one day, she might have gotten some screen time.

Caitriona Balfe | Starz

Balfe was a guest on The Hollywood Reporters Awards Chatter podcast on Jan. 31 to discuss her role in the movie Belfast. When discussing her transition from modeling to acting, Balfe explained her role in The Devil Wears Prada, and why she quit. Outlander Season 6 returns March 6 on Starz.

The Devil Wears Prada was Caitriona Balfes first real movie

Balfe said she had seen local productions growing up in Ireland. However, The Devil Wears Prada was a major Hollywood production, for better or worse. At the time, Balfe was a model in New York.

RELATED: Outlander: Why Caitriona Balfe Felt This Season 2 Scene Was Like a Disney Movie

The first day, it was one of the scenes where I think Meryl Streep is crossing in front of the building and her entrance going into the Vogue/Conde Nast building, Balfe said on Awards Chatter. I hadnt been on a film set. I think Id seen a set when I was in my youth, when I remember being around a film that was filming in our time. But I hadnt really been on a film set.

Before Outlander, cast member Caitriona Balfe discovered acting wasnt all glamour

Theres a reason Hollywood has the expression hurry up and wait. There is a lot of downtime between shots. And thats for the major stars like Meryl Streep. So imagine how long The Devil Wears Prada extras had to wait just to do basic busywork on screen.

Just the length of time it was taking to do this one scene, Balfe lamented. We were stuck in a honeywagon, me and my two or three other friends that I was there on the job with, all day just waiting in this honeywagon. I was like, This blows. This is terrible.

The wait is over! Here's the official trailer for #Outlander Season 6, premiering March 6 on STARZ. pic.twitter.com/rFlzbmAGpV  Outlander (@Outlander_STARZ) January 19, 2022

RELATED: Outlander: The Most Dramatic Scene in Season 5 Had This Major Distraction, Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe Say

In the scene, you only see Balfes feet. So, she didnt bother showing up after that.

And then when we finally got called, it was literally to walk in front of a camera that was down on the ground, by the way, Balfe said. So it was literally just our feet. So I didnt. Im ashamed to say, I didnt go back the next day.

The Devil Wears Prada was looking for models

Since The Devil Wears Prada is set in the fashion world, the production cast New York models to fill the scenes at Runway magazine. Balfe leapt at the chance, but got disillusioned after day 1. Fortunately, shed hone her discipline for tedious film shoots soon after. The Outlander cast endures much harsher conditions than a trailer in New York.

I think they just came to modeling agencies and were like, We need a bunch of women who can walk in heels, Balfe said. My agency knew I wanted to act and they were sort of starting to, if people would come looking for stuff, they were sending me out to a few auditions. I obviously wasnt very good because I didnt get any of them. But yeah, I got booked, for some reason they called them the clackers which I guess is just the heels on the ground. You were basically a glorified extra. I was a clacker, there you go.

RELATED: Outlander Stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan Reveal the Worst Parts About Working with Maggots
Prince William and Kate Middleton are currently experiencing winter in England. However, the couple could have a change of scenery in the coming months. According to a source, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge might be considering a royal tour to the Caribbean, a place with a much warmer climate.

Kate Middleton and Prince William | Samir Hussein/WireImage

Prince William and Kate Middleton are reportedly planning a trip to the Caribbean

According to the Daily Mail, representatives for William and Kate have been visiting the Caribbean as an advance party to prepare for the Cambridge to potentially travel there. One place the representatives were reportedly seen at is Belizes Ambergris Caye island.

Their people were very secretive and kept saying this had to be kept very quiet, but on a small island like Ambergris Caye its impossible to keep anything quiet for very long, a source on the island told the news outlet. They were talking about a four-day visit to Belize in March as part of a longer trip to this part of the world. They said William and Kate might visit the Caye and also go to mainland Belize. Its all anyone here is talking about. We are so excited.

A number of Caribbean countries are still a part of the Commonwealth, so it is not surprising for royals to travel there. For example, in November 2021, Williams father, Prince Charles, traveled to Barbados to mark the countrys transition to becoming a republic.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are rumored to travel to the United States later this year

RELATED: Kate Middleton Subtly Shows She Has Secret Plans Up Her Sleeve With 1 Pose, Body Language Expert Says

In addition to the Caribbean, there are also rumors that William and Kate might travel to the United States later this year. In 2022, Williams Earthshot Prize will be held in the U.S., which is why some royal experts believe the Cambridges might embark on a tour of the U.S. as well.

A royal tour to the US is long overdue, author Duncan Larcombe told Closer UK in the fall of 2021. They are our most important allies and there is a huge appetite for the royals over there. Royal tours take around six months to plan in secret, so its likely theres one in the works to visit later this year or next, and my best bet is it will be William and Kate.

Larcombe added, Its part of their royal duties to visit the States, so theyll go at some point, whether its next year or the near future.

Although the Cambridges have not confirmed these rumors, William has expressed his excitement at the Earthshot Prize being held in the U.S.

Im thrilled that in 2022, The Earthshot Prize will be heading to the United States, where we will continue to spread this vital message of urgency, optimism and action, he told People. The urgency of the situation cant be overstated. But through The Earthshot Prize, I want to show people across the world why there is reason to be hopeful.

The couple previously visited the U.S. in 2011 and 2014.

RELATED: Kate Middleton Reportedly Has a Male Confidant Who Is Not Prince William, Royal Expert Says
Ree Drummond is the star of The Pioneer Woman who fans adore and have been following for many years. The celebrity cook has a special connection with her loyal fans and often shares moments of her life on social media. Drummond recently shared a video with a beautiful sunset backdrop that was stunning. However, many Instagram users might not have noted one thing that she ended up pointing out in the caption.

Ree Drummond | Tyler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Fans react to Ree Drummonds adorable video

Drummond is the star of Food Network and fans love everything that she does. The Pioneer Woman founder is very active on social media and her Instagram account often has beautiful images of the places she travels to. Drummond couldnt resist but to share a spectacular video of a sunset with herself in the foreground. In the clip, Drummond is seen playing with her red hair that glows with the sunlight. However, many fans didnt notice something icky that was in the video and Drummond pointed it out in her caption.

This would have been some impressive sunset selfie cinematography if not for the dog slobber on my coat. I always kind of just miss the mark somehow, Drummond captioned.

Furthermore, fans didnt last long before reacting to the post leaving comments about the incident with her dog.

But really, what is a beautiful sunset without dog saliva? Im thinking you should run with this and snowball it into some new clothing designs, a fan said.

Nope- youre authentic and that is your charm and why youre loved, a follower replied.

Pretty sure the dog slobber makes the look, Ree, an Instagram user noted.

Slobber and all you always look amazing, another fan commented.

Dog lovers love our dog slobber, another follower mentioned.

I wouldnt have noticed I was looking at your gorgeous hair. Youre so authentic, and we love it! another Instagram user added.

RELATED: The Pioneer Woman Star Ree Drummond Gets Called out by Some Fans for Unsanitary Habits

Ree Drummond loves dogs

People that follow Drummond, know that she loves dogs. During a trip to Vail, Colorado, Drummond shared an endearing video of a store dog she met while shopping.

Im leaving Vail early in the morning to drive home, she shared on Instagram. So tonight I took Mauricio to a store in the village to try on a jacket I wanted to get my brother-in-law Tim for Christmas so I could gauge the right size. But then we met Trek, the store dog, and it was all over for me. Tim who??? Ive never heard of the man.

Drummond forgot about the shopping for a moment and spent some time with the beautiful dog that was laying down and getting pampered by the star. Dogs are so important in Drummonds life that she even has a line of dog food with Purina branded with The Pioneer Woman name.

RELATED: The Pioneer Woman Star Ree Drummond Praises Christmas Cookie Challenge Co-Host

Ree Drummond getting back her production crew

Drummond recently teased fans that the new season of The Pioneer Woman was about to start production. However, this time the production crew would return and her kids would not be filming the episodes. Drummonds children had been helping out with recording during the pandemic but as protocols for filming have been set, the film crew will return.

One of the things that Drummond said would return to the show was the showcasing of the ranch activities, which is something she said on Instagram that she missed.

RELATED: Ree Drummond Fans Are Afraid The Pioneer Woman Will Lose Its Family Vibe if Kids Stop Filming
LG Energy Solution CEO Kwon Young-soo speaks during the company's listing ceremony held at Korea Exchange (KRX)'s Seoul Building located on Yeouido on Jan. 27, when the firm's shares debuted on the KOSPI. Newsis



By Anna J. Park



As LG Energy Solution (LGES) is slated to be included in two MSCI indexes  the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index and the MSCI Korea Index  by mid-February, the global battery maker's stocks are expected to enjoy a massive influx of global passive funds. The world's second-largest secondary battery maker is set to be included in the indexes after closing on Feb. 14, and LGES is expected to take up about 0.11 percent of the MSCI EM Index and 1 percent of the MSCI Korea Index.



Given than about 95 percent of U.S.-based mutual funds track the MSCI index, the company's inclusion in the indexes signals a possible stock price surge. Market analysts estimate that up to 690 billion won ($570 million) worth of global passive funds will flow into the stock.



"It is being calculated that LGES' stock will see an influx of about 690 billion won upon its inclusion in the indexes, considering that some $500 billion worth of global passive money is tracking the MSCI EM," said Kim Dong-young, a senior analyst at Samsung Securities, adding that the specific figures could be revised according to stock price changes by the inclusion date.



LGES' stock, meanwhile, failed to make a quick entry into the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) Index. The company's inclusion in this index is scheduled to be discussed during a quarterly review in March.



"LGES' stock's failure to be included early in the FTSE Index is attributed to the shortage of investable market capitalization, which is a criterion," Heo Yule, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, pointed out.



Short-selling of LGES shares will be possible starting March 11, when the stock is expected to be included early in the KOSPI 200 Index, a capitalization-weighted index of 200 Korean stocks that makes up 93 percent of the total market value of Korea's stock market. Currently, short-selling is possible only for Korean stocks that are included in the KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 indexes.



Upon its listing in late January, LGES' stock jumped straight to the second-largest market cap status  with over 105 trillion won  on the country's main benchmark KOSPI, behind only Samsung Electronics. The stock ended at 450,000 won on Friday's closing, which is a 50 percent increase from its subscription price of 300,000 won. However, it is more than a 24 percent fall from the initial starting stock price of 597,000 won upon its listing last Thursday.


Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are two music stars with countless hits between them. But thats not the only thing they have in common: they both share special connections to the Caribbean nation of Barbados.

A$AP Rocky and Rihanna | Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Rihanna grew up in Barbados

Before the world knew her as Rihanna, she was young Robyn Rihanna Fenty. She was born in Saint Michael, Barbados and raised in a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgetown.

As a child, Rihanna sold clothes with her father in a stall on the street. She was also witness to her fathers addiction and abuse issues, and would have to break up physical fights between her parents.

Eventually, Rihanna was discovered by American record executive Evan Rogers when she was just 14. She recorded a demo tape that included her eventual breakout single Pon de Replay. This caught the attention of Jay-Z, who had just been appointed president and CEO of Def Jam Records. He signed her that night at 3 oclock in the morning.

Of course, since then Rihanna has gone on to become one of the most lucrative stars in the music industry today. In 2021, she became a billionaire thanks in large part to her Fenty Beauty makeup brand and Savage x Fenty lingerie line. That same year, she was given the National Hero award in her home country of Barbados.

Shes even paid homage to her home in some of her Fenty Beauty products. One of her bronzer shades is called Bajan Gyal, and some of her Fenty Skin products contain Barbados cherry.

A$AP Rockys family is Barbadian

Like Rihanna, A$AP Rocky also has a connection to Barbados. But unlike her, he grew up in the U.S.

A$AP Rocky was born and raised in Harlem, New York, and has a connection to Barbados through his father. In late 2021, Rocky flew out to Barbados to spend time with Rihanna as well as to see family of his own.

[He has] a ton of relatives there that he loves catching up with, a source close to the couple told HollywoodLife. Its something Rihanna and Rocky have bonded about because they feel a commonality there.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are expecting their first child together

For years, fans questioned when Rihanna would have a baby and who she would start a family with. When she started dating A$AP Rocky in 2020, many wondered if he would be the one.

In January 2022, Rihanna and Rocky broke the Internet with their photos announcing that Rihanna was indeed pregnant. While its not clear how far along she is, she definitely was careful about who she wanted to embark on this journey with, never having entertained the idea of a child with past partners.

Rocky having Barbadian heritage could have been a factor in Rihannas mind when thinking about raising a child with him. Now, theyre able to share their common culture with their new baby.

RELATED: Jay-Z Fought Over Rihanna the Day Before She Signed Her Record Deal With Him
For prospective individuals looking to apply for college or submit scholarship applications, many academic advisers will say there is no secret formula, but well written essays can make a good impression.
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Roberto Mendoza of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation prepares Oct. 27, 2021, to take part in a rally protesting Tulsas support of overturning the landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma decision.
Interested in learning how ranked choice voting would give your vote more power?

If so, you are welcome to attend a virtual information session being hosted by the Cheshire Democratic Town Committee on Thursday, Feb. 10, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Presenters will be Jonathan Perloe and Jeff Brenzel of the non-partisan Voter Choice Connecticut, a grassroots group advocating for better elections in Connecticut through ranked choice voting.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) gives voters a better way to express their preferences and produces more representative election outcomes. It was recommended by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as a strategy for achieving equality of voice and representation in its report, Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. Following state referendums, RCV is now being used in Maine and Alaska, and is undergoing consideration for adoption by other states.

Jonathan Perloe co-founded and leads Voter Choice Connecticut, the citizens group working to bring ranked choice voting to Connecticut. Since the 2016 election, he has been active in efforts to protect and expand voting rights and strengthen our democracy, including the successful grassroots effort to get Connecticut to join the National Popular Vote Compact. Following his retirement from a lengthy career at Yale, Jeff Brenzel joined Voter Choice Connecticut after being heavily engaged in the 2020 state and national campaigns, concluding that nonpartisan electoral reforms are crucial to sustaining American democracy.

To register for the Feb. 10 information session, go to https://bit.ly/3tTUhBo. Information is also available through the Cheshire Democratic Town Committee website, www.cheshiredem.org. All interested citizens are invited to attend, as the CDTC supports a well-informed electorate.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted to establish a moratorium on all cannabis-related establishments in the community at their Jan. 24 meeting, with the exception of micro-cultivators and cultivators.

The decision came after Commissioners discussed at length the possibility of amending a potential moratorium so as to not impact those who wish to grow cannabis in town and sell to dispensary facilities across the country.

Local business owner Brad Smith brought attention to a specific clause in the moratorium regarding cannabis cultivators. Smith runs a hemp growing operation in town, and is looking to expand his business and obtain a micro-cultivator license for growing cannabis at his facility.

With the rich history of Cheshire being an agricultural community, with Cheshire being the bedding plant capital (of Connecticut), I would think there shouldnt be a regulation on what I can grow, Smith said, to the Commissioners. The moratorium not only impacts sales and establishments of businesses, but it includes cultivators as well, and I am asking that you eliminate that portion of the moratorium.

Commissioner Sean Strollo mentioned that Watertown has a special exclusion in their moratorium for cultivators, and suggested that Cheshire could look into establishing something similar.

Can we see what Watertown did, and perhaps adjust it to be appropriate for Cheshire? Strollo asked the Town Attorney, Jeffery Donofrio. What I am most worried about really is security here. I can imagine that, if you have the ability to grow (cannabis), someone is going to want to steal it.

Smith explained that his hemp-growing business has never had any security issues. Cameras are located throughout the facility, he explained, and other specific precautions have been taken.

I think, once people see a 12-foot wall, they get pretty discouraged, he said. But I invite all of you to come to my facility to take a look at what I have going on. I think it will answer a lot of your questions.

Donofrio agreed to look into Watertowns regulation, but added that time was of the essence to get the moratorium in place as soon as possible, if that is what the Commissioners are leaning towards.

I would recommend you make a decision on this as soon as possible, Donofrio warned. Getting the legislation from Watertown, drafting new language to make it applicable to Cheshire, that is all going to take time.

Smith added that the application for him to become a micro-cultivator comes due at the beginning of February, and he was worried the state will decline his application if it sees that his business is located in a town that has established a sweeping moratorium.

(The state) is only willing to give out two micro-cultivator licenses, and if I miss this deadline I am sort of behind the eight-ball for an entire year, he said. There shouldnt be a ban on growing something  its a plant.

Chairman EJ Kurtz agreed with Smith, adding that he wasnt aware of the exclusion, and that he would be open to considering an amendment.

I didnt know that the moratorium excluded cultivators as well, he said. That changes things. I was ready to vote on this issue tonight, but it seems that we still have a lot to discuss because, I agree, there shouldnt be a restriction on cultivators.

For Commissioner Jeff Natalie, the revelation regarding cultivators proved, in his mind, that a moratorium is all the more necessary, as it showed there remains so much still unknown regarding the adult use of cannabis in Connecticut and how it will impact communities.

The State could change its mind tomorrow and decide to distribute 50 micro-cultivator licenses, and if we exclude cultivators from the moratorium, then we need to create some sort of regulation, or else they could just be rampant, he said. There is still so much unknown.

Chairman Kurtz decided to ultimately hold a vote on excluding the term cultivator and micro-cultivator from the moratorium. The motion passed with a 4-3 vote, and two abstained. Kurtz, Casey Downes, John Hilzinger, and Tom Selmont voted to exclude, while Natale, Louis Todisco, and Strollo voted against the exclusion. Commissioners John Kardaras and Woody Dawson abstained.

Natale added that he believes approving the exclusion was a mistake.

If someone applies for a license, wins the lottery, and puts the establishment here in a local neighborhood, I dont want to have to explain why we did this, he said.

The PZC then voted on the moratorium itself, which passed with a 7-2 margin. Commissioners Kardaras and Dawson were the only two to vote against the moratorium.
Graveside services will be held Saturday May 7, 2022, 1:00pm at the Alex Cemetery, Alex, OK. The family will receive guests following the service at the Alex Community Center.
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Thousands were impacted by the departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. This emergency initiative responds to this impact through supporting displaced Afghan refugees.

Last year I had the privilege of deploying to a U.S. military base in Virginia, assisting Afghan refugees who were just arriving in the U.S. I wrote more about the experience here.

Our deployment was a small part of the overall mission of Afghan resettlement, which has been named Operation Allies Welcome (OAW). Part of the OAW mission is an exciting new opportunity for churches and community groups to act as sponsors for these refugees.

I spoke with Danielle Grigsby, from the new Community Sponsorship Hub, to learn more.

Kent Annan: Can you briefly explain how this new sponsorship program works?

Danielle Grigsby: The global community was gripped by the departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan after a 20-year operation on the ground. There was a tremendous response from people across the United States who wanted to directly support displaced Afghans; communities from coast-to-coast rallied to welcome our new neighbors. The United States has evacuated thousands of Afghans in need of safety. Many of these individuals are at military bases across the United States awaiting placement in welcoming communities.

The Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans is an emergency initiative that responds to this moment in history. Sponsor Circles give communities the opportunity to lead in the reception and integration of displaced Afghans.

The Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans is a community-led resettlement initiative that allows everyday Americans to take on the responsibility of welcoming an Afghan newcomer to their communities. An emergency response launched to ensure that all arriving Afghans receive welcome and support, the Sponsor Circle Program pairs Afghan newcomers with community groups eager to provide support. By applying to serve as a certified sponsor circle, groups commit to provide critical welcome and support to an Afghan newcomer family for a minimum of 90 days.

This support will include:

Fundraising at least $2,275 per individual welcomed

Helping to secure housing

Providing basic necessities (furniture, clothing, food, etc.)

Assisting in completing relevant paperwork to access documentation and public benefits for which the newcomers may be eligible

Connecting to relevant services, including health care, education, and legal assistance

Supporting in English language acquisition

Helping to secure employment

Providing community orientation, friendship, and moral support

Each Sponsor Circle will be connected to a Community Sponsorship Hub-accredited Sponsor Circle Umbrella (SCU). SCUs provide additional support to Sponsor Circles, including assisting Sponsor Circles in addressing specific questions (e.g., how to navigate public benefits) or challenges that arise during the sponsorship period. Sponsor Circles may also be eligible to access temporary housing credits made available by airbnb.org.

KA: How is this a departure from the previous approach? Why make this change?

DG: The Sponsor Circle Program is a capacity-enhancing initiative; it supports the US-domestic infrastructure by expanding its capacity to welcome Afghan newcomers. The domestic resettlement infrastructure has undertaken the herculean task of rebuilding after many years of forced constriction to respond to the situation in Afghanistan. Resettlement Agencies have widely reported that their capacity to welcome refugees is greatly diminished as a result of years of forced restriction by the previous administration.

As a result of this diminished capacity, some Afghans are electing to independently depart from safe havens without the support of a resettlement agency. Sponsor Circles builds on the unprecedented support of communities to welcome newcomers by providing them opportunities to directly welcome Afghans through sponsorship. The Sponsor Circle Program expands the domestic capacity to support Afghans.

Afghan newcomers are served through a network of community-based organizations called resettlement agencies through a program called the Afghan Placement and Assistance Program (APA). Resettlement agencies are experts in welcoming newcomers; however, given the speed with which Afghan newcomers have arrived in the United States, resettlement agencies and the communities in which they work may lack the staffing and resources necessary to provide

immediate welcome. The Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans is an emergency response initiative that serves as an alternative to the Afghan Placement and Assistance Program. Made possible by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of State and the Community Sponsorship Hub, and implemented by a growing coalition of partners, the program seeks to expand the United States capacity to welcome. Through the program, groups of five

individuals can come together to form a certified sponsor circle and be matched with a newcomer, welcoming them to their community and providing them with initial reception and integration services.

KA: There are other places like Canada, if I understand correctly, where a similar option for resettlement has been in place for a while. What are you most excited about with this option now being available? Do you and people in the administration have any concerns youre watching for as it rolls out?

DG: The Sponsor Circle Program revolutionizes the way communities may respond to directly welcome displaced Afghan refugees. No matter where people are in the United States, they can welcome a newcomer to their community and provide them with the practical support they need to get settled by serving as a certified sponsor circle. Sponsor Circles take on tasks like finding initial housing, stocking the pantry, enrolling children to school, providing initial income support, and helping adults to find employment.

KA: I know the administration is working quickly to try to resettle the 40,000 or so Afghans who are military bases now and the thousands who will still be coming from lily pads and still making their way from Afghanistan or other countries where theyve evacuated too. For how long do you think it will be possible for people to take this step of sponsoring an Afghan individual or family for resettlementthat is, will this likely be possible throughout 2022 or only for the next few months?

DG: The Sponsor Circle Program is prepared to support communities in welcoming newcomers as long as the need persists.

KA: If a small group or a church wanted to explore doing this, what are the requirementsis it a certain number of people, do you have to raise/give any money? Anything else people should do to consider the cost before taking this very generous, and Im sure what will be a deeply meaningful step to help others?

DG: Groups or churches that feel compelled to welcome our new neighbors through the Sponsor Circle program are encouraged to begin their application today. To make sure that Sponsor Circles are up to the challenge of supporting a newcomer family, individuals are asked to complete an application process. This process consists of the following:

Find four friends in or near your community who are 18 years of age or older to join in forming the circle. Every circle member must complete a required background check. The circle must complete a learning module and pass a knowledge check. The circle must complete a detailed welcome plan to share how the Afghan newcomers with whom the circle is matched will be supported. Begin fundraising the minimum of $2,275 per newcomer the circle hopes to welcome. Submit the completed application.

After submitting the completed application, it will be reviewed by a certifier. Once the application is certified, the circle will be matched with a newcomer family in need of support. The Sponsor Circle will receive support navigating this process. The entire process will take a few weeks to complete.

They may also register for one of our upcoming application support sessions, listed on the Sponsor Circle website: Resources  Sponsor Circles and click on the link under application support to register.

KA: Where should people go to learn more and take the next step?

DG: Groups should visit: www.sponsorcircles.org

Note from Kent: If your church or small group is considering taking this step or is already preparing to welcome Afghan guests in your community, Kents book You Welcomed Me: Loving Refugees and Immigrants Because God First Loved Us and a free video class by the same name are great resources as you step into the work of welcoming. There is also a free YouVersion Bible study here.

Youre reading the Better Samaritan blog, produced by the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College. Reach us .

Kent Annan is director of Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College, where he leads an M.A. program as part of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute.

Danielle Grigsby is the Director of External Affairs & Co-Founder of the Community Sponsorship Hub. She has four years of executive leadership at Refugee Council USA, operationalizing their transition to an independent coalition and spearheading the Center for Refugee Inclusion and Resettlement Excellence. Prior to this Grigsbys career spanned the globe, from IDP work with the State Department in Lagos, Nigeria to identifying durable solutions support for refugees in Moscow, Russia. She holds a Masters in Social Work from Boston College, conducted graduate studies in Forced Migration at Oxford University, has two Bachelor degrees in Political Science and History from Weber State University and is a Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres attends a press conference at the end of a 5+1 Meeting in Cyprus, in this file photo taken April 29, 2021. AFP-Yonhap





U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned North Korea's latest missile launch, Tuesday, and called on Pyongyang to refrain from further provocations.







North Korea test-fired what appeared to be an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) Sunday (KST).







"The Secretary-General condemns the launch of a ballistic missile of possible intermediate-range by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Jan. 30," a spokesperson for the top U.N. official said in a released statement, referring to North Korea by its official name.







"This is a breaking of the DPRK's announced moratorium in 2018 on launches of this nature, and a clear violation of Security Council resolutions," added the statement.







North Korea has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons long-range missile testing since November 2017.







Its leader Kim Jong-un, however, said in 2019 that he no longer felt bound by such restrictions. The North also said earlier this month that it would consider restarting "all temporarily-suspended activities."







The country has so far staged seven missile tests since the start of this year, mostly involving short-range missiles.







"It is of great concern that the DPRK has again disregarded any consideration for international flight or maritime safety," the U.N. spokesperson said.







"The Secretary-General urges the DPRK to desist from taking any further counter-productive actions and calls for all parties to seek a peaceful diplomatic solution."







North Korea has stayed away from denuclearization talks since late 2019, and has remained unresponsive to recent U.S. overtures for dialogue. (Yonhap)


Why do many people embrace a worldview that wont even consider evidence for miracles? Sometimes they assume that science opposes miracles, but that assumption goes back not to scientific inquiry itself but to an 18th-century philosopher. Knowingly or unknowingly, many people have followed the thesis of Scottish skeptic David Hume (17111776).

Hume was probably the most prominent philosopher of his generation, and surely the most influential from his time on subsequent generations. He wrote on a wide variety of topics, sometimes very insightfully but sometimes (as with his ethnocentric approach to history) in ways that would not be accepted today.

Humes intellectual stature, earned from other works, eventually lent credibility to his 1748 essay on miracles. In this essay, Hume dismisses the credibility of miracle claims, appealing to natural law and uniform human experience. Although an appeal to natural law might sound scientific, Hume was not a scientist; in fact, some of his views on causation would make scientific inquiry impossible. Humes essay on miracles also contradicts his own approach to discovering knowledge.

Moreover, Humes essay has generated serious intellectual counterarguments since the time it was first published. One of these counterarguments was historys first public use of Bayes theorem, today an essential staple in statistics.

Mathematician and Presbyterian minister Thomas Bayes originated the theorem but died before publishing it. His close friend Richard Price, also a mathematician and minister, published it and then used Bayes theorem to refute a probability claim Hume had made in his essay about miracle witnesses.

Hume himself acknowledged the force of that argument, though he did not adequately revise his essay in light of it. Mathematician Charles Babbage, designer of the first mechanical computer, also issued a refutation of Humes probability argument against miracles.

Most early English scientists believed in biblical miracles. Such scientists included Isaac Newton and early Newtonians. Modern science originally developed in contexts that affirmed that a superintelligent God created the universe and that it therefore should make sense. Newton popularized the idea of natural lawand saw it as a design argument for Gods existence.

Likewise, Robert Boyle, the father of chemistry, used his discoveries about nature to argue for an intelligent designer. Boyle, Newton, and Newtonians believed in biblical miracles: They affirmed that the God who set up the universe to normally work in an orderly way was not subject to that order. Some modern scientific thinkers concur, such as John Polkinghorne.

Most early modern scientists worked from a Christian worldview. Examples include Blaise Pascal, the mathematician who developed the precursor of the modern computer; Andreas Vesalius, the founder of the modern study of human anatomy; Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the founder of microbiology; William Harvey, who described the circulatory system; Gregor Mendel, a monk and early leader in genetics; Francis Bacon; Nicolaus Copernicus; Galileo Galilei (despite conflicts arising from contemporary academic and ecclesiastical politics); Johannes Kepler.



More recently, we have Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, and George Washington Carverthe list could go on. The myth of a historic war between science and religion stems especially from two late 19th-century books that historians have subsequently debunked as antireligious propaganda.

It was not, then, scientists who came up with the idea that miracles violate natural law. It was other thinkers such as Hume. Hume liked Newtons mechanistic universe; he used it, however, in a way quite different from Newton. Hume adopted much of his argument from a movement of his day called deism. Deists believed that God designed the universe, but they often denied that he acted in the world much after that. Hume developed much of his argument precisely to oppose the sort of evidentialist apologists who had led Englands scientific revolution.

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Humes argument was twofold: First, miracles are violations of natural law. Second, uniform human experience warns against trusting miracle reports.

Although some earlier writers had viewed miracles as beyond laws of nature, Hume treated them as violations of laws of nature. Once he adopted this definition, he insisted that miracles are miracles only if they violate natural law. Then he argued that natural law cannot be violated, so therefore miracles do not happen.

Although this clever play with words does not fit Humes own normal way of arguing, he conveniently defines miracles this way in hopes of defining them out of existence. This approach spares him the trouble of having to argue against them one by one.

As Humes critics have always pointed out, this language loads the deck of the argument. No one who believes in a God who created laws of nature believes that God is subject to such lawsas if God illegally violates them by doing a miracle.

Humes god that cannot violate natural law is not the God of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Nor do violations of nature correspond with most of the biblical miracles that Hume wished to undermine. Hume was thus refuting a straw mana caricature of what people actually believed.

In the Bible, God often acts through other agents. When Judges 20:35 says that God struck the tribe of Benjamin, the context makes it clear that God executed this judgment through human warriors.

Likewise, when God gave the Israelites Canaan, the Bible claims that he accomplished this gift through their military victories (Deut. 3:18; 4:1). When God sent swarms of locusts into Egypt by a strong east wind (Ex. 10:13), he was not breaking any natural law. This was not the only time locusts struck Egypt; it was simply the most severe and timelythe one that came right after Moses predicted it. And we already discussed the parting of the sea.

Human beings regularly act within nature; they do not, for example, violate the law of gravity by catching a falling pencil or lifting an eraser. Nor does a surgeon violate natural law when she restores someones sight. Why should a putative creator be any less able to act within nature than those he created? One must essentially assume deism or atheism from the start for Humes argument to work at all.

Another problem with Humes argument today is how he viewed natural laws. Today philosophers of science tend to define laws of nature in primarily descriptive ways. That is, these laws describe what happens rather than causing it. If scientists find some things that do not fit the pattern, they may rethink the law, but they do not ordinarily say that something violated the law.

Moreover, laws of nature describe nature at particular levels and under particular conditions; they function differently in settings such as superconductivity or black holes. Why should special divine action not create a different set of conditions than those to which we are accustomed?

This excerpt was taken from Miracles Today by Craig S. Keener, 2021. Used by permission of Baker Publishing www.bakerpublishinggroup.com.
African missionaries were about to be murdered until a simple act saved their lives, had an eternal impact

"The Gospel really is all we need." That's the lesson Christian Post reporter Leah MarieAnn Klett took away from her recent coverage of an African ministry that shares biblical truth with unreached people groups.

"It's extremely dangerous to be a Christian in these areas," Klett said. "And it's very dangerous to go into these areas and reach people with the Gospel."

She specifically shared a harrowing story from Oscar Amaechina, president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network in Abuja, Nigeria, who revealed that he and other missionaries were once almost murdered by a group  but that an act of simple love and compassion changed everything and had an eternal impact.

Klett said, "This group of people who set out to kill him converted to Christianity because of  kindness."

Listen to the powerful conversation:

"The Christian Post Podcast" takes you behind the headlines of the biggest faith, culture, and political headlines of the week. In 15 minutes or less, Christian Post staff writers and editors will help you navigate and understand whats driving each story, the issues at play  and why it all matters.

Listen to more Christian podcasts today on the Edifi app  and be sure to subscribe to the Christian Post Podcast on your favorite platforms:
Judge blocks Ohio law requiring proper disposal of aborted babies

A judge has issued a second preliminary injunction against an Ohio law that, among other things, requires that aborted babies be given proper disposal through burial or cremation.

Judge Alison Hatheway of the Court of Common Pleas in Hamilton County entered a preliminary injunction on Monday against Ohio Senate Bill 27, also known as the Unborn Child Dignity Act.

While the first preliminary injunction against the law was a temporary measure issued last year, this second injunction will remain in effect until a judgment in the case is reached.

Given the breadth of the Ohio Constitutions guarantees of bodily autonomy, privacy, and freedom of choice in health care, strict scrutiny must apply to a law that infringes on this protection, ruled Hatheway.

SB27 is not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest  the State does not require health care facilities to dispose of identical tissue after miscarriage and infertility treatments by cremation or interment, thus casting strong doubt on the States claimed purposes.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a couple of abortion clinics issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting the ruling.

Todays ruling reaffirms what we already know to be true: aggressive and cruel regulations like SB27 serve no other purpose than to impose severe burdens on abortion patients and providers, and to shame and stigmatize patients seeking essential health care, they stated.

We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure Ohioans have the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies, their families, and their futures.

In late December 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed SB 27 into law, which requires final disposition of fetal remains from a surgical abortion at an abortion facility (to) be by cremation or interment.

Other provisions include requiring abortion facilities to document in the pregnant womans medical record the final disposition determination made and maintain evidentiary documentation demonstrating the date and method of the disposition of fetal remains from surgical abortions performed or induced in the facility. Failure to comply with these will be a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said in a statement released at the time that the new law showed that we respect life and we bury our dead.

No longer will the tiny bodies of babies whose lives have been tragically taken through abortion be treated like trash, said Gonidakis.

The abortion industry, who has for decades tried to convince women that the lives of their children dont matter and should simply be thrown away, will now be unable to hide behind this blatant lie.
Seminary granted $1M to launch House of Black Church Studies

An ecumenical seminary based in Tennessee has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to advance studies on the African American church.

Memphis Theological Seminary will launch in-person programming for the House of Black Church Studies as early as March, selecting alumnus author and pastor Karren Todd as program director.

At Memphis Theological Seminary, we had already established a Cumberland Presbyterian House of Studies and a Methodist House of Studies, MTS President Jody Hill told The Christian Post in comments emailed on Wednesday.

With the addition of the House of Black Church Studies, Memphis Theological Seminary can now celebrate that we have houses of study dedicated to equipping leaders in our student bodys three largest congregational settings: the African American Church; the Cumberland Presbyterian Church; and the Pan-Methodist Church.

Hill directed CP to comments from the seminary proposal for the House of Black Church Studies, which will focus on the formation of congregational and pastoral leadership by building pastoral community; supporting mental health wellness; planning future sustainability; fostering spiritual formation; and developing congregational lay leadership.

The House of Black Church Studies will enhance Memphis Theological Seminarys capacity to carry forward its efforts to prepare and support pastors and congregational lay ministers of African-American traditions to serve their local congregations, stated the proposal.

The grant was one of 84 approved through Lilly Endowments Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which seeks to help theological schools strengthen and sustain their capacities to prepare and support pastoral leaders for Christian congregations.

The grants will assist programs at 74 theological schools in the United States and 10 in Canada, with grants ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.

Earlier this month, the Lilly Endowment granted $20 million to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to help preserve the legacy of the black church in America.

The black church has never simply been about spiritual development," Rice University professor Anthony B. Pinn told CP. "The black church has always tried to position itself as an organization that has met a full range of needs. And so folks go for this greater range of needs."

He warned that black Americans' involvement in churches has decreased over time because people have found different avenues to meet their needs, especially millennials.

Last November, Lilly announced plans to give $93 million in grants to 92 Christian organizations to help various Christian ministries adapt to a changing culture.

Known as the Thriving Congregations Initiative, recipients included Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Dakota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Fuller Theological Seminary, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston and the West Angeles Church of God in Christ.

Lilly Endowment Communications Director Judith Cebula told CP in an earlier interview that the organization would help ministries handle the rapidly changing contexts in which congregations exist.

The Endowment launched the initiative to encourage organizations that care about the wellbeing of congregations to find ways to help congregations strengthen their ministries so people can deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other and contribute to the flourishing of their communities and the world, Cebula added.
The Jesus Church: Why it's the hope of the world (pt 2)

Is the local church really the hope of the world?

South Chicago pastor Corey Brooks believes that it is, as he told interviewer Eli Steele.

The question is not limited to the Chicago inner-city but is relevant for all churches in what some observers view as a season of disintegration.

An anonymous author writes about The 2022 Unraveling from an imagined perspective of the future when the Western world goes through a series of crises and was The Age of Dust.[1]

In Matthew 24, Jesus speaks of the lead-up to the end-times as an era of chaos, apostasy, natural disasters, warfare, persecution, false prophets, and counterfeit messiahs. (Matthew 24:7-14 NLT).

It seems we have reached the age the Irish poet Yeats saw in his poem, The Second Coming, where he wrote that the center cannot hold. If the local church is to be the worlds hope, its center must be strong.

Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist who authored 12 Rules for Life, said recently that the Bible is true, and, even more, is the bedrock of Western civilization.[2]

But the culture formed around biblical values is dissolving, Peterson lamented. Thus, the church must recover the centrality of the Bible if the culture is to recover its bedrock.

Jesus Christ in His incarnation was the Word of God in living, breathing human flesh. He gave to His church the responsibility of continuing that incarnate ministry when He ascended to the Father.

If the church is the body of Christ, then it ought to do what Jesus did in His body.

The church that can be so vital to needy communities, stabilized by its establishment on the Word, must also develop the practical Jesus-style ministries through which it can touch its community and the world.

In my first pastorate in 1973, as I wrote in Part 1, I began a study of the ministry of Jesus. Through the ensuing years, I sought to build a strategy around what I was learning. The Jesus Church model began to emerge. Heres an overview of two core ministry actions:

Build the wheel

Jesuss strategy was based on various levels of relationship. It reminded me of a wooden wheel. At the hub in Jesus relational practice were the Three  Peter, James, and John. But they, along with Jesus Himself were joined to the Twelve, the spokes that linked to the outer wheel that touched the landscape, This was symbolized by the seventy that Jesus sent out, and then the 120.

Also at the hub was the axle that united ministries in partnership and support  like those who were ministering in Jesuss name, but were not part of His original group of disciples.

Implement Reach-Keep

Reaching and keeping the harvest are also matters of relationship. Again, as I studied Jesuss ministry style a strategic approach became visible that I called the reach-keep ministry, consisting of these stages:

Attract  Jesus attracted people to Himself by ministering to their perceived needs. So, churches now should understand their communities and the people in them and develop ministries that will address both felt and actual needs.

 Jesus attracted people to Himself by ministering to their perceived needs. So, churches now should understand their communities and the people in them and develop ministries that will address both felt and actual needs. Attach  Jesus sought to provide attachment points to which newcomers could enjoin themselves to establish relationships with Him and His followers. The Jesus Church will develop points of attachment that provide a place for newcomers.

 Jesus sought to provide attachment points to which newcomers could enjoin themselves to establish relationships with Him and His followers. The Jesus Church will develop points of attachment that provide a place for newcomers. Assimilate  Just as Jesus facilitated long-term relationships based on friendship and learning, so the Jesus church will provide specific means of deepening fellowship with newcomers.

 Just as Jesus facilitated long-term relationships based on friendship and learning, so the Jesus church will provide specific means of deepening fellowship with newcomers. Advance  Jesus trained and sent His followers on mission. The Jesus church today must focus on developing people to use their spiritual gifts and advance the Gospel in their worlds.

 Jesus trained and sent His followers on mission. The Jesus church today must focus on developing people to use their spiritual gifts and advance the Gospel in their worlds. Activate  As in the case of the Three, the twelve, the Seventy, and the One hundred-twenty, the Jesus church now should have specific mission points to which people can be sent and where they can use their spiritual gifts in ministering to their worlds.

 As in the case of the Three, the twelve, the Seventy, and the One hundred-twenty, the Jesus church now should have specific mission points to which people can be sent and where they can use their spiritual gifts in ministering to their worlds. Affirm  Jesus recognized and affirmed His disciples as they came back from ministry assignments. This is important in the local church now and there should be specific affirmation events where members receive the approbation and encouragement of their leaders.

The first church I served as senior pastor was located near Alabamas beautiful Mobile Bay. There is a phenomenon there that old-timers call the Jubilee. Suddenly, for reasons not totally understood, all the aquatic life in the Bay rushes to shore.

Someone will shout, Jubilee! and people on Fairhopes pier and all along the banks will scramble to get sacks, boxes, buckets  anything that will help them handle the harvest. They know not all will be edible, because every type of fish will zoom in.

One day as I stood at the Bays edge watching for Jubilee I realized this is a type of the kairos, the opportune time that is gathering momentum through the upheavals of our age.

Churches must be ready because the jubilee harvest is coming. Not only will the kairos-harvest have to deal with quantity, but also the types coming in because, just like the Mobile Bay Jubilee every kind of human will rush in, some with shocking appearance and lifestyle.

Institutional churches will find themselves offended and unable to minister to the extremes of this harvest. Only the Jesus Church will be fit to handle it.

Now is the time to get ready by developing the Jesus church that is the Christ-centered, Spirit-energized, Word-anchored, Kingdom-envisioning local body that is indeed the hope of the world.

[1] The 2022 Unraveling | Age of Dusk Wiki | Fandom

[2] Jordan Peterson: The Bible is the bedrock of civilization | Entertainment News (christianpost.com)
Michigan can't force Catholic charity to place kids with same-sex, unmarried couples: settlement

Christian adoption agencies and foster care groups that contract with the Michigan government won't be required to place children with same-sex couples, according to a new legal settlement.

In 2019, Michigan reached a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union, agreeing not to enforce a law passed in 2015 that allowed faith-based adoption and foster care agencies that contract with the government  among them St. Vincent Catholic Charities  to be exempted from state antidiscrimination law.

However, in a settlement filed in federal court on Tuesday, St. Vincent will now be allowed to be exempted from state anti-discrimination law when it comes to only placing children with opposite-sex married couples.

David Maluchnik, spokesman for the Michigan Catholic Conference, released a statement on the day of the settlement celebrating the result, seeing it as a victory for religious liberty.

We are grateful that a law signed in 2015 with bipartisan support to uphold conscience rights will continue to benefit Michigans most vulnerable children who are served by a network of faith-based child placement agencies, stated Maluchnik.

Despite a coordinated and high-profile sue and settle strategy that sought to find the 2015 law unconstitutional, Michigans child placement policy now enjoys federal legal protections that solidifies and strengthens the right of religious agencies to assist a range of children and families in search of permanent homes.

Demetrius Starling, executive director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement on Tuesday that while they cannot force St. Vincent to adhere to anti-discrimination law, they will find other ways to make LGBT families feel more included.

While this outcome is not what we hoped for, we are committed to providing support to the many members in the LGBTQ+ community who want to open their hearts and their homes, Starling said.

We are so appreciative of all families that step up to help these children  no matter their orientation or gender identity and expression.

In 2015, Michigan passed a law that allowed religious charities who contracted with the government to be exempted from anti-discrimination law in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs.

St. Vincent Catholic Charities had testified in defense of the legislation, with a representative explaining that while they would refuse to place a child in an unmarried or same-sex family, they would refer that family to another agency.

In 2017, the ACLU filed a complaint against the law on behalf of two same-sex couples who were turned away from state-supported child-placing agencies due to their relationships.

In March 2019, in response to the suit, Michigan announced that it would require all groups contracted with the government to comply with state anti-discrimination law.

This is a victory for the nearly 12,000 children in foster care in Michigan who need loving families like those offered by our clients, stated Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, at the time.

We are thrilled that the state of Michigan has committed to ensuring that all of the agencies it hires to find families for children in state custody comply with its non-discrimination requirements so that children do not lose out on families to care for them.

However, in September of that year, Judge Robert Jonker issued a preliminary injunction against the settlement between the ACLU and the state, explaining that the States new position targets St. Vincents religious beliefs.

In June of last year, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia that Philadelphia officials cannot exclude a Catholic charity from its foster program because the organization will not place children with same-sex couples in accordance with religious beliefs.
New omicron BA.2 strain hits the US, over 49 other countries

The omicron subvariant, known as BA.2 and which is even more contagious than the original omicron strain, known as BA.1, has spread to nearly half of U.S. states, including California, Texas and Washington, but is currently circulating at a low level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.

There were at least 127 known cases of the BA.2 variant in the United States as of Friday, according to a global database that tracks Covid variants, CNBC reported.

NPR said that the states where the BA.2 variant has been detected include California, Texas and Washington and scientists expect it to spread in the country over the next month.

Although the BA.2 lineage has recently increased in proportion in some countries, it remains a very low proportion of circulating viruses in the United States and globally, Kristen Nordlund, a CDC spokesperson, told The Washington Post.

Currently there is no evidence that the BA.2 lineage is more severe than the BA.1 lineage, Nordlund added.

First identified in early December, BA.2 has spread to 49 countries, CNN reported.

Denmarks Statens Serum Institute has said about half of all new COVID-19 cases in that country are of the BA.2 variant.

The U.K. Health Security Agency has said BA.2 has a substantial growth advantage over the original omicron, as the former spread faster than BA.1 in all regions of England where there were enough cases to conduct an analysis.

However, a preliminary assessment suggests that BA.2 might not reduce the effectiveness of vaccines any more than BA.1.

BA.1 and BA.2 arose around the same time and come from the same ancestor strain, Theodora Hatziioannou, an associate professor of virology at Rockefeller University, told The Wall Street Journal, adding that the two have many mutations in common but also around 20 different mutations.

The differences between the two can be seen in the spike protein of the virus, Hatziioannou explained.

Mark Zeller, a genomic epidemiologist at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California, was quoted as saying that BA.2 could lead to another surge in cases, but at a slower rate because those who have been infected with BA.1 may have some immunity to BA.2.

The original omicron was designated as the fifth variant of concern by the World Health Organization in November but the global agency hasnt given BA.2 any designation as of now.

Scientists and public health experts do not know yet whether BA.2 has symptoms that are significantly different from BA.1, but many believe BA.1 is less likely to lead to severe disease.

Scientists and public health experts don't yet know whether BA.2 has significantly different symptoms from BA.1, but many believe BA.1 is less likely to lead to severe disease.
Is there any hope for Chicago?: Pastor pleads for end to violence after 8-year-old girl shot in the head

Is there any hope for Chicago? A local pastor is asking the question in response to an 8-year-old girl being shot in that city, a week after six other children were killed in a span of 24 hours.

Shes in surgery now fighting for her life, and the question is, is there any hope for Chicago? asked Pastor Corey Brooks, founder and senior pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago, in his video column on Fox News.

The pastor later learned that the girl did not survive.

The girl, identified as Melissa Ortega, and her mother were walking down a street in Chicagos Little Village area last Saturday when a vehicle pulled up and fired at a man but it also hit the girl, FOX 32 reported.

The chaos, the lawlessness is so bad in Chicago that the criminals openly mock our police and our city leaders, and even our governor, the pastor said, noting that two criminals broke into two stores and stole the cash registers ... drove over to Governor Pritzkers home in Chicago, and  left the empty registers on his front lawn.

If that isnt a message that the criminals are running the city, he continued, I dont know what is.

Then, the same criminals joined other criminals and began to rob other stores, Brooks added.

According to recently released data from the Cook County Medical Examiners Office, 2021 was the most violent year Chicago has experienced since the birth of the 21st century.

The office reported 820 homicides in the Windy City last year, the highest since 1995, when 828 murders were reported, according to the Sun-Times Media Wire.

These and other statistics have led many to call Chicago the pejorative nickname Chiraq, the idea being that some parts of the city are more violent than war-torn countries like Iraq.

Earlier this month, Pastor Isaac Paintsil, head of Christs Oasis Ministries, a multisite congregation with campuses in and near Chicago, told The Christian Post that the rising violence was horrendous and heartbreaking.

At a certain point, how can mothers be grieving and families be grieving, fathers be grieving week after week after week after week? Paintsil asked. This is the real challenge that we are having, and the emotional toll on us is just unbelievable.

Brooks says he has been working to counter violence and despair through Project H.O.O.D. and his community center on the second floor of his church.

Before we started (the project), this very area was ranked as the most dangerous neighborhood in all of Chicago, he said. Now, because of our work, it doesnt even make the list. You know why? Because we gave people in our community the most valuable thing you can give anyone: hope.

The pastor explained that the project gave them hope by building a relationship with the police to get the criminals off the street  by giving them a way out through trades and vocational training and rehab . by helping them to get off drugs  by showing young men how to be fathers so they could break the cycle of fatherlessness in their families. ... We gave single mothers hope by providing male role models for their young boys, their young daughters.

He then lamented that our leaders are mocking our efforts with their wishy-washy ideas, like defund the police.

The police are not our enemy. Equity initiatives? Come on, we need equality of opportunity. All of this race talk in the classrooms? We need traditional and rigorous education, he asserted.

Yes, there is hope in Chicago. It starts with the people. Not our leaders  all of them  I take what we know, what we must do to get the job done. We must continue to put it to work  there is hope in Chicago, and it starts with all of us.
End the COVID insanity

The insanity must finally end, now. After 2 years of living in fear, Americans must get up off their knees and embrace their freedoms once again.

Our forefathers did not fight and die for this country to be overtaken by insane bureaucrats, fearful politicians, and medical professionals beholden to the federal government and the pharmaceutical industry.

The mainstream news media has constantly sounded the alarm about COVID-19, then the Delta variant, followed by the Omicron variant. Not surprisingly, there is now another variant being promoted. Truth be told, there will always be another variant on the horizon.

This fear-mongering is very profitable for billionaires, major corporations, and pharmaceutical companies. It worked brilliantly for Democrats in 2020 and they are counting on it to succeed again in 2022; however, for that to occur, Americans must remain in a constant state of fear.

Sadly, our country should have never locked down, not for a single day. We will never fully recover from the millions of jobs and businesses that were lost. Megalomaniacs like Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the president of the United States, should have never been given a media platform. Not a single mandate, which is blasphemous in a free nation, should have ever been issued.

We must rectify the glaring mistakes of the last 2 years. We must return to normality in our personal and business activities. America was built on the concept of liberty, not government dictates.

At this point, Americans need to treat COVID-19 as the flu, a virus that will be always present, especially during winter months. For those who wish to take a vaccine, like the flu shot, it should be made available. However, it must never be mandatory in our country. If people want to wear a mask, it should be their choice. If others prefer to breathe freely, it should be their choice as well.

No worker and no student should be forced to be vaccinated. Every vaccine and mask mandate throughout the country needs to end. The mandates have not been as beneficial as advertised. Instead, they have been extremely detrimental in many respects.

All workers need to return to their jobs and their offices. Our school teachers must return to the classroom. Remote learning does not work and has been an unmitigated failure. Students need to learn in the classroom, around their fellow students. They also need to see facial expressions of their classmates and teachers. All masking requirements are akin to child abuse and need to be eliminated.

Instead of trying to alleviate the fears of some teachers, it is time we started focusing on the next generation and what is best for our children, who have been harmed tremendously in the last couple of years. Children, who have an extremely high survival rate if infected by this virus, have been forced to suffer unnecessarily.

Over the last 2 years, major retailers and Internet giants have profited handsomely. While Walmart and other big box stores were allowed to remain open, small businesses were shut down. These small businesses employ most Americans. Many of those mom and pop businesses who shuttered have never reopened.

Our small businesses have been devastated by the federal governments payments for Americans to stay home and not work. We must end these incentives and encourage Americans to return to their jobs. In this way, we will enable small businesses, the backbone of our economy, to remain open.

Sadly, the cure has been worse than the disease. While government officials locked down the country, issued mandates and promoted anxiety, millions of Americans suffered from deep depression. Of course, suicides have increased, especially among young people, and drug overdoses are at record levels. In the 12-month period ending in April of 2021, there were 100,306 drug overdose deaths, an increase of 29% from the previous year.

While millions of Americans were fearful of leaving their houses, other health ailments were left untreated. A study indicated that 11% of adults delayed needed medical care due to COVID-19 fears. Predictably, this has resulted in too many Americans senselessly dying

The general health, psychological and economic toll of this virus on the United States and the world has been incalculable. There is no value that can be placed on the loss of priceless human life, but there is an assessment of the tremendous economic costs. In just the first year of the pandemic, it was estimated that the virus led to an economic loss of approximately $16 trillion.

Enough is enough, it is time we followed the lead of the good citizens of Denmark who are ending all virus restrictions. At the very least, we need to find inspiration from citizens worldwide who are fighting back. For example, the mandate protests in Europe have been massive and are growing. The Canadian truckers freedom convoy was labeled a fringe minority by the progressive prime minister. However, it was such an amazing success that Ottawa was shut down and the prime minister was forced to flee the city.

President Donald Trump certainly understands the needs of the country. At his Texas rally on Saturday night, he said, It is time for the American people to declare independence from everycovid mandatetell this band of hypocrites, tyrants and racists that were done with having them control our lives; mess with our children and close our businesses. Were moving on from COVID, whether they like it or not.

President Trump is right, it is high time we returned to our lives, our businesses, and our families. We must stop listening to the purveyors of fear and start embracing the great American legacy of freedom. Otherwise, our future generations will not live in liberty, but will live under the oppressive rule of tyrants.
Q. I have Norton 360, Malwarebytes Premium, Dell Support Assist and System Mechanic via a 30 day trial subscription thru AOL installed on my desktop. My question is whether or not having System Mechanic installed is necessary with everything else? The most attractive feature to me is the registry cleaning it performs. But, will everything run just fine without it?

A. Dell Support Assist is a great application for Dell computers and helps keep them up to date in terms of drivers and other updates. Norton 360 and Malwarebytes are a good combo of applications for fighting malware and viruses so I would keep those.

The System Mechanic software is probably something you could get rid of, especially since it's not going to be free once the evaluation period expires.

Generally, I am not a believer in registry cleaners, but if you feel like this kind of software adds a benefit to your computing experience I would suggest CCleaner from ccleaner.com. They offer free and paid versions of the application and the free version is as good a registry cleaner as any of the paid applications on the market.

Q. My wife was looking at articles on the MSN Web site when all of a sudden the screen turned blue and we had a message with a blaring horn that our computer was infected and to call Microsoft immediately. We couldnt close the window so I shut the computer down, restarted and ran a full AVG and Malwarebytes scan and nothing turned up. I thought we were good but it happened to me today when I opened Edge from the task bar. Im sure this is malware of some kind but I can't find it. Any suggestions?

A. This is probably not a virus or malware in the technical sense. What has likely happened is that some kind of add-on or plugin was added to your browser which is causing this message to appear, much like a pop-up ad.

These things can be very annoying and very persistent and are not picked up in a scan of the computer.

What you will need to do to get rid of this is reset Microsoft Edge back to factory defaults.

You can do this by following the instructions at malwaretips.com/blogs/reset-microsoft-edge which outlines the procedure, step by step.

This kind of thing can happen to other browsers as well. If you are experiencing this in Chrome or Firefox, just do a Web search on resetting the particular browser and you will find instructions online.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department during a ceremony in Washington, Feb. 1, to name the State Department cafeteria after Ambassador Terence A. Todman, a six-time ambassador who reached the rank of career ambassador and led the charge to de-segregate the cafeteria. Reuters-Yonhap



U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned North Korea's recent missile tests in a telephone conversation with his Japanese counterpart Hayashi Yoshimasa, Tuesday.



The top U.S. diplomat also vowed cooperation with South Korea and Japan to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price.



"Secretary Blinken condemned the DPRK's recent ballistic missile launches, which were in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, and committed to trilateral cooperation with Japan and the Republic of Korea towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Price said in a press release.



The Blinken-Hayashi call came after North Korea launched an intermediate range ballistic missile Sunday (KST) that it later identified as a "Hwasong 12 ground-to-ground intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile."

The launch marked the North's seventh missile test this year.



Price said Monday that the U.S. will continue to seek diplomacy with North Korea but also steps to hold the North accountable for its actions.



Earlier reports said the U.S. has called for a U.N. Security Council meeting to be held this week to discuss North Korea's recent series of missile tests.



U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also denounced the North's recent missile launches as "escalatory" and "destabilizing" in a three-way conversation with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts the same day.



"Deputy Secretary Sherman denounced the DPRK's recent and escalatory ballistic missile launches as violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions and destabilizing to the region and discussed ongoing efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Price said of Sherman's call with South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo.



"The Deputy Secretary highlighted the United States' continued readiness to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy with the DPRK in order to make tangible progress," he added in a press release.



DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.



Sherman and her Japanese and South Korean counterparts highlighted the importance of cooperation between their countries in dealing with regional challenges, according to the department spokesperson.



"The Deputy Secretary and vice foreign ministers reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation between the United States, the ROK, and Japan in tackling pressing challenges in the region and across the globe," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.



The three-way conversation also came after U.S. special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, held discussions with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, separately, over the weekend.



During his talks, the U.S. special envoy condemned North Korea's recent missile launch, but also stressed Washington's readiness for serious and sustained diplomacy with Pyongyang, the State Department said. (Yonhap)


Some families got nosebleeds and headaches. Others, vomiting and diarrhea. When they discovered that their tap water had a slick, oily sheen and strong chemical odor, they knew that a fuel leak was the culprit, Military.com reported in December.

Now, after 93,000 people have been sickened by contaminated water at Hawaiis Pearl Harbor, the Pentagon is fighting the states emergency order to drain the tanks, The Hill reported  a decision that has caused a firestorm among Democratic Hawaii lawmakers.





Rescuers on Wednesday found the last missing worker who was buried in a landslide accident at a quarry last week, officials said.





The discovery came four days after three workers were buried while making holes for demolition work at the quarry in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday. He was found dead.





While bodies of two victims were found Saturday, the search operations had been hampered by huge amounts of soil, estimated to be 20 meters tall, according to officials.





The quarry is run by Sampyo Industry, a manufacturer of construction materials, including remicon and aggregate.





South Korea's labor ministry raided a regional office of the company on Monday to check if the firm had taken necessary safety measures.





Under the workplace disaster law, which went into effect last week, owners and CEOs of companies with five or more employees can face a minimum one-year prison sentence or a fine of up to 1 billion won (US$833,000) in the event of serious workplace disasters.





(Yonhap)


Nine years ago, Navy SEAL Chris Kyle died.



Kyle, a decorated veteran, served in Iraq and helped veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He and a friend were killed in Texas by another military member. The murder at a gun range Feb. 2, 2013, led to the shooter being sentenced to prison for life.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called Kyle an American hero who defended others on and off the battlefield.

Kyle wrote American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, which was later made into a movie.
People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, right, meets vendors at a traditional market in Ganghwa County, Incheon, Feb. 1. Newsis



Yoon pledges to tighten rules; Lee urges him to stop 'hatred and discrimination'



By Ko Dong-hwan



State health insurance coverage for foreigners living in Korea has become the latest point of contention between the presidential candidates of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).



The standoff started off with PPP candidate Yoon Suk-yeol saying on Facebook, Sunday, that he will apply more stringent standards to screen foreigners living in Korea who are benefiting from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) coverage.



Yoon, who is leading major public opinion polls as of early this month, said he will raise the bar for foreigners so that NHIS coverage will be more limited and less available to their family members or other dependents. He described foreigners as "putting their spoons on meal tables that have been prepared for Korean citizens through their hard efforts for the past 40 years."



Yoon specifically targeted Chinese residents, saying, "Eight out of 10 people who were covered the most by the NHIS (in 2021) were Chinese, with six of them being their dependents." He added that the Chinese dependent who was reimbursed by the NHIS the most received about 3.3 billion won ($2.72 million), while having paid only 10 percent of their medical bills.



"Foreigners wishing to apply for NHIS coverage are required to live in Korea for at least six months, but their dependents aren't subject to such requirements," wrote Yoon. "It allows them to come to the country to take advantage of the service and leave soon after they are done with their medical treatments."



DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung countered Yoon's pledge on Wednesday. On Facebook, Lee told Yoon to stop his "politics that encourages hatred of foreigners," disagreeing with his argument that foreign nationals are "putting their spoons on tables prepared for Koreans."



"The fact is that the country has profited more than 500 billion won from foreign national residents' insurance payments," Lee said. "The ones who are actually benefiting from the service (those whose reimbursed amounts surpass their insurance payments) are Korean citizens."





Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, right, meets local residents of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Feb. 1. Newsis
Whether its Texans that are skeptical of our power grid's reliability, winter storm preppers or people who just hate the cold, they're the ones trending on social media as an arctic air mass makes its way into South Central Texas tonight. But can you really blame folks?

Last year's winter storm had thousands of Texans without power or water, some for days, leading to a death toll over 240 people. Since then, its been promises of infrastructure improvements and power grid reliability from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

As another winter storm threatens to drop temperatures into teens with icy rain, Governor Greg Abbott tried to reassure Texans that the power grid could handle the anticipated high demand only to immediately contradict himself by saying planned blackouts could happen.

Texans on Twitter certainly aren't buying the state's reassurances.

They're expressing their skepticism through memes (rather hilarious ones) comparing ERCOT to a ruthless, uncaring ruler...

...or a someone who is about to take on (and lose) to a hulking villain.

Others are taking the advice of local utilities and using whatever skill they have on hand to help others prepare for the freezing temps with at-home weatherization and conservation tips. One TikTok user took to "PrepperTok" to share her winter storm checklist.

Who knew that clear plastic sheets and duct tape will help keep insulate your windows?

There's also this TikToker's take on Texas and cold weather.

The National Weather Service has repeatedly stated that this winter weather event will not be on the same level as February 2021. Either way, it seems most of Texas is not looking forward to it. Whatever you do, please don't go on a panic buying spree.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, said "no one can guarantee" there won't be power outages in the state during a winter storm expected to hit a wide swath of the nation starting Wednesday, despite promising months before to the millions affected by last year's freeze that the lights would stay on this year.

Frigid weather is expected to hit the state in what's likely to be the first significant test of the Texas power grid a year after a historic freeze killed hundreds of residents and left millions without power for days. The National Weather Service says the state could see freezing rain and cold temperatures, as well as sleet and snow, as early as Wednesday afternoon in central Texas.

While Abbott said in November that he "can guarantee the lights will stay on" in the state the next time severe winter weather rolled through, the governor cautioned Tuesday that he could not promise that "load shed" events would not unfold this week. A load shed event is when the demand for electricity outweighs the available supply, which results in rolling blackouts in an attempt to keep the state power grid from collapsing. Load shed events happened on a large scale in the state last year.

"No one can guarantee that there won't be a load shed event," Abbott said at a news conference in Austin. "But what we will work and strive to achieve - and what we're prepared to achieve - is that the power's going to stay on across the entire state."

The governor said several scenarios could result in blackouts, such as "ice on power lines" or "ice on trees that causes a tree to fall on power lines."

Abbott and state leaders said that the power grid was nonetheless in good shape to take on the storm. The governor said the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state's main power grid, was "well-prepared" to meet power needs. The state grid reported last month that all of the electric generation units and transmission facilities have met new standards set after the freeze in February 2021.

"We are ready for this storm," Brad Jones, interim CEO of ERCOT, said to reporters. "We will be prepared for this."

But with another serious storm bearing down on the state, critics and Democrats were quick to accuse Abbott of going back on his promise to keep the lights. Among those critics is former congressman Beto O'Rourke, who is running for governor this year. O'Rourke told MSNBC on Tuesday night that the Republican has not done enough since last year's freeze to safeguard the state from freezing temperatures.

"The fact is the governor was warned for years before 2021 when this storm happened that we had vulnerabilities in the grid, and did nothing," the Democrat told host Chris Hayes.

Nan Tolson, a spokesperson for Abbott, told The Washington Post that the governor noted how enhanced measures in place for the power grid would prevent mass blackouts.

"In answering the question, the Governor was referring to a tool in ERCOT's toolbox to reduce the demand for electricity so that there will not be any blackouts," Tolson said in a statement. "This is a tool that has larger industrial electricity users who choose to participate in the program reduce their demand for electricity and has no impact on commercial or residential customers."

Texas is among more than a dozen states preparing for large amounts of snow and ice in a winter storm stretching from the Mexico border to Canada this week. Nearly 80 million Americans are under winter storm watches or warnings through Thursday. The worst conditions are anticipated Wednesday and Thursday in major cities such as Indianapolis, St. Louis, Memphis, Oklahoma City and Dallas.

There's a chance that the alerts could be expanded into the Northeast and interior Mid-Atlantic as the system shifts east by Friday. The National Weather Service has already warned Americans to expect "prolonged hazardous winter weather conditions and disrupted travel."

The storm is expected to hit the Austin area late Wednesday and into early Thursday. Forecasts show that temperatures will be in the 20s for most of Thursday with a threat of ice accumulation.

While this week's storm is not expected to be a repeat of the deadly freeze of 2021, the warnings are bringing back memories of what the state went through last February when freezing temperatures crippled Texas. At least 246 people died in what was one of the worst natural disasters in the state's history, according to a Dec. 31 report from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Nearly two-thirds of the deaths from the storm were due to hypothermia, data shows.

Abbott - who initially blamed wind turbines that had frozen in the extreme cold for the power grid's failure before acknowledging that they played no role - called for ERCOT to be overhauled after the deadly storm. The power outages and equipment failures raised questions about whether the state's natural gas system, the main source for power and heat generation, was able to perform in the cold.

After Abbott said he had signed new laws to ensure the strength of the power grid, he told KTBC that the state would not face similar issues this winter.

"I can guarantee the lights will stay on," he said in November. Those sentiments were echoed at a December news conference by Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas: "The lights are going to stay on this winter."

To address some of the issues, ERCOT said last month that 321 out of 324 electric generation units and transmission facilities had fully passed inspection to meet new regulations that make the power generators better equipped for winter weather. Those ERCOT generators account for 85 percent of the state's total power supply, KXAN reported. Jones told The Post in January that the state was "more prepared for winter operations than ever before."

But even after the storm, Texas lawmakers did not require natural gas companies to prepare their equipment for the extreme cold ahead of this winter. Some have cautioned that although the electrical grid is better equipped for winter storms, the natural gas side of Texas's energy system could freeze in extreme conditions - and potentially strain the whole system.

"It's like fixing your car, but the tank is empty," Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas, told The Post last month.

When he was asked about how the state's natural gas supply could be affected by this week's weather, Abbott acknowledged that "there might be some reduction in the generation of natural gas."

"We can still maintain power grid integrity even if there is a loss of some level of production of natural gas," the governor told reporters, adding that Texas gas producers had "taken steps to ensure that we're going to have the natural gas that we need."

ERCOT is also expecting the peak power demand this week to be comparable to last year's storm. The demand for power in the state is expected to hit a high of around 73 gigawatts Friday, according to an ERCOT projection obtained by KXAS. The statewide power demand during the 2021 storm topped out at 77 gigawatts.

Texans are split on whether the state's power grind can withstand another freeze. A new poll from the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler found that 46% of registered voters are confident the state can avoid mass outages, while 47% said they are not confident.

Although Abbott emphasized that Texas was "working around-the-clock to respond to the winter storm expected to impact our state over the next few days," critics maintained the governor had gone back on a very public promise made surrounding potential power outages from freezing temperatures. The Lincoln Project, the effort led by former Republicans against former president Donald Trump, posted an anti-Abbott video Wednesday with a familiar title: "Winter Is Coming."

".@GregAbbott_TX fiddles as Texas freezes," the group tweeted.

- - -

The Washington Post's Meryl Kornfield contributed to this report.
StackCommerce

With demanding work schedules, family obligations, and social commitments, self-care and exercise often fall to the bottom of the priorities list. Now you can do yoga anywhere, anytime, with the YogaWorks On-Demand: 1-Year Subscription, and change your life for the better.

Invest in yourself and your health by diving into the sacred practice of yoga. This subscription gives you unlimited access to classes from one of the top yoga brands in the world, without having to leave your home. YogaWorks has a vast portfolio of classes, taught by expert teachers from all over the globe. Youll never get bored, as the archive contains over 1,300 on-demand classes with a variety of styles to choose from. Whether youre feeling like Yin, Vinyasa, Pilates, or restorative  this collection has it all!
Forecasters still aren't certain whether an arctic blast destined for Houston this week will be enough for the Bayou City to experience a hard freeze, but there one thing is clear: It's going to be cold.

After a warm Wednesday, with a high temperature predicted near 73 degrees, cold air will push across the state and reach Southeast Texas by early Thursday. Temperatures will start off in the 40s on Thursday and continue to drop as the air mass moves over the city. Behind it, even colder temperatures are in store overnight Thursday, with temperatures dipping to the 20s. Wind child temperatures will be about 10 degrees cooler.

Friday's high temperature will struggle to rise above the low 40s, although the wind will make it feel like the 30s in most places. Temperatures Friday night will dip to the upper 20s, with wind chills in the low 20s.

That's the forecast from National Weather Service meteorologists as of Tuesday afternoon, but it's subject to change. Experts only give initial predictions medium-level confidence. Part of the uncertainty is whether freezing rain and ice forming on roadways will be an issue for Houston. Only communities in the Greater Houston's northwest reaches, north of a boundary formed between Brenham to Huntsville to Crockett, will see freezing rain and icy conditions.

National Weather Service

But as meteorologists gather more data in the coming days, that could change. At the very least, Houston could be under a hard freeze warning where temperatures could threaten pipes and anyone or anything living outdoors without shelter, meteorologists said in a briefing. Currently, there's no such warning or watch for Houston.

The winter weather is part of a national sweep in freezing temperatures, which will also produce snow and other icy hazards throughout Texas. This system will likely be more sedate than the historic and deadly freeze of February 2021, when widespread power outages plagued communities across the state.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the infamous state board that bungled the reliability of electricity during the 2021 storm, will have more than 15,000 megawatts of power available even when demand is at its predicted highest on Friday, according to Gov. Greg Abbott. ERCOT's forecasting for major events, however, has been wrong before, according to Mose Buchele in KUT.

Chilly temperatures will last through at least Saturday.
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A banner announcing the upcoming presidential election, set to be held March 9, stands at Seoul Express Bus Terminal in Seoul's Seocho District, Wednesday. Yonhap



Polls show Yoon, Lee in dead heat



By Jung Da-min



Four of Korea's presidential candidates have been gearing up for a TV debate set to be held Thursday. The four candidates include Lee Jae-myung of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP), Sim Sang-jung of the minor opposition progressive Justice Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition conservative People's Party.



Co-hosted by three local broadcasters  KBS, MBC and SBS  the TV debate marks the first among the four candidates since they were selected by their parties.



With the much-anticipated, one-on-one debate between Lee and Yoon  the race's two top dogs  canceled due to their differences over the rules of engagement, the candidates have been polishing up their strategies for the high-stakes, four-way debate in order to appeal to swing voters.





Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea, presents his policy promises for North Gyeongsang Province to foster industrial complexes in the region, during his visit to Imcheonggak House in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. Courtesy of the Democratic Party of Korea's election committee



According to a survey of 1,002 adults conducted on Jan. 28 and 29 by local pollster Southern Post, at the request of local broadcaster CBS, 87.1 percent of the respondents said that they plan to watch the TV debate and 75.6 percent said that it will affect their choice of preferential candidates.



Another survey of 1,000 adults from Jan. 27 to 29 by Hankook Research, at the request of KBS, found that 31.6 percent of the respondents who said they had already decided on their preferential candidate said that they could change their choice of whom to support. Among the respondents who said that they do not have a preferential candidate, 56.8 percent said they could decide on whom to support after watching the TV debate.





Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of main opposition conservative People Power Party, speaks during his visit to Ganghwa Peace Observatory in Ganghwa County, Incheon, Tuesday. Courtesy of the People Power Party's election committee



The DPK's Lee, a veteran politician known for his straightforwardness and strong policy drive, is planning to present a different image as a stable leader, while focusing on putting forth his policy promises.



The PPP's Yoon, who had often made headlines for his inappropriate or controversial remarks on sensitive social issues, is spending more time with his election team to prepare for the debate and in order to avoid a politically damaging performance.



Ahn of the People's Party and Sim of the Justice Party are seeking to increase their presence through the debate.



Ahn, who worked previously as both a doctor and an IT entrepreneur, is expected to offer his political vision for the country's development based on the scientific sector.



Sim, a veteran politician and four-term lawmaker, is planning to speak up for social minority groups, including workers subject to poor labor conditions, women struggling to achieve equality, the disabled and migrant residents fighting for their basic rights.





Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition conservative People's Party, who was formerly a doctor, volunteers as a medical worker at a COVID-19 testing station in a Seoul Jung District community health center, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps



In recent opinion polls, Lee and Yoon remain in a neck-and-neck race.



According to a survey of 1,002 adults conducted on Jan. 29 by local pollster Opinion Research Justice, at the request of online news provider Dailyan, Yoon garnered 43.5-percent support from the respondents, followed by Lee at 38.1 percent. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points with a 95-percent confidence level.





Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition liberal Justice Party, speaks during her visit to a noodle restaurant in Namdaemun Market, central Seoul, to talk with small business owners there, Wednesday. Courtesy of the Justice Party
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Vuyisa Qabaka has been at the forefront of African tech and innovation for over a decade. He is a partner at Hybr Group, a pan-African innovation and start-up advisory firm.

Known to everyone as Chief in the Cape Town tech community where he lives and works, Qabaka works with blue chip companies, helping them to improve business outcomes and processes, as well as identify and source talent.

Hybr boasts a wide array of influential clients, non-profits and governments in Africa on a mission to shape an enabling environment for innovation to thrive  even as far afield as innovation-nascent countries like Seychelles and Equatorial Guinea, where Qabaka believes there are still opportunities to accelerate digital adoption.

CIO Africa: African investment has picked up a lot and there seems to be great momentum in tech. How do you see the state of the industry right now?

On the current trajectory, were (Africas tech ecosystem) around about $100,000 in investment per day that we are seeing on the continent, which is very exciting. And according to Briter Bridges, the ecosystem exceeded US$4 billion in early stage venture capital investment in 2021. A number of things are revealed when you take a deep dive into the numbers. First of all, its a lot of foreign direct capital coming into these markets. While the money might be coming from the US and Europe, its not actually leaving those countries. Its being directed into places and projects where the intellectual property is being developed, and a lot of that IP remains in the jurisdictions of the United States and Europe.



What that signals to me is that a lot of African innovators are no longer building their innovations on the continent. Yes, they are building for Africa, but not necessarily in Africa. They are using legal tools to host their IP offshore, getting funding on that IP (in the main foreign capital), then applying it locally for the countries on the continent that they know.

CIO Africa: What is the effect of that kind of innovation being directed towards solving African problems?

One of the main positives is that, because of the focus on local economies there is a lot of talent being developed that sits locally, which means many salaries are being paid locally. These are good, middle class salaries, and those engineers, managers and developers spend that money locally which boosts local economies.

When you are a young intern or marketer, your skills develop and your trajectory shifts because you eventually get into a position where you can build your own business or join another start-up team. This is significant because it begins to uplift the local talent pool in a very different way.

The growth and success of any single company is a catalyst for any ecosystem in terms of its growth. I saw this in 2013 when Google invested in Waze, at the time I was on an economic study tour of Israel. We are now starting to see that in different parts of the continent, especially Nigeria. There are young teams coming together to grow these fast growing businesses and some of them are attracting eight-figure, pre-seed funding rounds. Due to the cost of living on the continent, they are able to start investing in others after a couple of years, even while they carry on growing their start-ups.



CIO Africa: How important is deep, granular local knowledge for companies trying to break in and build for Africas young, urban population?





Its critical. You can take inspiration from elsewhere, learn interesting formats and processes, but to get them to work locally needs a lot of attention and focus on the ground, by being familiar with the local context or realities. Sometimes, in your own space, you can unlock value because you have an environment of services you dont have to think about in order to do good work.

As an example, Ive visited major tech ecosystems around the world  Israel, South America, the US, pockets of Europe, South East Asia  to study what they are doing there, as well as the different economic regions of the continent of Africa.

Silicon Valley is successful for a number of reasons, and this goes beyond the name. People take the university environment for granted. The embed value of Stanford University means that the ability of the university to contribute to the industry gets taken for granted, especially those trying to replicate the ecosystem in other places. We dont have these formulas, certainly not in the way our universities are run.

CIO Africa: If you were a young African CTO today, where would you choose to make your base?

Being in a big city that has support is always good. If I had a choice to live and be where I want, I would probably live in Marrakesh or Casablanca, because it has the big city context, but its also an hours flight to Europe so you can go anytime.



Where we are in Cape Town, although we have a great ecosystem, the fact is we are eight to 10 hours flight away from the kinds of places that can be catalytic for your business. Considering load shedding and political uncertainty, Joburg is not quite going to cut it.

For me, if youre a thinking founder you should actively take the time to travel and connect with like-minded people, by getting on lots of planes whilst building your vision. The other alternative is to get a start-up visa as they are springing up all across the world. When you are in the early stages of building, there are many countries with established ecosystems who will welcome you, give you a chance to develop your skills and an opportunity to raise early seed capital.

CIO Africa; As weve established, there are green shoots of success everywhere. But what are the biggest obstacles to innovation for IT in Africa?

On the continent, we have way too many issues. On a whim, in some places on the continent, the government will simply switch off the internet or redirect web traffic. How can you build an online business like that? Add to that energy issues, which mean we cant guarantee consistency of power all the time. The general cost of infrastructure and red tape makes the ease of doing business challenging.

This is the nature of our continent. These disruptive things have nothing to do with the builders or innovators but they are a huge handicap. On the positive side, we have a huge demand and a high adoption consumption of digital solutions. As a founder, your duty is to protect that, and protect yourself from the volatility of your environment.

Ironically, even in the countries where there is infrastructure and models that are well established like South Africa, there are still some very difficult problems around last mile internet access which are locking millions of people in the townships and rural towns out of the market.

One of the things that frustrates me is not the opportunity environment around us but the fact that people still dont get it. They dont see how the internet is such a freeing tool that can bring dignity and opportunity and address issues like youth unemployment. If we had universal access to infrastructure, we possibly wouldnt need such a huge social safety net.

CIO Africa: Weve spoken a lot about infrastructure issues. Are there any other obstacles to innovation in Africa that we should be trying to shine a light on?

On the capital side, we need to try and go deeper with a patient capital model, which speaks to giving entrepreneurs the space and ability to figure out a business model. We really need investors who can say We will invest, take the risk and give you the space to go and really engage the customer. Go figure out how to unlock the full valuethen reciprocate it back to shareholders. Patient capital plays a major role in success because of how it stretches into services that founders really need.

For example, in the US, local legal chambers permit their members to offer access to legal services to the value of $250,000 for free, because the lawyers know what stage they are at and what they need to succeed, and they see the potential.

I would love it if our legal bars made these kinds of choices for African innovators. Some of these costs are what trip up success in these businesses  things like accounting, advertising, etc.

Once you are a billion dollar business, the patient investor knows they will get it back.

Thats not really happening right now. Our founders are raising capital and spending a lot of it on services like accounts, lawyers, office space, because they are trying to build a system.

What they are buying now is the potential of future success.

CIO Africa: Whats it going to take to solve these problems?

No question, the talent is out there if you want to build a world class solution for the continent. Africa inspires a kind of robustness in the way that developers build, and you want to retain that no matter where you are building from.

Can we have a Zuckerberg from Africa? Yes but right now, they might be building in Africa, but the intellectual property will belong somewhere else.

There is a strong consumer demand in Africa but our governments, including South Africa, have to understand that if you dont create an enabling environment for these guys or girls to build then you lose out on their talent, along with the prospects of a lot of job creation, as well as direct foreign income, taxation, and all the benefits that come from building the businesses of the future. Thats just the reality.
Members of Team Korea arrive at the Olympic Village ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, Jan. 31. AFP-Yonhap





Korean speed skater Kim Min-seok is a homebody. When his competition or training sessions are done, he likes to stay in his room, with his smartphone and tablet as company.







Kim is among thousands of athletes competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics, with stringent health and safety protocols in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. The competition is being run inside a "closed looped system." It is a bureaucratic-sounding term for a bubble. Once inside, Olympic participants can't leave until the end of their competition.







For athletes, their Olympic experience here can play out like "Groundhog Day." Before the Olympics, they can only go back and forth between their athletes' village and the training venue. Then during the Olympics, the only trip allowed will be between their accommodation and the competition site.







They can forget about sightseeing or culinary tours covering multiple restaurants. But that suits Kim just fine.







"I like to stay home anyway, so the closed loop hasn't bothered me at all," Kim said after his first training session Tuesday. He'd arrived in Beijing the previous day. "I can entertain myself pretty well, as long as I have my phone and tablet with me."







Kim also said it helps that facilities at the village are top notch and convenient.







Kim has a kindred soul on the men's short track speed skating team. Hwang Dae-heon also likes to have his share of alone time.







"I am introverted, and I tend to stay home a lot," he said after his first on-ice session in Beijing, Monday. "I think I will just be inside my room during the Olympics, too. The place is really comfortable, and the setup should help me stay sharp."







One other speed skater, Kim Jun-ho, also likes all the comfort that his room offers, but the more extroverted Kim would still like a chance to explore Beijing.







"I am a little disappointed that I can't go outside the village and see the city," Kim said with a wry smile.







Short track star Choi Min-jeong said going through daily COVID-19 testing can be cumbersome, but she understands why some of the protocols are in place.







"I think the rules are all designed to ensure the safety of everyone," Choi said. "It's great that people are trying to run a safe Olympics." (Yonhap)


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Oklahoma City, OK (73106)

Today

Thunderstorms, some locally heavy this morning, then partly cloudy during the afternoon hours. Potential for flooding rains. High 64F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A clear sky. Low 49F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Woburn, MA (01801)

Today

Sunshine and a few clouds. High 69F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 46F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
By Arthur I. Cyr





North Korea is once again rattling the cage. Over several weeks recently, the regime has carried out four ballistic missile tests. Pyongyang describes them as essential for self-defense.



Meanwhile, South Korea continues on a positive course of exceptional economic growth and profitability, combined with now firmly established representative democracy. Scare stories about actions of the North overshadow the good news regarding the South. This is most unfortunate.



North Korea has possessed at least rudimentary nuclear weapons since 2006. From time to time, Pyongyang threatens to use them against South Korea, Japan and even the United States, though long distance makes that last target still impractical.



Last September, Pyongyang announced the successful launch of a cruise missile, an insidious weapon, flying low and difficult to detect with radar. An early version, the V-1 rocket of Nazi Germany, killed many in Britain in World War II.



Meanwhile, the Biden administration reevaluates Korea policies. A natural assumption is that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is returning to rigid hostility, after some flexibility during the Trump administration. Despite highly publicized meetings between Trump and Kim, there were no diplomatic or other breakthroughs.



In reality, North Korea is literally a disaster area in economic and human terms. The population has endured decades of desperate hardship, including famine. United Nations sanctions effectively isolate the extreme and dangerous government.



By contrast, South Korea moves from strength to strength. Considerable credit goes to President Moon Jae-in, completing his five-year term and ineligible for a second.



Behind the scenes, Moon has worked diligently to try to improve long-hostile relations with North Korea, and assert effective leadership more widely in Asia. Moon and Kim met in May 2018, following earlier summits in 2000 and 2007.



At the end of 2018, the influential Asia News Network named President Moon "Person of the Year." South Korea's chief executive rightly received praise for mediation between the U.S. and North Korea, important in bringing the two national leaders together. This accomplishment is too easily oversimplified and minimized.



Moon insisted on meeting with the North Korea delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics, held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The group included Kim's sister, an influential figure in the bizarre regime.



President Moon Jae-in personifies in important ways the positive effective qualities of his nation. He assumed office as national chief executive on May 10, 2017, following a special election. From the very start, he emphasized relations with North Korea.



Moon became president in a time of tension and uncertainty on both sides of the 38th Parallel, the border that divides Korea into north and south. South Korea had just experienced the ordeal of impeachment and removal from office of a sitting president, Park Geun-hye. North Korea greeted the inauguration of a new president in South Korea by launching a new long-range missile, the Hwasong-12, four days later.



Earlier, South Korea's dictatorship imprisoned Moon for his youthful reform activism. Later, he became a human rights lawyer. He also served in the Republic of Korea Army Special Forces, and saw action in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the 38th Parallel.



After a period of low popularity measured by public opinion polls, Moon's standing has risen dramatically over the past year. In March, the voters elect a new president. Moon will leave office enjoying the great respect he deserves.



South Korea should lead initiatives toward North Korea, supported by the United States. Together, our position is strong.





Arthur I. Cyr (acyr@carthage.edu) is author of "After the Cold War" (NYU and Palgrave/Macmillan).


Oklahoma City, OK (73106)

Today

Thunderstorms, some locally heavy this morning, then partly cloudy during the afternoon hours. Potential for flooding rains. High 64F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A clear sky. Low 49F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Raspunsul la criza refugiatilor: Apel de propuneri, lansat de MAD-Aid in parteneriat cu Camera de Comert Britanica din Moldova
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A leading social entrepreneur has called on charities and foundations to put more of their money towards social investment.

Susan Aktemel, director of the Scottish social enterprise Homes for Good and a member of the Commission on Social Investment, said that charitable trusts in particular should be more involved in shifting the dial on levels of social investment.

She was speaking online yesterday at the launch of the Commissions report Reclaiming the Future.

Victor Adebowale, who chaired the Commission, told the same event that the social investment market needed reform not revolution so that it could meet the needs of the country in the years ahead.

Charities and social investment

Discussing ways to make social investment more attractive to trustees of large, locally-focused assets such as council pension funds, Aktemel said: There is a significant collective balance sheet in charities, and at larger charities a cash balance sheet.

If they were all looking at how they could maximise the use of their money for social good and for social change, then that would actually create competition within the social investment sector.

She added that trusts and foundations could take a key role in shifting the dial on new sources of social investment. If those bodies increased their investments from 1% of their assets being in social investment  what an opportunity there is there, Aktemel said.

The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation announced last November that it was allocating 10m from its investment portfolio to impact investing.

Talking to government about 50m proposal

Answering a question about the Commissions recommendation of a 50m financial vehicle led by Black investors and social enterprise experts, to help address the sectors serious problem with diversity, Victor Adebowale suggested that this potential investment should be government-led rather than privately financed.

He said: As a general response, I am hearing that the government is actually welcoming what we have done in this report generally. Adebowale said he had already talked to ministers about the report and would be speaking more with officials about the idea of a Black-led fund.

Asked about its commitment to any new Black-led social investment fund, a spokesperson for the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) directed Civil Society News to a tweet by charities minister Nigel Hiddleston. Huddleston, who is not a BEIS minister, said on Wednesday: Thank you Lord Adebowale & the Independent Commission for Social Investment for this report outlining how we can better support social enterprises through social investment. Looking forward to working with you to help make the next decade a success for social enterprises.

Thank you Lord Adebowale @Voa1234 & the Independent Commission for Social Investment for this report outlining how we can better support social enterprises through social investment. Looking forward working wit you to help make the next decade a success for social enterprises. https://t.co/vuhnk3iUL1  Nigel Huddleston MP #GetBoostedNow (@HuddlestonNigel) January 26, 2022

Earlier in the event, Adebowale called on social investors to embrace reform not revolution in a bid to play a part in political priorities including levelling up different regions of the UK and reaching net zero carbon emissions.

Lack of empathy from investors

Another commissioner, James Broderick, told the event that the sector needed to fix an underlying gap between what social enterprises needed and the sort of financial support investors were willing to provide.

He said: Investors often simply do not understand well enough the work of social enterprises, and that lack of empathy and understanding and affiliation is quite damaging.

It can cause them  the investors  to over-estimate the riskiness of the social enterprise, and it makes them less interested in exploring creative and innovative solutions for their capital needs.

The report called for investors to provide much more flexible capital to social enterprises, with loans made over longer periods and with less of a focus on financial returns. Broderick, the director of Impact Investing Institute, said he hoped investors would be inspired by the report to take a new approach to the people they serve.

Editor's note 1 February 10.00am: Article updated to include government response to proposed fund

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
About a month ago, Pu Tuidim, an experienced journalist in Myanmars Chin State, close to the countrys borders with India and Bangladesh, had been interviewing members of a local resistance group opposed to the ruling military junta when the juntas soldiers arrested him, along with at least nine other people. According to Burma News International, a media group that Pu Tuidim co-founded, the soldiers used their detainees as human shields as they traveled between villages, then tortured them, executed them, and dumped the bodies. An official with the resistance group told The Irrawaddy that Pu Tuidim appeared to have been treated the worst of the detainees ; his body was found with broken arms, and his fingers, face, and mouth had been mutilated. A colleague told the Committee to Protect Journalists that the soldiers confiscated Pu Tuidims laptop, and so had probably known that he was a journalist before the massacre. He was fifty-five years old.

A year ago yesterday, the junta seized power in a coup, overthrowing Myanmars fledgling civilian government. The months since have been dire for press freedom, which wasnt in a great state in Myanmar to begin with. The coup ushered in a period of sharp uncertainty for journalistsEven though I foresaw the coup, Swe Win, the editor-in-exile of Myanmar Now, told CJRs E. Tammy Kim at the time, I did not foresee the brutal way it would be launchedthat soon resolved into repression and more brutality. The junta raided and revoked the licenses of numerous independent newsrooms, including Myanmar Now, as part of a broader crackdown that also entailed restricting the internet and ordering civilians in some areas to hand in their satellite dishes. Soldiers shot and wounded several photojournalists covering protests against the junta. Many journalists fled the country; dozens more were arrested, including staffers for Western news outlets. Danny Fenster, a US citizen who worked as an editor at Frontier Myanmar, an independent news site, was jailed. So, too, was Nathan Maung, another journalist and US citizen, who reported being tortured in military detention.

ICYMI: Stories of kidnapped journalists must be told despite blackouts

Maung was released in June and deported to the US; Fenster, whose case attracted a lot of attention back home, was finally released in mid-November. According to Reporters Without Borders, however, at least fifty-seven journalistsaround half the number thought to have been arrested since the coupremain in jail; late last year, Myanmar vaulted into second spot (behind China) on CPJs leaderboard of the worlds worst jailers of journalists, having not placed the year before. And in some ways, the situation for journalists in the country has only gotten worse since Fensters release. In mid-December, a court sentenced three journalists with the news site Kanbawza Tai NewsNang Nang Tai, Nann Win Yi, Tin Aung Kyawto three years in prison for covering protests; the next day, around twenty soldiers raided the home of Aung San Lin, a reporter with the Democratic Voice of Burma, beat him, and arrested him just hours after he published a story alleging that the juntas forces committed arson. Two weeks ago, the authorities arrested three staffers with the news site Dawei WatchKo Zaw, Ma Moe Myint, and Ko Thar Gyiat their homes, while also raiding the sites offices and taking documents.

Then there are the deaths. Pu Tuidim wasnt the first journalist known to have died in the juntas custody; that was Soe Naing, a freelance photojournalist who was arrested, alongside a colleague, on December 10 while photographing deserted streets in Yangon, where residents stayed home in a silent strike against the junta. A few days later, Soe Naings family was told that he had died; a colleague suggested, to Radio Free Asia, that he had been beaten to death in a military interrogation center, where torture is common. Two weeks later, Sai Win Aung, an editor at the Federal News Journal who had been covering refugees in Karen State close to the Thai border, was reportedly shot as the junta launched an artillery attack amid broader fighting with a local resistance group. A colleague told CPJ that they had recently advised Sai Win Aung to leave Yangon since the junta was surveilling him there.

According to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, a human-rights group, nearly twelve thousand people have been arrested and more than fifteen hundred killed in the year since the coup. When it took power, the junta promised elections in a year; it wont surprise you to learn that that promise has not been kept. (Officials have suggested that elections will be held in 2023, but have not set a date and have made them contingent on the country being peaceful and stable, whatever that means.) In the meantime, the juntas abuses have continued to attract Western media attention, even if they have rarely felt like a top story. The coup anniversary generated a flurry of foreign coverage, as did the announcement, two weeks ago, that the energy giants Total and Chevron intend to withdraw from Myanmar, citing human-rights abuses. (Reporters Without Borders, which has written repeatedly to various companies calling on them to hold the junta accountable, urged other multinationals to follow suit.)

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Many domestic news outlets and journalists, meanwhile, are still doing amazing work covering the crisis in their country, despite the immense danger. Some are now reporting from exile; others have stayed put. After the coup, John Padang, who worked for the 74 Media, a small local outlet, in the city of Myitkyina, became one of the first journalists in Myanmar to be arrested while covering a protest. (John Padang is a pseudonym.) He was freed without charge following a night in detention, but in the weeks that followed, his colleagues continued to be harassed and detained, one for six months, and the sites license was revoked.

The 74 Media is now operating out of an area controlled by one of the many resistance groups, some of which have long agitated for self-determination, that are currently fighting the junta in Myanmars borderlandsfrom Chin State, where Pu Tuidim was killed, to the region bordering China where Padang is currently based. The local resistance group is protecting Padang and his colleagues from the junta for now, but the conflict is escalating, the journalists lack an easy escape route, and even the resistance group doesnt seem so hot on press freedom. Still, the team has made it this far, Padang wrote for The Guardians Reporting Myanmar series this morning. We remain committed to keeping our newsroom alive whatever risks lie ahead.

Below, more on press freedom in Myanmar and around the world:



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: COVID and Chinas press threats combine to curb Winter Olympics coverage

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

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.
Legend has it that these were the last words uttered by Sir Roger Casement shortly before the Kings Executioner pulled the lever, thereby causing poor Sir Roger to be hanged until dead.

Born in 1864, Sir Roger Casement worked for the British Foreign Office and was knighted for his humanitarian work to prevent human rights abuses against indigenous peoples.

Growing mistrustful of imperialism, Sir Roger retired and became active in Irish Republicanism and other separatist movements. During World War I, he endeavored to gain German military aid for Irish independence. As a result of this attempt, Sir Roger was arrested, stripped of his knighthood and honors, and convicted of high treason.

The acts which resulted in Sir Rogers conviction included trying to persuade Irish prisoners of war held in Germany to form an Irish brigade to fight against the British. During his trial, Sir Rogers Counsel argued that acts performed outside of the United Kingdom could not amount to treason within the U.K. This argument was based on an interpretation (favorable to Sir Roger) of a statute that outlined what constituted treason.

The following text of the act became the crux on which Sir Rogers life depended:

if a Man do levy war against our Lord the King in his realm, or be adherent to the Kings enemies in his realm, giving to them aid and comfort in the realm, or elsewhere

Sir Rogers counsel argued that the quoted words resulted in two offenses: levying war against the King in his realm and adhering to the Kings enemies in his realm.

Counsel further argued that the phrase giving to them aid and comfort in the realm or elsewhere explained only how assistance might be given to the Crowns enemies. To put it another way, counsel argued that the assistance had to be given in the Kings realm but that the effect of said assistance could be to aid such enemies wherever they might be located.

The prosecutors argued that, due to the placement of the comma before the word elsewhere, the statute provided for three acts of treason and not two:

Levying war against the King in his realm;

Adhering to the Kings enemies in his realm; and,

Giving to the Kings enemies aid and comfort in his realm or anywhere else.

The decision favored the prosecution, and conviction, appeal, and a hanging by the neck ensued, all due to the inclusion of a comma.

Writing in 2008, insurance expert Bill Wilson observed, there have been problems with interpreting long, convoluted sentences in legal documents since at least the 14th century. Usually, the stakes are not as high as they were in the case of [Sir Roger Casement].

A quick search for appellate cases discussing the comma results in almost 10,000 decisions in which the comma played a role. A huge number of cases have been influenced by this seemingly insignificant mark. Although the stakes may not be as high as they were for Sir Roger, the same may be said of an insurance policy interpretation.

In 2008, at issue was the interpretation of the phrase: personal injury means injury, including bodily injury or mental harm arising out of any of the following acts (Liebovich v. Minn.Ins.Co.)

The insured argued that the phrase in dispute meant injury including but not limited to, while the insurer countered with injury, including and limited to.

Ruling in favor of the insured, the court concluded that the subject policy, by employing a comma followed by the word including (denoted) a non-exhaustive list.

It is interesting to note that the court then proceeded to analyze other policy provisions and devoted several paragraphs to discussing the presence, placement, absence, and function of a comma. The inclusion of the controversial comma can make a significant difference in meaning.

Lets eat, Grandma!

Lets eat Grandma!

Humorously, even a draft of this article sent to one of my cohorts resulted in a comma-based misinterpretation. When said cohort advised that it would be a couple of days before he would be able to review it, I intended to respond, no hurry, Mark. But in my haste, I wrote, no, hurry Mark, unintentionally incurring his wrath.

Excerpts from When Words Collide, Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes, Bill Wilson, 2018
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP)  An uncontrolled fire burning at a North Carolina fertilizer plant forced the evacuations of thousands of people as firefighters warned Tuesday that chemicals at the site could cause a large explosion.

Authorities drove through neighborhoods and knocked on doors asking residents to leave within a one-mile radius (1.6 km) of the Winston Weaver Company fertilizer plant on the northside of Winston-Salem, where the fire started Monday night. No injuries were reported.

Most of the campus of Wake Forest University is just outside the evacuation zone. The university urged students living in dormitories to stay indoors and keep windows closed.

Bright orange flames could be seen shooting into the sky along with thick plumes of smoke as lights from firetrucks and other first responder vehicles surrounded the fully engulfed building. The evacuation area included about 6,500 people in 2,500 homes, the Winston-Salem Fire Department said.

We want to make sure that right now were evacuating everybody in this one-mile radius, Winston-Salem Battalion Chief Patrick Grubbs told reporters early Tuesday. There is still a potential for explosion.

Firefighters had pulled back from the scene due to the danger of the uncontrolled fire, leaving behind an unmanned truck to pump water on part of the site, Grubbs said. Authorities also flew drones over periodically to assess the fire, and a state helicopter was going to take fire officials up for an aerial survey Tuesday morning.

At least 90 firefighters, along with emergency personnel from other agencies, fought the fire for about 90 minutes after it was discovered around 7 p.m. Monday, but they had to retreat because of the large volume of ammonium nitrate on the site, Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo told reporters. The fire department said that firefighters could not flow enough water to be reasonably certain of keeping it cool enough to prevent a detonation.

Mayo told reporters Tuesday morning that an estimated 500 tons of the combustible chemical used in fertilizer were housed at the plant and another 100 tons were in a rail car adjacent to it. He said that is more ammonium nitrate than was present at a deadly blast at a 2013 Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people, most of them emergency personnel.

So if that doesnt convey the gravity of the situation and how serious folks need to take it, I dont know how else to verbalize that, he said of the comparison.

Mayo said that the chemical generally needs to be in a confined space or under pressure to explode, so the risk will depend on whether the material is stacked in piles deep enough to detonate. He said that as of 9 a.m., the fire had been relatively stable overnight but that the explosion potential will last for a total of about 36 hours, or into Wednesday morning.

Grubbs warned that there was going to be a lot of smoke and poor air quality in the city of about 250,000, and that controlling the fire could take some time. Matthew Smith, a hazardous material expert with a regional state task force, said the gases released by the blaze are considered more of an irritant than something that could seriously harm someone, unless they have an underlying lung condition.

Michelle Shepherd, who lives blocks from the plant, told the Winston-Salem Journal that after hearing and feeling explosions and seeing the flames Monday night, she didnt wait for the evacuation order to leave her house and head to a shelter opened by local authorities.

We felt big explosions. The entire house shook, she told the newspaper. And I looked out my front door and I could see the orange glow.

Less than two miles (3 km) away, Wake Forest canceled classes for Tuesday and opened a campus building for students and staff who live off campus but had to relocate. The university said only one campus housing building was within the evacuation zone.

The Forsyth Correctional Center, a minimum security prison with the capacity for about 250 inmates, also is in the evacuation area.

Winston-Salem officials said a shelter has been set up at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. People who have evacuated should plan to be away from their homes for up to 48 hours.

The fertilizer plant was closed when the fire started and no employees were inside, local media outlets reported.

A company representative from the Winston Weaver Company didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The battalion chief told reporters that fire officials are in contact with the company, but didnt have comments from them to share.

The company said on its website that it has operated the Winston-Salem plant since 1940.

About the photo: The Cooperative Producers Inc. dry fertilizer plant near U.S. Hwy 6 and Showboat Blvd. in Hastings, Neb., burns Thursday, May 23, 2019,. Hastings Fire and Rescue responded about 11:30 p.m. and called for mutual aid from neighboring fire departments. No injuries were reported and the extent of damages to the plant werent clear. (Will Vraspir/The Hastings Tribune via AP)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP)  A veteran central California firefighter was fatally shot Monday when he and others responded to a report of a dumpster fire and authorities arrested a suspect, officials said.

Fire Capt. Vidal Max Fortuna was shot before dawn in the city of Stockton and died at a hospital, Stockton Fire Chief Rick Edwards told reporters.

Edwards said the death is his worst nightmare as a fire chief.

My message to my firefighters is to be strong. My heart breaks with you but we will get through this, he said.

A 67-year-old man was detained at the scene and officers recovered a firearm, said interim Police Chief Jim Chraska. Homicide detectives are trying to determine what led up to the shooting, he said.

This highlights the dangers public safety faces every day, and again, our thoughts and prayers go out to the Fortuna family, Chraska said.

Fortuna, 47, had been a firefighter for more than two decades and is survived by his wife and two adult children, Edwards said.

Dozens of police and fire department vehicles accompanied Fortunas body from the hospital to a funeral home.

The flag at Stockton City Hall was lowered to half-staff in honor of Fortuna.

Although Stockton firefighters have died doing their job, officials said it was likely the first time one was shot while on duty.

This is something that Ive never heard of here in the city of Stockton, firefighter being shot and killed, police Officer Joe Silva told the Stockton Record.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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By Anne-Marie Slaughter and Heather Hurlburt





Anne-Marie Slaughter Heather Hurlburt
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
By Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho





Chyung Eun-ju Joel Cho
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
North Korea faces further sanctions, isolation



North Korea's test-firing of a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) Sunday cannot and should not be condoned, as it posed a serious security threat to South Korea and the U.S. as well as neighboring countries in East Asia. The launch was the seventh of its kind last month alone, raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and dimming the prospects for peace.



The latest provocation came after Pyongyang launched different types of ballistic missiles, including what it claimed were hypersonic and cruise missiles. More worrisome is that the North might lift its self-imposed moratorium on its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests which the country has maintained since November 2017.



That is why President Moon Jae-in presided over a plenary session of the National Security Council and called the IRBM launch a violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the North from developing weapons of mass destruction. He said the North was seen as inching closer to scrapping its moratorium. However he still fell short of calling it a "provocation." This has raised the question as to whether he has responded properly and decisively to the North's unusual move to test the largest number of missiles since 2014.



Regrettably, Moon has given the impression that he is still clinging to an appeasement policy toward Pyongyang despite its repeated saber-rattling since its denuclearization talks with the U.S. broke down in Hanoi in February 2019. Moon should have shown a stronger reaction to the North which is more interested in a military buildup than in returning to dialogue.



Against this backdrop, the U.S. seems to be more active in dealing with the North's continued provocations. The Joe Biden administration imposed its own sanctions on eight North Korean individuals and entities supporting the Kim Jong-un regime's development of sophisticated ballistic missiles. However, the North hinted at abrogating its moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests on Jan. 20. No one can rule out the possibility of Pyongyang trying to complete its nuclear weapons program by conducting such tests.



The Biden government has reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue and diplomacy to solve the North Korean nuclear issue. But Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, said the U.S. is moving forward with "different steps" to hold North Korea responsible for its ballistic missile launches, though he gave no details on what those steps are. Yet they could be more sanctions and pressure on the North if Pyongyang keeps test-firing its weapons of mass destruction.



We cannot help but express grave concerns over the North's recent missile launches ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the South's March 9 presidential election. The Kim regime should not turn the clock back to create a similar situation to the "fire and fury" confrontation with the Trump administration in 2017. Nor should it try to influence the presidential poll here.



It is wrong for the North to think that it can boost its negotiating power with the U.S. and solidify its internal unity amid deepening economic woes through its show of force. It should stop its provocations, and instead return to dialogue and move toward denuclearization. Otherwise it will face more sanctions and deeper isolation.


If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
Rabbi Dan Utley will fulfill a dream when he returns home to lead Camp Wise as director this summer.

Utley, a former Beachwood resident who is now an associate rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, was named Jan. 31 as director of the Mandel Jewish Community Center camp in Claridon Township.

Im very excited to work with the team at the JCC, Utley told the Cleveland Jewish News Feb. 1 via Zoom from Dallas. I was very impressed by the senior leadership, the camp committee, everybody that I met there at the JCC was outstanding. Its been a dream of mine to work in the camping profession as a rabbi. Im very excited to move back to Cleveland as well.

After a three-month search, Utley, 39, was selected to replace Rachel Felber, who announced in October 2021 that she will step down in June after leading the camp since 2016.

Growing up in Cleveland, many of my Jewish friends spent the summer at Camp Wise and told amazing stories about their time at camp, Utley said.

As a child, Utley went to the Union for Reform Judaism Goldman Union Camp Institute in Zionsville, Ind. He said there are many similarities between camp communities, and Camp Wise has shown throughout its history the importance of strengthening the bonds of the Cleveland community.

This role represents an awesome opportunity to shape the next generation of young people who are going to come back and invest in the Cleveland community and grow to become the next leaders of Jewish Cleveland, Utley said. Thats one of Camp Wises best attributes is that it strengthens Cleveland and its had an amazing run of lay and professional leaders over the years.

Gilon Rubanenko, COO at the Mandel JCC, and Loren Chylla, chair of the Camp Wise committee, both praised Utley, who they said was one of the first candidates to apply for the role.

We had a number of people apply that we spoke with and at the end of the day, he rose to the top of our choices, Rubanenko told the CJN Jan. 31.

He said Utley went through an extensive interview process in which he met with over 30 individuals either in a group setting or individual setting, encompassing those from the professional side, camp historical side, volunteer lay leadership side and with camp families.

We got a really broad perspective  not only are we looking at it from a JCC perspective, but everybody in the community, Rubanenko said. This is a community hire. While its the JCCs hire for Camp Wise, we believe this is an important role in the community, and we really want to hear everybodys feelings and thoughts.

Chylla called the search process impressive.

We touch so many families, so many organizations, so many groups that it was important that he had that exposure, Chylla told the CJN Feb. 1. And all the feedback from everybody that I exposed him to was very positive, very good.

Chylla and Utley knew each other when Chylla was a congregant of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple in Beachwood and Utley was working there from 2006 to 2010.

He was at my temple for a while and he took my children on retreats for Fairmount Temple to Camp Wise for Shabbatons, so thats kind of how he remembered me and did reach out (about the opening), Chylla said.

Utley said he connected with Chylla because Loren and I had a relationship from when I was a song leader at Fairmount Temple years ago and his kids were in the youth services and religious school there.

Just remembering those connections from different eras of the Cleveland Jewish community is really special, Utley said. To be able to be part of that and contribute to that is really an honor.

He spoke glowingly of the close-knit Jewish community in Cleveland, which numbers about 80,800 primarily on the east side of Cleveland, according to the 2011 Jewish Federation of Cleveland Population Study. He said Dallas has a Jewish population of between 70,000 and 80,000, but its more spread out geographically because of the way the city has grown.

But its been a wonderful place for us to raise our kids and to live here, and be part of the Temple Emanu-El community has been such a gift over the last six years, Utley said.

Utley and his wife, Rachel, who is a Philadelphia native and a Jewish educator, and their three children, Eitan, 7, Judah, 4, and Benji, 1, will relocate to the Cleveland area in the spring.

Since accepting the position at Camp Wise, Utley said he has heard from friends from the East Coast to the West Coast.

It speaks to the layers of relations of generations  the wide net that Camp Wise casts around our country, he said. Ive heard from people literally on both coasts and all throughout the state of Ohio and region who are sending their kids to camp this summer and are very excited about this. I think it reminded me what I love most about Cleveland is all the different layers of relationships that exist there and how caring and connected the Cleveland Jewish community is.

As associate rabbi at Temple Emanu-El, Utley is responsible for the growth and engagement of youth and teen communities, outreach to young adults in their 20s through 30s, and interfaith family inclusion. He has led initiatives to help the Jewish community affirm and embrace individuals identifying as LGBTQ+.

Dan fits the bill from the standpoint of his community involvement in Dallas to the way he interacts with the youth of that community and the things that he does to create a feeling of belonging, Chylla said. Through my conversations with him, that really came out and everything he does is going to be a benefit to the entire camping community.

Rubanenko said he sees the hiring as bringing endless possibilities for Camp Wise.

(Utley) also came with a depth of experience, not only in the camping world, but also clearly as a rabbi who brings a depth of Jewish experience to camp, he said. That will help us as we grow into the future because of the diversity of his experience and because of how he has engaged not only with his community down in Dallas ... but with every community that hes been involved in and (with) his connections. He has deep connections here in Cleveland and we believe he will really help strengthen and grow our team here on the ground and move Camp Wise forward for the long term.

Utley, who will begin transitioning into the director role in early spring and be fully on-boarded by the June start of camp, enjoys playing trombone, guitar and banjo, and will bring those talents to the Camp Wise community, according to a press release from the Mandel JCC.

He is a 2001 graduate of Beachwood High School and he graduated from The College of Wooster, where he earned dual bachelors degrees in music education with a public school emphasis and physics. He was ordained in 2016 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, where he also earned a masters degree in Jewish education.

Utley celebrated his bar mitzvah at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood. He was a camper and staff member at Goldman Union Camp Institute and was a member of the year-round staff at URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, Calif., and on faculty at URJ Greene Family Camp in Texas, where he supported campers and mentored counselors for more than 15 summers.

Rubanenko said during the North America-wide search for a new director, they were looking for a special candidate.

Rubanenko and Chylla are confident they found that special candidate in Utley.

Publishers note: Loren Chylla is a member of the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company Board of Directors.
Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Beachwood, addressed the role of religion in public life during a wide-ranging and at times contentious debate Jan. 27 against Democratic candidate Morgan Harper, a former consumer protection lawyer and community organizer.

Each candidate answered questions submitted by audience members, alternating who answered first, with an additional opportunity to rebut the others response.

Both candidates are vying to take the Senate seat to be vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Cincinnati who announced in January 2021 that he will not seek a third term.

They are part of a crowded race of candidates from both parties ahead of the May 3 primary, including 14 Republicans, such as Ohio Sen. Matt Dolan, whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno and Jane Timken, the former chairwoman of the Republican Party of Ohio and four Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.

During the debate at North Columbus Baptist Church, when asked about his campaigns outreach to churches and past statements about the role of religion in public life, Mandel denied there was a separation of church and state in America. He also called for religion to have a much greater role in the classroom, workplace and elsewhere.

I do not believe in separation of church and state, he said. There is no such thing.

One of the churches Mandel recently met with was Liberty Valley Church and its pastor, Jeff Tauring, who recently staged a protest outside of the home of Ohio Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, which Weinstein said he believed was both antisemitic and an attempt to intimidate him.

However, Mandel, who is Jewish, said that while America was based upon religion that does not include the Muslim faith.

The Judeo-Christian bedrock of America is the foundation of this country, Mandel said. America was founded on Judeo-Christian values, not on Muslim values, not on atheism, but on Judeo-Christian values. There are so many factors that separate that Judeo-Christian belief-set from these other beliefs, like Islam and atheism, and one of the main differentiating factors is our belief in good over evil, and our willingness to fight for good over evil.

Harper responded that separation of church and state is a core American value.

And that does not mean that we dont respect the freedom and ability for each of us to worship in the way that we choose, she said. But it does mean that we dont have government leaders that are trying to interfere with that right.

In his rebuttal, Mandel said that churches will help save America from what he called a godless left, a secular left that is trying to take a faith in God from all aspects of our society.

Later, when answering a question about immigration policy, Mandel said immigration by Haitians into Texas was part of an organized effort by billionaire investor George Soros and the Democratic Party.

This is an invasion, ladies and gentlemen, Mandel said. It is an invasion of our country. And I think when the history is told, were going to see that it was funded by (George) Soros, orchestrated by (former President Barack) Obama and Obama alumni association and enabled by (President Joe) Biden.

Harper, of Columbus, responded to Mandels allegation by arguing that Mandel was saying whatever he could to curry favor with former President Donald Trump.

He needs to get the endorsement from Donald Trump to be able to make it through the Republican primary, Harper said. So, he will do whatevers necessary as a mini-Trump to continue to spread lies.

Groups such as the Anti-Defamation League have argued that blaming George Soros for any number of perceived problems in the United States is a form of antisemitism. According to a post on the ADLs website, In far-right circles worldwide, Soros philanthropy often is recast as fodder for outsized conspiracy theories, including claims that he masterminds specific global plots or manipulates particular events to further his goals. Many of those conspiracy theories employ longstanding antisemitic myths, particularly the notion that rich and powerful Jews work behind the scenes, plotting to control countries and manipulate global events.

Meanwhile, Ryan was a topic of the debate from the start when Mandel criticized Ryan, considered the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, for not participating in the debate.

Id be remiss if I didnt recognize the fact that Tim Ryan is a wimp and is afraid to debate Morgan, Mandel said. I am not, Im not afraid to debate. And Ill leave you with this. If Morgan was a white male, Tim Ryan would have already debated her. But the reality is that shes a Black female in the establishment of the Democratic Party, which Ryan represents, they have trampled on Black people and left the Black community behind. And I believe Tim Ryan, ignoring and disrespecting Morgan, its a perfect example of that.

Harper rejected Mandels premise.

What we dont need to have happen is Josh Mandel speaking in any way for the Black community, I think weve got that, she said. And I think what the Black community of Ohio knows very clearly is that the radical Republican Party thats trying to strip away our voting rights does not have our best interests at mind. The radical Republican Party that you are proud that you fought Medicaid expansion, that makes sure that people are able to access addiction recovery services and get their lives back on track, it is an abomination.

Multiple attempts to reach Mandel for comment were unsuccessful.
Clifford Chance advises Mercer on US$4.8 billion fundraising

New York, Luxembourg; Clifford Chance has advised global alternative investment manager Mercer on the successful fundraise of Mercer Private Investment Partners VI (PIP VI), with more than US$4.8 billion in total commitments.

A trans-Atlantic team led by partners Michael Sabin (New York) and Kristof Meynaerts (Luxembourg) advised Mercer on the formation, fundraise and final close of the fund-of-funds, as well as on its acquisitions of interests in more than 100 investment funds, including primary investments, secondary investments and co-investments.

Mercer holds more than 30 years of private markets experience and maintains more than US$26 billion in alternatives assets under management. The PIP series, delivered by Mercers global Alternatives team, covers multiple private markets strategies including private equity, private debt, infrastructure, real estate, and sustainable opportunities, including co-investments, secondaries, and other specialized offerings. The fund's global investor base includes corporate pension funds, public pension funds, insurance companies, and endowments and foundations from Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa.

Michael Sabin said, "We are delighted to support long-term client Mercer on this successful fundraising  one of significant scale  continuing our team's track record advising on landmark fund formation mandates in the United States and across the globe."

Sabin and Meynaerts were supported by Zealie Ainsworth and Daniel Rayner (NY Funds); Peter Audesirk and William Coppens (LUX Funds); Andrew Nelson (NY Regulatory); Michael Seaton and Rebecca Pereira (Tax); and Paul Koppel (ERISA).
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  Education Secretary Leonor Briones has ordered all Department of Education (DepEd) regional directors to implement the resumption and expansion of limited face-to-face classes for both public and private schools in Alert Level 2 areas.

Briones issued the directive after President Rodrigo Duterte gave the approval last month to widen the implementation of physical classes in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on Briones' meeting with the DepEd regional directors on Wednesday, the 28 pilot schools in Metro Manila will start their classes on Feb. 9 while expansion schools will commence their learning sessions from the same day onwards.

Metro Manila and other areas have been placed under the lighter Alert Level 2 status from Feb. 1-15.

A total of 57 schools in Calabarzon, 21 in Rizal and 36 in Cavite, will take part in the "progressive expansion" of face-to-face classes beginning Feb. 14. "Progressive expansion" was considered for implementation upon recommendation by DepEd so as to add more schools and grade levels in holding face-to-face learning.

Around 106 schools in Bulacan have also expressed readiness to commence face-to-face classes by Feb. 21.

Briones added that 12 schools in Batanes and three schools in Southern Leyte will start their limited physical classes next week, while seven schools each in Maasin City and Biliran City will open theirs on Feb. 14.

The Education Secretary also said that other regions in the country which are under Alert Level 2 or in much lower alert level status should continuously prepare to implement limited physical classes in their areas.

Briones reminded participating schools to secure a clearance from the local government unit on the holding of face-to-face classes. Only vaccinated students and teachers are allowed to take part.

The national government suspended last month the implementation of limited face-to-face classes in areas placed under a stricter alert level status due to the surge of COVID-19 cases.




Former HDC Hyundai Development Company CEO Chung Mong-gyu

By Lee Kyung-min



A coalition of labor and civic groups are calling on the National Pension Service (NPS) to file a shareholder derivative lawsuit against three major scandal-tainted companies on behalf of minority shareholders. The labor and civic groups view the lawsuits as due course for seeking greater accountability for CEOs to keep corporate misbehavior in check.



A shareholder derivative lawsuit is filed by a group of individual shareholders against firm heads and the board of directors for wrongful acts or doing harm to the interests of minority shareholders.











Kakao founder Kim Beom-su

The coalition says the role of the state-run pension fund should be expanded for greater and fair representation of small investors with little to no way of seeking legal remedy in the case of a sudden dive in share prices brought on by management taking risks. Top managerial figures including CEOs almost always emerge from scandals unscathed, unlike small shareholders who often incur substantial losses, it added.



Also propelling the collective move is a recent government move to allow small NPS subscribers to exert greater influence in the makeup of the state pension's subcommittees that will hold exclusive discretion in bringing forward politically charged suits, a much-dreaded scenario for large firms.





Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  The Department of Health (DOH) assured the public it is working with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in addressing the discrepancy in their tallying of COVID-19 deaths.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said, "We have been working with the Philippine Statistics Authority since last year so that we can harmonize data and we'll be able to address this issue para magkaroon eventually in the coming months ng pagkakapareho ang PSA at saka ang DOH [so eventually in the coming months both the PSA and DOH will agree on] the number of deaths."

The PSA recently posted a report stating that from January to October 2021, there were 75,285 registered deaths due to COVID-19, of which 51,514 cases were confirmed through laboratory tests. The tally is based on information from the patients' death certificates.

On the other hand, the DOH death toll from the first fatality in 2020 up to Oct. 31, 2021, reached 43,172.

Vergeire argued that the DOH numbers remain to be the country's official tally since the data undergo cleaning and validation.

"Ang death certificate, mayroon 'yang tatlong linya na nakalagay, sinasaad 'yung mga causes of death: mayroon tayong underlying cause, antecedent cause at saka 'yung immediate causes of death," she described, noting,

"Ang ating mga implementing units like local governments, sometimes nailalagay nila pero hindi tama 'yung pagkakalagay ng kanilang mga immediate at saka underlying causes of death so diyan nagkakaroon ng isyu."

[Translation: A death certificate has three lines where you input the causes of death: underlying, antecedent and immediate. Our implementing units like local governments sometimes would wrongly put the immeidate and underlying causes of death so that's where we encounter issues.]

Vergeire added that the DOH always checks the date of death and the "actual" cause of death since there are also some cases of incidental COVID-19. This scenario happens when, for example, a patient who died from injuries suffered from a vehicular accident eventually tested positive for COVID-19.

"Kung halimbawa positibo sila, pero hindi COVID ang cause of death but because they had this vehicular accident," she said.

[Translation: If for example they tested positive, but the cause of death is not COVID but due to injuries from a vehicular accident]

Though the PSA did not distinguish incidental COVID-19 cases in its report, it did note that its figures account for both confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19.

"The information presented includes deaths that occurred from January to October 2021 based on data files received by the PSA - Civil Registration Service (CRS) from the [Provincial Statistical Offices] as of 29 November 2021. Thus, the figures presented herein are still preliminary and may differ from the final count," the PSA report stated.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2) Former president and House speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is sharing her story in a memoir entitled Deus Ex Machina.

The first edition of the book was launched in a virtual event attended by some of her former Cabinet members on Wednesday.

Arroyo said the title of the book was inspired by the plot device used in Greek drama about an intervention for unsolvable problems.

She said the book will be more about her life as a devout Catholic and economist, and less about her as a politician.

On what made her write a memoir, Arroyo cited a tradition of former presidents to do so to keep a record of their time in office.

She said some people suggested she publish one to share her experience as a politician and as a daughter of a president.

The 74-year-old Lubao, Pampanga-born leader thanked her staff, family, and all those who helped her research, revise, and publish the book.

Arroyo said the first edition of the memoir has seven parts including her roots, her marriage, her entry into public service, the road to the presidency, her presidency and what happened after.

My brother Boboy suggested we do two editions," she shared. "The one were launching now is the shorter edition. The long version is probably going to be more analytical, the short edition is really more anecdotal.

Arroyo said the second edition of the book is still in the works. Details on when and where Deus Ex Machina will be available for sale have yet to be released.

The daughter of President Diosdado Macapagal held several positions in government before occupying Malacanang from 2001 to 2010.

She faced several controversies during and after her term, including the 'Hello Garci' electoral fraud, the NBN ZTE scandal; and plunder charges related to the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes fund, which were dismissed by the Supreme Court in July 2016.

Arroyo returned to public office in 2010 as Pampanga's second district representative and took over the speakership in 2018.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  The Filipino people can file cases against those involved in the Pharmally scandal, according to Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Richard Gordon.

"I don't want the public to think that it is only the Department of Justice that can file. Any citizen can now file sa Ombudsman," Gordon said Wednesday, a day after the committee's partial report on the controversy was released to the public.

The report recommended criminal charges against Health Secretary Francisco Duque, former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, former presidential adviser Michael Yang, and several Pharmally officials.

The panel also said charges "must be considered" against President Rodrigo Duterte after his term, arguing the chief executive "aggressively protected and defended" those involved.

Gordon said Duterte can be held liable for inciting to sedition when he banned Cabinet members from attending the Senate probe; grave threat and coercion and breach of official duty for consistently attacking the Senate and the Commission on Audit; and negligence of duty for appointing Yang, a Chinese businessman, as economic adviser.

"You know, it's about time our people wake up and that they file the case. They can get the Blue Ribbon report, they can use us as consultants and they can file the case," Gordon said.

In a television interview on Wednesday, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles refused to comment on the matter, noting that the report is not yet official.

As for the Department of Health, the agency said it is waiting for the formal report to be forwarded to them.

"Ang Kagawaran ng Kalusugan naman ay laging bukas sa mga imbestigasyon katulad nito na nafa-file against DOH or any of our officials para na rin mabigyan ng tyansa para makapagbigay tayo ng ating mga counter arguments as well," said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, who also assured the public that the issue will not affect the department's work and commitment.

[Translation: The Department of Health is always open to investigations such as this one wherein the DOH or any of our officials are involved so we can also be given a chance to provide our counter arguments.]

Gordon, meanwhile, rejected House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability chairman Mike Aglipay's claim that the Blue Ribbon Committee's report lacked evidence to support other recommended charges, such as those against Yang.

Aglipay has maintained they stand with their own findings, adding they based their recommendations on testimonial and documentary evidence.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  Retiring Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said Wednesday that further delaying the decision on the disqualification cases against Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos is part of a "grand design" that will eventually help him retake Malacanang regardless of the outcome of the case.

She argued that such plot should work in Marcos' favor as it is likely that the result of the national election will precede the official decision on the case, thus, allowing him to sit as president of the republic if he does win the public vote.

"There is a grand design to delay it, because they already probably know he is going to be disqualified given the evidence," Guanzon told CNN Philippines' The Source.

Marcos is so far the leading contender in pollster surveys on preferred candidates.

"They want to delay it so that he will win and then hopefully he can sit and then even if the Supreme Court will disqualify him a year after the electionshe can still sit," she added.

Guanzon is officially retiring on Wednesday midnight with two other commissioners. Without the decision, her vote favoring the petitioners to disqualify Marcos due to his tax conviction will be invalidated.

She said she has been telling some friends, including Marcos loyalists, that it might be better for the presidential aspirant to be disqualified ahead of the elections and let at least someone like his wife Liza take his place to still secure the country's top post.

"Sinasabi ko sa kanila in public it's better that he should be disqualified before the elections so his wife can substitute, and voters willl not be confused," Guanzon explained. "Kasi they voted for him, yun pala he's disqualified hindi pala siya uupo. They will be frustrated."

[Translation: I tell them in public that it's better that he should be disqualified before the elections so his wife can substitute and voters will not be confused. If they voted for him, and eventually he will be disqualified and will not sit, they will be frustrated.]

She added that a lot can happen even if Marcos takes the seat even for at least a month, especially with the Presidential Commission on Good Government tied to his office. The commission is tasked to recover the ill-gotten wealth of his family under the regime of his father and namesake, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Guanzon has been throwing tirades against fellow Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, the ponente of the case, over the delayed release of the resolution.

She teased, "Ang tanong ko nga kay Commissioner Ferolino, bakit ayaw mo ilabas? Anong gagawin mo dyan, gagawin mong bagoong yan?

(Translation: "I asked Commissioner Ferolino, why don't you put it out? What will you do with that, turn it into fermented fish?")

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez earlier said that for now, Marcos can participate in the campaign period pending the decision. If he gets disqualified before he can be proclaimed president, votes to his name will be considered stray votes and will not reflect in the canvassing tally.

However, if Marcos secures the presidency but gets disqualified after, he will be removed from office and the vice president may take over his post.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  Presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday said he will seek clarification on a Senate panel's recommendation to file cases against President Rodrigo Duterte for betraying the public trust in connection with the government's allegedly anomalous COVID-19 procurement efforts.

Lacson said he already signed the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's draft report on the government's deal with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, but he said more questions need to be cleared.

"Nag-indicate ako na mag-i-interpellate ako kasi may mga gusto akong liwanagin. Lalo doon sa, parang may recommendation yata doon na kasuhan ang Pangulong Duterte ng betrayal of public trust. Malalim na usaping legal ito pati na yung pagkakaso doon sa personalidad, he said in an interview with Bombo Radyo.

[Translation: I indicated that I will interpellate because I want clarifications especially on the part where they recommended charges against President Duterte for betrayal of public trust. This would entail a deep legal discussion, considering the person involved.]

The partial committee report released on Tuesday said Duterte betrayed the public trust when he appointed Chinese businessman Michael Yang as his economic adviser, who later introduced numerous Chinese suppliers with whom the government transacted and in the process enriched himself immensely.

The panel, headed by Senator Richard Gordon, found the presidential appointee had "dominance over pandemic procurement of COVID-19 supplies."

"Unfortunately, based on the Presidents own behavior, one cannot help but conclude that he was aware of, allowed, and condoned the misdeeds of his closest associates and appointees. For this, he must be held accountable," the report read.

Aside from the President and Yang, the Blue Ribbon Committee recommended filing of charges against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, and several other officials of Pharmally.

The Partido Reporma standard bearer said the partial report may no longer be tackled at the plenary, considering the expected long interpellations with only two remaining session days before the election break.

Lacson later clarified in an interview with DZRH that the findings may still be tackled as Congress resumes its session in May.

If the Senate fails to adopt the Blue Ribbon Committees report under the current Congress, Lacson said the new Congress may carry out a hearing on the issue again if they are still interested. The current Blue Ribbon Committee report may serve as a basis for the conduct of the possible hearings in the future.

Magsasagawa ulit sila ng pagdinig, magpa-file sila ulit ng resolution at pwedeng gamitin ang mga dating findings. Maski isang hearing lang, pagkatapos pwedeng gamitin ang huling mga napag-usapan, isama na sa committee report, the veteran senator explained.

[Translation: There will be more hearings, they can file another resolution. Even after only one hearing, previous findings can be used again and included in the committee report.]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  Vice President Leni Robredo vowed to push for the military's modernization plan under her administration, as she stressed the need to have a "credible defense posture" in the West Philippine Sea.

"Fully supportive tayo sa modernization plan," she said during an interview with DZRH.

"Kailangan maging credible ang defense posture sa WPS na kahit hindi natin kayang tapatan, alam nila na kapag nilusob nila tayo ay masasaktan din sila," she added.

[Translation: The modernization plan has our full support. Our defense posture in WPS must be credible. They'd realize that if they attack us, they'd be hurt as well.]

This, as Robredo said the government's presence in the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea would be "very apparent" under her leadership.

Robredo has been reiterating that she would only cooperate with China in areas with no conflicts.

She also previously said there would be no joint exploration in the disputed waters until China accepts the Philippines' arbitral victory.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon is obviously having her last day in office on a high note. She has hinted that she might continue doing public service and even enter politics in the future.

Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday, just hours before her retirement, Guanzon shared a parting message and disclosed her plans once she steps down from her post.

"I retire today at midnight with a glass of wine on my hand, and a bible on my left," Guanzon said.

The Comelec official expressed hope that she was able to inspire the youth to also enter public service.

"I wish to tell that it is with much pride that I retire with honor and excellence, true to the traditions of UP (University of the Philippines) and the principles of my family and my parents: excellence, integrity, honor, justice," she expressed.

She also called on future Comelec commissioners to uphold the values of the institution and the interest of the people, taking to heart that "public office is public trust."

Guanzon informed she was shortlisted for Deputy Ombudsman for Visayas.

"It's up to the President if he wants me or not," Guanzon related. "I am a no-nonsense career public servant and professor of law. I will serve."

Entering the political arena is also a possibility in the coming years, she reiterated.

"Maybe, in 2025. My family, the Villena-Guanzons are in local politics in Negros Occidental," she said. "Our allies there are solidly behind me."

Guanzon has been making headlines over the past days after disclosing her vote to disqualify presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos due to his tax deficiencies.

However, her vote will now be deemed invalidated sans a resolution from ponente Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, whom Guanzon accused of intentionally delaying the resolution.

"I pray for mercy for the Filipino people, I even prayed for Commissioner Ferolino there in church that she be converted. God works but the devil also works eh," Guanzon noted in her now-familiar tone.

Guanzon will be retiring together with acting chair Sheriff Abas and fellow Commissioner Antonio Kho Jr.

Guanzon said effective Feb. 3, Commissioner Socorro Inting will serve as interim chair and will take her place as presiding officer of the First Division to handle Marcos' disqualification case.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  The Senate on Wednesday adopted a resolution seeking criminal and administrative charges against Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and other Department of Energy (DOE) officials who approved the controversial sale of shares in the Malampaya gas field.

The resolution was proposed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who urged the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission to file charges against those involved in the buyout.

In a privilege speech during the plenary session, the lawmaker accused Cusi and his "erring subordinates" of graft, gross neglect of duty, and grave misconduct, and called for their immediate resignation.

"Nananawagan ako kay Secretary Cusi at sa labing-isa na mga opisyal ng DOE na kasama sa pag-apruba ng Chevron-UC (Udenna Corporation) Malampaya deal, magbitiw na kayo," he said.

[Translation: I call on Secretary Cusi and the 11 DOE officials who approved the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal to resign.]

Gatchalian claimed the Energy officials railroaded the sale of Chevron's 45% share in Malampaya to business tycoon Dennis Uy's Udenna Corporation in 2019, despite supposedly knowing Udenna was "financially unqualified."

The senator alleged the department provided an unwarranted preference to Uy's firm through "manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence in evaluating and approving the deal."

"Allowing a company in financial turmoil to own a large stake in Malampaya gravely endangers our country's energy security," Gatchalian said.

"With all that has happened, the Filipino people can no longer trust you to faithfully safeguard our country's precious energy resources," he told the officials.

Besides Chevron's, Udenna was also able to secure another 45% stake in the natural gas project after purchasing Shell Exploration BV's shares last year, bringing its total ownership to 90%. The remaining 10% is maintained by the state through the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation.

If the allegations are proven true, Gatchalian said the officials could face dismissal from public service, up to 15 years imprisonment, and perpetual disqualification from public office.

CNN Philippines has requested comment from Cusi.

Meanwhile, four lawmakers abstained from passing the resolution. They are Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, and Francis Tolentino.

The Energy chief, Uy, and several others are also facing a graft complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman over the deal. It was filed last October by geologist Balgamel Domingo, lawyer Rodel Rodis, and businesswoman Loida Nicolas Lewis.

Cusi has dubbed the graft charges as "harassment," saying it was politically motivated as the national elections are heating up. He reiterated that the DOE scrutinized the deal to ensure the country's energy security is not compromised. Udenna has also stood by the legality of the agreement.

CNN Philippines Correspondent Eimor Santos contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 3)  The Senate and the House of Representatives have ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed SIM Card Registration Act and have sent the bill to Malacanang for President Rodrigo Duterte's signature.

The measure aims to eradicate phone-aided terrorism and criminal activities. It also requires all social media networks to get the real name and phone number of users upon creation of an account.

Both chambers of Congress on Wednesday ratified the report, which reconciled Senate Bill no. 2395 and House Bill no. 5793.

In a statement, Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the public services committee who led bicameral meeting, said among the provisions settled was to mandate all public telecommunications entities (PTEs) to require the registration of SIM cards as a prerequisite to their sale and activation.

Existing SIM card subscribers with active services are given 180 days from the day the law takes effect to register their account. Failure to comply with the requirement will lead to deactivation.

Sale of SIM cards to foreign nationals shall be allowed as long as they are able to provide certain requirements, like their passport and proof of address in the Philippines.

The PTEs will keep the data in a centralized database.

"Whatever information obtained in the registration process cannot be disclosed to any person except in compliance with any law authorizing disclosure, such as in the case of the Data Privacy Act; or in compliance with a court order or any other legal process; or with the written consent of the subscriber. No waiver of absolute confidentiality is allowed," Poe said.

She also noted that the committee added an important provision mandating telecommunication and social media companies to keep relevant data and information for 10 years from the time the end-user deactivates his or her mobile number or social media account.

"We hope that by legislating this measure, we would be able to eradicate mobile phone, internet or electronic communication-aided criminal activities. This has been a long time coming but I hope that the passage of this bill will result in a safer and more secure mobile-use and cyberspace here in our country," she added.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference following talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 1. Reuters-Yonhap





President Vladimir Putin accused the West, Tuesday, of ignoring Moscow's security concerns and of using Ukraine as a tool to contain Russia, though he said he hoped a solution could be found to end spiraling tensions.







Putin said the Kremlin was studying a response from Washington and NATO to Moscow's security demands, but that it had been far from adequate.







They were his first public remarks for weeks on the crisis which has been fuelled by fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.







"It is already clear that fundamental Russian concerns ended up being ignored," Putin told reporters after talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow.







Putin repeated Russia's demands for legally binding security guarantees against further NATO expansion and the deployment of strike facilities near Russia's borders, as well as for NATO's return to military positions from before 1997.







"It seems to me that the United States is not so much concerned about the security of Ukraine... The main task is to contain Russia's development," Putin said, calling Ukraine "a tool to reach this goal."







"I hope that in the end we will find a solution, although it will not be simple," Putin said.











Tensions between Russia and the West have reached levels not seen since the end of the Cold War after Moscow massed more than 100,000 troops near its borders with Ukraine.







Western leaders have accused Moscow of preparing an invasion of its pro-Western neighbor and warned of severe consequences if it invades.







Russia insists it has no plans to attack and has instead put forward its own proposals it says would ease tensions.







U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russia, Tuesday, to "immediately" de-escalate tensions and withdraw its troops in a call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.







Lavrov said Washington had agreed in the call to further discussions on Moscow's demands.







"Let's see how things go," he said.







British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was meanwhile in Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of support for Ukraine.







"It is vital that Russia steps back and chooses a path of diplomacy, and I believe that is still possible," Johnson said at a press conference with Zelensky after the talks, calling Russian forces a "clear and present danger" for Ukraine.







After his meeting with Putin in Moscow, Orban also suggested a solution was possible.







"The situation is serious, the differences are substantial," Orban told the press conference with Putin. "But the existing differences in positions are bridgeable."







Orban, one of Putin's few allies among NATO and EU leaders, made the trip to Moscow in defiance of opposition parties who said it went against the country's national interests.











Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also urged "a de-escalation of tensions" in a call with Putin, Tuesday.







Putin said that French President Emmanuel Macron  who spoke to the Russian leader for the second time in four days on Monday  could come to Moscow for talks "in the near future."







Western leaders have repeatedly warned of "severe consequences" if Russia does invade, including wide-ranging and damaging economic sanctions.







Britain and the United States said Monday they were looking at targeting people in Putin's inner circle, including powerful business allies.







British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Parliament that the government was putting through "the toughest sanctions regime against Russia we've ever had."







"Those in and around the Kremlin will have nowhere to hide," she said. The United States and Britain have been at the forefront in warning of an invasion and have sent new shipments of weapons to shore up the Ukrainian military.







Zelensky said Kyiv was enjoying its biggest diplomatic and military support since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.







"Everyone is coming to us. It is very important," Zelensky told Parliament.







The Ukrainian leader announced plans to add 100,000 personnel to the armed forces over three years and end conscription, as Kyiv looks to professionalize its forces.







Ukraine's military has been transformed with Western support over the past eight years, from a threadbare outfit that relied on volunteer fighters to a battle-hardened force.







Ukraine has been battling Moscow-backed insurgencies in two separatist regions since 2014, with more than 13,000 people killed in the conflict. (AFP)


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No matter your favorite animal  dogs, cats, reptiles, birds or fish  theres no doubt that owning a pet adds happiness to your life and helps make an apartment truly feel like home.

Yet students who want to own pets during their time at Penn State have it rough  no buildings on campus allow animals that arent service animals or registered emotional support animals.

Additionally, the vast majority of apartment buildings in the downtown State College area do not allow pets. This includes all buildings owned by the biggest names in State College real estate  Associated Realty Property Management, The Canyon and The Apartment Store.

And while you could always move to one of many apartments far off campus around North or South Atherton Street, the experience of living downtown so close to campus, shopping, dining and experiencing nightlife is unparalleled.

If youre thinking of adding a furry (or scaly or feathered) friend to your living space, here are some of the best options for you.

RISE at State College

Located at 532 E. College Ave. right across from South Halls, the RISE boasts modern luxury apartments with state-of-the-art appliances and amenities such as a fitness center, on-site parking and study rooms.

The RISE boasts that it has always permitted all residents to keep pets. Better yet, this building features an outdoor deck and lounge patio, so you can chill outside with your pet during the warmer months.

The Legacy at State College

The Legacy can be found on 478 E. Calder Way, just steps away from campus.

Students living at The Legacy enjoy spacious and newly renovated four-bedroom units, all of which are pet friendly and fully furnished.

I even found that apartments at The Legacy all have dishwashers  something nearly impossible to come by in the student housing market.

As a bonus, the health food joint Playa Bowls can be found on the ground floor of The Legacy building, meaning you can stop by for a refreshing smoothie while walking your dog.

The Maxxen

The Maxxen at 131 Heister St. offers pet-friendly units.

With convenient and luxurious amenities like designer kitchens and bathrooms, in-unit laundry and a smart TV in every living room, you can be sure that you and your pet will be living the dream.

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Community features include a fitness center, a coffee bar and an outdoor deck featuring grills for summer cookouts and ample space for your pet to run around freely.

The Metropolitan at State College

The Metropolitan can be found at 412 W. College Ave., right across from West Campus and the Westgate Building  perfect for any engineering or information sciences and technology majors.

This building offers pet-friendly apartments, ranging in size from studio to five-bedroom. Its owned by Landmark Properties (the same company that owns The Legacy), so the two buildings have similar luxury amenities and furnishings.

The best part? The Metropolitan is right above Tadashis West College Avenue location, so Metropolitan residents can conveniently enjoy top-quality sushi, ramen and other Japanese cuisine.

Park Hill Apartments

Park Hill, which recently underwent renovations, is located at 478 E. Beaver Ave. All of its one- and two-bedroom apartments are pet friendly and perfect for those looking for a small space without sacrificing style or convenience.

Park Hill is located farthest from campus out of all of the options on this list but is close to the residential neighborhoods of midtown State College, which are great for long walks with your dog.
Walking into the Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County, one cant help but sense its historic and cultural significance.

From the vintage design of its interior, to its lavish exhibits showcasing art from around the globe, the museum has become a refuge for art in Centre County.

A short drive or bus ride away lies a similar creative shelter. The Makery, a collective of creatives who lead classes and events in downtown State College, has cultivated hands-on experiences for members of the local community to partake in for 10 years. Its range of artistic activities has made The Makery a staple with amateur and professional creatives alike.

Though once separated by geographical limitations, the two organizations have come together to provide an all new experience  The Makery at Bellefonte Art Museum.

Opened in January, this new space provides self-led art and craft experiences for children and their families that reflect the museums exhibits, according to The Makery Founder and Director Amy Frank.

The Makerys newest location evolved from an initial collaboration with the museum during its annual summer Imagination Celebration event, which involves special interactive exhibits and an array of hands-on activities for community members.

After receiving an invitation from the museum to participate in its 2021 Imagination Celebration, The Makery took over two of the museums galleries and created unique interactive exhibits.

This collaboration became the starting point for an exciting new project, Frank said.

Though the museum had a designated room for childrens activities, it wasnt able to provide a fully thought-out experience that could reflect its main exhibits, according to the museums Deputy Director Lori Fisher.

When the summer ended, we already started talking about, How can we make this a more permanent partnership? Fisher said. So, [the museum and The Makery] both kind of went our separate ways and said, You know, let's think about it, we'll regroup.

After some time had passed, Fisher said she thought of how the museums childrens program had gone dormant. Thats when the museum decided to reach out again to The Makery with an invitation for a new collaboration.

And when it accepted the museums offer, The Makery came in and completely transformed the space, Fisher said.

Now re-renovated, the new room offers a creative energy that is only comparable to The Makerys main space.

Fisher said Lisa Cousins, an instructor and visual design coordinator for The Makery, took over the interior designing of the sister space.

Starting with a few drawings, Cousins said her vision for a bright and effervescent space soon came to life.

The walls are covered with unique pieces of artwork and hanging lights. Tables and bins filled with art supplies line the perimeter. And a large chandelier decorated with an assortment of flowers, beads and other knick-knacks hangs in the middle of the room above a large, round table.

The room also features an entire chalk wall where kids can write and draw to their heart's content.

Having the opportunity to create a sister space that expands The Makerys mission of providing joy and delight to local communities was a joyous experience, Cousins said.

I've seen in my own life, and my children's life, how art has helped them get through some really tough times, Cousins said. Just having that outlet  it's healing. And we need more of that in our world right now.

The main purpose of the room, Fisher said, is to provide an opportunity for children to make art that is reflective of the museums main exhibit, which currently hosts traditional African clothing and wearable art.

To reflect the exhibit, Frank said The Makery created a self-led project where children can weave their own Ghanaian-inspired Kente clothes out of paper and fabric scraps. She said every piece of colored fabric has its own meaning, giving the project an additional layer of significance.

Because its self-led, Frank said families visiting the museum are able to come into the space at any time during the museum's operating hours  noon to 4:30 p.m., Friday through Sunday  and participate in the project. Though there is no instructor permanently located in the space, clear and easy-to-understand instructions are located throughout the room so anyone is able to participate, she said.

Going forward, Frank said the goal is to cycle out these projects alongside the museums exhibits, continuously creating new projects that are reflective of whatever art is on display.

Having opportunities to engage with art in a physical way can open doors for children to want to continue learning about various cultures, Fisher said. When children can create art that reflects the museums own exhibits, Fisher said, they have the chance to take home works of art themselves.

It's important to do something physically because you can come in and visually see the exhibit, but then you could walk out and maybe not really think about it again, Fisher said. But to do something physically related to the exhibit, take it home with you and hang it on your refrigerator  its always kind of there for you to continue thinking about it and learning more about the process, about the people, about the culture, the area, everything.
From talking about it in school presentations to roasting his own, Matt Avedesian has always been interested in coffee  an interest that mainly stems from the family business he grew up in  Saints Cafe in downtown State College.

Avedesian, son of Craig and Mary Kay Avedesian and now owner of the Brooklyn, New York-based Ave Expresso, said his eventual career in the coffee industry just made sense after being involved with the cafe prior to its closure in December 2021.

The location on West Beaver Avenue was a cafe prior to Saints, and Matt said his father was a regular there who became very closely knit with the owners and patrons.

When the cafe was going out of business, Craig decided to start a new cafe  Saints Cafe  in 1999.

They took the space and reimagined it to be their own, Matt said. Influenced by cafes they had visited, places they had traveled and building a community space  a third place at that  where people could get together, converse and really just enjoy delicious coffee and pastries.

Although the cafe evolved over the years, Matt said the overarching theme and approach was maintained, continuing to do it the Saints way.

Matt worked the bar while he studied at Penn State and eventually helped with communications for the cafe, a position that allowed him to get his feet wet in coffee and launch his career.

I was an employee there. I loved the engagements, from professors from class to businessgoers  you met everybody at Saints, and that's why it was so special  the people, Matt said. I was proud to have that meeting place that I was affiliated with, and I took pride in it, and I wanted to learn more.

Will Rule, a barista who worked at Saints for about a year, said because it was such a comforting environment, people were encouraged to come back. From old taxi drivers to current professors  getting to know their stories, that was easily the best part of the job.

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Rule (junior-engineering) said he had worked at Starbucks prior to his job at Saints, and within his short period at Saints, he learned much more about coffee than he ever did at Starbucks.

He was able to work there and learn about latte art, but Rule was also able to be a customer at a place that felt like his home.

Jessica Krieger, another barista who worked at Saints for about a year, said she never had any bad experiences with anyone.

It was such a unique place, wed get all walks of life in there, Krieger (freshman-accounting) said. There are these two regulars that would come in every single morning, and as we were getting new baristas, they would always try to learn our names.

Matt said there was an energy in Saints, and that aspect of people getting together and having a good time  thats what it's all about.

For Sydnie Simin, she had worked as a barista for five years at Saints and said she loved observing the special relationships that formed in the environment she contributed to.

Simin said she heard people frequently refer to Saints as a gem of State College and in a town that has been so rapidly growing and changing, Saints remained a pleasantly consistent gathering place for its 22 years of business.

Simin said townies, students and visitors from all over could count on the cafe.

Id like to say Saints was a big part of an exciting time where coffee got very much more popular amongst consumers and people opening businesses  so Id like to say the community is what made Saints special, Matt said. Its really neat to see the impact a coffee shop can have on a community.

Simin said Saints helped her learn what it meant to really be a coffee person.

She said the cozy atmosphere and occupants made for a great environment, but the commitment to quality coffee is what tied the experience together.

Toward the end of Saints reign in State College, Matt introduced his Ave Expresso brand in the cafe, and it can now be ordered online.

It was a special moment in time  those 22 years, Matt said. But Ave Expresso carries that spirit on.

Matt said hed like to transition the followers, fans and friends of Saints to Ave Expresso so they can still enjoy Saints at home.

Thats been exciting with the outpour of kindness from the community since we announced that we were going to end our chapter, Matt said.

Krieger said the community definitely felt the loss of Saints, but even in those final days, you felt like you could really appreciate everything more.

Rule said the loss of Saints was heartbreaking, but with the new coffee shop Elixr now open in Saints place, whats to come is looking fantastic and is moving in the right direction.

As someone that works in the coffee industry and travels and drinks a lot of coffee along the way, Im proud I was a part of Saints, Matt said. Im really grateful for the community that made Saints what it was, and I speak on behalf of my family with that.

MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE

State College Mayor Ezra Nanes proclaims February as Black History Month State College Mayor Ezra Nanes issued a proclamation Tuesday declaring February 2022 Black H
State College Mayor Ezra Nanes proclaimed Tuesday as Lunar New Year in the borough and wished everyone who celebrates the holiday a "Happy Lunar New Year."

Nanes described the Lunar New Year as an important holiday for Asian communities around the globe and Americans of Asian origin  including those of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, Mongolian, Singaporean, Malaysian and Filipino heritage  that focuses on celebrating and strengthening family and community bonds.

Lunar New Year is based on the Lunar calendar, the release said, which includes the Chinese zodiac, a repeating 12-year cycle of animal signs and their associated character traits. Tuesday marks the shift from the Year of the Ox to the Year of the Tiger.

According to the proclamation, people born in the Year of the Tiger are viewed as brave, confident and well-liked by others.

Nanes said Centre County greatly benefits from the creativity, enterprise, skills and diverse heritage of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American residents, and said over 10,000 APIDA residents contribute to State Colleges economy and enrich the ethnic and social fabric of the community.

We encourage everyone in the borough of State College to join in the spirit of celebration and reaffirm our communitys commitment to family, diversity, mutual respect and creating an inclusive environment of belonging for all our residents, Nanes said in the proclamation.

MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE

State College Mayor Ezra Nanes proclaims February as Black History Month State College Mayor Ezra Nanes issued a proclamation Tuesday declaring February 2022 Black H
A worker cleans a street Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, in the Chinatown district of San Francisco. AP-Yonhap





For two years now, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the country have endured racist verbal, physical and sometimes deadly attacks fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.







With the start of the Lunar New Year, many are looking forward to carrying out family traditions and joining in community celebrations throughout February. These include family dinners and giving children red envelopes filled with money. New York, Chicago and San Francisco are among the cities with parades planned later this month in their respective Chinatowns.







The Year of the Tiger  a Chinese zodiac symbol that represents strength and courage  also is the perfect time to convince Asian elders who have lived in fear because of widespread anti-Asian sentiment to join in the festivities.







''We really just want to share our culture, and basically be able to celebrate this joyous event with everyone,'' said William Gee, a longtime organizer of San Francisco's annual Chinese New Year Parade Festival. ''Just the presence alone in numbers, it might actually deter anything that any malicious or nefarious activity that might be planned.''







While most Lunar New Year revelry was sidelined last year because of COVID-19, many outdoor events are returning with organizers encouraging masking for the public but mandating them for staff. The various parades will feature floats, marching bands, lion dances  and even ''Star Wars'' cosplayers in San Francisco.







''I hope anyone that is actually in fear of stepping outdoors because of everything that's been happening can find assurance and a bit of solace, in terms of coming to an event where you're going to be surrounded by like people,'' Gee said.







Several cities that are holding parades and festivals held rallies recently marking the one-year anniversary of the deadly attack on Vicha Ratanapakdee. The 84-year-old Thai American was assaulted while walking in his San Francisco neighborhood.







Hundreds of people hold a rally, Jan. 30 in San Francisco and five other U.S. cities to remember the death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. The grandfather from Thailand was assaulted while on a morning walk a year ago in his San Francisco neighborhood and died two days later, never regaining consciousness. AP-Yonhap





His death was one of the first reported in what has been a series of fatal incidents targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The grim anniversary came just a couple of weeks after the death of Michelle Alyssa Go in New York City's Times Square. The 40-year-old died after a mentally unstable man shoved her in front of a subway train.







Amanda Nguyen, an activist whose January 2021 Instagram video highlighting attacks on elderly Asians gained wide attention, said the continuous hostility is all the more reason to openly celebrate Asian cultures. Having fun with family and friends isn't dismissing tragedy but rather ''the most radical form of rebellion.''







''I know that it's a difficult time, but Lunar New Year is a joyous celebration that's deeply rooted in community,'' Nguyen said. ''I want people to know that you can grieve. You can collectively grieve, heal, and also make space to be you, to have joy.''







Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, which has been tracking incidents nationwide based on victims self-reporting, said nervous elders in Chinatowns are stuck in ''de facto segregation.'' For two years, they've limited themselves to certain streets or neighborhoods.







''So to honor our elders, we really need to help address that sense of isolation, by making them again feel included, safe and secure,'' Jeung said. ''You do that by ... taking them out, escorting them around, bringing them shopping, inviting them to the meals and then working for broader safety in the community.''







Earlier this month, the San Francisco Police Department reported that anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021 jumped 567 percent from 2020. Preliminary data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism indicates Los Angeles and New York also saw record highs of anti-Asian hate incidents. Georgia saw the most fatalities after the March 2021 Atlanta-area spa business shootings that left six Asian women dead.







Initial figures from individual police agencies indicate anti-Asian hate crime overall increased 339 percent in 2021, compared to a 124 percent rise in 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. Many people attribute the trend to former President Donald Trump talking about the coronavirus, which first appeared in China, in racial terms.







''The data is just so horrific that to see it confirmed in other sources, it doesn't surprise us and validates what we know,'' Jeung said.







Nguyen thinks incorporating more Asian American and Pacific Islander history in K-12 education can help change the climate in the future. She has been organizing petitions in various states.







''That's when people are learning about everything. I think that a lot of hate, the xenophobia, that professional foreigner stereotype, even yellow fever, the way that AAPIs are characterized  that stems from ignorance,'' Nguyen said, using the acronym for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. ''Let's celebrate the people who have broken barriers.''







Bing Tang, of Monterey Park, California, says he doesn't dwell too much on anti-Asian hate because nothing would come of it. Tang, who was shopping in Los Angeles' Chinatown last week for tiger decorations for a family dinner of steamed chicken, fish and lobster, said fortunately neither he nor anyone close to him has experienced any harassment or attacks.







''There's good people, bad people all around the country,'' Tang said. ''I just go out normally and just have a positive attitude. What can we do? We only can control ourselves and be nice to other people.'' (AP)






The Commonwealth Court in Pennsylvania ruled that Act 77, the expansive 2019 mail-in voting law, was unconstitutional on Jan. 28.

Act 77 is a broad, encompassing law that guarantees provisions such as being put on a mailing list for your ballot, implements no excuse mail-in voting, extends the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots to Election Day at 8 p.m. and changed the voting registration deadline from 30 days out to 15 days  among other procedural and balloting measures.

The law has been attempted to be shot down for over a year now, with former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party claiming that the mailing list provisions and no-excuse voting are prone to voter fraud, which caused Trump to lose Pennsylvania in the 2020 election.

A couple of things are ironic and silly with all of this. Firstly, Act 77 was hailed as a bipartisan accomplishment in the state. The law was passed by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

The law was only challenged after the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, which saw extensive use of mail-in voting due to the pandemic. Those who wrote the law are now trying to argue against it.

When you lose, it seems a little childish to try to walk back on the very laws you put into place.

Obviously, GOP representatives are scared knowing they will lose primaries if they dont follow the popular view espoused by Trump and company that the election was stolen and rigged. So much for the idea of independent politicians in parties.

Now, if youre not with the leader, youre the enemy.

I dont know how someone could argue that promoting mail-in voting was a bad thing in fall 2020. The law allowed people who, for example, caught the coronavirus days before the election to be able to request ballots. Middle-aged Pennsylvanians living with their elderly parents worried about transmitting the virus to them could vote by mail.

The people in these examples probably wouldnt have voted without the law.

Looking at the polling numbers going into the election, of course Trump and his allies would have wanted less people to vote, and mail-in balloting enfranchised many Americans in a pandemic.

Only 26 cases of voter fraud in the commonwealth were found after an extensive search. Twenty-six votes is a much smaller figure than the 80,555 votes the election was decided by. Even GOP and Trump appointed-officials affirmed that the election results had very little and inconsequential fraud.

Now, this crusade to overturn the election results has merged into a battle to prevent voters from exercising their constitutional right to vote, resulting in the Commonwealth Courts ruling.

I remember back on Election Day in 2020 watching the results in Pennsylvania. It amazed me that Trump and his allies, along with some national news networks and frankly a lot of voters, didnt understand what a red mirage was.

Pennsylvania counts its in-person votes first, especially the early votes before Election Day, with their mail-in ballots not opened until Election Day. Sorting and opening absentee ballots also take longer than in-person voting, meaning the process is long.

When Trump encouraged his voters to not vote by mail and sowed discourse within the idea of absentee voting, of course most in-person votes were going to be for Trump and most mail-in ballots for Biden. Once the vote total changed over the course of days due to the counting is when election fraud claims were thrown all over.

If I, as a first time voter, can recognize how the vote counting system works in Pennsylvania, Im sure others can figure it out too. It amazes me that the Commonwealth Court and members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly havent yet comprehended that.

The court ruled 3-2 to overturn the law, with all three GOP members voting to overrule and both Democratic members voting to keep in place. Because the decision was appealed, the law remains in place for now and goes to the Democratic 5-2 majority state Supreme Court, where in all likelihood itll keep in place the law. An appeal after that could bring the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it would be a landmark case if taken up.

Unless solid evidence of vast, widespread voter fraud can be found and proved  which it hasnt  this continuing effort to restrict the ability for citizens to vote by mail, not just in Pennsylvania, but across the country, is un-American, undemocratic and a blight on our institutions.
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A doctor inoculates 5-year-old Phillip with the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus during a vaccination action against the coronavirus for children in Berlin, Germany, in this file photo taken Jan. 8. Pfizer asked the U.S., Tuesday, to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5, potentially opening the way for the very youngest Americans to start receiving shots as early as March. AFP-Yonhap





Pfizer asked the U.S., Tuesday, to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under five, potentially opening the way for the very youngest Americans to start receiving shots as early as March.







In an extraordinary move, the Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to apply earlier than the companies had planned  and before it's settled if the youngsters will need two shots or three.







The nation's 19 million children under five are the only group not yet eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus. Many parents have been pushing for an expansion of shots to toddlers and preschoolers, especially as the Omicron variant sent record numbers of youngsters to hospital.







''I would say the parents in my office are desperate'' to get young kids vaccinated, said Dr. Dyan Hes, who runs a pediatrics practice in New York City, where vaccination rates are high. For many, ''that's the first thing they ask when they walk through the door: 'When do you think the shot is going to come out?'''







Pfizer aims to give children as young as six months shots that contain one-tenth of the dose given to adults. The company said it had started submitting its data to the FDA and expects to complete the process in a few days.







An open question is how many shots those children will need. Two of the extra-low doses turned out to be strong enough for babies but not for preschoolers in early testing. Pfizer now is testing a third shot, data that's expected in late March.







That means the FDA may consider whether to authorize two shots for now, with potentially a third shot being cleared later if the study supports it.







Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement that company scientists believe this age group ultimately will need three of the extra low-dose shots but that FDA action now could let parents begin the vaccination process while awaiting a final decision.







Vials with COVID-19 vaccine stickers attached and syringes are seen in front of the logo for US pharmaceutical company Pfizer in this file illustration photo taken Nov. 17, 2020 in London. AFP-Yonhap





The FDA said it will convene a panel of independent researchers and physicians in mid-February to help review the Pfizer data. The agency isn't required to follow their advice, but their input is a key step in publicly vetting vaccine safety and effectiveness.







The question of how long to wait for new vaccine data  and how much to require  is a concern for FDA regulators, who face pressure to be more proactive against a virus that has repeatedly confounded health experts.







The FDA asked Pfizer to begin submitting its application now due to Omicron's ''greater toll on children,'' an agency spokeswoman said, citing a peak in cases among children under five.







''In light of these new data and the rise in illnesses and hospitalization in this youngest age group, the FDA believed that it was prudent to request that Pfizer submit the data it had available,'' agency spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said in an emailed statement.







The FDA's ultimate decision could come within the month, but that isn't the only hurdle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has to sign off on its use.







The Biden administration has been trying to speed the authorization of COVID-19 shots for children, contending vaccinations are critical for opening schools and day care centers and keeping them open, and for freeing up parents from child care duties so they can go back to work.







Yet vaccination rates have been lower among children than in other age groups. As of last week, just 20 percent of children ages five to 11 and just over half of 12- to 17-year-olds were fully vaccinated, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nearly three-quarters of adults are fully vaccinated.







Young children are far less likely than adults to get severely ill from the coronavirus, but it can happen, and pediatric COVID-19 infections are higher than at any other point in the pandemic.







''What we're seeing right now is still a lot of hospitalizations and unfortunately some deaths in this age group,'' said Dr. Sean O'Leary of the University of Colorado, who is on the AAP's infectious disease committee. If the FDA clears vaccinations for these youngsters, ''that's going to be really important because all of those hospitalizations and deaths essentially are preventable.''







For children under five, Pfizer's study is giving participants two shots three weeks apart, followed by a third dose at least two months later. The company is testing whether the youngsters produce antibody levels similar to those known to protect teens and young adults.







In December, Pfizer announced that children under two looked to be protected but that the antibody response was too low in two- to four-year-olds. It's not clear why, but one possibility is that the extra-low dose was a little too low for the preschoolers.







Since the preliminary results showed the shots were safe, Pfizer added a third dose to the testing in hopes of improving protection.







A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found just three in 10 parents of children under five would get their youngster vaccinated as soon as shots were authorized, while about a quarter said they definitely would not. Results of the survey of 1,536 adults, conducted in mid-January, were released Tuesday.







Chicago health officials have been trying to prepare parents for months for the day the shots are available, said Dr. Nimmi Rajagopal, a family medicine physician for Cook County Health, which oversees the public hospital system. Some parents wonder how rigorously the shots will be evaluated or have other questions that she said are critical to address.







Rajagopal is excited about getting her own two-year-old son vaccinated if the FDA clears the way, so it will be safer for him to play with other children.







''I have been waiting and waiting and waiting,'' she said. (AP)


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A start-up has emerged from stealth mode to announce what it describes as one of the worlds first enterprise-specific browsers, capable of governing how users interact with all SaaS and web applications.

The new Island web browser is based on the widely used Chromium open-source platform. Launched by a company with the same name, Island offers users a familiar online experience while governing what sites they can visit, the data they can view, and what files they can download or upload. Restrictions can be dialed up or down and can be specific to a users role in an organization.

For example, a user could be surfing the web with the standard Chrome, Edge, or Safari browsers, but if they try to access a site that's off-limits based on the Island settings, they'd be blocked and told to use their secure browser. The Island browser can even stop an employee from taking screenshots of sensitive data, depending on the settings IT admins choose to implement.

Weve given infinite last-mile control to the enterprise, said Mike Fey, co-founder of Island and the former president and COO at Symantec and general manager and CTO of McAfee. As weve seen our critical data and applications move to SaaS-based apps and web apps, the role the browser can play could become critical. Right now, the browser plays no role. It just displays.

The Island browser has a number of granular capabilities for controlling what users can access online. Admins can fully control last-mile actions, from advanced security demands to more basic data exfiltration protections such as copy, paste, download, upload, screenshots, and other activities that might expose critical data.

The browser works with both Windows and macOS; mobile versions (for iOS and Android) as well as for Linux are forthcoming, the company said.

Island BYOD Last Mile Control Paste Protection. This shows how the Island browser prevented a user from taking corporate data from a key application and controlled the paste of the content into their personal Gmail.

Bob Schuetter, CISO at Ashland Specialty Chemicals, a global specialty materials and chemical supply company with about 4,200 employees, said Ashland began piloting Islands browser about six months ago. The Delaware-based firm purchased 4,000 seats, though just 100 employees have so far downloaded Island.

Like most large organizations, Ashland has a variety of security tools in place. The company uses Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technology to secure web gateways; in other words, it can monitor and restrict how users access the web and cloud services like an Internet firewall.

Over the past few years, however, Ashland downsized operations, eliminated its data center, and turned to SaaS applications such as Salesforce and Workday. For Schuetter, the biggest benefit of browser-based security is controlling the data entry point.

"We changed networking," he said. "We changed how the network flows. We tried to get everything coming into us so we can get visibility [by] breaking encryption. SaaS providers get point-to-point encryption, which is great for them, but it's terrible for us. They get security, but we cant see anything.

"...We were constantly having to break things or constantly having to bolt things on to get security around it," Schuetter continued. "And, this [browser] was finally the opportunity to get security at the front. So, instead of having to keep on adding things on, I can just select what I want."

Another benefit to using a secure enterprise browser, Scheuetter said, is it's relatively simple to roll out  and pushback from users has been virtually nonexistent.

"We can just put this browser on your desktop and youre kind of there. Try it out. Use it. Get used to it and let us know if theres anything blatantly missing," he said. "Now, try Salesforce though this. Can you use Salesforce or Workday through it? You good? Awesome! Now, Im going to enforce it, so you can only use this browser."

Fey founded Island in August 2020 with Dan Amiga, an Israel-based inventor of web isolation technology; since that time, the two entrepreneurs have put together a team of about 100 employees. The company has so far garnered nearly $100 million in early-stage funding from some of the industrys biggest investment firms, including Insight Partners, Sequoia Capital, Cyberstarts, and Stripes.

Headquartered in Dallas with a 75-person engineering team in Israel, Islands software is one of only two enterprise-specific browsers  the other being TalonWorks Talon browser, according to Peter Firstbrook, a research vice president for Gartner Research.

Talon also touts its granularity of security controls, including being able to work across "all SaaS services, protecting corporate data across all services, devices, locations and workers (i.e., external employees accessing corporate assets)."

Israel-based Talon Cyber Security announced what it called the markets first-of-its-kind enterprise browser last October. The Israeli company claims its TalonWork corporate browser can be deployed across an organization in less than an hour with minimum complexity, cost, and no additional hardware. As with the Island browser, the TalonWork browser is also based on Chromium.

Clearly, though, the market for enterprise specific browsers is nascent and it remains to be seen if it will gain significant traction.

Islands pretty unique, Firstbrook said. Obviously, the Chrome browser has enterprise management capabilities, but it doesnt have it to the same degree these guys do, where you can stop people from cutting and pasting from certain web pages, or prevent them from entering certain types of information, or downloading information.

Island A dashboard showing the top applications in use from Islands management console.

Fey said development of his companys browser technology began three years ago  before Talons  but that he and Amiga chose to stay in stealth mode longer. Islands software was released and became generally available in September; it has since been deployed in several Fortune 500 organizations, according to the company. Island, however, has mainly focused on midsized customers with about 2,000 employees or smaller, Fey said. As is the case with many start-ups, Island is still developing its pricing model, so its not yet prepared to unveil the cost of its software.

Weve been at this a while now. Weve had so many customer engagements at this point, were very blessed. Now we have a body of work to look at, Fey said. "Weve been told by some friends and advisors we might not be charging enough, but Im less concerned about first-deal sizes as I am about making sure we have impact.

Enterprise uses for the browser include securing critical SaaS and internal web apps from data leakage, safe access for contractors and BYOD workers, and full governance over privileged user accounts. It can also reduce VDI dependency while also supporting built-in safe browsing, web filtering, web isolation, exploit prevention, smart network routing, and Zero Trust access.

Malware scanning is integrated to help protect against ransomware or zero-day exploits at the point of entry.

"Firewalls identify and block security risks inside the browser itself, so they know exactly what threats to keep away from your network or endpoint," Island wrote in a white paper about the browser. "And analytics platforms finally have a comprehensive view of everything happening inside the organization, enabling you to gain more accurate insight and make more sound decisions."

With hybrid workplaces now allowing a majority of employees to work remotely, other technologies for securing web access have been on the rise, such as secure edge gateways that focus on protecting corporate network and traffic in and out of them.

For example, CASB and SASE technology use secure web gateways; in other words, they monitor and restrict how users access the web and cloud services like an internet firewall.

However, CASB products, such as McAfees Mvision Cloud and Microsofts Zscaler, are more heavy-handed in their oversight of user activity, browsing, and cloud access. Similar to a secure LAN, CASB technology can safeguard cloud data by deploying software on a network device in a data center or as part of a software-as-a-service product. CASB enables network visibility and threat detection for an organizations cloud applications. SASE combines SD-WAN with a complete network security stack thats typically deployed through a cloud-native virtual appliance.

Island Audit Logging, which shows the type of logging Island can perform over user activities from Island's management console.

CASB solutions are also expensive.

Zscaler has some pretty big inherent cost components, Firstbrook said. "You have to pay for bandwidth in and bandwidth out. And, theyre proxying all the traffic, so then you pay for the bandwidth back to the proxy and bandwidth back out to the customer. So, Zscaler is one of biggest bandwidth consumers in the world.

CASB products depend on hundreds of geographical enforcement around the globe, so vendors have to charge for their datacenter footprint.

By contrast, Islands browser is downloaded much like Zoom, which takes seconds or minutes depending on the system, Fey said. "So, from a cost perspective, its inherently less expensive. All I have to do is distribute the browser, and Im using cycles from the PCs," he said.

Another problem with CASBs is they literally act as a filter for all web traffic and out of a organization. But if an employee, contractor, or consultant is using their personal PC, theyre not likely to want the company to place an agent on their system.

If Im a contractor, I dont want the company to see everywhere Im going on the internet and everything Im doing, Firstbrook said. So, its a little more intrusive, whereas this browser will only kick in when youre going to a specific website your company is concerned about.

...It's a lot less intrusive for a consultant or a contractor or even an employee whos using their own home PC to get access to corporate resources than a CASB or secure service edge, Firstbrook added.

For example, Fey said his company's browser is currently being used by physician practices, allowing a doctor to work at five different hospitals but have seperate profiles enabling discrete access and control privileges for each facility's systems.

"Our web browser allows you to move in and out of separate profiles," Fey said. "So, you can have important information across all five hospitals, but you're able to keep those profiles separate and ensure you never take ownership of any sensitive patient data."

The only question now, Firstbrook said, is whether Google or Microsoft could simply implement the same functionality on their own web browsers. That's a distinct possibility, especially if uptake is brisk.

"Microsoft has no network security technology at all," Firstbrook said. "They have no firewalls, no network detection response, no proxies. They really have a very limited set of technologies. This would be a way for them to deliver the things youre looking for from a network technology without actually getting into the network side of things."

So competition for Island (and Talon) could come from the big browser developers themselves. The only thing stopping them would be the time and effort they'd need to put into developing the same tools the start-ups already have. That means acquisitions could also be on the horizon.

"I definitely think both Microsoft and Google would be interested in this technology if customers think its relevant to them," Firstbrook said.
02/02/2022

Photo (c) tulcarion - Getty Images COVID-19 tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 75,355,265 (74,943,050)

Total U.S. deaths: 890,939 (886,691)

Total global cases: 382,621,812 (378,888,710)

Total global deaths: 5,691,323 (5,675,902)

Vaccine makers seek approval for vaccinating kids under five

Pfizer and BioNTech, makers of the first approved COVID-19 vaccine, are asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval to administer their vaccine to children under the age of five. If approved, tiny doses of the vaccine could be administered to children as young as six months by next month.

"Since the start of the pandemic, more than 10.6 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.S., with children under four accounting for more than 1.6 million of those cases, the companies said. COVID-19 cases and related hospitalization among children have spiked dramatically across the United States during the Omicron variant surge.

The companies said their request to amend the emergency use authorization (EUA) is based on the totality of data on the safety, tolerability, immunogenicity, and available efficacy of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.

Lockdowns failed to halt COVID-19 deaths, study finds

In a new study, researchers at Johns Hopkins University analyzed the early pandemic lockdowns in the U.S. and Europe and concluded that they had little or no effect on the virus mortality rate.

The researchers defined lockdowns as  any government mandate that directly restrict peoples possibilities, such as policies that limit internal movement, close schools and businesses, and ban international travel. The study used a systematic search and screening procedure in which 18,590 studies were identified that could potentially address the belief posed.

We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality, the researchers concluded.

About those free masks

President Biden announced early last month that the U.S. government would purchase 500 million N95 masks and give them away at pharmacies and retail locations across the country. But according to various media reports, the masks are hard to find.

WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach, Fla., reports that many area stores have posted signs telling consumers the masks are not yet available. Walmart has told shoppers that its stores may not have masks until the middle of this month.

Stores around the country that have received limited quantities of the masks report that there are long lines of consumers waiting to get one. Medical experts say people should continue using any kind of mask while they wait to receive an N95 mask.

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And the multiple Die Hard But It's Groundhog Day action movies that have come out in the last decade, it's like we're stuck in that loop, reliving this plot over and over again. Well, the key to this movie's longevity might be the fact that it was, no joke, inspired by vampires. And not just any vampires, but Anne Rice's horny ones.

According to screenwriter Danny Rubin, he first came up with the basic gimmick of a man stuck repeating the same day over and over while forcing himself to fire off 50 movie ideas in two days (by 25, he was probably like "Casablanca 2," "Godfather Part II Part II," etc.). Rubin wrote down that idea in an index card and forgot about it until years later when he was sitting in an L.A. movie theater with this book in his hands:

Knopf This sounds like a code to initiate some sort of illicit encounter, but no, he was there to watch a movie.

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As he waited for the movie to start, Rubin began thinking about what it would be like to be a vampire and live a long-ass time. How would one person change over time? What if that person was kind of an immature jerk in the first place? Would they eventually grow up and un-jerk themselves? While developing that idea, Rubin ran into a problem: if he wanted his protagonist to live for centuries, then the movie would either have to involve some medieval set pieces or end with everyone flying in jetpacks. That's when he remembered his time loop idea, which made everything simpler and improved his script's chances of actually being made (turns out studios are way less likely to finance your movie if the budget is higher than Micronesia's GDP).
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Naming a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court is not a token pick.
If theres a walkaway from the viral video of a fathers noxious tirade at a Fairfield smoothie shop, its that it is inspiring many viewers to consider different perspectives.

Though captured on video, the story has evolved with subsequent tellings. The initial narrative offered over social media such as TikTok was simple: A customer in a Fairfield Robeks hurled anger, racist comments and a smoothie at teenaged employees as they asked him to leave.

The father, Fairfield resident James Iannazzo, was immediately flogged in the public square of social media, charged by police with intimidation based on bigotry or bias, breach of peace and criminal trespass and dismissed from his job as a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch. Hes worked at the firm since graduating from University of Connecticut in 1995.

Iannazzos actions werent just hostile. Throwing the cup and trying to get to their work area crossed the line into frightening. We condemn his toxic words and actions. Everyone recognized Iannazzos reaction was inappropriate, even Iannazzo.

They do not reflect my values or my character, he said in the statement. I feel terrible that I lost my composure so completely.

But something interesting happened after Iannazzo and his lawyer added details to the narrative. Iannazzo said his rage was fueled by his 17-year-old son being taken to the hospital while suffering with life-threatening anaphylactic shock after digesting the smoothie.

After he started to drink his smoothie, my son lost the capacity to breathe properly; his lips and face swelled up, and he required an EpiPen shot, but it did not offer him relief. I called 911, Iannazzo said in a statement describing his sons nut allergy. My son then went to the bathroom, threw up and fell unconscious to the floor. He threw up again. My wife gave him another EpiPen while I called 911 again.

Those are poised words, far removed from the fury captured in the video.

It didnt excuse Iannazzos horrid actions, but it inspired many people to ponder what they might have done with a loved one suffering in a similar situation.

Im trying to imagine how I would have reacted, became a refrain.

Its worth embracing, and celebrating, such empathy. During this historic pandemic, even those who have successful dodged COVID cant escape heightened stress.

Such anxieties have put social workers on watch for increases in the likes of domestic violence. Incidents of road rage in the streets and Cov rage in businesses are becoming far too commonplace. Some restaurants struggling with staffing issue have posted pleas for patience.

Not all pundits on comment boards were compassionate. There is a twisted irony that some people wrote unseemly attacks aimed at those they felt were giving Iannazzo a pass.

The Fairfield incident is also a cautionary tale that food workers can carry a weight of responsibility similar to that of a lifeguard. Attention to allergies demands attention from those on both sides of the counter.

Iannazzos behavior will long be summoned as an example of how not to respond in times of crisis. But if anything should go viral, its the response of compassion.
Tom Salvas / Essex Winter Series

ESSEX  Connecticut Humanities, the statewide, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has awarded Essex Winter Series an $11,900 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant.

As the world opens up again to in-person events, this funding is a boon for Essex Winter Series and other nonprofits, a press release said.
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BRIDGEPORT  After a long hiatus, the Board of Education has resumed a specialized committee tasked with studying and reforming its schools.

The school boards educational diversity, equity and inclusion committee met on Tuesday night for the fourth time since its creation in October 2020 to set goals and priorities for its future.

The committee also reviewed staff and student demographic data, though those numbers were now more than a year stale. But a preliminary look showed that while Bridgeport had one of the most diverse teacher populations in the state, the district still fell short of school staff that resembles the students it serves.

Were doing well in the state, and thats all well and good, said Joseph Sokolovic, who heads the committee. But when we look at things from that perspective, it tends to disincentivize moving forward. I want to be a better Bridgeport than we were yesterday.

The school board DEI committee was born out of the longstanding Males of Color group in 2020 to expand its focus, though topics related to gender and race remain priorities. Sokolovic was tapped as chair and held meetings in October and November 2020, according to public minutes, until he was replaced as chair by former board member Sosimo Fabian.

Fabian called one meeting while at the helm for a year  in May 2021.

I am now chair again and will get us back to work, Sokolovic said.

That work started with revisiting the committees goals and objectives, and a discussion about possible agenda items for the calendar year. The members reiterated they would use data and other information to apply an equity lens to the school system, and identify policies and programs that have disparate impacts on students and staff. They also discussed tackling hiring practices, textbooks and curriculum, and anti-racism training.

Committee members also reviewed data that showed how school staff reflect student demographics. Though Bridgeport teachers are among the most racially diverse groups in the state, they still didnt resemble the student population  particularly Hispanic and Latino children.

Though more than half of students in Bridgeport were Hispanic or Latino in the 2019-20 school year, only 11 percent of their teachers identified the same way. And close to a third of students were Black, compared to 12 percent of educators.

Meanwhile close to three-quarters of Bridgeports teaching staff was white, compared to just 12 percent of students that school year.

Superintendent Michael Testani told the board the applicant pool isnt there yet in Connecticut to successfully diversify the teaching staff. The district is facing unprecedented staffing shortages this school year  still hovering in the range of 70 vacancies this week  and is turning fewer candidates away than usual, he added.

The superintendent said the strategy so far has included tapping into the school systems own student body through grow your own teacher programs that, if successful, could build a pipeline from its graduates.

Board member Bobbi Brown agreed with the intentions of those efforts, but called attention to problems within the system that keep local students from pursuing careers in education.

You want students to be able to feel like the teacher thats in the classroom reflects them, Brown said. But a lot of them are not going to want to be teachers because of pay.

Testani said part of the problem is that as more districts make hiring a diverse staff a focus, Bridgeport has less to offer applicants in the way of salary. He said he proposed early retirement in the states more than 30 lowest-performing districts this legislative session, or other incentives and benefits to recognize those teachers extra work.

Theres got to be a draw, Testani said. And if its not going to be a competitive salary, there has to be other benefits that we can sell as a school district to folks that will attract them to come here and work with great kids.

Erika Castillo, who joined the board this year, suggested salary should be part of the conversation, especially given Bridgeports size as the largest school district in the state.

We really should be the most competitive in the state, especially for minority teachers, she said. In my mind as a Latina, these (demographic numbers) are abysmal.

Sokolovic asked Testani about the strategies Bridgeport has employed in the past, including higher education recruitment and internship programs. Though the school district still has many relationships with colleges in the state, and is in the process of forming more, some of those pipelines have been the victim of budget cuts over the years.

There were cuts to the budget that obviously had a cost, that no one saw was greater than the financial cost later on, Testani said.

The school district has since struggled to pay competitive salaries to recruit and retain the teachers, including educators of color, that its lost to neighboring districts with higher compensation and easier work  from more resources to smaller class sizes.

Its like a giant jigsaw puzzle, said Sokolovic. I can see on peoples faces  it can become overwhelming. But youve got to work on the edges a piece at a time, and eventually it will all come together. Because if you focus on the whole puzzle at once, youll lose your mind.
Frank Augstein / Associated Press

The campaign to ban the sale of flavored vaping products in Connecticut is gaining momentum with a group of Democratic lawmakers expected to issue their support, joined by health advocates, during an online news conference Wednesday.

State Sens. Julie Kushner, Saud Anwar, Jorge Cabrera and James Maroney, and state Reps. Corey Paris and Jill Barry  all Democrats  will push for the ban at Wednesdays press conference and highlight how Connecticut is one of the few states in the Northeast to still allow the sale of flavored vaping products. A rise in teen vaping has led many states to prohibit the products from being sold within their borders.
A Bridgeport man involved in two gang-related shootings was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison after pleading guilty last year to a federal racketeering charge, the U.S. attorneys office said.

Jacquon Blick Benejan pleaded guilty to one count conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity in September of last year. In doing so, he also admitted to involvement in two shootings in 2018, in which he attempted to kill rival members of the 150 and East End gangs, the U.S. attorneys office said. The office said he was aided by an associate in each attempted killing.

Benejan was 16 at the time of both shootings, according to court filings in the case.

A federal judge in New Haven sentenced Benejan to 97 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to Tom Carson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Benejan faced up to 20 years in prison for the charge. In a sentencing memo, prosecutors asked the courts to impose a sentence above guidelines.

In each of the attempted murders, Benejan sought out rival gang members to shoot and kill them, the government wrote in the memo. These were not crimes of passion, but purposeful attempts to end anothers life.

The government also argued in the memo that Benejans motive for the attempted killings was to improve his standing in the Greene Homes Boyz, a neighborhood gang based out of the Charles F. Greene Homes Housing Complex in Bridgeports North End.

The Greene Homes Boyz, or GHB/Hotz, gang was known for distributing heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and Percocet pills, as well as committing numerous acts of violence against rival gang members and other individuals, officials said.

Gang members then celebrated their criminal conduct on social media websites such as Facebook and YouTube, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorneys office.

The office said that group has been allied with members of the Original North End or O.N.E gang against the East End, East Side, PT Barnum and 150 gangs.

Prosecutors claim that in February 2018, Benejan and an associate shot and tried to killed a person tied to the 150 gang. In October of that year, he and an associate also tried to kill a member of the East End gang in the Greene Homes complex, the U.S. attorneys office said.

These rival gangs did not have a different ethos or religion but were differentiated only by the neighborhood in which they had grown up and lived, the memo from federal prosecutors stated. The gang war which Benejan propagated left Bridgeport paralyzed with its citizens terrified to travel to different parts of the City for fear of being assassinated.

But Benejans defense highlighted his youth, saying he grew up in a war zone, and asked for a sentence below the guidelines, followed by three years of supervised release.

All of his life he has been exposed to violence and drug abuse, Cheryl Heffernan, Benejans attorney, wrote in a memo.

Benejans conviction was part of an investigation conducted by federal law enforcement, Bridgeport police and the U.S. attorneys office into multiple gangs in the city.

Benejan has been detained since Feb. 2021.

Staff writer Liz Hardaway contributed to this report.
BRIDGEPORT  Leaders of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP on Wednesday called on the federal Department of Justice to investigate the citys police department as soon as possible.

This is a bold but important move to protect public lives, regain lost trust and respect, and to set the department on a new course, Rev. D. Stanley Lord, the organizations president, said Wednesday during a press conference.

In a prepared statement, the citys emergency management director, Scott Appleby, said that the police department serves its residents and all members of our community regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or religion.

The NAACPs request comes as the department is facing scrutiny concerning investigations into the untimely deaths of two Black women in December, Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls, whose families said they werent contacted by police and were treated disrespectfully by officers when they contacted the department.

Weeks after the two women died, Ganim announced that two detectives involved in those cases had been put on administrative leave pending internal investigations. In the same statement, Ganim said he was extremely disappointed in the departments leadership and found the actions taken unacceptable.

Darnell Crosland, the attorney for the family of Smith-Fields, called Ganims statement a step in the right direction and added he was pleased that the mayor has accepted that liability publicly and has apologized to this family for the suffering they have endured.

But Lord and other leaders of the group said that while the two recent cases exemplified problems in the department, the issues are more widespread.

This was not the nucleus, but it was the tipping point when we say, Enough is enough, Lord said.

Lord referenced past consent decrees between the federal government and the citys police but said that since they were lifted there has been a downward spiral in the department.

He noted a lack of African Americans in leadership in the police department and among its rank and file, which he said are significantly unbalanced compared to the community at large.

Appleby shared a Jan. 10 demographic report that showed of the departments 327 sworn officers, 178, or 54 percent, are white  154 men and 24 women.

There are 49 Black officers,  41 men and 8 women, or 15 percent. Hispanic officers make up about 28 percent  76 men and 16 women  and there are 3 male Asian officers, or 1 percent.

Members of the Bridgeport Police Department are hired and promoted based upon a competitive Civil Service exam process, Appleby said.

Lord also pointed to complaints from officers of color who said they receive disparate treatment compared to others.

The institution must be rehabilitated, reformed, and transformed, Lord said, calling on Ganim to meet with the NAACP and other civic organizations for talks about the departments future.

Other NAACP leaders echoed Lords call.

Pastor William McCullough said the city should have conducted a national search for a new chief after Armando A.J. Perez was ousted from the position following his arrest on charges the search which saw him win the post was rigged.

But he said the call for new oversight shouldnt be limited.

Theres a need for new leadership, not only in the police department, but the entire city (government) needs to be overhauled until it looks like the people it represents, he said.

It is amazing that on the verge of Black History Month we find ourselves back here again, said state Rep. Charlie Stallworth. We continue to face the same challenge.

Emma Brooks, a former Stratford Town Council member, said the issues of racial disparity extend beyond the citys borders.

Theres a callous and wanton disregard for people of color not only in Bridgeport, but in the greater Bridgeport area, she said. Enough is enough. They patronize us, they give us a crumb here and there, and that has to stop, today.
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With a frigid January behind us, Connecticut residents might be wondering whats in store for Februarys weather.

According to local meteorologists, the state will experience cold temperatures at the beginning of the month, but they will climb as March approaches. During February, the average temperature will be 38 degrees with two inches of precipitation, according to the Almanac.

"February is going to start off cold for the first 10 days or so," said Gary Lessor, a meteorologist with the Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University. "But then it's anticipated that it will turn warmer and we'll finish the month warmer than normal."

Lessor's forecast goes hand in hand with the National Weather Service's monthly outlook. Connecticut is included in the "likely above normal" temperatures for the upcoming month, with a 50 to 60 percent of probability of seeing high temperatures. According to Lessor, February's normal high is 40 degrees and low is 25 degrees.

This weekend, New England is forecasted to receive a winter storm, but the details still remain uncertain. Rain is expected to start Thursday and continue to the weekend but could also evolve into a mix of ice and snow, according to FOX61'S Rachel Frank.

After this weekend, however, the temperature is expected to rise, according to Bob Maxon, meteorologist for NBC Connecticut.

The increased daylight and all the things that point us towards spring; the longer days and the higher sun angle  I think that our normal temperatures will become milder, said Maxon.

Starting around Feb. 15, temperatures will become milder and will increase by the end of the month, according to the Almanac.

State residents shouldn't go in a full spring mode just yet, said Maxon, since the warmer temperatures of the month will still be considered cold.

"No palm trees, no 70 degree weather, but we'll have we'll have a slightly milder middle and end of February," said Maxon.

Aside from what meteorologists predict, state residents might also listen to what the state's groundhog Chuckles XI predict if there will be six more weeks of winter or if well approach spring sooner.

They [residents] can put their trust on the groundhog or they can put their trust on meteorologists, Maxon joked.
With nearly seven weeks left in winter, Connecticut residents struggling to pay for heat and other utilities may be eligible for state and federal assistance programs to help pay their bills.

State law also provides protection from utility shutoffs for people who are seriously ill or for low-income individuals during the winter months.

To mark National Energy Assistance Day on Tuesday, Eversource, the states largest electrical supplier, said its encouraging customers who may qualify for assistance with energy bills to apply.

There is more energy assistance funding available for our customers than ever before and we want to make sure those who need help are aware of the many programs they can take advantage of, especially now, during these cold winter months, Eversource Vice President of Customer Operations Jess Cain said in a statement Tuesday.

The state also offers The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, an initiative funded by the federal Department of Health and Human Services Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Households are eligible for the program in Connecticut if they make less than 60 percent of the state median income. To apply, residents have to go through their local Community Action Agency. The state has a map of the agencies coverage areas online, or you can also call 211 to be directed to the correct agency.

Besides state assistance, residents may also find help with home heating costs through Operation Fuel, a Hartford nonprofit that provides assistance to households making less than 75 percent of state median income.

Eversource also offers its own customer assistance plans that it says can reduce or eliminate past balances. For more information, call 800-286-2828
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Gov. Ned Lamont hinted that a change could be coming to the states school mask mandate when he said Tuesday that he is watching the numbers closely over the next few days before deciding.

I am going to wait to take a look at the metrics, Lamont said. I think we see what the trend is going forward. ... I think we will have a lot of clarity over the next few days, over the next week, and if the metrics say its time for a change, we will make a change.

Lamont said he was considering lifting the school mask mandate and giving local school boards the option to institute their own policies like he has with municipalities.

I think thats a real possibility, Lamont said.

We know that theres another variant out there, but also I think we now know how to manage through these little mini-surges, he added.

While Connecticut continues to see COVID-19 metrics much higher than the start of the academic year in September, a recent surge brought on by the omicron variant appears to be waning.

On Tuesday, the positivity rate was 8.68 percent  a slight uptick from what was reported through the weekend  with 1,240 new COVID-19 cases found in 14,293 tests.

Hospitalizations, another metric that spiked significantly during the omicron wave, dropped by a net of 56 patients for a total of 995, the first time it was below 1,000 total patients since Dec. 28.

Lamont said Tuesday the state and its residents are better at managing spikes in COVID-19 infections and reiterated the tools for individuals to keep themselves safe.

Lamonts remarks come about two weeks before his emergency powers are set to expire, along with all the executive orders issued during the pandemic. However, the ability for the states education department to require masks in schools was among a list of 11 executive orders he asked the legislature to keep in place once his powers expire.

When asked if students and teachers should continue to wear masks, Dr Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist for Hartford HealthCare, pointed to the science that shows masks work.

It will be dependent on school districts. It will be dependent on the tenor in that district. Looking at the science standpoint, masks work. Whether its worth getting rid of those mask mandates, it remains to be seen, Wu said.

Dr. Juan Salazar, physician-in-chief for Connecticut Childrens Medical Center, said it might be premature to lift the mask requirements in schools.

We have to follow the epidemiology. I think the positivity rate is too high and we have too much virus out there still with a very susceptible population, especially with 5- to 11-year-olds where the fully vaccinated is not much more than 40 percent, Salazar said.

While Lamont continues to weigh the future of masks in schools, Pfizer-BioNTech requested Tuesday an emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for use of its COVID-19 vaccine on children ages 6 months to 4 years old.

The move was met with some optimism from Connecticut health experts, who had yet to see any data from Pfizer-BioNTech.

Its been long overdue that we get a product, a vaccine, that can be used in that specific age group. Its the one that remains unvaccinated and we were hoping this had occurred six months ago, Salazar said. It does appear now that they have enough data suggesting that it is safe  and efficacious.

Dr. Thomas Murray, associate director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Childrens Hospital, said he also has not yet seen the data.

If that information looks good, as it has with other age groups, this is another opportunity to protect a vulnerable population from severe infection, he said.

While Pfizer-BioNTech has been studying the use of COVID-19 vaccines in this age group for some time, Wu said it does not mean parents should hesitate to get young children vaccinated.

The vaccines are safe, they arent awaiting additional data to see if its safe for everybody, they are waiting for additional data to ensure it stimulates the immunoresponse they are looking for, he said.

While cases and hospitalizations surged overall in January, both childrens hospitals similarly saw a sharp uptick of pediatric COVID-19 cases during the recent omicron wave.

Weve had a huge increase in the number of children admitted with COVID-19 over the last month, specifically and unfortunately, in this age group (6 months to 4 years old), Murray said.

However, the jump in pediatric cases appears to have followed a similar trajectory to what was seen with COVID-19 metrics overall.

I think we are past the peak and we are hopeful this will bring us to a better March and April, Salazar said.

Staff writer Ken Dixon contributed to this story.
HARTFORD  Police are investigating a shooting near Albany Avenue after finding a man with gunshot wounds.

The Hartford Police Department responded to Albany Avenue around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday after their gunshot detection system was activated. There, police found a man in his 20s suffering from gunshot wounds.

Emergency medical personnel took the man to an area hospital for treatment. He is in stable condition, police said at 7:20 p.m.

The police departments Major Crimes and Crime Scene Division is investigating the incident. Anyone with information regarding the case should call the Hartford Police Tip Line at 860-722-TIPS (8477).
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BRIDGEPORT  Mayor Joe Ganims announcement Sunday that he had ordered the suspension of detectives involved in investigating two local womens deaths has been met with questions about his power to do so.

Family members of the women and others have questioned the timing, with some noting Ganim is preparing to seek reelection next year. Others challenged the mayors authority to personally intervene in disciplinary matters within the unionized police department.

The mayors action also raised questions about Acting Chief Rebeca Garcias role. Ganim announced the internal affairs probe early last week but Garcia did not place the detectives on administrative leave at that time. Officers who are the subjects of internal investigations are often placed on leave when the probe begins.

Listen, if Im not happy, Im calling the chief into my office, were gonna have it out, talk about this and that and Ill put them on notice if Im not happy or pleased with their responses, John Fabrizi, a former Bridgeport City Council president and former mayor, said. But I dont believe as mayor you have the authority to order the chief to suspend people.

In his statement Sunday, Ganim said he had directed Deputy Chief (James) Baraja to immediately put on administrative leave the two officers who are the subject of a Bridgeport Police Office of Internal Affairs (OIA) Investigation and disciplinary action for lack of sensitivity to the public and failure to follow police policy in the handling of these two matters.

But Ganim spokesman Rowena White in a statement on Tuesday said, The Mayor did not act unilaterally but rather thru discussion with Deputy Chief Baraja.

White also said that Garcias absence had nothing to do with the controversy. The chief had pre-planned time off, White said.

She added that Ganim and his office have received numerous correspondence from other members of the public supporting the appropriate actions taken.

Over the past few weeks the families of the two Black women, Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls, have accused the police department of mishandling the investigations into their mid-December deaths, including in a Jan. 23 public protest downtown during which hundreds called on Ganim to break his silence over the controversy.

An attorney for Smith-Fields family has also threatened to sue the city. And the cases have drawn national media attention and become a trending topic on social media, including in tweets from music megastar Cardi B, who commented on the Smith-Fields case.

Given that intense public pressure, Ganim on Sunday night  a month and a half since the fatalities occurred  announced he had ordered the deputy police chief currently filling in for the acting chief, who is out of the office, to place the two detectives involved in those cases on paid administrative leave.

Its unusual, said Professor John DeCarlo, director of the University of New Havens masters program in criminal justice and himself a former police chief of Branford. But in highly charged political environments  and I would say this certainly fits that bill  it is not unheard of.

The departments union has been silent. Larry Dorman, a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents Bridgeport police officers, said, Were declining comment for now. We will have something to say on the issue very soon.

Smith-Fields, 23, and Rawls, 53, were both found dead Dec. 12 in what appear to be unrelated incidents. Their respective families, however, have both alleged the Bridgeport Police Department did not notify them of the deaths, was insensitive to relatives and has not thoroughly investigated the cases, suggesting race as a factor.

Smith-Fields in particular has received a significant amount of national media attention over the last few weeks. And following the Jan. 23 march downtown on what would have been her birthday, Ganim on Jan. 24 pledged a full and fair investigation by the Office of Internal Affairs.

That was followed by Ganims announcement Sunday that the two detectives involved were suspended.

City Council President Aidee Nieves, who is typically supportive of Ganim, acknowledged, Constituents feel that he waited too long.

Ganim, who was elected in 2015 and reelected in 2019, has usually refrained from passing judgment when police officers are accused of misconduct. In August 2019, just a few weeks before he and Moore faced off in that years mayoral primary, Ganim in a rare move for him publicly stated an officer caught on video hitting a suspect in the back of the head with his department-issue gun should be fired.

This calls for immediate termination and referral to the States Attorney for criminal prosecution, Ganim had said.

The officer in question, Gianni Capozziello, at the time had been placed by then-Chief Armando Perez on administrative leave with pay pending an internal probe. Last October that case concluded with Perezs successor, Garcia, whom Ganim appointed top cop following Perezs arrest in Sept. 2020, suspending Capozziello without pay for 20 days. The union then filed a grievance.

But this weekend it was not Garcia, who has been on vacation for several days, who Ganim directed to place the two detectives involved in the Smith-Fields and Rawls cases on paid administrative leave. That fell to Baraja who, according to a Jan. 26 internal memo from Garcia, is in charge while she is out of the office until an unspecified date.

Former Bridgeport Assistant Chief James Nardozzi was hired in 2012 by then-Mayor Bill Finch and served in the department until Ganim fired him in 2016. He subsequently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, settled, and has another lawsuit pending over the 2018 police chief search in which he competed.

Nardozzi said based on his knowledge and interpretation of the municipal rules and regulations governing the Bridgeport police force, The mayor does not appear to be in the chain of command where he can place on administrative leave members of the department, especially in the absence of a completed investigation, formal charges and the ability of the accused to present their version of events.

But Danny Roach, who works for Ganim as an aide and is also longtime chairman of the citys mayoral-appointed police commission, said that while rare, a mayor can tell a police chief what to do regarding personnel matters.

The bottom line is the chief answers to the mayor, Roach said.

DeCarlo said, based on Ganims Sunday announcement, it was unclear whether he consulted with Garcia and if she was in agreement or not with his decision. He added that a mayor publicly ordering a chief to take a certain personnel action kind of emasculates the job of chief.

For obvious reasons it could be construed as political interference with the police department, DeCarlo said.

Thomas Bucci is a former Bridgeport mayor and a prominent labor lawyer who is currently representing some police captains who have lawsuits pending against the city and has in the past had other officers as clients.

It is highly unusual (but) I cant say he doesnt have the authority to do it, Bucci said of Ganim ordering officers be placed on leave.

Ganim in his statement Sunday said that he was extremely disapointed with the leadership of the Bridgeport Police Department and that he found actions taken up to this point unacceptable regarding the lack of sensitivity to the public and failure to follow plice policy in the handling of the Smith-Fields and Rawls cases.

What is unknown is what steps Garcia took internally to address the controversy and whether she had been moving herself toward suspending the detectives or opted not to.

State Sen. Marilyn Moore, who has criticized the departments handling of the Smith-Fields case, said Garcia should not be absent during this period.

That was poor judgment on her part to leave, Moore said, adding that she thought Ganims actions were also a day late and a dollar short.

Nieves said Garcia and Ganim should have gotten together weeks ago to try and come to some sort of understanding over how to go forward.

Nieves said she was uncertain if the mayor had the power to order police officers to be placed on leave. But she also defended his right as the citys leader to take action under the circumstances to rebuild public trust in our police department by getting the chief to exercise her disciplinary authority.

If people dont trust the police, theyre not gonna call them for anything, Nieves said.

State Sen. Dennis Bradley, D-Bridgeport, who has been considered a potential Ganim challenger in 2023, in an opinion published by Hearst this week also raised concerns about the Smith-Fields case. Bradley, an attorney, in an interview said of Ganims putting the two officers on paid leave, I think his intentions are correct.

But, Bradley added, procedurally Ganim may have opened Bridgeport to legal action by the two detectives and/or the police union over an inappropriate process.
BRIDGEPORT  Days after announcing the suspension of two detectives, city officials walked back their claim that one of the officers had retired.

In a statement Sunday, Mayor Joe Ganim had announced that detectives Angel Llanos and Kevin Cronin had been put on administrative leave with pay pending an Office of Internal Affairs investigation into how the detectives handled the deaths of Brenda Lee Rawls and Lauren Smith-Fields, respectively.

The city noted both men are being investigated for lack of sensitivity to the public and failure to follow police policy in the handling of these two matters. Specifically, Rowena White, Ganims spokeswoman, said they violated a policy about notifying next of kin.

Both womens families have said they were never notified by police of their family members death.

Ganim also said, In addition, the supervisory officer who was in charge of overseeing these matters has retired from the department as of this past Friday.

White on Monday attempted to clarify the identity of the retired officer by stating that it was Llanos who had overseen both cases and who had retired from the department.

That turned out not to be true.

It was my mistake in translating the info, White said on Tuesday.

White said there was in fact a third officer, a supervisor, who retired on Friday, but it was not Llanos.

Llanos could not be reached for comment.

City Council President Aidee Nieves expressed disappointment about the citys mistake.

For the administration to reassure public trust we need to make sure information is vetted carefully, she said. She said given the fast moving nature of the story and the national attention it has received, When we report out information it has to be accurate.

Smith-Fields case has drawn national attention as the family has been outspoken about the alleged mishandling of the case. Their attorney, Darnell Crosland, has announced the familys intent to sue the city.

In his statement, Ganim also wrote the Bridgeport Police Department has high standards for officer sensitivity, especially in matters involving the death of a family member. It is an unacceptable failure if policies were not followed.

Additionally, he said, To the families, friends and all who care about the human decency that should be shown in these situations in this case by members of the Bridgeport Police Department, I am very sorry.

In a prepared statement Monday, Crosland called Ganims statement a step in the right direction.

The city is liable for the behavior of its police department and its officers, he said. I am pleased that the mayor has accepted that liability publicly and has apologized to this family for the suffering they have endured.

Rawls sister, however, said it was too little, too late.

Its been over a month and he decides now to reach out and discuss our case and to say sorry to the families? I think he did it because of the pressure, she said.
Joan Nelson, CUDE, has worked hard to reach the upper echelons of corporate leadership during a career spanning nearly 40 years. Nelson is VP/quote-to-cash operations for North America and Latin America at multinational tech giant IBM, but her achievements dont stop there. For almost a decade, Nelson, a CUES member, has exhibited exceptional leadership as the board chair of Coastal Credit Union, having found a strong affinity with the credit union movement.

To me, its a passion for people, says Nelson in describing her devotion to Coastal CU, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and serving 290,000 members in a 16-county area centered on Research Triangle Park. When you have a passion for the people in your community, you want to have an impact and make a difference in their lives.

Nelsons passion, dedication and leadership have earned her recognition as 2021 CUES Distinguished Director, which honors her for achievements that have strengthened her credit union. Nelson cites several milestones that occurred during her tenure on the board, the most noteworthy of which is a period of strong growth.

When I first started on the board in 1996, we had less than a billion and a half in assets, Nelson reports. We are now at $4.5 billion and continuing to grow.
Funeral Service for Brenda Joyce Wright, 71, of Cullman, will be 3 p.m. Friday, May 6, 2022 at Northbrook Baptist Church. A viewing will be on Friday from 2-3 p.m. prior to the service. The visitation will be 5:30 - 8 p.m. Thursday night, May 5, 2022 at Cullman Funeral Home. Rev. Keith Warde
Funeral Service for Brenda Joyce Wright, 71, of Cullman, will be 3 p.m. Friday, May 6, 2022 at Northbrook Baptist Church. A viewing will be on Friday from 2-3 p.m. prior to the service. The visitation will be 5:30 - 8 p.m. Thursday night, May 5, 2022 at Cullman Funeral Home. Rev. Keith Warde


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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Ryan Anderson/Daily Citizen-News

Murray Goodlett holds a painting of his daughter and grandchildren by Lesotho artist Steve Mashoabathe Rasehloho while surrounded by works by Lesotho artist Meshu Mokitimi at the Creative Arts Guild. Pieces by both artists will be featured in the Guild during an exhibition that opens Friday.
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Two individuals sit in separate interrogation rooms. Accused of a crime together, each prisoner has an option: lie and protect the other or implicate their partner and walk away. The problem, though, is that if one person protects and the other turns their partner in, the protector gets punished for doing the right thing.

This is the prisoners dilemma. It is also a solid metaphor for the current Democratic agenda.

I was reminded of this thought experiment when Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announced his forthcoming retirement. Now, everyone remembers President Joe Bidens promise to nominate a Black woman to the bench. This is a brilliant step toward transforming the Supreme Court into a more representative crew  but this is Bidens pick. And I mean Biden in the pejorative sense, the same way people use it when talking about his unrealized promise for a pathway to citizenship and lie about canceling student debt.

A list of his potential nominees reportedly includes Justice Leondra Kruger, an associate justice on the California Supreme Court. Shes described as the courts swing vote from left to conservative. Notably, shes been part of several majorities that upheld the death penalty. A Black woman on the court is revolutionary, but dont celebrate too early. Remember Breyer, a usually moderate justice whose progressive decisions came as surprises, could be replaced by someone ideologically identical.

The prisoners dilemma unfolds when one focuses on the fact that this replacement only maintains a three-to-six minority in a conservative court. Celebrations over a symbolic change that will maintain but not improve a sputtering left agenda is par for the course of the Democratic Party. Of course, to make the dilemma metaphor work, I do have to reduce the left into its dominant stream of power: moderate bullies like Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.

The leftist institution is the prisoner in the room, protecting the partner, while the Republican partner rats on them at every available chance.

As Republicans remove voting rights protections to maintain their majorities for decades to come, Bidens statement that if we miss the first time, we can come back and try a second time on his voting rights bills is not too convincing. Satirical headlines like Democrats plan even more strongly-worded letter asking Trump to follow the rules please may have been funny in 2019, but the joke is getting old now.

Late last year, Democrats joined with election reformers to place redistricting power in the hands of nonpartisan commissions. It would be a relinquishing of power in the name of good government. But in this case, good government merely expands Republican potential. States like Colorado, a Democratic stronghold, are now at risk of losing their house majority. At the same time, Republicans in Texas, Arizona and other states blocked legislation that would create nonpartisan commissions.

I dont advocate for Democrats to gerrymander each state into decades of voting security to hold as bargaining chips. One thing, though, is clear: At this rate, the prisoners dilemma our democracy is in only means jail time for the Democrats. Statistics agree. Democrats are projected to lose in 2022 and 2024. They are not sure how long it will be until they can win if they lose those two.

It is hard to advocate for Democrats to stop playing by the rules when the partys own members refuse to do so. Bought off faux-leftists like Manchin and Sinema have made sure of that. And it is exhausting to hear celebrations over a new member of the Supreme Court when we are unwilling to expand the court to foster a progressive, representative majority. It is even harder to do so when political experts and other democracies forecast a collapse of the nations democracy in a few years.

Playing by the rules while your opponent is rewriting the rules against you is a flawed strategy. Protecting the fellow prisoner, when they greedily defect at every chance, is futile.
Barbara Faye Boyles, 75, of Raceland, Kentucky passed away Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at her residence. Barbara was born August 1, 1946, in Load, Kentucky a daughter of the late Homer and Gladys Johnson Boyles. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one nephew Robert Boyles. Bar
Barbara Faye Boyles, 75, of Raceland, Kentucky passed away Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at her residence. Barbara was born August 1, 1946, in Load, Kentucky a daughter of the late Homer and Gladys Johnson Boyles. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one nephew Robert Boyles. Bar
Barbara Faye Boyles, 75, of Raceland, Kentucky passed away Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at her residence. Barbara was born August 1, 1946, in Load, Kentucky a daughter of the late Homer and Gladys Johnson Boyles. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one nephew Robert Boyles. Bar
Barbara Faye Boyles, 75, of Raceland, Kentucky passed away Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at her residence. Barbara was born August 1, 1946, in Load, Kentucky a daughter of the late Homer and Gladys Johnson Boyles. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one nephew Robert Boyles. Bar
Barbara Faye Boyles, 75, of Raceland, Kentucky passed away Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at her residence. Barbara was born August 1, 1946, in Load, Kentucky a daughter of the late Homer and Gladys Johnson Boyles. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one nephew Robert Boyles. Bar
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We all have our favourite pair of gym leggings, which we reach for time and time again, but if they're starting to look a little worn then now, is the perfect time to replenish your workout wardrobe.

Black leggings are a true wardrobe hero, and according to hundreds of five-star reviews, the Leovqn High Waist Gym Leggings are sure to be your next favourite pair, and they come at a bargain price.

Described as the 'most comfortable gym leggings', 'absolutely amazing' and 'extremely comfortable', the high-waist leggings will power you through your workouts, walks or working from home. And the best news? They cost just 14.44.

The Leovqn High Waist Gym Leggings are now on sale for 15 per cent off

Finding the perfect pair of workout leggings is filled with challenges.

Not only do they have to be squat proof, sweat-wicking and restriction-free, they also have to help us feel comfortable and confident or otherwise they'll be relegated to the back of the wardrobe.

The Leovqn High Waist Gym Leggings are a tried-and-true Amazon shopper favourite, with scores of shoppers attesting to their quality, performance and fit.

Black leggings are hugely versatile. Not only do they hide sweat, stains and marks in the gym, but they go with anything, so they are ideal for causal weekends too.

If you're looking to add a pair or two to your wardrobe, then it might be wise to follow the 800 Amazon shoppers who have already bought and loved the Leovqn High Waist Gym Leggings.

A snip at just 14.44, the affordable black high-waist yoga pants prove you don't need to pay above the odds for high-performing leggings, even converting designer legging lovers to make the switch.

Not only are they supremely comfortable thanks to the four-way stretch fabric, but customers have also delighted in the fact that 'they're very flattering on the belly', holding you in and supporting you through your workouts.

Amazon shoppers are impressed with the soft and stretchy material that passes the squat test and keeps you comfortable when on the move

Despite being an under-the-radar brand, the Leovqn High Waist Gym Leggings are Amazon's choice for 'black running leggings', beating out big names and amassing hundreds of five-star reviews.

Described as 'extremely comfortable', shoppers have been returning to the versatile black gym leggings claiming 'amazing leggings, I now own three pairs!'.

One impressed shopper raved: 'I can genuinely say these may be the most comfortable gym/yoga leggings I own! The silky stretchy material is SO comfortable, not see-through, and covers my belly.'

Another agreed, adding: 'Absolute perfect fit, and yes, totally squat proof! These are brilliant! Super quality material, very slimming.

'I ordered size Large as I'm in between a 14/16, I've got lots of leggings, and so far, these are the best quality, no roll down and very comfy to wear. Highly recommend.'

A third penned: 'They hold in all my bumpy bits (until I lose them hopefully) are a super soft and comfortable, no digging in at all.'
Good sex, really good sex, is hard to find.

Its especially hard for heterosexual women - used to men who equate sex with intercourse (the part least likely to result in an orgasm for us) - to find it.

But we arent the only ones. Plenty of men also lament the lack of the sort of sex that makes your toes curl with pleasure and your eyes roll back in your head.

Fantastic sex is powerful stuff. Its caused battles, made men relinquish royal titles, mere mortals give up much-loved jobs and make stupid, rash decisionsall for the sake of mere minutes of physical pleasure.

Is it any wonder that when it does materialise, were prepared to overlook other qualities that might not be quite so appealing.

Sometimes, its a fair trade. The person might not be as ambitious/good-looking/sociable as wed liked, but were happy to compromise.

Other times, the cost for that good sex is just too high. You have absolutely no connection other than the sex or the person delivering it is making you miserable in every other way.

Good sex keeps people in bad relationships  and it shouldnt.

While Im a huge fan of sex-for-sex's-sake flings, staying in an unhealthy relationship purely for the sex is never a good idea.

How do you walk away from something that feels so utterly delicious? By applying logic  and realising youre not kissing goodbye to good sex forever.

Heres why you should walk awayand how to.

Sex expert Tracey Cox gives advice on how to leave a bad relationship when the sex is so addictive, and why you should take the plunge (stock)

Theres only so much time you can have sex

Even if the sex is so good you cant get enough of it, eventually you have to eat, sleep, drink and generally engage with each other.

If sex is all thats expected and you have no interest in doing any of the above, easy. You simply get up and go.

If youre in a relationship  unsuitable, uninspiring or toxic  its impossible to avoid interaction.

Lets inject some realism here: sex might be the glue that holds couples together, it might be the oil that greases the squeaks away (take your pick from the many glorious descriptions of what sex adds to relationships), but the amount of time you do it is finite.

Even if youre having sex thats out of this world, its unlikely to last more than an hour or two out of every day you spend with this person. Are you seriously willing to put up with a boring/awful/annoying/obnoxious person for the other 22 hours left?

UK sex expert Tracey Cox, pictured, says that the best thing you can do once you break things off is to not idealise the situation

Understand why the sex is addictive

Lets deal with sex within an unhealthy relationship first.

Toxic relationships often produce great sex because what feeds the desire is also whats keeping the relationship unstable.

Love likes security, routine, comfort and safety. Lust thrives on unpredictability, anxiety, the forbidden, not knowing if our feelings are reciprocated.

Its virtually impossible to keep both satisfied since what works for one doesnt help the other and most couples, sensibly, choose their relationship over the hot sex.

In other words, the sex is great because the relationship isnt.

Your heart might hate the uncertainty, the fiery, foot-stomping arguments and constant do-they-or-dont-they-love-me anxiety, but your sex life thrives on it.

In unstable relationships, sex is often the ONLY time you feel connected with this person.

Focus on the fallout

The make-up sex might be great but unhealthy, draining relationships are exhausting. Constant arguments mean constant disruption: you stay up all night fighting, skip days off work, dont perform well when you are there.

Being under constant stress takes its toll: your physical and mental health suffer; energy levels plummet and you look less attractive.

This  of course  feeds the vicious circle. The lower you feel, the more susceptible you are to relying on the sex high to make you feel better about yourself.

If your family and friends dont like your partner and dont want you to have contact, its likely youre lying to avoid being lectured. This causes you to be estranged and even more susceptible to wanting that instant high.

Think of all this the next time youre tempted to go back just one last time for sex. Its not just the lure of sex thats dragging you back there, its low self-worth.

Realise its stopping you finding the right relationship

What if the relationship isnt toxic but simply a dead end? Your lover is great in bed, but out of it they bore you senseless. You have nothing in common and nothing that attracts you other than their ability to give you great orgasms.

If you arent looking to settle down and theyre aware the relationship is about sex and sex only, theres usually no harm in sticking around and enjoying it while it lasts.

Passion fizzles fast if its got nothing else fanning the flames and sex-only hook-ups, with no other motivation to stay together, rarely last past a few weeks or months. Exit when lust wanes and all will be fine.

What is it that makes the sex so great? If the relationship was rollercoaster, with great highs and lows, drama and excitement was what fuelled your desire. Very few people over the age of 25 want to live with a great today, awful tomorrow kind of relationship long term. But you can create a healthy level of excitement and drama around sex by making sure you try new things regularly, have adventurous sex thats risky but in a controllable way (having sex in semi-public for instance) and acting out fantasies together. If the sex was great because the person was highly attractive to you, acknowledge that looks and chemistry are important. Make that a high priority in your search for a partner while also being aware that relationships based purely on looks and sex appeal rarely last the distance. Compatible personalities, sense of humour, intelligence, kindness  these are the qualities that make people stick around. Forcing yourself to be attracted to someone you arent, however, isnt helping anyone. Advertisement

Not so good if you let the dead-end relationship limp along after that, using it as a stop gap until you find the real thing.

Ill ditch them when I meet the right person, you think, forgetting that any relationship not only uses up the time youd devote to finding another, it also reduces the motivation to do so.

You turn around and realise youve spent two years treading water with nothing to show for it but some great orgasms.

Remember hot sex isnt the only type of good sex

Hot sex  sex thats driven by strong lust and desire  tends to happen at the start of relationships, in relationships that are tumultuous or when sex is the only thing you demand from each other.

Thats a narrow field to choose from if youre wanting it to continue for a long time.

No-one denies that type of sex is enjoyably addictive. But the sort of sex that happens later in a relationship can be pretty damn good, too.

Sex isnt just about desire, its about intimacy and connection. Loving someone changes sex: were more invested in wanting to give our partners pleasure, rather than just take it for ourselves. The connection gets deeper as you explore each others minds as well as bodies.

Sex morphs as the relationship grows.

It moves from spontaneous desire  wanting to rip each others clothes off on sight  to responsive desire which requires learning the techniques and factors that make our partners to want to have sex with us.

The longer the couple are together, the more important effective technique and good communication become.

Hot sex has big pluses but sex with someone you also love, who has taken the time to find out what truly arouses you, beats it hands down long-term.

Masturbate more

Take control of your desire for sex by learning how to satisfy yourself. Youll be far less likely to give into the pull of instant gratification if youre capable of giving yourself the mind-blowing orgasm youre craving from someone else.

Masturbating to fantasies about having sex with your lover is a fine substitute for the real thing: even if you move on physically, you still have a rich, arousing fantasy life to draw on.

Id also recommend exploring erotica or porn to move yourself away from reinforcing your perception that the only good sex is sex with this person.

Invest in some sex toys to enhance your solo sex sessions: bring yourself almost to an orgasm several times before letting go.

Explosive orgasms arent only achievable with your lover. Being able to satisfy yourself gives you the power to resist sex that isnt healthy for you in other ways.

Teach new lovers your old lovers tricks

Think about where you have sex, what time of day it is, what the circumstances are. If the great sex is with an impoverished student and you make big bucks, slumming it by having sex in their bedroom provides a big power rush. Recreate this by indulging in some tie-up or power games with a new lover.

The sex was affair sex? Nearly all of the appeal lies in it being forbidden: sneaking around and having sex at strange times of the day. Have a pretend affair next time around: meet your partner in a cheap hotel for a lunch time rendezvous.

Not all elements can be recreated with other people, but knowing the driving force of what makes the sex so addictive is extremely helpful.

More often than not, its also our lovers skills and techniques that keep us hooked. Happily, effective technique can easily be taught to new lovers through sensitive, clear direction and feedback.

Be the person you were with them

We behave differently in relationships we know arent forever. We become more daring sexually, less inhibited, more willing to try out there things because we arent worried about being judged.

We do things we wouldnt dream of doing with someone we think might end up the mother or father of our children.

When we meet someone with good long-term potential, we go into best behaviour mode, keen to present ourselves as someone who is worthy of their love. Would he really want to take a girl who does THAT home to meet Mum?

Next time around, dont do this. Audition as best lover as well as best partner. Have the courage to stay the sexy person who loves running wild: the right person will love you for it, not penalise you.

Dont idealise once you make the break

Depending on what happens after you leave the relationship, your memories of it will become either more negative or positive.

If you meet another person and life is good, youll see the relationship clearly and the sex you had will diminish in importance.

If you dont, youll remember it as far better than it was -and airbrush out the bad bits that came attached.

Dont be fooled into going back. Was the sex really as good as you remember or have you sprinkled sex fairy dust?

If you need help leaving a toxic relationship, youll find a therapist at cosrt.org.uk, bacp.co.uk and relate.org.uk. Youll also find relationship advice at traceycox.com and in Tracey's books.
A new collection of books, documents and artefacts belonging to pioneering 20th-century writer James Joyce will shed light on his close relationship with his protege Samuel Beckett, experts have said.

Joyce's son, Stephen James Joyce, and his wife Solange, have donated letters and telegrams between the two influential Irish writers, along with personal items including pens, rings, and a manuscript of his poetry collection, to the University of Reading.

The donations will be accessible to anyone via appointment with the university's collections service, alongside its existing Samuel Beckett Collection.

A telegram sent by Beckett to the Ulysses author in Paris on his 49th birthday is among the items in the collection, which reads: 'Teems of times and happy returns. Beckett'.

A new collection of books, documents and artefacts belonging to pioneering 20th-century writer James Joyce will shed light on his close relationship with his protege Samuel Beckett, experts have said

A telegram sent by Beckett to the Ulysses author in Paris on his 49th birthday is among the items in the collection, which reads: 'Teems of times and happy returns. Beckett'

Dr Mark Nixon, an English Literature researcher at the University of Reading and co-director of its Beckett International Foundation, describes the document as a historic 'gem'.

'The unusual birthday telegram from Beckett to Joyce says much about them as friends,' he said.

'Short and sweet, the playful language hints at a shared sense of humour and shows the respect Beckett had for the writer who greatly influenced his own writing style.

'The new collection silver-plates the relationship we knew existed between Beckett and Joyce, with their personal correspondence shedding fresh light on the closeness between the two.

One photograph shared with the university shows Samuel Beckett (foreground) at the wedding Solange and Stephen James Joyce

Guy Baxter, head of archive services at the university, said staff are working hard to catalogue the collection to make it easily accessible

'Such gems among the collection will prove invaluable to those studying these two historic writers.'

THE FIRST FAMOUS ABSURDIST: SAMUEL BECKETT 1906-1989 Samuel Beckett was an Irish novelist, playwright, theatre director and poet who is best known for his novel Waiting For Godot. He is thought of as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century with his work offering a bleak look on life. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 for 'his writing, which, in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation.' Beckett spent much of his adult life living in Paris and wrote many of his works in French after he first moved there in 1928. A friend of legendary Irish writer James Joyce, Beckett is said to have influenced the works of other literary greats including Harold Pinter. His most prolific period as a writer came in the post war years when he wrote some of his most famous works including his first play Eleutheria and Waiting For Godot. The latter debuted at the Theatre de Babylone in January 1953 and was his first real triumph earning praise from the likes of Tennessee Williams, Jean Anouilh, Thornton Wilder. His second masterpiece Endgame premiered in French at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1957. Beckett was the first of the so-called absurdists to win international fame and his works have been translated into more than 20 languages. He died in 1989. Advertisement

Other documents in the collection include several letters to Joyce from Beckett and other writers including Brave New World author HG Wells, and from his friends Harriet Shaw Weaver and Paul Leon.

Visitors will also be able to survey a necklace belonging to Joyce's wife Nora, a handwritten poem expressing his love for her, called Ecce Puer, and a manuscript of his poetry book titled Chamber Music.

Edward Beckett, the nephew of the Waiting For Godot author, welcomed the joining together of the two writers' collections.

'It is wonderful to have the Beckett and Joyce archives together under the same roof,' he said.

'The two writers were close friends and their Estates and families had also stayed close.

'That it was possible to unite their literary archives is an achievement to applaud.' Professor Robert Van de Noort, vice-chancellor of the University of Reading, said the 'treasured' artefacts will be much-used by researchers and the public.

'James Joyce was a writer who transformed our ideas about the world, about creativity and about humanity,' he said.

'His letters, manuscripts and artefacts are rightly treasured but we are taking this collection not just to protect it but to share it.

'Due to the extraordinary scale and breadth of the published material, I know that the collection will be heavily used by researchers, scholars and the public at all levels of study and from around the world.

'It will of course enhance teaching, learning and research within our own University community and will inspire even more innovation and creativity in how collections are accessed, used and understood in an increasingly digital world.'

Guy Baxter, head of archive services at the university, said staff are working hard to catalogue the collection to make it easily accessible.

The introduction of The Solange And Stephen James Joyce Collection collection has been announced on the 140th anniversary of the writer's birth, and on the centenary of the publication of his flagship novel, Ulysses.
Little Oliver Davis was known for being a happy, active four-year-old.

But on Monday June 2, 2018, he started experiencing 'unbearable pain' that led to a family nightmare.

That morning his mum Belinda, from NSW, recalls Olivier saying: 'Mummy, I can't sit up.'

'At first I thought he was just being silly but he needed to roll out of bed because he had no abdominal strength,' Belinda, 32, told Daily Mail Australia.

By 2pm Oliver was in agony and Belinda rushed him to the closest GP who told her to go straight to the hospital.

On Monday June 2, 2018, little four-year-old Oliver Davis (pictured) started experiencing 'unbearable pain' that led to a family nightmare

Within 24 hours he became paralysed from the neck down and was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) - a rare neurological disorder where the body's immune system attacks the nerves

Whatever Oliver was experiencing was considered 'pretty serious' by doctors and needed to be attended to fast, so the family was sent to the Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick in an ambulance.

'When we got there, they put him under and did an MRI scan as a process of elimination to determine what was wrong,' Belinda said.

Physicians ruled out brain tumours, cancers and other 'scary' prognosis' but came back and diagnosed Oliver with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

Within 24 hours Oliver became completely paralysed from the neck down and lost all control of his reflexes and nerves.

According to Mayo Clinic, GBS is a rare neurological disorder where the body's immune system attacks the nerves.

'At first I thought he was just being silly but he had to roll out of bed because he had no abdominal strength,' mum Belinda, 32, told Daily Mail Australia

The syndrome is often triggered by viral or bacterial illnesses, but a definite cause is still unknown.

'No one can tell you at the time how long you'll be paralysed for or how long you'll be in hospital for because they don't know enough information about it,' Belinda said.

Oliver was unable to move his legs or arms and had difficulty swallowing food, but his ability to breathe was never impacted.

Oliver was unable to move his legs or arms and had difficulty swallowing food, but his ability to breathe was never impacted

He was completely paralysed for about four weeks, and his family never left his side.

'He spent a few days in ICU and he didn't want me to leave his sight, even for a toilet break,' Belinda said.

'I cried so much those first few days because we didn't know what the outcome would be.'

Belinda said Oliver remained in hospital for three months where he learnt how to crawl and walk again.

'He was in extreme pain all over his body and was given morphine, but was still in pain,' she said.

'He had hot and cold sensitives. One moment he's be wrapped in a warm blanket then the next he had ice packs on him. And this would continue back and forth all night.'

What is Guillain-Barre syndrome? Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves. Weakness and tingling in the extremities are usually the first symptoms. These sensations can quickly spread, eventually paralysing the whole body. In its most severe form, Guillain-Barre syndrome is a medical emergency. Most people with the condition must be hospitalised to receive treatment. The exact cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome is unknown, but two-thirds of patients report symptoms of an infection in the six weeks preceding. Source: Mayo Clinic Advertisement

Since his nerves weren't responsive, he needed to use a catheter and feeding tube.

'When he could finally start having thickened, soft foods again he always wanted a Boost Juice,' Belinda said.

Oliver later experienced a relapse, but thankfully this only lasted less than a week and wasn't as serious as the first attack.

Treatment included an 'IVIg' which is used to reduce the effects of inflammatory conditions of the immune system.

The road to recovery was a long process, and the one thing that put a smile on Oliver's face was the Starlight Children's Foundation room and visits from the Starlight Captains

The road to recovery was a long process but the one thing that put a smile on Oliver's face was the Starlight Children's Foundation room and visits from the Starlight Captains.

'They always made him smile and it was his favourite place to be that took his mind away from being in hospital,' Belinda said.

The Starlight Captains always put on a show and offer face painting, balloon animals, singing, dress-ups and often a BBQ.

The Starlight Foundation also granted Oliver a wish, and he chose to swim with dolphins at SeaWorld in Queensland with the whole family.

Three years on and Oliver, now 7, has returned to living life as normal but has a physio appointment once a week and regular swimming lessons.

'He's a real trooper,' Belinda said.

'Sometimes his fingers might feel funny or he might feel fatigued, but for the most part he looks like every other kid.'

The family moved from Sydney to the NSW North Coast, but travel back down to Sydney for treatment or have tele-health appointments.

Since swimming was highly beneficial for Oliver, Belinda is sharing her family's story ahead of Starlight Children's Foundation's Super Swim campaign

Since swimming has proven highly beneficial for Oliver, Belinda is sharing her family's story ahead of Starlight Children's Foundation's Super Swim campaign.

From 1 February through to 28 February 2022, Australia's virtual swim challenge will aim to raise $3million across the month to help deliver happiness to over 76,000 sick kids.

By completing a swim at a location of their choice - either their pool, the beach, a lake, or local swim centre - participants will raise funds to support Starlight's vital in-hospital services including Captain Starlight and Starlight Express Rooms nationally.

'We feel so lucky to be supported by Starlight and so many people were loving during Oliver's time in hospital,' Belinda said.

Registrations are open now, with participants able to complete their swim challenge anytime throughout February 1 to 28.

To find out more about the Starlight Children's Foundation's Super Swim campaign, click here.
Thousands of Australian women are transforming the look of their lashes at home thanks to a $30 product.

Lash Therapy Australia's eyelash curler features a comb attachment to achieve an instant lash lift in seconds.

And the results speak for themselves, as happy customers have shared before and after images to demonstrate the unbelievable results.

Unlike a standard curler that can often damage the lashes, the 'revolutionary' comb attachment separates the lashes to create the perfect curl.

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Lash Therapy Australia's eyelash curler features a comb attachment to achieve an instant lift in seconds. One customer demonstrated how well the product works by curling her left eyelashes and taking a photo while the right remained untouched (pictured)

The curler is best paired with the brand's best selling serum mascara

Designed with a curved head the beauty gadget adapts to most eye shapes - including hooded eyes.

One customer demonstrated how well the product works by curling her left eyelashes and taking a photo while the right remained untouched.

The curler is best paired with the brand's best selling serum mascara.

Many happy customers shared positive reviews on the brand's website, dubbing it the 'best curler' they've ever used.

'I love this eyelash curler it is honestly one of the best ones I've bought. It curls them really well leaving them looking beautiful and not clumped up,' one person wrote.

'Can't recommend this eyelash curler enough. Easy to use, and the combs guide your eyelashes through. One of my favourite tools,' another added.

'I love it so much and I've never felt scared about it ripping my eyelashes as it separates them,' a third added.

Many happy customers shared positive reviews on the brand's website, dubbing it the 'best curler' they've ever used

Three best friends Lauren Rugolo, Jessica Arthur, both 26, and Emma Spiliopoulos, 27, began researching lash serums and formulations in May 2020 before launching Lash Therapy four months later.

In the first year the brand made $1.5million selling the natural lengthening treatments that promises fuller and longer eyelashes in weeks.

'We knew we had found a gap in the market and were quick to begin the process of trailing out different formulas. We knew we had to act fast to take advantage of a demand lockdown had created for stronger, longer natural eyelashes,' previously Lauren told Daily Mail Australia.

Three best friends Lauren Rugolo, Jessica Arthur, both 26, and Emma Spiliopoulos, 27, began researching lash serums and formulations in May 2020 before launching Lash Therapy four months later

It was the onset of Covid when beauty salons closed and lash extensions became impossible to keep up that the ladies wanted something to rejuvenate their brittle, natural lashes

It was the onset of Covid when beauty salons closed and lash extensions became impossible to keep up that the ladies wanted something to rejuvenate their brittle, natural lashes.

'We all had a passion for creating a life where we worked for ourselves. The idea of starting a business had been discussed between us for years however we never had the right idea, time, and drive to jump in. Covid provided a solution to all these problems,' she said.

With a $12,000 investment in the original prototype the company prides itself on delivering premium natural beauty products with proven scientific benefits.

With a $12,000 investment in the original prototype the company prides itself on delivering premium natural beauty products with proven scientific benefits

The $79.95 lash serum is formulated with advanced polypeptides to increase the volume, thickness, length, and curl of your lashes and one bottle lasts a staggering six months.

'Throughout our lives we faced the common struggle of ineffective, overpriced, harsh chemically enhanced beauty products,' Lauren said.

'We set out to create a range of products that we were assured would provide results without any risk of irritation or damage to our health.'

It's recommended the serum be applied every day with results visible within six weeks, and best results at the 12 week mark.
Prince Andrew's former girlfriend Lady Victoria Hervey has suggested the infamous photograph showing the disgraced royal with his arm around his accuser Virginia Giuffre is fake, after sharing a dubiously edited version on Instagram.

Taking to Instagram today, the 44-year-old socialite and former 'It Girl', who is the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol, repeated claims made by the Duke in his disastrous Newsnight interview that the image had been Photoshopped.

In the edited version of the picture shared today, Ms Giuffre is seen standing alone against a grey and yellow wall, with what appears to be a blue coat slung over her right arm.

Lady Victoria - who has been branded 'insane' by followers since sharing her baffling claims - captioned the image: 'Anyone familiar with this photo?', seeming to suggest that it's a mock up of the original image. No other version of the photo has been seen before.

She then posted the well-known photo from early 2001 of Prince Andrew next to Ms Giuffre, while Ghislaine Maxwell stands in the background.

Ms Giuffre claims she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell and forced to have sex with the royal on three occasions when she was 17, claims Prince Andrew strenuously denies.

In a final story Lady Victoria asked her 113,000 followers: 'Do you believe that photo is real? Or what if I told you a survivor of Epstein's told me it's an Irish body double that was edited in.' It's unclear if she meant a double of the Prince or Ms Guiffre.

Prince Andrew 's former girlfriend Lady Victoria Hervey has suggested the infamous photograph showing the disgraced royal with his arm around his accuser Virginia Giuffre is fake after sharing a dubiously edited version on Instagram (pictured)

Taking to Instagram today, Lady Victoria shared an edited version (pictured bottom) of the photograph which shows Prince Andrew with his arm around sex accuser Virginia Giuffre (pictured top) - who claims she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell and forced to have sex with the royal on three occasions when she was 17. Prince Andrew strenuously denies the accusations made by Ms Giuffre

The 44-year-old socialite and former 'It Girl' (pictured), who is the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol and the Duke of York's ex love interest, also claimed Ghislaine Maxwell's trial was a 'witch hunt' when posting on her social media account

In a final story she asked her 113,000 followers: 'Do you believe that photo is real? Or what if I told you a survivor of Epstein's told me it's an Irish body double that was edited in.' It's unclear who she believes has been edited into the image

Prince Andrew told BBC Newsnight in 2019: 'You can't prove whether or not that photograph is faked because it's a photograph of a photograph of a photograph.'

'It's very difficult to be able to prove it but I don't remember that photograph being takenThat's me but whether that's my handI have simply no recollection of the photograph ever being taken.'

The prince also said he thought he had never been upstairs in his friend Ghislaine Maxwell's house, where the photo appears to have been taken.

But Virginia Giuffre, nee Roberts, told BBC Panorama in 2019 that the photo is genuine and she gave the original to the FBI in 2011.

Meanwhile, in a baffling Instagram post six days ago, Lady Victoria claimed Ghislaine Maxwell's trial and sentencing has 'become a witch hunt'.

She added: 'This story has been so blown out of proportion... I know Ghislaine is obviously not a saint and should pay back the trauma caused to her "victims" but lifetime in jail for touching a girls t*t 20 years ago and taking them on yacht, private jet and shopping trips. Come on.'

Maxwell, 60, was last month convicted on five counts of sex trafficking and other crimes for recruiting and grooming teenage girls to have sexual encounters with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

She faces up to 65 years in prison and is currently in solitary confinement at New Yorks Metropolitan Detention Centre.

Social media users were quick to accuse Lady Victoria of 'switching her narrative' after last month claiming in ITV's Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile documentary that Maxwell used her as 'bait' to entertain Epstein's friends, saying the paedophile 'kind of sat back and sort of waited for her to sort of go fishing'.

Sharing a clip of herself from her recent appearance on Lorraine, Lady Victoria wrote: 'Please can someone let me know what the age of consent is in the UK, I thought its 17. Some of these stories sound like a case study of Regret turning into Revenge.

'This story has been so blown out of proportion. Or has it. Nobody knows. People are literally murdering people in LA and getting out of jail. Its a real life Gotham city blood bath.

'I know Ghislaine is obviously not a saint and should pay back the trauma caused to her "victims" but lifetime in jail for touching a girls t*t 20 years ago and taking them on yacht, private jet and shopping trips. Come on. This has become a witch hunt. Thoughts on this? What does she deserve?'

Following her bizarre post, followers accused the socialite of victim shaming, changing her 'narrative' regarding Maxwell and labelled her claims 'insane'. One person even asked whether Lady Victoria's account had been hacked.

In an Instagram post (above), Lady Victoria claimed Ghislaine Maxwell's trial and sentencing has 'become a witch hunt', adding: 'This story has been so blown out of proportion... I know Ghislaine is obviously not a saint and should pay back the trauma caused to her "victims" but lifetime in jail for touching a girls t*t 20 years ago and taking them on yacht, private jet and shopping trips. Come on.'

Sharing a clip (above) of herself from her recent appearance on Lorraine, Lady Victoria wrote: 'Please can someone let me know what the age of consent is in the UK, I thought its 17. Some of these stories sound like a case study of Regret turning into Revenge'

Lady Victoria Hervey and Prince Andrew pictured in 2002 at a party in London to celebrate Chinese New Year

'This is a much different narrative from the multiple interviews and documentary you've done over the years on the subject. Why the switch,' questioned one person in the comments section of the post.

Lady Victoria replied: 'Its not a switch. Im just trying to critically analyse what the sentence should be and at the end of the day shes not a serial killer. Thats my point. Not a switch. Ive never spoken on her actual sentencing.'

Accused of victim shaming by asking what the age of consent is in the UK, the socialite insisted: 'I'm saying [Maxwell] shouldnt be the only fall guy.'

Others also disagreed with the US-based socialite, with one person writing: 'She did not just touch a girls t*t, she coerced, manipulated and facilitated the sexual assault of numerous young girls.

'I'm very disappointed and concerned that you try to minimise the sexual assaults by commenting on the fact these girls got took shopping and on private jets. Also the reference to LA's crime issues is of no relevance at all.''

Followers (above) accused the socialite of victim shaming and labelled her claims 'insane'. One person even asked whether Lady Victoria's account had been hacked

Lady Victoria added further bizarre posts today to her Instagram stories (above). It's unclear what exactly the socialite was suggesting with the images

'I'm not at all,' responded Lady Victoria. 'I feel terrible for them if its true and not just lawyers pushing them to get pay-outs.'

She also later insisted: 'I totally agree it was a double act [between Epstein and Maxwell]. He relied on her bringing in the girls. Like I described it as a Batman and Robin act.

'Yes, when you think about it girls would trust another woman way more than a man,' she then added.

Another outraged follower commented: 'Regardless of age of consent these young women were targeted because of their circumstances.

'Using the age of consent as a way to justify what happened to these girls and very young women is unacceptable.

Following her post, followers (above) also soon accused the socialite of changing her 'narrative' regarding Maxwell

'I'm not at all,' responded Lady Victoria to one follower who said she was trying to 'minimise the sexual assaults'. 'I feel terrible for them if its true and not just lawyers pushing them to get pay-outs.'

Lady Victoria also later insisted (above): 'I totally agree it was a double act [between Epstein and Maxwell]. He relied on her bringing in the girls. Like I described it as a Batman and Robin act'

Accused of victim shaming by asking what the age of consent is in the UK, the socialite insisted: 'I'm saying [Maxwell] shouldnt be the only fall guy.'

However, when one person said the victim's parents 'have a lot to answer for' and 'need to go on trial' for allowing their daughters to travel, Lady Victoria replied: 'Yes, totally the parents should be held accountable.'

'Im surprised as a woman you arent sickened by what she would have purposely ignored happening or was involved in. Her role was integral in the abuse.

'Girls trust women and she aided this abuse. This is abuse of power, money and status. Abuse stays with victims for life... She has ruined the lives of so many women.

'A disgusting level of elitism and misunderstanding when it comes to the under privileged. I urge you to reconsider your willingness to disregard the suffering of their victims based on your own personal opinions of someone you may have considered a friend.'

However, when one person said the victim's parents 'have a lot to answer for' and 'need to go on trial' for allowing their daughters to travel, Lady Victoria replied: 'Yes, totally the parents should be held accountable.'

Last month, Lady Victoria appeared in a bombshell ITV documentary about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

She told the documentary, Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile, how Epstein had 'sat back and watched' as Ghislaine Maxwell went 'fishing' for girls.

Speaking to the programme's presenter, Ranvir Singh, she said she felt like she'd been used as 'bait' at the time by Maxwell and Epstein, describing how she'd first met the pair 20 years ago when she was 'really young and naive'.

Prince Andrew's ex girlfriend Lady Victoria previously insisted on Lorraine (pictured) that 'very private' Maxwell was a 'victim' of Epstein

Lady Victoria Hervey (looking towards the camera) stands near Prince Andrew (left) at a party in London in January 2002

She told the documentary: 'Jeffrey was really the frontman and Ghislaine was the accomplice. It was kind of like a Batman and Robin, and they were a double act. I don't think Jeffrey could have done any of it without Ghislaine.'

Singh asked Lady Victoria: 'And Ghislaine was crucial to getting those girls, was she, do you think to those dinners?'

Lady Victoria replied: 'I think he just kind of sat back and sort of waited for her to sort of go fishing and go find however many girls were needed, you know, to entertain his friends. I think I was pretty much used as bait.

'You know, looking back at, you know I was really young and naive, and she's entertaining these, you know, big businessmen. So I didn't realise it of course at the time, but looking back...'

Lady Victoria also appeared on ITV's Lorraine and insisted the 'very private' Maxwell was a 'victim' of Epstein. The socialite has previously said she had no clue what they had been secretly up to.

She told the morning breakfast presenter: 'She is a scapegoat right now, so unfortunately for her, she is being taken down for what he has done as well. Some might argue is not quite as fair as it could be.'

Lady Victoria also told Lorraine that she feels Maxwell is 'a scapegoat' and is 'being taken down' for Epstein's crimes

The socialite, who spoke to Lorraine from Los Angeles, said: 'I mean to be honest I think Ghislaine was a victim and is a victim. She was a victim that then became the accomplice as her role changed in that relationship when they were no longer together. She kind of switched sides. I do see her as a victim as well.'

Lorraine went on to question the socialite over her own connections with the pair, saying: 'Why do you think, if you were just an ordinary girl with no connections, do you think she specifically wanted you in that place?'

Lady Victoria said: 'At the time I was the IT girl of London, on the social scene, everyone knew me, I was at every dinner event. It was a plus having me on her list of who to invite.

'It probably kept it more interesting for all the men she was entertaining. Obviously you want to have attractive girls who are the hot girls in London at the time.'

She added that Epstein and Maxwell were 'definitely a double act', saying: 'It wouldn't have worked with him on his own. It was a lot easier for her to approach other women being a female.

'Girls would feel less intimated and less scared, rather than a man. It would have been a lot less obvious in that respect.'

Lady Victoria Hervey on the red carpet at Cannes last July. Last month, Lady Victoria appeared in a bombshell ITV documentary about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal

Lady Victoria confessed she felt 'used' by the duo, but added she 'had fun at the time.'

She said: 'I was so naive. People in my situation that were really young, of course we were going to get taken advantage of. We were just a pretty face to have entertain people. I was one of the lucky ones and I'm aware of that.'

She said she had no idea that anything was amiss during parties with the group, saying: 'Besides the situation of having a feeling there were video cameras in the apartment, it was social gatherings and dinner parties. It all seemed very fun at the time.'

Meanwhile Lady Victoria said she 'had followed some of the trial' but was 'a bit disappointed'. She explained the public 'hadn't learned anything new' and because the trial wasn't televised she felt 'a detachment from it.'

She said: 'She hasn't really named any new names yet. I'm hoping...that she will start giving out names. I don't think we're quite there yet.'

On the well-known picture of Andrew and his accuser Virginia Giuffre, Lady Victoria offered: 'That was stupid.'

Lady Victoria Hervey and Ghislaine Maxwell pictured in Hollywood on February 25, 2004

And asked if Maxwell ever spoke to her about her friendship with Andrew, Lady Victoria admitted: 'No. I mean, she was really quite private about a lot, but obviously they were good friends. You can just tell by the body language when you see people, when they're good friends.'

Maxwell has a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 28.

Meanwhile, in an official response to claims made against him by Ms Giuffre five months ago, the Duke of York this week issued 41 denials, rejecting all allegations of wrongdoing, and said a further 40 times that he 'lacks sufficient information to admit or deny' other claims.

His lawyers also demanded a 'trial by jury' in the New York civil case.

Andrew is fighting the case as a private citizen after being forced to step down from royal duties, but his decision to demand a 'trial by jury' is set to 'put him on a collision course with the Palace', royal sources told the Mail earlier this week.

The spectacle of a trial in New York later this year threatens to overshadow the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations scheduled for June.
Lord and Lady Fredrick Windsor enjoyed a night on the town at a swanky private members' club in Mayfair.

The royal couple wrapped up for the London winter in dark ensembles as they partied the night away at LouLou's with friends.

Lady Windsor, also known as Sophie Winkleman ,41, opted for a grey full length coat with black buttons and trimmings.

Meanwhile, Fredrick, 42, who is the son of the Queen's first cousin Prince Michael of Kent and 53rd in line to the throne, sported a smart casual look with blue trousers, and a matching jumper with shining black dress shoes.

Lord and Lady Fredrick Windsor enjoyed a night on the town at a swanky private members' club in Mayfair last night

The royal couple wrapped up for the London winter in dark ensembles as they partied the night away at Lou Lou's with friends.

Lady Windsor, also known as Sophie Winkleman ,41, opted for a grey full length coat with black buttons and trimmings

Sophie, who is the half sister of TV presenter Claudia Winkleman, looked stunning as she wore a natural make-up look with dazzling amethyst drop earrings which complemented her well-done glow of blusher and highlighter.

Opting for otherwise minimal jewellery she let her diamond wedding ring steal the show.

The actress - who famously starred as Big Suze in Peep Show - lives in London, has two children with Fredrick, Maud, eight, and Isabella, five.

Maud, attends Thomas's Battersea, the same school as his distant cousins Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Since the couple tied the knot in 2009, mother-of-two Sophie says everyone has 'looked after' her, in particular the Queen and Prince Charles, who have been 'wonderful', and Prince William, whom she described as 'heaven'.

Speaking to The Times, in 2020 she said: 'I've been incredibly welcomed with open arms by all of them... They'd never tell me off at all if I wanted to play some [racy] role.'

Fredrick, 42, who is the son of the Queen's first cousin Prince Michael of Kent and 53rd in line to the throne, sported a smart casual look with blue trousers, and a matching jumper with shining black dress shoes

Sophie, who is the half sister of TV presenter Claudia Winkleman, looked stunning as she wore a natural make-up look with dazzling amethyst drop earrings which complemented her well-done glow of blusher and highlighter

She added that she hasn't watched The Crown, the latest series of which has come under fire from friends of Prince Charles who accused Netflix producers of 'trolling' the Royal Family 'on a Hollywood budget' due to the drama's largely negative portrayal of his marriage to Princess Diana.

Sophie is half-sister of TV presenter Claudia Winkleman, with whom she shares father Barry Winkleman, and was educated at the private City of London School for Girls before completing an English degree at the University of Cambridge.

She explained she and the Strictly presenter had 'very separate lives' as children because Claudia, who is nine years her senior, lived with her mother.

The actress - who famously starred as Big Suze in Peep Show - lives in London, has two children with Fredrick, Maud, eight, and Isabella, five

Since the couple tied the knot in 2009, mother-of-two Sophie says everyone has 'looked after' her, in particular the Queen and Prince Charles, who have been 'wonderful', and Prince William, whom she described as 'heaven'

Sophie, who now lives in Chelsea, married Lord Freddie in September 2009 at Hampton Court Palace, after meeting him on a night out in Soho.

The couple, who moved to LA for a number of years after their wedding for her work, welcomed their first child, daughter Maud Elizabeth Daphne Marina, seven, in August 2013, and daughter, Isabella Alexandra May, four, was born in January 2016.

Maud and Isabella were among five bridesmaids for her sister-in-law Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston when they wed in May last year - having already been in the bridal party for Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding in October.

At the nuptials down-to-earth Sophie was seen chatting and sharing a joke with Prince Harry, who had just become a father.

Speaking about his wife, fellow actress Meghan Markle, 40, Sophie said: 'I've met her a few times over here, but not well enough to get to know her. She certainly has very admirable energy and focus.'

Sophie said she 'wasn't fazed' about becoming a member of the Firm, which she put down to her father being a 'socialist bordering on Marxist' which meant the Royal Family was rarely discussed when she was growing up.

'I definitely wasn't trying to get to Ascot to meet Prince William,' she told the publication.

'My parents gave me confidence. I don't know how to do it with my own children, but it's a great gift and it meant I felt I had something to bring to the table. They gave me a good education and that makes you feel you can walk into any group, so it wasn't too intimidating.'
Prince Nikolai of Denmark has sent royal fans into a frenzy after the 'handsome' and 'stunning' model graced the cover of Vogue Scandinavia.

The 22-year-old, the grandson of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, 81, and son of Prince Joachim of Denmark and his ex-wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, oozed sophistication when appearing in the magazine.

For his cover photoshoot, Nikolai looked effortlessly stylish in a matching pink Dior jacket and trousers as he posed in front of a number of colourful flowers.

Fans were quick to comment on the photograph, labelling the royal - who has worked as a model for Dior and Burberry before attending business school - 'beautiful' and 'iconic'.

Prince Nikolai of Denmark has sent royal fans into a frenzy after the 'handsome' and 'stunning' model graced the cover of Vogue Scandinavia (pictured)

The prince appears on the cover for February-March 2022 issue of Vogue Scandinavia which celebrates the experience of growing up in a region with kings and queens, princes and princesses.

Nikolai has charmed the fashion world, racking up runway appearances and magazine covers since his debut - after signing a modelling contract with Scoop Models in Denmark when aged 18.

Nikolai, who also has the title Count of Monpezat, made his modelling debut at Burberrys autumn-winter 2018 show.

He's walked alongside Cara Delevingne on the runway and strutted his stuff before a front row that included Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Michelle Dockery, Naomi Watts, Zendaya, and Idris Elba.

Speaking to the magazine, he recalled how his royal life had somewhat prepared him for the catwalk: 'Im used to the press and the cameras to being a public figure all my life.'

The 22-year-old (pictured), the grandson of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, 81, and son of Prince Joachim of Denmark and his ex-wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, oozed sophistication when appearing in the magazine

The prince - who also candidly admitted it is usually his own mother who cuts his stylish hair - currently studies at the Copenhagen Business School, but is on a semester abroad in Paris.

Recalling how his family reacted to his decision to model, he said: 'No one was against it. Of course, I had to explain myself  Id have to do that with whatever I do.

'If I had a new job in any industry or when I started at university, I had to explain that to my family as well. Not in a bad way, or anything,' he added, before explaining that his parents are his 'biggest fans'.

As seventh in line to the Danish throne, he does not collect an income from the Crown. He also has not been required by his father to perform any official duties.

'He must not be forced into anything. Nikolai's life must take place entirely after his own plan. I want to help him on my way and try to inspire him,' Joachim told Billed-Bladet in 2017.

Reaction: Fans were quick to comment on the photograph, labelling the royal - who has worked as a model for Dior and Burberry before attending business school - 'beautiful' and 'iconic'

Nikolai's mother is Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, who divorced Joachim in 2004 after nine years of marriage. The couple have another child together, 19-year-old Prince Felix of Denmark.

Joachim married second wife Princess Marie in 2008 and had two more children: 12-year-old Henrik and 10-year-old Athena.

'To me, the royals have always seemed like a fairytale  a real-life manifestation of the stories we read as children,' said Vogue Scandinavia editor-in-chief Martina Bonnier.

'Looking for a way to best cover the royals in a way that feels modern and relevant we came up with the question "what is it like to be a young royal in todays world?"' added Bonnier.

'Who better than Prince Nikolai to answer that question? He represents both worlds in a fairytale come to life.'
A tall, slim woman in her 30s wafts across the room  all thick glossy hair, blemish-free skin, clear eyes, full lips and a confidence normally reserved for women from the bon quartier of Paris.

At least this is how I believe I look as I walk across the restaurant to my table. In reality, Im in my mid-50s, bespectacled and rather less blessed in the hair department. But I feel absolutely fabulous. When people tell me my daughters, now 22 and 21, and I look like sisters, I believe them.

Of course, it is taboo for a woman to admit she is even vaguely happy with her looks. Particularly a woman of a certain age. You risk sounding conceited or self-satisfied at best, deranged at worst. I am none of those things, but while this sort of self-acceptance is rare  saying it loud feels subversive  I am happy with how I look.

Reading author Caitlin Moran about how she suffers not from body dysmorphia (a mental ailment whereby you see defects that dont exist), but reverse dysmorphia or what she terms eumorphia, I realised with a thrill of recognition that I do too.

Helena Frith Powell (pictured) claims it is taboo for a woman to admit she is even vaguely happy with her looks

I wake up most mornings convinced I look great. I feel thin, fit, good-looking and ready to take on the day. I see no flaws, imagined or otherwise, to ruin the mood.

I look pretty much the same as I did 20 years ago, sometimes even better as I spent most of my 30s either pregnant, covered in baby sick and/or sleep deprived to the point of madness. I am actually more confident in my looks now, possibly because the pressure is off. As I am no longer young, no one expects me to look fabulous.

Unlike a lot of women of a certain age, I havent given up on myself  because of the reverse dysmorphia. It is the continuing fight to retain this positive self-image that keeps me slim and healthy. Because I feel good about myself and want to keep it that way, I take care of myself.

I exercise every day, try to stick to intermittent fasting at least three times a week (doing all my eating in an eight-hour slot so as to give my body 16 hours to rejuvenate), I will always pick the healthy food option and most weeks I have at least three to four days off booze. I cleanse my skin morning and night and invest heavily in creams that make a difference.

Among friends not lucky enough to suffer from reverse dysmorphia I see two main tendencies: one is to surrender unconditionally, abandoning their sense of style, gaining weight, wearing comfortable clothes and relegating frivolities such as nail varnish and heels to a dim and distant past.

The other is to go for radical solutions such as facelifts that fool nobody, often resulting in them looking like rather unsettling versions of Madonna. The fact is that to remain looking good in your 50s is bloody hard work.

Helena (pictured) said looking and feeling good is much more important to her now than when she was younger

So why do I bother? Pure vanity. Because looking and feeling good are much more important to me now than when I was younger. And I now have more time and money to give it my best shot.

My role models include Jane Seymour, Isabelle Huppert and Gillian Anderson, all women who do just that and who seem to me to be improving with age, rather like a good wine.

There is a correlation between how much effort I am making in terms of exercise and appearance and the reactions I get. You look in very good shape, my husband will say, a man who is not overly generous with his compliments.

About 15 years ago, I ran into a silver-haired lady in a department store in Paris looking at lacy underwear. I was researching the French obsession with matching smalls. I asked her why she bought that type of underwear. She looked at me as if I had just landed from another planet. To look sexy, of course, was her response.

Looking good in your 50s takes bloody hard work

At the time, I was surprised a woman of her age thought she could look sexy. Now its my own narrow-minded reaction that shocks me. There are a few of my friends who tear themselves apart about their looks, but Im pleased to say that most are pretty content  and rightly so.

Im increasingly impressed with how good women of a certain age look, with their husbands often lagging behind. At my sons school leaving ceremony it looked as if some of the other mothers had come along with their fathers.

There are moments when I waver. Mainly when my daughters borrow my clothes and look much better in them than I do. Then I remember they look like a prettier, younger version of me and feel proud of them.

Helena (pictured) said she will probably end up like her 89-year-old mother-in-law, who says she is always taken aback when she catches herself in a mirror

There are times the delusion catches up with me. Ive been a size 8-10 all my life. After my three children I was a 10, which I could live with. But post-lockdown Ive teetered towards a 12, not that it would ever occur to me to buy anything larger than a 10. I recently ordered some stretchy size 10s as a compromise. Needless to say, they were too small.

According to the University of Western Australia, people like me perceive our bodies based on a distortion created by our blended past observations it creates an illusion whereby we appear thinner than we actually are.

So its totally rational that Im convinced that I am the same size I was ten years ago. Ill probably end up like my 89-year-old mother-in-law, who says she is always taken aback when she catches herself in a mirror. Who on earth is that old lady? she thinks, then realises its her.

Whats the point in thinking, Im getting older, fatter

But is it harmful? Should reverse dysmorphia become a disorder all of its own? No, according to Floss Knight, a psychotherapist, CEO and founder of UK Therapy Guide, an online portal that connects clients with therapists.

It sounds like you are using mechanisms to minimise the cognitive dissonance between what you look like and what you want to look like.

There is no harm in this as long as the self-image you have doesnt completely take over and you lose your grip on the truth.

I will undoubtedly be lambasted for my reverse dysmorphia, but why shouldnt you be the best version of yourself and own that glorious self-image until they drag you out kicking and screaming?

What is the point in thinking, Im getting older, fatter, shorter and less attractive by the minute, when you could just ignore all that and join me.

As the poet T. S. Eliot summed up: Humankind cannot bear too much reality. A man who clearly understood reverse dysmorphia long before the rest of us.
Reluctantly handing over my prescription for HRT, the young doctor told me: We are going to have to wean you off these. I wanted to shout in frustration.

Attractive and confident, she strutted around the surgery in a mini skirt and what looked suspiciously like Manolo Blahnik high heels.

Two things were certain.

She was not too long out of medical school, where they still focus on the potential risks of HRT. And she had no inkling of the fright I felt at being denied the precious daily capsules and gel that have put a zip into my life.

Ask any woman on HRT: shell tell you it makes her, whatever her age, feel energetic, female, and, yes  dare I say it  flirty. So I  and surely thousands upon thousands of women like me  cheered the news this week that HRT is to set to be sold over the counter without a prescription.

Sue Reid, who has been on HRT for the best part of two decades, explains why she cheered that HRT is set to be sold over the counter without a prescription (file image)

I am jumping with joy about this  the single most important medical intervention for women since the Pill put them in control of their own fertility right up to the menopause. Soon, they will be in charge long after that.

Until now HRT has been available only after a tedious appointment with an often unsympathetic (and, often, male) GP or by having the money to circumvent the NHS and go private. It is no exaggeration to say that every six months  when my HRT prescription runs out  I brace myself for an appointment to get a repeat dose from my local GP surgery, in a leafy area of London.

Having been on HRT for the best part of two decades, Im now, apparently, beyond the recommended time-limit for its use  an issue disputed among doctors  so I prepare to face a grilling.

It makes me incredibly nervous, because the thought of life without HRT is terrifying. I know my energy will disappear. I will get hot flushes or even worse: signals from my nether regions that show I am lacking female hormones, plus a debilitating brain fog (a nice way of saying that you cant think straight).

Sue said it seems our health service hasnt heard the word that women are giving up their jobs because they are suddenly hit with symptoms in middle age that bring them unbearable misery (file image)

In my mind, I practise ad infinitum my arguments to the GP to get the next batch of pills and gel that make me feel as lively as I did in my 40s.

I even act out my role as a patient in front of the bathroom mirror: It is incredibly important to women. It gives them back their physical strength, their desires and makes their bones strong.

I even mention in these conversations  and have heard it from male and female friends  that the happiness of couples is dependent on a woman being as enthusiastic as her partner about life in the boudoir.

The NHS makes getting hormones an obstacle race

Some men say they lie next to a dead fish every night: all desire from the other side of the bed extinguished.

Rather than stemming from a problem in the relationship  such as an affair  this is because the female body is no longer programmed to desire a sexual encounter as its hormones disappear with age.

Its sad, but that is the cruelty of Mother Nature taking its course.

Sue (pictured) said all sorts of silly ideas have been put forward to quell the dreaded symptoms of menopause, including running and eating your greens

But also I worry about women whose stores of oestrogen and progesterone diminish for myriad reasons. These hormones coursed through my body until the age of 45, before slipping away and then shuddering to a halt.

So why has the NHS been determined to make getting the hormones an obstacle race? I am middle class, determined, used to fighting my corner, but what of those who cannot argue confidently with a doctor?

Q&A What is HRT? HRT is a treatment to relieve symptoms of the menopause. It replaces hormones that fall to a lower level as you approach the menopause. A main benefit is that it can relieve most symptoms such as hot flushes, mood swings and vaginal dryness. Many pass after a few years, but can be unpleasant and HRT can offer relief. How do you start it? Currently you should speak to a GP if interested in starting HRT. You can usually begin as soon as you start having symptoms and will not usually need any tests first. A GP can explain different types and help you choose one that suits you. How much is it on the NHS? A prescription for HRT in England costs 9.35, or 18.70 for the one in ten on HRT who need two types of hormones. These are often provided on a short-term basis, meaning paying every month or three months. But the Government said in October HRT prescriptions will soon be available on an annual basis, reducing the cost by between 90 and 200. What is the new proposal? The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is consulting on making HRT available over the counter  without a prescription. It would mean women could start HRT after a consultation with a pharmacist, rather than a GP, and/or visit a pharmacist for new supplies. It would initially be restricted to women aged 50 and over, who have not had a period for at least a year. Which HRT drug will be available over the counter? The change would initially only apply to Vagifem, which is used to treat vaginal dryness caused by estrogen deficiency. The tablets, inserted into the vagina and not taken orally, will cost 29.99 for a pack of 24 and be sold under the name Gina. One pack can last up to 12 weeks. Initially, one tablet is used once a day for two weeks and then one tablet is used twice a week. When will it happen? Pills could be available over the counter in the second half of this year if the consultation progresses smoothly. Advertisement

It seems our health service hasnt heard the word that women are giving up their jobs because they are suddenly hit with symptoms in middle age that bring them what even the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence describes as unbearable misery.

Is it contentious to suggest that if this was happening to the other half of the nations over-50s  men  it would not have been ignored for so long?

All sorts of silly ideas have been put forward to quell the dreaded symptoms of menopause, including running and eating your greens. Can you imagine suggesting that to our male-folk when they face a flagging libido (often provoked by their disappearing male sex hormone, testosterone) in middle age?

You mustnt feel this is us against you, said one GP when I begged for my prescription.

This seems to make you very upset, said another.

Im always asked: How long have you been on this? And that just pushes my panic button to mega-level.

When I first went on HRT, I couldnt have imagined how important it would become to my daily life.

I was given some big pills to take every day by a private doctor in Harley Street and they were meant to stop some unmentionable symptoms  ones that would embarrass any human being.

The tablets contained oestrogen in huge quantities, which made me feel very ill indeed. I had a buzzing feeling in my head and my weight soared. I was a limp rag who collapsed every afternoon for a Churchillian nap.

The oestrogen-only medicine he gave me caused cancer scares which put other women off asking for HRT for years, and deterred doctors from prescribing it.

Progesterone, the other female hormone which disappears with the menopause, is now prescribed alongside oestrogen to lower risks.

Over the years, the balance of hormones has also vastly improved. Despite that rocky start, I now feel I wouldnt be me without it.

I had gone to see that Harley Street gynaecologist after a work trip to Moscow, where I had been sent to chase down a story on British spy links to the Kremlin.

As I stood in Nikolskaya street, near Red Square, my insides threatened to unfold.

Ill spare you the details, but I made my sudden excuses to my interpreter then waddled back to my hotel with my knees together, to patch myself up.

I thought it was a strange one-off, but back at my office in London, I went into the editors news conference and had to leave abruptly because it happened again.

In those days, of course, such things couldnt be mentioned. I said I had a dizzy spell as I rushed from the room in a straight line to the lavatory.

Now, thank goodness, the menopause is being talked about in the workplace.

The 20-something GP had no inkling of the fright I felt at being denied the medicine that puts a zip back in my life

Six in ten women of that age say that the menopause has affected their work performance. Some have quit their jobs because they couldnt handle it.

Doctors  yes, the GPs I still beg to get my medication from  receive such limited training on the subject its no wonder they look bewildered or belligerent when I arrive.

Whats really important is that HRT not only restores your libido, but protects your bone strength (a natural drop in oestrogen means, according to health experts, a drop of ten per cent in bone mass in the first five years after the menopause hits).

A recent medical report suggested it can even help to prevent dementia.

Sue admits that she cannot fathom why many doctors seem to treat HRT as though it was a forbidden fruit (file image)

I cannot fathom, then, why too many doctors seem to treat it as though it was a forbidden fruit. Thankfully, in my case, the female doctor in the Manolo Blahnik stilettos at least agreed  reluctantly  to repeat my prescription. But last month, it came up for renewal again. I was told I could not have a six-month supply, and was given only one months to tide me over.

The worry, my pharmacist told me, was that I had asked for a repeat prescription too early, as it is a strictly regulated drug.

I cant fathom why doctors treat it like a forbidden fruit

I wanted my supply because I was about to go on holiday to Spain and didnt want to run out while I was away. If I had, my break would have been ruined by hot flushes, brain fog and all the hideous symptoms I have been trying to avoid.

I didnt tell the pharmacist, who has been very nice  but the irony is that in Spain I could walk into any chemist and buy HRT. I do not have to tell them my age, or my reason for wanting it. It is like buying a packet of aspirin over the counter.

Now, at last  if the NHS bigwigs dont intervene  it could be the same for us in Britain.

Truly, this is a landmark moment for women.

Women need expert help in making the correct choice

By Dr Heather Currie MBE, NHS gynaecologist and founder of Menopause Matters

HRT has liberated thousands of women from the debilitating side-effects of menopause  be it hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings or more  that can cause such bleak despair. And there are hundreds of thousands more who could benefit, too.

Years of medical research have clearly demonstrated how the benefits of HRT outweigh any risks, not least in what has been a prevailing concern: breast cancer.

We now know there is little or no change in the risk for women if oestrogen-only HRT is taken, and the risk with combined HRT (oestrogen and progestogen) is small. Whats more, there is no arbitrary time limit  it can be used for as long as a woman feels the benefits outweigh the risks.

Dr Heather Currie MBE said HRT is not a one-size-fits-all treatment, to be taken at the first hint of a night sweat (file image)

All of which amounts to a huge step forward for women, giving confidence to those who need it  and the GPs who prescribe it, a far cry from how things were 20 years ago. Through my work as a doctor and founder of informative website Menopause Matters, I know the suffering that lack of access to HRT when desperately needed can cause.

So proposals to reclassify one form of HRT  vaginal oestrogen  as an over-the-counter treatment are, in theory, to be broadly welcomed, not least given current pressure on GP availability.

Common consequences of menopause are vaginal dryness and bladder changes, which can cause significant distress. Women often find the topic embarrassing to discuss with their GP, but these changes can be effectively treated by vaginal oestrogen, which is available in a number of forms and is not linked to the risks associated with other types of HRT. So this is a good move.

But what if this heralds an era in which all forms of HRT are one day available to buy without a prescription? This would need serious consideration.

A pharmacist wouldnt have your medical history to hand

If HRT were to be made available over the counter, it could not be introduced overnight in a crude, tick-box manner. For such a policy to work, there would need to be a huge information campaign, mobilising hospitals and surgeries, social media and other platforms to help women make an informed choice.

You see, HRT is not a one-size-fits-all treatment, to be taken at the first hint of a night sweat. Consideration must be given to the type, dosage and route of HRT, all of which influences doctors advice.

HRT is available in different formats; oestrogen can be taken as a daily tablet, a twice weekly or weekly patch, daily gel or implant. Sometimes tweaks are needed to give optimum benefit to a womans very individual combination of menopause symptoms.

A womans medical history is another thing a doctor will always consider.

What would worry me if other treatments were available over the counter is that it would be incumbent on the individual to do the research and to have all the relevant information available.

Obviously pharmacists could offer some basic advice  perhaps explaining that HRT isnt suitable for someone with a history of blood clots or high blood pressure  but they wouldnt have your medical history to hand.

A woman would therefore have to be knowledgeable about her own situation, and what treatments might be suitable  and you cant expect women to know the ins and outs of all this automatically.

I believe increased access to HRT is great progress. Too many women battle with menopausal symptoms when the solution should be within their grasp. We just need to make sure any future open-door policy is safely and effectively deployed.
Models at Rome Fashion Week were handed an usual accessory to walk the runway with earlier today - plastic babies.

Luxury Italian brand Muusa, founded by siblings Monica and Luca Bertini, invited those strutting down their runway to carry the dolls during their show at Altaroma 2022 at Cinecitta Studios.

Sharing a photograph of the catwalk show on Instagram after the event, the brand wrote: 'Genderless, nomadic and warrior, Muusa's DNA collection is focused on sustainability.

'A sensory and stylistic journey in which art and fashion dance with ethereal lightness of precious natural yarns.'

Models at Rome Fashion Week were handed an usual accessory to walk the runway with earlier today - plastic babies (pictured, one model)

Luxury Italian brand Muusa, founded by siblings Monica and Luca Bertini, invited those strutting down their runway to carry the dolls during their show at Altaroma 2022 at Cinecitta Studios

Models donned the colourful luxury knitwear for the show in a variety of colours, including camel brown and neon yellow.

One model, who wore her brown hair in tight curls, could be seen clutching onto her doll while holding him in a black sling.

Meanwhile the plastic baby had been given an identical brown outfit for the occasion.

Another model, who was wear a neon yellow polo neck with a knitted brown skirt, held her doll close to her chest.

Another model, who was wear a neon yellow polo neck with a knitted brown skirt, held her doll close to her chest

He appeared to be dressed in a grey beanie hat with highlighter yellow leggings.

The brand was founded in 2011 by Swiss-born artist Monica, who grew up in Umbria.

She studied communications in Milan, before launching a career as a stylist and travelling to New York and Shanghai.

After living in China for seven years, she returned to Italy in 2008 and she and Luca began working on a music system for spas called Muusa.

Sharing a photograph of the catwalk show on Instagram after the event, the brand described their models as 'genderless, nomadic and warriors'

Three years on, she launched Muusa Luxury Loungewear.

The website describes how 'MUUSA is born form Art, fashion and design research in Europe, America and Asia'.

Meanwhile it continues: 'The passion for cashmere gave birth to Muusa Luxury, innovative concepts and forms, that Monica Bertini conceived starting from the Umbria tradition, her land with the vision to merge the Asian conceptual flair with high-end Italian craftsmanship productions.

'Luca Bertini is now operating on multimedia art projects and interactive music composition and collaborates with MUUSA for customized projects.'
Teens who occasionally use cannabis are just as likely to develop schizophrenia as daily smokers, a study has claimed.

Researchers in the Caribbean reviewed more than 590 papers looking at cannabis use in children aged 12 to 18.

Smoking the drug at low frequencies came with the same six-fold increased risk of getting the mental disorder as doing it daily, results showed. Rates of schizophrenia in both groups were compared against non-smokers.

Experts warned it is vital teenagers avoid using the drug while their brains are still developing.

NHS figures show cannabis use in people aged 16 to 24 is rising in England and Wales, with 32.6 percent admitting having used it in 2020, compared to 30.2 per cent in 2016.

It comes after data revealed psychiatric hospital admission among cannabis users soared 74 per cent since the drug was effectively decriminalised in Scotland.

Scottish police changed its guidance in January 2016 so anyone found possessing cannabis could be issued with a warning rather than face prosecution. The number of prosecutions halved over the period.

Last year, a record 1,263 patients in Scotland sought NHS treatment for psychiatric disorders blamed on cannabis, including schizophrenia.

Teenagers who smoke cannabis less than twice a week are six times more likely to develop schizophrenia, a study has claimed [stock image]

WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA? Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality. The cause of schizophrenia is not understood and it is believed to be a mix of genetics (hereditary), abnormalities in brain chemistry and/or possible viral infections and immune disorders. Symptoms of schizophrenia usually begin between ages 16 and 30. In rare cases, children have schizophrenia too. The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three categories: positive, negative, and cognitive. Positive symptoms are disturbances that are 'added' to the person's personality and include: Hallucinations

Delusions

Thought disorders (unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking) Negative symptoms are capabilities that are 'lost' from the person's personality and include: 'Flat affect' (reduced expression of emotions via facial expression or voice tone)

Reduced feelings of pleasure in everyday life

Difficultly beginning and sustaining activities Cognitive symptoms are changes in their memory or other aspects of thinking and include: Trouble focusing or paying attention

Problems with 'working memory'

Poor ability to understand information and use it to make decisions Figures suggest around one percent of the world population suffers from schizophrenia with around two million in the US. Source: National Institute of Mental Health Advertisement

The review, published in Journal of Clinical Psychology, included 591 studies from 2010 and 2020 about cannabis use in adolescents from across the globe.

They classified cannabis users into two groups: low frequency users  smoking twice a week or less  and higher frequency users  who smoke daily or nearly every day.

Using statistical analysis, they compared the groups' chances of developing schizophrenia compared to teenagers who never smoked the drug.

The chances of getting the mental disorder were six times higher in both groups, the researchers said.

They did not specify how long it usually takes to develop the disorder after smoking.

It tends to occur in men in their late teens and early 20s, and in the late 20s to early 30s in women  although it can develop at any age for either gender.

Writing in the article, the researchers said: 'Both high- and low-frequency marijuana usage were associated with a of schizophrenia.

'The frequency of use among high- and low-frequency users is similar in both, demonstrating statistically significant increased risk in developing schizophrenia.'

Adam Winstock, the founder of the Global Drugs Survey and honorary professor of clinical medicine at University College London, said the study showed the need for caution around cannabis use at younger ages.

He told the Daily Telegraph: 'If you want to optimise your health and wellbeing and minimise your risk of developing psychotic illnesses, dont use drugs when you are young.

'Grow your brain before you expand it.'

The researchers were based in the Saint James School of Medicine in Arnos Vale, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The country last month made its first ever shipment of medical cannabis to Germany, sending 110lb (49.8kg) worth of the drug.

The Caribbean nation with a population of just over 110,000 people has been developing its local cannabis industry for years.

In 2018, Saint Vincent created a state agency to oversee licensing and ensure its medical cannabis is available to local patients.

It comes after a host of research further bolstered the link between cannabis use and psychological disorders, including schizophrenia.

One US study found that cannabis-linked psychosis admissions are 2.5 times higher in areas where the drug has been legalised.

And official NHS figures show psychiatric hospital admissions for cannabis users rocketed from 1,191 in 2015 to 2016 to 2,067 last year

Professor Jonathan Chick, of Castle Craig Hospital, a private rehabilitation centre in Peeblesshire, said lawmakers have taken their eyes 'off the ball' with cannabis legislation.

NHS figures show cannabis use in people aged 16 to 24 is rising in England and Wales, with 32.6 percent admitting having used it in 2020, compared to 30.2 per cent in 2016. Graph shows: Drug use in different ages in England and Wales over time

He said the number of young people suffering psychosis and schizophrenia because of cannabis use is a 'worry'.

Despite numerous studies linking the two, scientists have yet to firm up exactly how the drug may lead to the condition. And other research has suggested the drug itself may not be enough to cause serious mental disorders.

A separate study by Harvard researchers in 2014 of cannabis users with and without a family history of schizophrenia suggested cannabis use alone does not result in the disorder.

The risk of developing the disorder was higher in those with a family history, regardless of cannabis use.

Dr Lynn DeLisi, one of the authors of the paper, told the New York Times at the time: 'My study clearly shows that cannabis does not cause schizophrenia by itself.

'Rather, a genetic predisposition is necessary.

'It is highly likely, based on the results of this study and others, that cannabis use during adolescence through to age 25, when the brain is maturing and at its peak of growth in a genetically vulnerable individual, can initiate the onset of schizophrenia.'
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The 'stealth' Omicron variant is just as mild as the original version of the strain, officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday. BA.2, as it is officially named, picked up the 'stealth' moniker due to its ability to avoid detection through some sequencing processes. While it is believed to be more infectious than its predecessor, BA.1, officials are not worried about the strain causing yet another surge or causing more harm to people.

'Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we're not seeing any higher bumps in hospitalization than expected,' Dr Boris Pavlin, a member of the WHO's COVID-19 Response Team, said during a briefing.

'Vaccination is profoundly protective against severe disease, including for Omicron. BA.2 is rapidly replacing BA.1. Its impact is unlikely to be substantial, although more data are needed.'

The variant was first detected last month in Denmark and the UK, and quickly began to spread around both nations. While some cases of BA.2 have been found in the United States, not enough cases have been sequenced for it to be considered a major concern.

Last week, the Dr Pavitra Roychoudhury, a bioinformatics expert at the University of Washington in Seattle, told DailyMail.com that sub-lineages of variants emerging has been common during the pandemic. While the 'stealth' moniker it has earned could sound scary to an average person, it does not mean that BA.2 poses anymore of a threat than other versions of the variant.

'Unfortunately, [the lack of detection] has been leading to some people referring to this as a stealth variant, which sounds kind of a little bit scary, but really all it is is that it doesn't have that particular deletion that we were using as a signature or a marker for Omicron,' she explained.

Experts also have so far not seen any reason to believe that BA.2 can evade the natural immunity provided by previous infection from BA.1.

The promising news comes as Covid cases in the U.S. continue their rapid fall after reaching record numbers earlier this year. America is averaging 453,141 new infections ever day, down 30 percent over the past week and down 43 percent from the peak of 800,000 cases per day in mid-January.

Only eight U.S. states are recording increasing cases over the past two weeks, and only Minnesota is logging more than a 40 percent jump. Nearly every single state east of the Mississippi river appears to have already past the peak of this surge.

While many are hopeful that this massive wave of infections will lead to the pandemic ending, as so many people will have natural antibodies against the virus that it will run out of people to infect. Dr Scott Gottlieb, the former chief of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and current board member of Pfizer, still believes vaccination is necessary to keep up an adequate level of protection.

'What we saw with previous variants was that immunity persisted for a longer period of time,' he told CNBC's Squawk Box on Wednesday morning.

'What we are seeing with Omicron--now there is pretty good evidence around this--it appears the immunity conferred by infection from omicron isn't that durable.'

While vaccine protection is generally considered to be more durable and effective than naturally occurring immunity caused by previous infection, as a board member of Pfizer - the manufacturer of the U.S.'s most used vaccine - he does have motivation to prop up the jabs.

Deaths, a metric that often lags behind cases by a few weeks, are still rising in the U.S. The nation is averaging 2,541 deaths per day, up 12 percent from the 2,271 average last week. With cases plummeting, it is likely this figure will reach its peak and decrease in the near future as well.

The U.S. is not the only country seeing declining cases. The UK is averaging around 90,000 Covid cases per day as of Monday morning, a far fall from the peak of over 180,000 cases earlier this month.

As a response, last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the end of all pandemic related restrictions, including the end of mask mandates, some capacity restrictions, and work from home orders. Testing requirements for Britons to return to the nation will be dropped in the coming weeks as well.

Denmark was among the hardest hit nations in the world by Omicron in December as well. Cases in the country are still steadily rising, up to 43,000 per day, they are clearly cresting and deaths have remained low for the Nordic country throughout the pandemic.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced last week that Covid was no longer a 'socially critical sickness' and that the country will end all pandemic-related restrictions on February 1.

Covid is receding in almost every state on the eastern side of the Mississippi river. Only Maine and Michigan are recording increasing cases over the past two weeks on that side of the country. Maine is one of the states with the lowest infection rates in America, though, averaging 77 cases per every 100,000 residents. Michigan is recording a 30 percent increase in cases over the past two weeks as well.

Two states that were stuck hard and early by the Omicron variant surge last month have now seen cases decline back to normal levels. In New York and New Jersey, 60 out of every 100,000 residents are testing positive for the virus every day, and both have experienced a drop in cases of around 70 percent over the past two weeks.

A cluster of states in New England that suffered large case numbers despite high vaccination rates are starting to see their surges come to an end as well. Rhode Island had the highest infection rate in America during the mid-January despite having vaccinated 79 percent of its population.

The Ocean state seems to have gotten its outbreak under control since then, though, with cases down 68 percent over the past two weeks.

Vermont is the leader in vaccination rate, with just over 79 percent vaccinated , is also recording a 61 percent case decrease after weeks of surging cases late in 2021.

Connecticut (68 percent case decline) and Massachusetts (67 percent) are also recording sharp case decreases over the past two weeks after surges earlier this winter. All of the states, sans Rhode Island, are now averaging less than 100 daily cases per every 100,000 residents as well.

Many of the the last remaining states that still have cases trending upwards are concentrated in the northwest region of the U.S.

Minnesota is the leaders in case growth over the past two weeks, with cases up 76 percent over the past two weeks. Just to the west, case in Montana are up 34 percent and Idaho is up 32 percent.

Alaska, a state over 1,600 miles from the U.S. mainland, is seeing cases jump by 20 percent over the past two weeks as well.

Both Washington and Wyoming appear to have finally reached the peak of their Omicron surge, with case growth having stagnated in recent days.

While case growth seems to be moving to the northwest, the nine U.S. states recording more than one daily Covid death per every 100,000 residents are along the east coast, in the Midwest or southwest. In total, 12 states are recording one death per every 100,000 residents every day.

Arizona leads the nation is Covid mortality rate, with 1.42 out of every 100,000 residents dying daily. Mississippi has suffered a surge of deaths as well, to 1.39 of every 100,000 residents.

Ohio, once the leader, is now third with 1.28 of every 100,000 resident dying daily, as the states Covid death total remains high.
Households will discover how much their gas and electricity bills will potentially rise this year, with the new price cap being revealed days earlier than expected.

It was expected to take place next Monday, but households will now find out the new cap at 11am tomorrow.

Last October, the energy price cap rose 12 per cent, but with energy wholesale prices having surged since, the cap is expected to rise far more in April 2022, with some predicting that it will increase by roughly 50 per cent.

Many Britons are already contending with the rising cost of fuel, food and household bills.

There have been some reports this morning that the Government is set to offer the energy industry a 6billion loan to offset customer bills by 200 on average, which could ease some of the pain.

The price cap limits the rates a supplier can charge for their default tariffs and at the moment, for the typical household it sits at 1,277 a year.

Many experts predict that the price cap will increase by roughly 600 this April to around 1,900.

For example, analysts at Cornwall Insight, forecast that the average default tariff will rise to 1,915 a year  up 638. However, it could potentially overshoot this amount and go beyond 2,000.

It is also expecting the pain to continue, with the October 2022 forecast coming in at 2,300.

What does it mean for households?

Households coming to the end of their fixed rate deals will be in for a nasty shock if the price cap rises by as much as many are predicting it will.

Those who have already seen fixed rates that have expired and shunted onto a variable rate could also face far bigger bills, along with those who were already on a default tariff.

Many households are already contending with the rising cost of fuel, food and household bills.

The wholesale prices that suppliers typically face when buying gas or electricity to supply their customers - the cost of suppliers purchasing wholesale energy is the largest component of a customer's bill and can account for up to 40% of it

Homeowners with variable mortgages also face the prospect of rising costs, with the Bank of England tipped to increase the base rate tomorrow.

Renters will be feeling even more pressure. Outside of London, rents are up 9.9 per cent on average over the past year, according to Rightmove.

The fastest growth on record and now outpacing house price gains in most areas of the country.

Two thirds of people said the cost of living has risen in the past two months, according to a recent ONS study, and of those people, four in five said rising gas and electricity prices were a factor.

Ofgem said: 'Global gas prices continue to put pressure on, and people are understandably concerned about energy prices.

'There's been a lot of speculation, and it's in consumers' interests to announce the level of the price cap as soon as possible after it has been calculated.'

What if your fixed energy deal is ending?

Customers whose fixed tariff is coming to an end soon are currently being advised to let their deal roll onto a default deal as these are covered by the price cap and are much cheaper than current fixed offers.

However, from tomorrow, the cap will soar meaning pricier bills from April.

Anyone considering moving to a fixed deal should also be aware that wholesale prices could change within the next year and you could end up overpaying if stuck in a contract.

However, it is generally expected that prices will rise yet further this autumn.

The next revision arrives in October and analysts at Cornwall Insight suggest on current data that the price cap could then climb to in excess of 2,300 for next winter.

Dr Craig Lowrey, senior consultant at Cornwall Insight said: 'We are forecasting the summer 2022 default tariff cap will increase by around 50 per cent to approximately 1,915 for the typical user, placing more than 600 extra on the average yearly bill.

'Our prevailing forecast of the winter of 2022/23 indicates a further increase to more than 2,300 per year, but we note that there are a number of legislative and regulatory proposals in development which could affect both this figure and that for Summer 2022.'

What next?

Next Tuesday, the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy committee will be assessing the operation of the energy price cap and the impact it has on household energy bills.

Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem; Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder of OVO Energy and Jonathan Marshall, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank will be on the Committee.

Its part of its new inquiry into energy pricing and the future of the energy market, launched following surges in wholesale energy prices which have caused a huge number of energy suppliers to go bust.

It will ask questions about the challenges facing the energy market, how effective the energy price cap is at protecting consumers, and whether regulatory changes may be needed to address problems in the sector.
When I transferred my Isa from Scottish Friendly to Vanguard in September, I was told it would take up to 30 days (which I find mind-boggling).

Scottish Friendly says it processed the transfer of 19,007.38 and 1,168.64 on September 14 separately, as the money was in different funds. Vanguard says it only received 19,007.38 on September 30.

It has since asked me to submit another transfer request for the missing money, as Scottish Friendly insists both payments were made.

S. M., Romford, Essex.

Vanishing cash: A Scottish Friendly customer found his balance was 1,169short after an agonisingly long wait to move his money ISA

Tony Hazell replies: Investment transfers can, as you say, take a mind-boggling amount of time.

I have personal experience of this and there really is no explanation other than a lack of will by the investment industry to improve the situation for its clients.

In your case, there were actually three accounts involved.

Vanguard says the details on the transfer form only referenced one, so it was obliged to return payments associated with the other two  one for 1,168.64 and another for 154.72.

Scottish Friendly then failed to identify that the returned money related to your Isa, so it told you and Vanguard that the transfers had been successfully completed.

It has now sent an updated version of the Isa transfer history form and all the money has been received by Vanguard. Scottish Friendly says: 'We are extremely sorry this error occurred and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused Mr M.'

It is also paying you 250 compensation. Vanguard and Scottish Friendly will also look at whether you have suffered any financial detriment owing to the delayed transfer and the difference will be made good.

How can I be charged 45 for phone data if I didn't touch my phone?

I work as airline cabin crew. My Three Mobile package gives me 12GB of data per month.

I recently flew to the Bahamas and believed that I had turned off data roaming and put the phone in airplane mode. After being caught out several years ago, I am fastidious about it.

I have also previously asked for a cap on all charges. Upon arriving at the hotel and connecting to wifi, I received numerous texts saying I'd incurred data charges of 45.06.

How can my phone use all that data when I haven't even touched it?

F. W., Guildford.

Tony Hazell replies: You believed you had turned data roaming off, so what happened? Beware, because some phones will switch to local 4G or 5G if they decide the wifi is too weak.

It should not operate if data roaming is switched off but to be safe, I would also turn off 'wifi assist'.

Many Three packages feature Go Roam, which allows you to use your data from your package when in certain countries.

However, the Bahamas is not part of Go Roam. Any data used costs an eye-watering 6 per megabyte  Three blames local networks.

One megabyte is about a page of data or two minutes of music.

Three says it doesn't have a record of a spending cap on your account but limits do not apply if you are in a destination that is not covered by Go Roam.

It adds that its records show you used data for a short period on December 1.

Perhaps you turned off data roaming very shortly after arrival and your phone had already started downloading emails? However, I pointed out some of your personal circumstances to Three.

When you were furloughed, you worked long hours with the NHS vaccination programme.

Now you are back flying, you still help at the vaccination centre on your days off.

Three, which has applied credits to your accounts on three previous occasions, has agreed to do it again.

Perhaps you should check at a local shop to be absolutely sure you are shutting your phone down.

A Three spokesman says: 'When it comes to roaming charges, we aim to be as transparent. Details of all our costs are on our website.

'We do alert and advise customers in locations not covered by Go Roam to ensure data roaming is disabled.'

Frozen out over freezer insurance

I have had my freezer insured with Domestic & General for many years.

It stopped working on December 22 and was confirmed as irreparable on December 30 by the firm's engineer. I was offered a 'free' replacement  but for me to get this, the firm is asking that I pay a further year's premium of 149.88.

The policy was fully paid up to January 1, 2022, so I cannot see the reasoning behind this. I lodged a complaint but the promised call back did not come.

I have just spent more than two hours on the phone, waiting to be connected to the resolutions department. I am without a working freezer.

R. H., Horsham, W. Sussex.

Tony Hazell replies: Domestic & General confirms that you were given an online replacement link for the freezer, which incorrectly displayed a fee of 149.88.

When you called customer services to query this, a human error resulted in your being transferred to the wrong department (retentions), which resulted in further errors as you were then transferred to other departments which were also unable to resolve the issue.

Domestic & General apologises, adding: 'We have determined that this was unfortunately owing to a combination of system and human error at a very busy time of year.

'We have taken note of the details of the case so as to prevent this happening again.'

Your new freezer was installed without charge on January 18.
Bosses at KPMG have scooped their biggest payday since 2014 after the corporate deal-making boom boosted demand for its advice.

The 571 UK partners' average pay jumped 20 per cent to 688,000 last year. But that was less than their counterparts at rival Big Four accounting firms, with Deloitte's top brass getting an average of just over 1million.

KPMG raked in 2.35billion of revenues in 2021, up from 2.14billion a year earlier.

Boom time: Accounting giant KPMG raked in 2.35bn of revenues in 2021, up from 2.14bn a year earlier

Profits jumped from 288million to 436million, even after it was blasted for its role in a string of scandals  it is still embroiled in investigations and lawsuits relating to its audit of bust outsourcer Carillion.

In an ongoing tribunal hearing, KPMG confessed to a 'disturbing' case of misconduct as it admitted documents were faked when it was questioned by the industry watchdog over the quality of its Carillion audit.

And it was fined 13million over a conflict of interest when it advised on the sale of troubled mattress company Silentnight to private equity firm HIG, which left the former's pensioners worse off than they might otherwise have been.

And it 'advanced an untruthful defence' during the probe into Silentnight, a tribunal found. Its UK chairman Bill Michael, who later stepped down, attracted unwanted attention when he told young staff to 'stop moaning' about pandemic conditions last year, when many said they were burnt out working at home.

Despite the mishaps, British staff shared in a 100million bonus pool. UK chief executive Jon Holt said: 'This is a resilient performance delivered against the challenging backdrop of the pandemic. I am immensely proud of our people.'

But, in an acknowledgement that the firm needed to make improvements, KPMG is planning to invest 300million it made from selling its restructuring and pensions businesses into the continuing operations.

Holt  paid 1.7million  said it would be used to make a 'once in a generation investment' in areas such as audit and deal advisory.

He added: 'I am determined that, as a business, we will deal with and learn from our legacy issues, build trust in our profession and invest to deliver long-term, sustainable, growth.'

In December, KPMG stopped bidding for government work after it was threatened with a ban.
Sexual harassment, bullying and racism are rife at Rio Tinto, says a blistering report.

An independent inquiry has found that 21 women working for the Anglo-Australian mining giant have reported rape, attempted rape or sex assault in the past five years.

Women endure everyday sexism and sexual harassment while bullying is described as systemic with almost half of employees falling victim to it.

An independent inquiry has found that 21 women working for Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto have reported rape, attempted rape or sex assault in the past five years

Staff said racism was normalised. Almost 40 per cent of men and 32 per cent of women who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander have suffered discrimination, the report said.

Chief executive Jakob Stausholm said the findings were deeply disturbing when he learned how deeply toxic behaviour was embedded.

I offer my heartfelt apology to every team member, past or present, who has suffered as a result of these behaviours, said the Dane. I feel shame and enormous regret to have learned the extent to which bullying, sexual harassment and racism are happening.

The findings are the latest setback for Rio, which is a stalwart of the FTSE 100 index on the London Stock Exchange.

Shell veteran Stausholm took the top job a year ago to salvage its tarnished reputation. He replaced Jean-Sebastien Jacques who was ousted after Rio blew up the Juukan Gorge, a sacred 46,000-year-old site in Western Australia.

Rio, which has its headquarters in London and mining operations around the world, commissioned the inquiry into its own workplace culture following lurid allegations of sexual harassment across the industry.

Arch-rival BHP has sacked almost 50 workers for sexual harassment in just two years.

Both Rio and BHP are introducing strict curbs on alcohol at its remote Fly-In, Fly-Out mining camps. The inquiry into Rio was headed by Australias former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

Some 10,303 employees around the world were interviewed. The report found that sexism, bullying and racism were widespread.

Women were much more likely to experience sexual harassment, with 28 per cent reporting it compared with 7 per cent of men.

Those in mining camps were more likely to be victimised, with some eating alone in their room or refusing to venture out after dark.

But while some women reported a positive and inclusive culture, most experienced sexism which took its toll on their self-esteem, personal relationships and general health.

This came in various forms, from managers commenting on their appearance to being left out of key decisions, passed over for promotions or being told to make the coffee.

Sexism and everyday sexual harassment occur at unacceptable rates, the report concluded.

One employee described a deep-rooted culture that if you are not an alpha male you wont go anywhere, adding that some women fear telling their bosses they are pregnant, as they are worried they will either be demoted or not have a job to come back to.

Almost half reported bullying and workers claimed racism was normalised, with one saying: I have copped racism in every single corner of this company. Another commented: Rio is a Caucasian-orientated company.

The findings are particularly damaging for Rio, which is trying to repair relations with Aboriginal communities after the Juukan Gorge debacle.

Generally, the report found that harmful behaviour is often tolerated or normalised, and that employers believe senior leaders and high performers often manage to get away with it.

Rio vowed to enact all 26 report recommendations aimed at preventing discrimination and eradicating unacceptable behaviour.

These include making its mining camps safer and inclusive for women, and improving the way it responds to complaints.

Broderick observed Rio bosses had a strong desire for transformational change.

She said: By proactively commissioning this study, one of the largest of its kind within the resources industry, it demonstrates a very clear commitment to increased transparency, accountability and action.
Staff at the UK financial watchdog have voted to strike over proposed changes to pay and benefits.

Trade union Unite said 87 per cent of members at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) backed industrial action, and said it can now proceed to a full strike ballot.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: The proposed changes are damaging and destroying any remaining goodwill staff had.

Downing tools: Trade union Unite said 87 per cent of members at the Financial Conduct Authority backed industrial action, and said it can now proceed to a full strike ballot

'The new chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, should be waging war on malpractice in the financial sector, not on his own staff.

Members are unhappy with changes introduced as part of an overhaul of pay bands.

The watchdog said the rules will see a rise for those on the lowest pay but the union says overall pay levels have fallen.

Mr Rathi has dismissed concerns raised as noise, adding changes would actually improve staff performance.

The FCA said: Under the proposals, most colleagues will receive base salary rises of at least 5 per cent this year and 4 per cent next.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.63 per cent or 47.22 points at 7,583.00 this afternoon. The FTSE 250 index finished up 0.37 per cent or 81.46 points at 22,249.40.

Aristocrat Leisure's bid for gambling software company Playtech fell through today after the British company's shareholders rejected the 2.1billion offer.

Australian gaming company Aristocrat had needed approval from 75 per cent of Playtech shareholders at today's meeting, but fewer than 55 per cent of votes were cast in favour of the deal.

Vodafone is on track to meet its full-year guidance after reporting a 2.7 per cent rise in third-quarter group service revenue, with growth in both Europe and Africa.

The company, which has activist Cevian Capital as a new investor, said it was committed to creating value for our shareholders through proactive portfolio actions and continuing to improve returns at pace.

Sexual harassment, bullying and racism are rife at Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, a blistering new report has revealed.

An independent inquiry has found that 21 women working for Rio Tinto have reported rape, attempted rape or sexual assault in the past five years.

>If you are using our app or a third-party site click here to read Business Live
Severn Trent said it was on track to invest over 500million in a programme to improve river quality, after Britain's Environment Agency fined it for illegal sewage discharges into watercourses in December.

The FTSE 100-listed water group added that its outlook for the current financial year remained unchanged.

Coventry-based Severn said 90 per cent of its customer outcome delivery incentives measures remained on or ahead of target. It has guided to deliver at least 75million in customer outcome delivery incentives rewards this year.

Scheme: Severn Trent said it was on track to invest over 500m in a programme to improve river quality

In December, Severn Trent was fined 1.5million by the Environment Agency for illegal sewage discharges following a major investigation into sewage treatment in November.

Severn Trent, one of the biggest listed water firms in the country, has been fined for discharges from four sewage treatment works in Worcestershire between February and August 2018.

The agency and water regulator Ofwat last month launched an investigation into sewage treatment after water companies admitted they could be releasing unpermitted sewage discharges into rivers and watercourses.

The watchdog said in December: 'The court heard how the company failed to respond to alarms warning of a blockage, failed to adequately manage sewage sludge, and failed to adequately manage a situation when a piece of equipment failed.'

Severn Trent, which brought forward its time target of implementing actions to improve river quality by 16 years following the investigation, said it accepted the court's findings.

In December, Severn Trent said: 'These were historic issues that occurred in 2018 and we self-reported them to the Environment Agency at the time.'

Thames Water was fined 4million in November for discharging an estimated half a million litres of raw sewage.

Shares in Severn Trent rose in early morning trading and are currently up 1.10 per cent or 32.00p to 2,935.00p.

Severn Trent will release its annual results on 25 May.
The wait is finally over. We today reveal the winner of Money Mail's 2021 Wooden Spoon Award for rotten customer service is... British Gas HomeCare.

We relaunched our awards in December after service levels plummeted to new lows during the pandemic.

And the unprecedented number of entries we received gives a good indication of just how fed up you are.

Unsatisfied customers: British Gas Homecare romped to an easy victory in our Wooden Spoon Awards with a huge 20% of the total vote

You selected the unfortunate victor  which received a fifth of all votes  from a shortlist of ten firms that dominated our postbag last year.

Here we reveal the full results, and what the boss of Centrica, which owns British Gas, had to say about scooping the dreaded prize...

Shocking delays

We presented the pitiful trophy to a disappointed and apologetic Chris O'Shea, chief executive of Centrica, last Wednesday.

Dressed casually in a royal blue hoodie, he looks relaxed as he speaks to me via video call from his home near Reading. But when I hold up the cringe-worthy award, he grimaces. 'Hmmm, thank you,' he mutters.

Around 3.4million policyholders pay for insurance with British Gas to cover the cost of boiler repairs and annual services. For a little extra each month, they can also protect their home electrics, drains and plumbing.

The adverts promise 'peace of mind', yet scores of readers say they were abandoned last year and left without heating or hot water for weeks.

Bill Palmer, 70, was told he would have to wait eight weeks to get his boiler fixed despite paying 368 last year for cover. The grandfather, from Redhill, Surrey, ended up paying a local tradesman 85 to do the job sooner.

Disappointed: Chris O'Shea - the boss of Britsh Gas Homecare's parent company Centrica

Mr O'Shea  who takes home 775,000 a year before benefits, bonuses and shares  is in complete agreement that this is unacceptable. 'You cannot wait that long with no heating and hot water. This has fallen through gaps in the system,' he says.

He adds that he'd like problems to be resolved in three days, but the firm is not there yet.

Engineers failing to turn up as promised was another common complaint. Valerie Broom, 82, from Bristol, has now cancelled her 423-a-year policy after her boiler services were repeatedly cancelled at short notice.

For Mr O'Shea, nothing frustrates him more than this.

Like most firms, British Gas has been hit by more staff absences due to Covid, which meant engineers could not attend all customer appointments, while strikes have caused further delays.

'But what you have to do is tell them,' the Centrica boss says in an exasperated tone. He adds that a new system to help engineers see more customers in a day should be in place by next winter.

Long call wait times are another major bugbear among readers.

Heather Stapleton, 80, from Devon, says she couldn't get through on the phone to report a boiler fault last year and was directed to a chat service instead.

Heather, whose husband suffers from Alzheimer's, says: 'Life can be pretty stressful and to be unable to pick up a phone and speak quickly to someone to get a problem solved is maddening beyond belief.'

The average wait time has come down to around four minutes, with the maximum nearly 11 minutes  but the firm hopes to improve these further. Just under 98 per cent of emergency visits are now completed within 24 hours.

Peace of mind: Around 3.4 million policyholders pay for insurance with British Gas to cover the cost of boiler repairs and annual services

Unfair prices

Mr O'Shea openly admits that customer service has declined in recent years  something he is 'really unhappy about'. He's aware customer numbers have fallen too.

Many experts believe getting staff back to the office would go a long way to improving service levels. At home, internet connections can be patchy and managers are not on hand to help with serious complaints.

Yet Mr O'Shea, appointed chief executive in 2020, has no intention of making his workers return to the office five days a week  and as a 'do as I do, not as I say' man, neither will he.

'Before lockdown, you opened your call centres and needed all the infrastructure to be there. Now you plug into your laptop at home and it all works as long as you have broadband,' he says.

'We're learning a lot. When it works it's brilliant, but when it doesn't it's a nightmare,' he adds.

Readers also complain about unfair prices, with loyal customers often charged hundreds of pounds more than new policyholders.

The firm is now making changes to its pricing and introduced a no-claims discount for some customers last year. Those with newer boilers could also be rewarded with lower prices as they are less likely to break down.

Official figures show complaints about British Gas Service Ltd hit 191,414 in the first half of last year  more than double the 69,665 recorded in the first half of 2020.

Around 99 per cent were upheld in favour of the customer, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service also rose.

Mr O'Shea, says he gets a weekly report on complaints, and personally responds to every person who emails him direct.

He receives around 15 to 20 a day in winter. He waves a headset at me, and tells me he spent an hour that morning taking customer calls  something he does at least once a month.

'The great thing about taking customer calls is that you see just what a difference you make when you get it right  and the stress you cause when you get it wrong.'

When I ask him what he would like to say to readers who feel so let down, his face falls. 'We've identified where the issues are. I can't fix them overnight but we will fix them,' he says. 'Our customers are the most important thing. I'm sorry and trust us that we'll improve.'

If you're still in any doubt, try calling  he could be the one who answers.

v.bischoff@dailymail.co.uk
Advertisement

New Covid cases in the UK fell today after a brief blip earlier in the week  as it emerged ministers are looking to scrap the daily virus statistics in April.

There were 88,085 more positive coronavirus tests recorded across the country in the last 24 hours, Government dashboard data shows, down nearly 14 per cent in a week.

It follows a two-day spell in which cases had risen week-on-week after officials began counting reinfections in England in the tally.

A technical error means Scotland's cases have not been counted today, but even with their inclusion the UK total would likely be down on last Wednesday. Scotland has been reporting 2,800 cases on average this week.

There were also 534 Covid deaths reported today  technically a 54 per cent increase in a week.

But looking at fatalities by date of death  rather than date reported  shows the number of people actually dying each day has been falling for over a week.

No new hospital figures were published today but daily Covid admissions across Britain have been dropping for more than a fortnight.

The new batch of figures came after it was reported they will be dropped in April under the Government's plan to live with the virus like the flu.

Boris Johnson has already laid out his intention to scrap all remaining Covid laws  including the legal requirement for infected people to self-isolate  by March 24.

Experts today hailed the rumoured move, arguing the Government should also push forward plans to end mass testing. Free lateral flows are not expected to be ditched until July.

Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline 'we have to stop producing the daily stats' at some point.

He claimed April was a 'reasonable' time to push ahead with the move, which was leaked to the i newspaper.

The Government source said that the Prime Minister himself has 'pencilled in Easter as the latest date by which the daily Covid statistics will be published in their current form'.

Lockdowns only reduced Covid deaths by 0.2% at 'enormous economic and social costs', study finds The original coronavirus lockdowns had 'little to no' effect on pandemic death tolls in the US, UK and Europe, a controversial report suggests. Economists who carried out a meta-analysis found draconian restrictions imposed in spring 2020  including stay-at-home orders, compulsory masks and social distancing  only reduced Covid mortality by 0.2 per cent. They warned that lockdowns caused 'enormous economic and social costs' and concluded they were 'ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument' going forward. The review, led by a Johns Hopkins University professor, argued that border closures had virtually zero effect on Covid mortality, reducing deaths by just 0.1 per cent. However, closing nonessential shops was found to be the most effective intervention, leading to a 10.6 per cent drop in virus fatalities. Their report, which has not been peer-reviewed, said that this was probably due to shutting pubs and restaurants where alcohol is consumed. School closures were linked to a smaller 4.4 per cent decrease. The researchers  who deal in the field of economics, rather than medicine or public health  originally identified 18,590 global studies into lockdowns, which they claim had to be whittled down to just 24 to answer their research question. Critics have accused them of 'cherry-picking' studies to suit their narrative and have raised doubts about the biases of its authors, who have been vocal about lockdowns and vaccine mandates on social media. Most scientists believe that, before the arrival of vaccines and antivirals, lockdowns had a significant effect on cutting transmission and therefore reducing the number of hospital admissions and deaths caused by Covid. Advertisement

'In an ideal situation, he (Mr Johnson) will bring an end to them sooner if the current downward trend in deaths continues,' the insider added.

'Ending the daily Covid death toll is part of the Prime Ministers strategy of living with Covid. It is hoped taking the focus away from the Covid figures will also help people move on with their lives.'

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Department of Health and Social Care both declined to comment. Scientists have repeatedly called for an end to the daily updates since the Omicron wave took off.

The link between infections and severe disease has been severed too much to justify keeping a ticking count of every case in the country, they say.

Professor Hunter told MailOnline: 'At some point we have to stop producing the daily stats.' He said the 'large majority' of experts have known for years the coronavirus won't be going away, with most also believing it will evolve into a common cold.

Professor Hunter said: 'If anything the evidence that this is the case is stronger now than it was back then.'

He warned it may be too early to scrap the counts now because of high infections and the emergence of the BA.2 variant, but by April weekly counts like with flu are likely to be 'appropriate'.

The epidemiologist said: 'April may well be a reasonable time to stop but clearly a lot can happen before then. Any final decision should be taken closer to the time when we can see what is happening at that point.

'Also at that point, we should also consider whether the large scale testing of asymptomatic individuals is still worthwhile.

'My view is that is probably wont be worthwhile and we should then stop large scale testing.

'We still need to be able to offer testing to people who are clearly ill and so a move more towards what we now do for influenza seems appropriate.'

He suggested the weekly reporting of cases, deaths and hospitalisations as with flu 'would be the way forward'.

Professor David Livermore, a medical microbiologist at UEA, agreed April would be the right time to ditch the stats and mass testing.

He told MailOnline: 'It is the right thing to do: daily case statistics and mass testing both need to be wound down.

'The virus has mutated to a milder form, and there is substantial population immunity from recent infection and vaccination.

'Consequently, the infection fatality rate is now little different from that of flu, and we dont obsess over daily case rates for that, even in a bad winter.'

He said the only updates needed going forward are background surveillance like the Royal College of GPs Respiratory Infections Surveillance study.

It comes after MailOnline analysis yesterday revealed Covid's fatality rate is actually lower than thought.

Mortality rates from the virus are up to 30 times lower now than during the second wave, thanks to the build-up of natural immunity, a hugely successful vaccination drive and the milder nature of Omicron.

But the proportion of infected people who end up dying has fallen by another 10 per cent after the inclusion of nearly 600,000 reinfections, data suggests.

Just 0.23 per cent of all confirmed cases led to deaths in England before the long-awaited addition of reinfections, UK Health Security Agency statistics suggest. However, the rate for exactly the same time period  which relates to mid-January  has now dropped to 0.21 per cent because of the addition of extra cases.

This is still slightly above flu, which has a case-fatality rate of around 0.1 per cent. But some experts claim the two figures are very similar, even if coronavirus is much more transmissible.

Meanwhile, a controversial report found the original coronavirus lockdowns had 'little to no' effect on pandemic death tolls in the US, UK and Europe.

A new report led by a Johns Hopkins University economist found that overall, lockdowns reduced Covid mortality in the US and Europe - including Britain - by just 0.2 per cent. Looking at stay-at-home orders directly, they were slightly more effective at 2.9 per cent. closing nonessential shops was the most effective intervention, leading to a 10.6 per cent drop in virus fatalities. The report, which has not been peer-reviewed, said that this was probably due to shutting pubs and restaurants where alcohol is consumed. School closures were linked to a smaller 4.4 per cent decrease

Above shows the top 10 countries with the highest Covid death rates, followed by the US, UK Canada, Australia and New Zealand for comparison

Daily Covid deaths in some of the West's major economies: the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Germany

Economists who carried out a meta-analysis found draconian restrictions imposed in spring 2020  including stay-at-home orders, compulsory masks and social distancing  only reduced Covid mortality by 0.2 per cent.

They warned that lockdowns caused 'enormous economic and social costs' and concluded they were 'ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument' going forward.

The review, led by a Johns Hopkins University professor, argued that border closures had virtually zero effect on Covid mortality, reducing deaths by just 0.1 per cent.

However, closing nonessential shops was found to be the most effective intervention, leading to a 10.6 per cent drop in virus fatalities.

Their report, which has not been peer-reviewed, said that this was probably due to shutting pubs and restaurants where alcohol is consumed. School closures were linked to a smaller 4.4 per cent decrease.

The researchers  who deal in the field of economics, rather than medicine or public health  originally identified 18,590 global studies into lockdowns, which they claim had to be whittled down to just 24 to answer their research question.

Critics have accused them of 'cherry-picking' studies to suit their narrative and have raised doubts about the biases of its authors, who have been vocal about lockdowns and vaccine mandates on social media.

Most scientists believe that, before the arrival of vaccines and antivirals, lockdowns had a significant effect on cutting transmission and therefore reducing the number of hospital admissions and deaths caused by Covid.
Barnaby Joyce has fired an angry shot at the Coalition colleague who leaked an alleged text message exchange branding Scott Morrison as a 'complete psycho' and a 'horrible, horrible person', warning it won't be long before the culprit is revealed.

The Prime Minister was ambushed by bombshell revelations from journalist Peter van Onselen on live television shortly after finishing his keynote speech to the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday.

The Network Ten political editor read out text messages allegedly between former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and a senior Liberal figure slamming Mr Morrison, leaving the stunned Prime Minister lost for words.

Deputy Prime Minister Mr Joyce labelled the Liberal colleague who leaked the alleged texts a 'flea' and 'clown' as the latest political saga continued to dominate headlines on Wednesday.

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (left) labelled Scott Morrison (right) as 'a horrible, horrible person' in alleged texts leaked this week

He believes it won't be long before the culprit who leaked the alleged texts is revealed.

'They're really clever, they're a real Einstein,' Mr Joyce told 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham.

'There are three people who know about this message, the former premier of NSW, themselves, and the media  oh hang on, did I say three? I meant 3000.

'It's about one dinner and two bottles of red wine before the whole world knows about it.

'Then people are just going to look at you and say 'you clown'!'

It's unclear whether the senior Liberal figure involved in the alleged text exchange with Ms Berejiklian is from state or federal level.

Barnaby Joyce (pictured) has slammed the Coalition party colleague who leaked the texts

Mr Joyce can't understand why someone within the Liberal party would leak the alleged texts with a federal election looming.

'This person has got their pom-poms out and is dancing a jig waiting for Mr Albanese, Penny Wong and The Greens to come and run the country,' he said.

'I know politics is not an astrological Nimbin Nirvarna type event. It's high pressure, there's a lot of steam in it, it's natural enough you've got people who get along and not.'

'But your bigger issue is looking after the nation, that's the big one.'

'If you're not getting along with the boss, just think about the bigger issue of making sure the nation is in a strong, safe place.'

Mr Joyce accused the culprit of playing games with the public as he issued one final brutal shot.

'The Australian people say 'I want my nation protected. I want my nation defended,' he said.

'I want my credit rating to be strong. I want my kids to get a job. I want you to show me a vision. I want you to build railways, dams and roads.'

'I don't give a stuff about your soap opera you flea!'

Fordham described the 'grubby tactics' as a gutless attack on the Prime Minister.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean - a close political ally of Ms Berejiklian was forced to deny that he leaked the messages to van Onselen when he later spoke on Fordham's program.

Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen confronted the PM on live TV with the series of incendiary text messages savaging Scott Morrison that he said were between Gladys Berejiklian (pictured here with the PM) and a current Liberal minister

'Was it you?' the breakfast radio host asked.

Mr Kean replied: 'I played no part in the ambush on the Prime Minister. It was not me.'

When asked again by Fordham if he was Peter Van Onselen's source, Kean responded saying: 'I don't believe so'

The Prime Minister was taking questions from the media after his keynote speech when Mr van Onselen confronted him with the incendiary text messages.

'I've got them right here,' he told Mr Morrison.

'In one, she described you as, quote, 'a horrible, horrible person', going on to say she did not trust you, and you're more concerned with politics than people.

'The minister is even more scathing, describing you as a fraud and, quote, 'a complete psycho'.

'Does this exchange surprise you?' asked van Onselen. 'And what do you think it tells us?'

The Prime Minister was left almost speechless, blinking in shock by the surprise attack, before replying curtly and moving on to the next question.

'Well, I don't know who you're referring to, or the basis of what you've put to me,' he said. 'But I obviously don't agree with it. And I don't think that's my record.'

In a statement released several hours later, Ms Berejiklian said she had 'no recollection' of the remarks, but didn't deny they were said.

'I understand there has been some commentary today concerning myself and the PM. I have no recollection of such messages,' she said.

'Let me reiterate my very strong support for Prime Minister Morrison and all he is doing for our nation during these very challenging times.

'I also strongly believe he is the best person to lead our nation for years to come.'
A sophomore who just transferred to a Minnesota school was shot dead and another student was wounded in a brazen shooting outside the school during lunch time on Tuesday.

Jahmari Rice was gunned down on his second day at South Education Center in Richfield, about 10 miles from Minneapolis. The teen's father, Cortez Rice, is currently in jail after he allegedly tried to intimidate the judge presiding over the high-profile manslaughter conviction of former cop Kim Potter.

Police have not identified the second shooting victim as they hunt for the suspects. They also have not said whether the shooting has any connection to Potter's case, who was convicted of manslaughter after killing Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.

Shots were fired around noon near the front entrance of South Education Center, an alternative school in serving students ages preschool to 21.

Officers said the victims were shot while standing on the sidewalk.

The suspects fled the scene immediately and remain at large, Richfield Police Chief Jay Henthorne confirmed to the StarTribune.

'The incident remains under active investigation, and law enforcement is searching for the suspects,' he said.

It is not immediately clear what prompted the shooting or whether the students were targeted.

Paramedics transported the students to nearby Hennepin County Medical Center where Rice died.

Damik Bryant, a close family friend, confirmed his death to the newspaper and described the teen as 'happy, funny' and someone who enjoyed playing video games.

The other victim is said to be in critical condition.

High schooler Jahmari Rice was killed in Tuesday's shooting. It was his second day attending school at South Education Center

Police are searching for suspects who killed one student and left another critically wounded in a shooting outside a Minnesota high school

The shooting took place just after noon Tuesday on the sidewalk outside South Education Center, an alternative school in Richfield serving students from preschool to age 21

When police responded to the school, they found two students wounded on the sidewalk outside the facility's front entrance. One had been shot in the chest.

The 200-student facility was placed under a 'hard lockdown' and evacuated as police, the FBI and other authorities searched for the gunmen.

As a precaution, other schools in the area were also placed on lockdown that was later lifted, NBC News reported.

Tuesday was Rice's second day at South Education Center, according to the football coach at Richfield High School, where the teen previously attended.

Rice had played on Richfield's team as a freshman and this past season as a sophomore.

'When he had things going, he was very intense, a very positive kid,' Richfield head coach Kris Pulford told the StarTribune.

'He stood up for his buddies, and he loved the game of football.'

The teen reportedly transferred to South Education Center so 'he could find a place where he can be successful.'

'Jahmari had heart. He was a good kid,' Pulford added.

He transferred to the school from Richfield High School, where he played football. The sophomore was reportedly trying to 'find a place where he can be successful'

Cortez Rice (pictured) is currently in jail after he allegedly tried to intimidate the judge presiding over the high-profile manslaughter conviction of former cop Kim Potter

Tuesday's shooting is another string of fatal incidents that have rocked the greater Minneapolis area.

Rice was shot in Richfield, which is located about seven miles from the large metropolis.

Wright, 20, was fatally shot in April 2021 during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center - approximately 17 miles from Richfield - as Potter and other officers were trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for a weapons possession charge.

Potter, who is white, was convicted in December of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter.

Jahmari Rice father is currently in jail on charges related to attempting to intimidate the judge who presided over ex-cop Kim Potter's trial.

She claims she confused her handgun for her Taser when she shot and killed Wright, who is black. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 18.

Cortez Rice faces felony harassment charges after he allegedly attempted to threaten Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu, who was presiding over Potter's case.

He is accused of leading a protest at what he believed to be Chu's apartment and broadcasting it live on Facebook, CBS 4 reported. The judge believed she was being targeted and the protestors had the 'intention to intimidate her and interfere with the judicial process'.

Cortez Rice denies the intimidation and harassment accusations.

A hearing has been scheduled in his case and his attorney, Jordan Kushner, plans to push that he be released as prosecution continues.

'He should be able to go home from jail,' Kushner said. 'His son is killed. ... He would have been taking care of him.'

Bryant, the Rice family friend, hopes Rice's death 'wakes the city up.'

'We need change,' he said. 'We're out here fighting for the community, and the community takes Cortez's son. That makes no sense.'

Cortez Rice left, of Minneapolis, sat in the middle of Hennepin Avenue on March 7, 2021 to mourn the death of George Floyd

Paramedics transported the students to nearby Hennepin County Medical Center where one of them died. The other remains in critical condition

The suspects fled the scene immediately and remain at large

The community is mourning the tragedy.

The police chief called it a 'tragic day in Richfield' and said their 'hearts and prayers and thoughts go out to District 287 students, their families and their community.'

'It is with an exceedingly heavy heart that we learned earlier today there were shots fired outside of the South Education Center near the front entrance,' echoed District 287 Superintendent Sandra Lewandowski.

'We expressed our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.'

Lewandowski also called the shooting a 'terrible tragedy and loss' and argued the district will do everything it can to support the academic community.

'There are no words to describe the bravery exhibited by our staff and local authorities today. No one should ever have to respond to a tragedy like this,' she added.

Police Chief Jay Hentorne (pictured) called it a 'tragic day in Richfield' and said their 'hearts and prayers and thoughts go out to District 287 students, their families and their community'

Law enforcement members are pictured at the scene of a shooting outside South Education Center in Richfield

South Education Center Academy students and local activists participate in a candlelight vigil for the victims of Tuesday's shooting

South Education Center had also been placed under lockdown last September when a student was arrested after bringing a loaded handgun to school in their backpack. The student did not threaten anyone or use the weapon.

At the time, district spokeswoman Rachel Hicks said the incident 'was handled swiftly.'

Hicks also noted how the school, which serves 11 cities in the west metro area, had phased out metal detectors and no longer had them at building entrances.

Additionally, the district recently removed all school resource officers from its facilities. The schools instead have student safety coaches that focus on building relationships and working on mental health issues.
A heartbroken family shared the memories of their 'beautiful' son after he was killed in a freak accident while opening a farm gate.

Kyan Pennell, 12, was helping his father, Ian Pennell, on their property in Mary Valley, 169km north of Brisbane, about midday on Monday when he was crushed.

The Pennell family moved to the Gympie region two years earlier with the hope of living a quiet, country life.

Kyan Pennell (above), 12, had been closing a gate for his father, Ian Pennell, on their property in Mary Valley, 169km north of Brisbane, around midday on Monday when he was crushed

Kyan got out of his father's car to open the gate at the steep property entrance on Chinaman's Creek Road.

As Mr Pennell drove through the gate it partially closed, trapping Kyan between the car's trailer and the gate.

Police said Mr Pennell heard a 'bang' and a 'yell' which sent him, Kyan's little sister, his mother, and a neighbour running to help.

However, Kyan did not survive his severe injuries despite the efforts of paramedics.

Mr Pennell shared a heartbreaking tribute to his lost son in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

'As many may already know Amanda, Lauryn and I lost our beautiful, creative, quirky, smart, talented, funny, animal-loving son/brother Kyan yesterday in a freak accident,' he wrote.

Police said Ian Pennell (top left) heard a 'bang' and a 'yell' which sent him, Kyan's little sister (bottom left), his mother (top right), and a neighbour running to help (Kyan bottom right)

'Just wanted to thank everyone for their heartfelt messages of love and support.

'Also special thanks to the amazing flight doctors, paramedics, police personal and our neighbours who fought for over an hour in an attempt to save him. His injuries were simply too great.

'I know many will have questions and in time I will answer any personal messages. We will notify funeral arrangements when we have it organised.'

Several friends and family members commented on the post to leave their messages of support for the family.

'I'm so deeply sorry for you all. I have very fond memories of you all and making up Haikus at the lake in Greece with Kyan is a great one,' one person wrote.

'He was a remarkable young man and a pleasure to be around  mature beyond his years. Again, words can never express my deepest sympathies.'

'My heart breaks for you all. Such an amazing soul Kyan was. And u both such amazing parents. Prayers go out to u (sic) all,' another said.

'So many broken hearts for this wee man, made harder with closed borders still. The talent this kid had for music was unbelievable, certainly not from our side of the family, that was all Amanda. We will miss you so much Ky Xxx,' a family member wrote.

Kyan's grade five teacher from from Gympie Central School, Kerri Groves, in 2020 also shared a touching message.

'It is a beautiful family. They are just lovely people and devoted parents. They moved from Sydney to the country for Kyan. He was such a sweetie,' she said.

A study by the University of Sydney in July 2021 found 15 children under 15 die on farms each year with many more receiving serious injuries requiring hospitalisation.

Children under 14 made up 15 per cent of all farm deaths.
Ray Hadley has told Scott Morrison he felt sorry for him after a journalist ambushed the prime minister with texts where former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian allegedly called him a 'horrible, horrible' person.

Hadley told Mr Morrison his treatment by the Canberra press gallery on Tuesday was 'shoddy'.

The press conference came to a head when Ten News journalist Peter Van Onselen confronted the Australian leader with texts allegedly sent between Ms Berejiklian and a senior federal cabinet minister.

'I dont often feel sorry for people, I felt a bit sorry for you yesterday,' Hadley said on his 2GB radio show on Wednesday.

'Some of the questioning you were subjected to was in a manner to embarrass you and cause you as much pain as they possibly could.'

The prime minister said he didn't care about the 'scuttlebutt' rumours and was focused more on keeping Australians in jobs.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Tuesday's National Press Club in Canberra. He was confronted with texts allegedly involving former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian which called him a 'horrible, horrible person'

'What scuttlebutt goes around really doesnt distract me, all youve got to do is look at someones Twitter feed and you can see more bile that comes through,' he said.

'As long as you keep focusing on the things that matter, thats all Australians expect of us.'

Mr Morrison said the questioning at Tuesday's National Press Club event was 'brutal', but admitted it came with his position.

'Im happy to face the music, Ive been doing it all throughout my political life,' he said.

'It was pretty brutal yesterday but I thought it would be, frankly. If theyre prepared to provide the same blowtorch to [Labor leader] Anthony Albanese then fair enough, thats a matter for them.'

Mr Morrison earlier on Wednesday morning took a swipe at Van Onselen - who the prime minister said was 'facing his own questions'.

'There is still someone out there trying to do you in,' Today host Allison Langdon asked the Australian leader. 'It doesn't get a greater betrayal than that, does it?'

'The journalist who raised it is facing his own questions,' Mr Morrison replied. 'There were no details or context behind [Van Onselen's question] and it was done for sensationalist purposes.'

Mr Morrison's comments were a barely veiled dig at Van Onselen being named in a lawsuit brought by his ex-Ten colleague Tegan George which claims The Project political guru wrote 'humiliating' and 'belittling' messages to her.

Hadley pictured with his wife Sophie Baird. He told Mr Morrison his treatment by the Canberra press gallery on Tuesday was 'shoddy' and intended to cause 'as much pain as they possibly could'

Ten News journalist Peter van Onselen (pictured) confronted the PM with a series of incendiary text messages allegedly sent between former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed federal cabinet minister

Court documents were filed in the Federal Court on Monday naming Ten as the respondent and alleging it had engaged in unlawful conduct breaching the Fair Work Act.

It comes as NSW Treasurer Matt Kean - a close political ally of Ms Berejiklian - was forced to deny that he leaked the messages to van Onselen. When asked if he was the source of the messages, he said: 'I don't believe so'.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has hit back at Peter van Onselen after the journalist confronted the Australian leader with text exchanges allegedly involving former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian which called him 'horrible'

'Was it you?' 2GB host Ben Fordham asked Mr Kean.

'I played no part in the ambush on the Prime Minister. It was not me,' he responded.

When asked again by Fordham if he was Peter Van Onselen's source, Kean responded saying: 'I don't believe so'.

The alleged texts were sent between Ms Berejiklian and a federal cabinet minister, Van Onselen told Listnr radio on Wednesday.

The journalist on Tuesday blindsided Mr Morrison with a series of text messages allegedly sent between Ms Berejiklian and an unnamed cabinet minister.

Ms Berejiklian allegedly described the PM as a 'horrible, horrible person' who is 'more concerned with politics than people'

Ms Berejiklian allegedly described the PM as a 'horrible, horrible person' who is 'more concerned with politics than people' - and the minister allegedly replied saying he was a fraud and a 'complete psycho'.

Mr Morrison was left stunned by the allegations and blinked rapidly before meekly replying: 'Well I don't know who you're referring to, or the basis of what you've put to me. But I obviously don't agree with it and I don't think that is my record.'

Meanwhile, Mr Morrison was asked if the text exchange 'hurt' by Sunrise host Natalie Barr.

'No one cares if the prime minister's feelings get hurt. It doesn't matter. People say nasty things about you as Prime Minister all the time, it goes with the job.'

The minister allegedly replied saying the prime minister was a fraud and a 'complete psycho'

Ms Berejiklian has said she had no recollection of the text exchange taking place.

'Let me reiterate my very strong support for Prime Minister Morrison and all he is doing for our nation during these very challenging times,' she said.

'I also strongly believe he is the best person to lead our nation for years to come.'

After a heated discussion where the prime minister was confronted for not knowing the price of a loaf of bread, milk and a rapid antigen test, he took a crack at the Sunrise host.

'Enjoy your almond latte,' Morrison said to Kochie.

'The journalist who raised it are facing his own questions,' Mr Morrison said on Wednesday morning. 'There were no details or context behind [Van Onselen's question] and it was done for sensationalist purposes.'

Kochie responded saying: 'For the record, I'm rye bread, at $5 a loaf, Burgen. What about you - are you a sourdough or a multigrain?'

Morrison quipped back: 'I'm just normal white bread taste, that's me.'

Mr Morrison had fronted the press gallery on Tuesday hoping to reset his campaign and turn around recent polling which has placed him 12 points behind Labor, but instead found himself fielding an onslaught of pointed questioning.

Project host Waleed Aly said the barrage was the moment the prime minister realised could be in serious trouble in the upcoming federal election.

Waleed Aly (pictured with Carrie Bickmore) said the prime minister's Press Club address is a clear indication Mr Morrison in in trouble before the federal election

'I think what's significant about it, though, beyond that particular exchange, is just the tone of that Press Club address,' Aly said.

'It was extraordinary to see this kind of... coordinated is not the right word but almost this consensus across the press gallery that they were going to go for it.

'It doesn't happen unless a Prime Minister is in real trouble.

'I think maybe this was the day the press gallery called the election and said: "You are not going to win this, we think you're going".

'It doesn't mean they'll be right, by the way, they probably thought that in 2019.'
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced Tuesday evening that he tested positive for COVID-19.

The 82-year-old lieutenant to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement he was experiencing 'mild symptoms,' though was vaccinated and boosted.

'In line with CDC guidelines and guidance from the Office of the Attending Physician, I will be working from home this week during my isolation period, and in order to protect the safety of other Members, staff, employees, and visitors to the Capitol, I will utilize proxy voting,' Hoyer said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced Tuesday evening that he tested positive for COVID-19

Hoyer said he was experiencing mild syptoms and was vaccinated and boosted

The Maryland Democrat also expressed thanks to the 'researchers, scientists, and medical experts who worked hard to develop the COVID-19 vaccines and to all the extraordinary public health workers and volunteers in our communities who have tirelessly worked to get shots into arms.'

Hoyer is the 20th member of the House of Representatives to come down with COVID since the beginning of the year.

Four senators have been infected since January 1.

And in December, 11 House members were infected, along with three senators.

Capitol Hill saw a widespread outbreak as the Omicron variant surged - and at one point Washington, D.C. was the country's epicenter.

Pelosi has continued to allow members to vote by proxy - asking another House member to announce their vote - and has insisted on mask-wearing on the House floor.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has tried to do away with proxy voting, however the Supreme Court ruled against him last week, declining to take up a challenge to the Democrat-controlled House's pandemic rules.

Hoyer has served in Congress for nearly 41 years, representing a Maryland district that includes suburban Washington, D.C. and the western side of the Chesapeake Bay coast.
Two unarmed campus officers were shot and killed at a private college in Virginia on Tuesday - allegedly by a former track star at the liberal arts school who reportedly was carrying weapons on school grounds.

John Painter, 55, and J.J. Jefferson, 48, were gunned down after confronting a suspicious man stalking near Memorial Hall on the campus of the small college in the Shenandoah Valley at 1:20 p.m.

When the campus cops arrived, there was a brief interaction and the suspect opened fire, fatally shooting both officers, officials said.

The suspected shooter was identified as Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, who fled the scene before being hunted down at a nearby waterway about 40 minutes later.

Multiple firearms allegedly belonging to Campbell were recovered, with weapons found both on and off campus, officials said.

A news photographer captured Campbell being arrested, laying face-down on the ground as more than a half-dozen law enforcement officers approached with guns drawn.

Campbell had waded through the North River and onto an island where he was found with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and arrested, Virginia State Police said at the press conference Tuesday night.

Authorities were still working to determine if Campbell was shot by police or whether he shot himself.

He is charged with two counts of capital murder, one count of first-degree murder and one count of using a firearm in commission of felony.

Campbell is being held at the Rockingham County Jail without bond. A motive remains unclear.

Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, was taken into custody at around 1:55 p.m., Virginia State Police said Tuesday following the fatal shooting of two officers at Bridgewater College. Pictured is the suspect lying face-down on the ground as more than a half-dozen law enforcement officers approached with guns drawn

Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, is charged with two counts of capital murder, one count of first-degree murder and one count of using a firearm in commission of felony

The two officers shot and killed Tuesday were identified as Campus Police Officer John Painter (left) and Campus Safety Officer J.J. Jefferson (right), who were described as a 'dynamic duo'

John (left) was J.J.'s best man in his wedding this year, Bridgewater College President David Bushman said of the two officers fatally shot on campus Tuesday. 'They were beloved by students, faculty and staff. I hurt for their families and loved ones, as I know we all do'

Alexander Wyatt Campbell 'was once a stand-out on Bridgewater's track team'

'This is a sad and dark day for Bridgewater College,' President David Bushman said in a statement. 'They were shot and killed on campus while protecting us.'

Bushman described the pair as a 'dynamic duo' who were close friends.

'John was J.J.'s best man in his wedding this year,' he said. 'They were beloved by students, faculty and staff. I hurt for their families and loved ones, as I know we all do.'

Painter joined the campus department in May 2019 after retiring as chief of Grottoes, Virginia Police Department. Jefferson joined the department as a campus safety officer in August 2018.

The shocking incident at the school on bucolic campus located about 125 miles northwest of Richmond sent the school into a lockdown.

Bridgewater College officials sent out a tweet warning students and faculty about a shooter on campus and a lockdown was put in place.

'Reports of active shooter on campus,' one of the tweets said. 'Shelter in place.'

State and local law enforcement immediately responded and initiated a massive search operation for the suspect.

Suspect apprehended in active shooting on @BridgewaterNews campus. #VSP is on scene & investigating this incident that resulted in a Campus Law Enforcement Officer and Campus Safety Officer both being shot. pic.twitter.com/6yBjpt3QRB  VA State Police (@VSPPIO) February 1, 2022

The college tweeted that a suspect was in custody, writing, 'An individual is in police custody. Situation is still ongoing. Continue to shelter where you are.'

The college gave the all-clear about 4:30 p.m. No other injuries were reported.

Curt Autry with NBC12 reported that Campbell, is an Ashland, Virginia native and was a former student 'who was once a stand-out on Bridgewater's track team.'

He added that Campbell 'ran track at Patrick Henry High School, and graduated there in 2013.'

Bridgewater College is a private liberal arts college. Historically affiliated with the Church of the Brethren, the school had an enrollment of about 1,500 full-time students in the fall of 2021, according to its website.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin tweeted that he had been briefed on the situation.

'I have been briefed on the situation at Bridgewater College,' he wrote. 'The shooter is in custody and state and local police are on the scene. I will continue to monitor the situation in conjunction with law enforcement.'

I have been briefed on the situation at Bridgewater College. The shooter is in custody and state and local police are on the scene. I will continue to monitor the situation in conjunction with law enforcement.  Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) February 1, 2022

At least nine different agencies responded, including the FBI, Virginia State police and campus police.

State police say the shooting is under investigation.

Bridgewater College's president said the school will be sharing more information very soon on grief counseling and other forms of support.

'Two members of the Bridgewater College family were senselessly and violently taken from us,' Bushman said. 'The sadness is palpable. Words are not adequate, not nearly so, to express the grief, sadness, fear and - justifiably - the anger we all feel.'

Police formed a perimeter on Airport Road south of the North River in Bridgewater, Virginia during a massive search for a suspected shooter after two officers were shot on campus at Bridgewater College earlier Tuesday

At least nine different agencies responded, including the FBI, Virginia State police and campus police

According to the state police, a man fitting the shooter's condition was located in the town of Bridgewater waded through a river and onto an island

Police were on the scene of a

Police block off College Street leading to Bridgewater College following a shooting on campus in Bridgewater. The suspected shooter was taken into custody at 1:55 p.m.
The distraught parents of a high-flying teenager who was allegedly murdered by her first ever boyfriend have revealed they won't be able to give her the farewell she deserved because her body was found so badly disfigured.

Aminah Hayat's remains were found inside the unit she shared with partner Meraj Zafar in North Parramatta, in Sydney's west, on Sunday.

Abu Hayat, 41, and his wife Mahafuzer Akter, 39, told Daily Mail Australia they were struggling to cope with the horrific way their daughter died - allegedly immersed in a bathtub full of hydrochloric acid.

They said they will not be able to see their 'daughter's beautiful face' before laying her to rest in Bangladeshi funeral tradition - because the only part of the teenager's body not destroyed was one of her feet.

'I cannot see the last moment of my daughter's face because of what was done,' Mr Hayat said.

Arnima's mother Mahafuza said: 'My beautiful daughter ... my daughter, so pretty, I cannot see my daughter's face.'

Mahafuza (left) revealed the heartbreaking reason she will not be able to properly lay to rest the remains of her daughter Arnima's (right) whose body was discovered in a full bath of hydrochloric acid in the flat she shared with her accused boyfriend

Arnima's devastated parents Abu ans Mahafuza (above at their Sydney home on Wednesday) have revealed their daughter's incredible life story before her tragic death aged 19

The parents of Arnima (left) say after Meraj Zafar (right) began dating their daughter she withdrew from them and that a clearly 'upset' 19-year-old she made a phone call to US relatives two weeks before her death

The teenager's uncle Abu Saleh said the family was 'waiting to see my niece's body (to get it back) from medical'.

Mr Saleh explained that in Bangladeshi tradition, it is customary for the family to see the face of the deceased after they are wrapped in a cloth shroud - and in a profound act of worship - the face is shown and the 'dua' or prayer is said before the person's body is placed into the grave.

Police allege Zafar, 20, murdered Arnima either on Saturday, January 29 or the next day. Officers responded to a triple-0 call at about 4.30pm on Sunday to Pennant Hills Road and made the grisly discovery inside the ground floor unit bathroom.

Arnima's family said they have been informed that it was Zafar's mother who called emergency services to the flat.

Just two weeks ago Arnima, a studious but fun-loving 'Aussie girl' who weekly took her parents out for sushi and pies until she ceased contact with them six months ago, rang relatives in the US sounding upset.

Arnima's parents Mahafuzu and Abu (above, outside their Lakemba home) said their daughter was 'an Aussie girl' who loved KFC, sushi and pies and took her family out every week until she met Zafar

Arnima scored more than 97 in her HSC at Tempe High School before going on to study medicine at the University of Western Sydney and told her parents (above with Arnima) she planned to become a surgeon

Arnima's parents Abu and Mahafuza (pictured together above) have revealed the incredible story of the talented teenager who arrvied as a 9-year-old migrant, blitzed her HSC and was training to be a surgeon

'She told her uncle that he (Zafar) drank alcohol, but she did not want to because she was studying medicine,' Mr Hayat said.

'She wanted to be a surgeon and save lives.'

Arnima's parents do not believe recent reports that their daughter had recently married Meraj Zafar.

The traumatised couple, who moved to Australia in 2009 when Arnima was nine years old, said Zafar had been Arnima's first boyfriend and had convinced her to distance herself from her family.

'And everyone, her girlfriends too she stopped seeing,' said Mr Hayat, who had an unpleasant confrontation with Zafar last year after the 'big man' began seeing his 'small, sweet, very pretty' daughter.

Arnima - who scored 97 in her HSC after arriving from Bangladesh as a nine-year-old - went from being a normal, sociable teenager who regularly told her family how much she loved them to being withdrawn.

Arnima's uncle (left), father Abu (centre) and mother Mahafuza (right) are devastated about her death and how they have been robbed of right to bury her in proper Bangladeshi manner

Arnima (above with her younger sister) loved music, driving, make-up, shopping for pretty clothes and eating out with her family every week before she met Meraj Zafar

The Hayats say that once Arnima met Zafar (above, the couple together) she began to withdraw and after a confrontation between him and her father all contact ceased

Arnima's shocked parents say police have told them their daughter's body was allegedly immersed in a full bath of hydrochloric acid whcih destroyed all but one foot

Mahafuza said her daughter 'loved movies, music, she liked driving and shopping and buying pretty clothes.'

'She loved make-up and she liked taking photos and selfies and videos,' she said.

Arnima had gone to primary school in Marrickville, and then went to Tempe High School where she excelled in maths and was popular among her peers.

Mr Hayat said his daughter quickly assimilated into Australia life after from Bangladesh and became an 'excellent' English speaker and wanted to eat 'mostly western food'.

Police use an ultra violet light in the bathroom of ground floor flat where the remains of Arnima Hayat, 19, were found in the bath allegedly filled with hydrochloric acid

Police search through the bins beneath the North Parramatta apartment block where they made the grisly discovery on Sunday of 19-year-old Arnima Hayat

Arnima's grieving parents can hardly contemplate the end their loving daughter came to in the bathroom of the ground floor flat she shared with Meraj Zafar for three months

'She would say if I was going out "Babu buy some pies for me". Babu is "father" in our tradition,' he said.

After graduating from Tempe High School, Arnima was admitted to the faculty of medicine at the University of Western Sydney.

Mr Hayat paid university fees for his daughter, who got a part-time job working at Kmart in Marrickville Metro shopping centre as a salesperson, two days a week.

Before meeting Zafar, each week Arnima would take her parents and her eight-year-old sister out to the shops and they would eat and shop together 'like a normal family'.

'Every week before she meet this guy, we go outside and have food and enjoy being a family. She loved KFC, iced coffee, ice-cream and Gong Cha tea,' he said.

The tragedy of Arnima Hyatt's death came to public notice after police released this image of Meraj Zafar driving his Fuso tipper truck (above) and issued an alert

Ms Akter said her daughter was 'a little religious', but did not wear a hijab and only wore a bright-coloured scarf or veil if she wore any head covering, because that was the style that Bangladeshi women adopted.

'She liked movies, she loved music, She was fluent in English, I am not,' Ms Akter said inside the family's Lakemba home.

'She was a very good girl. She was very good to her little sister. Her sister sees her on Tik Tok now and says 'I love you, I love you my sister'.'

The Hayat family decided to move for a better life in Australia after Bangladesh endured periods of political and religious unrest.

Mr Hayat came first in 2006 and was followed by his wife bringing a young Arnima, with their second daughter being born in Australia.

The Hayat family, above Arnima's father, mother and uncle, are now faced with the propsect of burying the 19-year-old without properly being able to observe Bangladeshi funeral rituals

Arnima was 'loving and never any trouble', Mr Hayat said, and then his daughter met Meraj Zafar, who is also Muslim, but his family is of Pakistani origin.

'I do not know how they met,' Mr Hayat said, but said he had one face-to-face confrontation with Zaraf and another on the phone.

When he sought advice from the police he was told 'nothing can be done because they are in love'.

He said that his wife's relatives in New York had told them that Arnima had said that 'sometimes this guy is good' but that she had experienced bad times with him.

Arnima's relationship with Zafar led her to cease contact completely with her family last October, the same time she moved into the North Parramatta apartment with Zafar where she died.

Mr Hayat said his daughter 'also lost contact with her friends' and that he and his wife were unable even to maintain contact by phone.

Since learning about the unimaginable tragedy which had befallen Arnima, the Hayat family has been in a state of disbelief, anger and grief.

Armina's mother has spent the hours crying and praying in their home and waiting until the teenager's body is released to them by the NSW Coroner's Court for burial.

The family has been flooded with condolences from Bangladeshi relatives around the world, from Arnima's work and university friends and a Tempe High School teacher had called to say the school wants to be present to farewell her.

Abu and Mahafuzer said Sydney's Bangladeshi community would gather in forced to support them when they bury Arnima, but that they had not family in Australia other than themselves, their younger daughter and Abu's brother.

Arnima's parents, Abu Hayat and Mahafuza Akter (above), came to Australia for a better life when their elder daughter was nine years old and said she had become an 'Aussie girl' who loved western food

'We want her to be remembered as a kind and beautiful girl,' Mr Hayat said.

'I hope we will get justice.'

Arnimas uncle Abu Saleh said the local Bangladeshi community had been rocked by the death of his niece.

Syed Zafar Hussain , the Editor-in-chief of Sada-e-Watan, Australias leading Pakistani newspaper, said the allegations about Pakistani Australian Meraj Zafar - who was born in Lakemba but whose family came from the Pakistani city of Sialkot - had shocked his community.

As a community leader, I can say that this tragedy does not reflect my community. No-one wants to believe this happened in the peaceful city of Sydney, he said.

Meraj Zafar died not apply for bail and bail was formally refused in Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday and he was remanded in custody to appear via AVL in Parramatta Local Court on April 5.
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A southern koala has been born in Europe for the first time after an ambitious conservation program between South Australia and a wildlife park in the United Kingdom.

In 2018 Adelaide's Cleland Wildlife Park sent koalas Dennis, Maizie, Coorong and Violet to Wiltshire's Longleat Safari and Wildlife Park in a bid to raise the profile of the animals throughout Europe.

Longleat on Wednesday revealed Violet had given birth with the yet to be named joey venturing out of its mother's pouch.

A southern koala has been born in Europe for the first time after an ambitious conservation program between South Australia and a wildlife park in the United Kingdom

In 2018 Adelaide's Cleland Wildlife Park sent koalas Dennis, Maizie, Coorong and Violet to Wiltshire's Longleat Safari and Wildlife Park in a bid to raise the profile of the animals throughout Europe

The birth is a major milestone for the conservation program coordinated by not-for-profit group Koala Life in partnership with Cleland and the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Koala Life Chairman Chris Daniels said the joey's arrival would help Longleat and Koala Life better develop and understand captive breeding methodology and animal husbandry.

'Longleat now has a small but vital group of healthy animals free of debilitating diseases including chlamydia and retrovirus,' Professor Daniels said.

'The continued growth of the colony will help us understand how to keep sanctuary populations healthy and provide important information about the effects of these diseases.'

Longleat on Wednesday revealed Violet had given birth with the yet to be named joey venturing out of its mother's pouch

Longleat Chairman Ceawlin Thynn said the birth of the first baby southern koala was something his team had been working towards and hoping for since it launched the new facility three years ago.

'We are delighted with how well both mother and baby are doing,' he said.

'As well as being a first for us, this is also Violet's first experience of motherhood, and she is proving to be a caring and attentive parent.

'We are still not fully sure on the sex of the joey but hope to get a better idea when it starts to spend more time outside of the pouch.'

South Australian Environment Minister David Speirs said the birth would place a spotlight on southern koalas in the northern hemisphere.

'A combined team effort helped to safely transfer these koalas from the Mount Lofty Ranges to the United Kingdom and this is a perfect example of how like-minded organisations and agencies can achieve great conservation outcomes,' he said.
An ex-Qantas pilot has called on Scott Morrison to reopen state borders before launching into a bizarre rant about transgender people at an anti-vaccine rally in Canberra.

Graham Hood fronted hundreds of 'freedom protestors' outside of Parliament House to deliver his extraordinary tirade on Tuesday.

The protestors had left their homes in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia to drive thousands of kilometres to the capital city and demand an end to vaccine mandates and Covid restrictions.

Mr Hood launched into a bizarre rant demanding Mr Morrison reopen the borders before accusing the government of allowing 'drag queens' to hijack school education and calling on God to intervene.

Graham Hood fronted hundreds of 'freedom protestors' outside of Parliament House to deliver his extraordinary tirade on Tuesday

The protestors had left their homes in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia to drive thousands of kilometres to the capital city and demand an end to vaccine mandates and Covid restrictions

'Dear lord father in heaven, we need you more than ever, we need you to bring the government of heaven into our country,' he said.

'We're sick of political correctness, we're sick of not being able to talk about you in our schools, but we can have drag queens tell everybody how they can choose their gender.

'We want you lord to set the standard in our country again we want you to stand to stand the standard of love and grace and peace and respect and rebuild the circle of love and trust.'

Mr Morrison handed over the reins to the state premiers during the Covid pandemic and allowed them to make their own decisions about the borders.

In July 2021, the prime minister announced that premiers had agreed to reopen their state and ditch lockdown when 80 per cent of the country was double-jabbed.

Fast forward to 2022 and several states continue to enforce tough travel restrictions.

The Northern Territory is currently not accepting visitors who have not received the vaccine.

Unvaccinated residents are also required to undergo 14 days in quarantine.

Mr Hood launched into a bizarre rant demanding Mr Morrison reopen the borders before accusing the government of allowing 'drag queens' to hijack school education and calling on God to intervene

Mr Hood launched into a bizarre rant demanding Mr Morrison reopen the borders before accusing the government of allowing 'drag queens' to hijack school education and calling on God to intervene

Western Australia continues to enforce the toughest travel restrictions with the state completely cut off from the rest of the country.

Mr McGowan is yet to reveal a new border reopening date after he recently backflipped on a plan to resume travel from February 5.

The travel ban has also been expanded to international students who cannot fly into Perth directly, and must transit via other states.

Mr Hood demanded the prime minister intervene and completely reopen the country.

'The first thing we need is for Morrison to find the guts to stop washing his hands like Pontius Pilate and tell the premiers to open the borders,' he said.

'We're sick and tired of having to cross borders in this country and not being allowed to do it.'

About 50 protesters outside the National Press Club waved flags - including banners supporting Donald Trump

There was a large police presence outside the building where the protesters had gathered

Mr Hood continued his extraordinary rant demanding vaccine mandates are ditched - with essential care workers, including Qantas staff, required to get the jab.

'We want the jab mandates gone,' he said. 'We want the jab mandates gone not only in government entities but in corporate and private enterprise entities, because if the law doesn't allow the governments to do it then why should corporations like Qantas get away.'

In August, the airline mandated vaccinations for all its staff. Qantas sent staff this week a memo saying they would not be required to get a booster shot.

'We do not propose to make a booster dose a policy requirement for Qantas Group employees at this stage,' it read.
A daredevil who jumped 10m from a lamppost onto an awning in a wild and chaotic scene survived a hard landing but his bank account may not.

Dean Cecil Pearson, 43, stood on top of the street light on Kent Street in the Perth suburb of Rockingham as a crowd egged him on in front of police officers.

'Do it!' one man shouts as Mr Pearson stood up from his crouched position and made his leap across the footpath below.

Dean Cecil Pearson, 43, pictured on top of a street light on Kent Street in the Perth suburb of Rockingham

Police arrived at the scene about 11.30pm on Saturday after reports of a man acting disorderly outside a pub.

'It was from there that he climbed the lamp post,' police told Daily Mail Australia.

After being encouraged by some of those watching to go for it, Mr Pearson jumped and landed feet first with a very loud thud on the awning.

The awning did not break under the weight and force of his landing, and Mr Pearson staggered forward onto his front, but got up again a couple of seconds later.

Dean Cecil Pearson (pictured), 43, halfway through his leap from a street light pole onto an awning

Amid the concerned screaming, a man is clearly heard saying 'F**k I put my phone down at the wrong time.'

Mr Pearson, who is from High Wycombe in Perth's hills, was arrested as soon as he got down from the awning.

He was charged with disorderly behaviour in a public place, disorderly behaviour in a police station or lockup, and obscene acts in public.

He will appear Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.

Many of the commenters pointed out that Pearson was going to to be in pain after his leap.
Ten's political editor Peter van Onselen says the bombshell texts which branded the Prime Minister 'a complete psycho' were leaked by a current federal Liberal minister.

But the revelation comes as the TV pundit is at the centre of multiple controversies that saw him confronted on radio over several issues he is now facing himself.

Van Onselen claims one of the PM's closest advisors was behind the brutal live TV ambush of Scott Morrison over the texts from former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

But today Scott Morrison hit back and said the TV pundit was 'facing his own questions' about workplace bullying allegations in a new lawsuit by a female TV reporter.

Van Onselen was also grilled on ABC Radio over whether the lawsuit - which claims the political guru was said to be 'bats*** crazy' - meant he had a 'women problem'.

Ten's political editor Peter van Onselen (pictured) says his bombshell texts which branded the Prime Minister 'a complete psycho' were leaked by a federal Liberal minister

In the devastating texts revealed by van Onselen, Ms Berejiklian was alleged to have called the PM a 'horrible, horrible person' who could not be trusted and was 'more concerned with politics than people'.

The PM was also called a fraud as well as a 'complete psycho' by the mystery minister, according to van Onselen.

Now The Project political guru has revealed the texts date back to the bushfire crisis - but had been given to him by a current serving Federal Liberal Cabinet minister.

'The minister is the source,' he told Virginia Trioli on ABC's Radio Melbourne on Wednesday. 'This is a current serving Cabinet minister, which by definition makes it a very senior Liberal.

Scott Morrison (pictured) hit back and said the TV pundit was 'facing his own questions' over workplace bullying allegations in a new lawsuit by a female TV reporter

'I didn't get these from a third party. The minister sent me the text messages. I've got the screenshots.

'I've got all the details that go beyond just having the screenshots to make sure that this minister isn't making it up, in terms of the things that you want to prove it.

'But as a consequence, the deal done, if that's the way to put it, is that I wouldn't out the minister so I just can't do so.'

He stressed that it was a current serving Federal minister and not a former minister, given his well publicised friendship with former attorney-general Christian Porter.

Van Onselen said that although the texts were old, they still represented the 'deep-seated' views of the minister who had leaked them to him out of 'frustration'.

'There was a frustration and an anger about aspects of Scott Morrison's performance,' he said.

Canberra Press Gallery reporter Tegan George (pictured) claims 'humiliating' and 'belittling' messages from van Onselen were part of a 'toxic' bullying culture at Ten, in the lawsuit filed against the TV station at the Federal Court on Tuesday

'That dates back to the text messages, some of them being right around the time of the bushfires with Gladys Berejiklian expressing her frustration with the way she felt that the Prime Minister was acting.

'I spoke again to the minister yesterday and it would be fair to say that they still feel the same way.'

On Wednesday, Mr Morrison insisted he did not believe the texts came from his inner circle of 23 Cabinet ministers.

The Cabinet includes four National MPs and three Liberal National Party MPs, and he also has a further six non-Cabinet ministers and 12 assistant ministers.

Peter van Onselen (pictured) also faced tough questioning over his role when he appeared on ABC Radio Melbourne with Virginia Trioli

The PM also launched a personal attack at the TV pundit with a pointed snipe at van Onselen who is at the centre of the workplace bullying lawsuit.

He dismissed the texts and told Nine's Today show: 'There were no details or context behind [Van Onselen's question] and it was done for sensationalist purposes.'

And he added: 'The journalist who raised it is facing his own questions.'

Canberra Press Gallery reporter Tegan George claims 'humiliating' and 'belittling' messages from van Onselen were part of a 'toxic' bullying culture at Ten, in the lawsuit filed against the TV station at the Federal Court on Tuesday.

George alleges in court documents that when she complained, a boss at Ten told her: 'Peter is bats*** crazy but we just have to get used to it.'

Van Onselen faced tough questioning over the allegations during his ABC radio interview.

Tegan George (pictured) alleges in court documents that when she complained, a boss at Ten told her: 'Peter is bats*** crazy but we just have to get used to it.'

Ms Trioli asked if the uproar about his support for former minister Christian Porter over historical rape allegations, his recent attack on Grace Tame and Ms George's lawsuit meant he had a problem with women.

And she added: 'According to those text messages, [the PM] is a complete psycho, but according to a statement of claim in the federal court, you're bats*** crazy.

'Do you and the Prime Minister have this in common?'

Van Onselen denied the accusation but declined to comment further about the legal issue, claiming the court papers had been 'leaked' by Ms George's legal team.

'When the process plays out, I'll be able to respond to it all through Channel 10,' he said. 'But I just I just can't talk about it publicly.

'I'm looking forward to Channel 10 defending it, which they are doing.'

Scot Morrison (pictured) also launched a personal attack at the TV pundit with a pointed snipe at van Onselen who is at the centre of the workplace bullying lawsuit

Ms George's lawsuit says she was left 'anxious and distressed' to the point of 'vomiting' because of the stress of working at Ten.

She joined the station in 2011 and took on the new Canberra role in 2019 but has been on leave since June 2021 allegedly suffering 'personal injury' brought on by 'stress to the point of incapacity', the lawsuit alleged.

While she was off work though, George claims that van Onselen allegedly wrote a 'passive aggressive' group email to colleagues that he was having to pick up her slack.

'Tegan has extended her leave by another week,' part of the email said, the lawsuit claims. 'As mentioned I'm covering this weekend anyway.

Tegan George (pictured) has worked for the channel since 2019 as a political reporter in the press gallery but has been on leave since June 2021 suffering a 'personal injury' brought on by 'stress to the point of incapacity'

'It will be my 15th straight day working so Alex has very kindly offered to double check my work!!!'

Van Onselen is one of several senior employees named in the lawsuit which claims the station failed to provide a safe working environment.

On Wednesday, van Onselen told Virginia Trioli on ABC Radio Melbourne that the lawsuit had been leaked to the media by Ms George's camp.

In her statement filed to the court, Ms George also claims Network Ten's Political Editor would 'background' against her to other journalists.

Channel 10's Political Editor Peter Van Onselen has been named in legal action brought against the network by one of its reporters, Tegan George

When she complained to her bosses about the 'rude and hostile' environment, executive editor Anthony Murdoch allegedly told her to deal with the 'toxic' culture.

George was allegedly then made to apologise for 'hurting his feelings' by making the accusations, according to her lawsuit.

Van Onselen is alleged to have rejected her complaint about feeling 'unsupported, disrespected and unwelcome' at the Canberra Bureau by saying he 'did not give a s***' how she was feeling'.

The controversy for the veteran reporter comes just a week after he copped a fiery backlash for criticising 2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame for refusing to smile when she greeted Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Australia Day at The Lodge.

Channel 10 Political Editor Peter van Onselen found himself under attack after labelling Grace Tame 'ungracious, rude and childish' following her awkward encounter with Scott Morrison (pictured) at The Lodge last week

In her claim, the female reporter also alleges in the lawsuit that she often had to write van Onselen's TV news packages on top of her own work she was already doing.

News director Ross Dagan allegedly told her 'words to the effect that Mr van Onselen was the Network's number one and said that they were all expected to build Mr van Onselen's brand', George's statement said.

Worried about the workload her and another female colleague were under, a manager at the station allegedly replied: 'What did you even do today? Painting your nails and drinking herbal tea?'

On occasions where Ms George performed well in her job, she claims van Onselen would attempt to undermine her.

Network Ten Federal political reporter Tegan George (pictured) has launched legal action in the Federal Court against her employer, accusing it of breaching the Fair Work Act

The lawsuit alleges the script of a federal government scoop was sent to Minister Greg Hunt's office behind her back, prompting him to demand changes and ruining her exclusive.

It also claims The Project host 'publicly reprimanded' her for not sending him her script days prior to her interview with Scott Morrison which received half a million views.

Just a month before she says she was forced to take personal leave, the situation came to a head after she allegedly overheard a conversation in Network Ten's Parliament House bureau.

George claims The Project host directed these tweets towards - but didn't mention her by name

The lawsuit says says she was allegedly pressured into making a statement after she overheard a Network Ten employee and a freelance camera operator make 'a sexist remark about another employee'.

The Network allegedly threatened her with disciplinary action if she did not speak up and make a report.

It's alleged van Onselen then wrote a tweet she says was aimed at her on the topic of sexual harassment: 'There should also be obligations on employees who witness it to report it, not cover it up.'

After an emotional meeting between Ten management and the media union in September, the lawsuit claims Van Onselen again tweeted about her, quoting a poem about 'crying wolf' and 'looking for sympathy'.

Van Onselen declined to discuss the case on ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday and told host Virginia Trioli: 'The statement of claim has been leaked, presumably by the other side, so I can't comment.'

Network Ten will file a defence to the claims at a later date
Shocking footage has emerged of the moment two police cars chasing a weaving BMW crash into one another mid pursuit.

A video posted by Scotts Car Cameras on Tuesday shows a black BMW in Blacktown, western Sydney, squeeze between other vehicles while trying to outrun the police.

A cop car following close behind was forced to stop behind a red Mitsubishi Magna which was side-swiped by the fleeing sedan, and was in turn hit by an unmarked police vehicle.

As the crash unfolded behind it the BMW used a turning lane to get overtake and vanish into traffic.

Scroll down for the video.

A video published Tuesday shows a black BWM in Blacktown, west Sydney, driving between cars to out run two police cars

As the first police car is waiting behind a red vehicle the second police car comes speeding behind it and crashes into the first vehicle

The first police car is sent into the other lane from the impact and stops further down the road

The first police car was sent into another lane by the force of the impact and stops further down the road.

Some commenters blamed the police, while others said the drivers around the them were responsible for the crash.

'Considering the marked car was obviously stopped and would have had brake lights clearly visible maybe it's time they stop sitting at the bottom of hills with radar guns,' said one commenter on Youtube.

'Cant blame the Red Magna for pulling over after being side swiped, but the truck in the other lane also comes to a complete stop next to the Magna blocking the police cars leading to the crash,' another wrote.

'All drivers near the incident should be ashamed of themselves,' a third said.
Boris Johnson said the plan amounted to a 'moral mission' to spread opportunity across the country by 2030

The 400-page strategy includes 12 'missions to level up the UK' over eight years

The average adult will be able to enjoy five more years of healthy life under government plans to 'level up' Britain, Michael Gove said last night.

Mr Gove will today unveil the long-awaited levelling up white paper, which aims to make a reality of the Prime Minister's election-winning promise to improve life in left-behind areas of the North and Midlands.

Boris Johnson yesterday pledged that the plan amounted to an eight-year 'moral mission' to spread opportunity across the country by 2030.

The 400-page strategy covers almost every aspect of life from literacy levels and life expectancy to jobs, bus services and street cleaning, with detailed pledges and targets in each area.

It sets out 12 'missions to level up the UK', including striking pledges to make the country happier and healthier.

Michael Gove will today unveil the long-awaited levelling up white paper, which aims to make a reality of the Prime Minister's election-winning promise to improve life in left-behind areas of the North and Midlands. One part of a 12-point plan will be to improve local bus and rail services in every part of the country

The 400-page strategy covers almost every aspect of life from literacy levels and life expectancy to jobs, bus services and street cleaning, with detailed pledges and targets in each area

The dossier includes a commitment to narrow the yawning gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas  and an eye-catching pledge to raise average 'healthy life expectancy' by five years by 2035.

Healthy life expectancy, which measures the years before ill health starts to take its toll, stands at an average 62.9 years for men and 63.4 years for women.

Regional variations in overall life expectancy vary widely, with a gap of more than ten years for men and more than eight years for women between the least and most healthy areas.

Blackpool has the lowest life expectancy in England, with men living an average 74.1 years compared to 84.7 years in Westminster  a gap government sources described as a 'gross disparity'.

The 400-page strategy will look to give renters a 'secure path to ownership', increasing the number of first-time buyers and to halve the number of shoddy homes currently rented out

The new plan also pledges to make people happier, with targets for improving 'wellbeing' and action to improve community pride, including investment in town centres and local culture.

Mr Gove, the levelling up minister, last night said the project was vital to convincing new Tory voters to stick with the Government, adding: 'Unless we are the Government for levelling up, we will fail the people who voted for us.'

The PM told the Cabinet yesterday that levelling up was the Government's 'moral mission'.

Last night he said that the Government's aim was to 'break the link between geography and destiny so that no matter where you live you have access to the same opportunities'.

The new plan also pledges to make people happier, with targets for improving 'wellbeing' and action to improve community pride, including investment in town centres and local culture. There are plans to improve maths and literacy rates in the worst primary schools by a third

Warning that change would take time, he added: 'The challenges we face have been embedded over generations and cannot be dug out overnight but this white paper is the next crucial step.

'It is the most comprehensive, ambitious plan of its kind that this country has ever seen.'

Critics have pointed out that Chancellor Rishi Sunak blocked the release of more money for the launch of today's plan. But officials last night stressed 4.8billion has already been committed to levelling up this Parliament, with much of the cash yet to be allocated.

Another eye-catching policy is gigabit broadband and 4G for all, with 5G for 'the majority' of people

Mr Gove also said that the sweeping ambition of the plan meant that almost all government departments would have to devote time and resources to it, including more money for tackling health, crime and unemployment. He said it would require a 'whole of government effort'.

He told the BBC: 'There is going to be a shift both of power and money away from London and the South East, towards the North and Midlands.

'For too long our country's been over centralised and you've had the elites in London, who haven't really understood all of the problems that people in communities like Grimsby and Cleethorpes face.'

The new plan will be accompanied by a range of targets to allow people to measure performance. The Government will commit to producing an annual report setting out progress in each area.
The federal government has committed $750,000 to help establish a Holocaust museum in Darwin.

Acting Education Minister Stuart Robert said the funding was part of the government's support for Holocaust awareness throughout Australia.

'The Holocaust was not just a crime committed against the Jewish people, but a crime against all of humanity that should never be forgotten,' he said in a statement on Wednesday.

The federal government has committed $750,000 to help establish a Holocaust museum in Darwin. Pictured: Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Israel

Acting Education Minister Stuart Robert said the funding was part of the government's support for Holocaust awareness throughout Australia. Pictured: Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Israel

'It is vital we never forget the Holocaust and this investment will ensure we have dedicated spaces to remember those who lost their lives and reflect on the devastating impact on the international Jewish community.'

The museum will be located next to the Darwin Military Museum and will join similar facilities in each state and territory across the country.

A report released by philanthropic group the Gandel Foundation last week found that almost one-quarter of Australian adults had little to no knowledge of the Holocaust and more than 70 per cent were not aware of any Australian connection.

'This report shows it is more important than ever that we invest in Holocaust education as a tribute to the victims and survivors and to ensure these atrocities are never forgotten and never repeated,' Mr Robert said.

Northern Territory Education Minister Lauren Moss said the museum would be an important facility for Darwin.

'It is important that our young people learn about the Holocaust,' she said.
Woodville, AL (35768)

Today

Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

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Some of the best years of my life  I miss those people.

Good times and memories, but I have moved on.

Not my best days, but I have made peace with them.

Glad to be away from those people  I dont miss the high school experience.

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Tech giants such as Google and Facebook could be forced to pay out to users who fall victim to fraud on their sites under proposals set out by MPs today.

Ministers should look at imposing a 'financial responsibility' that forces social media firms to tackle the scams rife on their platforms, the Commons Treasury committee said.

Such a move could leave companies on the hook for millions of pounds.

Banks, which currently compensate victims on a voluntary basis, should also be required to refund victims, the MPs' report on economic crime said.

Tory MP Mel Stride, chairman of the Treasury committee, blasted ministers for being 'flat-footed' in their response to the spiralling epidemic of online fraud.

He said: 'It's not that the Government hasn't had a response to economic crime  it has  but it's not been moving quickly or comprehensively enough in a variety of areas.'

Fraudsters stole 754 million from unsuspecting Britons in the first six months of 2021 alone, according to banking industry body UK Finance.

Ministers should look at imposing a 'financial responsibility' that forces social media firms to tackle the scams rife on their platforms, the Commons Treasury committee said. (stock image of Facebook logo)

The total taken from households last year is expected to be around 2 billion, and this sum is likely to rise further as fraud is the fastest-growing crime in Britain.

Many investors have been targeted with adverts for investment schemes with rewards that look too good to be true  and usually are.

The Daily Mail has been campaigning to Stamp Out Investment Fraud by including financial harm in the Online Safety Bill, which would put a duty on internet platforms to check the validity of the adverts they host.

Those calls were echoed by the Treasury committee's report today, but have so far gone unheeded by Government.

Mr Stride said ministers needed to 'look very seriously' at creating a new role of Minister for Economic Crime who 'everybody will be able to point to as holding the rein'.

He admitted this could be a 'hospital pass' for whoever ends up in the position, given the scale of the problem and the issues which needed to be tackled.

The report also recommended pulling together the 'bewildering' number of anti-fraud agencies into one institution.

The Daily Mail has been campaigning to Stamp Out Investment Fraud by including financial harm in the Online Safety Bill, which would put a duty on internet platforms to check the validity of the adverts they host. (Pictured: Google HQ in California)

And it called for reform to the rules around registering new companies to deter internet scammers.

Rocio Concha, of consumer champion Which?, said: 'There is now an overwhelming consensus that the Government must force the biggest tech companies to finally take responsibility for fraud carried out using their platforms.'

A spokesman for UK Finance said: 'Given the scale of the challenge fraud poses, we fully agree with the Treasury Committee that other sectors, including online firms, need to do more to help protect the public.'

A Government spokesman said ministers were 'taking firm and coordinated action' to crack down on economic crime.

ALEX BRUMMER: Make them pay - and scams will vanish overnight

Comment by Alexander Brummer, City Editor for the Daily Mail

The relentless campaign by Britain's high street banks to make customers go 'paperless' is having dire financial, economic and social consequences.

Together with the grasping and largely-unregulated big tech companies, the banks  by forcing consumers and businesses online  have made it much easier for fraudsters and scammers to rob them of billions of pounds a year.

Moreover, the closure of thousands of branches has denied millions of customers access to a local bank, undermining the social fabric of towns and villages up and down the country.

It has left pensioners, the infirm and small businesses without the facilities which are an essential part of local infrastructure, contributed to the decline of our high streets and left many consumers dependent on already overcrowded and often dismal post offices.

This has led to an epidemic of what has become known as 'authorised push-payment' fraud under which scammers deceive individuals and businesses into sending online payments to bank accounts they control.

ALEX BRUMMER: Of one thing we can be sure: if the Government did force the banks to repay its customers every penny lost to fraud, they would revamp their security measures in very short order and scammers would soon be a thing of the past. (stock image)

These are emptied almost instantaneously, with the ill-gotten gains shipped overseas using lightly-regulated cash-transfer firms which bypass money-laundering rules.

In spite of the spiralling cost of push-payment fraud, which reached 753billion in the first half of 2021, the banks (with the exception of TSB and some of the smaller institutions) remain adamant that the phenomenon  which has seen many elderly customers stripped of their life savings  is not their responsibility. And the Government has consistently refused to do anything about it.

The Treasury select committee of MPs is rightly outraged by this flat-footed response and yesterday called on ministers to force the banks to refund fraud victims in full.

Their intervention could not come at a better time as there have never been more people vulnerable to the scammers.

The vast expansion of online banking during the pandemic  when lockdowns barred people from leaving their homes and accessing their cash  gave the banks the excuse to speed up their closure programme and make big savings on property and staff costs.

The banks argue that the fraud warnings they issue and the security precautions they have in place  such as requiring customers to confirm transactions by entering a PIN number sent to their mobile phone  absolve them of responsibility.

They also seek to avert the blame, pointing out that search engines such as Google  and other big tech firms  accept advertising, or allow scammers to use their exchanges for payment, without sufficient scrutiny.

And there is some truth in this. Almost all of us will, at one time or another, have been a victim of push-payment fraud and I am no exception, having been tricked out of 70 by a bogus DVLA website.

The banks argue that until the big tech companies tighten their procedures they should not be expected to pick up the bill alone.

But attempts to tame the tech giants by bringing them under the umbrella of regulation and the law all too often end in stalemate.

The result is Britain's approach to fighting online financial crime, and its procedures for compensating victims, are currently hopelessly unfit for purpose.

But of one thing we can be sure: if the Government did force the banks to repay its customers every penny lost to fraud, they would revamp their security measures in very short order and scammers would soon be a thing of the past.
A large convoy of anti-vax protesters who stormed Parliament House while it was deserted have been roasted online.

Hundreds of protesters from all around the country converged in the nation's capital on Monday to participate in the 'Convoy to Canberra' demonstration.

The event was inspired by scenes from the other side of the world from the weekend, where 50,000 truckers travelled to the Canadian capital of Ottawa to demonstrate against Covid-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns.

Protesters arrived at Parliament House, not realising many politicians wouldn't be around to hear their message as it was a non-sitting week.

Anti-vax protesters who demonstrated outside Parliament House this week have been mocked for not doing their research

Sitting of Parliament doesn't resume until next week.

On Tuesday, ACT Labor MLA Michael Michael Pettersson shared footage of the raucous crowd trying to storm the virtually empty building but are greeted by a heavy security presence.

Footage inside the deserted building shows barely a soul in sight, a far different story to the chaotic scenes outside.

The footage has already attracted more than 140,000 views within 24 hours.

'You can tell they're not from Canberra because every Canberran knows when it's a sitting week,' Mr Pettersson captioned the footage on TikTok.

'They came all the way to parliament to protest but it looks like they didn't do their research.'

Protesters were slammed in the hundreds of comments for not doing their research.

'Imagine being the guards laughing , knowing nobody's inside,' one viewer commented.

Canberrans commented on how easy to tell when it's parliament sitting week.

'Hotels full, restaurants booked out, traffic is worse and filled with comm cars,' Mr Pettersson commented.

Protestors tried to storm an empty Parliament House (pictured) in Canberra this week

Other viewers mocked the protesters.

'When you turn up at the club too early,' one viewer joked.

Another added: 'This is the funniest thing that has happened in Canberra.'

But many also came to the defence of the protesters and commended them on continuing the fight against vaccine mandates.

The protesters outside Parliament House (pictured) were a week too early

'It doesn't matter if parliament wasn't in. It was about making a statement,' one woman argued.

Another added: Those who stand up and fight for their freedom will always have my respect.'

Mr Pettersson had a final message for the protesters.

'I hope they enjoy their stay. Canberra is lovely this time of the year,' he quipped.
A Republican state senator in Georgia is calling for an investigation into a newly elected school board chairwoman after she described white people as 'socialized racists' and demanded an end to 'anti-black capitalism.'

Dr. Tarece Johnson, who is a Democrat, was elected the new chair of Gwinnett County Board of Education in January. She is the first black woman to serve as chair.

In a letter sent to the Georgia Board of Education this week, Republican Sen. Burt Jones requested a full investigation into Johnson's 'implemented policies, and administrative actions  and whether they violate any of the code of conduct policies or other statutes.'

The request comes amid controversy surrounding comments Johnson made in videos posted to social media in 2020, where she talks about the impact of systemic racism - stating that black people are impacted because 'we internalize racism and white people are also impacted because they're socialized racists.'

'Because we all live in a society that is founded on the oppression of black and brown people,' she is heard saying in the video. 'Because we live in society that glorifies whiteness - we are are all impacted. Black people are impacted because we internalize racism and white people are also impacted because they're socialized racists.'

'White people have privilege just because of the color of their skin,' she added. They have certain advantages that black people and brown people do not have.'

A Republican state senator in Georgia is calling for an investigation into a newly elected school board chair Dr. Johnson (pictured) after she described white people as 'socialized racists' and demanded an end to 'anti-black capitalism' in videos posted to social media

Dr. Tarece Johnson, who is a democrat, was elected the new chair of Gwinnett County Board of Education in January. She is the first Black woman to serve as chair

In Jones' letter this week, he states that Johnson's 'actions severely undermine that mission and further divide our students and schools at a time when we need to united and come together.'

Jones, who is running for lieutenant governor this year, also highlighted Johnson's comments about the district's indication that one of its classes utilized critical race theory (CRT) as a reason for his request for the investigation.

Johnson's book, 'The Global Purpose Approach: A Multicultural Resource,' reportedly describes CRT as part of multicultural learning, Fox News reported.

The syllabus, obtained by Heritage Action, a conservative think tank, reads: 'Students will bridge the skills from AP Language to AP Research, analyzing the value of using different lenses in social criticism (Critical Race Theory, Feminist, Marxist, Psychoanalytic) to aid their analysis across issues, and the class will discuss how these perspectives apply to the different methods used by research fields.'

A statement by the Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) indicated the syllabus wasn't altered by Johnson and that it came years before she joined the school board last year.

GCPS told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the syllabus was 'written by one teacher who submitted it to College Board in 2017 as a means of providing evidence that the teacher understood the scope of the course. It was not the syllabus actually used for the class.'

In a letter sent to the Georgia Board of Education this week, Republican Sen. Burt Jones requested a full investigation into Johnson's 'implemented policies, and administrative actions  and whether they violate any of the code of conduct policies or other statutes'

The request comes amid controversy surrounding comments Johnson made in videos posted on social media in 2020, Fox News reported

When Johnson was elected to the board, she said she wanted to hire more bilingual teachers, increase diversity in the curriculum and expand early education, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. She opposed efforts to limit lessons on race in classrooms.

'Teaching about the stories of all of the people who make America great may also help students develop empathy and understanding,' Johnson said on social media last year.

GCPS director of communications and media relations Sloan Roach told Fox News Digital this week that 'our Board members are intent on following all policies and statutes, as well as the norms they have established as a Board.'

Roach added that CRT was not taught in GCPS and '[t]his is just another example of cultural wars and political battles being waged at the expense of our schools and the critical thinking and the standards-based learning that takes place in our classrooms on a daily basis; this is not about our schools and what we are teaching in Gwinnett County.'

'Some are uncomfortable with recent changes in leadership. The irony is that this syllabus was written five years ago, before recent changes on the governance team.'

According to a department statement obtained by Fox News, 'State School Superintendent Richard Woods has stated repeatedly that Critical Race Theory and other divisive teachings have no place in Georgia's public schools, and condemns any attempt to promote or push these ideologies.'

'Superintendent Woods is working closely with Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia General Assembly to ensure legislation passes this session that protects against divisive teachings and ideologies and establishes a process to properly review and directly address issues like the one identified in Gwinnett County.'
Australia's border will open to international tourists 'well before Easter' - but only after Scott Morrison receives advice on the potential impact to the hospital system.

Currently only tourists from New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and South Korea are allowed to enter and the Prime Minister is under pressure from industry leaders such as Qantas boss Alan Joyce to relax the rules for all countries.

On Wednesday Mr Morrison revealed why he was taking so long to open up the border almost two years after slamming it shut to keep out Covid.

Australia's border will open to international tourists 'well before Easter'. Pictured: Uluru

'The key issue that I've tasked our health officials to advise me on in opening up the borer to international arrivals is what impact that might have on the hospital system and the pressures that could come from additional people coming into the country at this time,' he said.

Mr Joyce had on Monday claimed keeping the border closed was pointless when there is so much Covid in Australia already.

'We can see there's a lot more cases that are happening here than a lot of destinations we fly to,' the airline boss said.

'While we're allowing Australians to come in and out it doesn't make sense to me to not allow tourists.

'It's the same risk, so hopefully we will get there well before April and we can ease back on the testing requirements that are also there.'

The Prime Minister is under pressure from industry leaders such as Qantas boss Alan Joyce to relax the rules for all countries. Pictured: A Qantas crew member

Mr Morrison said he was aware of Mr Joyce's comments but wanted to be 'confident' about the hospital system before opening up.

'I totally empathise with the comments of Alan Joyce on this issue and he knows my very strong commitment to getting to that point as quickly and as safely as we possibly can so I'm looking forward to making progress on that issue,' he said.

'As always, I just want to be confident that before we take that decision, that we are confident about the situation that our hospitals are in, which have been performing extremely well, under great pressure, particularly here in New South Wales, but as well in Victoria.'

Some 9.4million tourists visited Australia in 2019.

On Wednesday Australia recorded 34,320 Covid cases, well down from the peak of 153,123 on January 13.

There are 4,670 people in hospital with the virus, down from the peak of 5,390 on January 25.

Mr Morrison said the improving numbers 'open up that opportunity' for international tourism.

'So I'm optimistic about that but cautiously optimistic, as you'd expect me to be,' he said.

Some 9.4million tourists visited Australia in 2019. Pictured: Bondi Beach

Over the weekend the Prime Minister said he wanted to the border to be open 'well before Easter' which falls on April 17.

Speaking on 4CA Radio Cairns he said: 'I can't give you a specific date yet and that's because we're just watching how omicron is sort of washing over the eastern states at the moment.

'I don't think it's too far away, to be honest. We've got challenges with omicron right now. But that will peak.'

'I'd like to see us get there soon, certainly before Easter, well before Easter.'
French President Emmanuel Macron has blamed Britain for every migrant who drowns in the English Channel and accused UK politicians of hypocrisy.

Macron, who is about to launch his campaign for re-election, said he will 'step up' the pressure on Boris Johnson to establish a legal route to Britain for asylum seekers.

He accused the Prime Minister of putting lives in danger because of his migration policy, with record numbers making the perilous journey across the Channel in dinghies.

'The responsibility for those who die at sea does not fall upon France but upon this British refusal,' Macron told French newspaper La Voix du Nord.

Emmanuel Macron (left), who is about to launch his campaign for re-election, said he will 'step up' the pressure on Boris Johnson (right) to establish a legal route to Britain for asylum seekers.

More than 200 migrants reached the UK in seven boats on January 26 as Border Force agents arrived into dover after picking up those who had crossed the Channel

The French president said current rules encourage illegal migration and do not allow for asylum seekers to seek lawful ways into the country, pushing migrants to attempt the treacherous crossing instead.

'The British continue to have a system from the 1980s, which manages economic immigration through hypocrisy. There is no legal immigration route,' the French leader said.

He added: 'The British must articulate their needs in terms of the economy and reopen a path to legal asylum requests. We are going to step up the pressure.'

The row between France and Britain has rumbled on since the tragic sinking of a dinghy in November last year which led to the deaths of 27 migrants, with both countries placing the blame on the other.

After their deaths, Mr Johnson called on Mr Macron to take back those who had entered Britain illegally, with the British leader saying this would stop migrants from risking their lives crossing the Channel.

But Macron refused and is now pushing for a new agreement between the EU and the UK.

This is a picture of the flimsy and dangerous dinghy that sank off Calais in November last year, killing 27 people including seven women - one of whom was pregnant - and three children

Under President Macron's proposal some migrants would be sent back to France after crossing. But in return British must allow an equal number of asylum seekers in.

It comes as it emerged that six times as many migrants crossed the Channel by boat in January compared with the same period last year.

UK authorities intercepted or rescued 1,341 people, making the perilous journey in 46 boats.

That compares to 223 in 15 boats last year and just 87 in eight boats during the first month of 2020.

The busiest day last month saw 271 migrants arrive in Dover, Kent which was more than in the entirety of January last year.

Three migrants died in Northern France attempting to reach the UK so far this year and 'it's likely that there have been at least two more', according to charity Care4Calais.

A spokesman for the charity which supports refugees in Europe and the UK tweeted: 'All this so early in the year brings home the dangers refugees face, and the appalling fact that our government will not act to stop it.

UK authorities intercepted or rescued 1,341 people making journey in 46 boats this month

'To caring people, these tragedies are unbearable; young men who have fled persecution, torture and death dying alone so far from their homes.

'The atrocious spectacle could be ended by the introduction of a system allowing refugees in France to claim asylum in the UK and and receive safe passage.'

The latest figures come amid reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given Home Secretary Priti Patel the go-ahead to develop new powers which would see every male migrant who crosses the Channel detained in a bid to contain the crisis.

According to Ms Patel, seven in ten people who make the perilous crossing to the UK are single men under 40.

She is working closely with Attorney-General Suella Braverman to establish what new powers would be needed to be approved by MPs in order to change the laws on detention.

The government is due to make an announcement next month as part of wider plans for the Royal Navy to take control of Channel crossings.

The busiest day last month saw 271 migrants arrive in Dover, Kent which was more than in the entirety of January 2021

The sinking of a boat in November last year which resulted in the death of 27 people prompted emergency talks between London and Paris as they sought to hammer out an agreement to stop the crossings.

Only two people of the 29 aboard the vessel on November 24 survived in what is believed to be the greatest loss of life from a single migrant crossing on the Channel. The youngest victim was just seven years old.

The deaths furthered the diplomatic row between Britain and France amid the record numbers of migrant crossings.

Macron last month addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg as France took over the presidency of the EU. He said the EU required a government in London that acts in 'good faith' and live up to agreements with the bloc.

He said: 'Ultimately we cannot solve this problem if the way in which migratory flows as seen from the British side doesn't change.

'Our British friends at the moment are trying to adopt an approach which is the one that prevailed at the start the 1980s is where you've got a level of acceptable economic illegal migration, you allow people to work without papers because it's helpful the economy, but that is doesn't take on board the reality of migratory flows now.

'Secondly, there need to be legal, stable routes to be able to migrate to the UK and this is a situation that we're confronted with. This is a dialogue that we need to pursue with the UK. It's a horrendous humanitarian situation but that's the reality.'

There have been no successful crossings since 39 people made the treacherous trip in one boat last Wednesday - with continuing bad weather set to scupper any attempts over the next few days.

A total of 28,381 migrants made the perilous journey across the Dover Strait in flimsy boats last year - dwarfing the 8,410 who arrived in 2020.

But Home Office officials have warned that this year could see more than 65,000 people arrive in the UK by small boat.

Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, Tom Pursglove MP, said: 'People fleeing persecution should seek safety in the first safe country they reach and not risk their lives paying criminal gangs to cross the Channel.

'This Government is reforming our approach to illegal entry to the UK and asylum by making the tough decisions to end the overt exploitation of our laws and its impact on UK taxpayers.

'The public have rightly had enough of the blatant disregard of our immigration laws and we are bringing in necessary long-term*changes.

'The Nationality and Borders Bill will make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introduce life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.'
Mugshot of former Sarcoxie High School teacher Baylee A. Turner, 26

Prosecutors have dropped charges against a Missouri high school teacher after she married the student she was accused of having sex with.

In February 2019, former Sarcoxie High School teacher Baylee A. Turner, 26, was charged with having sexual contact with one of her male students following an investigation by the Jasper County Sheriffs Department, the Joplin Globe reported.

Turner, then 23 years old, was a first-year English teacher at the high school when she was accused of having sexual intercourse with a student in January 2019, leading to her resignation.

According to court documents, both Turner and the student acknowledged that they had sex the week of January 14-21 in 2019 at Turner's home in Sarcoxie, about 260 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Turner taught English at the Sarcoxie middle school for two years before being assigned to teach high school sophomores and seniors in 2019.

She resigned from the high school after her arrest in February 2019.

Assistant prosecutor Nate Dally told the Globe that the charge against her was being dismissed after she married the student, whose identity has not been revealed.

Turner has surrendered her state teaching license, which was one of prosecutors' main goals

Turner has since had a child with her former student in February

Now the former student now has marital or spousal privilege, he can no longer be compelled to testify against his wife, weakening the states case in court

Turner, then 23 years old, was a first-year English teacher at Sarcoxie High School (pictured) when a case arose that she had sexual intercourse with a student in January 2019

Dally said that because the former student now has marital or spousal privilege, he can no longer be compelled to testify against his wife, weakening the states case in court.

Its unclear when the two got married and a search of court documents didnt provide the name or age of the student.

Missouri state law prohibits school employees, volunteers or officials from having sexual contact with a student regardless of consent or age.

Turner was facing up to four years in prison. The court had ordered her not to have contact with anyone younger than 16 when she was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

Dally added that Turner has surrendered her state teaching license, which was one of the prosecutors' main goals.

Missouri state law prohibits sexual contact between teachers and students, regardless of age.

The Globe reported that Turner was one of six young educators in the state that have been accused of having sex with students in recent years.

The case echoes the infamous relationship between Washington state teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and sixth-grade student Vili Fualaau.

Letourneau met Fualaau when he joined her second grade class in 1992, but they did not begin their sexual relationship until four years later when he was 12 years old.

Mary Kay Letourneau (above in 1997) was a sixth-grade teacher at Shorewood Elementary in 1996 when she was discovered to be having sexual relations Vili Fualaau, then 12

The couple, who finalized their divorce in 2019, shared daughters Georgina and Audrey

In 1997, Letourneau made international headlines when the then-34-year-old pleaded guilty to raping Vili when he was 12-years-old. She was pregnant with her former student's child at the time of her conviction.

Letourneau was then paroled in 1998 but was once again found having sex with Fualaau in a car.

A judge then revoked Letourneau's prior plea agreement and ordered her to serve seven years in prison on second-degree child rape charges for violating the no-contact order.

She gave birth to her second child with Fualaau while in prison. He was 14-years-old at the time.

The couple ended up tying the knot in 2005 and raised their two children together before Fualaau filed for separation in 2017. Letourneau died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 58.
A bus driver was allegedly bashed by three teenagers after he asked them to put on their masks.

Police were called to a bus stop on Siding Avenue in Officer in Melbourne's south-east on Tuesday afternoon after reports a driver had been assaulted.

They are searching for the three men, all aged about 18, who allegedly attacked the 54-year-old Frankston South man before fleeing the scene.

A Melbourne bus driver was allegedly bashed by three teenagers after he asked them to put on their masks (stock image)

An argument allegedly started between the bus driver and the three thugs as they attempted to enter the bus.

The 54-year-old then got off the bus when they refused to comply, before the conversation allegedly turned violent.

Police claim the driver was seriously assaulted and knocked unconscious.

The passengers then fled the scene.

The trio were wearing fluoro coloured clothing at the time of the alleged assault.

Two were described as being of African ethnicity, while the other was caucasian.

The bus driver was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries.

Anyone with any information is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The Greener Britain Parks fund will help create new park facilities in England

A national Spring Clean has been announced alongside a 30million parks fund as part of the levelling up strategy.

It follows the Daily Mails Great British Spring Clean litter pick and the Mail on Sundays Save Our Parks campaign.

The annual clean will tackle litter, graffiti and broken windows blighting high streets.

It will benefit from the Community Payback scheme, getting people sentenced to unpaid work to revive communities.

Campaign: Pupils Francesca Podmore (left), 8, and Matilda Griffiths, 6, pick litter on a walk in Cheshire

The Greener Britain Parks fund will help create new park facilities in England, particularly for young families, according to government sources.

And 9million is available from the levelling up parks fund to create more than 100 parks for those deprived of green space.

The Mails campaign with Keep Britain Tidy helped to clear litter in the pandemic, while The Mail on Sundays aimed to improve 27,000 parks.

Thousands of parks are falling into disrepair or under threat of being sold to developers. More than 2.25million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK each day.
Only 50 House members may get to attend President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address as the Omicron surge has resulted in 24 lawmakers getting COVID in one month.

On Tuesday, Axios reported that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told colleagues that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned him that she may limit the number of attendees from the House to 25 members per party.

Biden will deliver his State of the Union address on March 1.

President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address could look similar to his first joint address before Congress in April of last year, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi telling House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy she might cap House attendance at 50 members

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) warned House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (right) that he may only be able to invite 25 members of his caucus to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address

McCarthy told Republican leadership about Pelosi's plans - and they were frustrated by them.

McCarthy pointed out that Democrats fly on airplanes with more people than who will be allowed to sit in the grand House chamber.

McCarthy's spokesperson declined to comment to Axios.

A spokesperson for Pelosi told the publication said that no final decision has been made.

The spokesperson said her office will 'work closely with the Office of the Attending Physician to accommodate as many Member requests as safely possible.'

Last year, Biden's first joint address before Congress in April - which wasn't considered a 'State of the Union' because he was only months into the job - was capped at an audience of 200, also due to COVID.

A year later, his first State of the Union could have a similar footprint.

Beyond House members, senators, Supreme Court justices and Cabinet officials generally attend.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sits in the House chamber for President Joe Biden's first joint address before Congress, where attendance was capped at 200. Rep. Steny Hoyer (back left) announed Tuesday he had contracted COVID-19, the 20th House member to do so in 2022

Historically, the first lady also brings a number of guests holding a reception beforehand.

Lawmakers generally got some additional tickets for guests too.

News of a pared-down State of the Union address comes on the heels of the House's No. 2 Democrat, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, announcing he contracted COVID-19.

On Tuesday, Hoyer becomes the 20th House member to test positive for the coronavirus this year.

Four senators also tested positive for COVID-19 in January.

In December, 11 House members were infected, along with three senators, according to reporting from PBS Newshour.

There are 435 members in the House of Representatives and 100 senators.

Capitol Hill saw a widespread outbreak as the Omicron variant surged - and at one point Washington, D.C. was the country's epicenter.
The ban on 'buy one, get one free' (BOGOF) deals for unhealthy foods could be reversed to help poorer families, the Daily Mail has learned.

A Tory source suggested the Prime Minister offered to 'look again' at the ban, set to come in this April in the Government's anti-obesity strategy, during a crunch meeting with MPs on Monday evening.

Addressing his party, Boris Johnson acknowledged the policy had 'nanny state' overtones and could be reversed in light of the cost of living crisis.

The move is seen as a part of Operation Red Meat for the under-fire Prime Minister, in a bid to appease his party.

The source said: 'He made it clear that the obesity strategy is incredibly important  this is a huge problem for people's health and has big costs for society.

'But he said there is a legitimate question about whether the ban on BOGOF deals is too interventionist, too nanny state.

'There was a lot of support for the idea in the room and he promised to go away and have another look at it.'

One in four may not be able to afford their shop without the deals, a poll found.

A Tory source suggested the Prime Minister offered to 'look again' at the ban on BOGOF deals, set to come in this April in the Government's anti-obesity strategy. (File photo)

At the time, the Food and Drink Federation's chief scientific officer Kate Halliwell said 'removing these promotions will add to the household's food bill'.

Mr Johnson is also said to be looking again at the idea of a ban on junk food TV ads before the 9pm watershed - another anti-obesity policy that is criticised by some for being too interventionist.

Set to come into force at the end of 2022, the regulations are intended to target childhood obesity.

Under the wider strategy announced in July 2020, shops and supermarkets were also required to remove foods high in fats, sugar and salt from prominent places, such as by the checkouts or near entrances.

The anti-obesity strategy is considered a personal crusade for the Prime Minister, who lamented that he was 'too fat' when he was struck down with coronavirus in April 2020.

Representatives from the British Heart Foundation, British Medical Association, Cancer Research UK and the Royal College of Physicians warned this week that 'rowing back on this bold and vital evidence-based public policy at this point would be a grave error'.
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Please note that some countries outside of the EEA have a lower standard of protection for personal data, including lower security requirements and fewer rights for individuals. We may transfer and/or store personal data collected from you to and/or at a destination outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Such personal data may be processed by agencies and/or suppliers operating outside the EEA. If we transfer and/or store your personal data outside the EEA we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient implements appropriate measures to protect your personal data.

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We will rely on this ground to process your personal data when it is not practical or appropriate to ask for consent.

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In the event that you ask us to stop sending you direct marketing/fundraising/other electronic communications, we will keep your name on our internal suppression list to ensure that you are not contacted again.

Policy amendments

We keep this Privacy Policy under regular review and reserve the right to update from time-to-time by posting an updated version on our website, not least because of changes in applicable law. We recommend that you check this Privacy Policy occasionally to ensure you remain happy with it. We may also notify you of changes to our privacy policy by email.

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Rishi Sunak sat in a tightly-packed House of Commons on Monday for Boris Johnson's Partygate apology despite one of his close family members testing positive for Covid.

The chancellor sat beside the prime minister and Priti Patel during the fiery session as Mr Johnson delivered a statement on Downing Street parties throughout lockdown.

Official guidance is currently 'strongly advising' people to limit close contact with other people if someone in their household has tested positive for the virus.

Rishi Sunak sat in a tightly-packed House of Commons on Monday for Boris Johnson's Partygate apology despite one of his close family members testing positive for Covid

Later that day, foreign secretary Liz Truss, who was sitting two seats down from Mr Sunak, revealed she had tested positive.

Last month, Mr Johnson cancelled official engagements and stayed in Downing Street when his daughter caught the virus.

Treasury insiders told The Mirror that Sunak felt it was important to be 'visible and supportive' of the government on such a crucial day when Sue Gray's report was delivered.

On Monday, Mr Sunak then attended a meeting of the Tories' backbench 1922 committee with many of his party colleagues.

The following day, he led Treasury questions in the House of Commons.

Mr Sunak wore a facemask throughout the proceedings in the chamber on Monday and had tested negative before Johnson's statement

Mr Sunak wore a facemask throughout the proceedings in the chamber on Monday and had tested negative before Johnson's statement.

It is no longer a legal requirement to stay at home if someone in your household tests positive for Covid.

But official NHS guidance says you should 'limit close contact with other people outside your household, especially in crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces'.

The guidance also recommends working from home if it is possible.

Insiders denied that Mr Johnson had set a precedent for ministers for deciding to isolate when his daughter tested positive.

Liz Truss was set to travel to Ukraine with the Prime Minister on Tuesday before she tested positive for Covid

A spokesman for Mr Sunak told The Mirror: 'The Chancellor has followed the legal requirements to the letter.

'He has taken daily lateral flow tests and has limited his social contact where possible, whilst also ensuring that he is able to continue to conduct important Government and Parliamentary business as the public would expect.'

Liz Truss was forced to miss her trip to Ukraine this week after testing positive following Monday's Commons session.

The Foreign Secretary tweeted: 'I tested positive for Covid this evening.

'Thankfully Ive had my three jabs and will be working from home while I isolate.'

After appearing in the Commons, Ms Truss then later attended a meeting open to all members of the parliamentary Conservative party where the PM addressed MPs and peers to rally support after what was described as a "difficult day".

The Foreign Secretary had been due on a visit with Mr Johnson on Tuesday, for a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky amid rising tensions with Russia.
Rescue crews are preparing to evacuate hundreds of stranded travellers after heavy rain and floodwaters battered South Australia.

SA State Emergency Service said it was considering sending an ADF plane to rescue residents and visitors from the outback town of Coober Pedy on Wednesday.

Heavy monsoon rains have been moving across the state and parts of Western Australia, bringing up to 100mm of rain every day.

The massive downpour has prompted concerns that some remote towns could be out of reach while major highways will be inaccessible for days or even weeks.

Rescue crews are preparing to evacuate hundreds of stranded travellers after heavy rain and floodwaters battered South Australia

Flash flooding at the South Australian outback town of Coober Pedy as heavy rainfall continues to batter the region

Flood waters have continued to rise with residents using row boats to navigate across town

Highways have become completely submerged with warnings the levels will not drop for at least 12 days

Marla, Coober Pedy, Roxby Downs, Leigh Creek, Moomba and Marree are some of the towns impacted.

An estimated 20 tonnes of food and other emergency supplies was airlifted by the Australian Defence Force into opal-mining town Coober Pedy, home to 1,760 people, on Tuesday.

With train tracks washed away and roads underwater, including the Stuart Highway, the inland drenching has also disrupted food and other supplies to both the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

SES received 80 call-outs from people across the state as flood waters began to rise around their properties on Monday night.

Port Augusta, north of Adelaide, was hit with 51.6mm of rain in one hour on Tuesday night.

The Stuart Highway, leading out of the town and into the Northern Territory, remains inaccessible to drivers with the road submerged under 400mm high flood waters.

Drivers are not expected to be allowed to cross the highway until the floodwaters have subsided completely, which could take as long as 12 days.

A severe weather warning remains in place for the north-west of WA, with the BoM saying the region will continue experiencing 'dangerous weather' including 'destructive winds and intense rainfall possible in the Kimberley'.

State Emergency Service Deputy Chief Officer Liz Connell said locals should be prepared for more severe conditions and should keep clear of floodwaters.

Rescue workers load groceries and essential supplies onto the back of the plane as they prepared to fly them to Coober Pedy on Tuesday

ADF forces are shown loading emergency supplies into a plane, bound for Coober Pedy in northern South Australia

Some 20 tonnes of groceries were loaded onto the plane and set to be delivered to Coober Pedy on Tuesday

Rescue workers in a warehouse where the 20 tonnes of supplies were being kept before they were flown to Coober Pedy

She also urged motorists to delay any travel plans to the area with many roads still closed.

Premier Steven Marshall said more rain would put extreme pressure on an already 'tenuous' situation as he also called on people to cancel any unnecessary travel to the state's north.

'It is a perilous situation at the moment. This additional rain is creating havoc,' he said.

'I think we've still got a couple of worrying days ahead of us.'

Current estimates suggest regular rail freight routes will remain closed for at least another 12 days and possibly longer.

The Australian Rail Track Corporation said repairs were underway along a section of track more than 300 kilometres long with 18 separate damage sites identified.

Damage reports for roads across SA north continued to be hampered by high water levels making full assessments impossible at this stage.

A 14-day major emergency was declared in South Australia on Friday, allowing the state's Police Commissioner Grant Stevens to direct the movement of freight, ensure food security and co-ordinate relief efforts.

Authorities are pleading with people not to drive through flooded roads in the coming days because of the risk of being swept away in flash floods. (Pictured, a ute tackles a flooded road in Broome, which has copped 564mm of rain since Sunday)
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What IS the truth about Boris Johnson's claims that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile? A fresh faced Keir Starmer when he was appointed DPP in 2008 Sir Keir Starmer was director of public prosecutions when the decision was made in 2009 not to prosecute Sir Jimmy Savile on the grounds of 'insufficient evidence' - but a report found he was not personally to blame. A 2013 QC-led inquiry found that the decision was made by police and prosecutors locally, not Sir Keir, who was unaware of it. The CPS would also say there was 'no reference to any involvement from the DPP in the decision-making within a report examining the case.' Lawyer turned Labour leader Sir Keir had taken on the role of DPP in 2008 and left in 2013 to pursue a career in politics. Savile, who abused 500 women and children, died in 2011 without facing justice. In 2012, after it became clear the Top of the Pops host had attacked and abused hundreds of children and women in hospitals, schools and while filming his BBC shows, an inquiry was carried out Alison Levitt QC, on Mr Starmer's own orders. She found that police treated the victims and the accounts they gave 'with a degree of caution which was neither justified nor required'. Savile also made veiled threats against officers if sexual abuse allegations against him did not 'disappear'. Detectives looking at allegations advised the CPS not to prosecute Savile, believing his explanation that it was all made up and the price of being famous. Alison Levitt was also critical of the approach taken by the CPS' reviewing lawyer, but did not suggest that Mr Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made. The lawyer was also criticised for failing to properly build a case with the police or spot inconsistencies in their reports after interviewing Savile under caution and four of his victims. But there was some criticism that as DPP, Sir Keir should have been more aware of what was happening in one of the highest profile cases in the UK at that time. As head of the CPS, Sir Keir later apologised, admitting the failure to prosecute Savile was a 'watershed moment' for the organisation. But avoided any admonishment in Ms Levitt's report. He said: 'I would like to take the opportunity to apologise for the shortcomings in the part played by the CPS in these cases. 'These were errors of judgement by experienced and committed police officers and a prosecuting lawyer acting in good faith and attempting to apply the correct principles. That makes the findings of Ms Levitt's report more profound and calls for a more robust response.' Advertisement

Boris Johnson has again refused to back down from his explosive claim that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute paedophile Jimmy Saville when he was the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In the Commons on Monday, the Prime Minister told MPs that the Labour leader had 'spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile' when he was in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Backlash against the Prime Minister has been growing over the claim and Sir Keir denounced the attack as a 'ridiculous slur peddled by Right-wing trolls' and claimed Mr Johnson had 'debased' himself.

But Mr Johnson stood by his claims and told the Sun: 'As far as I'm aware, it's fairly accurate.'

The Prime Minister's allies also insisted it was 'simply a fact' that Sir Keir had apologised over the Crown Prosecution Service's handling of the case when he was at its helm.

But Tory former chief whip Julian Smith said the Prime Minister should withdraw the 'false and baseless' attack.

'The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Savile yesterday is wrong and cannot be defended,' he said.

'It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust and can't just be accepted as part of the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate.'

Sir Keir accused Mr Johnson of 'going so low' with the claim and accused him of repeating 'a ridiculous slur peddled by right wing trolls' who claimed he personally took the decision not to put Savile in the dock in 2009.

A 2013 QC-led inquiry found the decision was made by police and prosecutors locally and the now Labour leader was not personally to blame.

The CPS confirmed at the time there was 'no reference to any involvement from the DPP in the decision-making within a report examining the case'.

But an ally of Mr Johnson last night said: 'Ministers are routinely criticised for things in their departments that they are not personally responsible for.'

They also pointed to how Sir Keir issued an apology in January 2013 following a review. 'I would like to take the opportunity to apologise for the shortcomings in the part played by the CPS in these cases,' he had said.

A Tory source told the Sun: 'It's simply a matter of fact that Starmer was running the CPS at the time they decided not to charge Savile.

'As leader of the organisation at the time, what action did he take against people who were personally responsible?'

But victims of Savile have called for Mr Johnson to withdraw his 'flippant' attack on the Labour leader.

The women said they were left 'furious' by his comments in the House of Commons that 'triggered all the flashbacks'.

Miss A, a Savile victim, told LBC: 'To have the PM say this... I was furious . It was like he was using it as a flippant thing for other people's purposes.

She added: 'It triggered all the flashbacks, the memories. I can't begin to tell you how upset I was. It was so unnecessary.'

A lawyer who represented some of the victims said they had called for the PM to withdraw him comments.

Richard Scorer, head of abuse and public inquiries at law firm Slater and Gordon, said: 'I echo the widespread disgust at what we saw and heard in the House of Commons yesterday as Boris Johnson tried to distract from the Sue Gray update.

'As one of the lawyers who represented many of Savile's victims, I can confirm that these allegations against Sir Keir Starmer are completely unfounded and unjustified.

'Sir Keir did more than any other director of public prosecutions to advance the rights of victims. No DPP can control every decision.

'The Crown Prosecution Service was much better under his leadership.

'Victims of Savile I have spoken with today have told me that they want Johnson to withdraw these comments and apologise and I call upon him to do that right away.'

But Mr Johnson's spokesman said 'the Prime Minister stood by what he said in the House' - but declined to repeat his claim.

He said: 'As a civil servant it wouldn't be right for me to repeat something which relates to a political aspect of the Prime Minister's work.'

Earlier today Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said 'procedurally nothing disorderly' occurred when Boris Johnson made the claims, but told MPs: 'I am far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate on this occasion.'

Labour's leader insisted he did not help the Top of the Pops presenter avoid trial when he was director of public prosecutions in 2009, telling Good Morning Britain: 'It's a slur. It's untrue. It's desperate from the Prime Minister'.

Sir Keir told Sky News that when Mr Johnson mentioned Savile during yesterday's debate on Sue Gray's partygate report, Tory MPs had a look of 'disgust' on their faces.

'It is a ridiculous slur peddled by right-wing trolls', he said.

'I saw the faces of the Conservative MPs, the disgust on their faces that their Prime Minister was debasing himself by sinking so low in the Chamber was clear.

'They knew that he was going so low with that slur, with that lie - he had been advised not to do it because it's obviously not true, but he does it because he doesn't understand what honesty and integrity means.'

The Crown Prosecution Service was eviscerated for failing to get justice for Savile's 500-plus victims, but a later inquiry found that the decision was made by police and prosecutors locally, not Sir Keir personally.

Following a 2013 inquiry that cleared him of wrongdoing, Mr Starmer apologised and called it a 'watershed moment' for the CPS, who had failed to question the motives and professionalism of the police officers who told them not to pursue Savile.

Today Mr Johnson's deputy Dominic Raab failed to back his boss in a series of uncomfortable interviews. Asked if he would withdraw Mr Johnson's Savile claim, Mr Raab told Times Radio: 'It's not for me to do that. What I would say is it's part of the cut and thrust in the Chamber.' When questioned by the BBC's Nick Robinson on whether this was a fair description, Mr Raab said: 'I can't substantiate that', adding: 'I'm certainly not repeating it'.

Tory MP Julian Smith, the party's former chief whip, turned on his party leader this morning and suggested the PM should go back to the Commons to withdraw it.

He tweeted today: 'The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Savile yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can't just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate'.

Mr Johnson made the comments in the House of Commons as he hit back at Labour criticism over the Sue Gray report.

The Prime Minister said: 'The report does absolutely nothing to substantiate the tissue of nonsense that he has said. Absolute nonsense.

'Instead this leader of the opposition, a former director of public prosecution - who used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can see - he chose to use this moment to continually pre-judge a police inquiry.

'He has reached his conclusions about it. I am not going to reach any conclusions and he would be entirely wrong to do so.

'I have complete confidence in the police, I hope that they will be allowed simply to get on with their job and don't propose to offer any more commentary about it and I don't believe that he should either.'

Sir Keir (pictured today) had no involvement in the decision not to prosecute Sir Jimmy Savile, and said the Prime Minister was using language by right wing trolls and conspiracy theorists

Boris Johnson at a cabinet meeting this morning before he flew out to Ukraine as his own MPs turned on him over his Savile slurs

Dominic Raab failed to back Boris Johnson for using Jimmy Savile slurs to bash Labour's leader

Boris is ticked off by the Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, but is not ordered to apologise Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said 'procedurally nothing disorderly' occurred when Boris Johnson alleged Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute disgraced entertainer Jimmy Savile, but the Commons Speaker told MPs today: 'I am far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate on this occasion.' Sir Lindsay kicked out the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford yesterday after accusing the Prime Minister of having 'wilfully misled' MPs over Partygate. In the same debate the PM said the former director of public prosecutions had 'used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile'. The Commons Speaker was asked about the exchange today and said the PM had not broken any rules, but added: 'I want to see more compassionate and reasonable politics in this House and this sort of comment can only inflame opinions. 'I've got to say I want a nicer Parliament. And the only way we can get a nicer parliament is being honorable in debates that we have and please let us show each other respect'. Advertisement

Police officers who interviewed Jimmy Savile in 2009 over child sex abuse allegations had actively discouraged the Crown Prosecution Service from pursuing the case.

The former BBC DJ, who died two years later, was interviewed under caution by Surrey Police at Stoke Mandeville Hospital after a woman claimed she had been abused as a girl at Duncroft Approved School for Girls in Staines in the 1970s.

Nine days after the interview, which took place in Savile's own office in the hospital - police advised prosecutors not to pursue Savile. Police also failed to pursue credible claims against him across the country.

Nazir Afzal, a former chief Crown prosecutor for the North West, responded to Mr Johnson's comments by saying that the reference made to Savile by Mr Johnson was 'a disgrace to Parliament & office of Prime Minister'.

He wrote on Twitter: 'Its not true. I was there. Keir Starmer had nothing to do with the decisions taken. On the contrary, He supported me in bringing 100s of child sex abusers to justice.'

In 2020, fact checking charity Full Fact looked into the claim that Sir Keir had stopped Savile being charged in 2009.

Full Fact said Sir Keir was head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) when the decision not to prosecute Savile was made on the grounds of 'insufficient evidence', adding: 'The allegations against Savile were dealt with by local police and a reviewing lawyer for the CPS.

'A later investigation criticised the actions of both the CPS and the police in their handling of the situation.

'It did not suggest that Mr Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made.'

The independent fact-checking organisation concluded: 'Mr Starmer was head of the CPS when the decision was made not to prosecute Savile but he was not the reviewing lawyer for the case.

'An official investigation commissioned later by Starmer criticised both prosecutors and police for their handling of the allegations.'

Another report found: 'There is no evidence to suggest Sir Keir Starmer, then DPP of the CPS, was directly involved in the decision not to prosecute Jimmy Savile.'

Boris Johnson was under fire in the Commons about Partygate when he made the claims yesterday. Mr Starmer looked furious as he heard the PM say it (right)

Tory MP and former chief whip Julian Smith has also put the boot in to his boss

Savile died in 2011 aged 84 having never been brought to justice for his crimes.

He is now believed to be one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

A 2016 report into his abuse found staff at the BBC missed numerous opportunities to stop him.
The Northern Territory has reported its third coronavirus death as case numbers continue to rise.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles says the death of a woman in her 50s has been attributed to the virus.

The woman had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Deputy Health Officer Charles Pain said the latest fatality involved a woman who was a 'very significant' member of the Mutitjulu community in central Australia (pictured, view of Uluru from behind Mutitjulu Aboriginal Community)

The NT reported 1,133 new infections on Wednesday and revised up the number of cases from Tuesday to 1,038 after the inclusion of more rapid antigen test results.

Deputy Health Officer Charles Pain said the latest fatality involved a woman who was a 'very significant' member of the Mutitjulu community in central Australia.

Officials also confirmed 129 people were in hospital with COVID-19 including five in intensive care.

Dr Pain said hospitalisation rates were manageable but were putting a strain on the Territory's resources.

'We're seeing over a thousand cases a day. We expected this number to reached and it may go higher,' he said.

'We hope that it will peak in the next week or so.'
Two sisters will stand trial over the alleged murder of a five-year-old boy who died after clinging to life for 11 days in hospital.

Malachi Subecz was found critically injured in the family's Te Puna home, 192km south of Auckland, on November 1.

He was treated at Tauranga Hospital before he was airlifted to Auckland's Starship Hospital where he died on November 12.

Malachi Subecz (above) was found injured in the family's Te Puna home, 192km south of Auckland New Zealand, on November 1, 2021, and passed in hospital on November 12

Michaela Barriball, 27, is accused of beating Malachi to death and her sister Sharron Barriball, 37, of trying to cover up the crime.

The younger sister pleaded not guilty to murder, wounding with intent to injure, injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and neglect of a child.

Her older sister was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Few details are known of the alleged crime or the events leading up to Malachi suffering injuries doctors reportedly said were the worst they ever saw.



His two sisters were arrested and charged in relation to the murder and will face Hamilton High Court for a jury trial on May 5, 2023

Police arrested the Malachi's two sisters after an investigation into the boy's death.

The two girls faced High Court in Tauranga on Wednesday where their lawyers pleaded not guilty to the charges on behalf of their clients.

They will face Hamilton High Court for a jury trial expected to take three weeks, starting on May 5, 2023.

Michaela will be held in custody until the trial and Sharron was released on bail by Justice Neil Campbell.
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has defended the state education minister's decision to holiday overseas during back-to-school coronavirus preparations.

Sarah Courtney has contracted Covid and is isolating in France after a positive PCR test result, Mr Gutwein revealed on Wednesday.

Public school students return to the classroom on February 9, with the state government rolling out Covid packs to all children and fixing some 8000 classroom windows for better ventilation.

Tasmanian education minister Sarah Courtney has contracted Covid and is isolating in France after taking controversial holiday as children return back to school

Mr Gutwein said he hoped Ms Courtney, who he said was due to fly back to Tasmania on Wednesday or Thursday, would be back at work before term one.

Mr Gutwein said he approved her leave and defended the timing, saying it was 'perfectly appropriate' for ministers to have a break.

'To be frank I'd be happy to have a debate with anybody in respect to whether or not a minister should have an appropriate break,' he said.

'I know myself, late last year, what can happen if you don't take a break.'

Mr Gutwein was in December hospitalised with a mystery illness later put down to overwork.

Premier Peter Gutwein has defended Ms Courtney's right to 'have an appropriate break' despite Labour opposition criticism

He said Ms Courtney was fatigued and had a slightly croaky voice but was feeling well and would finish her seven-day isolation on Sunday.

Two weeks ago, Tasmania's Labor opposition and state Greens party lashed Ms Courtney's decision to take leave during a 'critical time' for the education system.

Mr Gutwein said schools would receive back-to-school packs, containing two rapid antigen tests and masks, by the end of the week.

'We expect that case numbers will increase over coming weeks with the return to school,' he said.

Tasmania recorded 666 new Covid cases on Wednesday, with the number of people in intensive care increasing from one to two.

Mr Gutwein said schools would receive back-to-school packs, containing two rapid antigen tests and masks, by the end of the week

There are eight people being treated in hospital specifically for the virus, the same as Tuesday's figure. Another five cases are in hospital for unrelated medical conditions.

Tasmania recorded 504 new infections on Monday and 699 on Tuesday.

There are 3876 documented active cases statewide, continuing a broad downward trend over the past few weeks.

Mr Gutwein said the state's four major public hospitals had been downgraded from Covid escalation level three to two due to easing virus pressures.

'It enables a safe and staged return to business as usual, including surgical services and ... a relaxation of some visitor restrictions,' he said.

Tasmania has reported 18 coronavirus deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, with five of those occurring since borders reopened in mid-December.
Scott Morrison's odds of winning the federal election are the worst they have been in almost three years after a disastrous two days.

The Coalition's odds of staying in power blew out to more than $3 on Wednesday.

TAB was offering $3, the first time it's climbed that high since the eve of the 2010 election, and $3.10 on Sportsbet.

Labor's standing with punters correspondingly improved to $1.35 on Sportsbet and $1.40 on TAB, the best since Bill Shorten was in charge.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) had a difficult time at the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, February 1

Punters shifted their money after the latest Newspoll on Monday morning showed Mr Morrison and the Coalition in deep trouble with voters.

Confidence in the Government's ability to win dived again after the Prime Minister's disastrous speech at the National Press Club on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Morrison was battered by journalists who forced him to admit three key mistakes he made in his handling of the pandemic.

He also couldn't give an answer when asked the price of bread, milk, and rapid antigen tests, making him look out of touch.

Finally, a text exchange between former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed federal cabinet minister was read out, calling Mr Morrison a 'fraud', 'psycho', and a 'horrible, horrible person'.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese (pictured) speaks at the National Press Club on January 25, 2022 in Canberra

Before the poll and speech, the Morrison Government was a heavy underdog to win, but there was still reasonable hope.

'A week ago we had the Coalition at $2.65 and Labor at $1.48,' TAB's Gerard Daffy told Daily Mail Australia.

'While Labor is at its shortest quote since we opened the market, we have seen some larger bets - in the tens of thousands - this week on the Coalition.'

It was a similar story with Sportsbet, where punters thought it was even more likely Australia would soon have a new government.

'The Coalition were $3.05 which was their longest, and are out to $3.10 now. They were $2.70 before the latest Newspoll,' the betting agency said.

'Labor have come in from $1.45 into $1.35 in the same time.'

The shock Newspoll on Monday morning showed the Liberal-National Coalition trailing Labor 56-44 on a two-party preferred basis.

Mr Morrison's slim lead as preferred prime minister, a question notoriously difficult for opposition leaders to win, narrowed to 43-41.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister compounded the misery being heaped upon him with a disastrous appearance at the National Press Club.

The speech was supposed to be a reset after a trying summer of Omicron outbreaks, but instead Mr Morrison didn't know the price of milk or bread and refused to apologise for going to Hawaii during the devastating 2019-20 bushfires.

He was also confronted with text messages showing former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian calling him a 'horrible, horrible person' and a federal cabinet minister who allegedly labelled him 'a complete psycho'.

Liberal candidate for Macquarie Sarah Richards (left) and Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) speak to the media during a visit to RAAF Base in Richmond, NSW on Wednesday, February 2

While getting $3 or more on a two horse race might prove irresistible for some, the really adventurous could go for the bold choice of 'any other party'.

A bet on, say, Clive Palmer's United Australia Party or Pauline Hanson's One Nation to win the election would pay $67 at TAB or $41 from Sportsbet if your punt was proved right.

Mr Morrison on Wednesday said he was 'not fussed' about finding out which cabinet minister leaked the text exchange.

He also laughed off not knowing the price of milk or bread.

'Do you want the rye bread or the multigrain or the sourdough? If we're going to get onto milk, is it just the ones that come from dairy or almond?' he said on Nine News.

'The gotcha stuff from gallery journalists, whatever. I was honest with people yesterday and they know that.'

If the latest polling numbers prove correct, the Coalition could lose up to 25 seats and Labor will win the election in a canter.

But Mr Morrison can take heart from what happened at the 2019 election - the opinion polls and betting agencies wrote him off then too, but he won.

The polls and odds were so wrong last time that one punter lost $1 million after betting the huge sum on Labor winning.
Actress Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from The View for two weeks over her comments alleging race was not a factor in the Holocaust

Actress Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from The View for two weeks over her comments alleging race was not a factor in the Holocaust.

ABC News President Kim Godwin announced her suspension Tuesday night, saying it was 'effective immediately'.

'While Whoopi has apologized, I've asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments,' Godwin said in a tweet.

'The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.'

ABC insiders told the Daily Beast that Whoopi's co-hosts - Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar and Ana Navarro - are 'furious with the networks decision' to suspend the actress.

The stars have not publicly commented on the matter, however Hostin retweeted a Twitter post that reads: 'ADL making it clear here that the org is accepting Whoopi Goldeberg's apology.'

Meantime, an ABC executive told the news outlet some network employees were 'really upset and dont understand why it took two days' for Whoopi to be met with consequences. Before the suspension was announced, DailyMail.com had learned that several ABC staffers had called for her firing.

It is unclear if Whoopi will be paid during her suspension. The longtime host renegotiated a four-year deal with ABC in September 2021. Although financial details of her contract remain under wraps, Variety reported in 2016 that Whoopi's then-current annual salary was in $5 million range.

If those figures hold true today, the talk-show host would be missing out on more than a pre-tax total of $96,000 each week.

ABC News did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

The suspension came a day after Whoopi, 66, made the controversial comments on The View on Monday. She referred to Jews and Nazis as 'two groups of white people' and said that because they were both white, it was about 'inhumanity' and not race'.

She apologized hours later and again on Tuesday's morning episode, but the original remark sparked immediate international backlash with everyone from the Israeli Consular General in New York to the Auschwitz Memorial and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) taking offense.

ABC News President Kim Godwin announced her suspension Tuesday night, saying it was 'effective immediately'

Whoopi Goldberg was captured in exclusive photos for DailyMail.com leaving ABC studios Tuesday. She was escorted back to New Jersey by an unmarked police vehicle

In a Tuesday night interview with CNN's Don Lemon, Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director, said that although Whoopi's comments caused 'tremendous confusion and hurt,' he accepted her apology and hopes she can use her suspension as a time for 'introspection and learning'.

'She apologized last night online and then she did so again this morning. You know, and I accept her apology,' Greenblatt said.

'I know she's been a friend of the jewish community all throughout her career. And I respect that and appreciate it. I can't comment on ABC News' internal process, but what I will say is that I hope Whoopi can use the next two weeks for a process of introspection and learning.'

Greenblatt added: 'Let's hope that she can use this time, use this opportunity, and use her amazing platform to educate herself and to share what she learns with her audience and with the country at large.'

He encouraged the television host to find ways to help further Holocaust education by visiting the Holocaust museum, meeting with survivors and working with the ADL.

'There are lots of ways Whoopi can make I huge difference, and I hope she'll do that.'

Greenblatt also reiterated the Holocaust was 'absolutely about race'.

'I think [Whoopi] really, again, created a kind of confusion and hurt because the Holocaust was absolutely about race,' he told Lemon. 'It was a racialized anti-semitism.'

'And again, that might not fit with the way that some people think about race, the way all of us as Americans have to confront it in this country - in this time when black Americans are still dealing with the legacy of Jim Crow and enslavement and systemic oppression.'

ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt (right) told CNN's Don Lemon (left) Tuesday night that although Whoopi's comments caused 'tremendous confusion and hurt,' he accepted her apology and hopes her suspension offers time for 'introspection and learning'

He continued: 'And yet, race is a social construct and it shows up differently in different societies.

'If we look back to Germany, the Nazis believed that they were the master race and Jews were a subhuman race ... They waged a war of extermination against the jewish people because of this belief in race. That's undeniable. It's what happened.'

Greenblatt also said Whoopi should be 'counseled, not cancelled' as she 'it seems like she's ready to commit to doing better'.

The ADL leader added that he's 'excited' to help the actress 'with that process'.

Meanwhile, social media users are slamming the network over Whoopi's suspension.

'We don't learn through punishment. The suspension is wrong. We've gone too far,' tweeted Chris Safford.

'The people that decided that Whoopis should be suspended are a bunch no of spineless idiots. Did they ever suspend Megan McCain?? As a Jew Im calling this bulls**t,' echoed Barbara Steinberg.

'These so called consequences are cancel culture in many cases and two wrongs never made a right,' user @FleischmanSteve added. 'Theres too much of this s**t in this country and its obnoxious. I think Whoopi was wrong but didnt deserve a suspension.'

Social media users are slamming the network over Whoopi's suspension

Others argue the network's actions weren't severe enough and continue to call for her termination.

'Whoopi Goldberg makes a horrible comment about the Jews and gets suspended for 2 weeks, No that's not enough,' tweeted @bryan112886 'Fire her decrepit a** and let her enjoy retirement.'

'Roseanne Barr is a comedian and was fired for a joke. Whoopi is a comedian that wasnt joking,' argued @hardinkk2.

'Imagine a white person or a Jew saying slavery wasn't about race, it was just business,' @ayDursi wrote.

'Then they proceed to downplay one of if not the most horrific American tragedies Unforgivable right? Then ask yourself why is Whoopi still on tv after saying identical comments.'

Twitter user @VisitorPaul added: 'Was Sharon Osborne "suspended for 2 weeks"? Nope, Whoopi needs to get fired!!'

Others argue the network's actions weren't severe enough and continue to call for her termination

Whoopi posted an apology on Twitter Monday night saying the Holocaust was about 'both' race and inhumanity.

'On today's show, I said the Holocaust "is not about race, but about man's inhumanity to man." I should have said it is about both. As Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League shared, "The Holocaust was about the Nazi's systematic annihilation of the Jewish people - who they deemed to be an inferior race." I stand corrected,' Goldberg said.

'The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver. I'm sorry for the hurt I have caused. Written with my sincerest apologies, Whoopi Goldberg,' she said.

On Tuesday, she made an on-air apology, then interviewed the CEO of The Anti-Defamation League, before moving on to other topics with her co-hosts.

Ahead of The View's show on Tuesday, a senior ABC News source told DailyMail.com that staff are stunned by the network's soft touch on her remarks, especially when it was so quick to fire Roseanne Barr over racist comments towards Valerie Jarrett.

'These comments are absolutely abhorrent and outrageous and its time Disney and ABC grew a pair and fired her,' the source said.

Whoopi Goldberg on Tuesday apologized again for her claim that the Holocaust 'wasn't racist' after a swell of people called for her to be fired

'Disney took swift action and fired Roseanne Barr when she posted the awful tweet about Valerie Jarrett, yet Whoopi made her vile comments on ABCs air and they do nothing about it? Where is the leadership from within Disney?

'[Disney content chairman] Peter Rice needs to step up and do his job and fire Whoopi. How is this appropriate at all? What message do we send as a company? Why is there one rule for Whoopi Goldberg  who gets a pass on everything and another rule for everyone else?' said the source.

WHOOPI'S HOLOCAUST COMMENTS The saga began when the panel discussed a Tennessee school removing the comic Maus from its curriculum because it contained nudity. Critics are now demanding that Goldberg be fired from the show. They pointed to other talk show hosts and TV personalities like Sharon Osborne and Roseanne Barr who were fired over making controversial remarks. Goldberg started off by saying: 'Personally I am shocked because given the story of Maus I am surprised that that's what made you uncomfortable. 'It's about the Holocaust, the killing of 6million people, but that didn't bother you. This is white people doing it to white people so y'all go fight amongst yourselves but...' Later, she carried on: 'Let's be truthful about it. The Holocaust isn't about race. It's not about race. It's not about race. It's not about race. It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about.' Co-hosts Ana Navarro, Joy Behar and Sarah Haines all argued back but she continued: 'But these are two white groups of people? You are missing the point. 'The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley. 'Let's talk about it for what it is, it's how people treat each other.' Advertisement

There is a blind spot on The View when it comes to anti-Semitism. It is never a big enough hate crime for them.

They added that the comment on Monday was only the latest in a string of inflammatory claims made by Whoopi, who previously defended Bill Cosby on the show.

'We were all outraged when Whoopi was defending Bill Cosby and ABC had to bring [legal analyst] Dan Abrams on the show to help her understand that her views surrounding Cosby were extremely problematic.

'This was after fifty women, FIFTY, had come forward with serious allegations about him.'

'People are livid within the news division as it completely undermines our credibility.'

The source also alleged that former host Meghan McCain previously pitched the victim of a Jewish hate crime as a guest on the show but that she was told to conduct the interview for online only.

Among those who fumed over Goldberg being allowed to stay on the show was Piers Morgan.

'Sharon Osbourne was fired from The Talk for defending me against a fake charge of racism. Whoopi Goldberg said on The View yesterday that the Holocaust wasnt about race, which for Jewish people is about as racist a comment as anyone could make.

'Bet she doesnt lose her job,' he said.

Osborne was fired from The Talk, a CBS show, for defending Morgan against allegations he was racist because he did not believe everything the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, said.

Others have compared Whoopi's situation to that of Joe Rogan, the Spotify podcast host who was admonished by musicians because he hosted anti-vax opinions on his show.

Spotify is standing by him and adding a content advisory warning to his shows, ignoring the demands of musicians like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young who threatened to pull their music off the streaming site because they disagreed with Rogan.

Rogan has never disclosed his vaccination status. It's unclear if he is pro or against it but the very fact he was giving a platform to the topic of anti-vaxxing was enough, they said, to constitute disinformation.

On Tuesday, Whoopi returned to The View and kicked off the show with an on-air apology.

'Yesterday on our show I misspoke. I tweeted about it last night but I kind of want you to hear it from me directly. I feel a responsibility.

'My words upset so many people which was never my intention. I understand why. The information I got was really helpful.

Whoopi posted an apology on Twitter Monday night saying the Holocaust was about 'both' race and inhumanity

'I said the Holocaust wasn't about race and was instead about man's inhumanity to man.

'It is indeed about race because Hitler and the Nazis considered Jews to be the inferior race.

'Words matter and mine are no exception. I regret my comments and I stand corrected,' she said.

She then went on to interview Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, who spoke generally about anti-Semitism and why it is still a threat, before cutting to a commercial.

Then, after the break, they resumed the 'hot topics' of the day including Rihanna's pregnancy.

WHOOPI'S WHOOPSIES: THE MANY PAST CONTROVERSIES THAT THE VIEW HOST HAS GOTTEN AWAY WITH Whoopi's Holocaust comments are not the first time she has made controversial remarks on the show - and gotten away with them. From Mel Gibson's racist, drunken rants to Bill Cosby's sex crimes, Whoopi, has gone against the grain repeatedly. MEL GIBSON 'I know he's not a racist': Whoopie defends her 'friend' Mel Gibson after he tells his then girlfriends he hopes she gets raped by a 'pack of n****s' In July 2010, Goldberg defended Mel Gibson after a furious conversation between him and ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva was published. Gibson tells his Russian girlfriend, mother of his daughter Lucia: 'You look like a f****** pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of n******, it will be your fault.' Goldberg defended him. 'I know Mel, and I know he's not a racist,' she said. 'I have had a long friendship with Mel. You can say he's being a bonehead, but I can't sit and say that he's a racist having spent time with him in my house with my kids.' Goldberg was quick to add, however, that she does not condone his actions. 'I don't like what he's done,' she said. 'Make no mistake.' When co-host Joy Behar asked Goldberg if she thought Gibson was anti-Semitic, she replied, 'I think he's an a******,' quickly covering her mouth before the full word escaped her lips. MEN HAVE 'EVERY RIGHT TO HIT WOMEN' WHO HIT THEM FIRST In 2014, she twice sprung to the defense of male celebrities involved in violent confrontations with women. First she said that Jay-Z, who was attacked by Beyonce's sister Solange Knowles in an elevator at The Standard Hotel, would have been justified in hitting her back. Goldberg told The View in May 2014 that a man has 'every right' to hit a woman in some circumstances. Jaz-Z refrained from any attack. 'I think Solange was quite ready for him to do whatever he was going to do,' Goldberg said. 'This is the thing: If anybody hits you, you have the right  I know that many people are raised in a different way  but if a woman hits you, to me, you have the right to hit her back,' she said. BILL COSBY - 'INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY' The floodgates of allegations opened in November 2014, but Goldberg defended him resolutely until July 2015. 'He has not been proven a rapist,' she insisted in early July 2015. 'It's my opinion, and the American courts agree with me because still he has not been taken to jail or tried on anything. So back off me!' Several weeks later, she finally changed her tune. 'I gotta say, all of the information that's out there kinda points to 'guilt',' she concluded. GEORGE BUSH Perhaps the thrice-married actress's most damaging moment came when she was invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention, in 2004, and made a crude joke about then-Republican President George W. Bush. 'I love Bush, but somebody's giving Bush a bad name,' Goldberg told the audience. We should keep Bush where he belongs,' she said, gesturing at her genitals, 'and not in the White House.' Goldberg was condemned for her remarks, and lost a lucrative contract with Slim Fast. She said at the time she was taken aback by the outrage. 'I've done material on every president in the past 20 years, from Reagan to Carter, from Clinton to Bush. It seems now that people from the other side are using this to further their own agenda,' she said. The Manhattan-born performer found herself cast into the wilderness after her comments, and has since said she didn't work for five years. 'For a good three years, I couldn't even get arrested,' she told The New York Times in 2019. 'Eventually I was lucky enough to get a radio show, and then Barbara Walters asked if I would consider doing 'The View.'' Goldberg officially joined the show in August 2007, taking the slot vacated by Rosie O'Donnell. EX-BOYFRIEND USING THE N-WORD IN ROAST Whoopi's infamous roast by then-boyfriend Ted Danson where he repeatedly used the n-word and joked about racially mixed kids. In 1993, she was roasted by her then-boyfriend Ted Danson at the Friar's Club. Goldberg and Danson collaborated on the jokes, and Danson appeared on stage in blackface with his lips painted white, proceeding to make graphic jokes about Goldberg's anatomy and repeatedly used the n-word. Attendees were horrified and then-New York City Mayor David Dinkins - the first black mayor of the city - said he was 'embarrassed for Whoopi and the audience and felt a tremendous sense of relief when it was over.' Talk show host Montel Williams stormed off seven minutes into Danson's monologue and left with his visibly upset wife. 'When Ted made the jokes about the racially mixed kids, and everyone knows my wife is white and just gave birth to our child, I could see my wife start to cry,' Williams told The New York Daily News. 'If that's what Whoopi and Ted find funny in their bedroom, it's not funny to the outside world.' Williams said he planned to send roses and a note of apology to all the black women sitting on the dais with him for what he said was like 'a meeting of the Klan.' Advertisement

MEGHAN MCCAIN: There's no point calling for Whoopi to be fired - her half-assed apology for antisemitism only shows again the double standards television holds for liberals and conservatives

In the six months since I left The View, I haven't watched a single episode of the show.

My life has moved on.

Between this column and other projects and above all a toddler, who is the most demanding and adorable diva in my life.

The other day she insisted on having her bunny rabbit shoes and wouldn't take no for an answer; see I just don't have the time for my old friends on the show.

Nonetheless, when something goes viral from the show or ends up in the publications that I read I can't help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

It's not that I expect compelling or nuanced political discussions from daytime television, but it's sad to see the recent litany of embarrassing moments from a show I invested so much time and effort in trying to elevate to a more serious level.

The notorious disaster of the non-interview with Vice President Kamala Harris was the most prominent incident, until yesterday, when my old co-host Whoopi Goldberg engaged in a series of bizarre, incoherent, and even dangerous comments about the Holocaust.

I went back and forth in my mind as to whether this column was even worth writing, because as much as possible I have moved on.

The show doesn't define me like it has so many other people who have worked there over the years, and I have found liberation and satisfaction in my career working here at DailyMail.com.

It's not that I expect compelling or nuanced political discussions from daytime television, but it's sad to see the recent litany of embarrassing moments from a show I invested so much time and effort in trying to elevate to a more serious level.

The freedom to adjust my priorities in life after the pandemic came at the best time for me personally, and I don't want to dwell on the past.

Unfortunately, what Whoopi said yesterday was too serious to avoid addressing it.

Even during my time working at The View, I became very deeply engaged as an activist against the growing rise of antisemitism in America.

The American Jewish Committee released a report in October detailing the rise of antisemitism in America.

In the survey, one in four American Jews said they have been targets of antisemitism in the last 12 months.

Four in 10 American Jews have changed their behavior out of fear.

Four in 10 of all Americans have personally witnessed anti-Semitic incidents.

And 82% of American Jews say antisemitism has risen over the last five years.

There is more staggering data, but anyone who has been paying attention over the last few years has seen it.

In January 2019, I called out the founders of the Women's March live on ABC, after they were accused of intolerance and antisemitism by their own members.

They subsequently refused to condemn statements equating Jews to termites and claims that the Holocaust didn't happen.

That was three years ago.

I was flooded with thousands and thousands of comments on social media that I will not repeat  but it was a baptism by fire.

It was an experience that made clear the intensity of antisemitism that still permeates our society, and it was an eye-opening look at the degree to which some extremists are willing to engage in such abhorrent racism.

Since that moment I can best describe my experience in media, and yes at The View, as discovering just how un-seriously people take the rise in antisemitism.

There is a serious cultural downplaying in the media of these threats.

Even the FBI downplayed the recent hostage crisis in Colleyville, Texas, during which British national Malik Faisal Akram held Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and four congregants at gunpoint.

The Bureau was reluctant to say the shooter was motivated by antisemitism  despite the fact that he was specifically targeting a rabbi and a synagogue.

Antisemitism is truly the last socially-accepted form of bigotry.

The hatred of Jews is an ancient trope.

Like so many forms of hatred, it's as old as the existence of human tribes themselves.

The difference is that today, in an era when so many forms of insult or criticism are labeled bigotry, true or not, actual bigotry toward the Jewish people is not just tolerated but defended in ways I find abhorrent.

For many years, this has been an underlying aspect of leftist politics, particularly of the campus variety.

They use the excuse that this is really about Middle East foreign policy or Palestine or even the friendly relationships between Benjamin Netanyahu and conservative politicians here in America.

We all know that's just making excuses.

What we're talking about here is just racism, pure and simple.

The unequal standard here is obvious, too.

I was lectured to thousands of times on The View, there is a belief that 'cancel culture' is really 'accountability culture' among the woke left.

Which seems to be a belief that's quickly forgotten whenever it's Whoopi who has to be held to account.

I am not calling for Whoopi Goldberg to be fired, if only because I don't believe there is any universe where she could possibly do anything that could get her fired  she is the crown jewel of The View and a pop culture icon.

But I hope this can be used as a teachable moment to explain to millions of Americans why conflating the Holocaust as something that is specific and limited to 'white people' is insane, ahistorical and anti-Semitic.

For as much as the left is fond of using Nazi comparisons and imagery, the truth of the Holocaust, who it targeted and why, deserves to be known and understood by all.

Deny the Moon landing if you will, call the Earth flat, question who really shot JFK -- but framing the Holocaust as just a dispute among one 'race' isn't just wrong, it's dangerous.

I also think ABC and The View at large need to take a hard look at why some hosts -- and let me be completely candid here  why some liberal hosts are held to an entirely different standard than anyone else.

Whoopi has said a slew of insanely-controversial and hurtful things over the course of her tenure at The View.

Some of the more notorious ones include defending Roman Polanski for raping a 13-year-old (calling it 'not rape, rape') and defending Bill Cosby after over 50 accusers had come out publicly with their stories.

With age and status comes protection at The View.

This goes for the other liberal hosts as well.

Instead of half-assed apologies and bringing in experts in the antisemitism space, maybe dedicate an entire 'Hot Topics' segment to discussing why what was said was so deeply offensive and dangerous.

In the world of media, there are people who will never face the same ramifications and repercussions that others will.

There's a double, triple, and even quadruple standard if you are conservative.

If this isn't an enormous problem for ABC News today, it will grow to be a bigger one.

People have less and less tolerance for overpaid celebrities, with every access to education themselves, using their platforms to spew bigotry.

And from my experience working in television, the ugly things said casually backstage always have a way of coming out into the light when the camera is on.

All of that being said, there are those who will be given protection and coverage for their bad behavior from networks and executives no matter what.

Those people aren't Sharon Osbourne and Roseanne Barr.

The View was founded by one of the most famous Jewish American women in American history - Barbara Walters.

I don't believe a show of one myopic opinion was her intention.

American viewers deserve a better class of debate, especially on a topic of such importance to understanding the capacity of evil in the world.

And for those who hope and work against anti-Semitic forces in our country, we cannot afford to forget what was done, and why, and know this evil for what it is.
Queensland has managed to keep an extraordinarily low Covid death rate by managing to keep the dangerous Delta variant out - so far.

The Sunshine State is also benefiting from its outdoor lifestyle, widespread vaccinations, new virus treatments and sheer luck, a leading infectious diseases expert said.

Over the course of the pandemic, Queensland has recorded 423,260 cases in total, but just 225 deaths with the virus - just 0.05 per cent of patients.

By contrast, Victoria's 2,029 deaths made up 0.2 per cent of 833,216 cases and NSW's 1,422 deaths from 905,794 infections made up 0.15 per cent of cases.

One major factor is that both NSW and Victoria had large outbreaks of the original virus and the Delta variant, while Queensland did not.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk recently revealed worst-case scenario modelling for the Omicron wave in the state which had not eventuated

Queensland was believed to have the highest percentage of Omicron cases in the country at the end of last year, with the variant making up 80 per cent of new cases in the state. Pictured: A Brisbane resident in a mask

The vast majority of cases in Queensland have come after the state opened its border on December 13 and the Omicron variant spread through the state.

Before that date, Queensland had recorded just 2,168 cases and seven deaths during the entire pandemic.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath on Wednesday said 218 people had died of Covid since visitors from NSW, Victoria and the ACT were welcomed back on December 13. That is over 96 per cent of its total deaths from the virus.

As 2021 came to a close, Queensland was believed to have the highest percentage of Omicron cases in the country, with the variant making up 80 per cent of new cases.

Cases have exploded throughout 2022 after Omicron was let loose, but deaths did not mirror the rates in earlier outbreaks around Australia.

This is because Omicron is considered less severe than Delta and other variants of Covid, despite being far more transmissible.

'It does look like it causes more mild illness so that is a factor in our lower death rate, absolutely,' said Associate Professor Paul Griffin, an infectious disease specialist from the University of Queensland.

Associate Professor Paul Griffin explained Queensland's lower death rate from Covid

Queensland's death rate is also lower than another state that tried to remain closed to interstate 'hotspots' for as long as possible, South Australia.

There, 120 deaths from 106,862 cases represents 0.11 per cent of all cases.

'The higher vaccination rate is certainly a factor for the lower death rate,' Professor Griffin said.

'We were more prepared because we were able to deal with it later.'

Prof. Griffin said the state also now has additional tools, including monoclonal antibody therapy for Covid patients, that people who were infected in earlier waves did not have.

And then there are the factors unique to the state.

'There are other background factors we've not completely put our finger on. Time and time again, despite our response being similar to the other states, our case numbers seem to decline quickly.

'We're relatively spread out, we have a more outdoor lifestyle and live in better ventilated homes... these factors also contribute.'

'We're relatively spread out, we have a more outdoor lifestyle and live in better ventilated homes... these factors also contribute,' Assoc. Professor Paul Griffin said of Queensland's better than expected response to Omicron (pictured, mates out in Brisbane)

Queenslanders line up at a vaccination hub at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

Importantly, Omicron's entry to the state once the border came down, causing a dramatic rise in overall cases, also occurred after vaccination levels had reached substantial levels.

Across the state, 88.32 per cent of the population aged 16 and over had received a first dose and 81.23 per cent had two doses of a vaccine by December 13.

'We certainly could have seen a much worse situation than we have with Omicron,' Professor Griffin said.

'I think we're a state that seems to have lower risk of those really high rates of transmission that NSW and Victoria have seen,' Professor Griffin also told the ABC.

'But I think also we've got a population who inherently try to do the right thing and so in terms of mask-wearing and social distancing, on the whole, our state has tended to do quite well with those simple measures, so that's probably helped us to a degree as well.'

Omicron's entry into Queensland once its border re-opened, causing a dramatic rise in overall cases, occurred after vaccination levels had reached substantial levels (pictured, a border reunion in Brisbane in January)

Last week Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said worst-case scenario modelling on the Omicron wave had not eventuated in the state.

It showed 5,000 hospital beds may have been needed in the worst case or 3,000 beds in a 'most likely' scenario.

'What were reporting at the moment is under 1,000 [people in hospital],' Ms Palaszczuk said, indicating Omicron's milder effect.

Chief health officer John Gerrard said despite the spread of Omicron, Queenslanders negated its worst effects by taking precautions.

'Not because of mandates that weve imposed on Queenslanders, but because of the natural behaviour that they have done themselves to protect themselves,' he said.

The state recorded 9,630 new Covid infections and 16 deaths, including a child under 10 years, on Wednesday.

Queensland's vaccination rate is now 92.03 per cent of people aged 16 and over with a first dose and 89.63 per cent who have received two doses.
Gladys Berejiklian has been spotted leaving her home after a leaked text exchange in which she allegedly branded Scott Morrison a 'horrible, horrible' person.

The former NSW premier drove out of her duplex on Sydney's north shore on Wednesday afternoon as a newspaper's front page story headlined 'Toxic texts strike PM' sat on a neighbour's front lawn.

The onetime state Liberal leader did not stop to talk with reporters waiting on the street opposite her home.

Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has been spotted leaving her home (above) after a leaked text exchange allegedly showed her calling Prime Minister Scott Morrison a 'horrible, horrible' person

Ten News political journalist Peter van Onselen blindsided Mr Morrison on live television with a series of text messages allegedly sent between Ms Berejiklian and an unnamed cabinet minister. Mr Morrison (right) is pictured with Ms Berejiklian

Ms Berejiklian drove out of her duplex on Sydney's north shore on Wednesday afternoon as a newspaper's front page story headlined 'Toxic texts strike PM' sat on a neighbour's front lawn

Earlier in the day, NSW Treasurer Matt Kean - a close political ally of Ms Berejiklian - denied he leaked the inflammatory text messages to Ten News political editor Peter van Onselen.

When asked if he was the source of the messages, Mr Kean said: 'I don't believe so'.

'Was it you?' 2GB host Ben Fordham asked Mr Kean.

'I played no part in the ambush on the Prime Minister. It was not me,' he responded.

When asked again by Fordham if he was Peter van Onselen's source, Kean responded saying: 'I don't believe so'.

The alleged texts were sent between Ms Berejiklian and a federal cabinet minister, van Onselen told Listnr radio on Wednesday.

The journalist on Tuesday blindsided Mr Morrison on live television with a series of text messages allegedly sent between Ms Berejiklian and the unnamed cabinet minister.

The alleged texts were sent between Ms Berejiklian and a federal cabinet minister, van Onselen told Listnr radio on Wednesday. Ms Berejiklian is pictured leaving her home

Ms Berejiklian allegedly described the PM as a 'horrible, horrible person' who is 'more concerned with politics than people' - and the minister allegedly replied saying he was a fraud and a 'complete psycho'.

Mr Morrison was left stunned by the allegations and blinked rapidly before meekly replying: 'Well I don't know who you're referring to, or the basis of what you've put to me. But I obviously don't agree with it and I don't think that is my record.'

The Prime Minister has since taken his own swipe at van Onselen. During a round of media appearances on Wednesday, Mr Morrison said van Onselen - who had asked him about the texts at a National Press Club lunch - 'is facing his own questions'.

'There is still someone out there trying to do you in,' Today host Allison Langdon told Mr Morrison. 'It doesn't get a greater betrayal than that, does it?'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has hit back at Peter van Onselen after the journalist confronted the Australian leader with text exchanges allegedly involving former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian which called him 'horrible'

'The journalist who raised it is facing his own questions,' Mr Morrison replied. 'There were no details or context behind [van Onselen's question] and it was done for sensationalist purposes.'

Mr Morrison's comments were a barely veiled dig at van Onselen being named in a lawsuit brought by his ex-Ten colleague Tegan George which claims The Project political guru wrote 'humiliating' and 'belittling' messages to her.

Court documents were filed in the Federal Court on Monday naming Ten as the respondent in a case alleging it had engaged in unlawful conduct breaching the Fair Work Act.

Meanwhile, Mr Morrison was asked if the text exchange 'hurt' by Sunrise host Natalie Barr.

'No one cares if the prime minister's feelings get hurt. It doesn't matter. People say nasty things about you as Prime Minister all the time, it goes with the job.'

Ms Berejiklian allegedly described the PM as a 'horrible, horrible person' who is 'more concerned with politics than people'

The minister allegedly replied saying the prime minister was a fraud and a 'complete psycho'

Ten News journalist Peter van Onselen (pictured) confronted the PM with the series of incendiary text messages allegedly sent between former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed cabinet minister

Ms Berejiklian has said she had no recollection of the text exchange taking place.

'Let me reiterate my very strong support for Prime Minister Morrison and all he is doing for our nation during these very challenging times,' she said.

'I also strongly believe he is the best person to lead our nation for years to come.'

After a heated discussion where the prime minister was confronted for not knowing the price of a loaf of bread, milk and a rapid antigen test, he took a crack at Barr's Sunrise co-host.

'Enjoy your almond latte,' Morrison said to David Koch.

'The journalist who raised it are facing his own questions,' Mr Morrison said on Wednesday morning. 'There were no details or context behind [Van Onselen's question] and it was done for sensationalist purposes.'

Koch responded saying: 'For the record, I'm rye bread, at $5 a loaf, Burgen. What about you - are you a sourdough or a multigrain?'

Mr Morrison quipped back: 'I'm just normal white bread taste, that's me.'

Mr Morrison had fronted the press gallery on Tuesday hoping to reset his campaign and turn around recent polling which has placed him 12 points behind Labor, but instead found himself fielding an onslaught of pointed questioning.

Project host Waleed Aly said the barrage was the moment the prime minister realised could be in serious trouble in the upcoming federal election.

Waleed Aly (pictured with Carrie Bickmore) said the prime minister's Press Club address is a clear indication Mr Morrison in in trouble before the federal election

'I think what's significant about it, though, beyond that particular exchange, is just the tone of that Press Club address,' Aly said.

'It was extraordinary to see this kind of... coordinated is not the right word but almost this consensus across the press gallery that they were going to go for it.

'It doesn't happen unless a Prime Minister is in real trouble.

'I think maybe this was the day the press gallery called the election and said: "You are not going to win this, we think you're going".

'It doesn't mean they'll be right, by the way, they probably thought that in 2019.'
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The death of a toddler who was fatally mauled by his family's dog has sparked calls for dangerous pet breeds to be banned.

Talan Peters, two, suffered serious head injuries and died in hospital after being attacked at his family's home in remote Mena Creek, near Cairns in far north Queensland, on Saturday afternoon.

He was airlifted to Townsville Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. He was later placed in an induced coma and died on Monday.

Australians have thrown their support behind his mother Amber Stewart and father James Peters, with more than $20,000 raised to help the family grieve through an online fundraiser set up on Tuesday.

The breed of dog that mauled the two-year-old has yet to be revealed.

Talan, two, (pictured) suffered serious head injuries during the attack at the family home in Mena Creek on Saturday afternoon

'What breed was it? The usual culprits need to be outlawed,' one commenter wrote on a news story about the mauling on Facebook.

'If any dog can bite and kill a two-year old maybe we shouldn't own them as pets and have them in our houses,' another said.

However one said those who didn't know the full facts of Talan's death should avoid rushing to judgement.

'No-one knows the circumstances other than the family,' one said.

'Any dog can be dangerous in the right situation, but it doesn't generally become a dangerous dog until the situation happens.'

It comes after a Sydney vet called for some dangerous dog breeds to be banned in Australia to prevent fatal attacks on their owners or their families.

The vet, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia in September he wanted an immediate ban on selling, breeding, importing or rehoming American Staffordshire terriers.

The breed was responsible for a savage attack on two women at a rural home south of Sydney in September, and a pit bull mauled a five-week-old baby to death on the Central Coast in July.

Some online commenters questioned why a dog capable of killing a child was anywhere near Talan over the weekend, while some urged those on the outside not to rush to judgement

'Most of the time they won't be killers,' he told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

'But when you're dealing with such a powerful breed that's been bred to fight and kill, when they really want to do this, nobody can do anything to fend them off.

'They should not be allowed to be bred in this country.'

He added there were 'literally hundreds of puppies for sale on Gumtree for American Staffordshire Terriers'.

'These type of dogs are unpredictable and should be banned,' one Daily Mail Australia reader said at the time.'

A GoFundMe page has been launched to help the family financially with the toddler's funeral costs

Talan's heartbroken mother on Sunday issued a gut-wrenching tribute to her 'sweet boy'.

She shared a photo of her young son on Facebook as she asked for people to keep the family in their thoughts.

'I love you my sweet boy,' she wrote on Monday night.

'Please pray for my baby. Also please give us some space during this time.

'We are heartbroken right now.'

Talan's aunt Bex Newman said doctors tried in vain to save the toddler's life, but his injuries were too severe.

His heartbroken mother paid tribute to her 'sweet boy' on Monday in a post on Facebook (pictured)

'They unfortunately couldn't stop the bleeding and his organs started to struggle,' Ms Newman wrote on the GoFundMe fundraising page.

The page has been set up to raise money for the funeral costs during the difficult time.

'All funds of this page will be going directly to Talans family to help pay for his funeral and allow them time off work to grieve the loss of their child without the added financial stress of providing for their two beautiful boys Lucas (5) and Kaden (one month) at home,' the page read.

'As you could imagine this is a truly heartbreaking time for the family.'

A report is being prepared for the coroner.
Cleo Smith's parents were forced to do their $2million interview with 60 Minutes over video chat due to Western Australia's hard border.

Ellie Smith and Cleo's stepfather Jake Gliddon sat down for their tell-all interview with veteran host Tara Brown to be broadcast on Sunday.

Cleo, 4, was abducted from her family's holiday campsite in Carnarvon, WA, and found 18 days later just 3km from her family home.

Nine won an intense bidding war against Seven, which interviewed Cleo's parents during the search, and paid $2million for a huge package of content.

Nine News have confirmed their $2million interview with Cleo Smith's parents (above) was conducted over video chat

But due to WA's closed border, Brown was unable to enter the state to sit with the family so instead talked to them over Zoom while film crews recorded both sides of the interview.

An ad for the interview tried to make it look like Brown was in the same room as the room she sat in had similar colours and what appeared to be photos on a mantlepiece in the background as she spoke.

Nine confirmed the interview was done remotely and said it became standard procedure during the Covid pandemic.

'We had a crew in WA who filmed the story and Tara spoke to them via Zoom,' it said.

'It is how very many TV stories have been done for the past two years of the pandemic.'

Cleo, four, was abducted from her family's holiday campsite in Carnarvon, WA, but was miraculously found 18 days later just 3km from her family home

Due to WA's harsh border restriction interviewer Tara Brown was unable to enter the state to sit with Cleo's family so instead chatted with them over a video call while film crews filmed both ends of the discussion

Journalist Neil McMahon called Nine's interview a 'costly video call' in a tweet alongside a screenshot of The Australian's Media Diary.

'Nine's very expensive interview with Cleo Smith's family? It was done via Zoom due to WA border restrictions! That's one helluva costly video call,' he wrote.

Pearman Media director of strategy and research Steve Allen told News Corp he was shocked at the interview's steep price.

'For the family at the reported amount, even under the distressing circumstances, they are now rich beyond their wildest dreams,' he said.

'There must have been more than one media outlet chasing this exclusive to go that high. [It] must have been fierce competition.'

Doing the interview remotely upset Nine employees as WA-based reporters were snubbed and the company recently had a series of budget cuts.

The previous record for amount paid for an interview in Australian history went to two survivors of the Beaconsfield mine disaster, Brant Webb and Todd Russell

'This kind of money could employ not only dozens of journalists but is also enough to run multiple programs,' one senior television executive told The Australian.

The previous record for amount paid for an interview in Australian history went to two survivors of the Beaconsfield mine disaster, Brant Webb and Todd Russell.

The miners were each paid $1million by Nine for recounting how they survived trapped underground for two weeks in 2006.

Industry sources said the large sum is due to Nine boss Mike Sneesby's determination to boost ratings after being beat by Seven last year.
During a raid on a Taliban compound, special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith grabbed an unarmed, older Afghan male by the scruff of his shirt, forced him to kneel and uttered two words to a colleague.

'Shoot him.'

That's according to the testimony of a serving special forces soldier, who on Wednesday said he witnessed the incident in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province in 2009.

Mr Roberts-Smith, one of a handful of Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross since 1970, denies the claim, suggesting it's 'outrageous' fabrication and part of attacks from envious associates out of 'pure spite' that he was awarded the VC.

The former SAS corporal, 43, is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, alleging he was unlawfully defamed by claims he committed alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. The newspapers have pleaded a truth defence.

Ben Roberts-Smith (pictured with ex-wife Emma who is expected to testify against him), 43, is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, alleging he was unlawfully defamed by claims he committed alleged war crimes in Afghanistan

The serving soldier testifying on Wednesday, referred to as Person 41, is the first Australian-based witness called for the media outlets in the defamation trial.

He was involved in the 2009 mission to a Taliban compound nicknamed Whiskey 108, located in Uruzgan province.

Person 41 described stepping over the rubble of a bomb-destroyed wall to enter a courtyard where Mr Roberts-Smith and other soldiers were standing.

He entered an adjoining room, finding opium and what he believed was bomb-making equipment, before returning to the courtyard to find Mr Roberts-Smith, one other soldier and a squatting, older Afghan man.

Mr Roberts-Smith and the other soldier, codenamed Person Four, asked to borrow his suppressor.

'I thought it was a strange request but I complied ... thinking he must need it because he's going to go into the tunnel,' Person 41 told the Federal Court.

Mr Roberts-Smith, one of a handful of Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross since 1970, denies the claims made against him

But that thought changed, he said, when Person Four fitted the suppressor to his gun and walked with Mr Roberts-Smith back towards the Afghan.

Mr Roberts-Smith grabbed the Afghan man 'by the scruff' of his shirt, marched him to Person Four and kicked out the Afghan's legs to force him to kneel, facing away.

'RS pointed to the Afghan and said 'shoot him' and stepped to the side,' Person 41 told the court.

The witness said he stepped back inside the opium room - 'I didn't wish to witness what was about to happen' - and heard a single, suppressed shot from a M4 carbine rifle.

He waited another '15 or so seconds' before walking back into the courtyard, where only Person Four remained.

'There was a dead Afghan at his feet.'

As far as Person 41 could remember, nothing was said as Person Four returned the warm suppressor to its owner.

Mr Roberts-Smith has previously testified the suggestion he ordered the man's death 'shocked' and upset him, as 'my professionalism was being targeted by these individuals and such an outrageous claim was being made.'

Australian Army soldier Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, MG, with the Special Operations Task Group, moves away from a United States UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during preparations for the Shah Wali Kot Offensive in southern Afghanistan

SAS MISSION 'WHISKEY 108' - By Stephen Gibbs for Daily Mail Australia The Whiskey 108 mission, at Kakarak in southern Afghanistan on Easter Sunday in April 2009, was part of what became known as the second battle of Kakarak, which followed an earlier major engagement in the area on March 16. At the time, Kakarak was considered one of the last Taliban outposts in that region of Uruzgan province and the insurgents sustained heavy casualties in both battles. The SAS supported infantry troops in the second battle, which saw some of the most sustained fighting by conventional Australians forces since the Vietnam War. An Australian solider is pictured with an assault rifle found after the assault on Whiskey 108 Ben Roberts-Smith says he shot a one-legged man armed with the bolt-action .303 rifle at far left and another soldier shot dead an insurgent carrying the PK machine gun at far right One Australian was killed in the first battle and none in the second, while the operation significantly disrupted insurgent activities in the area. Pictures of Whiskey 108 taken before it was destroyed by a 500-pound bomb 12 were released by the Federal Court last year. The pictures show a hidden tunnel system dug by the Taliban, a suicide vest and an Apache helicopter rocket which the insurgents use in improvised explosive devices. A large quantity of batteries, used as receivers and detonators for IEDs, was also located as well as firearms including a machine gun and buried 83mm rockets. After this picture was taken by a drone Whiskey 108 was destroyed by a 500-pound bomb Declassified defence photographs taken after a fierce battle against the Taliban at a compound called Whiskey 108 reveal some of the tactics used by the enemy in Australia's longest war. Pictured is a suicide vest with a Russian or Chinese made grenade in the pocket The suicide vest and other weapons were found in this tunnel. Mr Roberts-Smith has denied two Afghan men were found in the hideaway and shot dead after surrendering. He told the Federal Court the men were killed in battle Mr Roberts-Smith previously told the Federal Court he shot dead an Afghan man outside a the compound. He later discovered that man had a prosthetic leg. In the same engagement, another SAS soldier had shot dead a second insurgent armed with a machine gun, he said. Mr Roberts-Smith has told the court the two 'insurgents', including the man with the prosthetic leg, were shot dead in legitimate engagements during the mission. An Australian solider holds a 12.7mm rocket from an Apache helicopter found during the search of the compound Nine claims Mr Roberts-Smith had carried the man with the prosthetic leg outside the compound, threw him on the ground and shot him 10 to 15 times with a machine gun. Mr Roberts-Smith has said he shot the man, who was armed with a bolt-action .303 rifle, with a two-round burst when he was already outside the building. He said if the man had been shot 10 to 15 times his injuries would have been far more substantial than what was shown in photographs and he could not possibly have carried him when he was already wielding a machine gun. He did not know the man had a fake leg until after the fight but said it was not unusual for insurgents to have missing limbs and it had not impeded the fighter in battle. The Whiskey 108 mission on April 12, 2009 was part of what became known as the second battle of Kakarak, which followed an earlier major engagement in the area on March 16, 2009 Advertisement

He also labelled 'completely false' an alternate claim that Person Four shot the man at Whiskey 108 on the orders of another SAS operator, codenamed Person Five.

The marquee defamation trial resumed on Wednesday in Sydney after a six-month hiatus caused by a lockdown in NSW and hard border in Western Australia.

Whilst some journalists can follow a live web stream, it cannot be publicly accessed out of concern for potential 'inadvertent disclosure' of national security information by witnesses, the judge has ruled.

Instead, the court will upload a redacted recording of each day's hearing to YouTube within 24 hours.

The newspapers propose to call two dozen witnesses - about 10 of whom reside in Western Australia.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Open Arms 1800 011 046
A Channel Ten reporter has been handed $25,000 in donations to fund her bombshell legal case against the network.

Tegan George, who has been on leave since June, claims the network breached the Fair Work Act by failing to provide a safe workplace, alleging she was 'bullied' by her boss Peter van Onselen.

Professional activist Sally Rugg, a former creative director at left-wing group GetUp and director at Change.org, has set up a fundraising page to 'help Tegan's case go to Federal Court', with more than $26,000 already donated as of Wednesday afternoon.

Tegan George (pictured), who has been on leave since June, claims the network breached the Fair Work Act by failing to provide a safe workplace

Professional activist Sally Rugg (pictured), a former creative director at left-wing group GetUp and director at Change.org, has set up a fundraising page

'This fundraiser will help with Tegan's legal costs, including paying for her legal team at Maurice Blackburn, barrister fees and court costs,' Ms Rugg wrote on the page.

'Tegan hasn't been able to work for the past 7 months and has already accrued almost $40,000 in legal costs trying to have the matter resolved privately in Fair Work.'

Ms Rugg said the money will also help pay for George to get counselling and any excess would be donated to charity.

'The fundraiser will also help to provide basic support for Tegan as she goes through the legal process, helping out with general necessities and support with medical treatment and psychological support,' she wrote.

'Any money that's raised in excess of Tegan's legal fees and basic supports for the period of her legal proceedings will be donated to the Let Her Speak Trust, which funds legal protection for survivors of sexual abuse who would be otherwise silenced by defamation law, and the RU OK? charity.'

$24,955 was already donated by almost 400 people as of 3.30pm on Wednesday

Inside the lawsuit

In her bombshell lawsuit, George claimed 'humiliating' and 'belittling' messages from The Project's political editor van Onselen were part of a 'toxic' culture of bullying at Network Ten.

George alleges in court documents that a boss told her: 'Peter is bats*** crazy but we just have to get used to it.'

The reporter was left 'anxious and distressed' to the point of 'vomiting' because of the stress, according to her lawsuit against Ten filed at the Federal Court on Tuesday.

George joined the station in 2011 and started the new role in 2019 but has been on leave since June 2021 allegedly suffering 'personal injury' brought on by 'stress to the point of incapacity', the lawsuit alleged.

Channel 10's Political Editor Peter Van Onselen has been named in legal action brought against the network by one of its reporters, Tegan George

Tegan George (pictured) has worked for the channel since 2019 as a political reporter in the press gallery but has been on leave since June 2021 suffering a 'personal injury' brought on by 'stress to the point of incapacity'

While she was off work though, George claims that van Onselen allegedly wrote a 'passive aggressive' group email to colleagues that he was having to pick up her slack.

'Tegan has extended her leave by another week,' part of the email said, the lawsuit claims. 'As mentioned I'm covering this weekend anyway.

'It will be my 15th straight day working so Alex has very kindly offered to double check my work!!!'

Van Onselen is one of several senior employees named in the lawsuit which claims the station failed to provide a safe working environment.

On Wednesday, van Onselen told Virginia Trioli on ABC Radio Melbourne that the lawsuit had been leaked to the media by Ms George's camp.

In her statement filed to the court, Ms George also claims Network Ten's Political Editor would 'background' against her to other journalists.

When she complained to her bosses about the 'rude and hostile' environment, executive editor Anthony Murdoch allegedly told her to deal with the 'toxic' culture.

George was allegedly then made to apologise for 'hurting his feelings' by making the accusations, according to her lawsuit.

Van Onselen is alleged to have rejected her complaint about feeling 'unsupported, disrespected and unwelcome' at the Canberra Bureau by saying he 'did not give a s***' how she was feeling'.

The controversy for the veteran reporter comes just a week after he copped a fiery backlash for criticising 2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame for refusing to smile when she greeted Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Australia Day at The Lodge.

Channel 10 Political Editor Peter van Onselen found himself under attack after labelling Grace Tame 'ungracious, rude and childish' following her awkward encounter with Scott Morrison (pictured) at The Lodge last week

In her claim, the female reporter also alleges in the lawsuit that she often had to write van Onselen's TV news packages on top of her own work she was already doing.

News director Ross Dagan allegedly told her 'words to the effect that Mr van Onselen was the Network's number one and said that they were all expected to build Mr van Onselen's brand', George's statement said.

Worried about the workload her and another female colleague were under, a manager at the station allegedly replied: 'What did you even do today? Painting your nails and drinking herbal tea?'

On occasions where Ms George performed well in her job, she claims van Onselen would attempt to undermine her.

Network Ten Federal political reporter Tegan George (pictured) has launched legal action in the Federal Court against her employer, accusing it of breaching the Fair Work Act

The lawsuit alleges the script of a federal government scoop was sent to Minister Greg Hunt's office behind her back, prompting him to demand changes and ruining her exclusive.

It also claims The Project host 'publicly reprimanded' her for not sending him her script days prior to her interview with Scott Morrison which received half a million views.

Just a month before she says she was forced to take personal leave, the situation came to a head after she allegedly overheard a conversation in Network Ten's Parliament House bureau.

George claims The Project host directed these tweets towards - but didn't mention her by name

The lawsuit says says she was allegedly pressured into making a statement after she overheard a Network Ten employee and a freelance camera operator make 'a sexist remark about another employee'.

The Network allegedly threatened her with disciplinary action if she did not speak up and make a report.

It's alleged van Onselen then wrote a tweet she says was aimed at her on the topic of sexual harassment: 'There should also be obligations on employees who witness it to report it, not cover it up.'

After an emotional meeting between Ten management and the media union in September, the lawsuit claims Van Onselen again tweeted about her, quoting a poem about 'crying wolf' and 'looking for sympathy'.

Van Onselen declined to discuss the case on ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday and told host Virginia Trioli: 'The statement of claim has been leaked, presumably by the other side, so I can't comment.'

Network Ten will file a defence to the claims at a later date.
Australians have been warned not to eat drink, smoke, brush their teeth or chew gum before taking a rapid antigen Covid test.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) says doing any of the above could produce an incorrect test result.

'Many home use tests are available and each one is different. It is important to follow the steps in the instructions provided with the test you use,' the TGA says in a fact sheet on how to use and interpret RAT kit results.

'It is important you do not eat, drink, smoke, brush your teeth or chew gum for 1030 minutes (refer to the instructions provided with your test kit for the recommended timing) before collecting saliva for a home use test as it may produce an incorrect result.'

Australians have been warned not to eat drink, vape, brush their teeth or chew gum before taking a RAT

The TGA also warned Australians to check that every rapid antigen is in its original approved packaging and to make sure it is not damaged.

'If test packs are divided and repackaged, it is possible that the test will not work properly if all components are not included or the correct instructions are not provided,' the watchdog noted on its website.

'If the packaging around the test kit has been damaged, or the test is exposed to excessive light or heat, it may not work properly.'

School students in NSW are required to undergo twice-weekly RAT tests in a bid to keep a lid on an anticipated spike in COVID-19 cases as classes resume
Ten's political editor Peter van Onselen sabotaged one woman reporter's career while trying to make a star out of another, court documents allege.

The Project's political guru set up the two women reporters to be rivals as part of the bullying row accusations at the 'toxic' TV station, a bombshell lawsuit claims.

The full explosive details of Canberra press gallery journalist Tegan George's legal action against Network Ten have been revealed in papers released by the Federal Court.

Ten's political editor Peter van Onselen (pictured) allegedly tried to sabotage one woman reporter's career while trying to make a star out of another, court papers reveal

The full explosive details of the legal action by Canberra press gallery journalist Tegan George (pictured) against Network Ten have been revealed in papers released by the Federal Court

In the full statement of claim filed on Tuesday, obtained by Daily Mail Australia, Ms George alleges a number of grievances including:

Being told to apologise to van Onselen for complaining about having to write his stories

Van Onselen refusing to talk to her and communicating by text message

Being made to move desks so van Onselen could prove he was the boss

Accusing him of being 'rude, intemperate, condescending and patronising'

And being snubbed for invites to van Onselen's coffee meetings with other staff.

TV bosses allegedly 'pumped up tyres' of rival

At one stage, the lawsuit alleges van Onselen and executive editor Anthony Murdoch set out to build up another reporter, Stela Todorovic, into a star ahead of Ms George.

Murdoch allegedly told an ex-workmate of Ms George that 'PvO had issues with Tegan and so his agenda was to make Stela a star to get at Ms George', the lawsuit claims.

Van Onselen is said to have hailed the work of Ms Todorovic on staff-wide emails - but allegedly ignored Ms George's award nomination and social media success.

The lawsuit alleges van Onselen and executive editor Anthony Murdoch set out to build up another reporter, Stela Todorovic, (pictured) into a star ahead Ms George

But the move allegedly backfired when Murdoch allegedly confessed 'he and van Onselen had "pumped up her tyres too much".'

The executive allegedly admitted he and Mr van Onselen had mistakenly given her too much confidence and were now 'addressing it'.

At a performance review, Murdoch later allegedly told Ms George that 'Ms Todorovics work required improvement', and that Ms George was 'one of the best journalists in the network'.

Ms George joined Ten in 2011, and in November 2019 was appointed as a producer/journalist based in the Canberra bureau under van Onselen.

Tensions allegedly rise at allegedly toxic bureau

Tensions quickly arose when she complained about conflicting instructions and a lack of clear chain of command during her first eight weeks, the documents allege.

TV executive Anthony Murdoch (pictured) allegedly told an ex-workmate of Ms George that 'PvO had issues with Tegan and so his agenda was to make Stela a star to get at Ms George'

The claim says she was expected to write many of the political editor's packages for him, but when she pushed back, she was told van Onselen was the TV station's 'number one whose brand they were expected to build'.

The lawsuit alleges she was told by Murdoch 'the bureau had always been toxic' and she 'needed to learn to deal with it'.

Peter van Onselen allegedly did not give a s*** how she was feeling...

Ms George says in the lawsuit that she tried to resolve the problems directly with van Onselen, but he escalated it to senior management, and she was later allegedly told van Onselen 'did not give a s***' how she was feeling.

Murdoch later allegedly said van Onselen expected an apology from Ms George for 'hurting his feelings', according to the court papers.

The lawsuit says Murdoch added: 'Peter is bats*** crazy but we just have to get used to it'.

TV executive Anthony Murdoch later allegedly admitted he and Peter van Onselen (pictured) had mistakenly given Stela Todorovic too much confidence and were now 'addressing it'

Later that day, Ms George says she suffered a panic attack and couldn't work, and took the next day off.

Work allegedly 'undermined and leaked'

A few weeks later, the lawsuit alleges Murdoch told other Ten staff that Ms George was 'not doing herself any favours' and 'no-one even likes her'.

The lawsuit says he then added '...words to the effect that if he had that many sick days and headache, I would be getting my f***ing head checked'.

The legal action also alleges her script of a federal government scoop was sent to Minister Greg Hunt's office behind her back, prompting Hunt to demand changes and ruining her exclusive.

It also claims The Project host 'publicly reprimanded' her for not sending him her script days prior to her interview with Scott Morrison, which later received half a million views online.

Sexual harassment claim

The lawsuit claims the stress became too much to bear after she reported a sexist remark she overheard in a conversation between an un-named Network Ten employee - who was not van Onselen - and a freelance camera operator.

Tegan George (pictured) has worked as a political reporter in the press gallery for Ten since 2019 but has been on leave since June 2021 suffering a 'personal injury' brought on by 'stress to the point of incapacity'

When executives repeatedly demanded she make a formal statement, she was threatened with disciplinary action, which pushed her over the edge, the lawsuit claims.

It says she faced a two-hour showdown with bosses where she was told she would be in breach of her contract if she continued to refuse to make a statement.

But Ms George says in the statement of claim that the process left her feeling violated and was not 'consent-based'.

She claims she was left feeling physically ill, unable to sleep, and so stressed she was 'incapacitated' and in need of medical treatment and family support.

Peter van Onselen (pictured) expected an apology from Ms George for 'hurting his feelings', according to the court papers

Ms George was left 'anxious and distressed' to the point of 'vomiting' because of the stress, and has been on leave since June 2021, according to her lawsuit.

Allegedly 'passive aggressive emails, tweets'

While she was off work, George claims van Onselen allegedly wrote a 'passive aggressive' group email to colleagues that he was having to pick up her slack.

'Tegan has extended her leave by another week,' part of the email said, the lawsuit claims. 'As mentioned I'm covering this weekend anyway.

'It will be my 15th straight day working so Alex has very kindly offered to double check my work!!!'

In her statement filed to the court, Ms George also claims Network Ten's Political Editor would 'background' against her to other journalists.

Network Ten Federal political reporter Tegan George (pictured) has launched legal action in the Federal Court against her employer, accusing it of breaching the Fair Work Act

George claims The Project host directed these tweets towards her - but didn't mention her by name

It's alleged van Onselen then wrote a tweet she says was aimed at her on the topic of sexual harassment: 'There should also be obligations on employees who witness it to report it, not cover it up.'

After an emotional meeting between Ten management and the media union in September, the lawsuit claims van Onselen again tweeted about her, quoting a poem about 'crying wolf' and 'looking for sympathy'.

Alleged 'Bullying tore down reporter'

Van Onselen is one of several senior employees named in the lawsuit, which claims the station failed to provide a safe working environment.

The lawsuit alleges the 'toxic', 'bullying' culture at Ten's Canberra bureau 'reduced Ms Georges standing and reputation as a journalist'.

'Ms George was subjected to workplace gossip, Ms Georges standing in the workplace was reduced and Ms George was denied the quiet enjoyment of her profession,' adds the lawsuit.

Channel 10 Political Editor Peter van Onselen found himself under attack after labelling Grace Tame 'ungracious, rude and childish' following her awkward encounter with Scott Morrison (pictured) at The Lodge last week

The controversy for the veteran reporter comes just a week after van Onselen copped a fiery backlash for criticising 2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame for refusing to smile when she greeted Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Australia Day at The Lodge.

Van Onselen denies 'woman problem'

Van Onselen declined to discuss the case on ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday but told host Virginia Trioli he denied accusations that it showed he had a 'woman problem'.

'There was an alleged witnessing of sexual harassment within the office, according to the complaint, which I wanted to be dealt with and handled...which would suggest the exact opposite,' he said.

Ms George's lawyers refuted any suggestion she had not reported the sexual harassment.

'Any suggestion that Ms George refused or failed to report an incident of sexual harassment is false,' said Josh Bornstein, of Maurice Blackburn.

'[When she] reported it to a manager, she was threatened with disciplinary action if she refused to make a formal written statement about it.

'Ms George was concerned about why Network 10 were taking such an approach to that matter, while failing to address much more serious issues in the workplace.'

Network Ten will file a defence to the claims at a later date.
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President Joe Biden has offered Russian President Vladimir Putin access to NATO bases so that Moscow can verify the US does not have Tomahawk cruise missiles in Romania or Poland in a bid to avoid war in Ukraine.

Sources close to Biden told Bloomberg on Tuesday the proposal would only come to fruition upon agreement with American allies, especially Poland and Romania. Russia would also need to share similar information about a number of bases housing ground-launched weapons.

Biden's proposal reportedly aims to diminish the Kremlin's fears that the US could use the missiles to target Russia.

News of the proposal comes as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to travel to Europe to attend a NATO defense meeting on February 16 and 17.

The Pentagon confirmed the trip to Voice of America reporter Carla Babb on Tuesday. It is unclear who else will be in attendance, however, it is likely that Austin and other NATO allies will discuss the crisis enveloping eastern Europe as Russia amasses troops on Ukraine's border.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary fired back at his NATO allies Tuesday, alleging the sanctions proposed against Russia if the nation were to take military action against Ukraine would be 'doomed for failure.' He also argued the Kremlin security demands were 'reasonable.'

'The president was very calm and said that Russias demands for security guarantees are normal and should be the basis for negotiations,' Orban said, according to the New York Times. 'And I agree with that. We must negotiate.'

Orban, who some consider to be Putins closest ally inside the European Union, also argued previous sanctions brought against Russia 'did not bring the desired effect at all' and ultimately caused more harm to Hungary than the intended target.

If the prime minister were to veto NATO action against Russia, Biden could be forced to act on his own if he were to deploy troops. Hungary has also indicated it will not allow increased NATO troop presence on its soil or send additional aid to Ukraine.

President Joe Biden has offered Russian President Vladimir Putin access to NATO bases and, in an effort to ease tensions, said he would discuss a way to Moscow to verify the US does not have Tomahawk cruise missiles at bases in Romania or Poland (Pictured: Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo, Poland)

Romania maintains it has an open invitation for Kremlin leaders to visit its facility, assuming Russia offered a reciprocity. Poland has also indicated it could agree to anti-missile checks by Russia in exchange for inspections at the Kaliningrad enclave on the Polish border (pictured: NATO bases in Romania and Poland)

A map showing where Putin's forces have assembled on Ukraine's borders, the military options Putin might be considering, and key targets he would likely go after in the event he chooses to invade - something the US and NATO continue to warn could be just weeks away from happening

Sources close to Biden told Bloomberg the proposal would only come to fruition upon agreement with American allies, especially Poland and Romania (Pictured: US Navy base in Romania and home to NATO's Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System site)

Putin held out hope Tuesday that tensions in Europe could be resolved with diplomacy, while also arguing the US and NATO have 'ignored' the Kremlin's concerns in recent correspondence as the Russian president made his first direct comments on the Ukraine crisis since December.

'We are carefully analyzing the written responses received from the United States and NATO,' Putin said Tuesday during a press conference with Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

'But it is already clear that fundamental Russian concerns ended up being ignored,' he lamented. 'We did not see adequate consideration of our three key demands regarding the prevention of NATO expansion, the refusal to deploy strike facilities near Russia's borders, and the return of the bloc's military infrastructure in Europe to the state in 1997.'

'When ignoring our concerns, the US and NATO point to the right of states to freely choose how to ensure their security,' Putin added.

The Russian leader also cited NATO bases in Poland and Romania as potential threats to his nation.

'There are anti-missile launchers in Poland and Romania, there are MK-41 launchers there, on which you can place Tomahawks, which is already not missile defense but offensive weapons systems, which will cover our territory for thousands of kilometers,' he told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.

Putin questioned: 'Is this not a threat to us?'

Russia would also need to share similar information about a number of bases housing ground-launched weapons (Pictured: A Tomahawk land attack missile launched in 2018)

President Joe Biden (L) has offered Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) access to NATO bases so that Moscow can verify the US does not have Tomahawk cruise missiles in Romania or Poland in a bid to avoid war in Ukraine. Sources close to Biden told Bloomberg on Tuesday the proposal would only come to fruition upon agreement with American allies, especially Poland and Romania.

Despite Putin's claims, NATO argues the weapons are 'purely defensive' and aimed at ballistic missiles from places like Iran.

Officials claim the weapons, Aegis rockets, do not carry warheads and are actually designed to collide with and destroy ballistic missiles outside of the atmosphere. Weapons experts claim they aren't designed to shoot down long-range missiles from Russia.

Putin, however, claims his nation cannot be sure what missiles are being deployed in Poland and Romania.

Romania maintains it has an open invitation for Kremlin leaders to visit its facility, assuming Russia offered a reciprocity. Poland has also indicated it could agree to anti-missile checks by Russia in exchange for inspections at the Kaliningrad enclave on the Polish border. It is unclear if Russia would allow the US access to its missile sites.

Meanwhile, the US and NATO have outlined several areas for potential cooperation with Russia, which also rejecting its principle ask that the military alliance 'rewinds its presence' in the eastern Europe.

Russia's Foreign Ministry released on Tuesday Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's letter to his counterparts in the US, Canada and other NATO ally nations. The message claimed that the January response to their demands sent in the month prior were inadequate, including the refusal to adhere to banned Ukraine from entering the NATO military alliance.

'The US and NATO responses to our proposals received on 26 January 2022 demonstrate serious differences in the understanding of the principle of equal and indivisible security that is fundamental to the entire European security architecture,' the letter reads. 'We believe it is necessary to immediately clarify this issue, as it will determine the prospects for future dialogue.'

The response was likely released to counter reports indicating Moscow responded to the US proposals for deescalation with Ukraine.

Russian officials claimed Tuesday that these reports were 'false' and that while Lavrov sent a message to his colleagues in the West, it did not include a response to the US proposals.

Moscow's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told state news agency RIA Novosti on Tuesday that reports of a written response to the proposal are 'not true.'

Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) of Hungary fired back at his NATO allies Tuesday, alleging the sanctions proposed against Russia if the nation were to take military action against Ukraine wold be 'doomed for failure'. He also argued the Kremlin security demands were 'reasonable'. Orban is pictured with Putin (right) on Tuesday during a meeting in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday during a press conference that the U.S. and NATO have 'ignored' the Kremlin's concerns in recent correspondence. Putin made his first direct comments on the Ukraine crisis since December during a joint news conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, Russia on Tuesday, February 1, 2022

A sixth U.S. military aid shipment arrived in Kiev on Tuesday including 500 tons of defense equipment

Lavrov, an unnamed senior diplomat claimed in the report, sent a letter to his counterparts, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, about 'the principle of indivisibility of security.' The letter claimed the security of one nation should not be at the expense of others.

The letter released Tuesday did not include the word 'Ukraine' at all.

'Discussing the present situation in Europe, our colleagues from the United States, NATO and the European Union make constant appeals for 'de-escalation' and call on Russia to 'choose a path of diplomacy',' the letter reads. 'We want to remind: we have been moving along that path for decades.'

'We want to receive a clear answer to the question how our partners understand their obligation not to strengthen their own security at the expense of the security of other States on the basis of the commitment to the principle of indivisible security,' Lavrov adds. 'How specifically does your Government intend to fulfill this obligation in practical terms in the current circumstances? If you renege on this obligation, we ask you to clearly state that.'

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki slammed Russia for trying to turn the rhetoric around and express they're worried about a threat coming from Ukraine  especially if it were to join NATO.

'When the fox is screaming from the top of the henhouse that he's scared of the chickens, which is essentially what they're doing, that fear isn't recorded as a statement of fact,' Psaki said during her daily briefing Tuesday.

When Putin last commented on the conflict in December he said: 'It was the United States that came with its missiles to our home, to the doorstep of our home. And you demand from me some guarantees.'

'You should give us guarantees. You! And right away, right now,' the Russian leader demanded at the time.

Ukraine's defense minister thanked the US on Tuesday for sending a sixth military aide shipment.

The US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies continue to send aid to Ukraine over fears Russia could invade after amassing more than 100,000 troops at the border.

'The day hasn't passed yet and we're unloading the 6th bird from our friends from the [US]!' Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted Tuesday, previewing more shipments are coming.

He detailed: '84 tons of ammunition arrived in Kyiv! In total, for today we've received about 500 tons of defense equipment from [US]! And this isn't the end.'

Reznikov included two images in his tweet of the shipment and emojis showing the US flag shaking hands with the Ukrainian flag. He also tagged the White House, Pentagon and Defense Secretary in the post.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Ukraine Tuesday as pro-Kremlin media mocked his Partygate woes and marriage. Putin is also snubbing phone calls from Johnson.

Posing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before their talks, Mr Johnson said: 'I think Kiev is looking good, it's looking fantastic, it's looking strong. Seriously.'

An image of the cargo plane shows creates of aid, including 84 tons of ammunition, as the U.S. tries to bolster Ukraine's position amid fears of an invasion from Russia

Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted on Tuesday images of the aid, claiming there's more to come from the U.S.

U.S. Air Force service men inspect F-15 fighters in the Amari military airfield in Estonia on Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Romanian F-16 is seen flying over the Amari military airfield in Estonia on Tuesday. President Joe Biden has said he will unilaterally deploy troops to Eastern Europe should Russia invade or take military action against Ukraine

Reports emerged Monday that Moscow delivered a written response to U.S. proposals for deescalation measures, but Russian officials are now denying the correspondence had anything to do with Ukraine.

'We can confirm we received a written follow-up from Russia,' a U.S. official told The Washington Post on Monday. 'It would be unproductive to negotiate in public, so we'll leave it up to Russia if they want to discuss their response.'

'We remain fully committed to dialogue to address these issues and will continue to consult closely with our allies and partners, including Ukraine,' the official added.

The source did not provide further details about what was proposed or what Russia said in its response and it is now said by the Kremlin that the response was not about deescalation in Ukraine.

The US proposals were initially delivered by Blinken on a call with Lavrov last Tuesday. Blinken described the US proposal as something that offers Russia 'a serious diplomatic path forward.'

US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield claims Russia is poised to move 30,000 more troops to the Belarus-Ukraine border.

'We've seen evidence that Russia intends to expand that presence to more than 30,000 troops near the Belarus-Ukraine border, less than two hours north of Kyiv by early February,' Thomas-Greenfield said during a United Nations Security Council meeting Monday.

In light of the movements and threat posed in Eastern Europe, the US on Monday ordered family members of its government employees currently in Belarus to leave the country

The State Department said: 'Due to an increase in unusual and concerning Russian military activity near the border with Ukraine, U.S. citizens located in or considering travel to Belarus should be aware that the situation is unpredictable and there is heightened tension in the region.'

Thomas-Greenfield added: 'If Russia further invades Ukraine, none of us will be able to say we didn't see it coming, and the consequences will be horrific.'

Russia deployed troops into Belarus on Tuesday to stage large-scale war games close to the Ukrainian border as fears of a potential armed conflict in Ukraine continue to escalate.

Russia's Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu announced that Russia sent a major contingent of its Eastern Military Distict (VVO), including aerial units and air defense units, to Belarus as part of a joint military exercise between the two countries.

The 'first stage' of the war games lasts until February 9 and will see thousands of Russian troops assemble and organize defenses as part of a battle-readiness operation.

Major war games will then be conducted from February 10 and will see Russian and Belarusian units engage in a 10-day simulation of the 'interception and suppression of foreign military aggression and counter-terrorism operations' in what Shoygu dubbed 'The Allied Resolve of 2022'.

Shoygu did not specify how many troops would take part in the war games, but Thomas-Greenfield said the US believes Russia will post up to 30,000 troops in Belarus by early February.

Moscow's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told a state news agency on Tuesday that reports Moscow provided a written response to U.S. proposals for deescalation with Ukraine are 'not true'. Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during their meeting in Moscow, Russia on Tuesday

U.S. officials have assured that NATO allied nations did not bow to Russia's demand that it bar ex-Soviet bloc countries from entering the 30-country military alliance.

White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday: 'Russia has the power. They are the aggressor here. They have the power and ability to de-escalate, to pull their troops back from the border, to not push more troops to Belarus, to take steps to deescalate the situation on the ground.'

Russia accused the US of 'whipping up hysterics' by calling for Monday's UN Security Council meeting to discuss Ukraine, a nod towards their claim that Putin does not intend to invade Ukraine.

The Kremlin also said the West wants to make 'heroes out of people who fought on the side of Hitler' in order to divide the two former Soviet states.

Across his roughly 15-minute remarks Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya issued adamant denials about Moscow's intentions while making blistering accusations about the West's true intentions.

The US called for the 15-nation meeting in New York City, which took place earlier on Monday, as the world tensely watches Putin's aggressive military buildup on Ukraine's border and various intelligence reports indicate an incursion is all but certain.

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya accused the US of ginning up 'hysterics' and 'brainwashing' Ukrainians at the heated meeting. His 15 minute speech included denials that Moscow was amassing troops on Ukraine's border. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she was 'disappointed' but not 'surprised' by his comments and claimed Moscow is mobilizing 30,000 more troops to send to the Belarus-Ukraine border

A Ukrainian serviceman adjusts the strap of his weapon in a trench at a frontline position in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine on Monday, Jan. 31

Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are joining territorial forces to fight alongside 250,000 regular troops to defend their country

At the moment there are roughly 112,000 Russian ground forces on the doorstep of eastern Ukraine and in Crimea, its Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said on Monday, though earlier in the meeting Russia denied having any troops at the border at all.

'And together, with the maritime and aviation component, their number reaches about 130,000,' he added.

Thomas-Greenfield said Moscow's mobilization of troops is the largest seen 'in Europe in decades.'

As it was underway, President Biden released a statement warning of 'swift and severe' consequences if Russia invades Ukraine.

'If Russia is sincere about addressing our respective security concerns through dialogue, the United States and our Allies and partners will continue to engage in good faith,' Biden said. 'If instead Russia chooses to walk away from diplomacy and attack Ukraine, Russia will bear the responsibility, and it will face swift and severe consequences.'

After failing to stop the meeting at its outset Nebenzya tore into the US and its Western allies, accusing them of trying to provoke a war between Russia and Ukraine.

'Our Western colleagues are talking the need for de-escalation. However, first and foremost, they themselves are whipping up tensions and rhetoric and are provoking escalation,' Nebenzya said.

'You are almost calling for this, you want it to happen, you're waiting for it to happen. As if you want to make your words become a reality.'

He said Russian troops are 'not actually on the border' and that the buildup is a deployment of forces 'in our own territory.'

Nebenzya also implied the West was lying about the number of troops, which reports indicate exceeds 100,000.

A general view during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation between Russia and Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan

'Where did you get the figure of 100,000 troops that are deployed, as you state, on the Russian-Ukrainian border, although that is not the case? We have never cited that figure. We've never confirmed that figure,' he said.

He went as far as to accuse the US of 'brainwashing' Ukrainians.

'They're cultivated with Russophobia and radical thinking, leading to the belief that for Ukraine to have a bright future It mustn't establish relations with its neighbors but rather at any cost, strive to join the EU and NATO,' Nebenzya said.

'They are banning Russian, which is a native language for a significant if not the majority of people in Ukraine.'

He added: 'They are making heroes out of those people who fought on the side of Hitler, who destroyed Jews, Poles, Ukrainians and Russians.'

Nebenzya went so far as to accuse western governments of bringing 'nazis' to power in Ukraine after the country overthrew its pro-Russian government in 2014 in favor of democratically elected officials who wanted a warmer relationship with the rest of Europe.

'If our western colleagues who provoked and supported the 2014 Bloody anti-constitutional bringing to powering key of nationalist, radicals, Russophobes and pure fascists  nazis, rather, if they'd not done this, then we today would be living in a state of good neighborly relations,' he said.

Thomas-Greenfield hit back at Russia, stating she was 'disappointed' but not 'surprised' by her Kremlin colleague's searing remarks.

'I cannot let the false equivalency go unchecked. So I, I feel I must respond. Let me be clear -- there are no plans to weaken Russia, as claimed by our Russian colleague today,' she said.

'On the contrary, we welcome Russia as a responsible member of the international community, but its actions on the border of Ukraine are not responsible.

'The threats of aggression on the border of Ukraine -- yes, on its border -- are provocative. Our reactions to threats on the ground are not provocative.'

Speaking to reporters after the meeting concluded, Biden said he had a 'productive talk last week with President Zelensky and we continue to engage in nonstop diplomacy'

'We continue to urge diplomacy as the best way forward but with Russia continuing its buildup we are ready no matter what happens,' the president added.

The Security Council meeting was contentious from the outset, with the Russian ambassador calling for a vote on whether it should proceed in the first place.

The meeting was contentious from the outset, with Russia calling for a vote to shut it down

Ukraine Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said there are 112,000 Russian troops at Ukraine's border and in Crimea

But the effort failed with only Russia and China voted against it, 10 countries voting for it and Gabon, India and Kenya abstaining.

At the meeting's outset Nebenzya accused the US of trying to 'whip up hysterics' and denounced 'the myth of Russian aggression.'

He added that reports of Russia's military build up in preparation for an attack are 'unfounded accusations.'

Thomas-Greenfield challenged Nebezya's charges, declaring: 'Imagine how uncomfortable you would feel if you had 100,00 troops on your border.'

But Nebezya dismissed Thomas-Greenfield's comments as a 'hodgepodge of accusations' and compared the US's preparations for a possible war in Eastern Europe to former Defense Secretary Colin Powell's infamous 2003 speech to the United Nations that preceded the Iraq war.

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the Biden administration of putting out misleading information in order to foment further tensions.

'To our dismay, American media have lately been publishing a very large amount of unverified, distorted and deliberately deceitful information about what's happening in Ukraine and around it,' Peskov said according to multiple media reports.

'Hysteria hyped up by Washington is causing hysteria in Ukraine, almost to the point that people are packing their bags for the front. It's a fact. And this is the reverse side, very harmful side of the campaign which Washington is pursuing now.'

Meanwhile the Biden administration is reportedly drawing up 'specific sanctions packages' targeting Russian oligarchs and 'elites' in the Kremlin's inner circle that would be levied if Moscow invades Ukraine, it was revealed on Monday.

On Tuesday, State Secretary Antony Blinken is preparing to have a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

But behind the scenes, US officials are reportedly looking at 'a broad list of individuals' and their families to target with harsh economic penalties if Moscow moves forward, according to the Financial Times.

'Putin's cronies will no longer be able to use their spouses or other family members as proxies to evade sanctions,' senior administration officials told the outlet.

'The individuals we have identified are in or near the inner circles of the Kremlin and play a role in government decision making or are at a minimum complicit in the Kremlin's destabilising behaviour.'

They did not name specific individuals so as not to give the intended targets advance notice, but reportedly chose oligarchs with a significant financial interest in the West.

'Sanctions would cut them off from the international financial system and ensure that they and their family members will no longer be able to enjoy the perks of parking their money in the west and attending elite western universities,' the Biden officials said.

An administration official told CNN that these were considered 'particularly vulnerable targets.'

They said the sanctions being worked out would be 'massive' in scale in order to 'atrophy Russia's ability to pursue its strategic ambitions.'

'The Russian elite should fear the consequences that would befall them should Russia further invade,' the official said.

The Russian elites to be targeted come from 'any sector of the Russian economy as identified by the Secretary of the Treasury' and include some names from a 2018 list of powerful individuals and companies designated by the Trump administration.

The Treasury's 2018 list includes 'seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank' designated by the Treasury under the Trump administration,' according to the Department.

An official reportedly said he sanctions are only part of the broad swath of penalties the US is looking at should Russia invade Ukraine.

President Biden said last week he would not rule out sanctioning Putin personally, as US reports indicate an 'imminent' invasion and the United Kingdom's intelligence pointed to an alleged coup plot by the Russians in Ukraine's capital of Kiev.

Ukrainian servicemen stand next to armored personnel carrier (APC) of the 92nd separate mechanized brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces, parked in their base near Klugino-Bashkirivka village, in the Kharkiv region on January 31

Meanwhile international intelligence reports indicate an invasion by Russia could be 'imminent'

At the same time, federal lawmakers in Congress are preparing to act on their own sanctions package.

In a show of bipartisan unity, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez and ranking member Sen. Jim Risch appeared on CNN together Sunday to discuss a two-tiered approach to punishing Russia.

It would likely include measures to levy sanctions over actions Russia has already taken, such as a massive cyberattack against Ukraine's government that Kiev claims Moscow is responsible for.

They're also looking to potentially send more weapons to Ukraine on top of the lethal and defensive aid already sent.

Russia's threatening posture toward the former Soviet state has accelerated the worsening of relations between Moscow and Washington, now at their lowest point since the Cold War.

Monday will mark the highest-profile attempt by the West to deter Russia through diplomacy, as representatives of the most powerful nations in the world gather in New York.

Previous talks held between Russia and the US and its NATO allies in Europe have so far failed to break ground.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who will be at Monday's meeting, told ABC News in a television interview on Sunday: 'We've made clear that we're prepared to address our concerns, Ukrainian concerns and Russian concerns at the diplomatic table, but it cannot be done on the battlefield.'

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday accused Nato of trying to pull Kiev into the alliance, despite Russia massing 100,000 troops on Ukraine's borders. Moscow wants Nato to rule out Ukraine ever becoming a member as a condition for its withdrawal.

The head of Russia's security council, Nikolai Patrushev, said talk of a Russian invasion was 'completely ridiculous' and claimed: 'We don't want war and we don't need it at all.'

Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are joining territorial forces to fight alongside 250,000 regular troops to defend their country. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said there are 'no plans' to deploy Nato combat troops to Ukraine.

He noted there was 'a difference' between being a full NATO member, with a mutual defense obligation between countries, and a 'strong and highly valued partner' such as Ukraine.

Russia's military buildup near Ukraine has expanded to include supplies of blood along with other medical materials that would allow it to treat casualties, in yet another key indicator of Moscow's military readiness, three US officials told Reuters.

Current and former US officials say concrete indicators -- like blood supplies -- are critical in determining whether Moscow would be prepared to carry out an invasion, if Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to do so.

The Pentagon has previously acknowledged the deployment of 'medical support' as part of Russia's buildup. But the disclosure of blood supplies adds a level of detail that experts say is critical to determining Russian military readiness.

'It doesn't guarantee that there's going to be another attack, but you would not execute another attack unless you have that in hand,' said Ben Hodges, a retired US lieutenant general now with the Center for European Policy Analysis research institute.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg unveiled a road safety plan Thursday promising to 'promote speed safety cameras' across the country, but a New York City councilman says the cameras in the city today are little more than an 'indirect tax on cars.'

Speed cameras in New York City went from 20 at the start of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio's first term in 2014 to about 1,400 across 750 school zones, Republican Councilman Joe Borelli said on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Tuesday.

Borelli argued that the Big Apple's streets are 'deadlier than ever.' Meanwhile, the cameras have generated about $215 million a year - or $25,000 an hour - for the city in the form of fines.

Buttigieg's plan is raising the specter of ubiquitous automated traffic enforcement in the style of the UK, where the cameras are widely despised.

Buttigieg's 42-page road safety plan that was unveiled on Thursday and is backed by $14 billion in funding from the new infrastructure bill contained only brief mention of the speed camera plan, but it was enough to set alarm bells ringing for worried motorists

'It's certainly a tax on the middle class and poor people,' Borelli said. 'It's a war on the middle class, but it's also a war on drivers that I think you're seeing elsewhere in the country. This is sort of the states goal of most Democrats in power at this point.'

New York City Councilman Joe Borelli called speed cameras a 'tax on the middle class and poor people' on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show Tuesday night

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg plan to place speed cameras around the country takes a page from former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, who installed 1,380 speed cameras during his two terms

Borelli said the cameras are little more than a revenue generator, making the city's government about $215 million a year - or $25,000 an hour - in fines given to motorists

Carlson warned that many of the drivers who would be affected by the speed cameras and associated fines are lower-income workers like Uber and delivery drivers.

Currently, eight US states have laws specifically prohibiting speed cameras.

Only 18 states plus D.C. have speed cameras in use by law, with the other states having no law on the books authorizing their use.

Buttigieg's 42-page road safety plan, which was unveiled on Thursday and is backed by $14 billion in funding from the new infrastructure bill, contained only brief mention of the speed camera plan, but it was enough to set alarm bells ringing for worried motorists.

Borelli, the Republican minority leader of the New York City Council, said the cameras would add to already existing hefty fines imposed by the 'radical far-left, anti-car City Council.'

The councilman pointed out '$20 tolls' in the city, which are charged to certain kinds of commercial trucks. Most tolls for personal vehicles in NYC cap out at $10 at the highest, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Speed cameras have also drawn sharp criticism from some on the left, who are angry that the fines are often directed to fund police departments, making the issue rare grounds for bipartisan agreement.

Buttigieg avoided mentioning the cameras during a speech introducing the National Roadway Safety Strategy on Thursday.

Currently, eight US states have laws specifically prohibiting speed cameras. Only 18 states plus DC have speed cameras in use by law, with the other states having no law on the books

NYC Councilman Joe Borelli said the cameras would add to other hefty fines imposed by the 'radical far-left, anti-car City Council' - such as $20 bridge tolls for commercial trucks

'Another thing that its going to take in order to change the trajectory of roadway safety in this country is a single, ambitious, shared goal,' he said.

'Today we commit that our goal is this: zero. Our goal is zero deaths; a country where, one day, nobody has to say goodbye to a loved one because of a traffic crash.'

A website for the program just mentions it once.

'Promote speed safety cameras as a proven safety countermeasure.'

On Tuesday, Carlson ridiculed Buttigieg as 'a guy who wasnt able to fix the potholes in South Bend, Indiana,' where he was mayor before he ran for president in 2020 and was appointed to Joe Biden's cabinet later in the year.

'He was the "first" of some kind 'cause he breastfeeds,' Carlson said, referring to a doctored photo of him wearing an artificial breastfeeding device that circulated on social media last year.

Buttigieg and his husband Chasten welcomed twins via surrogate in September.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's plan to 'promote speed safety cameras' is raising the troubling specter of ubiquitous automated traffic enforcement

Buttigieg said new federal data being released next week will show another increase in traffic fatalities through the third quarter of 2021

Carlson previously slammed the safety camera plan as a misuse of the funds in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, fuming that 'you're about to get a lot more speeding tickets from robots.'

'When the country applauded $1.2 trillion going to fixing the roads, bridges and buildings, a lot of us were dumb enough to think that's what might actually happen,' he said.

Nonpartisan motorist advocate groups are also against the plan. The National Motorists Association has a top 10 list of why speed cameras are bad, arguing 'they can actually make our roads less safe.'

Buttigieg's strategy recommends pilot programs to study and promote greater use of speed cameras

'The governments reaction, per the National Roadway Safety Strategy announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last week, is again to restrict driving speeds despite historical data that indicate the nations roads are as safe as they have ever been, the estimated uptick in 2021 notwithstanding,' NMA President Gary Biller told DailyMail.com Sunday.

'In the brave, new world being staked out by the National Roadway Safety Strategy, you may pay a literal price for letting a family member or friend borrow a car registered to you,' he added. 'The true solution to roadway safety is continued improvements in street design, vehicle technology, and road user - drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians - education, not flawed, command-and-control enforcement.'

Buttigieg's strategy recommends pilot programs to study and promote greater use of speed cameras, which he says could provide more 'equitable' enforcement than police traffic stops, as the cameras will have no awareness of the race of the driver.

Spurring the plan is a sharp increase in traffic fatalities in the past few years.

Buttigieg said new federal data being released next week will show another increase in traffic fatalities through the third quarter of 2021.

Those numbers are expected to point to a sizable increase in deaths compared with the same period in 2020, adding to a half-year traffic death total of 20,160 that already was the highest half-year figure since 2006.

'It doesn't look good, and I continue to be extremely concerned about the trend,' Buttigieg told the AP in an interview.

In the UK, speed cameras have been a way of life over the last 30 years and are widely despised, offering a grim warning to Americans of what the future may hold.

The first cameras were installed on the M40 motorway in West London in 1991. The cameras used rolls of film that had to be developed and processed and so there was a limit to the number of motorists they were able to catch.
A fresh twist has emerged in the Gladys Berejiklian text leak scandal as Foreign Minister Marise Payne denies being responsible for a message slamming Scott Morrison as a 'complete psycho'.

Turmoil has erupted in Canberra after a Liberal minister leaked an alleged message exchange between the former NSW premier and a colleague condemning the prime minister.

As the witch-hunt for the 'rat' and second conversationalist ensues, Ms Payne has released a statement denying any involvement.

'I can say categorically that these claims have nothing to do with me,' Minister Payne said on Wednesday.

'I have never had such an exchange with the former premier, nor have I ever used such language, and nor did I leak messages, if indeed they are genuine.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne (pictured) has denied being the minister involved in a bitter text exchange slamming Scott Morrison

'It is ludicrous to suggest otherwise.'

Ms Payne added that she 'rejects' the descriptions of the Prime Minister in the messages.

'They do not match my long experience of working with him. He is the best person to lead this country now and into the future,' she said.

NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds, NSW Treasure Matt Kean on Wednesday denied being behind it, while Senator Reynolds' office similarly insisted the minister had sent no such messages to Ms Berejiklian.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, too, denied any involvement.

'I can definitely rule myself out. I certainly have said no such thing, and nor am I involved in any chat groups with the former premier of NSW either,' she told 4BC radio.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce labelled the Liberal colleague who leaked the alleged texts a 'flea' and 'clown', and called for them to explain themselves before they're outed.

'They're really clever, they're a real Einstein,' Mr Joyce told 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham.

'There are three people who know about this message, the former premier of NSW, themselves, and the media  oh hang on, did I say three? I meant 3,000.

'It's about one dinner and two bottles of red wine before the whole world knows about it.

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) was alleged by Network Ten to have labelled the prime minister a 'horrible, horrible person' who was 'actively spreading lies'

'Then people are just going to look at you and say 'you clown'!'

Mr Joyce said the leaker's identity was no secret and many people knew who it was.

'I would suggest that if you know anything about this, don't wait to be outed, out yourself and give an explanation,' he said.

'Maybe you had a bad day in the office, I don't know. But give an explanation for yourself and that's the better way to do it.'

Ms Berejiklian was alleged by Network Ten to have labelled the prime minister a 'horrible, horrible person' who was 'actively spreading lies' during the exchange with the unnamed cabinet minister.

In the messages (pictured), Ms Berejiklian reportedly said Mr Morrison was concerned with 'political point-scoring' during the black summer bushfires

'Lives are at stake today and he's just obsessed with petty political point scoring,' she was reported to have said during the Black Summer bushfires.

The minister then called Mr Morrison a 'complete psycho', and also described him as 'desperate and jealous'.

'The mob have worked him out and think he's a fraud,' the minister said.

When asked whether he was confident that minister was not currently sitting in his cabinet, Mr Morrison told reporters: 'Yes.'

'I'm not fussed', he said when asked if he had sought an investigation into their identity.

Mr Morrison was again pressed about what made him so sure the minister was not currently in federal cabinet.

'I have confidence,' he replied.

Ms Berejiklian earlier insisted she had no recollection of the text exchange.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne pictured at a candlelit vigil in Canberra in February 2020

She sought to reiterate 'my very strong support for Prime Minister Morrison and all he is doing for our nation during these very challenging times'.

Mr Morrison said he hadn't yet spoken with Ms Berejiklian about the saga.

'But I do welcome her very kind comments that she made yesterday, and that very much reflects the strong working relationship we've had,' he said of her statement.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said it was an extraordinary text message exchange, coming at a time when the bushfires were having a devastating impact and people were concerned about the federal response.

'The statement from the former premier where she said, ''lives are at stake today and he's just obsessed with petty political point-scoring'', I think is devastating,' Mr Albanese said.

'That alone is enough to disqualify him (Mr Morrison) from being someone who secures a second term in office.'
The U.S. national debt has surpassed $30 trillion, the highest it's ever been, as borrowing surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data published by the Treasury Department on Tuesday.

National debt skyrocketed pandemic, but the nation reached the milestone much earlier than projected as a result of the trillions in federal spending being used to combat the pandemic, the New York Times reported.

'Hitting the $30 trillion mark is clearly an important milestone in our dangerous fiscal trajectory,' Michael Peterson, head of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, told the Times.

The U.S. national debt has surpassed $30 trillion, the highest it's ever been, as borrowing surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data published by the Treasury Department on Tuesday

National debt skyrocketed pandemic, but the nation reached the milestone much earlier than projected as a result of the trillions in federal spending being used to combat the pandemic

'For many years before Covid, America had an unsustainable structural fiscal path because the programs we've designed are not sufficiently funded by the revenue we take in,' he added.

In January 2020, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the national debt would reach $30 trillion by the end of 2025. But it was reached much sooner due to the pandemic.

The $5 trillion used to combat the pandemic, which was used to fund jobless benefits, financial support for small businesses and stimulus payments, was financed with borrowed money, the Times reported.

The federal government now owes almost $8 trillion to foreign investors, led by Japan and China, which must be repaid with interest, according to CNN.

'That means American taxpayers will be paying for the retirement of the people in China and Japan, who are our creditors,' David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, explained to CNN Business.

The national debt has been skyrocketing since the Great Recession when the debt was $9.2 trillion in December 2007, according to Treasury data.

But by the time, former President Donald Trump took office, the national debt stood at nearly $20 trillion, CNN reported.

'Covid exacerbated the problem. We had an emergency situation that required trillions in spending,' said Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation. 'But the structural problems we face fiscally existed long before the pandemic.

The $5 trillion used to combat the pandemic, which was used to fund jobless benefits, financial support for small businesses and stimulus payments, was financed with borrowed money
A family claims their day out in the Whitsundays was 'completely ruined' after a worker at a Chinese-owned luxury island resort 'screamed' at a group of snorkeling children - because she believed they were trespassing.

Marine contractor David Edge from Airlie Beach in North Queensland worked on the public holiday and so celebrated with a family boat outing in the Whitsundays on January 30.

They stopped in the water near Sunlovers Beach on Daydream Island and four young kids in the group went snorkeling when a person dressed in a blue uniform - understood to be a Daydream Island worker - yelled at them to either pay or immediately leave the area.

Mr Edge, who had anchored his boat at a nearby public mooring, said he was shocked at the way the group was spoken to.

Mr Edge claimed the person dressed in a blue uniform understood to be a Daydream Island staff member yelled at the snorkelling kids they were trespassing on the resort (pictured)

Daydream Island (pictured) was bought by a Chinese conglomerate in 2015 and is therefore completely private

'One eight-year-old girl was exhausted and just wanted to stand in the water to catch her breath and the staff were shouting at her to get away from the island,' he told the Whitsunday Times.

'At no stage did the kids go on the beach or attempt to go on the beach, they just wanted to go for a snorkel.'

He added that the worker instructed them they had to go to the marina office and pay if they wanted to be in the water.

Both the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Queensland Government Department of Resources confirmed this is not the case, however.

'Most beaches in Queensland are state land to the highest tide mark and the Queensland Government is the only entity able to restrict access,' a Department of Resources spokeswoman said.

Mr Edge is calling on other locals to form a flotilla at Sunlovers Beach as a protest to say that every Australian should be able to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef.

In March 2015, Daydream Island was acquired by China Capital Investment Group, a large conglomerate based in Shanghai for $30million - with the sale sparking a furore among locals about the the sale of iconic real estate to foreign buyers.

The Chinese company then bought nearby South Molle Island for $25million the following year which is surrounded by a national park and has one of the only sheltered north aspect white sand beaches in the region.

Different Chinese companies have also purchased parts of Kewick Island and Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays.

Marine contractor David Edge (pictured) has called for locals to form a flotilla at Daydream Island in protest

In 2017, Daydream Island was hit by cyclone Debbie which caused widespread damage to the tourist facilities and closed the island for two years.

After a major refurbishment costing $140million the redesigned resort was relaunched in 2019.

The island had previously been one of Australia's top tropical getaways in the 1990s and from 2000 when previous owner Vaughan Bullivant took the helm - but the reviews since the relaunch have been mixed.

'I have been to the old Daydream and now I have been to the new Daydream. I can tell you from experience, the new Daydream is not what it should be,' one 2019 review on Trip Advisor reads.

'The gardens have not recovered... the cleanliness is not to standard... there is no deck at Lovers Cove any more... there no iconic Mermaids [statue] on the rocks.'

Other reviews claim there were not enough staff to adequately attend to guests resulting in rooms not being cleaned or long waits for service at restaurants.

Daydream Island management previously issued a statement saying they were addressing the issues and staff numbers had been affected by border closures.

Daydream Island was rebuilt (pictured) after widespread damage from a cyclone in 2017

In 2021, a UNESCO meeting held in China threatened to list the Great Barrier Reef 'in danger'.

The World Heritage Committee's draft recommendation warned that the 'current condition and the long-term outlook of the reef have deteriorated'.

The Morrison government then accused China of using it's sway in UN committees as a form of economic coercion against Australia.

The reef narrowly avoided being placed on the 'in danger' list.

Daydream Island (pictured) is a small island in the Whitsundays on the Great Barrier Reef

While the island (pictured) is private property the Queensland government said the beach is public up to the high tide mark

On Friday, Mr Morrison unveiled a billion-dollar package to protect the climate-ravaged Great Barrier Reef in another effort to prevent the vast network of corals from being removed from UNESCO's World Heritage list.

'We are backing the health of the reef and the economic future of tourism operators, hospitality providers and Queensland communities that are at the heart of the reef economy,' Morrison said.

Mr Morrison will have to win key Queensland seats near the reef to remain in power at the May election.

When the UN previously threatened to downgrade the reef's World Heritage listing in 2015, Australia created a 'Reef 2050' plan and poured billions of dollars into protection.

The Morrison government recently announced $1billion in funding for the Great Barrier Reef after a Chinese hosted UNESCO meeting threatened to moved reef from 'world heritage listed' to 'in danger' because of coral bleaching

The measures are believed to have arrested the pace of decline, but much of the world's largest reef system has already been damaged.

A recent study found bleaching had affected 98 percent of the reef since 1998, leaving just a fraction untouched.

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered three mass bleaching events during heatwaves in 2016, 2017 and 2020, leaving many affected corals struggling to survive.

Much of the government's latest package will be spent on preventing damaging agricultural runoff from polluting the reef.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Daydream Island for comment.
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For the second time in under a week, thousands of police officers converged on New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral to pay tribute to a young officer gunned down in cold blood along with his partner while answering a call for help in Harlem, leading the slain hero's enraged sister to ask: 'how many more police officers have to lose their lives for this system to change?'

Officer Wilbert Mora's funeral took place place at the same Roman Catholic cathedral where Officer Jason Rivera was eulogized and posthumously promoted to detective on Friday. Cardinal Timothy Dolan presided over the service, as he did at Rivera's funeral.

Both officers were fatally shot on January 21 while responding to a call from a woman about a domestic dispute with her grown son, a career criminal, in an apartment.

In her emotional eulogy delivered in Spanish, Mora's older sister, Karina Mora, described her baby brother as a young man who was 'full of dream' and who 'lit up the room with his smile.' She said both he and Officer Rivera wanted to make a difference in society.

'It hurts to know that two exemplary young men like the officer Jason Rivera and Wilber Mora were taken from us at the wrong time, Karina said, her voicing rising. 'Two young people who wanted to make a difference and a change in their city with their service and dedication.

'Now, I just wonder, how many Wilberts, how many Jasons, how many more officers will have to lose their lives for this system to change? How many more lives of those who protect us must be taken by violence and crime? How many mothers, how many more mothers, how many children will have to lose their families by going through this trauma and this type of tragedy.'

Karina Mora argued that police officers have been left defenseless against the rising tide of violence in the city, and called on New York's lawmakers to crack down on soft-on-crime policies.

'New York police officers protect us, but who protects them?' she asked. 'Who watches for their lives? I don't know that, but what I and you do know (is) who are responsible for preventing this type of tragedy from continuing to happen.

'Legislators, the crime ended the life of two exemplary young men who only gave their best to their city. Crime buried their dreams and in your hands are many other dreams that can't be buried. Take action. It's enough!'

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell delivered a powerful speech, telling Mora's family members and fellow officers filling the cavernous marble church: 'an ocean of officers shouldn't have to line streets for the second time in five days, to mourn the appalling loss of a 27-year-old son and brother.' .

Just like she did during Rivera's funeral, Sewell announced that Mora has been posthumously promoted to detective first grade, drawing applause from the crowd.

'Wilbert was the perfect candidate to join the NYPD,' she added. 'No one had to tell him to become a police officer. It was all he ever wanted to do.'

Scroll down to view video and to read full eulogy of Wilbert Mora's sister

Thousands of officers standing outside St Patrick's Cathedral press their gloved hands to their temples to salute their fallen brother, Officer Wilbert Mora. This is the second NYPD funeral in just five days

Karina Mora, Wilbert's older sister, called on New York lawmakers to take action and protect police officers, saying: 'how many more police officers have to lose their lives so that the system changes?'

Officer Mora's casket draped in NYPD's flag is carried by fellow officers out of the church, followed by his family members and other mourners

Cardinal Dolan exits the cathedral ahead of Officer Mora's casket being carried by his fellow officers

Officer Mora's mother, Amelia, breaks down in tears and is being supported by family, including one of her surviving sons (left), after receiving an American flag from the honor guard at the conclusion of the funeral service

Mother of Officer Mora covers her ears as Taps is played at the Funeral for NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Manhattan, New York, U.S., February 2, 2022  Rashid Umar Abbasi for DailyMail.com

Mora's devastated mother buries her face in the flag while being supported by her son and his cousin clutching a wooden cross

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his son Andrew Giuliani emerged from St Patrick's Cathedral on Wednesday

Clergymen in embroidered chasubles walked out of the cathedral at the conclusion of Mora's funeral Mass

A Catholic priest blesses the white casket of Officer Mora inside a hearse before it is carrier to a cemetery

An overhead photo shows a police motorcade winding its way through Manhattan en route to Officer Mora's final resting place in Woodside, Queens

Mora is remembered on a Times Square digital billboard displaying his photo against stars and stripes on the day of his funeral Wednesday

New York police officers look on as a pickup truck carries a floral memorial in the shape of a NYPD badge

An enormous crowd of stone-faced officers stand outside to see off their fallen colleague on his final journey

Mora (left and right) was taken off life support a week ago. Being an organ donor, in his death the 27-year-old helped save five lives

Special-needs NYPD officers attend their slain brother's funeral service on Wednesday

'Take action. It's enough!' Wilbert Mora's sister rips into lawmakers for leaving police defenseless in eulogy Karina Mora blamed the deaths of her brother and his partner on the political system and demanded change in her eulogy 'I'll start with thanks. Thank you, thank God for the 27 years you allowed us to have Wilber and enjoy his life. On behalf of the Mora family, thank you to the New York City Police Department, thank you for your support. Thanks to the police departments in every state in the country who have given us their support. Thanks to the New York City Fire Department. Thanks to the entire medical team who did everything possible to help my brother. Thanks to the Dominican community, we have felt your warmth. Thanks a lot. Thanks to our family and friends for not leaving us. Thanks to the city of New York for their support. If you ask me who Wilber Mora is, I cannot talk about him in the past because he is still present. Wilber is synonymous with a good son, a good brother, a good cousin, a good friend, a good partner, and an excellent counselor. My brother loved his neighbor and his community. That is the same love that led him to serve the community as a New York Police Officer. Wilber Mora was a young man with dreams, dreams that today remain unfulfilled. They were owners of a unique, loud and contagious smile. He was the joy of the house. No matter how tired he got from work, Wilber lit up the house with his smile. And today that light goes out with pain forever. I remember my fear when I saw Wilber grow up on the streets of New York. I was afraid that even with the education that we gave him at home, he would take other paths since it is no secret to anyone that the level of crime is very high. That's why I will never forget the day my little brother graduated from the academy. Wilber, that day was forever etched in my memory and in my heart. I was as deeply proud of you, brother, as I am today. When it was time to deliver the diploma they said Wilber Mora, I felt infinite peace knowing that my younger brother had not been lost on the streets of New York. He was making a difference to the youth of our community in the city he chose to serve as a police officer. I never imagined that my peace would last less than four years. Since that day, that terrible Friday, I came home, my dad had spoken to me on different occasions. Then he calls me and tells me, Two policemen came looking for us. I asked him why, he told me, We have to go to the hospital. I felt as if my soul froze. I felt like I was going crazy because they still told us nothing. My heart feared what had happened. That was the worst call of my life. Since that day I feel like I'm in a nightmare that doesn't end. I constantly ask myself how and why we got here. The most unpleasant part of my soul and my heart is that after today I will never see you again. That your happiness and your smile will not reach our home. Never again will I hear my name called, never again will you joke with me about how small I am. There is little (time) left to say goodbye and I still haven't found a way to say goodbye little brother. There are no words to express this pain and mourning that invades us twice. It hurts to know that two exemplary young men like the officer Jason Rivera and Wilber Mora were taken from us at the wrong time. Two young people who wanted to make a difference and a change in their city with their service and dedication. Now I just wonder how many Wilberts, how many Jasons, how many more officers will have to lose their lives for this system to change? How many more lives of those who protect us must be taken by violence and crime? How many mothers, how many more mothers, how many children will have to lose their families by going through this trauma and this type of tragedy. New York police officers protect us but who protects them? Who watches for their lives? I don't know that, but what I and you do know (is) who are responsible for preventing this type of tragedy from continuing to happen. Legislators, the crime ended the life of two exemplary young men who only gave their best to their city. Crime buried their dreams and in your hands are many other dreams that can't be buried. Take action. It's enough!' Advertisement

The audience hears eulogies from Mora's brother, Wilson Mora (left), and his cousin Claribel Jiminian (right)

Earlier, Sewell called Mora 'three times a hero.'

'For choosing a life of service. For sacrificing his life to protect others. For giving life even in death through organ donation,' she said in announcing his January 25 death.

Sewell attended the funeral along with numerous other top dignitaries, including Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and ex-New York Governor George Pataki also made an appearance.

Adams was the first to speak after the Mass, saying of Mora: 'we reflect on his bravery. We remember his sacrifice.'

Mora's funeral was taking place hours after an off-duty police officer was shot and wounded as he drove to work in Queens.

Police said the officer was shot by one of two men who approached him when he was stopped at a traffic light shortly before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. The officer, whose name was not immediately released, was in stable condition at a hospital Wednesday and two men were arrested.

Cardinal Dolan comforts Mora's relative during his funeral Mass, attended by fellow officers and family members

Hundreds of somber NYPD officers filled the streets of Midtown Manhattan in preparation for their fallen brother's funeral

Officers turned out in their finest dress blues and white gloves to honor Mora, 27, who was fatally shot on duty on January 21 in Harlem

An officer in full dress uniform embraces a woman outside the cathedral on Fifth Avenue

Bagpipers in their traditional outfits march past the packed St Patrick's Cathedral during the Mass

A percussionist with the NYPD Emerald Society Pipes and Drums band performs outside St. Patrick's Cathedral eb. 2, 2022, in

Police officers gather at the entrance to St. Patrick's Cathedral for the funeral of slain New York City police officer Wilbert Mora in New York

Thousands of officers flood the streets to honor Officer Mora. The officer was taken off life support just days after being mortally wounded in the line of duty in Harlem

Ceil Andrillo holds up a sign that reads 'Blue Lives Matter! Wake up NYC' while standing outside St. Patrick's Cathedral for the funeral of Officer Wilbert Mora

'Last night we were reminded again about the danger and overproliferation of guns,' Adams, a retired police captain who took office last month, said.

'We are not safe anymore': Widow of Wilbert Mora's slain partner Officer Jason Rivera attacks woke Manhattan DA for being soft on crime Officer Jason Rivera's widow, Dominique, lashed out at Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg while delivering her emotional eulogy on Friday at St Patrick's Cathedral During Officer Jason Rivera's funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral last Friday, his young widow, Dominique Rivera, used the solemn occasion to vent some of her anger at the city and state's leaders, many of whom were seated in the audience before her, accusing them of failing to protect her husband and his partner, Wilbert Mora Rivera lashed out at new Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a progressive Democrat who has instructed prosecutors not to pursue certain cases, including some allegations of resisting arrest. 'The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore. Not even the members of the service,' Rivera said. 'I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA. I hope hes watching you speak through me right now.' Bragg, who had no involvement with the officers' killer, Lashawn McNeil, responded ]in a statement that he was grieving and praying for the slain officers and will 'vigorously prosecute cases of violence against police.' Advertisement

'This has been a painful last few weeks,' the Democrat added, vowing to 'build a city of peace out of the ashes of fear.'

Mora was the youngest of four children in a tight-knit family that emigrated from the Dominican Republic and eventually settled in East Harlem. He is survived by his older sister, Karina Mora, and two brothers, Wilson and Jonathan.

'He policed with empathy and believed in protecting his fellow man, regardless of the danger to himself,' his precinct commander, Inspector Amir Yakatally, said in a eulogy.

Dedicated, thorough and an aspiring sergeant, 'he was a guy to rely on to make the right call,' Yakatally said.

On the night of the shooting, Mora 'asked all the right questions and gave instructions to the younger officers, with the primary goal of de-escalation,' Yakatally said, but the seemingly routine call quickly spiraled into gunfire.

The audience assembled in the church also heard emotional speeches in English and Spanish from Mora's brother Wilson and his cousin Claribel Jiminian, who described the 27-year-old as the pride of his family.

People gravitated toward him 'because they could lower their defenses and be themselves' around him, his brother Wilson said in a eulogy.

After Cardinal Timothy Dolan presided over Moras funeral, a phalanx of officers stretched for blocks along Fifth Avenue, their white-gloved hands rising in a rolling salute to the hearse carrying Moras casket, escorted by scores of police motorcycles and several helicopters above en route to a cemetery in Woodside, Queens. A large American flag hung over the storied avenue.

'He was a gentle giant,' Rashad Mujumder, Moras high school friend, told PIX11. Mujumder said that standing at 6 feet, 3 inches tall, Mora was 'the biggest person in the room with the softest heart.'

Mujumder said Moras father supported his family as a barber and his mother, Amalia, worked in health care.

'His parents are very proud of him,' the friend said. 'Seeing him put on the uniform was an amazing moment for them.'

Mora joined the New York Police Department in October 2018, after graduating from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. According to one of his professors, Irina Zakirova, Mora was interested in improving relations between police and the neighborhoods they patrolled.

'He was so certain about becoming a police officer - a good police officer,' Zakirova said.

That sensibility endured in his police work. Stephanie McGraw, a domestic violence victims' advocate who got to know Mora while visiting his stationhouse, said last week that he 'understood the importance of getting into this very crucial and important role as a police officer - to not only make a difference but to bring some more men and women of color into the NYPD.'

At the same time, Mora made 33 arrests during his few years on the job. Fellow officers recalled him as a humble, helpful colleague who took the bus to work.

'Its a horrible loss for the community, for the city, for anyone thats a first responder,' Linden, New Jersey, Officer Raymond Wegrzynek, 34, said outside St. Patricks Cathedral on Wednesday for the latest in a series of police funerals he has attended in his six years of police work. 'Its a thing that we do. We all come together.'

Retired NYPD detective-turned-Fox News contributor Angel Maysonet paid tribute to Mora on Instagram, sharing a series of photos of the officer spending time with friends.

He wrote in a post accompanying the images: 'Everyone says he was a big teddy bear. Kind. A fun goofball. Life of the party. Always smiling. Took care of his elderly parents who are lost & devastated without him. Young Dominican son of NYC. The epitome of what you want as an NYPD cop.

'Everyone says he was a big teddy bear. Kind. Life of the party. Took care of his parents who are lost and devastated without him.'

On January 21, Mora and Rivera was responding to a domestic violence dispute inside a Harlem apartment when police say 47-year-old Lashawn McNeil threw open a door and opened fire.

McNeil died a day after a third officer shot him as he tried to flee, officials said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (left) and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell (right) were on hand to honor Officer Mora during his funeral on Wednesday

Mayor Eric Adams delivered a eulogy during the service, saying of Mora: 'we reflect on his bravery. We remember his sacrifice'

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, is seen arriving at St Patrick's Cathedral on Wednesday to attend Mora's funeral Mass

Members of the U.S. Marine Corps attend Officer Mora's funeral service in Manhattan on Wednesday

Mora's photo and a large replica of his police shield are seen inside the Gothic Revival church ahead of the funeral

Mora is pictured with his high school friend Rashad Mujumder (left), who described the 6-foot-3 cop as 'a gentle giant'

Jason Rivera, 22 (left), an NYPD rookie, was shot dead on January 21 while responding to a domestic disturbance in Harlem

Rivera died the night of the shooting. His funeral took place at St. Patrick's Cathedral last Friday and was attended by thousands of first responders.

Career criminal Lashawn McNeil, 47, who fatally shot Mora and Rivera, was gunned down by a third officer

Rivera's newlywed wife, Dominique Rivera, delivered an emotional and impassioned eulogy, in which she accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of leaving police officers feeling less safe with his soft-on-crime policies.

Mora was in critical condition for days but after it was clear he wouldn't survive, he was kept on life support so his organs, including his heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas, could be donated to save others in accordance with his and his family's wishes.

'They will hear the heartbeat of a hero,' NYPD union president Patrick Lynch in his eulogy. 'Know now your son has given renewed life to five other people.'

On Tuesday, Dominique paid tribute to her late husband's partner in a touching Instagram Stories post, writing: 'Although I never met you, thank you for always being eager to work with my angel. Regardless of him being a rookie. Take care of us.'

Before last month, the NYPD had last lost an officer in the line of duty when Anastasios Tsakos was hit by a suspected drunken driver in May 2021 at the scene of an earlier wreck.

No on-duty NYPD officer had been fatally shot since September 2019, when Brian Mulkeen was hit by a fellow officer's fire during a struggle with an armed man.
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Wild scenes have erupted as police pepper-sprayed protesters rallying against Covid vaccination mandates and restrictions.

Dubbed the Convoy to Canberra rally, hundreds of demonstrators in cars, trucks, motorhomes and caravans descended on the Australian capital on Monday setting up camp at Patrick White lawns across from the National Library and nearby Parliament House.

Police swooped on the anti-vax mob on Tuesday and arrested three people as tensions over jab requirements in various job roles and ongoing pandemic restrictions continue to ramp up as the Omicron variant wreaks havoc across the country.

Australia is one of the most vaccinated nations in the world with about 95 per cent of the population receiving two doses.

Workers in positions deemed essential - like teachers, health and aged care workers, airport and quarantine staff, as well as food distribution and transport workers - must be fully vaccinated in order to hold onto their job.

Some states are now discussing whether to raise the mandate to also include a third booster shot.

Despite the high jab rate however, there were a further 40,000 Covid cases reported in the past 24 hours along with 69 deaths.

A police officer is pictured using pepper spray on a man at the 'freedom' protest in Canberra at the Patrick White lawns

Dubbed the Convoy to Canberra rally, hundreds of demonstrators in cars, trucks, motorhomes and caravans descended on the Australian capital on Monday setting up camp at Patrick White lawns across from the National Library and nearby Parliament house

Officers provided the self-described 'freedom protesters' with 'written information' at about 4pm instructing them to move on

Police arrest a protester at the campsite as tensions between officers and those at the rally reached boiling point

Police form a line against 'freedom' protesters at their makeshift camp next to the National Library, in Canberra

Amidst the chaotic scenes, ACT Ambulance Service paramedics treated two people with minor injuries but no police say 'no people were transported to hospital'

WHAT IS THE VACCINATION SITUATION IN AUSTRLAIA? Australia is one of the most vaccinated nations in the world with about 95 per cent of the population receiving two doses. Workers in positions deemed essential - like teachers, health and aged care workers, airport and quarantine staff, as well as food distribution and transport workers - must be fully vaccinated in order to hold onto their job. Some states are now discussing whether to raise the mandate to also include a third booster shot. Despite the high jab rate however, there were a further 40,000 Covid cases reported in the past 24 hours along with 69 deaths. Advertisement

Officers provided the self-described 'freedom protesters' with 'written information' at about 4pm instructing them to move on.

'The information advised them they were camping and parking illegally and may be subject to fines if they remained in the area,' ACT police said.

'One woman assaulted police and she was subsequently arrested and charged with assaulting police.

'Two men interfered in the arrest of the woman and they were also arrested and will be charged with obstructing police.'

Amidst the chaotic scenes, ACT Ambulance Service paramedics treated two people with minor injuries but no police say 'no people were transported to hospital'.

The event was inspired by scenes from the other side of the world from the weekend, where 50,000 truckers travelled to the Canadian capital of Ottawa to demonstrate against Covid-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns.

Police said, while Australian's have the right to protest, in this case, demonstrators where gathering illegally.

'The rights of people to peacefully protest is always acknowledged by ACT Policing, however when illegal actions take place, the people responsible will be dealt with in accordance with the law,' police said.

Protesters were ruthlessly mocked when they arrived arrived at Parliament House on Monday, not realising many politicians wouldn't be around to hear their message as it was a non-sitting week.

Sitting of Parliament doesn't resume until next week.

ACT Labor MLA Michael Michael Pettersson shared footage of the raucous crowd trying to storm the virtually empty building but are greeted by a heavy security presence.

Footage inside the deserted building shows barely a soul in sight, a far different story to the chaotic scenes outside.

A large number of police move in on the group dragging at least two people to the ground and arresting them

A man with face tattoos is dragged away by police after officers informed the group to move on from the make-shift campsite

A protester is taken to the ground by police and arrested on the Patrick White lawns across from the National Library

Police subdue a man at the 'freedom' protest with three officers seen dragging him away from the makeshift campsite

The footage has already attracted more than 140,000 views within 24 hours.

'You can tell they're not from Canberra because every Canberran knows when it's a sitting week,' Mr Pettersson captioned the footage on TikTok.

'They came all the way to parliament to protest but it looks like they didn't do their research.'

Protesters were slammed in the hundreds of comments for not doing their research.

'Imagine being the guards laughing , knowing nobody's inside,' one viewer commented.

Canberrans commented on how easy to tell when it's parliament sitting week.

'Hotels full, restaurants booked out, traffic is worse and filled with comm cars,' Mr Pettersson commented.

Other viewers mocked the protesters.

Pictured: A large number of police officers swarm on protesters with a man and a woman seen on the ground

Police subdue a woman at the anti-vax rally, grabbing her by the arms as they escort her away from the scene

A protester is knocked to the ground as police move in on protesters who illegally gathered next to the National Library

Protesters are knocked to the ground as police swarm on protesters who illegally gathered next to the National Library

'When you turn up at the club too early,' one viewer joked.

Another added: 'This is the funniest thing that has happened in Canberra.'

But many also came to the defence of the protesters and commended them on continuing the fight against vaccine mandates.

'It doesn't matter if parliament wasn't in. It was about making a statement,' one woman argued.

Another added: Those who stand up and fight for their freedom will always have my respect.'

Mr Pettersson had a final message for the protesters.

'I hope they enjoy their stay. Canberra is lovely this time of the year,' he quipped.

Protesters were ruthlessly mocked when they arrived arrived at Parliament House on Monday (pictured), not realising many politicians wouldn't be around to hear their message as it was a non-sitting week

Protesters were slammed in the hundreds of comments for not doing their research when they arrived to jeer politicians who weren't there
Two of the British ISIS 'Beatles' reportedly turned supergrass and revealed the masterminds behind European terror attacks while awaiting trial in the United States.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are said to have given up the information to US secret service interrogators after their 2018 capture in Syria.

They also revealed details of who ordered the kidnap and torture of Western hostages, according to French publication Mediapart.

According to both men, Abu Loqman - the head of Islamic State's secret service - was in charge of the capture, imprisonment and torture of hostages.

Alexanda Kotey (left) and El Shafee Elsheikh (right), pictured together in 2018 after being captured, are said to have given up the information to US secret service interrogators, as well as revealing details of who ordered the kidnap and torture of Western hostages, according to French publication Mediapart

According to the French report, Kotey and Elsheikh confirmed the real identity of Abu Ahmed al-Iraqi as Oussama Atar (left), who is currently on trial in France in-absentia and believed to have masterminded terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris. They also said that Abu Loqman (right) - the head of Islamic State's secret service - was in charge of the capture, imprisonment and torture of hostages

The pair of British ISIS fighters both reported to third 'Beatle' Mohammed Emwazi, aka Jihadi John, who himself reported to emir Abu Ahmed al-Iraqi.

According to the French report, Kotey (aka Ringo) and Elsheikh (aka George) also confirmed the real identity of Abu Ahmed al-Iraqi as Oussama Atar.

Atar is currently on trial in France in-absentia believed to have masterminded terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris.

The Belgo-Moroccan, who is thought to have been killed by an airstrike in Syria in 2017, is accused of plotting the attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris - including the deadly attack on the Bataclan nightclub - and those of March 22, 2016 in Brussels.

Combined, the attacks resulted in the deaths of 164 people - 130 in Paris and 34 in Brussels - and injuries to over 750 people.

The report from Mediapart was based on leaked intelligence documents, which allege the two British men gave up the information while being held by American interrogators in Syria.

Kotey and Elsheikh are accused of kidnapping and torturing Western hostages, resulting in the deaths of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.

Oussama Atar who is thought to have been killed by an airstrike in Syria in 2017, is accused of plotting the attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris - including the deadly attack on the Bataclan nightclub - and those of March 22, 2016 in Brussels. Pictured: French policemen stand in front of Le Bataclan concert hall during a ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of the terror attacks

Pictured: Police take cover as terrorists reply with a volley of fire, ricocheting off a car. Sparks fly from car as Terrorists fire at police (left) outside the Bataclan Music venue, Nov. 13 2015

In September last year, 38-year-old Kotey plead guilty to eight charges relating to the murders of the hostages, and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

At the same time, 33-year-old Elsheikh pleaded not guilty. His trial will take place at the end of March in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Beatles ISIS cell became notorious around the world after videos were posted online showing Jihadi John (Mohammed Emwazi) beheading hostages.

The first video showed Emwazi beheading James Foley off camera after forcing him to read a statement criticising the United States.

Subsequent videos showed the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning. Another appeared to show the aftermath of the beheading of American aid worker Peter Kassig.

Pictured left: James Foley while covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria. Pictured right: US aid worker Peter Kassig otherwise known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig in Syria. Both were beheaded by British ISIS fighter and 'Beatle' Jihadi John

Left: US freelance journalist Steven Sotloff. Right: Kayla Mueller is shown after speaking to a group in Prescott, Arizona. Both were killed in Syria by ISIS

The Beatles ISIS cell became notorious around the world after videos were posted online showing Jihadi John (Mohammed Emwazi) beheading hostages. Pictured: Emwazi points to the camera holding a knife

On November 12 2015, Emwazi was reported to have been killed in a drone strike carried out by the United States in Syria, with then-President Barack Obama saying on December 14 he had been 'taken out'.

Kotey and Elsheikh were later captured in early 2018 by the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces (SDF). In the following months, they both gave interviews to various media outlets which saw Elsheikh admit to guarding hostages who were later killed.

He also admitted to getting information from them to be used in ransom negotiations, but Elsheikh later attempted to have his statements tossed out, claiming he made them under torture after he was captured.

A judge denied the request, ruling the interrogations could be used in the trial.

Pictured: A combination picture shows Alexanda Kotey and Shafee Elsheikh, in these undated handout pictures in Amouda, Syria released February 9, 2018

A Kurdish security officer escorts Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were allegedly among four British jihadis who made up a brutal Islamic State cell dubbed 'The Beatles,' for an interview with The Associated Press at a security center in Kobani, Syria, Friday, March 30, 2018

They initially pleaded not guilty at a hearing in 2020, but Kotey later changed changed his plea giving hope that he would be open to cooperation.

Both men are believed to also be involved in the deaths of Haines and Henning, as well as two Japanese nationals.

Families of their victims hope that Elsheikh's trial in March will give them answers to what happened to their loved ones, including where they were buried.

The fourth member of the 'Beatles' - Aine Lesley Davis, known as 'Paul' - was arrested in Turkey in 2015 and is currently serving a seven and a half year prison sentence.
A fresh faced Keir Starmer when he was appointed DPP in 2008. An inquiry would later clear him of any involvement in the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile

Boris Johnson has accused former director of public prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer of having 'used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile' - and doubled down in the Commons today.

But the Labour leader has said Mr Johnson is 'debasing himself by going so low' by repeating 'a ridiculous slur peddled by right wing trolls'.

And today he used PMQs to accuse Mr Johnson of 'parroting the conspiracy theories of violent fascists to try to score cheap political points'. The PM then refused to withdraw his comments, despite calls from his own MPs to do so.

In 2012 a QC-led inquiry exonerated Sir Keir, finding he was not involved in the decision not to put Savile in the dock two years before he died, blaming it on hapless starstruck police officers and an incurious local prosecutor.

During Sir Keir's tenure as director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013, detectives had sought advice from the CPS on four allegations that Savile had sexually assaulted girls and young women in the 1970s.

In October 2009, the CPS reviewing lawyer with responsibility for the cases advised that since none of the complainants was 'prepared to support any police action', no prosecutions could be brought.

Savile, who abused 500 women and children, died in 2011 without facing justice.

In 2012, after it became clear the Top of the Pops host had attacked and abused hundreds of children and women in hospitals, schools and while filming his BBC shows, an inquiry was carried out Alison Levitt QC, on Mr Starmer's own orders.

In 2013 her report found that the decision was made by police and prosecutors locally, not Sir Keir, who was unaware of it. The CPS would also say there was 'no reference to any involvement from the DPP in the decision-making within a report examining the case.'

Boris Johnson was under fire in the Commons about Partygate when he accused Sir Keir Starmer of letting Jimmy Savile avoid justice. Mr Starmer looked furious as he heard the PM say it (right), claiming Tory MPs were similarly angry

Boris Johnson refuses to withdraw his Savile 'slur' in fiery PMQs Boris Johnson has today refused to withdraw his controversial claim that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile. At Prime Minister's Questions (pictured), the Labour leader accused Mr Johnson of 'parroting the conspiracy theories of violent fascists to try to score cheap political points'. But in response, the Prime Minister defended his comments made in heated Commons exchanges on Monday following the publication of the Sue Gray report on lockdown parties in Downing Street. 'I don't want to make heavy weather of this but I am informed that in 2013 he apologised and took full responsibility for what had happened on his watch. That was the right thing to do,' he said. Ahead of his appearance at the dispatch box, Mr Johnson faced growing calls from senior Conservatives to withdraw the widely criticised claim. In comments directed to Tory benches, Sir Keir said: 'Theirs is the party of Winston Churchill. Our parties stood together as we defeated fascism in Europe. 'Now their leader stands in the House of Commons parroting the conspiracy theories of violent fascists to try to score cheap political points. He knows exactly what he is doing. It is time to restore some dignity.' Advertisement

Alison Levitt QC found that police treated the victims and the accounts they gave 'with a degree of caution which was neither justified nor required'.

Savile also made veiled threats against officers if sexual abuse allegations against him did not 'disappear'.

Detectives looking at allegations advised the CPS not to prosecute Savile, believing his explanation that it was all made up and the price of being famous.

Ms Levitt was also critical of the approach taken by the CPS' reviewing lawyer, but did not suggest that Mr Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made.

The lawyer was also criticised for failing to properly build a case with the police or spot inconsistencies in their reports after interviewing Savile under caution and four of his victims.

As head of the CPS, Sir Keir later apologised, admitting the failure to prosecute Savile was a 'watershed moment' for the organisation. But avoided any admonishment in Ms Levitt's report.

He said: 'I would like to take the opportunity to apologise for the shortcomings in the part played by the CPS in these cases.

'These were errors of judgement by experienced and committed police officers and a prosecuting lawyer acting in good faith and attempting to apply the correct principles. That makes the findings of Ms Levitt's report more profound and calls for a more robust response.'

Lawyer turned Labour leader Sir Keir then left in 2013 to pursue a career in politics.

Michael Gove said today that the Prime Minister has nothing to apologise about.

But despite this view, a flurry of Tory MPs have called on their party leader to withdraw his allegations. And victims of Jimmy Savile have argued the same.

Tory MP Julian Smith, the party's former chief whip, turned on his party leader and tweeted: 'The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Savile yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can't just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate'.

Sir Keir (pictured today) had no involvement in the decision not to prosecute Sir Jimmy Savile, and said the Prime Minister was using language by right wing trolls and conspiracy theorists

Tory MP and former chief whip Julian Smith has also put the boot in to his boss, urging him to go back to the Commons to withdraw it

Senior Tory Simon Hoare has also said that the PM should

Boris is ticked off by the Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, but is not ordered to apologise Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said 'procedurally nothing disorderly' occurred when Boris Johnson alleged Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute disgraced entertainer Jimmy Savile, but the Commons Speaker told MPs today: 'I am far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate on this occasion.' Sir Lindsay kicked out the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford yesterday after accusing the Prime Minister of having 'wilfully misled' MPs over Partygate. In the same debate the PM said the former director of public prosecutions had 'used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile'. The Commons Speaker was asked about the exchange yesterday and said the PM had not broken any rules, but added: 'I've got to say I want a nicer Parliament. And the only way we can get a nicer parliament is being honorable in debates that we have and please let us show each other respect'. Advertisement

And today Simon Hoare, MP for North Dorset and Chairman of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, said: 'The Jimmy Saville false allegation should be withdrawn'.

Mr Johnson was rebuked by the Commons Speaker yesterday over his discredited claim that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

The Prime Minister faced calls from a Tory former chief whip to withdraw the 'baseless personal slur', while Sir Keir said it was Mr Johnson who was 'debasing himself by going so low'.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he was 'far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate'.

But Downing Street said Mr Johnson stood by his comments.

Mr Johnson made the comments on Monday when he lashed out at the Labour leader, a former director of public prosecutions, during Commons clashes about the report on alleged lockdown-busting parties in No 10.

Questioned about the comments on Tuesday, Sir Lindsay said 'procedurally nothing disorderly occurred but such allegations should not be made lightly'.

He added: 'While they may not have been disorderly, I am far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate on this occasion.

'I want to see more compassionate, reasonable politics in this House and the sort of comment can only inflame opinions and generate disregard for this House.

'I've got to say I want a nicer Parliament, the only way we can get a nicer Parliament is being more honourable in the debates we have.'

Tories demand Boris withdraws Jimmy Savile 'slur' at Keir Starmer as Michael Gove admits Labour leader 'did the right thing' on CPS failures - as PM insists he WON'T apologise despite slap on the wrists from Commons Speaker

Boris Johnson caused a storm in the Commons on Monday when he jibed that Keir Starmer 'spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile' at the CPS

Boris Johnson today batted away calls to withdraw his Jimmy Savile 'slur' at Keir Starmer despite anger from Tories and the Speaker.

The PM caused a storm in the Commons on Monday when he jibed that the Labour leader had 'spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile' when he was head of the CPS.

Sir Keir denounced the attack as a 'ridiculous slur peddled by Right-wing trolls' and claimed Mr Johnson had 'debased' himself.

But Mr Johnson has insisted: 'As far as I'm aware, it's fairly accurate.'

In a round of interviews this morning, Cabinet minister Michael Gove gave the premier limited support saying he did not need to apologise.

But he said he 'respected' Sir Keir's position. 'In a uniquely sensitive case Keir Starmer acknowledged that mistakes had been made by the organisation of which he was head. To his credit he was very clear about those mistakes,' he told Sky News.

'He brought in an independent lawyer to look at that. And I think that we should recognise that in doing that he did the right thing.'

Deputy PM Dominic Raab also seemed uncomfortable about the row yesterday, saying he could not 'substantiate' the swipe.

Senior Conservative MP Simon Hoare said today that 'the Jimmy Savile false allegation should be withdrawn'.

In a round of interviews this morning, Cabinet minister Michael Gove gave the premier limited support saying he did not need to apologise

Yesterday former chief whip Julian Smith called on the PM to withdraw the 'false and baseless' attack.

'The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Savile yesterday is wrong and cannot be defended,' he said.

'It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust and can't just be accepted as part of the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate.'

Sir Keir accused Mr Johnson of 'going so low' with the claim and accused him of repeating 'a ridiculous slur peddled by right wing trolls' who claimed he personally took the decision not to put Savile in the dock in 2009.

A 2013 QC-led inquiry found the decision was made by police and prosecutors locally and the now Labour leader was not personally to blame.

The CPS confirmed at the time there was 'no reference to any involvement from the DPP in the decision-making within a report examining the case'.

But an ally of Mr Johnson last night said: 'Ministers are routinely criticised for things in their departments that they are not personally responsible for.'

They also pointed to how Sir Keir issued an apology in January 2013 following a review. 'I would like to take the opportunity to apologise for the shortcomings in the part played by the CPS in these cases,' he had said.

A Tory source told the Sun: 'It's simply a matter of fact that Starmer was running the CPS at the time they decided not to charge Savile.

'As leader of the organisation at the time, what action did he take against people who were personally responsible?'

But victims of Savile have called for Mr Johnson to withdraw his 'flippant' attack on the Labour leader.

The women said they were left 'furious' by his comments in the House of Commons that 'triggered all the flashbacks'.

Miss A, a Savile victim, told LBC: 'To have the PM say this... I was furious . It was like he was using it as a flippant thing for other people's purposes.

She added: 'It triggered all the flashbacks, the memories. I can't begin to tell you how upset I was. It was so unnecessary.'

A lawyer who represented some of the victims said they had called for the PM to withdraw him comments.

Richard Scorer, head of abuse and public inquiries at law firm Slater and Gordon, said: 'I echo the widespread disgust at what we saw and heard in the House of Commons yesterday as Boris Johnson tried to distract from the Sue Gray update.

'As one of the lawyers who represented many of Savile's victims, I can confirm that these allegations against Sir Keir Starmer are completely unfounded and unjustified.

'Sir Keir did more than any other director of public prosecutions to advance the rights of victims. No DPP can control every decision.

'The Crown Prosecution Service was much better under his leadership.
Tonga is going into lockdown after uncovering five Covid cases thought to be linked to international aid deliveries arriving on the tsunami-devastated islands.

Two port workers in the capital Nuku'alofa, where aid shipments are being unloaded, tested positive for the virus late Tuesday before another three cases were discovered among their family members - including two in children.

It marks the first time Tonga has experienced community spread of the virus, having previously suffered just one case in a traveller who arrived from New Zealand and tested positive in quarantine.

The Pacific island nation has pursued an aggressive zero Covid strategy that has complicated aid deliveries as the government insists they should be 'contact-free' with all supplies quarantined for three days to avoid spreading the infection.

Tonga has reported five cases of Covid - two among dock workers unloading international aid in the capital Nuku'alofa (pictured) and another three among their family members

It is unclear exactly where the cases originated or how the port workers were infected, since aid deliveries follow strict contactless protocols with all supplies quarantined for three days

It is unclear exactly how the virus was able to infect the port workers, or where it originated. Australian defence chiefs say a warship currently docked in Tonga does not appear to be the source, despite a Covid outbreak on board.

Tonga's health chiefs have not given a rationale for their zero Covid policy - given that 60 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated against the virus - but several factors are likely to play a part.

The islands have limited healthcare facilities that would be quickly overwhelmed if cases were to spread rapidly, while obesity rates among the population are significantly above average - with obesity making death from Covid more likely.

Almost 60 per cent of Tongan men and 45 per cent of women are obese, compared to a regional average of around 30 per cent for men and women.

A study by the World Obesity Federation published in March last year found that Covid death rates are ten times higher in countries where more than half of adults are overweight or obese, such as the UK, US, and Italy.

Tonga has been largely reliant on foreign aid for survival since the Hunga-Tonga volcano erupted on January 15 with the strength of an atomic bomb, triggering a devastating 50ft tsunami and ash cloud that blanketed the islands.

Entire island communities were swept away by the wave, with water supplies contaminated by salt water and ash. Crops were also destroyed, leaving the islands facing a food crisis.

It marks the first time Tonga has experienced community spread of the virus, having reported just one other case in an arriving traveller (pictured, aid is unloaded at the airport)

Tonga will now go into complete lockdown starting at 6pm on Wednesday in an attempt to stop the virus spreading further (pictured, aid deliveries at the airport)

Australia, New Zealand, the United States, China, France, Fiji and Britain have all sent ships carrying relief supplies including drinking water, medical kits and engineering equipment. Japan has sent aid by air.

Australia's HMAS Adelaide docked in Nuku'alofa to unload supplies last week, despite a coronavirus outbreak among its crew.

But the Australian Defence Force's operations chief, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, said the Nuku'alofa outbreak 'doesn't appear to have evolved from the Adelaide'.

All offshore deliveries are subject to strict 'no-contact' protocols in a bid to keep the virus at bay, including leaving goods in isolation for three days before they are handled by Tongans.

Bilton said the warship, which has recorded 51 Covid-19 cases among its 630-strong crew since leaving Brisbane last month, berthed in a different area of the harbour from where the two local men were working.

'We unloaded in a manner that was Covid-friendly, contactless, in line with arrangements made with Tongan officials at the wharf,' Bilton told Sky News Australia.

'So I don't think there's any connection, there's no evidence of that.'

Tonga has been largely reliant on overseas aid for survival since the island was devastated by a volcanic explosion and subsequent tsunami

He said the Tongan government had asked the Australians to take samples from the infected men away for analysis to identify the strain of coronavirus and help identify its source.

Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni announced late Tuesday that Tonga would enter a lockdown at 6:00 pm Wednesday, with the situation reviewed every 48 hours.

Large queues formed at supermarkets in the capital as residents prepared to hunker down for an extended period.

The stay-at-home order means all businesses and schools must close, with only essential services allowed to operate.

Tonga closed its borders in early 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe.

Until this week, it had recorded just one case of Covid-19, a man who returned from New Zealand last October and has since fully recovered.

The blast from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, which lies about 40 miles north of Nuku'alofa, forced a slight relaxation of the border rules to deal with a situation the Tongan government has described as an 'unprecedented natural disaster'.

The Hunga-Tonga volcano erupted on January 15 with the strength of a nuclear warhead, blanketing Tonga in ash and triggering a 50ft tsunami

The eruption, one of the biggest recorded in decades, generated massive tsunami waves and blanketed the island nation in toxic ash, claiming three lives.

A United Nations update late last week said drinking water remained Tonga's main challenge and about 1,500 people were still displaced.

Communications remain patchy after the eruption damaged an undersea cable that connects the country to the rest of the world.

Officials said a specialist cable repair ship was expected to arrive this week and would take at least two weeks to fix the damage.
Apple has built an 'invisible wall' on its Maps app to hide CEO Tim Cook's house after he was targeted by an 'armed' stalker who drove 2,800 miles from Virginia to California to find him.

Mr Cook's 2.5million home in California has now been pixelated on both Apple Maps and Google Maps.

Julia Lee Choi, 45, from McLean, began tweeting about Mr Cook, 61, on Halloween in 2020 under the name Julia Lee Cook.

She calls him her husband and 'my bed man'. In her first tweet she wrote: 'My bed MAN! My bathroom MAN! My kitchen MAN! My Cleaning MAN! My Husband! My MAN is Tim Cook ! My kids Daddy!'

Choi has now been served with a restraining order which prevents her from travelling within 200 yards of Mr Cook or any other Apple employees, going to any Apple property or Mr Cook's home.

Julia Lee Choi, 45, from McLean, Virginia, has been harassing Cook (pictured in September 2019) since October 2020, according to his lawyers

Choi on October 31, 2020 opened a Twitter account using this profile photo. She fired off 18 tweets that one day, and the account has been dormant ever since late 2020

Mr Cook's 2.5million home in California has now been pixelated on both Apple Maps and Google Maps, according to Cult of Mac

She is also not allowed to own a gun.

Choi has previously taken issue with the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai. She tweeted: 'While we two of us reached our love final decision, and in progress, Sandra Pichia, CEO of Google insisting to interrupt Cook's love and tried to hurt me several times.

'Julia Lee Cook totally understand my husband's past and relationships with unexpected parties.'

In another tweet, she declared: 'My husband, I am not cleaning, cooking, or I am just waiting for my husband! My heart is tingling.'

She emailed Cook approximately 200 times from October to November 2020, sending him messages which included photos of what appear to be loaded handguns, according to documents.

Court documents said the emails demonstrated 'a significant escalation in tone.'

Some of the messages, described by Cook's attorney as 'threatening and highly disturbing,' were sexual in nature.

One of the messages reportedly read: 'What you have done is criminal defense, murdered.'

Cook's lawyers state, in their petition for the restraining order, that on November 3, 2020, she emailed him a photo of a package of ammunition: the following day, she wrote: 'I warned and told you stop trying to kill me. You made me to buy this instead of going for Christmas. I will NEVER forgive forget you.'

In September 2021, Choi allegedly sent Cook an email telling him that she is 'applying [to be] your roommate.'

According to the restraining order, she drove from Northern Virginia to California twice within two months in a Porsche Macan; the second time, in October 2021, she showed up at Cook's home and told security officials that she wanted to speak to Cook.

She remained on the property until police arrived on the scene, and said she 'could be violent'.

Choi appeared to have rented an Airbnb in San Jose for some time.

On December 18, 2021 she emailed him and said: 'we do not have to meet. give me 500 millions cash. then I will forget and forgive all better listen to me.'

Afterward, she allegedly continued sending Cook concerning tweets and emails, with one threatening to burn Cook's home.

The request for a restraining order was filed Thursday and granted Friday, as first reported in Mercury News.

Apple believes that the woman is still in the South Bay and could possibly be armed.

A hearing is scheduled for March 29.
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What IS the truth about Boris Johnson's claims that Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile? A fresh faced Keir Starmer when he was appointed DPP in 2008 Boris Johnson has accused former director of public prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer of having 'used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile'. But the Labour leader has said Mr Johnson is 'debasing himself by going so low' by repeating 'a ridiculous slur peddled by right wing trolls'. And a QC-led inquiry exonerated Sir Keir, finding he was not involved in the decision not to put Savile in the dock two years before he died, blaming it on hapless starstruck police and an incurious local prosecutor. During Sir Keir's tenure as director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013, detectives had sought advice from the CPS on four allegations that Savile had sexually assaulted girls and young women in the 1970s. In October 2009, the CPS reviewing lawyer with responsibility for the cases advised that since none of the complainants was 'prepared to support any police action', no prosecutions could be brought. Savile, who abused 500 women and children, died in 2011 without facing justice. In 2012, after it became clear the Top of the Pops host had attacked and abused hundreds of children and women in hospitals, schools and while filming his BBC shows, an inquiry was carried out Alison Levitt QC, on Mr Starmer's own orders. In 2013 her report found that the decision was made by police and prosecutors locally, not Sir Keir, who was unaware of it. The CPS would also say there was 'no reference to any involvement from the DPP in the decision-making within a report examining the case.' But there was some public criticism that as DPP, Sir Keir should have been more aware of what was happening in one of the highest profile cases in the UK at that time. And an ally of Mr Johnson last night said: 'Ministers are routinely criticised for things in their departments that they are not personally responsible for.' Advertisement

Boris Johnson today batted away calls to withdraw his Jimmy Savile 'slur' at Keir Starmer despite the furious Labour leader calling on Tory MPs to oust him for 'parroting the conspiracy theories of of violent fascists'.

Mr Johnson refused to back down during brutal exchanges at PMQs over his jibe that Sir Keir 'spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile' when he was head of the CPS.

The attack line has fuelled mounting disquiet among Tory MPs, who fear Mr Johnson overstepped the mark.

Former minister Tobias Ellwood became the latest to declare no confidence in the premier, after it emerged Partygate police are investigating six lockdown-busting bashes that he allegedly attended. His maverick ex-aide Dominic Cummings has upped the ante by claiming there are photographs.

Sir Keir went over the premier's head this afternoon reminding Tories that they are the 'party of Winston Churchill'.

'I just want to say to the members opposite, theirs is the party of Winston Churchill,' he said.

'Our parties stood together as we defeated fascism in Europe.

Now their leader stands in the House of Commons parroting the conspiracy theories of violent fascists to try and score cheap political points.

'He knows exactly what he is doing, it is time to restore some dignity.'

But Mr Johnson insisted: 'I don't want to make heavy weather of this but I am told that in 2013, he apologised and took full responsibility for what had happened on his watch. I think that was the right thing to do.'

The defiant stance came despite evidence that the extraordinary attack line might have backfired.

Senior Conservative MP Simon Hoare said today that 'the Jimmy Savile false allegation should be withdrawn'.

Yesterday former chief whip Julian Smith called on the PM to withdraw the 'false and baseless' attack.

'The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Savile yesterday is wrong and cannot be defended,' he said.

'It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust and can't just be accepted as part of the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate.'

One former minister told MailOnline that many were now convinced that Mr Johnson cannot change.

'The lawyers in the party say he is incorrect,' the MP said. 'I understand they practised this in No10 and he was told ''don't go there''. A number of colleagues are saying this just won't work. He freelances and you cannot control that.'

In a round of interviews this morning, Cabinet minister Michael Gove gave the premier limited support saying he did not need to apologise.

But he said he 'respected' Sir Keir's position. 'In a uniquely sensitive case Keir Starmer acknowledged that mistakes had been made by the organisation of which he was head. To his credit he was very clear about those mistakes,' he told Sky News.

'He brought in an independent lawyer to look at that. And I think that we should recognise that in doing that he did the right thing.'

Deputy PM Dominic Raab also seemed uncomfortable about the row yesterday, saying he could not 'substantiate' the swipe.

Sir Keir accused Mr Johnson of 'going so low' with the claim and accused him of repeating 'a ridiculous slur peddled by right wing trolls' who claimed he personally took the decision not to put Savile in the dock in 2009.

A 2013 QC-led inquiry found the decision was made by police and prosecutors locally and the now Labour leader was not personally to blame.

The CPS confirmed at the time there was 'no reference to any involvement from the DPP in the decision-making within a report examining the case'.

But an ally of Mr Johnson last night said: 'Ministers are routinely criticised for things in their departments that they are not personally responsible for.'

They also pointed to how Sir Keir issued an apology in January 2013 following a review. 'I would like to take the opportunity to apologise for the shortcomings in the part played by the CPS in these cases,' he had said.

On another breathless day of political intrigue:

Pictures exist of Mr Johnson at Downing Street parties being investigated by police, his former adviser Dominic Cummings claimed during an online Q&A;

Top civil servant Antonia Romeo is reported to be snubbing a job as the head of a new Prime Minister's Office being set up by Mr Johnson;

Mr Gove risked a split with Mr Johnson by insisting Keir Starmer 'did the right thing' on Jimmy Savile when he was head of the CPS, although he stressed the PM does not need to apologise;

White House press secretary Jen Psaki mocked Mr Johnson saying Joe Biden has 'never been ambushed by a cake' as she responded to a question on the lockdown-breaching parties at Downing Street

TV channels in Russia seized on the furore saying Mr Johnson is 'the most disliked, disrespected and ridiculed character in Britain' who was 'completely under the control and heel of his young wife' Carrie;

Boris Johnson today batted away calls to withdraw his Jimmy Savile 'slur' at Keir Starmer despite the furious Labour leader accusing him of 'parroting the conspiracy theories of of violent fascists'

Sir Keir (pictured today) said he had no involvement in the decision not to prosecute Sir Jimmy Savile, and said the Prime Minister was using language by right wing trolls and conspiracy theorists

Which Tory MPs have called for a confidence vote in the PM? PUBLICLY CONFIRMED SENDING LETTER Anthony Mangnall Tobias Ellwood Peter Aldous Andrew Bridgen Douglas Ross Roger Gale CALLED FOR THE PM TO QUIT BUT NOT CONFIRMED SENDING LETTERS David Davis Andrew Mitchell William Wragg Tim Loughton Caroline Nokes THOUGHT TO HAVE SENT LETTERS Charles Walker Aaron Bell Advertisement

The PM's press secretary, asked by reporters whether the Prime Minister 'still believes' Sir Keir acted 'improperly' while director of public prosecutions, said: 'On that, we were simply pointing out Sir Keir Starmer's record as leader.

'You've got what the Prime Minister said today, which is that in 2013 Keir Starmer apologised and took full responsibility for what happened on his watch, and that that was the right thing to do.'

Pushed on whether Mr Johnson was confident he was not fuelling 'conspiracy theories of violent fascists'  as Sir Keir called the claim in the Commons  his spokeswoman said: 'It is all entirely a matter of public record about what happened at the time and Sir Keir Starmer's apology at the time is a matter of public record  you can find it for yourself online.'

Nicola Sturgeon has also piled into the row by comparing Mr Johnson to Donald Trump.

The SNP leader said: 'I'm of a different political party to Keir Starmer, but the Jimmy Savile comments about Keir Starmer were utterly despicable.

'(It is) appalling that the holder of the office of Prime Minister is behaving in that fake news, Trumpian manner.

'This is about the integrity of our democracy.

'We've all got to ask ourselves as citizens, are we content to have someone with no integrity and no shame occupying Number 10, and I think the answer to that question for the vast majority of people across the UK is no.

'But the people who can make the decision about whether Boris Johnson stays there or not are Tory MPs and the longer they allow him to stay there, the longer he will become tarnished and tainted and complicit in his conduct.'

Victims of Savile have called for Mr Johnson to withdraw his 'flippant' attack on the Labour leader.

The women said they were left 'furious' by his comments in the House of Commons that 'triggered all the flashbacks'.

Miss A, a Savile victim, told LBC: 'To have the PM say this... I was furious . It was like he was using it as a flippant thing for other people's purposes.

She added: 'It triggered all the flashbacks, the memories. I can't begin to tell you how upset I was. It was so unnecessary.'

A lawyer who represented some of the victims said they had called for the PM to withdraw him comments.

Richard Scorer, head of abuse and public inquiries at law firm Slater and Gordon, said: 'I echo the widespread disgust at what we saw and heard in the House of Commons yesterday as Boris Johnson tried to distract from the Sue Gray update.

'As one of the lawyers who represented many of Savile's victims, I can confirm that these allegations against Sir Keir Starmer are completely unfounded and unjustified.

'Sir Keir did more than any other director of public prosecutions to advance the rights of victims. No DPP can control every decision.

'The Crown Prosecution Service was much better under his leadership.

'Victims of Savile I have spoken with today have told me that they want Johnson to withdraw these comments and apologise and I call upon him to do that right away.'

Mr Johnson's spokesman said 'the Prime Minister stood by what he said in the House' - but declined to repeat his claim.

He said: 'As a civil servant it wouldn't be right for me to repeat something which relates to a political aspect of the Prime Minister's work.'

A Tory source told the Sun: 'As leader of the organisation at the time, what action did he take against people who were personally responsible?'

In a round of interviews this morning, Cabinet minister Michael Gove gave the premier limited support saying he did not need to apologise

Senior Conservative MP Simon Hoare said today that 'the Jimmy Savile false allegation should be withdrawn'

Two more Tory MPs call for no-confidence vote in Boris as police probe SIX No10 parties 'he attended' Boris Johnson's future was plunged further into doubt today as a sixth Tory MP went public with demands for a no-confidence vote amid fresh Partygate revelations. Totnes and South Devon MP Anthony Mangnall lashed out at the PM's 'mistruths' as he declared he is submitting a letter to 1922 committee chair Sir Graham Brady. 'Standards in public life matter,' he posted on Twitter. 'At this time I can no longer support the PM. 'His actions and mistruths are overshadowing the extraordinary work of so many excellent ministers and colleagues. 'I have submitted a letter of no confidence.' The move came just hours after former minister Tobias Ellwood said he would also be writing to Sir Graham, warning that a challenge is now 'inevitable'. The threat to the premier appears to be ramping up, with more backbenchers on the verge of open insurrection - although it is not clear how close they are to hitting the threshold of 54 letters for a formal vote. Mr Johnson faced more Partygate woe today with claims he was seen heading for the 'Winner Takes It All' Abba party thrown in his Downing Street flat to celebrate the fall of Dominic Cummings. To add to his woes, Mr Johnson has also been accused of attending a Prosecco-fuelled leaving party in No10 while country was in the midst of the strict post-Christmas lockdown. Advertisement

Yesterday Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said 'procedurally nothing disorderly' occurred when Boris Johnson made the claims, but told MPs: 'I am far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate on this occasion.'

Labour's leader has insisted he did not help the Top of the Pops presenter avoid trial when he was director of public prosecutions in 2009, telling Good Morning Britain: 'It's a slur. It's untrue. It's desperate from the Prime Minister'.

Sir Keir told Sky News yesterday that when Mr Johnson mentioned Savile during the debate on Sue Gray's Partygate report, Tory MPs had a look of 'disgust' on their faces.

'It is a ridiculous slur peddled by right-wing trolls', he said.

'I saw the faces of the Conservative MPs, the disgust on their faces that their Prime Minister was debasing himself by sinking so low in the Chamber was clear.

'They knew that he was going so low with that slur, with that lie - he had been advised not to do it because it's obviously not true, but he does it because he doesn't understand what honesty and integrity means.'

The Crown Prosecution Service was eviscerated for failing to get justice for Savile's 500-plus victims, but a later inquiry found that the decision was made by police and prosecutors locally, not Sir Keir personally.

Following a 2013 inquiry that cleared him of wrongdoing, Mr Starmer apologised and called it a 'watershed moment' for the CPS, who had failed to question the motives and professionalism of the police officers who told them not to pursue Savile.

Mr Johnson's deputy Dominic Raab struggled to back his boss in a series of uncomfortable interviews yesterday.

Asked if he would withdraw Mr Johnson's Savile claim, Mr Raab told Times Radio: 'It's not for me to do that. What I would say is it's part of the cut and thrust in the Chamber.'

When questioned by the BBC's Nick Robinson on whether it was fair, Mr Raab said: 'I can't substantiate that', adding: 'I'm certainly not repeating it'.

Tory MP Julian Smith, the party's former chief whip, turned on his party leader suggesting the PM should go back to the Commons to withdraw it.

He tweeted: 'The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Savile yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can't just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate'.

Mr Johnson made the comments in the House of Commons on Monday as he hit back at Labour criticism over the Sue Gray report.

The Prime Minister said: 'The report does absolutely nothing to substantiate the tissue of nonsense that he has said. Absolute nonsense.

'Instead this leader of the opposition, a former director of public prosecution - who used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can see - he chose to use this moment to continually pre-judge a police inquiry.

'He has reached his conclusions about it. I am not going to reach any conclusions and he would be entirely wrong to do so.

'I have complete confidence in the police, I hope that they will be allowed simply to get on with their job and don't propose to offer any more commentary about it and I don't believe that he should either.'

Tobias Ellwood (right) has become the latest Tory to confirm he is sending a letter of no confidence in the PM. The PM's swipe at Keir Starmer (left) for failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile has angered many Tories who view it as a 'slur'

Tory backbencher, Peter Aldous (pictured), MP for Waveney, revealed he had submitted a letter to the chairman of the 1922 Sir Graham Brady, calling for a vote of no confidence in the PM

Boris is ticked off by the Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, but is not ordered to apologise Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said 'procedurally nothing disorderly' occurred when Boris Johnson alleged Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute disgraced entertainer Jimmy Savile, but the Commons Speaker told MPs today: 'I am far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate on this occasion.' Sir Lindsay kicked out the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford yesterday after accusing the Prime Minister of having 'wilfully misled' MPs over Partygate. In the same debate the PM said the former director of public prosecutions had 'used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile'. The Commons Speaker was asked about the exchange today and said the PM had not broken any rules, but added: 'I want to see more compassionate and reasonable politics in this House and this sort of comment can only inflame opinions. 'I've got to say I want a nicer Parliament. And the only way we can get a nicer parliament is being honorable in debates that we have and please let us show each other respect'. Advertisement

Police officers who interviewed Jimmy Savile in 2009 over child sex abuse allegations had actively discouraged the Crown Prosecution Service from pursuing the case.

The former BBC DJ, who died two years later, was interviewed under caution by Surrey Police at Stoke Mandeville Hospital after a woman claimed she had been abused as a girl at Duncroft Approved School for Girls in Staines in the 1970s.

Nine days after the interview, which took place in Savile's own office in the hospital - police advised prosecutors not to pursue Savile. Police also failed to pursue credible claims against him across the country.

Nazir Afzal, a former chief Crown prosecutor for the North West, responded to Mr Johnson's comments by saying that the reference made to Savile by Mr Johnson was 'a disgrace to Parliament & office of Prime Minister'.

He wrote on Twitter: 'Its not true. I was there. Keir Starmer had nothing to do with the decisions taken. On the contrary, He supported me in bringing 100s of child sex abusers to justice.'

In 2020, fact checking charity Full Fact looked into the claim that Sir Keir had stopped Savile being charged in 2009.

Full Fact said Sir Keir was head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) when the decision not to prosecute Savile was made on the grounds of 'insufficient evidence', adding: 'The allegations against Savile were dealt with by local police and a reviewing lawyer for the CPS.

'A later investigation criticised the actions of both the CPS and the police in their handling of the situation.

'It did not suggest that Mr Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made.'

The independent fact-checking organisation concluded: 'Mr Starmer was head of the CPS when the decision was made not to prosecute Savile but he was not the reviewing lawyer for the case.

'An official investigation commissioned later by Starmer criticised both prosecutors and police for their handling of the allegations.'

Another report found: 'There is no evidence to suggest Sir Keir Starmer, then DPP of the CPS, was directly involved in the decision not to prosecute Jimmy Savile.'

Savile died in 2011 aged 84 having never been brought to justice for his crimes.

He is now believed to be one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

A 2016 report into his abuse found staff at the BBC missed numerous opportunities to stop him.

Boris Johnson was under fire in the Commons about Partygate when he made the claims yesterday. Mr Starmer looked furious as he heard the PM say it (right)
Boris Johnson said the plan amounted to a 'moral mission' to spread opportunity across the country by 2030

The 400-page strategy includes 12 'missions to level up the UK' over eight years

Michael Gove has suggested the House of Lords could move to Glasgow as part of the Government's new 'Levelling Up' plan which was unveiled today.

The Levelling Up Secretary has set out his vision to deliver on Boris Johnson's 2019 general election pledge to improve life in left-behind areas.

One of the key aims is to ensure the average adult will be able to enjoy five more years of healthy life by 2035.

Mr Gove published his policy white paper this afternoon after saying this morning that people in the North of England and the Midlands have been 'overlooked and undervalued for years' by politicians.

The Cabinet minister rejected claims from critics that the Government is reheating old policies and previously announced cash but admitted he had not got all the money he had asked for from Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Meanwhile, he said the House of Lords could temporarily move to Glasgow or York when Parliament is being renovated.

Mr Johnson yesterday pledged that the 'Levelling Up' plan amounted to an eight-year 'moral mission' to spread opportunity across the country by 2030.

The 400-page strategy covers almost every aspect of life from literacy levels and life expectancy to jobs, bus services and street cleaning, with detailed pledges and targets in each area.

It sets out 12 'missions to level up the UK', including striking pledges to make the country happier and healthier.

Michael Gove will today unveil the long-awaited levelling up white paper, which aims to make a reality of the Prime Minister's election-winning promise to improve life in left-behind areas of the North and Midlands. One part of a 12-point plan will be to improve local bus and rail services in every part of the country

The 400-page strategy covers almost every aspect of life from literacy levels and life expectancy to jobs, bus services and street cleaning, with detailed pledges and targets in each area

Mr Gove told Sky News this morning that people in the North of England and the Midlands have been 'overlooked and undervalued for years' by successive governments.

He said the 'Brexit referendum was a wake-up call', telling the broadcaster: 'As well as a clear commandment to leave the European Union it was also a way of saying to people in SW1, people like me, 'look, it's vital that you change the economic model of this country. It's all very well if people are in London and the Southeast in financial services and others do well, we don't begrudge that. But you've got to listen to us'.'

Mr Gove said mistakes had been made by 'parties of both colours' and that 'one of the things in the past is there have been sincere and committed attempts by politicians left and right to deal with this'.

'But nothing as comprehensive or as long-term as the plan that we're setting out today,' he said.

Mr Gove raised the prospect of the House of Lords moving out of London as an example of levelling up.

He told Times Radio: 'We've got our friends in the House of Lords who will have to move out of their current building, at the moment, because of the renovation of the Palace of Westminster.

'I think it'd be a really good thing if the House of Lords were to meet for at least part of the time in Glasgow or in York. I think it would do us all good.'

Mr Gove defended the amount of money the Government is spending on levelling up, telling the BBC: 'What we're doing is we're taking numbers from a Treasury spreadsheet and transforming it into real change in people's lives.

'The Chancellor, in the Spending Review, outlined significant increases in public spending in a range of areas  in transport, in support for local government, in education, and health and social care.

'That was money put in, if you like, in departmental bank accounts, and now we are spending that money and it's being allocated to the mayors and other local leaders who are best placed to drive change in their own communities.'

Asked if he had pushed for more money from the Chancellor but was denied, the Levelling Up Secretary said: 'I did ask the Chancellor for a lot and he gave it to me, that was what was happening in the Spending Review.'

Asked if he had got all the money he wanted, he said: 'Well, in this life we never get everything we want, but, in the words of Mick Jagger, you might not always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.'

Labour's shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said the Government's plan lacked ambition.

She said: 'Ministers have had two and a half years to get this right and all we been given is more slogans and strategies, with few new ideas.

'Boris Johnson's answer to our communities calling for change is to shuffle the deckchairs - new government structures, recycled pots of money and a small refund on the money this Government have taken from us.

'This is not what we were promised. We deserve far more ambition this.'

Mr Gove's dossier includes a commitment to narrow the yawning gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas  and an eye-catching pledge to raise average 'healthy life expectancy' by five years by 2035.

The 400-page strategy will look to give renters a 'secure path to ownership', increasing the number of first-time buyers and to halve the number of shoddy homes currently rented out

The new plan also pledges to make people happier, with targets for improving 'wellbeing' and action to improve community pride, including investment in town centres and local culture. There are plans to improve maths and literacy rates in the worst primary schools by a third

Healthy life expectancy, which measures the years before ill health starts to take its toll, stands at an average 62.9 years for men and 63.4 years for women.

Regional variations in overall life expectancy vary widely, with a gap of more than ten years for men and more than eight years for women between the least and most healthy areas.

Blackpool has the lowest life expectancy in England, with men living an average 74.1 years compared to 84.7 years in Westminster  a gap government sources described as a 'gross disparity'.

The new plan also pledges to make people happier, with targets for improving 'wellbeing' and action to improve community pride, including investment in town centres and local culture.

Mr Gove last night said the project was vital to convincing new Tory voters to stick with the Government, adding: 'Unless we are the Government for levelling up, we will fail the people who voted for us.'

The PM told the Cabinet yesterday that levelling up was the Government's 'moral mission'.

Last night he said that the Government's aim was to 'break the link between geography and destiny so that no matter where you live you have access to the same opportunities'.

Warning that change would take time, he added: 'The challenges we face have been embedded over generations and cannot be dug out overnight but this white paper is the next crucial step.

'It is the most comprehensive, ambitious plan of its kind that this country has ever seen.'

Another eye-catching policy is gigabit broadband and 4G for all, with 5G for 'the majority' of people

Critics have pointed out that Mr Sunak blocked the release of more money for the launch of today's plan.

But officials last night stressed 4.8billion has already been committed to levelling up this Parliament, with much of the cash yet to be allocated.

Mr Gove also said that the sweeping ambition of the plan meant that almost all government departments would have to devote time and resources to it, including more money for tackling health, crime and unemployment. He said it would require a 'whole of government effort'.

He told the BBC: 'There is going to be a shift both of power and money away from London and the South East, towards the North and Midlands.

'For too long our country's been over centralised and you've had the elites in London, who haven't really understood all of the problems that people in communities like Grimsby and Cleethorpes face.'

The new plan will be accompanied by a range of targets to allow people to measure performance. The Government will commit to producing an annual report setting out progress in each area.
Police have rubbished reports the disturbing theft of two human heads from Melbourne cemeteries are linked to satanic rituals.

Investigators were called to Footscray General Cemetery, in the city's west this week amid reports a grave had been disturbed for the second time in a matter of days.

Detectives found the plaque and plaster board inside a mausoleum had been removed and partial human remains had been stolen, mirroring an earlier incident last week.

Despite outlandish rumours to the contrary, reports that investigators were probing whether the crime is connected to devil worship have been denied by Victoria Police.

Two human heads have been stolen from Footscray General Cemetery (pictured) in separate incidents over the past two weeks

Police say the offenders used several tools to force entry into the graves.

'The human remains were the primary focus of the offender and that is what we are focusing on,' Detective Acting Inspector Ben Jarman told 7NEWS.

The first incident took place at the Geelong Road cemetery sometime between 7.30pm last Thursday and 6.15am the following morning.

Another part of the cemetery was then raided again this week between 6pm on Monday and 10am on Tuesday.

A third mausoleum was broken into late last week but was already empty, leaving the offenders with nothing to steal.

Police believe the targets are being selected at random and say the victims are not connected.

The bizarre case has left seasoned experts baffled, with acting Inspector Jarman saying he had never seen a crime like this.

'It is a very rare event,' he told 3AW on Wednesday morning.

Police were called to the cemetery on Tuesday to reports a mausoleum (pictured) had been disturbed

'This is a rare crime. I haven't come across this in my time.'

Police investigators weren't the only ones skeptical the grave-robbery was the result of satanic cult activity.

'I havent seen a precedent where graves have been robbed for anything other than past times - grave robbing used to be when bodies were being taken and provided for anatomical reasons - but were talking hundreds of years ago,' renowned criminologist Xanthe Mallett said.

The distressed families of the victims have reported there were no goods of value other than personal items inside the mausoleums.

Detectives established crime scenes at both incidents and are investigating whether they are linked.

Police have amped up security at the site in the days since the grave robbery

Police have also been working closely with site managers who are increasing security presence on site.

Detectives have installed a series of CCTV cameras in the cemetery following the shocking discovery.

The cameras have been placed along roads in the facility as enforcement look to ensure there aren't further parts taken and to prevent future incidents.

The removal of body parts from a grave carry a maximum penalty of five years behind bars.

Investigators are urging anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area over the last week to come forward to police.
Sen. Pat Toomey has been vocal about what he sees as the promise of cryptocurrency.

Crypto has the potential to be the future of the internet, he tweeted in August.

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That same month, he warned against excessive cryptocurrency regulation, saying it could harm innovation and investors, and disadvantage the United States against perceived global competitors, like China.

What Toomey did not mention in his tweet is that he is a crypto investor himself. Less than two months prior, the senator had bought somewhere between $2,000 and $30,000 worth of the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum through a trust known as Grayscale, according to his financial disclosures. By November, both currencies had more than doubled in value.

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But unlike other investors, Toomey is the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, where he can have a hand in actively shaping cryptocurrency regulation. And, in December, as both Bitcoin and Ethereum values began to tumble, thats exactly what the senator did  calling for congressional help to stabilize the growth of digital assets.

Toomey spokesperson Amanda Thompson said the senator was seeking a regulatory framework for stablecoins, which are pegged to a particular currency, and that would not affect the value of his investments in either Bitcoin or Ethereum.

While there is nothing illegal about members of Congress investing in these assets  or the stock market  an increasing chorus of critics says there ought to be. In places like Pennsylvania, it is not hard to find members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, whose trading raises ethical questions or potential conflicts of interest, or simple hypocrisy.

Critics, like Dylan Hedtler-Gaudett from the Project On Government Oversight, which advocates for stricter rules around trading activity by legislators, blasted Toomeys investing.

The top ranking Republican on a committee that deals with cryptocurrency is out there being a booster for cryptocurrency, he said. And, oh, by the way, he has a bunch of his own individual cash invested in cryptocurrency. Even if he did nothing illegal, it just looks really sketchy and really corrupt.

In early January, after a series of scandals involving U.S. lawmakers and their trading activity, Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz, introduced legislation that would effectively bar the type of investing legislators like Toomey routinely engage in by requiring those dollars placed into a blind trust.

Advocates for the legislation say it aims to prevent conflicts of interest, as well as the perception of them  conflicts that extend far beyond cryptocurrency and into myriad other sectors of the economy that members of Congress may influence. Toomey himself is estimated to have invested in other companies the committee nominally oversees, from financial giants like TD Bank or Bank of America, to venture capital firms, like the SRI Capital Fund.

The Toomey spokesperson countered that the senator wasnt promoting crypto. He was warning lawmakers and regulators against stifling innovation and driving the industry overseas, Thompson said in a statement. His purchases, she said, are part of a diversified investment portfolio and represent less than 1% of his total assets, although she declined to say exactly how much he holds  federal disclosure forms show only a range of values for sales and purchases.

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Through his spokesperson, Toomey said he did not think Americans wanted members of Congress to make policy decisions about the stock market without knowing what its like to invest in stocks.

Thats like telling senators from agricultural states that they cant own a farm if they want to serve in Congress, the spokesperson said in a statement. Would you really want a senator who has no experience in the agricultural industry drafting legislation on agriculture issues?

While exchanges by the Republican, a former Wall Street investment banker who is not seeking reelection this year, account for an estimated $4.9 million out of $7.2 million traded by Pennsylvania congressional legislators since disclosure laws took effect, Toomey is not alone. While most of the delegation abstains from trading altogether, some of those who do have raised eyebrows along the way  or already landed themselves in hot water.

Nearly half of the estimated $2.2 million traded by four Pennsylvania House members came from Rep. Mike Kelly, a Republican from a district in the northwest corner of the state. In October, a report from the Office of Congressional Ethics contended that Kellys wife had relied on nonpublic information obtained through her husbands position to buy as much as $50,000 in shares of an Ohio-based steel company.

Her April 2020 purchase came ahead of efforts by Kelly to stave off a threat by the company to shutter a plant in his district unless the Trump administration toughened tariff enforcement on foreign steel. The congressional office reported that Victoria Kelly purchased stock at $4.70 a share days before the company announced it had reached an accord with the administration. She later sold the shares at nearly quadruple that value.

Mike Kelly did not respond to a request for comment.

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Legislative trading is the rare issue that draws bipartisan support in Washington  Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a prolific trader who defended the practice  and the same is true in Pennsylvania.

Rep. Dwight Evans, a Democrat from Northwest Philadelphia, is the most robust trader among the House delegation in terms of sheer transactions  estimated to have traded some $572,000 through 57 transactions in less than two years.

And Evans, who was elected to Congress in 2016, has often engaged in investments that seem at odds with his public stances. Even as he campaigns for reelection on progressive plaudits, like a 100% rating from environmental groups like Clean Water Action, his financial disclosures show he has sunk as much as $140,000 into shares of companies like ExxonMobil, the Canadian oil sands extractor Suncor, the energy logistics company Oneok, and the Williams Companies, which processes natural gas. Each has wound up on lists of major polluters.

Notably, the progressive Democrat has said he is opposed to efforts to ban hydraulic fracking.

Evans has also invested in several defense contractors such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin  and although he is hardly alone, has voted repeatedly in favor of defense spending bills. He has also bought and sold shares in the Carlyle Group and Apollo Global Management, the sorts of private equity giants that some of his progressive colleagues have described as predatory and sought to crack down on.

Evans defended his actions by saying that all of his transactions had been conducted through a private wealth planner.

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I dont make any active decisions on stocks, Evans said in a statement. I put money into an account every month for retirement and I leave all decisions on which stocks to buy or sell to the financial adviser.

He said this was much the same as others in Congress putting money into a Thrift Savings Plan account, a retirement plan offered to federal employees thats similar to a 401(k).

Hedtler-Gaudette called that a peculiar comparison.

Were Evans putting money into an indexed fund like the Thrift Savings Plan, there would be little question about whether he had active involvement in trading, Hedtler-Gaudette said. But because he uses a private financial adviser, the public must rely on Evans word that he is not helping to guide those investments.

And while Evans downplayed the significance of his trading activity, he and a senior staffer have been cited for failing to disclose stock purchases on time. Evans declined to discuss individual investments. And, like Toomey, he refused to disclose exactly how much he had invested in specific companies.

In recent years, the trading activity of Congress members has come under increased scrutiny, as confidence in the legislature has dropped. Four senators were investigated by the Justice Department for selling stock after getting private briefings about COVID-19. The investigation did not result in charges against the lawmakers, who denied wrongdoing. Pelosi has become the target of viral memes, some featuring misinformation, because of her husbands lucrative stock decisions.

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Pelosi and her husband, venture capitalist Paul Pelosi, beat the S&P 500 by 14% in 2020, according to an analysis by FinePrint, which tracks investments by politicians, for the New York Post. Based on her most recent financial disclosure filed in August, Pelosis estimated net worth is $106 million. That figure is calculated by taking the average of the minimum and maximum estimated value of her assets and liabilities, the methodology used by the Center for Responsive Politics.

As recently as last month, Pelosi scoffed at the idea of banning Congress from trading. We are a free-market economy, she said at a news conference. They should be able to participate in that.

But a trade ban has bipartisan support.

Last week, 27 House members  including Rep. Conor Lamb, a Pennsylvania Democrat whos running for Toomeys open Senate seat, and four others from the commonwealth  called on House leadership to swiftly introduce a stock trading ban bill.

Two of Evans primary challengers  Michael Cogbill and Alexandra Hunt  who are running to his left, said they support the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act.

When you have representatives playing the stock market with oddly good timing, it destroys trust and raises the question of that representatives intention of holding office, Hunt said in a statement.

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And some of Toomeys would-be Republican successors, like David McCormick, himself a hedge fund trader, also endorsed a trading ban.

When elected officials like Nancy Pelosi are beating the stock market by double-digits, the People rightly become suspicious that the system is rigged, he wrote in a statement. Voters deserve assurances that no members of either party are enriching themselves off of privileged information received from public service.

Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Jonathan Tamari contributed to this story.

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Exposed: Sick jokes about rape, race and paedophilia - and how victims were silenced Investigations found evidence of 'toxic masculinity, misogyny and sexual harassment', ''banter' used to excuse oppressive and offensive behaviours', and 'bullying and aggressive behaviour';

One officer was known on WhatsApp as 'mcrapey raperson'. Asked to explain the name, it was said this referred to his reputation for 'harassing them [women], getting on them, do you know what I mean being like, just a d***';

Two officers went to a music festival dressed as 'known sex offenders' and a 'molested child';

Probationary officers were 'beckoned with a bell', women who spoke out about male colleagues were treated as a 'weary female';

Officers used WhatsApp groups to send messages about 'raping' each other, and homophobic comments like 'f*****g gay' and 'F*** you bender';

Told victims who complained of their behaviour that it was just 'banter';

Officers mocked Black Lives Matter, disabled people, ethnic minorities and Muslims. Advertisement

How shattering report is latest in a string of disasters for scandal-ravaged Met chief Cressida Dick's reign as Metropolitan Police commissioner has been overshadowed by controversy over bungled operations and investigations: April 2017: Appointed as first female Metropolitan Police commissioner with a brief to modernise the force and keep it out of the headlines. April 2019: Extinction Rebellion protesters bring London to a standstill over several days with the Met powerless to prevent the chaos. Dame Cressida says the numbers involved were far greater than expected and used new tactics but she admits police should have responded quicker. September 2019: Her role in setting up of shambolic probe into alleged VIP child sex abuse and murder is revealed but she declines to answer questions. 2020: Official report into Operation Midland said Met was more interested in covering up mistakes than learning from them. February 2021: Lady Brittan condemns the culture of 'cover up and flick away' in the Met and the lack of a moral compass among senior officers. The same month a freedom of information request reveals an extraordinary spin campaign to ensure Dame Cressida was not 'pulled into' the scandal over the Carl Beech debacle. March: Criticised for Met handling of a vigil for Sarah Everard, where officers arrested four attendees. In the first six months of the year, London was on course for its worst year for teenage deaths  30  with knives being responsible for 19 out of the 22 killed so far. The youngest was 14-year-old Fares Matou, cut down with a Samurai sword. Dame Cressida had told LBC radio in May her top priority was tackling violent crime. June: A 20million report into the Daniel Morgan murder brands the Met 'institutionally corrupt' and accuses her of trying to block the inquiry. Dame Cressida rejects its findings. July: Police watchdog reveals three Met officers being probed over alleged racism and dishonesty. The same month the Yard boss is at the centre of another storm after it emerged she was secretly referred to the police watchdog over comments she made about the stop and search of Team GB sprinter Bianca Williams. Dame Cressida is accused of pre-empting the outcome of an independent investigation. Also in July she finds herself under fire over her woeful security operation at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley where fans without tickets stormed the stadium and others used stolen steward vests and ID lanyards to gain access. August Dame Cressida facing a potential misconduct probe over her open support for Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Horne who could stand trial over alleged data breaches. January 2022: She faces a barrage of fresh criticism for seeking to 'muzzle' Sue Gray's Partygate report by asking her to make only 'minimal' references to parties the Met were investigating. February 2022: Details of messages exchanged by officers at Charing Cross Police Station, which included multiple references to rape, violence against women, racist and homophobic abuse, are unveiled in a watchdog report. Advertisement

Priti Patel turned up the heat on stricken Cressida Dick today by blaming a 'failure of leadership' for the rotten culture of racism, misogyny and homophobia that has taken hold in the force - as a 'furious' Sadiq Khan called the Met commissioner in for an urgent meeting.

The Home Secretary said she was 'appalled and sickened' by the findings of yesterday's report into the disgraceful behaviour of more than a dozen officers at Charing Cross police station, including sick jokes about rape, 'killing black children', and 'f****** gays'.

Appearing in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Ms Patel also made a broader call for improvements across all forces in light of recent data showing just 6% of reported crimes resulted in a charge last year, while for rapes this figure fell to just 1.3%.

She said it was 'a statement of the obvious' that police forces needed to 'follow up on every crime'. And when quizzed over data showing just three forces send an officer to every burglary, the Home Secretary said she wanted this to happen across the entire country.

Greater Manchester, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire have all publicly pledged to follow the policy, with the latter managing to slash domestic break-ins by 48% from 5,500 to 2,850 over two years.

In her comments today, Ms Patel suggested a Royal Commission could eventually be set up to explore failings across the police and wider criminal justice system. She also said spiking could be made a specific criminal offence following a series of reported incidents in nightclubs, although she warned the public 'not to expect an announcement tomorrow'.

Asked specifically about the report on the behaviour of officers at Charing Cross police station, she said: 'There are problems with the culture within the Metropolitan Police. I touched on this last year after the murder of Sarah Everard, which also exposed a range of issues

'There are some very serious and significant matters that need further investigation, primarily because we're not seeing one-off instances. We've seen now too many instances of the most appalling behaviours. I also think is shows a failure of leadership in some quarters.'

Asked to clarify what she meant by this, Ms Patel said: 'In terms of failure of leadership, the fact that those behaviours were allowed to take place, there were no disciplinary actions, no-one saying that's wrong, that is actually about leadership in policing. So that's superiors, that's seniors, line managers calling that behaviour out and actually stopping it in the first place.'

When chairwoman Diana Johnson asked whether that included the commissioner, Ms Patel replied: 'It is across the board.'

The Home Secretary said she would continue to be 'very challenging' with Dame Cressida but still had confidence in her.

Today, Labour MPs Marsha de Cordova, Nadia Whittome and Diane Abbott all urged Dame Cressida to go, while their colleague Rupa Huq called the decision to renew her six-figure contract last year 'a reward for failure'.

Ms de Corva told Policing minister Kit Malthouse: 'Currently we have a commissioner in the job who I do not believe is fit for purpose. Does the minister agree with me that to really tackle the broken culture within the Metropolitan Police that we also need to change the commissioner?"

Earlier, Mr Malthouse said the report highlighting 'bullying and discrimination' at Charing Cross police station made for 'extremely disturbing reading', telling MPs today: 'On a personal note, as somebody who knows the Met well, I cannot begin to describe my horror at the revelations in the report.

'It is right that individuals who have been found to have committed gross misconduct have been dismissed and cannot rejoin policing.

'However, this is obviously about more than individuals, it's about how a toxic culture can develop and fester in parts of a police force, a culture that is allowed to go unchallenged until a brave officer blows the whistle or a message is discovered on an officer's phone.

It came as a source close to the Mayor of London's office told ITV how a 'furious' Sadiq Khan had called her in for an urgent meeting.

Meanwhile, Leroy Logan, founder of the Black Police Association and a former superintendent, said 'the rot had set in' at the Met, which had created 'safe havens for predators'.

Calling for 'ethical leadership and systemic changes', he told the BBC's Newsnight programme: 'Over the last few years you've had Met officers doing amazingly bad things like photographing dead bodies, and then the Sarah Everard case.

'I was at Charing Cross from 2000 and 2004 and we never had a hint of that. Then again, we were supervisors on top of our game who had to know what was happening with our teams so we could spot these things early.

'I think the culture has become more immoral. There seems to be safe havens for predator types  sexists, misogynists and racists that aren't being challenged  so I'm wondering what's happened to the inspectors and supervisors.'

Sue Fish, former chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police, said the fact nine of the 14 officers exposed by the report had been allowed to continue serving - while just two had been sacked - raised questions about how committed the Met was to challenging hate within its ranks.

'If the Met is serious about combatting this fundamental abuse of power and this toxic culture of policing then it's untenable that those individuals remain in policing,' she said. If you're going to start solving a problem you have to acknowledge what the problem is  which is that policing is institutionally racist, institutionally sexist and institutionally corrupt in a variety of ways'

And Janet Hills, former chair of the Met's Black Police Association, told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There have now been a number of reports over the years where the Met Police have accepted the findings and yet year on year we're having these issues arising around culture in policing.

'It feels like they can continually fail and there is no accountability for anyone. What is needed is a root and branch change. This is a cultural thing that's happening en masse. Leadership is lacking across the whole senior leadership team.'

Yesterday's watchdog report revealed how officers joked about 'raping' and 'hate-f*****g' female colleagues, 'killing black children', and beating their partners in a series of highly offensive racist, sexist and homophobic messages which they tried to excuse as 'banter'.

In just one of the horrific messages uncovered by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, a male officer told a female colleague 'I would happily rape you' and 'if I was single I would happily chloroform you'. Another officer was known as 'mcrapey raperson' because of his reputation for ''harassing [women], getting on them, do you know what I mean being like, just a d***''.'

Investigators described the insidious culture as 'widespread' rather than the result of 'just a few bad apples'. At least some of the wrongdoers served in a specialist vice squad.

The report is just the latest scandal to hit crisis-prone Cressida Dick, and makes particularly chilling reading in light of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens - who himself was allegedly nicknamed as 'the rapist'

These are MailOnline mock-ups of WhatsApp conversations that were published in the IOPC report. Warning: Graphic language

Spiking could be made a specific criminal offence to halt 'appalling' trend The Government is looking into making spiking a specific criminal offence, MPs have been told. Home Secretary Priti Patel said spiking is a new and 'appalling' trend and has asked officials to look at how the Government can prepare an offence that will target the crime directly. But she warned the public not to 'expect an announcement tomorrow' as there is work to be done to understand the phenomenon and its prevalence. She told the Home Affairs Committee: 'I have asked my officials, chair, to look into what we know thus far with NPCC (National Police Chiefs Council), how we can pursue offenders, but also how we can - and you'll know that there are already a list of offences in terms of drugs that can be applied - but how we can prepare a specific criminal offense to target spiking directly. 'So we are looking into this, absolutely, so we are working towards that, but it doesn't mean tomorrow, and I'll be very clear to the committee and to the public that will be watching this: do not expect an announcement tomorrow that will be creating an offence on spiking. We still have to understand the genesis, the details, the evidential base, also the prevalence of this too.' Ms Patel was giving evidence as part of the committee's inquiry into spiking. It comes after Jason Harwin, NPCC drugs lead, told the committee in a previous session that the 'ideal ask' would be for a specific offence to be created for spiking. He told MPs: 'My personal view is we need a separate offence for it because it highlights the importance of this crime. And secondly, for me importantly, it shows the importance that we've seen in terms of doing everything we can to stop it in the first place.' Advertisement

The highly critical report is just the latest scandal under Dame Cressida's watch - who is currently facing criticism over her handling of the No10 Partygate scandal.

Institutional failings at the force were placed under intense scrutiny by the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens - who was allegedly nicknamed 'the rapist' by colleagues during his earlier career as an armed guard for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

Today, Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said wrongdoing had to be 'rooted out swiftly'.

'This kind of abuse, racism, misogyny, bullying and disrespect is a disgrace and should never have any place within policing, where the highest standards must always be maintained,' she told Radio 4. 'It must be rooted out swiftly wherever it is found.

'While the IOPC has made important and welcome recommendations and some action has been taken, this does not go far enough.

'There needs to be action by police forces to ensure that training and vetting are improved, that a strong culture of respect is always maintained, and that the use of social media is reviewed and, where necessary, overhauled.

'Police officers across the country work incredibly hard every day to keep communities safe and that is why it is so important that high standards are always maintained.

'The Home Office must not stand back and leave it to individual forces. Ministers need to take responsibility for ensuring the highest standards are always met across policing and must ensure the College of Policing and police forces work together on the action needed.'

The report also exposed numerous instances of homophobic language, with officers talking about 'f****** gays' and writing 'f*** you bender', in addition to a mass of racist comments including references to African children, Somali people and Auschwitz.

Jamie Klingler, of campaign group Reclaim These Streets, called Dame Cressida 'delusional' for recently claiming the Met did not have a problem with institutional homophobia.

The messages were uncovered as part of nine linked investigations into officers based in Westminster, mostly at Charing Cross police station, which began in March 2018 after allegations that a male officer had sex with a drunk woman at a police station.

Revealed: Sacked constable has conviction for threatening to murder female colleague James McLoughlin-Goodchild, a PC at Charing Cross police station, threatened to stab the woman and two other officers if they came to arrest him One of the police officers whose disturbing messages formed part of an inquiry into the culture of racism and misogyny in the Met threatened to murder a female colleague while under investigation for sexually harassing her. James McLoughlin-Goodchild, a PC at Charing Cross police station, threatened to stab the woman and two other officers if they came to arrest him during a phone call with a sergeant to discuss an upcoming gross misconduct hearing. A trial heard he said: 'I will kill them, I will murder them if I see them, I know where they live and what cars they drive. If they come to my home and arrest me they are going to get stabbed. I will not go to prison alive.' The officer was found guilty of sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing communication after a trial at Hendon Magistrates Court in January 2019. He was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and an indefinite restraining order. McLoughlin-Goodchild was later sacked by the Met, but remained under investigation for a series of offensive messages that were the subject of an inquiry by the Independent Office of Police Conduct, The Times reported. Advertisement

The Met has said it is 'deeply sorry' for the 'reprehensible behaviour' displayed by its officers and said it had taken 'a series of measures to hold those responsible to account and stamp out unacceptable behaviour'.

But Dame Diana Johnson, the Labour chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, accused the force of not doing enough to root out racists and misogynists.

'In the report, it is very clear that the IOPC are saying that this is not isolated and it is not simply just a few bad apples,' she told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme.

'So, I think that whole issue of the culture within the police force is one that is incredibly concerning.'

Touching on the fact that nine of the officers investigated are still serving in the force, the Hull North MP added: 'There is a question about the fact that only two officers have been sacked.'

Today, rhe Independent Office for Police Conduct's regional director for London said a lack of supervision from senior officers in the Metropolitan Police allowed a 'really, really toxic culture' to 'grow and ultimately fester'.

Sal Naseem told LBC that the watchdog's investigations were instead spurred on by victims who came forward despite 'fear of reprisal' to share examples of 'the worst kind of discrimination you can possibly imagine'.

He said the comments were often dismissed as 'canteen culture' and that 'when some officers tried to raise concerns they weren't heard'.

'We wanted to lift the lid and demonstrate to the public and to serving police officers what canteen culture actually looks like,' he said.

'It was actually victims that started coming forward, and that one independent investigation mushroomed into nine separate independent investigations.'

He added: 'What we found... was actually a lack of supervision. That was a contributory factor to how this sort of really, really toxic culture was allowed to grow and ultimately fester.'

Of the 14 officers investigated, two were fired for gross misconduct and put on a barred list to stop them ever working again for the police. Two officers resigned and two others were disciplined.

Deputy assistant commissioner Bas Javid said: 'I am angry and disappointed to see officers involved in sharing sexist, racist and discriminatory messages.

A mock-up of messages sent by a male officer to a female colleague, as revealed in the IOPC investigation

Further mock-ups of messages sent by a male officer during another shocking conversation on WhatsApp

The messages were uncovered as part of nine linked investigations into officers based in Westminster, mostly at Charing Cross police station

Rastafarian woman reveals her 'humiliation' by police who made her sit naked in a cell for three hours A Rastafarian woman who was left naked in a cell for three hours after refusing to tell police officers her name has told how the experience left her 'humiliated'. Yvonne Farrell sued Hertfordshire Constabulary for unlawful arrest after she staged a sit-in on her partner's car in Stevenage when tow-truck operators arrived to clamp it in August 2018. Officers detained her for allegedly committing a public order offence and subsequently threatened to remove her clothing by force if she failed to cooperate with them. When she refused to give her name, Ms Farrell was taken to a 'camera cell' and obliged to strip naked 'to humiliate, distress and embarrass her'. Yvonne Farrell sued Hertfordshire Constabulary for unlawful arrest after she staged a sit-in on her partner's car in Stevenage when tow-truck operators arrived to clamp it in August 2018 The Rastafarian was then provided with 'hot pants and a crop top' but refused to wear them due to her religious and cultural belief that women should only wear long dresses. She was thrown a blanket before her clothes were eventually returned to her and she was allowed to redress nearly three hours later, before being released after nearly 11 hours of detention. 'In the cell, they said they wanted my clothing, otherwise they're going to take it by force,' Ms Farrell told BBC Newsnight. 'I'm a 50-plus-year-old woman and a Rastafarian. Where are they going, giving me those items of clothing? I called them back and I said, ''Listen, this is not suitable clothing. I need something long to cover''. 'I could have been a Jewish woman. I could have been a Muslim woman. To me that looked like a teenager's outfit. That just shows they wanted to humiliate me - they did humiliate me.' Hertfordshire Police Professional Standards Department rejected Ms Farrell's complaint before she enlisted the help of solicitor Iain Gould, who specialises in claims against the police. The lawyer pursued court proceedings claiming 'basic, special, aggravated and exemplary damages', and Ms Farrell was offered 45,000 in damages from the force in December - though police did not apologise.' Hertfordshire Constabulary eventually issued a grovelling apology, telling Ms Farrell 'we got it wrong' and saying they were 'extremely sorry for any injuries that you suffered' as a result of police action. An officer may remove a detainee's clothing if they believe it could be used to cause physical injury, damage property, interfere with evidence or used to escape. Advertisement

'It's clear we have a lot of work to do to ensure bullying and discrimination does not exist in any part of the Met.

'The actions of these officers between 2016 and 2018 were unacceptable, unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply offensive. I read their messages with increasing disgust and shame.

'We haven't waited for the IOPC's report to take action - a number of officers have been subject to misconduct proceedings, including one officer dismissed and one who would have been dismissed had he not already resigned. Every Met employee has also been spoken to about responsible use of social media.

'We recognise that there is need for real change in the Met and we are committed to creating an environment that is even more intolerant to those who do not uphold the high values and standards expected of us.'

A review of culture and standards in the Met is currently being carried out by Baroness Casey, in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'I am utterly disgusted by the behaviour outlined in this IOPC report, which details the shocking evidence of discrimination, misogyny, harassment and bullying by police officers.

'The conduct of these officers was totally unacceptable and what has been revealed by these investigations will only further damage public trust and confidence in the police.

'It is right that the team concerned has been disbanded and the police officers found to be involved have been dismissed, disciplined or have left the police.

'Anyone found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, antisemitism, bullying or harassment does not deserve to wear the Met uniform and must be rooted out.'

With Cressida Dick facing fresh questions over the culture at the Met, here are just some of the horrific comments exposed in the report:

On rape and sexual abuse

One officer's aggressive behaviour towards women was considered so suspect that he was known as 'Mcrapey Raperson'.

The nickname is similar to that of PC Wayne Couzens, the police officer who used his position to abduct, rape and murder Sarah Everard.

Asked why someone at Charing Cross Police Station was called 'Mcrapey Raperson', a colleague said it related to 'harassing them [women], getting on them, do you know what I mean being like, just a d***.

Others reported it related to his 'particular fondness of IC3 and IC4' - the Met's codes for people of black or Asian origin.

The police officers would tell disgusting jokes about raping women and each other.

Yesterday's report said messages like this were sent on WhatsApp groups containing 17 police officers, also within another WhatsApp group containing 19 police officers.

There was also a private Facebook chat group containing four police officers.

One policeman, known as officer 1, sent messages saying 'I would happily rape you'; 'if I was single I would actually hate f**k you' and 'if I was single I would happily chloroform you'.

'I'd happily rape you': Vile WhatsApp exchanges between officers WhatsApp conversation between two police officers: o Officer 1: 'And my bird won't stop taking the p***. Swear to got [sic] I'm going to smack her' o Officer 2: 'Slap her one say you didn't' o Officer 1: 'I`ll f****** do it. She`s f***** off home.' A separate WhatsApp conversation between two police officers: o Officer 1: 'I f****** need to take my bird out, won't see her until next Saturday. Then I have to work. Promised to take her out the Friday after. Making it up to her from when I backhanded her' o Officer 2: 'Grab her by the p****' o Officer 1: 'You ever slapped your missus?' o Officer 1: 'It makes them love you more. Seriously since I did that she won't leave me alone. Now I know why these daft c**** are getting murdered by their s****** boyfriends. Knock a bird about and she will love you. Human nature. They are biologically programmed to like that s***.' o Officer 2: 'Lmao' o Officer 1: 'I'm right though' A further WhatsApp conversation between two police officers: o Officer 1: 'I had that massive fight with my bird because she found out I'd been out on the piss with this girl who's a high class hooker a couple of weeks ago Hahahah' o Officer 1: 'Make friends with high class hookers' o Officer 2: 'I had one in Watford from adult work. Used to f*** her all the time' o Officer 1: 'Yes! Hahaha' o Officer 2: 'used just hang out and blast her on the sly' o Officer 2: 'when I was on roids and needed it every hour' Messages sent by a male officer to a female officer: o 'I would happily rape you' o 'if I was single I would actually hate f*** you' o 'if I was single I would happily chloroform you' Further messages sent about women, include: o 'Getting a woman in to bed is like spreading butter. It can be done with a bit of effort using a credit card, but it's quicker and easier just to use a knife.' o 'F*** knows what she's on about I just wanna sp*** on her' (sent by an officer in reference to another police officer's girlfriend). o 'Mate my Mrs is driving me mad - come and shag a baby into her it might shut her up bro .' Advertisement

On domestic and sexual violence

The policemen sent a plethora of messages about beating up wives and girlfriends, forcing them to have sex to 'shut them up', including at knifepoint, declaring: 'Knock a bird about and she will love you'.

Another said: 'Getting a woman in to bed is like spreading butter. It can be done with a bit of effort using a credit card, but it's quicker and easier just to use a knife.'

Police officers who gave evidence spoke of dominant macho officers, bragging about sexual activity, encouraging each other to 'slap women' or even 'grab her p***y'.

For example, there was an officer described as 'a bit of a ladies man, who would chase and harass women', and that 'there was a 'be careful when he's around' kind of atmosphere.'

WhatsApp groups were dominated by chat including domestic violence, plus sexually explicit, misogynistic and demeaning conversations about women, including partners.

In one conversation 'Officer 1' said: 'And my bird won't stop taking the p**s. Swear to got [sic] I'm going to smack her'. A policeman known as Officer 2 said: 'Slap her onesay you didn't'

Officer 1 then replied 'I`ll f***ing do it. She`s f***ed off home.'

In a later conversation Officer 1 said: 'I f***ing need to take my bird out, won't see her until next Saturday. Then I have to work. Promised to take her out the Friday after. Making it up to her from when I backhanded her'.

Officer 2: 'Grab her by the p***y'. Officer 1 said: 'You ever slapped your missus? It makes them love you more. Seriously since I did that she won't leave me alone. Now I know why these daft c***s are getting murdered by their spastic boyfriends. Knock a bird about and she will love you. Human nature. They are biologically programmed to like that s**t.'

Officer 2 said: 'Lmao' and his colleague replied: 'I'm right though'.

Racism and homophobia

The Met officers joked about black people being robbers, Africans being 'made into dog food', Somalian 'rats' and even the Holocaust.

One police officer described one patrol as having 'walked past the big mosque [as] all the fanatics turn up at to radicalise the young'.

Many of the messages were sent at the time when the Black Lives Matter movement came to prominence around the globe in 2020.

In one WhatsApp group an policeman said: 'My dad kidnapped some African children and used them to make dog food'.

Another wrote: 'Some uniform or plain clothes work on Somalian rats I battered one the other dayweighed less than [police officer's name]'.

A police officer sent another officer an image of a Black man wearing a white shirt. His colleague asked, 'What's good about it I don't get it lol.' He replied, 'Ignore the robberI like the shirt.'

In one Anti-Semitic message, one officer said: 'Opened my balcony door and loads of flies flew into the front room. So I got the fly spray and turned my gaff into Auschwitz.'

The abhorrent language was also used to describe people with disabilities, including calling them 'spastics' and one a 'retard'.
Tayler Whittaker outside Mayor's and City County Court

A stripper who was groped and attacked by a customer and then 'victim blamed' by her bosses has been handed 12,000 compensation by a judge.

Tayler Whittaker, 26, was slapped on her behind as she worked at Secrets strip club in Euston, north London in the early hours of January 27, 2017.

She confronted the customer, who had broken the club's 'strictly no touching' rule, and the man then tried to punch Miss Whittaker before smashing a glass over her head, leaving her covered in blood, scarred for life and requiring stitches.

Bouncers stepped in after the attack but security let the man go while Miss Whittaker, of Enfield, north London, went to hospital with a fellow dancer.

Police were not called and the man has never been identified - despite the ordeal being caught on CCTV.

Miss Whittaker sued Secrets (Euston) Ltd, claiming that security staff had been negligent in not stepping in more quickly to protect her, but the club's lawyers claimed she was to blame, because she should not have challenged the man.

But Judge Wendy Backhouse last week awarded her 12,000 in compensation at Mayor's and City County Court, condemning the club's 'victim blaming' and 'back-covering' attitude.

Judge Backhouse ruled that the club's security had been negligent in not preventing the assault, adding that they should have responded 'much more quickly, within a few seconds, rather than 20'.

She continued: 'It must surely be their job to constantly scan the room, watching what is happening in order to react to any developing problems.

Bouncers stepped in after the attack but security let the man go while Miss Whittaker (pictured), of Enfield, north London, went to hospital with a fellow dancer

Tayler Whittaker, 26, was slapped on her behind as she worked at Secrets strip club in Euston, north London in the early hours of January 27, 2017

'Surely, that is the job: to keep a constant lookout.

'So, in my judgment, had the security personnel been doing their job and constantly scanning, they should have seen the slap to Miss Whittaker's bottom or, at the very least, the beginning of the altercation between her and the customer.'

The judge added: 'Given the small space and the speed with which they could have got to the incident, in my judgment it is highly likely that the assault could have been prevented,' she concluded.

She also found that 'there was a clear disincentive to staff doing the proper thing and calling the police' coming from the management of the club, who were worried about 'a black mark' when they reapplied for a licence for the club.

The court heard Miss Whittaker left her job as an exotic dancer a couple of months after the attack.

Awarding her 12,000 compensation, the judge said there appeared to have been a culture of blame avoidance within the club at the time.

'I concur with the claimant's submissions that that is highly unfortunate victim blaming,' she said.

'Looked at objectively and with hindsight, not walking away may not have been the best course for Miss Whittaker to take.

'But in my judgment, the cause of the assault was solely the actions of the perpetrator himself and he is 100% to blame for it.'

The judge said she was not convinced Paul Phillpot, the club's former group operations manager who wrote the initial report on what happened, had even spoken to the security staff or Miss Whittaker and that his report seemed 'like a back-covering exercise, intent on blaming Miss Whittaker'

Giving evidence, Miss Whittaker had told the court she had been working in the early hours of January 27, 2017, when the man and his friends came into the club, in Eversholt Street.

She told the court the men were 'drunk' and she tried to stay clear because she had a 'bad feeling' about them, but eventually had to go over and sit down to talk.

However, as she got up to leave, one of the group slapped her on the buttock, she told the judge.

She turned to remonstrate, telling the man it was 'unacceptable', but was then subjected to an 'arrogant' foul-mouthed outburst and a violent attack.

First, he attempted to punch her, then picked up a glass and slammed it onto her head, leaving a gaping 2.5cm wound on her forehead, she told the judge.

But cross-examining her on behalf of the club, Joshua Hedgman suggested that Miss Whittaker had 'made it worse' by not walking away and 'created a violent situation' by 'physically remonstrating' with the man.

The club's policy said she should have called over security, but instead she became angry, taking matters into her own hands by confronting the man and then herself hitting him, he alleged.

'She put herself in a situation of danger,' he argued, accusing her of 'escalating the situation' by confronting the man physically.

But Miss Whittaker denied hitting the customer, other than to push him, and said she had looked around following the slap and could not see any security staff.

Initially another dancer had stepped in and it was about 20 seconds later that a security guard finally arrived to help her, she said.

When asked why she had not simply walked away, she told the judge: 'Us girls had to stand up for ourselves, it's not as simple as calling over security.

'You have to put people in their places on a regular basis and keep yourselves safe and keep within the guidelines of the club.

'At the time, I did look for security and I didn't see anyone. There was no one to help me, so I stood up for myself.

'I felt it was not fair he had done that to me.'

Her barrister, Alex Carington, accused Secrets of adopting a 'misogynistic' attitude in suggesting that she should not have reacted in the way she did when slapped by the man.

'She was understandably angry. She was clear about that, that it was wrong this individual thought because he was there he could touch her body without permission,' he said.

'I think the behaviour of Miss Whittaker in turning around and telling the assailant that his actions were inappropriate was entirely understandable.

'The way he then conducted himself was not.'

The judge said she was not convinced Paul Phillpot, the club's former group operations manager, who wrote the initial report on what happened, had even spoken to the security staff or Miss Whittaker and that his report seemed 'like a back-covering exercise, intent on blaming Miss Whittaker.'

The club also had given instructions to staff not to call police or an ambulance after any incident without running it past a manager first, she said.

'As Mr Phillpot said at the end of his evidence, that was because any calling of the police, any incident of that nature, would have been a black mark on any subsequent licensing application.

'There was a clear disincentive to staff doing the proper thing and calling the police.

'Certainly when Miss Whittaker reported the matter to police they noted - apparently critically - that the defendant had not called them at the time.

'It seems to me that the nature of Mr Phillpot's report has some of the same flavour, so as not to suggest any culpability on the part of the defendant.'
Munshizada was fined for contraband offences, also jailed an extra six months

Munshizada, 33 already serving three life sentences for murders in 2016

A hitman already serving three life sentences for three different Sydney murders fronted court again on Wednesday - this time to answer drug charges after stashes were found hidden in his cell in a sandwich press and a cup of dried noodles.

Siar Munshizada, 33, was busted with contraband at two jails - Long Bay Correctional Centre and Silverwater Correctional Complex, in 2020 as well as last year.

In what was a busy day out of his cell, the Afghanistan born criminal first appeared virtually at Burwood Local Court.

Munshizada pleaded guilty to a raft of charges, including possessing a prohibited drug while in detention and possessing a mobile and sim card while in detention.

He was fined a total $2800 for the offences, with the court told the drug located in his cell on June 26 last year was buprenorphine, which is commonly used to wean users off heroin.

Convicted triple murderer Siar Munshizada (pictured left) was back in court on Wednesday to answer contraband charges behind bars

In December last year, it was revealed in court that Munshizada was one of the killers who executed Mafia gangster Pasquale Barbaro (pictured) in 2016

During the search, the prohibited items were found hidden hidden inside a styrofoam cup of dried noodles.

'Upon inspection, officers removed a white label which revealed a hole in the side of the packaging,' a fact sheet read, according to the Daily Telegraph.

'Inside was part of a blue latex glove containing an amount of orange coloured buprenorphine wafers which were wrapped in plastic cling wrap, along with two plastic bags containing an unknown quantity of tablets, and a green coloured powder.

'Officers counted 108 wafers of buprenorphine, but due to fear of contamination the other two bags were not opened. There was a combined gross weight of 3.2 grams.'

A few days later - on July 1 - staff searched Munshizada's cell again at Silverwater and this time found a black Samsung mobile phone and charger hidden inside a sandwich press.

Munshizada's court date on Wednesday then moved to Waverley Local Court, where he appeared via video link to answer charges from 2020 in relation to using or possessing a mobile phone in a place of detention without permission.

The triple murderer was handed a six-month prison term for his conduct at Long Bay by Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge - but that is unlikely to bother Munshizada given his triple life sentence.

In December last year, Munshizada was outed as one the 'serial killers' responsible for the death of mafia gangster Pasquale Barbaro.

Munshizada and Abuzar Sultani were sentenced by Supreme Court Justice Des Fagan, who labelled the men 'serial killers' and felt they possess a 'depraved gratification for killing'.

Lawyers for Munshizada and Sultani had made a last ditch bid to the Court of Criminal Appeal to stop their identities being shared - which was ultimately unsuccessful.

The court heard both men 'shared the arrogant and immoral belief they had the entitlement to 'extinguish the life of another person'.

The duo's assassination spree which ended the lives of the three men took place in Sydney over a few months in 2016.

Rebels bikie member Michael Davey, who was fatally shot in the driveway of his western Sydney home on March 30, 2016 is another of Munshizada's victims

Fellow bikie and drug dealer Mehmet Yilmaz was also murdered by Munshizada and other men in 2016 from 'Sultani's crew'

Barbaro as well as two bikies, Michael Davey and Mehmet Yilmaz, were all killed by the deadly duo, who were part of a gang known at the time as 'Sultani's Crew, named after their leader, Abuzar 'Afghani Abs' Sultani.

Davey, a Rebels gang enforcer known as 'Ruthless' was gunned down in the driveway of his Kingswood home, in Sydney's west, after receiving a call to go outside and meet someone just after midnight on March 30, 2016.

Yilmaz, 29, was then shot multiple times as he returned to his car after visiting the home of a Comanchero bikie on September 9, 2016.

The drug dealer staggered behind his car and curled up in the gutter before the gunman got out, stood over him and shot him in the head at close range.

Barbaro was also gunned down in Earlwood, in Sydney's inner-west, on November 14.

Sultani and Munshizada first met in prison in 2008 or 2009 when they were about 20 years old, and bonded after discovering they both had originally emigrated to Australia from Afghanistan.
Amazon employed 25,000 British workers last year as part of a global hiring spree to support a surge in demand during the pandemic.

Previously, the American organisation had announced plans to create 10,000 new UK-based roles for 2021.

But Amazon smashed that target with more than 70,000 people now working within its corporate teams, R&D or its delivery and warehouse operations across the UK.

The majority of hires saw temporary staff once plugged into fixed-term roles at the onset of the pandemic made permanent, as the US retailer battled to hire more employees for the busy festive period.

Pay has increased for operational roles across the business, and a 3,000 sign-on bonus was offered at select locations to attract seasonal workers.

It comes as supermarket giant Tesco this week warned 1,600 jobs could be axed amid plans to overhaul its overnight staffing arrangements in many of its shops.

2021 marked a challenging year for many employers in terms of retaining staff as a range of factors including Covid and Brexit contributed to a stagnant labour market.

Hauliers were offered eye-watering pay packets to help keep Britain's shelves stocked while lucrative bonus incentives were offered to lure prospective employees to other roles.

Amazon employed 25,000 British workers last year as part of a global hiring spree to support a surge in demand during the pandemic

The hiring of 25,000 new British workers marked the end of a record-breaking year of recruitment for the American tech giant.

That hiring spree coincided with the group's 17 physical shops arriving in the UK, with 15 Fresh food stores in the capital and retail stores opening in Kent and London.

Amazon also opened a new parcels centre in Doncaster and four fulfilment centres across the East Midlands, South West and North East as it further expanded its all-encompassing delivery network.

Amazon has invested more than 32billion in the UK since 2010 - with 1.6bn coming in the form of an upgraded operations network and infrastructure since 2019.

The group posted total revenues exceeding 20billion in the UK in 2020. Total incurred taxes neared 500million (492m) that year, up from 290million in 2019.

The hiring of 25,000 new British workers marked the end of a record-breaking year of recruitment for the American tech giant

The US retailer is expected to announce plans on Wednesday for 1,500 new apprentice roles across Britain - including more than 200 degree-level roles.

The company says it has already created 1,000 apprenticeship jobs since 2021.

This week, the government will unveil its 'levelling up' plans for regions outside of London - with particular focus on job growth.

Amazon posted total revenues exceeding 20billion in the UK in 2020. Total incurred taxes neared 500million (492m) that year, up from 290million in 2019. [File image]

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng highlighted the fact that the majority of Amazons workforce was concentrated outside London and the south-east.

The news comes as Tesco unveiled plans to remove overnight stocking in 36 large stores, 49 convenience stores and also to convert 36 petrol stations to be pay-at-pump only during overnight hours.

The move will likely mean more shelf-stacking during daytime shopping hours in the 85 affected stores.

Yesterday, Tesco also revealed it is closing meat, fish and deli counters in 317 stores.

It is understood that this move will also affect hundreds of shop workers.

Tesco stressed that these employees will all be offered alternative jobs and did not include them in the 1,600 figure.

The firm said it is aiming to redeploy all affected staff, and highlighted 3,000 vacancies across its operations.

The restructuring moves come despite the company telling shareholders last month that it expects to post record profits of more than 2.6 billion for the current financial year.
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Washington and its NATO allies have offered to open talks with Moscow on arms control and trust-building measures to defuse the Ukraine stand-off, according to copies of letters sent to Vladimir Putin that leaked today.

The proposals, set out in missives by NATO and the United States last month in response to Russian demands, lay out in detail areas for future talks - including on nuclear weapons, the deployment of shot and medium-range missiles in Europe, military drills, cyber attacks, and space weapons.

As part of efforts to reassure the Kremlin about the threat it is facing, US diplomats say they are willing to give Russia access to NATO bases in Poland and Romania to confirm that no Tomahawk cruise missiles are based there.

But both letters clearly state that Ukraine will not be banned from joining NATO, and make no reference to Russia's demand that all forces are withdrawn from ex-Soviet states.

The letters do not exclude the possibility of forces being scaled down, but make it clear that this would only happen if Russia makes reciprocal moves - for example by withdrawing forces from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

They also note that, if Putin continues massing forces on Europe's doorstep, then NATO and the US will be 'forced' to increase their own deployments in response.

Both NATO and Russia have refused to comment on the authenticity of the documents, which leaked to Spanish media. They emerged as satellite images showed Putin continuing to mass troops near Ukraine and in Crimea.

 Slide me  Satellite images have revealed how Russia is continuing to mass its forces near Ukraine, with pictures of Novoozernoye base in Crimea showing how tents housing soldiers have been added to an enclosure filled with tanks

A view of the Osipovichi training ground near Mogilev, in Belarus, shows Russian mobile missile launchers (centre) parked up alongside tents housing their crews (top) as war games in the region get underway

Russian battle groups are shown camped out in tents at the Pogonovo Training Area, just south of the city of Voronezh, which sits around 100 miles north of the Ukraine border

Tents and surrounding ground chewed up by vehicle tracks are seen at a Russian base in Angarsky, Crimea, on Tuesday

Tents and armoured vehicles are seen at Russia's Opuk Training Area in occupied Crimea on Tuesday

Rows of Russian armoured vehicles are pictured parked at a military base in Bakhchysarai, Crimea, on Tuesday

In the letters, the US suggests giving Russian inspectors access to NATO bases in Romania and Poland (pictured above) to guarantee that no Tomahawk missiles are being stationed there

A NATO official refused to confirm the text, saying: 'We never comment on alleged leaks.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was aware of the report but added: 'We didn't publish anything, and I don't want to comment on this.'

President Vladimir Putin's government has deployed a huge force of up to 130,000 troops backed by tanks and artillery near the Ukraine border and in Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia annexed in 2014.

The Kremlin has since demanded that NATO guarantee that Kiev never be allowed to join and that the alliance withdraw forces from eastern member states that were Soviet allies or republics during the Cold War.

Putin, in a rare statement on the crisis Tuesday, said diplomacy can still resolve the crisis but the West must start taking Russian security concerns seriously

Western allies have dismissed calls to slam shut NATO's door, but the leaked letters call for 'meaningful arms control discussions and dialogue with Russia on mutual transparency and confidence-building measures.'

'No other partner has been offered a comparable relationship or a similar institutional framework,' the allies said of the NATO-Russia council, in the letter released by El Pais.

'Yet Russia has broken the trust at the core of our cooperation and challenged the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture,' it says.

The US document stresses: 'We are ready to consider arrangements or agreements with Russia on issues of bilateral concern, to include written, signed instruments, to address our respective security concerns.'

It suggests renewing the US-Russian Strategic Stability Dialogue on arms control agreements to 'limit ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles and their launchers'.

But it repeats Washington's warning that Russia is already in breach of the now suspended 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019, accusing Moscow of deploying a banned type of missile.

And it warns: 'Further Russian increases in force posture or further aggression against Ukraine will force the United States and our Allies to strengthen our defensive posture.'

The leak emerged after Putin accused the US of trying to draw Russia into a war in Ukraine as a pretext for imposing harsh sanctions on his country.

The Russian president charged Washington with using Ukraine as an 'instrument' to bully Russia and 'contain' its development, while ignoring legitimate security fears.

Putin, who has rarely spoken since the Ukraine standoff began in November, said on Tuesday that he hopes a diplomatic solution to the crisis can still be found.

NATO and America's offers to Russia: What do both of the leaked letters say? NATO letter - NATO is defensive and poses no threat to Russia - Russia is responsible for a substantial, unprovoked, unjustified, and ongoing military build-up in and around Ukraine - Russia should immediately deescalate the situation in a verifiable, timely and lasting manner - Reaffirms support for territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea - NATO regrets Russia's breach of values, principles and commitments which it helped develop - Allies are prepared to discuss security concerns with Russia on basis of reciprocity and principles of European security - Support proposals to discuss, at NATO-Russia council, the state of NATO-Russia relations, security situation in Europe incl. Ukraine, issues related to risk-reduction, transparency and arms control - NATO proposes continued military-to-military communication, to reestablish NATO and Russia's mutual presence in Moscow and Brussels, and work to reestablish a civilian hotline - NATO demands Russia withdraw forces from Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova; cease posturing, nuclear rhetoric, and 'malign activities directed at allies' - NATO offers to increase the transparency of military drills, reciprocal briefings on nuclear deployments, and is open to suggestions on reducing threats to space systems and from cyber attacks - NATO demands that Russia halt space weapon tests, all states stop cyberattacks, return to compliance with Conventional Armed Forces Treaty - NATO offers to negotiate over nuclear stockpiles, especially over short and inter-range missiles and launchers - Russia withdrawing troops from around Ukraine 'will be essential for substantive progress' - Will not compromise principles of NATO, and 'will take all necessary measures to defend and protect our Allies, and will not compromise on our ability to do so' US letter - Prepared to work towards an understanding with Russia - Willing to issue written, signed instruments to address respective concerns - Open to discuss issues of concern to Russia, the US, and Allies/partners - US supports NATO's open door policy, will not discuss the issue outside of NATO - Basis for talks must be principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and every state's right to choose its alliances - Willing to discuss commitments and transparency measures related to ground missile systems and permanent forces in Ukraine, in consultation with Ukraine - Concerned about troop build-up around Ukraine, and concerned that Russia is in violation of its agreements - Willing to discuss enhanced transparency around military drills in Europe, based on equivalent commitments by Russia - Willing to discuss enhanced notification regime for nuclear exercises, including bombers - Willing to discuss arms control agreements for short and medium-range missiles, but remains concerned about Russian breaches - Further Russian increases in force around Europe will force the US and NATO to strengthen defences - Willing to discuss areas of disagreement on conventional forces, and take steps to reduce risks - Prepared to guarantee the absence of Tomahawk cruise missiles in Poland and Romania - Prepared to immediately start negotiations on nuclear stockpiles, esp. taking in concerns over Russia's stockpiles of large nuclear weapons, new types of weapon not included in old treaties - 'It is the position of the US that progress can only be achieved... in an environment of de-escalation with respect to Russia's threatening actions towards Ukraine' Advertisement

Troop tents and armoured vehicles are pictured at Russia's Yevpatoriya base in occupied Crimea on Tuesday

Tanks (centre, on top of raised earth mounds) are pictured on a firing range at Pogonovo, Russia, on January 26

A satellite picture shows Russian armoured forces massed at a base in Yelnya, around 150 miles from Ukraine, on January 19

Tanks and support vehicles are pictured in Russia's Yelna region in a satellite image taken on January 19

America is trying to draw Russia into a war in Ukraine as an excuse to slap the country with sanctions, Putin has claimed (pictured, Ukraine's territorial defence forces in training)

But, he added, that will only happen if the 'interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, European nations and Russia' are respected.

Putin issued a rare statement on the crisis Tuesday, speaking after a meeting with Hungary's Viktor Orban - a member of NATO - in Moscow.

He said the Kremlin is still studying written responses that Washington and NATO gave to his security demands, but said it is clear that most of Russia's concerns are being ignored.

Putin argued that it's possible to negotiate an end to the standoff if the interests of all parties, including Russia's security concerns, are taken into account.

'I hope that we will eventually find a solution, although we realize that it's not going to be easy,' he said.

Putin said the Western allies' refusal to meet Russia's demands violates their obligations on the integrity of security for all nations.

He warned that a Ukrainian accession to NATO could lead to a situation where Ukraine launches military action to reclaim control over Russian-annexed Crimea or areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists in the country's east.

'Imagine that Ukraine becomes a NATO member and launches those military operations,' Putin said. 'Should we fight NATO then? Has anyone thought about it?'

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 following the ouster of the country's Moscow-friendly president and later threw its weight behind rebels in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, triggering a conflict that has killed over 14,000 people.

Putin charged that while the US airs concerns about Ukraine's security, it is using the ex-Soviet country as an 'instrument' in its efforts to contain Russia.

He alleged that Washington may try to 'draw us into a military conflict and force its allies in Europe to impose the tough sanctions the U.S. is talking about now.'

Another option would be to 'draw Ukraine into NATO, deploy offensive weapons there' and encourage Ukrainian nationalists to use force to reclaim the rebel-held east or Crimea, 'drawing us into a military conflict.'

'We need to find a way to ensure interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, European nations and Russia,' Putin said, emphasizing that the West needs to treat Russian proposals seriously to make progress.

He said French President Emmanuel Macron may soon visit Moscow as part of renewed diplomatic efforts following their call on Monday.

Boris Johnson speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine during a diplomatic visit on Tuesday

The UK has thrown its weight behind Ukraine since the crisis started, flying out anti-tank missiles and deploying extra forces to eastern Europe

Earlier this week, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sent letters to the U.S. and other Western counterparts pointing out obligations signed by all members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Russia argues that NATO's expansion eastward has hurt Russia's security, violating the principle of 'indivisibility of security' endorsed by the OSCE in 1999 and 2010.

It says the U.S. and its allies have ignored the principle that the security of one nation should not be strengthened at the expense of others, while insisting on every nation's right to choose alliances.

In his letter, which was released by the foreign ministry, Lavrov said 'there must be security for all or there will be no security for anyone.'

In a separate call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Lavrov warned that Moscow will not allow Washington to 'hush up' the issue.

Blinken, meanwhile, emphasized 'the U.S. willingness, bilaterally and together with Allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns.'

However, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken was resolute in 'the U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances.'

Blinken 'urged immediate Russian de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine's borders,' Price said.

He reaffirmed that 'further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path.'

A Ukrainian soldier is seen patrolling a trench near the frontlines with Russian-backed rebels

T-64 tanks covered by snow stand at the depot site at the Tank Repair Plant in Kharkiv, Ukraine

A bullet riddled effigy of Russian President Vladimir Putin is coated by fresh snow at a frontline position in the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine

A Belgian Air Force F-16 is seen at Amari Air Base, Estonia, after Russian aircraft flew into the country's airspace on Tuesday

Senior State Department officials described the call as professional and 'fairly candid,' noting that if Russia wanted to prove it isn't going to invade Ukraine, it should withdraw its troops from the border and neighboring Belarus.

Shortly after speaking to Lavrov, Blinken convened a conference call with the secretary general of NATO, the EU foreign policy chief and the chairman-in-office of the OSCE as part of efforts to ensure that the allies are engaged in any further contacts with Russia.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said the U.S. statement about its readiness for dialogue 'doesn't correlate' with Washington sending planeloads of military equipment to Ukraine.

'I don't know why the U.S. is escalating tensions and at the same time accusing Russia,' he said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv for scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Johnson said the U.K. has a package of measures including sanctions ready to go 'the moment the first Russian toecap crosses further into Ukrainian territory.'

'It is vital that Russia steps back and chooses a path of diplomacy, and I believe that is still possible,' Johnson said. 'We are keen to engage in dialogue, of course we are. But we have the sanctions ready.'

He said he would have a call with Putin on Wednesday, noting that the Russian leader was trying to 'impose a new Yalta, new zones of influence' in a reference to the 1945 deal between the allied powers.

'And it would not just be Ukraine that was drawn back into the Russian sphere of influence,' Johnson added.

In other developments, Biden was expected to nominate career foreign service officer Bridget Brink to assume the long-vacant diplomatic post of American ambassador to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official familiar with the decision.

Brink currently serves as the ambassador to Slovakia.
More than 30 revellers have been convicted of drink and drug driving offences after up to 2,000 people flocked to an illegal rave in West Sussex in June last year.

Covid restrictions were still in place when ravers travelled from afar to flout rules by attending a huge party with blaring music at a field in the remote village of Steyning.

Officers, faced with chaotic scenes, made almost 90 arrests and intercepted drivers attempting to to flee the area with the assistance of a police helicopter on June 23.

An investigation into the organisation of the illegal rave is ongoing, but Sussex Police has confirmed 31 people have so far been convicted of drink and drug driving related offences in connection with the event - resulting in driving bans totalling nearly 40 years.

Pictures and videos emerged on social media showing crowds dancing in a field in front of speakers pumping out loud music, while drone footage over the area showed a large number of vehicles parked along rural country roads.

Police seized a 'large volume' of music equipment, including sound systems and speakers, and eight people were identified or organisers of the event and arrested at the scene.

It comes as Boris Johnson was today dragged further into the Partygate scandal after it was claimed he was seen arriving at the 'Winner Takes It All' Abba party thrown in his Downing Street flat to celebrate the fall of Dominic Cummings.

The Metropolitan Police is currently investigating 12 alleged events between May 2020 and April last year, six of which Mr Johnson is linked to, with the force revealing it has received 300 photos as part of its probe.

The large gathering pictured from a police helicopter circling the field in June last year, showing a large number of vehicles parked along a country road

Mask wearing police officers arrive at the remote field in Sussex to break up the illegal music event

The huge event, which took place while lockdown restrictions were still in place, pictured from a police helicopter's thermal camera

Police vans line an off-road track close to the scene of the event, attended by up to 2,000 people

Under lockdown restrictions in place at the time of the illegal rave in June, gatherings could not exceed more than 30 people unless covered by a legal exemption.

Various local roads were shut by police as officers dealt with the incident, with all cars stopped as they left the area to ensure drivers were in a fit state to be behind the wheel.

Two police vehicles were also involved in collisions with other vehicles as they responded to reports of the gathering.

Chief Inspector Michael Hodder said: 'Steyning, a beautiful place in Sussex, was overrun by those that were determined to hold an illegal music event.

'Of course once the police arrive people will starburst and people will run because they don't want to get caught by the police.

'Now if you're at a music event and you've taken drugs and you're running from the police, you jump in your car and you drive under the influence - and that's what we saw, in abundance.'

The individuals sentenced in connection with the event travelled from as far afield as Devon, Wales and Sheffield.

They have been charged with driving with alcohol and drugs including ketamine, cocaine, MDMA and cannabis.

Chief Insp Hodder added that the revellers 'swarmed' the South Downs' and caused 'no end of distress' to local residents.

A police helicopter pictured circling as revellers are approached by a large number of Sussex police officers

Up to 2,000 people are thought to have flocked to the rave, as pictures on social media showed crowds partying in a field in front of speakers

He said: 'It's astonishing that it still takes place where we've got people that will drink or take drugs but have no regard to how that affects them when they're driving a motor vehicle.

'We know that in our county there are lots of back roads, lots of unlit roads... and if you're under the influence your cognitive skills are reduced and it's a real safety issue.'

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's future was plunged further into doubt today as another Tory MP called for a no-confidence vote amid the fresh Partygate revelations.

Former minister Tobias Ellwood said he will be submitting a letter to 1922 committee chair Sir Graham Brady, warning that a challenge is now 'inevitable'.

The development came after claims Mr Johnson was seen arriving at the 'Winner Takes It All' Abba party thrown in his Downing Street flat to celebrate the fall of Dominic Cummings.

A witness is said to have told Sue Gray that the Prime Minister went upstairs towards the 'victory party' held by Carrie Johnson and her friends on the night of November 13, 2020, after Mr Cummings had left No 10 with his belongings in a box.

Insiders say police, who are already sifting through 300 photos - some said to include the PM - and 500 documents, would be able to confirm his attendance using CCTV and a keypad to the flat's door.

Mr Johnson flew to Ukraine on Tuesday despite the growing turmoil, during which he said he will fight to remain as PM regardless of the police conclusions.
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Kim Jong Un's wife made her first public appearance in nearly five months yesterday as the pair attended a Lunar New Year's Day concert in Pyongyang.

Ri Sol Ju made a rare appearance to join her husband for an art performance at the Mansudae Art Theatre in the North Korean capital for the annual celebrations.

The North Korean dictator's wife was last seen publicly on September 9 when she joined her husband to visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, which houses the bodies of Kim's late grandfather and father, on the anniversary of the country's founding.

Footage showed the pair were met with cheers and a round of applause as they entered the theatre and posed for a photo with performers.

It comes after Pyongyang released a new propaganda film showing Kim, 38, looking unsteady on his feet during a visit to a construction site in Pyongyang in August 2021.

However, there was no sign of a limp as the dictator entered the auditorium to rapturous applause and cheering yesterday.

Kim Jong Un's wife Ri Sol Ju made her first public appearance in nearly five months as the pair attended a concert at the Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang

The pair were met with applause as they posed for a picture with performers at the Mansudae Art Theatre in the North Korean capital

The concert came after Pyongyang released a new propaganda film (above) showing Kim, 38, looking unsteady on his feet during a visit to a construction site in Pyongyang in August 2021

The newly released concert video also confirmed the first appearance since January 2020 of Kim's aunt and a former senior official of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim Kyong Hui, who was seen sitting next to Ri during the concert.

Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said: 'When Kim appeared at the auditorium of the theatre with his wife, Ri Sol Ju, amid the playing of the welcome music, the audience raised stormy cheers of ''Hurrah!'''

The news agency also said the audience appreciated that the country's leader was 'ushering in on this land a new world and a new era when the people's ideals and happiness and desire for building a powerful country are comprehensively translated into reality'.

During the concert, artists performed songs and dances that demonstrated the 'single-minded unity' of North Korean people and their devotion to build a socialist country 'to be envied by the world', a report by KCNA said.

Ri had once garnered international attention as she often accompanied Kim on social, business and even military outings, in a stark break from his father, Kim Jong Il, who was rarely seen in public with any of his wives.

She was absent from state media for more than a year before being seen attending a concert last February, fuelling speculation over her health and potential pregnancy.

The South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers that she apparently refrained from outside activities to prevent Covid infections but was 'playing well with their kids.'

The couple are believed to have three children together, according to NIS.

North Korea's official media has been highlighting Kim's authoritarian leadership following a spree of missile tests in January, which some experts see as an attempt to pressure Washington over deadlocked nuclear negotiations after two years of pandemic border closures and economic decay.

The Biden administration has called for the UN Security Council to meet on Thursday to discuss North Korea's most recent test of an intermediate-range missile potentially capable of reaching Guam, a key US military hub in the Pacific.

Sunday's test signalled a resumption of major weapons testing that Mr Kim had suspended in 2018 while initiating diplomacy with then-US president Donald Trump.

The North Korean leader and his wife were met with cheers and a round of applause as they entered the theatre

Ri Sol Ju was last seen publicly on September 9 when she joined her husband to visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the anniversary of the country's founding

The pair were greeted with music and 'stormy cheers' from the audience as they joined the annual celebrations

Talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since the collapse of the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korea's demands for a major release of crippling US-led sanctions in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

The North's accelerated weapons tests, which came amid efforts to strengthen internal unity and tighten the government's grip over the economy, possibly reflect a sense of urgency within Pyongyang's leadership for outside relief, analysts say.

While tentatively reopening freight train traffic with China last month, Mr Kim is also reviving his brinkmanship tactics to wrest concessions from the Biden administration, which has offered open-ended talks but shown no willingness to ease sanctions unless Mr Kim takes real steps to abandon his nuclear weapons programme.

Sunday's flight test of the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile marked the longest-distance weapon the North has tested since 2017, when it twice flew Hwasong-12s over Japan and, separately, three intercontinental ballistic missiles that demonstrated the potential to reach deep into the American homeland.

The launch came days after Mr Kim called a ruling party meeting where officials issued a veiled threat to end the North's 2018 moratorium on the testing of nuclear devices and longer-range missiles, citing US hostility.

North Korea's official media has been highlighting Kim's authoritarian leadership following a spree of missile tests in January. Pictured: Kim Jong Un and Ri Sol Ju during the concert

US secretary of state Antony Blinken spoke with Japanese foreign minister Hayashi Yoshimasa by phone and condemned North Korea's recent ballistic tests, which were in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and vowed trilateral cooperation with South Korea to deal with the North Korean threat, a spokesman said.

Experts say the North could halt its testing spree after the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics this week out of respect for China, its major ally and economic lifeline.

But there are also expectations it could significantly up the ante in weapons demonstrations once the Olympics end later this month to grab the attention of the Biden administration, which has been focusing more on confronting China and Russia over its conflict with Ukraine.
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Award-winning author Kate Clanchy who was cancelled on social media amid claims her critically-acclaimed book peddled racism has found a new publisher after she was dropped by another following deep controversy.

Kate Clanchy, 57, a mother-of-three and former teacher from Glasgow, faced criticism for her Orwell Prize-winning memoir 'Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me' and was pushed to the brink of suicide by the row.

Fellow authors and her own pupils praised the book, but some readers said it promoted racial stereotypes which led to Picador, an imprint of Pan Macmillan which had been Clanchy's publisher for 20 years, cutting ties with her.

Picador had initially said the book would be updated, before deciding to stop distribution and return the rights to her. However, independent publisher Swift Press, which was only set up in June 2020, has now bought the rights.

Swift Press approached Clanchy and it has now put out a reissued version of the 2019 book, which is about her teaching experiences, removing the words and phrases which had caused such upset among some readers.

She was accused of promoting racial stereotypes with the phrases 'almond-shaped eyes' and 'chocolate-coloured skin' - and said a student was 'so small and square and Afghan with his big nose and premature moustache'.

Concerns were also raised over the description of two autistic students as 'jarring company'  but the new book does not contain any of these phrases. Another publisher has also now approached her to publish her poetry.

Swift Press confirmed to MailOnline today that Clanchy 'wished to make some minor revisions to the text, which she's done' - with the reference to 'chocolate-coloured skin' changed to 'warm brown coloured skin'.

The updated version of Some Kids also contains a new afterword written by Clanchy, who was awarded an MBE in February 2019, in which the author insists that she still thinks 'that my beleaguered, faulty text is worth reading'.

Scottish author Kate Clanchy poses with her medal after being appointed an MBE at Buckingham Palace on February 7, 2019

Kate Clanchy (left) wrote Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me (right) which won the Orwell Prize two years ago

Clanchy told the Guardian: 'I was pleased to have been approached by Swift Press, and that they will allow my work to remain available to readers, who will be able to judge it for themselves.

'I was glad to re-engage with the text  it is a privilege for any writer  and I have listened to and benefitted from other people's readings. The storm focused on particular words and phrases which I have been happy to change.'

Extracts from 'Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me' that caused controversy over 'racism' 'Cumar is long and slender as many of the Somali kids are, with a thin nose, narrow skull, and very dark, almost black skin. Aadil is more muscular and square-set, with chocolate-coloured skin, a broad-based nose, and rounded head.'

'They're a funny pair: Izzat so small and square and Afghan with his big nose and premature moustache; Mo so rounded and mellow and Pakistani with his long-lashed eyes and soft glossy hair. On a good morning, the two of them will clasp hands in greeting and stand still a moment: the manners of a long-lost bazaar.'

'Shakila, meanwhile, seemed to have the floor plan of a poem in her head and to need help only with filling in the blocks. She would call out to me for words, urgently, her black, almost-shaped eyes snapping, slim fingers blossoming: Thingies !' Advertisement

Swift Press said Clanchy 'writes about her students with deep affection, and it is clear that she wants them to do as well as they possibly can' and cited pupils who had praised her 'unequivocal care and support' for them.

The London-based publisher added that she 'writes with an often self-lacerating honesty, and in a way that explicitly shows her moving from positions of ignorance  or even prejudice  to ones of understanding'.

The author, who now lives in Oxfordshire, has previously claimed that Picador failed in its duty of care to her  and that instead of protecting her, the publisher tried to erase her work from existence in a public whitewashing.

Clanchy, an Oxford graduate who was a teacher for 35 years, also said she was to suicide when she was copied into an email from a senior Picador employee that seemed to show it was trying to wash its hands of her.

She said the feeling to take her own life 'was very strong', telling The Times: 'I'm a mentally healthy person. I'm very resilient. I'm a teacher. But I was amazed by the strength of the ideation.'

It came as she had already lost both her parents just days apart to Covid-19 that year and was faced with the breakup of her marriage.

Picador announced last week it would no longer work with Clanchy and would stop distributing all eight of her books with the publisher, meaning the works were no longer for sale in bookshops or even as ebooks.

Clanchy claimed some of the offending references were taken out of context but later apologised and said she would rewrite the book, telling the Times: 'I apologise many, many times over. I am sorry.'

However she has denied the claims of racism and doubled down, saying her book was 'anti-racist'. But her publisher Picador was itself accused of not going far enough in its initial statement on the row.

It later issued two apologies and said it was discussing the best way to update future editions of the book.

A number of Twitter users criticised Clanchy over the prize-winning book, with some even saying it had 'triggered' them

One pupil, Asima Qayyum, defended Clanchy and said her impact on her life was 'unimaginably and overwhelmingly positive'

The student shared a lengthy statement in which she stated Clanchy had 'given the students platforms they never expected'

It said it apologised 'profoundly for the hurt we have caused, the emotional anguish experienced by many of you who took the time to engage with the text, and to hold us to account.'

Her former pupils have spoken out in support, with Shukria Rezaei identifying herself as the 'girl with the almond eyes'

After those trying to cancel her book faced backlash from other people trying to support the author, the publisher added: 'We vigorously condemn the despicable online bullying of many of those who have spoken out. This has no place in our community.'

The author has also hit back at the cancel culture mob  and said the controversial phrases were not racist but derived from how the children described themselves.

The supposedly racist passages were shared on Twitter but many authors jumped to her defence. Leading novelist Philip Pullman said her book was as 'humane, warm, decent, generous and welcoming'.

Meanwhile, one of her former pupils, Shukria Rezaei, identified herself as the 'girl with the almond eyes' in The Times. She wrote: 'Critics labelled [Kate's] description patronising, insulting, offensive, colonialist and racist. This upset me I did not find it offensive.'

Twitter users had slammed Clanchy over the writing online. One wrote: 'This has horrified and triggered me. This book is full of racism and ableism.

'Privileged people always hail teachers like this, while disabled people and people of colour have their lives seriously damaged by them. Look at all the privileged jumping to her defence too!'

Another said: 'Just caught up on the racist tropes in Kate Clanchy's writing. Read extracts, the kind of crude, blunt historical racism that lives on in white discourse.'

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local branch or go to www.samaritans.org
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A millionaire has lost a battle to cut down protected trees at his beauty spot home - to save himself a two-mile drive to his stables.

Supermarket chain owner Chris Kiley, 68, wanted to axe the woodland to make a track through the nature reserve around his home that overlooks Caswell Bay on the Gower, South Wales.

Mr Kiley told planners the 98-metre track would link his home with a small-holding on his land where he keeps horses and stables. But Welsh Government inspectors rejected his appeal, saying there was no reasonable justification after more than 150 objections.

In response, he said: 'You mean, I can't walk across my own ground to get to my barn? It just beggars belief.'

Mr Kiley bought the 2.5million home with wife Alice, 32, a former Miss Great Britain entrant who appeared on the TV cooking contest Masterchef in 2013 - but the couple have since split up.

He had already fallen out with neighbours after submitting plans to demolish his house and build a modern 'Grand Designs' style home in its place.

The millionaire was also embroiled in a row with residents in June 2020 after he allegedly cut down trees to make way for a 'racing track' for off-road bikes.

The house overlooks Caswell Bay on the Gower Peninsula which was designated the UK's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - meaning planning projects require extra permissions.

Mr Kiley, who started with one CK's supermarket in 1988, now owns a chain of 31 Welsh stores that pockets 56million in annual turnover.

Supermarket chain owner Chris Kiley, 68, (pictured) wanted to axe the woodland to make a track through the nature reserve around his home that overlooks Caswell Bay on the Gower, South Wales

The house overlooks Caswell Bay on the Gower Peninsula (pictured) which was designated the UK's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - meaning planning projects require extra permissions

Mr Kiley's planning statement said 12 'small to medium' trees would needed to be felled for the track but he promised to replace them.

It added: 'Access tracks are common features in countryside locations such as this and the development is considered a modest addition which will have an acceptable impact on the wider Gower AONB.'

He wanted the track because it now meant a two-mile car journey from his home to get to the fields, horses and stables above the woodland.

Among the 154 objections were Bishopston Community Council who said the track was not needed as there was already a path running alongside it.

The group also said the plans were 'environmentally unacceptable' because of the damage to trees and wildlife.

Preservation group The Gower Society also objected to the proposals saying they had a 'possible undesirable impact upon the AONB and the prominent coastal slope'.

Mr Kiley's appeal argued that the footpath would enable him to maintain his woodland area as well as providing access to the smallholding.

He also said additional planting and removal of invasive species would enhance the wood.

But planning inspector Penelope Davies's report said it wasn't clear how a path would help the woodland's maintenance.

Mr Kiley's planning statement said 12 'small to medium' trees would needed to be felled for the track but he promised to replace them. Pictured: His beauty spot home

Mr Kiley told planners the 98-metre track would link his home with a small-holding on his land where he keeps horses and stables (above). But Welsh Government inspectors rejected his appeal

The millionaire was also embroiled in a row with residents in June 2020 after he allegedly cut down trees to make way for a 'racing track' for off-road bikes. Pictured: Caswell Bay on the Gower, South Wales

The plans (pictured) show where the 'box' like property would sit on the edge and shows side elevation views

She said: 'Other than the inconvenience of a round trip by road, there is little information that explains why any existing access to the fields or an existing public footpath through the woodland are not suitable.'

Previously, Mr Kiley faced the fury of neighbours who alleged that trees were being illegally cut down in the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which was the first AONB designated in Britain in 1956.

They also complained that Mr Kiley and his friends were reportedly using the grounds as a 'racing track' for off-road bikes.

The supermarket millionaire wanted a huge open plan living area downstairs and Mr Kiley, who owns 31-strong supermarket chain CK Foodstore, said the home would fit 'seamlessly' into the character of the seafront.
Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have been accused of 'falsely claiming' that crime has fallen as MPs urged the UK's statistics watchdog to investigate.

Mr Johnson told MPs in the House of Commons on Monday that 'we have been cutting crime by 14 per cent'.

Meanwhile, a Home Office press release issued last week referred to 'a drop in crime'.

But The Times reported that the 14 per cent figure does not include fraud offences and when they are included overall crime actually increased by 14 per cent.

Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have been accused of 'falsely claiming' that crime has fallen as MPs urged the UK's statistics watchdog to investigate

Mr Johnson made the 14 per cent claim in the Commons as he delivered a statement on Sue Gray's Partygate update.

Defending the Government's record, he said: 'At the same time, we have been cutting crime by 14 per cent, building 40 new hospitals and rolling out gigabit broadband, and delivering all the promises of our 2019 agenda, so that we have the fastest economic growth of the G7.'

The Home Office issued a press release on January 25 which stated the Government had delivered 'a drop in crime'.

It added: 'Between June 2019 and June 2021, there was a 14 per cent fall in overall crime (excluding fraud and computer misuse) and in the year to June, we saw continuing falls in neighbourhood crime  including robbery and burglary  as well as falls in knife crime (excluding possession) and firearms offences, reflecting the impact of lockdown restrictions.'

The Times said Office for National Statistics data showed the 14 per cent fall in crime from the time Mr Johnson became PM in July 2019 to July last year did not include fraud.

In the 12 month period between September 2020 and September 2021, fraud offences increased by 47 per cent.

When fraud offences are added to the total, overall crime actually increased by 14 per cent in a year.

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, has written to Sir David Norgrove, the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, to ask him to investigate.

Mr Johnson told MPs in the House of Commons on Monday that 'we have been cutting crime by 14 per cent' while a Home Office press release issued last week referred to 'a drop in crime'

Mr Carmichael accused the PM and Home Secretary of 'falsely claiming' that crime had fallen, labelling it a 'gross misrepresentation'.

He told The Times: 'It seems there is nothing Boris Johnson won't lie about. Crime is up by 14 per cent - the exact opposite of what he said in parliament.

'Thousands of people across the country are victims of fraud every day... it is outrageous for the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to pretend they simply don't exist.'

The Home Office told the newspaper that the press release had highlighted that the 14 per cent figure excluded fraud.
One person was killed in this Tuesday night house fire in the 1300 block of Byfield Street, Salisbury Township, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's Office. (Jayson Wagner/For The Morning Call/Courtesy/Jayson Wagner)

A Salisbury Township man was pronounced dead early Wednesday after a house fire.

Daniel Knotts, 47, was pronounced dead at 12:03 a.m. at St. Lukes University Hospital in Fountain Hill, according to a news release from Lehigh County Coroner Eric D. Minnich. An autopsy is scheduled Thursday to determine the cause of death.

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The two-story home, in the 1300 block of Byfield Street, sustained heavy smoke damage, and a second alarm was struck before firefighters brought the blaze under control.

The Morning Call reached out to the township police for more information. The coroners office, along with township police and fire marshals office are investigating.

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Morning Call reporter Molly Bilinski can be reached at mbilinski@mcall.com
Gloucestershire Constabulary said people should steer clear of Ion Bogdan (pictured) after they linked him to an assault on Saturday and another last year

Police have warned the public not to approach a man they are hunting on suspicion of two horrific sex attacks in Gloucester.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said people should steer clear of Ion Bogdan after they linked him to an assault on Saturday and another last year.

Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Detective Sergeant Faye Satchwell-Bennett urged anyone who spots the 21-year-old to call them 'immediately'.

She said: 'I would urge anyone who knows his whereabouts, or any member of the public who sees him, not to approach him but to call police immediately.'

She added: 'I also appeal directly to this individual to come forward and hand himself in.'

Bogdan is said to be white, 5ft 8in, of medium build with cropped black hair and a black beard.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said: 'Officers need to speak to Ion Bogdan, aged 21, in connection with a sexual assault on a woman in Barton Street in the early hours of Saturday morning.' Pictured: A general view of Barton Street

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said: 'Officers need to speak to Ion Bogdan, aged 21, in connection with a sexual assault on a woman in Barton Street in the early hours of Saturday morning.

'He is also wanted in connection with a previous sexual assault last year as well as failing to answer bail.

'Bogdan, who also goes by the alias Florin, is described as being white, 5ft 8in tall, of a medium build, with cropped black hair and a black beard.

'Officers have been actively pursuing numerous lines of enquiry to locate this man and would now like to appeal to the public for help.'


A nursery worker has successfully sued her former employer for pregnancy discrimination after she was asked by bosses if keeping her baby 'was a good idea'.

Pregnant Darci Topping, 23, was quizzed about the baby's father and if she intended to keep the child by bosses at Stepping Stones Nursery in the quaint village of Hoddlesden, Lancashire.

The new starter, who was on minimum wage, was then 'pressured' into reducing her hours before being made redundant after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, an employment tribunal heard.

Her line manager at one stage even suggested she 'might be better off on benefits' as an upset Ms Topping was told she was no longer employed over the telephone.

Managers at the nursery 'dressed up' her sacking with a sham process to dismiss her because of her pregnancy, a Manchester tribunal ruled.

Ms Topping, who has one-year-old son called Stanley, will receive compensation after successfully suing Stepping Stones Nursery for pregnancy discrimination and unfair dismissal.

Pregnant Darci Topping, 23, was quizzed about the baby's father and if she intended to keep the child by bosses at Stepping Stones Nursery in the quaint village of Hoddlesden, Lancashire. She is pictured above with her one-year-old son Stanley

Nursery boss Zara Costello even suggested Ms Topping 'might be better off on benefits' during the telephone call in which she was told she was being made redundant, a tribunal heard

The hearing in Manchester was told qualified nursery nurse Miss Topping started at the nursery near Blackburn on February 24 in 2020 on a 37-hour-a-week contract.

A week later, on March 2, Miss Topping, from Blackburn, announced to her line manager Zara Costello that she was pregnant with her first child.

A tribunal report said: 'A few days later, in the course of a discussion about her pregnancy, Ms Costello told her that Julie Mercer, the owner of the nursery, would "come round to it", and she mentioned the fact that Miss Topping was on probation.

'Other comments were made, including questions about whether Miss Topping was, in fact, going to keep the baby and whether that would be a good idea, and reference was made to Miss Topping's partner or father of the baby at the time.'

As the Covid-19 pandemic hit days later and Stepping Stones Nursery became worried about finances, Miss Topping was told her hours needed to be cut to 20 a week and wasn't given any consultation.

The hearing in Manchester was told qualified nursery nurse Miss Topping started at Stepping Stones Nursery near Blackburn (above) on February 24 in 2020 on a 37-hour-a-week contract

Pregnant employees' legal rights Pregnant employees' four main legal rights include: Protection against unfair treatment, discrimination or dismissal Employees or potential employees must not be discriminated against due to pregnancy, an illness relating to their pregnancy, including related time off, maternity pay or leave they take, or plan to take. This law applies regardless of how long a person has been employed for. Discrimination includes dismissing them, not offering them a job, changing their pay or other terms, forcing them to work while on maternity leave and stopping them returning to work because they are breastfeeding. Paid time off for antenatal care Employers are in breach of contract if they change a pregnant worker's contract terms and conditions without agreement. Pregnant employees should be granted time off for antenatal care, paid at their normal rate. Alongside medical appointments, this also refers to antenatal or parenting classes if they've been recommended by a doctor or midwife. Maternity leave Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks with the first 26 weeks counting as ordinary maternity leave, and the last 26 weeks as additional. The employee must take two weeks off after giving birth, if not taking statutory maternity leave, or four weeks if they work in a factory. Maternity pay or maternity allowance Statutory Maternity Pay is provided for up to 39 weeks at 90 per cent of average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks, then 151.97 or 90 per cent of average weekly earnings for the next 33 weeks. Statutory Maternity Pay will start automatically if the employee is absent for a pregnancy-related illness in the month before the baby's due date.

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She signed a 'hastily' typed up document agreeing to cutting her hours - but was the only worker to have her shifts formally cut.

Miss Topping was 'anxious' over the pandemic's impact on her health and whether or not she would have a job, the tribunal heard.

She was placed on sick leave initially but then placed on furlough as well as other members of staff.

However, she was the only one to receive 80 per cent of wages for 20 hours a week, rather than 37.

Despite things being 'stable' at the nursery, she was made redundant out of the blue while on furlough, leaving her 'very upset'.

Ms Costello even suggested she 'might be better off on benefits' during the telephone call.

The report said: 'By April 20, 2020, the numbers of children attending the nursery each day had stabilised.

'Miss Topping was by then on furlough with other employees at no cost to the nursery.

'What happened then was that Ms Costello simply rang up Miss Topping and announced her dismissal as (redundancy).

'From the evidence presented, the Tribunal considered that the nursery dressed up her dismissal by constructing a redundancy process which either never took place or took place after the nursery made its decision to dismiss her.'

Miss Topping launched legal action, claiming the nursery 'had a problem with pregnant employees'.

Employment Judge Marion Batten said: 'The Tribunal concluded that the decision to make her redundant was a decision targeted at her alone - she was pregnant and in light of the paucity of the evidence, it was apparent that was the only difference.

'There was no other credible explanation offered by the nursery.

'The Tribunal had no hesitation in concluding that her dismissal was related to her pregnancy.

'Only she was dismissed. She was the only employee who was pregnant, and in the context of her treatment by the nursery since she told them, at the beginning of March 2020, that she was pregnant.'

Following the case, Miss Stanley said she is 'glad to have won the tribunal'.

She added: 'It was very tough for me being made redundant at such a vulnerable point in my life while expecting my first baby which I wanted to be excited about.

'I do feel that I have got justice and I am relieved that the case is finally over.' Her compensation hearing will take place later this month.

A separate employment hearing ruled that asking a pregnant woman whether she is coming back to work before she goes on maternity leave is considered discriminatory. [File photo]

It comes as a separate employment hearing ruled that asking a pregnant woman whether she is coming back to work before she goes on maternity leave is considered discriminatory.

Laura Jo Duffy, who worked as a PA at Barnet, Enfield & Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust in North London, successfully sued the health service after her boss nodded towards her stomach while asking about her 'future plans'.

The NHS worker was also asked by a colleague if she had informed managers she would not be returning after maternity leave - even though she had never said what her intentions were, a hearing in Watford was told.

The tribunal ruled this comment was based on a 'stereotypical assumption about new mothers not returning to work'.

Ms Duffy - who was accused of planning her baby to gain a promotion - is now in line for compensation after winning her claim of pregnancy discrimination.
A mother who refused to reveal the whereabouts of her baby son has been confronted by TV cameras moments before she was sentenced to six months behind bars.

Lyn Kim Do, 21 was found guilty of contempt in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia this week following a bitter family fallout.

The boy's grandmother Kim Huong Tran had been granted custody of 19-month-old Hoang Vinh Le.

But the boy's father, Hoang Thanh Le, 28, allegedly snatched the child on April 9 last year, kickstarting a bizarre series of events which has landed both parents in prison.

Hoang Vinh Le (pictured), who is 19-month-old, has been missing since May last year

Outside court, Do was asked: 'Will you tell authorities where Vinh is?' by veteran A Current Affair reporter Hannah Sinclair.

'No,' Do, who is 12 weeks pregnant replied.

'Why won't you tell them?' the reporter insisted.

'I don't want to,' Do said.

'Is this really worth going to jail over Lyn?' Sinclair asked. 'Do you know where Vinh is?'

'No,' she responded.

Do initially told the court she gave her baby to a woman named 'Kathy Nguyen' on May 19, 2021.

She said they met at a coffee shop in Cabramatta in Sydney's west and that she handed Vinh to the woman along with $200 to care for him overnight.

Do and the baby's father Le were arrested the following day - but the child has not been seen since.

Do and Le have also failed to help police identify the person only known as 'Kathy Nguyen'.

The child's mother Lyn Kim Do (pictured with baby Vinh and father Le) was jailed this week for six months for refusing to tell police the baby's current whereabouts

The boy's grandmother Kim Huong Tran (pictured) had been granted custody of 19-month-old Hoang Vinh Le

The little boy's disappearance followed court orders made on April 19 last year that the youngster was to live with his maternal grandmother after a family dispute.

In a sworn affidavit, Do said she left baby Vinh with his godmother because she 'could not give him the care he needed' and she 'did not want him to live with her mother'.

Just before Vinh's disappearance, the couple made a bizarre video claiming they'd rather the unknown woman raise their son than his own grandmother.

'I would rather Kathy to look after it  or if the child is in someone else's hands I would rather that happen,' Mr Le said in the video.

He is also now behind bars for a string of offences including breaching bail conditions in January.

In a sworn affidavit, Do said she left baby Vinh with his godmother because she 'could not give him the care he needed' and she 'did not want him to live with her mother'

Grandmother Ms Tran said it was 'painful' to see her daughter sent to jail and that she felt 'sorry for her'. Pictured: Baby Vinh

In a sentencing judgment released this week, Justice Shane Gill said Do's withholding of information about her son's whereabouts is a 'matter of grave seriousness'.

'What you're doing is likely to make authorities take your next child off you,' Justice Gill said.

'The path that you have chosen does not do Vinh any good. If you want to challenge who he is to live with then this is the place to make that challenge, not by hiding him away out of reach of the court.

'Make it right and make it right soon, Do. While Vinh remains missing this matter is not ended. It does not end at you having served six months imprisonment.

'This is a matter that will continue while he remains missing.'

In a sentencing judgment released this week, Justice Shane Gill said Do's withholding of information about her son's whereabouts is a 'matter of grave seriousness'. Pictured: Baby Vinh

Grandmother Ms Tran said it was 'painful' to see her daughter sent to jail and that she felt 'sorry for her'.

She also opened up about emotional toll losing young Vinh has taken on her.

'I still miss him every day. Some nights I just watch his video until three, four o'clock in the morning and then I cry all the way to the morning  it's very sad,' Ms Tran said.

'I just wait every day, every hour with my phone 24/7 on me.

She urged anyone hiding him to come forward.

'Grandma is missing you. I can't wait to see you again, Vinh. I love you so much. I wish you're healthy and come back to me soon.'

Outside court, Do was asked: 'Will you tell authorities where Vinh is?' by a reporter but Do (pictured) replied 'No'

Justice Gill also in his sentencing also called out the police for their role in the ongoing matter, labelling the investigation 'sloppy.'

It is the second time Do has been jailed for contempt relating to her son Vinh, after she received an early sentence of one week due to her noncompliance with orders regarding the child.

The AFP first launched an investigation into the child's whereabouts last May after he disappeared from outside a medical practice in Canberra.
Libby Squire's mother has revealed she wants to meet her daughter's killer to try to piece together what happened.

Lisa Squire said she wants a face-to-face with Pawel Relowicz because 'there're so many questions' left unanswered.

She said it was 'not acceptable' to her not to know the final moments of the Hull University student's life.

Married father-of-two Relowicz dumped Libby's body in the River Hull after raping her on a playing field in the early hours of February 1, 2019.

The Polish butcher, 26, was convicted of raping and murdering the 21-year-old student when he chanced upon her after she had been out with friends.

The twisted murderer was jailed for life last February with a minimum term of 27 years.

Libby Squire's mother has revealed she wants to meet her daughter's killer to try to piece together what happened. Pictured: Libby

She said she feels strong enough to find out what happened during Libby's final moments and wants to speak to the depraved killer in person. Pictured: Lisa and Russell Squire

Ms Squire told BBC Breakfast: 'I don't know how he got her in the car, I don't know how she died.

'I don't know whether she was dead when she went into the water or not. There's so many questions.'

On why she wanted to question the rapist, she said: 'I think it's my makeup. I need to know what's going on with my children.

'My children are a massive part of my life so not knowing what happened to her, for me, is not acceptable.'

Ms Squire, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said she was due to meet with the PM to discuss tougher measures for non-contact sexual offences.

Before he killed Libby Squire, Relowicz had a history of convictions for non-contact sex crimes including voyeurism.

Libby was targeted by Relowicz (pictured), who had a history of spying on female students and was on the prowl looking for a vulnerable victim

She said: 'People still think that non-contact sexual offences are harmless but they're not harmless.

'We can't say that all people who commit a non-contact sexual offence are going to go on to become rapists and murderers, but I think we can probably say that most rapists and murderers started off with non-contact sexual offences.

'I also think these people need help. There should be some sort of help facility for them. They should be forced to go into treatment or have therapy for what they have done.'

Ms Squire said she wanted her daughter's legacy to be 'change for women'.

She added: 'Because of what happened to her, I want other women to be safer. I will honour her until I take my last breath.'

Last month she revealed she felt strong enough to find out what happened during Libby's final moments.

The maternity ward nurse has been tormented by unanswered questions about her daughter's death for three years.

Mrs Squire said: 'I'd like to sit at a table opposite him and have a cup of coffee with him. I really would.

'I want to know what happened that night. I still don't know what happened. What were Libby's last words? How did she die? Did you hit her?'

Speaking to The Mirror, she added: 'I want him to have to look at me.'

On the night she disappeared, Relowicz, a married father of two had been searching for women to prey on.

Since Libby's death, Mrs Squire has lobbied politicans for tougher measures on low-level sex offenders to prevent more serious crimes from being committed

Libby was a philosophy student in Hull and was last seen sitting on a park bench after becoming separated from her friends and refused entry in a nightclub in the early hours of February 1, 2019.

She was targeted by Relowicz, who had a history of spying on female students and was on the prowl looking for a vulnerable victim.

He lured her into his car and drove her to a nearby park, where he raped her before dragging her body to the freezing water of the River Hull.

Her body was later discovered in the Hull estuary seven weeks after she went missing.

In February last year, Relowicz was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years and is currently behind bars at high-security HMP Wakefield.

Since Libby's death, Ms Squire has lobbied politicians for tougher measures on low-level sex offenders to prevent more serious crimes from being committed.

Mrs Squire, who also has three teenage children, previously urged people to report all non-contact 'minor' offences to the police.

She said: 'I know Libby was flashed at, a few weeks or months before she died. It happened after a night out around November time.

'I'm not sure exactly when. She told him to 'p**s off' basically, and berated him.

'I said to her 'you should really report it' and she said 'Oh mum, I gave him a mouthful and told him what a pathetic human being he was.' But she didn't report it.

'And that absolutely haunts me now because likely or not that was him.'

Lisa said she wants to see an early intervention along with education in school on the subject of flashing and sexual harassment.

Her younger 19-year-old daughter Beth is also due to go to university this September.

She spoke to her about the importance of reporting minor crimes, warning that each time the person flashes it could go 'a bit further' each time.

'By reporting it, you are hopefully stopping the next person being attacked by this man,' she added.
Half term holidays to Spain are under threat with the country set to reject EU plans that would have made it easier to enter the country.

Under Brussels' plan, unvaccinated people or those with only one dose would have been allowed to travel provided they recovered from Covid within the past 180 days.

But authorities in Madrid are shaping up to reject the rule, meaning anyone over the age of 12 who has not been fully jabbed will be banned from crossing the border.

The rule will hit children the hardest because the NHS only began offering second jabs to over-12s in late December. Children who were infected with Covid after their first jab are also forced to wait 12 weeks before getting a second.

Spain is set to reject EU plans that would have allowed tourists to use evidence of a prior Covid infection to travel (file image)

WHAT ARE THE NEW TRAVEL RULES? What did the EU propose? Under the EU plan, arrivals from outside the bloc would be allowed in without needing to test or isolate provided they have been fully vaccinated within the last 270 days. For people whose last vaccine was more than 270 days ago, evidence of a booster vaccine would be needed. Evidence of a prior Covid infection would also be accepted, provided it was within the last 180 days. But the rules are only guidance - EU members are allowed to set their own border policies. What has Spain said? Spain is set to reject evidence of a prior Covid infection as a reason to skip border checks. It means all arrivals over the age of 12 will need to show evidence they were fully vaccinated not less than 14 days prior to travel, and not more than 270. Those who were jabbed more than 270 days prior must have a booster. The rules will mostly affect children from the UK, who were only offered second jabs starting in late December. Are other countries following suit? It is also unclear whether France, another top half term destination, will adopt the EU rules. Currently, all arrivals to France from the UK must have a negative lateral flow test taken no more than 24 hours before departure, no matter their vaccine status. Advertisement

They must then wait another two weeks after the second jab for it to be valid for travel - meaning some may not be able to get vaccinated in time for the holidays, which begin in a little under two weeks.

From tomorrow, children will be able to use the NHS app to display their vaccination and infection history.

Spanish tourists officials are also set to reject plans to allow recovery certificates for adults, according to The Times.

It means adults will also have to show proof of full vaccination to cross the border.

If their last dose was given more than 270 days prior to travel, then they must provide evidence of a booster shot.

The rules will have less impact on adults, however, because they have been eligible for booster vaccinations for months. Around 55 per cent of the UK's total population have got booster shots.

News that Spain is continuing with its strict border rules will come as a blow to the travel industry, which has suffered through two years of outright bans and shifting restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread of Covid.

Spain is one of the most popular destinations for holidaying Britons, with tourists spending billions each year on trips in pre-pandemic times.

The Spanish Tourist Office in the UK said: 'Spain is in discussions with the EU and its partners about a possible review of the entry requirements for tourists from third countries with a view to making the current measures more flexible. The situation could change in the near future.'

In signs that the global recovery from Covid is far from over, two of London's main budget airlines revealed Wednesday that the number of passengers they carried dropped in January.

Even when compared to Omicron-hit December, the airlines said that they lost 2.7 million passengers between them.

Ryanair was the worst hit in January when compared to the month before. The number of passengers that it carried dropped 26 per cent - from 9.5 million to just seven million.

Under Spain's rules, all arrivals aged over 12 will be forced to show evidence they are fully vaccinated with the second shot given no more than 270 days ago (pictured, current EU infection rates relative to population)

Meanwhile, Wizz Air saw its passenger figures dip 9 per cent to 2.4 million.

The data casts new light on the challenging situation faced by airlines.

Governments put restrictions on international travel early on in a bid to slow the spread of the virus across borders.

But investors are now hoping that the airlines can move beyond Covid.

The share price of both companies has recovered and is now trading at around, or above, its pre-pandemic level.

It is a different story at rival IAG, which owns British Airways.

Investors are clearly worried about the firm and its shares price is nearly two thirds lower than before the pandemic.

Wednesday's figures have something to cheer for both budget airlines.

Wizz Air showed that it had more than quadrupled the number of passengers it carried compared to January 2021 - but it is still lagging behind its figures from a year before that.

Ryanair showed an even larger jump, increasing its passenger numbers more than fivefold.

It flew 46,000 flights in January, and its planes were 79 per cent full. Wizz Air's so-called load factor was 79.6 per cent.
The man accused of murdering his teenage wife and dumping her in a bathtub full of brown acid was allegedly seen on CCTV buying chemicals from a Bunnings store hours before her body was found by police.

Arnima Hayat's remains were found inside the unit she shared with partner Meraj Zafar, 20, in North Parramatta, in Sydney's west, on Sunday.

Police will allege Zafar, an apprentice builder, called his parents hours before his 19-year-old wife was discovered saying they had 'a very bad fight' and she was 'turning pink'.

The apprentice builder's parents then told him to call an ambulance, police will allege, before allegedly calling the police themselves.

Officers arrived at the Pennant Hills Road apartment about 4.30pm and found Ms Hayat's body naked face down in the bathtub, with twenty litres of hydrochloric acid allegedly found nearby.

Meraj Zafar, 20, is accused of murdering his wife Arnima Hayat, 19, after her body was found inside their North Parramatta apartment

Police will allege Zafar was seen on CCTV shopping twice at the Bunnings store in Northmead - buying litres of hydrochloric acid (pictured, a truck allegedly belonging to Zafar being seized by police)

Police will allege security footage shows Zafar buying a 20 litre tub of hydrochloric acid from Bunnings Northmead around 10am on Sunday, before allegedly returning at 3pm to buy another four containers, The Daily Telegraph reported.

He allegedly used the same credit card on both trips and was seen on CCTV driving a white tip truck to the store, according to a statement of police facts.

In court documents, police will allege Zafar murdered Ms Hayat sometime between 12pm and 5pm on Sunday - hours after the first trip to the hardware store.

Shortly after Ms Hayat's body was discovered, police launched a citywide search for Zafar after they found footage of him allegedly driving a tip truck in western Sydney.

Police will allege he went to his parents' house, where his mother allegedly noticed marks and bruises on his body.

There, police will allege, he told his parents he had a fight with his wife.

Mahafuza (left) revealed the heartbreaking reason she will not be able to properly lay to rest the remains of her daughter Arnima's (right) whose body was discovered in a full bath of hydrochloric acid in the flat she shared with her accused boyfriend

Arnima's devastated parents Abu ans Mahafuza (above at their Sydney home on Wednesday) have revealed their daughter's incredible life story before her tragic death aged 19

Zafar then allegedly contacted police and advised them he was going to turn himself in, before later handing himself in at Bankstown Police Station around 12.20pm Monday.

Detectives are still unsure exactly when and how Ms Hayat died, with Zafar understood to have told police during an interview his four months of marriage to Ms Hayat was 'generally happy with normal arguments'.

However, Zafar reportedly said the couple's parents were not happy about the relationship and did not go to their wedding.

Ms Hayat's distraught parents have since said they will not be able to give her the farewell she deserved because her body was found so badly disfigured.

Abu Hayat, 41, and his wife Mahafuzer Akter, 39, told Daily Mail Australia they were struggling to cope with the horrific way their daughter died.

The parents of Arnima (left) say after Meraj Zafar (right) began dating their daughter she withdrew from them and that a clearly 'upset' 19-year-old she made a phone call to US relatives two weeks before her death

Arnima's parents Mahafuzu and Abu (above, outside their Lakemba home) said their daughter was 'an Aussie girl' who loved KFC, sushi and pies and took her family out every week until she met Zafar

They said they will not be able to see their 'daughter's beautiful face' before laying her to rest in Bangladeshi funeral tradition - because the only part of the teenager's body not destroyed was one of her feet.

'I cannot see the last moment of my daughter's face because of what was done,' Mr Hayat said.

Arnima's mother Mahafuza said: 'My beautiful daughter ... my daughter, so pretty, I cannot see my daughter's face.'

The teenager's uncle Abu Saleh said the family was 'waiting to see my niece's body (to get it back) from medical'.

Mr Saleh explained that in Bangladeshi tradition, it is customary for the family to see the face of the deceased after they are wrapped in a cloth shroud - and in a profound act of worship - the face is shown and the 'dua' or prayer is said before the person's body is placed into the grave.

Arnima scored more than 97 in her HSC at Tempe High School before going on to study medicine at the University of Western Sydney and told her parents (above with Arnima) she planned to become a surgeon

Arnima's parents Abu and Mahafuza (pictured together above) have revealed the incredible story of the talented teenager who arrvied as a 9-year-old migrant, blitzed her HSC and was training to be a surgeon

Arnima's family said they have been informed that it was Zafar's mother who called emergency services to the flat.

Just two weeks ago Arnima, a studious but fun-loving 'Aussie girl' who weekly took her parents out for sushi and pies until she ceased contact with them six months ago, rang relatives in the US sounding upset.

'She told her uncle that he (Zafar) drank alcohol, but she did not want to because she was studying medicine,' Mr Hayat said.

'She wanted to be a surgeon and save lives.'

Arnima's parents do not believe recent reports that their daughter had recently married Meraj Zafar.

The traumatised couple, who moved to Australia in 2009 when Arnima was nine years old, said Zafar had been Arnima's first boyfriend and had convinced her to distance herself from her family.

Arnima's uncle (left), father Abu (centre) and mother Mahafuza (right) are devastated about her death and how they have been robbed of right to bury her in proper Bangladeshi manner

Arnima (above with her younger sister) loved music, driving, make-up, shopping for pretty clothes and eating out with her family every week before she met Meraj Zafar

Arnima's shocked parents say police have told them their daughter's body was allegedly immersed in a full bath of hydrochloric acid whcih destroyed all but one foot

'And everyone, her girlfriends too she stopped seeing,' said Mr Hayat, who had an unpleasant confrontation with Zafar last year after the 'big man' began seeing his 'small, sweet, very pretty' daughter.

Arnima - who scored 97 in her HSC after arriving from Bangladesh as a nine-year-old - went from being a normal, sociable teenager who regularly told her family how much she loved them to being withdrawn.

Mahafuza said her daughter 'loved movies, music, she liked driving and shopping and buying pretty clothes.'

'She loved make-up and she liked taking photos and selfies and videos,' she said.

Arnima had gone to primary school in Marrickville, and then went to Tempe High School where she excelled in maths and was popular among her peers.

Mr Hayat said his daughter quickly assimilated into Australia life after migrating from Bangladesh and became an 'excellent' English speaker and wanted to eat 'mostly western food'.

Police use an ultra violet light in the bathroom of ground floor flat where the remains of Arnima Hayat, 19, were found in the bath allegedly filled with hydrochloric acid

Police search through the bins beneath the North Parramatta apartment block where they made the grisly discovery on Sunday of 19-year-old Arnima Hayat

Arnima's grieving parents can hardly contemplate the end their loving daughter came to in the bathroom of the ground floor flat she shared with Meraj Zafar for three months

'She would say if I was going out 'Babu buy some pies for me'. Babu is 'father' in our tradition,' he said.

After graduating from Tempe High School, Arnima was admitted to the faculty of medicine at the University of Western Sydney.

Mr Hayat paid university fees for his daughter, who got a part-time job working at Kmart in Marrickville Metro shopping centre as a salesperson, two days a week.

Before meeting Zafar, each week Arnima would take her parents and her eight-year-old sister out to the shops and they would eat and shop together 'like a normal family'.

'Every week before she meet this guy, we go outside and have food and enjoy being a family. She loved KFC, iced coffee, ice-cream and Gong Cha tea,' he said.

The tragedy of Arnima Hyatt's death came to public notice after police released this image of Meraj Zafar driving his Fuso tipper truck (above) and issued an alert

Ms Akter said her daughter was 'a little religious', but did not wear a hijab and only wore a bright-coloured scarf or veil if she wore any head covering, because that was the style that Bangladeshi women adopted.

'She liked movies, she loved music, She was fluent in English, I am not,' Ms Akter said inside the family's Lakemba home.

'She was a very good girl. She was very good to her little sister. Her sister sees her on TikTok now and says 'I love you, I love you my sister'.'

The Hayat family decided to move for a better life in Australia after Bangladesh endured periods of political and religious unrest.

Mr Hayat came first in 2006 and was followed by his wife bringing a young Arnima, with their second daughter being born in Australia.

The Hayat family, above Arnima's father, mother and uncle, are now faced with the prospect of burying the 19-year-old without properly being able to observe Bangladeshi funeral rituals

Arnima was 'loving and never any trouble', Mr Hayat said, and then his daughter met Meraj Zafar, who is also Muslim, but his family is of Pakistani origin.

'I do not know how they met,' Mr Hayat said, but said he had one face-to-face confrontation with Zaraf and another on the phone.

When he sought advice from the police he was told 'nothing can be done because they are in love'.

He said that his wife's relatives in New York had told them that Arnima had said that 'sometimes this guy is good' but that she had experienced bad times with him.

Arnima's relationship with Zafar led her to cease contact completely with her family last October, the same time she moved into the North Parramatta apartment with Zafar where she died.

Mr Hayat said his daughter 'also lost contact with her friends' and that he and his wife were unable even to maintain contact by phone.

Police will allege the apprentice builder was seen on CCTV buying acid from Bunnings Northmead (pictured)

Since learning about the unimaginable tragedy which had befallen Arnima, the Hayat family has been in a state of disbelief, anger and grief.

Armina's mother has spent the hours crying and praying in their home and waiting until the teenager's body is released to them by the NSW Coroner's Court for burial.

The family has been flooded with condolences from Bangladeshi relatives around the world, from Arnima's work and university friends and a Tempe High School teacher had called to say the school wants to be present to farewell her.

Abu and Mahafuzer said Sydney's Bangladeshi community would gather in forced to support them when they bury Arnima, but that they had not family in Australia other than themselves, their younger daughter and Abu's brother.

Arnima's parents, Abu Hayat and Mahafuza Akter (above), came to Australia for a better life when their elder daughter was nine years old and said she had become an 'Aussie girl' who loved western food

'We want her to be remembered as a kind and beautiful girl,' Mr Hayat said.

'I hope we will get justice.'

Arnima's uncle Abu Saleh said the local Bangladeshi community had been rocked by the death of his niece.

Syed Zafar Hussain , the Editor-in-chief of Sada-e-Watan, Australia's leading Pakistani newspaper, said the allegations about Pakistani Australian Meraj Zafar - who was born in Lakemba but whose family came from the Pakistani city of Sialkot - had shocked his community.

'As a community leader, I can say that this tragedy does not reflect my community. No-one wants to believe this happened in the peaceful city of Sydney,' he said.

Meraj Zafar died not apply for bail and bail was formally refused in Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday and he was remanded in custody to appear via AVL in Parramatta Local Court on April 5.
A historic Dutch bridge will be dismantled to allow Jeff Bezos's newly-built superyacht to pass through, with the bill being footed by the Amazon billionaire.

The 400million, 417ft (127 metre) Y721 will be the biggest sailing yacht in the world when it is completed this year in the Netherlands, overtaking the current largest ocean-going passenger ship Sea Cloud.

It is currently being built at the Oceano shipyard in Alblasserdam in the west of the Netherlands, but in order to get out to sea the iconic Koningshavenbrug bridge in Rotterdam, known to locals as De Hef, will have to be dismantled.

The the iconic Koningshavenbrug bridge in Rotterdam, known to locals as De Hef will be dismantled to allow Jeff Bezos's newly-built superyacht to pass through, with the bill being footed by the Amazon billionaire

The 400million, 417ft Y721 will be the biggest sailing yacht in the world when it is completed this year in the Netherlands, overtaking the current largest ocean-going passenger ship

Bezos's ownership of the yacht was confirmed in the book Amazon Unbound, which described the boat as 'one of the finest sailing yachts in existence'. Pictured: Bezos (left) with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez

The Amazon founder's secretive yacht - a glimpse of which was caught in October - will feature three enormous masts and three decks, and it will be unable to fit under the bridge, even with its full clearance of 130ft (40 metres).

When the bridge was renovated in 2017, the local council pledged that it would never be dismantled again.

However, according to Dutch broadcaster Rijnmond, that promise is set to be broken to accommodate Bezos's giant ship, with the Amazon founder promising to cover the costs needed for the work.

De Hef was first built over the Nieuwe Maas river in 1927 and has been a key feature throughout Rotterdam's history since its construction.

In 1933, a Dutchman named Lou Vlasblom made a then-record breaking dive from the top of the bridge. Two weeks later, Jan Tabbernee died trying to match the stunt.

The bridge, characterised by its two towers and the green tint to its steel, was heavily damaged in 1940 during the bombardment of Rotterdam, and is now officially protected as a landmark.

Previous attempts to permanently demolish the bridge, such as one in 1993, were met with fierce resistance from locals, who succeeded in blocking the plan.

And for a brief period between 2014 and 2017, the De Hef lost its footbridge between the two towers, with the council promising to not dismantle it again.

Despite its iconic status, Oceano and Bezos have successfully lobbied the local council in order for the bridge to be dismantled to allow his yacht to pass.

Despite the bridge's iconic status, yacht builder Oceano and Bezos have successfully lobbied the local council in order for the bridge to be dismantled to allow his yacht to pass

The Amazon founder's secretive yacht will feature three 'enormous' masts and several decks. It is being built by custom yacht builder Oceanco and is thought to be based on the company's Black Pearl ship

Rijnmond reported that councillors agreed to the request despite facing opposition from local history experts and other residents.

Ton Wesselink, a member of the local history society Historisch Genootschap Roterodamum, told the broadcaster: 'Jobs are important, but there are limits with what you can and should do with our industrial heritage.'

But the leader of the project Marcel Walravens praised the council's decision, saying there was no other option, and hopes only have to remove the top section.

'This mainly concerns the passage of a ship with high masts through De Hef. At the Koninginnebrug we can press a button and it opens,' he said.

'That is not possible here, because De Hef has a maximum height. The only alternative is to take out the middle part.'

Walravens said that he hopes that, if managed well, the middle section of the bridge should only be removed for a single day to allow the yacht to pass through.

In October last year, the superyacht known as Y721 was rolled out of the Zwijndrecht shipyard, before being moved to Alblasserdam to be given its final fittings.

It is being built by Oceanco and is thought to be based on the company's Black Pearl ship, one of the largest and most ecological yachts in the world.

De Hef was first built over the Nieuwe Maas river in 1927 and has been a key feature throughout Rotterdam's history since its construction. The bridge was heavily damaged in 1940 during the bombardment of Rotterdam, and is now officially protected as a landmark

Pictured: The Black Pearl, the largest DynaRig sailing yacht in the world, with three 230ft tall (70 metre) carbon masts, and was built in 2018

The Black Pearl is the largest DynaRig sailing yacht in the world, with three 230ft tall (70 metre) carbon masts, and was built in 2018.

Bezos's ownership of it was confirmed in the book Amazon Unbound, which described the boat as 'one of the finest sailing yachts in existence'.

Bezos lost his place as the richest man in the world last year to space tech rival Elon Musk. He currently has a net worth of $175billion (130billion).
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The tide has turned for a seaside village deemed to be 'doomed' as house prices have tripled along the Welsh coastline - despite fears some 1,300 homes could be swept away by flooding.

Families feared the worst when it was warned that hundreds of properties would eventually be swallowed by waves in Fairbourne, because the government is to stop repairing sea defences.

But people are now flocking to buy houses and bungalows in the picturesque village with panoramic views over the sea.

Property site Rightmove says that in the past year, prices shot up by some 35 per cent in some areas.

It comes against warnings that sea walls and barriers in 48 areas round the coastline will only be maintained for the next 15 years before they are left to be battered by high tides.

But that has not stopped the stampede of people making the most of the sea views. Most purchasers are thought to be cash buyers as few lenders will offer mortgages in a place with a finite lifespan.

The tide has turned for a seaside village deemed to be 'doomed' as house prices have tripled along the Welsh coastline - despite fears some 1,300 homes could be swept away by flooding

Families feared the worst when it was warned that hundreds of properties would eventually be swallowed by waves in Fairbourne, because the government is to stop repairing sea defences

A two-bedroom, semi-detached house in Belgrave Road recently fetched 129,950 - having sold for 45,000 in 2002

Some increases were even more spectacular: a three-bedroom bungalow on Ffordd Corsen snapped up for 65,000 in April 2017, was sold for 195,000 last July

People are now flocking to buy houses and bungalows in the picturesque village with panoramic views over the sea

Most purchasers are thought to be cash buyers as few lenders will offer mortgages in a place with a finite lifespan

Another factor is thought to be second home and holiday let buyers - along with the recently retired who are happy to spend their pension pots without worrying about investment prospects

Property prices in the village have been rising since the start of the Covid pandemic and they gathered pace last year as Fairbourne enjoyed a staycation boom

Over the past 15 years, property prices in the village have swung violently. In 2014, its residents discovered they were to become Britain's first 'climate refugees', the local property market crashed

Over the past 15 years, property prices in the village have swung violently. In 2014, its residents discovered they were to become Britain's first 'climate refugees', the local property market crashed

There were concerns Fairbourne would become a 'ghost village', its homes and amenities left to deteriorate in the absence of habitation and investment. But the reverse has happened

Last year, according to Rightmove, the 15 properties sold in Fairbourne averaged 122,530, down 10% on the 2007 peak of 136,786

Gwynedd council says it can afford to maintain defences in the North Wales seaside town of Fairbourne, near Barmouth, for 40 years

But people wanting to buy in the village cannot get mortgages as companies want security for 60 years

The Welsh government's coastal plans have been drawn up with expert advice from specialist engineers and hydrologists and have been adopted by councils

Another factor is thought to be second home and holiday let buyers - along with the recently retired who are happy to spend their pension pots without worrying about investment prospects.

Property prices in the village have been rising since the start of the Covid pandemic and they gathered pace last year as Fairbourne enjoyed a staycation boom. It's estimated a quarter of the properties are now second and holiday homes.

One resident said: 'It is staggering how many homes are now holiday lets - I suppose it makes sense.

'If you can get 1,200-1,300-a-week for letting a property in the summer, you will soon cover its purchase price.'

Over the past 15 years, property prices in the village have swung violently.

In 2014, its residents discovered they were to become Britain's first 'climate refugees', the local property market crashed.

House sales fell through, mortgage offers were hurriedly withdrawn and prices slumped 40%.

There were concerns Fairbourne would become a 'ghost village', its homes and amenities left to deteriorate in the absence of habitation and investment.

But the reverse has happened. A two-bedroom, semi-detached house in Belgrave Road recently fetched 129,950 - having sold for 45,000 in 2002.

Some increases were even more spectacular: a three-bedroom bungalow on Ffordd Corsen snapped up for 65,000 in April 2017, was sold for 195,000 last July.

One retired doctor said: 'I could move to be nearer my son in England but house prices are much higher there and so are crime rates,' said the pensioner, who also asked not to be named.

'As a retired person, I want to live in a safe area and there is virtually no crime here. Fairbourne is also a vibrant community with lots of shops and amenities.'

Last year, according to Rightmove, the 15 properties sold in Fairbourne averaged 122,530, down 10% on the 2007 peak of 136,786.

Gwynedd council says it can afford to maintain defences in the North Wales seaside town of Fairbourne, near Barmouth, for 40 years.

But people wanting to buy in the village cannot get mortgages as companies want security for 60 years.

The Welsh government's coastal plans have been drawn up with expert advice from specialist engineers and hydrologists and have been adopted by councils.

The experts say it is financially unviable to maintain the sea defences.
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers have said her right to a fair trial was 'violated' by a juror who admitted to DailyMail.com that he described his own sexual abuse to the jury during deliberation.

Juror no. 50 Scotty Daivd, 35, first revealed in an interview with DailyMail.com that he told the jury he had been sexually abused during their deliberations.

He said that when he shared his story in the jury room on day three of deliberations, 'the room went silent.'

According to David his own sharing led a second juror to share their story. His experience, he said, allowed him to better understand the victims who testified and parlay that into a better understanding in jurors who were not convinced of the victims' credibility.

Maxwell's lawyers added that he corrupted the jury selection process in which the judge and attorneys question potential jurors to ascertain whether they can be impartial.

The lawyers wrote to Judge Alison Nathan in a letter on Tuesday to argue their motion for a new trial should remain sealed.

Maxwell, 60, was convicted of facilitating the sexual abuse of minors by her former partner, Jeffrey Epstein, on December 29. She faces 65 years in prison, meaning she could spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Maxwell was found guilty on five of six counts of sex trafficking - a spectacular downfall for the former London society girl who later moved into the highest circles of New York's social scene. Pictured: Maxwell with Epstein

Ghislaine Maxwell could spend the rest of her life behind bars after a jury convicted her of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by the late American financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein last month

She was found guilty on five of six counts of sex trafficking - a spectacular downfall for the former London society girl who later moved into the highest circles of New York's social scene.

Juror Scotty David told DailyMail.com that he told other jurors he had been sexually abused as a child which led Maxwell's attorneys to demand a new trial.

Maxwell's lawyers last week demanded a new trial after juror Scotty David, 35, revealed he had helped convict the former socialite by telling fellow jury members about his experience of sexual abuse

He first told DailyMail.com that he had not revealed this history during jury selection because it had not been asked on the juror questionnaire.

When it was pointed out that question 48 of the 50 asked exactly that question, he then claimed that he did not remember it but had answered all questions 'honestly.'

He told other outlets that he, 'flew through' the questionnaire.

He also revealed that a second juror had shared their own story of sexual abuse, a claim later verified by the juror who wished to remain anonymous.

He has claimed he can't recall how he answered questions about previous sex abuse that were given to potential jurors before the trial.

He told Reuters that he 'flew through' the questionnaire, but was sure that he answered the question truthfully.

DailyMail.com has already established that whatever David answered on the questionnaire it did not elicit any follow up questions at the interview or 'voir dire' stage of jury selection.

David told DailyMail.com, 'It was never raised. We went in front of the judge and there were all the lawyers in the room and that's where they asked me some questions. They asked me what I do, what I like to do for fun and if I can be fair and impartial. It was literally like 30 seconds long and then I was out of the room.'

Conversely when he shared his story in the jury room on day three of deliberations, he recalled 'the room went silent.'

According to David his own sharing led a second juror to share their story. His experience, he said, allowed him to better understand the victims who testified and parlay that into a better understanding in jurors who were not convinced of the victims' credibility.

In a court filing, Maxwell said that her sex trafficking conviction was a 'grievous wrong' because the jury was biased The filing comes hours ahead of an expected motion from the prosecution explaining why there should not be a retrial, as she is demanding

Maxwell's lawyers argue that unsealing their motion for a retrial would give Scotty David an 'improper' view of information he 'should never have' including his 'exact' questionnaire responses.

Maxwell's attorneys told the Mail on Sunday that they believe they found a third juror who lied about being abused, after a second unidentified juror told The New York Times that they, too, had been abused as a child.

The first juror to reveal their sexual abuse, David, said he couldn't remember how he answered a pre-trial question about his own sexual abuse history - casting doubt on the validity of Maxwell's conviction - and he has asked the judge to see his answers.

He has since retained lawyer Todd Spodek, who asked the court to provide the questionnaire, according to the New York Daily News. He could face perjury charges if he's found to have intentionally lied.

David, 35, has claimed that he used his experience being sexually assaulted to influence other jurors, saying: 'When I shared that, they were able to come around on the memory aspect of the sexual abuse.'

But video published by DailyMail.com revealed that David couldn't remember if the pre-trial questionnaire asked about sexual abuse history - which it did.

David told DailyMail.com that he was 'quite excited' to be selected for jury duty and that when he discovered that he had been called for selection for the Maxwell trial he was, 'shocked.'

He said, 'I thought this is incredible. If I get selected for this that would be an honor.'

He added, 'I honestly didn't know much about her or Jeffery Epstein going into it. I didn't know who Jeffery Epstein was until he died.'

Maxwell, who is said to have been Epstein's madam as well as his one-time girlfriend, is seen posing with the pedophile in evidence photos shown in court

Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three counts of conspiracy. She was found not guilty of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.

Maxwell was convicted after a month-long trial in which prosecutors maintained that she recruited and groomed teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004.

Maxwell once had a romantic relationship with Epstein, but later became his employee at his five residences, including a Manhattan mansion and a large estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Epstein took his own life at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited a trial on sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell's lawyers argued at trial that she was made into a scapegoat by federal prosecutors after his death.
A former photographer to stars including David Bowie, Rod Stewart and Barry Manilow has been convicted of harassing a family of Jewish bakers.

Leon Paul Lecash, 70, of Chelsea, west London, sent a series of abusive emails to members of the Rinkoff family, including his 64-year-old sister Esther, and in-laws Debora, Jennifer and Ray Rinkoff over a three-month period.

Lecash denied harassing the family and argued he was trying to obtain information as a filmmaker for a documentary, 'Bagels and Cyanide' and an autobiography he was working on called John Lennon Made Me Toast.

He claimed he was entitled to exercise his rights to Freedom of Expression, under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act but he was convicted of six counts of harassment.

But the presiding judge determined that Lecash, in sending a torrent of abusive emails to his own relatives, operated a 'campaign of revenge' against the Rinkoffs.

Lecash is credited with being the photographer on a number of iconic album covers from the Eighties, including Rod Stewarts Body Wishes LP, Barry Manilows Paradise Cafe, Jermaine Jacksons Dynamite and Crimes of Passion by Pat Banetar.

He also worked with David Bowie and Jefferson Airplane before becoming a TV and film producer.

Leon Paul LeCash was convicted of sending letters and emails to members of the Rinkoff baking dynasty including his 64-year-old sister Esther, Debora, Jennifer and Ray Rinkoff

Lecash denied harassing the family and argued he was trying to obtain information as a filmmaker for a documentary called 'Bagels and Cynaide' on the Rinkoff baking empire and an autobiography he was working on called John Lennon Made Me Toast

Lecash had replied to a police email one 24 January last year saying he would not send any more emails, but continued to do so, Westminster Magistrates Court heard. He was finally charged with harassment on 23 July.

Jonathan Bryan, prosecuting, said: Even if you come to the conclusion that Mr Lecash himself did not know what he did amounted to harassment, given the emails youve seen, any reasonable person would realise the number of emails and their content would amount to harassment.

Rinkoff's, established in 1911 by Ukrainian Jewish refugee Herman Rinkoff, is a family-run business based in the heart of the East End.

Others named in the harassment charges include lifestyle manager Sarah-Jane Adler and former friend and bakery supplier Geoffrey Kluman.

Mr Sundeep Pankhania, defending, argued that none of the complainants, including members of his family, asked LeCash to stop sending emails.

Mr Pankhania explained that LeCash was involved in a number of documentaries and writing a book called John Lennon Made Me Toast.

LeCash said: This book is about my life and a very important literary agent wants me to write it in London.

Lecash is credited with being the photographer on a number of iconic album covers. He also worked with David Bowie and Jefferson Airplane before becoming a TV and film producer

He explained that the book would involve family members and some or all of the allegations that have been put to them in the emails.

One of the documentaries Follow the Gr$d was about the death of bankrupt property tycoon Scot Young who died after he plunged to his death onto railings from his penthouse flat in 2014.

The second documentary was called Bagels and Cyanide, he told the court.

I had taken a hiatus from work for five years to single-handedly raise my daughter. The only way I could see of trying to make a living was to restart my TV company.

I needed to somehow make a living. I was looking for ways to make documentaries with information that was already in my head.

The point of sending emails was to get a response. I never got an email being sent back to me as blocked.

Lecash denied the fact that he knew what he was doing amounted to harassment.

Asked why he persistently emailed and didnt stop when he received no response, he said: Thats my technique, I dont take no for an answer.

I feel very strongly that I am totally entitled to contact as many people as I like if Im making a documentary.

If youre a producer you have to be completely tenacious.

The court also saw clips from emails, including one to his niece, Sarah-Jane Adler which said You are a total b****,

Mr Bryan, for the prosecution, said Lecash knew his actions would cause 'distress' to the Rinkoffs.

Abusing and insulting people is only going to produce two possible responses', he told the court.

One is either they tell you to stop or they go to the police which is what happened in this case.

Rinkoff's, established in 1911 by Ukrainian Jewish refugee Herman Rinkoff, is a family-run business based in the heart of the East End

My suggestion is that you must have known this was causing distress to the recipients of those emails anyone making those allegations using those insults would have called a great deal of distress to the recipients.'

Lecash replied: Every single creative person in the world has a different way of dealing with things.

I just felt that the truth had to be brought out. It was my total journalistic privilege to bring the truth out.

Wearing a brown checked shirt over a brown jumper, Lecash showed no emotion as Deputy District Judge Briony Clarke convicted him of six offences of harassment without violence.

Judge Clarke said: He says he didnt know his conduct amounted to harassment.

He said that he accepted that he knew the emails might cause distress he said that was the price he was willing to pay for the documentaries.

My judgement [given the volume, recipients, nature of the emails, and period of time] is that any reasonable person would think this course of conduct would amount to harassment of another.

It doesnt matter there was no official harassment warning given to him by the police.

Not once have I seen an email when any of the recipients had been asked to take part, contact him or be interviewed about it.

In actual fact this was a campaign of revenge on his family with whom he doesnt get on.

I also take the view, given what he has said, the defendant knew these emails and course of conduct would amount to harassment.

Rinkoff's bakery was established in the heart of London's East End in 1911 by master baker Hyman Rinkoff who fled the pogroms in Kiev, Ukraine. It's most recent invention was the 'crodough' (pictured), a blend between a croissant and a doughnut

The judge adjourned sentencing Lecash until a date to be fixed. He was granted bail on condition he does not contact any of the complainants.

Rinkoff's bakery was established in the heart of London's East End in 1911 by master baker Hyman Rinkoff who fled the pogroms in Kiev, Ukraine.

He initially opened his shop in Spitalfields, with his relatives living in flats above the bakery and working within his thriving business which flourished there until it was moved to Jubilee Street in 1971.

In 2016, Jennifer Rinkoff, the great-granddaughter of Herman, launched a hugely popular blend between a croissant and doughnut, dubbed the 'crodough'.
HARRISBURG  Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday said he wants to spend $1.7 billion of federal coronavirus aid on direct payments to workers and lower-income families, small-business support, and other parts of society in need of resources after two years of the pandemic.

A key piece of the proposal from Wolf, a Democrat, is a $500 million PA opportunity program. It would let workers, individuals and families with household incomes up to $80,000 apply for direct payments of up to $2,000 per household.

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The money could be used for child care or various other expenses, including paying for opportunities to complete a degree, credential or license, according to Wolf. He said senior citizens would be eligible.

Another piece of Wolfs overall proposal would run $225 million through a small-business grant program. First operated earlier in the pandemic, it was so popular it ran out of money.

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Those grants would run up to $50,000 each. Wolf said restaurants would be eligible to receive money.

Wolf said the federal aid was sitting around unused and he believed that was wrong.

We need to do something to address the needs of Pennsylvanians right now, Wolf, a Democrat, said as he asked the Republican-controlled General Assembly to act on the proposal. We should not do nothing.

The Wolf proposal drew widely different responses from top Republicans.

Lehigh County Republican Sen. Pat Browne  who as chair of the Appropriations Committee is a key figure in state budgeting issues  said Wolfs proposal should be considered.

There is room for discussion. The things he is talking about and referring to have merit, Browne said. The use of money for one-time needs in our communities has merit.

But three House leaders issued a statement that said the Wolf proposal was couched in a fiscal fantasy land where concern for future fiscal years apparently doesnt exist.

Speaker Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County, House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff of Centre County and Rep. Stan Saylor of York County, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, issued the statement.

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It said House Republicans during Wolfs seven-year tenure have held the line against progressive fiscal policies that would squander taxpayer resources at the expense of national Democratic talking points.

The budget process for 2022-23 is expected to begin next week. The House Republicans said they plan to help the state maintain a manageable financial position so it can grow in a responsible fashion.

Pennsylvania received $7 billion in federal relief during the pandemic.

Wolf said about $5 billion has been spent. The rest is American Rescue Plan Act money set aside in a special fund, separate from the states general fund.

Wolfs proposal to spend $1.7 billion of it immediately is in addition to the $200 million-plus program for front-line hospital nurses and workers approved by the General Assembly last week and signed into law by Wolf.

Specific spending proposals Wolf outlined Wednesday included:

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$500 million for the PA Opportunity Program and its direct payments to households.

$225 million for $5,000-$50,000 grants to small businesses to cover operating expenses and access technical assistance, including training and guidance to stabilize and relaunch businesses. Women- and minority-owned businesses and those in rural communities would get priority.

$204 million for the Property Tax Rent Rebate program, for a one-time bonus rebate to program users. It would double existing rebates and according to Wolf give an estimated 466,000 Pennsylvanians an additional $475.

$325 million related to health care. A further breakdown of that amount earmarks $250 million for long-term care recruiting and retention incentives and initiatives to grow the critical health care work force; $40 million for the behavioral health work force to expand county mental health programs; and $35 million to expand a student loan forgiveness program to include more critical health care workers.

$450 million for another round of the Growing Greener conservation and recreation program, and for agriculture conservation programs.

Referring to the business grant proposal, Tony Iannelli, president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, said some businesses hurt by the pandemic are still on the cusp of success or failure, and anything that could give them hope would be welcome.

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Democratic legislative leaders, including Sen. Jay Costa of Allegheny County, called the proposal impactful, comprehensive and timely.

Philadelphia Sen. Vincent Hughes singled out the small-business grant program for praise. He called the Pennsylvania program state of the art and said it has been copied by other states.

They caught hell during this pandemic and our job is to respond to them, Hughes said of those businesses.

The Republican vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Jesse Topper of Bedford County, said the American Rescue Plan Act money was set aside because it seemed unwise to make decisions on spending billions of dollars during the chaotic peak of the pandemic.

He said the Republican-controlled House would likely use the upcoming budget hearings to get into details of possible spending of coronavirus relief money.

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Wolf, who is in his final year in office, is scheduled to introduce his proposed 2022-23 budget next week.

Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com.
Twenty five thousand refugees are being housed by the UK Government at a cost of more than a million pounds a day, MPs were told today.

Home Office official Tricia Hayes made the admission today as she and Home Secretary Priti Patel faced questions over record levels of England Channel crossings.

Last month it was revealed migrants were staying in four-star hotel rooms at 125-a-night paid for by British taxpayers as the country braces for spiralling energy bills amid a cost of living crisis.

And Ms Patel today admitted that 'no one likes this policy of hotels' and pledged more money for local councils , it is obvious we need to pay more money to local authorities.'

The Home Secretary hit out at the Elysee after Macron accused his British counterparts of accused UK politicians of hypocrisy over fatalities in the busy waterway.

'We are absolutely struggling with local authorities finding housing accommodation, also we want to make sure that we can move people into work and employment. We want them to rebuild their lives here,' she said.

'So there is actually  a cross-government task force, we have a minister for resettlement that leads on this, but we are desperately still trying to pull together different component parts.'

Ms Patel also used the session in front of the Home Affairs Committee to clap back at French president Emmanuel Macron today over his 'absolutely wrong' claim that all Channel migrant deaths were the fault of the UK.

Emmanuel Macron (left), who is about to launch his campaign for re-election, said he will 'step up' the pressure on Boris Johnson (right) to establish a legal route to Britain for asylum seekers.

More than 200 migrants reached the UK in seven boats on January 26 as Border Force agents arrived into dover after picking up those who had crossed the Channel

Translator's family is forced to put their lives on hold Bahawar Mayar with his family Bahawar Mayar says that every day he and his family wake at their central London hotel and wonder if it will be their turn to be told where in the UK a home has been found for them. We wait and we hope, the former translator said. It is a strange time for us as until we know where we will live our lives are on hold, we cant make plans, we cant begin to build for the future. 'If only 4,000 have been found homes in five months then it means at the same rate we could still be waiting in a years time for a home. Mr Mayar, who translated for ex-prime minister David Cameron as well as for visiting diplomats, is living in the hotel with his wife Sheerina and children Mutjab, Husna, Samina, Adeena, Ghulam and Mustafa. Advertisement

The Home Secretary hit out at the Elysee after Macron accused his British counterparts of hypocrisy over fatalities in the busy waterway.

Macron, who is about to launch his campaign for re-election, said he will 'step up' the pressure on Boris Johnson to establish a legal route to Britain for asylum seekers.

He accused the Prime Minister of putting lives in danger because of his migration policy, with record numbers making the perilous journey across the Channel in dinghies.

'The responsibility for those who die at sea does not fall upon France but upon this British refusal,' Macron told French newspaper La Voix du Nord.

But facing the Home Affairs Committee today, Ms Patel said: 'Macron's comments are wrong. They're absolutely wrong. So, let me be very, very clear about that.

'Alongside that, I should also say that the French government, the entire French government - both the interior minister and President Macron - are fully aware through the very good work, actually, that our ambassador in Paris and her team does, in terms of number one: the co-operation that we have to have with France to combat the dangerous and unnecessary crossings, dealing with illegal migration, but also working with like-minded partners across Europe. So, those comments are just ... wrong.'

The French president said current rules encourage illegal migration and do not allow for asylum seekers to seek lawful ways into the country, pushing migrants to attempt the treacherous crossing instead.

'The British continue to have a system from the 1980s, which manages economic immigration through hypocrisy. There is no legal immigration route,' the French leader said.

He added: 'The British must articulate their needs in terms of the economy and reopen a path to legal asylum requests. We are going to step up the pressure.'

The row between France and Britain has rumbled on since the tragic sinking of a dinghy in November last year which led to the deaths of 27 migrants, with both countries placing the blame on the other.

After their deaths, Mr Johnson called on Mr Macron to take back those who had entered Britain illegally, with the British leader saying this would stop migrants from risking their lives crossing the Channel.

'Every day I feel worse' Faiz Mohammed Seddeqi says his mental health is deteriorating due to living in a hotel for five months. The 30-year-old former guard at the British Embassy in Kabul, who escaped with his wife Heley, 21, and seven-month-old son Abdul, said: Life in the hotel is not good at all. 'Every day I feel worse and worse. We have nothing to do. 'I want to leave as soon as possible. Advertisement

But Macron refused and is now pushing for a new agreement between the EU and the UK.

Under President Macron's proposal some migrants would be sent back to France after crossing. But in return British must allow an equal number of asylum seekers in.

It comes as it emerged that six times as many migrants crossed the Channel by boat in January compared with the same period last year.

UK authorities intercepted or rescued 1,341 people, making the perilous journey in 46 boats.

That compares to 223 in 15 boats last year and just 87 in eight boats during the first month of 2020.

The busiest day last month saw 271 migrants arrive in Dover, Kent which was more than in the entirety of January last year.

Three migrants died in Northern France attempting to reach the UK so far this year and 'it's likely that there have been at least two more', according to charity Care4Calais.

A spokesman for the charity which supports refugees in Europe and the UK tweeted: 'All this so early in the year brings home the dangers refugees face, and the appalling fact that our government will not act to stop it.

UK authorities intercepted or rescued 1,341 people making journey in 46 boats this month

'To caring people, these tragedies are unbearable; young men who have fled persecution, torture and death dying alone so far from their homes.

'The atrocious spectacle could be ended by the introduction of a system allowing refugees in France to claim asylum in the UK and and receive safe passage.'

The latest figures come amid reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given Home Secretary Priti Patel the go-ahead to develop new powers which would see every male migrant who crosses the Channel detained in a bid to contain the crisis.

According to Ms Patel, seven in ten people who make the perilous crossing to the UK are single men under 40.

She is working closely with Attorney-General Suella Braverman to establish what new powers would be needed to be approved by MPs in order to change the laws on detention.

The government is due to make an announcement next month as part of wider plans for the Royal Navy to take control of Channel crossings.

The busiest day last month saw 271 migrants arrive in Dover, Kent which was more than in the entirety of January 2021

The sinking of a boat in November last year which resulted in the death of 27 people prompted emergency talks between London and Paris as they sought to hammer out an agreement to stop the crossings.

Only two people of the 29 aboard the vessel on November 24 survived in what is believed to be the greatest loss of life from a single migrant crossing on the Channel. The youngest victim was just seven years old.

The deaths furthered the diplomatic row between Britain and France amid the record numbers of migrant crossings.

Macron last month addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg as France took over the presidency of the EU. He said the EU required a government in London that acts in 'good faith' and live up to agreements with the bloc.

He said: 'Ultimately we cannot solve this problem if the way in which migratory flows as seen from the British side doesn't change.

'Our British friends at the moment are trying to adopt an approach which is the one that prevailed at the start the 1980s is where you've got a level of acceptable economic illegal migration, you allow people to work without papers because it's helpful the economy, but that is doesn't take on board the reality of migratory flows now.

'Secondly, there need to be legal, stable routes to be able to migrate to the UK and this is a situation that we're confronted with. This is a dialogue that we need to pursue with the UK. It's a horrendous humanitarian situation but that's the reality.'

There have been no successful crossings since 39 people made the treacherous trip in one boat last Wednesday - with continuing bad weather set to scupper any attempts over the next few days.

A total of 28,381 migrants made the perilous journey across the Dover Strait in flimsy boats last year - dwarfing the 8,410 who arrived in 2020.

But Home Office officials have warned that this year could see more than 65,000 people arrive in the UK by small boat.

Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, Tom Pursglove MP, said: 'People fleeing persecution should seek safety in the first safe country they reach and not risk their lives paying criminal gangs to cross the Channel.

'This Government is reforming our approach to illegal entry to the UK and asylum by making the tough decisions to end the overt exploitation of our laws and its impact on UK taxpayers.

'The public have rightly had enough of the blatant disregard of our immigration laws and we are bringing in necessary long-term*changes.

'The Nationality and Borders Bill will make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introduce life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.'
Tens of thousands of troops have been ordered to spend a day 'reflecting on inclusivity' as military bosses say a 'tactical pause' will make the Army a more effective fighting force.

General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith told soldiers across the UK to stop training next Tuesday for six hours of lectures and group talks in their own units.

The ex-SAS commander will kick off the lengthy session - focusing on 'culture and inclusivity' while encouraging them to 'think differently' - with a speech from himself and his deputy, Christopher Tickell.

His introduction will be followed by an in-house 'setting the context' video and 'vignettes' giving both negative scenarios - where a group fails to be a team - as well as positive examples showing 'what can be achieved when getting it right'.

Teambuilding exercises have not been directed but commanders have been given the option to conduct any extra teamwork exercises they feel suitable on the day.

An Army spokesman told MailOnline: 'It is not the army being woke, it is the army addressing some of its unacceptable behaviours.'

'Unacceptable behaviours' refers to anything that falls short of the Army's values and standards, including drug and alcohol abuse, sexual harassment, bullying and racism.

The spokesman added: 'We identify that we're on a journey and a change of culture takes time and this is part of that journey.'

But ex-colonel Richard Kemp criticised the plan, describing it as a 'navel-gazing and virtue-signalling exercise', reported The Sun.

The pause in training comes amid escalating tensions over Russia amassing troops at the border of Ukraine.

Boris Johnson is looking at sending another 1,000 UK soldiers to strengthen Europe's borders, warning an invasion into Ukraine would be a 'tragedy'.

General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith (pictured above) told soldiers to stop training next Tuesday for six hours of lectures and group talks encouraging them to 'think differently'

Major General Paul Griffiths, head of Army personnel, said: 'The British Army's culture is built upon strong values, high standards and a sense of belonging to an effective fighting force.

'Just like any other professional organisation, we are continually striving to build stronger and more effective teams.

'On 8th February, the Army will stop non-essential tasks and really focus on developing the ideas and changes we all want to see in our service, in order to help make it the best possible place to build a career.

'Our operations will continue, of course.'

Attendance will be mandatory for all troops, unless they are deployed on missions or carrying out essential tasks.

Next week's session follows a string of misconduct scandals in the Army last year which led to Ben Wallace giving the generals an unprecedented lambasting.

Sir Carleton-Smith, Lt Gen Tickell and Lt Gen Ralph Wooddisse were among those summoned for the rare reprimand in November.

It was understood to be the first time in recent years that the Army Board had been called in by a Defence Secretary for such a telling off.

Mr Wallace, a former Army officer, was said to have become 'exasperated' over the generals' failure to maintain standards.

Last November, Kenyan police reopened their investigation into the murder of a young mother who was last seen with a British soldier from a nearby military base.

Attendance will be mandatory for all troops, unless they are deployed on missions or carrying out essential tasks (file photo of soldiers training in Aldershot)

Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was found in a septic tank behind the Lions Court Hotel in Nanyuki, close to the British Army Training Unit Kenya camp, two months after she disappeared in March 2012.

And a 19-year-old soldier who raped a female colleague and sexually assaulted two others was jailed in November for seven years.

Gunner Joshua Holt, formerly of the Royal Artillery, raped his fellow soldier after watching TV with her in her room, Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire was earlier told.

In August last year, a married Army instructor who raped a teenage recruit after telling her she would lose her job if she didn't do what he wanted was jailed for eight and a half years.

Corporal Thomas Biggs, 30, 'pressurised' the trainee, 18, into performing oral sex on him after getting her out of bed at 3am when he was drunk, a court martial heard at the time.
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Five Insulate Britain eco-zealots have finally been jailed for up to 42 days after causing mayhem on the M25 last year.

The activists, including four who glued themselves to the steps of the High Court yesterday and one who is already in jail, were sentenced in a landmark ruling this afternoon.

The judge slapped them with prison terms ranging from 24 to 42 days while another 11 were told not to re-offend within two years or they would be locked up over the chaos the group caused on October 29.

But three of the protesters were yesterday spared sentences as the application in their contempt of court cases was dismissed.

The ruling came after two eco-warriors staged a protest at the Royal Courts of Justice this morning by hanging a banner saying 'insulate or die'.

The protesters yelled 'time to act' as they hung the message from a viewing gallery to cheers from those facing the court below.

National Highways, the firm that manages England's major roads, had brought legal proceedings against the activists, accusing them of breaking an injunction from September meant to curb Insulate Britain's blockades.

Demonstrators draped the huge placard - which was black with white writing on it - from the balcony before it was ripped down

Theresa Norton, 63, Diana Warner, 62, El Litten, 35, and Steve Pritchard, 62, who glued themselves to the steps in defiance of the proceedings yesterday, were given between 24 and 42 days. They are pictured glued to the steps outside the court yesterday

Meanwhile Ben Taylor, 27, was jailed for 32 days. He was given six months in prison by the High Court in November

Pictured: Insulate Britain protesters at the High Court are pictured today, with Jessica Causby and others reading a speech after court proceedings

Sue Parfitt from Insulate Britain is pictured outside the Royal Courts of Justice today as members of the group faced legal proceedings

Who were the Insulate Britain activists in court this week and what did they get sentenced to? JAILED: Diana Warner, 62: 30 days

Ellie Litten, 35: 42 days

Stephen Pritchard, 62: 24 days

Theresa Norton, 63: 24 days

Ben Taylor, 27: 32 days SENTENCES SUSPENDED FOR TWO YEARS: Christian Rowe, 24: 60 days

Gabriella Ditton, 28: 42 days

David Nixon, 35: 42 days

Indigo Rumbelow, 27: 42 days

Stephanie Aylett, 27: 42 days

Ben Buse, 36: 40 days

Reverend Sue Parfitt, 79: 30 days

Ruth Jarman, 58: 30 days

Paul Sheeky, 46: 24 days

Biff Whipster, 54: 24 days

Stephen Gower, 55: 24 days LET OFF: Arne Springorum, 49

Liam Norton, 37

Jessica Causby, 25 Advertisement

Lord Justice William Davis, sitting with Mr Justice Johnson, sentenced protesters at a hearing in the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday afternoon.

Theresa Norton, 63, Dr Diana Warner, 62, El Litten, 35, and Steve Pritchard, 62, who glued themselves to the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice in defiance of the proceedings on Tuesday, were jailed for between 24 and 42 days, while Ben Taylor, 27, was jailed for 32 days.

The remaining protesters were given suspended sentences, but will be jailed if they breach the injunction within the next two years.

Biff Whipster, 54, Stephen Gower, 55, and Paul Sheeky, 46, were given 24-day terms; Ruth Jarman, 58 and Rev Sue Parfitt, 79, were given 30-day sentences; Ben Buse, 36, received a 40-day sentence; David Nixon, 35, Gabriella Ditton, 28, Indigo Rumbelow, 27, and Stephanie Aylett, 27, were given 42-day terms; and Christian Rowe, 24, received a 60-day sentence.

Lord Justice Davis said that the judges' ruling was not about reviewing the M25 injunction.

'We are simply concerned with the fact that an order was made by a court and a court order is to be obeyed,' he said.

'The rule of law would fall apart if people decided which orders and which laws they chose to abide by and which they did not.'

He said they were asked by Mr Pritchard earlier on Wednesday to 'exercise moral courage and imagination'.

The judge added: 'I emphasise, we are here to enforce a lawful court order ... what we are engaged in is in no sense a value judgment about the merits or demerits of Government policy in relation to climate change.

'This is a court of law, not of public policy.'

The judge said the four people who glued themselves to the steps of the court were not being punished for those actions, but he added that it 'does demonstrate their anxiety to continue the protest with which we are dealing today'.

Ms Norton, Dr Warner, Ms Litten and Mr Pritchard appeared in the courtroom dock after being taken into custody on Tuesday evening, alongside Mr Taylor who is still serving a six-month prison sentence imposed in November for a different injunction breach.

Lord Justice Davis noted that all the protesters admitted to being in breach of the injunction, adding: 'They all accept they did protest quite deliberately in an effort to disrupt the traffic on the motorway.'

He acknowledged they wanted to 'bring to public attention their very strong views about the need to attack climate change with particular reference to insulating homes in this country and fuel poverty'.

This was a 'legitimate basis' for protest, the judge said, but not to do so in breach of a court order.

Wednesday's ruling is the third time the High Court has handed out sentences to protesters over breaches of the court order, following hearings in November and December.

Nine of those in court had previously been committed for contempt in relation to the M25 order.

Mr Taylor's further sentence was objected to by a man sitting in court on Wednesday, who was asked to leave by court staff. 'He's already served three months. It's outrageous, he's in prison now,' the man shouted.

Insulate Britain supporters in the courtroom cheered and applauded at the end of proceedings as those in the dock were lead away.

The 19 who faced court this week are: Ruth Jarman 58, Dr Diana Warner 62, Jessica Causby 25, Stephen Gower 55, Liam Norton 37, Ben Taylor 27, Dr Ben Buse 36, Gabriella Ditton 28, Arne Springorum 49, Paul Sheeky 46, Theresa Norton 63, Stephanie Aylett 27, Indigo Rumbelow 27, Ellie Litten 35, David Nixon 35, Christian Rowe 24. , Biff Whipster 54, Rev Sue Parfitt 79, Steve Pritchard 62

'Ridiculous and sad': Eco-zealots blast ruling and call out 'unnecessarily suffering' of thousands 'dying in fuel poverty' Ben Taylor said: 'There is a lot I could say about this ridiculous and sad situation. That people are unnecessarily suffering in their millions and dying in their thousands in this country due to fuel poverty. 'Reducing CO2 emissions is something the government is legally obliged to do. Sir David King, the former chief scientific advisor to the government, said 'What we do in the next 3-4 years will determine the future of humanity'. I ask everyone in this courtroom to take the time to consider the gravity of our situation.' Theresa Norton said: 'A recent report by Scarborough borough council concluded that 25% of the residents I represent are living in fuel poverty. That's one quarter of my ward who either have to go cold or hungry every winter. Who cannot feed their families, children going to school hungry and struggling to learn. Who cares about them? 'Certainly not our local Tory MP, Sir Robert Goodwill, who has consistently voted against every motion that has come before him that would help alleviate the suffering of thousands of his constituents. I joined the Insulate Britain campaign because I've had enough. And until this government makes good on its own climate commitments I will continue to fight for climate and social justice for as long as I have the breath inside me.' Stephanie Aylett said: 'I am doing this not just for my children, but all of ours. The people of our world need to know the truth, and that truth will come with difficult and abrupt changes. The longer we fail to act, the greater the challenge that awaits our children. On our current path, their lives will be filled with food shortages, floods and war.' 'We focused on insulation, as our housing energy is responsible for around 16% of total emissions. Unfortunately, it was only by causing some disruption that we succeeded in prompting the media to focus on the issue of fuel poverty in the UK.' And Jarman said: 'I admit that I broke the injunction - it was a choice I made because I answer to a higher authority, that of love and life. 'I felt that not joining the Insulate Britain protests would make me a bystander to violence and complicit in the breakdown of abundant and civilised life. 'I am sorry for the impact of our protests on the people who were affected. I hate disrupting people and my actions were aiming to prevent the greater disruption of climate breakdown. So I do not regret breaking the injunction and I cannot promise not to do it again.' Advertisement

During the hearing, some of the activists read out mitigation statements to the court, bragging about the disruption they caused and defending it.

Taylor said: 'There is a lot I could say about this ridiculous and sad situation. That people are unnecessarily suffering in their millions and dying in their thousands in this country due to fuel poverty.'

'Reducing CO2 emissions is something the government is legally obliged to do. Sir David King, the former chief scientific advisor to the government, said 'What we do in the next 3-4 years will determine the future of humanity'. I ask everyone in this courtroom to take the time to consider the gravity of our situation.'

Norton said: 'A recent report by Scarborough borough council concluded that 25% of the residents I represent are living in fuel poverty. That's one quarter of my ward who either have to go cold or hungry every winter.

'Who cannot feed their families, children going to school hungry and struggling to learn. Who cares about them?

'Certainly not our local Tory MP, Sir Robert Goodwill, who has consistently voted against every motion that has come before him that would help alleviate the suffering of thousands of his constituents.

'I joined the Insulate Britain campaign because I've had enough. And until this government makes good on its own climate commitments I will continue to fight for climate and social justice for as long as I have the breath inside me.'

Aylett said: 'I am doing this not just for my children, but all of ours. The people of our world need to know the truth, and that truth will come with difficult and abrupt changes.

'The longer we fail to act, the greater the challenge that awaits our children. On our current path, their lives will be filled with food shortages, floods and war.'

'We focused on insulation, as our housing energy is responsible for around 16% of total emissions. Unfortunately, it was only by causing some disruption that we succeeded in prompting the media to focus on the issue of fuel poverty in the UK.'

And Jarman said: 'I admit that I broke the injunction - it was a choice I made because I answer to a higher authority, that of love and life.

'I felt that not joining the Insulate Britain protests would make me a bystander to violence and complicit in the breakdown of abundant and civilised life.

'I am sorry for the impact of our protests on the people who were affected. I hate disrupting people and my actions were aiming to prevent the greater disruption of climate breakdown. So I do not regret breaking the injunction and I cannot promise not to do it again.'

Earlier Arne Springorum, 49, whose case was dismissed yesterday, and a fellow activist known as 'Hannah Banner', 58, shouted 'time to act', and 'insulate Britain' from the balcony.

They yelled: 'I don't want to do this but I feel compelled to,' and 'take the climate crisis seriously'. Security guards removed the banner and urged the two protesters to leave, which was met by a applause from activists.

Mr Springorum is an expert in industrial energy who came from the Czech Republic to join Insulate Britain, leaving his wife and children behind.

Theresa Norton (left), 63, and Dr Diana Warner (right), 62, were arrested after gluing themselves together and refusing to attend a hearing at the High Court yesterday

El Litten, 35, was also among the group of protesters who glued themselves together as a show of 'resistance' outside the court yesterday

Legal proceedings against the protesters descended into farce yesterday as four activists glued themselves together outside the High Court.

Another three were told they could go free  despite two openly telling the judge they believed they had broken a court order banning the group from blocking the M25.

One of the group, Liam Norton, 37, said: 'I don't think I've got a leg to stand on. I was aware I was going to break the injunction.'

But Lord Justice William Davis dismissed the proceedings, saying: 'You're anxious for the opposite to be done. I'm very sorry but we as a court will not find someone guilty of contempt of court.'

All 19 defendants crammed into a courtroom in high-vis vests yesterday morning, including 79-year-old Anglican priest Rev Sue Parfitt. But hours later, four refused to return, saying they had a 'duty' to protest outside instead.

Labour councillor Norton, 63, retired GP Warner, 62, Litten, 35, and parish councillor Pritchard, 62, glued themselves to the steps at the entrance to the High Court.

They sent a note to the judges saying: 'The four of us feel we have to continue our resistance today because we don't want to cooperate with a system which is causing so much death and hardship.'

The four were later arrested by officers and were cheered by fellow protesters as they were led away, with the last of the four being removed by about 5.15pm.

Lord Justice Davis read out a note from the four, which said: 'The four of us feel we have to continue our resistance today because we don't want to cooperate with a system which is causing so much death and hardship.'

Earlier, High Court judges told three members of the eco-mob they were 'free to go' after concluding they had not breached the injunction during a protest at South Mimms roundabout by the M25 on November 2, 2021.

National Highways sought to bring contempt of court proceedings against Springorum, 49, Norton, 37, and Jessica Causby, 25, after they took part in a protest near the motorway on November 2 last year.

According to National Highways' written submissions, Springorum and Causby glued themselves to the pavement during their protest action, while Norton allegedly 'endangered the free flow of traffic'.

The demonstration was intended to block the M25 near Junction 23 at Bignells Corner, Potters Bar, but Lord Justice William Davis decided that area was not covered by the M25 injunction.

Jessica Causby (left), 25, and Arne Springorum (right), 49, were told they are 'free to go' yesterday after judges concluded they had not breached an injunction

Liam Norton (pictured) was also one of three members of Insulate Britain ruled not to have breached the injunction by High Court judges yesterday

He said: 'The application in their cases has been dismissed so there's no further reference to them in these proceedings.' The judge told the protesters that they were 'free to go'.

The other activists in court yesterday admitted or did not contest claims they breached a High Court injunction in relation to the protests between Junction 28 and 29 of the M25 on October 29 last year, according to National Highways' written arguments.

Owen Greenhall, who represented Causby, as well as Warner and Buse, said the latter two intended not to break the court injunction again after previously receiving a prison sentence in December for another breach.

He said Mr Buse had decided to 'move away from direct action' after seeing the impact of the earlier court proceedings on his family.

Warner, who was handed a two-month prison term in December and released from custody on January 14, will 'continue to do everything she can to help save lives', Mr Greenhall added.

Asking judges not to impose on her an immediate prison term, Mr Greenhall said the Bristol GP took 'conscientious actions'.

Some protesters in court wore orange hi-vis vests, while Mr Taylor appeared from the courtroom dock as he continues to serve a six-month prison sentence imposed in November for a different injunction breach.

Representing himself, he told the judges he had 'nothing to hide' and admitted breaching the injunction on October 29.

He said lockdown measures at HMP Thameside meant his prison time was 'much more severe'. Branding the injunction 'absurd', he said his ability to support his pregnant partner was also 'severely restricted'.

He told the court: 'I find it sickening, sad that people are unnecessarily suffering in their millions... increasingly in this country.'

He added there was a 'climate emergency' that 'our Government has openly recognised yet is not doing anything even remotely significant about'.

Gabriella Ditton, 28, addressed the court yesterday afternoon, telling Lord Justice Davis she was 'ashamed' she was not outside with her fellow activists.

She said her mother has terminal brain cancer and 'that's the thing that's stopping me from being outside with those people.

Ms Ditton added: 'I am not scared to go to prison. I am a lot more frightened about what happens if we don't act on this issue.

'But I'm absolutely terrified about my mum dying while I'm in prison and I'm ashamed of that cowardice. We've been lied to so much by people in power.

'Even so recently they've demonstrated that the rules do not apply to them. I cannot show remorse because I do not regret my action. I regret that cases like these are clogging up the judicial system that is already stretched.

'The purpose of the injunction is to allow people to go about their daily business.'

Insulate Britain began a wave of demonstrations last September which included blocking the M25 and other roads in London, including around Parliament, as well as roads in Birmingham, Manchester and Dover in Kent.

A series of High Court injunctions against its road blockades were granted to National Highways and Transport for London to prevent their disruptive protests.

Those who breach them could be found in contempt of court and face a maximum penalty of two years in prison or an unlimited fine as well as seizure of assets.



The offshoot from the Extinction Rebellion is calling on the UK Government to implement policy and funding for a national home insulation programme starting with all social housing.

It wants the UK government to promise to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain by 2025.

It wants it to produce 'within four months a legally binding national plan to fully fund and take responsibility for the full low energy and low carbon whole-house retrofit, with no externalised costs, of all homes in Britain by 2030 as part of a just transition to full decarbonisation of all parts of society and the economy'.
Cleo Smith's mother has claimed her daughter 'loves' her newfound fame, although she is still yet to understand why strangers recognise her in the street.

The four-year-old was abducted from a tent on October 16 while on a weekend family holiday at the Blowholes campsite in Western Australia.

Cleo quickly became perhaps the most well-known four-year-old in Australia and within two weeks her smiling face would become famous around the world as thousands joined the hunt to find her.

After her 18-day ordeal, footage of a detective carrying her out of abductor Terence Kelly's home to safety along with audio of the little girl telling officers 'my name is Cleo' rapidly went viral as the world rejoiced over her miraculous rescue.

Since being reunited with her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon, the family are often greeted in public by members of the community who closely followed their extraordinary story - and will likely be tuning in for their tell-all interview on Sunday, which bagged them $2million.

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Cleo Smith's mother Ellie (pictured) has revealed her daughter 'loves' the attention of being a world-renowned face as she is seen in a teaser trailer for Sunday's 60 Minutes interview

Ms Smith said her daughter is coping extremely well with the attention.

'She loves it,' Ms Smith said.

'We were in Perth and someone went up to her and said "hi Cleo", and she was like "Hi! Hello!'

But while excited by the affable encounter, the toddler was also slightly confused.

'We walked away, and she was like, "Mum, how does she know my name?"'

The update on Cleo's wellbeing were revealed in a preview of a 60 Minutes segment that will air on Sunday as Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon share their family's story for the first time.

Channel Nine reportedly offered the pair a $2million contract for the exclusive tell-all interview, which is believed to be an Australian television record.

The deal is also believed to include a Stan mini-series or documentary and stories across their websites and newspapers.

Ms Smith said Cleo (pictured after her rescue) gets excited by strangers stopping to greet her in the street

The four-year-old Carnarvon girl's disappearance and recovery made global headlines as people around the world celebrated her miraculous rescue (pictured)

Although the toddler is reportedly relishing the limelight, Daily Mail Australia last month exclusively revealed Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon were considering changing their daughter's name to shield her from the publicity.

The couple sought advice from other parents whose children have been unwittingly thrust into the spotlight after suffering comparable ordeals.

They inquired into how young victims of high-profile crimes recovered psychologically, including whether they underwent professional counselling and if their parents considered that process worthwhile.

'They're worried about the repercussions of the media and so forth down the track,' a source previously told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're worried about people making the connection later on down the line.'

Forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said it was a 'big call' to change a child's identity.

'There'd have to be fairly compelling reasons for that,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'I understand they don't want publicity, they don't want to draw attention to themselves, they want to blend into the community.

'But that has to be considered in the context of the age of the child, the child's sense of identity at that age.'

It remains unclear whether Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon are still considering taking that course of action, but based on the details so far shared by her parents, it seems the toddler is handling her celebrity status well - at least for now.

In another snippet of the program, Ms Smith also revealed, despite Cleo's traumatic experience, she was upbeat and very exited to see her parents when they were first reunited.

Ms Smith said her daughter's first words when police took the toddler to her family was 'Hi, mummy!'.

Mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon pictured appealing for information during a press conference while the four-year old was missing

Mimicking her daughter's enthusiam, Ms Smith replied: 'Hi baby!".

Ms Smith also told seasoned reporter Tara Brown she felt 'powerless' after waking to find her eldest daughter missing from her tent.

'I had to hope that she was close to me, but she wasn't,' Ms Smith said.

'It was just nightmare after nightmare.'

The sensational interview is expected to recount the toddler's disappearance and the successful search efforts and investigation that led to her recovery on November 3.

While her parents will relay their hellish experience, Cleo is not expected to front the cameras.

The deal is the highest amount paid for a television interview since Channel Nine paid Beaconsfield mine disaster survivors Brant Webb and Todd Russell $1million each in 2006 to recall their two weeks trapped in the underground mine.

Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon's decision to speak has sparked controversy, with WA Police - who are still in the process of prosecuting Cleo's abductor Terence Kelly - describing the TV special as 'highly inappropriate'.

It is understood police will not be providing any information to 60 Minutes or taking part.

Several officers close to the investigation told the publication the timing of the mini series is 'highly inappropriate for any episode to be airing prior to completion of the judicial process'.

The episodes are also set to be aired on streaming service Stan while the case remains before the court.

One source told the Western Australia it was 'almost contempt of court' for the program to air.

Ms Smith said her daughter said, 'Hi Mummy!' excitedly when the pair were reunited after the terrifying ordeal

Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, who was not known to Cleo's family, pleaded guilty to a single charge of child stealing on January 24

The deal has also caused a stir within the ranks at Nine after WA-based reporters were denied the chance of sitting down with the family, in favour of Brown.

Due to the state's border closures, Brown, who lives in Sydney, was unable to travel to Western Australia and was forced to conduct the interview over video calls.

The cost of the segment, which is reportedly a quarter of 60 Minutes' annual budget, further stoked outrage after the network recently underwent budget cuts.

The four-year-old's story captured hearts around the world who braced for the worst outcome and celebrated when she was extraordinarily found.

Bids for the sensational story began almost immediately after Cleo was found, with nine beating Channel Seven's Spotlight program to secure the deal.

Cleo was holidaying with family on October 16 at the Blowholes campsite, about 80km north of Carnarvon, when she vanished from her tent.

She had woken about 1.30am and asked for water but when her parents got up at 6am the little girl was gone.

Police are pictured at the Carnavon house where Cleo was found On November 3 after an 18-day hunt

Cleo Smith is not expected to feature in the exclusive interview when it hits the air waves on Sunday

An land, air and sea search failed to find any trace of Cleo. Five days after she went missing police announced they believed Cleo had been abducted and offered a $1million reward.

On November 3 police found Cleo alive and well inside a locked house at Carnarvon just minutes from her family home.

Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, was arrested nearby as Cleo was reunited with her parents and the nation celebrated what was described as both a miracle and outstanding police work.

Kelly, who was not known to Cleo's family, pleaded guilty to a single charge of child stealing on January 24.

The case will now be adjourned to the Perth District Court on March 20, where he will eventually be sentenced but ultimately avoid a criminal trial.

Kelly is yet to enter a plea to other charges.

My Name Is Cleo will premiere on February 6 at 8.30pm on Channel Nine and 9Now.
Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly expects another wave of Covid come this winter

The nation's chief medical officer has predicted Australia will be hit by another wave of Covid this winter.

Appearing before the Senate Covid committee on Wednesday, Professor Paul Kelly also ominously warned the 'end is not yet in sight' in terms of the virus and that the nation 'won't be leaving this pandemic for some time'.

'In the future, we will have more waves. I think we will have another wave of Omicron in winter,' Kelly said.

'But it will be very different because of the booster rollout, because of the availability of treatments and the clinical care that we have.

'The way we live with Covid is changing, has changed already.'

Professor Paul Kelly, the nation's chief medical officer, has predicted Australia will be hit by another wave of Covid this winter

Professor Kelly also warned the 'end is not yet in sight' and that we (Australia) 'won't be leaving this pandemic for some time' (pictured, a medical worker at the Bondi Beach testing centre)

The Senate Covid Committee also heard nearly three-quarters of people who have died from Covid-19 in Australia had a pre-existing health condition.

Professor Kelly told a parliamentary hearing that 71.2 per cent of all deaths from Covid until October last year also had a pre-existing health condition, such as diabetes, lung disease or heart disease.

Professor Kelly also said the most recent death figures only went up until the end of October 2021, and did not include deaths following the start of the Omicron outbreak late last year.

There have been more than 3,900 fatalities from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, with half of them occurring in the past two months.

It comes as the hearing was told the government did not foresee such a large demand for PCR tests as Covid infections spiked when the country reopened late last year.

A deputy secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet said while planning had been undertaken for increased cases, states requiring PCR tests for travel purposes weren't considered in the process.

'There were so many elements happening at the time, we certainly hadn't planned that an additional 20 per cent ask of that PCR system would be aligned to test to travel specifications,' Alison Frame told the Covid committee on Wednesday.

'The PCR testing system had performed very well with massively increased capacity in peaks and troughs.'

The Senate Covid Committee also heard nearly three-quarters of people who have died from Covid-19 in Australia had a pre-existing health condition such as diabetes, lung disease or heart disease

Deputy secretary Ms Frame said no one in the world had modelled how transmissible the Omicron variant would be, with suspected case increases as restrictions eased remaining manageable within the PCR system's surge capacity.

'The chief health officers in each jurisdiction said PCR testing was what they would continue to rely on because of the increased reliability of those tests,' she said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended his government's delayed purchase of rapid antigen tests, saying no health advice predicted a variant for which vaccines wouldn't work.

'Rapid antigen tests are not as good as PCR tests. In the Delta phase of the virus, PCR tests were the best thing to do,' he told the Seven Network.

'Omicron changed all of that and no country in the world could avoid Omicron.'

Scott Morrison (pictured) has defended his government's delayed purchase of rapid antigen tests late last year, stating no health advice predicted a variant for which vaccines wouldn't work

Meanwhile, the medical regulator has issued new guidelines for people using rapid antigen tests.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration said people should not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum for 10 to 30 minutes before collecting saliva for a rapid test due to the potential for an incorrect result.

Deaths continue to climb after what appears to have been the peak of the Omicron strain of the virus, with 27 recorded in NSW and 25 in Victoria on Wednesday.

There were also 16 deaths in Queensland and one in South Australia.

The deaths came among more than 11,800 and 14,550 new cases in NSW and Victoria respectively.

There were also 9,360 new cases in Queensland, 1723 in South Australia, 666 new infections in Tasmania and 549 in the ACT.
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Moscow today accused the U.S. of taking 'destructive steps' by deploying several thousand American troops to eastern Europe amid ongoing fears that Russia will invade Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden earlier today approved the deployment of 3,000 U.S. troops to the region 'in the coming days' after Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. and NATO of trying to lure him into a war in Ukraine.

The movements come as the West waits to see if Moscow will invade Ukraine after moving at least 130,000 troops, as well as tanks and missiles, to its border with Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed he does not intend to attack Kyiv.

But Moscow today accused the U.S. of taking 'destructive steps' by deploying US troops to eastern Europe and increasing military tension.

'Not substantiated by anyone, destructive steps which increase military tension and reduce scope for political decisions,' Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Interfax news agency.

It comes after RAF Typhoons were scrambled today to intercept four giant Russian bombers approaching UK airspace in the latest show of aggression by Putin as tensions escalate over Ukraine.

Russia also ramped up the rhetoric over Ukraine, branding Boris Johnson 'utterly confused' and slamming Liz Truss's 'poor geography knowledge'.

Russian army snipers from the Western Military District conduct an ambush on a mock enemy convoy during an exercise in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia on February 2

Russian T-72B3 tanks fire during military drills at the Golovenki training ground near Moscow, Russia, in footage released on February 2

Snipers change their position during a military exercise in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia, in a photo released on February 1

An undated photograph issued last November by the Ministry of Defence of a RAF fighter jet intercepting a Russian military aircraft approaching a UK area of interest

BREAKING NEWS | The RAF is conducting a 'Quick Reaction Alert' mission, currently involved in the operation to intercept an unknown aircraft is a Voyager tanker and Typhoon jet. Notably, two Portuguese F-16 jets have launched from RAF Lossiemouth. All heading north. pic.twitter.com/j5zZhD4E15  George Allison (@geoallison) February 2, 2022

US President Biden today approved the deployment of 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe 'in the coming days'.

Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday 2,000 troops stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina will deploy to Poland and Germany this week. Another 1,000 troops, who are part of a Germany-based infantry Stryker squadron will reposition to Romania at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) closest flank to Russia. They will add to the 900 U.S. forces already in Romania.

Kirby says France also intends to send troops to Romania.

'The current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on NATO's eastern flank,' Kirby told reporters during his Wednesday briefing. 'President Biden has been clear, the United States will respond to the growing threat to Europe's security and stability.

'Again, these are not permanent moves. They respond to current conditions. We will adjust our posture as those conditions evolve. We do not believe conflict is inevitable.'

Kirby stressed that the deployment was to demonstrate US commitment to the NATO alliance, and that no American troops would be sent to fight in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.

He said Moscow has shown 'no signs of being interested or willing to de-escalate.'

'Mr. Putin continues to add forces, combined arms, offensive capabilities, even over just the last 24 hours. He continues to add in western Russia and Belarus and... the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic.'

NATO welcomed the new US troop deployment, with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg saying 'NATO will do whatever is necessary to protect and defend all allies.'

Tensions have been further aggravated by plans for joint military exercises between Russia and neighboring Belarus, where Washington claims Moscow is preparing to send 30,000 troops.

It comes as Putin and Mr Johnson today discussed the Ukraine crisis and 'long-term' security guarantees for Moscow in a phone call.

'The unwillingness of NATO to adequately respond to the well-founded Russian concerns was noted,' the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin said NATO was 'hiding behind' its open-door policy that 'contradicts the fundamental principle of the indivisibility of security', the statement said.

It added that Putin accused Ukraine of the 'chronic sabotage' of the Minsk peace agreements signed in 2015 between Kyiv and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Since the start of the conflict, which has left 13,000 dead, the West has accused Russia of supplying military and financial help to the separatists, charges that Moscow rejects.

Tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine soared again today after multiple RAF Typhoons, which can hit speeds of more than 1,550mph, left RAF Lossiemouth in Moray to shadow two Russian Cold War-era Tu-95 Bear H and two Tu-142 Bear Fs. They also linked up with a Voyager refuelling aircraft from RAF Brize Norton.

The Quick Reaction Force 'intercepted and escorted' the four Russian aircraft and escorted them away from UK airspace, the RAF said. The Russian bombers did not enter UK sovereign airspace.

An RAF spokesman told MailOnline today: 'Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighters based at RAF Lossiemouth supported by a Voyager from RAF Brize Norton were scrambled today against unidentified aircraft approaching the UK area of interest. Subsequently we intercepted and escorted four Russian Bear aircraft.'

UK Defence Journal editor George Allison said the Voyager tanker was 'squawking' or transmitting code 1321 which means it is conducting a Nato air policing mission.

This type of mission 'aims to preserve the security of Alliance airspace', with Mr Allison saying that at least three bombers were in the air along with three tankers.

He added that an A-50 aircraft was also involved  and while two Portuguese F-16s were also seen launching from Lossiemouth, they were in fact headed to Iceland.

The RAF often intercepts aircraft approaching the 'UK area of interest'. In November 2021, jets were launched in response to Russian TU-160 Blackjack strategic bombers.

Officials said at the time the fighters escorted the Russian aircraft out of the 'area of interest', and that the bombers did not enter UK airspace.

A file photograph issued by the Ministry of Defence of a Typhoon fighter jet

Multiple Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray were involved in the mission today

RAF Eurofighter Typhoon Crew: 1/2 Length: 52 ft Wingspan: 35 ft Empty weight: 24,251 lb Gross weight: 35,274 lb Max takeoff weight: 51,809 lb Powerplant: 2 x Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofan engines Maxi speed: 1,320 mph Range: 1,800 miles Combat range: 863 miles Service ceiling: 65,000 ft Armaments: Guns: 1 x 27 mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 150 rounds Hardpoints: Total of 13, 8 x under-wing; and 5 x under-fuselage pylon stations; holding in excess of 19,800 lb of payload. Advertisement

It came as Russia fired a fresh salvo in the war of words over Ukraine with a series of barbs at UK politicians.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said the Russian President is ready to provide explanations on the situation in eastern Europe 'even to someone who is utterly confused' after Mr Johnson cancelled a call with the Kremlin on Monday.

And Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, took aim at Ms Truss after she mistakenly said that Britain will support 'our Baltic allies across the Black Sea' - two different bodies of water more than 700 miles apart.

'Mrs Truss, your knowledge of history is nothing compared to your knowledge of geography,' she wrote in a blog post.

'If anyone needs saving from anything, it's the world, from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians.'

Russia has the UK in its sights since Westminster began lending military support to Ukraine, sending hundreds of anti-tank missiles to Kiev to deter a Russian attack.

Tensions ramped up further this week, when Boris Johnson cancelled a call with Vladimir Putin on Monday in order to defend himself against allegations of breaking lockdown rules in parliament.

Mr Johnson then flew to Kiev yesterday where he lent his full-throated support to President Zelensky - threatening to sanction Moscow if 'even one toe cap' crosses the border into Ukraine.

Asked about the cancelled call on Wednesday, Mr Peskov shot back: 'As you know, we have not announced any call with Prime Minister Johnson, and are not going to announce it any further.

'It makes sense to speak to anybody. Russia and President Putin are open to communicating with everyone. Even to someone who is utterly confused, he is prepared to provide exhaustive explanations,' he added.

Boris Johnson has been branded 'utterly confused' by Putin's spokesman after travelling to Kiev to support the Ukrainian government (pictured)

Liz Truss was slammed for 'poor geography knowledge' after vowing to support Britain's 'Baltic allies across the Black Sea' (file image)

Mr Peskov also gave White House spokesman Jen Psaki a tongue-lashing, after she compared Russia to a fox standing on a hen house screaming that it is being threatened by chickens.

'It's always traditional to compare Russia to a bear. But a bear can't stand on a chicken coop. It is too big and heavy,' he said.

The swipes came a day after Putin spoke about the Ukraine crisis publicly for the first time this year, accusing Washington of trying to lure Moscow into war by insisting on the possibility that Kyiv could join NATO one day.

'It's already clear now ... that fundamental Russian concerns were ignored,' Putin said on Tuesday.

He described a potential future scenario in which Ukraine was admitted to NATO and then attempted to recapture the Crimea peninsula, territory Russia seized in 2014.

'Are we supposed to go to war with the NATO bloc? Has anyone given that any thought? Apparently not,' he said.

Washington and its allies have said they will not send troops to protect Ukraine from a Russian attack, but would send arms to help Ukrainians defend themselves and respond with financial sanctions against Moscow.

Russia has been massing its forces around Ukraine for the last two months, holding a series of unannounced combat drills as it ramps up the pressure

Russian tanks take part in preparatory training drills in Belarus today, ahead of much larger exercises due to start next week

Russia, which is still Europe's main energy supplier despite being under U.S. and EU sanctions since annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has brushed off additional sanctions as an empty threat.

Peskov said Washington's behaviour was unpredictable, and Moscow was taking steps to mitigate the effect of sanctions.

Washington and its NATO allies have offered to open talks with Moscow on arms control and trust-building measures to defuse the Ukraine stand-off, according to copies of letters sent to Vladimir Putin that leaked today.

The proposals, set out in missives by NATO and the United States last month in response to Russian demands, lay out in detail areas for future talks - including on nuclear weapons, the deployment of shot and medium-range missiles in Europe, military drills, cyber attacks, and space weapons.

Both letters clearly state that Ukraine will not be banned from joining NATO, and make no reference to Russia's demand that all forces are withdrawn from ex-Soviet states.

The letters do not exclude the possibility of forces being scaled down, but make it clear that this would only happen if Russia makes reciprocal moves - for example by withdrawing forces from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

They also note that, if Putin continues massing forces on Europe's doorstep, then NATO and the US will be 'forced' to increase their own deployments in response.

Both NATO and Russia have refused to comment on the authenticity of the documents, which leaked to Spanish media. They emerged as satellite images showed Putin continuing to mass troops near Ukraine and in Crimea.

A NATO official refused to confirm the text, saying: 'We never comment on alleged leaks.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was aware of the report but added: 'We didn't publish anything, and I don't want to comment on this.'

President Vladimir Putin's government has deployed a huge force of up to 130,000 troops backed by tanks and artillery near the Ukraine border and in Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia annexed in 2014.

The Kremlin has since demanded that NATO guarantee that Kiev never be allowed to join and that the alliance withdraw forces from eastern member states that were Soviet allies or republics during the Cold War.

Western allies have dismissed calls to slam shut NATO's door, but the leaked letters call for 'meaningful arms control discussions and dialogue with Russia on mutual transparency and confidence-building measures.'

Russian army snipers from the Western Military District conduct an ambush on a mock enemy convoy during an exercise in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia, on February 2

A view of the Osipovichi training ground near Mogilev, in Belarus, shows Russian mobile missile launchers (centre) parked up alongside tents housing their crews (top) as war games in the region get underway

Russian battle groups are shown camped out in tents at the Pogonovo Training Area, just south of the city of Voronezh, which sits around 100 miles north of the Ukraine border

Tents and surrounding ground chewed up by vehicle tracks are seen at a Russian base in Angarsky, Crimea, on Tuesday

Tents and armored vehicles are seen at Russia's Opuk Training Area in occupied Crimea on Tuesday

'No other partner has been offered a comparable relationship or a similar institutional framework,' the allies said of the NATO-Russia council, in the letter released by El Pais.

'Yet Russia has broken the trust at the core of our cooperation and challenged the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture,' it says.

The US document stresses: 'We are ready to consider arrangements or agreements with Russia on issues of bilateral concern, to include written, signed instruments, to address our respective security concerns.'

It suggests renewing the US-Russian Strategic Stability Dialogue on arms control agreements to 'limit ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles and their launchers'.

But it repeats Washington's warning that Russia is already in breach of the now suspended 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019, accusing Moscow of deploying a banned type of missile.

And it warns: 'Further Russian increases in force posture or further aggression against Ukraine will force the United States and our Allies to strengthen our defensive posture.'

The leak emerged after Putin accused the US of trying to draw Russia into a war in Ukraine as a pretext for imposing harsh sanctions on his country.

The Russian president charged Washington with using Ukraine as an 'instrument' to bully Russia and 'contain' its development, while ignoring legitimate security fears.

A satellite picture shows Russian armoured forces massed at a base in Yelnya, around 150 miles from Ukraine, on January 19

Troop tents and armoured vehicles are pictured at Russia's Yevpatoriya base in occupied Crimea on Tuesday

Putin, who has rarely spoken since the Ukraine standoff began in November, said on Tuesday that he hopes a diplomatic solution to the crisis can still be found.

But, he added, that will only happen if the 'interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, European nations and Russia' are respected.

Putin issued a rare statement on the crisis Tuesday, speaking after a meeting with Hungary's Viktor Orban - a member of NATO - in Moscow.

He said the Kremlin is still studying written responses that Washington and NATO gave to his security demands, but said it is clear that most of Russia's concerns are being ignored.

Putin argued that it's possible to negotiate an end to the standoff if the interests of all parties, including Russia's security concerns, are taken into account.

'I hope that we will eventually find a solution, although we realize that it's not going to be easy,' he said.

Putin said the Western allies' refusal to meet Russia's demands violates their obligations on the integrity of security for all nations.

He warned that a Ukrainian accession to NATO could lead to a situation where Ukraine launches military action to reclaim control over Russian-annexed Crimea or areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists in the country's east.

'Imagine that Ukraine becomes a NATO member and launches those military operations,' Putin said. 'Should we fight NATO then? Has anyone thought about it?'

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 following the ouster of the country's Moscow-friendly president and later threw its weight behind rebels in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, triggering a conflict that has killed over 14,000 people.

Putin charged that while the US airs concerns about Ukraine's security, it is using the ex-Soviet country as an 'instrument' in its efforts to contain Russia.

He alleged that Washington may try to 'draw us into a military conflict and force its allies in Europe to impose the tough sanctions the U.S. is talking about now.'

Another option would be to 'draw Ukraine into NATO, deploy offensive weapons there' and encourage Ukrainian nationalists to use force to reclaim the rebel-held east or Crimea, 'drawing us into a military conflict.'

'We need to find a way to ensure interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, European nations and Russia,' Putin said, emphasizing that the West needs to treat Russian proposals seriously to make progress.

He said French President Emmanuel Macron may soon visit Moscow as part of renewed diplomatic efforts following their call on Monday.

Boris Johnson speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine during a diplomatic visit on Tuesday

The UK has thrown its weight behind Ukraine since the crisis started, flying out anti-tank missiles and deploying extra forces to eastern Europe

Earlier this week, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sent letters to the U.S. and other Western counterparts pointing out obligations signed by all members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Russia argues that NATO's expansion eastward has hurt Russia's security, violating the principle of 'indivisibility of security' endorsed by the OSCE in 1999 and 2010.

It says the U.S. and its allies have ignored the principle that the security of one nation should not be strengthened at the expense of others, while insisting on every nation's right to choose alliances.

In his letter, which was released by the foreign ministry, Lavrov said 'there must be security for all or there will be no security for anyone.'

In a separate call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Lavrov warned that Moscow will not allow Washington to 'hush up' the issue.

Blinken, meanwhile, emphasized 'the U.S. willingness, bilaterally and together with Allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns.'

However, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken was resolute in 'the U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances.'

Blinken 'urged immediate Russian de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine's borders,' Price said.

He reaffirmed that 'further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path.'

A Ukrainian soldier is seen patrolling a trench near the frontlines with Russian-backed rebels

T-64 tanks covered by snow stand at the depot site at the Tank Repair Plant in Kharkiv, Ukraine

A bullet riddled effigy of Russian President Vladimir Putin is coated by fresh snow at a frontline position in the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine

A Belgian Air Force F-16 is seen at Amari Air Base, Estonia, after Russian aircraft flew into the country's airspace on Tuesday

Senior State Department officials described the call as professional and 'fairly candid,' noting that if Russia wanted to prove it isn't going to invade Ukraine, it should withdraw its troops from the border and neighboring Belarus.

Shortly after speaking to Lavrov, Blinken convened a conference call with the secretary general of NATO, the EU foreign policy chief and the chairman-in-office of the OSCE as part of efforts to ensure that the allies are engaged in any further contacts with Russia.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said the U.S. statement about its readiness for dialogue 'doesn't correlate' with Washington sending planeloads of military equipment to Ukraine.

'I don't know why the U.S. is escalating tensions and at the same time accusing Russia,' he said.
A Russian man has been arrested on suspicion of flying a drone over the private residence of the Swedish royal family, police have said.

The suspect, who is reportedly a Russian male in his 40s, was arrested at around 1 pm on Sunday after allegedly operating the drone near Drottningholm Palace, the residence of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, near Stockholm.

The incident comes amid rising tensions between the West and Moscow after Russian President Vladimir Putin moved more than 100,000 troops, as well as tanks and missiles, close to its border with Ukraine.

On Monday, Swedish police spokesman Ola Osterling told AFP: 'We just confirm that it was a man who was arrested yesterday.'

A police spokesperson told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that the man is suspected of violating Sweden's Protective Security Act, which protects public agencies against 'espionage, sabotage, terrorist offences'.

The Russian suspect was arrested at around 1 pm on Sunday after allegedly flying the drone near Drottningholm Palace (pictured) in Sweden

Elsewhere another police spokesperson told Sverige Radio the unidentified man was suspected of 'unauthorised access to protected objects.'

Swedish Police did not confirm the nationality of the man but Aftonbladet identified him as a Russian man in his 40s.

The man's arrest comes amid a spate of reported drone flights over sensitive areas, including nuclear power plants, in the country.

Last month a drone was spotted flying over the Forsmark nuclear plant in Sweden - sparking an investigation by Sweden's security service.

Security agency Sapo confirmed they were conducting investigations but refused to give details on who was behind it or the type of drone that had been used.

Sapo official Fredrik Hultgren told the BBC: 'The security service is conducting the investigation regarding the drone flights over our nuclear plants.

'Regarding other drone observations it's so far a matter for the police.'

In another incident a 'military drone' was seen flying over the Swedish parliament and government buildings as well as the royal palace in central Stockholm in mid-January.

The drone was spotted flying over the private residence of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia (pictured together in 2020)

Last month Sweden's security service began an investigation after a drone was spotted flying over the Forsmark nuclear plant (pictured) in Sweden

These incidents themselves came after armoured vehicles and dozens of armed soldiers were deployed in the streets of Visby, a port city on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, in an unusual move in response to increased 'Russian activity' in the region.

However, police also told newspaper Dagens Nyheter that among some 200 incidents of suspicious drone flights no signs of foreign activity had been discovered.

The latest incident come after Russia said western warnings that Moscow was ready to invade Ukraine were 'completely ridiculous' and blamed NATO for increasing tensions in the region.

The region has been on a knife-edge since the end of last year when Russian President Vladimir Putin moved more than 100,000 troops close to its border with Ukraine.

And tensions have ramped up in recent weeks after a surge in troop movements, among them military police, from the extreme east of Russia to the border, prompting the West to warn that Moscow intends to invade.

However head of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, rejected those warnings of an impending invasion, describing them as 'ridiculous'.

'At this time, they're saying that Russia threatens Ukraine - that's completely ridiculous,' Patrushev was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency Tass. 'We don't want war and we don't need it at all.'
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has called for Facebook and other US firms to be 'broken up' for 'sabotaging' the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic by being complicit in spreading 'disinformation'.

The Democratic Senator for New York also argued that the tech giant, which recently changed its name to Meta, should be subject to anti-trust action for its 'corrosive abuse of democracy' and role in 'contributing to and accelerating social violence'.

Facebook and other social media goliaths like Twitter have been criticized over the past 18 months for providing a platform to spread what some perceive as false information about the virus.

But there are numerous examples of the same social media networks introducing blanket, seemingly arbitrary bans on reputable scientists as well as politicians challenging the official response to Covid-19.

The progressive lawmaker's latest tirade against Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook and other US firms comes a day after she returned to Twitter, having declared less than 24 hours before that she was taking a break from the platform due to 'negative comments that caused anxiety'.

AOC has one of the largest social media followings of any US politician with close to 13 million followers on Twitter, 8.5 million followers on Instagram and over a million subscribers on Facebook.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a MailOnline request for comment.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has called for Facebook and other US firms to be 'broken up' for 'sabotaging' the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic for being complicit in spreading 'disinformation' (AOC pictured during interview with Yahoo! Finance)

Facebook and other social media goliaths like Twitter have been criticized over the past 18 months for providing a platform to spread what some perceive as false information about the virus (Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pictured)

The Democratic Senator for New York also argued that the tech giant, which recently changed its name to Meta, should be subject to anti-trust action for its 'corrosive abuse of democracy' and role in 'contributing to and accelerating social violence' (a woman holds smartphone with Facebook logo in front of a displayed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta)

The interview with Yahoo! Finance's Andy Serwer published last night saw AOC rip into Facebook and other unnamed 'US firms' for their handling of the pandemic.

'There are things we want the United States to stop exporting and one of those things is disinformation  disinformation through US-founded companies like Facebook that have absolutely slowed and frankly sabotaged the global effort to fight against the coronavirus,' she declared.

'Facebook should be broken up,' the lawmaker continued. 'They're an advertiser. They are acting as both platform and vendor. They are a communication platform, which has historically been a well established domain of antitrust.'

AOC drew ire for her Covid rhetoric just weeks ago when she was pictured maskless at multiple social engagements during a trip to Miami in Florida.

Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order banning local government from enforcing face mask rules across the State, AOC has long campaigned for tougher restrictions and has argued that other states should adopt the wildly unpopular Covid measures currently in place in New York.

AOC has one of the largest social media followings of any US politician with close to 13 million followers on Twitter, 8.5 million followers on Instagram and over a million subscribers on Facebook

It comes as a total of 72 percent of surveyed Americans say they are wary about how Facebook manages personal data in a poll that also reflects distrust of other social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and WhatsApp - with the latter two also owned by Facebook parent company Meta.

Just 20 percent of people said they trust Facebook 'a great deal,' with another 72 percent of the 1,100 surveyed by The Washington Post expressing distrust of the social networking giant; eight percent of people did not offer an opinion.

Meanwhile, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen in October 2021 leaked thousands of documents which showed that the social media giant had gathered extensive evidence of coronavirus misinformation on its platform, but chose not to disclose this to the public.

Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen came forward in October with thousands of damaging internal documents from Facebook (Haugen pictured during a hearing before the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of House Energy and Commerce Committee December 1, 2021)

AOC drew ire for her Covid rhetoric just weeks ago when she was pictured maskless at multiple social engagements during a trip to Miami in Florida. Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order banning local government from enforcing face mask rules across the State, AOC has long campaigned for tougher restrictions and has argued that other states should adopt the wildly unpopular Covid measures currently in place in New York (AOC pictured December 2021)

Facebook spokesperson Aaron Simpson responded to the news in October, telling the Washington Post: 'There's no silver bullet to fighting misinformation, which is why we take a comprehensive approach which includes removing more than 20 million pieces of content that break our covid misinformation policies.

'[Facebook] connects more than 2 billion people to reliable information about covid-19 and vaccines, and partnering with independent fact-checkers.'

CEO Mark Zuckerberg also offered a sharp-elbowed response, refusing to apologize publicly and instead changing the company's name to Meta to highlight his focus on building a virtual reality metaverse.

'When our work is being mischaracterized, we're not going to apologize,' a Facebook spokesman told the Wall Street Journal. 'We're going to defend our record.'

But Samidh Chakrabarti, who founded Facebook's civic-integrity team and left the company in September, became an outspoken critic on Twitter following the revelations.

'Meta's disingenuous spin of the FB Files as a partisan conspiracy isn't just incorrect, but is another example of short-term thinking,' he wrote.

'Might forestall regulation for now, but makes it harder to get new recruits to sign offers without some level of shame.'

Zuckerberg V Biden: Facebook hit back at President Biden after he accused the company of 'killing people' by allowing misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine to circulate on its platform

Facebook VP Guy Rosen was quick to refute the accusations from Biden that misinformation on Facebook was 'killing people'

In November, Chakrabarti continued to criticize Facebook for its lack of transparency: It's been ~6 weeks since I left FB, and since then I've tried to bring deeper understanding to the complex issues the company faces. Some tweets have been supportive and others skeptical. But I now understand why so many ex-employees avoid saying anything vaguely critical.'

Facebook's role in the distribution of Covid information was brought to the fore in July when Joe Biden accused social media platforms of 'killing people' through the spread of vaccine misinformation.

At the time, Facebook VP Guy Rosen was quick to refute the accusation, arguing that vaccine acceptance among Facebook users had increased since the previous January and advocating instead for a 'whole of society' approach to ending the pandemic.

Rosen bit back sharply, writing that '85 per cent of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

'President Biden's goal was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed.'
A church court will determine if a memorial to a 17th century Cambridge University benefactor who invested in slave-trading companies can remain in one of its historic college's chapel.

The ornate memorial to Tobias Rustat, a servant to King Charles II and investor in the Royal African Company which transported 'more enslaved Africans to the Americas than any other institution', has been criticised by university bosses.

Jesus College has submitted an application to the Diocese of Ely to relocate Rustat's marble bust from its chapel to a permanent exhibition space in the college because it is 'incompatible with the chapel as an inclusive community and a place of collective wellbeing'.

The college accused Rustat of having 'financial and administrative involvement in the trading of enslaved human beings over a substantial period of time'.

Academics within the college and Cambridge's Stand Up to Racism branch have backed plans to move the marble plaque to an archive room with further information giving placing it within a historical context.

But because Rustat's memorial resides in a Grade I-listed religious building, the case cannot be independently determined by the university and instead will be heard by a church-appointed judge at a consistory case.

The unique hearing, which opened today, is set to determine the fate of the monument to Rustat - who donated 2,000, the equivalent to 450,000 today, to fund scholarships for the children of Anglican priests.

Justin Gau, speaking for 65 alumni opposed to the removal, asked the court 'where, for example, in the gospels is slavery condemned?' during Wednesday's hearing.

Reverend James Crockford, the college's dean of the chapel, shot back at the barrister and warned students may not be able to exercise 'critical thinking' if they are disturbed by the memorial.

Preservationists, alumni and Rustat's descendants have opposed the removal of the memorial - arguing that his contributions to Cambridge were not earned from his financial interests in the slave trade.

And Historic England warned the removal of Rustat's sculpture would 'harm the significance of Jesus College Chapel'.

The case has prompted fresh fears over the proliferation of 'cancel culture' at academic institutions across the country, as the university's historic rival, Oxford, faced similar calls to topple its monument to imperialist Cecil Rhodes.

Cambridge University's Jesus College proposes removing the memorial to 17th benefactor Tobias Rustat from the chapel

Jesus College set up a Legacy of Slavery Working Party, which recommended Rustat should not be celebrated by the college

Justin Gau argued on Wednesday that Rustat must be judged 'as a whole and as part of his society', before warning that we 'should not remove the difficulties that life throws at us in a chapel.'

Reading from students' emails that accused the 17th century courtier of being an active slave trader, Mr Gau challenged that assumption, stating there had been 'no demonstration in any document that Tobias Rustat was any sort of slave trader'.

A student's email dated December 19, 2020 said Mr Rustat 'amassed much of his wealth from the RAC', which Mr Gau said is 'simply not true'.

The email continued: 'The college has clearly denounced its bequest from Rustat as morally repugnant.' The email also claimed the memorial commemorated 'white supremacy'.

Rev Crockford replied: 'We should indeed be understanding individuals within their context, before adding: 'The memorial focuses very much on the financial virtues of Tobias Rustat and so there's a particular lens within which we need to see this memorial.'

He told Mr Gau that, as he understands it, the 'discomfort' of undergraduates and fellows regarding the memorial relates to the 'difficulty and significance of a monument that celebrates the life of the man... and his financial dealings'.

Jesus College's application to the Diocese states that keeping the memorial within the chapel is 'inconsistent with the tenets of the Christian faith', and is a 'hindrance to participation in the pastoral and community activities of the college which take place in the chapel'.

The marble memorial is on a wall within the college's chapel and was commissioned by Rustat during his lifetime when he was already a major College donor.

The Roya African Company, a business he invested heavily in and counted Bristol slave trader Edward Colston among its alumni, has been described as by historians as shipping 'more enslaved African women, men and children to the Americans than any single institution during the entire period of the transatlantic slave trade'.

Following recommendations made by Jesus College's Legacy of Slavery Working Party in 2019 and 2020, the college took the view that the memorial represents a celebration of Rustat which is 'incompatible with the chapel as an inclusive community and a place of collective wellbeing'.

Tobias Rustat (pictured) was a major investor in the Royal African Company and had been a servant to King Charles II

University benefactor and slave trade investor: Life of Tobias Rustat - and his links to Edward Colston Tobias Rustat was born in 1606 Tobias Rustat was a 17th century benefactor of the University of Cambridge, as well as a servant to King Charles II. He created the first fund for the purchase of books at the Cambridge University Library. Born circa 1606, he trained as an apprentice to a barber-surgeon in his youth before becoming a servant - first to the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and later to the monarch. He accumulated his wealth during his career as a courtier - but also invested in several trading companies, including the Company of Royal Adventurers of England Trading into Africa - commonly known as the Royal African Company (RAC). The Company had complete control of Britain's slave trade, as well as its gold and Ivory business, with Africa and the forts on the coast of west Africa. Later in life, Rustat became a benefactor to the university, focusing mainly on Jesus College, where his father had been a student. He died in 1694. A contemporary of Rustat was Edward Colston, who became Deputy Governor of the Royal African Company. During Colston's tenure, his ships transported around 80,000 slaves from Africa to the Caribbean and America. Around 20,000 of them, including around 3,000 or more children, died during the journeys. Colston's brother Thomas supplied the glass beads that were used to buy the slaves. Colston used a lot of his wealth, accrued from his extensive slave trading, to build schools and almshouses in his home city. A statue was erected in his honour as well as other buildings named after him, including Colston Hall. But after years of protests by campaigners and boycotts by artists the venue recently agreed to remove all reference of the trader. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 sparked by the death of George Floyd in the US, the statue of Colston overlooking the harbour in Bristol was torn down. Advertisement

Archivist Robert Athol said last year that the plan to move the monument to an exhibition setting will 'allow for restoration and study of the monument'.

He added that it 'will enable people to engage with it as an artistic piece and as a vehicle for discussion about the history and legacy of enslavement'.

But preservationists have slammed plans to move the memorial, which is believed to have been crafted by renowned Anglo-Dutch sculptor Grinling Gibbons.

Prominent historical figures with alleged slavery links were re-examined after the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 which saw the toppling of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol - a contemporary of Rustat.

The Master of Jesus College, Sonita Alleyne, said that the college's proposal to relocate the monument to an educational exhibition space was 'part of a process of critical self-reflection on the long-term legacies of enslavement and colonial violence'.

'The chapel should offer a welcoming space accessible to every member of our community,' she said last year. 'This is the right solution for our college.'

Cambridge Stand up to Racism said in a statement: 'We strongly support the decolonisation movement active in academic institutions across the country. We support the master of Jesus College, Sonita Alleyne, who wants to move the plaque of the slave trader Tobias Rustat from the chapel.

'Furthermore, we support the removal of the memorial plaque from Jesus College altogether and its placing somewhere where its significance can be properly explained.

'The brutality of a slave trader 'benefactor' has been hidden from history for too long.

'We supported the removal of Edward Colston's statue in Bristol and we support the campaign by Hackney Stand Up To Racism and Diane Abbott to remove Robert Geffrye's statue from the Museum of the Home in Hackney.

'We feel that Tobias Rustat is another in the same line of despicable merchants who made their fortunes out of the misery of others.'

A number of college alumni have also objected to the proposal to move the memorial.

A Jesus College spokesman said last month: 'It comes down to whether it's in the best interests of our current and future students and fellows for this celebratory memorial to be in our Chapel, a place of worship at the heart of our diverse community.'

'The college is not seeking to cancel Rustat or erase him from the record - it is applying to have his memorial moved from a place of worship to a more suitable - but still prominent - place in the college.

'In addition to religious events, the chapel plays a central role in college life and hosts many historic and ceremonial occasions as well as concerts and recitals, welfare activities and student arts festivals.

'The memorial is an obstacle to some members of our community participating in all these college events.'

The Master of Jesus College, Sonita Alleyne, said that the proposal to relocate the monument to an educational exhibition space was 'part of a process of critical self-reflection on the long-term legacies of enslavement and colonial violence'

In February last year, the descendants of Rustat criticised the plans to move the memorial. Stephen Hemsted and his three brothers, Rustat's tenth great nephews, lodged a complaint with the college and argued that the Royal African Company was not the source of money he gave to the institution.

The family told The Times that they regarded Rustat as a 'distinguished ancestor' and added there was 'no justification' for removing the memorial.

Mr Hemsted said of Rustat: 'It's clear that the bulk of his wealth came from things [that were] nothing to do with slavery, so the money that was given to Jesus College clearly has nothing to do with slavery.'

He added: 'We think it's a mistake to try to link his investment in the Royal African Company to this memorial and the bequest he made to Jesus College. There seems to be no justification on slavery grounds for removing the memorial.'

Mr Hemsted had proposed to Ms Alleyne that a notice be put in the chapel explaining both Rustat's generous donations and his links to the slaving company.

He said the college's plan was to remove the memorial entirely and instead have a plaque at the entrance warning people they were stepping into 'a place where Tobias Rustat had put money'.

Rustat's memorial was commissioned by the man himself, and it is prominently displayed in Jesus College's chapel.

It comes less than a month after a jury spared the 'Colston Four' from punishment after admitting they caused criminal damage when they tore down a monument to slave trader Edward Colston during Black Lives Matter demos in Bristol.

Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, Sage Willoughby, 22, and Jake Skuse, 33, were cleared of all charges at Bristol Crown Court despite admitting to playing a part in the destruction of Colston's historic statue.

Lawyers and political commentators have since slammed the jury's verdict, with some admitting they fear that the 17th century slaver was put on trial at Bristol Crown Court, rather than the four self-professed vandals.
Daily Covid statistics are set to be dropped in April under the Government's plan to live with the virus like the flu, it was claimed today.

Boris Johnson has already laid out his intention to scrap all remaining Covid laws  including the legal requirement for infected people to self-isolate  by March 24.

And now a senior Whitehall source has claimed daily updates on cases, deaths and hospitalisations will be axed just weeks later.

Experts today hailed the rumoured move, arguing the Government should also push forward plans to end mass testing. Free lateral flows are not expected to be ditched until July.

Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline 'we have to stop producing the daily stats' at some point.

Since Omicron took hold at the start of December around six million positive cases have been reported

The number of Covid infections reported on the Government website is expected to soar today when reinfections are included for the first time. However, the update will reduce the case fatality rate (CFR)  the percentage out of all those cases that end in death  by a significant amount

Covid's death rate is even lower than we thought Covid's death rate is lower than thought, official data suggests after nearly 600,000 reinfections were piled into the Government's own tally. Fatality rates from the coronavirus are up to 30 times lower now than during the devastating second wave, thanks to the build-up of natural immunity, a hugely successful vaccination drive and the milder nature of Omicron. But the proportion of infected people who end up dying has fallen by another 10 per cent after last night's update, according to MailOnline's analysis. Just 0.23 per cent of all confirmed cases led to deaths in England before the long-awaited addition of reinfections, UK Health Security Agency statistics suggest. However, the rate for exactly the same time period  which relates to mid-January  has now dropped to 0.21 per cent because of the addition of extra cases. This is still slightly above flu, which has a case-fatality rate of around 0.1 per cent. But some experts claim the two figures are very similar, even if coronavirus is much more transmissible. Advertisement

He claimed April was a 'reasonable' time to push ahead with the move, which was leaked to the i newspaper.

The Government source said that the Prime Minister himself has 'pencilled in Easter as the latest date by which the daily Covid statistics will be published in their current form'.

'In an ideal situation, he (Mr Johnson) will bring an end to them sooner if the current downward trend in deaths continues,' the insider added.

'Ending the daily Covid death toll is part of the Prime Ministers strategy of living with Covid.

'It is hoped taking the focus away from the Covid figures will also help people move on with their lives.'

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Department of Health and Social Care both declined to comment.

Scientists have repeatedly called for an end to the daily updates since the Omicron wave took off.

The link between infections and severe disease has been severed too much to justify keeping a ticking count of every case in the country, they say.

Professor Hunter told MailOnline: 'At some point we have to stop producing the daily stats.'

He said the 'large majority' of experts have known for years the coronavirus won't be going away, with most also believing it will evolve into a common cold.

Professor Hunter said: 'If anything the evidence that this is the case is stronger now than it was back then.'

He warned it may be too early to scrap the counts now because of high infections and the emergence of the BA.2 variant, but by April weekly counts like with flu are likely to be 'appropriate'.

The epidemiologist said: 'April may well be a reasonable time to stop but clearly a lot can happen before then.

'Any final decision should be taken closer to the time when we can see what is happening at that point.

Professor Paul Hunter (left), an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline 'we have to stop producing the daily stats' at some point, with April a 'reasonable' time to push ahead with the move. Professor David Livermore (right), a medical microbiologist at UEA, agreed April would be the right time to ditch the stats and mass testing

The proportion of 'incidental' Covid deaths where the virus was not the main cause has continued to increase to 27 per cent in England and Wales in the week ending January 21, Office for National Statistics data showed today

The majority of Covid patients in English hospitals are not primarily being treated for the virus for the first time in the pandemic. The share of primary Covid patients has plummeted since the emergence of the super-mild Omicron variant in late November, when three-quarters of inpatients were mainly ill with the disease

The above graph shows the case fatality rate  the proportion of Covid cases leading to deaths  by primary infection (red) and by both primary infections and reinfections (orange). It shows the CFR has dropped by about 10 per cent

'Also at that point, we should also consider whether the large scale testing of asymptomatic individuals is still worthwhile.

'My view is that is probably wont be worthwhile and we should then stop large scale testing.

'We still need to be able to offer testing to people who are clearly ill and so a move more towards what we now do for influenza seems appropriate.'

He suggested the weekly reporting of cases, deaths and hospitalisations as with flu 'would be the way forward'.

Professor David Livermore, a medical microbiologist at UEA, agreed April would be the right time to ditch the stats and mass testing.

He told MailOnline: 'It is the right thing to do: daily case statistics and mass testing both need to be wound down.

'The virus has mutated to a milder form, and there is substantial population immunity from recent infection and vaccination.

'Consequently, the infection fatality rate is now little different from that of flu, and we dont obsess over daily case rates for that, even in a bad winter.'

He said the only updates needed going forward are background surveillance like the Royal College of GPs Respiratory Infections Surveillance study.

It comes after MailOnline analysis yesterday revealed Covid's fatality rate is actually lower than thought.

Mortality rates from the virus are up to 30 times lower now than during the second wave, thanks to the build-up of natural immunity, a hugely successful vaccination drive and the milder nature of Omicron.

But the proportion of infected people who end up dying has fallen by another 10 per cent after the inclusion of nearly 600,000 reinfections, data suggests.

Just 0.23 per cent of all confirmed cases led to deaths in England before the long-awaited addition of reinfections, UK Health Security Agency statistics suggest. However, the rate for exactly the same time period  which relates to mid-January  has now dropped to 0.21 per cent because of the addition of extra cases.

This is still slightly above flu, which has a case-fatality rate of around 0.1 per cent. But some experts claim the two figures are very similar, even if coronavirus is much more transmissible.
Greed is good.  Gordon Gekko, Wall Street.

One good or bad thing about being retired is that you have lots of time to watch old movies on TV. One that came on just after my nap the other day was The Fountainhead, starring Gary Cooper as brilliant but embattled architect Howard Roark.

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Like many of you, I suspect, I read that Ayn Rand novel when I was a teenager. As a young conservative, I thought it was terrific.

In the face of overwhelming pressure and criticism, Roark refused to compromise his ideals, even going so far as to dynamite a housing project he designed when meddlers tampered with his vision to make it acceptable to popular tastes.

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He ended up defending himself in court with a long speech about the way historys great creators have had to battle the forces of conformity and should live only for themselves and their achievements.

Rand enlarged on this philosophy, which she dubbed objectivism, in Atlas Shrugged, a magnum opus I also read and embraced back then, although it was a more difficult slog.

Bill White (MONICA CABRERA / THE MORNING CALL)

People for and against a mask mandate in schools, protest outside of the Cobb County School District headquarters in Marietta, Ga. on Aug. 12, 2021. (AUDRA MELTON / NYT)

Perhaps the most straightforward statement of her philosophy was the title of another of her books: The Virtue of Selfishness.

As provocative as Rands ideas were, I figured out as a grownup that:

 Shes a terrible writer, populating her novels with characters who deliver long speeches instead of dialogue and who in most cases are preposterously overdrawn villains and/or behave in defiance of all reason.

As compelling as Roark is as a hero, the movie is a mess, mostly because nothing anyone does or says makes any sense and pretty much everyone but him is a nincompoop.

 Her philosophy of determined self-absorption is much more appealing to naive, self-absorbed teenagers than to thinking adults who have observed enough of the real world to figure out that every person for him or herself is a formula for societal collapse.

Any one of us could find ourselves in need of a helping hand as we become old, disabled or unemployed  or if we werent lucky enough to have the right parents, the right school, the right neighborhood.

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America should be about creating opportunities for everyone to succeed, not writing vast swaths of our population off as worthless moochers.

This is not to say that I disagree with the idea that talent and boldness should be celebrated and rewarded, and that conformity can be the enemy of creativity. I admire anyone who defends his or her vision against those who would weaken or destroy it.

But I believe we can create while recognizing that whatever our individual gifts, our collective happiness enhances every part of our lives.

Whats scary is that a philosophy of determined, even self-righteous, self-absorption  somehow presented as a patriotic application of American freedom  is driving much of the turmoil were seeing in our society today.

The pandemic proved to be the perfect petri dish for growing the idea that our personal comfort is more important than the collective health of our communities. Masks and then vaccines were shunned, spreading COVID-19 far faster and further than necessary.

Science was ignored if it conflicted with what some people perceived as their self-interest, no matter how many of them later ended up delivering deathbed laments for their short-sightedness.

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In our schools, where the overriding concern should have been ensuring kids are learning in person, too many politicians and parents have insisted that masks should be voluntary and vaccines arent necessary, even in the face of the dramatic spike resulting from the omicron variant.

Some politicians and parents are challenging the teaching of any history that explains the way past racial prejudice has shaped many aspects of society today, presumably because the truth may make them and their forebears look and feel bad. Books that paint disturbing pictures of the Holocaust, American racism and other historical horrors are being banned from reading lists and libraries.

The result is that a new generation of children may be denied access to the kind of context that would help them do a better job of shaping our society of the future  all in the name of protecting their parents comfort level.

In Harrisburg and in Washington, too many of our politicians continue to make it abundantly clear their self-preservation trumps integrity, the welfare of their constituents, the future of our planet and any concept of good government.

On a more trivial note, my most recent pet peeves columns again revealed a host of ways in which people prove they are oblivious to the welfare of everyone else.

I have no answers for any of this, beyond sentiments that should be unassailable, but arent:

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Ignorance is not bliss. Greed is not good. Selfishness is not patriotic.

Were all in this together.

Bill White can be reached at whitebil1974@gmail.com. His Twitter handle is whitebil.
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The Central US prepares for a snow day as nearly 1,500 flights are canceled and Chicago braces for up to 10 inches of snow.

Nearly 90million people were placed under winter storm alerts across 2,000 miles of the US from the Rockies to New England. The Central US, especially the Rockies and the Midwest brace for a severe impact of heavy snow, freezing rain, and icy road conditions.

The blast of frigid weather began arriving Tuesday night, as Denver and Chicago started to see the snowfall late last night into the morning. Chicago is expected to experience 1 to 1.5 inches of snow an hour, according to the National Weather Service Chicago, and could reach up to 10 inches of snow in the city and up to 20 inches in Central Illinois.

Chicago has already up to 4.4 inches, while Chicago's main airport O'Hare has already accumulated 1.5 inches. Governor JB Pritzker warned the state could experience whiteout and blizzard-like conditions.

Three children from Indiana made the best of the heavy snowfall as they build what appears to be the beginnings of a snowman

A Chicagoan buckles down and hikes through ankle deep snow as the city experience heavy and fast snowfall

No sled? No problem! One mother grabbed a storage tote to take her little girl out sledding through the snow in Chicago

Got to keep ahead of it! A man covered in snow pushes a snow blower through the streets of Chicago as he clears the way for a nearby school

A Kalamazoo man waits patiently for a red light with no cars in site as the winter storm blows through the Midwest

Commuters are already navigating snowy road conditions in the early morning with highways backing up and locals bundling up against the cold.

The Upper Ohio Valley is under a winter storm watch and could see up to 12 inches in some areas north of I-80. The southern parts of Ohio is expected to see freezing rain.

Meanwhile, the Rockies could see up to 15 inches of snow, with temperatures dropping below zero on Wednesday night. With the wind chill, some parts of Colorado could see temperatures drop as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nearly 90million people are under winter storm alerts across 2,000 miles of the US as the storm is expect to roll through the next few days

The Central US is bracing for the heaviest impact with the Rockies and Midwest preparing for up to 20 inches of snow, icy road conditions, and strong winds

A Chicagoan bundles up against cold weather as the Windy City gets its first snowfall of the storm that is expected to dump 10 inches of snow on the city

A Chicago man shovels a parking spot out as the Windy City is expected to get 1 to 1.5 inches an hour

Another man shovels the sidewalk as the wind blows the snow around on the freezing Chicago morning

Chicago commuters are already navigating snowy road conditions and locals have began bundling up against the cold

Two pedestrians wait for a bus on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive in Chicago on Wednesday in the early morning. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker warned the state could experience whiteout and blizzard-like conditions

New Mexico and Colorado to Maine under winter storm warnings and watches. On Wednesday morning, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan saw freezing rain, sleet and snow.

More than a foot of snow was possible in parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Michigan by the time the storm moves through, on the heels of a vicious nor'easter last weekend that brought blizzard conditions to many parts of the East Coast.

'It will be a very messy system and will make travel very difficult,' said Marty Rausch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

The National Weather Service Prediction Center warned Texas through the Ohio Valley could see a 'heavy ice accumulation.'

'A corridor of heavy ice accumulation (exceeding a quarter of an inch) is likely from Texas through the Ohio Valley,' the National Weather Service Prediction Center said on Wednesday. 'Locations impacted by snow and/or ice are expected to have temperatures remain below freezing, and well below average for at least a couple of days after the wintry precipitation ends.'

Denver has already started prepping for the snow by pretreating the roads. Denver could get up to 15 inches of snow across the next few days

A Denver train line traversing the snowy rails as the city preps for difficult travel conditions

Early morning snow sparkled next to the Chicago Tribune in the early hours on Wednesday. Some parts of the city have already reached 4.4 inches

Chicago commuters carefully navigated the snow roads. Many traveling will face rough conditions and flight cancellations as nearly 3,000 flights have been canceled for Wednesday and Thursday, with St. Louis, Chicago, and Dallas coming in up top

In an effort to stay ahead of the weather, Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday that it would suspend all of its flight operations Wednesday at St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Thursday at its Dallas Love Field hub. Airports in Chicago, Kansas City and Detroit canceled more flights than usual.

American, United, and Delta Airlines have issued waivers for passengers who may be affected by the storm to allow them to rebook at no extra cost, according to NBC News.

'Around the country, we're planning to operate a limited or reduced schedule from some cities in the path of the storm but will make adjustments to the schedule as needed,' Southwest spokesman Dan Landson said.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson declared a state of emergency as school districts and universities shifted classes to online or canceled them entirely.

Jackson, Michigan, has also started to see snowfall as local authorities continue to warn millions of Americans to avoid travel

Chicagoans face strong winds could bring whiteout conditions to many as they wait for a train at a Roosevelt Road station

Illinois lawmakers canceled their three scheduled days of session this week as the central part of the state prepares for heavy snow, ice and high wind gusts in the region. In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt has declared a statewide state of emergency as the winter storm approached that would remain in effect for seven days.

The National Weather Service said 6 to 12 inches of snow was expected by Thursday morning in parts of the Rockies and Midwest, while heavy ice is likely from Texas through the Ohio Valley.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the weather service said 8 to 15 inches of snow was possible in parts of Michigan. That includes Detroit, where the mayor activated snow emergency routes and city crews were expected to work 12-hour shifts salting and plowing major roads.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, where up to 7 inches of snow and sleet was forecast but little ice, emergency management director Joe Kralicek said the event is not expected to cause large-scale power outages based on an ice index used by the National Weather Service.

'We could see some power outages, however, it's also suggesting that they be limited in scope and nature and very short term in duration,' Kralicek said.

Becky Gligo, director of the nonprofit Housing Solutions in Tulsa said teams are working to move homeless people into shelters ahead of overnight lows that are expected to drop into single digits by Friday night.

The footprint of the storm extended as far south as Texas, where nearly a year after a catastrophic freeze buckled the state's power grid in one of the worst blackouts in US history,

Governor Greg Abbott defended the state's readiness. The forecast did not call for the same prolonged and frigid temperatures as the February 2021 storm and the National Weather Service said the system would, generally, not be as bad this time for Texas.

The Upper Ohio Valley is bracing for up to 12 inches of snow while the lower part of the state can expect freezing rain

'No one can guarantee that there won't be any' outages caused by demand on the power grid, Abbott said Tuesday. 'But what we will work to achieve, and what we're prepared to achieve is that power is going to stay on across the entire state.'

No large-scale power outages were reported early Wednesday in Texas or elsewhere, according to poweroutage.us.

Texas and the south also prep for ice accumulation from Dallas to Memphis. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth warned on Tuesday that if temperatures dropped faster than expected, the state could see sleet and even potentially snow.

'If it gets colder faster than expected, this would result in less ice and more sleet/snow,' the Fort Worth hub said.
Tucker Carlson said democracy in the US was failing under Democrats and that the proof was in Baltimore - a city he said was 'a little bit of Haiti in the mid-Atlantic' which has embraced progressive criminal justice policies yet continues to have one of the highest murder rates in the nation.

During the opening of his show on Tuesday night, Carlson mocked recent conversations about democracy being in danger and instead said the real danger was when Democrats focus on issues like race and climate change rather than on the safety issues facing cities like Baltimore, which has seen more than 300 homicides a year since 2015.

Carlson called Baltimore 'one of the worst places in the western hemisphere,' and said it was 'a little bit of Haiti in the mid-Atlantic' as the city reported 32 murders so far in 2022.

'That's the deadliest January in Baltimore in nearly 50 years and remember, fifty years ago, Baltimore was almost twice as big as it is now,' Carlson said, referencing that the city's populations shrank from nearly 1 million residents in the 1970s to about 580,000 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census.

'Half the city is left. So Baltimore is far worse off than it has ever been in its history.'

He added that 'Baltimore is exactly what happens when you apply Jen Psaki's ideas to governing.

'Baltimore is a city run by people who fervently believe in the equity agenda and consider gender studies a legitimate academic discipline. In Baltimore, pretty much everyone in charge is black, yet it's a matter of religious faith that the main thing holding the city back is white racism.'

Tucker Carlson said democracy in the US was failing on Tuesday night as he cited the high homicide rates in Baltimore

Baltimore continues to see some of the highest murder rates in the nation as the city continues to report more than 300 homicides every year since 2015

Baltimore broke its annual per capita homicide record after reaching 348 killings in 2019. Homicides have remained high, with the city reporting 337 murders in 2021

Carlson said the high crime rate could be partially attributed to Baltimore's District Attorney, Marilyn Mosby, 41, who announced last year that she would stop prosecuting people for drug possession, prostitution, minor traffic violations and other low-level offenses.

Mosby has been under fire herself, and in January she was charged with perjury for allegedly lying about financial hardship when she withdrew $81,000 from her 401k under the Cares Act to buy two new holiday homes in Florida.

But critics have hit back at Carlson, saying that he was being racist toward a predominantly back city and comparing it to Haiti.

One Twitter user named Caroline Orr Bueno wrote, 'The reason Tucker Carlson (and Trump, etc) keep trashing Baltimore is because it has a large black population. Its really that simple.'

Another Twitter user with the handle name GusstheLawyer agreed and criticized Carlson for ignoring the nation's racially-charge policies in the past, writing, 'Baltimore has black people in it so it must be compared to a struggling predominantly Black nation. Fun fact, the causes of trouble in both places are directly tied to racist US policy.'

Jonathan McIntosh, another Twitter user who grew up in Baltimore wrote, 'Baltimore is also a majority Black city, but Im sure thats not at all the exact reason Tucker hates it.'

Even David Simon, creator of the hit series 'The Wire,' which was based in Baltimore, joined in on bashing Carlson.

'Here now at a bar on Aliceanna Street with some friendly neighbors where we are presently sticking pins in a Tucker Carlson doll. Doll seems to like it a bit too much in its nether regions.'

Carlson's comments also echoed those of Donald Trump in 2019, when the former president called Baltimore a 'rodent infested mess' where 'no human being would want to live,' and that it was 'worse than Honduras.'

Many accused Carlson of racism for focusing his segment on a predominantly black community and likening it to Haiti

Throughout his segment, Carlson also repeatedly took jabs at Joe Biden and Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who he said were more preoccupied in the current conflict at the Ukraine-Russian border than on the safety of Americans at home.

It also comes after Psaki said that those who are worried about 'soft-on-crime policies' are living 'in an alternate universe.'

'Hey, Jen Psaki, what do you think of Baltimore? How did the city get that way,' Carlson kept asking throughout the show.

'You claim to care so deeply about African-Americans. You never stop talking about that. And yet here is one of the biggest Black majority cities in the United States. Tens of thousands of black people who live in Baltimore are in misery because their kids keep getting murdered.'

Baltimore, often ranked high among the cities with highest homicide rates in the nation, had recorded 337 murders in 2021, the highest since 2019, where police reported 348 murders.

In January, the city continues to see high violent crime rates as it reported 225 aggravated assaults, 52 shootings, 51 carjackings and 203 robberies.

The city also reported 248 burglaries and 978 other cases of property crimes in January.

Baltimore saw more than 1,800 crimes in the first month of 2022

Carlson blamed the high crime rate partially on Baltimore District Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who stopped bringing charges for a string of less serious crimes last year

Mosby said that low-level offenses were 'discriminately enforced against black and brown people'. Pictured is a file photo of a man being arrested in Baltimore

'Who do you blame for Baltimore? Did white men do this to Baltimore? Was it the patriarchy? Was it structural racism that caused all those murders,' Carlson asked.

'Or, could it be that the real problem with Baltimore is something much more obvious? Could it be that progressive policies designed to 'lift up marginalized communities' in the end destroyed those communities?'

Carlson also blamed high crime rates in the city on schools after the Baltimore City School District spent the last decade pushing to reduce the number of student arrests, which dropped from 971 in 2008 to 18 in 2018, according to Fox 45's Project Baltimore.

One whistleblower in the district told Fox 45 that the arrests have not gone down because schools were safer, but because police officers have been told not to arrest students even for crimes like burglary and assault.

'I think it's ludicrous and sad,' said one of the whistleblowers. 'You're not teaching people, our kids, that it's not okay to burglarize. It's not okay to have a fight. They should be arrested and processed.'

Carlson mocked the policies in Baltimore and said the city and progressives were the only ones to blame for its issues.

'Baltimore is a city run by people who fervently believe in the equity agenda and consider gender studies a legitimate academic discipline. In Baltimore, pretty much everyone in charge is Black, yet it's a matter of religious faith that the main thing holding the city back is White racism.'

Following the segment, Carlson received backlash on social media as people accused him of racism for focusing his piece on race and comparing Baltimore to Haiti.
A conservative Canadian parliamentarian slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday as she condemned him for refusing to speak with thousands of truckers demonstrating against the country's vaccine mandate.

Speaking before the House of Commons, Canadian MP Candice Bergen reminded her fellow parliamentarians that the prime minister has donned blackface 'more times than he can remember,' after he claimed that the demonstrators in the Freedom Convoy were spreading 'hateful rhetoric.'

'All Canadians want to see a leader who will work to heal riffs, not further divide, a leader who will listen even to those voices he might not agree with, a leader who will work to understand, not dismiss, name-call and gaslight,' Bergen began.

'Contrary to some, there are thousands of passionate, patriotic and peaceful Canadians on the Hill right now who just want to be heard,' she continued. 'Will the prime minister extend an olive branch and will he listen?'

Canadian Parliamentarian Candice Bergen tore into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday after he announced that he would not meet with truck drivers protesting the country's vaccine mandate

Bergen pointed out that photos have emerged of Trudeau wearing blackface

Bergen was then interrupted by Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino, who asked her to condemn the protesters who allegedly urinated on the country's National War Memorial and used the statue of Canadian athlete Terry Fox to display a sign reading 'Mandate Freedom.'

'Of course we all condemn hateful and destructive acts by a few at any protest,' she responded, going on to list a number of instances in which protesters desecrated public property or displayed hateful symbols, such as blackface or Nazi flags.

'But I'm not talking about that Mr. Speaker,' Bergen said, noting: 'I apologize that that minister is misleading Canadians.

'I do get very defensive of Canadians who are outside today - patriotic, peace-loving Canadians who are called misogynists and racist by the prime minister.

'So again, I ask the prime minister, who may I remind this House wore blackface on more times than he can remember, apologize to the peace-loving, patriotic Canadians who are outside right now just asking to be heard - will he speak to them?'

Trudeau had faced controversy in 2019 when photos emerged of him wearing blackface while dressed as Aladdin. In an interview at the time, he said he could not give a definitive number on how many times he had worn blackface.

Trudeau announced on Monday he would not be meeting with the protesters, saying they were were spreading 'hateful rhetoric'

The prime minister had previously praised truck drivers in a tweet at the start of the pandemic

Bergen's comments come after the Canadian prime minister publicly announced he will not be meeting with the truckers who are currently overrunning Ottawa in protest of his vaccine mandate - despite a tweet two years ago praising truck drivers for their work in the early days of the pandemic.

'Over the past few days, Canadians were shocked and frankly, disgusted by the behavior displayed by some people protesting in our nations capital,' Trudeau said Monday in a public press conference broadcasted remotely, referring to the unrest in Ottawa, which began on Saturday.

Trudeau, 50, held the conference from isolation at an undisclosed location after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier that day. Two of the prime minister's three children also tested positive for the virus.

When asked whether he was going to meet the protesters, Trudeau said he had no interest in going 'anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric and violence towards their fellow citizens.'

The politician went on to assert that he had personally attended protests himself when he 'agreed with the goals' being fought for, such as those championed by Black Lives Matter, but dismissed the truckers' dissent - which was spurred by the politico's own policies - as 'racist' and 'violent.'

'I have attended protests and rallies in the past when I agreed with the goals, when I supported the people expressing their concerns and their issues,' Trudeau said.

'But I have also chosen to not go anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric, violence towards fellow citizens, and a disrespect not just of science, but of the frontline health workers and quite frankly, the 90 percent of truckers who have been doing the right thing to keep Canadians safe to put food on our tables.'

The Freedom Convoy began last week when a group of more than 50,000 Canadian truck drivers took to Ottawa - the nation's capital - to protest recent policies implemented by Trudeau's office. They are seen here blocking the highway at the U.S. border

Local law enforcement had ordered the drivers in Alberta to stand down and stop blocking trucks and other international commuters from crossing the currently gridlocked dividing line

The protesters also descended on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario

During the address, Trudeau conceded that he understood the frustrations of the Canadian people regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but asserted that some of the behavior seen at the recent protests in the nation's capital, including swastikas, Confederate flags, and the desecrating of memorials, was unacceptable.

'I want to be very clear, we are not intimidated by those who hurl insults and abuse at small business workers, and steal food from the homeless. We won't give in to those who fly racist flags. We won't cave to those who engage in vandalism or dishonor the memory of our veterans.'

He added: 'Freedom of expression, assembly, and association are cornerstones of democracy. But Nazi symbolism, racist imagery, and desecration of war memorials are not. It is an insult to memory and truth. Hate can never be the answer.'

Trudeau then called on the protesting truckers - and the thousands supporting them - to put a halt to their actions.

'There is no place in our country for threats, violence or hatred,' he asserted. 'So for those responsible for this behavior, it needs to stop. To anyone who joined the convoy and was rightly uncomfortable with the symbols of hatred and division on display, join with your fellow Canadians. Be courageous, and speak out. Do not stand for, or with, intolerance and hate.'

In his speech, Trudeau went on to slam conservative politicians from his country for supporting the truckers' protests, warning them to 'think long and hard about the consequences of your actions.'

After the address, the prime minister doubled down on his stance in a series of posts on social media.

The progressive politician pleaded for the protests to cease Monday afternoon, both in his address and on social media

Trudeau's speech, delivered more than 24 hours after the prime minister fled his home in Ottawa as protesters convened on the capital, came as another formidable force of protesters more than 1,800 miles away, in Coutts, Alberta, were met with backlash from local law enforcement, who ordered the drivers Monday to stand down and stop blocking trucks and other international commuters from crossing the currently gridlocked dividing line, RebelNews reported.

After a vote, the outlet reported Monday afternoon, drivers stationed along the border refused to budge, and for now, the border remains closed, despite heavy police presence.

Earlier that morning, after fleeing his home with his family Sunday as thousands of truckers descended on the Canadian capital to protest the country's vaccine mandate and COVID lockdowns, Trudeau revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19.

'This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19,' the woke politician wrote on social media that morning.

'Im feeling fine  and Ill continue to work remotely this week while following public health guidelines. Everyone, please get vaccinated and get boosted.'

Trudeau, who is vaccinated and has received a booster, is currently self-isolating at an undisclosed location after fleeing with his family from their home in the Canadian city as protesters convened, a four full days after the politician found out he had been exposed to the virus.

Protesters say there is no 'end date' in sight and plan to stay in the capital 'for as long as it takes' and until the Canadian government flips and withdraws its policy on vaccine mandates

A supporter of the protests knelt down in the middle of the road on the fourth day of the Freedom Convoy on Tuesday

Some of the protesters blocked the streets in downtown Ottawa

The Freedom Convoy began last week when a group of more than 50,000 Canadian truck drivers took to Ottawa - the nation's capital - to protest recent policies implemented by Trudeau's office that declared that by January 15, all truckers who are unvaccinated must take a COVID-19 test and quarantine when driving back from the United States.

Under the progressive politician's new guidance, Canadian drivers who are not vaccinated are barred from entering the U.S. until they have gotten the jab, while American drivers are currently not allowed into Canada unless they produce a certificate proving that they have been inoculated.

The policy comes in stark contrast to that of the nation's neighbor the south, with American drivers returning home to the U.S. not required to test and quarantine.

Protesters say there is no 'end date' in sight and plan to stay in the capital 'for as long as it takes' and until the Canadian government flips and withdraws its policy on vaccine mandates. Their movement has drawn the support of Tesla founder Elon Musk.

But many of those in the Canadian government have condemned the protest, pointing to alleged harassment of some city officials and NGO volunteers, as well as the alleged desecration of some public sites.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has fumed over what he called 'threatening' behavior by some of the protesters, particularly against the media.

'Stop the bully tactics and show some respect to fellow Canadians,' he said on Twitter.

Later, in an interview with the CBC, Watson said it was time for protesters to 'move on' so Ottawa can return to normal, after protesters blocked several streets and effectively shut down operations in the city's downtown.

'Quite frankly, residents feel they're prisoners in their own home,' he said.

And on Friday, police in Nova Scotia announced there would be fines of up to $10,000 CA ($7,800) for anyone blocking the highway, as more truckers converged on Ottawa from across the country.

Ottawa police on Sunday confirmed they had opened an investigation after some of the protesters were filmed dancing and drinking on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Some reports suggested people had urinated on the memorial. Vehicles were parked on the Cenotaph, in what police said was a sign of disrespect.

A statue of Terry Fox, a Canadian athlete and cancer research activist, was adorned with a placard against mandates, sparking widespread revulsion.

'The Terry Fox Foundation is proud to continue Terry's mission of funding cancer research. Terry believed in science and gave his life to help others,' the Terry Fox Foundation said, in comments retweeted by Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister.

Ottawa police said no arrests were made during Saturday's protests, despite 'several challenges with demonstrators, including sporadic road blockages by trucks, which officers worked to clear.'

They added: 'These high-risk situations were de-escalated and resolved with no arrests.'

The police also asked people to make reports, rather than flagging social media to them.

'Several criminal investigations are underway in relation to the desecration of the National War Memorial/Terry Fox statue, threatening/illegal/intimidating behavior to police/city workers and other individuals and damage to a city vehicle,' the police tweeted.

'Illegal behavior will not be tolerated and will be fully investigated.

'We have investigative and evidence-gathering teams in place to support the management of the demonstration.'
Rep. Matt Gaetz was on track to have a record fundraising year in the first two quarters of 2021. In the middle of the year one of his close associates pled guilty to sex trafficking charges and alleged to federal investigators that Gaetz had sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl

Rep. Matt Gaetz saw the cash flow to his re-election campaign dry up by more than half in the final months of 2021 as a federal sex trafficking investigation into the once-promising GOP rising star intensifies.

The most recent financial disclosures for Gaetz's 2022 campaign show the Florida congressman raked in just $534,000 in the last quarter of 2021.

It's more than $1 million less than the hefty $1.8 million sum he raised in the first three months of last year.

Gaetz, a close ally of former President Donald Trump had been on track for a record-setting year after another successful quarter of $1.4 million raised from April through June.

The probe, first reported at the end of March, heated up with allegations that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old and whether he paid for women to travel across state lines to have sex. In May, his associate Joel Greenberg pled guilty to sex trafficking charges and told investigators that Gaetz had sex with the teen, among other serious claims.

The congressman's third quarter fundraising, July through September, netted just about $527,000.

Gaetz's campaign ended the year spending $94,838.65 more than it took in -- a worrying sign for any incumbent lawmaker, but a particularly stark change for one who netted nearly $2 million hot off his 2020 victory. However he ended the year with about $1.5 million cash-in-hand in an apparent hefty war chest of his own money.

And his campaign, Friends of Matt Gaetz paid $75,000 to sex crimes lawyer Marc Fernich last year -- more than the roughly $73,000 it paid in all legal fees from 2016 through 2020 combined.

Fernich is reportedly representing the campaign in the sex trafficking probe. The criminal defense attorney is not known for representing political campaigns, but boasts infamous clients such as Jeffrey Epstein and Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman.

It was revealed on Monday that Friends of Matt Gaetz paid Fernich $50,000 on October 4.

They previously handed the lawyer $25,000 in June of last year.

Gaetz's fundraising dried up and he wound up spending nearly $100,000 more than his campaign brought in last year

In August the law firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLP returned a $25,000 payment to Gaetz's campaign just two months after it was made, apparently cutting ties with the Republican lawmaker.

The campaign also spent more than $800,000 on public relations firm Logan Circle Group across all of 2021, though in the last three months of the year it shrunk to just a $2,750 payment in October.

Gaetz has also used his campaign funds to patronize Trump businesses -- spending $729 at Mar-a-Lago in early November and racking up a $445 bill at Trump International Hotel in DC shortly before that in late October.

The Gaetz campaign's most recent disclosures show $50,000 paid to criminal defense lawyer Marc Fernich in October

The only other political campaign the Florida Republican has donated to in the last three months of 2021 was fellow GOP Rep. Paul Gosar. Both of them had voted to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory.

Gaetz gave Gosar's Arizona re-election campaign $2,000 on October 22, less than a month before Gosar was censured in a House-wide vote over sharing a violent video depicting himself attacking Biden and Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Gaetz's campaign spending dwindled significantly during that time, as donations dried up, mostly issuing checks for political consultancy and campaign mail.

Meanwhile Gaetz started the year with feds' investigation closing further in.

NBC News reported in January that his ex-girlfriend, whose name was withheld to protect her privacy, has been in talks with federal prosecutors for months to avoid prosecution for obstruction of justice in return for testifying in an investigation into whether he paid for sex with a 17-year-old.

It suggests the investigation into Gaetz is entering a new, decisive phase.

NBC also reported that prosecutors were investigating three separate crimes: Sex trafficking; violating the Mann Act, which bans taking prostitutes across state lines; and obstructing justice.

Investigators are reportedly examining a phone call between Gaetz, his ex and another woman - who recorded the call and was cooperating with federal investigators - to establish whether it amounted to obstructing justice.

Gaetz has not been charged with any crime and has denied all the accusations.

Gaetz came to the notice of investigators through his friendship with former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud and sexual offenses

Instead, he has dismissed the investigation as a 'witch hunt.'

Isabelle Kirshner, one of his lawyers, told DailyMail.com on Wednesday: 'We have seen no credible basis for a charge against Congressman Gaetz.

'We remain steadfast in our commitment to challenge any allegations with the facts and law.'

Previous reporting revealed that investigators believe Gaetz's former girlfriend is key to unraveling transaction records that allegedly reveal payments for sex.

She is a former Capitol Hill staffer who has known the congressman since 2017.

Her attorney Tim Jansen declined to comment on case when he was approached by a reporter as he entered the federal courthouse in Orlando with his client.

Meanwhile Gaetz's ally Greenberg told investigators that Gaetz and at least two other men had sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl.

He has told them that they both gave women cash and gifts in exchange for sex.

Greenberg pleaded guilty to identity theft, stalking, wire fraud, conspiracy to bribe a public official and sex trafficking of a minor.

He also reportedly revealed that Gaetz paid prostitute Megan Zalonka after a cocaine-fueled party at a Trump fundraiser.
Joe and Jill Biden will relaunch their Cancer Moonshot initiative on Wednesday with the goal to reduce the death rate from the disease by at least 50 per cent over the next 25 years.

The issue is deeply personal to the Bidens, who lost their eldest son Beau to brain cancer in 2015.

The first couple - who will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff at the announcement - will begin their work by issuing a call to action to jumpstart cancer screenings that were missed out during the COVID pandemic.

The administration believes increased screenings and removing inequities in treatment can help cut the death rate from cancer.

There were more than 9.5 million missed cancer screenings in the United States as a result of the COVID pandemic, according to the White House.

In addition to prevention, the administration will focus on impoving the quality of treatment and people's lives during their illness.

Joe Biden will relaunch his Cancer Moonshot initiative with goal to reduce the death rate from the disease by at least 50% over the next 25 years

Cancer is a deeply personal issue for Joe and Jill Biden, who lost their eldest son Beau to brain cancer in 2015; above the Bidens with Beau and Beau's wife Hallie in 2012

As vice president, Joe Biden launched the Cancer Moonshot during the Obama administration in 2016 (above)

The Bidens will be joined in the East Room of the White House for the announcement by members of Congress and 100 cancer researchers, advocates and patients.

Cancer is a disease that resonates with many Americans, including the vice president. Her mother Shyamala, a breast cancer researcher, died of colon cancer in 2009.

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 1,918,030 new cancer cases and 609,360 cancer deaths this year, meaning that Biden is essentially trying to save 300,000 lives annually from the disease.

Biden has long pushed to end cancer - a call he has repeated throughout his time as president.

Last year, during a visit to a COVID vaccine manufacturing facility in Michigan, Biden said: 'I want you to know that, once we beat COVID, we're going to do everything we can to end cancer as we know it.'

As vice president, Biden launched the Cancer Moonshot during the Obama administration in 2016. It was an enterprise he carried over into his private life after he left the vice presidential mansion by launching the Biden Cancer Initiative. That initiative closed in 2019 after Biden announced he was running for president.

In 2016, when Biden announced he wasn't seeking the Democratic nomination for president, he said he regretted it because 'I would have wanted to have been the president who ended cancer, because it's possible.'

Congress provided $1.8 billion for the Cancer Moonshot program in 2016 but little of that money is left, only about $400 million.

No new funding will be announced on Wednesday.

But a senior administration official, on the briefing call with reporters, said the White House is 'very confident that there will be robust funding going forward,' arguing that few issues garner as much bipartisan support as cancer research.

Vice President Kamala Harris lost her mother Shyamala, a breast cancer researcher, of colon cancer in 2009; the two are seen above in 2007

Jill Biden will likely play a major role in the relaunch of the Cancer Moonshot initiative - above she visits the Whitman-Walker Health in Washington, D.C, in January 2021 as her first public outing as first lady

Jill Biden is likely to play a major role in the initiative. The first lady will have 'some leadership role,' a senior administration official said on a briefing call with reporters, adding there will be 'more to come' on that.

Her first public outing as first lady was to highlight services for cancer patients at Whitman-Walker Health, a clinic in Washington D.C., in January 2021.

She has been an advocate for breast cancer research since the early 1990s, when one of her friends was diagnosised with the disease. She told ABC News last year - during breast cancer awareness month - that she got a mammogram her first month living in the White House and urged women to schedule their own.

As part of his administration's effort, Biden will have a White House Cancer Moonshot coordinator in the Executive Office of the President, he will form a 'Cancer Cabinet' composed of 18 federal agencies, and he will host a White House Cancer Moonshot Summit.

Biden's son Beau died in 2015, at the age of 46, of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.
The remains of two retired Americans have finally been recovered after their plane crashed off the coast of Panama a month ago.

Debra Ann Velleman, 70, of Waukesha, Wisconsin and Sue Borries, 57, of Teutopolis, Illinois were flying from the Panamanian island Isla Contadora on January 3 before their plane crashed into the ocean.

The two friends, who are both retired private school teachers, were staying at a bed and breakfast for the New Year's Eve weekend and were heading back to Punta Chame, a district in Panama, where the pair had been living.

Borries, Velleman and her husband Anthony Velleman, and a fourth, unnamed passenger, were being flown by the owner of the island B&B, when their plane suffered an engine failure.

The pilot, Anthony and the fourth passengers were quickly rescued from the Pacific and taken to local hospitals but neither Vellemen nor Borries made it out of the plane before it sank. Anthony had to undergo spinal surgery and has since been transported to a hospital in Wisconsin where he is currently still recovering.

The families have been trying to recover the bodies Vellemen and Borries ever since but local authorities have struggled to locate the women and the wreckage.

The Panamanian government had requested the use of US Navy sonars and divers but the United States declined citing lack of jurisdiction and assets, according to a statement from both families.

The friends were finally found on Tuesday with help from a US-based volunteer organization.

The bodies of two missing retired private school teachers Debra Ann Velleman (left) and Sue Borries (right) were recovered on Tuesday following a month-long search effort

The two women were heading from Isla Contadora on January 3 before their plane crashed off the coast of Chame

The women's bodies were found still inside the plane, according to the Velleman family representative Albert Lewitinn.

They were found with the help of side-scan sonars which create images of large areas of the sea floor and are utilized to search for missing objects and properties, including drowned victims.

Both families are currently working on transporting the bodies back to the US.

'It is our intention - almost exactly one month following this tragic accident -- to give proper thanks to all those who supported our families during this difficult time, as well as to have many outstanding questions answered by way of a swift and thorough investigation,' a separate joint statement read.

'For now, however, this finally marks the beginning of our grieving process and provides us with a path to closure.'

The search and rescue efforts for Velleman and Borries lasted nearly a month after both families and the Panamanian government continued to plead for help from the US.

Velleman, pictured with her husband Anthony (left) and Borries, pictured with her husband Dennis (right) were flying from the Panamanian island Isla Contadora when their plane crashed

Search and rescue efforts lasted nearly a month with the help of Panamanian authorities and US-based volunteer organizations

In a joint statement last month, the grieving families called on the US government to do it's 'duty' and recover their loved ones bodies.

'The only acceptable outcome is that our loved ones are found and recovered so that our families can begin the long and difficult grieving process,' the joint statement said, according to ABC.

'Until our loved ones are recovered and brought home, that cannot occur. It is the United States government's duty to provide much needed assistance in accomplishing this.'

After the US Navy refused to deploy divers or equipment, both families reached out to US-based volunteer organization Bruce's Legacy, who specializes in search and recovery for drowned victims, as well as non-profit Texas Equus who provide services to help find lost or missing persons.

Boats were also provided by a local family.

The Velleman and Borries family also reached out to representatives from their home states of Wisconsin and Illinois for assistance.

The US had refused to help the families with search efforts as they claimed they lacked the assets and legal power necessary to utilize Navy resources

The women's bodies will be brought back to the US following a near-month long search effort

Velleman had been with her husband Anthony on the aircraft at the time of the crash. He was taken to a local hospital and received spinal surgery in Panama

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin had enlisted the help the US Coast Guard who provided technical modeling to authorities in Panama.

'The Department of State, through its Embassy in Panama City, is working in close coordination with the National Transportation Safety Board and USCG to support the Panamanian search operation,' the state senator's office said.

'The US Embassy is also maintaining contact with the families of those missing and the Panamanian government throughout this response.'

A GoFundMe page was also organized in order to raise money to help with search and rescue efforts with a goal of $40,000.
Via has hit back at a passenger's claims that she was forced to jump out of a still-moving car when her driver went 'berserk' when she asked to open the window.

Dinora Dendariarena, 54, filed a lawsuit against the ride-sharing app and the driver in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday for negligence, assault and false imprisonment.

In it, she claimed driver Lei Sun had become furious when she asked him if she could open a window during the height of the COVID pandemic, on February 26, 2021, and had refused to drop her at her appointed stop, instead speeding off with her in the back.

She says she was so terrified she was forced to jump out while the vehicle was still moving, causing her injury, and even claimed the driver tried to run after her.

But a source familiar with the case said the incident had been a simple misunderstanding.

They said the driver, who speaks little to no English, accidentally made a wrong turn during the trip from East Harlem to Queens - which was when his passenger panicked.

Sun was then 'incredibly confused' and concerned for her safety, when Dendariarena jumped out the moving car and ran away. He immediately contacted the company to report the incident, the source claimed.

Via also disputed Dendariarena's claims and today revealed that their internal investigation, launched immediately after Dendariarena contacted them, did not support her allegations against the driver.

They also disputed her claims about their communication with her.

'Contrary to the claims made by the rider in this case, Via immediately responded to the riders complaints, conducted a thorough internal investigation that did not support the riders allegations, and has repeatedly reached out to the rider offering to cooperate and assist with any law enforcement investigation,' a spokesperson said.

'Via is deeply committed to rider and driver safety, and we take all incidents involving safety extremely seriously.'

Pictured: the ride-share app Via, which was used by a New York City woman last year in a ride where she claims the driver falsely imprisoned her before attempting to chase her down

The ride-share app Via only offered Dendariarena credit for the ride despite the harrowing details of her trip

Via has reportedly been in contact with Dendariarena on multiple occasions since the incident. A source claims, however, that the customer became verbally abusive to customer service staff which resulted in a warning, then suspension of her account.

Meanwhile, GPS data reportedly points to Sun, who consistent good driver ratings on the app and has never had a complaint of this nature before, making a simple wrong turn.

Dendariarena's lawsuit paints quite a different picture, however, claiming that he had canceled the trip during the ride before reaching back towards her as she sat in the backseat, according to court documents.

The 54-year-old, who previously sued Mount Sinai hospitals in 2012, said Sun reportedly told her to 'shut up' after she asked him several times to open the car windows due to concerns over the COVID-19 virus, the lawsuit states.

Dendariarena then said she reported Sun during the ride through Via's customer service, with the company responding that they would contact the driver directly.

That's when she says Sun's 'demeanor immediately changed and he became visibly angry,' as he drove past Dendariarena's exit for her destination towards 'an unknown' direction before locking the car doors and reaching towards Dendariarena as she sat in the backseat.

'After ending the ride, defendant Sun reached his hand toward the back seat, attempting to touch Ms. Dendariarena,' who then moved to the other side of the back seat to avoid him, the court filing states.

Grand Central Parkway in Queens, pictured, where Dendariarena was eventually able to flee Sun's vehicle as it was forced to slow down in traffic

She called 911 immediately after running from Sun's vehicle, and filed a police report the next day, according to the lawsuit.

Since the incident nearly a year ago, Dendariarena 'has suffered significant physical, psychological and economic injuries as a result of defendants false imprisonment and harassing conduct,' according to the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Dendariarena's attorney, Tracey Brown, told the New York Post that the experience amounted to false imprisonment and assault, of which Via should 'absolutely' be responsible for.

'I think the negligence of Via is clear both in terms of their hiring, their training and their retention of their drivers,' Brown told the Post.

'For one of their drivers to refuse to take a passenger to their destination, to ignore a complaint made during the ride to Via so that the driver continues to harass, then assault and falsely imprison her, Via should absolutely be liable for.'

'It's beyond insulting that they have so far refused to take responsibility for their actions,' Brown said.

'And offering a complimentary ride or a credit is not taking responsibility for the hiring of their drivers who assault and imprison passengers.'

She is suing both Via and the driver for unspecified damages under claims including false imprisonment, negligence, and assault.

Dendariarena had previously sued Mount Sinai Hospital, an insurance company as well as several doctors in 2012 after claiming the health care providers failed to properly treat her neck pain after she was discharged upon giving birth in 2006.
A Boston business school finance professor has been charged with manslaughter for allegedly running over her cop boyfriend and leaving him for dead in a snowbank after dropping him off at a friend's home for a party in the early hours of Saturday morning while a Nor'easter raged across the North East.

Karen Read, 41 - a finance lecturer at Bentley University as well as an equity analyst at Fidelity - is accused of running over her boyfriend of two years after dropping him off at a property in suburban Boston house for an afterparty following a bar crawl, then calling 911 early the next morning.

John O'Keefe - a 46-year-old who was the sole carer to his niece and nephew and who was a 16-year veteran Boston police officer - was found unconscious in a snowbank at 6am on Saturday with skull fractures, swollen eyes and hypothermia. Temperatures in Boston had dipped as low as 23F and as much as 21 inches of snow fell in the area later that day.

He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton where he was pronounced dead several hours later, 7 News Boston reported.

Read was released on $50,000 bail on Wednesday. She has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of a collision. Her and Read were in a two-year relationship at the time of his death.

Prosecutors said during Read's arraignment on Wednesday that her and O'Keefe, who was off duty, had visited two bars in the early hours of Saturday morning before going to a home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton, two miles away from where O'Keefe lived. Read chose not attend, citing stomach issues, according to the prosecution.

Property records reveal the home where the party was held is owned by someone with same name as a veteran Boston police sergeant, though the Boston Police Department would not confirm that, according to NBC 10 Boston.

The circumstances of O'Keefe's death are under investigation. Read recalled to investigators that she dropped O'Keefe off around 12.45 am before making a three-point turn and left. She added that she did not see O'Keefe go inside the house.

Karen Read, 41, the girlfriend of Boston Police officer John O'Keefe, 46, was arraigned in court on Wednesday to face manslaughter charges related to his death over the weekend, where he was left to die in a snowbank at the start of a 23F Nor'easter

John O'Keefe was a 46-year-old police officer at the Boston Police Department. He was found unconscious in a snowbank at 6am on Saturday at a home listed under the same name as a Boston Police sergeant - where he was invited for a party - with skull fractures, swollen eyes and hypothermia

Karen Read, 41, arrives at court in handcuffs to be arraigned for the manslaughter of her boyfriend of two years, police officer John O'Keefe. She was released on $50,000 bail

Read pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of a collision in court in Stoughton, Massachusetts, on Wednesday

Prosecutors told the judge during Read's arraignment on Wednesday that her and O'Keefe, who was off duty, had been to two bars in the early hours of Saturday morning before she allegedly dropped him off at a home for an afterparty on Fairview Road in Canton on Saturday

Read reportedly tried to cover up the crime outside the property in Canton, 20 miles south of Boston, by calling police the next morning. O'Keefe was found in a snowbank on the property

Detectives found pieces of the car Read was driving in the snow bank the off duty officer was found unresponsive in (pictured) during the snowstorm

According to Read's attorney, she became worried around 4:30 a.m. due to O'Keefe's absence. She called him multiple times but the police officer never responded.

The prosecutor said Read contacted a friend, who drove her back to the Fairview Road property where they met up with the woman who was hosting the afterparty there. Read allegedly said, 'Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?' while trying to recall what happened to O'Keefe. Read also allegedly said in front of the two women, 'I wonder if he's dead. It's snowing. He got hit by a plow.'

One of Read's two friends, Kerry Roberts, told police 'she believed Karen was still intoxicated in the morning' and said Read had told her 'she did not remember last night,' an affidavit said.

Then they were able to find O'Keefe at the location where Read had dropped him off. He was found in the snow with deep cuts on his arms and his skull. His eyes were swollen shut and he was reportedly bleeding from the nose and mouth.

Read prompted to call 911 after the discovery was made at 6.04 a.m. and practiced CPR on O'Keefe before he was rushed to the hospital.

A member of the Canton Fire Department at the scene told police that Read said, 'I hit him. I hit him. I hit him. I hit him,' to her. Prosecutors told investigators that they found a cracked rear tail light on Read's black Lexus SUV before her arrest. Pieces of the car part were also found in the snowbank that the off duty officer was found unresponsive in.

Her attorney argued for lower bail of $5,000, citing Read's medical issues, including a brain tumor, multiple sclerosis and colitis, as a reasons to lower the fee. However, the judge's answer was that Read 'has plenty of reason to flee' and ordered her held on $50,000 bail.

'I am disappointed in the rush to judgement against my client. I think there was a lot of political pressure on this district attorney's office to bring charges in light of the fact a police officer was the victim here, but I will tell you this is a defensible case,' lawyer David Yannetti said.

'I will tell you that my client has no criminal intent. She loved this man. She is devastated at what happened and she is innocent and that will come out at trial.'

The case's next hearing is on March 1 . In the meantime, Read's car has been impounded and she isn't allowed to drive.

It also remains unclear if Read will continue to teach, while the investigation and court trial continue.

'The university cannot comment further on an active investigation. Our thoughts go out to Officer O'Keefe's family and loved ones,' Bentley University said in a statement on Wednesday.

Investigators have footage of the incident from the home's Ring doorbell camera, but have not yet made it available to the public.

O'Keefe was the sole carer to his niece and nephew, according to his Facebook profile. It is not yet known how long he was in a relationship with Read before his death

Boston Police released a statement after Read's arrest on Tuesday, saying that the department 'continues to grieve over the tragic loss of our brother'

Boston Police Superintendent Chief Gregory Long said in a statement after Read's arrest on Tuesday that the department 'continues to grieve over the tragic loss of our brother.'

'John was a kind person, dedicated to his family, and will be greatly missed by his coworkers and anyone who had the privilege of meeting him,' the statement read.

'At this time, we are stunned and saddened and offer whatever support we can to John's family. Boston Police Peer Support will be available to assist department members in need of emotional support.'

O'Keefe's work partner in the police force was also in court for the arraignment.

'He was the best person on the planet,' he said of O'Keefe.

The department also issued a statement Wednesday on behalf of O'Keefe's family.

'John was not only a dedicated police officer, he was an exemplary guardian, son, brother, uncle and friend and we were so fortunate to have him as a part of our lives,' the statement read. 'When John's sister passed away, and then her husband did as well a short time later, John welcomed the opportunity to raise his beloved niece and nephew and build a home and a life around their needs.'

'People talk about someone who would give you the shirt off their back, but that was truly who John was, and it is heartbreaking for us to suddenly be talking about him in the past tense,' the statement added. 'We appreciate the outpouring of support we have received but we ask for privacy at this time, and will have nothing further to say, as we mourn this unbearable loss.'
Norway has banned the selective breeding of British Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, after a court ruled that the practice is cruel and results in 'man-made health problems' for the animals.

Oslo District Court ruled on Monday that breeding the brachycephalic (flat faced) dogs breaches the Scandinavian country's Animal Wellfare act.

The landmark ruling effectively bans the two iconic dog breeds that originate in Britain, with the British Bulldog being the national animal of the United Kingdom.

Oslo District Court has ruled that breeding the brachycephalic (flat faced) dogs breaches the Scandinavian country's Animal Wellfare act. Pictured: A British Bulldog [stock image]

The case was taken to court by Animal Protection Norway in 2018, which sued the Norwegian Kennel Club (NKK), the Norwegian Cavalier Club, the Norwegian Bulldog Club and six breeders of English bulldog and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Since then - in July 2021 - The Norwegian Parliament voted to amend the wording of the breeding clause in Norway's Animal Welfare act to say that the NKK, breeder groups and private breeders were responsibly for breeding healthy animals.

Lawyers representing the animal rights group successfully argued for the ban, saying that because of the history of selective breeding in the country, none of the animals currently living in Norway can be considered 'healthy'.

Therefore, none can be used ethically for breeding purposes, they argued.

Ashild Roaldset, who heads up the charity, said: 'This is first and foremost a victory for our dogs,' according to The Telegraph.

'It is a historic verdict that attracts international attention. The man-made health problems of the bulldog have been known since the early 20th century. But dogs have the right to be bred healthy,' she said.

But the NKK spoke out against the ruling, with the group contesting the idea that the decision was made to protect the welfare of the dogs.

'We are disappointed and surprised,' NKK spokesman Kjetil Johansen told MailOnline on Wednesday.

'From our point of view it is far from obvious that this is a strengthening of the dogs' welfare. The Norwegian Kennel Club, the breed clubs and the six breeders are of course aware of the health challenges in these breeds.

'That's why we have been working hard to improve the health situation. We have strict health requirements for the various breeds, and we work closely with specialists and research institutions to ensure that breeding goes in the right direction health-wise. The verdict from Oslo district court also recognizes that this party are the best practise among breeders in an health perspective.

'Since it's still allowed to import and own the breeds, and these are very popular breeds, we believe people will continue to buy them - but from irresponsible breeders, and breeders from countries which has a lower health standard then the ones connected to the Norwegian Kennel Club and the breed clubs in Norway.

'For us, it is obvious that the answer to solving the health challenges lies in working with registered dogs. In this way, we can ensure that healthy animals are used in breeding, and that the sick are excluded,' he added.

Bill Lambert, Health, Welfare and Breeder Services Executive at the UK's Kennel Club, told MailOnline: 'We are concerned about this blanket breeding ban in Norway and don't believe it is a solution to prevent poor breeding practices or any of the complex health issues some Bulldogs and Cavalier Kings Charles Spaniels can face.

'This absolute approach, which will be difficult to enforce, could further fuel the ongoing crisis of irresponsible breeders, illegal puppy smuggling and uninformed puppy buyers, and actually worsen the issues the legislation seeks to address.

Under the ruling, the selective breeding of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (pictured, stock image) has also been banned due to health problems experienced by the animals

'We know that outright breed bans do not work - we have seen this in the UK where attempts were made in 1991 with the Dangerous Dogs Act.

'This has simply served to drive the breeding of these dogs underground, leading to large numbers of unregistered animals where it is impossible to reach the breeders or buyers of these dogs or have any impact on the breed's health and welfare. It can also further fuel the crisis of illegally bred and imported dogs,' he continued.

'We believe a more effective approach is to continue to work collaboratively with breeders, vets, scientists and welfare organisations to research, understand and take evidence-based action  via tools like the Respiratory Function Grading Scheme for Bulldogs  to reduce and ultimately eliminate the health problems that these breeds can face, and to educate and influence uninformed puppy buyers and breeders.'

Selective breeding can lead to a wide range of health problems for the dogs, with their owners sometimes not being aware that they are suffering.

Ashild Roaldset (pictured), who heads up the chairty, said: 'This is first and foremost a victory for our dogs'

British Bulldogs suffer from 'BOAS', which stands for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, which is caused by their distinctive short skull and snout.

According to the group, this can lead to the dogs having difficulty breathing, making snoring sounds, wheezing, limited endurance and heat stroke.

The disease can worsen over time, too, with British Bulldogs often suffering from digestion issues, problems with their ears and eyes, pneumonia, birth problems, obesity and spinal issues.

As for Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, selective breathing has led to heart defects, problems with their eyes and joints, as well as headaches.

According figures from The Kennel Club cited by The Blue Cross, popularity of flat-faced dogs has boomed in recent years, with the group recording a 2,747 percent increase in ownership in the UK of French Bulldogs alone since 2004.

However, a study by the Royal Veterinary College last year found that 58 percent of short-nosed dog owners were not able to recognise the signs that their brachycephalic was having trouble breathing.

The Oslo court left some hope for lovers of British Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, ruling that breeders working to end the animal's health problems could continue.

'A conviction does not imply a ban on serious breeding of Bulldog or Cavalier, as serious and scientifically based cross-breeding could be a good alternative,' the court said in its ruling.

According to Belfast Live, Tom ystein Martinsen, chairman of the Norwegian Kennel Club said: 'A breeding ban is still not a breed ban, and the consequences of this are great. Irresponsible players will be ready to take over the market producing dogs from breeding that are not subject to any form of control.

'Then the professional competence, health requirements and information about the health status and history of the breeding animals will disappear.

'As the situation is today [...] in principle all unregistered breeding can take place without any kind of follow-up and control.'

MailOnline has contacted the Norwegian Cavalier Club and the Norwegian Bulldog Club for comment.
The mother of Rikki Neave, who was cleared of murdering the six-year-old, has denied bragging about being a 'high priestess of the occult' at the time of his death and laughed off claims she conducted a seance to try and contact him, a court has heard.

The schoolboy was found strangled and posed naked in a star shape in a woodland near his Peterborough home in November 1994.

Rikki's death remained a mystery for more than 20 years until a DNA breakthrough led to the arrest of James Watson, 40, who was seen with the schoolboy on the day he went missing.

Watson, who was 13 at the time of the death, is standing trial at the Old Bailey charged with murder.

Rikki's mother, Ruth Neave, stood trial for her son's murder in 1996 and was cleared by a jury, but she later admitted abusing her children and was jailed for seven years.

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey via video link today, Ms Neave was quizzed about her interest in murder and the occult - including Ouija boards and books about notorious murders.

Jennifer Dempster QC, representing Watson, read out a selection of titles of books that were among 143 seized by police from Ms Neave's home shortly after Rikki's death.

Ruth Neave (pictured in 2016) stood trial at Northampton Crown Court for Rikki's murder in 1996 and was cleared by the jury. She was quizzed about her interest in murder and the occult today

Court artist sketch of Ruth Neave, mother of Rikki Neave, appearing via video link at the Old Bailey, London

The body of six-year-old Rikki was found in woods in Peterborough

They included readings about Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley and unsolved killings.

Ms Neave told the court that it was not illegal to be interested in the subject.

She was asked if a copy of Still Unsolved Great True Murder Cases was in her home, to which she responded: 'Yes of course there was. I was interested in all of them.

Doesnt make it evil, doesnt make me want to kill my own son either.

Ms Dempster went on to list books of the occult and sorcery, such as Aleister Crowleys Magick In Theory And Practice - written in 1929.

Rikki's mother agreed that the book was about 'rituals and sacrifices'.

The lawyer suggested it also referred to 'black magic', rituals of Pentagram and included diagrams of star shapes.

However, Ms Neave said she does not believe in the occult 'now', adding she had only been interested in Tarot cards and Ouija boards and 'stuff like that' in 1994, the court heard.

She also denied having a conversation about how she could get away with the 'perfect murder' when watching a television programme on forensic science.

And she dismissed a suggestion that she had described herself as a 'high priestess of the occult'.

Ms Neave also told the court she did not have an interest in black magic involving 'pins and dolls', before laughing off an allegation that she told a police officer she had 'taken part in a seance to try and contact Rikki' in January 1995.

She admitted she had 'always been interested in murders', but denied ever having a serious interest in the occult.

The prosecution alleges that police focused their murder probe on Ms Neave, when detectives should have been looking at Watson, who was last seen with Rikki on the day of his death.

James Watson, 40, is on trial for the murder of six-year-old Rikki at the Old Bailey in London. He was 13 at the time of the death

Rikki's body was found naked and posed in a star shape in a woodland area a short distance from his home in Peterborough

Ms Neave appeared emotional as she was quizzed on what she could remember about the day of her son's disappearance.

Refuting a question that she did not know the time Rikki left their home that morning, she said: 'Yes I do. 8.30 to 8.45am. The police stitched me up and it seems like they are doing it again.

'At the end of the day, whos on trial - me or your client?'

Asked why she did not accompany Rikki on his way to school, Ms Neave replied that it was the 'biggest mistake of my life'.

Later, Ms Neave was asked about comments she allegedly made in 1995 while she was on bail for child cruelty.

Referring to herself and her then husband Dean Neave, she allegedly said of their children: 'We have given life to them and we can take their life away - not literally, I don't mean literally.'

She allegedly then went on to claim: 'If I had respite care before the murder, it would not have happened.'

Ms Dempster suggested the witness also talked about the 'perfect murder', a claim again refuted by Ms Neville.

Rikki's mother also described a short story about a 'perfect murder' in which a man kills and woman and 'gets away with it' as just a 'fictitious story'.

Concluding her cross examination, Ms Dempster asked: 'Did you murder Rikki?'

Ms Neave sat in silence before the lawyer repeated the question.

She asked: 'Did you murder your son? Are you really not going to answer that question? Did you kill Rikki without intending to? Did you kill him accidentally? Did you move his body in a buggy? Did you have anything to do with posing Rikki's body in a star shape?

'Did you take his body to one of his favourite places to play? Will you not answer these questions, Ms Neave?'

After a lengthy pause the witness replied: "I treat it with the contempt it deserves."

Watson, of no fixed abode, was arrested after sophisticated technology found a 'definitive match' between his DNA profile and samples taken from Rikki's clothing after a new investigation was opened into the case in 2015.

He denies murdering Rikki between November 29 and 29, 1994.

The trial continues.
What we thought was the longest year in history  2020  feels like it has entered its third year, as COVID-19 cases spike again. And, to put it plainly, were all exhausted.

Hopefully, well soon see a day where we no longer worry about this awful virus and we can get back to the sense of normalcy that we have yearned for. Until that day, however, we must do whatever we can to make sure we keep ourselves, our friends and our loved ones safe.

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Even then, we will be working to overcome the far-reaching, longer-term effects of the pandemic. That should start with its impacts on the education and well-being of our children.

The pandemic disrupted childrens lives both inside and outside of school. This presents a profoundly alarming crisis for our education system.

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Almost two years into the pandemic, many schools have not yet returned to normal, exacerbating learning loss during some of the most important years of childrens lives. Extracurriculars, assemblies, class trips and even the lunches that were once so ordinary are now so different  justifiably transformed or eliminated altogether to keep kids safe.

Sandra Miller (MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO)

The author writes: 'Pennsylvania is in the best position in memory to fix the broken state education funding system.' (KidStock / Blend Images)

A recent report from the Northwest Evaluation Association, a nonprofit research organization, found that our students underperformed during the pandemics first year, with math and reading levels among third through eighth graders lower than normal.

It hurt those with the greatest need the most: Students of color and those who are economically disadvantaged had larger declines in math and reading relative to their peers.

Also concerning is the dramatic increase in mental health issues teenagers and children are experiencing.

A joint statement led by the American Academy of Pediatrics recently declared a national state of emergency surrounding the mental health of children, citing dramatic increases in emergency department visits for all mental health emergencies as one of the most troubling findings of their work.

The precautions set by our local, state, federal government are necessary to stop the spread of the virus and protect students and staff, and federal recovery funding was critical to deal with immediate school needs responding to COVID-19.

Yet, partly because many Pennsylvania schools were struggling financially even before the pandemic, their situation has only grown more dire. Our schools simply do not have the resources  things such as support staff, technology in the classroom, adequately safe school buildings  to maintain the level of education our kids deserve, particularly now as they try to recover from the last two years of difficulties.

The hole has simply gotten deeper. Experts project public schools need another $4.6 billion to be able to afford what is needed to successfully educate all the states public school children and prepare them for careers of post-secondary education.

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Fortunately, there is hope for our public education system in 2022, if our state leaders will only seize on the opportunity.

A state court is holding a trial in a case that could change how Pennsylvania funds its public schools in which a group of parents, school districts and nonprofit organizations claim the states school funding system violates the state constitution by inadequately supporting public schools and discriminating against students and schools that need help the most.

If it rules in favor of the petitioners and rules the current system unconstitutional, the court will require the state to develop a new well-funded system to support public education in Pennsylvania.

Regardless of the result of that trial, Pennsylvania is in the best position in memory to fix the broken state education funding system. The state has a rainy-day fund that now holds a balance of over $2.8 billion. Moreover, Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced that Pennsylvania has already collected $1.5 billion more than expected so far this year.

Throw in another $7 billion or more left unappropriated from the American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden last March, and the state is sitting on funds that could make a tremendous difference for our students.

There is no better time to make significant and essential investments in our schools, especially in those schools and students who need help the most.

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Our governor and our legislators must use this money to invest in closing the school funding adequacy gap and deliver for every Pennsylvania student, no matter where they live.

PA Schools Work, a statewide group of organizations and citizens pushing for a brighter future for our students, has proposed a plan to invest an additional $1.5 billion in the upcoming state budget.

That would be a significant down payment on the existing $4.6 billion gap and would support the fundamental financing changes to a public school system that has long been both unfair and insufficient.

Our message to the governor and state Legislature: Lets not miss out on the rare opportunity before us to brighten our childrens future.

Sandra Miller is a former school director at Saucon Valley School District. She is currently the advocacy coordinator at Education Voters of Pennsylvania.
A water company has told bathers they should 'swim with their mouths shut' to avoid swallowing sewage.

Ruth Barden, an environmental director for Wessex Water, sparked fury when she made the suggestion at a council meeting in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Environment Agency manager Ian Withers was also criticised for stating reports of incidents of sewage discharge into the sea had been 'sensationalised'.

Ms Barden claimed the media had misrepresented the problem despite 17 incidents of sewage spilling into the sea off the Dorset coast in one week last October.

Bathers visiting Britain's premier seaside resort have been told by a water company to 'swim with their mouths shut' to avoid ingesting sewage. Pictured: Surfers at Bournemouth Pier last year

Ruth Barden (pictured), an environmental director for Wessex Water, sparked fury when she made the suggestion at a council meeting in Bournemouth, Dorset

Pictured: Safer Seas Service's map showing where to visit and where not to visit around Britain

Visitors to Bournemouth beach were last year left outraged at sewage Visitors to one of Britain's most popular seaside spots last year voiced their outrage that sewage was being dumped in the water. One mother said she would not let her small child go in the sea at Bournemouth pier as she did not want him to get ill. There are reports sewage was emptied into the sea at 17 Dorset beaches in October, although it is believed it was later stopped. Alexis Cook, 38, from Hertfordshire, has brought her six year old son Leo to Bournemouth for the half term holidays. She said: 'I read online that there was a problem with sewage but we came here to avoid it. It's a real shame because this is meant to be one of the nicest beaches in the country. 'We avoided Clapton because we heard there was sewage dumped there. I wish I'd checked all the other places it had been dumped. It's a good job my son is happy playing in the sand because he won't be going in the water now I know that. I don't want him getting ill - what with Covid and now this.' Surfers during the protest on the beach near Bournemouth Pier. Dozens of surfers gathered at one of Britain's premier seaside attractions last month A 43-year-old mother of three, who lives in nearby Sandbanks and was walking along the seven-mile promenade, added: 'It is very disappointing to hear that water is being pumped here. We rarely come to this end of the coast because we're in Sandbanks. 'It's absolutely horrible. If I'd have known I definitely wouldn't be letting my children swim in the water.' A resident in nearby Christchurch took to social media to say they saw a 'strange tinge of colour' to the water at Avon Beach. Janine Roberjot-Ray posted: 'Went to Avon beach and saw several people swimming. A family was letting their children in on body boards, so I showed them the warning. There was a strange tinge of colour to the water. Certainly didn't look inviting.' Advertisement

The pair spoke at a council meeting in response to dozens of sewage spills off the county's cherished beaches.

Several of the council members were 'shocked' by the response.

In a presentation to councillors Ms Barden said: 'The only way you will not get ill from consuming water is if you consume tap water.

'If you go swimming with your mouth open it is not free from bacteria, so that is something to be aware of.

'Not all discharges are pollution - all our discharges are permitted and compliant and often have no adverse environmental impact.

'There has been a reasonable amount of misrepresentation about that in the media recently.'

Mr Withers added: 'We have all seen recent headlines in the BBC, Guardian and others on the performance of the industry and there have been several publications of data which has drawn our attention to the way we all rely on water.

'There's a lot of misinformation and sensationalism about some of that data..'

Vikki Slade, a Liberal Democrat councillor who was at the meeting, said: 'Wessex Water have not responded to resident's concerns (about sewage spills) so we decided to call both them and the environmental regulator to the meeting.

'I was mortified to hear Wessex Water say the media had sensationalised it. And to hear them say, 'Well, if you swim with your mouths open, what do you expect?'

'This was a cross-party meeting and the mood was shock and disbelief. It was mind-blowing. And the back tracking when we challenged it was so disingenuous.

'Bournemouth and Poole is a regular destination for visitors in the summer months and those comments could be really damaging to tourism.

'We were saying that the massive dividends Wessex Water benefits from should go to improving water quality rather than the pockets of share holders.

'Their response was very much, 'do you want low water bills or not?' They indicated that it would cost more to get better water quality.

'The water company and the regulator needs to take more responsibility - clean water is a basic human right.'

Conservative councillor Ann Stribley added: 'People move to this area because they love the harbours, the waters and the beaches.

'We have hundreds and thousands of visitors if they are going to say the water's reasonably okay but keep your mouth shut, I've never heard anything like it and I'm really concerned.'

Ms Barden said current legislation meant it was legal to release sewage into the sea up to 10 times per year.

She suggested councillors should lobby the government to introduce legislative changes to tackle the problem.

Mrs Stribley said it was 'totally unacceptable' for untreated water to be discharged into the sea up to 10 times a year.

Environment Agency manager Ian Withers was also criticised for stating reports of incidents of sewage discharge into the sea had been 'sensationalised'. Pictured: Bournemouth beach last year

Vikki Slade (pictured), a Liberal Democrat councillor who was at the meeting, said: 'Wessex Water have not responded to resident's concerns (about sewage spills) so we decided to call both them and the environmental regulator to the meeting'

A spokesman for Wessex Water said Ms Barden was 'reiterating' guidance from Public Health England.

He said: 'Advice from both Public Health England and wild swimming groups is to avoid ingesting river, lake or sea water while swimming as there will always be bacteria in the sea - from wildlife faeces and run-off from agricultural land, as well as regulated storm overflows and treated sewage discharges.

'Ruth Barden was reiterating that advice and emphasising that the only water guaranteed to be free from bacteria is tap water. While bathing waters in the BCP area are classified as 'excellent' or 'good', this doesn't mean they are without risk.

'Ruth's resentation explained that storm overflows operate under permits from the Environment Agency, which are designed so discharges don't impact on water quality.

'Wessex Water's online Coast and Rivers Watch system notifies when they operate, enabling recreational users to decide whether or not to choose to swim at that time.

'In an ideal world we wouldn't have overflows, but separating out surface water will require enormous investment and disruption.

'We are monitoring and reporting all overflow operations; identifying the ones that will potentially cause environmental or public health harm, addressing those and then progressively working through the others.'
An off-duty cop on his way to work became the sixth NYPD officer shot in 2022 on Tuesday night when two suspects tried to steal his car in Queens, hours after thousands gathered at a wake for one of two officers killed in a Harlem last month.

The 22-year-old officer, who police did not identify, was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Beach 62nd Street and Beach Channel Drive in Arverne when two men, one armed, approached his car at about 10.20 pm, according to the New York Police Department.

One of the attempted carjackers tapped on his driver-side window with a firearm, the cop got out with his own weapon drawn.

The department's public information office told DailyMail.com they were unsure whether the officer was in uniform as he was driving to work at the 100th Precinct.

The armed man fired at the cop several times, shooting him in the shoulder. The cop returned fire and missed, NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said at a Wednesday morning press briefing.

Pictured is the firearm that police believe was used to shoot the off-duty cop on Tuesday night

The 22-year-old officer, who police did not identify, was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Beach 62nd Street and Beach Channel Drive in Arverne when two men, one armed, approached his car at about 10.20 pm

Pictured are NYPD officers surrounding the officer's vehicle as they process the crime scene

Newly-minted Mayor Eric Adams (pictured center visited the officer at the hospital and decried the 'over-proliferation of guns' and suspects 'ready to use them on individuals in blue uniforms and blue jeans'

BREAKING : Off-Duty officer shot in Queens, 2 suspects arrested. It happened shortly after 10pm Tuesday in the Arverne section of the Rockaways. The injured officer is expected to survive. Were LIVE at the scene with the very latest. @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/d2NsZdb09J  Elijah Westbrook (@elijahwestbrook) February 2, 2022

Nearby officers who heard the exchange of gunfire raced to the scene and found the wounded officer, rushing him in a patrol car to Jamaica Hospital Medical. Currently, the officer is in stable condition.

The unharmed suspects fled on foot, and were spotted a few blocks away near the intersection of Beach Channel Drive and Beach 59th St. by uniformed members of the 100th Precinct's Public Safety Team a short while later.

One of the suspects opened fire at the officers as they got out of their vehicle, striking the rear bumper on the passenger side of their unmarked car.

Corey said the officers 'exercised great restraint and did not return fire.'

'I want to emphasize that. These officers are being fired at and did not shoot back,' he said at Wednesday morning's press conference.

One of the suspects opened fire at the officers as they got out of their vehicle, striking the rear bumper on the passenger side of their unmarked car, pictured

'The police department is well past standing in front of podiums telling people there are too many illegal guns on the street,' NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell (pictured center) said at the Wednesday press conference

The officers chased down the would-be carjackers. The NYPD told DailyMail.com that, as of Wednesday morning, the pair are in custody but have not yet been charged.

Newly-minted Mayor Eric Adams visited the officer at the hospital and decried the 'over-proliferation of guns' and suspects 'ready to use them on individuals in blue uniforms and blue jeans.'

'When these two individuals shot at a passenger driving a car, they didnt shoot at a police officer, they shot at a civilian. And then to find out that they shot at police officers, it sent a message. They had no regard of who they were trying to kill,'

'They don't care... to see something like this happen repeatedly in our city is unacceptable,' Adams said.

Tuesday's attack brings the count of NYPD officers shot in 2022 to six, two of them who were off-duty - by comparison, last year, a total of 10 police officers were shot in the entire state of New York.

Pictured are the locations of the officer-involved shootings that took place in New York City before Tuesday's incident

'The police department is well past standing in front of podiums telling people there are too many illegal guns on the street,' NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at the Wednesday press conference.

'And far too many people carrying them, ready to pull the trigger,' he added.

'This young man was on his way to work, on his way to protect New Yorkers from criminals, like the two who were arrested today.'

On January 21, Officers Jason RIvera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27, were fatally shot during a domestic disturbance in Harlem.

The young officers were fatally shot when they were called to a Harlem apartment by a woman who said she needed help with her 47-year-old son.

Authorities said Lashawn McNeil, a career criminal, threw open a door in the apartment and shot the officers in a hallway. A third officer returned fire, striking McNeil as he tried to flee. He died a few days later.

Mora (left and right) was taken off life support a week ago. Being an organ donor, in his death the 27-year-old helped save five lives

Police officers in their finest dress blues and crisp white gloves salute the casket of Officer Mora, who was killed while responding to a domestic violence call

Rivera's newlywed wife, Dominique Rivera, delivered an emotional and impassioned eulogy last Friday, in which she accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of leaving police officers feeling less safe with his soft-on-crime policies.

Mora was in critical condition for days but after it was clear he wouldn't survive, he was kept on life support so his organs, including his heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas, could be donated to save others in accordance with his and his family's wishes.

Earlier, on January 18, Officer Kaseem Pennant, was shot in the leg while scuffling with a teenage suspect - has since been released from the hospital.

Detective Dominick M. Libretti, was shot through a door and hit in the leg while serving a search warrant for drugs in Staten Island on January 17. He underwent surgery at the hospital, where he is recovering. He was said to be in stable condition, but his injury was serious.

On January 1, Officer Keith Wagenhauser was hit in the head by bullet fragments while sitting in his patrol car outside an East Harlem precinct after his shift. He has been released from hospital.
Russia and China are working on financial deals that will limit the impact of potential Western-imposed monetary punishments, the Kremlin has warned.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said President Vladimir Putin is preparing to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday to discuss their 'common views' on security, amid fears Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine.

Ushakov said Moscow and Beijing were making serious efforts to create joint financial infrastructure that could safeguard Russia-China cooperation from potential sanctions from other countries, many of which have threatened to impose restrictions on Russia should military action be taken.

He added that the Kremlin was confident China would back Russia over its security concerns with the West, as NATO leaders pursue diplomatic efforts to avert a feared Russian invasion but have continued to turn down Russian demands.

Concerns have also been mounting in recent months that China could launch its own invasion of Taiwan, with Xi's rhetoric becoming increasingly hostile.

Russia and China are working on financial deals that will limit the impact of potential Western-imposed monetary punishments, the Kremlin has warned. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, for talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019

Tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratically-ruled island as its own territory, have risen in the past two years as China steps up military activities near Taiwan to pressure it to accept Chinese rule.

Experts have suggested China is intently following the US and European response over Ukraine to gauge what might happen if it were to move against Taiwan.

Putin and Xi will have lunch together on Friday which will see the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, and could sign more than 15 agreements, Ushakov told reporters today, with lots of new deals being prepared in relation to natural gas.

'A joint statement on international relations entering a new era has been prepared for the talks,' Ushakov said, adding that it will reflect Moscow and Beijing's 'common views' on security among other issues.

'China supports Russia's demands for security guarantees,' Ushakov added.

Western leaders have accused Russia of amassing more than 100,000 troops on its borders with pro-Western Ukraine and preparing for a potential invasion.

The West has warned that a Russian attack would be met with 'severe consequences' including wide-ranging economic sanctions.

Russia denies any plans to invade, instead accusing the West of failing to respect Moscow's security concerns on its borders.

Russian officials have put forward a series of demands to ease tensions, including bans on Ukraine joining NATO and on the deployment of missile systems near Russia's borders, as well as a pullback of the US-led military alliance's forces in eastern Europe.

A number of Western countries have threatened to impose sanctions on Russia should military action be taken against Ukraine. Pictured: Russian army snipers from the Western Military District conduct an ambush on a mock enemy convoy during an exercise in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, February 2, 2022

Experts have suggested China is intently following the US and European response over Ukraine to gauge what might happen if it were to move against Taiwan. Pictured: Russian and Belarusian tanks drive during joint military drills on February 2, 2022

Competition got underway in the Beijing Winter Olympics today as the shadow of war in Ukraine and the impending arrival of Putin, who will attend Friday's opening ceremony, loomed over an event already transformed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ushakov said the possibility of Russia building a new gas pipeline to China through Mongolia was being looked at, a project that has been discussed for a long time and would take years to be fully realised.

Deliveries via an existing pipeline, the Power of Siberia, a 2,485 mile (4,000 km) project that transfers gas from eastern Russia to China, began in 2019. It took around a decade to reach an agreement on supply terms.

Some experts doubt that a second gas pipeline from Russia to China, which recently overtook Japan as the worlds largest importer of sea-borne liquefied natural gas, will come to pass.

But Putin's visit comes at a time when the reliability of Russian gas supplies to Europe is being questioned by some Western politicians and when Moscow is keen to show it potentially has other options even if they are not realistic overnight.

'It is worth noting that the Chinese gas market is the most promising and fastest growing in the world,' said Ushakov.

Spot gas prices in Europe reached all-time highs in December amid soaring demand and limited supply.

Russian gas supplies to Europe have come under scrutiny as thousands of Russian troops have massed near the border of traditional gas transit nation Ukraine, raising fears of an invasion, something Moscow denies planning.

Western nations have threatened a slew of sanctions should Russia make an incursion onto Ukrainian territory. Ushakov said China supported Russia's effort to extract security demands from the West.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov and Igor Sechin, CEO of oil major Rosneft will be among the Russian delegation, Ushakov added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a ceremony to present the highest state awards in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. Of Tuesday, Putin accused the West of ignoring Russia's demands and suggested Washington was using Kyiv as an instrument to potentially drag Moscow into a war

President Vladimir Putin is preparing to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday - the day of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony - to discuss their 'common views' on security, amid fears Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. Pictured: The Big Air freestyle venue is seen at dusk at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Torch Relay on February 2, 2022 in Beijing

In his first major remarks on the crisis in weeks, Putin on Tuesday accused the West of ignoring Russia's demands and suggested Washington was using Kyiv as an instrument to potentially drag Moscow into a war.

'Ukraine itself is just a tool to achieve this goal' of containing Russia, Putin said, suggesting the aim was 'drawing us into some kind of armed conflict' in order to impose sanctions.

Putin left the door open to talks however, saying he hoped that 'in the end we will find a solution'.

The United States and NATO have provided written responses to Moscow's demands, which Putin said he is studying.

Spanish newspaper El Pais on Wednesday published what it said were leaked copies of the responses, which showed Washington and NATO offering Moscow arms control and trust-building measures.

The proposals remain firm on insisting that Ukraine and any other country has a right to apply to join the alliance.

But the reported US response suggests 'reciprocal commitments by both the United States and Russia to refrain from deploying offensive ground-launched missile systems and permanent forces with a combat mission in the territory of Ukraine.'

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was meanwhile the latest NATO leader to visit Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The visit came a day after Zelensky met in Kyiv with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was due to hold a phone call with Putin on Wednesday.

Pictured: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, Ukraine February 1, 2022

After the talks, Zelensky said Ukraine was focused 'only on peace', but insisted it has the right to defend itself.

'It is essential for dialogue to continue between Russia and the United States, between Russia and NATO,' Rutte told a joint press conference.

The tensions have been aggravated by plans for joint military exercises between Russia and neighbouring Belarus, where Washington claims Moscow is preparing to send 30,000 troops.

Video footage released by the Russian defence ministry on Wednesday showed tanks speeding across snowy fields in Belarus and combat helicopters flying overhead as units from both countries practised ahead of the February 10-20 drills.

Johnson and the Polish prime minister were in Kyiv on Tuesday ahead of Rutte, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was due in Ukraine on Thursday.

Erdogan will try to leverage his strategic position in NATO and rapport with Putin to help resolve the crisis, though Ankara's supplying of combat drones to Ukraine has angered Moscow.

The French and German foreign ministers are also expected in Ukraine next week and to visit the frontline in the east where Kyiv's forces are battling Russian-backed separatists.

Putin has said French President Emmanuel Macron could also be travelling to Moscow in the coming days.

Ukraine has been battling Moscow-backed insurgencies in two separatist regions since 2014, when Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the fighting, the last major ongoing war in Europe.
The Kansas woman charged with joining the Islamic State group and leading an all-female battalion in Syria was once known as an 'intelligent' and 'caring' student who loved science and photography and had hopes of becoming a school teacher, DailyMail.com has learned.

Allison Fluke-Ekren, 42, of Topeka, is accused of providing and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS after joining the terrorist organization overseas in 2014, prosecutors say.

Authorities released a booking photo following her arrest Friday, in which she was seen wearing a black hijab, and revealed she was known to go by the names, Umm Mohammed al-Amriki, Umm Mohammed, and Umm Jabril.

Photos from her family blog also showed Fluke-Ekren in Islamic dress alongside her second husband Volkan Ekren and young children in the years after they left the US for Egypt in 2008.

But former friends and acquaintances have told DailyMail.com the radicalized woman pictured in the photo and now charged with such horrific crimes is a far cry from the 'intelligent' and 'mature' young girl  then known as Allison Brooks  they knew growing up in rural Topeka.

A young Fluke-Ekren poses with a flower tucked behind her ear in a field near Topeka, in a photo taken during Miller's outdoor photography class in the mid-1990s

The 42-year-old Kansas women is charged with providing material support to ISIS after allegedly joining the terrorist organization in Syria in 2014. She is pictured right in an undated booking photo wearing a black hijab

Former school teacher-turned-friend Larry Miller remembered Fluke-Ekren as a stellar student at Topeka Collegiate in the early 1990s, who had a keen interest in science, photography and nature, and wanted to become a teacher herself.

Smiling and posing with a lizard, wide-eyed and innocent Fluke-Ekren is seen in a photo Miller shared with DailyMail.com, working on a science project in junior high, decades before she would become the leader of an Islamic terrorist group.

'This photo was taken when she was with me and a number of other students and adults on a herpetological research project when she was in probably the eighth grade,' Miller told DailyMail.com Wednesday.

'She loved nature and she loved learning about nature. She had caught this adult Great Plains skink and was showing it to others when I took the photo.'

Another picture shows young Fluke-Ekren with a flower tucked behind her ear while posing in a field near Topeka.

The photo was taken during an outdoor photography class that focused on nature and wildlife photography, as well as how to use natural settings for outdoor portraits, said Miller, who taught the course in the 1990s with the help of Fluke-Ekren.

Miller said the photos represent the smart and enthusiastic Allison he and many of her old friends in Kansas remember, and that he is shocked as to how one of his former student had ended up leading a life as a terrorist in adulthood.

'I have no doubt that what is now in the news around the world is true of her,' the former teacher said.

A photo shared with DailyMail.com shows smiling and innocent Allison Brooks working on a science project in junior high - decades before, as Allison Fluke-Ekren, she would become an alleged leader of an Islamic terrorist group

Larry Miller, Fluke-Ekren's former teacher, said he remembers her as an 'intelligent and caring' student who loved science and photography at Topeka Collegiate in the early 1990s

'I do not understand, however, just how intelligent and caring people like Allison and others end up being so brainwashed to want to harm and kill others that in most cases, usually all cases, have done nothing to deserve any type of violence toward them.

'Maybe I am just an old man that grew up in a time when this type of thing, even though I know it existed in some areas, was not what it is now.'

Miller told local news station KSNT earlier that Fluke-Ekren seemed 'so mature for a seventh-grader' and 'like someone who had it all together.'

He said he was 'probably as shocked about anything as I've ever been  and I've had some pretty weird things happen to me in my life.'

In an interview with The Capital Journal, he said 'never would any of us who knew her back then ever thought she would end up as she has today.'

Miller explained the two had kept in touch over the years, and that Fluke-Ekren even hired him to be her wedding photographer.

In 2008 Fluke-Ekren sent him an email, writing to him that she was happily married with four children, and that she was pursuing a Master's degree in teaching in Indiana.

Some time after that, she reached out to Miller again, asking him if he knew of any teaching positions in Kansas.

Fluke-Ekren moved to Egypt in 2008 and traveled frequently between Egypt and the US over the next three years. She announced the move in her final Facebook post dated May 5, 2008

Photos from a family blog show Fluke-Ekren with second husband Volkan Ekren and her children, posing at the base of the pyramids in Egypt

Prosecutors say Fluke-Ekren (pictured with her second husband and family) wanted to recruit operatives to attack a college campus in the U.S. and discussed a terrorist attack on a shopping mall

Miller said he told her of one job opportunity, to which she applied and was hired, but instead she moved with her second husband and children to Egypt.

A former friend identified only as Farouk also told ABC News the Fluke-Ekren was 'highly intelligent' and described her as a 'marksman' who 'fantasized' about an attack on the US and who 'liked being in charge.'

Fluke-Ekren made an initial appearance on Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.

The hearing lasted only minutes; she was ordered to remain in jail pending a detention hearing set for Thursday afternoon, and an attorney was appointed to represent her.

At the end of the hearing, though, First Assistant US Attorney Raj Parekh told the judge that he had been in contact with Fluke-Ekren's parents and her adult children, and all had said they wanted no contact with her.

The magistrate judge, Ivan Davis, said he had little ability to keep her from reaching out to her family from jail, but told Fluke-Ekren he would take it into account at Thursday's hearing if she contacted her family against their wishes.

Fluke-Ekren, speaking in a soft-spoken voice and wearing an inmate jumpsuit and headscarf, said she understood the restriction. She also told the judge, in response to his question, that she preferred to be addressed as Ekren.

According to court papers, Fluke-Ekren moved to Egypt in 2008 and traveled frequently between Egypt and the US over the next three years.

Fluke-Ekren's final Facebook post, dated May 5, 2008, reads: 'Moving to Egypt. I'm a little behind the curve, but trying to learn how to use Facebook. =-) Well, after years of planning and preparing, we are moving out of the States. We'll be in Cairo, Egypt, insha'Allah. I am teaching kindergarten, and my husband will be going to Al Azhar [University]. The kids are excited, but nervous, as am I. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated!'

She has not been in the US since 2011. Prosecutors believe she moved to Syria around 2012.

Fluke-Ekren, a teacher, home-schooled her two children Gabriel and Alaina Fluke in her house in Kansas

Prosecutors say Fluke-Ekren (pictured) wanted to recruit operatives to attack a college campus in the US and discussed a terrorist attack on a shopping mall

In early 2016, her husband was killed in the Syrian city of Tell Abyad while trying to carry out a terrorist attack, prosecutors said. Later that year, prosecutors say she married a Bangladeshi ISIS member who specialized in drones, but he died in late 2016 or early 2017.

Four months after that man's death, she again remarried a prominent Islamic state leader who was responsible for the Islamic State group's defense of Raqqa.

She told one witness in 2018 that she instructed a person in Syria to tell Fluke-Ekren's family she was dead so the U.S. government would not try to find her, according to Parekh's memo.

'Fluke-Ekren informed this same witness and others that it was important to kill the kuffar (disbelievers) and die as martyrs on behalf of ISIS in Syria,' the memo alleges. 'The witness also heard Fluke-Ekren state that she never wanted to return to the United States and that she wanted to die in Syria as a martyr.'

Photos from a family blog called 4KansasKids show her and her children in the years they traveled between Kansas and Egypt, posing at the base of the pyramids in Egypt and playing in the snow in the US.

A 2004 article about homeschooling in the Lawrence Journal-World featured Fluke-Ekren and her children. She told the paper she pulled her kids from public school because she was dissatisfied with how her children were performing in public and private schools. Homeschooling allowed her to teach Arabic to her kids.

Four months after her husbands' death, Fluke-Ekren remarried a prominent Islamic state leader who was responsible for the Islamic State group's defense of Raqqa

Prosecutors say Fluke-Ekren wanted to recruit operatives to attack a college campus in the US and discussed the idea of attacking a shopping mall by remotely detonating a car full of explosives in the parking garage.

She told one witness that 'she considered any attack that did not kill a large number of individuals to be a waste of resources,' according to an FBI affidavit.

The same witness said that when Fluke-Ekren would hear about terrorist attacks taking place in countries outside the US, she would comment that she wished the attack occurred on American soil instead.

She is alleged to have led an all-female unit comprised of the wives of male ISIS fighters was trained in the use of AK-47 rifles, grenades and suicide belts.

The members of Khatiba Nusaybah were allegedly instructed on physical training, medical training, Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device driving courses, religious classes and how to pack and prepare a 'go bag' with military supplies. According to eyewitness accounts, some of these classes were taught by Fluke-Ekren.

One witness allegedly observed that the leaders of ISIS and the other members of the military battalion were proud to have an American instructor.

A detention memo stated that Fluke-Ekren trained children how to use assault rifles, and that at least one witness saw one of Fluke-Ekren's children, approximately 5 or 6 years old, holding a machine gun in the family's home in Syria.

In all, the affidavit cites observations from six different witnesses, including some who have been charged with terrorism offenses and some who were held at prison camps for former Islamic state members.
A leaked White House Situation Room document reveals how the Biden administration was still working out how to transport American nationals and Afghan allies out of Kabul on the day before the Taliban seized the Afghan capital.

It offers fresh evidence that officials were unprepared for the rapid collapse of the Afghan government as American troops departed the country.

The notes, entitled 'Summary of Conclusions for Meeting of the Deputies Small Group,' were taken during a National Security Council meeting on Aug. 14 - the day the Taliban captured the key northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Kabul was already all but encircled and hours later Taliban gunman would sweep into the city, triggering a frantic evacuation.

Images of Afghan men falling from departing planes shocked the world and have cast a shadow over the Biden administration ever since.

The document, published by Axios on Tuesday, shows an administration that was still putting in place plans to contact American nationals, members of staff and Afghan allies while the Taliban was at the gates to Kabul.

'The Department of State will immediately stand up a communications/manifest team which will be responsible for notifying individuals from various priority lists of their travel eligibility and collect biographic information from all travelers to be manifested,' it said.

Taliban members gather and make speeches in front of Herat governorate after the completion of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 31

The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was the biggest foreign policy decision of President Joe Biden's first year in office, and it has dogged him ever since

Axios obtained notes of a National Security Council meeting in the White House Situation Room, offering fresh insight into the chaos of the evacuation operation

FALL OF KABUL: A TIMELINE OF THE TALIBAN'S FAST ADVANCE AFTER 40 YEARS OF CONFLICT Feb. 29, 2020 Trump negotiates deal with the Taliban setting U.S. withdrawal date for May 1, 2021 Nov. 17, 2020 Pentagon announces it will reduce troop levels to 2500 in Afghanistan Jan. 15, 2020 Inspector general reveals 'hubris and mendacity' of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan Feb 3. 2021 Afghan Study Group report warns against withdrawing 'irresponsibly' March Military command makes last-ditch effort to talk Biden out of withdrawal April 14 Biden announces withdrawal will be completed by Sept. 11 May 4 - Taliban fighters launch a major offensive on Afghan forces in southern Helmand province. They also attack in at least six other provinces May 11 - The Taliban capture Nerkh district just outside the capital Kabul as violence intensifies across the country June 7 - Senior government officials say more than 150 Afghan soldiers are killed in 24 hours as fighting worsens. They add that fighting is raging in 26 of the country's 34 provinces June 22 - Taliban fighters launch a series of attacks in the north of the country, far from their traditional strongholds in the south. The UN envoy for Afghanistan says they have taken more than 50 of 370 districts July 2 - The U.S. evacuates Bagram Airfield in the middle of the night July 5 - The Taliban say they could present a written peace proposal to the Afghan government as soon as August July 21 - Taliban insurgents control about a half of the country's districts, according to the senior U.S. general, underlining the scale and speed of their advance July 25 - The United States vows to continue to support Afghan troops "in the coming weeks" with intensified airstrikes to help them counter Taliban attacks July 26 - The United Nations says nearly 2,400 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in May and June in escalating violence, the highest number for those months since records started in 2009 Aug. 6 - Zaranj in the south of the country becomes the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban in years. Many more are to follow in the ensuing days, including the prized city of Kunduz in the north Aug. 13 - Pentagon insists Kabul is not under imminent threat Aug. 14 - The Taliban take the major northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and, with little resistance, Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province just 70 km (40 miles) south of Kabul. The United States sends more troops to help evacuate its civilians from Kabul as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says he is consulting with local and international partners on next steps Aug. 15 - The Taliban take the key eastern city of Jalalabad without a fight, effectively surrounding Kabul Taliban insurgents enter Kabul, an interior ministry official says, as the United States evacuate diplomats from its embassy by helicopter Advertisement

Even so, the notes suggests officials still did not know where to fly evacuees.

'State will work to identify as many countries as possible to serve as transit points. Transit points need to be able to accommodate U.S. citizens, Afghan nationals, third country nationals, and other evacuees,' it said.

A follow-up meeting was planned for the following day to look at 'whether foreign nationals who are immediate family members of U.S. citizens in Afghanistan' could travel straight to the U.S. or would need additional vetting.

'Embassy Kabul will notify LES [locally employed staff] to begin to register their interest in relocation to the United States and begin to prepare immediately for departure... (Action: Embassy Kabul, immediately),' it said.

The aftermath of the chaotic withdrawal - and a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service personnel - has dogged Biden ever since.

A month before the fall of Kabul, he had promised there would be no chaotic evacuation, no fall of Saigon moment.

'Theres going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of a embassy in the  of the United States from Afghanistan,' he told reporters in July.

'It is not at all comparable.'

Yet aid groups and military analysts had already sounded the alarm that the Afghan armed forces and government were more fragile that Washington realized and that the Taliban were making rapid advances.

'I kept being told by people in the [White House] the thing they were most concerned about was the optics of a chaotic evacuation,' said Matt Zeller, a former CIA officer.

'They treated us like we were Chicken Little. They didn't believe the sky was falling.'

Even Washington's allies - such as the U.K. - criticized the operation, saying they had been blindsided by the way Biden pushed through the withdrawal so fast.

Analysts point to the evacuation as the moment when many voters began to reassess their view of a president elected with a promise to bring competence and foreign policy expertise to the White House.

'He made a comment which he lived to regret, which is: We're not going to have another Vietnam,' said veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz.

'And then we watch people at the airport falling off the planes to their death, that taught us Americans that not only was he incompetent, but he was dishonest. So much damage to his reputation.'

Administration officials declined to comment on the leaked notes.

'While we're not going to comment on leaked internal documents, cherry-picked notes from one meeting do not reflect the months of work that were already under way,' said the NSC in a statement.

The administration had already launched Operation Allies Refuge, and worked with Congress to prepare, by the time the notes were taken.

'It was because of this type of planning and other efforts that we were able to facilitate the evacuation of more than 120,000 Americans, legal permanent residents, vulnerable Afghans and other partners,' it said.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby also said he would not comment on leaded documents, but added that by Aug. 14 work was well under way on an evacuation.

'As early as in the spring the Defence Department was already ... gaming out what a noncombatant evacuation would look like,' he said.

'And the secretary prepositioned forces well before August ... prepositioned forces in the region so that if they were needed to respond quickly, they could.'

The hurried withdrawal led to thousands of Afghans crowding around Kabul airport asking American soldiers for help to fly out of the country

He added that 3,000 troops were on the ground within 48 hours as a result.

Yet the consequences of the withdrawal are still playing out.

This week the United Nations said 60 allies of the U.S. had been killed in Afghanistan by the Taliban since they seized power in the wake of Joe Biden's troop withdrawal.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report the UN had received 'credible allegations' that more than 100 former members of the Afghan government, its security forces and those who worked with international troops have been killed.

He said that 'more than two-thirds of the deaths, just over 60, were alleged to result from extrajudicial killings by the Taliban or its affiliates. Around 30 more have been killed in unexplained circumstances.

And Biden on Sunday called for the release of U.S. Navy veteran Mark Frerichs, who was taken hostage in Afghanistan nearly two years ago.

Frerichs, 59, a civil engineer and contractor from Lombard, Illinois, was kidnapped in January 2020 from the capital of Kabul.

He is believed to be in the custody of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.

'Threatening the safety of Americans or any innocent civilians is always unacceptable, and hostage-taking is an act of particular cruelty and cowardice,' Biden said in a statement to mark the second anniversary of the kidnapping on Monday.

Critics say the U.S. should not have left behind a hostage.
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Joe Biden says his decision to deploy troops to Eastern Europe amidst rising tensions is 'totally consistent' with what he has communicated to Russian President Vladimir Putin as Moscow accuses the U.S. president of taking 'destructive steps.'

'As long as he's acting aggressively, we are going to make sure we reassure our NATO allies in Eastern Europe that we're there and Article 5 is a sacred obligation,' he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

The Pentagon revealed Wednesday that President Biden approved deployment of 3,000 American troops to Eastern Europe 'in the coming days' as the world watches Russia move closer to invading Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Russian news agency Interfax that the U.S. moves are 'not substantiated by anyone' and are 'destructive steps which increase military tension and reduce scope for political decisions.'

Defense Department spokesman John Kirby detailed on Wednesday that 2,000 troops stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina will deploy to Poland and Germany this week. The majority of this group  around 1,700 troops  will come from the 82nd Airborne Division's infantry brigade combat team and will go to Poland.

Just a few hundred  the remaining approximately 300  will deploy from the 18th Airborne Corps to create a joint task force capable headquarters to provide mission command in Germany.

Another 1,000 troops part of a Germany-based infantry Stryker squadron will reposition to Romania at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) closest flank to Russia. They will add to the 900 U.S. forces already in Romania

Kirby says France also intends to send troops to Romania.

The movements come as the west waits to see if Moscow will invade Ukraine after moving at least 130,000 troops to its border. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed he does not intend to attack Ukraine.

Kirby assured reporters during his Wednesday briefing of the latest deployments: 'These are not permanent moves. They respond to current conditions. We will adjust our posture as those conditions evolve.'

'We do not believe conflict is inevitable,' he assured

President Biden put 8,500 troops on heightened alert last month in preparation for movement to Eastern Europe to help bolster the region against threats from Russia should NATO activate its response force.

The US suggested in letters that Russian inspectors can gain access to NATO bases in Romania and Poland (pictured above) to guarantee that no Tomahawk missiles are being stationed there. Comes as Pentagon announces 2,000 troops in the U.S. will deploy to Poland and Germany and another 1,000 will head to Romania from their base in Germany

Biden told reporters Wednesday that his decision to deploy troops to Eastern Europe amidst rising tensions is 'totally consistent' with what he has communicated to Russian President Vladimir Putin ever since they started building a troop presence at the border with Ukraine. Biden speaks at an event held to 'reignite the Cancer Moonshot' at the White House February 2, 2022

Over the weekend, the U.S. sent another shipment of military aide to Ukraine. Pictured: Airmen from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron load ammunition, weapons and other equipment at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware on January 30

The shipment full of tons of military aid was loaded on Saturday and bound for Kiev as part of a foreign military sales mission

Since 2014, the U.S. has committed more than $5.4 billion in assistance to Ukraine. Pictured are pallets of a shipment of ammunition, weapons and other equipment bound for Ukraine as Russia built up troops at the border

U.S. soldiers take part in a training exercise with NATO forces in Latvia after Biden announced the troop deployment

Defense Department Spokesman John Kirby announced on Wednesday plans for deployment and movement of 3,000 troops in Europe. 2,000 troops stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina will deploy to Poland and Germany this week from the 82nd Airborne Division's infantry brigade combat team and 18th Airborne Corps. Another 1,000 troops part of a Germany-based infantry Stryker squadron will reposition to Romania at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) closest flank to Russia. They will add to the 900 U.S. forces already in Romania

2,000 troops from Fort Bragg, 1,000 in the Stryker squadron moving from Germany to Romania and thousands more ready: The U.S. troop plan for Eastern Europe Department of Defense Spokesperson John Kirby detailed on Wednesday the latest U.S. troop movements approved by President Joe Biden. He said that plan was laid out to the president in three parts: 1  1,000 U.S. troops part of the Germany-based infantry Stryker squadron will reposition to Romania 'in the coming days.' This mounted cavalry unit is designed to deploy in short order and move quickly once in place. The movement to Romania will add to the 900 U.S. forces already in that country to help deter aggression from Russia and enhance defensive capabilities in frontline NATO allied states. Kirby said Pentagon Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed reposition with Romania last week and the movement there is coming at the invitations of the Romanian government. France also intends to deploy to Romania under NATO command. 2  Approximately 2,000 troops stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina will deploy to Europe this week. The majority of those deployments, approximately 1,700, will comes from the 82nd Airborne Division's infantry brigade combat team, which will go to Poland. The 82nd specializes in parachute assault operations and is a rapid ready team prepared to response anywhere in the world within 18 hours. Another 300 or so are coming from the 18th Airborne Corps, which will create a joint task force capable headquarters in Germany. The corps provides mission command and is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world. Kirby said the Pentagon worked with Poland and Germany and have support for deployment. He assured: 'Again, these are not permanent moves. They respond to current conditions. We will adjust our posture as those conditions evolve.' 3  All of these troop movements and deployments are 'separate and in addition' to the 8,500 U.S. military personnel put on heightened alert posture last week. Kirby said: 'Those 8,500 are not currently being deployed but remain ready to move, if called, for the NATO Response Force (NRF) or as needed for other contingencies as directed by the Secretary of by President Biden.' Advertisement

'They are trained and equipped for a variety of missions during this period of elevated risk,' said a senior defense official told the Wall Street Journal, declining to to provide additional details on specific missions.

They added that the deployments also are 'meant to deter the threat against the alliance.'

'We are literally willing to put skin in the game.'

In addition to the 2,000-troop deployment and movement of forces already in Europe, the Pentagon has also ordered several thousand more troops be put on standby for potential deployment.

None of the troops are currently authorized to enter Ukraine.

As part of efforts to reassure the Kremlin about the threat it is facing, U.S. diplomats say they are willing to give Russia access to NATO bases in Poland and Romania to confirm that no Tomahawk cruise missiles are based there.

Biden signed off on the plan for troop movement after meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley on Tuesday.

The plan includes three different parts - the U.S. troop movement from Germany to Romania; the deployment from Fort Bragg of troops to Poland and Germany; and the continued standby of 8,500 other U.S.-based troops who were put on heightened alert late last month.

U.S. lawmakers are split on Biden's decision to deploy, move and put troops on heightened alert in the midst of rising tensions in Europe.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is in favor of it.

'I completely support the Biden Administration's decision to send more U.S. troops to bolster NATO allies in the face of Russian aggression,' the South Carolina senator tweeted on Wednesday. 'It is imperative that NATO meet the moment and that we stand firmly against Putin's efforts to divide the alliance.'

On the other hand, fellow Republican Senator Mike Braun from Indiana is against it.

'I am strongly opposed to President Biden's decision to send American troops to Eastern Europe,' he tweeted along with an image of a longer statement on the matter.

He claims that the U.S. should not be getting engaged in conflict when other countries should 'defend themselves'.

Senator Josh Hawley, a Trump ally from Missouri, said he supports sending assistance to Kiev to help Ukraine defend itself. He is, however, against the U.S.getting so involved in the potential of war with Russia.

The U.S. has already sent millions of military aid in at least six shipments to Kiev.

Washington and its NATO allies have offered to open talks with Moscow on arms control and trust-building measures to defuse the Ukraine stand-off, according to copies of letters sent to Vladimir Putin that leaked today.

The proposals, set out in missives by NATO and the United States last month in response to Russian demands, lay out in detail areas for future talks - including on nuclear weapons, the deployment of shot and medium-range missiles in Europe, military drills, cyber attacks, and space weapons.

Both letters clearly state that Ukraine will not be banned from joining NATO, and make no reference to Russia's demand that all forces are withdrawn from ex-Soviet states.

The letters do not exclude the possibility of forces being scaled down, but make it clear that this would only happen if Russia makes reciprocal moves - for example by withdrawing forces from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

They also note that, if Putin continues massing forces on Europe's doorstep, then NATO and the US will be 'forced' to increase their own deployments in response.

A photo taken from a Russian Defense Ministry video shows Russian and Belarusian tanks drive during joint military drills at Brestsky firing range in Belarus on Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Airmen from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron load military aid and equipment bound for Kiev, Ukraine during a foreign military sales mission at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware on January 30, 2022

A view of the Osipovichi training ground near Mogilev, in Belarus, shows Russian mobile missile launchers (centre) parked up alongside tents housing their crews (top) as war games in the region get underway

Russian battle groups are shown camped out in tents at the Pogonovo Training Area, just south of the city of Voronezh, which sits around 100 miles north of the Ukraine border

Tents and surrounding ground chewed up by vehicle tracks are seen at a Russian base in Angarsky, Crimea, on Tuesday

Tents and armored vehicles are seen at Russia's Opuk Training Area in occupied Crimea on Tuesday

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a rare statement on the crisis Tuesday, said diplomacy can still resolve the crisis but the West must start taking Russian security concerns seriously. Putin is pictured Wednesday, February 2, 2022 after a ceremony in Moscow where he presented Russia's highest state awards for distinguished achievements

Both NATO and Russia have refused to comment on the authenticity of the documents, which leaked to Spanish media. They emerged as satellite images showed Putin continuing to mass troops near Ukraine and in Crimea.

A NATO official refused to confirm the text, saying: 'We never comment on alleged leaks.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was aware of the report but added: 'We didn't publish anything, and I don't want to comment on this.'

President Vladimir Putin's government has deployed a huge force of up to 130,000 troops backed by tanks and artillery near the Ukraine border and in Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia annexed in 2014.

The Kremlin has since demanded that NATO guarantee that Kiev never be allowed to join and that the alliance withdraw forces from eastern member states that were Soviet allies or republics during the Cold War.

Western allies have dismissed calls to slam shut NATO's door, but the leaked letters call for 'meaningful arms control discussions and dialogue with Russia on mutual transparency and confidence-building measures.'

'No other partner has been offered a comparable relationship or a similar institutional framework,' the allies said of the NATO-Russia council, in the letter released by El Pais.

'Yet Russia has broken the trust at the core of our cooperation and challenged the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture,' it says.

The US document stresses: 'We are ready to consider arrangements or agreements with Russia on issues of bilateral concern, to include written, signed instruments, to address our respective security concerns.'

It suggests renewing the US-Russian Strategic Stability Dialogue on arms control agreements to 'limit ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles and their launchers'.

But it repeats Washington's warning that Russia is already in breach of the now suspended 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019, accusing Moscow of deploying a banned type of missile.

And it warns: 'Further Russian increases in force posture or further aggression against Ukraine will force the United States and our Allies to strengthen our defensive posture.'

The leak emerged after Putin accused the US of trying to draw Russia into a war in Ukraine as a pretext for imposing harsh sanctions on his country.

The Russian president charged Washington with using Ukraine as an 'instrument' to bully Russia and 'contain' its development, while ignoring legitimate security fears.

Putin, who has rarely spoken since the Ukraine standoff began in November, said on Tuesday that he hopes a diplomatic solution to the crisis can still be found.

NATO and America's offers to Russia: What do both of the leaked letters say? NATO letter - NATO is defensive and poses no threat to Russia - Russia is responsible for a substantial, unprovoked, unjustified, and ongoing military build-up in and around Ukraine - Russia should immediately deescalate the situation in a verifiable, timely and lasting manner - Reaffirms support for territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea - NATO regrets Russia's breach of values, principles and commitments which it helped develop - Allies are prepared to discuss security concerns with Russia on basis of reciprocity and principles of European security - Support proposals to discuss, at NATO-Russia council, the state of NATO-Russia relations, security situation in Europe incl. Ukraine, issues related to risk-reduction, transparency and arms control - NATO proposes continued military-to-military communication, to reestablish NATO and Russia's mutual presence in Moscow and Brussels, and work to reestablish a civilian hotline - NATO demands Russia withdraw forces from Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova; cease posturing, nuclear rhetoric, and 'malign activities directed at allies' - NATO offers to increase the transparency of military drills, reciprocal briefings on nuclear deployments, and is open to suggestions on reducing threats to space systems and from cyber attacks - NATO demands that Russia halt space weapon tests, all states stop cyberattacks, return to compliance with Conventional Armed Forces Treaty - NATO offers to negotiate over nuclear stockpiles, especially over short and inter-range missiles and launchers - Russia withdrawing troops from around Ukraine 'will be essential for substantive progress' - Will not compromise principles of NATO, and 'will take all necessary measures to defend and protect our Allies, and will not compromise on our ability to do so' US letter - Prepared to work towards an understanding with Russia - Willing to issue written, signed instruments to address respective concerns - Open to discuss issues of concern to Russia, the US, and Allies/partners - US supports NATO's open door policy, will not discuss the issue outside of NATO - Basis for talks must be principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and every state's right to choose its alliances - Willing to discuss commitments and transparency measures related to ground missile systems and permanent forces in Ukraine, in consultation with Ukraine - Concerned about troop build-up around Ukraine, and concerned that Russia is in violation of its agreements - Willing to discuss enhanced transparency around military drills in Europe, based on equivalent commitments by Russia - Willing to discuss enhanced notification regime for nuclear exercises, including bombers - Willing to discuss arms control agreements for short and medium-range missiles, but remains concerned about Russian breaches - Further Russian increases in force around Europe will force the US and NATO to strengthen defences - Willing to discuss areas of disagreement on conventional forces, and take steps to reduce risks - Prepared to guarantee the absence of Tomahawk cruise missiles in Poland and Romania - Prepared to immediately start negotiations on nuclear stockpiles, esp. taking in concerns over Russia's stockpiles of large nuclear weapons, new types of weapon not included in old treaties - 'It is the position of the US that progress can only be achieved... in an environment of de-escalation with respect to Russia's threatening actions towards Ukraine' Advertisement

Troop tents and armoured vehicles are pictured at Russia's Yevpatoriya base in occupied Crimea on Tuesday

Tanks (centre, on top of raised earth mounds) are pictured on a firing range at Pogonovo, Russia, on January 26

A satellite picture shows Russian armoured forces massed at a base in Yelnya, around 150 miles from Ukraine, on January 19

Tanks and support vehicles are pictured in Russia's Yelna region in a satellite image taken on January 19

America is trying to draw Russia into a war in Ukraine as an excuse to slap the country with sanctions, Putin has claimed (pictured, Ukraine's territorial defence forces in training)

But, he added, that will only happen if the 'interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, European nations and Russia' are respected.

Putin issued a rare statement on the crisis Tuesday, speaking after a meeting with Hungary's Viktor Orban - a member of NATO - in Moscow.

He said the Kremlin is still studying written responses that Washington and NATO gave to his security demands, but said it is clear that most of Russia's concerns are being ignored.

Putin argued that it's possible to negotiate an end to the standoff if the interests of all parties, including Russia's security concerns, are taken into account.

'I hope that we will eventually find a solution, although we realize that it's not going to be easy,' he said.

Putin said the Western allies' refusal to meet Russia's demands violates their obligations on the integrity of security for all nations.

He warned that a Ukrainian accession to NATO could lead to a situation where Ukraine launches military action to reclaim control over Russian-annexed Crimea or areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists in the country's east.

'Imagine that Ukraine becomes a NATO member and launches those military operations,' Putin said. 'Should we fight NATO then? Has anyone thought about it?'

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 following the ouster of the country's Moscow-friendly president and later threw its weight behind rebels in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, triggering a conflict that has killed over 14,000 people.

Putin charged that while the US airs concerns about Ukraine's security, it is using the ex-Soviet country as an 'instrument' in its efforts to contain Russia.

He alleged that Washington may try to 'draw us into a military conflict and force its allies in Europe to impose the tough sanctions the U.S. is talking about now.'

Another option would be to 'draw Ukraine into NATO, deploy offensive weapons there' and encourage Ukrainian nationalists to use force to reclaim the rebel-held east or Crimea, 'drawing us into a military conflict.'

'We need to find a way to ensure interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, European nations and Russia,' Putin said, emphasizing that the West needs to treat Russian proposals seriously to make progress.

He said French President Emmanuel Macron may soon visit Moscow as part of renewed diplomatic efforts following their call on Monday.

Boris Johnson speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine during a diplomatic visit on Tuesday

The UK has thrown its weight behind Ukraine since the crisis started, flying out anti-tank missiles and deploying extra forces to eastern Europe

Earlier this week, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sent letters to the U.S. and other Western counterparts pointing out obligations signed by all members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Russia argues that NATO's expansion eastward has hurt Russia's security, violating the principle of 'indivisibility of security' endorsed by the OSCE in 1999 and 2010.

It says the U.S. and its allies have ignored the principle that the security of one nation should not be strengthened at the expense of others, while insisting on every nation's right to choose alliances.

In his letter, which was released by the foreign ministry, Lavrov said 'there must be security for all or there will be no security for anyone.'

In a separate call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Lavrov warned that Moscow will not allow Washington to 'hush up' the issue.

Blinken, meanwhile, emphasized 'the U.S. willingness, bilaterally and together with Allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns.'

However, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken was resolute in 'the U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances.'

Blinken 'urged immediate Russian de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine's borders,' Price said.

He reaffirmed that 'further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path.'

A Ukrainian soldier is seen patrolling a trench near the frontlines with Russian-backed rebels

T-64 tanks covered by snow stand at the depot site at the Tank Repair Plant in Kharkiv, Ukraine

A bullet riddled effigy of Russian President Vladimir Putin is coated by fresh snow at a frontline position in the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine

A Belgian Air Force F-16 is seen at Amari Air Base, Estonia, after Russian aircraft flew into the country's airspace on Tuesday

Senior State Department officials described the call as professional and 'fairly candid,' noting that if Russia wanted to prove it isn't going to invade Ukraine, it should withdraw its troops from the border and neighboring Belarus.

Shortly after speaking to Lavrov, Blinken convened a conference call with the secretary general of NATO, the EU foreign policy chief and the chairman-in-office of the OSCE as part of efforts to ensure that the allies are engaged in any further contacts with Russia.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said the U.S. statement about its readiness for dialogue 'doesn't correlate' with Washington sending planeloads of military equipment to Ukraine.

'I don't know why the U.S. is escalating tensions and at the same time accusing Russia,' he said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv for scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Johnson said the U.K. has a package of measures including sanctions ready to go 'the moment the first Russian toecap crosses further into Ukrainian territory.'

'It is vital that Russia steps back and chooses a path of diplomacy, and I believe that is still possible,' Johnson said. 'We are keen to engage in dialogue, of course we are. But we have the sanctions ready.'

He said he would have a call with Putin on Wednesday, noting that the Russian leader was trying to 'impose a new Yalta, new zones of influence' in a reference to the 1945 deal between the allied powers.

'And it would not just be Ukraine that was drawn back into the Russian sphere of influence,' Johnson added.

In other developments, Biden was expected to nominate career foreign service officer Bridget Brink to assume the long-vacant diplomatic post of American ambassador to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official familiar with the decision.

Brink currently serves as the ambassador to Slovakia.
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A record one in eight primary school children were infected with Covid in England last week, according to the country's gold-standard testing survey.

The Office for National Statistics report estimated 13.1 per cent of under-11s had the virus on any given day in the week ending January 26, the latest available. This was above the previous high of 11.8 per cent a fortnight ago.

Primary school pupils are the last remaining unvaccinated age group in the country, and have seen their case rates tick up since schools returned from the Christmas holidays at the start of last month.

Covid cases also hit a record high among secondary school pupils last week with one in 15 (7.6 per cent) infected, while across the country the wave plateaued at 2.6million people currently having the virus.

Experts today raised concerns over the high rates in children, warning that many will miss lessons and risk passing on the virus to others.

More than 50,000 primary and secondary school children were out of classrooms due to Covid in the week to January 20 according to Government figures, the equivalent to one in every 200 pupils.

Despite high infection rates in children, England is moving towards learning to live with the virus in the near future.

Ministers have taken confidence from the growing disconnect between surging cases and hospitalisations and deaths to lift almost all remaining Covid restrictions.

MailOnline analysis yesterday found Covid has a similar fatality rate to flu with 0.2 per cent of cases leading to deaths. For comparison, the rate for flu is around 0.1 per cent.

The above graph shows the proportion of people thought to have the virus by age group in England. It has now reached a record high among under-11s, statistics from the ONS show

And in England estimates suggest that Covid case rates are now beginning to flatline amid surges in some age groups

The ONS' weekly report  based on random swabs from 100,000 Britons  is considered the gold standard for tracking the UK's outbreak and is used by ministers to monitor changes in cases.

The random swabbing ensures that the surveillance does not need to rely on people coming forward for tests unlike the official system, allowing it to monitor the prevalence of the virus across the population.

Its publication was pushed to twice a week in December amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant to allow officials to keep a closer eye on the current wave.

Daily Covid stats to be ditched... but not until APRIL Daily Covid statistics are set to be dropped in April under the Government's plan to live with the virus like the flu, it was claimed today. Boris Johnson has already laid out his intention to scrap all remaining Covid laws  including the legal requirement for infected people to self-isolate  by March 24. And now a senior Whitehall source has claimed daily updates on cases, deaths and hospitalisations will be axed just weeks later. Experts today hailed the rumoured move, arguing the Government should also push forward plans to end mass testing. Free lateral flows are not expected to be ditched until July. Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline 'we have to stop producing the daily stats' at some point. He claimed April was a 'reasonable' time to push ahead with the move, which was leaked to the i newspaper. The Government source said that the Prime Minister himself has 'pencilled in Easter as the latest date by which the daily Covid statistics will be published in their current form'. 'In an ideal situation, he (Mr Johnson) will bring an end to them sooner if the current downward trend in deaths continues,' the insider added. 'Ending the daily Covid death toll is part of the Prime Ministers strategy of living with Covid. 'It is hoped taking the focus away from the Covid figures will also help people move on with their lives.' The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Department of Health and Social Care both declined to comment. Advertisement

Overall, it estimated 2.63million people in England had Covid last week.

This was marginally up on the 2.62million last week, but the ONS said this change was too small to be

Breaking cases down by age showed they rose among under-16s alongside 17 to 24-year-olds (4.13 per cent infected last week) and 35 to 49-year-olds (5.34 per cent).

But in older age groups who are more vulnerable to the virus and more likely to be boosted infections pointed downwards.

In terms of regions, cases were estimated to be heading up in five  the West Midlands, East of England, London, the South East and the South West.

But in the other areas they were still falling.

Northern Ireland had the highest Covid prevalence (one in 15 people infected) out of the home nations, followed by England and Wales (one in 20), and Scotland (one in 30).

Commenting on the figures, Professor Kevin McConway, a statistician at the Open University, said: 'Really the best I can say is that most of the changes arent large, and that things could be much worse... but many of the trends in numbers... are now either flat or increasing.'

He added: 'The thing that concerns me most is the continuing increases in infection rates in children of school age and younger.

'Those infection rates for children remain really very high, and while very few of them will get really seriously ill, there are still consequences in terms of missing school time or infecting others who are more vulnerable.'

Amid reams of promising data showing Omicron was milder than its predecessors, England dumped 'Plan B' measures last week.

It meant restrictions requiring face masks in public places, guidance to work from home and vaccine passports were lifted about a month after they were imposed.

Ministers have also unveiled plans to dump the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive for the virus by the end of March.

And earlier this week they said the vaccine mandate for NHS staff  requiring them all to be double-jabbed by April  would be dropped.

It was claimed today that daily Covid statistics could also be dropped in April under the Government's plan to start living with the virus.

A Government source said that the Prime Minister himself has 'pencilled in Easter as the latest date by which the daily Covid statistics will be published in their current form'.

'In an ideal situation, he (Mr Johnson) will bring an end to them sooner if the current downward trend in deaths continues,' the insider added.

'Ending the daily Covid death toll is part of the Prime Ministers strategy of living with Covid.

'It is hoped taking the focus away from the Covid figures will also help people move on with their lives.'

It is expected, however, that an offshoot of Covid called BA.2 could trigger an uptick in cases over the coming weeks.

Analysis from scientists in Denmark  where it is already dominant  suggest it is 33 per cent more transmissible than the old Omicron.

Their study based on 18,000 people also found the version of Omicron is better at infecting vaccinated and booster-dosed people than its parent strain (BA.1).

But, crucially, there was no extra risk of being hospitalised compared to the original Omicron, which was already intrinsically weaker than past variants.

BA.2 cases are surging rising in Britain data shows, with the tally more than quadrupling to 1,197 cases last week. But this is likely only the tip of the outbreak because Britain is now checking just 10 per cent of its cases for mutant strains.

It comes as new Covid cases in the UK fell today after a brief blip earlier in the week as it emerged ministers are looking to scrap the daily virus statistics in April.

There were 88,085 more positive coronavirus tests recorded across the country in the last 24 hours, Government dashboard data shows, down nearly 14 per cent in a week.

A technical error means Scotland's cases have not been counted but even with their inclusion today's UK total would likely be down on last Wednesday. Scotland has been reporting 2,800 cases on average this week.

There were also 534 Covid deaths reported today  technically a 54 per cent increase in a week.

However, looking at fatalities by date of death  rather than date reported  shows that the number of people actually dying each day has been falling for over a week.
A man interrupted Pope Francis' general audience at the Vatican today to denounce the Church and shout: 'God rejects you, Father. You're not a king.'

Vatican police and a Swiss Guard immediately arrived to the scene after the man, who had been sitting alone in the back of the Paul VI hall, began shouting and gesticulating at the pope.

The man appeared distraught and concerned as he held his face mask in his hand and shouted in English: 'The Church is not the way God wants it.'

While being led out of the hall by guards the man, who also spoke in Spanish and Italian, continued: 'God rejects you, Father. You're not a king.'

The man was also heard shouting the word 'mask' as he stood up and gestured to the pontiff.

 A shouting man denouncing the Church disrupts an audience by Pope Francis at the Vatican, before being escorted outside by police.



The Pope offered to pray for the man, saying "we must not be deaf to this brother's needs". pic.twitter.com/mARHWz32Gu  euronews (@euronews) February 2, 2022

The man (pictured) was escorted out of the Paul VI hall by Vatican police and a Swiss Guard after he interrupted Pope Francis' general audience at the Vatican today

The man had been sitting alone in the back of the Paul VI hall when he held his mask in his hand and began shouting at the pontiff

The 85-year-old pope continued to deliver his address to the audience as the man was escorted out of the Paul VI hall

The disturbance came near the end of Francis' weekly general audience in the large Paul VI hall.



The 85-year-old pope, who had continued to deliver his address during the shouting, later asked those in the audience hall to join him in saying a prayer for the man.

He said: 'We heard, a few minutes ago, a person who was yelling, scolding, who had a problem.

'I don't know if it's physical, psychic or spiritual, but it's one of our brothers, in difficulty.

'I would like to conclude by praying for him, our brother who suffers. Poor man, he's shouting because he's suffering.

'Let's not be deaf to the needs of this brother.'

A Vatican source said the man, who appeared to be in his late 40s or early 50s, was an Irish national living in Rome who had made similar outbursts in several Roman basilicas in the past.

Following the incident the man was handed over to Italian police which is the normal procedure when someone is detained in the Vatican.

The man, who spoke in English, Spanish and Italian, appeared distraught and concerned as he shouted at the pope

He told the pope 'God rejects you, Father. You're not a king' before being escorted out of the church

Pope Francis greeting people at the weekly general audience at the Vatican today

The pope (pictured on a picture with the faithful after the weekly general audience) asked those in the audience hall to join him in saying a prayer for the man

The pontiff takes a picture with a man in the audience during the weekly general audience at the Vatican

The scenes come just weeks after Pope Francis hailed parents who 'flee wars' with their children for a new life in Europe as 'heroes'.

In an interview for the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano the pontiff said: 'I think of many fathers, many mothers and many families that flee war, who are rejected at the borders of Europe and elsewhere, who experience situations of suffering and injustice and who no one takes seriously or willingly ignores.

'I would like to say to these fathers, to these mothers, that for me they are heroes because I see in them the courage of those who risk their lives for love of their children, for love of their family.'

Pope Francis went on to say he felt 'very close' to the suffering of those families who had been forced to flee their war torn countries.

He added: 'I feel very close to the suffering of those families, of those fathers and mothers who are experiencing particular difficulty, worsened above all due to the [Covid-19] pandemic.

Last month Pope Francis hailed parents who 'flee wars' with their children for a new life in Europe as 'heroes'. Pictured: The pope walks on stage during his weekly general audience at the Vatican

The 85-year-old pontiff meeting with people at the end of the weekly general audience today

'I think that not being able to feed one's children, feeling the responsibility for the life of others, is suffering that is not easy to face. In this regard, my prayers, my closeness but also all the support of the Church is for these people, for these least ones.'

The speech came after Pope Francis met with dozens of child asylum seekers during a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, where more than 3,500 asylum seekers reside, last December.

Last week the pope also told parents to support their children if they are gay and to 'not hide in an attitude of condemnation' during his weekly audience with the public.

The pontiff called on families to never condemn their children for whatever reason, including over their sexual orientation.

Speaking from the centre stage of Paul VI Hall in the Vatican, Francis said: 'Parents who see different sexual orientations in their children - how to deal with this, how to be on their side and not hide in a condemnatory attitude.'

The pontiff continued: 'Parents who see their children not going to school - so many parents' problems, we think how to help them.

'To them I say: don't be afraid... Never condemn a child.'

He also prayed for peace in Ukraine, calling for dialogue to prevail over partisan interests so as to resolve the West's standoff with Russia.
This is the video that demonstrates the extra measures a woman took to ensure that her co-worker would not skip out on getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in northeastern Brazil.

The viral footage shows Ana Andrade keeping a tight grip on the rope that was tied around Cicero de Oliveira's belly as he waited to be called on at a vaccination site in Rio Largo, Alagoas, on Sunday.

The 66-year-old woman told Brazilian news outlet TNH1 that the president of the company she works for had asked her to accompany 48-year-old friend and another co-worker to the appointment.

She noticed he had become increasingly afraid of getting the immunization and as a joke as the staff at the health center to get her a rope to keep de Oliveira still.

'He was shaking all over, afraid to get the vaccine,' Andrade said. 'I tied up Cicero and took him to the (waiting) room. There, I tied is legs too and said, 'now you can run.''

Ana Andrade (right) keeps a tight grip on the rope that was tied around Cicero de Oliveira's (left) belly as he waited to be called on at a vaccination site in Alagoas, Brazil, on Sunday. Andrade said the idea of using the rope to restrain he co-worker was done as a joke after she noticed he kept shaking his legs as he waited to get his second COVID-19 immunization shot

Cicero de Oliveira gets his second coronavirus shot while he was tied with a rope

De Oliveira was thankful for his longtime friend's sudden idea, which relaxed his worries after encountering an issue with his initial dose.

The pair work together at the Asa dos Ventos Residents' Association in Rio Largo.

'I don't like the vaccine. Fear is something that kills us, you know?' De Oliveira said. 'The good thing is that everything worked out. I took both doses and everything worked out.'

Ana Andrade told Brazilian news outlet TNH1 that her co-worker Cicero de Oliveira was scared to get his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination after he encountered issues with the initial shot

Cicero de Oliveira was thankful that his longtime friend Ana Andrade accompanied him to get his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a health center in Brazil. The visit went viral after he was caught on camera with a rope tied around his belly

With more than 150 million already fully vaccinated, Andrade said she will gladly provide her services to the other 163 million who are awaiting their second doses.

'Please, whoever hasn't had the vaccine, go take it. It gives a little reaction, but it's normal,' she said. 'The vaccine is protection. If you're afraid, call me.'

According to data updated Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Research, Brazil is third behind the United States and India with 25,634,781 COVID-19 infections reported.

The South American nation - the epicenter of the pandemic in the Latin America region - is second to the U.S. with 628,356 confirmed deaths.
Ms Wadsworth, who gushed about her visit to England on Facebook, was due to fly home to see her family in Canada tomorrow

She had flown from her home in Vernon, British Columbia, to be with her boyfriend Jack Sepple in November last year

Ashley Wadsworth, 19, was knifed to death following a 'disturbance' at an address in Chelmsford, Essex, at 4pm yesterday

A woman has been stabbed to death in a quiet Essex cul-de-sac - just 11 weeks after moving to England to be with her British boyfriend she met online.

Ashley Wadsworth, 19, was discovered following a 'disturbance' at an address in Chelmsford, Essex, at 4pm yesterday.

She had flown the the UK to be with her boyfriend Jack Sepple in November last year.

Ms Wadsworth was due to fly home to see her family in Vernon, British Columbia, tomorrow.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Ashley Wadsworth, 19, was found stabbed to death at an address in Essex. She had flown to the UK from her home in Canada to live with her boyfriend Jack Sepple (pictured together)

Ms Wadsworth (pictured) had been due to fly home to Vernon in British Columbia tomorrow

Essex Police detectives were at the scene today after they launched a murder investigation

Ms Wadsworth had posted a photograph of herself with Jack on Facebook.

She had previously posted images of the couple smiling and enjoying sightseeing trips around Chelmsford and London.

The couple enjoyed a day out in the capital on January 9 to celebrate Jack's birthday, in which they visited Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

Larissa Kontos, a friend from Canada, posted an emotional tribute on Facebook.

She said: 'I've been trying to come up with words for hours. I have wrote out a post and then deleted it. Because nothing I say will bring you back. 'I will miss our conversations, you were always messaging me telling me the newest thing you saw on how a person can get pregnant! I will miss seeing your smile and beautiful face! 'You will be truly missed by so many. Shine bright girly.'

Ms Kontos added: 'She was a 19-year-old beautiful soul. She had a ticket for this Thursday to come back home to people whom lover her dearly.'

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'The police were called late yesterday afternoon and the whole street was crawling with officers.

'We could see the paramedics go into the living room of the house and they were working on someone for a while.

'They brought the young lady out into the road just outside the property and were continuing to try and save her.

'The police were talking about stab injuries. It seems that she was the victim of a frenzied attack. But the medics couldn't save her. It was awful to watch.'

Ms Wadsworth's friends and family paid tribute to the 'beautiful soul' on social media. Pictured: The teenager outside the gates of Buckingham Palace during a day out with boyfriend, Jack

According to Essex Police, officers were called to a disturbance at a home in Tennyson Rd, yesterday afternoon.

Despite the efforts of paramedics, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

Police forensic officers were today still guarding the scene where she was found. Her cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

Senior Investigating Officer, DCI Scott Egerton, said: 'We are at the early stages of our investigation and are working to build a picture of what happened yesterday.

'This incident took place in a residential area so I know it's likely to cause concern for those living nearby but we have made a quick arrest and do not believe there is a risk to the wider public.

'There will continue to be a visible police presence in the area throughout today.

'If you have any concerns or any information please come and speak to one of our officers.'
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Three other assaults in January were then linked to the December incident

The first attack saw a 13-year-old girl sexually touched after she got off a bus

Police investigating a string of sexual assaults on schoolgirls in Greenwich released CCTV of a man in an urgent appeal to track down the attacker

A man has been arrested by detectives investigating a series of sexual assaults on girls aged 13 to 17 in south-east London.

Police had linked reports of four girls being sexually assaulted in four separate incidents in Greenwich within a matter of weeks.

Officers today confirmed that a 24-year-old man was arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual assault, and has been released on bail until early March.

The first attack happened on December 16 when a 13-year-old girl got off a Route 229 bus on Crossway, near the junction of Hoverton Road, in Thamesmead.

Police say she was followed off the bus by a man who sexually touched her before running off when she screamed.

On Wednesday, January 12, a 16-year-old girl was walking down Poplar Place when she was approached by a man asking for directions. He pushed her against a fence and sexually touched her before she screamed and he ran off.

The next day a 17-year-old girl was followed off a Route 422 bus. He followed her into a nearby property and grabbed the back of her leg, causing her to fall.

As she was on the floor he sexually touched her before fleeing when she screamed for help.

Five days later, a 16-year-old girl was walking down Kentlea Road in Thamesmead when she was approached by a man who asked for directions.

When she attempted to walk off, he sexually touched her.

Three girls were sexually assaulted within just six days of each other in south east London. Another 13-year-old victim was attacked after she was followed off her bus in December 16, just half a mile away from a later incident

A day after one assault, a 17-year-old was followed off a 422 bus around 7.45pm and sexually assaulted just three miles away in nearby Woolwich town centre

A 13-year-old girl who was followed off a Route 229 bus in Crossway, near the junction of Hoverton Road, by a man who sexually touched her before running away when she screamed

There had been no update for more than a week since police released an image of a man they would like to speak to as part of their investigation - prompting fears another girl might be targeted.

But the Met confirmed today they had arrested a man on suspicion of sexual assault.

He was arrested on January 28 and bailed to return on a date in early March pending further enquiries.

The investigation into the attacks, which police believe to be linked, is ongoing. The local Safer Transport team is carrying out reassurance patrols in the area.

Detective Inspector John Millward, who is leading the investigation, said: 'Our investigation is progressing but we would continue to ask members of the public to remain vigilant.'

Anyone with information should call police or Crimestoppers anonymously.
Russia has branded Boris Johnson 'utterly confused' and slammed Liz Truss's 'poor geography knowledge' as diplomats ramped up the rhetoric over Ukraine today.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said the Russian President is ready to provide explanations on the situation in eastern Europe 'even to someone who is utterly confused' after Mr Johnson cancelled a call with the Kremlin on Monday.

And Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, took aim at Ms Truss after she mistakenly said that Britain will support 'our Baltic allies across the Black Sea' - two different bodies of water more than 700 miles apart.

'Mrs Truss, your knowledge of history is nothing compared to your knowledge of geography,' she wrote in a blog post.

Boris Johnson has been branded 'utterly confused' by Putin's spokesman after travelling to Kiev to support the Ukrainian government (pictured)

Liz Truss was slammed for 'poor geography knowledge' after vowing to support Britain's 'Baltic allies across the Black Sea' (file image)

The Baltic and Black seas are two different bodies of water, more than 700 miles apart, which Ms Truss confused during a speech

'If anyone needs saving from anything, it's the world, from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians.'

In a statement from the FCDO, they have said that the Foreign Secretary was clearly listing the three main geographic areas of support. Those are: The Baltics, the Black Sea, and defensive weapons to Ukraine. It is a list of three separate things.

Russia has the UK in its sights since Westminster began lending military support to Ukraine, sending hundreds of anti-tank missiles to Kiev to deter a Russian attack.

Tensions ramped up further this week, when Boris Johnson cancelled a call with Vladimir Putin on Monday in order to defend himself against allegations of breaking lockdown rules in parliament.

Mr Johnson then flew to Kiev yesterday where he lent his full-throated support to President Zelensky - threatening to sanction Moscow if 'even one toe cap' crosses the border into Ukraine.

Asked about the cancelled call on Wednesday, Mr Peskov shot back: 'As you know, we have not announced any call with Prime Minister Johnson, and are not going to announce it any further.

'It makes sense to speak to anybody. Russia and President Putin are open to communicating with everyone. Even to someone who is utterly confused, he is prepared to provide exhaustive explanations,' he added.

Mr Peskov also gave White House spokesman Jen Psaki a tongue-lashing, after she compared Russia to a fox standing on a hen house screaming that it is being threatened by chickens.

'it's always traditional to compare Russia to a bear. But a bear can't stand on a chicken coop. It is too big and heavy,' he said.

The swipes came a day after Putin spoke about the Ukraine crisis publicly for the first time this year, accusing Washington of trying to lure Moscow into war by insisting on the possibility that Kyiv could join NATO one day.

'It's already clear now ... that fundamental Russian concerns were ignored,' Putin said on Tuesday.

He described a potential future scenario in which Ukraine was admitted to NATO and then attempted to recapture the Crimea peninsula, territory Russia seized in 2014.

'Are we supposed to go to war with the NATO bloc? Has anyone given that any thought? Apparently not,' he said.

Washington and its allies have said they will not send troops to protect Ukraine from a Russian attack, but would send arms to help Ukrainians defend themselves and respond with financial sanctions against Moscow.

Russia has been massing its forces around Ukraine for the last two months, holding a series of unannounced combat drills as it ramps up the pressure

Russian tanks take part in preparatory training drills in Belarus today, ahead of much larger exercises due to start next week

Russia, which is still Europe's main energy supplier despite being under U.S. and EU sanctions since annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has brushed off additional sanctions as an empty threat.

Peskov said Washington's behaviour was unpredictable, and Moscow was taking steps to mitigate the effect of sanctions.

Washington and its allies have rejected Russia's two main demands - that Ukraine be barred from ever joining NATO and that deployments of troops in eastern European countries that joined the alliance after the end of the Cold War be rolled back.

Spanish newspaper El Pais released what it said was a leaked copy of a U.S. response to Russian demands, in which Washington offered talks with Moscow on an agreement for both sides to refrain from stationing offensive missiles or troops in Ukraine.

Washington could also provide reassurance that it had no cruise missiles in Poland or Romania, and discuss steps to prevent dangerous incidents at air or sea, said the document, which appeared to be in line with the public U.S. position.
An activist accused of leading a riot in Bristol later rang 101 to complain she had been bitten by a police dog and hit three times with a baton, a court was told.

Jasmine York, 26, is accused of instigating an attack on the city's Bridewell Police Station on March 21 after a protest against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill turned violent.

York, of Arnos Vale, faces one charge of rioting and another of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered or property damaged.

She was filmed leading a crowd in chants of 'ACAB', which stands for 'all cops are b******s', and 'f*** the police', Bristol Crown Court heard.

York was also allegedly filmed helping to push an industrial bin up to a burning police car to add more fuel to the fire.

During the disorder, York was bitten by a police dog and also received blows from a police baton.

Jasmine York (pictured), 26, is accused of instigating an attack on the city's Bridewell Police Station on March 21 after a protest against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill turned violent

In a call to 101 on March 22, she said: 'I just went to a peaceful protest in Bristol and I got hit by a baton three times and mauled by a dog.'

She told the call handler she believed her left hand was broken and asked who she can report an assault by police to.

When told she should report it to the police themselves, York replied: 'Do you see the flaw in that?'

In voice notes to a friend recovered from her phone, York can allegedly be heard saying: 'I have destroyed loads of stuff that relates me to the protest - I probably shouldn't tell you really.'

She said friends had 'taken the things I was wearing', adding she expected arrests to be made 'in the next five days'. 'Worst case scenario, it's five years in jail,' she joked.

In another message, she allegedly admitted she was filmed yelling, 'F*** the f****** feds,' and said she had done multiple interviews after being bitten by the dog.

She recalled telling one police officer: 'I'm into BDSM but you are taking it a level too far.'

In her message, she said: 'I thought that was quite funny but I don't think [the police] did.'

In another message, from March 24, she said her 'bruises are going green now, they are actually super gross,' and added: 'My voice is still hoarse from screaming 'f*** the feds, f*** the f****** feds'.'

York allegedly continued: 'I'm still scared they are going to come and arrest me because they are releasing new pictures every day.'

But she added she was glad she went to the protest because 'change doesn't come from sitting at home doing nothing', jurors were told.

In a voice note played to the court from March 26, she said: 'I'm worried. I'm fully anticipating a knock on the door from the feds.'

York allegedly admitted leading the crowd in chants attacking the police, saying in the note: 'I didn't do anything illegal but I was a bit of a d*** to the police.'

She said she told an officer her 'salary is probably twice yours' after he allegedly accused her of not paying taxes.

In a further message, York allegedly revealed she was on a list of people police want to speak to, and said she may need to get rid of her phone.

'Maybe I'll get a little fine. I don't think I could last in prison,' she said. Prosecutor Sarah Regan previously told the jury York was a 'leader and instigator' of the riot.

The trial continues.
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Canada's state broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Company, is spreading a bizarre and unfounded conspiracy theory that 'Russian actors' are behind the 'Freedom Convoy' trucker vaccine mandate protests currently being held in Ottawa and at the US border.

During a broadcast Friday on the CBC - which is funded by the Canadian government - anchor Nil Koksal offered Parliament member Marco Mendicino the theory, citing the country's current relationship with the Ukraine, a former Soviet nation currently at odds with Russia, as evidence.

'Given Canada's support of Ukraine, in this current crisis with Russia, I don't know if it's far-fetched to ask,' Koksal told Mendicino, the county's minister of public safety, during the Friday interview. 'But there is concern that Russian actors could be continuing to fuel things as this protest grows. Perhaps even instigating it from, from the outset.'

The Freedom Convoy, a coalition of 50,000 drivers protesting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers that formed last month, has been described as a grassroots movement and has no known ties to Russia.

Protests began in Ottawa last month on January 23 and at the US-Canada border in Alberta on Saturday and are still going strong, despite warnings from Royal Canadian Mounted Police that things will get ugly for revelers if they do not abandon their 'Freedom Convoy' campaign, where tens of thousands of truckers have blocked crucial roads at both locations with their parked vehicles.

Trudeau, 50, has refused to meet with the group to discuss their qualms with his new policy, which was put into effect in January and requires Canadian truckers to be vaccinated in order to enter and exit the country on their routes.

On Tuesday, after four days of protests, police threatened to arrest truckers blockading the US border in Alberta unless they leave the area immediately.

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During a broadcast Friday on the Canada Broadcasting Corporation - which is funded by the Canadian government - anchor Nil Koksal offered an unfounded conspiracy theory that 'Russian actors' are behind the 'Freedom Convoy' trucker vaccine mandate protests currently being held in Ottawa and at the US border

The anchor's contentious comments come as Canadian police have threatened to arrest truckers blockading the US border in Alberta, pictured here on Wednesday morning, in protest of Justin Trudeau's vaccine mandate unless they leave immediately

Trucks pictured blocking a once-busy street in Downtown Ottawa on Wednesday. Approximately 50,000 truckers arrived in the country's capital last week to protest Trudeau's mandate, which was put into effect on January 15

A trucker speaks with an Ottawa police officer Wednesday. RCMP officials announced that truckers who continue to protest as of Tuesday will be arrested

A young girl pictured among the more-than one hundred protesters at the border crossing protesting Trudeau's new policy on Tuesday. The mandate put into effect last month requires Canadian truckers to be vaccinated in order to enter and leave the country on their routes

Protesters in Ottawa are adamant that Trudeau's new policy is unconstitutional and unfair to truckers - a group that the prime minister hailed as 'heroes' in 2020 at the start of the pandemic

The convoy of anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators continued to block the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts Wednesday morning

Trucks bearing banners which read 'Alberta Freedom Convoy' block the highway at the US border as demonstrators protest vaccine mandates

Approximately 100 trucks remain at the Alberta-Montana border crossing as of Wednesday, despite warnings from police

Revelers maintain that Trudeau's mandate is unconstitutional, and are refusing to budge by getting inoculated

The protests in Ottawa, 2,000 miles away from Coutts, began on January 23, and are still going strong

Streets in Downtown Ottawa, near the city's Parliament building, are severely congested due to the parked trucks, of which there are thousands

During Tuesday's interview, Mendicino seemed to deflect Koksal's incredulous question.

'I'm going to defer to our partners in the public safety of trained officials and experts in that area,' the official said during the interview, which was held remotely.

'What I can tell you is that we do have courses on site right now who are watching the conduct of this convoy very carefully. And we're providing direction and guidance to residents to ensure that there is a peaceful protest but, at the same time, providing direction and guidance to residents,' Medocino added.

Koksal's comments quickly set off a storm of backlash on social media, with users criticizing the longtime CBC fixture for offering an unfounded theory based entirely on speculation as news.

'Journalistic malpractice,' one user tweeted Saturday, the day after Koksal's brazen declaration. 'This movement is just as much about that as anything else. We wouldn't be here if they just did their jobs.'

Others slammed the longtime CBC News Network anchor for following fellow liberal US President Joe Biden's example of blaming Russia for another nation's problems.

'When in doubt, blame the ever elusive "Russian actors!"' one user wrote Saturday.

'Liberals have one beat: Russia, Russia, Russia,' another joked.

Another compared the state of the media in the northern nation to that of China, a socialist county often accused of curtailing the civil liberties of its 1.4 billion citizens.

'The media in Canada clearly now have no more freedom or wish to report truthfully as the media in China. Laughable story.'

'On a scale of one to ten, how stupid do they think we are?' another stunned poster asked.

As of Tuesday morning, a clip of the exchange has garnered more than half-a-million views on Twitter.

The strange speculation offered by Koksal - who is paid by the state - comes as a Canadian elected official in Ottawa reportedly deleted a Tweet that outlined a plan to seize funds raised for the truckers through a GoFundMe account, which surpassed the 10,000,000 CAD mark on Wednesday.

'This morning, I have asked the city manager and city solicitor to immediately launch court proceedings targeting the millions of dollars in funds frozen by @GoFundMe so Ottawa taxpayers are not left holding the bag for these protests,' Ottawa City Councilor Mathieu Fleury allegedly tweeted Monday morning, screenshots posted to Twitter reveal.

The tweet, however, was deleted before noon that day. As of Wednesday the parliament member's Twitter account was restricted to only allow 'approved followers' to see his tweets, which was not the case at the time of the initial post. It is unclear when exactly Fleury protected the account.

What's more, Fleury's website, mathieufleury.ca, does not have a working 'Contact Us' page, and instead shows a 'Page not found' error message.

The GoFundMe page in question surpassed its goal of 10,000,000 CAD as of Wednesday. The sum is roughly half a million CAD more than combined efforts of the major Canadian political parties in the final quarter of 2021.

The strange speculation offered by Koksal - who is paid by the state - comes as a Canadian elected official in Ottawa reportedly deleted a tweet that outlined a plan to seize funds raised for the truckers through a GoFundMe account, which surpassed the 10,000,000 CAD mark on Wednesday. Pictured is the tweet in question

Freedom Convoy organizers BJ Dichter and Tamara Lich say that the proceeds will go towards fuel for the truckers, who have been protesting for five days straight with no sign of stopping despite warning from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as food and lodgings 'to help ease the pressures of this arduous task.'

'Our current government is implementing rules and mandates that are destroying the foundation of our businesses, industries and livelihoods,' the two wrote on the page.

'We are a peaceful country that has helped protect nations across the globe from tyrannical governments who oppressed their people, and now it seems it is happening here.'

Drivers along the border are also raising money through a separate fundraiser spearheaded by Rebel News journalist Ezra Levant, to cover drivers' legal fees if they end up incarcerated. As of Wednesday, Levant has received nearly 9,000 donations.

Levant was enlisted by truckers at the Alberta-Montana crossing Monday, after Special Tactical Operations officers sealed off the motorists by setting up police check points around the town Coutts, which boasts a population of less than 500.

'They asked me if we could help them right now,' Levant wrote online to his news outlet Rebel News. 'And I said, "of course." I promised them we'd crowdfund a lawyer to fight any tickets or charges they face, no matter how large they may get.

'I promised the truckers wed take the case and crowdfund it all the way. Even if it takes years in court.'

The anchor made the comments to Parliament member Marco Mendicino, the nation's minister of public safety

However, Levant and the truckers got their wish sooner rather than later when they saw an influx of funds Tuesday that enabled them to hire renowned civil liberties attorney Chad Williamson.

Speaking to RebelNews Tuesday, Calgary-based lawyer revealed that Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials handed members of the so-called 'Freedom Convoy' the ultimatum Tuesday, a day after Trudeau slammed the dissenters for protesting a mandate put on the truckers on January 15.

'The police have essentially shut down all negotiations, period,' Williamson told the outlet Tuesday. 'They have indicated that they got marching orders essentially to reopen the highway.'

'They're not going to discuss anything further with protesters,' the legal eagle added. 'They have indicated that those who leave now are free to do so; those who remain behind run the risk of being arrested.'

Truck drivers hang a Canadian flag on the front grill of a truck parked in downtown Ottawa, near Parliament Hill, Wednesday

Protesters, like the one pictured, are accusing Trudeau of 'tyranny' with his office's new mandate, and attest that the woke politician is endangering their livelihood

Protesters walk with bags past trucks parked on Downtown streets in Ottawa on Wednesday. The demonstrations have been going on for well over a week

Thousands of protesters railing against the mandate and other COVID-19 restrictions on Canadian truckers descended on the capital late last month on January 23, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill with their parked rigs. Ten days later, and the revelers still have no plans of moving, despite warning from police that they will be arrested if they continue

Streets in the city of Ottawa have been brought to a standstill by the parked trucks. When the parade of rigs first arrived in the city early last week, the convoy was comprised of tens of thousands of trucks and stretched 45 miles long

The truckers in Ottawa have been joined by hundreds of other citizens who support their cause. The protests have remained largely peaceful, with only two minor arrests - neither for violent crimes - made as of Wednesday

The truckers have remained steadfast in their dissidence for the past ten days, undeterred by warnings of retaliation from the police and Canadian government

Truckers rallied in front of Parliament Hill Wednesday, as hundreds of protesters gathered as streets remained blocked

Truckers prepared and handed out soup and bread Wednesday, amid reports from the RCMP that a band of the irate motorists tried to steal food from a local soup kitchen. No arrests were made in regards to the alleged altercation

The truckers maintain that they are not going anywhere and will not return to work until the new mandate is repealed

The Mounties are about to start arresting the truckers as they chant Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! at the border standoff pic.twitter.com/FgcL46Z7Vo  Truckistan Amb. Poso  (@JackPosobiec) February 1, 2022

Update from Chad Williamson, the lawyer on the case.



You can help the truckers in court by funding their defence at https://t.co/HejJhb4xFA pic.twitter.com/t8ydagSoBX  K2 (@kiansimone44) February 1, 2022

Truckers sing national anthem as they stand their ground. pic.twitter.com/xFCrZsljNe  K2 (@kiansimone44) February 1, 2022

Williamson went on to explain that the law - at least in Canada - is not on the truckers' side, and that police are ready to play hardball after four full days of protests.

'There's various pieces of legislation and charges that they can essentially lay against people who remain.

'They have indicated that they are going to seize equipment, and they've indicated that they are going to reopen the highway.'

The lawyer added that he and his hundred or so clients have elected to take a wait-and-see approach to the RCMP's gambit.

'We provided the standard legal charter advice for folks, and were going to see how this plays out.

'We've really tried to stress everyone to remain calm, remain peaceful, no matter what happens, but things are pretty tense.'

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police helicopter flies over a convoy of demonstrators who continue to block a highway that runs across the busy border crossing in Coutts

Roughly 500 truckers are stationed at the US-Canada border in solidarity with their compatriots across the country in Ottawa

Part of the Freedom Convoy, protesters in Coutts believe that by blocking traffic into the small, barely populated town - which essentially serves as a customs station - Canadian government officials will take notice and succumb to their demands

Drivers voted earlier this week to remain in the town, despite stern warnings from RCMP of retaliation

Protesters pictured outside the capital's Parliament Hill as trucks block streets in the city's downtown neighborhood

Protesters in Canada's capital are pictured protesting Prime Minister Trudeau's mandate as dozens of trucks form a blockade

A truck convoy blocks the highway at the U.S. border crossing as demonstrators protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates gather in Coutts, Alberta, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022

Truckers carry firewood for a stove they have in their trailer as a rally against COVID-19 restrictions, which began as a cross-country convoy protesting a federal vaccine mandate for truckers, continues in Ottawa, on Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022

Anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022.

A GoFundMe page to support the so-called 'Freedom Convoy' has reached 10,000,000 CAD - roughly half a million CAD more than combined efforts of the major Canadian political parties in the final quarter of 2021.

Williamson's words proved prophetic later that day, when more than a hundred truckers engaged in a bitter stand off with RCMP Special Tactical Operations agents, who were called in to quell the crisis over the weekend.

Revelers gathered just off the Alberta-Montana border crossing Tuesday afternoon after they learned the officers would be making arrests, and began egging on officers by repeatedly chanting 'Freedom' as cops looked on. No arrests were made during the protest, which remained peaceful.

DailyMail.com reached out to rep for Alberta's RCMP Tuesday to comment on the standoff and the ongoing protests. The force provided a statement, confirming Williamson's remarks.

It said: 'What may have begun as a peaceful assembly quickly turned into an unlawful blockade. While the Alberta RCMP has been in a position to conduct enforcement, we have been engaged with protesters at the Coutts border crossing in an effort to find a peaceful and safe resolution for all involved. We thought we had a path to resolution, the protesters eventually chose not to comply.

Speaking to RebelNews, Calgary-based civil liberties lawyer Chad Williamson - whose services were contracted by by protesters in the town of Coutts after a successful crowdfunding campaign - revealed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials handed members of the so-called ' Freedom Convoy' the ultimatum Tuesday

Aerial photographs snapped Tuesday show dozens of trucks blocking the Alberta-Montana border crossing. RCMP officials said Tuesday that they will be making arrests of drivers who remain after Tuesday

Drivers are seen at the Alberta-Montana border as they protest the prime minister's vaccine mandates

Thousands more protesting truckers have convened at the southernmost point of the province of Alberta, forming a blockade between the territory and the US state of Montana to the south

Roughly 50,000 Canadian truck drivers have showed up in Ottawa to protest against the prime minister's new vaccine mandates and quarantine rules for drivers

BREAKING: Negotiations are over and police are ready to move in.



RCMP is opening the highway regardless.



Truckers now have a grace period to leave or be arrested and held.



STAY TUNED



HELP THEM AT https://t.co/HejJhb4xFA pic.twitter.com/fllVgVMj4B  K2 (@kiansimone44) February 1, 2022

'As of this morning, further action is being taken by the Alberta RCMP as this blockade continues to impede the ability for emergency agencies to provide full services to area residents. It has also negatively impacted the flow of goods and services, and impedes the publics freedom of movement.'

It continued: 'A Highway is considered essential infrastructure. It is unlawful to willfully obstruct, interrupt or interfere with the construction, maintenance, use or operation of any essential infrastructure in a manner that renders the essential infrastructure dangerous, useless, inoperative or ineffective as per the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act of Alberta.

'Anyone who actively blocks a highwayor aids, counsels or directs a highway to be blockedmay be subject to arrest and charge under this act.'

But the truckers seemed undeterred by the police's warning Wednesday, continuing to set up camp in the town of Coutts despite frigid conditions.

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 miles away in Ottawa - where the protests first began - tens of thousands truckers have been joined by hundreds of other citizens who support their cause.

The protests, however, despite rumors circulating online, have remained largely peaceful, according to witnesses, with a Tuesday police statement stating that they have only two non-violent arrests since the protests started on January 23 - one for mischief, and one for carrying a weapon at a public meeting.

With that said, the much larger group of truckers camped out in the nation's capital seemed undeterred by police's repeated warnings that they will face legal recourse if they continue to protest, and made themselves comfortable in the city's Downtown neighborhood Wednesday, cooking up pizzas with pair of outdoor wood-powered ovens and handing out hundreds of the freshly cooked meals for free to anyone who asked.

The freedom trucker convoy protest made free pizzas for anyone in Ottawa today. pic.twitter.com/3ehd1OwgmQ  Marie Oakes (@TheMarieOakes) February 2, 2022

'Freedom Convoy' truckers and protesters continued late Monday to block a border crossing into the US at a village in southern Alberta - one of the country's busiest border crossings - in solidarity with their brethren in Ottawa who have shut down the nation's capital

The rising tension between the two parties comes as Prime Minister Trudeau - who slammed the truckers Monday during a remote press conference as 'hateful,' 'violent,' and 'racist' and vowed to take action against the coalition - fled his home in Ottawa over the weekend out of fear of the angry mob.

Two days later, the politico tested positive for COVID. He is isolating from an undisclosed location.

On Monday, the prime minister publicly criticized the tens of thousands Freedom Convoy truckers and protestors in Coutts and Canada's capital, citing their 'hateful rhetoric' and 'violence to fellow citizens.'

'I have also chosen to not go anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric, violence toward fellow citizens. And a disrespect, not just of science, but of the frontline health workers and quite frankly, the 90% of truckers who have been doing the right thing to keep Canadians safe, to put food on our tables,' Trudeau said.

'Canadians know where I stand,' he went on. 'This is a moment for responsible leaders to think carefully about where they stand and who they stand with.'

'Canadians were shocked and frankly disgusted by the behavior displayed by some people protesting in our nation's capital,' Trudeau said.

Trudeau had called the truckers headed for the city a 'small fringe minority' before the convoy of hundreds of vehicles grew up to 45 miles long, as it made its way to the capital.

'While many of us are working from home, there are others who arent able to do that - like the truck drivers who are working day and night to make sure our shelves are stocked,' Trudeau tweeted on March 31 of 2020, at the start of the pandemic

Traffic was backed up Tuesday on a bridge between Gatineau, Quebec, and Ottawa, due to a road blockade formed by the tens of thousands of truckers

Vehicles continue to block downtown streets in Ottawa as truckers and supporters continue to protest Trudeau's mandate

On Tuesday, a second convoy of truckers protesting the mandates went eyeball-to-eyeball with a SWAT Team at the Alberta-Montana border, and allegedly pressured staff at a nearby homeless shelter to give them food.

Trucks sit parked Tuesday along a once-bustling street in Downtown Ottawa, creating a de facto roadblock

Trudeau had called the tens of thousands of truckers and other dissenters headed for the capital a 'small, fringe minority,' before the convoy of hundreds of vehicles grew up to 45 miles long

On Monday, Trudeau declared that he would not be meeting with truckers overrunning Ottawa due to their 'hateful rhetoric,' as hundreds more disgruntled drivers thousands of miles away formed a blockade at the southern tip of Alberta to block off traffic to and from the US.

Trudeau, 50, held the conference from isolation at an undisclosed location after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier that day. Two of the prime minister's three children also tested positive for the virus.

When asked whether he was going to meet the protesters, Trudeau said he had no interest in going 'anywhere near protests who have expressed hateful rhetoric and violence towards their fellow citizens.'

The politician went on to assert that he had personally attended protests himself when he 'agreed with the goals' being fought for, such as those championed by Black Lives Matter, but dismissed the truckers' dissent - which was spurred by the politico's own policies - as 'racist' and 'violent.'

'I have attended protests and rallies in the past when I agreed with the goals, when I supported the people expressing their concerns and their issues,' Trudeau said.

'But I have also chosen to not go anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric, violence towards fellow citizens, and a disrespect not just of science, but of the frontline health workers and quite frankly, the 90 per cent of truckers who have been doing the right thing to keep Canadians safe to put food on our tables.'

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 miles west, hundreds more protesting truckers have convened at the southernmost point of the province of Alberta, forming a blockade between the territory and the US state of Montana to the south.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared Monday that he will not be meeting with truckers currently overrunning Ottawa in protest of his vaccine mandate because of their 'hateful rhetoric' - a stark contrast from the praise he showered them with two years ago during the early days of the pandemic

The double-pronged effort from the coalition of more than 50,000 Canadian truck drivers - which has remained largely peaceful - was spurred by recent policies implemented by Trudeau's office that declared that by January 15, all truckers in the country who are unvaccinated must take a COVID-19 test and quarantine when driving back from the states.

Per the progressive politician's new guidance, Canadian drivers who are not vaccinated are barred from entering the US until they have gotten the jab, while American drivers are currently not allowed into Canada unless they produce a certificate proving that they have been inoculated.

The policy comes in stark contrast to that of the nation's neighbor the south, with American drivers returning home to the US not required to test and quarantine.

During the address, Trudeau conceded that he understood the frustrations of the Canadian people regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but asserted that some of the behavior seen at the recent protests in the nation's capital, including swastikas, Confederate flags, and the desecrating of memorials, was unacceptable.

'I want to be very clear, we are not intimidated by those who hurl insults and abuse at small business workers, and steal food from the homeless. We won't give in to those who fly racist flags. We won't cave to those who engage in vandalism or dishonor the memory of our veterans.'

He added: 'Freedom of expression, assembly, and association are cornerstones of democracy. But Nazi symbolism, racist imagery, and desecration of war memorials are not. It is an insult to memory and truth. Hate can never be the answer.'

Trudeau then called on the protesting truckers - and the thousands supporting them - to put a halt to their actions.

'There is no place in our country for threats, violence or hatred,' he asserted. 'So for those responsible for this behavior, it needs to stop. To anyone who joined the convoy and was rightly uncomfortable with the symbols of hatred and division on display, join with your fellow Canadians. Be courageous, and speak out. Do not stand for, or with, intolerance and hate.'

In his speech, Trudeau went on to slam conservative politicians from his country for supporting the truckers' protests, warning them to 'think long and hard about the consequences of your actions.'

After the address, the prime minister doubled down on his stance in a series of posts on social media.

The progressive politician pleaded for the protests to cease Monday afternoon, both in his address and on social media

Trudeau's speech, delivered more than 24 hours after the prime minister fled his home in Ottawa as protesters convened on the capital, came as another formidable force of protesters more than 1,800 miles away, in Coutts, Alberta, were met with backlash from local law enforcement, who ordered the drivers Monday to stand down and stop blocking trucks and other international commuters from crossing the currently gridlocked dividing line, RebelNews reported.

After a vote, the outlet reported Monday afternoon, drivers stationed along the border refused to budge, and for now, the border remains closed, despite heavy police presence.

Earlier that morning, after fleeing his home with his family Sunday as thousands of truckers descended on the Canadian capital to protest the country's vaccine mandate and COVID lockdowns, Trudeau revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19.

Trudeau, 50, held a press conference from an undisclosed location Monday after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier that day. During the address, broadcasted remotely, the politician bashed truckers protesting his recent vaccine mandate

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19

'This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19,' the woke politician wrote on social media that morning.

'Im feeling fine  and Ill continue to work remotely this week while following public health guidelines. Everyone, please get vaccinated and get boosted.'

Trudeau, who is vaccinated and has received a booster, is currently self-isolating at an undisclosed location after fleeing with his family from their home in the Canadian city as protesters convened, a four full days after the politician found out he had been exposed to the virus.

'Last night, I learned that I have been exposed to COVID-19,' Trudeau wrote on Twitter Thursday morning.

'My rapid test result was negative. I am following @OttawaHealth rules and isolating for five days. I feel fine and will be working from home. Stay safe, everyone  and please get vaccinated.'

The progressive prime minister provided no details on when or how he was exposed to the virus at the time, and his office has since not commented further on his positive test, which he said came early Monday morning.

The politico also did not divulge whether or not it was a rapid or PCR test that garnered the positive result, and has not yet updated the public as to his location.

Trudeau's revelation comes as the 'Freedom Convoy' of trucks - joined by thousands of demonstrators - brought Ottawa to a virtual standstill for a third day on Monday, as they protested the prime minister's vaccine mandates, forcing the prime minister to flee the city with his family due to 'security concerns.'

The decision to move the prime minister Saturday was spurred by a warning from the sergeant-at-arms of the Canadian Parliament that protesters might show up at the homes of politicians, CBC reported.

The protesting truckers say there is no 'end date' in sight and plan to stay in the capital 'for as long as it takes' and until the Canadian government flips and withdraws its policy on vaccine mandates.

Vehicles displaying protest signs are seen outside Parliament Hill, as demonstrations by truckers and their supporters against COVID vaccine mandates continue in Ottawa

The decision to move the prime minister Saturday came after the sergeant-at-arms of the Canadian Parliament warned that protesters might show up at the homes of politicians

Nathan (Jacko) Jack waves flags in front of trucks that are parked in front of Parliament Hill at a rally against COVID-19 restrictions on Monday

The protester removed the tires from his pickup truck stands in front of Parliament Hill during the proceedings on Monday

Parliamentary Protective Service officers were forced to don headsets for hearing protection during vaccine mandate protests Monday, against the blaring horns of thousands of trucks participating in the cross-country convoy

Trucks participating in the 'Freedom Convoy' protest against Trudeau's vaccine mandates carry hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods meant to be transported throughout the country and to the US. Participating trucks have been there, parked, for days - many since Saturday
James McLoughlin-Goodchild, a PC at Charing Cross police station, threatened to stab the woman and two other officers if they came to arrest him

One of the police officers whose disturbing messages formed part of an inquiry into the culture of racism and misogyny in the Met threatened to murder a female colleague while under investigation for sexually harassing her.

James McLoughlin-Goodchild, a PC at Charing Cross police station, threatened to stab the woman and two other officers if they came to arrest him during a phone call with a sergeant to discuss an upcoming gross misconduct hearing.

A trial heard he said: 'I will kill them, I will murder them if I see them, I know where they live and what cars they drive.

'If they come to my home and arrest me they are going to get stabbed. I will not go to prison alive.'

The officer was found guilty of sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing communication after a trial at Hendon Magistrates Court in January 2019. He was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and an indefinite restraining order.

The grim revelations are just the latest in a series of scandals for beleaguered Met Police chief Dame Cressida Dick - who is already under pressure over her late decision to investigate the Downing St Partygate scandal.

Home Secretary Priti Patel blamed a 'failure of leadership' for the culture that has taken hold in the force - while a 'furious' Sadiq Khan called the Met Commissioner in for an urgent meeting.

McLoughlin-Goodchild - who served at Charing Cross police station - was later sacked by the Met

The report is just the latest scandal to hit crisis-prone Cressida Dick, and makes particularly chilling reading in light of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens - who himself was allegedly nicknamed as 'the rapist'

Ms Patel added that she was 'appalled and sickened' by the findings of yesterday's report into the disgraceful behaviour of more than a dozen officers - including McLoughlin-Goodchild - at Charing Cross police station, including sick jokes about rape, 'killing black children', and 'f****** gays'.

McLoughlin-Goodchild was later sacked by the Met, but remained under investigation for a series of offensive messages that were the subject of an inquiry by the Independent Office of Police Conduct, The Times reported.

The watchdog found officers at Charing Cross had exchanged sickening messages about rape, 'killing black children', and 'f****** gays'.

'I'd happily rape you': Vile WhatsApp exchanges between Charing Cross officers WhatsApp conversation between two police officers: Officer 1: 'And my bird won't stop taking the p***. Swear to got [sic] I'm going to smack her' Officer 2: 'Slap her one say you didn't' Officer 1: 'I`ll f****** do it. She`s f***** off home.' A separate WhatsApp conversation between two police officers: Officer 1: 'I f****** need to take my bird out, won't see her until next Saturday. Then I have to work. Promised to take her out the Friday after. Making it up to her from when I backhanded her' Officer 2: 'Grab her by the p****' Officer 1: 'You ever slapped your missus?' Officer 1: 'It makes them love you more. Seriously since I did that she won't leave me alone. Now I know why these daft c**** are getting murdered by their s****** boyfriends. Knock a bird about and she will love you. Human nature. They are biologically programmed to like that s***.' Officer 2: 'Lmao' Officer 1: 'I'm right though' A further WhatsApp conversation between two police officers: Officer 1: 'I had that massive fight with my bird because she found out I'd been out on the piss with this girl who's a high class hooker a couple of weeks ago Hahahah' Officer 1: 'Make friends with high class hookers' Officer 2: 'I had one in Watford from adult work. Used to f*** her all the time' Officer 1: 'Yes! Hahaha' Officer 2: 'used just hang out and blast her on the sly' Officer 2: 'when I was on roids and needed it every hour' Messages sent by a male officer to a female officer: 'I would happily rape you' 'If I was single I would actually hate f*** you' 'If I was single I would happily chloroform you' Further messages sent about women, include: 'Getting a woman in to bed is like spreading butter. It can be done with a bit of effort using a credit card, but it's quicker and easier just to use a knife.' 'F*** knows what she's on about I just wanna sp*** on her' (sent by an officer in reference to another police officer's girlfriend). 'Mate my Mrs is driving me mad - come and shag a baby into her it might shut her up bro.' Advertisement

A male officer told a female colleague 'I would happily rape you' and 'if I was single I would happily chloroform you'.

Another officer was known as 'mcrapey raperson' because of his reputation for ''harassing [women], getting on them, do you know what I mean being like, just a d***''.'

Home Secretary Priti Patel told the Commons Home Affairs Committee today that the problem was not isolated and there had been 'too many instances where, in policing, we just see the most appalling behaviours'.

Asked by committee chairwoman Diana Johnson if she thinks police forces are 'institutionally misogynistic', Ms Patel said: 'There are problems with the culture, and some aspects of the culture, within the Metropolitan Police.

'I do think there are some very, very serious and significant matters that need, not just following up, but further investigation.

'We're not seeing one-off incidences. I think we should just be quite clear about that. We are not seeing one-off incidences, this is not isolated. We have seen now too, too many times, too many instances where, in policing, we just see the most appalling behaviours, the most appalling conduct.

'I also think it shows a failure of leadership in some quarters.

'So you've asked me the question about institutional misogyny within policing. There are cultural issues there. What we saw in the IOPC report absolutely points to, I'm not even going to say just misogynistic behaviours, I think it's cultural and attitudinal.'

The Home Secretary said she has confidence in Metropolitan Police boss Dame Cressida Dick but 'change is required'.

Ms Patel said: 'I've always said that I'm confident in her and her work, but that also means that change is required.

'There are lots of issues, it's not straightforward with the Met, and there are lots of issues there where we need to see major, major significant improvements: culture, delivery, accountability and protecting the streets.'

Two inquiries are under way looking at the culture within the Met - one by Baroness Casey that was organised by the force itself, and a Home Office probe headed by Dame Elish Angiolini that is looking at the failures behind the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the IOPC's report had uncovered 'truly appalling behaviour' and urged the Home Office to address issues in policing.

She told the BBC's Today programme: 'Officers talking and joking about raping or beating their wives, and using homophobic insults and awful racism - you cannot ever tolerate this kind of abuse, racism or misogyny, it must have no place in policing and be rooted out.'

She called for action not just from the police, but also from the Home Office, saying there must be an overhaul of training and faster vetting of officers.

The IOPC published the messages after a series of nine investigations into the behaviour of Metropolitan Police officers based in a now disbanded Westminster team between 2016 and 2018, sparked by a later disproven claim that an officer had sex with a drunk person at a police station.

Fourteen officers were investigated by the watchdog, of whom two were found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct. One was sacked and another resigned before he would have been dismissed.

Nine remain serving officers, while another is working as a contractor in a staff role.

IOPC regional director for London Sal Naseem said that the two accused of gross misconduct were the worst perpetrators, but could not confirm whether those still serving were responsible for any of the offensive comments published.

He told Good Morning Britain: 'What I do know is that there were nine investigations here. The two officers who were sacked for gross misconduct were the worst perpetrators of some of these exchanges.'

In response to an urgent question about the report in the Commons, policing minister Kit Malthouse said the document 'makes for extremely disturbing reading' and that he 'cannot begin to describe my horror' at the revelations it contains.

He said he will look at a request by MP Dr Matthew Offord for a new offence to be created to make it illegal for anyone in a position of trust to try to have sexual contact with someone they have met through work.

These are MailOnline mock-ups of WhatsApp conversations that were published in the IOPC report. Warning: Graphic language

A mock-up of messages sent by a male officer to a female colleague, as revealed in the IOPC investigation

Further mock-ups of messages sent by a male officer during another shocking conversation on WhatsApp

The IOPC report included messages by an officer bragging about sleeping with a sex worker he had met while on duty.

The latest developments in the Met Police provoked a swift rebuke from Home Secretary Priti Patel today.

Appearing in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Ms Patel said she was 'appalled and sickened' by the findings of yesterday's report, blaming a 'failure of leadership' for the rotten culture of racism, misogyny and homophobia at Scotland Yard.

In her comments today, Ms Patel also suggested a Royal Commission could eventually be set up to explore failings across the police and wider criminal justice system. She also said spiking could be made a specific criminal offence following a series of reported incidents in nightclubs, although she warned the public 'not to expect an announcement tomorrow'.

Asked specifically about the report on the behaviour of officers at Charing Cross police station, she said: 'There are problems with the culture within the Metropolitan Police. I touched on this last year after the murder of Sarah Everard, which also exposed a range of issues

'There are some very serious and significant matters that need further investigation, primarily because we're not seeing one-off instances. We've seen now too many instances of the most appalling behaviours. I also think is shows a failure of leadership in some quarters.'

Home Secretary Priti Patel blamed a 'failure of leadership' for the culture that has taken hold in the force - while a 'furious' Sadiq Khan called the Met Commissioner in for an urgent meeting. Pictured: London Mayor Mr Khan, Met Chief Dick and Home Secretary Ms Patel at the National Police Memorial

Asked to clarify what she meant by this, Ms Patel said: 'In terms of failure of leadership, the fact that those behaviours were allowed to take place, there were no disciplinary actions, no-one saying that's wrong, that is actually about leadership in policing. So that's superiors, that's seniors, line managers calling that behaviour out and actually stopping it in the first place.'

When chairwoman Diana Johnson asked whether that included the commissioner, Ms Patel replied: 'It is across the board.'

The Home Secretary said she would continue to be 'very challenging' with Dame Cressida but still had confidence in her.

A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan confirmed he had had a 'very frank discussion' with the commissioner earlier today 'which lasted for well over 90 minutes'.

'The mayor made clear to the commissioner how angry he is with a return to the bad days of the Met of his childhood in the 1970s and 80s, and that neither he nor Londoners will put up with this,' they added.

'He has put the commissioner on notice. He said the Met needs to urgently show it has an effective plan for restoring the trust and confidence of Londoners in the police and to drive out the culture of racism, homophobia, bullying and misogyny which clearly still exists within its ranks.'

A source close to Mr Khan also said: 'If the commissioner is not able to do so, then the mayor will have to consider whether she is the right person to lead the change needed at the Met.'

Meanwhile, Leroy Logan, founder of the Black Police Association and a former superintendent, said 'the rot had set in' at the Met, which had created 'safe havens for predators'.

Calling for 'ethical leadership and systemic changes', he told the BBC's Newsnight programme: 'Over the last few years you've had Met officers doing amazingly bad things like photographing dead bodies, and then the Sarah Everard case.

'I was at Charing Cross from 2000 and 2004 and we never had a hint of that. Then again, we were supervisors on top of our game who had to know what was happening with our teams so we could spot these things early.

'I think the culture has become more immoral. There seems to be safe havens for predator types  sexists, misogynists and racists that aren't being challenged  so I'm wondering what's happened to the inspectors and supervisors.'
An innocent man who spent 20 years in prison for the 1965 murder of Malcolm X will reveal in his first interview since being exonerated that he was kept in solitary confinement for the first 19 months of his incarceration despite never being threatened in jail because 'nobody ever thought I did it'.

Muhammad Abdul Aziz, 83, was paroled in the 1980s but had his conviction hanging over his head until November when he was finally exonerated for the murder of the Civil Rights activist - 55 years after being jailed.

In an exclusive interview airing on Thursday on ABC News's Soul of the Nation, Aziz tells Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts, 61, about his exoneration and his time spent in solitary confinement.

'[For the first 19 months, I spent] in what you can call solitary - or what they call "in a box,'" he told Pitts.

Three men were convicted of the murder of Malcolm X. Aziz and Khalil Islam - who was posthumously exonerated in November - and Mujahid Abdul Halim, who confessed to the assassination. Halim admitted the other two men were not involved and were innocent, yet they remained in prison for two decades.

Azis and Islam were both lieutenants in the Nation of Islams militia and worked at the Harlem mosque where Malcolm X was a minister before leaving after having a disagreement with the leader.

Islam died in 2009.

Muhammad Abdul Aziz, 83, who was convicted for the murder of Civil Rights Activist Malcolm X, said he was in solitary confinement for the first 19 months of his incarceration

He discussed his story of being wrongfully convicted on ABC News' Soul of the Nation, airing Thursday at 9pm

Malcolm X (pictured) died in 1965 and Aziz and two other men were convicted in March 1966

Regardless of the murder conviction for one of the biggest Civil Rights activists, Aziz said never felt 'threatened' in prison, despite his fellow inmates knowing that why he was behind bars.

'To me? No. No. The people know I didn't do. Nobody ever thought I did it.'

In the clip, exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com, Aziz's son Craig Butler detailed how hard it was for his father to go to prison.

'I used to cry for my father,' Butler told Pitts. 'I missed my dad. I remember that, you know. I was just crying for my dad because he wasn't there and asking my mom: "Where is dad?"

'It was very painful for me. When they took him, it changed every way the family does things, he was our provider, for one.'

Aziz, who was 26 years old at the time of the crime (left), was exonerated in November (right). He was released from prison on parole in the 80s

He celebrated his exoneration with family and is now suing the state for the 'serious miscarriages of justice' that led to his conviction

Aziz conviction was vacated in November after a review by the Manhattan district attorney found that they didn't get a fair trial because authorities withheld key evidence from the defense and prosecution.

Aziz is now suing the state for the 'serious miscarriages of justice' that led to his conviction. He was 26 years old when he was arrested in 1965 and 46 when he was released in 1985.

'The more than 20 years that I spent in prison were stolen from me and my family, and while the official record now recognizes the truth that has been known for decades, nothing can undo the damage that my wrongful conviction caused to all of us,' Aziz said in a statement provided by his lawyers in December.

Aziz's lawyer told New York City that he intends to file a $40million civil rights lawsuit against the city in 90 days if a deal with the state isn't struck, according to The New York Times.

Aziz and Khalil Islam, who was released in 1987 and died in 2009, were both exonerated in November.

Aziz's son Craig Butler said it was 'very painful' for him when his father went to prison

Butler (middle) said he would often ask his mother where his father was and used to 'cry for my father'

Manhattan Judge Ellen Biben dismissed their convictions after prosecutors and the men's lawyers found new evidence that Aziz and Islam were not involved with the killing and that the FBI and the New York Police Department withheld some of what they knew.

Moreover, Mujahid Halim, who was also convicted in Malcolm X's murder but sentenced to life in prison, testified at a trial that 'neither of them had any involvement with the murder of Malcolm X,' according to Aziz's lawsuit.

The investigation into the convictions was launched by Cy Vance, Manhattan's former district attorney, following the broadcast of a six-part Netflix documentary last year that sparked renewed focus on the case.

Vance, 66, apologized to Aziz in court in November.

Muhammad Aziz's Full Statement to Court: 'The events that led to my exoneration should never have occurred. 'Those events were and are the result of a process that was corrupt to its core - one that is all too familiar - even in 2021. 'While I do not need a court, prosecutors, or a piece of paper to tell me I am innocent, I am glad that my family, my friends, and the attorneys who have worked and supported me all these years are finally seeing the truth we have all known, officially recognized. 'I am an 83-year-old man who was victimized by the criminal justice system, and I do not know how many more years I have to be creative. 'However, I hope the same system that was responsible for this travesty of justice also take responsibility for the immeasurable harm it caused me.' Advertisement

FBI files showed that the late FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered agents to tell witnesses not to reveal that they were informants when talking with police and prosecutors.

'Many of those documents were exculpatory. None of them were disclosed to the defense,' Vance told the court on Thursday.

'Without these files, it is clear these men did not receive a fair trial, and their convictions must be vacated.'

In the lawsuit against the state, Aziz's lawyers detailed the physical, emotional and mental distress and other damages he faced during his 20-year stay in maximum-security prisons throughout New York.

'As a result of his wrongful conviction and imprisonment, Mr. Aziz spent 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit and more than 55 years living with the hardship and indignity attendant to being unjustly branded as a convicted murderer of one of the most important civil rights leaders in history,' the lawsuit states, according to CNN.

Aziz was the father to six young children at the time he was arrested, and his wife left him while he was in prison.

While incarcerated, he became an imam and impressed guards with his leadership abilities, once mediating a strike by detainees at Attica in the late 1970s and making sure that 'the demonstration was brought to a peaceful conclusion without violence,' according to a 1981 letter sent by a former commissioner of correctional services, Benjamin Ward, to New York Gov. Hugh L. Carey.

In November, Aziz told the court: 'The events that led to my exoneration should never have occurred.

'I am an 83-year-old man who was victimized by the criminal justice system.'
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Whoopi Goldberg was placed on a two-week, unpaid suspension yesterday by ABC boss Kim Godwin to put an end to a 'culture' at the network where The View host and her colleague Joy Behar could 'say and do whatever they wanted', insiders tell DailyMail.com.

The controversy began on Monday when Whoopi claimed on-air that the Holocaust was 'not about race'. She posted a Twitter apology, then apologized on-air on Tuesday but after the show, was suspended.

DailyMail.com can reveal that she will lose out on her $192,000 pay check for those two weeks.

Staffers welcomed the suspension and said it finally brings an end to Whoopi and her co-host Joy Behar doing 'whatever they wanted', a problem they said started when Barbara Walters left the show.

'ABC understands that this is an opinion based show, the facts will always be paramount. We want robust discussion but can't have the hosts saying things that are false and not based in fact.

'What Whoopi said was not based in fact and was highly inflammatory and offensive.

Scroll down for video

Whoopi Goldberg is shown arriving at the Film Center in New York City on Wednesday a day after being suspended

Whoopi Goldberg at the Film Center in New York City on Wednesday, apparently arriving for a script reading. She was wearing a jacket that said 'We are infinite'

Whoopi Goldberg leaves ABC News on Tuesday after being placed on a two-week suspension for claiming that the Holocaust was not about race

The View panel on Wednesday. Joy Behar was the only one who acknowledged Whoopi's absence. She said: 'You all saw the news. Whoopi will be back in two weeks. OK'. Tara Setmeyer returned as a co-host

Its a new day at ABC News. Kim [Godwin] wants her entire team to be held accountable for their words and actions.

There has been a real power vacuum on The View since Barbara Walters retired, because she ran the show with an iron first.

After Barbara [Walters] left it became a free for all and Whoopi and Joy could do and say whatever they wanted. This is now coming to an end Senior ABC News source

'After Barbara it became a free for all and Whoopi and Joy could do and say whatever they wanted. This is now coming to an end.

Kim is drawing a line in the sand for all staff across ABC News and is attempting to build a corporate culture based on truth, facts, accountability and kindness.

If you do not operate within this prism, Kim will take action. Whoopis suspension highlights this.

Disney is aware that there are huge cultural issues within ABC News and Kim has the backing of Mickey Mouse to fix up the news division and set it on a different course.

Whoopi is welcome to return after her unpaid two week suspension. She took the news well and understood where the network was coming from.

On the show on Tuesday, Joy kicked off where Whoopi normally would.

A senior ABC News source told DailyMail.com there has been a 'free for all' of a power grab on the panel since Barbara Walters left in 2014, and that Joy Behar and Whoopi in particular have been getting away with 'doing and saying whatever they want'

'You all saw the news Whoopi will be back here in two weeks. Ok. Tara Setmeyer has returned to guest co-host,' Behar said before launching into the show's first segment - hot topics.

ABC News President Kim Godwin was brought in in April

In an email sent to staff that was obtained by DailyMail.com, Godwin - who was named President at ABC News, said yesterday: 'I want to follow up with you all regarding Whoopi Goldbergs comments on The View yesterday that were misinformed, upsetting and hurtful.

'I have made the decision to suspend Whoopi from The View for two weeks effective immediately.

'These decisions are never easy, but necessary.

'Just last week I noted that the culture at ABC News is one that is driven, kind, inclusive, respectful, and transparent.

'Whoopis comments do not align with those values.

'It was important that Whoopi had a chance to address her comments on the show today where she made them and have an educational conversation with Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

'I appreciate their conversation and his acknowledgement of Whoopis efforts. As he tweeted, Deeply appreciate @WhoopiGoldberg inviting me on to @TheView today to have an important discussion on the importance of educating about the Holocaust. Whoopi has been a long-time ally of the Jewish community and @ADL and her apology is very much welcome.

'Whoopi has shown through her actions over many years that she understands the horrors of the Holocaust and she started todays show with that recognition.

'But words matter and we must be cognizant of the impact our words have.

'Ill be issuing the below statement shortly.

Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments.

'While Whoopi has apologized, Ive asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.

'#oneabcnews'

ABC News President Kim Godwin announced her suspension Tuesday night, saying it was 'effective immediately'

Mixed reviews: Some called for Whoopi to be fired while her fans vowed to boycott the show

While staffers are happy that Whoopi was suspended, her co-hosts were said to be 'furious' about the decision, according to sources cited by The Daily Beast.

The stars have not publicly commented on the matter, however Hostin retweeted a Twitter post that reads: 'ADL making it clear here that the org is accepting Whoopi Goldeberg's apology.'

Meantime, an ABC executive told the news outlet some network employees were 'really upset and dont understand why it took two days' for Whoopi to be met with consequences.

WHOOPI'S HOLOCAUST COMMENTS The saga began when the panel discussed a Tennessee school removing the comic Maus from its curriculum because it contained nudity. Critics are now demanding that Goldberg be fired from the show. They pointed to other talk show hosts and TV personalities like Sharon Osborne and Roseanne Barr who were fired over making controversial remarks. Goldberg started off by saying: 'Personally I am shocked because given the story of Maus I am surprised that that's what made you uncomfortable. 'It's about the Holocaust, the killing of 6million people, but that didn't bother you. This is white people doing it to white people so y'all go fight amongst yourselves but...' Later, she carried on: 'Let's be truthful about it. The Holocaust isn't about race. It's not about race. It's not about race. It's not about race. It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about.' Co-hosts Ana Navarro, Joy Behar and Sarah Haines all argued back but she continued: 'But these are two white groups of people? You are missing the point. 'The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley. 'Let's talk about it for what it is, it's how people treat each other.' Advertisement

Before the suspension was announced, DailyMail.com had learned that several ABC staffers had called for her firing.

After apologizing on Tuesday's show, Whoopi interviewed ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt to discuss why what she'd said was so offensive.

He went on CNN last night to tell Don Lemon that while her comments were wrong, he accepted her apology.

In a Tuesday night interview with CNN's Don Lemon, Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director, said that although Whoopi's comments caused 'tremendous confusion and hurt,' he accepted her apology and hopes she can use her suspension as a time for 'introspection and learning'.

'She apologized last night online and then she did so again this morning. You know, and I accept her apology,' Greenblatt said.

'I know she's been a friend of the jewish community all throughout her career. And I respect that and appreciate it. I can't comment on ABC News' internal process, but what I will say is that I hope Whoopi can use the next two weeks for a process of introspection and learning.'

Greenblatt added: 'Let's hope that she can use this time, use this opportunity, and use her amazing platform to educate herself and to share what she learns with her audience and with the country at large.'

He encouraged the television host to find ways to help further Holocaust education by visiting the Holocaust museum, meeting with survivors and working with the ADL.

'There are lots of ways Whoopi can make I huge difference, and I hope she'll do that.'

Greenblatt also reiterated the Holocaust was 'absolutely about race'.

'I think [Whoopi] really, again, created a kind of confusion and hurt because the Holocaust was absolutely about race,' he told Lemon. 'It was a racialized anti-semitism.'

'And again, that might not fit with the way that some people think about race, the way all of us as Americans have to confront it in this country - in this time when black Americans are still dealing with the legacy of Jim Crow and enslavement and systemic oppression.'

Some fans welcomed the decision, but others were furious by ABC's decision.

They tweeted vowing to boycott The View for the two weeks that Whoopi was off-air.

Before the show, a senior ABC News source told DailyMail.com that staff are stunned by the network's soft touch on her remarks, especially when it was so quick to fire Roseanne Barr over racist comments towards Valerie Jarrett.

'These comments are absolutely abhorrent and outrageous and its time Disney and ABC grew a pair and fired her,' the source said.
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Lawyers for ousted CNN anchor Chris Cuomo wrote to the network demanding that all communications between network chief Jeff Zucker, his staffer-lover Allison Gollust, and Chris's brother Andrew - the former governor of New York - be preserved, DailyMail.com can confirm.

Chris's lawyers sought the preservation of the communications as proof both that Zucker had a conflict of interest, while he was accusing Chris of his own conflict of interest in helping his brother.

Zucker resigned from his $6 million-a-year job at the network on Wednesday, forced out by the revelations from Chris's legal team of a conflict of interest.

Gollust worked as Andrew Cuomo's PR director before joining CNN, adding to the cozy familiarity among the group.

Zucker was highly prized by the network, and his contract was due to expire on December 31, 2021, but was extended to see him carry on working through the merger with Discovery. If his contract contained a severance clause, that payout could now be in jeopardy because his undisclosed relationship with a fellow employee violates company policy.

Zucker's refusal to pay out the remained of Chris Cuomo's contract, worth an estimated $18 million, is key to his own downfall. Zucker has argued that his fallen star anchor cannot claim the payout because his conduct - in advising his brother - brought the network into disrepute.

That same argument, of violating company policy, could now see Zucker miss out on his own payout, which would likely be worth many millions.

A source says that besides the emails and other communications that would reveal the long term intimacy between Zucker and Gollust, they would also reveal how Zucker pressured Andrew Cuomo to appear on CNN and how he pushed his personal agenda about Donald Trump and other conservatives with 'potent negative story lines.'

Chris Cuomo blew the whistle on Zucker's years-long, open-secret affair with Gollust while fighting for his $18million severance pay, according unnamed media sources.

In a statement on Wednesday, Zucker said he was stepping down for failing to disclose his relationship with Gollust when he was being interviewed as part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo.

He and Gollust claim the romance started during COVID, but media sources tell DailyMail.com it long predates the pandemic and was an open-secret in the CNN offices.

They lived in the same apartment building with their respective families, have worked together at NBC and then at CNN for more than 20 years, and had what some called an 'uncomfortably cozy' rapport.

They are both now divorced, and one source told DailyMail.com that their splits were due in part to their affair. Politico cites two unnamed sources who say Chris Cuomo's legal team brought the romance to the surface during negotiations for the ousted host's severance pay.

Chris was fired last December after an internal investigation found he had helped his brother Andrew navigate through a sexual misconduct scandal, while still working as a CNN host.

'Open secret': Jeff Zucker and Allison Gollust at the Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden on November 5, 2021 with Don Lemon (right) and Fareed Zakaria (bottom left). Zucker stepped down as President of CNN on Wednesday as a result of their romance and the fact he lied about it while being quizzed for the investigation into Chris Cuomo. Picture courtesy of fee.org

Chris Cuomo's legal team blew the whistle on the affair while negotiating his severance package from CNN, according to Politico's sources. Chris was arguing that he should not be penalized for a conflict of interest with his brother when Zucker, the boss, was guilty of fostering one of his own

Jeff Zucker is pictured with Allison Gollust in 2016. The pair are shown with Tom Brokaw (center). Their romance was an 'open secret' at CNN, according to insiders who tell DailyMail.com they are lying about it only evolving in 'COVID'

Zucker with his ex-wife Caryn and Chris Cuomo in 2014, the year after Zucker joined the network

Both Zucker and Gollust both lived in this Upper East Side apartment building with their respective families. Sources say her apartment was a floor above his. He is understood to have sold his apartment there in 2018, during his divorce

CNN president Jeff Zucker abruptly announced his resignation Wednesday. He revealed in the memo that he became involved a 'consensual relationship' with a colleague he's worked with for more than 20 years

Keeping CNN in the Old Boys' Club! One of the CNN executives stepping up to replace outgoing boss Jeff Zucker is his old Harvard friend and 'longtime loyalist' with an uncannily similar career trajectory. Michael Bass - among three people named interim network leaders Wednesday - is, like Zucker, an ivy league alumni with vast experience at competing networks including NBC, where Zucker once served as the company's chief executive. Until a permanent replacement is named, Bass will lead the network alongside veteran executives Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz. Bass, a married father of three, took over as interim executive producer of the Today show in 2000 after Zucker was named NBC Entertainment's president. When Zucker was promoted to the company's top boss in 2007, Bass's career path kept pace as he became NBC's vice president of strategic initiatives. Zucker also tapped Bass to serve as co-executive producer of Katie Couric's eponymous talk show in 2012. In an yet another similarity, both graduated from Harvard in the mid-1980s and Bass followed Zucker to CNN. Katie Couric, who has worked with both men, described their different management styles in her explosive tell-all 'Going There'. 'Jeff Zucker's feet may only have been size 9, but he left huge shoes to fill when he became president of NBC Entertainment,' she wrote. 'He'd handpicked his friend Michael Bass, a fellow Harvard guy and longtime loyalist, to step in as acting EP at Today. 'Michael was an incredibly nice and a solid producer but lacked Jeff's shrewdness and pizzazz (yeoman-like was a word that got used), which showed in the broadcast. Suddenly it felt like slow, boring, blah.' Bass most recently served as CNN's executive vice president of programming. Advertisement

He is still fighting for $18million - the remainder of his contract - but Zucker had refused to pay out, citing the conflict of interest between Chris's relationship with his brother and his on-air reporting for CNN.

According to Politico's sources, Cuomo's team said it was hypocritical for Zucker to fire Chris for a conflict of interest when he has one of his own in his relationship with Gollust.

Gollust, who worked as Andrew Cuomo's communications director briefly, is also divorced, though it is unclear when she and her husband Billy - who runs a trading platform - split.

Billy has not commented.

One source told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that the affair was an open secret for years.

'Jeff's affair with Allison has been going on forever  not since COVID! Everyone has known it but he still denied it.

'It was part of the reason for his divorce, but not the only reason.

'It was inevitable that it would come out  he should have been up front sooner.'

Another said: 'It was the worst-kept secret inside the building.

'Jeff's office was right next to Allison's office at Hudson Yards and before that at the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle.

'The joke was they weren't only sharing a wall. No one believes that this only happened over pandemic.

'They have been close for years.

'The closest it ever came to being outed was when Page Six reported on their 'heavy exchange' at the Hollywood Reporter's 35 Most Powerful People in NY Media party.

'They had a very public fight at the party that didn't seem to have anything to do with work.'

Zucker admits lying about when the romance began during the investigation into whether or not Chris Cuomo, formerly the network's most successful host, helped his brother through his sexual harassment scandal.

'I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong.

'As a result, I am resigning today,' he said.

According to an internal email, Michael Bass, Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz will take over as interim bosses, with Bass heading up the new leadership team.

But sources say Bass - who Zucker promoted to replace him as Executive Producer on the Today show - is one of Zucker's right-hand men and shouldn't be considered for the job.

'The appointment of Michael Bass to the top job  even on an interim basis is outrageous.

'Michael and Jeff are very close friends. Both went to Harvard and both have looked after each other throughout their careers.

'It's such a boys club and an absolute joke.'

Zucker is widely concerned one of the most powerful men in media.

He has made a long list of enemies throughout his career - most notably Donald Trump, who celebrated his resignation.

Zucker's resignation is effective immediately but Gollust will stay on at the network as an Executive Vice President of PR at CNN, and will be staying on in her role despite Zucker's departure.

Zucker with his ex-wife Caryn in 2011 (left) and Gollust with her ex-husband Billy (right) in 2008. The pair have known each other and worked together for 20 years, starting at ABC, and media sources say their affair was an 'open secret'

CNN staff received this email on Wednesday after Zucker's departure

Chris Cuomo has been at war with CNN since he was fired in early December.

The network fired him after an investigation by the New York Attorney General's Office revealed the deep extent to which he'd helped his brother Andrew.

Chris ignored the subject on his nightly CNN talk show, but used his journalistic sources to research some of the women making claims against his brother, according to the AG report.

CNN also received a claim that he had been sexually inappropriate with a staff member in the days before he was fired. Chris Cuomo vehemently denied that claim.

Gollust, who said she will remain at the network, confirmed the affair in a statement Wednesday released to the New York Times.

'Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,' she wrote.

CNN president Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned Wednesday following the Chris Cuomo scandal, which brought to light his relationship with Gollust (pictured right in 2011), although sources at CNN say it was considered an open secret

TIMELINE OF ZUCKER AND GOLLUST'S OPEN SECRET' ROMANCE 1986: Zucker hired as an Olympics researcher for NBC 1989: Zucker starts working as producer on Today 1996: Zucker marries his NBC colleague Caryn 2000: Zucker promoted to president of entertainment at NBC after boosting ratings on Today He meets Gollust at NBC. 2003: Zucker promoted to head of news, cable and entertainment at NBC 2005: Zucker becomes head of NBC Universal, new umbrella brand 2007: Zucker becomes President and CEO of NBC Universal 2010: Zucker leaves NBC, taking a package of between $30m-$40m dollars 2011: Zucker joins Katie Couric as producer on her ABC show 2012: Zucker joins CNN 2018: Zucker and his wife Caryn split 2021: Zucker announces plans to leave the company at the end of the year. He then said he would stay on until TimeWarner's deal with Discovery was complete Advertisement

'Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn't disclose it at the right time.

'I'm incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do everyday.'

The couple was spotted together at a Billy Joel concert last November, where they were called out for defying mask regulations, but their romance was not picked up on.

In 2017, Zucker and Gollust were seen in a heated argument at the Hollywood Reporter's 35 Most Powerful People in NY Media party.

A source explained at the time that while the party was taking place, Zucker and Gollust suddenly started intensely speaking and making anguished hand gestures before Gollust stormed away into the crowd.

'It looked like she was reprimanding her husband or something,' mocked an unnamed rival news executive at the time.

Other journalists have pointed to the romance too.

In her book, Katie Couric told of how Zucker tried to push Gollust onto Couric's show, despite the fact there was no role for her.

'I had to wonder why Jeff was angling so hard to bring Allison on board.

'She and her husband and kids had moved into the apartment right above Jeff and Caryn'severyone who heard about their cozy arrangement thought it was super strange.

'By that point, Caryn (Zucker's ex-wife) had become a close friend and it made me really uncomfortable,' Katie wrote in her memoir.

Zucker made a long-list of enemies over the years at CNN, most notable of whom is Donald Trump.

Trump celebrated his resignation on Wednesday, saying in an emailed statement: 'Jeff Zucker, a world-class sleazebag who has headed ratings and real-news-challenged CNN for far too long, has been terminated for numerous reasons, but predominantly because CNN has lost its way with viewers and everybody else.

'Now is a chance to put Fake News in the backseat because there may not be anything more important than straightening out the horrendous LameStream Media in our Country, and in the case of CNN, throughout the World.

'Jeff Zucker is gonecongratulations to all!' he said.

Megyn Kelly, former FOX News host, tweeted: 'Zucker's relationship with Gollust went on for years, and what he did to keep her near him (as he kept advancing her up the line) will be even more stunning to the CNN news room.'

Inside Jeff Zucker and Allison Gollust's 'cozy' relationship: As 'open-secret affair' sparks CNN boss's exit, how duo became 'joined at the hip' 20 years ago and even lived one floor apart in SAME New York apartment building

From Jeff helping Allison, 49, land her current job at CNN to living in the same apartment building with their respective families, the two have, according to former colleague Katie Couric, been 'joined at the hip' for more than two decades.

Where it all began, as colleagues at NBC

Allison (pictured in 2018) began her career as a news anchor in Denver. She started working for NBC in 1996 - where she met Jeff, who eventually became president and CEO of NBC Universal

Harvard graduate Jeff and Allison - who began her career as a news anchor, reporter, and producer in Denver, Colorado - first met when they both worked at NBC.

According to her CNN profile, Allison started working for the company in 1996, six years after Jeff earned his first role within the network, and one year later, she was named as the senior publicist for the Today show.

Allison then served as the executive vice president of corporate communications for NBC, where she oversaw all aspects of the company's global communications efforts.

As for Jeff, who graduated from Harvard University in 1986, he started as a field producer for the Today show, where he rose through the ranks, eventually earning the job as executive producer on the show, before being named as the president of NBC Entertainment in 2000.

In her book, Going There, former NBC host Couric recalled her first encounter with Jeff, who was at the time a budding writer-producer, in 1990, describing him as being a 'nerd' who was 'seemed a little cocky, especially for someone so young'.

Then, on February 6, 2007, Jeff became president and CEO of NBC Universal.

Despite gaining a lot of power at NBC, Jeff was shoved out of the company in 2010, after its merger with Comcast Corporation.

The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that Comcast Chief Operating Officer Steve Burke 'told Jeff that he wanted him to 'move on' as soon as Comcast took control of the media conglomerate.'

During his time at NBC, Jeff had several misfires - most notably, when he brought in independent producer Ben Silverman, which ultimately caused NBC's ratings to plummet.

He was also slammed for moving Jay Leno's show to prime time, which negatively impacted the number of viewers.

Looking out for one another: How Jeff tried to snag Allison a job alongside him on Katie Couric's show

Both of them left NBC within months of one another in 2010, and Jeff spent several months without a job, before reuniting with former colleague Couric in 2011 in order to produce her self-titled daytime talkshow.

However, even after they both departed NBC, Jeff and Allison remained incredibly close. So close, in fact, that Jeff fought hard to get Allison a job on Katie's show while he was there.

The talk show host claimed in her 2021 memoir, Going There, that Jeff made a 'huge push' to bring Allison onto their staff, but they unfortunately didn't have a role for her.

Katie (pictured with Jeff and his wife in 2005) later claimed that their 'cozy arrangement' was 'super strange' and made her 'really uncomfortable'

'They were joined at the hip. The problem was, we'd already hired a PR person for the show. There really wasn't a role for Allison,' she wrote. 'I had to wonder why Jeff was angling so hard to bring Allison on board.'

In late 2012, rumors started to circulate that Jeff was planning to leave Katie's show to join CNN, and Katie later claimed that he and Allison had teamed up to plant those stories - writing that 'everyone knew he and Allison had Page Six on speed dial.'

Jeff then became the president of CNN on January 1, 2013.

Reuniting at CNN: How Jeff brought Allison on-board as his first hire

According to Allison (pictured in 2013), it wasn't until the pandemic hit that things turned romantic. Sources say otherwise

After leaving NBC, Allison took a job as then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's communications director at the end of 2012. However, just four months later, it was revealed that she had quit the role and was moving to CNN.

'[Jeff's] first hire?' Katie wrote in her book. 'Allison Gollust.'

She was hired at the company as senior vice president of communications.

'Allison is among the most experienced and respected communications executives in the media industry, and her close working relationship with Jeff Zucker is one of its most successful professional partnerships,' Jeff Matteson, senior vice president of communications for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., said at the time.

Jeff added in a statement: 'In the 15 years that Allison and I have worked together, I've depended on her judgment, counsel and relationships.

'Allison is joining CNN at an exciting time, and she and the strong communications team she's inheriting will play a critical role in shaping the organization and its story going forward. It's great to have her at CNN.'

Living in close quarters: Pair spark speculation after moving into the same apartment building just one floor apart

Jeff and Allison lived in the same apartment building on the Upper East Side with their respective families until Jeff sold his in 2020, after he and his ex-wife - supervisor of Saturday Night Life Caryn Stephanie Nathanson - split.

The building is located at on the corner of Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York. He resided in apartment 3W, while Allison lived in the unit right above him - number 4W - which she still owns.

Katie later claimed that their 'cozy arrangement' was 'super strange' and made her 'really uncomfortable.'

She said in her book: '[Allison] and her husband and kids had moved into the apartment right above Jeff and [his wife] Caryn's - everyone who heard about their cozy arrangement thought it was super strange.

He resided in apartment 3W, which he sold in 2020 after his divorce, while Allison lived in the unit right above him - 4W - which she still owns

Both of them also own Hampton houses within 20 minutes from one another

'By that point, Caryn had become a close friend and it made me really uncomfortable.'

Allison's apartment has two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, while Jeff's contained five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. He sold it for $15.4 million.

Both of them also own Hampton houses within 20 minutes from one another.

According to public sales records, Jeff's home hasn't been put up for sale since he purchased it in 1999 - however it's not known whether he or his wife took ownership of it in the divorce. Records also show that Allison still owners her Hampton home.

Leaving their respective partners: Lengthy marriages both end in divorce

Jeff and his ex-wife split in 2018 after 21 years of marriage, due to reportedly 'growing apart.'

A source told Page Six at the time: 'It can't be easy being married to Jeff - he is a workaholic, and is obsessed with news, and obsessed with being the best.

'Caryn is much more laid back and social, spends a lot of time with their kids and enjoys being part of the Upper East Side social circuit.

Jeff and his ex-wife Caryn (pictured in 2012) share three daughters and a son

'They've had their problems over the years. Things have been bad for 10 years, but they have now accepted their marriage is over, and he has moved out of their apartment.'

The former couple share four kids together - three daughters and a son.

As for Allison, she was previously married to Billy Hult, the president of online marketplace platform Tradeweb.

According to RadarOnline, they broke up 12 months after Jeff and Caryn finalized their divorced. Before they split, they welcomed two daughters together named Olivia and Ava.

Now, sources have claimed that both of their marriages ended because of their budding romance.

An insider told DailyMail.com on Wednesday: 'It was part of the reason for his divorce, but not the only reason. It was inevitable that it would come out  he should have been up front sooner.'

Going public with their romance: Couple claim their 'relationship changed during COVID'

In a memo to CNN staff on Wednesday, Jeff confirmed the relationship and announced that he was stepping down from the company

According to Allison, who said she will remain at the network, however, it wasn't until the COVID-19 pandemic hit that things turned romantic between them.

'Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,' she wrote. 'Recently, our relationship changed during COVID,' she said in a statement released to the New York Times.

'I regret that we didn't disclose it at the right time. I'm incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do everyday.'

In a memo to CNN staff on Wednesday, Jeff spoke out about it too.

He said: 'As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo's tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years.

'I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong.'
A stablehand who stabbed a female friend 10 times when she was on a Tinder date has been branded a 'very serious danger to women' and jailed for 29 years.

Robert Truscott, 48, armed himself with a 10 inch knife and cycled to 37-year-old Emma Wolfenden's home in Rutland, East Midlands, on January 21 last year.

Leicester Crown Court heard that Truscott was obsessed with Ms Wolfenden but she spurned his advances and just wanted to be friends.

He became 'angry and jealous' when she told him a man she met on Tinder would be visiting her home before attacking them both, the court was told.

She sustained a wound to her neck which pierced her jugular vein, six chest wounds, lacerations to her liver, lung and diaphragm and three stab wounds to her stomach.

After being rushed to hospital and undergoing four operations, Ms Wolfenden survived the stabbing and was discharged three months later.

But on June 23 she was found dead at her home with a post mortem showing her death was not directly linked to the attack.

Emma Wolfenden (pictured above), 37, suffered 10 knife wounds after being stabbed by 48-year-old Robert Truscott at her home in Rutland, East Midlands, on January 21 last year

Ms Wolfenden dialled 999 at 9.10pm on January 21 last year and told police that Truscott and her date were fighting at her home.

Officers were then contacted by East Midlands Ambulance Service who had received a call from Truscott saying he had stabbed Ms Wolfenden.

When police arrived Ms Wolfenden was found with multiple stab wounds to her chest and neck.

The man Ms Wolfenden was with suffered a cut hand while trying to wrestle away the knife.

Truscott, who works at a local stables, was at the scene and admitted it was his fault before being arrested.

Following a trial, Truscott was last month found guilty of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) to the man.

Today he was jailed for 29 years. He was also sentenced to 33 months for GBH and 18 months for possession of a knife to run concurrently.

Sentencing, Judge Philip Head said Truscott was a 'very serious danger to the life and physical wellbeing of women'.

Following a trial, Truscott (above) was found guilty of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) to the man

He told him: 'You were obsessive about and controlling of Emma Wolfenden.

'You are emotionally incapable of receiving rejection, and react to that with extreme violence.'

After the case, Ms Wolfenden's older brother Charles paid an emotional tribute to her, saying she 'lit up any room she walked into'.

He said: 'Emma spent most of her life in Rutland and touched a lot of lives during her life.

'The attendance at her funeral and the tributes and messages we received following her death showed this.

'It was very humbling and a testament to how loved she was. Emma was a kind and loving person.

'During her life, she worked as a carer for disadvantaged children for many years and also worked with people battling substance abuse.

'She was also due to start a qualification in social care. Emma also had a great sense of humour and would light up any room she walked into.

'She loved listening to music, played the oboe and also enjoyed horse riding.

'After being discharged from hospital in April, Emma had been determined to keep moving forward with her life and to make a quick recovery.

'As a family, we were left devastated by her tragic death. Emma - you will forever be in our memories. We will never forget you and the happiness and joy you brought not only to our lives but to the lives of many others too.'

Leicester Crown Court (file photo above) heard that Truscott was obsessed with Ms Wolfenden but she spurned his advances and just wanted to be friends

Ms Wolfenden was a carer for disadvantaged children and worked with people battling substance abuse, the court heard.

She had been a close friend of Truscott for four years and they would drink regularly at her home but she had no romantic interest in him.

During the trial, Truscott told the jury he took the knife to her home 'out of stupidity'.

He said he could not remember why he stabbed his friend, who suffered ten knife wounds.

Detective Constable Gemma Allen, of Leicestershire Police, said: 'This was no doubt an extremely frightening incident for Ms Wolfenden and for the other male victim involved at the time.

'Ms Wolfenden remained in hospital for three months after the incident receiving treatment for serious injuries because of the terrifying actions of Robert Truscott.'
The gender-neutral pronoun 'hen' will officially enter dictionaries in Norway after rising popularity in the use of the new word.

The Language Council of Norway confirmed that the term, which is an alternative to the feminine pronoun 'hun' and the masculine pronoun 'han', would likely enter official Norwegian language within a year.

Daniel Ims, a representative for the council, said the use of hen had increased in the country and had been discussed in the country's linguistic and grammar community for some time before a decision was made by the council.

He told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK: 'It will be part of the spelling, both in Bokmal and in Nynorsk.

The Language Council of Norway said the gender-neutral pronoun 'hen' will officially enter dictionaries in Norway within the year

'Over the years, we have seen that it has become increasingly used.

'In the beginning, there was a proposal that it should be used, but in recent years it has been increasingly used in newspaper texts and in academic use.'

In 2017, Norway's parliament initially rejected a proposal put forward by the country's Labour Party to use the gender-neutral personal pronoun 'hen'.

The proposal was rejected by the Conservative Party, the Progress Party, the Christian Democrats and the Centre Party.

Following the decision, Jan Elisabeth Lindvik, leader of the Association for Transgender People, told the Swedish newspaper Dagen: 'Only a few years ago, no one would have said we'd would have been able to determine our own legal sex either.

'That was also a maturation process, which took on rocket speed with the aid of Amnesty.'

The latest move by Norway comes nearly three years after 'they' as a pronoun for non-binary people was added to other definitions of the word to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in the US.

Daniel Ims, a representative for the Language Council of Norway, said the use of hen had increased in the country

Merriam-Webster added the new definition of 'they' to its dictionary in September 2019 to reflect the non-binary gender identity.

Speaking at the time, Nick Adams, director of transgender representation for the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, said the move was a positive step but there was still 'a long road ahead'.

'There is a long road ahead before language, policy and culture are completely affirming and inclusive,' Adams said.

Later that year, the American Psychological Association (APA) endorsed 'they' as a singular third-person pronoun in its latest style guide for scholarly writing.

'We believe writers should try to use a person's self-identified pronoun whenever feasible,' said Jasper Simons, chief publishing officer for the APA.

'The singular ''they'' is a way for writers to avoid making assumptions about gender when it is not known.'
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: BBS  (Wed Feb 2 01:40:59 2022, )





Showtime Vice, a highly influential media outlet in the United States,

broadcast an interview with A journalist, Isobel Yeung, who went to the 18th

floor of the building to interview Guo Wengui. The feature, Guowengui's

Misinformation Campaign, It reveals all kinds of crimes committed by guo

Wengui, a fugitive from the Red Cross, during his long flight abroad,

including spreading rumors about COVID-19, manipulating the US election,

harassing political dissidents, and defrauding investors by inventing high

returns. The reporter showed the piles of evidence and facts that guo Wengui

could not quivel in anger and rage, when the reporter asked the key

question, and even lost his mind, began to scold the street, and repeatedly

threatened the reporter to Sue her to court. After the video spread, eager

to cover up the Guo Wengui arranged nearly 6 hours of distortion quibble

live, and ordered his dog leg clip uploaded a variety of interviews about

the small video. In less than a day, the Ant Gang secret Translation group

had already produced several short videos denigrating journalist Isobel

Yeung and circulated them widely on Gate. Look at the speed and efficiency

of guo Wengui this action will know, showtime Vice this interview thoroughly

poke in guo Wengui's sore spot!



In the full program released by [email protected], the official channel of

Showtime Vice, evidence and witness testimony confirmed that Bannon and Guo

were behind the riots at the U.S. Capitol. When asked bluntly why he made up

a completely unsubstantiated story on air, Smear the Communist Party of

China, manipulation of the United States election, instant black face Guo

Cheat first in the reporter's eyes kept turning, and then in the answer kept

fast to the lower right, body retraction, hands nowhere, these are

obviously people lying when the involuntary body performance, the turtle

answered without a right question, Showtime Vice is a rogue media, a liar

and a garbage, which makes journalists who are used to big scenes laugh and

cry. Then when the reporter to Teng Biao as an example, asked to destroy the

thief in the action of harassment to denigrate dissidents, the guilt-guilty

Guo Wengui half a day only hold out a "this is nonsense", also funny

questioned the reporter "who sent you"? He said he would Sue the reporter

for fabricating the story. It seems that after years of practice, Lord Guo

has used the tactics of false class and prosecution to the extreme. But he

forgot, in the vanilla Mountain in 2020 to combat pseudo class action, came

to interview reporters asked participating ants "come here to protest what

things"? "We are here to protest against fake lawyer Teng Biao. We found out

when Mr. Guo Wengui repeatedly mentioned these names in his live broadcast.

" There is no doubt that these ants and cockroaches who harass pro-democracy

activists for many times are the followers of Guo Wengui!



The most intense moment of the interview had to be when Isobel Yeung

mentioned Guo wengui's high-return investment products. "Many investors say.

....." , investing in a second word, Guo Wengui immediately interrupted by

gaffes, and repeated "you is a lie, are you sure you are lying, you're 100%

lying" to obfuscate, visible doesn't allow reporters inside the panic to an

extreme expression of the problem, subconsciously stop the rage of the

original way of communication, in order to resolve the problem itself. But

the reporter is firm to ask the question we want to let Guo Wengui positive

answer "a lot of investors they are committed to high returns, investment in

your various projects", but we are doomed to guo Wengui's answer, guo

cheated the lawyer on the spot a "he can not answer any questions about

investors or assets" blocked back. However, this also proves that, compared

with other crimes Guo Wengui most afraid of the reporter mentioned is the

return on investment! Subsequently the plague turtle did not care frankly

that he has sixty or seventy cases are being tried, and threatened reporters

or not mind their mouth next case is likely to be between the two of them.

In the whole interview, compared with Isobel Yeung's attitude of being

neither humble nor arrogant, Guo Wengui's angry and intimidating face

completely tore up the mask of gentlemanly demeanor that he always flaunted.



It is worth noting that in the film Guowengui's misinformation Campaign, the

use of the cult word, which refers to an extremely dangerous terrorist

organization, reveals Guowengui's true hidden evil face. For those of you

who don't know it, go to [email protected] and watch the full video. If you

can't watch the full video because showtime Vice is a paid channel, You can

also follow Jieguojun852 to watch the full video he reposted. You will find

that compared to Guo Wenkui's unoriginal branding of Vice as the propaganda

media of the Communist Party of China, and his poor tactics of denouncing

Isobel Yeung, a former war correspondent in Yemen who used to do field

research in Xinjiang, as a bought blue gold. The evidence presented by

Showtime Vice is truly well-founded and cannot be questioned!





--

 :WWW  mitbbs.com [FROM: 141.]


Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell demanded an end to the COVID-19 state of emergency on Wednesday , saying it was time for Americans to get on with their lives after two years on a 'hellish highway.'

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in March 2020 as the virus spread. And President Joe Biden subsequently extended the declaration.

But McConnell said the impact of the disease was waning and that the virus was heading towards endemic status.

'In February 2022, we know we are currently facing an Omicron variant that seems both significantly more contagious than its predecessors, but also significantly less severe,' he said.

'Even in hard hit states like my own, where hospitalizations remain too high, the curve of cases and hospitalizations appears to be starting to bend back down.'

He added that vaccinations continue to make the difference between life and death.

'But from a society-wide perspective after two years on a hellish highway it appears our country is finally arriving at the off ramp,' he said.

'The virus appears to be heading endemic.

'Seventy percent of Americans agree with the statement: "It's time we accept that COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives."

'It's time for the state of emergency to wind down.'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was time for the state of emergency over COVID-19 to end. The Trump administration declared a public health emergency two years ago

Latest data suggest the Omicron wave of COVID-19 infections is ebbing across the country

His comments appeared to be an effort to head off any more emergency funding demands, and they came as a growing number of health experts have recommended loosening rules.

The World Health Organization this week said some countries can now consider carefully relaxing restrictions so long as they have high immunity rates, strong health care systems and that epidemiological trends are heading in the right direction.

White House Press Secretary on Wednesday said the president's priority remained fighting the virus.

'I will say that the president's view is that we're not going to live like this forever. We don't want to live like this forever,' she said.

'And our objective and our goal is on ending this pandemic as we know it today.'

England, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and several Nordic countries have taken steps to lift or ease rules.

American public opinion is in line.

The statistic quoted by McConnell came from the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Last month it found that seven in ten Americans agree with the idea that 'it's time we accept that COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives'  including 78 percent of those who say they have had COVID and 65 percent of those who say they have not been infected.

'Americans' worries about COVID haven't gone away,' said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

'It seems more to be a realization that we are not going to get this virus under control in a way that we thought was possible just last year.'

A recent Monmouth University poll found that a whopping 70 percent of Americans believe 'It's time we accept that COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives'

But political differences remain. The same poll found that 89 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of independents but only 47 percent of Democrats thought it was time to move on.

McConnell highlighted the point.

'But disturbingly whether or not we should trust the silence and reclaim normalcy is somehow becoming a partisan question,' he said.

'As a New York Times writer observed this week, millions of Democrats have decided that organizing their lives around COVID is core to their identity as progressives, even as pandemic isolation and disruption are fueling mental health problems, drug overdoses, violent crime, rising blood pressure and growing educational inequality.'

Yet still lives were being disrupted by restrictions, he continued.

'In communities across the country, bureaucrats are still forcing young children to wear masks to participate in society, when neither kids nor vaccinated adults are remotely likely to get gravely ill,' he said.

'What exactly are we doing here? Where are the goalposts? What is their end game?'

McConnell used his speech to pour cold water on any future funding demands.

'Now we hear Democrats may request yet another huge chunk of emergency spending. But experts say as much as $800 billion or $900 billion of the money that weve already set aside as not even been spent yet,' he said

'What about a full accounting of the $6 trillion thats already been approved?'
Nearly four decades ago, when I was a high school senior in Dallas, Texas, I had the chance to speak at my class's graduation ceremony. It was a tremendous honor, and I carefully considered what I wanted to say. The words I shared that day are ones that have guided me ever since:

'If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.'

At the time, I was on the cusp of an exciting new chapter: a move to North Carolina to pursue a degree in computer science. I knew how lucky I was to have the chance to go away to school and how hard my parents had worked to save up the tuition money that was making their four children's dreams possible.

Looking back, I also feel lucky that my parents made sure I grew up in a family and community with a strong moral core. The high school I attended took seriously its motto 'Serviam,' Latin for 'I will serve.' At home, at school, and at our Catholic church, I learned about the importance of social justice and the responsibility we all have to make life better for others. My volunteer work at the local courthouse and a nearby school showed me that opportunities are not evenly distributed and made me more deeply conscious of my own privileges.

Those were the values I carried with me as I finished my education, started my career, and saw my life take a turn that I never could have imagined. While I'd always aspired to give back to my community, I never anticipated that I would be able to give away billions of dollars. In 2000, I helped create the Gates Foundation, which is dedicated to a world where every person has the chance to lead a healthy and productive life. In 2015, I launched Pivotal Ventures, which focuses on advancing social progress in the United States.

Along the way, I co-founded the Giving Pledge in 2010 and committed to giving away the majority of my resources in my lifetime. Today, I'm reaffirming that commitment. I recognize the absurdity of so much wealth being concentrated in the hands of one person, and I believe the only responsible thing to do with a fortune this size is give it awayas thoughtfully and impactfully as possible. The ultimate goal of any philanthropist should be to render the need for philanthropy obsolete.

It's important to acknowledge that giving away money your family will never need is not an especially noble act. There's no question in my mind that the real standard for generosity is set by the people who give even when it means going without. That's why, as part of this pledge, I commit to doing more than writing checks. I also commit my time, energy, and efforts to the work of fighting poverty and advancing equalityfor women and girls and other marginalized groupsin the United States and around the world. My giving will continue to focus on the people for whom the barriers to equality are highest.

In the last two decades, I've seen that, at its best, philanthropy plays a unique role in driving progress by taking investment risks that others can't or won't to explore new ways of solving old problems. At the same time, I've also learned how important it is to ensure that the people closest to those problems have a role in designing solutions. It's much easier to imagine that you have all the answers when you're sitting in a conference room in Seattle than when you're face-to-face with a business owner in Nairobi or an indigenous activist in New Mexico who is telling you in her own words about her hopes for the future and the challenges she sees to realizing them. That's why I think philanthropy is most effective when it prioritizes flexibility over ideologyand why in my work at the foundation and Pivotal Ventures I'll continue to seek out new partners, ideas, and perspectives.

My approach to philanthropy has always been data-driven, and I think it's important for philanthropists to set ambitious goals and measure our progress against those goals. I've learned, however, that it's equally important to place trust in the people and organizations we partner with and let them define success on their own terms. Philanthropists are generally more helpful to the world when we're standing behind a movement rather than trying to lead our own.

Engaging in philanthropy has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my time on this planet. And 20 years into this work, I feel that my debt to lifeand my debt to humanityhas only grown. I am grateful for the parents who invested in me, the teachers who nurtured me, my three children who have challenged my assumptions and expanded my horizons, and the farmers, teachers, health workers, entrepreneurs, experts, advocates, and women of all backgrounds, all around the world, who have shared their insights and perspectives with me. The ultimate measure of my success will be whether their ability to unlock progress continues long after I'm gone.

-Melinda French Gates
Former impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman filed suit against key Donald Trump allies  including Donald Trump. Jr. and lawyer Rudy Giuliani  charging them with having falsely attacked his loyalty to the U.S. and punishing him for his testimony.

Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, also lashed out at the defendants in an op-ed, where he cited his removal from the White House National Security Council and a delay in his Army promotion.

'I was attacked in a way calculated to inflict maximum personal and professional damage likely in order to prevent me from testifying or to punish me for doing so. In this country, that violates the law,' he writes.

He is suing four officials for intimidation and retaliation, writing: 'I wish I had done so sooner, both for my sake and for the other public servants who have been similarly tested.'

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, writes that former President Trump and his allies engaged in an intention, concerted campaign of unlawful intimdation and retaliation against a sitting Director of the National Security Council and decorated military officer, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, to prevent him from and then punish him for testifying before Congress during impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is suing four Trump allies, including the president's son Don Jr. and lawyer Rudy Giuliani, alleging intimidation and retaliation

Vindman was on Trump's infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when Trump asked for help digging up dirt on President Biden's son, Hunter.

He was subpoenaed to testify in Trump's impeachment after reporting the contents of the call.

His suit alleges the group carried out a 'coordinated campaign' based on 'common understanding and agreement' to target him for 'intimidation and retaliation.'

It says the attacks were to paint him as 'disloyal' to the U.S. and having 'engaged in "espionage."' He says they destroyed his ability to serve in a national security or foreign policy role.

The Ukraine-born Vindman served on the NSC along with his twin brother Yevgeny as an expert in Ukrainian affairs. He was director of European Affairs on the NSC.

Vindman filed suit in federal court in Washington, D.C.

The suit calls Donald Trump Jr. the former president's 'emissary to the media'

The suit names former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani

The suit names former White House aide Dan Scavino, who oversaw Trump's Twitter account

Vindman was a star witness during hearings by the House Select Intelligence Committee during its impeachment inquiry

He cites the Ku Klux Klan act of 1871, which is also cited in lawsuits by some lawmakers against Trump over Jan. 6th.

The suit says Don Jr. serves as Trump's 'emissary to the media, names Giuliani as a longtime advisor, targets Scavino for overseeing Trump's Twitter account, and names White House official Julia Hahn, who served as special assistant at the White House after working for TV host Laura Ingraham and Breitbart News.

Vindman immigrated to the U.S. in 1979 and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Trump fired Vindman and his brother following the impeachment effort, which resulted in his acquittal.

Vindmans' suit references an array of media figures as well as prior attacks Trump allies organized against former FBI official Andrew McCabe as it accuses the group of a conspiracy against him.

A long passage on Fox news commentator Laura Ingraham and her ties to the Trump White House recalls her report that Vindman 'usually' spoke English as part of an effort to 'smear' him.

It quotes a comment by John Yoo, a former Justice Department official who was a guest on her show, and responded to the comment: 'I find that astounding, and in  you know, some people might call that espionage.'

The suit does not name either Ingraham or Yoo.

It includes a Giuliani tweet that Vindman has 'reportedly been advising two gov's,' saying it implied he had 'dual loyalties.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Trump Organization for comment.
On Wednesday the lone New York City Republican in the U.S. Congress called on President Joe Biden to go beyond gun violence during his visit to the Big Apple, urging him to tackle 'all these crime issues' that have made residents wary and resulted in the deaths of multiple police officers.

Biden, 79, is heading to New York City on Thursday, where he'll meet with new Mayor Eric Adams and is expected to tour NYPD headquarters in downtown Manhattan.

He may also have to save face for his administration in front of law enforcement after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was eviscerated earlier this week for 'laughing off' concerns over violent crime in America's urban centers.

Speaking to Fox Business on Wednesday morning, GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said she and her colleagues in NYC's Congressional delegation met with Adams on Tuesday to discuss the spike in crime ahead of Biden's trip.

'I told [Adams], President Biden is coming to talk about gun violence -- you need to talk about all the other issues, because its not just guns,' she told host Maria Bartiromo.

Malliotakis referenced a recent knifing of a 22-year-old in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge, which she represents.

Malliotakis, New York City's only Republican in the US Congress, said on Wednesday that she wants officials to look beyond just gun violence when tackling rising crime

'Somebody was stabbed to death in my district over the weekend, and you have all categories of crime, from rape, robbery, assault, and grand theft auto -- all increasing,' the lawmaker said.

'And so we need to address all these crime issues and give police the tools they need to do their job.'

The president visit comes at critical time for the nation's largest city. Last month crime shot up more than 38 percent across the 28-day period ending on January 30th, compared to the same point at the beginning of 2021.

At NYPD headquarters, Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland will be meeting with elected leaders including Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, as well as law enforcement officials.

They'll discuss how local officials are working to 'quickly take guns and repeat shooters off of our streets,' Psaki said at her Tuesday briefing.

That would put him face-to-face with New York's police officers just days after the buried two of their own. Officers Wilbert Mora, 27, and Jason Rivera, 22, were shot when responding to a domestic disturbance call in Harlem. Mora's funeral is underway the day before Biden's visit. Rivera was buried after an emotional ceremony last week.

Thousands of officers standing outside St Patrick's Cathedral on Wednesday press their gloved hands to their temples to salute their fallen brother, Officer Wilbert Mora. This is the second NYPD funeral in just five days

Officer Mora's casket draped in NYPD's flag is carried by fellow officers out of the church, followed by his family members and other mourners

President Biden will be meeting with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other officials at NYPD headquarters in downtown Manhattan

It'll also be the first presidential visit to 1 Police Plaza since Barack Obama stopped there in 2011.

Then Biden, Garland, and NYC elected officials are expected to 'visit with community violence intervention leaders in Queens to talk about the community-led work to interrupt gun violence.'

According to the most recently available crime data of the week ending on January 30, city-wide reported rapes increased by a staggering 47.7 percent compared to the same week in 2021.

Grand larceny rose in the same period by 39.6 percent, and robberies by 28.3 percent.

Despite the sharp spike in major crimes, the president's press secretary appeared to laugh off news coverage of the violence and seemed to suggest Americans care more about 'what's happening in their daily lives.'

Speaking to podcast Pod Save America recently, Psaki compared coverage on some networks of Ukraine-Russia tensions to Fox News' 'Jeanine Pirro talking about soft-on-crime consequences.'

Biden's visit comes as almost every metric of major crime is on the rise in New York City

She added, 'I mean, what does that even mean?'

'What's scary about it is a lot of people watch that. They think that the president isn't doing anything to address people's safety in New York and that couldn't be further from the truth,' Psaki claimed.

''People care more about whats happening in their lives than whats necessarily happening in every cable news chyron every day.'

National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Patrick Yoes swiftly condemned her comments.

'I think it's wrong -- very wrong -- for Ms. Psaki to suggest that violent crime in our country is of no concern or to just laugh it off,' Yoes said in a statement.

Republican lawmakers also pounced, with Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs writing on Twitter that her comments were 'completely out of touch.'

The House GOP tweeted: 'As violent crime continues to surge across America, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki mocks Americans discussing the consequences of Democrats'soft-on-crime policies.'
A 'frightened' farmer who used a tractor to flip a car parked on his driveway told jurors he felt threatened, and that 'an Englishman's home is his castle'.

Fourth generation hill farmer Robert Hooper, 57, is on trial at Durham Crown Court where he denies dangerous driving and criminal damage following a clash last June.

Mobile phone footage played in court shows Hooper using a yellow tele-handler to lift a silver Vauxhall Corsa from the entrance of Brockersgill Farm, Newbiggin-in-Teesdale, County Durham, and onto the road outside his property.

The video then shows his vehicle's lifting rails strike 21-year-old Connor Burns, who had been visiting nearby Low Force waterfall with friends.

Hooper, giving evidence on the second day of the trial, said he had previously politely asked Mr Burns and the Corsa driver Elliott Johnson to move the vehicle from his farm entrance on what was a busy day for him, baling silage.

He told the court he was aware of an 'influx' of youths visiting the area that summer, causing anti-social behaviour, drug-taking, littering and damaging walls.

Farmer Robert Hooper who used a tractor to flip a car parked on his driveway told jurors he felt threatened, and had previously asked the driver to remove the vehicle before he did it himself

Farmer Robert Hooper, 57, has denied dangerous driving and criminal damage in court

Hooper said shirtless Mr Burns, who has told the court he had drank around six bottles of Corona lager that day, told him: 'I'm not effing moving this car.'

The farmer claimed the younger man punched him twice in the farm buggy he was driving, bursting his lip.

Hooper told the court: 'I thought: "It is time to get out of there", and I said: "If you don't move it, I will". My mind was racing.

'I thought: "We have a bit of a problem here, there's two of them, half my age," I didn't know what they had in terms of weapons, or what they were capable of doing.

'I thought if the car was off the property, that would be then off the property, out of the way.'

He returned to his farmyard and got in his yellow loader after putting its forks on and went back down the lane to the two men.

Video grab image dated June 2021 issued by the CPS from video played at Durham Crown Court showing Hooper using a farm vehicle to remove a Vauxhall Corsa from his land last June

Hooper told the jury he 'definitely' did not mean to strike Mr Burns with the vehicle's forks

He told the jury: 'I felt threatened and an Englishman's home is his castle, and my castle starts at that front gate.'

Michael Rawlinson, defending, asked him why he did not call the police.

Hooper said there had been eight break-ins at the farm over the years and he had not had 'the best response' from the police, who might take an hour to arrive.

The farmer said he again asked Mr Burns to move the car, who then made a 'come on' gesture, Hooper said.

He told the jury he felt frightened and was worried for his safety and that of his partner immediately before he lifted the Corsa.

After pushing it onto the road, he claimed there was 'an onslaught' from Mr Burns, punching him through the window of his vehicle, knocking off his glasses.

He said he 'definitely' did not mean to strike Mr Burns with the vehicle's forks.

Hooper then parked the vehicle across the farmyard entrance and locked himself in his home with his partner who had called the police.

Jurors were told Hooper was a man of previous good character and has no previous convictions.

The trial continues.
A North Dakota woman 'with a thing for a man in uniform' was arrested and now faces up to six years in jail for 'slapping sheriff's deputy on the bum' at a tavern while he was carrying out a compliance check.

On Friday night, Sandra D. Kobs-Sabo, 50, was at the Crossroads Tavern located just north of Bismarck when she allegedly 'jogged' over to a cop as he and another officer were conducting the bar check on the establishment before taking 'a large swing and slapping him in the buttocks' in an aggressive manner.

Kobs-Sabo's slap to the officer's backside was hardly a gentle 'love tap,' and instead 'caused the officer pain,' according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by the Bismarck Tribune.

The officer, who was not named, then placed Kobs-Sabo under arrest before taking her into custody, the Grand Forks Herald reported.

The mugshot of Sandra D. Kobs-Sabo, 50, pictured, who was arrested and now faces up to six years in jail after 'slapping a sheriff's deputy on the bum' at a Bismarck tavern on Friday night

Sandra Kobs-Sabo riding her horse Anza on a 2009 photo posted in her Facebook profile

Pictured: Sandra Kobs-Sabo, who was arrested for slapping a law enforcement officer's rear end in a bar north of Bismarck

Kobs-Sabo's advances did not end there, however, as she continued to catcall the deputy, calling him a 'sexy cop' even after she was taken into custody.

While en route to Burleigh Morton Detention Center, she also asked the officer multiple times if he was married while emphasizing the fact that she 'loves a man in uniform.'

Kobs-Sabo's allegedly stated she 'could not believe' that she was 'going to jail for slapping a sexy cop in the ass,' according to the criminal complaint.

Despite what she viewed as a harmless flirtation, Kobs-Sabo now faces serious jail time - up to six years if fully convicted - after prosecutors charged her one count of simple assault against a peace officer, a class C felony, and sexual assault for offensive contact, a class A misdemeanor.

Pictured: the Crossroads Tavern located just north of Bismarck, where Kobs-Sabo reportedly slapped a cop on the backside as he performed a compliance check at the establishment

Kobs-Sabo would have faced a lesser charge of a class B misdemeanor for simple assault had the victim not been a 'peace officer or correctional institution employee acting in an official capacity.'

Online court records show that she was eventually released after posting bond after making her first appearance before Burleigh County District Court Judge via Zoom on Sunday.

She was also banned from the tavern along with a no-contact order for the officer who's bottom she slapped on Tuesday, February 1, records show.

Kobs-Sabo had no attorney listed on the case as of Wednesday.
Democrat Stacey Abrams raised more than $9.2 million since she entered the Georgia gubernatorial race in December, outpacing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in their rematch.

Kemp raised $7.4 million over the final six months of the year, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

He does have more cash on hand, with about $12.7 million in the bank, to Abram's $7.2 million. Her campaign said she collected contributions from more than 100,000 donors in just two months.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, another major candidate in the race, has yet to disclose his fundraising figures.

The Republican contender joined the race against Kemp at Donald Trump's urging. Trump blamed Kemp for his losing Georgia to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Kemp refused to help Trump in his efforts to overturn the election results.

Trump has vowed vengeance against Republicans who have earned his wrath.

Democrat Stacey Abrams raised more than $9.2 million since she entered the Georgia gubernatorial race in December

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp raised $7.4 million in the final six months of the year - he and Abrams are looking at a rematch in 2022

The winner of the GOP primary will face off against Abrams, who is thus far unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

This year's race is expected to shatter the spending record set in 2018, when Abrams lost the gubenatorial race to Kemp. More than $100 million was spent on that contest between the candidates, the two political parties, and outside spending groups.

Abrams spent $27.4 million four years ago while Kemp spent $21.4 million.

Both are expected to outpace that in this year's contest.

After her defeat, Abrams became a voting rights advocate and helped Biden win Georgia two years ago. He was the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton.

She launched the Fair Fight political organization, which has collected more than $100 million in three years.

The 2018 race between Abrams and Kemp brought a rush of political star power to the state. Oprah and Barack Obama campaigned for Abrams. Trump campaigned for Kemp.

Abrams lost to Republican Brian Kemp by 1 percent of the vote that year.

Throughout her contest with Kemp, she accused his office of mismanaging the election and, as secretary of state, suppressing the minority vote.

Abrams formed a new voting rights organization, Fair Fight Georgia, after her loss.

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue has yet to disclose his fundraising figures. The Republican contender joined the GOP primary against Gov. Brian Kemp at Donald Trump's urging

Donald Trump campaigned for Brian Kemp in the 2018 election

Barack Obama campaigned for Stacey Abrams in the 2018 contest

Voting rights was a huge issue in the race, particularly after Kemp, then the Georgia secretary of state, claimed the Democratic Party of Georgia attempted to hack the state's voter registration system  but provided no evidence to support the charge.

Additionally, Abrams called on Kemp to resign as secretary of state over alleged voter suppression tactics that have made it more difficult for African-American voters to cast ballots.
She posted lip-syncing videos blowing kisses to each other which Stoica demanded she take down

The avid TikTok user soon struck up a romance with Claudiu Miteatu

A truck driver who stabbed his ex-wife to death after she posted a TikTok video of her blowing a kiss to her lover has been jailed for at least 18 years.

Stony Stoica, 44, married Beatrice Cenusa, 36, in Romania in 2009 but they divorced 10 years later over his gambling addiction.

Stoica was jealous of his wife, an avid TikTok user with over 17,000 followers, and on July 21 last year Ms Cenusa posted a video of her lip-syncing a song with Claudiu Miteatu.

They blew each other a kiss at the end of the clip and when Stoica saw it he became enraged, demanding she take it down, Inner London Crown Court heard.

Stony Stoica, 44, stabbed ex-wife Beatrice Cenusa, 36, to death after she posted a video of her lip-syncing a song with her lover Claudiu Miteatu on TikTok. He admitted murder and was jailed for 18 years at Inner London Crown Court

Two days later Stoica turned up at Ms Cenusa's home in East Dulwich, southeast London, and plunged a knife into her chest.

'There was long-standing sexual jealousy,' said Jocelyn Ledward, prosecuting.

'He had refused to allow his ex-wife to engage in relationships without his permission, threatening to kill her if she did such a thing.

'She said she wasn't interested in a relationship any longer and wanted her own romantic life.

'When it was clear she had moved on and started a relationship with another man the defendant killed her.'

Stoica drove down from Humberside last 23 July, stopping for two and a half hours at a service station casino to play the slots.

Shortly before the killing Mr Miteatu had texted Ms Cenusa asking if she was ok because he was concerned about her welfare.

Ms Cenusa replied: 'I'm fine. I wish I could kiss you. Leave it because it will pass.'

Stoica later messaged Ms Cenusa saying: 'I'm at the door.'

Less than four minutes later CCTV captured Stoica running away from his ex-wife's flat in Lordship Lane.

A neighbour found Ms Cenusa lying in a pool of blood with a kitchen knife sticking out of her chest. He asked her who did it and she said it was her husband.

While lying on the floor Ms Cenusa video-called Mr Miteatu and said: 'Claudiu, he barged in and stabbed me.'

Mr Miteatu saw the knife in her chest, her body and face covered in blood and watched her pass out.

She was still breathing when paramedics arrived, though they were unable to save her and she was pronounced dead just after 2am.

Judge Usha Karu jailed Stoica for life and ordered he serve at least 18 years before he can before released on parole.

'She sustained nine stab wounds to her chest and back, another to her thigh and several to her hands and arm, inflicted with the same knife.

'There was an incised wound to the front of her neck and her lungs had collapsed.

'It appears she tried hard to defend herself. She was wearing only her underwear and a t-shirt type dress.

'Blood was found in the living room, significant blood on the walls and in the hall and on the handle of the door.

'No blood was found in the kitchen where the knife must have come from. Her mobile phone was found in a pool of blood on the floor.'

The couple's nine-year-old daughter heard the screams of her mother from her bedroom and was guided through the blood-soaked hallway by police.

'For a child to have to hear the screams of her mother as she is being stabbed is horrific,' said Judge Karu.

'It is impossible to gauge the long term damage caused.

'There is no sensible explanation other than your controlling behaviour and that you were consumed by jealousy.

'You must have intended to cause very serious harm. You left her with the knife plunged in her chest.'

Stoica, of no fixed address, admitted murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin, who led the investigation, said: 'Stoica's attack was so vicious that Beatrice was discovered with the knife still embedded in her chest.

'He is clearly an extremely dangerous man and it is right that he will now spend a significant amount of his life in jail.

'Not only did he kill a completely innocent women, he also had no regard for the fact their nine-year-old daughter was in the next room.

'She will have to live with losing her mother in these traumatic circumstances for the rest of her life. Our thoughts today remain with her and the rest of Beatrice's family.'
The son of a New York City judge who referred to himself as a 'caveman' eager to protest Donald Trumps presidential election loss pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Aaron Mostofsky was seen inside the Capitol wearing a fur costume and a police bullet proof vest that he was accused of stealing during the mayhem.

He also gave a video interview inside the building, telling the New York Post he was there 'to express my opinion as a free American that this election was stolen.'

Mostofsky, 35, pleaded guilty to charges of civil disorder, theft of government property and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

He is scheduled to be sentenced May 6. Mostofsky faces 12 to 18 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said.

Aaron Mostofsky, right, walks down the stairs outside the Senate Chamber in the U.S. Capitol, in Washington. Federal agents arrested Mostofsky, the son of a New York judge, on charges that he was among the protestors who stormed the U.S. Capitol. He pled guilty Wednesday

Mostofsky, seen here after his arrest, pleaded guilty to taking part in the riots on January 6, 2021

Aaron Mostofsky, son of Kings County Supreme Court Judge Steven Mostofsky, appears before Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara

Mostofsky also agreed to pay $2,000 restitution.

The defendant's father is Shlomo Mostofsky, a state court judge in Brooklyn. A message seeking comment was left with a court spokesperson.

Aaron Mostofsky's unusual garb made him stand out from the crowd of camouflage-wearing, flag-waving rioters.

At one point, he was photographed sitting on a bench near the Senate chamber holding a stick and the riot shield, which he said he picked up off the floor.

According to prosecutors, Mostofsky took a bus from New York to Washington and joined protesters in overwhelming a police line and storming the Capitol.

Along the way, he picked up and put on the bullet proof vest, valued at $1,905, and the riot shield, worth $265, prosecutors said.

Demonstrators like Mostofsky breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification

Mostofsky leaves Brooklyn Federal court after being arraigned

Mostofsky, 35 is seen outside of his brother's house in Brooklyn after being charged. A judge ordered him upon his release to reside with his brother, Nachman Mostofsky.

Before the protest, Mostofsky messaged another demonstrator that he could be found at the protest by looking for 'a caveman,' adding, 'Even a caveman knows it was stolen,' prosecutors said.

Afterward, as his photo circulated, he said the image was unfortunate because 'now people actually know me.'

More than 730 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than 200 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors punishable by a maximum of six months imprisonment.

Mostofsky is one of approximately two dozen rioters to plead guilty to a felony. More than 90 riot defendants have been sentenced.

A judge had ordered him upon his release to reside with his brother, Nachman Mostofsky.

Mostofsky, 34, who is the son of Judge Shlomo Mostofsky (pictured)

Mostofsky's travel had been limited to New York City. If he needs to travel outside the jurisdiction, he will need to acquire permission. He was also told to surrender his passport and he will be under a curfew.

He was also ordered not to have contact with co-defendants or co-conspirators involved in the riot on the Capitol.

His attorney, Jeffrey Schwartz, told the court last year: 'I believe evidence will show that he was not part of the mob, he was not rampaging, he got caught up in it.'

'He will stay far away from Washington, any political rallies, he will have nothing to do with any of that stuff,' Schwartz added.

'He understands how the thing in Washington got out of hand... I can ensure the court that his only interests now is to address the charges against him.'

Nachman Mostofsky, who also attended the rally but claimed he did not enter the Capitol building said back in 2021 that his brother 'did nothing illegal' and 'was pushed inside'.

Other images of Aaron Mostofsky showed him holding a police shield that he claimed he found on the floor.

A spokesman for Shlomo Mostofsky, told the New York Post at the time of his son's arrest: 'Justice Mostofsky has no knowledge of these unfortunate events.'
A statue of King Charles II in Gloucester should be 'chucked in the canal' because of how he 'punished' the city for its stance during the English Civil War, a councillor has suggested.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jeremy Hilton made the comments while responding to a review of local monuments and their links to the slave trade - which included a stone statue of the 17th century king, situated in St Mary's Square.

It comes after several British institutions have been pressured into removing tributes to certain historical figures in the wake of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

A debate was sparked after a BLM protest in Bristol saw demonstrators throw a statue of slave trader Edward Colston into the city's harbour in June 2020.

Since then, banks, universities and local councils have faced calls to remove monuments of historical figures linked to slavery and other abhorrent practices - while many believe they should remain to act as lessons to be learned from the country's darker past.

At a Gloucester council meeting this week, Cllr Hilton suggested his city's statue of Charles II suffer a similar fate to that of Colston's and be 'chucked in the canal.'

The Lib Dem said this was due to the way he treated and punished the city for siding with Parliamentarians during the English Civil War by reducing the boundaries and power of the city council.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jeremy Hilton (pictured) suggested a statue of King Charles II be 'chucked in the canal'

Cllr Hilton made the comments while responding to a review of local monuments and their links to the slave trade - which included the stone statue of the 17th century king in St Mary's Square (pictured)

A debate was sparked after a BLM protest in Bristol saw demonstrators throw a statue of slave trader Edward Colston into the city's harbour in June 2020. (pictured)

How King Charles II helped create the Royal African Company - which traded 5,000 slaves each year and solidified Britain's monopoly on the abhorrent trade In 1619, some 20 Africans arrived at Jamestown, Virginia, where they were purchased from Dutch privateers to aid in the English colonys lucrative, labor-intensive cultivation of tobacco. As profits piled up and slavery spread through the American colonies, the British crown decided to exert control over the slave trade to the colonies (and the wealth it generated). According to the Navigation Act of 1660, only English-owned ships could enter colonial ports. That same year, King Charles II granted a charter to the Company of Royal Adventurers Trading to Africa. Led by the kings younger brother James, the Duke of York (later King James II), this group had a monopoly on British trade with West Africa, including gold, silver and slaves. Thanks to Englands war with the Netherlands, the original company collapsed under mounting debts in 1667, reemerging in 1672 with a new royal charter and a new name: the Royal African Company (RAC). RAC ships sailed from Bristol, Liverpool and London to West Africa, operating from military forts based along some 5,000 miles of coastline from Cape Sallee (in present-day Morocco) to Cape of Good Hope (in what is now South Africa). From 1680-86, the company transported an average of 5,000 slaves per year, most of which were shipped to colonies in the Caribbean and Virginia. Thousands of slaves arrived in the New World with the companys initials branded on their chests. Demand for slaves was still too high for one company to meet, however, and the RAC effectively lost its monopoly in 1689, after the Glorious Revolution toppled King James II in favor of William and Mary. By the end of the 17th century, England led the world in slave trading, and would continue to do so throughout the 18th century. The RAC continued to engage in slave trading until 1731, when it switched to trafficking in gold dust and ivory. In 1752, Parliament dissolved the RAC and transferred all of its assets to the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa. Source: History.com Advertisement

He said: 'Why have we got Charles II being celebrated in Gloucester seeing the damage he did to the city as punishment for our stance in the English Civil War?

'One could argue we should chuck it into the canal as Parliamentarians. Why we've got that statue there, I don't know.'

His comments sparked a backlash from some members of the public who said it should be left as a symbol of history to 'learn by.'

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Hilton said he had since softened his stance on its removal but maintained no public money should be spent on the statue.

He added: 'My considered view is the statue of Kings Charles II is poor quality public art.

'Over the years it has corroded and crumbled to the extent that the facial features are non-existent. It should remain in place but the council should not spend a penny on it.

'I have long advocated investing in more public art, especially that commissioned to reflect on the history of Gloucester.

'There are other monarchs we could reference in new public are, such as Henry III, who was crowned the boy King in the Chapter House at Gloucester Cathedral, Richard III, who granted the Gloucester a charter giving us county status, Henry VIII as Gloucester became a city during his reign and Elizabeth I - who granted Gloucester Docks port status.'

Historians say Gloucester was a stronghold for the parliamentary cause during the English Civil War and its resistance during a battle in 1643 was widely regarded as a turning point in the conflict.

But when the Stuart monarchy was restored in 1660 and Charles II crowned, the city suffered the consequences.

The statue was later removed in the middle of the 18th Century and only rediscovered in pieces in 1945.

The councillor's original comments were met with opposition by members of the public.

One wrote online: 'But we're not all parliamentarians are we?

'Most of Gloucester's population know very little of the civil war or care about it.'

Another added: 'It's not like it's in pride of place in the centre of the town.

'In fact it couldn't be more hidden in a more random place if they tried.'

One said he also didn't agree at removing it, adding: 'It's history to be learned.'

In 1649, Parliamentarians claimed victory and sentenced King Charles I to death.

Following his execution Britain was a Republic for the first and only time in its history, in which Oliver Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.

However after 11 years, Charless son, Charles II, was restored to the throne, in 1660.

King Charles II was fundamental in the creation of the Royal African Company, which awarded Britain a monopoly on the the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and which at its height was transporting 5,000 slaves each year.

Cambridge University's Jesus College proposes removing the memorial to 17th benefactor Tobias Rustat from the chapel

The English Civil War saw Britain become a Republic for 11 years - before King Charles II was restored to the throne The English Civil Wars comprised three wars, which were fought between Charles I and Parliament between 1642 and 1651. The wars were part of a wider conflict involving Wales, Scotland and Ireland, known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The human cost of the wars was devastating. Up to 200,000 people lost their lives, or 4.5% of the population. This was as great a loss, proportionally, as during the First World War. The causes of the wars were complex and many-layered. At the centre of the conflict were disagreements about religion, and discontent over the kings use of power and his economic policies. In 1649, the victorious Parliamentarians sentenced Charles I to death. His execution resulted in the only period of republican rule in British history, during which military leader Oliver Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. This period is known as the Interregnum, and lasted for 11 years until 1660 when Charless son, Charles II, was restored to the throne. The Civil Wars saw the beginning of the modern British Army tradition with the creation of the New Model Army  the countrys first national army, comprised of trained, professional soldiers. Many castles were besieged during the wars, resulting in severe damage. Others were deliberately destroyed, or slighted, after the fighting. The ruinous state of many of Englands castles that we see today can be traced back to these events. Source: english-heritage.org.uk Advertisement

It comes as it was revealed today that a church court will determine if a memorial to a 17th century Cambridge University benefactor who was a servant to King Charles II and invested in slave-trading companies can remain in one of its historic college's chapel.

The ornate memorial to Tobias Rustat, an investor in the Royal African Company which transported 'more enslaved Africans to the Americas than any other institution', has been criticised by university bosses.

Jesus College has submitted an application to the Diocese of Ely to relocate Rustat's marble bust from its chapel to a permanent exhibition space in the college because it is 'incompatible with the chapel as an inclusive community and a place of collective wellbeing'.

The college accused Rustat of having 'financial and administrative involvement in the trading of enslaved human beings over a substantial period of time'.

Academics within the college and Cambridge's Stand Up to Racism branch have backed plans to move the marble plaque to an archive room with further information giving placing it within a historical context.

But because Rustat's memorial resides in a Grade I-listed religious building, the case cannot be independently determined by the university and instead will be heard by a church-appointed judge at a consistory case.

The unique hearing, which opened today, is set to determine the fate of the monument to Rustat - who donated 2,000, the equivalent to 450,000 today, to fund scholarships for the children of Anglican priests.

Justin Gau, speaking for 65 alumni opposed to the removal, asked the court 'where, for example, in the gospels is slavery condemned?' during Wednesday's hearing.

Reverend James Crockford, the college's dean of the chapel, shot back at the barrister and warned students may not be able to exercise 'critical thinking' if they are disturbed by the memorial.

Preservationists, alumni and Rustat's descendants have opposed the removal of the memorial - arguing that his contributions to Cambridge were not earned from his financial interests in the slave trade.

And Historic England warned the removal of Rustat's sculpture would 'harm the significance of Jesus College Chapel'.

The case has prompted fresh fears over the proliferation of 'cancel culture' at academic institutions across the country, as the university's historic rival, Oxford, faced similar calls to topple its monument to imperialist Cecil Rhodes.
A Great Falls judge blocked a motion to dismiss one plaintiff's claims in a Title IX suit accusing the University of sex-based discrimination. Back in October, UM filed the motion in response to the August lawsuit, which was filed by three former and one current UM employee.
Democrat Sen. John Ossoff told reporters Wednesday he has spoken to a dozen GOP senators about signing on to his bill banning stock trades

At least 75 members of Congress held shares in the three pharmaceutical companies that developed a Covid-19 vaccine

Lawmakers bought and sold shares worth over $355 million last year, at least 113 paperwork disclosing stock trades last year

A push to ban lawmakers from trading stocks has gained momentum after a number of questionable trades prompted ethics concerns

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it's 'not a mystery' why legislation banning members of Congress from trading individual stock has not yet passed despite swelling public support, and estimated that a 'majority' of Congress trade stocks.

'An enormous amount - I wouldnt be surprised if it was a majority of members of Congress - hold and trade individual stock,' the New York Democrat told Yahoo Finance. 'Its not really a mystery to me why its difficult to pass' the legislation, she added.

A push to ban lawmakers from trading stocks has gained momentum after a number of questionable trades prompted ethics concerns.

'Even last year there was at least 75 members of Congress that held individual stock in Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer,' the congresswoman added.

At least 75 members of Congress did hold shares in the three pharmaceutical companies that developed a Covid-19 vaccine, even as they voted on legislation to allocate billions on developing and distributing the vaccine.

'That is where we should be drawing the line,' Ocasio-Cortez said.

'I am a member of Congress. Members of Congress have access to very sensitive security clearances, access to very detailed, tailored briefings. Our job is to try to anticipate and legislate for what we see is coming. We should not have the ability to both have access to that information and to hold and trade in individual stock.'

'Even last year there was at least 75 members of Congress that held individual stock in Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer,' AOC said

'We're a free market economy,' Pelosi said, as she poured cold water on the idea of banning stock trades in Congress

Pelosi's famously prolific trades only rank as eighth-largest in Congress in 2021

Ocasio-Cortez said lawmakers would still be able to put their money in retirement funds, college savings accounts, blind trusts, index or mutual funds - any sort of account they don't have direct control over.

Lawmakers bought and sold shares worth over $355 million last year, according to a Capitol Trades analysis of disclosures compiled by MarketWatch. At least 113 of the 535 members of Congress filed paperwork disclosing stock transactions in the past year. They bought an estimated $180 million in stock and sold $175 million.

And despite swelling support for an ethical revamp, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi squashed any idea that she will rally her caucus for such legislation.

'We're a free market economy,' Pelosi told reporters during a news conference on Dec. 15. 'They [lawmakers] should be able to participate in that.'

She doubled down on her position in a news conference last week.

'I do come down always in favor of trusting our members,' the House Speaker said during her weekly briefing on Thursday.

'Now if the impression that is given by some that somebody's doing insider trading  that's a Justice Department issue,' she continued. 'And that has no place in any of this.'

'But to give a blanket attitude of we can't do this and we can't do that because we can't be trusted. I just don't buy into that. But if members want to do that, I'm OK with that.'

Its not really a mystery to me why its difficult to pass, @AOC says about the push to ban stock trading in Congress. I wouldnt be surprised if it was a majority of members of Congress hold and trade individual stock. pic.twitter.com/U0PeLVvEss  Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) February 2, 2022

In December, Paul Pelosi disclosed that bought millions in tech stock.

Over the course of five days, Paul Pelosi purchased stock worth anywhere between $1,750,007 and $3,600,000 - shares in Alphabet, Disney, Salesforce, Roblox, Reoff XX and Micron Technologies.

Pelosi and her husband Paul are known as some of the most prolific traders of all time. Social trading app Iris draws in customers who can track their trades and mimic them for themselves.

Asked about the recent trades, Pelosi's chief of staff and spokesperson Drew Hammill said that they had all been made by the speaker's husband and she did 'not own any stocks herself. '

'The Speaker has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,' Hammill told DailyMail.com.

He also pointed to 2012 legislation, the STOCK Act, which prohibits members of Congress from using 'any nonpublic information derived from the individual's position ... or gained from performance of the individual's duties, for personal benefit.'

It also required lawmakers to report any publicly disclose any transaction of stocks, bond, commodities futures, and other securities within 45 days, rather than once per year.

'The STOCK Act exists to shine a bright light on trades by Members of Congress. Sunlight is the best disinfectant,' Hammill said.

However, Pelosi's trades only rank as eighth-largest in Congress in 2021.

At the top of the list for the biggest traders on Capitol Hill is Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who bought $31 million and sold $35 million, according to MarketWatch. Behind him is Rep. Rho Khanna, D-Calif., with $34 million in stock buys and $19 million in sales, Rep. Mark Greene, R-Tenn., who had $26 million in estimated purchases and $26 million in sales.

Ocasio-Cortez in December called the notion of trading while in Congress 'ludicrous.'

'The access and influence we have should be exercised for the public interest, not our profit,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter earlier this month.

Walter Shaub, director of the U.S. Office of Government and Ethics under President Obama, said that Pelosi is '100% wrong' for saying members of Congress should be able to hold stock because the U.S. is a 'free market economy.'

'GOOD GRIEF! NO! She's wrong. She is 100% wrong. Nobody put a gun to anyone's head and said "you must be a member of Congress." Want to trade stocks? Do it. Want to be a member of Congress? Do it. But you have NO BUSINESS doing both! This is the opposite of government ethics,' Shaub wrote on Twitter.

Freshman Democratic Sen. John Ossoff, D-Ga., and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., are co-sponsoring legislation that would require members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children to place their stock portfolios into a blind trust, as Ossoff did last year.

Violators would face fines up to the amount of their salary.

Ossoff told reporters Wednesday that he is courting the support of Republicans, and has spoken to a dozen GOP senators about signing on to his bill. He said at least eight Republicans in the House are already on board.

A similar bill to Ossoff's was introduced by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Chip Roy, R-Texas.in the Senate in March, the Ban Conflicted Trading Act. However, its trading ban only extends to members of Congress and their staff, excluding Ossoff's limits on spouses and other family.

That means if passed, Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, would be able to continue his prolific trading activity.

A third bill similar to the one in March was brought forth by Sen. Josh Hawley. In 2018, Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill to ban members of Congress and White House staff from owning individual stocks, and reintroduced the legislation in 2020.

In early 2020 a number of lawmakers came under fire for making trades after a private briefing on the impending devastation of coronavirus. None were criminally charged, but Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., lost his spot on the Senate Intelligence Committee and is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Northern Ireland last night ordered a halt to Brexit checks on agriculture and food products arriving across the sea from Britain.

DUP agriculture minister Edwin Poots said officials would stop carrying out the inspections required under the Northern Ireland Protocol at midnight.

Opposition parties reacted with fury, insisting the civil service has a duty to comply with Stormonts legal obligations to carry out checks under the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.

Irish foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney said the decision would be a breach of international law.

It was unclear last night whether the senior civil servant in Mr Pootss department, Anthony Harbinson, would comply with the order.

DUP minister Edwin Poots (pictured), whose officials are responsible for carrying out Northern Ireland Protocol checks as part of Britain's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, said he had ordered his permanent secretary to stop them at midnight on Wednesday night

The checks must be carried out as part of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which avoids the need for a hard border between Ireland and the UK nation (Pictured: Paperwork being checked by staff at the NI Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on Monday)

The agriculture minister said legal advice he had sought on the issue supported his view that he was entitled to stop the checks.

The move came after he failed last week to secure the wider approval of the Stormont Executive to continue checks on agri-food produce arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said last week the UK would not step in if Mr Poots moved to halt the checks.

Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the province is meant to retain full access to both the UK market and the European Single Market.

As part of the deal, Brussels insisted on checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK to ensure the route did not become a back door into the single market.

But the onerous checks imposed by the EU have been blamed for causing serious disruption to trade within the UK, as well as sparking political tensions in Northern Ireland.

Boris Johnson accused the European Union of implementing post-Brexit border rules in Northern Ireland in an 'insane' way in Parliament last week

The protocol was negotiated as part of the Brexit deal to avoid a hard border with Ireland, by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods. But unionists have been pressuring for it to be scrapped

What is the Northern Ireland Protocol? During Brexit negotiations the EU and UK agreed a Northern Ireland Protocol that there would be no new checks on goods crossing the border between NI and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). The protocol aims to: Avoid a hard border between NI and the ROI

Make sure of the integrity of the EU's single market for goods

Facilitate unfettered access for NI goods to the GB market, and the inclusion of NI goods in free trade agreements between the UK and third countries As a result of the protocol, NI has in effect remained in the EU's single market for goods (England, Scotland and Wales have left the EU's single market for goods). This allows goods to flow to and from NI to the ROI and the rest of the EU as they did while the UK was a member of the EU, without customs checks, tariffs or new paperwork. The EU's rules on customs and regulation of agri-food products will continue to apply to goods arriving in NI. Source: nidirect.gov.uk Advertisement

The DUP had set a February 21 deadline for the lifting of EU checks on goods arriving from Great Britain.

Mr Poots said the legal advice stated there is presently no executive approval for SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) checks.

He added: The implementation of SPS checks requires executive approval. A decision to initiate or continue such checks could not be validly taken in the absence of Executive approval. The advice concluded that I can direct the checks to cease in the absence of executive approval. I have now issued a formal instruction to my permanent secretary to halt all checks that were not in place on December 31, 2020, from midnight.

I will prepare a paper for executive consideration in the near future to seek agreement on a way forward.

Mr Coveney suggested the DUP was playing politics with legal obligations.

He told the Irish parliament: If a political decision is taken by a minister in Northern Ireland to stop all checks in ports on goods coming across the Irish Sea, coming into Northern Ireland, that is effectively a breach of international law.

Sinn Fein deputy first minister Michelle ONeill said: This stunt is an attempt by the DUP to unlawfully interfere with domestic and international law.

Whitehall sources said the move was nuclear and the UK Government had not been given immediate prior warning of Mr Pootss announcement.

A government spokesman in London said: The operation of checks is a matter for the Northern Ireland executive. We have been consistently clear that there are significant problems with the protocol which urgently need fixing, which is why we are in intensive talks with the EU to find solutions.

Mr Johnson was challenged over the rollout of the protocol at PMQs by DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson

A spokesman added that Miss Truss would speak to European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic today. A diplomatic source said: Miss Truss is talking to Mr Sefcovic and is focused on finding practical solutions to the problems created by the protocol and protecting peace and political stability in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said last night it was a matter for the Northern Ireland executive.

It is something within their legal remit, he told ITV. One of the frustrations is, this I have to say, is something we have been saying to the European Union for some time, was the kind of thing that we could see happening.

Its exactly the sort of thing that we have been warning about in terms of the stability of the executive and the decisions the executive ministers will take in order to make sure that products can move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland in a way that they always have done.'
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Vladimir Putin has stood firm over his stance on Ukraine and slammed NATO for not 'responding adequately' to Russia's concerns over Kyiv during a phone call with Boris Johnson.

The Russian President dug his heels in over the crisis, despite Johnson warning Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would be a 'tragic miscalculation' tonight as the two leaders finally spoke about the tense stand-off in Eastern Europe.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister expressed his 'deep concern' about Russian aggression as they shared a delayed call on Wednesday, even backing Kyiv's right to join Nato.

The two leaders had been due to chat on Monday but it was put back to today because of the Partygate crisis enveloping Downing Street.

The Kremlin said of the conversation: 'The unwillingness of NATO to adequately respond to the well-founded Russian concerns was noted.'

Russia has issued a list of security demands to the US and its NATO allies, including a ban on Ukraine joining NATO and the withdrawal of troops from ex-Soviet states. But the alliance has described most of the list as 'non-starters'.

It came as RAF Typhoons were scrambled today to intercept four giant Russian bombers approaching UK airspace in the latest show of aggression by Moscow.

And the Kremlin also today denounced as 'destructive' the deployment of several thousand US troops to eastern Europe amid ongoing fears that Russia might invade Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden today approved the deployment of 3,000 American troops to Eastern Europe 'in the coming days' after Putin accused the US and NATO of trying to lure him into war.

Biden told reporters as he left a White House event that the deployment is 'totally consistent with what I told Putin in the beginning: As long as he is acting aggressively we're going to make sure we can reassure our NATO allies and Eastern Europe that we're there and Article Five is a sacred obligation.'

After this afternoon's call between Putin and Johnson, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The Prime Minister expressed his deep concern about Russia's current hostile activity on the Ukrainian border. He emphasised the need to find a way forward which respects both Ukraine's territorial integrity and right to self-defence.

'The Prime Minister stressed that any further Russian incursion into Ukrainian territory would be a tragic miscalculation.

'The Prime Minister underscored that, under Nato's open door policy, all European democracies have a right to aspire to NATO membership. This right fully applies to Ukraine.'

Downing Street said the Prime Minister expressed his 'deep concern' about Russian aggression as they shared a delayed call on Wednesday, even backing Kyiv's right to join Nato .

The two leaders had been due to chat on Monday but it was put back to today because of the Partygate crisis enveloping Downing Street.

Russian army snipers from the Western Military District conduct an ambush on a mock enemy convoy during an exercise in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia on February 2

Russian T-72B3 tanks fire during military drills at the Golovenki training ground near Moscow, Russia, in footage released on February 2

Boris Johnson warned Vladimir Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would be a 'tragic miscalculation' tonight as the two leaders finally spoke about the tense stand-off in Eastern Europe

An undated photograph issued last November by the Ministry of Defence of a RAF fighter jet intercepting a Russian military aircraft approaching a UK area of interest

BREAKING NEWS | The RAF is conducting a 'Quick Reaction Alert' mission, currently involved in the operation to intercept an unknown aircraft is a Voyager tanker and Typhoon jet. Notably, two Portuguese F-16 jets have launched from RAF Lossiemouth. All heading north. pic.twitter.com/j5zZhD4E15  George Allison (@geoallison) February 2, 2022

US and NATO 'offer Putin a deal not to deploy missiles in Ukraine' Washington and its NATO allies have offered to open talks with Moscow on arms control and trust-building measures to defuse the Ukraine stand-off, according to copies of letters sent to Vladimir Putin that leaked today. The proposals, set out in missives by NATO and the United States last month in response to Russian demands, lay out in detail areas for future talks - including on nuclear weapons, the deployment of shot and medium-range missiles in Europe, military drills, cyber attacks, and space weapons. As part of efforts to reassure the Kremlin about the threat it is facing, US diplomats say they are willing to give Russia access to NATO bases in Poland and Romania to confirm that no Tomahawk cruise missiles are based there. But both letters clearly state that Ukraine will not be banned from joining NATO, and make no reference to Russia's demand that all forces are withdrawn from ex-Soviet states. The letters do not exclude the possibility of forces being scaled down, but make it clear that this would only happen if Russia makes reciprocal moves - for example by withdrawing forces from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. They also note that, if Putin continues massing forces on Europe's doorstep, then NATO and the US will be 'forced' to increase their own deployments in response. Both NATO and Russia have refused to comment on the authenticity of the documents, which leaked to Spanish media. They emerged as satellite images showed Putin continuing to mass troops near Ukraine and in Crimea. Advertisement

US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday 2,000 troops stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina will deploy to Poland and Germany this week.

The majority of those deployed from the U.S. will come from the 82nd Airborne Division's infantry brigade combat team, which will go to Poland.

Just a few hundred  around 300 of the 2,000  will deploy from the 18th Airborne Corps to create a joint task force capable headquarters to provide mission command in Germany.

Another 1,000 troops part of a Germany-based infantry Stryker squadron will reposition to Romania at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) closest flank to Russia. They will add to the 900 U.S. forces already in Romania.

The cavalry deployment's purpose is to 'deter aggression and enhance our defensive capabilities in frontline allied states during this period of elevated risk,' the Pentagon said in a separate written statement.

Kirby said France also intends to send troops to Romania and he noted that a number of other European NATO countries are considering adding forces on NATO's eastern flank.

The movements come as the West waits to see if Moscow will invade Ukraine after moving at least 130,000 troops to its border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed he does not intend to attack Ukraine.

'The current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on NATO's eastern flank,' Kirby told reporters during his Wednesday briefing.

'President Biden has been clear, the United States will respond to the growing threat to Europe's security and stability.

'Again, these are not permanent moves. They respond to current conditions. We will adjust our posture as those conditions evolve. We do not believe conflict is inevitable.'

Kirby said Russia had continued its buildup of troops on the border, even in the previous 24 hours, despite U.S. urgings that it deescalate.

He stressed that the deployment was to demonstrate US commitment to the NATO alliance, and that no American troops would be sent to fight in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.

Russia mocks 'utterly confused' Boris Johnson and ridicules Liz Truss Russia has branded Boris Johnson 'utterly confused' and slammed Liz Truss's 'poor geography knowledge' as diplomats ramped up the rhetoric over Ukraine today. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said the Russian President is ready to provide explanations on the situation in eastern Europe 'even to someone who is utterly confused' after Mr Johnson cancelled a call with the Kremlin on Monday. And Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, took aim at Ms Truss after she mistakenly said that Britain will support 'our Baltic allies across the Black Sea' - two different bodies of water more than 700 miles apart. 'Mrs Truss, your knowledge of history is nothing compared to your knowledge of geography,' she wrote in a blog post. 'If anyone needs saving from anything, it's the world, from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians.' Russia has the UK in its sights since Westminster began lending military support to Ukraine, sending hundreds of anti-tank missiles to Kiev to deter a Russian attack. Tensions ramped up further this week, when Boris Johnson cancelled a call with Vladimir Putin on Monday in order to defend himself against allegations of breaking lockdown rules in parliament. Mr Johnson then flew to Kiev yesterday where he lent his full-throated support to President Zelensky - threatening to sanction Moscow if 'even one toe cap' crosses the border into Ukraine. Asked about the cancelled call on Wednesday, Mr Peskov shot back: 'As you know, we have not announced any call with Prime Minister Johnson, and are not going to announce it any further. 'It makes sense to speak to anybody. Russia and President Putin are open to communicating with everyone. Even to someone who is utterly confused, he is prepared to provide exhaustive explanations,' he added. Advertisement

The newly announced U.S. troop movements are in line with expectations based on Biden administration efforts to reassure allies and demonstrate U.S. resolve without undermining efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.

But Moscow today accused the U.S. of taking 'destructive steps' by deploying US troops to eastern Europe and increasing military tension.

'Not substantiated by anyone, destructive steps which increase military tension and reduce scope for political decisions,' Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Interfax news agency.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again played down fears of a Russian attack in a call with reporters but said that if Russia makes moves that could signal an imminent invasion Ukraine would react as necessary.

Poland's Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter that the U.S. deployment to his country is 'a strong signal of solidarity in response to the situation in Ukraine.'

President Biden put 8,500 troops on heightened alert last month in preparation for movement to Eastern Europe to help bolster the region against threats from Russia should NATO activate its response force.

The U.S. already has several thousand troops in Poland, and Romania is host to a NATO missile defense system that Russia considers a threat to its security. Biden notably has not sent American military reinforcements to the three Baltic countries on NATO's eastern flank - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - that are former states of the Soviet Union.

Tensions have been further aggravated by plans for joint military exercises between Russia and neighboring Belarus, where Washington claims Moscow is preparing to send 30,000 troops.

During Putin's phone call with Mr Johnson, the Russian President said NATO was 'hiding behind' its open-door policy that 'contradicts the fundamental principle of the indivisibility of security', the Kremlin said in a statement.

It added that Putin accused Ukraine of the 'chronic sabotage' of the Minsk peace agreements signed in 2015 between Kyiv and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Since the start of the conflict, which has left 13,000 dead, the West has accused Russia of supplying military and financial help to the separatists, charges that Moscow rejects.

Mr Johnson tweeted: 'I spoke to President Putin this afternoon to express my deep concern about Russia's hostile activity on the Ukrainian border.

'Any further incursion into Ukrainian territory would be a tragic miscalculation.

'Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward.'

RAF Eurofighter Typhoon Crew: 1/2 Length: 52 ft Wingspan: 35 ft Empty weight: 24,251 lb Gross weight: 35,274 lb Max takeoff weight: 51,809 lb Powerplant: 2 x Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofan engines Maxi speed: 1,320 mph Range: 1,800 miles Combat range: 863 miles Service ceiling: 65,000 ft Armaments: Guns: 1 x 27 mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 150 rounds Hardpoints: Total of 13, 8 x under-wing; and 5 x under-fuselage pylon stations; holding in excess of 19,800 lb of payload. Advertisement

Tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine soared again today after multiple RAF Typhoons, which can hit speeds of more than 1,550mph, left RAF Lossiemouth in Moray to shadow two Russian Cold War-era Tu-95 Bear H and two Tu-142 Bear Fs. They also linked up with a Voyager refuelling aircraft from RAF Brize Norton.

The Quick Reaction Force 'intercepted and escorted' the four Russian aircraft and escorted them away from UK airspace, the RAF said. The Russian bombers did not enter UK sovereign airspace.

An RAF spokesman told MailOnline today: 'Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighters based at RAF Lossiemouth supported by a Voyager from RAF Brize Norton were scrambled today against unidentified aircraft approaching the UK area of interest. Subsequently we intercepted and escorted four Russian Bear aircraft.'

It came as Russia ramped up the rhetoric over Ukraine, branding Boris Johnson 'utterly confused' and slamming Liz Truss's 'poor geography knowledge'.

UK Defence Journal editor George Allison said the Voyager tanker was 'squawking' or transmitting code 1321 which means it is conducting a Nato air policing mission.

This type of mission 'aims to preserve the security of Alliance airspace', with Mr Allison saying that at least three bombers were in the air along with three tankers.

He added that an A-50 aircraft was also involved  and while two Portuguese F-16s were also seen launching from Lossiemouth, they were in fact headed to Iceland.

The RAF often intercepts aircraft approaching the 'UK area of interest'. In November 2021, jets were launched in response to Russian TU-160 Blackjack strategic bombers.

Officials said at the time the fighters escorted the Russian aircraft out of the 'area of interest', and that the bombers did not enter UK airspace.

A file photograph issued by the Ministry of Defence of a Typhoon fighter jet

Multiple Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray were involved in the mission today

Russia's Tu-95 Bear H Tu-95 Bear H Role: Strategic bomber, missile carrier, airborne surveillance Crew: 6/7 Maximum level speed: 403 miles (650km) per hour Combat radius (unrefuelled): 6,400km Combat radius (one in-flight refuelling): 8,200km Powerplant: Four Kuznetzov NK-12 engines with contra-rotating propellers Advertisement

It came as Russia fired a fresh salvo in the war of words over Ukraine with a series of barbs at UK politicians.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said the Russian President is ready to provide explanations on the situation in eastern Europe 'even to someone who is utterly confused' after Mr Johnson cancelled a call with the Kremlin on Monday.

And Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, took aim at Ms Truss after she mistakenly said that Britain will support 'our Baltic allies across the Black Sea' - two different bodies of water more than 700 miles apart.

'Mrs Truss, your knowledge of history is nothing compared to your knowledge of geography,' she wrote in a blog post.

'If anyone needs saving from anything, it's the world, from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians.'

Russia has the UK in its sights since Westminster began lending military support to Ukraine, sending hundreds of anti-tank missiles to Kiev to deter a Russian attack.

Tensions ramped up further this week, when Boris Johnson cancelled a call with Vladimir Putin on Monday in order to defend himself against allegations of breaking lockdown rules in parliament.

Mr Johnson then flew to Kiev yesterday where he lent his full-throated support to President Zelensky - threatening to sanction Moscow if 'even one toe cap' crosses the border into Ukraine.

Asked about the cancelled call on Wednesday, Mr Peskov shot back: 'As you know, we have not announced any call with Prime Minister Johnson, and are not going to announce it any further.

'It makes sense to speak to anybody. Russia and President Putin are open to communicating with everyone. Even to someone who is utterly confused, he is prepared to provide exhaustive explanations,' he added.

Mr Peskov also gave White House spokesman Jen Psaki a tongue-lashing, after she compared Russia to a fox standing on a hen house screaming that it is being threatened by chickens.

Liz Truss was slammed for 'poor geography knowledge' after vowing to support Britain's 'Baltic allies across the Black Sea' (file image)

'It's always traditional to compare Russia to a bear. But a bear can't stand on a chicken coop. It is too big and heavy,' he said.

The swipes came a day after Putin spoke about the Ukraine crisis publicly for the first time this year, accusing Washington of trying to lure Moscow into war by insisting on the possibility that Kyiv could join NATO one day.

'It's already clear now... that fundamental Russian concerns were ignored,' Putin said on Tuesday.

He described a potential future scenario in which Ukraine was admitted to NATO and then attempted to recapture the Crimea peninsula, territory Russia seized in 2014.

'Are we supposed to go to war with the NATO bloc? Has anyone given that any thought? Apparently not,' he said.

Washington and its allies have said they will not send troops to protect Ukraine from a Russian attack, but would send arms to help Ukrainians defend themselves and respond with financial sanctions against Moscow.

NATO has been beefing up its defenses around allies in Eastern Europe since late last year in response to the Russian buildup of troops on its border with Ukraine.

Denmark, for example, said it was sending a frigate and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania, and Spain was sending four fighter jets to Bulgaria and three ships to the Black Sea to join NATO naval forces. The Netherlands plans to send two F-35 fighter aircraft to Bulgaria in April and is putting a ship and land-based units on standby for NATO's Response Force.

Biden has said he will not put American troops in Ukraine to fight any Russian incursion, although the United States is supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend itself and seeking to reassure allies in Eastern Europe that Washington will fulfill its treaty obligation to defend them in the event they are attacked. Ukraine is not a NATO member and therefore the U.S. has no treaty obligation to come to its defense.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he could visit Russia to discuss the crisis over Ukraine, adding his plans would depend on progress made in upcoming telephone talks with world leaders.

Macron said he would speak 'in the coming hours' to his US counterpart Biden about the crisis over Russia's deployment of some 100,000 troops close to the border with Ukraine.

He said he would also keep up contacts with Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

'I do not exclude anything,' the president told reporters on a visit to Tourcoing in northern France, referring to the possibility of a trip to Russia to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

'The most important thing is to firstly continue the European coordination and continue the exchanges with both President Putin and President Zelensky,' he said.

'Depending on the progress of our discussions made in the coming hours, I do not exclude any initiative or journey,' he said.

'I am very concerned about the situation on the ground,' the French president said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU interior ministers.

'The priority for me on the Ukrainian question and dialogue with Russia is a de-escalation and finding the political terms for a way out of the crisis.'

Macron had said this week that Russia was behaving as a 'power of disequilibrium' in the region but had also made clear he was open to dialogue with Moscow to deescalate the situation.

The French president has over the last years maintained that Europe must keep open channels to talk with Russia.

He has insisted that a 'demanding dialogue' is preferable to open confrontation with Moscow in a fast-changing world dominated by the rise of China.

He has held repeated talks with Putin by telephone over the last days and French officials have struck a somewhat softer tone than some NATO counterparts over the probability of Russian military action.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he plans to travel to Moscow to meet Putin, but isn't specifying a date.

Scholz will meet President Joe Biden in Washington on Monday. He told Germany's ZDF television on Wednesday that he will go to Moscow 'soon' to discuss 'the necessary questions.'

Scholz said it is 'important that we are very clear in what we are saying and what we are preparing: that endangering the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine, attacking militarily, would have a very high price.' He added: 'I think this message has been understood.'

Russia has been massing its forces around Ukraine for the last two months, holding a series of unannounced combat drills as it ramps up the pressure

Russian tanks take part in preparatory training drills in Belarus today, ahead of much larger exercises due to start next week

Russia, which is still Europe's main energy supplier despite being under U.S. and EU sanctions since annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, has brushed off additional sanctions as an empty threat.

Peskov said Washington's behaviour was unpredictable, and Moscow was taking steps to mitigate the effect of sanctions.

Washington and its NATO allies have offered to open talks with Moscow on arms control and trust-building measures to defuse the Ukraine stand-off, according to copies of letters sent to Vladimir Putin that leaked today.

The proposals, set out in missives by NATO and the United States last month in response to Russian demands, lay out in detail areas for future talks - including on nuclear weapons, the deployment of shot and medium-range missiles in Europe, military drills, cyber attacks, and space weapons.

Both letters clearly state that Ukraine will not be banned from joining NATO, and make no reference to Russia's demand that all forces are withdrawn from ex-Soviet states.

The letters do not exclude the possibility of forces being scaled down, but make it clear that this would only happen if Russia makes reciprocal moves - for example by withdrawing forces from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

They also note that, if Putin continues massing forces on Europe's doorstep, then NATO and the US will be 'forced' to increase their own deployments in response.

Both NATO and Russia have refused to comment on the authenticity of the documents, which leaked to Spanish media. They emerged as satellite images showed Putin continuing to mass troops near Ukraine and in Crimea.

A NATO official refused to confirm the text, saying: 'We never comment on alleged leaks.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was aware of the report but added: 'We didn't publish anything, and I don't want to comment on this.'

President Vladimir Putin's government has deployed a huge force of up to 130,000 troops backed by tanks and artillery near the Ukraine border and in Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia annexed in 2014.

The Kremlin has since demanded that NATO guarantee that Kiev never be allowed to join and that the alliance withdraw forces from eastern member states that were Soviet allies or republics during the Cold War.

Western allies have dismissed calls to slam shut NATO's door, but the leaked letters call for 'meaningful arms control discussions and dialogue with Russia on mutual transparency and confidence-building measures.'

Russian army snipers from the Western Military District conduct an ambush on a mock enemy convoy during an exercise in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia, on February 2

A view of the Osipovichi training ground near Mogilev, in Belarus, shows Russian mobile missile launchers (centre) parked up alongside tents housing their crews (top) as war games in the region get underway

Russian battle groups are shown camped out in tents at the Pogonovo Training Area, just south of the city of Voronezh, which sits around 100 miles north of the Ukraine border

Tents and surrounding ground chewed up by vehicle tracks are seen at a Russian base in Angarsky, Crimea, on Tuesday

Tents and armored vehicles are seen at Russia's Opuk Training Area in occupied Crimea on Tuesday

'No other partner has been offered a comparable relationship or a similar institutional framework,' the allies said of the NATO-Russia council, in the letter released by El Pais.

'Yet Russia has broken the trust at the core of our cooperation and challenged the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture,' it says.

The US document stresses: 'We are ready to consider arrangements or agreements with Russia on issues of bilateral concern, to include written, signed instruments, to address our respective security concerns.'

It suggests renewing the US-Russian Strategic Stability Dialogue on arms control agreements to 'limit ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles and their launchers'.

But it repeats Washington's warning that Russia is already in breach of the now suspended 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019, accusing Moscow of deploying a banned type of missile.

And it warns: 'Further Russian increases in force posture or further aggression against Ukraine will force the United States and our Allies to strengthen our defensive posture.'

The leak emerged after Putin accused the US of trying to draw Russia into a war in Ukraine as a pretext for imposing harsh sanctions on his country.

The Russian president charged Washington with using Ukraine as an 'instrument' to bully Russia and 'contain' its development, while ignoring legitimate security fears.

A satellite picture shows Russian armoured forces massed at a base in Yelnya, around 150 miles from Ukraine, on January 19

Troop tents and armoured vehicles are pictured at Russia's Yevpatoriya base in occupied Crimea on Tuesday

Putin, who has rarely spoken since the Ukraine standoff began in November, said on Tuesday that he hopes a diplomatic solution to the crisis can still be found.

But, he added, that will only happen if the 'interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, European nations and Russia' are respected.

Putin issued a rare statement on the crisis Tuesday, speaking after a meeting with Hungary's Viktor Orban - a member of NATO - in Moscow.

He said the Kremlin is still studying written responses that Washington and NATO gave to his security demands, but said it is clear that most of Russia's concerns are being ignored.

Putin argued that it's possible to negotiate an end to the standoff if the interests of all parties, including Russia's security concerns, are taken into account.

'I hope that we will eventually find a solution, although we realize that it's not going to be easy,' he said.

Putin said the Western allies' refusal to meet Russia's demands violates their obligations on the integrity of security for all nations.

He warned that a Ukrainian accession to NATO could lead to a situation where Ukraine launches military action to reclaim control over Russian-annexed Crimea or areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists in the country's east.

'Imagine that Ukraine becomes a NATO member and launches those military operations,' Putin said. 'Should we fight NATO then? Has anyone thought about it?'

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 following the ouster of the country's Moscow-friendly president and later threw its weight behind rebels in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, triggering a conflict that has killed over 14,000 people.

Putin charged that while the US airs concerns about Ukraine's security, it is using the ex-Soviet country as an 'instrument' in its efforts to contain Russia.

He alleged that Washington may try to 'draw us into a military conflict and force its allies in Europe to impose the tough sanctions the U.S. is talking about now.'

Another option would be to 'draw Ukraine into NATO, deploy offensive weapons there' and encourage Ukrainian nationalists to use force to reclaim the rebel-held east or Crimea, 'drawing us into a military conflict.'

'We need to find a way to ensure interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, European nations and Russia,' Putin said, emphasizing that the West needs to treat Russian proposals seriously to make progress.

He said French President Emmanuel Macron may soon visit Moscow as part of renewed diplomatic efforts following their call on Monday.

Boris Johnson speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine during a diplomatic visit on Tuesday

The UK has thrown its weight behind Ukraine since the crisis started, flying out anti-tank missiles and deploying extra forces to eastern Europe

Earlier this week, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sent letters to the U.S. and other Western counterparts pointing out obligations signed by all members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Russia argues that NATO's expansion eastward has hurt Russia's security, violating the principle of 'indivisibility of security' endorsed by the OSCE in 1999 and 2010.

It says the U.S. and its allies have ignored the principle that the security of one nation should not be strengthened at the expense of others, while insisting on every nation's right to choose alliances.

In his letter, which was released by the foreign ministry, Lavrov said 'there must be security for all or there will be no security for anyone.'

In a separate call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Lavrov warned that Moscow will not allow Washington to 'hush up' the issue.

Blinken, meanwhile, emphasized 'the U.S. willingness, bilaterally and together with Allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns.'

However, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken was resolute in 'the U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances.'

Blinken 'urged immediate Russian de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine's borders,' Price said.

He reaffirmed that 'further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path.'

A Ukrainian soldier is seen patrolling a trench near the frontlines with Russian-backed rebels

T-64 tanks covered by snow stand at the depot site at the Tank Repair Plant in Kharkiv, Ukraine

A bullet riddled effigy of Russian President Vladimir Putin is coated by fresh snow at a frontline position in the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine

A Belgian Air Force F-16 is seen at Amari Air Base, Estonia, after Russian aircraft flew into the country's airspace on Tuesday

Senior State Department officials described the call as professional and 'fairly candid,' noting that if Russia wanted to prove it isn't going to invade Ukraine, it should withdraw its troops from the border and neighboring Belarus.

Shortly after speaking to Lavrov, Blinken convened a conference call with the secretary general of NATO, the EU foreign policy chief and the chairman-in-office of the OSCE as part of efforts to ensure that the allies are engaged in any further contacts with Russia.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said the U.S. statement about its readiness for dialogue 'doesn't correlate' with Washington sending planeloads of military equipment to Ukraine.

'I don't know why the U.S. is escalating tensions and at the same time accusing Russia,' he said.
The Minnesota parents of a University of Missouri student are suing his fraternity after their son suffered brain damage and remains unresponsive following a hazing incident.

The parents of Daniel Santulli, 19, of Eden Prairie, allege that their son was left unresponsive and requires constant medical care after he was forced by members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity to drink an entire bottle of vodka during a pledge event.

Santulli was was found in cardiac arrest inside a car after frat members dropped him of at University Hospital on October 20, according to the lawsuit.



The parents of Daniel Santulli, 19, (pictured) are suing the University of Missouri's Phi Gamma Delta fraternity after their son was found in cardiac arrest inside a car

The national fraternity and university both suspended the Missouri chapter following Santulli's hospitalization

The lawsuit claims that Santulli and the rest of his pledge class at Phi Gamma Delta were each forced to drink a bottle of hard liquor, given to them by their 'pledge fathers.'

After drinking the bottle, the 19-year-old's blood-alcohol content was 0.486 percent, more than six times the legal limit for driving, the Columbia Missourian reported.

The incident left Santulli 'unresponsive, unaware of his surroundings, unable to communicate and (with) a significant injury to his brain,' according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit names the national Phi Gamma Delta organization and individual members of the Missouri chapter.

The national fraternity and university both suspended the Missouri chapter following Santulli's hospitalization.

The lawsuit claims that Santulli (pictured) and the rest of his pledge class were each forced to drink a bottle of hard liquor, given to them by their 'pledge fathers'

Ron Caudill, the fraternitys national executive director, said in a statement that the fraternity is reviewing the lawsuit.

'We expect all chapters and members to follow the law and abide by the fraternitys policies, which prohibit hazing and the provision of alcohol to minors,' he said.

David Bianchi, the family's attorney who specializes in hazing litigation, said Santulli's injury was not an isolated event.

'These are part of a pattern of unsafe and dangerous behavior that represents the traditions of the fraternity,' he said.

Since 2017, Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, has six documented violations of alcohol distribution policies and two hazing violations at Missouri, according to university records.

In January, the Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Delta Theta fraternities at the University of Kansas were suspended for their 'exceedingly dangerous' hazing practices.

Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Delta Theta had their status as 'registered student organizations' suspended until 2027 - until all of its current members graduate - after investigators uncovered shocking allegations of abuse against pledges.

Pledges were allegedly forced to sleep in sheets soiled with vomit and urine, were rolled into mattresses and violently slammed into walls - leaving one brother with a concussion - and one pledge was even forced to watch a video of a dolphin being mutilated and tortured as a sick punishment.

Others were reportedly made to go for extended periods without sleeping and forced to drink lots of alcohol in a pattern of 'emotional torture' and 'forced servitude'.

Probes into the two fraternities were opened by their national chapters after KU students reported their treatment.

Since 2017, Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, has six documented violations of alcohol distribution policies and two hazing violations at Missouri, according to university records

The two houses are the most recent in a string of Greek organizations pulled from the University of Kansas campus.

In 2018, Sigma Alphia Epsilon was suspended for 'at least' four years for 'multipe health and safety violations' by its national chapter. In 2020, Pi Kappa Phi was suspended for at least five years for an 'open culture' of drug use and hazing.

'Breaking the cycle requires an opportunity for the organization to reset without current members and leaders who have been an active part of the problematic culture and activities,' Durham wrote of the 2020 decision.

Two separate accusations of rape were made at University of Kansas earlier this year, with more than 1,000 protestors gathering around Pi Kappa Phi's fraternity house a female student was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted there on September 11.

Less than two weeks later, a student was accused and arrested for allegedly raping a female student in a dorm room.

After the September 13 protests, a recent KU graduate told The Daily Beast that the school's Panhellenic Association provided students in sororities with a list of 'safe' parties to attend while she was enrolled.

Of the fraternities, she told the outlet, 'none of them are safe.'
Pictured: Eltiona Skana has lost an appeal against her life sentence and minimum term after she was jailed for slashing the throat of a seven-year-old girl in Bolton back in 2020

The father of a seven-year-old girl who was killed by a schizophrenic woman in a park on Mother's Day said he felt 'relieved' that her killer lost an appeal against her sentence.

Eltiona Skana attacked Emily Jones while she was on her scooter with her father Mark Jones in Queen's Park, Bolton, Greater Manchester, in 2020.

The 31-year-old admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and was given a life sentence with a minimum term of ten years and eight months.

The minimum term was increased from eight years last year after the sentencing judge, Mr Justice Wall, admitted he had made an error in calculating the term.

Lawyers for Skana, who is originally from Albania and has paranoid schizophrenia, appealed against the sentence - arguing the minimum term was too long and that the judge should only have given her a hospital order.

Today, three judges sitting at the Court of Appeal in London dismissed the appeal.

Emily's father Mark, who watched the appeal hearing over video link but was not invited to make submissions, told the Manchester Evening News: 'I'm more relieved than happy, but I think justice and common sense prevailed.'

The grieving father added that Skana 'needs to be locked up for the rest of her life'.

Skana appeared over video link at the Royal Courts of Justice today with her hair pulled back, wearing a grey t-shirt with a star motif and assisted by a translator.

The court heard Emily was in Queen's Park with her father on her scooter on March 22, 2020 when she spotted her mother Sarah Barnes out jogging.

She was calling out to her mother as she scooted past the park bench where Skana was sitting alone, armed with a craft knife.

Skana got up, grabbed Emily and cut her throat before running off.

Seven-year-old Emily Jones's father Mark (right, and left with Emily) was at the appeal hearing via video link at the Royal Courts of Justice today said he felt 'relieved' that his daughter's killer lost her appeal against her sentence

Pictured: Emily Jones, 7, was stabbed to death in a park in Bolton on Mothers' Day by Skana

Emily Jones, 7, passed Skana (pictured during her arrest) in the park when the 30-year-old grabbed her and cut her throat with a craft knife which she had bought earlier that day

Today, Lady Justice Macur, Mr Justice Sweeney and Mr Justice Morris dismissed an appeal against the sentence by Skana's barrister Simon Csoka QC.

Mr Csoka told the court none of the three psychiatrists who gave evidence at the trial have been told by Skana what she was experiencing during the psychotic episode or why she chose to attack Emily.

He said: 'To carry out the act in a busy park on a Sunday is, in itself, evidence of some deluded reality that is playing out entirely in Ms Skana's mind and then tragically playing out in the real world.'

Lady Macur admitted the sentencing judge had a 'difficult exercise' but the court accepted his original decisions.

She said the judge had 'sufficient evidence' to find Skana 'knew that what she did was wrong and attempted to escape detection and escape the scene'.

She said: 'Not only must the judge bear in mind the most chilling aspects and most tragic outcome of the circumstances of the March 22, 2020 - but also the difficulties presented by the ability of the defendant suffering from such a mental illness.

Seven-year-old Emily Jones (pictured) was on her scooter in a park calling out to her mother when stranger, Eltiona Skana, got up from a bench and slit her throat with a craft knife

'We consider that the judge bore in mind all responsibilities to the sentencing exercise that he must conduct and did so in a fashion that is to be commended.

'We accept the sentence was severe but we regard it to be in line with the circumstances of the case as a whole.'

She added that the family have faced 'trauma and tragedy' following Emily's death.

'We express deepest sympathies for Emily's loss. Words cannot adequately encompass the grief that her family and friends have been subject to', she said.

Following the dismissal of Skana's appeal, Emily's father Mark said: 'I'm more relieved than happy, but I think justice and common sense prevailed.

'We all know she's a manipulative and dangerous individual and the three judges all saw that today.

'They were all quite happy that she had the capacity and self control to know what she was doing.'

He added: 'She had some capacity - not full capacity, but she had some capacity - she knew what was right from wrong and she picked someone vulnerable, which was my beautiful daughter, and she did what she did.'

Mark, who was walking with Emily through Queens Park just moments before she rode off on her scooter to see her mum, said he doesn't think his daughter's killer should ever be released.

'As long I'm breathing, I'll do everything I can do to keep her where she is,' he said.

'She needs to be locked up for the rest of her life. She's a dangerous individual. Whether that's in a secure mental hospital or a prison, that's for them to decide really.

'All I want to do is make sure she doesn't do it to anybody else's child so that no family would have to go through what we've been through - and she's capable of that so she needs to be somewhere and locked up so she can't get out in the community again as far as I'm concerned.'

It first emerged that Skana's lawyers planned to appeal against her sentence in August last year.

Mr Jones said hearing about the appeal was difficult.

'Your instant rejection is 'is this really in the public's interest?',' he added. 'It's binary what happened, it's 'did she or didn't she?'. And we all know she did it, it's as simple as that, there's no dark area here.

'But honestly, after reflecting on it I thought 'well this is part of the process and everyone deserves their right to appeal I suppose - even this monster'.

'And, as a result, she got what she deserved.'

Speaking during Skana's sentencing, Emily's parents said: 'Emily was the beat in our hearts, the spring in our step and the reason we got up every morning.

'Emily was our beautiful, spirited little girl, a bundle of energy with an infectious personality.

'Our future has also been taken away, how can you enjoy life when the biggest part of it isn't there any more?

'We cannot move on, because at this time, we cannot see a future. We can only focus on today. It is literally one day at a time.'

Skana is being held at Rampton Hospital, a secure psychiatric facility in Nottinghamshire.

She could be transferred to a prison if her condition improves.
Schumer also neglected to give a straight answer on whether he was 'frustrated' by Manchin

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer dodged a question in a Wednesday interview about where he would stand on the prospect of primary challenges against moderate Democrat Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.

The centrists have fueled frustration within party leadership and among fellow Democrats in Congress after their opposition in a 50-50 split Senate served to derail key parts of President Joe Biden's agenda.

Their role in tanking federal voting rights legislation last month has sparked a progressive outcry for primary challengers to unseat both senators. Backlash against Sinema included a formal censure from the Arizona Democratic Party.

Both Manchin and Sinema's seats are up for re-election in 2024.

Schumer would not say when asked by CNN whether he'd support or oppose such challenges, shifting focus to the much nearer November midterm elections.

'I am focused on 2022, getting things done, and winning the election on 2022,' Schumer said.

'I'm not at all focused on 2024 right now, and neither should anyone else be. That's just how you lose in 2022.'

He defended forcing a floor vote on Democrats' Freedom To Vote: John R. Lewis Act and a subsequent vote on whether to scuttle the filibuster to pass the package with a simple majority -- both of which predictably failed.

Schumer reasoned that 'when it comes to something as crucial as voting rights, can't just push it off the table.'

Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema's role in derailing Biden's voting rights legislation last month has fueled progressive calls for them to face primary challenges

'Senators are there to vote. We had to vote. And I think it was the right decision. And it had virtually, it had broad, wide, and deep support in our caucus,' he said.

He claimed that 'talks are continuing' to pass some form of Build Back Better in a portion of his remarks to CNN from last week but published Wednesday. However on Tuesday Manchin declared Biden's sweeping social reform and climate bill is 'dead.'

When asked whether he was frustrated by Manchin, Schumer again neglected to give a clear answer.

'Joe Manchin and I go back a long way, and obviously, I let him know my point of view and (we will) try to persuade him, as does the whole caucus, that our point of view is the correct point of view,' he said.

The New York Democrat, who's served in the Senate since 1999, also shrugged off concerns of a primary challenge to his own seat -- up for re-election this year.

'When it comes to reelection, I work really hard for New York and it always works out fine,' Schumer said. 'I always am looking forward, not over my shoulder.'

Schumer is sure to face more questions about his primary odds as the election nears, with months old rumors trailing him that rising progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would mount her own Senate bid.

During the interview Schumer shrugged off concerns that he could face his own primary challenge this year, as rumors circulate that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could take on the longtime New York senator

Ocasio-Cortez has not ruled out taking on Schumer in past interviews but has not signaled that she was so inclined, either.

High-profile progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders have said they'd support liberal primary challenges to Manchin in West Virginia or Sinema in Arizona.

Last week Ocasio-Cortez said Sinema hasn't 'given a compelling case' for why she should keep her seat and suggested she would support a primary challenge from Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego.

But talk of scouting primary challenges for Manchin and Sinema has died down in the Senate in the weeks since the voting bill failed.

Progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who earlier suggested she'd be open to supporting challenges to the moderates, told Politico earlier this week: 'We need to get work done. Right now. Weve got Build Back Better still hanging in the balance. I want to work with all 50 Democrats and get something passed now.'

Democrat Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii told the outlet he wouldn't support Sanders' bid to unseat Manchin and Sinema.

'Its a free country. I wouldnt recommend it,' he said.

Sinema's fellow Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly opposed her censure.

'Weve got people talking about an election in 24? So, I dont get it,' the retired astronaut said.
A Belgian skeleton racer has broken down in tears after being stuck in Covid hell in China at the Winter Olympics.

Kim Meylemans, 25, was forced to endure three days of isolation in Beijing after a single positive test upon arrival on Sunday.

Despite three further negative tests during her 72-hour quarantine period, the Chinese government then informed her today she would be moved to another hotel where she was told to isolate for a further seven days.

She was bundled into an ambulance which she thought would take her to the Olympic Village but it instead drove her to another facility to continue her isolation.

The tearful Olympian pleaded online: 'I'm supposed to stay here for another seven days with two PCRs a day and no contact with anybody else.

A Belgian skeleton racer has broken down in tears after being stuck in Covid hell in China at the Winter Olympics

Kim Meylemans (pictured in 2017), 25, was forced to endure three days of isolation in Beijing after a single positive test upon arrival on Sunday

'I am allowed to slide alone. I am not even sure I will ever be allowed to return to the village and obviously, this is very hard for me.

'I ask you all to give me some time to consider my next steps. Because I'm not sure I can handle 14 more days and the Olympic competition now being this isolation.'

The IOC has now announced it will intervene to move her to the Olympic Village after her online appeal.

Meylemans had previously revealed she tested positive earlier in January and all 12 tests she had taken since were negative, before the positive result upon arrival in Beijing.

It is believed her positive test in China may have been caused by her previous infection, which she has recovered from.

She was bundled into an ambulance which she thought would take her to the Olympic Village but it instead drove her to another facility to continue her isolation

Meylemans had previously revealed she tested positive earlier in January and all 12 tests she had taken since were negative

The IOC said 'appropriate support' will be offered 'swiftly' to the athlete and they would provide a single room in the Olympic Village.

They added: 'Close contacts can train and compete, live in the Olympic Village, but need to be in a single room, transported alone and need to eat alone.

'Since there was no such room directly available, she is temporarily accommodated in a hotel close to the Olympic Village.

The IOC said 'appropriate support' will be offered 'swiftly' to the athlete and they would provide a single room in the Olympic Village

'When the IOC learned about her personal situation after her arrival at the hotel, it took immediate contact with the NOC of Belgium to ensure that appropriate support is offered to her swiftly.

'A single room in the Olympic Village will be made available to her as of tomorrow.'

Meylemans later updated her fans to say she had been moved from the isolation facility.

The women's skeleton race starts on February 11.
Covid-19 booster shots have been given the final tick of approval for Australian teens aged 16 and 17.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has given the Pfizer vaccine the green light days, meaning some 370,000 teenagers are now eligible for their third COVID-19 jab.

Health Minister Greg Hunt says the booster will better protect against the Omicron variant as Australia still records tens of thousands of cases each day alongside dozens of deaths.

Australia's primary vaccine advisory body, ATAGI, has recommended the third jab for the those aged over 16, after the Therapeutic Goods Administration approved the Pfizer booster for the younger cohort on January 28.

Teens aged 16 and 17 can now able to get a third Covid-19 jab after the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation gave the final tick of approval

The body is also considering raising the definition of fully vaccinated to three doses.

'I think it is more likely than not. That's my expectation,' Mr Hunt told the Nine Network.

'(But) we want everybody to be boosted in any event.'

The health minister has also written to Pfizer to encourage them to go through the process of making booster shots available to younger teens, but a full application is yet to be lodged with Australian regulatory health bodies.

'We are encouraging them to bring that forward ... at the earliest possible opportunity,' Mr Hunt told the ABC.

Australia has surpassed 8.4 million booster shots, or just under 70 per cent of those eligible, administering over 200,000 third doses a day.

But a third of people in aged care are yet to receive their boosters despite vaccination teams visiting 99 per cent of all aged care facilities to offer the third dose.

It remains unknown how many of the almost 500 aged care residents who have died with COVID-19 this year had received a booster.

Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck was unable to answer at a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, while Mr Hunt said the data was held by the states and yet to be passed to the Commonwealth.

The head of the country's vaccine rollout, Lieutenant-General John Frewen, said teams would be conducting second visits of facilities to vaccinate more aged care residents.

Senator Colbeck tried to play down claims of the aged care sector being in crisis, despite acknowledging the extreme stress and pressure staff and facilities areunder.

Booster shots for teens aged 12-15 are yet to be approved in Australia

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says there has been a mismatch between what the federal government promised it would do and what was delivered on the ground, further impacting the sector.

'What we've seen throughout is promised support from the Commonwealth just hasn't been available,' she told the ABC.

'(They) weren't able to come to the party to provide that additional staffing they had initially indicated they would do.'

Ms Stephen-Smith says the Commonwealth ignoring system issues - such as wages in the sector - and instead choosing two $400 bonus payments, shows it isn't taking the situation seriously.

'COVID-19 represents a crisis but more broadly, there is a significant challenge right across the aged care sector in its sustainability and its capacity to particularly care for those most complex aged care patients,' she said.

'The aged care services just aren't funded to support those people who have really high and complex needs.'

There were a further 70 COVID-19 deaths reported on Wednesday, with 27 in NSW, 25 from Victoria, 16 in Queensland and one in both South Australia and the Northern Territory respectively.

Another 40,090 virus cases were reported nationwide, with Victoria having 14,553, NSW having 11,807 and Queensland detecting 9630 infections.

There were a further 1723 cases in South Australia, 1133 in the Northern Territory, 666 in Tasmania, 549 in the ACT and 29 in Western Australia.
The White House on Wednesday accused Sen. Josh Hawley and other Republicans of 'parroting' Russian propaganda after he asked President Joe Biden to rule out allowing Ukraine to join NATO.

Moscow has said cited the threat of NATO membership as one of the reasons why it has massed more than 100,000 troops close to Ukraine's border.

And on Wednesday, Hawley wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking him to drop longstanding U.S. support for Ukraine's eventual membership in the alliance, arguing that it would undermine efforts to counter China.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki hit back when asked whether such comments were helpful while Russia and the West were facing off over Ukrainian sovereignty.

'If you are digesting Russian misinformation and parroting Russian talking points, you are not aligned with longstanding bipartisan American values, which is to stand up for the sovereignty of countries like Ukraine, but others ... their right to choose their own alliances,' she said during her regular press briefing.

'And also to stand against, very clearly, the efforts, or attempts or potential attempts by any country to invade and take territory of another country.

'That applies to Sen. Hawley, but it also applies to others who may be parroting the talking points of Russian propagandist leaders.'

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday accused Sen. Josh Hawley of parroting Russian misinformation after he asked whether the U.S. was making a mistake in supporting Ukraine's effort to join NATO - which has riled President Vladimir Putin of Russia

Russian and Belarusian servicemen have begun joint exercises close to the Ukrainian border amid a build-up of troops that the Wests fears could be a precursor to invasion

Hawley wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken warning that US backing for Ukrainian membership of Ukraine would undermine other strategic objectives

Her comments came soon after the Pentagon announced it was sending almost 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to reinforce Eastern European allies.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the aim was to send a 'strong signal' to President Vladimir Putin.

'We know that he also bristles at NATO, about NATO. He's made no secret of that,' said Kirby.

'We are making it clear that we're going to be prepared to defend our NATO allies if it comes to that.'

Hawley is one of a number of conservatives who are reluctant to back Ukraine in its struggle with Russia.

Fringe figures such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have suggested that Biden is backing Kiev in order to keep Ukraine from releasing damaging information about his son Hunter's business interests there.

In his letter, Hawley said he backed sending weapons to Ukraine but asked for clarification on how future Ukrainian membership of NATO would be in Washington's interests.

The White House was not alone in condemning Hawley's position

'Our interest is not so strong, however, as to justify committing the United States to go to war with Russia over Ukraines fate,' he said.'

'Rather, we must aid Ukraine in a manner that aligns with the American interests at stake and preserves our ability to deny Chinese hegemony in the Indo-Pacific.'

Sending forces to eastern Europe, he said, distracted from bigger strategic priorities.

'Such a deployment can only detract from the U.S. militarys ability to ready and modernize forces to deter China in the Indo-Pacific,' he wrote.

As well as the White House, some Republicans expressed their disgust with Hawley.

'I hate to be so personal, but Hawley is one of the worst human beings, and a self-aggrandizing con artist,' posted Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Twitter.

'When Trump goes down I certainly hope this evil will be laid in the open for all to see, and be ashamed of.'
Australia is set to face in coming months the dual threat of a fresh Omicron wave and the first major surge of flu cases since the pandemic began.

That's the assessment of the country's chief medical officer Paul Kelly, who said winter would bring fresh challenges to Australia's COVID-19 response.

While Omicron cases have begun to plateau in several jurisdictions, Professor Kelly on Wednesday told a COVID-19 committee hearing that new outbreaks were likely to hit during the colder months.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has warned of a dual threat of Omicron and the flu during winter.

'There will be another wave of Omicron, most likely in the winter,' he said.

'Every June since 2020 there has been a wave of COVID in Australia and other southern hemisphere countries.'

Professor Kelly said the coming winter would also bring with it the additional risk of rising flu cases.

Instances of the flu have largely fallen in Australia since 2020 in the wake of the pandemic, following lockdown measures being enacted during traditional flu seasons in populous states.

However, the chief medical officer said a spike in the flu should be anticipated in 2022.

'There was not a winter surge of the flu last year, and flu in the northern hemisphere is still less than usual, but the flu has not disappeared from the world,' Prof Kelly said.

'With two years of no flu, we will probably have (a flu season) and we are prepared for all eventualities.'

Prof Kelly said the rollout of flu vaccines would run alongside the rollout of the COVID-19 booster shots in coming months.

The latest figures have revealed almost 8.2 million people have received their COVID-19 booster shot, or about two-thirds of those who are eligible.

However, Wednesday's COVID-19 Senate hearing was told just 66 per cent of fully vaccinated aged care residents had received their booster dose.

It comes despite vaccination teams visiting 99 per cent of all aged care facilities to offer the booster.

The head of the country's vaccine rollout, Lieutenant-General John Frewen, said teams would be conducting second visits of facilities to vaccinate more aged care residents.

Meanwhile, the medical regulator has issued new guidelines for people conducting rapid antigen tests.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has advised people not to eat, drink, smoke or chew gum for 10 to 30 minutes before they undergo rapid tests, in order to avoid the possibility of a false result.

There were a further 70 COVID-19 deaths reported on Tuesday, with 27 of those reported in NSW, 25 from Victoria, 16 in Queensland and one in both South Australia and the Northern Territory respectively.

Another 40,090 virus cases were reported nationwide, with Victoria having 14,553, NSW having 11,807 and Queensland detecting 9630 infections.

There were a further 1723 cases in South Australia, 1133 in the Northern Territory, 666 in Tasmania, 549 in the ACT and 29 in Western Australia.
BUCHAREST, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Moldova's Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said late Tuesday that she was tested positive for COVID-19.

"Today I performed a PCR test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus, which turned out to be positive," she wrote in her social media account, adding that she will work at home, online, in the next few days.

In the last 24 hours, 4,348 cases were confirmed after testing 13,988 samples in the country, according to the Health Ministry.

The confirmed infections have totaled 445,046 in the 3.5-million-population country. 
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and first lady Jill Biden all spoke of their personal experience with cancer during Wednesday's announcement that the White House would relaunch the Cancer Moonshot program.

The Bidens lost their eldest son Beau to brain cancer in 2015. Harris' mother Shyamala, a breast cancer researcher, died of colon cancer in 2009.

The goal of the administration is to reduce the death rate from the disease by at least 50 per cent over the next 25 years and to 'end cancer as we know it' - the careful way all of them phrased the issue.

Biden began his remarks by recognizing the oncologist that treated Beau for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.

'See that doctor on the end there. That's the man who spent 18 months trying to save our son's life. Doctor, I love you. The whole family loves you,' the president said.

Beau Biden was 46 when he died. Thursday would have been his 53rd birthday.

In his call to arms, President Biden framed cancer as a disease that touches everyone, including Republicans and Democrats. He recognized the bipartisan group of lawmakers and the cancer researchers, advocates and patients in the East Room for the event.

'Every one of you have a story. And our message today is this. We can do this. I promise you we can do this for all those we lost. All those we miss. We can end cancer as we know it,' Biden said.

The president showed his passion for the issue, raising his voice at some points, and, at others, leaning on the program to whisper into the microphone as a way to emphasize his point.

President Joe Biden began the relaunch of his Cancer Moonshot program by recognizing the doctor that treated Beau for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer; Beau died in 2015

First lady Jill Biden hugs Vice President Kamala Harris during Wednesday's event as President Joe Biden looks on

President Joe Biden; Dr. Edjah Nduom, Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine; Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff at the Cancer Moonshot relaunch

A guest at the Cancer Moonshot event at the White House

President Joe Biden holds the hand of first lady Jill Biden

Jill Biden also mentioned the family's loss, saying it stole 'joy' from the Bidens.

'Cancer changes everyone it touches. And in some ways, it touches us all. For Joe and me it has stolen our joy. It left us broken in our grief. But through that pain, we found purpose. Straightening our fortitude for this fight - to end cancer as we know it,' she said.

And Harris paid tribute to her mother, Gopalan Shyamala.

'After a lifetime working to end cancer, cancer ended my mother's life. I will never forget the day that she sat my sister and me down and told us she had been diagnosed with colon cancer. It was one of the worst days of my life and an experience that sadly, millions and millions of people in our country have had,' the vice president said.

She praised her mother's work.

Shyamala's research led to advancements in the knowledge of hormones pertaining to breast cancer.

'My mother's discoveries helped save women's lives. And I am so proud that she brought our nation and our world closer to the goal of ending breast cancer as we know it,' she noted.

'I watched her courageous fight. But after countless rounds of chemo, her body gave out. She was transferred from the hospital to hospice. And in fact one of the last questions she asked the hospice nurse was are my daughters going to be okay. I miss my mother every day. And I carry her memory with me wherever I go,' Harris said.

President Joe Biden framed cancer as a disease that touches everyone, including Republicans and Democrats

Jill Biden puts a comforting hand on President Biden's arm during the event

Vice President Kamala Harris hands Jill Biden her reading glasses after the first lady introduced her at the Cancer Moonshot event

Members of President Biden's Cabinet and staff at the Cancer Moonshot event

Cancer is a deeply personal issue for Joe and Jill Biden, who lost their eldest son Beau to brain cancer in 2015; above the Bidens with Beau and Beau's wife Hallie in 2012

The administration kicked off their goal to cut cancer's death rate by issuing a call to action to jumpstart cancer screenings that were missed out during the COVID pandemic.

The White House believes increased screenings and removing inequities in treatment can help cut the death rate from cancer.

There were more than 9.5 million missed cancer screenings in the United States as a result of the COVID pandemic, according to the White House.

In addition to prevention, the administration will focus on impoving the quality of treatment and people's lives during their illness.

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 1,918,030 new cancer cases and 609,360 cancer deaths this year, meaning that Biden is essentially trying to save 300,000 lives annually from the disease.

Biden has long pushed to end cancer - a call he has repeated throughout his time as president.

Last year, during a visit to a COVID vaccine manufacturing facility in Michigan, Biden said: 'I want you to know that, once we beat COVID, we're going to do everything we can to end cancer as we know it.'

As vice president, Biden launched the Cancer Moonshot during the Obama administration in 2016. It was an enterprise he carried over into his private life after he left the vice presidential mansion by launching the Biden Cancer Initiative. That initiative closed in 2019 after Biden announced he was running for president.

In 2016, when Biden announced he wasn't seeking the Democratic nomination for president, he said he regretted it because 'I would have wanted to have been the president who ended cancer, because it's possible.'

Congress provided $1.8 billion for the Cancer Moonshot program in 2016 but little of that money is left, only about $400 million.

No new funding was announced on Wednesday.

But a senior administration official, on the briefing call with reporters on Tuesday, said the White House is 'very confident that there will be robust funding going forward,' arguing that few issues garner as much bipartisan support as cancer research.

Vice President Kamala Harris lost her mother Shyamala, a breast cancer researcher, of colon cancer in 2009; the two are seen above in 2007

As vice president, Joe Biden launched the Cancer Moonshot during the Obama administration in 2016 (above)

Jill Biden is likely to play a major role in the initiative. The first lady will have 'some leadership role,' a senior administration official said on a briefing call with reporters, adding there will be 'more to come' on that.

Her first public outing as first lady was to highlight services for cancer patients at Whitman-Walker Health, a clinic in Washington D.C., in January 2021.

In her remarks on Wednesday, Jill Biden noted she has lost four friends to breast cancer even as she paid tribute to her loved ones in the audience.

'So many friends here. It's so nice to see all of you. And you're getting me so emotional before I have to speak about cancer,' she said.

She has been an advocate for breast cancer research since the early 1990s, when one of her friends was diagnosised with the disease. She told ABC News last year - during breast cancer awareness month - that she got a mammogram her first month living in the White House and urged women to schedule their own.

As part of his administration's effort, Biden will have a White House Cancer Moonshot coordinator in the Executive Office of the President, he will form a 'Cancer Cabinet' composed of 18 federal agencies, and he will host a White House Cancer Moonshot Summit.
The man accused of selling actor Michael K. Williams a deadly batch of fentanyl-laced heroin was a repeat offender released under the state's bail reforms, according to reports.

Irvin Cartegena - who prosecutors say peddled the drugs that killed Williams last September - was arrested on a drug sale and weapon possession sale in August 2020 and nabbed again last February for possession of a controlled substance.

He was let back onto the streets without bail both times under New York's bail reform provisions. The drug charges were combined last August and Cartegena avoided jailtime by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, the Daily Beast reported.

Prosecutors on Wednesday announced the arrest of Cartagena, 39, and three co-conspirators related to the 54-year-old actor's accidental fentanyl poisoning. Cartagena was arrested in Puerto Rico.

Hector Robles, 57, Luis Cruz, 56, and Carlos Macci, 70, all from Brooklyn, were also arrested Tuesday in New York.

Michael K. Williams died last September 5 after purchasing and ingesting fentanyl-laced heroin from a street dealer in New York

Irvin Cartagena (pictured) was named as the man who sold Williams the deadly drugs. He was arrested previously on at least two occasions for selling illegal drugs, according to reports

Officials said the four men were part of a drug trafficking organization since August 2020, operating in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Their ring primarily focused on fentanyl and heroin-laced fentanyl as they sold the drugs outside their apartment, where Cartagena, known as 'Green Eyes,' met up with Williams on September 5, 2021, to allegedly sell him the drugs.

Video surveillance captured the moment Cartagena handed off the drugs to Williams a day before the actor died.

The actor, who gained fame with as drug dealer Omar Little in The Wire, was found the following day by his nephew unconscious and facedown in the living room of Williams' Williamsburg apartment. He was declared dead by medics who rushed to the scene.

All four men were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analogue, fentanyl, and heroin, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 40 years.

Cartagena was also charged with causing the death of Williams, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.

New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said detectives have been working hard on the case since September in order to help bring justice to Williams and his family.

'As these federal charges show, the NYPD's narcotics and precinct detectives in Brooklyn North lived this case, never relenting in their investigation until they could bring a measure of justice to Michael K. Williams and his family,' Sewell said.

The actor, who played drug dealer Omar Little in 'The Wire', was found the following day by his nephew unconscious and facedown in his living room inside his Williamsburg apartment

The entire transaction was captured by surveillance cameras posted outside where Cartagena and his four other associates ran their drug trafficking ring in Williamsburg

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said he was proud of the arrests made and echoed the importance of ending America's opioid crisis.

'This is a public health crisis. And it has to stop,' he said.

'Deadly opioids like fentanyl and heroin don't care about who you are or what you've accomplished. They just feed addiction and lead to tragedy. The Southern District of New York and our law enforcement partners will not give up. We will bring every tool to bear. And we will continue to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison, exploit addiction, and cause senseless death.'

Police said Cartagena ran a drug traffic operations with his associates in Williamsburg. He faces a minimum of 20 years in prison for Michael K. William's death. He's pictured at a local shop near where he ran his operation

Although Williams' fatal overdose was originally ruled an accident, NYPD Deputy Chief John Chell had instructed the 90th Precinct Detective Squad and Brooklyn North Narcotics Group, who were in charge of the investigation, to treat the death as a homicide.

According to the Daily Beast's investigation in the final day of Williams life, the actor drove off from Manhattan to Williamsburg on September 5.

Footage from street cameras showed Williams coming up on the street where Cartagena and his associates allegedly ran their drug trafficking operation.

When he reached the apartment, Williams could be seen walking up to five men on the street, with one of them identified as Cartagena.

Williams handed the man a wad of cash, and Cartagena could be seen counting the bills before reaching into a paper bag stashed beside a blue recycling can in front of the apartment.

Prosecutors said that was when Cartagena handed Williams the heroin laced with fentanyl that would kill him the following day.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. It can cause death when taken in high doses or when combined with other substances.

Actor Michael K. Williams, (left, dressed in black) was scene purchasing drugs from Irvin Cartagena ( wearing blue pants) on September 5, the day before he died of a fatal overdose from heroin laced with fentanyl

Williams was discovered inside his penthouse apartment, located in the trendy Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. The expensive complex is located on the waterfront and features sweeping views out over to Manhattan

A swarm of police officers were also spotted on the scene, after Williams' nephew purportedly phoned 911 on September 6. They are pictured removing evidence bags from the actor's apartment

Detectives noted that the men appeared relaxed through the entire transaction, exchanging phone numbers and chatting, completely unaware that it was all being captured by cameras.

'The building has these cameras pointing directly on them the whole day long,' Detective Mark Gurleski told Daily Beast.

Williams then drove home to his apartment, making no stops along the way.

Detectives also noted that Williams appeared to behave oddly during his final hours, parking his car at a prohibited area at his residence despite neighbors describing him as 'responsible' and 'considerate.'

Chell called it 'very uncharacteristic.'

Police said their timeline for Williams ended just as he stepped off at his penthouse, missing a call from his nephew, Dominic DuPont, who checked up on his uncle the following day to find him dead.

According to the investigation documents filed by Gurleski to the Department of Justice, police had moved in quickly on Cartagena, identifying him just a day later.

Investigators then purchased drugs from him on two separate occasions, once on September 8, and then again a week later on September 15.

The drugs were handed off inside envelopes that read 'AAA Insurance' matching the one that was found on Williams when he died.

Investigators then built up their case against Cartagena, seeking out his fellow co-conspirators before finally arresting them on Tuesday.
Ukrainians fear the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site could be used as a short-cut to invade the capital Kyiv by Russian invaders.

Already one of the most dangerous places on earth, the radiation exclusion zone on the Belarus border could now become a battlefield.

Nearly 8,000 extra Ukrainian Border Guards have been sent to the area, parts of which are still highly radioactive, 36 years after the worlds worst nuclear disaster.

Ukraine is bracing for a Russian invasion, possibly from Belarus, using Chernobyl to punch through the defences allowing tanks to race southwards to Kyiv.

The 1,000 square mile near-deserted exclusion zone reaches the border to the north, where up to 80,000 Russian and Belarus troops, including Spetsnaz special forces, are poised, supposedly for military exercises.

Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Shakraichuk, from the Ukraine State Border Guard Service told journalists recently: Chernobyl is an area of increased danger.

We increased the strength of protection, we increased the number of patrols and we increased the number of people in these patrols.

MailOnline journalists were given special permission to visit the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, a haunting, desolate area of abandoned factories, schools and houses

MailOnline journalists were given special permission to visit the zone, a haunting, desolate area of abandoned factories, schools and houses. Overgrown concrete blocks loom from the undergrowth in the snow-covered pine forests.

Visitors entering the area are given tiny Geiger counters by security officials which ping intermittently to indicate safely below-threshold readings of radiation.

Only 145 civilians have resettled permanently here, mostly over 70 years old, and who, like the military, are largely unseen, in a restricted zone around the site of the 1986 nuclear power plant meltdown.

A local who knows the zone said: More troops have been arriving and we are seeing them patrolling and moving close to the border.

The zone straddles the frontier with Belarus where the Russians are camped and our forces are clearly preparing to meet them if they come this way.

An obvious advantage is that there are no civilians to join the resistance or get in the way. The radiation levels are now tolerable provided exposure does not last too long, but if the Russians pass through here they could be in Kiev in two hours.

But if they come, we will fight them. Everyone will resist no matter which direction they take

It is believed the extra Ukrainian troops here are securing and searching abandoned buildings in case Russian Spetsnaz sneak across the border to lay the ground for an invasion.

Russian troops could use abandoned buildings for cover as Ukrainian commanders might be nervous about launching air-strikes and artillery against attackers in case they further spread radiation.

Radiation buried in the ground and in buildings might be pushed into the air by explosives under a bombardment.

Ukrainian National Guard troops moved to the area were conducting military exercises in Chernobyl on Tuesday, just a few miles from the border.

The newly-improved highway running all the way from Chernobyl to Kyiv means Russian tanks could potentially storm the 140-mile distance within a few hours.

One source said: Its the obvious way in for Russia if they have their eyes on a quick armoured strike against the capital.

In neighbouring Belarus a Russian Krasukha 4 electronic warfare vehicle was spotted in Zarechhye, in the Gomel region

Deep in the heart of the exclusion zone lies the doomed Number 4 Reactor, now shrouded in by thousands of tons of concrete and topped with a metal confinement cover in 2016.

This concrete leviathan looms large in the near-silent shadows of the forest, a reminder of the April 1986 explosion and fire which released a plume of radiation across Eastern and Western Europe, reaching all the way to the UK.

Official figures claim a death toll of 31, although long term estimates vary between 4,000 and 60,000.

A Ferris wheel and other childrens facilities have become poignant symbols of the hurried evacuation. They were part of a fairground set up for the Soviet May celebrations in the town of Pripyat, but would never be used as disaster struck on April 20.

About 49,000 people were evacuated from the area, mainly from Pripyat itself, where thousands of workers at the plant and their families lived.

Trees and foliage have overrun the once bustling worker town, where near-derelict buildings hide amongst the overgrowth.

Herds of wild horses now run free and packs of wolves have returned to roam the deserted land which has lain undisturbed by humans for nearly four decades.

A guide said: The dogs dont bite but they are still dangerous. These animals never leave here and their fur can carry high levels of radiation.

Nearly 8,000 extra Ukrainian Border Guards have been sent to the Chernobyl, close to the border, parts of which are still highly radioactive, 36 years after the worlds worst nuclear disaster

It would be an easy place to hide for Russian special forces at the head of an invasion coming down from the north towards Kyiv.

Meanwhile 126,000 Russian troops are also gathered along Ukraines eastern flank in Donbas, 500 miles from Kyiv.

Many here believe Russia may try a lightning strike south to Kyiv, surrounding the city with tanks and artillery.

But if they do they could face a defiant counter-attack from Ukraine forces and civilian defence units launching guerrilla attacks.

A local woman - from Kyjv - said:

People here are worried, determined and angry.

Many have plans to arm themselves or have already got guns.

They are also joining the civil defence forces to fight Russia if they come.

In neighbouring Belarus a Russian Krasukha 4 electronic warfare vehicle was spotted in Zarechhye, in the Gomel region.

Russia is also expanding its electronic warfare battalions towards Ukraine and these can be used to jam communications or listen in on them.

The Krasukha is capable of smashing radar and aviation systems and would help an invasion by combating defensive radar systems, possibly jamming them.
Donald Trump floated the idea of issuing a blanket pardon for people who took part in the Jan. 6th Capitol riot during his last days in office, according to a new report  which comes after the former president suggested the idea at a Saturday rally.

Trump caused an uproar with his recent comments, when he promised to treat 'those people from January 6 fairly' if he runs and wins the White House. 'And if it requires pardons we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly,' he said.

Following the January 6th Capitol riot, when there was already talk of potential legal exposure for organizers, Trump spoke to advisors about issuing a potential 'blanket' pardon for the people who stormed the Capitol, Politico reported.

One advisor summarized the conversations as Trump asking: 'Do you think I should pardon them? Do you think its a good idea? Do you think I have the power to do it?'

Another advisor is quoted saying Trump discussed how people who received pardons would never have to testify be deposed. He told the advisor that 'some people think I should pardon them,' and asked questions about the scope such as: 'Is it everybody that had a Trump sign or everybody who walked into the Capitol?'

Former President Donald Trump discussed a blanket pardon for Jan. 6th rioters during his last weeks in office, according to a new report

That suggests Trump was discussing a sweeping order that would have included those who engaged in violent clashes with police.

At the time, the FBI was only beginning its nationwide manhunt, which has charged people with hundreds of offenses involving poles, bear spray, and other weapons. The government has charged a group of Oath Keepers with seditious conspiracy, and has sketched out a plan to ferry a weapons cache to the Virginia suburbs.

Trump made extensive use of the pardon power, and did not hold back from using it in cases close to home.

The government was just beginning its nationwide roundup of people who breached the Capitol in the weeks after the riot

The government has charged Oath Keepers members, including founder Stewart Rhodes, with seditious conspiracy

Trump went through a second Senate impeachment after the riot, and still faces potential legal exposure for his election overturn effort

Among those he pardoned are former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, longtime informal advisor Roger Stone, and former campaign chair Paul Manafort  with Manafort, Bannon and Stone getting pardons during Trump's last days in office.

Trump's comments at his Texas rally drew blowback from House Jan. 6th Committee members. California Democratic Rep. Pete Aguillar said it was 'absolutely' witness tampering.

'And I think the question is more from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, you know where -- where are they? Do they support this? When is enough enough?' he asked on CNN.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) tweeted in response: 'Trump uses language he knows caused the Jan 6 violence; suggests he'd pardon the Jan 6 defendants, some of whom have been charged with seditious conspiracy; threatens prosecutors; and admits he was attempting to overturn the election. He'd do it all again if given the chance.'

Allies during Trump's last weeks in office were urging him to consider issuing 'preemptive pardons' of associates to head off what Trump continues to call a 'witch hunt' of probes. That discussion continued until his last hours in office  including public discussions of whether he could or should pardon participants in the Capitol riot.
The fake heiress and convicted scammer Anna Sorokin penned an open letter from her COVID isolation while in ICE custody whining about feeling like an afterthought, not being able to watch the Netflix series on her life and admitting she made 'questionable choices.'

Posing as a German heiress with a $67 million trust fund back in Europe named Anna Delvey, Sorokin scammed banks and New York's downtown socialite scene out of thousands of dollars while living in Manhattan between 2013 to 2017.

She skipped out on exorbitant restaurant and hotel bills, and in one case, put a friend in an awkward position putting $62,000  more than she made in a year  on their credit card to cover her expenses.

In April of 2019, Sorokin was convicted of four counts of theft services, three counts of grand larceny, and one count of attempted grand larceny. She was sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison, but was out in February of 2021.

Anna Sorokin, 31, penned an open letter from her COVID isolation while in ICE custody complaining about being back behind bars and missing the premiere of her Netflix biopic

The Russian born criminal was convicted of scamming New York banks and socialites out of thousand claiming to a German heiress named Anna Delvey

She was released from jai in February 2021 but soon taken into custody by ICE for overstaying her visa and faces being deported back to Germany

She was then arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 25 after she overstayed her visa. She faces deportation back to Germany but was still in ICE custody at an Orange County Jail in upstate New York.

In the letter published by Insider, Sorokin laments about being held behind bars after being ruled 'a continuous danger to the community' and insist that she was fully and legally self-sufficient after being released in 2021.

The 31-year-old notes that she paid off her criminal restitution and 'accomplished more in the six weeks they deemed were long enough for me to remain free than some people have in the last two years' although she does not specify how.

Sorokin also notes that she is appealing her criminal conviction in an attempt to clear her name. 'I did not break a single one of New York state's or ICE's parole rules,' she adamantly states.

She mocks the immigration judge's ruling that 'even if released from detention and ordered to report regularly to ICE, the respondent would have the ability and inclination to continue to commit fraudulent and dishonest acts' and claim that she 'failed to demonstrate remorse.'

Sorokin also complains about having to be put in 'medical isolation' for contracting COVID 'even though there's nothing medical about it.'

The Russian born criminal also complains about her inability to watch 'Inventing Anna,' the upcoming Netflix series centered around her scandal starring Julia Garner as the scam artist.

The 10-episode Shonda Rhimes-produced series is set to premiere in February.

Sorokin claims that she could 'pull some strings and make it happen' but brushes it off saying 'nothing about seeing a fictionalized version of myself in this criminal-insane-asylum setting sounds appealing to me.'

'I imagined for the show to be a conclusion of sorts, summing up and closing of a long chapter that had come to an end,' she writes while sitting behind bars yet again.

She notes the nearly four years of phone conversations and in-person visits she participated in with the 'Inventing Anna' creators and actors but complains that the show is being told from a journalist's perspective.

'While I'm curious to see how they interpreted all the research and materials provided, I can't help but feel like an afterthought, the somber irony of being confined to a cell at yet another horrid correctional facility lost between the lines, the history repeating itself.'

The 31-year-old complains about her inability to watch 'Inventing Anna,' the upcoming Netflix series centered around her scandal starring Julia Garner as the scam artist

She notes feeling like an 'afterthought' as the show is being told from a journalist's perspective

Sorokin admits that she made 'questionable choices' calling herself an 'unreliable narrator'

'What you won't see in the Netflix show is my newly acquired habit,' she says noting how she 'methodically' bites the skin around her nails 'until the nailbeds slowly fill with blood from both sides, collect at the tip, which I then squeeze until there's enough to drip down the sink.'

Thinking through her years spent behind bars she also strangely brags how she was considered 'not a regular white girl, like the rest of them here.'

In the midst of her complaining she admits: 'I, the ultimate unreliable narrator, have made some questionable choices that I wouldn't necessarily repeat today.'

But quickly follows her second of remorse questioning whether she deserves to be deemed a permanent threat noting that other more violent criminals have been released. 'It makes no sense for me to still be here,' she insists.

The whining convicted criminal ends her open-letter rattling off a series questions:

'Will I forever be judged by my early-to-mid-twenties? Is there anything else I could possibly have done to close this chapter? Will I forever be stuck in a past not entirely of my creation without getting a chance to move on? How many years of reflecting on an overdrawn bank account are socially acceptable before one is allowed to open another one? How many ancient VHS tapes does one have to watch before one's considered reformed?'
The deputy who was shot dead by her detective boyfriend in a murder-suicide while they were on vacation in St. Augustine, Florida has been identified.

Abigail Bieber, 30, was found dead inside a St. Augustine rental home in the Butler Beach area early Sunday morning alongside her boyfriend, Det. Daniel Leyden, who was also pronounced dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A preliminary investigation revealed that Hillsborough Sheriff's Office Detective Daniel Leyden shot and killed Bieber - who worked as a deputy at the sheriff's office - before turning the gun on himself.

Other deputies who were on vacation with the couple said they heard arguing from a bedroom before shots rang out at around 10pm Saturday night, according to News 4 Jacksonville.

And neighbors they saw deputies evacuating people through the second-story window of the vacation rental and calling for a man inside to come out with his hands on his head, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office's investigation into the murder-suicide is ongoing, even as Bieber's body was transported in a hearse back home on Wednesday with officers lining the streets as it went by.

Abigail Bieber, 30, a deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, was found shot dead in an apparent murder-suicide early Sunday morning

Coworkers say Bieber had recently bought a house and considered her two German shepherds - Louis and Pepper - her 'babies.' She is pictured here with Louis

Officers lined the streets as a hearse carrying her body made its way back to Hillsborough County from St. Augustine on Wednesday

Bieber had worked at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, assigned to Uniform Patrol, since February 2018. She frequently responded to calls about sexual battery and child abuse, according to the sheriff's office, and aspired to become a detective within the Criminal Investigations Special Victims Section.

'Deputy Abigail Bieber was an outstanding law enforcement officer, and by all accounts an even better person who left a positive impact on every member of her squad and the countless members of our community who she encountered while on patrol,' Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement.

'This tragedy has left our Sheriff's Office family grief-stricken. There is a void within our hearts that can never be filled, but I hope that Deputy Bieber's legacy will be the way she lived her life - as a selfless servant.'

Cops had arrived at the St. Augustine rental home where Bieber was staying with her boyfriend, Hillsborough Sheriff's Office Detective Daniel Leyden, and their friends on Sunday morning after gunfire rang out - and found Bieber and Leyden dead

Co-workers remembered Bieber as a young woman with a positive attitude who never shied away from a tough investigation.

Retired Hillsborough Lt. Andrew Baxter also told the Tampa Bay Times that Bieber used to work the midnight shift under his command, noting that supervisors across the agency respected her work and were always trying to get her on their shifts.

'She had the respect of her supervisors, and that's kind of touch to do when you're that young in your career,' he said, recounting how he used to always joke with her whenever they saw each other in the break room. While he usually ate some sort of fast food, she would always heat up a healthy, home-cooked meal.

The fact that she died at the hands of another officer, Baxter said, 'was personal on a few different levels.

'She's an angel on Earth, essentially, and she was brutally murdered by another one of us,' he said. 'And it's not an easy pill to swallow.'

Former Hillsborough deputy Erika Delgado also described Bieber as a good friend and a good listener, saying: 'If you needed something, doesn't matter what, you could just call her up.'

She said Bieber had recently purchased a single-family house in northeast Clearwater, and her two German shepherds, Louis and Pepper, were her 'babies.'

Following the news of Bieber's death, Delgado said, dozens of deputies gathered to remember her over drinks.

They left one drink aside for Bieber, with a note scribbled on a napkin, saying: 'This one's for you. We got it from here. We miss you.'
A former Justice Department attorney who allegedly tried to aide Donald Trump in overturning the 2020 presidential election results has appeared before the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot on Wednesday.

It was a busy day for the Nancy Pelosi-assembled committee, which also grilled Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes for six hours via video link.

Rhodes was appearing before the panel from a federal detention center in Oklahoma on Wednesday, a lawyer connected to him told Politico.

The dual appearances would mean the panel heard a wide range of information today, which could include information from the origins of Trump's alleged efforts to change the election result through how those efforts were received by acolytes like Rhodes and his militia members.

Trump reportedly considered installing Jeffrey Clark as the acting Attorney General in late 2020 so Clark could demand investigations into battleground states won by Joe Biden.

After voting to refer him for a House-wide contempt vote two months ago, the panel had paused action on Clark over his insistence on pleading the fifth.

He was spotted entering a room inside a U.S. House of Representatives office building where the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack conducts its depositions.

Jeffrey Clark drafted a December 28, 2020, letter to Georgia state lawmakers that falsely claimed the department had found 'significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.' He allegedly tried to pressure acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen (seen out of focus over Clark's shoulder) to send that and similar letters to states with close election counts that went to Biden in 2020

DailyMail.com has reached out to the committee for comment.

Clark, who served as the acting head of the Justice Department's Civil Division, is a key part of the investigation given witness reports of the intimate role he played as a government official in pushing Trump's baseless election fraud claims.

Accounts also claim Clark had frequent conversations with Trump between his defeat in November and the insurrection on January 6.

Clark had drafted a December 28, 2020, letter to Georgia state lawmakers that falsely claimed the department had found 'significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.'

Stewart Rhodes, shown in his booking photo, appeared in court in Plano, Texas, in January to plead not guilty to seditious conspiracy

The draft letter urged state legislators to convene a special session to overturn the election results there.

Clark tried to persuade former Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Rich Donoghue to send the letter, but they refused. He reportedly also pushed for similar letters to be sent to states with similarly close election outcomes.

Clark in November declined to answer the committee's questions about his legal advice to Trump, saying such discussions were privileged.

The committee voted to hold Clark in contempt on December 1.

He was first subpoenaed by the committee in November, claiming he was 'reportedly involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and interrupt the peaceful transfer of power.'

'The Select Committee needs to understand all the details about efforts inside the previous administration to delay the certification of the 2020 election and amplify misinformation about the election results,' Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson had said in a statement. 'We need to understand Mr. Clarks role in these efforts at the Justice Department and learn who was involved across the administration.'

Rhodes, like Clark, indicated he would be pleading the fifth, but on questions relating to his recent criminal charges.

The militia founder's attorney and a committee investigator 'have worked out an understanding for now, at least, to leave out the time period from November 3, 2020, through today under the Fifth Amendment,' Politico reported.

Rhodes is believed to be the first person who never entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6 to be criminally charged for the riot.

The January 6 committee appears to have had a busy Wednesday hearing from both Clark and Rhodes

Last month he was named in an indictment along with 10 other Oath Keepers over their alleged roles in the riot. Rhodes is facing a charge of seditious conspiracy, among others. He has pleaded not guilty.

He could see 20 years behind bars if convicted.

Prosecutors say he issued orders from outside, and spent months plotting the insurrection over text and encrypted messaging services.

The Democrat-led bipartisan panel has been closing in on Trump's inner circle for months.

After the ex-president's former adviser Steve Bannon was criminally charged by the DOJ for refusing to cooperate, the House voted to hold Trump administration Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress.

More recently the committee sent a letter to Trump's oldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, asking her to voluntarily cooperate in their investigation.

Multiple reports have suggested she spoke to her father at the White House more than once as the Capitol riot unfolded, and even allegedly pleaded with him to make a statement calling on his supporters to stand down.

Several accused Oath Keeper rioters are seen in this picture released by the Department of Justice taken on January 6

And on Tuesday, the National Archives sent Trump a letter informing him it would be turning documents from Vice President Mike Pence's White House office over to the lawmakers.

Those are expected to find their way to Congress on March 3, barring court intervention.

Pence's former chief of staff Marc Short also testified before the committee in private recently, reports this week revealed.

Short is another key witness for the panel, likely having firsthand knowledge of Trump's attempts to pressure Pence to overturn the election.

The high-level staffer was also with Pence at the Capitol when Trump's fans broke in, some chanting 'Hang Mike Pence' over his refusal to go along with Trump allies' plotting.

Trump openly confessed to believing his vice president could change the results if he wanted to in a Sunday statement.

He had falsely claimed that lawmakers' efforts to overhaul the Electoral Count Act was 'proof' that Pence could upend Biden's 2020 victory.

'Actually, what they are saying, is that Mike Pence did have the right to change the outcome, and they now want to take that right away. Unfortunately, he didn't exercise that power, he could have overturned the Election!' Trump had said.
The FBI is now investigating 'violent extremism and hate crimes' made to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) after recent series of bomb threats - six juvenile suspects are being probed.

More than a dozen HBCUs - including Howard University, Kentucky State University and Morgan State, received bombs threats at the start of Black History Month on Tuesday.

As a result, the FBI said it was investigating six 'tech savvy' juveniles, whose identities were not released, who are believed to have made the racially motivated threats.

'These threats are being investigated as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes,' the federal agency wrote in a press release on Wednesday.

'This investigation is of the highest priority for the Bureau and involves more than 20 FBI field offices across the country.'

Although 'no explosive devices were been found at any of the locations', the FBI said it was 'committed to thoroughly and aggressively investigating these threats.'

No charges have been pressed yet.

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Fourteen historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) were threatened on February 1 - the first day of Black History Month - including Howard, the University of DC, Kentucky State, and Edward Waters University

The FBI called the bomb threats 'racially and ethnically motivated' and said it had more than 20 field offices working together to investigate. In addition, the FBI is investigating six 'tech savvy' juveniles believed to be involved

The 14 HBCUs that received bomb threats on the first day of Black History Month Howard University - DC University of the District of Columbia, - DC Morgan State University - Baltimore Coppin State University - Baltimore Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley - Georgia Kentucky State University Xavier University of Louisiana Edward Waters University - Florida Alcorn State University - Mississippi Mississippi Valley State University Rust College - Mississippi Spelman College - Georgia Jackson State University - Mississippi Tougaloo College - Mississippi Source: NBC News Advertisement

Howard University was one of the first to receive a shelter-in-place order on Tuesday. Students received the notification around 3.30am. The school would issue an 'all clear' notification around 7.30am.

'The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the Howard University Department of Police have issued an 'ALL CLEAR' in the investigation of a bomb threat made this morning at approximately 2:55 a.m. The Shelter-In-Place directive has been lifted,' the school tweeted at 7.30am on Tuesday.

Thirteen other schools, including the University of DC and Morgan State University, were also threatened and shut down campus 'due to bomb threats.'

Morgan State University closed its campus shortly after 6am, only allowing 'emergency personnel to assess the situation' and asked their students to 'shelter in place' and attend classes remotely. It wasn't until 2pm that the state university finished its 'thorough and exhaustive sweep of campus' - which included all residential buildings on-and-off-campus.

'Unfortunately, and sadly, it is [real],' Morgan State University President David K. Wilson said in a statement. 'Morgan is one of the most historical and consequential universities in the nation. Our history has been one where we have endured all kinds of challenges and disruptions, but we have always emerged stronger.'

Kentucky State University sent its students into complete lockdown sometime before 6am and 'suspended' all university operations and restricted entry access to its campus.

Howard University was one of the first schools that was threatened, placing their students on lockdown around 3.30am

It gave the all-clear around 8am after law enforcement officials completed their investigations.

Edward Waters University and Fort Valley also both shut down their campuses for a short period of time.

In addition to the five schools, the University of the District of Columbia, Coppin State University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Alcorn State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Rust College, Spelman College, Jackson State University, and Tougaloo College were threatened, MSNBC reported.

In addition, Southern University, A&M College, Bethune-Cookman University, Albany State University, Bowie State University, and Delaware State University also received bomb threats in the last few days and five other schools had threats in early January.

Several schools had to lock down their campuses and tell students to shelter in place while authorities investigated the threats

Edwards Waters University was among the 14 school who were threatened on February 1

Fort Valley State University were also among the school who had bomb threats

Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said his department received a 20-minute call at 4.32am on Monday, threatening Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. The school was placed on lockdown Monday morning.

The caller claimed to be affiliated with a Neo-Nazi group and claimed they had hidden seven C4 explosives in backpacks and duffel bags around the Daytona Beach campus, which they said would detonate at noon.

They also claimed there would be an active shooter on campus at 12.30pm.

Young said in a Monday press conference that the caller identified himself with the Atomwaffen Division, an international right-wing extremist and Neo-Nazi terrorist organization.

Police said that by 11am they had 'cleared the campus of any bomb threat' after searching building-by-building, but added that they will remain at the campus for the rest of the day. Classes were canceled at the university.
A California comic book store owner is planning to donat 100 copies of Art Spiegelman's Maus, a graphic novel about Holocaust surviors, to students in Tennessee.

Last week, a Tennessee school board voted unanimously to remove the Pulitzer Prize-winning book from its eighth-grade curriculum, citing a drawing of a nude woman, eight swear words and its 'not wise or healthy' content.

The McMinn County Board of Education voted 10-0 to remove 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman from the curriculum on January 10, despite educators arguing that the graphic novel is an 'anchor text' in eighth-grade English language arts instruction and the centerpiece of a months-long study of the Holocaust.

The controversy has led to some heated opinions and even the suspension of The View host Whoopi Goldberg over her comments in response to the banning of the book.

Ryan Higgins owns Comics Conspiracy in Sunnyvale, California, about 40 miles from San Francisco and over 2,400 miles from McMinn County, which banned the books

The McMinn County school board in Tennessee voted 10-0 to remove 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman from the eighth grade curriculum over eight swear words and nudity

Ryan Higgins owns Comics Conspiracy in Sunnyvale, California

Soon after the banning, Higgins tweeted out 'DM me your address!' to anyone in the county looking to access the book.

'As I've offered before with other banned comics, I'll donate up to 100 copies of The Complete Maus to any family in the Mcminn County area in Tennessee,' he tweeted on January 26.

He said that since the banning, the copies of the book had already sold out in his store but the tweet, which has gotten over 12,000 likes and 3,000 retweets, has had his store inundated with requests.

'Our phone has been ringing off the hook with endless support,' Higgins told CNN.

He's set to get a reorder on Friday and those copies will shortly thereafter be headed for Tennessee.

Higgins first read the book as a teenager and called it 'more than just a comic book.'

'This is not a book that's all about pornography and violence,' he said. 'It teaches these kids about the horrors of the Holocaust in a more palatable way than some pictures that are just horrific.'

Higgins has previously made similar offers when a Texas school district banned V For Vendetta and Y: The Last Man.

Published in 1991, Maus is inspired by the story of Spiegelman's parents, Vladek and Anja, who survived the Holocaust after being shipped to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. The graphic novel depicts Nazis as cats and Jewish people as mice.

The board heard from instructional supervisors and other school officials who defended the use of the book in class but were unanimously overruled.

'I went to school here 13 years. I learned math, English, reading and history. I never had a book with a naked picture in it, never had one with foul language. ... So, this idea that we have to have this kind of material in the class in order to teach history, I don't buy it,' said board member Mike Cochran.

Spiegelman, 73, called the ban 'Orwellian' in an interview with CNBC, saying that he learned about it on Wednesday, a day before Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Experts say the book has been taught at schools for nearly two decades.

Higgins says he's been inundated with requests for the banned graphic novel series

The graphic novel by Art Spiegelman (above) is inspired by the story of Art's parents

Art's father, Vladek Spiegelman (above), survived the Auschwitz concentration camp

The Holocaust Museum has defended Maus as playing a 'vital role' in educating children about the genocide. Their tweet came on Wednesday, the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day



The Holocaust Museum has defended the book and said it plays a 'vital role' in teaching about the World War II-era genocide.

The McMinn Board of Education declined to comment on the ban or how long the book has been taught at its schools, routing DailyMail.com to the board members who banned it.

Board members' objections revolved around a drawing of a nude woman and eight swear words that appear throughout the 296-page book, according to minutes from the meeting.

Lee Parkison, the board's director of schools, said he tried to find a workaround to the profanity.

'I consulted with our attorney, Mr. Scott Bennett. After consulting with him, we decided the best way to fix or handle the language in this book was to redact it. Considering copyright, we decided to redact it to get rid of the eight curse words and the picture of the woman that was objected to,' Parkinson said.

But Bennett told him there were copyright issues associated with censoring swear words from an artistic work.

Board member Tony Allman said the book was unacceptable with or without the redacted portions.

'Being in the schools, educators and stuff, we don't need to enable or somewhat promote this stuff. It shows people hanging, it shows them killing kids. Why does the educational system promote this kind of stuff? It is not wise or healthy,'

Instructional supervisor Julie Goodin responded: 'I can talk of the history, I was a history teacher, and there is nothing pretty about the Holocaust, and for me this was a great way to depict a horrific time in history.

'Mr. Spiegelman did his very best to depict his mother passing away and we are almost 80 years away. It's hard for this generation, these kids don't even know 9/11, they were not even born. For me this was his way to convey the message.'

Board member Tony Allman (left) suggested the book should at least be censored. 'Why does the educational system promote this kind of stuff, it is not wise or healthy,' he said

The 296-page book details the suicide of the author's mother, who also survived Auschwitz. It depicts Nazis as cats and Jewish people as mice

Melasawn Knight, also an instructional supervisor, concurred.

'People did hang from trees, people did commit suicide and people were killed, over six million were murdered,' she said.

Allman was not swayed by the argument.

'I am not denying it was horrible, brutal, and cruel. It's like when you're watching TV and a cuss word or nude scene comes on it would be the same movie without it. Well, this would be the same book without it,' Allman said.

Cochran added: 'So, my problem is, it looks like the entire curriculum is developed to normalize sexuality, normalize nudity and normalize vulgar language. If I was trying to indoctrinate somebody's kids, this is how I would do it.'

McMinn County is a heavily conservative area in southeastern Tennessee. In the 2020 election, nearly 80 percent of votes went to Donald Trump.

Maus uses a frame-tale timeline in which Art Spiegelman, in New York City in 1978, interviews his father Vladek about his experiences during the Holocaust.

'People did hang from trees, people did commit suicide and people were killed, over six million were murdered,' said one instructional supervisor while defending the use of the book

Art's mother Anja had also lived through the Nazi regime, but she killed herself when Spiegelman was 20, a story that is touched on in the book.

The novel won the Pulitzer in 1992 and has since been lauded for helping to usher in a new era of graphic novels, in which they were seen as a respectable form of adult media.

'Maus is used in schools all across the US, as I regularly have students tell me they read it before arriving at college,' said Dr. Gregory Spinner, a professor of religion at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Spinner's research focuses partly on Jewish studies and draws from graphic novels.

'It's been this way for well over a decade, probably closer to two decades,' he said.

'I can not hazard a guess as to why Maus would be banned, except to observe that if one wants to teach about the Holocaust without the subject being upsetting, then one does not actually want to teach about the Holocaust,' Spinner told DailyMail.com.

Eliyana Adler, a professor of history and Jewish studies at Pennsylvania State University, says Maus is taught in 'many college courses' as well.

Author Neil Gaiman compared the school board members to Nazis in a tweet on Wednesday

'I'm kind of baffled by this,' Spiegelman told CNBC after learning of the ban. 'It's leaving me with my jaw open, like, 'What?''

The decision drew outcry from British author Neil Gaiman, who compared the school board members to Nazis in a tweet on Wednesday.

'There's only one kind of people who would vote to ban Maus, whatever they are calling themselves these days,' Gaiman said.

The Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, tweeted about the importance of the book on Wednesday, as news of the Tennessee school board's decision traveled far beyond rural McMinn County.

'Maus has played a vital role in educating about the Holocaust through sharing detailed and personal experiences of victims and survivors,' the museum said.

'Teaching about the Holocaust using books like Maus can inspire students to think critically about the past and their own roles and responsibilities today.'

The controversy has caused an explosion of interest in the series, with Spiegelman's poignant tale rising from No. 12 on Amazon's list on Friday evening and was No. 1 by Sunday night.

The book is not available for delivery until mid-February. The Complete Maus, which includes a second volume, was at No. 3 and is also completely out of stock.

Recent reviews of the versions appear to credit the recent controversy for its purchase.

Two editions of Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus have topped Amazon's bestseller's lists

'Thank you McMinn County SB for being the impetus to discover this masterpiece,' one reviewer, identified as a 'WWII era history buff of many years', wrote. 'It will be a treasured addition to my WWII library.'

One Tennessee local has set up a GoFundMe in order to purchase more copies of Maus for students who have since been deprived of the book. So far, $95,000 has been raised.

The ban comes as parents and school boards across the country debate how to teach the history of racism at schools, if at all.

Last year, the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly voted to withhold funding from schools that teach 'critical race theory,' effectively banning it, according to the Tennessean.

Whoopi Goldberg sparked international fury on Monday by claiming that the Holocaust 'was not about race' because it involved 'two groups of white people' - but it is far from the first time the 66-year-old co-host of The View has courted controversy based off a discussion of the graphic novel.
New Zealand will begin to welcome back travellers this month after more than two years of being shut off to the rest of the world.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced New Zealand's new five-stage re-opening plan, with the first step allowing Kiwis in Australia to return home without going into hotel quarantine from February 27.

Fully-vaccinated New Zealanders based in Australia will be sidestep her lottery-style quarantine system and will be permitted to self-isolate for 10 days instead.

That self-isolation period will drop to seven days when New Zealand enters phase two of its Omicron response strategy.

Kiwis in the rest of the world - which includes citizens and permanent residents - will be welcomed home under similar conditions from March 13.

Non-citizens with visas can skip managed quarantine from April, although no exact date has been set yet.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced fully vaccinated Kiwis based in Australia will be allowed to sidestep quarantine

Pedestrians wait outside a cafe in Auckland. Fully-vaccinated Kiwis based in Australia will be allowed to sidestep New Zealand's lottery-style quarantine system

NEW ZEALAND'S FIVE-STAGE RE-OPENING PLAN February 27 - New Zealanders in Australia can sidestep the hotel quarantine system and self-isolate for 10 days instead. That self-isolation period will drop to seven days when New Zealand enters phase two of its Omicron response strategy. March 13 - Kiwis in the rest of the world - which includes citizens and permanent residents - can return home under similar conditions April - Non-citizens with visas can fly home and self-isolate on arrival July - Non-citizen travellers from visa-waiver countries - such as Australia and the UK - can travel to New Zealand October - New Zealand expects to open up to the rest of the world An exact timeline for stages three and four will be confirmed by the end of February Advertisement

Non-citizen travellers from visa-waiver countries - such as Australia and the UK - can travel to New Zealand no later than July.

'I want to place strong emphasis on this being the latest we expect this to begin,' Ms Ardern said.

'There is a high likelihood of this date coming forward as we progress through the next stage of the pandemic.'

She said she fully expected to open the country up to the rest of the world from October.

A more detailed timeline for stages four and five will be confirmed by the end of February.

Ms Ardern admitted managed isolation quarantine (MIQ) had caused pain for thousands of New Zealanders.

'There is no question, that for New Zealand, it has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic,' she said.

'But the reason that it is right up there as one of the toughest things we have experienced, is in part because large-scale loss of life is not.

'The anguish of MIQ has been real, and heartbreaking. But the choice to use it, undeniably saved lives.'

NZ has operated a tough border policy since March 2020 in a hardline effort to protect its citizens from Covid.

Pictured is a managed isolation facility in Christchurch. There have been growing calls to relax the controversial quarantine system

The strategy eliminated the virus in the first year of the pandemic and then minimised its impact through 2021 - before delaying the arrival of the Delta and Omicron variants.

There were 196 confirmed Covid cases in New Zealand on Wednesday; Australia recorded 40,039 infections on the same day.

However, there have been growing calls to relax quarantine provisions - known locally as MIQ - as Kiwis seek easier pathways in and out of the country.

Thursday's border changes fall short of of the freedom of movement offered last year under the trans-Tasman bubble.

That arrangement, which endured several pauses during its short-lived run from April to July last year, allowed travellers to travel freely between Australia and NZ.

The re-opening plans comes as a group of New Zealanders locked out of their own country for two years sue Ms Ardern's government - claiming her impossible hotel quarantine program has breached their human rights.

Kiwis who want to return home after the country's border was slammed shut to keep out Covid back in March 2020 have to apply for a place in Managed Isolation and Quarantine - with the small amount of places allocated through a lottery system.

New Zealand has implemented a hard border against Australia and banned quarantine-free travel amid a surge in Omicron cases in across the Tasman (pictured: NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern)

If you don't secure a place through the randomised lottery, you cannot fly to New Zealand.

Despite New Zealanders being 90 per cent double-vaccinated and having just eight Covid cases in hospital, the MIQ system has been tightened even further - with available spots in quarantine reduced to zero amid the Omicron wave.

Lawyer and Grounded Kiwis founder Alexandra Birt said the system needs to be tested and the group have raised more than $180,000 in legal costs to sue the government.

'We are alleging the way they have operated the system amounts to a breach of the bill of rights', Ms Birt told A Current Affair.

Ms Birt said she receives messages daily from Kiwis who are desperate to return home - some from pensioners who had gone on holiday to Australia and were now stuck surviving on savings, others who moved everything over only to be locked out, or those who want to visit sick family, or new grandchildren - and each denied entry.

One such stranded couple is retiree Ashley Smith and his wife who have been stuck in a tiny caravan in Western Australia unable to secure a rare place in hotel quarantine.

Alexandra Birt founded Grounded Kiwis, which raised funds to sue the NZ government over the implementation of the MIQ system (pictured)

About 4,500 room places were being allocated each week with Kiwis having to log on to a webpage as soon as they were released in a 'first-in, first-served' competition.

'I've had to get up at 4am so I could enter the lottery. Even in my own mind, I knew I would fail,' he said.

With each try he would say to himself: 'This is it, let the hunger games begin'.

But even those 4,500 rooms a week have been suspended amid Omicron with just one round of places allocated this year and no word on when the next round will resume.
Lin Mengfan works aboard a Fuxing bullet train travelling on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway in southwest China, Jan. 27, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan (L) attends a training session before departure at Chongqing North Railway Station in Chongqing, southwest China, Feb. 2, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan displays her pouch aboard a Fuxing bullet train travelling on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway in southwest China, Jan. 27, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan poses for a photo with a little passenger aboard a Fuxing bullet train travelling on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway in southwest China, Jan. 27, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan gets ready for work before the departure of a Fuxing bullet train at Chongqing North Railway Station in Chongqing, southwest China, Feb. 2, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan puts a cartoon sticker on the face mask of a little boy aboard a Fuxing bullet train travelling on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway in southwest China, Jan. 27, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan gets ready for work before the departure of a bullet train at Chongqing North Railway Station in Chongqing, southwest China, Feb. 2, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan displays the items in her tool pouch aboard a Fuxing bullet train travelling on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway in southwest China, Jan. 27, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan gives change to an elderly passgenger who purchased snacks aboard a Fuxing bullet train travelling on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway in southwest China, Jan. 27, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan (L) and a colleague are on their way to work at Chongqing North Railway Station in Chongqing, southwest China, Feb. 2, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Lin Mengfan sprays lubricant on the wheel of a passgener's travel suitcase aboard a Fuxing bullet train travelling on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway in southwest China, Jan. 27, 2022. Born in 2000, Lin Mengfan is a novice stewardess for a Fuxing bullet train on the Chendu-Chongqing Railway. Meanwhile, Lin is serving the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time in her career. In case there is any passenger who needs help aboard, Lin has prepared a versatile tool pouch with her. In the pouch are color stickers for passgengers to mark their luggages, cartoon stickers to please little children, and so on. Lin calls her tool pouch a "Doraemon's pocket," hoping that it could bring convenience and make the passengers feel at home during the journeys. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)
New Zealand will begin to welcome back travellers this month after more than two years of being shut off to the rest of the world.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced New Zealand's new five-stage re-opening plan, with the first step allowing Kiwis in Australia to return home without going into hotel quarantine from February 27.

Fully-vaccinated New Zealanders based in Australia will be sidestep her lottery-style quarantine system and will be permitted to self-isolate for 10 days instead.

That self-isolation period will drop to seven days when New Zealand enters phase two of its Omicron response strategy.

Kiwis in the rest of the world - which includes citizens and permanent residents - will be welcomed home under similar conditions from March 13.

Non-citizens with visas can skip managed quarantine from April, although no exact date has been set yet.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced fully vaccinated Kiwis based in Australia will be allowed to sidestep quarantine

Pedestrians wait outside a cafe in Auckland. Fully-vaccinated Kiwis based in Australia will be allowed to sidestep New Zealand's lottery-style quarantine system

NEW ZEALAND'S FIVE-STAGE RE-OPENING PLAN February 27 - New Zealanders in Australia can sidestep the hotel quarantine system and self-isolate for 10 days instead. That self-isolation period will drop to seven days when New Zealand enters phase two of its Omicron response strategy. March 13 - Kiwis in the rest of the world - which includes citizens and permanent residents - can return home under similar conditions April - Non-citizens with visas can fly home and self-isolate on arrival July - Non-citizen travellers from visa-waiver countries - such as Australia and the UK - can travel to New Zealand October - New Zealand expects to open up to the rest of the world An exact timeline for stages three and four will be confirmed by the end of February Advertisement

Non-citizen travellers from visa-waiver countries - such as Australia and the UK - can travel to New Zealand no later than July.

'I want to place strong emphasis on this being the latest we expect this to begin,' Ms Ardern said.

'There is a high likelihood of this date coming forward as we progress through the next stage of the pandemic.'

She said she fully expected to open the country up to the rest of the world from October.

A more detailed timeline for stages four and five will be confirmed by the end of February.

Ms Ardern admitted managed isolation quarantine (MIQ) had caused pain for thousands of New Zealanders.

'There is no question, that for New Zealand, it has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic,' she said.

'But the reason that it is right up there as one of the toughest things we have experienced, is in part because large-scale loss of life is not.

'The anguish of MIQ has been real, and heartbreaking. But the choice to use it, undeniably saved lives.'

NZ has operated a tough border policy since March 2020 in a hardline effort to protect its citizens from Covid.

Pictured is a managed isolation facility in Christchurch. There have been growing calls to relax the controversial quarantine system

The strategy eliminated the virus in the first year of the pandemic and then minimised its impact through 2021 - before delaying the arrival of the Delta and Omicron variants.

There were 196 confirmed Covid cases in New Zealand on Wednesday; Australia recorded 40,039 infections on the same day.

However, there have been growing calls to relax quarantine provisions - known locally as MIQ - as Kiwis seek easier pathways in and out of the country.

Thursday's border changes fall short of of the freedom of movement offered last year under the trans-Tasman bubble.

That arrangement, which endured several pauses during its short-lived run from April to July last year, allowed travellers to travel freely between Australia and NZ.

The re-opening plans comes as a group of New Zealanders locked out of their own country for two years sue Ms Ardern's government - claiming her impossible hotel quarantine program has breached their human rights.

Kiwis who want to return home after the country's border was slammed shut to keep out Covid back in March 2020 have to apply for a place in Managed Isolation and Quarantine - with the small amount of places allocated through a lottery system.

New Zealand has implemented a hard border against Australia and banned quarantine-free travel amid a surge in Omicron cases in across the Tasman (pictured: NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern)

If you don't secure a place through the randomised lottery, you cannot fly to New Zealand.

Despite New Zealanders being 90 per cent double-vaccinated and having just eight Covid cases in hospital, the MIQ system has been tightened even further - with available spots in quarantine reduced to zero amid the Omicron wave.

Lawyer and Grounded Kiwis founder Alexandra Birt said the system needs to be tested and the group have raised more than $180,000 in legal costs to sue the government.

'We are alleging the way they have operated the system amounts to a breach of the bill of rights', Ms Birt told A Current Affair.

Ms Birt said she receives messages daily from Kiwis who are desperate to return home - some from pensioners who had gone on holiday to Australia and were now stuck surviving on savings, others who moved everything over only to be locked out, or those who want to visit sick family, or new grandchildren - and each denied entry.

One such stranded couple is retiree Ashley Smith and his wife who have been stuck in a tiny caravan in Western Australia unable to secure a rare place in hotel quarantine.

Alexandra Birt founded Grounded Kiwis, which raised funds to sue the NZ government over the implementation of the MIQ system (pictured)

About 4,500 room places were being allocated each week with Kiwis having to log on to a webpage as soon as they were released in a 'first-in, first-served' competition.

'I've had to get up at 4am so I could enter the lottery. Even in my own mind, I knew I would fail,' he said.

With each try he would say to himself: 'This is it, let the hunger games begin'.

But even those 4,500 rooms a week have been suspended amid Omicron with just one round of places allocated this year and no word on when the next round will resume.
Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon sparked fury on social media on Tuesday when she compared mourning cops at an NYPD officer's funeral to fascists.

On the eve of Wilbert Mora's funeral, she tweeted a picture of last week's funeral procession on Fifth Avenue for his slain partner Jason Rivera with the caption: 'I'm gonna tell my kids this is what fascism looks like.'

Above that photo, flames surrounded a question: 'So, if all these cops weren't needed for CRIME that day, doesn't that mean they aren't needed ANY day?'

Rivera and his partner Wilbert Mora, 27, were shot dead in East Harlem while responding to a domestic call earlier this month. On Wednesday, hours after Sarandon posted the controversial tweet, an equally-large turnout of officers gathered for Mora's funeral.

Twitter users turned out en masse, too, to lambaste the 75-year-old Thelma and Louise actress's post.

Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon compared the turn-out for the NYPD procession for fallen officer Jason Rivera on Tuesday in a retweet, and questioned whether so many cops were needed if so many were able to attend

The Thelma and Louise actress, who lived in the Chelsea neighborhood for three decades until 2020, has been historically critical of the NYPD

Rivera and his partner Wilbert Mora, 27, were shot dead in East Harlem while responding to a domestic call earlier this month. On Wednesday, hours after Sarandon posted the controversial tweet, an equally-large turnout of officers gathered for Mora's funeral

'You are disgusting!! We need police officers, we absolutely DON'T need worthless "actors/actresses" like you! So pathetic to disrespect the fallen officers and their families. You should be next on the "cancel culture" list!!' wrote @EOdell17.

'People who say cops dont prevent crime have to be some of the most naive people of all time,' wrote @stevesbromike. 'Every single city that has defunded their police has seen a sharp rise in almost all crimes. If you dont think thats correlated you are literally just stupid.'

'Honestly, what is wrong with you? Do you have any idea the nightmare that is NYC right now? New Yorkers are terrified by the surge of crime, all because of people like you thinking abolishing the police is would solve anything,' wrote another user.

'It [is] the logic of a three-year-old,' wrote another user. 'I suggest she does the duties of a cop for a year and then let's see how fascist she thinks they are. Cops protect little children, rescue those in distress and vulnerable everywhere. All she does it talk for a living.'

The actress, who lived in the Chelsea neighborhood for three decades until 2020, has been historically critical of the NYPD. After she sold her huge pre-war duplex for $7.9 million, the actress told the Wall Street Journal that she intended to stay in the neighborhood and always remain a New Yorker.

In July of this year, Sarandon joined a rally outside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's office calling for 'Medicare for All,' saying that she and her fellow leftists are 'losing hope' in the progressive lawmaker through a bullhorn and calling for better leadership from 'The Squad.'

In 2018, Sarandon was arrested alongside 575 other protesters during an demonstration outside the US Senate building against a Trump-era policy that separated migrant children from their parents at the border.

Nearly a decade earlier, she was arrested in March of 1999 outside One Police Plaza after she joined a several-week-long protest after Amadou Diallo, a unarmed street vendor, was shot dead by NYPD cops in the Bronx.

Susan Sarandon, 74, said AOC made 'a lot of promises,' but that she still has 'faith' in her at a rally in July of 2021

The Academy Award winner, 74, has admitted that her strong views came at a price - leaving her shunned from people in the industry and even receiving death threats

Speaking to Sydney's Saturday Extra, the actress admitted that year that she wasn't one to shy away from controversy after expressing her staunchly negative opinion on Hillary Clinton during the last US presidential campaign and having her say on the #MeToo movement in light of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

Sarandon, pictured with Thelma and Louise co-star Geena Davis, said that the things she regrets are 'only things I didn't say or do' in an interview about her outspoken activism

However, the Academy Award winner, 71, has admitted that her strong views came at a price - leaving her shunned from people in the industry and even receiving death threats.

'The things that I regret are only things I didnt say or do, even though I went through a pretty scary time leading up to Iraq, and I certainly - in not supporting Hillary Clinton - ended up getting an enormous amount of heat about that.

The Thelma and Louise star continued: 'I just know for all the unkind or hurtful things, or scary things that have happened because of an unpopular stand with the war or whatever, I dont regret it.'

In 2017, Sarandon announced she was glad Hillary Clinton lost the election because she's 'very dangerous' and America would be 'at war.'

When former Mayor de Blasio lauded the NYPD for their 'tremendous restraint overall' during George Floyd protests, Sarandon tweeted 'shame on you' at him. Ultimately, the city Department of Investigation later criticizing cops for their use of excessive force during a number of 2020 protests and de Blasio apologized.

Sarandon isn't the first person to get backlash over their gripes regarding the funerals - Coney Island Prep math teacher Christopher Flanigan was fired after he posted a photo of the mass of officers, saying that they were in the 'ideal conditions for reciprocity' for officers that plowed into George Floyd protesters in 2020.

Christopher Flanigan, who taught math at Coney Island Prep, posted a photo of thousands of officers outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral for the funeral of Det. Jason Rivera, saying it was the 'ideal conditions for reciprocity'

Flanigan captioned the now-deleted photo in his Instagram story: '5/30/20: NYPD SUV drives into a crowd of protestors. Ideal conditions for reciprocity,' according to the New York Post.

The now-fired teacher said that his comment was 'misconstrued.'

'I was really just trying to show the vulnerability of all of these police officers being in the same place at the same time which seems like a dangerous situation for anyone that would be that gathered together,' Flanigan told the Post on Sunday.

New York City actress Jacqueline Guzman was let go from Face to Face Films theater company after ranting about street closures during Rivera's funeral.

In a now-deleted TikTok, Guzman pans over street traffic, showing police cars and ambulances blocking streets.

New York City actress Jacqueline Guzman received backlash for her 'disrespectful' comments regarding street closures during NYPD Officer Jason Rivera's funeral on Friday

'We do not need to shut down most of Lower Manhattan because one cop died for probably doing his job incorrectly,' she says in the video.

'They kill people who are under 22 every single day for no good reason and we don't shut down the city for them, so.'

Her own company released a statement, calling Guzman's video 'insensitive' and that it does not 'condone' her 'comments made about fallen Officer Rivera.'

Although Guzman's post drew an incredible amount of ire, some Twitter users today still griped about the traffic caused by Mora's funeral procession.

'Traffic in midtown is insane today because of the NYPD officers funeral,' wrote @adammc123. 'Cars are blowing through intersections on red lights. I almost got hit twice & yelled at drivers. Some guy on Broadway was having a MELTDOWN at a truck blocking the intersection. I dont blame him!'

'In case anyones having a bad day: I got stuck on 7th ave for two hours because of an NYPD funeral and then my power steering died so I then had to wait for a tow for another two hours while they navigated the same traffic,' wrote @NEZ2021.
Today host Ally Langdon stumped Labor leader Anthony Albanese by asking him to price of a box of tampons - just days after Scott Morrison couldn't identify the cost of bread and milk.

Mr Albanese appeared on Channel Nine's morning show on Thursday morning after a calamitous week for the prime minister where he was shamed with shocking leaked text messages from Liberal MPs and his failure to value common household items.

Langdon asked him to name the price of feminine hygiene products, with the Labor leader unsure of its value.

'We know that the PM got stumped by the cost of bread and milk the other day. You of course were across household items, so here we go,' the Today host said.

'For your female voters, can you give us the price of a box of Carefree?'

Today host Ally Langdon stumped Labor leader Anthony Albanese by asking him to price of a box of tampons

'No, I can't,' Mr Albanese replied with a grin. 'I live with my son who is 21-years-old and I assure you that is something I can't tell you.'

The Labor leader said he could do one better than Mr Morrison on food items but admitted the products were outside of his area of expertise.

'I can tell you the price of bread and Vegemite and a range of products. I can tell you that the price of cereal but no, you have got me there Ally,' he said.

'Stumped you with that one. Ally, one. Albo zero,' Karl Stefanovic added.

'You are going to get all the awards now. Damn it.'

A pack of 16 Carefree tampons costs Australians around $4 at major supermarkets and pharmacies.

The Labor leader said he could do one better than Mr Morrison on food items but admitted the products were outside of his area of expertise

Poll Should the PM know how much bread, milk and the cost of a RAT is? Yes No Should the PM know how much bread, milk and the cost of a RAT is? Yes 343 votes

No 316 votes Now share your opinion





Mr Albanese then navigated the stumble gracefully, saying his party had ensured tampons were affordable for all Australians.

' I can tell you this, they are too much. They are too much and it is a good thing that the GST got taken off them as a result of a very effective campaign by Labor along with women out there in the community,' he said.

The question came after the PM was stumped on Tuesday when asked at the National Press Club to list the price of a loaf of bread, a litre of petrol and a rapid antigen test.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison was caught out by a gotcha question about the cost of household items from Sky News reporter Andrew Clennell

Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell asked Mr Morrison the classic 'gotcha' question about whether he knew the price of the items during the question-and-answer section of his address on Tuesday.

'Im not going to pretend to you that I go out each day and I buy a loaf of bread and I buy a litre of milk,' Mr Morrison responded, clearly not knowing the prices.

'Im not going to pretend to you that I do that. And Ill leave those sort of things to you, mate. And you can run it.

'But the point is that I do my job every day to ensure that those things are as affordable as they possibly can be for Australians every single day.'
A former Missouri high school teacher who was charged with having sex with her student has the charges against her dropped after she married him and gave birth to their child.

Prosecutors have dropped charges against Baylee A. Turner, 26, after she married the student she was accused of having sex with.

In February 2019, Turner - who was then 23 - was charged with having sexual contact with one of her male students following an investigation by the Jasper County Sheriff's Department, the Joplin Globe reported.

The former Sarcoxie High School teacher was a first-year English teacher at the high school when she was accused of having sexual intercourse with the student - then aged 18 - leading to her resignation.

Both Turner and the student acknowledged that they had sex the week of January 14-21 in 2019 at Turner's home in Sarcoxie, about 260 miles southwest of St. Louis, court documents show.

Baylee A. Turner, 26, was charged with having sexual contact with one of her male students

The charges were recently dropped when it was revealed that she married her former student

The couple still lives in Missouri and welcomed their first child together in February 2020

According to Facebook, Turner and the student married in May 2019 several months after the scandal and then welcomed their first child in February 2020. Turner's student-turned-spouse is now 22 years old.

The couple and their families did not respond to DailyMail.com for a comment.

Assistant prosecutor Nate Dally told the Globe that the charge against her was being dismissed after she married the student, whose identity has not been revealed.

Dally said that because the former student now has marital or spousal privilege, he can no longer be compelled to testify against his wife, weakening the state's case in court.

Missouri state law prohibits school employees, volunteers or officials from having sexual contact with a student regardless of consent or age.

Turner taught English at the Sarcoxie middle school for two years before being assigned to teach high school sophomores and seniors in 2019.

She resigned from the high school after her arrest in February 2019.

Turner has surrendered her state teaching license, which was one of prosecutors' main goals

The identity of the former student has not been revealed in court or police documents

Now the former student now has marital or spousal privilege, he can no longer be compelled to testify against his wife, weakening the state's case in court

Turner, then 23 years old, was a first-year English teacher at Sarcoxie High School (pictured) when a case arose that she had sexual intercourse with a student in January 2019

Turner was facing up to four years in prison. The court had ordered her not to have contact with anyone younger than 16 when she was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

Dally added that Turner has surrendered her state teaching license, which was one of the prosecutors' main goals.

The Globe reported that Turner was one of six young educators in the state that have been accused of having sex with students in recent years.

The case echoes the infamous relationship between Washington state teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and sixth-grade student Vili Fualaau.

Letourneau met Fualaau when he joined her second grade class in 1992, but they did not begin their sexual relationship until four years later when he was 12 years old.

In 1997, Letourneau made international headlines when the then-34-year-old pleaded guilty to raping Vili when he was 12-years-old. She was pregnant with her former student's child at the time of her conviction.

Mary Kay Letourneau (above in 1997) was a sixth-grade teacher at Shorewood Elementary in 1996 when she was discovered to be having sexual relations Vili Fualaau, then 12

The couple, who finalized their divorce in 2019, shared daughters Georgina and Audrey

Letourneau was then paroled in 1998 but was once again found having sex with Fualaau in a car.

A judge then revoked Letourneau's prior plea agreement and ordered her to serve seven years in prison on second-degree child rape charges for violating the no-contact order.

She gave birth to her second child with Fualaau while in prison. He was 14-years-old at the time.

The couple ended up tying the knot in 2005 and raised their two children together before Fualaau filed for separation in 2017. Letourneau died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 58.
Greg Hunt has insisted that no federal cabinet minister called Scott Morrison a psycho in texts to Gladys Berejiklian.

The Health Minister suggested Peter van Onselen was lying when he claimed the bombshell texts were from a current Liberal federal cabinet minister.

'I don't believe there is any federal minister in this Cabinet that's involved,' Mr Hunt told ABC radio on Thursday morning.

Greg Hunt has insisted that no federal cabinet minster called Scott Morrison a psycho in texts to Gladys Berejiklian

He went on to say there was 'no evidence' the texts came from a cabinet minister.

On Wednesday the Prime Minister said 'I have confidence' the texts were not sent from someone in his cabinet, possibly implying someone in the NSW state cabinet was to blame.

Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen confronted the PM on live TV with the incendiary text messages, which were sent during the 2019 bushfires, on Tuesday.

'I've got them right here,' he told Mr Morrison as the PM faced questions from the media after his keynote speech to the National Press Club.

Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen confronted the PM on live TV with the incendiary text messages

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian take a selfie after making an address to thousands of high school students in Sydney in 2019

'In one, she (Gladys Berejiklian) described you as, quote, ''a horrible, horrible person'', going on to say she did not trust you, and you're more concerned with politics than people.

'The minister is even more scathing, describing you as a fraud and, quote, ''a complete psycho''.

In a statement released hours later, Ms Berejiklian said she had 'no recollection' of the remarks, but didn't deny they were said.

Van Onselen says he got the texts from the federal cabinet minister who was involved but has refused to name his source, sparking a witch hunt.

In his column for The Australian on Thursday, the reporter said he would never reveal the minister's identity.

'The minister is the source, which is also why the veracity of the text exchange isn't in question. It wasn't passed on by a third party, for example,' he wrote.

'I'm the only other person who knows who the minister is and that's the way it will always be. Journalists protect their sources.'

He later addressed criticism that he deliberately picked his moment to ambush the PM with the messages to inflict maximum political damage.

'I was only authorised to use them recently, but I was made aware of them a while ago,' he wrote on Twitter.

'The National Press Club was the best opportunity available to put the messages to the PM and get a proper response. At a news conference, he would have dismissed that question long before it was over,' he added in his column.

Marise Payne, Greg Hunt, Karen Andrews, Paul Fletcher and Angus Taylor have publicly denied sending the texts.
A former beauty queen who leaped from a Manhattan apartment building to her death battled high-functioning depression, her mom has revealed.

April Simpkins said she is 'forever changed' the death of her daughter Cheslie Kryst, a former Miss USA whose bubbly and vivacious personality masked inner struggles.

'Cheslie led both a public and a private life,' Simpkins shared on Instagram. 'In her private life, she was dealing with high-functioning depression which she hid from everyone - including me, her closest confidant - until very shortly before her death.'

Kryst, 30, was discovered on a sidewalk next to her luxury apartment building The Orion in Hell's Kitchen on Sunday morning. Although she lived alone in the complex's ninth floor, she was last seen in a common area on an open terrace on the 29th level.

'While her life on this earth was short, it was filled with many beautiful memories,' her mom said. 'We miss her laugh, her words of wisdom, her sense of humor and mostly her hugs. We miss all of it - we miss all of her. She was a vital part of our family which makes this loss even more devastating.'

April Simpkins says her daughter, former Miss America Chelsie Kryst, suffered from high-functioning depression but hid her mental health struggles from loved ones

Simpkins said of her daughter: 'While her life on this earth was short, it was filled with many beautiful memories'

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst told of her fear that she was 'running out of time to matter' in a haunting essay last March, 10 months before leaping to her death from her Manhattan apartment building

Simpkins described her daughter as a 'ball of sunshine wrapped in smiles.'

'We talked, FaceTimed or texted one another all day, every day. You were more than a daughter - you were my very best friend,' she said. 'Talking with you was one of the best parts of my day. Your smile and laugh were infectious.

'I love you baby girl with all my heart. I miss you desperately. I know one day we'll be together again. Until then, rest easy and in peace.'

The proud mom - who was won a tiara as Mrs. North Carolina in 2002 - has for years been relishing her daughter's accomplishments. She traveled to Israel last December to watch the 2021 Miss Universe with Kryst, who worked as an Extra correspondent.

Kryst was crowned Miss USA in 2019 and was among the 10 contestants in the ensuing Miss Universe that year.

In a haunting essay last March, just 10 months before leaping to her death, Kryst talked about the fear that she was 'running out of time to matter.'

She wrote about being trolled online and how winning Miss USA at the age of 28 made her a target for ageist bullies, but many of her friends said on Monday they were stunned by her death and were unaware that she might have been suffering mental health issues.

Simpkins said Kryst hid her depression from everyone - including her mom until recently

Kryst posted her final picture on Instagram on Sunday morning writing: 'May this day bring you rest and peace'

Publicly, she never shared any particular struggles with mental health.

In 2019, she said that she often spoke with a counselor to keep her mind healthy, but there was no indication that she was in any form of distress.

Her father, 62-year-old Rodney Kryst, said earlier this week that he believed she was depressed due to 'family disfunction.'

'She was sad,' he told the New York Post.

He also said she was 'pure' and didn't suffer from substance abuse problems.

Before her death, she shared one last photo of herself on Instagram captioned: 'May this day bring you rest and peace.'

Kryst was the oldest person to have won Miss USA and she also strayed from the norm with her passion for social justice; she was a trained lawyer and Black Lives Matter advocate.

In recent TikTok videos, she revealed that she no longer wanted to practice law because she had become sick of what she called constant micro-aggressions and a lack of diversity.

Cheslie Kryst and her father Rodney Kryst in an undated photo during her reign as Miss USA. Her family is still reeling after she jumped to her death from a Manhattan high rise on Sunday

Cheslie Kryst's father spoke out this week, saying that he believed she may have been depressed due to 'family dysfunction' and that she did not have a substance abuse problem

In a video posted last week, she explained to a fan that she struggled to meet billable hours requirements, and that it felt like 'trading in hours of my life in order to get paid.'

Kryst was one of six siblings. She recently traveled to South Carolina to spend the holidays with her mother, a former beauty queen, and brothers and sisters.

Her grandfather in South Carolina told The New York Daily News he was stunned by her death.

'To be extinguished so fast is just devastating,' Gary Fimpkins said. 'She was such a fantastic person. She was kind. She was generous. She felt for other people.

'She tried to help other people. She was just one of those rare people that had a heart for people.'

Publicly, Kryst did not share her struggles with mental health. She's pictured being crowned Miss America in Reno, Nevada on May 2, 2019

Kryst is pictured with her mom Simpkins, who called her a 'ball of sunshine wrapped in smiles.' The former beauty queen previously documented her struggles coming to terms with aging

Writing ahead of her 30th birthday for Allure magazine, she said hauntingly: 'Each time I say 'I'm turning 30,' I cringe a little. Sometimes I can successfully mask this uncomfortable response with excitement; other times, my enthusiasm feels hollow, like bad acting...turning 30 feels like a cold reminder that I'm running out of time to matter in society's eyes - and it's infuriating.'

She told how after she won the pageant in 2019, some petitioned for the age limit to be lowered because they thought she was too old and how she was trolled on social media for her athletic body, having to delete 'vomit emojis' beneath some of her photos on Instagram.

'My challenge of the status quo certainly caught the attention of the trolls, and I can't tell you how many times I have deleted comments on my social media pages that had vomit emojis and insults telling me I wasn't pretty enough to be Miss USA or that my muscular build was actually a 'man body.''

Police hold up a blue tarp to shield Kryst's body after she jumped from the 29th floor

She talked about ringing in her 29th birthday alone in her apartment, wearing her Miss USA crown and 'screening' birthday calls.

'After a year like 2020, you would think we'd learned that growing old is a treasure and maturity is a gift not everyone gets to enjoy.

'Far too many of us allow ourselves to be measured by a standard that some sternly refuse to challenge and others simply acquiesce to because fitting in and going with the flow is easier than rowing against the current. I fought this fight before and it's the battle I'm currently fighting with 30.

'How do I shake society's unwavering norms when I'm facing the relentless tick of time? It's the age-old question: 'What happens when 'immovable' meets 'unstoppable'?' she wrote.

Police sources tell DailyMail.com she left a suicide note on her computer.

Those struggling with thoughts of suicide can call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
Squad member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took aim at centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Wednesday, calling on party leadership to make her life as difficult as possible - highlighting the bitter divide among Democrats over their direction.

Sinema has become a hate figure for the left of the party for blocking Biden's multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better plan and killing off voter rights proposals.

On Tuesday evening she was heard telling Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to speed up a floor vote in the chamber.

It brought an angry retort from Ocasio-Cortez a day later.

'Actually he should continue to make their lives as difficult as possible and treat them the way they treat, say, public housing residents,' she wrote on Twitter.

'Or parents who rely on [child tax credits]. When they improve, maybe process can improve too.

'Why should we make the lives of obstructionists easier?'

Sinema is a favorite target of the leftwing New Yorker. She has accused her of protecting of the rich and questioned why she should continue to represent Arizona in the Senate.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez rekindled her feud with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Wednesday, calling on party leaders to make her life 'as difficult as possible' after Sinema, hated by the left for blocking key elements of President Joe Biden's agenda, was heard asking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to speed up voting procedures

Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to blast Sinema, suggesting that party leaders should make her 'life as difficult as possible' in retaliation for her obstructionism

She is not alone. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday said he would support a primary challenge to Sinema and to Sen. Joe Manchin - the other Democrat to oppose key elements of President Joe Biden's agenda - in West Virginia.

But Ocasio-Cortez went further in calling for a war of inconvenience on Sinema.

'Cancel vacation. Vote on weekends. Vote for hours. Vote last minute,' she wrote.

'Call votes when senators are courting billionaires at fundraisers.

'They may get apoplectic, but it's nothing compared to the people they're forcing to sleep without heat in winter, or losing the right to vote.'

A day earlier, an keen-eared reporter with Bloomberg News heard Sinema confront Schumer about the chamber's slow-moving voting procedure.

She asked 'Could we have some discipline in the votes, ever?

'Youre in charge!'

After Schumer spoke to her in an apparent attempt to mollify the exasperated senator from Arizona, she could be heard to say, 'Fine,' before leaving the chamber.

The rift between progressives and moderates has undermined Biden's agenda

With the Senate balanced 50-50, party leaders needed all its senators to back Biden's Build Back Better bill.

Key provisions were stripped from its domestic policy and green energy plans to keep Manchin and Sinema on board.

But in the event, Manchin eventually said he could not back the version of the bill passed by the House.

Sinema's decision not to support a filibuster carveout to pass Biden's voting rights bill caused more anger last month.

She announced her opposition just before Biden arrived on Capitol Hill in a final effort to persuade hold-out senators to back his plans.

That brought her the censure of her local party and the anger of congressional colleagues.

Ocasio-Cortez has missed no opportunity to criticize her.

'I don't believe she's really given a compelling case as to why she should be re-nominated as the Democratic nominee for United States Senate in Arizona,' she told MSNBC last month when asked by host Mehdi Hasan whether she would support primary challenges against Sinema and Manchin

'She has proven herself an obstacle to the right to vote in the United States.'

Manchin and Sinema are up for reelection in 2024.

And even Schumer on Wednesday dodged a question about whether he support their campaigns.
Britain faces a wave of Russian cyber-attacks over of its staunch support for Ukraine, ministers have been warned.

Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told the Cabinet this week that the UK should be ready for potential cyber offensives from the Kremlin.

Officials fear the NHS, local government and business could be prime targets for Moscow, which has one of the most sophisticated cyber capabilities in the world.

Downing Street declined to comment in detail on Sir Tony's warning, saying only that he briefed the Cabinet on the Ukraine crisis and 'its potential impact on the UK'.

But two Cabinet sources said his warnings covered the threat of cyber-attacks, the danger of an online disinformation campaign and the potential impact on gas prices and supplies.

Ministers fear the UK could become a target because of Boris Johnson's role in co-ordinating international support for Ukraine.

Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin (pictured) told the Cabinet this week that the UK should be ready for potential cyber offensives from the Kremlin

Moscow is said to be furious at the British decision to supply Ukraine with defensive weapons systems. The Kremlin has also warned against introducing tough sanctions against oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin (pictured)

Officials fear the NHS , local government and business could be prime targets for Moscow, which has one of the most sophisticated cyber capabilities in the world

Moscow is said to be furious at the British decision to supply Ukraine with defensive weapons systems.

The Kremlin has also warned against introducing tough sanctions against oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin.

The National Cyber Security Centre has now issued a warning to businesses and institutions to beef up their defences.

The agency, which is part of GCHQ, said: 'UK organisations are being urged to bolster their cyber security resilience.'

Director of operations Paul Chichester said Ukraine itself was already suffering serious cyber-attacks and there were fears that the activity could spread to its allies.

A Whitehall source said: 'The problem is that in some organisations people don't even do the most basic cyber-hygiene such as making sure security patches are up to date, introducing two-step authentication and so on.

The National Cyber Security Centre has now issued a warning to businesses and institutions to beef up their defences. (Pictured: Boris Johnson and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey being updated on Ukraine last week)

A former hack saw computer systems in the NHS taken hostage until a ransom was paid (pictured)

'This stuff is important in normal times, but if we do face increased activity from Russia it is going to be absolutely critical.'

Another source said ministers were braced for a potential onslaught of Russian propaganda.

'There are real concerns about Russian disinformation if an invasion goes ahead,' the source said.
More than half of likely voters surveyed said they believed President Joe Biden would go down as one of the worst American presidents in history.

A survey released Wednesday by Rasmussen Reports and The National Pulse found that 54 per cent of likely voters believed Biden would be ranked one of the worst presidents in history, while 15 per cent said he'd be among the best.

Both former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama performed better in the poll.

More than half of likely voters surveyed said they believed President Joe Biden would go down as one of the worst American presidents in history

Both former Presidents Donald Trump (left) and Barack Obama (right) performed better in the survey compared to President Joe Biden

For Trump, 41 per cent said he'd be rated one of the best presidents in U.S. history, while 43 per cent said he'd be considered one of the worst.

People didn't feel as fervent about Obama, with 34 per cent saying Obama would be considered one of the best and 33 per cent saying he'd be one of the worst.

The survey was conducted on Sunday and Monday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 per cent.

Party politics clearly played into how the president and ex-presidents were perceived.

Seventy-four per cent of Republicans and 62 per cent of unaffiliated voters believed Biden will go down in history as one of the worst.

However, Democratic voters didn't provide a counterweight for that, as just 27 per cent said Biden would be rated among the best.

Another 39 per cent said he'd be considered average, while 28 per cent of Democrats said he'd be among the worst.

Democrats did rate Trump poorly, with 68 per cent saying he'd be considered one of the country's worst presidents.

At the same time, 68 per cent of Republicans said Trump would be rated among the best.

Obama rated higher among Democrats than Biden, with 57 per cent saying he would be remembered as one of the country's top presidents.

Voters under 40 were more likely to rate Obama among the top presidents.

Obama's 2008 White House victory was propelled by getting out the youth vote.

Additionally, more black voters - 54 per cent - than white voters - 31 per cent - put Obama among the best.

Obama made history as the country's first black president.

Just 18 per cent of black voters believe Biden, who served as Obama's vice president, will be one of the best presidents in history.

That number is still slightly ahead of white voters, where 15 per cent ranked Biden among the best.

White voters were more likely to say Trump was among the best presidents.

Forty-one per cent of white voters rated Trump up top, compared to 21 per cent of black voters.
A Rastafarian woman left naked in a police cell for three hours after a minor incident has received an apology and 45,000.

Yvonne Farrell had to strip off in full view of a CCTV camera  despite the modesty required by her faith  after her arrest by Hertfordshire Police.

She was left with a skimpy temporary top and shorts which she refused to wear because it went against her beliefs.

Miss Farrell was arrested in August 2018 when she sat on her partner's car to stop it being towed away in Stevenage.

When she refused to give her name at the station she was moved to a cell monitored by round-the-clock CCTV.

Yvonne Farrell got 45,000 and an apology from Hertfordshire Police, after she won her claim of wrongful arrest against the force

After being told to remove her clothes, she was issued with a 'crop top and hot pants'.

'I'm a 50-plus-year-old woman and a Rastafarian.

'Where are they going, giving me those items of clothing?' she told the BBC.

Deputy Chief Constable Michelle Dunn said: 'I am extremely sorry for any injuries that you suffered as a result of the actions of Hertfordshire Police.'

The force said detainees are now given 'joggers and jumpers'.

Rastafarianism, which developed in Jamaica in the 1930s, requires women to wear clothing that covers their head and obscures their body shape to avoid sexual objectification.

But Miss Farrell complained the temporary clothing she was left with was inappropriate for any woman.

'I could have been Jewish woman. I could have been a Muslim woman. To me, that looked like a teenager's outfit.

'That just shows they wanted to humiliate me,' she said.

Stella Headley, co-founder of Rastafari Movement UK, said Ms Farrell's treatment was 'abhorrent'.

She said: 'Within our faith, females tend to cover their hair and the dress code is to wear longer skirts and dress modestly.

'We don't wear tight clothes and don't reveal flesh.'

Accusing the force of 'institutional racism', she added: 'There's an ignorance that runs through the force that doesn't respect people's faiths or cultures.'

Miss Farrell was forced to undergo a strip search in a CCTV-monitored cell and then left naked, before being offered a skimpy 'crop top and hot pants' - despite her Rastafarian faith requiring her to always dress modestly

Miss Farrell was arrested by Hertfordshire Police in August 2018 when she sat on her partner's car to stop it being towed away in Stevenage.

Miss Farrell had to appoint a solicitor to handle her civil claim for wrongful arrest after Hertfordshire Police's professional standards department rejected her complaint.

Solicitor Iain Gould, who represented Miss Farrell, said detainees often refuse to provide personal details when they feel they have been unlawfully arrested.

He added: 'In response to this, the police often use the sanction of a strip search to enforce the person's compliance through a very physical act of degradation and humiliation.'

Dal Babu, who was one of the UK's most senior British-Asian officers as a former Met chief superintendent, said Hertfordshire Police had made a 'catalogue of mistakes'.

The force said in a statement: 'Following a review of the circumstances, we accepted that, regrettably, we didn't get everything right on this occasion.'
LIBREVILLE, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Gabonese government, via a statement issued Wednesday, strongly condemns the attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau.

The Gabonese government "demands that the military return to their barracks and maintain a republican posture," reads the statement.

The Guinea-Bissau government spokesperson Pamela Ferreira announced late Tuesday that some military members have tried to overthrow President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and it is a failed attempted coup d'etat.

President Embalo chaired the council of ministers at the government palace on Tuesday afternoon, when the putschist attacked them with heavy weapons, killing and injuring several members of the president's security.

The motives of the military are still unknown. 
Michael Gove yesterday admitted he was wrong to argue for more Covid curbs over Christmas to tackle the spread of Omicron.

In a remarkable admission, the Levelling Up Secretary said he 'made a mistake' by arguing for stringent restrictions at Cabinet at the end of last year.

Mr Gove, who has been one of the most consistently pro-restriction ministers during the pandemic, had led calls for tougher Plan C restrictions.

But yesterday he admitted he was wrong and said Boris Johnson  who resisted his calls  was right.

He told talkRADIO's Julia Hartley-Brewer Breakfast Show: 'I was concerned that we may need additional restrictions and argued for them.

'I was wrong  the Prime Minister and Chancellor were right.'

Michael Gove (pictured), who has been one of the most consistently pro-restriction ministers during the pandemic, had led calls for tougher Plan C restrictions over the Christmas period

He added: 'At Cabinet a couple of weeks ago I said 'I'm sorry but on this occasion I made a mistake.'

Ministers were anxious over the festive period that Omicron could lead to the NHS being 'overwhelmed'.

But the Government resisted pressure to reimpose stringent curbs after studies suggested the variant was less severe than previous strains.

Mr Gove had been asked whether the modelling used to justify lockdown was wrong, though said: I dont accept that it has all been wrong but I was wrong.

He added: Lots of people make mistakes when youre dealing with an incredibly complex and fast moving situation like the Covid pandemic.

I think there were lots of other occasions where the Government did things absolutely right and it did things that I thought were right and had argued for.
Australia is likely to change the definition of fully vaccinated to three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed on Thursday the primary vaccine advisory body, ATAGI, was considering making the change.

'I think it is more likely than not. That's my expectation,' Mr Hunt told the Nine Network.

'(But) we want everybody to be boosted in any event.'

Australia is likely to change the definition of fully vaccinated to three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine (stock image)

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews last week pushed for an updated definition at a national cabinet meeting.

'The third dose has never been more important, particularly as we head towards the first day of school,' Mr Andrews said at the time.

'This is not a two-dose thing (or) two doses and a bonus - it is absolutely critical and essential.'

In continuing to increase the number of jabs a person needs to be considered fully vaccinated, Australia would be following the likes of Israel, which is now rolling out a fourth round of injections.

Mr Andrews added those rolling up their sleeve for a third jab wanted 'it to mean something'.

The Health Minister's comments come as some 370,000 teenagers aged 16 and 17 have become eligible for their third COVID-19 jab.

He said the booster will better protect against the Omicron variant as Australia still records tens of thousands of cases each day alongside dozens of deaths.

ATAGI, has recommended the third jab for the those aged over 16, after the Therapeutic Goods Administration approved the Pfizer booster for the younger cohort on January 28.

Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed on Thursday the primary vaccine advisory body, ATAGI, was considering making the change

The health minister has also written to Pfizer to encourage them to go through the process of making booster shots available to younger teens, but a full application is yet to be lodged with Australian regulatory health bodies.

'We are encouraging them to bring that forward ... at the earliest possible opportunity,' Mr Hunt told the ABC.

Australia has surpassed 8.4 million booster shots, or just under 70 per cent of those eligible, administering over 200,000 third doses a day.

But a third of people in aged care are yet to receive their boosters despite vaccination teams visiting 99 per cent of all aged care facilities to offer the third dose.

It remains unknown how many of the almost 500 aged care residents who have died with COVID-19 this year had received a booster.

Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck was unable to answer at a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, while Mr Hunt said the data was held by the states and yet to be passed to the Commonwealth.

The head of the country's vaccine rollout, Lieutenant-General John Frewen, said teams would be conducting second visits of facilities to vaccinate more aged care residents.

Senator Colbeck tried to play down claims of the aged care sector being in crisis, despite acknowledging the extreme stress and pressure staff and facilities areunder.

Australia has surpassed 8.4 million booster shots, or just under 70 per cent of those eligible, administering over 200,000 third doses a day (stock image)

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says there has been a mismatch between what the federal government promised it would do and what was delivered on the ground, further impacting the sector.

'What we've seen throughout is promised support from the Commonwealth just hasn't been available,' she told the ABC.

'(They) weren't able to come to the party to provide that additional staffing they had initially indicated they would do.'

Ms Stephen-Smith says the Commonwealth ignoring system issues - such as wages in the sector - and instead choosing two $400 bonus payments, shows it isn't taking the situation seriously.

'COVID-19 represents a crisis but more broadly, there is a significant challenge right across the aged care sector in its sustainability and its capacity to particularly care for those most complex aged care patients,' she said.

'The aged care services just aren't funded to support those people who have really high and complex needs.'
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Archaeologists working in Peru have found nearly 200 examples of human spines threaded onto reed posts, in what experts believe was a bizarre attempt to reconstruct the dead 500 years ago.

This unique treatment of the deceased, never before documented in the region, took place between about 1450 and 1650.

It coincided with the end of Inca rule of the region and the start of European colonisation, when looting of Indigenous graves for gold and silver was widespread across the Chincha Valley.

Radiocarbon dating suggests that the threading of vertebrae onto reeds was done after the initial burial in an attempt to reconstruct the dead, researchers said, perhaps after the graves were damaged by looters.

Spinetingling: Archaeologists working in Peru have found nearly 200 examples of human vertebrae threaded onto reed posts

An international team of experts said it was a bizarre attempt to reconstruct the dead in the the Chincha Valley 500 years ago

Radiocarbon dating suggests that the threading of vertebrae onto reeds was done after the initial burial in an attempt to reconstruct the dead, researchers said, perhaps after the graves were damaged by looters

This unique treatment of the deceased, never before documented in the region, took place between about 1450 and 1650

It coincided with the end of Inca rule of the region and the start of European colonisation, when looting of Indigenous graves for gold and silver was widespread across the Chincha Valley

The 16th century was a turbulent period in the history of the region, which had been home to the complex Chincha Kingdom from 1000 to 1400, before they established an alliance with the Inca Empire and were eventually consolidated into it.

But the area on the south coast of Peru was devastated by the European arrival, with epidemics and famines decimating the local population and leading to a catastrophic population decline from over 30,000 heads of household in 1533, to 979 in 1583.

The international team of researchers discovered 192 examples of 'vertebrae-on-posts' in the valley, most of which were in large, elaborate indigenous graves known as chullpas, hundreds of which litter the region.

In almost every case, each appears to have been made from the remains of a single individual, with both adults and children selected for the practice.

'Looting of Indigenous graves was widespread across the Chincha Valley in the Colonial period,' said the study's lead author Dr Jacob L. Bongers, from the University of East Anglia.

'Looting was primarily intended to remove grave goods made of gold and silver and would have gone hand in hand with European efforts to eradicate Indigenous religious practices and funerary customs.'

The Chincha region had been home to the complex Chincha Kingdom from 1000 to 1400, before Europeans arrived

But the area on the south coast of Peru was devastated by the European arrival, with epidemics and famines decimating the local population and leading to a catastrophic population decline from over 30,000 heads of household in 1533 to 979 in 1583

The international team of researchers discovered 192 examples of 'vertebrae-on-posts' in the valley, most of which were in large, elaborate indigenous graves known as chullpas, hundreds of which litter the region

In almost every case, each appears to have been made from the remains of a single individual, with both adults and children selected for the practice

Additional analyses of the vertebrae-on-posts suggested that these items may have been created to repair the damage done by this looting, with people returning to chullpas to reconstruct their dead.

'These "vertebrae-on-posts" were likely made to reconstruct the dead in response to grave looting,' said Dr Bongers, whose previous research had documented hundreds of looted graves in the region.

'Our findings suggest that vertebrae-on-posts represent a direct, ritualised, and Indigenous response to European colonialism.'

Bodily integrity after death was important to many Indigenous groups in the region.

The 16th century was a turbulent period in the history of the region, which had been home to the complex Chincha Kingdom from 1000 to 1400, before they established an alliance with the Inca Empire and were eventually consolidated into it

The map above shows the survey zone and location of the mortuary sites that were discovered by the team of researchers

Researchers found the bizarre attempts to recreate the dead in the Chincha Valley, on the southern coast of Peru (pictured)

The nearby Chinchorro people developed the first known techniques for artificial mummification, millennia before Ancient Egypt.

When mummies in the Andes were destroyed by Europeans, Indigenous people salvaged what they could to make new ritual objects.

Researchers said the vertebrae-on posts may have been part of a similar effort to reconstruct bodily integrity after looting.

'Ritual plays important roles in social and religious life, yet can become contested, especially during periods of conquest in which new power relationships become established,' said Dr Bongers.

'These finds reinforce how graves are one area where this conflict plays out.'

The new research has been published in the journal Antiquity.
The mysterious skeleton of a headless horse has been found buried alongside its rider in a medieval graveyard in the southern German town of Knittlingen.

According to archaeologists from the Stuttgart Regional Council's State Office for Monument Preservation and ArchaeoBW, the remains date back some 1,400 years.

At this time, the area was ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, a Frankish family whose reign from 450751 AD united much of what is now France and central Europe.

The experts are uncertain why the horse was decapitated, but think this treatment was likely part of the man's burial ceremony, with the steed's body a grave good.

Among his other belongings were a straight and double-edged sword known as a 'spatha' and a lance. The location of the horse's head, meanwhile, remains unknown.

The mysterious skeleton of a headless horse (pictured) has been found buried alongside its rider in a medieval graveyard in the southern German town of Knittlingen

According to archaeologists from the Stuttgart Regional Council's State Office for Monument Preservation and ArchaeoBW, the remains date back some 1,400 years. Pictured: the man, who can be seen alongside his 'spatha', which is a type of straight and double-edged sword

At this time, the area was ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, a Frankish family whose reign from 450751 AD united much of what is now France and central Europe. Pictured: an aerial view of part of the medieval cemetery, which is located on the west side of Knittlingen. Alongside rectangular medieval burials, an irregular, rounded Neolithic structure can be seen

The Merovingians: Long-haired kings The Merovingians were a Frankish dynasty that ruled over and united much of what is today France and central Europe from from 450751 AD. They were distinguished from the other Franks by the length of their hair - a fact which earned them the moniker of the 'long-haired kings' among their contemporaries. Furthermore, the cutting of a Merovingian's hair is said to have prohibited them from ruling. This tradition was employed by their kings to eliminate potential rivals by having them tonsured and shuffled off out of the way to a monastery. Advertisement

The excavations at the site were led by archaeologist Folke Damminger of the Stuttgart Regional Council's State Office for Monument Preservation.

The medieval cemetery, a little west of the centre of Knittlingen, was first uncovered in 1920 during construction works for an ultimately aborted narrow-gauge railway line.

As the expert explained, the man found buried alongside his horse was likely in the service of the Merovingian dynasty.

'He stood in a "chain of command" with the Merovingian kings on its top, which meant he was obliged to participate in the king's campaigns,' Dr Damminger explained to Live Science.

'As a member of the local elite, he most probably was the head of a farming household consisting of his family and his servants.'

However, the man himself likely did not engage in farming practices directly, but would have had workers to take care of such.

Dr Damminger also said that the man's elaborate burial with his steed would have likely been arranged by his family to reaffirm his  and their  social standing.

'One function of this ceremony was the "staging" of the deceased in his former status and wealth as a claim of his successors to maintain this status,' the archaeologist explained.

The elite man was not the only individual from this period whose remains the researchers have unearthed from the site of the cemetery.

In fact, the team reported that they have examined 110 graves in total, some of which were simple burials while other employed wooden coffins and more elaborate timbered burial chambers.

Many of the men, they said, were buried alongside weapons including arrowheads, lances, shields and swords, while others were interred with luxury items, like one woman who was found alongside a gold brooch.

Other grave goods included jewellery such as amulets, arm rings, belt hangers, earrings, pearl necklaces and robe clasps, along with bronze bowls, combs, knives and ceramic vessels that analysis has indicated once contained food for the dead.

'Despite their fragmentation as a result of ancient robbery, the finds provide indications of the social position of the dead,' said Dr Damminger.

Most of the graves were found to be lain out in regular rows, while members of the local elite were buried 'out of sequence' within a circular ditch, the team added.

According to the archaeologists, many of the men in the cemetery were found buried alongside weapons including arrowheads, lances, shields and swords  while others were interred with luxury items, like one woman who was found alongside a gold brooch (pictured)

Other grave goods included such jewellery as amulets, arm rings, belt hangers (an example of a bronze disc from one of which is pictured), earrings, pearl necklaces and robe clasps, along with bronze bowls, combs, knives and ceramic vessels that analysis has indicated once contained food for the dead

Most of the graves were found to be lain out in regular rows, while members of the local elite were buried 'out of sequence' within a circular ditch (pictured), the team added

According to the archaeologists, these burials are notably more lavish than their counterparts from the late 7th century.

'It is not known whether this is due to reduced prosperity or a different staging of the burials of the local elite,' Dr Damminger told meinKA.

Alongside the medieval discoveries, the site has also a handful of Neolithic ceramic fragments that have been dated back to around 50004500 BC.

'As was to be expected given Knittlingen's location in a fertile old settlement landscape, the investigations also revealed individual prehistoric, i.e. Stone Age, findings,' said Dr Damminger.

With their initial investigation complete, the researchers are now continuing to study the remains of the headless horse and its rider, with the aim of learning how old the man was, the state of his health and the likely cause of his death.

Alongside this, the team will be continuing to excavate and examine the other burials from the cemetery, with the remains and other artefacts being transported to Rastatt for analysis.

The excavations at the cemetery site in Knittlingen  which is some 25 miles (41 kilometres) northwest of Stuttgart  were led by archaeologist Folke Damminger of the Stuttgart Regional Council's State Office for Monument Preservation
A human vertebra uncovered in Israel that dates back 1.5 million years suggests our ancient relatives migrated from Africa to Eurasia in waves, a new study reveals.

Scientists have analysed the vertebra fossil, referred to as UB 10749, that was unearthed at the archeological site of Ubeidiya, Jordan Valley, Israel in 1966.

The vertebra likely came from a boy aged between six and 12 years at time of death, who was tall for his age and could have reached 6.5 foot tall had he survived, the researchers now reveal.

It's not known how or why he died, but his remains offer the earliest evidence of ancient man discovered in Israel.

Differences in size between the fossil and other finds in Dmanisi, another archeological site in Georgia, suggest two different hominin populations arrived in Europe from Africa several hundreds of thousands of years apart.

The first wave of ancient human migration reached Georgia approximately 1.8 million years ago, while the second reached Israel 1.5 million years ago.

Researchers present a 1.5 million-year-old human vertebra discovered in Israel's Jordan Valley. According to the research, ancient human migration from Africa to Eurasia was not a one-time event but occurred in waves. Photos of the fragment, known as UB 10749, are presented here

WHO DID THE VERTEBRA BELONG TO? Analysis indicates that UB-10749 was a 6- to 12-year-old child at death. This estimate is based on a combination of both the size of the vertebra and its level of ossification (formation of new bone). Paleobiological differences between UB 10749 and other early Eurasian hominins supports at least two distinct out-of-Africa dispersal events. These migration events occurred from Ubeidiya in Israel (an archeological site already dated to 1.5 million years ago) and Dmanisi in Georgia (dated to 1.8 million years ago). Ubeidiya and Dmanisi were home to populations of 'two distinct hominins', according to researchers, based on differences in fossil sizes. People at Ubeidiya were likely larger in size, the newly-studied vertebra fossil suggests. Advertisement

The new study has been led by researchers at Bar-Ilan University, Ono Academic College, the University of Tulsa and the Israel Antiquities Authority.

A combination of the size of the fossil and the level of 'ossification'  the formation of new bone as humans age  allowed them to work out an age at death.

'We report on the earliest large-bodied hominin remains from the Levantine corridor  a juvenile vertebra (UB 10749) from the early Pleistocene site of Ubeidiya, Israel, discovered during a reanalysis of the faunal remains,' the team say in their paper.

'The vertebra belongs to an individual that had not reached puberty ... we estimate that the age at death for UB 10749 is between 6 and 12-years-old.'

The legendary site of Ubeidiya has already been dated to 1.5 million years ago, study author Dr Alon Barash at Bar-Ilan University told MailOnline.

'This is based on the type of animals who are found there, and some initial dating made a while ago,' he said.

According to Dr Barash and his fellow experts, ancient human migration from Africa to Eurasia was not a one-time event but occurred in waves.

The experts claim to know this because of 'paleobiological differences' between UB 10749 found in Israel and other early remains found at the archeological site of Dmanisi, Georgia.

These physical differences suggest Ubeidiya and Dmanisi were home to populations of 'two distinct hominins' that made their journeys from Africa 200-300 thousand years apart.

People in Ubeidiya were bigger than the short-statured hominins that lived in Georgia, the team claim.

'The differences are both is size and shape,' Dr Barash told MailOnline. 'The Dmanisi vertebra are smaller  the hominins in Georgia are about 1.5 metres [4.9 feet] high and weigh about 35-45 kg.'

The newly-studied vertebra from Ubeidiya, meanwhile, suggests a much bigger human, he said.

In fact, it was only due to the lack of ossification in this vertebra fossil that brought the overall age estimation down to 6-12 years.

Taking into account the vertebra fossil's size alone suggests an older age, probably between 11 and 15 years, because it is so big.

'Our vertebra belonged to a child, and the adult size prediction is conservatively about 1.8-2 meters [5.9 to 6.5 feet] and 90-100 kg,' Dr Barash told MailOnline.

'Even if this is an adult vertebra (and the level of ossification is of a child) it is still very big. Shape-wise they look different. Dmanisi are more elongated and more round.'

Jordan Valley is rift valley located along the Jordan River in the Middle East. It includes the lowest natural depression on Earth's surface

Ubeidiya (pictured) located in the Jordan Valley near the kibbutz of Beit Zera, has already been dated to 1.5 million years ago

JAWBONE OF A HUGE CANINE IS FOUND AT DMANISI, GEORGIA The jawbone of a huge canine from 1.8 million years ago has been found alongside human remains in Georgia - and may be Europe's first hunting dog, a 2021 study found. Experts led from the University of Florence analysed remains freshly collected from the Dmanisi archaeological site, which previously yielded several hominin skulls. They concluded that the remains belong to the species Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides - the 'Eurasian hunting dog' - which originated in East Asia. The Dmanisi dog, the team said, could be the ancestor of African hunting dogs and likely lived alongside early humans in Georgia before dispersing more widely. Dmanisi is a an archaeological site in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia. It dates back 1.8 million years and has produced the first direct evidence of early humans outside Africa. Read more: Jawbone of huge canine from 1.8 MILLION years ago found in Georgia Advertisement

According to already-established fossil evidence and DNA research, human evolution began in Africa about six million years ago.

Approximately two million years ago, ancient humans  nearly but not yet in modern form  began to migrate from Africa and spread throughout Eurasia, a process known as the 'Out of Africa'.

Ubeidiya, located in the Jordan Valley near the kibbutz of Beit Zera, is one of the places where there is archaeological evidence for this dispersal.

Ubeidiya is the second oldest archaeological site outside Africa (after Dmanisi) and was excavated by several expeditions between 1960 and 1999.

Ubeidiya has also yielded stone and flint artifacts, hand axes made from basalt, chopping tools, and flakes made from flint.

Other finds from Ubeidiya include a rare collection of stone tools and extinct animal bones, from species including the saber-toothed tiger, mammoths and a giant buffalo, alongside animals not found today in Israel, such as baboons, warthogs, hippopotamuses, giraffes and jaguars.

Recently, excavations in Ubeidiya were resumed by Professor Miriam Belmaker of the University of Tulsa and Dr Omry Barzilai of the Israel Antiquities Authority under a US National Science Foundation grant.

The project used new absolute dating methods to refine the site's dating to 1.5 million years and to study the paleoecology and paleoclimate of the region.

While looking at the fossils from the site, now housed at the Hebrew University's National Natural History Collections, Professor Belmaker encountered the human vertebra initially unearthed in 1966.

The bone was studied by Dr Barash and Professor Ella Been, who identified it as a human lumbar vertebra. At approximately 1.5 million years old, it's the earliest fossil evidence of ancient human remains discovered in Israel.

According to Dr Barash, there has been ongoing debate in scientific literature about whether the migration was a one-time event or occurred in several waves, but the new find from Ubeidiya sheds 'unambiguous evidence' on this question.

Ubeidiya has also yielded stone and flint artifacts, hand axes made from Basalt, chopping tools, and flakes made from flint. Pictured is a 1.5 million year old flint cutting tool found in Ubeidiya

'Due to the difference in size and shape of the vertebra from Ubeidiya and those found in the Republic of Georgia, we now have unambiguous evidence of the presence of two distinct dispersal waves,' he said.

As to why the two populations left Africa, researchers think climate was key.

'One of the main questions regarding the human dispersal from Africa were the ecological conditions that may have facilitated the dispersal,' Professor Belmaker said.

'Previous theories debated whether early humans preferred an African savanna or new, more humid woodland habitat.

'Our new finding of different human species in Dmanisi and Ubeidiya is consistent with our finding that climates also differed between the two sites.

'Ubeidiya is more humid and compatible with a Mediterranean climate, while Dmanisi is drier with savannah habitat.

'This study showing two species, each producing a different stone tool culture, is supported by the fact that each population preferred a different environment.'

The study has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
SpaceX is launching a new 'top tier' for its Starlink satellite broadband customers, offering speeds of up to 500Mbps - but with an eye watering $500/month price tag.

The Elon Musk-owned firm began rolling out its internet service to customers last year, and now has approximately 145,000 users in 25 countries worldwide.

Its service has been upgraded as more satellites come online, with more than 2,000 now in low Earth orbit - sending signals to dishes on the ground.

These new speeds, up from a maximum of 250Mbps to 500Mbps, comes with a significant price hike - going from $99 a month to about $500 per month.

This compares to an average internet speed throughout the U.S. of 99.3Mbps, with an estimated average cost of $68.38 per month.

SpaceX is launching a new 'top tier' for its Starlink satellite broadband customers, offering speeds of up to 500Mbps - but with an eye watering $500/month price tag

The new tier is known as Starlink Premium, and is open for pre-orders, with the first dishes expected to begin shipping at the start of the summer.

As well as more than doubling the top download speed, upload speeds will also get a bump, going from a maximum of 20Mbps to 250Mbps on premium.

There will also be a 20 to 40 millisecond latency, which is double the average for the base plan - an important factor for users wanting to play games online.

Latency is a measure of the time it takes for a packet of data to get to its destination and come back - it is a round trip delay measured in milliseconds.

Satellite internet has traditionally had very high latency rates, as the spacecraft have to be thousands of miles away, in a geosynchronous orbit, to reach the whole Earth.

'Starlink Premium users can expect download speeds of 150-500 Mbps and latency of 20-40ms, enabling high throughput connectivity for small offices, storefronts, and super users across the globe,' the firm wrote.

Starlink Premium, the new higher performance tier, will offer download speeds of between 150 and 500Mbps, compared to 50 to 250Mbps on the standard plan

The Elon Musk-owned firm has been rolling out its internet service to customers last year, and now has approximately 145,000 users in 25 countries worldwide

But by having a constellation of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, all working together, this distance can be reduced to less than 300 miles.

Mobile network providers in the US have an average latency of 60ms for 4G and 30ms for 5G, with but home cable or fiber is as low as 5ms latency.

The $500 per month for the premium package isn't the only cost involved in switching to satellite broadband, which can be the only high-speed option for some living in more rural and remote parts of the country.

Starlink also charges $2,500 for the antenna and other hardware, when using the premium plan, compared to $499 for the standard package.

Its service has been upgraded as more satellites come online, with more than 2,000 now operating in low Earth orbit - sending signals to dishes on the ground

The $500 per month for the premium package isn't the only cost involved in switching to satellite broadband, which can be the only high-speed option for some living in more rural and remote parts of the country

The firm wrote on its website: 'Starlink Premium has more than double the antenna capability of Starlink, delivering faster internet speeds and higher throughput for the highest demand users, including businesses.'

There is also a $500 deposit on top of the $2,500, and $500 a month subscription, that is used as a deposit to reserve the Premium dish.

As well as faster speeds, SpaceX said its premium service would work better in 'extreme weather conditions' and offer customers a 24/7 support service.

The dish is larger, and more rugged than the traditional dish, coming with extreme weatherproofing to protect against exposure to wind, rain and snow.

It is also much flatter, and unlike the traditional, smaller dishes, doesn't come with a built-in ethernet port, requiring an adaptor if users want a fixed-line connection.

SpaceX told The Verge that the new premium antenna 'helps ensure bandwidth for critical operations even during times of peak network usage.'

The firm wrote on its website: 'Starlink Premium has more than double the antenna capability of Starlink, delivering faster internet speeds and higher throughput for the highest demand users, including businesses'

This could make it a viable option for farmers or other companies operating in remote areas, or even researchers in places internet is hard to access.

The Premium tier is already open for pre-orders, and SpaceX says it expects to deliver the first antennas at the start of the second quarter this year.

'With Starlink, there are no long-term contracts, no data caps, and no exclusivity requirements,' according to a spokesperson.

SpaceX is pitching its network as an ideal solution for customers who are in remote areas, with limited access to fiber broadband - providing fiber speeds and lower latency than is possible over mobile or basic broadband.

While fiber is cheaper and faster, with AT&T recently announcing speeds of up to 5Gbps for $110 a month, it is also limited to areas it has been rolled out, which tend to be major metros.
Tottenham defender Eric Dier has paid tribute to his former team-mate Dele Alli with a cryptic message about making plenty more memories in the future after his departure.

The duo have spent seven years together in north London, along with playing for England, and even going on holiday together.

Alli joined Spurs from Milton Keynes Dons for 5million back in February 2015 but his time at the club has come to an end after agreeing a move to Everton on transfer deadline day.

Eric Dier (right) has paid tribute to his former team-mate and good friend Dele Alli (left)

Dier (left) and Alli (right) has spent seven years at Spurs together creating many memories

Dier joined just before Alli in 2014 from Sporting Lisbon and the two seem to have shared a special bond during their time together at Spurs ever since.

Alli and Dier are known for their close friendship, with the pair even featuring on Celebrity Googlebox previously.

That was even more evident in a behind-the-scenes clip in the Tottenham: All or Nothing Documentary where Alli was feeding Dier a Haribo sweet during a squad FIFA session.

Dier took to Instagram to say: 'Thanks for the memories my brother... so far.'

Harry Kane also paid tribute to his former team-mates on Twitter, by saying: 'Good luck on your next chapter @dele_official.

'We've had some great memories together over the past 7 years.

'Thank you for everything you have given me and the club! See you soon.'

Kane and Alli shared a fruitful attacking partnership in the early years of Mauricio Pochettinos reign, with the pair bagging 57 goals between them in the 2016-17 campaign in all competitions.
will feature three restaurants and rooms and villas that are 'adorned with Hello Kitty designs'

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Pictures have been unveiled showing a brand-new Hello Kitty theme park that's opening in 2025.

News of the 'vibrant' $620million (457million) Sanya Hello Kitty Resort broke in 2018, but now renderings show the roller coasters and rides at the park, which will be built in the Haitang Bay area of Chinas Hainan Province.

The 52-acre park will house Chinas first Hello Kitty hotel with 221 rooms and villas adorned with Hello Kitty designs, offering guests a truly special and whimsical stay.

Renderings have been released of the roller coasters and rides at the 'vibrant' Sanya Hello Kitty Resort

Kitty - created by Japanese company Sanrio in 1974 - is a cartoon girl (not a cat, as her name suggests) who lives in London with her parents and her twin sister, Mimmy, another character thats beloved by fans.

One rendering shows a pink Hello Kitty roller coaster snaking around the park. Another artistic impression shows a bird's-eye view of the park, with a giant purple castle, a volcano feature, and a Hello Kitty sphinx.

A line of pastel-coloured shops is seen in a third, with a florist dedicated to Sweetcoron - a popular Sanrio bumblebee character.

Meanwhile, the Sanya Hello Kitty Hotel, run by Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, will feature decor inspired by other well-known and beloved Sanrio characters.

The 52-acre park will house Chinas first Hello Kitty hotel, with 221 rooms and villas adorned with Hello Kitty designs

During their stay, guests can dine at the hotels three signature restaurants, where special menus will be created to celebrate special festivals throughout the year.

Other facilities include a bar, a themed ballroom, a swimming pool and a state-of-the-art spa and fitness centre.

It's promised there will be enchanting interactive experiences' in the hotel brought to life by innovative design and technology. Story-telling events that appeal to Sanrio fans of all ages' will also be on offer.

Another rendering of the resort. The park's hotel will feature decor inspired by other well-known and beloved characters from Sanrio, the Japanese company that created Hello Kitty in 1974

We believe that the hotel and Sanya Hello Kitty Resort will become icons in Hainans tourism landscape,' says a statement

It seems there's no stopping the ever-expanding world of Hello Kitty.

In 2015, a 210million park dedicated to the character officially opened in China's Anji County, Zhejiang Province. In 2016, the Hello Kitty Bistro Bianco restaurant, with menu items such as cat-themed steaks and Hello Kitty label rose, opened on Shanghai's Nanjing Road.

Japan is home to two Hello Kitty theme parks - Harmonyland and Sanrio Puroland, the latter of which opened back in 1990. Back in 2012, Taiwanese airline Eva launched special Kitty-themed planes - though the service was temporarily suspended during the pandemic. And, 2018 saw the launch of Japan's Hello Kitty bullet train.

Commenting on the Sanya Hello Kitty Resort park, Stephen Ho, president of Growth and Operations, Asia Pacific of Hyatt, said: We look forward to bringing to life well-loved Sanrio characters in this exciting new project, which will retain a unique identity while providing the JdV by Hyatt brands signature guest experience that is inclusive, free-spirited and distinguished by heartfelt and joy-driven service.

A park (pictured) dedicated to Hello Kitty officially opened in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, in 2015

A Kitty-themed Boeing 777, run by Taiwanese airline Eva, flies over Malaysia in 2021. The livery of this plane has since been repainted

And Jeffery Pun, Chief Executive Officer of Keyestone Group, which is developing the resort, said: As Keyestone Group continues to grow our hospitality portfolio across Greater China, we are excited to extend our collaboration with Hyatt.

'Sanya Hello Kitty Hotel will leverage our respective strengths in developing and managing world-class hospitality projects to offer guests a truly unique experience as they unwind and rejuvenate with their favourite Sanrio characters.

We believe that the hotel and Sanya Hello Kitty Resort will become icons in Hainans tourism landscape and enable us to tap the growing demand for high-quality travel experiences in this region.
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Landscape photography reminds us that we really do live in a wonderful world.

And for eye-catching aide-memoires, you'll be hard-pushed to beat the winning and short-listed entries for The 8th International Landscape Photographer of the Year contest.

The judges chose from 4,504 entries from around the world, with pictures of a magical wood in Devon, crashing waves in west-coast America and an Icelandic volcano appearing in the shortlist of 101 photographs.

Reigning supreme in the portfolio category was Turkish photographer Aytek Cetin, with the judges saying his pictures had 'a wonderful excitement and a special mood surrounding them'. The winner of the best single image award was US photographer Tanmay Sapkal, for his shot of a comet over a foggy Californian landscape.

Chairman of the judges, Peter Eastway, said: 'The history of landscape art is much broader than merely creating a record of nature. It is interpretive, imaginative and inspirational. Some photographers take their captures and re-map the tonality; others take several captures to produce a landscape of the mind.'

Scroll down for the winning photos as well as MailOnline Travel's pick of the shortlisted entries...

LEFT: A beautiful image from overall winner Cetin's portfolio. It was captured in Cappadocia, in his native Turkey, and shows three fairy chimneys at sunrise on a winter morning. Cetin said: 'The 60-million-year-old story of fairy chimneys and the fact they have been home to different civilisations for tens of thousands of years, makes Cappadocia extremely mysterious for me. If you are lucky, you can visit there during hazy, atmospheric conditions with a soft light pushing through at sunrise or sunset.' The photographer added: 'The reason I chose this location is that I love the excitement inside me when the sun first hits the fairy chimneys and how it makes me feel like I'm living in the Bronze Age.' RIGHT: Another wonderful shot from Cetin's portfolio, showing Mount Kazbek in Georgia. Describing his journey into landscape photography, Cetin said: 'I used to go to the sea for my limited holidays, but after repeating the same kind of trips for years, it was starting to lose its meaning for me. Then I decided to do something different, to dive deeply into nature. I started to explore remote, mountainous regions and experience the energy of the mightiest entities of nature. It left me deeply impressed and awakened a love for nature within. An interest in photography followed as a result and has now turned into a passion'

LEFT: Dutch photographer Max Rive's portfolio of work was awarded a silver medal by the judges. It includes this atmospheric picture of the village of Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland, titled 'Misty Fairytales'. RIGHT: A second breathtaking shot from Rive's portfolio, titled 'The Fall' and captured in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in the French Alps

This brilliant picture is an entry from Andrea Zappia, who came third in the portfolio category. The Italian photographer turned his camera on the Gorner Glacier, close to Zermatt, Switzerland, for this shot

Another awe-inspiring shot from Zappia's portfolio, this time showing Rocca la Meja, a mountain in Piedmont, northern Italy

LEFT: The winner of the 2021 International Landscape Photograph of the Year award for the best single image. US photographer Tanmay Sapkal captured the incredible shot on Mount Tamalpais, in Marin country, just north of San Francisco. The photographer said: 'It is quite a special place for photographers as it stands above the local landscape, which is engulfed in low coastal fog almost every summer evening. After shooting there tens of times over the past four years, I realised that I really liked the way fog looks when it is lit from underneath. I also realised that the comet would become visible in the northwest sky, so I started planning this shot.' It took a couple of visits for the fog to create the 'dreamy setting' that Sapkal wanted. When the conditions were perfect, he waited for some cars to drive by and 'create a blanket of light under the fog'. RIGHT: This vibrant picture, shot by Cedric Tamani, was awarded second place in the best single image category. Titled 'Drumlins Winter Dream', it was captured in Menzingen, Switzerland

Here you'll see Lake Bonney Riverland in South Australia, captured by Australian photographer Ben Goode. Titled 'Reflector', this spectacular shot came third in the best single image category

Noel Casaje was behind the lens for this photograph, which is named 'Shadow of Mordor'. It was snared in Chile's Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile, and made the cut in the top 101 images

This enchanting picture ranked in the top 101 images. Vincenzo Mazza captured the snowy scene in the Vestrahorn Mountains, Iceland. The end result is titled 'Painted in Fresh Snow'

The village of Imhan-ri in South Korea was the setting for this striking picture. It was shot by Yoon Suk Choi, and landed in the top 101 images. It's titled 'Pine Field Imhanri'

Above is another breathtaking shot that made the shortlist of 101 pictures. It was captured by Marcin Zajac in Yosemite National Park, USA, and shows a 'controlled burn' in a forest

Matt Jackisch is responsible for this mesmerising picture of Mount Seymour, in Canada's British Columbia. He titled the image, which joined the shortlist of 101 pictures, 'When the Universe Speaks'

Look up and you'll see 'Compelled by the Core', by Daniel Laan. The picture, which made the shortlist of 101 images, was taken near the village of Moddergat in the Netherlands

Yet another captivating shot of the land near Moddergat by Laan, which similarly made the shortlist of 101

Aptly titled 'Enchanted Forest', this wintry shot was snared on The Roaches, a rocky ridge in England's Peak District. It was captured by Michael Allberry and was chosen by judges as one of the shortlist of 101

Cast your eye above and you'll see 'War of the Worlds', photographed by Nick Green. The pictured, which was taken in the Dartmoor National Park, Devon, ranked in the top 101 shortlist

Jana Luo captured this dramatic shot - 'The Cap on the Snowy Mountain'. The image, which was snared in Tongariro National Park, New Zealand, appeared in the top 101 shortlist

Marc Marco Ripoll photographed this stunning shot, which shows the Formentor Lighthouse, in Mallorca, Spain. Impressing the judges, it landed in the shortlist of 101 pictures

This magical picture - one of the 101 shortlisted - was taken in Chile's Torres Del Paine National Park. Photographer Chandra Bong gave it the title 'Tree Frame'

Wistman's Wood in Dartmoor, Devon, was the setting for this magnificent picture by Simon Turnbull, which featured in the shortlist of 101 pictures

Photographer Fabrice Petruzzi titled this picture 'Social Distancing'. It was captured in the canton of Zug, an area in central Switzerland, and appeared in the 101 shortlisted images ranking

This powerful photograph shows Cape Disappointment in Washington, US. The shot, captured by Gavin Hardcastle, earned a place in the top 101 shortlist

Above you'll see 'Foggy Mood', captured in Teutoburg Forest in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The landscape shot, taken by Waldemar von Niessen, finished in the top 101 shortlist

Simon Xu photographed this bewitching picture of Mono Lake in California, which made it into the shortlist of 101

Above you'll see the volcanic Fagradalsfjall area in Iceland, captured by Filip Hrebenda. The photographer calls this picture - which ranked in the top 101 - 'Born of Fire'
Dame Joanna Lumley and Strictly's Oti Mabuse have joined the likes of Hugh Bonneville, Harry Judd and Mr Blobby to launch Red Nose Day 2022.

In an entertaining skit released on Wednesday, the celebs star in audition tapes, with Downton Abbey star Hugh joking he thought he was auditioning for Bond.

Trying to bag themselves a role in the film about inspirational people across the country, Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna, 75, playfully declares she doesn't need to audition as she lists off her many acting accolades.

Fundraiser: Dame Joanna Lumley (L) and Strictly's Oti Mabuse (R) have joined the likes of Hugh Bonneville, Harry Judd and Mr Blobby to launch Red Nose Day 2022

Oti, 31, meanwhile, says she is up for doing a danceathon and proceeds to show off some moves.

Jamie Laing, Jayde Adams, Lee Ridley, Mr Blobby, Riyadh Khalaf, Rosie Jones and Vick Hope also star in the short clip, with Jamie offering to sky-dive to raise money.

Red Nose Day returns on Friday March 18 and the YouTube video is voiced by Graham Norton, with it aiming to celebrate those who fundraise and donate.

Hilarious: In an entertaining skit released on Wednesday, the celebs star in audition tapes,

Star: Trying to bag themselves a role in the film about inspirational people across the country, Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna, 75, playfully declares she doesn't need to audition

007: Downton Abbey star Hugh joked he thought he was auditioning for Bond

Dame Joanna said: 'I was so honoured to be asked to be involved in Red Nose Day and I want this year to be big, because times have been so dark and strange, let's make this one fabulous.'

Oti added: 'The thing I love so much about Red Nose Day is that it supports so many incredible causes and the money helps thousands of families, not only in the UK but around the world.

'I come from South Africa and I've seen poverty first-hand but knowing that even just a little bit - whether 5 or 100 - goes a long way, shows just how much every donation can help make a difference to those who need it most.'

Smiling with happiness: Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas beamed as she posed with a red nose on

Auditionees: Jamie Laing and Vick Hope also star in the short clip

It's all so quiet: Joel Dommett joked he was doing a sponsored silence

David Tennant, Paddy McGuinness, Sir Lenny Henry and Zoe Ball will be hosting the big Red Nose Day night of TV which will hit screens live on BBC One.

The show will be broadcast from Salford for the very first time and will be packed with comedy and sketches.

Britain's dog trial will be given a Red Nose Day twist as comedians Tim Vine and Kiri Pritchard-McLean head to the Welsh countryside to take on Countryfile's One Red Nose and Their Dog competition.

Showing off his talents: Harry talk also gave the audition a go

Presenter: Sir Lenny Henry will be hosting the big Red Nose Day night of TV which will hit screens live on BBC One

Funny: Ellie Taylor poses with an animal Red Nose Day 2022 Nose whilst in the studio

Red nose: Comedian and actress Rosie Jones also modelled the latest merchandise

The challenge will see the comedians put their newfound sheepdog skills to the test in a bid to be crowned the champions in the one-off special set to air in March, with the winner revealed on the Red Nose Day BBC One night of TV.

Meanwhile, five stars will lull the nation to sleep reading a handpicked story close to their heart in the first ever Red Nose Day series of the popular CBeebies's Bedtime Stories  with names to be revealed soon.

Money raised by Red Nose Day will support vital life changing work in the UK and around the world which includes tackling homelessness, domestic abuse, poverty and mental health problems, all of which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

To find out more and for lots of fantastic fundraising ideas, visit: www.comicrelief.com/rednoseday.
BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A low positive rate in COVID-19 tests is expected to be sustained throughout the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, which will continue to be safe, said Dr. Brian McCloskey, chief of the Beijing 2022 Medical Expert Panel at a press conference on Wednesday.

Despite seeing a total of 232 positive cases - 69 within the closed loop - since January 23, McCloskey believes "it's important that we look at the story behind those figures."

"The reality is that every country in the world at the moment has a higher level of COVID [cases] than China does. So that means people coming in are traveling from the high level of COVID [risk] to a low level."

McCloskey then explained how the virus could be restrained in the closed loop through multiple tests as people travel from all over the world to Beijing.

"When they start their journey in their own country, they have their pre-departure tests. Their risk of having a positive test is high based on the prevalence in their own country," he said.

"When they get to the airport in Beijing, the risk of being positive is lower, because the pre-departure tests have identified the people who are positive and who might have been infectious traveling with them. So the risk of the airport is lower.

"When they get inside the closed loop, the risk of testing positive is still lower, because the airport testing has identified people who might before be infectious and has removed them from the system. So in the closed loop we start to see a low risk of being positive," McCloskey noted.

"But for the first few days in the closed loop, the risk is still a bit higher because people can incubate the disease very slowly.

"After four or five days in the closed loop, the risk comes down to equivalent to [that of] the local population, which is very low. At that stage, they're working within the closed loop effectively," he said. 
Kendall Jenner is at the peak of her career as a supermodel as she juggles multiple partnerships.

And the 26-year-old stunner wowed in her latest campaign with legendary fashion brand Givenchy.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians alum posted video of her minute-long Givenchy ad to her Instagram account on Tuesday.

New work: On Tuesday Kendall Jenner took to Instagram to share a video from her latest campaign with Givenchy

She kept her caption simple and to-the-point as she wrote, ' #givenchyss22 campaign @givenchyofficial @matthewmwilliams.'

The spot was filmed in Paris, France and Los Angeles, California, a disclaimer stated at the start of the recording.

It also included a line mentioning the first names of all the models that would appear: Kendall, Iselin, Steinberg, He Cong, Ilias, and Babacar.

The commercial consisted of an artistic montage of the gorgeous people in different settings, including a studio with a white backdrop.

Showing the collection: Kendall modeled the brand's colorful handbags - a lilac number and an embellished green purse

Chic: In addition to a sleeveless black frock with decorative adornment at the bodice, the influencer also wore a structured black blazer

Along with the others, Kendall modeled the brand's colorful handbags - a lilac number and an embellished green purse.

The pieces were highlighted in slow motion closeup shots with some filtered in black and white.

Other clips displayed the group in statement-making black outfits with unexpected silhouettes.

In addition to a sleeveless black frock with decorative adornment at the bodice, the influencer also wore a structured black blazer.

Natural: The runway star was styled in an understated look, with subtle makeup and fuss-free hair

The runway star was styled in an understated look, with subtle makeup and fuss-free hair.

A theme throughout the ad was the plucking of a red rose.

Multiple takes of the moody content showed Jenner and others playing off the floral prop as the sniffed, twirled, and caressed the flower.

At the heart of the campaign video were the many pieces from the spring range, including footwear, hoodies, bags, and more.

Along with Kendall, her mom Kris Jenner reposted the feature to her Instagram account.

Busy girl: The Givenchy campaign comes after Kendall recently shared new outtakes from another brand she's partnered with

The Givenchy campaign comes after Kendall recently shared new outtakes from another brand she's partnered with.

Last week the public figure posted two images wearing a coordinating white outfit from yoga brand Alo.

As part of her ongoing work with the company she posed in a bra, leggings, and a cropped sweatshirt.

The entrepreneur showed off her incredibly svelte figure as she stretched her arms above her head in one picture.

Angelic: Last week the public figure posted two images wearing a coordinating white outfit from yoga brand Alo

In other news, Kendall is gearing up to debut her family's new Hulu show The Kardashians.

The follow-up to their long-running E! series will come to TV screen sometime this year, though the famous clan has kept mum on details.

In a new photo teasing the forthcoming series Kendall put her modeling abilities on display as she struck a pose in a body-hugging white dress with her dark hair tumbling down past her waist.
Kelly Kruger and Darin Brooks have welcomed their second child, a daughter named Gemma Wynter.

The couple, who co-starred together in The Bold and the Beautiful and Blue Mountain State, announced the happy news in an interview with People magazine.

'We are just overjoyed! We couldn't be happier!' Darin, 37, told the media outlet.

New arrival: Kelly Kruger and Darin Brooks have welcomed their second child, daughter Gemma Wynter. Seen in 2019

Kelly, 40, gave birth to Gemma, who weighed 9 lbs, 13 oz. and measured 21 inches, on Saturday in Los Angeles.

The pair, who tied the knot in 2016, also share two-year-old daughter Everleigh Jolie.

Darin went on to say, 'We always wanted a sibling for Everleigh because I have my older brother and Kelly has an older brother and two stepsisters.'

Exciting: The couple, who co-starred together in The Bold and the Beautiful and Blue Mountain State, announced the happy news in an interview with People magazine

Family: The pair, who tied the knot in 2016, also share two-year-old daughter Everleigh Jolie

He continued, 'So we were so excited to be able to give Everleigh a sibling and when we found out it was a girl, it was perfect because Everleigh is just so awesome, caring, strong and such a personality.'

The couple told People that their eldest daughter played a key role in naming her baby sister.

They said that both 'Gemma' and 'Wynter' were their 'two top first names' for the newest addition to the family.

Baby bliss: The couple told People that their eldest daughter played a key role in naming her baby sister

The two told People, 'We decided to use both because when we asked our daughter, Everleigh, what name she liked for baby sister, Gemma or Wynter, she would always say "Gemma Wynter."

They continued, 'So we said "Why not just do what Everleigh wanted to name her baby sister, Gemma and Wynter?"

'So it's actually kind of sweet that she now played a big part in naming her baby sister!'

Taking a poll: On Sunday, Kelly teased her fans with a Instagram post in which she asked them to guess when she was giving birth

On Sunday, Kelly teased her fans with a Instagram post in which she asked them to guess when she was giving birth.

The actress added a photo in which she was seen baring her pregnant belly while reclining on a couch, writing, 'So when do u think this baby is coming? #pregnant #pregnancy #thirdtrimester.'

In August, the couple revealed that they were expecting their second child together.

'We are so excited about baby No. 2!' Kelly told People at the time.

'We told our daughter Everleigh as soon as we found out, and since then she asks to kiss my tummy every day. It's the sweetest thing.'

The Madison Charles essential oils founder continued, 'My first trimester was definitely not the same this time around.

Sharing the news: In August, the couple revealed that they were expecting their second child together. Seen in 2018

'Laying down and binge-watching TV doesn't work when you have a one-year-old running around.

'It was definitely much more challenging. Plus we just moved! It has been a lot, to say the least, but we are so grateful.'

Kelly has appeared in the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless before joining the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful in 2014. The Canada native returned to reprise her role in The Young and the Restless in 2018.

Darin starred as Max Brady in the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives from 2005 to 2010. He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series in 2010.

The actor, who hails from Hawaii, took on the role of Wyatt Spencer in the Bold and the Beautiful in 2013. He continues to have a recurring role on the show while also starring on the Apple TV series Amber Brown.
He is happily married to his wife of nine years, Lisa.

But on Wednesday, Nova radio star Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli revealed that his ex and 'first true love' bizarrely reached out to his family, 15 years after their split.

Speaking on his Fitzy and Wippa radio show, the 42-year-old explained that his former partner Laura got in touch with his father to ask for his 'famous' tomato spaghetti recipe.

Say what?! Nova's Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli has revealed the VERY bizarre reason his ex and 'first true love' reached out 15 years after their breakup

'I went out with a girl for about three years. She was my first true love. Laura was her name. We were young, we were silly. Well, hearts full of love,' he explained.

Wippa went on to say that he and Lisa actually rented a house near his exes' rental home recently, but they didn't talk or cross paths as they are obviously focusing on their own respective families.

But he said his father John told him that Laura had reached out to him for his tomato spaghetti recipe.

That's odd: Speaking on his Fitzy and Wippa radio show, the 42-year-old explained that his former partner Laura got in touch with his father to ask for his 'famous' tomato spaghetti recipe

'It's quite interesting the way he makes it. It's an old Swiss recipe that he got from his mum. The spaghetti is actually coated with the sauce instead of the sauce just being on top. It's not a meaty sauce, it's really different,' he said.

'But anybody that eats it, who comes around for dinner and says, "Yeah, can we have John's tomato spaghetti?"

Wippa said he wasn't sure why his ex, who now has kids of her own, went straight to his father and not to him.

'And to think that she went behind my back to talk to Dad, instead of coming to have a chat to me and say, "hey, you being what's going on? Hey, that's spaghetti that your dad makes the tomato spaghetti. We love that. How do I make that?' he said

'And to think that she went behind my back to talk to Dad, instead of coming to have a chat to me and say, "Hey, you being what's going on? Hey, that's spaghetti that your dad makes the tomato spaghetti. We love that. How do I make that? Oh, great to hear from me. How is everything? How are the kids? What's the plan for Christmas?"

'The fact that she's just going directly to John and doing something behind my back makes me feel a little bit off,' he added.

Wippa explained that the pair agreed to a mutual split 15 years ago after about three years together.

While he said the breakup was 'pretty rough' they have well and truly moved on.

Wippa proposed to wife Lisa during a romantic trip to Switzerland in September 2012, presenting her with a huge emerald-cut diamond ring.

The Wipflis married in September 2013 in front of 150 guests on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula a year after getting engaged.

They share three children, sons Theodore, seven, and Jack, five, and one-year-old daughter Francesca Vera Alice.
And Just Like That... creator Michael Patrick King says he no longer has any realistic expectation' of Kim Cattrall reprising her role as Samantha Jones.

While discussing how he incorporated the star's beloved Sex And The City character in the reboot through text, the director, 67, opened up to Variety about overcoming the 'obstacle' of not having Cattrall on the series.

When asked if the door was open for the Golden Globe winner to come back, he responded: 'The only place I participate in magical thinking is in fiction. You take people at their word.'

Honest: And Just Like That... creator Michael Patrick King says he no longer has any realistic expectation' of Kim Cattrall reprising her role as Samantha Jones; pictured last month

'I have no realistic expectation of Kim Cattrall ever appearing again,' he told the outlet. 'You take people at their word, and you're a smart producer  you don't back yourself into a corner.'

King also said he didn't feel any added pressure while writing messages between Samantha and Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker).

He made it clear he loves Samantha's character and felt 'it was important emotionally for everybody' to explain her absence.

While discussing how he incorporated the star's beloved Sex And The City character in the reboot, the director, 67, opened up to Variety about overcoming the 'obstacle' of not having Cattrall on the series (seen in 2019)

'I have no realistic expectation of Kim Cattrall ever appearing again,' he told the outlet. 'You take people at their word, and you're a smart producer  you don't back yourself into a corner' (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon pictured)

In the first scene, the Just Like That... creator made a point to address the pandemic and 'the question that was on everybody's minds': 'Where's Samantha?'

'Shes part of the show and people love her. And I wanted to respect the legacy, wanted to respect the fans,' King continued.

Later in the interview, King declined to comment on the sexual assault allegations against Chris Noth.

Across the pond: The Just Like That... creator made a point to address the pandemic and 'the question that was on everybody's minds': 'Where's Samantha?'

Opting out: He also noted he loves Samantha's character and felt 'it was important emotionally for everybody' to explain her absence (the Sex And The City cast pictured together)

'I cant comment on it. It really has nothing to do with me, and no comment on those allegations,' he stated.

As for his decision to cut Noth from the finale, King said he 'wanted the show to be focused on the stories of these amazing actresses and their efforts in these last 10 episodes.'

'I didnt want the entire story to be about whether someone was or wasnt in the show. Mr. Big and Chris Noth, theyre not the same person  and that wouldve made them the same person,' he said.

Tragic: Additionally, King revealed he originally wanted the late Willie Garson to be in all 10 episodes, but shortened his arch due to his battle with pancreatic cancer

Additionally, King revealed he originally wanted the late Willie Garson to be in all 10 episodes, but shortened his arch due to his battle with pancreatic cancer.

'Before I knew that Willie was sick and couldnt complete it, Stanford was going to have a midlife crisis,' he noted. 'Stanfords character always had a borderline career as a manager, and we were like going to explore the fact that it wasnt a real career.'

The And Just Like That... finale will be available to stream on HBO Max this Thursday.
Kyle Sandilands has divided listeners with his explosive on-air tantrum about former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's leaked texts regarding the Prime Minister.

The radio host, 50, lost his temper on Wednesday's Kyle and Jackie O Show, storming out of the studio during a discussion about the text messages, in which Berejiklian reportedly described the PM as a 'horrible person' and 'untrustworthy'.

Sandilands, who is friends with Berejiklian, was angry at his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson and newsreader Brooklyn Ross for giving airtime to the story, which he said was 'not real news'.

Opinions: Kyle Sandilands (pictured) has divided listeners with his explosive on-air tantrum about former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's leaked texts regarding the Prime Minister

Some KIIS FM listeners criticised Sandilands' behaviour.

'Poor Jackie and Brooklyn! He wasn't nice to Jackie and I felt for her,' one fan commented on Instagram.

'I love him but this [walk-out] was absolutely absurd and irrational,' another added.

Walk-off: The radio host, 50, lost his temper on Wednesday's Kyle and Jackie O Show, storming out of the studio during a discussion about the text messages, in which Berejiklian reportedly described the PM as a 'horrible person' and 'untrustworthy'

'Absolutely absurd and irrational: Some KIIS FM listeners have criticised Sandilands' behaviour

One listener suggested Sandilands 'thinks he's Piers Morgan', who infamously stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain last year when he was challenged about his criticism of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

However, others leapt to Sandilands' defence and insisted his anger was justified.

'Agree with Kyle. Jackie and Brooklyn did my head in listening to that,' one supporter wrote, as another added: 'I was getting frustrated for Kyle too.'

'I was getting frustrated for Kyle too': Others leapt to Sandilands' defence and insisted his anger was justified

Another said Sandilands was probably 'having a bad day' and that he should be allowed to 'lose his s**t now and then'.

Sandilands stormed out of the studio shortly after 6am on Wednesday morning following an explosive 12-minute tantrum.

Things escalated quickly with Sandilands hurling insults at his colleagues before telling his co-host Henderson, 47, to 'do the show by yourself' and walking off.

Allegations: The bombshell texts allegedly claimed Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) did not trust the PM and he was more concerned with politics than people

'This is the biggest news in Australia, and it's all over nothing,' he began his rant.

'So what if the ex-premier called the prime minister a 'horrible, horrible person'? I've called everyone here an effing c in text messages. I wouldn't be surprised if Gladys was just pacifying whatever loser minister she was talking to.

'This is not real news. Don't make up fictitious b******t drama over nothing.'

Blindsided: Sandilands' colleagues were genuinely shocked by his behaviour, and Henderson later remarked it had been 'very dramatic'

When Henderson insisted the story was newsworthy, Sandilands snapped: 'We don't have to run around every time some c********r from the ABC asks a question.'

Sandilands was actually incorrect here: the journalist who exposed the leaked texts at a press conference on Tuesday was in fact Peter van Onselen of Channel 10.

He continued: 'I'm angry. This is the way the world has been ruined  by d**kheads on the news turning these things into b******t moments.'

Heated: Sandilands called newsreader Brooklyn Ross (pictured) a 'f**king lazy loser journalist' to his face when he tried to defend including the story in his morning bulletin

He then called Ross a 'f**king lazy loser journalist' to his face when he tried to defend including the story in his morning bulletin.

A frustrated Henderson then asked: 'What's up with you this morning?'

Ross tried to defend the newsworthiness of Berejiklian's texts again, prompting Sandilands to yell at him: 'Just turn your mic off! You're finished! Get out!'

Insults: Things escalated quickly with Sandilands (left) hurling insults at his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (right) and newsreader Brooklyn Ross before walking off

He then got up and walked out of the studio, saying bitterly: 'I'm going home. F**k you. Do the show by yourself, what a f**king show it'll be.'

Henderson said afterwards: 'Okay, I think we'll take a short break, because I'm not even sure what happened. Did something happen before I got here? Was it all good?'

Sandilands' colleagues were genuinely shocked by his behaviour, and Henderson later remarked it had been 'very dramatic'.

Headline news: He lost his temper shortly after 6am while discussing former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's leaked text messages blasting Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured)

KIIS FM's resident psychic Georgina Walker also weighed in on the meltdown, telling Henderson and Ross they needed to 'let him chill out'.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted KIIS FM but is yet to receive a response. Sandilands' manager, Bruno Bouchet, declined to comment.

It comes after the Prime Minister was branded a 'complete psycho' and a 'horrible, horrible person' in bombshell text exchanges allegedly involving former NSW Premier Berejiklian.

News: Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen confronted the PM on live TV with the series of incendiary text messages savaging Scott Morrison that he said were between Gladys Berejiklian (pictured here with the PM) and a current Liberal minister

Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen on Tuesday confronted the PM on live TV with the incendiary text messages savaging Mr Morrison that he said were between Ms Berejiklian and a current Liberal minister.

'I've got them right here,' he told Mr Morrison as the PM faced questions from the media after his keynote speech to the National Press Club.

'In one, she described you as, quote, 'a horrible, horrible person', going on to say she did not trust you, and you're more concerned with politics than people.

Question: Peter van Onselen's (pictured) blockbuster question left the PM almost speechless and was dismissed with a few curt sentences

'The minister is even more scathing, describing you as a fraud and, quote, 'a complete psycho'.'

In a statement released hours later, Ms Berejiklian said she had 'no recollection' of the remarks, but didn't deny they were said.

'Does this exchange surprise you?' asked van Onselen. 'And what do you think it tells us?'

The Prime Minister was left almost speechless, blinking in shock by the surprise attack, before replying curtly and moving on to the next question.

'Well, I don't know who you're referring to, or the basis of what you've put to me,' he said. 'But I obviously don't agree with it. And I don't think that's my record.'
Julia Fox is shutting down claims that she's copying her boyfriend Kanye West's ex-wife Kim Kardashian in the style department.

The 31-year-old actress recently caught some flack after she appeared on Instagram in an oozing blue chest mold that looked nearly identical to one previously donned by Kardashian, 41.

In a follow-up post, Fox insisted that the snap of her in the chest mold was taken in October 2021 and that it was part of her 'slutty Smurf' Halloween costume.

Not happening: Julia Fox is shutting down claims that she's continuing to copy her boyfriend Kanye West's ex-wife Kim Kardashian in the style department; Julia pictured in 2021

'FYI I wore this on Halloween 2021 and I was supposed to be a slutty Smurf. I forgot to post it. PS. The Breast Plate is by @JacqueLabel,' penned Julia.

The Jacque Label is known for its exquisite breast molds, which retail for $300. The brand re-posted Julia's throwback snapshot to their own Instagram Story.

Kim first appeared in her own chest mold top in early January 2022 as part of the latest campaign for her KKW Fragrance line.

Though Julia and Kim's tops had some differences, they also had a few similarities.

Twinning: The 31-year-old actress recently caught some flack after she appeared on Instagram in an oozing blue chest mold that looked nearly identical to one previously donned by Kardashian, 41

Did it first? In a follow-up post, Fox insisted that the snap of her in the chest mold was taken in October 2021 and that it was part of her 'slutty Smurf' Halloween costume

The unique shapes clung to their curves and gave the illusion they had been plastered onto their bodies. The molds also showed off their toned bellies.

The looks weren't completely identical, however. Whereas Kim wore a black mold which expanded into her neck, Julia's was much flashier.

In contrast to Kim's mold, which was all black, Julia's top shimmered in blue.

It also had a melting effect as it dripped across her skin.

Seeing double? Fox borrowed yet another look from her boyfriend Kanye West's ex Kim Kardashian as she stepped out during Paris Fashion Week last week

Julia posted the ab-baring photo to her Instagram Stories on Monday evening with no explanation.

The mold is just the latest look Julia has donned in recent weeks that appears to be right out of Kim's style book.

Last week, she stepped out during Paris Fashion Week wearing a black head scarf and quirky shades, which echoed a look previously worn by Kim during a fragrance commercial 2011.

Julia and Ye - who began dating after meeting on New Year's Eve in Miami - also donned matching black sex worker-inspired ensembles to check out the Schiaparelli haute couture SS/22 presentation.

Standing by her man: Julia, who went public with her romance with 44-year-old Kanye earlier this month, accompanied him in the French capital during fashion week

So chic! Julia was seen sporting a pair of quirky shades and a black leather mac, which was tied around her midriff and accentuated her svelte waist

The dominatrix look was similar to an outfit previously worn by Kim.

She also replicated an iconic Matrix-inspired look, recently worn by Kim, while celebrating her son's birthday.

As she continues to take style advice from her rapper beau, Julia was the spitting image of his estranged wife as she dined at Lucien in Manhattan's East Village.

Kanye is credited with revolutionizing Kim's style, propelling her profile from reality TV star to a high-fashion trendsetter appearing on the cover of Vogue.

But now it appears Kanye has a new muse to style, in the shape of his latest love.

Following recent appearances it looks as though Kanye has already been giving style notes to the rising star, as her wardrobe and style rapidly morphs into that of his estranged wife Kim.

Attack of the klone! Kanye is already styling new girl Julia like his estranged wife Kim (Pictured left in 2019)

Makeover: Kanye has already been giving style notes to Julia as her wardrobe and style rapidly morphs into that of his estranged wife Kim

Julia has been spotted in a number of racy ensembles that hark back to looks recently worn by Kim, undergoing a dramatic new look that will have surely been approved by Kanye.

Just last month, Kim confessed in a speech that it was Kanye, who she filed for divorce from in February, that had opened doors for her in the fashion world - admitted that he had pulled strings for her.

Kim noted that designers such as Ricardo Tisci and Olivier Rousteing were 'probably talked into' dressing her, after 'getting a call from Kanye,' adding: 'so thank you you know, to Kanye even for really introducing me to the fashion world.'

However, now it seems that Kanye is turning his styling attention to Julia after the actress was spotted in Miami with a bag full of clothes from Balenciaga, the high-fashion brand that Kim has been touting for months.

Snap! Julia was seen on Tuesday rocking a G-string look that Kim has also been seen wearing in the past

Julia recently turned heads wearing a $265 Miaou thong pant as she enjoyed a date night with Kanye watching a Broadway play.

The look draw striking similarities to Kim, who also rocked that look, albeit with a slightly pricier $1500 Vintage Gucci ensemble.

In his own words, the rapper - who recently changed his name to Ye - has been open about how 'styling' his romantic partner is his own 'language of love.'

'I'd be styling Kim, that's a language of love for me. That how I bagged her in the first place,' he said in November last year.

Adding: 'I pulled up, I had the Balmains and the jackets and stuff, I pull the jackets and the shoes.'

Kim did it first: The reality star is seen with a slightly pricier $1500 Vintage Gucci G-string ensemble

He's certainly got a type: Both Kim and Julia have shown off the voluptuous curves

In 2015, Kim admitted that she had 'cried' after Kanye overhauled her closet when they got together.

'When we first started dating, he went through my closet and he had a stylist come in and they put everything he thought wasn't cool enough in a pile.'

'I walked in and it was like a pile to the ceiling of shoes, all my amazing shoes that I loved. I started crying,' she told Kelly Ripa.

'I put it all in another room and I was like, 'I'll trust your opinion, but I'm not getting rid of my stuff.' Then I walk in my room and there was an entire room filled of all new clothes, of all the stuff he wanted to fill back up my closet with.'

Putting a smile back on his face: Kanye - pictured today in New York City - appears to be happy with his new girl Julia

She added: 'It was really cool new designer stuff; I hadn't even heard of some of these designers before, and it really helped me fall in love with fashion.'

The same could be said for Julia, who before meeting Kanye, appeared to have a less distinctive look.

Even in June last year, Julia was seen in a modest black dress as she arrived at the premiere of her movie No Sudden Move with ex Peter Artemiev and their son Valentino.
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Michael Jackson's children Paris, Prince, and Blanket gave the family seal of approval to a new show dedicated to their late father as they attended the star-studded opening night of MJ: The Musical at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York City on Wednesday evening.

The extravaganza follows Jackson, played by Broadway newcomer Myles Frost, as he prepares to embark on his now-iconic Dangerous world tour, which spanned from 1992 to 1993 - grossing $140million across 69 shows.

While Myles - a relative unknown - received warm reviews for his performance as Jackson, the show has attracted criticism for its 'sanitised' tale of Jackson's early '90s Dangerous years, during which he was dogged by allegations of child abuse - a subject the new musical avoids.

Despite vowing to give up touring, Jackson confirmed he would follow the release of his fourth solo album with a globe-trotting series of shows to raise funds for his Heal the World Foundation in 1992.

The charity was set up by the singer to provide medicine to children and fight world hunger, homelessness, child exploitation and physical and sexual abuse, with Jackson donating all profits from the tour to its coffers.

Opening night: Michael Jackson's daughter Paris and son Prince turned out in support during the star-studded opening night of Broadway's MJ: The Musical at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York City

Bond: Their youngest sibling Jackson's youngest son Prince Michael Jackson II AKA Blanket, now 19, did not walk the red carpet but was seen leaving the event with older sister Paris

Attending the eagerly anticipated event on Tuesday evening, Paris, 23, dazzled on the red carpet in a gorgeous red patterned wrap dress that fell just below the knee.

The model and singer styled the eye-catching number with some maroon suede boots and a myriad of beaded bracelets, as well as several distinctive necklaces.

Paris drew further attention to her ice blue eyes with an array of brown and bronze eyeshadows while painting her lips a stunning shade of deep red.

Posing for photos inside the cavernous Broadway venue, she revealed the highly noticeable array of tattoos decorating both her arms after pulling her dress sleeves to her elbows.

Who's bad? The new show follows Jackson, played by Broadway newcomer Myles Frost, as he prepares to embark on his now-iconic Dangerous world tour, which spanned from 1992 to 1993 - grossing $140million across 69 shows

Dazzling: Paris, 23, dazzled on the red carpet in a gorgeous red patterned wrap dress that fell just below the knee

Bohemian: The musician styled the eye-catching number with some maroon suede boots and a myriad of beaded bracelets

Suited up: Jackson struck poses beside her older brother Prince, who got gussied up for the occasion in a black suit and tie

Paris was accompanied by older brother Prince, who looked appropriately smart in a black suit, matching tie and crisp white dress shirt.

The 24-year-old, who also attended a preview of the musical in December, styled his hair in a ponytail and accessorized with a large silver watch.

Given the occasion, both were in high spirits as they greeted die-hard Michael Jackson fans before making their way inside for the debut show.

Jackson's youngest son Prince Michael Jackson II AKA Blanket, now 19, did not walk the red carpet but was seen leaving the event with older sister Paris.

The late Michael Jackson shares Prince and Paris with ex-wife Debbie Rowe. The pair were married from 1996 to 1999.

Glamour: She layered several necklaces around her neck and parted her voluminous bleached hair to one side

Stunning: As for her makeup, Paris drew attention to her ice blue eyes with an array of brown and bronze eyeshadows and painted her pout a stunning shade of red

Finishing touches: The 24-year-old, who attended a preview of the musical in December, styled his hair in a ponytail and accessorized with a watch

Arrival: Before hitting the red carpet as a pair, Paris and Prince were captured arriving to the venue in a black van

Beaming: They had huge smiles on their faces as they greeted adoring fans of their father's outside

Bonded: The bonded duo strolled hand-in-hand with a bodyguard by their side

Support system: Blanket looked dapper in a black suit with crisp white dress shirt as he accompanied his big sister outside of the theater

Who is Broadway newcomer Myles Frost? Born in Washington DC, Frost began his acting career with lead roles in school productions of Hairspray, Legally Blonde and Cinderella Professional credits include roles in All In, and seasons one and two of Netflix show Family Reunion. He is also poised to appear in new BET Plus film Big 50: The DelRhonda Hood Story, a biopic based on the life of the notorious drug kingpin He was a contestant on season 13 of NBC show The Voice in 2017, but failed to get beyond the blind auditions Advertisement

Spike Lee, who has been a longtime supporter of Michael Jackson's, turned up to opening night in a Beat It t-shirt styled with an orange windbreaker coat.

Tamron Hall rocked a similar look but layered up with a red leather jacket and tucked her MJ tee into a frilly white maxi skirt.

American civil rights activist Al Sharpton, 67, and his girlfriend Aisha McShaw, 43, were spotted posing for a snap on the red carpet before heading inside the historic theatre.

The bio-musical's star Myles Frost had all eyes on his as he graced the opening night step-and-repeat in a black beaded suit.

It had silk lapels and intricate beaded embroidery on the front and down the sleeves.

The Washington D.C. native layered his gorgeous jacket over a black turtleneck top.

Myles had diamond stud earrings in his ears and posed for shutterbugs in a pair of frameless shades.

Frost is making his Broadway debut as Michael Jackson and was cast as the leading role after Tony nominated star Ephraim Sykes left the show due to a scheduling conflict, according to Playbill.

MJ - THE MICHAEL JACKSON MUSICAL: REVIEWS THE NEW YORK TIMES 'There are a lot of strange stories making the rounds,' says a documentary filmmaker interviewing Michael Jackson. Understate much? 'Michael Jackson was such a magnet for strange stories that they nearly obliterated his gift. Yet in defensively brushing off the ones that don't matter while pointedly ignoring the one that does, the new musical 'MJ,' which opened on Tuesday at the Neil Simon Theater, may be the strangest Michael Jackson story yet. 'Not all strangeness is bad, of course, and within the confines of the biographical jukebox genre, 'MJ,' with a book by Lynn Nottage, is actually pretty good  for a while. Directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, whose ballet background has found a natural outlet in dance musicals like 'An American in Paris,' the show starts with confidence and verve in a natural setting: the rehearsal room. There, Jackson, along with his dancers, backup singers and band, is in the final stages of preparation for his 1992 Dangerous tour, a four-continent, 15-month marathon. 'Which is why the absence of the biggest one is so jarring.' THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Long before it opened on Broadway, this musical about's life was already creating a storm. Following the broadcast of Leaving Neverland, a TV documentary in which two men accused Jackson of molesting them when they were boys, there were many who felt that a new stage show focusing on the singer was in terrible taste. And yet the box office has done brisk business, proving that Jackson is pretty much uncancellable. 'Indeed the fact that MJ offers a superficial portrait is unsurprising given that one of the producer's is the late singer's estate. Yet, its creative team is led by the acclaimed playwright Lynn Nottage and the director-choreographer Christopher Wheeldon (one of the greatest dance makers working today), and so you would expect something at least more artistically exciting. 'Ultimately MJ should have kept to the song and dance (a format which has served international stage hit Thriller Live very well). Instead, it aspires to be both a fan-pleasing tribute concert and a serious portrait of a dysfunctional star, and fails on both counts. VARIETY 'In answer to the question of whether it's possible to separate the art from the artist, 'MJ' performs a slick, crotch-grabbing sidestep. Packed with nearly 40 hits from Michael Jackson's irresistible catalogue, the Broadway production from director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is not so much a biomusical as a high-shine and surface-skimming rehabilitation tour for its late subject, flattening rather than reckoning with his complex legacy. 'With respect, I wanna keep this about my music, insists Jackson early on, played in the story's present day by Myles Frost, impressive in perhaps an impossible role. 'Produced by special arrangement with the Michael Jackson estate, 'MJ' narrows in on a troubled time for the artist, apparently for the sake of depicting him as a victim of the tabloid press and presenting an oblique denial of unspecified wrongdoing, referred to only briefly as 'recent allegations.' ('MJ' does concede that Jackson took pain pills, though they have no discernible impact on his behavior.) 'MJ delivers on its promise of fan service, from costume pieces by Paul Tazewell  that glittery glove and cocked black hat  to nostalgic trips through Soul Train and 'Thriller' nights on Derek McLane's set. But Wheeldon and Nottage make a show of gesturing behind the music only to insist that their contested subject had nothing to hide.' DEADLINE 'To address the elephant man in the room: While MJ depicts Jackson's drug problems, raises (if only to dismiss) charges of racial self-loathing, references the Bubbles-and-Joseph Merrick eccentricities, the third-rail allegations of child molestation go unstated if not entirely ignored. The approach is, historically speaking, defendable: 'The events of MJ are set in 1992 as Jackson rehearses his upcoming Dangerous world tour. The setting places the musical a year before the public accusations and police investigations that would shadow Michael Jackson until his death in 2009, and his legacy to this moment. 'Within the musical's universe, the closest MJ comes to confronting the topic is a vague reference to a family being invited on tour with the singer, but even that comment is open to interpretation: Is the business associate raising the issue merely worried about the expense of additional people on tour, or is he fretting about putting a young boy in such close proximity to the star? Is the reference's sense of foreboding rooted in concern for victims of child abuse, or for a victim of scheming blackmailers? 's unspoken response: Decide for yourself.' ROLLING STONE 'In the first of several such scenes in MJ, the new Broadway musical about one of the pop's most explosive and, now, polarizing figures, a fictional MTV reporter tries to get Michael Jackson to open up. Jackson, played by Myles Frost down to the trademark billowy white shirt, curly ponytail, and feathery voice, demurs: 'I want to keep this about music.' To which the reporter responds, 'Is it possible to separate your life from your music?' 'Returning to the topic later in the show, Jackson also tells her, 'Listen to my music. It gives you all the answers you need.' Yet that original question hovers throughout the two and half hours of MJ, finally premiering on Broadway after a lengthy Covid-relayed delay. Bio-musicals have come to be a tourist-friendly tradition on Broadway. But from its equally beloved and debated subject to its often inventive structure, MJ is far more unconventional  and far more complicated  than previous shows on the sagas of the Four Seasons, Cher or Carole King. You'll leave the Neil Simon Theatre (where the show opens tonight) both on a giddy high from Jackson's music but also grappling with what was and wasn't incorporated. 'Produced with the cooperation of Jackson's estate, MJ makes it clear from the start where it won't be venturing.' NEW YORK POST 'While the lifeless script is written by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage of 'Ruined,' the pat dialogue feels as if it was co-authored by a lawyer for the Jackson estate  one of the producers  with Wite-Out and a Sharpie. 'When Michael (Myles Frost, terrific) isn't speaking in hokey motivational phrases  'An elephant is always ready to go because he sleeps standing up'  he's giving vague p.r. statements of innocence about unspecified infractions. 'No matter what I do, it always gets twisted,' he says to an MTV documentarian (Whitney Bashor) during the 1992 rehearsals for his 'Dangerous' tour, where 'MJ' is set. What he's referring to is the 'Wacko Jacko' nickname newspapers gave the singer  who died in 2009  because of his frequently strange behavior. 'No allegations of sexually abusing children were brought against Jackson until Jordy Chandler did so in 1993 (the case was settled for $23 million). So those regular slumber parties with 8-year-olds at the home of the world's most famous man that the press so 'twisted' do not come up in the musical. Fine. Still, the singer keeps decrying 'the constant noise, the media, the lies.' THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 'MJ, a remarkable Broadway musical written by Lynn Nottage and directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, deftly probes this weighty topic. The show was produced by arrangement with the musician's estate, and uses Jackson's archives and place within the public's imagination to conduct a Freudian analysis of the artist's life. How do you tell a story of a person who dissolved into the roles he created for himself and the roles the public created for him? Well, it depends on where and when you start.' Advertisement

Big fan: Spike Lee, who has been a longtime supporter of Michael Jackson's, turned up to opening night in a Beat It t-shirt styled with an orange windbreaker coat

Rocking it: he also sported a pair of grey Nike Air Jordan 1 high-tops

Fashionista: Tamron Hall rocked a similar look but layered up with a red leather jacket and tucked her MJ tee into a frilly white maxi skirt

Lovebirds: American civil rights activist Al Sharpton, 67, and his girlfriend Aisha McShaw, 43, were spotted posing for a snap on the red carpet before heading inside the historic theatre

Shining star: The musical's star Myles Frost had all eyes on his as he graced the opening night step-and-repeat in a black beaded suit

Details: It had silk lapels and intricate beaded embroidery on the front and down the sleeves

Layered up: The Washington D.C. native layered his gorgeous jacket over a black turtleneck top

Debut: Frost is making his Broadway debut as Michael Jackson and was cast as the leading role after Tony nominated star Ephraim Sykes left the show due to a scheduling conflict, according to Playbill

Center stage: He later hit the stage to take on the role of the King Of Pop

Hello sunshine: He donned a yellow satin shirt with skinny pants much like Michael Jackson

Man in the mirror: He truly looked in his element

Ensemble member Carina-Kay Louchiey turned heads in bright red blazer dress with feather-lined sleeves and rhinestone buttons.

Louchiey posed for snapshots with fellow members of the ensemble cast Oyoyo Joi and Kali May Grinder and dancer Michelle Mercedes.

The ensemble's very own Aramie Payton also opted for head-to-toe red for the musical's big night.

Wonder in white: Whitney Bashor looked stunning in a light suit over a lacy black top

Dynamic duo: Myles and Whitney crooned through some of MJ's biggest hits together

Hitting all the right notes: No doubt it was a riveting performance

Head-to-toe: Ensemble member Carina-Kay Louchiey turned heads in bright red blazer dress with feather-lined sleeves and rhinestone buttons

Group shot: Louchiey posed for snapshots with fellow members of the ensemble cast Oyoyo Joi and Kali May Grinder and dancer Michelle Mercedes

Red hot: The ensemble's very own Aramie Payton also opted for head-to-toe red for the musical's big night

Bold: Jenny Jules stunned in a highly patterned mustard-toned maxi dress, while Jordan Roth highlighted her slender legs in a pair of black vinyl trousers

Show-stopping: Princess Sarah Culberson beamed while modeling a nude and black jumpsuit covered in intricate sequined embroidery

Man in charge: MJ: The Musical's director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon suited up in all-black and posed for photos with Christian Wilson and Walter Russell III, who play 'Little Michael' in the show and 'Little Marlon' Devin Trey Campbell

Jenny Jules stunned in a highly patterned mustard-toned maxi dress, while Jordan Roth highlighted her slender legs in a pair of black vinyl trousers.

Princess Sarah Culberson beamed while modeling a nude and black jumpsuit covered in intricate sequined embroidery.

MJ: The Musical's director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon suited up in all-black.

He was seen posing for photos with Christian Wilson and Walter Russell III, who play 'Little Michael' in the show and 'Little Marlon' Devin Trey Campbell.

Hype: MJ: The Musical began previews in December with 'a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and a score comprised of familiar pop hits,' as reported by Playbill

Time machine: MJ: The Musical follows Jackson, played by Broadway newcomer Myles Frost, as he prepares to embark on his now-iconic Dangerous world tour, which spanned from 1992 to 1993; Myles Frost pictured as Michael Jackson in MJ: The Musical

Big shoes to fill: Myles will perform live renditions of 25 of Jackson's (pictured in 1992) biggest hits while getting an intimate look into the mind of the legendary performer

Epic: Myles is seen in Michael's famous Super Bowl 1993 halftime show performance outfit

Standing ovation: Myles blew kisses at the crowd during the finale

Sweet: Ayana and Myles posed up together backstage

Good spirit: Christopher Wheeldon and Myles shared a laugh and a drink

The new show began previews in December with 'a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and a score comprised of familiar pop hits,' as reported by Playbill.

'MJ: The Musical goes beyond the singular moves and signature sound of the star, offering a rare look at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that catapulted Jackson into legendary status,' read an official press release.

However the announcement of the new Broadway musical depicting the days before Michael Jacksons 1992 Dangerous tour - set a year before the first child abuse allegations against him - was met by an angry backlash.

Following the opening night of the family estate-produced show, critics have homed in the show separating 'art from the artist' and conveniently ignoring the child sex abuse allegations that overshadowed Jackson's career.

The reviewer for the Daily Telegraph, Diane Snyder, said that the production which is running at New Yorks' Simon Theatre, proves that Jackson is 'pretty much uncancellable'.

Meanwhile, The New York Times critic Jesse Green said that the references to the allegations against Jackson were 'understated' and that the 'absence of his biggest story was so jarring'.

Iconic: Michael Jackson pictured performing during his Dangerous world tour in 1992

Early years: On the eve of the musical's opening, Michael's younger sister Janet Jackson shared a throwback snapshot of the famous family

Many reviews - including the NYT - mentioned the fact that Jackson's estate were involved in producing what was essentially an 'authorised autobiography', which is why the story featured such watered-down references.

The Telegraph notes one 'oblique' reference to his relationship with children during the build up to the tour, when his manager questions: 'Who the hell is this family he wants to bring on the tour?'

However it is not made clear what the business manager is worried about, whether it is from a financial standpoint or more personal worries.

The critic writes: 'It's an odd moment in a show which veers towards the hagiographic, with its central character a rather bland protagonist.'

Michael Jackson passed away in 2009 after suffering cardiac arrest due to an overdose of propofol, as reported by CNN.

Unimpressed: Following the opening night of the family estate-produced show 'MJ', critics say it conveniently ignores the child sex abuse allegations that overshadowed Jackson's career (pictured MJ actor Myles Frost)
Karrueche Tran showcased her svelte physique in a figure-hugging ensemble while out in West Hollywood this week.

The Claws star slipped into a colorful striped top that emphasized her trim frame and matched her leggy miniskirt.

Looking glamorous as ever, the 33-year-old bombshell headed to Cecconi's for lunch with her close pal J.Ryan La Cour, a press agent and influencer.

Looking fab: Karrueche Tran encased her svelte physique in a figure-hugging ensemble while out in West Hollywood this week

For her latest outing Karrueche accentuated her screen siren features with makeup and balanced on a thigh-high pair of orange high-heeled boots.

She swung a bright blue purse while arriving to lunch, adding a touch of contrast to the ensemble she had selected.

Only last week Karrueche was spotted mingling with a guest list that included Christina Milian at a launch party for J.Ryan's new single.

He celebrated his entree into the music industry by performing live at the party last Thursday evening at a Hollywood nightclub called Weed Lounge.

Out and about: The Claws star slipped into a colorful striped top that emphasized her trim frame and matched her leggy miniskirt

Karrueche's friendship with J.Ryan hit the headlines a few years ago in 2017, back when she filed a domestic violence restraining order against her ex Chris Brown.

Chris, whom Karrueche accused of threatening her as well as physically abusing her, was temporarily banned by the order from going within 100 yards of her.

Around that time J.Ryan also obtained a restraining order against Chris, whom he accused of threatening him, according to E! News.

Looking glamorous as ever: The 33-year-old bombshell headed to Cecconi's for lunch with her close pal J.Ryan La Cour, a press agent and influencer.

'In the past, Chris Brown has threatened me and run up on me for not allowing him to bully Karrueche Tran in my presence,' J.Ryan claimed at the time.

He accused Chris of 'making threats to her saying that he will beat anyone that is friends with her' and alleged further that Chris 'stated that no matter where we go, he will find us and shoot the place up.'

Chris' dating history prior to Karrueche included Rihanna, whom he infamously beat to the point she had to be hospitalized in 2009.
Kyle Sandilands' fiancee Tegan Kynaston looked tense as she stepped out in Sydney on Wednesday, just hours after her partner walked off his breakfast radio show following an astonishing 12-minute meltdown.

Kyle, 50, dramatically stormed out of the KIIS FM studios during a discussion about former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's alleged text message exchange with a Liberal minister in which she called Prime Minister Scott Morrison a 'horrible person'.

Hours later, a stressed-looking Tegan was spotted having a strained conversation on the phone as she arrived at an acupuncture clinic in Surry Hills.

Stressed? Kyle Sandilands' fiancee Tegan Kynaston looked tense as she stepped out in Sydney on Wednesday, just hours after her radio host partner walked off his breakfast radio show following an astonishing 12-minute meltdown

After hanging up, the blonde darted through the rain without an umbrella and made her way to a parked vehicle nearby.

Tegan dressed down for the low-key outing, sporting a black Nike T-shirt, tiny gym shorts and a pair of fluorescent pink sneakers.

Her look was completed with a $3,500 Fendi backpack and her huge diamond engagement ring.

Enraged: Sandilands, 50, dramatically stormed out of the KIIS FM studios during a discussion about former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's leaked text message exchange with a Liberal minister in which she called Prime Minister Scott Morrison a 'horrible person'

Catching up with Kyle? A stressed-looking Tegan was spotted having a strained conversation on the phone as she arrived at an acupuncture clinic in Surry Hills

On the move: After hanging up, the blonde darted through the rain without an umbrella and made her way to a parked vehicle nearby

Earlier that morning, 'Coffee John' Nicholson - a Kyle and Jackie staffer who doubles as one of Sandilands's PAs - was seen arriving at Tegan and Kyle's home with a tray of take-away coffees and a purple smoothie.

It's unclear whether Sandilands had arrived back home by that point.

Casual: Tegan dressed down for the low-key outing, sporting a black Nike T-shirt, tiny gym shorts and a pair of fluorescent pink sneakers.

Checking in: Tegan followed NSW's Covid safety rules by checking in at the door of the acupuncture clinic

Expensive taste: She completed her look with a $3,500 Fendi backpack and her huge diamond engagement ring

Drinks: Earlier that morning, Coffee John Nicholson --- a Kyle and Jackie staffer who doubles as one of Sandilands' PAs, was seen arriving at Tegan and Kyle's home with a tray of take-away coffees and a purple smoothie

Hours earlier, Sandilands had stormed out of the radio studio following an explosive 12-minute tantrum about Berejiklian's leaked text message exchange.

Sandilands, who is friends with Berejiklian, was angry at his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson and newsreader Brooklyn Ross for giving airtime to the story, which he said was 'not real news'.

Things escalated quickly with Sandilands hurling insults at his colleagues before telling Henderson, 47, to 'do the show by yourself' and walking off.

Opinions: Shortly after 6am, Sandilands stormed out of the radio studio following an explosive 12-minute tantrum about Berejiklian's leaked text message exchange

'This is the biggest news in Australia, and its all over nothing,' he began his rant.

'So what if the ex-premier called the prime minister a "horrible, horrible person"? I've called everyone here an effing c in text messages. I wouldn't be surprised if Gladys was just pacifying whatever loser minister she was talking to.

'This is not real news. Don't make up fictitious b******t drama over nothing.'

Blindsided: Sandilands' colleagues were genuinely shocked by his behaviour, and Henderson later remarked it had been 'very dramatic'

When Henderson insisted the story was newsworthy, Sandilands snapped: 'We dont have to run around every time some c********r from the ABC asks a question.'

Sandilands was actually incorrect here: the journalist who exposed the leaked texts at a press conference on Tuesday was in fact Peter van Onselen of Channel 10.

He continued: 'I'm angry. This is the way the world has been ruined  by d**kheads on the news turning these things into b******t moments.'

Heated: Sandilands called newsreader Brooklyn Ross (pictured) a 'f**king lazy loser journalist' to his face when he tried to defend including the story in his morning bulletin

He then called Ross a 'f**king lazy loser journalist' to his face when he tried to defend including the story in his morning bulletin.

A frustrated Henderson then asked: 'What's up with you this morning?'

Ross tried to defend the newsworthiness of Berejiklian's texts again, prompting Sandilands to yell at him: 'Just turn your mic off! Youre finished! Get out!'

He then got up and walked out of the studio, saying bitterly: 'I'm going home. F**k you. Do the show by yourself, what a f**king show it'll be.'

Insults: Things escalated quickly with Sandilands (left) hurling insults at his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (right) and newsreader Brooklyn Ross before walking off

Henderson said afterwards: 'Okay, I think well take a short break, because Im not even sure what happened. Did something happen before I got here? Was it all good?'

Sandilands' colleagues were genuinely shocked by his behaviour, and Henderson later remarked it had been 'very dramatic'.

KIIS FM's resident psychic Georgina Walker also weighed in on the meltdown, telling Henderson and Ross they needed to 'let him chill out'.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted KIIS FM but is yet to receive a response. Sandilands' manager, Bruno Bouchet, declined to comment.

Headline news: He lost his temper shortly after 6am while discussing former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's leaked texts blasting Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured)

It comes after the Prime Minister was branded a 'complete psycho' and a 'horrible, horrible person' in bombshell text exchanges allegedly involving former NSW Premier Berejiklian.

Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen on Tuesday confronted the PM on live TV with the incendiary text messages savaging Mr Morrison that he said were between Ms Berejiklian and a current Liberal minister.

'I've got them right here,' he told Mr Morrison as the PM faced questions from the media after his keynote speech to the National Press Club.

Question: Peter van Onselen's (pictured) blockbuster question left the PM almost speechless and was dismissed with a few curt sentences

'In one, she described you as, quote, "a horrible, horrible person", going on to say she did not trust you, and you're more concerned with politics than people.

'The minister is even more scathing, describing you as a fraud and, quote, "a complete psycho".'

In a statement released hours later, Ms Berejiklian said she had 'no recollection' of the remarks, but didn't deny they were said.

Allegations: In a statement released hours later, Ms Berejiklian (pictured) said she had 'no recollection' of the remarks, but didn't deny they were said

'Does this exchange surprise you?' asked van Onselen. 'And what do you think it tells us?'

The Prime Minister was left almost speechless, blinking in shock by the surprise attack, before replying curtly and moving on to the next question.

'Well, I don't know who you're referring to, or the basis of what you've put to me,' he said. 'But I obviously don't agree with it. And I don't think that's my record.'
Selina Chhaur proved to be too much for her groom Cody Bromley on Wednesday's Married At First Sight.

Despite seeming to have some chemistry at the altar, the Cambodian beauty's enthusiasm soon overwhelmed the laidback Cody.

'I get, like, happy energy!' she exclaimed, before comparing herself to the Pokemon character Pikachu.

Opposites DON'T attract! Selina Chhaur (left) proved to be too much for her groom Cody Bromley (right) on Wednesday's Married At First Sight

Speaking privately to producers, Cody admitted that Selina's energy was starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

'Selina seems so ecstatic, like every time I turn around she's smiling,' he said.

'It's fabulous, really good, but it's also, it can be like, a little bit, uneasy.'

He added: 'It's a bit too much. I don't know how to handle the situation.'

Too much? Despite seeming to have some chemistry at the altar, the Cambodian beauty's enthusiasm soon overwhelmed the laidback Cody

Seemingly unaware that he was on Married At First Sight and not Love Island, Cody admitted that he was worried Selina was 'gonna dive in too quickly'.

Once they sat down for the reception, Selina started talking about plans for them to move in together.

Becoming increasingly overwhelmed, Cody told producers that the blonde beauty's energy was 'full on' and that she'd gone from 'zero to one hundred'.

'Do you see yourself ever having kids one day?' Selina keenly asked.

Overwhelmed! 'It's a bit too much. I don't know how to handle the situation,' Cody told producers

'I always thought that one day I'll have my own family,' she continued. 'I want to assume that we're having a baby!'

'Let's just slow it down a wee bit, shall we,' a flustered Cody told the producers. 'Ease up.'

By the time they reached their honeymoon, things started to fall apart during an honesty box challenge.

Oh no! 'Let's just slow it down a wee bit, shall we,' a flustered Cody told the producers after Selina started bringing up babies

When asked to answer if he's attracted to Selina, Cody admitted he wasn't - leaving his wife devastated.

'I don't know why I'm struggling a bit with the sexual attraction,' he said.

'It's like my schl*ng isn't coordinating with my head,' he added as Selina wiped tears away.

Married At First Sight continues Thursday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine
BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Colorful celebrations of the Chinese New Year in different countries have sent festive vibes across the globe as people from various cultures express their good wishes for the Year of the Tiger.

Across the United States, celebrating the Chinese New Year has become a tradition for many residents and institutions as Chinese culture, especially the unique Chinese zodiac, adds upbeat elements to life.

New York landmarks like the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center were lit up in red on Sunday night to celebrate the Year of the Tiger.

The Empire State Building has also staged a window show featuring a festive installation with artistic imagery and representations of this year's animal, the tiger.

In Spain, the capital city of Madrid is celebrating the Chinese New Year with a number of activities that are set to last until Feb. 28.

The Chinese Cultural Center in Madrid highlighted that in 2022 there are two reasons to celebrate: the start of the Year of the Tiger and the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

Although the pandemic means many events are being held online, a firework display over the lake at the Pradolongo park will be carried out on Saturday. Located in the Usera district of Madrid, the park, near a large Chinese community, has been specially decorated in red.

On the first day of the Year of the Tiger, a special program dedicated to the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and Paris 2024 Olympic Games was broadcast on France's TV5 Monde.

Performed by some 100 Chinese and foreign artists, the programs of the 110-minute concert "Peace, Friendship, Love" were recorded separately in China and France.

Western classic music, traditional French dance, Beijing Opera and Chinese folk dance were on the show. With their magic paper-cut work, artists from China wished a wonderful new year for audiences around the world.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Venezuelan government said "Venezuela reiterates its best wishes for the New Year to increase the prosperity and common fortune of our peoples," and reaffirmed its willingness for deeper cooperation with China.

Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) James Marape sent his good wishes to China for the Chinese New Year.

On behalf of the PNG people and government, the prime minister said he wishes all the Chinese people a happy new year and hopes China and PNG-China relations will continue to be prosperous.

Namibian President Hage Geingob also offered best wishes to the Chinese people on social media.

"In the Chinese Lunar Calendar, this is the Year of the Tiger, a symbol of bravery and courage. As you celebrate the New Year, I extend my best wishes to the Chinese people, who stood by us during the struggle for freedom," said Geingob. 
Lily James and Sebastian Stan were seen arriving to the Jimmy Kimmel Live studios ahead of the premiere of their series Pam & Tommy on Tuesday.

Less than 24 hours ahead of the release of their miniseries, the 32-year-old English actress, and Marvel star, 39, looked ready to promote their project on the popular late-night talk.

For the James, best known for her roles in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Downton Abbey, cut an elegant figure in a black satin pantsuit.

Looking good! Lily James and Sebastian Stan were seen arriving to the Jimmy Kimmel Live studios ahead of the premiere of their series Pam & Tommy on Tuesday

She completed the chic ensemble with a cropped ruffled halter top, a pair of black heels and Matrix-inspired sunglasses.

Meanwhile, Stan was every inch the Hollywood hunk in a bright red blazer, matching trousers, a burnt orange button-down and black leather loafers.

He shielded his eyes in a pair of black sunglasses by Barton Perreira.

The Captain America: The First Avenger actor looked in high spirits as he smiled at onlookers and toted a AQUA Carpatica bag.

Handsome: 24 hours ahead of the release of their miniseries, the 32-year-old English actress, and Marvel star, 39, looked ready to promote their project on the popular late-night talk

New project: James and Stan portray Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy

James documented her getting-ready process backstage on her Instagram Story.

She credited hairdresser Danilo Dixon, makeup artist Georgie Eisdell and stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray for serving as her glam team.

Her stylish garments appeared to be from Warsaw-based designer Magda Butrym's eponymous label.

Chic: For the James, best known for her roles in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Downton Abbey, cut an elegant figure in a black satin pantsuit

Turning heads: She credited hairdresser Danilo Dixon, makeup artist Georgie Eisdell and stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray for serving as her glam team

Glamorous: James also documented her getting-ready process backstage on her Instagram Story

Stan also gave his followers a behind-the-scenes look at his Jimmy Kimmel Live taping.

Los Angeles-based groomer Jamie Taylor posed for a selfie with the star after giving him a fresh cut.

His and James' forthcoming show follows the story of the leak of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's sex tape in 1997, which led to devastation for the Nineties pin-up and Motley Crue rocker when their intimate moment spread across the Internet for anyone to view.

Friendly: Stan also gave his followers a behind-the-scenes look at his Jimmy Kimmel Live taping

Dapper: Los Angeles-based groomer Jamie Taylor posed for a selfie with the star after giving him a fresh cut

The sex tape was stolen by Rand after Tommy refused to pay for work that he had performed on their house.

When Gauthier confronted the musician about not being paid the $20,000 he was owed, Tommy pulled out a gun to scare him away. Gauthier took his revenge by stealing the giant safe that had been kept in the couple's garage, which mainly housed the drummer's guns and Pamela's jewelry, in addition to the sex tape.

Pamela, 54, and Tommy, 59, tied the knot on a beach in Mexico in 1995 after dating for just four days. At the time, her mother hadn't met Tommy. They went on to have sons Brandon, 24, and Dylan, 22, and divorced in 1998.

On Hulu: His and James' forthcoming show follows the story of the leak of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's sex tape in 1997, which led to devastation for the Nineties pin-up and Motley Crue rocker when their intimate moment spread across the Internet for anyone to view

In 2015, Pam told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that she never profited from the sex tape, nor even watched it. She said: 'I've never seen it. I made not one dollar. It was stolen property...

'We made a deal to stop all the shenanigans. I was seven months pregnant with Dylan and thinking it was affecting the pregnancy with the stress and said, "I'm not going to court anymore. I'm not being deposed anymore by these horny, weird lawyer men. I don't want to talk about my vagina anymore or my public sex  anything."'

Earlier this year, Pam claimed that the video wasn't actually a sex tape, but was merely a compilation of footage of them naked on vacation, which just happened to include sex acts.

Reimagined onscreen: Pamela, 54, and Tommy, 59, tied the knot on a beach in Mexico in 1995 after dating for just four days. At the time, her mother hadn't met Tommy. They went on to have sons Brandon, 24, and Dylan, 22, and divorced in 1998

Baywatch babe: James seen replicating Anderson's iconic red swimsuit

In May, insiders claimed that the Pam has thinks Pam & Tommy is 'a joke and cheap knock-off.' She called the show 'God awful,' though the series had just begun filming, and she claimed she had never heard of Lily or Sebastian.

The source said Pamela had 'no intention of watching this God awful show, absolutely not. Never.'

Pam & Tommy is executive produced by Seth, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver and Alex McAtee at Point Grey, and Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle and Ali Krug at Annapurna.

The series is written by executive producers Rob Siegel and DV DeVincentis, and directed by executive producer Craig Gillespie. Dylan Sellers, Dave Franco, Chip Vucelich and Sarah Gubbins also serve as executive producers.
The Hundred with Andy Lee is set to return to Australian TV screens next week.

Off the back of a successful debut season, the comedy game show will return on Tuesday, February 8, according to Channel Nine.

The network also revealed Andy Lee will be joined by celebrity guests including Sophie Monk, Hamish Blake, Tom Gleeson, Tommy Little, Nazeem Hussain, Abbie Chatfield, Anne Edmonds and Senator Jacqui Lambie.

Coming soon! The Hundred with Andy Lee is set to return to Australian TV screens next week

The Hundred sees regular Australian polled on a variety of issues via Zoom, with three comedy panellists battling it out each episode to see who knows Australia best.

Lee joked in a statement, 'I asked Australia whether they wanted the show to come back and it came back with 95% "YES". I can only assume that 5% worked for rival networks.'

The news comes after the funny guy last week shared an image of his impeccably organised at-home storage where everything had its place.

'Yes, its hard to claim Im "Fast & Loose" but if you need a battery or door stop, I know exactly where to find it,' he cheekily captioned the post.

Returning stars: Andy Lee will be joined by celebrity guests including Sophie Monk (pictured right), Hamish Blake, Tom Gleeson, Tommy Little, Nazeem Hussain and Abbie Chatfield (left)

The man has skills! Lee revealed his impeccably organised at-home storage last week, following his luxurious trip with partner Rebecca Harding

In the picture, Andy, 40, sorted his items based on their use, including remote controls, swimming gear, sunscreen and party supplies.

Andy recently enjoyed a romantic stay at the upscale Qualia resort on Hamilton Island with girlfriend Rebecca Harding.

HIs model partner bid farewell to the luxurious trip by sharing a series of moments from their adventures on Instagram.

Among the images which were posted earlier this month, were pictures of the couple smiling from ear to ear.

Good work: In the picture, Andy, 40, sorted his items based on their use, including remote controls, swimming gear, sunscreen and party supplies

The leggy beauty also showed off her enviable body in a picture of herself beachside in a bikini.

Rebecca let the content speak for itself as she simply captioned the photo dump. 'SUMMER HOLS #2.'

The brunette stunner also shared video footage of her hunky beau as he enjoyed a windy, yet stunning boat ride around the stunning Island.

Holiday spam: Earlier this month, model Rebecca Harding (pictured) bid farewell to her luxurious trip to Hamilton Island, by sharing a series of images alongside her beau Andy Lee

Boat boy! The brunette stunner also shared video footage of her hunky TV star beau as he enjoyed a stunning boat ride. Pictured: Andy Lee

The genetically-blessed pair spent two weeks at Qualia on Hamilton Island, where rooms cost upwards of $1,450 per night.

The pair also enjoyed romantic candlelit dinners, a yacht charter and driving around Hamilton Island in a buggy.

Andy and Bec have been dating since 2014.
Tommy Dorfman and Peter Zurkuhlen are officially calling it quits after five years of marriage, months after the star came out as a trans woman.

In new court documents, obtained by TMZ, the 33-year-old Founder & CEO of ChipChop Holdings filed for divorce in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The former couple met at a housewarming party hosted by a mutual friend, became engaged in April 2015 and wed the following year.

Divorcing: Tommy Dorfman and Peter Zurkuhlen are officially calling it quits after five years of marriage, months after the star came out as a transgender woman; seen together in 2018

In July, when Tommy, 29, came out as transgender, she also revealed that her relationship with Zurkuhlen had evolved into a friendship.

'I was in a nine-year relationship in which I was thought of as a more male-bodied person, with a gay man,' she explained in an interview with Time.

'I love him so much, but we've been learning that as a trans woman, what I'm interested in is not necessarily reflected in a gay man. So we've had incredible conversations to redefine our relationship as friends.'

Inevitable split: In July, when Tommy (pictured in November) came out as transgender, she also revealed that her relationship with Zurkuhlen has evolved into a friendship since she began embracing her gender

Tommy's husband took to social media to publicly support her coming out announcement over the summer.

Peter gushed that he had 'so much love' for Dorfman, who he described as 'gorgeous.'

The 13 Reasons Why star publicly revealed she was a transgender woman in an interview with Time during a chat with trans novelist Torrey Peters.

'I love him so much, but we've been learning that as a trans woman, what I'm interested in is not necessarily reflected in a gay man. So we've had incredible conversations to redefine our relationship as friends' (seen in 2020)

'It's funny to think about coming out, because I haven't gone anywhere. I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically,' she told the writer.

Dorfman added: 'Coming out is always viewed as this grand reveal, but I was never not out. Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy.'

The performer sparked speculation from fans about her gender identity this past year after changing her appearance on Instagram, as well as stepping out with actor Lucas Hedges in New York last year wearing a summer dress.

Coming out: The performer sparked speculation from fans about her gender identity this past year after changing her appearance on Instagram, as well as stepping out with actor Lucas Hedges in New York last year wearing a summer dress; seen in 2021

Dorfman also revealed in the interview why she decided to keep her name amid her transition, explaining: 'I'm named after my mom's brother who passed a month after I was born, and I feel very connected to that name, to an uncle who held me as he was dying.'

She added: 'This is an evolution of Tommy. I'm becoming more Tommy... I am actually myself.'

Talking about her decision to come out, Dorfman said: 'I've been living in this other version of coming out where I don't feel safe enough to talk about it, so I just do it. But I recognize that transitioning is beautiful. Why not let the world see what that looks like?'

She added: 'So I kept, on Instagram, a diaristic time capsule instead - one that shows a body living in a more fluid space.'

Longtime partners: The former couple met at a housewarming party hosted by a mutual friend, became engaged in April 2015 and wed the following year; seen in 2017

'However, I've learned as a public-facing person that my refusal to clarify can strip me of the freedom to control my own narrative,' Tommy went on.

'With this medical transition, there has been discourse about my body, and it began to feel overwhelming.'

The actress explained that she did consider a different route in publicly coming out, including disappearing for two years and coming back into the spotlight 'with a new name, new face and new body.'

However, Dorfman said that it was something she 'couldn't afford to do' and wasn't what she wanted.
Clayton Echard issued an apology to Elizabeth Corrigan after he sent her home and gave a rose to a contestant who had been mean to her.

On Tuesday, Echard posted a lengthy apology to his Twitter account insisting he would had sent Shanae Ankney home had he known the true extent of the drama.

Corrigan confided in Ankney in an earlier episode that she had ADHD. Rather than show understanding or be sympathetic, Shanae weaponized the confession, shared it with the other women on the show, and made fun of Colorado-based real estate agent Elizabeth.

'I wish I could have seen what was happening': Clayton Echard has issued an apology to Elizabeth Corrigan after he sent her home but gave a rose a contestant who had mocked her on the show

'I'm sorry, Elizabeth, for what you're going through. I wish I could have seen what was happening when I wasn't there. I obviously knew y'all weren't in a good place with each other, but I thought at the same it was, solely, petty drama,' Clayton began in his apology.

'I would have sent Shanae home immediately for making fun of you for being neurodivergent, had I known. Overall, the experience for me watching hasn't been fun, simply because I'm seeing all the damage that I caused.

'I really meant well, but my actions weren't always the best as I now can see the repercussions from my decisions. I can promise you I'm learning from the mistakes though and am doing everything in my power to come out the other side a better man.'

Echard also said in a tweet posted on Monday that he was 'looking forward' to talking about what happened on the upcoming Women Tell All episode.

Difficult: Corrigan confided in Ankney in an earlier episode that she had ADHD. Rather than show understanding or be sympathetic, Shanae weaponized the confession, shared it with the other women on the show, and made fun of Colorado-based real estate agent Elizabeth

'Im looking forward to having an open and honest discussion at the WTA with what all happened. Its important to hold people accountable, including myself,' he tweeted.

Elizabeth responded to the tweet, writing: 'I'm ready.'

Elizabeth addressed the axing in a statement saying her painful experience in the house had been 'worth' it.

'I began this season with a simple photo of my great grandparents and one question in my heart. What serendipity had brought me to meet this man? I now have my answer. Though I did not find love with @claytonechard and am left still searching for my final rose I did find love in all of you, especially in the neuro-divergent (wand, brain, heart emoji) community who has surrounded me in a blanket of their love and support.

Holding himself accountable: Echard also said in a tweet posted on Monday that he was 'looking forward' to talking about what happened on the upcoming Women Tell All episode

'The sleepless nights spent staring at the ceiling in the mansion, the tormenting, the attacks, the bullying, the gaslighting, the physical abuse, the not being believed have all been worth it. Because you know what? Your stories have brought me to tears and changed my life, your vulnerability and finally allowing me to be seen. Thank you. Thank you for seeing me.'

'Living as an adult with severe anxiety has been something else entirely. I felt different, I felt strange, I felt not good enough. But you know what, I am. You are,' she added.

'Being different doesnt make you lesser, it makes you strong because you have to overcome. The biggest advice I can give to you as a woman and as a friend is to believe in yourself, believe in your intuition-it is strong, it is powerful and it KNOWS.

Elizabeth addressed the axing in a statement saying her painful experience in the house had been 'worth' it

'Listen to those around you who love and support you, and drown out the voices of those that do not, they are facing their own battles. Know that at the end of the day no matter who or what you are facing, YOU get to decide how to react YOU get to decide in that moment who you will be. Choose integrity. Choose respect. Choose yourself.

The drama between the two women has been playing out on small screens these last few weeks. Ankney sparked controversy after Corrigan privately revealed her ADHD diagnosis to her, only to reveal it to the other women.

She also accused Elizabeth of being 'fake, fake, fake,' adding: 'ADHD, my a**. 100 percent.'

It all came to an end Monday night after Clayton gave Shanae a rose but let Elizabeth go.

'Ding Dong the witch is dead,' Shanae said in confessional. 'I took her down. Clayton believed me.' She put the rose in her mouth and danced and sang ''Elizabeth is gone.'' She said it better be a wake up call to the other women ''don't f*** with me''.'
She's been labelled the 'Martha Kalifatidis of Married at First Sight 2022' thanks to her stunning looks and glamorous wardrobe.

And Ella Ding, 27, certainly looked the part on Friday as she headed to a park in Melbourne for an outdoor workout.

Showcasing plenty of cleavage, the raven-haired beautician pounded the footpath in a plunging Nike crop top and high-waisted gym shorts.

Busting out! Married At First Sight's Ella Ding, 27, (pictured) showed off her curves in skimpy activewear as she exercised at the park in Melbourne on Friday

Her look was completed with a pair of trendy sneakers, a gold bangle, layered necklaces and a set of oversized sunglasses.

She also appeared to be wearing her diamond wedding ring from TV 'husband' Mitchell Eynaud.

After her workout, the tattooed bombshell took a moment to cool down and perform some stretches.

Taking the plunge! Showcasing plenty of cleavage, the raven-haired beautician pounded the footpath in a plunging Nike crop top and high-waisted gym shorts

Ring-a-ding-ding! She also appeared to be wearing her diamond wedding ring from TV 'husband' Mitchell Eynaud

They could be twins! Ella has been labelled the 'Martha Kalifatidis of Married At First Sight 2022' thanks to her stunning looks and glamorous wardrobe. Pictured left is Ella, and right is Martha

Ella made her big reality TV debut on Tuesday's episode of Married At First Sight, marrying part-time model Mitchell Eynaud, 26.

'The dating world is pretty brutal,' she said in her intro. 'I feel like I've tried and done it all, and what I attract is f**k boys [and] commitment phobias.'

'I haven't had a boyfriend, like someone to call my boyfriend, in nine years,' she admitted.

Sparks fly! Ella made her big reality TV debut on Tuesday's episode of Married At First Sight, marrying part-time model Mitchell Eynaud, 26 (right)

Despite being extremely sceptical of the experiment, Mitch was instantly attracted to Ella.

The feeling was mutual, and the couple spent several minutes complimenting each other's appearance.

'My heart is racing, she's beautiful,' he told producers. 'She has great energy, a great smile, great eyes.'

'My heart is racing!' Despite being extremely sceptical of the experiment, Mitch was instantly attracted to Ella

He then got down on one knee and proposed to her at the altar.

Once it was time for their wedding photoshoot, the pair couldn't keep their hands off each other and passionately made out while the photographer snapped away.

When asked by a producer if she felt any sexual chemistry, Ella gushed: 'F**k yeah, he's gorgeous!'

Passion: Once it was time for their wedding photoshoot, the pair couldn't keep their hands off each other and passionately made out while the photographer snapped away

Sizzling: When asked by a producer if she felt any sexual chemistry, Ella gushed: 'F**k yeah, he's gorgeous!'

Despite the attraction between them, Ella promised not to sleep with Mitch on the first night because of her 'three date rule'.

Once they got back to their hotel room, the brunette beauty seemed to struggle with sticking to the plan.

'I can't wait to see him with his shirt off,' she told producers, before adding: 'I might need a cold shower.'Once they were in bed, the newly-married couple shared a passionate kiss underneath the blanket before rolling over and turning off the lights.
Megan Gale has enjoyed a month-long reunion with her beloved mother May who flew from Perth to Melbourne in December to be with her famous daughter.

And to celebrate their last day together on Wednesday, the 45-year-old treated her mum to a leisurely lunch at a swanky restaurant in the city.

Posting to her Instagram, the brunette beauty shared photos documenting their brilliant dining experience.

Farewell lunch! Megan Gale stunned on Wednesday as she stepped out for lunch with her beloved mother May in Melbourne

'Plenty to smile about today... Lunch at @IlBacaro with my beautiful Mama,' she captioned the post.

Within the gallery there were images of Megan beaming as she posed in a yellow floral dress, as well as a glimpse at the delicious Italian menu.

The ladies were treated to everything from creamy pasta, to delicate desserts and midday mimosas.

Earlier in the day, Megan also flaunted her new maxi gown in a separate post, telling fans it was not an add, simply a recommendation of a new brand.

Hello, sunshine! Earlier in the day, Megan flaunted her new maxi gown in a separate post

Yum! The ladies were treated to everything from creamy pasta, to delicate desserts and midday mimosas.

'This dress... Ive been waiting a few weeks for an occasion to wear this little number and today was the day, taking my beautiful Mama out to lunch,' she added.

The former Australia's Next Top Model host shares a special bond with her mum.

In July, the actress posted a black and white photo of May to her Instagram and the resemblance between the pair is uncanny.

That's where she gets it from! In July, Megan posted a picture of her stunning mother to Instagram for her birthday. Pictured left, May Gale, and right, Megan Gale

The pair share their trademark thick, dark locks, pronounced cheekbones and sharp jawline.

'My most beautiful Mama. Happy Birthday to you,' the model lovingly wrote in the caption.

She currently lives in Melbourne with her former AFL star fiance Shaun Hampson, 33.

The couple share their two children, son River, seven, and daughter Rosie, four.
The ex-boyfriend of Real Housewives of Orange County star Elizabeth Vargas barricaded himself inside of her Newport Beach, California home on Tuesday.

Sources told TMZ that one person was in custody after Vargas contacted authorities and accused him of extortion earlier Tuesday.

Vargas has been having problems with the ex-boyfriend, who barricaded himself inside the home after he showed up when police were there, sources told the site.

The latest: The ex-boyfriend of Real Housewives of Orange County star Elizabeth Vargas barricaded himself inside of her Newport Beach, California home on Tuesday

Police told the site that Vargas was unharmed, and not taken as a hostage in the incident.

Authorities had swept the home to ensure no one else was there on Tuesday, sources told the outlet.

Officials with the Newport Beach Police Department told FOX11 that a person was taken into custody at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, during the probe of a felony crime.

Police told CBSLA that a standoff commenced at around 5:45 p.m. PT in the region of East Balboa Boulevard and Medina Way.

Law enforcement surrounded the Orange County beach home where the reality star resides

Police were seen at the scene of the Newport Beach residence Tuesday

The Missouri-born Vargas was featured on the show's 15th season

SWAT officers were seen communicating with a megaphone in the incident and eventually entered the residence with a canine, officials said.

Law enforcement told the outlet around 7:40 p.m. PT that one suspect was placed into custody, with two more not yet apprehended.

The incident caused traffic to be re-routed, as East Balboa Boulevard from Island Avenue to Coronado Street was cordoned off while officers dealt with the situation.

The Missouri-born Vargas was featured on the show's 15th season.
Married At First Sight producers acted swiftly to remove Simon Blackburn from this year's season after discovering his TikTok videos slamming women and calling gay men 'filth'.

But during Monday's premiere episode, eagle-eyed fans couldn't help but notice that the disgraced groom and his bride Jessica Seracino were both present at the bucks and hens parties.

Simon can be seen sitting alongside fellow grooms Anthony Cincotta, Jackson Lonie, Cody Bromley and Brent Vitiello.

Did you notice it? Married At First Sight viewers spotted disgraced groom Simon Blackburn and his bride Jessica Seracino after producers were forced to 'hit the nuclear button' and edit them from the show

Producers took unprecedented steps to make it appear 'like he was never there' - despite the fact Blackburn, a FIFO worker and divorced father of two, had already attended the bucks party and filmed his wedding by the time he was kicked off.

Meanwhile, over at the hens party, Jessica, 27, can be seen sitting and chatting to fellow brides Selin Mengu, Olivia Frazer and Holly Greenstein for a few seconds before the camera quickly changes to another angle.

'They hit the nuclear button,' a source told Daily Mail Australia back in November.

There he is! Simon can be seen sitting (circled, on the right) alongside fellow grooms Anthony Cincotta, Jackson Lonie, Cody Bromley and Brent Vitiello

Editing fail: Meanwhile, over at the hens party, Jessica, 27, (circled) can be seen sitting and chatting to fellow brides Selin Mengu, Olivia Frazer and Holly Greenstein for a few seconds before the camera quickly changes to another angle

'They have scrubbed him completely, even though it meant wasting tens of thousands of dollars' worth of footage.'

The insider also revealed Blackburn's on-screen wife, Jessica Seracino, was whisked away to another hotel after he was booted from the show and partnered with another groom.

Jessica was the one who alerted producers to Blackburn's shocking rants, after asking her friends to 'do some research' on him after she noticed several 'red flags' during their wedding ceremony.

Producers took unprecedented steps to make it appear 'like he was never there' - despite the fact Blackburn, a FIFO worker and divorced father of two, had already attended the bucks party and filmed his wedding by the time he was kicked off.

A quick Google search revealed his history of hateful videos and tweets, and he was 'immediately' asked to leave.

Producers assured Ms Seracino they'd had no knowledge of Blackburn's past when they cast him on the show, and promised to find her a new groom.

They told Ms Seracino her wedding to Blackburn would not air on TV and she would instead be introduced as an intruder alongside her replacement 'husband'.

She is believed to have spent about 'four weeks in hotel isolation' waiting for the producers to find her a last-minute replacement groom.

Ms Seracino was then given a second chance at love when she was finally matched with bodybuilder Daniel Holmes. They will enter the show as intruders.
Lisa Armstrong suggested her feelings for new boyfriend James Green were going nowhere on Tuesday after the pair revealed matching tattoos.

The TV make-up artist, 45, is currently enjoying a New Year break with electrician Green, 38 - her first serious boyfriend since divorcing presenter Ant McPartlin - at an undisclosed tropical location.

And she looked happier than ever as they showed off identical inkings in her latest Instagram post, with Lisa also revealing a notably slimmer physique.

Here to stay: Lisa Armstrong suggested her feelings for new boyfriend James Green were going nowhere on Tuesday after the pair revealed matching tattoos

Appearing to symbolize their feelings for one another, the couple opted to have the single word 'Amor' - translated from Italian as love - tattooed onto their hands.

In another post Lisa looked fit and healthy as she posed for a photo alongside Green during a romantic night out, her figure noticeable beneath a smart black evening dress.

Last month, Lisa and James marked their second Christmas together as a couple.

Quite a difference: Lisa also revealing a notably slimmer physique as she posed alongside her boyfriend during a night out

Lovely: The TV make-up artist, 45, is currently enjoying a New Year break with electrician Green, 38 - her first serious boyfriend since divorcing presenter Ant McPartlin - at an undisclosed tropical location

Good times: Lisa and James recently celebrated their second Christmas as a couple

The make-up artist took to Instagram to share a photo of her tree and tagged her boyfriend in the image while writing: 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas'.

She shared an image of a particular bauble showing an image of her dog Hurley, who she shares with Ant, and with his name painted along the bottom. The exes share custody of their beloved pet pooch.

Lisa is believed to have started dating James at the beginning of 2020 and went public with their relationship last August, shortly after he separated from his wife Kirsty.

Then and now: Lisa revealed a slimmer physique in her latest Instagram post (Pictured left on Wednesday, and right in 2019)

Her love: They went public with their relationship last August, shortly after he separated from his wife Kirsty

Lisa and ex-husband Ant confirmed their split in 2018, following his stint in rehab the previous year where he sought help for alcohol and painkiller addiction.

Following rehab, Ant took a year out from TV and he and Lisa parted ways, with their divorce being finalised in April 2020.

The Saturday Night Takeaway presenter was reported to have handed over 31 million to Lisa, including their 5million home in West London, after an 'eight-hour negotiation'.
Sam Frost showed off her incredible beauty transformation on Wednesday.

The former Home and Away actress, 32, shared before and after photos to her Instagram page after getting her hair and makeup done for her latest project.

In the before snap, Sam still looked stunning with a clear complexion and tousled blonde tresses, before showing off a glamorous look including a bold red lipstick.

Wow! Sam Frost, 32, showed off her incredible beauty transformation (pictured) in before and after photos shared to her Instagram page on Wednesday

'Before & After. Always a fun day working with beautiful friends x,' Sam captioned the post.

In the before photo, the former Bachelorette donned a casual striped ensemble and drew attention to her blemish-free skin that was free of makeup.

She then changed into a flirty white figure-hugging dress, and was tended to by an expert team of hair and makeup artists.

Gorgeous: The former Home and Away star changed out of her striped linen ensemble into a flirty white frock. Her makeup look also included a golden complexion, defined brows, winged eyeliner and a touch of blush on her cheekbones

In the makeup chair: Sam also shared the products used for her glam transformation on her Instagram Stories. The former Bachelorette kept the project top secret

Her tresses were styled into structured waves and her makeup included a golden complexion, bold brows, winged eyeliner, a touch of blush and a bold red lipstick.

The beauty transformation comes after reports Sam is double vaccinated.

Sam, who joined the cast as Jasmine Delaney in 2017, quit the Channel Seven soap in December, two months after revealing she hadn't had the Covid vaccine.

Headlines: The beauty transformation comes after reports Sam is double vaccinated

Exit: Sam, who played nurse Jasmine Delaney on Home and Away since 2017, quit the Channel Seven soap in December, two months after revealing she hadn't had the Covid vaccine

But her co-star Lynne McGranger told Nova's Fitzy & Wippa on Monday that Sam was now fully vaccinated, meaning she could potentially return to the show.

Seven Productions has a policy requiring all cast and crew be vaccinated against Covid; however, sources said last year Sam's exit was unrelated to the mandate.

'There was some issues of course with getting vaccinated but I'm here to tell you she is double vaccinated, now possibly boosted as well,' Lynne revealed.

The door is open: However her co-star Lynne McGranger (right) told Nova's Fitzy & Wippa on Monday that Sam was now fully vaccinated, meaning she could potentially return to the show

She added: 'She needed to be with her family and they're down in Melbourne, but the door is definitely open for her to come back, and I'm sure as we speak she is in negotiations with producers.'

Sam filmed her last scenes for Home and Away in December at Sydney's Eveleigh Studios.

The actress then moved to Melbourne to be closer to her friends and family.
President Umaro Sissoco Embalo speaks during a press conference in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Feb. 1, 2022.

Umaro Sissoco Embalo held a press conference on Tuesday evening after the failed coup attempt in the afternoon at the Government Palace.

In front of national and international press, he announced that several civilians and soldiers "have already been arrested after this attempted putsch." (Photo by Aliu Balde/Xinhua)

BISSAU, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Bissau-Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embalo held a press conference on Tuesday evening after the failed coup attempt in the afternoon at the Government Palace.

In front of national and international press, he announced that several civilians and soldiers "have already been arrested after this attempted putsch."

During the press conference, he was accompanied by Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam and members of the government.

According to the president, "the actors in these acts are known by the security services, because they are being prosecuted for drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau."

"This is an isolated act carried out by a group of traffickers in the country," he said.

He reiterated his commitment to continue fighting drug traffickers in Guinea-Bissau.

Deputy Chief of Staff Mamadu Nkrumam was present at the press conference alongside the president, in the absence of his superior Biague Nan Tam who is outside the country for medical treatment. 
Coleen Rooney has paid a heartfelt tribute to her late sister Rosie on what would have been her 24th birthday on Wednesday.

Rosie passed away in 2013 following her lifelong battle with Rett syndrome, a rare brain disorder that causes severe disabilities.

The media personality, 35, took to Instagram and shared a photo of her sister snuggled up alongside Coleen's eldest son Kai, now 13.

Heartwarming: Coleen Rooney has paid a heartfelt tribute to her late sister Rosie on what would have been her 24th birthday on Wednesday (Rosie pictured with Coleen's son Kai)

Alongside the post, she wrote: 'Happy Birthday to our very special angel Rosie. The best sister and the best aunty #24today'.

Rosie bravely fought a lifelong battle with Rett syndrome  a rare brain disorder that affects physical movement and can bring about many different symptoms in each individual case.

She was originally taken in as a foster child by Coleen's parents, bricklayer Tony and Colette, a former nursery nurse, when she was two.

Although they were aware she was disabled they did not know the full extent of her condition, which has no cure.

Her love: Rosie bravely fought a lifelong battle with Rett syndrome  a rare brain disorder that affects physical movement (pictured on Coleen's wedding day)

In an exclusive article for The Mail on Sunday in 2006, Coleen wrote: 'When Rosie arrived she could crawl, and even though she couldn't use her hands that much she would handle toys on her play mat and she could eat.

'But over a period of time she stopped crawling and lost what use of her hands she had. Then she started having problems swallowing her food.

'It took pretty much a year for Rosie to be diagnosed and, looking back, I can see how much Mum pushed to find out what was wrong with her and to try to do what was best for her.'

Coleen was said to idolise her adopted sister and chose Rosie as chief bridesmaid when she married Wayne in 2008.

Sweet: Rosie was originally taken in as a foster child by Coleen's parents, bricklayer Tony and Colette (pictured), a former nursery nurse, when she was two

In a statement released shortly after her death, Tony and Colette wrote: 'Sadly our special angel Rosie, our much-loved daughter and sister, went to Heaven at 2.50 this morning at home where she was surrounded by her loving family.

'Rosie was just 14 years old and fought a lifelong battle with Rett syndrome. Throughout her life she brought so much love and happiness to all our family and everyone who knew and met her.

'She was such a strong little girl and an inspiration to us all. We shall cherish for ever the memories we have shared and the love she showed us each and every day of her life. As a family we are heartbroken but we are blessed to have had her in our lives.'

Coleen had been on holiday in Barbados with her younger brothers, Joe and Anthony, but cut short the trip when she heard that Rosie's condition had deteriorated.

An honour: Coleen was said to idolise her adopted sister and chose Rosie as chief bridesmaid when she married Wayne in 2008
Pam and Tommy's UK release was hit by an unexpected technical delay on Wednesday, sparking fury from fans.

A select number of viewers logged onto Disney+ at 8am ready to watch the first three episodes of the racy show, but were greeted with a message noting it 'wasn't available in their region.'

Pam & Tommy eventually appeared on the platform 30 minutes after its scheduled premiere time, though many fans had already taken to Twitter to demand answers from Disney+.

'Where is it?' Pam and Tommy's UK release was hit by an unexpected delay on Wednesday, sparking fury from fans

It's likely that those viewers who received a region error were attempting to access the series from locations outside of the US and Europe, while a small technical error may have caused the delay to the steam's release.

Posting a screenshot of the error message, one fan wrote: 'That's not freaking fair,' while another added: 'No cause wtf, first they release it 3 hours later and now it won't even work. fix this disney i'm so sick...

A third wrote: 'Hi, I keep getting a notice that Pam and Tommy is "not available in my region" Can you tell me what is going on please?'

One simply asked: 'Where is #PamAndTommy?' with one fan also complaining: 'This is actually my villain origin story #pamandtommy.'

'Why hasn't #PamAndTommy dropped in the UK yet?!?! Come on, @DisneyPlusUK - we're waiting!!!!,' another wrote.

Questions: Many viewers logged onto Disney+ at 8am ready to watch the first three episodes of the racy show, but were greeted with a message noting it 'wasn't available in their region'

A raging fan also penned: 'It's not working either... is disney+ not loading for anyone else for pam and tommy.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Disney+ for further comment.

Pam & Tommy follows the story of the leak of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's sex tape in 1997, which led to devastation for the Nineties pin-up and the rocker when their intimate moment spread across the internet for anyone to view.

The series, starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan as the titular couple, documents the fallout from the infamous scandal which hit their three-year marriage.

Angry: Pam and Tommy eventually appeared on the platform 30 minutes after its scheduled premiere time, though many fans had already taken to Twitter to demand answers

The sex tape was stolen by Seth Rogen's character Rand Gauthier after Tommy reportedly refused to pay for work that he had performed on their house.

Pam & Tommy has already made headlines thanks to its incredibly steamy scenes between the titular couple, with the first three episodes of the nine-part series featuring several nude scenes.

In 2015, Pamela told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that she never profited from the sex tape, nor even watched it. She said: 'I've never seen it. I made not one dollar.

Explosive: Pam & Tommy follows the story of the leak of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's sex tape in 1997

Ouch: The series documents the fallout from the infamous scandal which hit the couple's three-year marriage (Pamela and Tommy are pictured in 2003)

'It was stolen property... We made a deal to stop all the shenanigans.

'I was seven months pregnant with Dylan and thinking it was affecting the pregnancy with the stress and said, "I'm not going to court anymore. I'm not being deposed anymore by these horny, weird lawyer men. I don't want to talk about my vagina anymore or my public sex  anything."'

Earlier this year, Pam claimed that the video wasn't actually a sex tape, but was merely a compilation of footage of them naked on vacation, which just happened to include sex acts.

The series' star Sebastian revealed earlier this week he was tasked with watching Pamela and Tommy's sex tape to help research the role.

Speaking on This Morning, he said: 'Well, it was research! It's important as an actor to find as much as you can about who you're playing - but not when it came out - we were both too young for that.'

When news of the series first broke, Pamela is said to have branded the show 'a joke and cheap knock-off', noting she had never heard of Lily or Sebastian.

Pam & Tommy's first three episodes are available on Hulu and Disney+.
Halle Berry has revealed that her astronaut character in Moonfall was originally written for a man, while gushing that working on the film was a 'joy'.

The actress, 55, plays the part of NASA executive and former astronaut Jocinda Fowler who has to save Earth after discovering that the Moon is on a collision course with us.

But the part was originally intended for a male actor, although Halle has told how not much was changed about the character after she signed up, other than the fact she became a mother not a father in the film.

Star: Halle Berry has revealed that her astronaut character in Moonfall was originally written for a man, while gushing that working on the film was a 'joy' (pictured in the film with co-star Patrick Wilson)

She told Digital Spy: 'Other than that, I think the character was written for someone who was fairly intelligent.

'Someone who had some brawn to them and someone who was a parent. I think those things pretty much stayed the same.'

She also discussed the excitement of the big-screen experience of Moonfall - which also stars Patrick Wilson -, saying: 'I just really hope that people actually dare to go out to the theatre. I know it's a tricky time to be out in the world, but if you are desperate to go out and see a big movie on a big screen, this is a perfect movie.

Plot: The actress, 55, plays the part of NASA executive and former astronaut Jocinda Fowler who has to save Earth after discovering that the Moon is on a collision course with us

'If you really just need to get out of your house because we've all been shut in for two years now, I would say go, it'll be a fun ride.

'You'll have two hours to escape your reality, you'll have something put on your mind that wasn't on your mind before, but at the end of the day, I think you'll have a fun time watching what was in the mind of this creative genius.'

She also told how her previous films like Extant and X-Men prepared her for zero-gravity scenes.

Strong: But the part was originally intended for a male actor, although Halle has told how not much was changed about the character after she signed up (pictured with co-star John Bradley)

Halle explained: 'I had been on wires many, many times and I had played an astronaut, I even took a Zero-G gravity flight so I knew what it felt like to be really weightless, so those things definitely helped me.

'For me, when I get to work on sets like that, it's like being in the best amusement park you can be in, it's just good fun. These kinds of movies just give us a chance to play as actors.'

On whether she could imagine what the inside of the moon could look like she said: 'I don't think I could have imagined what was inside of [director] Roland's [Emmerich] mind, he's like a mad genius, so we didn't know what it was going to end up being.

Big stars: Patrick and Halle are pictured together at the premiere of the film in LA on Monday

'That was the joy of watching the film for the first time, I feel like I really got to watch it as a moviegoer, even though I had read the script and played the character, I still didn't know exactly what Roland would do or how it would come together.'

Moonfall marks Emmeric's return to film for the first time in six years.

He co-wrote the script with Spenser Cohen and Harald Kloser.

Halle and Patrick are joined by John Bradley, Michael Pena, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Eme Ikwuakor, Carolina Bartczak, and Donald Sutherland in the action-adventure that's truly out of this world.

The film will be released in IMAX theaters on February 4, 2022.

The big-budget disaster film will go up against Paramount's Jackass Forever on that date.

The full Halle Berry interview can be read on the Digital Spy website.
Paddy McGuinness is recovering from a knee operation after tearing his lateral meniscus.

The Top Gear presenter, 48, took to Instagram on Tuesday night to share a snap from his hospital bed as he rested up following the procedure.

Paddy explained how it was a 'relief to finally get it sorted' after waiting for six months to be operated on and having to 'manage' with the pain.

Ouch! Paddy McGuinness is recovering from a knee operation after tearing his lateral meniscus

He posted a before and after picture to his social media, showing his left leg wrapped up in a large bandage following the surgery.

He captioned the snap: 'Before and after. Finally got my knee op done! Been managing with it for 6 months, such a relief to finally get it sorted.

'Few days rest now, then we get this puppy moving!!! I had a torn lateral meniscus, along with a blue surgical sock.

Operation: The Top Gear presenter, 48, took to Instagram on Tuesday night to share a snap from his hospital bed as he rested up following the procedure

Tough: Paddy explained how it was a 'relief to finally get it sorted' after waiting for six months to be operated on and having to 'manage' with the pain

'Both were removed successfully. #tuesday #knee #meniscustear #physio #bluesock #sexy.'

His wife Christine jokingly commented on the post: 'Nurse McGuinness at your service!'

What is a torn meniscus? A torn meniscus is one of the most common knee injuries. Any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, especially when putting your full weight on it, can lead to a torn meniscus. Each of your knees has two C-shaped pieces of cartilage that act like a cushion between your shinbone and your thighbone. A torn meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness. You also might feel a block to knee motion and have trouble extending your knee fully. Advertisement

Paddy's followers were quick to wish him well in the comments, saying they hope he makes a quick recovery.

'Had the same op 3 years ago, knees been awesome since, make sure you do your exercises and all will be perfect!' one wrote.

'Wishing you a quick recovery,' a second said.

A third added: 'Literally had the same op done on the same day... different leg! Get well soon.'

Paddy took to his Story to give a further update, explaining he was using his time off in hospital to catch up on some TV.

'Been in hospital for a knee op, thought I'd use the time to catch up on Ozark,' he told his following. 'PS. I'm still slightly sedated.'

It comes after last week Paddy shared a snap of him and his Top Gear co-stars Chris Harris and Freddie Flintoff to Instagram as he teased the upcoming episode of the show.

The star took to social media to post the shot of the trio sitting on a bench in Miami, sporting sunglasses and cowboy hats.

The three men all looked seriously at the camera, decked out in sleeveless vests and shorts.

Captioning the photo, Paddy wrote: 'To much God damn man!!! Tourists. Thanks @therock for our clothing! Brand new @topgear coming soon. #tourist #miami topgear #therock #youcantbuystyle'.

He later took to his Stories to post more snaps enjoying the sunny city, with him and Freddie wearing Miami Vice suits.

Paddy's post came after he recalled the moment close friend Peter Kay locked himself out of his hotel room while completely naked after a harmless prank went wrong.

The legendary comedian was left red-faced after an attempt to humour Paddy backfired while they were spending the night in adjoining rooms at London's Soho Hotel.

Documenting the incident in new autobiography My Lifey, the former Take Me Out star revealed how Peter brazenly walked into his room without any clothes on, only to be mortified when the door connecting their suites unexpectedly locked behind him.

He wrote: 'It was all great fun until Peter swanned into my room starkers, only for the door to lock behind him.

'The dressing gown was too small for him, there was no way it would close at the front. I'd have to call down to reception to send someone up to unlock the door.

'I mean, how do you explain that one? 'I've got one of the nation's best-loved comedians in my room with his c*** out''.

He added: 'The manager knew who we both were but to be fair just opened up the locked door and left. That was the good thing about the Soho Hotel, it was discreet.

'If that'd been anywhere else we'd have probably ended up on the front page of the Daily Star.'
AFL WAG Rebecca Judd celebrated turning 39 last Thursday.

And the mother of four showed off her very trim physique and washboard stomach in skin-tight brown activewear for her latest series of mirror selfies on Wednesday.

The activewear co-founder posed up a storm inside her spacious bedroom at her $7.3million Melbourne home in a crop top and matching full-length leggings.

In her element: AFL WAG Rebecca Judd (pictured), 39, showed off her very trim physique and washboard stomach in skin-tight brown activewear in a series of mirror selfies shared to Instagram on Wednesday

Rebecca teamed the look with $1,590 Balenciaga beige sneakers and a coordinating $3,650 Louis Vuitton handbag.

In some shots, she concealed her gaze behind designer sunglasses and covered her petite upper frame with a brown zip-up jacket.

She was also primped to perfection with wavy caramel tresses and enhanced her striking facial features with elegant makeup.

Luxury abode: The activewear co-founder posed up a storm inside her spacious bedroom at her $7.3million Melbourne home in a crop top and matching full-length leggings

Glam detail: Rebecca teamed the look with $1,590 Balenciaga beige sneakers and a coordinating $3,650 Louis Vuitton handbag

Coordinating style: In some shots, she concealed her gaze behind designer sunglasses and covered her petite upper frame with a brown zip-up jacket

While celebrating her 39th birthday last Thursday, Rebecca also got a day off from her home schooling commitments, which she did for months last year due to Victoria's strict Covid-19 lockdown.

The model and media personality revealed she was free to have the day to herself as her four kids were all off back to school after the holidays.

Rebecca expressed a sigh of relief at the end of home schooling, sharing a shot of her kids on Instagram and writing, 'Thank f**kkkkkkkk for that'.

Beauty: Rebecca was also primped to perfection with wavy caramel tresses and enhanced her striking facial features with elegant makeup

Family: While celebrating her 39th birthday last Thursday, Rebecca also got a day off from her home schooling commitments, which she did for months last year due to Victoria's Covid-19 lockdown. Pictured: Oscar, 10, Billie Kate, seven, and twins Tom and Darcy, five

'First day of school vibes. Good luck Kiddos,' she wrote underneath a black and white image of her kids, Oscar, 10, Billie Kate, seven, and twins Tom and Darcy, five.

She also received some well wishes from friends and family for her birthday.

Her lookalike sister Kate Twigley shared a picture of herself and Rebecca at her sibling's famous 'Juddchella' housewarming bash back in 2019, writing: 'Happy Birthday Bec, miss you so, so much!'

She added: 'I think we need to plan another party like this to make up for all the celebrations we've missed.'

Birthday wishes: Her lookalike sister Kate Twigley shared this picture of herself and her sibling at Rebecca's infamous 'Juddchella' housewarming bash back in 2019, writing: 'Happy Birthday Bec, miss you so, so much!'

WAG Kylie Brown meanwhile wrote on her Instagram Stories: 'Happy birthday my girl, you are beautiful inside and out.'

She added: 'So many fun adventures with you, here's to many more. Love ya babe!'

In September, Rebecca admitted that she was finding home schooling tough as Melbourne dealt with months of lockdown.

Rebecca told Now to Love that things often get 'crazy' in her household.

Sweet note: WAG Kylie Brown meanwhile wrote on her Instagram Stories: 'Happy birthday my girl, you are beautiful inside and out'

But she said she was able to switch off after a busy day of remote learning by mixing a margarita and putting on her favourite music.

'I'm currently home schooling four kids so every day is a little bit crazy,' she said.

'It's pretty hard to get any work done with four kids home schooling, and keeping on top of the house,' she said.
Jack Fincham's daughter Blossom, two, was rushed to hospital and spent eight hours in A&E, according to her mother Casey Ranger.

Casey took to Instagram on Tuesday and shared a snap of her daughter in the Royal Hospital London, describing the last few days as a 'living nightmare'.

She noted Blossom is now back at home and on the mend and didn't mention what she had been taken to hospital for.

Post: Casey took to Instagram on Tuesday and shared a snap of her daughter in the Royal Hospital London, describing the last few days as a 'living nightmare'

Casey wrote: 'My brave little bear. The last few days have been a living nightmare. After spending 8 hours in A&E we were rushed away in an ambulance to the Royal London Hospital.

'After two nights there & 3 days of continuous tests, scans & X-rays, we are finally home. I am unable to put the last few days/nights/hours/minutes into words.

'All I can say is how UNBELIEVABLY PROUD I am of my little lady & how incredibly grateful we are to be back in the comfort of our own home, sat on the sofa, candles burning, ready to eat some popcorn & watch Encanto with our cat.

'I am forever grateful that my bubba is on the mend & we will be spending the next few days at home so Blossom can get some rest; this means baking cakes, colouring in, painting & snuggling up on the sofa watching movies'.

Family: She noted Blossom is now back at home and on the mend and didn't mention what she had been taken to hospital for

Casey also took to her Instagram Stories and shared a snap of Blossom with a bandage around her hand as she put a matching one on her doll.

Alongside another snap of the tot, she wrote: 'Thank you for all your lovely messages'.

It comes after Casey recently accused Jack, 30, of not seeing his daughter in eight months, saying he needs to 'take accountability' for his absence.

Casey shared a lengthy Instagram post as she responded to a recent podcast in which Jack claimed he 'really wanted to be involved' in raising his child.

Vowing to get 'her side of the story out', Casey claimed that Jack had stopped contacting her without any explanation and had not seen their daughter since April 14 last year.

Claims: It comes after Casey recently accused Jack of not seeing his daughter in eight months, saying he needs to 'take accountability' for his absence.

She explained: 'I feel I've worked so hard to get to the place where I'm at mentally and I wasn't even sure if I should give any of this my energy. Deep down I have nothing to prove and I'm ok with being misunderstood.

'I am ok with people passing judgements based on false narratives. I am ok with people labelling me the 'bitter mum'. I am ok with knowing that lies are being told about me and I am ok with being the topic of malicious gossip.

'My focus is on me, my healing, my daughter and our futures...'

Detailing her experience of being trolled over her public war of words with Jack in recent months, she added: 'I have at times had to share some of the most private details about me and my life with complete strangers to then be judged and misunderstood in the hopes that people would see through the lies, the manipulation and the gaslighting.'

She then clarified: 'With regards to his relationship with Blossom, it's true - he hasn't seen her since April 14. On March 6 this year, after having zero contact with Jack for months on end, he reached out to me for the first time. Then on March 7 I invited Jack round so he could see Blossom for the first time in nine months.

Her side: Vowing to get 'her side of the story out', Casey claimed that Jack had stopped contacting her without any explanation and had not seen their daughter since April 14

'At that moment in time we were very deep in family court proceedings and I suggested we work on our friendship aside from the court and for him to be a part of Blossom's life.

'We then agreed that he would see Blossom on a weekly basis, we agreed that he would come round every Thursday and I made it clear that he was more than welcome to pop round at any time to see his daughter.

'During this time, I believed we was on the right path to him building a bond/relationship with Blossom and us building a positive friendship.'

Yet Casey claimed that Jack failed to see his daughter, penning: 'However, during the very short space of time that he was in her life (this time around) he had already let her down a couple of times and I let it go due to having a heart and this deep sense of hoping that things would work out for the better, for the sake of his and Blossom's relationship.

'But as mama who has her daughter's best interests at heart, I acknowledged it with Jack, I noted it in my mind and carried on as normal.'

'I'm turning my life around for her': Jack recently revealed he 'really wants to be involved' in daughter Blossom's life - days after his drug-driving charge was dropped

Casey then claimed that Jack had invited her to his brother's birthday party but later stopped mentioning it again. She claimed that once she asked if the event was still going ahead, he then ceased all contact with her.

Casey alleged: 'That was the last time I heard from him and that was the last time he saw my daughter on April 14, 2021, the day he come round with his mum and his sister.

'He stopped contacting me and most importantly he stopped turning up to see his daughter with zero explanation.'

Casey stated that Jack's mother blocked her number and stated: 'I am in no way responsible for her not having a relationship with Blossom. These people really need to take accountability for their actions rather than trying to shift the blame onto me to suit their false realities.'

She concluded: 'The truth is, we all have a story, we all have our own struggles and we all have unhealed trauma. I too have my own struggles with anxiety and depression and have done for years. I too have also had my own struggles with drugs in the past.

Scrapped: The former Love Island star, 30, was due to appear in court on December 9 charged getting behind the wheel of his 30,000 Mercedes while under the influence of cocaine and Valium, but the Crown Prosecution Service scrapped his case

'This is not something that I have never shared publicly and it's not because I'm ashamed, it's because it's painful and it's so far from the person who I am today.

'If I'm honest it makes me feel sad when I revisit those places because I am reminded of the lost soul that I used to be and for some reason, it really hurts. My daughter saved my life.

'One day I would like to share my struggles with you, but for now my focus is on my healing, my daughter and preparing for university x'.

MailOnline has contacted Jack's representatives for comment.

Emotions are still there: Jack welcomed Blossom just nine months after he split from his Love Island ex Dani Dyer, who he revealed he 'still cares for'

Casey's comments came after Jack revealed he's desperate to be involved in Blossom's life following the news his drug-driving charge has been dropped.

The former Love Island star was due to appear in court on December 9 charged getting behind the wheel of his 30,000 Mercedes while under the influence of cocaine and Valium, but the Crown Prosecution Service scrapped his case.

Speaking on the Anything Goes podcast, Jack insisted he has moved on from feuding and described Casey as an 'absolutely brilliant' mother.

He said: 'I really want to be involved in Blossom's life now. Blossom's now probably walking and talking and I'm missing out on all these good things, and I want her to realise I ain't a f***ing bad person.

'I've been a d***head, but I'm turning my life around. I want to be a success and I want to be able to give my daughter everything as well.

'First of all I want Casey, who is her mum - absolutely brilliant mum - I want her to see the changes I'm making in myself. I want her to see that I'm worthy of being a dad.

'Over these last few months I've been making steps, making change, doing good things, being a better person.'

Back in October, Casey claimed that Jack has a 'non-existent' relationship with his daughter and she felt 'isolated' while keeping her pregnancy a secret in case it 'ruined his career'.

She also accused Jack of using their daughter to 'boost his public profile'.

Casey also claimed Jack did not purchase any Christmas presents and stopped visiting her without explanation.

She said Jack is not listed on his daughter's birth certificate and has no 'legal rights to her', which she said was his decision.

Jack fired back with a message he shared on Instagram and shared photos of several gifts as proof he did buy Blossom a Christmas present.

The reality star also shared screenshots of messages he claimed were sent by Casey a week apart.

Feeling good: Jack explained he's now turning his life around and going clean after past drugs problems and he is winning his battles with addiction and depression

One asked for child support payments to be made in cash and said she would drop their daughter off at his house for a few hours every week.

The second was a message refusing Jack's request to pick up Blossom unless Casey was also present while he was with her.

Despite having seemingly put their differences aside, Jack said on the podcast that Casey's argument is 'she wants to be there when I see her', adding: 'I think I'm going to have to swallow that'.

He explained he's now turning his life around and going clean after past drugs problems and he is winning his battles with addiction and depression.

He is working on a building site and says he's 'loving it' driving diggers, but added that he's still continuing his career as a celebrity and his management is in talks with various big brands about project ideas.

Jack welcomed Blossom just nine months after he split from his Love Island ex Dani Dyer, who he revealed he 'still cares for'.

Jack, who won season four partnered with EastEnders actor Danny Dyer's daughter, said their relationship was perfect when they were given no clues about the time and they had no schedules to keep to.

He said their love blossomed while they only had to follow the advice from show bosses - that they just needed to think about the present.

He explained: 'The advice they gave us - they said "don't think about what's coming, don't think about who's coming in, don't think about who's leaving, just think about what's happening right in front of you right now". And that's the first time I'd ever done that.

'That's why I was at my happiest because I was just living, waking up, all I had to worry about was just going and putting my pants on, or going and having a drink, or going and cleaning my teeth, or going and making some toast. "ooh, how hot is it today - I'll have a dip". Just living in that moment.

'Going back to the relationship with Dani, when we had phones back and knowing the time - because you don't know the time in Love Island, they keep that away from you - having to be somewhere, me falling back into old ways, that's definitely why we split up.

'I thought I was well in love. I care about her now. But she had places to be, I had places to be, and it kind of just wasn't working.

'Because before, how I describe it, it was a holiday romance. When you're on holiday all you worry about is the next day.'

Case: Jack was due to appear in court on December 9 charged getting behind the wheel of his 30,000 Mercedes while under the influence of cocaine and Valium

As well as still being fond of Dani, Jack said he's on good terms with many other exes.

He said: 'All I want is a girlfriend. I want a girl that I can lay and have a chat with - that's why I keep texting my ex-girlfriends.

'They chat back to me and they all want to meet up with me, but I always end up backing out, because I think in the back of my mind we must have split up for a reason.

'I want to find someone that I can actually share experiences with, and actually loves me and cares about me with my flaws.'

Jack's interview came days after his drug-driving charge were dropped, just days before he was due in court.

Prosecutors claim Jack was found to have 239 micrograms of benzoylecgonine  a by-product of cocaine  per litre of blood when he was stopped a mile from his home in Swanley, Kent. The limit is 50 micrograms.

They say he also had 632 micrograms of diazepam - the chemical name for the sedative valium - per litre of blood when the limit is 550.

However, a statement from his lawyer read: 'Ultimately, the Crown were unable to present any reliable evidence to prove that Mr Fincham had drugs in his system.

'Mr Fincham denied the allegation. He is, therefore, not guilty of the offences charged and will not be required to attend court again in relation to this matter.'

Since his court case has allegedly been dropped, it's now said that Jack plans to 'work on himself' and 'reinvent' his image, with the TV star concentrating on his charitable efforts.

Jack initially appeared in court back in July after his two-year-old white Mercedes C200 AMG was stopped on the B2173 on January 4, according to the charge sheet.

He was charged with two counts of driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.
Liam Neeson cut a suave figure when he appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon in New York on Tuesday.

Donning an all-black suit, Liam, 69, was quick to get the audience giggling as he shared some unexpected showbiz anecdotes.

Chatting to Jimmy, 47, Liam hilariously gave his best 'blue steel' impression, mimicking Ben Stiller's iconic pose from 2001 comedy Zoolander.

Suave: Liam Neeson cut a suave figure in a Giorgio Armani suit when he appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon in New York on Tuesday

Funny: Donning an all-black suit, Liam, 69, was quick to get the audience giggling as he shared some unexpected showbiz anecdotes

Liam also revealed that he and actor Chris Hemsworth bonded over the pose when filming 2019's Men In Black.

The star explained: 'I was doing a film with Chris Hemsworth two or three years ago.

'We had to pose for a couple of photographs, and I said my usual line, I said, ''Okay, they got that. Let's do a Blue Steel''.'

Liam added: 'And Chris went, ''I'm going to do a Magnum''.'

Hilarious impression: Liam performed his best 'blue steel' impression for the delighted audience

Anecdotes: Liam also revealed that he and actor Chris Hemsworth bonded over the pose when filming 2019's Men In Black

Reminiscing: The star explained: 'I was doing a film with Chris Hemsworth two or three years ago' (pictured arriving at Jimmy's chat show in the Big Apple)

Magnum is another of Stiller's character Zoolander's poses.

The Taken actor has been busy in recent months filming his new movie Retribution.

Filming for the Hollywood version of the Spanish thriller, El Desconocido, began in Berlin in July.

The flick will see Liam as a banking executive who receives a bomb threat whilst driving his children to school.

He added: 'We had to pose for a couple of photographs, and I said my usual line, I said, ''Okay, they got that. Let's do a Blue Steel'''

The banker's life is thrown upside down when he has to experience the harrowing events which then take place.

The picture is similar to the story of the film Speed which stars Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.

Jack Champion, as seen in Avatar 2, and Wonder Woman 1984's Lilly Aspell will play Liam's two children. Retribution is being directed by Predator's Nimrod Antal.
The latest Marvel adventure moved south on Wednesday as Samuel L. Jackson filmed his first location scenes in London.

The American actor has been in the United Kingdom since the turn of the year as he works on forthcoming TV series Secret Invasion with former Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke.

But after filming his initial scenes as Nick Fury on location across Yorkshire, Jackson was in the English capital for the first time as work continued outside upmarket Strand restaurant The Savoy.

Here we go: Latest Marvel adventure Secret Invasion moved south on Wednesday as Samuel L. Jackson filmed his first location scenes in London

The bearded actor wore an artificial eye and bore three prosthetic scars across his face while making an unlikely appearance next to an equally unlikely kebab van, from which his character was filmed purchasing food.

On a busy set Jackson was seen embracing co-star Ben Mendelsohn - who will play Talos in the forthcoming series - as they waited for their next scenes.

Jackson is set to reprise his role as Fury, the head of secret organization S.H.I.E.L.D, and stars in the Disney Plus series alongside Clarke, Mendelsohn, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Cobie Smulders.

Hungry work: The actor made an unlikely appearance next to an equally unlikely kebab van, from which his character was filmed purchasing food

Plenty to tall about: On a busy set Jackson was seen embracing co-star Ben Mendelsohn - who will play Talos in the forthcoming series - as they waited for their next scenes

Coming soon: Jackson is set to reprise his role as Nick Fury, the head of secret organization S.H.I.E.L.D

Earlier this week he was seen in Leeds as he was joined by his co-stars Clarke and Kingsley, whose characters names have yet to be revealed.

Cobie will play S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill and Mendelsohn will star as Talos, the leader of a Skrull sect and a close friend ally of Nick.

The show will act as a direct sequel to the 2019 film Captain Marvel, which also starred Samuel as a younger version of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

New role: Mendelsohn will star as Talos, the leader of a Skrull sect and a close friend ally of Nick

Side by side: The two actors were clearly pleased to see one another as they filmed their latest scenes in London on Wednesday

Exciting: The show will act as a direct sequel to the 2019 film Captain Marvel, which also starred Samuel as a younger version of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent

Secret Invasion follows shapeshifting aliens known as the Skrulls who have infiltrated all aspects of life on earth.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show will use Captain Marvel as a launch pad and focus on Fury's relationship with Talos.

Kyle Bradstreet, who helmed the acclaimed Mr. Robot, will act as writer and executive producer.

Extra sauce please: Jackson's character was filmed waiting for his food to be served

Out of this world: Secret Invasion follows shapeshifting aliens known as the Skrulls who have infiltrated all aspects of life on earth
Elsa Pataky and her husband Chris Hemsworth are the proud parents of three children.

And on Wednesday, the 45-year-old Spanish actress took to Instagram to give fans a rare look what life is really like behind closed doors with their children, India, nine, and twins Tristan and Sasha, seven.

Uploading a photo of her husband getting smothered with hugs, and giving one of their twins a ride on his shoulder, Elsa cheekily captioned the post: 'Isn't parenting the best?'

Daddy duty: Elsa Pataky shared a rare photo of husband Chris Hemsworth being playfully attacked by daughter India, nine, and twins sons Tristan and Sasha, seven, on Wednesday. The actress captioned the image, 'Isn't parenting the best?'

Alongside the photo she included the hashtags #wemissyoualready and #bestdadever.

In the photo Chris appeared to have his hands full carrying his twin boys Tristan and Sasha, while India appeared to be biting his elbow.

Chris and Else recently suffered another setback in their plans to build a second 'Westfield-style' mansion on a 35 hectare site in an exclusive part of Byron Bay.

Daily Mail Australia revealed in August the Hemsworths wanted to build a new seven-bedroom home - each with its own ensuite bathroom - less than a kilometre from the $30million mega-mansion they call home.

Too cute: Alongside the photo, Elsa included the hashtags #wemissyoualready and #bestdadever. Chris is pictured in Europe

The new digs is expected cost the Hollywood power couple $4.4million but at the moment remains on the planning shelf.

Daily Mail Australia has been told approval for the new compound has been put on hold due to a lack of expertise within Byron Bay Council.

'The council has lost a bunch of their staff in recent times and there is a huge backlog in processing Development Approvals,' a source told Daily Mail Australia.

'Not much is happening with it at the moment.'

Delays: Chris and Else recently suffered another setback in their plans to build a second 'Westfield-style' mansion on a 35 hectare site in an exclusive part of Byron Bay

The development has been plagued with issues since it was lodged earlier this year, with experts claiming the Hemsworths are 'dreaming' if they hoped to come in on their documented budget.

'The Development Approval said the estimated cost to build the two houses was $4.4m. I reckon that wouldnt put Christmas dinner on the Hemsworths table,' a building industry expert told Daily Mail Australia in August.

'The figure will be way more.'

Chris purchased the land - about a kilometre from his existing Byron Bay mansion - for $4.25million in 2019.

Any blowout is unlikely to dent the coffers of the Thor star and his wife, who have a combined net worth of about $200million.

Development plans were first lodged in March, with a final draft being submitted with Byron Bay Council in July.
Conor McGregor has concerned his fans after posting a bizarre rambling message during a visit to his Irish pub on Tuesday after vowing to quit drinking.

The mixed martial artist, 33, took to Instagram with a 400-word post to celebrate Irish coronavirus restrictions being relaxed while letting his hair down at his Dublin bar the Black Forge Inn.

But the caption seemed long and confused, with one of the accompanying pictures showing him with his belt unbuckled before posing with a glass in his hand.

Oh dear: Conor McGregor has concerned his fans after posting a bizarre rambling message during a visit to his Irish pub on Tuesday.... after vowing to quit drinking

In the post he discussed how he was happy 'freedom day' had arrived, before making several typos and writing incomprehensible sentences about it being 'chaos' when you visit.

Conor had vowed to return to training and matches this spring after breaking his leg during his defeat to Dustin Poirier last year.

His fans were quick to comment on the post with their opinions, with some suggesting he was back drinking alcohol and not taking his sport seriously.

You alright? The mixed martial artist, 33, posted a 400-word caption to celebrate Irish coronavirus restrictions being relaxed while letting his hair down at his Dublin bar the Black Forge Inn

Wild: But the caption seemed long and confused, with one of the accompanying pictures showing him with his belt unbuckled before posing with a glass in his hand and a female patron

One person said in the replies: 'Connor isn't serious about being an elite athlete anymore. Elite athletes don't drink alcohol and go out partying multiple time per week.'

While another said: 'Constantly on the drink. The man's done. Found his fame and fortune and now he's off the rails.'

While another person on Instagram said: 'Stick to mma please cut out the alcohol.'

Mad: In the post he discussed how he was happy 'freedom day' had arrived, before making several typos and incomprehensible sentences about it being 'chaos' when you visit

Reaction: His fans were quick to comment on the post with their opinions, with some suggesting he was back drinking alcohol and not taking his sport seriously

Conor wrote in his post: 'We celebrate Freedom here at The Black Forge Inn. Freedom and Justice! Great to see Niamh in enjoying her Saturday night. My Roofer O brien roofing also in done a great job on my roof it is now a full on bunker, like no other.

'A blacked out bunker. 60 plus staff. The Black Forge Inn, Dublin Twelve. Stawl it. Food and drinks and sparkling 24/7 365. Sound system blow your nickers off.

'Taylor my niece also in enjoying her @forgedirishstout. Hers because it's hers when it hits. Make no mistake. This a kingdom and I'm King. Tay Tay 850 a week beep beep new jeep. Rangey. Eyesight 20/10 vision. Because 2020 is done. It's not 2020 no more. Its not what it was no more, you get me? I love you my Taylor 

Busy: Conor had vowed to return to training and matches this spring after breaking his leg during his defeat to Dustin Poirier last year

'My mothers home Pearse Street also in the house loving it and enjoying them selves. Pearse Street loves it. We love Pearse Street!

'My pub The Black Forge Inn is for Pearse Street also many may not know, fully. The name of my snug is Christy's Snug. Engraved! After my Grandfather. Yup Jakes! Christy 'Jakes' Moore. Pearse Street. My mothers, mad, loving father. We miss but we know where you are granda. Here at this bar hhahahaa.

'Eating and drinking on the gaf. Whiskey is a mad man's drink my mother always says hahahaha  who's runs it ma? Thanks for the early house my Grandfather! And the whiskey. And the gargle. 5 more minutes Ma. My Mothers blood line! The Moore's.

Chaotic: Conor wrote in his post: 'We celebrate Freedom here at The Black Forge Inn. Freedom and Justice!'

'I have spirits around this whole premise watching over every single patron that enters. Support. Protection. Guidance. Spiritual connection from above. Chaos. Ya ya yaaaaa hahahahaha I don't just make spirits, I have spirits! Ghosts on a string.

'What a pub i after making hahahahahahaaj ah stop lord have mercy father save my soul give me two and a double and use the thing with the bubble back us all our father God Jesus Christ. Please, thank you! We deserve the best! God, we deserve this, thank you God has our back! 100%.'

It comes after he assured fans last week that he would completely ditch alcohol when he returns to full training.

Promises: It comes after he assured fans last week that he would completely ditch alcohol when he returns to full training

'For my fighting fans, I want to say I know I am enjoying myself with my liquid,' he wrote on Instagram.

'But very soon I will be immersing my self in full training again with complete abstention from my wonderful creations of spirit and ale. Just five more minutes Ma.'

A likely return date for Conor is July 2, with UFC 264 marking the promotion's card during International fight week.
TELECEL Zimbabwe yesterday denied that it was facing closure despite rumours that it had shut down its operations after its subscribers failed to access data services or make voice calls for several days.

Government has a 60% stake in Telecel after its takeover in 2016.

Telecel is very healthy at the moment, and our licence is still operational. There are no issues concerning debt, Telecel spokesperson Zitha Dube told NewsDay yesterday.

She said the network challenges being experienced by subscribers were a result of expired software on the main mobile switching controller.

Dube said the software had since been renewed, but the network was still experiencing call rejections.

She said the company was working with tech firm, Huawei, to rectify the network challenges.

In the past, Huawei has threatened to pull out maintenance and servicing support to local telecommunication firms over non-payment of fees for such services.

Currently, Huawei is owed US$123 062 597 by government.

Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director-general Gift Machengete said he had not received any information in relation to Telecel Zimbabwe shutting down.

If they had closed or were closing, we would have been notified before that happened, yet, I have not received anything on my desk relating to that, Machengete said, adding that it was social media fake news.

What we know is that they have been having technical issues, which is why their network has not been performing well recently. We are monitoring the issue and they are keeping us up to date with their progress in addressing those technical challenges.

Potrazs annual reports show declining Telecel revenue and active subscribers.

In 2017, Telecel had 1 646 411 active subscribers, but this fell to 582 570 at the end of the third quarter in 2021. Newsday
Millie Mackintosh has revealed that she, husband Hugo Taylor and their two daughters have moved home.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 32, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a plethora of snaps of the pair packing up their home as they prepared to settle into their new abode.

Captioning her post, Millie shared that she was 'beyond excited for the next chapter in our new place!' with the beauty seen joyously posing in front of a moving van.

Fresh start: Millie Mackintosh has revealed that she, husband Hugo Taylor and their two daughters have moved home

One image shows Millie cradling youngest daughter Aurelia, eight weeks, in a sling as she shared a snap of her empty dressing room, in which there were piles of cardboard boxes.

While another sees Hugo, 35, packing up boxes of books in their living room, while several boxes and household items were pictured strewn around the room.

Little Sienna, 20 months, also made an appearance, with the tot seen playing in the kitchen surrounded by a wall of cardboard boxes.

Let's go! Captioning her post, Millie shared that she was 'beyond excited for the next chapter in our new place!' with the beauty seen joyously posing in front of a moving van

Elsewhere, Millie also snapped a selfie of herself enjoying a glass of fizz as she celebrated the big move.

Captioning her snaps, she penned: 'And were in! Im a little sad to leave our old house as we had so many of our firsts there, but Im beyond excited for the next chapter in our new place and all the memories that we will create here!

'With two little ones we needed a bit more space, and I needed ALL of the help, thank you so much to @davisandmac for everything, I wouldnt have survived without you!'

On the move: The former Made In Chelsea star, 32, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a plethora of snaps of the pair packing up their home as they prepared to settle into their new abode

Ready to go: Little Sienna, 20 months, also made an appearance, with the tot seen playing in the kitchen surrounded by a wall of cardboard boxes

Celebrations: Elsewhere, Millie also snapped a selfie of herself enjoying a glass of fizz as she celebrated the big move

Millie didn't specify where she was moving to, but it's doubtful it will be too far from their previous Chelsea abode.

The couple previously lived in a smaller flat together in West London - a location they moved into in around early 2017.

Elsewhere, Millie revealed that her youngest daughter Aurelia does not have hip dysplasia.

Peekaboo: The star was also seen larking around the moving van as she prepared to leave her former home

Exciting: Captioning her snaps, she penned: 'And were in! Im a little sad to leave our old house as we had so many of our firsts there, but Im beyond excited for the next chapter in our new place'

Taking to Instagram on Monday, the TV personality shared a snap of her little one in a carrier and wrote: 'We got the all clear.'

In August 2020, Millie and her husband Hugo Taylor's eldest daughter Sienna was diagnosed with congenital dislocation of the hip.

Aurelia looked adorable in a knitted cardigan and Millie made sure to keep her warm beneath a cosy cream blanket.

The image appeared to have been taken in a hospital waiting room.

Millie wrote in full: 'We had an appointment today to check if Aurelia has hip dysplasia like her sister did.'

In August, Millie reflected on her eldest child's diagnosis twelve months earlier.

Diagnosis: In August 2020, Millie and her husband Hugo Taylor's eldest daughter Sienna, now 20 months, was diagnosed with congenital dislocation of the hip

She posted a photo of Sienna from a year prior showing her in a Pavlik harness, which is used to treat the congenital dislocation of the hip caused when the hip socket is too shallow and the femur is not held tightly in place.

Hip dysplasia means the hip joint is loose and can lead to problems, including the possibility of the femur coming out of the socket.

Hip dysplasia is treated with the harness called a Pavlik harness, which Millie's daughter Sienna had to wear.

Millie captioned the post: '1 year ago Sienna was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and put into a Pavlic [sic] harness, at the time it was very upsetting and scary.'

With the help of her followers, Millie said she made it through the tough time thanks to their words of positivity, as she went on: 'One thing which really helped me to stay positive were the photos and videos that lots of you lovely people sent me.'

She continued: 'Seeing so many other babies have the same treatment and then later be happily running around filled me with a sense of hope!'
Dakota Fanning had good company on Wednesday as she prepared to film her latest scenes on the set of forthcoming drama Ripley.

The actress was joined by Irish co-star Andrew Scott - known to millions as 'The Priest' in BBC3 hit Fleabag - while shooting her latest project on location in Venice.

Occupying a small table on a typical Venetian balcony, the pair looked relaxed as they admired the view during a short break.

Quiet on set: Dakota Fanning was joined by Andrew Scott on Wednesday as they prepared to film their latest scenes on the Venice set of forthcoming drama Ripley

The otherwise innocuous setting was embellished by the presence of camera and sound men, each of them adhering to health and safety guidelines by wearing protective face coverings.

Dakota, 27, will portray Marge Sherwood in the new Showtime series, while Scott, 45, plays the iconic Tom Ripley - the arch conman previously played to aplomb by Matt Damon.

The character was created by late novelist Patricia Highsmith and played a defining role through five of her novels and several subsequent film adaptations.

Here she is: Dakota admired the view as she filmed scenes on a Venetian balcony

Coming soon: Dakota, 27, will portray Marge Sherwood in the new Showtime series, which is expected to air later this year

Let's talk: Dakota and Andrew - who plays Tom Ripley - appeared to discuss the script with a member of the production

In the new series, set in the 1960s, Ripley is hired by a wealthy New Yorker to travel to Italy to convince his wayward son Dickie Greenleaf to return home.

But along the way, he starts to weave a complex web of deceit with murderous consequences.

Dickie's Venice based American girlfriend - played by Dakota - will slowly suspect Ripley's motives when he shows up looking for him.

Drama: In the new series, set in the 1960s, Ripley is hired by a wealthy New Yorker to travel to Italy to convince his wayward son Dickie Greenleaf to return home

Suspicious: Dickie's Venice based American girlfriend - played by Dakota - will slowly suspect Ripley's motives when he shows up looking for him

The drama is being adapted from Highsmith's novels by Schindler's List writer Steve Zaillan.

The 1999 film The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by the late Anthony Minghella, starred Matt Damon as Tom Ripley with Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge and Jude Law as doomed jazz musician Dickie.

The news of Dakota's casting comes on the heels of her joining Showtime's anthology series The First Lady.

Big production: The drama is being adapted from Highsmith's novels by Schindler's List writer Steve Zaillan

Hard at work: A boom operator and cameraman were seen as Andrew and Dakota shot a scene

She's set to play the daughter of President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford in the show.

The former child actress is best known for I Am Sam, Man On Fire, War Of The Worlds and The Twilight Saga.

Ripley's US release date in the USA is confirmed to be 2022. A UK release is to be announced.

Reading between the lines: Andrew checked his dialogue during a break between scenes
Celebrity Ex On The Beach has released its much-anticipated first teaser, as a slew of new stars prepare to reunite with their former flames.

Leading this year's lineup are Kaz Crossley and Megan Barton Hanson, James Lock and KC Osborne, as they attempt to find love at a villa in Gran Canaria.

As ever the stars' beach getaway won't be a smooth ride, as while they are forced to come face-to-face with their exes during the trip, they'll also be greeted with a shocking twist in the form of the Shack of Secrets.

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Tense: Celebrity Ex On The Beach has released its much-anticipated first teaser, as a slew of new stars prepare to reunite with their former flames

In the preview, Nathan Henry can be seen heading into the villa, while Kaz Crossley admits she 'feels sick' at the prospect of seeing her ex again.

Pertrified at the prospect of seeing their exes Megan and RuPaul's Drag Race UK star A'whora cry out in horror, before the stars share a toast to mark their sunny adventure.

After transforming into her Drag alter-ego, A'whora can be seen strutting her stuff by the pool, while Sofie Karlstad and Kori Sampson enjoy a parachute ride.

Dramatic: Once again the stars the stars will be on a mission to find love at a luxurious villa in Gran Canaria, but it won't be smooch sailing as they are reunited with their former flames

Nervous: During the trailer, Love Island star Kaz Crossley confesses she 'feels sick' at the prospect of seeing her ex again

Arrival: In the preview, Nathan Henry can be seen heading into the villa, along with the other celebrities on a mission to find love

Sensational: After transforming into her Drag alter-ego, A'whora can be seen strutting her stuff by the pool

While the pair don't waste any time cementing their romance with a kiss, Nathan, clearly enjoying the trip, declares: 'Bring on the chorizo baby!'

Given they went onto date, and split, after filming the show, it's no surprise to see James also sharing a smooch with Megan in one of the trailer's blink-and-you'll-miss-it-moments.

But in typical Ex On The Beach fashion, it isn't long before the stars are greeted with an unexpected surprise, with the phone revealing some of their former flames are on the horizon.

Date time! Norwegian influencer Sofie Karlstad and Too Hot To Handle's Kori Sampson enjoy a parachute ride

Raging: Married at First Sight Australia star KC Osborne can be seen lashing out at her ex screaming: 'You've hurt me more than anyone in my entire life'

Exciting: The preview ends on a tense cliffhanger, setting the stage for the show's heart-stopping eliminations by warning that two stars will be asked to leave the villa

As Kaz reads out a message saying: 'Whose Ex is next?' Mike Boateng can be seen gasping in horror.

KC is then greeted with one of her former flames, and it doesn't turn out well, as she furiously tells him: 'You've hurt me more than anyone in my entire life.'

Kaz also becomes embroiled in a feud of her own, storming down the beach, while Megan confesses: 'Living with an Ex is awful.'

The preview ends on a tense cliffhanger, setting the stage for the show's heart-stopping eliminations by warning that two stars will be asked to leave the villa.

Beginnings: Megan Barton Hanson (left) and James Lock (right) dated for two months in 2021 before splitting in December

Sizzling: Having had her fair share of romantic drama, Love Island star Kaz Crossley will also appear in the line-up

Hunky: Geordie Shore's Nathan Henry (left) and Too Hot To Handle star Kori Sampson will lead the male arrivals heading into the villa

Glamorous: After starring on Married At First Sight Australia, KC Osborne has made a trip across the pond to star in the show

Megan and James split in December 2021 after a two-month romance, so it'll be interesting just how they'll react when they come face-to-face again on the show.

Joining the couple are Love Island star Kaz Crossley, Married at First Sight Australia star KC Osborne, Too Hot To Handle's Kori Sampson, Love Island star Michael Boateng, Geordie Shore's Nathan Henry and Norwegian influencer Sofie Karlstead.

This series includes a shocking new twist in the form of the Shack of Secrets, causing havoc among the villa by unveiling new exes and dishing out secret missions when the celebritiess least expect it.

Fans will have to wait and see whether the stars can survive an unexpected reunion with their former flames.

Celebrity Ex on the Beach returns on Tuesday 15th February at 10pm on MTV.

Bring on the heartache! Mike Boateng, who starred on Love Island in 2020, is also heading into the villa to star in the show

Sizzling: Rounding out the lineup is Norwegian influencer Sofie Karlstead, who also starred on the Swedish version of Love Island
Meghan King admitted she was 'stupid' to marry Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Owens so quickly into their relationship as she chatted with former Real Housewives of Orange County co-star Tamra Judge on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old reality star turned blogger said 'I do' to the Los Angeles-based attorney in October only months after meeting with a backyard wedding at Cuffe's childhood home in Pennsylvania attended by the President and First Lady.

King reflected on their 'whirlwind' marriage and admitted she's talking to a therapist in addition to dipping her toes back into the dating scene as she navigates her life as a single mother to three children.

Honest approach: Meghan King admitted she was 'stupid' to marry Joe Biden's nephew Cuffe Owens so quickly into their relationship as she chatted with former Real Housewives of Orange County co-star Tamra Judge on Tuesday

'I'm going on dates and stuff,' King said when Tamra asked about the status of her love life while the pair caught up on her Two Ts in a Pod podcast.

'I was married, but it was such a whirlwind, and from start to finish with him was only three months, which was just stupid of me to marry him, but I did.

She added: 'It doesn't feel like a marriage, it feels like a three-month dating relationship that was an abrupt start and an abrupt end.'

'I'm going on dates and stuff,' King said when Tamra asked about the status of her love life while the pair caught up on her Two Ts in a Pod podcast; seen in

In the past: The 37-year-old reality star turned blogger said 'I do' to the Los Angeles-based attorney in October only months after meeting with a backyard wedding at Cuffe's childhood home in Pennsylvania attended by the President and First Lady

Meghan only revealed she was dating Cuffe in an Instagram post shared in September, just weeks before their quaint East Coast nuptials.

'I'm talking to my therapist about it, and she's like, "Meg, you're fine. It seems like it should be serious because you put the title 'marriage' on it, but it wasn't,"' she said.

'I learned a lesson, and it's time to move on. I think about it as a memory, and I'm sad it didn't work out, I had hopes for it ... but it's fine. It literally feels like a nostalgic memory.'

'I'm rattled. This situation is profoundly devastating,' she wrote. 'This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows  and I'm shocked and saddened by the way things turned out. I am moving forward with my children as we privately process our pain and begin to let go of shattered dreams'

Tough time: The former Real Housewives of Orange County star admitted to being 'rattled' over their failed union as she shared a series remarks on social media days after it was revealed they split

Meghan confirmed their split in December in a social media share announcing she was 'rattled' by the end of their relationship.

'I'm rattled. This situation is profoundly devastating,' she wrote. 'This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows  and I'm shocked and saddened by the way things turned out. I am moving forward with my children as we privately process our pain and begin to let go of shattered dreams.'

She shares co-parenting responsibility of twin sons Hart and Hayes, three, and five-year-old daughter Aspen with her ex Jim, who is currently engaged to her former friend Kortnie O'Connor
Married At First Sight Australia is set to return to the UK later this month just weeks after the 2022 season premiered Down Under.

In a bid to find long-lasting love, a new group of singles will put their romantic lives in the hands of relationship experts Mel Schilling, 50, John Aiken, 51, and Alessandra Rampolla, 47, with a trailer being released on Wednesday.

The new series will kick off with a bucks night for the boys and a hen night for the girls, with the couples then saying 'I do' after meeting each other for the very first time at their wedding ceremony.

Back with a bang: Married At First Sight Australia is set to return to the UK later this month just weeks after the 2022 season premiered Down Under

This year the pairs will live under one roof with their relationships being put to the test as time goes on.

Series nine of the Australian version of the show will see the home stays week return, as well as Alessandras intimacy week, confessions week and the couples retreat, which will see the brides and grooms go away together.

The stars of the show will attend the familiar and sometimes raucous dinner parties, and their secrets will be revealed and bombshells will be dropped at the commitment ceremonies with the experts.

Love matchers: In a bid to find love, a new group of singles will put their romantic lives in the hands of relationship experts Mel Schilling, 50, John Aiken, 51, and Alessandra Rampolla, 47

Karl Warner, Head of Youth and Digital at E4 said: 'Weve now caught up with the Australian broadcast schedule so we can be as close to the action as possible.

'Married at First Sight Australia is the show everyone was talking about in 2021 and Ive no doubt itll be just as addictive in 2022.'

Contestants Tamara Djordjevic, Selin Mengu and Domenica Calarco are three names fans won't be forgetting anytime soon.

Looking for love: The new series will kick off with a bucks night for the boys and a hen night for the girls, with the couples saying 'I do' after meeting at their wedding

Under strain: This year the pairs will live under one roof with their relationships being put to the test as time goes on

Familiar scenes: Series nine of the Australian version of the show will see the home stays week return, as well as Alessandras intimacy week

Growing close: Confessions week and the couples retreat, which will see the brides and grooms go away together

Drama: The stars will attend the familiar and sometimes raucous dinner parties and their secrets will be revealed and bombshells will be dropped at the commitment ceremonies

The controversial trio, who are all fond of cosmetic procedures and aren't afraid of confrontation, look set to bring plenty of drama.

As for the grooms, Sydney hospitality guru Brent Vitiello, party boy Al Perkins and Mitch Eynaud will be stand-outs.

Many of the new cast members are connected to famous reality stars.

Gripping: Although changes were made for Covid safety measures during Sydney's lockdown, it is understood there will be as many rows and rivalries as ever

Edge of the seat viewing: The new season will feature more highly addictive drama when the experiment is rocked by scandal in an explosive MAFS first

Rocked: The incident leaves the relationship experts gobsmacked and causes several participants to walk out

Most notably, Mitchell Eynaud was in a relationship with former Love Island Australia star Edyn 'Mac' Mackney.

The pair are understood to have dated for several months in 2013 before deciding they were better off as friends.

'We dated many moons ago, we were much younger,' Edyn, who also hails from the Gold Coast, told Daily Mail Australia.

Breakout stars: Tamara Djordjevic (left), Selin Mengu (centre), and Domenica Calarco (right) are three names fans won't be forgetting anytime soon

Ella Ding is understood to be close friends with MAFS Australia alumni Sam Carraro and Michael Brunelli, and follows both on Instagram.

Brent Vitiello's famous pals include Australia's Big Brother VIP's Josh Carroll, The Bachelor Australia's Kiki Morris and Sogand Mohtat, and model Rachael Lee.

Al Perkins went to school with Love Island Australia star Ronni Krongold and is the older brother of glamorous Sydney influencers Mimi and Leah Perkins, who have a combined following of 400,000.

Boys' club: As for the grooms, Sydney hospitality guru Brent Vitiello (left), party boy Al Perkins (centre) and Mitch Eynaud (right) will be stand-outs

Although several key changes were made to accommodate Covid safety measures so the show could be filmed without any delays during Sydney's lockdown, it is understood there will be as many rows and rivalries as ever.

The new season will feature more highly addictive drama when the experiment is rocked by scandal in an explosive MAFS first.

The incident leaves the relationship experts gobsmacked and causes several participants to walk out.
Martin Freeman boosted his UK business fortune by 400,000 last year taking the value of his companies to 6 million for the first time.

Assets for GeoffreyJoseph Limited, controlled by the actor, 50, who shot to fame playing Tim Canterbury alongside Ricky Gervais in The Office, went up to 4.5 million.

On top of this he has a second company Rita Maris Limited worth 1.5 million, according to accounts filed this week.

Impressive: Martin Freeman boosted his UK business fortune by 400,000 last year taking the value of his companies to 6 million for the first time (pictured last month)

Figures for Geoffrey Joseph Limited, which was set up by Freeman in 2008, show it had to pay a 68,000 corporation tax bill because profits were so high.

The documents published this week do not reveal any dividend or salary payment that the star has taken fro the company.

Freeman has become one of the the UKs most successful actors equally at home in an ITV true crime drama like A Confession or playing Bilbo Baggins in a Hollywood blockbuster like Lord of the Rings.

Starring role: Assets for GeoffreyJoseph Limited, controlled by the actor, 50, who is starring in BBC drama The Responder (pictured), went up to 4.5 million

His overall fortune from his Hollywood career is said to be 15 million.

The actor was recently spotted strolling in Hampstead with is girlfriend Rachel Mariam, 29.

The couple are believed to have struck up a relationship in 2020, four years after his split from his wife, fellow Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, with whom he shares children Joe, 16, and Grace, 13.

The couple went public with their romance last year, when they graced the red carpet at the Raindance Film Festival Opening Night gala screening of Best Sellers at The Dorchester in October just months after Amanda discussed their split.

Hello there! The actor was recently spotted strolling in Hampstead with is girlfriend Rachel Mariam, 29 (pictured in October)

Way back when: Martin split from his wife, fellow Sherlock star Amanda Abbington in 2016, with whom he shares children Joe, 16, and Grace, 13 (Martin and Amanda in 2014)

Speaking about the impact the split would have on their kids, she said in April: 'I think it's unsettling if I pretend I'm this Stepford Wife parent...

'Nobody is. I'm sure I've given them irreparable damage and they will be going to therapy because of me and Martin at some point. That's what I am striving for and what Martin strives for as well  to create a place where they're not hiding anything.'

Martin's latest role as a Liverpudlian police responder with mental health issues recently sparked a backlash over regional accents on TV.

The Responder follows Martin's character, Chris, a Liverpudlian urgent response officer on the edge as he deals with marital problems and mental health issues alongside his challenging job.

Apprentice star, Lord Alan Sugar criticised his scouse accent, claiming that he struggled to understand a single word he said in the BBC thriller.

He wrote: 'Hard to follow what he and other cast are saying. No disrespect to people of Liverpool they are nice down to earth people. My wife gave up watching she said she could not understand a word.'

One Twitter user branded him 'the thickest billionaire in the world' while others feared his comments could set back the struggle to get big TV dramas made outside of London.

Backlash: Martin's latest role as a Liverpudlian police responder with mental health issues recently sparked a backlash over regional accents on TV

Martin said he put in the hours to master the accent and 'spoke to himself in scouse' for a year and a half beforehand.

He told the BBC's Front Row radio show: 'The idea of going up there among a load of Scousers, cast and crew, and ballsing it up was quite sobering, so I wanted to absolutely get it right.

'And I'd always said if I wasn't 100 per cent convinced that I could do the accent, I was never going to do the accent if it was going to be like 80% or whatever.

'And I desperately wanted to play this part. You were always very aware of the fact, in a nice way, that I wasn't from around these parts. No-one made me feel like that.

'But I always thought 'don't ever think you've got this, keep working, keep honing it, and just do it all the time'.'

Oh dear: Apprentice star, Lord Alan Sugar criticised his scouse accent, claiming that he struggled to understand a single word he said in the BBC thriller
On Tuesday, Vanderpump Rules creator Lisa Vanderpump underwent surgery on her leg, which was broken in three places after being thrown from her beloved horse on Sunday.

The British 61-year-old's son Max Todd was by her side Wednesday as she recovered at her $11.9M Beverly Hills home, Instastorying a video of the supportive bouquets she received: 'My mother is loved and adored.'

Lisa's husband of 39 years, Ken Todd, was with her at The Paddock Riding Club in LA's Los Feliz neighborhood when it happened.

On the mend! On Tuesday, Vanderpump Rules creator Lisa Vanderpump underwent surgery on her leg, which was broken in three places after being thrown from her beloved horse on Sunday (pictured April 18)

'She was just on the floor, and she knew that she'd broken her leg straightaway,' the 64-year-old restaurateur told TMZ on Tuesday outside The Chapel at The Abbey in West Hollywood.

'I think maybe that was her last ride. I wouldn't let her ride again. This is a gentle horse, a Cavalia horse, perfect. He was amazing. Something spooked him, and you never know when that's going to happen.'

Vanderpump also suffered a bruised back in the fall, and her recovery - including physical therapy - is expected to take eight to 10 weeks.

'My mother is loved and adored': The British 61-year-old's son Max Todd was by her side Wednesday as she recovered at her $11.9M Beverly Hills home, Instastorying a video of the supportive bouquets she received

'She was just on the floor, and she knew that she'd broken her leg straightaway': Lisa's husband of 39 years, Ken Todd, was with her at The Paddock Riding Club in LA's Los Feliz neighborhood when it happened (2019 stock shot)

The 64-year-old restaurateur (pictured May 30) told TMZ on Tuesday: 'I think maybe that was her last ride. I wouldn't let her ride again. This is a gentle horse, a Cavalia horse, perfect. He was amazing. Something spooked him, and you never know when that's going to happen'

Ken said there's no way they're putting her horse H.R.H Prince Tardon - whom she acquired six years ago - down: 'No way! She loves that horse!'

'She has owned and ridden horses her entire life and the producers gave her a tour of the stables at the show, and introduced her to Tardon, a horse they were about to retire,' her publicist Phil Lobel told Dailymail.com in a statement Sunday.

'Riding is one of constant joys in her life and Prince Tardon even understands Lisa's commands in French. It's a mutual admiration.'

Scary: Vanderpump also suffered a bruised back in the fall, and her recovery - including physical therapy - is expected to take eight to 10 weeks (pictured in 2017)

Ken said there's no way they're putting her horse H.R.H Prince Tardon - whom she acquired six years ago - down: 'No way! She loves that horse!' (pictured in 2016)

So cute! Either way, the All Things Vanderpump podcaster can still bond with the two miniature horses - Diamonds and Rose - she bought back in 2015 for Todd's birthday (pictured Wednesday)

Either way, the All Things Vanderpump podcaster can still bond with the two miniature horses - Diamonds and Rose - she bought back in 2015 for Todd's birthday.

Lisa can also dote on her baby grandson Theodore Wolf - whom her daughter Pandora and her husband of a decade, Jason Sabo, welcomed last November.

And while ABC canceled Vanderpump's dog-grooming competition Pooch Perfect last month, Bravo has yet to renew her series Vanderpump Rules for a 10th season.

'Nanny Pinky!' Lisa can also dote on her baby grandson Theodore Wolf - whom her daughter Pandora and her husband of a decade, Jason Sabo, welcomed last November (pictured November 13)
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Television star Christina Hendricks welcomed cameras into her eclectic Los Angeles home for the newest edition of Drew and Jonathan Scott's magazine, Drew + Jonathan Reveal.

The 46-year-old bombshell prefers maximalism to minimalism and features 'whimsical' retro touches throughout her 1916 abode that could have been found in Joan Holloway's home.

The Madmen star takes her home decor very seriously, opting to decorate herself and goes so far as to keep a measuring tape 'in her purse' at all times.

Star: Television star Christina Hendricks welcomed cameras into her eclectic Los Angeles home for the newest edition of Drew and Jonathan Scott's magazine, Drew + Jonathan Reveal

'Some people want to unclutter their life and live minimally. I respect that, and I feel comfortable visiting them,' Hendricks said.

'But I always wanted to have one of those places that no matter how many times you visit, you notice something different, something whimsical,' she continued. 'I'd love it if my friends' kids walked into my house and found it magicalan elegant magic castle!'

The red-headed beauty's home is a kaleidoscope of colors featuring layers of different textures from wood to metals to velvet.

Her living room stands out with an artful gallery wall behind her tufted couch with layers of green toned throw pillows.

At home: The 46-year-old bombshell prefers maximalism to minimalism and features 'whimsical' retro touches throughout her 1916 abode that could have been found in Joan Holloway's home

'When I first bought the home, I painted everything white because I just wanted a neutral palette. I'd never owned a home before,' she explained. 'And as the years go by, another room gets wallpapered, another room gets painted.'

The splashes of reds, golds, greens and other hues were things added after the Good Girls star began to come into her own with her home decorating style.

'When I first bought the home, I painted everything white because I just wanted a neutral palette. I'd never owned a home before,' she explained.

'And as the years go by, another room gets wallpapered, another room gets painted. I wanted it to be happier and cheerier inside. It was romantic and serious, and now it's romantic and playful.'

Christina put together all of the designs herself and told the magazine that she never felt comfortable hiring a professional because she likes to be emotionally connected to her space and the pieces in it.

'Everything in my home reminds me of something exciting that happened, a place that I visited, a loving moment, or a funny story,' she said

'I keep a list of dimensions and a small tape measure in my purse so that if I do find that dream credenza, I'll know if it's going to fit in my house or not.'

'Everything in my home reminds me of something exciting that happened, a place that I visited, a loving moment, or a funny story,' she said. Adding: 'I travel a lot for work, and I stay in sterile environments for months at a time. So when I come home to my things, it feels like a hug.'

Photos from the interiors of the star's space certainly gave off a warm and cozy vibe. Even her kitchen table featured a bench along one wall lined with coordinated but mismatched pillows.

'I try to keep a balance  not too many antiques, not too many modern elements. I've read over the years if you like things, they'll go together,' she said.

'When I buy a new piece, I do try to make sure it complements what's already there, but if I truly love it, I'll find a way to make it work.'

Property brothers: Subscribe to Drew + Jonathan Reveal now at www.revealmagazine.com/reno

'I keep a list of dimensions and a small tape measure in my purse so that if I do find that dream credenza, I'll know if it's going to fit in my house or not.'

Just this week, Christina Hendricks gave a peak into another artfully designed room in her home with a clever mirror selfie decked out in black lingerie.

Christina in the caption for her roughly 1.1 million followers wrote: 'Foundations'.

The actress starred as Joan P. Holloway Harris in the AMC series Mad Men from 2007 to 2015.

She earned six Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress and won two Screen Actors Guild Awards with the cast of Mad Men and two Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her work in Mad Men.

Bombshell: Just this week, Christina Hendricks gave a peak into another artfully designed room in her home with a clever mirror selfie decked out in black lingerie

Christina starred in the comedy-drama TV series Good Girls that was canceled in June 2021 after four seasons.

She provides the voice of Cherie: A Benihana in the Hulu animated series Solar Opposites created by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan, creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Solar Opposites premiered on Hulu in May 2020 and was renewed in June 2021 for a fourth season.

Christina's film credits include: Struck By Lightning, The Neon Demon, Bad Santa 2, Candy Jar and American Woman.
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She's known for living her best life thanks to balancing a successful movie career with her wellness brand Goop, that has netted her a rumored $150million fortune.

So it's no surprise when taking a peek inside Gwyneth Paltrow's newest mansion to discover that the star has built herself a truly spectacular 'forever home' in Montecito, California, where she counts the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as neighbors.

The Oscar-winning star has invited fans into the luxuriously-designed house for a new feature with Architectural Digest - that was unveiled on Wednesday.

The deluxe space features a lavish kitchen, a 'show-stopping' living room, and its very own spa that includes a $30k shower system, hot tub and plunge pool that Gwyneth, 49, stresses is essential for 'good circulation.'

Inside Gwyneth Paltrow's VERY luxurious home: Goop star gives a tour of Montecito mansion that includes its own spa with $30k showers and hand-painted wallpaper

Gwyneth and her TV producer husband Brad Falchuk reportedly purchased the home for almost $5million in 2016, and began extensive renovations on the property.

While giving a tour of her house, the Goop mogul repeatedly references how it was inspired by her time living in the UK, when she was married to Coldplay front man Chris Martin.

The Sliding Doors star first shows off her entryway which she 'built from the ground up' adding it was the first time she had ever done something so ambitious calling it 'quite an undertaking.'

'I think having spent so much time as an ex-pat in Europe, and really falling in love with Georgian proportions, and those kind of details, I really wanted the entryway to feel like its own special room.

Epic: Modeled on a spa in Paris called Bain de la Marais, the epic space shows a tiled hot tub, gold-plated showers, a cold plunge pool which she points out is 'excellent for circulation'

How much?! The faucets alone cost upwards of $30,796, and are made by R.W. Atlas (pictured above, behind the star)

Forever home: The Sliding Doors star confessed she will often pinch herself when using the spa

Wow: While Gwyneth describes her living room as being a 'showstopper' that title surely goes to her spa, which is the true spectacle of the home

'And so with the architects we conceived of having a fireplace, which is something you see a lot in Europe in an entryway, and just gives this really nice feeling of warmth and welcome as you come in.'

'The tiles reminds me, as I said, of my time living in London, and just a detail that's classic and traditional.

The Oscar-winner then gives fans a glimpse of her favorite room in the house, the powder room, which she reveals has a 'hand-done antiqued mirror' and hand-painted wallpaper.

Sliding Doors: The actress starts of the video by giving fans a tour of her very luxurious home

Entryway: Gwyneth repeatedly references her time living in London - when she was married to Chris Martin - as the main influence of her decor

Flooring: Gwyneth said the black and white tiles remind her of living in Europe, describing it as a 'detail that's classic and traditional'

Stunning: The full feature appears in the March issue of Architectural Digest, on newsstands now

'It makes me feel very grown-up when I pee in here,' she joked.

The dining room is next on the tour, which is when Gwyneth reveals she enlisted her friend, interior designer Brigette Romanek, to help furnish the house, who she has been pals with for 20 years.

Teasing some friction between the pair, Gwyneth also revealed how they 'fought' over the futuristic light fitting on the ceiling.

Tour: The star first shows off her entryway which she 'built from the ground up' adding it was the first time she had ever done something so ambitious calling it 'quite an undertaking'

A little help from her friend: Gwyneth says she was helped by her interior designer pal Brigette Romanek

Brand new: Gwyneth and Brad bought the house for $5million in 2017 but rebuilt the space 'from the ground up'

However, the duo 'landed on it being pretty cool and fabulous.'

The camera then pans to her reclaimed fireplace which came from the company Chateau Domingue, and wallpaper that was hand-painted by artists MJ Atelier in Los Angeles.

The kitchen, that features reclaimed Portuguese tiles, was designed by the architects who made her home, Roman and Williams, a firm based in New York.

Dining room: Gwyneth admitted that there was some 'friction' with her designer pal over the futuristic finishing in the dining area that features an ultra-modern dining table and light fittings

Second thoughts? Gwyneth looks up to the light fixture which she had worried was too sci-fi for her taste

Open-plan: The star shows off her dream kitchen where she makes pasta dishes for her two children, Apple Martin, 17, and Moses Martin, 15

Firm favorite: The Iron Man star said the sliding ladder was one of her favorite parts of the kitchen

Gwyneth - who is now married to TV producer Brad - explains the importance of having the kitchen open-plan so she can cook and talk to her children, Apple Martin, 17, and Moses Martin, 15, from her previous marriage to her Coldplay ex.

She also admitted to getting her inspiration from Pinterest, when making making a fluting effect with plaster over the kitchen fireplace, which she describes as being 'such a luxury.'

By her own admission, Gwyneth calls her living 'bonkers in the best way' as it features a number of differing styles, including a marble bar, a swing sofa seat and lights inspired by the band Guns N' Roses.

Interesting: By her own admission, Gwyneth calls her living 'bonkers in the best way' as it features a number of differing styles, including a marble bar, a swing sofa seat and lights inspired by the band Guns N' Roses

Wired: The ceiling light fixtures are certainly eye-catching

Entertaining: Gwyneth calls her living room the 'show stopper' of the house

Mish-mash: The unique space shows off a number of differing interior styles all in one, including a 70s-inspired sofa

It includes a marble bar - but Gwyneth admits she hasn't been using it recently.

'Unfortunately, I'm not drinking very much this year so I'm having mostly Seedlip cocktails which is like, mocktails or sparkling water. But, when the time comes, I will heavily utilize her.'

While Gwyneth describes her living room as being a 'showstopper' that title surely goes to her spa, which is the true spectacle of the home.

The actress jokes that 'maybe I can write off as a business expense' considering she works in 'wellness' with brand Goop.

Fun for the family: The large 70s-style sofa provides enough space for the actress and her children to relax in

Running the bar dry: She also showed off her marble top bar but admitted she has had a 'year off drinking'

Modeled on a spa in Paris called Bain de la Marais, the epic space shows a tiled hot tub, gold-plated showers, a cold plunge pool which she points out is 'excellent for circulation.'

The faucets alone cost upwards of $30,796, and are made by R.W. Atlas.

Still, it's all worth it for Gwyneth who confesses she uses the spa 'every day' and admits to pinching herself saying 'I can't believe this is our home. It's so fun.'

So fancy: The Oscar-winner then gives fans of her favourite room in the house, the powder room, which she reveals has a 'hand-done antiqued mirror' and hand-painted wallpaper

'It makes me feel very grown-up when I pee in here,' she added cheekily

That's all for now: Gwyneth is pictured above giving a tour of her home

The Iron Man star also dished in the video about her favorite meals to cook for her children.

'My son's favorite recipe that I make is turkey meatballs or turkey ragout,' said.

'And my daughter loves when I makethey're pasta loversI think her favorite is either this lemon Parmesan pasta that I make her or a spicy marinara. Very easy!'
Nicky Hilton gave her Instagram followers a first look at her growing baby bump with a post that was shared to her account on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old socialite was in an elegant black dress with a bow in front as she stood against a wallpapered background.

'They say the best things in life come in threes,' said the author who is expecting her third child. She added three baby face emojis.

Expecting: Nicky Hilton gave her Instagram followers a first look at her growing baby bump with a post that was shared to her account on Wednesday

The picture comes just after it was confirmed that the entrepreneur was expecting to welcome her third child with her husband, James Rothschild, with whom she shares Lily Grace Victoria and Theodora Marilyn, aged five and four.

Hilton sported a lovely low-cut black top that highlighted her growing baby bump while posing for the shot. The designer added an element of shine to her outfit with a set of sparkling earrings.

Her gorgeous blonde locks cascaded onto her shoulders and contrasted perfectly with the dark shade of her clothing.

The news about Hilton's pregnancy was initially confirmed by People, who reported that she was expecting to welcome another child into her life last week.

Proud parents: The picture comes just after it was confirmed that the entrepreneur was expecting to welcome her third child with her husband, James Rothschild with whom she shares Lily Grace Victoria and Theodora Marilyn, aged five and four

The media outlet also reported that, while the baby is set to arrive this summer, its sex is not yet known.

The socialite and Rothschild, 37, initially met at 2011 while attending the wedding of a pair of mutual friends.

Hilton was previously married to Todd Andrew Meister, although they annulled their marriage just before their three-month anniversary.

The now-couple remained together for three years before they decided to become engaged.

Starting off strong: The socialite and Rothschild, 37, initially met at 2011 while attending the wedding of a pair of mutual friends

The pair later tied the knot in 2015 during a dreamlike wedding ceremony that was held in London.

Hilton and Rothschild eventually started a family with the arrival of Lily Grace Victoria in 2016, and they added Theodora Marilyn to their lives the following year.

The socialite spoke about being a parent during an interview with People, where she expressed that she had to learn to slow down when she welcomed her daughters into her life.

'Patience and being the best version of yourself  I've learned that with children, it's not what you say, it's what you do,' she said.

Becoming a family: Hilton and Rothschild eventually started a family with the arrival of Lily Grace Victoria in 2016, and they added Theodora Marilyn to their lives the following year

Hilton then expressed that she had also figured out that her daughters would attempt to copy her actions.

'Our children mirror what we do so I think it's very important to set a good example. Be the best version of yourself,' she said.

The entrepreneur pointed out that she and her husband had to set aside time for themselves while raising their daughters.

Personal time: The entrepreneur pointed out that she and her husband had to set aside time for themselves while raising their daughters

'I think all moms suffer from mom guilt...Don't let your children completely take over your life. Navigate that balance and find that balance,' she said.

Hilton concluded by expressing that, although she wanted to be around her kids as much as she could, she was still focused on showing them the value of hard work.

'Whenever I do work trips, I'll feel guilty about leaving the children. But at the same time, I think it's also setting a good example for your children about working on what you're passionate about. I want to lead by example,' she said.

Working mom: Hilton concluded by expressing that, although she wanted to be around her kids as much as she could, she was still focused on showing them the value of hard work

Similar taste: Nicky and her sister Paris Hilton appeared to be fans of the same black dress in which she revealed her baby bump, as Paris wore it on Watch What Happens Live last week
Ghislaine Maxwell deserves a new trial because one of the jurors who convicted her of sex trafficking withheld that he was a childhood sex abuse victim, a lawyer for the British socialite argued in court papers.

Attorney Christian Everdell asked Manhattan Federal Judge Alison Nathan in a Tuesday letter to right a grievous wrong by the juror, Scotty David, who allegedly did not reveal he was molested when he was a kid during the jury selection process.

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Juror 50s responses to the jury questionnaire and questions posed to him during in-person voir dire corrupted the trial from the outset, wrote Everdell, and warrant a complete do-over.

Ghislaine Maxwell (Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

The argument was included in a request that Maxwells original motion for a new trial remains under seal.

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David made the admission on a posttrial media tour but said he could not remember disclosing it in jury selection. Maxwells lawyers say he didnt.

The jury at Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. (Elizabeth Williams/AP)

David has asked to see a copy of his questionnaire and his exact answers in court filings, but Everdell asked the judge not to share the paperwork.

Sharing Davids answers with him could allow him to plan out and tailor his responses, or even potentially spoliate evidence, to paint himself and his conduct in the best light possible, wrote Everdell.

Nathan has yet to rule on the request and one from the government to conduct an inquiry into the allegations.

Maxwell was convicted on Dec. 29 of facilitating Jeffrey Epsteins abuse of teenage girls for a decade beginning in the mid-1990s.

During her monthlong trial, jurors heard of how she coaxed minors into his orbit and scheduled them for his systematic sexual abuse, sometimes participating in it herself.

The 60-year-old faces decades in federal prison when sentenced this June.
Kyle Sandilands has doubled down on his explosive on-air tantrum on Wednesday, insisting that his astonishing meltdown was 'justified'.

The radio host, 50, returned to the airwaves on Thursday morning after dramatically storming out of the KIIS FM studios the day before during a discussion about Gladys Berejiklian's alleged text message exchange with a Liberal minister in which she called Prime Minister Scott Morrison a 'horrible person'.

Sandilands, who is friends with Berejiklian, branded his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson an 'idiot' and newsreader Brooklyn Ross a 'c**khead' for giving airtime to the story, which he said was 'not real news'.

Discussing his behaviour on Thursday's show, Sandilands declared: 'I felt very justified.'

Doubling down: Kyle Sandilands, 50, (pictured) has doubled down on his explosive on-air tantrum about former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's alleged leaked texts regarding the Prime Minister, insisting that his astonishing meltdown was 'justified'

He continued: 'I was so angry when I was leaving here, I did a huge burnout out the driveway. So the whole car was going sideways. I didn't care if I died, I was out of my mind.'

Sandilands said he had 'every right' to claim that Berejiklian's alleged text messages were 'not real news' because he 'runs this place'.

'I run the show!' Sandilands claimed he had 'every right' to claim that Berejiklian's text messages were 'not real news'

'I noticed a few people commenting, "What right does Kyle have to decide what the news is?" Well, every right. Because I run the show! I'm not an employee by the way',' he said.

Despite standing his ground, Sandilands did apologise to Henderson and Ross.

'Friends can have falling outs and disagreements,' he insisted.

'Friends can have falling outs and disagreements': However, Sandilands did wholeheartedly apologise to Henderson for calling her an 'idiot' and Ross for branding him a 'c**khead' during his furious on-air rant yesterday

The shock jock did however admit he felt embarrassed by the dramatic nature of his meltdown.

At the start of the show, Henderson greeted Sandilands carefully, asking him: 'Good to have you back. How are you feeling today?'

'Feeling pretty good. Yeah... sort of,' a sheepish Sandilands murmured.

Enraged: Sandilands dramatically stormed out of the KIIS FM studios during a discussion about former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's leaked text message exchange with a Liberal minister in which she called Prime Minister Scott Morrison a 'horrible person'

'Are you OK over there? You look like you're going to cry,' Henderson probed, prompting Sandilands to confess: 'Oh, it's a bit embarrassing, yesterday's carry-on.'

Sandilands added: 'I was reading an article yesterday, and it said I went on a 12-minute meltdown. Was it 12 minutes? Of me continually screaming and carrying on?'

Sandilands stormed out of the studios shortly after 6am on Wednesday.

Allegations: The bombshell texts allegedly claimed Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) did not trust the PM and he was more concerned with politics than people

Things escalated quickly with Sandilands hurling insults before telling Henderson, 47, to 'do the show by yourself' and walking off.

'This is the biggest news in Australia, and it's all over nothing,' he began his rant.

'So what if the ex-premier called the Prime Minister a "horrible, horrible person"? I've called everyone here an effing c in text messages. I wouldn't be surprised if Gladys was just pacifying whatever loser minister she was talking to.

'This is not real news. Don't make up fictitious b******t drama over nothing.'

Blindsided: Sandilands' colleagues were genuinely shocked by his behaviour, and Henderson later remarked it had been 'very dramatic'

When Henderson insisted the story was newsworthy, Sandilands snapped: 'We don't have to run around every time some c********r from the ABC asks a question.'

Sandilands was actually incorrect: the journalist who exposed the leaked texts at a press conference on Tuesday was Peter van Onselen of Channel 10.

He continued: 'I'm angry. This is the way the world has been ruined  by d**kheads on the news turning these things into b******t moments.'

Heated: Sandilands called newsreader Brooklyn Ross (pictured) a 'f**king lazy loser journalist' to his face when he tried to defend including the story in his morning bulletin

He then called Ross a 'f**king lazy loser journalist' to his face when he tried to defend including the story in his morning bulletin.

A frustrated Henderson then asked: 'What's up with you this morning?'

Ross tried to defend the newsworthiness of Berejiklian's texts again, prompting Sandilands to yell at him: 'Just turn your mic off! You're finished! Get out!'

Insults: Things escalated quickly with Sandilands (left) hurling insults at his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (right) and newsreader Brooklyn Ross before walking off

He then got up and walked out of the studio, saying bitterly: 'I'm going home. F**k you. Do the show by yourself, what a f**king show it'll be.'

Henderson said afterwards: 'Okay, I think we'll take a short break, because I'm not even sure what happened. Did something happen before I got here? Was it all good?'

Sandilands' colleagues were genuinely shocked by his behaviour, and Henderson later remarked it had been 'very dramatic'.

Headline news: He lost his temper shortly after 6am while discussing former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's leaked text messages blasting Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured)

News: Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen confronted the PM on live TV with the series of incendiary text messages savaging Scott Morrison that he said were between Gladys Berejiklian (pictured here with the PM) and a current Liberal minister

Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen on Tuesday confronted the PM on live TV with the incendiary text messages savaging Mr Morrison that he said were between Ms Berejiklian and a current Liberal minister.

'I've got them right here,' he told Mr Morrison as the PM faced questions from the media after his keynote speech to the National Press Club.

'In one, she described you as, quote, "a horrible, horrible person", going on to say she did not trust you, and you're more concerned with politics than people.

Question: Peter van Onselen's (pictured) blockbuster question left the PM almost speechless and was dismissed with a few curt sentences

'The minister is even more scathing, describing you as a fraud and, quote, "a complete psycho".'

In a statement released hours later, Ms Berejiklian said she had 'no recollection' of the remarks, but didn't deny they were said.

'Does this exchange surprise you?' asked van Onselen. 'And what do you think it tells us?'

The Prime Minister was left almost speechless, blinking in shock by the surprise attack, before replying curtly and moving on to the next question.

'Well, I don't know who you're referring to, or the basis of what you've put to me,' he said. 'But I obviously don't agree with it. And I don't think that's my record.'
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jennifer Aydin revealed the heartbreaking way her youngest child found out about her husband, Dr. Bill Aydin's extramarital affair.

Jennifer, 44, opened up about the moment that her nine-year-old, Olivia, learned of her father's infidelity on TikTok, she said in an interview with PageSix on Wednesday.

While she's been dealing with tough parenting talks at home, on social media, the Bravo star has been clapping back at haters criticizing her recent plastic surgery makeover in Turkey.

Tough talk" Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jennifer Aydin opened up about the moment that her nine-year-old, Olivia, learned of her father's infidelity on TikTok, she said in an interview with PageSix on Wednesday

'We had a blogger leak this awful storyline and somebody made a TikTok on it,' she told the outlet. 'My sweet little Olivia  who threw a beautiful anniversary party for us [on 'RHONJ' Season 11] to show how her parents are still in love  saw a TikTok that said 'the big secret.'

Seeing news of the affair on the social media app was the first that Olivia had heard of her father's cheating and she didn't believe it - assuming the video was just rumors.

The grade-schooler even tried to defend her parents in the comments: 'This is my mommy and daddy and this is not true!'

After coming to her mom with it, Jennifer said she instructed her daughter to remove the comment and then steeled herself for a very tough conversation.

'I put on a brave face and said, 'Listen, Daddy did a bad thing. But that doesn't mean that he's a bad person. And when we love people, we forgive them when they make mistakes. And I've forgiven him and I'm OK.' She wasn't upset because I wasn't upset,' Jennifer continued.

'I sat her down and I kept my composure because I realized [my kids] will react to however Mommy's acting,' she explained.

'I put on a brave face and said, 'Listen, Daddy did a bad thing. But that doesn't mean that he's a bad person. And when we love people, we forgive them when they make mistakes. And I've forgiven him and I'm OK.' She wasn't upset because I wasn't upset,' Jennifer continued.

After Jennifer sat Olivia down to talk about the cheating, Bill and Jennifer addressed the issue with their four other children, Justin, 17, Gabriella, 14, Jacob, 12 and Christian, 10.

'My husband told Justin. I was in the room, and Justin kind of was almost irritated, like, 'I don't ever want to talk about this ever again.' He's not watching this season,' Jennifer said in her interview with PageSix.

Family hardship; After Jennifer sat Olivia down to talk about the cheating, Bill and Jennifer addressed the issue with their four other children, Justin, 17, Gabriella, 14, Jacob, 12 and Christian, 10

'My husband told Justin. I was in the room, and Justin kind of was almost irritated, like, 'I don't ever want to talk about this ever again.' He's not watching this season,' Jennifer said in her interview with PageSix.

'My Gabriella, she was more crushed. She felt very betrayed and was angry for a bit but we got through that. And my two [younger] boys, they're neither here or there.'

'And Olivia, now that she sees that Mommy's OK with it, she'll be like, 'Mommy, do they know about 'the secret,' too?' And I'll say, 'Yeah, but it's not a secret anymore and we're OK with talking about it.' And she'll say, 'Oh yeah, that's right.'

Real Housewives of New Jersey fans can expect a lot of drama in season 12, as details behind the affair come to light amid a fallout between Jennifer and Margaret Josephs.

In this season premiere on Tuesday, Margaret blurted out news if Bill's affair during a heated argument with Jennifer at a backyard summer soiree.

Rude: In this season premiere on Tuesday, Margaret blurted out news if Bill's affair during a heated argument with Jennifer at a backyard summer soiree

'You always say, ''Bill's the best.'',' Margaret spat out, referencing Jennifer's husband. 'Listen, he had an affair.'

'Everybody knows, and that's why he left his old job. Her marriage isn't as perfect as she says it is. Bill had the affair with the office manager for two years,' Margaret gossiped to Theresa.

'She's not an office manager. She was a f***ing pharmaceutical rep. You f***ing idiot, if you can get the facts straight,' Jennifer yelled at Margaret.

Jennifer told PageSix that, despite Margaret knowing of the affair, she'd never told anyone truth - not even her parents or best friend.

'I put it in the vault and threw away the key. I pretended it never happened. I have never brought it up as a dig.

'Because when you decide to forgive somebody, you really have to forgive it and never bring it up. Otherwise, your relationship is not going to work,' she said, adding that Bill is 'embarrassed' over the affair.

'Everybody knows, and that's why he left his old job. Her marriage isn't as perfect as she says it is. Bill had the affair with the office manager for two years,' Margaret gossiped to Theresa.

In addition to her marital woes, Jennifer is dealing with trolls on social media who have been critical of her decision to get a plastic surgery makeover in Turkey.

Comments by Celebs spotted Aydin clapping back at an obnoxious post about her Turkish nose-job.

@bravobybetches penned: 'getting a nose job from a random Instagram doctor in Turkey when your husband is a plastic surgeon ... make it make sense'

To which Aydin snapped: 'He wasn't random. I was in contact with him for over a year communicating through FaceTime and through mutual friends and Bill vowed never to do surgery on me after my tummy tuck. And Bill's specialty is the body.'

The exchange comes after the Bravolebrity revealed she underwent a chin implant removal surgery after 'struggling' to accept her altered jawline for the past seven months.

In addition to her marital woes, Jennifer is dealing with trolls on social media who have been critical of her decision to get a plastic surgery makeover in Turkey: 'He wasn't random. I was in contact with him for over a year communicating through FaceTime and through mutual friends and Bill vowed never to do surgery on me after my tummy tuck. And Bill's specialty is the body.'

'I had my chin implant taken out today,' the mom-of-five told her more than 398,000 Instagram followers on Sunday. 'Looking good already.'

In July, Jennifer first revealed her nose job and chin implant to the world, weeks after getting the procedures done in Turkey.

In another video on her Instagram Story, she showed fans the silicone chin implant, now in a plastic bag, as she rocked a Fendi turtleneck.

She also thanked Dr. Kassir for taking out the implant as she posed for a picture in a hospital gown.

Over the summer, she told Bravo Insider that she was very happy with her rhinoplasty, but was 'still struggling' to accepted her larger chin.

Changes: This week the Bravolebrity revealed she underwent a chin implant removal surgery after 'struggling' to accept her altered jawline for the past seven months

'I don't know if I love [my chin implant] at this point,' she confessed. 'I thought that it was going to be better. That's always the goal, right? To be better. Nobody ever does [plastic surgery] thinking that it's not gonna go well.'

At the time, the TV personality even stated 'worst comes to worst' she was 'just gonna take it out.'

'I was told that [a chin implant] is very easy to take out. They don't file your real chin at all. They just kind of attach it. It's just a matter of removing it,' she concluded.

Previously, Jennifer said she was persuaded to get the chin implant by her plastic surgeon and husband Dr. Bill Aydin, who is also a cosmetic surgeon.

'Your nose and your chin have to be a certain ratio [to each other],' she explained of her decision. 'I had two doctors telling me that I needed it. Maybe I should listen to them.'

New face: Over the summer, she told Bravo Insider that she was happy with her rhinoplasty, but was 'still struggling' to accepted her larger chin

After her latest procedure, she gushed: 'I'm excited that by the time I do my next type of filming, whenever that is, I'll be healed and my old chin will be back with my new nose that can still smell a rat.'

After talking about her surgical enhancements on social media, Jennifer said she was 'totally aware of the criticism some' fans would have of her face on the season 12 premiere on Tuesday of Real Housewives of New Jersey.

'Keep in mind that it was exactly 4 weeks after the date of my surgery. My face was still swollen and numb and it was hard to move, speak or smile,' she warned viewers. 'My surgery was already planned from way before I got the news of when filming was to start.'

Jennifer added: 'And even though I was nervous on some of the backlash that may happen and I had no idea how whack I would look on camera, I remembered that I signed up to show my life.'

Transformation: The Real Housewives of New Jersey star had a nose job and chin implant over the summer (left). She is pictured right before the surgery

Jennifer is no stranger to a few nips and tucks, including a tummy tuck, liposuction, breast augmentation and PRP hair treatment, in addition to lip and face fillers.

In 2019, Jennifer revealed her spouse performed a 'breast reduction, breast lift and liposuction' on her, which resulted in 'a 15-pound weight loss,' according to Page Six.

'I was really big on top, meaning my breasts were large, and I hated them. They were like these big melons. They were mushy from breastfeeding five kids and it started off with having the breast reduction. So that's what I did first,' the reality star told the outlet.

Following the breast reduction and lift, she got liposuction in her back.

'I lost about three and a half pounds of fat from my back and it contoured me,' she gushed, before noting she was thrilled with her smaller boobs and 'hourglass figure.'

Jennifer also clarified that liposuction 'is really not a weight-loss solution' but 'helps in your problem areas.'
She's on the fast-paced trajectory to becoming an international superstar after storming the runways during Paris Fashion Week.

And Meadow Walker caught a glimpse of her incredible figure as she flashed her supermodel while wearing a tiny white bikini for snaps shared to Instagram on Wednesday afternoon.

The 23-year-old rising star looked completely relaxed in a slinky two piece number for a shot captioned 'lalalala' to her three million followers on social media.

Bold and beautiful: Meadow Walker caught a glimpse of her incredible figure as she flashed her supermodel while wearing a tiny white bikini for snaps shared to Instagram on Wednesday

Meadow stood in the doorway wearing a white bikini top which tied in the middle with a long bow dangling down toward her belly button.

She wore a matching pair of bottoms high atop her hips with ribbons fastened into sweeping bows down her legs.

Her dark brown hair was worn in natural waves and rested just above her shoulders as she held her iPhone in front of her face while wearing a few colorful bracelets on her wrist.

Walk this way: Meadow, the daughter of late Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker, recently took Paris Fashion Week by storm as she sauntered down the runway during the Y/Project Menswear Fall/Winter 2022-2023 show

Strike a pose: She showed off a dapper black suit created by Jean Paul Gaultier Couture by Glenn Martens for the Spring 2022 Show

Meadow, the daughter of late Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker, recently took Paris Fashion Week by storm as she sauntered down the runway during the Y/Project Menswear Fall/Winter 2022-2023 show.

She showed off a dapper black suit created by Jean Paul Gaultier Couture by Glenn Martens for the Spring 2022 Show.

Meadow has certainly been in a celebratory mood as of late after she said 'I do' and married the man of her dreams, actor Louis Thornton-Allan.

Wedded bliss: Meadow has certainly been in a celebratory mood as of late after she said 'I do' and married the man of her dreams, actor Louis Thornton-Allan

Celebration: Walker and Thornton-Allan, who's an aspiring actor enrolled at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City, exchanged their vows in a ceremony held in the Dominican Republic on Oct. 22, 2021

Walker and Thornton-Allan, who's an aspiring actor enrolled at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City, exchanged their vows in a ceremony on Oct. 22, 2021.

The couple exchanged their vows on a beach in the Dominican Republic, and it was her father's friend and costar Vin Diesel  who is also her godfather  who walked her down the aisle.

In addition to being a rising model, Meadow previously paid tribute to her father by establishing The Paul Walker Foundation, a non-profit focused on marine science.

On Nov. 30, she paid tribute to Paul on Instagram to mark the eighth anniversary of the fiery car crash that claimed his life.

'I love and miss you endlessly,' she captioned a sweet photo of her father kissing her on the cheek when she was just a baby.
Hollywood siren Eva Longoria shared a behind-the-scenes video on Instagram Wednesday.

The Desperate Housewives looked youthful and lean in her little red swimsuit when sitting atop a vintage cherry colored Ford truck.

The 46-year-old mother-of-one was posing for the March 2022 edition of Women's Health.

On top of the world: Hollywood siren Eva Longoria shared a behind-the-scenes video on Instagram Wednesday from a recent photo shoot she did. The Desperate Housewives looked youthful and lean in her little red swimsuit

Also in the clip she was seen trying to hold her pose to make her svelte figure look as flattering as possible.

That is why in her caption she shared, 'Strike a pose, there's nothing to it,' which is a line from the Madonna song Vogue.

In her interview she said she is the real deal and never fake.

The actress admitted: 'Sometimes people are scared to be themselves, but I am who I am,' as she spoke about being confident enough to show her true self to the world.

And she was seen in other suits as well.

For one gorgeous photograph, Eva posed in a white ribbed bandeau bikini top and coordinating bottoms as she gazed over her shoulder at the camera.

The world is her oyster: The star was seen on a cherry red Ford Bronco in the desert where there was nothing but blue sky

Another stunning shot showed the star in a low cut striped sparkling thong swimsuit, with her leg hitched up to offer up a glimpse of her toned behind.

Speaking to the publication about being radically honest, Eva explained: 'I don't really have an attitude like, "Let me put this facade up for social media but be another way in life."

'Sometimes people are scared to be themselves, but I am who I am,' added Eva, who is a doting mum to three-year-old son Santiago with husband Jose Baston.

Addressing her her nonnegotiable, go-to coping mechanism: one hour of working out, every day, Eva admitted: 'I really work out for my mental health.

On her tippy toes: The TV and film star had to balance herself while in these orange briefs

Out soon! The March 2022 issue of Women's Health featuring Longoria hits newsstands nationwide on February 8

'I do very heavy weights. I feel like my body changes the most when I do thatI wear a heart rate monitor, and I can see my heart rate spike from just doing a heavy bicep curl.'

The actress also explained why she loves rebounding - the technical term for trampoline workouts - which she got into in 2020, stuck at home and looking to shake up her exercise routine.

Eva revealed: 'It makes me present. You really have to focus on the routine and memorize the movements. They switch sides a lot, which can throw you off, so you have to be on top of it. I love that.'

The mother-of-one also opened up about cooking, which she calls 'therapeutic,' and dabbling with more plant-based ingredients.

Daily workouts: Addressing her her nonnegotiable, go-to coping mechanism: one hour of working out, every day, Eva admitted: 'I really work out for my mental health'

She explained: 'I grew up on a ranch where we ate what was on the landwhen it was squash season, we ate squash for three months.

'It gave me such an appreciation for where food comes from: It comes from the ground.

'Beans are a big source of protein for us. I love making portobello tacos and jackfruit tacos, and cauliflower fried rice.'

And Eva revealed that her favorite snack foods are: 'Olives, pretzels, popcorn, potato chips - that's my jam.'

Discussing her career, Eva spoke about flexing her skills behind the camera for Flamin' Hot, her first feature film as a director.

She gushed: 'It's a project that is so close to my heart, a true labor of love. What's incredible is that the studio allowed me to hire who I needed to hire behind the camera. It was Latino or Latina, all the way down the line.'

The March 2022 issue of Women's Health featuring Eva Longoria hits newsstands nationwide on February 8.
It is one of the most harrowing tragedies in American history.

Now, a new film is being made surrounding the tragic events of the Jonestown Massacre, the mass cult suicide-murder that claimed 909 lives in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Chloe Grace Moretz will topline the thriller, according to Deadline.

Thriller: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Chloe Grace Moretz to star in new movie White Night based on the horrific Jonestown Massacre

The project is being helmed by filmmaker Anne Sewitsky with a script based on survivor Deborah Layton's memoir Seductive Poison.

Chloe, 24, is set to play Deborah, whose haunting account of her time in Jim Jones's Peoples Temple opened up the dark world of his deadly cult.

Meanwhile, Joseph, 40, will play Christian Socialist preacher and cult leader Jim.

Source material: The project is being helmed by filmmaker Anne Sewitsky with a script based on survivor Deborah Layton's memoir Seductive Poison (Pictured above)

Lived to tell the tale: Deborah, who was a high-level member of Jim Jones's Peoples Temple for seven years, escaped his infamous commune in the Guyanese jungle (Pictured; 1998)

The title of the movie 'White Nights is what a paranoid Jones would call the drills that he carried out to make sure his community were ready for 'attacks' from the government.

Filming on the movie is set to begin this spring.

Deborah, who was a high-level member of Jim Jones's Peoples Temple for seven years, escaped his infamous commune in the Guyanese jungle, leaving behind her mother, her older brother, and many friends.

She had sought to warn people once she had left the commune, but was not taken seriously.

Shortly after, in November 1978, the Jonestown massacre shocked the world.

Cult leader: Reverend Jim Jones is pictured above in the late 1970s

More than 900 adults and children died after drinking cyanide-laced punch on November 18, 1978 at Jonestown, Guyana.

Among the dead were more than 270 children.

Dead bodies of cult followers littered the ground outside the People's Temple, led by Jim Jones.

It was the single largest loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act before September 11.

Jones headed a religious movement called Peoples Temple Agricultural Project from the early Sixties in the U.S. before leading a mass migration to Guyana, a former British colony, in the mid-Seventies to establish a utopian community.

However the paradise that Jones had promised quickly turned sour as hard labor and hours of lectures and classes on socialism were enforced.

Jones' readings which viewed America as a capitalist monster were broadcast day and night from the commune's towers.
Legendary game show host John Burgess has been rushed to hospital following a bacterial infection.

The Wheel of Fortune and Catchphrase star was admitted to the intensive care unit at Royal Perth Hospital on Wednesday night.

It's understood the 78-year-old is in a stable condition, with his wife Gianna by his side.

Legend: Legendary game show host John Burgess has been admitted into the ICU following a bacterial infection (Pictured in 2006)

Burgess' manager Evan Broadway told The West Australian newspaper that the media personality is due to be discharged on Friday.

Burgess apparently already wants to return to work to host his radio gig on Perth station 6iX.

'He wanted to work Saturday, and we said "Nah mate have the weekend off, just take the day off",' Mr Broadway said.

'But thats just how loyal he is to his listeners.'

Iconic: John is best known for hosting Wheel of Fortune alongside Adriana Xenides from 1984 to 1996 (both pictured)

Burgess is best known for hosting Wheel of Fortune alongside Adriana Xenides from 1984 to 1996.

Adriana sadly died in 2010 at the age of 54 after suffering a ruptured intestine.

After a successful and lengthy stint on Seven's Wheel of Fortune, Burgess moved over to Nine to host Catchphrase from 1997 to 2003.

Career: After a successful stint on Channel Seven's Wheel of Fortune, Burgo moved over to Channel Nine to host Catchphrase from 1997 to 2003

One of the last times Burgess was pictured in public was in December 2019, when he was spotted posing alongside former Married At First Sight star Dino Hira at Nine's Perth studio.

The presenter, formerly know as 'Baby John' due to his young age when joining the media industry, stood in a charming photo with the beaming reality star.

Despite his mature age, John looked fit and vibrant in a stylish bright yellow shirt.

Dino shared the photo to Instagram, captioning it: 'How can you not crack a smile and appreciate the day when you bump into Australias longest serving TV game show host and one of my favourites, Burgo!'

'Much respect to him for his talent and work ethic!' he said.
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Michael Avenatti delivered an audacious closing argument Wednesday at his Manhattan trial over his alleged theft of $300,000 from Stormy Daniels book deal, proclaiming this was my money.

The disgraced lawyer, representing himself, is accused of betraying the porn star client who made him famous by forging her signature and redirecting payments from her book publisher to an account he controlled.

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The money from Daniels tell-all book, Full Disclosure, was simply his to take, Avenatti said.

Ladies and gentlemen, this was my money. This was the firms money. This wasnt Ms. Daniels money. We werent obligated to give Ms. Daniels money, he said.

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Michael Avenatti arrives at Manhattan Federal Court on Jan. 26, 2022. (Craig Ruttle/AP)

His remarks were frequently interrupted by Manhattan Federal Judge Jesse Furman, who sustained objections by the government, forcing Avenatti to change the subject.

Avenattis opening line, When my father was a teenager, he sold hot dogs at a ballpark, prompted a sustained objection.

His closing line fared the same.

I will leave you with this: Im Italian. I like Italian food, Avenatti, 50, said.

The once high-flying lawyer still managed to complete the food metaphor.

The case that the government is attempting to feed you has a giant cockroach in the middle of the plate. Would you eat that dish, or would you send it back? I submit that you would send it back, he said.

The California lawyer  whose background is in civil, not criminal law  alternated between using the first and third person, adding to the surreal scene.

There is insufficient evidence, ladies and gentlemen, to show that Michael Avenatti ever intended to harm Stormy Daniels, he said.

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He faces up to 22 years in prison if found guilty.

Evidence showed Michael Avenatti allegedly lied in 2018 to his client, Stormy Daniels about payment for her tell-all book. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

Once the jury was out of the courtroom and deliberating, Furman did not hide his irritation.

No one cares that you like Italian food, and no one cares that your father was a hot dog vendor, its not relevant to the issues in this case, Furman said.

Stormy Daniels' book, 'Full Disclosure.' (Official Court Evidence)

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Sobelman said in the governments closings that the case was simple.

The defendants law firm was broke  thats one of the reasons that he stole Ms. Daniels money, the prosecutor said. That explains why he stole Ms. Daniels money, but it doesnt excuse the crime.

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Texts introduced in court showed Avenatti allegedly lied to Daniels about her book advance, saying the publisher was being difficult when hed already spent the money.

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When she took the stand as the governments star witness, Daniels told jurors that she considered Avenatti a close friend, as well as her lawyer, when he defended her in litigation against former President Donald Trump in 2018. Daniels claims to have had a tryst with Trump in 2006.

Messages between adult film star Stormy Daniels and Michael Avenatti showing that Daniels never received money from the publisher. (Official Court Evidence)

Daniels testified that she and Avenatti agreed theyd make money through online crowdfunding and a court victory sometime in the future, because she could not afford a pricey lawyer. The legal win never came  and evidence showed Avenatti faced serious debt.

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Sobelman slammed Avenatti as entitled.

In this case, the truth is very, very simple, Sobelman said. That man took someone elses money. Thats what the case is about.
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Ice likely with cold front but replay of 2021 isn't

The forecast for the next few days has triggered flashbacks for many Texans who hope to never again be shivering in the dark like they did in the Valentines Day Freeze of 2021.

Although National Weather Service forecasters in Shreveport say theres a chance of ice or sleet, the cold front arriving in Nacogdoches County late Wednesday wont be as bad as 2021s winter storms. Theyre cautiously optimistic that the storm wont prompt power outages.

No one can guarantee that there wont be any outages caused by demand on the grid, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a briefing in Austin, where state officials defended their readiness for the days ahead. But what we will work to achieve, and what were prepared to achieve is that power is going to stay on across the entire state.

In November, Abbott told Austin television station KTBC ahead of winter that I can guarantee the lights will stay on.

Nacogdoches Emergency Management Coordinator Michael Self is asking residents to check in on elderly neighbors or other vulnerable people  and prepare now just in case the lights do go off

During last years winter storm, lot of folks made a huge difference by helping their elderly neighbors out, Self said.

Forecasters are calling for various combinations of wind, rain and cold through the weekend, but highs should reach the 50s each day through Monday.

Nacogdoches will see a chance of showers Wednesday, becoming a 100 percent chance of rain Wednesday night. On Thursday, temperatures should reach 46 degrees before dropping to 27 degrees overnight. Those cold temps will be coupled with 15-20 mph winds.

Self also warned of the potential of black ice Friday and Saturday. Puddles formed from Thursday rain may freeze overnight. Self urges motorists to stay put until those icy areas melt.

Families should ensure they have enough food on hand to last a couple days. In case a power outage does occur, have batteries on hand so you can listen to the radio for weather updates, Self said.

Rain disappears from the forecast Friday with a low of 25, becoming mostly sunny Saturday. Sunday will be mostly clear with a low around 28.

Crews from the Texas Department of Transportation began pre-treating roadways Tuesday, ahead of the treat of freezing precipitation.

A brine solution will be applied to major roadways, bridges, elevated surfaces and overpasses Tuesday and into Wednesday, if necessary, according to Rhonda Oaks, spokeswoman for TxDOTs Lufkin District.

Crews will retreat roadways later in the week, if needed.

Motorists are urged to visit www.driveTexas.org to check road conditions before leaving home.

The Red Cross also is urging Texas families to be cautious with heaters during the winter storm.

Colder temperatures often bring the increased risk of home heating fires, and we want everyone to stay safe by properly warming their home, said Chester Jourdan, Executive Director of the Southeast and Deep East Red Cross chapter.

While we may not be expecting to get the snow and ice, we are expecting to have temperatures in the 20s at night across the area. We want to make sure our communities are staying safe when using heaters in their homes.

Space heaters are involved in most fatal home heating fires. Provide at least three feet of space around all heating equipment, and never leave space heaters unattended.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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On Monday, school administration reported to middle school families that another swastika had been found at Middlesex Middle School.

In September, swastikas and a Star of David were found at Middlesex in two separate incidents that resulted in a police investigation and prompted a school community discussion on discrimination.

It is with great concern and sadness that I report to you that we have found another swastika on campus. It was drawn on a desk with a pencil eraser. A student saw it and immediately reported it to his teacher. Although the incident was thoroughly investigated, we were unable to determine who was responsible, Principal Shelley Somers said in a letter to parents.

While we have taken steps to educate our students about the impact of symbols and language of hate, this latest disheartening incident of Anti-Semitic propaganda cannot be tolerated, she said.

Somers said the school has addressed intolerance through Advisory classes, social emotional learning lessons, and our revised Social Studies curriculum, and will continue with a Nov. 7 grade level Step Up assembly coordinated by the Anti-Defamation League.

However, Somers said these steps have not been enough, and is now planning a parent meeting, including clergy and community members, to discuss strategies to eliminate this unacceptable behavior. You can expect an email from me confirming the date and the time.

My staff and I have worked hard for the past three years to develop a climate of kindness at Middlesex. Although I truly believe that the majority of our students value diversity and respect differences, I can neither overlook nor ignore the acts of those who bring hate to the forefront, she said.

Swastika history

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the swastika (a hooked cross), appears to have first been used in Eurasia, as early as 7000 years ago, perhaps representing the movement of the sun through the sky. It is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Odinism. It is a common sight on temples or houses in India or Indonesia. Swastikas also have an ancient history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures. The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means good fortune or well-being.

The swastika eventually became a symbol of Aryan identity and German nationalist pride.

Following Nazi Germanys defeat in 1945, the Allied governments ruling the nation outlawed Nazi organizations. Their symbols and propaganda were removed and further dissemination criminalized. Subsequent German governments continued the ban on Nazi symbols and propaganda, including the swastika. Today, in Germany and other European states, public display of Nazi symbols, including on the Internet, is prohibited by law and individuals violating such terms are subject to criminal proceedings.

Multiple swastikas were recently reported at Staples High School in Westport and swastikas and anti-Semitic comments were also found at Hamden High School.

Superintendent response

Superintendent Dr. Alan Addley, who has taken a strong stance against the incidents at the middle school, said in a statement to The Darien Times that no matter what the reasoning, it is very disturbing and unacceptable that these acts of hatred continue at the middle school.

The district is unequivocal in its stance in denouncing all acts of bigotry, anti-Semitism, prejudice and discrimination, he said.

Nonetheless, we need to recognize that the incidents continue, despite the middle schools overwhelming positive school climate and its efforts with the student body to address the topic and the recent events that have occurred, Addley said.

Addley added that moving forward, the district will look for new ways to partner with parents, members of the Darien community and/or outside agencies to assist us in addressing these complex issues in order to ensure a respectful and inclusive learning environment for all our students and families.

Earlier this month, Addley talked with The Darien Times about the steps the school and district had taken in response to the swastika incidents.

In addition to the assembly and the partnership with the ADL, Addley said the middle school is considering launching a school-wide act of kindness initiative and will be exploring other strategic educational learning experiences in collaboration with the National Conference for Community and Justice.

With displays of bigotry, anti-Semitism, prejudice and discrimination on the rise in society and in school districts across the state, it is critical we take an unequivocal stance in denouncing such acts. It is also important, in collaboration with our parents, that we use these opportunities as teachable moments for our young students, Addley said.

Darien Police have not responded to request for comment.
DARIEN  While parents ramp up a push against mask requirements at Darien schools, the administration is asking Gov. Ned Lamont for more direct control around mask-wearing and quarantining policies.

The request, outlined in a Jan. 27 letter addressed to Lamont and other state officials, comes as Lamont asks the state to extend several executive orders past their Feb. 15 expiration date.

One of those executive orders gives state education officials the ability to issue guidance for all Connecticut schools, including around masking.

Now Darien is asking for greater autonomy and flexibility to develop its own rules on COVID-19 mitigation strategies. The letter, signed by Superintendent Alan Addley and Board of Education chair David Dineen, references leeway granted by the state earlier in the pandemic, including the power to decide whether or not to contact trace or provide in-school testing.

This guidance will enable districts, in partnership with their health professional teams, to utilize town and regional COVID-19 metrics in decision-making that best serves the needs of communities, staff and, most of all, their children, Addley and Dineen wrote.

While Lamont said Tuesday that the statewide mandate could change  based on COVID-19 metrics  in the coming days, for some parents it wont be soon enough.

During a Jan. 25 school board meeting, some parents criticized the administration for its ongoing mask requirements. Will Bruno, a Darien parent and special education paraprofessional in the district, told board members of the negative effects he has seen masking have on his students.

They cannot read our facial expressions and learn social cues. They cannot effectively hear us and follow directions. And none of this is their fault, Bruno said. Not only is this negatively affecting our students, but as educators, it's troubling to watch our kids suffer and exhausting to have to constantly repeat ourselves and reinforce policies many of us do not support.

The federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended universal indoor masking in all K-12 schools as an effective tool in combating spread of the virus. They have also responded to some concerns, stating that correctly wearing a mask does not present health risks for children.

Some parents detailed other ways they said their children were harmed by the mask requirements, citing increased academic and socialization problems as well as physical side effects like difficulty breathing during sports.

Free vaccination clinic Local charity Person to Person, 1864 Post Road, will offer a free vaccination clinic for those ages 12 and older on Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointment is needed and all three brands of the vaccine are available. Community members should bring insurance cards and identification if they have them, but they are not necessary. See More Collapse

Darien parent Carolyn Burnes said her 4-year-old son has speech and language obstacles that have been hard to surmount with current mask policies.

Just like most of the parents speaking tonight, I'm worried that if we don't put an end to these school mandates, it will forever change the way that these kids speak, think, socialize and live, Burnes said.

When asked if students and teachers should continue to wear masks, Dr Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist for Hartford HealthCare, on Tuesday pointed to the science that shows masks work.

It will be dependent on school districts. It will be dependent on the tenor in that district. Looking at the science standpoint, masks work. Whether its worth getting rid of those mask mandates, it remains to be seen, Wu said.

Dr. Juan Salazar, physician-in-chief for Connecticut Childrens Medical Center, said it might be premature to lift the mask requirements in schools.

We have to follow the epidemiology. I think the positivity rate is too high and we have too much virus out there still with a very susceptible population, especially with 5- to 11-year-olds where the fully vaccinated is not much more than 40 percent, Salazar said.

Board members reacted to parent comments during a brief debate around drafting the letter to Lamont, with many saying the testimony was concerning while stopping short of directly endorsing lifting the mask mandate.

But with the fate of statewide masking in flux, at least for the time being, board member David Brown questioned how the board would proceed if Lamonts administration does decide to extend masking mandates, asking what legal ramifications the district would face should it refuse to comply.

Things are going to change, formulas are going to change, guidance is going to change, Brown said. I think the import we're really talking about is  this should be local control, local decision.
After 33 years of boundless service to Kettering residents, Kettering businesses and patrons, City Manager Mark Schwieterman announced his resignation effective at the end of his current contract--December 31, 2022.

Mr. Schwieterman holds a Masters of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Dayton. He began his career in public accounting at Price Waterhouse and left to accept the position of Financial Analyst in the Income Tax Division of the Finance Department for the City of Kettering IN 1989. He soon promoted to Tax Manager followed by Budget Manager and Assistant City Manager.

In 2006, Schwieterman accepted the role as City Manager and vowed to lead with integrity, fiscal care and responsibility and love for his community. For the past 16 years at the helm, the City Manager upheld his promise making every decision in the best interest of the community.

Mark is a Dayton native who calls Kettering home with his wife, Mary. They chose to raise their three children here and continue to be active members in their community.

Schwieterman is active in the Ohio City Management Association (OCMA), International City/County Management Association (ICMA), Ohio Municipal League Board (OML) where he serves as Past President, Dayton Area Managers Association (DAMA) and Kettering Rotary.

Mr. Schwieterman commends the City's Council/Manager form of government as an "effective partnership" for policy and administration. In Kettering, the City Manager is appointed by the City Council, serves as the chief executive officer of the City and implements Council policies.

I am grateful for the support from the Council memberspast and present--who had the faith in me to allow me to serve as the City Manager, he said.

"I fell in love with public service, Schwieterman said. There is no greater satisfaction in my work than to find ways to best serve people. We budget, organize and strategically plan for the future health of this one-of-a-kind community; but, my biggest win is an impromptu meeting with a resident who needs a hand, andtogetherwe figure it out. We shake hands, and we smile at the progress we made. Not many jobs come with that kind of fulfillment--The kind you can only get through service.

"I cant thank City Manager Mark Schwieterman enough for his outstanding work on behalf of the City over the past 16 years, Ketterings Mayor Peggy Lehner said. His highly professional leadership and foresight throughout his career have directly contributed to Ketterings financial health, unique amenities and the care given to our infrastructure and public safety that enhance quality living for residents.

During Schwietermans tenure as City Manager, Kettering has seen population and economic growth, the modernization of public safety facilities, property improvements in residential neighborhoods and commercial real estate. And, he has no plans to slow down during his final 11 months. He looks forward to working with City Council as they work with City Administration to chart a course for the future of Kettering.
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Dominique Morisseau and Lynn Nottage are two Black women playwrights on the crest of the recent big wave of African-American productions on Broadway.

Unpropitiously, this explosion of creativity and ingenuity occurred in the midst of a pandemic that, at times, shuttered theaters. Even so, Morisseaus works  Aint Too Proud and Skeleton Crew  and Nottages MJ The Musical' and Clydes have gotten some good exposure in this troubled season.

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Joshua Boone (Dez) and Phylicia Rashad (Faye) in Skeleton Crew. Directed by Tony Award Winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Handout)

Skeleton Crew recently opened to an overflow crowd at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, and with veteran actress Phylicia Rashad in the cast, the audience was guaranteed a stellar performance. At first it was a bit disconcerting to see Rashad in a factory setting, attired in work clothes, both in stark contrast to her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. But it took only a few beats before she owned the part.

The play takes place in Detroit, Morisseaus hometown, at a stamping plant in 2008. The four characters represent different facets of the citys life and prospects, and Rashad, as Faye, provides the ballast to the workplace of ups and downs.

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The Broadway cast of "Skeleton Crew." (Kareem Black)

I grew up on the East Side of Detroit, you know that? she exclaims to the foreman in a bristling encounter. Seen buildings burn to the ground on Devils Night. People squattin in houses with no running water. My mama could barely afford to keep the gas on, and we still found ways to stay warm.

Its an extended moment of bravura performance and a highlight of Morisseaus intuitive feel for the working class.

"MJ: The Musical." (Handout)

Nottage expresses a similar command of her subject in her book on Michael Jacksons spectacular tour in 1992. Its simply amazing to see how well Myles Frost evoked the great performer in voice, manner, and especially in dance, and he is often matched by an energetic troupe of hoofers who glide and leap in a variety of intricate patterns. Those of you who have seen Jacksons Dangerous tour, Live in Bucharest, will have some idea of how Nottage and her team reprised those moments  moments that presented stages of Jacksons life and legacy, his most illuminating Motown phase, and his experience with Quincy Jones and the Thriller album and music video.

Lynn Nottage presents a performance by the cast of "Sweat" at the 71st annual Tony Awards on June 11, 2017, in New York. (Michael Zorn/Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)

To some degree, Morisseau delivered in lively verbal exchanges, and Nottage showcased set pieces chronicling Jacksons brilliant but often problematic manhood.

In Keenan Scott IIs Thoughts of a Colored Man, seven Black men represent different attitudes and outlooks  including love, passion and anger  in their struggle for dignity. During a performance just before the pandemic forced the play to close, Scott had to step in and take the part of one of the actors who had contracted the virus. But the pandemic was relentless, and soon after, the show sputtered to a close.

Fortunately, several productions  including Aint Too Proud, Chicken & Biscuits, Slave Play and Lackawanna Blues, written by Skeleton Crew director Ruben Santiago-Hudson  received a bit of exposure before their stages went dark and their curtains prematurely fell permanently.

Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Junior Mack (seated) in the play "Lackawanna Blues." (Marc J. Franklin)

Despite the ominous pandemic cloud, Black playwrights, producers, directors, and certainly a coterie of actors have brought a glimmer of welcome brightness to Broadway audiences.

The eminently versatile and charismatic Andre De Shields was so captivating as Hermes in the musical Hadestown that he earned a Tony Award in 2019. Equally compelling was LaChanze  the 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role in The Color Purple  who recently played the lead role in Alice Childress Trouble in Mind on Broadway.

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And unlike the current crop of African-American plays, Trouble in Mind is a comedy-drama written in 1955. Childress blamed the long delay for the productions development on her refusal to tone down her strong condemnation of racism in the stage work.

Matthew Murphy in the Broadway show "Hadestown."

Uzo Aduba, playing a formerly incarcerated woman  very similar to her role in Netflixs Orange is the New Black  is outstanding in Clydes.

I spent a lot of time on a television project that had certain themes that are echoed in the play, she said in a Playbill interview. Clydes, which is based on a truck stop diner that morphs into a safe haven for ex-prisoners, is named for the woman Aduba portrays. And its good to see Ron Cephas Jones back onstage after undergoing a double-lung transplant. In Clydes, hes a kind of spiritual guru to a cadre of woebegone sandwich makers.

Some theatergoers clamored for more of Jeremy O. Harris Slave Play, which is a dazzling, imaginative foray into the psycho-sexual realm of several interracial couples. It closed two months prior to the COVID-19 Broadway shutdown. In an article, noted theater critic Linda Armstrong wrote for the Broadwaysbestshows.com website, Slave Play director Robert OHara his whole career had prepared him to deal with a play that dealt with sexuality, race, humor, and society.

Pass Over, by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, surfaced briefly last summer and drew favorable reviews as it combined biblical stories with the theater of the absurd, and the more current tumult of Black Lives Matter.

Playwright Katori Hall attends the Broadway premiere of her play " The Mountaintop" in New York on Oct. 13, 2011. (Louis Lanzano/AP)

Playwright Katori Hall, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2021 for her play The Hot Wing King, is responsible for the book of the Tony-nominated Tina  The Tina Turner Musical.

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The musical has legs and is alive and kicking on Broadway  telling the true-life tale of Turners Nutbush, Tennessee upbringing and her rise to international musical superstardom, in spite of her abusive husband, Ike Turner.

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In the musical, Turner is now played by Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (and in some performances by alternate Kayla Davion), Daniel J. Watts stars as Ike Turner; Dawnn Lewis plays Tinas mother, Zelma; and Myra Lucretia Taylor plays her maternal grandmother, Gran Georgeanna.

Several Black producers warrant appreciation, including Ron Simons, who played a critical role in getting Thoughts of a Colored Man up and running on Broadway. He was also instrumental in the production of The Temptations musical Aint Too Proud, and is currently at work on mounting a 2022 revival of Ntozake Shanges For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuff.

Travis Lamont Ballenger was an associate producer of MJ The Musical  his Broadway debut.

Travis LaMont Ballenger (Sean Zanni/Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan )

Theres no telling how long the pandemic pall will linger over Broadway, but the glorious street has endured some tough economic times in the past and always bounced back with a renewed sense of urgency to prevail.

In this challenging recovery, the Great White Way will be aided and abetted by an ever-increasing repertoire of Black plays, each empowered by its own sense of struggle; each ready to reach out and rescue, as Faye does for the pregnant Shanita in the Skeleton Crew.

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The dark cloud over Broadway may not disappear as fast as we would like, but its refreshing to know that Black creativity is in the wings, ready to get the street back on its feet  with a fresh veneer of promise and optimism.

For more of the Daily News Black History Month 2022 coverage, visit nydailynews.com/new-york/black-history-month/
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HYDERABAD: The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) decided to stage protests against Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for his comments against the Constitution of India. SC/ST leaders of the party strongly condemned the comments of Chandrashekar Rao and said they would take up protests across the state soon. Congress activists conducted a mock funeral of the Chief Minister here on Wednesday.

They took out a procession from Gandhi Bhavan and tried to reach the Telangana martyrs column. However, the police prevented the Congress activists and took them into custody. TPCC SC department chairman Nagari Preetham and other leaders were shifted to Begum Bazar police station.

Former MP and TPCC senior vice president Mallu Ravi said the Constitution had provisions for modifications, but Chandrashekar Rao sought to change it. He alleged that Chandrashekar Rao was against Dr B.R. Ambedkar. The Congress would take up state-wide agitation against the remarks of the Chief Minister, he said.

On other hand, Youth Congress activists burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged Pegasus software utilisation in the country. The agitators said Pegasus software destroyed the privacy of citizens, especially the Opposition party leaders and media personnel in the country. Youth Congress state president Shivasena Reddy demanded an inquiry into Pegasus use in the country.
HYDERABAD: According to the district-wise daily attendance report published by the additional state project director Ramesh, the state saw 32.47 per cent attendance on the first day of reopening of schools after a 24-day break. Among the districts, Komaram Bheem saw the highest at 51 per cent attendance in government, aided and private schools, whereas Peddapalli reported the least at 19.77 per cent. Hyderabad saw an attendance of 33.36 per cent.

It is found that least attendance was reported in pre-primary and primary schools but a higher attendance was in classes 8 to 10, in government and private schools. While most schools reopened on the stipulated date, many are still shut, reasoning out that they would first observe the situation in other schools, take learnings and then decide on reopening, until then providing regular online classes. Several schools decided to reopen from Wednesday as February 1 was a new moon day.

The government schools had a 100 per cent teacher attendance as against 1/4th of student attendance, said B. Priya (name changed) a government teacher. Most students were sent back as they had a higher body temperature. When asked, they said their parents had fallen sick in the last couple of weeks. A very few said they got themselves tested but were only taking medicines like paracetamol said Priya. She also said most schools had not been sanitised.

Teachers said students were largely eager to return to schools and parents could now focus on work. We could see students feeling uncomfortable when made to sit at one place, so even as we started the curriculum, we arranged a few activities and had discussion in classes to apprise them of the academic plan for the year. We took some confidence building measures to ensure that more students turn up to schools, said Shiva Rama, owner of a private school in the city.

A large section of students has not yet returned from their villages due to the upcoming Sammakka Saralamma Jatara which begins on 14 February. Most of the families will fulfil their commitments during the jatra in the coming week and we can expect more attendance after the jatra ends on 19 February, said Y. Shekar Rao, Telangana Recognised School Management Association (TRSMA) state president. Most government schools also reported lack of financial support from the government in order to conduct sanitisation drives and hire workers for cleaning.

There was an average 20-25 per cent attendance in private intermediate colleges in the state, while the government colleges saw even lesser attendance after the 24-day break, said Gouri Satish, president, Telangana Private Junior College Association. He added that as private colleges were calling up students and encouraging them to attend classes, government colleges should follow suit.
Get ready for an early spring, New York.

Whiskered weatherman Staten Island Chuck crept out of his tiny home at the Staten Island Zoo on Wednesday morning and didnt see his shadow, which should mean the citys in for an early spring.

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The event is traditionally open to the public but was streamed live Wednesday morning on Facebook due to COVID concerns.

FILE - Staten Island Chuck (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)

As the legend goes, if a groundhog emerges from its hole on Feb. 2 and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather rather than early spring temperatures.

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It was noted during the ceremony that there were lots of clouds in the sky, so the chances of Chuck seeing his shadow was almost nil.

With an 85% accuracy rate, Staten Island Chuck has had the highest success rate in the entire country, although his predictions sometimes conflict with those of his rival, Pennsylvania prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil.

Hes the most accurate of any 8 pound groundhog in the U.S. or anywhere else, Staten Island Zoo President William Frew said.

Once again, Chucks prediction ran afoul of Phils, who saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 136th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter. (BARRY REEGER/AP)

A third area groundhog, Milltown Mel, was unable to weigh in. He died Sunday, two days before he was due to make his yearly prediction.

Mayor Adams didnt appear in person but sent over a videotaped message recorded in City Hall, hoping for an early spring.

Dont see your shadow, Chuck, Adams said. Bring on the sunny days.

Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon, who was the master of ceremonies, noted that Staten Island Chuck and city mayors dont have the best of relationship.

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But I promise we will not badger him about the results, McMahon joked.

City mayors traditionally attended Groundhog Day predictions until about 2014, when former Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped Chuck, who at the time was played by a 10-month-old female groundhog named Charlotte.

Charlotte died of internal injuries a week later, zoo officials said.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 10 Groundhog handler AJ Derume holds Punxsutawney Phil, who saw his shadow, predicting a late spring, during the 136th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Feb. 2, 2022 in Punxsutawney, Penn. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

This year was the second time the Groundhog Day prognostication was done virtually instead of in person.

Viewers railed against last years prediction, which was clearly prerecorded before the big day arrived. Spectators tuned in to watch, but quickly noticed that, despite two days of harsh winter weather, there was no snow on the ground as the famous rodent poked out of his tiny cabin.

How do you FAKE a Groundhog prediction? There was not a drop of snow on the ground, they were out in sweatshirts, and it was sunny, one person posted underneath a Facebook video of the event, noting that zoo officials who appeared on camera were not bundled against the winter chill. It is NOT sunny here on SI now! Everything has been canceled in 2020, so you could have just canceled it.

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Staten Island Zoo officials admitted to the controversy, claiming that the prediction was prerecorded because Chuck was on vacation.
Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader and MP, Shashi Tharoor, who had earlier courted controversy for adopting a supportive stand for the LDF government's mammoth Silver Line rail corridor project in Kerala, has opined that the union budget announcement on the launch of 400 Vande Bharat train services in three years could be an alternative for the multi-crore semi high speed initiative.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP tweeted that one interesting element for Kerala in the union budget 2022 was the announcement of 400 new Vande Bharat trains, which can travel at 180 kmph.

Whether the Centre and the state government could see the Vande Bharat trains as a "cheaper and more energy-efficient substitute" for the Silver Line? he asked.

He also said it could address Chief Minister's Pinarayi Vijayan's concern for speedy train travel to promote development and alleviate the concerns of his own party, Congress's concerns about land acquisition and environmental impact.

"Bringing #VandeBharat trains to Kerala could address @vijayanpinarayi's concern for speedy train travel to promote development, & alleviate @INCKerala 's concerns about land acquisition & environmental impact. GOI & GOK should discuss a win-win outcome in the interests of the state," Tharoor further tweeted.

He later told reporters that he was not sure whether the budget announcement of the Vande Bharat train services would materialise, but the state and central governments should discuss its possibilities and thus end the ongoing controversy regarding the project.

Pointing out that the Centre's nod for the Silver Line project was still pending, Tharoor also said not controversy but development is what everyone needed for the state.

Vijayan on Tuesday slammed the Centre for not including in the Union Budget the southern state's proposal for building the semi-high speed railway line for which his government has already initiated steps for acquiring land.

State Finance Minister K N Balagopal also criticised the Centre for not considering the state's demand for budgetary allocation for the project.

He said the state government initiated the project with a hope that the Centre will provide necessary support to transform the transport system of the state as per the needs of modern times.

However, the Opposition Congress and the BJP welcomed the Centre's decision and urged the state government to withdraw from the project citing the budget announcement of the launching of 400 Vande Bharat train services in three years. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, V D Satheesan, urged the state government to withdraw from the SilverLine project as the Centre's semi-high speed Vande Bharat train services will connect India's every corner including Kerala.

He said the Vande Bharat project to be implemented by the Indian Railway has features similar to the SilverLine project of the state government and the operational speed of the Vande Bharat train is also 160 to 180 km/hr.

The SilverLine project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is being opposed by the opposition Congress-led UDF, which has been alleging that it was "unscientific and impractical" and will put a huge financial burden on the state.

The 540 kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod would be developed by K-Rail, a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry for developing railway infrastructure in the southern state.

Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.
The court said any agitational path was not advisable for the government servants and hoped that better sense would prevail upon all the stakeholders. (DC)

Vijayawada: In an interim order, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the state government not to recover any amount from the salary of any employee of the state government in the course of implementation of impugned GO-Ms1 for implementation of the revised scales of pay.

A division bench of Chief Justice Prashant Mishra and Justice Satyanarayana Murthy also ruled that it was no advisable for the employees to go on strike when the case is pending before the court.

The scales had been revised by the government as per the recommendations of the 11th Pay Revision Commission.

The division bench heard in virtual mode a petition challenging the GO, and issued the interim order on Tuesday.

Petitioners counsel Raviteja submitted to the court that the impugned GO issued on Jan. 17by the state government was in total violation of the principles of natural justice. The employees were not heard either by the PRC or by the committee of secretaries before the GO was issued.

He said the GO resulted in a reduction in emoluments including dearness allowance, house rent allowance and complete withdrawal of city compensatory allowance.

The state government would make recoveries by invoking Clause 10 (of the impugned GO) as it mentioned that any pay fixation made contrary to the rules were liable for appropriate revision of the pay and the excess amount paid thereon shall be recovered from the salaries of the concerned DDOs/treasury officers without any notice.

However, advocate general Sriram informed the court that there was no recovery of salary from the employees. The pay slips along with the statement showed that there was no reducation in salary between December and January. Rather, there was a gross and net increase.

He said that the petitioner apprehended that due to downward revision of their HRA, the government would recover that amount from them. All the aspects were so adjusted to ensure that there is no possibility of the salary drawn in January to be lower than that of December. All the 32 bands in the scale of pay indicated that all the categories of employees had a hike in the salary.

When the court pointed out that the petitioners pay slip showed a reduced amount of HRA in January against December, the AG submitted that it was because of a downward revision of HRA, but the total package had monetary benefits payable from April 1, 2020.

The court observed that when the matter was pending in the court, employees going for a strike was not advisable. It would put pressure on the court to grant relief referring to the Supreme Court observation that when the matter was pending in the court, there should not be any strike.

The court said any agitational path was not advisable for the government servants and hoped that better sense would prevail upon all the stakeholders.

The court directed the state government to file a counter affidavit within three weeks and posted the matter for next hearing on Feb. 23.
Bengaluru: A day ahead of his planned visit to New Delhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said he would not like to have any open discussion regarding the much awaited expansion or reshuffle of his cabinet.

There is pressure mounting on the CM to expand or rejig his cabinet soon, amid talks in party circles that the exercise is likely, only after the Assembly elections in five states.

"I'm fixing time for a meeting with Members of Parliament from the state during the ongoing Parliament's budget session, as per practice. Also I'm scheduled to meet lawyers representing the state regarding inter state water disputes. So I'm likely to leave for Delhi tomorrow morning, for this," Bommai told reporters here.

Responding to a question on possible discussion with the BJP high command regarding expansion or reshuffle of his cabinet, during the Delhi visit, he said, "I don't want to have any open discussion on this matter."

Citing assembly polls in the state in 2023, several legislators including Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and M P Renukacharya have openly said that if cabinet exercise is delayed and carried out after election in five states, it will be too late for new ministers to make any mark, even in their own constituencies.

Recently some legislators have even been advocating Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka Cabinet soon, to make way for new faces.

In September, the BJP completely overhauled the Gujarat's Council of Ministers by selecting new faces for the Bhupendra Patel government, with no Minister from the previous Vijay Rupani-led Ministry being inducted.

Bommai had repeatedly stated that he is waiting for the BJP leadership's consent on going ahead with the cabinet exercise.

There are currently 30 Ministers in the State Cabinet, including the Chief Minister, against the sanctioned strength of 34.

Noting that the union budget presented on Tuesday has separate documents that will have department and state wise allocation details among others, the CM in response to a query said a detailed study of which will give a clear picture on allocations for old and new schemes, and about grant in aid for the state from the Centre and regarding loans.

"Based on all this we will decide on our (state) budget....From February 7, I will have pre budget consultative meetings with various departments. After gathering their opinion I will take budget related decisions," he said.

Bommai, who also holds the finance portfolio, is likely to present the state budget, his first, in the first week of March.
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao termed the Union Budget golmaal which has nothing to offer for any section of people. Rao said that the Budget had left SC, ST, BC people, minorities, farming community, the poor, those in hereditary professions, and employees in utter despair.

Addressing a press conference at Pragathi Bhavan, the CM said the Budget has no direction or intent and it is useless and purposeless. The Budget speech was hollow and nothing but a jugglery of words."

Rao criticised on finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for referring to the Bhagavad Gita in her speech to highlight dharma. In reality she resorted to adharma, he said.

Rao wondered what pur pose the Budget would serve. It has allocations of just `12,000 crore to SCs and STs, whose population is 40 crore. There are no sufficient allocations for agriculture, The subsidies on fertilisers were cut.

Food subsidies were cut. Allocations are not sufficient for health, education or any sector, Rao said. The Centre has only heaped praises on itself while sending the common man to depression, he said
Oil prices climbed on Wednesday toward last week's seven-year highs as a draw in U.S. crude stocks confirmed strong demand and a lack of supply, but investors remained cautious ahead of an OPEC+ meeting later in the day.

Brent crude rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $89.33 a barrel by 0339 GMT, after easing 10 cents on Tuesday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 16 cents, or 0.2%, at $88.36 a barrel, having gained 5 cents the previous day.

Tight global supplies and geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have boosted oil prices by about 15% so far this year. On Friday, crude benchmarks hit their highest prices since October 2014, with Brent touching $91.70 and U.S. crude hitting $88.84.

"A drop in U.S. crude inventories provided support, though an increase of gasoline stocks partially offset bullish sentiment," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

"OPEC+ is likely to maintain its policy unchanged, which means a supply shortage and an upward trend in oil prices will continue," he said.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 28, against analysts' estimate of an increase of 1.5 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

But gasoline inventories rose by 5.8 million barrels, above analysts' expectations for a 1.6 million barrel build.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together known as OPEC+, will likely stick to existing policies of moderate output increases on Wednesday, five sources from the producers' group said, even as it expects demand to rise to new peaks this year and as oil prices trade near seven-year highs.

But Goldman Sachs said there was a chance the oil market's rally would prompt a faster ramp-up.

Sources said an OPEC+ technical panel meeting on Tuesday did not discuss a hike of more than the expected 40,000 barrels per day from March.

"If Saudi and Russia show any signs of raising their production to shoulder shortfalls of some members who cannot meet their output targets, oil prices will likely fall," said Tetsu Emori, CEO of Emori Fund Management Inc.

"But if there are no such surprises, the market is expected to keep a bullish trend as demand is recovering and geopolitical tensions linger," he said.

Tensions between Russia and the West also underpinned crude prices. Russia, the world's second-largest oil producer, and the West have been at loggerheads over Ukraine, fanning fears that energy supplies to Europe could be disrupted.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of deliberately creating a scenario designed to lure it into war and ignoring Russia's security concerns over Ukraine.

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The 23 members of the OPEC+ oil cartel, who meet on Wednesday, are expected to stick to their guns and increase output modestly as the price of crude surges.

As in January, analysts expect the taps to be opened slightly, to the tune of an additional 400,000 barrels per day, Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Energy, told AFP.

Representatives of the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and their 10 allies through the OPEC+ agreement, will first meet at ministerial level before a broader video conference scheduled for 1300 GMT (1930 IST).

The cartel's prudent approach dates back to the spring of 2021 as demand recovered from drastic cuts in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then, OPEC+ has not deviated from its line despite calls in the autumn from the White House to further boost supplies to tamp down prices.

Current prices of around $90 do not seem likely to change their position.

Since the last meeting of the organisation, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has risen by more than 14 per cent and Brent by more than 11 per cent, with both crude references hitting highs in January not seen for more than seven years.

Victoria Scholar, an expert at Interactive Investor, said she expected "further gains", a product of solid demand and OPEC+'s "drip-feed production increases".

The market has been further boosted by soaring geopolitical tensions plaguing stalwarts of oil production  Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The United Arab Emirates on Monday intercepted another ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Huthi rebels, the latest attack on the Gulf country, which is part of a Saudi-led military coalition.

In Europe, tensions between Moscow and Western allies are at their highest point since the Cold War after Russia massed troops on its border with Ukraine.

"Ukraine-Russia (tensions) can only keep pushing it up as long as the situation keeps getting worse," said Neil Wilson of Markets.com.

Separately OPEC+ is struggling to meet its quotas.

"OPEC+ has been failing for months to actually implement the agreed production hikes in full," noted Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank.

In December, the total volume of OPEC+ output increased by only 90,000 barrels per day, far from the target of 400,000 barrels per day, according to a survey by Bloomberg.

Louise Dickson, an analyst at Rystad Energy, said the 23-nation alliance held the key to preventing prices from overheating.

"The only short-term solution for balancing the supply-short oil market will therefore need to come from OPEC+, and steered by Saudi Arabia," she said.

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From the extension of tax incentives to the introduction of a cap on the surcharge on long-term capital gains on unlisted assets, it was all wins for the startup sector in Indias first post-vaccination Budget.

Eligible startups established before 31-3-2022 had been provided with a tax incentive for three consecutive years out of ten years from incorporation. In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, I propose to extend the period of incorporation of the eligible start-up by one more year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

Further, the surcharge on long-term capital gains on unlisted assets, which was erstwhile graded as high as up to 37%, will now be capped to a maximum of 15%.

The startup ecosystem that saw as many as 44 companies enter the unicorn list with record-level funding flowing across various domains will also get an expert committee to examine and suggest appropriate measures.

The government also provided incentives for startups in sectors ranging from agriculture to defence.

The agriculture-based startup community welcomed the slew of announcements that looked to encourage entrepreneurs in the sector.

Union Budget 2022-23 | Key takeaways for start-ups

Startups will be promoted to facilitate Drone Shakti through varied applications and for Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS), the Minister said in her speech.

The government also proposed to start a fund with blended capital, which will be facilitated through NABARD, to finance agriculture and other rural startups.

The activities for these startups will include support for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO), machinery for farmers on a rental basis at the farm level, and technology including IT-based support.

Putting climate action as one of the focus areas of the budget is a mega move from the government. The AgTech sector plays an important role in educating farmers on sustainable modes of agriculture, scaling the operations, and reducing the carbon footprint, said Dhruv Sawhney, Business Head and COO, nurture.farm.

The government also announced the issue of Sovereign Green Bonds for mobilising resources for green infrastructure. FM Sitharaman said that the funds collected through these bonds will be deployed in public sector projects that help reduce the carbon intensity of the economy.

Sawhney applauded the launch of green bonds.

It will help to bring down the cost of capital for green projects by attracting new investors.

The Minister also announced the earmark of 25% of the defence budget for research and development, startups and academia.

The automotive component manufacturing industry that has been facing the issue of unavailability of raw materials ever since the pandemic feels that the launch of R&D in the defence sector will help alleviate the issue.

The opening of the Defence R&D private sector will also create yet another opportunity for the auto component sector, Sunjay J Kapur, President ACMA said.

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The launch of a new digital rupee in the upcoming year will boost financial inclusion in Asias No.3 economy and eventually make more Indians cut their dependence on physical cash, according to accountants, currency exchange operators and crypto experts.

The move will also provide a cost-efficient alternative to cash and make international transactions easier, they said.

The launch would give great comfort and trust in the use of digital currency, Lily Vadera, a former executive director at the Reserve Bank of India told DH.

It would provide a cost-efficient alternative to cash as the cost of printing, storing, transportation and distribution of currency can be reduced considerably and hopefully bring down the dependence of cash in the economy, said Vadera, who is currently a senior advisor at law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.

The comments came just a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman used her budget speech to reveal that the Reserve Bank of India will launch its digital currency in the year starting April 2022 and tax the income from the transfer of virtual assets at 30 per cent.

The digital rupee, or the central bank digital currency (CBDC), could be exchanged for cash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified on Wednesday, adding that it will make online payments more secure and give a push to the digital economy down the lane.

Also read: Digital rupee can be exchanged for cash: PM

Denizens of the digital currency world agreed.

They consider the CBDC as yet another mode of distribution and payment of the Indian Rupee, akin to currency notes, United Payments Interface and RBI-approved methods of fund transfer such as NEFT and IMPS.

The experts see RBI determining the supply of the digital rupee and also tracking how it gets distributed to various individuals. If the CBDC runs on blockchain technology, it will be extremely advantageous to the average Indian, they pointed out.

Efficient & Inclusive

The RBIs digital currency will help even those who do not have a bank account as it can be digitally transferred digitally, Bhagaban Behera, CEO & Co-Founder, Defy said.

This type of transaction wouldn't need to pass through multiple banks and take several days. It could all happen nearly instantaneously on one digital ledger. Consumers also wouldn't need a commercial bank account to use CBDC, Behera said.

Others such as Vikram Subburaj, the CEO of Giottus Crypto Exchange, focused on the digital versions efficiency and ability to overcome network issues tied to UPI and NEFT transactions.

Also Read  Union Budget 2022: Tough news for millennials, modern investors

Being on blockchain will also make international transactions simpler - a person in the US or Europe can easily transact with the Indian Rupee if anyone prefers to, Subburaj told DH.

One disadvantage at the start would be the fact that only a small share of the Indian Rupee in circulation may be on the blockchain and hence large transactions may have to wait, he said.

Others such as Amit Jaju, Senior Managing Director at Ankura Consultings India arm urged the government to closely evaluate the broader concerns related to money laundering, fraud, data privacy and cyber security tied to cryptocurrencies.

Analysts said they did not expect a major change in the valuation of the Indian Rupee because of the launch of the digital rupee.

Bengaluru-based chartered accountant B E Kumar Prasad urged people to pick the RBI-backed digital rupee over unregulated crypto assets citing the lower risks generally associated with an asset regulated by a central bank.

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Indian business leaders in Singapore lauded the Union Budget for 2022-23 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, saying it is in tune with the global trends and a "giant step" towards making India a $5 trillion economy in the next few years.

Finance Minister Sitharaman on Tuesday unveiled a Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget, with higher spending on highways to affordable housing with a view to fire up the key engines of the economy to sustain a world-beating recovery from the pandemic.

While she primed up spending on infrastructure to create jobs and boost economic activity, Sitharaman did not tinker with income tax slabs or tax rates.

Her Budget for the fiscal year beginning April 2022 proposed a massive 35 per cent jump in capital expenditure to Rs 7.5 lakh crore, coupled with the rationalisation of customs duty, an extension of time for setting up new manufacturing companies and plans for starting a digital currency and tax crypto assets.

Girija Pande, Chairman of the Singapore-based Apex Avalon Consulting Pte Ltd, said the 34.5 per cent increase in infrastructure capital expenditure is a very welcome announcement and will have a multiplier impact on incomes and employment.

He welcomed the launch of the Central Bank Digital Currency (digital rupee) by the Reserve Bank of India, terming it a "very bold step that follows global trends".

Pande, whose company provides Management Consulting and Business Research to businesses in the fast-growing Asia Pacific market, however, said the 30 per cent tax on digital assets is heavy and may have to be reduced.

Also read: Budget 2022 and start-ups: Welcome push, but India needs more

"Two areas of missed opportunities are lack of major thrust in exports or youth employment. India needs to become a major exporter if it wants to become a major economic power. Thats how East Asia developed," he said in response to the Budget presented by Sitharaman.

The budget is a giant step to get our economy on track and propel it to reach a target of $5 trillion in the next few years," said Atul Temurnikar, Chairman and Co-founder, of Singapore-based Global Schools Foundation.

He said the aim of the budget was to give support and push to agriculture and small businesses, which it has managed to do.

In the bargain, it has also given a major thrust to Indias greater initiatives like Digital India, Make in India and Startup India.

"It is also great to see the budget, under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving due focus to new-age economic thrusters like the electric vehicles industry and crypto. The plans for the digital rupee, for instance, have come at the right time, said Temurnikar.

The Budget 2022 has hit the nail on the head when it comes to education initiatives and shows that the government has its finger on the pulse of the nation as it charges into the digital age of education, he said.

The focus of digital learning, formation of digital universities and the promise of bringing training and digital infrastructure to the education sector  all this just goes to show that the government has one eye on the future even as it deals with current pandemic-related problems. In addition, I am very excited about the announcements on new e-learning content delivery platforms on handheld devices," he said.

"This is good news for educational institutions who can deal with external disruptions with more ease and confidence in the future. This is also a reflection of how the Modi government is thinking ahead of the curve as we charge into the 21st century with the full force of youth behind us, said Temurnikar, whose Singapore-headquartered foundation has 26 campuses in 9 countries including Japan, South Korea, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

Strengthening the digital education programme via digital university and supporting the MSMEs' to promote Atma Nirbhar Bharat and job creation for 60,000 youth via Atma Nirbhar Bharat programmes are very positive announcements, said Mamta Mandal, a business consultant and promoter of Hindi language among Indian Diaspora under Global Hindi Foundation.

"Digital university programme is the need of the hour and timely execution will be key for filling the urban-rural education divide which has widened due to Covid situation," said Mandal.

"Domestic consumption and manufacturing, however, are still declining though the reconfiguration in many sectors has been phenomenal," she said, calling for a focus on employment generation.

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By P R Sanjai and Dhwani Pandya,

Indias plans to classify data centres and energy storage as infrastructure assets allowing firms to access cheap and long-term credit, in a big boost for billionaires Gautam Adani, Sunil Mittal and Mukesh Ambanis plans to aggressively grow in these segments.

Data centres and energy storage systems including dense charging infrastructure and grid-scale battery systems will be included in the harmonized list of infrastructure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday as part of the Budget speech in Parliament. This will facilitate credit availability for digital infrastructure and clean energy storage.

The policy tweak, effective from April 1, comes as Asias no. 3 economy seeks to keep its data within its borders as well as stoke a massive boom in online payments, e-commerce and quantum computing. Roll out of ultra-speedy 5G telecom services will further increase demand for data centre services, spurring conglomerates helmed by Adani and Mittal to rapidly scale up. Ambanis Reliance Industries Ltd., which is developing gigafactories including one for energy storage as part of a $76 billion investment plan, is also likely to benefit from this reclassification.

Budget Decoded | Your complete guide to Union Budget 2022

The infrastructure tag is expected to provide access to cheaper and long-term institutional funds, which will promote investments, Radha Dhir, chief executive officer and India head at real estate consultancy JLL, said in an email. She expects Indias data centre capacity to double from 499 megawatts in the first half of 2021 to 1,008 megawatts next year.

Adani, Asias second-richest person, said in November that he wants his conglomerate to be a world leader in green data storage, with sites run entirely on clean power, in sync with Indias goal of turning carbon net zero by 2070. The Adani Group plans to initially build data centres in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and in and around New Delhi.

Bharti Airtel Ltd., the countrys No. 2 wireless carrier overseen by Mittal, announced plans in September to invest Rs 5,000 crore to triple its data centre capacity to 400 megawatts by 2025. Reliances digital unit has also been looking to build a data centre, according to a local media report.

Representatives for Adani Group, Reliance and Bharti Airtel did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comments on the policy change announced in the Budget.

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A Western New York judge should be removed from the bench for posting sexist memes about boobies on Facebook and fundraising for the National Rifle Association, the states Commission on Judicial Conduct announced Wednesday.

David Stilson, a judge in Alma Town Court who also serves as an associate judge of the Andover Village Court in Allegany County, used his public Facebook profile to make juvenile, pro-gun posts, the commission said.

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Boobies Are proof that men can focus on two things at once! read one meme shared by Stilson, 52, on Facebook in January 2014.

Judge David Stilson will be booted from the bench over his Facebook posts unless he pursues an appeal.

In another meme, Stilson shared an image of a woman tied to a bed along with the message she asked me to tie her up and do anything I want, followed by a photo of a man fishing.

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In yet another post on Feb. 19, 2014, Stilson posted a meme that said country girls are better because their boobs are real and they can ride hard.

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The following day he asked friends to join him at an NRA fundraiser that cost $180 per person.

One of the memes allegedly shared by a Western New York judge.

Looking for a few more friends to attend the Friends of the NRA Banquet in Olean on March 15th, I want a table of ten, he wrote. Its $180.00 each person, includes dinner, pistol case, $200.00 Bucket tickets, 10 Gun table Tickets, And 7 Gun of the year Tickets. Always a good time, great meal. And one of us 10 is Guaranteed to win a gun.

Judges in New York are prohibited from engaging in fundraising activities. Stilson had been a judge on Alma Town Court for 13 years at the time of the posts. The court is about 90 miles south of Rochester.

Another meme shared by Judge Stilson.

There is no place on the bench for a judge who demeans women or seems to have no idea why public confidence in the courts would be undermined when a judge posts the image of a woman tied to a bed or makes juvenile references to a womans breasts on social media, wrote Commission on Judicial Conduct Commissioner Robert Tembeckjian. That Judge Stilson also engaged in prohibited fundraising for the NRA only underscores his disregard for judicial ethics and unfitness for office.

Stilson, who has not responded to any of the allegations by the commission, will be removed from the bench later this month unless he appeals to the states Court of Appeals.

While Stilson could not immediately be reached, his father said he hadnt heard about the commissions investigation.

It must be a Facebook thing, said his father, who didnt give his name. Im not familiar with it.
A security guard allegedly posed as a CCB constable to cheat a man of Rs 17,000 by selling him a seized scooter for just Rs 17,000.

Lourd Nathan, 43, a resident of Budigere near Hoskote, was arrested by Sampigehalli police who acted on a complaint by one of his reported victims.

Nathan is said to have come in contact with the buyer a few weeks ago and introduced himself as a police constable working in the Central Crime Branch. Last week, Nathan offered to sell him a scooter seized in a police case for Rs 17,000, far less than its actual value. Nathan cited the huge backlog of seized vehicles lying in police stations across the city as the reason for selling the scooter so cheap.

The buyer believed him without knowing that any vehicle seized by the police can only be released by a court order. He paid the money but Nathan failed to provide the scooter even after many days.

The buyer realised the con and approached the police on Tuesday. Police tracked down Nathan the same day.

A senior police officer said Nathan had cheated at least one more person by using a similar modus operandi in Bellandur, Southeast Bengaluru, last November. He was arrested in that case but got bail after a month and went back to the old ways, the officer said.

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After complaints from citizens over the unruly behaviour of towing personnel in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government on Wednesday announced that towing of vehicles will be stopped until a revised policy is brought out in the city.

This is a temporary measure until a new system is put in place, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said after a high-level meeting with the DG and IGP, City Police Commissioner and Joint Commissioner (Traffic).

Also read: Go slow on towing in Bengaluru, Karnataka CM Bommai tells officials

We have decided to find better solutions to address towing-related problems faced by citizens in Bengaluru. Very soon, the government will come up with a policy facilitating smooth flow of the traffic while putting an end to the unnecessary harassment of public by the towing personnel, Jnanendra told media soon after the meeting.

I have already held preliminary discussions with the senior officials of the department. I will further discuss with the CM on these issues and a final order will be issued thereafter, he added.

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Pro-Kannada activists have taken exception to alleged efforts to dissolve the popular FM Rainbow 101.3 channel and merge it with a national radio station.

On Tuesday, activists associated with pro-Kannada organisations staged a protest outside the offices of national broadcaster Prasar Bharati on Raj Bhavan Road.

FM Rainbow is a popular channel and has the second highest listenership. Merging it with the national channel will make hundreds of artistes, commentators, technicians, and assistant staff jobless, members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) said.

In a memorandum to the All India Radios Bengaluru branch, the organisation said closing the channel would also affect the freedom of expression of Kannadigas.

It will also lead to the denial of a channel to air Kannada light music, devotional songs, and film songs. Therefore, we request you to continue the channel, said president of the outfit T A Narayana Gowda.

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The upheaval in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Goa unit has spread. Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar threw his hat into the electoral ring as an independent after being denied the Panjim assembly seat. Utpal Parrikar's moves spurred on former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar to finally take the plunge and two more of its senior functionaries to rebel against the party. The party managed to quell the putative rebellion by Siddhesh Naik, son of Union minister Shripad Naik, with a largely decorative official position after losing out in the race, as it did with another disgruntled party-man and former minister, Dilip Parulekar.

Utpal Parrikar queers BJP's pitch

However, it is Utpal Parrikar's stance, pedigree, and, more importantly, the local and national media coverage the engineer has garnered that is proving to be the most damaging. As the son of the man who held the Goa BJP together for over two decades, Utpal Parrikar has positioned himself as a crusader, upset over the party's moral decline and its rejection of the principles of loyalty and integrity he claims the party and his father stood for.

The BJP's Goa in charge, former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was dousing fires last week, arguing that the party is a family, had norms no one is an exception to and said the party was saddened Utpal Parrikar had taken this step. But Fadnavis also said the party offered him two other seats he turned down. Fadnavis' recent stance differed from his initial snub to Utpal Parrikar that no claim could be made based on a family name and everyone had to work and earn their candidature. That apart, the BJP brought in its big guns to quell the rebellion. Amit Shah was on a visit to the state.

The mess within

With many independents from its rejected candidates in the fray, constituency meetings that Fadnavis is holding deride not only the opposition Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, its former regional saffron alliance partner, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) but also independents - many from its own "family". To the party's embarrassment, its current deputy chief minister Chandrakant Babu Kavlekar's wife Savitri is also contesting as an independent in a neighbouring assembly segment. Her nomination was rejected earlier.

Ten years in government in Goa has only increased the jostle for power and nominations within the party, leading to ugly squabbles spilling onto the streets. Its last post-poll coalition government of the past five years saw four deputy chief ministers and 15 defections, while the administration collapsed, holding the state's economy to ransom, during former chief minister Manohar Parrikar's year-long illness in office. The free for all jostle for power and near collapse in decision making within that alliance left citizens and the economy facing the brunt.

In rejecting and sidelining Utpal Parrikar, the party has upset not just him but angered the Gaud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) samaj - a community that supported the party under Manohar Parrikar. "This is the second time they have rejected Utpal's nomination, though the party has generally always nominated the children of a deceased leader. They seem to want to sideline Utpal, a young, educated leader. And they are doing this while using Parrikar's name and image in all their propaganda material," says political analyst Manoj Kamat.

BJP's OBC conundrum

The BJP, it would seem, sees a greater advantage in expanding its OBC base in Goa, which gives it much better numerical numbers than the GSBs, even if the latter is an influential business and intellectual community. The BJP has been locked in a contest with the MGP and the Congress for the OBC votes, which are spread across all three parties.

The BJP's main competitor for the saffron vote, the MGP, has refused to merge or disappear from the electoral landscape. In alliance with the stronger regional MGP, the BJP opened its account in Goa in 1994 with four seats and nine per cent of the vote. The BJP grew at the MGP's cost, taking its vote percentage to 34.68 and winning 21 seats in 2012. In contrast, the MGP's vote share declined from 22.24 per cent in 1994 to 6.72 per cent in 2012. Breaking its alliance with the BJP in 2017, the MGP attempted a comeback and increased its vote share by five per cent to 11.27 per cent in 2017, while the BJP's vote share dipped marginally that year. As Goa's first regional party regime that ruled for 17 years immediately after Goa's liberation in 1961, the MGP has deep and emotional roots among Goa's OBC Bahujan Samaj population. If the BJP is to reduce its current dependence on Christian candidates, it has to increase its OBC base over the long term.

BJP's reliance on Christian candidates

Currently, the BJP needs its Christian candidates to pick up the numbers, seeing as they have been registering a near 100 per cent strike rate for the party. When it fielded six Christians in 2012, all six won their seats and when it fielded eight Christians in 2017, seven won, even as the mood in that election was against the BJP. The party's overall tally reduced from 21 in 2012 to 13 in 2017, with several of its prominent leaders, including sitting chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, being routed. This time the party has fielded 12 Christians. Despite its numbers on the BJP ruling side, the Christian footprint in the administration and government service has declined over the past decades while it comprises 26 per cent of the state's population, says lawyer and political analyst Radharao Gracias.

Internal rivalries between the OBCs and GSBs surfaced in the party after Manohar Parrikar handed the baton over to Parsekar when he moved to the Centre as the country's defence minister in 2014. With its 2017 losses credited mainly to the OBC voter shift from the BJP to the MGP, the party sought to contain this after Manohar Parrikar's demise in 2019. Key GSB members of his administrative team were dropped, and the baton was handed over to current chief minister Pramod Sawant, who hails from the dominant Maratha samaj. This time, the party has fielded 13 OBCs, five Marathas, four from the Scheduled Tribes, two from the Scheduled Castes and two from the GSB samaj, covering all the major caste groupings. The rejection of Utpal Parrikar's bid to contest his father's seat twice is being read by observers as a move to keep a GSB lobby out of the internal power equation to give space to Sawant to consolidate his position in the party.

The fight for BJP's CM face

The rivalry between Sawant and health minister Vishwajit Rane, also a Maratha from the Rane clan, caused the government embarrassment over decision making during the Covid crisis, which was amplified in the media. Vishwajit Rane, who had crossed over from the Congress in 2017, lost the contest for chief ministership when the party preferred the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) initiated Sawant. Indications are that he hasn't given up, and while the BJP has not announced its chief ministerial face for the 2022 election, that contest is still open.

Analysts feel Vishwajit Rane could improve his chances if he were to ensure one more seat from the Sattari taluka, in addition to his own Valpoi segment. Vishwajit Rane's wife, Deviya Rane, is also contesting on a BJP ticket from Poriem - on the seat held by his father, long time Congress chief minister Pratapsing Rane, for 11 terms and 50 years. Now critical to the next generation's ambitions, the Poriem seat finally turned into a family tussle between father and son and went down to the wire on the penultimate day of filing nominations before the elder Rane withdrew.

Pratapsing Rane was keen on contesting on a Congress ticket, which would have taken him to his fiftieth year as an MLA in March 2022. This plan did not sit well with either his son or the BJP, which needs every seat it can cobble together in the 40-member house. The BJP sought to placate the elder Rane with a decorative lifetime cabinet status, while Fadnavis said the respected statesman had been consulted before allotting the ticket to his daughter-in-law. An irritated Rane senior called out both as falsehoods and emerged to begin his campaign but finally withdrew from the fray.

(Pamela D'Mello is a senior journalist based in Goa.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
The Congress central leadership could prefer Dalit leader Charanjit Singh Channi over state congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a Jat Sikh, as its chief ministerial candidate for the ensuing assembly elections on February 20, sources told DH.

Even as Congress talked about "collective leadership" while dithering to name one CM face to avoid dissent and confusion, Rahul Gandhi gave in to pressure from state leaders, including both Channi and Sidhu, and announced last week that the party will in fact be naming a CM candidate soon. The party is also undertaking a voting exercise in which names of only Channi and Sidhu have been included. A third option asks workers if they wouldnt want a CM face before elections.

Even as Congress may be throwing its weight behind Channi as the top contender for the CM face, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Kumar Jakhar gave a new twist to the complexities surrounding this exercise.

Punjab polls: Channi asks people to ensure his victory from Chamkaur Sahib

Jakhar, who returned from Europe recently and ended his mandatory home quarantine a few days ago, revealed that Channi got only 2 votes from Punjab Congress MLAs when the party was looking at prospective leaders as the next chief minister after the exit of Capt Amarinder Singh. Jakhar claimed that 42 of the 79 party MLAs preferred him at the top post after Amarinder Singh stepped down.

Sidhu, he said, was favoured by 6 MLAs while 12 MLAs wanted deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa as the next CM after Amarinder, Jakhar revealed at a public meeting in Abohar constituency, his home turf. Jakhar is not contesting this election but his nephew has been named as the party nominee from Abohar.

Despite only two MLAs favouring Channi, the party high command cherrypicked him as Capts replacement. Punjab is home to nearly 33 per cent of the country's Dalit population, the highest in the country. The grand old party played the Dalit card to woo voters, a significant factor that may be in Channis favour if he aims to be the CM face. Naming Sidhu at this stage could send a damning message to the Dalit voters.

Also read: Punjab polls: Amarinder predicts abysmal defeat for Sidhu

The party has tried to gain a tactical advantage by announcing Channi as a candidate from two seats, including Bhadaur in the Malwa region, a seat considered unsafe for the party. Naming Channi from a seat in electorally significant Malwa sends a strong signal to the voters. The party is positioning Channi for his mass appeal.

While both Sidhu and Channi in Rahul Gandhis presence have unequivocally said that the decision to name one leader as CM face will be free from any voices of dissent and cynicism, both leaders will need to walk the talk.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday targeted Samajwadi Party, saying if Akhilesh Yadav becomes the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, his government will show "red light" to development and green light to "mafia and musclemen".

"There was Bahubali (musclemen) in every district under the previous regime, but in the present Yogi Adityanath's regime, there is no such mafia. There is only Bajrangbali now," the BJP leader said addressing election rallies.

Also Read: How star campaigners are turning filmy in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh

Referring to the BJP's poll symbol, he said Goddess Lakshmi entered every household with the lotus and referred to welfare measures taken by the government, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shah warned the voters that if the "mafia rule" returns in Uttar Pradesh, "industries will go".

"If you search for the mafia, you can see it at three places in UP - they are visible in jail, second outside UP and third you will see in the list of candidates of Samajwadi Party," he said.

The BJP leader also accused the SP, BSP and the Congress of opposing the abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, for their "vote bank" politics.

"Had SP, BSP, Congress been in power, would they have withdrawn Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir? When Modi ji became PM for the second time, he withdrew it (Article 370) on August 5, 2019. Akhilesh Yadav was against it. Why do you do such vote bank politics?" he said.

"He (Akhilesh) stood in front of me and said due to the decision (revoking Article 370) khoon ki nadiya bahengi (rivers of blood will flow) but Akhilesh Babu leave that river of blood no one had the courage to throw even a kankad (stone)," Shah said, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured the nation.

He was addressing rallies in Atrauli, Aligarh, where Sandeep Singh, former UP CM Kalyan Singh's grandson, is the party candidate and in Badaun.

Also Read: Mamata backs Akhilesh for Assembly polls, says TMC will fight LS polls from UP

"Akhilesh government will show red light to development and green light to the mafia and Bahubali (musclemen)", Shah said, asking the people whether they wanted "red-light, green-light" government.

The SP flag has red and green colours.

"For the 15 crore people of UP, this is not only the lotus flower but also mother Lakshmi, Ma Annapurna, which came to their houses. Modi fed their children for two years," he said.

He said that if "mafia rule" again comes in the state, people will hesitate to invest in the defence corridor in Aligarh, announced by Prime Minister Modi in 2018.

Shah asserted that the general elections in 2014 and 2019 and the assembly polls in 2017 were for "changing the fortune (kismat) of Uttar Pradesh".

He said the SP and the BSP "gripped with casteist thinking" could never do any good for the state.

"During SP and BSP rule, goondas (criminals) used to harass people and police used to run away from them, but under (CM) Yogi Adityanath regime, criminals and mafias are migrating out of the state," he said.

Also Read: All parties fielded candidates with criminal history in UP: ADR

Shah alleged that the SP, the BSP and the Congress cannot rule in a "transparent and corruption-free" manner

"Only the BJP and lotus symbol could give corruption-free government under the leadership of Modi," he said

Polling will be held in Atrauli on February 10 in the first phase. BJP stalwart Kalyan Singh had represented this seat many times.

On his relations with Kalyan Singh, Shah said, "In 2013, when I was sent as the in-charge of UP, I had visited Lucknow and Varanasi. I sought time from 'Babuji' (Kalyan Singh), he invited me for food at home and like a father held my finger and taught me about Uttar Pradesh politics."

Kalyan Singh was the person who first talked about giving the backward society its due right, he said.

The Union home minister said for 'Ramjanmbhoomi', Kalyan Singh had resigned as the chief minister and "our PM (Modi) has laid the foundation of Ram temple".

Shah urged the people to once again vote the Yogi Adityanath government to power and also ensure the victory of Sandeep Singh.

Alleging that Akhilesh Yadav misled the people on the Covid-19 vaccine, Shah said, "He used to say it's BJP's vaccine, I will not take it. He misled the people of UP and the country. He, however, out of fear took the vaccine himself."

"Had you all not taken the vaccine, would you be able to save yourself in the third wave? Narendra Modi secured 130 core people by getting them vaccinated," he said.

Shah also hit out at Congress, saying when there was "Sonia-Manmohan" government at the Centre, anyone used to enter India from Pakistan and cut off the heads of soldiers and the prime minister at that time would not react.

"Mauni baba (Manmohan Singh) used to remain silent. When the Modi government came, Pakistan-sponsored terrorists did not know that the government changed. When they attacked in Uri and Pulwama, within 10 days there was a surgical strike and terrorists were eliminated inside Pakistan," he said.

Taking a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shah said he did not know about Kharif and Rabi crops and ''if someone would tell him to talk about potato growers in Aligarh he would say he will open a potato factory here".

"Can a person who does not know that a potato is grown in a field and not a factory resolve problems of farmers," he said.

Refuting Akhilesh Yadav's claim of bad law and order in the state, Shah said as compared to the previous regime, dacoity cases have reduced by 70 per cent, loot by 69 per cent, murder by 29 per cent, kidnapping by 35 per cent and rape by 30 per cent.

He said people like Azam Khan, Atiq Ahmad and Mukhtar Ansari, who are seen with Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav, are in jail.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife attended a Lunar New Year's Day concert in Pyongyang where he received thunderous cheers from audience members and artists who praised him for heralding a new era of national power, state media reported.

The North's official media has been highlighting Kim's authoritarian leadership following a spree of missile tests in January, which some experts see as an attempt to pressure Washington over deadlocked nuclear negotiations after two years of pandemic border closures and economic decay.

The Biden administration has called for the UN Security Council to meet Thursday to discuss North Korea's most recent test of an intermediate-range missile potentially capable of reaching Guam, a key US military hub in the Pacific. Sunday's test signalled a resumption of major weapons testing that Kim had suspended in 2018, while initiating diplomacy with then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Also Read  Kim Jong Un's wife makes first public appearance since September

Talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since the collapse of the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korea's demands for a major release of crippling US-led sanctions in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

The Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday said Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, were greeted with stormy cheers after arriving at Pyongyang's massive Mansudae Art Theater for Tuesday's concert. KCNA said the audience appreciated that Kim was ushering in on this land a new world and a new era when the people's ideals and happiness and desire for building a powerful country are comprehensively translated into reality."

Artists performed songs and dances that demonstrated the single-minded unity of North Korean people and their devotion to build a socialist country to be envied by the world, the report said.

North Korean TV on Tuesday showed Kim galloping through a forest on a white horse  a symbol associated with his family's dynastic rule over the country  in a new documentary praising his alleged accomplishments in 2021, including anti-virus campaigns, construction projects and weapons development.

One scene showed Kim, noticeably slimmer than in previous months, walking gingerly at a rainy construction site as a narrator said he showed his motherly side by entirely devoting his body into realizing people's dreams.

Also Read  North Korea plunges to 174th spot on international corruption index

South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers in October that Kim lost about 20 kilograms (44 pounds) in weight, but that he remains healthy and is trying to boost public loyalty to him as he navigates the toughest period of his rule due to economic hardships, worsened by the pandemic.

The North's accelerated weapons tests, which came amid efforts to strengthen internal unity and tighten the government's grip over the economy, possibly reflect a sense of urgency within Pyongyang's leadership for outside relief, analysts say.

While tentatively reopening freight train traffic with China last month, Kim is also reviving his playbook in brinkmanship to wrest concessions from the Biden administration, which has offered open-ended talks, but shown no willingness to ease sanctions unless Kim takes real steps to abandon his nuclear weapons programme.

Sunday's flight test of the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile marked the longest-distance weapon the North has tested since 2017, when it twice flew Hwasong-12s over Japan and, separately, three intercontinental ballistic missiles that demonstrated the potential to reach deep into the American homeland.

The launch came days after Kim called a ruling party meeting where officials issued a veiled threat to end the North's 2018 moratorium on the testing of nuclear devices and longer-range missiles, citing US hostility.

Also Read  North Korea confirms test of missile capable of striking Guam

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa by phone and condemned North Korea's recent ballistic tests, which were in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and vowed trilateral cooperation with South Korea to deal with the North Korean threat, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.

Experts say the North could halt its testing spree after the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics this week out of respect for China, its major ally and economic lifeline. But there are also expectations it could significantly up the ante in weapons demonstrations once the Olympics end later this month to grab the attention of the Biden administration, which has been focusing more on confronting China and Russia over its conflict with Ukraine.

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Indian officials have held heated discussions with Google, Twitter and Facebook for not proactively removing what they described as fake news on their platforms, sources told Reuters, the government's latest altercation with Big Tech.

The officials, from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), strongly criticised the companies and said their inaction on fake news was forcing the Indian government to order content takedowns, which in turn drew international criticism that authorities were suppressing free expression, two sources said.

The sources, who were familiar with the proceedings at the virtual meeting on Monday, described the conversation as tense and heated, signalling a new low in ties between American tech giants and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration.

Also Read | Big Tech adds $2.5 trillion in value on robust 2021 gains

The officials did not issue an ultimatum to the companies at the meeting, the sources said. The government has been tightening tech sector regulations but wants companies to do more on content moderation.

The meeting was a follow-up to the I&B ministry's use of "emergency powers" in December and January to order the blocking of 55 channels on Google's YouTube platform, and some Twitter and Facebook accounts

The government had said the channels were promoting "fake news" or "anti-India" content and that the disinformation was being spread by accounts based in neighbouring Pakistan.

The I&B ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the meeting, which was also attended by Indian content-sharing platforms ShareChat and Koo, which have millions of users in the country.

Also Read | Centre blocks 35 Pakistan-based YouTube channels for anti-India fake news

Facebook, now known as Meta, Twitter and ShareChat declined to comment.

Without commenting on the meeting, Alphabet Inc's Google said in a statement it reviews governments requests and where appropriate, we restrict or remove the content in keeping with local laws. Koo said it complies with local laws and has strong content moderation practices in place.

In its transparency reports, Twitter has said the Indian government makes among the highest number of requests to remove content from its platform. Technology website Comparitech in October said India made 97,631 content removal requests in 2020, the second-highest in the world after Russia, mostly to Facebook and Google.

Strained ties

During the meeting, senior tech executives told the officials that they take adequate measures to remove or curb the spread of misinformation on their platforms and act on legally-valid content removal requests, said the sources.

Also read: Covid-19 related data of thousands of Indians leaked online

The officials told Google to review its internal guidelines to remove fake content automatically, said the sources.

The officials also said the government was disappointed that big social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, weren't detecting and removing such content on their own.

Instead, the government was forced to order takedowns, opening it to criticism and damaging its public image, the officials said during the meeting, according to the sources.

Executives from Google told the I&B officials that one way to resolve that was for the ministry to avoid making takedown decisions public. The firms could work with the government and act on the alleged fake content, which could be a win-win for both sides, Google said, according to one of the sources.

Also Read | Artificial intelligence may not actually be the solution for stopping the spread of fake news

The idea was summarily rejected by the government officials, who said the takedowns also publicise how the companies weren't doing enough to tackle fake news on their own, the person said.

While ordering takedowns of certain online accounts in January, the government said it was doing so to "secure the overall information environment in India", adding that such fake content was on "sensitive subjects" such as the Indian Army, India's foreign relations and local state elections.

Digital rights advocates say such government orders curb free speech and set a worrying precedent.

"Detailed takedown orders are not made public by the government," said Apar Gupta, the executive director at Internet Freedom Foundation, adding that the basis for the action was not explained.

This allowed authorities to censor content even if it does not violate public order or the security of the state, he said.

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Myanmar's defenders of democracy, a Belarus opposition leader, the pope, and environmental activists like Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough have emerged as likely nominees for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

Following the January 31 deadline for nominations, several names are believed to have made it onto this year's list, as those eligible to nominate are allowed to reveal their choice.

But the complete list is kept a well-guarded secret for 50 years, as stipulated by the Nobel statutes.

On Tuesday, the first anniversary of Myanmar's February 1, 2021 military coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi, a Norwegian lawmaker said he had nominated Myanmar's self-proclaimed shadow government, the "National Unity Government".

"It's the only legitimate government in Myanmar", Ola Elvestuen, a member of parliament for the small Liberal Party, told AFP.

The NUG was formed last April and is made up of dissident lawmakers in hiding or exile, many of them from Suu Kyi's party.

The country was plunged into chaos after the junta grabbed power by alleging massive fraud during elections in late 2020 which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won by a landslide.

Myanmar's civil disobedience movement has also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, proposed by a Norwegian university professor.

Thousands of people are eligible to submit nominations for the prestigious prize, including lawmakers and cabinet members of all countries, former laureates and some university professors.

The five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee can also submit their own personal preferences at their first meeting of the year, on March 4.

Many of the names believed to have been put forth this year have been in the running for several years, including Pope Francis, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, and tireless British environmentalist David Attenborough, who has been nominated together with UN biodiversity experts.

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is the favourite candidate of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO).

She "has played a leading role in non-violently challenging (President Alexander) Lukashenko and the Belarusian authorities, calling both for fair elections and an end to violence against those demonstrating against the abuses of the current regime", said PRIO director Henrik Urdal.

Meanwhile, another Norwegian MP said he had nominated Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Simon Kofe, who made headlines for giving a speech to the COP26 climate summit while filmed knee-deep in ocean water.

"Tuvalu and the other Pacific island nations are doing an important job in waking us up to solve the world's greatest threat to long-term peace: The climate crisis", Guri Melby wrote in a post on Twitter.

Other names cited in Norwegian media include the Arctic Council, WikiLeaks, whistleblower Chelsea Manning, Iranian women's rights activist Masih Alinejad who campaigns against mandatory use of the hijab, and NATO, as tensions flare between the West and Russia over Ukraine.

The world's focus has been on the Covid-19 pandemic for two years, and individuals or organisations fighting for better health are also likely to have been nominated.

Being nominated for a prize is however in no way a sign of approval by the Nobel committee.

The name of this year's laureate will be announced in October in Oslo.

Last year, the prize went to two journalists fighting for freedom of information, Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Russia's Dmitry Muratov.

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Two campus police officers were shot and killed at a college in the US state of Virginia Tuesday, while one student was killed and another wounded in a shooting at a school in Minnesota the same day.

Two agents, a campus law enforcement officer and a campus safety officer, were shot before the suspect fled the scene at the college in Virginia, Virginia State Police said in a statement on Twitter.

Multiple law enforcement agencies arrived on the campus of Bridgewater College around 1:20 pm (1820 GMT) in response to active shooter reports, according to the same statement, which the school also posted to its website.

The suspect, a 27-year-old man named Alexander Wyatt Campbell, was later apprehended, Virginia State Police said, adding that he had a "non-life-threatening gunshot wound."

It was not yet clear if he had been shot by police or if the wound was self-inflicted. He has already been charged with murder, police said.

The town of Bridgewater, about two and a half hours south of the US capital of Washington and where Bridgewater College is located, sent out an alert around 1:30 pm warning of an active shooter situation, local media reported.

The school issued an all-clear notice on its website around 4:30 pm.

Several students told the Washington Post they heard shots near a classroom building on campus, the paper reported and had to shelter in place for more than three hours.

One student, 21-year-old, Kasey Truslow, told the Post she heard a gunshot outside the window of the building.

"After the second shot, we got on the floor. We remained on the floor for an hour," she said.

"My teacher barricaded the door with a big desk with computer monitors on it. We stayed there. There was a secondary door that the students blocked."

The school had continued to tweet updates throughout the incident, telling students, "Use these alerts as the only reliable source of information."

Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin tweeted, "I have been briefed on the situation at Bridgewater College. The shooter is in custody and state and local police are on the scene."

The officers were identified by the school as John Painter and J.J. Jefferson.

The pair "were shot and killed on campus while protecting us," a statement from college president David Bushman on its website said.

"These officers were close friends, known to many of us as the 'dynamic duo.' John was J.J.'s best man in his wedding this year. They were beloved by students, faculty and staff. I hurt for their families and loved ones, as I know we all do," the statement continued.

Bridgewater Mayor Ted Flory posted a statement on the small town's website.

"Bridgewater is shocked by today's senseless violence at Bridgewater College," Flory said. "We are heartbroken by the needless injuries and loss of life."

The mayor praised the officers for their efforts in responding to the shooter reports.

"In this goodness, we find the strength to go forward and to offer our love to victims' families and to the entire Bridgewater College Community," he said.

The shooting in Minnesota occurred in the town of Richfield just outside of Minneapolis around noon, officials said, leaving one student dead and another wounded.

The attackers opened fire on the students on a sidewalk outside the South Education Center before speeding away in a car, Richfield Police Chief Jay Henthorne told the StarTribune newspaper.

Two suspects were later arrested, the paper said, noting that friends of the victim had identified the slain student as Jamari Rice, who some local journalists said was the son of Black Lives Matter activist Cortez Rice.

Cortez Rice was arrested last year and charged with attempting to intimidate a judge handling the trial of ex-police officer Kim Potter officer who killed a Black man in April when she said she mixed up her taser with her pistol during a traffic stop.

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An injured man accused of a fatal stabbing during a brawl outside a notorious Brooklyn bar and restaurant took himself to the hospital afterward  but was recognized by a witness of the deadly melee, a law enforcement source told the Daily News.

Kevin Cuatlacuatl, 19, killed Anthony DOnofrio, 22, and sliced another man in the head during a 10-man clash early Saturday outside Catrinas Mexican Grill, but also needed medical treatment himself for a hand badly cut during the fracas, prosecutors said.

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Anthony D'Onofrio, 22, was pronounced dead at NYU Langone Hospital after he was stabbed in the chest at Catrinas Mexican Restaurant at 7316 Third Ave. in Brooklyn on Saturday. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)

The teen headed to NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn after the incident  the same hospital where numerous victims and witnesses were taken by EMS, a law enforcement source told The News. One of the witnesses who had been hospitalized recognized Cuatlacuatl, and he was arrested, the law enforcement source said.

He stated [to hospital officials] he had cut himself cooking, said Assistant District Attorney Wilfredo Cotto at Cuatlacuatls arraignment. The defendant was admitted to the hospital and underwent surgery to his hand.

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Cops found a knife on Cuatlacuatl when they searched him at the hospital, prosecutors said.

The fight outside Catrinas Mexican Grill broke out around 3:45 a.m. after Cuatlacuatl approached DOnofrio  who was a carriage horse driver  and another person. DOnofrio and the other man were in a car about to leave the restaurant, the source said.

Anthony DOnofrio (Obtained by Daily News)

DOnofrio and Cuatlacuatl had already had an interaction in the bathroom of the restaurant, the source added.

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At his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Tuesday, Cuatlacuatl was charged with murder, weapon possession and assault and was ordered held without bail.

He showed up to his arraignment with a sling on his right arm and his hand wrapped in a bandage.

You can clearly see that he needs medical attention, said his lawyer, Ed Mandery.

The arraignment came two days before DOnofrio is set to be buried.

His father, Giuseppe DOnofrio, told The News his sons organs will be donated with the familys blessing; the younger DOnofrio signed up to be a donor at 16, when he got his drivers license.

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Also a carriage horse driver, the elder DOnofrio will drive his adored son by horse to the church where his funeral will be held.

I will be driving the carriage, said his father. That will be his last ride.
The United States will deploy a guided-missile destroyer and state-of-the-art fighter jets to help defend the United Arab Emirates after a series of missile attacks by Yemeni rebels, a US statement said Wednesday.

The deployment, to "assist the UAE against the current threat", follows a phone call between Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the US embassy in the UAE said.

The UAE, part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, suffered its third missile attack in consecutive weeks on Monday.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Cole will partner with the UAE Navy and make a port call in Abu Dhabi, the statement said, while the US will also deploy fifth-generation fighter planes.

Other actions include "continuing to provide early warning intelligence", it added.

The rebel attacks have opened a new front in Yemen's seven-year war, which has killed hundreds of thousands directly or indirectly and displaced millions.

Three foreign workers were killed in a drone-and-missile assault targeting Abu Dhabi's oil facilities and airport on January 17, triggering a salvo of deadly air strikes in retaliation.

On January 24, US forces stationed at Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra airbase fired Patriot interceptors and scrambled to bunkers as two ballistic missiles were shot down over the city.

And on Monday, a third missile attack was thwarted during the visit to the UAE of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The US, a supporter of the Saudi-led coalition, intends the deployment to be "a clear signal that the United States stands with the UAE as a long-standing strategic partner", the statement said.

The rebel attacks have raised Gulf tensions further at a time when international talks over Iran's nuclear programme are stumbling, and have helped push oil prices to seven-year highs.

The Huthis began attacking UAE interests after a series of defeats on the ground in Yemen, inflicted by the UAE-trained Giants Brigades militia.

In early January, the rebels seized a UAE-flagged ship in the Red Sea, saying it was carrying weapons -- a claim denied by the Emirates.

Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the Huthis seized Sanaa, prompting Saudi-led forces to intervene to prop up the government the following year.

The UAE, one of the world's biggest arms buyers, announced a redeployment from Yemen in 2019 but remains an influential player.

The grinding conflict has left millions on the brink of famine, according to the UN, which has called it the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has an obsession that is so close and yet so far: to return Ukraine to Moscow's fold, in the name of Russia's greatness.

For many Russians of his generation, who were raised on Soviet propaganda, the USSR disintegrating and its spheres of influences vanishing in just three years remains an open wound.

For Putin, a KGB officer based in East Germany at the time the Soviet Union was gradually collapsing between 1989 and 1991, this was a personal defeat.

The Russian leader has said many times that he suffered the same misery as his compatriots when the Soviet empire crumbled, most recently claiming he was forced to drive a taxi to make ends meet when he returned to his homeland.

Read | Whats NATO, and why does Ukraine want to join?

For many Russians, the years after the Soviet collapse were marked by humiliation and poverty -- a stark contrast to the West's triumphalism and prosperity at the time.

Putin has claimed that the end of the Soviet Union was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century" -- despite Russia living through two world wars.

Observers say his sense for revenge deepened when NATO and the EU expanded into countries once dominated by Moscow.

Putin has since made it his historical mission to stop this advance in what he believes should be Russia's region of influence.

For the longtime Russian leader, any moves towards bringing Ukraine into Western alliances is a red line.

In his vision, "if the authorities do not solve this security problem now, then Ukraine will be in NATO in 10-15 years" according to analyst Alexei Makarkin.

When a pro-Western revolution took place in Kyiv in 2014, Moscow land-grabbed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and pro-Russian separatists took up arms in the east of the country.

Recent rhetoric from Putin has criticised Ukraine for presenting itself as a victim of Tsarist and Soviet imperialism.

And, he says, two Ukrainian revolutions -- in 2005 and 2014 -- that drove out pro-Russia elites were the result of a Western plot.

For the Kremlin chief, Russia must respond by being strong, menacing even. Giving in is not in the nature of the former KGB agent and judoka.

Also Read | Can the UN do more than just talk about Russia, Ukraine crisis?

Born into a working class Saint Petersburg family, Putin said in 2015 that "if a fight is inevitable, you must strike first."

One of his school teachers, Vera Gurevich, has said that when a 14-year-old Putin broke one of his classmate's leg, he said that some "only understand force."

After Ukraine's Orange Revolution that broke out in the winter of 2004, Putin waged natural gas wars against the country, destabilising it economically.

Then he made a military move in 2014, by taking Crimea, and supporting pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine.

He has repeatedly called into question the idea of distinct Ukrainian identity and statehood.

As far back as 2008, according to Russian and US media, Putin told his then US counterpart George W. Bush that "Ukraine is not even a country."

During his end-of-year press conference in December, Putin again raised eyebrows by saying Ukraine was "created" by Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union.

Months earlier, in a long article called "On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians," he said that Kyiv's decisions are driven by a Western "anti-Russia" plot.

The West is "setting up a political system in Ukraine in such a way that presidents, deputies and ministers change, but the line towards division with Russia, towards enmity with it, is unchanged," Putin wrote.

Tatiana Stanovaya, who runs the R.Politik analytical centre, said that, according to this logic, the 100,000 Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border are not a threat.

The Russian leader, she said, has always believed that the Ukrainian people are themselves pro-Russians that have been "the subject of manipulation."

"In their (the Kremlin) understanding, war would not be an attack on Ukraine, but a liberation of the Ukrainian people from a foreign occupier," she said.

His spokesman Dmitry Peskov made this position clear back in December: "It is not possible to lose a brotherly nation, it will remain brotherly."

In essence, Russian authorities see it as their mission to bring Ukraine back onto its natural course.

The Kremlin has for years repeated its line that the West has taken advantage of Russia's post-Soviet weakness to camp close by, betraying vague promises made in the twilight of the USSR.

With his army at Ukraine's doorstep, Putin is demanding that NATO move back to its 1997 borders and roll back the European security framework born out of the end of the Cold War.

What drives Putin, said Makarkin, "is the desire to stop time."

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Keeping upcoming assembly elections in mind, the BJP on Wednesday fielded its MPs from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab to move and second the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as the party and lawmakers used the occasion to specially highlight the initiatives taken by the Narendra Modi government in both the states.

In the process, Gita alias Chandra Prabha, a BJP MP from poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, became the first woman in 10 years to move the Motion of Thanks in Rajya Sabha. This is the first time BJP fielded a woman to open the debate on the President's Address. The last time a woman opened the debate was in 2013 when Congress fielded Renuka Chowdhary.

Shwait Mallik, an MP from poll-bound Punjab, was fielded to second the motion and both the MPs spoke in detail about the development activities in the two states, prompting Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to comment that what one heard was an election speech while it was supposed to be one on President's speech.

Also Read  To condemn every marriage as violent and every man a rapist not advisable: Smriti Irani on marital rape

Geeta spoke about the initiatives taken by the Modi government at the Centre to help Uttar Pradesh and the country. In an apparent dig at the previous Samajwadi Party government, she alleged that UP used to be known for riots but now law and order is being enforced.

She said a lot of women are being benefited by the initiatives of Modi, whom she said has emerged as a brother of all women, and specifically, referred to Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and Ujjwala scheme.

Mallik, who highlighted initiatives like opening Kartarpur Corridor and other projects to woo Sikhs, said Modi's government was all about "less talk and more work". He also referred to the abrogation of Article 370, surgical strikes, construction of Ram temple and criminalisation of triple talaq.

In Lok Sabha, BJP fielded Basti MP Harish Dwivedi to open the debate during which he listed the UP-specific projects, including the waiver of farmers loans. The BJP chose Bansgaon MP Kamlesh Paswan to second the motion. Both are MPs from UP.

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The Assam Police on Wednesday announced cash rewards for persons providing information leading to the arrest of three alleged criminals involved in poaching of famed one-horned rhinos in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and recovery of rhino horns.

Special Director General of Police (law and order) and head of Anti-Rhino Poaching Task Force, GP Singh, posted on Twitter photograph of three persons, Abdul Matin, Ataur Rahman and Asmat Ali, who are allegedly involved in poaching of rhinos. The three are residents of Biswanath district in North Assam, which also covers a part of the 920-square kilometre national park.

Singh announced that cash of Rs 2 lakh would be given to anyone leading to the arrest of each of them while Rs 5 lakh would be offered to those helping in the recovery of rhino horns.

The latest census of rhinos in 2018 found 2,413 rhinos in KNP, which is the highest in the world.

Also Read  Fringe area farmers in Assam's rhino hubs take up vermicomposting to help in conservation

The step comes days after the carcass of a rhino was recovered inside the park with its horn missing (January 19). Forest department officials said the rhino was killed by poachers and its horn taken. Singh was rushed to KNP for steps to nab the poachers and enhance security measures in and around the park to stop rhino poaching. A team of commando forces has been deployed to help the forest guards and drones have been pressed into service for a vigil against poachers.

Rhinos in KNP have been a target for international poachers as there is huge demand for rhino horns in South East Asian nations, such as China and Vietnam, where the same is used in the preparation of traditional medicines. There is a belief that rhino horns contain medicinal properties, including aphrodisiacs, even as the same has been strongly rejected by researchers and scientists.

The Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985 is one of the major tourist attractions mainly due to the iconic one-one-horned rhinos.

This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his "Maan Ki Baat" programme lauded community initiatives to protect and conserve rhinos in Kaziranga.

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The Assam Cabinet on Wednesday approved the expansion of Jorhat airport, construction of a medical college and hospital in Tamulpur, upgradation of vital stretches of roads and boosting rural infrastructure across the state.

In a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the cabinet approved the sanction of Rs 1,031 crore for five road projects including one connecting Kokrajhar and Rupsi airport in Dhubri, government spokesperson Pijush Hazarika told reporters after the meeting.

The council of ministers also approved the sanction of Rs 958 crore for upgrading 114 road-cum-embankments and constructing six bridges in rural areas of 26 districts.

The cabinet approved the sanction of Rs 156 crore for the acquisition of private land to facilitate the expansion of Jorhat (Rowriah) airport by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the minister for water resources and information said.

An amount of Rs 450 crore was approved for the construction of a medical college and hospital in Tamulpur district, he said.

It was also decided to provide settlement of land rights to 103 poor families in Mariani town on the payment of premium at par with the rates in Guwahati metropolitan area, Hazarika said.

The cabinet also approved the review of Assam Rules of Executive Business, 1968 to improve administrative efficiency and governance.

It was also decided to constitute a cabinet committee, headed by Education Minister Ranoj Pegu and Health Minister Keshab Mahanta, to finalise the creation of a state emblem.

A high-level task force will also be constituted to oversee the proper implementation of PM Gati Shakti, Hazarika said.

The cabinet also decided that the State Election Commission will hold elections in Silchar Municipality as a municipal corporation after delimitation

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The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) that handed over Arunachal Pradesh youth Miram Taron to the Indian Army on January 27 -- nine days after he was allegedly abducted, had tortured the teenager while he was in its custody, Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao claimed on Wednesday.

Gao, who represents the Arunachal East constituency, said that the PLA had tortured Miram, and kept him blindfolded, tied his hands, gave electric shocks, adding the teenager was also subjected to other inhuman treatments.

Also Read: Abducted Arunachal teen kicked, given electric shock in Chinese custody, alleges father

"Violating the international law, the PLA cruelly tortured Miram Taron in their custody. Earlier, several PLA personnel, Chinese citizens including woman were captured in the Indian territory, but the Indian Army immediately handed over them to the Chinese authority with full dignity," the parliamentarian told IANS.

He said that the Indian authority must look into the matter and take appropriate action and resolve the border dispute with China.

"The Indian border villagers in Arunachal Pradesh often went to the remote mountainous areas for hunting, collection of medicinal plants, other herbs and daily needs from the forested areas of the Indian territory but the PLA often kidnapped them and took them to their areas. These must be stopped," the BJP MP said.

Earlier, Miram's father Opang Taron also made similar allegations, saying his son seemed to be "mentally disturbed".

"Till minutes before Miram was handed over to the Indian Army, the PLA kept him blindfolded with his hands tied," Opang had told the media.

"One day he (Miram) was kicked in the back thrice by the PLA personnel. But he was provided food properly," Opang added.

Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao (BJP) on January 19 had spoken Miram going missing on his social media account.

The Indian Army then immediately approached the PLA on a hotline to trace and secure the safe return of the boy and shared the identity details of Miram with the PLA.

On January 27, the PLA handed over Miram, a Kendriya Vidyalaya dropout, to the Indian Army at Damai Border Personnel Meeting Point.

The Army after following the formalities including Covid protocols on Monday handed over Miram to his family four days after the PLA handed over him to the Indian Army.

Miram, who went missing while hunting along the India-China border since January 18, was accorded a grand reception by the Tuting (Zido) villagers after he was handed over to his family in the presence of the local leaders and Upper Siang District Additional Deputy Commissioner Starlie Jamoh.

A resident of Zido village in Upper Siang district, Miram, 19, went missing while hunting from Shiyung La in Bishing area of the Indian territory.

The Arunachal Pradesh government and Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju had earlier approached the Centre and the Indian Army to get Miram back from across the border.

The Chinese Army allegedly abducted Miram from the Indian territory where China had constructed a 3-4 km road in 2018.

Miram 's friend Jhonny Yaying, who managed to escape, reported the matter to the authorities and brought it to the notice of MP Tapir Gao.

Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,080-km border with China.
Two more wetlands in India were declared as Ramsar sites, taking the total number of protected sites in the country to 49, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Wednesday.

Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

The environment minister made the announcement at an event marking the celebration of World Wetlands Day on Wednesday at Sultanpur National Park, which was included in the Ramsar list last year.

I am happy that two more wetlands have been added to the Ramsar sites. India now has a network of 49 Ramsar sites covering an area of 10.93 hectares, the highest in South Asia, Yadav said.

The theme for World Wetlands Day was 'Wetlands Action for People and Nature'.

The minister along with MoS Environment Ashwini Choubey and Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar also released the National Wetland Decadal Change Atlas prepared by Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad which highlights the changes which have happened in wetlands in the past decade.

The United Nations recognised World Wetlands Day' is celebrated on February 2 to mark the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the same day in 1971.

Wetlands, often known as liquid assets are the most crucial natural resources that help stabilise water supplies, cleanse polluted waters, protect shorelines, and recharge groundwater aquifers.

Two wetlands of Haryana - Sultanpur National Park in Gurugram and Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary in Jhajjar- were included in the Ramsar list last year.

The total number of wetlands in India to be recognised as Ramsar sites now stand at 49.

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An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter made an emergency landing in a village in Telangana's Siddipet district on Wednesday.

The helicopter (ZA449) had to land in fields at Jagadevpur village due to some technical snag. Both the pilots in the chopper were safe.

The helicopter from Air Force Academy Hakimpet on the outskirts of Hyderabad was on a training sortie when it developed some technical glitch.

Police rushed to the spot and provided security as a large number of curious villagers had gathered closed to the chopper.

Alerted by the pilots, the official at Air Force Academy sent another helicopter to the emergency landing site with technicians. After the repair, both the helicopters returned to the IAF Academy.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation in the morning, to share his views on the Union Budget. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee was re-elected as the TMC chief. Track Deccan Herald for the latest updates in India and across the world. Stay tuned!
Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the "idea of kingdom is back" where the "king" does not listen to people but help his industrialist friends, create "two Indias" and put the country at peril by making strategic mistakes on China and Pakistan.

Participating in the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address as the opening speaker from the Opposition, he also accused the government of using the judiciary, the Election Commission and Pegasus (controversial Israeli spyware) for "destroying the voice of the union of States".

He said the standing of India has taken a beating and the government should ask itself why it is not able to get a guest on the Republic Day. "India today is completely isolated and surrounded, he said.

Emphasising that the RSS and BJP are destroying institutions, Rahul targeted the government on unemployment, troubles faced by the small and medium sector and widening divide between the poor and rich. He warned that there would be an implosion if a dialogue is not initiated and all are taken on board.

Also read | Built houses for poor and made them lakhpatis: PM Modi

The Congress leader anchored his speech on his pet theme "two Indias" where one set is the "extremely rich people with immense wealth, immense power, those who don't need a job, those who don't need water connection, electricity connections but control the heartbeat of the country.

"Poor people can see India's richest 100 have more wealth than 55 crore people. The Prime Minister should start uniting these two Indias at the earliest. You are giving everything to a few people who do your marketing, put you on TV, Facebook and WhatsApp," he said.

Accusing the government of destroying the small and medium industries and unorganised sector through "demonetisation, wrong GST and refusal to give support during Covid-19", he alleged that the Modi government pushed 23 crore people back to poverty, while the previous UPA regime had managed to pull 27 crore out of poverty.

"The formal sector is witnessing the birth of monopolies. Like Covid-19 has variants, they are spreading across the whole economy. One is getting all ports, airports, power transmission, green energy, gas distribution and edible oil. You are seeing Adani everywhere. Another Ambani monopoly has petrochemicals, telecom, retail. The whole money is going to select people. The unorganised sector has been finished," he said.

Rahul spoke about the rising tension between states and the Centre and said, "a centralisation is happening. The idea of a king has come back which the Congress removed in 1947. We had smashed it. Now there is a 'Shehanshah', a ruler of rulers, master of masters."

"Today the idea of Tamil Nadu is excluded from the Indian institutions. They say NEET, NEET, NEET. You say no. They don't have a voice. Punjab farmers sit on a dharna for a year but they don't have a voice. Only the king has a voice but the king doesn't listen," he said.

He said the Modi governments biggest strategic mistake is allowing a situation where Pakistan and China came together against India.

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Diablita  Little Devil in Spanish  is one hell of a nickname to explain to a jury.

A reputed MS-13 member accused of luring rival gang members to their deaths in a Long Island park wants federal authorities to stop using the nickname because it could prejudice the jury hearing the case.

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Prosecutors said Leniz Escobar was 17 in 2017 when she lured four men to a Central Islip park where they were murdered with machetes, knives and tree limbs by other MS-13 gang members.

FILE - In this April 13, 2017 file photo, crime scene investigators and other emergency personnel look through the woods near a crime scene where victims were found in a wooded area near a recreation center in the suburban area in Central Islip, N.Y. (Seth Wenig/AP)

Escobar aka Diablita would have normally been tried as a juvenile because of her age at the time of the murders. But a judge said she should be tried as an adult because of what is alleged to be her prominent role in the killings.

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Meanwhile, Esocbars lawyer, Jesse Siegel, says the nickname might unfairly influence the jury.

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Ms. Escobar asks the court to strike the nickname Diablita from the indictment and preclude its introduction and reference at trial, Siegel said in a motion filed late last year.

He is also asking a judge to exclude graphic crime scene photos along with tapes and transcripts of intercepted phone calls.

But prosecutors, in a response filed Monday that prominently points out that Escobar is also known as Diablita, said Escobar frequently used the alias in social media postings, which are relevant to the crimes for which she is charged.

Escobar even communicated with others, including co-conspirators and the surviving witness, using this social media account, according to court papers.

Prosecutors said Escobar and another young woman associated with MS-13 lured the four victims and a fifth target to a community park in Central Islip on April 11, 2017. A group of MS-13 members were waiting in the woods to ambush them. The fifth target escaped.

According to court documents, Escobar and the other woman arrived at the park, led the victims to a predetermined wooded area and sent the MS-13 members a text message notifying them of their arrival.

More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates have been charged in connection with the murders.
None of the amendments to the President's Address on Pegasus issue submitted by Opposition MPs were admitted for tabling in Rajya Sabha while eight MPs in Lok Sabha have got permission for tabling it.

Lok Sabha has admitted a total of 232 amendments from 28 MPs while the Rajya Sabha has admitted 99 amendments from 14 MPs. The dominating themes of amendments were Covid-19 and related issues, unemployment, farmers, fuel prices and India-China border row.

In Rajya Sabha, amendments related to farmers were the highest at 13 followed by unemployment (11), price rise (10) and Covid-19 (9).

Also Read  Pegasus returns to rock Parliament: More MPs submit privilege notices against IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

However, at least two MPs -- Congress' KC Venugopal and CPI(M)'s Elamaram Kareem -- said that they submitted amendments to Motion of Thanks to the President's address "regretting that the Address fails to mention" the Pegasus issue. Sources said there are around half a dozen MPs, including CPI(M)s John Brittas, whose amendments on Pegasus were not admitted.

Kareem, also CPI(M) floor leader, told DH, "the government does not want that there should not be any mention of Pegasus in Rajya Sabha records because the latest media reports exposed the government's lies that it has not purchased the spyware. They are scared and so they are giving an excuse that the matter is sub-judice to avoid any mention or discussion."

Also Read  Centre rules out discussion on Pegasus, says its subjudice

Venugopal, also Congress' General Secretary (Organisation), said the government is "very much scared" of discussing Pegasus. "They know there are a lot of skeletons in their cupboards. They do not want a discussion.

An analysis of the amendments showed that 41 of the 99 amendments that were cleared were those of six CPI(M) MPs  Kareem, Jharna Das Baidya, Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, John Brittas, K Somaprasad and V Sivadasan.

The eight Lok Sabha MPs whose amendments on Pegasus were admitted include Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Deepak Baij, K Sudhakaran and TN Prathapan, RSPs NK Premachandran (RSP), CPI(M)s AM Ariff, Trinamool Congress Saugta Roy and Shiv Senas Vinayak Raut.

The amendment will be voted at the conclusion of debate in Lok Sabha on February 8.

Government has declined Oppositions demand to have a separate discussion on Pegasus saying that the matter is under the consideration of the Supreme Court. The Opposition has upped the ante over the issue following a report by the New York Times that the Narendra Modi government purchased the spyware.

In Lok Sabha, at least 29 out of 232 amendments were related to various aspects of the agriculture sector and 23 were related to Covid-19.

Krunal Balaji Tumane, a Shiv Sena MP, has submitted an amendment supporting the implementation of Uniform Civil Code. Another amendment regarding the need for a law to check increasing population was also listed against the names of Tumane and his party colleague Shrirang Appa Barne.

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In a horrifying replay of the 2020 Hathras incident, the family of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly gang-raped and killed has alleged that the police forced them to cremate the minor before they could even arrange for her last rites.

The incident led to massive protests on Tuesday.

The incident, according to reports, took place on January 21 but the family kept quiet after police threatened them and asked them not to talk about the crime.

It was only when word spread and some people tweeted about it that the incident came out in the open.

Also Read | Shakti Mills gang-rape case: In defence of life sentence

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bulandshahr, Santosh Singh, said that the police 'never forced the family to cremate their daughter' and that the matter was being 'politicised' by vested interests.

He further said, "The girl was friendly with the boy. The main accused thought that she was cheating on him so he took her out and shot her. He also slashed his own arms and neck with a blade. The family demanded that the case be transferred to another police station and we have agreed."

The father of the minor girl in Bulandshahr, meanwhile, said that the police 'forced us to cremate her in the night without giving us an opportunity to conduct proper rituals'.

The victim's father, an OBC, said his daughter was friends with an upper-caste boy.

Also Read | Backing justice with mercy

The boy allegedly came to the girl's village and asked her to come with him for an outing. She went with him.

"Later, I got a call from the police saying that the body of my daughter was lying near a tube well on the outskirts of the village. I rushed to the spot but by the time I reached they had taken her body to the post-mortem house. Cops misbehaved with me when I questioned them. We were given my daughter's body after almost 24 hours and then the cops forced me to cremate her immediately," he said.

"When I said that it looked like she had been violated, cops asked me to shut up and go home," said the father. He added that around four people were seen with his daughter near the site.

An FIR has been lodged under the relevant sections of the IPC and POCSO Act after several protests erupted locally.

Two out of the four accused have been arrested so far.

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After recent allegations leveled in Dis InfoLab Report against Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) J&K over its involvement in a conference held in Bosnia, the organisation on Wednesday clarified that it had nothing to do with the Russells Tribunal on Kashmir (RToK).

The Jamaat, a politico-religious organisation, disassociated itself with the organisers of the RToK like Kashmir Civitas and Muslim Brotherhood (MB). While Kashmir Civitas (KC) claims itself as an international civil society and strategic advocacy organisation, the MB is a transnational Sunni Islamist organisation founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928.

Addressing a press conference here, the Jamaat chief Abdul Hameed Fayaz said that their organisation or any of its associates were not involved in the conduct or promotion of any conference on Kashmir in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

The Jamaat is not functional due to the ban (by the Centre since 2019) and it has no associated organisations anywhere in the world nor any representatives, he said. Any organisation or individual claiming to be an associate organisation or representative of the Jamaat is quite against the facts and is hereby challenged.

The Jamaat chief claimed that any of its members migrating to any place outside Jammu and Kashmir ceases to be a member of the organisation as per its constitution.

In its August report, Disinfo Lab had exposed the links between US/UK-based Kashmiri activists and Pakistans spy agency ISI. The report had also thrown light on the Jamaat-led business enterprise run in the name of Kashmir which benefits only a handful of individuals and their families  all settled in the US and Europe.

After a recent expose, these individuals and organisations have been discredited and are no longer capable of running the Kashmir conflict industry. And hence, it seems that the baton of the Kashmir conflict industry was handed over to the MB, a veteran of the conflict industry in Palestine, the latest report says.

This transition was first witnessed during the previous boycott campaign that was launched against India  which was led from the front by the Brotherhood and its affiliate news media including Al Jazeera, it adds.

The DisInfo Lab report further says that the absence of their (ISIs) carefully groomed next generation of activists at the RToK except for a handful of doyens of the Kashmiri conflict industry was also an indication that MB would run the show on its own.

However, it needed the Kashmiris at the event to establish its connection with Kashmir, even if by Kashmiri it meant only the ISI agents and convicts living in the US/UK and having no connection with Kashmir whatsoever. The fact that the Tribunal did not even pretend to engage other stakeholders on Kashmir indicates that MB means business  the business of collecting funds in the name of Kashmir, it alleged.

Some of the Kashmiris, whose names have surfaced in the report, include businessman Mubeen Ahmed Shah, who was earlier based out of Malaysia, activists Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur, Farhan Mujahid Chak and Dr Asif Dar.

However, the Jamaat chief in todays presser disassociated itself with all these members. Nobody has taken any verbal or written consent from any erstwhile leader or functionary of the Jamaat to speak in any conference and at present due to the ban, it is quite out of question to get such consent, he said.

He said that all queries raised about the participation of Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir in the conference Russell Tribunal on Kashmir held at Sarajevo Bosnia openly or tacitly are not justified at all.

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A shocking incident in the old city Srinagar on Tuesday evening, where a 24-year-old woman was attacked with acid by a stalker, has created a wave of anger and anxiety among people in Kashmir.

A 24-year-old girl was attacked with acid outside her home in the Wantpora area of Hawal last evening, leaving her with severe burn injuries in her face.

People, including students, on Wednesday, hit the streets in the Hawal area of the old city demanding stern action against the culprits. Hang the culprits, stop violence against women, You can just spoil her face, but her inner beauty and strength is unshakable read the placards held by protesters

Do throw acid on humanity. How can you live in society and remain indifferent towards such horrible attacks? a female protester asked.

Also Read | Cops arrest main accused, two accomplices behind acid attack on Srinagar woman

A protest was also held at Jahangir Chowk near city centre Lal Chowk in Srinagar against the gruesome acid attack on the young girl with protesters demanding capital punishment for the culprits.

The protesters alleged that the government neither checks the ledger of acid sellers which could prevent such attacks despite the Supreme Court ruling on the sale of acid. A girl has been attacked with acid and her soul, identity and face have been damaged. We demand capital punishment for the guilty, said Sheikh Saba, who is affiliated with the White Globe organisation.

Saba wanted the laws to be amended so that the strictest possible punishment is meted out to the culprits of such heinous crimes.

The protesters also urged the government to take care of the victim and bear all her medical expenses.

On social media netizens while denouncing the reprehensible act urged society to wake up to stop such gruesome incidents.

The reprehensible act of an acid attack on an innocent girl in Srinagar by a moron is a wake-up call for us to see what has gone wrong were in the society. Who is responsible for this situation where our youngsters are turning into monsters and beginning to eat the vitals of our society? Shabir Dar, a government employee, tweeted.

Farzana Salib, a local journalist, tweeted: Acid attack in Srinagar most condemnable act we pray for the speedy recovery of the victim and at the same time we should find the route cause of these barbaric acts.

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The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider on Thursday a plea related to re-examining its May 15, 2018 judgement, sparing Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu with just Rs 1,000 fine in a road rage incident. A 65-year-old had died after receiving a fist blow by Sidhu in 1988.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul would take up the matter on February 3.

Punjab is going to polls on February 20, where Sidhu is pitching himself as a strong chief ministerial candidate.

Notably, the court had in September 2018 issued a notice to Sidhu only on the issue of quantum of sentence.

On May 15, 2018, a bench of Justices J Chelameswar (since retired) and Kaul had convicted Sidhu of a milder offence of causing voluntarily hurt under Section 323 of the IPC.

The punishment for the offence carried a maximum jail term of up to one year, or with fine extending to one thousand rupees, or with both. The court merely imposed a Rs 1,000 fine on Sidhu. It had let him off of grave charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The court had then looked into circumstances like the fact that the incident was of a 30-year-old, there was no past enmity between the accused and deceased, Gurnam Singh and no weapon was used by Sidhu, to arrive at its conclusion.

The court had then declined to consider a plea made on behalf of complainant Jaswinder Singh, who accompanied the deceased in the car on the fateful date on December 27, 1988 in Patiala, that the state went out of its way to shield the accused because of his celebrity status.

It had also rejected a plea to consider a CD of an interview of Sidhu allegedly proving him guilty.

The court had then set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court judgement on an appeal filed by Sidhu and his co-accused Rupinder Singh Sandhu.

The high court had then convicted them of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, reversing their acquittal by the trial court. The top court had let Sandhu off.

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Rahul Gandhi took on the government over its policies in Lok Sabha, while the Rajya Sabha is adjourned till tomorrow. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will be the first leader from the Opposition to reply to the debate in Lok Sabha. In his 50-minute address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session on Monday, President Ram Nath Kovind said his government's policies have given top priority to the poor and marginalised sections of the society.
Rahul Gandhi took on the government over its policies in Lok Sabha, while the Rajya Sabha is adjourned till tomorrow. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will be the first leader from the Opposition to reply to the debate in Lok Sabha. In his 50-minute address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session on Monday, President Ram Nath Kovind said his government's policies have given top priority to the poor and marginalised sections of the society.
Rahul Gandhi took on the government over its policies in Lok Sabha, while the Rajya Sabha is adjourned till tomorrow. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will be the first leader from the Opposition to reply to the debate in Lok Sabha. In his 50-minute address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session on Monday, President Ram Nath Kovind said his government's policies have given top priority to the poor and marginalised sections of the society.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Centre to consider a plea by gangster Abu Salem that his imprisonment cannot extend beyond 25 years in accordance with terms of his extradition from Portugal.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M M Sundresh sought Centre and Maharashtra government response on Salems plea, which contended that the 2017 judgment of a TADA court, sentencing him to life imprisonment, was contrary to the terms of the extradition treaty.

Salem was brought to India in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts by a TADA court.

Advocate Rishi Malhotra, representing Salem, submitted that the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court did not agree with the contention that it was bound by assurance given by the Indian government to the Portugal government during his clients extradition.

He maintained that the top court has the power to grant him relief in the matter.

According to the plea, the Indian government, on December 17, 2002, gave a solemn sovereign assurance through Deputy Prime Minister to the Portugal government that if Salem is extradited for trials in India, he would neither be conferred with death penalty nor be subjected to imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years.

It also said Salem was in custody since September 18, 2002 following the Red Corner Notice issued by the Designated Courts, Mumbai.

Even if the said date is not to be taken into consideration for the purposes of set off, the ministerial order of March 28, 2003, of the Ministry of Justice Portugal by which it had admitted the extradition request of the Indian government to be tried for various offences ought to have been taken into consideration, it said.

The TADA Court however, held that since the appellant was released in the Portugal case on October 12, 2005, therefore, the custody for the purposes of 'set off' would be counted from October 12, 2005. The error lies in not taking custody from the Ministerial Order dated March 28, 2003," the plea said.

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Since time immemorial, scholars and artists conjured imaginary worlds much before scientists could actualise and invent them. Leonardo da Vinci conceptualised the parachute, the tank and the glider helicopter and drew detailed diagrams of a helicopter some 400 years before it became a reality. Gene Wolfe imagined a world paralysed by endless traffic jams in Strange Travelers. HG Wells predicted a time machine, and Jules Verne imagined submarines and rocket launchers to transport humans to the moon.

More examples can include Ibn-e-Safi, a mystery writer, who imagined a machine process that can be seen as an innovative prototype of the now-popular video calling in his novel The Dance of Flame (1960). In his post-apocalyptic novel Allama Dehshatkank, he imagined a dystopian world beset with a contagious epidemic that spreads and forces people to be quarantined at home.

Many things come to be delineated in literature only by accident. Corona-like viruses and forced confinement all over the world are not part of the world's recorded history, but too many references to such a situation are found in literature, in books of Indian medicine, as well as religious mythology. These references are disconcertingly similar to the present situation of the world.

Interestingly, Haaziq, a book of Unani medicine authored by internationally renowned Hakeem Ajmal Khan (1868-1929), also mentions a corona like a disease, "It is an epidemic similar in symptoms to influenza which kills like the plague", etc. According to the book, the epidemic spreads because of a toxic element in the air that enters the pulmonary system. It starts from colder climes, eventually spreading everywhere. Khan stated that it harms children and older people more than the young. Patients exhibit symptoms of high fever, sometimes accompanied by shivering, ache in the eyes, head and throat, heaviness in the chest, dry cough, loss of appetite, and difficulty in breathing. About its spread, Khan suggested that many will start exhibiting similar symptoms, and patients should be immediately quarantined. Frequent intake of hot water and tea will help. After that, some Unani medicines are prescribed (page 156, Nawal Kishore Edition).

The Hadith is the collection of the tradition and teachings of Prophet Mohammad (Pbh). It is considered the most important book of Islamic literature, second only to the Quran. According to the Hadith, the best precaution is confinement at home in case of the spread of any contagious disease. It sternly instructs people not to mingle with the patients. This advice is considered equally enforceable to animals suffering from epidemic diseases (pg 173, Muslim Shareef).

Another Hadith cited an instance when the Prophet refused to meet and shake hands with a person suffering from such a disease. He also banned general entry into a land where a plague had spread and asked that none should leave from such a place either (pg 260, Sahih-al-Bukhari). People in such places are also advised not to expose themselves. In such situations, namaz in mosques is discouraged, and even the azan, the call for prayers, is slightly amended.

The Greek writer Thucydides disagreed with his predecessors, who thought that epidemics had supernatural origins. He argued that epidemics didn't discriminate between good and evil. He said a safe distance should be maintained from the sick. Mary Shelly, the famous writer of Frankenstein, imagined the complete depopulation of the world in a pandemic in her novel The Last Man. In this novel, few people survived the epidemic, only the immunised and those who abjured social contact.

Deputy Nazeer Ahmad, considered the first novelist of Urdu, wrote Taubat-un-Nusoh (The Repentance of Nusooh) in 1873, emulating The journal of plague written by Daniel Dafoe. In the novel, Ahmad details the fears, perils and mortality of the plague in Delhi and notes that the entire state of Delhi was self-quarantined due to fear. Even the dead were not touched and not cremated/buried with requisite propriety. According to him, distance from the sick was the only cure. The eponymous character of the novel, Nusooh, couldn't be quarantined because his entire family was suffering from the plague and ended up paying a heavy price.

Noted Urdu story writer Rajindar Singh Bedi wrote a story titled Quarantine. The story recounts how people in an epidemic were more afraid of quarantine than the plague. Many hoardings displayed, "Neither mouse nor plague nor quarantine". Bedi wrote of a time when people were dying in such large numbers that petrol was sprinkled on the deceased to cremate them without any rituals. The protagonist of the story, who is a doctor, is so afraid of the plague that he doesn't go to the hospital where a large number of patients had been quarantined but sent

a corpsman Bhago instead. Bhago's family suffers from the plague, and his wife dies. When the epidemic is over, the government gives credit to the protagonist and the services and sacrifices of Bhago are not acknowledged at all. In the story, the depiction of the quarantine centres is similar to the reality of the treatment centres of today. The doctors and attendants are humane as well as careless, patients cry, and more than five hundred patients are quarantined in a small space.

There are hundreds of Urdu couplets about the advantages of social distancing and seclusion. I cite just two from the treasure.

Mirza Ghalib says that solitude is the best time:

Hai aadmi bajaye khud ik mehshar e khayal

Hum anjuman samajhtey hain khalwat hi kyon na ho

(Seclusion is always like an assembly because the human being himself is a fusion of scattered thoughts).

One look at this couplet from Basheer Badr suggests he had imagined the present situation forty years back:

Koi haath bhi na milaye ga jo galey milo gey tapaak sey,

Ye naye mizaj ka shehr hai zara fasley sey mila karo.

(Nobody will like to shake your hand if you keep embracing warmly,

this is a city with a new temperament; keep a safe distance when you meet.)

Psychiatrist Victor Frankl, a Nazi camp survivor, developed the theory of logotherapy. In his book Man's Search for Meaning, he said that man can survive even in the adverse conditions of quarantine or a torture camp with hope and love for family. Frankl cited many of his experiences from the torture camp about people who lost all hope of freedom and died immediately. He told the story of a man who imagined a holy voice reassuring him that he would be freed from the camp on March 30 but died because he lost hope when that did not happen. Frankl says that everybody can survive a quarantine or seclusion, which has the quality to make one stronger. Frankl perhaps omitted to write was that solitude can be endured, but one needs someone even if only to say "solitude is fine".

To end on a positive note, let's remember the Persian poet Abdul Qadir Bedil, who said that when God felt lonely, he created the world. Granted, we can't be as creative as God, but there is still hope.

(Khalid Alvi is a poet, critic and literary historian)
A Brooklyn judges son pleaded guilty to felony charges Wednesday for storming the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots while dressed as a caveman, the Department of Justice announced.

Aaron Mostofsky, 35, copped to civil disorder and theft of government property charges for his role in breaking into the Capitol building with hundreds of other Donald Trump supporters during the siege of the building as Congress was about to certify the vote from the 2020 presidential election.

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What Im doing here today is to express my opinion as a free American, my beliefs that this election was stolen, Mostofsky said during a video interview inside the Capitol building Jan. 6, 2021. We were cheated.

Aaron Mostofsky, center, leaves Brooklyn federal court in January 2021. (Barry Williams/for New York Daily News)

Mostofsky is the son of Steven Shlomo Mostofsky, a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge.

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He posted videos to his Instagram account showing him on a bus to the Capitol, and included clips taken inside and outside the building, federal prosecutors said.

Wearing a fur pelt and carrying a long wooden walking stick, Mostofsky entered the capitol just after 2:00 p.m., when other rioters broke the window next to the door to the buildings Senate wing.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

During the mayhem, Mostofsky picked up a police vest and a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield, prompting the theft of government property charge.

A Capitol police officer took the shield from Mostofsky after he left the building.

Aaron Mostofsky, right, and Kevin Seefried, left, on a stairway outside the Senate Chamber in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

In their complaint against Mostofsky, the feds included a meme that another Instagram user sent to him after the riots.

Imagine coming off 10 hits of acid and u look around and ur in the US Capitol like s--t, the meme reads, along with a photo of Mostofsky in the Capitol.

Aaron Mostofsky (Court Document)

Prosecutors discovered another Instagram message in which Mostofsky told a buddy to look for a guy looking like a caveman near the Capitol building, referring to his costume, said court papers.

He was arrested in Brooklyn less than a week after the riots and released on $100,000 bail.

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Mostofsky faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on May 6.
The Budget for 2022-23 is growth-oriented, capital expenditure-driven, promoting infrastructure, both physical and digital  all to facilitate ease of doing business. The push is for macro growth by encompassing and building an ecosystem for a digital economy, fintech and promoting climate change-related measures.

In this direction, the outlay for capital expenditure has been sharply stepped up to Rs 7.5 lakh crore for 2022-23 from Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the current fiscal  a 35.4% increase, 2.9% of the projected GDP of FY23.

On the other hand, the Budget has not made any attempt to leave more money in the hands of the poor and the middle class, who are reeling under the economic and other effects of the pandemic  such as by giving tax benefits to the middle classes or by giving direct income support to the poor.

The bottom 30-50% of the population cannot be just left to fend for themselves even as the government is comfortable with the buoyancy in indirect tax collections and revenue receipts of more than 60% during this year.

The vulnerable masses in the informal sector and the middle class, who have taken the brunt of the pandemic, need direct and indirect support from the government, bankers, through the creation of a social security net and by providing income support, reducing their income tax outgo, GST rates, etc. The Finance Minister did not address these issues.

The Budget has not provided any I-T relief to households, either by way of enhancing the standard deduction nor by increasing the ceiling for rebates under Section 80C and Section 24, and Section 80EEA and Section 80EE, which pertain to deductions for affordable housing and rebates under principal and interest for borrowers who avail housing loans from banks and Housing Finance Companies.

The much-expected enhancement of ceilings by at least Rs 3 lakh under principal repayment and Rs 5 lakh toward interest payments on housing loan EMIs, and expanding the scope of definition of affordable housing to include properties of up to Rs 60 lakh to claim benefits under Section 80EEA and 80EE have not materialised. Neither did the expectation of an enhanced limit for setting off loss from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh happen, although the government wants to push rental housing, especially to overcome the urban housing crisis.

The governments Housing for all by 2022 goalpost has now been shifted to Shelter for all and that by 2024 under affordable housing/Prime Minister Awas Yojana. The Budget has allocated Rs 48,000 crore to build 80 lakh houses under PMAY  both rural and urban during FY23. This fiscal, 4.49 lakh houses have been completed under urban PMAY against a target of 14.56 lakh units. Under rural PMAY so far, 1.69 crore units have been built against a target of 2.63 crore.

The great expectation was that the Budget would address the definition of affordable housing, which has become the main reason why these targets are not being met. The limit of Rs 45 lakh fixed per apartment/house to qualify under affordable housing warrants enhancement to at least Rs 60-70 lakh as it is difficult to find housing within the Rs 45 lakh bracket in metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.

In addition, there is a rider that such apartments cannot have more than 90 sqm carpet area for MIG-1 and 110 sqm for MIG-2 categories to be eligible for the direct benefit of interest subsidy under the PMAY cash-linked subsidy scheme (CLSS). This is a case of burning the candle from both ends, and impractical.

Another anomaly is that to claim the 1% GST benefit under affordable housing without input cost-benefit, the carpet area of the apartment should be 90 sqm for non-metros and 60 sqm for metros. PMAY/CLSS and GST requirements are thus at cross purposes and defeat the very goal of promoting affordable housing.

The above anomalies and applicability of RERA for under-construction apartments have resulted in mounting inventory to the tune of 10 lakh houses, resulting in troubles for all stakeholders: the 3 Bs  builders, bankers, and buyers.

The demand to accord infrastructure status to the real estate sector, which contributes 10% of GDP and supports multiple industries and would have a multiplier effect, has been left out again.

In fact, the Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme should have been introduced to the affordable housing sector to incentivise builders to claim tax-holiday on profits earned from affordable housing projects under Section 801BA.

Tax cuts under short-term capital gains to 10% and holding period to one year for REITs and InvITs to attract long-term funds for affordable housing and infra (road, highways), which have long gestation periods, continues to be on the wish list.

(The writer is a former banker)
An asteroid that was discovered riding along in Earth's orbit is about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) wide and might remain as a hitchhiker with our planet for at least 4,000 more years while posing no danger, scientists said on Tuesday.

Using observations from telescopes in Chile, Arizona and the Canary Islands, researchers provided the most comprehensive description yet of the asteroid, named 2020 XL5 and first detected two years ago. They confirmed it is one of only two of what are called Trojan asteroids traveling as a companion with Earth.

Trojan asteroids can be wanderers in the solar system - as appears to be the case with this one - or material left over from their home planet's formation. They become ensnared by the planetary gravitational grip and subsequently orbit the sun along the same path as that planet.

This one looks to be a so-called C-type asteroid - one of the most common kinds in the solar system, according to planetary scientist Toni Santana-Ros of the University of Alicante and the University of Barcelona's Institute of Cosmos Sciences in Spain, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Communications.

These are dark in color and contain a lot of carbon along with rocks and minerals.

"2020 XL5 poses no threat to Earth. We expect it will remain in its current stable orbit for at least the next 4,000 years," said telescope scientist and study co-author Cesar Briceno of the US National Science Foundation's NOIRLab.

Its location varies between about 56 million miles (90 million km) and 168 million miles (270 million km) from Earth.

The asteroid occupies one of five so-called Lagrange points - positions in space where objects tend to stay put. These five locales allow for stable orbits due to the competing gravitational forces of Earth and the sun. This one resides at what is called the L4 point.

The only other Trojan asteroid seen around Earth, discovered 12 years ago, also at the L4 point, and called 2010 TK7, is smaller, with a diameter of about a quarter mile (400 meters). It, too, is thought to have been captured by Earth's pull while meandering through the solar system.

2020 XL5, first detected in December 2020 using a telescope in Hawaii, may have been captured by Earth's gravitational pull somewhere between 500 to 1,000 years ago, Santana-Ros said.

Numerous Trojan asteroids populate our solar system, with the largest planet Jupiter known to have almost 10,000 of them, Santana-Ros said. NASA launched a spacecraft called Lucy last October to explore them. Trojan asteroids also have been found around Neptune (28 of them), Mars (four), Uranus (two) and Venus (one).

"Jupiter is a giant in all senses, also in terms of mass. It cleaned its neighboring region of other objects and gathered thousands of objects on its L4 and L5 points," Santana-Ros said. "However, the Earth has a more delicate environment, with close gravitational competitors like Venus, Mars or even the moon. Therefore, gravitational perturbations on 2020 XL5 will eventually allow this object to escape from the L4 stability point."

Santana-Ros said there could be more Trojan asteroids around Earth awaiting detection. The two Lagrange points where they might exist, L4 and L5, are notoriously difficult to observe from Earth.

"Any asteroid orbiting around these points will only be visible during a short time window close to twilight, at very low elevations above the horizon," Santana-Ros added. "But if we point our largest telescopes low above horizon and close to twilight I am certain we will find more surprises."

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Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is expected to travel to Delhi on Thursday to hold meetings with state MPs and lawyers who represent the state in inter-state water disputes.

Speaking to reporters, Bommai said that his appointments during his Delhi visit were being finalised. "Most likely, I will travel to Delhi tomorrow," he said.

"As I said earlier that there is a tradition of a meeting by the CM with all MPs (of the state) before the budget session. I am fixing time for the meeting today," he said.

The appointments of MPs and lawyers representing the state in inter-state water disputes are being finalised, he said, adding that he would most likely travel to Delhi tomorrow.

Also Read | River linking: Won't agree until water share is final, says Bommai

Bommai said that the state budget will be dependent on department-wise and state-wise allocations made by the Centre, which will be released in two days.

"Once it is available, we will assess which schemes have continued, which are the new schemes and what is the ratio of funds (of state and Centre) for these schemes. Based on it, along with grant in aid and loans provided by Centre, we will have to determine our budget," Bommai said.

Discussions for state budget with various departments will start from Feb 7, during which advice will be sought on schemes for various departments, the CM said.

On whether there would be a Cabinet expansion or reshuffle, Bommai said that he would not discuss the issue in public.

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While the row over wearing 'hijab' (head-scarf) at a government pre-university college in Udupi continues with a student moving court on the issue, another similar controversy erupted at a college at Kundapur.

Apparently, a few girl students attended the college wearing the 'hijab' at Kundapur. This prompted 100 boys to wear saffron shawls. This happened on Wednesday.

Realising the gravity of the situation, Kundapur MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty held a meeting with the college authorities and the students. The meeting failed to arrive at a consensus as the parents insisted that their children have the right to wear hijab. The authorities made it clear that students should stick to a uniform rule.

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Cillian Murphy has said it felt very strange to be on the set of Peaky Blinders without his co-star Helen McCrory following her death last year.

Murphy, who had starred alongside the actress in the hit BBC One series since it began in 2013, described her as the beating heart of the show.

McCrorys husband, Damian Lewis, announced in April that she had died at home at the age of 52 following a heroic battle with cancer.

Filming of the sixth and final series of the period crime drama began in January 2021, after it initially had to be postponed due to Covid-19.

McCrory was absent from the beginning of filming due to her cancer diagnosis.

Murphy, who plays Tommy Shelby in the show, told Esquire UK: We were just reeling throughout the whole thing. She was a dear, dear pal and she was the beating heart of that show, so it felt very strange being on set without her.

The difficult thing to comprehend is that, if it wasnt for Covid, there would be a whole other version of this show with Helen in it.

But she was so private and so f****** brave and courageous. She was inspirational. People throw that word around, but she genuinely was.

Her values, the way she dealt with her kids and Damian. She cares about everybody. Shes really funny and really cool, and she had this real warmth. She really cared.

Its just I still cant believe shes not here. It doesnt make sense. Ive never lost anyone like that  who was young and a friend. It was very confusing.

But she was magnificent. She was an absolutely magnificent person.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Peaky Blinders (@peakyblindersofficial)

McCrory played Shelby family matriarch Polly Gray in the BBC series for five seasons and was also known for appearing in the Harry Potter movies and the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall.

The forthcoming sixth and final series of Peaky Blinders is reportedly set to be released in February.

Murphy said he is unsure if his character, Tommy Shelby, has been redeemed in the final run but thinks that is what the shows screenwriter, Steven Knight, was aiming for.

The 45-year-old added that he has loved his time on the show, saying: Its only this year that it felt hard.

Im still shocked by how it went from this small little show on BBC Two to this worldwide phenomenon.

The Irish actor will also reunite with acclaimed director Christopher Nolan for his new highly awaited film Oppenheimer, having previously worked with him on the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk.

Murphy will star as J Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb.

Speaking about the role, he said: Its the first time hes cast me in a lead, which Im still a bit in shock about, but Im thrilled.

Its a huge part and a lot of work. But, in my estimation, youre working with one of the greatest living directors, so youre in safe hands.
SDLP Communities Spokesperson Mark H Durkan MLA has written to the Communities Minister, Deirdre Hargey urging her to take serious the plight of people here in the face of yet another price hike.

Gas suppliers have contacted customers this week warning of a 33.57% tariff increase in addition to already record high energy costs.

Foyle MLA, Mr Durkan said Minister Hargey needs to act now to ensure the 55 million Energy Payment Support Scheme is open before the planned timeframe of mid-March.

He said: If the Minister is serious about protecting vulnerable people and their families she must issue fuel support payments now to allow people to get the best value for money rather than just filling the coffers of energy companies.

The latest gas tariff increase will mean an average annual increase of over 300 per household and that is in addition to multiple in recent months. Sky-high wholesale gas prices will undoubtedly drive people into poverty. Already struggling households are bearing the brunt of the cost of living crisis and these spiralling costs are completely unsustainable.

The Minister has a duty to act now to soften the blow of the latest gas hike. People cannot afford to wait until March, they need financial support in their hands now.

In response, the Department for Communities said that Minister Hargey would be attending a Irish-British Council meeting and will raise the issue, amongst others, of VAT on energy bills.

A spokesperson for the Department said: The global crisis which continues to see unprecedented energy price rises has meant that those who are already struggling financially are facing added pressures.

Minister Hargey has announced an Energy Payment Support Scheme which will see a one-off payment of 200 to around 280,000 people who, without additional support, may struggle to heat their homes or pay their energy bills.

Whilst this Scheme will provide key financial support to those vulnerable individuals who are struggling to pay their energy bills, the scale of this crisis, which is beyond the remit of the Department for Communities, requires a larger government response.

The Finance Minister has written to the British Government to urge the removal of VAT on energy bills and this week, Minister Hargey will attend the British-Irish Council meeting, to be addressed by Economy Minister Gordon Lyons, whose department has the lead on overall energy strategy.

The meeting will address the rising cost of energy and Minister Hargey will be making specific asks on VAT and other issues at that meeting.

In addition to the Energy Support Scheme introduced by Minister Hargey, the Department for Communities provides a Winter Fuel payment, a tax free and non means-tested benefit to help people pay their heating bills. The Payment is made yearly to eligible older people who are born on or before the 26th September 1955.

The vast majority of Winter Fuel Payments for 2021 have now been issued and to date 290,632 people have received their payment, with a total value of 51.7 million.

The Department also provides Cold Weather Payments which are payable to eligible persons if the temperature in their postcode area is, or forecast to be, zero degrees or below for seven consecutive days. Support is also available through Discretionary Support and an Affordable Warmth Scheme.

On December 29, 2021, the Minister also announced the launch of the Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme set up in collaboration with private companies and the voluntary and community sector to provide immediate support to households who are struggling to meet their energy costs and who have a temporary inability to meet their fuel costs. The Department contributed 2million to support this Scheme.

Meanwhile, Firmus  the North's largest gas supplier  have announced a 33.57% increase to the natural gas tariff in their Ten Towns Network area, one being Derry. This will take effect from February 24, 2022.

Dr David Dobbin, Chairman of Firmus Energy, said: Unfortunately, due to the sustained high prices in wholesale gas markets we have had no option but to make a further increase in our gas tariff.

Very low gas stocks; reduced Russian supplies and concerns about the Ukraine situation are all combining to keep European gas prices high. The market crisis has been well publicised, and markets look increasingly like they are going to remain high for some time.

As we have previously stated this is not just a Firmus issue, but a challenge faced by every local and national supplier of gas and electricity all of whom are affected by the huge upsurges which have taken place in wholesale gas and energy costs.

Regrettably, we, in Northern Ireland, are at the mercy of the global wholesale gas market and are unable to influence these prices.

We know this is another unwelcome increase which will have a disproportionate effect on those of our customers who are the most vulnerable.

We have been providing financial support to the Department for Communities scheme to help those most in need and will continue to do so.

Commenting on this increase, John French, Utility Regulator Chief Executive said: In late December 2021, we received a submission from Firmus Energy to undertake an ad-hoc review of their regulated Ten Towns tariff for domestic and small business consumers.

The review took place against a continuing increase in wholesale gas prices, which have risen significantly since Firmus Energys last tariff increase on December 3, 2021.

We have now analysed and evaluated Firmus Energys submission and consulted with the Department for the Economy and the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland.

This review has unfortunately concluded that a 33.57 per cent increase from February 24, 2022 is needed to reflect the ongoing and exceptional price spikes that have been experienced in the global wholesale market.

This will regrettably mean that the average annual household gas bill in the Ten Towns license area will increase to 1,293 per year.

The unparalleled increases in the cost of wholesale energy at a global level have persisted and continue to impact on supplier costs. This has been exacerbated by the overall volatility within the market, with significant price movements occurring on a daily basis.

Unfortunately there appears to be no end in sight during 2022 for significantly above trend wholesale prices. However, if wholesale prices begin to reduce, our system of regulation in Northern Ireland allows us to act to make sure that reductions are fully passed onto consumers as quickly as possible.

We are extremely aware of how this further energy price increase will affect consumers in Northern Ireland.

We established a working group with the Department for the Economy, Department for Communities and the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland to actively explore what practical measures can be brought forward to alleviate the burden of these higher prices on consumers, this winter.

I am pleased that the Northern Ireland Executive has provided significant funding to support local energy consumers.

I have written to all energy suppliers and reminded them of their regulatory obligations to avoid customer disconnections and consider other approaches to protecting customers in debt.

We are also following this up with individual meetings with all energy suppliers, to ensure they are doing all they can to support their customers.

I would encourage anyone worried about paying for their energy bill to contact their supplier as soon as possible.

There are also a number of agencies who can provide free and independent advice, including Advice NI, Money and Pensions Service and Christians Against Poverty.
The President of the Derry Chamber of Commerce, Niall O'Kane, has paid tribute to two prominent and successful business leaders from our city, Luke Hasson and Gerard Finnegan who have both died.

Luke Hasson was the former managing director of Austins Department Store in Derry for almost 40 years. He was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Derry Chamber of Commerce following his retirement in 2015.

His distinguished career included board appointments to Northern Ireland Railways and the Northern Ireland Fire Authority. He had a particular passion for rail transport and fought hard to maintain the network in the north-west when the long term viability of local rail services was being questioned.

As a former president of the Derry Chamber of Commerce, he was instrumental in the revitalisation of Derry city centre, which ultimately led to the building of both the Richmond and Foyleside shopping complexes.

Gerard Finnegan was a prominent figure within Derry's business community. As well as being a director of the Derry Chamber of Commerce, he managed his own firm  Gerard Finnegan Associates and was the chief financial officer for food and farming company Devonish.

A Queen's University graduate in Economics and Accounting, he also served as a governor of North West Regional College and was the chairman of Derry's hurling and camogie club, Na Magha CLG.

Paying tribute to both, Niall O'Kane, President of the Derry Chamber of Commerce said: Gerard and Luke were prominent and successful business leaders from our city who will be sorely missed and I want to express my condolences to their families on behalf of the Chamber and the entire Derry business community.

Luke Hasson had a successful career leading the family owned, Derry landmark, Austins.

Luke Hasson, who died last week. Luke was the former managing director of landmark Derry department store, Austins. He was also a former President of the Derry Chamber of Commerce.

As one of the oldest independent department stores anywhere in the world, Austins was a Derry institution and its remarkable building is an important feature of our city centre.

Lukes leadership and stewardship of the store, during some of the darkest days in our citys history, was testament to his resilience and dedication.

Luke also played a vital role in our local business community as a former President of the Chamber and his commitment to our city was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award following his retirement in 2015.

Gerard Finnegan was a talented and committed business leader, most recently with the renowned agri-food company Devenish Nutrition.

Gerard also made an important contribution to the North West economy through his association with the North West Regional College as Governor and later Chairman, and as a director of the Chamber for five years.

On behalf of the Derry Chamber, I want to again offer my condolences to the families and relatives of Gerard Finnegan and Luke Hasson, who both made an indelible mark on the business community of the North West. May they rest in peace.

Luke Hasson is survived by his wife Mar, daughters Sinead, Naomi, Aideen, Orla and Lucy, daughter-in-law Bette, sons- in-law Gorka, Eoin, Paco, Wolgang and grandchildren along with his brothers Paul, John, Declan and sister Ann.

Funeral arrangements are to be announced in the coming days.

Gerard was the father father of Emer, Niall and Dervla, son of his mother Anne and his late late Derrick. He was also a brother to Paul, Thomas and Mary and a brother-in-law of Malachy, Caitriona, Ruairi, Declan and Fionnuala.

The funeral cortege will be leaving his home, 7 Belmont Drive, this morning at 10.20am to St. Patricks Church, Pennyburn for Requiem Mass at 11am. Interment afterwards in the City Cemetery.
Members of Derry City and Strabane District Council's Governance and Strategic Planning Committee have given their endorsement to Council's vision for the future of rail on the island of Ireland.

The vision document is the Council's Corporate response to the 'All Island Strategic Rail Review' that is currently out for consultation and was presented to members of the Committee today for review and approval.

The Council calls for the Rail Review to recommend increased speed and frequency of rail services to and from Derry and Belfast, along with seamless onward connections to and from Dublin on the existing line, as well as a future direct connection to Dublin via Strabane and Omagh.

It also calls for rail connections from Derry to Letterkenny and onwards to Sligo and the Galway Atlantic Corridor and for a suburban rail service providing routes for Derry and the wider North West City Region to Letterkenny, Strabane, Coleraine etc, with halts at Eglinton and at the City of Derry Airport.

The Council highlighted the need for the provision of freight services to and from the city and Foyle Port and the other ports and cities on the island.

Council also called for the installation of direct connections to halts and stations at both Belfast International Airport and Dublin Airport for any existing or future planned routes.

In its detailed response, the Council outlined the need for a commitment of funding and the implementation of a feasibility study into all of the investment proposals to address the infrastructural and connectivity deficit to Derry and the wider North West.

It stated that the review needs to consider the future potential of the City and Region to sustainably accommodate projected population growth, while in parallel delivering on its obligations to provide balanced regional development and climate change obligations.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Alderman Graham Warke said the review of Rail is timely and the Council's feedback to the consultation is significantly important in calling for improved and sustainable connectivity between the major cities on the island.

Mayor Warke said a key element of the Council's response is to ensure that the review addresses decarbonisation in the transport sector through a low carbon society that focuses on improved connectivity to the North West region.

Mayor Warke continued: "The rail issue is a hugely important one and something that we all have been campaigning for.

"We recognise the importance of rail connectivity and the need to enhance regional accessibility if we are to achieve our targets and ambitions set out in our City Deal and Strategic Growth Plan for a better future across our city region.

"The Rail Review offers an opportunity to enhance links between the main cities north and south of this island and improve rural development and connectivity as well as bring about the efficient movement of people, which in turn will bring about jobs and economic prosperity."

The Chairperson of the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee, Councillor Martin Reilly, also welcomed the Council's corporate response to the Rail Review.

He said that with continued collaboration with Donegal County Council and other Councils, Derry City and Strabane District Council recognises the importance of the Rail Review.

He said the review presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring about balanced regional development and much needed investment in rail connectivity.

Mr Reilly said: "It is essential that we nurture this unique opportunity to make a real difference to how we invest in rail infrastructure across the island to improve connectivity and accessibility and see major investment that will link in to our international gateways and also look at the development of rail freight opportunities.

"As a City and region, we are working to address the inequalities of the past and to overcome the legacy of underinvestment and believe that an efficient rail system will go some way towards allowing our region to grow and prosper."

John Kelpie, Chief Executive with Derry City and Strabane District Council, said investment in rail and all modes of transport are an integral part of the Council's ambitious and transformative vision for the city region's future.

Mr Kelpie said: "The Council continues to be proactive in clearly setting out its goals and objectives for the future by ensuring rail investment and connectivity is at the heart of all our strategic planning and policies.

"We are currently advancing and delivering ambitious growth proposals through our City Deal agreement and are of the firm belief that significantly improved efficient and direct connectivity for people and freight to and from Derry and the wider North West region to other key cities, ports and airports on this island is an essential step in our transformational journey.

"The Council also recognises the importance of connectivity and accessibility particularly in our rural communities and the impact this can have on the quality of life of our citizens and our local environment and place-making."

He concluded that he hoped the Rail Review will consider in detail the Council's position and avail of this unique opportunity to transform the future of rail across the island.
The life and legacy of influential bard Robert Burns has been celebrated with a special evening of music, dance and poetry in Limavady.

Hosted by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Councils Good Relations Team in partnership with Limavady Community Development Initiatives Hens Shed, the event was part of the wider Hear Here programme which explores Ulster Scots and Irish culture, tradition and heritage across the borough.

Speaking at the event, the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Richard Holmes, said: Burns Night is an opportunity to pay tribute to the life and cultural legacy of Robert Burns, not just locally or in Scotland, but across the world.

"Known as the Ploughmans Poet, Burns, he was not only a significant figure within Scotland, but he was also a great influence on our local weaver poets.

Our Borough has a rich and vibrant culture, and it is through events like this that we can highlight and embrace the traditions that make up the diverse nature of our communities.

Ashleen Schenning from LCDI, speaking on behalf of the Hens Shed, said: Our area is steeped in traditional songs, poetry and culture influenced by Burns and we were delighted to work in partnership with Councils Good Relations Team on this event.

This was a great opportunity for those who have never experienced a Burns Night before to see the rituals and ceremony,enjoy the fabulous highland dance performances and piping, and learn more about the background and life of Robert Burns.

Thanking all those involved, Bebhinn McKinley from Councils Good Relations team added: We were delighted to be working with LCDI and all those who helped to make the evening such a success.

My thanks to all of those involved and we are very grateful to Matthew Warwick and David Gilliand from the Ulster Scots Community Network for their support.

The Hear Here programme is part of Councils Good Relations action plan which is supported by Causeway Council and the Executive Office through the Together: Building a United Community Strategy, District Councils Good Relations Programme.
A Dungiven man has launched an online petition calling on the Department for Infrastructure to reconsider the proposed site for a new Park and Ride for the town.

Kieran Dallas says the proposed location for the facility at the new Feeny Road junction, three miles outside the town, is both 'inconvenient' and 'unsafe'.

Within 24 hours of launching the petition, Mr Dallas had gathered more than 120 signatures, with the total sitting at 205 at the time of writing.

The petition comes just days after Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon launched a community consultation into the proposed Park and Ride which will provide 207 parking spaces, including disabled spaces, as well as bus shelters and cycle racks.

The consultation is set to run until April 25, with a public online information event being held on February 10.

In his petition, Kieran, who uses the 212 bus service regularly, states that he rejects the planned collection point, as it is completely unsafe for anyone to be collected from there.

Referring to the distance the proposed site is from Dungiven, Kieran said it is inconvenient to everyone, never mind the safety risk.

All the people of Dungiven want is the same accessibility rights as those who live in other areas, equality is what Dungiven prides itself upon and I feel the people of the town deserve more consideration and more thought from Translink and those involved in the planning process, he wrote in the petition.

The people of Dungiven. I urge you to sign this petition. Let's make our voice heard.

Speaking to the County Derry Post, Kieran said he had written to Translink however they have not confirmed whether or not a shuttle bus service to and from the town will be put in place.

I see lots of people travelling on the bus. I see everybody of every age on the bus. On a Saturday for example, there's a group of teenage girls and teenage fellas who would use the bus to meet friends. I wouldn't send them out there. I wouldn't be comfortable with it, he said.

There is a lot of elderly people that use the bus also, I see them all the time. I would frequently see them in the morning and during the day. Then you have those who come back on the bus from a night out.

If they plan to put it there (new Feeny Road junction), that would mean somebody staggering out of a bus and onto the hard shoulder which would be hard enough to do when you are sober.

Kieran said the proposed location will also mean travellers on the bus could incur extra costs getting to and from the collection point.

Personally I would have to get a taxi to get to and from the bus stop and that of course would incur an extra charge and even if I tried to walk it, that's a long walk, he said.

I've had people say to me online that they agree with everything I've said and they too are not happy with the proposals.

I want to make it clear however that I'm not against the bypass and I'm not against the Park and Ride  it's just the location of it.

Kieran said he would like to see the Park and Ride in a 'more convenient location'.

My two suggestions would either be if the bus could come into the town or maybe have it between the chapel and Magheraboy as there's a big bit of green out there. You could easily create one out there, he said, continuing that he would like the Minister to come and meet the people of Dungiven.

I would hope to have a meeting with Department for Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon and just say to her that we, the people of Dungiven, want our views to be taken into consideration.

I am aware there is a public consultation going on right now and I know there is a meeting coming up but we want the rural areas and small towns like Dungiven taken into consideration, added Kieran.

Last night, local Sinn Fein Councillor Sean McGlinchey said his party has been liasing with DfI officials over the proposed Park and Ride and are due to hold a meeting with them soon.

Mr McGlinchey said his party are 'fighting to have a shuttle bus service to and from the proposed Park and the Ride'.

He also said that the site that has been identified for the proposed facility is the only one available and urged local constituents who have any concerns or questions to get in touch with him.
The drug purchase that led to actor Michael K. Williams tragic overdose death last year was caught on camera, and was part of a narcotics conspiracy by callous Brooklyn dealers peddling a deadly product, officials said Wednesday.

Four people were charged in Manhattan Federal Court in the death of the popular The Wire actor, who died in September from a deadly mix of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.

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Among those arrested on federal charges of participating in a narcotics conspiracy was Irvin Cartagena, 39, a Brooklyn man accused of selling to Williams the deadly dose of fentanyl-laced heroin.

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Michael K. Williams (Getty Images)

This is a public health crisis, said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. And it has to stop. Deadly opioids like fentanyl and heroin dont care about who you are or what youve accomplished. They just feed addiction and lead to tragedy.

The top prosecutor, who is not related to the actor, vowed to keep the pressure on.

The [Manhattan-based] Southern District of New York and our law enforcement partners will not give up. We will bring every tool to bear. And we will continue to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison, exploit addiction and cause senseless death.

Surveillance video images released by authorities which officials said show suspected drug dealers involved in the death of actor Michael K. Williams. (US Attorney for the Southern District of New York)

Williams, an East Flatbush native who publicly struggled with addiction, was found dead on Sept. 6 in his Williamsburg, Brooklyn, penthouse.

Police found a glassine envelope containing drugs inside his apartment, according to sources.

Over the years, Williams, 54, had spoken openly about his struggles with drug addiction, both before breaking into show business and during his time on HBOs groundbreaking hit series set in Baltimore, The Wire.

Surveillance video images released by authorities which officials said show suspected drug dealers involved in the death of actor Michael K. Williams. (US Attorney for the Southern District of New York)

The medical examiner said Williams death was accidental.

A nephew found the actor dead in his dining room in the Kent Ave. apartment, cops and relatives said. A 911 caller described Williams as unresponsive and said he feels cold, police sources said.

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Police and prosecutors connected the deadly dose to a drug trafficking organization in Williamsburg.

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The organization sells heroin laced with fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue in front of and inside an apartment building on Third St. and other locations, authorities said.

Cartegena sold Williams the heroin on Sept. 5 in a hand-to-hand transaction caught on surveillance video, said prosecutors.

NYPDs narcotics and precinct detectives in Brooklyn North lived this case, never relenting in their investigation until they could bring a measure of justice to Michael K. Williams and his family, said Police Commissioner Keychant Sewell.

Cartegena is accused of causing Williams death in connection with the narcotics conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life.

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Cartegena and three other suspects  Hector Robles, 57; Luis Cruz, 56, and Carlos Macci, 70  were also charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analogue, fentanyl and heroin, which carries a mandatory five-year minimum sentence and a maximum sentence of 40 years.

Williams had a cult-like following thanks to his breakout role as a hitman named Omar on The Wire, one of HBOs signature shows. He also starred in the networks Boardwalk Empire.
Organisers of the multi-award-winning Stendhal Festival are inviting you to get lost in music this summer when R&B legends, Sister Sledge headline what promises to be a festival to remember.

Following a successful recovery year in 2021 where the team at Stendhal produced not only the first post lockdown outdoor music concert in Ireland but also two reduced capacity festivals, the organisers believe that the announcement of Sister Sledge as one of this years headline acts is a great start to their ambition in returning the 2022 event to pre-covid levels.

With post covid in mind, the festival has reverted to its normal one event format but has changed from its traditional August dates to earlier in the summer, with the festival taking place on June 30, July 1 and 2 this year.

Sister Sledge have enjoyed one of the longest and most decorated careers any R&B artist has ever experienced. Number one singles all over the world, multiplatinum albums and a slew of awards have come their way thanks to timeless classic songs like Lost in Music, Hes the greatest dancer, Thinking of you and of course, one of the most iconic songs ever written, We are family.

Also announced in the first wave of acts for Stendhal 2022 are Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison, two of the founding members of Britpop legends Ocean Colour Scene, who perform all the classic Ocean Colour Scene hits as an acoustic two-piece, and Rockabilly legends Hayseed Dixie, the band who invented their own musical genre Rockgrass

Darling of the Irish Country Music scene, Lisa McHugh, has been off the road recently as she welcomed her first beautiful baby into the world, but shell have her jiving boots polished and ready for action come July at Stendhal.

Country star Lisa McHugh is set to perform at the Limavady gig this summer.

As ever, Northern Irish Music is high on the agenda at Stendhal, being the single largest showcase of Northern Irish Music at any event in the country and this summer they welcome some of the very best seasoned and brand-new indigenous acts to the farm.

The Wood Burning Savages, Sasha Samara, Travi the Native, Foreign Wolf, BECAH, Lemonade Shoelace, SkiBunny DJs, Craic Pipe, Harley& The Wolf, TRU, Wild Heat, NI. Soul Troop and Strange New Places are the first of many to be announced.

Stendhal is also proud to be continuing with the tradition of bringing the very best of new and established Irish music from south of the border to northern Audiences and the likes of Tebi Rex, Makings, Grainne Duffy, The Fiddle Case and Lowli are sure to provide some sensational summer memories at the festival.

Loads more music announcements along with the Family programme, comedy, poetry and much more is coming over the next few months.

Event Director Ross Parkhill said, Stendhal, its team, its visitors and of course its performers are family, so there is no better way to celebrate that this summer than with a performance from one of the most iconic acts ever to grace a stage anywhere.

We are so excited to welcome Sister Sledge to Stendhal and Limavady, they are without question icons in the music industry and are easily the biggest household name headline act we have ever had the privilege to present.

They have hit song after hit song that will have everyone in attendance singing along and showing off just who is the greatest dancer on Saturday July 2nd.
New laws which ban smoking in vehicles where children are present have been introduced in Northern Ireland.

It brings the law into line with other regions of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Health Minister Robin Swann said: I am delighted to see that this legislation has now become a reality.

Its introduction represents a landmark for myself as minister, the department, and for all those who have campaigned so hard for its introduction.

Health Minister Robin Swann has described todays introduction of legislation banning smoking in vehicles, where children are present, as a landmark day. It is now illegal to smoke in a vehicle if anyone in it is under 18. Read https://t.co/wB4JoTrb7N https://t.co/6TzuJWnfnm pic.twitter.com/FHWrGKxspV  Department of Health (@healthdpt) February 1, 2022

It will reduce the risk of smoking to our loved ones, particularly children, protecting them from the harm caused by inhaling second-hand smoke.

It also sends out a clear message of our determination to tackle the dangers of smoking which kills thousands of people each year in Northern Ireland.

It is important that smokers are aware of the new regulations and realise that if you smoke in a car or other vehicle while a child is there, or if youre the driver and you allow someone to smoke in these circumstances, you will be committing an offence which carries a hefty penalty.

Another new law, banning the sale of e-cigarettes and other nicotine-inhaling products to anyone aged under 18, has also come into force.

Mr Swann said: In addition to the potential long-term health implications of nicotine vaping by teenagers, there are also concerns that the use of such products may act as a gateway into smoking.

The sale of products such as e-cigarettes or vapes to children, and the purchase of them on behalf of children, can lead to significant penalties and, for repeated offences, retailers can be banned from selling such products for up to three years.
A group of 11 prisoners at Maghaberry Prison are taking legal action over the use of effective solitary confinement.

Representing the group, KRW Law said they are raising serious concerns around the excessive use of detention amounting to solitary confinement by the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS).

They are particularly highlighting the effect of extensive periods of individual detention on mental health, contending it constitutes breaches of their fundamental human rights.

Earlier this week, a report by the Criminal Justice Inspection found that some prisoners in Northern Ireland are being subjected to effective solitary confinement which does not meet the expected United Nations Standard Minimum Rules.

They found that the facilities in the care and supervision units were inadequate and there were insufficient professional healthcare staff to care for and treat them.

Chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland Jacqui Durkin said the in-depth review found evidence that the regime experienced by a number of CSU prisoners did not meet the UN standard minimum rules known as the Mandela Rules.

Inspectors have made three strategic and 11 operational recommendations for improvement as a result of their findings.

These have been accepted by the Prison Service.

KRW Law said its clients include Neil Quinn, who until recently was a remand prisoner, and said he was at times locked up for 24 hours, adding significant staff shortages meant he could not receive the adequate mental health care he needed in prison.

The firm has issued civil proceedings on behalf of Mr Quinn at the High Court against NIPS regarding breaches of the Mandela Rules, seeking damages.

It is also applying for leave to judicially review NIPS policy and practice on the use of care and supervision units.

Jack Murphy, of KRW, said the CJI report illustrates clear breaches and violations of international human rights and humanitarian standards by the prison authorities in Northern Ireland.

HMP Maghaberry has long had a reputation as a failing prison but recently its standards appeared to have improved, he said.

But now it is confirmed that regarding extended detention and mental health services the system is failing on a significant scale.

The legal action being taken by our client Neil Quinn will seek to secure judicial condemnation and censure of these failures.

At present this will be by way of a civil actions for damages and a public law challenge to apply for leave to judicially review of NIPS policies and procedures in this matter which is why we have issued pre-action proceedings to ground a public law challenge.
Paris, February 2, 2022 -- The European Investment Bank (EIB) and French company Menta, a pioneer in the European reprogrammable semiconductor industry (embedded Field Programmable Gate Array  eFPGA), have signed a 7.5 million finance contract.

The aim of the operation is to support Mentas growth and technological development in a fast-growing sector. This funding should, in particular, make it possible to speed up the commercialisation of its innovative products and services. The operation also directly supports the creation of more than 40 FTE posts in the European Union, in particular highly-qualified R&D and sales jobs.

Menta is a globally recognised specialist in eFPGA technology. eFPGAs are integrated circuits composed of a network of programmable cells used for Systems on a Chip (SoC), bringing together all components of a computer on a single chip.

Menta is the only player in the semiconductor industry to offer the revolutionary soft IP eFPGA technology. These solutions offer engineers the possibility of flexible, secure, high-performance and low-energy technology. They are adopted by artificial intelligence applications with substantial processing power and energy efficiency demands and whose algorithms are constantly evolving.

At a time when the supply chains of components are very heavily disrupted, Europe has the opportunity to relocate part of the semiconductor production industry to its territory. The unique 100% French technologies and solutions developed by Menta can help make Europe the leader in this strategic sector and create a genuine European microchip supply chain.

The project is expected to strengthen the innovation capacity of European industry in the semiconductor sector. It thus supports the development of the digital sector in Europe and the relevance of its model globally, with positive employment and competitiveness impacts expected.

The loan amount is 7.5 million, divided into two tranches of 3.75 million.

This financing meets the objectives of the European Guarantee Fund, which was set up by the European Union and is managed by the EIB. With 25 billion from the EU Member States, the fund aims to address the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing long-term financing to SMEs in the Member States.

The EIB is delighted to support a leading European company in the semiconductor industry, said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. This is a critical area for the European Unions strategic autonomy, which is essential for the proper functioning and competitiveness of a vast number of activities that depend on their chip supply. The EU public bank is fulfilling its role in financing the development of highly promising companies such as Menta, whose technologies can enable the European Union to position itself at the cutting edge of a constantly changing sector.

The funding provided by the European Investment Bank is a critical step for Menta, said Menta CEO Vincent Markus. Against the backdrop of considerable industrial tension globally, which is weighing on the production capacity of many sectors, this operation validates our industrial model and will enable us to accelerate our development. I wish to thank all stakeholders who contributed to its achievement.

About the European Investment Bank (EIB)

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term financing institution of the European Union, and its shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. The EIBs remit is to contribute towards the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the EU Member States. It borrows large volumes of funds on the capital markets and lends them on very favourable terms to support projects that contribute to attaining the European Unions objectives. Innovation funding is one of the key EIB's priorities, accounting for more than one third of the 9.2 billion of financing it provided in France in 2021.

About Menta

A non-listed company based in Sophia-Antipolis (France), Menta is a recognised pioneer of eFPGAs for ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) and SoC circuit designers who seek speed, accuracy, performance and efficiency. The adaptable architecture of eFPGAs, based on standard cells and a set of state-of-the-art tools, offers the highest degree of customisation, the best testing efficiency and rapid growth in volumes for SoC design in any foundry. www.menta-efpga.com.






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SEATTLE  An apartment building at 2850 15th Ave. W. sold for almost $4.7 million, according to King County records.

The seller was a local family that had owned the property since it was developed in 1963.





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SNOQUALMIE  A retail and commercial complex at 7713 Center Blvd. S.E. in Snoqualmie sold for $13 million, according to King County records.

The seller was an entity associated with Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, which acquired the property in 2011 for $5.7 million.





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A Brooklyn man was fatally shot outside his home Tuesday afternoon, cops said.

Police, alerted by the NYPDs ShotSpotter system, found Tahjay Dobson, 22, shot in the head outside his home on Ave. L near E. 98th St. in Canarsie about 2:20 p.m.

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Police investigate a shooting on Avenue L and E. 98th St. in Brooklyn on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

Medics took Dobson to Brookdale Hospital, but he couldnt be saved.

The shooter fled in a dark SUV, police said. There were no immediate arrests.
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The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is calling on the government to intervene as hundreds of people are once again reported as waiting on trolleys in Irish hospitals.

According to the INMO, 550 admitted patients are waiting for beds today (Wednesday February 2), with 436 patients waiting in the emergency department and 114 in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

INMO General Secretary, Phil Ni Sheaghdha has called the situation urgent.

She said, "Over 1,000 patients have been on trolleys since the 1st of February. This is not acceptable and demands urgent and decisive action from the HSE and the Minister for Health.

"The HSE must take steps to ensure that this chronic overcrowding isnt allowed to continue into February, March and beyond. The HSE should once again issue guidance to all hospitals on curtailing elective surgery until the end of February.

It's not the first time the INMO has raised awareness of the rising trolley numbers in Irish hospitals, with Ni Sheaghdha stating they have been "sounding the alarm" since July 2021.

She continued: "Overcrowding and long waits in emergency departments can lead to negative health outcomes. We know from recently published research by the Emergency Medicine Journal and the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine, that the mortality rates of people who have to wait five hours or more in our emergency departments could be severely impacted.

"We need to see decisive action from both the HSE and the Minister for Health. We are at a turning point now following COVID restrictions being lifted, we cannot allow chronic overcrowding to become a recurring feature within our heath service once again."
Douglas, WY (82633)

Today

Sunny. High around 70F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 44F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Douglas, WY (82633)

Today

Sunny. High around 70F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 44F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
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ADA [ndash] Memorials services for Clifford Brent Hall, 63, of Ada are 10:00 A.M. Thursday, May 5, 2022 at Trinity Baptist Church, Doug Brewer will officiate. Mr. Hall passed away Monday, April 25, 2022 at a local nursing home surrounded by family. He was born August 8, 1958 in Shawnee, OK t
National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the new high speed fibre broadband network under the Governments National Broadband Plan (NBP) today announced that surveying works in Louth are underway.

The rollout of the National Broadband Plan continues to ramp up as homes and communities begin to be connected in Intervention Areas across the country.

In Louth, there are 8,675 premises in the Intervention Area (IA), which includes homes, farms, commercial businesses and schools.

This equates to 14% of all premises in the county.

Under the National Broadband Plan, Louth will see an investment of 33M in the new high speed fibre network.

This will enable e-learning, remote monitoring of livestock or equipment, e-health initiatives, better energy efficiency in the home, and facilitate increased levels of remote working.

NBI crews have made substantial progress in Louth, where the Riverstown Rvn. area has been surveyed.

These initial works pave the way for the next stage of deploying fibre on poles/ducts and includes the erection of poles, unblocking of ducts, and the insertion of sub duct into existing ducts, for the fibre to be installed.

All NBI contractors will also carry official ID cards and essential worker letters, and have received training on adhering to all Covid 19 guidelines.

They will have vehicles, PPE and signage with both their own, and NBI logos.

In advance of the Fibre-to-the-Home roll out, the NBP provides for the delivery of Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) nationwide. 454 of these sites are now live and have both internal and external broadband access.

These facilities - which include GAA clubs, community centres and tourist sites  will provide free public access to high speed internet in the rollout area.

These will pave the way for rural communities to receive the benefits of broadband, from mobile working, e-learning and mobile banking, to digital tourism.

Locations of Broadband Connection Points in county Louth will include Mattock Rangers GAA Club, Clogherhead Pier, Port Beach and Stephenstown Pond Nature Park.

Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also being connected for educational access as part of the NBP.

NBI contractors have been on the ground across the country for 22 months and over 293,809 premises nationwide have been surveyed to date.

This involves physically walking the routes and documenting images, notes and measurements of the poles, cables and underground ducts in each area.

These vital survey works enable Fibre -to-the-Home" network designs to be completed for each of the 554,000 plus premises in the Intervention Area, as identified by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communication (DECC).

NBI Chief Executive Peter Hendrick said:

Momentum has been steadily building in the progression of the National Broadband Plan rollout, with homes across the country being connected to high-speed broadband.

Our teams have been, and continue to do so, work on the rollout plan and substantial progress has been made from surveying, design, build to connection works.

As an increasing number of homes and businesses are being connected, we are confident that the rollout will continue to gather pace as we look to connect thousands more homes and businesses.

We are acutely aware that people want access to high-speed broadband and our goal is to deliver that as quickly as possible.

Survey and designs are an important part of mapping out how every home, farm and business will be connected, and they provide the blueprint for how the NBI fibre is laid.

The BCPs are also a key milestone in delivering access to high-speed internet in the Intervention Area, and were delighted to see these being connected for access - internally and externally - right across the county, he concluded.
Firepower was likely on Lashawn McNeils side when he confronted three cops and killed two of them in his mothers Harlem apartment.

McNeils Glock 45 was equipped with a drum magazine designed to let him quickly fire off dozens of bullets. Because he had the magazine, he didnt have to be a good shot to spray enough bullets to murder 32nd Precinct Officers Justin Rivera and Wilbert Mora.

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McNeils Glock 45 with a drum magazine. (DCPI)

Police have released few details of the Jan. 21 shooting that took the two officers lives.

But McNeils drum magazine  of a type that typically holds 50 rounds  offered him a tactical advantage in a gun battle with cops, said John Cutter, a former NYPD deputy chief who now runs a private security firm.

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Say someone armed with a Glock fitted with a fully loaded 50-round magazine was in a gunfight with an NYPD officer, and both sides had each fired 15 rounds.

NYPD weapons typically carry no more than 15 rounds, so at that point, the officer would have to stop to reload.

But the drum magazine user could keep firing, Cutter said.

Taking the point of view of a drum magazine user, Cutter explained: I still have 35 in my magazine. I can run up on him [the officer] before he can reload, and get real close.  I dont have to have great aim.

McNeil mortally wounded Rivera and Mora with his drum magazine-equipped weapon. The third officer, rookie Sumit Sulan, returned fire and fatally shot McNeil.

Lashawn McNeil.

The only application of a magazine like this is to be able to have enough rounds in there that you dont have to reload, Cutter said.

McNeil would have had some disadvantages, said Cutter.

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One is the weight of the loaded magazine hanging off the guns grip. It doesnt lend itself to accuracy, Cutter said.

Mayor Adams has made a priority of shutting down the so-called Iron Pipeline, which refers to the path along Interstate 95 used to smuggle many guns from the South to the Northeast and into the city.

But its not clear how McNeil got his Glock and drum magazine.

Internet retailers ship drum magazines to Pennsylvania, where McNeil lived. His Glock was reported stolen from Baltimore. McNeil had a custom AR-15 assault weapon hidden under the mattress he slept on in his mothers Harlem apartment.

Drum magazines are rare among criminals in New York City, said a high-ranking NYPD official.

What we have been seeing is large-capacity magazines, 20 or 30 rounds, extending straight down [from below a guns firing chamber], just making the magazine longer, the official said.

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The official cited one big problem lawbreakers have with drum magazines: Its nearly impossible to conceal for carry, which is what most criminals want.

Retailers wont deliver drum magazines to states where theyre banned. The magazines are illegal in nine states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, and in the District of Columbia.

Classic Firearms in North Carolina offers a 50-round drum magazine for $39.99 on its website.

Fun out shooting lots of rounds, reads one customer review. Price is good for the fun drum, reads another.

Originally it might have been built because, Oh lets see if we can put a barrel magazine on a handgun,  said Cutter. Somebody decided, Lets try this. This is a good idea.

And then people want to buy it, and somebody is going to make it and sell it.

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He added, I dont think you could find anybody in the gun manufacturing world who could come up with a legitimate reason to have a gun magazine like that.
Louth Fianna Fail Senator Erin McGreehan is reminding dog owners of their responsibilities and the vulnerability of sheep to dog attacks, as lambing season approaches.

Senator McGreehan said:I have raised the importance of dog owners looking after their dogs, so that they do not become the killers that they have the potential to be in the Seanad.

I ask that when out walking in particular commonage areas that owners would keep their dogs on a lease.

"It is not the dog's fault that they run after sheep and lambs.

"They want to play, but it ends up frightening them and the dog doesnt know when to stop. They cannot control themselves.

"I have spoken with a farmer who had three pregnant sheep mauled to death and after scans they believe that up to 15 lambs could be born dead.

"These are innocent animals and do not deserve to be killed liked this, the dogs deserve to be cared for better and not to become killers.

The Senator said the issue is one of grave concern to the farming community and that attacks on sheep are happening far too often in the rural countryside.

Senator McGreehan has also called for a concerted effort by authorities to work on a cross border basis; the border puts up barriers to both sides in finding the culprit.

The latest figures compiled by local authorities show that there were 240 incidents of Livestock Worrying in 2020  with a similar number expected when the 2021 returns are completed.

Dog attacks cause serious injury or even death to sheep and can cause grave distress and financial loss for farm families.

Ministers McConalogue and Humphreys have also announced the start of an awareness campaign that will run over lambing season.
Lisa Smith, a former Irish soldier who denies membership of Islamic State, told gardai that she moved to Syria to help build a state where she could live and rear children surrounded by Muslims.

Following her arrest on return to Ireland from Syria in December 2019, Ms Smith told detectives that it is important for Muslims to live under Islam, inside the caliphate.

She said many prophecies about the return of the caliphate had come true and, she said, Muslims believe that the caliphate would be followed by the return of Jesus and the "day of judgement".

She further told gardai that among those who travelled to Syria were doctors, lawyers, engineers and brain surgeons. "You name it, they were there," she said, and they were all there to build the caliphate.

Smith (39) from Dundalk, Co Louth has pleaded not (NOT) guilty to membership of an unlawful terrorist group, Islamic State, between October 28th, 2015 and December 1st, 2019. She has also pleaded not (NOT) guilty to financing terrorism by sending 800 in assistance, via a Western Union money transfer, to a named man on May 6th, 2015.

Detective Garda Ciaran McGeough told prosecuting counsel Sean Gillane SC that he interviewed Ms Smith at Kevin Street Garda Station on December 1, 2019 after she had been arrested on suspicion of membership of Islamic State, an unlawful terrorist organisation. Det Gda McGeough agreed that Ms Smith asked what crime she was being accused of before telling gardai about how she came to become a Muslim.

She said her journey to Islam had been a long one; she had been "going down a path of depression" and was "kind of suicidal". She had tried many different beliefs and had gone to many spiritual leaders and fortune tellers.

At the same time, she said she was beginning to notice things in the Middle East and wondered why there were wars there and why the West was getting involved. "What did they do to us? This was what I was thinking," she said.

While on a flight with the Irish Air Force she remembered seeing two men who were being brought back from Guantanamo Bay.

She felt sorry for them, she said, and wondered why they were "getting tortured".

When she tried to give them a plate of food they seemed to be afraid, as if they thought she was going to hurt them. She said she went to Tunisia on holidays and "loved it".

She met Muslims and they seemed friendly and nice.

In her second interview Ms Smith said that she began reading about Islam and Christianity on the internet and would talk to Muslims using private chat on Facebook.

She asked about many topics including what she had heard about Muslim men beating up women and having control over their wives.

She said she was happy with the answers she got. She didn't class herself as a Muslim at this time but in April 2011 she began reading the Quran and, she said, she "realised it was the truth".

She said: "I cried and I laughed and I was happy. I had found what I was looking for and that was how I became a Muslim."

She began wearing the hijab and spoke to other female Muslims about Islam. She learned that for Muslims there are no nations and nationalism is not allowed because "it's god you should be fighting for or working for, it's not for any race, colour or tribe.

It's not allowed in Islam." She was told she would have to leave her job with the army and when she was told she could not wear the hijab while on duty she decided she would have to choose between Islam and her job.

She said Muslims believe in "heaven and hellfire" so she decided Islam was more important. She said: "The job is only going to be a couple of years and a few pounds, a pension. The religion was going to be forever in the afterlife, so as a Muslim this was a no-brainer."

She left her job and married an Algerian man but they divorced after a few months.

She went to Tunisia in 2012 with a friend and began speaking online with an American convert to Islam named John Georgelas, who she knew as Abu Hassan.

At the time she was struggling with some of the Islamic teachings where, she said, "everything is not allowed".

She had discovered there were many different groups within the religion that were "clashing" and it wasn't all the "big happy family" she had believed it to be. She became close to Georgelas who taught her about Islam and showed her that a Muslim follows the prophet and the Quran and not the opinions of scholars.

He told her to learn Arabic so she could learn for herself and pointed out where to find verses in the Quran or sayings from the prophet so that she could look it up for herself rather than "listening and blindly following". She said she believed Georgelas had her best interests at heart and travelled to Turkey to meet him and his wife, Tania Joya, in September 2013.

After a few days in Turkey, they crossed the border into Syria and Ms Joya, who "hated the place and wanted to leave," told Ms Smith she should not stay in Syria unless she gets married. Ms Smith said she married a Tunisian man who was part of the "Army of Mohammad", and was fighting against the Assad regime.

When another Islamic group arrived, Ms Smith's husband described them as "very harsh" and said he hated them. They left Syria for Tunisia where Ms Smith lived for another nine months before returning to Ireland.

When she got back to Ireland she thought Georgelas would be dead but she found him online.

In 2014 the caliphate was announced but Ms Smith didn't immediately go because, she said, she didn't know if it was real.

She explained that it is important for Muslims to live inside the caliphate. Before the day of judgement, she said, there are many signs that have been prophesied that have already happened. She said after the caliphate returns, Jesus is coming back and added: "This is a belief for Muslims." The caliphate, she said, has one leader, the caliph, and "there is power and security within it".

Georgelas told her the new caliphate was "legit". She thought that if she ever had children she wanted to "bring them up properly under Islam" where they would be surrounded by Muslims and would not be tempted to drink or smoke or do other things Muslims are not allowed to do.

She decided to go to Syria where she said she was joined by doctors, lawyers, engineers and brain surgeons. Her husband, she said, was a school teacher who wanted to educate children.

She added: "So everyone is trying to play their part to build this state. It had land, it had power, so we were going to stay."

Earlier yesterday, Tuesday February 1st, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding in the three-judge, non-jury court, rejected a defence application which stated that Ms Smith's arrest was unlawful.

Michael O'Higgins SC, for Ms Smith, had argued that she was arrested under the Offences Against the State Act 1939 which does not allow for prosecution of offences alleged to have taken place outside the jurisdiction. Mr Justice Tony Hunt ruled that the garda who arrested Ms Smith had properly exercised his power of arrest under the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act which, the judge said, should be viewed alongside the 1939 Act.

The trial continues.
Lisa Smith, a former Irish soldier who denies membership of Islamic State, told gardai she believed that if she didn't travel to join the caliphate in 2015 she would burn for eternity in hell, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

She said she made a "mistake" in going but believed at the time that "it was just a state" where she would be able to raise a family among other Muslims.

She said that since fleeing Syria in 2019 she has learned that there was no religious obligation on her to go.

She said she would not go again if another caliphate were announced, adding: "I had enough, I did my time. It was a prison. It was four years in prison, that's the way we look at it now."

She said she was trapped because women who tried to leave were tortured and raped and those who escaped would be taken by Syrian forces or would be unable to go back to Europe where they were no longer wanted.

Ms Smith said she never owned a weapon while she was in Syria, was never a member of a terrorist organisation and did not give assistance to any terrorist organisation.

She added: "I don't support terrorism and I don't support brutality in any way. I want to make it clear, I didn't join a terrorist organisation and would never join a terrorist organisation.

"I don't support brutality. What they did in the end; I would never support that in any shape or form."

Before leaving for Syria she said she was so afraid of burning in hell that if she saw a fire she would start screaming.

She added: "I had a lot of fear about the hellfire at the time. That scared me so much I said; I have to go, I have to go."

Ms Smith (39) from Dundalk, Co Louth has pleaded not (NOT) guilty to membership of an unlawful terrorist group, Islamic State, between October 28th, 2015 and December 1st, 2019. She has also pleaded not (NOT) guilty to financing terrorism by sending 800 in assistance, via a Western Union money transfer, to a named man on May 6th, 2015.

Det Gda Ciaran McGeough told prosecution counsel Sean Gillane SC that he interviewed Ms Smith at Kevin Street Garda Station eleven times over several days following her arrest on return to Ireland on December 1, 2019.

He said Ms Smith told him that the people who travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the caliphate thought they were escaping to a place where they would not be insulted in the street, but they became angry and upset at the "nightmare" they found there.

She said they had run to the caliphate without thinking and without waiting to find out if the new Islamic state would become stable. She said she was glad to be home.

Ms Smith also told gardai that she was misled by journalist Norma Costello who interviewed Ms Smith while she was in a camp in Syria. Ms Smith said she thought Ms Costello was from the Irish government and was going to help her get back home.

She said she wouldn't have spoken to a journalist because in the camp there were people who would punish anyone who spoke to a journalist.

She said: "They would burn your tent down with your children in it or cut you up to kill you." She said she didn't think that what she told Ms Costello would end up on the internet and added: "She made things worse for me."

The trial continues in front of Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, Judge Gerard Griffin and Judge Cormac Dunne.
A stalker who left a woman suffering panic attacks and nightmares after sending threatening messages has been jailed for two and a half years.

Riagain Grainger, 22, of Rosnareen Road, Trillick, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court today (Wednesday February 2) after he admitted stalking involving fear of violence, serious alarm and distress, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said.

In a statement his victim, a 21-year-old woman, said she suffered multiple panic attacks after Grainger began to send threatening messages from anonymous accounts in 2019.

She said: I never felt safe. I still dont feel safe. I still jump every time my phone rings.

I still feel sick every time I get a message from an unknown account.

I still have a panic attack every time I see someone who looks like him. I still cant even step foot on a bus, thinking he might be there watching me.

I have constant nightmares about him  about him attacking me, hurting me.

They started a couple of weeks after the messages started and they havent stopped.

Even now, every single night I am woken up by him. Every single night he is torturing me again.

Grainger was also made subject to an indefinite stalking prevention order.

A police spokesman said he sent messages, including threats to harm and kill, over a three-month period.

Grainger, who works as a film-maker, was charged in October 2019 after police seized his phone and found images of the victim and her home.

Detective Constable Thomas Small said: Stalking can have a devastating effect on a victim and their loved ones and I hope this sentencing shows that we take any reports of stalking and harassment seriously and are committed to bringing anyone found responsible to justice.

Everyone has the right to live their life without fear and harassment, and Grainger made that impossible for this young woman.

I would urge any victims of stalking or harassment to please take that brave step and report it to us.
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LeAnn Fray, a senior special education and math major from Scotsville, watched in shock as the events of 9/11 unfolded on a big screen TV in the Powell Building. More than 100 students garnered in the building to stay up-to-date on the latest developments of the day.
A crooked veterinarian with ties to a horse trainer snared in a deadly doping scandal was convicted Wednesday for providing performance enhancing drugs to thoroughbreds across nearly two decades.

Seth Fishman, 50, faces up to 20 years in prison after a Manhattan Federal Court jury found him guilty on charges of drug adulteration and misbranding, with prosecutors charging he sold an assortment of unsafe and untested products purported to make the horses run faster at tracks in the U.S. and around the world.

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Fishman earned millions of dollars while operating his doping operation Equestology for almost 20 years, promising to provide his racing business clients with undetectable drugs to boost the horses performance. Prosecutors said he misled regulatory authorities looking into his business.

Veterinarian Seth Fishman poses for a portrait in Highland Beach, Florida on January 14, 2022. (The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Jurors returned the guilty verdicts after just three hours of deliberations over two days. One of the counts included a doping scheme involving the horse XY Jet, a thoroughbred that died of a sudden heart attack in 2020 just 10 months after winning the $1.5 million Dubai Golden Shaheen race.

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The jurys swift conviction of Seth Fishman reflects the overwhelming evidence of guilt as displayed through this trial, said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. As an ostensible veterinarian  sworn to the care and protection of animals  Fishman cynically violated his oath in service of corrupt trainers and in the pursuit of profits.

His sentencing was set for May 5 in the scam linked to disgraced trainer and co-defendant Jorge Navarro, known as the Juice Man for his reliance on PEDs during a career where he collected more than $37 million in earnings.

Navarro purchased tens of thousands of dollars worth of PEDs over several years from Fishman, who continued to run his business even after his initial arrest in October 2019. Court papers showed Navarro, who pleaded guilty in August, specifically credited the veterinarian for XY Jets big money victory in the Dubai race.
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The Biden Administration announced new actions Monday to tackle methane pollution.

The measures include $1.15 billion in funds from the Department of the Interior that states can use to close up abandoned oil and gas wells. The funding comes from President Joe Bidens Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which set aside $4.7 billion for a federal program dedicated to orphaned wells.

President Bidens Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is enabling us to confront the legacy pollution and long-standing environmental injustices that for too long have plagued underrepresented communities, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a press release. We must act with urgency to address the more than one hundred thousand documented orphaned wells across the country and leave no community behind. This is good for our climate, for the health of our communities, and for American workers.

There are 130,000 documented abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S, the Interior Department calculated last month, as The Washington Post reported. However, in 2018 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that there might really be as many as two to three million orphaned wells. About nine million people live within a mile of an abandoned well, according to a study from McGill University and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and these wells can emit a variety of gasses including methane.

Its a pretty big problem thats flown under the radar for a long time, EDF senior attorney Adam Peltz, who approved of the new measures, told The Washington Post.

In addition to preventing climate pollution and protecting the health of vulnerable communities, plugging wells can also provide unionized, well-paying jobs, the Interior Department said. The money will be sent to 26 states that submitted notices of intent last year, CNBC reported, including $100 million for Texas and Pennsylvania.

Some environmental advocates thought that the administration could go further to address the problem caused by abandoned wells.

Addressing these existing wells is an important first step, Sierra Club deputy legislative director Mahyar Sorour said, as CNBC reported. But unless its paired with bonding reform that requires oil and gas companies to cover these costs up front, the industry will continue to leave behind toxic wells on our public lands and expect taxpayers to cover the cost of cleaning them up.

The well-plugging initiative is just one of several methane-reduction plans that the Biden Administration announced Monday. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is 84 times stronger than carbon dioxide but persists for less time in the atmosphere.

The Biden Administration championed the Global Methane Pledge last year, which calls for a 30 percent reduction in 2020 methane emissions by 2030, according to a White House fact sheet. The U.S. helped mobilize more than 110 countries to sign the pledge. President Biden also announced the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan at the COP26 climate conference last year.

Mondays methane-reduction initiatives emerge from this plan and include:
In a divisive decision by the European Commission, natural gas and nuclear energy can be classified as sustainable investment if certain targets are met, reported BBC News. Some members of the commission strongly oppose the plan, which has divided the European Union (EU) and led to accusations of greenwashing.

Classifying the power sources as green is not a requirement for gas or nuclear investment, EU officials said. Rather, the classification adds to the EU Taxonomy, a set of rules that establishes what can be called sustainable, as a guide to private investors.

Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammers response to the new classification was that nuclear power is neither green nor sustainable, BBC News reported.

I cannot understand the decision of the EU, Nehammer said.

The EU Taxonomy rules are meant to acknowledge enterprises that make a substantial contribution to the environmental objectives set out by the EU, while not significantly harming any of its goals, reported BBC News.

Austria and Luxembourg have threatened legal action over the green classification for gas and nuclear, but the decision to label them green isnt yet final  the European Council and Parliament have four months to object to the action.

During this time, the final rules could be vetoed by either a super-majority of 20 of the 27 EU member countries or a majority of members of European Parliament, reported Reuters.

The Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark oppose the inclusion of gas in the taxonomy, and Austria and Luxembourg, which strongly oppose nuclear energy, have threatened to sue the commission, The Washington Post reported.

Leonore Gewessler, the climate minister of Austria, has referred to the inclusion of nuclear and gas in the classification of what is sustainable as a cloak-and-dagger operation, reported The Washington Post.

France has expressed that nuclear power has an important role in tackling climate change, Reuters reported. About 70 percent of Frances power comes from nuclear energy. And for some central and eastern European countries, gas is seen as a necessary bridge in moving away from coal.

Environmental groups have condemned the plan, with Greenpeace calling it an anti-science plan, saying that it represents the biggest greenwashing exercise of all time, reported The Washington Post.

Even investment groups BlackRock and Vanguard have expressed that the move would hurt the EUs credibility. In an open letter to the representatives of the EU, the investment firms said that the inclusion of gas in the EU Taxonomy would seriously compromise Europes status as a global leader in sustainable finance, as The Washington Post reported.

According to Reuters, last week expert advisers to the Commission said the draft rules concerning gas and nuclear did not support the climate change targets for the EU, which include a goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Is [the E.U.] a green leader globally, or is it a global leader in greenwashing? asked University College Dublin Professor Andreas Hoepner, one of a group of experts who provided guidance on the taxonomy to the EU, reported The Washington Post.
They are everywhere: in the air we breathe, the water we drink, within our bodies, and under our feet. Fungi are a crucial component of our lives, even when we cant see them.

Between two and four million species of fungi exist on Earth, and more than 2,000 new species are discovered every year. The visible part of a fungus, however, is only a fraction of the organism. Vast networks of thin, thread-like roots called mycelium  which are crucial to the decomposition process of organic matter  stretch below the surface of every mushroom, and they might be the key to solving some of humanitys largest problems. Recent innovations have been employing the power of mycelium to address plastic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental contamination, and mycologists are urging us to consider the important role it can play in building a more sustainable future.

Packing Materials

When we order a package, the content  whether it be a new computer, dishware, or a piece of furniture  is likely encased in a thick layer of Styrofoam. This lightweight, petroleum-based polystyrene product breaks easily into small pieces that are very difficult to clean up once they enter natural environments, causing harm to waterways and the wildlife that ingest it. Its estimated that Styrofoam takes up 30% of all landfill space, and takes over 500 years to break down.

Enter its biodegradable replacement: mushrooms.

In 2007, the New York-based company Ecovative unveiled a new packaging material made from mycelium. To create this natural Styrofoam alternative, mycelium is combined with other agricultural products like hemp, wood chips, cotton burrs, and oat hulls, then placed in a mold designed to fit a specific product. Over the course of a week, the mycelium grows and fills in the empty space in the mold. It is then heat-treated to dry out the product and kill the spores in order to keep the mycelium from growing. The resulting product is water resistant and can be composted at home, where it will break down in 45 days.

Major furniture and home goods retailer IKEA announced plans to transition to this packaging alternative, perhaps signaling a significant shift in how big-box stores will limit their use of plastic.

Breaking Down Plastic

About 300 million tons of plastic are generated every year, which is nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. Estimates of the decomposition rate of plastic range from 450 years, to 1000 years, to never.

To address the plastic pollution crisis, scientists are turning to mycroremediation: the natural process by which fungi use their enzymes to break down environmental pollutants. So far, more than 90 genera of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes have been proven to degrade plastic  some within mere months.

In 2011, a group Yale students on a trip to Ecuador found a mushroom (Pestalotiopsis microspore) in the Amazon that can grow on polyurethane with or without oxygen or light, using it as its sole carbon source. Further innovations have explored the possibility of breaking down plastic with fungi in our own homes. Researcher Katharina Unger of Utrecht University in the Netherlands has created the Fungi Mutarium: an at-home system where plastic can be placed in capsules with oyster mushrooms to be broken down and transformed into food. These innovations using Pestalotiopsis microspora and other plastic-degrading mushrooms might be the key to breaking down plastic in landfills, and lead us to a future without plastic pollution.

Building Materials

We might think of animal agriculture or gas-powered vehicles as the only drivers of climate change, but buildings and construction also have a major impact, comprising 39% of the worlds collective carbon footprint. Fast Company reports that 28% of this can be attributed to heating, cooling, and lighting, and the remaining 11% includes emissions associated with building materials and construction, with cement alone comprising 8% of all human emissions. To meaningfully address the climate crisis, we must confront our construction practices  and thats where mushrooms come in.

Mycelium composites have become a viable option for replacing these wasteful, fossil fuel intensive building materials. Feeding on agricultural waste, hyphae  the branching, thread-like filaments that make up mycelium  grow as they digest nutrients from the waste and act as a natural binder as they are molded into bricks. The resulting low-density material is light, naturally flame-resistant, and insulating.

There are already many examples of construction using mycelium. In 2014, New York-based architectural firm The Living designed a structure made with organic bricks of mycelium and corn stalks in collaboration with Ecovative. This entirely-compostable tower won the Young Architects Program competition at MoMAPS1, a museum in Queens, New York.

Biofertilizers

The global population is expected to reach 9.9 billion by 2050, and as it grows, so must food production.

Synthetic and chemical fertilizers are used in large-scale industrial farming to deliver nutrients to the soil and allow for more productive growth, but they are also responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, environmental pollution, and the depletion of natural fungi and bacteria.

Instead of killing off the fungi in our soils with synthetic fertilizer, scientists are finding ways to use them to our advantage. Mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic  AKA mutually beneficial  relationships with plants by essentially extending their root systems and taking up nutrients like phosphate from the soil, effectively eliminating the need for phosphate fertilizers. Plants in tropical soils have an especially hard time obtaining phosphate and farmers spend a great deal of money on fertilizers. Scientists are exploring ways to bring these fungi to tropical regions by suspending them in gel and incorporating them into the soil.

Plant-Based Protein Alternatives

Grocery store shelves are exploding with plant-based alternatives to our favorite meat products  and among them are mushrooms. Instead of merely replacing a hamburger with a portobello mushroom, however, mycoproteins are being used to create more satisfying options.

Much like the fermentation process employed to make beer and bread, mycoproteins are created by fermenting the spores of specific mushrooms, resulting in a flavorless, high-protein foodstuff that can be used to make meat substitutes. Mycelium fibers have a texture similar to muscle, making them a fitting alternative. The company Quorn has been using mycoproteins for years to create their tasty plant-based meats, and many new and existing companies are following suit and creating their own versions, like Meati Foods and MyForest Foods, which makes mycelium-based bacon.

Cleaning Up Environmental Toxins

While we might only envision fungi growing on dead wood or other organic matter, their enzymes are also capable of breaking down some man-made compounds, and are now being employed to clean up oil spills and other environmental contamination through a process called mycoremediation.

Fungi secrete their enzymes to digest/break down the surface theyre growing on. When introduced to an area that has experienced wildfires, oil spills, or chemical contamination, the fungi can break down the molecules of dangerous compounds into smaller pieces, thereby reducing their toxicity. For elements that cant be broken down  like mercury, arsenic, and cadmium  they become concentrated in the mushrooms, which can then be removed from the ecosystem.

Mushrooms were famously used to remove nearly 60,000 gallons of oil after the 2007 COSCO-Busan oil spill in the San Francisco Bay, and were deployed to clean up household and industrial chemicals that had leeched into ecosystems and agricultural land after the California wildfires in Sonoma county in 2017.

Leather

A new fashion trend is emerging: wearable mushrooms.

Raising cattle for food and leather has an enormous environmental impact, and most vegan leather too is made of polyester: a non-biodegradable form of plastic. Companies are creating alternative forms of vegan leather with mycelium, and many popular brands are jumping on the trend.

Among them is Bolt Threads, a biotechnology company, which has created a mushroom-based material called Mylo that can be colored and manipulated into different textures to mimic traditional leather. The company has already partnered with Stella McCartney, Lululemon, Kering (the group that includes Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent), and Adidas, which is using the leather for their popular Stan Smith sneakers.
By Stuart Braun

Mycelium, the silky thread that binds fungus, is being adapted to create everything from shoes to coffins to packaging and robust building materials. Best of all, it literally feeds on trash and agricultural byproducts, detoxifing them along the way.

The biodegradable material that is also grown vertically to save space and uses little water, has emerged as a low emission, circular economy solution in the bid to transition from extractive, carbon-based products.

There are up to five million types of fungus that constitute a kingdom on their own, says Maurizio Montalti, a Dutch-based designer and researcher who has been working with mycelium for a decade.

Fungi are the fundamental agents that enable the transformation of not only nutrition but also information across living systems. We couldnt live without it, said Montalti of what has also been called naturess internet.

Having experimented with mycelium furniture design, in 2018 Montalti founded Mogu, a company commercializing fungi-based bio-material products  including sound-absorbing tiles created from mycelium grown on corn crop refuse, rice straw, spent coffee grounds, discarded seaweed and even clam shells.

But fungi arent changing the world just yet.

There is a lot of excitement these days when talking about mycelium, Montalti said, adding that the challenge is in designing a product that works and can compete in the market.

And although shoe and apparel giant Adidas as well as fashion labels Stella McCartney and Gucci have all recently hopped on the fungi bandwagon to try and meet that challenge, mycelium is yet to go mass-scale.

Here are four products that could herald the start of a revolution.

1. Mycelium Living Cacoon Coffins

Are you waste or compost? That is the question according to Netherlands-based mycelium coffin manufacturer, Loop. The company is offering the dead a chance to birth new life via their living cocoon coffin, which it claims was the first of its kind.

As bodies decompose within a fully compostable mycelium cocoon, they can become part of the solution to reviving biodiversity that has depleted to the point where more than a million species are at risk of extinction.

To be buried, we cut down a tree, work it intensively and try to shut ourselves off as well as possible from microorganisms, Loop said in a statement in reference to conventional coffins. And for those that dont want to be buried, we waste our nutrient-rich body by burning it with cremation, polluting the air and ignoring the potential of our human body. Its as if we see ourselves as waste, while we can be a valuable part of nature.

2. Mushroom Leather Shoes

Mycotech, based in Bandung, Indonesia, was growing gourmet mushrooms in 2012 before it shifted its business to use fungi to create a sustainable alternative to leather products, especially shoes.

Founder, Adi Reza Nugroho says it has great environmental advantages over traditional leather. We consume less water, we dont have to kill animals, we can do vertical farming so we can save some space, he said, adding that it also produces fewer emissions and requires none of the chemicals used in plastic-based materials.

Feeding on agricultural waste such as sawdust, it only takes the mycelium a few days to grow to the point where it is ready to be harvested, tanned and further processed. The resulting material is breathable, flexible, robust and can last for years. While Mycotech is still creating limited runs of its fungi shoes, the company has orders up until 2027.

And this relatively small-scale start-up is not alone. While leather continues to dominate Adidas sneaker lines, the German company is now also marketing mycelium shoes. Released in April, the Stan Smith Mylo is made using the brands Mylo mycelium material.

Fungi-based footwear is also being touted by eco-conscious grassroots designers because the shoes can literally biodegrade  as illustrated by these Mycoflex-based slippers designed by Charlotta Aman.

This is what the biodegradation process looks like with our mycelium-based MycoFlex material over 4 weeks. Charlotta Aman designed and hand made eco-friendly slippers with only sustainable materials. The mycelium-based foam material broke down completely, leaving zero waste. pic.twitter.com/86oqvHzUc7  Ecovative (@ecovative) July 22, 2021

3. Transforming Plastic and Toxic Waste



Since they feed on trash, mushrooms can also detoxify our waste and transform it into usable materials that are non-extractive, offering a neat solution for closing the loop on unrecylable plastic, for example.

Established in 2018, US-based Mycocycle uses fungi to remove toxins from building materials like asphalt or petrochemical-based waste.

We are actually using mushrooms to cycle these toxins, make them non-toxic and available for reuse in a closed loop economy, said company founder, Joanne Rodriguez.

A response to the fact that 85% of landfill space in the US has already been used up, Mycocycle aims to help in the shift to zero waste by decontaminating toxic building materials like asphalt that previously could not be reused.

Mycocycle claims that its trash-fed mycelium is fire and water-resistant and can be manufactured into a host of new products such as styrofoam, insulation, packaging and building materials.

We take trash and make treasure, decarbonizing waste and creating a new value stream in the circular economy, said Rodriguez.

4. A Biodegradable Building Block

A fully compostable, zero-emissions mushroom tower called the Hy-Fy was constructed with 10,000 mycelium bricks in New York back in 2014. Numerous prototypes have been built since but mushroom-building largely remains in the conceptual stage.

Co-create with fungi, is the mantra for the My-Co Space, a mycelium tiny house currently being exhibited in Frankfurts Metzlerpark.

Designed for two occupants, the facade of the 20-square-meter structure has a plywood frame thatched in honeycomb-shaped mycelium blocks grown with a mushroom straw substrate. The intimate, organic shape plays on the fundamental interrelation between humans and fungi.

We want to transform dead plant matter, which comes from agriculture or from forestry, and we want to transform this into composite materials. And we do this with fungi, explains Vera Meyer, a biotechnology professor at the Technical University of Berlin and founder of the MY-CO-X collective that created My-Co Space.

For Meyer, fungi are the most important microorganisms that can help make the transition from fossil to bio-based resources.

Reposted with permission from Deutsche Welle.
A new project from French fossil fuel company TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) would turn Uganda into an oil-producing country for the first time.

Total announced Tuesday that the companies would spend more than $10 billion to develop oil fields in Uganda and build a pipeline network both within the landlocked country and through Tanzania, which has a coastline.

In the name of the joint venture partners and TotalEnergies, I declare the final investment decision for the Lake Albert development project, TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said when he announced the deal, as Reuters reported.

The project would exploit oil reserves underneath Lake Albert, which sits between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, AllAfrica reported. The reserves were first discovered in 2006, but have yet to be accessed because of a lack of infrastructure, as well as disagreements between the Ugandan government and oil companies.

This milestone puts us on the path to first oil in 2025, Ugandas Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu said in a speech now that the deal has finally been signed, as AllAfrica reported.

Accessing the oil would mean building a 1,443-kilometer (approximately 897 mile) heated pipeline from Hoima, Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean, according to 350.org. The so-called East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) would be the largest heated crude-oil pipeline in the world and is vehemently opposed by climate activists.

The future of East Africa relies on building sustainable, diversified and inclusive economies  not by letting huge multinational corporations like Total extract resources and keep the profit, 350Africa.org regional director Landry Ninteretse said in a statement reported by 350.org. The impacts of building the East Africa Oil Pipeline will be devastating for our communities, for wildlife and for the planet.

In particular, activists are concerned about the pipelines potential impact on water resources for millions of people in Tanzania and Uganda, vulnerable ecosystems and the climate crisis. Ugandas oil reserves amount to 6.5 billion barrels, 1.4 billion of which are actually recoverable, government scientists estimate, according to AllAfrica.

However, despite Tuesdays announcement, activists argue that the funding for the pipeline is not secure, according to 350.org. Activists are putting pressure on banks not to finance the project, and several major players have agreed. Campaigners say the project is at least $2.5 billion short on necessary funds.

The people benefitting from this arent local communities, they are rich European banks and oil companies like Total, 350.org France campaigner Isabelle lHeritier said in a statement reported by 350.org. Over 260 organisations are urgently trying to convince banks around the world to rule out supporting this disastrous project. Eleven banks, including three French banks, have already pulled out.

While Total has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, according to its website, the new project shows it is still investing in new fossil fuel extraction.

Total and the Ugandan government have also signed a memorandum of understanding to work on large scale renewable energy development projects, Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Irene Bateebe said Tuesday, as Reuters reported.

That would mean developing enough solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable projects to produce one gigawatt of electricity by 2030.
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A relentless gunman chased down his target on a Harlem street and executed the victim outside a Gap clothing store Tuesday afternoon, police sources said.

Investigators believe the 3:45 p.m. shooting stemmed from a drug deal gone wrong, the sources said.

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Police gather at the scene of a fatal shooting in front of 271 W. 125th St. in Manhattan Tuesday. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

The 23-year-old victim and another man were confronted by two attackers outside a Boost Mobile store on the north side of W. 125th St., near Frederick Douglass Blvd., sources said.

One of the attackers pulled out a gun and fired a shot, and the victim ran across the street, sources said.

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The shooter then chased him down, shooting him several times in the chest outside a Gap Factory store on the south side of W. 125th St., sources said.

A deadly shooting erupted in front of 272 W. 125th St. in Manhattan Tuesday. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

The victim had marijuana on him, sources said.

Medics took him to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, but he couldnt be saved.

The shooter, who police sources describe as a Black man with his hair in a ponytail, wearing a bubble jacket with a fur hood, black sweatpants and blue-and-white Nike sneakers, remained at large Tuesday night.

Cops have not yet released the victims name.
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As if it wasn't enough to have Spain's Central Electoral Commission (JEC) once again acting to remove an MP from office and the Pedro Sanchez government postponing the next meeting of the dialogue table until the spring, this morning the arrest of four anti-home eviction activists by the Mossos d'Esquadra police has exploded like a bomb under the planned meeting between the president, Pere Aragones, and the CUP party, the first in a round of contacts with parties and organizations to strengthen pro-independence unity. In the approach to the first anniversary of last year's Catalan elections - which returned a Parliament with an absolute majority of pro-independence deputies - actions to shore up the unity of that majority are not unfolding as well as the Catalan president had planned.

The staff of the presidency learned this morning, through a message sent to them by the CUP, that deputies Dolors Sabate and Eulalia Reguant would not be attending the meeting called by Aragones to take stock of this first year of the legislature. Subsequently, the far-left party MPs made their decision public via a strong statement denouncing the arrests and warning that "the CUP does not share the approach of the current ERC and JxCat government to this legislature".

At the same time as the meeting had been scheduled, the CUP convoked the press outside the Mossos police station in Barcelona's Les Corts district where the activists were being held. There, in the presence of a large part of the CUP parliamentary caucus, spokespeople for the anti-eviction platforms expressed their dissatisfaction with the actions of the Catalan government and the Mossos d'Esquadra, whom they have accused of "persecuting and criminalizing" their organizations. Barbara Roc, activist in the Endavant strand of the CUP party, summed up the protests of the anti-eviction spokespeople in front of the cameras with a message that she wanted to address "directly to Pere Aragones": "We have known for a long time that your government is not on our side. You promised not to send the Mossos to home evictions and today in Poble-Sec there has been another eviction with a police presence with no guarantees," said the activist, amid a cascade of reproaches against the president and his government.

Tension in Parliament

The uneasiness of the CUP comes on top of the tension afflicting the independence movement in Parliament as a result of the decision of the electoral board's move to strip deputy Pau Juvilla from his seat. The speaker, Laura Borras, has called for the cessation of the activity of the chamber until the MPs Statute Committee considers the issue this afternoon. No one, however, doubts the outcome of the order from the JEC, which has demanded a response from the speaker by this Friday, detailing the actions taken to carry out the ban on the MP. There is also no doubt that the issue will once again ignite the relationship between the pro-independence groups. For the time being, the CUP is skeptical of Borras's movements, while ERC backs the speaker's strategy, although it advocates limiting the length of time that the chamber is affected by the paralysis. However, ERC does not forget the condemnation that their party colleague Roger Torrent received from Junts when, as speaker, he made effective the removal of president Quim Torra from his seat.

All of this is happening at a time when some media are pointing out that the dialogue table, Aragones's main strategy for finding a way out of the conflict between Catalonia and Spain, could be postponed until spring. This represents a new setback for the president after his government has been insisting for weeks that the meeting would be held sooner after New Year. During all this time, Junts has not hesitated to criticise the ERC commitment to dialogue, from which they became detached after Aragones's rejection of the party representatives they proposed for the first meeting: including the Junts general secretary of Junts, Jordi Sanchez, and its vice president Jordi Turull - both non-members of the current government.

Meetings with Junts and ERC

Amidst this poitical minefield, at two o'clock in the afternoon, the Aragones government issued a new statement announcing that tomorrow the president will begin the round of contacts he had planned and will do so with Junts at 12 noon and will continue at 4pm with ERC. The press note merely regretted the CUP's refusal to attend their meeting, which was to have been held this afternoon, and reiterated the government commitment to the right to housing.

However, the Catalan presidency insisted on the need to strengthen pro-independence unity. "A space to continue working on how to move forward in resolving the political conflict through amnesty and self-determination," the statement argues. Before this round of contacts ends, however, the pro-independence parties will have to have responded to the JEC, which is waiting to hear from the speaker of parliament on the disqualification of Juvilla on Friday. The ability of the pro-independence political groups to generate more heat than light still continues. For now, Aragones has announced a conference for February 14th with his proposal on how to advance the independence process.
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Washington, MO (63090)

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Washington, MO (63090)

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Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. Thunder possible. High 64F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

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Rain and thunderstorms. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.
Washington, MO (63090)

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Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. Thunder possible. High 64F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

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Rain and thunderstorms. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.
Washington, MO (63090)

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Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. Thunder possible. High 64F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Rain and thunderstorms. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.
Three men were fatally shot in broad daylight over five deadly hours in Manhattan and Brooklyn Tuesday, as the city grapples with a rise in gun violence.

Though homicides were down by nearly 19% in the first 30 days of the year, police have responded to 94 shootings with 104 victims  up more than 32% from the first 30 days of 2020. The city has seen an increase in every major crime category except murder in January, according to NYPD statistics.

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Tuesdays first slaying took place about 11:15 a.m., when a man was fatally shot and a woman walking with him was wounded by a brazen assassin on an East Harlem street, cops said.

Davantay Butts and the woman, both 26, were walking near the corner of E. 103rd St. and Third Ave. about 11:15 a.m. when the gunman ran up and began shooting, cops said.

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A 26-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday morning at Third Ave. and 103rd St. in Manhattan. (Ellen Moynihan)

Witnesses told police the assassin was running across the street  all the while firing his gun  when the couple was hit.

Butts, who lived around the corner from where he was gunned down, was shot multiple times in the chest, cops said. The woman suffered graze wounds to her arms.

EMS rushed Butts to Metropolitan Hospital, but he could not be saved. The woman was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

No arrests have been made.

Butts was arrested for assault in March, and got a desk appearance ticket after police found 6 pounds of pot during a car stop in November, cops said.

About three hours later, at 2:20 p.m., a 22-year-old man was fatally shot outside his home in Brooklyn.

Police found Tahjay Dobson, 22, shot in the head outside his home on Avenue L near E. 98th St. in Canarsie about 2:20 p.m., after the NYPDs ShotSpotter gunshot detection system alerted them to the gunfire.

Police investigate a shooting on Avenue L and E. 98th Street in Brooklyn on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

Medics took him to Brookdale University Hospital, but he couldnt be saved. The shooter fled in a dark SUV, police said. Cops have made no arrests.

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Then at 3:45 p.m., a gunman chased down another man on a Harlem street and executed him in what investigators believe was a drug deal gone bad, police sources said.

The 23-year-old victim and another man were confronted by two attackers outside a Boost Mobile store on the north side of W. 125th St., near Frederick Douglass Blvd., sources said.

Police were at the scene of a shooting in front of 271 W. 125th St.in Manhattan on Tuesday. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

One of the attackers pulled out a gun and fired a shot, and the victim ran across the street, sources said.

The shooter then chased the victim, shooting him several times in the chest outside a Gap Factory store on the south side of W. 125th St., sources said.

The victim had an unspecified quantity of marijuana on him, sources said. Medics took him to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, but he couldnt be saved.

The shooter, who police sources describe as a Black man with his hair in a ponytail, wearing a bubble jacket with a fur hood, black sweatpants and blue-and-white Nike sneakers, remained at large Tuesday night.

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Cops didnt immediately release the victims name.
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Ive never been a fan of Valentines Day. Or rather, Im not a fan of the traditional gifts given on Valentines Day, like chocolates and flowers. Flowers die, and you may get sick of yet another box of so-so candy from Russell Stover or Whitmans. And Im not alone; lots of people would prefer a PlayStation 5 to a parcel of purple pansies. If your loved one is a gamer, why not show them your affection with something that actually makes their hobby more enjoyable (and wont need to be watered)?

8BitDo Pro 2

Mat Smith, Engadget

Maybe you love playing games together on a Nintendo Switch, but youre far less fond about having to split the teeny tiny Joy-Con controllers. Why not upgrade the experience with 8BitDos Pro 2 controller, shaped to fit comfortably in most hands, highly customizable and available in a few colors to fit a few gamer styles. It also works with PC, macOS and even the Raspberry Pi if your gamer likes to tinker.

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2

Microsoft

When you really want to pamper your Xbox player, why not upgrade them from the standard gamepad to the Elite Controller? This premium accessory looks classy and feels great in the hand, thanks to its rubberized grips and interchangeable thumbsticks. The paddles on the back add yet another control scheme for your player to take advantage of, and the dual triggers are even adjustable for the type of game being played.

Scuf Instinct Pro

Kris Naudus / Engadget

If youre not a fan of the paddle style of the Elite Controller, know that the Scuf Instinct Pro offers a lot of the same features with a different twist. The back features two horizontal paddles that fit nicely under the fingers, and the hex pattern on the grips is great at wicking away sweat. Pro gamers will especially love the Instant Triggers, which can switch to a mouse-like click at the flip of a switch.

SteelSeries Arctis 1

SteelSeries

Wireless headsets are a dime a dozen these days, but one that can work seamlessly with the Nintendo Switch and Android phones are still somewhat rare. Of those, the SteelSeries Arctis 1 is probably still the best. Its sleek, comfortable and highly portable, connecting to devices via the easy USB-C dongle. Even if your loved one already has a wireless gaming headset in their arsenal, this is one thats made to travel and makes a great buy.

Razer Kraken Kitty

Razer

Not every gamer accessory has to be intimidating and hardcore. Razer makes a great line of products aimed at gamers who dont want all-black everything  or those that really like pink  and they dont compromise on quality. The Kraken Kitty is famous for its kawaii design that looks great and feels great, making it ideal for long hours streaming on Twitch or YouTube. If youre not into the cotton candy look, the headset is also available in black for a grimmer style.

Logitech Litra Glow

Mark Anthony Reyes/Logitech

Streaming is the hot thing for a lot of players right now, whether they do it for fun or profit. But it can take a bit of an investment to get started, so gifting them some of that gear is a great idea. Sure, a camera is an obvious necessity, but good lighting is also key and Logitechs new Litra Glow will create bright, even light thats easy to hook up thanks to the companys expertise and software.

Logitech StreamCam

Valentina Palladino / Engadget

If your gamer is in the market for a new webcam, preferably one that can stream for both PC and mobile, the Logitech StreamCam is right up their alley. Its easy to use, sure, but the real appeal is that it can film in either landscape or portrait mode, making it ideal to create content for not just YouTube and Twitch, but also TikTok and Instagram.

Elgato Stream Deck Mini

Elgato

Beyond a webcam and a mic, one tool thats becoming increasingly common for streamers is an Elgato Stream Deck. The sheer amount of customization options might seem a bit intimidating at first, but the company makes a smaller mini version with six buttons for triggering various actions, set up via the incredibly easy software. If your gamer is already streaming with ease, you can step up to the larger and more expensive Stream Deck MK.2 instead, which features more buttons and a customizable faceplate.

Animal Crossing Winter Collectors Box

GameStop

Not every gamer gift has to be one used to play games with  some can just be an expression of style, like this adorable Animal Crossing Collectors Box. For only $40, your player gets an adorable winter-themed tote bag, a heat-reactive mug and coasters for their favorite hot drink and, of course, a fuzzy blanket for curling up on the couch.

Danielle Nicole Zelda Wallet

Danielle Nicole / GameStop

Forget the expensive jewelry, give your gamer a bit of Zelda bling this Valentines Day with this new Zelda-themed wallet from Danielle Nicole. The bag features 12 card slots, a coin purse and plenty of room for cash as well. Best of all is how subtle it is in gold and white, so your player can get their geek on even at the fanciest functions.
Review bombing is a practice in which many people (or a few aggrieved folks with multiple accounts) barrage a product, business or service with negative reviews, usually in bad faith. That can severely damage a small or local business that relies on word of mouth. Google says millions of reviews are posted on Maps every day, and it has laid out some of the measures it employs to stamp out review bombing.

"Our team is dedicated to keeping the user-created content on Maps reliable and based on real-world experience," the Google Maps team said in a video. That work helps to protect businesses from abuse and fraud and ensures reviews are beneficial for users. Its content policies were designed "to keep misleading, false and abusive reviews off our platform."

Machine learning plays an important role in the moderation process, Ian Leader, product lead of user-generated content at Google Maps, wrote in a blog post. The moderation systems, which are Google's "first line of defense because they're good at identifying patterns," examine every review for possible policy violations. They look at, for instance, the content of the review, the history of a user or business account and whether there's been any unusual activity connected to a place (like spikes in one-star or five-star reviews).

Leader noted the machines get rid of the "vast majority of fake and fraudulent content" before any user sees it. The process can take just a few seconds, and if the models don't see any problem with a review, it'll swiftly be available for other users to read.

The systems aren't perfect, though. "For example, sometimes the word 'gay' is used as a derogatory term, and thats not something we tolerate in Google reviews," Leader wrote. "But if we teach our machine learning models that its only used in hate speech, we might erroneously remove reviews that promote a gay business owner or an LGBTQ+ safe space." As such, the Maps team often runs quality tests and carries out additional training to teach the systems various ways some words and phrases are used to strike the balance between removing harmful content and keeping useful reviews on Maps.

Google Maps

There's also a team of folks that manually evaluates reviews flagged by businesses and users. Along with removing offending reviews, in some cases, Google suspends user accounts and pursues litigation. In addition, the team "proactively works to identify potential abuse risks." For instance, it might more carefully scrutinize places linked to an election.

Google often updates the policies depending on what's happening in the world. Leader noted that, when companies and governments started asking people for proof they've been vaccinated against COVID-19 before being allowed to enter premises, "we put extra protections in place to remove Google reviews that criticize a business for its health and safety policies or for complying with a vaccine mandate."

Google Maps isn't the only platform that's concerned about review bombing. Yelp prohibits users from slating businesses for requiring customers to be vaccinated and wear a mask. In its 2021 Trust and Safety report, which was released this morning, Yelp said it removed more than 15,500 reviews for violating COVID-19 rules last year.

Before it killed user reviews, Netflix dealt with review bombing issues. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic have taken steps to address the phenomenon too.
Google's lineup of Pixel phones has usually been some of our favorite Android devices since the first Pixel arrived back in 2016  but they've never been big sellers. While Google still doesn't compare with Apple and Samsung, the company says the Pixel just had its best sales quarter ever.

On the Alphabet earnings call today, CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the company's hardware performance. "In Q4, we set an all time quarterly sales record for Pixel," he said. "This came in spite of an extremely challenging supply chain environment." All of Google's competitors had similar issues, but it's reasonable to think the company could have sold more phones if not for the supply chain.

Specifically, Pichai noted that the Pixel 6 was proving to be popular with both customers and carrier partners. In our estimation, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are probably the best Pixel phones Google has released in years, and it seems that these sales records back that up. Unfortunately, Google doesn't break out sales figures, but it's hardly alone in that regard.

Pixel sales are lumped into a category simply called "other," which covers all Google hardware (among other things). Revenue from the "other" category improved 22 percent year-over-year, totaling $8.2 billion for the quarter. That's a small piece of Google's overall revenue  the company pulled in $75.3 billion in revenue overall in Q4 of last year, up 32 percent year-over-year. That speaks more to the health of the company's massive search ads business.

In other financial news, Alphabet is splitting its stock. It's a 20-for-1 split, which means one Alphabet share will soon count for 20 much cheaper shares. Given the company's stock price ended the day at $2,757.57, this split means the stock will be much more affordable. Apple and Google have split their stock before, but a 20-to-1 split is pretty unusual.

We're tuned into the Alphabet earnings call and will update this post with anything else we hear.
You no longer have to be reminded of your latest true crime binge or alert houseguests to the fact that you watch Emily in Paris. Netflix just added the option for users to delete titles from their Continue Watching list, reported The Verge. While technically theres been a way for savvy viewers to do this for a while now, this is the first time the option to do so has been displayed front and center.

Note: The ability to delete from the Continue Watching list isnt available to all of Netflixs users just yet; if your screen looks the same, youll have to sit tight. In order to remove a show, simply select the title you want to axe. Youll see the Remove from Continue Watching icon under the menu of user preferences below the title. Netflix will allow viewers to use this option across its web, mobile and TV versions.

Prior to this, half-finished shows or movies would disappear from the interface eventually (when they'd been replaced by other, half-finished shows or movies.) The new feature is a welcome way Netflix is giving viewers more options to tailor their screens, though the services UI hasnt changed much in the last few years.
I've never really understood Samsung's Fan Edition branding. To me, fans are the people who are first in line, first to read all the related news and rumors, and most importantly, the first to check out the latest products from their favorite device makers. So when Samsung announced the $700 Galaxy S21 Fan Edition almost a full year after the original S21 came out, it felt long overdue. What we're looking at here is less of a phone for die-hard enthusiasts and more of a remix featuring some of the S21's best traits for a lower price. Unfortunately, all that doesn't solve the S21 FE's problem of it feeling outdated essentially on day one.

Design

Look, the S21 FE might technically be a new phone, but let's not pretend we haven't seen it before. It's got essentially the same shape and design queues as previous S21s, just with a slightly different size. Featuring a 6.4-inch screen, the S21 FE lands squarely between the 6.2-inch S21 and the 6.7-inch S21+. That said, at around six ounces the S21 FE feels slightly lighter than its siblings thanks to some streamlined design changes.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE SCORE 77 Engadget 77 Critics - Not yet scored N/A Users - Not yet scored N/A Pros Cheaper than a standard S21

Strong battery life

High-res selfie cam

Bright 120Hz screen Cons Slightly outdated

Lower-res zoom camera than the S21

No microSD slot or headphone jack

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Around back, the S21 FE still features Samsung's Contour Cut design, but instead of having a camera bump with a metal shroud, the phone's back is made from a single piece of matte plastic. (Samsung calls it glastic because it's plastic that kind of feels kind of like glass.) And instead of a two-toned color scheme, the S21 FE is monotone throughout, with a color choice of blue, lavender, bronze, white, red and graphite (shown above).

Elsewhere, the S21 FE essentially has the same design as its forebears, featuring a centrally located selfie cam in front, a power button and volume rocker on the right, and a USB-C port on bottom for data and charging. There's a speaker grille down below that works with the phone's earpiece to provide stereo audio, which sounds fine even if it's a little light on bass for my taste.

Display

Samsung makes the best phone displays in the industry, and even though the screen on the S21 FE isn't quite as big or high-res as the S21 Ultra's, there's not much to complain about. You get strong brightness that tops out at over 700 nits, a 120Hz refresh rate, and 2,400 x 1,080 screen resolution  the same as what you get on the S21+.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

In front, the S21 FEs display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. It also houses a handy fingerprint sensor beneath its screen. And while the S21 FE's optical in-screen fingerprint sensor isn't as sophisticated as the ultrasonic sensors Samsung used in the original S21 models, in my experience, it's fast and dependable.

Android 12

While Samsung (and carriers) continue rolling out Android 12 to older S21 devices, the S21 FE comes with One UI 4.0 (which is based on Android 12) pre-installed. Visually, this doesn't have a big impact on the S21 FE's overall UI and layout, though the extra personalization options do make it easier to customize your home and lock screens. And because Samsung's spin on Android has long included support for features like scrolling screenshots, the most important upgrade in One UI 4.0 is the new Privacy Dashboard. In addition to new notifications that call attention to when apps are accessing the phone's mics or cameras, the Privacy Dashboard provides a simple and easily accessible way of managing things like permissions, data and tracking settings and more. At a time when digital privacy remains a constant concern, more control over your data is definitely a good thing.

Cameras

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

The S21 FE's cameras are another area where Samsung's spec shuffle really comes into effect. The phone has a familiar wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto camera setup on its back, but with a lower-res 8-megapixel sensor compared to the 64MP sensor you get on its predecessors. You still get a 3x optical zoom, but from a camera that produces pictures that just aren't quite as sharp or as detailed as a standard S21.

The wide and ultra-wide cameras take great photos, though the S21 FE still lags behind the Pixel 6. For example, in a shot of some toys taken outside, the Pixel 6 preserved highlights on one toy's face, while keeping the toy sitting in the shade from looking too underexposed. In contrast, the S21 FE blew out the sunlit face and eyes without providing much in the way of extra sharpness or detail. Googles Night Sight also consistently outperformed Samsungs Night Mode for low-light shots, even though the S21 FE often wasnt far behind. That said, the S21 FE's cameras arent bad; theyre just not as good as the Pixel 6. And lets not forget the Pixel 6 only has two rear cameras, lacking any sort of dedicated telephoto option like you get from Samsung.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S21 FE camera samples | 7 Photos











/7 Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S21 FE camera samples | 7 Photos











/7

On the flip side, Samsung actually increased the resolution of S21 FE's front cam to 32-MP (up from 10MP on the S21), which is nice if you like a lot of selfies or videos for social media. But at the same time, I don't really think this one upgrade is enough to change the overall impact of the device, leaving it feeling more like a nice bonus and less like a notable improvement.

Performance

At this point, the Snapdragon 888 chip inside the S21 FE is a pretty well-known quantity. It delivers speedy performance and helps support features like 4K video capture across all of the phone's cameras (at 60 frames per second on the main wide-angle and front selfie cams and 30 fps for the rest). However, because the base S21 FE only comes with 6GB of RAM as opposed to 8GB on a normal S21, I noticed the FE felt slower at times, including when it was processing Night Mode photos.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Granted, it's a pretty minor difference, and you might not even notice unless you use the two phones side by side. But for people who do a lot of memory-intensive tasks like gaming or video editing, the FE's lower base RAM is probably the biggest reason to pay $70 to upgrade to the 8GB model or just opt for a standard S21 or S21+.

Battery life

Another bonus of the S21 FE's larger body is that it provides extra room for a bigger battery. So instead of a 4,000 mAh cell like you get in the S21, the S21 FE features a 4,500 mAh power pack, which provides a noticeable improvement in longevity. On our battery test, the S21 FE lasted 16 hours and 55 minutes, or a little more than an hour and a half longer than the S21's time of 15:17. And in the real world, the S21 FE's battery life often feels even more prodigious than that, as I often finished the day with upwards of 40 percent battery still left in the tank.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

It's also worth noting that, like the standard model, the S21 FE doesn't come with a power adapter in the box. So if you want to take advantage of the phone's 25-watt wired charging, you'll probably have to shell out for a separate charging brick. It's annoying for sure, but like Apple, Google and others, Samsung says not including a power adapter with its phones should help cut down on e-waste.

Wrap-up

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

With the supply of standard S21 models starting to dry up, the S21 FE isn't really competing against the originals. It's a replacement that's sadly way past due. It's still a solid phone, but the standard Pixel 6 shoots better photos, has a more attractive design, and if you get the unlocked model directly from Google, it costs $100 less, too. The Pixel 6 is simply the better buy unless you really care about mmWave 5G (which the unlocked Pixel 6 doesnt support) or having access to a telephoto camera.

Hell, the S21 FE is so late Samsung is already planning to release its next big flagship in the coming weeks. So even if you're a huge fan of Samsung's latest FE handset, at the very least, you should wait to see what the S22 has to offer before purchasing what is essentially a year-old phone. Plus, the arrival of a brand new Galaxy S phone often means discounts are coming soon to older devices.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Oh, and if Samsung wants to keep this whole Fan Edition thing going, what I'd really like to see is a device that better lives up to the branding. Instead of a repackaged year-old phone, why not make a premium remixed version sporting a microSD card slot and headphone jack? Not only would this be a welcome alternative to a lot of today's flagships with minimal ports, but it'd also be a considerate nod to old-school Galaxy phone fans who may have felt betrayed when Samsung removed those features from the S20 in 2019. That's the kind of customer appreciation I can really get behind.

Key specs
Weather Alert

...FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of Oklahoma and northern Texas, including the following counties, in Oklahoma, Alfalfa, Atoka, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Hughes, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Major, Marshall, McClain, Murray, Noble, Oklahoma, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole, Stephens and Tillman. In northern Texas, Archer, Clay, Wichita and Wilbarger. * WHEN...Through Thursday evening. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers are possible. Area creeks and streams are running high and could flood with more heavy rain. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Showers and thunderstorm chances will continue through Thursday evening, with an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall expected in the watch area. Rainfall totals across the watch area have already exceeded 4 inches for some locations near the I-44 and I-40 corridors across eastern Oklahoma. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
Weather Alert

...FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of Oklahoma and northern Texas, including the following counties, in Oklahoma, Alfalfa, Atoka, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Hughes, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Major, Marshall, McClain, Murray, Noble, Oklahoma, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole, Stephens and Tillman. In northern Texas, Archer, Clay, Wichita and Wilbarger. * WHEN...Through Thursday evening. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers are possible. Area creeks and streams are running high and could flood with more heavy rain. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Showers and thunderstorm chances will continue through Thursday evening, with an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall expected in the watch area. Rainfall totals across the watch area have already exceeded 4 inches for some locations near the I-44 and I-40 corridors across eastern Oklahoma. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
Weather Alert

...FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of Oklahoma and northern Texas, including the following counties, in Oklahoma, Alfalfa, Atoka, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Hughes, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Major, Marshall, McClain, Murray, Noble, Oklahoma, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole, Stephens and Tillman. In northern Texas, Archer, Clay, Wichita and Wilbarger. * WHEN...Through Thursday evening. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers are possible. Area creeks and streams are running high and could flood with more heavy rain. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Showers and thunderstorm chances will continue through Thursday evening, with an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall expected in the watch area. Rainfall totals across the watch area have already exceeded 4 inches for some locations near the I-44 and I-40 corridors across eastern Oklahoma. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
A pair of teen suspects with prior brushes with the law have been charged in the shooting of an off-duty rookie NYPD cop during an attempted carjacking in Queens, police said Wednesday,

The 22-year-old officer  the sixth NYPD cop shot so far this year, including two murdered in Harlem  was struck in the shoulder in the Rockaways. Fellow cops rushed him to Jamaica Hospital, where he is in stable condition and expected to recover.

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Police released a photo Wednesday of the gun cops say Jayare Robinson, 18, and Chad Collie, 19, used to shoot the rookie as he was on his way to work Tuesday night.

Police also released a photo of the rear bumper of an unmarked police car pierced by a bullet when the suspects allegedly opened fire on responding officers before getting arrested.

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Robinson lives in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, and was wanted for questioning in a grand larceny, police sources said. He was arrested in January 2021 for possession of stolen property worth more than $3,000. He was also charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle in the same incident, but that case was sealed.

Collie lives in the Rockaways and has a prior juvenile report on his record for a March 2019 forcible touching incident. Collie was 16 at the time.

Police released an image of a gun authorities said was used to wound a rookie NYPD officer. (NYPD)

The rookie was on his way to work to protect New Yorkers from criminals when he was shot, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said early Wednesday at a hospital news conference.

The shooting came just hours before thousands of cops gathered at St. Patricks Cathedral for the funeral for Officer Wilbert Mora, who died Jan. 25, four days after he and his Officer Jason Rivera, were shot while responding to a call for help from a woman who said her son was threatening her. Rivera died that night.

The rookie was in his car, stopped at a traffic light at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 62nd St. in Arverne, when the crooks approached, gaining his attention by knocking on the drivers side window with their gun about 10:18 p.m., Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said.

The officer got out of the car, and Collie allegedly fired several times, striking the officer.

Police released image of bullet hole in the rear bumper of a vehicle where a rookie cop was shot and wounded on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (NYPD)

The off-duty cop was able to return fire but missed and the crooks ran off.

Nearby were uniformed cops from the 100th Precinct. They heard the shots, rushed to the scene, tended to the wounded officer and broadcast a description of the suspects over their radio.

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Other uniformed officers confronted the duo about three blocks away at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 59th St. But as they got out of the car a shot was fired at them, striking their unmarked car in the rear bumper.

Police respond after an officer was shot along Beach Channel Drive in Queens on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

I want to emphasize that, Corey said at a hospital news conference. These officers were being fired at and did not shoot back. Instead, they apprehended the two of them a short distance away without further incident.

Mayor Adams also emphasized that restraint by the arresting officers and noted the crooks brazenness, willing to shoot those in blue uniforms or blue jeans.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

When these two individuals shot at a passenger driving the car they didnt shoot at a police officer, they shot at a civilian, Adams said. And then to find out that they shot at police officers it sent a message. They had no regard [for] who they were trying to kill.

Police respond after an officer was shot along Beach Channel Drive in Queens on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

Collie was charged with attempted murder, assault, gun possession and reckless endangerment, and both he and Robinson were charged with robbery.

Omarien Lee, 18, Collies stepbrother, was shocked to hear what happened and said he has no idea how his brother could have gotten his hands on a gun.

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I thought he was at work, Lee said, adding that Collie is employed as a food deliveryman. Im gonna call my mom and tell her.

The NYPD, at Adams direction, is in the process of forming a neighborhood safety unit, composed of officers in uniform and plainclothes and tasked with combating the ongoing surge in gun violence.

Former Police Commissioner Dermot Shea disbanded the plainclothes anti-crime unit in June 2020. Cops assigned to anti-crime won high marks for getting guns off the street and developing an intimate knowledge of the citys violent criminals, but they were also criticized as overly aggressive and guilty of unjustified street stops and raids.

Many in anti-crime were subsequently assigned to the new public safety unit. A sergeant and officer from that unit arrested the suspects accused of shooting the rookie Tuesday.
If you haven't seen the HBO Max Original Peacemaker starring John Cena you are missing out on one of the best new shows, but more importantly one of the best intros, theme songs, and dance numbers ever concocted in recorded history. It begs the question, "Do you really wanna taste it?"

Seriously, James Gunn is a genius.

If you don't believe us, here is a clip for the uninitiated. (Plus a bonus making of, because we love you.)

Now that you have a baseline for excellence, Enstarz is going to go through some of the best television intros we never skip over and the reasons they deserve repeated watches.

The Simpsons

Since the show's inception by Matt Groening back in 1987 when America's favorite animated family had a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, leading to their own series in 1989, The Simpsons fast became one of America's favorite television families, while creating an intro that is hard to skip over even after 33 seasons on the air.

Whether it's to find out what Bart is writing on the chalkboard or what crazy scenario the family will be facing when they sit down on the couch, this is an intro to a show that never stops evolving, be it through guest animators or pop culture references. There is a reason This show has kept people watching all these years.

via GIPHY

Bob's Burgers

Keeping with the trend started by the previous cartoon family, the start of Bob's Burgers definitely holds a coveted spot on this list if not for the sheer play on words brilliance of the ever changing storefront next door to the Belcher's restaurant or the catch names of the exterminator companies that show up to fumigate each week. And damn, it that ukulele song isn't infectious.

Known for pun-filled humor, Bob's Burgers also has a running joke of The Burger Of The Day, which usually changes twice an episode. Funny as they are, however, we are not going near the "Not If I Can Kelp It" Burger.

Sorry, Bob.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

In terms of original theme songs, you would be hard pressed to find a more entertaining ear-worm than the intro to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Pulling from the news interview from episode one, where a flamboyantly hysterical neighbor, played by Mike Britt, relays the premise of the show in the best way possible.

For a show about kidnapped women trying to find happiness after tragedy, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt handles the subject with wit and heart, making it a definite watch, intro and all.

Power: Season One

With its kaleidoscopic split-screen showcasing bling galore, the 50 Cent feat. Joe theme song bumps with a smoothness that needs to be seen and heard to be believed. And rewatched every time after.

Power brings all the drama of the criminal underworld and character building as James "Ghost" St. Patrick navigates between life as a nightclub owner and his secret drug dealing enterprise. This intense series is a must-watch.

Game Of Thrones

Spoiler, this mega-hit sword and sorcery series, for all the amazing moments, character, and world building didn't quite stick the landing in it's final season. Fans may have been less than impressed, but what they never had a complaint with was that intricately crafted intro.

Unfolding in a captivating display of CGI model building, the introduction each episode would show each realm that was part of that particular storyline. Even when you think you've seen everything in a shot, after a few rewatches there is something you definitely missed the first go around. Mesmerizingly creative in all respects, Game of Thrones, warts and all, gave us more fun than it didn't over the years.

Futurama

Back to Matt Groening land, this time in the far flung future where a 20th century pizza delivery guy named Fry is frozen in a cryochamber only to wake up a 1000 years in the future. Now trying to get used to aliens, super science, alcoholic robots, and other Sci-Fi tropes galore, the dimwitted Fry discovers that the world might have changed but people, and aliens, always have their quirks.

Much like The Simpsons, the joke warning in each Futurama intro changes every time, as does the giant television billboards images before they crash a spaceship into it. Often, an old cartoon clip, there is always something new to spot on this fantastic spoof of science fiction buffoonery.

Weeds

If only for the sheer fun of hearing a new cover of Little Boxes, the show's theme about conformity in suburbia, Weeds' calming intro is a never-skip.

Starring Mary-Louise Parker as a housewife turned weed dealer in a small town, Weeds was as playful as it was dark in both comedy and premise. A fun watch for the uninitiated, the show keeps you on it's toes while bringing smart comedy with every episode.

Cheers

Strictly for nostalgic reasons, one of the best sitcoms of all time has to be Cheers. This mega hit for NBC ran for 11 seasons and told the story of Sam Malone, an ex-pitcher Boston Red Socks pitcher who gives up the bottle only to open his own bar.

Filled with a wacky crew of barflies and waitstaff, Cheers was one of those shows that brought sitcoms to a whole other level. Launching the careers of Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer, and Ted Danson, just to name a few, the opening theme song, with it's "bars throughout history" clipshow, is one of the most soothing ways to spend an evening, bringing us back to a time when we found a community at our local watering hole at the end of the day and everybody knows your name.
Estes Park, CO (80517)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally sunny. High 56F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low 42F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Turkcell has a weak governance regime

These problems have led to poor operating and strategic performance, low valuation and loss of investor confidence

LONDON, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LetterOne, the holder of a 19.8% economic interest in Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (the "Company" or "Turkcell") through its ownership of all depositary receipts issued by International Mobile Telecom Investment Stichting Administratiekantoor ("IMTIS"), today announces that IMTIS Holdings S.a r.l. ("IMTIS Holdings"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMTIS, has exercised its shareholder right and formally requested the Board of Turkcell to convene a General Assembly of shareholders meeting no later than 30 April 2022, with an agenda which includes among other items, proposed changes to the composition of the Board, amendments of Turkcell's articles of association and a dividend payout of 75% of FY2021 net income. LetterOne urges shareholders of Turkcell to support these proposals at the General Assembly.

LetterOne is a committed long-term investor with real optimism about Turkcell's future. However, under the stewardship of the current Board and governance framework at Turkcell, operating performance, strategic direction and valuation have all suffered. This cannot be allowed to continue. A more robust approach to governance, starting with the refreshment of the Board and changes to the articles of association, is the foundation upon which to address Turkcell's fundamental failures. The proposals are an important first step to enable Turkcell to achieve its operational and valuation potential and become a leading international telecommunications company.

IMTIS Holdings has proposed the appointment of four highly experienced international and Turkish candidates unaffiliated with Turkcell's shareholders, who will bring the industry, strategic and operational experience, and commitment to internationally recognised corporate governance practices necessary to allow Turkcell to achieve its long-term operational and financial potential. Shareholders are urged to take this critical opportunity to dismiss the four incumbent directors not nominated by the Turkey Sovereign Wealth Fund and elect the nominees proposed by IMTIS Holdings.

The proposals for the amendments to the Company's articles of association will materially improve accountability and disclosure and address the very serious concerns raised by ISS, Glass Lewis and institutional shareholders at the 2021 General Assembly, where 94% of them voted against the proposal to ratify the appointment of current directors. IMTIS Holdings' proposals will ensure that director elections are conducted on an individual basis and disclosures provide the necessary transparency on key governance practices.

The proposal to set 2021 fiscal year dividend at 75% of FY2021 net income will bring Turkcell closer in line with its peers and impose discipline to its capital allocation process.

Ben Babcock, Managing Director at LetterOne, commented:

"LetterOne is a committed, long-term investor and believes Turkcell can deliver substantially more economic and social value for the benefit of all stakeholders. LetterOne has now repeatedly sought engagement with the Board of Turkcell to discuss its concerns and proposals. The Board has inexplicably chosen not to engage with us.

Given the pervasive strategic, operational and governance issues we have raised, non-engagement does not protect or advance Turkcell shareholders' interests. LetterOne encourages Turkcell's shareholders to hold the Board to account and to support the new board of directors nominees, governance and dividend proposals at the forthcoming General Assembly."

A copy of LetterOne's Public Letter, along with an Investor Presentation which includes full details of IMTIS Holdings' proposals, among other things, can be found here: www.improveturkcell.com

For further information, call: Josh Hardie, Corporate Affairs Director, LetterOne +44 (0) 20 3815 3385 Jennifer Renwick, Jake Thomas, Billy Clegg, Camarco +44 (0) 203 757 4980

Notes to Editors

LetterOne is an experienced long term, supportive and committed investor in the TMT, energy, health and retail sectors. It has held an economic interest in Turkcell for the past 16 years. LetterOne initially invested $1.6 billion and made a further investment of more than $330 million as part of the ownership reorganisation in Turkcell which took place in 2020.
It is Spring and we have lost a a precious runner, an Irish national treasure, a generous young and talented musician, teacher, sister, daughter, friend. This loss is felt deeply and is stirring others to deep contemplations and better a call of appreciation, self examination and feet on the ground for an overdue social crisis to be addressed locally, nationally, internationally calling now for ongoing creative action. Hopefully we will join this tide and ask for solutions, resolve, and honoring this angel lost in the Spring of her life and now a wayshower and as her name a vision for a better future.

Condolence to the family, the community, and her students, friends, and dear ones, mentors and friends.

____________________________

Background information for your readers:

Imbolc (Spring) memorial to our fallen one-loss, grief, and a call to action inside and out:

Nuacht/News | GaelicLeagueLA

Vigil for Aisling: Imbolg 2022 (gaelicleaguela.com)

Candlemas:

Candlemas - Wikipedia

Still a Teacher worldwide, Aisling Murphy event in NY Central Park, touching lives:

Amy Brett Talks About Honoring Ashling Murphy in Central Park New York - YouTube

Sojouner Truth and Margaret Prescod stand for ending violence against women across LA and the World:

http://sotrueradio.org/

http://sotrueradio.org/about-us/

www.kpfk.org (online archives)

Aisling Murphy, masterful, loved, and gone:

Ashling Murphy playing "The foggy morning" R I P - YouTube

Still touching the family of man with traditional music and mastery:

Amy & Ashling Murphy - Charlie Lennon's No.4 & Joe Tom's Reel - YouTube

Children stand for the loss of their teacher:

Students of Ashling Murhpy form honour guard at her funeral (yahoo.com)

Issue and tragedy, livestreaming the funeral to find solace in grief:

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/funeral-of-ashling-murphy-to-be-live-streamed-tomorrow-1.4778671

The reality is not pretty and cannot stand:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/27/los-angeles-killings-black-women-violence?s=09

What have we become and where is the solution in our midst?

https://www.nativehope.org/en-us/understanding-the-issue-of-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women

Take a look, start talking about it.Rabbi Hillel:

If not now, when? Talmud commentary



("What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor. That is the whole Torah, all the rest is commentary. Now, go and study.")

Martin Luther King, Agape Sermon, the future is in our better selves:

Agape Love: A sermon by Martin Luther King, Jr.  Compassionate Mom (wordpress.com)
Tuesday, February 1, 2022

TheOpportunity of Putins Lifetime

Specific toRussias security concerns, the convergence of several occurrences represents atight window of high-risk, high-reward opportunity for Vladimir Putin to seize.

Theexpansion of Nato membership has compelled him to use this progressiveencirclement as a convenient excuse to go beyond bellicose rhetoric andactually mobilize his modernized military to invade Ukraine. Natos encroachmentwithin Russias Near Abroad hegemony, as articulated by the chart provided byNato below entitled How Nato Expanded Eastwards, has placed him in a double-bind.Either do nothing and lose face (or his head) in debunking his strong manimage who wants to resurrect Soviet might, or risk damning sanctions that couldcripple the Russian economy and trigger a palace coup.

Thefollowing points represent probable reasons why Putin is confident that therewill not be any direct US/Nato invention should he decide to advance intoUkrainian territory:

 TheUS leadership is suffering an historical divisiveness with a cognitivelyquestionable president and internationally inexperienced vice-president.

 Ukraineis a non-EU and non-Nato country thus there are no binding agreements for itsdefense other than military aid and surveillance support.

 Ukrainehas mostly Soviet-era military equipment. Although theyve been upgraded theyare no match for the 21st century equipped Russian military withsuperior firepower.

 Russiasnatched Crimea without firing a shot and subsequently established a naval basefor maritime domination in the Black Sea.

 Russianair force sorties with their advanced aircraft in Syria now have battleexperience albeit against far weaker air defenses over failed states.

At this pointthe Twilight Zone possibilities emerge that mimic fictitious organizations suchas SMERSH and SPECTRE from a James Bond movie in which the impossible hasbecome the plausible.

TheKremlin in Kiev

Assuming asuccessful hostile takeover, Putin will have the following leverage over the USand EU:

 Ukraine- a large geographical buffer between Nato and Russia.

 Completecontrol over the physical oil and gas pipelines from Russia through Ukrainewhich supply the EU 40% of its energy needs. Present-day pre-invasion the EUhas complained that Russian energy exports are only 50% of contract requirements.

 Controlover Ukraines agricultural exports, mostly grains with the seizure of portcities of Odesa and Mariupol, secured by its naval base at the newly acquiredCrimea.

Russia-ChinaPartnership | The Iron Bamboo Curtain

Post-invasionit begs the question whether Russia will assume responsibility for rebuildingUkrainian infrastructure. Although Russia has built an economic war chestthrough de-dollarisation and considerable increase in gold holdings, thesetransfers were for the purposes of weathering new draconian US sanctions, notfor rebuilding infrastructure elsewhere.

For thisreason this is where cash-rich China steps in to extend their Belt & RoadInitiative (BRI) into the heart of Europe with the standard usuary infrastructureloans with non-negotiable terms & conditions.

This could represent the largest joint venture bytwo mafia states. Russia is the project manager offering protection while Chinafinances & rebuilds. Russia gets its long-desired buffer state while Chinahas access to the European market to satisfy its insatiable essentialagricultural goods for its 1.4 billion citizens.

In themeantime Russia can leverage their position by renegotiating the contractsand terms & conditions of their energy contracts with the Eu. Alternativeenergy sources, short and medium term, face present-day low production, lowinventories, export restrictions and supply chain difficulties all of whichrepresent considerable economic cost. Furthermore the completion of long-termenergy alternatives through pipelines over friendly countries are years away.

Infamous for their gross inefficiencies throughoutright, bold corruption, it would not be far-fetched if Russia and Chinarepeat the same mistakes as the US in Afghanistan. The economic endgame of mind-bogglingwaste can be viewed in the following chart entitled Afghanistan: The US WastedBillions on Buildings & Vehicles provided by the Special Inspector General forAfghanistan Reconstruction.

A pro-Russian Ukrainian leadership protected by theRussian military with Chinese economic management eliminates any forthcoming USor western economic aid putting ordinary Ukrainians beyond a hybrid iron bamboocurtain and in a dire political and economic position teetering on poverty as ade facto failed state.

Ukrainian Agricultural Overview

The importance of Ukrainian agricultural productioncannot be overstated. According to the International TradeAdministration, agriculture is 9.3% of Ukraines GDP.Ukraines agricultural yields have been consistently good since 2013 harvestingat least 60 million tons of grains. The 2022 forecast projects a considerableincrease. The average annual yield is three times Ukraines domestic needsmaking them self-sufficient and one of the worlds largest agriculturalexporters.

The following data are particulars for each cropprovided by the World Data Center forGeoinformatics and Sustainable Development:

 With a climate similar to Kansas, Ukraine the main grain outputencompasses wheat, corn, barley and rye.

 4th largest exporter of corn (eastern and southern Ukraine),planted in April/May, harvested in September, and barley (eastern Ukraine),planted in April and harvested in August.

 6th largest exporter of wheat (south and south-centralUkraine). Its a winter wheat planted in fall and harvested the followingsummer.

 7th largest exporter of soybeans.

 Worlds leading sunflower seed oil exporter (southern and easternregions), planted in April harvested in September. Its their most profitablecrop because of low production costs and high demand.

 Most exports are shipped to Spain and Italy,North Africa, the Middle East and East Asia (China, Japan, Korea).

GeopoliticalImpacts

In the nearfuture this development will have an extreme impact on the following:

 Aboost to conservative and extreme-right parties in the spring French nationalelections.

 Conservativeand extreme-right parties will gain enormous representative in other democraticEuropean countries which plays into the hands of autocratic Russia and China.

 Withrespect to the US, this development profoundly changes the American perspectiveon the future of Europe creating an increasing socio-political divisivenessleading to the 2022 midterm and 2024 presidential elections.

IncalculableHuman Cost

Wars createmasses of refugees and the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be no exception. Forseveral years Western Europe has been overwhelmed with unrelenting waves of refugeesmost of whom are non-white, non-Christian and who come from failed statesexacerbating the socio-economic-political tensions in these countries.

The internal and external displacement of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainiansfleeing to and remaining long-term in western European countries, alreadyburdened by millions from Middle East, Afghanistan, North Africa andsub-Saharan Africa, represent the straw that breaks the camels back. Alreadyfrayed social safetynets are at their breaking point. Even a modicum of additional refugees cantrigger violent civil unrest in European countries whose citizenry are furiousat their government over pandemic-related mandates.

On the otherhand, Ukrainian movement to any European country far easier because movement isover land instead of treacherous seas. Furthermore, their European racial,ethnic and religious backgrounds would make it easier to blend in, move aboutand disappear from law enforcement far better than most present-day refugees.Some Ukrainians probably have family and friends with legal citizenry elsewherein Europe with whom they can stay. Finally they would gain greater sympathy andsupport as war refugees vs economic refugees.

Thefollowing chart entitled Mapping the Worlds RefugeePopulation providedby the United Nations Human Refugee Agency (UNHCR) indicates the 2020 year-end stateof affairs with respect to the refugee country of origin. As you can imagine, theRussian invasion thoroughly rewrites this chart.

Conclusion

Whether bydefault or design, Russia and China appear to be carving new spheres ofinfluence using agricultural-rich Ukraine as a military buffer and food sourceall while hundreds of thousands of ordinary Ukrainians create a refugee tsunamito flood nearby European countries taxing their socio-economic safety nets andgoodwill.

Russia willnow have control of the Ukrainian agricultural sector as well as energysupplies to Europe which represent nothing short of blackmail resulting inenergy and food price spikes and, if compliance is not adhered to, outrightshortages.

Nonethelessthe aforementioned forecast may be part of the Russian strategic plan only iftheir primary objectives are met swiftly including the cooperation of an alwayspolitically fickle China.

Firstly,Russia and China collaborate only as a matter of convenience against USinterests. None of their previous agreements have been profound or enduring.For this reason a New Order in Europe dictated by mafia states may be nothingmore than a mirage.

Secondly,autocracies and their kleptocratic practices have historically collapsedbecause of over-reach. This risk is heightened by the fact that neither Russia norChina have natural allies, only small, militarily weak collaborators who havelittle choice but to toe the line. This represents one of the main differencesbetween autocracies and democracies which is why their reach is limited andultimately fleeting.

 Copyright 2022 Cerulean Council

The Cerulean Council is a NYC-based think-tank thatprovides prescient, beyond-the-horizon, contrarian perspectives and riskassessments on geopolitical dynamics and global urban security.
Ray Dalio is founder of Bridgewater Associates, the worlds biggest hedge fund. He is worth an estimated $15.7 billion. With his 2017 book, Principles: Life and Work, he aspires to the role of a billionaire philosopher king, the kind Im interested in analyzing this year.

Unlike Peter Thiel, whom I wrote about recently, Dalio is not known for his political campaign funding or support of radical provocateurs.

On ExpressNews.com: Taylor: Billionaire philosopher king Peter Thiel loves monopolies  democracy not so much

Nevertheless, the power of a billionaire in our society should make all of us cautious. Dalio intends to influence how we organize companies, our daily life and our work life. The book is presented in three sections: A sort-of biographical Where Im Coming From, a life-instructional part called Life Principles and the managerial-oriented Work Principles.

Here are the most important points, consolidated for your convenience and consideration:

Write down your thought processes and guiding ideas, all the better to return and refine them as you collect data and experiences. Seek truth relentlessly. Be radically transparent in your decision-making. Be radically open-minded. Use computers to enhance your thinking. Analyze your business, yourself and the world like a machine that can be broken into component parts. Identify weaknesses in the machine and address them forthrightly. Embrace setbacks and pain as part of the process. Use these as learning opportunities. Get better next time. Forget trying to look good or please people; try instead to achieve the goal you aim for. Dont try to come up with the best idea on your own; instead come up with the best idea using all available sources. Seek out people who disagree with you to test your own concepts and learn. Be willing to fire people even if you like them. Suppress emotions and appeal to reason in your thought process, as well as your relationships with people.

David Paul Morris, Bloomberg / Bloomberg

Do as I say, not as ...

Time and again Dalio hammers the idea of radically seeking truth and transparency no matter the consequences while organizing your life and work like a machine that can be fixed through analysis. Emotions, he emphasizes, need to be suppressed to allow reason and truth to shine through. Basically, be like Spock. (My words, not Dalios.) These sound fine if you want to build a hedge fund.

But heres the thing. Theres something odd about reading Dalios own history of Bridgewater and himself. He is radically untransparent. Opacity and elision are the rules rather than the exception. I understand hes protecting colleagues and employees by not spilling the beans. But the stories of conflict within Bridgewater generally do not get fleshed out enough to even seem realistic.

Theres one big exception. He summarizes a memo his deputies wrote to him in 1993, at a crucial time in his firms development: Ray sometimes says or does things to employees which makes them feel incompetent, unnecessary, humiliated, over-whelmed, belittled, oppressed, or otherwise bad. The odds of this happening rise when Ray is under stress. At these times, his words and actions toward others create animosity toward him and leave a lasting impression. The impact of this is that people are demotivated rather than motivated.

That part was clear. Indeed, its the most transparent part of a book that otherwise does not seem transparent. We get an idea what it would be like to work for him from his closest colleagues.

Heres another idea I doubt billionaire philosopher King Dalio is giving enough credit to: To the wealthy business owner, speaking your truth, radical transparency and leaning into conflict to address problems early sound like great business bromides. But I worked on Wall Street long enough to know that your boss speaking his direct truth involves spittle-flecked f-bombs, smashing telephones and calling subordinates morons.

Tyler Sizemore, Staff Photographer / Hearst Connecticut Media

Perspectives

That is to say, radical transparency is experienced differently depending on whos giving it and whos receiving it. I do not believe  now Im speaking realistically about a world of vastly unequal power dynamics at work, in politics, in society  that radical truthfulness works the way he says it does. Humans are not machines to be fixed in this way. Dalios ability to deliver radical truth bombs will not be met by his subordinates equal ability to do the same. To think otherwise is to embrace a curious understanding of human nature.

The business press wrote a lot in 2017 about Bridgewaters attempt to replace Dalio with the next generation of hedge fund leadership. It did not go well. I assume it did not go well because radical transparency between everybody is not human. People who write about the corporate culture of Bridgewater usually say: This hedge fund is really, really weird.

The larger issue is our willingness to convey philosopher king status to people who  while conventionally successful in a capital-worshiping society  are not necessarily those we should allow to dictate the principles for our lives. Theyre not people we should emulate. Theyre people who would create organizations and a society as a bizarre distillation of their personal identity fantasy.

Im guessing that if I worked at Bridgewater and expressed these particular truths this particular way, Id be sent to workplace Siberia for further study of Dalios little black book until I saw the truth or I left the company.

Dalios Principles makes me think explicitly of Maos Little Red Book. We should always be afraid and skeptical of powerful people  in their own lifetimes  authoring books that purport to direct and optimize humanity.

Self-made billionaires get to write their heres how I built it book, and thats fine. When we hold them up as our philosopher kings for shaping society and human relations, thats when its not fine.

It is too soon to adopt Dalios Principles as the bible for human relations. It is also too weird.

So let me be as radically transparent as I can be, Ray: You, your book and your creepy, Spock-inspired principles of rationality lack emotional intelligence.

Michael Taylor is a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, author of The Financial Rules for New College Graduates and host of the podcast No Hill For A Climber.

michael@michaelthesmart

money.com | twitter.com/michael_taylor
A Medina County man was arrested Monday after authorities found nearly a dozen abused and dead dogs on his property, officials said.

David Rodriguez How, 67, is facing four counts of cruelty to non-livestock animals with substantial bodily injury.

The Medina County Sheriff's Office said deputies were responding to a call about a loose dog in the 600 block of County Road 7711 in Devine when they discovered 10 dogs and other animals in "cruel and unhealthy living conditions" on How's property.

The animals were malnourished, filthy and unkept, the sheriff's office said.

There were also several dead animals that were still tethered or chained inside of crates, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies along with the Medina County Animal Control executed an animal seizure warrant on Monday to rescue the remaining dogs.

Officials said How could be facing additional charges and others could be arrested in connection with the case.

No bail has been set for How.

taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
An off-duty rookie police officer was shot and wounded during an attempted carjacking on a Queens street Tuesday night, police said.

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The 22-year-old officer was attacked about 10:20 p.m. on Beach Channel Drive and Beach 62nd St. in Arverne, police said.

Police respond after an off duty officer was shot on Beach Channel Drive and Beach 62nd St. in Queens on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

Two men approached his car and tapped on his window with a gun, and when the officer got out, one of the men fired several shots, hitting him in the shoulder, police said. The men fled, but were quickly captured by nearby officers a few blocks away. Police recovered a gun.

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The wounded officers fellow cops rushed him in an NYPD vehicle to Jamaica Hospital. He was in stable condition and expected to recover, officials said.

This young man was on his way to work, on his way to protect New Yorkers from criminals like the two who were arrested today, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said a press conference at Jamaica Hospital early Wednesday.

One of the suspects fired a single shot on the uniformed, on-duty sergeant and officer who arrested them, but didnt strike the two cops, police said. Instead, the bullet punched a hole in the rear bumper of the cops unmarked vehicle.

Neither responding officer returned fire, police officials said.

Mayor Adams praised the officers restraint, and decried the over-proliferation of guns and people ready to use them on individuals in blue uniforms or blue jeans.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

They dont care. They dont care, and to see something like this happen repeatedly in our city is unacceptable, Adams said.

The off-duty officer is the sixth member of the NYPD shot so far in 2022  wounded just days after the Jan. 21 murder of Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, whose funeral was set for Wednesday at St. Patricks Cathedral.

The killer, Lashawn McNeil, opened fire on Rivera, 22, and Mora, 27, with a Glock 45 equipped with a high-capacity drum magazine as they responded to a domestic violence call at his mothers Harlem apartment. A third officer, rookie Sumit Sulan, returned fire and fatally shot McNeil.

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On Jan. 20, narcotics Detective Dominick Libretti was shot on Staten Island while executing a drug warrant.

Libretti, while bleeding badly from a wound to his leg, protected his brothers in blue from harm by holding his ballistic shield in place as ex-con Nelson Pizarro squeezed off at least a dozen bullets at them from inside his second-floor bedroom at the end of a long hallway, police said.

On Jan. 18, Officer Kaseem Pennant was shot and wounded trying to arrest a 16-year-old Crips gang member armed with a stolen gun outside a Bronx apartment building.

And on New Years Day, Officer Keith Wagenhauser was hit with bullet fragments as he sat in his car outside an East Harlem police station between shifts.
The National Butterfly Center on the Texas border is closing for the immediate future after conspiracy-fueled attacks against the center on social media escalated in recent days.

The butterfly sanctuary, part of the North American Butterfly Association, made the announcement Wednesday. The decision came just days after GOP operatives descended on the site, reviving baseless and false conspiracy theories linking the center to sex trafficking.

The centers leaders fear the renewed focus on the nature preserve could lead to violence, as similar online harassment directed at a Washington, D.C. pizzeria in 2016 led a man to fire a rifle inside the restaurant.

The safety of our staff and visitors is our primary concern, said Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg, president and founder of the North American Butterfly Association. We look forward to reopening, soon, when the authorities and professionals who are helping us navigate this situation give us the green light.

More than 35,000 people visit the National Butterfly Center each year to catch a glimpse of the hundreds of species of butterflies there. The sanctuary plans to pay staff while it is closed.

The butterfly center has been the target of far-right conspiracy theories for years, after the sanctuary in 2017 sued over the Trump administrations plans to build a border wall through the 100-acre nature preserve.

Two years later, online trolls  led by Brian Kolfage, the head of the allegedly fraudulent We Build the Wall fundraising campaign  falsely claimed there were dead bodies and rampant sex trade at the sanctuary.

But the situation escalated over the past two weeks, starting with a confrontation between Marianna Trevino Wright, the centers executive director, and Kimberly Lowe, a GOP congressional candidate from Virginia.

LAST WEEK: National Butterfly Center closes for weekend after scrape with GOP candidate hunting for border chaos

On Jan. 21, Lowe approached the facility and demanded to see illegals crossing on rafts. When Trevino Wright refused, the candidate began filming on a phone and accused her of being OK with children being sex trafficked and raped and murdered.

Trevino Wright swiped at the phone, and a scuffle ensued. As Lowe left the facility, Trevino Wright says the woman nearly ran over her son, Nicholas Wright, who works there.

Lowe had been in town to attend the right-wing We Stand America rally in neighboring McAllen, which took place last weekend. The event, headlined by former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, included a trip to the border. (After her altercation with Trevino Wright, Lowe said she was barred from attending.)

Fearing more trouble, the butterfly center decided to close for three days. While doors were shut, attendees did visit the sanctuary  and shot more videos echoing the conspiracy theories.

Ben Bergquam, a correspondent for the far-right news site Real America Voice, posted a minute-long clip to Twitter repeating the sex trafficking lies.

What really matters to the Democrats are the butterflies, and so we unite with them, if thats what its going to take to shut this border down, he said. We unite with them and say: Protect the butterflies, (President Joe Biden). Close down the border  because we know you dont care about the kids.

Trevino Wright said the centers closure is the most dramatic step that the facility has taken so far to protect its staff from far-right operatives.

This prolonged and concerted attack by (former White House chief strategist) Steve Bannon and associates, which has already provoked stochastic terrorism in El Paso and in Washington, D.C., is directed at us and has been since 2019, she said. Its escalating radically as part of their MAGA midterm election strategy, and ... puts us in a very dangerous position.

cayla.harris@express-news.net
The state agreed to allow moisture monitors in part of the Long Barrack thats believed to be among the oldest remaining structures on the historic grounds as Alamo officials gave an update on the progress of the nearly $400 million project to improve the mission and battle site.

(Theres) lots of exciting work underway, and were thrilled at the progress thats being made, Alamo Trust Executive Director Kate Rogers told members of the Texas Historical Commission at its quarterly meeting in Austin.

She also noted a glass-enclosed exhibit highlighting an archaeological excavation by the north wall of the Long Barrack is scheduled to open March 2 for Texas Independence Day. Rogers said the exhibit in the rectangular building, part of a mission-era convento in the 1700s and the location of hand-to-hand fighting in 1836, will showcase archaeology done in the Long Barrack for the very first time.

On ExpressNews.com: Reset saved Alamo project from unraveling in 2021

The monitoring equipment, similar to devices used in the iconic Alamo Church for nearly a year, will be installed in the southwest corner of the Long Barrack. Sensors measuring temperature and moisture have been placed in the delicate limestone walls of the nearly 300-year-old church, up to 15 feet high and up to 7 feet below ground, beneath the buildings 5-foot-thick foundation.

The Alamo will begin analyzing a years worth of data collected in the church in May and will produce a final report in the fall to offer guidance on preservation, including possible replacement of the churchs 1921 concrete roof.

This is really important work which will determine future repairs and preservation that needs to be done both within the historic walls of the church and the Long Barrack as well as the roof itself, Roger told the commission.

The Alamo also has used architectural staples that look like plastic tubes to stabilize walls of the Long Barrack, which dates to the Alamos 1724 origins as San Antonios first permanent Spanish-Indigenous mission.

Thats a major project thats going on with the full exterior and interior walls of the Long Barrack, said Bess Graham, architecture division director with the commission.

WILLIAM LUTHER /SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

During an update on the public-private Alamo project, Rogers said:

Work by the city on the east end of Alamo Plaza, between the state grounds and the Menger Hotel, is set for completion in late February and will be beautiful when its done. Hand-cut pavers are being installed, and landscaping will be added. A 12-foot-tall statue of Teddy Roosevelt placed by the Joskes building in 2019 was recently moved to the area, near the exterior door of the historic Menger Bar, where Roosevelt and his Rough Riders spent time while training in 1898 for the Spanish-American War.

The trust and the city have removed a construction trailer and fencing in the plaza and moved the temporary red Alamo Welcome Center, where tickets are purchased for tours, to improve the look of the plaza and sightlines to the church.

Construction work on a new 24,000-square-foot Alamo Exhibit Hall & Collections Building on the northeast corner of the grounds is underway, with concrete being poured, and is on track for completion late this year. It will provide exhibit space for items donated by Phil Collins and the first museum-grade storage space for the Alamo collection ever on the historic grounds.

On ExpressNews.com: A sick patient  experts using science to save Alamo Church

An architectural team is working on the design of a 100,000-square-foot visitor center and museum in the plaza, and Dallas preservationist Marcel Quimby has been recording high-tech scans of the historic Crockett and Woolworth buildings, which are to be renovated for the facility, to open in 2026. New conceptual drawings for the buildings and landscaping may be ready to present to the commission in the second quarter this year. Alamo experts soon plan to ask the commission for a permit to conduct geotechnical boring to determine what needs to be done to the foundations of the buildings to support the new structure.

Preliminary plans for an outdoor exhibit replicating the 1836 main gate/lunette of the Alamo are in production, with plans to be presented to the commission in time for a public opening by the end of 2022.

Jessica Phelps /San Antonio Express-News

An investigation of the 1930s Alamo Cenotaph that will guide a repair plan for the monument is set to begin in August, after the peak summer visitation season.

shuddleston@express-news.net
Texas Kidney Foundation, Bexar County and University Health are partnering to offer free kidney screenings and raise awareness of a silent but deadly disease that afflicts 1 in 7 adults.

San Antonio residents have a much higher risk because of the high rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease among Black and Latino residents in the community.

Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, who represents Precinct 4, said the county has allocated $50,000 for this kidney disease prevention initiative.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio's Texas Kidney Foundation will send free screening kit

This is really exciting for me because were going to save lives, Calvert said. People of color are disproportionately affected, so I think this is past due.

The partnership was announced Wednesday morning at the Texas Diabetes Institute  the first in-person screening site. The institute at 701 S. Zarzamora St. is part of the county-owned hospital system, University Health.

Other sites will be set up at University Health locations in all four Bexar County precincts and YMCA facilities throughout the year, said Tiffany Jones-Smith, president and CEO of Texas Kidney Foundation.

If we can find the disease early, then we can make a big change in the lives of people in our county, she said.

Jones-Smith has lost 12 family members to chronic kidney disease.

Statistics show that 80 percent of people with kidney disease are unaware that they have it because it does not show symptoms until advanced stages. By that point, dialysis or an organ transplant is needed to survive.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonios Center For Life kept organ transplants going during COVID-19 pandemic

The Texas Kidney Foundation, based in San Antonio, is also providing free at-home kidney screenings kits through Healthy.IO, a technology company based in Israel that donated 10,000 kits in May.

For information on screening locations and dates or to get an at-home kit, visit txkidney.org.

laura.garcia@express-news.net
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A 39-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with a killing on the Northwest Side, San Antonio police said Tuesday.

Pedro Pompa, 29, was charged with murder, with bail set at $500,000.
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Could marijuana be fully decriminalized in San Marcos? It may happen as early as November.

The latest effort to free the herb comes in the form of a petition drive to collect 4,400 signatures - 10 percent of San Marcos registered voters - to place a referendum on the November ballot that would effectively decriminalize weed in city limits if it passes.

The drive is being led by nonprofit grassroots group Mano Amiga and seeks to build on momentum it gained in 2020 after advocating for the successful passage of the citys so-called cite-and-release ordinance, which compels San Marcos police officers to issue citations - not handcuffs - for low-level criminal offenses, including possession of marijuana under four ounces.

San Marcos was the first city in Texas to pass such an ordinance.

On ExpressNews.com: Here's how to get a prescription for medical marijuana

But the cite-and-release ordinance simply does not go far enough, especially when it comes to something as petty as possession of marijuana, said Sam Benavides, a spokeswoman for Mano Amiga. With cite-and-release, she said, those who are cited still have to show up to court within two weeks and work their way through the legal system.

Sam Owens, Staff Photographer / San Antonio Express-News

Having a charge of possession of marijuana on your record has the potential to negatively impact a persons life in so many ways, she said. It can be found by employers, landlords, social services, and for students, it can even impact your financial aid status.

Mano Amiga is partnering with Ground Game Texas, a group that encourages voter engagement, to put the issue to voters in November.

The proposed ordinance would end citations and arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession, prohibit San Marcos police officers from citing odor of marijuana as probable cause for search or seizure, and prohibit the use of city funds for THC concentration testing, among other things.

At a press conference near the quad at Texas State University on Tuesday, Mano Amiga was joined by a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers and candidates to speak out against marijuana laws and encourage students and voters to sign the petition.

Sam Owens, Staff Photographer / San Antonio Express-News

Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra, who ran for the seat and won in 2018 partially on a criminal justice reform platform, said decriminalizing marijuana is just the first step in dismantling a system that penalizes low-level and first-time drug offenders.

Raise your hand if you know what Adderall is? Come on, I went to school here, Becerra said to the crowd of mostly Texas State students. If its not prescribed to you and you have a tiny little bit in your pocket.  one pill of Adderall will land you in jail. It will be a felony, you will not be allowed to vote, you will not be allowed to apply for FAFSA, you will not be allowed to do so many things because you were trying to get ready for your genetics test.

State Rep. Erin Zwiener, a Democrat who represents Hays and Blanco counties, was joined by one of her two same-party challengers, Tia Angie Villescaz. And four of the ten candidates for House District 21, which represents the area north of San Antonio and much of Austin, were in attendance as well: Democrats Coy Branscum, David Anderson and Claudia Zapata, as well as Republican Dana Zavorka.

Sam Owens, Staff Photographer / San Antonio Express-News

Zach Vance, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, also spoke out in favor of the ordinance, and said he started using medical cannabis after being wounded in Afghanistan as a Marine in 2010.

It changed my life, he said. Texans need medical cannabis. They need to not go to jail for a plant, first of all.

So far, the petition campaign has gathered 1,500 signatures. If it hits its goal of 4,400 signatures over the next 180 days, it will be placed on the November ballot for voters to decide.

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.
The City Council tenures of Rebecca Viagran and Elisa Chan only overlapped by five months.

Just long enough for them to take opposing sides on the citys 2013 nondiscrimination ordinance: Viagran voted for it, Chan against it.

Viagran is a Democrat. Chan is a Republican. Viagran is based on the South Side, Chan on the North Side. Viagran is a Mexican American native of San Antonio. Chan is an Asian American native of Taiwan.

Viagran works for Texas A&M-San Antonio as director of workforce development and community partnerships. Chan is the co-owner of an engineering consulting business.

Bottom line: They dont have all that much in common.

But both of these former council members currently find themselves in uphill battles for higher office.

Viagran made a late entrance in the race for U.S. District 35, an open congressional seat that covers the Interstate 35 corridor from Austin to San Antonio. Chan is competing for the Texas House District 122 seat being vacated by Lyle Larson.

Both of them have struggled to gain traction.

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In Viagrans case, shes dealing with a new district map that is not particularly hospitable for any candidate based in San Antonio.

District 35 was created a decade ago to account for the rapid growth of the Latino population in San Antonio. Nonetheless, the district has been represented for nine years by Lloyd Doggett, an Anglo Democrat from Austin.

Last years redistricting process prompted Doggett to move to the newly created U.S. District 37. That created an opening for San Antonio Democrats, but its a problematic opening.

Up until a few months ago, the district contained a major part of San Antonios South Side, extending down to Southeast Loop 410.

That piece of the district has been cut out, essentially excising the area that Viagran represented for eight years on City Council. The metropolitan Austin area contains the biggest concentration of voters.

This challenging map didnt dissuade Viagran, who entered the District 35 primary at least partly because she considered it important for San Antonio to have a voice in this race.

Most of the oxygen in the race, however, has been taken up by Greg Casar, the progressive champion of the Austin City Council. While Viagran is still in the process of establishing a name for herself with Austin voters, Casar entered the campaign already boasting considerable support in San Antonio  particularly with young grassroots activists.

The very week Viagran launched her campaign, Casar was in San Antonio collecting endorsements from a spate of local labor unions.

This week, Casar has received endorsements from the Democratic Partys biggest progressive rock star, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and one of this states most effective vote-gathering forces, the Texas Organizing Project.

The most likely scenario in this race would be a runoff between Casar and veteran Austin state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez. Viagrans best hope is that Rodriguez and Casar attack each other with such vehemence that they drive some voters into her camp.

Viagrans mantra has been representation matters.

For far too long, Viagran said in a New Years Eve social media video, Congress and Texas have neglected to represent their women. Im running for Congress to change that.

She added: You deserve a government that looks like you, and we have an opportunity to put the first woman ever into Texas Congressional District 35.

While its technically accurate for Viagran to say shes trying to be the first woman ever elected in District 35, its also true that shes running in a young district that has only had one congressional representative (Doggett) in its history.

Casar, the child of Mexican immigrants, could just as easily say hes trying to be the first Latino ever elected in District 35.

As for Chan, shes attempting to rekindle a political career that was seemingly extinguished by her defeat in a 2014 Republican primary for state Senate.

Last September, Chan talked to me about her interest in the Texas House, saying the 2020 passing of her father caused her to reevaluate her future.

It got me thinking, Chan said, What is the important thing in life? and What would you like to do to be impactful?

I have a passion for public service; and I have been very involved in the community, even after the council. So if this is the opportunity to serve again, I would like to give it a try.

Chans attempt to frame herself as the pro-business entrepreneur in the race has been stymied by the emergence of Adam Blanchard, a bright, energetic trucking industry executive.

Blanchard has drawn the support of Larson and several major players in the local business community. The culture-warrior wing of the GOP likely will gravitate to Mark Dorazio, a former chairman of the Bexar County Republican Party.

Its not clear where that leaves Chan, and she doesnt have much time to find out.

ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
In February 2021 a deep freeze caused widespread power outages in Texas, leaving about 10 million Texans without electricity, in many cases for days. Hundreds died.

The biggest proximate cause of the crisis was disrupted production of natural gas, the states most important power source. After a freeze in 2011, federal regulators had urged Texas to require winterization of gas and electricity facilities. But it didnt.

And for the most part it still hasnt: So far, no winterization requirements have been placed on the politically powerful gas sector. Instead, Gov. Greg Abbott is hoping to secure the power grid by encouraging  bitcoin mining. This would supposedly reduce the risk of outages because Bitcoins huge electricity consumption would eventually expand the states generation capacity.

On ExpressNews.com: Krugman: The bogus bashing of Build Back Better

Yes, thats as crazy as it sounds. But it fits a pattern. When confronted with problems that could easily be alleviated through cooperative action, the radical right-wingers who have taken over the Republican Party often turn instead to bizarre nonsolutions that appeal to their antisocial ideology. Ill explain why I use that word in a minute.

First, lets talk about the most obvious current example: COVID policy. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has tried to block just about every measure intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus; he and his officials have stopped just short of being explicitly anti-vaccine, but they have catered to the anti-vax fringe, with DeSantis even refusing to say whether he has received a booster shot.

They have, however, gone all in on antibody treatments that are far more expensive than vaccines, with DeSantis demanding that the Food and Drug Administration allow use of antibodies that, the FDA has found, dont work against omicron.

Why support expensive, ineffective treatments while opposing measures that would help prevent severe illness in the first place? Well, consider a parallel that may not be immediately obvious but is actually quite close: school shootings.

Among major advanced nations, such shootings are an almost uniquely U.S. phenomenon. And while there may be multiple reasons America leads the world in massacres of schoolkids, we could surely mitigate the horror with commonsense measures like restrictions on gun sales, required background checks and a ban on privately owned assault weapons.

But no. Republicans want to expand access to guns and, in many states, protect students by arming schoolteachers.

On ExpressNews.com: Krugman: Grown-ups are missing on one side of the aisle

What do these examples have in common? As Thomas Hobbes could have told you, human beings can only flourish, can only avoid a state of nature in which lives are nasty, brutish and short, if they participate in a commonwealth  a society in which government takes on much of the responsibility for making life secure. Thus, we have law enforcement precisely so individuals dont have to go around armed to protect themselves against other peoples violence.

Public health policy, if you think about it, reflects the same principle. Individuals can and should take responsibility for their own health, when they can; but the nature of infectious disease means that there is an essential role for collective action, whether it is public investment in clean water supplies or, yes, mask and vaccine mandates during a pandemic.

And you dont have to be a socialist to recognize the need for regulation to maintain the reliability of essential aspects of the economy like electricity supply and the monetary system.

Which is why Im calling the modern American right antisocial  because its members reject any policy that relies on social cooperation, and they want us to return instead to Hobbes dystopian state of nature. We wont try to keep guns out of the hands of potential mass murderers; instead, well rely on teacher-vigilantes to gun them down once the shooting has already started. We wont try to limit the spread of infectious diseases; instead, well tell people to take drugs that are expensive, ineffective or both after theyve already gotten sick.

What about Bitcoin? I dont think its even worth trying to make sense of Abbotts tortured logic, why he imagines that promoting an environmentally destructive, energy-hogging industry will somehow make his states electricity supply more reliable. (An energy grid overloaded by crypto mining helped set off the recent crisis in Kazakhstan.)

On ExpressNews.com: Krugman: No, vaccine mandates arent an attack on freedom

A better question is why Republicans have become fanatics about cryptocurrency, to the extent that one Senate candidate has defined his position as being pro-God, pro-family, pro-Bitcoin. The answer, Id argue, is that Bitcoin plays into a fantasy of self-sufficient individualism, of protecting your family with your personal AR-15, treating your COVID with an anti-parasite drug or urine and managing your financial affairs with privately created money, untainted by institutions like governments or banks.

In the end, none of this will work. Government exists for a reason. But the rights constant attacks on essential government functions will take a toll, making all of our lives nastier, more brutish and shorter.
Diversity is a fundamental component of education. Inclusion, cultural appreciation and diversity in our schools help create an environment with increased growth and learning potential for students of all backgrounds.

Students must feel cared for, comfortable, and encouraged to excel in academics, arts, athletics and other real-world situations. To achieve this, we need diverse teachers.

Studies have proven the benefits of minority teachers. From lowering the rate of disciplinary actions and improving the number of minority students in gifted programs to increasing student test scores, a more diverse teacher population correlates with better outcomes for all students.

While Texas schools are incredibly diverse, our teacher population is not. In the 2019-20 school year, approximately 73 percent of all Texas public school children identified as nonwhite; more than half identified as Hispanic. In that same school year, 57.9 percent of teachers were white, 27 percent were Hispanic and 10.7 percent were Black.

On ExpressNews.com: Commentary: Were failing teachers and public education

As Texas finds itself in the midst of an economic and population boom, it is more important than ever to address this disparity. Corporations are flocking to the Lone Star State, bringing new jobs and new residents.

To keep up, we must prioritize the workforce readiness of our residents. If we arent preparing our students for the jobs that are swarming to Texas, we are doing our state a grave disservice. We are not only letting down Texans but contributing to an unsustainable workforce imbalance.

We must address this at the ground level in our schools and give Texas students the tools and support they need to succeed. One proven tool? A diverse teacher population. If we dont, we risk falling behind.

So how do we support individuals from diverse backgrounds in pursuing a career in teaching? One crucial step is to streamline the certification process and remove burdensome obstacles. Unfortunately, at the worst possible time, our state is considering a sweeping change to teacher certification that has proved problematic for teachers of color.

The proposed assessment, known as edTPA, is an expensive, daunting and inaccurate measurement of teacher efficiency. The test, designed and administered by the education corporation Pearson, is 2.5 times more expensive than the exam it is slated to replace. It places increased stress and financial barriers disproportionately on minority candidates, including first-generation college students and working-class individuals.

Even more alarming is that the edTPA exam has shown biases in grading that have prevented many minority candidates from being certified. In a study used to evaluate prospective teachers using edTPA in Washington state, Hispanic teacher candidates were three times more likely to fail edTPA than non-Hispanic, white candidates.

Texas Womans University, where we work, is one of the most diverse colleges in Texas and the nation. TWU is designated as a Hispanic-serving institution, and our student body mirrors the demographics of Texas. Most of our teaching college candidates identify as minority and/or first-generation college students. They will bring a wealth of passion, culture, empathy and real-world experience to students across Texas.

On ExpressNews.com: Commentary: Support, respect teachers by hearing them

With Texas facing crisis-level teaching shortages, can you imagine stopping just one of them from becoming a teacher because they couldnt afford to pay for the certification exam? Or because their edTPA portfolio examiner penalized them for spending instructional time connecting with their students instead of the lesson plan? These are real, documented concerns with edTPA.

For the good of students, our state and workforce preparedness, we must better support teachers of color and ethnic diversity, and reject edTPA in Texas. Diverse teachers bring so much more value to the classroom than a corporate certification exam can measure.

Gina Anderson is the associate dean for educator preparation and partnerships in the College of Professional Education at Texas Womans University. Lisa Huffman serves as dean of the College of Professional Education at Texas Womans University.
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A coalition of civil rights groups is suing the Secretary of States Office for withholding documents concerning a voter purge program targeting immigrants that was mandated by the new Republican-backed election law.

The law, passed after a heated partisan battle last summer, requires that the office conduct regular sweeps of the voter rolls to verify citizenship status by cross-checking data provided by the Texas Department of Public of Safety.

Without the data requested, the groups say they cant confirm that the state is complying with a 2019 settlement agreement that came as a result of a botched voter purge effort that year. Early reports from county officials that the lists have included people who registered at their naturalization ceremonies have further raised attorneys suspicions.

Hearst Newspapers has requested similar information regarding the people who are at risk of having their voter registrations revoked and has also been told the records are exempt from public records laws. The secretary of state has asked the Attorney Generals Office to rule on the matter.

How many voters has the secretary of state flagged in the states largest counties? The state has questioned the citizenship status of the following amounts of voters: 3,063 Harris County 1,385 Dallas County 708 Tarrant County 327 Collin County Source: Texas Secretary of State See More Collapse

The Secretary of States Office declined to comment on the suit.

So far, 11,737 registered voters had been flagged as potential noncitizens, including about 2,900 Harris County residents. As of Dec. 31, 2,552 voter registration records had been canceled through the process, though the process is now on hold because of a federal law pausing any removals within 90 days of an election.

The majority of the removed voters never responded to a notice giving them 30 days to verify their citizenship, and 382 were confirmed to be noncitizens and removed from the rolls.

Harris County has so far been able to confirm the citizenship status of two voters. Most of the rest were sent notices in November, and of those, 263 have responded with proof of citizenship and will not be removed.

RELATED: Here comes another Texas voter purge, but this time with a wrinkle

The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Austin, alleges that the office is violating the National Voter Registration Act, a 1993 law that requires public disclosure of records pertaining to the maintenance of voter rolls.

The civil rights groups  including the ACLU, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and DEMOS  had requested records showing every individual identified under the program as a potential noncitizen as well as the information the secretary of state used to determine a voters suspected citizenship status.

Texas cant shirk its obligations under federal law to release information about its new voter purge program, said Ashley Harris, attorney at the ACLU of Texas, one of the plaintiff organizations. The public deserves to know why Texas continues to falsely flag U.S. citizens for removal from the voter rolls.

Removals are now on hold until at least after the March 1 primary election, if not the May 24 runoff, because of the freeze mandated by federal law within 90 days of an election. Anyone who received a notice within that time period will have that extra time to send their proof of citizenship.

They felt insulted

State law allows voters whose registration was canceled under this process because they missed the deadline to later send proof of U.S. citizenship so they can be reinstated, including at the polling place.

Remi Garza, the president of the Texas Association of Election Administrators, said county officials often dont have the data necessary to verify voters citizenship status on their own.

Were not generally set up as an investigative office, Garza, who serves as election administrator for Cameron County. Aside from asking the voter for documentation, we dont have a whole lot of authority to request information.

Some counties, like Bexar and Travis, happen to keep data on voters who register at naturalization ceremonies, but its not required by law. At the end of last year, the counties respectively found 15 and 17 percent of the flagged possible noncitizens filled out their registration applications at a ceremony, the Texas Tribune reported.

Travis County has not sent any letters to voters while it works to verify citizenship. For example, about 175 of the remaining 295 voters whose citizenship the county has not yet confirmed have Social Security numbers on file, which suggests they are citizens.

Multiple county officials said they had received calls from concerned and upset voters, many of whom had voted for years without issue, who didnt understand why they were being asked to prove themselves.

They felt insulted, Garza said. They were very emotional about having to provide this.

Sloppy data in 19 purge

In 2019, the state questioned the citizenship status of almost 100,000 voters. Later, state officials admitted in court that they did not try to weed out the immigrants who had been naturalized before sending lists of potential illegal voters to county elections officials. In fiscal year 2019, more than 97,000 individuals became naturalized U.S. citizens in Texas, according to the suit.

Several Latino civil rights groups sued, alleging it was discriminatory, and the state entered into a settlement agreement that put an end to that program and limited future reviews to only those who signed up to vote before they presented documents to DPS indicating that they were not citizens.

The debacle led then-Secretary of State David Whitley to apologize to state lawmakers, saying the lists should have been reviewed more carefully, and the Texas Senate ultimately forced him out of office.

MORE ON THAT: Texas official apologizes for inaccuracy of voter purge list

Republican lawmakers who supported the bill said the state has learned valuable lessons from that last attempt and insist the latest effort is better thought-out.

The plaintiff attorneys arent taking their word for it.

The Secretary of States voter purge program once again surgically targets naturalized U.S. citizens for investigation and removal from the voter rolls, said Nina Perales, MALDEF vice president of litigation. Naturalized U.S. citizens have the same right to vote as all other citizens, and this new lawsuit seeks to ensure that Texas treats its voters fairly.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com

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Rising rapper Tdott Woo was fatally shot in front of his Brooklyn home just hours after signing a recording contract.

Tajay Dobson, 22, better know by his stage name Tdott Woo, was shot in the head about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday on Avenue L near E. 98th St. in Canarsie. Medics rushed him to Brookdale University Hospital, but he could not be saved.

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A friend of rapper Pop Smoke, who was gunned down in February 2020 in Los Angeles, Tdott Woo is credited with inventing the viral Woo Walk dance move.

I couldnt even get sleep last night, Dobsons grandmother tearfully told the Daily News.

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He was a good, good kid. ... He loved singing and dancing and all that. He had a passion for music.

The grandmother, who asked that she not be identified, said she heard four shots around the time Dobson was attacked.

It seems like somebody called him and he went outside, she said. I hear the four shots, three in his back and one in his head I think. It was boom, boom, boom, boom, very quick rapid shots.

I was wondering and I said, No, thats too close to home, the shooting has to be near here, she said. Then I found out its my grandson that got shot, he died in the hospital.

She sorrowfully recounted seeing her grandsons body laid out in front of the home.

He was bleeding out, she said. He was out there alone, and I started to cry and call 911.

She said her grandson had just returned Monday evening from Los Angeles, where he had been recording a music video with friends.

Tajay Dobson (Instagram)

They signed him to a record label. the grandmother said. He posted it yesterday on Instagram.

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Earlier Tuesday, Million Dollar Music on Instagram announced it had signed Tdott Woo to a contract.

A day later, he was dead.

Following his death, the label paid tribute to him, posting on Instagram, Its an honour to remain your friend until your last moments. Your memories will always stay with us no matter where we go and what we do. Sleep in peace. #LongLiveTdott.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Cops said the shooter fled in a dark SUV and is being sought. Police dont yet know what sparked the shooting.

The grandmother called Dobsons killer wicked.

They have no guts, and they must stop it and the government must take them off the street, she said. They must stop it. Its not good for the neighborhood. You cant just come and kill people like birds. Come on.

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Cops said Dobson was arrested on gun charges at a music video shoot for rapper Little Tjay in December 2020. The case was still pending.

The recent shooting deaths brought rap fans back to the ugly days of rap beefs in the mid-90s that ended with the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.  wars that took place before rappers like Tdott Woo and Pop Smoke were even born.

At least one music personality said he has had enough. New York Citys Hot 97 DJ Drewski vowed to stop promoting music that highlights gang affiliations or disses rival rappers.

Im not supporting no more diss/gang music! Drewski wrote on Instagram. If ya dissing each other in the songs, dont even send it to me! I dont care if the artist sends it, the label sends it, your big Homie sends it! I will not support or play anymore Diss/Gang records on the radio! We r losing too many young men and women to the streets!
NEW BRAUNFELS  Ron Snider, the businessman who brought Krauses Cafe back to life, knew he had a terminal case of pulmonary fibrosis about five years before he died in April, said his son Chris Snider, who now operates the restaurant.

For most of that time, though, he shared his diagnosis only with family and close friends while defying his doctor by keeping a busy schedule overseeing construction of Krauses biergarten and pavilion.

He was definitely a proud person, and he didnt want sympathy. But it gave us a time to connect, Chris said. I got the opportunity to work with him, to understand his vision and get my hands around what it takes to operate what we affectionately refer to as a three-ring circus.

Founded in 1938, Krauses closed its doors in 1985. It reopened in 2017 with 70 beers on tap and a menu full of German staples (schweinshaxe, or roasted pork shank, and potato pancakes) as well as Texas ones (fried chicken, pig burgers). That year, it got a rave review from Express-News food critic Mike Sutter  A beerhall that could be airlifted, survive and thrive in any city hungry for the convergence of Old World archetypes with New World style, he wrote.

Today, Snider co-owns the cafe with his mother, Carol, and his sister, Megan Lowe.

Kin Man Hui / Staff photographer

Ron Snider had a passion for starting businesses, his son said. When he and Carol moved to New Braunfels in the 80s, they operated a company making playground equipment. They later sold it and started a company making barbecue pits. Selling that company, they invested in real estate in downtown New Braunfels. Along with Krauses, they opened the Italian restaurant 188 South.

At the time, downtown New Braunfels was largely vacant, the younger Snider said. I think he just saw the opportunity. He definitely fell in love with the process of redeveloping old buildings and finding good tenants for them, and helping those tenants be successful.

Snider, who also operates the Texas Titos pepper and pickle company, recently sat for an interview in Krauses pavilion to discuss his fathers legacy, difficulties finding staff and the rapid growth of New Braunfels. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Q: Im surprised by how active your downtown is, how many small businesses there are.

A: It looks a lot different than it did 20 years ago. Its very vibrant now and occupancy is about 100 percent. Theres almost no vacant buildings down here anymore.

Q: Was there ever a question in your mind whether you would follow him in taking control of Krauses?

A: I had my doubts sometimes. He and I, we worked well together sometimes and other times it was a big challenge. You know, the restaurant business is a big business. It consumes a lot and were open a lot. We run seven days a week, we run long hours. I have a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old. I dont know that it would necessarily be a choice that I would make for my family and me, but its definitely something that we enjoy. My kids were raised here, they grew up here, they run around like they own the place.

Q: From what Ive read about your father, it sounds like he was a very energetic businessman. Is it difficult to carry that on?

A: It is. I didnt realize how many things he actually did and how much energy he actually had, especially at his age and with his diagnosis. Its amazing. But he taught me how to work with people and not trying to do everything myself. And trust people. You know, things werent ever going to go perfectly, but make prompt decisions and just keep moving.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Q: Do you do things differently from him?

A: He taught me most of what I know, but he and I definitely had a slightly different approach. One thing, he loved starting companies, but he didnt necessarily like operating companies. He got bored with operating companies and I like operating companies. I like processes and procedures, I like putting things and systems in place. Its got daily challenges, mostly personnel-related, especially in this business. I mean, its all about people, right? Its the customers, its the employees. Its such a people business. I like the challenges of operating day in and day out. That may be one of the only things Im better at than he was!

Q: Theres a lot of tradition at this business. How do you respect that tradition while staying up to date with modern tastes?

A: We try to be respectful of the typical German beer hall, respectful of the cafe, and then bring some more modern elements, especially outdoors here. For example, were installing TVs out here right now, but we kind of have a no-TV mandate in the beer hall and the cafe.

We keep the traditional dishes on. Obviously, those have to evolve as well, though. We tried a lot of the original recipes from 1938, what was popular at Krauses, and it was amazing how much criticism we got with those recipes, a lot of it from the people that remember them back then, that were like, This is not how it used to be!

You know, tastes evolve, but so do towns. We kind of look at this as, you know, New Braunfels is a very traditional town, but, boy, has it evolved. The population has grown. The roads have grown, the traffics increased. We look at Krauses as a microcosm of that. We try to grow Krauses and keep up with demand, keep up with modern times, but also honor the traditions. Put the German beers on tap, put the Texas beers on tap. Theres not a microwave in the kitchen. Cook everything, as much as we can, from scratch.

Q: What do you do to ensure authenticity from the standpoint of German culture? Do you have employees who are German?

A: We definitely have some German transplants on staff. One of them is a manager. For example, its her recipe from Germany thats our special this week. Its a very authentic German sauerbraten.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

At the same time, were a German American restaurant, hands down. I kind of compare that to your Tex-Mex restaurants. I mean, we have a chicken-fried steak on the menu. We have Shiner Bock on tap.

Q: Do you get visitors from Germany?

A: Sure do. We also get members of the military from San Antonio who were stationed in Germany. They like to come here and have the same experience. You know, Germany is big. Theres a lot of regions, and the food varies by region. We find that we get feedback depending on what region of Germany people are familiar with or stationed at. They kind of have praise or criticism of the German elements of our food accordingly.

Q: Have you had difficulty finding staff lately?

A: Yes, we have, but we also have a really, really good staff. I think everybodys having trouble finding staff, or everybody that I talk to. I keep seeing restaurants posting shortened hours. We try to avoid that as much as possible. We achieve some social distancing by limiting the number of people. We rarely fill all of these tables, and that comes largely from our inability to staff to the levels that we would like to. We had a record year, but we could have done a lot more sales with more staff, I believe.

Q: What are some ways youve tried to deal with the lack of staff?

A: One, weve worked on retention because its easier to keep somebody, typically, than to find somebody. Weve done that through paid time off, improving some of the policies for the workers, raising compensation, which is also in response to just the general market. Also, improving facilities. Were working on our kitchen right now to make it a better place to work. We really just try to have a good culture, to have good facilities and treat our staff well.

Photos by Kin Man Hui / Staff photographer

Q: New Braunfels is one of the fastest-growing towns in the U.S. How do you feel about that?

A: I definitely have mixed feelings. Growing up here, I think there were 20,000 people when we moved here, and it was a very tight community. And now, boy.

One thing I can say for sure is the opportunities have increased, and thats evidenced in downtown. The fact that theres zero vacancy, it just speaks to the demand. The fact that Krauses can exist in this size speaks of the demand. Theres a ton of opportunities. Its easy to get nostalgic and not want things to change.

I also dont have to drive to San Antonio and Austin to buy clothes, or go to the mall, or do all the things that I remember doing growing up. You know, you really dont have to leave town for much anymore.

Q: On your website you refer to New Braunfels as a German town. With so many people moving in, could you still say that?

A: Thats an interesting question. I would say its a German town with a lot of other heritage, including the Hispanic community, always growing. Theres a lot of tie-ins to that, too. German and Mexican culture, theres a lot of crossover, even in the music.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

New Braunfels is getting more and more diverse, and I think its for the better. It was a German town. It still has some strong German roots.

Q: You feel good about the direction New Braunfels is heading?

A: I do. Theres a lot of citizens here that care a lot about the future of the community. And the problems that we have here are good problems, right? Were trying to figure out how to  I dont want to say fight the growth  but how to control the growth. What kind of growth we want to see, what kind of housing we want to see. Were not worried about the fate of the community like some rural cities are. We have good problems in New Braunfels.
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Croatia Airlines has retired one of its two Airbus A320 aircraft. The jet, registered 9A-CTJ, left the Croatian capital yesterday for Cotswold in the United Kingdom for part out and scrapping. The aircraft, named Dubrovnik, was delivered new to the carrier and was almost 23 years old. It had been parked in Zagreb since mid-November of last year. Croatia Airlines fleet now consists of twelve aircraft, including five A319s, one A320 and six Dash 8s, however, one A319, registered 9A-CTH, has been parked in Zagreb since October of last year.




FAIRFIELD  The school board approved a budget request just under $202.5 million for the upcoming school year, which is 5.42 percent more than the current budget, but less than what the superintendent initially proposed.

Superintendent Mike Cummings had recommended a $204 million budget, which was a 6.2 percent increase over the current year. At the last school board meeting, he brought forward a list of adjustments that came to a $1.7 million cut based off discussions with the board during the budget process.

The board unanimously accepted the changes, and added $140,000 to replace the scoreboard at Fairfield Ludlowe. The board also voted 5-4 to add $17,500 to bring the music coordinator position up to 1 full-time equivalent, instead of the current 0.8 FTE position.

The $1.7 million in reductions included reallocating grant funding and reducing the requested amount for some heating, ventilation and air conditioning work. It also included changes to gas, enrollment and textbook requests.

Cummings said the district is looking at textbook and technology purchases from a multi-year approach so that it can roll out the costs based on the needs.

We wouldnt have recommended anything if we thought it would have a negative impact, he said.

Some of the cuts also include the remote tutors and most supplies for the boost summer program. Cummings said this is because the administration expects to have in-person tutoring in the summer instead of remote and because there are supplies remaining from last summers program.

Another cut is money for the summer curriculum work  based on teachers expected availability  and the capstone. Cummings said the capstone delay is also because more planning work needs to be done for it.

I still think its important work, were just not there yet, he said.

Board member Carol Guernsey proposed the increase to the music coordinator because she said the award-winning music program has suffered during the pandemic due to the restrictions in place and the resulting declining enrollment. She said the high schools saw a 21 percent decline in band enrollment, 14 percent for orchestra and a 31 percent decline for choir.

This change was needed prior to the pandemic and the needs are even greater now, she said. A full-time position would provide greater flexibility to be responsive to the changing needs of our music teachers and students.

Guernsey was joined by board members Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Jacobsen, Bonnie Rotelli and Crissy Kelly in supporting it.

Board member Jennifer Maxon-Kennelly also spoke about the need for keeping math academy or having a viable alternative for those accelerated students  a common plea among parents and students for a couple years  but stopped short of a formal proposal.

Instead, Cummings said the schools are looking at ways to offer this type of accelerated program in a way that wont impact the budget. He expects to have more information on it by the end of the school year.

If we can find a no-cost option to at least address some those student concerns, we will do so, he said.

One of the unknowns in the budget is the health insurance costs after the state sent out new projected rates, just a month after the last projected numbers, bringing it up from 6.5 percent to 8 percent.

District officials and school board members said they plan to speak with their state legislators and the state comptrollers office about it, something other districts are also doing, especially since some of the COVID relief money awarded to Connecticut is expected to be used to cover premiums. Because of this, the district plans to keep the numbers in the budget as is.

I think they play very conservative with this, Vice Chairman Nick Aysseh said of the projections. I would want to move forward with the numbers we projected because there can and should be enough backlash with this and that money is out there.

The school budget now heads to the town.
The fight outside North High School in Denver was about to turn more violent as one girl wrapped a bike chain around her fist to strike the other. Just before the attacker used the weapon, school staff arrived and restrained her, ending the fight but not the story.

Most high schools would have referred the chain-wielding girl to the police. But North High brought the two girls together to resolve the conflict through conversation. They discovered that a boy was playing them off each other. Feeling less hostile after figuring out the backstory, the girls did not fight again.

This alternative method of discipline, called restorative practices, is spreading across the country  and being put to the test. Many schools are enduring sharp increases in violence following the return of students from COVID lockdowns, making this softer approach a higher-stakes experiment in student safety.

Kids are getting into more fights and disturbances because they are struggling, says Yoli Anyon, a professor of social work at San Jose State University. So schools are relying on restorative practices as a way to help young people transition back to the classroom.

Long pushed by racial justice groups, the method aims to curb suspensions and arrests that disproportionately affect students of color. It replaces punishment with discussions about the causes and harmful impact of misbehavior, from sassing teachers and smoking pot to fighting (serious offenses like gun possession are still referred to the police). The hope is that students, through apologizing and making amends, will learn from their misdeeds and form healthier relationships with peers and teachers, making school violence less likely as they continue their education.

Orange County, Calif., is spearheading an expansion of the program into 32 schools, and Iowa City just started its own. Many other large districts  including Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City, Miami, New York City, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Washington D.C.  introduced the alternative in recent years.

Denver, which pioneered restorative practices more than a decade ago and inspired districts to follow its lead, seems a good place to ask: Is the kinder approach working? Yes and no, and often the answer depends on the eye of the beholder. Suspensions have fallen significantly, in keeping with the intent of the changed discipline policy. But fighting and other serious incidents have not meaningfully declined, the district says. Other cities have reported similar outcomes, according to evaluations and school leaders.

Critics point to the massacre in Parkland, Fla., as a chilling example of what can go wrong. Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 fellow students and staff members in 2018, was able to stay in school  and pass a background check to purchase the weapon he used  because the district tried to address his violent behavior before the shooting through counseling instead of referring him to authorities.

The reasons for the mixed results in Denver, where Latinos and blacks make up two-thirds of the students, and other cities are complex. Some teachers and administrations dont buy the restorative philosophy. In schools struggling with low test scores and overcrowded classrooms, it seems like another time-consuming educational fad. And students who are demoralized by school sometimes see a restorative conversation as an easy way to escape suspension rather than a learning experience.

Restorative practices arent a silver bullet that alone fix behavior problems, says Don Haddad, the superintendent of Colorados St. Vrain Valley School District, which has used the program for years. It only works as part of a comprehensive improvement of schools, with better academic programs that give students hope for the future. Otherwise, it has the potential to be just another feel-good program.

Cops Get the Boot

Last year, Denver doubled down on restorative practices when it expelled police, called school resource officers (SROs), from its schools. Officers ticketed and arrested 4,500 students at school from 2014 to 2019 in a district of about 90,000 pupils. Critics of the use of SROs say many of these incidents, like marijuana possession, should have been handled by restorative conversations.

The Black Lives Matter protests after the police murder of George Floyd in 2020 gave the progressive Denver School Board an opening to move against the SROs. When Denver police used tear gas on protesters, Tay Anderson, who joined the board after serving as a restorative coordinator at North High, says he decided to ride the momentum against law enforcement that was sweeping the country. He immediately helped draft a resolution to phase the officers out of schools by the middle of 2021.

Many school leaders, who werent consulted about the order, objected. North High Principal Scott Wolf told board members that the role of SROs in schools is misunderstood. He called them an incredible asset by building positive relationships with students and helping improve the schools culture. In the model of community policing, SROs serve mostly to deter crime.

But the board passed the measure unanimously, joining more than 30 districts nationwide in removing police from schools.

In late summer, when Denver students returned to the school buildings after more than a year of remote learning, the police were no longer there to help tamp down the violence. The outbreak in Denver was alarming. In just the first month of instruction, there were 102 student fights, 11 sexual assaults, eight assaults on staff and 29 weapons violations, including four loaded firearms and a stabbing of a student with a knife, according to Boardhawk, a news website that covers the district. Michael Eaton, chief of the Department of Safety for Denver schools, warned in November that hes never seen such a surge of crime in his 10 years of service.

The murder of George Floyd had nothing to do with SROs, but for political reasons districts made the decision to remove a very protective element from their schools, says Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers. We now see that this didnt make schools safer.

Officials in Alexandria, Va., and at least one other district called the police back to school last fall to combat the jump in assaults and gun threats. But Anderson, a progressive leader of the Denver board at age 23, rejects the criticism that it blundered. We would have seen these spontaneous incidents across the district whether there was an officer present or not, he says.

The Rise and Fall of Suspensions

Denver and other districts nationwide saw a rise in suspensions after one of the most tragic days in Colorado school history: the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School by two armed students. Districts adopted zero-tolerance policies in the wake of Columbine, handing out tougher penalties including suspensions for a long list of offenses, from talking in class and insubordination to gang fights. Three years after Columbine, suspensions in Denver rose to 13,679.

Violence in schools fell during the early days of zero tolerance along with a national decline in crime, making this policys impact hard to discern. Amid the inevitable excesses, such as elementary students suspended for playing with make-believe guns, one fact stood out: Black students were being suspended at three times the rate of whites, according to the U.S. Office of Civil Rights.

The debate over the causes of the racial disparity continues today: Are schools acting with racial bias in suspending a higher percentage of blacks, or are these students misbehaving more often than whites? The question isnt merely academic, since students who are suspended or expelled are about three times as likely to be involved with the juvenile justice system the following year, research shows.

The Obama administration took sides, warning schools that it saw racism at work and would carry out civil rights investigations against schools that didnt rectify the disparity in suspensions. More than 300 investigations were launched, causing schools to change their discipline policies to penalize fewer blacks and Latinos. The Trump administration rescinded Obamas guidance as a misuse of federal power. Now President Bidens education secretary, Miguel Cardona, is preparing new guidance that appears to be in line with Obamas.

While bias is hard to prove, researchers have approached it from several angles. In a study of Denvers K-12 schools, Professor Anyon controlled for several factors such as whether students had disabilities, were identified as gifted, or came from low-income families. She found that black and Latino students were often punished more harshly than their white peers for the same offenses and were at greater risk for suspensions. In a Stanford study of implicit bias, 191 teachers were presented with vignettes of a range of misbehavior by students with both black (Deshawn) and white (Jake) sounding names. When asked if they could imagine suspending the students, the teachers were significantly more likely to suspend the students they thought were black.

But the findings of subtle bias have run up against a straightforward fact  African American and Latino students get into more fights than whites and Asians. Since 1993, the National Center for Education Statistics has surveyed students in grades 9-12, asking if they have been in a physical fight at school. In 2019, American Indian students fought the most (18.9%), followed by blacks (15.5%), Pacific Islanders (9.1%), Latinos (7.8%), whites (6.4%) and Asians (4.9%). These differences have held steady over decades.

Gail Heriot, a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, says advocates wrongly dismiss evidence that shows behavior, rather than bias, better explains the disparity in suspensions. This includes her follow commissioners, whom Heriot took to task in a dissent to a 2019 report claiming that students of color dont commit more disciplinable offenses.

Sometimes people simply neglect whats clear from the data, says Heriot, a professor at the University of San Diego School of Law. It seems to me that woke-ism is a large part of why people reject the data.

Do blacks and Latinos fight more because some live in communities torn apart by poverty, violence and gangs, and bring these animosities with them into schools?

To me, thats a racist narrative, says Anyon. The vast majority of kids from low-income communities are not involved in gangs. They are not violent. Their parents are not criminals. But its what we see in the media.

Anyon says the root of the suspension problem isnt unruly behavior. Rather, its the limited resources available to segregated schools and the lack of training for staff to prevent conflicts from escalating. The fix? Restorative practices.

Denvers Model of Justice

Denver School Board leaders were lobbied to adopt restorative practices by Padres & Jovenes Unidos and other racial justice groups. The city started in 2006 with a pilot project at North High and three other schools, supported by more than $1 million in state grants, and a revamp of its discipline code.

Federal and state laws require schools to report to police the most serious offenses, such as possessing a firearm, assaults that cause injuries and selling drugs. But Denver changed how it handled the more common incidents, such as fights, verbal abuse and smoking marijuana, by often sending students through a restorative process rather than suspending them or calling the police.

After a fight, each student talks separately with a restorative coordinator, often a recent high school graduate who is hired as a full-time employee and trained in the practice. The coordinator calms down the students and explains the process before they all meet. During the restorative conversation, the goal is to get students to discuss the harm they have caused other students by disrupting class or bullying them. They also agree on a prevention plan, like going to counseling. Some make amends by cleaning the lunchroom or writing a letter of apology.

Some students develop empathy by seeing the implications of their actions and afterward get along better with peers, says Haddad, the superintendent. Several years ago, a group of students caused a lot of damage to a school building as part of a senior prank that got out of hand. Instead of facing vandalism charges, they went through a restorative meeting, wrote letters of apology and helped repair the school. When we see these kids today, they still thank us for giving them a chance to avoid a police record, which would have been very problematic, he says.

But the practice doesn't always work. Sometimes students brawl again and again, forcing the coordinator to change their schedules so they wont encounter each other in class or the hallways. At times, victims of a fight demand the arrest of their attackers. While the coordinator will try to dissuade them, the school cant stop them from calling the police.

What happens when students are caught smoking marijuana? We realized that sending students home for cannabis use was not the best thing since they continue to use it and play video games rather than being in class, says Jay Grimm, Denvers district director of restorative practices. Instead, we brought in 25 health professionals to run education sessions and provide therapy to drug users.

Denver now hopes to bring restorative practices directly into the classrooms by training its teachers, who are predominately white, to check their possible racial biases. Grimm says teachers sometimes trigger conflicts that can lead to suspensions by their unforgiving responses to minor infractions, like using a cellphone in class or being tardy.

If the teacher scolds and shames Carlos in front of the class for being late, he might talk back and then get kicked out, Grimm says. But teachers can also just say, Welcome, Carlos. Lets talk after class.

Resistance From Teachers

The challenge for Denver is that the entire district isnt onboard with restorative practices. About 63% of the districts more than 230 schools have chosen to hire a restorative coordinator, a relatively low-paying job that doesnt require a college degree. Some schools use coordinators to enforce traditional discipline as hall and lunchroom monitors.

Grimm estimates that about a third of teachers, who are currently dealing with students who fell behind during the pandemic, arent supportive. Some teachers object because restorative practices are not part of the union agreement. Others dont believe it works.

Whether Denver is a success story depends on the measuring stick. The district sees its sizeable drop in suspensions, even as the student body grew, as a big win. Suspensions fell from 10,344 in the school year ending in 2010 to 4,160 nine years later before the pandemic closed schools, according to district data.

But the aggressive behavior of students didnt change a lot during that time. The district experienced a small increase to 714 in referrals of serious incidents to police. However, the number of mutual fights dropped to 915 in 2019 from 1,069 four years prior.

Sam Song, a professor of psychology who evaluates restorative programs in Nevada, says they cant be expected to solve the complicated problem of violence in schools.

Its so hard to make changes in schools, but we have lots of examples where restorative practices made a positive difference in a students life, he says. So if it helps only 50% of the kids, I think thats worth it.
(The Center Square)  The federal agency tasked with managing wild horses and burros across the American West will now require compliance inspections as part of its animal adoption program.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Managements (BLM) changes to its adoption incentive program for wild horses and burros will enhance existing protections for adopted animals, the agency said last week.

BLM will require compliance inspections within six months of an animals adoption, and title applications will need the approval of a veterinarian or BLM-authorized officer before incentive payments are sent to adopters.

We have an unwavering commitment to the humane care and placement of Americas wild horses and burros. By and large, the Adoption Incentive Program has provided the boost people have needed to support their dream of adopting and appropriately caring for a wild horse or burro, BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a statement. As we further refine this successful program, I encourage all capable, potential adopters to give a wild horse or burro a good home.

The BLM manages over 86,000 wild horses and burros that roam 27 million acres of public land in 10 western states, with Nevada accounting for nearly half of the population.

According to the agency, herd overpopulation is dangerous for horses  increasing the risk of starvation and thirst among widespread droughts  and can be detrimental to critical habitat. It plans on gathering 22,000 animals this year, removing 19,000 of those excess animals from the range. The remaining animals will be treated with some form of fertility control before being released back to their herds, the BLM said earlier this month.

Over 8,600 animals were adopted last year via the program, which offers eligible people $1,000 to adopt and board an animal. Proponents of the program argue it saves taxpayer dollars since boarding horses and burros off-range costs the federal government an estimated $50 million each year, while animal welfare groups argue the program needs more oversight and accountability for welfare violations.

Hannah Downey, policy director for the Bozeman, Montana-based Property and Environment Research Center, said the number of horses adopted has increased by 200% since the programs start in 2019.

"This tremendous success story is a real credit to the bureau's outstanding efforts to humanely address herd overpopulation, which will continue with these new refinements, Downey said. In addition to transferring over 8,000 animals out of federal holding facilities and into good homes, this creative market-based approach is helping to restore the ecological health of our public lands and saving taxpayers $24,000 per horse. These clear wins will compound over time and ensure a lasting benefit for generations."
Grain markets continued bullish action on the Chicago Board of Trade last week. Nearby March corn futures gained 1934 cents, close to the 20-cent gain of the week before. Soybeans have now gained over a dollar in the last two weeks.

The corn futures high was made the last day of January at $6.4212. The contract then tanked, closing down a dime for the day.

The soybean futures, however, have remained strong. New highs in old and new crop soybeans were made the morning of Feb. 1. The March futures traded through another magic number, getting to $15.02 briefly. We were most recently trading at $14.9912, but that is still up eight and three-quarters cents.

November soybean futures have also traded at a new high, at $13.7314. We were most recently two cents below that, but still up over a nickel.

In the case of corn, we have finally peaked above the old March futures high made clear back in early May, at $6.4012.

Soybeans

In the case of soybeans, we were making big strides above the old highs in both old and new crop. The old November futures high was $13.1334 June 7. We have gained almost 60 cents since then. The old March futures high was the same day at $14.4512, so we have gained 5612 cents since then.

The strength of the soybean futures had been predicated mostly on dry weather in southern Brazil and in Argentina. In fact, there has been significant rain in the last few days in those dry areas, but the market has continued to rally.

The fundamentals of this rally lean toward the idea that the coverage, at maybe 50% in Argentina and less in Brazil, is not complete; the damage is already done, and current forecast are not for continued rain. The fact that the rally continues in the face of actual rain, however, is significant. This is a rally that the market clearly wants to see continue.

Corn

The corn rally is different in that it so far has just managed to make new highs, and then the March futures, especially, dipped sharply. This is a market that is looking for a top and sees a sell-off at a marginally new high.

There are fundamental reasons for the corn price rise. We have seen strong exports and good livestock margins, and money seems to be moving from a stalled Wall Street into commodity markets.

China continues to take delivery on previous contracts, encouraging observers that they will finish executing on their commitments. In addition, we saw sales to our neighbors, which now include not just Canada and Mexico, but others in Central and South America.

The ethanol industry continues to absorb corn at a nearrecord pace, even though margins have declined.

Wheat

The wheat markets continue to see a shakeout following this years horrible spring wheat production. The Minneapolis spring wheat market lost 62 cents last week, while the hard red winter wheat market of Kansas City was unchanged and the Chicago soft red winter market was actually up 15 cents.

Traders seem to be adjusting to the shortage of spring wheat and are evening up the values between markets.

We are now into February and still in that dangerous winter period when we are short of news that moves markets. The news we wait for is centered around the end of March U.S. Department of Agriculture planting intentions report, and then early spring weather.

Current prices would encourage corn planting except for the ugly truth that input costs are so high that $6 wheat futures does not mean we will have big net margins in the country.

Farmers have every reason to switch acres to the high-flying beans. Hidden in this scenario is the demand for acres from the small grains, where crops like oats have had record prices and low production costs compared to corn or soybeans.

This is the time of year when we talk about economic reasons for switching acres, and the prospects of doing so. The reality is that the switch is not easy for most farmers, who tend to be locked into a given rotation. The talk appeals more to economists than farmers.

So, we wait to see what is ahead, and anticipate new highs in commodity prices as we wait.
Actress Susan Sarandon in an eyebrow-raising tweet has called into question the need for police in New York City  and she did it by reposting a message likening cops at the funeral for fallen Officer Jason Rivera to fascists.

Sarandon posted to Twitter at 5:53 p.m. Tuesday as thousands of cops and New Yorkers gathered at St. Patricks Cathedral for the wake for slain NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora.

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Her tweet included a repost of a picture of a sea of uniformed cops filling Fifth Ave. for the funeral for Moras partner Rivera last week. Im gonna tell my kids this is what fascism looks like, the headline on the original tweet reads.

So, if all these cops werent needed for CRIME that day, doesnt that mean they arent needed ANY day? a headline in Sarandons post over the retweeted photo reads.

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Susan Sarandon (ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

Sarandon has been critical of the NYPD in the past.

Shame on you, she tweeted at former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2020 after he lauded the NYPD for tremendous restraint overall during the George Floyd protests.

The city Department of Investigation later blasted police for excessive force during a number of the protests  and de Blasio apologized for how the NYPD dealt with protesters.

Sarandon was arrested in March 1999 outside 1 Police Plaza, where protesters gathered for weeks pf civil disobedience after an unarmed street vendor, Amadou Diallo, was shot dead by cops at his Bronx building.

In 2020, she sold the prewar Chelsea duplex she lived in for 30 years for the asking price of $7.9 million, People reported. She said she wanted to downsize from the 6,061-square-foot luxury pad, which takes up the seventh and eighth floors of a co-op building, but intended to stay in the neighborhood, vowing to always remain a New Yorker, she told The Wall Street Journal.
Farmers across the UK are using the whole month of February to celebrate and promote nutritious dairy products to a wider audience.

The 'Februdairy' initiative, which launched on Tuesday, has already seen farmers utilise social media to help promote the industry.

Prominent accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are encouraging the public to buy local, British dairy products.

Nutritionists are also educating the public on dairy's positive impact on health, such as the presence of nutrients such as calcium, potassium, and vitamin D.

This year's Februdairy follows a difficult twelve months for the nation's dairy producers, who saw the unprecedented market pressures of the pandemic for the second year running.

Been a long first day of #Februdairy - think this was coffee number six pic.twitter.com/nMmk4ebGbd  Prof. Jude Capper ?????? (@Bovidiva) February 1, 2022

It's here... #Februdairy is upon us and I am stoked!! Bring on fabulous produce, dairy excellence, and a little creativity #teamdairy pic.twitter.com/G2zdkvaT0h  Natalie Noble (@Natalie_Agri) February 1, 2022

Samuel Kurtz, the Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, welcomed this year's initiative, urging others to raise a glass of the white stuff.

A glass of milk in the morning may just be that to some  but for the farmers that produce that calcium packed glass of milk, it is from hours of hard work and commitment," he said.

But its not just calcium crammed into that small glass. Its bursting with other important vitamins such as vitamin B12, vitamin A and protein.

Dairy has an important part to play in giving us the nutrients we need to be healthy while also supporting our important domestic agricultural industry."
Livestock worth an estimated 2.1 million were stolen from farms across the country last year as fears are raised over a new wave of thefts due to rising prices.

While 2021 saw a 5% fall in livestock rustling incidents on the previous year, NFU Mutual warns that criminals could soon become more active again.

In 2020, the pandemic and subsequent lockdown saw livestock theft costs fall by 25.5%, reversing a trend of increases over the previous decade.

However, there are concerns that increases in prices - including meat - could lead to a resurgence in the crime this year.

Livestock rustling remains one of the costliest crimes affecting farmers, after machinery theft.

But the introduction of hi-tech security and marking systems, along with DNA testing, is increasingly making it more difficult for criminals to escape justice.

Rebecca Davidson, rural affairs specialist at NFU Mutual, said it was 'encouraging news' that the crime had gone down for the second year running, but she urged caution.

"Its a crime which attacks the roots of farming life and causes huge anxiety for farmers," she explained.

"It also causes suffering to stolen animals which are transported and slaughtered without concern for their welfare.

The fact that large scale thefts are still taking place demonstrates theres no room for complacency.

"Were concerned that higher meat prices, combined with the squeeze on consumers, could lead to a new wave of livestock theft.

Rustling is a crime that has been going on for centuries. However, until the advent of large-scale farming and the development of modern road infrastructures, it rarely involved more than a couple of lambs or a single steer being stolen.

Today, it involves organised criminal gangs, and crime reported regularly involve over 50 sheep being taken in a single raid.

To avoid buying unsafe, stolen meat which has been slaughtered illegally, the public are advised not to buy from unusual sources and to look for the Red Tractor logo.

NFU Mutual is also supporting numerous initiatives to help detect theft, including two trials on-farm, using sensors to detect unusual activity and alert farmers.

The insurer has also supported secure shelters for stolen farm animals so they can be cared for while police investigations take place.

Meanwhile, Devon and Cornwall Police are rolling out an anti-rustling scheme on Dartmoor which is deploying a range of different security systems to beat thieves.

It also urges community involvement by getting residents and countryside visitors to report suspicious sightings of livestock being moved to farmers or the police.

Because of this scheme, NFU Mutual figures show the cost of rustling in Devon and Cornwall reduced by 8 percent last year.

PC Martin Beck of the Devon and Cornwall Police Rural Affairs Team said the scheme brought the whole rural community together to tackle livestock rustling.

During 2022 we will be inviting local farmers, local residents and visitors to be the eyes and ears of the moor to help protect our farms and livestock," he added.

We will also be using and testing a variety of security measures to prevent theft. It sends a clear message to criminals that rustling will not be tolerated.

"We are also working with partners to identify where stolen livestock or the products from illegal slaughter go."

How can I prevent rustling?

To deter and detect livestock thieves, NFU Mutual has issued advice and guidance for farmers:

 Ensure stock is clearly marked and records are up to date

 When possible graze livestock in fields away from roads

 Check stock regularly - and vary times of feeding and check-ups

 Consider gate sensors and a high-tech marking system

 Join a Farm or Rural Watch scheme to share information about rural crime activity in your area

 Ask neighbours to report any suspicious sightings either to you, the police, or to give information anonymously to the Crimestoppers Hotline 0800 555 111

 Dial 999 immediately if an incident is taking place  and do not approach criminals
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) has appointed Sarah Millar as its new chief executive, replacing Alan Clarke who will step down in April after five years in the role.

Sarah Millar is currently director of market intelligence and external affairs at QMS, a levy organisation which promotes the Scottish red meat sector.

Her appointment as the body's chief executive comes at a crucial time for the livestock sector and meat industry in Scotland, and the UK as a whole.

Ms Millar joined QMS in 2018 and was director of industry development before taking on her current role in 2021.

Widely known in farming circles, she was brought up on the family hill farm in Lanarkshire, and now lives with her husband on their Angus farm.

Ms Millar's career has spanned multiple parts of the Scottish farming supply chain, including working for multi-national businesses, and as a rural business consultant.

Prior to joining QMS, she worked for Soil Association Scotland delivering a knowledge transfer programme.

She has also been involved in an advisory capacity to the Scottish government on the development of post-Brexit rural policy.

Kate Rowell, chair of Quality Meat Scotland, said the appointment followed a robust recruitment process.

"She brings a lifetime of knowledge and experience of the Scottish farming industry."

She also paid tribute to Alan Clarke for his contribution over the past five years, which has been a period of extensive change at QMS:

Alan will leave the organisation in a strong position to move forward and on behalf of the Board of QMS we wish him well in his journey to semi-retirement.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) welcomed Ms Millar's appointment. Chief executive, Phil Stocker said: "I welcome the chance to strengthen the connections between NSA and QMS even further.

QMS has a unique role and a responsibility to Scotlands levy payers but on behalf of the NSA as a UK wide association, I am also pleased to see the collaborations in place between all our levy bodies.

"Id like to thank Alan Clark for all he has done in his 5 years as QMS chief executive, work that has put QMS in a good position for Sarah to build on.
Scottish pig producers impacted by the closure of the Brechin abattoir as a result of the pandemic are being encouraged to apply to a renewed hardship scheme.

Last year saw the temporary closure of Quality Pig Processors' (QPP) Brechin abattoir due to Covid-19 outbreaks, causing the suspension of its China export licence.

In response, the Scottish government announced the pig producers hardship support scheme.

This was initially made available in August 2021 to deliver what the Scottish government described as 'essential funding' to farmers who supplied QPP between 8 February and 31 March 2021.

In December, the Scottish government announced that the scheme was set to be extended to support the industry through the ongoing impact of the Covid crisis.

The industry remains hampered by low staffing levels throughout the supply chain as a direct result of the pandemic.

Backed by more than 680,000, the renewed scheme will now pay pig producers 7.50 per pig supplied to QPP's Brechin plant, between 1 April and 30 September 2021.

Applications to the hardship support scheme opened this week, with a deadline set for 20 February 2022.

NFU Scotlands pigs committee chair, Jamie Wyllie is encouraging eligible producers to consider applying to it.

The extension of the scheme is something that the union pushed to secure and will go some way to alleviate the huge losses that Scottish pig producers are currently facing.

Issues caused by Covid come at a time of high input costs on farms, poor prices globally, and a lack of equivalent controls and checks on EU product coming into the market.

The opening of the scheme will be welcome news to our members, and I encourage all those who are eligible to apply before the 20 February.

The completed application, together with the supporting evidence, can be submitted via email to the Scottish government at pigproducers.support@gov.scot.
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A Southern Florida high school teacher has been arrested for allegedly molesting and performing a sex act on a student in his classroom.

Piper High School teacher Rafael Guzman, 37, has been charged with one count of an authority figure soliciting or engaging in sexual conduct with a student at the school in Broward Countys Sunrise, about 32 miles north of Miami, according to his arrest report obtained by CBS Miami Tuesday.

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[ Teacher marries student she was accused of having sex with, charges dropped ]

The alleged victim, 17, says the educator asked her to stay after class last Thursday and instructed her to turn off the lights before they went into his office, where she says he molested and performed a sex act on her, according to the outlet.

Rafael Guzman (Broward County Sheriff's Office)

The teen, who was not named, told authorities that Guzman, a teacher in the district since 2018, then gave her $100 and told her not to feel bad, according to the report.

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Prior to learning he was being arrested, Guzman admitted to police that he had performed the sex act on the student and had kissed and touched her, according to CBS Miami.

Broward Public Schools spokeswoman told the outlet that cases like this, pending investigation, generally see the accused individual transferred to an office without students.

With his bond set at $50,000, Guzman must wear a GPS monitor once hes out of jail and cannot contact the victim nor other minors and must not go near the school.


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The jewel of the Aegean, Izmir is the major resort for holidaymakers who are looking to explore this part of Turkey with its lovely landscapes and magnificent coastline.

Turkiyes third-largest city, Izmir has been an important Aegean port since ancient times, when it was known as the Greek city of Smyrna; its seafront is as fetching and lively as any in the world. The citys rich and fascinating heritage reflects the fact that it has been the home of Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Levantines and Turks over the centuries. Today, the city still enjoys its small but culturally-colourful Jewish and Levantine communities  and its unique and delicious cuisine attests to this. Its monumental history and delightful sea towns make Izmir one of Turkiyes must-see places  one you should definitely add to your holiday list.

Izmir: Jewel of the Aegean. Photo Credit: Turkey Home

Here are some of the coastal towns of Izmir:

Cesme

The biggest and most famous of the beach resorts around Izmir, Cesme is an essentially Turkish resort and thermal spa (Cesme means spring), dominated by its 14th-century Genoese fortress with a labyrinth of twisting back streets behind. The attractive promenade is lined with restaurants. The long, sandy beach where most of the hotels are concentrated lies a little outside the town.

The imposing 14th-century Genoese fortress overlooking Cesme harbour. Photograph courtesy of Cesme.Net

Cesme town. Photo by Holiday Warehouse

Cesmes long sandy beaches are located outside the town. Photograph courtesy of Gran Fondo

Ozdere

A beautiful corner of the Aegean, Ozdere is a coastal town in the Menderes district of the Izmir region. With a temperate climate, favourable location and nearly 40-kilometre-long coastline and blue-flag beaches, Ozdere is a local centre of tourism.

Ozdere. Photo by sozcu.com.tr

Ozdere. Photo by Etstur

The promenades and walkways along the shoreline host numerous taverns, shops and restaurants that cater to visitors.

Bergama (Pergamon)

The laid-back market town of Bergama is the modern successor to the once-powerful ancient city of Pergamon. Unlike Ephesus, which heaves with tourists year-round, Pergamon is for the most part a site of quiet classical splendour. Its ruins  especially the Asklepion and Acropolis  are so extraordinary that they were inscribed on Unescos World Heritage List in June 2014, the 999th site in the world (and the 14th in Turkey) to be so honoured.

The extraordinary ruins at Pergamon. Photograph courtesy of Wiz tours

The thermal springs of Pergamon made the city one of the principal centres of healing and beauty. One of the major thermal spas of Pergamon is within the Sanctuary of Asclepius (Guzellik Ilcas). It is believed to have been commissioned by King Euamens of Pergamon, and its healing and beauty properties were enjoyed by Cleopatra.

Alongside its historic and cultural heritage, Bergama is an area of outstanding natural beauty. Trekking along the route to Kozak Plateau through the pine forests covering the Kozak mountain range between Bergama and Ayvalk, dotted with ruins and rural landscapes, also provide opportunities for photo safaris.

Pine forests on Kozak Plateau. Photograph courtesy of Bergama Belediyesi

Urla

Urla. Photograph courtesy of izmiryaziyor.com

38km from Izmir, Urla is situated in the centre of the peninsula bearing the same name. The Urla Peninsula prides itself on its 40km coastline, untouched small bays and 12 islets.

Urla has a very Aegean ambience with its small squares, coffee shops under the vines, village bazaars and restaurants serving delicious and healthy Aegean cuisine.

Liman Tepe is an archaeological excavation site not to be missed when visiting Urla. Liman Tepe, whose history goes back six thousand years ago, is recorded in history as the oldest settlement in the Urla district. It was one of the harbours of the Ancient Klazomenai City, and among the most significant harbour cities in the Aegean in the 3rd millennium B.C

Liman Tepe archaeological site. Photograph courtesy of izmirmuzesi.gov.tr

Liman Tepe. Photo by Ankara University

Foca

Named after the seals that live on the islands surrounding the city, Foca (Phocaea), refered to in the Legend of Homer, was established by Aeolians in 11th century BC.

Very well placed for access to Izmir airport, this pretty fishing village has a lively harbor front with excellent seafood restaurants.

The lively harbour front in Foca. Photograph courtesy of Mapio.net

Foca offers a unique combination of historical, natural and urban preservation sites and many parts of the district are under strict environmental protection, due to the value of the flora and the fauna, and the beauty of the small bays and coves. It is also home to the endangered Mediterranean monk seals.

Dikili

Dikili, located 120km north of Izmir, ia a lovely district appealing to local and foreign visitors alike and is famous for its spas.

Dikili. Photo by izmir-dikili.bel.tr

There are thermal spas in Nebiler, Bademli and Kocaoba villages. The Port of Dikili provides international transport by sea and is a major source of income for the local communities.

The sub-district of Candarl, is a well-developed town and an important tourist resort with its rich history and extraordinary beauty.

Candarl is a sub-district of Dikili. Photo by Garenta

Candarl castle. Photo by otuzbeslik.com

Natural attractions include a crater lake in Merdivenli village and pine forests and historical caves in Demirtas and Deliktas villages.

We hope youve enjoyed our look at some of Izmirs coastal towns. Next time youre planning a visit to Izmir, why not give yourself time to visit one and see for yourself 

Other articles you may enjoy

Sources: Daily Sabah/Lonely Planet/Turkey Home/Wikipedia


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A Columbus-area man was arrested this week for the slaying of his mother, who he allegedly stabbed more than 20 times.

Dorian White, 24, has been charged with aggravated murder for having stabbed his mother, 46-year-old Melissa Graham, Monday at his apartment in Grove City, about 10 miles southwest of Columbus, according to court records, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

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White, according to an affidavit, told authorities he asked his mother to bring him groceries and sprayed her with mace upon her arrival to the apartment, the paper reports.

Dorian White

White then proceeded to repeatedly stab Graham. He only stopped because he got tired, according to the affidavit filed in Franklin County Municipal Court.

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Grove City police subsequently found White with a knife in a nearby parking lot and took him into custody, according to the outlet.

Graham did not survive despite being rushed to the hospital.

Whether White provided a motive to authorities was not immediately clear.
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The makers of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 have averted from the clash with SS Rajamoulis RRR. On Wednesday, the makers announced that the film will be released two months later than its previous release date, i.e. May 20, 2022, and not March 25, 2022.

On Monday, filmmaker SS Rajamouli had announced that his movie RRR will hit the theatres on March 25, 2022. Two days after the announcement, the makers of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 decided to push its release date by two months.



The film was initially scheduled to release in July 2020, but the release was postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the Maharashtra government had allowed the reopening of theatres, the makers chose March 25 for the release, which was later also opted by SS Rajamouli for the release of RRR.

Directed by Anees Bazmee, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 starsandin lead roles. It is the sequel to Priyadarshans movie of the same name, which starredand
Taapsee Pannu expressed her happiness for getting 'central roles in best of scripts in the industry. She will next be seen alongside Tahir Raj Bhasin in the Indian adaptation of the 1998 German movie Run Lola Run.

In an interview with a leading news website, Taapsee said, I am glad that I am getting central roles. I can unabashedly say that some of the best scripts in the industry with a female protagonist come to me, and I am not going to be modest about it. People come to me and tell me this is written for you, thats the kind of situation I have no complaints about.

She added, But it is not because I wanted to be the centre of attention but because it just so happened, maybe we can call it the snowball effect for doing the kind of films that I have done and I am happy to be where I am today. I have no complaints either way.

She also added that she made a career out of a seven-minute role that really did wonders for me. By saying a seven-minute role, she referred to her cameo in Akshay Kumar starrer Baby, her performance in which was widely appreciated.

Taapsee was last seen in Rashmi Rocket and Haseen Dilruba. Both the movies had an OTT release. She will now be seen in Looop Lapeta. In this movie, Taapsee will be seen stuck in a time loop and will be on the mission to rescue her boyfriend, played by Tahir Raj Bhasin.
High River, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 1, 2022) - The Western Investment Company of Canada Limited (TSXV: WI) ("WICC" or "Western") announces it has a new ownership partner at GlassMasters Autoglass ("GlassMasters"). Fort Mckay First Nation ("Ft.Mckay") has acquired a 39.3% stake in GlassMasters.

The transaction involved the sale of the entire block of shares owned by current partner ATB Private Equity,("ATB") with Western selling down its position slightly while maintaining majority ownership of GlassMasters.

The purchase price highlights the 118% increase in value that has been achieved at GlassMasters since the investment by ATB and Western 5 years ago. The transaction places an equity market value of $17.5 million on GlassMasters, up from $8.0 million in December of 2016.

At closing, Western will receive cash proceeds of $535,174 in exchange for 3% of GlassMasters. The transaction places an implied value of $10.2 million on Western's remaining 58% ownership, which is $6.1 million more than the original purchase price for these shares, and approximately $2.6 million above the projected carrying value of the investment on Western's balance sheet at December 31, 2021.

Western CEO Scott Tannas commented:

"We are very pleased with the positive outcomes of this transaction:

Western, ATB and the management team at GlassMasters worked together to generate significant value in challenging times. This is clearly evidenced by the valuation placed on the company by the experienced operators and the sophisticated investment team at Fort McKay First Nation.

Like Western, Ft McKay are long term investors who prefer to own companies where they can contribute to the growth of the business. Their business connections, experience and operating activities in the Alberta Oilsands region will provide significant future growth opportunities for GlassMasters.

This new partnership adds to the momentum of growing revenue and profits at GlassMasters as they continue to increase market share in existing communities and expand into new ones.

We at Western are proud to partner with the leaders and people of Fort Mckay First Nation, authors of a most inspiring success story. We look forward to working together to grow GlassMasters in the years to come."

Fort Mckay First Nation Chief Melvin Grandjambe commented:

"Our investment into GlassMasters assists Fort Mckay with our goal of generating long-term economic stability for our Nation through strategic investments that economically and geographically diversify our portfolio. We see good value in the business in its current share price with room for significant growth. Fort Mckay is pleased to announce two Fort Mckay Directors will be joining the Glassmasters board. We look forward to working with Western to increase Glassmasters value for shareholders while ensuring we continue to provide excellent services to our clients."

Terry Freeman, Head of Investments for ATB Private Equity added:

"We would like to thank Roger Tulk and the management team at GlassMasters, and our partners at Western Investments for their hard work and collaboration over the last five years. GlassMasters is a textbook example of what ATB Private Equity was established to do, providing capital to transition ownership and allow for growth in Alberta headquartered businesses and make them ready for the next stage of growth and capital. We are very pleased that Fort Mackay First Nation has joined the GlassMasters ownership group, and know that they will help bring Glassmasters to another level. We wish Fort Mackay, Western and the management team every success going forward."

The transaction closed earlier today.

About Fort Mckay First Nation

Fort Mckay First Nation manages a business portfolio of 15 as an income-focused private equity fund. Income is generated from shareholder distributions in the portfolio companies, as well as debt instruments which the Nation provides to targeted investments. The income that the Nation generates from its private equity arm is used to pay for the costs of programs and services such as education and health care in the community of Fort McKay. Only 5-10% of FMFN's annual operating budget comes from federal or provincial governments.

Fort McKay First Nation has nearly 900 band members of Cree and Dene heritage, with approximately 450 living in the on-reserve section of the community of Fort McKay (located 60 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, on the shores of the Athabasca River). In addition to the Fort McKay community, FMFN has reserves 174A at Gardiner (Moose) Lake and 174B at Namur (Buffalo) Lake, approximately 65 kilometres northwest of Fort McKay. Moose Lake is the traditional home of what is now the Fort McKay First Nation.

A signatory to Treaty 8, Fort McKay First Nation's mission is to assert Treaty rights, revitalize culture and language, promote education, build economic capacity, and support wellness to create opportunities for our Nation's healthy and sustainable future.

About The Western Investment Company of Canada Limited

Western is a unique publicly traded, private equity company founded by a group of successful Western Canadian businesspeople, and dedicated to building and maintaining ownership in successful Western Canadian companies, and helping them to grow. Western's shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol WI.

For more information on Western, please visit its website at www.winv.ca

CONTACT INFORMATION - The Western Investment Company of Canada Limited

Scott Tannas President and Chief Executive Officer (403) 652-2663 stannas@winv.ca

Advisory

This news release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements, including without limitation, statements pertaining to future plans, acquisitions, financings and returns. Statements containing the words: 'believes', 'intends', 'expects', 'plans', 'seeks' and 'anticipates' and any other words of similar meaning are forward-looking. All statements included herein involve various risks and uncertainties because they relate to future events and circumstances beyond Western's control. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in Western's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Any forward looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Western does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112447
TOKYO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest events in the markets have caused many traders around the world, and especially in the Greater China region, to shift their attention towards online trading. With that in mind, and with a profound understanding of the various needs of different traders, leading online brokerage brand GemForex has announced the recent launching of a new account type plan, suited for audiences in China and Eastern Asia. This new offer is effective as of today, and registered clients can take advantage of it through the brand's website.

"It was important for us, as a global and versatile company, to come up with an offer which is comprehensive on one side, yet user-friendly on the other," stated GemForex's spokesperson, Jieren Marrody. "This is more complex than it sounds, since each trader comes to us with a different set of strategies, goals, and values - not to mention a different trading budget - but I believe we did a good job here, with the new four accounts available. We invite our Chinese clients to give this tailor-made and adjusted offer a try. We are certain that they won't be disappointed by it."

Versatile services for a versatile market

First, there is the "All-in-One" account, which is suited for tighter budgets and includes a low minimum deposit, no commission, a high maximum leverage, and more. Second, there is the "No Spread" account, which comes with zero spreads, a flexible lot policy, a variety of tradable assets, and more. Third is the "Copy Trading" account, also with no commissions and a low minimum spread, among other features. Last is the Demo account, which is free of charge and is ideal for beginner traders, looking to test the waters of the financial sector.

About GemForex

Founded in 2010 and fully regulated and authorized by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission (FSC), GemForex today is a leading name in the online trading arena, especially in Eastern and Central Asia. This is thanks to its unique trading offer, vast array of tradable assets and award-winning customer-centric approach. All traders are entitled to full support services via various means of communication. Deposits and withdrawals are processed according to the strictest standards of security, and are available also via a wide range of common e-wallet. More information can be found at www.gemforex.com.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 1, 2022) - Good2GoRTO Corp. (TSXV: GRTO.P) ("G2G" or the "Corporation") and FRX Polymers, Inc. ("FRX") are pleased to provide an update to their previously announced concurrent brokered private placement and business combination agreement dated November 2, 2021 (the "Business Combination Agreement") to complete a going-public transaction for FRX (the "Proposed Transaction"), by way of an amalgamation and merger that will constitute G2G's "Qualifying Transaction" (the "Qualifying Transaction") under Policy 2.4 - Capital Pool Companies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

The Concurrent Financing

On October 5, 2021, FRX and Finco (as defined below) engaged Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. (the "Lead Agent"), on behalf of a syndicate of agents to be determined by FRX and the Lead Agent, to act as agents on a "best efforts" basis in connection with a private placement offering (the "Offering") of subscription receipts (the "Subscription Receipts") of FRX Polymer (Canada) Inc. ("Finco"), a wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary of FRX formed for the purposes of conducting the Offering and the Proposed Transaction, at a price of CAD$1.00 per Subscription Receipt (the "Issue Price"). The Offering (plus the gross proceeds from the Brokered Offerings (as defined below) shall be for a minimum of CAD$5,000,000 and a maximum of $15,000,000.

Each Subscription Receipt will be sold at the Issue Price and will be automatically exchanged, for no additional consideration, into one unit of Finco (a "Unit"), on the satisfaction of the certain escrow release conditions. Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of Finco (a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of CAD$1.30 at any time prior to the second anniversary from the date of issuance.

Finco may also complete concurrent non-brokered financings (the "Non-Brokered Offerings") of Subscription Receipts and convertible debentures ("Convertible Debentures"). The Convertible Debentures shall be automatically converted into Common Shares at the Issue Price on the closing of the Proposed Transaction. The minimum size of the Offering shall be reduced by the amount of subscriptions received in the Non-Brokered Offerings.

All other details of the Offering are included in a press release of G2G and FRX dated October 14, 2021 (the "Announcement PR").

Transaction Summary

On November 2, 2021, FRX, G2G, Finco, 13448061 Canada Inc. ("PubCo Sub") and G2G Merger Sub, Inc. ("Merger Sub") both wholly-owned subsidiaries of G2G, entered into the Business Combination Agreement. The Proposed Transaction will proceed, amongst other steps, by way of a "three-cornered" amalgamation and a reverse triangular merger, pursuant to which (i) Finco and PubCo Sub will amalgamate, and the resulting entity will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of G2G; and (ii) FRX and Merger Sub will merge and the resulting entity will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of G2G. In this press release, G2G, as it will exist after the completion of the Proposed Transaction, is referred to as the "Resulting Issuer". It is the parties' intention that the Resulting Issuer will be listed on the TSXV following the closing of the Proposed Transaction. G2G intends to change its name to "FRX Innovations Inc.", or such other name designated by FRX and that is acceptable to the regulatory authorities (the "Name Change").

On February 1, 2021, FRX, G2G, Finco, PubCo Sub and Merger Sub entered into an amending agreement to the Business Combination agreement to reflect the terms of the Offering.

Under the Proposed Transaction, the holders of FRX shares ("FRX Shares") and the holders of Finco Shares, including those shares acquired by way of the Offering (the "Finco Shares") will receive common shares of G2G ("Resulting Issuer Shares") in exchange for their FRX Shares and Finco Shares, respectively. In addition, upon the completion of the Proposed Transaction, all of FRX's and Finco's securities exercisable or exchangeable for, or convertible into, or other rights to acquire FRX or Finco securities outstanding at completion of the Proposed Transaction will be exchanged for securities exercisable or exchangeable for, or convertible into, rights to acquire Resulting Issuer Shares, on the same economic terms and conditions as such original outstanding securities. In connection with the Proposed Transaction, G2G will consolidate its shares on a 3.5 to 1 basis immediately prior to the closing of the Proposed Transaction (the "Consolidation").

As the Proposed Transaction is not a "Non-Arm's Length Qualifying Transaction" (within the meaning of Policy 2.4 of the TSXV), the Proposed Transaction did not require approval of the shareholders of G2G. However, the Consolidation, the Name Change and the appointment of the new directors of the Resulting Issuer (the "Meeting Matters") required the approval of G2G shareholders at an annual general and special meeting on December 1, 2021 (the "G2G Meeting"). Details with respect to the matters to be approved at the G2G Meeting are contained in the information circular prepared in connection with G2G Meeting and available for review on G2G's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. All of the Meeting Matters were approved by the G2G shareholders at the G2G Meeting.

Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including, but not limited to, the receipt of regulatory approval, including the approval of the TSXV, completion of the Offering, certain standard closing conditions, including there being no material adverse change in the business of G2G or FRX prior to completion of the Proposed Transaction.

Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction1, assuming the minimum Offering, it is expected there will be 78,047,313 Resulting Issuer Shares outstanding where the current security holders of FRX and Finco will hold approximately 70,753,390 Resulting Issuer Shares, representing approximately 90.7% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, the current shareholders of G2G will hold 1,657,143 Resulting Issuer Shares representing approximately 2.1% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, investors in the Offering and the Non-Brokered Offerings will hold 5,000,000 Resulting Issuer Shares representing approximately 6.4% of the Resulting issuer Shares and the Finders (as defined in the Announcement PR) will hold 636,781 Resulting Issuer Shares representing approximately 0.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares.

Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, it is expected that the Resulting Issuer will be a Tier 1 Industrial Issuer on the TSXV.

Trading in the G2G Shares is currently halted at the request of G2G in accordance with TSXV policies, and will remain halted until completion of the Proposed Transaction. G2G intends to apply to the TSXV for reinstatement of trading of the Resulting Issuer Shares when permitted pursuant to TSXV policies.

About the Corporation

The Corporation's principal business is the identification and evaluation of assets or businesses with a view to completing a Qualifying Transaction (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSXV). Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

About FRX

FRX is a global manufacturing company, producing a family of environmentally sustainable flame-retardant products that serve a number of large markets spanning electronics, automotive, electric vehicles (EV) and medical devices. FRX is led by a team of highly experienced business and technical professionals and is positioned to be a leader in the rapidly growing flame retardant plastics and additives market.

Nofia is a registered trademark of FRX. Nofia products are manufactured at its manufacturing facility on the Port of Antwerp Belgium, one of the world's largest chemicals producing clusters. Nofia phosphonates are produced using sustainable green chemistry principles such as a solvent-free production process, no waste by-products, and near 100% atom efficiency. FRX's portfolio includes an extensive patent estate. FRX has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the EPA's Environmental Merit Award, the Belgium Business Award for the Environment, and the Flanders Investment of the Year Award. FRX has also been recognized six times on the Global Cleantech 100 list.

For more information on FRX, visit https://www.frxpolymers.com.

Without giving effect to the Proposed Transaction, as of the date hereof, there are 60,952,255 FRX Shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis. The following persons own, control or direct 10% or more of the outstanding FRX Shares on a fully-diluted basis:

Name Number of FRX Shares (on a fully-diluted basis) Percentage of Outstanding FRX Shares (on a fully-diluted basis) Number of Resulting Issuer Shares (on a non-diluted basis) % of Resulting Issuer Shares (on a non-diluted basis) Triton Holdings LLC and Triton Systems Inc. (1) 6,776,171 11.12% 7,295,649 9.35% CCSRF Fireman (Cayman)

Investment Limited (2) 19,169,428 31.45% 20,639,005 26.44% Evonik Venture

Capital GmbH (Germany) 9,116,203 14.96% 9,815,074 12.58%

Notes:

(1) Triton Holdings LLC and Triton Systems Inc. are affiliated entities.

(2) Controlled by CITIC Capital Holdings Limited (Hong Kong). CITIC Group (China) owns an economic interest in, but does not control or direct CCSRF Fireman (Cayman) Investment Limited.

Summary of Financial Information

A summary of certain financial information for FRX, disclosed in accordance with TSXV policies, is included in the tables below:

FRX Polymers, Inc. FRX as at June 30, 2021

(unaudited)

($) FRX as at December 31, 2020 (audited)

($) Cash and cash equivalents 382,621 547,409 Other Current

Assets 3,131,407 4,728,455 Non-current Assets 21,842,069 23,150,278 Total Assets 25,356,097 27,878,733 Current Liabilities 2,540,039 2,786,039 Non-current Liabilities 26,800,482 25,253,913 Total Liabilities 29,340,521 28,039,952 Shareholders'

Equity (deficit) (3,426,124) (383,655)

Proposed Directors and Senior Management Team

Ross Haghighat - Director and Chairman of the Board

Ross Haghighat is a US-based entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. He is Chairman of Triton Systems, a private early to mid-stage product development and venture firm and a founding partner at Jasper Capital Partners, an investment firm investing in transformational technology companies, in the US and Australasia. He has over 30 years of experience as a founder-operator, investor-operator and Board member of a dozen technology companies, private and public, in the US, Europe, China and Australia. Over his career, Mr. Haghighat has been part of over $1.2 billion in funding and his companies have generated in excess of $4 billion in shareholder value through his roles, transforming companies from early stage, to successful stand-alone public corporations. Haghighat serves on the Boards of public and private companies in the US, Europe, and Australia, including Chinook Therapeutics, BioPlus Acquisition Corporation, Fluence Corporation, Citic Capital Acquisition Corp., Triton Systems, FRX Polymers, Angel Medical Technologies, and Electriq-Global. Mr. Haghighat received a Master of Science in Advanced Materials & Organometalic Chemistry from Rutgers State University of New Jersey, and his MBA from Boston College - Wallace E Carroll School of Management.

James Cassina - Director

Mr. Cassina is the CEO, CFO, Secretary and Director of Good2GoRTO Corp. and Good2Go4 Corp., and was CEO, CFO and CEO, CFO, Secretary and Director of Good2Go Corp. (currently known as NowVertical Group Inc.) and Good2Go2 Corp. (currently known as LevelJump Healthcare Corp.), both TSXV listed capital pool companies that completed their qualifying transaction in 2020 and 2021. Mr. Cassina was the CFO of Novicus Corp. (currently known as Grown Rogue International Inc. ("GRIN")) from June 2010 to November 2018 and President from June 2010 to September 2016. GRIN is an Oregon based cannabis grow operation and cannabis infused product manufacturing and distribution company focussed in Michigan and California with its common shares listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Mr. Cassina is a businessman experienced in many aspects of the business and development of public companies including company formation to growth and expansion, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate financing. He has a successful history of founding, directing, and funding companies that have subsequently been acquired by large international corporates.

Frank Hallam CPA - Director and Chair of the Audit Committee

Frank R. Hallam is a CPA and CA and was formerly an auditor in the public mining practice of Cooper & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). Mr. Hallam has over 27 years of experience in the mining, minerals and petroleum industry as an operator, principal and founder of several NYSE, TSX and TSX-V corporations. His experience base includes both equity and debt financing and the execution of exploration and development programs in Canada, the USA, Mexico and South Africa. Significant business partners have included Anglo American Platinum Ltd, Barrick Gold Corporation, Newmont Mining Corporation, Industrias Penoles SAB de CV, JCL Ltd and Impala Platinum Ltd. Mr. Hallam holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University (1990).

Marc-Andre Lebel -Director and CEO

Marc Lebel is the founding Chief Executive Officer of FRX Polymers. He brings 30 years of product and business development, operations, and sales and marketing experience to FRX Polymers. Previously, he held senior executive positions at Triton Systems and Aspen Aerogels as Executive VP and VP of Sales and Marketing respectively. He was the Global Business Group Director for Cabot Corp. and was the founding CEO of DSM Thermoplastic Elastomers, a company he grew for the then $8B Dutch parent company, DSM. Mr. Lebel holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Ottawa, is a registered professional engineer in Ontario and has completed company sponsored executive management programs at Harvard Business School and the International Management Development Institute.

Dr. Bernhard Mohr PhD - Director

Bernhard Mohr has more than 25 years of professional experience in the chemical and venture capital industry. Since 2012, he has been the Managing Director of Evonik Venture Capital, a EUR 250 mn  corporate fund specialized on chemistry and advanced materials. Previously he worked for BASF where he held international positions in strategic marketing, corporate development, controlling and research & development. Bernhard studied chemistry at the Universities of Stuttgart, Germany and Cincinnati, USA and earned a doctorate from the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany. He has held postdoctoral appointments in Japan, France and USA.

Ekaterina Terskin - Director

Ekaterina Terskin is Vice President for CITIC Capital Holdings Limited's ESG Group, having joined CITIC Capital in 2012. Ekaterina has served on boards and committees of several technology companies and has led investments into numerous early and growth stage businesses delivering sustainable alternatives to traditional industries such as chemicals, logistics, and waste treatment. Ekaterina received a B.Com. in Honors Economics & Finance from McGill University in Montreal, and is a CFA charter holder.

Fanglu Wang - Director

Fanglu Wang is CITIC Capital's Senior Managing Director and Managing Partner of CITIC Capital ESG Group. He has over 30 years of experience in capital markets, corporate finance, financial engineering and risk management. Fanglu was the former Head of Product Marketing and Sales for China at HSBC, a Director in Investment Banking and Debt Capital Markets at Merrill Lynch Asia, a Vice President at Citibank Hong Kong and an Executive Director at Sakura Global Capital. Fanglu received an M.A. in Statistics from the University of Chicago, a B.Scot. in Mathematics and a B.A. in Journalism from Fudan University in Shanghai.

Mark Lotz CPA, CA., BBA - Chief Financial Officer

Mark Lotz is a Chartered Professional Accountant practicing publicly through his firm Lotz CPA Inc. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1994 he brings a wealth of experience in business, tax and consulting. Formerly a CEO and CFO in the brokerage industry, he also has senior management experience in software/SaaS, mining, cannabis and manufacturing. He provides strategic tax and business planning and is a sought-after expert for complex contractual issues and financial quantification. He regularly consults with legal firms acting as an expert witness on matters of securities regulation and litigation.

Sponsorship of the Proposed Transaction

Sponsorship of the Proposed Transaction, as the Qualifying Transaction of G2G, is required by the TSXV unless an exemption or waiver from this requirement can be obtained in accordance with the policies of the TSXV. G2G has applied to the TSXV for a waiver from the sponsorship requirements for the Qualifying Transaction based upon the Offering and/or other exemptions available in TSXV policies. There is no assurance that an exemption from this requirement will be obtained.

Further Information

G2G and FRX will provide further details in respect of the Proposed Transaction and the Offering (including closing of the Offering) in due course by way of a subsequent news release, however, G2G will make available to the TSXV, all information, including financial information, as may be requested or required by the TSXV.

All information contained in this news release with respect to G2G and FRX 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 Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV acceptance. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction or the Offering will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement of G2G to be prepared in connection with the Proposed Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Proposed Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of G2G should be considered highly speculative.

The TSXV has not in any way passed upon the merits of the Proposed 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:

Good2GoRTO Corp.

Sandra Hall, Director

Email: shall@bellnet.ca

FRX Polymers Inc.

Marc-Andre Lebel, President & Chief Executive Officer

Email: mlebel@frxpolymers.com

Disclaimers

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notice on Forward Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "will", "estimates", "believes", "intends" "expects" and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the completion of the Proposed Transaction and the Offering, the terms on which the Proposed Transaction and Offering are intended to be completed, the ability to obtain regulatory and shareholder approvals, the listing of the Resulting Issuer Shares on the TSXV, and other factors.

The Corporation cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions and expectations, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation and FRX, including that the Offering will be completed on currently anticipated terms or at all, that the Proposed Transaction will be completed on currently anticipated terms or at all, and that all applicable shareholder and regulatory approvals for the Proposed Transaction will be received, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Corporation's final prospectus dated April 7, 2021 filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Alberta Securities Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Corporation does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by securities law.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or for dissemination in the United States.

1 Assuming the Proposed Transaction closes on February 28, 2022 (for purposes of calculating the conversion on interest bearing convertible securities).

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112449
INTELLIGENT LIGHT has collaborated with a major engine manufacturer in Germany in a joint research project funded by the DLR to advance computational simulation capabilities for complete aero engines. Kombyne was called upon for two aspects of this effort, in transit post-processing within the company's Hydra, an internally developed CFD solver used by Rolls Royce, and steering of the code during runtime.

Rolls Royce Deutschland engineer, Marcus Meyer Ph.D., presented a landmark paper at AIAA SciTech 2022 (January, San Diego, CA). In it, Dr. Meyer described the use of "Computational Steering," where the Rolls-Royce flow solver Hydra was instrumented with the Kombyne software to enable on-the-fly changes of the computational setup for creating compressor maps. The paper is available here: https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2022-1723.

According to Dr. Meyer's paper, compared to conventional CFD techniques, the steering approach "removes the need to submit separate jobs for each operating point and treats the CFD simulation like a virtual experiment where operating conditions can be changed while the virtual engine is running. File I/O and initialization happens only once, rather than repeated for different jobs."

The steering of a simulation, applied to solvers running on high-performance computing (HPC) platforms, increases overall efficiency. According to Steve Legensky, President CTO of Intelligent Light (and co-author of the AIAA paper), "Getting many results in less time saves money as well as the valuable time of engineers. When Kombyne is integrated into a solver code, the simulation can be treated more like a flight test or wind tunnel ensemble."

Interested parties should download Kombyne Lite directly at kombyne.net. Installation is extremely easy for Kombyne using prebuilt modules for OVERFLOW2, Hydra, PyFR, OpenFOAM, and more every day. For other solvers or inhouse solvers, a small adapter is used to link Kombyne into the solver. Kombyne provides native APIs in FORTRAN, C/C++ and python, and is scalable via MPI. In batch operation, a simple parameter datafile sets up the functions to be performed during simulation.

About Kombyne Kombyne comes in two flavors: Kombyne and Kombyne Lite. The price of a site subscription ranges from free (Kombyne Lite) to ($25K $180K) per year for Kombyne depending on site size. Kombyne is delivered as enterprise open source and both Kombyne and Kombyne Lite are licensed with no limit in the number of runtime instances. Availability: Kombyne Lite immediate download (kombyne.net), Kombyne contact Intelligent Light. For more information see kombyne.net and contact Raymond Boyd, rab@ilight.com, (203) 215-6396 mobile.

About Intelligent Light Founded in 1984, Intelligent Light developed FieldView which became one of the world's leading software tools for visualization and post-processing of CFD. In October 2019, Intelligent Light decided to spin off FieldView into an entity focused on the packaged software business (FieldView CFD, Inc.) which now allows Intelligent Light to focus on subscription based HPC and digital twin products. The company also participates in contracted R&D efforts. Development of VisIt Prime and Kombyne was supported by the US Department of Energy via grants DE-SC0007548 and DE-SC0018633, respectively.

Kombyne and Intelligent Light are trademarks of JMSI inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220201006229/en/

Contacts:

Raymond Boyd, Intelligent Light

Vice President Sales and Marketing

Mobile: 203-215-6396

rab@ilight.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 1, 2022) - NINE MILE METALS LTD. (CSE: NINE) (the "Company" or "Nine Mile") is pleased to announce that the Company has appointed Mr. Jean Luc Roy to the Board of Directors. Mr. John Mirko has resigned as a director of the Company. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Mirko for his time and experience as a director of Nine Mile.

Mr. Roy is a mining executive with over 30 years of experience. He was President and CEO of El Nino Ventures Inc. where they were involved in the Bathurst Mining Camp in New Brunswick, Canada and the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC") in Africa. He worked and lived in Africa for over 25 years where he held the following positions: Chief Operating Officer Ampella Mining Ltd., West African Manager for Centamin PLC, Country Manager for First Quantum Minerals Ltd. in the DRC, and Managing Director West Africa for Semafo Inc. in Burkina Faso. He is presently COO of Deep South Resources Inc. and director of Can Alaska Uranium Ltd. and Deep South Resources Inc. where he is also a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. Mr. Roy holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University.

About Nine Mile Metals Ltd.:

Nine Mile Metals Ltd. is a mineral exploration company. Its primary business objective is to explore its two properties located in New Brunswick, Canada: 100% owned Canoe Landing Lake West and 50% owned Nine Mile Brook.

ON BEHALF OF NINE MILE METALS LTD.

"Charles MaLette"

CEO, President, Director & Secretary

T: 604-428-5171

E: info@ninemilemetals.com

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Nine Mile. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Nine Mile. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Although Nine Mile believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Nine Mile can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112456
DUBAI, UAE, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Every few years, a new country or region pops up as a large market for citizenship and residency by investment (RCBI). Be it a result of political instability, economic turbulence, decreasing quality of life, increasing taxation, or a mixture of the above and more, the trend of obtaining RCBI suddenly skyrockets, and that is what is currently happening in Egypt.

For a country to be considered an emerging RCBI market, it has to tick three boxes:

Availability of wealth

Need for investment migration?

The ability of clients to apply to different RCBI programs.

A Land Of Plenty

Egypt's vast natural and human resources have cemented it as a land of riches since the dawn of time; it has always been one of the most economically active regions in the world since the Old Kingdom, as part of the Roman Empire, and up until today, where it is considered a major commerce hub in the MENA region.

Egypt's GDP has maintained steady growth in recent years, growing at an average annual rate of approximately 4.75% in the past decade. And although the Egyptian Pound (EGP) has taken a hit - as one USD would have gotten you 6 EGP a decade ago but now gets you about 16 EGP - the country still boasts large amounts of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) within its borders.

Knight Frank even found that the number of HNWIs in Egypt has grown a staggering 10% between 2019-2020. This marks one of the highest HNWIs growth rates in the period globally.

The numbers speak for themselves, and in terms of available wealth, Egypt overachieves.

The Need For Change

According to the last census, there were about 9.5 million Egyptian expats worldwide. That is about a tenth of the nation's total population.

Egyptians are not immigration-shy; the country is well known for its educational prowess, talented workforce, and innovative entrepreneurs, and the population knows that with their skillset, they can find better opportunities elsewhere.

You Might Also Like: The Massive Effect Citizenship by Investment Has On Countries

The need for Residency and Citizenship by Investment programs comes when a few factors coincide, starting with limited mobility. The Egyptian passport ranks 97th worldwide, providing visa-free access to a mere 51 destinations, none of which are hotspots such as the EU, Singapore, the United Kingdom, or otherwise.

On the other hand, a St. Kitts & Nevis passport ranks 26th worldwide, providing visa-free access to 157 destinations , including the United Kingdom, EU, Singapore, Hong Kong, and many more.

Hence, the need for enhanced global mobility is present. But that is not the only factor.

Egypt has faced a turbulent decade when political instability hit the nation hard. And while it is currently on a steady boat, the effects of the turbulence still linger. Global bank transfers, for example, are not as seamless as one would hope they would be, political strains with nations such as Turkey remain evident, and poverty rates remain on the rise .

People Who Read This Article Also Read: Demand for Vanuatu Citizenship Skyrockets During Pandemic

Access to RCBI Services

The last box Egypt needs to tick to become an emerging RCBI market is its accessibility to RCBI services.

Egyptians will be happy to know that finding RCBI services and the right RCBI program that suits their individual needs is quite easy. The country is not on any sanction list, and its investors can move money outside of the nation to make the investments necessary to obtain citizenship or residency by investment.

Secondly, because it is considered a safe nation, its nationals are eligible for all RCBI programs, unlike Iranians, for example, who are ineligible for some of those programs.

And finally, finding a service provider is much easier than they think, as Savory & Partners has been remotely servicing the Egyptian market for years. We comprehend how the Egyptian market works, and we understand the needs and objectives of our Egyptian clientele. So all you need to do to start your RCBI journey is contact us today to book a free, comprehensive consultation.

Savory & Partners is an accredited agent for multiple governments where citizenship by investment is offered. Founded in 1797, the agency has evolved from pharmaceuticals to family assets and legacy protection through second citizenship and residency. The company's professional, multinational staff is made up of expert advisors who have guided thousands of clients, including many North African investors, on their journey to find the most suitable CBI program for them. The Savory & Partners team will be happy to answer your enquiries in English, Arabic and French.

For more information, please send an email to contact@savoryandpartners.com . You can also call +971 04 430 1717 or send a WhatsApp message to +971 54 440 2955.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1738007/Savory_and_Partners_Logo.jpg
Thousands of people living within a mile of a burning fertilizer plant in North Carolina remained under threat for a second straight day, with the potential for chemical explosions still looming.

An uncontrolled fire continued to rage at the Winston Weaver Company fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem almost 48 hours after it was initially reported to the fire department late Monday evening. An estimated 6,500 people were encouraged to evacuate after dangerous conditions forced first responders to retreat from the flames.

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Many residents remained away from their homes on Wednesday as officials warned the danger has not yet passed. Flames could still be seen shooting out of the building late into the morning and a haze hung over most of Winston-Salem, a city of about 250,000.

Fire Chief William Trey Mayo cited the massive amount of potentially explosive chemicals at the plant as a major concern, including the 500 tons of ammonium nitrate in a storage building and another 100 tons in a rail car next to the building. He added that there is an additional 5,000 tons of finished fertilizer stored at the plant.

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A bystander watches as Winston-Salem firefighters battle a structure fire at Weaver Fertilizer Co. on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Allison Lee Isley /AP)

City officials said during a press conference early Wednesday that there has been no improvement on scene, conditions have not improved,

The potential for an explosion is still there, a spokesperson told WXII.

Air quality also remained an issue for many residents, though levels of nitrous oxide were low enough to not be concerning, the fire chief said, urging everyone in the region to keep their windows closed.

First responders have vowed to battle back the blaze, but have repeatedly said it would take time to contain the huge fire given its volatility.

No injuries have been reported.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The challenge unites people in celebration of World Oral Health Day 2022, taking place on 20 March, by asking people to share fun photos and videos demonstrating how they look after their oral health for their happiness and well-being, and inspire others to do the same

GENEVA, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of World Oral Health Day 2022, FDI World Dental Federation (FDI) invites everyone to take part in the MouthProudChallenge, and make a personal commitment to prioritize oral health by capturing the moment with the online MouthProud custom poster tool or the Mouth Proud social media filters (available on Instagram, Facebook).

Individuals can show their commitment to good oral health by using the MouthProud frame in a video or picture while, for example, brushing and flossing properly, cutting out sugary treats, eating a healthy meal, or visiting the dentist for a check-up. Oral healthcare professionals can get involved to amplify what they are already doing: making patients proud of their mouths for a better quality of life. They can use the frame to demonstrate good oral hygiene practices, correct toothbrushing techniques or just flash a natural smile to cheer someone up. Participants are invited to nominate four friends or colleagues to take part in this digital movement.

Poor oral health affects nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide with far-reaching consequences, yet people do not realize how an unhealthy mouth can have a severe impact on their lives; causing significant pain and suffering, leading to an impaired quality of life. Under its three-year "Be Proud of Your Mouth" campaign theme, FDI hopes to motivate people to value and take care of their mouths and understand that in doing so, they also help protect their happiness and well-being. Because the goal of a happy life unites us all.

"Everyone can take personal action this World Oral Health Day to help start a new trend for the sake of happiness and well-being," says FDI President, Prof. Ihsane Ben Yahya. "Let's come together on a global scale to raise awareness, improve education and spur personal and collective action on the importance of oral health for all."

FDI is proud to announce two new partners for the Be Proud of Your Mouth - for your happiness and well-being campaign: Align Technology and Dentsply Sirona, who will join FDI's longstanding and valued partner Unilever in supporting the campaign. In addition, Listerine joins Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program as a new Global Supporter.

"World Oral Health Day would not be possible without the support of our Global Partners and Supporters. It is only by all key stakeholders working together that we can hope to protect the oral health of populations globally," says FDI President, Prof. Ihsane Ben Yahya.

Get ready to be MouthProud for your happiness and well-being. Visit http://www.worldoralhealthday.org and use the wealth of resources that are freely available. Check out the https://www.worldoralhealthday.org/mouthproudchallenge page to learn more about how you can get involved in the MouthProudChallenge.

- Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -

About World Oral Health Day

Celebrated annually on 20 March, World Oral Health Day (WOHD) was launched by FDI World Dental Federation to raise global awareness on the prevention and control of oral diseases.

www.worldoralhealthday.org

WOHD22

MouthProud

About FDI World Dental Federation

FDI World Dental Federation serves as the principal representative body for over one million dentists worldwide. Its membership includes some 200 national dental associations and specialist groups in over 130 countries. FDI has the vision of leading the world to optimal oral health.

https://www.fdiworlddental.org

facebook.com/FDIWorldDentalFederation

https://www.worldoralhealthday.org

twitter.com/FDIWorldDental

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fdiworlddentalfederation

Media contact:

Charanjit Jagait

FDI Communications & Advocacy Director

cjagait@fdiworlddental.org

+41 797967613
Facilitating Acceleration of R&D and Global Business Development to Become a World-leading Fusion Engineering Company



Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd - a fusion reactor technology company, based in Kyoto, Japan - has raised a total of US$18.6M in Series B funding and debt financing.

KYOTO, Japan, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kyoto Fusioneering, the first fusion energy startup in Asia and Japan, has raised 1.33 billion yen (US$ 11.7 million) in its latest round of funding. The oversubscribed series B funding round was supported by existing investors, Coral Capital Co., and underwritten by five new investors from some of Japan's top VC firms (in alphabetical order): Daiwa Corporate Investment, DBJ Capital, JAFCO Group, JGC MIRAI Innovation Fund and JIC Venture Growth Investments. This capital increase brings the total amount of funds raised by Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd. to 1.67 billion yen (US$ 14.7 million).

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on the image or link below:

Alongside this capital investment, KF has also arranged unsecured loan agreements totaling 800 million yen (US$ 7 million) with major Japanese financial institutions such as the Bank of Kyoto, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and MUFG Bank. This agreement strengthens the company's fundraising capabilities in terms of both equity and debt financing.

KF will use the funds acquired through this investment round, as well as the knowledge of its new investors, to accelerate its research and expand the business to capture new areas of the budding fusion technology market. In particular, KF will use funds for the concentrated development of its plant engineering technologies for plasma heating, including at its subsidiary in the UK, whilst at the same time furthering its reach by leveraging existing industrial capabilities unique to Japan.

Nuclear fusion is a technology with unparalleled potential to solve the world's energy and environmental problems. Due to the virtually unlimited fuel resource, fusion offers a way to produce vast amounts of clean energy whilst producing no carbon emissions. Efforts to realise fusion energy are currently developing at a scale and speed never seen before.

Together, a group of nations are supporting the international ITER project (the European Union, Japan, the United States, Russia, Korea, India, the UK, and China), a technology test reactor which will be first operated later this decade. Several nations, such as the U.S. and China, are also pursuing their own domestic programs, led out of national research institutes. In 2020, the U.K. government announced its own program to develop STEP, a prototype reactor, to be operated by 2040, for which KF has recently been awarded several contracts to support development. The Japanese government more recently announced that it will formulate a national strategy for nuclear fusion by the summer of 2022.

In addition to government-backed programs, a number of private startups have been established over the last decade or so. Already, hundreds of billions of yen have been invested by private companies such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Helion Energy, Tokamak Energy. An article recently suggested that 2021 was a breakthrough year for fusion energy. However, it is the decade ahead which will see the rapid expansion of the fusion industry and KF's mission is to drive this expansion towards commercialization.

Summary of Equity Financing

Series B Financing: 1.33 billion yen (Cumulative total: 1.67 billion yen)

New Equity Subscribers (in alphabetical order, in no particular order) :

Coral Capital, Inc.

Daiwa Corporate Investment Co., Ltd.

DBJ Capital Co., Ltd.

JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

JGC MIRAI Innovation Fund L.P.

JIC Venture Growth Investments Co., Ltd.

Existing investors (in alphabetical order) :

Coral Capital

Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.

Purpose of the Funding:

Accelerating investment in research and development

Recruitment of top-level global engineers and business professionals

Securing working capital for large projects and business expansion



VC comments

Coral Capital Founding Partner & CEO James Riney

"Climate change is an existential threat to humanity, and a fusion energy future, if achieved, could be the silver bullet that literally saves the world. With Japan's high energy dependency, technological prowess, and history with nuclear energy, we believe that this country is well positioned to be a global leader in this space. While many startups talk about how they want to change the world, this company is actually doing it. We're excited to back Kyoto Fusioneering once again, and to see their incredible progress toward building out a fusion energy future.?

Daiwa Corporate Investment Co., Ltd. Investment Department Associate Director

Sho Sengoku

"Huge amounts of energy are essential for the continued prosperity of our planet. However, if we destroy the environment in creating energy, our efforts will not be worthwhile. The development of clean energy is an irreversible trend, as governments and international organisations have made clear their intention to decarbonise. In particular, nuclear fusion is expected to be practical in the near future, having been first under development in the ITER project. Fusion is not a technology that is unknown to humanity. Kyoto Fusioneering is made up of world-leading scientists and technologies, both of which allows them to lead the way in fusion power generation. The mission they are pursuing is a great contribution to the SDGs (sustainable development goals), which we support. We have been paying attention to KF since the last round of their investment and we are very proud to have the opportunity to invest in this project and support the challenge to achieve a carbon-neutral society.?

DBJ Capital Co., Ltd. Senior Investment Manager Yoshitake Ishimoto

"We believe that the use of nuclear fusion technology, which can fundamentally solve environmental problems, is essential for the future development of the world's energy industry. We decided to invest in Kyoto Fusioneering because it has already expanded its business globally and is highly regarded abroad, and we are attracted by the vision of the management team and the potential for further growth in this area. We expect that KF will grow into a leading company in the Japanese fusion industry in the near future, and DBJ Capital, as a venture capital company of a government-affiliated financial institution, would like to provide strong support for the development of this new industry.?

JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. Partner Naoki Sato

JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. West Japan Branch Office Branch Manager Mizuki Takahara

"Carbon neutrality is fast becoming a common issue for all of humanity, and we feel that it is becoming the basis for long-term, large-scale innovation across industry, government and academia. In particular, nuclear fusion offers unparalleled potential. The management of KF, led by Prof. Konishi of Kyoto University, who has been leading fusion projects including ITER for a long time, strongly sympathized with our desire to support fusion technology through manufacturing. Research into nuclear fusion began in earnest shortly after the war, and Japan has long been a driving force behind its contribution. With this strong history in mind, JAFCO Group is fully committed to the adventure that KF is about to embark on.?

JGC MIRAI Innovation Fund

JGC JAPAN CORPORATION Representative Director, President Shoji Yamada

"Nuclear fusion is attracting attention as one of the best energy solutions to current global environmental problems. KF is a unique fusion start-up and we expect the company to play an important role in making fusion power a reality. With our investment, we will also seek technological synergies with the JGC Group in the existing energy industry.?

JGC MIRAI Innovation Fund General Partner Global Brain Corporation CEO Yasuhiko Yurimoto

"The global risk of climate change is attracting attention in the startup industry, and we have decided to invest in Kyoto Fusioneering, which aims to deliver clean energy from nuclear fusion to society through advanced Japanese technology. We are impressed by the excellent management and technical personnel in the company, and we will provide strong support to KF. In particular, we aim to promote fusion technology globally with the JGC Group, and at the same time, we will work together with KF to realize a decarbonized society.?

JIC Venture Growth Investments Co., Ltd. Principal Yuki Kuwabara

"Nuclear fusion is expected to be a clean energy source with effectively unlimited resources and a low environmental impact. For many years it has been called "humankind's dream", and thanks to years of research and development around the world, the dream is finally on the path to becoming a reality. The decision to invest in Kyoto Fusioneering was based on the company's recognition of its potential to develop world-leading engineering solutions for fusion reactors on a global scale, leveraging its long history of fusion research and its network of Japanese companies with unique manufacturing capabilities. We hope that this funding will accelerate the company's growth and will ultimately contribute to the practical application of nuclear fusion.?

Summary of Debt Financing

Financing: 800 million yen in unsecured loans

(including undrawn/underwritten lines of credit)

Sources (in alphabetical order) :

The Bank of Kyoto, Ltd.

MUFG Bank, Ltd.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation



Purpose of the investment:

To accelerate research and development

To secure working capital for large projects and business expansion

Renewal of the Corporate Brand

KF is committed to achieving a carbon-neutral society through a unique combination of research and business development. To realise fusion energy, it is more essential than ever to work with fusioneers from all over the world to develop engineering solutions in all fields. With this fundraising round, KF has taken the opportunity to renew its corporate website and company logo, in preparation for its expansion in the years ahead.

About Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd.

Kyoto Fusioneering is a privately held technology start-up founded in 2019, with its headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. The company is focused on developing advanced technologies for commercial fusion reactors, including gyrotron systems, tritium fuel cycle technologies, and breeding blankets for tritium production and power generation. The company is focused on innovative solutions that are simultaneously high-performance and commercially viable. Supporting both public and private fusion developers around the world, the company will accelerate the realization of fusion as the ultimate energy source for humankind.
The company seeks to democratise workplace digitalisation for enterprises

Beamy, the SaaS management platform for large enterprises, has expanded its presence into the UK. It is focused on helping large organisations to tackle the danger of shadow IT and provide a framework for governing the needs of business units to digitise by themselves.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005116/en/

Andrea Jacquemin, CEO of Beamy, the SaaS management scale-up which is launching in the UK. (Photo: Business Wire)

According to KPMG, the cost of the SaaS ecosystem in enterprises is expected to increase ninefold by 2030. Hundreds of SaaS apps are being used by business teams, often bypassing the corporate governance players: this is known as underground digitalisation (or shadow IT). It is a form of digitalisation where business units take over IT procurement to be more efficient in their daily work. In large organisations, 30-40% of the IT budget is spent on software or apps the IT team doesn't know about.

Uncontrolled underground digitalisation leads to considerable security risks by widening the surface of exposure to cyberattacks, for which large companies are a primary target. Each unknown SaaS tool can create a potential security breach, and lead the company to carry out non-compliant personal data processing, exposing them to significant fines and reputational risks.

However, stifling employees' desire to integrate modern software tools into their work risks slowing down the digitalisation of the company and eroding employee engagement at the time of the Great Resignation. Now is the time for companies to explore how they can meet these priorities.

The gradual decentralisation of IT is a trend that all large organisations must face

This is where Beamy comes in Beamy helps CIOs of large enterprises to discover the reality of their underground digitalisation, by detecting all SaaS apps being used across the enterprise. Beamy then builds a framework for decentralised IT governance, creating an inclusive and systemic approach which works in harmony with business units' workflows.

Beamy was founded in France in 2017 and is already working with some of the biggest companies in France including Engie, Orange, and Decathlon. It has also recently announced a global partnership with the enterprise architecture provider MEGA International.

Andrea Jacquemin, CEO and co-founder of Beamy, said: "The UK is well known for its early-adopter mindset, as well as being home to some of the largest companies in the world. This makes it the perfect market for Beamy to expand into."

London Partners is the business growth and destination agency for London its mission is to create economic growth that is resilient, sustainable and inclusive. Laura Citron, CEO of London Partners said: "London is a launchpad for international companies looking to expand into the UK and other global markets. With access to world class tech talent, growth capital and new customers, London is also a great place to scale a technology business. We're delighted to see Beamy expand into London and we look forward to welcoming more European businesses to be part of our city's thriving tech ecosystem."

Beamy's presence in the UK will be headed up by Dominic Howard-Noel, its newly appointed head of UK sales. He will operate out of London, due to the capital city's status as a tech innovation hub and its strong links with the European market.

Notes to Editors

About Beamy

Large corporations are currently experiencing very rapid growth in the number of SaaS applications they are hosting. In addition, the resulting underground digitalisation is real and largely unseen by IT departments, thereby generating security and GDPR risks.

Thanks to its innovative technology, Beamy provides a SaaS management platform that can be used to detect and control the entire SaaS environment of its clients to eliminate Shadow IT. In this way, Beamy can help the CIOs of large organisations regain control of this parallel IT and rebuild effective governance so that Business Units can expand their digitalisation through SaaS within the context of a defined framework. Beamy's goal is to make IT Decentralisation one of the priorities of large enterprises across the world.

Beamy was founded by Andrea Jacquemin and Edouard Dossot. It now employs 50 people and has raised more than 2m since it was founded.

Find out more: https://www.beamy.io

About Andrea Jacquemin (he/him), CEO and co-founder

Andrea Jacquemin created his first business in 2014 at the age of only 21, leading his life as a maths student while also being a volunteer firefighter. As his career progressed, Andrea sensed a real paradigm shift coming: the explosion of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) technology in companies to help them digitalize. In response to this, he created Beamy in 2017 to help companies handle the risks of 'shadow IT' and embrace 'underground digitalisation'.

Long ahead of schedule, Beamy evolved a lot in the first years, in order to transform Andrea's initial vision into an actionable product with high added value. Now, with 50 employees and growing quickly, the company is a founding member of the Institute for the Advancement of SaaS Governance and Optimization Best Practices, which brings together eight of the world's leading players in the market.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005116/en/

Contacts:

UK press contact

Beverley Noble, Milk Honey PR

beverley@milkandhoneypr.com

+44 7856 460 498
RIGA, Latvia, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On January, 26 Open Europe Expert Congress hosted an online event "The Role of Baltic States in Geopolitical and Economic Relations of the Eurasian Space", aimed to talk about the current geopolitical strategies and the historical context, evaluate the opportunities of a transport hub development and relations within the EU and with Russia and other Eastern countries.

Ricibas political party leader Ruslan Pankratov introduced the topic saying that strategic development priorities of the Baltic states and the are becoming more and more important.

American political journalist Stephan Ebert called the Baltics a "troublesome area", which was caused by the issues the countries had with the Soviet Union and NATO membership. Despite of that, and despite of complicated political relations, trade with Russia has been very intense, which is a positive indicator, he added. Stephan highlighted the fact, that there is no need to be too concerned about the Russian troops being close to its borders as historically the only point when the troops were pulled away was in 1941, right before the Nazi invasion. He also pointed that the map of Hitler's "Greater Germany" looks very similar to the map of NATO today in Europe, which explains why Russia could be concerned by the situation around its borders. Escalations might be taking place, Ebert says, as "it seems that Ukrainian president Zevensky has a "get out of jail free" card from the West, allowing him to provoke Russia to fire across the border and get out with impunity, similarly to what happened in Georgia with president Saakashvili".

International relations expert Rishabh Sethi focused on the potential of cooperation between European and Asian countries in the emerging multipolar world and the strong partnerships that are being created between China, India, South Korea and EU countries. He highlighted the importance of investment, and visa-free travel for academic exchange and tourism development. India, is his opinion could offer collaborations in digital technologies and production.

Lithuanian publicist Kristoferis Voishka pointed out that the Baltic states are not independent in terms of their foreign policy, that largely depends on the EU and the USA making them "a buffer zone against Russia". Yet, he said, the geographical location of the Baltics could allow them to have constructive economic relation with both Europe and Asia, thus creating a mutually beneficial exchange.

Head of Latvian Future Research Institute Normunnd Grostins added: "for centuries our geographical location was used for logistics and trade between East and West, and now due to political problems, Finland, that has a less favorable geographical situation is benefiting from trade with Russia and China".

Member of Estonian parliament Oudekki Loone called for "no panic", as, in her opinion, it's quite clear that it is not in the Russian interests to cause any military conflict. "Keep calm and carry on", she said, "let's try to limit as little as possible the contacts between ordinary people, let them reestablish the economic and cultural ties, that have always been there in the region, let people's democracy take its course. I'm sure that in some years our ordinary people will improve the situation, and we will see the reality where diplomatic agreements between states are again possible."

Experts concluded that the current political tensions go against the strategic interests of the Baltic states and do not allow them to overcome the consequences of the pandemic in a fast and effective way through cooperation with the Eastern neighbors, including Russia.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1738626/photo.jpg
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.
Zagros Barazenda named Country Manager

DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CAI, a global consulting company that provides technical, operational consulting, and project management services to life sciences, data centers, and process manufacturing industries, today announced the promotion of Zagros Barazenda to the European leadership team.

"We are pleased to announce Zagros Barazenda as the UK Country Manager. Zagros brings extensive technical commissioning, qualification, validation, and project and client management experience, in addition to an incredible motivation and drive. His appointment further solidifies our position in the UK market at the forefront of the data center, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries," said John Henchion, CAI Vice President for Europe.

"CAI's standard of excellence in both its offerings and culture is well-positioned to deliver leading expertise on mission critical facilities and manufacturing regulation in the UK," said Zagros. "I am excited to lead CAI's mission in expanding to the UK, with a focus on building a world-class culture and fostering an inclusive environment to attract, develop, engage, and retain the best talent to serve our clients in both bio-pharmaceuticals and data centers."

Zagros has a primary degree in Biotechnology from NUI Galway and has years of experience in lab, medical devices, and bio-pharmaceutical industry working in multinational companies such as Medtronic, Regeneron, and Thermo Fisher. During his career at CAI, he has held a variety of senior leadership roles and has been responsible for the development of client relations and recruitment of key talent.

ABOUT CAI

Since CAI was founded in 1996, we have delivered nearly a billion dollars in services for hundreds of clients across thousands of projects globally. With offices in the US, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Korea, Switzerland, India, Ireland, Italy, China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, we are an international team of over 800 professionals providing local support from a global company. Our engineering, technical, and quality consulting services are fashioned to deliver mission critical facilities with a high level of performance and reliability. When operational readiness and startup are critical, CAI delivers to a higher standard. www.cagents.com

Contact:

David Shenberger

+13177219847

dwshen@cagents.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1535735/CAI_25_years_Logo.jpg




Original-Research: Saturn Oil & Gas Inc. - von GBC AG



Einstufung von GBC AG zu Saturn Oil & Gas Inc.



Unternehmen: Saturn Oil & Gas Inc.

ISIN: CA80412L8832



Anlass der Studie: Research Report - Corporate site visit Empfehlung: BUY

Kursziel: 12.17 CAD

Kursziel auf Sicht von: 31.12.2022

Letzte Ratinganderung: -

Analyst: Julien Desrosiers; Felix Haugg



Oxbow facilities



We had the chance to visit the newly acquired Oxbow Asset in September 2021. The site visit included a complete tour and presentation of new management as well as a trip to production assets, pads, facilities and an introduction to many employees and contractual companies. The assets visited were located in a fairly concentrated area around the small town of Carlyle. We also engaged with the local community to understand their perception of the company and their arrival in their community.

We were impressed with the quality of the assets acquired. The infrastructure is in pristine condition which held true for every single site we visited. We previously described the assets as: The infrastructure that will be acquired by Saturn has a strong history of upkeep and maintenance by the previous owner and does not require any major upgrades or refurbishments. We can now confirm that this is not only correct but the quality of the assets and especially maintenance exceeded our expectations.

The news of the acquisition was well received in the region. This asset was not considered core by the previous owners and, even if they had maintained all equipment, facilities, and infrastructure in the best condition, they had not injected additional development capital for a long time. Therefore, the new blood injected into the region by Saturn Oil & Gas was much welcomed and the comments we heard were only positive. The local community has a strong agricultural as well as oil and gas background and both sectors usually fit easily with one another to form coherent economic development. The steady income for farmers of the lease of a small part of their land to oil companies complements their volatile revenues from their main activity.



The community seems to be looking forward to more capital spending in their region and the employees that are now under new management seemed to have very precise and efficient strategies to maximize the potential of this asset.



As core values of investors are more and more driven by sustainability, we were very pleased to assess in person the support of the local community towards Saturn Oil & Gas-from employees and various stakeholders to community members. They seem to desire far more development and capital injection in their area and are ready to take active steps in this direction.



One can expect that thousands of producing wells and additional assets would require heavy manpower to maintain. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. In total, Saturn Oil & Gas now has 45 field employees in Saskatchewan that report to two superintendents and one operations manager who reports directly to the CEO. As most of the wells are connected to a pipeline system, the assets are also very low maintenance. As a result, the company is able to maintain a lean management structure, increase cost efficiency and run their operations better than before. The Oxbow asset workers have been working on those fields for years, if not decades. They are very well versed technically as well as on the specifics of these oil fields. Therefore, they do not constitute a dilution in the company's talent pool but rather an increase in their human capital.

The company is using Afti' Watchdog technology at many of their production sites and have initiated a full rollout. This technology allows Saturn Oil & Gas to monitor their wells 24/7 with a webcam live feed. During our site visit, we had the chance to witness the details and result analyses and reports that this product generates. We are convinced that this is a revolutionary product and Saturn Oil & Gas, as early adopters of this technology, will benefit greatly from it.



Firstly, it will be beneficial to limit environmental issues that could arise at the wells by decreasing the time between a possible leak and human intervention. Secondly, it allows the company to monitor their operations with different electronic sensors at a completely new level. Thirdly, in case of an incident, the well can be shut down remotely. This will further increase the efficiency of their team given that most physical and visual inspection will be able to be conducted remotely. This means that there is less time spent driving to inspect operations sites, fewer emissions and fewer accidents. This will further add to the lean structure and low operation costs of the company.



At minimal cost, we believe that the company added a massive protection layer onto their operations. Once again, Saturn Oil & Gas has shown their level of commitment to their assets and core sustainability values.

Note: The full report was published on December 21st 2021 and can be found here:

http://www.more-ir.de/d/23223.pdf



Die vollstandige Analyse konnen Sie hier downloaden:

http://www.more-ir.de/d/23324.pdf



Kontakt fur Ruckfragen

GBC AG

Halderstrae 27

86150 Augsburg

0821 / 241133 0

research@gbc-ag.de

+++++++++++++++

Offenlegung moglicher Interessenskonflikte nach  85 WpHG und Art. 20 MAR. Beim oben analysierten Unternehmen ist folgender moglicher Interessenkonflikt gegeben: (5a,6a,7,11); Einen Katalog moglicher Interessenkonflikte finden Sie unter: http://www.gbc-ag.de/de/Offenlegung

+++++++++++++++

Time of completion: 01.02.2022, 17:15

Time of publication: 02.02.2022, 10:30



ubermittelt durch die EQS Group AG.

Fur den Inhalt der Mitteilung bzw. Research ist alleine der Herausgeber bzw. Ersteller der Studie verantwortlich. Diese Meldung ist keine Anlageberatung oder Aufforderung zum Abschluss bestimmter Borsengeschafte.




AMSTERDAM, and VILNIUS, Lithuania, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybersecurity companies, Nord Security and Surfshark, finalized a merger agreement to enhance their position in the digital security and privacy protection industries. The merger will open new technical knowledge-sharing opportunities and enable more focused market diversification. Both companies will continue to operate autonomously and rely on separate infrastructure and product roadmaps.

"The increasing complexity of cybersecurity and digital privacy is a growing challenge worldwide. We believe that this industry requires radical simplification and ease of access, both for consumers and businesses. Together, Nord Security and Surfshark create the largest internet security powerhouse in the market, ready to bring advanced solutions for customers," says Tom Okman, the co-founder of Nord Security.

"Consolidations in the global consumer cybersecurity market indicate the industry's maturity. They also bring new competitive challenges. Nord Security and Surfshark joining forces will set the ground to scale in different digital security dimensions, which is necessary to meet the growing requirements of our customers," explains Vytautas Kaziukonis, founder of Surfshark.

The closing of the signed agreement marks the end of the process that started in mid-2021. Both companies concurred after evaluating the current industry landscape and synergies. This partnership provides the businesses with new leverage in their shared mission to secure people's digital lives.

The idea behind the deal is to streamline resources towards common goals while preserving the autonomy of both companies. Founders highlight that this strategic business move will serve as a springboard towards more rapid development and innovation while maintaining the uniqueness of both brands that customers learned to appreciate over many years.

The merger will solidify both companies' offerings in different market segments and diversify the geographical reach. Both companies will continue to focus on developing distinct solutions to cover various areas of cybersecurity, among which are personal data protection, device security, file security, and others.

Details of the transaction are not disclosed as both companies are privately owned entities.

About Nord Security:



Nord Security is home to advanced security solutions that share the Nord brand and values, including the world's most advanced VPN service NordVPN , the next-generation password manager NordPass , encrypted cloud storage NordLocker , and the advanced network access security solution NordLayer , and a freemium VPN provider Atlas VPN . Established in 2012, Nord Security now has more than 1000 employees and serves 15 mln users worldwide. More information: nordsecurity.com .



About Surfshark:

Surfshark is a cybersecurity company developing humanized software solutions to protect people's digital lives. Powered by over 200 employees, the company seeks to deliver people the most up-to-date means to control their digital presence by combining several cybersecurity tools into one place. The Surfshark One suite bundles an award-winning VPN, an antivirus, a private search tool, and a data leak detection system Alert to bring back a sense of security into people's daily lives.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1738656/1.jpg
Shenzhen, China--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - From January 26 to 28, 2022, Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE for short) was held in Las Vegas, the US. As one of the significant professional tobacco exhibitions in the US and throughout the Americas, TPE brought together more than 300 participating brands from 30 countries and regions worldwide and attracted more than 15,000 professional vapers.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8404/112475_7caf7a89740da8e7_001full.jpg

As the driver of technological evolution in the vape industry, ICCPP and its brand VOOPOO presented one-stop ODM solutions and latest products, discussed the future development trend, product experience, upgrade and innovation of the industry together with many partners, fans and friends of commodity brands.

One-Stop ODM Solutions For The Industry

ICCPP is one of the world's most influential atomization solution providers. As the parent company of VOOPOO, ICCPP brought new one-stop odm solutions, ranging from disposable to replaceable devices, to CBD tech, GENE Tree ceramic core and other atomization technologies. Many local distributors and retailers appreciated the rich product lines and fondled admirably the e-cigarette sets displayed by ICCPP, constantly inquiring and showing the firm intention of cooperation. "ICCPP's product design is bold and innovative, which not only considers the vaper's experience and aesthetic design, but also sets competitive prices," said one on-site dealer.

As a professional ODM enterprise, ICCPP has the service capability covering the whole industrial chain from product design, technology R&D, production, quality control, after-sales service and so on. According to the latest data in 2021, ICCPP had more than 500 technical research and development personnel worldwide, established four basic research institutes including basic research, atomization innovation, chip technology and life science, and built six manufacturing and processing bases in line with excellent GMP production standards, covering a total area of 120,000m. Besides, it also closely cooperated with a number of well-known universities in China on innovative materials research. By the end of 2021, the total number of patent applications has exceeded 1,000.

Continuous Innovation Grants A Number Of New products Amazing Debut

As the world's best VAPE brand in 2021, VOOPOO fully showcased its latest products VINCI Q, VINCI Pod Royal Edition, DRAG Nano 2 and DRAG X/S PnP-X kit, which attracted many agents and vapers to experience and negotiate cooperation.

The VINCI Pod Royal Edition and the VINCI Q, VOOPOO's first batch of new products for 2022, quickly gained market recognition once they were exhibited. The VINCI Pod Royal Edition exquisitely uses relief sculpture to achieve the inheritance of classic and modern patterns. By holding the "tactile beauty" of relief sculpture in hand, vapers can feel the shock brought by this artistic masterpiece, enjoy the layers resulting from the concave and convex technique, and experience the nobility between the fingertips. Besides, combined with the automatic suction mode of the sensitive air sensor, it instantly brings a smoother and richer taste experience.

In addition, VINCI Q's unique ITO atomization technology, six dazzling color schemes and 900mAh battery life have been well received by live vapers. The VINCI Q POD, combining multiple advantages into one, makes itself the most cost-effective product in the industry. It is probably the best value for money in the industry so far and the first Pod for new vapers.

About VOOPOO

Founded in 2017, VOOPOO has rapidly grown through DRAG products within a short period of time and is well recognized by vapers from around the world. VOOPOO is a high-tech enterprise integrating R&D, design, production and brand operations. It has four flagship product series: DRAG, VINCI, ARGUS and V Series. Its business covers more than 70 countries and regions in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit our website and follow our IG, Facebook and TikTok.

Media Contact: wind.chen@voopoo.com

Business Contact: sales@voopoo.com

WARNING: This product may be used with e-liquid products containing nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Company: ShenZhen Woody Vapes Technology Co., Ltd.

Contact Person: Wanfeng Chen

Email: sales@voopoo.com

Website: https://www.voopoo.com/

Telephone: 0086-4009 6000 61

City: Shenzhen, China

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112475
South Africa: SIU to investigate Mpumalanga Health department

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a proclamation authorising the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration at the Mpumalanga Department of Health.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the proclamation also empowers the unit to recover any financial losses suffered by the department if any wrongdoing is found.

The investigation will look at transactions that took place between 1 January 2018 and 28 January 2022, the date of publication of the Proclamation, and transactions that either took place before January 2018 or after January 2022 but relevant to, connected with the same persons, entities or contracts being investigated.

Evidence pointing to criminal conduct, which may be uncovered during the investigation, will be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), as well as the Hawks in the South African Police Service (SAPS) for further action, he said on Wednesday.

Kganyago explained that the investigation will focus on:

The procurement of or contracting for ICT infrastructure required to operationalise the Bethal Hospital.

The installation and commissioning of an ICT network for the Middelburg Hospital.

A fleet management solution for the department.

A citizen engagement platform for the department.

The connection of community health centres and clinics to a virtual private network.

The digitalisation of queue management processes at Themba Hospital, by or on behalf of the department.

Further, the SIU will investigate payments which were made in respect thereof in a manner that was not fair, equitable, transparent, competitive or cost-effective; or contrary to applicable legislation or circulars or instructions issued by the National Treasury or the relevant Provincial Treasury.

The scope of the SIU investigation will also cover any unlawful, improper or irregular conduct by employees, officials or agents of the department; or any other person or entity, in relation to the allegations being investigated, Kganyago said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-02-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Two years after her daughter went missing in New Hampshire, Crystal Sorey is still holding out hope.

I have to. I have to hang on to hope, she told WMUR Tuesday. I still feel her.

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Soreys daughter, 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery, was last seen in October 2019, but wasnt reported missing until late November. Sorey lost custody in July 2018 to Harmonys father, Adam, due to her substance abuse issues.

More than 500 tips have been made to the Manchester Police Department so far, but nothing has proved legitimate, she told WMUR.

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Adam Montgomery, 31, was arrested in early January and charged with felony second-degree assault for a 2019 incident, one misdemeanor charge of interference with custody and two misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child, all tied to Harmonys disappearance.

[ Father of missing 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery is suspect in 2008 Massachusetts murder: report ]

Harmony Montgomery (MANCHESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT)

Montgomerys brother, Michael, accused Adam of being physically abusive toward Harmony, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Daily News. His uncle, Kevin Montgomery, told police that he had seen Harmony with a black eye and claimed Adam had told him that he bashed her around this house when he caught her trying to get her younger brother to stop crying while she was bathing him.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

Kevin Montgomery also said hed witnessed other abuse, including spanking, forcing her to scrub the toilet with her toothbrush and leaving her standing in the corner for hours, according to the affidavit.

Sorey told Manchester, N.H., police that she last saw Harmony on video chat around Easter 2019, describing the young girl as frightened.

Montgomerys wife Kayla, Harmonys stepmother, has also been charged for allegedly collecting food stamps and other benefits on behalf of Harmony while she was missing.

The reward for information on Harmonys disappearance currently stands at $144,000.

So that we can just reach that one person who can say, Hey, oh my goodness. I have her. Or, Ive seen who has her, or something, you know? Sorey told WMUR Tuesday.

Harmony is listed at 4 feet tall, weighing about 50 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. She is blind in her right eye and should be wearing glasses.

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Anyone with information is asked to call the Manchester Police Department at 603-668-8711, Detective Jack Dunleavy at 603-792-5561 or the anonymous CrimeLine tip line at 603-624-4040.
2 February 2022

Clean Invest Africa Plc

("CIA", the "Company" or the "Group")

Placing to raise 100,000 and Total Voting Rights

Clean Invest Africa Plc, the AQUIS quoted investment company is pleased to announce the successful completion of a placing (the "Placing"), to raise 100,000 to support the continuing growth of its wholly owned subsidiaries, CoalTech Limited ("CoalTech") and Coal Agglomeration South Africa (Pty) Ltd ("CASA"), and to provide limited working capital to the Group.

Placing

A total of 20,000,000 ordinary shares of 0.25p nominal value each ("Placing Shares") have been placed with investors at 0.5p per share. For every two Placing Share issued, one warrant will be granted, exercisable at 1.5p, valid for a period of three (3) years from the date of admission of the Placing Shares to the AQSE Growth Market. Further, should the placees validly exercise the 1.5p warrants in full, these will be replaced by a further one warrant, exercisable at 3p, for every two Placing Shares, valid for three years from grant. Application has been made for the Placing Shares to trading on the AQSE Growth Market and this is expected to occur on or around 8 February 2022.

Total Voting Rights

Following the issue of Shares as described above totaling 20,000,000 ordinary shares, the issued share capital of the Company will consist of 1,274,138,501ordinary shares. No shares were held in treasury at the date of this announcement. The total current voting rights in the Company are therefore 1,274,138,501. The above figure of 1,274,138,501 may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

The directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

ENQUIRIES :

Clean Invest Africa plc

Filippo Fantechi - Chief Executive Officer +973 3 9696273

Peterhouse Capital Limited

Guy Miller +44 20 7469 0930
MADRID (dpa-AFX) - Spain unemployment increased unexpectedly in January, data from the labor ministry revealed on Wednesday. The number of people out of work increased 17,173, or 0.55 percent, in January from the previous month. Economists had forecast a monthly decline of 50,700. However, this was the lowest growth recorded for the month of January over the last 25 years, the ministry said. On a yearly basis, unemployment logged a marked decline of 841,275 or 21.22 percent in January. The number of unemployed people totaled 3.12 million in January. By economic sectors, unemployment fell by 7,304 in construction and by 2,421 in industry. Meanwhile, unemployment rose by 33,627 in services and 2,657 in agriculture. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved 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.
International Business Machines Corporation Pre Stabilisation Notice

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / HSBC (contact: 'synd manager'; telephone: +44 207 992 8066) hereby gives notice, as Stabilisation Coordinator, that the Stabilisation Manager(s) named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities

The securities: Issuer: International Business Machines Corporation Guarantor (if any): na Aggregate nominal amount: EUR Benchmark / EUR Benchmark Description: Fixed due 9th Feb 2030 / Fixed due 9th Feb 2034 Offer price: TBC / TBC Other offer terms: Stabilisation: Stabilising Manager(s): HSBC Bank plc Stabilisation period expected to start on: 2nd February 2022 Stabilisation period expected to end no later than: 11th March 2022 Existence, maximum size & conditions of use of over-allotment facility[1]: 5% of the aggregate nominal amount Stabilisation Venue(s) Over the counter (OTC)

In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilisation Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, there is no assurance that the Stabilisation Manager(s) will take any stabilisation action and any stabilisation action, if begun, may be ended at any time. Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and rules.

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction.

In addition, if and to the extent that this announcement is communicated in, or the offer of the securities to which it relates is made in, any EEA Member State before the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Member State in accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation") (or which has been approved by a competent authority in another Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Member State in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation), this announcement and the offer are only addressed to and directed at persons in that Member State who are qualified investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation (or who are other persons to whom the offer may lawfully be addressed) and must not be acted on or relied on by other persons in that Member State.

This announcement and the offer of the securities to which it relates are only addressed to and directed at persons outside the United Kingdom and persons in the United Kingdom who have professional experience in matters related to investments or who are high net worth persons within article 12(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 and must not be acted on or relied on by other persons in the United Kingdom.

This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. There will be no public offer of securities in the United States.

[1] Please note that the existence and the maximum size of any greenshoe option, the exercise period of the greenshoe option and any conditions for exercise of the greenshoe option must also be disclosed, if such option exists. In addition, the exercise of the greenshoe option must be disclosed to the public promptly, together with all appropriate details, including in particular the date of exercise and the number and nature of securities involved

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

SOURCE: HSBC Bank PLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686899/HSBC-Bank-PLC-Announces-Pre-Stabilisation-Notice
Multi-year, multi-million dollar collaboration will develop new tools to rapidly accelerate the development of RNA-based products, catalyzing a new era in healthcare

DNA Script, a leader in Enzymatic DNA Synthesis (EDS) and DNA on demand, has inked a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract with Wellcome Leap to accelerate RNA products, including mRNA vaccines, and advance RNA therapies. Under Wellcome Leap's RNA Response Readiness (R3) program, DNA Script will work to develop a fully automated and deployable system to synthesize DNA templates for RNA production with a short turnaround time.

Wellcome Leap's R3 program, jointly funded with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), seeks to increase the development and deployment of RNA-based biologic products as a standardized platform technology with reduced cost. In addition, the program aims to create a global network of state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that can quickly transition, in times of emergency, to meet future pandemic needs at the local level.

RNA development relies on the ability to rapidly design and produce genetic material. DNA Script's SYNTAX Platform, which employs Enzymatic DNA Synthesis (EDS), is a benchtop nucleic acid printer that quickly produces synthetic nucleic acid without requiring the specialized infrastructure and waste management processes that traditional systems and services using phosphoramidite chemistry rely on. The SYNTAX Platform eliminates the bottleneck between designing genetic material in silico and synthesizing actual genetic material to use.

"RNA has shown tremendous promise in both vaccine and therapy development, and we believe easy access to these molecules will accelerate therapeutics development and foster innovation and greater efficiencies, said DNA Script CEO and co-founder Thomas Ybert. "We anticipate the development of this system to be particularly useful for personalized medicine, for which a new sequence needs to be synthesized for each patient, or to locally develop variant-specific mRNA vaccines for pandemic response."

R3's specific project, Digital Sequence to RNA Unique Production Technologies (DiSRUPT), seeks to develop a fully-automated, easy-to-use platform to synthesize genetic material from digital sequences in a short period of time to vastly accelerate therapeutic development. One of the highest priorities for DiSRUPT will be perfecting the ability to produce genetic material with exceptionally low error rates for plasmid DNA. Another goal is to integrate and automate the systems associated with mRNA production, so the entire workflow can fit into a 40-foot container with other Wellcome Leap partners.

"This is the fourth project, following the U.S. DARPA NOW partnerships with Moderna and GE Research and French DGA program announced earlier this year, in which DNA Script has been selected to collaborate on deployable diagnostic and therapeutic responses to future pandemic needs," said Ybert. "We're proud to be considered a go-to partner as the international research community rises to meet the challenge of curbing future biothreats at the source, before they spread."

About DNA Script

Founded in 2014, DNA Script is a pioneering life sciences technology company developing a new, faster, more powerful and versatile way to design and manufacture nucleic acids. The company has developed an alternative to traditional DNA synthesis called Enzymatic DNA Synthesis, or EDS, allowing this technology to be accessible to labs with the first benchtop enzymatic synthesis instrument, the SYNTAX System. By putting DNA synthesis back in the lab, DNA Script aims to transform life sciences research through innovative technology that gives researchers unprecedented control and autonomy. www.dnascript.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005303/en/

Contacts:

Press contacts in the US

Seismic

Valerie Enes

415-692-6799

valerie@teamseismic.com

DNA Script Contact

Joleen Rau

joleen.rau@dnascript.co

publicrelations@dnascript.co

Press contact in Europe

ALIZE RP

Caroline Carmagnol

06 64 18 99 59

caroline@alizerp.com


FLORENCE, Italy, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Who are the heroes that have inspired the careers of Nobel Prize winners? What difficulties have they encountered and how did they overcome them? Each and every one of us can now delve into the careers and personal lives of some of the biggest names in the world of science thanks to "Dialogs Beyond Borders," a new section on the website of the Fondazione Internazionale Menarini, with interviews given by scientists of the calibre ofLouis Ignarro, Donna Strickland and Barry Marshall.

"My father was originally from Torre del Greco and my mother from Panarea. They first met in the United States, before the Second World War: my English was very poor at first and, as you can imagine, my parents were not able to help me much with reading and writing. But fortunately I have always been very curious, even at a young age. Mine has truly been an American Success Story," commented Louis Ignarro, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine "for his contribution to discovering the effects of the nitric oxide molecule on the cardiovascular system."

Amongst the great names hosted in the "Beyond Borders" series, you can find Donna Strickland, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018 for "revolutionary inventions in the field of laser physics," and Tasuku Honjo, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2018 for his research on how to use the immune system as a weapon to fight cancer. His studies in the field of immunotherapy, conducted alongside his colleague James Allison, are considered a milestone in the fight against cancer.

Just a click and you can listen to the story of Barry Marshallwho became Nobel Prize winner in Medicine in 2005 thanks to his discovery of the role of Helicobacter Pylori in ulcer disease.

"With this new format, we wanted to create an informal conversation with some of the great names in scientific research - many of whom are Nobel prize winners - and be able to explore some aspects of the personal lives of individuals who, through their studies and determination, have had a major impact on patients' lives and who might even inspire others to pursue a career in the Life Sciences sector," explained Lorenzo Melani, Chairman and Scientific Director of the Fondazione Internazionale Menarini.

The video interviews are available here: www.en.fondazione-menarini.it/Home/Dialogs-Beyond-Borders.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1739000/Prof_Tasuku_Honjo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1738999/Fondazione_Internazionale_Menarini_Logo.jpg
Cytognos divestment is a first strategic step aimed at positioning Vitro as a new worldwide diagnostic player in their key market segments

SEVILLE, Spain, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vitro S.A, (www.vitro.bio) a privately held company headquartered in Seville, Spain, announced today the sale of Cytognos to Becton Dickinson and Company (BD). Cytognos is a company specializing in flow cytometry solutions for blood cancer diagnosis, minimal residual disease (MRD) detection, and immune monitoring research for hematological diseases. Cytognos' employees joining BD as a result of the acquisition will continue to support employment stability in the Salamanca area in Spain. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Vitro has been a long-term investor in Cytognos since 1996, taking a majority stake in the company in 2018 to create a full platform player that integrates and commercializes flow cytometry reagents, hardware and software. This add-on investment was Vitro's first since GED Capital's majority investment in Vitro in June 2017. Cytognos has since evolved into a full platform player in the clinical flow cytometry market.

"This major transaction with such a leading global IVD company highlights Vitro as a sophisticated niche technology player, and it will be followed with additional corporate and key technology achievements related to our molecular biology and anatomic pathology platforms", said Javier Fernandez, Vitro's CEO.

Vitro has approximately 250 employees at their facilities in Seville, Granada, Madrid, Valencia and Lisbon, with a new branch in Istanbul to be launched in February. The company boasts remarkable capabilities in the development of reagents, software and hardware, and their integration into proprietary full diagnostic platforms. With its own anatomic pathology and molecular biology reference laboratory, Vitro is able to validate and benchmark new reagents faster and more efficiently than its key competitors. With this divestment, Vitro will be able to focus its resources on the launch of its new, first-in-class in vitro diagnostics platforms in 2022. The company is in the process of setting up independent units to manage its existing reagents, hardware and software diagnostic teams, which focus on molecular biology, anatomic pathology, and Women's Health D2C services.

Lazard acted as the exclusive financial advisor, and Garrigues acted as legal counsel to Vitro. KPMG provided financial due diligence support and LEK provided commercial due diligence support.

About Vitro:

Vitro, a company with headquarters in Seville (Spain), is a fully integrated R&D, manufacturing and sales specialist supplying in-vitro diagnostic reagents, hardware and software to hospital and laboratories worldwide. Vitro celebrated last year the 30-year anniversary since foundation, and has expanded in more than 35 countries since then. It complies with ISO 13485, ISO 15189, ISO 27001, ISO 14001, and is working on track to update all CE-IVD certificates as per the new IVDR requirements in May 2022. All reagents, hardware and software are 100% designed and manufactured by Vitro at their Seville and Granada facilities. Vitro is a private company controlled by Spanish GED Capital (www.gedcapital.com ), a private equity firm investing in the low mid-market.
Additional Talent Enables the Company to Pursue COVID-19 Testing Accreditation within the Province of British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / EMPOWER CLINICS INC. (CSE:CBDT)(Frankfurt:8EC)(OTCQB:EPWCF) ("Empower" or the "Company") an integrated healthcare company - serving patients through medical centers, telemedicine platforms, a medical device company, and a high complexity medical diagnostics laboratory - the Company is excited to announce Dr. Tyler Coupal, MD ("Dr. Coupal") as its British Columbia Medical Director effective February 1, 2022. The Company intends for Dr. Coupal to lead the launch of COVID-19 testing services within the province.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia ("CPSBC") requires all facilities to be recognized under its Diagnostic Accreditation Program ("DAP"). A medical director who is a registered physician with the CPSBC is required to oversee all specimen collection procedures, transportation, and laboratory processing as part of the DAP. The Company is submitting the first of many DAP applications this week under the guidance of Dr. Coupal. Upon recognition of DAP accreditation, the Company will be in the position to offer COVID-19 testing in British Columbia.

Dr. Coupal is a registered physician with the CPSBC and a specialist fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American Board of Radiology. Prior to beginning clinical practice, he completed his medical internship and residency at the University of British Columbia's Royal Columbian and Vancouver General Hospitals, respectively. Dr. Coupal subsequently completed his clinical fellowship at Harvard University's Massachusetts General Hospital before returning to Vancouver for his practice. With a diverse background in both clinical and research healthcare settings, Dr. Coupal brings a robust skillset to Empower.

"I would like to extend a warm welcome to Dr. Coupal, as a respected physician who brings a breadth of invaluable practical healthcare experience to the Empower corporate team," said Steven McAuley, Chairman and CEO of Empower. "Our team's goal is to help reopen local economies, especially hard-hit industries in tourism and hospitality. DAP certification will allow us to capitalize on the pressing demand for more COVID-19 testing within Empower's home province."

"It is an honour and privilege to be a part of British Columbia's pathway to reopening, and to be developing such critical programs to help the hospitality and tourism industries return to the province safely." said Dr. Coupal. "This will ultimately touch the lives of many British Columbian's both directly and indirectly, and we look forward to the opportunity to be healthcare leaders in this space".

The Company hopes to expand the supply of available COVID-19 testing, both PCR and Rapid Antigen, within the province through approved sites. Recognition as a DAP accredited facility opens further opportunities for Empower to partner with industries - including tourism, cruise and large hotels - seeking convenient and reliable COVID-19 testing. Empower is actively engaged with BC-based businesses of all sizes on their COVID testing needs. Its subsidiary Medisure awaits approval from Health Canada for an interim approval order to manufacture and sell MediSure Canada Lateral Flow Rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) Antigen Tests.

The Company announces that it has granted, effective January 20, 2022 , an aggregate of 200,000 stock options (each, an "Option") to certain contractors of the Company in accordance with the Company's stock option plan. Each Option is exercisable into one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Share") at a price of $0.295 per Share, being the closing price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange on the date of grant and the trading date before the date of grant for a period of five years from the date of grant. The Shares will be subject to a hold period of four months commencing on the date of grant of the Options.

This press release is available on the Empower Clinics Verified Forum on AGORACOM for shareholder discussion, questions and engagement with management https://agoracom.com/ir/EmpowerClinics

ABOUT EMPOWER:

Empower is an integrated healthcare company that provides body and mind wellness for patients through its clinics, with digital and telemedicine care, a medical device company and world-class medical diagnostics laboratories. Supported by an experienced leadership team, Empower is aggressively growing its clinical and digital presence across North America. Our Health & Wellness and Diagnostics & Technology business units are positioned to positively impact the integrated health of our patients, while simultaneously providing long term value for our shareholders.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Steven McAuley

Chief Executive Officer

CONTACTS:

Media:

Steven McAuley CEO

s.mcauley@empowerclinics.com

604-789-2146

Investors:

Tamara Mason

Business Development & Communications

t.mason@empowerclinics.com

416-671-5617

DISCLAIMER FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements can frequently be identified by words such as "plans", "continues", "expects", "projects", "intends", "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding: that the Company will expand COVID-19 testing in the Province of B.C.; that its subsidiary will successfully attain Health Canada approval for a rapid antigen test. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions known to management at this time, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including: that the Company may be unable to enter into definitive agreements, or close transactions with respect to, proposed future clinic openings; that due diligence with respect to anticipated clinic openings and acquisitions may not be satisfactory to the Company; risks related to delays in permitting or construction; risks related to supply chains and access to labour; that legislative changes may have an adverse effect on the Company's business and product development; that the Company may not be able to obtain adequate financing to pursue its business plan; that the Company will be able to commence and/or complete build-outs and tenants improvements for new clinics; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and other factors beyond the Company's control. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur on the terms or in the time expected, or at all, or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Empower Clinics Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686895/Empower-Clinics-Adds-Inaugural-British-Columbia-Medical-Director
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - Cabral Gold Inc. (TSXV: CBR) (OTC PINK: CBGZF) ("Cabral" or the "Company") is pleased to provide assay results from several trenches recently excavated immediately west of the main Machichie target within the Cuiu Cuiu gold district in northern Brazil.

Highlights are as follows:

Trench CT35A, located 285m west of the most westerly drill hole at the main E-W trending Machichie main zone, returned 5m @ 8.3 g/t gold including 1m @ 37.8 g/t gold



The mineralization in CT35A is on strike and interpreted to represent the western extension of the E-W trending main Machichie mineralized structure. If proven correct, this would represent a 60% extension to the known mineralized zone at Machichie. This suggests that the Machichie main zone could extend for at least 800m along strike, whilst still being open to the west

Trench CT36 completed 100m to the NE of CT35A also returned encouraging results in a new parallel structure at Machichie, including: 0.6m @ 12.9 g/t gold, 1.5m @ 1.6 g/t gold, and 0.7 @ 1.1 g/t gold



Further trenching in both areas is in progress in advance of planned follow-up drilling

Alan Carter, Cabral's President and CEO commented, "The results from recent trenching west of the main E-W trending Machichie mineralized zone suggest there could be a significant extension to the zone as we currently know it, indicating a possible 60% addition to the strike length of the known mineralized structure. Whilst further trenching is ongoing and drilling is planned, this is a major development in our efforts to determine the size and scope of the mineralized zones at Machichie, which is located just 500m north of the MG gold deposit. It also adds further support to previous drilling which identified numerous near-surface high-grade vein structures in this area of the Cuiu Cuiu property. With the existing two gold deposits at MG and Central, the recent discovery of three near-surface gold in oxide blankets, and a new hard-rock mineralized zone at the PDM target, Cuiu Cuiu is rapidly emerging as a significant gold district, containing multiple zones of near-surface gold mineralization, which are all located in close proximity."

Machichie Trench Results

The Machichie target is located 500m north of the MG gold deposit (Figure 1). It was initially discovered in 2019. Previous drilling at Machichie identified a persistent mineralized zone which is E-W trending, dips steeply to the north. The main zone consists of a high-grade core zone surrounded by a low-grade alteration envelope. This is very similar to the style of primary bedrock gold deposits at MG and Central, as well as the recently announced PDM basement discovery (see press releases dated December 15, 2021 and January 12, 2022).





Figure 1: Map showing the location of the Machichie target and the existing MG and Central gold primary gold deposits, as well as the recently identified gold-in-oxide blanket and underlying mineralized zone in hard rock at the PDM target within the Cuiu Cuiu district. Other key targets are shown as yellow circles

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3900/112478_1933e124f4056bae_002full.jpg

Drilling to date at Machichie returned consistent gold values. These included: 45.0m @ 1.0 g/t, including 3.1m @ 7.3 g/t gold; 62.8m @ 0.9 g/t, including 2.1m @ 15.3 g/t gold; and 34m @ 5.4 g/t gold, including 13m @ 13.4 g/t gold (see press releases dated January 7, 2021). The two most westerly holes at Machichie drilled to date were: DDH181, which returned 6.6m @ 2.0 g/t gold, including 0.6m @ 13.5 g/t gold; and RC57, which returned 1m @ 3.0 g/t gold (Figure 2).

In November 2021, Cabral completed three short reconnaissance trenches, totaling 65m, nearly 300m west of, and along strike from the known Machichie mineralized zone (Figure 2). All of the trenches were oriented N-S and were designed to test the near-surface extent of recently discovered mineralized boulders.

Trench CT35A was excavated directly along strike of the known strike extent of the main Machichie mineralized zone. This trench is located 285m west of the drill hole RC57, which is the most westerly drill hole completed along the Machichie main zone to date. The trench cut a zone of intense quartz veining and alteration which returned 5m @ 8.3 g/t gold, including 1m @ 37.8 g/t gold. This mineralization is now interpreted to be the western extension of the main mineralized zone at Machichie (Figure 2). Whilst further trenching in this area is required, if the results returned from trench CT35A are part of the same mineralized structure at Machichie, then the main Machichie structure could extend at least another 285m to the west. This would increase the total strike length of the main Machichie mineralized zone by approximately 60% to 800m, and it would still be open on strike to the west.

In addition, trench CT36, which was developed 100m to the NE of CT35A also returned encouraging results. These included 0.6m @ 12.9 g/t gold, 1.5m @ 1.6 g/t gold and 0.7 @ 1.1 g/t gold. These values may represent a new mineralized structure that is parallel to the main mineralized zone. Narrower similar parallel zones are common in both the footwall and hanging wall of the Central and MG primary (hard-rock) gold deposits, as well as the recent PDM hard-rock gold discovery.

As a result of these highly encouraging results from trenching, the trenching program at Machichie has been expanded, and a planned program consisting of an additional 19 N-S trenches totaling 950m has commenced. This trenching is designed to define the western extent of the main mineralized zone at Machichie. In addition, ten diamond-drill holes are planned to follow up on the trench assay results. Drilling is expected to commence in March.





Figure 2: Detailed map showing the Machichie mineralized zone including previous drill results and recent trenching results. The background image is RTP airborne magnetic data.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3900/112478_1933e124f4056bae_003full.jpg

Drilling Update

An extensive diamond-drilling program is currently in progress at the primary Central gold deposit. Assay results are currently pending on five holes completed in 2021, from a total program of 43 planned diamond-drill holes at Central. These are designed to further define the high-grade zones at Central.

RC drilling at Central is also in progress above the northern end of the Central gold deposit and results are currently pending on nine holes. This program is aimed at further defining the extent of the gold-in-oxide blanket material intersected in several of the RC holes recently drilled over the northern part of the primary Central deposit, as well as in recent diamond-drill holes over the southern end of the Central deposit.

Diamond drilling is also in progress at the recently discovered mineralized zone in basement granitic rocks at the PDM target located 2.5km NW of Central, and at the primary MG deposit located 5km SE of Central (see press release dated January 12, 2022).

About Cabral Gold Inc.

The Company is a junior resource company engaged in the identification, exploration and development of mineral properties, with a primary focus on gold properties located in Brazil. The Company has a 100% interest in the Cuiu Cuiu gold district located in the Tapajos Region, within the state of Para in northern Brazil. Two gold deposits have so far been defined at Cuiu Cuiu and contain 43-101 compliant Indicated resources of 5.9Mt @ 0.90g/t (200,000 oz) and Inferred resources of 19.5Mt @ 1.24g/t (800,000 oz).

The Tapajos Gold Province is the site of the largest gold rush in Brazil's history producing an estimated 30 to 50 million ounces of placer gold between 1978 and 1995. Cuiu Cuiu was the largest area of placer workings in the Tapajos and produced an estimated 2Moz of placer gold historically.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

"Alan Carter"



President and Chief Executive Officer

Cabral Gold Inc.



Tel: 604.676.5660

Guillermo Hughes, MAusIMM and FAIG., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of the words "will", "expected" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. This news release contains forward-looking statements and assumptions pertaining to the following: strategic plans and future operations, and results of exploration. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors. The Company believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct.

Notes

Gold analysis has been conducted by SGS method FAA505 (fire assay of 50g charge), with higher grade samples checked by FAA525. Analytical quality is monitored by certified references and blanks. Until dispatch, samples are stored under the supervision the Company's exploration office. The samples are couriered to the assay laboratory using a commercial contractor. Pulps are returned to the Company and archived. Drill holes results are quoted as down-hole length weighted intersections.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112478
-Rise in use of latex and powder-free nitrile gloves for varied agricultural purposes is fueling business prospects in the disposable gloves market

-Disposable gloves manufacturers are strengthening their production capabilities in order to cater to towering product demand in the healthcare industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic

ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rise in application of disposable gloves for hands protection while handling chemicals, reactive unhygienic materials, and medicines is generating profitable opportunities for companies in the disposable gloves market. Hence, the market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.7% during the forecast period of 2021 to 2031, note analysts at Transparency Market Research (TMR).

In the healthcare industry, disposable gloves are also used in dentistry, surgeries, and examinations. Hence, increase in the number of these activities is likely to create high product demand, thereby fueling the growth of the disposable gloves market during the forecast period.

The disposable gloves market in North America is expected to gain sizable business opportunities and expand at a CAGR of 39.2% during the forecast period. The market is anticipated to be driven owing to rise in awareness about health and hygiene among regional population due to recent outbreaks such as SARS, COVID 19, and H1N1. Moreover, increased focus of many health-associated organizations, including The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on encouraging people to follow safety and hygienic guidelines at workplaces is leading to revenue-generation opportunities in the North America disposable gloves market.

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Disposable Gloves Market: Key Findings

Use of latex and powder-free nitrile gloves has increased in the agriculture industry for different agriculture activities. Moreover, the product is also suitable for milking activities, owing to its different advantages such as sturdy nature, durability, and ambidexterity. Hence, in order to cater to rising product demand, players in the global disposable gloves market are strengthening their production capabilities in latex and powder-free nitrile gloves. Companies in the disposable gloves market are ensuring the availability of their products through online distribution channels, including ecommerce sites. These efforts are anticipated to help in the overall market growth during the forecast period.

With increase in the prevalence of different infectious diseases, the use of disposable gloves has increased for handling different food products in order to prevent microbial activity. Moreover, government authorities of many countries around the world are executing stringent regulations pertaining to the food safety. As a result, the global disposable gloves market is experiencing notable sales prospects from the food industry.

High performance mechanic gloves are increasingly being used in the automotive industry, owing to their ability to assist in providing maximum comfort and improving performance in different automotive applications. Hence, players in the global disposable gloves market are providing specialized rubber gloves that offer exceptional chemical resistance and protection against abrasions, wear, and tear. Furthermore, these products ensure user safety in automotive applications and are puncture resistant. Besides, manufacturers are offering disposable mechanic gloves that are easy to apply and remove, notes a report on the global disposable gloves market.

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Disposable Gloves Market: Growth Boosters

Rise in application of disposable gloves in handling fuel oil, pesticides, agriculture produce, and chemicals is driving global market

Increased demand for disposable mechanic gloves from the automotive industry creates revenue-generation opportunities in the global disposable gloves market

Rise in prevalence of transmittable diseases such as coronavirus is resulting in soaring demand for disposable gloves in the healthcare industry

Increasing global population and improving disposable income of major populace are supporting the growth of the global disposable gloves market

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Disposable Gloves Market: Key Players

Some of the key players profiled in the report are:

Hartalega Holdings Berhad

Latexx Partners Berhad

Ansell Limited

Granberg AS

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Disposable Gloves Market Segmentation

Material

Natural Rubber

Vinyl

Nitrile

Neoprene

Others

End-use

Medical

Food & Beverages

Agriculture

Metal Fabrication

Automotive

Chemicals

Others

Region

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

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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:

Agricultural Gloves Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/agricultural-gloves-market.html

Polyphenylene Ether (PPE) Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/polyphenylene-ether-ppe-market.html

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HONG KONG, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- What Google did for Internet search, Trace Labs Web3 development company is doing for physical and digital assets like NFTs, making them discoverable and verifiable. Supported by world-class partners and a newly formed advisory board of Internet and industry pioneers, the company's new open source Web3 tools allow users to connect all assets in the growing OriginTrail Decentralized Knowledge Graph . This is driving value based on the law of network effects - Metcalfe's law.

Trace Labs link together two powerful technologies - blockchains, most widely known to underpin cryptocurrencies, and knowledge graphs, the intelligent data management component driving data platforms like Google, Amazon and Facebook. After launching in early 2019, the OriginTrail Decentralized Knowledge Graph supported by an open network of over 2000 nodes hosted by both individuals and businesses globally, has seen its initial use in enabling discoverability and verifiability of real world assets in supply chains.

One such example of this is SCAN Trusted Factory, where OriginTrail is used to safeguard security audit reports for the largest US retailers with a combined annual turnover of over USD 1.36 trillion like Home Depot, Walmart, and Target. Another powerful use of OriginTrail is AidTrust , a product developed jointly with British Standards Institution (BSI), which brings visibility and trust to pharmaceutical supply chains by connecting data from manufacturers, NGOs, and in-country distribution networks.

Dr Bob Metcalfe, the Internet pioneer and the inventor of Ethernet, explained how Trace Labs generates network effects by connecting data: "The early Metcalfe's Law talked about the connection of machines and how valuable PCs would be if connected, Facebook made it all about connecting people together, what you are working on is connectivity of data and the value that can be derived from that." Dr Metcalfe joined the advisory board at Trace Labs along with other important thought leaders and investors:

Greg Kidd - An early investor in Twitter, Coinbase, and Square, founding partner at Hard Yaka and the co-founder and CEO at GlobalD;

- An early investor in Twitter, Coinbase, and Square, founding partner at Hard Yaka and the co-founder and CEO at GlobalD; Aaron Bradley - Knowledge Graph Strategist at Electronic Arts (EA) and one of the most recognized experts in the global knowledge graph community;

- Knowledge Graph Strategist at Electronic Arts (EA) and one of the most recognized experts in the global knowledge graph community; Dan Purtell - One of the leading global supply chain security experts and Group Director of Innovation at British Standards Institution;

- One of the leading global supply chain security experts and Group Director of Innovation at British Standards Institution; Cristina Ventura - Investor, advisor and founder of Ventura X Ventures and has held senior executive positions in the luxury goods and technology industries for the world's most prestigious companies such as LVMH, Gucci, Prada IPO, opening Apple Hong Kong and China , and Lane Crawford Joyce Group;

- Investor, advisor and founder of Ventura X Ventures and has held senior executive positions in the luxury goods and technology industries for the world's most prestigious companies such as LVMH, Gucci, Prada IPO, opening Apple Hong Kong and , and Lane Crawford Joyce Group; Yancey Spruill - CEO of DigitalOcean previously held positions in the finance industry and technology companies (CFO at DigitalGlobe and CFO/COO at Sendgrid, both of which he took public);

- CEO of DigitalOcean previously held positions in the finance industry and technology companies (CFO at DigitalGlobe and CFO/COO at Sendgrid, both of which he took public); Ken Lyon - Global expert on logistics and transportation, held the position of Director and VP of information services at UPS for 10+ years.

Trace Labs and their partners are continuing to develop a better Internet that enables discoverability and verifiability of real-world and digital assets alike. "We are excited for new solutions planned to be deployed in strategic industries such as pharmaceuticals and healthcare, integration with Polkadot blockchain network and the latest improvements of the OriginTrail Decentralized Knowledge Graph - Version 6. The latter also introduces interoperability with existing knowledge graphs, like the one developed by Google," said Branimir Rakic, the CTO at Trace Labs.

All of the developments are expected to allow network effects to be harnessed across Web3 ecosystems, both for NFTs and other digital assets, as well as physical objects of all sorts. This open Web3 technology stack will enable anyone to bring their assets into Web3, increasing their value by making them easily usable and connectable.

More about Trace Labs

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A 27-year-old woman was shot and killed in Memphis and her 2-day-old baby is nowhere to be found, according to police.

An Amber alert was issued for Kennedy Hoyle Wednesday morning, hours after her mother was found dead near an abandoned car around 11:15 p.m.

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Kennedy, who was last seen with her mother, was gone.

The Memphis Police Department did not name the victim, but her mother identified her as Danielle Hoyle.

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Kennedy Hoyle (Tennessee Bureau of Investigations)

Hoyle left home around 6 p.m. Tuesday to bring Kennedy to the hospital for testing, her mother, April Campbell, told WREG. Around 7:30 p.m., Hoyle told her mother that she was just getting the baby out of the car.

Campbell never got in touch with Hoyle after that.

Hoyle also has a 10-year-old daughter, Campbell said.

Kennedy, listed at 6 pounds and 17 inches long, was last seen wearing a black and white polka dot onesie with pink pants. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Memphis Police Department at 901-545-2677 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Adam Caller, CEO and Founder of elite private tutoring company Tutors International, maintains that teaching phonics is not always the most effective method of teaching reading

OXFORD, England, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A landmark study written by UCL academics and published in the Review of Education on the 18th January, 2022, is calling for the government to abandon its emphasis on synthetic phonics when teaching children how to read, claiming that research suggests that it may be failing them.

Adam Caller



Adam Caller, former teacher, educational consultant and founder of Tutors International, a leading tutoring agency providing full-time residential private tuition, is keen to express his views on this topic:

"The debate over which is the optimum method of teaching children how to read has raged amongst educational experts for decades. The crux of the argument centres around the use of synthetic phonics, a process where words are broken up into the smallest units of sound or phonemes, which are then blended together sequentially for reading. Professional experience has shown me that using phonics as a sole method of teaching a child how to read is not necessarily the most successful one. Our first consideration should always be to determine which method of instruction suits the individual's learning style by finding their areas of strength and weakness. Once assessed, the teacher should then adopt the method of teaching that provides the learner with the best strategy to work out unfamiliar words".

Phonics

From September 2014 systematic synthetic phonics (SSP), became a statutory requirement of the National Curriculum and remains a key strategy in the teaching of early reading. Caller says: "I have been disappointed by the sole use of phonics as a method of teaching children to read. I agree with the latest research which shows that emphasis on phonics is 'not underpinned by the latest evidence'. The way in which phonics has been taught in schools has evolved significantly over the last few decades but crucially, it comes down to the fact that it is not always taught well. Added to this is the fact that teachers find it easier to teach phonics, as a technique for learning to read, rather than any other method and so we now find ourselves in a situation where the individual needs of the child are no longer of paramount importance".

Whole Language Approach

In contrast, Caller explains, the whole language approach to reading teaches the child to work out unfamiliar words using books and stories to help contextualise written language. The child learns to focus on the understanding of a word, what it looks like and what it is represents, before looking at the word's relationship to other words. Despite there being no scientific support that proves its effectiveness, this method became the major model for education in the United Kingdom and North America in the 1980s and 1990s.

Balanced Instruction

Balanced instruction aims to strike a balance between both the whole language approach and SSP, when teaching a child to read. Caller agrees with the latest research which shows that a combination of phonics and whole language instruction is more effective than the use of synthetic phonics in teaching reading skills. However, he reports that due to the introduction of the statutory phonics screening test in 2011, teachers are complaining that they see this more as a means of measuring school performance rather than as a way of identifying those children who may be struggling. "As a consequence, teachers are feeling increasingly pressured to abandon this combined approach in favour of a narrowed focus on phonics", Caller states.

Accents and Phonics

Caller also makes the point that regional accents and differing dialects may have a negative impact on effective phonics' instruction. A standardised reading test may ask a student to identify words with similar sounds. This becomes problematic because what rhymes in one dialect may not in another. "Every region of the UK has its own accent and this means that the student may become confused by the differences in spoken and written English. These difficulties can sometimes be long-lasting and may hinder the student's progress throughout their school-life and beyond".

Helping Dyslexic Students

Caller's expertise in this field is the result of his specialist training in dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder. "Dyslexic students struggle with phonic decoding", Caller adds. "Often, remedial programmes in schools will focus heavily on phonics, believing that more instruction in this area will eventually lead to children mastering decoding skills and so improve their reading ability. However, we have to remember that the brains of dyslexic children are wired differently and so we need to incorporate other methods of teaching into the process." Caller maintains that pupils diagnosed with dyslexia will often respond better to the top-down, whole word approach to reading whereby the learner associates the word with the image, effectively memorising the words by its shape. Caller also refers to the Orton-Gillingham and Wilson Reading System approaches, both highly-regarded, multi-sensory methods of teaching children how to read, based on how children learn language. He concludes: "The key message to take on board is that there is no one method which works for every child when teaching reading. It is important that teachers use a wide-range of strategies and approaches to ensure that their student is able to achieve their potential and the best outcome. The main focus should be the quality of the tutoring and the relationship that the teacher builds with its student."

How Tutors International Can Help Your Child

Caller encourages all parents whose child might be struggling with reading, or manifesting any educational difficulty, to make an enquiry. Tutors International specialises in perfectly matching full-time residential private tutors for select Clients, providing premium and specialised tuition which is tailored to your child's needs.

About Tutors International

Tutors International provides an unparalleled private tutoring service that matches the right private home tutor with the right child, in order for the student to fully reach their personal potential and academic excellence. Delivering an international private tuition service for children of all ages at different points in their educational journeys, Tutors International is founded on a commitment to finding the perfect tutor to realise the specific goals and aspirations of each student. Tutors are available for residential full-time positions, after-school assistance, and homeschooling.

Founded in 1999 by Adam Caller, Tutors International is a private company based in Oxford, a city renowned for academic excellence. Our select clientele receives a personally tailored service, with discretion and confidentiality guaranteed.

Contact Details

Web: www.tutors-international.com

Email:marketing@tutors-international.com

Phone: +44 (0) 1865 435 135

Tutors International

Clarendon House

52 Cornmarket Street

Oxford

OX1 3HJ

UK

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CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (TSXV:FLY)(OTCQX:FLYLF) (the "Company" or "FLYHT") today announced that it has signed a reseller agreement with SITA for its AIRCOM Cockpit Services, initially focusing on developing the market for Iridium Certus. This relationship will benefit both parties by aligning sales endeavors and enables FLYHT to provide additional inflight satellite internet connectivity to AFIRS Edge customers.

SITA, the leading IT provider to the air transport industry, last year integrated the Iridium Certus satellite communication service into its AIRCOM Cockpit Services portfolio, which provides critical communications for aircraft operations and Air Navigation Service Provider customers globally, and supports more than 18,000 aircraft in their daily operations. Iridium Certus enables a dedicated native IP connection to the cockpit with global coverage and increased security via authentication and virtual private networking.

Bill Tempany, CEO stated, "FLYHT is pleased to extend our relationship with SITA and looks forward to closer collaboration as our Actionable Intelligence tools roll out to integrate our capabilities with SITA's many offerings to their customers. FLYHT is developing tools for our customers to reduce turn times, increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, and partners like SITA will help accelerate that growth."

Sebastien Fabre, CEO SITA FOR AIRCRAFT commented: "We see FLYHT as a strong partner for furthering the reach of our services to smaller, regional airlines. The company's AFIRS Edge is a state-of-the art solution that gives aviation customers real-time access to the latest satellite and cellular connectivity. We look forward to further developing this relationship."

About FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd.

FLYHT provides airlines with actionable Intelligence to transform operational insight into immediate, quantifiable action, delivering industry leading solutions to improve aviation safety, efficiency, and profitability. This unique capability is driven by FLYHT's patented aircraft certified hardware products including AFIRS, a satcom aircraft interface device which enables real-time streaming of flight information, cockpit voice and black box data streaming, AFIRS Edge, a state-of-the-art 5G WQAR and satellite data communications device, and TAMDAR and the FLYHT-WVSS-II, which deliver airborne weather and humidity data in real-time. FLYHT is headquartered in Calgary, Canada with an office in Littleton, Colorado, and is an AS9100 Quality registered company. For more information, view our presentation here, or visit www.flyht.com.

About SITA

SITA is the air transport industry's IT provider, delivering solutions for airlines, airports, aircraft and governments. Our technology powers more seamless, safe and sustainable air travel.

With around 2,500 customers, SITA's solutions drive operational efficiencies at more than 1,000 airports while delivering the promise of the connected aircraft to customers of 18,000 aircraft globally. SITA also provides technology solutions that help more than 70 governments strike the balance of secure borders and seamless travel. Our communications network connects every corner of the globe and bridges 60% of the air transport community's data exchange.

SITA is a certified CarbonNeutral company in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol - the leading global standard for carbon neutral programs. We are reducing our greenhouse gas emissions for all our operations through our UN recognized Planet+ program, while also developing solutions to help the aviation industry meet its carbon reduction objectives, including reduced fuel burn and greater operational efficiencies at the airport.

SITA is 100% owned by the industry and driven by its needs. It is one of the most internationally diverse companies, providing services in over 200 countries and territories.

For further information, go to www.sita.aero.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical 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. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are founded on the basis of expectations, assumptions and hypotheses made by the Company. Such forward-looking information is 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 information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include but are not limited to global economic and industry conditions. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Contact Information:

FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. FNK IR LLC

Alana Forbes Matt Chesler, CFA

Chief Financial Officer Investor Relations

403.291.7437 646.809.2183

aforbes@flyht.com flyht@fnkir.com

investors@flyht.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.

SOURCE: FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686414/FLYHT-Partners-with-SITA
WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / TDG Gold Corp. (TSXV:TDG) (the "Company" or "TDG") is pleased to reiterate high grade gold ("Au") and silver ("Ag") assays from results received from SGS Labs Canada ("SGS"). Internal QA/QC review by TDG, working with Moose Mountain Technical Services ("MMTS"), is ongoing and therefore results are still considered preliminary. Drill results reported so far are from 7 of 51 completed diamond drillholes in 2021 at TDG's 100% owned former producing high grade gold-silver Shasta mine located in the historical Toodoggone Production Corridor of north-central B.C. TDG has also reported preliminary results from 3 of 6 historical holes drilled at Shasta in 2007 that were resampled by TDG in 2021.

A summary of high grade intercepts to date is highlighted below and detailed in Table 1.

SH21-004: 21.6 g/t Au & 593 g/t Ag over 0.5 m

SH21-005: 25.22 g/t Au & 1189 g/t Ag over 0.5 m

SH21-006: 76.71 g/t Au & 1725 g/t Ag over 0.5 m

SH21-008: 20.8 g/t Au & 582 g/t Ag over 0.5 m

?This sample was previously "capped" at 1,000 g/t Ag, pending overlimit analysis.

High grade gold-silver intercepts occur in proximity to the mineralizing structure(s), where intense silicification, potassic alteration and veining produce a hydrothermal breccia of host rocks. These high grade 'pods' were the focus of historical mining and production efforts and are surrounded by significant widths of 'halo'-style medium to lower grade mineralization, which TDG is incorporating in a bulk-mining scenario as part of working towards an open-pit NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate. This mineralization style is characteristic of the low sulphidation epithermal deposits located within the Toodoggone District.

TDG's interpretation of results received to date is that the data provide corroborative evidence with the historical drilling at Shasta and confirms the presence of a mineralized breccia body at Shasta which extends over 400 metres ("m") from north to south at the Creek Zone with the potential for further mineralization at depth, to the north, south and east towards the JM Zone. Drill results the JM Zone are still pending along with drillholes testing for potential extension of the mineralization between the Creek and JM Zones, and also 700 metres to the south of the JM Pit at the Cayley-Rainier Zone.

In 2020-2021, TDG recompiled over 28,000 m of historical drilling at Shasta, which indicated less than 50% of the historical core had been assayed compared to the total length of the drillhole. Historical efforts were focused on the high grade pods and the material comprising the halo was left un-assayed. This information was used to target TDG's 2021 diamond drill program with the aims of validating the historical drillhole data, and testing extensions around the historical workings and mineralized target zones.

In total, TDG completed 8,048 m of diamond drilling (> 90% oriented core) at Shasta. This amount of oriented core data collected will enable Company geologists to understand vein/mineralization orientations and sequence different generations of mineralizing events, to better understand and target future endeavours. All holes were drilled within the Permitted Mine Area ("PMA") and covered approximately 60% of the known mineralized target zones at Shasta. In 2022, TDG expects to publish an inaugural NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate for Shasta and to continue expanding the gold and silver mineralized footprint with subsequent drilling on and off the PMA, under a Notice of Work ("NoW") authorization, granted in 2021.

TABLE 1. High grade gold-silver intercepts from previously published diamond drillholes SH21-001 to SH21-008 and SH07-01 to SH07-003.

Drillhole Depth From Depth To Length

(m) Au

(g/t) Ag

(g/t) AuEq

(g/t)* SH21-004 69.0 69.5 0.5 21.60 593 29.01 SH21-004 69.5 70.0 0.5 13.80 641 21.81 SH21-004 71.0 71.5 0.5 11.00 336 15.2 SH21-005 96.5 97.0 0.5 12.00 474 17.93 SH21-005 97.5 98.0 0.5 15.83 851 26.47 SH21-005 98.0 98.5 0.5 25.22 1189 40.08 SH21-006 28.0 28.5 0.5 5.70 558 12.68 SH21-006 51.5 52.0 0.5 13.39 847 23.98 SH21-006 98.5 99.0 0.5 76.71 1725 98.27 SH21-008 66.0 67.0 1.0 15.00 44.5 15.56 SH21-008 68.0 68.5 0.5 8.63 135 10.32 SH21-008 72.0 72.5 0.5 15.50 165 17.56 SH21-008 72.5 73.0 0.5 11.40 218 14.13 SH21-008 75.0 75.5 0.5 20.80 582 28.08 SH21-008 75.5 76.0 0.5 20.40 443 25.94 SH21-008 77.0 77.55 0.55 7.36 384 12.16 SH21-008 83.5 84.0 0.5 5.86 417 11.07 SH21-008 120.7 121.25 0.55 6.36 367 10.95 SH07-01 69.0 70.1 1.1 7.53 329 11.64 SH07-01 82.0 84.0 2.0 7.80 331 11.94

*Gold equivalent (AuEq) is used for illustrative purposes, to express the combined value of Au and Ag as a percentage of Au. Calculations are uncut and no allowances have been made to accommodate potential recovery losses that would occur in a mining scenario. AuEq is calculated using 80:1 silver to gold ratio.

** Intervals are core-length weighted. True width is estimated between 75 to 95 % of core length, and core recovery is calculated to be > 95 %

***Calculated composites/intercepts are truncated to 2 significant digits for Au/AuEq and the nearest whole number for Ag.

Previously published results from diamond drillholes SH21-001 to SH21-008 and resampled historical drillholes SH07-01 to SH07-003 (see news releases dated January 04, 2022, January 11, 2022 and January 24, 2022) were preliminary. All were drilled into the Shasta Creek Zone approximately  150 m from the historical Creek Pit. Results from these drillholes have been finalized by SGS's internal Data Quality Analysis (DQA) and all subsequent overlimit circuits are complete. TDG's internal QAQC is still underway, waiting for all results from the 51 completed drillholes to be compiled and laboratory performance verified. Final results will be published on TDG's website at that time. TDG is currently awaiting final assay results from 44 of the 51 diamond drillholes drilled at Shasta in 2021, and laboratory progress has been slowed by an unusual volume of samples submitted and the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. TDG expects to publish more results over the coming weeks.

QA/QC

Samples for the Shasta 2021 drill program followed chain of custody between collection, processing and delivery to an SGS laboratory in Burnaby, B.C. The drill cores were delivered to the core shack at TDG's Baker Mine site, and processed by geologists who inserted certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates (pulp and coarse) into the sampling sequence. The 2021 drill core was cut in half (1/2 HQ core) and placed in zip-tied polyurethane bags, then in security-sealed rice bags before being delivered directly from the Baker Mine site, to Bandstra Transportation Systems in Prince George, B.C., and ultimately to the SGS laboratory in Burnaby, B.C. Samples were prepared and analyzed following procedures summarized in Table 2, where information about methodology can be found on the SGS Canada Website, in the analytical guide (here).

TABLE 2. Au and Ag Analytical Methods

Drillhole Prep Method Au Method Ag Method Au-

Overlimit Method Ag-

Overlimit* SH07-001 PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A GO_ICP42Q100 SH21-004 PRP89 GO_FAI50V5 GE_IMS40Q12 GO_FAG50V GO_ICP42Q100 SH21-005 PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 GO_FAG37V GO_ICP42Q100 SH21-006* PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A GO_ICP42Q100 SH21-008 PRP89 GO_FAI50V5 GE_IMS40Q12 GO_FAG50V GO_ICP42Q100

* Samples returning > 1000 g/t Ag in overlimit method GO_ICP42Q100, utilized a second overlimit method: GO_FAG37V.

Quality assurance and control ("QAQC") is maintained internally at the lab through rigorous use of internal certified reference materials, blanks, and duplicates. An additional QAQC program was administered by TDG Gold through the use of certified reference materials ("CRMs"), duplicate samples and blank samples that were blindly inserted into the sample batch. If a QAQC sample returns an unacceptable value an investigation into the results is triggered and when deemed necessary, the samples that were tested in the batch with the failed QAQC sample are re-tested. For the purposes of this press release, results are 'preliminary' and thus have not undergone TDG's comprehensive QAQC investigations.

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 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. TDG currently has 78,361,085 common shares issued and outstanding.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Fletcher Morgan

Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact:

TDG Gold Corp.,

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 contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

SOURCE: TDG Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686884/TDG-Gold-Corp-Intercepts-7671-gt-Gold-and-1725-gt-Silver-75-metres-from-Surface-at-Shasta-Toodoggone-District-BC
SAMPLING RETURNS 16.2 G/T and 15.1 G/T GOLD IN OUTCROP

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / Power Nickel Inc. ("Power Nickel" or the "Company") (TSXV:CMX)(OTCQB:CMETF) is pleased to report assay results from its summer 2021 Golden Ivan Property (the "Property") exploration. The highly successful 2021 prospecting and geologic mapping program has resulted in the discovery of two new high-grade gold zones yielding 16.2 grams-per-tonne (g/t) gold (Au) and 15.1 g/t Au in outcrop.

The 2021 Golden Ivan Property campaign completed during July and August 2021, included the collection of 210 surface rock samples including 7 channel samples, in addition to reconnaissance geologic mapping and whole-rock geochemical analysis throughout the Property. A total of 17 of the 210 rock samples returned greater than 0.1 g/t Au, up to 16.2 g/t Au from the newly discovered Lone Goat Showing, and 15.1 g/t Au over 0.75 metres from a channel sample at the newly discovered Molly B. East showing in addition to significant silver and base metal values (Table 1).

Terry Lynch, CEO director of Power Nickel comments, "We are excited to announce the results of our 2021 field program at Golden Ivan, which resulted in the discovery of two new high-grade gold zones. Further defining the mineralization controls, lateral, and vertical continuity of these emerging precious metal trends will be the next steps as we continue to demonstrate the significant potential of the Golden Ivan property and move toward developing drill targets for testing during the 2022 season."

Table 1. 2021 Golden Ivan Project 2021 Prospecting - Significant Results

Sample ID Showing Material Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Pb (%) P385752 Gold Zones Lone Goat (New) Talus 16.2 25 1.56 - P385831 Outcrop - 47 0.18 - P385732 Outcrop 3.41 14 - - P385774 Outcrop 0.76 176 0.64 - P385703 Float - 22 1.14 0.15 P385691 Float - 31 0.82 - P385857 Molly B. East (New) Channel (0.75 m)* 15.1 12 0.10 - P385801 Outcrop 1.43 39 0.16 - P385809 Ice valley (New) Outcrop 0.73 47 0.27 - P385760 Outcrop 0.53 5 - - P385840 Silver Zones Silverado No.4 East trend (Historic) Outcrop - 76 - - P385841 Outcrop - 27 - 1.13 P385682 Float - 30 - 0.73 P385739 Outcrop - 19 1.82 - P385693 Magge Sky Annex (Historic) Outcrop - 47 0.38 -

*The approximate true width of the channel sample is 80-100 sample width

Mineralization and Alteration of New Discoveries

The Molly B. East high-grade gold showing is associated with subvertical southeast tending quartz-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite veins hosted within andesitic volcanic rocks with fine-grained sulphide halos.

The Lone Goat high-grade gold showing comprises an approximately 700 x 200 metre NE-SW trending subvertical zone of multi-stage quartz-epidote-sericite-carbonate altered andesite that returned multiple anomalous (n=8 greater than 0.1 g/t Au) gold assays.

The newly discovered Lone Goat, Molly B. East gold showings, and the historical high-grade gold-silver Molly B trend to the south are coincident with northeast and northwest-trending airborne magnetic (low) lineaments respectively (Figure 1).

General Geology

The results of reconnaissance geologic mapping indicate the Golden Ivan Property is underlain by a layered sequence of andesitic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks attributed to the Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group. The volcanic package is cut by late andesite dykes and rhyolite bodies, while the northeast area of the Property lies in faulted contact with interpreted Stuhini Group metasediments.

Figure 1. Golden Ivan Project 2021 Surface Rock Assay Results

Golden Ivan Historical Data Compilation

Prior to initiating the 2021 exploration, Power Nickel commissioned a digital historical data compilation with respect to the Golden Ivan Property. The compilation comprised publicly available mineral assessment reports and property files from as early as 1929 to date and as recently as 2020. Documented exploration within the Golden Ivan Property includes extensive prospecting, geochemical analysis of surface rock and chip/channel samples, trenching, small-scale underground development, and geophysical surveys (airborne magnetic, VLF-EM, multi-frequency EM, and magnetic/radiometric surveys).

A total of 124 rock and rock chip/channel samples were digitized, which returned an average grade of 2.45 g/t Au and 79.4 g/t Ag, up to a maximum of 118 g/t Au and 2,400 g/t Ag. Of the 124 rock samples, a total of 17 returned greater than 1 g/t Au and a total of 16 returned greater than 50 g/t Ag, including seven samples returning both greater than 1 g/t Au and 50 g/t Ag.

Several small-scale historical workings occur within the Golden Ivan claim group, comprising surface pits, trenches, and short adits. These include the Gold Ore, Eagle & Big Bell, Magee Sky Annex, and Molly-B prospects near the western claim boundary. Molly B prospect sampling returned an average grade of 9.2 g/t Au for 11 samples, and up 45.7 g/t Au and 90.2 g/t Ag collected intermittently over a 750 m NW trending zone. In addition, the area between the Silverado No. 4 and Magee Sky Annex shows a northeast trend returned assays including 6.2 g/t Au, 1,300 g/t Ag, and 1.4 g/t Au, 2,400 g/t Ag. The significant Silverado No. 4 workings, located to the south outside the Property, returned values up to 60 g/t Au and 90 g/t Ag.

The historical compilation results demonstrate the potential to expand and further delineate historical high-grade gold-silver mineralization with continued exploration.

Methodology and QA/QC

The analytical work reported herein was performed by ALS Global (ALS), Vancouver Canada. ALS is an ISO-IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015 accredited geo analytical laboratory and is independent of Power Nickel Inc. Rock samples were subject to crushing at a minimum of 70% passing 2 mm, followed by pulverizing of a 250-gram split to 85% passing 75 microns. Gold determination was via standard atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish 30-gram fire-assay (FA) analysis, in addition to 48 element ICP-MS geochemistry.

Power Nickel Inc. follows industry standard procedures for the work carried out on the Golden Ivan Project, with a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program. For the rock channel samples, blank and standard samples were inserted into the sample sequence sent to the laboratory for analysis. With respect to prospecting rock grab samples, the QP's have relied on the internal quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) measure of ALS which includes the insertion of standard, blank and duplicate samples into the sample stream to confirm the accuracy of the reported results. The QP detected no significant QA/QC issues during the review of the data, and is not aware of any sampling, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy of the results.

Nisk Update

Drilling at Nisk was completed before Christmas break and the Company is waiting on assay results which would be expected in mid-February.

"We were very pleased with what we saw in the drill core. The rock that historically carried the Nickel grade was present in all of our completed holes with encouraging widths. We are looking forward to getting the assays back. We believe these drill results will enable us to complete a new 43-101 Resource in early Q2"

Other Corporate Updates

The Company has retained the services of Trunice Capital as a strategic marketing consultant. In connection with this agreement, Trunice will be awarded 700,000 stock options under the Company's stock option plan vesting immediately and expiring in two years. In addition, a further 800,000 options were granted to the four board members of Power Nickel, and 100,000 options granted to a consultant. The board options have a five-year term and the consultant options have a two-year term. The exercise price for the options is $0.14 which was the price at the close on Monday, February 1, 2022

The Company advises that it plans to spend a minimum of $150,000 and a maximum of $250,000 on paid advertising to market the Company's activities to a wider audience. These expenditures are expected to be concluded between now and the end of Q2 2022.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release as it relates to the Golden Ivan Project has been reviewed and approved by Kristopher J. Raffle, P.Geo. (BC) Principal and Consultant, and Alfonso Rodriguez, P.Geo. (BC) Senior Project Geologist of APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, AB, both "Qualified Persons" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Raffle and Mr. Rodriguez verified the data disclosed which includes a review of the analytical and test data underlying the information and opinions contained therein.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Power Nickel Inc.

Terry Lynch, CEO

647-448-8044

For further information, readers are encouraged to contact:

Power Nickel Inc.

The Canadian Venture Building

82 Richmond St East, Suite 202

Toronto, ON

Terry Lynch & CEO terry@powernickel.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statement

This news release may contain certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that PNPN expects to occur, including details related to the proposed spin out transactions, 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. Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding current and future exploration programs, activities and results. Although PNPN 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 forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration success, continued availability of capital and financing, inability to obtain required regulatory or governmental approvals 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. 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: Power Nickel Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686861/Power-Nickel-Discovers-Two-New-High-Grade-Gold-Zones-at-Its-Golden-Triangle-Project-Stewart-BC-Canada
Wagtail's new page editor promises one of the slickest and most accessible web content management experiences on the market.

CHARLBURY, England, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Google is providing corporate sponsorship to support the development of a 'next-generation' page editor in Wagtail CMS, the open-source CMS, founded by Torchbox, and used by the UK NHS, NASA, Mozilla, and tens of thousands more organizations around the world.

Olly Willans, Torchbox Creative Director, says: "Wagtail's new page editor will set a new standard for large-scale CMS platforms. Having Google support the development effort is fantastic, and we look forward to rolling this out for the Wagtail community."

Wagtail's strong security standards are just one of the reasons Google utilizes the open-source CMS for some of their flagship sites like blog.google and creators.google. When Google saw the roadmap of enhancements ahead for Wagtail, they realized how much their team will benefit and decided to provide $150,000 of corporate sponsorship to accelerate the development effort.

Paul Bakaus, Google's Senior Staff Creator Advocate, says: "Google is a firm believer in open source software and over the years has benefited greatly from Wagtail. We look forward to see how our contribution is going to accelerate the next generation of Wagtail."

The new page editor includes a raft of new features to improve collaboration and workflow as well as tools to help editors create more effective, findable, and accessible content. As Wagtail is an open-source project, once the new features and enhancements have been developed and rolled back into the core Wagtail project, all Wagtail users will reap the benefits for free.

Phil Dexter, Torchbox's Wagtail Product Director, adds: "A key pillar of our vision is for Wagtail to be a delight for editors to use. This enhancement is a huge step forward and we can't wait to get started."

The first release is scheduled to be available in Wagtail 2.18 in August 2022.

Read more about the Future of Editing in Wagtail CMS.

Follow @Wagtail and the project Github discussion board for updates of this project.

Notes to Editor:

Wagtail is the leading open source Python based CMS, founded by digital agency Torchbox.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1739002/Google_Wagtail_Torchbox.jpg


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Biden administration is aiming to reduce cancer death rate in the United States by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years.



President Joe Biden will host an event at the White House Wednesday to reignite the Cancer Moonshot initiative that he launched as Vice President in 2016 with the mission to accelerate the rate of progress against cancer. Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will attend it.



The White House announced that a White House Cancer Moonshot coordinator will be appointed in the Executive Office of the President.



Also, a Cancer Cabinet will be convened by the White House, bringing together departments and agencies across government to address cancer on multiple fronts.



The President and the First Lady are also announcing a call to action on cancer screening to jumpstart progress on screenings that were missed as a result of the pandemic, and help ensure that everyone in the United States equitably benefits from the tools we have to prevent, detect, and diagnose cancer, the White House said.



It is estimated that more than 9.5 million cancer screenings were missed in the United States as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.



NCI will organize the collective efforts of the NCI cancer centers, and other networks such as the NCI Community Oncology Research Network (NCORP), to offer new access points to compensate for millions of delayed cancer screenings.



Federal agencies, led by the NCI, will develop a focused program to expeditiously study and evaluate multicancer detection tests, like they did for COVID-19 diagnostics, which could help detect cancers when there may be more effective treatment options.



The President's Cancer panel this week released a report 'Closing Gaps in Cancer Screening' laying out recommendations focused on connecting people, communities, and systems to increase equity and access.



The Biden administration will host a White House Cancer Moonshot Summit, bringing together agency leadership, patient organizations, biopharmaceutical companies, the research, public health, and healthcare communities and more to highlight innovation, progress, and new commitments toward ending cancer.



President Biden called on the private sector, foundations, academic institutions, healthcare providers, and all Americans to take on the mission of reducing the deadly impact of cancer and improving patient experiences in the diagnosis, treatment, and survival of cancer.



Fighting the disease is deeply personal for the Bidens and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Bidens lost their eldest son Beau Biden due to brain cancer in 2015 at age 46. Harris' mother, Shyamala Gopalan, died of colon cancer in 2009.



Jill Biden's advocacy for cancer education and prevention began in 1993, when four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer. Following that year, she launched the Biden Breast Health Initiative to educate Delaware high school girls about the importance of cancer prevention. As First Lady she continues her work emphasizing early detection efforts and the patient, family and caregiver experience with cancer.



Over the first 20 years of this century, the age-adjusted death rate from cancer in the country has fallen by about 25 percent, which means more people are surviving cancer and living longer after being diagnosed with cancer, according to the White House.







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Medable Inc., the leading software provider for patient-centered clinical trials, today announced that it has acquired LEO Innovation Lab's Omhu A/S, a Denmark-based digital health tech company. Omhu was launched in 2020 to develop new ways of supporting patients and doctors when diagnosing, managing, and treating skin conditions. As part of the agreement with LEO Pharma A/S (owner of LEO Innovation Lab), Medable will take over the Omhu mobile applications and a talented team of 38 people with significant experience in digital health and artificial intelligence.

The acquisition expands Medable's global engineering talent and gives Medable a third location in Europe, building on its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland launched last July, along with a Switzerland office outside the Greater Zurich area established last fall.

Omhu's software applications include Imagine, a skin-tracking mobile app that helps people document how skin condition changes over time by taking photos with their smartphone; Omhu Care, a telemedicine app where users can receive an assessment of their skin symptoms by Omhu's in-house dermatologists; and Hudsvar, a triage telemedicine solution designed to help consumers understand the likelihood of having specific skin conditions based on remote assessment of their photos and medical history by a dermatologist.

"LEO Innovation Lab has a strong track record developing transformative patient-centered digital solutions, and the technology and team at Omhu exemplify that," said Tim Smith, chief technology officer and co-founder of Medable. "We're thrilled to add Omhu's patient-centered solutions to our platform, and we welcome the innovative and talented Omhu team to Medable."

Omhu was launched in 2020 after five years of research and development within the LEO Innovation Lab. The team strives to improve patient access and treatment options for skin conditions, which account for up to 30 percent of all primary care consultations in Europe. In Denmark, for example, a shortage of dermatologists means patients wait up to 23 weeks to see a specialist, severely impacting their daily life and well-being.

"Like Medable, Omhu combines medical and scientific expertise, a thorough understanding of the needs of patients and their doctors, and the research into applying artificial intelligence for the benefits of patients and doctors," said Christian Sejersen, formerly Omhu CEO and now site lead for Medable Copenhagen. "We couldn't have found a better home for our team, and we are excited to continue delivering innovation that makes lives better for patients."

Anne Fleischer, CEO of LEO innovation Lab, said: "By spinning off Omhu completely in this divestment to Medable, we ensure that the great technologies developed by the highly skilled people in Omhu will reach and help even more people globally and improve their outcomes significantly. We are very proud to have landed this deal with Medable."

Medable has deployed its software-as-a-service platform via more than 150 decentralized and hybrid clinical trials in 60 countries, serving more than one million patients and research participants globally. Medable's customers have achieved impressive results with decentralized and hybrid trials including 200% faster enrollment, 90% retention rates and 50% cost reductions. A new study from Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development shows that, on average, decentralized trials can achieve net financial benefits ranging from five to 14 times for Phase II and Phase III trials, due to reduced trial timelines and other factors.

About Medable

Medable is on a mission to get effective therapies to patients faster by transforming clinical drug development with disruptive technologies. The company's digital platform streamlines design, recruitment, retention and data quality for decentralized trials, replacing siloed systems with integrated digital tools, data and interfaces to accelerate trial execution. Medable connects patients, sites and clinical trial teams to improve patient access, experience, and outcomes. Medable is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

About LEO Pharma

LEO Pharma helps people achieve healthy skin. The company is a leader in medical dermatology with a robust R&D pipeline, a wide range of therapies and a pioneering spirit. Founded in 1908 and majority owned by the LEO Foundation, LEO Pharma has devoted decades of research and development to advance the science of dermatology, setting new standards of care for people with skin conditions. LEO Pharma is headquartered in Denmark with a global team of 6,000 people, serving 93 million patients in 130 countries. In 2020, the company generated net sales of DKK 10.133 billion.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005419/en/

Contacts:

Lisa Barbadora, Big Valley Marketing for Medable, +1 (610) 420-3413, media@medable.com

Anne Fleischer, LEO Innovation Lab, +45 41 88 30 86, anne@leoilab.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - Viscount Mining Corp. (TSXV: VML) (OTCQX: VLMGF) ("Viscount" or "the Company") is announcing the results of our exploration drill targets on Passiflora in Silver Cliff, Colorado.

Approximately 1.2 kilometers NNW of the Kate Silver Resource (KSR) lies a geochemically distinct, yet likely hydrothermally related deposit historically referred to as the Passiflora Deposit. According to a mining report by R. A. Rivera (1983), nearly 18,000 tons of silver valuing over $500,000 was extracted from the Herman-Passiflora Mine between 1916 and 1948. A major shaft collapse in 1945 left notable ore unrecovered (Joseph M. Bradley, 1948). A reserve calculation by CoCa Resources for the Passiflora target released in 1983 indicated at least 64M oz. silver at 51.9 G/T (not NI 43-101 compliant) stating, "A sustained advance in the silver price to the $15 level would make the deposit quite attractive (R. A. Rivera, 1983)." With the price of silver now well over this mark, Viscount has begun to further develop an understanding of the Passiflora target.

In November of 2020, Viscount drilled their first NI 43-101 compliant drill hole (20-05) in the Passiflora target. This hole displayed detectable silver and gold concentrations for nearly the entire bored depth (over 170 meters), including a 1.5-meter interval at 84.5 G/T silver and 0.414 G/T gold. The hole also showed anomalous pyrite and abundant silica and clay alteration, especially towards the bottom of the hole. The encouraging results prompted Viscount to do additional field mapping and plan future drilling. In April of 2021, during the second phase of the program, Viscount drilled another three holes in the Passiflora (21-08, 21-09 & 21-10). The map below shows the locations of these drill holes, which were chosen based upon limited historic drilling data.





Passiflora Drill Hole Locations

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2736/112384_0fdebe81b49bbba1_002full.jpg

Drill holes 21-09 and 21-10, which are distanced over 800 meters apart from each other, both have sections with grades above cut-off, with 21-09 showing 10.4 meters at 0.262 G/T gold and 21-10 displaying detectable amounts of silver and gold for its entire 183-meter depth, including 1.8 meters at 142.3 G/T silver. The strong results from phase 2 encouraged Viscount to further explore the southwest area of the Passiflora.

During Viscount's most recent drill program, in September of 2021, a final two holes were drilled in the Passiflora target (21-24 & 21-25). Both holes exhibited significant concentrations of silver, with hole 21-25 showing the most significant interval yet observed by Viscount in the Passiflora. From the depth of 68.9 meters to 107.0 meters, drill hole 21-25 encountered 40.1 meters testing at 43.2 G/T silver.

While the presented concentrations are of merit, the underlining potential could lie just a bit deeper. In each of the six holes drilled by Viscount in the Passiflora target, evident phyllic alteration and associated metal concentration increases were observed throughout the entirety of the drilled depth. Core photos from drill holes 21-24 and 21-25, depicting intense alteration and hydrothermal mineral replacement are shown below.





Drill Core Photo of 21-24 at 169 Meters

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Drill Core Photo of 21-25 at 205 Meters

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The level of increased alteration displayed, as well as the volcanic history of the region as a caldera, make it completely plausible to believe that the Passiflora target could be a porphyry at depth. This caldera is one of at least ten eruptive centers of the Central Colorado Volcanic Field (CCVF). Four of these ten have been further classified as silicic eruptive centers, of which the Silver Cliff caldera is one (McIntosh and Chapin, 2004). Another member of this classification is Newmont's Cripple Creek Mine, a highly profitable, still active deposit located ~70km NNE of the Passiflora. The ore being mined at Cripple Creek is primarily from diatremes (volcanic breccia pipes), which overlie sulfide-altered, porphyritic igneous intrusions. A similar system of diatremes and sulfide-hosting igneous intrusions may also exist at depth in the Passiflora target. In order to verify this concept, Viscount management is currently considering a telluro-magnetic survey to more precisely delineate targets at depth.

Silver Cliff Exploration Manager, Jacob Hooker, commented on the comparison of the Passiflora and Cripple Creek, saying, "The striking similarities between the Passiflora Deposit and the well-known Cripple Creek Deposit, both in terms of geologic environment and depositional age, suggest that a highly profitable diatreme deposit could also exist at the Passiflora."

Jim MacKenzie, Viscount CEO stated," There is immense potential at the Passiflora as drilling identified widespread silver mineralization over 170 meters per hole on multiple drill holes. We are currently pinpointing next steps to unlock the potential for Passiflora resources and will have further info in upcoming news releases."

Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") Measures, Chain of Custody:

All Viscount's drilling to date has been core. The company has implemented a rigorous quality assurance/quality control program at the Silver Cliff project. Core is retrieved from the drill site to a locked storage facility, where it is logged and then cut by independent geologists. Half of the core is bagged, and standards, blanks and duplicates are frequently inserted in to the sample stream. These are then boxed and then shipped via USPS to Skyline Labs in Tucson, Arizona. Pulps and rejects will then be retrieved, and stored with the split core at our locked facility.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Harald Hoegberg PG, an independent consulting geologist who is a "Qualified Person" (QP) as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

About Viscount Mining (TSXV: VML) (OTCQX: VLMGF)

Viscount Mining is a project generator and an exploration company with a portfolio of silver and gold properties in the Western United States, including Silver Cliff in Colorado and Cherry Creek in Nevada.

The Silver Cliff property in Colorado lies within the historic Hardscrabble Silver District in the Wet Mountain Valley, Custer County, south-central Colorado. It is located 44 miles WSW of Pueblo, Colorado, and has year-around access by paved road. The property consists of 96 lode claims where high grade silver, gold and base metal production came from numerous mines during the period 1878 to the early 1900's. The property underwent substantial exploration between 1967 and 1984. The property is interpreted to encompass a portion of a large caldera and highly altered sequence of tertiary rhyolitic flows and fragmental units which offers potential to host deposits with both precious and base metals. This has been demonstrated in the mineralization historically extracted from the numerous underground and surface mining operations. Based on the accumulated data and feasibility study, Tenneco Minerals made the decision with silver at $5.00 USD an ounce to construct at that time a $35,000,000 USD milling operation for the extraction of the silver reserves at Silver Cliff. Shortly thereafter Tenneco's Mining Unit was sold, and the planned milling operation was abandoned.

The Cherry Creek exploration property is in an area commonly known as the Cherry Creek Mining District, located approximately 50 miles north of the town of Ely, White Pine County, Nevada. Cherry Creek consists of 578 unpatented and 17 patented claims as well as mill rights. Cherry Creek includes more than 20 past producing mines. In January 2021, Viscount entered an exploration earn - in agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Centerra Gold Inc. Centerra is a Canadian-based gold mining company focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring gold properties in North America, Asia and other markets worldwide.

For additional information regarding the above noted property and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at www.viscountmining.com

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Jim MacKenzie"

President, CEO and Director

For further information, please contact: Viscount Investor Relations at Email: info@viscountmining.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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to Viscount Mining's operations, exploration and development plans, expansion plans, estimates, expectations, forecasts, objectives, predictions and projections of the future. Specifically, this news release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the Offering, the receipt of required approvals, the timing of thereof and the amount and use of proceeds therefrom. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "projects", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or "variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "can", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Viscount Mining to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the exploration and development and operation of Viscount Mining's projects, the actual results of current exploration, development activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future precious metals prices, as well as those factors discussed in the sections relating to risk factors of our business filed in Viscount Mining's required securities filings on SEDAR. Although Viscount Mining has attempted to identify important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements will prove 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. Viscount Mining does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112384
Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTCQX: RAFFF) ("RFG" or the "Company") has entered into a joint venture agreement on 2 February, 2022 (the "Joint Venture Agreement") with Mr. Nick Standish, Canadian entrepreneur and businessman, to form Raffles Financial Americas Pte Ltd to serve clients based in Americas with corporate finance advisory and North American public listing arrangement services. This joint venture will complement and work with the Company's representatives based in ASEAN, Australia, Africa.

The Company will hold 51% and Mr. Standish 49% of the joint venture and the latter will serve as the executive director, Mr. Albert Fan as director and Dr. Charlie In as Non-Executive Director/Chairman of the board.

"There is a significant amount of growth and innovation in these regions, and with that, there is a growing demand for business consulting and in particular financial advisory services. We are confident that we can meet this demand and capitalize on the opportunities through this partnership and by combining North American capital markets expertise with the RFG suite of financial solutions," stated Mr. Standish.

RFG helps mid-size companies by providing a suite of financial services such as corporate finance advisory in IPO, RTO, M+A, family office & trust fund management, REIT & digital asset fractionalization and listing.

"This joint venture will tap into the experience, expertise and exposure Mr. Standish and his network have in the Americas. The Americas offer a huge corporate finance and IPO arrangement services market and with RFG suite of financial solutions, we believe we are able to address the local companies' fund raising and public listing needs," 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 Purchase under the stock symbol (CSE: RICH), the Frankfurt Stock Purchase under the stock symbol (FSE: 4VO) and the OTC Markets under the stock symbol (OTCQX: RAFFF).

Please visit www.rafflesfinancial.co for more information.

About Mr. Nick Standish, Canadian Entrepreneur & Businessman

Nick is a serial entrepreneur who has 15 years of investment, corporate finance and business experience in Canada, Europe, Africa, Colombia, Mexico and the USA. Nick has been a founder, advisor, director, executive and active investor in a wide variety of industries including financial services, digital assets, fintech, natural resources & alternative medicine. Over the course of his career, Nick has demonstrated exceptional skills in corporate development, venture capital, corporate finance, capital markets & M&A. He has working experience with leading stock brokerage firms, auditors, lawyers, tax specialists, valuation and independent experts in matters related to the ventures he has invested in, founded or those he provided advisory services. His expertise and relationships in the Canadian capital markets have made him a sought after investor and advisor.

Monita Faris, Corporate Secretary

Phone: 604283-6110

Email: monita@rafflesfinancial.co

Neither the Canadian Securities Purchase nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Purchase) 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/112457
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - Bell Copper Corporation (TSXV: BCU) (OTCQB: BCUFF) ("Bell Copper" or the "Company") reports that it has drilled a supergene chalcocite (copper sulfide) deposit hosted by quartz porphyry at its Big Sandy project. Big Sandy is a large, truncated porphyry copper-molybdenum target located in northwestern Arizona, approximately 30 kilometers south of the Company's Perseverance Project.

Highlights

BS-3 is now cutting chalcocite-pyrite mineralization in pervasively sericitized quartz porphyry cut by pyrite and quartz +/- molybdenite veinlets at an inclined depth of 1589 meters.

Disseminated chalcocite mineralization began at an inclined depth of 1303 meters beneath 111 meters of hematitic leached capping.

The 179-meter chalcocite-bearing interval from 1293-1472m has been sampled and shipped to the laboratory for copper assaying.

Geological logging, sawing, and sampling of the chalcocite-bearing interval from 1472-1589 meters is underway.

Drilling of BS-3 continues, and is encountering sparse but increasing quantities of disseminated chalcopyrite, which is variably coated by chalcocite.

Drilling and Analysis

Drillhole BS-3, which was oriented to test a 2400 meter by 2100 meter area of high electrical conductivity that was detected in an earlier Magneto-telluric survey (refer to news release dated October 6, 2020), passed out of gravel and into hematite-rich, pervasively sericitized quartz porphyry (i.e. "leached capping") at an inclined depth of 1192 meters. The true thickness of the gravel layers penetrated by BS-3 at an oblique angle is estimated to be 860 meters. Disseminated chalcocite (copper sulfide) and pyrite was first encountered at an inclined depth of 1303 meters, immediately beneath leached capping. Chalcocite variably overprints predominantly pyritic mineralization from inclined depths of 1303m to at least 1589m, the current bottom of BS-3 (Figures A through C). Chalcocite mineralization in this 286-meter interval is interrupted by spotty jarosite-bearing shear zones lacking pyrite and chalcocite. No copper oxide minerals have been encountered in the ongoing intersection.





Figures A, B, and C. Core box photos representative of the 179 meters of supergene chalcocite mineralization in BS-3.

To view an enhanced version of Figures A, B, and C, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2825/112394_bellcopper1.jpg





Chalcocite (Cu 2 S, 80 percent by weight copper) is present as 1) steely black coatings surrounding disseminated pyrite, 2) partial to complete replacement of disseminated pyrite grains, and 3) partial to complete replacements of pyrite veins (Figures D through F). Minor amounts of bornite (Cu 5 FeS 4 , 65 percent by weight copper) have been seen rimmed by chalcocite in the center of particular pyrite veins. To date, only trace quantities of chalcopyrite (CuFeS 2 , 33 percent by weight copper) have been encountered, mainly in the deepest few meters of core. Sparse quartz-molybdenite veinlets appear to increase in abundance with depth in BS-3.





Figures D, E, and F. Photomicrographs of chalcocite in BS-3 core samples, field of view 5 millimeters in each.

To view an enhanced version of Figures D,E, and F, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2825/112394_bellcopper2.jpg

D. Chalcocite forming steely black rims surrounding disseminated pyrite grains in strongly sericitized quartz porphyry.

E. Steely black chalcocite invading cracks and grain boundaries in pyrite vein.

F. Steely black chalcocite almost completely engulfing pyrite in veinlet.

Oriented core collected near the base of the gravel cover shows that at BS-3 the porphyry system is tilted about 45 degrees from its orientation before faulting. This tilt suggests that the supergene copper blanket in BS-3 can be targeted at shallower depth in the direction of drillhole BS-1, located 1200 meters to the east. A 2-meter interval of chalcocite supergene enrichment underlying hematitic leached capping was cut at a depth of 936 meters in BS-1 (Figure G), suggesting continuity of supergene copper enrichment and porphyry-related alteration across a distance of 1200 meters. The intervening ground showed anomalously high electrical conductivity in the August 2020 magneto-telluric survey. A future drillhole is now contemplated to test that shallower target. Drillhole BS-2, located 2.3 kilometers southeast of BS-3, showed only trace amounts of chalcocite, spotty chalcopyrite (Figure H) and pyrite veins, and "fringy" propylitic alteration in Precambrian host rocks.









Figure G. Photomicrograph of chalcocite from BS-1 at of depth of 936 meters, located 1200 meters east of BS-3. Field of view 7 millimeters. Compare with identical rimming chalcocite texture in Figure D.

To view an enhanced version of Figure G, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2825/112394_6612b56d54232b14_010full.jpg





Figure H. Core sample from BS-2 showing spotty chalcopyrite mineralization in sericitized Precambrian granite. BS-2 is located 2.3 kilometers southeast of BS-3.

To view an enhanced version of Figure H, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2825/112394_6612b56d54232b14_009full.jpg





Tim Marsh, Bell's President and CEO, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI43-101, said,

"Bell Copper continues to build on the discovery at Big Sandy, first announced in January 2020 with BS-1 cutting chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and molybdenite mineralization hosted by a strongly altered 74.2 Ma porphyry. Our original model of a decapitated, large copper-rich top to the Laramide Diamond Joe porphyry root, which concept also underpins the exploration target at our nearby Perseverance property, is being borne out in the ongoing Big Sandy drilling program. The Company intends to follow the copper outward and downward in BS-3 to a logical conclusion, and immediately follow up with a 500-meter step-out hole from the same drill pad. Meanwhile, we will construct a new drill site under our existing permits directly above the BS-3 intersection and mobilized a second drill to push down additional stepout holes from that pad."

About Bell Copper

Bell Copper is a mineral exploration company focused on the identification, exploration and discovery of large copper deposits located in Arizona. Bell Copper is exploring its 100% owned Big Sandy Porphyry Copper Project and the Perseverance Porphyry Copper Project which is under a Joint Venture - Earn In.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Marsh, PhD, PEng., the Company's CEO and President. No mineral resource has yet been identified on the Big Sandy Project. There is no certainty that the present exploration effort will result in the identification of a mineral resource or that any mineral resource that might be discovered will prove to be economically recoverable.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

Bell Copper Corporation

"Timothy Marsh"

Timothy Marsh, President, CEO & Director

For further information please contact the Company

Tel: 1 800 418 8250

Email: info@bellcopper.net

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Bell Copper operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include actual exploration results, interpretation of metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, delays or inability to receive required approvals, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112394
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation ordered a review of five bridges in the state following the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh that left 10 people injured.

A crane is in place as part of clean up efforts at the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh that collapsed Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

The four-lane Fern Hollow collapsed early Saturday morning shortly before 7 a.m. Rescuers formed a human chain to rescue the people who were on the bridge before it crumbled. The incident, which occurred shortly before President Biden arrived to tout his infrastructure legislation, also caused a large gas leak.

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Four of five cars and a Pittsburgh Transit Authority bus lies in the rubble on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh that collapsed Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

The National Transportation Safety Bureau is investigating the collapse.

We are evaluating the condition of each of the bridges which have a similar structure, PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell said in an email to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Based on initial evaluation, all of the other bridges are in fair or better condition and are currently able to carry legal loads (i.e. do not require posting for weight restrictions). PennDOT will be conducting field validations of these structures as well.

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A Crane hoists a Pittsburgh Transit Authority bus on Monday Jan. 31, 2022, that was trapped on the Fern Hollow Bridge when it collapsed on Jan 28, 2022. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

The five bridges all have the same K-frame design where supports are not reinforced with secondary measures.

The bridges are located across the state in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, Beaver, Squirrel Hill and North Strabane.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / Black Tusk Resources Inc. ("Black Tusk" or the "Company) (CSE:TUSK) is pleased to announce 2022 exploration plans for the PG Highway (PGH) and MoGold projects located north of Val d'Or, Quebec. The MoGold and PGH projects cover 2,400 hectares with 43 adjoining claims that are directly accessed by Highway 397 approximately 30 kilometres north from Val d'Or. The claims cover areas that were historically explored for gold and base metals. Black Tusk is broadening the scope of exploration to include potential Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) and Komatiite-hosted PGE mineralization. Exploration is to include continued lithologic sampling and a deep penetrating electromagnetic (EM) surveys. Targets derived from these surveys will be tested by diamond drilling.

The MoGold and PGH properties are staked over a section of the Abitibi greenstone belt which is one of the world's largest, best-exposed, and most richly mineralized Archean greenstone belts. The belt contains world-class orogenic lode Au and Cu-Zn VMS deposits, and significant Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization (2011 Society of Economic Geologists Reviews in Economic Geology, v. 17, p. 89-121; Komatiite-Associated Ni-Cu-(PGE) Deposits, Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Superior Province, Canada).

In 2021, Black Tusk completed 153 line kilometres of drone magnetometer surveys over the PG Highway and MoGold projects. The results of the survey provided targets for Black Tusk's geologic team that conducted rock sampling over the two properties. The team sampled historically documented mineralized areas and new exploration zones. A total of 108 rock samples were obtained and tested at ALS laboratory. Results returned elevated gold, copper, silver, and zinc values from samples taken from both properties (see News Release dated January 10, 2022). The highest gold samples were returned from channel samples taken from the PG Highway claims, with 0.035 grams per tonne, 0.019 grams per tonne, and 0.015 grams per tonne from samples that were highly mineralized with pyrite. Samples with elevated copper and/or gold were noted in some cases to contain elevated silver (to 0.65 ppm) and zinc (to 1,135 ppm).

Twelve rock samples were selected for platinum-palladium screen testing. One of these (sample B0116758 tabled below) from the MoGold property returned a combined 0.15 grams per tonne Pt+Pd with 702 ppm nickel and 199 ppm copper. This potential PGE target will be further explored in the coming year.

Rock sample from MoGold property returned elevated Cu, Ni, Pt, Pd

SampleID UTM_E UTM_N Sample Type Cu ppm Ni ppm Pt ppb Pd ppb B0116758 298679 5353848 Grab 199 702 76.3 77.8

Dr Mathieu Piche, member of the Black Tusk geological team, notes that there is potential for volcanogenic massive sulphide deposition on these claims based upon the geology and some of the geochemical characteristics, as well as the presence of near-massive to massive pyrite and pyrrhotite on the PGH property. As well, in the area of the MoGold and PGH ground, the Abitibi belt contains komatiite within basaltic volcanic rocks. The komatiites are considered prospective for Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization. Three documented PGE showings (From Sigeom: Lynx, La Tour, Route 397) are mapped within four kilometres of the Black Tusk claims. Black Tusk will continue to explore PGE as a potential target.

The proposed 2022 EM surveys over the target areas will trace sulphide-bearing zones to depth. Following the EM survey, further prospecting and rock sampling followed by diamond drilling is planned to test the targets. This work is expected to be carried out in the spring and summer of 2022.

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions as of that date. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to exploration and development; the ability of the Company to obtain additional financing; the Company's limited operating history; 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 the Company's Prospectus dated September 8, 2017 available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions, and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Richard Penn

CEO

(778) 384-8923

SOURCE: Black Tusk Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686840/Black-Tusk-Resources-Inc-Planning-2022-Exploration-on-the-PG-Highway-and-Mogold-Projects
Women's health company, Organon, is giving all its employees a day off on 8th March and is issuing a call to action to all employers in the UK to join forces and do the same

Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global women's health company, is designating International Women's Day (IWD) on 8th March as a day to recognise the growing health disparities that women face that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception, IWD has focused on accelerating gender parity. Organon recognises the need for a global effort to address her health and understands that it needs to start with its own employees by giving them paid time off to attend to their own health needs. The company is also inviting organisations in the UK and across the globe to join in raising awareness of the inequity in women's health and to adopt initiatives that help women prioritise their health.

Women have a terrible tendency of deprioritising their own health. According to one survey, 78% of women put off taking care of their own health because they are too busy looking after their loved ones.1 Women make the bulk of the health appointments for the rest of the family and when asked to rank the amount of time spent managing the health of various family members children came first, then pets, older relatives, spouses or significant others, and then (finally) themselves.1 Mothers take an average of 15 days to arrange a health appointment for themselves versus 5 days for children and 7 days for a pet.1 It appears that despite advances in equality, the majority of household chores still fall to women and that women have just 17 minutes to themselves each day on average, with 51% saying that they have no time at all.2

"The last few years have been challenging for everyone, but the burden of the pandemic has fallen disproportionately on women who may have had to take on more than the lion's share of looking after their family and home schooling whilst also in many cases working full time," said Simon Nicholson, Managing Director of Organon UK&ENI Cluster (UK, Ireland, Israel, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia Iceland). "At Organon we are proud to say thank you by giving everyone time to recharge and put women's health first and we are urging other companies across the UK and the world to join us. Women tend to neglect their own health needs because they're too busy looking after everyone else. It's time for that to change."

"Organon launched with a commitment to listen to the needs of women, and we have heard that women are finding it harder than ever to make the time to care for even their most basic health needs," said Kevin Ali, chief executive officer, Organon. "As a company investing in innovation to improve women's health, I felt a responsibility to address this within our own global community of almost 9,500 employees. This year, the symbolic action we are taking is to encourage all our people to spend this day off to make a commitment to their own health or the health of the women in their lives, whether that's going to the doctor, taking stock of their own wellbeing or reflecting on how to make a change."

Organon urges all organisations to join them in this mission and to be part of the solution. Visit hereforherhealth.com to learn more.

About Organon

Organon is a global healthcare company formed through a spin-off from Merck, (NYSE: MRK) known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, to focus on improving the health of women throughout their lives. Organon has a portfolio of more than 60 medicines and products across a range of therapeutic areas. Led by the women's health portfolio coupled with an expanding biosimilars business and stable franchise of established medicines, Organon's products produce strong cash flows that will support investments in innovation and future growth opportunities in women's health. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets.

Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 9,500 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey.

For more information, visit http://www.organon.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

References

1. New Survey: Moms Are Putting Their Health Last HealthyWomen

2. The average mother gets just 17 minutes 'me time' to herself each day Daily Mail Online

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220201006008/en/

Contacts:

Priya Lakhani-Quiling

Priya.lakhani-quiling@organon.com

Tel: +44 (0) 7957 234632 +44 (0) 7812 743 644
NanoB&K will utilize FIDO to lower both One-Time-Password (OTP) costs, and fraud around customer digital banking interactions.

SAN MATEO, Calif. and Mauritius, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NanoB&K , the FinTech arm of Anglo African , a technology-focused investment Group, announced today that it has signed an agreement with LoginID , to integrate its FIDO-certified passwordless authentication into NanoB&K subsidiaries. NanoB&K was set up in 2017 with the aim of solving the financial exclusion problem on the African Continent. The integration of FIDO2 biometric authentication as a part of NanoB&K platforms will improve security across multiple services such as their digital banking, payment, lending and KYC offerings. The partners will initially launch in Mauritius, and then expand into other countries where NanoB&K owns operating licenses, or supports partners who license their platforms.

The African market is a sizable opportunity for emerging technology solutions to help drive inclusion in banking. As recently as 2019, there was an estimated 1.2B unbanked according to a panel conducted at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town .

"This is very strategic for us on a number of fronts", said Ali Jamaloodeen, Director NanoB&K, and CEO, Anglo African Group. "NanoB&K and its subsidiaries will now be able to ensure that the end customer will be the correct person and not a fraudster who has taken over an account. As we start to offer more banking and nano-lending services, we can secure client accounts upon setup, and ensure the highest level of security any time clients move money or make any important transaction."

"We are very excited about supporting NanoB&K, its subsidiaries and the Anglo African Group at large. Given the market growth of customers on the African continent setting up new banking accounts, right from their initial account creation they will have a simple, very secure experience around any digital payments or services. It will also be far more economical compared to the costs of using SMS for OTPs", said Thierry Siminger, Head, Telecom Business Unit, GM MEA at LoginID.

About Nano AA Ltd

NanoB&K is the FinTech arm of Anglo African Group. It was set up in 2017 with the aim of solving the financial exclusion problem on the African Continent. NanoB&K specializes, through its various subsidiaries, in developing and operating solutions for the Financial Services Industry, which are Faster, Safer, and Cheaper. The solutions Portfolio includes: Digital Banking, Digital Wallet, Digital Payment, Digital Lending, Digital Onboarding, Fully Automated KYC/AML/Compliance Monitoring, Dynamic Scoring and Robotics Process Automation, currently operational in 6 countries in Africa.

About LoginID

LoginID is a San Mateo/Toronto based company focused on bridging the gap around authenticating users and securing their information. This is facilitated through its FIDO2 and UAF certified strong customer authentication, privacy and tokenization platform. The team is funded by strategic investors such as Visa , and is composed of seasoned executives with decades of experience, across global brands, helping commercialize products around security, cryptography, payments and mobile. For further information contact: sales@loginid.io .

Contact: Jim Brown, press@loginid.io; For further information, please contact: contact@nanobnk.com; Contact: Jessen Valaythen, jessen.valaythen@nanobnk.com
The X Index, Havas CX's proprietary barometer of customer experience efficiency, shows CX is most meaningful when it combines the best functional service with meeting emotional citizen expectations

Trust, inclusivity, always being of service, and going above and beyond are now major factors in creating the most meaningful customer experience, reports the 2022 X Index from Havas CX, Havas Group's global customer experience network. The X Index, which is in its fourth year, surveyed 50,000 consumers across nine markets (U.S, UK, France, China, Brazil, Turkey, India, Portugal and Spain) and evaluated the customer experience performance of 500 brands. It found that while seamlessness, simplicity and efficiency are still imperative to customer experience, brands must also fulfill citizen expectations to satisfy consumers.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005305/en/

Havas CX releases 2022 X Index (Photo: Business Wire)

Compiling the ratings of all interactions that consumers may have with a brand throughout their journey from the brand image to their life with the product or service itself, through the relationship (both push and pull), the customer service and the purchase journey the 2022 X Index found that brand image is the main discriminating factor across all countries. This ranged from 54% of those surveyed in Spain, to 46% in the U.S. and 41% in Turkey. Consumers also ranked 35 discriminating criteria as part of the customer experience analysis, evaluating their importance through statements like "I trust this brand," "This brand always keeps its commitments," "The staff is expert and knowledgeable" and "The purchase process is seamless."

Despite heavy customer experience investment by brands, there's still room for improvement with only a global average of 40% of consumers thinking the brands they interact with are "centered on their needs as a customer." This year's X Index research reveals that increased consumer expectations around trust, sustainability and inclusivity are now impacting the evaluation of customer experience, with brands being assessed on the concrete actions they deliver to create a welcoming experience for all shifting the traditional idea of customer experience to citizen experience.

The X Index identified four key overarching principles to create a best-in-class citizen experience:

COMMIT TO TRUST

Brand trust is the most powerful denominator around the globe, demonstrating the importance of creating conditions for trust throughout the customer journey. In all countries this year, the main discriminating criterion is "I trust this brand," which represents 31% of the X Index for brick-and-mortar brands in France, 30% for brick-and-mortar brands in the U.S. and up to 42% for pure player (digital native, online-only) brands in the UK.

Brands build trust by keeping their commitments to customers and being there in times of crisis. For example, brands that optimized their shopping experience during the COVID-19 pandemic saw better results; these optimizations included moving many traditionally in-person services online (consultations, etc.), and taking advantage of new platforms to integrate community building and social components.

Brands also build trust with transparent business practices and by making commitments to social causes. However, brands must follow through and keep these commitments. A brand that highlights privacy policies, for example, can be even more vulnerable if those policies are later reversed or violated.

BUILD AN EXPERIENCE THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE

For customer experience to become a citizen experience, brands must be inclusive. This starts with caring for employees, ensuring the user experience is welcoming to all, and infusing a sense of community around brand purpose and actions.

According to the X Index, consumers evaluate brands at every step of the journey, including the way they treat their frontline employees. Brands are judged on being welcoming to all, with consumers recognizing and rewarding efforts to foster inclusivity and break taboos in representation and marketing. Inclusivity also means enabling customers to participate in a community, with some brands introducing forums, clubs and apps for customers to connect and interact with each other.

"User experience is inclusive and welcoming to all" makes it to the top 10 of discriminating criteria in three countries, including the UK and France. "This brand makes me feel like I'm part of a community" makes it to the top 10 in four out of the nine countries, including China and Spain.

ALWAYS BE OF SERVICE

Customer service is now defined by the speed of the reaction to customer demands. "Customer service reacts promptly to my requests" is discriminating in six of the nine countries, being number three in the U.S. and number four in China for brick-and-mortar brands. Reacting quickly has never been so essential, and consumers have become time intolerant. In addition, when it comes to a brand's staff and salespeople, consumers not only expect them to be efficient but also knowledgeable.

PROVIDE FOR THE AGE OF EXTRA

When it comes to satisfying customers, going the extra mile is of paramount importance for brands. A key part of going above and beyond is making sure the experience feels extra personal. The personalization criterion is the third most important factor for pure players in the U.S. and France, and the fourth most important in Brazil. "Providing extra attention that go beyond expectations" also makes it into the top five in the U.S., Brazil, and Spain.

Sebastien Houdusse, Chief Strategy Officer of Havas CX agency BETC Fullsix, says: "Although $641B will be spent on CX technologies in 2022, customer centricity has not been achieved nor will it until brands evolve their thinking around customer experience to citizen experience. The latest X Index defines a new era where customer experience becomes meaningful by integrating citizen expectations. Of course, brands still must meet functional criteria around efficient customer service and they have to do it right, otherwise they'll not even be considered. But to be recognized among the best, brands will have to go the extra mile and deliver concrete actions beyond their commitments."

The full X Index 2022 whitepaper is available to download via the havascx.com website.

Methodology: Created in partnership with research institute OpinionWay in 2018, the Havas X Index proprietary tool serves as a global barometer to measure and maximize customer experience.

In 2021, Havas deployed the X Index across nine countries-China, France, India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Turkey, Portugal and Spain-surveying 50,000 adults about more than 500 brands. These brands operate in a variety of industries, from fast food and fashion to transportation, technology, and finance, and include both 'bricks and clicks' (brick-and-mortar brands that have gone through the digital transformation) and 'pure players' (digital native, online only).

Havas' research team sought to analyze each brand across 35 criteria, with each respondent responsible for rating two brands with which they had at least one shopping experience during the previous 12 months. Each measure relates to one of the essential steps of any customer journey: the brand itself, the relationship between the customer and brand (both push and pull), the purchase journey, and the experience with the product/service. Finally, we asked each respondent about their overall satisfaction with the customer experience.

The Havas CX data department designed the X Index by applying a linear regression model. It used univariate correlation analysis to obtain a more robust model:

Pre-selecting only criteria with the best correlations;

Checking that there were no autocorrelations between the different criteria;

Using a stepwise approach to select the most relevant criteria in order to build the final X Index model.

This data model determines what are the most discriminating criteria that define the efficiency of customer experience among the 35 items that were put in the model at the start. This model builds an unbiased approach to CX efficiency and provides the means to compare what makes a good customer experience for bricks and clicks brands and pure players, and also enables comparison of results between countries.

About Havas CX

Havas CX is as an international network committed to delivering meaningful brand experiences across the entire customer journey. It brings together more than 1,800 people in 26 Havas Villages in 19 countries with key hubs in London, Paris, New York and Mumbai.

The network includes 20 of Havas' global agency groups including ekino (digital transformation), BETC FullSix (customer experience), Havas CX helia (customer engagement) and award-winning leaders in their markets including Plastic Havas, Boondoggle, Gate One, Think Design, Host/Havas, Project House and Intellignos.

Havas CX is a powerhouse of experts in every area of digital transformation and design, customer experience and customer engagement, eCommerce and much more.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005305/en/

Contacts:

Tara Reid

tara.reid@havasformula.com
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - U.S. ADP private payrolls data for January is scheduled for release at 8:15 am ET Wednesday. Ahead of the data, the greenback dropped against its major counterparts. The greenback was worth 114.25 against the yen, 1.1322 against the euro, 1.3580 against the pound and 0.9184 against the franc at 8:10 am ET. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved 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.
Increase in focus of manufacturing companies on improving customer retention through quality products and demand for interoperability testing for connected devices & IoT drive the growth of the global testing, inspection and certification market.

PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Testing, Inspection and Certification Market By Service Type (Testing, Inspection, and Certification), Sourcing Type (In House, and Outsource), Application (Quality and Safety, Production Evaluation, Industrial Inspection, System Certification, and Others), Industry Vertical (Agro Industry, Food Industry, Pharmaceuticals, Chemical Industry, Oil and Gas, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030". According to the report, the global testing inspection and certification industry generated $213.6 billion in 2020, and is anticipated to generate $349.27 billion by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 5.3% from 2021 to 2030.

Download Sample Report (Get Full Insights in PDF - 307 Pages) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/10255

Prime Determinants of Growth

Increase in focus of manufacturing companies on improving customer retention through quality products and demand for interoperability testing for connected devices & IoT drive the growth of the global testing, inspection and certification market. However, high cost of TIC services due to diverse standards and regulations hinder the market growth. On the other hand, digital transformation of customer services presents new opportunities in the coming years.

Covid-19 Scenario

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a slight negative impact on the growth of the global testing inspection and certification market.

Daily operations of production and manufacturing industries have been hindered due to partial or complete lockdown restrictions across various countries. This slowed down the testing, inspection, and certification processes.

These processes would get back on track post-lockdown as daily operations in industrial, automotive and transportation, aerospace and defense, and other industries begin with full capacity.

Get Detailed COVID-19 Impact Analysis @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/10255?reqfor=covid

The Testing Segment to Maintain Its Leadership Status Throughout the Forecast Period

Based on service type, the testing segment held the highest market share in 2020, accounting for more than half of the global testing inspection and certification market, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to rise in need for safety, sustainability and performance standards globally. Moreover, the inspection segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 6.0% from 2021 to 2030, owing to increase in demand for inspection at regular intervals across a few industries, such as oil & gas.

The Quality And Safety Segment to Maintain its Lead Position During the Forecast Period

Based on application, the quality and safety segment accounted for the largest share in 2020, contributing to more than one-fourth of the global testing inspection and certification market, and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. This is due to rise in consumer awareness coupled with increase in government norms for the safety and quality of the products, consumed by the consumer. However, the system certification segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 8.0% from 2021 to 2030. System certification qualifies the product or service. System certification is periodically revalidated so as to give latest safety and standard update of the product, service, and infrastructure. This factor drives the growth of market.

North America to maintain its dominance By 2030

Based on region, North America held the highest market share in terms of revenue 2020, accounting for more than one-third of the global testing inspection and certification market, owing to increase in emphasis on industrial safety and proactive safety measures. Moreover, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 8.0% during the forecast period, owing to rise in government initiatives for safety and standard of products in this region.

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Leading Market Players

ABS

ALS Global

ASTM

BSI Group

Bureau Veritas

DEKRA

DNV

Intertek

ISO

Lloyds Register

SAI Global

SGS Group

TUV

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DGAP-News: Ameramex International

AmeraMex International Announces Equipment Orders Totaling Approximately $ 1.1 Million



02.02.2022 / 14:31

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTCQB: AMMX), a provider of heavy equipment for logistics companies, infrastructure construction and forestry conservation, announced that it has received equipment orders totaling approximately $1.1 million.

The new orders consisted of the following equipment:

One Taylor XEC 207/8 empty container handler and one Hoist side-picker shipping to a customer in Southern California.

One Taylor TXEC 207/8 side picker shipping to a customer in Washington State.

Two Taylor T950 top pickers shipping to a customer in Mexico.

For more information and pricing of logistics, construction, and forestry equipment or to receive information and arrange for a demonstration of the Kovaco Electric's 100 percent electric skid steer loaders or the line of ASV Posti-Tract and Skid Steer Loaders, contact the AmeraMex/Hamre Equipment sales team at 530.895.8955.

About AmeraMex International

AmeraMex International sells, leases and rents heavy equipment to companies within multiple industries including construction, logistics, mining, and lumber. AmeraMex, with a US and international customer base, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment sales and service. Follow AmeraMex on Twitter @ammx_intl and visit the AmeraMex website, www.AMMX.net or www.hamreequipment.com for additional information and equipment videos.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "potential," "continue" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if added information becomes available in the future.

McCloud Communications LLC

Marty Tullio, Managing Partner

+1 949-632-1900

marty@mccloudcommunications.com

https://www.ammx.net

02.02.2022 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


Trane Technologies plc (NYSE:TT), a global climate innovator, has been named to the Fortune magazine World's Most Admired Companies list for the tenth consecutive year.*

"We're very proud of this significant honor," said Dave Regnery, chair and CEO for Trane Technologies. "Every day, our people around the world bring our purpose to life by boldly challenging what's possible for a sustainable world.

"Our innovation is transforming the way the world heats and cools buildings, improves indoor air quality, and safely transports food and medicine. As we scale today's technology and innovate for tomorrow, we can dramatically reduce carbon emissions and create value for our team, our customers, our shareholders and our planet," he said.

With its 2030 Sustainability Commitments, Trane Technologies is helping solve for some of the world's biggest sustainability challenges, inspiring industry and global change and creating a more equitable, inclusive world.

These commitments include a pledge to reduce customer greenhouse gas emissions by one gigaton (2% of the world's annual emissions) and achieve carbon-neutral operations. Its Opportunity for All pledge commits to achieving gender parity in leadership, workforce diversity reflective of its communities, and community initiatives that support equitable education and pathways to green and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers.

Trane Technologies was the first climate company to set science-based emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). It is one of less than 50 companies worldwide to have achieved SBTi-validated targets twice. First in 2018, and then again when it set a second aggressive course of validated targets for 2030 in line with the latest science.

Creating the World's Most Admired list

Fortune and the Korn Ferry Hay Group develop the annual list, widely considered to be the ultimate report card on corporate reputation.

To determine the best-regarded companies in 52 industries, Korn Ferry asked executives, directors and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent. For the complete rankings, visit www.Fortune.com.

*In March 2020, Trane Technologies debuted as a company focused on climate innovation after completing its Reverse Morris Trust transaction with Gardner Denver, now known as Ingersoll Rand.

About Trane Technologies

Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands Trane and Thermo King, and our portfolio of environmentally responsible products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes and transportation. For more on Trane Technologies, visit tranetechnologies.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005559/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Jennifer Regina

+1-704-712-5721

Jennifer.regina@tranetechnologies.com



Investors Contact:

Zachary Nagle

+1-704-990-3913

zachary.nagle@tranetechnologies.com
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / Scotch Creek Ventures Inc. (the "Company") (CSE:SCV)(FSE:7S2)(OTC PINK:SCVFF) ("Scotch Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its acquisition of the Miranda lithium project (the "project") in Jackson Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada.

The Miranda project is located roughly 20 miles southeast of the famous Silver Peak lithium mine, the only producing lithium operation in North America. The Miranda lithium project consists of 268 placer claims spanning across roughly 5,360 Acres, bringing Scotch Creek Ventures' lithium footprint in Nevada to approximately 14,500 acres, firmly establishing the company as one of the largest lithium land positions in Nevada.

Scotch Creek Ventures' CEO, Mr. David Ryan, commented "We are very excited with this acquisition as we consider Miranda as a high potential lithium brine and sediment project. We are relatively early comers to this valley, and we believe that we have secured the section that follows the natural groundwater." Mr. Marvin, the company's Technical Director, and Qualified Person added "Jackson Valley presents Scotch Creek with a large land position within a basin with exposed mudstone and ash rich rock units that are likely part of the upper portion of the regionally mineralized Esmeralda Formation. Evaporite and volcanic ash units in the Esmeralda Formation host world-class brine and claystone lithium resources in both the proximal Clayton Valley and in the Tonopah North exploration areas. The project has high exploration potential for the types of lithium resources being produced and developed within the region."

The terms of this transaction award Scotch Creek Ventures with 100% ownership of the Miranda lithium project in exchange for the issuance of 3,100,000 million common shares of the company and a cash consideration of $120,000 USD.

Miranda Lithium Project's Geological Highlights:

Jackson Valley is a relatively closed, arid basin with a high evapotranspiration environment with similar geological characteristics as Clayton Valley.

During the Plio-Pleistocene, and as recent as the late Quaternary interglacial periods, Jackson Valley contained large lakes that at some point overtopped the south rim near Mount Jackson and spilled over into the adjacent Lida Valley through Jackson Wash. The general groundwater flow direction in Jackson Valley is from north to south with the base of Jackson Valley at the southern margin at about 5,130 feet MSL.

Vehicle access in the valley is good with two improved Esmeralda County gravel roads and several two-track roads that lead to various parts of the valley and surrounding mountains.

Currently, only Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp is the only placer claimant in Jackson Valley exploring for lithium. According to Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp.'s website, surface obsidian fragments in Jackson Valley returned assay values ranging from 97 to 117 parts-per-million (ppm) of lithium.

Scotch Creek Ventures' Miranda project is located west of the Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp's land position and expands the footprint to specifically secure the ground shown by their gravity flow data and follows the natural groundwater flow.

Qualified Person

The technical aspects of this press release have been reviewed and approved by Robert D. Marvin, P. Geo., the designated Qualified Person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101.

About Scotch Creek Ventures

Scotch Creek is a mineral exploration company, focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium projects located in tier-one North American mining jurisdictions. Scotch Creek's mission is to become a best-in-class lithium exploration company situated in one of the most promising lithium districts in the world, Clayton Valley, Nevada.

Scotch Creek would like to invite investors and stakeholders to connect with our investor relations team or visit our website to sign-up to receive regular updates and news alerts.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"David K. Ryan"

David Ryan

Chief Executive Officer

Further information about the Company is available on our website at www.scotch-creek.com or under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on the CSE website at www.thecse.com.

Public Relations Contact

Scotch Creek Ventures Inc.

Telephone: +1.604.685.4745

Email: info@scotch-creek.com

Website: www.scotch-creek.com

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

Forward-looking and cautionary statements

This press 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 securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein 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 registration requirements. This release may contain statements within the meaning of safe harbour provisions as defined under securities laws and regulations.

This release may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of the Company and certain of the plans and objectives of the Company with respect to the same. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Scotch Creek Ventures Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686885/Scotch-Creek-Ventures-Inc-Acquires-the-5360-Acre-Miranda-Lithium-Project-in-Nevada
CCC, a leader in advancing copyright, accelerating knowledge, and powering innovation, announces The Royal Society, the UK's National Academy of Science, has adopted RightsLink for Scientific Communications (RLSC) to support its Open Access (OA) institutional agreements.

The Royal Society was founded in 1660 and is a fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists and the UK's national academy of science. It is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence and its mission is to recognize and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity and the good of the planet. As well as publishing ten science journals, the Royal Society provides science advice to government, awards research grants, promotes public understanding of science, and works with schools and colleges to improve science education.

RLSC is the most widely adopted, community-led market solution to support OA agreements. It is trusted by more than 30 leading publishers representing over 2,600 journals to simplify the management of Article Processing Charges (APCs) and OA agreements among publishers, institutions and funders in more than 160 countries.

With over 1,000 institutions and funders in the RightsLink community, RLSC supports a comprehensive range of transformative deals, pure OA agreements, membership discounts, and other financial arrangements between publishers and institutions, providing real-time transaction data for all stakeholders.

"Our open access publishing is growing rapidly now (through our many transformative deals around the world) and it was clear that we needed a dedicated solution to help us scale and sustain these efforts by supporting our users, funders, and authors," said Dr. Stuart Taylor, Publishing Director, the Royal Society. "CCC's RLSC is the market leader and enables us to meet a range of transformative agreement reporting requirements whilst avoiding time-consuming manual reporting processes."

"The Royal Society essentially invented science publishing and peer review in 1665 with Philosophical Transactions and continues to lead the publishing industry with collaborations, especially in open science," said Roy Kaufman, Managing Director, Business Development and Government Relations, CCC. "Likewise, at CCC, we use partnerships, integrations, and support of cross-stakeholder initiatives to encourage OA funding workflows that serve everyone in the community. We look forward to working with the Royal Society to help scale its OA business and expand participation from institutions by simplifying the management of its OA agreements."

CCC is an active partner in the information industry's evolution of hybrid and pure OA publishing models. For years, CCC has brought together key OA stakeholders from the author, publisher, institution, funding, and vendor communities through roundtables, panel events, webinars, and podcasts. CCC is a member of OASPA (Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association), ALPSP (Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers), STM (International Association of STM Publishers) and SSP (Society for Scholarly Publishing).

As the RLSC community grows, so does CCC's investment in data protection and security. CCC adheres to the PCI-DSS standard and is certified under the rigorous ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard, which reflects CCC's ability to manage data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CCC also produces SOC 2 Type II reports for its internal controls on data security and privacy, which are verified for their operational effectiveness annually by third party auditors.

ABOUT CCC

A pioneer in voluntary collective licensing, CCC (Copyright Clearance Center) helps organizations integrate, access, and share information through licensing, content, software, and professional services. With expertise in copyright and information management, CCC and its subsidiary RightsDirect collaborate with stakeholders to design and deliver innovative information solutions that power decision-making by helping people integrate and navigate data sources and content assets.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005012/en/

Contacts:

Craig Sender

Senior Director, Public Analyst Relations

csender@copyright.com

917-626-7152
The remains of two Americans, both retired public school teachers, have been recovered after their small plane crashed off the coast of Panama last month, according to officials.

Friends Debra Ann Velleman, 70, of Waukesha, Wisc., and Sue Borries, 57, of Teutopolis, Ill., were heading back home to the area of Chame, about 50 miles southwest of Panama City, from New Years celebrations on the island Isla Contadora when their small plane crashed off the coast due to engine failure, ABC News reports.

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The pair had been living among fellow snowbirds and expats when the plane, flown by the owner of their bed and breakfast, went down, according to the outlet.

Sue Borries and Deb Velleman (GoFundMe)

Vellemans husband Anthony, the pilot and another passenger were rescued but the bodies of the two women were not recovered until Tuesday morning, nearly a month after the accident, Velleman family representative Albert Lewitinn told ABC News.

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Velleman and Borries recovery reportedly followed silence from the U.S. government, from which help was requested by the victims families and the Panamanian government, according to the outlet.

Authorities say the efforts undertaken by Panamanian search and rescue took over 690 hours, according to ABC News.

A statement from the victims families says that the U.S. denied the request to help due to a lack of assets and jurisdiction and never provided the requested equipment nor personnel to help with the effort, the outlet reports.

Instead, Bruces Legacy, a volunteer search and recovery organization based in Vellemans home state of Wisconsin, helped to find the plane, as did a local family, whose boats were used, said Lewitinn, according to ABC.

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwins office said the U.S. Coast Guard gave authorities in Panama technical modeling to help find the aircraft, according to the outlet.

It is our intention  almost exactly one month following this tragic accident  to give proper thanks to all those who supported our families during this difficult time, as well as to have many outstanding questions answered by way of a swift and thorough investigation, Velleman and Borries families, who are trying to get their remains back to the States, said in a joint statement, according to ABC. For now, however, this finally marks the beginning of our grieving process and provides us with a path to closure.
Company CEO Charles Cardona provides an update on the activities of JZZ Technologies, Inc. as it launches into new areas and introduces new products in Q1 - 2022.

Anderson, South Carolina--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - JZZ Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: JZZI) CEO Charles Cardona provides the following update on corporate activities for the First Quarter of 2022:

The Company is making significant advances in all areas that are expected to have a positive impact on its revenues and valuation in the coming year. Many of these are the result of considerable efforts by the Company over 2021 and are now yielding results. These include expanded operations, completed acquisitions, the closing of new funding, and corporate strategies that will position the Company for new opportunities in 2022 and beyond.

The Company had announced it reached a Letter of Intent, dated November 30, 2021, whereby JZZ Technologies, Inc. will acquire 100% ownership of the life sciences company Life Factor Research of Medford, Oregon, including its formulations, research, products, and manufacturing operations. Subsequently, JZZ Technologies' management has been able to secure funding in support of the acquisition and the expansion of operations. Based on the successful financing, which is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2022, the Company expects to close on the Life Factor Research purchase agreement during Q1 2022.

Along with the Life Factor Research acquisition, JZZ Technologies, Inc. expects to immediately expand its operations with Life Factor Research and produce new product offerings in the US. These will be supported through a strategic roll-out of product under the oversight of Charles Layton as the new head of operations of the Life Sciences divisions. Charles Layton, who joins the Company from Life Factor Research group, has a considerable history in the life sciences field and is a capable manager ready to lead these efforts.

One of the key drivers of product introductions and sales will be JZZ Technologies, Inc.'s internal marketing efforts through its media platforms and leading social media channels. The Company is kicking off new marketing programs to support the introduction of innovative new products and existing product lines in the vitamin and nutraceutical categories. These products will gain broad national exposure through the use of social media marketing, email marketing, and non-paid media review.

As part of its consideration of expansion into the life sciences and biotechnology sector, JZZ Technologies, Inc. management has decided to relocate its corporate headquarters to the city of Anderson, South Carolina. This move will add many important advantages, and management expects to be proactive prior to establishing any physical, manufacturing, or operations of its new businesses.

South Carolina is a popular corporate location that consistently ranks as one of the Top Five states to do business in the nation. Its unique position midway between New York and Miami makes South Carolina's integral transportation system easy to reach East Coast markets, as well as international markets. It also boasts a skilled and productive technical workforce with one of the lowest unionization rates in the country.

In addition, South Carolina is recognized as a popular jurisdiction for foreign direct investment. The state is home to more than 1,200 operations of international companies, including:

BMW

Colite

GKN Aerospace

Honda

Morrison Textile Machinery

Nephron

Nutramax Laboratories

Samsung

Star EV

The Boeing Company

Volvo

"The many advances taking place in JZZ Technologies, Inc. are very encouraging," states Charles Cardona. "Our closing of the Life Factor Research acquisition and the new funding will put us on the map in the life sciences and biotechnology space. We will be immediately bolstering our capabilities to produce new products and expand our production."

JZZ Technologies, Inc. is in an excellent position as we kick off 2022, and we are looking forward to our next-stage developments. "At the same time, our new marketing initiatives mean that we will be entering the market with new and existing products in the vitamin and nutraceutical space that will be very well supported. These efforts are expected to showcase our strategy of becoming a research, development, and manufacturing company with integrated sales and marketing capabilities," Cardona adds.

About JZZ Technologies, Inc.

JZZ Technologies, Inc. is a diversified technology company rolling up projects and partnerships in two distinct business sectors that operate cohesively; its digital media business includes online media and apps (activelifestylemedia.com), content creation, digital marketing, streaming video content, and publishing targeted at active adults 55+. The Company's other business is focused on strategic biotechnology and bioscience acquisitions related to Human Life Extension and Human Longevity that can be immediately leveraged to support improved quality of life for aging populations.

DISCLAIMER and FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such Forward-Looking Statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the viability of the company's business plans, the effect of acquisitions on our profitability, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; the volatility of the company's operating results and financial condition; and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, management cannot assure the public that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

Contact:

JZZ Technologies, Inc.

Charles Cardona, CEO



Email: ccardona@jzztechnologies.com

Website: https://www.jzztechnologies.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112469
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - Alpha Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: ALEX) ("Alpha" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Mr. Ashwath Mehra has been appointed to the Alpha Exploration Advisory Board.

Mr. Mehra is a seasoned executive with 35 years of global experience in the minerals industry. Mr. Mehra is an economist by training and received his BSc (Econ) in Economics and Philosophy from the London School of Economics. He is the CEO of the ASTOR Group, a private investment and advisory business, working in the fields of Mining, Tech, Biotech and Real Estate. He spent many years in the commodity trading and mining business, owning buying and selling companies over 30 years and has substantial experience in the industry. He is a director of several companies, both public and private in both executive and non-executive roles. He also devotes significant time to non-profit activities in the fields of education and healthcare. Most recently, Mr. Mehra was Executive Chairman of GT Gold, a company he founded and sold to Newmont Corporation generating a significant return to GT Gold shareholders.

Mr. Mehra, a current Alpha shareholder, will advise the Alpha Board of Directors on the strategic direction of the Company and how to diversify Alpha's shareholder base.

Michael Hopley, Alpha President and CEO said, "We are very happy to welcome Ashwath Mehra to the Alpha team; his experience in the mineral exploration business, especially with his recent success with GT Gold, will be very important to Alpha as we advance exploration activities on our Anagulu gold-copper porphyry discovery on the Kerkasha licence in Eritrea."

About Alpha

Alpha is an exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange e under the symbol ALEX. The company is focused on the discovery of world class economic gold and base metals deposits in the highly prospective Arabian-Nubian shield, on either side of the Red Sea. Alpha currently holds a 100% interest in the large (771 km2) Kerkasha Exploration License in southwest Eritrea, located 135 km west-southwest of the capital city of Asmara. Since acquiring the property in January 2018, the company has spent approximately CAD$11 million on exploration and identified 17 in prospects of which four have been drilled to date. The large Anagulu gold-copper porphyry system was a virgin discovery by Alpha geologists in early 2018, that was made while executing a property-wide soil sample program. The discovery diamond hole was drilled in January 2020 and reported a 49-m wide interval with an average grade of 2.42 g/t gold, 1.10% copper and 6.83 g/t silver. Work continues at Anagulu, and the Company plans to drill four other prospects later this year.

Alpha is managed by a group of highly experienced and successful professionals with many years of experience carrying out exploration and resource development programs in Eritrea and Sudan.

For further information go to the Alpha webpage at www.alpha-exploration.com or contact:

Michael Hopley

President and Chief Executive Officer

Alpha Exploration Ltd.

Email: mhopley@alpha-exploration.com

Tel: +44 207129 1148

Cautionary Notes

This press release is intended for distribution in Canada only and is not intended for distribution to United States newswire services or dissemination in the United States.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

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 potential benefits to Alpha with respect to the appointment of Mr. Mehra to Alpha's advisory board and the ability to diversify Alpha's shareholder base. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of words such as "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. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, Alpha has made numerous assumptions including among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions and the price of gold and other minerals. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

Although management of Alpha believes 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 Alpha's financing efforts; risks associated with the business of Alpha given its limited operating history; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; the supply and demand for labour and other project inputs; changes in commodity prices; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; risks relating to inaccurate geological and engineering assumptions (including with respect to the tonnage, grade and recoverability of reserves and resources); risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment 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); risks relating to adverse weather conditions; political risk and social unrest; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; changes in laws (including regulations respecting mining concessions); risks related to the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, its impact on general economic conditions, the ability to obtain financing as required, and causing potential delays to exploration activities; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time. Alpha does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112494
With the startup Betterfly sharing prestigious unicorn status with fellow portfolio company, Esusu, Katapult gains its second accelerator-bred unicorn in one week.

OSLO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Katapult first discovered and invested in Betterfly at the early Seed stage in mid-2019 with further investment via their follow-on fund in mid-2020. With Betterfly already reaching Unicorn status and $1 billion post-money valuation, this represents Katapult delivering globally leading, unrealised value for their investors.

Founded by Tharald Nustad in 2017, Katapult's unicorn success, proves Nustad's impact thesis that the largest opportunity for profit derives from investment in companies addressing real world problems.

Speaking of Betterfly's valuation, Nustad says, "Not only does Betterfly's success speak to their ingenuity but it serves as further proof that the Katapult formula pays dividends."

Founded by Eduardo and Cristobal della Maggiora, Betterfly has created a platform that rewards healthy habits with charitable donations and life insurance protection that grows at no cost based on lifestyle choices that foster physical, mental, and financial wellbeing.

Katapult's Betterfly success swiftly follows Esusu's $1 billion valuation. Founded by Samir Goel and Abbey Wemimo, Esusu provides a platform for users to obtain a credit score outside of traditional pathways.

Speaking of Katapult's accelerator program, Goel says: "The Katapult experience helped us enter new markets and think critically about our product road map. Without Katapult, Esusu would never have been where it is today."

On Katapult's trajectory, Nustad says: "In backing diverse founders, addressing the most pressing issues, Katapult has developed a playbook for simultaneously delivering returns and contributing to the societal good. To see this come to fruition is highly rewarding and we anticipate further portfolio unicorns in the near future."

Katapult VC is now planning its next seed-and growth funds, with a focus on Climate, Ocean and Food-tech.

About Katapult

Katapult is an investment company and a foundation. The investment company focuses on highly scalable impact-tech startups. Katapult currently has 100M USD under management and has made 138 investments, including 30 direct investments, in startups across 35 countries that are working to implement the UNSDGs.

The Katapult Foundation was established in 2020, gathering all Katapult non-profit initiatives, such as the Accelerate Program , turning tech founders to impact investors, Katapult Future Fest, and the Nordic Impact Investment Network.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1739046/Katapult_Founder.jpg

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PDF:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1739044/Norwegian_VC_breeds_two_Impact_Unicorns_in_one_week.pdf


MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SEMI, the industry association representing the global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, and the American Semiconductor Academy (ASA) Initiative, a collaborative national education network of faculty at universities and colleges across the U.S. who are engaged in semiconductor research and education, today announced a partnership to build a comprehensive workforce development program designed to close the microelectronics industry's widening talent gap. This partnership will bolster workforce education and training programs nationwide, targeting job skills, academic degrees and continuing education to grow and diversify the talent pool for the industry as well as to accelerate scientific innovation and technology commercialization.

"With the semiconductor industry investing heavily to expand manufacturing capacity and design capabilities to keep pace with chip demand, the microelectronics industry is facing a shortage of talent that threatens to severely limit future growth and innovation," said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. "The partnership between the ASA Initiative and SEMI will unite key university educators with leading semiconductor industry visionaries to strengthen the entire talent development pipeline - from K-12 STEM and higher education through career training and the integration of military veterans into the workforce. This partnership is well timed with the America COMPETES Act of 2022 pending in the House and the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act passed by the Senate promising to inject significant funding into efforts to equip workers with the skills needed in today's semiconductor industry."

"The ASA planning team is excited to partner with SEMI to address the tremendous workforce development needs of the U.S. semiconductor industry and the new microelectronics ecosystem, which spans all STEM disciplines and education levels from trade school to graduate school across the country," said Tsu-Jae King Liu, Dean of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and Chair of the Executive Committee for the ASA Initiative. "The holistic workforce development programs of SEMI and the SEMI Foundation perfectly complement the rigorous degree-oriented education programs offered by universities and colleges, to well prepare students for rewarding careers in the semiconductor industry."

This partnership will connect over 200 universities and community colleges to more than 1,500 SEMI member companies with U.S. operations. In addition to modernizing and revitalizing a comprehensive curriculum that spans multiple disciplines and degree levels, these institutions will be collaborating with organizations to provide hands-on training and apprenticeships, uniquely critical to the microelectronics industry and students. The ASA initiative also advocates for modernization of university laboratory infrastructure to speed the translation of new innovations to the marketplace. Both the ASA and SEMI are committed to foster diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and to enrich the talent pool by including minority-serving institutions and community colleges nationwide, sharing resources and best practices, and offering hands-on learning, research experiences, and internship opportunities for their students and trainees.

Learn more about the American Semiconductor Academy Initiative and the ASA-SEMI partnership.

About the SEMI Foundation

The SEMI Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization founded in 2001 to support economic opportunity for workers and the sustained growth of the microelectronics industry. The Foundation works to attract, develop, and retain a well-trained and innovative workforce through educational programs, diversity initiatives to support women, veterans, and people of color, and member engagement. The Foundation's longest-running program, SEMI High Tech U, inspires high-school students to pursue STEM college educations and careers, Since 2002, High Tech U programs in Austria, France, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States have directly influenced and inspired more than 8,200 students and teachers.

About SEMI

SEMI connects more than 2,400 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA), the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) and SOI Consortium are SEMI Strategic Technology Communities. Visit www.semi.org to learn more, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About the American Semiconductor Academy Initiative

The American Semiconductor Academy (ASA) is an initiative driven by faculty at universities and colleges across the U.S. who share a vision of strengthening America's leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, which is critical for a robust microelectronics ecosystem. The ASA's mission is to supply talent and innovation to fuel the growth of the U.S. semiconductor industry by fostering active collaboration between universities and colleges and in partnership with companies. The ASA Initiative planning team represents over 50 universities and colleges, each paired with a local community college partner. The ASA is planned to be an independent and inclusive national semiconductor education and training network, open to all U.S. universities and colleges to participate, and to industry and government stakeholders to partner with. This initiative has been endorsed by over 30 companies across the American microelectronics ecosystem, including the leading U.S. semiconductor manufacturing companies.

SEMI Contact

Michael Hall/SEMI

Phone: 1.408.943.7988

Email: mhall@semi.org

ASA Contact

Tsu-Jae King Liu

Email: tsujae@berkeley.edu

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/469944/Semi_Logo.jpg
- United States to Account for 22% of the Global Hyperspectral Imaging Market Revenue Share

- In a recent market study, Fact.MR covers recent developments in the global hyperspectral imaging market, highlighting vital aspects such as trends, drivers, opportunities, and restraints. The report studies recent developments in the segments of the market in terms of end-use industry.

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- By 2022, the hyperspectral imaging market is expected to reach US$ 683 million. Long-term prospects are much stronger, with the industry predicted to reach US$ 2 billion by the conclusion of the assessment period (2022-2032).

As the technology can be used to examine COVID-19 rashes, hyperspectral imaging market is projected to rise in the next years. As stakeholders work to develop low-cost hyperspectral technologies, multispectral cameras and point spectrometers are becoming more portable, low-cost, and easy to manage with handheld devices and cell phones.

The United States is estimated to account for about 22% of the hyperspectral imaging market in 2022, thanks to high spending on hyperspectral images. Imaging services have been widely used in the mining and mineral, forestry and agriculture, and aerospace and defense industries in the United States.

For Critical Insights On This Market, Request For More Info https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=4570

The Shenzhou-3 spacecraft, the SPARK satellite, the Gaofen-5 satellite, the Zhuhai-1 satellite network for environmental and resource monitoring, the Feng Yun series of meteorological observation satellites, and the Chang'E series of spacecraft for planetary exploration have all been successfully launched and operated in recent years. Wide sweep widths, high spatial resolutions, large spectral ranges, hyperspectral satellite networks, and microsatellites are among the novel features of Chinese HRS systems sent into space.

Earth observation isn't the only application for hyperspectral imagers. They're also part of China's plan to build the world's first lunar lander. The expansion of space-borne HRS in China is due to the development of microsatellite technology and hyperspectral imaging technology.

Adoption in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly in emerging economies, is driving the hyperspectral imaging market forward. As hyperspectral technology becomes more frequently employed for defense and industrial reasons, a burgeoning market for hyperspectral cameras is forming. New and affordable hyperspectral cameras are being created.

"A rise in investment in aerospace and satellites, as well as military expenditures, are expected to boost the market demand for hyperspectral imaging technology in the years to come" says the Fact.MR analyst.

Report Attributes Values Market Size Value in 2022 US$ 683 Mn Projected Market Forecast Value by 2032 US$ 2 Bn Global Growth Rate (2022 to 2032) 11.34% CAGR

Key Takeaways:

By the end of 2022, global demand for hyperspectral imaging will be worth US$ 683 million .

. Agriculture and forestry are expected to be profitable investment areas for hyperspectral imaging.

Aerospace and defense will continue to grow at a rapid rate, with a 14 percent value CAGR.

By 2022, the United States is expected to be an attractive investment destination, with revenue of 22%.

is expected to be an attractive investment destination, with revenue of 22%. With strong applications in space programs, China is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12%.

is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12%. Extensive research in the healthcare sector to broaden Germany's growth opportunities, with a CAGR of 9%.

Growth Drivers:

Hyperspectral imaging is in high demand due to technological improvements and an expanding market demand for research on a number of applications.

Adoption in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly in emerging economies, is driving the hyperspectral imaging market forward.

To learn more about Hyperspectral Imaging Market, you can get in touch with our Analyst at https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=4570

Competitive Landscape:

Manufacturers can improve output and match consumer demands through strategic alliances, increasing profitability and market share. Manufacturers develop various technologies for various purposes while simultaneously boosting their revenues and market share.

In October 2021 , CUBERT GmBH will release the HIS-ULTRIS 5, a miniature Hyperspectral Video Imager with Light Field Technology. With an 8-nm sampling rate, 50 band total, 15 Hz frame rate, and 250 x 250 pixel resolution, the new ULTRIS 20 has the same spectral range as their previous model (450-850 nm - VNIR).

, CUBERT GmBH will release the HIS-ULTRIS 5, a miniature Hyperspectral Video Imager with Light Field Technology. With an 8-nm sampling rate, 50 band total, 15 Hz frame rate, and 250 x 250 pixel resolution, the new ULTRIS 20 has the same spectral range as their previous model (450-850 nm - VNIR). In July 2021 , Resonon released the Pika NUV2 hyperspectral camera. It is the only commercially available ultraviolet imaging system that scans ultraviolet light and covers a spectral range of 330 nm to 800 nm. This gadget will enable new study and development in domains such as insect, animal, agricultural, and horticultural vision, as well as industrial quality control.

Key Players in the Hyperspectral Imaging Market Include:

Airbus Defence and Space

Antrix Corporation

Cyient

Hansa Luftbild AG

L3Harris Technologies (Harris Corporation)

Hexagon AB

HyperSpectral Solutions LLC

Planet Labs PBC

Satellogic SA

SpecTIR

Sanborn Map Company

More Valuable Insights on Hyperspectral Imaging Market

Fact.MR provides an unbiased analysis of the hyperspectral imaging market, presenting forecast statistics for the period from 2022-2032. The study divulges compelling insights on the global hyperspectral imaging market with a detailed segmentation on the basis of:

End Use Industry

Mining and Mineral



Forestry and Agriculture



Infrastructure and Urban Planning



Oil & Gas



Utility and Energy



Aerospace & Defense



Environment Monitoring and Control



Other Industries

Key Questions Covered in Hyperspectral Imaging Market Report

The report offers insight into the hyperspectral imaging market demand outlook for 2022-2032.

The market study also highlights projected sales growth for hyperspectral imaging market between 2022 and 2032.

Hyperspectral imaging market survey identifies key growth drivers, restraints, and other forces impacting prevailing trends and evaluation of current market size and forecast and technological advancements within the industry.

Hyperspectral imaging market share analysis of the key companies within the industry and coverage of strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborations or partnerships, and others.

Explore Fact.MR's Coverage on the Technology Domain -

Hyperspectral Cameras Market Forecast - The primary advantages of hyperspectral cameras are their low power consumption and low heat dissipation, which are propelling the hyperspectral cameras market forward.

Earth Observation Market Analysis - As the use of satellite imagery expands, so will the demand for earth observation systems. This is due to the fact that in most major regions, investments in earth observation system hardware infrastructure are on the rise.

All-Electric Satellites Market Trends - Over the last few years, all-electric satellites have been the preferred propulsion method on many different types of satellite platforms. The most visible manifestation of this trend is the increasing use of all-electric satellites for telecommunication systems, which is driving up the demand.

All-Electric Satellites Market Scope - The global wireless communication equipment market is being fueled by continual advancements and developments in low-cost wireless technologies. The global wireless communication equipment market is likely to be driven by the emergence of 4G/5G technologies that improve high-speed wireless communications.

About Fact.MR

Market research and consulting agency with a difference! That's why 80% of Fortune 1,000 companies trust us for making their most critical decisions. We have offices in US and Dublin, whereas our global headquarter is in Dubai. While our experienced consultants employ the latest technologies to extract hard-to-find insights, we believe our USP is the trust clients have on our expertise. Spanning a wide range - from automotive & industry 4.0 to healthcare & retail, our coverage is expansive, but we ensure even the most niche categories are analyzed. Reach out to us with your goals, and we'll be an able research partner.

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US Sales Office

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E: sales@factmr.com

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HOUSTON, TX and CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / Cub Energy Inc. ("Cub" or the "Company") (TSX-V:KUB) announces it has closed the sale of its 35% interest in KUBGAS Holdings Limited ("KUB Holdings"). The sale was for a deemed consideration of approximately US $10.9 million. The consideration was comprised of a cash payment of US $2.6 million and the settlement of US $8.3 million in debt. The US $8.3 million in debt was settled in full through the repayment of debt and the simultaneous issuance of US $7.9 million in dividends to the Company with the difference being the applicable withholding taxes. The Company continued gas trading of its 35% interest in KUBGAS through to November 15, 2021.

Patrick McGrath, CEO of Cub said: "The sale of the Company's eastern Ukraine asset essentially de-risks the Company's eastern Ukraine exposure and eliminates the majority of Cub's debt. The Company is now focused on its 100% owned western Ukraine assets and will continue to review new opportunities."

About Cub Energy Inc.

Cub Energy Inc. (TSX-V:KUB) is a power generation and upstream oil and gas company, with a proven track record of exploration and production cost efficiency in Ukraine. The Company's strategy is to implement western technology and capital, combined with local expertise and ownership, to build a portfolio of assets within an advantaged commodity price environment. For further information please contact us or visit our website: www.cubenergyinc.com

Patrick McGrath

Chief Executive Officer

(832) 499-6009

patrick.mcgrath@cubenergyinc.com

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are 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, including without limitation statements relating to the Company's western Ukraine properties. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. They are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change and the Company assumes no obligation to revise or update them to reflect new circumstances, except as required by law. Prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration for and development of resource properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological and geophysical data, fluctuating commodity prices, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs or delays and other uncertainties associated with the resource industry. Other risk factors could include risks associated with negotiating with foreign governments as well as country risk associated with conducting international activities, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Cub Energy Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686901/Cub-Energy-Announces-Closing-of-Sale-of-35-Interest-in-KUBGAS
PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / Pennexx Foods (OTC PINK:PNNX) Cyber Team U.S., Inc. provides digital wellness to consumers, businesses and merchants. Each paying user will receive PC Matic antivirus software that helps protect their computer from virus attacks and VPN software that encrypts their internet traffic for additional privacy. Merchants will receive this included in their subscription fee. Users can also select additional services such as identity protection. Merchants also benefit from a cybersecurity checkup to help them evaluate their cyber security risks. Cyber Team U.S. provides these benefits to new and existing YSO users and merchants through the YSO dashboard and user console. This will provide greater exposure for YSO.

Cyber Team U.S., Inc. is a veteran owned company that utilizes technology "made in the USA" dedicated to protecting businesses and consumers from attacks on their computers and mobile devices. Cyber Team U.S. will also offer various cyber security products at a significantly discounted rate to all our members.

Forbes.com states, "...it appears that in the US most are finally waking up to the cyberthreats. Awareness is an important step! The Number of Data Breaches In 2021 Have Soared Past That Of 2020".

Chris Kirkland of Cyber Team U.S. states, "We are an all-American Suite of tools and the best products and services to protect merchants and consumers. To evaluate our unique benefits for your organization, visit https://cyberteamus.com ."

Vincent Risalvato, CEO of Pennexx said, "This is an exciting product to bundle with our Merchant platform and to offer consumers. I believe it will both accelerate our growth as well as protecting our users. Unlike many other foreign cyber protection products, consumers can be protected, with the knowledge a foreign company is not spying or benefiting from Americans."

For More Information

Pennexx will do its best to openly and publicly answer your questions and concerns via social media on Twitter https://twitter.com/pennexx , or you may email info@pennexx.net .

About Pennexx Foods Inc. (PNNX:OTCMKTS US).

Pennexx, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a holding company within the Software/Internet Industry that focuses on social media, prepaid debit cards, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, targeted marketing, and consumer rewards.

Safe Harbor Act: This release may contain "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 according 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.

For additional information, visit our website at www.Pennexx.net or call 866-928-6409. We are also on Twitter @Pennexx.

SOURCE: Pennexx Foods

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/686985/Pennexxs-Your-Social-Offers-YSO-has-Joined-Forces-with-Cyber-Team-US-Inc-to-Provide-Value-Added-Cyber-Security-to-Users-Merchants-and-Businesses-through-the-YSO-Site-This-Connects-YSO-with-Approximately-2-Million-Cyber-Team-US-Users-to-Provide
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stocks market ended flat on Wednesday after a choppy ride, as investors reacted to the latest batch of earnings updates, and awaited fresh directional clues from global central banks. The benchmark SMI, which climbed to 12,414.42 in early trades, dropped to a low of 12,324.92 around mid afternoon and eventually ended the day at 12,360.07, up 0.57 points from the previous close. Partners Group and Givaudan surged up 2.5% and 2.35%, respectively. UBS Group advanced 1.75%, while Alcon, SGS, ABB, Swiss Life Holding and Nestle gained 1.25 to 1.5%. Logitech and Geberit gained 1.15% and 1.1%, respectively. Lonza Group edged up marginally, while Credit Suisse ended flat. Novartis declined more than 3% after its fourth-quarter operating income declined 3 percent despite higher sales. Roche Holding shed about 0.7%, while Holcim and Richemont ended flat. In the Mid Price Index, shares of lender Julius Baer declined 5.7% despite the bank posting a 55% increase in net profit and raising dividend. Dufry ended nearly 2% down. BB Biotech, SIG Combibloc, Swatch Group and Flughafen Zurich shed 1.5 to 2%, while Zur Rose and Adecco ended lower by 1.2% and 1%, respectively. Lindt & Spruengli, Barry Callebaut, Straumann Holding, Ems Chemie Holding and Lindt & Spruengli N gained 2 to 3%. Sonova, AMS, Clariant and Schindler Ps also ended with strong gains. Meanwhile, quarantine rules and a work-from-home order in Switzerland will end on Thursday (February 3). The government has reportedly planning new measures, but a final decision is expected on February 16. 'Today is a beautiful day,' President Ignazio Cassis is reported to have told the media in Bern earlier in the day. 'We can see light at the end of the tunnel.' In a statement, the government said that hospitals have not been overwhelmed and occupancy inside intensive care units has decreased. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved 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. - February 2, 2022) - World Copper Ltd. (TSXV: WCU) (OTCQB: WCUFF) ("World Copper" or the "Company"), at the request of IIROC, clarifies and provides additional information related to its February 2, 2022 news release.

The Company retracts its stated endorsement of the future price targets and buy recommendation reports of Zack's Small-Cap Research ("Zack's") and Fundamental Research Corp. ("FRC"), which statement was made in error.

The Company reports that each of Zack's and FRC have been retained for a one year term to provide independent analyst coverage, for the amount of USD $30,000 and CAD $40,000, respectively. The Company has no input in setting the price target recommended by the analysts.

ABOUT WORLD COPPER LTD.

World Copper Ltd., headquartered in Vancouver, BC, is a Canadian resource company focused on the exploration and development of its copper porphyry projects: Escalones and Cristal in Chile, and Zonia in Arizona. Two of these projects have estimated resources with significant soluble copper mineralization, and there are at least two other copper porphyry targets with exciting potential to expand the resource base. The Zonia project was acquired as part of the previously announced merger transaction with Cardero Resource Corp. Please refer to news releases dated April 20, 2021; June 9, 2021; September 20, 2021; November 9, 2021, December 13, 2021 and January 28, 2022 for more details.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

WORLD COPPER LTD.

"Nolan Peterson"

Nolan Peterson

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, or to schedule a Zoom meeting with Management, please contact:

Nolan Peterson or Michael Pound

Phone: 604-638-3665

E-mail: info@worldcopperltd.com

For all Investor Relations inquiries, please contact:

John Liviakis

Liviakis Financial Communications Inc.

Phone: 415-389-4670

For all Public Relations inquiries, please contact:

Nancy Thompson

Vorticom, Inc.

Office: 212-532-2208 | Mobile: 917-371-4053

Follow Us:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldCopperLtd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldCopperLtd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldcopperltd

Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements. Although World Copper believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of World Copper to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of World Copper, the ability of World Copper to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the TSX Venture Exchange), permits or financing, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on World Copper's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of World Copper to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in World Copper's continuous disclosure documents. All of World Copper's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. World Copper does not undertake any obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112528
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Maxtrade has recalled about 141,000 Youth Coolster Mountopz All-Terrain Vehicles due to risk of injury and violations of Federal safety standards. According to the company, the recalled ATVs fail to comply with the requirements of the federal mandatory ATV safety standard. The youth ATVs fail to meet the maximum speed limitations for vehicles intended for children ages 6, 10 and 12 years and older, or for teenagers, depending on the model. Further, in certain ATVs, the parking brakes do not prevent the movement of the vehicle. ATVs that fail to meet the mandatory safety requirements pose a risk of serious injury or death. Although the company has not received any incidents or injuries related to the recall ATVs, it has requested consumers to immediately stop using the recalled ATVs and contact Maxtrade for a free repair from an authorized repair shop. The recalled ATVs involves Maxtrade's Coolster Mountopz ATVs, models 3050-B, 3050-C, 3125-B2, 3125-CX-2, 3125-CX-3, 3125-XR8-U2, 3150-CXC, 3150-DX-4, 3175-S2, and 3175-U. The vehicles, intended for use by children aged 6, 10 and 12 years and older, or for teenagers, depending on the model, were sold in various colors. Coolster is stamped on the handlebar and the model number is printed in the center of the rear axle. The recalled ATVs were sold at Maxtrade dealers nationwide and online from January 2007 through January 2021 for between $370 and $1,100. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved 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. - February 2, 2022) - Homerun Resources Inc. (TSXV: HMR.H) ("Homerun" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has completed a 1055-line-kilometre airborne magnetic survey on its Homathko Gold Project, and the expansion of the property by an additional 17,700 hectares. This property expansion connects the two, previously separate, blocks of the Homathko Project, which now cover a combined total of 30,970 hectares across the highly prospective and generally underexplored Homathko Icefield.

Airborne Geophysical Survey

A total of 1055 line-kilometres was flown at a 100-metre spacing with a Scintrex CS-3 cesium vapour airborne magnetometer sensor, providing sample spacings of 1-2 metres.



Figure 1. Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI)



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4082/112540_b992d7695446d969_001full.jpg





Figure 2. Survey Area, 3D overlay

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4082/112540_b992d7695446d969_002full.jpg





Airborne Geophysics

The airborne magnetic survey identified magnetic trends and potential structures associated with the primary Homathko showing and around Homathko Peak, as well as towards the east, near the historic Morris Mine.

Magnetic highs coincident with the primary Homathko showing form a curvilinear feature, locally extending east-west around the circumference of Homathko Peak into Homerun's newly expanded claim area, further to the west. These magnetic highs coincide with structural measurements and grab samples, including one sample yielding 57.9 g/t gold, taken during the Company's property visit in late 2020, as well as mapping done by previous operators.

Also of note are several roughly north-south trending magnetic highs parallel to those which strike through the Morris Mine area. These trends appear to continue further towards the south, roughly parallel to topographic features, which suggests a possible continuation towards historical MINFILE showings in the southern extension of the newly-expanded property area.

Magnetic highs also occur in broad areas exhibiting apparently rusty weathered exposures, as identified from satellite imagery.

More maps and data will be made available at www.homerunres.com.

About the Homathko Gold Project

The Company has executed an option agreement ("Option Agreement") for the right to acquire a 100% interest in the Homathko Gold Project located in the Caribou Regional District of British Columbia (the "Property").

Mineralization on the property was first identified by Falconbridge Limited in 1966 which reported grab and trench sampling returning up to 384 g/t gold. Work completed by Transition Metals identified a larger, high-grade lode gold system traceable at surface along 1.5 kilometres of strike length and identified grab samples up to 87.5 g/t gold in 2010. According to Transition, the mineralization is hosted within quartz-carbonate veining developed within and near the margins of a shear bounded, altered quartz-feldspar porphyry sill. Based on field observations, geologists from Transition have interpreted that the environment for mineralization on the property appears consistent with that of a traditional mesothermal lode gold deposit which bears many similarities to similar deposits occurring elsewhere in the Stikine belt (Pioneer/Bralorne District, Elk Gold Mine etc.). To date, the Homathko Gold Project has never been drill tested. (1,2,3)

Homathko Project Highlights:

Grab and trench samples returning up to 384 g/t gold in 1966 (1)

Grab samples returning up to 64.5 g/t gold in 1989 (2)

Grab samples up to 87.5 g/t gold in 2010 by Transition Metals (3)

To date, the Homathko Project has never been drill-tested

Qualified Person

Case Lewis, P.Geo., a 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.

References

(1) BC Mines Property File, Falconbridge File 184 - Report on Homathko Gold Prospect, 1965, J/J. MacDougall

(2) BC Assessment Report #18977

(3) BC Assessment Report #32197

(4) MINFILE 092N 004

(5) MINFILE 092N 005

(6) MINFILE 092N 023

(7) MINFILE 092N 024

(8) MINFILE 092N 049 "KOR 1,3,4,7"

(9) MINFILE 092N 067 "DISCOVERY CREEK / HOMATHKO"

(10) MINFILE 092N 068 "CHOPPER / HOMATHKO"





On behalf of the Board of Directors of

Homerun Resources Inc.

"Brian Leeners"

Brian Leeners, CEO & Director



Contact:

brianleeners@gmail.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/112540


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN, resigned on Wednesday as he failed to disclose a romantic involvement with another CNN executive, Allison Gollust. Gollust is also a former aide for the former New York Governor Chris Cuomo.



It is also being believed that Zucker's relationship with Gollust had a part to play in the revelation of Gov. Cuomo's conversation with his brother Andrew Cuomo about a sexual harassment scandal which ultimately led to Chris Cuomo's dismissal from his role. CNN was the first agency to break the insider information.



In a memo to the staff, Zucker said that Cuomo's network has interrogated him about this relationship in a recent probe where he wrongfully denied his relationship with Gollust. 'As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo's tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,' Zucker said.



'I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today' added th 56-year-old.



Zucker's tenure started at CNN back in 2013, coinciding with Gollust who also join at the same time as the communication director. Gollust will continue as an executive vice president and chief marketing officer. 'Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years. Recently, our relationship changed during Covid. I regret that we didn't disclose it at the right time. I'm incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do every day,' said Gollust on the matter.



CNN Parent company WarnerMedia CEO, Jason Kilar said to the employees, 'We thank Jeff for his contributions over the past 9 years.' Kilar also said that in the absence of Zucker, the operations will be led by Michael Bass, Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz.



AT&T, the owner of WarnerMedia and in turns, CNN, has said that Discovery Communications will merge with Warner media and CEO David Zaslav will run the combines entity. However, the merger is yet to be approved by the regulators, expected to close during the second quarter of 2022.







Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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DELAND, FL / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / ARC Group Worldwide, Inc. ("ARC" and the "Company") (OTC PINK:ARCW), announces the completion of the sale of its legacy assets and the closing of its business combination with RM2 International S.A. ("RM2") on February 1, 2022 (the "Closing").

RM2 International S.A. ("RM2"), a Luxembourg corporation, is the owner and operator of the BLOCKPal, a technologically advanced, hygienic, ESG friendly, composite pallet that is leased to a Tier 1 customer base. RM2 provides its customers with end-to-end logistics Intelligence Optimization & Tracking (RM2 ELIoT) IoT technology for pallet traceability, delivering real-time actionable insights and powerful data to improve the supply chain visibility to the manufacturing and distribution businesses it serves.

RM2 launched the smart reusable pallet revolution by embedding autonomous IoT sensor technology in its pallets. The BLOCKPal pallets are provided to customers across a range of industries, with a particular focus on those where hygiene and traceability are of critical importance.

Ian Molson, Chairman of RM2, noted at the Closing, "We are thrilled to announce the completion of the RM2 business combination with ARC and advance to the next stage of our production and deployment. We believe ARC provides RM2 with a significant platform for expansive growth and market adoption of our cutting-edge technologies, with the potential to create major disruptive efficiencies across logistics systems and supply chains worldwide."

The majority shareholders of RM2 have exchanged their shares in RM2 for newly issued shares in ARC. Approximately 1.6% of RM2 shares remain issued and outstanding among widely dispersed shareholders and the Company plans to exchange these shares for shares in ARC as soon as reasonably feasible. Capital from ARC and four other institutional investors will enable RM2 to increase its pallet pool and service the unmet demand of its customers.

The principal shareholders of ARC now include Richard Cashin (the president of One Equity Partners LLC), QRM2 Holdings Ltd., (an entity controlled by the Quasha family), Polygon Global Partners, LLP (a global investment firm), PMB Invest Fund I SCSp and R. Ian Molson (a private investor).

We have initiated procedures to change the name of the Company to "RM2 International, Inc." We expect the name change to become effective on or about February 15, 2022.

More Information

To learn more about RM2, visit the RM2 website at: https://www.rm2.com/.

Forward Looking Statements

This release includes certain forward looking statements and projections. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from the Company's and RM2's expectations. While the Company and RM2 make these statements in good faith, neither the Company nor RM2 nor their respective management can guarantee that anticipated future results will be achieved. Neither the Company nor RM2 assumes any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements made herein or any other forward looking statements made by the Company or RM2, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. All forward looking statements attributable to the Company or RM2 or persons acting on behalf of the Company or RM2 are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and, except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:

Investor Relations

Email: info@rm2.com

SOURCE: ARC Group Worldwide, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/687030/ARC-Group-Worldwide-Inc-Announces-the-Closing-of-the-Business-Combination-With-RM2-International-SA
The Company takes 4.7% stake in GOAT

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - Cypherpunk Holdings Inc. (CSE: HODL) (OTC Pink: KHRIF) ("Cypherpunk" or, the "Company"), a sector leader for blockchain, privacy and cryptography focused investments, is pleased to announce that it has completed a strategic equity investment in Greatest of all Time ("GOAT") alongside Animoca Brands. GOAT.io is developing a platform so-called 'metazens' to scale their activities across decentralized metaverse economies. In its first eight weeks of operation, the company has rapidly grown its discord community to over 13,000 players.

Under the terms of the transaction Cypherpunk Holdings has acquired 176,470 ordinary shares of GOAT.IO representing 4.7% of the issued shares of GOAT for an aggregate price of CAD $ 251,417 (USD $200,000) as part of GOAT's seed round of CAD 2.14 million (USD $1.7 million).

Commentating on the investment, President and CEO, Jeff Gao, said: "We are excited to be a part of GOAT's journey in building the future of decentralized economies. GOAT's ability to recruit and retain top players via its play-to-earn (P2E) crypto gaming platform speaks volumes about its focus on players, on GameFi analytics and on the process of empowering one to become the greatest they can be. Under the leadership of Phil George and Wayne Hughes GOAT has demonstrated a remarkable ability to scale and commercialize their bespoke P2E model. After 70 days of operation, GOAT has unlocked 3.5M+ in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and is on track to produce an additional 3M+ of ARR over the coming 30 days. Cypherpunk is delighted to be the co-lead investor and strategic partner to GOAT alongside Animoca Brands."

About GOAT.IO

GOAT is building platforms to empower the decentralised metaverse economy.

Become a GOAT.

Follow GOAT on Twitter.

About Cypherpunk Holdings Inc.

Cypherpunk was established to invest in currencies, companies, technologies and protocols, which enhance or protect privacy. Its strategy is to make targeted investments in businesses and assets with strong privacy attributes, often within the blockchain ecosystem, including select cryptocurrencies. Current equity investments include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Samourai Wallet, Wasabi Wallet, Chia, NGRAVE, and Animoca Brands.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" taken, "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the Company's expectation or belief regarding its investment in shares of Animoca Brand and Animoca Brand's future performance or business. There is no assurance that the Company's plans or objectives will be implemented as set out herein, or at all. Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made and 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. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

Officer/Director Contact:

Jeffrey Gao

Chief Executive Officer

jeff@cypherpunkholdings.com

Office: 1-647-946-1300

Investor Relations Contact:

Veronika Oswald

Investor Relations

veronika@cypherpunkholdings.com

Office: 1-647-946-1300

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112556
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (TSXV: LEO) (OTCQB: LCGMF) ("Lion CG", the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has acquired and staked a district scale exploration and resource discovery opportunity (the "Blue Copper Prospect"), comprising more than 7,430 acres in Powell County and Lewis & Clark County in Montana, USA.

The Blue Copper Prospect, located approximately 25 miles WNW of Helena, Montana, is centered on the Late Cretaceous Blackfoot City Stock (the "BCS"), which was intruded into the Black Mountain syncline, composed primarily of a Paleozoic sequence of limestone, dolomite, shale and sandstone. The BCS crystallized at the same time as the nearby Boulder batholith, which is host to the world-famous Butte copper mines. The area is prospective for high grade copper-gold skarns and porphyry copper-gold mineralization.

Travis Naugle, Lion CG's CEO, states, "The Company has secured a truly exceptional copper-gold skarn mineralized system that we believe is similar to several other world-class copper-gold deposits. I look forward to bringing my own Montana background to bear in leading the Company's exploration efforts in a sustainable manner to the benefit of the people of Montana. As an integral part of this, we wish to express our appreciation for the grassroots support received thus far by the local community, including the area ranchers and prospectors."

The claim block encompasses a group of more than 14 historic small mines that produced high grade gold, copper and tungsten. Importantly, the streams draining the BCS have a recorded production of almost 200,000 ounces of placer gold through 1959, although the actual production was most likely much higher. Despite the extensive placer production, only one lode gold mine operated historically and produced less than 10,000 ounces. Several major companies conducted exploration programs in the area during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Company is currently acquiring, compiling and interpreting historic data to develop a 2022 work plan which will be provided when available.

As a part of the Blue Copper Prospect, the Company has entered into a purchase agreement with Four O Six Mining & Exploration LLC ("406 Mining") to acquire certain existing and additional unpatented mining claims. In exchange for the unpatented mining claims, the Company will on closing issue 1,500,000 common shares in the capital of the Company and provide a net smelter return royalty ("NSR") of 2.0% with a buy-down of 1% NSR for US$1,500,000. The closing of the 406 Mining acquisition is subject to stock exchange approval.

Shares for Debt

The Company has agreed to settle outstanding debt of US$109,520 with an arm's-length creditor by issuing 1,398,790 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of C$0.10 per share. The amount of indebtedness represents an outstanding account for services provided to the Company. The issuance of common shares in connection with the debt settlement is subject to stock exchange approval.

About Lion CG

Lion CG is listed on the TSXV: LEO and OTCBB: LCGMF and is primarily focused on advancing its MacArthur Copper Project in Mason Valley, Nevada. The Company is also continuing its tradition of securing and advancing potential district scale resources through discovery, development, and partnerships with the intent of eventually providing metals essential in the development of alternative energy solutions.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Stephen Goodman

President

For more information please contact:

Karen Robertson

Corporate Communications

778-898-0057

Email: info@lioncg.com

Website: www.lioncg.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112558
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Florida-based real estate company, Rayonier Inc. (RYN) forecasts lower earnings per share year-over-year. However, the guided earnings are higher than the Street estimates. For the full year, the company expects the earnings to be in the range of $83 million to $92 million or $0.57 to $0.64 per share. On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the earnings to come at $0.53 per share. The company is attributing the higher harvest and transportation costs in the Pacific Northwest Timber segment for the drop in income as well as the supply chain issues and lower pricing in the New Zealand Timber segment. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved 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.
Nuclera, a Cambridge, UK- and Boston, Massachusetts-based biotech company developing benchtop protein printing technologies, raised $42.5 million in the first close of its Series B financing.

Backers included M&G, Amadeus Capital Partners, E Ink, RT Partners, Future Planet Capital, British Business Bank Future Fund, and G. K. Goh.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development and commercialization of its eProtein desktop bioprinter.

Led by Michael Chen, Co-founder and CEO, Nuclera is a pioneer in making biology accessible through its eProtein desktop bioprinting technology. With desktop bioprinting, researchers and scientists take control of biology through streamlined access to a next-day supply of proteins. The technology has gained traction with customers in the pharmaceutical, biotech, agribiotech, and synthetic biology industries, which are already working with the company to accelerate their innovation pipelines.

In May 2021, Nuclera acquired the digital microfluidic operations at E Ink in Boston, Massachusetts along with a UK Future Fund investment led by E Ink. The company now has 70 employees and is headquartered in Cambridge, UK and Boston, Massachusetts.

FinSMEs

02/02/2022
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Remarks by H.E. Wang Yi

State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of

The Peoples Republic of China

At the Manila Forum for China-Philippines Relations

17 January 2022

Your ExcellencyGloria Macapagal Arroyo,

Your Excellency Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin,

Ministers,

Friends,

Good afternoon!It is my great pleasure to join you again at theManila Forum for China-Philippines Relations. A year ago, HerExcellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and I announced together thelaunch of the Forum in Manila. I am very glad to see it growing rapidlyduring the past year and its role in promoting the mutual trust andcooperation between our two peoples. I would like to salute YourExcellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and people from all sectors in bothcountries who have worked so hard for China-Philippines friendship.

China and the Philippines are neighbors facing each other across thesea and partners through thick and thin. Not long ago, when thePhilippines was hit by a super typhoon, President Xi Jinping promptlyexpressedhis sympathies and support, and the Chinese government wasamong the first to provide emergency assistance. The Philippine peopleare strong and resilient. We believe that under the leadership of PresidentDuterte and the Philippine government, people in the affected areas willrebuild their home at an early date. To support their reconstruction, Iwould like to announce that the Chinese government has decided toprovide another 100 million RMB yuan of grant to the Philippines.

Friends,

China's friendly interactions with the Philippines date back to over amillennium ago. China brings to the Philippines not colonization or war, but cooperation and friendship. The story about the King of Sulu's visit toChina was a historical epitome of our friendship. While in office, President Arroyo made many solid efforts to enhance China-Philippinesfriendship. After taking office, President Duterte made the strategicdecision to improve relations with China, and rainbows appeared inChina-Philippines relations after the rainstorms. Facts have proved thatthe decision fully conforms with the fundamental interests of thePhilippines and its people, the common interests of China and thePhilippines, and the trend toward peace and development in the region. Iam confident that people with insight from our two countries will keep tothis right direction and write more splendid chapters of China-Philippinesfriendship.

Looking ahead, China will continue to pursue a policy to foster anamicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood, and stay committed to theprinciple of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in itsneighborhood diplomacy. We will promote greater solidarity andcooperation with the Philippines.

China will join hands with the Philippines to prevail over thepandemic.China has provided the Philippines with over 57 million dosesof COVID vaccines. We will continue to help meet the Philippines'needfor vaccines, and work with you on developing effective medicines andbuilding up public health capacity to eventually defeat the virus.

China will join hands with the Philippines to speed updevelopment and rejuvenation.The Belt and Road Initiative and the"Build, Build, Build"Strategy are now seamlessly coordinated. Irrigation, dam and telecommunications projects are moving ahead at a faster pace, and many follow-up cooperation programs such as railways and bridgesare in the pipeline. China has also supported the Philippines in importantundertakings such as the building of drug rehabilitation centers, post-conflict reconstruction in Marawi, and bridge projects in Manila. Asthe largest trading partner and export market of the Philippines, Chinawill keep its doors open to more Philippine agricultural products andmake more investment in the country, with a view to contributing to yourefforts in accelerating industrialization and modernization andcapacity-building for self-generated development.

China will join hands with the Philippines to properly handle theSouth China Sea issue. We each have our respective claims andpositions. Before an agreement can be reached, it is important that we putthe issue in a proper place and prevent it from affecting or even takinghostage the overall bilateral relationship. Stressing only one side's claimsand imposing one's own will on the other is not a proper way forneighbors to treat each other, and it also goes against the Orientalphilosophy of how people should get along with each other. China willabsolutely not use its strength to bully smaller countries, and we neverbelieve in the winner-takes-all approach. We hope to work with thePhilippines to find ways to properly manage and resolve the issue in thespirit of goodwill and pragmatism. We need to come up with the resolveas soon as possible to advance joint development without prejudice toeither side's rights and claims, so that we can turn the South China Seaissue from a challenge into an opportunity and a positive factor conduciveto the development of the Philippines and the friendship between our twopeoples.

China will join hands with the Philippines to maintain peace andstability in the region.East Asia, the shared home for China and thePhilippines, is the region with the greatest development potential in theworld. This has not come by easily, and should be doubly cherished. However, some forces outside the region are trying to frustrate this goodmomentum with repeated provocations. As two important members of theregion, China and the Philippines should stay committed to anindependent foreign policy, uphold the ASEAN-centered regionalcooperationarchitecture, deepen the China-ASEAN comprehensivestrategic partnership, and contribute to the stability and prosperity of theregion.

Friends,

The year 2022 is important for both China and the Philippines. Chinawill soon enter the "Winter Olympics Time", and the Communist Party ofChina will hold its 20th National Congress later in the year. ThePhilippines also has important domestic political agenda this year. Standing at a new historical starting point, let us always bear in mind thewellbeing of our two peoples, commit to steering our friendly relations inthe right direction, follow the course charted by our top leaders, removedisturbances, deepen cooperation, and jointly usher in an even betterfuture for China-Philippines relations.

Thank you.
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A Sweet Home man was arrested Tuesday morning after what police called an armed road-rage incident, according to a news release from the Lebanon Police Department.

Kenneth Wayne Parker, 61, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful use of a weapon, menacing and second-degree disorderly conduct. He was temporarily held at Lebanon Municipal Jail and later transported to Linn County Jail.

At around 9:39 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, Lebanon police received a call about a road-rage incident in which a man allegedly pointed a gun at another vehicle occupied by a woman and two small children, according to the news release.

Although the news release said there were three people in the car, court documents allege there were only two victims total.

The incident is said to have first happened on South Santiam Highway near Sodaville-Waterloo Road and continued toward the Lebanon city limits.

LPD Officer Eric Stein responded to the call and learned the suspect was no longer in the area, according to the release. The female driver said the suspect allegedly pointed a handgun in her direction as she passed him.

She told police that the suspect seemed to be distraught about traffic conditions, according to the release.

With the assistance of Sweet Home Police Department, the suspect was identified as Parker and contacted at his residence. Officers took Parker into custody without incident.

After searching Parkers vehicles, officers found the firearm they suspect was used in the incident. LPD seized the weapon.

In investigating the matter, Stein discovered the suspect was seemingly distraught about traffic conditions.

Parker was arraigned Wednesday, Feb. 2 in Linn County Circuit Court on one count of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of menacing and two counts of pointing firearm at another.

According to the news release, the investigation is active. Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact Stein at 541-258-4327.

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The sale of Sweet Home's abandoned mill site may come down to two bidders, Linn County officials announced on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Once owned by Weyerhauser/Willamette Industries, the 154-acre site has sat abandoned for decades. After years of mismanagement and amassing a wealth of back taxes, the mill was bought in 2010 by Linn County through foreclosure.

Environmental red flags  everything from soil contamination to asbestos buildup  have pushed Linn County to sell the property. Following months of heated debates, Linn County officials, with blessings from Sweet Home leaders who want to see the property developed, agreed to put the mill up for auction late last year.

Linn County Real Property Program Manager Rachel Adamec told commissioners on Tuesday that two companies have submitted bids for the mill.

Sweet Home Real Estate Restorations LLC, Adamec said, made a bid of $800,000 and Sweet Home Mill Site LLC made a bid of $450,000.

These offers are much lower than those generated in a separate process, known as a request for proposals, conducted last year. In that process, four companies submitted preliminary proposals. Two bids of the bids hovered around the $1 million mark: Mt. Angel-based T.S. West and developer Scott Lepman's offers of $1.2 million and $950,000 respectively.

Neither has participated in the more recent auction.

Owned by developer Josh Victor, Sweet Home Restorations proposed turning the mill site into a hub for breweries, restaurants and homes accessible to the Oregon Jamboree.

At this state in the bidding process, according to Adamec, bids only required dollar amounts and proof of funding. Other documentation will be required and filed later in the process.

"The only requirements were the form and a letter stating they have the means to pay them out," Adamec said. "The other paperwork is not something that was requested nor should it be taken into account."

Linn County Commissioner and Board Chair Roger Nyquist said he expects the bid process to be slow. The board, he said, should take its time to ensure the county passes the mill to the right owner.

"You need to be very careful. The process we're about to go through is not unlike the process we have here with the road department," he said, referring to the recent selection of the second-lowest bid to a contractor to repair the Shimanek Bridge.

Adamec said both Sweet Home bids are under review by legal counsel and she expects to recommend a bidder to Linn County commissioners next week.

The Linn County Commissioners are scheduled to meet again at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8.

Tim Gruver covers the city of Albany and Linn County. He can be contacted at 541-812-6114 or Tim.Gruver@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @T_TimeForce.

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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Braden Manning, Gettysburg baseball: Braden went 9-for-13 with 2 doubles, 2 triples and 7 RBI over 4 games. He also struck out 11 batters in a win over South Western.

Amy Anderson, Delone Catholic softball: Amy went 5-for-12 with 6 RBI, 3 runs scored and a triple over 3 games. She also struck out 17 batters and went 2-1 in those games.

Parker Sanders, Bermudian Springs Tennis: Parker won 3 matches on his way to a fourth-place finish in the YAIAA Class 2A Singles Tournament.

Andrew Koons, Fairfield baseball: Andrew went 5-for-11 with 8 RBI, 4 runs scored and 2 home runs over 3 games, including a grand slam. He was also the winning pitcher against Biglerville.

Ben Angstadt, Biglerville baseball: Ben went 8-for-17 with 7 RBI, 4 runs scored, a double and a home run over 4 games for the Canners.

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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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Sydney, Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, this edition of BuddeComm report outlines the latest developments and key trends in the telecoms markets. - https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Gabon-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW





The government has in the past demonstrated effective husbandry of the resources at its disposal.



Having previously failed to sell most of its remaining interest in Moov Gabon in a bid to attract the financial support and skills of foreign players, the 2021 Finance Law included provisions for the government again to whittle down its holdings in several companies, including Moov Gabon. Some share will be retained in the company, enabling the state to retain some influence on its management decisions.



The country has sufficient international internet bandwidth on submarine cables, while progressive work on the CAB cable has also increased backhaul capacity supporting mobile data traffic. The governments universal service strategy since 2016 has aimed to eliminate mobile coverage white spots increase the reach of broadband services, and improve internet and mobile connectivity. Eventually the entire country will be covered by networks under the universal service. The fund was provided for by the Telecommunications Law and is financed through contributions made by telcos. The government continues to invest in national and international fibre connectivity in a bid to increase the contribution of digital services to GDP, in line with the objectives of the Gabonese Emerging Strategic Plan.



These measures are being supported by private sector operators. Moov Gabon in mid-2021 began investing XAF10 billion in network infrastructure to provide national 3G and LTE coverage, supporting mobile data rates of up to 10Mb/s.Group Vivendi Africa (GVA) has also expanded the reach of its fibre network since having been awarded a telecoms license in January 2017. Its fibre-based CanalBox service has been available in Libreville since mid-2017, and is to be extended to Port-Gentil and other urban centres later in 2022.





Key developments:





Gabon Telecom to trial 5G in Libreville;

Airtel Africa sells its telecom tower business in Gabon to Helios Towers;

GVA to launch CanalBox FttP service in Port-Gentil later in 2022;

Moov Gabon and Airtel Gabon renew mobile licences for ten years;

Government commits XAF150 billion in backbone infrastructure work;

Gabon and Congo end mobile roaming charges;

Universal Service project gets underway, aiming to deliver telecom services to 2,700 villages;

Report update includes the regulators market data to June 2021, operator data to Q3 2021, assessment of the pandemic on the telecoms sector, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.



Companies mentioned in this report:





Moov Gabon (Maroc Telecom, Libertis, Gabon Telecom, Telecel Gabon), Airtel Gabon (Zain), Bintel (USAN, Azur), Internet Gabon, Solsi, IBN Corporate







Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Gabon-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW
Pune, India, Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global self-adhesive labels market size is projected to reach USD 64.9 billion by 2028 from USD 42.9 billion in 2021, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period. The rising adoption of labels from the consumer goods sector and increasing awareness of biodegradable products are expected to foster market growth. Fortune Business Insights provides this information in its report titled Self-Adhesive Labels Market, 2021-2028. The market stood at USD 40.8billion in 2020.

Self-adhesive labels are also called pressure sensitive labels as they require pressure to stick to a surface or an object properly. They are used in several applications because of their benefits, such as minimum temperature property, solvent resistance, UV resistance, and strong adhesion. Their adoption enhances a products visual appeal and provides excellent adhesion in harsh environments. Adhesive labels rising adoption in the consumer goods sector is likely to boost their demand. Furthermore, they are used extensively in the food & beverage industry for packaging food products. Packaging labels save time, provide convenience, and resist unstable environments. In addition, the rising awareness regarding the benefits of biodegradable products is likely to boost their adoption. The labels utilize paper to provide biodegradability and impact the environment positively. These factors are likely to increase market growth during the upcoming years.

Impact of COVID-19

Robust Demand from the Medical Sector to Bolster Industry Growth

This market is expected to be positively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the rising adoption of labels in the medical sector. The spike in COVID-19 infections has led to the adoption of medicines and equipment, which, in turn, is expected to boost the products adoption. Post lockdown relaxations are likely to bolster the production of packaging labels. The adoption of production machinery reduced capacities, and part-time shifts may enable manufacturers to recover losses and improve market position. These factors are likely to boost market growth during the pandemic.

Get a Sample PDF Brochure:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/self-adhesive-labels-market-104289

List of Key Players Profiled in this Market Report

3M Company (Minneapolis, U.S.)

Axicon Labels (Oxfordshire, U.K.)

Avery Products Corporation (California, U.S.)

ETIS Slovakia (Bratislava, Slovakia)

UPM Raflatac (Helsinki, Finland)

Muroll GmbH (Frastanz, Austria)

Royston Labels Ltd (Royston, U.K.)

S&K LABEL (Illinois, U.S.)

SVS Etikety (Karlstejn, Czech Republic)

Mondi Group (Vienna, Austria)

H.B Fuller (Minnesota, U.S.)

LEO DESIGNS AND PACKAGING PVT LTD (Himachal Pradesh, India)

Holoflex (West Bengal, India)

Avery Dennison Corporation (California, U.S.)

Paskys.r.o. (Prague, Czech Republic)

Segments

By type, the market is segmented into release liner and linerless. As per label type, it is classified into removable and permanent. Based on application, it is categorized into consumer goods, household & personal care, pharmaceutical, food & beverages, and others. Regionally, it is grouped into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa.

Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/self-adhesive-labels-market-104289

Highlights of the Report

The report provides a detailed analysis of the top segments and the latest trends in the market. It comprehensively discusses the driving and restraining factors and the impact of COVID-19 on the market. Additionally, it examines the regional developments and the strategies undertaken by the market's key players.

Drivers and Restraints

Increasing Applications in Several Industries to Boost Market Growth

Self-adhesive materials are used in several applications because of the products rising demand from several industries. The labels display essential details such as expiry date, manufacturing date, content details, and others. Packaging stickers help consumers make an informed decision while selecting medical products. They are used in the consumer goods, food & beverage, medical, and pharmaceutical industry. They are also utilized for packaging electronics, clothing, non-durable and durable consumer goods, and others. This factor may boost its sales globally.

Further, rising per-capita income is responsible for the growth of FMCG goods sales. As a result, the adoption of these labels is increasing rapidly. They are also used for branding products by printing logos. For example, several pharmaceutical organizations utilize labels for branding their products and incorporating logos on products. In addition, their lower costs compared to digital printing are expected to bolster adoption. These factors are likely to drive the self-adhesive labels market growth.

However, stringent government regulations regarding the product's branding are likely to impede market development.

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Regional Insights

Raw Material Availability to Propel Market Growth in Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific is projected to dominate the self-adhesive labels market share because of the availability of raw materials required for adhesive labels production. The market in Asia-Pacific stood at USD 15.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow positively during the upcoming years. The rising demand for labels from several end-use industries is likely to boost its sales. In addition, the increasing demand for labels from food & beverage, medical, healthcare, and FMCG foods are likely to fuel market progress.

In North America, the presence of a large manufacturing base and rapidly developing e-commerce sector in the U.S. is likely to foster self-adhesive labels adoption. The labels are used extensively in the packaging sector because of their resistance and effectiveness. Furthermore, rising per-capita income and evolving buying preferences lead to the products adoption in consumer goods and ready-to-eat packaged foods and beverages. In addition, robust demand for adhesive labels from the pharmaceutical, e-commerce, packaging, and food & beverages sector is likely to facilitate market growth.

In Europe, rising awareness among the consumers regarding the products benefits is likely to fuel the labels adoption. Further, increasing demand from the food & beverage, packaging, tools, and electronics industry may boost market development. In addition, self-adhesive labels lower costs and resistance is likely to foster market growth.

Competitive Landscape

Companies Launch Innovative Products to Expand Product Portfolio

Prominent companies operating in the market announce innovative products to attract consumers attention and expand their product portfolio. For example, a German self-adhesive technology specialist company named Herma announced its novel wash-off label adhesive 52W for developing PET bottles in May 2021. This development may enable the company to attract consumers and expand its product portfolio. Moreover, the incorporation of acquisition strategies may help companies strengthen their market position. For example, Geostick acquirediPB Printing B.V. self-adhesive label division in August 2020. This strategy may enable iPB to focus on its in-mold labels (IML) division and flexible packaging and allow Geostick to strengthen its market position globally.

Table of Content

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Emerging Trends

Key Insights Key Emerging Trends  For Major Countries Regulatory Analysis Recent Industry Developments - Policies, Collaboration, New Product Launches, and Mergers & Acquisitions

Global Self-Adhesive Labels Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast ByType(Volume/Value) Linerless Release Liner By Label Type (Volume/Value) Permanent Removable By Application(Volume/Value) Food & Beverages Pharmaceutical Household & Personal Care Consumer Goods Others By Region (Volume/Value) North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa



TOC Continued!

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Industry Development

June 2021: Scanket and Labelsupply, two specialist self-adhesive labels manufacturers, became a part of Optimum Groups Nordic platform. The companies collaboration may help boost Optimum Groups global presence in Nordic.

Have a Look at Related Research Insights:

Adhesives and Sealants Market Size , Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Adhesive [Technology (Water-Based, Solvent-Based, Hot-Melt, Reactive), Application (Paper & Packaging, Building & Construction, Woodworking, Consumer/DIY, Automotive & Transportation, Leather & Footwear)], By Sealant [Resin (Silicone, Polyurethane, Emulsion, Polysulfide), Application (Building & Construction, Automotive, Consumer), and Regional Forecasts, 2021-2028

Adhesive Tape Market Size , Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Pressure-Sensitive, Water-Activated, Heat-Sensitive, Others), By Adhesion Technology (Solvent-Based, Water-Based, Hot-Melt Based, Others), By Resin (Acrylic, Rubber, Silicone), By Base Material (Paper, Polypropylene (PP), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Others), By End-Use Industry (Automotive & Transportation, Electrical & Electronics, Paper & Packaging) and Regional Forecast, 2022-2029

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MONTREAL, Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today that the Companys 2021 Annual Financial Statements, Notes thereto and Managements Discussion and Analysis, and its 2021 Annual Information Form and Form 40-F, have been filed with Canadian and U.S. securities regulators and are now available in the Investor section of its website, www.cn.ca/investors.



Printed copies of CNs 2021 Annual Financial Statements, Notes thereto and Managements Discussion and Analysis will also be available to shareholders free of charge upon request.

About CN

CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canadas Eastern and Western coasts with the Southern tip of the U.S. through a 19,500 mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship.

Contacts:
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AJRD) (the Company) today confirmed that it has received documentation purporting to give notice of stockholder nomination of individuals for election as directors at the Companys 2022 annual meeting of stockholders pursuant to the Companys advance notice bylaws.



The nominating stockholder is SPH Group Holdings LLC (SPHG Holdings), an affiliate of Steel Partners Holdings L.P. The dissident slate includes four incumbent directors of the Company, including Warren G. Lichtenstein, the Companys Executive Chairman, who also serves as Executive Chairman of the general partner of Steel Partners Holdings L.P. and is the founder of the Steel Partners organization, and three new director nominees.

The Company today also confirmed an ongoing internal investigation involving Mr. Lichtenstein. The investigation is being conducted under the oversight of a committee of independent directors of the Company, three of whom were not included in SPHG Holdings proposed slate of directors. The Company noted that the investigation is not related to the Companys operations or financial reporting.

The Company believes that Mr. Lichtensteins decision to cause SPHG Holdings to launch a disruptive proxy contest at this time may ultimately be driven by his personal concerns and desire to secure his board position and gain leverage in the context of the Companys internal investigation. The Company is disappointed that, at a critical time for the Company, Mr. Lichtenstein has decided to take these actions to launch a proxy fight.

The Company will in due course review the documentation received from SPHG Holdings for compliance with the Companys bylaws and applicable law. Company stockholders are not required to take any action at this time.

Important Information

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (the Company) will file a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) in connection with the solicitation of proxies for its annual meeting of stockholders. The Company will furnish the definitive proxy statement to its stockholders, together with a WHITE proxy card. STOCKHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Stockholders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement and other documents that the Company files with the SEC from the SECs website at www.sec.gov or the Companys website at https://ir.aerojetrocketdyne.com/ as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

The Company, its directors, its executive officers and its nominees for election as director (other than those nominated by Mr. Lichtenstein) may be deemed participants in the Companys solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the upcoming annual meeting of stockholders. Information about the Companys directors and executive officers is set forth in the Companys Proxy Statement for its last Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 19, 2021 and is available at the SECs website at www.sec.gov or the Companys website at https://ir.aerojetrocketdyne.com/. Additional information regarding the interests of participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the upcoming annual meeting of stockholders will be included in the definitive proxy statement that the Company will file with the SEC.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding a potential proxy contest. Such statements in this release are based on managements current expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainty and changes in circumstances, which could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance or achievements. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking and the words anticipate, believe, could, expect, estimate, plan, and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. A variety of factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expected and expressed in the Companys forward-looking statements.

About Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., headquartered in El Segundo, California, is an innovative technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems, with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the Companys excess real estate assets. More information can be obtained by visiting the Companys websites at www.rocket.com or www.aerojetrocketdyne.com.

Contact information:

Sharon Stern / Katelyn Villany

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

212-355-4449

AJRD-Media@joelefrank.com
TORONTO, Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Further to a statement released on December 16, 2021, Clairvest Group Inc. (TSX: CVG) (CVG), together with Clairvest Equity Partners V (CEP V, collectively Clairvest), announced today the closing of the sale of Also Energy Holdings, Inc. (AlsoEnergy) to Stem, Inc. (NYSE: STEM) (Stem). AlsoEnergy is a leading provider of solar energy software, hardware, and support services to residential, commercial & industrial, and utility solar markets that Clairvest first invested in four years ago.

Under terms of the sale, Clairvest received sale proceeds of approximately US$350 million (CVGs portion being US$108 million) at closing  80% in cash and 20% in Stem common shares based off of December prices. As previously announced, the sale is expected to have a positive impact on Clairvests book value per share of approximately $5 over the carrying value as at September 30, 2021.

This is an extraordinary result for our team, and we could not have achieved this outcome without Clairvests support, commented Robert Schaefer, Co-Founder & CEO of AlsoEnergy. We thank Clairvest for believing in our vision and business from the start. I could not have asked for a more constructive partner over these past few years, added Mr. Schaefer.

Backing two highly knowledgeable and committed entrepreneurs, coupled with the flawless execution of their vision by management, were huge contributors to this fantastic outcome, said Ken Rotman, CEO of Clairvest.

William Blair served as exclusive financial advisor and Goodmans LLP acted as legal advisor to AlsoEnergy in this transaction.

About Clairvest

Clairvests mission is to partner with entrepreneurs to help them build strategically significant businesses. Founded in 1987 by a group of successful Canadian entrepreneurs, Clairvest is a top performing private equity management firm with over CAD $2.6 billion of capital under management. Clairvest invests its own capital and that of third parties through the Clairvest Equity Partners limited partnerships in owner-led businesses. Under the current management team, Clairvest has initiated investments in 57 different platform companies and generated top quartile performance over an extended period.

Contact Information

Stephanie Lo

Manager, Investor Relations and Marketing

Clairvest Group Inc.

Tel: (416) 925-9270

stephaniel@clairvest.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- San Francisco Federal Credit Union announced today that they have merged with Redwood City-based My Credit Union, effective January 1, 2022. The 2,000 members of My Credit Union are joining San Francisco Federal Credit Unions 47,000 members, and My Credit Unions branch at 510 Veterans Boulevard will be added to the current San Francisco Federal Credit Unions branch network.



Since being established in 1963, My Credit Union has served the community of San Mateo County and has assets totaling $37 million. Our members overwhelmingly supported this merger with San Francisco Federal Credit Union because we share the same values and place the same strong emphasis on member service, says My Credit Union s President Alex Casillas. This merger provides our members with new products and benefits, and it increases their access to a wider branch network.

San Francisco Federal Credit Union, established in 1954, has $1.3 billion in assets and serves members in San Francisco and San Mateo County. This merger allows us to further enhance the delivery of our services to our members in the greater San Mateo County area, says Jonathan Oliver, President & CEO of San Francisco Federal Credit Union

I would also like to thank Glenn Christensen of the CEO Advisory Group who helped us solidify the merger.

About San Francisco Federal Credit Union

San Francisco Federal Credit Union has been serving its members since 1954 and is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. The credit union provides financial services to nearly 47,000 members and has assets of $1.3 billion. For more information, visit SanFranciscoFCU.com

For More Information:

Rob A. Seide

415-615-7012

Rob_Seide@SanFranciscoFCU.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fa47a9bc-1986-42f8-ae91-81d4cd469e53
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Urban League (NUL) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a pilot program aptly called the Community Navigator Program (CNP) to engage and support underserved small businesses, including micro and rural businesses with emphasis on those owned by women, veterans and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. The program is focused to help underserved small businesses recover from the effects of COVID-19. Impacted small businesses who have been operating for five or less years are eligible to participate in the Community Navigator Program.

The CNP will execute a Hub and Spoke service delivery model with the National Urban League as the Hub and the Affiliates as Spokes. Urban League Affiliates will act as Spokes delivering technical assistance and providing resources to businesses. There are 25 Spokes that are organized into five (5) Regions with one (1) Lead Spoke per Region. The Los Angeles Urban League Entrepreneurship Center is assigned the prestigious responsibility of Lead Spoke for the Western Region, overseeing the activities of four other Spokes including Las Vegas Urban League, Greater Phoenix Urban League, Urban League of San Diego County, and Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

The Los Angeles Urban League is set to begin eight classes for its Community Navigator Program on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 from 5 pm  7 pm. Visit www.LAUL.ORG/SBA to register for the free classes.

Because, many small businesses have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, they could not obtain loans, grants, assistance from the government to keep their businesses float. So, with the SBA funding this pilot program, the Community Navigator Program, for two years is authorizing the Los Angeles Urban League to hand-hold and provide technical assistance to these impacted businesses to help them back on their feet, said Gilbert Buchanan, Director of the Los Angeles Urban League Entrepreneur Center. Giving them access to contracts and funding is a miraculous opportunity from an economic development standpoint.

The SBA plans on being intentional in strengthening its outreach to underserved businesses by partnering with organizations, such as the National Urban League, whose affiliates already has established relationships and experience within their communities. In other words, the affiliates are the Community Navigators.

Urban League Affiliates, who are Spokes in the program around the country, will assist entrepreneurs in recovering from the effects of the pandemic within their operations and provide information and tools to stabilize and grow their businesses. Recovery services will include financial assistance, access to capital, business-to-business networking, contracting and procurement assistance, marketing, operations, and business development, export and industry specific training.

Interested small businesses who are eligible and interested in the National Urban League and Small Business Administration Community Navigation Program in association with Los Angeles Urban League can register for the classes at www.laul.org/sba.

RON CARTER

(323) 864-7092

tca@sbcglobal.net
Beverly Hills , Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guest CyberCEOs Amy and Michael Kite discuss Cyberbacker's impact on their business in a new episode of CyberCEO.

In this episode, Cruz and the Kites share secrets for a successful partnership.

Listen to Angelo Cruz and Amy and Michael Kite's conversation here.

"It's Phenomenal"

"Cyberbackers have given us the ability to get things done that we've never been able to get done in the past," says Michael Kite, Chief Operating Officer of The Kite Real Estate Team.

Michael and his wife Amy agree that the "whirlwind" nature of their office can sometimes make it difficult to focus on various tasks. But with the help of Cyberbackers Christine, Henrique, and Carlo, the Kites are growing in new ways. For example, Cyberbacker Christine, who works closely with the marketing director, recently created "just listed/just sold" postcards, which "absolutely is going to help our business," Amy says.

What Sets Cyberbacker Apart

Though the Kites have worked with virtual assistants in the past, Amy calls the experience with Cyberbacker "night and day." Both Amy and Michael applaud Cyberbacker's careful vetting on the front end and ongoing training, which have both saved the Kites a great deal of time. The hiring process for an in-person team maker, for instance, takes "a huge amount of time and a huge amount of effort," Amy says. And despite real estate industry norms when it comes to interviews, she urges fellow CEOs to trust Cyberbacker's process. "You're going to find top talent in 30 minutes," she says.

"The work ethic is amazing," Michael says. "It's just something you don't find anymore." Cyberbacker Christine, who has been with the Kites longest, is "really a go-getter."



Part of the Family

Because clear expectations are key in a productive Cyberbacker/CyberCEO partnership, the Kites urge business owners to put time and thought into creating a list of tasks. "They catch on very quickly," Michael says.

In fact, the Kites' Cyberbackers have asked for more work. "Cyberbackers push us as much as we push them," Michael says. He adds that their professionalism and investment in the company make them "a pleasure to talk to." Amy mentions a recent call where newer Cyberbackers Henrique and Carlo joined for the first time. It was a great chance for everyone to put faces to names, she says. "We're such an awesome teamwe're blessed to have you as part of our family."



About: Cyberbacker's goal is to match accomplished individuals to clients who share similar values and goals in order to optimize growth. Find more information at www.cyberbacker.com, or contact Cyberbacker directly by email: growth@cyberbacker.com or phone: +1 801 686 8043

Michael and Amy Kite are the owners of the Kite Real Estate Team, a Keller Williams affiliate based in the Chicago area. For more information, see www.amykite.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

Media contact az@kisspr.com

Attachment
San Diego, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- San Diego, California -

CA based Christian Roofing (CR) is working hard to transform San Diego homes into energy-independent properties via solar power. The company, which specializes in

roof-mounted solar panels and solar installations, offers their expertise to all who would like to drastically reduce or eliminate their utility bills as well as enjoy a host of other advantages. Click here to read further: Roofing And Solar San Diego.

Each household is unique, the company says, but that does not have to mean that a solar panel installation has to consequently be a difficult or complicated process for the homeowner. Their team is extremely familiar with industry standards and regulations that govern solar panels, and they can take care of all associated permits, paperwork and so on as required. All a customer has to do is contact Christian Roofing today and let the team know they are interested in installing a solar panel array.

The company clarifies that, prior to any installation, their first step is to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the property. Here, their experts will evaluate every aspect of the property, from its layout and sun exposure to typical or peak energy demands and more. The results of this inspection will then be provided to the homeowner. Notably, Christian Roofing says that certain homes may require a new roof (or upgrades) in order to support an installation. If so, the company will also offer affordable options that take the customers budget into account.

The company also recommends that homeowners still get in touch with their team first even if they are already aware that their roof needs to be repaired in some way. This will enable Christian Roofing to examine the roofs viability before the homeowner makes an investment that may still not be suitable for their future solar needs. For instance, in addition to the roofs integrity, the company will document its angle, size and style to determine whether it is a good candidate for a solar upgrade. A homeowner can use this information to make a more informed choice regarding their roof.

Once the inspection is complete, the company will offer the customer a detailed quote. Every aspect of the installation will be included in this quote, from the cost of any necessary repairs to materials, permits, labor and more. A solar panel installation is an investment, the fruits of which are expected to last for decades to come. As such, the company strongly encourages everyone to trust their homes only to experienced and committed contractors. This will ensure their investment has the highest chance of delivering on its promises.

A recent Google review goes to great lengths to illustrate why Christian Roofing has become a staple of their community and why homeowners are quickly coming to rely exclusively on the company for all their roofing needs. Awarding the company a glowing 5-Star rating, the review says, We are so thankful for Christian Roofing who redid our roof and installed top notch solar panels for us. Everyone in the team at CR was absolutely wonderful to work with: Josh, Johnny, Christian, the crew, Araceli and anyone else we interacted with and forgot to mention here.

The customer explains that the company takes a proactive approach to customer services, and this contributed to how positive their experience was. Phone calls, emails and texts were returned promptly, the staff was professional, courteous and knowledgeable. Every step of the process was clearly communicated to us; there were no surprises. Their price was extremely competitive, and what we liked best was that they were able to start within the week and had the roofing and solar installation completed in the most efficient manner. It's been over a month since our roof and solar installation, and we couldn't be happier. The per panel monitoring is so easy and effortless. So, if you're looking for superior quality and workmanship, great warranties, honest, nice people and terrific pricing, I would strongly urge you to check out Christian Roofing. Thank you so much, Christian Roofing, for everything!

This is hardly the only positive review the company has received since they first opened their doors, and local homeowners are invited to read others to gain some insight on Christian Roofings business practices. Similarly, the team is always eager to learn how they can improve their services, so customers are encouraged to leave their own feedback here as well or contact the company directly with any concerns.

Christian Roofing chooses to partner only with the best names in the business, and the benefit of this is passed on to the customer. For instance, they can obtain the latest generation of deep cycle batteries, photovoltaic panels and clean energy technology to lower a households energy bills. They can also take a customers aesthetic preference into account.

The company invites their community to contact their team today to request a free estimate. While more information can be found on the official Christian Roofing website, customers are welcome to reach out directly via phone or email if they wish to discuss a solar panel installation with one of the companys expert representatives.

###

For more information about Christian Roofing, contact the company here:



Christian Roofing

Press

(619) 401-9607

info@christianroofing.com

1226 Greenfield Dr, El Cajon, CA 92021
English Estonian

Hepsor U30 SIA, a subsidiary of Hepsor AS in Latvia, signed 7.5 million euro loan agreement with Bigbank AS Latvian affiliate on 1 February 2022. The purpose of the three-year loan is to finance the construction of Kuldigas Parks project in Riga, Gregora 2a. The construction of two buildings with 116 apartments began in the third quarter 2021 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023. A total of 22 apartments have been sold under contract of law of obligation.

According to Henri Laks, member of the Management Board of Hepsor AS, Hepsor currently has three residential projects under development in Latvia. Besides Kuldigas Parks the construction of Balozu 9, Riga is expected to be completed during the first half of 2022. All 18 apartments have been already sold. Marupes Darzs project of four buildings with 92 energy class A apartments was granted a building permit at the end of 2021. The project is expected to be completed in summer 2023 and the sale of apartments has already started.

Additional information:

More information about Kuldigas Parks and Marupes Darzs projects can be found at https://hepsor.lv/kuldigasparks/en/ ja https://hepsor.lv/marupesdarzs/en/ .

Anneli Simm

Head of Investor Relations

Phone: +372 5615 7170

e-mail: anneli@hepsor.ee

Hepsor AS (www.hepsor.ee) is one of the fastest growing residential and commercial real estate developers in Estonia and Latvia. Over the last ten years Hepsor has developed more than 1,300 homes and 15,000 m2 of commercial space. Hepsor has been the first real estate developer in the Baltic States to implement a number of innovative engineering solutions that make the buildings we construct more energy-efficient and thus more environmentally friendly. The company's portfolio is comprised of 26 development projects with a total sellable space of 186,000 m2.
Dublin, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Digitally printed wallpaper is defined as an image or mural printed by digital printer which is used as wall murals in residential & commercial places. Also, these wallpapers are used for decorative purpose in transportation vehicles and are used for interior decoration on the walls of public & domestic places. Usually, digital wallpaper supplier sells these wallpapers in roll form and is applied onto wall through sticky glue. These wallpapers are made up of nonwoven, vinyl, watermarked paper, coated paper, recycled paper, and special papers. The printing technology involves laser printing and inkjet printing which is also known as electro-photography.



Market Drivers

The increase in development 0f wallpapers with better durability & aesthetics is expected to drive the global digitally printed wallpaper market growth during this forecast period. As compared to interior paint these wallpaper enhance the aesthetic appeal of walls and they are more economical. The growing demand for better aesthetics, especially in residential construction will positively influence the market growth. Durability of digitally printed wallpaper is much higher as compared to conventional paintings. For example, vinyl-based wallpapers offer stain-resistance, easy maintenance and durability.



Also, the increase in use of personal photos as wallpaper to decorate homes which expected to propel the global digitally printed wallpaper market growth during this forecast period. The growing luxury homes and focus on interior decorations will create the opportunities the digitally printed wallpaper market growth in near future.



Market Restraints

The increase in availability of substitute products like paint & coating is a major restraining factor faced which may hamper the global digitally printed wallpaper market growth. Many paint and coating manufacturers are producing environment friendly, corrosion resistant, heat resistant, and water resistant products. Further, the introduction of innovative technologies and tough competition among paint & coating manufacturers may hinder the growth of global digitally printed wallpaper market.



Market Segmentation

The Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market is segmented into technology type such as Inkjet, and Electro-photography, by paper type such as Coated Paper, Nonwoven, Vinyl, and Others. Further, market is segmented into end user such as Residential, Commercial, and Automotive & Transportation.



Also, the Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market is segmented on the basis of five regions such as North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa.



Regional Analysis

The Asia Pacific is anticipated to register highest growth in the digitally printed wallpaper market over the forecast period. China holds the major market share in the APAC market. The increase in number of new housing units, the rise in demand for cheaper interior decoration with an increase in population & huge investments in this industry are propelling the demand for digitally printed wallpapers in this region. Also, the improved economic conditions in emerging nations, industrialization and urbanization as well as the growing disposable income of individuals may accelerate the growth of digitally printed wallpaper market in this region.



In addition, the North America is another leading market with the increase in adoption of these wallpapers in residential housing sectors, due to the significant growth in the demand for single family homes. The growing demand for digitally printed wallpapers from commercial sector like businesses, hotels, restaurants drive the target market growth in this region.



Market Key Players

Some key players are listed in this report such as A.S. Cration Tapeten, 4walls, Asheu Wallpaper Factory, Caspar, Flavor Paper, Color X, Ecosse Signs, Graham & Brown, Great Wall Custom Coverings, Hollywood Monster Ltd, etc.

Key Questions Addressed by the Report

What are the Key Opportunities in Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market?

What will be the growth rate from 2019 to 2027?

Which segment/region will have highest growth?

What are the factors that will impact/drive the Market?

What is the competitive Landscape in the Industry?

What is the role of key players in the value chain?

What are the strategies adopted by key players?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary



4 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Outlook

4.1 Overview

4.2 Market Dynamics

4.2.1 Drivers

4.2.2 Restraints

4.2.3 Opportunities

4.3 Porters Five Force Model

4.4 Value Chain Analysis



5 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market, By Technology

5.1 Y-o-Y Growth Comparison, By Technology

5.2 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Share Analysis, By Technology

5.3 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Size and Forecast, By Technology

5.3.1 Inkjet

5.3.2 Electro-Photography



6 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market, By Paper Type

6.1 Y-o-Y Growth Comparison, By Paper Type

6.2 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Share Analysis, By Paper Type

6.3 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Size and Forecast, By Paper Type

6.3.1 Coated Paper

6.3.2 Nonwoven

6.3.3 Vinyl

6.3.4 Others



7 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market, By Application

7.1 Y-o-Y Growth Comparison, By Application

7.2 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Share Analysis, By Application

7.3 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Size and Forecast, By Application

7.3. 1 Residential

7.3.2 Commercial

7.3.3 Automotive & Transportation



8 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market, By Region

8.1 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Share Analysis, By Region

8.2 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Share Analysis, By Region

8.3 Global Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Size and Forecast, By Region



9 North America Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Analysis and Forecast (2020-2027)



10 Europe Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Analysis and Forecast (2020-2027)

11 Asia Pacific Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Analysis and Forecast (2020-2027)



12 Latin America Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Analysis and Forecast (2020-2027)



13 Middle East Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market Analysis and Forecast (2020-2027)



14 Competitive Analysis

14.1 Competition Dashboard

14.2 Market share Analysis of Top Vendors

14.3 Key Development Strategies



15 Company Profiles

15.1 A.S. Cration Tapeten

15.1.1 Overview

15.1.2 Offerings

15.1.3 Key Financials

15.1.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.1.5 Key Market Developments

15.1.6 Key Strategies

15.2. 4walls

15.2.1 Overview

15.2.2 Offerings

15.2.3 Key Financials

15.2.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.2.5 Key Market Developments

15.2.6 Key Strategies

15.3. Asheu Wallpaper Factory

15.3.1 Overview

15.3.2 Offerings

15.3.3 Key Financials

15.3.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.3.5 Key Market Developments

15.3.6 Key Strategies

15.4 Caspar

15.4.1 Overview

15.4.2 Offerings

15.4.3 Key Financials

15.4.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.4.5 Key Market Developments

15.4.6 Key Strategies

15.5 Flavor Paper

15.5.1 Overview

15.5.2 Offerings

15.5.3 Key Financials

15.5.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.5.5 Key Market Developments

15.5.6 Key Strategies

15.6 Color X

15.6.1 Overview

15.6.2 Offerings

15.6.3 Key Financials

15.6.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.6.5 Key Market Developments

15.6.6 Key Strategies

15.7 Ecosse Signs

15.7.1 Overview

15.7.2 Offerings

15.7.3 Key Financials

15.7.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.7.5 Key Market Developments

15.7.6 Key Strategies

15.8 Graham & Brown

15.8.1 Overview

15.8.2 Offerings

15.8.3 Key Financials

15.8.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.8.5 Key Market Developments

15.8.6 Key Strategies

15.9 Great Wall Custom Coverings

15.9.1 Overview

15.9.2 Offerings

15.9.3 Key Financials

15.9.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.9.5 Key Market Developments

15.9.6 Key Strategies

15.10 Hollywood Monster Ltd

15.10.1 Overview

15.10.2 Offerings

15.10.3 Key Financials

15.10.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview

15.10.5 Key Market Developments

15.10.6 Key Strategies



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rrcnqu

Attachment
Dublin, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Carrier Screening Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Type, Product, Carrier Screening Type, Technology, Indication, and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2021-2031" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global carrier screening market is projected to reach $4,479.0 million by 2031, growing from $1,187.4 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 12.67% during the forecast period 2021-2031.

The carrier screening market is an emerging market with huge growth potential. Recent technological advancements are facilitating the adoption of the technology at a rapid pace. Carrier screening are genetic tests that are used for determining if a person is a potential carrier of genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis (CF), Down's syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, sickle cell anemia, and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Carrier screening tests are extensively used by couples considering becoming pregnant to determine the risks of passing genetic anomalies to the child. This study aims at deciphering the potential of carrier screening and its larger role in bolstering the current era of precision medicine in the field of reproductive health.

The growth of the carrier screening market is expected to be driven by the decrease in the cost of sequencing, rising emphasis on early detection and prevention of complex genetic disorders, and increasing maternal age leading to pregnancy complications.

However, there are significant challenges restraining the market growth, such as the regulatory challenges in the field of carrier screening, and the lack of high complexity testing centers. Carrier screening is a hereditary test that gives information about whether a person carries a gene for certain genetic disorders. It is performed before or during pregnancy times. Carrier screening allows a person to find out the chances of having a child with a genetic disorder. Carrier screening involves testing blood, saliva, or tissue extracted from inside the cheeks. In cases of genetic disorders, a person should have two affected genes to have the disorder.

A person who is a carrier has only one gene for a disorder and usually does not have symptoms or have only mild symptoms. The current market for carrier screening is majorly dominated by manufacturers and service providers such as BGI Group, CENTOGENE N.V., Eurofins Scientific, Fulgent Genetics, Inc., Gene by Gene, Ltd., Illumina, Inc., Invitae Corporation, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Myriad Genetics, Inc., Natera, Inc., OPKO Health, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, Sema4, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Yourgene Health Plc.

Key Questions Answered in this Report:

How is carrier screening revolutionizing the field of reproductive health?

What are the major market drivers, challenges, and opportunities in the global carrier screening market?

What are the underlying structures resulting in the emerging trends within the global carrier screening market?

How is the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the global carrier screening ecosystem?

What are the key development strategies that the major players are implementing in order to sustain themselves in the competitive market?

What are the key regulatory implications in developed and developing regions pertaining to the use of carrier screening?

What are the potential entry barriers expected to be faced by the companies willing to enter a particular region?

How is each market segment expected to grow during the forecast period 2021-2031, and what is the anticipated revenue to be generated by each segment?

What are the growth opportunities for the carrier screening companies in the region of their operation?

Who are the leading players with significant offerings in the global carrier screening market?

Which companies are anticipated to be highly disruptive in the future, and why?

Key Topics Covered:

1 Market

1.1 Product Definition

1.1.1 Inclusion and Exclusion

1.2 Market Scope

1.2.1 Scope of the Study

1.2.2 Key Questions Answered in the Report

1.3 Research Methodology

1.3.1 Global Carrier Screening Market: Research Methodology

1.3.2 Data Sources

1.3.2.1 Primary Data Sources

1.3.2.2 Secondary Data Sources

1.3.3 Market Estimation Model

1.3.4 Criteria for Company Profiling

1.4 Market Overview

1.4.1 Emerging Applications of Carrier Screening

1.4.2 Appropriate Use Criteria

1.4.2.1 Carrier Screening for Familial Disease

1.4.2.1.1 Fragile X Syndrome (FXS)

1.4.2.2 Carrier Screening for Common and Ethnic Genetic Diseases

1.4.2.2.1 Cystic Fibrosis

1.4.2.2.2 Spinal Muscular Atrophy

1.4.2.2.3 Hemoglobinopathy

1.4.2.2.4 Ashkenazi Jewish Carrier Screening

1.4.2.3 Other Ethnicities

1.4.3 Market Footprint and Growth Potential

1.4.4 Disruption in Global Carrier Screening Market Due to COVID-19

1.4.5 Navigating Crisis Recovery and Looking to the Future

2 Industry Analysis

2.1 Overview

2.2 Legal Requirements and Framework in the U.S.

2.2.1 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

2.2.2 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG)

2.2.3 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

2.3 Legal Requirements and Framework in Europe

2.4 Legal Requirements and Framework in Asia-Pacific

2.4.1 China

2.4.2 Japan

2.5 Reimbursement Analysis

3 Market Dynamics

3.1 Overview

3.2 Impact Analysis

3.3 Market Drivers

3.3.1 Decreasing Cost of Sequencing

3.3.2 Rising Emphasis on Early Detection and Prevention of Complex Genetic Disorders

3.3.3 Increasing Maternal Age Leading to Pregnancy Complications

3.3.4 Rising Funding and Innovation in the Carrier Screening Ecosystem

3.4 Market Restraints

3.4.1 Regulatory Challenges in the Field of Carrier Screening

3.4.2 Lack of High Complexity Testing Centers

3.4.3 Existing Diagnostic Confidence on Conventional Screening Methods

3.5 Market Opportunities

3.5.1 Massive Scope for Adoption of Carrier Screening in Developing Nations

4 Competitive Landscape

4.1 Overview

4.2 Product Launches

4.3 Synergistic Activities

4.4 Acquisitions

4.5 Product Approvals and Fundings

4.6 Market Share Analysis, 2019-2020

4.7 Growth Share Analysis

5 Type, $Million, 2020 - 2031

5.1 Overview

5.2 Expanded Carrier Screening

5.2.1 Customized Panel Testing

5.2.2 Predesigned Panel Testing

5.3 Targeted Carrier Screening

6 Product, $Million, 2020 - 2031

6.1 Overview

6.2 In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD)

6.3 Laboratory Developed Tests (LDT)

7 Carrier Screening Type, $Million, 2020-2031

7.1 Overview

7.2 Prenatal Carrier Screening

7.2.1 IVDs

7.2.2 LDTs

7.3 Preconception Carrier Screening

7.3.1 IVDs

7.3.2 LDTs

8 Technology, $Million, 2020 - 2031

8.1 Overview

8.2 Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)

8.3 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

8.3.1 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)

8.3.2 Digital PCR (dPCR)

8.4 Microarray

8.5 Other Technologies

9 Indication, $Million, 2020 - 2031

9.1 Overview

9.2 Fragile X syndrome

9.3 Cystic Fibrosis

9.4 Spinal Muscular Atrophy

9.5 Down's Syndrome

9.6 Thalassemia

9.7 Tay-Sachs Disease

9.8 Huntington's Disease

9.9 Sickle Cell Anemia

9.10 Hemophilia

9.11 Other Indication

10 Region, $Million, 2020-2031

10.1 Overview

10.2 North America

10.2.1 U.S.

10.2.2 Canada

10.3 Europe

10.3.1 Germany

10.3.2 France

10.3.3 U.K.

10.3.4 Italy

10.3.5 Spain

10.3.6 Netherlands

10.3.7 Denmark

10.3.8 Belgium

10.3.9 Switzerland

10.3.10 Rest-of-Europe

10.4 Asia-Pacific

10.4.1 China

10.4.2 Japan

10.4.3 India

10.4.4 South Korea

10.4.5 Australia

10.4.6 Singapore

10.4.7 Rest-of-Asia-Pacific (RoAPAC)

10.5 Latin America

10.5.1 Brazil

10.5.2 Mexico

10.5.3 Rest-of-Latin America (RoLA)

10.6 Rest-of-the-World

10.6.1 Middle East

10.6.2 Rest-of-Rest-of-the-World

11 Company Profiles

11.1 Overview

11.2 BGI Group

11.2.1 Company Overview

11.2.2 Role of BGI Group in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.2.3 SWOT Analysis

11.3 CENTOGENE N.V.

11.3.1 Company Overview

11.3.2 Role of CENTOGENE N.V. in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.3.3 Financials

11.3.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.3.5 SWOT Analysis

11.4 Eurofins Scientific

11.4.1 Company Overview

11.4.2 Role of Eurofins Scientific in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.4.3 Financials

11.4.4 SWOT Analysis

11.5 Fulgent Genetics, Inc.

11.5.1 Company Overview

11.5.2 Role of Fulgent Genetics, Inc. in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.5.3 Financials

11.5.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.5.5 SWOT Analysis

11.6 Gene by Gene, Ltd.

11.6.1 Company Overview

11.6.2 Role of Gene by Gene, Ltd. in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.6.3 SWOT Analysis

11.7 Illumina, Inc.

11.7.1 Company Overview

11.7.2 Role of Illumina, Inc. in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.7.3 Financials

11.7.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.7.5 SWOT Analysis

11.8 Invitae Corporation

11.8.1 Company Overview

11.8.2 Role of Invitae Corporation in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.8.3 Financials

11.8.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.8.5 SWOT Analysis

11.9 Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

11.9.1 Company Overview

11.9.2 Role of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.9.3 Financials

11.9.2 SWOT Analysis

11.10 Myriad Genetics, Inc.

11.10.1 Company Overview

11.10.2 Role of Myriad Genetics, Inc. in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.10.3 Financials

11.10.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.10.5 SWOT Analysis

11.11 Natera, Inc.

11.11.1 Company Overview

11.11.2 Role of Natera, Inc. in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.11.3 Financials

11.11.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.11.5 SWOT Analysis

11.12 OPKO Health

11.12.1 Company Overview

11.12.2 Role of OPKO Health in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.12.3 Financials

11.12.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.12.5 SWOT Analysis

11.13 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated

11.13.1 Company Overview

11.13.2 Role of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.13.3 Financials

11.13.4 SWOT Analysis

11.14 Sema4

11.14.1 Company Overview

11.14.2 Role of Sema4 in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.14.3 SWOT Analysis

11.15 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

11.15.1 Company Overview

11.15.2 Role of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.15.3 Financials

11.15.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.15.5 SWOT Analysis

11.16 Yourgene Health Plc

11.16.1 Company Overview

11.16.2 Role of Yourgene Health Plc in the Global Carrier Screening Market

11.16.3 Financials

11.16.4 Key Insights About Financial Health of the Company

11.16.5 SWOT Analysis

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1suy4h

Attachment
Dublin, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Complementary And Alternative Medicine For Anti Aging & Longevity Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Intervention (Botanicals, Mind Healing), by Customer, by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2021-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global complementary and alternative medicine for anti aging and longevity market size is expected to reach USD 182.9 billion by 2028. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 22.2% from 2021 to 2028.

Growing household income in developed countries, acceptance of herbal and ayurvedic medicine, and increasing age-related diseases have majorly the market for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for anti aging and longevity.



In the traditional alternative medicine/botanicals intervention segment, Ayurveda led the market in 2020 as cosmetic market players are involved in the R&D of Ayurveda-based anti-aging cosmeceuticals. The mind healing segment is expected to witness steady growth from 2021 to 2028 due to the rising acceptance of meditation and mindfulness in corporate offices.

The sensory healing segment is expected to expand at a considerable CAGR over the forecast period due to the increasing popularity in hospitals and clinics. For instance, in October 2021, Spatial, an audio platform, partnered with HealthTune scientific and Catalyst by Wellstar to use sensory healing to reduce stress and anxiety of frontline healthcare workers.



Ayurveda is acknowledged as a medicine in 16 countries including Brazil, Switzerland, Hungary, Nepal, Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Whilst, some regions such as Romania, Hungary, Ontario, and Turkey regulate ayurvedic practices. In the U.K., it is a part of the National Health Policy.

Thus, increasing acceptance of ayurvedic medicine is expected to drive the complementary and alternative medicine market to a major extent. In addition, insurance coverage by public and private players is anticipated to fuel market growth.



COVID-19 has become a catalyst for the implementation of CAM therapies in day-to-day life. Owing to the pandemic, online yoga classes witnessed a 25% increase in enrollment level.

Similarly, in the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for yoga equipment accelerated by154%. Key players and governing regulatory bodies are undertaking various strategic initiatives such as regional expansion to develop their presence in the market.



Complementary And Alternative Medicine For Anti Aging & Longevity Market Report Highlights

By intervention, the traditional alternative medicine/botanicals segment held the largest revenue share in 2020. It is expected to maintain the trend in the forecast period owing to the increasing use of spiritual techniques as well as herbal medicines in disease management across the globe

Based on the customer, high net worth (HNW) individuals held the second-largest revenue share in 2020 owing to high disposable income and better awareness regarding CAM therapies in the space of anti aging and longevity

Europe emerged as the highest revenue-generating region in 2020 owing to high disposable income countries, increasing popularity of CAM modalities, and aging population

MEA is anticipated to expand at the highest CAGR throughout the forecast period. It is anticipated that Kuwait and Qatar are majorly contributing to the regional market growth

In June 2021, the government of India launched the "mYoga" application, developed by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Ministry of Ayush in partnership with the WHO. The app contains the practice and training audios and videos based on Common Yoga Protocol. The objective is to promote one world, one health

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1 Methodology And Scope



Chapter 2 Executive Summary



Chapter 3 Market Variables, Trends, & Scope

3.1 Market Lineage Outlook

3.1.1 Parent Market Outlook

3.1.2 Related/Ancillary Market Outlook

3.2 Market Dynamic

3.2.1 Market Driver Analysis

3.2.1.1 Increasing aging population and related diseases

3.2.1.2 Increasing awareness of traditional medicines

3.2.1.3 Government Initiatives and Encouraging Regulation

3.2.2 Market Restraints

3.2.2.1 FDA and medically approved drugs for aging

3.2.2.2 Target anti-aging related diseases indirectly (not the primary solution)

3.2.3 Market Opportunity

3.2.3.1 Development of Meditation centers

3.2.4 Market Threat

3.2.4.1 Rising consumption of anti age cosmetics

3.3 Penetration and Growth Prospect Mapping for Test Type 2020 (USD Million)

3.4 COVID-19 Impact Analysis

3.5 Business Environment Analysis

3.5.1 Swot Analysis; By Factor (Political & Legal, Economic And Technological)

3.5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

3.6 Pricing Analysis

3.7 Antiaging Medicine

3.7.1 Integrative Medicine

3.7.2 Holistic Medicine

3.7.3 Functional Medicine

3.7.4 Nutritional Therapy

3.7.5 Exercise Therapy

3.7.6 Mental Therapy



Chapter 4 Intervention Business Analysis

4.1 Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market for Antiaging and Longevity: Intervention Movement Analysis

4.2 Traditional Alternative Medicine/Botanicals

4.2.1 Global Traditional Alternative Medicine/Botanicals Market For Antiaging And Longevity Estimates And Forecast, 2017-2028 (USD Million)

4.2.2 Ayurveda

4.2.3 Naturopathic Medicine

4.2.4 Traditional Chinese Medicine

4.2.5 Zang Fu Theory

4.3 Body Healing

4.3.1 Global Body Healing Cam Market For Antiaging And Longevity Estimates And Forecast, 2017-2028 (USD Million)

4.3.2 Yoga

4.3.3 Acupuncture & Massage

4.3.4 Chiropractic

4.3.5 Qigong & Tai Chi

4.3.6 Kinesiology

4.3.7 Reflexology

4.3.8 Eurythmy

4.4 Mind Healing

4.4.1 Global Mind Healing Based Market For Antiaging And Longevity Estimates And Forecast, 2017-2028 (USD Million)

4.4.2 Meditation & Mindfulness

4.4.3 Relaxation

4.5 External Energy Healing

4.5.1 Global External Energy Healing Based Market For Antiaging And Longevity Estimates And Forecast, 2017-2028 (USD Million)

4.5.2 Magnetic & Electromagnetic Therapy

4.5.3 Chakra Healing

4.5.4 Reiki

4.6 Sensory Healing

4.6.1 Global Sensory Healing Based Market For Antiaging And Longevity Estimates And Forecast, 2017-2028 (USD Million)

4.6.2 Aromatherapy

4.6.3 Sound Healing



Chapter 5 Customers Business Analysis

5.1 Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market for Antiaging and Longevity: Customer Movement Analysis

5.2 High net worth (HNW) individuals

5.3 Very high net worth (VHNW) individuals

5.4 Ultra-High Net Worth (Uhnw) Individuals



Chapter 6 Regional Business Analysis



Companies Mentioned

Centre Chiropractic De La Colonne Vertebrale

Anadolu Medical Center

Sinomedica

Acupuncture Enfants

Ayurveda Kuwait

Maya Reiki School

Maylilacs

Al Zuhair Holistic Medicine Center

Ayurmana By Dharma Ayurveda

Trinicum

Miskawaan Health Group

Therme Wien

Healthpi

Vivamayr

Optimal Spine And Joint Center

First Chiropractic Centre

Lama Polyclinic Llc

Al Manar Ayurvedic Center

American Chiropractic Center

Qatar Chiropractic & Physiotherapy Clinic

Satyamani

Elixir Health Center

Acupuncture.Paris (Anabel Chantellier)

Transforma Health

Swiss Ayurvedic Medical Academy

Clinic Les Alpes

Paracelsus Klinik Lustmuhle Ag

Swiss Alternative Medicine

Turnpaugh Health & Wellness

The Center For Natural And Integrative Medicine

Angel Longevity Medical Center

Peaks Of Health Metabolic Medical Center

Jscm Tcm Clinic

London Hydrotherapy

Ming Chen Clinic

Ukacupuncture Clinic

Bionorica Se

Weg Der Mitte

Pascoe Natural Medicine

Brixsana Private Clinic

Homeopathy Vescovio Center

Sha Wellness Clinic

Sukha Ayurveda

Sarria Quiropractica

Natural Healing Acupuncture Medical Center

Kindcare Medical Center

Cure

Aviv Clinics

Seva Experience

Bahrain Hospital & Health Resort

Intouch Clinic

International Chinese Body Care Houses

Doha Chiropractic Center

Specialized Medical Center Hospital

Fakeeh.Care

Almoyassar Physical Therapy Center

Muroona Clinic & Fitness

Terme Di Riolo Srl

Mei Spa

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fee7xb





Attachment
TORONTO, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX:WM, OTCQX:WLBMF) (Wallbridge or the Company) today announced positive assay results that continue to validate the resource growth potential of the Martiniere Gold Property (Martiniere or the Property), located within the Companys highly prospective, 910-square-kilometre land package on the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend in Northern Abitibi, Quebec.

The results announced today extend gold mineralization at depth and are starting to establish a connection between the Martiniere West and Bug Lake Trends, demonstrating that they are part of a continuous deposit. After completing approximately 9,380 metres in its initial, 2021 drill program at Martiniere, the Company plans to drill approximately 40,000 metres at the Property in 2022 with two drill rigs now mobilized at the site.

With each new set of results, we are increasingly confident in the substantial growth potential of Martiniere, and, combined with our Fenelon project, we see the potential for the emergence of a significant new gold producing district at the heart of our land package in the prolific Abitibi gold belt, said Marz Kord, President and CEO of Wallbridge. Our first drill program at Martiniere, completed in November 2021, has demonstrated the growth potential of this deposit and based on this success, our 2022 program at Martiniere is much larger than last years. We are optimistic that further drilling will continue to prove up the connectivity of these zones, resulting in a more continuous deposit that will allow us to optimize the Martiniere open pit design, strengthen the projects overall economics and deliver the updated mineral resource in 2023.

Martiniere and Fenelon are located close to existing infrastructure, with electricity transmission lines less than 20 kilometers away, and year-round road access on a maintained highway approximately 120 kilometres from air and rail connections in Matagami, Quebec.

Resource Expansion Drill Results

Highlight expansion intersections since the last news release from this program include:

MDE-21-338 46.76 g/t Au over 2.40 metres, including 129.90 g/t Au over 0.85 metre, extending the Martiniere Central

Zone to a vertical depth of 300 metres, 210 metres below the 2021

MRE. Further assays around this interval are pending.





MDE-21-331 77.89 g/t Au over 1.00 metres in the interpreted southeast extension of the Bug Lake North trend and outside of the 2021 MRE.



MDE-21-332 3.18 g/t Au over 9.40 metres, including 7.83 g/t Au over 2.70 metres, extending the Bug Lake North

high-grade shoot by 130 metres along strike to the southeast, outside of

the 2021 MRE.



MDE-21-333 6.99 g/t Au over 4.80 metres, located between the Martiniere Central and the Bug Lake North zones;



MDE-21-336 7.26 g/t Au over 3.60 metres, located between the Martiniere West and the Martiniere Central zones;

Resource In-fill Drill Results

Highlight expansion intersections since the last news release from this program include:



MDE-21-329 2.37 g/t Au over 19.00 metres, including 4.94 g/t Au over 8.10 metres, in the Bug Lake North trend at a

vertical depth of 215 metres.

Assay results from nine drill holes of the 2021 Martiniere drill program are reported in the Table and Figures below. Further assays results are pending for four drill holes of the 2021 program. All figures and a table with drill hole information of recently completed holes are posted on the Companys website under Current Program at https://www.wallbridgemining.com/s/fenelon.asp.



Figures accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/967bc6e1-706d-4e96-8b0c-d1b0c4ae7f92

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8aba7d1f-ec4a-4c26-98bc-1ca0232c1205

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5d2d956e-54aa-43d3-a745-6ed7c6f5c62e

Table 1. Regional Gold Property, Recent Drill Assay Highlights (1) Drill Hole From To Length Au Au Cut(2) VG(3) Zone/Corridor (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) MDE-21-329 260.00 279.00 19.00 2.37 2.37 Bug Lake North Including 260.00 268.10 8.10 4.94 4.94 Bug Lake North MDE-21-331 177.5 178.5 1.00 77.89 35.00 Bug Lake South MDE-21-331 380.50 382.10 1.60 4.99 4.99 Bug Lake South MDE-21-332 232.00 242.00 10.00 0.84 0.84 Bug Lake North MDE-21-332 432.00 441.40 9.40 3.18 3.18 Bug Lake North Including 433.30 436.00 2.70 7.83 7.83 Bug Lake North MDE-21-332 696.25 701.00 4.75 2.37 2.37 Bug Lake South MDE-21-333 95.00 99.80 4.80 6.99 6.99 Bug Lake North MDE-21-333 511.50 514.00 2.50 2.00 2.00 Bug Lake North MDE-21-333 625.00 630.00 5.00 1.22 1.22 VG Bug Lake North MDE-21-334 322.00 325.20 3.20 2.04 2.04 Bug Lake North MDW-21-335 71.25 72.10 0.85 8.84 8.84 Martiniere Central MDW-21-336 91.00 94.60 3.60 7.26 7.26 VG Martiniere West Including 91.00 92.10 1.10 15.98 15.98 Martiniere West MDE-21-337 152.00 155.75 3.75 3.26 3.26 Bug Lake North MDE-21-337 465.50 473.00 7.50 0.69 0.69 Bug Lake North MDE-21-337 713.50 716.50 3.00 2.29 2.29 Bug Lake North MDE-21-338 117.50 119.00 1.50 4.23 4.23 Martiniere Central MDE-21-338 396.60 399.00 2.40 46.76 13.15 VG Martiniere Central Including 397.60 398.45 0.85 129.90 35.00 VG Martiniere Central

(1) Table includes only assay results received since the latest press release dated October 26, 2021.

(2) Au cut: High-grade capping is 35g/t Au for all the zones, in accordance with the 2021 MRE.

(3) Intervals containing visible gold ("VG").

(4) Metal factor of at least 5 g/t*m and a minimum weighted average composite grade of 0.40 g/t Au for intervals.

Note: True widths are estimated to be 5080% of the reported core length intervals.

Assay QA/QC and Qualified Persons

Drill core samples from Wallbridges 2021 drill program at Martiniere were cut and bagged on site and transported to Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd. for analysis. Samples, along with standards and blanks that are included for quality assurance and quality control, were prepared and analyzed at the laboratories. Samples are crushed to 90% less than 2mm. A 1kg riffle split is pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns. 50g samples are analyzed by fire assay and AAS. Samples >10g/t Au are automatically analyzed by fire assay with gravimetric finish or screen metallic analysis. To test for coarse free gold and for additional quality assurance and quality control, Wallbridge requests screen metallic analysis for samples containing visible gold. These and future assay results may vary from time to time due to reanalysis for quality assurance and quality control.

The Qualified Person responsible for the technical content of this press release is Peter Lauder, P.Geo, Exploration Manager of Wallbridge.

About Wallbridge Mining

Wallbridge is currently advancing the exploration and development of its 100%owned Fenelon Gold property located along the DetourFenelon Gold Trend, an emerging gold belt in northwestern Quebec. Within three years of the discovery of the Area 51 and Tabasco/Cayenne Zones, through drill programs totaling over 300,000 metres, Wallbridge reached an important milestone by announcing a maiden MRE for Fenelon and an updated MRE for the Martiniere Gold Property totalling 2.67 Moz Au in the indicated category and 1.72 Moz Au in the inferred category (for details of the MREs see Wallbridge press release dated November 9, 2021 and Technical Report filed December 23, 2021 on SEDAR).

Both properties are located on the Companys 910 km2 land package along the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend in Northern Abitibi, Quebec, with significant potential for further discoveries over a 97kilometre strike length of this underexplored belt.

Wallbridge is also the operator of, and a 17.8% shareholder in, Lonmin Canada Inc., a privatelyheld company with a portfolio of nickel, copper, and platinumgroup metals (PGM) projects in Ontario's Sudbury Basin.

This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Wallbridge Mining Company Limited.

For further information please visit the Company's website at www.wallbridgemining.com or contact:

Wallbridge Mining Company Limited

Marz Kord, P. Eng., M. Sc., MBA

President & CEO

Tel: (705) 6829297 ext. 251

Email: mkord@wallbridgemining.com

Victoria Vargas, B.Sc. (Hon.) Economics, MBA

Investor Relations Advisor

Email: vvargas@wallbridgemining.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release of Wallbridge Mining Company Limited ("Wallbridge" or the "Company") contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively, FLI) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. FLI is based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this press release.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are FLI that involve various risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties. Generally, FLI can be identified by the use of statements that include words such as seeks, believes, anticipates, plans, continues, budget, scheduled, estimates, expects, forecasts, intends, projects, predicts, proposes, "potential", targets and variations of such words and phrases, or by statements that certain actions, events or results may, will, could, would, should or might, be taken, occur or be achieved.

FLI herein includes, but is not limited to: future drill results; the Companys ability to convert inferred resources into measured and indicated resources; environmental matters; stakeholder engagement and relationships; parameters and methods used to estimate the mineral resource estimates (each an MRE) at the Fenelon Gold and Martiniere properties (collectively the Deposits); the prospects, if any, of the Deposits; future drilling at the Deposits; and the significance of historic exploration activities and results.

FLI is designed to help you understand managements current views of its near- and longer-term prospects, and it may not be appropriate for other purposes. FLI by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such FLI. Although the FLI contained in this press release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities of the Company that actual results will be consistent with such FLI, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such FLI. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such FLI contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law. Unless otherwise noted, this press release has been prepared based on information available as of the date of this press release. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the FLI or information contained herein.

Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in FLI.

Assumptions upon which FLI is based, without limitation, include: the ability of exploration activities to accurately predict mineralization; the accuracy of geological modelling; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities; the legitimacy of title and property interests in the Deposits; the accuracy of key assumptions, parameters or methods used to estimate the MREs; the ability of the Company to obtain required approvals; the results of exploration activities; the evolution of the global economic climate; metal prices; environmental expectations; community and non-governmental actions; and any impacts of COVID-19 on the Deposits, the Companys financial position, the Companys ability to secure required funding, or operations. Risks and uncertainties about Wallbridge's business are more fully discussed in the disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which are available at www.sedar.com.

Covid19  Given the rapidly evolving nature of the Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic, Wallbridge is actively monitoring the situation in order to continue to maintain as best as possible the activities while striving to protect the health of its personnel. Wallbridge' activities will continue to align with the guidance provided by local, provincial and federal authorities in Canada. The Company has established measures to continue normal activities while protecting the health of its employees and stakeholders. Depending on the evolution of the virus, measures may affect the regular operations of Wallbridge and the participation of staff members in events inside or outside Canada.

Information Concerning Estimates of Mineral Resources

The disclosure in this press release and referred to herein was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 which differs significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The terms "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" used in this press release are in reference to the mining terms defined in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Standards (the "CIM Definition Standards"), which definitions have been adopted by NI 43-101. Accordingly, information contained in this press release providing descriptions of our mineral deposits in accordance with NI 43-101 may not be comparable to similar information made public by other U.S. companies subject to the United States federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral resources will ever be converted into reserves. Pursuant to CIM Definition Standards, "inferred mineral resources" are that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Such geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An inferred mineral resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an indicated mineral resource and must not be converted to a mineral reserve. However, it is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures.

Canadian standards, including the CIM Definition Standards and NI 43-101, differ significantly from standards in the SEC Industry Guide 7. Effective February 25, 2019, the SEC adopted new mining disclosure rules under subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "SEC Modernization Rules"), with compliance required for the first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021. The SEC Modernization Rules replace the historical property disclosure requirements included in SEC Industry Guide 7. As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources". Information regarding mineral resources contained or referenced in this press release may not be comparable to similar information made public by companies that report according to U.S. standards. While the SEC Modernization Rules are purported to be "substantially similar" to the CIM Definition Standards, readers are cautioned that there are differences between the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Definitions Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any mineral resources that the Company may report as "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under NI 43-101 would be the same had the Company prepared the resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.
New York / San Salvador, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (via Blockchain Wire) Chivo, the worlds first national crypto wallet, is now operating with AlphaPoint white label infrastructure. AlphaPoint, which provides fast, scalable financial technology to institutions globally, is helping El Salvador to offer financial services and access to Bitcoin for millions of Salvadorans actively using the wallet.



In September, El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, as the government launched the Chivo wallet to facilitate Bitcoin transactions in the country. The government deposited $30 in Bitcoin in every El Salvadorans Chivo wallet as seed money to propel Bitcoin transactions.



With every McDonalds, Starbucks, Walmart, Airport and Government office in the country already accepting Bitcoin with Chivo, the project has aspirations in the next year to simplify payment of home utilities, taxes, and many other daily transactions in Bitcoin as well. Chivo is also in the process of deploying hundreds of Bitcoin ATMs around the country to more readily serve the Salvadoran population.



AlphaPoint supports the frontend and backend infrastructure that powers the wallet and integrates the entire ecosystem including the mobile application, mobile point-of-sale processing, merchant website portal, call-center support software, and administrative console. Their build focuses heavily on wallet stability and uptime, scalability, and social impact, while also integrating user verification services leveraging machine-learning facial recognition and authentication tools. AlphaPoint also improved the Lightning integration for nearly instantaneous low-fee Bitcoin transactions via QR and Lightning addresses.



Chivo is the largest fintech application in the country and is providing infrastructure to bring the 70 percent unbanked population of the country into the financial ecosystem. The AlphaPoint-powered wallet facilitated millions of transactions last month alone, with more businesses enabling transactions every day. The wallet is free to use for all Salvadorans, with zero commissions.



El Salvador and President Bukele are truly leading globally with this first major experiment in Bitcoin adoption at a country-wide level, Igor Telyatnikov, Co-founder and CEO of AlphaPoint said, No one else has attempted to execute a project of this size. We at AlphaPoint are honored to be involved in the process and provide the scalable and reliable solutions needed for this massive undertaking. The Chivo application is currently supporting millions of Salvadorans, many for their first time accessing financial services.



AlphaPoint was the first white label marketplace provider in the cryptocurrency industry and has been a trusted solution for large-scale institutional-grade exchange infrastructure for more than eight years. It is considered a foundational member of the industry with focused priorities in scalability, security, and flexibility to serve clients around the world.



About AlphaPoint

AlphaPoint is a white-label marketplace software company powering digital asset exchanges worldwide. Through its secure, scalable, and customizable digital asset trading platform, AlphaPoint has enabled over 150 customers in 35 countries to launch and operate digital asset markets, as well as to digitize assets. AlphaPoint and its award-winning blockchain technology have helped startups and institutions discover and execute their blockchain strategies since 2013.

https://alphapoint.com
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Splash Beverage Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SBEV) ("Splash" or the "Company"), a portfolio company of leading beverage brands, today announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Tri County Beverage in Michigan to distribute TapouT through suburbs of Detroit.

Tri County Beverage, headquartered in Warren, Michigan was created in 1994 though it can trace its roots back to 1958. The company today services Oakland and Macomb Counties with annual sales of 3 million cases.

Our footprint continues to expand with this latest distribution agreement, said Robert Nistico, Splash Beverage Groups Chairman and CEO. This brings to five the number of significant distribution agreements weve signed since the November announcement of our agreement with AB ONE. This latest agreement is unique in that it reflects Tri Countys strategy to expand their distribution into hydration drinks, and TapouT will be among their flagship products. There are more than 2 million people living in the Detroit suburbs within Oakland and Macomb Counties, so this is another opportunity for Splash to see some significant growth.

Follow Splash Beverage Group on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SplashBev

About Splash Beverage Group, Inc.

Splash Beverage Group, an innovator in the beverage industry, owns a growing portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage brands including Copa di Vino wine by the glass, SALT flavored tequilas, Pulpoloco sangria, and TapouT performance hydration and recovery drink. Splashs strategy is to rapidly develop early-stage brands already in its portfolio as well as acquire and then accelerate brands that have high visibility or are innovators in their categories. Led by a management team that has built and managed some of the top brands in the beverage industry and led sales from product launch into the billions, Splash is rapidly expanding its brand portfolio and global distribution.

For more information visit:

www.SplashBeverageGroup.com

www.copadivino.com

www.drinksalttequila.com

www.pulpo-loco.com

www.tapoutdrinks.com

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Words such as expect, estimate, project, budget, forecast, anticipate, intend, plan, may, will, could, should, believes, predicts, potential, continue and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements and factors that may cause such differences include, without limitation, the risks disclosed in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 8, 2021, and in the Companys other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Contact Information:

Splash Beverage Group

Info@SplashBeverageGroup.com

954-745-5815

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Needham, MA, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- International Data Group, Inc. (IDG)  a global leader in market intelligence and demand generation solutions for the technology sector  today announced the creation of a new board of directors. The new board includes Peter Wallace and Vikram Suresh from Blackstone, as well as the company's CEO Mohamad Ali. Four additional independent board members from critical industries for IDG, including marketing technology, data and finance will also be added to the new board. They include:



Steve Singh, former Chairman and CEO of Concur and former Member of the Executive Board of SAP, who will join as Chairman

Scott McCorkle, CEO at MetaCX and former CEO of Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Carrie Teffner, former CFO of multiple public companies including Crocs and PetSmart

Al Zollar, former senior executive at IBM and former board member of RedHat.

At IDG, we're building the premier market intelligence and demand generation platform for the technology ecosystem around two core connected businesses  IDC and IDG Communications, said Mohamad Ali, CEO of IDG. Our new board members add an impressive combination of corporate leadership, technology depth and finance expertise. These skills will guide us as we further expand our platforms to serve the broad needs for technology-related intelligence and demand across multiple industries.

"It's a new era in IDG's 57-year history, said board chairman, Steve Singh. As the world has changed, so has IDG. Today, its a technology and intelligence company that blends its proprietary datasets of two billion market-points with a one-of-a-kind network of 350 million technology buyers to drive performance for the worlds leading B2B brands. It's a remarkable company that has reinvented itself multiple times over the last six decades, and always in the right direction. Its only fitting that the company is guided by such a knowledgeable group of industry leaders.

Over the last 18 months, IDG has seen dramatic organic growth and has also expanded its existing technology platforms with four software and data acquisitions. These acquisitions demonstrate the companys commitment to building best-in-class, proprietary market intelligence and marketing technology solutions between its two businesses. The IDG Communications MarTech stack  built by and for marketers  includes an ABM platform, Triblio; a marketing data and intelligence solution, KickFire; and a B2B sales and marketing data intent platform, LeadSift. These are already integrated into IDGs dataset and iconic tech editorial-branded sites. Meanwhile, IDC acquired Metri, a data-driven IT benchmarking, sourcing and performance measurement firm.

In the coming months, IDG is expected to supplement its strong organic growth with additional acquisitions to expand the ways its data solutions and marketing platform help B2B marketers identify and drive desirable audiences and leads into their pipeline.

The buying journey for B2B technology purchases are extremely complex and involve multiple decision-makers, said new board member, Scott McCorkle. With its trusted editorial brands, wealth of first-party data and growing MarTech stack, no company is better positioned to help buyers at every part of the journey than IDG. Im excited to support them in this exciting new chapter.

About IDG, Inc.



International Data Group, Inc. (IDG) is at the heart of technology, and we believe technology exists to make the world a better place. IDG has been ingrained in the industry for more than 57 years in every region around the world sharing trusted technology media, events and research through IDC and IDG Communications.

IDCs research, data, advisory services and events leverage more than 1,100 analyst experts worldwide to provide global and local expertise on technology and industry trends in over 110 countries. Our analysis and insight support IT suppliers, IT buyers, business executives, and the investment community in making fact-based technology decisions that help them achieve their business objectives.

IDG Communications is a trusted editorial voice, creating quality content to generate knowledge, engagement, and deep relationships with our community of the most influential technology and security decision-makers. Our premium media brands, including CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, PCWorld, and Tech Hive, engage a quality audience with essential guidance on the evolving technology landscape. Our global brands, proprietary first-party data intelligence, and Triblio platform enable marketers to easily identify purchase intent and activate complex campaigns that drive business results.

Additional information about IDG is available at https://www.IDGInc.com.

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SYDNEY, Australia and OAKVILLE, Ontario, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ANSTO, Australias knowledge centre for nuclear science and technology, and Terrestrial Energy have agreed to explore ANSTO Synroc (synthetic rock) proprietary waste treatment technology for used fuel management.



Under the agreement, ANSTO will provide technical consulting services to Terrestrial Energy for the conditioning of used reactor fuel from the operation of Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) heat and power plants in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and other global markets. Terrestrial Energys IMSR uses molten salt reactor technology, a Generation IV nuclear technology, to produce cost-competitive carbon-free heat for industrial applications and generating electricity.

ANSTO Synroc is an Australian innovation offering a safe, cost-effective solution for the final disposal of complex intermediate and high-level radioactive waste. ANSTO Synroc is based on crystalline or mineral phases that have survived in natural geological environments at elevated temperatures in the presence of water for hundreds of millions of years.

ANSTO Synroc waste treatment technology delivers a tailored wasteform chemistry with associated process technology. These safely and securely accommodate a broad range of wasteforms that meet international requirements for long-term disposal of used reactor fuel. The Synroc innovative nuclear waste treatment technology also significantly reduces the volume of waste for disposal, lowering long-term lifecycle costs.

ANSTO Synrocs team has substantial experience in developing and progressing solutions for used fuel streams, and we are excited to share the benefits of this new Synroc innovation with Terrestrial Energy, said Gerry Triani, Synroc Technical Director at ANSTO. Terrestrial Energys used fuel management program has similarities to the ANSTO Synroc Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility, which will treat the liquid waste from radiopharmaceutical production.

Synroc waste treatment technology delivers the standards of safety and security of IMSR used reactor fuel that society expects and regulators demand. These standards are essential for the expansion of nuclear energy generation to meet the challenges of our clean energy transition, Simon Irish, Chief Executive Officer of Terrestrial Energy, said of the partnership. In many ways, this technology completes the IMSRs fuel cycle, from rock to clean energy production, and back to rock again, and from where we drew inspiration when naming the company, Terrestrial Energy.

The development of the ANSTO Synroc Facility in Sydney is funded by the Australian Government as part of the ANSTO Nuclear Medicine project. It is intended to lock-up the radioactive byproducts from the production of life-saving radioactive isotopes, used widely in medical imaging for the diagnosis of many diseases.

About Terrestrial Energy

Terrestrial Energy is a developer of small and modular nuclear power plants that use its proprietary Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) technology. The IMSR is a non-Light Water Reactor that uses Generation IV technology to generate electricity 50 percent more efficiently than conventional nuclear reactor technology. The IMSR represents a step-change improvement in economics, versatility and functionality of nuclear power plants that is possible only through Generation IV technology. IMSR power plants will provide resilient, reliable, dispatchable, zero-carbon and cost-competitive electric power, as well as high-grade industrial heat for use in many industrial applications, such as chemical synthesis, hydrogen production and desalination, and in so doing extend the application of nuclear energy far beyond electric power markets. IMSR power plants have the potential to make important contributions to industrial competitiveness, energy security, and economic growth. Their deployment will support rapid global decarbonization of the primary energy system by displacing fossil fuel combustion across a broad spectrum and can scale to meet net-zero policy goals of major industrial economies. Using an innovative design, and proven and demonstrated molten salt reactor technology, Terrestrial Energy is engaged with regulators and industrial partners to complete IMSR engineering and to commission the first IMSR power plants within a decade.

About ANSTO

ANSTO is one of Australias largest public research organisations and is widely recognised as an international player in the field of nuclear science and technology. Its vision is to be a global nuclear science, research, and engineering partner, with a reputation for tackling complex problems and delivering outcomes to create a more sustainable world. ANSTO works across areas such as health, the environment, and the nuclear fuel cycle to find solutions to some of the biggest questions in science for the benefit of all Australians. ANSTO also provides the Australian and international community with products and services to improve human health, support industry, and protect the environment.




Dublin, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Defibrillator Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Product (ICDs, External Defibrillators), by End Use (Hospital, Pre Hospital, Public Access Market, Alternate Care Market, Home Healthcare), by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global defibrillator market size is expected to reach USD 20.6 billion by 2030. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.0% from 2022 to 2030.

The key drivers for this market include supportive regulatory policies, rising incidences of sudden cardiac arrests, product developments, and rising awareness regarding cardiac conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, gave rise to several challenges such as dampened demand for ICDs, logistical bottlenecks, postponed elective surgeries across the globe, and reduced sales growth.



The demand for ICDs plunged during 2020 as governments in many key markets implemented movement restrictions and hospitals deferred elective procedures. The sales recovered gradually as movement restrictions were eased and elective procedure volume went up. For instance, Abbott reported a decline in demand and sales of its cardiovascular and neuromodulation portfolio in 2020. Abbott attributed the sales decrease to reduced procedure volumes resulting from the pandemic.



The rising demand to develop solutions to improve sudden cardiac arrests response and the need to improve patient outcomes is expected to drive innovation in implantable as well as external defibrillators product segments. Innovation in the implantable defibrillators segments is driven by product advancements in subcutaneous and transvenous devices to increase device safety and efficacy. Integration of digital technologies such as analytics and tracking software is expected to drive the development in the external defibrillators segments. Other emerging technological trends include developments in personal AEDs for use in home settings, improvements in tracking technology for AEDs, the use of drones to deliver devices to care sites, and the use of IoT.



Major market players are focused on launching technologically advanced products and collaborations to enhance their presence. For instance, in July 2020, Zoll Medical Corporation launched a new remote view technology feature on its X Series monitor/defibrillator. This enhanced the existing product portfolio. In 2020, the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) launched a project in collaboration with Everdrone and Schiller to understand and explore the possibilities of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for emergency medical deliveries. The AEDs used were provided by Schiller, thus strengthening the company's market presence.



Defibrillators Market Report Highlights

North America held the largest revenue share in 2021 due to the advanced healthcare infrastructure, supportive policies driving adoption of public access AEDs, and deeper penetration of the technologically advanced devices

Asia Pacific is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 7.9% over the forecast period owing to the high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in China and India and increasing healthcare expenditure

The industry participants are focusing on investing in acquisitions, collaborations, product launches, and partnerships to gain a competitive edge in the market

Some of the leading players in the market are headquartered in Asia such as Asahi Kasei, Nihon Kohden, and Microport, thus contributing to the regional market growth

Europe held a significant revenue share in 2021 owing to initiatives by key companies and well-established healthcare infrastructure

For instance, in January 2020, Medtronic received the CE mark for its Cobalt and Crome lineup of defibrillators. This extended the company's cardiac solutions offerings and enabled it to commercialize the products across Europe

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1 Methodology and Scope



Chapter 2 Executive Summary

Chapter 3 Defibrillators Market Variables, Trends & Scope

3.1 Market Lineage Outlook

3.1.1. Parent Market Outlook

3.1.2. Related/Ancillary Market Outlook

3.2. Penetration & Growth Prospect Mapping, 2021

3.3 Defibrillators Market Dynamics

3.3.1 Market driver analysis

3.3.2 Market restraint analysis

3.3.3. Market opportunity analysis

3.3.4. Market challenge analysis

3.4 Defibrillators Market Analysis Tools: Porters

3.4.1 Supplier Power

3.4.2. Buyer Power

3.4.3. Substitution Threat

3.4.4. Threat of New Entrants

3.4.5. Competitive Rivalry

3.5 Defibrillators Industry Analysis-PEST (Political & Legal, Economic, Social, and Technological)

3.5.1 Political/Legal Landscape

3.5.2 Economic Landscape

3.5.3 Social Landscape

3.5.4 Technology Landscape

3.6. Regulatory Landscape

3.7. Public Access Defibrillation Programs

3.8. ICDs Product Performance Analysis

3.9. Technology Trend Analysis

3.10. Pricing Analysis



Chapter 4 COVID-19 Impact Analysis

4.1 COVID-19 Prevalence Analysis

4.2. Current and future impact analysis

4.3. Impact on Market Players



Chapter 5 Defibrillators Market: Segment Analysis, By Product, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.1 Product Market Share Analysis, 2021 & 2030

5.2 Defibrillators market, by Product, 2017 to 2030

5.3 ImplanTable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD)

5.3.1 ImplanTable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD) market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.3.2 S-ICD

5.3.2.1 S-ICD market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.3.3 T-ICD

5.3.3.1 T-ICD market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.3.3.2 Single Chamber

5.3.3.2.1 Single Chamber market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.3.3.3 Dual Chamber

5.3.3.3.1 Dual Chamber market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.3.3.4 CRT-D

5.3.3.4.1 CRT-D market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.4 External Defibrillators

5.4.1 External Defibrillators market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.4.2 Manual ED

5.4.2.1 Manual ED market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.4.3 Automated ED

5.4.3.1 Automated ED market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

5.4.4 Wearable cardioverter defibrillators

5.4.4.1 Wearable cardioverter defibrillators market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)



Chapter 6 Defibrillators Market: Segment Analysis, By End Use, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

6.1 End-use Market Share Analysis, 2021 & 2030

6.2 Defibrillators Market, by End Use, 2017 to 2030

6.3 Hospital

6.3.1 Hospital market, 2017-2030 (USD Million)

6.4 Pre Hospital

6.4.1 Pre Hospital market, 2017-2030 (USD million)

6.5 Public Access Market

6.5.1 Public Access Market, 2017-2030 (USD million)

6.6 Alternate Care Market

6.6.1 Alternate Care Market, 2017-2030 (USD million)

6.7 Home Healthcare

6.7.1 Home Healthcare market, 2017-2030 (USD million)



Chapter 7 Defibrillators Market: Regional Market Analysis 2017-2030 (USD Million)



Chapter 8 Defibrillators Market-Competitive Analysis

8.1 Market Participant Categorization

8.1.1. Company Market Position Analysis

8.1.2. Synergy Analysis: Major Deals & Strategic Alliances

8.1.3. Market Leaders

8.1.4. Innovators

8.2. List of Key Companies



Chapter 9 Defibrillators Market-Company Profiles

9.1 Medtronic

9.1.1 Company overview

9.1.2 Financial performance

9.1.3 Product benchmarking

9.1.4 Strategic initiatives

9.2 Abbott

9.2.1 Company overview

9.2.2 Financial performance

9.2.3 Product benchmarking

9.2.4 Strategic initiatives

9.3 Boston Scientific Corporation

9.3.1 Company overview

9.3.2 Financial performance

9.3.3 Product benchmarking

9.3.4 Strategic initiatives

9.4 BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG

9.4.1 Company overview

9.4.2 Financial performance

9.4.3 Product benchmarking

9.4.4 Strategic initiatives

9.5 MicroPort Scientific Corporation

9.5.1 Company overview

9.5.2 Financial performance

9.5.3 Product benchmarking

9.5.4 Strategic initiatives

9.6 Koninklijke Philips N.V.

9.6.1 Company overview

9.6.2 Financial performance

9.6.3 Product benchmarking

9.6.4 Strategic initiatives

9.7 Stryker

9.7.1 Company overview

9.7.2 Financial performance

9.7.3 Product benchmarking

9.7.4 Strategic initiatives

9.8 ZOLL Medical Corporation (Asahi Kasei)

9.8.1 Company overview

9.8.2 Financial performance

9.8.3 Product benchmarking

9.8.4 Strategic initiatives

9.9 Nihon Kohden Corporation

9.9.1 Company overview

9.9.2 Financial performance

9.9.3 Product benchmarking

9.9.4 Strategic initiatives

9.10 Schiller AG

9.10.1 Company overview

9.10.2 Financial performance

9.10.3 Product benchmarking

9.10.4 Strategic initiatives

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9gz48n

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SEATTLE, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The House of LR&C is introducing its first physical retail location in Seattles only outdoor lifestyle shopping center. With offerings available from the Companys menswear line, Good Man Brand , contemporary womens brand, LITA by Ciara and gender inclusive streetwear line, HUMAN NATION , as well as Russell Wilsons childrens line 3BRAND, the new store will open its doors in U Village on February 2nd at 10am PST.



For us, Seattle is home. Weve seen an incredible amount of support from this community given its home to Russell and Ciara, shares Christine Day, Co-Founder and CEO of The House of LR&C. With strong roots in the city, and our understanding that the future of retail is omnichannel, opening this store is a key step in our go-to-market diversification strategy. Our store will act more like a showroom for people to actually buy in the moment, touch and feel our product, and it will be a place for us to be able to express our whole brand story.

Staying true to the Houses focus on the planet, people and community, the store will also feature a number of upcycled elements including vintage chairs with additional furniture purchased for reuse in future stores. With plans to minimize its footprint the company is leveraging email receipts, and closed loop solutions like recycled paper fiberboard hangers that allow for more product capacity on shelves, and 100% home compostable Biolo shopping bags, available for customers as needed. And similar to online purchases, 3% of the stores net revenue will be donated to Russell Wilson and Ciaras Why Not You Foundation, a local, Seattle nonprofit, dedicated to education, childrens health and fighting poverty, empowering todays youth to lead with a why not you attitude.

U Village is known for showcasing its unique mix of locally-owned boutiques, national retailers, and a distinct collection of restaurants and eateries, said Susie Plummer, Vice President & General Manager at U Village. It seemed like a natural fit for us to partner with such an innovative team for their launch of a physical space.

The new space additionally leans into LR&Cs innovative approach to commerce, by displaying Flowcodes throughout the interior and exterior of the store, optimizing the full omnichannel experience with 24/7/365 commerce and customer engagement. Flowcodes can also unlock technology enabled, unique, branded, in-store AR experiences and offers the Company opportunities for deeper storytelling by providing helpful information and background on clothing, sizing, and more. For orders made via the stores Flowcode, the products can easily be identified and credited back to the store team, allowing employees the chance to receive commission, even with online purchases, removing any barriers to an omnichannel guest experience.

Jim Norton, Chief Revenue Officer at Flowcode commented, "The House of LR&C has always been at the forefront of innovative retail experiences and Flowcode is proud to have been a partner from day one as they reimagine the category with technology and purpose. The Seattle store takes our partnership to new heights by combining the Flowcode and Flowpage products to deliver unique AR and exclusive content experiences.

While the U Village location is the first of its kind for The House of LR&C, more in-person retail experiences are on the horizon with an additional 3 stores planned for 2022. The House of LR&Cs store in U Village is located at 2616 NE Village Ln, Seattle, WA 98105, and will be open 10-8pm PST, Monday through Saturday and 11-6pm PST on Sundays. For more information follow The House of LR&C locations page.

About The House of LR&C

The House of LR&C was built to democratize the retail industry with a mission to impact our people and the planet - change the way we do fashion, make it inclusive and participatory. How we buy. How we source. How we market. Russell Wilson and Ciara combined their passion for design & fashion with the retail expertise of Christine Day, CEO, to create The House of LR&C in 2020. A year that showed the world that genuine compassion, connectivity, and doing good for our planet are table stakes. The House of LR&C brands include Good Man Brand, Human Nation and LITA by Ciara. We are proudly B-Corp Pending and are choosing to live into United Nations Sustainability Principles as our True North. Welcome into The House of LR&C. Visit us at thehouseoflrc.com .

Media Contacts:

ICR Inc.

Brittany Fraser / Sarah Montalto

LRC@icrinc.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3dfad7ad-3c5d-443c-bf33-a5ba7bbe8d7d

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ec816bcc-bfca-455e-9b58-eb882505a10c

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Dublin, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Blockchain in the Aerospace & Defence Market (2021-2026) by End Market, Application, Function, Deployment, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Global Blockchain in Aerospace & Defence Market is estimated to be USD 1.75 Bn in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 6.64 Bn by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 30.55%.



Market Dynamics

Blockchain technology can help in maintaining a well-connected and transparent supply chain in the Aerospace and Defense industry. Rising demand for Blockchain in supply chain management, penetration of digital technologies such as advanced analytics, robotics, and artificial intelligence in the airline industry, and the need to improve the operational efficiencies and automate the processes are some of the factors attributing to the growth of Blockchain in Aerospace and Defence market. The government has also planned to use technology in military applications, and such initiatives on technology support the development of this market.



However, factors like scalability, governance and cost of usage may hinder the market growth.



The Global Blockchain in the Aerospace & Defence market is categorized into segments like End Market, Application, Function, Deployment, and Geography.



Company Profiles

Some of the companies covered in this report are Microsoft Corporation, IBM Corporation, Zamna Technologies Ltd., Aeron Labs, Winding Tree, VeriTX Corporation, Infosys Ltd., Insolar Technologies GmbH, 3IPK, Cryptowerk Corp. Inc., Deutsche Lufthansa AG, KPMG International, etc.



Competitive Quadrant

The report includes the Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc.



Why buy this report?

The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Blockchain in the Aerospace & Defence Market. The information includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies.

The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry.

The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 force model and the Ansoff Matrix. The impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report.

The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies.

The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Report Description



2 Research Methodology



4 Market Influencers

4.1 Drivers

4.1.1 Rising Demand of Blockchain in Supply Chain Management

4.1.2 Penetration of Digital Technologies Such as Advanced Analytics, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence, in the Airline Industry

4.1.3 Need to Improve the Operational Efficiencies and Automate the Processes

4.2 Restraints

4.2.1 Scalability, Governance, and Cost of Usage

4.3 Opportunities

4.3.1 Application in Delay Compensation and Loyalty Points

4.3.2 Analytics to Improve Operational Efficiencies and Automate Repetitive Processes and Payments

4.4 Challenges

4.4.1 Need of Adoption by all Parties of the Process Ecosystem

4.4.2 Application in Delay Compensation and Loyalty Points

5 Market Analysis

5.1 Regulatory Scenario

5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis



6 Global Blockchain in Aerospace & Defence Market, By End Market

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Airports

6.3 Airlines

6.4 MRO

6.5 Manufacturers

6.6 Lessors



7 Global Blockchain in Aerospace & Defence Market, By Application

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Passenger Identity Management

7.3 Cargo & Baggage Tracking

7.4 Frequent Flyer Programs

7.5 Smart Contracts

7.6 Travel Insurance

7.7 E-ticketing & Ticket Tokenization

7.8 Aircraft Refueling

7.9 Airline Revenue Sharing

7.10 Leasing

7.11 Supply Chain Management

7.12 Parts Tracking

7.13 Parts Health Monitoring

7.14 Inventory Management

7.15 Aircraft Maintenance



8 Global Blockchain in Aerospace & Defence Market, By Deployment

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Public

8.3 Private

8.4 Hybrid



9 Global Blockchain in Aerospace & Defence Market, By Function

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Record-Keeping

9.3 Transactions



10 Global Blockchain in Aerospace & Defence Market, By Geography

11 Competitive Landscape

11.1 IGR Competitive Quadrant

11.2 Market Share Analysis

11.3 Strategic Initiatives

11.3.1 M&A and Investments

11.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations

11.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements

12 Company Profiles

12.1 Microsoft Corporation

12.2 IBM Corporation

12.3 Zamna Technologies Ltd.

12.4 Aeron Labs

12.5 Winding Tree

12.6 Volantio Inc

12.7 VeriTX Corporation

12.8 Infosys Ltd.

12.9 Insolar Technologies GmbH

12.10 LeewayHertz Technologies

12.11 Moog Inc.

12.12 3IPK

12.13 Accenture Plc

12.14 Cryptowerk Corp. Inc.

12.15 Decent Inc.

12.16 Deutsche Lufthansa AG

12.17 KPMG International

12.18 ObjectTech Group Ltd.

12.19 SITA Laboratories Inc.



13 Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bh8ult

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NEW YORK, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greystone, a private national commercial real estate finance company, announced it provided a $203,143,000 Freddie Mac Optigo loan made to an affiliate of TRITEC Real Estate Company for the Alston Station Square, a recently-built, six-building, 489-unit Class A market-rate rental apartment complex located at 1000 Mill Road in Ronkonkoma, New York, which is situated in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, Long Island. The new 10-year, fixed-rate Freddie Mac loan refinances the original construction loan from Bank of America. The Greystone Capital Advisors team led by Drew Fletcher, Matthew Hirsch, Jesse Kopecky, and Tori Colledge served as exclusive advisors on behalf of the Sponsor and assisted in arranging the financing which was provided by Greystone Servicing through its Agency lending team, led by Dan Gillard who originated the loan from Greystone Servicing.



Alston is the first phase of The Hub at Ronkonkoma Master Development, a 2+ million square foot master plan that the Town of Brookhaven awarded to TRITEC in 2012 to lead the transformation of Ronkonkoma as a regional transportation center for eastern Long Island. The Property is a newly constructed four-story luxury multifamily complex within walking distance of the Long Island Railroad Ronkonkoma train station.

Alston incorporates a comprehensive suite of amenities exceeding all comparable assets in the surrounding market of Long Island and on-par with newly constructed luxury residences in the greater New York metro area. Community amenities include a pool, multiple lounges, courtyards, and a fitness center with units featuring top of the line finishes.

TRITEC is excited to have worked with Greystone and Freddie Mac on this milestone transaction, said Jim Coughlan, Principal of TRITEC. Greystone and Freddie Mac delivered a creative and foundational execution for the first of this multi-phase project to transform downtown Ronkonkoma.

We are thrilled to have worked with TRITEC as they complete stabilization of this critical first phase of The Hub in Ronkonkoma, said Drew Fletcher, President, Greystone Capital Advisors. This financing is proof of their vision for the project to develop distinctive properties that create enduring value and enhance the neighborhoods in which they are located.

About Greystone

Greystone is a private national commercial real estate finance company with an established reputation as a leader in multifamily and healthcare lending, having ranked as a top FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae lender in these sectors. Loans are offered through Greystone Servicing Company LLC, Greystone Funding Company LLC and/or other Greystone affiliates. For more information, visit www.greystone.com.

About TRITEC

Founded in 1986 by brothers Robert J. and James L. Coughlan, TRITEC Real Estate Company is a real estate project delivery organization dedicated to delivering high quality, trustworthy performance and lasting value. TRITEC Real Estate Companycomprising TRITEC Development Group, LLC, TRITEC Building Company, Inc., and TRITEC Asset Management, Inc.has established itself as a leader among commercial real estate companies, with a long history of successfully acquiring, developing, constructing, financing, leasing, and managing real estate projects in the New York and DC metro areas. TRITEC has constructed more than 15 million square feet of office, residential, industrial, medical, retail, and hospitality space and has arranged institutional equity partnerships to develop projects in the last several years totaling billions of dollars. For more information, please visit tritecre.com or find us on Linkedin.

PRESS CONTACT:

Karen Marotta

Greystone

212-896-9149

Karen.Marotta@Greyco.com
Covina, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Automotive Flooring Market accounted for US$ 1.98 billion in 2020 and is estimated to be US$ 2.52 billion by 2030 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 3%. Automotive flooring includes carpets, mats, and other items that are designed and utilised to protect the original vehicle surface from filth, wear, corrosion, and other factors. Automotive flooring not only adds aesthetic appeal to the interior of the vehicle, but it also keeps it clean. Interiors for automobiles come in a variety of styles and materials, including polypropylene, nylon, polyurethane, and rubber. It also comes in a variety of shapes, colours, and sizes.

The report " Global Automotive Flooring Market By Material Type (Nylon, Polypropylene, Rubber, Polyurethane, and Others), By Product Type (Carpets and Mat), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Cars, Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs).), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa) - Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2029

Key Highlights:

Ferrari introduced the new Ferrari 400i Speciale in March 2019, which features bare aluminium flooring for good protection against damage, wear, corrosion, and other factors.

Analyst View:

Increasing global automotive manufacturing is predicted to be one of the primary factors of market growth throughout the forecast period. Furthermore, product demand is likely to benefit from the growing desire for improved levels of comfort and safety in automobile passenger cabins. In recent years, important material advances for the creation of various goods such as carpets and mats have occurred in the automobile flooring business. Nylon is the most popular material in the sector, followed by polyurethane, polypropylene, and rubber. Over the projected period, the increased use of these materials in the production of vehicle parts and innovative flooring products is expected to propel the industry forward.





Browse 60 market data tables* and 35 figures* through 140 slides and in-depth TOC on Global Automotive Flooring Market By Material Type (Nylon, Polypropylene, Rubber, Polyurethane, and Others), By Product Type (Carpets and Mat), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Cars, Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs).), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa) - Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2029

To know the upcoming trends and insights prevalent in this market, request sample :

https://www.prophecymarketinsights.com/market_insight/Insight/request-sample/226

Key Market Insights from the report:



Global Automotive Flooring Market accounted for US$ 1.98 billion in 2020 and is estimated to be US$ 2.52 billion by 2030 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 3%. The global automotive flooring market has been segmented on the basis of material type, product type, vehicle type, and region.

Based on Material Type , Global Automotive Flooring Market is segmented into Nylon, Polypropylene, Rubber, Polyurethane, and Others.

, Global Automotive Flooring Market is segmented into Nylon, Polypropylene, Rubber, Polyurethane, and Others. Based on Product Type , Global Automotive Flooring Market is segmented into Carpets and Mat.

, Global Automotive Flooring Market is segmented into Carpets and Mat. Based on Vehicle Type , Global Automotive Flooring Market is segmented into Passenger Cars, Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs).

, Global Automotive Flooring Market is segmented into Passenger Cars, Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs). By Region, the Global Automotive Flooring Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.

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Competitive Landscape & their strategies of Global Automotive Flooring Market:

Key players operating in the global automotive flooring market includes, Apache Mills, Inc., 3M Company, Autoneum Holding Ltd., I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, AGM Automotive, LLC., Magna International Inc., Toyota Boshoku Corporation, Suminoe Textile Co. Ltd., German Auto Tops Inc., Feltex Automotive.

The market provides detailed information regarding the industrial base, productivity, strengths, manufacturers, and recent trends which will help companies enlarge the businesses and promote financial growth. Furthermore, the report exhibits dynamic factors including segments, sub-segments, regional marketplaces, competition, dominant key players, and market forecasts. In addition, the market includes recent collaborations, mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships along with regulatory frameworks across different regions impacting the market trajectory. Recent technological advances and innovations influencing the global market are included in the report.

Research Objective and Assumption Preface

Research Objectives

Study Scope

Years Considered for the study

Assumptions

Abbreviations Research Methodology Research data

Primary Data Primary Interviews Primary Breakdown Key data from Primary Sources Key Thickness Insights

Secondary Data Major Secondary Sources Secondary Sources

Market Estimation

Top-Down Approach Approach for estimating Market Share by Top-Down Analysis (Supply Side)

Bottom-Up Approach Approach for estimating market share by Bottom-up Analysis (Demand Side)

Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation

Research Assumptions

PORTERs

Investment Outlook

TOC to be continued...Click here

About Prophecy Market Insights

Prophecy Market Insights is specialized market research, analytics, marketing/business strategy, and solutions that offers strategic and tactical support to clients for making well-informed business decisions and to identify and achieve high-value opportunities in the target business area. We also help our clients to address business challenges and provide the best possible solutions to overcome them and transform their business.

Some Important Points Answered in this Market Report Are Given Below:

Explains an overview of the product portfolio, including product development, planning, and positioning

Explains details about key operational strategies with a focus on R&D strategies, corporate structure, localization strategies, production capabilities, and financial performance of various companies.

Detailed analysis of the market revenue over the forecasted period.

Examining various outlooks of the market with the help of Porters five forces analysis, PEST & SWOT Analysis.

Study on the segments that are anticipated to dominate the market.

Study on the regional analysis that is expected to register the highest growth over the forecast period

Browse Releated Reports
GUELPH, Ontario, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Experior Financial Group has reviewed its 2021 numbers and is pleased to report that figures indicate that Experior is up 24% in 2021 vs. 2020. Additionally, Experior shares that they are up 27% overall compared to the pre-pandemic of 2019 numbers.

Learning to adapt to all the changes since the pandemic set in was a challenge in the beginning. Emphasis has been placed on increased training for our agents and interactions done using technology, which has made the difference for reaching clients and assisting them with their finances. Experior continued to grow despite these challenging times and saw an increase from 1,400 to 1,700 Licensed Associates in 2021. Experior is currently supporting over 2,000 people who are studying to get their licenses either in Canada or in the USA.

Offering a Free Financial Need Analysis for clients has helped Experior Associates to help tens of thousands of clients in 2021. Not only have transactions grown, but the number of Executive Directors in 2021 has increased drastically with now over 30 Branch offices, including two head offices, one located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and the other in Cheektowaga, New York, USA.

A breakdown of the transactions for 2021:

Life Insurance - 24% increase over 2020

Investments - 66% increase over 2020

Travel Premium - 78% increase over 2020

While it hasn't been an easy couple of years with restrictions and precautions due to Covid-19, Experior continues to see growth in all areas of business. It continues to hear of and see businesses' sales decreasing and closing due to this unfortunate situation we all face, and Experior still continues to increase in all lines of business. Experior continues its recruiting efforts, attracting excellent candidates from across Canada and the USA. Setting its goal of 3,000 Licensed Associates in 2022 may seem like a challenge, but it is one that the entire company is working towards diligently.

For more information on a career with Experior, please visit A Full Time Career with Experior Financial Group | An Opportunity to Thrive.

Individuals interested in learning more about the culture at the company can attend Experior Financial Group's upcoming Online Convention and Awards from Feb. 10-12 by purchasing a ticket here.

Media Contact

Joanna St.Jacques

Marketing Director

(519) 826-0770 ext.122

Related Images











Image 1: Experior Financial Group Inc. 2021 Year End Review





Summing up the results of Experior Financial Group work for 2021









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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Dallas, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- What better way to celebrate Valentines Day than by planning a romantic night in the comfort of your own home  no reservation required! Let Barbecue At Home by Dickeys help you decide whats for dinner, so you and your loved ones can come together to enjoy restaurant-quality food without all the fuss.

Available for purchase at BarbecueAtHome.com and shipped straight to your doorstep  customers can enjoy an array of craft sausages, premium quality meats, unique rubs and spices when purchasing the new, chef-curated Date Night Box.

If youre among the many who search date night restaurants near me, you can stop. Treat your significant other to a four-course meal with mouthwatering appetizers, entrees, southern inspired sides, and desserts  sure to impress even the most seasoned barbecue lovers.

The Date Night Box includes: (1) Beer Cheese Kielbasa Smoked Sausage (12 oz.), (1) Smoked Brisket Burnt Ends (33 oz.), (2) NY Strip Steaks (12 oz. ea.), (1) Scalloped Potatoes (3 lbs.), (1) Creamed Spinach (16 oz.), (1) Jalapeno Rosemary Steak Seasoning (4.4 oz.), (1) Chocolate Lava Cake (4 oz.), (1) New York Cheesecake (4 oz.).

Let Barbecue At Home help take your date night to the next level by letting us elevate your dinner menu this Valentines Day, said Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Our newest Date Night Box delivers just that, an incredible selection of items for you to prepare for that special someone in your life in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Barbecue At Home by Dickeys also offers artisan seasonings and rubs and Texas-inspired barbecue products. And dont forget its chef-curated offerings, butcher-selected steaks, and Southern sides made from family recipes and backed with 80 years of barbecue experience.

To learn more, follow Barbecue At Home on Facebook and Instagram. Join the Barbecue At Home E-Club here to receive information on new products, recipes, and promotions.



About Barbecue at Home by Dickeys

Created by the worlds largest barbecue concept  Dickeys Barbecue Pit  Barbecue At Home allows barbecue enthusiasts from all over the U.S. to have craft sausages, premium quality meats, and unique rubs and spices shipped right to their door. Barbecue At Home offers a selection of recipes, the best meat gift boxes, merchandise, and custom creations from the culinary mind of James Beard honorary Executive Chef Phil Butler. For more information, visit barbecueathome.com.

About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the worlds largest barbecue concept, was founded in 1941 by the Dickey family. For the past 80 years, Dickeys Barbecue Pit has served millions of guests in 44 states Legit. Texas. Barbecue. At Dickeys, all our barbecued meats are smoked onsite in a hickory wood burning pit. Dickeys proudly believes theres no shortcut to true barbecue and its why our name isnt BBQ. The Dallas-based, family-run barbecue franchise offers eight slow-smoked meats and 12 wholesome sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. Dickeys Barbecue has 550 locations across the United States and eight other countries.

Dickeys was named to Newsweeks 2022 Americas Favorite Restaurant Chains list and USA Today 2021 readers choice awards. Dickeys won first place on Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list, been named a Top 500 Franchise by Entrepreneur and named to Hospitality Technologys Industry Heroes list. Led by CEO Laura Rea Dickey, who was named among the countrys 50 most influential women in foodservice in Nations Restaurant News, was recognized by Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list and honored by Dallas Business Journal. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Fox News, Forbes Magazine, Franchise Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine and QSR Magazine. Dickeys Barbecue is part of Dickeys Restaurant Brands which has more than 700 restaurants nationwide including brands Wing Boss, Trailer Birds, Big Deal Burger and bbqathome.com. DRB is led by CEO Roland Dickey Jr. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.

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PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rittenhouse Realty Advisors, a commercial real estate sales brokerage based in Philadelphia, is pleased to announce the sale of 66 apartments in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. The property consists of 33 duplexes, each with two 1-bedroom apartments with garage parking for each unit. Tenants enjoy great access to vibrant retail districts and outdoor activities as well as close proximity to a SEPTA Regional Rail to Center City, Philadelphia. The property was marketed as a value-add opportunity in a growing market.



Ken Wellar, managing partner at RRA, stated: We are seeing more out-of-state buyers paying aggressive cap rates based on pro-forma assumptions. Arborwood has great rent growth potential given the seller owned the properties for over 30 years.

For more information on current rates or to view our available listings visit www.RittenhouseRealty.com and www.GREA.com .

Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rittenhouse Realty Advisors, a member of GREA, is a real estate advisory firm with an extensive focus in the brokerage of multi-family communities throughout the United States. Formed in February 2013 by a group of advisors with more than 30 years of commercial investment sales experience, our focus is on multi-family, mixed-use, and development properties with significant residential components. RRA is a member of GREA with brokerage offices throughout the United States.

Press Contact: Corey Lonberger and Ken Wellar

Managing Partners

215-454-2852

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/916e844a-6d76-405f-afe3-8b4c369b3fe9
U.S. biodiesel prices soared by 59% y/y last year, making biofuel less competitive compared to fossil fuels. The average FOB price for American biodiesel B100 was $5.58 per gallon in November 2021, while the on-highway average price for conventional diesel was $3.74 per gallon.



LOS ANGELES, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. biodiesel prices skyrocketed in 2021, and their growth is to continue this year, a recent report published by market research firm IndexBox reveals. According to USDA data, the average spot FOB export price for biodiesel B100 from the plants in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio reached $5.58 per gallon in November 2021, surging by 59% against 2020. The on-highway average price for conventional diesel soared by 41% y/y to $3.64 per gallon, remaining much lower than those of biodiesel.

The rising costs of vegetable raw materials and energy constitute the key reasons for the biodiesel price increase and further propelling the biofuel prices this year. According to World Banks forecast, the price for soybean oil, one of the major raw types for biodiesel production, is set to grow by nearly 4% totalling $1,425 per tonne in 2022. The cost of fossil fuels is also projected to remain at the high level of 2021, which implies increased expenditures for energy in biodiesel manufacturing.

U.S. Biodiesel Exports by Country

Biodiesel exports from the U.S. surged to 476K tonnes in 2020, rising by 25% from the previous year's figure. In value terms, supplies fell modestly to $381M.

Canada (424K tonnes) was the main destination for biodiesel exports from the U.S., with an 89% share of total supplies. Moreover, exports to Canada exceeded the volume sent to the second major destination, Peru (19K tonnes), more than tenfold. The Netherlands took the third position in this ranking (14K tonnes), with a 2.9% share.

In value terms, Canada ($351M) remains the key foreign market for biodiesel from the U.S., comprising 92% of total exports. The second position in the ranking was taken by the Netherlands ($9.9M), with a 2.6% share of total supplies. It was followed by Peru, with a 2.3% share.

About IndexBox

IndexBox is a market research firm developing an AI-driven market intelligence platform that helps business analysts find actionable insights and make data-driven decisions. The platform provides data on consumption, production, trade, and prices for more than 10K+ different products across 200 countries.

For more information, please visit



Website https://www.indexbox.io

Twitter https://twitter.com/indexbox

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/IndexBox

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/indexbox-marketing/

Companies Mentioned in the Report

Cosan, Renewable Energy Group, Verbio, Green Plains, Aemetis, Gevo, American Resources, Green Plains Partners, REX American Resources, Targray, R.W. Davis Oil Co., Merrimac Energy Group, Dreyfus, Aemetis, Inc., Shipley Energy, Hightowers Petroleum Co., SK Chemicals America, Alternative Petroleum Technologies, Golden Leaf Energy, Taylor Oil Co., Seaport Refining, World Energy, Pacific Biodiesel Technologies, Phoenix Petroleum Co., Western States Petroleum, KCA Solar Power Generating Company Ltd, Piedmont Biofuels Industrial, GPM Empire, Delek US Holdings Inc., RKA Petroleum Companies, Sunpol Resins & Polymers, Ricochet Fuel Distributors

Sources

U.S. - Biodiesel - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights

World - Biodiesel - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights

World - Crude Palm Oil - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights

World - Crude Soybean Oil - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights

World - Ethyl Alcohol - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Chaos releases V-Ray 5 for Revit, update 2, bringing new visualization powers to architects who want to see how their choices play out in real time and beyond. Now users can manage more complex models, make hassle-free updates to linked documents and scatter entourage for more realistic renderings without leaving Revit.

New Capabilities

New features help users do more within Revit, so architects can visualize design decisions without distractions or technical delays.

Linked document replacements  For the first time, Revit users can render and replace objects and materials from linked documents with a higher-fidelity version. Whether its applying a photoreal V-Ray material or replacing a low-resolution model with a fully detailed one, replacement overrides bring more control to the creative process, without disrupting the original files.





 For the first time, Revit users can render and replace objects and materials from linked documents with a higher-fidelity version. Whether its applying a photoreal V-Ray material or replacing a low-resolution model with a fully detailed one, replacement overrides bring more control to the creative process, without disrupting the original files. Scatter  The new scattering tool makes it easy to distribute models of plants, trees, cars and other entourage items, including models from Chaos Cosmos. With full control over size, orientation and density, these models can be placed on any surface or terrain. This is a fast and memory-efficient way to create realistic scenes and detailed environments.





 The new scattering tool makes it easy to distribute models of plants, trees, cars and other entourage items, including models from Chaos Cosmos. With full control over size, orientation and density, these models can be placed on any surface or terrain. This is a fast and memory-efficient way to create realistic scenes and detailed environments. V-Ray Material improvements  With the updated V-Ray Material, users can quickly create transparent and translucent materials. Two new controls have been added: thin-walled for materials like single-sided glass and volumetric subsurface scattering for realistic marble, plastic and wax.

Chaos Cosmos Updates

In V-Ray 5 for Revit, Chaos introduced its first 3D content library, Chaos Cosmos, now filled with over 1,300 free render-ready models and HDRIs that reduce the process of populating environments to a few clicks. New updates include:

Materials  Designers can now take advantage of 200 new material assets, including terrain, tiles, wood floors, brick walls and more.





 Designers can now take advantage of 200 new material assets, including terrain, tiles, wood floors, brick walls and more. Customizable assets  Users can now adjust the materials of any Cosmos model, helping them fine-tune key parameters like color, bump and gloss as they dial in a desired look.





 Users can now adjust the materials of any Cosmos model, helping them fine-tune key parameters like color, bump and gloss as they dial in a desired look. Improved asset management  All Cosmos family items are now conveniently organized into a separate sub-tab of Revits Families tab, making it easier to find and manage them.

New Real-Time Advances

Designed to serve everything that comes before a final render, V-Ray Vision offers a real-time view of your Revit model that updates while you work. The latest update expands on its core feature set, bringing more options into its always-on viewport. New V-Ray Vision features include:

Shareable real-time projects  Users can package their V-Ray Vision work for others to experience in real-time 3D on their own machine  no license or additional software required. Just hit export and reviewers can experience your full Revit design with the full functionality of V-Ray Vision, including navigation controls, color correction parameters and more.





 Users can package their V-Ray Vision work for others to experience in real-time 3D on their own machine  no license or additional software required. Just hit export and reviewers can experience your full Revit design with the full functionality of V-Ray Vision, including navigation controls, color correction parameters and more. Sun animation support  Revits native solar studies can now be loaded into Vision for quick explorations, then exported as video to share with peers and clients.





 Revits native solar studies can now be loaded into Vision for quick explorations, then exported as video to share with peers and clients. Grass support  A grass preset can now be added to any surface to help build realistic terrains in an intuitive way.





 A grass preset can now be added to any surface to help build realistic terrains in an intuitive way. IES lights support  Photometric IES light profiles can now be visualized within V-Ray Vision, adding real-world lighting into any interior.





 Photometric IES light profiles can now be visualized within V-Ray Vision, adding real-world lighting into any interior. Larger project support  Architects can now explore larger, more detailed models in real time.

If designers need higher-fidelity real time, they can turn to Chaos Vantage, which can be now directly accessed through a new Live Link. With Vantage, even the most complex Revit model can be explored in fully ray-traced real time with no extra setup. Vantage is currently free for all users.

To learn more about the new features, please visit the V-Ray for Revit Whats new page.

Pricing and Availability

V-Ray 5 for Revit, update 2 is available now. Licensing is available at $350 (annually) and $60 (monthly). It is also included in V-Ray Collection, an annual plan that gives users full access to 15 Chaos products and services for $699/year.

About Chaos

Chaos is a world leader in computer graphics technology, empowering artists and designers to create photorealistic imagery and animation across all creative industries. Chaos develops 3D rendering and simulation software that is used daily by top design studios, architectural firms, advertising agencies, and visual effects companies around the globe. The firms physically based renderer, V-Ray, has been honored with both an Academy Award and an Engineering Emmy for its role in the widespread adoption of ray-traced rendering in motion pictures and television. Today, the companys advancements in ray tracing, cloud rendering, and real-time visualization are shaping the future of design communication and storytelling. Founded in 1997, Chaos has offices in Sofia, Prague, Seoul, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. For more information visit chaos.com.

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Washington D.C., Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As Black History Month arrives, February pushes forward as a particularly busy time for the African American community. UNCF (United Negro College Fund) harkens back to its historical roots through a very important months-long local fundraising campaign that culminates in FebruaryUNCF Sunday bringing awareness to what really started it all for the organization: the church.

What many dont realize is that nearly all of todays historically Black colleges and universitiesour wonderful HBCUswhether theyre part of UNCF or are now state-funded HBCUs, were started as missions of the church, said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO, UNCF. They began as teaching schools to help freed Black men and women and escaped slaves to learn how to read and write and give them the basic skills to get ahead in life. That is why, even today, our HBCUs are precious, vital resources that continue to deliver on their mission, supporting those that need education and help them succeed and even the playing field.

Throughout the year, UNCF works with churches and faith groups across the country to implement UNCF Sundays, a day of financial support to HBCUs from congregations, culminating on a specific Sunday in February. This years UNCF Sunday is Feb. 27.

There may not have been a greater success story than the story of our HBCUs in this country providing education for those who might not have had an opportunity for it, providing education for those receiving it for the first generation, making it possible to find a way out of no way. Stand up to emancipate the mind and to participate in making this a better world for all. That is the work of our historically Black colleges and universities, said Bishop Michael Curry, presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church.

Here are members of the UNCF National Faith and Education Initiative Advisory Council:

Yolanda Adams, Award-winning Gospel Artist and Education Advocate

Rev. Dr. Carlton P. Byrd, President, Southwest Regional Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington, Catholic Church

Bishop Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church

Rev. John C. Dorhauer, General Minister & President, United Church of Christ

Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale, Senior Pastor, Ray of Hope Church, Decatur, GA

Rev. Joel Osteen, Senior Pastor, Lakewood Church, Houston

Rev. David Peoples, President, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.

Bishop Adam J. Richardson, Jr., Senior Bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Church

Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Presiding Bishop, Church of God in Christ

Bishop Darryl B. Starnes Sr., Piedmont District, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Bishop Joseph W. Walker III, Presiding Bishop, Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Int'l

Rev. Dr. LaKeesha Walrond, President, New York Theological Seminary

Dr. Alyn E. Waller, Senior Pastor, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, Philadelphia

Dr. Howard-John Wesley, Senior Pastor, Alfred Street Baptist Church, Alexandria, VA

Dr. Jerry Young, President, National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.

To learn more about UNCF Sunday, visit UNCF.org/FaithCampaign.

###

About UNCF

UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nations largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding nearly 20% of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.
Dallas, Texas, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaycaychella, Inc. (OTC Pink: VAYK) today highlighted a report from statista indicating that emerging markets are one of the leading contributors to the growth of cryptocurrency adoption. In fact, Vietnam is reported as the by far cryptocurrency adoption growth leader. VAYK management views the emerging market cryptocurrency adoption growth leadership as a validation of the companys current pilot project in Cuba and the companys overall growth strategy.

From The stastia report today:

One of the reasons cryptocurrencies are proving popular in Vietnam  and other developing countries  is that they are used as an investment tool in lieu of other good options, according to the report. Trying to preserve the value of ones savings when local currencies are faltering is another incentive to invest in crypto, putting Venezuela, Argentina and Turkey on the map of cryto adopters.

Individuals in developing countries also use crypto in peer-to-peer payments. In this segment, African countries like Nigeria and Kenya rank high. African countries have been on the forefront of adopting innovative P2P payment methods, for example mobile payments, in the process of leapfrogging options like bank transfers and those digital payment options tied to them.

Last week, VAYK announced entering into a letter of intent (LOI) agreement to acquire Definancial, Inc., a technology firm that has developed a proprietary cryptocurrency exchange technology solution.

VAYK plans to soon release a new version of its P2P Alternative Finance Application and integrate the new version with the ability for individuals and SMB operators to launch and list cryptocurrencies where the proceeds from cryptocurrency sales are used to finance the purchase of short-term vacation rental properties and fund other short-term vacation rental business start-up expenses. Cryptocurrency holders will have a redeemable economic interest in the short-term vacation rental business. The LOI to acquire Definancial, Inc. is specifically intended to support VAYKs cryptocurrency strategy with the addition of a cryptocurrency exchange where short-term vacation rental business cryptocurrencies can be listed.

Yesterday, VAYK announced it has a team on the ground in Cuba working on the selection and terms to add an additional ten beach house properties to its current portfolio of short-term vacation rental properties.

These next ten properties will be listed on the companys soon to be releases Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Alternative Finance Application Version 2.0 (V 2.0) where individuals will have the opportunity to invest in the renovation of the properties and participate in the long-term economic benefits from operating a short-term vacation rental property.

These next ten properties will be the first properties on the VAYK V 2.0 App where a cryptocurrency will be offered enabling multiple investors to make fractional investments in the short-term vacation rental operations and participate in the economic benefit generated by the short-term vacation rental operations.

VAYK has already launched an award winning Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Alternative Finance Application for individuals and SMB operators to source purchase financing for short-term vacation rental properties. V 2.0 is coming soon.

VAYK is an early-stage business building a portfolio of technology solutions to further democratize participation in the tourism market extending more opportunity to individuals and small and medium (SMB) business operators.

VAYK is developing and scaling its portfolio of technology solutions to further democratize participation in the tourism industry based on its hands-on experience with an initial and ongoing pilot project consisting of ten beach house properties (separate from the ten new properties addressed here today) and a small boutique hotel where VAYK provided the financing for small businesses to acquire and renovate the real estate.

VAYK sees real estate investment in emerging markets, similar to the companys current pilot project in Cuba, as large strategic growth opportunity. The report from statista today on the adoption growth of cryptocurrencies in emerging markets as a validation of VAYKs growth strategy.

VAYK has recently published a comprehensive 2022 Strategic Overview Presentation with more details on how the ten property expansion and LOI announced today fit into the companys overall strategy.

To learn more and keep up with the latest updates at Vaycaychella, and to access the Vaycaychella App, visit https://www.vaycaychella.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.
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asia Broadband Inc. (OTC: AABB) (AABB or the Company) is pleased to announce the following corporate update.



The Companys mining property acquisition strategy is to optimize development capital utilization by focusing operations in regions of Mexico where AABB has a comparative advantage of development resources and expertise readily available for rapid expansion and duplication of the Companys previous gold production success. In 2021, the Company acquired two high potential gold property interests in Mexico, the Bonanza Gold Mine Project and the Tequila Gold Mine Joint Venture. Both properties are expected to have geological reports available in late February and gold production from the Tequila property is expected in March. Alternatively, the development of the Los Reyes and Colima properties in Mexico have been discontinued and deemed to be comparatively not feasible to justify rapid development. The Company continues to actively search for new high potential mining property acquisitions and anticipates an announcement in that regard in the coming months.

In collaboration with the Companys digital assets developer, the recently launched proprietary cryptocurrency Exchange, AABBExchange.com, (the Exchange) continues to roll out additional components in a process necessary to ensure the stability, functionality, security and integration of the all modules and features. The numerous and complex mechanisms of the Exchange are evolving rapidly within a live environment. In the coming weeks, the Company expects to have trading algorithms optimized to facilitate 200 plus cryptocurrency Exchange trading pairs on the BCGateway platform and have the enhanced mobile Exchange apps available. Additionally, AABB is planning to launch an international marketing campaign for the Exchange and AABBG token expected to begin next month.

In regard to its gold-backed AABBG token and the Exchange, the Company embraces a pioneering philosophy with its truly unique Mine-to-Token vertical integration operational approach that strives toward cryptocurrency only exchanges and complete independence from FIAT currency. Furthermore, the Companys physical gold bullion holdings continue to be stored in a private and secure location in Mexico. The Company is in the process of preparing the logistics of transferring the gold bullion to a new enhanced location in Mexico and plans to release pictures of the new storage after the transfer is complete.



Lastly, AABB management anticipates revisting the audit process for the Company later this year. The general corporate goals are to realize increased revenues in all segments of operations to the sufficient levels required to qualify and apply for a major exchange uplisting.

About Asia Broadband

Asia Broadband Inc. (OTC: AABB) is a resource company focused on the production, supply and sale of precious and base metals, primarily to Asian markets. The Company utilizes its specific geographic expertise, experience and extensive industry contacts to facilitate its innovative distribution process from the production and supply of precious and base metals in Mexico to client sales networks in Asia. This vertical integration approach to sales transactions is the unique strength of AABB that differentiates the Company and creates distinctive value for shareholders. Additionally, the Company has recently released its AABBG freshly minted mine-to-token gold-backed cryptocurrency and its own proprietary digital exchange AABBExchange. AABB expects its token to become a world-wide standard of exchange that is stable, secured and trusted with gold backing, while having the added benefit of demand based price appreciation. These are unique and outstanding qualities relative to other cryptocurrencies.

Contact the Company at:

General Email: ir@asiabroadbandinc.com Token Support : www.AABBGoldToken.com/support/ Company Websites: www.asiabroadbandinc.com

www.AABBExchange.com

www.AABBGoldToken.com Phone: 702-866-9054

Forward-Looking Statements are contained in this press release within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the Asia Broadband Inc.s (the Company) expected current beliefs about the Companys business, which are subject to uncertainty and change. The operations and results of the Company could materially differ from what is expressed or implied by the statements made above when industry, regulatory, market and competitive circumstances change. Further information about these risks can be found in the annual and quarterly disclosures the Company has published on the OTC Markets website. The Company is under no obligation to update or alter its forward-looking statements as future circumstances, events and information may change.

Corporate Communications:

InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN)

Los Angeles, California

www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com

310.299.1717 Office

Editor@InvestorBrandNetwork.com
SAN JOAQUIN, Calif. , Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Specialized Education Services, Inc. (SESI), a premier provider of education services for K-12 students who require additional educational and positive behavioral supports to overcome challenges that impede success in a traditional school setting, today announced the opening of the Sierra School of San Joaquin (2106 Cherokee Rd., Stockton, CA). Programming at Sierra School of San Joaquin is designed to meet the unique academic and social-emotional learning needs of each individual student.

Sierra School of San Joaquin is a California Department of Education-approved non-public school for students in grades K-12 (ages 5-22) who can benefit from a placement in a structured and therapeutic program that addresses their specialized learning needs as well as social, emotional or behavioral challenges. The school supports students with a variety of exceptionalities including emotional disabilities, autism spectrum disorders and intellectual developmental delays.

The program at Sierra School of San Joaquin offers small class sizes, a high staff-to-student ratio, and a continuum of services and supports, including personalized academic instruction, occupational therapy and sensory integration, speech and language therapy, social and life skills training, and counseling.

Our team at the Sierra School of San Joaquin is committed to making a difference in the lives of our students and helping them find success inside and outside of the classroom, said Grace Losada, Ed.D, senior vice president, special education west, SESI. By integrating our results-driven academic and behavioral models we serve the needs of area school districts and expertly attend to the needs of our students, improving performance and focus, enhancing emotional well-being, and building self-esteem.

With the end goal of returning students into their public-school settings, Sierra School provides intensive IEP support aimed at each childs present levels of performance, social capabilities, motor coordination, and ability to learn in a group setting. The school also includes a transitional program for high school age students, serving both diploma and non-diploma bound individuals, designed to equip them with the training and skills they need outside of Sierra.

The school will have the capacity to serve up to 46 students and creates more than 15 employment opportunities for jobseekers in the San Joaquin community, including special education teachers and paraprofessionals. Along with socially distanced classrooms, the building includes a sensory room, a transition room set up as an apartment to learn living skills, and smart boards for each classroom.

The San Joaquin location marks the ninth Sierra School in California. For a full list of programs within the state, please visit https://sesischools.com/locations/california/.

For more information on services and enrollment at Sierra School of San Joaquin, please visit https://sesischools.com/locations/california/sierra-school-of-san-joaquin/.

About Specialized Education Services, Inc.

Specialized Education Services, Inc. (SESI), a division of FullBloom, is a premier provider of education services for K-12 students who require additional educational and behavioral supports to overcome challenges that impede success in a traditional school setting. SESI partners with school districts to run in-district classrooms and standalone schools that meet the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs of special education students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Emotional Disabilities, Learning Disabilities and other challenges; and alternative education students in need of trauma-informed education. Implementing a research-based education model that incorporates supportive therapies, positive behavior interventions and supports, life skills training, and workforce development programs  as well as professional learning for special education teachers  SESI guides students toward success in and out of the classroom. SESI proudly serves more than 7,000 students in over 95 day schools and more than 90 in-district classrooms, and partners with over 600 school districts nationwide. SESI is accredited by Cognia (formerly AdvancED). Learn more: www.sesischools.com.
MCCALL, Idaho, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peak Bancorp, Inc., (the Company) (OTC: IDFB), the holding company for Idaho First Bank (the Bank), today announced the signing of an agreement to sell 100% of the shares of Peak Bancorp, Inc. to BAWAG Group, a publicly listed holding company headquartered in Vienna, Austria for $65 million. This cash transaction represents a diluted per share price of $12.05, and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

BAWAG Group will work with the current leadership team of Idaho First Bank to continue growing its community banking focused business in Idaho and adjacent markets, while also providing the operational support and financial strength of a broader banking group. The acquisition enables BAWAG Group to expand its footprint in the United States and better position it for future growth in one of the banks core markets.

Todd Cooper, CEO and President of Peak Bancorp, Inc., stated, We are extremely excited about the opportunity to join BAWAG Group, and are proud to be a focal point for its U.S. expansion efforts. This partnership will allow us to continue serving our markets with a Community First focus. We will be able to leverage BAWAGs resources, depth, and diversification to better serve our communities and banking customers, while also providing exceptional value to Peak Bancorp shareholders.

We are excited about the acquisition of Peak Bancorp and the many opportunities this presents for the Group. This acquisition provides us with a US banking platform to drive organic growth in Idaho and across the United States  growing in a core market that is deep, broad, and transparent. The combination of Idaho First Banks community-focused banking augmented with access to new origination channels, capital, and the operational capabilities of the Group will allow us to grow and build a scalable and efficient Retail & SME banking platform. Im excited to welcome the whole Idaho First team into the BAWAG family and look forward to the many opportunities ahead, commented Anas Abuzaakouk, CEO of BAWAG Group.

About Peak Bancorp, Inc.

Peak Bancorp, Inc., is the holding company for Idaho First Bank, a state chartered community bank headquartered in McCall, Idaho. Known for its People First motto, Idaho First Bank serves greater southwest Idaho with branches located in McCall, New Meadows, Eagle, Ketchum, Nampa and Boise, and a loan production office in Bend, Oregon. Idaho First Bank is a member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.

About BAWAG Group

BAWAG Group AG is a publicly listed holding company headquartered in Vienna, Austria, serving 2.3 million retail, small business, corporate and public sector customers across Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Western Europe and the United States. The Group operates under various brands and across multiple channels offering comprehensive savings, payment, lending, leasing, investment, building society, factoring and insurance products and services. Our goal is to deliver simple, transparent, and affordable financial products and services that our customers need.

CONTACT:

Todd Cooper

President and CEO  Peak Bancorp, Inc.

208.630.2092  tcooper@idahofirstbank.com
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asia Broadband Inc. (OTC: AABB) (AABB or the Company) is pleased to announce the following corporate update.



The Companys mining property acquisition strategy is to optimize development capital utilization by focusing operations in regions of Mexico where AABB has a comparative advantage of development resources and expertise readily available for rapid expansion and duplication of the Companys previous gold production success. In 2021, the Company acquired two high potential gold property interests in Mexico, the Bonanza Gold Mine Project and the Tequila Gold Mine Joint Venture. Both properties are expected to have geological reports available in late February and gold production from the Tequila property is expected in March. Alternatively, the development of the Los Reyes and Colima properties in Mexico have been discontinued and deemed to be comparatively not feasible to justify rapid development. The Company continues to actively search for new high potential mining property acquisitions and anticipates an announcement in that regard in the coming months.

In collaboration with the Companys digital assets developer, the recently launched proprietary cryptocurrency Exchange, AABBExchange.com, (the Exchange) continues to roll out additional components in a process necessary to ensure the stability, functionality, security and integration of the all modules and features. The numerous and complex mechanisms of the Exchange are evolving rapidly within a live environment. In the coming weeks, the Company expects to have trading algorithms optimized to facilitate 200 plus cryptocurrency Exchange trading pairs on the BCGateway platform and have the enhanced mobile Exchange apps available. Additionally, AABB is planning to launch an international marketing campaign for the Exchange and AABBG token expected to begin next month.

In regard to its gold-backed AABBG token and the Exchange, the Company embraces a pioneering philosophy with its truly unique Mine-to-Token vertical integration operational approach that strives toward cryptocurrency only exchanges and complete independence from FIAT currency. Furthermore, the Companys physical gold bullion holdings continue to be stored in a private and secure location in Mexico. The Company is in the process of preparing the logistics of transferring the gold bullion to a new enhanced location in Mexico and plans to release pictures of the new storage after the transfer is complete.



Lastly, AABB management anticipates revisiting the audit process for the Company later this year. The general corporate goals are to realize increased revenues in all segments of operations to the sufficient levels required to qualify and apply for a major exchange uplisting.

About Asia Broadband

Asia Broadband Inc. (OTC: AABB) is a resource company focused on the production, supply and sale of precious and base metals, primarily to Asian markets. The Company utilizes its specific geographic expertise, experience and extensive industry contacts to facilitate its innovative distribution process from the production and supply of precious and base metals in Mexico to client sales networks in Asia. This vertical integration approach to sales transactions is the unique strength of AABB that differentiates the Company and creates distinctive value for shareholders. Additionally, the Company has recently released its AABBG freshly minted mine-to-token gold-backed cryptocurrency and its own proprietary digital exchange AABBExchange. AABB expects its token to become a world-wide standard of exchange that is stable, secured and trusted with gold backing, while having the added benefit of demand based price appreciation. These are unique and outstanding qualities relative to other cryptocurrencies.

Contact the Company at:

Forward-Looking Statements are contained in this press release within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the Asia Broadband Inc.s (the Company) expected current beliefs about the Companys business, which are subject to uncertainty and change. The operations and results of the Company could materially differ from what is expressed or implied by the statements made above when industry, regulatory, market and competitive circumstances change. Further information about these risks can be found in the annual and quarterly disclosures the Company has published on the OTC Markets website. The Company is under no obligation to update or alter its forward-looking statements as future circumstances, events and information may change.






PHOENIX, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmithGroup, one of the nations largest integrated design firms, has promoted office design and interiors expert Mark Adams to lead strategy and operations for its firmwide Workplace Practice. Adams succeeds Lise Newman, who will be retiring from practice in the Spring of 2022.

In his new role, Adams leads the firms practice devoted to the design of corporate and commercial facilities, including corporate headquarters and campuses, office interiors, commercial office buildings, public and civic development, hospitality, mixed-use and multi-family residential buildings for both public and private sector clients. Adams will focus on expanding the practices portfolio of major headquarters, mixed-use/urban development and workplace-centered strategy and design projects. Adams was elevated from Workplace Studio Leader at the firms Phoenix office.

Real estate strategies and the design of office environments are evolving in response to recent world events, says Mike Medici, SmithGroups president and managing partner. Marks understanding of this rapidly changing landscape and his forward-thinking nature will serve SmithGroup well as we chart our new course to design a better future.

Adams joined SmithGroup in 2008 and brings 33 years of experience to this position. He has been instrumental in the growth of the firms portfolio of notable clients, leading large-scale projects throughout the southwest and across the nation. As a recognized thought leader and author, Adams has been called upon to share his expertise as a presenter at conferences for CoreNet, the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, NeoCon and Tradeline. He is also a regular contributor to Work Design Magazine.

SmithGroups Workplace Practice, ranked 7th in the nation according to Building Design + Construction magazine, provides comprehensive services that help premier companies create buildings and work environments that enhance engagement and improve their organizations financial performance. Notable clients include Microsoft, Google, GoDaddy, Advisory Board Company, General Motors, Ally Financial, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Chamberlain Corporation, among others.

Were at a unique point in time where discussions regarding equity, engagement, sustainability, wellbeing and human performance are reshaping the concept of work and the environments that we design to support it, states Lise Newman. Mark will be instrumental in solving these issues for top-tier clients while creating both beauty and value.

Adams graduated from Harrington College of Design, earning a bachelors degree in interior design with a minor in fine arts. He also attended Iowa State University, focusing on architectural studies. A registered interior designer, he is a member of the International Interior Design Association.

SmithGroup (www.smithgroup.com) is one of the worlds preeminent integrated design firms. Working across a network of 15 offices in the U.S. and China, a team of 1,200 experts is committed to excellence in strategy, design, and delivery. The scale of the firms thinking and organization produces partnerships with forward-looking clients that maximize opportunities, minimize risk and solve their most complex problems. SmithGroup creates exceptional design solutions for healthcare, science and technology organizations, higher education and cultural institutions, urban environments, diverse workplaces, mixed-use and waterfront developments, and parks and open spaces.

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Panama City, FL, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reusable Respirators, LLC is proud to announce the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has approved the ElastoMaskPro (TC-84A-9388) as an air-purifying N95 elastomeric respirator.

The ElastoMaskPro, developed in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, combines the simplicity of a disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) with the durability and reusability of an elastomeric respirator. Frontline workers depend on safe and qualified respiratory protection products. Disposable N95 FFRs are single-use devices limited by durability, comfort, and supply chain problems. Elastomeric respirator use has been explored by frontline workers, but these devices were never designed for pandemic use.

There had to be a better solution, and the ElastoMaskPro is it, said Reusable Respirators Vice President Brian Heimbuch who has spent the past 15 years researching respirators for pandemic preparedness. By incorporating the best qualities of disposable N95s and elastomeric respirators, we have, for the first time ever, created something from the ground up to meet the demands of frontline workers, first responders, and others. A single ElastoMaskPro has the potential to replace tens of thousands of disposable N95 respirators.

In addition to being comfortable and effective, breathability is critical for professional respirator use. Our innovative Filter Puck technology provides N95 protection, is 3 to 5 times easier to breathe through than many elastomeric respirators, and 2 to 3 times easier to breathe through than many disposable N95 FFRs. Users will discover a sleek, easy-to-clean product. Unlike traditional elastomeric respirators that may include more than a dozen removable pieces (straps, buckles, and valves), the ElastoMaskPro is molded in a single step out of pure silicone using our Forever Fit technology. The ElastoMaskPro design allows you to put it on and go, without complicated adjustments. Afterwards, simply wipe down the ElastoMaskPro with common disinfectants for easy decontamination.

ElastoMaskPro is designed with no exhalation valve to maintain a hygienic field around the user. Its built-in user seal check, and durable straps developed using Forever Fit technology, ensure a secure fit. In fact, simulated donning studies suggest the ElastoMaskPro can be taken on and off more than 100,000 times with no degradation in fit performance. Two sizes are offered to accommodate a wide range of users.

Frontline workers in the public health community asked for innovation in respirator design, and now they have it with the ElastoMaskPro. It is literally a breath of fresh air!

Find out more about ElastoMaskPro at https://reusable-respirators.com.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under contract number HHSO100201700032C.

Reusable Respirators (RR), LLC is a U.S.-based respirator manufacturing company focused on providing respiratory protection solutions. RR personnel have more than 50 years of combined experience in respirator research and development resulting in a well-versed understanding of the need for advanced respirator design and technologies. RR personnel have led respirator research efforts focused on assessing respirator performance for infection control and pandemic preparedness applications. RR personnel have published numerous peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and performed research for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), BARDA, NIOSH, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and others.

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NEW YORK, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On February 1, 2022, millions around the world celebrated Lunar New Year, which in 2022 ushers in the Year of the Tiger.



For the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC), the premier business-focused organization for the Asian American community, the Lunar New Year is an opportunity to celebrate cultural traditions and to recognize corporations that have made outstanding contributions to the community. This year, in partnership with Next shark and sponsored by Con Edison, Colgate-Palmolive and Diageo, the Lunar New Year virtual event will be streamed on the Nextshark Facebook platform on February 8th.

In 2022, AABDCs Lunar New Year Planning Committee has decided to present the Distinguished Corporate Service Award to Hennessy and PepsiCo for their long-standing support and contributions to the Asian American community.

In 2020, Hennessy contributed $4M in two phases through its Unfinished Business initiative to help Black, Asian, and Hispanic-owned small businesses with financial and educational resources to power through the challenges of COVID-19.

In 2021, PepsiCo and The PepsiCo Foundation made a $1M commitment to provide support in partnership with the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC), the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), the National Restaurant Association (Association) and The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) in the Stronger Together community-based programs, recognizing the devastating business and social impact during the pandemic.

The Year of the Tiger brings messages of courage and a fighting spirit, said John Wang, Founder and President of AABDC. The Asian American community has endured a period of not only health risks and economic distress, but anti-Asian violence. But a new year brings new hope and optimism. We are excited to celebrate this auspicious holiday with corporate allies like Hennessy and PepsiCo.

Diverse communities have faced the brunt of the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and two years later, are still struggling to return to normal. Under-represented, often left out of government and financial support systems, many minority enterprises and individuals have suffered devastating losses, said Seth Kaufman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Moet Hennessy North America.

Faced with this reality, we set up Unfinished Business, a platform to support small business entrepreneurs with capital as well as access to information, educational content and other assets, he added. We are proud to accept this award on behalf of all of the dedicated associates who work every day at Hennessy to make a positive impact on communities that we live in.

Asian Americans play a significant role in Americas economy and are major contributors to the business community, whether as corporate professionals or small business owners, said Ramon L. Laguarta, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo.

Our Stronger Together community-based programs leverage the expertise of PepsiCo and our partners to connect people and support communities in need, he added. We thank AABDC for recognizing the efforts of all of our global employees who make these partnerships succeed, and who supply urgent solutions during these difficult times.

AABDC has played a leading role in bringing cultural traditions to the mainstream. From 1998 to 2005, it organized an annual lighting ceremony and private reception on the evening before the Lunar New Year on top of the 86th floor of the Empire State Building where various government officials were invited to present proclamations in recognition of the Lunar New Year.

Even though the pandemic has forced us to take the Lunar New Year event online, we are excited to turn the page to a new year, said Wang. Asian Americans are one of the most dynamic and diverse communities in America, but also often among the least understood, and we welcome the opportunity to share our long-held traditions.

About Hennessy

The leader in Cognac, the Maison Hennessy has shined around the world with its exceptional blends for more than 250 years. Built on founder Richard Hennessy's spirit of conquest, the brand is present in more than 130 countries. Based in the heart of the Charente region, Hennessy is also a steadfast pillar of the regional economy, the standard-bearer for a sector rich in expertise. The House's success and longevity are rooted in the excellence of its cognacs, each of which is born of a unique process of transmission from generation to generation.

The first wine and spirits house to be certified ISO 14001, Hennessy unites its capacity for innovation and the support of all of its partners to protect this exceptional area. As the crown jewel of the LVMH Group, Hennessy is a major contributor to French international trade, with 99% of production sold in export, and a worldwide ambassador for the French art de vivre.

Hennessy is imported and distributed in the U.S. by Moet Hennessy USA. Hennessy distills, ages and blends spanning a full range: Hennessy V.S, V.S.O.P Privilege, Hennessy Black, X.O, Prive, Paradis, Paradis Imperial, and Richard Hennessy. Imported Cognac Hennessy 40% Alc./Vol. (80), 2020 Imported by Moet Hennessy USA, Inc., New York, NY

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business strategy and brands. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

About The PepsiCo Foundation

Established in 1962, The PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, invests in the essential elements of a sustainable food system with a mission to support thriving communities. Working with non-profits and experts around the globe, we are focused on helping alleviate hunger, managing water and waste responsibly and supporting women as champions of nutrition from farm to family. We strive for tangible impact in the places where we live and workcollaborating with industry peers, local and international organizations, and our employees to affect large-scale change on the issues that matter to us and are of global importance. Learn more at www.pepsico.com/sustainability/philanthropy.

About the Asian American Business Development Center

The Asian American Business Development Center, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization established in 1994. It assists Asian American businesses in strengthening their capacity to compete in the mainstream market, to expand business opportunities, and to promote recognition of Asian American businesses contributions to the general economy. AABDC: www.aabdc.com Outstanding 50 Awards: www.outstanding50award.com

AABR: www.aabusinessroundtable.org

Contact Barfield Public Relations Inc at 212-736-0404 or

AABDC: info@aabdc.com, 212-966-0100

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6ae101d7-11fc-4409-9c9a-5862679c2b59
Dallas, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Associa, the industrys largest community management company, is pleased to announce that James Gibson has joined the company in the role of regional sales director, West Region.

Mr. Gibson has more than 20 years experience in sales, organizational operations, and public speaking. He has served several business and charitable organizations in various roles, including commercial broker, operations manager, sales executive, and marketing manager.

Mr. Gibson joins Associa with previous community management experience as the vice president of business development for a property management firm, and as the chief executive officer and managing owner of HOA Board Member Magazine. Beyond his professional commitments, he also served the HOA industry as the past president and vice president of the Community Associations Institute Nevada chapter.

Our team has always been focused on developing close-knit, lasting partnerships with community associations and their boards of directors. Bringing James on to join the Associa family is an extension of that commitment, stated Leslie Baldwin, CMCA, AMS, Associa vice president of sales. James has association management industry experience as both an employee and volunteer. More importantly, he is a passionate, people-driven leader, and we cant wait to see where his vision takes our sales team in the future.

Mr. Gibson graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.

About Associa

With more than 200 branch offices across North America, Associa is building the future of community for nearly five million residents worldwide. Our 10,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise, and trailblazing innovation. For more than 43 years, Associa has brought positive impact and meaningful value to communities. To learn more, visit www.associaonline.com.

Stay Connected:

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associa

Subscribe to the Blog: https://hub.associaonline.com/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/associa

Join us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/associa

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DALLAS, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Texas A&M University-Commerce hosted a grand opening ceremony at its new North Dallas location on Feb. 2.

A&M-Commerce at Dallas is located at 8750 North Central Expressway, opposite NorthPark Center. The new site occupies the 19th and 20th floors of the building and increases Dallas access to quality and affordable education from The Texas A&M University System.

A&M-Commerce has moved its College of Business and College of Education and Human Services headquarters to the new Dallas campus. The College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and the College of Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts will also offer programs at the new site.

In his address, A&M System Chancellor John Sharp highlighted North Texans expanded opportunity to access A&M-quality education.

This is a great day for Texas A&M University-Commerce and The Texas A&M University System, Sharp said. We are always looking for ways to expand our services in the Metroplex. Here, we will educate thousands of North Texans using the assets of the Texas A&M System at an affordable price. It is my great pleasure to bring more A&M-quality education to Dallas.

Dr. Mark Rudin, president of A&M-Commerce, expressed enthusiasm for the universitys new Dallas home.

There is only one word to describe our new home in Dallasimpressive! Rudin said. Our state-of-the-art classrooms, labs and meeting areas will serve our students, faculty and staff well, bringing our long tradition of providing a high-quality, affordable education to students right here in Dallas. We look forward to showing DFW why people have sought higher education from A&M-Commerce since 1889.

Vice Chairman Bill Mahomes of the A&M Systems Board of Regents also addressed attendees.

Seeing the [A&M-Commerce] sign at the top of this building makes me so proud, but it also makes me hopeful. Hopeful that the hundreds of thousands of people who drive past it every day may see it as a beacon for a better future for generations to come, Mahomes said. I hope it also sends a signal that we believe high-quality, affordable higher education should be within the reach of anyone who is motivated to seek it.

Senator Royce West, Texas Senate District 23, also spoke, emphasizing the importance of making quality and affordable education available to all students.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson also shared a message.

What were celebrating today is that a great city and a great and well-established university are coming together, and I know that today marks the beginning of an amazing partnership that will grow and last for years to come, Johnson said.

A&M System guests included Board of Regents members Bob Albritton, Randy Brooks and Michael J. Plank; Vice Chancellors Phillip Ray and Joe Elabd; and Assistant Vice Chancellor Matt Parson.

The new facility features approximately 50,000 square feet of renovated space and provides tech-enabled shared spaces, an on-site fitness center, a cafe and accessible parking. It also lies within a block of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail line. A full suite of student services includes enrollment management, financial aid, career services, student success teams, academic advising and technical support.

A&M-Commerce at Dallas is strategically located near Dallas College campuses and is central to business, arts and industry sectors. The sites proximity to Dallas dynamic business climate will ignite innovation and foster new partnerships. The university plans to synergize with area industries in workforce development and reskilling.

A&M-Commerce at Dallas joins sites in Frisco, McKinney and Mesquite to substantially increase A&M-Commerces presence in the Metroplex.

Learn more about A&M-Commerce at Dallas at tamuc.edu/Dallas.

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San Diego, CA, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties is proud to announce Maria Ines Rosas in the La Mesa/El Cajon office has been appointed exclusive U.S. marketing representative for Rancho Los Remedios, a wine-oriented, gated community near lovely San Miguel De Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Rancho Los Remedios is comprised of 89 residential lots that range from 13,000 to 55,000 square feet, priced between $125,000 and $645,000 USD. New homes are offered from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 USD.

Situated in a beautiful setting in the heart of central Mexico, Rancho is a wine lovers paradise. An average 60 percent of each residential lot is dedicated to growing grapes or avocados, with the rest dedicated for a home, making the vineyard an integral part of the Rancho lifestyle.

Among the benefits of Rancho homeownership, each resident will receive between 24 and 36 bottles of wine annually, depending on the size of their lot. To become immersed in viticulture, they can tag along to watch harvesting of the grapes, participate in wine tastings, and watch bottling under the supervision of the professional winemaking team. Making it all a breeze, vineyard maintenance is provided by the development company.

Its really a remarkable way to live, surrounded by nature and neighbors who share their passion for wine and agriculture, said Maria, an agent with the New Homes Division of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties. Opportunities to live a healthy lifestyle are all around, with loads of walking trails, six parks, and two lakes.

The Ranchos pastoral setting makes owners feel part of its unique history. They can marvel at the gorgeous 300-year-old trees that were part of the original El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, a 1,590-mile trade route that operated from Mexico City to San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico between 1598 and 1882, and now passes through the development.

Residents of this fantastic community can mingle with friends in a clubhouse, and cool off in a gorgeous swimming pool. They will also be able to enjoy the historic hacienda, currently being renovated as a venue for weddings and other events, with its own public entrance. Future plans include a gourmet restaurant, an organic farm producing export-quality avocados, and a petting zoo.

Wine has been produced in Guanajuato for more than 400 years since the Spaniards founded the cities in the state. According to the Guanajuato Tourism Board, Guanajuato has more than 864 acres of vineyards with 24 different grape varieties grown on them, producing more than 100,000 bottles in 14 wineries.

The Rancho Los Remedios community is located in Comonfort, Guanajuato, an easy 15-minute drive from San Miguel de Allende. San Miguel de Allende is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site and listed as the best city in the world by Conde Nast Traveler and the best city in Latin America by Travel + Leisure. Queretaro Intercontinental Airport and Guanajuato International Airport are both about an hour and a half away, while Mexico City International Airport is a three-hour drive.

In the past decade, San Miguel de Allende has transformed from a quaint, artsy small town into a cosmopolitan city that attracts internationally recognized chefs and artists. The city is filled with gourmet restaurants, shops and galleries popular with U.S. tourists and locals alike.

For additional information about this spectacular opportunity to enjoy a relaxed lifestyle in a historic setting, contact Maria Ines Rosas at 619-552-6889 or MariaInesRosas@bhhscal.com.

BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information. BHHSCP and Maria Ines Rosas have an exclusive agreement to market for sale the properties in Rancho Los Remedios in Mexico. BHHSCP and Maria Ines Rosas are not and will not be the listing broker or agent for the properties, and nothing in this document is intended to represent otherwise. Agent inquiries are welcomed.

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BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asurio, Inc. (www.asurio.com), developers of the BirdDog Life Safety Inspection & Data Collection System, today announced it has developed a fast-track process to help users of MobileEyes System Inspector software quickly & easily transition to BirdDog Life Safety Inspection & Data Collection Software. Asurio has developed this offering in response to the announcement that MobileEyes Corp. is discontinuing its MobileEyes System Inspector software as of June 2022. This fast-track software migration capability makes the BirdDog Life Safety Inspection Software the best MobileEyes System Inspector alternative.



The BirdDog Inspection System is powerful, configurable, life safety inspection software thats designed for industries & organizations that need to conduct inspections for fire life safety, government requirements & more. Configurable for national, regional & local fire safety inspection standards, the BirdDog Inspection System automates & streamlines the facility inspection process, and also manages, shares & reports on inspection data & inspection results.

Given that MobileEyesSystem Inspector software is being discontinued as of June 1, 2022, fire life safety contractors using MobileEyes System Inspector will need to transition to new software prior to June 1, 2022. To facilitate this, Asurio, Inc. has developed a fast-track process for life safety contractors to migrate from MobileEyes System Inspector to BirdDog Inspection Software.

For life safety contractors looking for the best MobileEyes System Inspector alternative, Asurio is offering the following migration support: 1) Fast-tracked Inspection Data Migration: The Asurio team has developed a process for quickly and efficiently migrating a fire contractors specific inspection data from MobileEyes System Inspector to the BirdDog Inspection System. 2) Multiple Training Options: New users can get up to speed on using the BirdDog Inspection System in 3 ways: 1) In-person or virtual training with a BirdDog trainer; 2) Helpful how-to videos; and 3) Asurios tech support department. 3) Support from Asurios In-house Forms Team: Asurio is unique in that it has a dedicated inspection forms team to provide BirdDog users with the inspection forms they need; 4) Asurio Customer Success Program: Asurio offers an innovative Customer Success Program that involves Asurio representatives reaching out to customers to help them maximize their use of the BirdDog Inspection System, not just at the beginning, but over timeand more.

For fire safety contractors who have to migrate off of MobileEyes System Inspector by June 1, 2022, time is of the essence, said Asurio General Manager Jack Coffelt. Given that the Asurio team has developed a fast-track process to help fire safety contractors efficiently migrate from MobileEyes System Inspector, the BirdDog Life Safety Inspection System truly is the best MobileEyes System Inspector alternative.

About Asurio, Inc. & BirdDog Life Safety Inspection Software

Asurio, Inc. is a USA-based software company that offers the BirdDog Life Safety Inspection & Data Collection System. BirdDog is one of the more powerful & versatile inspection & data collection systems on the market today. Asurio has a special expertise in fire-life safety inspections for commercial buildings, hospitals, manufacturing facilities, and more. However, the BirdDog system can be configured to inspect and/or collect data for virtually any industry. In addition, Asurio, Inc. is a Microsoft partner, and hosts its cloud-based BirdDog inspection software on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing solution, resulting in world-class 24/7 reliability and security. Asurio, Inc. can be reached at: www.asurio.com, or 877.444.1488.

Media Contact: Courtney DeWinter, DeWinter Marketing & PR  Denver

303.572.8180, www.DeWinterMarketingPR.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LiveToBeHappy, Inc. (OTCM: CAVR, soon to be LTBH) (LiveToBeHappy or the Company), a platform company that acquires undervalued assets and professionally manages them, today announced several updates, demonstrating meaningful momentum in the Companys growth strategy.



Recent Highlights:

The Company issued its audited financial statements for fiscal years 2019 and 2020, completed by the independent accounting firm of HoganTaylor, the last major step in the uplisting process, with the expectation of being uplisted to the OTCQB no later than the second quarter of fiscal year 2022.

LiveToBeHappy has undergone a major transformation of the business over the last two years, from generating $8 million in revenue in fiscal 2020, to what is currently being forecasted as $20-$25 million for fiscal 2022.

As outlined in 2021, five of the seven acquisitions have been completed and the Company is in the final stages of the due diligence process on the final two companies under Letter of Intent (LOI), with expected closure in the first half of 2022.

DRIP Fitness will expand its offering and recently acquired exclusive patent rights for a revolutionary new exercise bike that enables injured patients to remain active with no additional pain. This product, to be branded as the DRIP Bike, will be released in conjunction with the patent pending DRIP Climber.

The Company signed a lease and plans to open its new corporate headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. in the first quarter of 2022.



Fiscal 2022 Outlook

Kevin Vincent Cox, Chief Executive Officer of LiveToBeHappy, commented, We are making significant progress on the integration of our acquired companies, while continuing to evaluate additional opportunities where we believe we can provide professional management experience and create sustainable long-term value. We are very optimistic about the remaining companies we have under LOI as we approach the conclusion of our due diligence. We are also very excited about the completion of the financial audit for fiscal years 2019 and 2020, the last major step in our uplisting process to the OTCQB. The forthcoming uplist is expected to help increase the overall visibility to LiveToBeHappys value proposition.

Cox concluded, For fiscal year 2022, we expect consolidated revenue to be in the range of $20-$25 million and adjusted EBITDA to be between $2-$5 million. We are encouraged by the contribution from, and synergies provided by, the numerous brands we have added to our portfolio throughout the last few quarters. With several of Sinacoris large projects underway, we have started the year with significant momentum and anticipate the second quarter of 2022 to be a meaningful inflection point in the Companys transformation. Finally, our new headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina is indicative of our business expansion and the confidence we have in our growth plan as we continue to build lives not just places to live. I look forward to sharing our progress throughout 2022 with all of our stakeholders.

Grant Edwards, Chief Financial Officer of LiveToBeHappy, commented, The completion of the 2020 and 2019 audit is a huge milestone for us. This validation by an independent accounting firm shows our commitment to good process and sound financial reporting. These audited financial statements will provide the foundation for our future financial reporting.

About LiveToBeHappy, Inc.

LiveToBeHappy, Inc. is a platform company that acquires undervalued assets and professionally manages them. LiveToBeHappy Inc.s wholly owned subsidiary, Sinacori Builders, is a residential land development and custom single- and multi-family home builder in Charlotte, N.C. LiveToBeHappy, Inc. has two remaining pending acquisitions under Letters of Intent which are expected to transform the Company into a vertically integrated real estate development company with a broader footprint and more diversified revenue stream. The Companys mission is to build lives, not just places to live. For more information, please visit our website at www.livetobehappy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements that include the words expect, intend, plan, believe, project, forecast, estimate, may, should, anticipate and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are based on managements current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. With these statements, there is no assurance that the acquisitions under letter of intent will close. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information, future events, or changes in assumptions, except as required by law.

Investor Contacts:

Alpha IR Group

Lisa Fortuna or Sam Cohen

LTBH@alpha-ir.com
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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Governor Northam Announces $1.2 Million for Virginia Specialty Crop Projects

Grants support 19 projects to advance specialty crop production, promote economic development

RICHMONDGovernor Ralph Northam today announced the award of more than $1.2 million in United States Department of Agriculture grant funding for 19 specialty crop projects in Virginia. The project awards resulted from a competitive grant process established by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to support federally eligible specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts and nursery crops.

Supporting research and technological advancements that enhance the competitiveness of Virginia specialty crops helps to ensure that this leading industry remains at the forefront of our economy. Furthering innovation in agriculture, the Commonwealths largest private industry, has positive impacts for both rural communities and consumers across Virginia, said Governor Northam.

The USDA funding, authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill ($549,487) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (P.L. 116-260) ($731,138), provides support to activities and programs that increase demand for agricultural goods and address issues facing the specialty crop sector including food safety, plant pests and disease, research, education, and marketing and promotion. Additionally, Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 funding can be used to prioritize projects that respond to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This funding furthers Governor Northams administration work of encouraging rural economic development and diversifying the Commonwealths range of agriculture products, said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring.

When considering grants for the USDA Specialty Crop Program, VDACS gave priority to projects that included the following activities:

Assisting farmers transitioning into high-value agricultural initiatives involving eligible specialty crops

Increasing net farm income through high-value or value-added enterprises

Finding new ways to market or add value to specialty agricultural products

Developing pilot and demonstration programs in specialty agriculture that have the potential for transferability within rural Virginia.

Grants were awarded to the following recipients and projects:

2021 Farm Bill Funding



Point-of-Harvest (PoH) Continuing Education Program for Wild Harvesters

Appalachian Sustainable Development, in partnership with Virginia Tech



Examining the use of Biochar to Improve Lavender Disease Resistance in Virginia

Virginia Tech



Establishment of a Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Cultivar Trial at the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center

Virginia Tech Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center in partnership with Virginia State University



Improving Agronomic Traits of Edamame by Gene Editing

Virginia Tech



Securing Organic Vegetable Production in Virginia through Increased Disease Management Knowledge

Virginia Tech



Assessing Suitable Production Techniques for Ramps in Appalachia

Virginia Tech in partnership with Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmers Coalition, Appalachian Sustainable Development, and the U.S. Forest Service.



Evaluating the Microbial Quality of High Tunnel Environments used for Produce Production

Virginia Tech





Large Scale Commercialization of Ginger Production in Virginia-Assessing its Health Benefits

Virginia Tech in partnership with Virginia State University

2021 COVID 19 Relief Funding



Building a Regional Aggregation and Distribution Network in Support of Virginia Specialty Crop Producers

Appalachian Sustainable Development



Improving Pest Management for Virginia Cole Crops

Virginia Tech



Irrigation Method Selection and Nitrogen Fertilization for Potato Production on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Education Center



Exploring the use of Chitosan for Control of Grapevine Fungal Diseases in Virginia Vineyards

Winemakers Research Exchange



Utilizing Beneficial Endophytes to Promote Hydroponic Vegetable Growth and Increase Profitability

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in partnership with Virginia Techs School of Plant and Environmental Sciences



Making Food Safety Certification and Compliance Attainable for Virginia Farmers Facing Market and Regulatory Changes

Appalachian Sustainable Development



Enhancing Public Awareness of Virginia Floriculture and the Competitiveness of Virginia Grown Flowers

The River City Flower Exchange



Year of the Apple: Growing Virginias Hard Cider Market by Showcasing Virginia-Grown Apples

The American Cider Association

Groundwork for Development and Management of a Virginia Focused Wine Grapevine Breeding Initiative

Virginia Wineries Association



Evaluation of Cellulose Nanocrystals for Frost Protection of Apple and Stone Fruits

Virginia Tech



Biofilm Control Strategies for Commonly Used Surfaces in Specialty Crop Operations

Virginia Tech

Please see the full summary below for details.





Specialty Crop Block Grant Award Detail

2021 Farm Bill Funding

Point-of-Harvest (PoH) Continuing Education Program for Wild Harvesters

Appalachian Sustainable Development, in partnership with Virginia Tech (VT), will improve forest botanical competitiveness, sustainability, and profitability among Virginias wild harvesters. Partners will accomplish this by finalizing and implementing a PoH workforce development and continuing education program. Partners will certify five PoH instructors and 100 PoH wild harvesters, who will gain access to equipment and premium-priced markets for sustainably and legally harvested forest botanicals through the Appalachian Harvest Herb Hub.



Examining the use of Biochar to Improve Lavender Disease Resistance in Virginia

Researchers at VT will examine the efficacy of biochar soil treatments in promoting disease-resistance in a model specialty crop system using greenhouse and field studies. This project will develop diagnostic tools and growing recommendations for lavender farmers afflicted with Phytophthora infections. This information will be shared with lavender growers via U.S. Lavender Grower newsletters, social media, and conferences.



Establishment of a Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Cultivar Trial at the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center

The VT Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SPAREC), jointly with Virginia State University, will initiate a hazelnut (Corylus avellane L.) cultivar trial in Virginia. Hazelnut is a high value specialty crop, grown primarily in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Although conditions in Virginia are ideal for hazelnut production, there are no commercial plantings because the non-commercial American hazelnut (C. americana), which is native to the region, is a tolerant host to Anisogramma anomala, the causal agent of the eastern filbert blight, a fungal disease lethal to the commercial European hazelnut (C. avellana). Hazelnut breeding programs at Oregon State University and Rutgers University have granted priority access to their new releases for the establishment of an experimental hazelnut orchard at the SPAREC. The funding will support orchard management and data collection, including development and testing of protocols for monitoring of pest and disease interactions in the new crop.



Improving Agronomic Traits of Edamame by Gene Editing

Edamame, also known as vegetable soybean, is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. due to its excellent nutritional value and health benefits. Most of the edamame consumed in the U.S. is imported from overseas producers. Three major factors preventing wider adoption of edamame production in Virginia is short shelf life, plant height and a longer production cycle.

To address these challenges, VT is working to develop new edamame cultivars with a reduced time to reach maturity, a reduced plant height, and an improved shelf life by integrating new technologies, including the CRISPR/Cas9 mediated gene editing tool and visible informatic intelligence approach to edamame breeding. The results will improve the sustainability of commercial edamame production and benefit producers in local and regional markets in order to further strengthen and diversify agricultural economies in Virginia.



Securing Organic Vegetable Production in Virginia through Increased Disease Management Knowledge

Organic production in Virginia has grown to include over 28,000 acres and account for over $62,800,000 in value according to the USDA 2019 Organic Survey. Diseases are one of the most important limiting factors for organic vegetable production in the state.

Researchers with VTs School of Plant and Environmental Sciences will conduct research objectives to determine grower needs, evaluate commercial varieties for disease resistance/tolerance, and determine the most effective fungicide/bactericides for reducing losses to disease while improving profitability. In addition, marketable yield will be determined and cost-benefit analyses will be conducted. A goal is to produce and distribute an organic disease identification guide. Results from this research will be published in industry publications and presented at grower meetings and field days.



Assessing Suitable Production Techniques for Ramps in Appalachia

VT, in partnership with Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmers Coalition, Appalachian Sustainable Development, and U.S. Forest Service, will develop sustainable propagation and production techniques for ramps (Allium tricoccum). This effort will improve the understanding of markets for cultured ramps, comparing and conserving ramp ecotypes, improving ramp production techniques, refining a site suitability model, and disseminating results to stakeholders through field days, university media and extension publications.



Evaluating the Microbial Quality of High Tunnel Environments used for Produce Production

More than 7,000 high tunnels, 800 in Virginia, have been built across the region, since 2010, with funding support through the Natural Resources Conservation Services Environmental Quality Incentives Program. However, soil borne diseases threaten the long-term sustainability of vegetable production in high tunnels if left unchecked. VT researchers will examine environmental conditions in high tunnels within Virginia and monitor for corresponding microorganisms. This research will secure the future and improve recommendations for safe, profitable high tunnel vegetable production in the Commonwealth. Results from this research will be published in industry publications and presented at grower meetings and field days.



Large Scale Commercialization of Ginger Production in Virginia-Assessing its Health Benefits

The Small Fruit and Vegetable Program with the Cooperative Extension in partnership with the Food Chemistry and Nutrition Science Program in the Agricultural Research Station Department at Virginia State University (VSU) will promote the commercial production of fresh ginger roots among Virginia farmers. Globally, ginger continues to be an important spice with a total worldwide production of more than three million metric tons in 2017. The U.S. imports a considerable volume of ginger from different countries. Funding will provide a large scale field commercial production of ginger in Virginia.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a tropical plant and it grows under hot and humid conditions and requires a ten- to eleven-month growing season before it is fully mature and harvested for the market. Fully mature ginger is what is usually found in many supermarkets and specialty food stores. The Small Fruits and Vegetable Program at VSU has researched ginger production for the last 10 years and promoted the production and marketing of immature ginger, locally called Baby-Ginger. Since the growing season in Virginia is only seven to eight months (April-November), it is not possible for the ginger plant to fully mature in the field.

Preliminary results from a series of 2019 experiments, show that it is possible to harvest immature baby-ginger in October and store it under special conditions to allow the baby-ginger to physiologically reach full maturity, which extends its shelf life up to an additional eight months. This funding allows collaboration with a select number of Virginia farmers to implement the results from the 2019 studies at a larger scale, and to evaluate the commercial market potential. VSU will partner with I Love Produce, a large size produce wholesaler, and a major ginger importer and distributor to assist farmers with the test marketing of Virginia-grown mature ginger.



2021 COVID 19 Relief Funding



Building a Regional Aggregation and Distribution Network in Support of Virginia Specialty Crop Producers

Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) will enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops by improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems. ASD will develop aggregation sites and distribution routes that connect farmers to buyers. The system will also ensure product flow to and from aggregation sites and that buyers along distribution routes are able to purchase more local and regional produce.



Improving Pest Management for Virginia Cole Crops

Diamondback Moth (DBM) and Cabbage Maggot (CM) are major pests that attack cole crops in Virginia. Managing these two destructive pests represents a significant cost for growers every season. This project will monitor different DBM populations for the presence of individuals with tolerance or resistance to current applied insecticides. This monitoring program will identify which insecticides are not providing the expected control in the field and also testing alternative control tactics for both DBM and CM, to include the use of mating disruption for DBM management and different insecticide active ingredients to replace the use of chlorpyrifos for CM.



Irrigation Method Selection and Nitrogen Fertilization for Potato Production on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

The VT Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Education Center (AREC) will evaluate drip irrigation and soil moisture water sensors as alternative irrigation methods for potato production with a goal of improving water and nitrogen efficiencies. This research will also identify potential interactions between nitrogen rates, irrigation system (overhead versus drip), and irrigation determination method (single crop coefficient versus soil moisture water sensors). Crop performance will be evaluated in terms of yield, tuber quality, plant nutritional status, crop reflectance, and net treatment economic returns. Results from this project will be disseminated to stakeholders through field days, peer-reviewed publications, incorporation into vegetable production guides, and outreach education materials available to the public through the Virginia Cooperative Extension website. Information learned and education materials developed will benefit all vegetable growers with improved irrigation and nitrogen application methodologies.



Exploring the use of Chitosan for Control of Grapevine Fungal Diseases in Virginia Vineyards

The Winemakers Research Exchange, in collaboration with commercial wine grape growers, will test the use of chitosan for the mitigation of fungal diseases in Virginia vineyards. The study will determine if this non-toxic biopolymer application has impacts on vine health, incidence of fungal disease, grape quality, and yield. Studies will be conducted at multiple sites over two vintages. If found effective, chitosan use could lead to a decrease in the use of fungicidal sprays, improving vine and soil health as well as grape quality, leading to more sustainable and resilient farming approaches. Findings will be shared with grape growers at regional meetings and through newsletter distribution.



Utilizing Beneficial Endophytes to Promote Hydroponic Vegetable Growth and Increase Profitability

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), in partnership with VTs School of Plant and Environmental Sciences (SPES), have established a Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Innovation Center at IALRs campus. This project will combine the unique skillsets of SPES and IALR to improve yield in hydroponic vegetable production by utilizing IALRs collection of beneficial bacterial endophytes. Generally, endophytes promote plant growth, increase stress tolerance as well as fight against diseases, all of which will increase the profitability of hydroponics by increasing yield. Yields and diseases are two major challenges in hydroponic industries.

During this two-year project, researchers will pragmatically test endophytes from IALRs collection in a hydroponic system on vegetable crops, such as lettuce and spinach, in the CEA Innovation Center. The best combination of growth-promoting bacteria and biocontrol bacteria will be tested using the randomized block design. The overall outcome for the project is to increase hydroponic vegetable yield by 10-20%. If achieved, it will contribute to making year-round hydroponic production more profitable.



Making Food Safety Certification and Compliance Attainable for Virginia Farmers Facing Market and Regulatory Changes

Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) and its partners will work collectively to heighten the competitiveness of specialty crop producers by providing food safety classroom training, one on one technical assistance and mock audits to farmers across Virginia. ASD will work with its partners to enhance and incorporate the FDAs Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule requirements with the addition of three lead trainers. One hundred producers will be prepared to obtain certification should their markets shift to stricter standards and/or certifications. Sixty of these farmers will receive USDA GAP, HGAP, HGAP Plus, Primus or other food safety certification. Farmers will participate in mock audits with experts conducting 20 site visits to prepare for certification. Training materials and classroom training will also include a cross-reference checklist of current SOPs and FDA guidelines that should be followed in the event of severe health crises such as COVID-19.



Enhancing Public Awareness of Virginia Floriculture and the Competitiveness of Virginia Grown Flowers

The River City Flower Exchange will increase public awareness of Virginia floriculture and enhance the competitiveness of Virginia-grown flowers by developing and hosting educational workshops and events. The program will also develop and disseminate marketing collateral to promote Virginia-grown flowers.



Year of the Apple: Growing Virginias Hard Cider Market by Showcasing Virginia-Grown Apples

The American Cider Association, in partnership with VDACS, will execute and lead a strategic marketing and promotions project to grow sales of Virginia hard cider made with Virginia apples. Cider is a value-added specialty crop product made from fermented apples. Nielsen reports that ciders retail market share is equivalent to two percent of Virginias beer industry, despite being home to 48 cider producers and the sixth largest state for apple production in the U.S. This project will enhance the competitiveness of ciders made with Virginia-grown apples through a cider week promotion, cider education and orchard tours targeting culinary professionals, and a consumer-facing year-long cider festival and punch card promotion.



Groundwork for Development and Management of a Virginia Focused Wine Grapevine Breeding Initiative

The Virginia Wineries Association will contract with the Winevine Breeding Initiative to research the steps needed to build an initiative to utilize next generation genome tools to breed new varieties that are adapted to Virginias growing conditions and commercial needs. In addition, the project will set up the infrastructure and partners needed to execute the initiatives goal of breeding new varieties for Virginia and the mid-Atlantic, establish the path forward and pursue outside funding opportunities.



Evaluation of Cellulose Nanocrystals for Frost Protection of Apple and Stone Fruits

Spring freezes chronically imperil the sustainable annual production of tree fruits and grapes in Virginia. Economic losses caused by frost damage can be enormous, and the risk of frost damage is projected to rise due to global climate change. In recent years, a renewable nanomaterial called cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) has emerged as an innovative tool that holds the potential to protect fruit trees from frost damages, with minimum environmental impact. However, studies on its effectiveness and suitability are scarce, especially with regards to apples and peaches. VT will comprehensively evaluate multiple aspects of using CNCs on tree fruits and pave the way for its commercial use in the coming years. CNCs are expected to increase the cold hardiness of tree buds and flowers by 2-6 C, depending on the concentration and developmental stage. Such improvements will provide significant cold protection against spring frosts and widely benefit Virginia's fruit growers and stakeholders.



Biofilm Control Strategies for Commonly Used Surfaces in Specialty Crop Operations

VT will develop surface specific sanitation protocols to reduce biofilms in specialty crop operations, such as operations that handle/pack apple, peach, cucumber, cantaloupe, tomato, leafy green, and berry. The research focuses on how to prevent and reduce biofilms on different surface materials commonly used in specialty crop operations, such as stainless steel, hard plastic, wood, rubber, foam, and fabric, by employing different commercial cleaning and sanitizing regimens. The ultimate outcome is development of targeted sanitation protocols for different surface types for specialty crop operations to minimize biofilms and reduce the likelihood of contamination events. Research findings will directly support the Virginia specialty crop industries by providing a better understanding of biofilm formation and prevention on a variety of surfaces used during operations. Results will be communicated to stakeholders through Produce Safety Alliance Grower Trainings and extension forums including Virginias Annual Tree Fruit School, grower association meetings, and Virginia Cooperative Extension fact-sheets/presentations.



For more information on Virginias Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, contact VDACS Division of Marketing and Development at (804) 786-5448.

# # #
With almost four times the population of Washington state in an area a quarter of its size, Taiwan has suffered comparatively little of the economic devastation that has taken hold in this state and nation in general.

They never even shut down the bars. Why?

They all wear masks, contact tracing is fast, and they follow strict protocols with visitors.

Aside from that, life is normal in the island nation off the coast of the Peoples Republic of China.

Coulee Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sam Hsieh just got back from visiting family there and described the experience for CMCs hospital district board of commissioners Monday night.

People in Asia got used to wearing masks when the SARS virus hit them hard in the early 2000s. So when SARS-CoV-2 was discovered in 2019, systems were in place for quickly tracing the disease, and people already knew to put on masks, which are plentiful.

Now, 74 % of the population is fully vaccinated.

Anyone traveling to Taiwan must also be fully vaccinated, take a PCR covid test within 72 hours of boarding the plane (a 14-hour flight from Washington), then quarantine in a special hotel room with the family for 14 days.

The kids definitely got more screen time than usual, Hsieh said.

Meals are delivered to the door. Hsieh said those breaking quarantined are fined heavily. He heard of one person fined over $30,000.

Travelers are tested every three days for Covid until theyve been in country for 21 days. And the government will check on you daily.

The results? Among almost 24 million people, Taiwan has seen about 18,800 cases of COVID-19, including 851 dead. Among Washington states 7.5 million, some 1.34 million cases of the disease have been documented by county health agencies all over the state, the states Dept. of Health site says. Weve almost reached 11,000 dead.
Grand Haven, MI (49417)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 62F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 51F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Grand Haven, MI (49417)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 62F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 51F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Grand Haven, MI (49417)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 62F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 51F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Country

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Tests in a Li-ion half cell at WMG, University of Warwick (UK), of Ceylon Graphites commercial spherodized, silicon-enhanced vein graphite materials yielded a 446 mAh/g specific discharge capacity (SDC) for the materials13% higher than what is achieved for vein graphite on its own (393 mAh/g) under the same testing conditions. The synthetic comparison data is from earlier test work performed at WMG.





We had very good results from our initial coin cell battery tests as well as our full cell test, but I am excited to see the performance improvement of vein graphite with silicon enhancements. These results are a highly significant development for Ceylon, and we believe we can further improve these numbers as we continue perfecting the technology. The unique characteristics of our Sri Lankan vein graphite combined with our proprietary processing technologies produces a Li-ion battery with significantly higher power and energy as tested by WMG. In addition, we believe that the energy consumption of the end-to-end process of producing battery-grade anode material from vein graphite is the lowest, relative to synthetic and flake graphite, because vein graphite from Sri Lanka does not require primary processing, due to the high in situ grade above 90%Cg. Ceylon CEO Don Baxter





Spherodized silicon-enhanced vein graphite materials

Known under various names including crystalline vein, Plumbago, Sri Lankan graphite, and Ceylon graphite, Sri Lankan and Ceylon are commonly used for vein graphite since Sri Lanka (formerly known Ceylon) is the only area to produce this material in commercial quantities, the company notes.





Vein graphite is a true vein mineral, as opposed to a seam mineral (amorphous graphite) or a mineral that is disseminated throughout the ore rock (as in flake graphite).

WMG is an academic department at the University of Warwick, focused on collaboration between academia and the public and private sectors.
Four major European air carriersAir France-KLM, easyJet, Ryanair and Deutsche Post DHL Grouphave joined forces with non-governmental organizations such as Transport & Environment in a Fueling Flight Initiative meant to help advance a key draft EU law.

The legislative proposal from the European Commission would spur aviations take-up of renewable energy, which so far has developed much more slowly in this industry than in others including automotive and power.

The Commissions ReFuelEU Aviation proposal would ensure that the share of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) used in the bloc grows from almost nothing currently to at least 2% in 2025, 5% in 2030 andafter subsequent five-year steps63% in 2050. These SAF targets are known as blending mandates. They would cover advanced biofuels, which exclude traditional types that risk competing with food production.

Within the proposed SAF targets, the draft law would also guarantee minimum amounts for synthetic aviation fuels, a type of renewable energy of non-biological origin with especially high emission-savings potential compared to fossil aviation fuel (i.e., kerosene).

While commending the European Commission for its exclusion of food and feed crop-based biofuels, the Fueling Flight Initiative urges the EUs legislators to strengthen the proposal by adding:

Earlier and more ambitious sub-targets for e-kerosene, including an earlier start, if sufficient green hydrogen and renewable electricity becomes available.

Financial support to enable new biofuel feedstocks, under strict sustainability criteria.

The creation of a European SAF industrial alliance with a focus on research and development.

A comprehensive SAF registry applying to fuel suppliers.

The proposal on SAF is being scrutinized by EU national governments and the European Parliament in a process due to last well into 2022. The proposal is part of a package of draft climate legislation meant to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% in 2030 versus 1990 levels and to make the bloc climate-neutral by mid-century.

The Fueling Flight Initiative was convened by the European Climate Foundation and ClimateWorks. Technical advice was provided by the International Council on Clean Transportation.
Uber and Wallbox, a leading provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management solutions worldwide, are expanding their partnership nationwide following a pilot program. As previously announced, the partnership provides Uber drivers a discounted package for a Wallbox Pulsar Plus charger, installation and the option to finance the package.

Just a few months after beginning their initial partnership in the Bay Area in October 2021, the companies are expanding their collaboration so that drivers across the US will soon have access to Wallboxs discounted EV charging package. This will be rolled out in four key groups, in order to reach nationwide coverage by the end of April 2022. Additionally, the two companies are actively discussing a potential global roll-out program beginning in Europe and Canada.

The roll-out is expected to follow four phases:

os Angeles, Portland and Seattle in January Phoenix, New York and Boston in February The Midwest and Southeast in March The rest of the US, excluding Alaska, in April

The partnership is being supported by an Uber program that makes drivers of fully electric vehicles (EVs) eligible for a Zero Emissions incentive, so they can earn an extra $1 on every Uber trip (up to $4,000 annually).

Wallboxs worldwide best-selling charger, Pulsar Plus, became an Amazon USBest Seller in just a few months. Pulsar Plus is one of the smallest smart home EV chargers in the US, is compatible with all EVs and can be installed in homes, apartments, and other multi-unit dwellings.

The partnership is part of Ubers continued commitment to becoming a zero-emission platform in the US and Canada by 2030.
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As a manslaughter charge moves forward against Connecticut investment banker Scott Hapgood, it remains uncertain whether hell be forced to return to the Caribbean island to stand trial for the 2019 killing of a hotel worker.

A preliminary inquiry has upheld the manslaughter charge in the death of Kenny Mitchel, an Anguillan hotel worker who was killed during an altercation with Hapgood who was on vacation with his family in April 2019.

The Anguillan criminal proceedings are continuing against the defendant, attorney Beck Fineman, representing Hapgood in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Mitchels family, wrote in court documents filed Monday.

Hapgood is considered a fugitive from justice after he refused to attend a November 2019 court hearing in Anguilla, claiming he feared for his life if he returned to the Caribbean island.

Anguillan Attorney General Dwight Horsford said last May that his office may consider extraditing Hapgood. However, Hapgoods attorneys said Monday they have not been contacted about a possible extradition since the inquiry has been completed.

Horsford has not responded to Hearst Connecticut Media Groups requests to discuss the case.

Hapgoods attorneys declined to comment about what the possible next steps will be for their client.

According to information supplied by the federal Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, the embassy of the country making the request for extradition is required to contact the U.S. State Department, which will review the request and forward it to the DOJ Criminal Divisions OIA.

As part of the process to comply with an extradition request from a foreign country, it must be verified that the United States has a treaty with the country seeking extradition, the OIA website said. The State Department and the OIA would work together to determine compliance with the treaty requirements and if the crime committed would be an extraditable offense according to the treaty, the website said.

If the Secretary of States office agrees to issue a surrender warrant, the OIA will notify the foreign country and make arrangements to turn over the wanted person.

The DOJ declined to comment about the process.

Hapgood could also voluntarily surrender to Anguillan authorities, but he would then likely be jailed on the island while his case is pending since he refused to appear for the 2019 hearing while he was released on bond.

The office of U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who was among those who supported Hapgood when he skipped the 2019 court appearance, said the family has not reached out for help in recent months.

In a lawsuit filed against Auberge Resorts, which owns the Malliouhana Resort in Anguilla, the Hapgoods contend the Darien resident fought for his life when the 27-year-old Mitchel attacked him and tried to rob him at knifepoint in his hotel room.

Hapgood was able to restrain Mitchel, but hotel employees, who were summoned by his daughters, initially didnt call police or an ambulance for nearly 40 minutes, the Darien mans lawsuit said. A hotel security guard eventually took over restraining Mitchel until police arrived, the lawsuit said.

Anguilla authorities said Mitchel was unconscious when they arrived and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Attorney Steven Seligman, representing Mitchels estate, claimed in their lawsuit that Hapgood caused the younger mans death by positioning his arm on the hotel workers neck, cutting off his airway for an extended period of time.

The lawsuit filed by Hapgood stated Mitchel's cause of death was attributed to a cocaine overdose based on an Anguillan toxicology report.

Both lawsuits will likely rely heavily on information culled from the inquiry report, attorneys said. It is unclear when or how much of the evidence gathered during the inquiry will be released to attorneys representing both sides in the lawsuit.

Fineman and Seligman asked for a 60-day continuance in federal lawsuit. They said the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions travel guidance to Caribbean islands has limited their access to witnesses outside of Connecticut.

Lawyers on both sides of the Auberge lawsuit also agreed to a 60-day continuance in that case last week.

The two lawsuits and the criminal case have been stalled for months during the pandemic and while the inquiry was conducted. Hapgoods appeal to stop the inquiry was rejected last May.
BlackBerry sold 90 patents to Huawei a year ago, now the company has announced a $600 million deal to sell yet more patents related to mobile devices, messaging and wireless networking.

The sale is to Catapult IP Innovations. Based in Delaware, Catapult was formed specifically to hold the BlackBerry patents. The money is split as $450 million in cash and a $150 million promissory note.

Also as part of the deal BlackBerry will retain a license to use the patents. The company says that customers using its services will not be affected. However, some BlackBerry employees will move to Catapult.

As an early pioneer in wireless messaging, BlackBerry was contributed major innovations and holds valuable patents. Held, anyway, at one point its portfolio was estimated to be worth $2-3 billion (or as high as $4-5 billion in the case of a bidding war). The company used some of its BBM patents to sue Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp back in 2018, proving their worth.

The sale isnt a done deal, the federal government of Canada will pore over the details to ensure they are likely to have a net benefit to the Canadian economy, and do not pose a risk to our national security. Canada does retain some control over the patents as Toronto-based Third Eye Capital helped Catapult secure a major chunk of its funding. The deal has been in the works since 2020 and is expected to take up to seven months to close.

Its not clear what  if anything  this means for Onward Mobility, which is trying to relaunch the BlackBerry brand with new 5G phones, though without assistance from BlackBerry itself (like TCL had in the beginning).

Source
A few years ago Apple and Qualcomm got into an argument over patents and licences, which spurred a multi-year legal battle. The issue was eventually settled out of court in 2019, but now the Qualcomm is getting a chance to win back some lost ground.

As part of the proceedings Apple challenged one patent, citing prior art and asking the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to declare it invalid (this was in 2018). The board sided with Apple in 2020.

Qualcomm appealed that decision and the board has now greed to have another look at it, so there is a chance that the patent will be declared valid again.

Previously, court documents showed that Apple will continue using Qualcomm modems in its devices through 2023. More recently, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote that Apple will switch to in-house 5G modems in 2023 at the earliest. Of course, these modems may still be subject to licenses owed to Qualcomm, depending on how the appeal goes.

However, Apples complaint that led to the lawsuit in the first place is that Qualcomm was charging it both for the modem chips themselves as well as licenses for the patents that they use, what was described as double dipping.

Source
In an attempt to boost the hype for its upcoming Realme 9 Pro series, the company announced they will feature innovative "Chameleon" color.

Both Realme 9 Pro and Pro+ models will get a chameleon-like option, which will change colors depending on the light conditions. Realme calls this a Light Shift Design.

Once the Realme 9 Pro series arrive in Europe, they are going to be the first handsets on the continent with such feature. The so-called Sunrise Blue is going to be available for both devices. But it would turn red in about five seconds after being exposed to direct sunlight or ultraviolet rays.

Realme says that it had to go through more than 200 trials and errors before finding the right formula of materials and paint thickness that would allow fast color transition over time. The dual-layer photochromic process adds an organic composite layer that allows a 40% faster color transition.



The new Sunrise Blue color

We've seen a similar color design from the vivo V23 series a couple of weeks ago when the launched in India, so we know what to expect. The Realme 9 series has been widely discussed in the last couple of weeks as rumors and teasers revealed pretty much everything there is to know.

The Realme is yet to announce the exact date for the 9 Pro duo launch, but it can't be long now.
Denise Carbullido Pangelinan, a project engineer for a billion-dollar company in California, can trace her work ethic to the weekends and summers she spent at her maternal grandparents 25-acre ranch off Ysengsong Road in Dededo.

Weekdays after school she also helped her mom  who was operations manager at her uncles gas station in Barrigada  run the cash register and stock the shelves.

There was no shortage of hard work in my family, she said. I volunteered at my uncles Mobil gas station as early as third grade. It was a full-service gas station, we (pumped) the customers gas, we sold beer, we sold cigarettes. I remember selling cigarettes for 80 cents a pack to people, like there were no labor laws. And I got paid in candy bars and Cool Spot lunches  that chopped steak was the best.

But the hardest work took place during the summers as a young teen at her grandparents lancho. They raised pigs and chickens and cows and grew the biggest kamuti Ive ever seen in my life. My brother and I would help my grandparents clean the pig pens, grab the eggs from the chickens and sell the kamuti to Bunny Mart, she said.

My grandparents had so much pride in their work, they took really good care of their pigs. They had at least 150 pigs. My grandfather won the bid from NCS to get their leftover food and scraps from the base galley. We would go there to pick up the food and bring it back to the ranch and cook the food for them. These pigs were so spoiled, and maybe thats why they tasted so freaking good.

The 45-year-old former Hagatna resident left Guam when she was 13 with her mother and older brother. They moved to California and spent the greater part of the last three decades in the San Francisco Bay Area.

That work ethic weaned at the Dededo ranch and Barrigada gas station has served her well as a project engineer for San Jose-based Cupertino Electric, the fifth largest electrical company in the U.S. The company ended 2021 with its largest revenue number in its history: $1.625 billion.

As part of her job, she has worked on projects for Google, Amazon, Facebook and Stanford Hospital. Right now, she is involved with a $70 million project in the city of San Francisco. She loves her job, helping her customers innovate to be energy-efficient and meet green initiative standards.

I get to work on the job site sometimes and collaborate and see buildings erected. Being part of that, its really neat, especially here in the Bay Area seeing these tech companies evolve, she said.

Im a hard worker and very passionate about my work and everything I do, but it wasnt until I was talking to you about my childhood (that I realized) my values and beliefs really stemmed from my upbringing with my grandparents and being surrounded by them and the hard work they taught me, she said. Like, you know, you had to go hose down the pig pen. Thats what you were doing. And at the end of the day, if you got a can of Pepsi, it was worth it. I have an appreciation for that.

The early years

She is the youngest of two children born to Lupe Jesus Carbullido, formerly of Hagat, and Albert Peredo Pangelinan, familian Mali, formerly of Yona.

Her parents divorced when she was 2 years old. She spent a lot of time with her maternal grandparents, Francisco Arceo Carbullido and Enestina Babauta Jesus Carbullido, who had 16 children, including her mom.

I have memories as far back as taking amot tininu when I would get sick, it was awful, she said. I remember being in kindergarten peeling the achoti and my grandma cooking the lemmai with coconut milk in the pot.

Our family gatherings were amazing. (My grandfather) would just say, come to the ranch. And the word would just get out there and everybody just showed up. People would just bring their dishes or (theyd) cook at the ranch, she said. We have at least 300 family members in that family, four generations deep. I have 75 first cousins just on my moms side, so when you think about that amount of people coming together, its like we had our own fiesta when we had a gathering at my grandparents ranch.

And oh my gosh, all my grandmothers children, all of them can cook, she added. The CHamoru culture stems a lot (from) the food and having that authenticity growing up. I (would) just stand there, watching everybody, and they (would) put me to work. I was like a little adult when I was young.

CHamorus are very proud

She has only been back to Guam five times since she left, yet her passion for the culture, the food and her CHamoru-ness living in the Bay Area seem unabated.

I think its just my upbringing, raised with my moms generation, you know, I was around a lot of them, she said. I love CHamoru food. You know, back then CHamoru restaurants didnt exist out here. So we had to kind of do it ourselves. There were days where we were chopping for six or eight hours to prepare all the dishes we wanted to eat. I make my red rice with the seeds, I dont use the achoti powder. My finadenne is colorful like it should be, my barbecue is CHamoru barbecue. It takes me four hours to make frickin potato salad.

We have an amazing culture. I feel CHamorus are very proud people who are always quick to put a Guam seal on, you know, on their car or some kind of sticker, to identify us as CHamorus, especially the ones stateside, she added.

Her visit home

Over the holidays she took a trip to Guam with her youngest daughter, Isabella Nardelli. It was Nardellis first trip to Guam, and she is almost 13, the same age as her mother when she left the island for good.

She has been asking. She wanted to see the culture thats part of me, she said. She just wanted to experience it, to understand my background, because Im so passionate about my culture and community and family.

I drove over 800 miles in the eight days I was (on) Guam. I told my dad, and my dad was like, How in the heck did you drive that far when this island is so small? she said. I was gallivanting the whole time, just going to see family, it was crazy, it was a jam-packed trip.

I wanted Isabella to meet my dad, my family and my three half-siblings, she said. She felt very much at home. And you know hearing them tell each other that they love each other was special to me. Because I didnt grow up with my dad, you know.

I didnt even tell people I was going home. I only told my dad and my stepmom and one cousin, she said.

But just like those days at the Dededo ranch when her grandfather wanted the family together, the word got out that she and Isabella were on island, and cousins started showing up.

Over 40 family members gathered for a barbecue on the beach that Saturday. They brought the whole grill to the beach. They got there at 7 in the morning just to reserve the spot. We were there all day.
PDN Lifestyle reporter Madison Scott takes us behind the scenes of Breaking Wave Theatre Company's "Much Ado About Nothing," which she also co-directed, at the University of Guam on May 3. The play runs May 5-8.
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Two more COVID-19-related deaths were reported by the Department of Public Health and Social Services Wednesday and 770 people tested positive for the virus.

The 295th death, a 73-year-old woman with underlying health conditions, occurred Monday at Guam Regional Medical City. She tested positive on Jan. 28.

The 296th fatality  a 69-year-old man with underlying health conditions  was pronounced dead on arrival Tuesday at Guam Memorial Hospital. He tested positive on the same day.

Both patients were unvaccinated.

Once again, we are faced with adversities from this pandemic where losses are always one too many, acting Gov. Josh Tenorio said in a news release. We have come out of this stronger before and I am confident our island can do it again.

There were 47 people hospitalized with COVID-19, with five in intensive care and one on a ventilator.

According to a Joint Information Center news release, 24 patients were at Guam Memorial Hospital, with two in the ICU and one on a ventilator. Twenty-one patients were at Guam Regional Medical City, with three on a ventilator. There are two in Naval Hospital Guam.

Of the 47 patients, 29 were vaccinated.

Guam recorded 770 new cases of COVID-19 from 2,145 specimens analyzed Wednesday, according to Public Health. Of those, 80 were reported by the Department of Defense.

Guam has had 33,788 officially reported cases of the virus. There are 6,090 people in active isolation.

Medication

COVID-19 fighting pills will soon be available at local pharmacies. The pills are for patients who have had mild to moderate symptoms for less than five days.

Guam received about 80 courses of Paxlovid and roughly 200 courses of Molnupiravir, said Dr. Bob Leon Guerrero, Public Healths acting chief medical officer. The Food and Drug administration approved the pills for emergency use in treating COVID-19.

Distribution began Wednesday, Leon Guerrero said. Patients will need a prescription for the medication and should consult with their doctors, who will have to screen them. Paxlovid isnt recommended for patients with kidney problems, he said, but they can still take Molnupiravir.

Patients over the age of 50, the unvaccinated and people with comorbidities, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, will be prioritized, according to the Joint Information Center.
The Mayors Council of Guam is reviewing options for the islands 78th Liberation Day celebrations  options that may also include a new process for selecting a Liberation Day queen.

Council President and Piti Mayor Jesse Alig said there are three options being considered for the queens contest:

Selecting the queen using the traditional raffle ticket fundraiser.

Having contestants perform advocacy work that contributes to the community and village in which they live.

Eliminating the contest entirely.

The options were created by a committee that met in January.

Mayors also discussed the possibility of a large-scale parade being canceled because of COVID-19. If that happens, celebrations could still be held at the village level, according to Mangilao Vice Mayor Kevin Delgado.

One idea discussed was a traveling billboard, which would be parked at different locations around the island from June 8 to Aug. 8.

Delgado said each village could make a display, similar to the Christmas season belen competition in December.

Other concepts discussed include having a mini-parade in each village, a motorcade that would travel around the island, candlelight memorials, village masses, events distributing candy and toys, and a roadside wave from the mayors and their staff.

Alig said individual mayors would decide how village celebrations would be conducted, but there is no budget for the ceremonies.

The Liberation committee will meet again to finalize the options before the mayors vote on them next month.
The Mayors Council of Guam announced Wednesday it has reached its goal of recruiting 19 foster families for its Gift of Family campaign.

Some of the families have already been licensed.

Despite reaching the goal, the mayors will continue working on behalf of the Department of Public Health and Social Services.

We will certainly continue the campaign through May, hoping to recruit more foster families for the system that still has to care for more than 400 foster children, said Piti Mayor Jesse Alig, the councils president.

This effort includes reaching out to the Archdiocese of Agana for help distributing flyers and praying for the children Feb. 12-13, said Mangilao Vice Mayor Kevin Delgado.

Flyers will be given to all the mayors offices so residents are aware of the campaign.

Campaign start

The campaign started in November 2021 and included a village belen display contest to raise awareness and recruit prospective foster parents.

The goal of 19 families was set to represent the number of villages.

These new and current foster families are the true superstars in all of this. They are the ones who have to do all the hard work by taking care of and loving the children that need it most, Alig said.
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Residents who feel they cant afford treatment for COVID-19 should still make the effort to get it, health officials said Wednesday.

Hesitation over high medical bills may be a contributing factor to people who have COVID-19 and are dead on arrival at Guam hospitals, officials said.

Thats despite the availability of free treatments like monoclonal antibodies and, more recently, COVID-19 fighting antiviral pills.

If you have symptoms, and youre at high risk, get tested. If you test positive, make sure you speak to a physician to see if you qualify for the antivirals or the monoclonal antibodies, Dr. Annete David said. The point is to try and do everything that we can early to avoid hospitalization to protect you before you even need to be at the hospital.

Even if patients must get hospitalized, social workers are on standby at the Guam Memorial Hospital to help those without health insurance to sign up for Medicaid and Medicare, said Department of Public Health and Social Services spokesperson Janela Carrera.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently completed an investigation into the high rate of dead-on-arrival COVID-19 deaths for Guam, where they interviewed family members of those who died.

According to CDC Epidemiologist Scott Laney, about 67% of the families interviewed had a household income of less than $35,000. Around 24% of them had no form of health insurance, he said, while a large portion of them relied on Medicare and Medicaid.

Lack of access to health care was one of the main contributors to dead-on-arrival cases, the investigation found, alongside old age and underlying health conditionsparticularly diabetes, renal disease, and hypertension.

I strongly recommendregardless of whether you have the ability to payseek treatment. Again, some of the treatments are free, Public Health acting chief medical officer Dr. Bob Leon Guerrero said, especially if you are elderly or have other medical conditions.

Carrera said families should also stay on the lookout for high-risk loved ones.

If you have a loved one who has diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure, all of that, keep a close eye on them, especially if they test positive for COVID-19, Carrera said.

Last year, hospitals started seeing patients with COVID-19 dead on arrival. The trend started during the delta variant surge that began in July.

According to Territorial Epidemiologist Ann Pobutsky, the more infectious but less severe omicron variant likely edged out the delta variant during the January surge. There were 13 DOAs reported in January 2022, compared with 49 DOAs in all of 2021.

Even if the proportion who are getting hospitalized and dying is smaller compared to the overall increase in cases, the sheer numbers are quite high, David said.
The University of Guam and Northern Marianas College of Saipan signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday establishing a new Northern Marianas College division within the University of Guam Press, according to a news release from the university.

Under the new division of UOG Press, Northern Marianas College plans to publish one book each year along with an annual journal.

The book will be an academic publication with a collection of writers focusing on contemporary issues of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The annual journal will feature a compilation of academic writing, literary writing and artwork.

The new division will expand accessibility to knowledge about the island chain and share the wisdom and creativity of its people, according to the press release.

We hope to give voice to the communitys shared experience of surviving and thriving despite tragedy and trauma. In other words, having sailed through turbulent waters, the colleges proa now sails ahead with a focus on learning, lifting the tide for everyone, Northern Marianas Island College President Galvin Deleon Guerrero said in the release.

The University of Guam and the Northern Marianas College each have a legacy of building up island communities through their academic programs, including by creating educational resources about micronesias history and culture, said Monique Storie, dean of university libraries at UOG.

The division name and the annual journal are still in the beginning stages of development. Further details of how Northern Mariana Island authors and artists can submit work will be forthcoming.

UOG Press is a publishing house under the universitys Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center that uses a peer review process to publish literary works that advance regional scholarship, cultural literacy, and expand accessibility and knowledge about Micronesia. Other divisions under UOG Press include Taiguini books and Micronesian Area Research Center publications.

The new partnership embodies the universitys 70th anniversary theme of Transforming Lives, Advancing Communities.
Multiple abandoned vehicles near a bus stop on the corner of Y Sengsong Road and Nevermind Road in Dededo, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022.
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Thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 69F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

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Batesville, AR (72501)

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Thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 69F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

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Mostly cloudy skies. Scattered thunderstorms this evening. Low 56F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
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Haiti - Social : Black History Month, message of reflection by Lesly Conde





As part of Black History Month Lesly Conde Ex-Consul General of Haiti in Chicago (August 2004 - May 2018), delivered a message of reflections that we invite you to read and share.



Message by Lesly Conde :



"Dear fellow citizens and friends from everywhere,



I have the immense privilege of greeting you very warmly as we all welcome this month of February 2022 with all the challenges, all the expectations, all the hopes and all the apprehensions that accompany it. This month, which is the shortest of the year, is also the Black History Month. It's a too succinct period during which we will speak of the more or less recent contribution of certain black people. Because our education systems fail to clearly highlight these contributions, the Black History Month is a patronizing, often pleasantly surprising parenthesis.



Today, if we are to speak of black history away from the petty and dishonest stereotypes that have long served the cause of Western colonialism, we must first acknowledge that the experience of this race transcends continents, and will not cease to disturb those who delight in prejudice and imposture. It is clear that the month of February each year is far from sufficient to cover all aspects of the experience of the black race on this planet. I therefore fear that those who have thought of dedicating this month to black history have made the mistake of believing that the history of this race began with slavery. If Africa is the cradle of humanity, if arts, science and organized societies originated on the African continent, black history simply cannot be a month's affair.



Black history is, indeed, a history that colonization and slavery have skillfully falsified for centuries. Today, scientific evidence has established beyond doubt that Egypt at the time of the pyramids was black. This kind of information belongs in our classrooms. The history of blacks is, alas, a history of usurped heritages, and brave visionaries cowardly murdered. To find themselves, these black people need to discover their true story, and to believe in it.



One cannot talk about black history without mentioning Haiti, the first black State in the New World. Our identity is not celebrated around the world, but we know it is precious and we value it.



In closing, I wish you all a pleasant and safe month of February. Take care of each other. Whatever you do, think HAITI."



Lesly Conde



Message from Lesly Conde in 2022 :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35702-icihaiti-earthquake-2010-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35620-haiti-218th-anniversary-of-independence-traditional-message-from-lesly-conde.html



Messages from Lesly Conde in 2021 :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35584-haiti-social-wishes-from-lesly-conde-on-the-occasion-of-the-new-year.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35847-haiti-canada-black-history-month.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Economy : Launch of 3 cultural accelerator programs





Thursday, February 3, 2022 will take place at Maison Dufort the launch of three accelerator programs in partnership with the Innovation Fund for Cultural and Creative Industries (CIIF)



The CIIF created by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) was designed as a multilateral fund to support the development of the Creative Industries sector.



CIIF-Haiti is a funding and technical assistance program dedicated specifically to Haiti to increase the competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) starting with the arts sub-sectors - visuals, festivals and fashion.



Selected partner accelerators :

The Caseli Foundation;

The AfricAmerica Foundation;

The Chamber of Trades and Crafts of Haiti.



Each of these partner accelerators will develop and offer training activities, typical of accelerators, in its sub-sector. Online calls for participation will be opened to recruit participants and training programs will be organized between February and May 2022.



To be continued...



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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Published on 2022/02/01 | Source

Actor Cho Yi-hyun released two-shots with Lomon.

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On the 2nd, Cho Yi-hyun posted a video with Lomon on her Instagram. Along with the video, she wrote, "Soo-hyeok, stay in our broadcasting room Nam-ra".

In the video, Lomon smiles brightly while looking at Cho Yi-hyun as she smiles and makes a V following Lomon, showing a cute appearance.

Also, Cho Yi-hyun stops smiling when the wind blows and her hair flies. She's making a face like Nam-ra in the drama, "All of Us Are Dead".

Meanwhile, Choi Yi-hyun appeared in the Netflix movie "All of Us Are Dead" which is a story that takes place in a high school where the zombie virus has spread, with people isolated and those who try to save them going through an extreme situation not knowing what lays ahead.
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Quincy, IL (62301)

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Most Republicans tend to believe the government should interfere in the free market as little as possible, and generally only to preserve life, safety or public order  never to pick winners and losers.

Republicans in the Indiana House, however, are poised to turn those principles upside-down out of sympathy for fossil fuel enterprises whose product cost and pollution output have left them disfavored by the marketplace.

House Bill 1224, set for a chamber vote Monday, would prohibit the state of Indiana from contracting with any business that chooses to limit commercial relations with a business engaged in the exploration, production, use, transportation, sale or manufacturing of fossil fuel based energy, or any business doing business with fossil fuel energy companies.

That means, for example, if the measure is enacted into law, Indiana likely no longer could maintain its contract for Microsoft software on the tens of thousands of computers used by state employees because Microsoft is among the business signatories to The Climate Pledge of zero net carbon emissions by 2040.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, fossil fuel consumption for energy use accounted for 92% of total human-generated carbon dioxide emissions in 2019.

As such, the only way Climate Pledge signers possibly can meet their goal is by intentionally reducing their use of fossil fuels  which the legislation defines as a "boycott"  in favor of wind, solar and other renewable energy resources that don't produce the same level of carbon emissions.

The legislation specifies the state may not enter into a contract for the purchase of supplies or services unless the contract contains a written verification from the business that it does not boycott energy companies, and will not boycott energy companies for the term of the contract.

Just among Climate Pledge signatories that would mean Indiana probably no longer could do business with Visa, Amazon, Verizon, Pepsi, IBM, Johnson Controls, Salesforce, Indianapolis-based Infosys, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, HP, Accenture, CBRE real estate, Uber, Best Buy, and more than 200 additional national and global brands.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb has not taken a public position on the legislation or addressed how Indiana government will be able to function without products from these companies.

All businesses in Northwest Indiana also potentially could be barred from receiving state contracts because the businesses likely purchase their electricity from NIPSCO, whose goal of moving from 80% coal-generated power to 18% coal by 2025 could be classified as a boycott under the legislation.

In addition, the measure requires the state and the Indiana Public Retirement System to largely withdraw from the global financial marketplace, and divest from most financial companies, since many national and international banks have committed to reducing their fossil fuel use and are limiting their investments in fossil fuel companies.

The sponsor of the measure, state Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport, said his goal is to send a message to big businesses and big banks that the General Assembly sets energy policy for Indiana  "not corporate boards in far-off places."

"It is my view that we cannot sit idly by and allow these companies to get away with harming Indiana energy companies, and Hoosiers themselves, by making poor decisions not based on financial returns, but on some political philosophy and pressure from activists who don't care about the reliability or affordability of energy for Hoosiers," Manning said.

A who's who of fossil fuel company lobbyists applauded Manning's proposal during a hearing Tuesday before the House Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance, including former state Rep. Matt Bell, R-Avila, speaking on behalf of Indiana coal companies.

"Today, the fossil fuel industry is under attack. Financing is less available, it is more expensive, and it is making your constituents' energy more expensive and less reliable," Bell said.

"If this strategy of boycotting against industries based on political whims is allowed to continue what happens when financial institutions decide we don't like auto manufacturers who make cars that run on gas, or we don't like farmers who grow sugar products because, you know, obesity is a public health crisis. Are we going to allow corporate America to make those choices? Or will we make them here (at the Statehouse)? I suggest that this is the place that they should be made."

Indeed, other state lawmakers already are eager to similarly use the state's buying power as a tool to punish businesses that fail to support gun-related enterprises as proposed in House Bill 1409, which did not advance out of committee this year.

On the other hand, Shannon Anderson, director of advocacy for Earth Charter Indiana, opposed the fossil fuel measure due to its since-removed application to local governments, as well as the state.

But she noted the legislation also will impair efforts to improve Indiana's environmental sustainability, public health and equity.

"It is virtually impossible to distinguish between a boycott and a company that has a 100% clean-energy goal," Anderson said. "Why would we prohibit communities investing in local businesses that take their community care so seriously? And how will this impact Indiana creating green opportunity zones and recruiting green technology companies?

"Legislators often talk about not picking winners and losers in business. But this bill is exactly siding with a short list of specific companies over the financial interests and freedom of choice of (local) governments, the will of the local voters and the health of communities."

A similar law first was enacted last year by Texas. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization funded in part by fossil fuel companies that supplies proposed legislation to state lawmakers, in December endorsed a "model bill" on this topic that largely mirrors the contents of Indiana's pending measure.

Both are based on a law Indiana adopted in 2016 that requires companies doing business with the state to certify they do not support any enterprise that chooses to boycott, divest or sanction the Middle Eastern country of Israel.
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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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Hastings, NE (68901)

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Years ago, when standing in the checkout line at the local grocery store, cover st
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from Montana Department of Agriculture

HELENA  The Montana Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the 2022 hemp growing season after receiving federal approval from the United States Department of Agriculture for its state hemp production plan which took effect Jan. 1.

Montanas hemp industry continues to advance and present opportunities for growers, especially with regard to fiber and grain, Montana Department of Agriculture Director Christy Clark said. Our department is proud to operate a hemp program that has been federally compliant since the begi...
News Release

Feb. 2, 2022



Contact information

Congenital cytomegalovirus approved for addition to newborn screening panel

State would be first to screen all newborns for the infection-caused condition

Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm has approved an advisory committees recommendation to add congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) to the list of conditions for which Minnesota newborns are routinely screened, paving the way for Minnesota to become the first state in the nation to screen every newborn for cCMV.



Unlike most of the other conditions on the newborn screening panel, which are inherited typically through the genes of one or both parents, congenital cytomegalovirus is an infectious disease. It will be the first infectious disease added to the panel.



Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common viral infection in newborns. It is estimated that as many as 290 babies out of 65,000 born each year in Minnesota will have cCMV. Congenital CMV occurs when the infection is passed from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby and can cause a range of health problems. About 10% of newborns are symptomatic at birth. Symptoms at birth may include a small head, rash, jaundice, and an enlarged liver and spleen. These children are also at risk for intellectual disabilities, hearing loss, vision loss and other health problems.



The remaining 90% of children with cCMV have no signs of infection at birth but about 10% are at risk for permanent hearing loss. If detected early, children with cCMV may benefit from antiviral drugs, therapies, and intervention of hearing loss, (for example, sign language, hearing aids, and cochlear implants).



Commissioner Malcolm signed the order Friday, Jan. 28, directing the departments Newborn Screening Program to begin the steps needed to implement cCMV screening. While most newborn conditions on the panel are screened using laboratory methods that analyze dried bloodspots from newborns, the department has yet to determine exactly what laboratory method will be used to screen for cCMV. Thats one of the reasons health officials say it will be a number of months before the first babies are screened in Minnesota. Other steps include validating a test method, developing result and follow-up protocols, and working with external partners to establish clinical guidelines. MDH will communicate a start date as implementation gets closer.



Minnesota has one of the most comprehensive newborn screening programs in the country. Since 1964 when Minnesota started screening for PKU (phenylketonuria), all Minnesota newborns have had a blood sample sent to MDH for newborn screening unless their parents opted out of screening. As scientific knowledge has advanced, Minnesota has expanded its newborn screening panel to help detect more conditions with beneficial interventions and/or treatment.



The Vivian Act was passed in 2021 authorizing MDH to educate pregnant women and their health care providers about cCMV. This legislation also required that the Advisory Committee on Heritable and Congenital Disorders review cCMV as a possible candidate condition for inclusion on the newborn screening panel. The committee finished that work and on Jan. 11 made its recommendation that cCMV be added to the panel. The commissioner received the package Jan. 26.



We thank the advisory committee and the workgroups for laying the foundation for this addition through their research and background work, Malcolm said. Future generations of Minnesotas children and families will be healthier thanks to their work.



More information on newborn screening can be found on the Newborn Screening Program website.

-MDH-

Doug Schultz

MDH Communications

651-201-4993

doug.schultz@state.mn.us
Dr. Susan Mims named CEO of Dogwood Health Trust

Following a five-month national search, Dogwood Health Trust has named Dr. Susan Mims as its next CEO. Mims, who has held the role of interim CEO since December 2020, assumed the permanent post immediately.

Dogwoods Board of Directors appointed a search committee in September 2021 made up of directors Jackie Godlock (Rutherford), Dawna Goode-Ledbetter (McDowell), Bishop Jose McLoughlin (Henderson), and Jackie Simms (Buncombe). Martha Tyner (Yancey) and Casey Cooper (Qualla Boundary) served as co-chairs, and Board Chair Janice Brumit served in an ex officio role.

Dogwood retained WittKieffer, a global executive search firm, to guide and assist with its search process. WittKeiffer identified and researched more than 400 potential prospects before selecting 16 prospects for the search committee to evaluate. After significant due diligence, the committee selected four candidates to advance for final consideration.

The search committee was impressed by the quantity and quality of candidates interested in leading the organization, Tyner said. Our decision comes after carefully considering each candidates ability to foster and steer meaningful and effective collaborations with our partners so that Dogwood will continue to grow into its full potential to help everyone in our region live, learn, earn and thrive.

Over the past year, Dr. Mims has been an excellent leader for Dogwood and has demonstrated her commitment to dramatically improve the health and wellbeing of all people and communities of Western North Carolina, Cooper added. We look forward to seeing Dogwoods continued growth, development and impact under her sound leadership.

A public health expert and respected leader throughout the region, Mims has over 20 years of experience in clinical and healthcare leadership. Just prior to stepping into the Interim CEO role at Dogwood, she served as chair of the Department of Community and Public Health at UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC. Her prior experience included serving as vice president for Childrens Services and Clinical Genetics and Personalized Medicine at Mission Health, Chief of Pediatrics for Mission Childrens Hospital, and Vice Chief of Staff for Mission Hospital. Mims also led Mission Childrens Hospital as chief executive for more than a decade. Arriving in Western North Carolina in 2000, Mims served as the medical director at the Buncombe County Health Department and before coming to WNC worked as a physician in a private practice in Durham.

I am truly honored to have been selected as Dogwood Health Trusts next CEO, Mims said. Over the past year, I have been inspired by the commitment, creativity and willingness to work together that Ive seen within Dogwoods board and staff, and more importantly among a growing number of partners who share our commitment to dramatically improve health and wellbeing of all people and communities of Western North Carolina. I look forward to continuing to work with our community partners and with the strong team we have put in place over the past year, so that together we can ensure a healthier region for generations to come.

We simply cant emphasize enough just how grateful we are to Dr. Mims for stepping in as interim CEO, building a strong internal team, and leading the identification and development of our organizations strategic priorities and goals, said Brumit, the board chair. She has been a tremendous asset to our organization, and we are thrilled that she will continue to lead Dogwood into the future.
A TRADITIONAL Slovenian hayrack has been erected at Gillotts Corner Field in Henley.

This marks the towns twinning relationship with the Slovenian town of Bled, which began more than eight years ago.

The timber hayrack is a cultural symbol in Slovenia, where it is known as a kozolec.

It was donated by the British-Slovene Society and made by craftsmen in Slovenia, supported by the Office for Slovenians Abroad and Trimo, a company specialising in construction materials.

Marcus Ferrar, a trustee of the society, was present as four workmen flew in specially from Slovenia and erected the hayrack on the recreational land off Greys Road, which is owned by the town council.

Damjan Bajc and his son Luka, Gregor Pungartnik and Fraci Urbic, from Trebnje in south-east Slovenia, were helped by members of the councils parks team.

Mr Ferrar said: The hayrack was brought over in a truck and that took about two days.

The craftsmen spent two days putting it together. They started on Saturday, making the foundations of the hayrack, which was then left to set for a few hours.

It is made from oak and spruce and the roof tiles are ceramic so it can withstand the weather.

We attached some mistletoe to the hayrack for good luck. It should be ivy but this is the closest we could find. The spruce branch at the top tells everyone the work is finished.

In July there will be a picnic and we usually have 45 to 60 people attend from all over the country and some guests from Slovenia. It is mostly families who have moved over here and the Slovenian ambassador will also be in attendance. We are hoping the mayor of Bled will visit some time in April.

Bled is a beautiful part of Slovenia. There are mountains and a lake. In the middle of the lake is a church, which you can row or swim to.

The food is lovely  they have hearty dishes, soups and sausages with soured cabbage and plenty of fresh vegetables. The people are very welcoming. My wife, Evelina, is from Ljubljana, which is the capital of Slovenia. She works as a translator for the family courts. She was very excited to come and see the hayrack.

Mrs Ferrar, who is also a trustee of the Slovene-British Society, said: The hayrack looks fantastic. This one stands at 3.5m tall and is about 8m long.

This is smaller than the ones used in Slovenia for farming.

It was designed by the Hayrack Museum in Slovenia, which recommended the best materials and craftsmen.

We do not usually nail down the roof tiles but it is so windy here that we had to ensure they would stand the weather.

There is a cockerel on the top, which is a symbol in Slovenia that commonly represents farmland. It is a really nice addition.

The lucky ivy is made from a wreath which is blessed over Easter and then stored in the roof of a building to protect it from thunderbolts, fire and bad weather.

The hayrack cost 10,000 euros to put together. We had lots of support for the transport, which was really helpful.

Karl Bishop, manager of the town councils parks team, said: The team from Slovenia are great and the work they have done is really impressive.

It will be nice to see what Henley could do for Bled in return in the future.

The Slovenians planned to go sightseeing before flying home.
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
A Winter Storm Watch is in effect from 6 PM Wednesday through 6 PM Thursday. Hazardous travel is likely and travel is discouraged. Expect icy bridges and roadways. Gusty winds may also bring down tree branches and cause power disruptions. Take actions now to prepare before impacts arrive and continue to monitor the forecast for the most recent updates!
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
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Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, 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This is very alarming! Is it not a failure of intelligence agencies, police and administration, because of which donation boxes in such a huge number are active in India for Pakistan based jihadi organisation?  Editor, Hindujagruti

In a sensational revelation, over 2000 donation boxes for Pakistan based Islamic organisation Dawat-e-Islami, which has inspired terror activities in recent times, have been found in Ahmedabad itself. The same was reported in Gujarat-based local daily Sandesh.

Pakistans Dawat-E-Islami has 2000 donation boxes alone in Ahmedabad! This is claimed by the Ahmedabad police. Shocking. pic.twitter.com/maBoc7TI4M  Harshil Mehta (@MehHarshil) February 2, 2022

As per the report, the money collected in the donation boxes is sent to Pakistan from where it is routed back to India via Dubai under the guise of providing Islamic education to Muslims but it is used to brainwash them instead. Maulana Usmani, whose name has come up as an accused in the Kishan Bharwad murder case, is believed to be running a centre of Dawat-e-Islami.

Delhi-based accused Maulana Usmani has been working towards the goal of Ghazwa-e-Hind, that is turning India into an Islamic state.

The Islamic organisation is based out of Karachi, Pakistan and has branches across the world. It was founded in 1981 by Maulana Abu Bilal Muhammad Ilyas Attari and was started as a revivalist organisation inspired by Sufi doctrines. Except, it has since developed into an extremist Islamist outfit with brazen terror links.

Recently in 2020, one of the terrorists who were involved in the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris named DIE founder Ilyas Attari as his guide. A Pakistani terrorist named Md Ashraf, who was arrested in Delhi in October 2021 was also found to be linked with this organisation.

As per the Sandesh report, the money collected in hundreds of donation boxes across Ahmedabad is sent to Pakistan and through various hawala means is routed to India through Dubai.

The anti-terrorism squad team had visited Jamalpur with Maulvi Ayyub, one of the accused in Kishan Bharwad case who had allegedly provided the gun to the killers. The ATS team also searched his house near Hotel Riyaz in Jamalpur. They have seized a book Jazba-e-Shahadat written by Maulvi Ayyub in Hindi and in Gujarati. They also confiscated an airgun he had which he used to practice shooting on.

Over and above, the accused, Shabbir alias Saba Chopra, Imtiyaz Pathan, Maulana Ayyub Jawrawala, Azim Sama and Qamar Ghani Usmani and others are charged under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) and GUJCTOC (Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Unorganised Crime) Act.

On 25th January, 2022, Dhandhuka youth Kishan Bharwad was shot dead by two men on a bike over alleged blasphemy. He had shared a post on social media which contained image of Prophet Muhammad. Any visual depiction of Prophet Muhammad is blasphemy and Islamists believe a person who commits such blasphemy should be killed. Further investigation in the case has revealed that the murder was likely part of a larger conspiracy.

Source : OpIndia
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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Courtyard by Marriott, Washington D.C. Dupont Circle has officially opened its doors in Washington D.C.'s Dupont Circle neighborhood, showcasing a contemporary design that elevates the Courtyard brand. Conveniently located at 1733 N Street NW in the vibrant and historic Dupont Circle neighborhood, the new hotel is perfectly placed among D.C.'s renowned row houses and picturesque parks, just steps away from Embassy Row, the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, and the National Geographic Museum.

The new hotel features 143 sleek and spacious guest rooms, available in King or Double Queen configurations, along with large windows that provide an abundance of natural light and views of the bustling neighborhood below. Each room offers 100% black-out shades to ensure that guests will awaken refreshed and each room also offers a large working desk to foster both creativity and productivity. Guests may also enjoy the hotel's SMART TVs featuring Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming platforms.

The hotel's lobby welcomes visitors with flexible, modern spaces for both business and leisure travelers alike, with check-in pods and semi-private high-backed booths that feature built-in monitors conducive to meetings or relaxing while enjoying the hotel's free WiFi. A fitness center is also available to guests 24/7, with strength training and cardio equipment for guests to stay active and energized.

Also available are two food & beverage options in the hotel's lobby. The Bistro offers a fast-casual dining environment with options that are made-to-order. Guests can gather with friends or colleagues to enjoy the full-service food and bar offerings. An array of exciting dishes are offered, including The Bistro Burger with aged white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and garlic aioli on a brioche roll, Avocado Toast served on multigrain toast with roasted tomatoes, hard-cooked egg, and lemon-dressed arugula, and a Mediterranean Grain Bowl with a quinoa and brown rice blend, baby kale, arugula, oven roasted tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and lemon vinaigrette. Additionally, The Crate is also located in the hotel's lobby, which offers guests a 24/7 ready-made concept for those who are on the go. The Crate is making its regional debut at the Dupont Circle location, with packaged items offered in a grab-and-go, contactless setting.

This Courtyard by Marriott in Dupont Circle is the fifth in the nation's capital and this new location's modern, streamlined redesign transforms the brand's footprint in the Washington, D.C. region as it serves both business and leisure guests. Courtyard by Marriott's return to the Dupont Circle area offers guests an opportunity to experience a quiet and localized neighborhood filled with tree-lined streets and historic homes while also enjoying the conveniences of a city center hotel.

Hotel website
The new extended stay house of the Stay KooooK brand is being built on the Rue de la Servette in Geneva. The location couldn't be better: Cornavin main station is a ten-minute walk away. With the tram right in front of the door you are in twenty minutes at the international exhibition center Palexpo, in fifteen minutes at the airport and even faster at the UN headquarters, the Palais des Nations. The city's landmark, the Jet d'Eau on Lake Geneva, is also just a stone's throw away. The ideal place for travelers who want to stay longer in Geneva and feel at home.

Strong demand for extended staysThe first house of the Stay KooooK brand in Bern Wankdorf has held its own very well in a demanding market environment since it opened in September 2020. Within a short time after the travel restrictions in place to contain the corona pandemic were relaxed, all studios were fully booked. "The corona pandemic has given the extended stay segment even more impetus. Travelers are now more than ever looking for a safe retreat. We also see a trend towards longer business trips. Shorter trips are becoming rarer, because video conferencing has arrived in every company with the pandemic," explains Volker Thamm, Director Business Development SV Hotel. "That's why investors also see great potential in our concept."Retreat in the middle of the city.

The building was designed by the architects Frei Stefani from Geneva. The heart of every Stay KooooK is the living room. This will be on the 9th floor on Rue de la Servette, surrounded by an exclusive panoramic terrace. From here the view extends to the lake and the Mont Blanc massif. The house will have its own parking spaces, but with a tram station right outside the front door, it is also easily accessible by public transport. The fact that the studios are equipped with a kitchenette and washing machine makes it easy to set up for a longer period of time. With the sliding living element The Slide, guests can use the studio according to their needs. The hosts take time for individual guest needs and ensure that everyone feels welcome and at home at Stay KooooK.

The Stay KooooK project at a glance

Bern Wankdorf: Open since September 2020

Nuremberg City and Bern City: Under construction, opening planned for 2022

Leipzig City: Under construction, opening planned for 2023

Hamburg City: In planning, opening planned for 2024/2025

Geneva City: In planning, opening planned for 2023

Hotel website
Andrea Agrusow has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Financial Officer of Adina Europe to help support the Australian hotel company's long-term growth strategy and continued expansion across continental Europe.

In the past two years, the Australian-based brand has opened new hotels in Vienna, Cologne, Munich, and Wiesbaden with Adina Dusseldorf and Adina Stuttgart to open early next month.

Excitingly, Adina Europe will also debut in Switzerland in 2023 and has committed to its second property in Vienna, the exclusive Danubeflats mixed-use tower, with construction due to be completed in 2024.

In her new role, Andrea will work closely with Adina Europe's CEO Simon Betty and TFE Hotels' Global Executive Team.

Andrea joins Adina Europe fresh from AccorInvest, where she held the position of Chief Operating Officer, as part of the global executive, and had overall operational, financial, and strategic responsibility for 400 hotels in Northern Europe. Prior to this, Andrea was CFO and COO at CBRE Global Investors Germany responsible for Finance, HR, and Real Estate investment.
IDeaS, a SAS company, the worlds leading provider of hotel revenue management software and services, announced today that MOB HOTEL will implement IDeaS Pricing System across its growing portfolio of eco-friendly, socially-minded properties in France and the United States.

As MOB HOTEL expands, its manual, spreadsheet-based pricing process could no longer be sustained. The hotels revenue team selected IDeaS to achieve:

Scalable automation IDeaS Pricing System automatically distributes rates across hundreds of channels and develops occupancy-based forecasts to drive competitive pricing decisions and enhanced operational planning.

IDeaS Pricing System automatically distributes rates across hundreds of channels and develops occupancy-based forecasts to drive competitive pricing decisions and enhanced operational planning. Flexible reporting IDeaS automated reporting functionality enables users to quickly create and schedule easy-to-read, impactful reports with drill-down analysis into total hotel and market performance.

IDeaS automated reporting functionality enables users to quickly create and schedule easy-to-read, impactful reports with drill-down analysis into total hotel and market performance. A committed technology partner  MOB HOTELs revenue team has appreciated IDeaS hand-in-hand, ongoing support and high-quality level of service every step of the way.

Olivier Pateras, Multi-Hotels Revenue team manager, MOB HOTEL, said: IDeaS will help me remain fast and flexible. Im not a fan of the reporting process. IDeaS makes it easy to generate insightful reports, budgets and forecasts and automatically send them as needed. IDeaS has been very professional and involved throughout the entire process so far, and the decisions Pricing System provides will help our revenue team free up time to focus on other important tasks.

Cheryl Hawksworth, managing director, EMEA, IDeaS, said: IDeaS is proud to partner with MOB HOTEL to help ensure its unique properties enjoy continued success as the portfolio expands. IDeaS Pricing System is a great tool for revenue teams like this looking to enhance their capabilities through automated, competitive intelligence and data-driven, revenue-enhancing decisions.

About MOB HOTEL

MOB HOTEL, an artisan hotel, is committed to social ecology with its establishments at Puces de Paris and Lyon Confluence. Here, we do not judgewe do, and we make progress every day. The hotel group is also famous for its certified organic hotel restaurants where culture meets agriculture.

About IDeaS

IDeaS, a SAS company, is the world's leading provider of revenue management software and services. With over 30 years of expertise, IDeaS delivers revenue science to more than 18,000 clients in 145 countries. Combining industry knowledge with innovative, data-analytics technology, IDeaS creates sophisticated yet simple ways to empower revenue leaders with precise, automated decisions they can trust. Results delivered. Revenue transformed. Discover greater profitability at ideas.com.

Kim Dearborn

+1 909 455 4316

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The repositioning of the Riudor and Flamingo hotels incorporates accessibility solutions and the latest sustainability and energy efficiency standards.

The refurbishment of the hotels involves a c.11m investment.

Both hotels have been awarded the BREEAM certificate for sustainable buildings in use.

Madrid - Azora, through the Azora European Hotel & Leisure, F.C.R. ("AEHL"), and the Med Playa hotel group, have begun the repositioning of two hotels in Benidorm: the Hotel Riudor and the Hotel Flamingo Oasis. The refurbishment project implies an investment of c. 11m and includes accessibility solutions and the latest sustainability and energy efficiency standards. Both establishments, which are part of AEHL's seed portfolio, have obtained BREEAM certification in the use of sustainable buildings and are scheduled to reopen in March (Flamingo Oasis) and May (Riudor).

The project puts special focus on improving accessibility. New rooms adapted for people with reduced mobility will be created, access to the buildings and to the bathrooms in the common areas will be improved, and all the interiors will be redecorated.

New entrance, reception, lobby bar and dining room at the Riudor

The Hotel Riudor, which will reopen in May, has been upgraded from three to four stars and the main entrance has been relocated to Gerona street, thus improving its accessibility. The project will include the repair and refurbishment of the facade and a complete redesign of the common areas to include a new reception, the creation of a lobby bar and a new dining room. The 168 rooms will be refurbished with a fresher and more modern look and a new suite room will be created. The refurbishment project of the Alicante hotel also includes the modernisation of the swimming pool and the extension of the solarium area.

The Riudor is located on the second beach line and the design aims to recreate a seafaring atmosphere inspired by the interior of a ship. As such, classic lines will dominate the decoration of the interiors, which use renovated materials: white has been selected as the main colour in all the rooms in combination with navy blue and neutral tones, bringing warmth to the space. The aim is to create a bright and pleasant atmosphere, perfect for guests to rest and disconnect. The works are being carried out by two local firms (JPC and 4Vazquez), the furniture is being provided by Talasur Group, and the buffet equipment by Pilsa.

Flamingo Oasis Hotel refurbishment

The refurbishment of the Flamingo Oasis hotel, which will reopen in March, includes the complete refurbishment of the buffet restaurant, new LED lighting and improved acoustics in the restaurant, increasing the quality of the experience. The bar of the grill restaurant, located next to the swimming pool, will also be completely refurbished, and new play areas will be created for children, alongside a new swimming pool with children's water games. The project includes the redecoration of a new rooftopwith the best views of Benidorms skyline. Inaddition, the renovation of all the furniture and bathroom countertops in the 399 rooms, including the Premium Club, is also being contemplated.

Located just a few meters from Levante beach, the Flamingo Oasis hotel will have a new decoration of its interiors themed along a line inspired by the African continent with images of animals, a mixture of different geometric patterns, terracotta, white, black and green tones in combination with ceramic materials. The works are being carried out by the local company Josep Llorca Construcciones and the furniture and equipment by Talasur Group.

Concha Osacar, co-founding partner of Azora, said: "Azora believes that the hotel sector continues to offer numerous investment opportunities to generate value through repositioning and active management. At Azora, we are convinced that value creation also involves applying the latest trends in energy efficiency and sustainability in the repositioning we carry out to improve both the user experience and the environmental impact of our facilities.

Daniel Colomer, project manager at Med Playa, explains that these refurbishments "represent a very important leap in quality and repositioning of the assets. It will allow us to be able to cater to the most demanding and high-end clients in the European holiday tourism market, especially the British. At the moment, Med Playa is a flagship with all the standards of quality and sustainability".

Last September Azora held the final close for AEHL, its latest pan-European hotel investment fund, reaching 815 million in total commitments, plus additional co-investment capital.

AEHL, which has already committed more than 55% of its investment capacity, invests in European tourism, a segment with a long-term growth trend and a clear post-pandemic recovery scenario. AEHL aims to invest in both traditional beach and mountain destinations, as well as in the main European tourist cities.

The fund now has a portfolio of 31 hotels in Europe. Its portfolio consists of the seed portfolio (which includes 10 resort hotels and 4 city hotels across Europe); the Giverola Resort located on the Costa Brava; the Tivoli Vilamoura, the Tivoli Carvoeiro and the Vilalara Thalassa Resort located in the Portuguese Algarve; and Bluserena's portfolio of 13 hotels spread across the main Italian tourist destinations, including Sardinia, Sicily, Puglia, Abruzzo, Piedmont and Calabria.

About Med Playa

The Med Playa Group, with headquarters in Girona and Benidorm, is one of Spain's leading hotel chains specialized in the management of tourist establishments located on the coast. Founded in 1967 on the Costa Brava, its expansion began in Benidorm and continued on the Costa del Sol, Salou (Tarragona) and the Maresme (Barcelona) with the purchase of several hotels already built.

About Azora

Azora Group ("Azora") is a leading independent asset manager based in Spain, which has raised capital in excess of 5 billion since its inception in 2003 and currently manages an asset portfolio of c.4 billion.

Azora has traditionally focused on residential, hotels, offices and renewable energy, and is currently developing new investment verticals in logistics, seniors housing, agribusiness and infrastructure. Azora currently manages one of the largest portfolios of residential rental units, with over 14,000 homes, and has recently raised one of the largest pan-European leisure hospitality funds, with an investment capacity of over 1.8 billion. It currently manages investments in Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, among other countries, and has entered the United States market.

Its platform has over 200 professionals with extensive experience in all investment verticals and across the entire real estate cycle, including sourcing, structuring and investing, new developments and repositioning, asset management, leasing and sale of individual assets or portfolios.
MUMBAI - The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) reported its consolidated financials for the third quarter ending December 31st, 2021.

Revenues up by 85% to Rs. 1134 crore in Q3 FY 2021-22 vs Q3 FY 2020-21

to in Q3 FY 2021-22 vs Q3 FY 2020-21 EBITDA improves by 805% to Rs. 344 crore in Q3 FY 2021-22 vs Q3 FY 2020-21 resulting in 30.4% EBITDA Margin for the quarter

to in Q3 FY 2021-22 vs Q3 FY 2020-21 resulting in 30.4% EBITDA Margin for the quarter Reports PAT of Rs. 76 crore in Q3 FY 2021-22

in Q3 FY 2021-22 Signs five new hotels including two SeleQtions hotels in Jaisalmer and Bhubaneswar, and three Ginger hotels in Coimbatore, Dehradun and Goregaon

including two hotels in Jaisalmer and Bhubaneswar, and three hotels in Coimbatore, Dehradun and Goregaon Opened three new hotels across brands including: Taj Lakefront, Bhopal at a landmark location in the heart of the city Strengthened presence in the North East with the launch of Vivanta Sikkim in Pakyong Expanded presence in East India with the launch of Raajkutir ,an IHCL SeleQtions hotel, in Kolkata

across brands including: The ama Stays & Trails homestay portfolio grew to 72 bungalows across the country

homestay portfolio grew to across the country IHCL achieves milestone of 50 years of managing the iconic Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur

of managing the iconic Qmin , IHCLs culinary and food delivery platform, expanded its presence with 11 Qmin outlets in Bengaluru and two Qmin gourmet stores in New Delhi

, IHCLs culinary and food delivery platform, expanded its presence with Qmin outlets in and Qmin gourmet stores in New Delhi Received global awards across categories at the Worldwide Hospitality Awards 2021

Source: IHCL

Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL, said, The momentum of quarter-on-quarter growth has continued in the third quarter led by the upswing in domestic demand and recovery in international markets. IHCL reported a Profit After Tax of Rs. 76 crore in Q3 for the first time in this fiscal. With an EBITDA Margin of 30.4% in Q3, the companys performance is closely reflective of pre-COVID levels. We will continue to strengthen our portfolio and growing the new businesses while maintaining our asset light strategy.

Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, IHCL continues on its path of business expansion and consolidation with the acquisition of the balance shares of Roots Corporation Limited.

Mr. Giridhar Sanjeevi, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, IHCL, said, IHCL has maintained a strong performance with a significant increase of 85% in revenue this quarter compared to corresponding quarter in the previous year. We have also deployed the recent equity raised through the rights issue to retire debt as per the objects of the issue, thereby strengthening IHCLs objective of being a zero-debt company in the long term.

ANNEXURE I

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF Q3 FY 2021-22

IHCL has opened three new hotels across brands including: Taj Lakefront, Bhopal at a landmark location in the heart of the city Continued commitment to harness the tourism potential of the North East by stepping into Sikkim with Vivanta Sikkim in Pakyong Further expanded presence in East India with the launch of the heritage-inspired Raajkutir  IHCL SeleQtions in Kolkata

across brands including: IHCL signed five new hotels across its SeleQtions and Ginger brands: Two SeleQtions hotels including Gorbandh Palace in Jaisalmer and one in Bhubaneswar Ginger continued on its path of rapid growth with the signing of three new hotels in Coimbatore , Dehradun and Goregaon

The ama Stays & Trails homestay portfolio is now 72 bungalows including the recent launch of a bungalow in Kolkata and new signingsin Chandigarh , Gurgaon , Kanha , Kochi and Lonavala

across its and brands: Launched two new Qmin stores at The Connaught and Ambassador  IHCL SeleQtions hotels in New Delhi and 11 new Qmin outlets in Bengaluru. Qmin is present in 20 cities delivering from over 90 IHCL restaurants across India.

at and  in and in is present in delivering from over across India. IHCL has collaborated with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and EHL Education Group, Switzerland to offer a Professional Diploma Program to hospitality industry students at CIIs Vocational Education and Training by EHL (VET by EHL) Learning Centres across India.

and to offer a to hospitality industry students at across India. IHCL announced 100 per cent placement of Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad (IHM-A) graduating class of 2020.

of graduating class of 2020. With the continued focus on increasingly adopting sustainable practices, ama Stays & Trails has collaborated with Tata Power to install EV charging points at its villas and bungalows.

ANNEXURE II

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

IHCL has been recognized across categories at the global Worldwide Hospitality Awards 2021: The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai was awarded Best Iconic Asset Qmin , IHCLs culinary and food delivery platform, received Best Team Achievement The IHCL Goa team wasawarded Best Team Achievement INNERgise by Jiva Spa achieved the Best Wellness Experience award

10 IHCL hotels were recognized across categories in the Conde Nast Traveler 2021 Readers Choice Awards:

Top 15 Hotels in India: Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur Taj Palace, New Delhi The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai Rambagh Palace, Jaipur Taj Fateh Prakash, Udaipur Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur The Pierre, New York was listed in the Top Hotels in New York City and 36 Best Hotels in New York City Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Goa featured in the Top 25 Resorts in Asia Taj Dubai featured in the Top 20 Hotels in the Middle East Taj Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai featured in the Top 20 Hotels in the Middle East

Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur featured in the coveted Conde Nast Traveller Gold List 2022.

featured in the coveted The Taj brand has been recognized as the Best Business Hotel Brand In India in the Business Traveller Awards 2021.

About The Indian Hotels Company Limited

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and its subsidiaries bring together a group of brands and businesses that offer a fusion of warm Indian hospitality and world-class service. These include Taj the iconic brand for the most discerning travellers and the World's Strongest Hotel Brand and India's Strongest Hospitality Brand as per Brand Finance 2021, SeleQtions, a named collection of hotels, Vivanta, sophisticated upscale hotels and Ginger, which is revolutionising the lean luxe segment.

Incorporated by the founder of the Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata, the Company opened its first hotel - The Taj Mahal Palace, in Bombay in 1903. IHCL has a portfolio of 232 hotels including 58 under development globally across 4 continents, 11 countries and in over 100 locations. The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is India's largest hospitality company by market capitalization. It is primarily listed on the BSE and NSE.

Please visit: www.ihcltata.com ; www.tajhotels.com ; www.seleqtionshotels.com ; www.vivantahotels.com ; www.gingerhotels.com

Parinita Gawri

IHCL
WHAT: U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow and Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes will provide an exclusive virtual update, followed by a conference call for media, on the state of the American travel industry - including policies and programs to accelerate an even recovery across the leisure, business and international travel sectors.

In this annual address, Dow and Barnes will provide a current assessment and vision for the future of travel and address key priorities to support the continued recovery of the travel industry, including strengthening the American workforce, advancing sustainability initiatives, charting the future of travel mobility, and strengthening security.

Their comments will also focus on the need for immediate action on federal policies to restore and grow the U.S. travel industry.

WEBCAST:

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

11:00 a.m. ET

Click here to register for the webcast.

MEDIA CALL: 12:00 p.m. ET

1 (866) 868-1282 (US Toll Free)

1 (847) 413-2405 (US Toll)

Audience Passcode: 8080 655

Media are encouraged to dial into the conference line several minutes in advance of the 12:00 noon start time to avoid delays in accessing the telephone queue.
During a press conference Tuesday, Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright sought to reassure worried Texans that the natural gas industry his agency oversees is prepared for winter weather poised to sweep across the state this week.

He repeated a claim the Railroad Commission has made for weeks: Inspections found that 98 percent of 4,000 natural gas facilities  helping to generate electricity for some of the 26 million customers on Texas power grid  have been winterized.

And the remaining 2 percent were in the process of winterizing when the inspections occurred, he told a room packed with reporters, Gov. Greg Abbott and the heads of other state agencies.

Results of the commissions inspections obtained by the Houston Chronicle raise doubts, however, that the states natural gas infrastructure is as prepared as state officials would have residents believe. Not only does the 98 percent figure also include oil powered sites  not just those running on natural gas  but reports filed by Railroad Commission inspectors reveal wider suspicions about the regulators oversight.

The Chronicle reviewed data gathered from inspections of 3,663 oil and gas sites and found that only 41 percent  1,506 sites  had successfully tested their weatherized equipment or procedures. Operators at nearly 11 percent, or 390 sites, said their winterization efforts didnt work or that they simply didnt know.

GETTING READY: ERCOT takes more steps to avoid another weather disaster

Only about 9.5 percent of the site operators said they had asked the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the states grid manager, to be considered as critical infrastructure, which would ensure they maintain power during blackouts.

Inspectors themselves, however, have raised questions about the validity of the data. One inspector wrote in his comments that Most answers are actually not applicable, that the information came from more than one source, and that regulated-entity level personnel had to defer to senior or field personnel for best response.

Natural gas generators produced about 42 percent of the power managed by ERCOT last year. But when the freeze hit last February, most of the power lost to disruptions would have come from those generators.

DeSilva said its difficult for operators to test preparations for freezing weather because there havent been many instances since the historic storm when temperatures have fallen significantly low. And, he said, each piece of natural gas equipment requires different types of weatherization  if they need any at all  to stay up and running.

In the fall, some of the sites had yet to finish winterizing or test winterization because they were coming off summer, he said. Two freezes have occurred in January and there were no major disruptions; we will continue to keep on top of things to ensure warmth and safety for residents.

Flawed data

Beyond its importance to the integrity of Texas power grid, the data collected during the Railroad Commissions inspections shines an unflattering light on the oversight of the industrys watchdog in Texas.

When the commission asked operators of the 3,663 oil and natural gas facilities whether they had voluntarily filed with ERCOT to be considered critical infrastructure, 2,462 or more than 67 percent, said they had not. Another 854 said they did not know if they had, while 347  or 9.5 percent  said they had.

Adding to the confusion, regional utility providers, such as CenterPoint in the Houston area, not ERCOT, are responsible for keeping power flowing to critical infrastructure. The utilities know which sites, such as jails, hospitals, power generators and now natural gas producers, are considered critical. If ERCOT needs to reduce power consumption when supply is tight, it contacts utility providers, which make the final decisions on who loses power.

For example, the Railroad Commissions data showed that XTO Energy, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, said it had only registered one of the 227 locations inspected by the Railroad Commission as critical. But many had filed with their utility provider, Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Sarah Nordin said.

We dont file anything with ERCOT, so it would be up to that utility to file whatever theyre required to with ERCOT, Nordin said.

ASSURANCES: ERCOT regulator promises Texas 'the lights will stay on' this winter

But after the Chronicle requested comment from XTO and the Railroad Commission, Nordic said, the Railroad Commission told the company that those designations would have to be sent to ERCOT. As of Friday, the Railroad Commission had not yet processed those numbers and did not know how many had applied to be critical infrastructure.

The Chronicle polled the states four main utility companies and found that the number of sites seeking the designation from utilities had soared.

Within Oncor, which serves the Dallas-Fort Worth area as well as much of the Permian Basin, the number of sites deemed critical for natural gas jumped to 1,816 from 35. In the AEP Texas service area in South and West Texas and parts of the Panhandle, the number jumped to more than 200 from 11. In Texas-New Mexico Powers service areas in far West Texas and Galveston County, about 200 sought the designation, while in the Houston area, served by CenterPoint, 100 sites applied to be considered critical.

The governor on Tuesday said about 1,500 natural gas facilities had applied for the designation, up from about 50 last year.

Up to gas producers

Natural gas producers now identify themselves as critical infrastructure, according to Railroad Commission rules.

That will change this year.

A new state committee created by the Texas Legislature after last years freeze has been tasked with mapping the supply chain of power generation across the state, from natural gas wellheads and wind turbines all the way to local power lines that provide electricity to houses. That work was scheduled to be finished in fall, but DeSilva said, the committee now hopes to complete the work before summer.

Legislators told the Railroad Commission it must create more weatherization rules and create penalties for noncompliance six months after the supply chain mapping is finished.

DeSilva said the inspection data collected this year was meant to give the commission more information so it could develop best practices and to see what methods were being used by producers to prepare sites for winter weather. He said officials also have had extensive conversations with oil and gas producers to see what else they are doing.

What we are discovering through those conversations is that field employees whom our inspectors talked to were not privy to all the details, such as tests, or the ERCOT form submissions done by the companies, he said.

But Ed Hirs, an energy fellow for the University of Houston, said the inspections may not have been thorough. He said much of the data collected relied on natural gas producers and field workers to tell them that they had complied with new rules.

The inspections that they have done appear to be at the last mile, and so thats the equipment that connects to a generator, or the flow line that connects to the generator. They really havent gone back and looked at the whole integrated system back to the well heads, Hirs said. Theres nothing they can honestly hang their hats on.

shelby.webb@chron.com
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Himanshu Prasad is on a mission. The 17-year-old, who has relied on crutches to walk for as long as he can remember, plans to instead use only a cane when he begins college this year.

And he is already well on his way to achieving that goal.

In August, Prasad underwent a selective dorsal rhizotomy  the most effective surgery for individuals who, like him, have cerebral palsy and suffer from spastic diplegia.

Since then, Prasad has been completely relearning how to use his muscles. He divides his time between the gym and TIRR Memorial City.

MORE HEALTH NEWS: Peter Hotez: Omicron isn't the end of the pandemic

All the while, Prasad is driven by how far apart classes could be at Texas A&M University, where he hopes to attend in the fall. The campus in College Station measures 5,200 acres.

It would be a challenge for me to get from point A to point B without exhausting myself, he said.

The countdown to graduation at Cypress Ridge High School has begun  and Prasad eagerly awaits college acceptance letters.

Im thinking about the future, and the goal is the cane, he said. And I hope to even get rid of that eventually. Im going to give it the best Ive got.

Prasad has hereditary spastic paraplegia, a condition of genetic origin instead of hemorrhage or prematurity, which results in stiffness in the leg muscles.

Prasad explained that this form of spastic cerebral palsy is characterized by tone  his muscles are tight.

Its really hard to move, he said. Its like youre fighting against something in your legs. Its like every step you take, theres resistance against you.

Still, its all Prasad has ever known.

I got used to it, he said.

He first learned to use a walker before transitioning to crutches in elementary school.

My mobility was really low, he said. I did as much as I could using my arms.

Then a recommendation came at a recent appointment at Shriners Hospital for Children.

They said, Youre going to need a wheelchair in college, he recalled. I was like, Is this really what its going to be like for my entire life?

The hospital staff recommended Prasad meet with Dr. Manish Shah, pediatric neurosurgeon at Childrens Memorial Hermann Hospital and UTHealth to discuss his options.

Maybe he has a solution, Prasad thought.

A special surgery

Shah serves as associate professor of pediatric surgery with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. He is also the director of UTHealths Texas Comprehensive Spasticity Center, designed specifically to care for patients with cerebral palsy, spasticity or movement disorders. And he serves as director of Pediatric Spasticity and Movement Disorder Surgery at Childrens Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The answer to Prasads quest to improve movement just so happens to be Shahs specialty.

After residency, Shah completed fellowship training under professor Tae Sung Park, a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon at Washington University St. Louis Childrens Hospital.

Park is known for his pioneering work on selective dorsal rhizotomy, which involves cutting a selection of sensory nerve fibers that connect muscles to the spinal cord. He refined the existing operation, making it safer and less invasive, and has helped more than 4,500 cerebral palsy patients walk.

Having Park as a mentor, Shah developed a clinical interest in selective dorsal rhizotomy before moving to Houston in 2014 to start the Texas Comprehensive Spasticity Center and make the surgical option available locally.

When I got here, no one was doing it in the region, Shah recalled.

He remains the only surgeon within a 1,000 mile radius who can perform the procedure in the same way as Park. And it was just what the doctor ordered for Prasad.

Typically, we do the operation at age 3 or 4, Shah said. We know we can help improve the quality of life and mobility for the child.

There are two groups of nerve roots in the spinal canal  the ventral spinal roots that send information to the muscles and the dorsal spinal roots that transmit sensation back from the muscles to the spinal cord. During the selective dorsal rhizotomy operation, the neurosurgeon divides the roots and checks them electronically to examine their responses.

We test the nerve roots and cut the most spastic ones, Shah said. Were cutting the nerve roots specifically to eliminate the spasticity.

The normal roots are left intact  allowing signals to be sent to the muscle but reducing the messages muscles send back, resulting in better balance for the patient.

I didnt know about the surgery. I didnt know I had any options, Prasad said.

Reteaching the brain and muscles

Initially, Prasads parents were reluctant. But Prasad said he was not afraid of the minimally invasive surgery, which takes place through a 1.5-inch incision. Instead, he was intrigued by the potential.

I started doing all the research I could, he recalled. I saw all of the videos on YouTube about it and read all of the articles I could find.

He also read about the neurosurgeon who would perform the procedure.

I researched Dr. Shah and all of his success stories, Prasad said. I came to the conclusion that this surgery is safe. The pros outweighed the cons.

After convincing his parents as well, Prasad scheduled the surgery for Aug. 23, 2021.

When I woke up, I wasnt in pain, Prasad recalled. I tried moving my legs to get up  but I couldnt. It felt weird not being able to use my lower extremities at all.

MORE HEALTH NEWS: Can yoga cure your COVID stress? A new Texas State University study is testing the theory.

Before the procedure, he did have sensation in his legs. He simply felt like all of his muscles were tight.

When the nerves were cut, it was like all the muscles fell asleep, Prasad said. They had no idea what to do. Thats where TIRR began helping me.

He was discharged to in-patient TIRR Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center three days after his operation. Then, his therapy began.

Surgery candidates must commit to a rigorous follow-up to ensure success. That means relearning how to send signals to the muscles.

The challenge was to send the proper signals for each task, Prasad said. Thinking it sends a signal to my legs. All of the muscles are getting rewired, and it requires a lot of willpower.

Everything in your body comes down to the brain, he added.

If you want to lift your arm, you dont think about it. It just happens, Prasad explained. For me, those instructions were ripped away. I had to re-create them myself.

Therapists at TIRR tapped the muscle that he had to activate.

It would give me feedback, he said. I thought of that muscle, and that would send a signal. I could feel that muscle contract. Then I just needed to learn how to keep doing it.

Because Prasad was older than most patients who undergo the surgery, he was able to use a wearable exoskeleton, a robotic tool with a built-in motor and sensors that allowed him to retrain his gait.

The exoskeleton is meant for people who have undergone stroke; a stroke is kind of similar, Prasad said.

It will train your body to work in a perfect gait pattern, Prasad said. It was a good tool, and it definitely helped me learn how to use which muscles and at what time. Its basically building muscle memory.

Moving forward

Prasad was discharged from in-patient treatment at TIRR in the Texas Medical Center in October.

Since then, he has received outpatient therapy at TIRR Memorial City three days a week. He also trains at a gym. At both facilities, he works on building strength in his legs and core. He exercises his hips and practices sitting and standing without assistance.

I cant walk with a cane just yet, Prasad said. But within a month, I was progressing quite a bit.

He went from a walker in early October to crutches in mid-November.

A walker gives you support, but crutches dont, Prasad said. The jump from walker to crutches is a pretty big leap. The next big leap will be to a cane. I feel like its going to come soon.

He does not want to give himself a timeline. Instead, he just wants to focus on the next step.

Im not going to stop, until there is nothing to go to next, Prasad said.

Shah said that there have been 150 selective dorsal rhizotomy operations at his center so far.

Each kid you save from a lifetime of pain and being in a wheelchair, he said. The kids can grow up and be independent. Its a massive improvement in their lives.

But not enough people realize this is an option, Shah added.

He said that Prasad  whom he calls He-Man, short for Himanshu  will help spread the word by sharing his story.

It's really a privilege to take care of a child like He-Man, Shah said. Its going to change his life.

Prasad is also the first to use robotic rehabilitation.

In college, he hopes to study materials engineering, which involves the design and study of new materials and often paves the way for technological innovation.

Shah hopes to one day welcome back Prasad as an intern on his research team.

I would love to work with He-Man, the neurosurgeon said. We have a lot of ideas in the lab. It would be great to have our patient come back to help us.

Lindsay Peyton is a Houston-based freelance writer.
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Ruth Brown had a story to tell.

Brown, who had served as a tour and education guide for the Holocaust Museum Houston, died on Jan. 2 at 96, but her story will continue through those she touched.

One of them, Pearland resident Laura Jaramillo, will make sure of it.

Jaramillo met Brown, who lived in Missouri City, while serving on the museums advisory board about five years ago through Connections, a program to forge bonds between board members and survivors of the Holocaust.

Born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1925 as Ruth Dreyfuss, Brown, who was Jewish, was 8 when Hitler came to power in 1933 and was a witness to wartime Germany and Europe. Through her work with the museum, she would help educate generations about the costs of what happened.

When Brown met Jaramillo, a bank executive, Brown didnt drive anymore and used a cane. But Jaramillo remembers her late friends vibrance and love of art, reading and culture.

She was such a worldly person, said Jaramillo, who developed an appreciation for opera opera through Brown.

More Information To learn more about the Holocaust Museum Houston, visit https://bit.ly/3upow3p Address: 5401 Caroline St, Houston, TX. (Museum District) Hours:Tue. - Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun. noon to 5 p.m.Closed on Mon. except on MLK Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day. Admission Fees: Adults, $19; Seniors ages 65 and above, $15; AARP Members, $15; Active Duty Military, $15; Ages 0 to 18, free. (The Museum is free to all on Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) Phone: 713-942-8000 Information on transit access to the Museum District: https://bit.ly/3s6gdH0 See More Collapse

The two would often meet at Three Brothers Bakery in Houston and have long talks over coffee about life, their families, and their shared love of books. Brown would also share her recollections of Hitlers Germany and of experiencing the fears, uncertainties and sacrifices of wartime Europe.

Browns family had owned a successful jewelry store in Germany but lost everything when they fled. Her grandmother stayed behind and perished in a concentration camp. Brown told the Houston Chronicle in 2017 that she was certain her family would have been sent to a camp had they remained in Germany.

These stories and recollections didnt come casually or easily when Jaramillo and Brown made got to know each other through Connections, which had the goal to develop a rapport between board members and survivors.

We were losing the survivors because of their age and wanted to make sure stories were remembered, Jaramillo said.

At the beginning, Brown was hesitant.

(She ) didnt quite understand what we could possibly have in common, Jaramillo said.

For Jaramillo, who is Protestant, serving on the museums advisory board sparked an interest in the Jewish faith. She had been reading about the exodus of German Jews during and after the war to Spain and how some made subsequent migrations to Latin America. She wanted to learn more about her own heritage and its possible connection to Judaism. Jaramillo and her husband, Rick, had also been planning a trip to Israel.

But it was love of reading, and in particular, Bill OReilly and Martin Dugards Killing Jesus: A History, that opened the door for a friendship to develop between Laura Jaramillo and Brown.

We were both reading (the Bill OReilly book), and it was amazing timing, Jaramillo said. She could no longer drive and had moved in with her son; so she would invite me to her home, where her son would make cappuccinos. We began to meet every week, sometimes at Three Brothers Bakery.

She loved the opera, wanted to buy tickets for me. She was very well-read, she was very astute, I just loved her outlook on life. She was very open about what she could remember, and memory and mind was so sharp.

Following Hitlers rise to power, Browns family fled to Spain and later Switzerland, where she would eventually be separated from her parents and brother, a separation she would later characterize as one of the most traumatic experiences of her life.

The family would eventually reunite and immigrate to the United States, first settling in Washington, D.C., where her father found work at a grocery chain. Her brother joined the Army and would survive the D-Day landing at Normandy Beach.

Brown carried those memories throughout her life, including returning to Europe when still a teenager, misleading authorities about her age to work as a stenographer during the Nuremberg Trials organized by the Allies to try leading Nazis for genocide and crimes against humanity.

While there, she met her future husband, Andrew Brown. They married and returned to the United States in 1949 and eventually settled in Texas, where they would raise their four children.

The pandemic kept Jaramillo and Brown from meeting like before, but Jaramillo said her friend continued to be in touch with news developments.

She always stayed informed of what was happening in the world, said Jaramillo, who is still on the museums advisory board. She believed that everyone should be aware of what is going on in the world. We tend to live in our own little world when there is a world out there. What happened in her lifetime  the Holocaust, the prejudice  wasnt overnight, but when youre living in your own world, it can seem overnight and your world changes.

Jaramillo learned of Browns death through the museum, and it was an emotional reaction, she said. She was unable to attend the memorial service due to an exposure to COVID.

I was devastated to read the news and more so that I couldnt attend her service, Jaramillo said. I reached out to her son to offer my condolences. I regretted that I had not seen her for several years because of COVID and wondered how she managed through that. I was sad for myself on the loss of a friend but sadder that the community lost a part of history.

Jaramillo has taken on the personal responsibility to carry on her friends message, which was to never forget what had happened or allow it to happen again. She does that through various programs established through the Holocaust Museum.

With the rise in hate crimes, and the emergence of a growing segment of people who deny the Holocaust, Jaramillo believes Browns message is more pertinent that ever.

It just takes all of us speaking to the truth, she said.

On a personal level, Jaramillo will remember the woman who liked to read, go to the opera, who demonstrated to her that despite everything, knew how to find joy in life.

Ruth was somebody who had lived a good long life, she loved her family, loved being active, and had an enthusiasm for life and the world, said Jaramillo. I hope to be as strong as she was.

Most of all, Jaramillo said, she remembers her friend.

I miss her voice  it was a distinctive voice with a slight accent  and I miss having her as a friend, Jaramillo said. We just had such a connection. She thought we would never have anything in common, but we were two people talking about humanity, sharing books and travels. It was an amazing thing. I will always thank her for that.

yorozco@hcnonline.com
Houston Chronicle file



A Page One story from Feb. 2, 1969, took a look at a program that put police and the community in the same room to talk issues.

The program stemmed from the 1967 TSU riots and sought to boost relations between police and the Black community, hopefully preventing large-scale riots similar to those in Detroit and Los Angeles.
Jon Shapley/Staff photographer

All three officers shot Thursday following a chase that ended in Third Ward have been released from the hospital, according to authorities.

The last of the three officers, Anthony Alvarez, went home Monday, police said. The two other officers, Nate Gadson, Daniel Hayden, on Friday  the day after a man shot the three in the 2100 block of McGowen Street with a modified handgun, according to court records.
Port of Galveston

The Port of Galveston is now ranked among the top 50 busiest U.S ports and waterways in the U.S. and officials says it's all thanks to a significant rise in cargo.

The 840-acre port came in at No. 46 in the list of 150 ports and waterways, according to a release, after moving nearly 12 million tons of cargo through the deep-water harbor in 2020.
A city inspection of a low-income apartment complex owned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development has found that, after years of tenant complaints, the building still fails to meet code.

Tenants of Coppertree Village Apartments in Acres Homes have been embroiled in a lawsuit with the department since 2018 over the living conditions there.

They allege that HUD has violated the law by failing to provide safe and sanitary housing and that HUD is required to provide them vouchers that will allow them to move elsewhere. For over a year, chances of winning the suit seemed slim after HUD successfully moved to dismiss the case.

So the ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October that HUD does have to be held to rules about relocating tenants  which reversed the dismissal and paved the way for the tenants case to be heard  was hailed by advocates as an important step toward getting residents into better housing.

On HoustonChronicle.com: HUD must help tenants get out of substandard subsidized housing, court rules

But residents have grown frustrated that, months after the ruling, little progress has been made in their living situations. And on Jan. 5, an organizer from the housing advocacy group Texas Housers went to the City Council to ask for help. I couldnt even give you in complete detail how horrible it is, said Ericka Bowman, outlining problems with sewage, mold and failed Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs inspections.

I understand, said Mayor Sylvester Turner, after asking if Bowman and tenants had already gone to HUD. We are sending out the public works department as well as the health department today, ourselves.

Code violations

In its inspection report from that day, the Houston Health Department found violations of codes regulating the minimum standards allowed for buildings and stated notice of violations will be issued to the property owners. The department declined to specify which codes had been violated, saying it was unable to comment as the department has pending enforcement action.

However, the inspection included photos of mold, wires hanging from open sockets and two open bathroom ceilings boarded up with plywood and other materials. And the health department said it would return for a follow-up investigation in two weeks and would monitor 311 reports about the property and conduct on-site inspections for all cases.

It is unclear what effect such inspections will have  the apartment complex was inspected nine times in 2021 and five times in 2020.

Fairstead Management said through a spokesperson that it took over ownership Coppertree Village in October of last year and immediately started to address historical issues and needs within the community. The emailed statement said Fairstead had already invested more than $1 million in maintenance needs and capital improvements, renovated 50 apartments, made repairs related to unaddressed fire damage and added additional security.

Theres nothing more personal than someones home, said the spokesperson. We take the responsibility of improving Coppertree very seriously and are committed to restoring it as a great place to live in Houston.

HUD has not provided comment.

HUD issues vouchers that use subsidies to keep rent payments affordable to tenants, but while some vouchers allow tenants to choose where to live, other vouchers are tied to a specific property.

As tenants at Coppertree Village Apartments in Houston and the Sandpiper Cove apartments in Galveston have learned, the latter arrangement can trap families in unhealthy living conditions because theyll lose the vouchers that keep their housing affordable if they move elsewhere. That is why tenants of Coppertree Village hope a judge will rule that HUD must give them vouchers they can take to properties of their choosing.

On HoustonChronicle.com: I dont even wanna be here: Houston tenants say sewers overflow at HUD-funded apartment

At Coppertree, residents say they have seen repairs over the past two weeks, as the property manager has replaced sections of drywall in some units. Even so, many, like Karen Roberson, want to be given the option to move.

Roberson, who suffers from cancer, said it took management  which has changed hands multiple times during her time there  over a year to deal with the mold, which she worried had worsened her health.

I appreciate what theyve done, but look how long it took for them to do that, she said the week after her moldy walls and ceiling were torn out and replaced with new sheetrock. They had to have a law firm and someone who didnt even live there to get involved for them to do something. So I just want out.

Fears for safety

Rolesia Beal remembers being warned about Coppertree Village when she applied to live there shortly before the pandemic. Her manager at Dollar Tree had lived there and said the apartments were in poor condition.

But Beal and her two young daughters had stayed for too long at her sisters place, and she couldnt afford to live anywhere else. I didnt want to end up homeless.

She remembers moving in shortly before Christmas and letting her girls stand outside to watch the fireworks on New Years Eve. Suddenly, she heard gunfire. She rushed the girls inside.

Since then, Beal has had another little girl, and she does not let any of them play outside because she fears for their safety. The 2018 suit against Coppertree outlines the crimes that had taken place in the two years preceding Aug. 31, 2017: Two rapes, 37 aggravated assaults, 15 robberies, 31 thefts and 11 auto thefts.

But inside, she also fears for their safety. One of her outlets has thrown out sparks  smoke has scorched the plastic  and she and other tenants say the water in the showers causes them to itch. An oily brown substance is slowly dripping from the bathroom ceiling.

Because the air in the apartment felt dirty to them, her boyfriend bought box fan filters and taped them over the vents delivering air into the living room and bedrooms. Within weeks, the white filters turn a dingy shade of gray.

Beal hopes that HUD soon will give her family vouchers to move somewhere better, decent, more comfortable.

In the long term, she hopes that she can leave HUD behind entirely.

Thats my dream, she said. Ill be able to get the kids a house, and to own it. And therell be a park nearby, and Id get a little pool for the girls to play in. Something nice. Something away from crime. Peaceful.

In the meantime, she said, shes doing what she can. Im staying strong.

This story has been updated to include a statement by Fairstead.

rebecca.schuetz@chron.com;

twitter.com/raschuetz
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They found the body, floating face down and decaying, in Buffalo Bayou. It belonged to a short and slim man with dark hair, likely in his 20s or 30s.

When authorities fished the corpse out of the water, it was dressed in khaki pants, a striped shirt, a belt with a cowboy buckle. And two combs, in his pocket.

Almost 65 years later, Harris County medical examiners still have no idea who he is. The man  the oldest unnamed corpse in the countys custody  is one of hundreds of people who have died in Houston and have never been identified.

More sophisticated techniques that combine DNA and genealogy are now available and are helping those who seek to put names to unidentified bodies, just as they are being used more by police across the U.S. to solve cold cases.

But every year, hundreds of unidentified bodies arrive at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, and despite best efforts, some never get named.

The morgue handles cases of unexpected or unexplained death. That includes homicides (intentional or unintentional) and cases where a person died under suspicious circumstances. It also includes people who die shortly after arriving at a hospital or after being seen by a physician, as well as suicides and children younger than 6. Finally, bodies discovered are handled by the morgue.

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In 2021, 437 people came into the medical examiners lab as unidentified persons, according to data analyzed by the Houston Chronicle.

When investigators arrive at a crime scene or take on a new case, their first job is to try to identify the victim. They look for drivers licenses, take witness statements, and look for other clues.

Most decedents are identified within a few weeks, Institute of Forensic Sciences spokeswoman Michele Arnold said.

But many times, those efforts dont pan out. Fiery car crashes leave bodies burnt beyond recognition. Corpses  abandoned or thrown into rivers  decay until they are unrecognizable. Thieves take wallets, purses, phones and other items that might otherwise provide clues for detectives.

When that happens, the body is fingerprinted and run through the system, Arnold said. Forensic investigators examine dental records, skeletal radiographs, and use DNA analyses to try to identify the deceased, she said.

On its website, the center has a page with photographs of unidentified people, distinguishing marks on their bodies (such as a striking butterfly tattoo in one photo) and personal effects  a slim silver watch, an Astros T-shirt, a bulky pocketknife, a shoe with blue laces and red ornamentation on the toe. Along with a warning about viewer discretion, the page says: These images are provided in hopes of identifying the deceased individuals, returning them to their loved ones, and bringing closure to families.

By the end of 2021, most of the 437 bodies that arrived at the county morgue that year were identified. Eight were not. They joined a list dating back to 1950 of more than 300 other people who remain unnamed in Harris County.

When investigators are unable to identify a corpse it is labeled long-term unidentified and the body is transferred to county burial.

In Harris County, unidentified men were found far more frequently than unidentified women.

More than a quarter of the unidentified remains at the morgue were later discovered to be in their 30s. About a fifth were in their 20s.

Among the dead found over the years was a young woman  the best guess investigators can make is that she was between 20 and 35  whose body was discovered just north of 610 on Woodard in late 2020. The corpse, which appeared to have lain there for months to years, showed signs of extensive tooth decay before death.

Then there was the teen, found on Walters Road in 2012: a girl between the ages of 15 and 17. Shed been dead for three to six weeks when people finally discovered her body, lying about 20 feet from the side of Walters Road. Records from the medical examiners office show she was between 4 foot 7 inches and 5 feet 3 inches tall. Investigators noted that she appeared to be bi-racial, with long, wavy/curly dark hair held back from the face with a standard bobby pin. She had a pronounced overbite, and small dental fillings in three lower molars. When she died, she was wearing a blue and green Smurfette T-shirt, cargo pants, a black bra and pink underwear.

In 2021, seven children under the ages of 15 were brought in as unidentified bodies. Two died from injuries related to motor vehicle accidents. Three died by homicide. One investigation outlines a homeless 13-year-old boy who drowned in early August. A stillborn baby was found in a dumpster. Police still do not know the identity of the childs parents.

When someone goes missing, it leads to anguish for loved ones: worry and grief  and the question of whatever happened to them.

Jo Ann Lowitzer last spoke to her daughter, Ali, 11 years ago. Ali, 16, wanted to walk to work after riding the bus home from school, Lowitzer recalled. Three people saw her ride the bus and turn down the street toward her workplace on a late April day in 2010. That was the last time anyone ever saw her, Lowitzer recalled. Because her daughter liked dark clothes and eyeliner, police at first wondered if she was a runaway, she said.

Frantic days turned into months, and then years.

At first, Lowitzer didnt want to even consider the worst.

Its even hard to think about today, she said. I would hope that shes not a Jane Doe somewhere.

As the years have passed, its become harder to ignore that possibility, she said. Like thousands of other relatives of missing people, shes submitted her genetic material to databases, hoping for some kind of closure.

If she is out there, and I found her by submitting our DNA, at least I would have that, Lowitzer said.

In past years, medical examiners have obtained grants allowing them to perform advanced genetic testing on some of the remains. Such was the case in 2011, when they exhumed about 25 bodies, including those of a young couple whose remains were discovered in north Harris County more than 40 years ago. But even those efforts can take years  or longer  to pan out. It wasnt until late last year, with the help of genealogy testing, that investigators identified the young couple as Harold Dean Clouse and Tina Gail Linn, who from Florida and went missing in late 1980.

Over the past decade, investigators have increasingly turned to genealogy testing to help resolve cases, said Carol Schweitzer, with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

The method has helped detectives identify dozens of murder victims and killers, the most famous of whom was perhaps the Golden State Killer, a former police officer who murdered at least 13 people and raped 50 women between 1973 and 1986.

In Baltimore, authorities used the technique to identify a homicide victim from 1975, Schweitzer said.

Authorities continuously worked on that case for decades, never putting it down, yet genealogy came along and produced the tip authorities had been waiting on for 45 years, Schweitzer said.

Genealogy could also play a critical role helping track down children who went missing decades ago, she said.

A missing infant who was abducted to be raised by their abductor, or a child abducted by their non-custodial family member and taken to another country could be resolved with a lead generated by genealogy efforts, she said.

Traditionally, investigators used short tandem repeat analysis (or STR) testing to connect DNA samples with potential perpetrators. The DNA method allows scientists to analyze small strands of DNA to see if they match those of a specific person.

In 1998 the federal government created CODIS (the Combined DNA Index System), a federal database of DNA collected at crime scenes and from criminal suspects, potentially allowing investigators from all across the country to see if DNA found at crime scenes matched that of samples collected elsewhere.

It was a monumental shift in criminal investigations, said David Mittelman, CEO of Othram Inc, a DNA testing lab focused on forensic genealogy testing.

But a fundamental problem with CODIS and STR testing was that detectives could only connect it against samples already in the CODIS database.

If youre a victim, youre not in CODIS, Mittelman said. So CODIS doesnt help. It doesnt work.

Now, investigators can use more advanced DNA testing to analyze far more DNA markers  and then compare those DNA samples against those added to certain genealogy databases such as Gedmatch.com.

Advancements in DNA testing have also helped bring an end to cases that have remained opened for decades.

Take the case of Mary Catherine Edwards. Murdered in 1995, the young Beaumont schoolteachers case sat, unsolved, for 25 years. Late last year, after advanced DNA testing, investigators were able to identify the genetic material of a possible perpetrator. They then used forensic genealogy testing to identify his relatives, then work down the family tree until they found the alleged perpetrator. Hes now arrested and charged with Edwards murder.

Detectives are increasingly able to solve murders like Edwards, Mittelman said.

Were able to do lots of things  including use genealogy to make long range relationship determinations, Mittelman said. With that information, detectives are now increasingly able to connect once-useless DNA with relatives of crime victims or perpetrators of violence.

In Harris County, however, hundreds of corpses lie in a paupers graveyard, waiting to be named.

st.john.smith@chron.com
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Thousands of students left Houston-area community colleges over the course of the pandemic  a worrying trend for the schools after years of stable or increasing enrollment.

The largest two-year colleges in Harris County logged declining student headcounts between 2019 and 2021, with Houston Community College experiencing the most severe decreases, according to admissions offices. The problem lacks a singular explanation, administrators said, but it is fairly consistent with a nationwide trend of enrollment declines at community colleges more than at other subsets of higher education institutions.

For community colleges, this is historic, said Shantay Grays, HCCs vice chancellor of student services. We have always relied on the economy bringing individuals back into higher ed. This is so nuanced that its perplexing researchers who have done years of studies in this work.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston-area universities seek to manage, not stamp out, infections during Omicron

The trend is at first counterintuitive: Administrators at HCC, Lone Star College and San Jacinto College said they usually see higher enrollment during economic downturns, in part because their tuition is comparatively more affordable than that at four-year institutions and because people are eager to learn new skills for re-entering the workforce. But the enrollment drops over the past two years came as a surprise  and the economy is still a likely cause, they said.

Students are kind of pausing their education, Lone Star College Chancellor Stephen C. Head said. The reason for that is theres almost full employment in the Houston metropolitan area. Im not talking about minimum wage, Im talking 15 and 18 and 20 dollars an hour.

Even though people for the most part are able to find jobs now, a lack of enrollment could pose problems for them and for businesses later, said Brenda Hellyer, chancellor of San Jacinto College. Community colleges are usually major pathways to technical jobs in the community.

It makes me wonder who were not serving, she said. Its not that they didnt just go to a community college, Im concerned they didnt go anywhere.

Two-year public colleges suffered a 13.2 percent decrease in enrollment from fall 2019, according to a study by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Texas trended slightly ahead of the country, with an 8 percent drop between fall 2019 and fall 2020, and a 2 percent increase in enrollment the following year.

Lone Star and San Jacinto colleges fared better than the average U.S. community college, even though both schools still recorded declining enrollment from fall 2019 to fall 2021. Houston Community Colleges campuses fared worse, logging a more-than-20 percent decrease in enrollment over the two year-period.

More from Samantha Ketterer: Many hospitals lack trained nurses to aid sexual assault victims. This group works to fill in the gaps.

Faruq Owodunni, a student at Lone Star College-Cy-Fair, described the temptation to pursue a more immediately lucrative career in cryptocurrency, instead of attending college straight out of high school.

Id be making the income Id make in a year, in a month, the 19-year-old said.

While Owodunni decided to attend community college  he said he sees a long-term value  other students left in droves. San Jacinto College recorded a two-year enrollment decrease of 2.6 percent. Lone Star College enrollment decreased by 7 percent. And HCC lost almost 20 percent of its total students over the same period.

The steepest drops in enrollment came in fall 2020, according to data from each institution. San Jacinto College has increased its numbers for 2021, although not to pre-pandemic levels, and the other two colleges saw slower decreases that year.

(Enrollment at four-year universities was worse in fall 2021 than the previous year, after seeing enrollment go up in fall 2020, when the economy was still shaky after months of shutdowns earlier in the year. Community colleges recorded larger overall decreases from 2019 to 2021, however.)

Even though community college enrollment decreases are slowing or beginning to level off, any drop in headcount is concerning, said Mikyung Ryu, director of research publications at National Student Clearinghouse.

Instead of getting out of the woods, it looks like we are digger deeper into the hole during the second year of the pandemic, Ryu said. Enrollment is continuing to decline further and further during the pandemic, and the decline is at the level that is very unprecedented  That is a big mystery to me.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Mother, daughter walk stage together after graduating from UH

Part of the answer may lie in the demographic of a two-year community college student, said Jonathan Feinstein, state director for Texas at the nonprofit advocacy organization Education Trust. Community college students tend to be older than the average enrollee at a four-year university. They might have families, be single mothers, or already work part- or full-time. And community colleges train more minority students, he said.

According to the Clearinghouse study, community college enrollment dropped steeply for men in 2020 and significantly slowed in 2021; enrollment dropped less steeply for women in 2020 but continued falling in 2021  possibly reflecting difficulties in finding childcare, which tends to fall on women, Feinstein said.

These declines tend to be disproportionately harming those who were negatively affected by the pandemic. These are the students that are primarily served by our community college institutions, Feinstein said. Its not terribly surprising that theyre facing higher hurdles to higher education now than they were before the pandemic.

HCCs enrollment decline could stem from factors beyond the pandemic, especially in the inner city where gentrification is taking hold and those with college degrees may be moving out, Grays said. But the HCC system also primarily serves students from Houston ISD, whose families tend to be more economically disadvantaged than families living near suburban community colleges, she said.

In talking to students who decided not to return to college during the pandemic, Hellyer said, many said they simply didnt like online classes. And at least broadly speaking, technically oriented courses that are special to community colleges also tend to be more hands-on and arent as adaptable to online learning, Ryu said.

Many community colleges, especially in rural parts of the state and country, dont have the resources to switch to online-only systems, Head said. Community colleges are also more financially strapped than four-year universities  even as federal aid helped the three local colleges during the pandemic and provided millions in student aid directly to college students, the administrators said.

Future enrollment at community colleges might not be so bleak, Head added, possibly returning to former levels in the next few years.

The gig economy  which possibly drew people away from community colleges during the pandemic  has already become an area for growth. Colleges are looking at how to leverage their programs in the changing workforce and maximize a persons earning potential.

I see it as an opportunity, she said. Its so important that students realize the value of a credential. Weve got to continue to share that.

samantha.ketterer@chron.com
Houstonians whove hummed along Memorial Drive during lunch hour in recent years might have noticed a group of protesters gathered outside a nondescript office building every Tuesday, and wondered what they were doing.

The protesters have the same question for you, as it happens  and todays GOP leaders.

I mean, they tried to overthrow an election in 2020, said Brent Sullivan, one of the co-founders of the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest, on Tuesday. Since then, theyve passed laws to make it easier to overthrow an election. Our planning assumption has got to be that theyre going to try it again. And when they do, what will we do?

The only way that changes in government come about is when people demand it, and thats what were doing, said Polly Johnson, a retired physical therapist who became active in politics after the 2016 presidential election.

I realize its a bit dangerous to be here, she continued, noting that the group is, after all, talking about politics on a busy street corner. But I think everybody feels like we have to allow ourselves to be subjected to some danger when our democracy is under attack.

The signs on display outside the glass and concrete building that houses the offices of Texas senior senator, Republican John Cornyn, suggested a number of concerns: Climate change. Black Lives Matter. Medicare For All. Fixing our states rickety electric grid.

And this is an overarching concern, for most of the groups members  addressing the perils facing our democracy. Former President Donald Trump continues to peddle false claims about the 2020 presidential election being stolen and did so once again at his rally in Conroe last weekend, where he was joined by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Republican state leaders.

Its scary. Its reminiscent of Germany, 1933, said Ira Dember, 74, referring to the year that Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor, setting the stage for that nations shift from democracy to dictatorship. I lost extended family members in the Holocaust. People didnt believe it could happen there, either. Why do you think people stayed in Germany, as things got worse and worse?

A lot of people dont realize it or dont want to believe it, he continued. Theyd rather believe the comfortable myth. Theyd rather believe the lie to themselves  not Trumps lie, but their own lie  that it cant happen.

An interesting point: Trump says plenty of things, many of them provably false, but hes never suggested that America is immune to authoritarianism  that it cant happen here, as they say.

At the Conroe rally Saturday, Trump dangled the prospect of pardons for Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionists if he becomes president again and suggested that his supporters take to the streets should he face indictment. The next day, he issued a statement blasting his former vice president, Mike Pence, for failing to keep him in power: Unfortunately, he didnt exercise that power, he could have overturned the Election!

Pence had no authority to block congressional certification of Democrat Joe Bidens victory

Tuesday was the fifth anniversary for this grassroots political group, which meets Tuesdays on the corner outside 5300 Memorial Drive, equipped with their voices, signs and American flags. And it is a grassroots group that coalesced after Trump was elected president in 2016, explained co-organizer Neil Aquino.

I want to be clear: There is no money here, Aquino told me Monday. We are connected to nobody. Everyone there no doubt is a Democrat, but we are not aligned with the party. I know a few elected officials. I try to avoid them.

The group has occasionally met on a Wednesday or Thursday instead of Tuesday, Aquino noted. And the crew had to skip a few weeks altogether because of Hurricane Harvey; the 2017 storm left the corner underwater. But other than that, they havent missed a week  even during the pandemic and despite the occasional heat wave, rainstorm and freeze. Other groups also protest outside Cornyns office, at times.

After Trump became president, Aquino noted, similar groups convened outside the offices of other GOP senators, including that of Texas junior senator, Republican Ted Cruz. But the Cruz Houston Office Protest fizzled. His office is downtown, meaning it sees less drive-by traffic; also, you have to pay for parking.

Aquino, like other group members, is driven by a sense of urgency.

If you had told me, when I was 30, that at age 54 my main concerns would be voting rights and screwed-up weather, I would have been awfully depressed, said Aquino. Standing on the street corner saying, Please show up at this point seems like the most pragmatic course.

It hasnt all been smooth sailing, group members recalled this week. Several noise complaints have been filed. The occasional egg has been thrown. Group member Robert Romero, 74, recalled that a driver once rolled down his window and yelled at the protesters: Go get a job! It was a comment reflecting an interesting worldview, in Romeros assessment  one in which free citizens should, perhaps, for some reason devote themselves to being quiet, loyal cogs in a machine.

In any case, he was more bemused than chagrined by the exchange.

They dont know anything about me, Romero said, as he carried his signs, highlighting the climate crisis, back to his car after Tuesdays gathering. I happen to be retired.

The group had 18 members turn out that day, and a lot of honks from passing cars. Several group members said theyve gotten more honks in the wake of events that vivify why this small group of dedicated protesters turns out every week to raise their concerns about our countrys trajectory.

People can see that we stand for something, you know? said Romero. And thats something.

erica.grieder@chron.com
Like a big sibling brushing aside a little ones input, federal environmental regulators are tossing Texas argument that a common cancer-causing chemical isnt all that harmful. National staff appear to be moving forward in the months ahead with plans to regulate it more tightly.

The fight centers on a chemical that, like many produced in the Houston region, most enjoy the benefits and suffer the risks of but few have any idea exists. Its a colorless gas called ethylene oxide, best known for its effectiveness in sterilizing medical equipment. Its also used to purify spices and make a range of household products.

And its one of 188 air pollutants the Environmental Protection Agency regulates that are known or suspected to cause significant health or environmental problems. Its a significant contributor to cancer risk in the Houston region because of industrial facilities, according to a November environmental data analysis by ProPublica, a nonprofit news site.

The Texas Gulf Coast is home to some of the biggest and most toxic hot spots in ProPublicas analysis, with most of the cities of Houston, Port Arthur and Beaumont exposed at a risk of often well above 1 in 100,000. But if you look at the risk from all chemicals except ethylene oxide, these hot spots shrink dramatically, showing the outsize impact of the chemical.

This sibling spat goes back years. In the past decade, the EPA took a harder look at ethylene oxide. Researchers read studies that showed it to be more dangerous than scientists previously thought. In 2016, the agency published a new analysis of how much more likely it really was to cause cancer.

It wasnt just an ordinary carcinogen, explained Neil Carman, clean air director for the Texas chapter of the Sierra Club. It was a super carcinogen. Thats what all the evidence was showing.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas regulators may raise the acceptable level of a toxic chemical. Activists and East Harris County residents are worried.

Those at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality heard this and decided in 2017 to take a look. TCEQ praised itself for this, saying in a statement that, though it doesnt have to, the agency goes above and beyond federal requirements to develop its own protection levels for various chemicals.

The often attacked state agency ultimately decided that ethylene oxide was in fact less toxic than researchers previously believed. It challenged the way EPA had analyzed the available research on the toxin, arguing the EPAs assessment was far-too-generously predicting danger and placing an unwarranted strain on the medical equipment industry.

The little sibling drew a line in the sand, essentially saying that Texas viewed the math differently. And Texas understood the science better. The states new, less-stringent level for what was considered safe became official in 2020.

Not everyone liked TCEQs about-face, least of all environmental advocates.

Thats why they get criticized, right? said Elena Craft, a toxicologist and senior director of climate and health for the Environmental Defense Fund, explaining that Texas was not offering the same protection as the rest of the country.

The Sierra Club and others sued in 2019 to be able to see the documents TCEQ used to come to a decision to lessen the protections. The advocates suspected the agency was doing the industrys bidding, said Ilan Levin, associate director of the Environmental Integrity Project and an attorney on the case.

Industry disagrees

An ethylene oxide panel from the American Chemistry Council, a group that represents industrial companies, said in a statement shared with the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday that it found the EPAs analysis to be significantly flawed.

But big-sibling EPA, under pressure from other scientists and community groups to review how it regulates the chemical, moved on ahead with upping the threat level. In a phone call with reporters last week, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency would formally reject the Texas analysis and proceed to make regulations with its own.

Regan said his decision on ethylene oxide followed his November visit to Houston and several other communities, where he focused on issues facing people of color and talked with residents about their concerns.

We are leading with the best available science to reduce emissions of the chemical and better protect the communities health, Regan said. And were going to look at a range of approaches besides regulation for achieving emissions reductions while regulations are in development.

On HoustonChronicle.com: EPA promises help with contaminated Fifth Ward rail yard, targeting unjust conditions

Once its been made public, the EPA will accept public input for 45 days on Regans decision to use the EPAs own evaluation of the chemicals risk. TCEQ officials say they plan to send feedback. In its statement, the little sibling said the big one failed to address its technical concerns.

Federal regulators intend next to reconsider how facilities keep ethylene oxide from escaping into the air, and how its used by workers for sterilizing items. They pointed out that addressing the risk or telling people about it more effectively could happen faster at the local level, perhaps if also pushed by local officials, academics and community members.

How much is too much?

Apart from these regulatory processes, the agency is also trying to figure out how better to monitor for the chemical, which is a vital issue for places such as Harris County. Its hard for investigators to measure, said Latrice Babin, executive director of Harris County Pollution Control. And once staff are able to detect it more accurately, they will need guidance on how much is too much.

To have none of the toxin in the air would be ideal but isnt practical, Babin noted. Facilities are allowed to use it to make relied-upon items. The question is at what level it becomes a safety concern.

We dont really so much think about what it takes to create those conveniences that you become accustomed to, Babin said. Thats why environmental sampling and analysis is so important because we live with this.  We want to make sure that theres not harm being imposed for those conveniences.

emily.foxhall@chron.com
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City Council on Wednesday said goodbye to a six-year veteran of the horseshoe, bidding Greg Travis farewell as the mayor swore in his successor, Mary Nan Huffman.

Huffman, 38, an attorney for the Houston Police Officers Union, won a special election last month to take the District G seat in west Houston, taking 54 percent of the vote and securing a victory without needing a runoff. Travis resigned late last year to run for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives.

I will miss council, Travis said. I will miss everyone around this horseshoe.

Mayor Sylvester Turner swore Huffman in at 9:20 a.m., with her husband and two young sons, ages 4 and 7, standing by her. She then took Travis seat, and a staffer swapped out his nameplate for one with her name.

Huffman thanked her family and supporters for helping her win the seat, but she did not speak further. In a later memo to constituents, she said she was eager to get to work. The new council member said she is retaining Travis District G staff.

I plan to jump right in to work without missing a beat, Huffman said.

She told District G residents she wants to give first responders more resources, improve infrastucture and flood protection in the district, and ensure tax dollars are spent responsibly. Huffman has said she intends to keep her job with the police union, although she said she would recuse herself from labor contract votes.

Earlier, Turner and some of Travis colleagues saluted the outgoing councilman at his last meeting. The mayor noted he and Travis entered City Hall together in 2016, working on many city initiatives in tandem. He praised Travis for his work on behalf of west Houston residents and for his advocacy for animals.

I would say in most instances, we worked on those things together and moved things forward for this city, Turner said.

At-Large Councilmember Sallie Alcorn, who worked as Travis first chief of staff before winning her own election in 2019, said her friendship with Travis, a stout conservative on council, gives her hope in polarized political times.

Youve put your heart into this job, and youve made your community better for your efforts, she told him.

Huffman becomes this councils 10th female member, a new record. Women secured a majority at City Hall for the first time with the 2019 elections.

dylan.mcguinness@chron.com
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston on Wednesday unveiled a new public psychiatric hospital, which will bolster the citys mental health treatment options and expand the states overburdened psychiatric resources.

Built in partnership with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the $126 million, 264-bed facility at the Texas Medical Center is the first public psychiatric hospital to be built in the state in 25 years, the university said. Combined with the adjacent UTHealth Harris County Psychiatric Center, the 538-bed campus is the largest academic psychiatric hospital in the country, the university said.

Not only are we adding psychiatry beds for the community, but were planning to improve the patient care that we provide in our building, said Dr. Lokesh Shahani, the new hospitals chief medical officer. What we want to do is individualize and personalized the level of care, because not one shoe fits all.

The hospital will accept its first patients in March. A ribbon-cutting event was held Wednesday morning with a number of Harris County and state leaders in attendance.

As part of the universitys contract with HHSC, the beds will serve the 29 contiguous counties around Houston. One of the goals for the additional space is expanding subacute care, a more comprehensive and long-term method of treatment that reduces the chances of readmission, research shows.

The new hospital will admit many patients currently discharged by the Harris County Psychiatric Center, which offers mostly acute-care beds and where the average length of stay is about seven days, partly because roughly 45 patients are waiting to be admitted at all times.

The 2017 Legislative Budget Board and Gov. Greg Abbott provided funding for the building, but the university will run the day-to-day operations. Officials hope it will alleviate the current strain on existing mental health treatment centers in the Houston-area, including the Harris County jail, long considered the largest mental health facility in Texas.

The strain extends to treatment centers across the state. A Houston Chronicle investigation last year revealed Texas mental health system is stretched beyond capacity, with long waiting lists and a lack of oversight.

This new state-of-the-art facility is a much-needed investment in the community and it will have a long-lasting impact in our ability to provide care for the most vulnerable Texans living with serious mental illness, Young said in a news release.

In a statement, Wayne Young, the CEO of The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, said the additional capacity will be transformational.

It will also send a powerful message of respect and care when patients see modern facilities and additional resources dedicated to the improvement of their mental health and overall well-being, he said.

The rooms are separated into 11 units, and most are designed to house two people. During a tour of the 240,000-square-foot hospital on Tuesday, Stephen Glazier, chief operating officer of UTHealths Harris County Psychiatric Center, showed off its therapy mall, with rooms designed for group therapy and music therapy. The space, which features large windows looking out to a courtyard, includes a small gym and a hair salon.

Getting a haircut isnt going to make your mental illness go away, he said. But if we can create an atmosphere and an environment that is peaceful enough, it makes the therapy and the medication more effective.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further illustrated the urgent need for psychiatric resources in Houston, as social isolation triggers anxiety and depression, said Shahani, an associate professor at UTHeaths Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

If I have to easily put it into words, Shahani added, there is more need, and the patients who are presenting have much more severe illness.

julian.gill@chron.com
First-time vaccine seekers will have a chance to win a $50 gift card Saturday simply by rolling up their sleeves.

The first 250 people in line to get their first dose or booster shot at Benavidez Elementary  on Gulfton Street in west Houston  will receive the prizes. The pop-up clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The giveaway is part of a citywide effort to jump-start lagging vaccine demand. Health officials are giving $38,000 to residents who get inoculated against the virus in the next five weeks.

COVID-19 vaccination rates across the city remain far below what experts had hoped to see nearly one year after the shots became publicly available. The cash incentives are aimed at the 30 percent of Houston residents who have not yet gotten the jab.

In addition to the gift card giveaway, those who receive their shot at Benavidez or any eligible Houston Health Department site will be entered into weekly drawings for $1,000 prizes from now to March 1. Two winners will be chosen by raffle every Friday.

The cash incentives appear to be working, health department spokesman Scott Packard said Wednesday afternoon. A previous pop-up clinic offering gift cards at Lyons Elementary in Northside saw an increase in vaccine seekers vying for the cash, he said.

The city of Houston and Harris County each offered cash cards to residents getting doses for a limited time last summer, driving an uptick in vaccinations.

Houstons vaccine incentives are less whimsical  though perhaps more practical  than other recent attempts to entice hold-outs. Maine offered residents hunting licenses for getting the jab through its Your Shot to Get Outdoors initiative. New Jersey lured residents through its Shot and a Beer program. And a San Francisco nonprofit offered free marijuana in exchange for a vaccination.

A full list of health department vaccination sites participating in the giveaway can be found at https://houstonemergency.org/covid-19-vaccines/.

nora.mishanec@chron.com
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro filed a congressional resolution Tuesday that demands the release of San Antonio resident Paul Rusesabagina from a Rwanda prison.

Castro and Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., condemned Rusesabaginas imprisonment on terrorism charges that critics say were fabricated by his chief political enemy, the countrys longtime president, Paul Kagame.

Mr. Paul Rusesabagina has been unfairly targeted and imprisoned for using his elevated platform and prominence to oppose an oppressive Rwandan government, Castro, D-San Antonio, said in a statement Tuesday.

The resolution says Rusesabagina was extrajudicially transferred from the United Arab Emirates to Kigali and immediately placed in solitary confinement.

It also asked that Rusesabagina, a 67-year-old cancer survivor, receive medical care from the Rwandan government and that the Biden administration raise the case of Paul Rusesabagina and to press for his immediate release.

Rusesabaginas family lives in San Antonio and are residents of Castros district.

On ExpressNews.com: Hotel Rwanda' hero's son tries to challenge Rwanda ambassador at DreamWeek panel discussion

.

Rusesabagina was arrested by the Rwandan government in August 2020 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Sept. 20, 2021.

He became famous after the release of the 2004 Hollywood film, Hotel Rwanda, which was based on his effort to save almost 1,300 people during Rwandas bloody civil war.

He fell out with Kagame, a former military leader who has been in power 22 years, and became a Belgian citizen and permanent U.S. resident living in San Antonio and Brussels.

I hope this step will hasten Pauls return home to San Antonio to restore his family and his health, said Bill Israel, a retired St. Marys associate professor of communication studies who has advocated for Rusesabaginas release.

He called on the U.S. government to hold the Kagame regime to account for its criminal conduct against Paul, his family and a host of other Rwandans whove been tortured, disappeared or murdered because they dared criticize the Kagame regime

Kagames government has been accused by Human Rights Watch of practicing arbitrary detention, ill treatment, torture and possibly murder. Hes run the Central African country since 2000 and is credited with leading it into a period of stability and prosperity, with a focus on reconciling its two major tribal groups after the bloodletting of the 1990s.

Advocates for the regime say Rwanda has a performance-based government led by top leadership that is focused on unity, not division, and is radically transforming the country.

Rusesabaginas son, Tresor, was in a class last spring led by Israel that St. Marys president, Tom Mengler, said was electronically spied on by two people, one of whom was based in the Rwandan Embassy in Washington, D.C. One of those at the class was Kathleen Tobin Krueger, whose husband, Bob, was a former U.S. senator and ambassador to Burundi & Botswana.

On ExpressNews.com: FBI probes St. Marys Zoom intrusion linked to Rwandan regime

This was not the first time Rwandan nationals have spied on the Kruegers in the United States, she wrote in an email. During a period in 2008 and 2009, when the Rusesabaginas often stayed overnight at the Kruegers' home, neighbors were approached by an identified Rwandan national asking, Which house is the Kruegers?

sigc@express-news.net
Regarding Editorial: Attacks on police officers are attacks on all of us, (Jan. 28): Thanks to the Houston Chronicle for your balanced editorial regarding law enforcement. As a board member of Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas, I have personal relationships with many of our cities finest officers. We should always strive to improve, but respect from the public to politicians for most of those who serve should not waver. Many officers I know are no longer encouraging their children to follow in their footsteps due to lack of respect and in how they are treated by some in the public, media and political sphere.

I am also a platinum member of the 100 Club that provides funds to the families of fallen first responders. By assisting that organization with time, talent or treasure the public, politicians and the media can show visible support for all law enforcement does for our communities.

Mike Fuljenz, Beaumont

America divided

Regarding Congress members see spike in threats, (Jan 22): The article includes a comment, The more vitriolic the message, the more money is raised. I have seen interviews with members of Congress excusing their campaign's use of language designed to incite fear, anger and hate by saying it is the most effective way to get donations. We also know that members of Congress spend their days in Washington doing fundraising activities and leave the legislative work to their staffs. To me this says that we need to revise campaign financing laws. Challenges to the McCain-Feingold Act have effectively gutted it.

Barbara Griffith, Houston

Regarding Culture war, (Jan. 27): I had to laugh at the letter in which the writer first decries the culture war, and then blames Leonard Pitts for putting all the blame on the Republicans for our current deadlock. The deadlock results from massive Republican opposition to any legislation that might make President Biden look good, even if their constituents would benefit from it. The culture war is different, but also Republicans doing  by ginning up fear (among white people) that their children are being made uncomfortable, by teaching history, or telling whites that they have to go to the back of the line for vaccinations and COVID treatments, or that busloads of antifa are coming to lay waste to their nice suburban neighborhoods, and pretty much anything else that Tucker Carlson says.

Janet L. Lachman, Austin

Preservation

Regarding New Houston district aims to preserve last remnant of history near Rice Military, (Jan. 26): Great to see a "historic district'' made the front page of the paper Thursday. Maybe River Oaks can be added to the list of historic districts.

Jane Barnhill, Brenham
In February 2021 a deep freeze caused widespread power outages in Texas, leaving about 10 million Texans without electricity, in many cases for days. Hundreds died.

The biggest proximate cause of the crisis was disrupted production of natural gas, the states most important power source. After a 2011 freeze, federal regulators had urged Texas to require winterization of gas and electricity facilities. But it didnt.

And for the most part it still hasnt: So far, no winterization requirements have been placed on the politically powerful gas sector. Instead, Gov. Greg Abbott is hoping to secure the power grid by encouraging  Bitcoin mining. This would supposedly reduce the risk of outages because Bitcoins huge electricity consumption would eventually expand the states generation capacity.

Yes, thats as crazy as it sounds. But it fits a pattern. When confronted with problems that could easily be alleviated through cooperative action, the radical right-wingers who have taken over the Republican Party often turn instead to bizarre nonsolutions that appeal to their antisocial ideology. Ill explain why I use that word in a minute.

First, lets talk about the most obvious current example: COVID policy. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has tried to block just about every measure intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus; he and his officials have stopped just short of being explicitly anti-vaccine, but they have catered to the anti-vax fringe, with DeSantis even refusing to say whether he has received a booster shot.

They have, however, gone all in on antibody treatments that are far more expensive than vaccines, with DeSantis demanding that the Food and Drug Administration allow use of antibodies that, the FDA has found, dont work against omicron.

Why support expensive, ineffective treatments while opposing measures that would help prevent severe illness in the first place? Well, consider a parallel that may not be immediately obvious but is actually quite close: school shootings.

Among major advanced nations, such shootings are an almost uniquely U.S. phenomenon. And while there may be multiple reasons America leads the world in massacres of schoolkids, we could surely mitigate the horror with common-sense measures like restrictions on gun sales, required background checks and a ban on privately owned assault weapons.

But no. Republicans want to expand access to guns and, in many states, protect students by arming schoolteachers.

What do these examples have in common? As Thomas Hobbes could have told you, human beings can only flourish, can only avoid a state of nature in which lives are nasty, brutish and short, if they participate in a commonwealth  a society in which government takes on much of the responsibility for making life secure. Thus, we have law enforcement precisely so individuals dont have to go around armed to protect themselves against other peoples violence.

Public health policy, if you think about it, reflects the same principle. Individuals can and should take responsibility for their own health, when they can; but the nature of infectious disease means that there is an essential role for collective action, whether it is public investment in clean water supplies or, yes, mask and vaccine mandates during a pandemic.

And you dont have to be a socialist to recognize the need for regulation to maintain the reliability of essential aspects of the economy like electricity supply and the monetary system.

Which is why Im calling the modern American right antisocial  because its members reject any policy that relies on social cooperation, and they want us to return instead to Hobbes dystopian state of nature. We wont try to keep guns out of the hands of potential mass murderers; instead, well rely on teacher-vigilantes to gun them down once the shooting has already started. We wont try to limit the spread of infectious diseases; instead, well tell people to take drugs that are expensive, ineffective or both after theyve already gotten sick.

What about Bitcoin? I dont think its even worth trying to make sense of Abbotts tortured logic, why he imagines that promoting an environmentally destructive, energy-hogging industry will somehow make his states electricity supply more reliable. (An energy grid overloaded by crypto mining helped set off the recent crisis in Kazakhstan.)

A better question is why Republicans have become fanatics about cryptocurrency, to the extent that one Senate candidate has defined his position as being pro-God, pro-family, pro-Bitcoin. The answer, Id argue, is that Bitcoin plays into a fantasy of self-sufficient individualism, of protecting your family with your personal AR-15, treating your COVID with an anti-parasite drug or urine and managing your financial affairs with privately created money, untainted by institutions like governments or banks.

In the end, none of this will work. Government exists for a reason. But the rights constant attacks on essential government functions will take a toll, making all of our lives nastier, more brutish and shorter.

Paul Krugman is a columnist for the New York Times.
Despite ongoing legal troubles, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to demonstrate his fundraising prowess, pulling in $3 million since July, according to campaign finance statements.

However, former Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman  one of his three GOP primary challengers  raised about $1.3 million more than Paxton from July 1 to Jan. 20, reports show. She and the other challengers combined took in more than twice as much as Paxton, suggesting that he faces a fight to reach the 50 percent threshold needed in the March 1 primary to avoid a runoff.

A Jan. 28 poll by the University of Houstons Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Paxton with the support of 39 percent of all GOP primary voters and 44 percent of likely Republican voters. Paxton has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush trailed among all GOP primary voters at 16 percent, followed by East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert at 13 percent and Guzman at 8 percent. Still 24 percent were undecided.

While Paxton has the largest war chest  $7.5 million, compared to about $2 million and $2.6 million respectively for Guzman and Bush  the latest figures indicate Paxton is not in safe, no-runoff territory. Early voting begins Feb. 14.

As an incumbent who does have name ID, I think he should be there (at over 50 percent), said Renee Cross, senior director of the Hobby School. But I think its most likely because of the issues surrounding his ethics violations, particularly for the office that hes holding, that have allowed Guzman, or any of them, to be in the position to force a runoff.

Paxtons challengers have zeroed in on his sea of legal difficulties  his 2015 indictment for felony securities fraud and an ongoing FBI investigation of allegations that he used his office to help a political donor. Former aides claim in a whistleblower suit that they were wrongfully terminated out of retaliation for reporting him to authorities. The criminal case against Paxton has yet to go to trial. He has denied all wrongdoing.

Cross noted that the same poll shows Republican Gov. Greg Abbott with a commanding lead over his two primary challengers, former Texas GOP chair Allen West and former Texas state Sen. Don Huffines.

Paxton has focused his political attacks on Gohmert, Cross said, most likely because they both appeal to far-right voters. Bush and Guzman have staked out more moderate positions. Much will depend on how Paxtons competitors use the remaining weeks  and spend the cash theyve accumulated  to increase their name recognition and make their case to voters.

Paxton took in several large donations since July 1. The biggest check  a quarter of a million  came from the Republican Attorney Generals Association.

The association was mired in controversy early last year after an offshoot group sent out a robocall a week before Jan. 6, 2021, encouraging patriots to attend the March to Save America rally, at which Paxton spoke and which preceded the U.S. Capitol attack. The associations finance director, which spearheaded the offshoot group, resigned in the aftermath.

RAGA has a long history of supporting incumbent Republican AGs, said Johnny Koremenos, spokesman for the association, which Paxton chaired in 2019.

Other top donors include Hill Country Republican megadonor Michael Porter, who along with his wife owns Cross Creek Ranch in Doss, a town of a few hundred people outside Fredericksburg; and Holly Frost, CEO of Texas Memory Systems and husband of failed congressional candidate Kathaleen Wall. Each gave $100,000. The majority of Paxtons donors gave $10,000 or more, while just 12 percent gave $1,000 or less.

ABOUT THE PORTERS, FROM 2018: From a ranch in Doss, quiet couple cause a $1.5 million stir in Texas politics

The bulk of Guzmans fundraising came from large donors, including Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, a powerful tort-reform group that is among the top political funders in the state. The group, which notably switched its support from Paxton in the past to Guzman, gave about $1.2 million, including $606,050 in-kind for political advertisements.

Other big-ticket donors include Richard Weekley, the groups co-founder and CEO ($500,000); board member Alan Hassenflu ($250,000); and Dallas real estate developer Harlan Crow ($500,000). Guzman spent about $3.4 million, mostly on advertisements and direct mail campaign flyers, and had about $2 million on hand.

MORE ON THIS: Texas AG Ken Paxton's donors are defecting to his challengers and taking big money with them

Bush raised about $2 million over the same six-plus months, mainly from about 65 donors who gave $10,000 or more.

Among his top donors were Los Angeles-based developer and billionaire Edward P. Roski Jr., who co-owns the NHLs Kings and NBAs Lakers; Austin-based tech investor Alexander Davis and his philanthropist wife, Lindsay; and John B. Bellinger III, former legal adviser to Bushs uncle, former President George W. Bush. Each gave $50,000. Bush spent about $2.7 million, mostly on salaries and fundraising efforts, and had about $2.6 million on hand, as of Jan. 20.

According to the Hobby School poll, there was greater antipathy toward Bush than any other candidate.

Thirty-seven percent of almost-certain voters said they would never consider voting for Bush, compared to much lower percentages whod never consider Paxton (11 percent), Gohmert (10 percent) and Guzman (16 percent).

Gohmert, who didnt jump into the race until mid-November, raised about $1 million  the amount he had said hed need to raise in 10 days to spur him to launch a campaign. Campaign finance records, however, show his contributions didnt total that amount until very recently. Still, Gohmert insisted in a statement to the Texas Tribune that he had secured commitments that helped him reach the goal, even if it was not yet in hand.

Getting all of the money in house took more time, but we got it just as we were promised and just as we promised, Gohmert said. He said the financial support has allowed him to seek to deliver an ethical alternative in the AG race who is conservative all the time and not just when information arises as to our AGs improprieties.

The majority of Gohmerts funding came from state Rep. Mayes Middleton, the chair of the Texas Freedom Caucus who is running for Texas Senate this year with Lt. Gov Dan Patricks backing ($300,000), and state Rep. Matt Krause, another caucus member who dropped out of the attorney generals race in November to run for district attorney in his home county ($250,000).

Congressman Gohmert is running in the lane I had occupied in the attorney general race, Krause said in a statement. (He is) a proven, principled conservative who was concerned about the cloud of controversies surrounding the incumbent. It only made sense to support him in his efforts.

Gohmert spent about $126,500, mainly on transportation and fundraising-related costs, and he has about $888,000 on hand.

As for the Democratic primary race, former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski and civil rights attorney Lee Merritt raked in the most cash between July 1 and Jan. 20  about $514,000 and $446,000 respectively. Former ACLU attorney Rochelle Garza, who joined the race in November after redistricting scrambled her plans to run for Congress, has raised about $141,000.

Former Harris County Judge Mike Fields has not raised anything yet, and Dallas attorney Stephen T-Bone Raynor has given himself $200, reports show.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
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SVMC's Pulmonary Rehabilitation Professionals on Next Medical Matters Weekly

BENNINGTON, Vt.  Southwestern Vermont Health Care's (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr. Trey Dobson welcomes Physical Therapist Caitlyn Boyd, DPT, and Respiratory Therapist Chad DeGrenier, RRT at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

They will share information about pulmonary rehabilitation and how it can help those with breathing difficulties.

The show is produced with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can see Medical Matters Weekly on facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington . The show is also available to view or download a podcast on www.svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters

Boyd received both her bachelor's in Nutrition and Food Science and her doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Vermont. She has worked as a physical therapist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) for the past 10 years. She specializes in vestibular rehab, which relates to the inner ear's role in balance and movement. She helped create the Pulmonary Rehab program in 2015 and serves as its coordinator. She is certified in pulmonary rehab by the American Association for Respiratory Care and the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

DeGrenier earned an associate's degree from Hudson Valley Community College and is a Registered Respiratory Therapist. He has worked at SVMC for 18 years. He estimates he has helped thousands of patients in respiratory distress.

After the program, the video will be available on area public access television stations. On CAT-TV, viewers will find the show on channel 1075 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Monday, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 a.m. Friday, and 7 p.m. Saturday. GNAT-TV's Comcast channel 1074 airs the program at 8 a.m. Monday, 9 p.m. Wednesday, and 1 p.m. Saturday.

Medical Matters Weekly is an interactive, multiplatform, guest-driven, medical-themed talk show hosted by Dr. Trey Dobson, the chief medical officer at SVMC. It provides a behind-the-scenes perspective on health care and the interesting personalities that drive positive change within the industry and its surrounding professions. Topics include behavioral health, food insecurity, equitable care, and the opioid crisis. The show is produced in partnership with Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV) and is broadcast on CAT-TV, Greater Northshire Access Television, Facebook Live, YouTube, and podcast platforms.
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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Najla al-Mangouch, Wednesday hailed "the efforts of the African Union (AU) to achieve unity among African countries, accelerate political, economic and social integration and strengthen solidarity among their peoples"
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and 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New York, US (PANA) - Following a verdict in the case of the brutal murder of two its experts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) nearly five years ago, the UN on Tuesday urged authorities to uphold their moratorium on the death penalty
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Name: Mira LaCous

Company: BIO-key International, Inc.

Job title: Chief Technology Officer

Date started current role: May 2000

Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

BIO-key Internationals Chief Technology Officer Mira LaCous has well over 30 years of solution development, project/product management and company leadership experience, including more than 21 years in her current role. LaCous has led and managed software development and product management teams during her career. She has successfully brought to market a number of innovative, emerging technologies including, automated voice response systems, building control systems, software piracy protection, intranet training materials and security testing, graphic page layout and design software, scanning software and systems, authentication security, biometric algorithms, scalable security solutions and more. LaCous is also the author of eight US patented technologies, with most having many international counterparts. She also has served as an officer or director of three companies: National Computer Systems (NCS), TEL-Line Systems and BIO-key International.



What was your first job? While in college, I started a consulting company doing various programming and IT tasks for local area businesses. This gave me great exposure to the needs that many businesses have, and led me to a start-up called TEL-line Systems, that was building automated voice response systems. While consulting for them on some application development, I suggested a new architecture which allowed the calls to be scripted in a simple language. This greatly streamlined the development process for new apps and made the product far more adaptable to new requirements. The leadership team at TEL-line loved it, and I became the Director of Programming, managing the development team and the product offerings.

Did you always want to work in IT? I knew I always wanted something technical. While growing up one of my dreams was to be an architect, and that is where I started my education. While it fascinating, it was not really what I envisioned, so I fell back to my other key passions - physics, math and computer science. The computer science portion has been my key career path, with lots of support from my other interests. And my physics, mainly astrophysics, has remained more of a hobby of late.

What was your education? Do you hold any certifications? What are they? I received a bachelors degree in computer science from North Dakota State University (NDSU). I then worked towards my masters degree at NDSU, while serving as a teaching assistant, and leading labs for UNIX courses in the Continuing Education department. While working on my masters, the opportunity at TEL-line came up, which side-tracked my education path. But ultimately the real-life education was incredible, and it advanced me quickly.

Explain your career path. Did you take any detours? If so, discuss. My career path has included companies that are small to quite large, with a range of roles managing or leading the technology design, development, and deployment departments. There are times I wonder if a detour would have been a nice change, but in technology you need to stay current and remain sharp on your skills, or you can get passed by. Overall, I have deeply enjoyed smaller companies more so than the rather large due to the major impact that can contributed by myself, and by my team to our companys goals.

What type of CTO are you? Im a CTO that loves the technology, but really has my passions deep in the business and consumer challenges that our application of the technology can solve. I see the big picture relating to the requirements merging with the design and implementation, but also into the details of optimisation, security, usability, future growth and adaptability. I believe in my team, and their abilities to achieve amazing results. I love working closely with my technical team - but especially cross functionally - to achieve the strongest results for the business and our customers.

Which emerging technology are you most excited about the prospect of? I must say that various aspects of AI really excite me. The future of AIs ability to solve challenging tasks is amazing. Our research in this area relating to recognition algorithms has shown some startling results. I am now eager to apply it to threat identification, as well as adaptive authentication solutions. The future around AI is amazing, but also a bit scary regarding where it can possibly lead. But like all great inventions, we need to keep our ambitions and our solutions to those ambitions in a little bit of check and balance. I do believe we can avoid building a SkyNet.

Are there any technologies which you think are overhyped? Why? I believe that Blockchain is an amazing technology. Its use in Bitcoin and many other solutions is pure genius. However, Blockchain is not the answer to every technical problem out there. This is something I see far too often in companies attempts to sound current or topical in their approach. To me use of blockchain in anything beyond the publicly facing transaction register is a stretch.

What is one unique initiative that youve employed over the last 12 months that youre really proud of? Our biometric solutions are an integration of hardware and software. The integration of the hardware supports hundreds of different imaging devices and their device drivers. A continual challenge is getting the right devices drivers loaded and running at the time of install. We built a new web service for driver management and download to any system requiring the drivers. This is a key improvement for the product in that drivers are installed as they are needed, not just at some install time. While the general concept of this is rather straight forward, the implementation had a few complexities that made the effort challenging. The result is a very rewarding set of features that improves the customers usability of the product, and reduces our support burden for driver updates.

Are you leading a digital transformation? If so, does it emphasise customer experience and revenue growth or operational efficiency? If both, how do you balance the two? Cloud solutions. The world has been shifting to a SaaS and Cloud deployment architecture, and BIO-key is no different. Fortunately, our architectural approaches have been web-based for more than twenty years, and with all the advancements and new features on the solutions, they are fitting nicely with the SaaS style offerings. Regardless of how prepared you think your solutions are, as you get deeper into large scale Cloud deployments there are certainly areas of optimisation for peak efficiency and performance. Cloud services lead towards great customer experiences, when deployed and auto-scaled correctly. Cloud subscription models can result in stable revenue growth. And, Cloud can provide smooth operational efficiency through modern tools and advancements of hosting solutions.

What is the biggest issue that youre helping customers with at the moment? Effectively applying authentication security to their systems. Far too long has the authentication of users taken a backseat to many other organisational demands. As a result, hacking occurrences have been a significant issue to many companies, causing significant loss of data, loss of reputation, and ever-increasing costs to recover and stabilise following a breach. Assuring the users are strongly identified, with two factor authentication, including some significant security controls, like a strong biometric authentication makes it increasingly difficult for hackers to penetrate a system. This has been my biggest issue that I helped customers with for two decades now. There are still a lot of customers to help.

How do you align your technology use to meet business goals? My business is focused on supplying solutions to all types of customers, large and small, advanced and simple, and our technology needs to blend seamlessly into all of it. So often for me it is not just about what technology may be the best for our use, but instead what is the optimal fit across the many customer environments. Often, it is not the one technology we leverage, but the mix of technologies that can be utilised with our solutions. This makes us focus on more standard solutions, and flexible ones so that we can leverage: databases from different vendors, web services integrations to various hosting platforms and architectures, as well as multiple operating systems and more. This trickles down to the methods of implementation so that we are portable, and compliant within differing environments. Yet, through all of this, focusing on how we yet apply security around the solutions to keep the authentication process secure and trusted.

Do you have any trouble matching product/service strategy with tech strategy? I always ask myself if it would still be fun if there wasnt a challenge in finding the right alignment of technology to the solution strategies, we set out to achieve. Ultimately, they key is to listen to all the possible propositions, and often think outside of the box to achieve the goals. Lately, that outside of the box thinking relates more and more to Cloud solutions, versus systems developed in-house a true out of the box way of thinking.

What makes an effective tech strategy? An effective strategy for technology can be many different things. In many cases the most effective is often the simplest, as it will be easy to support and to further expand as needs grow. However, that can sometimes be limiting. Yet trying to get too cutting edge in some technology use can also leave you with long learning curves for new team members, or needing to migrate when operational needs to shift from that one platform for any number of given reasons. Dont get me wrong it is important to be cutting edge where it matters for your business and your solution. But where you can, focus on what is standard or straightforward so that it can be implemented quickly and supported long term with minimal extra effort.

What predictions do you have for the role of the CTO in the future? CTOs in the future will really need to broaden their understandings of all the different interactions of technology and systems to meet the broader goals of User and Data Security, Cloud Architectures, Long Term Solutions support and Dynamic but Privileged Data Access. The requirements on the CTO are continuing to expand, and increasingly they will need to leverage their peers as well as their team to gain the insights needed to make the right calls, and to educate the organisation on why that direction is important to their future.

What has been your greatest career achievement? I am very proud of many of my achievements in my career, but most notably it has been in the design and implementation of a secure biometric authentication solution, that fits the needs of small to large scale customers needs from the single platform. The architecture has stood the test of time, and proven solid by customers around the world.

Looking back with 20:20 hindsight, what would you have done differently? There are days I dream of that time machine where I could go back and alter course. What might I have done? Where could I have made a bigger impact? What would have made me happier? Ultimately I dream of some adventures where I working something much more exciting, such as SpaceX (okay the astrophysics nerd in me is getting exposed), but I also have loved what I have done and accomplished for user authentication security with BIO-key. With the broader hindsight, I would have likely taken a few more risks along the way. Every success needs some steps to get there, and those steps are not always forward. But without exploring those paths, you dont know where they can lead. I have not always taken the safe approach, but also not taken that backward step as often I something think may have been needed to get to the successful point faster. It is something I always weigh within myself, or with my teams to assure we moving aggressively towards our goals.
(left to right) Congressman Dan Newhouse and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton during Tuesday's title transfer ceremony
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China risks damaging its own international image by restricting reporting by resident foreign correspondents, a new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has found. Fair Game, the 2022 IFJ China Report, is released today as the 2022 Winter Olympics get under way in Beijing, revealing how China limits reporting at home while trying to sway global coverage in its favour.

The report reveals barriers to speaking directly to ordinary Chinese citizens and an increasing reliance on sources living outside China, whose views may be more negative, make it harder for the foreign media to tell Chinas story in the most comprehensive and nuanced way.

In China, resident foreign correspondents face barriers including expulsions, delays and denials in the granting of visas, intimidation of sources, digital and physical surveillance, and lawsuits alleging breaches of reporting protocols such as identifying oneself as a journalist, which carry the risk of being denied an exit visa until the case is resolved.

One local source said that if anything they had said was reported in the international media, they would be jailed. Two Australian journalists fled the country in fear of being detained after their own government warned they were being targeted by the security forces regarding suspected links with a female Chinese-Australian reporter who had been detained for allegedly leaking state secrets.

State-run media, Wolf Warrior diplomats abroad and government-affiliated groups on social media incite physical harassment of foreign journalists and their local staff, which can extend to death threats. The most vulnerable are young women of Chinese heritage, who are accused of being race traitors. After the state-owned Global Times newspaper attacked an article by a Chinese-American reporter, she was trolled with sexually explicit threats, including one post saying: If you see this reporter, beat her to death.

Fair Game is based on in-depth interviews conducted in December 2021 with 19 current or recent correspondents from nine countries, who work across print and broadcast and whose experience in China ranges from a couple of years to several decades. It also draws on Locked Down or Kicked Out: Covering China, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China 2021 Media Freedoms Report, which features the FCCCs most recent annual survey of its roughly 190 members.

Fair Game is the fourth report by the International Federation of Journalists on Chinas efforts to extend its influence in the international media. These reports follow the IFJs China Press Freedom Program (2008-2019), which documented the evolving media space in China and its impact on journalism, media infrastructure and freedom of expression. A separate report by IFJ affiliate the Hong Kong Journalists Association in 2021, titled Freedom in Tatters, focuses on those changes.

In Beijing in 2022, reporters are confined within a closed loop management system, blocked from any contact with the real China from the time they land to the time they leave. Notwithstanding understandable concerns about the COVID pandemic, the restrictions highlight the precipitous decline in media freedom over more than a decade.

The IFJ makes a series of recommendations to Chinas authorities, media, journalist unions and governments including:

Authorities should respect the rights and role of correspondents and a free press in reporting important stories inside China to a global audience, including the right to different narratives and forms of reporting.

A shrinking international press corps makes it harder to tell Chinas story comprehensively, authoritatively and with nuance and understanding. A reform of the approach to foreign media is necessary, fair, and reasonable in light of the expanding media space now being taken up by Chinese media globally in virtually every continent as foreign governments allow Chinese journalists to do.

Attacks on foreign journalists led by Chinas state media or affiliates on social media should be condemned as a practice that imperils journalist physical safety and reflects negatively on China and its operations globally.

Foreign embassies based inside China should continue to advocate and speak for greater access and an end to harassment of their nations correspondents.

Journalist unions and other press freedom and journalism advocacy groups should develop resources for journalists reporting in China, to help them understand the dangers and challenges, including reporting on sensitive issues, minimizing their electronic footprint and best practices to protect sources, local researchers, and news assistants.

Correspondents reporting inside China should be trained on safe story planning, authority tactics to block reporting and the processes to report back and check-in to their employers and loved ones.

Foreign journalists of Chinese or Asian heritage present a new frontline for reporting but one that also comes with inherent risks. Any targeting of Chinese heritage journalists as race traitors or otherwise should be strongly condemned.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and others should continue attempts to engage with the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) to strengthen mutual understanding and to address concerns over visas, the safety of journalists and other matters.

The report follows the IFJs previous research released in May 2021: The Covid-19 Story: Unmasking Chinas Global Strategywhich began exploring how China was establishing its media presence globally in virtually every continent globally.

The IFJ has maintained a dedicated program on China press freedom since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Since 2019, it has expanded its strategy to explore Chinas increasing global influence.
Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, together with the Philippines FinTech Alliance.ph, the premier trade association digital players in the countrys digital finance sector, today announced the launch of the Fintech Industry Sandbox Program, a new initiative designed to increase local financial institutions access to inclusive digital finance.

The first-of-its-kind program, in support of the Philippines massive digitalization initiatives of the countrys regulators: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), enables local businesses in the finance sector to explore the use of advanced cloud computing products and FinTech services from Alibaba Cloud in a risk-free testing environment.

Under the program each eligible Philippine business will receive up to USD10,000 in cloud coupons, which can be used to adopt Alibaba Clouds proven solutions, as well as access to complementary cloud training, technical and industry expertise and regulatory compliance guidance.

We created this program with Alibaba Cloud to support emerging digital technologies, which help address current challenges in the financial industry. With more financial companies joining this program, we are glad to see the acceleration of access to inclusive digital finance in the country, said Lito Villanueva, Founding Chairman of the FinTech Alliance.ph and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer and Executive Vice President of RCBC (Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation).

Alibaba Cloud and the FinTech Alliance are working hard to create a business-friendly environment for local FinTech companies to deploy digital finance solutions tailored to their needs, and this program is an important step towards this goal. We are excited to collaborate with companies in the Philippine FinTech sector and further contribute to their development, said Allen Guo, Country Manager for the Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Beginning this month, the program will be accepting applications from BSP-supervised financial institutions, who are registered with the SEC and meet eligibility criteria. Interested organizations can send their applications to fintechallianceph@alibaba-inc.com.

As the leading public cloud service provider in Asia Pacific, Alibaba Cloud is one of the founding members of the FinTech Alliance.ph, offering its expertise in cloud technology and providing solutions around elastic compute, database, security, storage and network services. It is also developing machine learning and data analytics capabilities to address challenges and unlock opportunities for companies across the FinTech space.

For example, Alibaba Cloud provides a mix of FinTech solutions to GCash, a leading mobile wallet enterprise, to handle large volumes of digital transactions with minimal interruption and high-cost efficiency. The company also works with UBX, the FinTech venture studio and fund spinoff of UnionBank of the Philippines, to provide eKYC (Electronic Know-Your-Customer) solutions. These products are designed to help local financial institutions boost their efficiency and security through digitalizing the identity verification process.

Motivated by the demand for digital solutions and the need for greater financial inclusion, the Philippine FinTech sector has sustained rapid growth in recent years. The Philippine central bank forecasts that the share of digital transactions value will reach at least 50% by 2023.

The design world has a serious diversity problem.

Just 2 percent of interior designers in the U.S. are Black, according to data from the job search company Zippia. That's especially staggering when you consider that interior design services have a U.S. market size of $17.5 billion. There have been recent pushes for improved diversity, equality, and inclusion measures in the industry. In 2018, artist and designer Malene Barnett founded the Black Artists and Designers Guild, a community-driven nonprofit that aims to increase visibility for Black creatives across various fields of design. It also provides grants for Black design students and develops educational programming, among other initiatives.

A lot of work remains to be done. But many Black women entrepreneurs have found success in the industry despite of systemic barriers. These five interior designers have plenty of visual inspiration to share, but their business acumen is worth taking note of, too. These are the strategies that both helped them forge their paths and continue to bring new opportunities.

Sheila Bridges: Expand your offerings

Since the launch of her eponymous interior design firm in 1994, Sheila Bridges has charted an impressive course through the industry, earning accolades, awards, and impressive clients (including former president Bill Clinton). While high-end interior design services aren't accessible to all, Bridges has also found ways to expand her audience. The designer, based in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood, released a decorating book, Furnishing Forward in 2002. In 2007, she launched Sheila Bridges Home, a home furnishing collection that includes her famous Harlem Toile designs. Her business success has already earned her a mark in history: Her wallpaper is featured in New York City's Cooper Hewitt museum.

Carmeon Hamilton: Pinpoint a void in the market

Memphis-based interior designer Carmeon Hamilton had been running her interior design firm, Nubi Interiors, and working as a merchandising consultant when she got her big break in August 2021. That's when she won HGTV's design competition, Design Star: Next Gen. This landed her a show, Reno My Rental, which launched on Discovery+ in September and premiered on HGTV in January. Her unique pitch for the show set her apart, reality show producer Ming Lee Howell told Memphis Magazine: There was no other program on HGTV that appealed directly to renters, and as competitive housing markets lead Millennials to rent rather than buy their homes, the opportunity to appeal to this underserved audience was clear.

Anishka Clarke: Work collaboratively

With an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business, Anishka Clarke spent about a decade working in finance and business consulting before she shifted gears to design. After getting a degree in interior design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Brooklyn, New York-based creative launched her firm, Ishka Designs, with her partner, Niya Bascom. The duo have designed residences worldwide, and in each project they include unique features--furniture, decorative objects, artwork--sourced from local vendors and artisans. Ishka was named to Elle Decor's annual A-List in 2021, which recognizes 101 of the most exciting professionals in the design world each year.

Dani Arps: Find your niche

New York City-based designer Dani Arps found her niche over the past decade, designing offices for startups like General Assembly, Daily Harvest, and Codecademy. In the fall of 2021, she launched her company, Artisan, which aims to disrupt the commercial real estate industry by providing all-in-one broker, architect, and design services to businesses looking to open or renovate their offices.

Justina Blakeney: Build a strong brand identity
There is such a thing as too much growth.

Last week, beauty brand Glossier announced the layoff of more than 80 employees--about one-third of its corporate workforce, Modern Retail reported. In an email to employees, CEO Emily Weiss said that the brand is shifting its focus to scaling its beauty brand, noting that the company "got ahead of ourselves on hiring." The technology team was most affected by the layoffs, as Glossier is shifting its strategy to rely on strategic partnerships, instead of the in-house platform it previously maintained, the letter said.

Glossier faced challenges earlier in the pandemic, which required the New York City-based company to temporarily close its retail locations and lay off all retail staff. However, the nearly 10-year-old startup has also had considerable recent growth. In July, it raised $80 million in Series E funding led by Lone Pine Capital. But still its workforce grew by too much, too quickly, according to Weiss.

It's not the only company that has fallen into this pit, and economic pressures add to the likelihood of layoffs at fast-growing businesses. Amid declining sales, Peloton reportedly has plans to cut 41 percent of its sales and marketing team, according to a leaked audio recording acquired by Insider. And, in September 2021, the mattress brand Casper laid off "dozens" of employees, after cutting more than 20 percent of its workforce in 2020, Tech Crunch reported.

For fast-growing companies in particular, hiring requires plenty of balance-sheet due diligence, and a willingness to go slowly at the potential cost of some profits--but some experts say it's worth it. Here's how to avoid getting caught up in the hiring rush when your company is rapidly growing.

Reassess hiring goals month by month

Your company may have a yearly head count goal--but as any number of factors shift throughout the year, that goal may actually overcompensate for your needs or what you can afford. "If you have 80 people to hire in 2022, don't try to hire them all in the next 30 days," says Avi Mally, CEO of the New York City-based recruiting company Three Pillars Recruiting. "A slow roll approach will impact your growth, but you'll benefit in the long run." He recommends assessing finances and labor needs quarterly, though Thanh Nguyen, CEO and co-founder of the compensation insight company OpenComp, recommends reviewing as frequently as every month: "It takes a lot of operational discipline," he says.

Consider outsourcing

Building major tools in-house is appealing, especially for quickly growing companies that have considerable amounts of capital, Nguyen says, as in-house teams typically have a better sense of the brand and the customer. But still, sometimes, outsourcing makes more financial sense, he adds: "There are some business decisions that force you to ask, 'Are we really equipped to deliver this, or do we just have better knowledge about our customer?'" Ultimately, he says, bringing on an outside vendor or partner typically costs less than building internal teams, which often involve a considerable investment in recruiting and training. Glossier's decision to bring on strategic partners in the wake of its layoffs aligns with this consideration.

Focus on individuals, not head counts

"When you've got all the money in the world, you kind of spin around like you're drunk," Nguyen says. For companies with major investments, the pressure to grow a team to match that financial growth can be powerful, but ultimately, the business might not be able to support such a considerable increase in personnel, he explains. Putting the breaks on hiring may result in slower overall growth, but it will be growth that's more sustainable. Consider each position carefully instead of simply hiring to meet a head count goal.
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HealthHelp, a WNS company and leading national specialty benefits management company independent of health plan ownership, today announced a partnership with Highmark Wholecare, formerly Gateway Health Plan, Inc., which cares for the total health of its more than 350,000 Medicaid and Medicare members across Pennsylvania. This partnership will ensure that the most appropriate cardiology, radiation therapy, and sleep medicine care is provided to Highmark Wholecare members.HealthHelps consultative process uses evidence-based guidelines to directly help providers facilitate the most appropriate tests and procedures for their patients. This collaborative approach is based on the participation of panels of specialists from academic centers of excellence, including Pennsylvania-based Thomas Jefferson University, to ensure that every patient has access to the best doctors and most up-to-date form of care in each medical specialty.The partnership with HealthHelp strengthens Highmark Wholecares total health approach by providing education and guidance from leading specialists in cardiology radiation oncology , and sleep , which delivers improved transparency, safety, and quality of care. As a result, plan members and healthcare providers benefit from increased collaboration between physicians and provider networks, strengthening rapport and communications, and ensuring optimal care.We are honored to be partnering with Highmark Wholecare to improve the quality of care for their members. Highmark Wholecare is an industry leader in servicing the Medicaid and Medicare populations, which are central to HealthHelps commitment to clinical collaboration, said Kariena Greiten, CEO, HealthHelp. The HealthHelp model is unique in the specialty benefits management industry due to its focus on ensuring that the most appropriate and effective care is delivered in every setting. Im proud to say that this model aligns with Highmark Wholecares vision of total health by providing access to quality healthcare for vulnerable populations in Pennsylvania.HealthHelp, a WNS Company, is a leader in specialty benefits management. HealthHelp generates significant savings and return on investment for health care payers by enhancing physician knowledge, improving the quality of care, and reducing unnecessary radiation exposure. Each of its programs addresses a different aspect of radiology, cardiology, oncology, musculoskeletal, and sleep care. The clients of Houston-based HealthHelp administer local, statewide, and national health care plans across the country. For more information about HealthHelps programs, visit www.healthhelp.com.WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS) is a leading Business Process Management (BPM) company. WNS combines deep industry knowledge with technology, analytics and process expertise to co-create innovative, digitally led transformational solutions with over 380 clients across various industries. WNS delivers an entire spectrum of BPM solutions including industry-specific offerings, customer experience services, finance and accounting, human resources, procurement, and research and analytics to re-imagine the digital future of businesses. As of December 31, 2021, WNS had 49,610 professionals across 55 delivery centers worldwide including facilities in China, Costa Rica, India, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.We believe in caring for the whole person in all communities where the need is greatest. We see a future in which everyone has equal opportunity to achieve their best health. Through our leading Medicaid and Medicare programs, we are coordinating healthcare that goes beyond doctors and medicine that helps members achieve not just physical health, but also delivers whole person care. Our associates are helping to drive this new kind of healthcare in collaboration with a network of 29,000 primary care physicians, specialists, hospitals, and other ancillary providers. We are also committed to supporting our neighbors through our many community outreach and engagement programs.This information is issued on behalf of Highmark Wholecare, coverage by Gateway Health Plan, which is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Highmark Wholecare serves a Medicaid plan to Blue Shield members in 13 counties in central Pennsylvania, as well as, to Blue Cross Blue Shield members in 27 counties in western Pennsylvania. Highmark Wholecare serves Medicare Dual Special Needs plans (D-SNP) to Blue Shield members in 14 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, 12 counties in central Pennsylvania, five counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, and to Blue Cross Blue Shield members in 27 counties in western Pennsylvania.HealthHelp is a separate company that supports specialty benefits programs for Highmark Wholecare.
Regulatory News:

AD HOC ANNOUNCEMENT PURSUANT TO ART. 53 LR

Vifor Pharma Group today announced the appointment of acting Chief Financial Officer Alexandros Sigalas and Group General Counsel Dr. Oliver P. Kronenberg as members of the Vifor Pharma Executive Committee, effective 1 February 2022.

Alexandros Sigalas, a 13-year Executive at Vifor Pharma and currently Global Head of Finance, will become acting Chief Financial Officer and succeeds Colin Bond who retired from the company at the end of 2021 at his own request. The Swiss citizen holds a Licentiate Degree (M.Sc.) in Accounting and Business Management from University of St. Gallen and is a Certified Public Accountant in Switzerland.

Dr. Oliver P. Kronenberg, a Swiss citizen, joined Vifor Pharma in 2008. Following his tenure as Group General Counsel of Galenica Group from 2013 until the successful IPO of Galenica Sante in 2017, he resumed his previous role as Group General Counsel of Vifor Pharma. He holds a PhD in law from University of Basel, an LL.M. degree from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, and has completed the Finance for Executives program at INSEAD.

Abbas Hussain, Chief Executive Officer of Vifor Pharma Group, commented: I am pleased to welcome Alex and Oliver to the Executive Committee. Both are experienced and highly valued leaders of our organization who have a proven track record in their areas of expertise and are dedicated to our mission."

About Vifor Pharma Group

Vifor Pharma Group is a global pharmaceuticals company. It aims to become the global leader in iron deficiency, nephrology and cardio-renal therapies. The company is a partner of choice for pharmaceuticals and innovative patient-focused solutions. Vifor Pharma Group strives to help patients around the world with severe and chronic diseases lead better, healthier lives. The company develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products for precision patient care. Vifor Pharma Group holds a leading position in all its core business activities and consists of the following companies: Vifor Pharma and Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma (a joint company with Fresenius Medical Care). Vifor Pharma Group is headquartered in Switzerland, and listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX Swiss Exchange, VIFN, ISIN: CH0364749348).

For more information, please visit viforpharma.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220201005982/en/


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Shaadi.com is one website that almost every Indian, who is looking to find an ideal partner, has encountered. But not many know about the founder Anupam Mittal, who recently gained popularity on the business reality show Shark Tank India. For the unversed, Anupam Mittal is among the seven judges on Shark Tank India that offers aspiring entrepreneurs a platform to pitch their business ideas to investors in a bid to convince them to invest money.

Also Read: From Ghazal Alagh To Anupam Mittal, Heres How Shark Tank Indias Sharks Started Their Careers

While at 50, Anupam seems to have it all, but like most entrepreneurs he too had his own set of setbacks and hassles before he made it big. What started as an experiment is currently among the leading matrimonial websites in India. Here is how it all happened:
The Income Tax Department raids at the premises of RN Singh, a former IPS officer in Noida have unearthed a private locker facility that he was running in the basement of his house.

According to the I-T Department, the former IPS officer was running a firm from the basement and had over 650 lockers.

A total of Rs 5.77 crore in cash was recovered from these lockers.

BCCL

The 1983 batch IPS officer was running a firm called Manasam Noida Vaults, which was described as "Noidas first private locker facility which is fully secured, reliable and available to all at a very convenient price."

What happened?

I-T Department had reportedly started surveying on Singh on Saturday after receiving information that cash amounting to several crore rupees was kept at the basement of the building in Noida, Sector 50.

While most of the lockers were found to be empty, cash, jewellery and documents were recovered from some of them.

Bundles of notes of Rs 2,000 and 500 denominations were recovered during the search.

According to the I-T Department as of now, no case was registered and it was only a search operation which they also call survey.

BCCL

The department is investigating whether it has any connection with benami property or not.

"Nothing illegal"

Singh, however said that he has done nothing illegal.

According to Singh, who claims to be in his ancestral village currently, he had started the business in 2017, the same year that he had retired, and that it was legitimate.

Singh also claimed that nothing illegal has been found in the raids and added that some of the jewellery and documents recovered from two lockers belonged to his family.

Not the first similar incident

Recently, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence(DGGI) had raided the premises of Kanpur perfume trader Piyush Jain.

In addition to this, 23 kgs of gold worth Rs 11 crores, and 600 kgs of Sandalwood oil worth Rs 6 crores were also recovered from him.

BCCL

The counting of notes was on for the past five days with the help of State Bank of India officials and 20 note counting machines.

The financial intelligence teams had to take help of extra labourers and a truck to take the cash to SBI branch.

According to Vivek Johri, the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) the cash recovery is the "biggest haul ever" in the agency's history.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Recently, two brothers (Sika Khan and Muhammed Siddique) who were separated during the partition, finally met each other for the first time in 74 long years at Kartarpur Sahib Corridor. This sure was an emotional episode.

However, Sika Khan, who is the Indian younger brother in this case was granted a visa by Pakistan to meet his relatives across the border to Pakistan.

Today, Pakistan High Commission issues visa to Sika Khan to visit his brother, Muhammed Siddique and other family members in Pakistan. The two brothers separated in 1947 were recently reunited after 74 years at Kartarpur Sahib Corridor. pic.twitter.com/SAmkGmaQKT  Pakistan High Commission India (@PakinIndia) January 28, 2022



The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on Friday granted a visa to Sika to meet his brother and other family members. "Today, the Pakistan High Commission issued a visa to Sika Khan to visit his brother, Muhammed Siddique, and other family members in Pakistan. The two brothers, separated in 1947, were recently reunited after 74 years at Kartarpur Sahib Corridor," Pakistans High Commission in India tweeted.

Sika Khan also met with CDA Aftab Hasan Khan and interacted with Mission's officers. He appreciated his interaction and thanked the CDA for the cooperation extended to him. pic.twitter.com/ZS4zSpia9j  Pakistan High Commission India (@PakinIndia) January 28, 2022

Sika Khan met Pakistani charge daffaires Aftab Hasan Khan and other officers of the High Commission and thanked them for their cooperation.



According to reports, Sika Khan was just a toddler when he was separated from his elder brother Muhammed Siddique and other family members at the time of the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947. The two brothers came into contact with each other via a video call after the efforts of a popular Pakistan-based YouTube channel, Punjabi Lehar highlighted their story.

This month, the same Youtube channel facilitated a meeting between the two separated brothers at the Kartarpur border corridor. A video of Siddique and Sika embracing each other at Kartarpur had left many people on the internet sentimental.

Kartarpur - the abode blissful has reunited two octogenarian brothers from across the border of Punjab after 74 years. They were separated at the time of Partition.



The corridor is indeed a beacon of hope after its opening by Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2019.



 pic.twitter.com/BMK3Ap334n  Fidato (@tequieremos) January 12, 2022

It was at this meeting that Khan, who lives in Phulewala village at Bathinda in Indias Punjab state, learnt he had been christened Habib Khan at the time of his birth.



As per The Express Tribune, Siddique said that two days before the independence of Pakistan, his mother went to visit her parents in Indian Punjab with his younger brother who was only a few months old.



After the Partition, Siddique kept waiting for his mother to return but she didn't. But now, after 74 years, he finally reunited with his younger brother.



Twitter

Punjabi Lehar, which reunited both the brothers is run by Nasir Dhillon and Lovely Singh, focuses on reuniting families from the two sides of Punjab that were separated at the time of Partition, which resulted in the migration of almost 12 million people  more than 6.5 million from the Indian side and nearly five million from the Pakistani side.

For the latest from trending, click here
Sometimes we underappreciate the efforts of delivery executives who toil all day long to deliver us food. However, this tale about a delivery person has nothing to do with food. This is much more significant.

The official Instagram handle of Swiggy shared a short story about how a delivery person on their fleet who went over and above the call of duty to help save a man's life.

Instagram/swiggyindia

The incident dates back to December 25 of last year, when the delivery executive named Mrunal Kirdat, selflessly came to the aid of retired Colonel named Man Mohan Malik.



Man Mohan had fallen seriously ill and his son decided to rush him to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. However, there was heavy traffic that day and thus the commute was taking longer than usual. His son requested for some help from two-wheeler riders as they could navigate through the traffic faster, but to no avail.

Finally, Mrunal came and without any hesitation rushed Man Mohan to the hospital. Mrunal asked other people stuck in the traffic to make way and quickly took the ailing man to the hospital, where he also informed the staff about the mans serious condition.

As per the post, the Colonel was able to recover in a few weeks time and expressed his gratitude for the Swiggy delivery man Mrunal who jumped in and helped at a critical moment.



Representational Image/PTI

On 25th December, I fell seriously ill and my son decided to drive me to Lilavati Hospital. There was heavy traffic and we were unable to move even an inch. My son frantically pleaded for help and requested two-wheeler riders for help as they could navigate through the traffic faster and get me to the hospital. But passers-by did not stop. A Swiggy delivery boy was kind and immediately agreed to take me to the hospital. Shouting over and over again, Mrunal Kirdat asked other motorists to give way. Finally, we reached the hospital. Mrunal quickly informed the staff that I was serious and asked them to act at the earliest, reads the caption of the post.



People took to comments section to hail Mrunal for his heroic act.

"Saviour, proud of you bro," one user commented.

"A real superman. Grand salute," another user commented.



"So proud of him such a great job," a third user said.

For more from trending, click here.


The East Carolinian has created a forum that centers around topics within the community where readers can express their experiences and concerns. With Valentine's Day coming up, do you think the ECU community and the City of Greenville is doing all they can to make people feel loved and supported?

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Robbing a bank is likely to land you behind the bars and label you a criminal. That's an expected consequence. But can it make you a hero? Sounds weird, right? Perhaps that is exactly what a recent happening in Lebanon depicts.

Abdallah Assaii, a 37-year-old cafe owner, is accused of storming into a bank last week in the Bekaa Valley with a gun and grenade.

Thetimes.co.uk

He even doused himself in petrol and threatened to burn himself after he was told he could not withdraw the cash from his savings account.



Also Read; How Turkey's Currency Crisis Is Hurting Your Favorite Nutella

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Assaii has been hailed a hero by many people in Lebanon, a country where people have only been allowed to take out a limited amount of cash from their accounts since October 2019. Even upon getting to know this extreme action from Assaiis side, many Lebanese were ready to excuse him, with members of his community rather saying that he needed his money to pay for the expenses of his cafe.

As per Assaiis family, his coffee shop was robbed of up to $15,000 a few weeks before the incident, and he also owed 200 million Lebanese pounds (about $8,700) for purchases towards a fruit and vegetable stall that he operated.

His wife is reportedly on the run with the cash.

Assaiis lawyer claimed that the bank had refused his repeated requests for checks in the week preceding this extreme incident of robbing the bank.

An NGO worker in Assaiis hometown told The National newpaper, "Abdallah managed to do what no one could do in all of Lebanon. He didnt steal the money. It was his.

Supporters of Assaii had gathered later after Friday prayers in Jeb Jannine, wherein a local Imam Alaa Baalbaaki said We are asking from the state to release Abdallah Assaii because he is in the right. We are all Abdallah Assaii.

But an unnamed BBAC employee who was one of Assaiis hostages, said to local news website SBI Im not against people taking their money, no one is saying that whats happening is right, but its not the branch employees fault. If [people] want their rights they should go to the [banks] main offices and to politicians. They are behind whats happening in the country.



Bank unions have argued that Assaiis actions can endanger bank employees all around the country, and have demanded that local authorities must take steps to increase security measures to prevent copycat incidents in future.

Also Read: How Sri Lanka's Economic Crisis Has Led To Used Cars Costing More Than A Luxury Flat

Lebanons Crisis

Atalayar.com

Also Read; Afghanistans Currency Crisis Leaves Millions At The Risk Of Starvation

Lebanon, a country with a population of over six million, has been experiencing its worst-ever financial crisis, with its currency Lebanese pound having lost around 90% of its value since 2019.



The country's economic meltdown has been described by the World Bank as one of the world's worst since the 1850s, which has pushed an estimated 4 million families into poverty in the last two years, trapped peoples savings in banks, and resulted in qualified labour emigrating in droves.

The Reasons Behind Crisis

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Also Read: Why Is Sri Lanka On The Verge Of Going Bankrupt This Year



This crisis isn't a sudden or new occurrence in Lebanon. Lebanons ongoing economic crisis is deep-rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the ruling class, along with a sectarian-based political system that thrives on patronage and nepotism.

The economic crisis has also resulted in severe shortages in fuel, which have led to crippling power cuts and hours-long waits at gas stations.

In 2021, the UN had estimated that 78% of Lebanese people live below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, Assaii has been jailed and reportedly started a hunger strike against his detention, according to local media of Lebanon.

Also Read; How Turkish Currency Lira's Crisis Is A Gain For Its Crypto Industry

For the latest financial news and interesting personal finance content, click here.


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For Teto Wilson, of Wilson's Image Barbers and Stylists, raising COVID awareness is part of the job
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Much uncertainty exists around catastrophic cyber threats, and for an industry so focused on analyzing risk, thats a big challenge, experts say.

Some of the recent cyber attacks on supply chains and critical infrastructure may have insurers wondering if the threat of a catastrophic cyber event is closer than they think. But Michael Kessler, vice president of Chubb Group and division president of Chubbs global cyber risk practice, said on this episode of The Insuring Cyber Podcast that catastrophic cyber threats are notoriously hard to predict.

Catastrophic cyber risk is particularly hard to predict for a couple of reasons, he said. One is that cyber incidents, particularly malicious ones, involve human actors with different motivations and capabilities. So its inherently more difficult to predict the frequency or severity of a catastrophic event compared to, say, a windstorm.

Another reason he cited is that systemic cyber incidents arent bound by geography or time.

Theres no warning of an impending event, and youre never certain that an event is over, he said. Incidentally, this aspect makes diversifying catastrophic cyber risk much more difficult compared to the other P&C lines.

A large-scale cyber event that causes severe loss, injury or property damage could be considered a cyber catastrophe. Kessler said a cloud provider of critical software being down for an extended period of time due to a cyber incident, or a commonly used software that becomes an access vector for bad actors to deploy malware into victims networks, are both examples of this.

Either of those scenarios has catastrophic loss potential, he said.

However, ambiguity around understanding catastrophic cyber incidents remains part of the problem for insurers, said Darren Pain, insurance industry thinktank the Geneva Associations director of cyber and evolving liability, later in the episode.

Insuring cyber exposure is challenging due to two key reasons, really, he said. One is the risk of accumulation  The second one is to do with the terminological ambiguity surrounding cyber policy wording, especially in the context of war and terrorism.

The Geneva Association and the International Forum of Terrorism Risk ReInsurance Pools recently collaborated on a series of three reports exploring the insurance industrys ability to underwrite cyber risks. The reports aimed to define cyber crimes, cyber terror, hostile cyber activity, and cyber war in order to tackle the issue of ambiguity in policy wording and when discussing cyber incidents. Pain said tighter policy language can help insurers overcome two key uncertainties at the core of deciding the scope and validity of providing insurance for cyber events.

The first one is attribution, determining who is responsible for an incident, he said. And the second key uncertainty has to do with characterization. Whether the cyber incident itself can be linked to a hostile or war-like activity, or if it reflects other aims, such as obtaining financial gain through criminal activity or is linked to industrial political espionage.

With this in mind, The Geneva Association promoted the use of the term hostile cyber activity to differentiate attacks that are beyond the scope of cyber terrorism but fall short of outright cyber war, he said.

The ambition with utilizing this terminology is that hopefully such policy language would enable insurers to better delineate acts of war from other state sponsored attacks and other malicious cyber incidents like cyber terrorism, or cyber crime for that matter, he said. And ultimately, that can assist insurers to track the types of events that have occurred, establish better, meaningful cover, assess the scale and likely occurrence of those events, and fundamentally improve the products they offer.

However, tighter policy language still doesnt address the problem of quantifying catastrophic cyber risk.

Even with better language, you still have this problem that you are not going to be able to really quantify the risk, he said. And in particular, the potential for large accumulated loss remains a particularly serious challenge.

Kessler said borrowing from property insurers playbooks could be one solution.

You dont have the same ability to diversify systemic cyber risks that you do with property, so a different approach is needed, he said. That approach, coincidentally, is to take a page from the property insurance playbook.

He said this means providing broad coverage for events that impact a relatively small number of firms, and then providing coverage for widespread events with a separate set of terms specific to those systemic exposures. The widespread event coverage would be transparently underwritten, priced and monitored separately, similar to the way property insurance covers floods and earthquakes.

This approach is familiar to buyers, scalable to small, medium, and large clients, and could be set up to benefit practically everyone, he said. Businesses get more certainty of coverage for catastrophic cyber events and a more stable insurance industry that will still be there to pay its claims when an event inevitably occurs.

In addition, he said clients will be able to focus on the broader value proposition from insurers, including services, rather than getting lost in confusing nuances in coverage exclusions related to catastrophic events.

While Pain and Kessler said tightening policy language and adapting approaches to coverage are two ways insurers can get a better handle on the uncertainty surrounding catastrophic cyber risk, that still doesnt answer the big question: What is the potential that a catastrophic cyber incident will actually occur?

I would argue the potential for a truly catastrophic cyber incident has always been there, Pain said. The recent attacks and the underlying conditions that have fomented them speak to an increased threat, Ill put it that way, of a system wide disruption that previously might have either been ignored or downplayed. And I dont think we can do that anymore.

Check out the rest of the episode to see what else Kessler and Pain had to say, and be sure to check back for new episodes of The Insuring Cyber Podcast publishing every other Wednesday along with the Insuring Cyber newsletter. Thanks for listening.

Topics Carriers Catastrophe Cyber Property Market
New Jersey-based broker World Insurance Associates reports it has acquired Sumner & Sumner, Inc., an Insurance agency in Willimantic, Connecticut.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Sumner & Sumner began in 1851 as the A.W. Jillson Insurance Agency. The agency was then purchased by A.B. Adams in 1862. Eventually, new talent was brought into the agency, with George Elliot and Stanley Sumner joining the firm in 1926. Later, Summers brother Homer bought Elliots interest, and in 1947 the agency took on the name Sumner & Sumner. Today, Sumner & Sumner offers personal and commercial insurance, as well as financial products and benefits .

World Insurance Associates LLC has completed 140 acquisitions.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Connecticut
The family of a Delaware man who was fatally shot by local police two years ago while he was armed with a knife has sued the city and officers that fired at him, seeking monetary damages.

The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Dec. 28 in U.S. District Court, accuses the two Milford officers of violating the rights of Brandon Roberts and the city of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In August 2020, the state attorney generals office cleared officers Nigel Golding and Brandon Karpin of criminal wrongdoing in the fatal shooting seven months earlier, declaring they were justified in using deadly force against Roberts.

The lawsuit, filed by Roberts mother and the mother of Roberts two children, alleges Roberts posed no imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury to the officers and that he died an agonizing death, The News Journal of Wilmington reported. The use of deadly force was unreasonable, the lawsuit says.

Roberts, 27, had a disability, according to the lawsuit, and the officers conduct demonstrated the citys failure to develop procedures and policies to accommodate what the disabilities law requires.

Officers were called to an apartment in response to a domestic-related assault. Police were told that a pregnant woman was being held against her will in the apartment, and that the subject might be a mental patient. They were also told that weapons might be involved.

Investigators said that officers knocked on the door and that Roberts came out with a large butcher knife in his hand and advanced on Golding. Both officers opened fire, hitting Roberts eight times.

The newspaper reported Darlene White, Roberts mother, could not be reached for comment. Milford police Sgt. Robert Masten, who declined comment on the lawsuit, said Golding is still employed at the department, while Karpin left in good standing.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement Delaware
With the effects of climate change becoming more palpable, a rise in climate litigation cases could have significant financial and reputational repercussions for corporates. Thomas Englerth, associate director at S&P Global Ratings, explores how the potential risks associated with this emerging issue can be identified and managed.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we currently face. As the situation escalates, nations and corporations are increasingly being held accountable for their actions (or lack thereof) to mitigate the fallout. Indeed, between 2017 and 2020, the volume of climate-change related litigation cases filed globally sharply increased, with more than 1,800 court cases filed against entities across 40 countries as of May 2017.

Climate litigation will continue to pose a risk to businesses and countries that are not deemed to be acting well  or quickly  enough.

A report by the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) also found 2021 to be an exceptional year for climate-related litigation and noted that supervisory authorities may not have, so far, fully recognized the impacts of such cases.

While, to date, none of the cases have had a material impact on an issuers creditworthiness, investors likely will be concerned with the rising number of cases  and how it could affect the value-at-risk in their portfolios. In order to reduce the likelihood of legal challenges, there are several key areas in which corporates can attempt to at least partially mitigate their exposure.

Attribution Science Advancing

A recurring issue that unites many climate litigation cases is the element of causation. In a courtroom scenario, this refers to plaintiffs ability to prove a defendant committed harmful environmental actions that directly contributed to climate change, which in turn, caused the damage they suffered or will likely suffer.

To help substantiate these claims, climate change attribution science  which aims to link shares of emissions and the associated harmful climate effects to responsible parties with research and modeling  is playing an increasingly important role. Legal scholarship, such as a note in the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law in 2020, suggests that the current state of climate change attribution science is likely sufficient for establishing causal connections for some types of legal adjudications. However, attributing past or future impacts from climate change to specific defendants, particularly in a courtroom setting, remains a complex task.

According to research by Nature, more attention and funding in key areas may address the current evidentiary shortfall. These include attributing climate change impacts to individual emitters, the foreseeability of climate change impacts resulting from future emissions, and research disentangling the social and physical drivers of climate risk.

The 2015 Huaraz Case provides a pertinent example of how advancements in this area could help to substantiate climate change-related litigation claims. Saul Luciano Lliuya, a Peruvian farmer, filed a suit against one of Germanys largest electricity generation companies, RWE, alleging that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the company had contributed to climate change and, as a result, had caused a glacial melt into a nearby lake that threatened local farmland.

Although the case was initially dismissed after the trial court ruled there was no linear causal chain, the case was granted appeal in 2017, providing a second opportunity to argue causation. Given the case is currently on hold due to the pandemic, no formal decision has yet been made, but its outcome will be of particular interest for many given that it involves climate-related damages suffered in a jurisdiction entirely remote from the defendant companys operations.

Why Net Zero Targets May Not Be Enough

As companies decarbonization strategies are increasingly scrutinised by their stakeholders, many are choosing to implement net zero targets. Although an important first step, the effectiveness of some of these targets has been brought into question  particularly as many corporates fail to cover the full spectrum of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, set interim targets, or account for the entirety of their organisations operations. (Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy. Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions, not included in scope 2, that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.) As a result, questions from investors and other key stakeholders regarding the credibility of such claims are progressively arising  and sometimes paving the way for legal challenges.

Any perceived lack of adequate disclosure and coverage leaves companies  and indeed countries  vulnerable to legal challenges. This was found to be the case with Royal Dutch Shell in 2019. Several Dutch NGOs and over 17,000 Dutch individuals filed a case against the oil and gas giant, calling for the courts to recognize Shells failure to commit to further reductions in its GHG emissions as an unlawful act under tort law.

Although Shell protested it already had net zero by 2050 commitments in place, the trial court held that Shell owed a duty of care to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, and eventually ruled that the company be compelled to reduce these by a net 45% relative to 2019 levels by the end of 2030. While Shell is seeking to appeal this ruling, the outcome is significant, as it shows that the courts are willing to sanction more aggressive emissions reductions  which could inspire similar legal action worldwide.

Better Disclosure and Transparency Needed

Another area in which corporates are becoming increasingly exposed to litigation risk is disclosure. Corporate reporting has become a key priority for many organizations  with 90% of S&P 500 companies publishing a sustainability report in 2020. In Europe, a growing number of companies are using an integrated reporting framework to disclose sustainability-related information alongside traditional financial disclosures. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced plans for new rules on mandatory climate change disclosure, signaling that the number of sustainability-related disclosures may increase over time.

But there are growing calls for improved transparency into businesses climate-related risks and opportunities from investors, regulators and customers, with stakeholders requesting higher-quality, more detailed disclosures that underline any substantial financial exposures in the face of climate change.

As we look towards the future, the number of more extreme and acute weather events is expected to rise as the world continues to search for a quick and effective path to decarbonization. The actions of nations and corporations will be closely monitored, meaning climate litigation will continue to pose a risk to businesses and countries that are not deemed to be acting well  or quickly  enough. As such, it is plausible that we will see an increase in climate litigation, and it could be one of the many mechanisms by which transition and physical risks crystalize for issuers.

Related:

Topics Lawsuits Climate Change
Swiss prosecutors are pursuing around 42.4 million Swiss francs ($45.5 million) in compensation from Credit Suisse in a money-laundering trial due to begin on Feb. 7, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (FCC) said on Monday.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) indicted the bank in December 2020 after an investigation into the activities of a Bulgarian crime ring involving top-level wrestlers accused of laundering profits from cocaine trafficking.

The OAG has stated that it is seeking compensation of around 34.8 million Swiss francs as well as additional compensation of around 7.6 million francs from Credit Suisse AG, an FCC spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Credit Suisse said it unreservedly rejects as meritless all allegations in this legacy matter raised against it and is convinced that its former employee is innocent. The bank told Reuters that it would defend itself vigorously in court.

Switzerlands second-biggest bank, which is trying to rebuild its reputation after a series of scandals and the abrupt departure of its chairman, issued a profit warning last week due to legal costs and a slowdown in its trading and wealth management divisions.

A summary on the FCCs website shows Credit Suisse is accused of failing to take all necessary measures to prevent an employee from laundering money.

The employee, a former Credit Suisse manager who was also indicted, is charged with having processed transactions worth several million Swiss francs between 2004 and 2008 despite indications the money could be of criminal origin.

Credit Suisse denied any wrongdoing by the employee.

($1 = 0.9318 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; editing by Alexander Smith)

Photograph: Credit Suisses headquarters in Zurich.
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, Chubb and Marsh.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Promotes 2 in Engineering & Construction Team

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions announced that Faris Nimri, currently expert underwriter engineering, will be appointed to the newly created role of head of Renewable Energy with effect from May 16, 2022.

Based in Zurich, Nimri will report to Manuela Baroncini, head Engineering & Construction, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. In this role Nimri will be responsible for growing Corporate Solutions renewable energy portfolio, both in construction and in operation. Moreover, he will be responsible for maintaining the companys leading position in delivering risk transfer solutions for the various renewable energy segments, such as solar, offshore and onshore wind and battery storage. He will also coordinate Corporate Solutions Centre of Competence Wind (CoC Wind).

Nimri started his insurance career with Corporate Solutions in 2012, after having worked for nearly 10 years in the construction industry as a project engineering manager in Australia and the Middle East. Since his start with Swiss Re, he has mainly worked with the Engineering and Construction (E&C) Team and built up his know-how as an expert engineering underwriter, especially in the renewable energy segment.

Nimri holds a masters degree in electrical engineering as well as an MBA from the University of Technology Sydney.

At the same time, Corporate Solutions announced that Cedric Wong, expert engineering underwriter will take on the role of head of E&C Wholesale Team in the UK, effective on Feb. 1, 2022. He will replace Jon Wiegand who has decided to leave the company to pursue new opportunities. In this role, Wong will be responsible for strengthening Corporate Solutions position in large, complex international engineering projects placed in the London market and in offering risk management solutions to Corporate Solutions customers. He will continue to be based in London and will report to Baroncini.

Wong joined Corporate Solutions in 2005 as an E&C underwriter and in 2020 was assigned the role of head of Engineering Large Risk (ELR). Throughout his time with Swiss Re, he has supported the global business unit with the underwriting of large complex projects worldwide. He is the lead underwriter on a number of major infrastructure projects including the Crossrail project in London. His expertise is recognized in the market and he previously held the position of chairman of the London Engineering Group (LEG).

Wong holds an engineering degree in civil engineering from University College London (UCL) and is a chartered professional engineer with 10 years of engineering experience prior to joining Corporate Solutions.

The engineering & construction market has a key role to play in the post-pandemic recovery of our communities and economies and build a better more sustainable future, commented Baroncini.

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions wants to create a partnership with our customers and help them in this journey towards a net zero economy and beyond, she added. With their technical knowledge and expertise, Faris and Cedric will further build on our position in the insurance market and scale up our renewable energy and infrastructure portfolio in Corporate Solutions. I wish both Cedric and Faris well in their new roles.

***

Chubb Promotes Houghton as Head of Distribution for UK and Ireland

Chubb announced the appointment of Jon Houghton as head of Distribution for the UK and Ireland.

In this role Houghton will have overall responsibility for developing and delivering distribution strategy across Chubbs property and casualty, accident and health and personal lines businesses in the UK and Ireland.

Since 2016, Houghton has been Chubbs distribution manager  National Brokers, UK and Ireland. He now will also cover independent broker partner engagement. He will continue to be based in London and report to Mark Roberts, division president United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. The appointment is effective immediately.

Hannah Hosking, who has successfully led independent broker distribution since 2017, continues in her current role and will now report to Houghton.

Houghton joined Chubb in 2010 as regional manager, Corporate Risks, Southern Region, before becoming development and distribution manager, UK and Ireland in 2012.

***

Marsh Hires AXA XLs Latham as Alternative Risk Transfer Leader, UK & Ireland

Insurance broker Marsh announced the appointment of Matthew Latham as alternative risk transfer leader, UK & Ireland. Based in London, Latham reports to Charlie Netherton, head of Advisory Services & Strategy, UK & Ireland, Marsh.

In this role, Latham will advise clients on risk finance optimization with a focus on alternative solutions including structured reinsurance, legacy transactions, and other bespoke insurance options. As part of Marshs UK Financial Solutions Group, Latham will advise clients and colleagues in managing unusual or complex risks and insurance structures.

Latham will also play a key role in product innovation, particularly in the areas of complex program design relating to captives, climate and sustainability, and parametric solutions. He will work closely with Ryan Bond, head of Climate and Sustainability Insurance Innovation, and Tom Markovic in Marshs Parametric Solutions Center of Excellence.

Before joining Marsh, Latham was head of Global Programmes and Captives at AXA XL for seven years. He has over 25 years specialist industry experience in underwriting and broking, including at AIG where he led the UK Alternative Risk Transfer underwriting team.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed significant gaps in operational resilience. As we move towards recovery, the insurance industry has a crucial role to play in developing new, alternative solutions that help organisations build stronger defences to future shocks, commented Netherton.

Matthew is a highly-respected professional in the area of alternative risk transfer and has a strong reputation in developing leading market solutions that benefit clients in managing their most complex risks. We welcome him to Marsh and look forward to working with him in this important part of the business, he added.

Topics Underwriting Energy AXA XL London Construction Chubb Swiss Re
Students of a former University of Michigan lecturer recounted stories of alleged sexual assault, psychological torture and university negligence Monday before filing a lawsuit against the professor and the school.

On a Zoom call with reporters, the two former students described Bruce Conforth, a musician who taught in the American Culture department, as the cool professor who talked about playing music with various rock stars. They said Conforth would meet up with students at bars and advised them to follow their dreams, and that students felt lucky to take his class.

The Associated Press doesnt usually name accusers of sexual assault but the women spoke publicly about their experiences.

Conforth did not respond to a message left by the AP on his website.

Isabelle Brourman, who alleges Conforth repeatedly raped her over the course of four years, said students knew the only way to get off the waitlist for his class was to have a personal encounter with him.

Brourman said she and Conforth met several times, during which he instilled fear in Brourman by saying he was in the Illuminati, a purported secret society, and threatening that there would be grave consequences if she did not sexually service him. In the summer of 2014, she said she was getting hourly emails from Conforth and encrypted email addresses from supposed members of the group threatening violence.

He managed to secure a world around me so that he was the only one I could turn to, Brourman said. I was told that if I spoke of what I had read in these emails, that hell would be so sweet a punishment.

The lawsuit filed in Washtenaw County on behalf of eight women alleges years of sexual harassment and assault dating back to 2004. It also says that the university knew or should have known about the abuse and ignored it. The lawsuit seeks damages and names the university, its regents and Conforth as defendants.

Conforth was a lecturer at the university from 2001 to 2017, when he admitted to allegations of sexual misconduct and was permitted to resign by the university as part of a collective bargaining agreement, university spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said.

The lawsuit follows the universitys recent announcement of a $490 million settlement with over 1,000 people who say the late doctor Robert Anderson sexually assaulted them over the course of his decadeslong career at the school. Mark Schlissel was removed earlier this month as university president after emails detailing an alleged inappropriate sexual relationship between him and a subordinate were discovered.

Former student Katherine McMahan said on the Zoom call that in 2008 she warned the university about Conforth after he had pressured her to come home with him, grabbing her waist at a bar after a blues concert. She did not go home with him and filed a complaint with the university after she graduated.

McMahan said the person handling her complaint said Conforth corroborated her accusations and the university was taking all the necessary steps to ensure it wouldnt happen again.

But Bruce was allowed to stay to keep teaching. So what happened to me must not have been that bad, McMahan said. I did what I was supposed to do, what the university told me to do. I followed the rules and they didnt do anything.

Brourman, who said her abuse came years after McMahans report, said that if the university doesnt get serious about tackling the problem of sexual violence, it will continue to rot from the inside out.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Michigan Education Universities
A Kansas City-area man has pleaded guilty to an arson and insurance fraud scheme that allegedly destroyed three houses from 2013 to 2019.

Wandale J. Fulton, 40, was accused of conspiring with six others to buy houses, create fake lease agreements, and burn the structures down to collect on inflated insurance claims. The group is also accused of defrauding a credit union by obtaining fraudulent car loans.

Fulton pleaded guilty on Thursday of one count of conspiracy to use fire in the commission of wire and mail fraud, one count of arson in the commission of a federal felony, and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Missouri. In the plea agreement, Fulton admits that he was in possession of unregistered firearms despite being a convicted felon.

Prosecutors say the conspirators tried to defraud insurers out of $500,000 during the six-year period, but netted only $300,000.

According to an indictment handed down in 2019 and amended in 2020, Fulton established a company called Global Consultants in 2013 and used it to purchase properties from the Land Bank in Kansas City, Missouri.

Another conspirator, Jeremy Woods, was purportedly the owner of Global Consultants, but Fulton actually was in charge, prosecutors say. In August 2013, one of their co-conspirators renegotiated the mortgage on a home in Kansas City to prevent foreclosure. The unidentified conspirator then purchased a $130,000 insurance policy with Farmers Insurance.

The house was destroyed by fire in December 2014. Investigators determined the cause was arson. Nevertheless, Farmers paid $127,586 on the claim, most of which was used to pay off the mortgage. The unidentified conspirator, however, received a $14,409 payment from Farmers for destroyed personal property that actually never existed, the indictment says. Fulton was allegedly paid $7,000 from the insurance proceeds.

Fulton also filed a claim for purported vandalism to his own house in Lees Summit, Missouri in 2015. He told American Family Mutual Insurance Co. that three furnaces, three air conditioning condensers, a computer, a commercial lawn mower, a snow blower, tools, nine interior doors, toilets, furniture, a television and clothing had been stolen from his home. The house was going through foreclosure at the time.

Fulton stated on the claim that the total loss was $250,000 to $300,000. But Farmers refused to pay the claim after Fulton did not appear for an examination under oath, according to the indictment.

Also in 2015, Woods, doing business as Global Consultants, paid $25,000 for a house in Kansas City. He purchased an insurance policy from Foremost Insurance with coverage of up to $106,000 for the dwelling and $6,600 for lost rent.

Woods and Fulton drew up a false rental agreement that made it appear they had rented the home to Kirk Proctor for $550 per month. Proctor purchased a renters policy from Nationwide that paid up to $50,000 for the contents of the home.

The house was destroyed by fire on Jan. 2, 2017. Investigators determined a flammable liquid had been used to torch the home. Global Consultants filed a claim for a total loss of the structure. Proctor also filed a claim to Nationwide seeking $47,623 for the contents of the home. The insurer paid $1,500 for temporary housing.

Proctor never lived at the home, according to the plea agreement. An investigation revealed that Missouri Gas Energy had never turned on service to the house. Proctor withdrew his claim after Nationwide told him it was under investigation.

Woods attended an examination under oath as part of Foremosts claims process, but he discontinued questioning after two hours. Foremost then denied the claim.

In 2016, the team purchased another Kansas City home from the Land Bank for $500 and purchased a $177,677 policy on the building. The home was destroyed in a suspicious fire in July 2017.

Nationwide paid $1,000 for rent payments that allegedly been lost and $44,500 to demolish the house and remove debris. The insurer later paid $138,500 for the total loss of the structure.

Prosecutors say the fraud team also defrauded Heartland Community Credit Union by using fraudulent documents to obtain a total of $121,150 for six car loans.

When Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents searched Fultons home they discovered three unregistered weapons, leading to an additional charges of possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Fulton had been convicted of manslaughter in 1999 and sentenced to 12 years in prison, but that sentence was suspended after he served only 120 days, according to court documents.

Proctor and Woods entered into plea agreements with federal prosecutors last September, court records show. They have not yet been sentenced.

The other three alleged conspirators were not identified in court documents.

Topics Claims Fraud Missouri Kansas Arson
Great American Insurance Group announced that David L. Thompson Jr. has been named president and chief operating officer of Great Americans Property & Casualty Group.

Thompson will become the 18th president in Great Americans 150-year history, assuming this title from Gary J. Gruber. Gruber has held the position of president and chief operating officer for the past five years and served as executive vice president from 2010-2016. He recently announced that he will retire effective April 1, 2022, after nearly 45 years of service with the company.

Thompson has served as executive vice president of the P&C Group since 2019. He joined Great American in 2006 and since that time, has held various positions of increasing responsibility within the organization, including divisional president. In 2014, he assumed senior reporting officer responsibilities as a divisional Group president and was promoted in 2017 to senior vice president. While in these roles, he has worked directly with numerous specialty property/casualty businesses as well as several shared service functions, including reinsurance, predictive analytics and the Dempsey & Siders Insurance Agency.

The members of Great American Insurance Group are subsidiaries of American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG), also based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Carl H. Lindner III is AFGs co-chief executive officer.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies Promotes Three Marketing Leaders

Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) announced the promotion of three to positions as regional vice president of Marketing.

Michael Ricca has been promoted from vice president to regional vice president of Marketing in PHLYs Metro region covering parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

Christopher Rosecrans has been promoted from vice president to regional vice president of Marketing in PHLYs Sunbelt region covering parts of California, Nevada and Arizona.

Jonathan Flowers has been promoted from assistant vice president to regional vice president of Marketing in PHLYs Ohio Valley region covering Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee.

Ricca joined PHLY in 1998 as a claims examiner in the Bala Cynwyd office before becoming a marketing representative in 2001. He was promoted to regional sales manager in 2010, assistant vice president in 2013, and vice president in 2017. He has also been an instructor for PHLYs New Hire Training for more than six years.

Rosecrans joined PHLY as a marketing representative in April 2007. Rosecrans has been in management since 2011, developing relationships with agents throughout the region. He was promoted to vice president in 2017.

Flowers joined PHLY in 2013 as a senior marketing representative in the Southeast. In 2015, he was promoted to regional sales manager and subsequently to assistant vice president. He has been influential in mentoring regional marketing leadership and other employees.

Topics Property Casualty Ohio
A major winter storm was expected to affect a huge swath of the United States beginning Feb. 1, with heavy snow starting in the Rockies and freezing rain as far south as Texas before it drops snow and ice on the Midwest.

The forecast comes nearly a year after a catastrophic winter storm devastated Texas power grid, causing hundreds of deaths. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott planned a briefing Feb. 1 on the states readiness, though the forecast this week does not call for prolonged, widespread frigid temperatures like the February 2021 storm had.

Winter storm watches and warnings covered a wide swath of the country from El Paso, Texas, through the Midwest and parts of the Northeast to Burlington, Vermont. The storm follows a vicious noreaster that brought blizzard conditions to many parts of the East Coast.

During the multiday storm this week, some areas may see a mix of rain and freezing rain before it changes to snow. It will be a very messy system and will make travel very difficult, said Marty Rausch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Texas Windstorm
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It came later than some had expected, but Floridas Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Wednesday passed a much-anticipated bill that aims to close gaps left by last years insurance reform legislation.

Senate Bill 1728, sponsored by committee Chairman Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, could help tackle a number of issues that Boyd and others have said are costing insurers and homeowners dearly and have brought Floridas property insurance market near the brink of collapse.

We will work on this as we move forward, but we have to do something, Boyd said in the committee meeting today. Doing nothing is not an option.

Other committee members raised questions about the full effect of the bill on homeowners, but agreed that changes are necessary. Unless we solve this issue, were going to have an outcry from our citizens of where have we been and what have we been doing to solve these issues,' said committee Vice Chair Sen. Doug Broxson, R-Pensacola.

The committee approved the bill with a 9-2 vote.

Some of the major changes proposed by the bill:

Actual Cash Value

It would roll back the clock on the statute and allow insurers once again to offer homeowner policies that cover only the depreciated or actual cash value of a roof, as opposed to full replacement, which is now required in most policies. Insurers would be able to utilize a roof-surface type reimbursement schedule and could also offer stated-value policies.

Insurance industry advocates have said that full-replacement requirements, coupled with relentless solicitation by roofing contractors, has caused roof losses to explode in recent years.

The bill also would require that policies that use a roof-surface type schedule must continue to provide replacement coverage for roofs less than 10 years old and for roof losses caused by a named hurricane.

Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, along with a plaintiffs attorney at the meeting warned that limiting roof coverage to actual cash value would hit low-income and elderly homeowners the hardest.

Weve been told that unscrupulous roofers are to blame for the rising insurance premiums here in Florida. However, this bill transfers the risk of that cost to the policyholder, said attorney Clint Moore, of Orlando.

Boyd said that by reducing costs to insurers, premiums for all homeowners policies should eventually drop, allowing more to afford full-replacement policies.

Solicitation by Roofers

Senate Bill 76, approved in last years legislative session, attempted to bar most solicitation by roofers promising free roofs when damage may be due more to age of the roof than from wind damage. But a court placed a hold on that part of the law, saying it may deprive contractors of their constitutional right to free speech.

SB 1728 would not prohibit solicitation and advertising as long as the contractor provides a statement to the homeowner, in large-print typeface, making it clear that the consumer is responsible for paying the deductible on the insurance policy; that it is a felony for the contractor to pay or waive the deductible or to file a claim with misleading information.

Citizens

The bill would exempt second homes from limits on Citizens Property Insurance Corp. premium increases. Current provisions in state law, known as the Citizens glidepath, limit rate increases each year. The bill would apply the glidepath only to primary residences.

It also would bar Citizens from renewing policies if the homeowner receives a takeout offer from another insurance company, unless the private carriers premiums are 20% higher or higher than the Citizens premiums for comparable coverage.

The measure also would require that Citizens board members and officers have significant experience in the insurance business, among other changes.

Its unclear how far Boyds bill will go this year. Some lawmakers and regulators have said that last years SB 76 should be given time to have an effect, which could take another year or so. With Floridas session limited to 60 days, other hot-button issues, including election redistricting, abortion and others may consume the Legislatures bandwidth.

Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, supported SB 1728 but said more changes are needed. He noted that more carriers are dropping coverage, including Florida Farm Bureau Insurance, which has decided to stop writing new homeowner policies in the state, along with TypTap Insurance Co.

Photo: Sen. Boyd at Wednesdays committee meeting. (Florida Channel)

Topics Carriers Florida Homeowners Contractors Politics
(The Center Square)  Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson allegedly accepted a donation in excess of $10,000 over the states legal campaign finance limits.

The purported discrepancy is the basis for a lawsuit filed with Attorney General Dana Nessel Tuesday by Michigan Rising Action. According to an MRA news release, Benson accepted four separate contributions from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights totaling $81,500. The state-imposed limit is $71,500.

Michigan law is clear regarding contribution limits to statewide candidates  an independent committee may only contribute $71,500 in an election cycle, the MRA complaint reads.

In its complaint, MRA calls on Nessel to swiftly investigate the Benson Campaigns illegal circumvention of the contribution limits under MCL 169.252 of the MCFA.

Noting the states Secretary of State is Michigans chief elections official, the MRA complaint asserts Benson must be well-versed in campaign finance law.

As the elected Secretary of State, Ms. Benson should be fully aware of contribution limits. Secretary Benson, Michigans chief elections official and an Ivy League educated attorney, has either intentionally broken Michigans campaign finance laws, or does not understand the fundamentals of campaign finance contribution limits.

Violation of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act includes penalties of up to a $1,000 fine and/or 90 days in jail. State law requires complaints made against the secretary of state to be referred to the attorney general for investigation.

It is time for Jocelyn Benson to be held accountable for violating the very laws she swore to uphold in the interest of personal and political gain, Eric Ventimiglia, MRA executive director, said in a statement.

As the states top campaign finance official, Bensons inability to follow the law casts severe doubts on her ability to do her job and rule on other campaign finance issues," Ventimiglia continued. "Until the Secretary of State can learn to follow the laws she should recuse herself from future rulings.

The MRAs lawsuit comes after another conservative group, the Michigan Freedom Fund, accused Nessel and Benson of allowing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to violate campaign finance laws.

On Friday, the Michigan Freedom Fund filed a formal request for a declaratory ruling with Benson, saying the secretary of state is giving cover for the governor to launder millions of dollars to campaign accounts that will benefit both womens re-election campaigns.

MFF alleges Whitmer exploited a loophole in Michigan finance law, which allowed her to accept unlimited campaign donations during an effort to recall the governor. Whitmer collected $3.5 million in donations from a relatively small group of donors despite no active recall effort against her. Michigan law limits individual campaign donations to $7,500 per individual, but Whitmer collected several donations exceeding $200,000.

Rather than confiscating the money or returning the entire sum back to the original donors, Nessel permitted Whitmer to return one $250,000 donation to Mark Bernstein, brother of Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein. Whitmer was allowed to disgorge the remaining monies to other Democratic campaign coffers, rather than returning the full amount of the contributions to the original donors as is customary.

"Its no surprise that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson would accept contributions above the legal limit after she gave Governor Gretchen Whitmer a pass for doing the same thing, Michigan Freedom Fund Executive Director Tori Sachs told The Center Square.

Benson let Whitmer launder millions in corrupt campaign cash through the radical Democrat Party because it will be spent to help both of their reelection campaigns this year. It's disgraceful that Jocelyn Benson ignores Michigan campaign finance laws, which she was elected to oversee and enforce, whenever it benefits her personally to do so.
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Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
Most of us are still revelling in the easing of Covid-19 measures, but for a large portion of the population, the lifting of restrictions has been a significant source of anxiety.

For those with a disability or deemed to be at high risk from Covid, the rush to return to normal has made them feel even more overlooked than before, fearing they've been left behind without the public health measures required to keep them safe.

Catherine Gallagher, 24, has scoliosis, arthrogryposis, and a non-progressive neuromuscular disorder.

Like many others, she has been cocooning since the Covid-19 pandemic began almost two years ago.

Ms Gallagher has a mixture of feelings about the decision to lift restrictions, though recognises that a lot of people now have a pep in their step.

Lockdown has not ended for her, she said.

I think were uncomfortable with that fact. Theres a lot of pushback to that and its not a case of us wanting to be in lockdown or wanting other people to put their life on pause indefinitely, she explained.

But I think some of the rhetoric, some of the commentary, does challenge your sense of worth for yourself and for your life.

Catherine Gallagher, 24: 'I feel like my 20s are kind of flashing before my eyes. So many parts of my life are on pause.'

After two years of cocooning, she is starting to feel fatigued by it all and said there is work to be done to allow people such as herself to feel safe and confident in returning to pre-pandemic activities.

I feel like my 20s are kind of flashing before my eyes. So many parts of my life are on pause, she said.

At the minute, Im getting a bit tired of it, and Im just worried over the next three months that people like myself could be left behind.

Her concerns are mainly compounded by the absence of information on when anti-viral drugs for coronavirus will be available in Ireland.

The lack of ventilation and air quality in public buildings is another source of anxiety.

Im worried that if there isnt a sense of urgency about getting proper air quality assurances in our schools, how long do we have to wait for other settings? she asked.

If both of these elements were in place, she would feel a lot better about things.

I dont feel particularly confident right now. Im just being very careful, she added.

Disabled Women Ireland (DWI) has warned that the rapid easing of Covid-19 restrictions has become a major source of anxiety for disabled people, many of whom are high risk.

A spokesperson for the organisation said there has been no consideration for disabled people who do not have the same opportunity as others to minimise contacts or avoid higher-risk areas, due to limited options around transport and in-person support.

Return to the workplace

The organisation is hearing from many disabled people who are stressed about being forced to return to the workplace.

Overall, the rush to return to normal has hammered home to many in the disabled community just how overlooked weve been throughout the pandemic and before, and how the convenience of the majority is too often given more value than our lives and safety, a spokesperson said.

We also want to see our friends and live our lives, but the overnight lifting of restrictions for political reasons with insufficient planning again shows how disabled people are at the back of the queue in national planning.

Amy Hassett, 25, a co-director at DWI said there was a lot of frustration among her friends and acquaintances.

When the pandemic started, everybody started working remotely and learning remotely and that offered a lot of new opportunities for disabled people to study and work in more flexible environments, she said.

There is a lot of frustration at the moment that that is being rowed back and rowed back in a way that is not accessible.

The PhD student said the return to the workplace could have been done in a manner that offered disabled people the chance to work and study remotely.

But there doesnt seem to be a lot of support to make that happen.

Recommendations for the use of respirator masks by high-risk individuals as well as the use of antigen tests are also not sustainable as people with disabilities do not have the funds to afford such protections, she said.

Even when there are things that you can do to keep yourself safe, there is no system put in place to help us get those things.
Are we creating a civil service that gets paid more, works fewer hours, and outsources an increasing amount of the job?

Mary Lou McDonald recently sparked a backlash from some within Government when she suggested that our public and civil service was constipated. However, even her detractors would agree that there is room for further reform.

Its a system that spent more than 30m farming out work to private consultants, legal teams, HR experts, and accountants in the past 12 months alone. Its a culture that is not easily challenged or changed, according to finance committee chairman John McGuinness.

Embedded in popular culture is the notion of public service mandarins (played in hit 1980s comedy series 'Yes, Minister' by Derek Fowlds and Nigel Hawthorne) running rings around their ostensible political master (portrayed by Paul Eddington, centre). However, a significant part of departmental spending in Ireland today in fact goes to external consultants, valued at some 30m over the past year.

Writing in this paper last week, the Fine Gael TD claimed an administrative structure had been quietly created, which he described as a nightmare of quangos, subsidiary public service organisations, satellite companies and organisations, and committees of one sort or another. Its almost impossible for politicians, the public, or the media to get to the bottom of many of the scandals that are now finding their way into the light.

In recent weeks, the 81,000 pay increase taken by Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt has cast a spotlight on the salaries earned by our top civil servants. Of course, Mr Watt, who takes home 294,920 a year, is an outlier, earning significantly more than even his counterparts in other departments. However, civil and public servants across all grades have seen their pay increase due to the Building Momentum agreement.

The Cabinet is also expected to agree to a recommendation that working hours for civil servants be restored to pre-Haddington Road levels from July, as outlined in Mulvey report.

As well as the salaries, there's a big bill for outsourced work At the same time, millions of euro in taxpayers money continues to be spent lining the pockets of top private legal firms, well-known consultancy practices, PR companies and advisory bodies. Companies such as Mazars, Ernst & Young, and KPMG all feature on the long list of work that was outsourced from Government departments at a cost of 31m last year. 'I think some senior managers feel [outsourcing] insulates them, because its somebody elses responsibility to make the recommendation, not them,' says former minister Brendan Howlin of the Labour Party Picture: Damien Storan This bill does not include the departments of education or higher education, as both have yet to count and publish their 2021 consultancy spend. Almost half of the total figure was spent by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, which racked up a 14.3m bill. The Department of Agriculture forked out more than 4.4m on external consultants, the Department of Children spent 5.3m on private firms, while the outside consulting provided to the Department of Housing came to 1.8m. Although the Chief State Solicitors Office provides litigation, advisory, and conveyancing services to government departments, more than 1.49m was spent hiring some of the countrys top legal firms, including William Fry, Matheson, and Arthur Cox. Former public expenditure and reform minister Brendan Howlin says the system of using external advisers in many ways suits top civil servants, as it provides departments with cover: I think some senior managers feel it insulates them, because its somebody elses responsibility to make the recommendation, not them. And thats not good either. Looking at the use of outside human resources consultants, which included 37,234 of spending by the Department of Transport, Mr Howlin said HR positions are among a number of areas that have become promotion posts. So people became the HR manager without any specific training. The whole reform agenda was to build up specialty, so you will have financial management or trained financial managers, you will have human resource managers who are trained and specific human resource managers across the public service. They should not be dependent on external advisers for that, he said. Former communications minister Denis Naughten also believes government departments have become far too reliant on outside advisers. Every time a complex decision has to be made in government or by a government department, a team of consultants are hauled in, who are accountable to nobody. While he said external consultation is important, it must complement expertise within government, not replace it. He warned that external consultants can sometimes provide departments with the advice they think their paymasters want to hear. He has also suggested that, instead of getting a private consultancy firm to act as a middle man, department staff should be able to go directly to experts and academics for advice. "We end up paying consultants who go and glean the information off the experts, the academics, and then present in a particular format to a government department, Mr Naughten said. 'Every time a complex decision has to be made in government or by a government department, a team of consultants are hauled in, who are accountable to nobody,' says Denis Naughten TD. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins What we should be doing far more is going directly to the academics, asking them to provide us with advice because the advice that they will provide us is untainted. Ethically, they have to give us untainted advice, so at least you have the factual information to then make the decision one way or the other, rather than relying on the consultants.

Of course, some level of outside consultancy will always be required, as many departments rightly stressed when providing their spending details.

Mr Naughten pointed out that, when he was a minister: I had two and a half staff working on EU energy legislation: In the UK at the time, they had over 200 staff working on that area. So thats why we are so reliant on external advice.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has as much as admitted that a further pay increase for our civil and public servants will be on the cards when unions and Government officials next gather to thrash out a deal.

Its absolutely the case that, if the Government were to agree to any further pay increases this year, that we would be looking for something in return, particularly around productivity, Mr Varadkar added.

The volume and type of work that is pushed off the tables of department staff and into the private sector should be examined as part of any new deal.

Did you know? A statue of Prince Albert, Queen Victorias consort, has stood on the grounds of Leinster House since 1923. The statue was sculpted by John Henry Foley, who created the Daniel OConnell statue on Dublins OConnell St, as well as the statue of Fr Mathew on St Patricks Street in Cork. In 2018, calls to have it removed were rejected. The Oireachtas petitions committee said at the time that a petition seeking its removal by a member of the public was inadmissible, and that the statue would remain.

What to look out for this week

Tuesday

At todays weekly Cabinet meeting, the agriculture minister is expected to provide details of the 25m deepwater quay facility to be built in Galway.

Following the shocking report into the Camhs service in south Kerry, Sinn Fein is bringing forward a private members motion on mental health services for children and young people around the country.

The education committee will examine the Admissions to School Bill 2020, which Labour says would stamp out elitism. The committee will hear from the Joint Managerial Body (JMB), the Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) as well as Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI).

Meanwhile, the childrens committee will explore the rights of the child in relation to domestic and international surrogacy. It will speak to Special Rapporteur for Child Protection Conor OMahony and representatives from Irish Families Through Surrogacy.

Wednesday

The Dail will debate a motion on the cost of cancer care, which is being brought forward by the Social Democrats.

Welcoming the easing of restrictions, Independent TD Catherine Connolly recently told the Taoiseach that the Government needed to explain the rationale behind the decision. As a result, there will be statements on the matter in the afternoon.

The bill to give households a 100 reduction on their energy bills will also be debated.

In the Seanad, Fine Gael members are bringing forward a motion demanding action to tackle a backlog in passport applications.

Thursday

Heather Humphreys, the social protection minister, will take questions in the Dail from 9am, followed by Roderic OGorman, the childrens minister.

The public accounts committee will hear from Transport Infrastructure Ireland about budgets and spending.
Assailants armed with machine guns attacked Guinea-Bissaus government palace on Tuesday while the president and prime minister were inside  but the coup attempt ultimately failed, the president announced.

The foiled attack came only about two weeks after a military junta overthrew the democratically elected leader of Burkina Faso, underscoring fears that a recent spate of coups is inspiring others in the region.

President Umaro Sissoco Embalo addressed reporters late on Tuesday, saying that the attack on democracy had come during a government meeting at the building.

Our republican defence and security forces were able to stop this evil, Mr Embalo said, adding that the gunfire went on for five hours.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the assault, though the president said it also has to do with our fight against narco-trafficking.

Guinea-Bissau became known as a transit point for cocaine between Latin America and Europe in the 2000s as traffickers profited from corruption and weak law enforcement.

The 15-nation West African regional bloc known as Ecowas, already grappling with three other coups in member states over the last 18 months, called Tuesdays violence a coup attempt and said it was following the situation in Bissau with great concern.

Portugals Foreign Ministry said in a tweet that it strongly condemned the attack in its former colony.

Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced four coup detats and more than a dozen attempted coups.

Mr Embalo, a former army general, was declared the winner of the December 2019 run-off vote, though the results were contested by his opponent.

Mr Embalo then started forming a new government with support from the military while a Supreme Court election challenge was still pending.

Tuesdays coup attempt comes amid a wave of military takeovers in West Africa. Since August 2020, soldiers have grabbed power in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

Despite international pressure for a return to constitutional rule, none of the military rulers have yet to organise new elections.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, condemned the terrible multiplication of coups in the region, which he called totally unacceptable.
President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 US-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania as demonstrations of commitments to allies on Natos eastern flank amid fears of a possible Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the US forces will not enter Ukraine and will move to their new positions in coming days under US command.

These are not permanent moves, he said, stressing that the purpose is to reassure allies at a time of heightened tension over Russias build-up of military forces along Ukraines border.

Mr Kirby said the Russian build-up has continued, even in the past 24 hours.

Of the 2,000 deploying from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, about 1,700 are members of the 82nd Airborne Division infantry brigade, who will go to Poland.

The other 300 are with the 18th Airborne Corps and will deploy to Germany as what the Pentagon called a joint task force-capable headquarters.

Polands defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the US deployment to his country is a strong signal of solidarity in response to the situation in Ukraine.

The 1,000 US troops going to Romania are members of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based at Vilseck, Germany. They will augment approximately 900 US troops already in Romania, Mr Kirby said.

The cavalry deployments purpose is to deter aggression and enhance our defensive capabilities in frontline allied states during this period of elevated risk, the Pentagon said.

Its important that we send a strong signal to Mr Putin and to the world of the US commitment to Nato, Mr Kirby said.

He said France has decided it will also send troop reinforcements to Romania under Nato command, and noted that a number of other European Nato countries are considering adding forces on Natos eastern flank.

Nato has been beefing up its defences around allies in eastern Europe since late last year. Denmark said it was sending a frigate and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania, and Spain was sending four fighter jets to Bulgaria and three ships to the Black Sea to join Nato naval forces.

The Netherlands plans to send two F-35 fighter aircraft to Bulgaria in April and is putting a ship and land-based units on standby for Natos Response Force.

Mr Biden has said he will not put American troops in Ukraine to fight any Russian incursion, although the US is supplying Kyiv with weapons to defend itself and seeking to reassure allies in eastern Europe that Washington will fulfil its treaty obligation to defend them if they are attacked.

Ukraine is not a Nato member so the US has no treaty obligation to come to its defence.

The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia over its military build-up at Ukraines borders, and underscore growing fears across Europe that President Vladimir Putin is poised to invade Ukraine.

Smaller Nato countries on the alliances eastern flank worry they could be next, although Russia has said it has no intention of initiating conflict and is willing to continue diplomatic efforts.

Mr Biden said recently that he intended to provide additional US forces to Nato allies in eastern Europe as reassurance of an American commitment to treaty allies.

The Pentagon also has put about 8,500 US-based troops on higher alert for possible deployment to Europe as additional reassurance, and officials have indicated the possibility that more units could be placed on higher alert soon.

The US already has between 75,000 and 80,000 troops in Europe as permanently stationed forces and as part of regular rotations in places such as Poland.
Interview Junta Enlists Indian Insurgent Groups to Fight Resistance Forces in Western Myanmar

Zomi Revolutionary Organization/Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRO/ZRA) fighters who the CNF alleges are cooperating with the junta. / Zomi Flag

Resistance groups in Chin State have long alleged that separatist insurgent groups from northeast India have been fighting for the Myanmar military in Chin State, as well as in neighboring Sagaing Region.

Meitei armed groups from the northeast Indian state of Manipur who operate inside Myanmar have also joined hands with the junta. Meanwhile, the Zomi Revolutionary Organization/Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRO/ZRA), which has been operating as a peoples militia as part of an agreement with the Indian government, has raided the bases of resistance groups in Chin State. In January, the ZRA clashed with the Chin National Front/ Chin National Army (CNF/CNA), an ethnic armed resistance organization fighting the military regime.

Local resistance groups have alleged that the ZRO/ZRA has reached an understanding with the junta. But the group has denied working for any army or any dictatorial government.

Chin State and adjacent Sagaing Region have been the most restive areas in Myanmar since last years February 1 coup. A combination of Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) and ethnic armed organizations, particularly the CNA, are fighting against junta troops. The CNF/CNA signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with U Thein Seins quasi-civilian government in October 2015. But since the formation of the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), the CNF/CNA has joined hands with the NUG in the peoples revolution against the regime.

In January, the ZRA engaged in clashes with the combined forces of the CNA and local PDFs in Tedim Township, Chin State. The ZRA lost at least four fighters during the clash.

CNF spokesperson Salai Htet Ni recently talked to The Irrawaddy about the operations of militant Indian separatist groups in Myanmar.

Can you tell us about the fighting with the ZRO/ZRA in Tedim Township?

Regarding the ZRO/ZRA, we only knew that it was a group rebelling against the Indian government. They have a ceasefire agreement with the Indian government and operate as peoples militia in India. But they also operate in Myanmar, where they are known as the eastern ZRO.

Zomi tribes live in Tedim as well as India. As they operate as the eastern ZRO in Myanmar, they have always threatened us to make us withdraw from our strongholds. We have done nothing to them. But when we conducted clearance operations with local resistance groups [in Tedim] we encountered them, which resulted in a clash.

They have threatened us since 1995, 1996 to withdraw from our strongholds. At that time, they were not yet based on Myanmar side of the border. We made Tedim our base after reaching an agreement with the previous military junta.

But they [ZRO/ZRA] have become more active in 2020 and 2021. They have abducted some of our troops, detained them for a while and told them not to stay in Tedim. This has forced us to conduct clearance operations to protect our region and our troops.

We heard that the eastern ZRO formed a battalion on January 16. Will this lead to frequent clashes with them?

It largely depends on them. We are very sorry that the ZRA is conducting military operations together with the military regime. One of the reasons why we clashed with the ZRA is that, before the clash, we learned that they often visit Myanmar military units based in Tedim. They carried out two mine attacks on our CNF office, which was opened after we signed the NCA.

If they continue doing that, we will defend ourselves and repulse their attacks. Whether there are more clashes will depend on them.

Does the CNF plan to hold talks with the ZRA?

It depends on their stance. But it will be very difficult for us to hold talks with them given the fact that they have apparently reached an understanding with the military regime. Under the current situation, we have no plans to hold talks with them. But we will be sad if people are harmed due to clashes. We will try our best to stand by the people.

We heard that there was a clash with Meitei armed groups in Tonzang Township in mid-January. Can you talk about that?

There are local resistance groups in Tonzang. We cooperate with them for state security. We wont accept foreign armed groups growing [opium] poppy on our land. It is our national duty to prevent it. Some groups are doing drug business after reaching an understanding with the military regime. The clashes happened when we carried out security operations there.

Does the CNF believe that the junta is mobilizing separatist groups from India to crush resistance groups in Chin?

Yes, it is true. Earlier, the regime also did the same in Kale and Tamu [towns in Sagaing Region bordering India]. The military is involved in the drug trade. The ZRA has disrupted military training for resistance fighters in Tedim. They have destroyed resistance bases and detained or killed their leadersacts similar to those committed by the regime. If they continue to do that, it will pose a threat to our people and the security of our state. We CNF and local resistance groups will work together and try our best to prevent that happening.

We will not just stand by and watch when the military is cooperating with rebel groups from another country. We will defend our people, and work to eliminate military dictatorship as desired by the people. We will prevent the junta from cooperating with foreign rebel groups as a national security duty.



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Burma Almost 370 Myanmar Junta Officials Assassinated Since Coup

A gutted ward administration office in Yangon.

Almost 370 junta-appointed officials have been assassinated in targeted attacks since last years February 1 coup, while over 300 have been wounded, according to junta boss Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The coup leader made the comments on Monday while addressing a meeting of the National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw.

Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said that his regime had faced 9,437 terrorist attacks from February 1 2021 to January 20 of this year. Those incidents included the assassination of 367 junta administration officials and the wounding of 336 more.

The majority of those killed and wounded are junta-appointed township, ward and village administrators targeted for collaborating with the regime. A total of 456 telecom towers were also destroyed in attacks, most of them belonging to the army-owned Mytel, one of four telecom operators in Myanmar, as resistance groups try to cut the amount of revenue flowing to the junta.

Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing also claimed that the attacks and high number of deaths was one of the reasons why the state of emergency needed to be extended for another six months, also citing the ongoing instability in some parts of the country. The regimes acting president, U Myint Swe, approved the six month extension of military rule at the meeting.

The junta boss also blamed the National League for Democracy (NLD) Party for the attacks, saying in his speech to the NDSC that extremist NLD members and their followers utilize the youths, formed the unlawful Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and parallel government called National Unity Government to provide assistance for terrorist attacks and to lead those movements.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the NLD said it will continue to work together with all stakeholders to uproot the military dictatorship from Myanmars soil and to return state power to its original owner, the people. Since the coup, the military regime has arrested 686 NLD members, including its leaders Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint and another 197 elected lawmakers. At least 14 NLD members have died while in military custody.

The NLD also pledged to bring the junta to justice for its crimes committed against civilians including widespread arrests, torture, and the murder of innocent people throughout the Union, which amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Armed resistance to the military regime began in late March with civilian groups using homemade and traditional firearms to fight back against the juntas brutal crackdowns and raids on peaceful anti-coup protesters, striking civil servants, and any opponents of military rule.

Since then, military-run businesses, local administration offices and government buildings have been torched or bombed by resistance fighters to prevent the regime from governing the country.

On Monday, Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said that over 4,338 people have been arrested for targeting junta officials, offices and buildings up to January 20.

On Tuesday, as the Myanmar people marked the first anniversary of the coup by observing a silent strike, resistance groups in Yangon launched attacks on junta targets in 11 townships including Sanchaung, South Dagon, Tamwe, Taikkyi, Hmawbi, Shwepyithar, Thaketa, Dala, Insein, Hlegu and Hlaing Tharyar townships. No casualties have been confirmed.

At least 1,507 civilians have been killed by junta forces since the coup including children, students, pro-democracy protesters, politicians and striking civil servants. Over 11,900 people have been detained, according to rights group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.



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Opinion Is Myanmar Junta Leader's Presidential Dream About to Come True?

Min Aung Hlaing speaks on the anniversary of the military coup.

In 2017, U Win Htein, a central executive committee member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), told the New York Times that military chief Min Aung Hlaing was eyeing the presidency after the 2020 general election.

There were two ways the military chief could take the job, said U Win Htein, who was present at all the meetings between NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Min Aung Hlaing.

It was a well-informed guess. Since he moved to Naypyitaw in 2015, U Win Htein, a former military officer, made contact with former generals from the previous military regime. He served in a parliamentary commission with a former general, then speaker U Shwe Mann, and met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi once a week.

According to a former minister in U Thein Seins military-backed government, Min Aung Hlaing did not have any presidential ambitions until a power struggle erupted between U Thein Sein and U Shwe Mann within the militarys proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Min Aung Hlaing used to be close to U Shwe Mann, who was his predecessor as the chief of the military general staff. Before his appointment as commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing met U Shwe Mann once a week, according to sources.

As speaker, U Shwe Mann lived near the presidents residence. U Thein Seins right-hand man U Soe Thane and his associates were suspicious of these close ties, said the former minister. U Soe Thane reportedly often told his friends that U Shwe Mann could not become president.

U Soe Thane was apparently less happy about the relationship, especially after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament in 2012 and became close to U Shwe Mann.

One [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] enjoys popular support and the other [Min Aung Hlaing] leads the armed forces. As U Shwe Mann had good ties with both, he could have become president. U Thein Sein and his allies did not want that, said the former minister.

They began to woo Min Aung Hlaing in 2014, allowing him to oversee housing projects, including Dagon City. Construction contracts and import permits were awarded to Min Aung Hlaings son, Aung Pyae Sone, according to the former minister.

A retired general said U Thein Sein told Min Aung Hlaing and other generals that U Shwe Mann and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had agreed to seize generals assets if he became president.

U Thein Sein reportedly even promised Min Aung Hlaing the presidency for half of the five-year term if the USDP won the 2015 general election.

He reportedly told Min Aung Hlaing that he would amend the Civil Service Law to enable him to stay on as commander-in-chief until he reached 63, three years beyond the retirement age.

U Soe Thane later instructed then chairman of the Union Civil Service Board, U Kyaw Thu, to amend the law.

The proposal to extend the retirement age for civil servants to 63 was rejected by parliament in July 2015.

It is argued U Thein Seins power-play aroused Min Aung Hlaings political interests.

The USDPs heavy defeat in 2015 meant U Thein Seins plan failed. He tried to dispute the election results but the Union Election Commission (UEC) chairman, retired lieutenant general Tin Aye, refused and ex-dictator Than Shwe intervened to ensure the NLD took office.

But Min Aung Hlaings dreams of the presidency did not die. And his influence on the USDP had grown as his officers resigned and joined the USDP ahead of the 2015 election.

He used USDP lawmakers, who served under him in the armed forces, to raise questions and spread messages in parliament.

The most significant example was U Thaung Aye, the Pyawbwe Township MP in the Lower House. While he was chief of the western command, U Thaung Aye confiscated land at Ngapali Beach in Rakhine State. He faced complaints but Min Aung Hlaing protected him and he remained loyal to Min Aung Hlaing in parliament.

Min Aung Hlaing also used other methods, such as allowing military medics to resign on condition they campaign for the USDP for three years. The move drew criticisms from some generals.

The USDP candidates for the 2020 general election were reportedly signed off by Min Aung Hlaing. The USDP general secretary allegedly had to regularly update Min Aung Hlaing on the partys plans.

But the USDP lost again in 2020, shattering his dream. He needed the USDP to win 26 percent of seats to enable it to form a majority with the military-appointed lawmakers, who were handed 25 percent of seats under the military-drafted 2008 Constitution.

After being denied the presidency using the 2008 Constitution, Min Aung Hlaing asked U Thaung Aye to allege irregularities in the voting. He asked USDP leaders to allege electoral fraud and convinced his officers to support his planned coup.

Voter list errors are common under Myanmars electoral system. There were many voter list errors in 2015. Despite alleged voter list errors, the NLD government made sure an individual could not vote twice in the poll.

Min Aung Hlaing alleged that there were more than 10 million mistakes in voter lists but at a recent press conference, the new UEC appointed by Min Aung Hlaing said only 1,000 people allegedly voted twice.

The electoral fraud was an excuse used to stage the coup, which was Min Aung Hlaings plan B to seize the presidency.

The USDP and other pro-military parties are now pushing to replace the first-past-the-post electoral system with proportional representation (PR). It is thought that PR might enable the USDP to win 26 percent of the vote.



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Last week, state Rep. Ralph Massullo, a dermatologist, came before a public health-related subcommittee in the state House to present legislation connected to minors. The committee chairman asked Massullo to present his bill.

Thank you Mr. Chair, committee. [HB] 817 simply enables physicians to provide emergency care to minors outside of a hospital or college health service system without parental consent, Massullo told lawmakers.

That was the bill  the whole 13 seconds.

There were no questions, no debate. Lawmakers unanimously approved the bill, 16-0, with four missed votes. In all, the entire discussion lasted less than two minutes  and still  the public would have no idea about the details.

In the Florida Legislature, the pace can be fast at certain times, but the 13-second bill on Jan. 19 appeared unusual, raising questions about how the Legislature conducts its business and whether the public is in the dark on serious issues related to emergency care for minors without parental consent.

In fact, HB 817 is a bill that could potentially cause controversy.

What wasnt mentioned that day was that the legislation would broaden the current law considerably.

Right now, parental consent is required for a physician to provide emergency medical care to a minor outside of a hospital or college health service, according to a legislative analysis. Consent also is required for emergency medical services personnel to perform emergency care outside of a whats called a prehospital setting, like at an accident scene or in an ambulance.

But the bill goes much further: It would allow physicians and emergency medical personnel to provide emergency medical care or treatment to a minor at any location without the consent of the minors parents, according to a legislative analysis.There were no examples in the bill.

The concept of parental consent is so important because, It is well settled that the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children is perhaps the oldest of the recognized fundamental liberty interests protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, according to the analysis.

In 2020, the Florida Legislature approved an abortion bill related to parental consent for minors seeking abortions. And in the 2021 legislative session, state Rep. Erin Grall pushed for the Parents Bill of Rights, which gave parents more power over local school board policies.

An identical bill, HB 1114, in the Florida Senate, is sponsored by state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, who represents several Northeast Florida counties.

We certainly do not want a physician to hold back from rendering lifesaving aid in a situation outside the hospital, said Bradley. So this bill corrects that by allowing physicians to provide emergency medical treatment to minors anywhere such treatment is needed, not just in hospitals or college health services.

During the discussion, state Sen. Tina Polsky questioned Bradley about concerns involving the Parents Bill of Rights. Polsky, who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Because we did talk about this last year, during the [Parents] Bill of Rights and some of us had concerns about this particular instance, just to be clear, this bill, if passed, will override that prohibition from last years [Parents] Bill of Rights? Polsky told members of the Senate Committee on Judiciary.

Bradley responded: I wouldnt say that it overrides the prohibition, I would say right now theres a statutory exception for when parental consent is required. And I think that this clarifies that exception for parental consent to make sure that its for not only the hospital but for outside as well, the scene of an accident or a sporting event.

Bradley explained previously that the initiative addressing emergency care for young kids came about after doctors expressed fears over when they could legally treat a child in an emergency situation.

Stephen Winn, executive director of the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, described a scenario where a kid has suffered a serious head injury during a sporting event. Right now I cannot treat that child because we dont have the parents consent to do that, he said in a phone conversation.

Winn explained that his association does support the bill.

Portions of this report first appeared on the website of the Florida Phoenix, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to coverage of state government and politics from Tallahassee.
Trinity, TX (77320)

Today

Isolated thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Trinity, TX (77320)

Today

Isolated thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Trinity, TX (77320)

Today

Isolated thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.


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Australian-founded fintech Airwallex has made two senior additions to its US team.

"It is incredibly exciting to see the level and diversity of talent that we have been able to bring into Airwallex," said Airwallex co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang.

"With a growing network that now spans across North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe, having in place a strong, global team is integral to our growth. Ravi (Adusumilli) and Jas (Randhawa) possess strong backgrounds across fintech and their respective areas of expertise. We are pleased to have them join Airwallex as we look to continue to empower businesses to operate anywhere, anytime."

Ravi Adusumilli has been appointed to the role of senior vice president and global head of partnerships and business development.

He joins Airwallex from Pinterest where he was global head of business development and partnerships, and previously held broadly similar roles at Tile, Helix, Facebook and Netflix.

Earlier in his career Adusumilli worked in product management at Hitachi GST and Hewlett-Packard.

He holds a bachelor's degree in electronics and communications engineering from REC Bhalki (India), a master's in computer science from Western Michigan University, and an MBA from UCSD.

"I am thrilled to join Airwallex at an incredible stage of growth, and am inspired by its breadth of payment solutions and ability to help businesses solve complex global finance issues around the world," said Adusumilli.

"One of my biggest passions is to help businesses scale through strategic alliances and partnerships, and I look forward to supporting Airwallex in this way as we look to further enhance the value proposition for Airwallex's growing customer base."

Jas Randhawa is Airwallex's new global head of financial crime compliance.

He brings more than 15 years of experience building and managing compliance programs, most recently as head of compliance for Stripe's US business.

Randhawa previously managed PricewaterhouseCooper's financial crime (fintech) practice for the US West Coast.

He is also on the advisory board of the Global Data Consortium and the executive committee of the West Coast Anti-Money Laundering Forum.

Randhawa is a certified anti money laundering specialist.

"Compliance is one of the fundamental pillars of running a successful fintech business, and I am delighted to be joining such a talented and experienced international team," he said.

"In the ever-changing regulatory environment, together with the rest of the team, we will aim to strengthen Airwallex's financial crime and fraud prevention frameworks and ensure that we continue to maintain the highest compliance standards in all markets where we operate."
ParaFlare CEO Adam McCarthy welcomed Fairman to the board, saying "As cyber threats continue to increase, so too will the pressure on business leaders who need to make smart choices about their cyber security. The risk of getting it wrong will be extremely costly. David understands this first-hand and knows how to articulate cyber threats in a way that resonates with board members and executives."

Fairman is currently Netskope's Asia Pacific CSO, a partner and CISO-in-residence at SixThirty Ventures, and an adjunct professor at Deakin University.

Additionally, he sits on the advisory boards of ClearSky, Glilot Capital Ventures, Cyberstarts, and Digital Shadows.

Fairman previously worked as CSO of National Australia Bank, group CISO at the Royal Bank of Canada and held various security leadership roles at JP Morgan Chase and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Earlier in his career he worked in security and data communications at Telecom New Zealand, Dimension Data, Duke Energy, and Mincom.

"ParaFlare is an Australian company dedicated to active cyber defence, which is all about hunting and eliminating cyber security threats on a network. I'm excited to bring my knowledge and experience to the Board of a great sovereign cyber company," said Fairman.

"This will be a challenging year for businesses as threat actors continue to employ a range of traditional and more sophisticated tools and tactics, including deep fakes, social engineering attacks, and political influence. We need to think about what that means long term, including tactics designed to destabilise the internal culture of organisations and drive a divide in society."
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Digital location, identity and identity fraud software provider GBG Group has acquired digital location, identity and identity fraud software provider Verifi Identity Services commonly known as Cloudcheck, a provider of electronic Identity Verification (IDV), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solutions in New Zealand.

With this acquisition, GBG says it brings to the New Zealand market an enhanced breadth of identity solutions that help meet complex AML/KYC compliance requirements together with its complimentary location and fraud and compliance offerings.

Cloudcheck is renowned for its ease of use, configurability and value, and complements GBGs identity strategy with experienced local presence and best-of-breed domestic solutions including data sources and technologies to meet New Zealands Electronic Identity Verification (EIV) guidelines, notes Cloudcheck.

Verifi Identity Services was founded in Auckland, New Zealand in 2012 by legal and financial services professionals Tyler McNamee and Vincent McCartney, and interactive pioneers Karl von Randow and Matthew Buchanan of Cactuslab.

We are delighted with the acquisition of Cloudcheck. It has established a leadership position in New Zealands electronic IDV market through understanding customer needs, solution effectiveness and speed to value,said Dev Dhiman, Managing Director, APAC at GBG.

This acquisition follows GBGs successful model for global identity services: combining our internationally sourced data and expertise with locally relevant capability and is aligned to our strategy  providing an opportunity to expand regionally, broadening the services we offer existing customers, increasing our market share, and driving long-term sustainable growth.

We are thrilled to be joining GBG and adding our suite of solutions to their globally leading platform and offerings. said Vincent McCartney, Managing Director at Verifi Identity Services Limited.

After a decade of building Cloudcheck to be the market leader in New Zealand, this is an exciting stage in our journey as we become part of an organisation and network that reaches every corner of the world with truly end-to-end solutions across IDV, AML, compliance, and fraud prevention. As we continue to operate independently in New Zealand, our customers and partners can look forward to still receiving the same great service they already get from our team, with the added benefits of being able to easily expand or deepen their approaches to IDV and AML/KYC.

Carol Chris, Regional General Manager for Australia and New Zealand at GBG said: Cloudcheck adds a complementary suite of services to the GBG family. As the pandemic has driven greater demand and widespread use of digital identities solutions, while financial fraudsters and identity thieves are using increasingly sophisticated approaches with greater resources to conduct money laundering, phishing, and more, the combined offerings from GBG and Verifi will deliver significant benefits to businesses and financial institutions across the region.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
More than 150,000 spectators will pack into Churchill Downs on May 7 to watch the 148th Kentucky Derby: the race thats been dubbed the greatest two minutes in sports. Whether youre picking a dark horse or sticking with the favorite, we at Stacker have ranked all the thoroughbreds running t Click for more.
More than 150,000 spectators will pack into Churchill Downs on May 7 to watch the 148th Kentucky Derby: the race thats been dubbed the greatest two minutes in sports. Whether youre picking a dark horse or sticking with the favorite, we at Stacker have ranked all the thoroughbreds running t Click for more.
More than 150,000 spectators will pack into Churchill Downs on May 7 to watch the 148th Kentucky Derby: the race thats been dubbed the greatest two minutes in sports. Whether youre picking a dark horse or sticking with the favorite, we at Stacker have ranked all the thoroughbreds running t Click for more.
Starkville, MS (39762)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Jacksonville, TX (75766)

Today

Variable clouds with thunderstorms - possibly severe this afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 78F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch..

Tonight

A few thunderstorms this evening. Mostly clear skies late. A few storms may be severe. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.




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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.
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Starkville, MS (39762)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Johnson City, TN (37604)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 81F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
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Johnson City, TN (37604)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 81F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
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Starkville, MS (39762)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Johnson City, TN (37604)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 81F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
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Weather Alert

...The National Weather Service in Springfield MO has issued a Flood Warning for the following rivers in Missouri...Kansas... Elk River near Tiff City affecting McDonald County. Spring River above Baxter Springs affecting Cherokee County. Spring River at Carthage affecting Jasper County. Spring River near Waco affecting Jasper County. For the Elk River Basin...including Tiff City...Minor flooding is forecast. For the Spring River Basin...including Baxter Springs, Waco, Carthage...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Many flood deaths occur in vehicles. Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. late tonight at 300 AM CDT. && ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS MORNING TO LATE SATURDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Spring River at Carthage. * WHEN...From this morning to late Saturday evening. * IMPACTS...At 14.0 feet, moderate flooding occurs at the gage site. The levee system closes due to flood waters affecting the north central industrial section of Carthage. Flood waters affect low lying areas and country roads north and west of Carthage along the river. Kellogg Lake Park floods and is closed. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 1:45 AM CDT Thursday the stage was 7.7 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage this morning to a crest of 13.0 feet just after midnight tonight. It will then fall below flood stage late tomorrow evening. - Flood stage is 10.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 13.0 feet on 06/06/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
Weather Alert

...The National Weather Service in Springfield MO has issued a Flood Warning for the following rivers in Missouri...Kansas... Elk River near Tiff City affecting McDonald County. Spring River above Baxter Springs affecting Cherokee County. Spring River at Carthage affecting Jasper County. Spring River near Waco affecting Jasper County. For the Elk River Basin...including Tiff City...Minor flooding is forecast. For the Spring River Basin...including Baxter Springs, Waco, Carthage...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Many flood deaths occur in vehicles. Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. late tonight at 300 AM CDT. && ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS MORNING TO LATE SATURDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Spring River at Carthage. * WHEN...From this morning to late Saturday evening. * IMPACTS...At 14.0 feet, moderate flooding occurs at the gage site. The levee system closes due to flood waters affecting the north central industrial section of Carthage. Flood waters affect low lying areas and country roads north and west of Carthage along the river. Kellogg Lake Park floods and is closed. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 1:45 AM CDT Thursday the stage was 7.7 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage this morning to a crest of 13.0 feet just after midnight tonight. It will then fall below flood stage late tomorrow evening. - Flood stage is 10.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 13.0 feet on 06/06/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
Weather Alert

...The National Weather Service in Springfield MO has issued a Flood Warning for the following rivers in Missouri...Kansas... Elk River near Tiff City affecting McDonald County. Spring River above Baxter Springs affecting Cherokee County. Spring River at Carthage affecting Jasper County. Spring River near Waco affecting Jasper County. For the Elk River Basin...including Tiff City...Minor flooding is forecast. For the Spring River Basin...including Baxter Springs, Waco, Carthage...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Many flood deaths occur in vehicles. Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. late tonight at 300 AM CDT. && ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS MORNING TO LATE SATURDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Spring River at Carthage. * WHEN...From this morning to late Saturday evening. * IMPACTS...At 14.0 feet, moderate flooding occurs at the gage site. The levee system closes due to flood waters affecting the north central industrial section of Carthage. Flood waters affect low lying areas and country roads north and west of Carthage along the river. Kellogg Lake Park floods and is closed. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 1:45 AM CDT Thursday the stage was 7.7 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage this morning to a crest of 13.0 feet just after midnight tonight. It will then fall below flood stage late tomorrow evening. - Flood stage is 10.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 13.0 feet on 06/06/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
Weather Alert

...The National Weather Service in Springfield MO has issued a Flood Warning for the following rivers in Missouri...Kansas... Elk River near Tiff City affecting McDonald County. Spring River above Baxter Springs affecting Cherokee County. Spring River at Carthage affecting Jasper County. Spring River near Waco affecting Jasper County. For the Elk River Basin...including Tiff City...Minor flooding is forecast. For the Spring River Basin...including Baxter Springs, Waco, Carthage...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Many flood deaths occur in vehicles. Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. late tonight at 300 AM CDT. && ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS MORNING TO LATE SATURDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Spring River at Carthage. * WHEN...From this morning to late Saturday evening. * IMPACTS...At 14.0 feet, moderate flooding occurs at the gage site. The levee system closes due to flood waters affecting the north central industrial section of Carthage. Flood waters affect low lying areas and country roads north and west of Carthage along the river. Kellogg Lake Park floods and is closed. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 1:45 AM CDT Thursday the stage was 7.7 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage this morning to a crest of 13.0 feet just after midnight tonight. It will then fall below flood stage late tomorrow evening. - Flood stage is 10.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 13.0 feet on 06/06/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
Weather Alert

...The National Weather Service in Springfield MO has issued a Flood Warning for the following rivers in Missouri...Kansas... Elk River near Tiff City affecting McDonald County. Spring River above Baxter Springs affecting Cherokee County. Spring River at Carthage affecting Jasper County. Spring River near Waco affecting Jasper County. For the Elk River Basin...including Tiff City...Minor flooding is forecast. For the Spring River Basin...including Baxter Springs, Waco, Carthage...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Many flood deaths occur in vehicles. Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. late tonight at 300 AM CDT. && ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS MORNING TO LATE SATURDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Spring River at Carthage. * WHEN...From this morning to late Saturday evening. * IMPACTS...At 14.0 feet, moderate flooding occurs at the gage site. The levee system closes due to flood waters affecting the north central industrial section of Carthage. Flood waters affect low lying areas and country roads north and west of Carthage along the river. Kellogg Lake Park floods and is closed. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 1:45 AM CDT Thursday the stage was 7.7 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage this morning to a crest of 13.0 feet just after midnight tonight. It will then fall below flood stage late tomorrow evening. - Flood stage is 10.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 13.0 feet on 06/06/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
Starkville, MS (39762)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Weather Alert

...The National Weather Service in Springfield MO has issued a Flood Warning for the following rivers in Missouri...Kansas... Elk River near Tiff City affecting McDonald County. Spring River above Baxter Springs affecting Cherokee County. Spring River at Carthage affecting Jasper County. Spring River near Waco affecting Jasper County. For the Elk River Basin...including Tiff City...Minor flooding is forecast. For the Spring River Basin...including Baxter Springs, Waco, Carthage...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Many flood deaths occur in vehicles. Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. late tonight at 300 AM CDT. && ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS MORNING TO LATE SATURDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Spring River at Carthage. * WHEN...From this morning to late Saturday evening. * IMPACTS...At 14.0 feet, moderate flooding occurs at the gage site. The levee system closes due to flood waters affecting the north central industrial section of Carthage. Flood waters affect low lying areas and country roads north and west of Carthage along the river. Kellogg Lake Park floods and is closed. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 1:45 AM CDT Thursday the stage was 7.7 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage this morning to a crest of 13.0 feet just after midnight tonight. It will then fall below flood stage late tomorrow evening. - Flood stage is 10.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 13.0 feet on 06/06/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
Weather Alert

...The National Weather Service in Springfield MO has issued a Flood Warning for the following rivers in Missouri...Kansas... Elk River near Tiff City affecting McDonald County. Spring River above Baxter Springs affecting Cherokee County. Spring River at Carthage affecting Jasper County. Spring River near Waco affecting Jasper County. For the Elk River Basin...including Tiff City...Minor flooding is forecast. For the Spring River Basin...including Baxter Springs, Waco, Carthage...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Many flood deaths occur in vehicles. Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. late tonight at 300 AM CDT. && ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS MORNING TO LATE SATURDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Spring River at Carthage. * WHEN...From this morning to late Saturday evening. * IMPACTS...At 14.0 feet, moderate flooding occurs at the gage site. The levee system closes due to flood waters affecting the north central industrial section of Carthage. Flood waters affect low lying areas and country roads north and west of Carthage along the river. Kellogg Lake Park floods and is closed. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 1:45 AM CDT Thursday the stage was 7.7 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage this morning to a crest of 13.0 feet just after midnight tonight. It will then fall below flood stage late tomorrow evening. - Flood stage is 10.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 13.0 feet on 06/06/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
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Starkville, MS (39762)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Monticello, IL (61856)

Today

Periods of rain. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low around 55F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Wharton, TX (77488)

Today

Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 87F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 69F. S winds shifting to N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Wharton, TX (77488)

Today

Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 87F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 69F. S winds shifting to N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Wharton, TX (77488)

Today

Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 87F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 69F. S winds shifting to N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Wharton, TX (77488)

Today

Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 87F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 69F. S winds shifting to N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Providence, KY (42450)

Today

Isolated thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High around 75F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low 62F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Today

Partly cloudy. High 81F. Winds light and variable.

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Thunder possible. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

Tomorrow

Cloudy early with thunderstorms developing later in the day. A few storms may be severe. High 78F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Today

Partly cloudy. High 81F. Winds light and variable.

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Thunder possible. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

Tomorrow

Cloudy early with thunderstorms developing later in the day. A few storms may be severe. High 78F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
More than 50 civilians were killed when machete-wielding militiamen attacked a site for displaced people in strife-torn eastern DR Congo, sources said.

Fifty-two people, some of them children, were killed, a source with the UNs peacekeeping mission MONUSCO said, adding that 36 were wounded.

Local officials and civil society sources put the toll at more than 50 dead, while a respected monitor, the US-based Kivu Security Tracker (KST), said at least 40 were killed.

The armys spokesman in Ituri province, Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, gave provisional figures of 21 dead.

The massacre of defenceless civilians is a crime against humanity, he said.

The KST said the suspected attackers, carrying edged weapons, were from a notorious armed group called CODECO, blamed for a string of ethnic massacres in the area.

The attack took place in the Djugu area, a region lying on Lake Albert which is shared by Uganda.

The area is the theatre of a bloody, long-running feud between the Lendu and Hema communities.

Fighting between the two groups flared between 1999 and 2003, claiming tens of thousands of lives before being quelled by a European Union peacekeeping force, Artemis.

Violence then resumed in 2017, blamed on the emergence of CODECO  the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO)  which claims to defend the Lendu.

Since then, CODECO attacks have caused hundreds of deaths and prompted more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes, while half of the regions population faces food insecurity, according to the Danish Refugee Council.

The latest assault targeted the Plaine Savo camp for displaced peple, where more than 24,000 took refuge following violence in Djugu in 2019, the Norwegian Refugee Council said.

Raids on camps for displaced people over an eight-day period in November-December left 123 dead, according to the KST.

 Machetes 

Jean Richard Dhedda Lenga, the senior administrator in Bahema Badjere district, said CODECO raiders attacked the site at around 9pm, 10pm on Tuesday.

We have a provisional total of 59 dead and around 40 wounded, he told AFP by phone.

I have just left the area  young people are looking for other bodies in huts and in the bush.

Desire Malo Dra, a representative of civil society groups in Bahema Badjere, said most of the casualties were women and children.

I have counted 53 bodies, others are coming in, they are all being gathered here where I am, he said.

The militiamen came armed with machetes. Many victims had their throats cut, he said.

He added that the assailants carried out their work calmly, and the army arrived hours later, on Wednesday morning.

MONUSCO said on Twitter that its peacekeepers arrived on the scene to stop the killing and repel the attackers.

The UNs childrens agency UNICEF said at least 15 children were among the dead, and more than 30 children were wounded.

Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province were placed last year under a state of siege, a measure giving exceptional powers to the army and police.

In addition to attacks by CODECO, the region is struggling to contain the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the most brutal of an estimated 122 armed groups that roam eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
American Indians have the highest per capita opioid overdose rates and are more likely than other groups in the United States to die from drug-related deaths, Douglas Yankton, North Dakotas Spirit Lake State President, said in a statement. .  Under this initial resolution, funds that will flow to tribes will help fund critical, reserved, culturally appropriate opioid treatment services.

More than 400 tribal and intertribal organizations representing about 80 percent of tribal citizens have filed lawsuits over opioids.

New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson  whose opioids include Duragesic and Nucynta but has stopped selling opioids  said in a statement Tuesday that the settlement was not an admission of responsibility or wrongdoing. Columbus, Ohio-based Cardinal declined to comment, and other dealers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Under the agreement, Johnson & Johnson will pay $150 million over two years. AmerisourceBergen, Conshohocken, PA; McKesson, Irvine, Texas; Cardinal will contribute a total of $440 million over seven years.

Each tribe can decide whether to participate, but the money is needed to combat the opioid epidemic.

Tara Sutton, an attorney representing 28 tribes, said the deal will go into effect when 95 percent of the tribes agree to a settlement after suing the company.

Settlement between tribes and other companies involved in opioids is also underway, Sutton said.

The newly announced deal is separate from a $75 million deal between Cherokee Nation and three distribution companies last year before the trial.

The same four companies are nearing the final stages of approving a $26 billion settlement with U.S. state and local governments. They wont decide until later this month whether enough government entities have signed on to proceed with the deal.

The tribes money will come from larger settlements.

The tribal settlement is part of some $40 billion worth of settlements, fines and penalties the company has filed over the years for its role in opioids.

These drugs, including prescription drugs such as OxyContin and illicit drugs such as heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the United States over the past two decades.
JTBC's most controversial romance drama "Snowdrop" finally bid goodbye to viewers on Sunday, January 30. Despite the issues that surrounded the drama during its run, BLACKPINK Jisoo and Jung Hae In's drama successfully wrapped up.

"Snowdrop" marks Jung Hae In, BLACKPINK Jisoo, Yoo In Na and Jang Seung Jo's first drama together. They reveal their honest impressions of each other and their acting performances in a newly released video. Keep on reading to know more!

Jung Hae In, BLACKPINK Jisoo Reveal Honest Opinions on Each Other

The newly released video begins with Jung Hae In, who plays the role of North Korean Su Ho in the drama, greeting everyone with a bright smile.

"It's time to say goodbye to 'Snowdrop' now. I feel a lot of complex feelings I couldn't describe," he said, "It's the last day of filming, but how do I put it? It's bittersweet."

When the actor is asked what he thinks of co-star BLACKPINK Jisoo, who plays the role of Eun Young Ro, his love interest, he said, "I am surprised by Young Ro's immersive acting performance."

Jung Hae In enjoyed filming with her, not only because of her acting skills but also her attitude and passion. He added, "She has a bright and positive energy, and she has a great attitude towards the production staff."

In particular, BLACKPINK Jisoo continuously wowed Jung Hae In with her speed as she understood the director's directions right away without failure.

Jung Hae In expresses his gratitude towards the fellow actress, saying, "Thank you, Young Ro. I won't be able to forget you. Jisoo is the best!"

Moreover, BLACKPINK Jisoo refuses to believe that the drama finally reached the end. "It doesn't feel real, I think it will hit me after a few days," she said, "I worked hard so I hope you all enjoyed it! Thank you for loving "Snowdrop" a lot!"

Jisoo thanks co-star Jung Hae In for his help and support throughout the drama's run. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be able to gain the courage to film. I really appreciate you helping me with my first lead role. Thank you so much."

Yoo In Na, Jang Seung Jo Talks About Their 'Snowdrop' Filming Experiences

Meanwhile, Yoo In Na, who plays the doctor and North Korean spy Cheong Ya, comments, "I'm curious about the viewers' thoughts on my performance4," she wondered, "I wanted to show everyone a new side of me through "Snowdrop," so I hope many people loved the drama."

"Everyone is just so wonderful, professional and sweet," Yoo In Na added, "Because of "Snowdrop," I was able to work with a lot of actors all at once. It was really an enjoyable experience."

"I don't feel cheerful at all," Jang Seung Jo said with a laugh, ironically. In the drama, he plays the role of a North Korean spy and a friend to Jung Hae In.

He said, "I feel longing rather than relief. I just finished filming "Snowdrop," which I've been doing for almost a year."

Jang Seung Jo talks about Jung Yu Jin who plays Jang Ha Na, his lover in the drama. "We're always together in the beginning of the drama, but when my character was trapped in the dormitory, we had to be apart a lot."

"I wondered how you were doing," Jang Seung Jo honestly admits, sending fans wild. On the other hand, his character always fought with Jung Hae In's character, which made the two amazing actors closer.

Jang Seung Jo remarks, "Thank you for this experience. I hope we can see each other again [in future works]."

Yoon Se Ah, Kim Hye Yoon, Jung Yu Jin, Kim Min Kyu and more also bid their goodbyes to the drama through the short video. "Snowdrop" closed the book and scored 3.4% with its final episode, which marks the drama's second-highest ratings during its entire run.

'Snowdrop' To Be Available on Disney+ USA

Because of the positive feedback the drama received from fans in Asian countries, "Snowdrop" is now finally coming to Disney+ USA!

To deliver an entertaining drama with a complete element of fun, angst and romance, Disney+ finally releases BLACKPINK Jisoo and Jung Hae In's "Snowdrop" with English subtitles for international fans.

The most-watched romance drama, all with 16 episodes, will be available on Disney+ USA on February 6.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Is Woong's quirky friend and manager in "Our Beloved Summer" familiar to you? Do you feel like you've seen him in "Snowdrop" as a hostage? You're right! Actor Ahn Dong Goo decorated the small screen with his witty acting performances in two award-winning K-Dramas!

If you've fallen in love with his quirkiness and promising skills, keep on reading and get to know him better!

Ahn Dong Goo's Television Debut and Rise to Fame

The 28-year-old actor Ahn Dong Goo graduated from Hanyang University with a degree in theater and film chemistry.

He made his television acting debut in the drama "The Wind Blows" with veterans Kim Ha Neul, Kim Sung Cheol and Kim Ga Eun.

With his promising acting, he welcomes the year 2020 with a slew of multiple projects. He appeared in the romantic melodramas "When the Weather Is Fine" and "Soul Mechanic."

In the same year, he made an appearance in the apocalyptic horror Netflix series "Sweet Home" as Lee Soo Woong, working alongside Song Kang, Lee Do Hyun and more. He also made his silver screen debut in the film "Subject" as Hyun Sung. He left a strong impression on the audience at the "Mise-en-scene's Short Film Festival."

Because of his show-stopping performances, he is offered acting roles in many upcoming dramas then. Ahn Dong Goo is considered as an actor who is of the same caliber as popular actors Song Kang and Lee Do Hyun.

'Our Beloved Summer,' 'Snowdrop,' More: Ahn Dong Goo Steals the Spotlight

In 2021, Ahn Dong Goo returned to the small screen with new acting roles in two new dramas, SBS TV's "Our Beloved Summer" with Choi Woo Sik and Kim Da Mi and JTBC's "Snowdrop" with Jung Hae In and BLACKPINK Jisoo.

Although he only played smaller roles in the drama, he still successfully captured the viewers' interest with his acting skills, especially in "Our Beloved Summer" where he is paired with actress Park Jin Joo, who boasted off their chemistry as a couple.

Ahn Dong Goo's Net Worth in 2022

Rookie actor Ahn Dong Goo's net worth this year totals to an estimated $1 million. With only three years of experience, the actor is doing quite well as an actor.

The 28-year-old actor gained a solid number of fans from every part of the world through his dramas, and by 2022, the actor is expected to appear in many other dramas to showcase his talents.

Which is your favorite Ahn Dong Goo K-Drama? Share it with us in the comments below!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Actress Kim Hye Yoon is one of the best actresses in the South Korean television industry today. With her intricate attention to detail, she successfully gives life to her characters every time.

She recently appeared in "Snowdrop" as the head girl of Hosoo Women's University dormitory with BLACKPINK Jisoo, Jung Hae In, Jang Seung Jo, and more.

She also decorated the small screen with her skills in acting in "Secret Royal Inspector and Joy" with Ok Taecyeon, who is rumored to be dating her. What's the real score between the two gorgeous actors?

Kim Hye Yoon and Ok Taecyeon Ooze Chemistry in 'Secret Royal Inspector and Joy'

tvN's historical comedy-drama "Secret Royal Inspector and Joy" follows the story of a gourmet who suddenly becomes a royal inspector and a divorced woman who rushes to find happiness. When the two of them team up to investigate corrupt politicians, romance blooms.

Their intense chemistry in the drama ignited some dating rumors. It is amplified as the two are caught on camera holding hands during filming breaks, and even leaning on each other's shoulders while joking around.

Because of their undeniable visuals and perfect chemistry, fans and viewers loved the two of them instantaneously. More so when they coupled up.

Every drama stills that are released spark happiness to fans who love Hye Yoon and Taecyeon as a couple. However, SidusHQ and 51K, the two actors' respective agencies, never denied nor confirmed any of the dating rumors.

After the drama, Hye Yoon and Taecyeon continued to interact through their personal social media accounts, leaving comments and reactions on each other's posts.

It's safe to say that the two remained good friends and maintained their adorable relationship even after their drama ended.

Kim Hye Yoon Relationship Status 2022: Who is the 'Snowdrop' Actress Dating Now?

Currently, the 26-year-old actress is focused on her prosperous acting career. She's not seeing anyone as of the moment.

Although there are many actors like SF9 Rowoon, SF9 Chani and Ok Taecyeon that were linked to her, she never had an official boyfriend that she disclosed to the public.

Kim Hye Yoon is happy with her current state, especially with her career. The actress starred in the recently concluded romance drama "Snowdrop" with BLACKPINK Jisoo and Jung Hae In.

She successfully portrayed the role of an uptight and two-faced head girl in the Hosoo Women's University dormitory, where she received critical acclaim for her realistic acting.

On the other hand, she is set to return to the silver screen to headline the new film "The Girl Riding a Bulldozer." Further details about the upcoming drama film are yet to be disclosed.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: Ahn Dong Goo Net Worth 2022: This is How Rich the 'Snowdrop' Actor Is

What are your thoughts on "Secret Royal Inspector and Joy" actors Kim Hye Yoon and Ok Taecyeon's friendship? Share it with us in the comments below!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
"Ghost Doctor" episode 10 gave viewers a shocking revelation as people around the Eunsang University Medical Center discover Kim Bum and Rain's secret.

Interestingly, tvN's medical-fantasy K-drama slightly recovered after its viewership rating dipped due to the Lunar New Year holiday.

'Ghost Doctor' Viewership Rating

According to Nielsen Korea, "Ghost Doctor" episode 10 hit average nationwide ratings of 4.747 percent, which is a moderate increase from its ninth episode of 4.024 percent.

To recall, several Kdramas showed a minor decrease from the rating due to the holiday.

'Ghost Doctor' Episode 10 Recap: Han Seung Won Confirms his Suspicion

The K-drama's February 1 episode is filled with lots of revelations about Cha Young Min and Ko Seung Tak.

"Ghost Doctor" episode 10 continued the confrontation between the genius surgeon who is in Dr. Ko's body and the hospital's deputy administration chief, Han Seung Won.

Out of desperation and anger, Cha Young Min admitted that he is alive and is using Ko Seung Tak's body to treat patients and threatened him not to intervene with his profession.

Although he looked stunned by Dr. Cha's revelation, he and Dr. Ko are worried about Han Seung Won's next step and think that the deputy administration chief will do anything to prove his claims.

Cha Young Min Goes on a Date with Jang Se Jin, Thanks To Ko Seung Tak

Amid the intense conflict between Dr. Cha and Han Seung Won, "Ghost Doctor" episode 10 featured a heartfelt scene with Dr. Jang Se Jin and Cha Young Min, who are in Ko Seung Tak's body.

It came after Dr. Ko invited Dr. Jang to Jessica's concert and mentioned why he is a big fan of hers.

To recall, Jessica used to be one of Dr. Cha's patients during his earlier years as a doctor.

Meanwhile, Jang Se Jin finds Ko Seung Tak's behavior slightly strange as he possesses some of the traits of Dr. Cha.

It came after Dr. Jang asked the first-year medical intern why he chose to be a thoracic surgeon; she was stunned by his answer after hearing that he promised the women he loved that he would become the best thoracic surgeon while she was a neurosurgeon.

Cha Young Min and Ko Seung Tak Caught Up in a Tricky Situation

The thoracic surgeon found out about Oh Seung Jo's collapse and had to perform emergency surgery.

Ko Seung Tak requested the professors to join him in the operation room, which must be performed immediately, but they all declined due to Han Seung Won.

Ko Seung Tak with Cha Young Min started the surgery without other professors' assistance.

However, right in the middle of the surgery, Ko Seung Tak could even hold the medical tools hinting that Cha Young Min might be leaving his body.

KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Ahead of his discharge, K-drama heartthrob Park Bo Gum received recognition inside the military for passing this practical exam.

Read on to know Park Bo Gum's latest achievement.

Park Bo Gum Gets Barber Technician License in the Military

On February 2, an official from the Navy said Park Bo Gum, who is serving as a sergeant, was included on the list of successful candidates for the practical examination of Barber technician, a national technical qualification test conducted in December 2021.

The official stated that the military encourages soldiers to obtain certificates as part of their self-development before being discharged from the military.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 4 Exciting and Star-Studded Korean Sci-Fi Films to Anticipate from the Second Half of 2021 to the First Quarter of 2022

Further, the representative shared he understands how dedicated the "Encounter" actor is with his duty as a sergeant in the navy. He revealed that Park Bo Gum sacrificed his annual vacation to take the test at the Jinhae Navy Education Command.

Park Bo Gum is known to have shaved his fellow soldiers' hair while serving, and obtained a public certificate himself.

Park Bo Gum Military Discharge

Park Bo Gum began serving in the military on August 31, 2020 and hosted a national concert in Jeju in October.

Previously, the 29-year-old actor applied for the 2020 Navy Military Musica and Medical Corps Cultural Promotion Unit and passed through practical and interview exams.

After almost two years of serving the military, Park Bo Gum is scheduled to be discharged on April 30. He is expected to depart around March by using vacation before discharge as he has more than a month left before his service.

What's Next For Park Bo Gum?

Before enlisting in the military, the "Reply 1988" star finished his series "Record of Youth," alongside Park So Dam and Byeon Woo Seok.

He also teamed up with A-list actor Gong Yoo in the sci-fi movie "Seobok."

This 2022, Park Bo Gum is set to star in the star-studded and sci-fi film "Wonderland."

Meanwhile he might also work with the "Goblin" actor in his next movie, along with Choi Woo Sik, Bae Suzy, and Jung Yu Mi.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Dr. Romantic' Actor Yang Se Jong Now Labelmates With Park Bo Gum and Cha Tae Hyun

What can you say about Park Bo Gum's latest military achievement? Share your comments with us!

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.
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A vote is expected Wednesday among the 118 Conservative MPs on whether to endorse the leadership of Erin O'Toole or show him the door.
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The Legislature was back in session last week moving ahead on a batch of contentious legislation ranging from vaccine passport bans to curbing violence at protests.

Like a lot of GOP-authored legislation, theyll likely face vetoes from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Heres one that shouldnt  a proposal to toughen penalties for coordinated shoplifting. Its chief sponsor is state Sen. Duey Stroebel, a Republican from Saukville.

Under Stroebels proposal, the severity of penalties for committing thefts as a group would be determined by the total value of all the stolen items. Under current law penalties vary from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the value of the stolen property.

Aggregating the value of the stolen property makes it far more likely that felony penalties would come into play.

Were good with that.

We watched in horror this last Christmas season when thieves descended on California stores ranging from Nordstrom and Louis Vuitton to Home Depot smashing displays and grabbing clothes, handbags and jackets and then fleeing to waiting cars. One mob  clearly coordinated by cellphone  numbered 30 people who raided several San Francisco stores and another in nearby Walnut Creek at a Nordstroms reportedly involved 80 people.

California, not surprisingly, has moved to re-establish the crime of organized retail theft.

Wisconsin should follow suit. Make no mistake that such flash-mob attacks on retail stores cant happen here in the Midwest. News reports on Stroebels proposed bill said there have been no such incidents in Wisconsin.

But thats not true. In the summer of 2019, a grab-and-run gang of about 10 people stole $30,000 worth of merchandise from a store in Pleasant Prairies Premium Outlets mall along the Interstate. And just south across the Illinois border last November, 14 thieves hit a Louis Vuitton store at Oak Brook Mall and loaded $100,000 worth of goods into garbage bags before fleeing.

Stroebel said last week the state needs to send a strong message that organized theft rings will be punished. We agree. Stroebels bill would apply to coordinated groups of five thieves or more. That may be too high, but the Legislature can work that out.

Holiday shoppers dont need to face the prospect of running into thieving hoodlums and stores shouldnt face the high losses they do from retail theft. The crackdown legislation sailed through the Assembly on a 59-33 vote last week with no debate. It should get the same approval when it goes to the state Senate and we would hope it would also be green-lighted by Gov. Evers.

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Archaeologists have found meteorites, microspherules, iridium and platinum anomalies, and burned charcoal-rich habitation surfaces at 11 archaeological sites of the Hopewell culture in three states stretching across the Ohio River Valley. While Hopewell people survived the catastrophic event, which occurred between 252 and 383 CE, it likely contributed to their cultural decline.

Direct positive evidence of catastrophic cosmic airburst and impact events have been found in the western hemisphere at the Cretaceous and Tertiary boundary approximately 65 million years ago and at the Younger Dryas boundary approximately 12,800 years ago, said University of Cincinnatis Professor Kenneth Tankersley and his colleagues.

Both of these events are associated with global mass extinctions and they occurred before humans culturally evolved into complex, sedentary, agricultural-based societies.

The recent discovery of two Holocene cosmic impact events in Argentina (6,000 and 3,000 years ago), and one in Jordan (3,700 years ago), suggests that these natural catastrophes are far more common than previously suspected.

Between 1,800 and 1,431 years ago (220 and 589 CE), Chinese astronomers documented 69 near-Earth comets, including Haleys, which came within 0.09 astronomical units of Earth in 374 CE (1,646 years ago.). At this time, human communities and the resources they needed for survival were at a heightened risk of being destroyed by a comet airburst event.

Archaeological evidence of ancient cosmic impact events has been recovered from archaeological sites of various ages in Europe, the Near East, and China, they added.

In the western hemisphere, Hopewell archaeological sites in the Ohio River valley contain an anomalously high concentration and diversity of meteorites when compared to all other cultural periods. They include iron meteorites, stony iron meteorites, and stony meteorites.

In their new research, Professor Tankersley and co-authors used radiocarbon and typological dating to determine the timing of the catastrophic explosion.

They systematically investigated 11 Hopewell sites in the Ohio River valley.

Twenty-nine radiocarbon ages establish that the event occurred between 252 and 383 CE, a time when 69 near-Earth comets were documented, they said.

The researchers found an unusually high concentration and diversity of meteorites compared to other time periods.

The meteorite fragments were identified from the telltale concentrations of iridium and platinum they contained.

They also found a charcoal layer that suggests the area was exposed to fire and extreme heat.

Micrometeorites have a chemical fingerprint. Cosmic events like asteroids and comet airbursts leave behind high quantities of a rare element known as platinum, Professor Tankersley said.

The problem is platinum also occurs in volcanic eruptions. So we also look for another rare element found in non-terrestrial events such as meteorite impact craters  iridium. And we found a spike in both, iridium and platinum.

The Hopewell people collected the meteorites and forged malleable metal from them into flat sheets used in jewelry and musical instruments called pan flutes.

Beyond the physical evidence are cultural clues left behind in the masterworks and oral histories of the Hopewell.

A comet-shaped mound was constructed near the epicenter of the airburst at a Hopewell site called the Milford Earthworks.

Various Algonquin and Iroquoian tribes, descendants of the Hopewell, spoke of a calamity that befell the Earth, said Professor Tankersley, who is Native American.

Whats fascinating is that many different tribes have similar stories of the event.

The Miami tell of a horned serpent that flew across the sky and dropped rocks onto the land before plummeting into the river. When you see a comet going through the air, it would look like a large snake.

The Shawnee refer to a sky panther that had the power to tear down forest.

The Ottawa talk of a day when the sun fell from the sky. And when a comet hits the thermosphere, it would have exploded like a nuclear bomb.

And the Wyandot recount a dark cloud that rolled across the sky and was destroyed by a fiery dart.

Thats a lot like the description the Siberians gave for Tunguska.

A paper on the findings was published this week in the journal Scientific Reports.

_____

K.B. Tankersley et al. 2022. The Hopewell airburst event, 1699-1567 years ago (252-383 CE). Sci Rep 12, 1706; doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-05758-y
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Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Poliy Tech Inc ( PTI), CASC, CASIC, and its sub-units and successors are banned for two years to conduct international business

by Our Diplomatic Affairs Editor

Acting Assistant Secretary of International Security and Nonproliferation at the Department of State, Choo S. Kang has determined in his federal notice to impose sanctions on three major export entities in the Peoples Republic of China for the next two years. The state department, according to the Federal Registry notice issued in the last week of January disqualified these three Chinese entities for violating the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Administration Act of 1979.

The federal registry notice reads as follows;

the U.S. Government has determined that the following foreign persons have engaged in missile technology proliferation activities that require the imposition of the sanctions described in Sections 73(a)(2)(B) and (C) of the Arms Export Control Act [22 U.S.C. 2797b(a)(2)(B) and (C)] and Sections 11B(b)(1)(B)(ii) and (iii) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 [50 U.S.C. app. 2410b(b)(1)(B)(ii) and (iii)] on these entities:

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) First Academy, and its sub-units and successors; China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) Fourth Academy, and its sub-units and successors; and Poly Technologies Incorporated (PTI), and its sub-units and successors.

Accordingly, the following sanctions are being imposed on these entities for two years:

(A) Denial of all new individual licenses for the transfer to the sanctioned entities of all items on the U.S. Munitions List and all items the export of which is controlled under the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) of 2018;

(B) Denial of all U.S. Government contracts with the sanctioned entities; and

(C) Prohibition on the importation into the United States of all products produced by the sanctioned entities."

The top-level diplomatic source in US Embassy in Colombo reiterated the fact that all diplomatic missions run by the US State Department have been instructed to monitor the activities of these three Chinese entities in other jurisdictions with which the US maintains the longstanding diplomatic relationships.
In the last year we've lost thousands of family members, friends and co-workers to COVID-19. We'd like to give you a chance to honor their memory.

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Looking to update your home? Watch the KHQ Spring Home Design Guide featuring the areas top home improvement businesses on Sat, May 7 at 4:30pm on KHQ. And click here to win a $500 VISA gift card, courtesy of our presenting partner - VPC Electric!
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Kilgore, TX (75662)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then strong thunderstorms likely during the afternoon hours. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 79F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 57F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Kilgore, TX (75662)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then strong thunderstorms likely during the afternoon hours. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 79F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 57F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
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Kilgore, TX (75662)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then strong thunderstorms likely during the afternoon hours. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 79F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 57F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
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Aldi Ireland has today launched its 2022 Community Grants programme, inviting charities and community groups across Kilkenny to apply for funding through their local Aldi store.

Aldi staff will distribute more than 160 500 bursary grants through the programme this year, totalling to over 80,000 worth of funding for Irish causes that contribute vital work and services to their local communities.

Nine grants will be distributed amongst Carlow and Kilkenny charities and community organisations. Staff from each of Aldis Carlow and Kilkenny-based stores will select a charity or community organisation in their local area to award the bursary to, enabling Aldis staff to help the local good causes they care about.

Charities wishing to put themselves forward for the bursary donation can apply at their local Aldi store. The initiative was launched by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys at Aldis Carrickmacross Store.

Welcoming the initiative, Minister Humphreys said: Our charities and community groups have gone above and beyond in recent months, supporting some of our most vulnerable citizens during the middle of a pandemic.

I really welcome the announcement that Aldi will be supporting even more local causes through its Community Grants programme in 2022. These grants represent an important contribution for many of these organisations who continue to play a critical role in the communities they serve.

Supporting and recognising the work of local community organisations is a priority for Government and underpins our five year rural development strategy, Our Rural Future. It is fantastic to see Aldis staff directly helping local good causes that they are clearly passionate about.

John Curtin, Group Buying Director, Aldi Ireland said: While the past two years have certainly been challenging for many charities and community groups across the country, it is important now as we return to some normality that we continue to support the local organisations that make such a difference to the lives of so many in our communities.

By the end of 2022, Aldis Community Grants programme will have donated 537,000 to over 1,000 local charity branches and community groups across Ireland since its inception in 2016. Receiving charities and organisations have ranged from rescue teams to animal sanctuaries, disability support to mental health support, and everything in between.

Operating 149 stores around Ireland, Aldi is deeply involved in the local communities its stores serve. To date, Aldi has donated a total of 2.35 million meals to FoodCloud, 440,000 (raised from Aldi stock sold in-store, on-pack donations, voucher donations, partnership support and staff/customer donations) to Barnardos since partnering in November 2020, and will have raised 537,000 through its Community Grants programme by the end of the year.
Plenty of fresh air, plain food and hard work are the recipes for a long and happy life.

Thats the message from Nancy Lennon; and having celebrated her 100th birthday last week, she should know.

If you dont stay out in the fresh air youre finished, said Nancy, a resident of St Anthonys unit in Clonmel.

I dont smoke or drink and I like plain food. We didnt eat junk food, we didnt get it. I dont overeat, I never eat big meals, its always small and often, says Nancy, who also loves a cup of tea, and was very well-known for her stews and homemade jam. Smoking was quite fashionable when she was younger, but its a habit from which she wisely steered clear.

Although she has lived in Clonmel for most of her long and happy life, Nancy was born in Kilkenny and remains a proud Kilkenny woman. She was born into a farming family in Julianstown, Castlecomer, on January 17, 1922, at a time when Ireland was enduring the birth pangs of a new nation.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty had been ratified 10 days before she was born but the Civil War was to erupt later that year and rage for the best part of 12 months, with General Michael Collins assassinated in West Cork in August. Also in 1922, the President of the United States, Warren G Harding, introduced the first radio in the White House in January, while the Ottoman Empire was abolished in November after 600 years.

She was christened Anne Nancy Tynan but, for the last century, has been known to all and sundry as Nancy. She came to Clonmel in the early 1940s to help out in the bar of the Ormonde Hotel in Gladstone Street for what she presumed would be a short spell. But shes still living in the town, almost 80 years later.

Shortly after her arrival she met Stephen Lennon, originally from Tullycara in Castleblayney, Monaghan, who had moved to Clonmel with the army during the Emergency.

The couple met when Nancy was assistant manager of the Spanish Arms, the guesthouse and lounge bar near the bus and railway station, that later became known as Bates and Coopers. One of her colleagues suggested to Nancy that she should go and listen to Stephen speaking, because she couldnt understand his Northern Irish accent. As they say, the rest is history.

Nancy and Stephen were married in 1947 and lived for a short time at Kings Close on King Street before setting up home with their family in the old schoolhouse in Powerstown, opposite the church, in 1952.

A few years later they opened a shop at the front of the house selling groceries and newspapers. The shop also sold sweets, which meant it was a popular meeting place for local children on their way home from school.

The couple raised a family of five children - Bernard, Jerome, Deirdre (McSherry, who died at the age of 51 in 2003), Stephen and Anne Marie (Cosgrave).

A well-known stone mason, Stephen senior also served as a foreman with sign makers Currans, and died in 1994 at the age of 77.

Despite her many years spent in Clonmel, a hint of a Kilkenny accent is still evident when Nancy speaks.

She gets the Kilkenny People and The Nationalist every week without fail and reads both newspapers from cover to cover, which keeps her up to date with all the news and sport from her home county and her adopted county. She also reads the Irish Independent every day.

I like world affairs and all that but I dont have much time for television, she said. I prefer to read a book.

She also keeps in touch with her relations and friends in Kilkenny, and one of the nicest surprises she received last week was a birthday card from her hero, legendary Kilkenny hurler Henry Shefflin (above), which she treasures almost as much as the letter and cheque she received from President Michael D Higgins on her special birthday.

She knew another famous hurler, Tipperarys Theo English, from his time spent working in Currans with her late husband Stephen.

Throughout her life Nancy was actively involved with Powerstown Lisronagh ICA, serving as the branchs president, and also enjoyed her trips to Lourdes, both as a pilgrim and a helper.

For the last five years Nancy has been a resident of St Anthonys unit.

Its a friendly place and they look after me very well, she said.

Longevity is also in the genes, as she proudly says that her grandfather lived to the age of 98.

For someone so advanced in years, Nancy is remarkably hale and hearty, both physically and mentally, and only wears spectacles for reading.

Im alright. Please God, the man above will leave me here for another while, said Nancy, who is wished many more years of health and happiness.
The Very Reverend Stephen Farrell was installed as Dean of Ossory and instituted Rector of Kilkenny Union of Parishes at a special service in St Canices Cathedral on Tuesday.

The new dean is from a Tyrone farming background and, most recently, was Rector of Zion parish, Rathgar in Dublin and Provincial and Diocesan Registrar in Dublin and Glendalough Diocese. He succeeds the Very Reverend David McDonnell who has returned to primary school teaching.

Dean Farrell is an ecclesiastical lawyer with a Masters Degree in Canon Law from the University of Cardiff. Among other roles he is a member of the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers and teaches Ecclesiastical Law to

Intern Deacons in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. He has also published many papers related to ecclesiastical law.

The preacher at the service of institution and installation was the Right Reverend Michael Burrows, Bishop and Cashel, Ferns And Ossory.

He spoke on the Gospel theme of the beautiful Shepherd and after referring to Stephens many academic achievements said that this is a joyous occasion and that he has no doubt that Stephens contribution as Dean, when viewed through the

prism of history, will be considerable.

He went on to mention four areas in which he believes Stephens ministry as Dean and Rector will be a thing of beauty - the skilled application of his exceedingly fine mind (beauty of mind), pastoral gifts that stem from legal training (beauty of

academic discipline), being Dean of St Canices (beauty of place and space) and the attractiveness and beauty that flows from genuine empathy, something that will lead to meaningful conversation connection with farmers and people from all walks of life in his parish and community.

I finish by wishing Stephen, his wife Laura and their three daughters many years of happiness in the Close, he said.

Father James Murphy, speaking on behalf of the wider community in Kilkenny, said that he was delighted to welcome Dean Stephen and that he was very much looking forward to working and interacting with him in the future. Fr Murphy also spoke of

how glad there was a Farrell connection in Kilkenny again, this time as Dean.

Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council Fidelis Doherty, speaking on behalf of the people of Kilkenny and of civic dignitaries John McGuinness TD and Mayor Andrew McGuinness who were in attendance, wished Dean Farrell every success,

stating that he brings a wealth of experience to the role.

Also in attendance was a representative of the Defence Forces and the Reverend Susan Gallagher of the Methodist Church who, she said, is looking forward, very much, to working with Stephen and on this St Brigids Day she welcomed him and

also the four strong women in Stephens life  his wife and three daughters.

James Morrow welcomed Stephen warmly to the union of parishes that also includes St Johns, Kilkenny, St Lachtans, Freshford and St Aidans church, Kilmanagh.

We are delighted that you and your family are finally amongst us. Be assured of the support, cooperation and encouragement of the parish in the months and years ahead, he said.

Speaking at the end of the service Dean Stephen thanked all those for the warm welcome he received, all those involved in organising the service and preparing the Deanery for his arrival and mentioned, in particular, Bishops Vicar Canon Dr Richard

Marsh who looked after the parishes and cathedral during the vacancy.

I look forward to working with Richard and getting to know you all in the coming months, Dean Farrell said.

It is with great anticipation, eagerness and joy that I commence our shared building up of this part of the Kingdom, he concluded.

May the years ahead be characterised by equal measure of fruitfulness and good fun.

The Director of Music was Bartosz Thiede and the service was sung by members of the St Canices Cathedral Choir. The organist was and accompanied by organist Peter Barley who stood in at short notice. Music included Ubi Caritas, Christ is made

the sure foundation, I bind unto myself today, A New Song, John Miltons metrical version of Psalm 84 and Hide not thou thy face, O Lord and Jubilate Deo.
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Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948

/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e838c294f0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838c3d658)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e838c294f0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838c3d658)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e838db3cf8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838c3d658)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838c3d658)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e82d416858)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e8388c6a50)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e8388c6a50)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and 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Telling Alaskas Story

If one drives by John Burys house in West Anchorage, they cant help but notice the huge antennas that seem to reach to the sky. Burys 'antenna farm,' as he calls it, is his link to communicating with people from all over the world.

Bury has been a ham radio operator for 67 of his 80 years. Originally from Wisconsin, Bury was introduced to ham radio as a young teen by his father. In 1966, Bury, his wife Susan and their young daughter headed north to accept a job teaching in rural Alaska. They brought their ham radio equipment with them and, over the next 10 years in the bush, were glad they did.

Back then we didnt have any other communication. There were no telephones in the village or anything like that, he said.

Bury used his equipment to communicate with his own family in the Lower 48, order supplies from Seattle and help villagers communicate with one another.

He explained that ham radio operators, also called amateur radio operators, use non-commercial radio frequencies to transmit their signals, which can be a big plus when cell phones or the internet fail. In Alaska, ham radio has often been a lifeline, particularly in disasters like the 1964 earthquake.

Thats where ham radio really shined because, again, there was no communication here and it was ham radio that got the first messages out, Bury said.

Read the full article at

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/02/01/telling-alaskas-story-john-bury-talks-about-67-years-ham-radio-operator/
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

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Showers this morning becoming a steady light rain during the afternoon hours. High 58F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

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Shenandoah, IA (51601)

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Showers this morning becoming a steady light rain during the afternoon hours. High 58F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

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Shenandoah, IA (51601)

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Showers this morning becoming a steady light rain during the afternoon hours. High 58F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

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Shenandoah, IA (51601)

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Kokomo, IN (46901)

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Kokomo, IN (46901)

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Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon. High 59F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

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Kokomo, IN (46901)

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Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon. High 59F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

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Kokomo, IN (46901)

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Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon. High 59F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

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Youlou Radio Movement hosts second Summit on the Air

Fort Duvernette aka Rock Fort, affords one of the best views of St. Vincent and the northern Grenadines, and it is safe to conclude that this was Paramount Chief Chatoyers favourite spot to smoke his peace pipe, having been the former owner of a larger nearby islet, that is today called Young island, after a British governor bearing that surname. Some history books say Young Island was exchanged by Chatoyer for a white horse; others just say it was an impressive stallion. But a horse by a different name or colour is still a horse .and that is now history.

Rock Fort was the location for the second Summit on the Air (SOTA), organised by the Youlou Radio Movement (YRM), during its 27th anniversary month. SOTA is conducted by local ham radio operators as well as Hams operators around the world. These activities give radio operators the opportunity to operate from remote locations using emergency power and antennas. On this occasion, and operating with only 15 watts, contacts were made with other radio amateurs in Guyana, Carriacou, Barbados, Grenada and Trinidad using both VHF and HF radios.

Similar to SOTA, is POTA, or Parks on the Air, where similar activities are conducted, but which afford a little more space for better antennas and is more conducive for older Hams to participate. These activities also allow radio operators to explore little known parts of their country as well as getting to know each other better by working together, skills that are essential when responding to natural or man made disasters. The YRM also intends to stage several POTA and SOTA events from the various parks in SVG during 2022. All of these activities are designed to train the younger radio operators with message handling skills as well as being able to set up and operate emergency equipment under less than ideal circumstances.

According to the Director of the YRM, Don De Riggs  J88CD, both SOTA events to mark our 27th anniversary were successful.



Read the full article at:

https://www.searchlight.vc/news/2022/02/01/youlou-radio-movement-hosts-second-summit-on-the-air/
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Korea on Tuesday signed a contract to sell K9 self-propelled howitzers to Egypt in a deal worth over 2 trillion won ($1.65 billion), Seoul's arms procurement agency said, marking the artillery system's first entry into the African market.







Hanwha Defense, the Korean manufacturer, and Egypt's defense ministry inked the largest K9 export deal in the Artillery House, a military facility in Cairo, capping more than 10 years of on-again, off-again talks.







The deal includes the production of K9s in Egypt and a technology transfer, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).







The DAPA did not elaborate on other details, including when and how many K9 howitzers will be supplied to Egypt.







The deal will make Egypt the eighth foreign country to adopt the K9 system. The other countries that have chosen the system are Turkey, Poland, India, Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Australia.







"It is an achievement made through a combination of technological cooperation, collaboration in terms of localized production and pan-government support, which goes beyond just the transactional relationship between the two nations," DAPA chief Kang Eun-ho was quoted as saying.







The signing followed last month's summit between President Moon Jae-in and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, which the DAPA said helped create much-needed momentum for the conclusion of the deal.







On the margins of the agreement, the DAPA and Egypt's defense ministry also signed a separate memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in defense research and development.







Currently, more than 1,700 K9 variants are said to be in service in such countries as India. (Yonhap)






Tokyo should stop World Heritage bid for Sado mine



Already fragile ties between South Korea and Japan are expected to get worse as the Japanese government decided Tuesday to recommend a former gold mine linked to wartime forced labor for the 2023 UNESCO World Heritage list.



During a Cabinet meeting, the Fumio Kishida administration made the decision to seek the listing of the Sado mine in Niigata Prefecture where over 1,000 Koreans had been forced into hard labor during Japan's colonial rule. The move came despite Seoul's strong objections. The South Korean government immediately expressed strong regret over the decision and called in Japan's envoy here to lodge a protest.



Japanese Prime Minister Kishida had planned not to seek a listing this time around in the face of Seoul's protests. But the plan took a twist shortly before the application deadline amid rising pressure from hawks in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Japanese government reportedly considered negative public opinions in case the nomination was delayed.



Japan's reversal is inappropriate in all respects. First of all, the Japanese government argues that the range of application for the Sado mine is limited only to the Edo era (1603-1867), excluding when Korea was under Japan's rule. This is surely Japan's shameless attempt to hide its dark history, given that UNESCO makes it a principle to reflect the "complete history" of items on its World Heritage list.



When Japan added a coal mine in Nagasaki Prefecture to the World Cultural Heritage list in 2015, its government vowed to take follow-up measures, including letting the world know that many Koreans were forced to labor at the mine, but to no avail. In July 2021, the World Heritage Committee unanimously adopted a resolution stating that Japan had failed to keep its promise. All this is a testament to the fact that Japan should not be eligible to seek another UNESCO World Heritage listing. The Japanese government should immediately stop its attempt to list the Sado mine and follow through on its promise to publicize the tragic history related to the coal mine.


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Angola, IN (46703)

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Angola, IN (46703)

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A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High 59F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

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Periods of rain. Low 48F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
(The Center Square)  The Indiana Senate passed a bill Tuesday aimed at removing what the legislation called obscene material from schools, and it would allow the criminal prosecution of school librarians and other school staff for disseminating material harmful to minors or for exposing children to a performance harmful to minors.

Senate Bill 17 specifically would remove the defense to prosecution that K-12 schools now have in state law.

The bill refers to a section of state law that says something is harmful to minors if it, describes or represents, in any form, nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse; considered as a whole, it appeals to the prurient interest in sex of minors; it is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable matter for or performance before minors; and considered as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors.

Its not about guns, its not about communism, this is about raw, filthy, nasty literature, said Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, the author of the bill, in response to a Democratic senator who mentioned that a teacher had testified before the committee saying the bill would result in the removal of books from school libraries that address communism.

Another Democratic senator said the bill doesnt go far enough.

It sets the bar too high for most books to be considered harmful, said Sen. Faddy Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis. If these books do not rise to the level of prosecution, what does this bill do?

The bill is similar to a bill Tomes introduced last year withdrew it, saying it didnt have enough support.

In the last year, an increasing number of parents have spoken out at school board meetings around the state, objecting to what they termed as sexually explicit passages in library books and often reading some of those passages aloud. The meetings have become heated in some places, like the Carmel Clay School District, that school boards have canceled meetings and suspended public comment.

At a hearing Jan. 19 before the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development, several parents spoke in support of the bill, with one brandishing a book by author Sherman Alexie and complaining his daughters were forced to read passages from the book out loud in class.

I am not for censorship. Im against it. But I am for discretion, said Brett Carpenter, whose children attend schools in the East Noble School Corporation in Noble County. I am strongly against prohibition, but I dont want them serving alcohol for lunch in my girls middle school. I am strongly in favor of our Second Amendment rights, but I dont want little kids taking firearms to school, Ok?

Carpenter said he met with the teacher and the principal when one of his daughters came home with the book and showed him the passages describing sexual activity, but his other daughter came home with the same book a year or two later.

I thought it was a rogue teacher, he said. He said he began to understand that the book was part of the curriculum, and said he thought the book was adopted by the school not in spite of its explicit passages, but because of them.

I like this bill, he said. We just want what is considered obscene 500 feet outside the school is considered obscene inside the school.

A representative of the Indiana Library Federation spoke in opposition to the bill at the same hearing.

School librarians are professional, licensed community partners, said Chris Mitchem, of Bose Public Affairs Group. Our primary issue with the legislation is the whole array of opinion amongst parents [about] what they would or would not like their child to read.

He said librarians are concerned the bill, if it becomes law, would subject them to Level 6 felonies for material in the libraries where they work.

While the bill removed schools and certain public libraries from the list of those entities who can be prosecuted for giving obscene materials to minors, it adds universities to the list of those who have a specified defense to prosecution.

SB 17 passed with a few Republicans joining most Democrats in voting no.

The bill now goes to the Indiana House, where it will be sponsored by Reps. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, and J.D. Prescott, R-Union City.
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INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Communicable diseases know no borders and the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes continues to increase around the globe. The importance of healthcare in our interconnected world has never been clearer.

Today, AMPATH announced new partnership sites in Ghana and Mexico to meet the global need for strong health systems.

Today, the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) announced new partnership sites in Tamale, Ghana, and Puebla, Mexico, to meet the global need for strong health systems. This work is supported by donations totaling more than US$10 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Eli Lilly and Company and the Lilly Foundation.

The AMPATH global network builds partnerships between universities and academic health centers to strengthen health systems and tackle health disparities in low- and middle-income countries, train future global health leaders and foster healthcare innovations to improve health worldwide.

"At the core of the AMPATH partnership model is the belief that long-term, sustainable global health partnerships are the key to improving health around the world," said Adrian Gardner, MD, MPH, executive director of the AMPATH Consortium of 14 academic health centers from around the world led by Indiana University. "Academic medical centers working with ministries of health are uniquely positioned to be accountable for the health of a community and to lead with care in a way that empowers training and research," he continued. AMPATH's 30-year partnership in Kenya created one of Africa's most successful HIV care and control programs and has evolved to support a comprehensive population health model including economic empowerment, a seamless care system and universal health insurance.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Ghana's University for Development Studies (UDS) and Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) lead the new partnership site in Tamale with more than US$6.7 million over three years in initial funding from The Helmsley Charitable Trust and US$600,000 from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation over four years.

The Puebla site in Mexico brings together Dell Medical School at The University of Texas Austin and Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla (BUAP) Faculty of Medicine as the leading academic health centers working with the Ministry of Health of the State of Puebla (Secretaria de Salud Estado de Puebla  SSEP) with more than US$2.8 million in funding from Lilly over four years.

"For more than three decades, AMPATH has provided an opportunity for both Kenyans and North Americans to improve care and deliver training and research opportunities that are mutually beneficial to all members of the partnership as well as the populations we serve," said Dr. Paul Ayuo, AMPATH Replication Ambassador from Moi University, Kenya. "We look forward with great anticipation to building those same benefits with our colleagues in Ghana and Mexico."

The Helmsley Charitable Trust's support of the partnership in Ghana began with earlier funding for planning purposes. "Helmsley is committed to building resilience that can lead to sustainable change across Africa, and this can only happen with stronger health systems," said Walter Panzirer, trustee at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. "AMPATH's approach and partnership framework will build on the strengths of Ghana's existing healthcare system and serve as a resource to Ghana's health and education leaders. Importantly, the knowledge developed through this collaboration has the potential to extend far beyond Ghana."

Ghana's UDS School of Medicine (SoM) trains more than 1,000 medical professionals with a focus on care for the poor. "We are committed to the health of our fellow citizens and education of the next generation of healthcare providers," said Professor Stephen Tabiri, MD, PhD, FGCS, FACS, FWACS, Med (Adm), dean of UDS-SoM.

"We look forward to working in partnership with our new AMPATH colleagues to advance these goals and create innovations that can be used around the world to improve health for others as well," said past dean of UDS-SoM, Professor Francis Abantanga, MD, PhD.

"People of northern Ghana will receive enhanced care and trainees using TTH as a training centre will have access to world-class training modules developed through this partnership," David Ahadzi, MPH, PMP, head of TTH's Policy Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Department said. "We are looking at improved health outcomes for all our clients."

Rajesh Vedanthan, MD, MPH, MS, director of the Section for Global Health at the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity and associate professor in the Department of Population Health leads NYU Grossman School of Medicine's involvement in AMPATH. "The goals of our new partnership in Ghana align with AMPATH's mission to strengthen public sector health systems by partnering in the delivery of health services; strengthen and develop sustainable human capacity for health care through training and education; advance research to improve population health; and promote global health equity," he said.

Earlier this year, the AMPATH Ghana partnership facilitated a donation of nearly US$5 million in personal protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits from the City of New York to TTH in Ghana.

"For twenty years, Lilly has partnered with AMPATH to help make lives better. Their work to strengthen healthcare systems in Kenya continues to be transformational," said Leigh Ann Pusey, senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications at Lilly. "Lilly's additional contributions to the AMPATH model exemplify our commitment to supporting this important work to bring health and hope to millions more people living with noncommunicable diseases in Ghana and Mexico."

The University of Texas prestigious President's Award for Global Learning, an initiative of Texas Global, supported a collaborative partnership with BUAP to conduct a comprehensive household-level assessment of health needs, determinants, and resources in four low-income communities in the area surrounding Atlixco, in the state of Puebla. Preliminary results reveal a high chronic disease burden and significant barriers to healthcare access in these communities. The assessment also provided a deeper understanding of community health perceptions and priorities and a survey of various socioeconomic determinants and needs.

BUAP is the public, state university of Puebla, and is located in the state capital, the city of Puebla, which is the fourth-largest city in Mexico, about two hours southeast of Mexico City. BUAP hosts more than 7,800 students educated by more than 380 faculty members. During the signing of the MOUs between the universities, Luis Vazquez de Lara Cisneros, MD, PhD, dean of BUAP Faculty of Medicine emphasized, "Both institutions, through this academic model and with the support of the Ministry of Health, will contribute to improving access to health in the most vulnerable population in our surrounding areas."

"Our hope is that the partnership between UT Austin and BUAP in Mexico will create the needed infrastructure and relationships to generate mutually beneficial outcomes in research, training and health services, as well as improve the health of individuals and communities in Mexico and Texas," said George Macones, MD, interim dean of Dell Med.

"Texas and Mexico have much in common. They share a border, history, culture, and people. They also share a similar disease burden, specifically diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease," said Tim Mercer, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Global Health in the Department of Population Health at Dell Med. AMPATH Mexico has the potential to impact approximately three million people in the State of Puebla.

As the coordinating secretariat for the AMPATH partnerships, Indiana University Center for Global Health provides administrative and regulatory support service; promotes and facilitates the exchange of ideas; coordinates exchange of faculty members, residents, students, and other individuals among all of the participating institutions and takes a lead role in monitoring and evaluating AMPATH as a whole. The Lilly Foundation also contributed $520,000 to support the Center's role as the coordinating secretariat for AMPATH Global. A portion of The Helmsley Charitable Trust's contribution to AMPATH Ghana also supports the Center's secretariat work.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ampath-global-partnership-expands-to-ghana-and-mexico-301473203.html

SOURCE AMPATH Global
Kendallville, IN (46755)

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Partly cloudy early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain this afternoon. High 58F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

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Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 49F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Partly cloudy early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain this afternoon. High 58F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 49F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Auburn, IN (46706)

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A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High 59F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Rain likely. Low 49F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
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Stockholm, 31 January 2022 (SPS) - Swedish parliamentarian Lotta Johnsson Fornave questioned the Swedish Foreign Minister on the grave human rights situation in the occupied territories of Western Sahara in light of the worsening Moroccan violations on activists and journalists.



A member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense in Parliament, Ms. Johnsson questioned whether the foreign minister would summon the Moroccan ambassador to Sweden to protest the violations against Sultana Khaya and other Sahrawi civilians, activists and journalists.



She also asked whether the Minister of Foreign Affairs intends to raise Moroccan human rights violations in occupied Western Sahara with the UN, the EU and in bilateral talks with influential countries in the region, such as Spain and France.



Ms. Johnsson noted, in this regard, that the situation in the occupied territories was worrying, reporting 160 violations of civil rights, political rights, women's rights and the 4th Geneva Convention, reported since the violation by Morocco on November 13, 2020 of the ceasefire agreement with the Polisario Front.



She also noted that this situation may persist with ban on the entry to the territory of journalists and human rights organizations, in addition to the lack of a human rights monitoring mechanism for MINURSO.



The Swedish parliamentarian mentioned, in this context, the case of Sultana Khaya under house arrest and victim with her family of several violations of human rights.



Finally, Ms. Johnsson asked the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs if she would raise the issue of expanding the prerogatives of MINURSO to include human rights in the occupied territories.



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We asked for the implementation of the Thirteenth amendment not because it gave us, the Tamils, adequate powers but because we would have become absolutely powerless if it was scrapped.

by Justice C.V.Wigneswaran

We do not expect any worthwhile changes in the new constitution vis a vis the Tamil speaking of the North and East. The Tamil Parliamentarians were only able to formally oppose and boycott the debate on the earlier two constitutions of 1972 and 1978. Nothing tangible was possible to prevent constitutions which did not recognize the right of self -determination of the Tamil speaking people of the North and East from being passed in Parliament. This timetoo, the Sinhala majority Government will carry through a constitution inimical to the interests of the Tamil speaking of the North and East without recognizing their right to internal self-determination.

The only feeble benefit the unitary 1978 constitution carries for the Tamil speaking today is the Thirteenth amendment. Though discussions took place between India and Sri Lanka to give some political benefits to the Tamil speaking of the North and East in 1987 by introducing the Provincial Council system, when it came to implementation President J.R.Jayewardene opted to make the Provincial Council system apply Islandwide. Now they refer to the Provincial Councils as a white elephant. That may be so in the predominantly Sinhala areas.

But from the point of view of the Tamils of the North and East, Muslims and Upcountry Tamils throughout Sri Lanka the Provincial Council remains the only tangible legal institution they have, to reflect their individuality.

From the point of view of the Tamils of the North and East, take away the Provincial Council, we become just another minority in this Country. Actually, the Tamil speaking are the majority in the North and East. The majority in the seven provinces were able to make the majority in the two provinces become minorities in the whole Island.

The Tamils have a long history of over 3000 years, speak an ancient language, have determinable homelands, follow religions and cultures different from the majority Sinhalese whose language came into being only around the 6th or 7th century AD. The Tamilsare entitled to self -determination in terms of the International Covenants. If you remove the Thirteenth amendment, without granting full-fledged devolution to the Tamil speaking people of the North and East, from the Unitary Constitution, we would be stranded without any tangible legal institution to call ours. As Chief Minister of the Northern Province I was able to prevent many attempts by undesirable elements to introduce pollutive schemes in the North though the Government on its side prevented and sabotaged worthwhile economic projects we were trying to introduce.

However much the Provincial Council remains feeble and ineffective as far as the people of the North and East are concerned, it still gives the people of the North and East a legal recognition as Tamil speaking as opposed to the majority Sinhala speaking elsewhere. Take away the Provincial Council and the Tamil speaking of the North and East could easily be controlled as minorities in the entire Country. The One Country One Law concept was a precursor to the jettisoning of the Provincial Councils, envisioned in the new constitution.

Though Ministers are now denying what has come out in a Sinhala Newspaper as being the content of the draft of the new constitution which envisages the scrapping of the Provincial Council system, we foresaw this when we sent our letter to Shri Modi.The whole purpose of a new constitution is to scrap the Thirteenth Amendment and prevent India having a voice in Sri Lankan affairs. If India did not help Sri Lanka at the time of the Indo Sri Lankan Agreement, anything could have happened prejudicial to the Government in Colombo.Sri Lanka at that time had no alternative but to ask for help from India (as it does now having understood Chinas intentions). India on its part signed the Agreement on behalf of the Tamils. Representatives of the Tamils nor LTTE leaders did not sign the Agreement. Therefore, India has a legal right and moral obligation to intervene on behalf of the Tamil speaking of the North and East when the Sri Lankan Government is trying to usher in a Sinhala Buddhist majority Government throughout the Island.

We asked for the implementation of the Thirteenth amendment not because it gave us, the Tamils, adequate powers but because we would have become absolutely powerless if it was scrapped. Now we have India as a participant in the original discussions which introduced the Provincial Council system to question any matter proceeding unfavourably to the Tamil speaking people of the North and East. The Sri Lankan Government cannot scrap the Provincial Councils as far as the North and East are concerned unilaterally. We seek no permanent solution to our ethnic problem by asking for the implementation of the Thirteenth amendment. We seek to keep the Provincial Councils until a permanent solution is found.The permanent solution we envisage is a confederation, nothing less.

The International community too has a moral duty to work towards accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. It cannot be indifferent when the indigenous people of Sri Lanka are being bullied and discriminated against. The continuation of the PTA is indicative of the designs of the Government.

Under the circumstances we decided to send the letter to Shri Modi to indicate to him the secretive intentions of the Sri Lankan Government to bring in a new constitution to set up a Sinhala Buddhist Government devoid of safeguards for minorities under the slogan of One Country One Law!

Justice C.V.Wigneswaran M.P., Jaffna District.
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Expressing his gratitude to the Muslim members on behalf of the Sinhalese community, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike assured that he would consider any reasonable request by the Muslim community.

by Latheef Farook

Crucial Muslim support facilitated the process of Sri Lanka gaining independence from British in 1948 and help end almost four and half centuries of European colonial rule in the island.

Many still remember the leading role played by Muslims leaders such as Dr T.B.Jayah, Sir Razik Fareed, Dr M.C.M.Kaleel and Dr Badiduddin Mahmud in the constitutional reforms of this country and their enthusiastic support for the demand of the Dominion Status and independence. They never obstructed the political progress of the country.

For example when the demand for independence began gathering momentum World War 11 broke out in Europe. The British government urged all its colonies to support them assuring that they would be given independence after the war.

In the aftermath of the World War 11, agitation for political reforms and independence began to gather momentum. However the British government insisted that three quarters of the population should support the demand for independence to ensure the rights of minorities were protected. With the Sinhalese community as a whole constituting less than three quarters of the population this was an impossible demand to fulfill unless the minorities supported.

Tamil Congress leader G.G.Ponnambalam demanded equal representation, better known as fifty fifty. However the Muslims stood fully behind the majority community and help to meet the British demand for the support of two third of the population despite past sufferings and disadvantages.

Addressing a gathering at Zahra College grounds under the chairmanship of Sir Mohamed Macan Markar to protest against the inadequate representation of Muslims in the Legislative Council Dr. Badiduddin Mahmoud, the Secretary of the All Ceylon Muslim Political Conference said on 5 March 1939;

Let me assure my Sinhalese countrymen that I am one among them in demanding complete freedom for our country. They can count on me as one of the most ardent admirers of their legitimate national and cultural aspirations. In me and in my community, let them know that they find the most trusted friends and kind neighbors in this island. They would never find wanting in me or in my community that unflinching loyalty and patriotism that this little island would demand one day from its sons and daughters to carve out a niche of fame for itself as a self- respecting unit in a world federation. Let me also assure my Sinhalese friends that the brave community to which I belong shall never consider any sacrifice too great to make Lanka a happy, prosperous and glorious country in the world where not one section of its population but every son and daughter of her soil shall legitimately take pride in her glorious destiny.

In keeping with this policy the three Muslim representatives in the State Council extended their whole- hearted support for the Dominion Status Bill  a Sri Lankan bill sponsored by the late Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike when it came for the vote on 9 November 1945. T.B.Jayah and Dr M.C.M Kaleel spoke in favour of the bill while Sir Razik Fareed and Dr Kaleel voted in favour as Jayah was not present during the time of voting.

During his speech Razik Fareed said the All Ceylon Moors Association pledge their support to the resolution of the Hon Leader under discussion today. Nothing else would at the moment give me great pleasure to do so, and to express my whole hearted support to the Hon leaders proposal. As my community and I have always stood by them, I must say that in the hour of his triumph we join hands with him in the forward march to the goal of the proposal to which he aspires

Supporting the Sri Lankan Bill despite its disadvantages to Muslims and defining the attitude of Muslims towards the bill Mr.T.B. Jayah said: I am glad, Sir, that it has been stated that this is not the moment for jubilation or exultation or even for mutual recrimination. I certainly think that this is not the occasion to speak of the discomfiture of the minority communities or of the victory of the majority community.

As far as I am concerned, I speak with the full support of members of the Muslim community. I saw to it that the Ceylon Muslim League, representing the Muslim community of Ceylon, consulted Muslim representatives in different parts of the country on the important issues before the house and I am in a position to say that the Muslim members of this Council have the fullest backing of the Muslim community in this island.

When the Muslims of the Council decided to take a definite stand at the time the Sri Lanka Bill was introduced, they did so for one and one reason only. The reason was that where the political freedom of this country was involved, they were prepared to go to any length, even to the point of sacrificing advantages and benefit as a result of such action. As far as I am concerned, Sir, I do not consider any right greater than the right of political freedom and therefore, although I am fully conscious of those disadvantages of the Bill, looking at it from a narrow point of view, yet I am prepared to support this Bill.

Expressing his gratitude to the Muslim members on behalf of the Sinhalese community, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike assured that he would consider any reasonable request by the Muslim community. Bandaranaike said: I say that if any member has brought closer the achievement of agreement among the various sections of the people of the country by an attitude of generosity where even those with whom he is concerned to differ, I say the fullest credit must go more than anyone else among us to the Honorable nominated Member, Mr. T.B. Jayah. He has made a speech today that will have a great effect in bringing unity among the people of this country in bringing some sense of reality to this struggle, however it may shape, that we are going to undertake to obtain a satisfactory measure of freedom..

 What have the three members,T.B.Jayah,Dr M.C.M.Kaleel and Razik Fareed, have done? There is provided in the Bill a Scheme of Representation under which the Muslim community in this country might suffer in the form in which it appears, but yet, he himself so sincerely determined to work for the main idea of freedom that he was prepared to vote for the principle embodied in the Bill.

But I can give the Hon Nominated member, Mr. T.B.Jayah, this assurance on behalf of, I think, the vast majority, at least the Community that I represent, that in the struggle for freedom whatever may or may not be the recommendation of the Soulbury Commission on our representation, he may be rest assured that we will be quite prepared to consider any reasonable point of view that, might be put forward.

Thus the Muslim support provided the required support of two third majority of the population paving the way for the islands independence on 4 February 1948 when Mr. D.S.Senanayake lowered the British flag and hoisted the Sri Lankan National Flag and declared the islands independence.

Muslims have lived in harmony and peace with the Sinhalese and Tamils for centuries and they wanted to continue to do so. As stated by former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva rightly that Muslims have been a peaceful ethnic group interacting with other religious and ethnic groups, cordially interlinking those cultures with their own culture. They never organized themselves for armed insurrection or destruction.

They were not party to the ethnic conflict. However their sufferings were immense.

What many conveniently forget is the crucial role played by the Muslims even in preserving the territorial integrity of the island. For example, during the early days, Tamil militants' call for a separate state had the full backing of India and the island's armed forces were not equipped or trained, as they are today, to deal with them.

From the very inception, Muslims throughout the country vehemently opposed calls for the division of the country and firmly stood for territorial integrity and unity. Nevertheless, they were entangled into this unfortunate and unwanted ethnic conflict only to face death, devastation, loss of properties and livelihood and displacement with no appreciation. Around 130,000 Muslims driven out from Jaffna have been still languishing in refugee camps in appalling conditions and their plight is nobodys business for more than 20 years.

Had the Muslims joined the Tamil militancy during its early stage the island's fate would have been sealed and the history would have projected a new political landscape. It is unfortunate that these sufferings and sacrifices have never been highlighted in its proper perspective. I am sure the Muslim community is prepared to take ten steps if the authorities take one-step to take them into confidence to pave the way for cordiality and communal harmony. Ends
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Bufarella, the corner Italian cheese and sandwich shop that tantalized locals with daily fresh mozzarella, burrata and handhelds on crunchy ciabattina bread, has shut down. (Michael Mayo / Sun Sentinel)

Bufarella, the corner Italian cheese and sandwich shop that tantalized locals with daily fresh mozzarella, burrata and handhelds on crunchy ciabattina bread, has permanently closed.

The 1,200-square-foot strip-mall space at 1682 E. Oakland Park Blvd. sold its last cold cuts and whole-milk cheese on Jan. 6 after three-and-a-half years in business, co-owner Filippo Trecca told the Sun Sentinel on Tuesday. Over the past three weeks, Bufarella Genuine Italian Gourmets logo  an Italian water buffalo  has been covered by a white tarpaulin and the name of its replacement has appeared on the windows: La Bottega dei Sapori, or The Shop of Flavors in Italian.

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Closing Bufarella was the last thing Trecca wanted, but months of bankruptcy proceedings, a risky handshake deal and a lease dispute with a new investor doomed the sandwich shop, he says. That investor, a Coral Gables-based general contractor named Antoine Melhem, is listed as the new owner of La Bottega dei Sapori, corporate records say.

[ BITE-SIZED REVIEW: Fresh cheese and crusty sandwiches at Bufarella market in Oakland Park | PHOTOS ]

Me and my wife are suffering very much about what happened to Bufarella, says Trecca, 70. We are old and we could not keep the business open because we are tired.

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Bufarella debuted in August 2018 by a quartet of longtime friends, including Franco Godina, a veteran restaurateur who once owned Caffe Milano on South Beach. But a series of partner disputes left Trecca and his wife, Helen, 65, by themselves to run the shop for the past year. A slow trickle of customers and a bankruptcy filing in January 2021 forced the couple to lay off its master cheesemaker, Domenico Mimmo Marchitelli, who made burrata, mozzarella and stracciatella di bufala (or Italian buffalo milk cheese) for customers in-house daily.

Bufarella Genuine Italian Gourmet served fresh panini sandwiches on crusty Gran Forno bread, along with housemade burrata and mozzarella and Italian cold cuts. (Courtesy / Bufarella Genuine Italian Gourmet)

We couldnt afford Domenico, and so I learned how to make mozzarella and salads, while Helen did all the platters, Trecca says. We couldnt do the burrata anymore, though, so we had to outsource it.

Trecca says Bufarellas lease expired on Dec. 31. Hes contemplating a move to Fort Lauderdales Galt Ocean Mile neighborhood to reopen Bufarella with help from a new investor, but hes still uncertain.

Im still stuck with a debt, so I dont know what to do now, he says.
The Northern New England Red Cross is installing smoke detectors this weekend. Do you have a fire evacuation plan for your home? How about when you are traveling?
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LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo.  An unusual blue spiral spotted in the sky Monday night over Lake of the Ozarks was likely the SpaceX Falcon 9 spacecraft venting fuel before re-entry.

The large spiral was spotted at 6:51 p.m. and photographed by several Lake of the Ozarks residents.

LakeExpo has reached out to Cape Canaveral and NASAs public relations department for more information on this unusual phenomena. A NASA spokesperson said they would not speculate about the cause of the spiral. However, it appears likely it was caused by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket entering its orbital burn, an action which has caused a similar spiral in the past.

SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 Spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, at 6:11 p.m. EST on Monday.

The Falcon 9 reportedly dropped off the Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation satellite, part of a program funded by the Italian Space Agency.

According the the European Space Agency: "COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation['s] purpose is to monitor the Earth for the sake of emergency prevention, strategy, scientific and commercial purposes, providing data on a global scale to support a variety of applications among which risk management, cartography, forest, and environment protection, natural resources exploration, land management, defense and security, maritime surveillance, food, and agriculture management."

There was, of course, plenty of conjecture on Facebook over what could have caused this unusual spiral: everything from a SpaceX booster to effects of a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral to an alien craft visiting Lake of the Ozarks.

My mom called and told me to get outside and look at the 'thing' in the sky. I ran outside and it was the craziest thing I've ever seen, Macks Creek resident Paige Stoner said. It was beautiful but so crazy at the same time.

The spiral, which according to some accounts started as a white cloud moving across the sky with a star in the center before becoming a blue spiral, was spotted at 6:51 p.m. and lasted roughly 45 seconds.

We thought it was a plane coming through clouds or fog but we realized the sky was clear. The fog surrounding the object stayed with it as it traveled. It appeared to be the size of a small aircraft, Linn Creek resident Dave Schlenfort said. It disappeared into the southwestern horizon.

According to accounts, the spiral was silent as it traveled across the sky.

I was outside walking my dog around 6:45 p.m. and I noticed a weird thing in the sky, it was almost like it was following us down the road, Greenview resident Lacey DenHartog said. It was high in the sky, almost like a helicopter but there was no sound. It was super creepy.

I thought it was just the aura coming off the star behind it but after I looked closer I saw the light," Osage Beach resident Woody Bettis said. "I came in and got the kiddos to check it out with me. They thought it was aliens.

Lake Expo will update this story as more information becomes available from Cape Canaveral, NASA, SpaceX or other credible sources.
The longtime location of Fernanda's International Market at Federal Highway and Oakland Park Boulevard has been sold and will be turned into a Mexican restaurant. (Susan Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The longtime location of Fernandas International Market, beloved Fort Lauderdale gourmet food shop at the corner of Federal Highway and Oakland Park Boulevard, soon will be home to a new Mexican restaurant operated by a couple whose celebrated tacos once were named best in New York.

Husband and wife co-owners Leonardo and Kiki Gonzalez have operated the restaurant Estrellita Poblana in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx since 1999. They also have two sister restaurants nearby.

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Their menu focuses on the food of Leonardo Gonzalezs home state of Puebla, in central Mexico, a rich and ancient cuisine renowned for its chiles-meet-chocolate mole sauces.

One Yelper called his meal at Estrellita Poblana the platonic ideal of Mexican food. This place is the benchmark I use for anytime I eat Mexican food elsewhere.

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Enchiladas de mole poblano from Estrellita Poblana restaurant in New York, soon to open a location in Fort Lauderdale. (Estrellita Poblana)

Kiki Gonzalez says the new restaurant will serve the same popular dishes, based on distinctive recipes borrowed from Leonardos mother. It also will be called Estrellita Poblana.

The primary draw will be authenticity, Gonzalez says.

Its real Mexican. Our flavors are really homemade, how his mom taught me, she says. A lot of people claim that theyre authentic, but the tastes are not there, you know?

Estrellita Poblanas tacos achieved a modicum of fame in 2011 when they were named the best in the city by the New York Daily News. Specifically cited were the tacos al pastor, embedded with pork and pineapple, which will be on the menu at the Fort Lauderdale restaurant.

Other specialties will be cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatan, and birria tacos, served with a savory stew meant for dipping.

Birria tacos are a craze all over New York right now, Gonzalez says.

Fish tacos from Estrellita Poblana, which the Daily News once said was home to the best tacos in New York. (Estrellita Poblana)

The couple, who bought the building, are targeting an August opening for the new Estrellita Poblana. They hope to lease an adjacent strip of land for outdoor dining  the New York restaurants are known for a family-friendly atmosphere and popular brunch (with mariachi musicians).

Gonzalezs mother and brother live in east Fort Lauderdale, near the restaurant location. During a recent vacation, she and her husband decided to take the plunge and move down, too.

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We want a better life for us, a better lifestyle. The restaurant business in New York is getting more difficult every day, she says.

The Gonzalezes will continue to operate the original Estrellita Poblana, but are mulling options for the other two restaurants.

The South Florida restaurant will be in a spot well known to foodies, music fans and commuters: The 3,000-square-foot building is on the Federal Highway end of the L-shaped strip center that includes live-music venue the Culture Room and Kelly Brothers Irish Pub.

For more than 40 years and just a couple of ownership changes, Fernandas was a family-run favorite for sandwiches, bakery goods and, later, well-chosen bottles of wine and rare food finds from around the globe. The store closed in 2019, a year after a new set of owners took over.

Gonzalez appreciates that history: We hope that we are as much loved as they were.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  An alliance of Missouri citizens, activists, and politicians stopped the confirmation of the director of Missouris Department of Health and Senior Services, this week. Among the loudest opponents were Bev Ehlen, Missouri State Director of Concerned Women for America, who found allies in Missouri Senators Mike Moon, Bill Eigel, and Bob Onder.

It all happened on Monday, Jan. 31 and Tuesday, Feb. 1. On Monday, around 200 concerned citizens sat in the capital rotunda, joined with Missouri legislators to vocally oppose the confirmation of Don Kauerauf, who was appointed to the position by Governor Mike Parson in July of 2021.

He had served since then, but was subject to confirmationor notby Missouris legislature in the 2022 legislative session, since the appointment was made after the end of the 2021 session. The Missouri Constitution requires such appointments to be confirmed by the Senate within 30 days of the Senate convening for its next legislative session. That means he would have to be confirmed by the end of the week. But no vote was held in committee on Tuesday, and the Senate adjourned until Monday, Feb. 7.

Kaueraufs opponents declared victory. And Kauerauf submitted his resignation.

Richard Moore will now be the DHSS's acting director. Parson in a Tweet blamed "a few men's egos" for the Senate's decision not to confirm Kauerauf.

I have accepted the resignation of Department of Health and Senior Services Director Don Kauerauf.  Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) February 2, 2022

The Opposition

The opposition to Kauerauf came from a history of comments his opponents say revealed his preference for coercing citizens into following health measures, by making their lives difficult if they didnt.

Kauerauf is a dogged supporter of masking adults and children alike. And he had made clear his desire to see significantly more Missourians receive a Covid vaccine. About 54% of Missouris population is considered fully vaccinated.

Kauerauf has also said he opposed vaccine mandates. But he was unabashed in his support of government programs that made life difficult for people who opted not to receive the Covid shots.

Kauerauf last fall told the Missouri Independent his department had been considering a test to stay program that would require an unvaccinated student to take a Covid test after a known exposure, and then would allow that student to stay in school (rather than quarantining) if their test was negative. He also said a Missouri law that prohibited local health departments from acting autonomously in enacting health ordersby requiring those orders to be approved by the local governing bodywas one that haunts me. In signing that bill, Parson criticized drastic measures taken by some local health departments, saying, [W]hen this pandemic occurred there was overreach on the local levels and weve seen it in different parts of the state And theres going to be consequences to that.

But Parson, in a statement issued by his office, defended Krauerauf as strongly pro-life and anti-abortion and against government mandating mask wearing and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Opponents of Krauerauf arent so sunny.

Ehlen said Kaueraufs position is best summarized in comments he made on St. Louis Public Radios show Politically Speaking, on Nov. 15, 2021. (Listen here, at 19:05 - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/donald-kauerauf/id775890522?i=1000541999880) In that interview, Kauerauf said, When we question the expertise of public health officials, thats I think where we cross the line. St. Louis Public Radio covered the protest of Kaueraufs nomination with an article on Monday originally headlined, Anti-vaxxers protest confirmation of Missouri health director.

Kauerauf would have replaced former DHSS director Randall Williams, who was abruptly asked to resign in April of 2021. Kauerauf had been the Illinois Department of Healths assistant health director from 2016-2018. But it does not appear that his career will be making a stop at the top of Missouris DHSS, after Monday.

[Senators] Moon, Onder, and Eigel stepped up and did the hard thing standing in the gap for the people of Missouri, Ehlen said.
Littleton, NC (27850)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Citing her desire to pass the torch to the next generation of Democratic lawmakers, Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley announced Tuesday that she will not seek reelection.

With her announcement, Bewley, D-Mason, became the third state Senator to announce her retirement from public office in the last two months, along with longtime Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-West Point, and Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls.

After 4 years in the Assembly and almost 8 years in the Senate, it is time for me to make way for a new generation of progressive and pragmatic leaders from a part of the state that has produced so many, Bewley said in a statement.

Bewley became the Democratic Senate leader shortly after then-leader Jennifer Shilling announced in April 2020 that she would not seek another term after serving two decades in the Legislature. Bewley had been the Senate assistant minority leader since 2017.

Bewleys announcement comes after Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, announced in December that he is stepping down from assembly minority leader as he mulls whether he will run again.

After her term ends early next year, she will spend more time with her recently retired husband as well as her children and grandchildren, she said.

Janet has given a lot to the people of her district and our state over the course of her career, and her impact will be felt for years to come, said Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, who took over from Hintz. I am so thankful to have been able to work alongside her in serving the people of Wisconsin.

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, also announced that he would not be running again, joining Republican Reps. Amy Loudenbeck, of Clinton, who is running for secretary of state this fall; Gary Tauchen, of Bonduel; and Jeremy Thiesfeldt, of Fond du Lac.

Reps. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee; Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton; Beth Meyers, D-Bayfield; and Sara Rodriguez, D-Brookfield, also are not running this fall. Bowen and Rodriguez are running for lieutenant governor.

Janets steadfast leadership, her integrity, and compassion are integral to our caucus, said Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison. It is clear that her love of the 25th Senate District and the state of Wisconsin shines bright in everything she does.
Gov. Tony Evers was in attendance at Grand Craft Boats LLC, a manufacturer of mahogany watercrafts in Genoa City on Tuesday, Feb. 1, to welcome Grand Craft Boats and see the completion of their first boat made in the new facility.

He also took time to tour the manufacturing facility and meet with Genoa City workers.

This is one of those special places you can feel the confidence of the workforce, Governor Tony Evers said. This is one of these places with great owners who have great thinking, planning. Its beautiful.

Grand Craft Boats LLC. currently has seven employees with the plan of having well over 20 employees by the third year.

Whats important for us is to be an employer thats most preferred for the most skilled people in the region, Patrick Gallagher said, President and Chief Executive Officer of Grand Craft Boats LLC. Its really important that we continue to remind ourselves that its not just our choice, its the applicants choice as well. If we want to have A players working here, which is absolutely all that we want, we know that we have to be an employer and provide a work environment that is second to none.

Grand Craft Boats LLC, moved its headquarters from Holland, Michigan to Genoa City and it was announced back in early October 2021. Patrick Gallagher and Rose Gallagher, Grand Craft executive vice president, acquired the business about a year ago back in February 2021.

The first boat, which just completed roughly a week ago, took about eight months to build with the others theyre currently working on expected to take about six months. Gallaghers goal is to have five boats done by the end of 2022, 10 by the second year and 20 by the third.

Our goal is to absolutely reinvigorate Grand Craft and scale up the operation, Patrick Gallagher said. 

We not only want to be building and selling more locally, regionally and nationally, but also we really do have our sights on growing this company through international sales.

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The humble pencil has quite a history that is far from humble. Today, there are hundreds of pencil collectors around the world.
Weather Alert

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT AREA WIDE FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING DUE TO STRONG WINDS, LOW HUMIDITIES, NEAR RECORD WARMTH AND A VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE... .Poor humidity recoveries Friday night will be followed by increasing southwest winds, near record high temperatures and an extremely dry and unstable airmass Saturday to create widespread critical fire weather conditions. While winds diminish late Saturday evening, expect extremely dry and unstable conditions, above normal warmth and strong winds to return each day Sunday through Tuesday. ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING... The National Weather Service in Albuquerque has issued a Fire Weather Watch...which is in effect from Saturday morning through Saturday evening. * AREA AND TIMING...Northwest Plateau and Highlands, West Central Highlands, North Central and Sandia, Manzano and Gallinas Mountains, Middle Rio Grande Valley, Northeast Highlands, Northeast and East Central Plains from Saturday morning through Saturday evening. * 20 FOOT WINDS...Southwest 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...Ranging from 4 to 15 percent. About 8 to 15 hours of single digit humidities along and east of I-25 and along and south of I-40. * IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Please advise the appropriate officials or fire crews in the field of this Fire Weather Watch. &&

...AIR QUALITY ALERT... The following message is transmitted at the request of the New Mexico Departments of Health and Environment. * WHAT...Westerly transport winds becoming northwest tonight and Thursday will generally carry smoke toward the east then southeast through late afternoon and evening. Diminishing winds and nighttime inversions tonight will focus the greatest overnight impacts close to and down-drainage of the large fires. * WHERE...Smoke will continue to significantly impact areas across much of southern Colfax, Los Alamos, Mora, southeast Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Miguel, and Santa Fe counties during the next 24 hours. This includes but is not limited to the following communities: Espanola, Kewa Pueblo, La Cueva, Las Vegas, Los Alamos, Mora, Ocate, Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, Pueblo of Cochiti, Pueblo of San Felipe, Pueblo of Santa Clara, Pueblo of Santa Ana, Santa Fe, Sapello, and White Rock. * WHEN...Remainder of this afternoon through noon MDT Friday. * IMPACTS...Those with conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, and heart disease will be especially vulnerable to impacts from poor air quality, as will adults over age 65, young children, and pregnant women if smoke concentrations become unhealthy. * HEALTH INFORMATION...Remember, your eyes are your best tools to determine if it is safe to be outside. Use the 5-3-1 Method available at https://nmtracking.org/environment/air/FireAndSmoke.html. If visibility is: Under 5 miles, the air quality is unhealthy for young children, adults over age 65, pregnant women, and people with heart and/or lung disease, asthma or other respiratory illness. Outdoor activity should be minimized. Around 3 miles, young children, adults over age 65, pregnant women, and people with heart and/or lung disease, asthma or other respiratory illness should avoid all outdoor activities. Around 1 mile, the air quality is unhealthy for everyone. People should remain indoors and avoid all outdoor activities including running errands. Unless an evacuation has been issued, stay inside your home, indoor workplace, or in a safe shelter. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting New Mexico and with the wildfire season underway, New Mexicans will need to take extra precautions. Smoke from wildfires may cause people to have more severe reactions if they are infected COVID-19. The best way to protect against the potentially harmful effects of wildfire smoke and to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home and create a clean indoor air space. NMDOH offers tips here: https://nmtracking.org/environment/air/IndoorQuality.html and https://cv.nmhealth.org New Mexicans will also need to take steps to keep their homes cool to avoid heat-related illnesses. NMDOH offers tips here: https://nmtracking.org/health/heatstress/Heat.html. For smoke forecast outlooks from the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program please visit: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net.
Weather Alert

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT AREA WIDE FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING DUE TO STRONG WINDS, LOW HUMIDITIES, NEAR RECORD WARMTH AND A VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE... .Poor humidity recoveries Friday night will be followed by increasing southwest winds, near record high temperatures and an extremely dry and unstable airmass Saturday to create widespread critical fire weather conditions. While winds diminish late Saturday evening, expect extremely dry and unstable conditions, above normal warmth and strong winds to return each day Sunday through Tuesday. ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING... The National Weather Service in Albuquerque has issued a Fire Weather Watch...which is in effect from Saturday morning through Saturday evening. * AREA AND TIMING...Northwest Plateau and Highlands, West Central Highlands, North Central and Sandia, Manzano and Gallinas Mountains, Middle Rio Grande Valley, Northeast Highlands, Northeast and East Central Plains from Saturday morning through Saturday evening. * 20 FOOT WINDS...Southwest 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...Ranging from 4 to 15 percent. About 8 to 15 hours of single digit humidities along and east of I-25 and along and south of I-40. * IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Please advise the appropriate officials or fire crews in the field of this Fire Weather Watch. &&

...AIR QUALITY ALERT... The following message is transmitted at the request of the New Mexico Departments of Health and Environment. * WHAT...Westerly transport winds becoming northwest tonight and Thursday will generally carry smoke toward the east then southeast through late afternoon and evening. Diminishing winds and nighttime inversions tonight will focus the greatest overnight impacts close to and down-drainage of the large fires. * WHERE...Smoke will continue to significantly impact areas across much of southern Colfax, Los Alamos, Mora, southeast Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Miguel, and Santa Fe counties during the next 24 hours. This includes but is not limited to the following communities: Espanola, Kewa Pueblo, La Cueva, Las Vegas, Los Alamos, Mora, Ocate, Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, Pueblo of Cochiti, Pueblo of San Felipe, Pueblo of Santa Clara, Pueblo of Santa Ana, Santa Fe, Sapello, and White Rock. * WHEN...Remainder of this afternoon through noon MDT Friday. * IMPACTS...Those with conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, and heart disease will be especially vulnerable to impacts from poor air quality, as will adults over age 65, young children, and pregnant women if smoke concentrations become unhealthy. * HEALTH INFORMATION...Remember, your eyes are your best tools to determine if it is safe to be outside. Use the 5-3-1 Method available at https://nmtracking.org/environment/air/FireAndSmoke.html. If visibility is: Under 5 miles, the air quality is unhealthy for young children, adults over age 65, pregnant women, and people with heart and/or lung disease, asthma or other respiratory illness. Outdoor activity should be minimized. Around 3 miles, young children, adults over age 65, pregnant women, and people with heart and/or lung disease, asthma or other respiratory illness should avoid all outdoor activities. Around 1 mile, the air quality is unhealthy for everyone. People should remain indoors and avoid all outdoor activities including running errands. Unless an evacuation has been issued, stay inside your home, indoor workplace, or in a safe shelter. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting New Mexico and with the wildfire season underway, New Mexicans will need to take extra precautions. Smoke from wildfires may cause people to have more severe reactions if they are infected COVID-19. The best way to protect against the potentially harmful effects of wildfire smoke and to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home and create a clean indoor air space. NMDOH offers tips here: https://nmtracking.org/environment/air/IndoorQuality.html and https://cv.nmhealth.org New Mexicans will also need to take steps to keep their homes cool to avoid heat-related illnesses. NMDOH offers tips here: https://nmtracking.org/health/heatstress/Heat.html. For smoke forecast outlooks from the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program please visit: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net.
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], February 2 (ANI/NewsVoir): Benchmarking has become a mainstay in the process of continuous improvement in higher education.

With the belief that a robust framework for benchmarking higher education quality standards enables contextual comparisons, provides a basis for peer learning and performance improvement, Jagran Lakecity University in association with The Association of the Universities of Asia and the Pacific organised a virtual workshop for AUAP members on an innovative perspective of benchmarking developed by JLU on 23rd January 2022.

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Large number of experts and representatives from many universities of Asia and the Pacific participated at this global consultation & deliberations. This workshop called on universities in the Asia Pacific to establish "appropriate benchmarks" in the higher education level.

The consultation focused on an innovative benchmarking framework proposed by Jagran Lakecity University, known as HAPPI model. This framework of 'HAPPI' model anchors around five quality pillars of Headway, Academics, Process, People and Impact and emphasises on learning as central to the process.

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Speaking on the occasion Hari Mohan Gupta, Chancellor Jagran Lakecity University and AUAP Second Vice President said, "We need to foster improvements in education outcomes through enhanced alignments, commitments, monitoring and accountability. In that regards dashboards and regular assessment reports should be used to visualize progress at various levels."

Abhishek Mohan Gupta, Pro Chancellor, JLU and Secretary Quality Assurance Committee of AUAP opened the workshop and warmly welcomed the participants on behalf of the Jagran Lakecity University and Quality Assurance Committee of AUAP. The workshop was addressed by Prof. (Dr.) Sandeep Shastri, Vice Chancellor JLU as well who pointed that this was first of many workshops for AUAP members and JLU shall continue contributing to its global commitments.

#AUAP #HigherEducation #Benchmarking #NEP.

Jagran Lakecity University is a state private university established under Section 2(f) of UGC Act 1956 and is based out of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

JLU Bhopal is one of the fastest growing and one of the most awarded universities of Central India having practice-based pedagogy at its core. Currently, the university is offering 50+ degree programs under 5 faculties to more than 2500 students and has a strong alumni network of over 3000 graduates from 8 countries and 27 states of India.

JLU Bhopal is the only participating university from Central India to the ERASMUS+ programme under the Tuning India Project, funded by the European Commission and is also currently the country chair for Association of Universities of Asia Pacific (AUAP).

JLU became the first university in MP & CG to be awarded the DIAMOND rating by QS I-Gauge, an International Rating agency in June 2021. Recently Education World ranked, JLU as the number 1 University in M.P. and No. 30 In India. Also, the E-Learning Excellence for Academic Digitization (E-Lead) Certification by QS, was bestowed on JLU for state-of-the-art digital infrastructure in the year 2020.

Other prestigious awards of JLU include, being the 'University of the Year' by Government of Madhya Pradesh for consecutive five years from 2015 to 2019 and being recognized as a Global League Institution in 2015 at the House of Commons, London, UK.

The Association of the Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP), holds the highest formal consultative status with UNESCO. Its primary purpose is to be the main platform for interaction and collaboration between members and to be the effective voice of universities in Asia and the Pacific region.

This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thane (Maharashtra) [India], February 2 (ANI): Maharashtra Police on Tuesday arrested three accused of allegedly possessing 1000 gelatin sticks and 1000 detonators in Thane's Bhiwandi.

The explosives were brought to be supplied to someone in Bhiwandi in Thane district in Maharashtra, said a press note by Maharashtra Police.

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"Three accused persons, residents of Palghar had reached Bhiwandi with 1000 gelatin sticks and 1000 detonators in a car. The illegally brought explosives were brought to be supplied to someone in Bhiwandi," the police said.

The accused persons have been identified as Alpesh alias Balya Hiraji Patel (34), Pankaj Chauhan (23) and Sameer alias Samya Ramchandra Vedga (27). (ANI)

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(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], February 2 (ANI): .Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala Binoy Viswam on Wednesday gave a suspension of business notice under rule 267 demanding a discussion on Pegasus spyware.

As per the notice submitted to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Viswam has demanded to take up the urgent issue regarding the government's purchase and use of the Pegasus spyware.

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"The Government of India has not been transparent about these allegations and as such the reports in the public domain require the attention of this house urgently," the CPI MP said in the notice.

Viswam had also given a notice of breach of privilege against Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw for his statements on the floor of the House regarding the Pegasus controversy.

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Names of some political leaders including Rahul Gandhi and some Indian journalists appeared on the leaked list of potential targets for surveillance allegedly using Pegasus spyware after a report published in 'The Wire'.

Vaishnaw had responded to the allegations in Parliament and said "there is no substance behind the sensationalism". (ANI)

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NEW YORK  Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended for two weeks as co-host of The View because of what the head of ABC News called her wrong and hurtful comments about Jews and the Holocaust.

While Whoopi has apologized, Ive asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities, ABC News President Kim Godwin said in a statement posted Tuesday on Twitter.

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The suspension came a day after Goldbergs comment during a discussion on The View that race was not a factor in the Holocaust. Goldberg apologized hours later and again on Tuesdays morning episode, but the original remark drew condemnation from several prominent Jewish leaders.

My words upset so many people, which was never my intention, she said Tuesday morning. I understand why now and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful and helped me understand some different things.

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Goldberg made her original comments during a discussion on the show Monday about a Tennessee school boards banning of Maus, a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Nazi death camps during World War II. She said the Holocaust was not about race ... its about mans inhumanity to other man.

I misspoke, Goldberg said at the opening of Tuesdays show.

The flare-up over Goldbergs remarks this week highlighted the enduring complexity of some race-related issues, including the widespread but strongly contested notion that only people of color can be victims of racism.

The View brought on Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League and author of It Could Happen Here, on Tuesday to discuss why her words had been hurtful.

Jewish people at the moment are feeling besieged, Greenblatt said.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, praised Goldberg for being outspoken over the years on social issues but said he struggled to understand her statement on the Holocaust.

Whoopi Goldberg (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

The only explanation that I have for it is that there is a new definition of racism that has been put out there in the public recently that defines racism exclusively as the targeting of people of color. And obviously history teaches us otherwise, Cooper said.

Everything about Nazi Germany and about the targeting of the Jews and about the Holocaust was about race and racism. Thats the unfortunate, unassailable historic fact, he said.

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Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, linked Goldbergs remarks to broader misconceptions of the Holocaust, Jewish identity and antisemitism.

In her error, she was reflecting a misunderstanding of Jewish identity that is both widespread and dangerous that is sometimes described as erasive antisemitism, said Marcus, who is the author of The Definition of Anti-Semitism.

It is the notion that Jews should be viewed only as being white, privileged oppressors, he said. It denies Jewish identity and involves a whitewashing of Jewish history.

Marcus referred to the use of anti-Jewish stereotypes about being powerful, controlling and sinister, coupled with downplaying or denying antisemitism.

In Israel, being Jewish is rarely seen in racial terms, in part because of the countrys great diversity. Yet Jewish identity goes far beyond religion. Israelis typically refer to the Jewish people or Jewish nation, describing a group or civilization bound together by a shared history, culture, language and traditions and deep ties to Jewish communities overseas.

On The View Monday, Goldberg, who is Black, had expressed surprise that some Tennessee school board members were uncomfortable about nudity in Maus.

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I mean, its about the Holocaust, the killing of 6 million people, but that didnt bother you? she said. If youre going to do this, then lets be truthful about it. Because the Holocaust isnt about race. No, its not about race.

She continued on that line despite pushback from some of her fellow panelists.

The U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington responded to Goldberg with a tweet.

Racism was central to Nazi ideology. Jews were not defined by religion, but by race. Nazi racist beliefs fueled genocide and mass murder, it said.

That tweet also included a link to the museums online encyclopedia, which said the Nazis attributed negative stereotypes about Jews to a biologically determined racial heritage.

On Twitter, there were several calls for Goldbergs firing, where it appeared caught up in the familiar debates between left and right.

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Greenblatt said the talk show, in the market for a new co-host following last summers departure of Meghan McCain, should consider hiring a Jewish woman to keep the issue of antisemitism in the forefront.

AP Television Writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles and correspondent Luis Andres Henao in Princeton, N.J. contributed to this report.
New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear the plea seeking postponement of the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering Exam, 2022 (GATE 2022) in view of the third wave of the COVID-19.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli will list the matter for hearing after advocate Pallav Mongia, appearing for petitioners, mentioned the matter for urgent hearing of the case.

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Two petitions are filed in the issue - one by the students/candidates appearing for the GATE 2022 Exam - and another one is a PIL on behalf of Umesh Dhande who runs an education institute that mentors students for GATE and other exams.

"The country is currently suffering from a 'third Wave' of rising COVID cases with a number of daily cases touching a record 3 lakh and above. In this frightening situation that has engulfed the whole country, the Petitioners are being forced to write the GATE 2022 physically which poses a massive health risk on the lives of many aspirants like the petitioners," the pleas said.

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The GATE 2022 is scheduled to be held on February 5, 6, 12 and 13.

The petitioners have also challenged the instructions of January 15, 2022, issued by the Centre in which instructions to the candidates appearing for the exam were notified. The pleas said notification/ instructions to the candidates were annexed with the admit cards.

The petitioners while stating that more than 9 lakh students are appearing for the exam across 200 exam centres, they said guidelines were not issued or procedures not set out to assess the health conditions of the students appearing for the exam.

"The instructions issued also lacks clarity, creates confusion among students as it creates an unnecessary classification between students who will be allowed to appear for the exam and those who would be barred with no medical or legal basis. The instructions allow asymptomatic students who are showing symptoms to appear for the exam but not those students who have tested positive but are asymptomatic. There exists no intelligible differentia in such classification by the Respondents as per instructions and thus it is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India," the pleas stated.

It is pertinent to point out that the instructions incentivize students who might be showing symptoms of COVID-19 to not get tested for COVID as a positive test will bar them from appearing for the exam, the pleas added.

It further stated that on the contrary, the instructions allow students who are showing symptoms to appear for the exam but have not tested positive for Covid. The pleas said, "This classification is absurd and self-contradictory, and defeats the resolve of the Government to test maximum people for proper tracing and treatment."

The petitioners also said that many states have already postponed some of their exams scheduled in January and February 2022, in light of third-wave hitting the country. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 2 (ANI): In the Kishan Bharwad murder case, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday added a section of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime against the accused, Maulana Ayub and Maulana Qamargani Usmani.

The ATS has added a section of the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act 3(1)(1) and 3(2) Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the accused.

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The ATS, in its statement, informed that during the search of the house of Maulana Ayub Jawarawala at Jamalpur in Ahmedabad, the team found argon and a religious book written by Maulana Ayub.

"Police arrested Maulana Ayub after it was revealed that Ayub Jawarawala had arranged a weapon to kill him," they said.

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Along with this, Maulana Kamargani Usmani of Delhi was also arrested.

"Notably, these clauses of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) should be applied in the activity related to terrorist activities in which the accused is not likely to get anticipatory bail or bail till the case is investigated," Gujarat ATS said.

30-year-old Kishan Bharwad was murdered in Ahmedabad's Dhandhuka on Tuesday was allegedly shot dead over a social media post.

According to the ATS, the cleric ran an organisation named the Tahreek Farogh-e-Islami and allegedly circulated videos of speeches to instigate youth belonging to the minority community to target those who insult Islam. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], February 2 (ANI): Days after a controversy arose over the name of Jinnah Tower in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur, it was painted in tricolour and arrangements were made to hoist the national flag near it.

"On the request of various groups, it was decided to decorate the tower with the tricolour and to construct a pole to hoist the national flag near the tower," said Guntur East MLA Mohammed Musthafa.

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"Necessary arrangements will be made to hoist the National flag at Jinnah Tower on Thursday," said Musthafa.

Musthafa visited the tower with GMC Mayor Kavati Manohar Naidu on Tuesday to inspect the security arrangements.

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"Muslim elder leaders fought against the Britishers during the freedom struggle. After achieving independence, some of the Muslims left the country and settled in Pakistan. But, we wanted to continue in our country as Indians and we love our motherland," he said.

Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party which raised the issue of Jinnah tower earlier last month, Musthafa said, "BJP leaders should participate in helping needy people amid COVID19 pandemic, instead of provoking communal clashes."

Earlier on January 26, a group of people stormed into Jinnah Tower to unfurl the tricolour after which they were detained.

The Andhra Pradesh unit of BJP submitted a memorandum in December last year to the Guntur Municipal Corporation Commissioner Challa Anuradha requesting to rename Jinnah Tower after the name of former president Abdul Kalam. (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, February 2: The Congress is likely to declare its chief ministerial face for Punjab on February 6 when former party chief Rahul Gandhi will visit the poll-bound state, party sources said.

Rahul Gandhi had announced during his last visit to Punjab on January 27 that the Congress will go into the Punjab Assembly election with a CM face and the decision on it will be taken soon after consulting party workers. Also Read | Samajwadi Party Leader Ram Gopal Yadav Says 'No Need To Provide Booster Doses for COVID-19 in India'.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has already started consultations with party leaders and workers on the chief ministerial candidate. The party is seeking responses from Congress leaders and workers through its Shakti app, the sources said. Also Read | Tamil Nadu Shocker: 66-Year-Old Man Sexually Assaults Minor Step-Granddaughter in Tirupur District; Arrested.

The party has also sought the opinion of common people on the issue and the process has started in the last two days. The sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Punjab on Sunday, February 6, and may make the important announcement.

Over the past several weeks, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu have, directly or indirectly, made a case for themselves to be declared as the party's chief ministerial candidate.

The Congress appears to be putting its weight behind Channi, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste community and has been fielded from two assembly seats of Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur.

The SCs and STs have been a traditional vote bank of the Congress, but they drifted away from the party following the emergence of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and some other small groups.

The Congress is now seeking to consolidate the SC vote bank, which comprises almost one-third of Punjab's population, by choosing Channi to replace former chief minister Amarinder Singh. A three-time MLA from Chamkaur Sahib, Channi is the first Dalit chief minister of Punjab.

He is the only party candidate to be fielded from two seats. The Congress has followed the 'one family, one seat' formula in allocating tickets to its candidates in Punjab. Rahul Gandhi while addressing a virtual rally in Jalandhar last week had said that Channi and Sidhu have assured him that whosoever is chosen as the CM face, the other will support him.

Gandhi made the statement after Sidhu at the rally demanded that the party declare the CM face for the polls and said he doesn't want to be a "showpiece". Differences in the party continued to simmer even after the ouster of Amarinder Singh and Channi's elevation to the post.

The Congress is seeking to retain power in Punjab and is pitted against the AAP, the SAD-BSP and the BJP that has joined hands with Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa's Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 2 (ANI): Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the Union Budget 2022 and said that the BJP-led Centre needs to be "removed and thrown in the Bay of Bengal".

Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi "short-sighted", Rao said, "BJP (at Centre) needs to be removed and thrown in the Bengal sea (Bay of Bengal). We will do whatever is needful for the country; will not sit silent. This is democracy. Our PM is very short-sighted."

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Hinting at entering the national politics, he said, "There is need for qualitative (leadership) change in the country. I will be going to Mumbai to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to hold talks over it."

"We will start working on what exactly this country needs. I am a strong believer that our country is strong and wherever there is a need, our country reacts. There is a requirement for change. Requirement for revolution in the country. Until and unless we fight, we will not get the change. The Singapore government has nothing but they have brains, our government has everything but they don't have brains," he added.

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Calling for a need to rewrite the Indian Constitution, the Telangana Chief Minister said, "We have to rewrite our Constitution. Nayi Soch, Naya Samvidhan should be brought in. The Constitution needs to be strengthened."

Referring to the recent announcement of digital currency to be issued by the RBI, Rao questioned if the cryptocurrency is official in India.

"India badly neglected Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The BJP government have deceived the people so badly," 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 [India], February 2 (ANI): Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that Union Budget has a provision of Rs 1.37 lakh crore of the capital investment support for the Railways and it will help complete the stalled Railways projects.

He also lauded the announcement about 2,000 km of the network to be brought under Kavach, the indigenous world-class technology for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23 as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

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"Indigenously-developed anti-collision technology Kavach is SIL4 certified which means there is the probability of a single error in 10,000 years. The Union Budget has a provision of Rs 1.37 lakh crores of the capital investment support for the Railways. It will help complete the stalled Railways projects," Vaishnaw said.

"I thank PM Modi for a record allocation for railways. The new Vande Bharat and Kavach (indigenous tech for safety and capacity augmentation) announcement will change passenger experience. There are funds for redevelopment and modernization of stations," he added.

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The minister said, there are funds for redevelopment for the modernization of railway stations as well as the budget also considers the small farmers, small entrepreneurs who live in far-flung areas, tribal brothers and women volunteer organizations.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said in her budget speech that 400 new-generation Vande Bharat Trains with better energy efficiency and passenger riding experience will be developed and manufactured during the next three years. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kabul [Afghanistan], February 2 (ANI): Senior Correspondent at Iran International News, Tajuden Soroush, said the journalists from Ariana TV, an Afghanistani media network, confirmed the arrest of two of their journalists, Wares Hasrat and Aslam Hejab, by the Taliban.

Taking to Twitter, Tajuden Soroush said, "Ariana TV journalists confirmed me that today Taliban arrested Wares Hasrat and Aslam Hejab, two @ArianaNews_ journalists. Taliban didn't say why they arrested them but last night in one of the Ariana TV's program, a guest criticised the Taliban and their behaver."

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Notably, The Free Speech Hub, an organization supporting open media in Afghanistan, in a statement said that the two reporters--Aslam Hejab and Waris Hasrat--were arrested by the Taliban on Monday and so far the reasons for their arrest remain unknown.

Furthermore, the European Union, Amnesty International and UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) have called upon the Taliban to provide information about the case of two Ariana News reporters.

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On Tuesday, Amnesty International said that the arrest of the two journalists was "unjustifiable" and called on the Islamic Emirate to release them.

"Such escalating attacks on media freedom are a grave threat to the right to freedom of expression. The Taliban must unconditionally and immediately release them," Amnesty International said in a tweet.

The EU ambassador to Afghanistan, Andreas von Brandt, also reacted to the arrest of the journalists. "Still hard to grasp why those you claim to work for justice and better governance don't respect journalists working to improve transparency, governance and justice in Afghanistan," he tweeted. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, Feb 2 (AP) President Joe Biden is reaching out for Republican support for his eventual Supreme Court nominee, inviting the GOP's top Judiciary Committee senator to the White House Tuesday along with the panel's Democratic chairman and phoning Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell for a one-on-one discussion.

Biden and fellow Democrats are working for significant GOP backing for the still-to-be-named nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer  a steep challenge in a Senate that has been sharply and bitterly divided over the past three confirmations.

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At the White House, former longtime Sen. Biden called Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and the panel's top Republican, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, two good friends and noted they had worked on many Supreme Court nominations together in their decades on the committee.

Biden noted that the Constitution calls for Senate advice and consent," on a nominee, and he said, I'm serious when I say I want the advice of the Senate as well as the consent."

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As Biden mulls a replacement for Breyer  a Black woman, he has promised  Durbin has been proposing a ceasefire of sorts after the wrenching partisan fights over former President Donald Trump's three nominees. The Democratic senator has been vigorously reaching out to GOP colleagues since Breyer announced last week that he will step down this summer.

The White House outreach is a similar attempt at detente by the president, who along with Durbin and Grassley is a veteran of a bygone era when Supreme Court justices were confirmed with overwhelming support from both parties. Biden was chairman of the panel in 1994 when Breyer was confirmed 87-9.

It was old home week, Durbin said as he returned from the White House.

Winning much GOP support for Biden's nominee will be a challenge, though, as advocates push him to nominate a strong liberal and some Senate Republicans have criticized the president even before he makes his decision.

McConnell, who also served with Biden for many years, has urged the president to pick a moderate. His office said he spoke with Biden Tuesday afternoon and emphasized the importance of a nominee who believes in judicial independence and will resist all efforts by politicians to bully the Court or to change the structure of the judicial system.

At a committee meeting Tuesday morning, Grassley condemned Democratic advocates who pressured Breyer to retire, and he said nominees should be judged solely on their qualifications. After the White House meeting, he said he told the president that I want somebody that's going to interpret law, not make law.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who might be the most likely GOP senator to vote for a Biden nominee, on Sunday called the president's handling of the nomination so far clumsy," saying he had politicized the process.

Other Republicans have openly stoked a debate over Biden's promise to nominate a Black woman. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker said he views the process as affirmative action. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said it's "offensive" because Biden is saying white men and women have the wrong skin pigment and wrong Y chromosome."

The court was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. Justice Clarence Thomas and the late Thurgood Marshall are the only two Black men who have served on the court. There has never been a Black woman.

Durbin has noted that Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump both promised to pick women and were praised when they nominated Sandra Day O'Connor and Amy Coney Barrett, respectively. There have been only five female justices in U.S. history, while there have been 110 men.

It is not uncommon for a president of the United States in filling a Supreme Court vacancy to announce in advance what type of person he wants, Durbin said Monday.

Collins is a particularly important target for Democrats. She has voted for some of Biden's lower court judges and against Barrett's nomination in 2020. Durbin called her within hours of learning that Breyer would step down, and has made clear that Democrats won't rush the confirmation, in line with her call for a deliberate process.

While criticising Biden, she has also thanked Durbin for reaching out and saying he will provide whatever information she may need.

Collins said she wants dignified hearings and bipartisan support  but added that it depends on who the nominee is.

The reason for us to try to get the nomination process back to the way it used to be when Supreme Court nominees were frequently confirmed overwhelmingly is the credibility of the court is at stake, she said. If the court is perceived by the American public as a political institution, that is harmful and undermines support for its decisions.

Two other Republicans have signaled they could vote for a Biden nominee  if it is the right one. South Carolina Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott have both praised J. Michelle Childs, a federal judge who got her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. The White House has said Childs is under consideration.

She has wide support in our state, Graham said Sunday on CBS, adding that the Supreme Court should look like America.

Other Republicans could be open to voting for a Biden nominee, as well. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is up for reelection this year, has supported some of his lower court nominees. And some GOP senators said this week that they have no problem with Biden's approach. Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said he would be happy to vote for the first Black woman.

Working to win bipartisan support will be former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat who often crossed party lines before he was defeated for reelection in 2020. Jones will serve as the lead official for the White House to shepherd the nomination, said two people familiar with the discussions who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The former senator and U.S. attorney is another old friend of the president's, dating back to Biden's first presidential campaign in 1988.

Durbin acknowledged the challenges ahead, and the balance Biden will have to strike in picking the right person. He said that in reviewing early names that have been floated, he believes each is open to more moderate or conservative rulings.

So that will be a plus and a minus, Durbin said. Some Republicans may point to it as a reason to vote for her. Some in the far left may find it as a reason to vote against her. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington [US], February 1 (ANI): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to follow up on the U.S written response to Russia's security proposals.

The phone call comes as the situation around Ukraine has worsened over the past several months. NATO and Kiev continue to accuse Russia of building up troops near the Ukrainian border and preparing for an invasion.

Also Read | COVID-19-Infected HIV Patient Developed More Than 20 Mutations, Study Reveals.

Meanwhile, Russia has consistently denied any plans to invade Ukraine, saying it has the right to move troops inside its territory, responding to what it considers threats to its national security.

"The Secretary (Blinken) emphasized the US willingness, bilaterally and together with Allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns, which we intend to do in full coordination with our partners and Allies," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

Also Read | Rishi Sunak Frontrunner to be UK PM if Boris Johnson Resigns? Heres More About The Indian Origin Candidate.

Blinken further reiterated the US commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances.

Price said US State Secretary urged immediate Russian de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine's borders. Blinken emphasized that further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Westwego (US), Feb 1 (AP) A 4-year-old boy in Louisiana, sitting in the back of a car with two younger siblings, fatally shot himself in the forehead with a gun he found while his mother and another adult smoked marijuana in the front seat, authorities said.

An autopsy Monday found that Jarion Walker's gunshot wound was self-inflicted, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said at a news conference late Monday, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.

Also Read | COVID-19-Infected HIV Patient Developed More Than 20 Mutations, Study Reveals.

It was a contact wound to the forehead, right above the right eyebrow, Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said.

The shooting happened about 10:45 pm Saturday in the city of Westwego, a suburb of New Orleans. Jarion was sitting in the back seat with two siblings age 22 months and about 1, authorities said.

Also Read | Rishi Sunak Frontrunner to be UK PM if Boris Johnson Resigns? Heres More About The Indian Origin Candidate.

The adults, who admitted to smoking marijuana at the time, said they heard the shot, Lopinto said.

The little boy was rushed to a hospital, where he died of his injuries, the sheriff said.

No one has been arrested, though detectives will complete the investigation and turn the results over to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office, Lopinto said.

I don't think it was appropriate to make an arrest at this point, he said. They just lost a child, and it certainly wasn't intentional, by any means.

The gun used in the shooting belonged to the child's father, authorities said. The boy is believed to have found the weapon under the seat, Lopinto said.

Since the child's death, the Sheriff's Office is cautioning gun owners to secure their firearms.

Guns should never be left inside vehicles, the sheriff said.

These types of deaths can certainly be prevented, he said. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
HOLLYWOOD  A quiet, secluded slice of public beach will become home to a sleek 30-story condo tower if Hollywood commissioners give the word.

The long-awaited vote  one of the citys most controversial in recent history  is set for Wednesday, with public discussion beginning at 5 p.m.

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The $352 million project calls for a 347-foot-high tower with 190 condos that would rise on taxpayer-owned land at 1301 S. Ocean Drive, currently home to a community center with a city park next door. In return for a 99-year lease, the Miami-based Related Group would build a new city park and community center, with construction costs capped at $20 million.

Many residents keeping a close eye on the deal were under the impression the developer would pick up the tab to replace Harry Berry Park and the Hollywood Beach Culture & Community Center next door.

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But under the proposed deal, Hollywood would reimburse the developer with money it gets from its 14-percent share of the condo sales.

Eric Fordin, senior vice president of the Related Group, argues the city is getting a great deal. He says the units as currently designed would sell for $1.5 million to $3.5 million  or $1,000 per square foot.

They are receiving brand-new public facilities without the city funding a single cent, he said Tuesday.

An artist's illustration shows a 30-story condo tower planned on public land at 1301 South Ocean Drive on Hollywood beach, currently home to the Hollywood Beach Culture and Community Center. (The Related Group/Courtesy)

If the deal gets done, Hollywood would be in line to collect more than $1 billion over the next century, city officials say.

Mayor Josh Levy pointed to a possible $66 million from the towns share of condo sales plus $5 million in an upfront rent payment, $2.5 million a year in yearly property taxes and at least $400,000 in yearly rent.

Obviously, the opportunity for the city is an economic one and a recreational one, Levy said. Were not blind to that. But we have to weigh that against community sentiment that the property remain in its current state. Its a unique property. People feel a lot more ownership because its public property  and rightly so.

Long list of complaints

Critics have several complaints about the deal, saying it has ramifications that will haunt Hollywood for the next century.

They accuse Hollywood of ignoring its own height and deed restrictions  part of the site was deeded to the city in 1974 by a developer for open space with a public purpose. They also worry about the new tower will cast yet another shadow on the beach, and say theres no need to replace Harry Berry Park or the community center next door.

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[ RELATED: Battle looms over deal that would pave way for sky-high condo on Hollywoods beach ]

It doesnt sound like a good deal, said Cat Uden, a local activist leading a grass-roots fight against the tower.

The deal requires Hollywood to pay for environmental remediation of the site if needed, Uden noted.

Its a lot of liability for the city, she said. The city would be liable for unforeseen circumstances. The city would be on the hook for those costs.

Several groups have come out against the plan, including the Sierra Club, the Hollywood Historical Society and the Hollywood Council of Civic Associations.

Protesters gather outside Hollywood City Hall on Sept. 14, 2021 to oppose a private condo on public land at the beach. (Mike Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

[ RELATED: Hollywood activist says cop warned her not to wear condo costume to Halloween party. Shes wearing it anyway. ]

Hollywood spokeswoman Raelin Storey says many critics are uninformed about the intricate details of the proposal.

The deal is we are getting 14 percent of the condo sales with a guaranteed minimum value of $35 million, she said. If you use current market comps of $1,000 per square foot, it could go up to $66 million. Even if the market falls apart, we will get $35 million.

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That is the deal

Storey says its important to note that no money will come from city coffers to pay for the public facilities. Instead, Hollywood will use a portion of proceeds from the condo sales to pay for the community center and the park. So whether the city makes $35 million or $66 million on the condos, $20 million of that, at most, will go to building the new park and community center.

That is the deal, she said. People may not like the deal at the end of the day. But if they make conclusions based on misinformation and inaccuracies, they are not making a decision based on what the project really is and the benefits to the public. It will fund improvements across our city.

To activists like longtime Hollywood resident Karen Caputo, its all just smoke and mirrors.

Plain and clear, Caputo says Hollywood will be reimbursing the developer for a park and community center residents thought theyd be getting in exchange for what some are calling a land giveaway.

[ RELATED: Private condo on public land could make Hollywood millions, but it will need National Park Service approval ]

To move forward, the deal needs at least five yes votes from the seven-member commission.

Uden has a backup plan if commissioners say yes on Wednesday: Collect enough signatures from residents to force Hollywood to hold a referendum election later this year, giving voters the final say on whether the project moves forward.

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The referendum is really a last resort, Uden said. Were going to stop it any way we can. Either the city commission will save the day. Or we will.

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan
Islamabad [Pakistan], February 2 (ANI): Paracetamol is unavailable in many of Pakistan's pharmacies and is reportedly being sold in the black market, reported DAWN.

A Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) official attributed the shortage of Paracetamol, the most commonly prescribed medicine for COVID patients, to the rising number of dengue cases and the subsequent demand for the painkiller, reported the newspaper

Also Read | Pfizer, BioNTech Seek Emergency Authorization for COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids Under 5 Years of Age.

Drap on Tuesday issued show-cause notices to 15 pharmaceutical companies for failing to manufacture, Paracetamol, despite having licences.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is currently facing the fifth COVID wave and the number of active cases across the country has crossed the 100,000 mark.

Also Read | Ecuador Landslide: At Least 24 Dead, 48 Injured After Hillside Collapse in Quito.

Pakistan's national positivity rate is at 9.65 per cent and National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) recorded 32 deaths across the country over the past 24 hours. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kabul [Afghanistan], February 2 (ANI): The Russian envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov on Tuesday said that Moscow is ready to receive delegates of both Afghanistan's authorities and opposition forces to prevent war in Afghanistan, in case they are interested.

In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, Kabulov said that Russian officials have repeatedly declared they will host such meetings, reported Tolo News.

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"As for visits to Moscow by representatives of both the new Afghan authorities and opposition forces, we have repeatedly confirmed our readiness to demonstrate hospitality if they are interested in that," Kabulov told TASS.

Meanwhile, a source close to National Resistance Force (NRF), the only defiant group who are fighting the Taliban told Tolo News that Russia had mediated a meeting recently between the Islamic Emirate and the Resistance Front, in which Ahmad Massoud met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, first deputy of the PM, in Moscow.

Also Read | Rishi Sunak Frontrunner to be UK PM if Boris Johnson Resigns? Heres More About The Indian Origin Candidate.

The meeting has not been officially confirmed yet, and Islamic Emirate officials have neither confirmed nor denied the meeting.

"There is no official information on hand about the trip of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to any country," said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

This unconfirmed report follows a meeting of the Islamic Emirate delegation led by Amir Khan Mutaqqi with Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the Resistance Front, and Ismail Khan, a jihadi leader, in Tehran.

However, the negotiations between NRF and the Taliban ended without any results in Tehran.

After the fall of Kabul on August 15, NRF remained the only defiant group led by Ahamd Masoud, the son of late former Afghan guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who are resisting the Taliban.

In November 2021, the Afghan National Resistance Front said that more and more people were joining the organization to fight the Taliban rule, with members of the NRF gathering in Panjshir, Kapisa, Parwan, Badakhshan, Balkh, and Baghlan provinces, as per the media outlet.

Recently Norway hosted meetings between a delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Afghan women and as well as representatives of several countries in Oslo, and there were reports released that Abdul Ghani Baradar had left Kabul for Moscow to meet Ahmad Massoud, however, the Russian ministry of foreign affairs denied the meeting, reported Tolo News. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Delhi Police arrested 3 accused in North Delhi road rage incident; country made weapon seized from them.



Three injured in a brawl that led to road rage near Red Fort on the night of Jan 31: Sagar Singh Kalsi, DCP North pic.twitter.com/AURbdDTvvs ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2022

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has come face-to-face against U.S. Border Patrol agents in a meeting last week regarding the immigration policy and other agency concerns.

The back and forth between Mayorkas and Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz and his agents were heard from a leaked video, which was obtained by media outlet Townhall.

Mayorkas said, as heard in the audio, that CBP is not particularly keen on the policies of the current administration. He added that, however, that is the reality and should see what they can do within the bounds of the policies, according to an Axios report.

A Yuma, Arizona border patrol agent reportedly turned his back to Mayorkas, adding that the DHS secretary had turned his back on agents.

Townhall Senior Writer Julio Rosas tweeted about the audio, saying that the meeting did not go well between Mayorkas and agents.

EXCLUSIVE: I was given audio of DHS Sec Mayorkas' meeting with Border Patrol agents in the Yuma Sector today. It did not go well. One agent turned his back on Mayorkas.



Mayorkas admitted the border is the worse it's been in over 20 years, "if not ever." https://t.co/hAdryUWeke  Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) January 26, 2022

Mayorkas then told the Yuma CBP agent that they can turn their backs on him, but that he will never turn his back on them.

READ NEXT: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Wants Pres. Joe Biden to Stop Sending Illegal Immigrants to the State

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Meeting With Border Patrol Agents

Mayorkas was heard in the audio telling agents that the job gets more difficult throughout 2021, adding that apprehending families and kids was not what they signed up to do, according to a Townhall report.

The DHS secretary said that his department is working with the Mexican government to stop migrants before reaching the U.S.

One agent challenged Mayorkas, asking how the CBP can ensure border security when the policies instilled by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration are making them unable to execute their jobs.

Currently, CBP agents have been delegated the task of processing thousands of illegal migrants. Another agent said that it was "demoralizing" to see politicians and others portray CBP agents as the evil side of the situation.

The agent cited situations when they often save illegal immigrants from injury and death. One agent said that good men are "doing nothing," adding that Mayorkas is allowing illegal migrants to be transported to communities.

Ortiz then said that agents are being restrained by the policies and the politics, according to an ABC 13 News report.

Former acting commissioner of CBP Mark Morgan described the situation as the "worst display of leadership" that he has seen in his career. Morgan added that Mayorkas was not listening to them and refusing to have a dialogue with the agents.

Rosas tweeted that one agent said that the border was better under former President Donald Trump, with sources saying that Mayorkas was "visibly upset."

One agent told Mayorkas the border was better under the Trump admin. Sources who were at the meeting tell me Mayorkas was visibly upset.



Border Patrol agents are pissed and they let Mayorkas know about it today.https://t.co/hAdryUWeke  Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) January 26, 2022

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that she is not aware of the leaked video and audio of CBP agents and Mayorkas' meeting.

Jen Psaki admits that she isn't aware of leaked video of Border Patrol agents ripping DHS Secretary Mayorkas and Border Patrol Chief Ortiz to their faces: pic.twitter.com/L53AO9LnXm  Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 31, 2022

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona shared his two cents on the meeting on Twitter, clamoring for Mayorkas' resignation.

Secretary Mayorkas needs to resign NOW  and if he doesnt, congress needs to dig in. 1/https://t.co/K06apXjrNH  Doug Ducey (@dougducey) January 26, 2022

Mayorkas addressed the concerns of agents that they were being "demonized," saying that he had threats against him against his life and the life of his family.

Meanwhile, DHS has yet to release a comment addressing the issue.

READ MORE: Immigrant Children at Border Have High Chance of Staying in the U.S.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Border agents confront CBP chief over Biden's policy in leaked video - from FOX News






A 3.3-magnitude earthquake struck about a mile southwest of Cudahy in Los Angeles County, shaking parts of Southern California on Tuesday morning, according to U.S. Geological Survey.

USGS reported that the quake hit at 9:26 a.m and had a depth of about nine miles, per ABC 7.

Citizens Flood Twitter with Reactions on Quake

As shaking was felt throughout the L.A. region, Twitter users shared their own experiences.

"The fact that the earthquake was on the border of south gate and Cudahy screams latinophobia," wrote @itsjustcaroo.

the fact that the earthquake was on the border of south gate and cudahy screams latinophobia   carolina  (@itsjustcaroo) February 1, 2022

I am on the phone with my mom and she screamed  MY LIFEEE in spanish and i told her to calm down and she said she was eating those little animal cookies when she felt the earthquake 4.1 in cudahy cali.  Kay Kay  (@_kaykay69) February 1, 2022

Twitter user Kay-kay shared that she was on the phone with her mother when suddenly she heard her scream "My Life" in Spanish.

California residents also felt the shaking in cities like Lakewood, Commerce, and Compton.

No immediate reports of damages or injuries have been recorded, according to ABC7.

The tremor hit "quite deep at 14 km," said Dr. Lucy Jones, seismologist and public voice for earthquake science and earthquake safety in California.

"A small M3.3 in Cudahy. Probably felt around much of LA Basin," Jones posted on Twitter.

Jones encouraged those who felt the quake to share their experiences to the section of the USGS website, "Did You Feel It?"

Earthquakes that fall between magnitudes 3.0 to 3.9 on the Richter scale are considered minor. The quake is felt and objects inside are going to shake around, but there is very rare damage.

ALSO READ: Winter Storm Warning: Meteorologist Predicts 'High Impact' Heavy Snow, Rain

M4.1 Earthquake Hits San Diego, Riverside Counties

On Sunday, a 4.1-magnitude earthquake also rattled parts of Southern California, including San Diego and Riverside Counties, that is powerful enough to get people talking across Southern California.

According to the New York Times , though small earthquakes are common in the region, this one "felt more potent," Sandra Herrera said, a resident in Menifee, a city located about 75 miles north of San Diego.

Ms. Herrera, 22, added, "I thought it could be the Big One," referring to the long-feared earthquake in California.

According to experts, there was no cause to be concerned about the earthquake in Southern California.

Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado, which is part of the U.S. Geological Survey, remarked: "This is not a big deal."

Although there are multiple faults in the area that generate many small earthquakes, a 4.1-magnitude temblor is minor in comparison to some of the area's more significant quakes, such as the 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake in 1994 where 60 people died.

There were no reports of any casualties or damage as a result of the earthquake on Sunday, according to Blakeman, as it usually takes upward of a 5.0 earthquake to do damage in the U.S.

Although the agency did not have an estimate for how long the earthquake had lasted, numerous people said it was between 10 and 20 seconds.

According to the Southern California Seismic Network, there were two mild aftershocks.

READ MORE: Encanto' Song 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' Overtakes 'Frozen's' 'Let It Go' as Top Disney Animated Hit Song

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Small Earthquake Hits Cudahy, Felt Throughout Los Angeles - from CBS Los Angeles
The National Archives and Records Administration said some of former President Donald Trump's White House documents that Trump tore up had been taped back together.

In a statement, the Archives confirmed Trump's practice of tearing up records, as cited by press reports in 2018, CBS News reported.

The Archives said that White House records management officials from the Trump administration recovered and taped together the shredded documents that were turned over to the agency at the end of Trump's presidency, "along with a number of torn-up records" that the White House had not reconstructed.

The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack earlier asked for Trump's White House documents in connection with the probe.

The Archives turned over the required documents after the Supreme Court rejected Trump's request to block the release of documents to the committee.

According to a 2018 Politico report, Trump's unofficial "filing system" consisted of him ripping up papers and throwing them on the floor or trash.

The Presidential Records Act requires memos, letters, emails, and other documents to be kept and given to the National Archives at the end of every administration.

READ NEXT: Donald Trump Urges Supporters to Hold Nationwide Protests if Prosecutors Investigating Him 'Do Anything Illegal'

National Archives on Donald Trump's White House Documents

Los Angeles Times columnist Harry Litman tweeted that the former president has routinely violated the Presidential Records Act by tearing up records.

Trump violated Presidential Records Act routinely. Amazing one man can break so many laws The National Archives saidin a statement that records turned over from the Trump White House included paper records that had been torn up by former President Trump.  Harry Litman (@harrylitman) February 1, 2022

One official earlier told Politico that he had a letter from Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Donald Trump tore it up, describing the incident as "the craziest thing ever."

CNN Congressional correspondent Ryan Nobles tweeted that "the thousands of pages of documents" from the Archive were still in the process of being taken by the committee.

Robles noted that there's "so much content," with select committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson saying that the Archives had to add 20 people to their staff.

The 1/6 Select Committee is still in the process of taking in thousands of pages of documents from the National Archives of the Trump White House.

It is so much content, Chair Bennie Thompson told @AnnieGrayerCNN the Archives had to add 20 people to their staff.  Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) February 2, 2022

According to People, the reconstructed documents were among the more than 700 pages already turned over to the January 6 committee late last month after Trump lost the court battle. Included in the documents turned over to the committee was a draft executive order, which several news outlets published.

The December 16, 2020 draft order given to Trump would have directed the Defense Department to seize voting machines during the 2020 presidential election. It was never issued, and it's unclear who authored the draft order.

The select committee, National Archives staff, and Trump's camp had yet to comment on the matter. But some netizens redirected the issue and questioned the contents of Hilary Clinton's emails and Hunter Biden's laptop, such as the case with one Twitter user with a handle @Ziggy_Daddy.

Donald Trump manually shredded documents destined to be sent to the national archives, but please, tell me about Hillarys emails and Hunter Bidens laptop.  ZiggyDaddy (@Ziggy_Daddy) February 1, 2022

Others were questioning when Trump would be arrested for his crimes.

How many crimes does this vile creature have to commit before he is arrested?

Trump White House turned over records that were torn up by former president, National Archives confirms https://t.co/isGxR09eec via @Yahoo  Robert (@Robert33829889) February 1, 2022

The congressional reporter for The Guardian U.S., Hugo Lowell, tweeted that federal prosecutors are also reviewing the fake Electoral College certifications sent to the Archives, declaring Donald Trump the winner of states he lost.

New: Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco tells CNN that federal prosecutors are reviewing fake Electoral College certifications sent to the National Archives that declared Trump the winner of states he lost.  Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) January 25, 2022

The January 6 Capitol Attack Select Committee

Donald Trump has unsuccessfully argued in a lawsuit in lower federal courts that he was entitled to block the documents released under executive privilege, which in some instances allows a president to stop Congress from obtaining executive branch records.

However, according to CNBC, President Joe Biden has refused to invoke executive privilege over the documents that the select committee asked.

The move eventually led to the select committee getting hold of the documents. The January 6 Capitol riot by hundreds of Donald Trump supporters started after he falsely claimed that he had won the 2020 presidential election.

READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden Says He Does Not Care if People Think He's 'Satan Reincarnate' After Expressing Support On Bipartisan Probe of Capitol Riot

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Trump Records Were Ripped Up, Taped Together - From The View






Border Patrol agents will soon get help from "robot dogs" in securing the U.S.-Mexico border, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.

The four-legged robot dogs that weigh 100 pounds have bolts, gadgets, and cameras. They are being developed for Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officials by the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), according to Border Report.

The S&T serves as the research and development arm of the DHS. According to S&T program manager Brenda Long, the robot dogs are being developed because the southern border can be "an inhospitable place for man and beast."

Long noted that these new machines may excel in that area. She said the devices are formally called Automated Ground Surveillance Vehicles (AGSVs) but commonly called robot dogs.

READ NEXT: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Wants Pres. Joe Biden to Stop Sending Illegal Immigrants to the State

Robot Dogs to Help Border Patrol Agents Guard U.S.-Mexico Border

The introduction of robots dogs to help Border Patrol agents have been met with skepticism by some social media users.

A Twitter user with handle @sioxielegend expressed doubts about the ability of the robot dogs to do their jobs.

Border Patrol robot dogs?



They dance and play music before eliminating the target. Robocop mixed with Fame.



UpTown Spot https://t.co/UiZh5hHVyJ via @YouTube  Suzie-Q Cthulu Kitty (@sioxielegend) January 27, 2019

Another Twitter user questioned how the robot dogs could do the jobs of the Border Patrol agents.

Please tell me how the government is going to secure the border without a wall? Will we just hire endless border patrol agents to line up across the border? Maybe those robot dogs #NancyPelosi suggested?  Elisabeth (@mommyinaz) February 1, 2019

In a statement, the DHS said the program's goal is to use technology to force-multiply the CBP presence along the U.S.-Mexico border while reducing human exposure to life-threatening situations.

The DHS noted that S&T collaborated with Ghost Robotics, an industry partner developing advanced AGSV systems, to create the four-legged ground drones and achieve the program's objective.

Gavin Kenneally, the chief product officer at Ghost Robotics, said the robot dogs were done for the exact type of work that CBP needs to do.

Kenneally noted that the machine is "a rugged, quadruped robot" that traverses "all types of natural terrain, including sand, rocks, and hills," and "human-built environments, like stairs."

Agent Brett Becker of the CBP Innovation Team (INVNT) said adding quadruped mechanical reinforcements is a smart move since many types of illegal activity are happening in the harsh U.S.-Mexico border zones.

Becker noted that human and drug smuggling and smuggling of other contraband, including firearms, can happen along the border.

"These activities can be conducted by anyone from just a lone individual, all the way up to transnational criminal organizations, terrorists or hostile governments-and everything in between," he said.

With video and other sensor packages mounted on them, the robot dogs have been tested at a facility in Lorton, Virginia.

According to WGN9, these machines can transmit real-time video and other data back to the human operating them and could be operated from a laptop or handheld remote.

The robot dogs were also tested on the rugged border terrain in El Paso and on tight spaces, high heat, and low-oxygen conditions. The DHS said additional testing also included putting the machines through the paces of simulated inspections inside, outside, and under train cars at railyards.

The agency noted that the robot dogs are being equipped with night vision and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear sensors. It added that these new devices would be "walking side-by-side" with Border Patrol agents in the near future.

S&T said it has been working with CBP and Ghost Robotics for about two and a half years on specifications, development, and capability testing of these robot dogs.

Illegal Crossings at U.S.-Mexico Border

During President Joe Biden's administration, U.S. immigration officials had encountered the highest illegal border crossings in two decades.

Border arrests for this fiscal year could surpass the previous year's 1.7 million, according to current and former officials, Reuters reported.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has defended the immigration record of the Biden administration. During the first year of the Biden administration, Mayorkas told Reuters they had been dedicated to rebuilding an immigration system that the Trump administration "dismantled."

Mayorkas noted that they are not targeting non-citizens who had been "contributing members of their communities for years and years," adding that the focus is now more on security threats and recent arrivals.

Mayorkas said he planned to issue a memorandum that would similarly reform immigration detention practices, but he did not provide additional details or a timetable.

READ MORE: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Gets Grilled by Border Patrol Agents During Heated Meeting

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: U.S. Air Force to Start Patrolling With Robot Dogs - From Broken Tank






A body of a man, who was reportedly dismembered and put inside a black plastic bag, was discovered on Tuesday in Mexico's state of Guanajuato plagued by turf wars between rival Mexican drug cartels.

According to Periodico AM, residents of Guanajal community in the municipality of Purisima del Rincon in Guanajuato discovered the human remains at around 7 p.m. in front of an abandoned house along a road.

Authorities said the head of the unidentified man and his limbs were found inside the black plastic bag. They also said the body bore signs of physical abuse.

In Silao City, Guanajuato, a man found several sacks with dismembered body parts on Tuesday afternoon. The man, a Monte del Coecillo community resident, was collecting recyclable materials and firewood when he saw a dog with a person's arm in its mouth, El Universal reported.

He then followed the dog and found the sacks that already had a foul odor. The man alerted the residents, who reported to authorities about the rotting body parts.

Local officials confirmed that two human bodies were placed separately inside several sacks, with only one human head since the other head was missing.

Personnel of the forensic medical service SEMEFO will conduct autopsies on the three dismembered bodies found inside the plastic bag and the sacks.

Meanwhile, some armed men entered a house in the Santa Maria neighborhood at San Francisco Del Rincon, Guanajuato at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday and killed an eight-year-old boy.

Reports said the gunmen were looking for the eldest son, and when they could not find him, they shot the boy, two other children, and their mother, who were inside the house.

Authorities said the two children and their mother were seriously injured. According to reports, the suspects hopped back on their motorcycles and fled the scene immediately after shooting the victims.

READ NEXT: COVID-19 Warning: Americans Traveling to Mexico, Brazil, More Warned of 'Very High Risk'

Other Recent Killings in Mexico's Guanajuato State

Eight people have already been reported dead between Sunday and Monday in Guanajuato state. At around 1:30 p.m. Monday, a dead man wrapped in black plastic bags was found behind the San Juanito neighborhood in Irapuato near the Guanajuato River.

Authorities said the unidentified man, wearing a white and blue striped shirt and navy blue jeans, has gunshot wounds in his body.

According to local reports, this was the second corpse discovered in the same spot for two days in a row. The first man, who also had gunshot wounds, was found on Sunday morning.

A lifeless man was left on a dirt road in El Cerrito de las Huertas town in Irapuato at around 3:30 p.m. on Monday. Responding law enforcement officers found the man with several blows to the face, but they realized he was no longer alive after taking his vital signs.

Another body, with gunshot wounds and signs of physical abuse, was found in Puertas del Campestre subdivision in Celaya, also at Guanajuato, at around 11:40 a.m. on Monday. The man's relatives found him inside his house after not hearing from him for a few days.

Another man was found dead in front of his house at San Jose de Bernalejo community in Irapuato at around 9:30 p.m. on Monday.

Witnesses told investigators that the man was standing in front of his house when two men on a motorcycle shot him and fled the scene.

In Santiago Maravatio at Guanajuato, three people died, and another was injured after bullets rained down on their house in the community of Santa Rita de Casia on Sunday afternoon.

According to local reports, neighbors heard several gunshots before seeing several men fleeing the scene. Police confirmed that two men and a woman died from the shooting incident.

Two weeks ago, at least 21 people were reported dead in Guanajuato in just 24 hours. The victims, consisting of men, women, and children, were found dead in several municipalities on January 17, with their bodies riddled with bullets.

A week before this, at least seven people were killed in two attacks in the state. Two men and two women were reportedly killed on the morning of January 9 after armed men entered a property near Acambaro. In the evening, two men and a woman were murdered inside a house in the center of Irapuato.

Mexican Drug Cartels' Fight for Power And Territory

The number of violent crimes in the cartel-plagued Guanajuato state continues to rise as Mexican drug cartels fight over territory.

The Jalisco cartel has reportedly been fighting to take over territory in Guanajuato from local drug gangs. According to Border Report, the state is the scene of a bloody turf war between the Jalisco cartel and the home-grown Santa Rosa de Lima gang.

The bloodbath in the state reportedly started in 2018 when the Jalisco New Generation Cartel or Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) moved into Guanajuato. The Jalisco cartel is infamous for its public displays of violence and military power.

According to the U.S. State Department, the Jalisco cartel is considered "to be the most violent drug trafficking organization currently operating in Mexico, with the highest cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine trafficking capacity."

Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera is currently leading the Jalisco cartel. The U.S. government has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest as he continues to evade capture.

READ MORE: Mexico: Reporter Shot Dead in Tijuana; 3rd Journalist Killing in Mexico This January

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Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: No Longer Just Cartels: Criminal Groups Increasingly Seek Control of Mexican Territory - From Washington Post
Mexico's vacation paradise in Quintana Roo state has recently been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons: Mexican drug cartel wars have killed tourists and provoked a military deployment.

The weakening of Mexico's entrenched organized crime syndicates and the rising of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel are two of the most complex reasons for this violence, according to Global Risk Insights.

Military Deployment May Worsen Mexican Drug Cartel Wars in Mexico's Quintana Roo

The deployment of military forces in the region is reportedly unlikely to address the main reasons for the violence, and it can even worsen the situation.

Following recent high-profile acts of violence, Mexico's state of Quintana Roo, formerly seen as a sanctuary of tranquility in a nation torn apart by cartel violence, has lost its status as a safe vacation spot.

Last month, a lone gunman killed two Canadian visitors and injured another in the Mexican resort town of Playa del Carmen, an attack that security officials described as targeted and involving individuals with criminal records.

Two weeks prior, a California Instagram influencer and a German tourist were killed when caught in the crossfire of a drug gang shootout in Tulum.

In July, a 35-year-old Texas firefighter on vacation with his wife to celebrate their 10th anniversary was kidnapped and murdered at a resort in Cancun, ABC 13 reported.

In May, a U.S. tourist was wounded in a shooting attack that killed two men at a beach in Cancun.

Between January and September 2021, the murder rate in Mexico increased by 80.5 percent compared to the previous year's similar period, according to the country's public security service.

In response to the violence, the Mexican government declared that the newly created Tourist Security Battalion would have 1,445 National Guard agents to provide security in tourist destinations in the coming months.

The nation's recent bloodshed "cannot be repeated," according to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who also stated that the new battalion's deployment would be permanent and focused on intelligence work.

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U.S. Embassy in Mexico Issues Security Alert for Quintana Roo

As consecutive acts of violence in Quintana Roo caused worldwide alarm, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico issued a special security alert for Americans traveling to the state last week, Travel Pulse reported.

Governments in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand also made specific remarks on their travel advisory websites, while Germany recommended travelers not to leave the hotel zone while in the vicinity.

Cancun and the surrounding areas, also known as the Riviera Maya, have been traditionally viewed as safe havens from the violence that has ravaged much of Mexico in recent years. However, the recent string of violence in the state has vastly changed it.

There were reportedly three factors at play: COVID-19, the state's strategic position for drug trafficking, and the drug cartels fighting for control of territory.

The COVID-19 that shut down the rest of the world while Riviera Maya's cities remain open to international tourists increased the demand for illegal drugs in the state from desperate drug users and partygoers.

Quintana Roo has also been a stopover site for drug flights before heading to the U.S. or Europe.

Lastly, the Mexican drug cartel wars have also reached Quintana Roo, with the remnants of the Zetas Cartel fighting with the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, and Jalisco cartel that appears to currently have more power in the state.

Many believe that the violence in Quintana Roo is likely to worsen since military presence will do little to solve the root causes of the violence because it will simply push the Mexican drug cartels' shootouts away from resorts.

READ MORE: Encanto' Song 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' Overtakes 'Frozen's' 'Let It Go' as Top Disney Animated Hit Song

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Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Mexican Cartels Are Recruiting Drug Mules Through Video Games - From TRT World
AAPI Victory Fund has announced their latest endorsement for the upcoming midterm elections: Lieutenant Commander Jay Chen for U.S. Congress in California's 45th district.

As the need for progressive political representation becomes increasingly important, AAPI Victory Fund is once again proud to support a candidate dedicated to elevating the needs of the AAPI community. The endorsement joins that of ASPIRE PAC and builds on AAPI Victory Fund's collective goal to increase progressive AAPI representation in U.S. Congress.

READ NEXT: AAPI Victory Alliance Urges Biden Administration for Action on Federal Voting Rights Legislation

AAPI Victory Fund Founder and Chairman Shekar Narasimhan issued the following statement:

"On behalf of AAPI Victory Fund, I am pleased to announce our endorsement of Jay Chen for U.S. Congress. Through his work in higher education, and as an indispensable member of California's small business community, Jay Chen has consistently demonstrated his commitment to Californians. He demonstrates determination to continue those efforts on a national level and will ensure that everyone has an opportunity to have their voices heard in our democracy."

"As Jay Chen begins his journey in politics, we are eager to see all he will accomplish and are proud to endorse him on his path to Congress."

AAPI Victory Fund Board Member Katie Nguyen Kalvoda issued the following statement:

"As a fellow Orange County community member, I am happy to support Jay Chen's candidacy for U.S. Congress. Jay Chen will be a wonderful representative because he has the experience and background to relate to the constituents of CA-45."

"Jay is a family man who cares about creating a better future for our children. He is an advocate for education and serves as a trustee for a local community college. Jay is also a patriot who has served with distinction as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve. It is now more important than ever for the AAPI community to have a representative that will stand up to anti-Asian hate, promote equity and opportunity for all, and restore the American Dream for the people of CA-45. I am confident that Jay Chen will work earnestly to accomplish these goals."

Lieutenant Commander Jay Chen, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in California's 45th Congressional District issued the following statement:

"I am honored to receive the endorsement of AAPI Victory Fund and I look forward to working with them to bring responsive representation to the most heavily-populated AAPI district in Southern California. AAPI Victory Fund's mission to mobilize AAPI voters to the ballot box is critical to realizing lower healthcare costs, stronger investments in public education, and safeguards to the American Dream."

READ MORE: AAPI Victory Fund, Indian American Impact Fund Endorse History-Making Congressional Candidates Nida Allam and Kesha Ram Hinsdale
LAUDERHILL  Two unrelated Lauderhill shootings about an hour apart Tuesday night left two people dead and another in serious condition, according to authorities.

Lauderhill police responded to the first incident about 10 p.m. after getting 911 calls about a shooting in the 5200 block of Northwest 18th Place near Northwest 52nd Avenue.

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A man with an apparent gunshot wound was on the ground in the parking lot when police arrived. The man was taken to Broward Health Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Police dont have a suspect and ask anyone with information to call Lauderhill police at 954-497-4700 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

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The second shooting happened about 11 p.m. in the 1100 block of Northwest 56th Avenue near Northwest 11th Street.

Police were working the scene of the first shooting when they received a 911 call about a shooting with multiple victims.

Two people had been shot and were taken to Broward Health. The man was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the woman remains hospitalized in serious condition.

Police said neither shooting is related to Monday afternoons car-to-car shooting in Lauderhill. In that incident, two men were riding south on State Road 7 near Northwest 19th Street in a blue Mercedes when someone in another car began shooting at them, a Lauderhill Police spokesman said. The Mercedes swerved off the road, over the curb, into bushes and hit two parked cars in the parking lot of a credit union south of a Wendys restaurant. The two men were taken to Broward Health and treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
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A culvert near Turquoise Lake allows water to flow beneath a county road. The Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative, a coalition of local groups that includes Lake County Government, is pursuing state funds for local watershed restoration work, including culvert repair.
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After Miami-Dade County failed to settle their case, three transgender protesters are suing over gender discrimination and severe mistreatment they say they faced at the hands of correctional officers when they were arrested.

Christian Pallidine, Gabriela Amaya Cruz and Angel Jae Torres-Bucci filed a civil lawsuit in federal court Monday asking the court to declare that the jail officers mistreatment of them was unconstitutional and a violation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Theyre also seeking damages for their mistreatment in an amount to be determined at trial.

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Their ultimate goal, they say, is an overhaul of jail policies that would ensure a greater level of safety when jail staff encounter transgender people.

I really hope that it gives not only Miami-Dade County, but the entire state a wake-up call that something needs to be done, Cruz said. There needs to be more conversations about trans people that are incarcerated. Its not about special treatment. Its just about basic human decency and basic respect.

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Cruz, Torres-Bucci and Pallidine said the way jail officers treated them was dehumanizing. On Tuesday, Cruz and Torres-Bucci detailed how they were mocked, misgendered, denied medical treatment, strip-searched, isolated in solitary cells or moved back and forth between male and female groups, and otherwise abused and harassed based on their sex, disability, and transgender status.

In particular, Cruz recalled how jail officers forced her to remove her wig, her bra, and deadnamed her, meaning they used her non-preferred name purposely in order to harass her based on her transgender status. Using a transgender persons non-preferred name is negatively referred to by LGBTQ+ advocates as deadnaming.

[ RELATED: Most transgender murder cases remain unsolved as police struggle to connect in LGBTQ+ communities ]

Cruz said one officer ignored her requests to handle her more gently during fingerprinting. Cruz lives with a disability called ectrodactyly, meaning she does not have all five fingers and they cannot straighten fully.

Cruz said she had recently had surgery on her right hand, and the machine was not reading her fingerprints because its designed to fingerprint five fingers. The woman taking her fingerprint grew frustrated and flippant, she said.

Torres-Bucci, who uses they/them pronouns, said they thought it was less likely they would be subjected to such treatment because they had legally changed their name and gender marker on their license.

But, according to Torres-Bucci, once jail officers discovered they were transgender, the officers started acting as if they had caught Torres-Bucci committing a crime.

Torres-Bucci said staff took them back to processing, rewrote their legal documents and brought them over to the male side of the jail for them to change clothes. When removing Torres-Buccis piercings, officers tugged at the jewelry and drew blood, and tugged at Torres-Buccis hair as if it was a wig they were trying to remove.

I ended up slapping their hand like, You can clearly tell this is my hair, Torres-Bucci said. There was this creepy thing like, Oh, their license says theyre female, but they say theyre a trans woman. Maybe theyre lying. They said I had to confirm I was a trans woman.

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Thats when officers forced Torres-Bucci to strip naked and confirm their transgender identity by showing their genitals, Torres-Bucci said.

I was like, What more do you need to see? they said. It didnt make any sense. Later I found out they only forced certain people to do a strip search.

Torres-Bucci said when they refused to go into holding with men, jail officials instead held them in solitary confinement overnight without access to their medication.

When Cruz and Torres-Bucci were released, jail officers refused to let them wear their own clothes home, they said.

They were like, You cant leave like that. We dont allow crossdressing, Torres-Bucci said.

Jail officers gave them masculine clothes to wear home and wouldnt let them change once they were released, they said.

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After the experience, both said they questioned their identity because they no longer felt confident and safe in the femininity they had established.

The whole time I was there, I felt like my identity is a joke and its not real. In there, it felt like what I was doing and my identity was worthless, Cruz said. It was so dehuminizing.

Torres-Bucci said they nearly detransitioned after the experience. I didnt feel comfortable being fem [feminine] anymore, they said. It genuinely made my question my entire life, adding that at a low point, they contemplated suicide.

Miami-Dade County Corrections & Rehabilitation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Im really hoping this is a wake-up call, Cruz said. Take us serious. Were not going anywhere, were not disappearing.

Brooke Baitinger can be reached at: bbaitinger@sunsentinel.com, 954-422-0857 or on Twitter: @bybbaitinger
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A group of 11 prisoners at Maghaberry Prison are taking legal action over the use of effective solitary confinement.

Representing the group, KRW Law said they are raising serious concerns around the excessive use of detention amounting to solitary confinement by the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS).

They are particularly highlighting the effect of extensive periods of individual detention on mental health, contending it constitutes breaches of their fundamental human rights.

Earlier this week, a report by the Criminal Justice Inspection found that some prisoners in Northern Ireland are being subjected to effective solitary confinement which does not meet the expected United Nations Standard Minimum Rules.

They found that the facilities in the care and supervision units were inadequate and there were insufficient professional healthcare staff to care for and treat them.

Chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland Jacqui Durkin said the in-depth review found evidence that the regime experienced by a number of CSU prisoners did not meet the UN standard minimum rules known as the Mandela Rules.

Inspectors have made three strategic and 11 operational recommendations for improvement as a result of their findings.

These have been accepted by the Prison Service.

KRW Law said its clients include Neil Quinn, who until recently was a remand prisoner, and said he was at times locked up for 24 hours, adding significant staff shortages meant he could not receive the adequate mental health care he needed in prison.

The firm has issued civil proceedings on behalf of Mr Quinn at the High Court against NIPS regarding breaches of the Mandela Rules, seeking damages.

It is also applying for leave to judicially review NIPS policy and practice on the use of care and supervision units.

Jack Murphy, of KRW, said the CJI report illustrates clear breaches and violations of international human rights and humanitarian standards by the prison authorities in Northern Ireland.

HMP Maghaberry has long had a reputation as a failing prison but recently its standards appeared to have improved, he said.

But now it is confirmed that regarding extended detention and mental health services the system is failing on a significant scale.

The legal action being taken by our client Neil Quinn will seek to secure judicial condemnation and censure of these failures.

At present this will be by way of a civil actions for damages and a public law challenge to apply for leave to judicially review of NIPS policies and procedures in this matter which is why we have issued pre-action proceedings to ground a public law challenge.
Kildare company Manguard Plus (MP) has been shortlisted for an inaugural national award, it has been confirmed.

The security company is a finalist in the in the Professional Services section, in the first ever Guaranteed Irish Business Awards (GIBA) 2022, a highly prestigious award featuring companies all over the country.

A statement ahead of the GIBA said: "MCed by RTES Richard Curran, the first-ever business awards for Guaranteed Irish will recognise and reward the success and resilience of both homegrown and multinational businesses across various sector categories."

MP is one of 50 overall finalists, whittled down from hundreds of entries, and will compete with four other companies for the award.

Speaking on the announcement of the nomination, Managing Director of MP, Sean Hall, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to be in the shortlist for this highly coveted award.

"We pride ourselves on our commitment to the values that the new GIBA recognises such as job creation, valuable contribution to the Irish economy and dedication to ongoing community support."

He added: This nomination is a real endorsement of the service MP provides and I would like to pay tribute to our incredibly hard working team across all sections of MP and our loyal and valued clients: together they have made us what we are."

Brid OConnell, CEO of Guaranteed Irish, also commented on the announcement, saying: "The calibre of entries for our first-ever awards was exceptional: the awards will recognise and celebrate the very best of local and international businesses that are registered in Ireland which support jobs, contribute to our communities, and showcase Irish provenance with pride."

"The time has come to celebrate the businesses in Ireland that genuinely strive to do the right thing and Guaranteed Irish is proud to champion those that are All Together Better."

Manguard Plus is the largest privately owned Irish security company in Ireland: it employs up to 1,000 people and is based in Newhall in Naas.

Further information about the GIBA can be found by clicking here.
Aldi Ireland has today launched its 2022 Community Grants programme, inviting charities and community groups across County Kildare to apply for funding through their local Aldi store. Over 80,000 worth of bursary grants will be distributed nationally in 2022.

Aldi staff will distribute more than 160 500 bursary grants through the programme this year, totalling to over 80,000 worth of funding for Irish causes that contribute vital work and services to their local communities.

Fifteen grants will be distributed amongst Kildare charities and community organisations. Staff from each of Aldis Kildare-based stores, its Naas distribution centre and corporate offices will select a charity or community organisation in their local area to award the bursary to, enabling Aldis staff to help the local good causes they care about.

Charities wishing to put themselves forward for the bursary donation can apply at their local Aldi store.

The initiative was launched by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, at Aldis Carrickmacross Store, Co. Monaghan.

Welcoming the initiative, Minister Humphreys said: Our charities and community groups have gone above and beyond in recent months, supporting some of our most vulnerable citizens during the middle of a pandemic. I really welcome the announcement that Aldi will be supporting even more local causes through its Community Grants programme in 2022. These grants represent an important contribution for many of these organisations who continue to play a critical role in the communities they serve,"

Supporting and recognising the work of local community organisations is a priority for Government and underpins our five year rural development strategy, Our Rural Future. It is fantastic to see Aldis staff directly helping local good causes that they are clearly passionate about.

John Curtin, Group Buying Director, Aldi Ireland said: While the past two years have certainly been challenging for many charities and community groups across the country, it is important now as we return to some normality that we continue to support the local organisations that make such a difference to the lives of so many in our communities.

By the end of 2022, Aldis Community Grants programme will have donated 537,000 to over 1,000 local charity branches and community groups across Ireland since its inception in 2016. Receiving charities and organisations have ranged from rescue teams to animal sanctuaries, disability support to mental health support, and everything in between.

Operating 149 stores around Ireland, Aldi is deeply involved in the local communities its stores serve. To date, Aldi has donated a total of 2.35 million meals to FoodCloud, 440,000 (raised from Aldi stock sold in-store, on-pack donations, voucher donations, partnership support and staff/customer donations) to Barnardos since partnering in November 2020, and will have raised 537,000 through its Community Grants programme by the end of the year.
A local action group fighting a quarry near Kilcullen said it will step up fundraising efforts in coming months ahead of a hearing date in the High Court in October.

Last year an Bord Pleanala granted approval for the development at Racefield, Ballyshannon, by Kilsaran Concrete despite more than 200 objections to the original planning application, which was rejected by Kildare County Council.

Ballyshannon Action Group is now seeking a judicial review of the decision by An Bord Pleanala and appeared in the High Court on January 25 last.

Lawyers for Kilsaran advised the court that they are contesting the request for leave to be granted for a judicial review.





Mr Justice Meenan directed that legal submissions be exchanged between parties and the leave application is listed for a hearing on October 20 next.

A spokesperson for Ballyshannon Action Group said: In the meantime we are planning lots of fundraisers for our campaign throughout the spring and summer.

For example, there will be an auction on April 8 in Dowlings of Ballyshannon.

Almost 25,000 has already been donated by the public to a Gofundme account.



Objections to the original planning application had come from the Aga Khan, jockey Ruby Walsh, along with horse breeders led by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association (ITBA).

Ballyshannon National School also had serious concerns about the level of HGV traffic on local roads.

Opposition campaigns claimed that the development will create dust and noise six days a week and bring at least 72 additional HGV truck journeys to local roads every day.



Kilsaran Concrete said the development will deliver a continuity of supply of aggregate materials to meet the ongoing demands of the construction industry and respond to the need to invest in public infrastructure set out in the National Development Plan.

The Meath-based company stated that the proposals will not have a negative impact on the nearby residents and therefore will not have an impact on the equine industry.

Fine Gael Kildare South TD and Minister of State, Martin Heydon said residents are concerned at the impact that such a development would have on the local road network system as well as the local environment.

He added that parents are in disbelief at assertions by Kilsaran Concrete that trucks transporting sand and gravel will not have an impact on the locality with Ballyshannon School only 1.5km away from the quarry development.

Kildare County Council had concerns about loss of amenity to the area.

Two of the worlds leading experts in archaeology and anthropology - Professor Susan Johnston of George Washington University and Professor Pam Crabtree of New York University - also voiced their concerns to An Bord Pleanala about the quarrys close proximity to the ancient ceremonial site of Dun Ailinne.
An Tanaiste Leo Varadkar says he "intends to strengthen" remote working laws in Ireland.

The Fine Gael leader made the comments at the Select Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, where he said: "I am open to having this legislation strengthened: I intend to strengthen it."

He elaborated that many issues "need to be teased out", such as "to what extent would the employer be responsible for an injury in your home office."

RTE News reported that Varadkar also rejected a suggestion from Solidarity-PBP TD Paul Murphy that the right to request remote home working is "not much of a right", and similarly rejected Murphy's suggestion that the Government's approach is "effectively turning the clock back".

Varadkar instead insisted that the requirement that "every business should have a remote working policy" is beneficial, and allows for appeals to the Workplace Relations Commission.

"Maybe 13 conditions [to reject a request] are too many, but there can't be an absolute right to remote working," he added.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar

Last week, it was reported that, under a new Right to Request Remote Working Bill 2021, employers will be able to refuse work from home requests on 13 grounds.

These grounds include:

The nature of the work not allowing for the work to be done remotely, such as in healthcare or retail

The employer cannot re-organise work among existing staff

If the employer feels there is a potential negative impact on quality of work

If the employer feels there is a potential negative impact on performance

Planned structural changes within the company

Any burden of additional costs, taking into account the financial and other costs entailed and the scale and financial resources of the employers business

Concerns about the protection of business confidentiality or intellectual property

Concerns about the suitability of the proposed workspace on health and safety grounds

Concerns about the suitability of the proposed workspace on data protection grounds

Concerns about the internet connectivity of the proposed remote-working location

An inordinate distance between the proposed remote location and on-site location

If the proposed remote-working arrangement conflicts with the provisions of a collective working agreement

An ongoing or recently concluded formal disciplinary process

Speaking on the Bill at the time, the Tanaiste said: "This new law will give every employee the right to request remote-working from their employer: employers will be required to provide reasonable grounds for refusing to facilitate an employees request."

He added that these grounds are "set out in the legislation" and said that the govt "will develop Codes of Practice to provide guidance to help employers implement the new law."

In related news, Leo Varadkar made headlines last week when he called on Russia to "demonstrate goodwill" by abandoning military exercises near Ireland.
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Surveying for the National Broadband Plan (NBP) continues in Kildare  that's according to the company rolling out the new high speed fibre broadband network on behalf of the Irish government.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI) today announced that surveying works in Kildare are well underway, after first beginning on January 14 last.

It follows less than a week after the Dail was told that the rollout of the NBP has fallen behind schedule and will not meet its targets.

Kildare progress

NBI said in a statement: "In Kildare, there are 14,849 premises in the Intervention Area (IA), which includes homes, farms, commercial businesses and schools: this equates to 14 per cent of all premises in the county."

"Under the NBP, Kildare will see an investment of 53M in the new high speed fibre network.

"This will enable e-learning, remote monitoring of livestock or equipment, e-health initiatives, better energy efficiency in the home, and facilitate increased levels of remote working."

NBI further claimed that "substantial progress" has been made in Kildare, especially in the Curragh Camp and Donadea regions.

The group explained: "These initial works pave the way for the next stage of deploying fibre on poles/ducts and includes the erection of poles, unblocking of ducts, and the insertion of sub duct into existing ducts, for the fibre to be installed."

"All NBI contractors will also carry official ID cards and essential worker letters, and have received training on adhering to all Covid 19 guidelines: they will have vehicles, PPE and signage with both their own, and NBI logos," NBI added.

Broadband Connection Points

In advance of the Fibre-to-the-Home roll out, NBI said that the NBP provides for the delivery of Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) nationwide: "453 of these sites are now live and have both internal and external broadband access. These facilities - which include GAA clubs, community centres and tourist sites  will provide free public access to high speed internet in the rollout area."

"These will pave the way for rural communities to receive the benefits of broadband, from mobile working, e-learning and mobile banking, to digital tourism: a full list can be found at https://nbi.ie/bcp-map/.

"Locations of Broadband Connection Points in county Kildare will include Rathmore National School, Bigstone Community Hall, St. Davids National School and Lullymore Heritage Park.

"Primary schools in the IA are also being connected for educational access as part of the NBP," the organisation added.

Concerning progress on the ground, NBI's Chief Executive Peter Hendrick said: "Survey and designs are an important part of mapping out how every home, farm and business will be connected, and they provide the blueprint for how the NBI fibre is laid.

"The BCPs are also a key milestone in delivering access to high-speed internet in the IA, and were delighted to see these being connected for access - internally and externally - right across the county," he added.

IA map and further details

The State's IA for the NBP includes over 554,000 premises and over 1.1 million people and includes any new homes built in this area over the next 25 years.

The IA can be viewed using the Governments High Speed Broadband Map, which shows the areas which are included in the National Broadband Plan.

The map is colour-coded and is searchable by both address and Eircode.

NBIs website www.nbi.ie has a search tool to enable the public to check whether their premises is within the rollout area, and to show indicative dates for areas being surveyed.

NBIs contact centre can be reached at 0818 624 624 (lo-call) or contactus@nbi.ie.
It was one of the bloodiest days in the FBIs history: A year ago, two veteran special agents were shot to death and three others wounded while trying to serve a search warrant in a child-porn case. Inside a Sunrise apartment, a computer programmer with no criminal history had monitored the approach of the agents with a doorbell camera and ambushed them with an assault rifle before later turning the gun on himself.

He fired blindly, recalled George Piro, FBI special agent in charge in Miami. He didnt just fire through the front door. He fired through the living room window. He fired indiscriminately with complete disregard for his neighbors and the innocent people in that complex.

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In an exclusive interview with the Miami Herald, Piro was frank about the emotional toll from that day. The murders of special agents Daniel Alfin, 36, and Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, left the FBI and the South Florida community in shock, wondering how the dawn raid on Feb. 2, 2021, went so fatally wrong.

For the full story, please visit miamiherald.com
Born in the same year as the Irish Free State, Fr Tony Mulvey is the first Irish Redemptorist to reach 100 years of age. But achieving this milestone doesn't mean he has retired, he says. "There's no retirement for Redemptorists. The only place you retire is into the box when you're carried down to the cemetery!"

Fr Tony Mulvey CSsR

Fr Tony's journey with the Redemptorists started in 1937 when, as a teenager, he was so impressed by a mission they gave in his home parish of Ballinaglera, Co Leitrim that he entered the Redemptorist junior seminary in Limerick.

"I got a great education in Limerick in art and music," he says. "I went twice to the Prado, a famous art gallery in Madrid, and that's something I wouldn't have dreamt of doing were it not for the training I got in Limerick. And I can spend hours now listening to good music; we had Beethoven's 5th Symphony nearly off by heart from hearing it."

After completing his secondary education in Limerick, Tony entered the Redemptorist novitiate in Dundalk in 1942. He then moved on to study in Cluain Mhuire in Galway and was delighted to be allowed to travel to Belgium as part of his studies. It was shortly after the second world war, and conditions were harsh.

He says the year in Belgium was the best decision he ever made. "It was good for me because I learned how different Europe is. I had a foothold in the continent, and as a result, I visited many places around Europe I would never have seen if I was a secular priest."

After ordination, Fr Tony returned to Limerick to teach French in the Redemptorist College. "I was also very keen on Irish and used to go to places where Irish was spoken. I went down to Kerry, near Dunquin, and to the Aran Islands and Spiddal. Two of us took charge of a parish in Carraroe, all in Irish. I'm still very keen on the Irish language and love to get a chance to speak it."

Fr Tony Mulvey CSsR pictured with Fr Brendan Callanan CSsR Rector of Esker Monastery and Fr Patrick O'Keeffe CSsR

After Ireland entered into the EEC in 1973, Fr Tony was assigned to Luxembourg to minister to the growing number of English-speakers who had moved to the city to work in the European institutions. He spent 12 years there. "I had 25 nationalities in my section of the parish," he recalls. "A lot of people came to the English Mass to learn English." He also taught religion in the European school for children whose parents worked in the institutions.

He got to know many politicians during his time there. "Cearbhall O Dalaigh was my parishioner, and in fact the night before he left for Ireland for his inauguration as president, we prepared his presidential speech together. He was very keen on Irish, and so I was often at his house, and we were personal friends."

In 1987, Fr Tony was summoned to Rome to work as a translator in the Redemptorist general house, where he remained for 24 years. He describes that time as "a marvellous experience. I would love to go back to it, but as I grew older, the heat was too much for me!"

After returning from Rome, Fr Tony was stationed in Dundalk for some years before moving to Esker in Co Galway in 2016, where he currently resides. But he misses Rome.

"I have always loved mixing with other nationalities and getting the history of their country. What's written on paper is hardly ever the truth, but when you get speaking to somebody from the country, they'll give you the real story."
THE Supreme Court has dismissed a former solicitor's appeal over being adjudged bankrupt arising from a summons issued by the Revenue Commissioners after it got judgments for some 405,808 against him.

While dismissing John Tobin's appeal the five-judge Court held that an overstatement of the amount of debt allegedly due must result in the dismissal of a bankruptcy summons, where a debtor can show that the overstatement is a real and substantial issue.

The bankruptcy summons must be dismissed even where the undisputed portion in the summons is above the legislative threshold of 20,000, the court unanimously held

The court was comprised of the Chief Justice Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell, Mr Justice John MacMenamin, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, Mr Justice Peter Charleton and Mr Justice Gerard Hogan.

Giving the court's decision Mr Justice Dunne said there was no basis for allowing the appeal.

Mr Tobin, who has an address at Cornmarket, Robert Street, Limerick, appealed a High Court refusal to dismiss a 2016 bankruptcy summons served under the 1988 Bankruptcy Act by Revenue on him. He also appealed the High Court's subsequent decision adjudicating him bankrupt.

The summons warned, unless Mr Tobin paid some 405,808 to Revenue's Collector General within 14 days, he would have committed an act of bankruptcy for which he might be adjudicated bankrupt unless he had a court order to dismiss the summons on the ground he had no debt to the Collector General or had a debt of 20,000 or less.

It set out particulars of seven judgments Revenue had obtained against Mr Tobin between September 2011 and January 2015, totalling some 405,808 net.

Mr Tobin had not applied within the prescribed 14 days to have the summons dismissed but, in November 2016, some six months later, he applied to dismiss it.

He claimed the sum sought by Revenue was incorrect because he was due a refund from it of 71,030, plus interest, from February 2009, for reasons including alleged "overpayment" of stamp duty made from his own resources to Revenue on behalf of a client.

The Court of Appeal in 2020 dismissed his appeal against those decisions.

The Supreme Court decided to hear his appeal on issues it deemed were of public importance including if the summons should be dismissed due to an overstatement of the debt or whether a delay in challenging the summons was fatal to raising the issue of an alleged overstatement of debt claimed.

In her judgement Ms Justice Dunne said Mr Tobin had claimed that he was due a credit refund for monies he said were paid by him on behalf of his client.

The judge said that there was no basis upon which this payment could "in any shape of form" entitle him to claim a refund or credit from Revenue.

No issue arose from the hearings before the lower courts that would require the bankruptcy summons to be dismissed, the judge said.

She added that his application to dismiss the summons was also out of time, and there was no basis to extend the time to allow him make such an application.

In relation to the legal points raised in the appeal the Judge said that past decisions in bankruptcy cases show strict compliance with the bankruptcy code.

Under the 1988 Act the Judge said that an act of bankruptcy occurs when a debtor fails to repay in full a sum contained in a bankruptcy summons.

That Act, she said, is clear where it states that an act of bankruptcy cannot be committed by a failure to pay a sum demanded in excess of what is actually due. To interpret the legislation in any other way, would disregard the express wording of the law, she said.

The Judge noted the significant reform Ireland's bankruptcy code has undergone in recent years, which has seen the period of time a person remains in bankruptcy severely reduced.

Echoing concerns raised by the Court of Appeal regarding bankruptcy summons the judge said aspects of the code may not be suitable for the modern commercial world, adding that any further reform is a matter for the legislature.
SURVEYING for the new high speed broadband network in Limerick is 'well underway', according to National Broadband Ireland.

Under the National Broadband Plan, Limerick will see an investment of 84 million in the new high speed fibre network.

This will enable e-learning, remote monitoring of livestock or equipment, e-health initiatives, better energy efficiency in the home, and facilitate increased levels of remote working.

NBI crews have made substantial progress in Limerick as part of their surveying of 293,809 premises nationwide.

This involves physically walking the routes and documenting images, notes and measurements of the poles, cables and underground ducts in each area.

The NBP will also provide the delivery of Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) which will provide free public access to high speed internet in the rollout area.

These will pave the way for rural communities to receive the benefits of broadband, from mobile working, e-learning and mobile banking, to digital tourism.

Locations of Broadband Connection Points in county Limerick will include Glenroe GAA Club, Strand Community Centre, Coolcappa Community Centre and Galbally GAA Club.

NBI Chief Executive Peter Hendrick said: Momentum has been steadily building in the progression of the National Broadband Plan rollout, with homes across the country being connected to high-speed broadband.

"Our teams have been, and continue to do so, work on the rollout plan and substantial progress has been made from surveying, design, build to connection works.

As an increasing number of homes and businesses are being connected, we are confident that the rollout will continue to gather pace as we look to connect thousands more homes and businesses."

NBIs website www.nbi.ie has a search tool to enable the public to check whether their premises is within the rollout area, and to show indicative dates for areas being surveyed.

NBIs contact centre can be reached at 0818 624 624 (lo-call) or contactus@nbi.ie.
THE cost of cleaning graffiti from a railway bridge in the city has almost doubled, from an original quote of 40,000 to 70,000.

The reason for the price increase, Cllr Sarah Kiely has been told, is safety concerns.

Cllr Kiely raised the matter of the graffiti on the railway bridge at Childers Road at a meeting of the full council last week where she argued that the council should not have to foot the bill.

This bridge belongs to Irish Rail, she pointed out. as the bridge was not council property.

She had contacted Irish Rail on the issue, she told her fellow councillors, but never got a response in two years.

It is not OK for council funds to be used on Irish Rail property, she said and she asked that the council executive contact Irish Rail on the matter.

She also took issue with an agreement with Iarnrod Eireann going back to the early 1980s where the council took responsibility for maintaining the bridge.

Since last weeks meeting, Cllr Kiely told the Limerick Leader,, Irish Rail has come back to say it is the councils responsibility as per agreement and they will not be doing anything about the bridge.

She has also discovered that the cost of cleaning it has shot up by 30,000.

Cllr Kiely has now spoken to the council executive and has asked them to find the additional money to clean the bridge.

A preventative solution is needed going forward so Ive asked for that now, as well as the clean-up and painting, she said.

Graffiti is a blight on our city and towns, the Limerick City East councillor believes, and she wants the council to improve their response time in removing graffiti and to adopt adopt a zero tolerance approach to the problem.

Graffiti is a constant black mark against the city when it comes to IBALs litter ratings, she pointed out
Irish health officials have warned that the level of Covid-19 infection in Ireland will remain high into the near future.

The chief medical officer also indicated on Wednesday that the exact future of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is yet to be determined, as Ireland hopes to move beyond the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The appearance of Dr Tony Holohan, alongside other officials, at a Oireachtas health committee meeting on Wednesday came less than two weeks after the Government announced a major easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

Many politicians took the opportunity to look back retrospectively on Irelands handling of the pandemic, as well as probing what lessons have been learned from the last two years.

Politicians also repeatedly paid tribute to the work of Dr Holohan and his colleagues since the pandemic began.

In his opening statement, Dr Holohan said the current epidemiological situation is broadly positive and that the country is in a much improved situation.

Key indicators such as case numbers, hospital and ICU admissions and demand for testing are all reducing.

However, he also warned the pandemic is not over, and that other variants of concerns are likely to emerge after Omicron.

Taking questions from TDs and senators, the chief medical officer doubled down on that warning.

Dr Holohan warned that he expects a high level of infection to continue into the future.

He also said that health officials had noticed a slight increase in transmission levels among 19 to 24-year-olds.

We will keep a close eye on that. Were not expressing major concern about that at this point in time, Dr Holohan said.

You should assume you are going to encounter this virus, even if it is inadvertent, he warned.

Urging people to get vaccinated and boosted, he said: You can see we have very, very high levels of infection, and our view is that these high levels of infection are likely to continue for some time.

Responding to another question from Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan, the chief medical officer said health officials were not resting complacently on the high level of vaccination in Ireland  a level that is among the highest in Europe.

Later asked by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny what he might have done differently during the pandemic, Dr Holohan said: We are still in the middle of something.

We still have to be prepared for something to happen and happen quite quickly.

The first reports of Omicron began to emerge in the last days of the month of November and, by Christmas, we were we were in a very, very different situation in the country.

Thats how quickly things can happen, and we have to be ready to ensure that things can happen and respond as quickly as that.

Dr Holohan, appearing alongside deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn and chairman of Nphets Modelling Advisory Group Prof Philip Nolan, was also quizzed on the future of Nphet.

Taking questions from Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane, he indicated that the exact future of Nphet was not yet decided.

Dr Holohan said it would ultimately be a decision for the minister.

What I can say is that we will still need advice.

We still need advice which is multi-disciplinary in nature and which is capable of informing the decisions ultimately the Government has to take, which are difficult decisions, balanced decisions that have to in the first instance reflect public health considerations.

We have a further meeting of the Nphet to give consideration to the ongoing need for the restrictions that are still in place as they relate to schools, as it relates to mask wearing through the regulations.

Dr Holohan also indicated that health officials were giving thought to the future of contact tracing, testing and other parts of the infrastructure that sprung up as the pandemic emerged two years ago.

He said that further advice would be issued to Government, but indicated that in the future not everyone may receive a regular booster jab.

It may well be that recommendations are not focused on the whole population, but people with particular vulnerabilities, he told the committee.

Asked later about the uptake of booster jabs in recent weeks, Dr Glynn said: The uptake of boosters in a general sense has certainly slowed since the Christmas to New Year period.

We think that, if you take the proportion of people who have been boosted and then the proportion who cannot be boosted because they have recently been infected, theyre awaiting a booster in a month or twos time, we estimate that 80% of all those eligible to be boosted have been boosted.

In his opening statement, the chief medical officer had told politicians there will be an ongoing need to retain Covid-19 measures such as mask wearing, and recommended the continued use of protective measures in schools.

The policy on mask wearing for school children is set to be reviewed at the end of February.

Fianna Fail TD Cathal Crowe had asked the Nphet members if a decision could be expedited, describing mask wearing as still a struggle in primary schools

Dr Glynn said the review will be completed in February.

He said: At the time, we made a commitment that we would review that recommendation in February with a view towards either continuing with it, or stepping it down from the time the children are back, after the mid-term break. And so were in the process of reviewing that evidence at the moment.

We need much more research to better understand the spectrum that is long Covid

He said a key part of the rationale was to give children an opportunity to get vaccinated.

One issue that also recurred at the committee was the relationship between politicians and health officials over the course of the pandemic.

Dr Holohan told Fianna Fail TD John Lahart that the relationship had been functional and said that on many occasions he was forced to give advice he would have preferred not to.

We take all of those measures and responsibilities seriously. Weve always done that to the best of our ability. And I would say when we look back in time that that relationship was functional.

He said that in the majority of cases the Government, acting on the advice of health officials, had made good calls during the pandemic.

The chief medical officer also once again defended the attitude of health officials to antigen testing, which has often placed them at odds with politicians and the public.

Dr Holohan said that the advice from Nphet has not changed on antigen testing, which he said should not be used as a green light.

Our concern is that it must be used in the right circumstances, when disease incidence is high. And then the interpretation of both the positive and negative result needs to be right and inform peoples behaviour.

Asked by multiple politicians about long Covid, Dr Glynn said the data remains unclear what proportion of people will suffer from the condition and said it was very debated among the scientific community.

He said the HSE was putting into place a model of care for long Covid.

We need much more research to better understand the spectrum that is long Covid, he added.
Online attacks targeting public figures should be considered as a specific hate crime, a cyber-psychologist has recommended.

Mary Aiken, a professor of cyberpsychology and chairwoman of the Department of Cyberpsychology at Washington DCs STEM University, said that politicians are subjected to online abuse by trolls.

Prof Aiken told the Joint Media Committee, that the Oireachtas should consider making it an offence to abuse public figures online as part of the forthcoming Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill.

She made the comments during a debate on online disinformation and media literacy.

When I look at how politicians are targeted on social media platforms, the question in my mind is why would anyone in their right mind want to go into politics in this day and age, Prof Aiken said.

Why would you want to put yourself through this when young people see how you are targeted and how family members can be targeted and how nuggets of information can be taken and blown out of context.

This is trolling.

Trolling is a manifestation of everyday sadism.

Do we want have platforms where sadists are actively encouraged to deploy for their own amusement and particularly target public figures.

I think the targeted of public figures it is a very important to consider.

The cyber expert said that while online activism is important, there is a rise of the cyber pitchfork mob where people are subjected to the cancel culture and removed from social media platforms.

She said this can happen without due process or a fair hearing or an evidence-based approach.

We have seen this form of cancel culture because there is a lack of legislation to address these issues, Prof Aiken added.

The internet abhors a vacuum and what happens is that people step in to self-regulate.

We have seen social media platforms self-regulating for far too long.

This is the crux of the problem.

I think there is a delicate balance to be struck between freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and censorship.

Its very complex and you can have overlay between misinformation and disinformation.

She said that a major issue in tackling the removal of disinformation is that comments are posted in real time.

She told the committee that a specialist expert group could be established to help advise what could be considered misinformation and disinformation in Ireland and the European Union.

The committee was told that it could be created with specifics to Irish issues.

In order to identify something that is disinformation in a cyber context, you need to have a classifier system. Before that you have to create a taxonomy, Prof Aiken added.

You can classify an online harm and you have a decision tree built around that classifier.

The problem is to do that in an automated way, we have to invest considerable resources in these automatic data identifiers.

She added: We are seeing the rise of cyber anti-vigilantism, where particulars or people are targeted, people come together and you get these pile-ons and it can be extremely stressful for their person on the receiving end of that.

There are ways to tackle it.

You can look at repeat offenders, you can look at how organised it is, if there is political intent behind what is manifesting.

Meanwhile, Dr Eileen Culloty, assistant professor in the School of Communications at DCU, raised issues about the lack of powers to compel social media companies to share information about its users.

Its a pretty crazy situation to be in that we have companies that have this information but there is no instrument to compel them to share it with people, Dr Culloty added.

Brian ONeill, professor of media and communications and director of research at Technological University Dublin, said the reach of media literacy campaigns needs to be maximised.

In 2020, the Media Literacy Ireland campaign turned its focus to accurate and reliable information about Covid-19 and vaccines.

Mr ONeill said that vulnerable people and those who are least likely to be able to access high quality resources are in need of targeted measures.

I would stress that the general awareness raising is a long-term process, he added.

It has to be the responsibility for regulatory agencies to monitor on an ongoing basis to ensure media literacy is there on their radar.
Delicate Lingerie Boutiques motto is Dress from the inside out - Margaret Hannan proprietor says that by investing in good foundation garments, ladies, you will gain extra confidence to carry off any outfit and give yourself the WOW factor also!

We all need the WOW factor and no one more so, than on one of the most special days in our lives. Whether you are a Bride, Mother of the Bride, Mother of the Groom or a Bridesmaid, it is important to invest in good underwear.

Women spend a lot of money on their outer garments for these occasions, to ensure they look picture perfect on the day, good underwear is a must, which gives a complete seamless look.

Margarets unique selling point is she gives her customers time and extra attention which she feels is of the utmost importance, this is my investment into the customers foundation garments, which is vitally important for them as a customer, I always advise my Wedding customers, particularly Mothers to bring their dresses with them and the Bride to bring a photo of her dress.

To ensure Margaret gives them the time required (which varies from customer to customer) she offers fittings by appointment, to avail of same telephone 069 61781/0872727535 or book via social media. She is also quick to point out that an appointment is not necessary.

Margaret operates a mobile bra fitting service and will travel to those who are house bound in their own homes, or nursing homes to fit ladies if required.

The past 20 months or so hasnt seen us ladies attend many social occasions, but as social events return, shapewear is another investment piece which when we are dressing for all those occasions, it allows our outer garments to fall better on us. Margaret is proud to stock one of the leading Irish brands in Shapewear- ATIR - the choice of RTE's Maura Derrane. This shapewear features regularly on Ireland AM and The Afternoon show. We also stock Miraclesuit "look 10lbs lighter in 10 seconds" and Maidenform.

For those looking for negligees, robes, garters or suspender belts, these items are also stocked in the shop.

Delicate Lingerie Boutique Newcastle West can be found on Bridge Street, in the midst of all the fabulous ladies boutiques the destination town is known for. To contact Margaret tel (069) 61781 or (087) 2727535

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BY DOMINIC CHOPPING | UPDATED 2 02, 2022 06:00  EST

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk AS Wednesday proposed a new share-buyback program of up to 22 billion Danish kroner ($3.33 billion) after posting a forecast-beating rise in fourth-quarter net profit amid strong demand for its diabetes care and obesity treatments.

Net profit rose to DKK10.89 billion from DKK9.32 billion, and above the DKK10.79 billion forecast by analysts in a FactSet poll.

Sales rose 19% to DKK38.33 billion, against analysts expectations of DKK37.92 billion.

In December, a contract manufacturer filling syringes for its weight-loss injectable medicine Wegovy in the U.S., temporarily stopped deliveries and manufacturing following issues with quality standards. Consequently, fewer new weekly patient initiations are expected in the first half of 2022 compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, though it still expects to be able to meet demand in the U.S. in the second half of 2022, the company said.

The company said it expects 2022 sales growth of 6%-10% and operating-profit growth of 4%-8% in local currencies.

Reported growth in sales is seen around five percentage points higher than in local currencies, while reported operating-profit growth is seen around seven percentage points higher, the company said.

The company proposed a final dividend of DKK6.90 for 2021.
Magnetism is a force of nature produced by moving electric charges. Sometimes these motions are microscopic and inside of a material known as magnets. Magnets, or the magnetic fields created by moving electric charges, can attract or repel other magnets, and change the motion of other charged particles.

A magnetic field exerts a force on particles known as the Lorentz force, according to Georgia State University's HyperPhysics website. The force acting on an electrically charged particle in a magnetic field depends on the magnitude of the charge, the velocity of the particle, and the strength of the magnetic field. The Lorentz force has the peculiar property that it causes particles to move in right angles to their original motion.

Some materials, such as iron, are known as permanent magnets, which means that they can sustain a permanent magnetic field. These are the most common forms of magnets encountered in everyday life. Other materials, such as iron, cobalt and nickel, can be given a temporary magnetic field by placing them inside of a larger, powerful field, but eventually those materials will lose their magnetism.

How magnetism works

Magnetic field of Earth. (Image credit: alxpin via Getty Images)

Magnetic fields are generated by the motion of electric charges, according to HyperPhysics. Electrons all have a fundamental quantum mechanical property of angular momentum, known as "spin." Inside atoms, most electrons tend to form pairs in which one of them is "spin up" and the other is "spin down," or in other words their angular momenta point in opposite directions. In this case, the magnetic fields created by those spins point in opposite directions, so they cancel each other. However, some atoms contain one or more unpaired electrons, and these unpaired electrons create a tiny magnetic field. The direction of their spin determines the direction of the magnetic field, according to the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Resource Center. When a significant majority of unpaired electrons are aligned with their spins in the same direction, they combine to produce a magnetic field that is strong enough to be observed on a macroscopic scale.

Magnetic field sources are dipolar, meaning that they have a north and south pole. Opposite poles (N and S) attract, and like poles (N and N, or S and S) repel, according to Joseph Becker of San Jose State University. This creates a toroidal, or doughnut-shaped field, as the direction of the field propagates outward from the north pole and enters through the south pole.

Earth itself is a giant magnet. The planet gets its magnetic field from circulating electric current within the molten metallic core, according to NASA. A compass points north because the small magnetic needle in it is suspended so that it can spin freely inside its casing to align itself with Earth's magnetic field. Paradoxically, what we call the Magnetic North Pole is actually a south magnetic pole because it attracts the north magnetic poles of compass needles.

History of magnetism

Magnetite (also known as lodestone) is the most magnetic of all the naturally-occurring minerals on Earth. (Image credit: Aleksandr Pobedimskiy via Shutterstock)

If the alignment of unpaired electrons persists without the application of an external magnetic field or electric current, it produces a permanent magnet. Permanent magnets are the result of ferromagnetism. The prefix "ferro" refers to iron because permanent magnetism was first observed in a form of natural iron ore called magnetite, Fe3O4. Pieces of magnetite can be found scattered on or near the surface of the Earth, and occasionally, one will be magnetized. These naturally occurring magnets are called lodestones. While scientists don't know exactly how lodestones form, "most scientists believe that lodestone is magnetite that has been hit by lightning," according to the University of Arizona.

People soon learned that they could magnetize an iron needle by stroking it with a lodestone, causing a majority of the unpaired electrons in the needle to line up in one direction. According to NASA, around A.D. 1000, the Chinese discovered that a magnet floating in a bowl of water always lined up in the north-south direction. Thereafter, the magnetic compass became a tremendous aid to navigation, particularly during the day and on nights when the stars were hidden by clouds.

Other metals besides iron can have ferromagnetic properties. These include nickel, cobalt, and some rare earth metals such as samarium or neodymium, which are used to make super-strong permanent magnets.

Other forms of magnetism

Magnetism takes many other forms, but except for ferromagnetism, they are usually too weak to be observed except by sensitive laboratory instruments or at very low temperatures. Anton Brugnams first discovered diamagnetism in 1778 while using permanent magnets in his search for materials containing iron. According to Gerald Kustler, a widely published independent German researcher and inventor, in his paper, "Diamagnetic Levitation  Historical Milestones," published in the Romanian Journal of Technical Sciences, Brugnams observed, "Only the dark and almost violet-colored bismuth displayed a particular phenomenon in the study; for when I laid a piece of it upon a round sheet of paper floating atop water, it was repelled by both poles of the magnet."

Diamagnetism is caused by the orbital motion of electrons within atoms creating tiny current loops, which produce weak magnetic fields, according to HyperPhysics. When an external magnetic field is applied to a material, these current loops tend to align in such a way as to oppose the applied field. This causes all materials to be repelled by a permanent magnet; however, the resulting force is usually too weak to be noticeable. There are, however, some notable exceptions.

Pyrolytic carbon, a substance similar to graphite, shows even stronger diamagnetism than bismuth, albeit only along one axis, and can actually be levitated above a super-strong rare earth magnet. Certain superconducting materials show even stronger diamagnetism below their critical temperature (the temperature at which they become superconducting) and so rare-earth magnets can be levitated above them. (In theory, because of their mutual repulsion, one can be levitated above the other.)

Paramagnetism occurs when a material becomes magnetic temporarily when placed in a magnetic field and reverts to its nonmagnetic state as soon as the external field is removed. When a magnetic field is applied, some of the unpaired electron spins align themselves with the field and overwhelm the opposite force produced by diamagnetism. However, the effect is only noticeable at very low temperatures, said Daniel Marsh, a professor of physics at Missouri Southern State University.

Other, more complex, forms include antiferromagnetism, in which the magnetic fields of atoms or molecules align next to each other; and spin glass behavior, which involve both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. Additionally, ferrimagnetism can be thought of as a combination of ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism due to many similarities shared among them, but it still has its own uniqueness, according to the University of California, Davis.

Electricity and magnetism

Infographic showing how Fleming's right-hand rule works. (Image credit: fridas via Shutterstock)

When a conducting wire is moved in a magnetic field, the field induces a current in the wire. Conversely, a magnetic field is produced by an electric charge in motion, such as when a wire is carrying a current. So all the electric wires in your household produce tiny magnetic fields. This relationship between electricity and magnetism is described by Faraday's Law of Induction, which is the basis for electromagnets, electric motors and generators. A charge moving in a straight line, as through a straight wire, generates a magnetic field that spirals around the wire. When that wire is formed into a loop, the field becomes a doughnut shape, or a torus.

Direct current can also produce a constant field in one direction that can be switched on and off with the current. This field can then deflect a movable iron lever causing an audible click. This is the basis for the telegraph, invented in the 1830s by Samuel F. B. Morse, which allowed for long-distance communication over wires using a binary code based on long- and short-duration pulses, according to the Library of Congress. Skilled operators sent the pulses by quickly turning the current on and off using a spring-loaded momentary-contact switch, or key. Another operator on the receiving end would then translate the audible clicks back into letters and words.

A coil around a magnet can also be made to move in a pattern of varying frequency and amplitude to induce a current in a coil. This is the basis for a number of devices, most notably, the microphone. Sound causes a diaphragm to move in and out with the varying pressure waves. If the diaphragm is connected to a movable magnetic coil around a magnetic core, it will produce a varying current that is analogous to the incident sound waves. This electrical signal can then be amplified, recorded or transmitted as desired. Tiny super-strong rare-earth magnets are used to make miniaturized microphones for cell phones, Marsh told Live Science.

When this modulated electrical signal is applied to a coil, it produces an oscillating magnetic field, which causes the coil to move in and out over a magnetic core in that same pattern. The coil is then attached to a movable speaker cone so it can reproduce audible sound waves in the air. The first practical application for the microphone and speaker was the telephone, patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, according to the Smithsonian Institution. Although this technology has been improved and refined, it is still the basis for recording and reproducing sound.

The applications of electromagnets are nearly countless. Faraday's Law of Induction forms the basis for many aspects of our modern society including not only electric motors and generators, but electromagnets of all sizes. The same principle used by a giant crane to lift junk cars at a scrap yard is also used to align microscopic magnetic particles on a computer hard disk drive to store binary data, and new applications are being developed every day.

Staff Writer Tanya Lewis contributed to this report.

Additional resources

Bibliography

NASA, "Earth's Magnetosphere", https://www.nasa.gov/magnetosphere

"Magnetism." DISCovering Science. Gale Research, 1996. Reproduced in Discovering Collection. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale Group. December, 2000. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC/

Griffiths, David J. (1998). Introduction to Electrodynamics (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-805326-0. OCLC 40251748.
The Broward County Public Defenders Office said Tuesday it will be taking a fresh look at old cases that involve Sheriff Gregory Tony to see if they should be revisited.

The decision comes a day after the findings were released from a state investigation that concluded Tony concealed his murder arrest and other key details about his past by making misleading statements on official documents.

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Public Defender Gordon Weekes said Tuesday that his office is now reviewing 79 old convictions from the Coral Springs Police Department that involved Tony during his tenure there. Weekes said his staff is now making a manual review and whether Tonys involvement was relevant to the case at the time.

[ RELATED: Gov. DeSantis on Sheriff Gregory Tony: Were going to review everything now that state found he concealed his past on forms ]

We can advise the clients they can raise the issue, he said, for any post-conviction claim.

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A spokeswoman for Tony referred questions about the Public Defenders review to his lawyer, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement found that Tony made repeated falsehoods on applications, but prosecutors determined they could not pursue charges because too much time had gone by.

FDLE found that in 1993, then 14-year-old Tony was arrested and charged with murder, possessing instruments of crime, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and carrying firearms on public streets or public property in Philadelphia. But the lies to the Coral Springs Police Department when he applied for a job there were blatant, according to the FDLE report:

Tony answered no when asked Were you ever in a fight in which a weapon was used?

Tony answered no when asked Have you ever injured or caused the death of another person?

Tony answered Fighting when asked What is the most serious thing you have ever done in your life?

Tony previously told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the killing was an act of self defense, and it was the most difficult, painful experience of his youth.

Tony landed his first job as a police officer in 2005 with the Coral Springs Police Department when he was 26. He worked there through September 2016.

Coral Springs Deputy Police Chief Brad McKeone said Tuesday his office has not been notified.

Also Tuesday, the FDLE confirmed that it will send the results of its investigation to the Florida Commission on Ethics. Tonys job could be on the line if Floridas ethics commission were to find evidence that the top cop falsified details of his past on documents to become certified as an officer. If there is probable cause, the commission can recommend the governor remove him from office, a public censure, or a civil penalty as much as $10,000 per allegation, according to agency spokeswoman Lynn Blais.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com or 954-572-2008 or Twitter @LisaHuriash
Biology is the study of all living organisms, including this adorable jewel bug and the plant it's perched on.

Biology is the study of life. The word "biology" is derived from the Greek words "bios" (meaning life) and "logos" (meaning "study"). In general, biologists study the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution and distribution of living organisms.

Biology is important because it helps us understand how living things work and how they function and interact on multiple levels, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Advances in biology have helped scientists do things such as develop better medicines and treatments for diseases, understand how a changing environment might affect plants and animals, produce enough food for a growing human population and predict how eating new food or sticking to an exercise regimen might affect our bodies.

The basic principles of modern biology

Four principles unify modern biology, according to the book "Managing Science" (Springer New York, 2010):

Cell theory is the principle that all living things are made of fundamental units called cells , and all cells come from preexisting cells. Gene theory is the principle that all living things have DNA, molecules that code the structures and functions of cells and get passed to offspring. Homeostasis is the principle that all living things maintain a state of balance that enables organisms to survive in their environment. Evolution is the principle that describes how all living things can change to have traits that enable them to survive better in their environments. These traits result from random mutations in the organism's genes that are "selected" via a process called natural selection. During natural selection, organisms that have traits better-suited for their environment have higher rates of survival, and then pass those traits to their offspring.

The many branches of biology

Although there are only four unifying principles, biology covers a broad range of topics that are broken into many disciplines and subdisciplines.

On a high level, the different fields of biology can each be thought of as the study of one type of organism, according to "Blackie's Dictionary of Biology" (S Chand, 2014). For example, zoology is the study of animals, botany is the study of plants and microbiology is the study of microorganisms.

A botanist is a biologist who studies plants. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Within those broader fields, many biologists specialize in researching a specific topic or problem. For example, a scientist may study behavior of a certain fish species, while another scientist may research the neurological and chemical mechanisms behind the behavior.

There are numerous branches and subdisciplines of biology, but here is a short list of some of the more broad fields that fall under the umbrella of biology:

Biochemistry: The study of the chemical processes that take place in or are related to living things, according to the Biochemical Society. For example, pharmacology is a type of biochemistry research that focuses on studying how drugs interact with chemicals in the body, as described in a 2010 review in the journal Biochemistry.

Ecology: The study of how organisms interact with their environment. For example, an ecologist may study how honeybee behavior is affected by humans living nearby.

Genetics: The study of heredity. Geneticists study how genes are passed down by parents to their offspring, and how they vary from person to person. For example, scientists have identified several genes and genetic mutations that influence human lifespan, as reported in a 2019 review published in the journal Nature Reviews Genetics.

Physiology: The study of how living things work. Physiology, which is applicable to any living organism, "deals with the life-supporting functions and processes of living organisms or their parts," according to Nature. Physiologists seek to understand biological processes, such as how a particular organ works, what its function is and how it's affected by outside stimuli. For example, physiologists have studied how listening to music can cause physical changes in the human body , such as a slower or faster heart rate , according to the journal Psychological Health Effects of Musical Experiences. .

The multidisciplinary nature of biology

Biology is often researched in conjunction with other fields of study, including mathematics , engineering and the social sciences. Here are a few examples:

Astrobiology is the study of the evolution of life in the universe, including the search for extraterrestrial life, according to NASA. This field incorporates principles of biology with astronomy.

Bioarchaeologists are biologists who incorporate archaeological techniques to study skeletal remains and derive insights about how people lived in the past, according to George Mason University.

Bioengineering is the application of engineering principles to biology and vice versa, according to the University of California Berkeley. For example, a bioengineer might develop a new medical technology that better images the inside of the body, like an improved Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that scans the human body at a faster rate and higher resolution, or apply biological knowledge to create artificial organs, according to the journal Cell Transplant.

Biotechnology involves using biological systems to develop products, according to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. For example, biotechnologists in Russia genetically engineered a better-tasting and more disease-resistant strawberry, which the researchers described in their 2007 study published in the journal Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture 2006 and Beyond.

Biophysics employs the principles of physics to understand how biological systems work, according to the Biophysical Society. For example, biophysicists may study how genetic mutations leading to changes in protein structure impacts protein evolution, according to the Journal of the Royal Society

A 3d Illustration of the chain of amino acids that make up protein. (Image credit: Getty Images)

What do biologists do?

Biologists can work in many different fields, including research, healthcare, environmental conservation and art, according to the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Here are a few examples:

Research: Biologists can perform research in many types of settings. Microbiologists, for instance, may study bacterial cultures in a laboratory setting. Other biologists may perform field research, where they observe animals or plants in their native habitat. Many biologists may work in the lab and in the field  for example, scientists may collect soil or water samples from the field and analyze them further in the lab, like at North Carolina University's Soil and Water Lab.

Conservation: Biologists can help with efforts in environmental conservation by studying and determining how to protect and conserve the natural world for the future. For example, biologists may help educate the public on the importance of preserving an animal's natural habitat and participate in endangered species recovery programs to stop the decline of an endangered species, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

An ecologist taking a water samples from a creek. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Healthcare: People who study biology can go on to work in healthcare, whether they work as doctors or nurses, join a pharmaceutical company to develop new drugs and vaccines, research the efficacy of medical treatments or become veterinarians to help treat sick animals, according to the American Institute of Biological Sciences.

Art: Biologists who also have a background in art have both the technical knowledge and artistic skill to create visuals that will communicate complex biological information to a wide variety of audiences. One example of this is in medical illustration, in which an illustrator may perform background research, collaborate with experts, and observe a medical procedure to create an accurate visual of a body part, according to the Association of Medical Illustrators.

Additional resources

If youre curious about just how wide-reaching biology is, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has listed a number of biology subdisciplines on their website. Interested in a career in biology? Check out some options at the American Institute of Biological Sciences website.

Bibliography

Lornande Loss Woodruff, History of Biology, The Scientific Monthly, Volume 12, March 1921, http://www.jstor.org/stable/6836.

P.N. Campbell, Biology in Profile: A Guide to the Many Branches of Biology, Elsevier, October 2013.

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Biology Sub-disciplines, October 2010.

University of Minnesota Duluth, What is Biology?, January 2022.

Eric J. Simon et al, Campbell Essential Biology, Pearson Education, January 2018.
Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy. In particular, it describes how thermal energy is converted to and from other forms of energy and how thermal energy affects matter.

Thermal energy is the energy a substance or system has due to its temperature  in other words, the energy of moving or vibrating molecules  according to the University of Kentucky. Thermodynamics involves measuring this energy, which can be "exceedingly complicated," David McKee, a professor of physics at Missouri Southern State University told Live Science. "The systems that we study in thermodynamics  consist of very large numbers of atoms or molecules interacting in complicated ways. But, if these systems meet the right criteria, which we call equilibrium, they can be described with a very small number of measurements or numbers. Often this is idealized as the mass of the system, the pressure of the system, and the volume of the system, or some other equivalent set of numbers."

Heat

Thermodynamics, then, is concerned with several properties of matter; foremost among these is heat. Heat is energy transferred between substances or systems due to a temperature difference between them, according to Georgia State University. As a form of energy, heat is conserved  it cannot be created or destroyed. It can, however, be transferred from one place to another. Heat can also be converted to and from other forms of energy. For example, a steam turbine can convert heat to kinetic energy to run a generator that converts kinetic energy to electrical energy. A light bulb can convert this electrical energy to electromagnetic radiation (light), which, when absorbed by a surface, is converted back into heat. Throughout this process, a portion of the energy is lost to entropy.

Temperature

Comparing the freezing and melting points of water (in Celsius). (Image credit: Why Design via Shutterstock)

The amount of heat transferred by a substance depends on the speed and number of atoms or molecules of that substance in motion, according to Georgia State University. The faster the atoms or molecules move, the higher the temperature, and the more atoms or molecules that are in motion, the greater the quantity of heat they transfer.

Temperature is "a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample of matter, expressed in terms of units or degrees designated on a standard scale," according to the American Heritage Dictionary. The most commonly used temperature scale is Celsius, which is based on the freezing and boiling points of water, assigning respective values of 0 C and 100 C. The Fahrenheit scale is also based on the freezing and boiling points of water, which have assigned values of 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 212 F, respectively.

Scientists worldwide, however, use the Kelvin (K with no degree sign) scale, named after William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, because it's based on total thermal energy rather than the freezing and boiling points of water, according to the National Library of Scotland. This scale uses the same increments as the Celsius scale; for example, a temperature change of 1 C is equal to 1 K. However, the Kelvin scale starts at absolute zero, the temperature at which there is a total absence of heat energy, and all molecular motion stops. A temperature of 0 K is equal to minus 459.67 F or minus 273.15 C.

Specific heat

The amount of heat required to increase the temperature of a certain mass of a substance by a certain amount is called specific heat, or specific heat capacity, according to Wolfram Research. The conventional unit for this is calories per gram per Kelvin. The calorie is defined as the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water at 4 C by 1 degree.

The specific heat of a metal depends almost entirely on the number of atoms in the sample and the way they bond, not the sample's mass. For instance, a kilogram of aluminum can absorb about seven times more heat than a kilogram of lead. A given mass of water, however, can absorb nearly five times as much heat as an equal mass of aluminum, thanks to the strong forces binding the water molecules, according to Southeastern Louisiana University.

Thermal conductivity

A central processing unit (CPU) is an essential part of a computer's hardware components. (Image credit: Narumon Bowonkitwanchai via Getty Images)

Thermal conductivity (k) is "the rate at which heat passes through a certain cross-section of a specified material," according to Debdatta Ratna's "Thermosets" (Woodhead Publishing limited, 2012). The unit for k is watts (W) per meter (m) per Kelvin (K), according to Swarthmore College. Values of k for metals such as copper and silver are relatively high at 380 and 420 W/mK, respectively. This property makes these materials useful for automobile radiators and cooling fins for computer chips because they can carry away heat quickly and exchange it with the environment. The highest value of k for any natural substance is diamond at 2,200 W/mK, according to a 2009 study published in the journal Materials.

Other materials are useful because they are extremely poor conductors of heat; this property is referred to as thermal resistance, or R-value, which describes the rate at which heat is transmitted through the material. These materials, such as fiberglass, goose down, and Styrofoam, are used for insulation in exterior building walls, winter coats, and thermal coffee mugs. R-value is given in units of square feet times degrees Fahrenheit times hours per British thermal unit (ft2Fh/Btu), according to OpenStax, an open-source textbook.

Newton's Law of Cooling

In 1701, Sir Isaac Newton first stated his Law of Cooling in a short article titled "Scala graduum Caloris" ("A Scale of the Degrees of Heat") in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Newton's statement of the law translates from the original Latin as, "the excess of the degrees of the heat ... were in geometrical progression when the times are in an arithmetical progression." Worcester Polytechnic Institute gives a more modern version of this scientific law as "the rate of change of temperature is proportional to the difference between the temperature of the object and that of the surrounding environment."

This results in an exponential decay in the temperature difference. For example, if a warm object is placed in a cold bath, within a certain length of time, the difference between the two temperatures will decrease by half. Then in that same length of time, the remaining difference will again decrease by half. This repeated halving of the temperature difference will continue at equal time intervals until it becomes too small to measure. At that point, the system is in thermal equilibrium.

Heat transfer

Diagram showing how heat transfer works. (Image credit: blueringmedia via Getty Images)

Heat can be transferred from one body to another or between a body and the environment by three different means: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the transfer of energy through a solid material. Conduction between bodies occurs when they are in direct contact, and molecules transfer their energy across the interface.

Convection is the transfer of heat to or from a fluid medium. Molecules in a gas or liquid in contact with a solid body transmit or absorb heat to or from that body and then move away, allowing other molecules of the fluid to move into place and repeat the process.

Radiation is the emission of energy via electromagnetic (EM) radiation, particularly infrared photons that carry heat energy. All matter emits and absorbs some EM radiation, the net amount of which determines whether this causes a loss or gain in heat, according to Northwestern University.

The Carnot cycle

In 1824, Nicolas Leonard Sadi Carnot proposed a model for a heat engine based on what has come to be known as the Carnot cycle, according to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The cycle exploits the relationships among pressure, volume, and temperature of gases, as well as how an input of energy can change form and do work outside the system.

The first step in the Carnot cycle is isothermal expansion, where a gas in a cylinder under pressure from a piston is kept at a constant temperature, but a heat source is brought in contact with the cylinder. To maintain the same temperature, the gas must expand. Next, adiabatic expansion, or expansion without heat transfer to the surrounding environment, removes weight from the piston to allow the gas to expand further, which helps it push on a cylinder to do work. Next, the gas is cooled at a constant temperature and compressed by adding weight to the piston to raise the pressure in the gas, at which point heat transfers from the gas back to the heat source. And finally, adiabatic compression adds more weight to the piston to further increase the pressure of the gas and, therefore, increase its temperature. Then the cycle repeats, according to NASA. This is the basic principle behind heat pumps used for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration, according to Georgia State University.

Entropy

All thermodynamic systems generate waste heat. This waste results in an increase in entropy, which is a measure of the disorder of a system. Because work comes from ordered molecular motion, entropy is a measure of the energy that's not available to do work, according to Britannica. Entropy in any closed system always increases; it never decreases. Additionally, moving parts produce waste heat due to friction, and radiative heat inevitably leaks from the system.

This makes so-called perpetual motion machines impossible. Siabal Mitra, a professor of physics at Missouri State University, told Live Science "You cannot build an engine that is 100% efficient, which means you cannot build a perpetual motion machine. However, there are a lot of folks out there who still don't believe it, and there are people who are still trying to build perpetual motion machines."

Entropy is also defined as "a measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system," which also inexorably increases. You can mix hot and cold water, but because a large cup of warm water is more disordered than two smaller cups containing hot and cold water, you can never separate it back into hot and cold without adding energy to the system. Put another way, you can't unscramble an egg or remove cream from your coffee. Entropy, therefore, provides us with an arrow of time: forward is the direction of increasing entropy.

The four laws of thermodynamics

The fundamental principles of thermodynamics were originally expressed in three laws. Later, scientists figured out that a more fundamental law had been neglected, apparently because it had seemed so obvious that it did not need to be stated explicitly. To form a complete set of rules, scientists decided this most fundamental law needed to be included. The problem, though, was that the first three laws had already been established and were well known by their assigned numbers. When faced with the prospect of renumbering the existing laws, which would cause considerable confusion, or placing the pre-eminent law at the end of the list, which would make no logical sense, British physicist Ralph H. Fowler came up with an alternative that solved the dilemma: he called the new law the "Zeroth Law," according to Saint Anselm College. Here are all four laws in brief:

The Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics states that if two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with some third body, then they are also in equilibrium with each other. This establishes temperature as a fundamental and measurable property of matter.

The First Law of Thermodynamics states that the total increase in the energy of a system is equal to the increase in thermal energy plus the work done on the system. This states that heat is a form of energy and is therefore subject to the principle of conservation  that is, it can be neither created nor destroyed.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that heat energy cannot be transferred from a body at a lower temperature to a body at a higher temperature without the addition of energy. This is why it costs money to run an air conditioner.

The Third Law of Thermodynamics states that the entropy of a perfect crystal  that is, a substance made up of atoms arranged in a perfectly ordered, symmetrical pattern  at absolute zero is zero. As explained above, entropy is sometimes called "waste energy," or the energy that is unable to do work; and since there is no heat energy whatsoever at absolute zero, there can be no waste energy. Entropy is also a measure of the disorder in a system, and while a perfect crystal is by definition perfectly ordered, any positive value of temperature means there is motion within the crystal, which causes disorder. For these reasons, there can be no physical system with lower entropy, so entropy always has a positive value.

The science of thermodynamics has been developed over centuries, and its principles apply to nearly every device ever invented. Its importance in modern technology cannot be overstated.

Live Science contributor Ashley Hamer updated this article on Jan. 28, 2022.

Additional resources

The field of thermodynamics has a long history, and this video from CrashCourse provides a tour through its most notable moments and figures.

Want to see thermodynamics in action? This resource from West Virginia University links to a number of fascinating video examples. Just because thermodynamics is fundamental to science doesn't mean it doesn't have its issues. This article in Physics Today explores why it's been called the "village witch" of physics.

Bibliography

University of Kentucky Department of Physics and Astronomy, "Temperature And Heat  Thermal Energy," https://www.pa.uky.edu/~straley/THE/heat/then4.htm

Carl Nave, "Heat," Hyperphysics, Georgia State University, 2017. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/heat.html

Carl Nave, "A More General View of Temperature," Hyperphysics, Georgia State University, 2017. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/temper2.html

American Heritage Dictionary, "Temperature." 2022. https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=temperature

Scottish Science Hall of Fame, "Lord Kelvin (1824-1907)." 2009. https://digital.nls.uk/scientists/biographies/lord-kelvin/

Wolfram Research, "Specific Heat." 2007. https://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/SpecificHeat.html

Southeastern Louisiana University, "Thermodynamics Part 1: Work, Heat, Internal Energy and Enthalpy." 2000. https://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/wparkinson/help/thermochemistry/

Debdatta Ratna, "3 - Thermal properties of thermosets," Thermosets: Structure, Properties and Applications, 2012. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780857090867500031

Erik Cheever, "Elements of Thermal Systems," Swarthmore College, 2021. https://lpsa.swarthmore.edu/Systems/Thermal/SysThermalElem.html

Sergey V. Kidalov and Fedor M. Shakhov, "Thermal Conductivity of Diamond Composites," Materials (Basel), December 2009. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5513588/

Paul Peter Urone and Robert Hinrichs, "College Physics." OpenStax, Aug 22, 2016 https://pressbooks.online.ucf.edu/algphysics/chapter/conduction/

Isaac Newton, "VII. Scala graduum caloris," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1701.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "Newton's Law of Cooling," 1996. http://www.math.wpi.edu/Course_Materials/MA1022A96/lab2/node5.html

Northwestern University, "How does heat move?" https://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/thermal/1-how-does-heat-move.html

Carl Nave, "Carnot Cycle," Hyperphysics, Georgia State University, 2017. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/carnot.html

NASA, "Carnot Cycle," 2021. https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/carnot.html

Carl Nave, "Heat Pump," Hyperphysics, Georgia State University, 2017. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/heatpump.html

American Heritage Dictionary, "Entropy," 2022. https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=entropy

Ian T. Durham, "Ralph Fowler," St. Anselm College. 2001. https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Fowler/
Temperature scales. At 0 K, entropy stops. This is known as absolute zero, and in theory, this is not possible.

The third law of thermodynamics is concerned with behavior of systems as the temperature approaches absolute zero. It relates heat and entropy at this ultimate lowest temperature for crystals, which refer to any solid material made up of atoms arranged in a definite, symmetrical pattern, according to Britannica. The third law of thermodynamics states, "the entropy of a perfect crystal is zero when the temperature of the crystal is equal to absolute zero (0 K)." According to Purdue University, "the crystal must be perfect, or else there will be some inherent disorder. It also must be at 0 K; otherwise there will be thermal motion within the crystal, which leads to disorder."

Siabal Mitra, a professor of physics at Missouri State University, provides another implication of this law.

"One version of the third law states that it would require an infinite number of steps to reach absolute zero, which means you will never get there," Mitra told Live Science. If you could get to absolute zero, it would violate the second law, because if you had a heat sink at absolute zero, then you could build a machine that was 100% efficient."

Related:

In theory, it would be possible to grow a perfect crystal in which all of the lattice spaces are occupied by identical atoms . However, it is generally believed that it is impossible to achieve a temperature of absolute zero. Therefore, all matter contains at least some entropy owing to the presence of some heat energy.

History of the third law of thermodynamics

The third law of thermodynamics was first formulated by German chemist and physicist Walther Nernst in 1906, according to Britannica . In his book, "A Survey of Thermodynamics" (American Institute of Physics, 1994), Martin Bailyn quotes Nernst's statement of the third law as, "It is impossible for any procedure to lead to the isotherm T = 0 in a finite number of steps." This essentially establishes a temperature of absolute zero as being unattainable in somewhat the same way as the speed of light c in a vacuum can never be exceeded. Theory states and experiments have shown that no matter how fast something is moving, it can always be made to go faster, but it can never reach the speed of light , according to Morningside University . Similarly, no matter how cold a system is, it can always be made colder, but it can never reach absolute zero.

In her book, "The Story of Physics" (Arcturus, 2012), Anne Rooney wrote, "The third law of thermodynamics requires the concept of a minimum temperature below which no temperature can ever fall  known as absolute zero." She continued, "Robert Boyle first discussed the concept of a minimum possible temperature in 1665, in 'New Experiments and Observations Touching Cold' [Crook Publishing], in which he referred to the idea as primum frigidum."

Absolute zero is believed to have been first calculated with reasonable precision in 1779 by Johann Heinrich Lambert, according to Jaime Wisniak of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel . Lambert based this calculation on the linear relationship between the pressure and temperature of a gas. When a gas is heated in a confined space, its pressure increases. This is because the temperature of a gas is a measure of the average speed of the molecules in the gas. The hotter it gets, the faster the molecules move, and the greater the pressure they exert when they collide with the walls of the container. It was reasonable for Lambert to assume that if the temperature of the gas could be brought to absolute zero, the motion of the gas molecules could be brought to a complete stop so they could no longer exert any pressure on the walls of the chamber.

If one were to plot the temperature-pressure relationship of the gas on a graph with temperature on the x (horizontal) axis and pressure on the y (vertical) axis, the points would form an upward-sloping straight line, indicating a linear relationship between temperature and pressure, according to Florida State University . It should be rather simple, then, to extend the line backward and read the temperature where the line crosses the x axis, i.e., where y = 0, indicating zero pressure. Using this technique, Lambert calculated absolute zero to be minus 270 degrees Celsius (minus 454 Fahrenheit), which was remarkably close to the modern accepted value of minus 273.15 C (minus 459.67 F), according to Britannica .

The Kelvin temperature scale

A photo of William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin. The Kelvin scale is named for him. (Image credit: Bettmann / Contributor via Getty Images)

The person most associated with the concept of absolute zero is William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin. The temperature unit bearing his name, the kelvin (K), is the one most commonly used by scientists worldwide. Temperature increments in the Kelvin scale are the same size as in the Celsius scale, but because it starts at absolute zero, rather than the freezing point of water, it can be used directly in mathematical calculations, particularly in multiplication and division. For example, 100 K actually is twice as hot as 50 K, according to the University of Texas . A sample of confined gas at 100 K also contains twice as much thermal energy, and it has twice the pressure as it would have at 50 K. Such calculations cannot be done using the Celsius or Fahrenheit scales, i.e., 100 C is not twice as hot as 50 C, nor is 100 F twice as hot as 50 F.

Implications of the third law

Because a temperature of absolute zero is physically unattainable, the third law may be restated to apply to the real world as: The entropy of a perfect crystal approaches zero as its temperature approaches absolute zero. We can extrapolate from experimental data that the entropy of a perfect crystal reaches zero at absolute zero, but we can never demonstrate this empirically.

"There's a field of ultra-low-temperature research, and every time you turn around there's a new record low. These days, nanokelvin (nK = 10^9 K) temperatures are reasonably easy to achieve, and everyone's now working on picokelvins (pK = 10^12 K)," said David McKee, a professor of physics at Missouri Southern State University.

As of this writing, the record-low temperature was achieved in 2021 by a team at the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen in Germany. They trapped a cloud of around 100,000 rubidium atoms in a magnetic field inside a vacuum chamber and tossed the chamber down a drop tower to let the atoms float uninhibited by gravity and slow their molecular motion. The cloud reached a record 38 picokelvins, or 38 trillionths of a Kelvin.

While a temperature of absolute zero does not exist in nature, and scientists cannot achieve it in the laboratory, the concept of absolute zero is critical for calculations involving temperature and entropy. Many measurements imply a relationship to some starting point. When someone provides a distance, they have to ask, distance from what? When they give a time, they have to ask, time since when? Defining the zero value on the temperature scale gives meaning to positive values on that scale. When a temperature is stated as 100 K, it means that the temperature is 100 K above absolute zero, which is twice as far above absolute zero as 50 K and half as far as 200 K.

On first reading, the third law seems rather simple and obvious. However, it serves as the final period at the end of a long and consequential story that fully describes the nature of heat and thermal energy.

This article was updated on Feb. 2, 2022 by Live Science contributor Ashley Hamer.

Additional resources

The University of Calgary's Energy Education website explains the concept of absolute zero.

explains the concept of absolute zero. In this video from StarTalk , Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why you can't reach absolute zero.

, Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why you can't reach absolute zero. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has another explanation of the third law of thermodynamics , complete with three different formulations of the law.

Bibliography

Purdue University, "Entropy and the 2nd & 3rd Laws of Thermodynamics." http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch21/entropy.php

The Nobel Prize, "Walther Nernst: Biographical." 1966. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1920/nernst/biographical/

Martin Bailyn, "A Survey of Thermodynamics," American Institute of Physics, 1994

Morningside University, "The Limit of Speed." https://webs.morningside.edu/slaven/Physics/relativity/relativity10.html

Anne Rooney, "The Story of Physics," Arcturus, 2012

Robert Boyle, "New Experiments and Observations Touching Cold," Crook, 1665

Jaime Wisniak, "Development of the Concept of Absolute Zero Temperature," Educacion Quimica, January 2005 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236235474_Development_of_the_Concept_of_Absolute_Zero_Temperature

Illinois State University, "MAT 312: Probability and Statistics for Middle School Teachers," https://math.illinoisstate.edu/day/courses/old/312/notes/twovar/twovar02.html

Florida State University, "Gas Laws." https://www.chem.fsu.edu/chemlab/chm1045/gas_laws.html

Britannica, "Absolute zero," April 9, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/science/absolute-zero

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, "Biostatistics for the Clinician." https://www.uth.tmc.edu/uth_orgs/educ_dev/oser/L1_2.HTM
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Browards current school leader will compete against an Air Force veteran for the job of permanently overseeing the nations sixth-largest school district.

After interviewing three semifinalists Wednesday, the Broward School Board picked two finalists: Interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright and Michael Gaal, a retired Air Force colonel who also had brief stints as a high-ranking administrator in two school districts.

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The School Board eliminated a third candidate, Quintin Shepherd, superintendent of a small Texas school district. Shepherd became a semifinalist just a day before, after board members decided not to interview Keith Oswald, who they had previously selected, due to scrutiny he received over his handling of a scandal where a principal had failed to confirm the Holocaust existed in an email to a parent.

[ RELATED: Broward School Board picks new superintendent semifinalists and eliminates one ]

The winning finalist will replace Robert Runcie, who stepped down last year after being indicted on perjury charges.

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Cartwright, who has led the district since August, was long expected to be a finalist and remains the favorite for the job. All nine School Board members selected her to move on to final interviews.

Michael Gaal, an Air Force veteran and former deputy chancellor for Washington, D.C. Public Schools, interviews with the School Board on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2021, for superintendent. He is competing against Interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright. (Scott Travis)

Gaal has known he was in the running since last week and heavily prepared for the interview, watching School Board meetings and traveling around Broward to learn about schools and the community.

Shepherd expressed little specific knowledge about the school district, including an $800 million bond for school renovation that has failed to deliver on promises made.

[ RELATED: Did Broward School Board break the law? It will redo superintendent search meeting just in case. ]

Still, two board members, Nora Rupert and Rosalind Osgood, preferred Shepherd over Gaal. The other seven chose Gaal as the second finalist.

While Cartwright is backed by teachers and school administrators, Gaal is a favorite for those believing the district needs a major shake-up.

Interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright, pictured here in September, is hoping to become permanent superintendent. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Jacqui Luscombe, who serves on several district advisory committees, said there is much good work happening in schools.

But where theres failure, the perception is theres a lack of accountability, and the buck stops at the top, she said. Parents want to hear, Lets fix this, not Its not my job, case closed or sit down. Getting redress shouldnt require filing a Civil Rights complaint.

[ RELATED: Cartwright not given the permanent job, at least not yet. ]

But Cartwrights supporters said shes done great work in her short tenure but is limited to making major changes since she still has the interim title.

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I do not believe a Superintendent should come from any other field than that of Education, science teacher Melissa Goulet wrote to the board. No one can truly understand the issues of an educator who has not taught in a public school classroom at some time in her or his career.

The two will meet individually with board members Tuesday and at a community forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Plantation High. The School Board plans to conduct final interviews and pick the new superintendent the next day, Feb. 9.
Two men have been arrested in relation to a drive-by shooting reported last week in the Las Cruces neighborhood in central Laredo, authorities said.

Jose Albino Larrazolo, 17, and Carlos Manuel Valero, 20, were served with an arrest warrant charging them with deadly conduct, discharge of a firearm. Both have been released on bond, according to Webb County Jail records.

On Jan. 24, Laredo police officers responded to the intersection of San Pedro Street and Hendricks Avenue. A man approached an officer saying that his house had been shot at. Officers discovered that a residence and a vehicle in the 900 block of East Olive Street had been struck by gunfire. Authorities processed the scene and recovered seven .223 caliber Remington casings.

On Jan. 25, investigators met with the complainants. They showed authorities the gunfire impacts and the damages to the residence. Shots fired went through the young mans bedroom and shattered a glass sliding door on the northside of the residence.

Surveillance video from the area showed a Ford F-150 and two men. During the course of the investigation, the F-150 owner was identified as Valero and Larrazolo as one of the suspects. On Jan. 27, the LPD Juvenile and Gang Enforcement Task Force, or JAGET, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration, carried an operation to follow up on the drive-by shooting. Authorities discovered that Larrazolo had an active alert of violation of probation out of the Webb County Juvenile Detention Center, according to court documents.

The LPD JAGET team and the DEA conducted a knock and talk at Larrazolos residence in the 4800 block of Roque Loop. He was detained there and taken to police headquarters for further investigation. Authorities also met with Valero. He allegedly agreed to meet with investigators for a non-custodial interview at police headquarters.

Valero was informed he was a suspect in a drive-by shooting that had occurred in the 900 block of East Olive. Valero stated he knew who the complainant was and added that he had lent out his pickup to Larrazolo. Valero added that another drive-by shooting had occurred prior to the one on East Olive. Valero stated that it was suspected that the complainant was involved in a drive-by shooting reported in the 600 block of Riverhill Loop.

Valero stated that he, Larrazolo and another male decided to retaliate against the complainant. Valero observed Larrazolo get into his pickup with a long rifle but claims that he did not observe the other male with a firearm, states the affidavit.

The trio then arrived at the complainants home on East Olive. Larrazolo and the other male allegedly fired shots while Valero recorded the shooting with Larrazolos cellphone. Valero provided that footage to police, according to court documents.

Larrazolo also agreed to provide a non-custodial interview.

Jose Larrazolo admitted that he had been involved in the drive-by shooting and confirmed that it was in retaliation for the drive-by shooting at (the 600 block of) Riverhill Loop. Jose Larrazolo implicated Carlos Valero and (another male) as having also been involved in the drive-by shooting, states the affidavit.
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Texas parents were arrested on Thursday, January 27 for manslaughter after allegedly giving their 2-month-old girl allergy medication, according to the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office. An autopsy determined the baby died of "mixed drug toxicity," reported KLBK-TV.

According to court documents, deputies responded to the couple's home on July 11, 2021. An ambulance had already been called, and officers found a dead 2-month-old child. An investigation determined the father Adam Canales Jr., 30, was watching the baby while the mother, Sarah Canales, 21, was away.
UPDATE (2/4 at 7:30 a.m.): The winter storm warning and advisory remain in effect for San Antonio until 10 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The agency doesn't expect accumulating precipitation, but a few flurries will be possible.

Temperatures Friday morning are in the teens and 20s with wind chills in the single digits near to zero. A wind chill advisory is in effect for all areas until 9 a.m. Friday due to brisk northerly winds. NWS reports that these winds are producing bitterly cold wind chill values from near five degrees below zero into the teens. Winds will continue to be 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

San Antonio Police Department

The significant sleet and freezing rain from Thursday resulted in reports of a tenth to almost a quarter inch of accumulating ice from San Antonio to Austin, as well as across the Hill County. The ice that accumulated is expected to remain on many surfaces

through midday, making it difficult to travel in much of the Edwards Plateau, Hill Country and Austin metro area.

UPDATE (2/3): CPS Energy CEO Rudy Garza expects most the ongoing outages to be restored by midnight and doesn't anticipate a similar outage event Friday morning.

Garza said during a press conference Thursday afternoon that about 98,000 customers experienced outages throughout the day mostly attributed to high winds, ice and tree branches.

As of 6:33 p.m. there were still 79 outages affecting 6,501 customers, according to CPS Energy.

Original story follows below:

City and state officials are on a campaign to make sure residents are prepared for freezing weather as an arctic airmass  one that could send temperatures into the low 20s  made its way into San Antonio Wednesday night.

READ MORE: Should you drip your pipes: A Texas plumber shares his tips

Hazardous Weather Conditions

The National Weather Service issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook on February 1, warning of a "strong arctic cold front" that will bring "hard freezes" across South Central Texas.

While freezing rain and sleet are anticipated Wednesday night and into Thursday, the NWS is assuring residents that it will not be a repeat of the February 2021 winter storm.

Roads and highways TxDOT cameras show road conditions near downtown San Antonio on Thursday, February 3, 2021 as arctic weather rolls through. TxDOT UPDATE (2/4 AT 7 a.m.): The connector ramps on I-10 and I-410 are now open, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. The US 281/I-410 direct connector ramps are now open as well However, TxDOT has still shut down the U.S. 281 and Loop 1604 connectors as a precaution. It's unclear when the connectors will reopen. The San Antonio Police Department reported that as of 5 p.m. officers have responded to 30 major crashes, 47 minor crashes since and 43 traffic-related calls as of 6 a.m. on Thursday. Mayor Ron Nirenberg and City Manager Erik Walsh has advised locals in a joint statement to avoid travel if possible throughout the rest of the day and into Friday afternoon. As of Thursday afternoon: The flyover at Highway 281 and Loop 410 is closed to reports of ice forming on the road. Portions of the eastbound and westbound main lanes of I-10 at Boerne Stage Road to the Kendall County Line are being shutdown until weather conditions improve. San Antonio Police Department reports multiple highway and road closures at 1604 and US Highway 281; I-10 and Loop 410. The city of San Antonio is also maintaining a list of street closures which will be updated throughout the day. There are currently 13 weather-related road closures. The full list can be found here.

Flights out of San Antonio and Austin airports - The San Antonio International Airport issued a warning to travelers at 6 p.m. Wednesday, advising them to check directly with their airline on possible schedule changes before leaving to the airport. According to FlightView.com, most arriving flights are canceled or delayed as of Thursday morning. - In Austin, most of the flights at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport have been canceled on Thursday. The airport is advising travelers to check with airlines before heading to the airport. The airport says ice has started to accumulate on surfaces.

San Antonio businesses and services closed Thursday Business closings. Thana Prasongsin/Getty Images Restaurants and bars - El Camino Bar & Grill: Closed Thursday - Tony's Siesta: Closed Thursday, reopening Friday for normal hours - Stuffed burritos closed Thursday, reopening Friday - The Local Bar closed Thursday, reopeninig Friday - DZIR Nightclub closed Thursday, reopening Friday - Early Bird Coffee closed Thursday - Bottling Department, the food hall at Pearl, is closed Thursday - Garcia's Mexican Food closed Thursday - Kuma closed Thursday - Aldaco's closed Thursday - The Rustic closed Thursday - Guajillos closing at 5 p.m. Thursday Parks and Museums - San Antonio Zoo, Kiddie Park, and the San Antonio Zoo Train: Closed Thursday. The Brackenridge Park Starbucks will remain open, but hours are subject to change. - The Witte Museum will be closed Thursday - The Alamo will be closed Thursday - All Bexar County parks will close at 4 p.m. on Thursday and will reopen at noon on Friday, according to officials. Comanche Parks 1 and 3 are currently closed due to flooding. Services - All DPS offices in San Antonio, Austin, and Waco are closed Thursday Other businesses - Goodwill: All San Antonio, Kerrville, New Braunfels, Cibolo, and Seguin stores and donation locations will remain closed through Thursday, February 3. - Nowhere Bookshop: Closed, offering 15 percent off online orders with the code SNOWDAY - Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union: All San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas branches are closed Thursday - City Base Cinema: Closing early Thursday, customers can reach the theater at 210-531-3000 or email brad@citybasecinemas.com for refund requests - Santikos Entertainment has closed for Thursday. The company said it will process refunds as quickly as possible through tickethelp@santikos.com.

Hill Country Closures Boerne City facilities will delay opening until noon Thursday, February 3. Waste Management will not collect trash and recycling on Thursday. Collections will resume Friday and into the weekend as needed. The Community Room at the Patrick Heath Public Library (451 N Main Street) will be open as a warming center from 9 a.m.  7 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m.  6 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m.  4 p.m. Saturday. The Community Room will remain open as a warming center even if the library is not fully open, per a release. Fredericksburg City offices will be closed Thursday, February 3.

School Closures

San Antonio districts Principal Kelly Mantle said one-way hallways, seen Friday, would help facilitate social distancing as a measure against the transmission of the coronavirus at Northside ISD's Forester Elementary School. Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News - Judson ISD said Thursday is an Early Release Day and Friday is a Teacher Planning Day/Student Holiday. - San Antonio Christian School has closed its campus for Thursday. - Harlandale ISD announced it will be closed on Thursday and Friday due to the weather. - Edgewood ISD announced classes will be canceled and district offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday due to the weather. - Northside ISD announced classes will be canceled and district offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday due to the weather. - North East ISD announced classes will be canceled and district offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday due to the weather. - South San ISD schools to close Thursday and Friday due to inclement weather. - Randolph Field Independent School District will be closing all offices and campuses on Thursday and Friday - East Central ISD has closed all schools for Thursday and Friday. - San Antonio ISD to close Thursday and Friday. - Southwest ISD has closed schools on Thursday and Friday due to the weather. - Holy Cross will move to an online learning mode on Thursday. - Pre-K 4 SA will be closed on Thursday and Friday due to inclement weather. - San Antonio Academy will be closed Thursday, February 3 and Friday, February 4. - IDEA Public Schools canceled class for Thursday, February 3. - Keystone School closed Thursday and Friday due to inclement weather. - Floresville ISD has closed all campuses and offices Friday, February 4. - Bandera ISD canceled classes Friday. Higher Education - Texas A&M-San Antonio announced its campus operations will be virtual Thursday, February 3 and Friday, February 4, with only essential personnel on-site due to the weather. The University will be open for teaching/learning, business operations, and student services, but all of these will occur remotely. - The University of Texas at San Antonio has decided to temporarily shift to online learning for Thursday, February 3. All UTSA classes, including in-person teaching will be remote. This includes labs and other in-person programs. There will be no in-person day or evening classes Thursday. Campus shuttles will not operate Thursday. For students living on campus, dining facilities will remain open. - The Alamo Colleges District announced all services and most classes will continue to be conducted remotely Thursday and Friday. - Trinity University canceled its classes and has closed its offices and buildings on Thursday due to the winter weather. - St. Mary's University has canceled all day and evening classes and activities for Thursday. Campus offices will also be closed.

Hill Country districts Photos of Voss Middle School in Boerne ISD. Courtesy of Boerne ISD. - Austin ISD canceled all classes for Thursday, February 3 and Friday, February 4. - Bandera ISD canceled classes for Thursday, February 3. - Boerne ISD canceled all classes for Thursday February 3 and Friday, February 4 due to inclement weather conditions. - Blanco ISD canceled all classes for Thursday, February 3 and Friday, February 4. - Comal ISD canceled classes through Friday, February 4. - Comfort ISD canceled Thursday, February 3 classes and will monitor Friday's weather. - Fredricksberg ISD will close all campuses Thursday, February 3. - Hays CISD schools will be closed Thursday and Friday. -Johnson City ISD campuses will be closed on Thursday, February 3 and Friday February 4. - Kerrville ISD canceled classes for Thursday, February 3. - Marion ISD canceled classes for Thursday, February 3. - Medina Valley ISD will be closed Thursday, February 3. - Navarro ISD will be closed Thursday, February 3. - New Braunfels ISD is monitoring the weather and will send a text or email to parents if classes are canceled. - Pflugerville ISD has canceled classes for Thursday, February 3. - Round Rock ISD canceled all classes for Thursday and Friday. - San Marcos Consolidated ISD classes are canceled for Thursday, February 3 and Friday, February 4. - Seguin ISD canceled school through Friday, February 4. -Somerset ISD schools and offices will be closed Thursday due to anticipated inclement weather and possibly dangerous road conditions. - The University of Texas at Austin canceled all classes until further notice. -Texas State University will not have classes on Thursday or Friday at both the San Marcos and Round Rock campuses.

Outages could happen

Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference Tuesday morning that he has activated multiple state agencies to be at the ready. He said that the state has done everything needed to make sure the lights stay on.

Abbott then followed up with, "No one can guarantee that there wont be a 'load-shedding event,'" contradicting what the guarantee he made in November.

A load shed event is a planned blackout to lessen the impact on the power grid.

Abbott reiterated in a Tuesday news release that additional power generation has been brought online and that ERCOT forecasts that the electric grid will have enough power supply to meet demand.

CPS Energy says outage chances are slim

The city and county held a joint press conference with CPS Energy and SAWS officials to assure the public that they are ready for whatever issues the winter storm brings, promising those issues will be minimal.

"We might very well see an ERCOT system-wide peak on Friday morning depending upon how low into the 20s it gets," said CPS Energy CEO Rudy Garza.

He added that the difference this time compared to February 2021 is that all power plants across the system are running.

SAWS CEO Robert Puente says that most of its infrastructure is underground so should be unaffected. He reminded residents to weatherize their exposed pipes and outdoor faucets.

Puente said that if power goes out it could affect the pumping stations, but Garza reassured officials that CPS Energy knows where these pumps are located and is protecting power infrastructure in those areas.

Bexar County opened six of its warming centers on Tuesday, which will remain open until Sunday, February 6 at noon. The six warming centers locations are:

2096 Talley Road

23103 Bulverde Road

20825 Babcock Road

2456 FM 1516 S

6427 Evers Road

9810 Southton Road

San Antonio opened warming centers Thursday morning at 7 a.m. and will keep them open through Friday at noon.

Garza Community Center

1450 Mira Vista, 78228

1450 Mira Vista, 78228 Harlandale Community Center

7227 Briar place, 78221

7227 Briar place, 78221 Hamilton Community Center

10700 Nacogdoches Road, 78217

10700 Nacogdoches Road, 78217 Denver Heights Community Center

300 Porter Street, 78210

Last year, city officials called for city facilities and unoccupied buildings downtown to shut off their lights. City Manager Erik Walsh said the city implemented an energy conservation plan this year that will help reduce power usage at city facilities while not in use.

Garza said that downtown building management companies are on a communication system that allows CPS Energy to contact those companies and ask them to shut off their lights if necessary.

Protect your pets and plants

On top of keeping yourself and loved ones warm, the City of San Antonio is also reminding residents to keep their pets and plants safe.

The city asks that residents bring their pets inside to keep them warm. Animal Care Services says if residents cannot bring pets into their home they set up a contained space in the laundry room or garage with food, water, and blankets. ACS officers will be one patrol to catch any violations.

The city also reminds residents to cover outdoor plants with a large sheet of fabric or a bed sheet. Potted plants should also be brought inside.
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A brother and sister have been sentenced for their part in a "vicious and savage" feud related knife attack on another man which left the victim with "life-threatening and disfiguring" injuries.

Daniel Lawrence sustained multiple stab wounds to his head, stomach, back and arm following the attack outside Aldi, Longford Retail Park, Townspark, Athlone Road, Longford on April 1, 2019.

A sitting of Longford Circuit Criminal Court today (Wednesday, February 2) heard the injuries inflicted on the 31-year-old Longford man were so severe that when gardai arrived at the scene they found a tag of skin, the size of a palm print, hanging off the victim's head.

Longford ready to take a hold of its future again Author of The Cow Book and The Running Book, John Connell reflects on our journey through the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has impacted life in rural Ireland and our souls

Kevin Stokes Jnr (29) and Chantelle Stokes (20), both of Lisnanagh, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, pleaded guilty to Section 3 assault causing harm as a result of the incident.

The court was told the incident had stemmed from "a history of antagonism" over Mr Lawrence's ongoing relationship with Kate Stokes, a sister of both of the accused.

On the day of the attack, Mr Lawrence and Ms Stokes had been about to enter Aldi in Longford town when the pair spotted the defendants' mother Margaret Stokes and Chantel Stokes walking towards them.

It was at that stage, it was revealed Margaret Stokes accused Kate Stokes of calling her father names before slapping her across the face.

In an attempt to diffuse the situation, the court heard Daniel Lawrence proceeded to remonstrate with Mrs Stokes Snr, seconds before Chantel Stokes suddenly produced a can of antiperspirant, spraying him in the face in the process.

Disorientated and temporarily blinded, Kevin Stokes Jnr ran across a car park and attacked Mr Lawrence with a knife, inflicting serious injuries to the victims head and stomach areas.

The court was informed a Newton hearing had been held amid claims from Kevin Stokes Jnr that Daniel Lawrence had, in fact, been armed with a knife on that day and not him.

Judge Keenan Johnson said the court was absolutely satisfied that neither Kate Stokes or Daniel Lawrence had any weapons with them on the day and it was they who had been subjected to an unprovoked attack.

The court was further satisfied, he added that Kevin Stokes Jnr had brought the knife to the scene.

During the ensuing garda investigation, Kevin Stokes Jnr denied any involvement or knowledge of the assault.

Following discussions with her parents his sister, who was aged 17 at the time, made a voluntary statement where she took responsibility for the knife attack with her mother making a subsequent statement to corroborate those claims.

Judge Johnson said it was abundantly clear both statements were a tissue of lies and were made in an effort to minimise the sanctions any follow up court proceedings could level against a 17-year-old with no prior convictions.

The court finds it astonishing that any parent would allow their child to accept responsibility for such a serious offence, when they had not perpetrated it, he said.

The actions of Chantel Stokes parents did a grave disservice to their daughter and are shameful.

No caring or loving parent would allow their child to make a statement that they patently knew to be false to the Gardai.

It was revealed Kevin Stokes Jnr fled to Northern Ireland before a book of evidence could be served on him.

While there, he was arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and bailed for an unrelated matter before returning south to surrender himself to gardai on foot of an outstanding bench warrant.

In custody since August 26, it emerged the father of two was on bail at the time of the knife attack on Mr Lawrence after receiving a two year sentence, suspended for five years concerning a separate section 3 assault in 2016.

In delivering his ruling, Judge Johnson said the court was obligated to send out a clear and unequivocal message in response to the proliferation of feud related violence Longford and its citizens had been forced to endure in recent times.

One can only imagine the horror of the scene and the level of distress caused not only to the victim and his partner, but also to the many innocent bystanders who were going about their lawful business, he said.

The viciousness and intensity of this feud has no place in civilised society and the courts will not tolerate or continence the continuation of such feuds.

He sentenced Kevin Stokes Jnr to three years and four months in prison for assault.

He also activated 12 months of a suspended two year prison term imposed on the accused in 2017 with that sentence to run consecutively to the assault prison term.

A sentence of 240 hours community service was, meanwhile, handed down to Chantel Stokes for violent disorder alongside a 12 month sentence, suspended for three years for a section 3 assault charge.
As President Biden deploys more U.S. troops to Eastern Europe and the crisis over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine deepens, one American military unit is already stationed inside Ukraine itself: the Florida National Guard.

About 150 members of the Pinellas Park-based 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team have been training the Ukrainian military on a rotating schedule since their initial deployment in 2015 under former President Obama, according to the Washington Post.

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The troops are among the only U.S. forces in the beleaguered nation itself. Wednesdays deployment announcement is for 1,700 troops from the 82nd Airborne division to head to Poland, another unit of about 300 18th Airborne Corps troops to move to Germany, and a 1,000-person Army armored unit is being sent to Romania, according to reports.

This force is designed to deter aggression and enhance our defensive capabilities in frontline allied states, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

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Greg Celestan, CEO of Celestar and a West Point graduate who served as an Army intelligence officer, told WFLA Channel 8 in Tampa last month that the unit is in a dangerous position.

Youve got Russian troops, obviously massed on the border of the Ukraine, Celestan said. Youve got Ukraine forces there. The U.S. has some forces in Poland and some of the countries and NATO based countries, so there is a high probability if any type of conflict occurs, you could have NATO and Russian forces engaged.

The Florida unit is expected to stay in Ukraine for now.

Kirby told the Washington Post last week, No decision has been made to change their mission or to remove them. We consider their safety a paramount concern and we will obviously monitor events very closely to determine if any change to their presence and mission needs to change.

On Jan. 18, Kirby said, There are no planned additional rotational troops to Ukraine at this time, no changes to what the Florida National Guard is doing on the ground, according to the Post.

The Florida National Guard Public Affairs Office did not return a request for comment Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-St. Augustine Beach, met with Guard members during a trip to Ukraine in December along with U.S. Reps. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, and Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts

I was thrilled, personally as representative of Florida, to spend some time with some of our Florida Guard members that were there on a training mission, Waltz said.
School & Education, Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: February 02 2022

"Education is key to unlocking opportunity and to help New Yorkers succeed, we need to eliminate punitive barriers to opportunity like transcript withholding," Governor Hochul said.

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the State University of New York Board of Trustees has ended the practice of withholding transcripts from students with outstanding balances, effective immediately. This follows Governor Hochul's plan to eliminate the practice across the State as part of the 2022 State of the State - including directing public colleges and universities to immediately stop withholding transcripts and proposing legislation for all higher education institutions in the State.

"Education is key to unlocking opportunity and to help New Yorkers succeed, we need to eliminate punitive barriers to opportunity like transcript withholding," Governor Hochul said. "This is a matter of common sense. New Yorkers will not be able to climb the ladder of success and get out of debt if their financial challenges prevent them from accessing those opportunities. While I am proud that SUNY students will no longer have their transcripts held hostage, all students deserve the same protections. We must pass legislation to end this unjust practice for all New York students once and for all."

Each year, about 50 percent of SUNY students graduate from college debt-free. However, other students graduate with an outstanding balance of about $3,500, on average, and as of 2020 about 19,000 students still owed their SUNY campus. With today's Board action, now those students may receive their transcript, thereby enabling them to re-enroll in a campus, transfer credits, complete their degree, and obtain jobs that could help pay down their unpaid balance. CUNY announced a temporary hold on the practice last August.

As part of the resolution, the Board of Trustees also authorized the SUNY Chancellor, or a designee, to review all debt collection practices and make any appropriate policy changes, rulemaking, and other modifications in line with today's action. SUNY follows State Finance Law, as well as State Division of the Budget guidance, SUNY Regulations and Policy, and a Memorandum of Understanding between SUNY and the New York Attorney General.

SUNY Interim Chancellor Deborah F. Stanley said, "Students come to SUNY for an excellent and affordable college education, often making personal sacrifices along the way in order to reach the career of their dreams. To come so far only to be held back by unpaid fees and fines is simply unfair to our students. My thanks for Governor Hochul for shining light on this oversight that has been common place throughout higher education, and for bringing further equity to our economically disadvantaged students, who have worked hard to earn their degree."
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(Alliance News) - Glencore PLC on Wednesday reported that its full-year production performance was mixed, though "largely" in line with its guidance.

The Switzerland-based commodity trading and mining company also indicated that its 2022 production guidance remained unchanged from the levels forecast in December 2021.

For 2022, copper is expected to decrease slightly to 1.15 million tonnes, while cobalt is projected to surge to 48,000 tonnes. Zinc is forecast to remain flat at 1.11 million tonnes.

In 2021, Glencore said copper production dropped by 5% to 1.20 million tonnes from 1.25 million tonnes in 2020 mainly due to the Mopani disposal, lower copper grades at Antapaccay, and lower copper by-products from its mature zinc and nickel mines.

Full-year cobalt production rose by 14% to 31,300 tonnes, compared to 27,400 tonnes despite limited restart of production at Mutanda in 2021.

Zinc output of 1.11 million tonnes in 2021 represented a 4% decline from 1.17 million tonnes, mainly reflecting the decrease of Maleevsky mine in Kazakhstan.

Nickel production was 7% lower at 102,300 tonnes, from 110,200 tonnes as the lengthy scheduled statutory shutdown and maintenance issues at Murrin Murrin earlier in the year weighed.

However, attributable ferrochrome production jumped 43% to 1.46 million tonnes from 1.02 million tonnes, benefitting from a strong operating performance.

Coal production slowed by 3% to 103.3 million tonnes 106.2 million tonnes, reflecting Prodeco's care and maintenance status, and lower domestic power demand and export rail capacity constraints in South Africa.

Over the 2021 financial year, Glencore acquired two-thirds of the Cerrejon coal mine joint venture in Colombia from BHP PLC and Anglo American PLC for USD588 million.

It also closed the sale of its subsidiary Ernest Henry Mining Pty Ltd, the owner of the Ernest Henry Mining copper-gold mine in Australia, in a deal valued at AUD1 billion, or USD715 million.

"Overall, our operations largely performed in line with guidance expectations. We completed the Cerrejon acquisition and Ernest Henry disposal in January, such transactions being consistent with our continued strategy to simplify and align our portfolio with the materials needed for the energy transition and the responsible decline of our coal business," said Glencore Chief Executive Gary Nagle.

In Johannesburg, Glencore shares rose by 1.8% to ZAR82.20 in early morning trade on Wednesday. In London, they were up 0.4% at 397.40 pence.

By Artwell Dlamini; artwelldlamini@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
A vice president in his family's construction company, Florida Sen. Travis Hutson, R-St. Augustine, seen here speaking during legislative session, Friday, April 30, 2021, in Tallahassee, has sponsored a bill that would make it more difficult to sue homebuilders over construction defects. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

Those Welcome to Florida signs at the state line should also say this: Buyer Beware.

A law that makes it difficult to sue builders over construction defects is about to get worse. The legislator behind this monumentally bad bill (SB 736) works in a family construction company, with 20,000 home sites in northeast Florida and plans for thousands more.

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State law currently forbids claims against contractors if they are filed more than four years after certain key dates unless the problem was latent, or not visible until later, like a stucco leak that causes mold and rot. In such cases, the current absolute deadline is usually 10 years from the date the owner takes possession or a certificate of occupancy is issued  whichever is later.

The law will become more tilted in favor of shoddy builders and against homeowners if the Legislature passes SB 736. The bill cuts the 10-year latent defect deadline to five years for single-family homes and stand-alone businesses. Attached condos would have seven years and large commercial properties would stay at 10 years.

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Its about as anti-consumer as you can possibly get, says Neil OBrien, a Palm Harbor lawyer and member of the trial bars Florida Justice Association, which continues to oppose the bill.

Whos behind it?

The sponsor of this fast-moving bill is Sen. Travis Hutson, R-St. Augustine, a vice president of The Hutson Companies, whose website claims some 20,000 Jacksonville-area home sites since 1972 with development rights for 12,000 more, and 7 million-plus square feet of commercial and industrial space.

Specifically in North Florida, where Hutson is located, OBrien says, the houses are built over wood frames and they apply stucco. If they dont do it properly, water will penetrate  but it doesnt show up until six, seven or eight years after the home is built.

The Florida Home Builders Association, a statewide lobby group which gave Hutson a champion of housing award in 2016, is behind his bill. The Legislature does not require members to avoid conflicts of interest unless the issue in question would benefit a specific legislator and no one else.

Florida homebuyers suffered another setback in a recent unanimous Florida Supreme Court ruling that successive owners are bound by deed covenants requiring them to submit their claims to arbitration rather than sue in court. If the original purchasers agree to buy the property under that condition  often a take-it-or-leave-it proposition  subsequent buyers are stuck.

Restrictive covenants should apply only to use of property, such as mandating single-family construction, rather than to anything found wrong with it. Homeowners Shane and Lauren Hayslip of Fort Myers tried to persuade the court to treat it as a personal covenant between U.S. Home Corp. and the people who first bought their house in 2007, but the court said their problem is a real covenant running with the land, which was a public record when they bought it three years later.

They sued in 2017, claiming water damage from improperly applied stucco. The damage was discovered more than four years after the house was built but within 10 years.

Progress on inspections

But theres progress on another issue important to prospective buyers and present residents. SB 1702, requiring periodic re-inspections of high-rise residences, is ready for a vote by the full Senate. Although prompted by the collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium in Surfside, in which 98 people died, it applies to all residential structures of four stories or more that are older than 30 years, and every 10 years after. If a building is within three miles of the coast, inspections must begin at 20 years and follow every seven years thereafter under the measure by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island.

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That is must-pass legislation. But there has been no action in the House on its version, HB 1391, by Rep. Joe Geller, D-Aventura, which needs to move along, too. In contrast to those sensible bills, the court decision and SB 736 are ominous for everyone entering the real estate market.

The Supreme Court decision is a victory already in the bag for the building industry because arbitration is thought to be to their advantage. The filing fee is more costly to the homeowner than for a lawsuit, and the available pool of arbitrators tend to be civil defense attorneys.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.
(Alliance News) - Vodafone Group PLC said on Wednesday that it performed in line with guidance in its third quarter, hailing a "solid quarter".

In the three months to December 31, revenue rose 4.3% to EUR11.68 billion from EUR11.20 billion a year earlier. On an organic basis, growth was 3.7%.

The telecommunications provider said that service revenue - which includes airtime usage, monthly access charges and roaming - climbed 3.1% to EUR9.65 billion from EUR9.36 billion. It was up 2.7% organically. This is where Vodafone generates most of its revenue.

"Our team has delivered another solid quarter, demonstrating the sustainability of our growth strategy and medium-term ambition. This performance keeps us firmly on track to deliver financial 2022 results in line with the higher guidance we set out in November," Chief Executive Nick Read commented.

"We remain focused on our operational priorities to strengthen commercial momentum in Germany, accelerate our transformation in Spain and position Vodafone Business to maximise European Union recovery funding opportunities. We are also committed to creating value for our shareholders through proactive portfolio actions and continuing to improve returns at pace."

Late last week, Bloomberg reported that activist investor Cevian Capital had taken a stake in Vodafone, and the two had discussed how to boost the performance of the telecom operator.

Vodafone affirmed that it expects annual adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and after leases between EUR15.2 billion and EUR15.4 billion for all of financial 2022. It expects EUR5.3 billion in free cash flow.

In financial 2021, Vodafone reported adjusted Ebitda of EUR14.39 billion and free cash flow of EUR5.02 billion.

Shares in Vodafone were up 2.5% at 131.18 pence on Wednesday morning in London.

By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Caracal Gold plc / EPIC: GCAT / Market: Main / Sector: Mining

2 February 2022

Caracal Gold plc ('Caracal' or the 'Company')

Align Research Note

Caracal Gold plc, the gold producer with operations in East Africa, is pleased to announce the release of new research by Align Research, which can be found on its website at https://caracalgold.com/investors/brokers-research/.

The report can also be viewed on the Align Research website at http://www.alignresearch.co.uk/.

**ENDS**

For further information visit www.caracalgold.com or contact the following:

Caracal Gold plc Gerard Kisbey-Green Jason Brewer info@caracalgold.com VSA Capital Ltd Financial Adviser and Joint Broker Andrew Raca / James Deathe/ Pascal Wiese +44 (0)20 3005 5000 St Brides Partners Ltd Financial PR Oonagh Reidy / Charlotte Heap / Isabelle Morris info@stbridespartners.co.uk DGWA, the German Institute for Asset and Equity Allocation and Valuation European Investor and Corporate Relations Advisor Stefan Muller / Katharina Lockinger info@dgwa.org

Notes

Caracal Gold plc is an emerging East African focused gold producer with a clear path to grow production and resources both organically and through strategic acquisitions. Its aim is to rapidly increase production to +50,000ozs p.a. and build a JORC compliant resource base of +3Moz within 12-18 months from its listing in August 2021. To this end, it is progressing a well-defined mine optimisation strategy at its 100% owned Kilimapesa Gold Mine in Kenya, where there is significant mid-term expansion potential and ability to increase gold production to 25,000oz p.a. and the resource to +2Moz (current JORC compliant resources of approx. 671,000oz). Additionally, its experienced team, with proven track record in successfully developing and operating mining projects throughout Africa, is reviewing other complementary and strategically located gold mine and development projects in East Africa.

Caracal is a responsible mining and exploration company and supports the positive social and economic change that it contributes to the communities in the regions that it operates. It is a proudly East African-focused company: it buys locally, employs locally, and protects the environment and its employees and their families' health, safety, and wellbeing. Caracal's shares are quoted on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LON: GCAT) and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE: 6IK); a listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange is underway.
HELIOS TOWERS plc

Notice of Full Year 2021 Results Date & Conference Call

London, 2 February 2022: Helios Towers plc ("Helios Towers", the "Company"), the independent telecommunications infrastructure company, will announce results for the 12 months to 31 December 2021 on Thursday 17 March 2022.

Helios Towers' management will host a conference call for analysts and institutional investors at 09:30 GMT on the day. For the best user experience, please access the conference via the webcast. You can access the event using the link below:

Registration Link - Helios Towers Full Year 2021 Results Conference Call

Event Name: FY2021

Password: HELIOS

If you are unable to use the webcast for the event, or if you intend to participate in Q&A during the call, please dial in using the details below:

Europe & International +44 203 936 2999 South Africa (local) 087 550 8441 USA (local) +1 646 664 1960 Passcode: 181913

A replay of this conference call and transcript will remain available in the Investors section of the Company's website for a limited time at:

Helios Towers - Results, reports and presentations

For further information go to:

www.heliostowers.com

Investor Relations

Chris Baker-Sams - Head of Strategic Finance and Investor Relations

investorrelations@heliostowers.com

+44 (0)752 310 1475

Media relations

Edward Bridges / Stephanie Ellis - FTI Consulting LLP

+44 (0)20 3727 1000

About Helios Towers

 Helios Towers is a leading independent telecommunications infrastructure company, having established one of the most extensive tower portfolios across Africa. It builds, owns and operates telecom passive infrastructure, providing services to mobile network operators.

 Helios Towers owns and operates telecommunication tower sites in Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Ghana, South Africa, Senegal and Madagascar. Following recent acquisition agreements and subject to regulatory approvals, Helios Towers expects to establish a presence in four new markets across Africa and the Middle East. Including these acquisitions and BTS site commitments, the Group's total site count is expected to increase from over 9,000 towers currently to approaching 15,000.

 Helios Towers pioneered the model in Africa of buying towers that were held by single operators and providing services utilising the tower infrastructure to the seller and other operators. This allows wireless operators to outsource non-core tower-related activities, enabling them to focus their capital and managerial resources on providing higher quality services more cost-effectively.
Weather Alert

...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Louisiana... Mississippi River At Red River Landing affecting West Feliciana, East Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee Parishes. For the Lower Mississippi River...including Red River Landing, Baton Rouge, Donaldsonville, Reserve, New Orleans...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Caution is urged when walking near riverbanks. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov/lix. Click on the Rivers and Lakes menu for forecasts and observations. The next statement will be issued when updates are needed. && ...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL EARLY SATURDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Mississippi River At Red River Landing. * WHEN...Until early Saturday morning. * IMPACTS...At 51.0 feet, All river islands along the reach from Red River Landing to Baton Rouge will be inundated. Recreational camps and river bottom farm land will be under water. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday the stage was 49.5 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to fall below flood stage Friday evening and continue falling Wednesday, June 01. - Flood stage is 48.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 48.8 feet on 04/22/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
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Lycoming College welcomes Gregg D. Caruso, Ph.D., professor of philosophy at SUNY Corning, visiting fellow at the New College of the Humanities (NCH London), and honorary professor of philosophy at Macquarie University. Carusos presentation, Rejecting Retributivism: Free Will, Punishment, and Criminal Justice, will take place Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. in room D-001 of the Academic Center. The event is sponsored by the department of philosophy and the department of criminal justice and criminology. The event is free and open to the public.

One of the most prominent justifications of legal punishment, historically and currently, is retributivism, according to which wrongdoers deserve the imposition of a penalty solely for the backward-looking reason that they have knowingly done wrong, said Caruso. While it provides one of the main sources of justification for punishment within the criminal justice system, there are good philosophical and practical reasons for rejecting it.

In his talk, Caruso will outline six distinct reasons that our criminal justice system should reject retributivism, and instead adopt a public health-quarantine model that prioritizes prevention and social justice  a model that is arguably more ethically defensible as well as practical. Rather than focusing on punishment of the individual, the model focuses on rehabilitation and the individuals well being.

Caruso has published many articles and multiple books, including the recent, Rejecting Retributivism: Free Will, Punishment, and Criminal Justice (Cambridge University Press, 2021), and Just Deserts: Debating Free Will with co-author Daniel C. Dennett (Polity, 2021). His research encompasses topics such as free will, moral responsibility, punishment, philosophy of law, jurisprudence, social and political philosophy, moral philosophy, philosophy of the mind, moral psychology, and neurolaw.

Caruso is also the co-director of the Justice Without Retribution Network at the University of Aberdeen, where scholars and early career researchers explore alternative approaches to addressing criminal behavior. The networks latest research and projects can be found at http://www.justicewithoutretribution.com/about.html. Carusos own website is http://www.greggcaruso.com/.
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, 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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
A gopher tortoise makes its way across the ground at Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake in Orlando on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Re: Florida lawmakers look at more sites for gopher tortoises, Jan. 28

Recent changes to Senate Bill 494 benefit developers, not Floridas threatened tortoises. The bill, which would require agencies to consider establishing tortoise recipient sites on public lands, answers developers cries to curb the cost of destroying tortoise habitat.

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State law requires developers to relocate gopher tortoises before clearing habitat. As sprawl intensifies, fewer places remain to put tortoises plucked from the bulldozers path, so relocation costs have soared. But relocating tortoises to public lands already protected from sprawl wont prevent net habitat loss. The bill wouldnt even require public sites to meet minimum requirements for a tortoise population to survive long-term.

Flooding this market with public sites will deter crucial conservation of private lands. To save our tortoises, Florida must stop sprawl from crushing our natural landscapes.

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Elise Bennett, St. Petersburg

The writer is a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversitys Florida office.

(Editors Note: This bill is scheduled for Senate floor debate on Thursday, Feb. 3).

Stop attacking school boards

Rather than focus on Floridas most pressing issues like COVID, affordable housing or stagnant wages, our legislature is focused on dismantling the integrity of local school boards. In their attempts to amplify culture wars and win elections, lawmakers want to make school board races partisan and their full-time positions volunteer-based. The bills are HB 1467 and SJR 1644.

[ RELATED: Partisan school board races? It's a dangerous idea, literally | Editorial ]

Besides the obvious encroachment on local sovereignty, these changes have more insidious consequences. They would force our constituents to vote based on political identity, not merit, and would prevent working-class people from serving. Running for school board would be a performative act that only the wealthy and self-funded can attain.

Public education is and always has been successful thanks to the sacrifices of passionate individuals with a heart for public service. As education evolves and new solutions are needed, the infusion of new candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences becomes even more critical. Limiting that opportunity is a dangerous and slippery slope. I urge lawmakers to stop battling school boards and begin working collaboratively with us to benefit all children.

Alexandria Ayala, Palm Springs

The writer is a member of the School Board of Palm Beach County.

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McCarthyism and Trumpism

I think most people look back at the era of McCarthyism (in the 1950s) as a terrible stain on our country. I hope well look back at this period the same way.

People feared to call out Sen. Joseph McCarthy for false accusations and fear-mongering about supposedly hidden Communists in government, the arts, and everyday life. Today, our gutless, mostly Republican officials and fellow citizens suffer the same quivering fear of crossing or calling out Trump for his delusional, phony lies about the election. Every true, patriotic Republican should get behind Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney and take back the GOP from the Cult of Trump. Learn from history: Trumpism needs to go down  just like McCarthyism.

James Costantino, West Palm Beach

Fighting a silent epidemic

Suicide among young people ages 10-24 increased nearly 60% in the past decade, according to the CDC. The Trevor Projects 2020 survey on LGBTQ youths mental health showed that 40% seriously considered suicide in the past year. In Florida, suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 10-24. But theres hope to stop this silent epidemic. Four out of five individuals considering suicide give some sign of their intentions, and suicide prevention training could help.

Every adult who has contact with young people should educate themselves on suicides warning signs. The Jason Foundation (jasounfoundation.com) offers free training. If your child or someone you love is struggling with depression or thinking about suicide, get help now. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800-273-TALK (8255), is free and available 24 hours a day for anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

Morgan Marks, Hendersonville, Tenn.

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The writer is a director of The Jason Foundation, Inc. (JFI).
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Mayfield, KY (42066)

Today

Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 76F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Weather Alert

...FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of Arkansas and Oklahoma, including the following counties, in Arkansas, Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Madison, Sebastian and Washington AR. In Oklahoma, Adair, Cherokee, Choctaw, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Haskell, Latimer, Le Flore, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Pushmataha, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington OK. * WHEN...Through this evening. * IMPACTS...Significant and potentially life threatening flash flooding is ongoing just south of I-44 across Okfuskee and Okmulgee counties. Numerous main-stem rivers will likely rise above flooding. Extensive low land flooding will be likely, especially where the heavier rain has already occurred. Many low-water crossings will likely become flooded. Area creeks and streams are already running high. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Widespread heavy rainfall has fallen over the past 24 hours across much of northeast Oklahoma and far northwest Arkansas. Heavy rains will continue to spread east and southward through the morning. Additional showers and storms are likely to develop through the day Thursday. Any locally heavy amounts could lead to rapid onset flooding. Rains will taper off by late afternoon from west to east. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
Weather Alert

...FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of Arkansas and Oklahoma, including the following counties, in Arkansas, Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Madison, Sebastian and Washington AR. In Oklahoma, Adair, Cherokee, Choctaw, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Haskell, Latimer, Le Flore, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Pushmataha, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington OK. * WHEN...Through this evening. * IMPACTS...Significant and potentially life threatening flash flooding is ongoing just south of I-44 across Okfuskee and Okmulgee counties. Numerous main-stem rivers will likely rise above flooding. Extensive low land flooding will be likely, especially where the heavier rain has already occurred. Many low-water crossings will likely become flooded. Area creeks and streams are already running high. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Widespread heavy rainfall has fallen over the past 24 hours across much of northeast Oklahoma and far northwest Arkansas. Heavy rains will continue to spread east and southward through the morning. Additional showers and storms are likely to develop through the day Thursday. Any locally heavy amounts could lead to rapid onset flooding. Rains will taper off by late afternoon from west to east. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
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Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, 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Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, 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Dr. Mehmet Oz listens to a question during a campaign stop Friday morning in Meadville. Oz is seeking the Republican Party nomination for one of Pennsylvanias U.S. Senate seats which is up for election in 2022.
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Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan is one such actor who has as much popularity outside India as he has inside it.



Yep! Hrithik is very popular amongst people outside India for his Greek God-like features and for his crazy dance moves.

I mean, you really have to think hard to find out if there's any dancer who's better than Hrithik when he's grooving to Bollywood music.



Well, while we're all aware of his exceptional acting skills as fans, you may also remember that there have been times when the star has been surrounded by controversy.

No, we're not talking about Kangana Ranaut at the moment.

We're actually referring to there being rumors of him romancing Mexican model and actress Barbara Mori.

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It all started when Hrithik and Barbara had been shooting for the film Kites back in 2010.



It was reported that their on-screen chemistry soon turned into a real-life one, and this happened when Hrithik was married to his ex-wife Sussanne Khan.

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As per reports, Hrithik and Barbara got so close that it even impacted Sussanne's relationship with the star.



It was reported that there was a time when Sussanne was so upset that she left the Roshan house and went to live with her parents.

But despite stories coming out in the media, Hrithik continued to maintain that Barbara was just a good friend to him.

However, did you know that Hrithik actually did something very special for Barbara?

According to reports, Hrithik wanted her to feel right at home while working for the film and even gifted a super expensive vanity van that cost around Rs 1.5 to 2 Crore.

It was reported that Barbara was seriously impressed by Hrithik's kind gesture and that she went on to travel only through the van later.

However, Hrithik wasn't fussed about the constant link ups to Barbara, and said,

"Why should it bother me? I'm a happy man with a happy family. And Barbara is a great friend. There is no need to react."

Unfortunately, in 2013, Hrithik and Sussanne parted ways. However, both of them still maintain a good relationship.

It was just recently reported that Hrithik may be currently dating actress Saba Azad.

On the work front, Hrithik may be joining forces with Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan in what could be a spy-universe film series.

Source: IBTimes
Ahan Shetty, who made his Bollywood debut with Milan Luthria's Tadap co-starring Tara Sutaria last year, is pleased with the amazing response to his debut flick. His performance too received a favorable response from critics and moviegoers. Now, his fans are eagerly waiting for the announcement of his next film. While there has been a buzz that he has signed Aashiqui 3, the actor neither confirmed nor denied the speculations and shared that he is "not allowed to speak" about it.

Now, in a recent interview, Ahan revealed the names of his father Suniel Shetty's two films in which he would love to star in. Well, he chose Border and Dhadkan.



Talking about the remake culture in Bollywood, Ahan told IANS, "I absolutely love border so I think Border would be a fantastic film to remake and be a part of. I think Dhadkan would also be an interesting film to be a part of".

Hmm...great choices. For the unversed, both the films were huge hits and are still popular among moviegoers. While Border (1997) was a multi-starrer war drama set during the India-Pakistan War of 1971, Dhadkan (2000) was a romantic drama co-starring Shilpa Shetty and Akshay Kumar.

Interestingly, Ahan's debut film Tadap too was a remake of the Telugu hit RX 100. Talking further about his upcoming projects, he said, "There are a few interesting things that we have planned. There should be an announcement within a month Other than that I can say that I have a four-film contract with Sajid Nadiadwala. So I will be working with him again".



Keep watching this space for more updates on the actor's upcoming projects.



Source: TOI
The Great Khali was born Dalip Singh Rana in Dhiraina, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, to Jwala Ram and his wife Tandi Devi. Khali is popular as an Indian professional wrestler best known for his stint with the WWE, where he was the former WWE world champion and a WWE Hall of Famer as well.

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Humble Beginnings

Although The Great Khali seems to be living the life of his dreams now, his origins, however, were anything but. He was born into an indigent family, with little to no means to provide the bare minimum that a growing child would require. Furthermore, from the tender age of 12, he had to resort to doing odd jobs and providing manual labor in order to earn a livelihood to support his family.

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Dalip Singh eventually moved from Himachal to Punjab looking for employment, and it was here that he was scouted by the Punjab Police owing to his towering frame, and its thanks to them that the legend began his affair with wrestling. Back when he was just Dalip, the former wrestler even had the prestigious Mister India title bestowed upon him in 1995 and 1996.



Additionally, the former WWE sensation was diagnosed with Gigantism and Acromegaly at a young age. The disease was caused by a benign tumor (adenoma), which grew on Khali's pituitary gland and caused an excessive secretion of the growth hormone, leading to the rare condition, acromegaly. His condition exacerbated his gigantism, leading to potentially life-threatening illnesses and complications if it had been left untreated. In 2012, The Great Khali successfully underwent surgery to get rid of the tumor.

Whats The Great Khalis Net Worth?

 The Great Khali

Obviously, The Great Khali doesnt struggle for money anymore, he is after all a multi-millionaire now. Annually, he rakes in upwards of INR 7- 8 crores. While his total net worth is estimated at around INR 45 crores.



If youve been spending enough time on Instagram, odds are youd have seen viral memes on The Great Khali truly showcasing how hes achieved a cult-like status on the internet.

Khali played it smart by diversifying his sources of income, which means rather than depending on a single medium to earn his livelihood, he made himself valuable enough to make a payday through multiple avenues.

Endorsements

 The Great Khali

Khalis earn around INR 15-16 crores as income from brand endorsements. Some of the brands whove used his marketability are Unlu, Ambuja Cement, Maithan Steel. He also promotes Plastic Free Himachal Pradesh as their brand ambassador.



Real Estate

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The Great Khalis stint with the WWE helped in getting American citizenship, which helped him invest in a luxurious mansion worth INR 20 crores in the United States. Closer to home, Khali owns 3 extravagant bungalows worth around INR 10 crores.



Films And TV

 Netflix

The Himachal Pradesh native has also been featured in several Bollywood and Hollywood films like The Longest Yard, Get Smart, and Kushti. Hes worked in several television shows too. Furthermore, he was also a part of the promotions of Netflixs Malayalam superhero flick Minnal Murali. The Great Khali has managed to haul in around INR 20 crores through films and TV alone.



Academy For Youth

After finishing his stint with the WWE, in 2005 Khali built a Continental Wrestling Entertainment Academy in Jalandhar, Kangniwal for the benefit of youth who hail from poor and underprivileged backgrounds. Here they are given free training and mentorship in wrestling so that they can aspire to be a part of the WWE someday.

The Great Khalis story is definitely out of the ordinary, one where he overcomes insurmountable odds to become a legend in his own right.
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Gloria Brown Bruister, 81, passed away on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., with her loving daughters by her side. Born on July 21, 1940, to Jay Lavell and Mattie Noblin Brown, Gloria graduated from Meridian High School in 1958. Married soon after to Hubert L. Bruist
Gloria Brown Bruister, 81, passed away on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., with her loving daughters by her side. Born on July 21, 1940, to Jay Lavell and Mattie Noblin Brown, Gloria graduated from Meridian High School in 1958. Married soon after to Hubert L. Bruist
Gloria Brown Bruister, 81, passed away on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., with her loving daughters by her side. Born on July 21, 1940, to Jay Lavell and Mattie Noblin Brown, Gloria graduated from Meridian High School in 1958. Married soon after to Hubert L. Bruist
Gloria Brown Bruister, 81, passed away on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., with her loving daughters by her side. Born on July 21, 1940, to Jay Lavell and Mattie Noblin Brown, Gloria graduated from Meridian High School in 1958. Married soon after to Hubert L. Bruist
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Justice Department wont reopen probe into Rice death

WASHINGTON  The Justice Department has said it will not reopen the federal investigation into the 2014 death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot to death by Cleveland police, notifying Tamirs mother after she had participated in a federal training event for state prosecutors on investigating police misconduct cases.

Attorneys for Tamirs mother Samaria sent four letters to top officials in the Justice Department and met with them last October in the hope of renewing federal interest in her sons death, and again in December. One of the letters was signed by 50 scholars on constitutional, criminal and civil rights law who wrote that they believed the case must be scrutinized.

Kristin Clarke, the head of the departments Civil Rights Division, wrote that the 2020 decision not to charge the officers stood. She said in her letter to Tamirs family that by no means should you view the departments 2020 decision as an exoneration of the police officers actions.

Louisiana governor denies he delayed probe in deadly arrest

BATON ROUGE, La.  Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards defiantly denied Tuesday that he delayed or interfered with investigations into the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene  and for the first time he characterized the actions of the troopers seen on video stunning, punching and dragging the Black man as racist.

I cant imagine if Mr. Greene had been white he would have been treated that way, an emotional Edwards told a news conference. We have to acknowledge racism when we see it. We have to call it what it is.

The Democratic governor rejected the idea that his response to the Greene case was driven by a tight reelection campaign that depended heavily on the Black vote. He said that notion is nonsensical because prosecutors had the Greene case well before his election.

Nothing like that has ever happened because of me, he said. That is not who I am as a person.

Child, 4, accidentally kills himself with gun found in car

WESTWEGO, La.  A 4-year-old boy in Louisiana, sitting in the back of a car with two younger siblings, fatally shot himself in the forehead with a gun he found while his mother and another adult smoked marijuana in the front seat, authorities said.

An autopsy Monday found that Jarion Walkers gunshot wound was self-inflicted, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said at a news conference late Monday, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.

It was a contact wound to the forehead, right above the right eyebrow, Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said.

The shooting happened about 10:45 p.m. Saturday in the city of Westwego, a suburb of New Orleans. Jarion was sitting in the back seat with two siblings age 22 months and about 1, authorities said.

The adults, who admitted to smoking marijuana at the time, said they heard the shot, Lopinto said.

The little boy was rushed to a hospital, where he died of his injuries, the sheriff said.

No one has been arrested, though detectives will complete the investigation and turn the results over to the Jefferson Parish District Attorneys Office, Lopinto said.

I dont think it was appropriate to make an arrest at this point, he said. They just lost a child, and it certainly wasnt intentional, by any means.

The gun used in the shooting belonged to the childs father, authorities said. The boy is believed to have found the weapon under the seat, Lopinto said.

Since the childs death, the Sheriffs Office is cautioning gun owners to secure their firearms.

Guns should never be left inside vehicles, the sheriff said.

These types of deaths can certainly be prevented, he said.
A $40,000 grant from the Truist Foundation of Truist Bank will allow the Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Clubs Mike Horn Unit to create a teen center expansion with a recording studio, an e-sports area, more seating and charging stations.

Were going to reinvent our teen center to attract more teens, and we want to extend our hours to give them something to do at night, said Steve Winkler, CEO of the club.

Hes hoping the extended hours will help keep teens out of trouble.

Ceary Thomas, chief operations officer, said the changes are geared more to their generation.

E-sports, recording and charging stations are in keeping with what teens want today, she said.

The center is also designed to offer positive social opportunities, develop employability skills, enhance academic skills and improve fitness and health.

Winkler said he believes the teen center will not only help our club teen members, but also the community at large. This growth will help our teens individually, while also helping to contribute productive members of society into the community of Owensboro.

The next generation of leaders are in our care, and we need to do our best to provide the best resources to help them achieve their goals.

Winkler said the Mike Horn Unit is located within a three-mile radius of seven schools, including one middle school and two high schools.

He said the teen center expansion will provide a pathway to retain its younger members.

Winkler said it will offer strong mentors, provide a safe and encouraging environment and give them opportunities to enhance their job readiness skills.

Indicators for success will include the number of teen members who regularly attend the club and the number that graduate high school with a plan to continue their education at the next level.

By supporting programs and services that enrich and enhance the lives of our youth, were investing in the future of our community, Calvin Barker, Kentucky and Ohio regional president for Truist, said in a news release. The new teen center expansion will provide positive opportunities for teens in Owensboro and is another way Truist fulfills our purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities.

Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com.
There will be a new Daviess County attorney next year, with longtime attorney Claud Porter retiring and two new candidates vying for the office.

Competing for the office is John Burlew, a prosecutor with the county attorneys office, and Nick Goetz, who worked as a prosecutor for the commonwealths attorneys office in Barron/Metcalf counties and in Jefferson County before moving into private practice in Owensboro.

The county attorney has a wide range of responsibilities. In court, the county attorney and the offices deputy prosecutors handle misdemeanor criminal matters, collect child support and prosecute child abuse cases, handle juvenile criminal cases and work with the victims of domestic violence.

Felony criminal cases start in District Court. The first prosecutor on a felony case is from the county attorneys office. Outside of court, the county attorney is the legal advisor to Fiscal Court.

Both Burlew and Goetz have years of experience and would pursue specific goals if elected. Candidates are listed alphabetically.

John BurlewBurlew graduated from law school in 2008, after serving in Afghanistan in the U.S. Army, obtaining a masters in international studies and doing an internship with the National Security Agency.

After internships with the state Court of Appeals and the Jefferson County Attorneys office, Burlew joined Claud Porters office as a deputy prosecutor in 2009.

The experience Ive gained over 12 years with this office has been essential, Burlew said in an email. Ive been fortunate enough to be exposed to the multiple facets of the job  prosecuting crimes, assisting petitioners in guardianship, Caseys Law, or mental health proceedings, prosecuting dependency, neglect and abuse cases, advising Daviess County Fiscal Court, collecting child support, among others.

Without the experience Ive had, I think the learning curve would be quite steep to be an effective county attorney.

When asked about why he decided to run for office, Burlew said: Ive known for some time that Claud was not going to run again, and hes been gracious enough to allow me to shadow him in some respects over the last year or so, and Ive learned a lot in that time.

I believe in justice, and I enjoy helping people, whether it be victims of crime, guardianship or Caseys Law petitioners, or any others that need county office assistance.

Caseys Law is the 2004 state law that allows a parent, relative or friend to petition the court order a person into substance abuse treatment.

When asked if there were things he would change about the office, Burlew said he would be more conservative than Porter, who is a Democrat.

Especially in light of all the firearm-related violence in Daviess County, we need prosecutors who will prosecute, Burlew said. My office will be tough on crime and have a strong victim-oriented and community safety approach. We will advocate for high bonds for those charged with violent and/or repeat offenses.

Burlew said the offices main responsibility is public safety, and that he would pursue that goal if elected.

I plan to bring a conservative approach to the office, he said. We will be tough on crime, and we will be victim-oriented.

NICK GOETZGoetz has been in practice since 2004. After graduating law school, Goetz became an assistant Commonwealths Attorney.

In Jefferson County, Goetz worked with law enforcement on preparing search warrants, helping Louisville police and preparing cases to be presented to the Grand Jury. Goetz is now a partner with the Owensboro firm of Gordon Goetz Johnson Caldwell. He specializes in criminal law and in small business, corporate and agriculture law.

The county attorneys office, as opposed to the Commonwealth Attorneys office, it plays a role in criminal prosecutions, but it also has an advisory role in Fiscal Court, Goetz said. You have to advise the county on all matters.

Goetz said, if he were elected, the office would be involved in looking for solutions to violent incidents.

What is going on now in Daviess County is troubling  a spike in violence that involves adults and juveniles, Goetz said. There are some root causes that need to be addressed.

What we are dealing with now is the fact that the office has been stagnant. We need to get some new blood in there.

Goetz added: Violence involving juveniles cant be solved solely through prosecution. This is not a scenario where we can just hammer the nail into the board. There are root causes that need to be investigated.

Goetz said an active approach could involve a tip line, so people can report a situation before it escalates into violence, or outreach to neighborhoods, such as through police knock and talk engagements.

A lot of prosecutors offices and governmental offices are reactive in nature, Goetz said. I would like to (do) something that is proactive. If we have the opportunity to reach out and stop an act of violence before it happens, we need to explore that.

Goetz said he has practiced cases that the county attorneys office would see, including child dependency, neglect and abuse cases, and that he has served as a guardian ad litem, which is a childs appointed attorney in court.

Im familiar with all the practices of the county attorneys office and how it practices in court, he said.

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse
Jessie Hettinger of VFW Post 696 in Owensboro said its not unusual for people to bring military artifacts and mementoes into the post to donate. She pointed to a World War II-era stretcher and a pair of brass binoculars that once belonged to a World War I veteran as examples.

But one particular donation has her searching for answers.

A large scrapbook, containing everything from newspaper clippings to personal letters and even Western Union telegrams announcing the deaths of two brothers and the Prisoner of War status of a third, has Hettinger looking for the books rightful owner.

The collection of items were brought to Hettinger at the VFW about two years ago by a local man cleaning out his late fathers garage, she said.

He said maybe you can find some of the family, Hettinger said.

The documents tell of the military service of the three Tucker brothers of Owensboro during World War II.

One newspaper clipping, yellowed with age, shows a photo of 18-year-old Pvt. Tommy Tucker, who died March 13, 1944, from wounds he received in combat during the battle of Anzio in Italy.

The young soldier is described as the son of Mrs. Myrtle Tucker, of 1500 Breckenridge St. in Owensboro. Before entering the Army, he attended Owensboro Technical High School.

An April 11, 1944, telegram brought the news to Myrtle Tucker that a second son, Pvt. Floyd T. Tucker, had been severely wounded March 4, 1944, in Italy.

You will be advised as reports of his condition are received, the telegraph from the adjunct general reads.

A second Western Union telegram, now yellow and brittle with age, informs Myrtle Tucker that her son Floyd had died of his wounds. Other documents in the collection include a $10,000 life insurance policy that Myrtle Tucker would receive from the United States National Life Insurance Act, as well as a list of personal effects belonging to Floyd Tucker. The list of effects includes a ring, medal, knife sheath, fountain pen, cigarette lighter and a wallet with personal cards and snapshots.

A third son, William K. Tucker, was reported missing in October 1944 in France. According to newspaper accounts, the lone Tucker brother to survive the war, William, was wounded in action and taken prisoner by the Germans before eventually making his way to Florida to await reassignment.

The items strike a chord with Hettinger because she had an uncle who served in the Korean War, and he is still classified as Missing in Action.

There is a lot of history and everything in here, she said. It even has a letter here to her telling Myrtle what she can send her son while he was a prisoner.

Hettinger said that after receiving the items, her first thought was to look through the phonebook in hope of locating some family members of the Tucker brothers.

I thought well, Ill try to find out, so I got on the phone and started calling all the Tuckers in Daviess County, she said. Well, I didnt have any luck.

Hettinger said she believes the few people she was able to speak with on the phone probably thought she was trying to pull some sort of scam. She was able to connect with one woman, who told her that while she is a part of a Tucker family, the Tucker brothers in question were of no relation to her.

According to his obituary published in the Messenger-Inquirer, William Karl Tucker returned to Owensboro and died Dec. 3, 1997, at age 73. He was a member of Zion United Church of Christ, a retired plumber and recipient of the Purple Heart medal. He was buried near his parents in Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery. An estate auction of his belongings was held at his home at 1603 W. Fourth St. in 1999. The closest known survivors listed are several cousins.

Hettinger said her goal is to find some relative with an interest in their family history to be able to pass the scrapbook on to, but she also has plans to care for the items if no family member can be found.

My end goal is hoping that some family will say yes, I know these people, and they can give me some idea where the brothers family is, she said. I would like for the family to have it. If they dont take it, I will add them to my archives and let people look through it at the VFW.

Anyone with information about any living relatives of the Tucker brothers can call VFW Post 696 at 270-686-8649.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 2, 2022

Contact: press@michigan.gov

Governor Whitmer Announces More Than 91,000 Students on Tuition-Free Pathway at One-Year Anniversary of Michigan Reconnect

LANSING, Mich. - Governor Gretchen Whitmer today marked the one-year anniversary of Michigan Reconnect by announcing that 91,000 Michiganders are on a tuition-free pathway to attain degrees and skills for new opportunities that lead to rewarding careers and bigger paychecks under the Michigan Reconnect program. Michigan Reconnect is one of the tools the state is using to achieve Governor Whitmer's Sixty by 30 goal, which aims to increase the percentage of adults in the state with a postsecondary degree or credential by 2030.

"I want to congratulate all of the hardworking Michiganders who took the first step toward a brighter future, all while balancing so many other responsibilities," said Governor Whitmer. "Whether?it's?a registered apprenticeship, an industry-recognized certification, a technical certificate, an?associate degree, a bachelor's degree or beyond, higher education or skills training opens so many doors. We have an ambitious but attainable goal to reach 60% of working-age adults with a postsecondary credential by 2030. Programs like Reconnect help us put Michiganders first and continue growing our economy."

Michigan Reconnect is the largest effort in state history to ensure that Michiganders who are 25 or older and do not have a college degree will have an opportunity to earn an associate degree or skills certificate with free or deeply discounted tuition. Since the program's launch in February 2021, more than 91,000 state residents have been accepted into the program with over 12,000 scholarship participants currently enrolled in a degree or skills certificate program.

Governor Whitmer and legislative leaders announced a budget agreement last September to fully fund Michigan Reconnect in FY 2021-2022.

"The bipartisan work of the governor and lawmakers will make it easier for working adults to achieve their educational, career and life goals."?said?Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. "The governor and I will continue to work with our partners to boost educational attainment beyond high school, and I encourage anyone looking to advance their education and skills needed to pursue and land a good-paying job in a rewarding career to apply for Michigan Reconnect today.

Since the announcement of the Sixty by 30 goal in 2019, the percentage of working-age adults with a certificate, associate degree or higher has increased from 45% to 49%.

"More Michigan families are within reach of a college degree or skills certificate thanks to efforts like Michigan Reconnect," Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Susan Corbin said. "We are creating new paths for fulfilling careers for our workers and opportunities for our Michigan businesses to fill critical talent needs so they can continue to compete, grow and innovate."

Michigan Reconnect pays the cost of in-district tuition for eligible adults who want to pursue an associate degree or skills certificate at any of Michigan's public community colleges, including its three tribal colleges.

The program also included skills scholarships to help cover the cost of tuition through more than 70 private training schools with 120 programs that offer certificates in high-demand careers in industries such as manufacturing, construction, information technology, health care or business management. Nearly 850 students took advantage of this limited opportunity and enrollment for this portion of the scholarship has closed.

The state's network of Michigan Reconnect Navigators are actively working with nearly 15,000 Michigan Reconnect applicants to guide them on their path to a college degree or skills certificate, including applying for federal student aid, setting career goals, selecting a program of study, registering for classes and creating a graduation plan.

"Michigan's community colleges work tirelessly every day to change lives of students and make the communities they serve better places to live, learn, and work," Michigan Community College Association President Brandy Johnson said. "Our member institutions are honored to partner in the state's Sixty by 30 initiative because there's nothing more important than equipping people with the training and credentials that they need to achieve prosperity."

More information is available at Michigan.gov/Reconnect.

# # #
As the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working on updating its flood plain maps, a local group has emerged once again to get the word out about how it could impact homeowners.

Led by Kurt Damrow and L.J. Wade of Case Surveying in Bad Axe, this group is hoping to correct any issues in Huron Countys in-the-works flood plain map before it goes into effect and some homeowners would have to prove they own flood insurance.

Dealing with flood plain maps is something Damrow has had plenty of experience with before. Back in 2009 and 2010, when Damrow was on the Huron County Board of Commissioners representing the Port Austin area, FEMA was rewriting its flood maps as it is now, but it was adding properties inland from the shore to flood plains.

If you have your home financed, even its not on a shoreline, you could be in Ubly along a river or canal and be required to purchase national flood insurance, Damrow said.

A flood plain is an area of low-lying ground next or a river or body of water that is made mainly of sediments from the river that can be subject to flooding.

A flood plain map is where the federal government looks at locations on a topography map that may require federal or state emergency assistance based on a 100-year period.

The National Flood Insurance Program through FEMA was the only way back then to purchase such insurance, but it was not required if a persons house was fully paid off.

If lenders of home loans see that a house is in one of these new flood plains, they will send a letter to the resident asking for proof that they purchased flood insurance, which would already add to whatever monthly payments they have to make. If they cannot afford flood insurance, the lender can call the loan on a home.

We had hundreds of homes at the time that would be put into these maps, Damrow said. So here we go again, 10-12 years later, with basically the same thing but worse.

Damrow and Wade did notice that the flood plain maps presented were focused more on the shoreline instead of inland areas, with some of the changes made to the shoreline they considered "ridiculous." The high-water mark for Sanilac County was raised 13 feet.

Most of them are in the 3-foot area, Ramrow said. Even at 3 feet it doesnt seem like a lot, but if you bring the water table up 3 feet across the Thumb of Michigan, especially Huron County, we suddenly have a lot of islands and theres going to be a lot of people funding the flood insurance program.

I 100% feel this is an absolute money grab by FEMA, Damrow said, stating that payments from flood insurance does not just fund that program, but other FEMA programs. Now, where they have the state and townships in a stranglehold is they are holding FEMA relief or any federal emergency relief to an area in an emergency if you dont participate. If you dont participate, or say a township does not accept a letter that FEMA sends out, then youre saying, 'We really dont want any help from federal government,' if theres a federal emergency."

What Damrows group wants to know is how FEMA created the maps that have massive increase in high water projects. Like in the 2009 and 2010 period, Huron County was one of the first Michigan counties to oppose the maps. The county ended up working closely with FEMA to change the floodplain maps and even brought in the head of the National Flood Insurance Program for a meeting.

The only major detail they received so far about the maps is because of the high wave action that takes place on the shoreline, the studies are based on a three-day continuous period of 70-mph winds.

Public hearings for the new flood plain maps took place back in 2020.

The group had an in-person meeting at the Peppermill Restaurant this past Monday that featured three members of area Congresswoman Lisa McClains staff in attendance, one in person and two over Zoom. The group wanted McClains representatives to reach out to any other members of Congress who may be dealing with this too.

Damrow and Wade also want to reach out to the Michigan Association of Counties, the Michigan Township Association, and former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley of the Small Business Association of Michigan to get them involved.

Since the process of drafting new flood plain maps has been going on for the past two years and can be activated at any time at this point, Damrow and Wade said they want to stay of ahead of that.
Press Release

February 2, 2022 Excellence in teacher education ratified; Gatchalian assures reforms to address education crisis The Senate has ratified the bicameral conference committee report on a measure that seeks to improve the quality of teacher education and training in the country. For Senator Win Gatchalian, this is a significant step forward to address the crisis hounding the country's education sector. The bicameral conference committee report resolved the differences in Senate Bill No. 2152 and House Bill No. 10301. The measure, entitled "Excellence in Teacher Education Act," seeks to revamp the Teacher Education Council (TEC) by strengthening coordination between the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Under the measure, the TEC will set and mandate basic requirements for teacher education programs. This is to ensure a strong and transparent link between the outcomes of teacher education programs and the professional standards for teachers and school leaders, research and international best practices. The TEC will quality assure these basic requirements, monitor the compliance of Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs), and ensure that the CHED is implementing these requirements. While the TEC was first created by virtue of Republic Act No. 7784, Gatchalian lamented the dismal results of the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) over the past years. Between 2010 and 2021, only 36% of secondary education takers passed the LET, while only 28% passed at the elementary level. Gatchalian also pointed out that based on the results of the 2019 LET for both Elementary and Secondary levels, roughly four out of five TEIs are considered Worse or Poor Performers - those with passing rates of less than 50%. "Upang maiangat natin ang kalidad ng edukasyong natatanggap ng ating mga kabataan, kailangang tiyakin din nating dekalidad ang edukasyon at training ng kanilang mga guro. Sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatatag sa Teacher Education Council, matitiyak nating lubos na mahahasa ang kakayahan ng ating mga guro sa bawat yugto ng kanilang pagsasanay at edukasyon," said Gatchalian, principal author and sponsor of the measure. The measure also mandates the TEC to establish a roadmap for teacher education, which shall serve as a guide for designing relevant, responsive, innovative, creative, and collaborative programs. The roadmap shall be submitted to the CHED for inclusion in the National Higher Education Roadmap. Gatchalian also thanked the co-authors and co-sponsors of the measure: Senators Joel Villanueva, Bong Revilla, Jr., Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto. Gatchalian: Panukalang mag-aangat ng edukasyon ng mga guro ratipikado na ng Senado Ratipikado na ng Senado ang bicameral conference committee report sa panukalang batas na mag-aangat ng kalidad ng edukasyon at training ng mga guro sa bansa. Para kay Senador Win Gatchalian, mahalagang hakbang ito upang tugunan ang krisis na bumabalot sa sektor ng edukasyon. Niresolba ng bicameral conference committee report ang mga pagkakaiba ng Senate Bill No. 2152 at House Bill No. 10301. Layunin ng panukalang batas, na pinamagatang "Excellence in Teacher Education Act," na patatagin ang Teacher Education Council (TEC) at paigtingin ang ugnayan sa pagitan ng Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), at Professional Regulation Commission. Sa ilalim ng panukala, ang TEC ang magtatakda ng mga basic requirements para sa mga teacher education programs. Ito ay upang matiyak ang matibay at malinaw na ugnayan sa pagitan ng mga outcomes ng teacher education programs, professional standards para sa mga guro at school leaders, pananaliksik, at international best practices. Titiyakin ng TEC ang kalidad ng mga basic requirements na ito, ang pagsunod ng mga Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs), at ang pagpapatupad ng CHED sa mga requirements na ito. Bagama't unang nilikha ang TEC sa bisa ng Republic Act No. 7784, dismayado si Gatchalian sa mga resulta ng Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) sa mga nagdaang taon. Mula 2010 hanggang 2021, wala pang apatnapung (36) porsyento ng mga kumuha ng LET para sa secondary education ang nakapasa, samantala wala pang tatlumpung (28) porsyento ang nakapasa para sa elementarya. Kung susuriin naman ang resulta ng LET noong 2019 para sa elementary at high school, tinatayang halos apat sa limang TEIs ang itinuturing na Worse or Poor Performers. Ibig sabihin, wala pa sa limampung (50) porsyento o kalahati ng mga graduates ng mga paaralang ito ang nakapasa. "Upang maiangat natin ang kalidad ng edukasyong natatanggap ng ating mga kabataan, kailangang tiyakin din nating dekalidad ang edukasyon at training ng kanilang mga guro. Sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatatag sa Teacher Education Council, matitiyak nating lubos na mahahasa ang kakayahan ng ating mga guro sa bawat yugto ng kanilang pagsasanay at edukasyon," ani Gatchalian, pangunahing may-akda at sponsor ng panukalang batas. Magiging mandato rin ng TEC ang pagbuo ng roadmap para sa teacher education na magsisilbing gabay sa pagdisenyo ng mga angkop, makabago o moderno, at malikhaing mga programa. Ang naturang roadmap ay isusumite sa CHED upang maging bahagi ng National Higher Education Roadmap. Pinasalamatan din ni Gatchalian ang mga co-author at co-sponsor ng panukalang batas: sina Sen. Joel Villanueva, Sen. Bong Revilla, Jr., Sen. Sonny Angara, Sen. Nancy Binay, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, at Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.
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MIDDLETOWN  The states mask mandate for schools could soon change, but it would not necessarily mean adjustments will be made to local policies.

Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday hinted that the wearing of face coverings would be analyzed closely in the coming days, with the possibility of potentially lifting the mandate.

I think we will have a lot of clarity over the next few days, over the next week, and, if the metrics say its time for a change, we will make a change, Lamont said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Middletown Public Schools administrators briefly discussed the topic of mask mandates, but Director of Communications Jessica B. Lavorgna made it clear that further talks would be needed before any decision was made to change the rules.

Meetings would include Acting Superintendent of Schools Alberto Vazquez-Matos, local health officials, union representatives and more, she explained. It would not be a unilateral decision, Lavorgna said.

She said the district is aware that teachers, paraprofessionals, and members of other staff unions have expressed their desire to maintain the mandates. We do know that the unions are in favor of keeping the masks, Lavorgna said.

Matt OConnor is the Communications Coordinator for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents the majority of educators in Middletown schools. He said that his organization, along with three other unions in the state with nearly 60,000 employees, are urging state officials continue to follow federal disease control agency guidance to continue to wear masks in schools.

In a joint statement Wednesday, union reps called for the mandate to continue.

We have remained among the safest states throughout this pandemic because elected leaders have heeded the call to follow the science, AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel said in the statement. There is no sound reason to veer off course now, and put the health and safety of our members and their students at greater risk.

OConnor said that between Jan. 7 and 10, close to 6,000 employees in schools around the state, including 261 Middletown educators, participated in a survey about health and safety initiatives in schools.

The results, along with written testimonials from teachers around the state, indicated a desire to continue following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when it comes to mask mandates, he added.

Regardless of what guidance comes from the state, the goal for school administrators will not change. Were in the mindset that were here to protect our staff and our students, Lavorgna said.

The State Board of Education met Wednesday and heard arguments from both sides of the issue. Ultimately, they did not make a decision regarding masks, but school officials throughout the state are expecting a decision soon.
An Easton man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after recording his repeated sexual abuse of a child, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Court documents show Robert McGuire, 42, of Easton ,sexually abused a child between the ages of 6 and 8 nearly daily between February 2019 and June 2020. He then took photographs and videos of the sexual assaults, according to the records.

The investigation also revealed McGuire sexually assaulted another child at least once, court documents said.

Authorities learned of the alleged abuse on July 1, 2020, after two children were admitted for examinations for sexual assault and trauma at Yale New Haven Hospital, according to previous reports.

The Easton Police Department arrested McGuire on July 10, 2020, on related state charges. McGuire turned over passwords for two tablets and his cell phone. On one of the devices, police found more than 50 photographs of the alleged abuse, according to previous reports.

On June 8, 2021, McGuire pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of production of child pornography.

A federal judge in Hartford sentenced McGuire Tuesday to 30 years in prison followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, according to Leonard Boyle, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

McGuire is also facing state charges of employing a minor in an obscene performance, two counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. He has pleaded not guilty to all of those charges, previous reports state.

He has a disposition hearing scheduled for Feb. 9 for his state charges, according to court records.

To report cases of child exploitation, visit www.CyberTipLine.com.
Peter Yankowski / Hearst Connecticut Media

MERIDEN  Police said they have charged a 31-year-old man in connection with an assault and motor vehicle theft last summer.

Vicente Fernandez-Torres was charged with third-degree larceny on Tuesday, Meriden police said in a statement. Fernandez-Torres was already incarcerated on unrelated charges at the time of his arrest and was held on $10,000 bond. according to officials.
The military retirement can be very confusing to understand and calculate. Depending on when you entered the service you may have the option of getting a bonus, contributing to the Thrift Savings Plan, or taking a lump-sum payment. Which option is best for you? We explain here.

Military Retirement Pay Options

There are four military retirement pay programs. What you use and whether you have a choice between them depends on when you entered military service. Those who entered the military before 1986 are in the Final Pay Retirement System or the High 36 Retirement System. Those who entered after Jan. 1, 2018 are in the Blended Retirement System. But those who entered the military between Aug. 1, 1986 and Dec. 31, 2017 get to either use the CSB/REDUX Retirement System or the Blended Retirement System. Which system is right for you? Youll need to read on to learn.

Final Pay Retirement System

If you first entered the military before Sep. 7, 1980 you are eligible for the Final Pay Retirement system.

Under this system your retired pay is computed by multiplying your final monthly base pay when you retire by 2.5% for every year of your service. That means you get 50% of your base pay if you retire with 20 years of service or 100% of your base pay if you retire after 40 years.

Calculate your Final Pay Retirement.

High 36 Retirement System

If you first entered the military between Sep. 8, 1980 and July 31, 1986 you are eligible for the High 36 Retirement System.

The High 36 retirement system is almost exactly the same as the Final Pay Retirement System above except that you compute retired pay using the average base pay for your three highest paid years (36 months), rather than final monthly base pay. You get 50% of your average highest 36 months base pay if you retire with 20 years of service or 100% if you retire after 40 years. Your three highest paid years are usually the last three years of active service, and in many pay grades you may have reached the maximum pay several years before you retire.

Calculate your High-36 Retirement.

CSB/REDUX Retirement System

If you first entered the military between Aug. 1, 1986 and Dec. 31, 2017 you qualify for the CSB/REDUX Retirement System OR the High 36 system.

Under the CSB/REDUX system your pension is based on the average of your highest 36 month's base pay like above, but the similarity ends there. The CSB/REDUX system gives you a "Career Status Bonus" (CSB) when you get to your 15 year service anniversary, but then reduces (REDUX) your retirement pay.

Under the CSB/REDUX you will get a $30K cash bonus (approximately $21K after taxes) and your retirement percentage is reduced from the normal 2.5% for each year of service by an amount equal to 1% for each year of service less than 30 years.

This means that if you retire at 20 years, your retirement will be 40% of your base pay - (30 years minus 20 years = 10 years, the normal High 36 retirement pay at 20 years is 50% of your base pay, BUT under CSB/REDUX that is reduced by 10% (1% for every year of service less than 30), so your retirement pay is only 40% of your base pay.)

If you serve 30 years or more this reduction doesn't happen.

Pretty complicated, but it gets worse. All retirement systems have an annual cost of living adjustment. This is a subtle, yet very important detail. Over the lifetime of your retirement the cost of living adjustment could more than double your retirement check.

The COLA for the final pay and high 36 systems is determined each year by the national Consumer Price Index. But the COLA for the CSB/REDUX retirement system is the Consumer Price Index minus 1%. So a retiree under the High 36 may see a COLA increase in their retirement check of 1.7%, while a retiree under the CSB/REDUX plan would get a COLA increase of only 0.7%.

Note: There is one more twist to the COLA for the CSB/REDUX retiree. At age 62 the 1% reduction goes away so that the High 36 and CSB retirees get the same monthly pay.

As you can see it is pretty complicated, check with your personnel office for details.

Blended Retirement System (BRS)

If you first enter the military after Jan. 1, 2018 you are eligible for the BRS. Under the BRS, your pension is similar to the CSB/REDUX system, you will get 40% of your base pay after 20 years. You also get a bonus at 12 years which is usually 2.5% of your annual base pay, however this amount can change depending on the needs of the service. The military will contribute 1% of your base pay to your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is similar to a savings account or a 401(k) retirement plan. You will also be automatically enrolled in the TSP to contribute 3% of your base pay. You can raise, lower, or stop this contribution at any time. After you have been in for 2 years, the military will match up to 5% of your TSP contribution.

When you retire you can either get your full retirement or opt to get a lump-sum payment. If you take the lump-sum you will get a reduced monthly retirement check until age 67. You also will have a substantial amount of money in your TSP that can be withdrawn tax free, depending on your age.

Calculate your BRS Retirement.

When Can You Expect Your Retired Military Pay?

Military retirees receive their monthly pay on the first business day of the month. If the first of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, payday will instead be the previous business day. A list of retired military pay days can help you plan your finances.

Keep Up With Military Pay Updates

Military pay benefits are constantly changing. Make sure you're up-to-date with everything you've earned. Subscribe to Military.com to receive updates on all of your military pay and benefits, delivered directly to your inbox.
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The Marine Corps made headlines when it became the first military branch to grant three religious exemptions last month. However, according to a letter sent to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., all three went to Marines who were, functionally, no longer serving.

In a letter dated Jan. 21, J. J. Daly, the deputy legislative assistant in the Marine Corps' Office of Legislative Affairs, wrote that "in two cases, the Marines are on terminal leave and in the other the Marine has transitioned into ... a 180-day training program in private industry."

"The likelihood of their vaccination status impacting military readiness and health and safety was remote because the requestors are no longer serving with Marine Corps commands," Daly wrote.

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The letter, released by Issa's office, comes after months of weekly updates from the military branches on their progress processing the thousands of filed religious exemption requests which, until the three from the Marine Corps, had resulted in no approvals. This led many vaccine refusers and their allies to allege the process was merely a formality.

A spokesman for Issa, Jonathan Wilcox, told Military.com in a phone interview that the review process is "contradictory" and argued that the Corps is not "reviewing these [exemption requests] independently and only on the facts" by noting that the letter said the three Marines' status in the Corps played a role in the decision.

Daly's letter explained that "the crux of the decision in the many denials and the few approvals has been the Marine Corps' compelling interest in readiness, and the health and safety of the force."

Wilcox argued that the letter shows that the trick to getting a religious exemption in the MarineCorps is "don't be an active-duty Marine."

Although the Marine Corps has been fairly tight-lipped about the impact COVID-19 is having on the force, generally releasing only force-wide infection totals, its fellow maritime service, the Navy, recently revealed that the danger from the pandemic continues to be ever-present and noted that the mandate has been key in keeping outbreaks on ships from having major operational impacts.

"When you weigh [the cost of retraining a new sailor] with the operational cost of having to tie up a ship due to, you know, medevac or whatever, it dwarfs it," Vice Adm. Bill Merz, the Navy's operations and strategy boss, told reporters last week when asked broadly about the costs of the service's COVID-19 policies.

"We have become very consistent at sea again, and I would tell you, if I had to put a dollar value on it, it's probably lower than it was a year ago because of the ability to be able to manage [COVID-19] at sea [and] return to normal operations," Merz added.

According to Wilcox, who says his office has spoken with "hundreds" of impacted military members, they are "hearing that this process is a sham review process ... and that the word is out: 'Nobody's getting those accommodations.'"

These concerns prompted Issa to contact Gen. David Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, through a letter sent Jan. 17 asking for more information about the exemptions and the process.

The response letter from Daly confirmed their suspicions, Wilcox said.

One of the main points that many who have resisted getting the vaccine have raised as evidence of the pro-forma nature of the review has been what they say are nearly identical and superficial rejection letters to their requests.

In his letter, Daly admits that he is aware of the "dissatisfaction" from Marines that their letters were "not individually tailored to their request" but assured Issa that each request is reviewed by a review board, a legal adviser and a chaplain before heading to the deputy commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs for a decision.

A spokesman for the Marine Corps, Maj. Jim Stenger, also noted in an email to Military.com that "at every step, each accommodation request is given full consideration" but "every reviewer weighs the compelling government interest against the individual's request and the circumstances of their situation."

Daly goes on to say in his letter that he was "not aware of any case in which the adjudication authority has questioned the sincerity of a service member's belief. But he noted that "this is a decision that requires consideration of factors that fall outside the expertise of a trained chaplain."

Issa's office has been seeking a pause of the vaccine mandate -- an effort that Wilcox says "was only strengthened by this letter." Issa and 14 other House Republicans separately sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday demanding that funding to implement the mandate be blocked in any upcoming spending bill -- an unlikely prospect with Democrats in control of the House.

"I think the case for it, from our perspective, is stronger than ever," Wilcox said.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated, removing a reference to Gen. David Berger sending a separate response to Rep. Issa. The Marine Corps clarified that its statement referred to Daly's letter.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

-- Rebecca Kheel contributed to this article. Rebecca can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: Inside the Secretive Networks of Military COVID-19 Vaccine Refusers
The messy U.S. exit from Afghanistan could offer some lessons as the United States prepares for the possibility of Russia attempting to claim more of Ukraine, senators said Wednesday.

Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees described the parallels as they were coming and going from a closed-door briefing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The briefing was called to discuss Afghanistan, but was overshadowed by the latest foreign policy crisis facing the United States: Just as the briefing was starting, the Pentagon announced 2,000 troops will deploy to Europe to reassure NATO allies jittery as Russia threatens Ukraine.

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"I do think there is a common theme of making sure that we are all read in, well prepared and engaged in decision making," Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said about comparisons between the situations in Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Lawmakers in both parties have hammered the Biden administration for a lack of preparation to evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghan allies during the military withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the Taliban racked up victories in province after province.

Massive U.S. military evacuations of civilians in Afghanistan didn't begin until the Taliban took over Kabul and, even then, the operation was marred by chaos, including one incident where Afghans hoping for rescue clung to a U.S. military transport aircraft with several falling to their deaths as the plane ascended.

Republicans are calling for the administration to prepare in the event it needs to evacuate American citizens and others with U.S. connections from Ukraine -- like it did in Afghanistan.

"I don't want them to be surprised a few weeks from now, with the same disaster playing out in Ukraine, and if God forbid, a month from now, instead of images of Afghans grasping at the wheels of planes taking off from Kabul, we're looking at the images of Americans or Ukrainians grasping at the wheels of planes taking off from Kiev because there are Russian tanks in the streets," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Wednesday. "This administration shouldn't come back and once again say how surprised they were at how badly things went."

The Biden administration touts the evacuations as a success, since more than 124,000 people were airlifted out. But thousands of Afghans who served as interpreters for the U.S. military, as well as their family members, remain stuck in Afghanistan with no clear plan to get them out as the Taliban hunts them down.

Now, as Russia amasses what western officials say is more than 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and the Biden administration warns that Russia could invade at any time,

Coons, a close ally of President Joe Biden's, said a U.S. military evacuation in Ukraine like what happened in Afghanistan wouldn't be possible.

"We will not be able to conduct an evacuation from Ukraine anything like what happened in Afghanistan," Coons said. "We don't have a large air base, we don't have decades of experience, we don't have control of the ability to get in and out of the country."

Still, Coons said Americans in Ukraine should take away a lesson from Afghanistan.

"I hope that the lesson folks may draw from Afghanistan is that when the United States Department of State sends you an email or a phone call or a text message saying, 'We urge you to leave now,' you should do so because things can unravel quickly," he said.

Asked last week whether any U.S. troops could help in an evacuation of Ukraine, Austin told reporters that "we prepare for a range of activities and options," while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley highlighted the State Department warnings for U.S. citizens to leave.

Pressed on the fact that State Department advisories in Afghanistan didn't prevent the need for a military evacuation, Milley added: "That's also correct."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who for months has called for clearer plans from the administration to help Afghans still stuck in Afghanistan, said after Wednesday's briefing that jhe's still "downright upset at the lagging laggard efforts in evacuating Afghan allies."

Asked about parallels between Afghanistan and Ukraine, Blumenthal, who was recently part of a congressional delegation to Ukraine, said, "What I encountered was a reliance on the United States and a continued faith in our leadership.

"They are counting on us to show them in actions, not just in words, that we will stand with them, and the need to demonstrate that kind of leadership [is] greater than ever," Blumenthal added.

The United States is deploying about 2,000 soldiers to Germany and Poland, while another 1,000 soldiers who are already stationed in Germany will move to Romania, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Republicans gave the Biden administration tepid praise for the announcement, but still questioned whether enough is being done to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We've been talking about the president taking actions like this for a long time, and he hasn't been doing it," Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said Wednesday. "So I welcome it, but may it be too late."

The full House and Senate are also scheduled to be briefed on Ukraine on Thursday by Austin, Milley, Blinken and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: US Deploying 3,000 Troops in Europe to Counter Russian Threats to Ukraine
BRUSSELS  The United States could be willing to enter into an agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine, according to a leaked document published in a Spanish newspaper on Wednesday.

The daily El Pais published two documents purported to be written replies from the United States and NATO last week to Russias proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe. The U.S. State department declined to comment on them.

In reference to the second document, NATO said that it never comments on alleged leaks. But the text closely reflects statements made to the media last week by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as he laid out the 30-nation military organizations position on Russias demands.

The U.S. document, marked as a confidential non-paper, said that the United States would be willing to discuss in consultation with its NATO partners a transparency mechanism to confirm the absences of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland.

That would happen on condition that Russia offers reciprocal transparency measures on two ground-launched missiles bases of our choosing in Russia.

Aegis Ashore is a system for defending against short- or intermediate-range missiles. Russia argues the site in Romania could be easily adapted to fire cruise missiles instead of interceptors, which ram their target and do not carry warheads, a claim that Washington has denied.

Russian President Vladimir Putin again mentioned the possibility Tuesday, saying that there are MK-41 launchers there that could be configured for firing Tomahawks. He said they are offensive systems that could reach thousands of kilometers into our territory. Isnt that a threat to us?

The U.S. document said Washington would have to consult with NATO allies on the potential offer, particularly with Romania and Poland.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the leaked documents, saying only that we didnt release anything. In comments to the state RIA Novosti news agency, Russias Foreign Ministry also refused to confirm or deny that the documents published by El Pais were authentic.

Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have mounted in recent months, after Putin deployed more than 100,000 troops to areas near Ukraines borders, including in neighboring Belarus, backed by tanks, artillery, helicopters and warplanes. Russian officials have insisted that Moscow has no intention of invading.

The U.S. underlined after its written proposals in the leaked document that progress can only be achieved on these issues in an environment of de-escalation with respect to Russias threatening actions towards Ukraine.

In his first public remarks on the standoff in more than a month, Putin on Tuesday accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russias central security demands but he said that Moscow is willing to talk more to ease tensions over Ukraine.

His remarks suggested that a potential Russian invasion may not be imminent and that at least one more round of diplomacy is likely.

After talks in Kyiv Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte underlined that it is essential for dialogue to continue. If not, Rutte, said, it is clear that further aggression against Ukraine will have serious consequences."

Russia's military buildup has already taken a toll on Ukraine's economy, but Zelenskyy said his government has taken steps to calm the markets and the local currency, the hryvnia. He said Ukraine has also boosted its combat and armed forces capabilities, but underlined that "we think only about peace and de-occupation of (our) territories, solely through diplomatic means.

Notable in its absence from the leaked documents is any mention of Ukraines hopes of joining NATO. Putin has demanded that NATO stop taking in any new members and withdraw its troops and equipment from countries that joined the alliance since 1997, almost half its ranks.

In the leaked document linked to NATO, the 30 allies said they reaffirm our commitment to NATOs Open Door policy, without specifically mentioning Ukraine. Under Article 10 of NATOs founding treaty, other European countries may be invited in if they further the goals of European security.

At a NATO summit in 2008, NATO leaders said that they welcomed Ukraines and Georgias Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO," adding: "We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.

Russia invaded Georgia later that year, and in 2014 annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. Around 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict that still simmers in eastern Ukraine. Their membership plans have been on hold for years, although NATO continues to support them and promote reforms.

___

Litvinova reported from Moscow. Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Matt Lee in Washington, Aritz Parra in Madrid and Mike Corder in The Hague contributed to this report.
Former Army captain and U.S. senator Bob Dole was laid to rest Wednesday in Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony that reflected his honorary promotion to colonel in 2019.

The flag-draped casket of Dole, who earned the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts as a lieutenant with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy in 1945, was carried by caisson to his final resting place, a riderless horse accompanying the procession to symbolize the officer's final look at the those he has left behind.

Dole died Dec. 5 at the age of 98.

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In contrast to the grand funeral held Dec. 10 in which President Joe Biden delivered the eulogy at Washington National Cathedral, Dole's graveside ceremony was relatively small, attended by his widow, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole; daughter Robin; family; and friends. Also attending were former Senate colleagues, as well as current Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall from Kansas, and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.

Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Regiment and the Army Band provided the ceremonial send-off, with a traditional three-round volley and playing of "Taps."

The presence of a riderless horse, also called a caparisoned horse, is an honor reserved for Army and Marine officers of the rank of colonel and above.

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Barry Black, now serving as chaplain of the Senate, led the group in prayer, speaking of a day when friends and family would be reunited with Dole in what Black described as a "great gettin' up morning."

"Almighty God, as you once called our brother Robert into this life, so now, you have called him into life everlasting," Black said.

Dole is remembered as a three-time presidential candidate and former senator from Kansas who served in Congress, first in the House and then the Senate, from 1960 to 1996.

But to many veterans, he is remembered as a soldier who spent his senior years supporting former service members; co-chairing a commission that investigated a scandal over the egregious living conditions for wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; and connecting with World War II veterans and visitors at the National World War II Memorial in D.C.

Dole enlisted in the Army in 1942 and was called up in 1944 as an officer, joining the 10th Mountain Division as a second lieutenant. On April 14, 1945, his company was attempting to take a hill in Italy when they encountered enemy fire.

Dole threw a grenade into a machine-gun nest and then dove into the hole, pulling along his platoon radioman, who had been hit. When he attempted to leave the foxhole, he took the brunt of a shell to his back, initially paralyzing him from the neck down.

He endured nine surgeries and never regained the use of his right arm -- a disability that led him later to become a champion of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Dole became the Republican nominee for president in 1996, but after losing to President Bill Clinton, left politics altogether -- aside from being the husband of Elizabeth Dole, who served for a term representing North Carolina.

In a ceremony presided over by then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Dole was honorably promoted in 2019 to the rank of colonel -- only the third soldier ever to receive the honor. The other two were George Washington, promoted to General of the Armies, and Lt. William Clark, who was posthumously promoted to captain in recognition of his trek across what would later become the United States with Meriwether Lewis.

On Wednesday, Milley, now the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, handed the folded flag from the casket to Dole's widow.

"Senator. Elizabeth. On behalf of the president of the United States, the United States Army and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation of your loved one's honorable and faithful service of Lt. Dole, Capt. Dole, Sen. Dole," Milley said.

Dole was buried in Section 4, in an area known as Coast Guard Hill, home to the cemetery's Coast Guard Memorial and numerous graves of Coast Guard men and women -- the same section where Dole's Senate colleague and former Navy secretary, John Warner, was buried last year.

From Dole's gravesite, visitors have a view of the Pentagon, the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument and the dome of his beloved U.S. Capitol.

In his own words, in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post shortly after his death, Dole wrote of his love for the country and its symbols -- and his hope for unity as a nation moving forward.

"Many nights during my time as majority leader, I would step out on my office balcony overlooking the National Mall and be reminded of what made my journey possible. Facing me were monuments to our nation's first commander in chief, the author of our Declaration of Independence, and the president who held our union together. In the distance were the countless graves of those who gave their lives so that we could live free," Dole wrote. "Our nation has certainly faced periods of division. But at the end of the day, we have always found ways to come together. We can find that unity again."

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Dole: 'Genuine Hero' Paid War's Price, Triumphed in Senate
California, Colorado and Florida are home to the first set of Space Force bases, but none of the departments of motor vehicles in those three states offer license plates commemorating the new military service.

While each state has numerous options for former and current service members, Space Force Guardians have been left off the list.

The license plate issue comes as the Space Force seeks widespread public recognition and acceptance from civilians two years after being established by former President Donald Trump.

Read Next: US Deploying 3,000 Troops in Europe to Counter Russian Threats to Ukraine

Bill Woolf, president and founder of the nonprofit Space Force Association, said the commemorative license plates would be just a small way for states to acknowledge the new military service's presence in their own backyard.

"There's an opportunity to help spread the word that the Space Force is, in fact, a service," Woolf said.

Colorado is home to a Space Force base in Aurora and two in Colorado Springs. California has installations in El Segundo and near Lompoc. There is also a launch site near Cocoa Beach in Florida.

Military.com reached out to the three state DMVs and found that they all offer a wide selection of license plates for current and former service members, but nothing for the Space Force.

DMV offerings are often dictated by state legislatures, and getting a new license plate typically requires an effort by lobbyists or politicians.

The Colorado and Florida DMVs both said they do not offer Space Force license plates, although they do have offerings for every other service. They added it would take legislation in their respective states to add a Space Force option.

Notably, in Colorado, Guardians can have the branch's logo printed on their ID cards as a military service identifier when they obtain or renew their IDs.

Michael McGee, a Florida resident and retired Air Force officer who spent 20 years in space operations, said he wishes there was a Space Force license plate and would be one of the first people to sign up for it in the state.

"It's inevitable that it'll happen, but I don't think they've thought about it as much as they should have," McGee said. "I hope they can get this accomplished in the next year."

The California DMV said in a statement it does not offer a license plate with the Space Force logo or other specific branches, but does have logo options for veteran service organizations and other military honors.

Notably, other states have had success in adopting a Space Force license plate.

Last year, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles announced a license plate option for active-duty or retired Space Force Guardians.

And efforts are underway in other states. Earlier this month, Illinois state Rep. David Friess introduced a bill urging the creation of a Space Force license plate. He said a constituent gave him the idea.

"They're very proud of their service, and that's how they want people to know either they're serving or have served," Friess told Illinois media outlets.

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: 'Space Force? Is that Real?' Guardians Still Struggling with an Unconvinced Public
UNITED NATIONS  The United States called for the U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday on North Koreas most recent test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of reaching Guam, its most significant launch in years that could target American territory.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Sundays launch, saying it broke the North's announced moratorium on such launches and clearly violated Security Council resolutions, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

The U.N. chief urged North Korea to desist from taking any further counter-productive actions, expressing great concern that Pyongyang again disregarded any consideration for international flight or maritime safety, Haq said Tuesday. Guterres also called for all parties to seek a peaceful diplomatic solution.

The State Department confirmed late Tuesday that the U.S. Mission to the U.N. requested closed council consultations be held Thursday.

After Sundays launch, White House officials said they saw the latest missile test as part of an escalating series of provocations over the last several months by North Korea that have become increasingly concerning and are aimed at winning relief from sanctions.

The Hwasong-12 missile launched Sunday was the most powerful missile North Korea has tested since 2017. Thats when the country launched Hwasong-12 and longer-range missiles in a torrid run of weapons firings to acquire an ability to launch nuclear strikes on U.S. military bases in Northeast Asia and the Pacific and even the American homeland.

In recent months, North Korea has launched a variety of weapons systems and threatened to lift the four-year moratorium on more serious weapons tests such as nuclear explosions and ICBM launches. Sundays launch was the Norths seventh round of missile launches in January alone, and other weapons tested recently include a developmental hypersonic missile and a submarine-launched missile.

The Security Council initially imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and made them tougher in response to further nuclear tests and the countrys increasingly sophisticated nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

China and Russia, which border North Korea, circulated a draft resolution in November stressing the Norths economic difficulties. They called for lifting sanctions that include 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.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country took over the Security Council presidency Tuesday for the month of February, told reporters earlier Tuesday that the draft remains before the council though some members consider that it is not yet timely.

The Biden administration again called on North Korea to return to long-stalled talks on its nuclear and missile programs after the latest launch, but made clear it doesnt at this time think it would be constructive to hold leader-to-leader meetings like those Donald Trump had with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Nebenzia told reporters that Russia has repeatedly and continuously called for resumption of negotiations between key parties on the North Korean nuclear issue.

Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, discussed Pyongyangs latest ballistic missile launch with the Japanese Foreign Ministry's director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs, Funakoshi Takehiro, and South Korean nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk during calls on Friday and Saturday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday.

Kim condemned the Norths missile launches as violations of Security Council resolutions and destabilizing to the region, and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to the defense of South Korea and Japan, Price said.

He also underscored the United States continued readiness to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy with North Korea to make tangible progress toward denuclearization, Price said.

The Security Councils last meeting on North Korea was a closed-door discussion Jan. 10 on the Norths launch of what Pyongyang characterized as a hypersonic missile five days earlier.

There was no action by the 15-member council, but the United States and five allies urged North Korea to abandon its prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programs. They also called on the Security Council to oppose Pyongyangs ongoing, destabilizing and unlawful actions, including missile launches.



Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
The Pentagon announced Wednesday it is deploying 3,000 troops to areas of Europe following an order by President Joe Biden as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine escalate.

About 2,000 soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division and 18th Airborne Corps will move in the coming days from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Germany and Poland, while the remaining 1,000 with an Army Stryker squadron already stationed in Germany will be redeployed to Romania, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

"The current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on NATO's eastern flank," Kirby said.

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Both Poland and Romania are members of the NATO alliance and share a border with Ukraine, a western-leaning nation that is not an alliance member.

It is the first major movement of U.S. forces after the Biden administration warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin has amassed about 100,000 troops at Ukraine's borders who are prepared to invade at any moment.

The 82nd Airborne Division is deploying components of an Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and the 18th Airborne Corps is moving a joint task force headquarters to Germany. The Stryker unit will be joining 900 troops who were already in Romania as part of a U.S. rotational force.

None of the deployments are permanent, Kirby said.

Soldiers from Fort Bragg were among 8,500 troops who were put on heightened alert last week by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a possible deployment as part of a NATO rapid response force of 40,000 troops from member nations.

"Those 8,500 are not currently being deployed, but remain ready to move if called for the NATO Response Force or as needed for other contingencies as directed by the secretary or by President Biden," Kirby said.

The bases that could still send troops to Europe are: Fort Bragg; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Fort Carson, Colorado; Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; Fort Hood, Texas; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Robins Air Force Base and Fort Stewart, Georgia; and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Both Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have made clear they do not intend to send troops into Ukraine. But the president and the Pentagon have said the U.S. is committed to the protection of NATO ally countries that border Ukraine, including Poland and Romania.

Putin has continued to move conventional ground, air and naval forces into position for a potential invasion, but has also staged forces that could conduct irregular operations such as cyber attacks, subversion and sabotage, said Seth Jones, director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"We would expect that if there was an invasion, we would absolutely see -- as we saw in Syria, for example, with the Russian deployment -- an initial focus on heavy offensive cyber operations against command-and-control structures [and] public critical infrastructure in Ukraine, as well as the airstrike from Russian fixed-wing aircraft and bombers against key locations," he said in a briefing to reporters Tuesday.

Jone said the Ukrainians have shown they can fight in a spectrum of warfare operations over the past few years and "in no way shape or form" would it be an easy fight for Russian invasion forces.

-- Travis Tritten can be reached at travis.tritten@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Tritten.

Related: Troops at These Bases Are on Alert for Deployment over Ukraine Crisis
Fort Madison, IA (52627)

Today

A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High near 55F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Showers this evening becoming a steady light rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low around 50F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
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Fort Madison, IA (52627)

Today

A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High near 55F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Showers this evening becoming a steady light rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low around 50F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
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Keokuk, IA (52632)

Today

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High around 55F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 52F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
02.02.2022 LISTEN

After signing contracts with Empress Gifty, Dons Music Production organisers of Ghana Music Awards-USA has signed another huge one with Diana Hamilton, the most crowned and decorated Ghanaian artiste in 2021.

The 2021 artiste of the year at both GMA-USA, UK and VGMA is expected to perform at the main event scheduled to take place on August 20 at the Lincoln Theater, USA.

Diana won the over best artiste of the year at the second edition of GMA-USA and it is just right to have her on stage this year, the organisers said.

There were series of crushed programs last year, hence her reason for not appearing but this year, everything have been sorted so we are privileged to have her on our stage to bless us with her songs, vocal power and performances, Dennis Boafo CEO of the scheme stated.

GMA-USA is a peoples choice annual awards program, designed to award and reward Ghanaian musicians both in Ghana and in the diaspora especially the United States of America.

Nominees shall be unveiled on April 16 at the Grand Roosevelt Ballroom in Yonkers New York where the state for the main event scheduled to take place on August 20 shall be unveiled.
Ghanaian media personality, public speaker, and entrepreneur, Deloris Frimpong Manso, has confessed that she would love to welcome her first baby this year.

Delay is one of the most accomplished and renowned women in the Ghanaian media industry yet she is also one of the women who suffer constant criticism from the public on her single status because people in this part of the world assume that a woman her age should already be married with kids.

She has withstood these criticisms for the longest time, maintaining her independent woman status, however, Delay after seeing the news of international star, Rihannas pregnancy has admitted that she longs to have a feel of motherhood.

Sharing one of Riris viral pregnancy photos on her Instagram, Delay added the caption, May this be my portion this year!

Fans of Delay have flooded her comment section with good luck messages, encouraging her to believe in God for her portion of this blessing. As there are rumors that she might be going out with rapper, Amerado, some fans are also wondering if he will be fathering her child.

The two have not confirmed being in a relationship, hence, we can only wait and see.

---happyghana
The Head of the Futa Family, Onukpa Aminu Futa III , had added his voice to the call for the youth of Nima to embrace peace, harmony and love for each other.

Onukpa Aminu Futa, who doubles as the Custodian of the Nima community, noted that the people of Nima live among themselves like a family and must relate to each other as such.

He was reacting to the recent violence that erupted between two gangs in the Nima and Mamobi enclaves that created fear and panic amongst the people especially the aged, women and children.

Onukpa Futa condemned the unfortunate incidence and described it as an eyesore not only in Nima but the entire Zongo communities.

Speaking to this reporter in a telephone interview from his base in London, Mr. Futa said the clash at Nima was at variance with the principles and teachings of the Islamic faith.

"As Muslim youth, we must live and practicalise an exemplary Islamic life worthy of emulation by other believers. Our youth must live a positive and meaningful lifestyle and that we must do our best to be good ambassadors of our religion and community as a whole."

He described Nima as a peaceful community where people see each other as one. "We must not be seen fighting and killing each other. The youth therefore need to learn from the examples of good people of Nima."

He continued, "Why must we hurt each other just because of fame , Onukpa Futa questions. The one you are hurting is your family member , he emphasised. He urged the youth to learn how to live peacefully with each other regardless of their different religious, political and other social affiliations."

He lauded the recent meeting that was convened to address the issue and other social vices that had bedeviled the community for long.

He stated, "the meeting which was massively attended by the chiefs, Ulamas, opinion leaders, politicians amongst others came at the right time".

He called for such meetings to be sustained to help fight crimes like armed robbery, alcoholism, prostitution, drug peddling amongst others in the community.

According to Onukpa Futa, he is ever ready to support and back the organizers with any support that is needed to help maintain peace and harmony in Nima.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Mr. Murtala Mohammed has alleged that Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is the cause of 90% of the problems of the Majority in Parliament.

In an interview with 3FM, the NDC MP said although other members of the leadership of the Majority are doing quite well, same cannot be said about the Suame constituency.

Afenyo-Markin is my very good friend, he is a fantastic young man and very intelligent. So far, he has been doing very well. I think the problem with the NPP is not Afenyo and Annor-Dompreh, it is Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, Murtala Mohammed shared.

The Tamale Central MP continued, He is the contributor of 90 per cent of the problems that they have in the chamber. He is not a team player and some of the NPP MPs will tell you he is the problem.

The Majority under Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu as Leader are not having it easy with the Minority.

While some blame him for the woes of the Majority, there are others who say the difficulty only boils down to the fact that the 8th Parliament is a hung parliament that does not favour the ruling government.

Meanwhile, Tamale Central MP Murtala Mohammed has disclosed that he is reliably informed that some NPP MPs are ready to vote against the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy).

I have had a senior Member of the Parliament from the NPP who told me that we shouldnt pass the E-levy but they cant come out to say it.

If voting on the E-levy were to be done secretly, I can bet my last penny that there will be a lot of NPP MPs who will vote against it. The only reason we dont want that also is that some of our members, we cant also trust them, to be very honest, Mr. Murtala Mohammed intimated.
Sustained gunfire was heard on Tuesday near the seat of government in the coup-prone West African state of Guinea-Bissau, according to the French news agency AFP.

Heavily-armed men surrounded the Palace of Government, where President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were believed to have gone to attend a cabinet meeting.

The building is located on the edge of the capital Bissau, close to the airport.

People were seen fleeing the area, the local markets were closed and banks shut their doors, while military vehicles laden with troops drove through the streets.

The former Portuguese colony is an impoverished coastal state of around two million people lying south of Senegal.

It has seen four military putsches since gaining independence in 1974, most recently in 2012.

In 2014, the country vowed to return to constitutional government, but it has enjoyed little stability since then and the armed forces wield substantial clout.

A 36-year-old Frenchwoman living in Bissau, Kadeejah Diop, said she had rushed to pick up her two children from school and witnessed armed troops entering the Palace of Government.

"They made all the female workers leave. There was huge panic," she told AFP by phone from her home. "Right now, we are holed up indoors. We have no news."

ECOWAS condemns 'attempted coup'

Reacting to events, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued a statement saying it "condemns this attempted coup" and urged soldiers to "return to their barracks".

The bloc warned that it "holds the military responsible for the wellbeing of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and members of his government."

The United Nations said Secretary General Antonio Guterres was "deeply concerned with the news of heavy fighting in Bissau."

He called for "an immediate end to the fighting and for full respect of the country's democratic institutions," the UN's statement said.

Election turmoil

Embalo, a 49-year-old reserve brigadier general and former prime minister, took office in February 2020 after winning a second-round runoff election that followed four years of political infighting under the country's semi-presidential system.

He was a candidate for a party called Madem, comprised of rebels from the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) which had led Guinea-Bissau to independence.

His chief opponent, PAIGC candidate Domingos Simoes Pereira, bitterly contested the result but Embalo declared himself president without waiting for the outcome of his petition to the Supreme Court.

Late last year, the armed forces chief said members of the military had been preparing to launch a coup while the president was on a working trip to Brazil.

(with wires)
Sustained gunfire was heard on Tuesday near the seat of government in the coup-prone West African state of Guinea-Bissau, AFP reporters said, in what the African Union and a regional bloc called an "attempted coup".

Heavily-armed men surrounded the Palace of Government, where President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were believed to have gone to attend a cabinet meeting.

People were seen fleeing the area on the edge of the capital Bissau, near the airport.

Local markets were closed and banks shut their doors, while military vehicles laden with troops drove through the streets.

But the president later told AFP in brief telephone call: "All is well" and added that the situation is "under control".

The cabinet announced Embalo would speak to the nation from the government palace on Tuesday evening and invited reporters to attend the speech there.

According to various accounts, in the early afternoon armed men were seen entering the government palace which houses different ministries.

Some witnesses described the gunmen as military, others as civilians.

Gunfire followed for a large part of the afternoon when the complex was surrounded.

An AFP reporter was warned to leave the area by a man carrying a gun who took aim at him.

The former Portuguese colony is an impoverished coastal state of around two million people lying south of Senegal.

It has seen four military putsches since gaining independence in 1974, most recently in 2012.

In 2014, the country vowed to return to constitutional government, but it has enjoyed little stability since then and the armed forces wield substantial clout.

A 36-year-old Frenchwoman living in Bissau, Kadeejah Diop, said she rushed to pick up her two children from school and witnessed armed troops entering the government complex.

"They made all the female workers leave. There was huge panic," she told AFP by phone from her home. "Right now, we are holed up indoors. We have no news."

Troops set up a security perimeter around the palace and kept people away.

A journalist, asking not to be named, reported that at the start of the afternoon the public television centre had been occupied by soldiers who refused to let staff leave. It was not clear if they were part of the coup bid or government loyalists.

African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed deep concern over the "attempted coup".

An AU statement said he was following "with deep concern the situation in Guinea Bissau, marked by the attempted coup d'etat against the government".

Guinea-Bissau. By I. Vericourt G. Handyside, gil AFP

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)also issued a statement saying it "condemns this attempted coup" and urged soldiers to "return to their barracks".

The bloc warned that it "holds the military responsible for the well-being" of the president and governent members.

The United Nations said Secretary General Antonio Guterres was "deeply concerned with the news of heavy fighting in Bissau"

He called for "an immediate end to the fighting and for full respect of the country's democratic institutions," the UN's statement said.

Election turmoil

Embalo, a 49-year-old reserve brigadier general and former prime minister, took office in February 2020 after winning a second-round runoff election that followed four years of political in-fighting under the country's semi-presidential system.

He was a candidate for a party called Madem, comprised of rebels from the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) which had led Guinea-Bissau to independence.

His chief opponent, PAIGC candidate Domingos Simoes Pereira, bitterly contested the result but Embalo declared himself president without waiting for the outcome of his petition to the Supreme Court.

Late last year, the armed forces chief said members of the military had been preparing to launch a coup while the president was on a working trip to Brazil.

Troops had been offering bribes to other soldiers "in order to subvert the established constitutional order", armed forces head General Biague Na Ntam said on October 14.

The government spokesman denied his account the following day.

In addition to volatility, Guinea-Bissau struggles with a reputation for corruption and drug smuggling.

Its porous coastline and cultural ties have made it an important stop on the Africa trafficking route. In 2019, nearly two tonnes of cocaine were seized.

Three countries in West Africa -- Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso -- have experienced military takeovers in less than 18 months.

The region's mounting instability is due to discussed on Thursday at an ECOWAS summit in Accra, Ghana.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram in the Greater Accra Region Samuel Nartey George, has rubbished reports that he betrayed his former boss and predecessor, Enoch Teye Mensah, affectionately calledd E.T Mensah.

According to Sam George, he had been loyal to the long-serving MP for Ningo-Prampram prior to the race of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries on November 22, 2015.

Results declared by the Electoral Commission had Mr George polling 4,910 votes representing 63.4 per cent of valid votes cast to end the parliamentary career of Mr Mensah who had been in Parliament since 1997. Mr Mensah polled 2,831 votes representing 36.5 per cent of valid votes cast.

After the NDC primaries, Mr. Mensah accused Sam George of maligning and denigrating him on radio stations during the campaign.

However, reacting to this on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz 103.9 FM, when Sam George was asked by the host of the programme that some people think he had not been loyal to E.T Mensah, especially the way he was ousted. Sam George said people are unaware about what transpired behind the scene with respect to agreement he had with the former lawmaker.

He explained that the E.T Mensah publicly introduced him as the next MP for Ningo-Prampram and taught him the ropes of becoming a leader and MP.

According to him, E.T made him and several other people aware that he was not going to contest the next elections and prepared him to take over from him.

Shockingly, E.T Mensah rescinded his decision to contest again ahead of the NDC internal elections in 2015 without informing him albeit he visited him in his office to officially declare his intention to represent the people of the area in Parliament.

Ive told quite a number of time and I dont think I want to talk about it again but you see loyalty cuts in both ways and loyalty comes with integrity.

I told you before this interview that I want to be that politician whose word is bond. When I give you my word I know it is final, it sealed. When I sit with you and agreed on something dont try to play a fast one on me because I hold you to your word.

Hon. E.T Mensah with the greatest of respect knows what the agreement was and if you talk to people who are branch executives in the Ningo-Prampram Constituency who were in the NDC in 2013, theyll tell you.

In 2012 when he ran, I was literally his campaign manager running in the field for him. And after we won he told them this is your next MP. The day President Mahama came to Old Ningo to outdoor him, go and look for the pictures. When President Mahama held Hon. E.T Mensah hand and raised it, Hon. E.T Mensah held my hand and raised it. It is at the time Ningo was boiling. Theyve created a new district and Ningoes want the District Capital Shouldve been Ningo. They thought that he had used his office as MP and minister to move it to Prampram where he hails from and theyd refused to go to the Assembly. Theres misunderstanding and he told them. From 2013 to 2014, funerals and every activity with invitation sent to him, hell say Sam go, the people need to know you on the ground.

And then in 2015, the year of the primaries after almost 3 years of that declaration that he had made, without recourse to me. I am a small boy but he had agreement. If youve changed your mind, its only fair that you called me and have a conversation with me. But to go and have a public meeting and declare your intention without having any conversation with me when I had built a movement for 3 years on the back of our agreement. I was not going to back down.

So I went to his office at the old Castle at that time, 2 weeks before I picked the forms to officially inform him that I was going to run and even that day when I went there, I was hoping hell see and give me the respect that was due me and I say i think I want to run but he didnt say anything. He said okay weve heard, well think about it and I said okay, fine.

Asked whether E.T Mensah didnt give him his support from the beginning. Sam George said If this is the way he wants to go down then well battle to the end.

He rejected the claim that he betrayed E.T Mensah by saying that I didnt bot betray anybody, I sticked to the agreeement that we had, agreement that several people knew. Look, I can call names and I can mention some of them who had publicly spoken about it. Nii Lantey Vanderpure was told by E.T Mensah. The people are alive and you can call them. Call Nii Lantey now on air and ask him. He knew the story. Therere several other people I havent heard them speak publicly but Nii Lantey has spoken publicly thats very I have mentioned his name.

He seized the opportunity to describe the nature of person he is when he stated that So when I heard that you betrayed, you betrayed, I am a loyal person to the core but my loyalty doesnt make me stupid and my loyalty is not blind and I expect people to equally be loyal to whatever arrangement and agreement that weve because if you try to cross me, I wont let you.

Daily Guide
02.02.2022 LISTEN

The government as part of efforts to reduce the cost of energy to Ghanaians and to create an enabling environment for business to thrive has ensured the reduction of the OCTP gas price resulting in savings of at least US $72 million every year for consumers.

This comes on the back of negotiations between Government represented by the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance and GNPC on one hand, and the OCTP partners (Eni Ghana and Vitol Upstream) on the other hand, to revise the gas price.

It will be recalled that the OCTP gas price was negotiated in 2015 as part of the Gas Sales Agreement signed between GNPC and the OCTP partners.

The negotiated headline gas price at the time was US$ 9.8 MMBtu to be escalated annually by a composite index that tracks movements in the United States consumer price index and Henry Hub gas price.

MOU and Letter Agreement:

In subsequent engagements with the OCTP partners, an agreement was reached in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated 15th January 2019 to rearrange the funding of the Takoradi  Tema Interconnection Project (TTIP), such that it is treated as a loan borne by GNPC (on behalf of the state) instead of it being a development cost to be recovered through the gas price.

GNPC is to pay the loan using credit accumulations on the Sankofa gas payment since the first gas. The TTIP was completed in July 2020 at a total cost of US$ 126.4 million.

Following further engagements and negotiations between GNPC and the Partners to exclude the TTIP cost from the delivered gas price amongst other measures, the parties agreed to reduce the gas price by US$2.26/MMBtu. The MoU was thus, signed to outline the broad terms and conditions for the price reduction, as well as the implementation plan.

Subsequently, the parties negotiated a Letter Agreement  as a sequel to the MoU to implement the reduction. This letter agreement was signed by the parties in October 2021.

Gas Price Reduction and Savings:

Owing to the execution of this agreement, there is an immediate reduction of OCTP gas prices. Over the life of the project, the estimated savings to the nation would amount to about US$1.34 billion.

Significance for the Ghanaian Economy:

The reduction of the OCTP gas price which yields the above savings is a major achievement by the government of Ghana and is consistent with the governments overarching policy to reduce the cost of electricity for businesses and individual consumers.

Per the savings, lower electricity tariffs are being maintained, leading to decreased costs of doing business. The move will also contribute positively to the industrialisation drive of President Akufo-Addos government with attendant benefits such as economic growth, employment creation, and a boost in government revenue.

The effort has been applauded by power producers, CSOs, and other stakeholders in the energy sector.
Sir,



As a country, we need to value and prioritise education. In the realm of the spirit, I envisage a Kingdom of Eswatini where highly educated and skilled people lead each ministry. PhD holders should be made principal secretaries as they are capable of objective higher order decision-making processes, as their decision-making will most often be informed by research, not stomach politics. In a nutshell, educated people have the capacity to fix the economy. There is too much dead wood in the civil service and those who have reached 60 years must retire and go home please!

Collapsing

These are the people collapsing and plunging our economy, while young graduates with fresh minds and innovative skills are languishing in poverty at home. How does government hope to recover study loans if graduates are not absorbed into the world of work, as a result of pensionable people hogging work positions? These people are benefiting twice, through their monthly pension salaries, and the contractual salaries from work contracts government has re-engaged them on, while qualified young graduates get wasted at home.

Support

Why is government shooting itself in the foot? How do we expect the young generation to prosper, marry, pay lobola for their wives, produce children and build themselves homes, how will they support the children they give birth to if their positions are being held up by people whose children are already employed? This is the reason there is so much moral decay in the country including crime, prostitution, bribery, nepotism, spread of HIV, abortion, corruption, you name them. Furthermore, the government machinery is malfunctioning as a result of people on its payroll, yet their job descriptions are only known to themselves.

Performance

We need performance monitoring tools as of yesterday, and there is urgent need to uproot the dead wood. Some civil servants are such a shame when it comes to service delivery, especially the pensioners! Lets face this problem head-on and eradicate for the benefit of the country as a whole. We cant go on like this.
Economist and Finance Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof. Godfred Bokpin, wants government to tread cautiously in its pursuit to raise revenue to salvage the economy.

He says ongoing discussions on the imposition of the Electronic Transaction Levy and the countrys possible return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be well-thought through.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Prof. Godfred Bokpin, who is strongly in opposition to the E-levy advocated for home-grown solutions, also called for a national consultative dialogue on whether Ghana should fall back to the IMF in these crucial moments.

I dont support E-levy because it is not the way to go. Its regressive and even if its passed, its not Ghanas solution. But for going back to IMF, lets have a national conversation around it. Lets have a home-grown way with clear benchmark indicators and requirements. That cannot support this large government and wasteful expenditures. This is the kind of home-grown solution we are talking about because we cant largely leave out the inefficiencies and talk about E-levy as the only solution. No, we have to look at it holistically.

In the wake of talks of the E-levy to generate revenue domestically, some have suggested the government opts for an IMF program rather than the passage of the tax policy.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration has indicated that despite Ghana's fiscal crisis, it is not settling on returning to the IMF for financial support, but a former New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, and a one-time Chair of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, believes heading to the IMF is the best option under the circumstances.

Prof. Godfred Bokpin also makes a point that both options on the table are retrogressive and tend to negatively impact the vulnerable in the long term.

I am also not against totally going back to the IMF, its probably the last resort. We all do acknowledge that we need revenue, but E-levy is a much more lazy approach and one that does not recognize the realities on the ground, and we want to use E-levy to further depress the poor. Its unfortunate. Ghana has been to the IMF more than 15 times and If you mismanage your economy, and you go to the IMF, it comes at a price because the financial adjustments will also marginalize the poor.

---citinewsroom
Director General of National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku, has reported Nana Abena Korkor Addo to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service for defamation.

Abena Korkor in several live videos on social media has alleged she had an amorous relationship with the politician and other popular men in Ghana.

She also alleged that Mr. Awuku has employed people to kill her following her expose of their sexual escapades.

But Mr. Awuku has denied all the allegations leveled against him by Abena Korkor and reported the case to the CID to investigate.

Nana Abena Korkor Addo is a Ghanaian Television presenter and was born on January 30, 1990.

She attended St Paul Methodist preparatory and Aburi Girls Senior High for her elementary and secondary education respectively.

She studied Biological Science for two years at the University of Ghana. She also studied Biomedical and Forensic Science at the University of Cape Coast.

Nana Abena became known after her unclad pictures and videos had leaked online.

This had caused a mental issue which according to reports was diagnosed to be Bipolar disorder.
The Ghana International Trade & Finance Conference (GITFiC) has commenced its nationwide survey on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the declaration of Accra as the commercial capital of Africa.

The survey is part of a sensitization exercise for GITFiC to assess the knowledge that the Ghanaian private and government sectors have on AfCFTA and Accras declaration as the commercial capital of Africa.

The survey will take place in selected regional capitals namely; Greater Accra, Greater Kumasi, Takoradi, Tamale, and Koforidua.

The survey would further assess the private sectors readiness towards the implementation of the AfCFTA as well as provide a comprehensive and reliable information source to help the government, local authorities, and private economic sectors to build up socio-economic development plans to improve intra-African trade.

The initiative will generate a diagnostics report which would help to develop practical steps or a road map in addressing the gaps and challenges.

The two-page survey questionnaire has been carefully vetted to reflect the quality response that GITFiC expects from the Business Community in these regions.

Expert field enumerators have been selected to reach out to about 6,000 Industries, Companies, and SMEs across the five selected regions in Ghana.

In a press release from GITFiC announcing the commencement of the survey, it has appealed to the public to be open to its field officers when contacted to partake in the exercise.

We believe that with a high responsible spirit, available enthusiasm, and a strong desire to contribute to the development of the country, the general public will kindly grant our field personnel the audience to fulfill their duties in the various establishments ear-marked for this exercise.

The success of this survey will be partly due to the contribution of our field personnel. We implore the public to cooperate with the field personnel for the task ahead, the GITFiC released concludes.

Below is a copy of the release:
Conservation NGO, A Rocha Ghana has called on government to make a conscious effort to restore the countrys depleting wetlands.

This is contained in a press release issued by the outfit to mark the 2022 World Wetlands Day.

The day which marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands adopted as an international treaty in 1971 is celebrated each year on February 2 to raise awareness about wetlands.

Ghanas main Ramsar Sites - Keta Lagoon Complex, Songhor, Sakumo, Densu Delta and MuniPomadze Ramsar sites are all facing differing degrees of degradation.

The Sakumo Ramsar site located along the beach road linking Accra and Tema is in dire need of restoration as developers have encroached on the area.

For the Songor and the Anlo-Keta Lagoons, there is increased exploitation of their resources including the mangrove forest that has resulted in their degradation and raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of these invaluable ecosystems.

It is against this background that on the occasion of the 2022 World Wetlands Day, A Rocha Ghana is advocating for action to tackle the problems at hand.

As we act towards a decade of restoration, Ghana must make a conscious effort to restore our depleting wetlands and particularly address the increasing encroachment by real estate and industrial developers converting critical wetlands into other land-use forms, part of a press release from A Rocha Ghana signed by Deputy National Director Daryl Bosu has said.

Below is the press release.
Properties worth millions of Ghana cedis have been destroyed by a fire outbreak at Akyem Osiem in Abuakwa North Municipality in the Eastern region.

The fire which started around 5:30pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, moved from one house and spread to others, before torching shops nearby as well.

Eyewitness narrate that when the fire was detected, efforts were made to bring in firefighters from the Bunso Fire Station.

Unfortunately, the stations fire tender was faulty and hence officers could not respond.

Through the intervention of the Bunso Fire Station, they communicated with counterparts from Kibi and Koforidua Fire Stations who arrived with tenders.

Eventually, around 8:30pm, the fire was doused but the damage had already been done.

Sources report that 15 rooms were affected together with four shops as 30 occupants ended up losing properties and household belongings.

There was no casualty.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are set to intensify today.

Meanwhile, the Municipal National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) director, Mr. Stephen Osei-Owusu has given the assurance that his outfit will mobilize relief items to support the victims of the fire.
Director of Communications for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamua has asked Ghanaians not to thirst for a military takeover of the governance of this country.

He said Ghanas democracy has made progress over the years despite some of the challenges that persist.

To that end, he said, Ghana must be an example to the other African countries that are experiencing coup detats.

We as a country must encourage our example to other African counties, he said.

The NDC has taken power, the NPP has taken power, Civil society has gone, the media, he said on the New Day with Johnnie Hughes on TV3 Wednesday, February 2.

He added, "Democracy in its worst form is far better than authoritarian rule.

His comments on the heels of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) raising grave concerns about an attempted coup d'etat in Guinea-Bissau.

Gunshots were heard around the presidency on Tuesday afternoon with reports rife that the country's President, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has been put under house arrest.

Pictures making rounds show lifeless bodies of security guards near the presidential palace.

The Ecowas Commission has since condemned the incident, calling it an attempted coup d'etat.

ECOWAS condemns this attempted coup d'etat and considers the military responsible for the physical integrity of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and the members of his government, the Commission said in a short statement on Tuesday.

ECOWAS calls on the military to return to the caves and to maintain a republican stance.

---3news.com
The government will today, February 2, 2022, hold a town hall meeting in Sekondi-Takoradi to have discussions on the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy).

Months after the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta announced plans by the government to implement the levy, many Ghanaians have still not come to terms with the levy.

As a part of efforts to explain to the Ghanaian people why the country needs the e-levy, government on Thursday, January 27, held the first town hall meeting to discuss the levy.

Subsequently, the Finance Minister proceeded to meet with the Minority in Parliament but was rejected despite a reduction in the rate from 1.75% to 1.50%.

Today, government is taken the town hall meeting train on the E-Levy to Sekondi Takoradi as it pushes to have the levy accepted by Ghanaians and approved by Parliament.

At the event scheduled later in the day, Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Central Region Minister Justina Marigold Assan are billed to speak to issues relating to the levy.

Western Regional Minister Kwabenya Otchere Darko-Mensah as well as MP for Sekondi, Andrew Egyapa Mercer will also have the chance to speak at the event.

Sources report that todays town hall meeting on the e-levy will not be the last to be held by the government.
Maia looks down at her expanding belly, her eyes welling with tears.

Four months ago, an armed man grabbed and raped the 15-year-old, attacking her as she was harvesting cassava roots.

In the remote northwest of the Central African Republic (CAR), sexual violence targeting women, adolescents and even younger girls is on the rise.

Brutal acts are committed by rebels, militiamen and security forces alike, according to the United Nations.

In Paoua, about 500 kilometres (300 miles) northwest of the capital Bangui, more than a dozen rape victims turn up every day at a clinic run by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC).

The distraught teenager struggles to put her feelings into words. "I was alone in the fields when an armed man wearing a turban grabbed me," she says in a near-whisper.

"I told him I was a virgin and begged him not to hurt me," Maia says, unable to utter the word "rape", even as she bears the unborn child of the man who assaulted her.

Like Maia, Marie was harvesting cassava to feed her family when two armed men appeared.

Map locating Central African Republic's capital Bangui. By AFP

Her husband fled the scene, but she reacted too slowly.

"They tied my hands, tore my clothes and took turns raping me," says the 23-year-old, who was wearing a traditional gown in the purple, green and white colours of International Women's Day.

The rape victims interviewed by AFP all had similar stories.

Most said they had been assaulted in the fields by rebels of a powerful local militia known as the 3R, a name derived from the French words for Return, Reclamation and Rehabilitation.

'Easy target'

"In this area, it is mainly women who farm and take care of feeding the family," says Lola, an employee at the centre whose name has been changed for her safety, like Maia's and Marie's.

"Alone and helpless in the fields, they are an easy target for the rebels."

A civil war in the CAR that began in 2013, pitting myriad militias against a state on the verge of collapse, had lessened considerably in recent years.

But about a year ago, fighting resumed abruptly when rebels launched an offensive to overthrow President Faustin Archange Touadera.

'Alone and helpless in the fields, they are an easy target for the rebels,' says an employee at the Danish rape clinic. By Barbara DEBOUT AFP

At the time, armed groups controlled two-thirds of the CAR's territory.

But they ceded most of it when the army, backed by hundreds of Russian paramilitaries, mounted a massive counter-offensive against the rebels.

Today militia forces are confined to the countryside and have switched to guerrilla tactics -- and harassment and abuse of civilians are on the rise.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded 6,336 cases of gender-based violence between January and July 2021 across the deeply poor country.

The agency identified a quarter of such cases as sexual violence, an increase of 58 percent compared with the first half of 2020. Rebels and militiamen are more active in the Paoua region.

Recent reports by the United Nations or by UN-sponsored experts have accused both soldiers and their Russian mercenary allies of committing rapes.

At the Paoua hospital, signs prohibit the carrying of weapons.

A dozen women and girls wait outside a door freshly painted in pink to see Fabrice Clavaire Assana, a doctor who specialises in counseling and treating victims of gender-based violence.

Militia fighters in southeastern CAR in 2017. By ALEXIS HUGUET AFPFile

"After a phase of listening and building confidence," Assana says, he carries out gynaecological examinations and provides emergency treatment when needed.

But his options are few.

The "morning-after" anti-pregnancy pill, hepatitis B vaccine and anti-HIV medicine work only if taken within 72 hours. "This is rarely the case," he says regretfully.

50km trek

After Marie was assaulted, she turned first to relatives.

"I was distraught and ashamed. I first went to my in-laws in my torn clothes, but they were unable to pay for my transport to Paoua," she says.

So Marie then walked 50 km to Paoua, "praying" not to tread on a landmine or run into rebels.

"I relive the scene day and night, I can't go back to the fields," sighs Marie, burying her face in her hands.

"My husband has fled -- now I'm alone with two children to feed, and I can't grow crops."

Neither Maia nor Marie has tried to seek justice for the men who raped them.

Such crimes almost always go unpunished in the absence of functioning courts.
The Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam Constituency in the Central Region says government is delaying in placing a call to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic policy credibility.

He noted that government must not feel shy to place a call to IMF at the economy is sinking deep.

Im amazed the government has still not placed that call to the IMFs office in the Washington D.C for a bailout, he said.

The government cannot be shy about calling the IMF at this time because it is the only way out of the current situation the government finds itself arising out of its own reckless spending, he posited.

Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson stressed that the IMF is the only way out of the countrys economic situation since the government has borrowed so much but has nothing to show for it.

Our economic hole is deep and the debt levels are too high, he said in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM.

He argued that if the government places that call to the IMF it would be preserving Ghanas already distressed economy.

He said Ghanas debt levels are 81 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adding that this is worrying.

According to him, no government has ever taken Ghanas economy to these levels since the advent of the 1992 Constitutional dispensation than the Akufo-Addo-led government.

He called on the government to place a moratorium on sourcing loans until policy credibility is finally attained.

In his view, Ghanas economic situation cannot be solved by the paltry GHS6.9 billion that will be accrued if the E-levy is passed.

He argued that E-levy is not a panacea to the countrys economic doldrums.

The situation were in cannot be saved by E-levy. The IMF stands a better chance to offer policy credibility for the situation the government finds itself in, he added.

---Classfmonline.com
Three women including a lactating mother suspected to be dealing in fake currency at Obuasi have been arrested by the police.

The suspects, who according to reports hail from Kumasi, were nearly lynched by angry residents after an attempt to dupe a mobile money vendor at Sanso, a community in the Obuasi municipality.

Speaking on Akoma FMs current affairs and political show GhanAkoma Tuesday, February 1, Obuasi District Police Commander DSP Martin Asenso explained that the three suspects were on Monday, January 31 arraigned before the Obuasi Circuit Court.

He told host of the show Aduanaba Kofi Asante Ennin that the three suspects were granted bail of GH5,000 each with two sureties. The trio are still in police custody because they are yet to meet all the bail conditions.

Mode of operation

DSP Martin Asenso further explained the suspects mode of operation that they always operate at night, so they come with fake currency under the pretence of sending e-cash to a certain number. After sending then they pay the Momo agent with fake currency.

He entreated all Mobile Money agents to be vigilant and ensure such confident tricksters do not take advantage of them.

Eye witness account

A resident of Sanso, the community where the incident happened, recounted on GhanAkoma that but for the timely intervention of a unit committee member for the area who rescued the suspects and hid them in his room, the angry residents would have lynched them.

It happened over the weekend so I was home. All what I heard was noise at the backyard. When I got to the scene, three women were held for allegedly duping a Momo vendor. They had successfully sent GH1,500 at a nearby agent, so after they left the agent realized their money was fake so he followed them only to realized they had stopped at another agent trying to dupe him by sending another GH1,500. So the agent raised alarm and the residents attacked the suspects then the unit committee member intervened.

The three suspects have been identified as Eunice Sarfo, 33, Nancy Owusu, 28, and Cecelia Agyeman, 29.

According to DSP Martin Asenso, the trio have been granted bail and court will be sitting in the case on Monday, February 7.

---3news.com
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education says Government is prioritising the learning of French Language from the basic to tertiary level to open-up the economy.

He said basic knowledge in French Language would reposition Ghanaian entrepreneurs to explore francophone markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Dr Adutwum said this on Tuesday in Accra at the launch of the French Teacher Mobility Programme, established by the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) to meet the needs of member countries that commit to a national plan for quality teaching of and in French.

Under the Programme, Ghana has received 21 French Teachers from French-speaking countries to support the training of French Teachers and enhance the usage of French in the country.

They will be deployed to the Colleges of Education in charge of the training of French teachers, the Regional Centres for the Teaching of French, and bilingual classes.

The Ministry of Education and the OIF in November 2021, signed a three-year framework cooperation agreement on the Programme to strengthen the linguistic and pedagogical skills of French teachers in Ghana.

The Minister said education was priority to all nations in the world, stressing that the new partnership was a major step in the implementation of the Linguistic Pact signed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2019.

The signing of the Linguistic Pact culminated in the adoption of an Action Plan on four thematic areas: Education, Francophone environment, Linguistic development, and Language.

Developing the knowledge of the young ones with the French Language will groom them to become leaders of ECOWAS and Francophone companies and contribute to the development of the country, he said.

He commended the OIF for the support,and urged parents to encourage children to take the study of French Language seriously for future benefits.

Madam Anne Sophie Ave, the French Ambassador to Ghana, indicated that with the strategic location of Ghana in the West African Sub-region, learning French Language by Ghanaians would go a long way to promote the socio-economic development of the country.

She said Ghana hosting the headquarters of AfCFTA, meant Ghanaians needed to study French Language for job opportunities in French-speaking countries.

The Ambassador lauded President Akufo-Addo for taking a keen interest in speaking of French in the country.

Madame Renie Yotova, Head of Delegation, OIF, said the signing of the agreement would strengthen the initial training of primary, secondary school students and the continuing education of teachers and education professionals in the country.

The IOF is an organisation that covers 88 members of States and Governments that use the French Language as a common medium of communication to promote peace, good governance, respect for culture and linguistic diversity to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

GNA
02.02.2022 LISTEN

Dr Abdallah Ali-Nakyea, a tax expert, says the potential risks and dangers associated with the Electronic Levy implementation may far outweigh the revenue envisaged by policy makers.

He, therefore, called for extreme caution and wider consultation on the matter, saying any unmeasured implementation would bruise or even undermine the mobile money industry, the veritable platform for enhancing financial inclusion for the poor and the unbanked.

Dr Ali-Nakyea was speaking at a forum on the e-levy: the what, the why and the how-to, organized by a Joint Meeting of 10 Ghana's Rotary Clubs in Accra.

He explained that there was the need to analyse the impact of the e-levy on financial inclusion and the successful mobile money interoperability that people were relying on, adding that Tanzania and Kenya, which had conducted such studies could offer Ghana some guidance.

He identified some of the challenges of implementation as identification of the taxpayer and monitoring the threshold of transfers made, the collection mechanism of the tax and record keeping for tax audit purposes, for example and the scope of the exemptions.

For a start, he urged the government to consider a rate of between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent, because most of the countries with a rate above one per cent had the rate applied on the service fees, whereas those with a rate between 0.2 per cent and 0.5 per cent had it being applied on the value of the transaction.

This can be reviewed as the years go by after the impact analysis starts trickling in, so the situation of introducing tax handles and withdrawing or abolishing them does not arise."

The Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Ghana, said there was the need to plug any loophole and leakage of revenue to enhance revenue mobilization.

He said recovery of funds, as detailed out in the Auditor General's reports could also shore up revenue mobilization as well as plug some loopholes since with recovery through surcharges, such leakages might not be repeated.

There is the need to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the administration and collection of the existing taxes, he added.

He said the GRA had announced a feat of exceeding its 2021 target of GHS57.055 billion by GHS265.39 million by collecting GHS57.32 billion. It chalked this success as a result of plugging the loopholes for tax avoidance by some multinationals in the extractive sector.

He said the Authority also deployed digital and specialised monitoring platforms for tax collection purposes; enhanced collections at the ports through the ICUMS, and increased attention to sectors of the economy that showed growth.

The Director of Ali-Nakyea and Associates said if the levy was about the informal sector, the modified taxation system had been identified as capable of dealing with the sector's contribution to revenue mobilization.

Again, the Tax Expert said if it was about raising revenue for creating employment and handling the cyber security space as some of the purposes of the use of the revenue, one would ask what had happened to the communication service tax also for the same purposes.

Is it not possible to then consider reviewing the communication service tax, since the mobile money platform hinges on that as well? "

Dr Ali-Nakyea said this was a policy that required further deliberations and analysis, hence not ripe for implementation in the state in which it has been proposed.

He said as indicated elsewhere earlier, if the idea, as espoused in paragraphs 307 to 314 of the 2022 Budget Statement, was to deal with the 'shadow economy, looking at the total value of transactions estimated at GHS500 billion in 2020, digital transactions, then there was a challenge in using taxation in that manner.

On the impact of the levy on the economy, the Tax Expert said there were the risks of promoting acts of money laundering and the tax could drive users off the Mobile Money platform and resort to insecure cash dealings increasing the risks associated with it.

He said the requirement to provide identification at SIM-card registration had started to drive down fraud and money laundering through the financial systems and by introducing the proposed tax, there was a risk that all these players could revert to using cash (because of the cost), thus increasing fraud incidences and supervision cost.

GNA
President Nana Akufo-Addo has reiterated his governments resolve to pass the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy).

According to him, the government in its bid to lessen the burden on Ghanaians during the heat of the COVID-19 did some expenditure, and that has become necessary for some measures to be put in place to fill those gaps created.

Revenues during 2020/2021 went down considerably because of the slowing down of the economic activities that came from the COVID-19. At the same time, government, in order to keep the country going, did incur some expenditures on the free water, the free electricity. These were the unavoidable expenses that government had to make, President Akufo-Addo disclosed when addressing traditional leaders from Dzodze in the Volta region on Tuesday, 1st February 2022.

He continued These are the efforts that we are now making which are being resisted by the opposition but we will try and close the gap. That is the reason it has become necessary for us to use these measures like this famous tax which has caused so much unnecessary disputation; nevertheless, we would continue.

President Akufo-Addo added that despite the opposition I am determined to persevere to make sure that we find the means to address some of the issues.

The Minority in Parliament has rejected a reduction of the Electronic Transaction levy to 1.5 per cent from 1.75 per cent.

The latest reduction was tabled during consultations with the minority on Friday after Thursdays meeting ended inconclusively.

The Minority led by its leader Haruna Iddrisu according to Starr News sources rejected the proposal arguing the reduction is negligible.

---starrfmonline
The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu has asked doctors of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in the Ashanti Region to forgo their 13th-month salary for 2020 and 2021 as he promises the government will pay that of this year due to financial constraints.

Executives of the Ghana Medical Association(GMA) who were present at the meeting in Accra were not happy with the decision of the government.

The Minister is expected to once again reconvene another meeting on Thursday, February 3, 2022 at 11:30 am over the issue.

Members of the Komfo Anokye Doctors Association have deferred their intended strike scheduled for Tuesday, 1 February 2022 to Friday, 4th February 2022.

This decision was arrived at after engagement with the management of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital on Monday, 31st January 2022, on the nonpayment of car maintenance allowance and 13th-month allowance for Doctors in KATH.

The decision was taken after a show of some commitment by Hospital Management and the Ministry of Health to end the long-standing stalemate in the fulfilment of our signed conditions of service in 2019, the doctors said in a statement.

The doctors expressed hope that by the end of working hours on Thursday, 3rd February 2021, there will be a clear concise payment schedule for their car maintenance allowance and 13th month allowance or they will lay down their tools.

We want to assure all and sundry, especially our cherished members, that KADA remains resolute and committed to its mandated cause.

---kasapafmonline
Since the very inception of the 8th parliament of the 4th republic of Ghana when the Ghanaian electorate either intentionally or inadvertently voted for a hung parliament in their general elections of 7thDecember 2020, a lot of questionable activities and pronouncements have been taking place in Ghana, especially, in parliament.

The Speaker of parliament, Rt. Honourable Alban Bagbin, now a seeming towering King by his adopted dress code, has equally been adopting methods and taking decisions that are unfamiliar with parliament, although, not illegal, I should think.

Some of the parliamentarians whom I find to be total misfits, have been engaging in fisticuffs and deliberate acts of sabotage to pull the nation back from her assumed forward ever march to achieving economic prosperity for the nation and the citizenry under the sterling leadership of His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

These parliamentarians, especially those in NDC camp, have taken to strong partisan positions when it comes to deliberating on bills and other issues the approval of which may invigorate the never-going backward march to the envisaged economy paradise. It is obvious that they are doing what befits their diabolic acts with intent to gaining political power in any future general elections. They are not doing what they are doing in the best interest of Ghana and Ghanaians but to satisfy their selfish and parochial interests of gaining power to come and create, loot and share Ghanas money among themselves.

I am not going to dwell on the collective devilish behaviour by our so-called honourable members of parliament who are rather worse than dishonourable persons completely unfit to represent constituents in parliament, concluding from their selfish, partisan and parochial interest attitudes. However, I am going to single out the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Honourable Kingsford Alban Bagbin, the obvious King of Parliament, by his dress code of late, to discuss.

As we have King of Kong, thus King Kong, so does Ghana parliament have a king in the person of Alban Bagbin who may now be King Parliament, if I am not mistaken.

Oh King Alban Bagbin, are you a saboteur, or a man of integrity with the welfare of Ghana at heart? Are you serious as a Speaker or simply a malevolent partisan with intent to cause the failure of the progressive NPP government to help sneak in your incompetent, clueless and most corrupt NDC political party and her leadership of same characteristics into power?

King Alban Bagbin should not assume that all Ghanaians are fools to not be able to understand his mind about the parliamentary discussion on the E-levy. Whenever the issue is presented before the floor of parliament, he has excuses not to be in the Speakers seat to preside over it. He will either be in Dubai attending his medical review, or in the loo attending to natures call. He always has flimsy excuses not to be present in parliament for a vote to be called and cast on what many a Ghanaian without vision and the love of the nation at heart, has come to tag as very controversial, irrelevant and unworthy to be approved for implementation.

Wearing a kingly clothe is not what makes an intelligent, honest and farsighted Speaker but ones actions taken to make sure proper laws are passed and implemented in the best interest of the nation.

Very soon, there will be no money to pay public service workers in Ghana. There will be no money for the government to continue to finish the projects that have been started. This is all because the government is being starved of revenue by the unhelpful and visionless attitude of King Alban Bagbin and his colluding NDC members of parliament.

If King Alban Bagbin is unhealthy to not be able to perform his Speakership functions properly, he had better resign to concentrate on his health rather than escaping to attend medical reviews in Dubai when he is rather most needed in Ghana.

I dont blame him but the Ghana judiciary with its corrupt and decrepit methods of trial and delivery of justice; too many unnecessary delays through postponements with intent to twist justice. Had it not been so, the Assin North member of parliament and the other lady in Western region said to be of three nationalities, would not be in parliament by now to facilitate the diabolism of the NDC caucus in parliament to engender the malicious tricks by King Alban Bagbin.

Alban Bagbin has not shed his NDC cloak of malevolence, trickeries and fabrications of lies hence his demonstrated presentations of flimsy excuses to thwart the approval of the e-levy. He is always seeking a hole to bolt into whenever the e-levy comes for discussion or voting on the floor of parliament.

Should King Parliament come up with further medical review excuses to stay out of parliament and in the country, then I will recommend for his destoolment as King and removal from the Speakership.

Finally, the Chief Justice should ensure that the shameful and unprofessional delay tactics adopted by Ghanaian courts for all stupid reasons bordering heavily on corruption and sabotage are weeded out of the justice delivery system or else, Ghana will never prosper but to continue to wobble or stagnate in economic deprivation with its attendant armed robberies, arsons, defamation of characters and all sorts of crimes as are prevalent in Ghana of yesterday and today.

For me, King Alban Bagbin is a saboteur concluding from his untoward escapisms. Can he prove me wrong by choosing to sit in his hot Speakers seat without scuttling to loo or Dubai come any future parliamentary cast of vote on e-levy?

More fire will come from Rockson Adofo, the fearless and no-nonsense but proud son of Kumawu/Asiampa soil, should King Alban Bagbin and his unruly NDC members of parliament continue to conduct themselves so irresponsibly to the detriment of the development of Ghana.

Rockson Adofo

Wednesday, 02 February 2022
President Nana Akufo-Addo says his administration is determined to use all available means to push through its development agenda for the country irrespective of any opposition to it.

Addressing the chiefs and elders of the Dzodze traditional area when they paid a courtesy call on him on 1st February 2022, at the Jubilee House, President Akufo-Addo said in spite of the setback he is facing in Parliament over the introduction of the electronic levy (E-Levy), government will continue to persevere to find the means to address pertinent issues affecting the state.

According to the President, the government, in order to keep the country going [as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic], had to incur additional expenditure such as the free water, the free electricity, and the provision of free food.

These were unavoidable expenses that the government has to make. The fiscal impact was very considerable and these are the efforts we are now making which are being resisted by the opposition to try and close the gab, President Akufo-Addo said.

President Akufo-Addo intimated that as a country, it has become necessary for us to look within for our sustainability and not to depend on aid.

It is not going to be possible for us in Ghana to continue forever to be dependent on foreign grants and foreign loans to keep our economy going. We ourselves would have to find the money for our development, Akufo-Addo said.

"That is the reason why it has become necessary for us to introduce these measures like this famous tax [E-Levy] which has caused so much unnecessary, in my view, disputation the President added.

President Akufo-Addo noted that in spite of the Challenge, he and his administration will continue to fight for the development of the nation.

I am determined to persevere to make sure that we find the means to address our issues as a country, Akufo-Addo said.

Togbui Dey III, Chief of Dzodze Traditional area, led the delegation for the visit. He made multiple requests including the building of a market in the Dzodze traditional area, the expansion of Dzodze water system, among others.

President Akufo-Addo assured the delegation that their requests will be given all the attention it deserves by the relevant State institutions.
The Tampulma, also known as Tampulinsi, a major ethnic group in the Mankarigu catchment area in the North East region of Ghana has appealed to government to fast-track the processes for the creation of their district.

The Paramount chief of the ethnic group, Kadichari -Tina Kora Musah Mahamadu II who made the appeal observed that the creation of the district and opening of its offices would boost economic activities in the area, create employment opportunities for his people and other tribes

He explained that the Tampulma as a group, occupies the largest land area within the Mankarigu catchment area, but due to lack of administrative district, lag behind in terms of development.

He further noted that the district when created would also help accelerate development for the area and reduce the rural and urban migration of the youth to Accra, Tamale, and Kumasi.

The chief, who was speaking to the media at his palace stated, "I wish to thank the government for the efforts made so far in getting us a paramountcy, but I also wish to appeal to the authorities to hasten the processes leading to getting Tampulmas their District to aid the development of the area. We have many challenges, but one of them is the district, so I appeal to the government and anyone who matter, to help us get the district."

He added, "We want the district to be named 'Tampulma District.'"

In 2019, the group wrote to the Northern Regional House of chiefs requesting a paramountcy status and was granted, but was asked to hold on till the referendum that sought to create new regions out of the then old Northern Region was done so that they would have a representation in the regional house of chiefs.

Prior to the reorganization of the regions, the Tampulma and Mamprusi communities in the North Gonja District made an appeal to government to allow them to be part of the Mamprugu Moaduri District of the proposed North East Region.

After the referendum, their wish was granted, and they were added to the North East Regional House of Chiefs since their traditional capital was in the region.

While expressing his gratitude to the government for the move, Kora Mahamadu II also thanked the chiefs and people of the North East region for the peaceful coexistence that existed among the Tampulma and other tribes in the region.

He advised Tampulmas to be law-abiding citizens wherever they are and and further appealed to them to live peacefully with others.

"I will also express my gratitude to the Naayiri and all the sub-chiefs for accepting us as part of them. Tampulmas are peace-loving people, and I want to call on them to exhibit that character wherever they live," he emphasised.

Developmental Projects

The Chief noted that Tampulmas were mainly farmers, but due to the bad nature of their roads, they are not able to benefit fully from their farm produce, and therefore urged the government to work on them.

"The other appeal I have for government is about our roads. Our roads are very bad, and I want to appeal to the government look into that for us," he appealed.

New year message

He further used the opportunity to extend his new year greetings and gratitude to all Tampulmas in and outside Ghana for their immersed contributions to the development and growth of the kingdom as well as the well-being of Tampulmas.

"Let me also used the opportunity to wish the Tampulmas a happy new year, and also thank all of them for their commitment in making our kingdom a great one," he stated.

About the Tampulmas

Primarily, the Tampulmas are located in the North Gonja District of the Savana and North East regions which is their native home. Some communities of Tampulmas can be found in East Mamprusi District where they relocated in the 17th century.

Others who were resettled in the early 1960s when the Mole Game Reserve was created can be found in areas such as Damongo, Busunu, Yapei, Daboya, Tamale.

Beyond these regions, large populations of Tampulmas are found in Wa East District in the Upper West Region, Ejura, Kumasi, and Juaso all in the Ashanti Region.

It is estimated that the total population of the ethnic group stands between 250,000 to 300,000 across the country.

Socially, Tampulmas have also inter-married to other tribes such as the Gonja, Dagomba, Grushis, Mamprusi, and even the Southern tribes.

Currently, the Tampulmas have their traditional capital at Salugu, in the North East region, where their overlord, Kadichari-Tina is located.
THE OUTBURST of military interventions in some former French colonies in West Africa, most noticeably in Mali and Burkina Faso, is undoubtedly the most devastating issue of concern to confront the regional organisation ECOWAS in recent times.

The breakdown of public confidence in the elected governments of both countries was manifested in public disenchantment provoked by the escalation of terrorist activity in them. As a consequence, the armies, which have been unable to craft a victory over a multitude of insurrections have been elevated to the role of national saviours in spite of the circumstance of incompetence and internal disenchantment that have been the main elements of their attempt to control the security situation in the two nations. In confronting this dire circumstance created by dysfunctional governance, the reaction of the organisation has reflected an attitude of knee-jerk response rather than of serious and original forethought. In suspending both countries from participation in the deliberations of the body the ECOWAS authority might worsen rather than alleviate the problems that military intervention could generate in the region, while its major objective should be the restoration of regional stability. For this reason, it will be necessary for the body to continue to engage meaningfully in dialogue and full conversation with the people and the ruling class in both nations, as they seek to accommodate and install the formal processes of governance in their countries in future.

ECOWAS should have learnt impressive lessons from its experience in the earlier crises that it confronted in Liberia and Sierra Leone where its innovative military intervention eventually evolved into a syndrome of negotiated conflict resolution that returned both countries to representative governance. Although the circumstances are very different, the fact that the organisation remained steadfastly engaged with both countries throughout the most dysfunctional periods of their existence, provided the people and those who administered the affairs of state in both countries with constant hope for the corrective resolution of their problems. This level of hope should always be provided by the regional organisation for all its members no matter how dysfunctional the political circumstance in the national space has become. For ECOWAS to be relevant to the national aspirations of all its member states, it must be prepared to recognise the issues that give rise to change and could provoke conflict within the different national territories. All members must be prepared to accommodate each other's national concerns. After all, it would be imprecise and erroneous for today's ECOWAS members to forget that when the organisation was founded, almost all the major advocates of its foundation were themselves military leaders.

The purpose of regional organisations such as ECOWAS in Africa is to build newly functional communities of independent nations out of former colonies. An important element of this purpose, which will definitely evolve as the process develops, is a change of perception in the relationship between the former colonies and their former colonial masters. As this occurs, those who drive the process will need the support and understanding of the impulses that give rise to their search for change and the revision of historical relationships. They will therefore need sympathy and support from regional allies. Already, it has become clear especially after the utterances that have been crafted by the military men who have taken power in Mali and Burkina Faso that, this is a major element of the contemporary coup makers' motives.

It will certainly be more productive for the regional organisation to show sympathy for the attitude expressed by the military men and to help them to implement their wishes on behalf of the national populace rather than to ignore and neglect their stated objectives.

However, since it is well known that ECOWAS' conduct is based on copying the presumptions of the United Nation's convention, it should surprise no one that it has taken the stand that it has. For the process of restoration of stability to be implemented through the ECOWAS authority, it must reconsider its stance and choose to strengthen its engagement with the two member nations in spite of the new circumstance of governance that is extant in them.

In order to achieve this, the regional organisation must be prepared to be innovative in its policy making and to deploy a high degree of originality borne out of the recognition that its objectives and its decision making processes must be tailored to serve the interests of the West African masses. The organisation will abort the true purpose of its existence if it is perceived to be reacting to disagreements among elitist leaders without seeking to find points of accommodation that will generate harmonious discussion among the various governments of the region regardless of their provenance. The undertaking of discussions about the processes of governance must become a major component of the cycle of regional discourse among all those who are involved in governance in West Africa, if the true relevance and value of ECOWAS is to be achieved. The organisation must be prepared to formulate methodologies for communication and discourse that will enable those countries that have fallen into crisis mode to continue to interact with neighbouring states without being excluded from the processes of negotiation and cooperation. Collaboration with, and advice from, their neighbours must continue in spite of the changes that they have undergone and ECOWAS must strive to make this possible and continuous.

BY Lindsay Barrett
THE ASHANTI Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, is virtually up in arms against Kofi Asante, a broadcast journalist.

According to him, Kofi Asante, who is the morning show host of Akoma FM, a popular radio station in Kumasi, is sabotaging his efforts to get re-elected as NPP chairman.

Nicknamed 'Wontumi' in political circles, the NPP capo, who sounded very angry and panting for breath, accused Kofi Asante of being unprofessional live on radio.

Kofi Asante's Crime

Kofi Asante suffered the verbal attacks from Wontumi when he (Asante) called Wontumi to comment about allegations that he (Wontumi) had abandoned a public school project.

Scores of people, including traditional leaders of Kromoase near Kumasi, had called into the Akoma FM morning show to accuse Wontumi of abandoning a school project.

According to them, Wontumi's company was awarded the contract to build a classroom project at Kromoase but he has abandoned project, after receiving the contract sum.

Nana Opoku Karikari, the Kromoase Chief, said he has been reliably informed that Wontumi is in charge of the abandoned project, and urged him to do the right thing.

I am not agitating because of politics. I only want to see development in my community, the Kromoase Chief noted, and said Wontumi was not helping them.

Kofi Asante's Intervention

At this juncture, Kofi Asante, who is an award-winning broadcast journalist, said the Kromoase residents were only making allegations against Wontumi, who deserved a hearing.

The Akoma FM morning show host therefore decided to give Wontumi the opportunity so that he could directly respond to the wild allegations, being leveled against him.

Wontumi Spits Fire

When Wontumi was given the platform to respond, he surprisingly started to verbally attack Kofi Asante instead, accusing him of being diabolical and unprofessional.

Kofi Asante you are diabolic. I will not reply you as to whether I am in charge of the project or not. I don't owe you any explanation, he said and hanged up the phone.

Kofi Asante, who was shocked by Wontumi's actions, said listeners should make their own judgment because I gave him the chance to confirm or deny the allegations.

---DGN online
Two persons in their mid-70s are in the grips of the police in the Eastern Region for their alleged involvement in the manufacture and distribution of weapons to criminals.

Seventy-six-year-old Richard Kwame Asare and Kojo Tetteh, 74, both professional blacksmiths and residents of Pakro near Adawso in the Akuapem North Municipality, have been manufacturing locally made pistols for criminals in the area at a fee.

The police based on intelligence clamped down on their activities and have so far retrieved

six locally manufactured pistols and 8 single barrel guns.

The Eastern Regional Police PRO, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, who confirmed the arrest to Citi News, said the police are on a manhunt for persons who have bought some weapons from the suspects.

The suspects will be charged for possession of firearms and put before the court to face the full rigors of the law. We are pursuing the persons who have benefited from this criminal venture, DSP Tetteh said.

Very soon, we will zero in on some of these persons who have benefited from this criminal venture, i.e, persons who have bought locally manufactured pistols and these types of guns from these persons.
MBABANE  I will be responding to the AG.

This was said by The Nation Magazine Editor, Bheki Makhubu, yesterday when asked if he had seen a letter that was issued by government demanding an apology for publishing an article, which it deemed a malicious attack on the King. Makhubu also said: Im sure whoever leaked it (letter) to you will leak my response to you as well. The article in question, according to the letter, which is dated January 27, 2022, addressed to the editor of the magazine, was published on page 23 to 25 of the January 2022 edition under the banner headline; King still ignores the law when it suits him. It was written under the byline of Nimrod Mabuza. The letter was signed by the Attorney General, Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo. The attorney general informed The Editor of The Nation, Makhubu, that the article was untrue. He said it was a malicious attack on the person and office of His Majesty the King.

Reckless

According to government, a false, unfounded and reckless impression had been deliberately created upon the wide readership of the magazine, to the effect that King Mswati III defied court orders and had instructed Correctional Services personnel to ignore the High Court judgment in the case of one Bheki Boyce Gama. Boyce of KaLanga in the Lubombo Region was convicted and sentenced to death for murder and robbery by the High Court on September 23, 1993. The conviction and sentence were confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, with the condition that he would be released upon attaining 75 years of age. However, after serving 23 years, he approached the High Court arguing that he should be released since he had served a life sentence. The court ordered that he be released. Government appealed against the decision of the court. The appeal is still pending at the Supreme Court.

The attorney general, in the letter to the editor of the magazine, said while it was true that the High Court had ordered the release of Boyce, it is certainly not true that the King ordered his detention despite the court order. Instead, the director of public prosecutions, Prerogative of Mercy Committee, His Majestys Correctional Services and attorney general appealed against the High Court judgment. The fate of the appeal is pending determination by the Supreme Court. The fact of there being a pending appeal in the matter is readily acceptable by the registrar of the Supreme Court, the attorney generals office and Mr Gama himself or his new lawyers at V.Z. Dlamini Attorneys. It boggles the mind why you did not verify this fact before going to print, wrote the AG. The AG stated in the letter that by hereof, it is demanded of you that you do with equal prominence in your next edition, publish a retraction of, and an apology for the offensive article.

Stability

In the meantime, the attorney general reserves the right to escalate the issue to the next level. You would do well to give your written undertaking that you shallstabilityand apologise as herein demanded. We trust that you shall treat this as a learning curve for your publication to strive to strike a healthy balance between societal press freedom and the reputation and rights of individuals as envisaged in Section 24(3)(b)(i) of the Constitution, the letter further read. Boyces matter was heard by a full bench of the High Court, comprising the then Principal Judge Stanley Maphalala, Judge Jacobus Annandale, who are both now judges of the Supreme Court, and Judge Qinisile Mabuza the current principal judge. Respondents in the matter were the chairman of the Prerogative of Mercy Committee, commissioner general of His Majestys Services, the director of public prosecutions and the attorney general.

Boyce told the court that on November 6, 2001 he received pardon which communicated the death sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal, to that of life sentence with the condition that the convict shall, on the attainment of the age of 75 years, be unconditionally released from custody.

He had approached the court after serving 23 years of his sentence, seeking an order reviewing, setting aside and/or correcting the condition of the pardon recommended by the Prerogative of Mercy Committee that he may only be released on attainment of the age of 75 years. He also wanted an order declaring that he had served a life sentence in the form of the pardon recommended by the Prerogative of Mercy Committee and that he be released from custody, for the reason that he had served his sentence.

Constitution

Boyce contended that in terms of the Prison Act No.40/1964, a life sentence translated to 20 years and in terms of the Constitution, to not less than 25 years. He argued that in both aspects, he had completed a life sentence in terms of the law, hence the court application. Having heard the arguments, Judge Maphalala said the court was mindful of the fact that the Constitution was not promulgated when Boyce was sentenced to death and when he was granted a pardon which commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment. We consider the relevant section in the Constitution as a compelling guideline and benchmark. What was relevant at the time of his imprisonment was the relevant section in the Prison Act No.40/1964, said Judge Maphalala.

The court went on to grant an order reviewing and setting aside and/or correcting the condition of the pardon recommended by the Prerogative of Mercy Committee, that Boyce may only be released on attainment of the age 75 years. It also declared that Boyce had served a life sentence in form of the pardon recommended by the Prerogative of Mercy Committee and further ordered that he be released from custody for the reason that he had served his sentence.

Judgment

The judgment was delivered on October 5, 2017. Boyce was represented by the late Leo Gama, who was based in Manzini while Principal Crown Counsel Ndabenhle Dlamini appeared for the State. On January 15, 2020 the convict appointed V.Z. Dlamini Attorneys after the death of Leo. On October 6, 2017, government filed a notice of appeal upon considering the judgment of the High Court handed down on 5 October 2017 in the High Court Civil Case No.191/2015. Governments grounds of appeal were that the High Court erred in law in proceeding to hear the matter notwithstanding that its functus officio (previously dealt with the matter) status and that it erred in law in holding that the age condition attached to Boyces pardon was unlawful and had to be excised. The other ground was that the High Court erred in giving precedence to the Prisons Act over the Constitution.

Since the appeal was not prosecuted ever since it was filed on October 6, 2017, Boyce, through V.Z. Dlamini Attorneys, filed an application that the appeal be deemed abandoned. Section 78 (5) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland reads: Whenever any person has been sentenced to death by any court in Swaziland, other than a court martial, the chairman shall cause a report on the case by the judge who presided at the trial (or, if a report cannot be obtained from that judge, a report on the case by the Chief Justice), together with such other information derived from the record of the case or elsewhere as the chairman may require, to be taken into consideration at the meeting of the Committee so that the Committee may advise the King whether or not to exercise the powers in terms of subsection (1).

Imprisonment

The said Subsection (1) provides that the King may, in respect of a person sentenced to death or life imprisonment grant pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions; grant to any person a respite, either indefinite or for a specified period. The king can also substitute a less severe form of punishment for any punishment imposed on any person for such an offence or remit the whole or part of that sentence, penalty or forfeiture otherwise due to the government on account of that offence. The Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy is made up of two persons drawn from the Kings Advisory Council; the Attorney General; the Minister of Justice and a medical practitioner recommended by the Minister of Health.
The Winneba High Court presided over by his lordship, Aboagye Tandoh, has ordered that Prof. Mawutor Avoke be reinstated as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).

The court ruled that all others who lost their positions in the school or were affected by the long legal tussle to be reinstated, and their salary arrears paid to them with retrospective effect from the day they were unlawfully removed.

Prof. Avoke's troubles date back to 2017 when a Winneba High Court ordered him to step aside until a case brought against him and the University's Governing Council was determined.

The case was brought before the court by one Supi Kofi Kwayera, who insisted that the Vice-Chancellor and the Finance Officer, were operating under the institution's defunct governing council.

The plaintiff argued that the University's Council's mandate had expired in November 2013, but the Education Ministry failed to constitute a new Governing Council for the university and rather allowed the defunct Governing Council which had no mandate whatsoever to continue in the functions of a properly constituted Governing Council.

Supi Kofi Kwayera also alleged financial and procurement irregularities on the part of Prof Avoke.

Following the Court's ruling in December 2017, Prof Avoke, together with some other Principal Officers of the University, was removed by the school's Governing Council .

This was described by some lecturers as politically motivated .

Later, the Supreme Court overturned the High Courts decision which led to the removal.

The management of the school, however, insisted Prof. Avoke will not be reinstated because his dismissal was determined by the institution's Governing Council.
Guinea-Bissau's capital appeared calm on Wednesday a day after President Umaro Sissoco Embalo survived a gun attack, as France joined condemnation for what has been called an attempted coup in one of Africa's most unstable countries.

Heavily armed men on Tuesday afternoon surrounded government buildings in the capital Bissau where Embalo and his prime minister were believed to be attending a cabinet meeting.

Embalo, 49, later told reporters that he had been unharmed during a five-hour gun battle, which he described as a plot to wipe out the government.

AFP journalists reported hearing sustained gunfire, and the president said several people were killed.

The small West African state has suffered four military coups since independence from Portugal in 1974.

On Wednesday, life was slowly returning to the streets of Bissau as shops and banks reopened, according to AFP correspondents.

Soldiers were patrolling the streets, however, and had also blocked access to the Palace of Government complex where the attack took place.

Journeyman Ndiaye, a 23-year-old Senegalese who sells clothes in Bissau's largest market, said he had returned to his stall on Wednesday morning but that customers were scarce.

Noelho Barboza, a carpenter, said that Tuesday's events risked throwing the country into reverse.

"We will no longer have the confidence of investors," the 27-year-old said.

'Kill the president'

Guinea-Bissau, an impoverished coastal state of around two million people lying south of Senegal, saw its most recent military coup in 2012.

In 2014, the country vowed to return to democracy, but it has enjoyed little stability since and the armed forces wield substantial clout.

At a news conference on Tuesday, President Embalo said that assailants had tried to "kill the president of the republic and the entire cabinet."

"The attackers could have spoken to me before these bloody events that have seriously injured many and claimed lives," he added, appearing calm.

Guinea-Bissau. By AFP

The exact death toll from the attack and the identity and motives of the assailants remain unclear.

But Embalo said the attack was linked to decisions he had taken "to fight drug trafficking and corruption".

Guinea-Bissau suffers from endemic corruption, and is known as a hub for cocaine trafficking between Latin America and Europe.

Wave of coups

Both the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Guinea-Bissau is a member, on Tuesday condemned what they termed an "attempted coup."

They were joined on Wednesday by France, which lashed "the coup attempt" in Bissau and voiced "respect for the constitutional order and... support for the democratic institutions."

The events sparked fear that the country would join the ranks of other West African governments that have fallen to military coups recently.

In Mali, the army seized power in 2020. Guinea's military followed suit in September last year, ousting elected president Alpha Conde.

Then on January 24, Burkina Faso's army also announced it had deposed President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and taken control of the country.
A former Finance Minister under the Mahama administration, Seth Terkper, is asking the Akufo-Addo government to heed calls by stakeholders to consider returning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to finance the country's budget deficit instead of introducing a tax on electronic financial transactions.

Mr. Terkper, who has already registered his opposition to the idea of the E-levy proposed by the government believes that not much revenue can be raked in with the new tax.

His remarks come after calls from different stakeholders including lawmakers for the government to go to the IMF for financial support and policy credibility.

Although the government insists on not going back to the IMF, the former Finance Minister believes Ghanas problems of being locked out of the international capital market among others will worsen in the coming years if the government remains adamant and does not take decisive action immediately.

Mr. Terkper noted that the government must consider its expenditure and make some cuts to help the situation.

Our issue is expenditure. Are we able to finance the programs which we have on the table? Even in the medium-term budget, from 2023 to 2025, you will see E-levy running through it. Even if it has been factored and that is what we are presenting as home-grown, are we not going to borrow? All your revenue from now through that period, if you don't do any major restructuring, it is only going to pay compensation and interests, the former minister said.

Seth Terkper said while in office and was faced with a similar challenge, the NDC government despite being in an election year, publicly went back on its promise to construct 150 E-blocks and instead constructed about 50, to enable it to channel its investments into other pressing expenditures.

Seth Terkper said the action taken by the NDC is a model the government can follow to navigate the current challenge.

---citinewsroom
An Indian village is mourning a family of four who froze to death while trying to enter the United States by foot from Canada. Streams of people have been visiting the family's home in Gujarat state since their bodies were identified by Canadian police.

On 12 January, Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishali and their two children aged 11 and 3, reached Canada and then made their way to Emerson in Manitoba province.

The Patels, from Dingucha village, were found dead a week later as a winter storm raged with temperatures of minus 35 degrees Celsius.

Described by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as mind blowing, the tragedy highlights the dire conditions in India, where 53 million jobless people are prepared to take dangerous risks.

The Patels were part of a larger group that got separated and perhaps even abandoned along the frigid border.

They were left on their own in the fields, said Ajay Bisaria, India's top diplomat in Ottawa, who offered to help investigate "these disturbing events.

Outpouring of tributes

In Dingucha village, 26 kilometres from state capital Gandhinagar, shops were closed last weekend in remembrance of the family, while many people turned out for prayer vigils.

Locals say a number of Dingucha residents living abroad have funded the opening of a school, a healthcare clinic, a temple and a council centre for the village of 3,200 people.

We lived in fear for four to five days with no official word on this tragedy, said Jayesh Chaudhari, a village council official. "But now we know.

Amritbhai Patel, a relative, recalled the final days of the doomed family.

Jagdish packed all the winter clothes, toys for the children and left his motorcycle for his father to use. We are absolutely devastated, he said.

In Winnipeg, the Gujarati community organised an online prayer meet while the GoFundMe sought donations for the bereaved family.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jai Shankar tweeted his shock, adding he had asked Indian envoys in Canada and the US to urgently respond to the situation.

Ominous reality

But the response of Jagdish Patel's mother Madhuben Patel, was macabre.

This half-man could not take the weather of Canada, she told the vibesofindia.com online publication, speaking in the Gujarati language.

You think Dingucha has any future now? For the next few seasons, we will rot in poverty and then let's see who has the guts to become a hero as another illegal immigrant.

Dingucha's situation reflects an ominous truth. Billboards offer dodgy information about migrating to the West, and some brag of ways to help unqualified locals enrol in British and Canadian universities.

We are smarter than you think. Many from here are living in the UK or Canada without even a visa, boasted a rickshaw driver.

Human smuggling

Reports from the US and Canada said several others, including seven undocumented Indians who trekked 11 kilometres across the border, had been intercepted.

All of them were part of a single group, but the doomed family got separated before crossing over to the US where Gujaratis are a close-knit community.

The Times of India daily said the Patels had paid 87,000 euros to reach the US, which is home to an estimated 150,000 people of the same name.

Locals told reporters in Dingucha that people smugglers had sent 10 local families to Canada over the past few years and that three of those families remained missing.
The Minority in Parliament has expressed disappointment in the failure of the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum to appear before the house to answer questions pertaining to his sector.

According to the minority, the Minister has for the second time failed to appear before the house with an excuse of being engaged in an official assignment.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu questioned the absence of the Education Minister.

I was given a letter dated February 1, 2022, the Parliamentary questions, and a request from the Education Minister for a rescheduling of the question to February 9, 2022. And this letter was presented only in the morning when he was supposed to appear before Parliament.

At this point, all we need is an assurance that the affected members of the house get their questions reprogrammed for February 9, 2022.

Meanwhile, the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annor-Dompreh assured that the Minister will appear before the house on February 9, 2022, to answer questions filed by the legislators.

I can assure the leader that the Members involved are duly informed. The Minister of Education has also given assurances that the new date will be respected.

---citinewsroom
The Founder of the International God's Way Church, Bishop Daniel Obinim has been fine GHS1,200 for fixing sirens and strobe lights on his Landcruiser.

Bishop Obinim and his driver Eric Kofi Agyeman were arrested by the Police after a Toyota Landcruiser with registration number GR 5150  22 was captured fitted with strobe lights and siren contrary to road traffic regulations 74 (1) of Road Traffic Regulation 2012 LI 2180.

The driver and the owner of the vehicle, Bishop Obinim were put before the Akropong Magistrate Court today, Wednesday, February 2, 2022, and were found guilty of going contrary to the Road Traffic Regulation.

As a result, the court fined the two to pay an amount of One Thousand Two Hundred Ghana Cedis (GHS1,200.00)

In addition, the court ordered Bishop Obinim and his driver to remove all unapproved strobe lights and sirens on the vehicle.

Under the supervision of the Police, the strobe lights and sirens were removed and same retained by the Police.

In a statement from the Ghana Police Service confirming what happened in court today, it has appealed to owners to stop fixing strobe lights and sirens which they are not entitled to on their vehicles.

The Police warn that Car owners who flout the law will be prosecuted.
Since the inception of the Fourth Republic, the role of money in Ghanaian politics has grown exponentially. The large sums of monies used in political party campaigns make the process susceptible to demand and supply-side corruption and illicit money. The absence of an effective campaign financing regime provides opportunities for ill-intentioned donors, local criminals, and organised crime actors to gain influence over elected officials by financially supporting their campaigns. This not only undermines democracy, good governance, and the rule of law, but also has negative consequences for economic and social development.

Earlier studies have demonstrated that the cost of politics and campaign financing in Ghana is high and increases astronomically from one election cycle to another. A 2018 report by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) revealed that the cost of running for office as a Member of Parliament (MP) increased by 59% between 2012 and 2016.

In 2020, CDD-Ghana with funding from the Adam Smith International (ASI) undertook a similar study to understand the role of money in Ghanas campaign financing, investigate the sources of campaign funding, the role of illicit money and the nature of illicit money in campaign financing in Ghana.

Methodology

The study adopted a three-tier approach with a mixture of desk research (literature review) and newspaper content analysis forming tier one. The desk research and analysis sought to provide a basic understanding of the issues of campaign financing in Ghana, identify any patterns and manifestations of the phenomenon, examine the laws and institutions governing political financing in Ghana, discuss the effectiveness of the legal and institutional framework, and understand why challenges persist.

The second tier, which was exploratory, sought to find out the names and demographic data of the financiers of the two major parties in Ghana  the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). This phase investigated the two political parties and their campaigns in four out of the 16 administrative regions of Ghana, namely, Greater Accra, Eastern, Ashanti and Western Regions. To ensure the accuracy of the data, researchers/investigators living in the four regions were recruited and trained to find out the names and demographic data of the major financiers in the region they had been assigned to. A second set of researchers/investigators were assigned to one of the four regions they did not reside in to use snowballing methods to identify party insiders and informants who could provide the names and demographic data of the major financiers in the regions they had been assigned to.

The third tier was a final verification check of the names of the financiers. This was done through validation sessions held under Chatham rules on March 19, 2021, in Takoradi, Western Region, and Accra, Greater Accra Region on March 24, 2021.

Key Findings

The more tangible sources of campaign financing were from major campaign financiers - some of whom are engaged in Serious and Organized Crime (SOC) activities.

The majority of campaign financiers provided their funds with the expectation of receiving some form of reward such as procurement favours in the form of works, services, and construction contracts; appointments; protection of businesses; protection from prosecution in the case of illegal activities; tax waivers; and access to power.

Specific sources of funds identified as money from illicit activities include illegal mining, illegal oil diversion, and kickbacks from procurement of goods, services, and works contracts and from proceeds of organised crime.

The gaps in the legal and regulatory framework and oversight of campaign financing in Ghana has enabled the inflow of money from illicit sources into Ghanaian politics.

The high cost of running for elections is exacerbating exclusionary politics and preventing the reforming of the status quo. This, in turn, is inhibiting real change actors to enter the political arena and drive influential changes for positive developmental outcomes.

Main Findings

Source of Contribution/Funding

Analysis of 40 media reportage of contributions to the NDC and NPP spanning elections in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016, showed that the source of campaign financing is dominated by high-profile political personalities at both national and local levels; accounting for a little more than half (52.5%) of all the sources of contribution observed in our analysis.

The least commonly mentioned sources of contributions were organic grassroots- membership fundraising (12.5%); corporations (2.5%); and foreign entities (2.5%).

The type of contribution or support political parties were commonly reported to have received were non-monetary (48%) ranging from the provision of buildings, cars, motorcycles, phones, stationery, and bales of second-hand clothing.

Majority of the contributors (23 out of 40 contributors) are from the upper echelons of the political elite (political party official, 20.5%; former government official, 18%; current government official, 15.4%; and parliamentarian, 2.6%).

Monetization of Politics in Ghana

The rising cost of running for political office and the amount of money candidates must raise to contest elections at the constituency level and run as a parliamentary candidate is directly linked to both demand-driven and supply-side corruption, creating interdependencies. On the demand-driven corruption side, party officials and delegates at the constituency level expect and or are given money and items of value to influence the election of a parliamentary aspirant. This demand-driven corruption at the party primaries increases during the national parliamentary election.

Increases in the cost of filing fees at both the party level and by the Electoral Commission (EC) with increases running over 500% also contributed to the rising cost of politics in Ghana.

Interviews with party informants, past and current candidates and MPs revealed that aspirants/candidates have to nurture the constituency for a number of years, spending on voters in the constituency and financing the campaigns for the election of party executives and coordinators in the constituency nearly three years before they contest in the primaries, which we estimated at GHC 2 million. A further estimated GHC 2 million is spent during the run-up to the primaries, bringing the total estimated amount to GHC 4 million ($693,000) which is up from up from GHS 389,803 ($85,000) CDD-Ghana and WFD study in 2018.

Sources of Funding for Political Parties and Candidates

Less than 1% of funding for campaign (political) activity originated from membership dues/subscriptions due to irregular payments. This, however, contradicts to the nearly 50% income the two parties have reported in the returns and audited statements submitted to the EC.

The biggest contributions come from special interests, particularly businesspeople who support the party and candidates at several levels in return for contracts, contacts, positions, and protection of businesses from governmental interference or clampdown. Cash amounts donated by special interests and business financiers in support of the candidature of a president candidate ranged from GHC 40,000 to GHC 11.5 million ($2 million).

Other funding sources include voluntary contributions from party members and sympathisers; donations from Kingmakers in the party; funds from short codes, donations via mobile money codes established with Telcos for direct deduction of airtime and or donations from users accounts; donations from wealthy individuals not affiliated to the party; funds from fundraising activities in Ghana and overseas; funds from foreign donors, administrations, and businesses  which are breaches of the prohibition against non- citizens funding a political party or candidates.

For candidates running for office as MP, the study found that the bulk of their funding comes from their personal savings and loans. While the sources of financing an aspirants campaign remained unchanged, at least 8 in 10 of the former aspirants and current MPs told our researchers during the fieldwork and validation sessions they were increasingly falling into debt from the high cost of financing their campaign before, during the election, and when they win the election and are serving as MP or after they leave office.

Key Businesses Financiers Are Engaged In

Nine (9) financiers were found to be involved in illicit and Serious and Organized Crime (SOC) related activities. The SOC activities identified include Illegal mining/galamsey (7 financiers); Illegal Oil Bunkering (One financier); and alleged fraudulent business (One financier).

Ten (10) of the financiers are engaged in the procurement of works (construction of roads and buildings) and three (3) of the major financiers are Chiefs in the Eastern region.

Conclusion

The cost of politics in Ghana is prohibitively high and notably increasing. The estimated costs of politics established from this study is much higher than previously reported estimations.

There is an unsustainable expectation of politicians being cash cows to both their party leaders and the electorate.

Money from illicit, illegal, and criminal activity, conducted by both local criminal and SOC actors, has found roots in Ghanaian politics.

Recommendations

The Political Parties Act must be amended to include prohibition of funding with illicit sources

Donations must be tax deductible to encourage transparency in donation

Campaign period must be defined as a way of reducing the rising cost of politics

The EC and political parties must adopt a formula to determine the rate of increment in filling fees.

Political parties must reconsider the candidate selection process to mitigate the cost implication in primaries

Candidates must be required to file returns as it in the case of the political parties

Increase public education to address demand-driven cost in elections campaign

Read report: Understanding How Illicit Money Fuels Campaign Financing In Ghana - Cdd-ghana Asi Exploratory Study
Twenty-six people were electrocuted on Wednesday when an overhead high-voltage cable fell into a drainage ditch at a market in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa, local authorities said, giving a provisional toll.

"The cable snapped and the live end of it fell into a ditch that was filled with water after morning rain. At present, 26 people have died from electrocution," Charles Mbutamuntu, the spokesman for the Kinshasa provincial government, told AFP.

The Kinshasa tragedy occurred as news broke of a massacre in the troubled east of the DR Congo in which at least 40 displaced people were killed late Tuesday by machete-wielding militiamen, according to a monitoring group and local sources.

At the popular Matadi-Kibala food market in the west of Kinshasa, "most of the people killed were traders and customers, and some passers-by," Mbutamuntu said. "The bodies are being taken to the morgue and an investigation has been opened to establish responsibility."

The Congolese presidency said on Twitter that "all light will be shed on the causes of this tragedy and those responsible will have to answer for it," adding that President Felix Tshisekedi had decided last month on "the rapid relocation of this market in view of the danger posed by its current location".

The national power company, SNEL, said in a press release that "a lightning strike severed a live cable".

An official of the state-owned company told AFP that "the law prohibits building or setting up under high-voltage lines, but the land ministry had illegally issued permits covering these spaces regardless".

Videos circulating on social media showed corpses slumped over market stalls with their legs immersed knee-deep in muddy water.

Christelle Zindo, one of the traders, said: "Every time there's a drop of rain, the water doesn't drain away but overflows onto the market because the ditch is blocked, and all the traders have to work with their feet in the water."

She lashed "the total indifference of the authorities" to the problem.

Electricity infrastructure in Democratic Republic of Congo is often poorly maintained.

In Kinshasa, a sprawling metropolis of more than 10 million people, several districts are prone to flooding during tropical downpours as a result of poorly maintained colonial-era drainage systems.
A former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho, has described organizers of the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage as hypocrites.

According to the Founder of the Atta Mills Institute, organizers of the Memorial Heritage refused to support his institute which seeks to iconize and preserve the legacy of the late President Atta Mills.

He said this at the launch of the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage in Accra on Tuesday

Speaking to Citi News, the CEO of the Atta Mills Institute, Koku Anyidoho, alleged that the Presidential Candidate for the NDC in the 2020 election; John Mahama, did not show commitment during his tenure as President to build the Asomdwoe park where the Late Atta Mills was buried.

Akufo-Addo and President Mills both attended the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute of Winneba in those days. I approached the President, charging him to revive the Atta Mills Park since Atta-Mills is his friend from way back.

Luckily, he heard my cry and is doing it for the nation. God willing on the 24th of July this year, Akufo-Addo will commission Asomdwe park. This is what is making former President Mahama uneasy. He has the opportunity to do so, but didnt.

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The Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Edutwum has said the government of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was working hard to ensure improvement in the education governance and efficiency of service delivery.

According to the minister, government, within the last five years has been working hard to put in place appropriate legal, institutional and regulatory standards to improve the governance systems and the efficiency of service delivery in the country.

Dr. Yaw Osei Edutwum said this in a keynote address read on his behalf by Dr. Eric Nkansah, Technical Advisor/Director in charge of Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Harmattan School at the University for Development School (UDS).

"Prof. Chairman, permit me to underscore that the interventions of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's government in the education sector are unprecedented. Within these past five years, there have been concerted efforts by this government to put in place the relevant legal, institutional and regulatory framework to improve the governance and efficiency of education service delivery in Ghana," he said

The 2022 Harmattan School

The 2022 Harmattan School was on the theme "Education for National Development: The Role of Academia, Industry and Development Partners" organized by the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research(IIR).

It was attended by people from academia, industry, security services, political, civil society organizations, and the media.

Education Challenges

Dr. Eric Nkansah bemoaned that the education sector, despite its enormous contributions to national development still faced with a myriad of challenges.

He added that government through the ministry was pursuing Whole-School reforms and policies aimed at producing a critical mass of assertive, employable, and empowered Ghanaians to spur the socio-economic transformation of the country.

He stressed that government was investing heavily in education transformation from the basic through to the tertiary level.

"Over the last five years, this Government has invested heavily and intensified efforts to transform the face of education right from Basic through to the Tertiary level. The ministry has been pursuing whole-school reforms and policies aimed at producing a critical mass of assertive, employable, and empowered Ghanaians to spur up the socio-economic transformation of our country," Dr. Eric Nkansah intimated.

He revealed that Ghana's current Gross Tertiary Enrollment Ratio (GTER) was 20 percent out of the set target of 40 percent to be achieved by 2030.

"As at today, Ghana's GTER has increased from the 18.84 percent to 20 percent. Thus, we are making steady progress towards the realization of the 40 percent by 2030 or even earlier," he noted.

Dr. Eric Nkansah thanked the management of the University for Development of Studies(UDS) for the initiative and appealed to the participants to give it their all so that at end of the two days they would be better informed

Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye, the Vice-Chancellor for the University, in his welcome address said the Harmattan School serves as a platform for researchers, Non-Governmental Organizations, policymakers and development partners to congregate and brainstorm on issues confronting education in Northern Ghana.

He added that the Harmattan School since its inception 15 years ago, has given the participant opportunity to share important ideas on various government policies and provided alternative solutions to reshape and strengthen those policies.

He indicated that education plays an important role in nation-building, noting that education empowers people to be problem solvers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is undeniable fact that education plays a pivotal role in nation-building. Through education, individuals grow personally, professionally and socially," he stated.

Professor Ayum Teye called on stakeholders, development partners and academia to support the government to provide quality education for all children in Ghana.

He mentioned inadequate infrastructure for the overpopulation in schools, low salaries and incentives for educational workers and lack of training and uncommitted teaching staff as some challenges facing the provision of education in the country.

This he said the University was poised in promotion of tertiary education research and community services to serve the people.

Dr. Abdulai Abubakari, the Director of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research (IIR) at the University on his part said the Harmattan School over the past 15 years, has been used as a medium to draw policymakers attention to the developmental challenges of the North and the country at large.

"Over the Harmattan School conference dealt with issues such as food security and poverty reduction, conflict management and peacebuilding, sanitation and health for development, climate change adaptation, accountable governance, politicizing education for national development, addressing youth unemployment in Ghana," he stated.

He also acknowledged the contributions of individuals and organizations that have supported the IIR in organizing the Harmattan School since its inception in 2005 and called for a linkage between the educational system and the industry to revitalize education in Ghana.

Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Director for the African Education Watch, in presenting a paper on the topic: "De-Politicizing Education Policy in Ghana: Our Collective Responsibility" bemoaned the practice of successive governments abandoning education projects as a key outcome of politicised education policy, costing the sector socially and economically.

He urged CSOs, academia, religious bodies and traditional authorities to speak against the politicization of scholarships, recruitment and procurement while calling for an independent, permanent advisory body for the Ministry of Education to ensure continuous compliance with Education Strategic Plans and reforms across regimes.

Mr. Asare also called on CSOs to commit political parties to continue inherited projects during pre-election engagements.
MANZINI  The Swaziland Union of Students (SNUS) and the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) will tomorrow stage a march, to demand the release of Colani Maseko.

Maseko, who is the President of SNUS, was arrested and charged with sedition and two counts of malicious damage to property. Subsequent to this, a meeting was held yesterday wherein TUCOSWA and the SNUS leadership took a resolution to march to demand for the release of Maseko while also voicing out the concerns over the recent occurrences faced by students union leaders. TUCOSWA Secretary General Mduduzi Gina said the federation noted the supposedly increasingly deplorable political state obtaining in the country and had agreed in unison that the political situation was one that required serious attention.

Resolutions

He said in their meeting, four resolutions were reached, which included that the federation must attend all planned activities calling for the unconditional release of political prisoners including the SNUS president, the two incarcerated legislators in Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube. In this connection, it was resolved that the federation should participate in the activities planned by SNUS for the February 3, 2022, in Manzini, Gina said. He said it was resolved further that, a petition be delivered to the Manzini Police Regional Headquarters (RHQ) in protest against the alleged ongoing senseless and targeted assault of activists. He said a case in point was that of Sakhile Nxumalo , the Political Educator and Training Officer of the SNUS, which happened yesterday.

Gina also claimed that there was the general victimisation and intimidation of pro-democracy leaders supposedly by the State security forces. Furthermore, he said it was resolved, that in consultation with other formations in the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), a consideration must be made to have sleepover protests in selected United Nations offices and embassies. This, he said, would be a build-up towards a mass stay away, which must ensue through wide membership consultations. Supporting this was SNUS Secretary General Wakhile Lukhele through a statement. Lukhele said the SNUS leadership had taken a resolution to call upon all forces to the battlefield as of tomorrow, February 03, 2022. He said the SNUS appealed to all its allies, the youth, the church and all members of the mass democratic movement to join forces and render the country ungovernable.

In the statement, Lukhele said, the freedom of all emaSwati was in their hands. Lukhele also urged all students and the nation at large to stay united and rally behind the union and its president, all political prisoners inclusive of Amos Mbedzi and the two incarcerated legislators. In the statement, the secretary general said history had taught them that when the youth united against any injustice that prevailed, no matter what the circumstances, they would conquer. Even now, in this moment, the union leadership is confident that any form of injustice that attempts to silence the voice of students can be defeated in solidarity, he said. Lukhele said while the SNUS president was officially charged, the campaigns officer of the organisation Sibusiso Commander Nkwanyana, was released after allegedly being tortured and throttled by police officers at Mliba Police Station.

He also said another student, Simphiwe Sgubhu Gamedze from the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Luyengo campus, was taken to Malkens Police Station and was later released on the same day. He alleged that the SNUS political and education officer (Nxumalo) was tortured and later taken to the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital. This, he said, made it clear to them that they were supposedly being kidnapped, tortured and injured. He advised students to be vigilant and safe from the police. Meanwhile, TUCOSWA held a consultative meeting yesterday at the Shosholoza Preschool Hall to reflect on the increasing attack on pro-democracy activists. The meeting was necessitated by the arrests of Student Union leaders that happened on January 31 and February 1, 2022, respectively.

Meanwhile, the meeting wherein the resolutions were taken was attended by the national executive committees (NECs) of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) , Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Swaziland Commercial and Allied Workers Union (SCAWU) and Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU).

Also present were National Workers Union of Swaziland Higher Institutions (NAWUSHI), Swaziland Health Institution and Allied Workers Union (SHIAWU), Swaziland Transport Communication and Allied Workers Union (SWATCAWU), Swaziland Agricultural Plantation Workers Union (SAPWU) and the Youth Structure.
Y3te SIKA SO NANSO Y3REBR3!!!!!!

How come Ghana has all the resources you can think of but poor if not for corruption and those human resources whose minds are all corrupt and wish for themselves nothing but the distraction of their own society? There are however some few Ghanaians who do not have the canker inside them and are helping the situation. With even that because it is a firm company with roots, it has been difficult to uproot it.

The faithful report of the auditing general (2020 report) records a total of 12Billion cedis, not miss managed, but as a profit reaped from the institutionalized corruption in Ghana. The said amount till date havent been accounted for. The management board of corruption in every country which mostly have the President of the country as the head refuse to speak about such stinking acts, simply because they are benefiting. (South Africa tried something but)

Individual executive members of the corruption industry benefiting from this well founded business sector by their predecessors refuse to act when the ordinary people call on them to account for the national resources simply because their pockets are everyday getting full.

Y3te SIKA SO NANSO Y3REBR3!!!!!!

Past governments and this government have always complained of not having money when they know how to create the money, distribute them, and individually keep them safe for their generations. In any case, why would the executives of Corruption Company Ltd. Do anything to correct the system when they know that the company is doing well since its establishment? After all it is the hungry man who will cry for food. But if and only if the executives of this company looked with mercy on the plight of the ordinary citizens and did something about the quantum of corruption in Ghana, they would have solved many of the problems face by the country.

Today, government is dragging issues on responsibilities he had to do with lecturers with the excuse that there is no money in the country. Government should borrow money from executives of Corruption Company Ltd to fund salaries for lecturers. If you have forgotten the interest that company made, just visit the auditing firm and demand for only the 2020 auditing report and you would be surprised the amount the firm could loan you.

Since the establishment of the office of the special prosecutor has been a failed agenda, and has even endorsed the act with its presence; as for its presence, Ghanaians will be made to think that the office will punish anyone who embezzled national fund and so would not, those executives who know the rules of engagement would know that the Special Prosecutors office is an old male lion without teeth will keep on enriching themselves.

Empty your illegal pockets and bank accounts to save Ghana.

Ghanaians would have accepted E-LEVY but for this same mismanagements of public funds and the lack of accountability on the part of government.

First account for the 12Billion cedis and we will be sure to put the monies of the nation in safe hands and not thieves.

Y3te SIKA SO NANSO Y3REBR3!!!!!!

From Emmanuel Graham Nyameke, Ghanaian.
Dr Michael Agyekum, Founder of Kama Group of Companies has encouraged Ghanaians to consider the 21st century as the era of the entrepreneurial revolution.

He said the epoch is set to become the most complex and dynamic the world has experienced, and that countries such as Ghana need to find a grip at take-off.

The CEO was addressing the 22nd Congregation of the Ho Technical University, and said the nation must not sit and watch it pass by.

I came to inform you that we have entered a new century, and that new century has come with a different revolution. It's no more industrial revolution, but an entrepreneurial revolution. So don't sit down and watch it pass by. We are already in 21 years, gone, and Ghanaians are not aware, he stated.

Dr Agyekum said the entrepreneurial revolution would grow more aggressive than the peaking industrial revolution and would leave many behind who do not endeavour to get a hold.

If you don't embark on it, you are going to be the poorest human being on earth even though you have a certificate. It will not wait for you and it's moving, he added.

The CEO said it had become necessary for certain disciplines like entrepreneurship and engineering to be made core subjects, and for the youth to be developed into multi-skilled industrialists.

He noted also that the full potentials of the African continent remained untapped, and that its people must be encouraged to generate income streams for themselves.

A total of 1041 students graduated after pursuing varying Degree and HND courses at the University, and Dr. Agyekum urged them to improve upon the skills acquired to impact society.

Don't stick to whatever you studied alone. Have the entrepreneurial mind- broad mind, he said.

Professor Ben Honyenuga, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said the institution boasted of carefully drawn curricula that helped produce quality human resources for industry.

He reported also that programs being introduced had received the necessary accreditations, while faculties and students continue to sustain the success of the University.

GNA
02.02.2022 LISTEN

Colonel Gaspard Dan Kwaning Asare, a Prosecution Witness in the ongoing treason trial told the High Court that Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)cited as evidence in the case are homemade and dangerous to lives and property.

The Senior Ammunition Technical Officer of the Ghana Armed Forces, who together with a team of experts examined the IEDs said: The items are IEDS or homemade bombs, specifically pipe bombs and could cause harm to persons and property. The smoke grenades are also active and are to be used for screening purposes.

Colonel Asare said this when he was giving highlights of a report made after investigating the IEDs.

Did you do any other thing after this, Mrs Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) asked the prosecution witness.

Colonel Asare, Yes, my lord, in December 2019, one sample sent to the Criminal Investigations Department was brought back for further investigations. We were to determine whether the black powder was indeed gun powder and it proved positive.

DPP: What did you do after the investigation?

W: I submitted the report on the investigations.

DPP: From your report, what was the range of these pipe bombs.?

W: The standard pipe bomb effect of 10.2kg weight with an explosive content of half a kilo and a 4kg of metal payload can have a lethal area of 30 metres radius and a danger zone of about 400 metres radius.

When within lethal area you can die but when in lethal zone you can only be hurt. The IEDs labelled in the report were prescribed and are likely to produce this effect. Pipe bomb of about 5kg weight and half a kilo of explosive charge with a payload of 3.5kg consisting, bupicabane (pepper powder) and metal fragments as was contained in sample D1, could have a lethal area of 20metres radius cause eye and chest irritation, within 50metres radius and a danger zone of 100 meters radius, he continued.

When asked to describe how the team conducted the investigation, he said: items received were in different colours, so they were grouped as such. Then we dismantled each to get to the content.

The result is what u see in the table in page three. Again, we were to find out whether there were IEDs. The contents and casing confirmed they were, specifically, pipe bombs. They are bombs that are in case or cased in a metal/ galvanized pipes, they are made up of an outer pipe or metal case with an explosive train.

The witness continued: Explosive train is made up of an initiator, explosive charge and payload. The initiator begins the explosive process, detonators or burning fuse, then there is the main explosive charge, which is gun powder. To complete the train, we have the payload, the function is to give the effect the maker wants the pipe bombs to achieve after the explosion.

Colonel Asare said, if the pipe bomb wants to achieve a projector effect or cutting effects, then projectile is used as solid metals, nails and even stones. If irritation effects are to be achieved items that will cause irritation such as pepper, CS or teargas is added, if a knocking down effect is to be achieved, then chemical agent that when we inhale knock you off are added for those who inhaled to be unconscious.

All these were present in the items found apart from the detonators, which needed not to be added unless the devices were ready to be deployed. However, there was a reception, which had a slot for the initiators to be used, the High Court heard.

Some of the counsels objected to the tendering in of the exhibit but the DPP opposed it and said rejecting the exhibit would not help the Court to appreciate the case.

Dr Frederick Yao Mac Palm, Kafui, BB, Johannes Zikpi, Colonel Samuel Gameli, Warrant Officer Class Two Esther Saan, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Lance Airforce Corporal Ali Solomon, Corporal Sylvester Akanpewu and Assistant Commissioner of Police Dr Benjamin Kwasi Agordzo have been charged for high treason.

They are facing different charges, including conspiracy, possession of weapons and abetment.

The accused persons are on bail.

GNA
Reverend Dr Joyce Rosaline Aryee, Chairperson of the Appiatse Support Fund Committee, has urged the media to stop the cynicism and rally Ghanaians to make financial contributions towards the Fund.

Speaking at a media briefing in Accra on Wednesday, to update the public on the activities of the Committee, Dr Aryee announced the bank accounts and other contact details to enable Ghanaians both home and abroad, to make their contributions to the Fund.

GCB Bank Appiatse Support Fund account number: 101130036132 and Stanbic Bank Appiatse Support Fund account number: 90400099749.

Dr Aryee encouraged individuals and corporate entities to contact the following numbers: 233 554550550 for MTN and 233 209313952 for Vodafone to make arrangements with the Committee to donate towards the Fund at the Offices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The public could also reach the Committee through the email: [email protected] and visit the website: www.appiatsesupportfund.com to get information on the activities of the Committee and also make an online donation.

She said individuals could contribute funds using the short Code *422*530# for GCB Bank and *718*25*096# for Stanbic Bank.

Dr Aryee gave the assurance that the Committee would use social media and other digital technology platforms to mobilise sufficient funds to reconstruct Appiatse and restore livelihoods.

On January 27, 2022, President Akufo-Addo donated GH100,000 to the Fund when the sector Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor led the five-member committee to pay a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House.

The Appiatse explosion claimed 14 lives and injured 179 people while more than 400 others were displaced when a truck conveying explosives allegedly collided with a motorcycle resulting in an explosion on Thursday, January 20, 2020, along Bogoso-Bawdie road in the Western Region Region.

GNA
Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday launched a major investigation into a foiled attempt to overthrow President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who survived a gun attack in the uprising that claimed 11 lives, according to the government of the poor West African nation.

Heavily armed men on Tuesday afternoon surrounded government buildings in the capital Bissau where Embalo and his prime minister were believed to be attending a cabinet meeting.

Embalo, 49, later told reporters he had been unharmed during a five-hour gun battle, which he described as a plot to wipe out the government in Guinea-Bissau, one of Africa's most unstable countries.

AFP journalists reported hearing sustained gunfire, and the president said several people were killed.

A military source on Wednesday told AFP that six soldiers had died, but did not specify whether they had been attacking or defending the president.

On Wednesday, life was slowly returning to the streets of Bissau as shops and banks reopened, according to AFP correspondents.

Soldiers were patrolling the streets, however, and also blocked access to the Palace of Government complex where the attack took place.

The military source said a commission of enquiry had launched a vast dragnet, adding that military intelligence agents were gathering information at government headquarters.

Guinea-Bissau, a coastal state of around two million people lying south of Senegal, has suffered four military coups since independence from Portugal in 1974, its most recent in 2012.

In 2014, the country vowed to return to democracy, but it has enjoyed little stability since and the armed forces wield substantial clout.

At a news conference on Tuesday, President Embalo said that assailants had tried to "kill the president of the republic and the entire cabinet".

"The attackers could have spoken to me before these bloody events that have seriously injured many and claimed lives," he added, appearing calm.

Guinea-Bissau. By AFP

The identity and motives of the assailants remain unclear.

But Embalo said the attack was linked to decisions he had taken "to fight drug trafficking and corruption".

Guinea-Bissau suffers from endemic corruption, and is known as a hub for cocaine trafficking between Latin America and Europe.

Vincent Foucher of France's CNRS research centre said Embalo, a former general, may have sparked anger with moves to assert greater authority over the army.

But Senegalese analyst Babacar Justin Ndiaye spoke of a "cocktail of divergences" at the top of the leadership, notably between the president and his prime minister, Nuno Gomes Nabiam.

Ndiaye also said President Embalo was at odds with parliament over the sharing of oil resources at the border with Senegal.

Wave of coups

Both the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Guinea-Bissau is a member, on Tuesday condemned what they termed an "attempted coup".

They were joined on Wednesday by France, which lashed "the coup attempt" in Bissau and voiced "respect for the constitutional order and... support for the democratic institutions".

The events sparked fear that the country would join the ranks of other West African governments that have fallen to military coups recently.

In Mali, the army seized power in 2020. Guinea's military followed suit in September last year, ousting elected president Alpha Conde.

Then on January 24, Burkina Faso's army also announced it had deposed President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and taken control of the country.
The Winneba District Magistrate's Court has sentenced a 23-year-old unemployed woman to six months in imprisonment in hard labour for stealing one iPhone valued at GH1,200.00 and using it to cash GH13,000.00 from an account belonging to a receptionist at Windy lodge in Effutu Municipality.

The convict, Priscilla Gyedu, alias Maame Adwoa, pleaded guilty with an explanation but the court presided over by Mr John Kweku Josiah-Koffie, sentenced her on her own plea.

Narrating the facts of the case to the court, the Prosecutor, Detective Police Inspector Dorinda Azumah, said Mr Williams Asare a receptionist at the Windy Lodge is the complainant while Gyedu resides at Kasoa.

According to the prosecutor, sometime in April 2021, Gyedu was employed as a receptionist and was working with the complainant and they became friends.

Detective Inspector Azumah, said Gyedu asked the complainant to buy her airtime, of which the complainant tried through electronic cash from his mobile phone, but it did not go through due to a network problem.

The complainant later revealed his secret pin code to her, the prosecutor stated.

The prosecutor said on Saturday, September 25, last year, Gyedu borrowed the complainant's iPhone to make calls but bolted with it.

The accused succeeded to withdraw an amount of GH13,000.00 from the complainant's Ecobank account through his mobile money account and went into hiding after she had destroyed the phone and threw it away to avoid being tracked by the complainant.

On Tuesday, January 16, 2022, the accused person was involved in a similar case in Kumasi and was handed over to Kumasi-Asokwa Police.

The complainant got wind of it and also informed the Winneba Police who made an arrangement with Asokwa Police and Gyedu was escorted down to Winneba.

She admitted the offence in her caution statement and after investigations, she was arraigned before the court, the prosecutor added.

GNA
Popular host of Onua TV morning show Blessed Godsbrain Smart aka Captain Smart has, together with another staff of Onua TV, have been detained at the National Security office.

This follows a hearing at the Circuit Court in Accra today Wednesday, February 2, 2022.

Captain Smart and Eric Daniels Dadzie Copperfield (DJ GH Boy), were arraigned before circuit court 6 in Accra today. The court granted the two bail after they had pleaded not guilty to two respective counts of charges of extortion and abetment to extortion.

The court granted them bail around 10:45am and the investigator who handled the matter took the four sureties to verify their places of abode.

The two gentlemen were first taken to the national security office and they stayed there for three hours in the name of briefing the coordinator of what had transpired at the court.

After three hours at the national security, one officer (Eric Osei) went with the four sureties to verify their places of abode, this process delayed until the court closed, hence not being able to process all the conditions for bail.

The court closed at 4pm by which time the officers who had gone for verification had not returned and so the officers took the two suspects to national security then to the ministries police station where they were kept for an hour.

The national security officers came for the accused persons with the explanation that they had an order from above to bring them back to the office of national security.

Captain Smart is the host of Onua Maakye on Onua FM/TV.
The Upper West NDC MPs Caucus has called on the government to address the security issues of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, following government unilateral withdrawal of part of his security details.

According to the group, the lack of sufficient response by government to the present situation was worrying.

Essentially for every public figure, security is crucial and must be taken seriously

Dr Rashid Pelpuo, Member of Parliament (MP) for Wa Central who spoke on behalf of the group, made the call when he briefed the media in Parliament in reaction to government inaction on the security concerns of the Speaker.

Dr Pelpuo also urged the government to give adequate response to the concerns expressed by the myriads of public opinions to satisfy the complete security need of the Speaker,

If even it will require the reinstatement of the military team that had been withdrawn exclusively by the government.

He explained that security provided for a public figure in any of the three arms of Government is not compromised either by subjecting the security arrangement to full public knowledge and, or to reduce the adequacy of the security package to the disadvantage of the officer concern.

He said, in the case of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, all the security arrangements were breached.

This inspires our deep concern about the apparent inaction by government to address the issue despite some worries expressed variously by the public on the withdrawal of the military security from the official security setup of the Speaker he added.

Dr Pelpuo also indicated that like any of the leaders of the three arms of Government, the security of the Speaker was of paramount concern to the people of Ghana and required the government to rise to the responsibility of adequately addressing the present lapse in which a military team, which was part of the security details of the Speaker was withdrawn and despite all the complaints, government had said nothing about the issues.

GNA
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament of North Tongu, has reiterated that coup d'etats are not the panaceas to Africa's hydra-headed and intractable socio-economic challenges.

He said although the promised democratic dividend had remained largely elusive on the African continent, democratic governance was the best system for the Continent.

He said the only real solution to the coup epidemics could not be the African Union (AU) or ECOWAS' sanctions, and that African leaders need to develop an urgent bold, and resolved master plan to address regionally insecurity, acute unemployment, lack of opportunities for the youth, marginalization, corruption, nepotism, proliferation of arms, insurgencies, dictatorship, economic mismanagement, foreign exploitation, and clueless leadership.

Mr Ablakwa said this on the floor of Parliament in his statement: dubbed The Disturbing Resurgence of Coup d'etats in Africa.

He said Africa's version of democracy, which had been a sham at best in many jurisdictions, had rather produced a political and economic elite; beholding to nepotism, corruption, opulence, and high-handedness, which often leads to blatant disregard for the rule of law could not be kept in place.

Mr Speaker, it is time for the African Union and other sub-regional bodies such as ECOWAS to institute an independent monitoring and evaluation system that assesses the democratic health, stability, and economic wellbeing of member states for a frank peer review as a proactive measure to forestall all coups.

He maintained that these independent assessments must be conducted regularly by credible African CSOs or Foundations in a transparent and a scientific manner; adding that their findings must be made public to enrich the African democratic discourse and also to assure citizens that their leaders were paying attention to what really matters to them.

This, he said, would go a long way to remove the perception that AU/ECOWAS Leaders have become a Big Boys' Club, which was only interested in regime protection.

He said within the short space of nine months, West Africa had witnessed successful coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and a fourth apparent failed attempt in Guinea Bissau on February 1.

Mr Ablakwa said the coup generally does not appear to be an entirely West African phenomenon, and that Niger, Sudan, and Zimbabwe had registered themselves in the list of coup d'etats in recent years.

He said since 1999, Africa often experienced four successful coups in one calendar year, as it was witnessed in 2021, which had led to a grave concern with the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, describing the situation as 'An epidemic of coup d'etats'.

Mr Speaker the tidal waves of coup d'etats set off by the Togolese soldiers in 1963 seems to roll on unabated even in 2022. Since the first coup on the African continent, there has been an average of 25 coups every decade between the 1960s and 90s, he said.

Mr Ablakwa said one would have thought that with the advent of the new world order, these democratic set-backs would have become a feature of the past; thus, a world order which places a premium on democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights, strong institutions and the increasing using of economic and political sanctions on those who falter.

He said ironically, it was this new western backed world order, which had led to more coups, particularly in West Africa.

Mr Ablakwa said the West African subregion had been a hotbed of coups; and that it had so far held the dubious record of maintaining the league in coups.

He said so far it seems that apart from Carbo Verde, every single country in West Africa had experienced a coup.

He said ECOWAS had adopted a high-handed post-coup approach including individual and collective sanctions, suspension of membership, and threats of military invasion in dealing with these occurrences; adding that these measures had not served as adequate deterrence.

Mr Andrew Amoako Asiamah, the Second Deputy Speaker, presiding as Speaker, said no matter the situation African countries were better off being a democracy.

Contributors to the debate from both sides of the House condemned coups and called for the deepening of democracy on the African continent.

Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, the MP for Abuakwa South Constituency, noted that coup d'etats were receipts for lawlessness.

Mr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, the MP for Tamale Central, said there could be no justification in the overthrow of any democratically elected government.

GNA
Mrs Juliana Kpedekpo, the new nominee for the position of the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Adaklu in the Volta Region has been rejected during a confirmation process.

Out of the total number of 19 members of the assembly, Mrs Kpedekpo got 9 votes with 10 voting against representing 47.36 per cent.

This was after officials from the Electoral Commission who supervised the confirmation process announced the results.

Mrs Kpedekpo is now the third nominee to suffer an outright rejection in a series after unsuccessful attempts by the Assembly to endorse the first nominee, Mr Phanuel Kadey Donkor, who was re-nominated.

Mr Bright Kwame Nyatsikor was the second nominee who also suffered another outright rejection by members of the Assembly on December 17, last year.

Reverend Fred Agbogbo, the Presiding Member of the Assembly, in a message after the exercise, called for broader consultation with the elders and stakeholders from the area before nominating someone to occupy the DCE position since things were not going the way it was supposed to go.

Mrs Kpedekpo holds an MSc in Accounting and Finance and is the Financial Secretary of the NPP in Adaklu.

Also in attendance was Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, the Volta Regional Minister.

GNA
Schindler Group, a leading global provider of elevators, escalators and related services, has announced that it has been awarded a key supply contract by Egypt government for Cairo Monorail Project.

As per the deal, Schindler will deliver, install and maintain 136 elevators and 272 escalators for the landmark project, that will help to connect Egypts New Administrative City with East Cairo.

Founded in Switzerland in 1874, the Schindler Group boasts mobility solutions that move more than 1.5 billion people every day all over the world.

"Cairo Monorail is Schindlers first public transport project in Egypt, showing our growth trajectory in the region," remarked Julio Arce, Member of the Schindler Group Executive Committee responsible for Europe South.

"Safety and reliability are our prime commitments. With our state-of-the-art equipment we look forward to securing a seamless mobility experience to millions of passengers in Cairo," stated Arce.

Last year, Schindler had won the contract for the delivery and installation of 129 high-rise elevators to six office towers currently under construction in Egypts New Administrative Capital, which has been designed to become a high-tech model for Egypts future.
02.02.2022 LISTEN

A trader who deals in African wear has told the High Court in Accra how traces of blood were found on his water container after the New Patriotic Partys Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu was killed.

Madam Abigail Marfo, a neighbour of the late legislator said on the night of February 9 between the hours of 1:00am and 2:00am, she heard from her room that somebody was fetching water from her container in front of her door.

Daniel Asiedu, alias Sexy Don Don, has been charged for the murder of the late NPP MP and has pleaded not guilty.

He is also facing a separate charge of robbery while together with Vincent Bosso are facing the charge of conspiracy to rob which they have both denied.

While being led by Mrs Sefakor Batse, a Senior State Attorney for the Republic to give her Evidence-in-Chief, Madam Marfo, the sixth Prosecution Witness, said the traces of blood also led them to their washroom where they found a red hat.

Prior to that very day, I was not feeling well. I slept throughout the afternoon. So, in the evening, I could not sleep and that extended to the night and I heard somebody fetching water from my container that was in front of my door, the witness noted.

She said, she asked who was fetching the water, but there was no reply.

According to her, she wanted to go out and check on the person fetching the water, but because she was not feeling well, I laid my head back.

In the morning of February 9, 2016, she said, she went back to fetch water from my container to have a bath but I realised that the plastic cup that I used to fetch the water, there were blood stains on it as well as the container from which I had the water.

Hat-like object

According to the witness, upon seeing that, blood I shouted Ei God, blood, so my landlords wife, rushed to where I was, because she knew I wasnt feeling well, my landlady then called my landlord named Bra Teye, who also rushed to where I was.

She explained that, the next door from my room is a washroom and there was blood trace that led to the washroom so we followed the blood traces to the washroom where we saw a hat-like object, the landlord asked us not to touch it.

Police report

The witness told the court that, My landlord asked me to go back to my room and he went to the police station and reported the incident.

The police came and they used certain devices to take photographs of the plastic cup with which they used to fetch the water and the container which had the water, she stated.

The witness said, the police took the container and the hat away, and later, a number of police officers came to the house and they took down my statement.

One of the officers, she said, told her that, the person who killed JB Danquah is the one who came into our compound.

But, conceded that, due to the number of police officers who came around, she is unable to identify the said officer who took her statement.

While concluding on her Evidence-in-Chief, she told the court that, the suspect at the time was brought to the house but they were all asked to enter their rooms before he was brought to their compound.

My Lord I was in my room when I heard the police officers asking the young man where exactly he fetched the water. I could hear them so it was very close to my room although I could not see who the young man was, she noted.

Cross-examination

Under cross-examination from defence lawyers led by Lawyer Yaw Dankwah, when asked if her statement taken by the police was captured on a police letterhead, the witness said she could not recall.

Witneses so far

The court presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has adjourned the case to March 8, 2022 for further cross-examination.

So far, Samuel Berko Sakodie, driver of the late MP (PW1), Samuel Apraku Mensah, his night security guard, (PW2), Kennedy Koranchie, a mobile phone repairer (PW3), George Amofa, (PW4) and So far, Dr Lawrence Edusei, the Pathologist (PW5) have all given evidence and have been discharged.

---kasapafm
Just when it seemed that the Piramal group was home and dry after bagging Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) and its vast realty assets for just Rs38,000 crore, there is now a twist in the sale of what was already considered a sweetheart deal for the acquirer.

On 27th January, 63 moons technology (India) ltd (63 moons), which has a Rs200-crore investment in non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of DHFL, won a significant reprieve when the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) asked the committee of creditors (CoC) to consider its demand that the Piramal group could not appropriate all recovery from the vast amount of DHFL loans listed in avoidance applications under Section 66 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Section 66 of the IBC provides for fraudulent and wrongful trading and ( https://ca2013.com/section-66-fraudulent-trading-wrongful-trading/ ) has rarely been used.

The Piramal group has announced that it will take the fight to the Supreme Court (SC) and the final outcome is anybodys guess. Did banks indeed overlook provisions of Section 66, although they stand to benefit from recovery? Will Piramals aggressive fight and claim that recovery was factored into the price paid force them to see value? More importantly, will it lead to a better deal for debenture-holders like 63 moons? Nothing is certain as yet.

Lets start with examining what is at stake here. DHFL, with outstanding debt of over Rs 90,000 crore, was acquired by the Piramal group for Rs37,250 crore. As part of the deal, it also got all the bad loans listed under avoidance applications under Section 66 of the IBC. These bad debts add up to a huge Rs38,100 crore (without interest) which is more than what the Piramals paid to acquire DHFL. If one includes interest, which is pointless now, the total value is Rs45,000 crore (see table).

In making their bid, the Piramal group insisted that most of these loans were not recoverable and got the CoC to ascribe a value of just one rupee to this lot. However, many in the realty business believe up to Rs10,000 crore may be recoverable if properly handled. Indeed, the whopping Rs14,000 crore under the Bandra Books may be completely fake and irrecoverable but that is not necessarily true of the rest. A forensic audit by Grant Thornton had revealed how DHFL had created a completely fictitious branch and accounts, ostensibly in Bandra (Mumbai) which disbursed large sums of money and allowed it to show excellent growth.

The final resolution plan effectively gave the Piramal group a possible bonanza on any recovery from these outstanding loans. This and other issues have raised serious questions about how the CoC, the debenture trustee (Catalyst Trusteeship) and the resolution professional (RP) have dealt with an important bankruptcy case that has inflicted massive losses on retail investors.

Fighting for the Same Security

Consider this. Yes Bank, one of the lenders to DHFL, had extended a loan of Rs300 crore to Narayani Investment promoted by corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. This company is under investigation for financial fraud . Narayani Investment has recovery proceedings pending against it (IA 257/2021) before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). After Piramal acquired DHFL, it has started recovery proceedings against Nayati Healthcare NCR (which is a subsidiary of Narayani Investment). Why? Because Yes Bank had taken possession of assets of Nayati Healthcare pledged as security against its borrowings. DHFL under Piramal has now obtained a stay against Yes Bank and is demanding a share of this security.

Remember that Yes Bank had several dubious dealings with DHFL under Rana Kapoor, who eventually ran the Bank to the ground. It was rescued through a public-private bailout led by State Bank of India (SBI) in March 2020. Senior SBI bankers were deputed to run Yes Bank independently. Bankers involved in the insolvency resolutions say that Yes Bank has complained about Piramals unfair demand for a share of security to big-daddy SBI. They also say that this is not the only case where Yes Banks recovery effort will be in conflict with Piramals aggressive recovery push.

But Yes Bank and SBI were both part of the CoC for DHFL. In fact, SBI had an exposure of Rs10,000 crore to DHFL. Why did they fail to foresee a possible conflict while agreeing to gift Rs38,000 crore of loans at one rupee? My banker source insists that the CoCs act of omission was deliberate and not a simple oversight. He points out that the many of the same banks were involved in the high-profile resolution of Essar Steel which the Ruia family litigated and lost at every step. In Essar Steel, the CoC had created a corpus of Rs10 crore to pay for litigation and follow-up of avoidance cases; why wasnt it done for DHFL when the loans under avoidance applications were a massive Rs38,000 crore? Why was the CoC happy to gift these loans away?

The bankruptcy law does not allow NCLT to question the commercial wisdom of banks; but would this allow creditors to go unquestioned? In its appeal, 63 moons asked whether the Piramal group could appropriate all recoveries from avoidance applications filed under Section 66 of the IBC just because the CoC has agreed to assign a completely arbitrary and unrealistic value of one rupee. It cited a Delhi High Court judgement in Venus Recruiters Private Limited to back its interpretation. The NCLAT order has noted that in bidding for DHFL, the Piramal group had not factored in any recoveries from avoidance transactions. In fact, it was argued that there would be very little recovery and, hence, a value of one rupee was ascribed to this large outstanding. The Piramals, who have a significant realty business, surely knew that the loans were worth a lot more.

We must also remember that this was just one aspect of the very favourable deal negotiated by the Piramals. In addition to recoveries under Section 66 mentioned above, Moneylife columnist and tax expert V Ranganathan, in a detailed article , had shown how the funding of the acquisition was structured in a manner that it gave the Piramal group an effective bounty of Rs16,000 crore. This was through tax benefits, lower interest on Rs19,550 crore raised through new financial paper to pay for the acquisition and utilisation of cash accrued in the beleaguered company. ( Read: DHFL Resolution: Piramals Profit Plentifully, Pittance for the Rest!

It will be interesting to see what direction the 63 moons case takes in the Supreme Court. If it prevails again, can banks be depended on to work seriously at recovery, especially when there is no financial provision for the litigation involved?

Since the Piramals are taking the battle to the Supreme Court, does it establish that banks failed to protect their own interest and that of other creditors? If so, will anybody be held accountable?
A wildfire in winter is just one of many contradictions in these times. Making sense of it in a poem.
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February 02, 2022 How A Misguided Grand Strategy Led To This U.S. Defeat In response to Russia's demand for security guarantees, especially to its request to remove foreign NATO forces from the territory of East European countries, the U.S. and Britain are moving more forces to the east: President Joe Biden has formally approved additional US military deployments to Eastern Europe, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, with US troops deploying soon to Poland, Germany and Romania.

...

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the deployments include roughly 2,000 troops from the United States to Poland and Germany in the coming days. In addition, approximately 1,000 troops currently based in Germany are being deployed to Romania.

...

Kirby said that the troops being deployed are separate and in addition to the 8,500 US troops that were placed on heightened alert last week that could be moved to Europe to support NATO's response force if it's activated. The troops will operate on a bilateral basis with their host countries, since NATO has not yet activated a multinational response force. This is a rather token amount of forces in the wrong places and with little combat value but it is serious in its symbolic character. It was the U.S. that launched the 'Russia's imminent invasion of Ukraine' propaganda campaign. On October 30 2021 the Washington Post published the first stenographed piece on it: A renewed buildup of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border has raised concern among some officials in the United States and Europe who are tracking what they consider irregular movements of equipment and personnel on Russias western flank. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the troop movements have reignited concerns that arose in April, when the largest buildup of troops by Russia near the Ukrainian border in years sparked an international outcry. The March/April build-up of Russian troops had come after Kiev had deployed more forces towards its rebel held Donbas area and had made public statements about regaining it by force. The Russian show of force was sufficient to cool Kiev down and soon the troops on both sides went back to their barracks. By fall Russia was moving only a few troops from and to regular exercises in a normal manner. There was no surge activity. So why was the U.S. screaming alarm and continues to do so? This information operation must be seen in the larger context of China's rise, Russia's resurgence and the loss of U.S. supremacy. In an essay to his mailing list Professor Michael Brenner explained the motives behind it: The situational logic of the emerging international constellation of forces pointed to two possible American strategies. The most obvious would aim at preventing the solidification of an alliance between Russia and China. Together, they represent a formidable bloc now capable of challenging the U.S.-led Western bloc in just about every sphere.

...

The alternative strategy was to ratchet up pressure on Russia so as to nip in the bud Putin/Moscows aspiration to become once again a major player  one dedicated to denying the United States its privileges as global hegemon and sole master of Europe. The driving force came from the ardent Victoria Nuland and her neo-Con comrades ensconced in the power agencies, in Congress and in the MSM. Since Anthony Blinken and Jake Sullivan were themselves partisans of this confrontational strategy, the outcome of whatever modicum of debate occurred was preordained. Nuland and Blinken have ancestral roots in east Europe. To them Russia is evil. But there is more to this. These people would like to see Russia balkanized into many small parts. Jon Schwarz @schwarz - 20:10 UTC  Jan 31, 2022 In Robert Gates's memoir "Duty," he describes how at the end of the Cold War, Dick Cheneythen secretary of defensewanted to dismantle not just the Soviet Union but Russia itself. No one in the US knows or cares about this, but I bet lots of people in the Russian government do.

bigger The current State Department point person running U.S. Russia policy is Victoria 'Fuck the EU' Nuland: From 2003 to 2005, Nuland served as the principal deputy foreign policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney and Nuland have the same nefarious neo-conservative mindset. Back to the non-action around the Ukraine as analyzed by Michael Brenner: The events of April kicked-off the turbulent maelstrom that weve experienced to this day. What scenario did the Biden people want to see unfold? Any attempt at an answer must take account of the cardinal fact that nobody in official Washington cared very much what it meant for the stability of Ukraine or the welfare of the Ukrainian people. Their eyes were fixed on Russia. Their objective was to create a reason for imposing a crippling load of economic sanctions that would put paid to Putins supposed ambitions in Europe  and beyond. At least, that would free the West to devote its full energies to dealing with China. Ideally, it would return Moscow into a beggared facsimile of the pliable Yeltsin model or an innocuous neo-liberal satrap. Everything the United States has done vis a vis Ukraine over the past year has been dictated by that overarching goal. They set about manufacturing a scenario that would enable them to reach that end. The key would be some Russian counter-action to a Ukrainian provocation, of uncertain magnitude, that could serve as a casus belli for the draconian sanctions and for gaining the full cooperation of its allies. The unexpectedly forceful, unaccommodating response from Moscow threw a monkey-wrench into the plan, but did not alter the course Washington was committed to.

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[T]he Biden people went all-out to convince the continental Europeans that they should sign onto a package of severe economic sanctions that would be triggered with near automaticity were the Russians to do something egregious. They assumed that Washington would make the judgment as what constituted an egregious action. German, France and Italy inter alia refused to go along with this trip-wire strategy. They dont trust Washington, they dont want a confrontation with Putin, and they dread the disruptive impact on their own countries of sanctions (with evident domestic political consequences). Germanys reluctance to line up obediently behind Washington was especially frustrating.

...

To make their case to Germany, France and like-minded allies, Biden, Blinken et al began in October to stoke the war fever with dire predictions of an imminent Russian invasion. They conjured a lightening strike,  i.e. the sort of cold start, straight to the Channel, that agitated NATO planners back in the Cold War days. Bad metaphors never die, they just await the next paranoid episode. Washington was thrown off stride when Moscow refused to play the role assigned to it. They said and did nothing to substantiate the claim. The Russo-phobia had taken on a life of its own that left the White House painted into a corner. The level of desperation was evinced by the CIA Director William Burns tour of European capitals with a briefcase filled with CIA generated infallible evidence that an invasion was in the offing  and that, therefore, the Europeans immediately should commit to the trip-wire sanctions so as to deter the in fact fantastical invasion. The hottest material were satellite photographs purporting to show Russian armored units in battle formations at the Ukrainian border (just 180 miles away). We now know that the photographs were doctored. The tanks and other equipment were at their permanent bases adjacent to barracks and other fixed facilities. The CIAs pictures had been cropped. The CIA, the White House and attendant Washington agencies were trying to palm off fraudulent goods whose sophistication was worthy of a 5th-grader. That is the state we are still in. The U.S. is screaming for war and increasing the chance for it in the hope to get Russia to do something that justifies 'crushing new sanctions'. But in mid December Russia started to counter the U.S. move. It published two draft treaties, one with the U.S. and one with NATO, that included stringent security demands: No more NATO expansion towards Russia's borders.

Retraction of the 2008 NATO invitation to Ukraine and Georgia.

Removal of foreign NATO forces from east Europe.

Legally binding guarantee that no strike systems which could target Moscow will be deployed in countries near to Russia.

No NATO or equivalent (UK, U.S., Pl.) 'exercises' near Russian borders.

NATO ships, planes to keep certain distances from Russian borders.

Regular military-to-military talks.

No U.S. nukes in Europe. Russia requested written responses and threatened to take 'military technical' measures should the responses be negative. Russia also planned for and launched new military exercises. The responses were received but, following a U.S. request, Russia refrained from publishing them. They were leaked to El Pais, published today and can be downloaded here (pdf). The U.S. response to Russia's draft treaties is professional. While it rejects Russia's main demands, especially a neutral status for the Ukraine, it concedes on minor issues and offers additional talks on them. The NATO response is in contrast highly ideological and rejects all of Russia's points while making new demands towards Russia which are designed to be rejected. (Future negotiations are now likely to exclude NATO.) Russia has yet to officially respond to the received letters. During a news conference after talks with the Prime Minister of Hungary the Russian President remarked on the letters: [W]hile ignoring our concerns, the United States and NATO are referring to the right of states to freely choose specific methods to ensure their security. But this is not only about providing someone with the right to freely choose methods to ensure their security. This is only one part of the well-known indivisible security formula. The second inalienable part implies that it is impossible to strengthen anyones security at the expense of other states security. Russia's Foreign Ministry has send a letter to several NATO countries in which it requests their official opinions on several agreements they have signed which include clauses on the indivisibility of security: The very essence of the agreements on indivisible security is that either there is security for all or there is no security for anyone. How is the signing of those treaties and indivisible security for all compatible with the aggressive NATO expansion aimed at Russia? 'Western' foreign ministries will find it difficult to answer that question. The U.S. strategy to 'fix' Russia in Europe by imposing 'crushing sanctions' on it to then attack China is failing. That is because it was completely misconceived. Russia is the most autarkic country in the world. It produces nearly everything it needs and has highly desirable products that are in global demand and are especially needed in Europe. Russia also has huge financial reserves. A sanctions strategy against Russia can not work. To use the Ukraine to gaud Russia into some aggression to then apply sanctions was likewise a rather lunatic attempt. There is nothing in the Ukraine that would tempt Russia to invade. Everything that may have do be done in the Ukraine can be done from Russian territory by Russian missiles or its air force and navy. Instead of splitting Russia from China the U.S. has unintentionally done its best to push them into a deeper alliance. It was the most severe strategic error the U.S. could make. Instead of a taking a new strategic posture that would support a pivot to Asia strategy the U.S. is now moving troops back to Europe. The narrow-minded bigotry of U.S. decision makers, fed by believe in U.S. exceptionalism while lacking any conception of real power, has led to this defeat. ---

Adding: I consider this to be the White House's acknowledgment of its strategic failure. Kevin Liptak @Kevinliptakcnn - 17:55 UTC  Feb 2, 2022 The White House says it's no longer using the word "imminent" to describe the potential for a Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was sending an unintended message, Jen Psaki says. 'Unintended imminence'? These people are clowns and bad at it. Posted by b on February 2, 2022 at 18:36 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
The Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) has announced the launch of a three-year programme to provide Cloud computing training to 600 employees from 75 governmental and semi-governmental entities, in line with the Government of Bahrains Cloud First policy.

iGA Deputy CE, Operations & Governance, Dr. Khalid Al Mutawah reaffirmed the Authoritys commitment to the policy, within the framework of promoting investment in the Kingdom and increasing its global competitiveness.

The program will be rolled out in association with Microsoft as one of the cloud-technology leaders under its existing contract with the Government of Bahrain.

Dr Al Mutawah said that this training program is among several initiatives the iGA plans to implement this year with leading digital solutions providers, to enhance innovation and improve the quality of government services.

The Microsoft training courses are expected to improve the efficiency of public sector employees in cloud services, in line with the directives of national leadership and the Supreme Council for Information & Communication Technology (SCICT), chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa.

Dr Al Mutawa also extended his appreciation to Minister of Interior General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa for his continuous support and encouragement toward the adaptation and training of Cloud computing technologies.

The new programme is also in line with the iGAs commitment to providing all ministries and governmental authorities with advanced technologies that enable the development of their digital transformation plans, including the services offered to citizens and residents.

The first Microsoft course will be launched in February. Work is underway to roll out the program, with the Training & Development department communicating the details to all eligible governmental and semi-governmental organizations and registering nominated employees.

Some courses will require participants to take exams to obtain a passing certificate while others require attendance only. The iGA aims to train approximately 200 employees this year and 600 by the end of the programs term in 2024.

Dr Al Mutawa said that the Kingdom of Bahrain has successfully adopted its Cloud First policy at the government level, thanks to its high level of technical readiness, and the availability of national human resources with the necessary competencies and expertise.

Microsoft Bahrain and Oman Country Manager Shaikh Saif Hilal Al Hosni said: "We are delighted to be collaborating with the iGA on this initiative, which seeks to train government employees on Cloud computing technologies and provide them with the necessary skills to help digitally transform government services and improve operations."

"The objectives of the Cloud Frist policy, including raising the level of services provided to the public, advancing economic development, and building a knowledge-based economy in line with Economic Vision 2030, can only be achieved by preparing organizations human capital and qualifying nationals," he added.

Kingdom of Bahrain has adopted its Cloud computing policy in 2017, following a decision by the SCICT, with the aim of redirecting IT investment towards Cloud computing, in cooperation with technology leaders.

The iGA has already provided Cloud computing training to a number of public and private sector employees to encourage innovation, provide greater flexibility, and help the Kingdom reduce expenditures.
Gov. Greg Abbott brought his race for reelection to Midland Tuesday for an event accepting the endorsements of several oil and gas associations.

The reason Im running for reelection is to ensure the security of Texas oil and gas, he told the gathering at 3S Services on Elkins Road in east Midland.

In addition to the endorsement from 3S Services, Jason Modglin, president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, Thure Cannon, president of the Texas Pipeline Association and Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association also offered their endorsements of the incumbent governor.

Abbott said the industry associations and their members fuel Texas and fuel the US. What they do every singe day to produce energy and provide energy makes Texas better every day.

He noted that Texas has led the nation as the top state for business and to do business in every year he has served as governor. In fact, he said, over the last two years the states economy has advanced from 10th largest in the world to ninth largest in the world, overtaking Brazil.

As we gather in Midland today, more Texans have a job than in the entire history of our great state, he said. Theres a direct connection between that and what the oil and gas industry does.

Nationwide, the industry employs millions in high paying jobs that have made the state and the nation energy independent, Abbott said, and he vowed Texas will not allow leftists destroy the energy sector by crushing the high-paying jobs in Midland and Odessa.

No matter the headwinds against the industry from federal regulators, Abbott continued, we should be proud of the work we do, the produces we provide and the energy we provide that powers the economy.

With clouds gathering in advance of a major winter storm due to blow through Texas Wednesday and Thursday, Abbott fielded questions about the readiness of the states power grid in the aftermath of last years Winter Storm Uri.

He noted that he had signed 12 laws to strengthen the grid after last years legislative session, including requiring winterization of infrastructure. Approximately 99 percent of all power generation facilities had passed winterization inspections, he said. A number of power generators have installed alternative sources of power, he added. In addition, far more natural gas facilities have been designated as critical infrastructure than last year. That means, he said, that the Energy Reliability Council of Texas wont cut off power to natural gas processing plants and other infrastructure as it did last February.

Another development is the availability of additional power, Abbott said. My guess is the grid is expecting peak demand in the early morning hours Friday, he said. Theres 13,000 megawatts more power that will be available at peak demand.

One thing that could help expand the states power generation capacity could be Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Abbott said. He explained that they wont help fuel the grid but the rising and ongoing demand for electricity coming from bitcoin mining could incentivize companies to build new power generation facilities.
Tim Fischer/Midland Reporter-Telegram

A coalition of local Republican Party groups was holding a forum for the candidates for Texas governor and Texas attorney general Tuesday night. Yet the two office holders, Gov. Greg Abbott, and Attorney General Ken Paxton, are not part of the event.

Even so, Gov. Abbott traveled to Midland on the day of the forum for an event touting his endorsement by a number of energy industry associations, among them the Texas Oil and Gas Association, Texas Pipeline Association and Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.
Peggy Sue is apparently more than a Buddy Holly song.

Anyone familiar with city of Midland water operations knows this. They know Peggy Sue is a 95-million-gallon reservoir in northwest Midland. And if Carl Craigo, city of Midland Utilities director, is correct Peggy Sue will be key to better quality and better tasting water for residents.

Talking to Craigo, the Peggy Sue reservoir will fill two roles moving forward.

But before moving to the end result, one must be familiar with the current operations. First, the city is contracted to take 16.5 million gallons of Colorado Municipal Water District water. It does, and that water is piped into the water treatment facility and sent out to residents.

Craigo wants to build a pipeline from the treatment center to Peggy Sue to blend that water the city has delivered from O.H. Ivie Reservoir. Craigo said doing this allows the city to change its treatment process, provide a much better disinfectant and help with taste and odor. Such a move also would mean that once-a-year or once-every-two-years chlorine conversions would become even less frequent.

To do this would require two phases  the pipeline and a chlorine dioxide study. Craigo said the money has been set aside for both, and last week, the city council agreed that the repurposing and relining of the Peggy Sue reservoir was a 2022 priority.

The rerouting of water also will help Midland with its emergency water storage, Craigo said. Keeping Peggy Sue full and adding that to the 15 million gallons at the citys treatment center will allow for 110 million gallons of emergency storage if the situation arises. The city averages distributing 19 million gallons of water a day (13 million during the winter).

Note: The Peggy Sue name was for a former long-time administrative assistant in the citys Utilities Department.
Norstat Buys Norway's Polling & Statistics

Data collection company Norstat has acquired Oslo, Norway-based firm Polling & Statistics for an undisclosed sum.



Polling & Statistics offers telephone and in person interviews, online methodologies, and access to a panel comprising approximately 40,000 people in Norway. The firm has eighteen full-time employees and around 200 part-time interviewers.



This is Norstat's sixth acquisition in the last eight months, following its takeover of Userneeds last week, and earlier TestingTime, CG Research and Respondenten and DMA Research. Polling & Statistics will be fully integrated into Norstat Norway and Nina Kulas (pictured) will become Managing Director of the combined company. Pal Listuen, founder and CEO of Polling & Statistics, will stay on and support in the post-merger integration work before assuming the role as Regional Director of Norstat's Southern European countries.



Kulas comments: 'We have followed Polling & Statistics closely the last years and been impressed by their growth, agile delivery capability, and results. With the addition of Polling & Statistics, Norstat will be well-positioned to meet the increasing demand for data collection in Norway. We complement each other well and I look forward to welcoming all Polling & Statistics employees and incorporating their innovative approach to customer deliveries'.



Web sites: www.norstatgroup.com and www.pollstat.no .






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Saudi Arabia has committed $30 million to the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (Aliph), which has so far managed over 150 projects to rehabilitate or protect cultural heritage sites in 26 countries.

The announcement was made by Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi Minister of Culture, during a speech at the organisations Second Donors and Partners Conference which was held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of France, Emmanuel Macron and was attended by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aliph, Dr Thomas Kaplan, along with other ministers and cultural officials, a Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report said.

Prince Badr said: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proud of its contribution to the success of Aliphs recent projects, and we look forward to strengthening our support and collaboration to ensure future generations are able to experience the wonders of these sites first-hand.

During the conference, Prince Badr thanked President Macron for his sponsorship of the conference. He also expressed his appreciation for the efforts of Aliph Foundations Board of Directors.

The minister added: "The preservation of our culture and heritage from threats such as illegal trafficking, neglect, environmental destruction, and more, are core aspects of Saudi Vision 2030. We are committed to supporting international efforts to continue this work, especially within our countrys role as vice chair of the Unesco World Heritage Committee."

He concluded his speech by welcoming Aliphs progressive steps towards transforming into an international organisation and reiterated the kingdoms support of the foundations efforts to advance the international cultural agenda.

The minister also met several cultural officials on the sidelines of the conference, including Omani Minister of Heritage and Tourism Salem bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, and Chairman of Aliph Foundation Dr Thomas Kaplan.-- TradeArabia News Service
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Frances Morris never imagined that she would live 100 years.

This week, shes celebrating her 100th birthday with cake  most likely multiple times throughout the week because of such a special occasion.

I just want to have a good time, she said. I like to go out to eat.

A resident of Anderson Oaks Assisted Living in Conway, Morris said she has no secrets to living a long life, but her mothers side of the family has a history of longevity.

Morriss career was spent working as a secretary at a junior high school on Long Island before retiring to the Myrtle Beach area. She has lived in the area for more than 30 years, and her love for seafood was one of the reasons she and her late husband Robert moved here.

Morriss father serviced typewriters at the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base  another connection she had to the Grand Strand. Her mother, who was from a French family, and father met working in a bank.

My dad was strictly Southern Baptist, she said. There was quite a combination there.

Morriss husband served in the U.S. Army transportation corps in both World War II and the Korean War. Months before he was deployed, the two met while Frances Morris was part of a dance group called the Bombardiers. The young couple got married after about nine months of dating. And ten days after they both said I do, Robert Morris was deployed.

We thought it would be six months, but he was gone for two years, Frances Morris said. We wrote letters.

Robert Morris finally returned to the United States, but the couple was not yet ready to have children.

We didnt want to have children right away, we wanted to enjoy each other, she said. After we had our first [child], we were so pleased.

Frances Morris is the mother of four children: Robert Jr., Dianne, Maria and David.

She was a loving and great mom. Both of my parents made sacrifices, her son Robert Morris Jr. said.
Press Release

February 2, 2022 PRIVILEGE SPEECH 'LUTONG MACAU NA NGA'

Exposing the Red Flags of DOE's Approval of the Chevron-UC Malampaya Deal February 2, 2022

Session Hall

Senate of the Philippines Delivered by the Honorable Win Gatchalian, Senator of the 18th Congress: Mr. President, esteemed peers, I take the floor to expose the red flags surrounding the Department of Energy's approval of the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal. The Senate Committee on Energy spent over a year investigating the issue pursuant to Proposed Senate Resolution No. 533, authored by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senator Panfilo Lacson and yours truly; PSR 724, authored by this representation; and PSR No. 950, authored by Senator Risa Hontiveros. We held four hearings between November 10, 2020 and December 15, 2021. The Department of Energy was given every opportunity to sufficiently explain its side of the story. After conducting a painstaking review of applicable laws and regulations, ample documentary evidence, and the wildly inconsistent statements of the Department of Energy and its senior officials, I have arrived at an unmistakable conclusion: The Department of Energy violated not only the law, but even its own department circular, in railroading the approval of the transfer of a substantial participating interest in Malampaya - our country's single most important energy resource - to a company that the DOE knew to be financially unqualified to own it. As a result, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and other DOE officials involved in the evaluation and approval of this transaction have exposed themselves to administrative and criminal liability for greenlighting this deal contrary to law, regulation, and common sense. It is my sworn duty, as a representative of the people, to inform our fellow Filipinos of the corrupt practices employed by DOE in approving the sale of our country's most precious energy resource, to the detriment of Philippine energy security. This is why I have taken the floor today. Mr. President, this speech summarizes the Chairman's Report dated February 2, 2022, prepared by yours truly. As the Chairman's Report has been incorporated by reference in this speech, I respectfully request that the Chairman's Report be included in the Record as an annex to this speech, pursuant to the second paragraph of Section 57, Rule XX and Section 102, Rule XXXVII of the Rules of the Senate. Mr. President, I will begin with a short summary of the facts. At the center of the controversy lies Chevron Malampaya LLC PH or CMLLC PH, now known as UC 38 LLC. CMLLC PH was formerly the Philippine branch office of CMLLC US. Meanwhile, CMLLC US was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Philippines. CMLLC PH is part of a three-member consortium engaged by the government under Service Contract 38. Previously, CMLLC PH owned a 45 percent participating interest in SC 38. Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. or SPEX owns another 45 percent interest. The remaining 10 percent is owned by PNOCExploration Corporation. Service Contract 38 authorizes the SC 38 consortium to explore and extract Philippine oil and gas resources hidden beneath a vast area of ocean northwest of Palawan on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines. SC 38's service area is an abundant source of natural gas, held in trust by the State for the benefit of the Filipino people. This precious fuel is harvested through the Malampaya deep-water gasto-power project. The SC 38 consortium finances, manages, and operates the Malampaya project on behalf of the Filipino people. Mr. President, Malampaya is the most important energy source of the Philippines. Ito ang kaisa-isang pinagkukunan natin ng natural gas dito sa bansa. Malampaya powers more than four and a half million homes and businesses in Mega Manila alone. Six out of every ten lightbulbs in Meralco's franchise area are powered by Malampaya gas. It contributes almost 20 percent of the entire country's power generation mix. Ganyan po kahalaga ang Malampaya sa ating bansa. Kung walang Malampaya, maraming mga sambahayan ngayon ang walang kuryente o anim sa sampung bahay sa franchise area ng Meralco. Kapag walang kuryente, walang mga negosyo na magpapatakbo ng ekonomiya. Marahil, baka marami ring mga estudyante ang hindi nag-aaral ngayon dahil hindi makapagdistance o online learning. Kung walang Malampaya, mas mataas ang singil sa kuryente sa merkado. Kung naalala ninyo noong Nobyembre ng nakaraang taon ay tumaas ang bill ng kuryente dahil nag shut down ang Malampaya noong Oktubre. Malampaya is also a lucrative revenue source for the government. Between January 2002 and June 30, 2021, the government earned PHP 290.76 billion as its share in the revenue of Malampaya operations. Mr. President, on October 25, 2019, Chevron Philippines and UC Malampaya entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement or SPA. Under the SPA, UC Malampaya bought all the shares of Chevron Philippines in CMLLC US for the sum of 565 million US dollars. That is more than 40 billion pesos. This transaction is what we refer to as the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal. UC Malampaya is an indirect subsidiary of Udenna Corporation. Looking at the corporate structure chart, we could say that Udenna Corporation is the great-grandfather of UC Malampaya. Through this transaction, UC Malampaya gained effective control over CMLLC US and its branch CMLLC PH, and its 45% participating interest in Service Contract 38. After this transaction, CMLLC PH changed its name to UC 38 LLC. Uulitin ko po ang tatlong nagmamay-ari ng Malampaya: ang operator nito na Shell Philippines Exploration o SPEX na may 45 percent stake, ang gobyerno o PNOC-Exploration Corporation na merong 10 percent stake, at 45 percent sa UC 38 na dating CMLLC PH na binili ng UC Malampaya. Mr. President, the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal requires prior government approval from the DOE under Presidential Decree No. 87 and DC 2007-04-0003, titled 'Prescribing the Guidelines and Procedures for the Transfer of Rights and Obligations in Petroleum Service Contracts Under Presidential Decree No. 87, As Amended'. PD 87, otherwise known as the Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972, regulates energy exploration and development activities. Service Contract 38 was executed in 1990 under this law. Section 11 of PD 87 states, quote, "The rights and obligations under a contract executed under this Act shall not be assigned or transferred without the prior approval of the Petroleum Board," end quote. The Petroleum Board is now the Department of Energy. The 2007 Department Circular was promulgated by DOE to implement Section 11 of PD 87. The circular prescribes guidelines and procedures to ensure the assignee or transferee of any right or interest in a petroleum service contract such as SC 38 possesses the requisite legal qualification, financial resources, and technical expertise and experience to undertake its obligations and commitment under the petroleum service contract. During the November 10, 2020 hearing of the Committee on Energy, DOE confirmed the applicability of PD 87 and DC 2007 to the Chevron-UC Malampaya transaction. DOE Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III informed the committee that DOE had already received a formal notice from the parties regarding the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal. I will now show a video of Asec Pulido stating DOE's original position from the hearing: [PLAY VIDEO] "The Department of Energy endorsed this letter to our legal services wherein our legal services had to determine whether or not such transfer would fall squarely within the ambit of the department circular that would require the Department of Energy's approval of the transfer. And our legal services held that it falls squarely within that department circular and it should require an evaluation of the technical, legal and financial capacity of the transferee so that the DOE may approve such transfer." Mr. President, note that the transferee mentioned by Asec Pulido is UC Malampaya. This will be important later. Asec Pulido's comments are consistent with DOE's August 5, 2020 letter to SPEX, wherein the agency requested SPEX to submit a formal request for approval of the transfer of CMLLC's participating interest in SC 38 to UC Malampaya pursuant to DC 2007. ASec Pulido's comments were also confirmed by DOE in its November 17, 2020 email submission to the Energy Committee. The email, sent by Mr. Demujin F. Antiporda of the DOE Petroleum Resource Development Division, noted that since the transferee, UC Malampaya, was stepping into the shoes of CMLLC, a non-operator member of SC 38, "primordial consideration is given to its legal and financial qualifications." DOE then reiterated, and I quote: "Regardless of the nomenclature, the SPA entails a transfer of rights and interest in SC 38, as such approval of the DOE is necessary before such transfer becomes effective," end quote. Again, note that the transferee referred to is UC Malampaya. DOE Legal Service likewise confirmed, in separate memoranda dated November 23, 2020 and March 15, 2021, respectively, that the transaction was subject to prior evaluation and approval under PD 87 and DC 2007, as it involved a transfer of interest in Service Contract 38. UC Malampaya was the transferee referred to in the legal memoranda. Secretary Cusi's March 26, 2021 letter, officially approving the share sale, explicitly stated that such approval was supposedly in accordance with PD87 and DC 2007. During the December 15, 2021 hearing, Secretary Cusi also admitted - at least six different times - that PD 87 and the 2007 Circular apply to the transaction. For example: [PLAY VIDEO 1] THE CHAIRPERSON. xxx Does the government need to approve the transaction before it becomes final and consummated? MR. CUSI. xxx the DOE took the position that the same is still subject to prior approval of the DOE in accordance with PD 87 and DC 2007-04-003 xxx. Mr. President, DOE's position had been clear from the very beginning: PD 87 and DC 2007 are applicable to this transaction. DOE is estopped from claiming otherwise. Despite this, Mr. President, DOE has recently attempted to abandon its original position, taking the side of UC Malampaya in questioning its agency's legal duty to squarely apply PD 87 and DC 2007 to the multi-billion-peso Chevron-UC Malampaya deal. Secretary Cusi also said, during the December 15 hearing: [PLAY VIDEO 2] MR. CUSI. Mr. Chairman, I have been saying, though there is no specific law that covers the sale of shares of stocks and for us to safeguard the interest of the government for energy security, we need to apply the circular of PD as guidance in our evaluation to see to it that the work program will be accomplished. xxx MR. CUSI. Now, if you are going to say--to ask me what is the legal basis for using the benchmark, I think that is an executive decision that we exercised to make sure that the work is not hampered, the industry is not compromised, no laws violated and a decision is made. Ginoong pangulo, mismong si Secretary Cusi ang nagsabi na kailangang aprubahan ng DOE ang bentahan ng Chevron at UC Malampaya bago maisapinal ito. Pero sinabi rin niya na hindi na kailangang dumaan pa sa DOE ang kasunduan. Ang nakakapagtaka, bakit pabago-bago ang isip ng DOE sa isang transakyong kasing laki nito? Dati rin sinabi ng DOE na ang pag-apruba nila ay batay sa batas at department circular. Pero nag-iba uli ang kanilang pahayag at sinabing base lang ito sa guidelines o benchmarks. In response, Senator Hontiveros said she was at a loss for words after seeing, for the first time, a law and a department circular being demoted to mere guidelines or benchmarks. I agree with her. I asked Secretary Cusi several times during the December 15 hearing to provide any legal basis whatsoever to support his decision to treat PD 87 and DC 2007 as mere guidelines or benchmarks instead of binding law and regulation. He was not able to provide a sufficient answer. Mr. President, DOE's puzzling 180-degree change in position was first communicated to the Committee on Energy almost four months after DOE approved the transaction specifically at the July 14, 2021 hearing, when the committee asked the agency to submit documents pertaining to its evaluation and approval of the transaction. And unfortunately, Mr. President, the paper trail left by DOE regarding its evaluation of the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal raises numerous red flags. Section 3 of DC 2007 requires the prospective transferee of any interest in a service contract to undergo evaluation to confirm it possesses the necessary legal, technical, and financial qualifications. The SPA, the Assignment of Membership Interest in CMLLC executed by Chevron and UC Malampaya on March 11, 2020, and other documents pertaining to the sale share clearly indicate UC Malampaya as assignee or transferee. As I have previously discussed, multiple senior officials and relevant offices of the DOE have officially confirmed, time and time again, that the transferee subject to evaluation is UC Malampaya. However, records show that although DOE evaluated both the finances of UC 38 and UC Malampaya, it based its approval on the finances of UC 38. According to the internal financial evaluation dated February 2, 2021, DOE Financial Services evaluated the available working capital of UC 38, not UC Malampaya, to check whether it was enough to fund a 45 percent share in the SC 38 consortium's minimum financial commitment of 143.2 million US dollars for 2020. After finding the available working capital of UC 38 sufficient, DOE Financial Services declared UC 38 to be financially capable as transferee of the 45 percent interest in Malampaya. The dubious findings of DOE Financial Services were adopted by the Energy Resource Development Bureau in its Memorandum to the Secretary dated March 5, 2021. The memorandum endorses UC 38 LLC, not UC Malampaya, as the financially qualified transferee and recommends approval of the transaction. Secretary Cusi's March 26, 2021 letter approving the transaction also identifies UC 38 LLC, not UC Malampaya, as the transferee of Chevron Malampaya's participating interest. However, DOE records show that the legal and technical evaluations were conducted with regard to UC Malampaya, not UC 38. Remember, UC 38 is not a new company. UC 38 is the same company as CMLLC PH, which was purchased by UC Malampaya from Chevron Philippines. Only its name has been changed. How could CMLLC transfer to itself the 45% participating interest in Malampaya it already owns? During the December 15, 2021 hearing, we asked Secretary Cusi to explain why DOE evaluated the finances of CMLLC PH or UC 38 instead of UC Malampaya. This is what he had to say: [PLAY VIDEO 3] MR. CUSI. UC Malampaya, the buyer, they are qualified legally, they are qualified technically. Pagdating po dito sa pera, walang pera. Anong gagawin natin dito kulang ang pera or whatever? ... But at the end of the day, we made a decision, we found it legal, and there was no problem with the sale, so we let it go. [PLAY VIDEO 4] MR. CUSI. We went to test UC Malampaya. Legal, okay. We went to test it technical, okay din po iyon. We went to test its financial. Marami po siyang negative, ano po, iyong mga debt-equity ratio. Isa na namang kwestiyonableng proseso ito, Ginoong pangulo. Nakasaad sa DC 2007 na bago mailipat ang interes ng isang kumpanya sa isang prospective transferee, kailangan muna itong dumaan sa legal, technical, at financial evaluation. Noong nagsagawa ng legal at technical evaluation ang DOE, ang sinuri nila ay ang UC Malampaya, ang transferee sa naturang transaksyon. Pero ang sinuri nila pagdating sa financial evaluation ay ang UC 38. Pakiwari tuloy ng marami, mistulang nahinog sa pilit ang Chevron-UC Malampaya deal at pinalusot na lang ito dahil walang duda na wala naman talagang kakayahang pinansyal ang UC Malampaya. Mr. President, I was under the impression that DOE had not even bothered to evaluate the finances of UC Malampaya. However, Secretary Cusi's shocking admissions put the pieces of this difficult puzzle together. It explains the Department of Energy's post-facto characterization of its own department circular as a mere benchmark, not a binding regulation, after it had already approved the transaction. It explains DOE's insistence on approving the transaction based on an evaluation of UC 38's finances, and not UC Malampaya's, despite having absolutely no legal basis to do so. The reason is that DOE knew UC Malampaya was financially unqualified under law to become transferee of the 45 percent participating interest in Malampaya. Mr. President, DOE regulations require a prospective petroleum service contractor to have available working capital equal to, or greater than, its proportionate contribution to the work program and budget under the service contract. Available working capital is Liquid Assets less Current Liabilities. As mentioned earlier, DOE erroneously applied this standard to UC 38, instead of UC Malampaya, to support its finding of financial qualification in approving the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal. According to Paragraph 8 of the DOE financial evaluation, the available working capital of UC Malampaya is negative 137.2 million US dollars. That is negative 6.9 billion in Philippine pesos. When DOE's financial evaluation standard is correctly applied to UC Malampaya, it is immediately apparent that the Udenna subsidiary is financially unqualified because it has negative working capital. Maliwanag na wala talagang kakayahang pinansyal ang UC Malampaya na humawak ng isang napakaimportanteng investment ng bansa. Paano mo naman isusugal sa isang kumpanyang walang pera ang seguridad ng enerhiya natin? Yun lang yun, Ginoong Pangulo. It's not rocket science. However, instead of disapproving the transaction as it should have, DOE bent over backwards to find a way to approve the transfer to UC Malampaya - an entity it already knew was financially unqualified based on the agency's own standards. Thus, the DOE based its finding of financial capability on the alleged financial position of CMLLC PH or UC 38, the target company, instead of transferee UC Malampaya. In Secretary Cusi's own words: [PLAY VIDEO 5]: MR. CUSI. "Kaya ang nangyari po doon sa application natin ng intent of the law naging mestizo, ano po, na pumunta kami dito sa Chevron Malampaya for the financial." As Senator Pimentel pointed out during the hearing, this socalled mestizo application of the law has no legal basis. Secretary Cusi was unable to provide any legal basis for the questionable misapplication of his own department circular. Significantly, the unauthorized mestizo application of DOE's financial test is what allowed UC Malampaya to acquire its participating interest in Malampaya despite flunking the financial evaluation. In other words, the only way for DOE to approve the Chevron-UC Malampaya transaction was to violate its own circular. Unfortunately, Mr. President, this is not the only violation of DC 2007 committed by DOE. As pointed out by Senator Binay during the September 28, 2021 hearing, the DOE evaluation was based on unaudited financial statements submitted by UC Malampaya and UC 38. In fact, the financial statements were not only unaudited, but also unsigned. Section 2(e) of DC 2007 expressly requires the submission of audited financial statements by the transferee to prove its financial capability. An unaudited, unsigned financial statement does not provide a fair and credible snapshot of the working capital available to a service contractor to comply with its obligations to the consortium. During the December 15 hearing, Secretary Cusi admitted that UC 38, the alleged transferee, did not submit the required financial documents: [PLAY VIDEO 6] MR. CUSI. Let me check it with the finance people to get all the correct information. Mr. Chairman, if I will read it to answer the question. UC 38 LLC did not submit the requested, required particulars for financial resources available to the prospective transferee or assignee including capital credit facility, guarantees to undertake its publication under the Service Contract. Therefore, even if there was a proper legal basis for DOE's so-called mestizo evaluation - and just to be clear, there is none - the agency's approval of the transaction without any credible financial documents on hand is nonetheless a clear violation of its own department circular. The failure of the transferee to submit audited financial statements and other documents proving its financial capability should have resulted in the disapproval of its application. Maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw, lutong macau ang nangyaring transakyon. Mr. President, allowing a company in financial turmoil to own a large stake in Malampaya gravely endangers our country's energy security. Ownership of a 45 percent stake in SC 38 requires funding 45 percent of the consortium's 163.45-million-dollar Work Program and Budget as of 2021. Oil and gas exploration and extraction is an expensive, highrisk industry. However, UC Malampaya is reliant on its earnings from Malampaya's gas operations to pay its 45 percent share. If operations slow down, UC Malampaya would not be financially capable of paying its fair share of Malampaya's operating budget. When this happens, the consortium's operation will collapse. Malampaya will stop producing gas. Six out of ten lightbulbs in Metro Manila will go dark. Eventually, Malampaya's existing wells will run out of gas. The SC 38 consortium needs to drill deep into the seabed to discover new oil and gas deposits to power our homes and businesses. But when Malampaya's wells dry up, UC Malampaya will have no means of funding exploration activities within the SC area. Mahalaga na may pinansyal na kapasidad ang UC Malampaya para una, makatuklas ng mga bagong mapagkukunan ng langis sa ilalim ng ating karagatan at pangalawa, mapatakbo nang maayos ang Malampaya. Ginoong Pangulo, mabigat ang kahihinatnan ng bentahang ito na sinelyohan ng DOE dahil itinataya natin ang suplay at presyo ng enerhiya ng bansa sa mga darating na panahon. Ang Malampaya ang nagpapailaw sa higit apat at kalahating milyong kabahayan sa Mega Manila. Anim sa sampung mga bahay sa franchise area ng Meralco ang umaasa sa kuryenteng isinusuplay ng Malampaya. At kapag tuluyan na itong natuyo, malaki ang posibilidad na magka-brownout o lalo ring tataas ang presyo ng kuryente sa bansa. PD 87 and DC 2007 were meant to safeguard our country's energy security from this kind of precarious situation. This is why strict enforcement of these laws is vital to protecting the interests of the Filipino people. Mr. President, the law is the law. Anyone who violates it must be punished to its full extent. This is true, even more so, with regard to the public officials responsible for selling out our country's energy security. Mr. President, I call on the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission to promptly file administrative and criminal cases against Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who approved the deal, and other DOE officials who evaluated the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal and recommended its approval. Secretary Cusi and his subordinates are liable for gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct in evaluating and approving this transaction, pursuant to the Revised Administrative Code of 1987. Those found guilty will face dismissal from public service. Secretary Cusi, as the final approving authority, is also criminally liable under Section 3(j) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for knowingly granting the privilege of a participating interest in Service Contract 38 to UC Malampaya - an entity that is clearly not qualified to own it. Secretary Cusi and his subordinates are also liable under Section 3(e) of RA 3019, for providing UC Malampaya with unwarranted benefits, advantage, or preference through manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence in evaluating and approving the deal. Ginoong Pangulo, ito po ang kinalabasan ng mga serye ng pagdinig namin sa Committee on Energy hinggil sa kasunduan ng Chevron Philippines at UC Malampaya. Kailangang managot ang mga opisyal ng DOE, sa pangunguna ni Secretary Cusi, dahil sa paglapastangan nila sa batas. Inaprubahan nila ang paglipat ng 45% participating interest ng Malampaya sa isang kumpaya na maliwanag na wala namang kakayahang humawak ng isang mahalagang imprastraktura ng bansa. Sinira nila ang tiwala ng taong bayan na umaasa na mapapangalagan ang suplay ng kuryente. If convicted, they could face between six years and one month to fifteen years of imprisonment, and perpetual disqualification from public office. I will provide the proper authorities with a detailed report on our findings. I sincerely hope they will take swift action to hold these DOE officials accountable for their wrongdoing. At the same time, Mr. President, I am aware that many people have speculated as to the motive behind the preferential treatment accorded to UC Malampaya by Secretary Cusi and the Department of Energy. I will leave that to the courts of law and public opinion to decide. As far as I am concerned, what is clear is that Secretary Cusi and his subordinates have violated the law in evaluating and approving the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal. That is as far as my conclusion goes. In light of what has transpired, Mr. President, it is also clear that certain amendments are required to strengthen PD 87. These amendments should incorporate the effect on the service contract of the service contractor's failure to comply with the prior approval requirement of Section 11 of PD 87, as well as the effect of a transferee who is not legally, technically, or financially qualified. I am likewise proposing an amendment to impose criminal and, when applicable, administrative penalties against: Service contractors who fail to comply with the prior approval requirement under Section 11 of PD 87; DOE officials who approve a transfer or assignment of rights and obligations in a service contract which did not go through the prior approval requirement; and, DOE officials who approve a transfer or assignment of rights and obligations in a service contract to unqualified transferees or assignees. This will ensure that future service contractors and DOE officials will not repeat the same mistakes as those involved in the Chevron-UC Malampaya deal. Lastly Mr. President, I call on Secretary Cusi and his erring subordinates to immediately resign. With all that has happened, the Filipino people can no longer trust you to faithfully safeguard our country's precious energy resources. Hindi niyo na muling maloloko ang taong bayan. Nananawagan ako kay Secretary Cusi at sa labing-isa na mga opisyal ng DOE na kasama sa pag-apruba ng Chevron-UC Malampaya deal, magbitiw na kayo! That is all for now, Mr. President, distinguished colleagues. Thank you.
Honeywell has announced an agreement with Omans Meras, an energy, engineering, construction and project management services provider to support Honeywells expansion to conduct sustainability and energy projects across Oman.



Part of the private equity firm Oman Investment Corporation, Meras will develop a capability centre to support Honeywell as it implements energy and sustainability projects in the country including innovation, resources, design, contract, procurement and more. Meras has a strong presence in Oman, with strategic ties with private and government entities related to infrastructure healthcare, hospitality and education.



This collaboration will enable to strengthen the local capability around sustainability and energy domain. It will also support the requirements to implement energy efficiency actions, and carbon neutral objectives.



Honeywell has a long-standing history in Oman, having worked on a wide range of projects including airports, oil and gas projects and refining and petrochemicals technology implementation. Honeywell also works with a number of leading healthcare, education and hospitality customers within Oman.  TradeArabia News Service
 Farmers State Bank and Trust Co. will have limited hours at the 200 W. State St. location. The drive-through will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The 1718 W. Morton Ave. location and the 200 W. State St. lobbies will be unavailable.

 Jacksonville Public Library will close at 3 p.m. Thursday.

 Memorial Care in Jacksonville at 15 Founders Lane closed Thursday.

 A South Jacksonville village trustee meeting scheduled for Thursday has been canceled.

Colleges

 Illinois College morning classes will meet virtually and most afternoon classes will resume in-person instruction Thursday. Campus offices plan to resume normal operations after noon Thursday.

 Lincoln Land Community College locations closed Thursday. All facilities and offices closed, and classes and events cancelled.

Schools

 A-C Central Schools on remote learning Thursday.

 Beardstown Christian Academy closed Thursday.

 Bluffs shools closed Thursday.

 Carlinville schools closed Thursday.

 Franklin schools closed Thursday.

 Greenfield schools closed Thursday.

 Jacksonville schools closed Thursday.

 Meredosia-Chambersburg schools closed Thursday.

 New Berlin schools closed Thursday.

 North Mac schools closed Thursday.

 Our Saviour School closed Thursday.

 Palmyra-Northwestern schools closed Thursday.

 Routt Catholic High School closed Thursday.

 Salem Lutheran closed Thursday.

 Virginia schools on remote learning Thursday.

 Waverly schools closed Thursday.

 Winchester schools closed Thursday.

Other

 The Walking for Wellness program at the JHS Bowl is cancelled Thursday.
Some consumer groups and legislators are urging the elimination of a little-known QIP fee they say has helped utilities add high surcharges to customers' bills.

Utility representatives counter that the fee has allowed them to keep delivery systems such as natural gas pipelines safe for users.

The QIP fee  it's short for Qualified Infrastructure Plant  was approved by legislators in 2013 to cover the cost of such things as pipe replacement. It allows utilities to recover some costs with less oversight from the Illinois Commerce Commission, opponents argue.

During a news conference Monday, representatives of some of the three dozen groups advocating for the surcharge's removal called on lawmakers to support the Heating Affordability & Utility Accountability Act (House Bill 3941 and Senate Bill 570) to end the fee.

State Rep. Joyce Mason, a Gurnee Democrat, sponsored the House legislation, joined in the Senate by Sen. Cristina Castro, an Elgin Democrat.

"The legislation was intended to address safety issues for consumers, not to serve as a blank check for utility companies, Mason said. For too long, gas companies have been allowed to indiscriminately raise their prices with little to no oversight from state regulators. We need to hold these companies accountable for their actions and put an end to out-of-control heating costs.

Several of those in attendance said the surcharge was particularly burdensome at a time when natural gas bills are on the rise, often causing people to choose between staying warm or doing without other necessities. Pointing to Peoples Gas, a northern Illinois provider that uses the surcharge, detractors of the fee said legislators were told it would add about $13 a year to the average customer's bills, but it is closer to $150.

In December, 17% of Peoples Gas customers were behind on their bills, by a total of $77 million, according to the coalition.

The group also took Ameren Illinois to task, saying that even though Ameren has finished replacing cast iron pipes, it last year received a $76 million rate increase.

An Ameren representative said the safety of its distribution system is important and the legislature passed the Natural Gas Consumer, Safety and Reliability Act in 2013 as a way to strengthen the safety and reliability of the natural gas transmission and distribution systems.

"Ameren Illinois will continue to do our part to help strengthen the safety, reliability and integrity of the natural gas distribution system every day for the customers that rely on us," the utility said in a statement.

Ameren Illinois said it has replaced more than 350 miles of mechanically coupled steel pipeline, more than 100 miles of vintage high-pressure steel pipes, and more than 60 natural gas regulator stations.

"By law, the Illinois Commerce Commission must review our infrastructure investments to ensure they are reasonable and prudent. Groups like the Citizens Utility Board (one of those advocating for the legislation) have been involved in numerous hearings and participate in the regulatory process. For them to say that the ICC isn't doing its job is irresponsible and misleading the public," according to the Ameren statement.

For groups like AARP Illinois, which represents an estimated 1.7 million Illinoisans age 50 or older, it's about lowering costs for those who are being hit by natural gas bills.

"Weve heard from hundreds of our members about how these extraordinarily high bills are impacting them and about the disproportionate impact on older adults with fixed incomes who have had to choose whether to heat their homes or afford basic necessities like food and medicine," according to Ryan Gruenenfelder, AARP Illinois director of advocacy and outreach.

Supporters of the legislation include include AARP Illinois, the Citizens Utility Board and Illinois Public Interest Research Group. Members of the three groups held a news conference Monday to urge the General Assembly to end the QIP surcharge. They say the law allowed heating bills to skyrocket while lining the pockets of major utilities.
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Enoc Group, has signed a five-year agreement with Tfe Intermediacao De Negocios Ltda (TFE), Brazilian petroleum distributor, to distribute a wide range of Enoc lubricants in Brazil. Under the agreement, TFE will be the exclusive distributor of Enoc lubricants in the country.

Representing 41.3% of the South and Central America market, Brazil has the largest oil consumption in presenting a significant opportunity for Enoc to develop strategic partnerships to expand the Groups footprint and serve customers with its diverse range of high-quality products.

Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, Enoc, said: Our recent partnership with TFE Intermediacao De Negocios Ltda underscores our commitment to supporting the growth of the lubricants sector at an international level. As we continue to strengthen our presence globally, our expansion into Brazil will enable us to offer customers a diverse portfolio of the highest quality lubricants from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and opens up a door for expansion within the South American region.

TFE is a trading company and distributor in the energy sector specialised in the Brazilian market, operating in the import, export, and distribution of petroleum products.

Enoc Groups lubricants portfolio is distributed in countries across the globe in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa, with the latest addition being Brazil in South America.-- TradeArabia News Service
CDC recommends children 5-11 get covid-19 vaccine View Photo

Tuolumne County Public Health reports the death of a woman in her 60s due to Covid-19. There have been 162 deaths since January 2020, 14 of those deaths were reported since the first report of 2022 on January 3rd.

There are 92 new Covid-19 positive community cases, active community cases increased 46 to 497 including 18 people who are hospitalized. There are also five new inmate cases since Monday. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports 501 active cases down from 557 Monday. The Sierra Conservation Center, for the second day, has the most Covid cases out of all the prisons in California. There have been 2,195 inmate cases, the prisons inmate population is 3,046.

The newly reported community cases include 21 cases age 17 or younger and 25 cases age 60 or older. The new Covid cases by gender and age: 4 girls and 11 boys age 11 or younger, 3 girls and 3 boys age 12 to 17, 12 women and 2 men age 18 to 29, 8 women and 4 men in their 30s, 9 women and 4 men in their 40s, 5 women and 2 men in their 50s, 8 women and 5 men in their 60s, 4 women and 4 men in their 70s, and 2 women and 1 man in their 80s and 1 man age 90 or older.

Adventist Health Sonora is hosting a COVID-19 Pfizer vaccination clinic for children ages 5-11 only, happening this Friday, Feb. 4 from 3-6 p.m. at the hospital. They note to enter the hospital through the associate entrance off of Guzzi Lane and follow signs for the vaccination clinic.

The total current case rate, a 14-day average for Tuolumne County decreased to 134.7 from 143.7 per 100,000 population. The case rate reached a low of 15.1 on December 17th. A total of 92 were released from isolation in all 9,082 have been released from isolation and 61% of the population eligible to get vaccinated has been vaccinated.

The state reports the 14-day average for Covid-19 hospitalized patients decreased to 16. The state reports one ICU bed available in Tuolumne County out of six. Vaccination details per case are no longer reported, the state vaccination trends are here.

If you receive a positive test result, you will likely receive a text from a Virtual Agent to make contact and provide some information on what to do next. You can help slow the spread of COVID-19 by responding to texts, calls, or emails, and self-isolating when you have symptoms or a positive test result. Also, notify any close contacts youve had from 2 days before you became ill or got tested. Any close contacts should follow current quarantine guidance and get tested 3-5 days after exposure. If you are at high risk of severe disease or hospitalization, you can contact your doctor to discuss potential treatment options. If you are not symptomatic, have not tested positive for COVID-19 recently, and are not in quarantine, get vaccinated or boosted.

Calaveras County Public Health reports two deaths due to Covid-19. Calaveras County Health and Human Services Agency Director Cori L. Allen states, After the onset of this recent COVID-19 surge, we are seeing the very sad reality which includes two more untimely fatalities today: two males in their 80s. There just are no words to express the sadness these fatalities leave us all with. There have been 101 deaths since January 2020, seven of those deaths were reported since the first report of 2022 on January 3rd.

There are 97 new cases since Monday, January 31. There are three fewer active cases for a total of 110 active cases including five Covid hospitalizations. Calaveras reports positive cases age 17 and under number 1,300 or more, and cases age 65 and older are 1,000 or more. Specific numbers are no longer provided. There are 98 more counted as recovered for a total of 6,284 and 56.49% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated in the county. According to the state, Calaveras 14-day average for Covid hospitalizations increased to five and there are five ICU beds available.

COVID-19 Testing Free tests can be ordered at covidtests.gov or at usps.com/covidtest. The first tests will ship by the end of January. Tests will typically ship within 7-12 days of ordering through the U.S. Postal Service. USPS reports shipping times of 1-3 days for its first-class package service in the continental United States. The White House emphasized that the website is in beta testing when it made tests available for ordering for the first time today.

Public health recommends scheduling an appointment to get tested 5 days after possible exposure and if you are having any symptoms, to get tested right away. The Tuolumne County State testing site schedule is 7 days a week from 7 AM to 7 PM at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds and will be open on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Monday, January 17th. Appointments can be made at www.lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling 888-634-1123. Testing is also available at pharmacies, at Rapid Care, and the hospital emergency department if you are experiencing any symptoms, or contact your healthcare provider. More details are here.

COVID-19 Vaccine the CDC recommends people receive a booster shot if they completed a Pfizer series at least five months ago, or the Moderna series at least six months ago, or a J&J vaccine at least two months ago. Vaccine appointments for children ages 5 to 11 can also be made through myturn.ca.gov, or by calling 833-422-4255, or through local pharmacies, more details are here. For ways to manage a fear of needles or a phobia and help others with it, view the CDCs information guide here. Learn more about self-care strategies by visiting namica.org

County

Date

New

Active (Hospital)

Total 2022 All Cases (All Deaths) Amador 1/31 242 425 (16) 1,273 5,439

(64) Calaveras 2/1 97 110 (5) 1,860 6,495

(101) Mariposa 2/1 15 58 (16) 811 2,678

(20) Mono 2/1 9 N/A 914 2,889

(7) Stanislaus 2/1 599 11,523 (191) 27,391 112,364

(1,535) Tuolumne 2/1 97 497 (18) 3,940 11,936 (162) Reported cases at end of 2021 and 2020
Mariposa Sheriff Jeremy Briese View Photo

This week there was an early morning burglary at Coast Hardware store in Mariposa, and it was the second time the business has been hit in the past six months.

A passing motorist spotted multiple suspects breaking into the business and called 911. Sheriffs deputies arrived within minutes but it appeared the earlier passing vehicle spooked the suspects because they had all left the scene. Deputies found that the criminals had broken some glass display windows and stolen several items from the front of the store.

A security camera was able to capture a license plate image that led to search warrants being conducted down in Planada and Le Grand. Stolen items from the business were confiscated by deputies and arrested were 36-year-old Anna Orozco of Le Grand and 43-year-old Jesus Moreno of Planada.

Mariposa Sheriff Jeremy Briese says, Being able to identify these suspects quickly and restore a level of peace for our community and business owners is a big win for us. Dirtbag criminals like these are not welcome in Mariposa County.

He adds, We will continue to use all of our resources on all future crimes that threaten our community.

The Mariposa County Sheriffs Office reports that deputies continue to investigate both of the recent burglaries and hopes to identify additional suspects who may have been involved.
Accessibility to resorts in the Maldives will be significantly improved with the opening of Madivaru Airport this month, as the archipelago celebrates its Golden Jubilee.



Flights to and from Males Velana International Airport to Madivaru Airport in Lhaviyani Atoll will take just 25 minutes and operate throughout the night. Until now Lhaviyani has been serviced only by seaplanes, where operation is limited to daylight as well as flying from a different terminal at Velana.



The flight schedule will commence with three flights per day, scheduled according to arrivals and departures of international flights to ensure minimal wait times for travellers.



Madivaru Airport has been developed by Kuredu Holdings and will be managed by the national airline Maldivian, following a management agreement signed by Mohamed Moosa, Chairman of Champa Brothers Maldives & co-owner of Crown & Champa Resorts, one of the owners of luxury resorts Kudadoo Maldives Private Island and Hurawalhi Island Resort, as well as Kuredu, Komandoo and Innahura (Crown & Champa Resorts), all located a 1025-minute speedboat ride away from Madivaru Airport.



Madivaru Airports flights have been scheduled to connect travellers flying from several international airlines including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines.

Worlds Leading Destination

Earlier, Maldives has been named the Worlds Leading Destination for the second consecutive year at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2021 where the Maldives competed against 18 other destinations including Dubai, Indonesia, Spain, Vietnam, USA and Greece.



With its white and pristine beaches, blue seas and idyllic island paradises Maldives is a nation riding high on the waves of being the most preferred holiday destinations. One of the first nations to open its doors since the outbreak of Covid-19, the charm and charisma of this island nation has only ballooned in size.



Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations (MMPRC) Thoyyib Mohamed noted that the achievement was made possible due to the concerted efforts of the Government of Maldives, the Ministry of Tourism, other authorities, associations, NGOs and every other tourism sector stakeholder.



He particularly acknowledged the tireless effort of MMPRC employees in maintaining destination presence, marketing the destination as a safe haven, promoting our tourism products and our unique geography and experiences which promoted travellers confidence towards the destination post Covid.



Moving beyond its traditional reputation as a honeymoon destination, the Maldives has been expanding its offering with a host new offerings for a far wider range of tourists. Family experiences, health and fitness packages, solo travel experiences, extensive marine adventures, as well as a highlight on dining and gastronomy have all been adding pace recently, attracting more tourists to this safe and beautiful haven.



Marketing Maldives



The Maldives has been accelerating its marketing efforts over the past two years, placing heavy emphasis on promoting the unique geographical formation of the Maldivian islands and the key USP - one-island-one-resort-concept. These attractive features helped boost the country as one of the safest destinations to travel, taking in account the ripple effects of the pandemic in the global tourism industry.



Last year, the island nation welcomed more than 1.3 million tourists, making it an easy choice of winning the much-acclaimed accolade. As well as its top prize, Maldives also bagged four awards in the Indian Ocean category at the World Travel Awards. These categories are Indian Ocean's Leading Destination 2021, Indian Ocean's Leading Beach Destination, Indian Ocean's Leading Dive Destination 2021, Indian Ocean's Leading Tourist Board 2021. Incidentally, the destination has also won the famed Indian Oceans Leading Destination award 14 times over the last 18 years.



Most recently, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) signed a global advertising agreement with BBC Global News, incorporating their in-house commercial content studio, BBC Storyworks, to launch an international campaign designed to showcase the nation as a safe, prepared and welcoming luxury destination, through the voices of the people of the Maldives.



Activities within this campaign are further aligned with MMPRCs global marketing strategies, focused on maintaining tourism sustainability, from December 2021 through to March 2022. During the campaign, relevant and engaging content about the people, places and culture that make the Maldives diverse and unique.



The campaign aims to further promote the Maldives as the ideal travel destination that caters to the needs and wants of travellers in the era of the new normal. It will focus on marketing the destination as a safe haven and promote the experiences unique to the Maldives while providing information on the stringent measures in place for Maldivian tourism products such as resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveaboards. It will also highlight the geographically scattered nature of the island nation, which provides natural social distancing for travellers.



Additionally, MMPRC launched a special social media series bringing live experiences from the Maldives to viewers from around the world. The series, titled Experiences Live from Maldives, is targeted at a global audience to engage and apprise them of authentic experiences that tourists can partake in the Maldives.



The series are being streamed in 10 episodes (each 45-60 minutes in duration) on Facebook and YouTube and shared via MMPRCs social media channels including Weibo, WeChat (China), and other localised social media handles for Japan and South Korea. Key target markets for the series include Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Middle East, Russia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Scandinavia, UK, and USA.



As the parent company responsible for marketing the Maldives as a destination abroad, MMPRC carried out 260 different marketing activities in 22 global markets last year, including fairs, roadshows, familiarisation trips, marketing campaigns, webinars, and interviews.



MMPRC and the Maldives Tourism Industrys concerted drive to provide visitors with options to relax and rejuvenate after the effects of the global pandemic bore fruit as hundreds of thousands of visitors flocked to the Maldives with the assurances of a safe vacation. Thanks to natural social distancing as an archipelago nation, the safety of holidaymakers in the Maldives is further enhanced under our distinctive one island, one resort concept and close attention to Covid safety guidelines at every turn.



The Golden Jubilee celebration of tourism in the Maldives is already underway with new and exciting activities throughout the year. MMPRC has planned over 60 in-person events, including more than 10 fairs, roadshows, and events scheduled for just the first quarter of 2022. TradeArabia News Service
Cory Heikkila

Frigid temperatures in the low teens are expected to hit the Hill Country on Wednesday afternoon. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch with expected temperatures reaching anywhere from 12 to 19 degrees.

Mixed precipitation of freezing rain and sleet are possible with total ice accumulation of up to one quarter to one half inch across the far northern Hill Country, according to the Weather Services Alert. Wind gust are estimated as high as 35 mph and could produce a wind chill in the single digits through Friday night.
Sujata Jana / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm

Medina County deputies and animal control discovered more than 10 dogs in cruel and unhealthy living conditions on a man's property.

The dogs were found Tuesday, February 1, on a property located at the 600 block of County Road 7711 near Devine after animal control received a call about a loose dog, according to a news release. Upon further investigation they found the dogs tied to chains or in crates malnourished, filthy and unkept.
Bob Owen, STAFF-photographer / San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio and the South Central Texas region is in for another round of arctic weather expected to roll in on Wednesday. While the state's emergency management department is asking residents in the path of the weather to prepare, Texans are reminding each other not to panic buy at H-E-B.

The grocery chain, which dominates the state, experienced an upswing in traffic on Wednesday, January 19 ahead of that week's winter advisory. The following morning, H-E-B told MySA stores throughout the city were restocked and "used to weather adjustments."
A flurry of administrative activity in Live Oak produced a new city manager as the city said goodbye to a longtime leader.

On Friday, Jan. 14, Live Oak said goodbye to retiring City Manager Scott Wayman, who was promoted to city management in 2002 after 15 years with the Live Oak police. Wayman was promoted to assistant city manager in 2002 before becoming city manager in 2014. He had announced his retirement in October 2021.

On Monday, Jan. 17, Assistant City Manager Michael Hornes submitted his resignation, effective Feb. 4. Hornes on Jan. 11 was tabbed as interim assistant city manager, replacing Wayman as the city finalized its process of selecting a new leader.

On Tuesday, Jan. 18, City Council emerged from the executive session of a specially called city council meeting and announced it had selected Glen A. Martel, assistant city manager in Missouri City, Texas, as its next city manager.

Martel, a brigadier general with the Nevada Air National Guard, had served as the no. 2 administrator in Missouri City since July 2019. Among his duties in Missouri City were to oversee the citys public works department, development services department, and the parks and recreation department, three departments vital to Live Oaks future.

Mayor Mary Dennis said Martel was selected from a pool of 31 applicants in a search led by SGR, a firm selected by the city council prior to Waymans departure.

We had the interview with him last night (Jan. 18), Dennis said. While Martel had not signed the contract for the position before press time, Dennis said his acceptance of the position would bring him on board by Feb. 7.

Dennis said his military background and the work hes done in other cities were among the positive attributes council admired in Martels body of work.

Since we are built out, our future is going to look different  in a few years, Dennis said. Our 5.5 square miles is about used up. He has some good ideas as to how we can make good use of those properties and keep our city going, but also prepare it for the future. I think hes going to be a good fit.

Dennis said Martel informed her Jan. 19 that his resignation had been accepted in Missouri City, setting his hiring by Live Oak in motion.

The mayor said Martel spoke to council about its five-year plan and comprehensive plan. He said many cities have (comprehensive) plans that are just unattainable goals, but he felt that ours is very realistic and very doable, she said.

Thats going to be a big focus for us: how do we take this plan, this vision, these ideas that we have, and bring them to fruition. And council felt that he really gets it, she said. I think he really understands where were headed. He really did his homework, but we had done ours, too.

jflinn@express-news.net
This ancient warrior helmet was found in the Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia, near Naples, Italy.
For over a decade, Texas State University students across the San Marcos campus  and at public universities across South Texas  have urged schoolmates to help cancer patients by joining the national bone marrow registry.

After a quick cheek swab, a students name and tissue profile are entered into a national database. That directory is used by patients diagnosed with blood cancers, including leukemia, who are in desperate need of a bone marrow match.

So far, Texas States Cancer Advocacy Movement for Colleges and Outreach, or CAMCO, has registered 20,000 students on campus as potential bone marrow donors. The campus group is housed in the radiation therapy program and led by the program chair, Reynaldo Lozano.

Lozano, 62, helped Texas State create its radiation therapy program in 1998. By 2012, the department latched onto an existing bone marrow registry group on campus and enrolled thousands of students into the registry with the help of annual donations from local cancer care centers.

Yet documents provided to The Texas Tribune show that over at least a nine-month period, Lozano spent money in CAMCOs bank account for his own personal use. The financial transactions suggest that urgently needed money, donated by small Texas donors to connect patients with life-saving care, was instead being used to pay for a romantic tryst, including payments to the womans apartment complex and cash bail to help her after she was picked up on a warrant. In an email, Lozano said she was arrested due to two criminal charges, assault and theft in Tarrant County.

A week after The Texas Tribune began asking questions about these records, the university system began an investigation in early November, instantly sealing off documents about the transactions from the public. Lozanos name and CAMCOs page have since been scrubbed from the universitys website. Another professor was recently named interim program chair. Lozano is no longer listed as a faculty member on the universitys website.

The monthly Wells Fargo bank statements show the account name as Texas State CAMCO, care of Reynaldo Lozano, and the group is labeled as a faculty and staff organization. The statements include individual transactions that appear to be related to CAMCO expenses like meals at Chick-fil-A and $240 at Sign Arts in San Marcos. But theres also a $430 payment to Aladdin Bail Bonds and $1,000 to a San Antonio law firm.

Its not clear how much of the money Lozano used for expenses unrelated to CAMCO. Also, its not clear whether Lozano contributed his own money to this account. Neither Texas State nor Lozano offered an explanation for any transactions.

The apparently lackluster oversight over CAMCO raises questions about the universitys management and oversight practices involving on-campus organizations that use Texas States name. The investigation comes as the university recently launched a $250 million fundraising campaign, part of Texas States bid to become a top-tier research university.

Meanwhile, Texas State has not explained how this happened.

University officials denied the Tribunes open-records requests for CAMCOs financial records and receipts. The schools lawyers argued in a letter to the Texas attorney general that releasing the documents would violate an ongoing compliance investigation into the organization. This week, the attorney generals office sided with the university.

That compliance investigation began Nov. 4, one week after the Tribune filed an open-records request in late fall, according to a document provided by the Texas State University System.

A Texas State University spokesperson also repeatedly stated the school does not comment on ongoing investigations.

If deficiencies in policies or procedures are identified during an investigation, the university will take all necessary and appropriate action to address such deficiencies, wrote Sandra Pantlik, vice president for communications, in an email to the Tribune on Jan. 18.

Texas State did not answer written questions and would not explain how campus organizations that receive outside funding are generally monitored to avoid fraud and misconduct. System spokesperson Mike Wintemute pointed the Tribune to a faculty and staff organization policy that he said is used for university-affiliated organizations, but did not respond to questions clarifying if the university system considered CAMCO a faculty and staff organization.

Lozano initially expressed interest in speaking to the Tribune in late October until he learned the Tribune had filed an open-records request for financial records. He has since declined multiple requests for an interview.

Draining the bank account

The CAMCO bank documents provided to the Tribune cover only about a year and a half in the life of CAMCO, from January 2019 to May 2020. In that time, CAMCOs account went from a balance of $22,772 in July 2019 to $39.99 the following May.

A $1,000 donation from the Austin Radiological Association was among $17,000 in deposits made during that time, according to a check image included with the statements.

During that period, Lozano used the bank account for various unrelated purposes, including helping the 29-year-old woman to secure apartments in San Antonio. CAMCO funds also were used to pay for at least one hotel room for the woman, to help pay her bail, and to pay a lawyer, Anthony Cantrell. Emails show that Lozano contacted the lawyer to handle arrest warrants for unpaid traffic tickets.

The Tribune is not naming the woman because its not clear she knew Lozano was using CAMCOs money. Her mother told the Tribune that her daughter only learned where the money was coming from when Lozano told her a month ago.

She said, I didnt know thats what he was doing, and that he just confessed [to her], the mother said. The daughter has not responded to multiple requests for comment from the Tribune.

Bank statements show charges related to the woman started to ramp up in the summer of 2019.

Perhaps I should really try hard to ignore and forget the passion and romance that surges through my core when I am away from you, Lozano emailed the woman from his university account on July 20, 2019. Well I tried. I found in you what has been missing in my life despite being married for so long. Lozano and his wife of 30 years divorced in September 2020.

By late July, he was using CAMCO funds for motel rooms, one of them booked in her name. In August, emails show Lozano was helping the woman rent an apartment in San Antonio. A representative with an apartment complex notified him via email what the woman needed to secure an apartment there. Not long after that, two payments  one for $1,145 and another for $1,234  were made from the CAMCO bank account to the same apartment complex.

A neighbor also confirmed to Tribune that the woman lived in the complex and that Lozano would visit her.

Other payments from the CAMCO fund that were made at this time went toward a renters insurance policy and a payment to San Antonios utility company, totaling about $700; a $691 emergency vet clinic bill; $1,397 to Big Dans Furniture in San Antonio; $1,000 to the womans lawyer; $430 to Aladdin Bail Bonds and nearly $1,400 to another woman via Cash App.

Addressing a need

CAMCOs creation in 2009 was the work of Texas State geography professor Lawrence Estaville, whose own bone marrow transplant experience showed him firsthand the difficulty in locating a bone marrow match.

He felt blessed to have a [bone marrow] donor commit to his transplant journey, and felt called to help others in need, Angelika Wahl told the Tribune. She is the office manager at Texas States geography department who started the program with him. Estaville died of cancer in December 2018.

As Be The Match explains on its website, A bone marrow transplant takes a donors healthy blood-forming cells and puts them into the patients bloodstream, where they begin to grow and make healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

After Estavilles death, a geography department newsletter said that more than 150 patients had received marrow transplants from students who joined the registry with the help of CAMCO.

In 2012, Lozano and the Texas State radiation therapy department became involved. They started the Kathy Soliz Texas State Radiation Therapy Outreach Program, named after a 23-year-old Hispanic woman in San Marcos who died from leukemia after her expected donor was no longer interested in donating marrow.

They organized bone marrow registry drive events at other schools across the state, including the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Texas A&M International University, with the help of tens of thousands of dollars in donations annually from local cancer care centers like Texas Oncology, St. Davids HealthCare and the Austin Radiological Association over the years. That money was used to pay for marketing materials and student trips to other campuses for registry drives, Lozano said.

Flyers and T-shirts require funding, Lozano told attendees of a Zoom presentation during Texas States Big Ideas Virtual Week in the fall of 2020. When we go out to South Texas, we need to reserve rooms, pay for travel  for meals.

A Be The Match spokesperson described the relationship with CAMCO as informal but successful. Be The Match replicated the peer-to-peer model started at Texas State through its national program called Be The Match On Campus, she said.

The Texas State program also served as a community service learning opportunity for radiation therapy majors, according to the 2012 press release.

Under Estaville, CAMCO was a fairly informal venture that emphasized student-to-student recruitment to join the bone marrow registry. Over the years, the organization also hosted events like Bra Fashion Night to raise breast cancer awareness and Boxer Fashion Night, which focused on testicular cancer awareness. He eventually opened a bank account to deposit donations for the program since CAMCO was not an official university organization, Wahl said.

CAMCO leadership was passed on to Lozano to continue the registry events across Texas and beyond, as well as management of related accounts, Wahl said.

Before information about CAMCO was deleted by Texas State, it listed an executive committee of four people, including Lozano. The Tribune contacted the three other members listed, all of whom said they had not been involved with CAMCO for years and were unaware of the investigation.

I went to one meeting five years ago  when I was working for Texas State, Daniel Guerrero, the former mayor of San Marcos, told the Tribune. But that was the only meeting I ever attended, and I was never really all that involved.

Managing donations

Legal experts say while universities are generally always concerned about misconduct, its not unusual for leaders to assume its employees are following the rules until theres a reason to believe otherwise.

To be fair to a university administrator  you hear about a group, you assume that they are following the requirements to exist and to follow whatever university policies they have  especially since it is run by people who are part of your community, part of your part of the university, said Lloyd Mayer, a nonprofit tax expert and law professor at the University of Notre Dame. You assume good faith, and theyre following the policies unless some flag comes up.

But, Mayer said, there are best practices that many universities and organizations often put in place to prevent this type of behavior from occurring and to ensure that donors can trust their money is used appropriately.

Overall, Lozanos ability to use this money without detection leaves many questions unanswered about whether Texas States policies and procedures were abused, went unenforced or did not exist.

While Texas State has policies posted on its website detailing how employees should manage outside gifts and donations through its University Advancement division, its unclear whether CAMCO followed those rules or if it was required to by the university. Experts say without those answers, its hard to determine the scale of the problem.

Is this a one-off or is this the tip of the iceberg? Mayer said. Because if its the tip of the iceberg, then the university needs to think seriously about stepping up its enforcement of these procedures and education of its faculty and staff about them and so forth.

Its also difficult to determine how Texas State classified CAMCO. Bank statements list Texas State CAMCO as a faculty and staff organization, but it is not listed as such on the universitys faculty and staff organization page. The university system did not respond to questions about whether it considers CAMCO a faculty and staff organization.

While Texas States policies say faculty and staff organizations cannot use the universitys federal tax identification number for their purposes, a February 2021 invoice provided to the Tribune by one CAMCO donor  St. Davids HealthCare  shows Lozano listed the universitys federal tax identification number.

Whether Lozano was supposed to do that is unclear. If he was, experts say that is not an unusual setup, but it does mean the university should be supervising those dollars.

Texas State University is responsible for ensuring that donations it receives are used for charitable purposes, said Jill Manny, executive director of the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law at New York University.

Bigger than a man

When initially contacted by the Tribune, CAMCOs donors said they were not aware of an investigation into the group.

Austin Radiological Association and Texas Oncology declined to disclose how much money they had provided over time. St. Davids HealthCare informed the Tribune that it had contributed $55,000 to the organization since 2012.

None of the organizations would say if they plan to pursue legal action against Lozano or the university.

A Be The Match spokesperson said the group was also unaware of the investigation.

Be The Match is concerned by the allegations, spokesperson Erika Savilla said in a written statement. Donor intent is something we take seriously and we always aim to be good stewards of financial gifts made to us. We expect the same of any individual or entity affiliated with us.

Jon Hudson, a regional director for Be The Match who is based in San Antonio, expressed concern that this might deter organizations from partnering with them in the future, but hoped people would remember the larger purpose.

Its hard to swallow that this has happened, he told the Tribune. ... Texas State CAMCO is bigger than a man, he said.

Disclosure: Texas State University, the Texas State University System, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley,Texas A&M International University, Texas Oncology and St. Davids HealthCare have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
"I want to keep it as simple as possible," Thor Harris says, giving pointers for the upcoming freeze. "You turn this on, you turn this off."

We're sitting on his porch in East Austin, talking about Winter Storm Uri, last February's freeze that left an estimated 200,000 city residents without power  and many without water  for days. Harris, a plumber by day and prolific multi-instrumentalist by night  he has recorded and toured with bands like Swans, The Angels of Light, Xiu Xiu, and countless others  is trying to describe how residents can think about their plumbing systems.

"If you just imagine the whole thing as a straw with your finger on it, thats all that it is," he says, smiling.

Texas humor: Texans turn winter storm anxiety and stress into memes

Harris has been a local celebrity for decades, as a masterful drummer in huge rock bands with a big heart. He lives in an ornate, eccentric-looking house in what is called the Blackland Community, a nonprofit collective of 51 houses that rents to low income families in an effort to slow gentrification on Austin's east side. He works for free on every house in the collective, fixing plumbing issues or whatever else arises.

But last February, Harris went viral for his short instructional videos geared toward Texans who were panicking about their frozen, bursting pipes.

Two days after his first video, Harris uploaded another short instructional video for Texans who were experiencing leaks in one area of their homes, explaining how to use a hacksaw or pipe-cutter to remove a busted length of pipe and seal it off.

For his efforts, O Magazine included Harris the following month in an article titled "5 Feel-Good Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Quarantine."

"People dont know and its hard to know, coming from Texas," he says. "My Twitter and Instagram followers all over the world, of course they know how to turn off their water. But when I work on peoples houses in Texas, they dont know how to  because they never have to. It doesnt get cold enough to need to know that. Thats why I made those videos."

As the next freeze approaches Central Texas, I asked Harris about what folks should do to prepare. The big question on everyone's mind, due to the mixed-messaging last year: should we drip our faucets overnight?

"Yes, it works, because youre keeping a certain amount of not-frozen water moving through the pipes," he says, with a caveat. "It may not work below a certain temperature. It may get so cold that it would just freeze in the line even though theres pressure."

Harris also says a big issue last year was the cracking and breaking of tankless water heaters around town.

"I probably changed 15 last year and theyre about $1,000 each," he says. "I got to where I could do them in about two hours so it didnt cost people too much."

Still, to save some trouble, Harris says it's a good idea to drain them every night during this cold front, even though some of the tankless water heaters have electric frost protection. If the electricity goes out again, that protection is useless.

"Would it truly protect your tankless? We didnt have trouble with a bunch of them cracking until we had freezing plus no power," he says. "Thats why they cracked."

Generally speaking, he says people should figure out where their water shut-off is located and how to turn off the water to your entire house. Harris recommends getting enough water to drink, and to fill a bucket with enough water to flush the toilet a few times. Then turn it off completely.

"Then find the lowest point  for most people it's an outside hose spigot. Open that hose spigot and let the water drain out of that. If youre being thorough, open an inside sink," he says. "By doing that, your whole system is open. If frozen water wants to expand, it has some room to."

I ask Harris if this is necessary for everyone. He says that if you need peace of mind, this is the way to get it.

"Drain your entire system if youre not sure its insulated enough," he says. "If I wasnt sure, I would just drain it, then turn it on and use it a lot during the day. Use everything. Do laundry."

If you wake up and your pipes are frozen after you turn the water back on, he says to leave it on for a bit to see if the water works its way through  but only if you will be around to check if anything bursts.

"The main cost is if they freeze, crack, unfreeze, and start spraying water in your house," Harris says. "You want to avoid that. Sometimes we run fresh water lines in the ceiling. If it's a slab and the old water lines failed, sometimes we have no other choice than to run them through the attic."

Harris says he helped a friend, local musician Greg Piwonka, track down pipe leaks in his ceiling after the last freeze. Piwonka, Harris says, now plays in a new band called Water Damage. I ask him if there's a correlation there.

"I should ask Greg," he says. "Because I play in that band."

Harris says his phone rang off the hook after the last freeze, and now with the Austin real estate boom, he says he has been in "constant demand, to the point where I used to really feel like I said yes to everything. I certainly dont now. A job has to have a really nice person attached to it or a bunch of money  and if it's that it has to be a short job. I cant be in an awful place like Westlake. Or it has to be a super good hang. Then Ill work for nothing. To say Im sliding-scale is very much true."

Harris loves the work. In 2020 he released an astonishing six records under his Thor & Friends moniker, a band that includes his girlfriend Peggy Ghorbani, whom Harris calls "a punk rock marimba player, a licensed acupuncturist, and my hero," though touring is mostly on hold because of the pandemic. He makes money working on plumbing gigs via word-of-mouth only and playing regular gigs at the Volstead, during Monday night's MeMerMo events.

"Having construction as a day job is a great gig for a musician because even before Austin was a boomtown, people need stuff fixed," Harris says. "As Gary Chester from [local bands] Pong and Ed Hall says, 's--t keeps breaking.'"

He also appreciates that plumbing is something that everyone needs, regardless of class status.

"I really, truly love plumbing," Harris says, right before we part. "I think its one of the amazing things about living in an advanced society. I hope to be as much help as I can."
Your humble blogger has mixed feeling about using personal shaggy dog stories to illustrate potential widespread issues. Today, well discuss symptoms of operational failures across various entities. Im holding back the worst, where I spent nine hours and 35 minutes (which I taped) trying to get a big brand financial institution to do something which it had maintained could be accomplished online in 15 minutes, for a later post.

One reason for presenting these examples is they dont quite fit into the crapification model (although readers may beg to differ). So one reason for bringing up this topic with readers is not only getting more examples of this syndrome, but also comping upCrapification is typically the result of trying to extract more profit from a product or service at the expense of quality, safety and/or durability. Examples are legion, including:

 The Boeing 737 Max fiasco  Underinvestment in maintenance producing large-scale harm via dangerous accidents or service failure, such as fires caused by antique PG&E equipment, the massive power outage last year in Texas (and recent warnings that bad snowstorms/cold temps this winter could produce a repeat), the Pittsburg bridge collapse  Planned obsolescence, the bane of tech users, and more and more are being sucked into having hardware and software dictate product life than is necessary or desirable for users. Peak word processing was WordPerfect circa 1994. The NeXTs Improv (a Lotus product) ran rings around Excel. And dont get me started on IoT. What happens when the provider of XYZ system goes out of business and your locks or heating system gets bricked? What about the inclusion of way more chip-enabled features than are necessary in everything from washing machines to cars, leading to more costly service calls and faster product death due to key components often not available after ten years? One example is the phaseout of the 3G network affecting some car models from 2010 to even as recent as 2021 models. Admittedly, the affected systems are not critical to driving the car, but their not being updated would presumably hurt resale value. Most automakers are offering upgrades but some are curiously indifferent. From CNBC: Lexus: According to Lexus, all models produced by the Toyota-owned luxury brand between 2010 and 2017 will be affected by the 3G shutdown, along with GX models from 2018. The shutdown for those cars connected services will come on October 31, 2022, at which point features like automatic collision notification and enhanced roadside assistance will stop working permanently. So far, Toyota and Lexus havent announced any plans to offer software or hardware upgrades. By contrast, I can still get parts for a 2003 Buick.  Deliberately reducing product quality to force consumers into much faster replacements. How about Craftsman tools? Clothes, even high end ones now made with thinner fabrics and shoddier tailoring? Even simple devices like sponge mops now have online reviews that complain of them breaking during assembly or the first few uses, sponges falling apart, and replacement sponges not being installable due to screws not working with sponges sold as replacements.

By contrast, the sort of failings I am encountering now have the feel of institutional I dont give a fuck. Its not as if they are setting out to save time (which of course = more profit) by being indifferent. Its just that too many organizations (or key units) dont care about the message they send about their service quality by putting customers through unnecessary grief. If you are on the receiving end, the experience is like Sisyphus trying to push his rock to the top of the hill, or being a rat who has been trained that one push of lever produces a piece of corn finding that repeatedly pushing the lever does nothing, and theres no other way to get the corn.

Some examples:

New York State. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has to provide a written consent before a New York corporation can be dissolved. The printed consent form describes the next steps: Send the consent form to the Secretary of State with a completed form TR-960 and a check for $60 to a Secretary of State address. But there is no Form TR-960. And when you go to the Secretary of State website, and put in consent to dissolution of a corporation you get over 400 matches, and the first ten dont have the needed form. This forces a call to the Secretary of State to get a live human to help navigate the site to locate the form. It is also harder than it ought to be to find the corporation lookup on the New York Secretary of State site, leading one to wonder if the terrible search function and misleading instructions are actually a covert full employment program for customer service staffers. Numerous health care providers. It is a condition of existence for any medical provider who has not opted out of the insurance regime to be able to document their charges and show diagnosis and procedure codes for each (or if getting labs or imaging from free-standing providers, just the procedure codes). For a host of complicated reasons (like getting prices at least as good as the insurers best negotiated rates) I pay for most medical services and get reimbursed. I make clear I need the same sort of info they routinely provide to insurers as a condition of paying at the time of service, which they ought to be doing everything to encourage. Mind you, this isnt life or death. Its just money. But our health care system is optimized for billing, not patient care. Nevertheless, the results are bimodal: either the provider prints a receipt right on the spot with the needed information, or it is a major tooth-pulling exercise to get them to deliver it. Too often, they instead deliver a patient statement which lacks procedure codes and adequate information about the billing individual/institution (license or provide # or EIN). In one case, I had to march in person to the office of the MD and get his assistant to call the imaging empire to send the needed records. Even that didnt work, but she did give me the name and phone number of the person who was supposedly handling it. It was my call to her (which was my fifth attempt to get the forms I needed) that worked. Birmingham Water Works. The sewer and water bill for the house is still in the name of my father, who died in 2006. This might be tolerable except his and my mothers bank was acquired and so the account number for the autopay will change and I need to update that. If you call the number printed on the bill to change the payment method, the person who tiredly answers the phone says they havent provided that service since 2018 and theyve repeatedly requested that Birmingham Water Works update its statements. If you call the number the no longer doing it person provides, they want my dead fathers SSN. Fortunately some of his records are still around so I can probably find itbut for payment water service? To a physical address? Search engines. As the lawyers say, res ipsa loquitur. Overpromising on shipments. Mind you, I buy very little and so do not order much online. But Ive been on the receiving end of a surprisingly high number of delivery failures, such as a Midtown Manhattan vendor trying 2x to send a small package to a colleague in Washington Heights.and having the vendor insist it had arrived, when both times it was actually out for delivery for >two weeks. A small Fedex delivery was first falsely reported as having gotten here when it hadnt, and it was finally delivered, ten days after the initial bogus report, and left at the curb, which is a very steep and long walk downhill from the unused front door, where it sat astonishingly untouched for three days. I have four other examples in the last seven months I will spare you. I understand that delivery staffers are overworked and abused. Thats why I make efforts to use them sparingly. But here the fault (save for dumping the parcel which had been left for days on the truck at the curb) was not primarily that of the driver but of the company for misrepresenting the status of the shipment, when in this world of everything bar coded and scanned, that should not be possible.

Mind you I have more examples, but they would take more splaining to convey.

One could treat this sort of thing as Covid related. All across the board, operations hollowed out their service staff and also had many if not all working from home, which makes it harder to assure quality (no call center supervisor able to keep her ear on a lot of conversations and sense who might be getting off the rails often enough to need more help). And they also just cut support levels, found they could get away with it, and decided to stick with the new normal because they could. But if you look at my examples above, only the delivery service one is arguably Covid-related, the rest are long-standing.

Now it could well be that these low level but seemingly widespread failures are symptomatic of a revolt, or perhaps mere withdrawal of engagement, by mid level workers. Why tell the bosses what needs to be fixed when they dont want to hear it? Why try to make an organization better if it makes clear that it doesnt care that much about keeping you or serving customers well? Or more fundamentally, why regard customers time as important if management doesnt value your time?

Perhaps I am off base in regarding this sort of service erosion as an institutional pathology, and welcome confirmation or disagreement.
Some Covid developments that seemed worthy of a few more pixels than a link and a quick comment.

Omicron reinfections. Wed warned that Omicron reinfections were showing up at a surprising rate, given that Omicron was hardly anywhere at the end of November. The only conclusion one can reach is that some (many?) who get Omicron dont get meaningful immunity. It appeared that the reinfections were in those famed mild cases.

Recall that the Imperial College REACT surveys are among the best data in the world on Covid. They test ~100,000 people every five weeks or so. And recall since the UK is a civilized country with a national health service, they have good data about the participants. The UK, unlike the US, also sequences a high percentage of the positive Covid samples.

The last REACT survey was January 5 to 20. CNBC summarizes the key findings:

The study found that 99% of sequenced positive swabs came from people infected with the omicron variant, with only 1% of infections being caused by the delta variant. We observed unprecedented levels of infection with SARS-CoV-2 in England in January 2022 and almost complete replacement of delta by omicron, the studys authors said in their paper released Wednesday. Two-thirds of the 3,582 participants who tested positive in January reported they had already tested positive for Covid in the past. A further 7.5% of infected participants said they suspected they had previously had the virus, but had not had this confirmed with a test.

Indirectly confirmed by:

#Omicron part 2 the come backs a bitch 10% reinfection rate, almost zero before Omicron https://t.co/IXSKp5Yk5e  New Forms Research (@NewFormsResearc) February 1, 2022

The UK's covid infection statistics began to add reinfection data. Since the omicron wave, the reinfection rate has increased from less than 1% in the past to 10% of the total number of infections. pic.twitter.com/II8Cu838Xz     (@postocron) February 1, 2022

Additional intel:

Overall, immunity from Omicron infection is much lower than the immunity from Delta infection, correlated with the severity of infection. So unless you get a severe infection with all of its consequences you also dont get immunity from having another infection. 3/  Yaneer Bar-Yam (@yaneerbaryam) January 30, 2022

Actual cases of reinfection by Omicron are so widespread they are manifest to anyone who is not closing their eyes: 10/https://t.co/zQkEDUSzom  Yaneer Bar-Yam (@yaneerbaryam) January 30, 2022

Important addition: Anthony Leonardi @fitterhappierAJ has shown that the immune system T-cells are damaged by covid (shades of HIV), potentially undermining not just Covid immunity but immunity to other diseases, and part of Autoimmune dysfunction after covid. 12/  Yaneer Bar-Yam (@yaneerbaryam) January 30, 2022

Well, look at that! "Several cases of Omicron reinfection said detected in Israel with new BA2 strain." https://t.co/IUbj4bTm1o  Gabriel Hebert-Mild  (@Gab_H_R) February 1, 2022

This is really quite incredible. As we rush to our herd immunity goal it would appear that Omicron gives very little protection against reinfection, and people are getting reinfected immediately. Schools could be a constant reservoir of covid with constant reinfections. https://t.co/fvRP1Orfml  Stephen (@Lost1nSpace) January 30, 2022

I've seen more studies showing reinfections are more severe than I've seen of the opposite. Looks like Omicron is going to give us a lot of data to find out what's right. May of course be variant specific too. Disclosure: I was hospitalised Jan 2021 with a reinfection  David Steadson  (@DavidSteadson) February 2, 2022

Brain effects. We mentioned Anthony Leonardis concern, expressed in an interview in November with WSWS, about a Covid study performed on twelve rhesus macaque monkeys. Eight were infected with Covid and all sacrificed to examine their brains. All the infected monkeys had Lewy bodies when none of the controls did. As we explained, that is a big deal because Lewy bodies over time produce Lewy body dementia, a degenerative disease.

Lambert found a hot-off-the-presses preprint on human brains. N=only 5, but scientist GM confirmed that its hard to do studies that require human tissue; the researchers have to be lucky and patient. From SARS-CoV-2 invades cognitive centers of the brain and induces Alzheimers-like neuropathology:

Acute neurological disorders occur in many patients, and one-third of COVID-19 survivors suffer from brain diseases. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 invades the brains of five patients with COVID-19 and Alzheimers, autism, frontotemporal dementia or no underlying condition by infecting neurons and other cells in the cortex. SARS-CoV-2 induces or enhances Alzheimers-like neuropathology with manifestations of -amyloid aggregation and plaque formation, tauopathy, neuroinflammation and cell death. SARS-CoV-2 infects mature but not immature neurons derived from inducible pluripotent stem cells from healthy and Alzheimers individuals through its receptor ACE2 and facilitator neuropilin-1. SARS-CoV-2 triggers Alzheimers-like gene programs in healthy neurons and exacerbates Alzheimers neuropathology We found that SARS-CoV-2 invades the cognitive centers of all five COVID-19 patients, leading to Alzheimers-like neuropathology or Alzheimers neuropathology exacerbation. SARS-CoV-2 infects human inducible pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived mature neurons from healthy individuals, leading to amyloid beta (A) deposition, increased inflammation, neuronal death and increased expression of Alzheimers mediators. Strikingly, we found that SARS-CoV-2-infects neurons from healthy individuals through a shared gene expression program with Alzheimers neurons, leading to activation of the infectious pathways and supporting the infectious etiology of Alzheimers disease.

Eeek. The only possible solace is this was a very small study; perhaps this damage isnt as pervasive if you get a bigger and therefore more representative population. Still.

Shabby US performance. The august New York Times has roused itself to acknowledge the fact that the US has the worst Covid death rate per capita of any wealthy country. Only sorta-shambolic places like Greece and Russia score lower.

The Times attributes this poor outcome solely to our poor vaccination rate. It only barely and late acknowledges poor underlying health, such as a high rate of diabetes and obesity, and did not mention very uneven access to health care. It only mentions masks only once, again late, omits ventilation and ignores isolating when sick. Instead, and I am not making this up, it makes those who question the officialdom responsible too. From U.S. Has Far Higher Covid Death Rate Than Other Wealthy Countries:

Death rates are so high in the States  eye-wateringly high, said Devi Sridhar, head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who has supported loosening coronavirus rules in parts of Britain. The United States is lagging. Some of the reasons for Americas difficulties are well known. Despite having one of the worlds most powerful arsenals of vaccines, the country has failed to vaccinate as many people as other large, wealthy nations. Crucially, vaccination rates in older people also lag behind certain European nations. The United States has fallen even further behind in administering booster shots, leaving large numbers of vulnerable people with fading protection as Omicron sweeps across the country. Despite beginning Covid-19 vaccinations months earlier than countries like Japan and Australia, a smaller share of people in the United States are now fully vaccinated. The resulting American death toll has set the country apart  and by wider margins than has been broadly recognized. Since Dec. 1, when health officials announced the first Omicron case in the United States, the share of Americans who have been killed by the coronavirus is at least 63 percent higher than in any of these other large, wealthy nations, according to a New York Times analysis of mortality figures. Hospital admissions in the U.S. swelled to much higher rates than in Western Europe, leaving some states struggling to provide care. Americans are now dying from Covid at nearly double the daily rate of Britons and four times the rate of Germans.

Due to the hour, I cant assess the New York Times international vaccination rate comparison. And recall also that our IM Doc contends that many of his vaccinated patients are not listed as vaccinated in official databases, so the ones who are hospitalized are incorrectly counted as unvaxxed hospitalizations. So US data is bad and one also has the issue of consistency in cross country comparisons.

Nevertheless, I had a quick look at Statista, which lists the raw number of vaccinations by country per 100 people. It creates a different picture that the Times story. Japan, with its impressively low Covid rate, is virtually on a par with the US, when youd expect Japan to be much higher due to having an aged population and compliant citizens who see their doctors a lot. Greeces vaccination rate is above the EU average, suggesting that having a broken hospital system can more than offset the benefit of a solid level of vaccination.

And here is the Times shameless dissenter-bashing:

More Americans have also come to express distrust  of the government, and of each other  in recent decades, making them less inclined to follow public health precautions like getting vaccinated or reducing their contacts during surges, said Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations. A study published in the scientific journal The Lancet on Tuesday by Mr. Bollyky and Dr. Dieleman of the University of Washington found that a given countrys level of distrust had strong associations with its coronavirus infection rate. What our study suggests is that when you have a novel contagious virus, Mr. Bollyky said, the best way for the government to protect its citizens is to convince its citizens to protect themselves.

Gee, perhaps if the government showed more interest in protecting its citizens, they also might be willing to take up suggestions about how to care for themselves and their fellow community members? The lack of recognition of the impact of the neoliberal conditioning, as in treating everyone as an island responsible only for themselves and at most their immediate family, is striking.

Western Australias cordon sanitaire of sorts Oddly, the press has largely ignored Western Australias stringent and generally very successful Covid restrictions. The Financial Times has a long story yesterday on how they were being tested by Omicron plus fatigue. Despite predictable whining by senior businessmen who cant abide having to quarantine if they want to visit, as well as complaints about worker shortages, the piece was pretty even-handed if you read it in full. For instance, it pointed out that the mining industry in the far side of the back of beyond often had trouble with staffing and it wasnt clear how much of the current crunch could be attributed to Covid. From the Financial Times:

Western Australia, the countrys largest and most mineral-rich state, was due this week to finally open its domestic borders after two long years operating as a hermit state. But the rapid rise of the Omicron coronavirus variant prompted an abrupt reversal of that plan Western Australia is home to many of the countrys largest mines, ranging from the huge iron ore pits in the Pilbara operated by BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting to smaller operators digging for nickel, lithium and gold. The border closure has played a large part in protecting the countrys mining industry from the worst ravages of the pandemic. Omicron has begun to penetrate the state, with the first case confirmed at BHPs Yandi iron ore mine last week when a train driver tested positive, forcing 70 of his colleagues to isolate. Covid-19 cases, which have had a devastating effect at mines outside the state, have been rare. But the closure of Western Australias borders has also led to a labour shortage, particularly of train drivers, mining and electrical engineers, geologists and geophysicists. Australia initially adopted strict border closures internally and internationally, which helped keep its toll of infections and deaths comparatively low. Most states relaxed the restrictions, however, after vaccination rates increased and in response to accusations that the border closures infringed on citizens rights. Only Western Australia has kept its border closed. Jakob Madsen, professor of economics at the University of Western Australia, questioned how much of an impact the border closure has had on the labour market, noting there was already a shortage in the industry due to a mining boom that has been heightened by some workers unwillingness to get vaccinated, a government requirement.

Id very much appreciate further comment from readers Down Under and otherwise knowledgeable about how Western Australia is faring. Having said that, when I lived in Sydney, WA got the short shrift in news coverage. But it most assuredly is not an autarky; the growing areas are in the eastern part of the continent. But WA should feature on the list showing that Covid minimization is possible and also does not cripple the economy, US media mouthpieces to the contrary.
99 million-year-old flowers found perfectly preserved in amber bloomed at the feet of dinosaurs CNN

Now thats a BIG shock! Worlds longest lightning bolt lasted for 8.5 seconds and stretched more than 477 MILES across the skies over Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi  37 miles longer than the previous record Daily Mail

Google parent Alphabet posts surge in search advertising revenue FT

Climate

(Map shows average annual loss (AAL) by US county, with losses expressed as a proportion of the total value.)

#COVID19

What We Can Learn From How the 1918 Pandemic Ended NYT. The only thing certain is that future variants, if they are to be successful, will elude immune protection. They could become more dangerous. That was the case not only in 1920 with the last gasp of the 1918 virus, but also in the 1957, 1968 and 2009 influenza pandemics. Let er rip!

Were Not Back to Normal (interview) Julia Raifman, Democracy Journal

The Off-Rampers Need to Get Specific, or Else Just Shut Up Mike the Mad Biologist

A Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on COVID-19 Mortality (PDF) Studies in Applied Economics (Re Silc). Lockdowns are defined as the imposition of at least one compulsory, non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI). NPIs are any government mandate that directly restrict peoples possibilities, such as policies that limit internal movement, close schools and businesses, and ban international travel. More specifically, stringency index studies find that lockdowns in Europe and the United States only reduced COVID-19 mortality by 0.2% on average. [Shelter-In-Place Orders] were also ineffective, only reducing COVID-19 mortality by 2.9% on average. Specific NPI studies also find no broad-based evidence of noticeable effects on COVID-19 mortality. That definition of lockdown seems a little tendentious to me. The authors are interesting. Propagated instantly.

* * *

SARS-CoV-2 invades cognitive centers of the brain and induces Alzheimers-like neuropathology (preprint) bioRxiv. From the Abstract: SARS-CoV-2 infects mature but not immature neurons derived from inducible pluripotent stem cells from healthy and Alzheimers individuals through its receptor ACE2 and facilitator neuropilin-1. SARS-CoV-2 triggers Alzheimers-like gene programs in healthy neurons and exacerbates Alzheimers neuropathology. A gene signature defined as an Alzheimers infectious etiology is identified through SARS-CoV-2 infection, and silencing the top three downregulated genes in human primary neurons recapitulates the neurodegenerative phenotypes of SARS-CoV-2. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 invades the brain and activates an Alzheimers-like program. n=5, but human brain tissue is thin on the ground. Anecdotage-ally (GM):

If youre experiencing memory loss after having COVID-19, try setting an alarm on your phone to remind you of what you need to do. Make daily lists or leave yourself notes where you will see them as a reminder. For more tips, visit: https://t.co/q1qmjIf4nH. #LongCOVID pic.twitter.com/iAp4Et3XL9  Alberta Health Services (@AHS_media) February 1, 2022

Thank you, Alberta Health Services!

Multiple Early Factors Anticipate Post-Acute COVID-19 Sequelae Cell (AB). n = 309. From the Abstract: We executed a deep multi-omic, longitudinal investigation of 309 COVID-19 patients from initial diagnosis to convalescence (2-3 months later), integrated with clinical data, and patient-reported symptoms. We resolved four PASC-anticipating risk factors at the time of initial COVID-19 diagnosis: type 2 diabetes, SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia, Epstein-Barr virus viremia, and specific autoantibodies. PASC = post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 (long Covid).

Vaccines Elicit Highly Conserved Cellular Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Nature. From the Abtract: Here we show that cellular immunity induced by current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is highly conserved to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Spike. Individuals who received Ad26.COV2.S or BNT162b2 vaccines demonstrated durable Spike-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cell responses, which showed extensive cross-reactivity against both the Delta and Omicron variants, including in central and effector memory cellular subpopulations. Median Omicron Spike-specific CD8+ T cell responses were 82-84% of WA1/2020 Spike-specific CD8+ T cell responses. These data provide immunologic context for the observation that current vaccines still show robust protection against severe disease with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant despite the substantially reduced neutralizing antibody responses.

COVID-19 human challenge study reveals detailed insights into infection (press release) Imperial College London (original). n = 36. The subjects were challenged with a pre-Alpha SARS-COV-2 virus:

Among the 18 infected participants, the average time from first exposure to the virus to viral detection and early symptoms (incubation period) was 42 hours, significantly shorter than existing estimates, which put the average incubation period at 5-6 days. Following this period there was a steep rise in the amount of virus (viral load) found in swabs taken from participants nose or throat. These levels peaked at around five days into infection on average, but high levels of viable (infectious) virus were still picked up in lab tests up to nine days after inoculation on average, and up to a maximum of 12 days for some, supporting the isolation periods advocated in most guidelines. There were also differences in where the most virus was found. While the virus was detected first in the throat, significantly earlier than in the nose (40 hours in the throat compared to 58 hours in the nose), levels were lower and peaked sooner in the throat. Peak levels of virus were significantly higher in the nose than in the throat, indicating a potentially greater risk of virus being shed from the nose than the mouth. This highlights the importance of proper facemask use to cover both the mouth and nose.

* * *

A Consensus Statement on SARS-CoV-2 Aerosol Dynamics OSF Preprints (BH). A response to this preprint (Oswin). Key paragraph: Oswin et al. present results of a study using an established scientific method to gain mechanistic insights into the survival of viruses in air. All mechanistic laboratory studies are by necessity models approximating the real world, e.g. regarding the aerosol composition, particle size, or viral load. Readers know my priors on models; thats why I never linked to Oswin.

School Daze New York Magazine. Plexiglass in school-rooms:

For shared room airborne transmission, proper ventilation is an important mitigation measure. Plexiglass restricts the ventilation and allows a localized concentration of aerosols from eddies. This increases the likelihood you can get infected. 4/7 pic.twitter.com/SFVcYaxaFt  Joey Fox, P. Eng, M.A.Sc (@joeyfox85) February 1, 2022

No leadership or messaging on this from CDC, naturally.

The British Medical Journal Story That Exposed Politicized Fact-Checking (excerpt) Matt Taibbi, TK News. BMJ on Pfizer whistleblower. Excerpt, but works as standalone.
Yves here. During the very protracted Brexit negotiations, we pointed out how deeply integrated UK law had become with EU law, which among other things made the shrillness over escaping the jurisdiction of the presumed-perfidious European Court of Justice seem to be putting the cart before the horse. Pundits pointed out that disentangling UK statues from EU law could not be done by any sort of cut and paste procedure, it would be a mammoth, bespoke operation.

Oddly that issue disappeared from the radar. Its now back, and not in a good way.

By George Peretz, a queens counsel in England and Wales and barrister-at-law in Ireland. His practice covers a wide range of public law, regulatory and tax issues, with particular strengths in competition and state aid, pharmaceuticals, VAT and customs/trade remedies, and agriculture. He has argued a number of major cases in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, European Court of Justice and General Court and regularly leads in the senior English courts. He is also a director of openDemocracy. Views expressed in openDemocracy are his own, not those of his chambers.Originally published at openDemocracy

Tucked away on page 33 of the governments Benefits of Brexit report,published on Monday, are two proposals whose consequences could be anti-democratic and destabilising to the UK. They claim to offer a solution to the complex problem of disentangling domestic law from EU law, but their likely effect will be to hand unaccountable power to ministers and to introduce chaos to our legal system.

During the Brexit debate, neither side wanted to dwell on how integrated UK law had become with EU law. Brexiters didnt want the process of leaving to seem anything other than simple and straightforward, while Remainers were unwilling to be frank about the extent to which EU rules had become so enmeshed in the law governing our daily lives. This was often in technical areas, but also in areas of great day-to-day importance, such as environmental protection, consumer law, employment rights and health and safety.

The process of disentangling these laws was always going to be complicated, demanding a huge amount of governmental and parliamentary time. When Brexit finally happened, the plan at first was to avoid the problem where possible. Apart from in key areas such as the rights of free movement, the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 aimed to keep hold of much EU law, making only those changes that were needed for it to operate in the UK  such as transferring the powers of EU regulators to domestic ones.

The body of law that was kept is known as retained EU law. It has a special status in the UK legal system, to ensure that transplanted EU texts  regulations, for instance  have the same meaning and effect as they did before Brexit. Its relationship with UK laws, such as which law takes priority in any given situation, was also supposed to remain the same.

The current government now wants to review the operation of retained EU law. Its first proposal states that since much retained law contains technical detail, its not worth using primary legislation to amend it. Primary legislation means Acts of Parliament that are debated, examined and voted on before being passed  in other words, laws that have been given proper democratic scrutiny. Yet the report assures us that because Parliament has so many substantial policy questions to consider  a phrase that should have everyone counting their spoons  the government considers it not a good use of finite parliamentary time to require primary legislation to amend all of these rules.

Instead, the report suggests a targeted power that would provide a mechanism to allow retained EU law to be amended in a more sustainable way to deliver the UKs regulatory, economic and environmental priorities. We are, somewhat coyly, not told who would exercise the targeted power, but you win no prizes for guessing that the answer is ministers. At their disposal is secondary legislation, a way of making laws without having them exposed to significant Parliamentary scrutiny. Secondary legislation plays a useful role in making the detailed technical rules that are necessary to implement policy set out in primary legislation. But recent governments  especially the current one, with its hostility to scrutiny and challenge  have used it to make huge policy changes without any proper discussion in Parliament.

Despite the reports smooth assurance that the government will work with Parliament on how to frame such a power and ensure its use has the appropriate levels of parliamentary scrutiny, the reality is that once the power is handed over ministers will largely be able to do as they please. AsLord Anderson QC explains, few people outside Parliament realise how little control we have over secondary legislation: we cannot either amend nor (in practice) block it.

Since one persons technical detail is someone elses important right or protection, it is hard to be confident that any power will not be used to fast-track important changes without scrutiny. Conservative MPs who are thinking of supporting these proposals might care to reflect that recent experience of law-making without parliamentary oversight has not been entirely happy, especially for those MPs with concerns about COVID legislation. Whats more, powers handed over by Parliament to ministers today might well be in the hands of Labour in two years time.

Quite apart from the anti-democratic nature of the proposals, it is also hard to believe that they are needed. Good regulation in technical areas takes time to design and stress-test  especially if the idea is to replace such complex architecture as EU legislation on medicines or product safety. The idea that complex regulation can swiftly be rewritten if only Parliament could be got out of the way is refuted by previous attempts to cut red tape by cutting legislative corners, which have always foundered on reality. Indeed, the government has barely used the powers it already has under the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 to rewrite retained EU medicines law.

The second proposal is harder to understand but also concerning. The report states that it wants to remove the continued effect of supremacy of EU law over domestic law which was made before the end of the transition period. The proposal is to fiddle around  in a way yet to be defined  with the current arrangement that retained EU law keeps its place in the hierarchy, or order of priority, of legislation.

At the moment, retained EU law is supposed to remain valid even if it conflicts with a later Act of Parliament that was passed before the UK left the EU. This is an exception to the convention that older laws are treated as repealed if they are inconsistent with newer ones. But it reflects the position that such law held when we were in the EU, and is hence an attempt to preserve the status quo. The problem is that no one really knows what the consequences would be of fiddling around with the current arrangement, and the resulting uncertainty is likely to benefit no one apart from lawyers.

The report appears to acknowledge this problem by stressing the need for legal certainty. But the apparently cheap gesture of removing or downgrading supposedly foreign bits of our law may have a considerable cost if it means our law becomes uncertain and unpredictable.

As it stands, these proposals breach the fundamental principle  applicable to legislators as much as doctors  of first, do no harm. The proposal that Parliament surrender yet more of its powers to ministers risks further harming our democracy, and the proposal to fiddle around with retained EU law for no better reason than its origin risks undermining large parts of our law.
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Art teacher Sarah Hager poses in her classroom at Cleveland Middle School on Jan. 23 in Albuquerque, N.M. Public school systems  which often have limited budgets and cybersecurity expertise  have become an inviting target for ransomware gangs.
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(Natural News) A group of Australian lawmakers in Victoria has called to rescind all Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions in the state. The opposition Liberal-National Coalition (LNC) said it plans on urging Victoria Premier Dan Andrews to adopt the proposal.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy, who heads the Liberal Party of Australia faction in the Victorian Parliament, elaborated on the coalitions proposal on Jan. 30. It would put an immediate end to any planned statewide lockdowns and density limits for businesses. QR code check-ins for low-risk areas would be suspended and face masks would only be required in high-risk locations.

Victorians wont recover and rebuild under more back-to-the-future mandates, lockdowns and restrictions. Now is the time for a new approach. For two years, families and local communities have trusted the system and followed the rules, Guy told the Melbourne tabloid Herald Sun.

Now is the time for the government to trust them and let them get on with their lives. Victorians need a new approach that treats them with respect and backs them  not berates them  to make the right choices.

Guy told Sky News in a separate interview: Lets move on with life, lets keep our kids back at school, lets make sure our hospital systems prepared, lets remove work-from-home orders, lets try and get ourselves back to life again. Thats what we want in Victoria.

Weve had the worlds longest lockdowns. Melbournes [central business district] is dead. We need to get our economy going again. We need it, for our own mental health, to get the state going again, said the Victorian lawmaker. We wont do that with a state government thats addicted to governing and ruling by fear.

Peter Walsh, the deputy opposition leader who leads the National Party of Australia faction in the state parliament, agreed with Guy. He said regional Victorians could be trusted to continue to do the right thing by themselves, their families and their communities.

Opposition proposal wont mandate boosters

The LNC also joined the city of Melbourne in calling on public servants and businesses to return back to offices to breathe new life into the Victorian capitals business district. This contrasted with the advice from Andrews Victorian Labor Party, which recommended that people work from home due to the spike in COVID-19 cases driven by the B11529 omicron strain.

Andrews has suggested that booster shots would become mandatory to maintain full vaccination. The Victoria premier has also been pushing to make three COVID-19 vaccine doses the standard of full vaccination. With only 38 percent of Victorians being injected with boosters, Andrews warned that it was only a matter of time before the three-dose standard comes into effect. (Related: Australia expanding definition of fully vaccinated to include third covid injection.)

On the other hand, Guys proposal advised against making COVID-19 booster shots mandatory. Instead, the Victorian government should immediately redirect its advertising into a comprehensive vaccination advertising campaign to encourage Victorians. The opposition leader cited the states 94 percent full vaccination rate as proof of this.

When it comes to healthcare workers, were comfortable in those settings. Beyond that, we have to get people back to normal life. We cant keep operating about mandating a third, fourth [and] fifth [shot]  people want their lives back, Guy told Sky News. Under his proposal, boosters would not be required to deem Victorians fully vaccinated.

The opposition leader also had strong words against hard lockdowns, something Andrews became known for during the pandemic. Guy vowed not to impose any such measures on a population weary of restrictions.

Lockdowns arent the way going forward. The way going forward is treating schools like a bubble; testing people; encouraging [and] advertising to make sure people get the boosters; and doing this with Victorians  not in spite of them, he said.

The days of lockdowns are over for Victoria. Well manage it through other ways, and we can manage any future pandemic response in other ways.

More related stories:

Victoria, Australia, to become a vaccinated economy with endless boosters  no unvaccinated allowed to function in society.

Christian pastor warns that Victorias COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandate are leading it down the path of dictatorship.

COVID-19 cases in Victoria keep rising at record-breaking levels despite nearly two months of lockdown.

In Australia, DOUBLE vaxxed to be locked up if they fail to take all required booster shots.

Watch the video below of a 7NEWS report about Andrews doubling down on tyrannical COVID-19 restrictions.

This video is from the alltheworldsastage channel on Brighteon.com.

HealthFreedom.news has more on plans to scrap Victorias draconian COVID-19 measures.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

SkyNews.com.au

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) In a little-known Reuters story that garnered almost no attention in the corporate media, Dutch insurer Aegon revealed its third quarter, 2021 life insurance payouts skyrocketed 258% compared to third quarter, 2020 payouts. The difference, of course, is found in covid vaccines. In 2020, vaccines werent yet available, so payouts for Aegon only reached $31 million. But after three quarters of aggressive vaccinations throughout 2021, the death benefit payouts hit $111 million, an increase of 258%.

From Reuters via Yahoo Finance:

Dutch insurer Aegon, which does two-thirds of its business in the United States, said its claims in the Americas in the third quarter were $111 million, up from $31 million a year earlier. U.S. insurers MetLife and Prudential Financial also said life insurance claims rose. South Africas Old Mutual used up more of its pandemic provisions to pay claims and reinsurer Munich Re raised its 2021 estimate of COVID-19 life and health claims to 600 million euros from 400 million.

Insurance companies are slowly coming to realize the truth about covid vaccines, even as the complicit, murderous mainstream tries to cover up the accelerating deaths. The death signals now emerging in the finances of insurance companies cant simply be swept under the rug, and given that a 258% increase was recorded for Q3, 2021, it begs the obvious question: How much worse will this be for Q4, 2021? Or Q1, 2022?

On any normal (pre-covid) day in America, about 7,700 people die. If those deaths rise by 100%, that means an extra 7,700 people are dying each day. Multiply that over one year, and its an additional 2.8 million deaths. Note this is for merely a 100% increase in deaths.

Aegon is reporting a 258% increase in payouts on life insurance policies. Although Aegon doesnt insure the entire country, obviously, this data point should be raising alarms among those people paying attention. If we start to consistently see something like a 200% increase in all-cause mortality, that would mean an extra 15,000+ people are dying each day in America. Thats a vaccine holocaust playing out in real time.

Truth be told, were probably at that point right now. The data sets just havent caught up yet with the reality of whats happening in February, 2022. Cancer death rates have almost certainly doubled in 2021 and are headed for even higher numbers in 2022, but the cancer industry  dominated by pharma interests  will of course bury the numbers as long as possible to avoid anyone asking questions of why so many people are dying from cancer all of a sudden.

(The answer is obvious: Its the mRNA vaccines.)

The vaccine holocaust is real and accelerating MILLIONS will die in America

So not only do we have an actual vaccine holocaust taking place in America right now, we have a holocaust cover-up being run by all the complicit, murderous parties, including Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Media and Big Government. Theyre all in on it. Theyre all mass murderers, and theyre all working to cover this up as long as possible so they can coerce even more people into committing vaccine suicide before the body count becomes undeniable.

Thats the level of evil were dealing with in society right now, and its all being run under the banner of science.

Under this dangerous death cult of science, the whole world is supposed to pretend that covid vaccines are halting infectious, transmission and hospitalizations, all while looking the other way when so many vaccinated people prematurely die. Israel, at a 96.2% vaccination rate across the population, is now leading the world in covid cases per capita. This proves the vaccine has the opposite effect that we were promised in the name of science. In fact, the more a country vaccinates its people, the higher covid cases rise.

Thats because, of course, the vaccine is the pandemic. Covid would be over by now if not for the vaccines continuing to inject people with spike protein bioweapons that cause organ failure and death. Its no coincidence that vaccine injury symptoms are then categorized as covid by the corrupt, murderous medical establishment that receives financial kickbacks from the government for killing people with ventilators and remdesivir.

Hershey company goes all in with Satan, rejects employees of faith

The Hershey company, meanwhile, is firing all its unvaccinated employees, confirming that it is an evil corporation that denies faith-based exemptions from deadly vaccines. As The Epoch Times reports:

I really thought Id be OK, Kim Durham, a payment analyst and sourcing buyer, told The Epoch Times. I thought, you cannot question my faith. Nobody can question that.

Durham asked for a religious accommodation in August and assumed she would get it.

I thought this was behind me until September when I met with an HR representative. It was an interrogation on your religious beliefs. They twisted your words and tried to put words in your mouth. It was terrible. I was asked such personal questions that had nothing to do with religion.

She was shocked when, in November, she received word that her request for religious accommodation had been denied.

Everyone interviewed mentioned being troubled by similar questions during the meetings, usually held with an immediate supervisor and someone from HR, such as:

Have you ever been vaccinated? Are your children vaccinated? How do you protect yourself when you leave your home? How often do you go to church? Do you take Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Tums, or Midol?

So the Hershey company, which sells low-grade processed, sugar-filled candy bars that promote diabetes and obesity, is interrogating employees over whether they take Tums? And if they take Tums, theyre not allowed to object to spike protein mRNA injections?

Something tells me the Hershey company is now run by God-hating demons, just like most other large corporations in America and around the world.

See more news about the rise of demonism and satanism at DemonicTimes.com

Get the full story on Hershey, Apple and other demonic corporate entities in todays hard-hitting Situation Update podcast:

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(Natural News) The mayor of a town in southern Germany issued a decree allowing the use of weapons to suppress anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown protesters. He argued that such a method constituted a proportionate and necessary response against demonstrators.

Ostfildern Mayor Christof Bolay issued the general decree banning anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown assemblies on January 26. It took effect on Jan. 28. Bolays decree permitted the use of direct coercion  including physical violence and the use of weapons  against those protesting against Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines and restrictions.

It is unknown whether the municipal council had any involvement in the issue. The decree stated that the use of weapons and physical violence is proportionate and necessary as there are no other means to discourage potential anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown marchers.

In order to ensure that the ban on assembly is observed, the use of direct coercion, i.e. the influence on people through simple physical violence, tools of physical violence or the use of weapons is  proportionate after weighing up the conflicting interests [and] necessary, said the Jan. 26 edict.

Interestingly, the town in southern Germany has yet to host any so-called anti-vaccine walks. The last recorded walk that happened in the town had less than 150 participants in it.

Nevertheless, several politicians in the Bundestag  Germanys parliament  denounced Bolays decree.

Bundestag member Jan Korte of the Left Party slammed the order as simply unconstitutional, completely disproportionate and characterized by an authoritarian understanding of the state. He added: The freedom of assembly and demonstration is an integral part of the democratic constitutional state.

Alice Weidel, who leads the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, said that leaders such as Bolay are going on a dangerous [and] wrong path that threatens the rule of law and democracy. She reiterated that blanket bans and threats of violence are a disproportionate and illegal attack on a central right to freedom. (Related: Josh Sigurdson talks about worldwide protests against Covid vaccine mandates.)

German officials express concern, disdain over protests

Despite opposition by some politicians, other officials concurred with Bolays decree. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said of the protests: The demonstrations are increasing, [but] what is increasing above all is the increased participation of right-wing extremists. Faeser, who is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, compared the walks as a form of rebellion against the state.

Thomas Strobl, the interior minister of Baden-Wurttemberg state where Ostfildern is located, shared his federal counterparts sentiments. Decent citizens do not take part in prohibited demonstrations. They also follow police requests and abide by the rules, he said.

On the other hand, Bavaria Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann warned against lumping the protests and the protesters together. It is part of the freedom of expression and assembly that opponents of [coronavirus] measures and critics of compulsory [COVID-19] vaccination can demonstrate, he said.

Bolays edict and the comments by other German politicians about it came as the federal government voiced out its serious concern over anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protests in recent weeks. The numerous protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions are the most widespread in the countrys history.

A report by German newspaper Die Welt said protests against lockdowns and vaccines took place at more than 1,000 locations nationwide in just one day. The government is concerned about the decentralized actions, the broadsheet said, quoting one source that called the immensity of the protests depressing.

Die Welt cited government figures that stated 1,046 separate protests across Germany, with around 188,000 participants, being reported. Never before in the history of the Federal Republic [of Germany] have there been demonstrations that are more widespread than in the last few weeks.

More related stories:

Desperate Germany announces national lockdown for the unvaccinated.

Germanys COVID vaccine mandate could be delayed due to bureaucratic hurdles.

Holocaust survivor warns COVID-19 measures similar to Nazi Germanys subjugation policies.

Watch the video below of Josh Sigurdson talking about anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown protests in Germany and other parts of the world.

This video is from the World Alternative Media channel on Brighteon.com.

Fascism.news has more stories about government officials suppressing protests against draconian COVID-19 mandates.

Sources include:

FreeWestMedia.com

DETV.us

DavidIcke.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Breitbart News senior contributor and Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President Peter Schweizers latest investigative expose, Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, reveals how 23 former U.S. senators and congressman have lobbied for Chinese military or intelligence-linked companies after leaving office.

(Article by Sean Moran republished from Breitbart.com)

Many lawmakers cash in after leaving office by becoming lobbyists for corporations and other special interests. But one would hope that they would not become advocates for Americas primary economic and political adversary  communist China  by lobbying for outcomes that run counter to the United States long-term interests.

However, Schweizers book reveals that many former congressional leaders, committee chairman, and rank-and-file members are lobbying for Chinese intelligence and military-linked companies.

The following 23 former members of Congress  the majority of whom are Republicans  have lobbied for Chinese military or intelligence-linked companies.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)

Boehners advocacy for China began right as he became Speaker of the House and Republicans gained a historic majority.

In 2011, Congress was in the midst of passing a currency manipulation bill, the Currency Exchange Oversight Reform Act, to hold China accountable for keeping its currency artificially low, thus making it easier to boost its exports.

China subsequently hired Squire Patton Boggs (SPB), one of D.C.s most influential law firms, for $35,000 per month to block the bill.

SPB registered as a foreign agent of the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, after decades of close ties to the Chinese government.

The Chinese currency manipulation bill sailed through the Senate with a 63-35 vote, featuring strong bipartisan support.

However, Boehner would not allow the bill to come to the House floor for a vote even though half of the House Republican Conference and an overwhelming number of Democrats supported the bill.

Its a pretty dangerous thing to be moving legislation through the U.S. Congress forcing someone to deal with the value of a currency, Boehner said.

He even argued that the bill would lead to a trade war.

Schweizer said it should be no surprise that when Boehner retired from public office in 2015, he joined SPB as a strategic adviser to American and foreign clients.

SPB advised and helped Beijing navigate issues that will threaten their interests, according to Schweizer. This includes guidance on the defense appropriations process, the 2020 general elections, and American policy on Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, human rights, immigration, trade, and sanctions legislation.

Boehners firm has also advised for Chinese government-linked corporations such as ChemChina, China Railway Stock Corporation, Huawei, and Wanhua Chemical Group.

Chinese state-owned media often quotes SPB attorneys, who are often critical of trade and technology restrictions on Chinese firms working in the United States.

SPB also has strong ties to the highest echelons of the Chinese government; Nick Chan, a senior partner for SPB in China, is also a member of the ruling National Peoples Congress (NPC).

The NPC is the highest organ of state power in Peoples Republic of China, SPB explained recently.

Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), and Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD)

Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), a former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, lobbies for Alibaba, the Chinese technology giant. Alibaba paid his firm, Greenberg Traurig, $200,000 in 2020. Greenberg Traurig also hired former Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Albert Wynn (D-MD).

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)

Tencent is another massive Chinese technology company and the creator of WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging app with over 1.2 billion active monthly users.

The Chinese tech firm also develops technologies with military applications and is closely fused with Chinas Ministry of Public Security and the Peoples Liberation Army.

Tencent hired former House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Royce to lobby the federal government. Tencent paid his firm $330,000 in 2020.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), Sen. John Breaux (D-LA), Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), and Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN)

ByteDance operates Tik Tok, the social media phenomenon that has been widely criticized for its privacy, censorship practices, as well as its close ties to the Chinese government.

Schweizer has noted that former employees have complained that its content moderation practices are strongly influenced by Beijing.

ByteDance hired former Sens. Lott and Breaux.

Lott served as a former Senate majority leader and minority leader.

Breaux once remarked that his vote in the Senate was not for sale, but it is available for rent.

ByteDance also hired Denham and Gordon, whose firm received $160,000 from the company in 2020.

Sen. Norman Coleman (R-MN), Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Rep. Jon Christensen (R-NE), and Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-FL)

These lawmakers lobby for ZTE Corporation, a military-linked Chinese telecommunications firm. Colemans firm alone received $2.94 million in 2019 for representing the company.

Rep. Don Bonker (D-WA), Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), and Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE)

Huawei, another Chinese telecom firm with ties to the Chinese military, hired former Rep. Don Bonker (D-WA) and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL).

Stearns and Bonker, despite being on the opposite sides of the political spectrum, both work at the lobbying firm APCO Worldwide. They also work together on a contract lobbying for the Peoples Liberation Army-affiliated company COSCO.

Former Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) also signed up for Huawei in 2021.

The FCC has declared Huawei and ZTE telecom hardware a national security threat.

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA)

Kingston served in the House from 1993 to 2015 and even served as the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference from 2002 to 2006. In Congress, he served as a leading member of the House Appropriations Committee, chairman of the Agriculture, Labor/Health and Human Services/Education, and Legislative Branch subcommittees. The Georgia Republican also was a long-time member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Despite his accolades as a guardian of small business, Kingston has lobbied for ChemChina, the Chinese state-owned chemical company.

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), Rep. Toby Moffett (D-CT), and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA)

Vitter and Moffett received $70,000 per month from Hikvision, a Chinese surveillance company largely owned by a government-controlled conglomerate known as the China Electronics Group. The Chinese government uses Hikvisions surveillance cameras to monitor Uyghurs in the Chinese Communist Partys prison camps.

Vitter voted against the Currency Exchange Oversight Reform Act.

Bouchers firm received $1.75 million in 2019 for lobbying on behalf of Hikvision.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

Boxer, who represented California as a Democrat from 1993 to 2017 and was a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, later signed on to advise Hikvision and registered as a foreign agent with the Department of Justice.

She claimed that she merely wanted to help create American jobs by providing advice to the Chinese surveillance company.

When I am asked to provide strategic advice to help a company operate in a more responsible and humane manner consistent with U.S. law in spirit and letter, it is an opportunity to make things better while helping protect and create American jobs, she said in relation to her lobbying for Hikvision.

Boxer later stopped lobbying for the company after facing public outcry.

Perhaps ironically, Boxer voted in favor of the 2011 Currency Exchange Oversight Reform Act that Boehner blocked.

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA)

Boustany, who served 12 years in Congress and was a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, became the co-chair of the U.S.-China working group, a bipartisan caucus for members of Congress interested in issues related to China.

When leaving office in 2016, Boustany tried to become a trade representative for the Donald Trump administration. When he failed to get that job, he joined Capitol Counsel, a Washington, DC, lobbying firm.

Capitol Counsel registered with the Department of Justice as a foreign agent to represent the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF). As part of this contract with CUSEF, Capitol Counsel provided political intelligence gathering and substantive advice on China-related legislation, including arranging meetings on Capitol Hill.

Boustany at the same time became a spokesman for an organization called Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, which argued that the Trump administrations proposed tariffs against Chinas abusive trade practices would actually hurt working-class Americans.

Capitol Counsel was also hired to lobby for an entity called the U.S.-China Transpacific Foundation (UCTPF). As Schweizer notes, the UCTPF, according to its filings with the Justice Department, is funded by the Chinese government. The organizations ostensible purpose is to sponsor trips for politicians and their staff to visit mainland China.

Sen. William Cohen (R-ME)

After Cohen served in the Senate, he became the secretary of Defense during the Bill Clinton administration.

He established the Cohen Group in 2001 after leaving the Department of Defense (DOD). The Cohen Group has touted its deep ties to the Chinese government, including Cohens first visit to China as a congressman in 1978 when he met Chinese Communist Leader Deng Xiaoping.

[Cohen] has been a constant presence in the U.S.-China relationship, including commercial development and security cooperation, according to the Cohen Groups website.

The Cohen Group also extends its consulting for Chinese state-owned enterprises, which Schweizer says are often used as tools of the Chinese state.

The former Defense secretary also served as the vice chairman of the U.S. China-Business Council, a lobbying group for American companies to do business in China.

When the federal government deemed Huawei a security threat because of its close ties to the Chinese intelligence apparatus, the company hired the Cohen Group to negotiate with the U.S. director of national intelligence to find a way to sell its hardware in the United States.

Conclusion

In Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, Schweizer calls for a ban on lobbying on behalf of Chinese military and intelligence-linked companies.

He writes that although not all lobbying is bad, that right does not extend to lobbying linked to the Chinese military-intelligence apparatus.

Too many former politicians are making bundles of money representing these interests in the corridors of Washington power, Schweizer charged.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
(Natural News) Virginias new attorney general, a Republican by the name of Jason Miyares, has issued a legal opinion stating that public universities throughout the commonwealth cannot legally mandate Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines.

In a press release, Miyares wrote that [t]here is no question that the General Assembly could enact a statute requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for in-person school attendance, however.

As of this writing, they have not done so, Miyares clarified about the situations current status.

Although the General Assembly specifically authorized public institutions of higher education to assist the Department of Health and local health departments in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, the legislation did not grant such institutions power to impose vaccine requirements.

The opinion was Miyares first ever as AG of Virginia. His other accomplishments within the first few weeks of being sworn in include:

 Firing dozens of lawyers, including those who work in the Civil Rights division.

 Announcing investigations into Loudon County Public Schools and the Virginia Parole Board.

 Firing Democrat attorneys from the University of Virginia and George Mason University (GMU), saying he wants the university counsel to return to giving legal advice based on law, and not the philosophy of a university.

We plan to look internally first for the next lead counsel, Miyares added to that particular conversation.

Numerous other states have already banned universities from requiring Fauci Flu shots in order to attend. These include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.

Miyares legal opinion leaves door wide open for General Assembly to mandate covid injections with a vote

Virginia is the same state, by the way, where a pharmacist was caught dispensing adult-sized injections to children, overloading their systems with spike proteins.

It is also the state where Democrats just voted down a bill that would have made ivermectin available as an option for Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) patients.

While it is great that Miyares struck down the mandate for state universities, it does not go far enough to protect Virginia residents from getting medically raped by the state  especially since he left the door wide open for the General Assembly to potentially vote on a mandate that he would support.

Meanwhile, a safe and effective remedy  ivermectin  is now completely off limits because it actually works and would render the injections obsolete (they technically already are, not to mention dangerous). Does anything make sense anymore?

There are numerous legal support resources and downloadable forms to skip the prick, wrote someone at Zero Hedge, also providing a link to said resources and forms.

From Catherine Austin Fitts in the USA to the Australian Concerned Lawyers Network, and other groups in various countries. Do NOT just comply because your job or education is threatened.

Another person pointed out that her friends daughters college, which has about 45,000 people including faculty and staff, has had zero deaths from covid. This is despite the fact that many of the schools professors are in their 60s and 70s  you know, the age range we are all told has the highest risk.

This is a pandemic of the Lugenpress, this same person added. It is not real!

It seems all too real to the thousands of NPCs I see daily in University City, all double-masked outside, responded another. Youd think the Black Death was floating in the air.

Yet another wrote that he wants to know when Miyares is planning to file charges, seeing as how the mandates were criminal acts in the first place.

More of the latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine mandates can be found at Fascism.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) A Plainwell, Michigan, high school junior has gone to federal court to fight for his right to talk about his religion.

(Article by Steven Kovac republished from TheEpochTimes.com)

The case arose when Plainwell High School student David Stout was suspended for three days for expressing his Christian beliefs and opinions in a private conversation with a like-minded student on school property and in private text messages outside of school with friends.

In his conversations and text messages, Stout put forth the biblical teaching of the love of God through Christ for sinners and expressed his own love for his peers. He shared the Judeo-Christian doctrine that homosexual conduct was a sin and that God created only two biological gendersman and woman.

Before being suspended, Stout alleges he was asked by a faculty member why he had not self-reported his sharing of his religious and political beliefs with fellow students to school officials.

Stout also alleges he was told that talking about religious or political beliefs was not allowed anywhere on campus for fear of hurting someones feelings. He alleges the faculty member told him that he must stop all religious conversations with other students because, if overheard, they might feel offended and unsafe.

Stout said the whole thing seemed to him to be a one-sided method to shame, intimidate, and silence conservatives and Christians.

The superintendent of Plainwell Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment.

The complaint, which was filed Jan. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, states that the schools principal and assistant principal allegedly explained to Stout that it was a students responsibility, not only to stop hurtful comments and behaviors, but to preempt such conduct.

Stout said that the administrators warned him that anything he did or said in school, outside of school, or on social media could negatively affect his future employment prospectsa statement that Stout alleges was a threat.

On Oct. 25, 2021, Stouts parents received notice that their son had been suspended.

Davids father, David Stout, Sr., stated, We have always taught our son to be respectful of everyones opinion and to be polite to others(He) is entitled to properly express his faith and beliefs without being disciplined and suspended by Plainwell schools. We trust the court will uphold Davids constitutional rights and his school record will be cleared.

The Stouts attorney, David Kallman of the Great Lakes Justice Center, said, David was suspended for three days last fall for stating his Christian beliefs in a private text conversation and in a hallway at school. He is also being punished for not policing and reporting the inappropriate jokes of fellow students. He was instructed to stop posting his religious comments on all his social media platforms, and was disciplined for the offensive behavior of some other students; something he was unaware of and did not participate in.

David is a good student with a clean record. Nothing he did caused a disruption or any problem at the school. He has the right to express his opinion in accordance with his religious beliefs without vilification or punishment from the government.

Stout asked the court for a declaratory judgment that the Plainwell School District violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, and his civil rights under the Michigan Constitution, and other state statutes. He is asking his suspension be expunged from his school record and is seeking compensatory and/or nominal damages, costs and attorney fees.

Read more at: TheEpochTimes.com
(Natural News) Ann Vandersteel lauded the Canadian truckers for standing up against the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandate and staging a Freedom Convoy of trucks over the weekend from the western province of British Columbia. The convoy was greeted and cheered on by supporters on the way to Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

That is great. Theres actually hope for humanity when I see kids out there like that standing up there in support of the truckers who do not want to have the poisonous jab forced on them so they can do their business and bring home food for their family and get a paycheck, said Vandersteel during the January 28 episode of Steel Truth on Brighteon.TV.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is all we need to know that there is hope for humanity. We just need to continue to push this information out so people understand whats at stake.

Vandersteel also played audio recordings of children expressing their support to the thousands of truckers who are challenging the Canadian governments vaccine mandate.

These are some of their messages:

Hi, my name is Gabriel. Im from Manitoba. Im turning 13 year years old tomorrow and I just wanted to say its the best birthday gift ever having you guys fighting for us.

Hi, my name is Matthew. Im 12 years old and Im from Alberta. And I just want to say you guys are awesome. Keep on trucking. Thank you.

Hello, Im Talia. Im 10 years old. I come from Manitoba. I just wanted to thank you guys for what you did. Im praying for you.

One kid who didnt mention her name simply said: Thank you for fighting for my freedom. Good night.

The convoy was organized in response to a regulation implemented in January, which requires truckers returning from the United States to show proof of vaccination. But in recent days, it has broadened to include Canadians critical of pandemic restrictions in general and of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Related: EXPECT SHORTAGES: Canadian truckers not exempt from new vaccine mandate despite recent announcement.)

Vandersteel: Trudeau is one pathetic individual

Vandersteel herself was critical of the Canadian prime minister. Trudeau is one pathetic individual. He has taken his time to not only dodge questions about this, but also throw what he considers to be water on the fire of the Canadians, Vandersteel said.

The Brighteon.TV host was referring to a press briefing in which Trudeau expertly dismissed the significance of the protest.

Trudeau said: The small fringe minority of people who are on their way to Ottawa, or who are holding unacceptable views that theyre expressing, do not represent the views of Canadians who have been there for each other, who know that following the science and stepping up to protect each other are the best ways to continue to ensure our freedoms, our rights, our values as a country. Next question.

Throughout Saturday, January 29, the trucks clogged the streets in and around Parliament  most of them bearing flags or signs denouncing public health measures related to the pandemic.

Thousands of protesters on foot roamed through the parked vehicles or gathered on the lawn in front of Parliament. Some of them carried Canadian flags upside down.

According to reports, the protests were loud and freewheeling but generally peaceful.

Protesters were still demonstrating Monday, January 31. Ottawa police asked the public to avoid the downtown area, citing traffic, noise and safety issues.

Trudeau cowers from protesters

Several Canadian news outlets reported that Trudeau and his family had been moved out of their official residence by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a precaution.

The prime minister refused to meet the protesters.

This is not the story of our pandemic, our country, our people, he said. My focus is standing with Canadians and getting through this pandemic.

But Candice Bergen, deputy leader of the Conservative Party, said the protesters represented millions who have had enough of lockdowns and broken promises.

They deserve to be heard and they deserve respect, she wrote on Twitter.

Reports on social media indicate that truckers in the U.S. may be planning a similar demonstration that would see them drive from California in the West to the countrys capital in Washington DC.

More related stories:

Lockdown Canadian PM Justin Trudeau relocated out of capital for his safety as thousands of truckers protest COVID vaccine mandate.

Food shortages begin in Canada following trucker covid vaccine mandate.

Vaccine mandate for truckers entering Canada now in effect; unvaccinated American truckers will be TURNED AWAY.

Watch the full January 28 episode of Steel Truth below. Catch new episodes of the program from Monday to Friday at 9:30-10:30 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

Follow Vaccines.news for more news related to coronavirus vaccines and vaccine mandates.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

NYTimes.com

BBC.com
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(Natural News) If a person gives bad advice, over and over, at what point should the person taking all that advice stop taking it? That is the question that begs an answer at this point during the pandemic, as all the advice coming from the CDC and Fauci has been dead wrong, all along. Two solid years of bad advice that has cost trillions of dollars and millions of lives, not to mention wrecked businesses, ruined marriages and innocent children who are now maimed for life from the toxic vaccines.

Bad advice just keeps on coming down from the CDC, and 200 million Americans just keep on taking it

All the advice from Fauci and the CDC has been dead wrong. Lockdowns were an utter failure. Virus particles are smaller than all the masks everyone is wearing, so those are useless, plus the masks cause bacterial infections of the mouth, throat and lungs. Social distancing never worked, and it doesnt now. The vaccines, we were all told, would stop the transmission of Covid, according to the oldest myth in the bookherd theory. That failed miserably.

Its now the vaccinated who are catching and spreading Covid the most.

Then the CDC said the vaccines (even though theyre not even really vaccines) would keep you from getting a severe case of Covid, but that was wrong also. Whats worse is the vaccinated who catch Covid and check into hospitals rarely ever check out, as 84 percent of the people put on ventilators DIE within four days.

Plus, the prescription drug of choice by doctors is Remdesivir, which is known to cause renal failure. Its carnage piled on top of more carnage piled on top of bad advice from the CDC and falsified emergency use approvals of drugs and experimental vaccines approved using falsified clinical trials, then highly recommended (forced by mandates) by the FDA. An insider whistleblower already told us that story.

Covid Pandemic NOW endemic, yet still the CDC pushes vaccines, masks, social distancing, isolationism, banning of the unvaccinated

Take a look around you when youre at work, or the store, or (God-forbid) the allopathic doctor or hospital. Masks, masks and more masks. Homemade masks the CDC said dont work, and people have made their own from cheap bandanas and scarves. Look at the statistics of who is checking into hospitals the most, and who has the most cases, and who dies the most from Covid, and you will see its the vaccinated and the previously sick. Now they are sick in the head, swallowed by CDC propaganda and the health ministry of the New World Order run by Big Pharma.

So, here are the top 10 reasons why 200 million Americans FALSELY believe masks and gene therapy injections will SAVE them from Covid:

Mass media is hiding all the carnage caused by the clot shots. Carbon dioxide poisoning from the masks limits critical thinking and logical reasoning. Vaccines have always been falsely hailed as the holy grail of medicine. Extremely high levels of mercury in multi-dose flu shots causes mental disorders. People cant believe the CDC and FDA would lie to them over something so important to human life and health safety. Patients cant fathom that their doctors, nurses, surgeons get major funding and bonuses from treating Covid with deadly methods, including toxic vaccines, kidney decimating Remdesivir and choke-you-to-death-in-4-days-or-less ventilators. Most Americans have no understanding whatsoever about ongoing population reduction schemes, eugenics and medical plots that destroy human fertility/reproduction. All natural remedies for Covid (and everything else) are massively suppressed by all major media outlets, including websites, television, newspapers, radio, etc. Allopathic patients have Stockholm Syndrome where abused victims think positively about their abuser and captor (Big Pharma and the CDC). The Fear Factor: The media and CDC have absolutely terrified people so badly about the re-branded flu they believe if they dont wear masks and get vaccinated they face certain death by Covid  Welcome to the Covid Con!

Be sure to save to your favorites Vaccines.news for updates on experimental vaccines and boosters that can cause blood clots, ADE and other horrific side effects.

Sources for this article include:

Pandemic.news

TruthWiki.org

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

ZeroHedge.com
(Natural News) The Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to cause fear and chaos with threats of vaccine mandates and penalties for noncompliance. Disharmony on how to legislate the public good without sacrificing individual liberty is getting more conflicting as the days go by.

Currently, there have been calls for government officials to mandate mass vaccinations and deploy the National Guard to ensure that people without vaccination proof would not be allowed anywhere. This only means that the unvaccinated will be locked up and the military will be used to determine who will be free to go outside. (Related: CONFIRMED: Gov. Inslee setting up Covid concentration camps in Washington state, issuing job listings for strike team coordinators.)

These tactics have been employed long ago and a lot of people are worried considering that this is like a slippery slope that begins with good intentions and ends with tyrannical abuses.

Policies like these are already being implemented and one can look beyond Americas borders to have a glimpse.

In Italy, the unvaccinated are already banned from restaurants, bars and public transportation. They could also face suspensions from work and monthly fines.

France has done a similar thing by banning the unvaccinated from public venues.

In Austria, any person who has not followed the vaccine mandate could be slapped with fines up to $4,100. Police enforcers also conduct routine checks and demand vaccination proof with penalties reaching $685 for failure to comply.

China has adopted a zero-tolerance or zero-COVID strategy in cities that have populations reaching tens of millions. These cities are also being forced into home lockdowns for weeks or so, resulting in shortages of food and household supplies.

Quarantine camps constructed in China

China has also constructed quarantine camps throughout the country for any unfortunate Chinese who contracted COVID-19. These massive complexes boast thousands of small, metal boxes containing a bed and a toilet. The detainees, who include children, pregnant women and the elderly, were reportedly transported to the quarantine camps in buses and held in isolation.

The last scenario is horrifyingly familiar to what happened 80 years ago when an authoritarian regime in Europe established more than 44,000 quarantine camps for those seen as enemies of the state, or persons who are considered to be racially inferior, politically unacceptable or simply non-compliant.

This is no longer about COVID-19, politics, democratic movements or any particular country.

This is about what happens when people, who are distracted by fabricated crises, fail to see the imminent danger that threatens to take away their freedom and put them in chains.

Its about what happens when any government is free to use a comply-or-suffer-the-consequences mentality that is enforced through mandates, lockdowns, penalties, detention centers, martial law and a disregard for the rights of a human being.

The slippery slope starts this way with campaigns about the public good being more essential than personal liberty and it concludes with lockdowns and concentration camps.

The danger signs can now be seen everywhere.

More related articles:

They are taking the vaccine wars KINETIC: Covid concentration camps ACTIVATED in America, unvaxxed will be kidnapped at gunpoint by left-wing health officers with arrest power.

Unvaccinated people must be rounded up by the US military and FORCE-VACCINATED at gunpoint starting January 1st, decries Mad Money raging lunatic Jim Cramer.

New York legislator wants to put coronavirus carriers in concentration camps.

Watch the video below to know more about the COVID concentration camps.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.

Follow Tyranny.news for more stories about government tyranny.

Sources include:

SHTFPlan.com

TheHolocaustExplained.org

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Banners4Freedom founder Robert Agee told Owen Shroyer during the January 27 episode of the Thrive Time Show on Brighteon.TV that his groups billboard campaign across America is not just exposing the lies of Big Pharma but is also educating people about the truth behind the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. Shroyer was filling in for regular host Clay Clark.

Agee told Shroyer that he and his wife Jaime, who co-founded Banners4Freedom, were inspired to make a difference after attending Clarks ReAwaken America Tour in Tampa, Florida, last year.

We were really inspired by what was taking place. And when we got back here to Texas, we decided we were going to get involved in our county commissioner meetings, where there was some mask-wearing, some encouragement of getting the vaccine, there were some COVID agenda items that they were discussing. And for 17 weeks, we began to educate them on the truth behind this vaccine. And we had some successes, the masks dropped off, they stopped encouraging getting the vaccine, they actually adopted Governor [Greg] Abbotts resolution adopting his vaccine mandate, Agee said.

And when we had that success, we asked ourselves what else can we do? How can we make a difference? We took out an ad in the local paper called Vaxx Facts where we had the VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System] numbers listed in there. And then my wife had this bright idea of putting up a billboard in our local town here to further educate the people on the truth of the adverse reaction to the vaccine. (Related: Banners4Freedom putting up billboards raising awareness about Covid vaccine dangers.)

Agee added that after getting encouraging words from his wife, he was able to throw together an ad and put up a local billboard in their hometown of Bonham, Texas. Clark picked up Agees initiative and immediately conducted an interview.

Billboards across the nation

And at that moment, we raised $30,000, almost overnight just from that. And we werent even planning on raising any money, we just have a GiveSendGo just because theres some local people in our community that wanted to help fund this billboard that we put up. And then Stew Peters picked us up. Next thing I know were at the Clay Clark ReAwaken America Tour, Agee said.

And we had raised $100,000 in San Antonio and then we were at the Dallas conference, in Phoenix. And so far today, weve raised over $250,000 to get these billboards up all across the nation, which we have currently about 112. I believe, give or take, in over 25 states we have 30 bus benches put up all around CVS and Walgreens, hospitals, schools around downtown Omaha, Nebraska. We have 500 indoor billboards throughout Iowa and Minnesota. And we just went live in Times Square this week.

Agee added that they have also done interviews with local news stations. He also took note of the amazing and encouraging responses that they received from people who had the same idea.

This wasnt just an idea that we had. I think the Lord has just kind of put together and facilitated something where we can make this happen. It does take quite a bit of time, my wife and I have fully dedicated our lives to this since November 1, Agee said.

Ive put my general contracting business on hold to make all this happen. And were honored to be a part of this and do what we can with our time, with our treasure to help awaken the nation to the horror of what is happening with this vaccine.

The Banners4Freedom founder noted that what they have started has turned into a massive crowdfunding campaign of the American people. According to Agee, they already have a crowdfunding campaign on GiveSendGo and their goal is to put up billboards all across the country to tell the real story about vaccine side effects.

We dont have the funds to make all this happen. But the people do and everybody gives a little bit, then we can expand this even further. Matter of fact, we just put on our website this week, the ability to order yard signs and vinyl banners and flyers so that you can raise your own banner, we had several requests for something like that. And its just a great opportunity to get this message out in front of the people, Agee explained.

Agee also lauded the smaller, independent billboard organizations, whom he called patriots of the nation, that are more than happy to put out the Banners4Freedom billboard ads.

More related articles:

Young and healthy people suffer TRAGIC side effects of COVID vaccines.

Latest VAERS estimate: 388,000 Americans killed by the COVID vaccines.

Study: COVID-19 vaccines found to weaken the immune system, increase risk of developing cancer.

New studies show that COVID vaccines damage your immune system, likely permanently.

Watch the full January 27 episode of the Thrive Time Show below. It airs Monday to Friday from 3:30-4 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

Follow Vaccines.news to know more about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

MSN.com

RedVoiceMedia.com
(Natural News) More and more American companies are calling their production chains back home as the supply chain crisis continues to cause bottlenecks, creating an international nightmare that prevents the smooth movement of overseas raw materials and products.

According to the Reshoring Initiative, an organization dedicated to aiding companies move offshored jobs back to the United States, around 138,000 offshored jobs returned to the country last year, and 1,334 companies were involved with this reshoring work.

Furthermore, foreign direct investment (FDI) jobs brought back an additional 220,000 new reshored jobs to America in 2021. This is 38 percent higher than the number of jobs FDIs brought back in 2020, and the highest annual number recorded to date. (Related: Omicron outbreaks, lockdowns continue to affect US supply chain, prices of goods.)

Companies benefiting from keeping supply chains in America

Michael Araten, president of the Rodon Group, a plastic component manufacturing company based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, said during an interview with Fox Business that the company has sped up the process of reshoring many manufacturing jobs that it previously offshored to China.

Araten said the company has been reshoring manufacturing jobs for a while now, but the current state of the supply chain crisis  and the economy in general  has sped up how many jobs returned to the United States.

As we go to an era where we have so much more e-commerce, then youve got to be more responsive to your consumer, said Araten. And the only way to be close to the customer is to shore the supply chain.

Araten pointed out that labor and congestion issues are still plaguing Americas ports. Shipping rates have increased by $9,000 on average since Jan. 2020 and a shipment from China could take six to eight weeks to arrive. Here, youre a week away [from your shipment]. Its just a game-changer.

Bayard Winthrop, president, founder and CEO of apparel manufacturer and retailer American Giant, explained in an interview with Business Insider that his company did not have any supply shortages during the holiday season because he is close to nearly every aspect of his companys supply chain.

American Giants cotton is grown in the South. It is spun into fabric and tailored into clothing in factories in the Midwest and the American Southeast. Customers order these clothes online and they are delivered straight to their doorsteps.

Winthrop pointed out that this means none of the companys products or raw materials are stuck on container ships. He also doesnt need to pay extra for anything to be air-freighted into the United States. We dont spend any time talking about supply chain stuff internally, he said.

Greg Owens, CEO of Sherrill Manufacturing in New York state, which produced Liberty Tabletop, a line of cookware and flatware, said that his companys supply chain is about as vertically integrated as you could possibly imagine.

The companys raw materials are made in Western New York, Pittsburgh or Tennessee. These raw materials are then shipped to the companys manufacturing facility in Sherrill, central New York, and boxed up using locally sourced packaging.

Companies with internal supply chains not immune to problems

This doesnt mean that companies relying on fully U.S.-based supply chains are immune to the challenges facing the American economy today. Raw materials prices are surging. The labor shortage is still present. Owens pointed out that it took a long time for Sherrill Manufacturing to fill the 25 positions it added to boost its production output.

Theres not a guarantee that if you produce in the United States or North America, that you will be immune to any of this, said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, an industry nonprofit organization that partners with both manufacturers and unions to bring more jobs to America. But there is a better chance that you will be less impacted.

Paul said relying almost exclusively on American products and raw materials means having more control over supply chains and greater flexibility when problems arise. It also means avoiding the backlogs that are still plaguing American ports.

These challenges are leading more companies to reconsider bringing their supply chains closer to home. Paul noted that its also making them think about diversifying their suppliers, making their manufacturing processes more flexible and sourcing more raw materials and other products within the United States.

I dont know anybody whos suggesting that we have autarky, that we just shut our country down and were going to be self-sufficient, said Paul. Just, the closer you are to your customer, the closer you are to your main assembly, the fewer things that can go wrong.

More related stories:

Bidens engineered collapse proceeding as regime ban on unvaccinated foreign truckers set to worsen supply chain crisis.

Report warns that supply chain backlogs might never let up.

Shortage of semiconductors hits manufacturing industries as Biden fails to solve supply chain crisis.

US burdened by tire shortage as global supply chain crisis continues.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about the possibility that the supply chain crisis might get worse in 2022 if pandemic-related lockdowns are brought back.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

Learn more about the ongoing supply chain crisis in the United States at SupplyChainWarning.com.

Sources include:

FoxBusiness.com

BusinessInsider.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) In response to French President Emmanuel Macrons recent declaration that the unvaccinated are irresponsible and no longer a citizen, Croatian MEP Mislav Kolakusi? warned that mandatory injections are a type of death penalty.

You said today that you are proud that there is no death penalty in Europe, Kolakusi? said. Tens of thousands of citizens have died from the side effects of vaccines. Mandatory vaccinations represent the death penalty and will result in the execution of many citizens.

In case you missed it, Macron recently told the Le Parisien newspaper that his desire is to make life as miserable as possible for unvaccinated Frenchmen. Macron actually said that his goal is to piss off the non-jabbed by denying them access to restaurants, theaters and cinemas. (Related: Macron also said that the unvaccinated are no longer welcome in France.)

Macron is a graduate, by the way, of globalist Klaus Schwabs school for Young Global Leaders, which has been against the unvaccinated from the very beginning of the Globalists vaccine campaigns.'

As you might expect, many have spoken out against Macron and his dictatorial rhetoric, which bears all the markings of an impending genocide. Macrons ultimate goal is to exterminate the unvaccinated, and Kolakusi? sees this.

Murder is murder, he stated about Macrons agenda, adding that injections of all kinds should always be voluntary. Kolakusi? also pointed to official data from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) showing that covid jabs are not safe and effective as claimed.

If it isnt forcibly stopped, covid fascism will eventually kill us all

A former Croatian judge, Kolakusi? infamously called out European Commission President Ursula von der Leyens human rights abuses during an address to her at a Parliamentary session back in September 2021.

He says that Von der Leyens covid policies are dividing citizens while violating both their rights and the scientific advice of independent scientists who have been warning that the injections are not the miracle cure that they have been made out to be.

Kolakusi? spoke at length about von der Leyens left-wing policies, which are violating the social rights of E.U. citizens, not to mention the fact that they stand in stark contrast to reality.

Fundamental human rights have never been more seriously violated in the past 80 years since Nazism: freedom to travel, the right to work, health care, and the right to ban medical experiments performed on more than 500 million people, reported the RAIR Foundation.

Furthermore, every citizen has the right to self-determination, emphasized the MEP.

Kolakusi? is calling for an immediate end to all the division. People should be allowed to make their own health decisions without threat or persecution from the government, he says.

Corona certificates that only allow the vaccinated to travel freely  while spreading the virus just as easily as the unvaccinated  are insane, he added about the E.U.s vaccine passport scheme.

Nobody knows what will happen if we dont put an end to it, he added about von der Leyens fascist impositions.

In the comment section at the RAIR Foundation, one person wrote that the time has come for lovers of freedom to take a bold stand against the covid terrorists, which will continue to chip away at our rights for as long as we let them do it.

Von der Leyen is the biggest genocide leader in the E.U.! another wrote.

Another pointed out that what is happening right now also happen in 1933 right before World War II and the Holocaust.

This time you are the ritual sacrifice, the lamb being led to the slaughter, this person wrote. Beware of the enemy within.

More related news about the dangers and ineffectiveness of Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

RAIRFoundation.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Former Pfizer Vice President Dr. Michael Yeadon is once again speaking out about the spike in excess deaths he is seeing in nearly every country where Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine uptake is high.

During a recent interview, Yeadon addressed Scotland, which is one of the countries where deaths are soaring amid heavy vaccine compliance. He also talked about Germany, Israel, Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and of course the United States, which are seeing similar trends.

Theyve all seen a significant uptick in all-cause mortality, Yeadon told the interviewer. Why is that? What did they do differently in 2021 than they did in the years before?

Not only is all-cause mortality up in 2021 compared to 2020, Yeadon further pointed out, but it smashed the five-year average. What changed? Hundreds of millions of people rolled up their sleeves for spike protein injections  that is what happened.

Public Health Scotlands (PHS) October 14 Covid-19 Daily Dashboard shows that despite 87 percent of the adult population now considered to be vaccinated, weekly deaths are a shocking 30 percent above normal.

This marks the 20th consecutive week with excess deaths above the five-year average and the highest since the week ending January 10, 2021, the report explains.

The plandemic of the fully vaccinated rages on

In Germany, Europes most populous nation, nearly 78,000 deaths were reported during the month of September 2021, which is more than 10 percent higher than the expected figure, according to government demographers.

Denmark, Finland and Norway have all seen similar excess death spikes that are much higher, in fact, than at any other time during the plandemic.

Five months in a row, 2021 has broken the 10-year record of people dying from all causes, explains one report out of Denmark. Covid-19 deaths close to zero during the same period.

Then we have England, which saw a massive spike in deaths particularly among the younger vaccinated population. Older jabbed people have been faring better while younger jabbed people have been bearing the brunt of vaccine injury, reported revealed.

According to VigiAccess, the adverse event database for the World Health Organization, 41% of the more than 2.4 million vaccine injuries reported so far are among those under age 44, and just six percent are among people over age 75.

Here in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admitted that despite more than 80 percent of the country supposedly being fully vaccinated, deaths in the 65-and-over demographic in Florida are 14 percent higher than during the same time period the previous year.

Despite at least 50% full vaccination in the under 65s, deaths are up 46% and will rise as reporting catches up, tweeted Joel Smalley.

It is important to emphasize, here, that these are not covid deaths. They are primarily heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, circulatory diseases and neurological issues  all vaccine-induced diseases that physicians and scientists have been warning about ever since the jabs were introduced.

Simply put, the vaccines are increasing fatalities, not reducing them, reported the Daily Expose. They are making matters worse, not better. They are perpetuating the crisis, not ending it.

The data charts all show that excess deaths really ramped up after the injections went public. Prior to that, death rates were about average or even lower than average, in some cases.

Since the beginning of July, there have been thousands of excess deaths that were not caused by coronavirus, admitted The Telegraph about the situation in the U.K., where excess deaths spiked at a time when it was warmer and sunnier, which is highly anomalous.

According to health experts, this is highly unusual for the summer.

The latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine injuries and deaths can be found at Genocide.news.

Sources for this article include:

DailyExpose.uk

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Ever since the World Health Organization declared a worldwide pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci has had a narrow mind about the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Presuming Fauci is innocent, it DOES NOT make logical sense that he would utterly disregard a potential lab origin of SARS-CoV-2 from the very beginning. A scientist with his level of experience and expertise should be willing to consider all evidence and ask questions. Instead, he shut down any conversation of a lab leak from the start, even after meeting with scientists who had evidence that the causative agent was of lab origin. Now that his emails are unredacted, its now apparent that Fauci had ulterior motives. Even after receiving intel at a secret teleconference, Fauci lied to the world about evidence of lab origins of SARS-CoV-2.

Fauci quickly claimed lab leak a conspiracy theory and agreed to a published takedown of dissenters

Fauci was so adamant about shutting down scientific debate, he even helped craft an academic paper decrying that the lab leak theory was a conspiracy theory. In communications with NIH director Francis Collins, Fauci agreed to a published takedown of fringe scientists from Harvard, Oxford and Stanford. Anyone who questioned Dr. Fauci was promptly labeled a conspiracy theorist, and any information about a potential lab leak was labeled misinformation and taken down.

Faucis utter disregard for a potential lab leak is suspicious, to say the least. As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Fauci approved multiple grants for coronavirus gain-of-function research. Fauci also helped devise a framework and a workaround to continue gain-of-function virology research after it was banned in the United States in 2014. If anyone understood the proclivity of lab leaks, it was Fauci. If anyone is more responsible for potential coronavirus lab leaks, it would be Fauci. He understood the dangers of this bioweapons research, as it was off-shored to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China (where incidentally the first outbreaks began).

To date, an animal reservoir has not been identified as the source for SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-1 and MERS coronavirus outbreaks that preceded this strain were eventually traced back to an animal reservoir. Today, a lab version of the genetic code for SARS-CoV-2 is being replicated in human cells through new mRNA vaccine technology. This destructive experiment has proven to be nothing more than a profitable endeavor of continued human exploitation that capitalizes from the original spike protein (of which Fauci has done nothing but lie about).

Unredacted emails show Fauci weaponized propaganda to shut down lab leak evidence

Some of the redactions in Faucis emails have finally been made public. The unredacted emails reveal that Fauci initiated global efforts to cover up evidence of a laboratory leak as the origins for SARS-CoV-2. He quickly assembled an academic paper (published in Nature) to discredit anyone who suggested the possibility of a lab leak. The academic paper, The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2, was written promptly after a Feb 1, 2020 teleconference held by Fauci. Four out of five virologists who authored the paper were on this secret teleconference with Fauci. Three of the authors reported to Fauci that they were 60 to 80 percent sure that SARS-CoV-2 was of laboratory origin. Their warnings were also conveyed in the now unredacted emails, which immediately followed the teleconference. However, Fauci denied the evidence at a Feb 3 meeting with the National Academy of Scientists  just two days after he received intel on the lab leak.

Scientists around the world provided details about the engineered features of the virus. This evidence was known in February of 2020, before Fauci led a nationwide lock down that harmed countless lives and livelihoods. No matter the evidence, no matter the scientific warnings, Dr. Fauci tried to quash any evidence of a potential lab leak immediately after he was warned. In his testimonies to Congress, Dr. Fauci has since denied he communicated with the authors of the paper. That is now a provable lie. In his testimonies to the Senate, Fauci has since denied the funding of coronavirus gain-of-function research through Peter Daszak. This is now a provable lie. The main beneficiary of Faucis gain-of-function coronavirus grants  Dr. Peter Daszak  was one of the signers of Faucis propaganda. The paper concluded: We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin. The papers conclusions could be better interpreted as: Heil Fauci! Heil Fauci!

Dr. Anthony Fauci is directly implicated in bioweapons research in China and actively tried to block any evidence or scientific debate about laboratory leaks and the implications thereof. Now that Fauci has been caught in deliberate LIES and DECEIT, and continues to push for perpetual vaccination of spike proteins, its safe to ask: Was the lab leak intentional?

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Oversight.House.gov [PDF]

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The FBI has raided the headquarters of a pop-up COVID-19 testing firm that received roughly $125 million in taxpayer funding but the Justice Department apparently has no interest in holding accountable vaccine makers pushing dangerous, faulty products that dont protect from the virus and that have actually killed or damaged Americans.

According to USA Today, agents raided the Rolling Meadows, Ill., firm known as the Center for COVID Control, after the company came under investigation by state and federal officials for alleged shady practices.

The FBI was conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity in Rolling Meadows yesterday, Siobhan Johnson, a spokesperson for the FBIs Chicago office, told the paper just days ago.

When asked about the raid, Illinois Attorney General spokeswoman Annie Thompson said that the AG is absolutely committed to protecting residents from those who attempt to profit off of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

We are working with the FBI and other law enforcement partners and will not comment on ongoing investigations as we work to hold accountable individuals who engage in unlawful conduct, Thompson added.

USA Today notes further:

The search comes days after the Minnesota Attorney Generals Office filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the company and its primary laboratory, Doctors Clinical Lab. The complaint alleges the company and lab provide inaccurate and deceptive test results and have fraudulently reported negative test results.

Longtime entrepreneurs Akbar Syed, 35, and his wife, Aleya Siyaj, 29, run the Center for COVID Control and, in recent months, have been sharing photos and videos on social media of their growing wealth. Syed has shared images of two Lamborghinis, a 2018 Ford GT, a Ferrari Enzo and a new $1.36 million mansion.

At its peak, the Center for COVID Control had more than 300 locations across at least 26 states and collected more than 80,000 tests a day, according to the company.

The paper said it began investigating the company after one of its reporters encountered a pop-up testing site that was being operated out of a shack in Chicago powered by a generator.

The Center for COVID Control is also under investigation by the Illinois Attorney Generals Office and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Oregon Department of Justice is investigating the company on suspicion of Unfair Trade Practices Act violations, the paper added.

Illinois isnt the only state investigating the company; so is Minnesota, which has filed suit against it as well.

According to a press release from Attorney General Keith Ellisons office, the AG received numerous complaints from Minnesotans who said they submitted tests at sites operated by the Center for COVID Control but never got the results from a lab associated with the company, Doctors Clinical Laboratory, even though they waited for them for weeks. Others got faulty test results, and some people reported receiving test results even though they never submitted a sample to be tested.

My job is to fight for Minnesotans security and help them live with dignity, safety, and respect. Making sure that Minnesotans have accurate tools to [keep] them safe from the COVID-19 pandemic is a key part of that job, Attorney General Ellison said.

When Minnesotans and people from around the country tested with these companies to keep themselves and their families safe, they trusted they would get correct results on time. Im holding these companies accountable that sent back false or inaccurate results, when they sent them back at all, for deceiving Minnesotans and undermining the publics trust in testing, he added.

Fine  but what about the COVID-19 vaccine makers for marketing faulty products? And will the Biden regime investigate itself for acts of bioterrorism against red states?

Sources include:

Vaccines.news

VaccineInjury.news
(Natural News) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just announced that approval has been granted for Modernas Spikevax injection, which they are calling a vaccine.

All this time, Spikevax has not had FDA approval, but rather an emergency use authorization (EUA) allowing it to be administered at warp speed without the proper trials. Now, Spikevax has the FDAs official blessing.

Our COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to hundreds of millions of people around the world, protecting people from COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and death, announced Stephane Bancel, Modernas CEO, in an announcement.

The totality of real-world data and the full BLA for Spikevax in the United States reaffirms the importance of vaccination against this virus. This is a momentous milestone in Modernas history as it is our first product to achieve licensure in the U.S.

Bancel added that Spikevax is already approved in Canada, Japan, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Israel and several other countries where the adolescent indication is also approved.

We are grateful to the U.S. FDA for their thorough review of our application, he went on to state. We are humbled by the role that Spikevax is playing to help end this pandemic.

FDA relied on data supplied by Moderna  not independent data  to grant approval for its vaccine

Speaking of Japan, the Ministry of Health in that country issued a warning back in the summer about how Modernas jab vial contain mysterious black substances.

Metallic particles that some suspect might be graphene oxide were detected inside the vials, prompting the Japanese government to suspend some of the 1.6 million doses that were available there at the time.

We are suspending the use of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines as foreign substances were spotted, authorities in Okinawa announced at the time, suggesting the affected batches might be dangerous.

Bancel, of course, made no mention about these particles in his statement suggesting that Japan and other nations are happy with his companys injections.

The FDA claims that it based its approval decision on the totality of scientific evidence shares by [Moderna] in its submission package. All of this scientific data showed high efficacy and favorable safety, of course, seeing as how it was manufactured by the company.

Regulators in more than 70 other countries also relied on the same scientific data to grant their approval as well. This proves that it is not just the FDA that is corrupt, but also many other government agencies that have also been infiltrated.

Since Dec. 18, 2020, when Donald Trump was still in office, Moderna has had EUA for its mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine. Trump bragged about the shot being safe and effective as he introduced it under Operation Warp Speed along with Pfizers mRNA jab and the viral vector jab from Johnson & Johnson (Janssen).

Under an EUA, the FDA has the authority to allow medical products to be used in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions during a declared public health emergency when there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives, Moderna said in a news release.

A booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the 50 g dose level is authorized for emergency use in the U.S. under EUA for adults 18 years and older. A third dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the 100 g dose level is authorized for emergency use in immunocompromised individuals 18 years of age or older in the United States who have undergone solid organ transplantation, or who are diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise.

More of the latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

Investors.ModernaTX.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) A shocking new analysis from a German researcher using data from several countries reveals that there have been thousands more daily deaths from COVID-19 vaccines than governments around the world are admitting, even as those same regimes continue to demand as many people as possible continue to get vaccinated.

The analysis, from University of Regensberg Prof. Christof Kuhbandner, has revealed what he has described as an extremely alarming situation involving thousands of people who are dying of the vaccine daily without us even being aware of it, according to a published report.

The mortality data, which was gathered from Austria, Germany, Israel and Britain, was compiled in an Austrian report broadcast by servus.tv after Kuhbandner happened to come across a recent preprint study in the journal ResearchGate, where the authors examined the UK ONS vaccine mortality surveillance report, the report noted further.

At first glance, the analysis noted, the all-cause mortality rates appear to be far lower in vaccinated people than those who have not taken the vaccine. But after Kuhbandner and other researchers conducted a closer examination, they discovered fundamental inconsistencies and anomalies in the data, the report noted, showing that there has been systemic miscategorization of deaths between the different categories of unvaccinated and vaccinated, among other factors.

For example, for the calendar weeks spanning 1-38 in 2021, shortly after COVID-19 vaccines became available to the general public around the world, there were strong peaks in non-COVID mortality for unvaccinated people in the 60-69 and 70-79-year-old age groups, while mortality rates among those who got the jab stayed steady, the report continues.

Prof. Kuhbandner noted something very unusual was going on and examined the trend for the 80+ age group as well. The following are the plots for all three age groups. The peaks and deaths were offset, the report added.

The researchers noted:

In previous years, each of the 60-69, 70-79 and 80+ groups have mortality peaks at the same time during the year (including 2020 when all suffered the April Covid peak at the same time). Yet in 2021 each age group has non-Covid mortality peaks for the unvaccinated, at a different time, namely the time that vaccination rollout programmes for those cohorts reach a peak.

The vaccines were rolled out in phases, in other words, going first to the oldest people (80+ years old) because they were adjudged to be the most vulnerable, before then being offered to people in the 70-79-year-old group, then 60-69 years old and so forth.

The death peaks then followed the vaccination stages, the report said, adding the question: So why would people NOT getting the vaccine be the ones dying in huge numbers, and not those getting the vaccine?

Thats because in Europe, the report adds, those who became vaccinated were not designated as such until 14 days after the last of a two-dose regimen, so any deaths that occurred beforehand were counted as unvaccinated deaths.

If a patient died less than 14 days later, they were counted as unvaccinated, and thats how vaccine-related deaths are actually being hidden, the report states.

As Figures 5-7 above show, thousands of deaths occurred shortly after the vaccines had been administered, and many among them were likely linked to the vaccine itself. If this is the case globally, and not just in Britain, then the number of vaccine deaths may be profound. The nightmare appears to be true, Prof Kuhbandner shows, the report states.

There were similar death patterns in Germany, according to Kuhbandner.

These deaths appear to be directly the result of vaccinations. Its just too coincidental to be dismissed, the report continues.

In his interview with servus.tv, the professor said, When you express this in numbers, it translates to 700 more deaths a day, on average. It would be like two commercial planes full of people crashing every day.

If it turns out that theres a causal effect with the vaccinations, then we are dealing with an extremely alarming situation, Kuhbandner added, noting that he found similar results in all of the examined countries including Israel.

Then we have a case here where thousands of people are dying of the vaccine daily without us even being aware of it, he added.

Sources include:

MSYC1.com

Pandemic.news
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(Natural News) Jason Miller, the CEO of GETTR, welcomed far-left operatives employed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to his platform shortly after banning right-wing dissidents.

(Article by Shane Trejo republished from BigLeaguePolitics.com)

How big is #GETTR? Even the Southern Poverty Law Center is now here! Welcome to freedom! Miller said in response to doxxing enthusiast Michael Edison Hayden after he posted on the platform.

More SPLC! Welcome, Hannah! Unlike the Big Tech social media companies, your voice and your opinion will actually be protected here. We might not agree on much, but hopefully youll find #GETTR much more inviting than that cesspool over at Twitter, Miller told SPLC senior researcher Hannah Gais after she joined GETTR.

Millers posts can be seen here:

While Miller rolls out the red carpet to give a platform for the leftist enemies of America, his platform preemptively bans right-wing dissidents who have been frequently targeted by Big Tech censorship and other repressive measures by the globalist regime.

Big League Politics has reported on how Miller banned paleoconservative video blogger Nick Fuentes based on his reputation alone:

The Trump-friendly social media platform Gettr is gaining market share rapidly as Twitter embraces Draconian censorship like never before.

Gettr recently received a massive boost in traffic and notoriety after podcaster Joe Rogan joined the platform.

Just in case sh*t over at Twitter gets even dumber, Im here now as well. Rejoice! Rogan wrote in his introductory post on the platform.

Just in case sh*t over at Twitter gets even dumber, Im here [GETTR] now as well. Rejoice!  @joeroganhttps://t.co/DqberSjr6X or find us in your App Store! pic.twitter.com/wvKHWsXaML  GETTR (@GETTRofficial) January 3, 2022

This resulted in over 500,000 new signups at Gettr from users who support free speech and an open dialogue, but a recent moderating decision has called Gettrs dedication to their purported principles into question.

Right-wing video blogger and America First organizer Nick Fuentes was immediately banned from the platform shortly after joining with his following of so-called Groypers blacklisted on the site as well.

Fuentes has been banned from Twitter, YouTube, DLive, and all other mainstream platforms after helping organize Stop the Steal rallies last year, including the infamous Capitol demonstration on Jan. 6. His reputation caused him to get banned on Gettr, which enraged his following and offended neutral observers

Big League Politics talked to New York Young Republicans leader Gavin Wax, who was called out by Fuentes on his podcast due to his association with Gettr. Wax works in the marketing division for the social media upstart, and he explained that the decision to ban Fuentes was far from unanimous.

Based on their content moderation policies, it does not seem like GETTR is much different than their Big Tech competitors. It appears that a shady Chinese billionaire is calling the shots at GETTR, and early indicators show that they are hostile to free speech.

Read more at: BigLeaguePolitics.com
(Natural News) Of course its a female Democrat lawmaker from Illinois. Rep. Deb Conroy (D), 46th District, has proposed a new law (HB 4640) that would empower the State of Illinois to round up anti-vaxxers at gunpoint and throw them into state-run concentration camps for an indefinite period of time. This is entirely consistent with the authoritarian lunacy of Democrats and especially female Democrats who have become raging, power-hungry mask Karens who seek to rule over everyone.

Heres the official Illinois General Assembly link to the status of the bill.

From IllinoisReview.com:

Villa Park State Rep. Deb Conroy (Democrat) wants to isolate or quarantine persons who are unable or unwilling to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments.

HB 4640 is scheduled to be heard in the Illinois House Human Services Committee February 2 at 9:00 AM.

If HB 4640 were to become law, persons exposed to an infectious disease could be placed under Public Health Department observation, only possible in a contained atmosphere with Department watch guards, some suggest such as a concentration camp.

The bill says:

To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, the [Public Health] Department may, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section, isolate or quarantine persons whose refusal to undergo observation and monitoring results in uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a dangerously contagious or infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to the publics health.

Heres the Democrat pushing this: Rep. Deb Conroy:

The proposed law would also allow any local Illinois official (i.e. criminal government goon) to access the vaccine status of all individuals as a pretense to rounding up the unvaccinated and throwing them into covid concentration camps.

From the description at ILGA.gov:

Amends the Department of Public Health Act. Provides that emergency access to medical or health information, records, or data shall include access to electronic health records, provided that the local health authority shall be unable to alter the electronic health records.

There are currently 12,634 witness slips filed in opposition to the bill, as seen at this link on ILGA.gov.

The number of proponents in support of the bill is 81.

Your government is the terrorist

It appears that Rep Deb Conroy has not yet sufficiently terrorized the people of Illinois to get them to agree to be rounded up and taken away to concentration camps. No doubt the psychological operations programs will have to be ramped up to achieve that goal.

Heres a link on how to contact Rep. Deb Conroy. Shes a member of the Illinois House Democratic Womens Caucus and  no surprise  was also a District 205 School Board member. If you contact her, be polite. Dont fall into the trap of becoming what she is.

If you ever wondered what an actual vaccine Nazi looks like in modern-day America, get a good look at this Karen. This is what the Holocaust looks like in America: Power-hungry lunatic left-wing women demanding that men with guns round up all their political opponents and throw them into concentration camps. Conroy would have felt right at home in Nazi Germany, circa 1939.

Its no surprise, then, that Conroy is the Chair of the House Mental Health Committee. Never forget how the Nazis declared their opponents to be mentally deficient so they could throw them into insane asylums and have them exterminated. It seems like its always the people running the mental health sectors of society who are the most insane and power hungry, doesnt it?

Heres Rep. Conroy with her mental health award placard:

Finally, if you live in Illinois, you should probably consider exiting that bankrupt state anyway, as the financial picture for the State of Illinois is nothing short of disastrous. Even with covid bailout money, Chicago and St. Louis are beyond bankrupt. The city of Chicago currently owes $43,700 per taxpayer, reports IllinoisPolicy.org:

Fiscal watchdog Truth in Accountings July 2021 report showed the Windy Citys pension-fueled debt rose by $2.3 billion from 2019 to 2020 despite receiving substantial federal aid during the pandemic.

Maybe vaccine Holocaust pusher Deb Conroy should spend more time worrying about how Illinois is going to pay its bills than hounding citizens over vaccine compliance and wasting money on guards for covid concentration camps.

Also note that its only Democrat-controlled states that are pushing concentration camps. This insane nonsense does not fly in red states.

In any case, if you contact Rep. Conroy, be polite and state your case firmly and calmly. Better yet, just vote tyrants like this out of power in the 2022 mid-term elections. The way to end tyranny is to stop supporting it, obviously.

For those Illinois citizens who keep voting Democrat, you are getting the tyranny you deserve.

Get full details on this story and much more  including the North Carolina fertilizer plant fire  in todays Situation Update podcast:

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Find more information-packaged podcasts each day, along with special reports and emergency updates, at:

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(Natural News) During the first nine months of 2021, the global life insurance industry was hit with Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) claims totaling $5.5 billion, compared to $3.5 billion for the entirety of 2020.

The figures were even worse in the United States, however. According to Dutch insurer Aegon, which conducts two-thirds of its business in the United States, claims during the third quarter of 2021 were $111 million, up from $31 million a year earlier. This represents a more than 258 percent increase.

Numerous other insurance carriers, including MetLife and Prudential Financial, are reporting similar increases. Many of them say they were forced to burn through far more cash than planned, cutting into the capital they set aside to ensure solvency.

South Africas Old Mutual, for instance, used up more of its plandemic provisions to pay claims. Reinsurer Munich Re also had to raise its 2021 estimate of Covid-19 life and health claims from 400 million euros to 600 million euros. (Related: Another insurance company, OneAmerica, reported a 40 percent increase in death claims after the vaccines were introduced.)

The long-term nature of life insurance products  often lasting 20 years or more  means premiums are not yet capturing the risk that deaths or long-term illness from COVID-19 will likely remain higher than previously estimated, reported Yahoo Finance.

Competition in the industry is also keeping a lid on premiums.

Life insurance companies didnt start really feeling the hit until the vaccines were released

During the early days of the plandemic prior to when the vaccines from Operation Warp Speed were introduced, the insured United States population saw 12 percent more deaths than average, according to research data from the life insurance trade association LIMRA.

For the insurance industry, thats not huge because we have resources, said Marianne Purushotham, the companys chief actuary. Were always trying to compare the new variant to the initial shock.

A majority of the deaths that occurred in 2020 also had a relatively muted impact on the life insurance industry because it was mostly older people without life insurance who died.

That all changed in 2021, however, when the injections started getting plunged into peoples arms. All of a sudden, new variants started appearing out of nowhere that affected other age groups, including young people, who were not dying prior to the jabs.

We now know that these so-called variants are just vaccine-induced illness that sometimes results in death. This means that life insurance carriers are being stretched to the limit not by covid but by the vaccines and the deaths they are causing.

We take into account the possibilities of more transmissible and less transmissible (variants), said Narges Dorratoltaj, a scientist at the modeling firm AIR, about how insurance carriers are looking at how to plan for the future.

We cannot say specifically which path we are going to follow but we are trying to come up with the possible ranges to at least narrow down the possible outcomes.

Since the government is pushing more and more booster shots, these possible outcomes are likely to include many more variants that cause injury and death. That will result in the insurance industry being hit even harder with claims, potentially bankrupting some of them.

Excess deaths could continue as the virus becomes endemic, similar to influenza which causes many deaths each year despite vaccines, Yahoo Finance added.

More deaths or long-term illnesses will require insurers to set aside more reserves to pay claims, and may force them to raise premiums.

More of the latest news about the impact of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) on the global economy can be found at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

UK.finance.yahoo.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Around 71 percent of new Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the United States and 60 percent of COVID patients in hospitals are fully vaccinated.

According to journalist Ben Armstrong of the New American, this information comes from raw data leaked by whistleblowers from the Department of Defense (DOD). They had to leak this information because youre being lied to by your media and by your government, he said during The Ben Armstrong Show. (Related: The 8 lies governments everywhere parrot about COVID-19.)

On Jan. 24, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin held a five-hour-long panel called COVID-19: A Second Opinion. This discussion panel featured world-renowned doctors and medical experts who were given a chance to provide alternative opinions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccines.

One of the people Johnson brought on to speak was Ohio attorney Thomas Renz, who has been representing clients in filing cases against vaccine mandates.

Renz presented DOD data from a program known as Project Salus, an artificial intelligence-powered program that analyzes data on several million Medicare beneficiaries. This data revealed that 71 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and 60 percent of new COVID patients in hospitals are fully vaccinated.

Renz pointed out that, at the same time Project Salus was sending weekly reports to the DOD, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and leading officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were claiming that the U.S. was experiencing a crisis wherein over 99 percent of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were coming from the countrys unvaccinated population.

This is corruption at the highest level, said Renz during his testimony. We need investigations. The secretary of defense needs to be investigated. The CDC needs to be investigated.

Reports support claims that fully vaccinated people make up majority of cases

This is not the first time information has come out that a majority of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are coming from the countrys fully vaccinated population.

In July 2021, the CDC released a study that showed around 74 percent of COVID-19 cases in a town in Massachusetts were fully vaccinated. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky even acknowledged that this data was concerning and a pivotal discovery.

The data also found that fully vaccinated individuals who got infected carried as much of the virus in their nasal tract as unvaccinated people and could just as easily spread the virus to other individuals.

Back in December, the CDC admitted that most post-vaccine omicron variant cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. were fully vaccinated.

The CDC looked at all of the omicron variant cases in the country at the time and found that nearly 80 percent of them were fully vaccinated individuals. The CDC attempted to backtrack a bit by trying to claim that around 10 percent of the cases occurred in people who got infected less than 14 days after they became fully vaccinated.

The U.S. is not the only country experiencing a pandemic of the vaccinated.

Recent data from the provincial government of Ontario in Canada found that 9,515 of new cases in the province were fully vaccinated, 375 were partially vaccinated and only 1,543 were unvaccinated. Data from other Canadian provinces, such as Alberta and Quebec, show that the majority of COVID-19 cases and patients that require hospitalization are fully vaccinated.

In Alberta, 258 of 498 cases are fully vaccinated, 19 are partially vaccinated and 221 are unvaccinated. In Quebec1, 948 of 3,072 cases are fully vaccinated, 78 are partially vaccinated and 1,046 are unvaccinated.

More related stories:

Ben Armstrong: The more you vaccinate, the higher the infection rate.

The Ben Armstrong Show: Vaccines more dangerous than COVID  Brighteon.com.

Ben Armstrong tells Mike Adams: Bidens vaccine mandates precede the collapse of America  Brighteon.TV.

British media claim stealth disease, not COVID-19 vaccines, could kill nearly 200,000 people in UK over the next five years.

U.K. government says vaccinated are dying at a rate 286% higher than unvaccinated.

Watch this Jan. 28 episode of The Ben Armstrong Show as host Ben Armstrong goes into detail about how a vast majority of new and hospitalized COVID-19 patients are fully vaccinated.

This video is from the The New American channel on Brighteon.com.

Learn the truth about COVID-19 vaccines at Vaccines.news.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

JustTheNews.com

TheBlaze.com

CNBC.com

Reuters.com

LifeSiteNews.com
(Natural News) An expert at the Mayo Clinic recently claimed that Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines would still be around for at least a century. The expert even argued that children three generations down the line would still receive the COVID-19 vaccines.

Epidemiologist and vaccine researcher Dr. Gregory Poland made this claim during a Jan. 25 webinar sponsored by MarketWatch. Let me make a prediction, which will be hard for any of you to hold me to  because we will all be dead by then. Your great-great-great-grandchildren will still be getting immunized against [the Wuhan] coronavirus, he said.

The editor-in-chief of the Vaccine medical journal referenced the earlier Spanish flu pandemic that struck the world. How can I even say such a thing? If you got your flu vaccine this fall, you were immunized against a strain of influenza that showed up in 1918 and caused the pandemic, Poland said.

Polands prediction came amid talk of the more infectious B11529 omicron variant holding the key to the pandemics end. The strains milder symptoms have caused other experts to claim that COVID-19 could become an endemic disease. However, the Mayo Clinic epidemiologist begged to differ.

We are not yet at any stage where we could predict endemicity. Were not going to eradicate it, said Poland. He noted that SARS-CoV-2 has shown the ability to infect animals, possibly allowing it to circulate indefinitely as it jumps from species to species and continues to mutate. (Related: Perpetual COVID vaccinations: Mayo Clinic thinks jabs will be necessary for at least a century.)

Poland is not the only expert that issued a pessimistic prognosis of the pandemic. Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted that strains worse than omicron are set to emerge.

I would hope that [COVID-19s endemicity would be] the case. But that would only be [true] if we dont get another variant that eludes the immune response of the prior [omicron] variant, he said during a Jan. 17 Davos Agenda video conference.

The White House chief medical adviser predicted back in August 2021 the rise of a vaccine-resistant SARS-CoV-2 strain. His prediction became true three months later in November 2021 with the discovery of omicron  which hits fully vaccinated individuals  in South Africa.

Polands Mayo Clinic colleagues encourage medical fascism

While Poland has predicted the need for COVID-19 vaccines in the future, two of his colleagues have called for medical fascism against those turning down the shot.

Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Courtney Bennett denounced people who refuse COVID-19 vaccines in a Facebook post, calling them self-centered people relying on YouTube and One America News (OAN) for medical advice.

I wish I was sharing something more exciting, but I cant because we live in a society of self-centered people who get their medical advice from sources like YouTube or OAN, yet beg us to help them [breathe] using technology developed by actual science when theyre blue and gasping for air, wrote Bennett.

While Bennett expressed frustration over the unvaccinated, another medical professional from the Mayo Clinic explicitly admitted wanting to inflict physical violence on those opposing face masks and COVID-19 vaccines. Mayo Clinic general surgeon Dr. Mark Sawyer said hurting anti-vaccine and anti-mask individuals puts him in a state of Zen meditation.

Sawyers Facebook posts mentioned his desire for rhythmically kicking  in the tender parts unvaccinated Americans over what he calls their willful stupidity. Another post by Sawyer claimed the unvaccinated will have to be sacrificed  [for]the greater good.

Mayo Clinic did not respond to a request for comment about Sawyer and Bennetts posts.

More related stories:

COVID-19 vaccines ENABLE the development of deadlier coronavirus variants, warns Nobel Prize winner.

Stew Peters and Dr. Lee Merritt slam Mayo Clinics medical tyranny  Brighteon.TV.

Stew Peters slams medical violence in the hospital system  Brighteon.TV.

Watch the video below of Brighteon.TV host Stew Peters calling out the two Mayo Clinic doctors on The Stew Peters Show.

This video is from the BrighteonTV channel on Brighteon.com.

Vaccines.news has more about COVID-19 vaccines being pushed on the population forever.

Sources include:

SHTFPlan.com

DailyMail.co.uk

NationalFile.com 1

NationalFile.com 2

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) In another sign that our country is moving further away from The Greatest Generation, a time when Americans steeled themselves for the fight of their lives and had the mettle to see it through, the U.S. Navy has buckled to complaints from locals and has agreed to stop letting SEALs train in Washington state parks because residents have complained about seeing armed men.

Never mind that these armed men are part of an elite fighting force training to protect the very people who are complaining.

It is difficult to find peace in the woods when armed frogmen might be lurking behind every tree, whined attorneys for the Whidbey Environmental Action Network, the group behind a lawsuit against the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, in a legal brief filed in court last month.

Mind you, the Navy has been using coastline parks in Washington state for more than three decades to train some of the worlds most lethal special operators, all of whom have signed up for the express purpose of putting their lives on the line for our country, including complainers. Navy leaders say Washington state parks and the coastal areas offer perfect training environments allowing instructors to simulate what SEALs are going to encounter during difficult operations in far-away lands.

This area provides a unique environment of cold water, extreme tidal changes, multi-variant currents, low visibility, complex underwater terrain, climate and rigorous land terrain, which provides an advanced training environment, said Navy spokesman Joe Overton in an interview with Coffee or Die Magazine.

However, the Navys use of Washington coastal parks is coming under fire from residents complaining about both the physiological and environmental impact the SEAL training can have on others using the parks, the New York Post reported.

I do not care to catch a glimpse of apparently armed men skulking around and I DEFINITELY do not want to risk having my young grandchildren see such a sight, one resident wrote to state officials during a public commentary period while the state was in the process of renewing its agreement with the Navy.

Other local residents expressed similar left-wing, spineless concerns, with one saying that SEAL training is just to psychologically difficult for their sheltered little hearts to bear.

In these days of great division in our civil society, we dont need stealthy men in camo uniforms toting toy guns around our State and County Parks, one resident complained. People frequent parks to escape tension, not to encounter more. Keep the Navy commando training out of our parks!

Still another local resident complained about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): The Navys plan is to use larger, gasoline-powered UAVs as well as smaller, electric-powered types. This offers significant potential for direct and indirect injury to birds as well as auditory disruption to the experience of park visitors.

Again, these are weapons of modern-day warfare; our personnel must train with them and in realistic scenarios and terrain, or they will be at a distinct disadvantage even against an enemy with mid-level capabilities, let alone some of the best forces in the world.

But the complaints nevertheless triggered enough leftists on the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission: Members voted 4-3 to a scaled-back training plan (meaning one that is wholly inadequate to fully train SEALs, making it worthless) limiting where and what time the special operators could train, which then led to a lawsuit to block them from using state parks entirely.

The suit claims that the training is likely to dissuade the public from using the parks because they fear encountering the proposed war games or being spied upon by Navy personnel.

In response, the Navy said that SEALs are training for war and special operations, not to harass enemy civilians in parks  noting that there isnt any use of live ammunition or explosives.

The residents want the SEALs to use some 46 miles of coastline the sea service already controls in Washington state, but the Navy says that terrain doesnt have enough of the realism the SEALs require.

Although there are several Navy properties in the area, they do not provide the full range of environments needed for this training to be as realistic as possible, Overton said.

That were even having this argument as Russia and China continue to test the weakest president in modern history is insane.

Sources include:

NYPost.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Just hours before President Biden arrived in Pittsburgh on Friday to tout the progress hes made with infrastructure in the country, a major bridge collapsed in the city, injuring 10 people and leading to a massive gas leak. The incident came at a bad time for Biden, underscoring just how much work is left to do when it comes to improving the nations infrastructure.

The Fern Hollow Bridge, which takes Forbes Avenue across a ravine in one of the citys biggest parks, Frick Park, east of downtown Pittsburgh, collapsed just before 7:00am; the situation could have been a lot worse if it had happened slightly later in the morning during rush hour. A two-hour delay for city schools due to snowfall meant that fewer cars were on the bridge than usual at that hour.

Pittsburgh City Councilmember Corey OConnor said: If this would have occurred an hour later, this is a road that gets probably about 15,000 cars on it a day, and if it was rush hour, we would be looking at a couple hundred cars down in that valley, he stated.

According to The Associated Press, rescuers created a human chain to help pull multiple people out of a dangling bus, while others rappelled up to 150 feet to try to help in the rescue effort. Three people were transported from the scene of the incident, but none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening. The leaking gas line was turned off after reports of people in the area becoming ill.

The 497-foot steel bridge, which dates back to 1973 and carried around 14,000 vehicles a day, was hailed as one of the best new bridges in the country by the American Institute of Steel Construction when it was built for $1.2 million to replace a 70-year-old bridge that had been deemed hazardous.

Bridge consistently found to be in poor condition in inspections

The bridge has undergone multiple inspections over the years, and records show that the bridge was consistently found to be in bad shape from 2011 to 2017, with the needed repairs estimated to cost somewhere around $1.5 million. According to Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, the last time the bridge was inspected was in September, when it was found to be in poor condition.

Pittsburgh, which sits at the point where three major rivers meet, is believed to be one of the cities with the most bridges in the world. However, the state of Pennsylvanias highway infrastructure has long ranked near the bottom of the nation when it comes to the condition of its highways. Potholes and washboard pavement are prevalent across highways in the state, and residents regularly complain about the condition of the roads and bridges there.

Bidens visit was reportedly geared toward championing his bipartisan infrastructure law, which the White House said has been strengthening critical infrastructure such as bridges, roads, airports and ports. Once he arrived in the city, Biden promised to fix all of Pittsburghs bridges, which total more than 400.

The president, who visited the collapse site on Friday afternoon as part of his trip, said: Ive been coming to Pittsburgh a long time, and as a former Pennsylvanian  I didnt realize that there are literally more bridges in Pittsburgh than in any other city in the world. Were going to fix them all.

He added that there are 43,000 bridges across the country in poor condition.

In the aftermath of the collapse, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf was quick to call out Republican lawmakers who voted against the bill, saying: Shame on the Republican lawmakers who didnt support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Pennsylvanian lives are on the line.

Not surprisingly, he failed to condemn House Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, who also voted against the infrastructure bill.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

Post-Gazette.com

CNN.com

TheBlaze.com
Learning to love wetlands

Crossing bogs in Algonquin Park to study Canada jays (Photo by Sam Knight/NCC staff)

For a few years I looked forward to February because it was the start of the Canada jay research season at Algonquin Park and I assisted with the field work. At that time of year, we crossed frozen bogs to check up on the birds, yet the spring melt made it much more challenging to navigate. This February, I think fondly of those frozen wetlands and the biodiversity they sustained, even in the coldest months, through the spring melt and into the abundance of summer.

Canada jay (Photo by Sam Knight/NCC staff)

February 2 marks World Wetlands Day. The focus is a call to action to value, manage and restore wetlands. We have lost or degraded nearly 90 per cent of wetlands since the 1700s, and they are being lost three times faster than forests. Yet wetlands are vital ecosystems that support high biodiversity and provide many benefits to humans. It has only been over the past few decades that there has been a recognition of their importance and their subsequent conservation and restoration.

What exactly is a wetland?

Wetlands are areas that are either covered or saturated with water for at least part of the year. They are neither completely dry nor completely underwater, but are rather a transition zone between the two.

Wetlands are found around the world, from the high Arctic to the tropics, on every continent except the Antarctic. They exist in all kinds of climates, from the Mojave Desert to mountain peatlands, tropical Hawaii and prairie potholes. Wetlands can contain fresh water or salt water.

There are three major kinds of wetlands: swamps, marshes and peatlands. Swamps are permanently saturated with water, dominated by trees and are common in tropical areas. Marshes are typically found at higher latitudes than swamps and are flat landscapes dominated by grasses and aquatic plants. Moving to even higher latitudes (or altitudes), we find peatlands (bogs and fens), which are common in cold climates. This type of wetland is dominated by mosses, grasses, sedges and peat (partially decayed vegetation).

The importance of wetlands

Endangered Jefferson salamander research at a vernal pond in southern Ontario (Photo by Sam Knight/NCC staff)

In Canada, wetlands are everywhere, covering 14 per cent of the land. Its no wonder I constantly come across them during field work and hikes. Twenty-five per cent of the worlds wetlands are found here and 37 of Canadas wetlands have been designated as Wetlands of International Importance. Peatlands make up 90 per cent of Canadas wetlands, almost half of which are frozen year-round and known as permafrost.

Wetlands are biodiversity hot spots, providing habitat for a variety of plants and animals across Canada. Without wetlands, some of these species would disappear. My fondest memories of wetlands feature the unique sounds of common nighthawks foraging for flying insects over marshes in Ontario and the acrobatic foraging of tree swallows over marshes in British Columbia. Or the prairie potholes the American avocets visited, close to where I grew up in Alberta. And there is nowhere more iconic to see a moose than in a northern bog. I even helped out with endangered Jefferson salamander research at a vernal pond in southern Ontario. And its not just animals, but unique plants, that flourish in this habitat. One of my favourite plants to find in Nova Scotia bogs is the carnivorous purple pitcher plant.

Crossing a marsh at Torrance Barrens to study nightjars (common nighthawk pictured) (Photo by Sam Knight/NCC staff)

Wetlands are also carbons sinks, meaning they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Peatlands around the world alone store nearly 25 per cent of all soil carbon (more carbon than all of the worlds forests) even though they only cover three to four per cent of land.

Peatlands can act as fire breaks because they contain fire-resistant sphagnum moss.

Common nighthawk (Photo by Sam Knight/NCC staff)

Wetlands filter pollutants out of water, thereby purify it. In southern Ontario alone, wetlands provide and estimated $4.2 billion worth of filtration services, according to a recent study. By storing this water, they provide a ready supply of drinking water. They also act as a natural sponge to absorbs excess water after heavy rain or snowmelt, providing flood control and reducing erosion. They slowly release this water over the dry season, reducing the effects of drought. In coastal areas, wetlands act as a buffer by protecting coasts from erosion by waves or storm surges. Human livelihoods not only depend on these ecosystems, but they also save lives.

Conservation efforts

The good news is that wetlands are being protected and they can be restored. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has protected more than 109,000 hectares of wetlands across Canada directly and through partnership. One of our common restoration practices is to rewet wetlands that have been drained. But we have much more work to do. With our previous successes, we have demonstrated that we are ready to do even more to attain the larger conservation results needed to ensure a sustainable future where wetlands and the animals (including humans) who depend on them thrive.

Learn more about our wetland work in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
Bloodsucking gall wasps spend the most of their existence from eggs to caterpillars, and pupae to grownups; encased in a bubble necropolis on leaves, blossoms, and branches of oak woods. These microscopic creatures are seldom seen.

Newly Discovered Parasitic Gall Wasp

In 2019, investigators seeking for gall insects in Florida discovered two distinct varieties rising from necropolis along the blossoming branches of oak trees, according to ScienceAlert.

Brando-Dias, the article's principal investigator, describes N. Valhalla was seeking for yet different gall wasp's type that was believed to reside in that branch.

Investigators sought to discover two ages to ascertain if the insects with paler pigmented limbs were a different strain or an alternate cycle of a living variety. Pedro Brando-Dias discovered the millimeter-long creature, Neuroterus Valhalla, in the oak tree near the college pub Valhalla in 2018.

With their expertise, Rice University investigators accumulated galls from the catkins of their elm tree and positioned them, along with various tree fibers, in a test tube inside the science department.

ScienceDirect states that in our habitats, pathogens like the gall hornet establish intricate interwoven food systems that affect not just the oak tree in which they dwell, as well as other pathogens that devour them. Gall wasps induce plants to modify their host physiology and develop complex gall structures.

N. Valhalla's initial iteration was discovered in a protrusion, or gall, on the catkins of an elm tree.

The experts further explain that given the size difference of its galls, the N. Valhalla seems to amount in the tens or hundreds of thousands annually once it arises from galls as an adulthood, providing it an exemplar of missed and unexplained genetic diversity situated in the heart of a well-known metropolitan area.

Experts corroborated the gestation period observed in the laboratory by investigating real oak trees in Austin, Texas, where N. Valhalla earlier, but no men were located.

A solitary oak tree, such as the one near Valhalla at Rice College, may support over 100 varieties by itself.

Also read: Bug-Like Fossil From 500 million Years Ago Explain Evolutionary History of Spiders and Scorpions

Scientists Continue to Study on Gall Wasps

Yet, over 1,000 varieties of gall bees have been documented across the globe, and because to the animals' intense hermitic and limited lifetime, experts are continuously discovering new ones, especially the most recent discovery.

While there seems to have been two possibilities of the discovery wherein experts say that the creature discovered was a unique strain, or it was an alternate iteration of a previously documented organisms.

As bizarre as it may appear, every stage of evolution of gall wasps' switches among sexual and asexual breeding. When an asexual mother wasp deposits her eggs, she gives birth to both male and female progeny.

N. Valhalla's two descendants have only two days to discover the external environment, and since that Texas is already suffering far colder weather than normal in April, these critters may find it difficult to live in a climatic catastrophe. If the gall wasp mysteriously disappears, it might cause a chain reaction.

After being released from their necropolis in 2 to 3 weeks; and commenced depositing their eggs on neighboring stem nodes.

Also read: Newly-Discovered Branching Worm Named After Godzilla's Legendary Nemesis
On Sunday, heavy rains impacted Sao Paulo, Brazil which led to landslides and flooding that caused the death many and displacement of hundreds of thousands.

Torrential Rain Lashes Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest and most populous city, received a total of 3.63 inches (92.20 mm) of rain from Wednesday through Sunday, with about 2.05 inches (52.07 mm) coming down in a deluge on Saturday, as per AccuWeather.

"A stalled front led to rain and thunderstorms across Sao Paulo from Wednesday into Monday," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls.

The Ground in impacted area had already been saturated because of what Nichols called "beneficial" rainfall that fell earlier in January. On Jan. 16 and Jan. 26, the city recorded 1.97 and 1.14 inches of rain, respectively.

From the beginning of January till the end, the city has received 9.29 inches (236 millimeter) of rain, well exceeding the average of 7.44 inches (189 mm) that falls in January.

Also Read: New Analysis Reveals Intensity of Extreme Rainfall May Keep Increasing

Death Cases Recorded Due to the Event

The Associated Press reported that 19 people died as a result of the severe rains that fell over the state, and that more than 500,000 people were forced to abandon their homes because of the rising waters. According to the Associated Press, the dead toll from the mudslide rose to 24 on Monday.

According to Yahoo News, a landslide in the city of Embu das Artes claimed the lives of three members of the same family, according to the local authority. Firefighters saved the lives of four other people.

Governor Joao Doria of Sao Paulo announced that four children had perished in Francisco Morato.

Officials also confirmed that four people were killed in Franco da Rocha, while two others were killed near the cities of Ribeirao Preto and Jau, which are located about 200 and 175 miles north of Sao Paulo, respectively. Floodwaters had washed away three of the victims.

At least seven children have perished in weather-related accidents in the state of Sao Paulo, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

Efforts to Help Affected Cities

Following an aerial evaluation of the damage on Sunday, Doria announced the release of $2.8 million in financial aid to the state of Sao Paulo and its 645 municipalities, including other affected area.

As a result of the excessive rain, the city of Sao Paulo had to cancel scheduled vaccinations for COVID-19. According to the AP, the number of homeless individuals in the city has risen by 30% during the COVID-19 outbreak.

19 people have been killed by heavy rains in the state of Minas Gerais, which borders Sao Paulo to the north and is located in the southeast of Brazil.

Related Article: Intense Flash Floods Wreak Havoc in Uruguay's Capital Due to Torrential Rain

For more news, updates about torrential rain and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!


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A mother is facing an attempted murder charge after dropping her three-year-old girl in a bear enclosure in Uzbekistan.

The toddler only sustained injuries from the fall. The police filed a case against the mother, who may face at least 15 years in prison if convicted.

Mother Faces Attempted Murder Charge

The zoo's spokeswoman said "a young woman threw a little girl down into a brown bear's enclosure, in front of all the visitors. It was completely unclear what her motive was," as per New York Post.

The police are investigating the mother for attempted murder. The police already detained the mother, who may be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison if found convicted, as per Penn Live news.

Also read: Harambe, the Endangered Cincinnati Gorilla Was Just Protecting the Boy? Watch Latest Footage Captured at Scene

Three-Year-Old Girl Survives

The incident was recorded through a viral video circulating on social media at a zoo in the capital city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The clip showed the mother is standing in the bear enclosure's railing and dropping her three-year-old girl into a 16-feet trench over the bear pit, according to a report by Daily Mail.

The Caucasian Brown Bear named, Zuzu, went near to the child, sniffed her, and eventually went away.

The child only sustained a concussion and cuts from the fall. The zookeepers managed to lure Zuzu away and locked the bear in another part of the enclosure before rescuing the child.

Prior to the child's fall into the bear enclosure, two visitors and staff of the zoo attempted to stop the mother but failed.

The zoo's spokeswoman said the situation may have been different if the bear saw the child as prey. The child is being treated at a hospital for her sustained injury.

There is no indication that the child's injury came from the bear's fangs or claws but the girl suffered from light shock, says the zoo's spokeswoman.

Related Incidents in the Past

There have been related incidents of children falling into zoo enclosures in the past.

In 2016, zookeepers shot an endangered 17-year-old gorilla named, Harambe, after a three-year-old boy fell into the gorilla's enclosure and was dragged by the gorilla at a zoo in Cincinnati, Ohio, as per NBC News.

This incident triggered varying ethical debates on whether it was right to shoot Harambe or just tranquilized him.

Some experts and activists said it was right to shoot the endangered gorilla since the toddler's life was at risk. Other critics said the Cincinnati zookeepers should have done more before killing Harambe.

In 2012, a two-year-old boy died after falling and a pack of African painted dogs mauled him at a Pittsburgh Zoo, as per CNN. The boy was standing near the railing of the enclosure before losing balance and falling into the den.

In another incident in 1996, a toddler fell into a gorilla enclosure at a zoo in Chicago, Illinois. The toddler survived after a female gorilla named Binti picked him up and brought him directly to the zookeepers, as per ABC News.

Related article: Young Boy Killed by Pack of African Painted Dogs in Pittsburgh Zoo
The second Earth Trojan asteroid was confirmed by astronomers and called it 2020 XL5, according to a new study published in the journal Nature on February 1.

The new study reveals the Trojan asteroid is situated in Earth's orbit. It is estimated that 2020 XL5 will remain in Earth's orbit for more than 3,500 years before it escapes the planet's gravitation.

Trojan Asteroids and the Formation of our Solar System

According to Audrey Martin, NASA's scientist under the Lucy mission, Trojan asteroids are small space rocks that share their gravitational orbit with a planet. The NASA scientist added most of these rocks became Jupiter Trojan asteroids, which are gravitationally trapped in Jupiter's orbit around the sun for billions of years.

Martin also said these asteroids dates back to four billion years ago when our newly formed solar system consisted of trillions of tiny little rocks and icy objects.

A large number of these asteroids combined together to form the planets, but some of these rocks have scattered across the solar system and the universe, says Martin.

The new study's lead author Toni Santana-Ros, a researcher at the University of Alicante and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB) at the University of Barcelona, observed the second Earth Trojan asteroid with the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope in Chile.

Santana-Ros were accompanied by other astronomers who also observed 2020 XL5 with the Lowell Discovery Telescope in Arizona and the European Space Agency's Optical Ground Station in Tenerife, Canary Islands,

Also read: NASA: What are 'Trojan' Asteroids? Fast Facts on the Rare Elusive Space Rock

Earth's Two Trojan Asteroid Companions

The new study published in Nature was more of follow-up research from December 2020, when a separate team of astronomers thought they had found a second Earth Trojan asteroid, in addition to the first Earth Trojan asteroid, called 2010 TK7, discovered in 2010.

In December 2020, a separate team of astronomers first discovered the 2020 XL5 Earth Trojan asteroid using the Pan-STARRS 1 survey telescope in Hawaii, in addition to the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center database.

However, it was not fully understood two years ago whether 2020 XL5 was just a nearby space rock passing through Earth's orbit or if it was a real Earth Trojan asteroid, as per Space.

There are many Trojan asteroids discovered in our solar system, more than 7,000 of these rocks are hanging around Jupiter's orbit as of 2020.

Prior to confirming 2020 XL5 was indeed an Earth Trojan asteroid, there was only one confirmed Earth Trojan asteroid on Earth, called 2010 TK7. The latest discovery imply that Earth will have two Trojan asteroid companions for the next thousands of years.

Future Space Missions

Travel to these distant Trojan asteroids was made possible due to the advancement of space technology over recent years. In 2021, NASA launched the Lucy mission for a 12-year journey to study the Jupiter Trojan asteroids.

On the other hand, the Earth Trojan asteroids have also been subjected to further studies and a potential site of mineral resources.

According to the study's co-author, Cesar Briceno, a researcher at the National Science Foundation's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), "If we are able to discover more Earth Trojans, and if some of them can have orbits with lower inclinations, they might become cheaper to reach than our Moon."

Briceno added these asteroids may become ideal bases for advanced exploration of the solar system in the future and can potentially serve as a source of resources.

Related article: Scientists Find New Trojan Asteroids Orbiting Neptune
The Greenland ice sheet continues to melt due to human-caused global warming over the decades. A new study suggests the melting ice of Greenland in the past 20 years is enough to cause flooding across the US.

This fact has been exemplified in various studies and missions, including NASA-led projects, conducted over recent years. The threat posed by the melting ice of Antarctica also poses a threat to the rise of sea levels across the planet.

Melting of the Greenland and Antarctica Ice Sheets

A team of Danish researchers released new data and showed the melting of the Greenland ice sheet is enough to cause flooding across the US in half a meter of water, as per NDTV.

These findings came following the acquisition of data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) program and GRACE satellites-which showed that both Greenland and Antarctica's ice sheets have been losing mass since 2002.

Since 2002, 4,700 billion tons of ice had melted in the Greenland ice sheet, according to Polar Portal, a joint project consisting of several Danish Arctic research institutes.

According to NASA, both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting and losing vast amounts of land-based ice due to human-caused global warming.

The climate is warming faster in the Arctic than anywhere else on Earth and the melting ice from Greenland is now the main factor in the rise of ocean levels across the planet, says NASA.

Scientists say the global warming effect of climate change is increasing temperature three to four times the global average.

Also read: Study Shows Glaciers in Northern Hemisphere Continue to Melt at an Alarming Rate

Melting Ice Equates to Sea Level Rise

NASA's findings suggest the Greenland glaciers are now retreating six to seven times faster compared to 25 years ago.

Climate scientists reportedly estimate the Greenland ice sheet contains enough water to increase the sea level by more than seven meters. Meanwhile, the Antarctica ice sheet is enough to increase sea level by almost 50 meters, says, scientists.

Currently, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet has only contributed to the rise of sea level by 1.2 centimeters, as per Phys.org.

Ice Melting as a Stark Reminder of Global Warming

NASA said the accelerating melting of ice near Greenland's coasts can be caused by the warming of the Arctic Ocean, as per France24. NASA's findings are based on its five-year campaign known as the Ocean Melting Greenland (OMG) mission.

The OMG mission allowed NASA to measure the loss of ice and yearly ocean temperature in Greenland. This measurement is done through a comprehensive marine survey off the coast of Greenland, the creation of a sea map, and determining the salinity of the water, as per Science Times.

The continuous warming of the planet has been evident from previous studies over recent years. In 2021, European scientists concluded that 2021 is the fifth hottest year, as per The New York Times.

According to Carlo Buontempo, the director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the events of 2021 "are a stark reminder of the need to change our ways, take decisive and effective steps toward a sustainable society and work toward reducing net carbon emissions."

Related article: New Research: Himalayan Glaciers Are Melting Rapidly, Threatening the Water Supply of Millions in Asia
Warming temperatures have been a cause of global problems every waking day, from changing weather patterns to disruption in the usual balance of nature. However, a new discovery questions one of the effects of global warming on wildlife evolution - a pro or a con?

Science itself explains that animals are evolving rapidly because of human-induced global warming.

According to experts, several wildlife species exhibited evidence of "shapeshifting" in recent years as direct response to their warming habitats, GMA News Online reported.

Among these species are the Australian parrots which increased four-to-10% bigger bills than their ancestors before the world transitioned to large-scale industry, which risen Earth's average surface temperature every decade. In addition to birds, dark-eyed juncos in North America also evolved bigger bills due to temperature extremes.

Good news or bad news?

For some mammals, shapeshifting had benefited them to evolve at such a faster pace, such as structural changes to the skull and teeth for mice over the past 50 years

Aside from this, scientists shared in Cantech Letter that climate change also caused quick migration of non-native species in new areas to find new territories considered hospitable. Insects too are seeing population changes, such as speeding up the rate of natural selection for mosquitos that lay their eggs inside carnivorous pitcher plants.

Along with these changes, scientists learn from the speed at which evolution has occurred, given the specific conditions.

On the other hand, other studies suggest that climate change is negatively affecting those which cannot keep up fast enough with the rising temperatures, such as Scotland's feral sheep which shrunk due to a "warmer winter", making their thick coats unusable.

This includes polar bears in the Arctic region which are also struggling with adapting quickly to their fast-changing environment, from ice caps melting to ice floes becoming fewer and farther between, which could likely drive their species to extinction.

Also read: Experts Explain Why Clouds Work Differently Between Earth's Hemispheres

A quarter of all species face extinction

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recent estimates indicate that 25% of the world's mammals and 12% of birds are at significant risk of global extinction, with climate change as "only one of a long list of pressures on wildlife".

It is with high confidence that the organization considered these pressures will greatly increase species' vulnerabilities to rarity and extinction. "Other pressures include exploitation of animals, pollution and other biochemical poisonings, extreme climatic events, wildlife diseases, collisions with towers and other structures, anthropogenic barriers to dispersal, and war and other civil conflicts."

After projecting future ranges at which species can move and adapt, researchers reveal that species left behind due to failure in adapting quickly "will be trapped in degrading habitat", and eventually go extinct.

"The present human-caused climate change will not lead to similar extensive mixing and adaptation of populations," says Eeva Furman of the Finnish Environment Institute.

"Partly because movements of most species are greatly hindered in human dominated landscapes, and partly because the present climate warming is extremely rapid in comparison with Pleistocene climate fluctuations."

Also read: Even Low Levels of Industrial Pollution Shortens Life Span of Older People
Coral reefs have long been thought to be one of the first and most severe ecological victims of global warming.

Marine heatwaves are becoming increasingly frequent due to climate change across the planet. Corals have developed to survive in a specific temperature range, so if ocean temperatures get too hot for an extended time, corals may bleach, losing the colorful algae that dwell within their tissue, feed them through photosynthesis, and eventually die.

According to a new study published in the journal PLOS Climate, the future of these tropical ecosystems, which are considered to contain more species than any other, is likely to be worse than previously assumed.

As the climate has warmed, major bleaching and die-offs have gone from an uncommon event to a more common occurrence in the tropics. The time it takes corals to recuperate is increasing shorter as heatwaves become more common.

Worsening Global Warming

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecast that 1.5C of global warming will result in the extinction of 70 to 90% of the world's coral reefs in a 2018 report.

The team discovered that at 1.5C of warming, which the world is predicted to reach in the early 2030s without drastic action to limit greenhouse gas emissions, 99 percent of the world's reefs will experience heatwaves that are too frequent for them to recover, using models capable of examining temperature differences between coral reefs one kilometer apart.

This would be disastrous for the hundreds of species that rely on coral reefs, as well as the nearly one billion humans that depend on coral reef biodiversity for their livelihoods and food supplies.

Related Article: Dangerously High Temperatures May Signal Another Mass Bleaching in Great Barrier Reef



Killing Coral Reefs

A heatwave's thermal stress can impact corals throughout a large geographic region, such as the northern Great Barrier Reef or archipelagos such as the Maldives. The Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans saw extensive bleaching during a marine heatwave in 2015-16.

Corals are tiny polyp-like organisms that generate tens of thousands of colonies by secreting a calcium carbonate skeleton that forms a reef. Corals grow slowly, so recovery from bleaching and die-offs can take a long time, and pollution and overfishing can impede them. Some species develop faster and recover more quickly than others.

Even as surrounding regions warm, scientists anticipate that local circumstances on some reef tracts will provide optimal temperatures for corals in the future. These circumstances might be caused by upwelling, which brings colder water to the top, or by strong ocean currents. These so-called refugia, which provide corals a better chance of survival, might be prioritized by reef managers.

Difficult Task

Unfortunately, finding these refugia is challenging since they are expected to be tiny, and climate forecasts that estimate changes in ocean temperatures over time have a coarse resolution.

They discovered that between 1986 and 2019, 84 percent of the world's reefs provided enough thermal protection. Corals had adequate time to recover between bleaching occurrences due to this.

Only 0.2 percent of these refugia survive after 1.5C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. Coral reefs will no longer have safe havens from the heat if temperatures rise by 2C.

Another study's preliminary findings (which have yet to go through the peer-review process) appear to validate the devastating impacts of 1.5C global warming on coral reefs. Scientists in the United States conducted this study separately, using a different approach but the same climate models and geographical resolutions.

When world leaders signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, they set a goal of keeping global warming below 1.5C. This goal is becoming increasingly elusive.

There is no safe limit to global warming for coral reefs. Given the current rate of global warming, marine heatwaves are projected to become so common that most of the world's coral reefs will be regularly subjected to severe heat stress. This decade has already seen at least one such incident on most reefs.

Dire Situation

Because heatwaves are not universal, not all locations are affected simultaneously, and not all corals bleach at the same time due to their development form or the type of algae in their tissue.

Nonetheless, the severity and frequency of heatwaves anticipated in this study would most likely harm even resistant coral species, implying that the world's reef biodiversity will be lost. Future coral reefs will likely appear substantially different from the vibrant and diversified ecosystems people are familiar with today.

Coral reefs are already being harmed by climate change across the world. Experts already know that safeguarding the last remaining temperature refuges will not be enough. The best hope for salvaging what is left is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this decade.

Also Read: Coral Reef in Ocean's 'Twilight Zone' Untouched by Climate Change Found in Tahiti

For more Environmental News, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
On Monday, heavy rainfall led to a deadly landslide in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, leaving parts of the region engulfed by mud.

Torrential Rainfall Wreaks Havoc in Ecuador

According to AccuWeather, no less than 22 deaths and 47 injuries were recorded after the massive landslide with twenty people still unaccounted for.

The Pichincha volcano, which lies just west of the city, was partially loosened as a result of the floods. At an altitude of 1,500 feet, the slide was so powerful it rapidly engulfed the residents of the La Gasca neighborhood with mud and debris.

Floodwaters washed away cars and left people stranded in their houses as torrential rains added to the muck and debris on the ground.

The injured were transported swiftly by emergency crews, while other crews cleaned the way so that no one was put in danger. Many roadways in the affected area were completely obscured by a thick layer of mud.

According to Al Jazeera, the Ecuadorian National Police sent out a special operations team and an intervention and rescue team to help with the recovery attempts.

Quito, Ecuador's capital and largest city, is located in the northern part of the country and is prone to heavy rains.

It's typical for this time of year in Ecuador to see daily rain and thunderstorms, said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls of AccuWeather.

Also Read: Intense Flash Floods Wreak Havoc in Uruguay's Capital Due to Torrential Rain

Rainfall Observations Recorded Across Ecuador

As of Monday, a number of the "normal" showers in Ecuador had become all-out deluges, causing widespread flooding.

Nicholls said Monday's rain was spread out around the city, but the strongest rainfall was found in the western half. West of Quito, anyone can see the Pichincha volcano and several other high peaks.

According to Al Jazeera, local authorities in Quito's La Gasca area reported that up to 3 inches (75 millimeters) of rain fell in just a few hours. Santiago Guarderas, the mayor of Quito, Ecuador, claimed Monday's rainfall was a "record figure" not seen since 2003.

At Quito's Mariscal Sucre Quito International Airport, a little more than 11 inches (280 mm) of rain fell during the month of January. Those who live near the east side of the city were spared the worst of Monday's storm.

Efforts to Save Victims

In Ecuador, excessive rains have displaced hundreds of people since October - about 2,800 people.

The police and fire departments were assisted by dozens of soldiers in their search and rescue activities, which were still underway early on Tuesday. Many people were treated for hypothermia after wading through knee-deep mud, according to rescuer Cristian Rivera.

Heavy gear has been dispatched by the city of Quito to clean streets and repair a water collection system that has collapsed. As a result of the flood, many residents in the impacted areas of town were left without electricity.

Climate scientists say that as the atmosphere warms, more water will be held in the atmosphere, increasing the likelihood of heavy rains around the planet.

Related Article: Dozens Killed, Hundreds of Thousands Displaced After Torrential Rain Hit Sao Paulo

For more news, updates about torrential rainfall and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
According to information published by the U.S. Ministry of Defense on February 1, 2022, the U.S. Navy will send the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole to partner with the UAE Navy before making a port call in Abu Dhabi.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (Picture source: U.S. MoD)

On January 17, 2022, a terrorist attack against three oil tanker trucks and an under-construction airport extension infrastructure in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates was carried out by the Houthi movement using drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.

USS Cole (DDG-67) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyer home-ported in Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Cole was launched on 10 February 1995 and commissioned on 8 June 1996 in Port Everglades, Florida.

The Arleigh Burke-class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) is a United States Navy class of destroyer built around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multifunction passive electronically scanned array radar.

These warships were designed as multi-mission destroyers, able to fulfill the strategic land strike role with Tomahawk missiles; anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) role with powerful Aegis radar and surface-to-air missiles; anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with towed sonar array, anti-submarine rockets, and ASW helicopter; and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) with Harpoon missile launcher.
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A state Department of Public Health report in November that indicated nearly 40 Connecticut overdoses were possibly linked to fentanyl-laced marijuana  sparking widespread attention and concern  turned out to be one confirmed case and was probably caused by accidental contamination, an investigation has revealed.

In November, the state DPH said there were 39 recent overdose incidents that officials believed to be associated with fentanyl-laced marijuana. At the time, the state said the patients required naloxone revival and they denied any opioid use and claimed to have only smoked marijuana.

The state also said police in Plymouth obtained a sample at one scene that tested positive for fentanyl  believed at the time to be the first confirmed case of fentanyl-laced marijuana in the country, officials said.

However, Chris Boyle, a spokesperson for DPH, said a full analysis has now revealed at least 30 of the 39 overdoses were among patients with histories of opioid use.

Boyle said the Plymouth sample was the only one that has tested positive for fentanyl. The state reviewed all marijuana samples submitted to the state Division of Scientific Services Lab from July 1 to Nov. 30 and found no other cannabis submissions that contained fentanyl, Boyle said.

Based on the information gathered since the positive confirmation of marijuana with fentanyl, the CT ORS [Connecticut Overdose Response Strategy] assesses that the positive confirmation of marijuana with fentanyl was likely accidental contamination and an isolated incident, Boyle wrote in an email to Hearst Connecticut Media.

The contamination likely occurred when the dealer failed to clean their instruments before processing the marijuana and cross-contaminated it with fentanyl, Boyle said.

Anything bought off the street, including cannabis, has the potential to contain other substances, one of those being fentanyl, Boyle added. CT DPH has documented evidence, from not just the State Police Forensics Lab, but from the DEA lab as verification of the seized drug sample, that cannabis was contaminated with fentanyl.

Cannabis advocates have said claims of fentanyl-laced marijuana are often myths that fuel panic around drug use.

Despite this claim receiving prominent headlines over the past several years, there exist few, if any, confirmed cases of these claims being substantiated, said Paul Armentano, deputy director at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Armentano pointed to a recent Vermont case in which police reported two incidents of fentanyl-laced cannabis. Further testing showed no fentanyl in either case.

We really dont want to be alarmist, Robert Lawlor, the drug intelligence officer for the Connecticut Overdose Response Strategy team, said in November. We are trying to inform the people of what we know. There are still a lot of questions. It is just the one case that tested positive, but maybe we need to start paying a little more attention to these cases.

Millions of people in the United States have opioid-use disorders, and more than 70,000 died in 2019 alone as a result of an opioid overdose, according to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Risks of consumers buying tainted or adulterated cannabis products illicitly is also an argument in favor of legalizing the marijuana sales, Armentano said.

Products from a legalized market are regulated. Connecticut has rules for testing cannabis products, and is in the process of establishing its recreational market.

The first application window for business licenses in the recreational market opens this week.

Such licensing and regulations largely eliminate bad actors and poor manufacturing practices from the equation  ensuring that consumers have access to products of known purity and potency, Armentano said.

The Connecticut Overdose Response Strategy Team advises that anyone using substances obtained illicitly know the signs of an opioid overdose, not use alone and keep naloxone on hand, according to the November news release.

Boyle said illicit cannabis always has potential to contain other substances.

Whether it's unintentional or intentional contamination, the person using the illicit cannabis will be affected and at risk of an opioid overdose, he said.

Staff writer Tara ONeill contributed reporting.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 New Fairfield Resident Troopers Office / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Marie D. De Jesus / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3





NEW FAIRFIELD  Police are seeking the publics help in finding the person, or persons, responsible for stealing catalytic converters from two vans.

The exhaust emission control devices were stolen during the overnight hours of Jan. 31 into Feb. 1, according to police, and the targeted vehicles were parked at the New Fairfield Senior Center.
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Newburyport, MA (01950)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 66F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Newburyport, MA (01950)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 66F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Newburyport, MA (01950)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 66F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Newburyport, MA (01950)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 66F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
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South Africa: Load shedding prevents 'catastrophic blackout' - de Ruyter

Eskom Chief Executive Officer, Andre de Ruyter, says the power utility is obligated to implement load shedding in order to avoid a total system failure.

He was speaking after the power utility announced that it would be implementing Stage 2 load shedding from Wednesday morning following breakdowns at power stations.

[We] would have the system equivalent of cardiac arrest. We have 50Hz going to zero and then to restart that system will take a period of between two to three weeks which clearly is a catastrophic event that we want to avoid at all costs. Therefore the implementation of load shedding is an effort to prevent this catastrophic blackout.

So it is extremely unfortunate but it is the prudent step that our system operator takes and in this instance we have had to take this decision to implement Stage 2 load shedding, de Ruyter said.

He said the current bout of load shedding had come after the grid came under severe pressure and emergency generating reserves ran too low.

We have had some challenges on our generation systemswe have depleted our emergency reserves to the point where we risk not having adequate back up supply in the event of further failures in our generating system, he said.

On Friday, during the state of the system media briefing, the utility said that the generating system was performing well.

Barely a week later, Eskoms Chief Operations Officer, Jan Oberholzer, explained that within hours of that briefing, multiple unexpected breakdowns over a period of 36 hours which led to a point where the energy utility could not meet demand.

We commenced [this] week with our diesel tank levels very low as well as the dam levels were not full. We then continued to have some breakdowns, we had delays in returning some of the units and up until [Wednesday] we had even more breakdowns.

[Some] of the units that were planned to return [to service] but didnt, have put us in this situation now that we do not have sufficient emergency resources. Our generating capacity is not where its supposed to be and so we cannot meet the demand of the country, Oberholzer said.

It may be that the system will improve and the breakdowns will not be where they are currently. Theres a possibility that we may lift it however, it will depend on the successful return of service of the units as well as whatever breakdowns [may occur].

The risk [of load shedding] remains if we have a bad patch that we have had the last five or six days, we will definitely find ourselves wanting. But we will do whatever we can to make sure that we do not put the country through the strain of load shedding. We fully understand the mandate we have to the economy of the country, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-02-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Press Release

February 2, 2022 SUMMARY OF THE REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY ON THE CHEVRON PHILIPPINES - UC MALAMPAYA TRANSACTION

BASED ON PROPOSED SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 533,1 PROPOSED SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 724,2 and PROPOSED SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 950 3 I. INTRODUCTION The Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power Project (Malampaya), which operates under Service Contract No. 38 (SC 38), supplies natural gas to five (5) power plants with a total capacity of 3,211 megawatts (MW).4 These natural gas power plants provide 19.16% of electric power to the entire country, and 26.92% of the total electricity of electricity Luzon in the year 2020 alone.5 It supplies 64.03% of the total households in the Meralco franchise area in 2021.6 This means 6 out of every 10 households is powered by Malampaya. Malampaya has also provided significant income to the government, totaling Php 290.76 billion from January 2002 until 30 June 2021.7 Of this amount, Php 208 billion has been earmarked to pay for the remaining stranded contract costs and stranded debts,8 which should redound to a total savings for consumers of Php 0.86 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).9 Given the significance of Malampaya, it is imperative that its operators are legally, technically, and financially qualified. II. FACTS On 2 October 1972, Presidential Decree No. 879 ("PD 87") was issued providing the rules and regulations for the exploration, exploitation, and development of the country's oil and gas reserves. Within the framework provided by PD 87, SC 38 was signed on 11 December 1990 with a total contract period of 35 years ending on 23 February 2024.11 The original parties to SC 38 were the Philippine Government, Occidental Philippines, Inc. ("OPI"), and Shell Exploration B.V. Philippine representative office ("SPEX"). OPI and SPEX each had 50% participating interest in SC 38.10 Section 11 of PD 87 requires the prior approval of the DOE before the rights and obligations under a service contract can be assigned or transferred. Between 1998 and 2003, the rights and obligations in SC 38 were assigned or transferred among various entities, in three (3) separate instances.11 All three transactions were approved by the DOE. On 23 March 2007, the DOE issued Department Circular No. DC2007-04-000312 ("DC2007-04-0003") implementing Section 11 of PD 87 by prescribing the requirements and procedures for the transfer of rights and obligations in a service contract. As of 2019, the participating interests in SC 38 were distributed as follows: SPEX with 45%, Chevron Malampaya LLC Philippine branch (CMLLC PH) with 45%, and Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) with 10%.13 Note that CMLLC PH is the Philippine branch of CMLLC US, and CMLLC US is in turn wholly-owned by Chevron Philippines. On 25 October 2019, Chevron Philippines and UC Malampaya Philippines Pte Ltd ("UC Malampaya") entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement ("SPA") wherein Chevron Philippines sold its entire interest in CMLLC US to UC Malampaya.14 On 11 March 2020, Chevron Philippines and UC Malampaya executed an Assignment of Membership Interests in CMLLC US ("Assignment") whereby Chevron Philippines assigned and transferred all of its ownership interest in CMLLC US and its Philippine branch office, CMLLC PH, to UC Malampaya.15 This shall hereafter be referred to as the Chevron Philippines - UC Malamapaya transaction. On 26 March 2021, the DOE, through a letter from Secretary Alfonso Cusi ("Secretary Cusi") to the SPEX Managing Director, approved this transaction.16 A total of three (3) resolutions were filed concerning Malampaya and the Chevron Philippines - UC Malampaya transaction: Proposed Senate Resolution No. (PSR) 53317 filed by Senator Sotto, Senator Lacson, and Senator Gatchalian, PSR 72418 filed by Senator Gatchalian, and PSR 95019 filed by Senator Hontiveros. A total of four hearings were conducted on these Proposed Senate Resolutions: 10 November 2020, 14 July 2021, 28 September 2021, and 15 December 2021.20 III. ISSUES A. Whether Section 11 of Presidential Decree No. 87 and DC2007-04-003 apply to the Chevron Philippines - UC Malampaya transaction; B. Whether DOE complied with DC2007-04-0003 in the financial, technical, and legal evaluation of the Chevron Philippines - UC Malampaya transaction; and C. Whether there is a violation of law and/or regulation by the DOE in its evaluation of the Chevron Philippines - UC Malampaya transaction. IV. FINDINGS A. Section 11 of Presidential Decree No. 87 and DC2007-04-0003 apply to the Chevron Philippines - UC Malampaya transaction Section 11 of PD 87 applies to any kind of transfer or assignment of rights and obligations under a service contract including transfer or assignment of shares that amount of control. The applicability of Section 11 to the Chevron Philippines - UC Malampaya transaction was admitted by the DOE during the 10 November 2020 Senate Committee on Energy hearing as well as DOE's internal and external correspondence such as the 23 November 2020 Legal Service ("LS") Memorandum for the Energy Resource Development Bureau ("ERDB"),21 the 15 March 2021 LS Memorandum for the Secretary,22 and the 26 March 2021 Letter of Secretary Cusi to SPEX approving the transaction.23 B. DOE did not comply with DC2007-04-0003 in its financial, technical, and legal evaluation of the Chevron Philippines - UC Malampaya transaction DC2007-04-0003 requires specific documentary requirements to determine the legal, technical, and financial qualifications of the transferee or assignee. UC Malampaya is the transferee in the transaction as indicated in the Assignment24 and the internal correspondence of the DOE while evaluating the transaction. Yet, DOE in its financial evaluation, evaluated the wrong entity, UC38, instead of UC Malampaya.25 It failed to evaluate UC Malampaya which was, based on the DOE's own admission, not financially qualified as it has a negative working capital of USD 137.156 million, which is clearly insufficient to meet its proportionate share in the Work Program and Budget ("WP&B") for 2020 amounting to USD 64.455 million. 28 The DOE also failed to comply with the standards laid down by DC2007-04-0003 as to how the financial evaluation is to be undertaken. First, DOE evaluated the transaction even though UC Malampaya failed to submit audited financial statements and particulars of financial resources available to the prospective transferee or assignee including capital, credit facilities, and guarantees to undertake its obligations under the service contract. Second, DOE used unaudited and unsigned financial statements in its financial evaluation29 contrary to the requirement of audited financial statements in DC2007-04-0003. Third and last, DOE used a draft WP&B in evaluating the financial capability of the transferee. The DOE's technical evaluation30 also did not include the material fact the UC Malampaya and its ultimate mother company, Udenna Corporation, have no prior experience in oil and gas exploration.31 The DOE's legal evaluation,32 on the other hand, failed to raise other legal issues and implications of the transaction such as the status of the SPA when the parties proceeded to consummate the assignment or transfer without the prior approval of the DOE. C. DOE officials have violated Section 3(j) 33 and 3(e) of Republic Act No. (RA) 3019, PD 87, DC2007-04-0003, and Executive Order No. (EO) 292 Series of 1987 Secretary Cusi has satisfied the following elements necessary to constitute a violation of Section 3(j) of RA 3019: (1) being a public officer, (2) approving the Chevron Philippines - UC Malampaya transaction last 26 March 2021, and (3) approving the transaction even though UC Malampaya is not entitled to the approval because it failed to submit the required documents and it is not qualified because it has a negative working capital. Secretary Cusi and other DOE officials34 have likewise satisfied the following elements necessary to show a violation of Section 3(e)35 of RA 3019: (1) being public officers, (2) having acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, and/or gross inexcusable negligence in approving or recommending approval of the transaction despite the financial evaluation of the wrong entity, UC Malampaya's negative working capital, the failure to submit the required documents, and the use of unaudited financial statements - all in violation of DC2007-04-0003, and (3) causing undue injury to the government and giving UC Malampaya unwarranted benefits, advantage, or preference in the form of a 45% participating interest in the SC38 consortium and income from the operation of Malampaya by approving or recommending approval of the Chevron Malampaya - UC Malampaya transaction despite non-compliance with DC2007-04-0003 and UC Malampaya's negative working capital. Further, Secretary Cusi and other DOE officials,36 are likewise culpable of gross neglect of duty and gross misconduct under EO 292 Series of 1987, or the Administrative Code of 1987, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, by approving or recommending approval of the Chevron Malampaya - UC Malampaya transaction even though it is clear from the documents that: (1) two different entities were evaluated, (2) UC Malampaya was not the entity upon which the recommendation of the financial evaluation was based upon, (3) UC Malampaya has a negative working capital, (4) UC Malampaya failed to submit audited financial statements and particulars of financial resources contrary to the requirement under DC200704-0003, and (5) the financial evaluation was based on unaudited financial statements and a draft WP&B. Finally, Secretary Cusi, and other DOE officials who are presidential appointees37 may be held administratively liable by the Office of the Ombudsman. On the other hand, DOE officials who are not presidential appointees38 may be held administratively liable by the Civil Service Commission. V. RECOMMENDATIONS First, recommend to the following government agencies the actions stated below: 1. The Office of the Ombudsman to file criminal cases against: a. Secretary Cusi for violation of Sections 3(j) and 3(e) of RA 3019, and b. Usec. Marcos, OIC Usec. Uy, Asec. Pulido, Asec. Erguiza, Director Dela Fuente, Director Tenazas, Director Soluta, OIC Assistant Director Ansay, Chief Delos Santos, Chief Cerdena, and Mr. Antiporda for violation of Section 3(e) of RA 3019; 2. The Office of the Ombudsman to file administrative charges against Secretary Cusi, OIC Usec. Uy, Asec. Pulido, and Asec Erquiza for their gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct pursuant to EO 292 Series of 1987; and 3. The Civil Service Commission to investigate, and where appropriate to file administrative charges against Director Dela Fuente, Director Tenazas, Director Soluta, OIC Assistant Director Ansay, Chief Delos Santos, Chief Cerdena, and Mr. Antiporda for their gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct pursuant to EO 292 Series of 1987. Second, amend PD 87 to incorporate the following: 1. The effect on the service contract of: a. The failure to comply by the service contractor with the prior approval requirement of Section 11 of PD 87. b. A transferee or assignee who is not legally, technically, or financially qualified. 2. The penalties for the following: c. The service contractor for non-compliance with the prior approval requirement of Section 11 of PD 87. d. DOE officials who approve a transfer or assignment of rights and obligations in a service contract which did not go through the prior approval requirement. e. DOE officials who approve a transfer or assignment of rights and obligations in a service contract to unqualified transferees or assignees. ____________________________ 1 filed by Senator Vicente C. Sotto III, Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, and Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian entitled A Resolution Directing the Senate Committee on Energy to Conduct an Inquiry in Aid of Legislation on the Issues Surrounding Service Contract 38 or the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, and its Compliance with Presidential Decree No. 87 otherwise known as the Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972, with the end in view of Safeguarding the Country's Energy Security; 2 filed by Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian entitled A Resolution Directing the Senate Committee on Energy to Conduct an Inquiry in Aid of Legislation on the Plans and Programs of the Department of Energy in light of the Impending Expiration of Petroleum Service Contract No. 38 or the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project to Ensure Continuous Energy Supply in the Country 3 filed by Senator Risa Hontiveros entitled Resolution Calling for the Senate Committee on Energy to Conduct an Inquiry into the Propriety of Allowing a Single Private Entity to Control Almost All of the Nation's Strategic Fossil Energy Assets in the West Philippine Sea. 4 Department of Energy (DOE) (2021). 5 DOE Power Statistics (2021). 6 Meralco 2020 Annual Report. 7 DOE (2021). 8 Republic Act (RA) 11371 - AN ACT REDUCING ELECTRICITY RATES BY ALLOXATING A PORTION OF THE NET NATIONAL GOVERNMENT SHARE FROM THE MALAMPAYA NATURAL GAS PROJECT FOR THE PAYTMNET OF THE STRANDED CONTRACT COSTS AND STRANDED DEBTS. (2019) 9 PSALM (2019) 10 Otherwise known as the Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972 11 Section 3.1. SC 38. 12 SC 38. 13 First, is the 1998 share sale transaction between Occidental International Exploration and Production Company ("OIEPC") and Pecten Yemen Masila ("PYM"); Second is the 1999 farm-in transaction between SPEX and Shell Philippines, and Texaco Philippines, Inc. ("Texaco Philippines"); and Third is the 1999 farm-in transaction between SPEX and Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation ("PNOC-EC"). 14 Entitled "Prescribing the guidelines and procedures for the transfer of rights and obligations in petroleum service contracts under Presidential Decree No. 87, as amended." Issued on 23 March 2007. 15 Page 24. Philippine National Oil Company 2019 Annual Report. (2019). 16 DOE submission on 27 May 2021 with the following file name: Document C. Annex A-1. Share Sale and Purchase Agreement dated 25 October 2019. 17 DOE submission on 27 May 2021 with the following file name: Document C. Annex A-2. Assignment. 18 With the subject "Transfer of Participating of Chevron Malampaya LLC to UC Malampaya PPL under Service Contract No. 38". Reference: DOE submission on 27 May 2021 with the following file name: Document G. DOE Letter to SPEX. 19 Entitled A Resolution Directing the Senate Committee on Energy to Conduct an Inquiry in Aid of Legislation on the Issues Surrounding Service Contract 38 or the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-toPower Project, and its Compliance with Presidential Decree No. 87 otherwise known as the Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972, with the end in view of Safeguarding the Country's Energy Security. 20 Entitled A Resolution Directing the Senate Committee on Energy to Conduct an Inquiry in Aid of Legislation on the Plans and Programs of the Department of Energy in light of the Impending Expiration of Petroleum Service Contract No. 38 or the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project to Ensure Continuous Energy Supply in the Country. 21 Entitled Resolution Calling for the Senate Committee on Energy to Conduct an Inquiry into the Propriety of Allowing a Single Private Entity to Control Almost All of the Nation's Strategic Fossil Energy Assets in the West Philippine Sea. 22 Transcripts of Stenographic Notes (TSNs) for hearings conducted by the Senate Committee on Energy on 10 November 2020, 14 July 2021, 28 September 2021, and 15 December 2021. 23 DOE submission on 14 July 2021 with the following file name: Annex A - Memorandum to the Secretary. Annex N. LS Memo - further Evaluation of the Transfer. 24 DOE submission on 14 July 2021 with the following file name: Annex A - Memorandum to the Secretary. 25 With the subject "Transfer of Participating of Chevron Malampaya LLC to UC Malampaya PPL under Service Contract No. 38". Reference: DOE submission on 27 May 2021 with the following file name: Document G. DOE Letter to SPEX. 26 The Assignment provides the following: "CHEVRON PHILIPPINES LTD., an exempted company limited by shares registered in Bermuda ("Assignor"), and UC MALAMPAYA PHILIPPINES PTE. LTD., a company incorporated in Singapore ("Assignee")." 27 DOE submission on 14 July 2021 with the following file name: Annex A - Memorandum to the Secretary. Annex T-CERCD Memo-Recommendation of the Financial Capability of UC 38. 28 Based on 2 February 2021 Memorandum of CERCD and the statement made by Secretary Cusi during the 15 December 2021 Senate Committee on Energy hearing that UC Malampaya has no money and had a deficit. Reference: Pages 119-121, TSN, Committee on Energy Hearing dated 15 December 2021. 29 2 February 2021 Memorandum of CERD for ERDB. 30 19 November 2021 Memorandum of PRDD for ERDB. 31 DOE submission on 14 July 2021 with the following file name: Annex A - Memorandum to the Secretary. Annex M. Technical Evaluation-Approval of the Transfer 32 19 Nov 2020. November 2021 Memorandum of LS for ERDB. 33 Section 3(j) of RA 3019 states:

Section 3. Corrupt practices of public officers. In addition to acts or omissions of public officers already penalized by existing law, the following shall constitute corrupt practices of any public officer and are hereby declared to be unlawful: XXX(j) Knowingly approving or granting any license, permit, privilege or benefit in favor of any person not qualified for or not legally entitled to such license, permit, privilege or advantage, or of a mere representative or dummy of one who is not so qualified or entitled. (Emphasis supplied) 34 Usec. Marcos, OIC Usec. Uy, Asec Pulido, Asec Erguiza, Director Dela Fuente Director Tenazas, Director Soluta, OIC Assistant Director Ansay, Chief delos Santos, Chief Cerdena, and Mr. Antiporda 35 Section 3(e) of RA 3019 states:

Section 3. Corrupt practices of public officers. In addition to acts or omissions of public officers already penalized by existing law, the following shall constitute corrupt practices of any public officer and are hereby declared to be unlawful: XXX(e) Causing any undue injury to any party, including the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence. This provision shall apply to officers and employees of offices or government corporations charged with the grant of licenses or permits or other concessions. (Emphasis supplied) 36 Usec. Marcos, OIC Usec. Uy, Asec Pulido, Asec Erguiza, Director Dela Fuente, Director Tenazas, Director Soluta, OIC Assistant Director Ansay, Chief delos Santos, Chief Cerdena, and Mr. Antiporda 37 Usec. Marcos, OIC Usec. Uy, Asec. Pulido, and Asec. Erguiza. 38 Director Dela Fuente, Director Tenazas, Director Soluta, OIC Assistant Director Ansay, Chief delos Santos, Chief Cerdena, and Mr. Antiporda,
The World Customs Organization (WCO) has joined hands, once again, with partner Annex D+ organizations (GATF, ITC, OECD, UNECE, UNESCAP, WBG and WTO) in supporting the Global Forum 2022 for National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs). The Forum is being held from 1 to 4 February 2022 in a virtual mode and led by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It has brought together more than 500 participants, around half of which are members of their NTFCs.

In the high-level opening session, the speakers agreed on the need to ensure well-functioning, holistic and dynamic NTFCs, with their critical role in facilitating trade especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, through collaborative arrangements amongst all relevant public and private sector stakeholders. Embracing digital tools, the e-commerce growth and the importance of MSMEs and women traders were also highlighted by the speakers.

In his video address, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, the Secretary General of the WCO emphasized the importance of trade facilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery phase. Through simplifying and standardizing border procedures and creating transparent and predictable conditions for trade, Customs administrations facilitate legitimate business that, in turn, increases economic growth and job opportunities.

Secretary General Mikuriya mentioned a survey carried out in 2021, where the WCO took stock of the situation in the area of NTFCs, including the challenges and opportunities observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many NTFCs have put their work on hold, due to the inability to meet in person. However, in some instances NTFCs played an important role in addressing facilitation priorities during the pandemic, and have benefited from the sense of urgency generated by the crisis.

Dr. Mikuriya emphasized the need to strengthen the partnership among all relevant government authorities for improving border agency cooperation, which is essential in emergency situations. He reiterated the need to foster the dialogue and collaboration with the business community and underscored the private sector contribution to digitization, to conducting the Time Release Studies and in advancing Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programmes, while taking into consideration the specific challenges of MSMEs.

The importance of increased diversity and inclusion in trade facilitation reforms, including improving the conditions for women traders was also highlighted. The WCO supports this agenda through its Network for Gender Equality and Diversity, amongst others.

The WCO reiterated its commitment to the TFA agenda in developing and least developed country Members through the WCO Mercator Programme.

The NTFC Forum was made possible with the support of the United Kingdoms Her Majesty Customs & Revenue (HMRC) through the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD Trade Facilitation Capacity Building Programme, which brings together the WCO and UNCTAD in a partnership for TFA implementation.

The whole address of the Secretary General can be found here.
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Help support your local hometown newspaper/website. Independent local news reporting matters. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, for as little as $3, so we can continue to provide independent local reporting on our communities.
Help support your local hometown newspaper/website. Independent local news reporting matters. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, for as little as $3, so we can continue to provide independent local reporting on our communities.
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Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Cloudy. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. Low around 65F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Cloudy. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. Low around 65F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain likely. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Longview, TX (75601)

Today

Variable clouds with thunderstorms - possibly severe this afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 78F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 56F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
A new study has found that greater body fat is a risk factor for reduced cognitive function, such as processing speed, in adults.

Even when the researchers took cardiovascular risk factors (such as diabetes or high blood pressure) or vascular brain injury into account, the association between body fat and lower cognitive scores remained. This suggests other not yet confirmed pathways that linked excess body fat to reduced cognitive function.

In the study, 9,166 participants were measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis to assess their total body fat.

As well, 6,733 of the participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure abdominal fat packed around the organs known as visceral fat, and the MRI also assessed vascular brain injury - areas in the brain affected by reduced blood flow to the brain.

The results were published today in JAMA Network Open.

Our results suggest that strategies to prevent or reduce having too much body fat may preserve cognitive function." Sonia Anand, lead author, professor of medicine of McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and vascular medicine specialist at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS)

She is also a senior scientist of the Population Health Research Institute of McMaster and HHS.

She added that "the effect of increased body fat persisted even after adjusting for its effect on increasing cardiovascular risk factors like diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as vascular brain injury, which should prompt researchers to investigate which other pathways may link excess fat to reduced cognitive function."

Co-author Eric Smith, a neurologist, scientist and an associate professor of clinical neurosciences at the University of Calgary, said that "preserving cognitive function is one of the best ways to prevent dementia in old age. This study suggests that one of the ways that good nutrition and physical activity prevent dementia may be by maintaining healthy weight and body fat percentage."

Smith is head of the brain core lab for the two population cohorts used for this new analysis the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM) and PURE Mind- a sub-study of the large, international Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study.

The participants were in the age range of 30 to 75 with an average age of about 58. Just over 56% were women; they all lived in either Canada or Poland. The majority were White European origin, with about 16% other ethnic backgrounds. Individuals with known cardiovascular disease were excluded.
The long-standing enigma of why so many patients suffering with high blood pressure (known as hypertension) also have diabetes (high blood sugar) has finally been cracked by an international team led by the universities of Bristol, UK, and Auckland, New Zealand.

The important new discovery has shown that a small protein cell glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) couples the body's control of blood sugar and blood pressure.

We've known for a long time that hypertension and diabetes are inextricably linked and have finally discovered the reason, which will now inform new treatment strategies." Professor Julian Paton, Senior Author, and Director of Manaaki Manawa - The Centre for Heart Research, University of Auckland

The research, published online ahead of print in Circulation Research today [1 February], involved contributions from collaborating scientists in Brazil, Germany, Lithuania, and Serbia, as well as the UK and New Zealand.

GLP-1 is released from the wall of the gut after eating and acts to stimulate insulin from the pancreas to control blood sugar levels. This was known but what has now been unearthed is that GLP-1 also stimulates a small sensory organ called the carotid body located in the neck.

The University of Bristol group used an unbiased, high-throughput genomics technique called RNA sequencing to read all the messages of the expressed genes in the carotid body in rats with and without high blood pressure. This led to the finding that the receptor that senses GLP-1 is located in the carotid body, but less so in hypertensive rats.

David Murphy, Professor of Experimental Medicine from Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Sciences (THS) and senior author, explained: "Locating the link required genetic profiling and multiple steps of validation. We never expected to see GLP-1 come up on the radar, so this is very exciting and opens many new opportunities."

Professor Paton added: "The carotid body is the convergent point where GLP-1 acts to control both blood sugar and blood pressure simultaneously; this is coordinated by the nervous system which is instructed by the carotid body."

People with hypertension and/or diabetes are at high risk of life-threatening cardiovascular disease. Even when receiving medication, a large number of patients will remain at high risk. This is because most medications only treat symptoms and not causes of high blood pressure and high sugar.

Professor Rod Jackson, world-renowned epidemiologist from the University of Auckland, said "We've known that blood pressure is notoriously difficult to control in patients with high blood sugar, so these findings are really important because by giving GLP-1 we might be able to reduce both sugar and pressure together, and these two factors are major contributors to cardiovascular risk."

Mr Audrys Pauza, a British Heart Foundation-funded PhD student in Professor David Murphy's lab in the Bristol Medical School and lead author on the study, added: "The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension is increasing throughout the world, and there is an urgent need to address this.

"Drugs targeting the GLP-1 receptor are already approved for use in humans and widely used to treat diabetes. Besides helping to lower blood sugar these drugs also reduce blood pressure, however, the mechanism of this effect wasn't well understood.

"This research revealed that these drugs may actually work on the carotid bodies to enact their anti-hypertensive effect. Leading from this work, we are already planning translational studies in humans to bring this discover into practice so that patients most at risk can receive the best treatment available."

But GLP-1 is just the start. The research has revealed many novel targets for ongoing functional studies that the team anticipate will lead to future translational projects in human hypertensive and diabetic patients.
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) Omicron variant makes its way across the world, it is one of five variants of concern that has made it challenging to end the pandemic.

While all variants evolved to have mutations that make them more virulent or deadly, they emerged independently of each other. Monitoring the genome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is therefore essential for tracking any potential new variants.

A team of researchers led by Laura D. Hughes from The Scripps Research Institute in California created an online platform called Outbreak.info to track over 40 million lineages and SARS-CoV-2 mutation across 7,000 locations. This platform can help provide real-time genomic surveillance to help public officials respond to future public health threats.

The research paper Outbreak.info genomic reports: scalable and dynamic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutations is recently published on the medRxiv* preprint server.

Study: Outbreak.info genomic reports: scalable and dynamic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutations. Image Credit: FOTOGRIN/Shutterstock

Creating the platform

The researchers calculated the growth rate of a SARS-CoV-2 lineage based on how it spread and the mutations that allow a lineage to be more infectious. For instance, the Alpha variant was 40% to 60% more transmissible than prior lineages, and this biological feature allowed it to spread and become a dominant variant rapidly.

To maximize the full use of genomic surveillance data, the researchers created a platform called outbreak.info to search genomic data across three dimensions: geography, time, and lineages or mutations.

The team intentionally did not create a global phylogeny, instead relying on characteristic mutations to define a lineage. Doing so allowed for easier updating of a growing number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes.

The platform also collected epidemiological data from John Hopkins University and public literature and datasets from servers such as bioRxiv, medRxiv, and LitCOVID to assist genomic surveillance.

Genomic surveillance method using outbreak.info

Genomic data comes from the GISAID Initiative and is stored on a webserver. The web interface used three tools to parse genomic data: lineage and/or mutation tracker, location tracker, and lineage comparison tool. Each tool comes with an opinionated interface that focuses on one dimension of genomic data with the option to customize your search with more secondary dimensions.

The Lineage and/or Mutation tracker monitors the growth of a specific lineage, mutation, or a combination of the two. The tracker helps look at geographic variations of a variant of concern such as Delta and its sublineages as well as how it grew over time.

The Location Tracker focuses on a site for the potential SARS-CoV-2 lineage and the rate of mutations across various lineages in that given area. The researchers note this would be valuable information for studying changes in variants of concerns as most are regionally dominant. For instance, the Gamma variant is contained mainly in Brazil.

Tracking the growth of lineages at different geographic scales  at country, state/province, or county/city level  can help look at other factors influencing growth rates such as population immunity from vaccine or infection, social mobility, and viral attack rate. The Location Tracker surveys circulating lineages in a given area over the last 60 days and compares it to other circulating lineages in that location at different timepoints. Additionally, the tracker has information on how specific lineages affected caseloads in that area.

The Lineage Comparison Tool looks at the type of mutations across different lineages.

Location report. A) Relative prevalence of all lineages over time in San Diego, California. Total number of sequenced samples collected per day are shown in the bar chart below. B) Relative cumulative prevalence of all lineages over the last 60 days in San Diego. C) Mutation prevalence across the most prevalent lineages in San Diego over the last 60 days. D) Comparison of the prevalence of VOCs grouped by WHO classification: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta over time in San Diego. E) Daily reported cases in San Diego are shown in the line chart below.

Applying the platform to track and compare prevalence of VOC lineages

The Omicron lineage was first discovered in November 2021, where it overtook Delta as the dominant COVID-19 variant. Delta and Omicron both showed high growth rates with little variation worldwide.

A small percentage of the Alpha variant was circulating in Brazil and South Africa. However, Gamma and Beta were the dominant variants of concern at that time.

The Alpha variant was first detected in Southern England in late September 2020. Three months later, Alpha lineages appeared with a 40% to 50% increased transmission compared to prior lineages. The Alpha variant was dominant until the emergence of Delta in April 2021.

Prevalence of Variants of Concern: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta lineages over time in the A) Worldwide, B) Brazil, C) South Africa, and D) United States. Relative prevalence of sublineages within Delta variant over time in E) United Kingdom, and F) United States. Relative prevalence of sublineages within the Omicron variant over time in G) United States, H) Denmark, I) Singapore, and J) India.

Gamma made up 8% of U.S. COVID-19 cases. Further, coronavirus cases stemming from the Beta variant were less than 1%.

As Delta began to spread, it genetically diversified into more than 200 sublineages. The circulation of these sublineages depends on location with AY.4 most prevalent in the United Kingdom while B.1.617.2 was prevalent in the U.S.

The emergence of Omicron exhibited increased transmissibility than Delta because of mutations that enhance immune evasion, contributing to its rapid growth rate globally. BA.1 is the dominant sublineage of Omicron, but others belonging to BA.2 have been detected in Denmark, Singapore, and India.

While there are no known phenotypic differences between BA.1 and BA.2, it remains to be seen if BA.2 will continue to grow in relative prevalence within Omicron globally, wrote the researchers.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
A stronger association exists between deaths from COVID-19 and obesity in people of Black, South Asian and other ethnic minority groups than in White people, latest research published in the journal Nature Communications demonstrates.

This finding means there was little difference in risk between ethnic groups in lean indivduals at low Body Mass Index (BMI). However as BMI levels increased into obesity, Black, South Asian and other ethnic groups were substantially more at risk of dying from COVID-19 than White people.

Therefore those from ethnic minorities who have a higher BMI were most at risk of dying from COVID-19, the research found.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Leicester and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The team examined the national Census information, electronic health records and mortality data (number of deaths) of more than 12 million English adults over 40 years of age who were alive at the start of the pandemic and who had a value of BMI recorded by a GP in the previous 10 years.

Professor Tom Yates, Professor of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Health at the University of Leicester, and lead author of the study, said: The increased risks of COVID-19 infection, severe disease and death associated with obesity and ethnicity has been well researched in their own right, but this is the first study to present findings on how the risk of COVID-19 mortality in ethnic minority groups is dependent on BMI, with obesity seeming to magnify the higher risk reported in ethnic minority groups."

The research was jointly funded by UK Research and Innovation and Health Data Research UK and was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East Midlands and the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre. It is part of the Data and Connectivity National Core Study, led by Health Data Research UK in partnership with the Office for National Statistics.

These findings highlight the urgent need for more research to get a better understanding as to why ethnicity and obesity are associated with higher COVID-19 mortality.

We are learning more and more about this deadly virus and this study represents another important finding. It highlights the urgent need for more research into the causal relationship between ethnicity and obesity. The research gives insights that will allow healthcare professionals and policy makers to put measures in place and create tailored plans to protect people from ethnic minority groups who are overweight or obese and thus try to reduce mortality." Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Director of NIHR ARC East Midlands and the Centre for Ethnic Health Research

The study authors note that only 52.4 percent of English adults had their BMI recorded by their GP in the 10 years before the pandemic, therefore the analyses only applies to this cohort within the population. However, the sample size of 12.5 million people over 40 years of age is the largest of its kind looking at obesity and ethnicity as combined risk factors for COVID-19 mortality.

NIHR ARC East Midlands funds vital work to tackle the region's health and care priorities by speeding up the adoption of research onto the frontline of health and social care. The organization puts in place evidence-based innovations which seek to drive up standards of care and save time and money.

NIHR ARC East Midlands is hosted by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and works in collaboration with the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network. It has bases at the University of Leicester and the University of Nottingham.
BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson of China's top legislature on Tuesday voiced firm opposition to the adoption of a so-called resolution concerning China's human rights conditions by Japan's House of Representatives.

The so-called resolution grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and gravely violated basic norms governing international relations, said You Wenze, spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress.

Such a move undermined the political mutual trust between the two countries and seriously disrupted the improvement and development of China-Japan relations, the spokesperson stressed.

"We firmly oppose Japan's political manipulation under the pretext of 'human rights'," You said, noting that any attempt that interferes in China's internal affairs and undermines China's interests will be met with resolute responses.

To respect and protect human rights is an important principle of China's Constitution and the political, economic, cultural and social rights of Chinese citizens are fully realized, You said.

"Chinese people are in the best position to judge China's human rights condition," the spokesperson stressed, urging Japan to reflect on its records of violating human rights in history. 
In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers from the United States (US) assessed the rapid dominance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant in three highly vaccinated Massachusetts (MA) university populations.

Study: Early introduction and rise of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant in highly vaccinated university populations. Image Credit: Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

There have been a three to five times increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases due to Omicron in the US compared to previous waves, with Omicron-related cases rapidly increasing from <1% of cases in December 2021 to >95% of cases in January 2022.

Although it is clear that Omicron is transmissible in vaccinated as well as unvaccinated populations, the relative transmission rate in each category is not clear. To this end, researchers of this study analyzed the onset and surge of Omicron at three institutes of higher education (IHEs) in the great Boston area.

About the study

In the present study, three IHEs  Boston University (BU), Harvard University (HU), and Northeastern University (NU)  with campus testing programs provided de-identified sample information. For each positive test collected between December 2 and 21, 2021, the team obtained the following information: sample collection date, variant designation, and cycle threshold (Ct) for one or more genes, and affiliate status (only for BU).

Anterior nares specimens were self-collected by individuals and were examined using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). For BU, this was followed by a two-target SARS-CoV-2 assay with RNase P control. By fitting the logistic model, the team estimated the proportion of Omicron cases over time individually for MA and New England (NE) and BU by affiliation.

The researchers generated seven-day rolling averages after noting weekly fluctuation in case count reporting. The logistic regression model was used to determine the daily Omicron fraction from December 1 to January 15 to estimate the number of MA cases due to Delta or Omicron.

The team compared Ct values for Omicron and Delta cases per target and per institution. Ct values for the N1 and N2 genes, the N1 gene, and the N2 and ORF1ab genes were compared at BU, HU, and NU, respectively. Ct values at BU per affiliation were also compared. The link between the SARS-CoV-2 variant (Delta or Omicron) and Ct was assessed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. The p-values were corrected with the Benjamini-Hochberg approach.

Results

The findings show that the daily case count, as well as the Omicron fraction at the IHEs, increased rapidly in December 2021. Between December 2 (0% Omicron) and December 21 (91% Omicron), 1,606 SARS-CoV-2 cases were discovered at the three institutions. The proportion of Omicron cases across the IHEs and NE had a characteristic sigmoid-shaped curve, and 100% of the 159 samples tested at the HU Clinical Laboratory were positive for Omicron by January 5.

The team discovered that BU staff and BU students had similar Omicron dynamics, but a two- to three-day delay in onset was observed in the staff. Omicron dynamics were more comparable between BU students and staff than between BU and other IHEs and was significantly different in MA, showing similarities in the trajectories of employees and students. Taken together, these findings show that students and employees had parallel Omicron patterns, with a lag of two to three days.

The researchers also compared Ct values across variants. They discovered that Omicron sample Cts were not lower than that of Delta samples, implying that greater viral loads are not the reason behind increased Omicron transmission.

N1-gene Ct values in Omicron vs. Delta samples were considerably higher at BU and HU by an average of 2.2 and 3.1, respectively. At BU, the same pattern was observed for N2-gene Ct values with Omicron Cts 2.0 higher on average. The Cts of the N2- and ORF1ab genes did not differ by variant at NU, while the Ct values at BU did not differ based on affiliation status. It was observed that Omicron viral Cts were always higher or identical to Delta Cts, despite changes in the testing platform, testing cadence, and demographics among IHEs.

Conclusion

Overall, the study results show that despite the presence of Delta transmission in all three IHEs and surroundings at the time of Omicron's emergence, Omicron rapidly replaced Delta and became the dominant variant. Variant proportions changed from >90% Delta to >90% Omicron over a period of 8 to 13 days.

From the findings, it is clear that a significant increase in Omicron case counts was observed in highly vaccinated groups among whom Omicron's viral load was similar to or lower than that of the viral load of Delta, which is in line with prior reports. This demonstrates that the fitness of Omicron is neither based on a higher viral load nor an immunologically naive population.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information
The distinctive smell of a flower.. the unmistakable aroma of coffee the dangers linked with inhaling smoke fumes. Sensory systems have evolved to provide us with immediate, finely tuned information about the world around us, whether they are colors processed through our visual system or certain pitches interpreted through our hearing.

This barrage of information is processed by our sensory systems. Scientists have uncovered maps that depict how sensory neurons are arranged based on their function to effectively process such information. This kind of functional map, however, had not yet been identified for the sense of smell. University of California San Diego researchers have now described such a smell sensory map in fruit flies. On the surface of fly antennae, where odorous chemicals are detected, the scientists have discovered how the fly olfactory system is organized, and why.

This new map was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a team lead by graduate student Shiuan-Tze Wu from the laboratory of Biological Sciences Associate Professor Chih-Ying Su. The study details how the fly's olfactory receptor neurons, the components that sense smell, are organized within the sensory hairs.

We are constantly being bombarded by hundreds of odorous chemicals in our environment. We have described a peripheral mechanism that has allowed the fly to make sense of such overwhelmingly complex stimuli." Chih-Ying Su, Study Corresponding Author and Biological Sciences Associate Professor, University of California - San Diego

The researchers provide evidence that the fruit fly's olfactory system, which Su described as simple yet elegant, is structured to give the insect the ability to make quick assessments of odors in an unusual way that circumvents synaptic communication, which is metabolically expensive. Rather, the insect's olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) communicate through electrical interactions with nearby ORNs. This offers an energy-saving, "metabolically cheap" way to process "meaningful odor blends without involving costly synaptic computation," the researchers note in the paper.

The study describes how compartments with two ORNs are arranged to detect cues with opposite meanings for the fly. Such cues either promote or inhibit certain behaviors-;to quickly and efficiently assess complex odors in their environment.

"This arrangement provides a means to both evaluate and shape the countervailing sensory signals relayed to higher brain centers for further processing," according to the paper.

In this study, the Su lab collaborated with UC San Diego Neurobiology Assistant Professor Johnatan Aljadeff, who built a mathematical model which explains how electrical interactions help in extracting relevant information.

"In asking questions about the functional meaning of this organization, we found that nature has chosen a specific way of structuring this sensory assay," said Aljadeff. "If we can understand the principle of this type of processing, there could be future engineering applications." Aljadeff is funded by a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award to investigate such questions.
Healthy-looking ochre sea stars have minimal genetic difference from those displaying symptoms of sea star wasting syndrome, say Oregon State University researchers who examined whether genetic variation was the reason some animals went unaffected during an epidemic of the deadly disease.

Without genes promoting resistance to wasting syndrome, the iconic Pacific Ocean sea star's ability to persist through future outbreaks is in greater doubt, the scientists say.

Findings were published in Molecular Ecology.

Also called the purple ochre and known scientifically as Pisaster ochraceus, the ochre sea star saw its populations hit hard for three years starting in 2013 by a wasting syndrome epidemic that scientists believe to be the largest marine wildlife disease event in history.

Wasting syndrome affected populations of 20 species of sea stars ranging from Baja California to the Gulf of Alaska, including P. ochraceus, considered a keystone species  one on which other species in an ecosystem lean heavily. The ochre sea star was pummeled over a large portion of its range. Along the Oregon coast, for example, the researchers note that populations underwent declines ranging from 50% to 94%.

The interplay between climate change and disease is threatening wildlife species as never before, said Oregon State's Andrea Burton, particularly when the result is rapid and extreme drops in population.

A changing climate is causing the ocean to warm and those rising sea water temperatures are putting more and more stress on marine ecosystems. As a result of that stress, marine diseases have become more prevalent over the last few decades. Disease outbreaks cause changes in ecosystems' community structure and the age distribution within species. A lot of marine taxa have suffered severe declines in population because of outbreaks." Andrea Burton, Leader of Genetic Variation Study, Oregon State University

Burton, a doctoral candidate in integrative biology, and OSU collaborators Sarah Gravem and Felipe Barreto examined a total of 200 individual purple ochre to look for genetic variation between healthy specimens and sick ones. The sea stars were collected from six sites on the central Oregon coast in 2016, when apparently normal sea stars and wasting sea stars were both common at each site.

"Our reasoning was that a sick sea star and healthy sea star nearby were likely exposed to similar conditions, so maybe the ones that looked healthy had some type of genetic predisposition toward resistance or tolerance to sea star wasting syndrome," Burton said. "It was a unique chance to compare apparently normal and wasting individuals from the same time and place during the sea star wasting syndrome epidemic."

The scientists took note of observable disease symptoms based on a six-level ranking protocol, ranging upward from twisting arms to deflation, lesions, missing arms, loss of grip on rocks and finally disintegration or "melting." Only animals with none of those symptoms were considered healthy.

"Through a number of genomic techniques, we found that genomic differentiation between normal-looking and wasting sea stars was very low," Burton said. "With little genetic variation to propel adaptation, we definitely have even more concerns regarding how this species of sea star will fare in future outbreaks."

But while a genetic basis for wasting syndrome resilience is probably weak, researchers did identify a list of genomic regions with some association with disease resistance, she said. Those parts of P. ochraceus DNA may have small but cumulative effects in determining how a sea star does in the face of wasting syndrome and thus should be studied further, Burton added.

"Assessing the potential for natural population resilience is a huge piece of predicting the long-term prospects for affected species and all of the species and communities they influence," she said. "Some marine species are suitable for selective breeding but many others are not, so examining genomic variation in natural populations can help answer the question of whether a species has the genetic makeup to withstand diseases on its own."
Barron, WI (54812)

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Cloudy. High around 65F. Winds light and variable..

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Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 45F. Winds light and variable.
Jeffersonville, IN (47130)

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Cloudy early, then off and on rain showers for the afternoon. High 74F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

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Jeffersonville, IN (47130)

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Cloudy early, then off and on rain showers for the afternoon. High 74F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

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Showers this evening then thundershowers developing overnight. Low 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Jeffersonville, IN (47130)

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Cloudy early, then off and on rain showers for the afternoon. High 74F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

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Showers this evening then thundershowers developing overnight. Low 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
What's life like for Buddhist followers in China? An American expat in Anhui Province pays a visit to a nunnery in Jiuhua Mountain, one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
















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What's Included

With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 574-583-5121 or email cgrace@thehj.com.
(Newser)  It's back to life like it was in February 2020 in Denmark. The country has done away with nearly all restrictions related to COVID-19, which it says isn't a "socially critical sickness" anymore. It's the first EU country to do so, and it means mask requirements are gone, a "COVID pass" isn't required to get into restaurants, and citizens are no longer required to self-isolate after a positive test. "No one can know what will happen next December. But we promised the citizens of Denmark that we will only have restrictions if they are truly necessary and we'll lift them as soon as we can," the country's health minister tells CNN.

The network points out that Denmark's new-infection rate is sky-highNo. 2 in the world right now at about 7,500 cases per million peoplebut the director-general of Denmark's Health Authority says the meager hospitalization numbers support the move. "At the same time as infections are skyrocketing, patients admitted to intensive care actually going down," said Sren Brostrm. "It's around 30 people in ICU beds right now with a COVID-19 diagnosis, out of a population of 6 million." The BBC reports just over 80% of those over age 5 are fully vaccinated in Denmark, and 60% have received a booster. There are some nominal exceptions to the no-restrictions approach: Face masks are to be worn in hospitals, for instance. (Read more Denmark stories.)
(Newser)  Domino's Pizza has a new twist on the pizza-delivery business model: Customers who deliver pizzas to their own homes will receive a "tip" of $3 off their next order. An ad for the new offer features a customer transforming into a Domino's driver, complete with one of the company's vehicles, the Washington Post reports. "Youre no longer just a customer, youre a delivery driver," the ad says. "And we believe every great delivery driver deserves a tip." Domino's, which is facing a nationwide shortage of delivery drivers, says the offer will be in place for customer who place carryout orders online until May 22.

"We figured now, more than ever, is a great time to reward carryout customers who are serving as their own delivery drivers," a spokesperson tells CBS. "Although Domino's stores across the US are in need of more drivers, the main reason we launched this campaign was to give back to carryout customers." Art D'Elia, the chain's chief marketing officer, says Domino's decided to bring in the offer before the Super Bowl, when it usually sells around two million pizzas. Domino's isn't the only place that's having a hard time finding workers: The Labor Department says 4.3 million people quit their jobs in December, almost equaling the record of 4.5 million set the previous month. (Read more Domino's Pizza stories.)
(Newser)  The sole survivor of a capsized boat found near Floridas coast says at least 15 other migrants tried to cling to the overturned vessel but couldn't hold on, some desperately tired and hungry when they let go. Juan Esteban Montoya Caicedo, of Colombia, told a Spanish-language news conference Monday in Fort Pierce, Florida, that there was a baby girl and other children among the group of 40 that included Dominicans, Haitians, Bahamians, and Jamaicans. They set out for Florida from Bimini in the Bahamas on Jan. 22. Montoya, 22, said the motor broke down in the early hours Sunday, and the boat was adrift in choppy seas for about four hours. He said he told his younger sister at that time to pray, prepare for the worst and hold onto the vessel.

But then a giant wave overturned the vessel and the two were separated. "I managed to see her again. But as I went to her to help her, the rest of the people were grabbing her. Everybody was holding on to everybody. Thats why she drowned," he said. Her body has not been found. A smaller group held on to the 25-foot boat, but as hours passed, the group got smaller, Montoya said. "What we were going through was so difficult, some people let go," he said. The lack of food, the lack of water and lack of rest affects you, and it led them to go that route." Montoya said others still clung to the boat until Monday afternoon. It would be another day before his rescue, reports the AP.

"When I was left alone it was harder, much harder. My health was worsening, mentally I was suffering. Being alone was one more blow," he said. "But I did not lose hope." Montoya said much of the time he was in the water holding onto the motor where he felt warmer, but the night before his rescue he had climbed up onto the overturned hull, where his image was captured by someone in a merchant vessel the day he was found. Montoya said the two siblings were migrating, searching for a better life and safety. His attorney, Naimeh Salem, said he would apply for political asylum but said she could not reveal more details about his case.

(Read more migrants stories.)
(Newser)  The Iowa man behind one of the largest lottery scams in American history has been granted parole after serving less than five years of his 25-year sentencebut Eddie Tipton might need to figure out another way to make money fast. The Iowa Board of Parole says Tipton, a former lottery computer programmer and IT security director convicted of rigging lotteries in several states, was granted release due to good behavior and will be allowed to live in Texas, the AP reports. According to court documents, however, the 58-year-old owes around $2.2 million in restitution for lottery scams in Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and he has only paid around $2,000.

Tipton, who was serving a Wisconsin sentence concurrently with the one in Iowa, owes the state around $409,000 and could be sent to prison there if he hasn't paid up by Sept. 2026, when his parole term in the state ends. "Eddie may be done with this term, but under his plea agreement, he needs to get restitution paid to avoid serving more time in Wisconsin," says Iowa Auditor Rob Sand, who helped prosecute Tipton. "I wish him luck in getting that done." Tipton doesn't owe restitution in Iowa because suspicious authorities refused to pay out on a $16.5 million jackpot he tried to collect in 2010.

During his 2017 sentencing hearing, Tipton admitted that he "wrote software that included code that allowed me to understand or technically predict winning numbers, and I gave those numbers to other individuals who then won the lottery and shared the winnings with me," per the Des Moines Register. Tipton has claimed he only received $351,000 from tickets that won $2.2 million between 2005 and 2011, the AP reports. In Jan. 2020, he filed a lawsuit seeking to halt restitution and reverse his conviction, arguing that he had been under duress to plead guilty. The case will go to trial in August. (Investigators said Tipton's distinct drawl gave him away.)
(Newser)  It's Groundhog Day, but Milltown, NJ, isn't celebrating this year. "Milltown Mel," the town's weather-prognosticating groundhog, died within days of the holiday. "We Wranglers are sad to report that Milltown Mel recently crossed over the rainbow bridge," the groundhog's official Facebook page announced Tuesday. "Considering the average lifespan of a Groundhog is about 3 years, that is not such a shock, but Mel left us at a tough time of year, when most of his fellow groundhogs are hibernating...so no babies will be available to replace him until this Spring. We tried everywhere to get a stand-in, but to no avail!" Hence Wednesday's decade-old event is canceled, NBC News reports.

The New Jersey ceremony was inspired by the famous Gobblers Knob celebration in Punxsutawney, Pa., which started in 1887 and is the oldest Groundhog Day tradition in the US. That one, starring the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, is still happening today (see how to watch it here); according to tradition, if he emerges from his hole and sees his shadow, we're getting six more weeks of winter weather; if he doesn't see his shadow, an early spring is predicted. Other nearby weather-predicting groundhogs include Dunkirk Dave and Staten Island Chuck in New York, and Buckeye Chuck in Ohio, NPR reports. (Read more groundhog day stories.)
(Newser)  Pfizer on Tuesday asked the US to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5, potentially opening the way for the very youngest Americans to start receiving shots as early as March. In an extraordinary move, the Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to apply earlier than the companies had planned, the AP reports. The nation's 19 million children under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus. Many parents have been pushing for an expansion of shots to toddlers and preschoolers, especially as the omicron wave sent record numbers of youngsters to the hospital.

"I would say the parents in my office are desperate" to get their youngest kids vaccinated, says Dr. Dyan Hes, who runs a pediatrics practice in New York City where vaccination rates are high. For many, "thats the first thing they ask when they walk through the door: 'When do you think the shot is going to come out?'" If the FDA agrees, Pfizer shots containing one-tenth of the dose given to adults could be dispensed to children as young as 6 months. Pfizer said Tuesday it had started submitting its data to the FDA and expects to complete the process in a few days. An open question is how many shots those youngsters will need. Two of the extra-low doses given three weeks apart turned out to be strong enough for babies but not for preschoolers in early testing.

Pfizer is testing three shots, and the final data is expected in late March. That means the FDA may consider whether to authorize two shots for now, with potentially a third shot being cleared later if the study supports it. The FDA asked Pfizer to begin submitting its application now due to omicron's "greater toll on children," an agency spokeswoman said, citing record cases among children under 5. "What were seeing right now is still a lot of hospitalizations and unfortunately some deaths in this age group," says Dr. Sean OLeary of the University of Colorado, who is on the American Academy of Pediatrics infectious disease committee. (Read more coronavirus vaccine stories.)
A staff member demonstrates a VR device supported by 5G network at the booth of telecom giant China Mobile during the 22nd China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's telecommunications industry registered rapid growth in business revenue last year amid the country's efforts to accelerate the application of new information technology (IT) infrastructure such as 5G network.

The combined business revenue in the telecom sector rose 8 percent year on year to 1.47 trillion yuan (about 232.43 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, with the growth rate up 4.1 percentage points from 2020, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

"New digital services for enterprises such as cloud computing, big data and data centers have emerged as the biggest force driving the increase in business revenue of this sector," the ministry said.

Revenue from these digital services in 2021 jumped 27.8 percent from a year ago and contributed to some 44.5 percent of the telecom industry's revenue growth.

Telecom companies' revenue from fixed-line, data and internet business maintained stable growth in 2021, accounting for 61.5 percent of the total.

The stellar performance of the telecom sector came amid the fast development of China's 5G and gigabit optic fiber networks.

By the end of 2021, China has built and put into operation about 1.43 million 5G base stations, accounting for over 60 percent of the world's total and constituting the largest 5G network globally.

More than 300 cities in China have started construction of gigabit optic fiber networks, with investment in internet broadband access surging 40 percent in 2021 over the previous year, the ministry said. 
(Newser)  A female British banker who suffered an "inherently sexist act" involving a witch's hat has been awarded $2.8 million for that and other sexual discrimination. Stacey Macken, a former Deutsche Bank VP, joined the London office of French bank BNP Paribas in 2013 at a salary of roughly $160,000only to later learn that a male colleague with the same title and responsibility was paid more than $50,000 more, reports the Guardian. Three years into her tenure at the company, which she left after four years, the salary gap had surged to 85%, reports the Financial Times.

The London Central tribunal heard that in October of 2013, some members of the prime brokerage team "had gone drinking at the pub towards the end of the day" and subsequently left "a large Halloween-style black witch's hat" on Macken's desk. Another boss responded to her so frequently with the phrase "not now, Stacey" that co-workers began using it as well. The tribunal found it was a "demeaning comment," with a judge stating that two of her bosses "behaved spitefully and vindictively towards Miss Macken because she had raised concerns about her pay and that they did have a discriminatory motive."

The tribunal further noted that the bank had failed to apologize to Macken, and while the tribunal "decline[d] from ordering it to do this," it did award aggravated damages because of it. The $2.8 million in compensation Macken will receive is one of the biggest awards ever handed down by a UK employment tribunal. Bloomberg adds the tribunal also made the "unprecedented" move of ordering BNP to complete a public audit of its London staff to suss out whether there are other instances of gender-related pay disparities. (Read more gender discrimination stories.)
(Newser)  "This is a sad and dark day for Bridgewater College," David Bushman, the college's president, said in an email to students, faculty, and staff after two campus officers were fatally shot on Tuesday. Police say that after a "massive search operation, the suspected gunman was taken into custody at 1:55pm, around 35 minutes after the shooting, NBC reports. Students at the private liberal arts college were locked down until an all-clear was issued around 4:30pm. The college is in Bridgewater, Virginia, around 140 miles west of Washington DC and 40 miles northwest of Charlottesville. Officials say Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, has been charged with four felonies including two counts of capital murder, reports WJLA.

Campbell is being held without bail at the Rockingham County Jail. Police say he opened fire after a brief interaction with the officers, who were responding to a report of a suspicious person. The slain officers were named as campus safety officer J.J. Jefferson and police officer John Painter. "These officers were close friends, known to many of us as the 'dynamic duo,'" Bushman said. "John was J.J.s best man in his wedding this year. They were beloved by students, faculty, and staff." Jefferson's mother tells the Washington Post that he turned 48 on Saturday. "I loved my son, and he loved us," she says. "He went beyond to help people."

Bridgewater student Alex Hulleman, 21, tells the New York Times that he was in class when he heard the gunshots. He says students immediately dropped to the floor, with two sitting against the door while the professor called 911. He says students were stunned when they found out the two officers had been killed. Jefferson and Painter were "two of the nicest people on campus," he says. In a statement, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said his "heart is broken" by the "tragic loss" of the two officers and flags at state buildings will be flown at half-staff Wednesday. (Read more Virginia stories.)
(Newser)  Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from The View after she said on Monday's show that the Holocaust wasn't about race. "Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments," ABC News president Kim Godwin said Tuesday in a statement cited by CNN. "While Whoopi has apologized, I've asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities." Goldberg apologized within hours of the show airing, and apologized again at the start of Tuesday's show.

Saying she "misspoke," Goldberg said she understands why so many people were upset by her comments. "For that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful and helped me understand some different things," she said, adding that she now realizes the Holocaust "is indeed about race, because Hitler and the Nazis considered the Jews to be an inferior race." She then introduced one of her critics, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, as the show's first guest, Variety reports. She had also addressed the comments in an interview with Stephen Colbert on Late Night Monday.

"Because I feel being Black, when we talk about race, its a very different thing to me," she told Colbert. "I thought it was a salient discussion because, as a Black person, I think of race as being something that I can see. So I see you and I know what race you are, and the discussion was about how I felt about that." She insisted she is neither anti-Semitic nor a Holocaust denier. As for the last name she adopted (she was born Caryn Johnson), New York Post columnist John Podhoretz accuses her of "co-opting" it. "Its obvious that a 2022 version of young Caryn Johnson would not choose the name Goldberg to gain that extra frisson of non-white pride," he writes. "In fact, Whoopi Goldberg should just drop the Goldberg now. There are dozens of survivors of the Holocaust who bear the nameand an untold number who died in the Shoah with it. Caryn Johnson stains them both." (Read more Whoopi Goldberg stories.)
(Newser)  Update: Sen. Ben Ray Lujan received a bipartisan standing ovation when he walked into a committee meeting Thursday. The New Mexico Democrat had been gone a month after suffering a major stroke. Lujan told reporters he's "back to work" and plans to be fully involved in the job; he cast votes in committee Thursday. With the Senate evenly divided, Democrats were especially pleased by Lujan's return. "In a world with not a lot of good news, that was a great way to start the day," Sen. Richard Blumenthal said. "We needed the vote. In very crass, practical terms, we needed him there." Our original story from Feb. 2 follows:

US Sen. Ben Ray Lujan had a stroke last week and is now hospitalized after brain surgery, his office revealed on Tuesday. Carlos Sanchez, Lujan's chief of staff, says in a statement the 49-year-old was feeling fatigued and dizzy on Thursday, and that when doctors examined him, it was found he'd suffered a stroke in his cerebellum. "In the spectrum of strokes, this is an unusual type of stroke," health expert Dr. Barry Ramo tells KOAT, noting it took place in a part of the brain that affects one's coordination, vision, speech, and movement. Lujan had decompressive surgery to reduce swelling and is "expected to make a full recovery," per Sanchez, but a new issue has now arisen: Lujan will likely be absent from DC for some time as he recovers, which could put in danger an easy, quick party-line confirmationwith Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaking votefor whichever Supreme Court nominee President Biden eventually offers.

The conundrum "exposes [the] fragility" of the Democrats' 50-50 majority in the Senate, with a "preview of more serious long-term implications" for Dems, per CNN. Adding to the concern over this is that many powerful Dems in the Senate are getting up there in years, and having just one of them knocked out of commission by health or other issues could throw Democrats' plans into disarray on not only the Supreme Court pick, but on other items on their agenda as well. Still, due to Lujan's relatively young age and good health, doctors and colleagues in Washington seem optimistic he'll be back in no time.

"We look forward to his quick return to the Senate and I believe the Senate will be able to carry forward with its business," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday. If Biden selects a nominee by the end of February and keeps to a rapid confirmation process of about 40 days, as he hopes to, that would give Lujan a couple of months to work his way back to health, which remains the main concern. "It's really easy for all of us in this business to put this place first," Sen. Martin Heinrich, also from New Mexico, says. "My hope is that Ben Ray will put himself first." NBC News notes that if Lujan isn't able to head back to Capitol Hill, Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham would appoint his replacement. (Read more senator stories.)
(Newser)  The Biden administration was working out crucial details of the civilian evacuation from Kabul even as the Taliban descended on the Afghan city, according to a document obtained by Axios. The National Security Council's summary notes from the Aug. 14 meeting of the Deputies Small Groupchaired by Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and attended by Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffshow officials were unprepared to evacuate Afghan allies, and weren't even sure who would want to leave, hours before Kabul fell, Axios reports. The group had just decided the US Embassy should notify locally employed staff "to begin to register their interest in relocation" to the US, according to the notes.

"State will work to identify as many countries as possible to serve as transit points," added the document, noting "transit points need to be able to accommodate US citizens, Afghan nationals, third country nationals, and other evacuees." NSC rep Emily Horne tells Axios that the "cherry-picked notes from one meeting do not reflect the months of work that were already underway." Operation Allies Refuge had begun weeks earlier and "it was because of this type of planning and other efforts that we were able to facilitate the evacuation of more than 120,000 Americans, legal permanent residents, vulnerable Afghans and other partners." Still, critics say the administration was dawdling.

Former CIA officer Matt Zeller says he contacted officials about protecting Afghans allies in February 2021 but "they didn't believe the sky was falling." On July 13, he reached out again but "they didn't get back to us until Aug. 15, the day Kabul fell." While neither Afghans nor Americans knew how quickly Kabul would fall, "the failure to plan for a worst-case scenario while there was time, during the spring and early summer, as Afghanistan began to collapse, led directly to the fatal chaos in August," George Packer writes at the Atlantic, noting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Afghans remain behind. Qatar has just reached a deal with the Taliban to allow two chartered evacuation flights out of Kabul each week, per Axios. (Read more Afghanistan stories.)
(Newser)  FBI Director Christopher Wray says China's economic espionage campaign is more damaging than ever, which is saying something, considering the scale of the Chinese government's spying stunned Wray when he became FBI director in 2017. "This one blew me away. And I'm not the kind of guy that uses words like 'blown away' easily," he tells NBC News in a sit-down interview. Five years later, "it's reached a new levelmore brazen, more damaging than ever before," Wray added Monday during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, per the Guardian. He described attempts by the Chinese Community Party to win the loyalty of US politicians, including those at the local level, through money and intimidation.

"It is as complex and broad a threat as we've ever seen," Wray tells NBC, reiterating that the FBI opens a new counterintelligence investigation related to China twice a day on average, with more than 2,000 investigations underway. "The scale of their hacking program, and the amount of personal and corporate data that their hackers have stolen, is greater than every other country combined," he continues. "There is no country that presents a broader, more severe threat to our innovation, our ideas and our economic security than China does." He added Monday, per the Guardian: "While they pull ahead, they push our companies and workers behind. That harmcompany failures, job losseshas been building for a decade to the crush we feel today."

Referring to tactics in suppressing criticism, he said that "China may be the first country to combine that kind of authoritarian ambition with cutting-edge technical capability. It's like the surveillance nightmare of East Germany combined with the tech of Silicon Valley." He said China works to silence both American citizens and Chinese citizens living in the US. He referred to the case of Purdue University graduate student Zhihao Kong, who praised student protesters killed in the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square, only to have Ministry of State Security officials pay a visit to his parents in China, per NBC. "In many cases, Chinese Americans are some of the people most victimized by the Chinese government's tactics." (The FBI is urging Olympic athletes to use burner phones in China.)
(Newser)  President Biden is sending about 2,000 troops from Fort Bragg, NC, to Poland and Germany this week, as well as sending part of an infantry Stryker squadron of roughly 1,000 troops based in Germany to Romania, a senior administration official said Wednesday, per the AP. The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia over its military buildup at Ukraine's borders. They also underscore growing fears across Europe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to invade Ukraine, with smaller NATO countries on the eastern flank worrying they could be next. US officials tell CNN that the troops will be deployed in the "coming days" as a show of support to those NATO allies.

"At the president's direction and following Secretary [Lloyd] Austin's recommendation, the Department of Defense will reposition certain Europe-based units further east, forward deploy additional US-based units to Europe, and maintain the heightened state of readiness of response forces to meet these commitments," a senior administration official tells NBC News, adding that "these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine. They are not permanent moves. They respond to current conditions."

Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have mounted in recent months, after Putin deployed more than 100,000 troops to areas near Ukraine's borders, including in neighboring Belarus, backed by tanks, artillery, helicopters, and warplanes. Russian officials have insisted that Moscow has no intention of invading. The US could be willing to enter into an agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine, according to a leaked document published in a Spanish newspaper on Wednesday. The daily El Pais published two documents purported to be written replies from the US and NATO last week to Russia's proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe.

The US document, marked as a confidential "non-paper," said that the US would be willing to discuss in consultation with its NATO partners "a transparency mechanism to confirm the absences of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland." That would happen on condition that Russia "offers reciprocal transparency measures on two ground-launched missiles bases of our choosing in Russia." Aegis Ashore is a system for defending against short- or intermediate-range missiles. In his first public remarks on the standoff in more than a month, Putin on Tuesday accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia's central security demands, but he said that Moscow is willing to talk more to ease tensions over Ukraine. (Read more US troops stories.)
(Newser)  Donald Trump has added another Republican to his list of supposed RINOs: his ally Lindsey Graham. The former president lobbed the insultthat's "Republican in name only"at the Republican senator from South Carolina on Tuesday after Graham refused to back the idea of presidential pardons for those who participated in the Capitol insurrection, per Politico. Trump put forth the idea at a rally in Texas on Saturday, saying more than 700 people charged in the riot are being treated "so unfairly." Graham said the idea was "inappropriate" during a Sunday appearance on CBS' Face the Nation.

Those who stormed the Capitol should "go to jail and get the book thrown at them, because they deserve it," Graham said, per the Washington Post. "I don't want to reinforce that defiling the Capitol was OK," he added. "I don't want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future." Trump responded Tuesday in a Newsmax interview. "Lindsey Graham's wrong. I mean Lindsey's a nice guy, but he's a RINO," Trump said. He "doesn't know what the hell he's talking about if he says that." Trump went on to defend those charged in the case, saying they face punishments "like 20 times out of proportion." "Many of these people are not guilty," he said. "In many cases, they're patriots."

Graham responded to that interview Wednesday, saying "those who actively engage in violence for whatever political cause must be held accountable and not be forgiven," reports the Hill. Like Graham, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has resisted the idea of presidential pardons for Capitol rioters. "I would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences for any of the people who pleaded guilty to crimes," the Republican from Kentucky told reporters on Tuesday, per the Post. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
(Newser)  The US is sending 222 athletes to the 2022 Winter Olympics. India is sending just one. NPR reports 31-year-old skier Arif Khan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday and is scheduled to compete in the slalom and giant slalom events later this week. As long as he manages to stay COVID-free, that is. News broke Wednesday that one of his traveling companions (the contingent manager for India's Winter Olympics) tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing in China. Khan has thus far tested negative and plans to continue his training, the Hindustan Times reports. Khan, a native of the India-controlled side of the Kashmir region in the Himalayas, is used to overcoming adversity.

Pakistani and Indian military troops have fought in Kashmir for decades in official and unofficial armed conflicts, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. "If something is going on that's disturbing at home, it's definitely on my mind," Khan said in a December phone interview with NPR. "But I want to succeed so that I can also have an impact on Kashmiri youth, to inspire them toward their own goals." The skier has also faced countless obstacles just to compete: Kashmir does not host major competitions despite being in the heart of the Himalayas, so Khan travels abroad to compete. But India does not offer winter athletes funds the way other countries do.

It costs Khan anywhere from $85,000 to $125,000 per season to train and compete, Reuters reports. Hence, the skier depends on crowdfunding and family support to pursue his sport. For the Olympics, the governments of Jammu and Kashmir and a sponsor are footing 50% of the bill; he's covering the other half. The skier's goal is to finish in the top 30 in the slalom and giant slalom events, for which he qualified in Dubai and Montenegro, respectively. While India has sent other athletes to several previous Winter Olympics, the country has never captured a medal in winter sports. (Read more Winter Olympics stories.)
(Newser)  Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is citing the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act in a lawsuit he filed against Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and two former White House officials in connection with then-President Donald Trump's 2019 impeachment. Vindman alleges the two men, along with former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and former White House official Julia Hahn, engaged in "an intentional, concerted campaign of unlawful intimidation and retaliation" against him "to prevent him from and then punish him for testifying truthfully before Congress during impeachment proceedings against President Trump."

ABC News reports Vindman's suit accuses the four of violating two sections of the Ku Klux Klan Act, which serves to protect government officials from political intimidation. Per CBS News, the suit alleges the four defendants held meetings in which they came up with "false narratives" about Vindman alleging he had a lack of allegiance to the US and spied for Ukraine. It further alleges coordination with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, and that the campaign against him "was waged on social media and on allied media outlets."

The Hill reports that following his testimony, Vindman alleges his Army promotion was temporarily blocked and his White House post (director of European affairs at the National Security Council) was yanked from him as part of the retaliation against him. He's seeking unspecified damages. Vindman was one of the officials who listened to the July 2019 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (When Vindman ended his 21-year military career in July 2020, he cited White House retaliation.)
JERUSALEM, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel and Britain have agreed to upgrade the free trade agreement between the two countries, the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Agreed at a meeting held in Jerusalem between Israeli Economy Minister Orna Barbivai and British Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the new trade deal will lead to the removal of barriers in the goods and services trade between the two countries, the statement noted.

The free trade agreement between Israel and Britain was signed in 2019 and took effect at the beginning of 2021.

Since the agreement was based on Israel's trade agreement with the European Union signed back in 1995, the two countries are interested in a more up-to-date and modern agreement, according to the statement.

The ministers also discussed the creation of joint platforms for businesses and the details of a planned Britain-Israel innovation summit this spring, with the participation of senior government officials, business representatives, chambers of commerce and more.

With a trade volume totalling 7.7 billion U.S. dollars last year, Britain is Israel's third largest trading partner, as China and the United States top the list. 
(Newser)  Prosecutors in Missouri have dropped a sex-crime charge against a former teacher who married the student she allegedly had sex with. Baylee Turner, now 26, was 23 in February 2019, when she was charged with having sexual contact with a male student at Sarcoxie High School. She taught English at the school, Fox 4 reports. Assistant prosecutor Nate Dally tells the Joplin Globe that the charge is being dismissed because Turner is now married to the student, whose age has not been disclosed.

Joplin says the case would now be extremely difficult to prosecute because spousal privilege applies, meaning Turner's former student cannot be compelled to testify against her. It's not clear whether the student was a minor at the time of the alleged sexual contact, but state law bans sexual contact between school district employees and students regardless of age. Dally says Turner, who was in her first year of teaching at the high school, has surrendered her state teaching license. She resigned from the school after her arrest and it's not clear when the marriage took place. KSN reports that Turner and her husband have moved out of Missouri. (Read more Missouri stories.)
(Newser)  A mass murder that took place at a Chicago-area Lane Bryant 14 years ago remains unsolved, but authorities hope a new pair of detectives will change that, FOX 32 reports. Four customers and two employeesall womenwere shot at close range during what was likely an attempted robbery at the now-closed store, police say. The suspect allegedly posed as a delivery driver and then forced the women into a room and covered their mouths with tape before shooting them on Feb. 2, 2008, police say. Before her death, store manager Rhoda McFarland managed to call 911 and whisper for helpwhich came within a minute, but not in time to save her or the four other women who died, the Chicago Tribune reports.

In addition to McFarland, 42, of Joliet, Ill., the victims were Jennifer Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind.; Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort, Ill.; Sarah Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest, Ill.; and Connie Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor, Ill., reports WGN9. After the fall 2021 retirement and promotion of the original two detectives on the case, two new detectives have been assigned to investigate and are bringing "fresh eyes" to it, per Police Chief Matt Walsh. Over the years, law enforcement has received about 7,500 tips. The sole survivor of the shooting described the shooter as an African American man who stood between 6 feet and 6 feet 2 inches in height, had broad shoulders, a husky build, and a few "puffy" corn rows, one of which featured green beads.

The shooter was in the store for about 40 minutes, and police believe he was unknown to all six women. While the Lane Bryant store is now closed, the $100,000 reward its parent company helped fund for information that leads to an arrest still stands. "I find it very difficult to believe one person did this and didnt talk to somebody about it," the department's deputy chief tells the Tribune. In the last 14 years, authorities have visited many Chicago-area prisons in hopes of gaining solid leads but say it didn't result in credible information. Despite the dearth of solid information, local officials say they will not stop devoting time or financial resources and feel confident they will find the person responsible. (Read more mass murder stories.)
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Local_news

Downtown parking garage heads to market

News-Miner The city-owned Lavery Transportation Center parking garage is up for sale. The Fairbanks City Council voted to list the downtown structure as on the market at its meeting Monday. Mayor Jim Matherly cast a tie-breaking vote to list the garage. News-Miner

The Lavery Transportation Center  downtown Fairbanks parking garage  will be put on the market following a tie-breaking city council vote Monday night.

The vote, 4-3, with Mayor Jim Matherly breaking a split vote, cemented a debate that the garage should be placed on the market even if there were no buyers. Matherly and Councilmember Aaron Gibson, the ordinance sponsor, said the ordinance requires that the structure remain a parking garage once its sold.

Gibson, along with councilmembers Jim Clark and Lonny Marney, supported listing the garage. Councilmemers June Rogers, Jerry Cleworth and Valerie Therrien opposed.

The five-story, 360 parking-spot garage was constructed in 2002 with a combination of federal and state grants. The city needs to sell it for at least $2 million to refund the federal government, or keep it as a parking garage.

Over 20 years, it has cost more to operate than it brought in revenue, according to financial reports. With depreciation, its cost the city $5.4 million over two decades; omitting depreciation, its still lost the city $1.8 million as expenses exceed revenues.

Business concerns

David van den Berg, executive director of Downtown Association of Fairbanks, asked the council to reconsider.

This is a critical piece of access for the businesses downtown, van den Berg said. He said a quick poll of the associations membership asked what the citys overall plan would be for downtown parking.

We think this ordinance is premature, van den Berg said.

The city could market the center better, he said, or present it as an opportunity to secure a new contractor to run it. Selling it, he said, would cause ripple effects.

Parking is a system and if you dislodge one part, then something is going to happen to the on-street parking that you ought to think through, van den Berg said.

Cristina Ackerman, who runs a small business on Second Avenue, said parking remains a major issue.

There just isnt enough parking in which I could park a vehicle in and leave it there for the entire winter day, Ackerman said. The people I serve also need parking and sometimes it can be a bear to find on-street parking so they will use the parking garage.

Garage has potential

Jeff Jacobson, the citys public works director, in his capacity as president of the Fairbanks Parking Authoritys board, said the garage has actually done well over the last several years.

Over time the parking authority has found more ways to generate revenue and lower expenses, Jacobson said. A new kiosk center will be installed later this year to make it easier to enter, leave and pay.

He acknowledged that efforts to market it have been lacking, but the parking authority will be implementing new measures. Jacobson asked on behalf of the parking authority to delay listing the garage for sale to conduct an in-depth study.

Jacobson added that with the planned demolition of the long-empty Polaris Building, he can envision a brighter future for the parking garage.

You will have a prime piece of real estate once that building comes down and having a parking garage across the street will be attractive to a developer, Jacobson said. I could envision sky bridges connecting both buildings and utilizing it as a central business hub.

Councilmember Jerry Cleworth, a volunteer parking authority board member, agreed with Jacobson.

It does have the potential to earn more money but it does have to be marketed, Cleworth said. The reality is I dont know anyone who would make an offer on it because I dont see how you would make money in the long run once it becomes a taxable entity.

Councilmember Valerie Therrien said she would like a complete study on the buildings worth and sale parameters before entertaining a vote to sell it.

See what its worth

Matherly expressed his own opinion about the city selling the garage.

I dont think the government should own a retail place like this, Matherly said. We subsidize this thing and it costs the city a lot of money doing that  we dont have the people to run or market it all the time.

Matherly acknowledged its sale was slim for 2022, but said it was worth exploring.

I think someone could do much better owning it and running it, Matherly said.

Gibson, like Matherly, wants to see who might be interested in buying the garage.

Gibson added that $1.8 million lost over 20 years in maintaining the building could have had more benefit in the citys permanent fund.

I think this is a great opportunity to see if anyone in the community wants to come out and buy it, Gibson said. We can still invest in making it better because it will attract a potential buyer.

Councilman Jim Clark added the structures function wont change.

This is a parking garage and will remain a parking garage, the only difference is whether we want to be in charge or a private entity to take over, Clark said.
Education

District considering costs, enrollment in deciding school closures

News-Miner The Fairbanks school district is closing Joy and Nordale elementary schools and consolidating Anderson and Crawford elementary schools at Eielson Air Force Base. News-Miner

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Board of Education may make its decision tonight to close schools and realign middle school to a sixth-to-eighth grade format.

The decision, as school officials have stated during numerous presentations, isnt easy, but it comes with trying to eliminate or reduce a $17.2 million deficit over two years.

Closing two schools and potentially re-purposing a third would save at least $3 million, according to Andy DeGraw, the districts chief operating officer. DeGraw highlighted some of the potential savings during a recent town hall sponsored by Fairbanks Sen. Scott Kawasaki.

Student re-distribution

Overall student distribution plays a part in closing the school, DeGraw said. The district has seen a steady decline in enrollment. In the 2011-2012 school year, student population was 14,260; in the current school year, its 12,268.

We have 6,000 empty seats right now in our school buildings, DeGraw said, referring to the space in school buildings. Most of the district school buildings are operating at 60% capacity.

Among the options a task recommended in a facilities utilization was the closure of Joy and Nordale elementaries and the consolidation of Anderson Elementary with Crawford Elementary. Anderson and Crawford are located on Eielson Air Force Base.

Joy, a K-8 school, with 319 current students, remains at the top of every closure list, according to DeGraw. Multiple factors went into recommendations by the task force and the district, including the buildings age and required capital improvement costs over several years.

Anderson Elementary is unique in the district in that it houses a kindergarten to second grade level. Consolidation with Crawford would bring the entire elementary school population at Eielson under one roof.

We are running our buildings really inefficiently right now, DeGraw said. He added the reduced capacity is extremely wasteful and spreads resources out across the district.

DeGraw said opting for a middle school realignment will also allow the district to right-size its school boundaries.

Right now if you look at our elementary school map, its very gerrymandered, a crazy puzzle that doesnt fit together, DeGraw said. We see this as an opportunity to right-size boundaries so they are centered around individual schools that make sense.

The district projects it will enroll about 10,561 for the schools in the overall Eielson area, which encompasses North Pole and Fairbanks area schools.

Shifting to a grade six through eight model would readjust capacity levels, according to updated district projections. It would bring the overall capacity to 71%, leaving 4,334 seats open for students.

Boundaries would not be finalized until after the Board of Education makes a decision, along with the associated relocation of teachers, staff and transportation routes.

The task force had considered closing and repurposing Randy Smith Middle School, but the option didnt rank high with school board.

Costs is a factor

The district will see some one-time expenses to closing schools, but it might also see long-term benefits, according to the districts current projections.

Closing Anderson Elementary and merging students with Crawford would cost about $63,500, according to the districts data  most of it in relocating or expanding playground equipment. Most of it would be covered by either impact aid or capital improvement funds.

The cost of closing Nordale and Joy would amount to $51,850, including $30,000 in additional staff time needed to move classrooms.

The overall savings in closing all three schools is $2.93 million in the long run  almost $1.2 million each from Joy and Nordale and $551,000 from Anderson. The savings include a $1.4 million loss in revenue.

Nordale Elementary would be repurposed to serve as a place for the districts BEST homeschool and eLearning programs. Repurposing the school for that need would cost an estimated $30,000; annual operations would run $237,500, just over $1 million less than it takes as an elementary school.

There are 741 students currently enrolled in the BEST program, according to the districts enrollment data, bringing in a total of $3.96 million from the state.

Currently, the expenditures for the program  including staffing and allotments  runs around $2.11 million.

DeGraw said if the district doesnt consider any option to shutter schools, it may have to look at serious layoffs. A $3 million cut could amount to as many as 35 teacher or 75 paraprofessionals positions.

We are at the end of the line and have to make some really difficult decisions, DeGraw said. Weve cut every single place we can find in supplies, equipment and contracts. The decisions made are going to be very controversial because we are in tough times.
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Staff Reporter

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Many vulnerable youngsters from South Asian countries, who are potential jobseekers in Bahrain, are increasingly falling victim to visa fraudsters. It is learnt that under the pretext of handing over employment visas visit visas are sold to many youngsters taking amounts ranging between BD700 and BD1,200 from them.

Social workers say that the majority of victims only realise the fraudulent act after reaching Bahrain on a visit visa. However, after falling victim to the scammers they have no other option other than returning home or continuing their stay in Bahrain as an illegal resident.

Majority of the victims are unskilled workers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Almost all South Asian cities are flooded with fake recruitment agents, who offer visit visas in the name of employment visas to innocent unskilled workers, who pay them huge amounts in their currencies. This is operated by a big racket across South Asian cities. Speaking to The Daily Tribune, social worker Gangan Trikaripur said majority of the victims are unskilled workers belonging to the hospitality and construction sector.

Owing to poor financial situations mainly caused by the pandemic, many expatriates are trying to obtain jobs in Gulf countries including Bahrain. They get in touch with many fake recruitment agents through social media platforms and are conned out of money.

Among the victims there are a large number of women expatriates as well. They are lured into the trap by offering jobs in the hospitality industry. I know an expat woman, who was offered a weeks visit visa in the name of employment visa, who was later rescued and sent home.

He said the intensity of the fraudulent act is so high that the scammers are selling visas obtained for BD9 to vulnerable individuals for a minimum amount of BD700. He urged potential expatriate jobseekers to keep a distance from fake online advertisements offering jobs with extremely high salaries. The other major visa scam, according to him, originates from within Bahrain.

Many sponsors and their agents obtain employment visas and copies are sent to expat jobseekers, who pay huge amounts in return thinking they have been offered employment here. But, these sponsors and their agents would instantly cancel these visas and get the amount refunded from the Labour Market Regulatory Authority.

The victims only realise their illegal status upon arriving at Bahrain International Airport and they, most often, return home as they have not much options left. There were also many cases of free visa holders being cheated by their sponsors, who cancel visas after taking the entire amount from victims. The victims cant even file a police complaint as obtaining the free visa by itself is an illegal act.

The Daily Tribune is awaiting response from Nationality, Passport and Residence Affairs with regard to the steps taken to increase awareness among expatriate jobseekers.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain Red Crescent Society (BRCS) members attended the International Volunteer Day, which was held recently at the headquarters of the Dubai Expo. The delegation of the Red Crescent Society in this event included Dr Kawthar Al Eid, Sawsan Al Aradi and Zakia Boukamal.

Present were representatives from various regional and international organisations, including the Arab League and the United Nations Volunteers Program.

The members of the Society worked to publicise the Bahrain Red Crescents and Bahrains honorable accomplishments in the field of volunteerism, as well as Bahrains advanced position in extending a helping hand to the needy in the context of relief and humanitarian work.

During this participation, the Societys members focused on highlighting the contributions of the Bahraini volunteers in the national efforts to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and how these efforts contributed to enhancing the Bahraini success story in confronting the pandemic.

They showcased the efforts of the volunteers affiliates in many areas, including Bahrain International Airport, in addition to continuing to provide assistance for families in need, despite the challenges of the pandemic and in full compliance with the precautionary measures.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain was elected as the International Bureau of Education (IBE) Council vice-president of UNESCO in Geneve.

Among many other achievements made during the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Bahrain has achieved this educational achievement internationally.

Education Minister Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Nuaimi attended the IBE Council virtual meeting in which he discussed a number of topics on the agenda, including the proposed program of activities for 2022, the amended statute for the Member States office work, the offices communication strategy, and the procedure rule draft.

Minister Al-Nuaimi congratulated HM the King, expressed his appreciation for the support of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister for the ministry.

The minister noted that the ministry is continuing to implement the developmental programs of the Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training headed by Deputy Prime Minister His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa.

Al- Nuaimi affirmed that Bahrain will make efforts to achieve the goals of the Member States office, which is considered one of the educational institutions of UNESCO. The office has a major role in formulating education policies on an international level.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

A leading Insurance company Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company (gig Bahrain) announced yesterday the revamp of its Cyber Insurance Cover.

Our product is redesigned to ensure that we provide our customers with the highest levels of protection against such risks, said Manoj Badoni, Chief Underwriting Officer at BKIC. Cyber Insurance Cover provides First party cover, Third party cover, cover for Financial Losses due to e-Crime and Breach Response Support.

The First Party cover corporate clients for business interruption loss from a security breach or system failure, cyber extortion loss, data recovery loss, and network liability.

Moreover, the cover also protects Third Party Liability and legal liability which covers Media Liability, Regulatory Fines/Penalties and Payment Card Liability with adjoining associated legal defence costs.

Most importantly, in the event of an incident or loss, our local and international dedicated team of cyber professionals will provide you with legal services, computer forensic services, notification services to parties, call centre services, credit monitoring, identity monitoring, loss prevention solutions, public relations, and crisis management expenses, added Manoj.

Emlyn Hoods, Group Head of Specialty Lines stated: We are delighted and privileged as Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company and as Gulf Insurance Group to offer a first-rate SME Cyber Insurance Product to our partners and clients in Bahrain and the wider MENA region.

Our offering not only meets the needs and demands of the risk exposures faced by our commercial clients; particularly in Bahrain our SME Cyber Insurance product aims to satisfy regulatory compliance too.

In addition to our SME Cyber Insurance Product, Gulf Insurance Group have partnered with Cyber Security leaders in their respective fields to offer worldclass pre-breach resources and crisis management response supporting our clients every step of the way from risk management to risk transfer.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Labour Fund Tamkeen announced that work is underway to launch the Skills Bahrain Initiative based on the direction of the Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, who discussed the projects progress to date during the last meeting.

The initiative is currently being implemented by the Tamkeen in collaboration with several relevant government and private sector entities involved in education, training, and professional labour market requirements.

Skills Bahrain is the first comprehensive national initiative aimed at establishing professional standards for vocations and professions in Bahrain, and meets the rising demand for qualified nationals across a range of different sectors.

Skills Bahrain aims to provide the resources and tools needed to support career guidance towards the professions and skills required by the labour market, thus facilitating a smooth transition from education to employment, he said.

Tamkeens Chief Executive, Husain Mohamed Rajab, praised the initiative and highlighted its significance in promoting the value of professional and vocational skills for the development of the national economy and the high-potential sectors.

The Skills Bahrain team is in the process of building a clear skills framework for the various levels of expertise required in Bahrains labour market. The initiative began its work to assess the needs of several high-potential sectors in alignment with the national economic recovery plan, with the aim of providing updated and comprehensive labour market and job data, he pointed out.

He added that work has already begun in the financial services and telecommunications sectors, as they are considered among the most significant contributors to the labour market. These will be complimented by the addition of new sectors in the future, including a wide range of industries each with its own required skills, and assessment models.

Mohamed Ahmadi, Director of Skills Bahrain said that the initiative can be described as a Skills Accelerator, especially for high-potential sectors, as it explores current and future skill requirements based on the continuous analysis of labour market data and information.

It also supports developing the learning and teaching environment, as well as preparing skilled and globally competitive Bahraini talent. He stated that the Skills Bahrain initiative began last August, where it started with building relationships with business owners and relevant government institutions by creating committees for each sector to determine the requirements of the labour market.

The work of these committees is based on recognising the needs of private sector business owners in terms of skills and career pathways, the measures needed to develop their sectors, and the development of Bahraini talent to drive innovation and improve productivity. it will also contribute to the provision of skilled graduates into the labour market from the education system as it will bring a closer alignment of employers skill requirements to programs offered by education providers.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

HSBC has launched green auto loans for its customers in Bahrain, demonstrating its support for the local electric and hybrid car markets. One of the first banks in Bahrain to offer sustainable auto loans, the move reiterates HSBC Groups commitment to the transition to a global net-zero economy and supporting customers in their sustainable transitions.

Shakofa Asghar, Head of Wealth and Personal Banking said: Sustainable actions are more important now than ever before and its vital that banks support customers with competitively priced green finance, and to encourage more sustainable behaviours. Issuing green auto loans in Bahrain is a significant moment for customers looking to make more sustainable decisions.

Unlike fuel-consuming vehicles, an electric automobile is powered entirely by battery. As the vehicle does not produce any exhaust fumes they are classified as having zero emissions. A hybrid automobile operates through multiple power sources working simultaneously. While most do feature a traditional combustion engine, they also contain a battery-powered electric motor which reduces fuel combustion, making them more energy-efficient than conventional vehicles.

In January 2021, HSBC formed a dedicated Sustainable and Transition Finance Team (STFT) in the Middle East to help institutions, corporates and individuals transition to a more sustainable economy.

Globally, HSBC has stated its ambition to align financed emissions from its portfolio of customers to the Paris Agreement goal of net zero by 2050 or sooner. HSBC is expecting to pro[1]vide between USD750 billion and USD1 trillion in sustainable financing and investment by 2030 to support its clients as they switch to more sustainable ways of doing business. The bank aims to be net-zero in its own operation by 2030.
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's space exploration has been helping unlock a deeper understanding of the universe, from Earth to the moon; from Mars to the infinite universe.

FROM EARTH TO MOON

With multiple satellites launched, China has largely completed its High-resolution Earth Observation System, providing land observation services. The country can also view waters around the globe on all scales and observe the global atmosphere to boost disaster response capability.

China's success of the Chang'e-5 mission marked the conclusion of a three-step lunar exploration program that consisted of orbiting, landing on the moon, and returning with samples.

The Chang'e-5 mission was China's most complicated systemic space project that required the most diversified technologies. On Dec. 17, 2020, the return capsule of the Chang'e-5 probe brought back the country's first samples from an extraterrestrial body.

Last July, the China National Space Administration released the online database of the second batch of lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 probe. Researchers and the public can access the Lunar and Deep Space Exploration Scientific Data and Sample Release System via the website www.clep.org.cn, where they can apply for data and samples. The first batch of the lunar samples, about 17 grams, was delivered to 13 institutions in the same month.

The analysis of the data sent back by Chang'e-5 lander is also yielding results. A study published last month showed that the moon had turned drier within a certain period, probably due to its mantle reservoir's degassing. The findings provide more clues for future lunar missions as crewed lunar stations are in the pipeline in the following decades.

FROM MARS TO INFINITY

Last May, China landed its Mars probe, Tianwen-1, on the red planet, ushering in a new chapter of China's deep space exploration and marking another contribution to humanity's exploration of the universe.

The Mars rover Zhurong has traveled more than 1,200 meters on the planet and is currently heading toward a region that might have been the coastline of an ancient ocean, looking for clues about Mars' evolution.

China's first solar exploration satellite, launched into space last October, is sending data on solar flares back to Earth. It can deepen our understanding of the sun.

Shrinivas R. (Shri) Kulkarni, George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at California Institute of Technology, told Xinhua in an interview last year that the universe is much stranger than people think. However, building astronomy telescopes is very expensive and no country can do astronomy all by itself.

He noted that China's telescopes like FAST and HXMT had become driving engines for discoveries.

Last March, China announced that its Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, or FAST, could be accessed by astronomers worldwide.

Located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in southwest China's Guizhou Province, FAST started formal operation in January 2020. It is the world's most sensitive radio telescope. With FAST, scientists have identified over 500 new pulsars.

In 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.

In 2020, scientists, using HXMT, discovered the strongest magnetic field ever observed in the universe, on the surface of a neutron star named GRO J1008-57.

Last year, an international team of researchers reported that a fast radio burst detected by HXMT came from a magnetar in the Milky Way, marking a milestone in understanding the nature of the mysterious signal emanating from the universe.

In 2015, China launched its first dark matter probe satellite Wukong. It has finished the full-sky scan 11 times and collected about 10.7 billion cases of high-energy cosmic rays, obtaining the most accurate measurement results of cosmic-ray electrons, protons, and helium nuclei above the trillion electron volts energy region.

In 2021, China started to build its space station, opening a new foothold for humanity in space. This year, multiple missions have been planned to complete the construction, including launching two lab modules.

China's space station, guided by the idea of building a community with a shared future for humanity, will become a common home transcending Earthly bonds and an outpost for countries worldwide to explore the universe through cooperation. 
ANKARA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's exports climbed by 17 percent year-on-year to reach 17.6 billion U.S. dollars in January, the highest monthly amount recorded in the first month of the year, Trade Minister Mehmet Mus announced Wednesday.

According to Mus, who revealed the country's latest import and export numbers at a news conference, the country's imports increased by 55.2 percent year on year to 28 billion dollars due to harsh and unexpected winter conditions and increases in energy prices.

The country's energy imports amounted to 9 billion dollars in January, up from 2.6 billion dollars in the same month last year, according to the ministry.

The export-import coverage ratio, excluding energy, was 88.3 percent in January, Mus said.

The foreign trade volume increased by 38 percent year on year and reached 45.6 billion dollars in January, according to the ministry.

He said Turkey set a new export record of 225.4 billion dollars last year.

"In the light of all the data, our country had a solid export performance in the first month of the year when compared to the same month of last year. We firmly believe that our great performance will continue for the rest of 2022, and that we will set new export records," said the minister.

The government aims to exceed the 250-billion-dollar export target for 2022 set by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he said. 
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LONDON, Feb. 1, 2022 /CNW/ - Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC ("Greystar"), a global leader in rental housing, and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board ("PSP Investments"), one of Canada's largest pension investment managers, today announced that works have begun on a new purpose-built student accommodation ("PBSA") asset near London Bridge Station.

The asset will operate under the premium Chapter London brand, which currently comprises 11 assets across the Capital including Spitalfields, Old Street, Highbury and South Bank. With groundworks underway, the main construction work is due to start in March 2022, with the opening scheduled for the 2025 academic year.

The 39 storey, 453 ft. (138-metre) tower will comprise 905 student beds and 15,000 sq. ft. of world-class amenity space. It has undergone a rigorous design process, led by world-renowned architects Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates ("KPF"), in partnership with Greystar's in-house global design team. The design is inspired by the local neighbourhood and will create a best-in-class building that will contribute to the ongoing regeneration of this popular area of the Capital.

State-of-the-art amenities and sustainability features

Chapter London focuses on the wellness of its residents with buildings offering a wealth of amenities and exceptional customer service to create the very best resident experience. Through an exclusive membership system, residents can use amenitiesand attend events at any Chapter London building, creating a city-wide community.

Greystar and PSP Investments have appointed Mace as the main contractor for the construction of the building. Mace will adopt a data-driven approach to reduce its onsite carbon footprint, coupled with modern methods of construction to significantly minimise the scheme's environmental footprint.

The energy efficient tower will offer professional management and state-of-the-art features, supporting environmental sustainability and social inclusion. It is designed to be 100% electric, with a 100% certified renewable energy supply and rooftop solar. It will also leverage modern methods of construction, minimising emissions from transport, concrete waste, and water usage on site. The project aims to achieve a BREEAM rating of "Excellent" and a five-star Global Real Estate Sustainability ("GRESB") score.

Greystar has worked closely with the London Borough of Southwark to discharge all pre-commencement planning conditions, and demolition contractors Cantillon have commenced work onsite to demolish Capital House on 42 Weston Street to prepare the site for construction. Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT) provided construction financing for the project.

Will Krespi, Director  UK Development, Greystar, said: "Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, London remains an attractive destination for students thanks to the Capital's impressive higher education institutions; but there is still an acute shortage of high-quality accommodation. At the same time, student accommodation is a highly resilient and counter-cyclical asset class which has meant that the best assets are extremely sought after. By adopting a develop-to-core approach, we can create new accommodation within a purpose-designed and sustainable asset in a highly desirable part of London. Chapter London Bridge will showcase the very best in architecture, amenities and services to create an environment where students can truly thrive."

Stephane Jalbert, Managing Director, Head of Asia-Pacific and Europe, Real Estate Investments, PSP Investments, said: "We are pleased to expand our Chapter brand with this new development at London Bridge. In addition to providing state-of-the-art amenities for students from around the world, this purpose-built student accommodation building will incorporate the best sustainability features and will promote activities generating a positive impact on the local communities."

Shaun Tate, Business Unit Director, Mace Tech, said: "We are delighted to have been selected as Greystar's construction partner, working together with Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates to deliver such an ambitious scheme. Delivered through an advanced modern methods of construction approach, we will maximise bespoke off-site solutions to drive faster, safer and greener delivery to a consistent factory quality."

John Bushell, Design Principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates: "We're delighted to be working for Greystar, a forward-thinking client that's willing to embrace innovation in the brief, design, and delivery of this flagship development in Southwark.

"Since the initial planning decision in May 2019, the design has progressed in collaboration with Mace, maintaining the original design intent. We have rethought the building's systems for energy efficiency and are embracing modern methods of construction to improve operational and embodied carbon, reduce construction times and minimise disruption to neighbours. This very proactive collective effort has enabled the project to move forward to the delivery phase."

Steve Plavin, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, said: "We are excited to provide PSP and Greystar with the construction financing for this landmark asset. The fundamentals of the London student housing market are excellent, and the Chapter project will help fill the demand for high-quality, environmentally sustainable housing in Central London."

About Greystar

Greystar is a leading, fully integrated real estate company offering expertise in investment management, development, and management of rental housing properties globally. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates an estimated $220 billion of real estate in more than 210 markets globally including offices throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Greystar is the largest operator of apartments in the United States, manages more than 748,000 units/beds, and has a robust institutional investment management platform with approximately $45.1 billion of assets under management, including over $21.3 billion of assets under development. Greystar was founded by Bob Faith in 1993 with the intent to become a provider of world-class service in the rental residential real estate business. To learn more, visit www.greystar.com.

About PSP Investments

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada's largest pension investment managers with C$204.5 billion of net assets under management as of March 31, 2021. It manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in public financial markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and credit investments. Established in 1999, PSP Investments manages and invests amounts transferred to it by the Government of Canada for the pension plans of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montreal and offices in New York, London and Hong Kong. For more information, visit investpsp.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) is a real estate finance company that originates senior loans collateralized by commercial real estate in North America, Europe, and Australia. Our investment objective is to preserve and protect shareholder capital while producing attractive risk-adjusted returns primarily through dividends generated from current income from our loan portfolio. Our portfolio is composed primarily of loans secured by high-quality, institutional assets in major markets, sponsored by experienced, well-capitalized real estate investment owners and operators. We are externally managed by BXMT Advisors L.L.C., a subsidiary of Blackstone. Further information is available at www.bxmt.com.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $731 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

About Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF)

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is one of the world's preeminent architecture firms, providing architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients that include some of the most forward-thinking developers, corporations, entrepreneurs, and institutions in the United States and around the world. The firm's extensive portfolio spans more than 40 countries and includes a wide range of projects from office and residential buildings to civic and cultural spaces to educational facilities. Driven by individual design solutions, rather than a predetermined style, KPF's mission is to create buildings and places of the utmost quality and contextual sensitivity, providing a valuable impact on the cities they inhabit.

As a global practice with a far-reaching impact, KPF endeavours to design lasting architectural solutions that mitigate their lifecycle impact on environmental resources and that protect and enhance the well-being of the communities they serve. For that reason, the firm has joined AIA, RIBA, and many of its peers in a joint effort to develop the capabilities to design and deliver carbon-neutral buildings by 2030. www.kpf.com

About Mace

Mace is a global company of experts in shaping and making the built environment. It provides development, consulting, construction and operations services for many of the world's most inspiring building and infrastructure projects and programmes  from Olympic parks and iconic skyscrapers to state-of-the-art data centres, schools, hospitals and homes.

The privately-owned company, headquartered in London, UK, has an annual turnover of 1.8 billion. Over 30 years, its growth has been fuelled by an adventurous spirit and the relentless pursuit of a better way. Today, the company employs over 6,000 people across five global hubs in Europe, Middle East and North Africa, the Americas, Sub Saharan Africa and Asia Pacific.

Mace is driven by its purpose to redefine the boundaries of ambition, and its vision of leading the way to a more connected, resilient and sustainable world. Find out more at www.macegroup.com

SOURCE Greystar

For further information: Greystar media enquiries: Finsbury (PR adviser) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7251 3801; Gordon Simpson, [email protected]; James Thompson, [email protected]; Andrew Pantaleo, [email protected]; PSP Investments, [email protected]
New Haven Police Department

NEW HAVEN  A city teacher was arrested and charged Monday after allegedly pulling the hair of a 12-year-old student, according to New Haven police.

Jennifer Wells-Jackson, 49, is charged with risk of injury to a minor and second-degree breach of peace, Officer Scott Shumway said in an email.
Press Release

February 2, 2022 Lacson Administration to Have Practical Solutions to Unabated Fuel Price Hikes More at: https://pinglacson.net/article/lacson-administration-to-have-practical-solutions-to-unabated-fuel-price-hikes Revisiting our revenue laws and exploring potential energy sources are among the solutions being readied by a Lacson administration to address the problems caused by unabated fuel price hikes. Partido Reporma chairman and presidential bet Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson said Wednesday that these are among the solutions that can be considered "doable." He said one option is to revisit the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law to suspend the implementation of the increase of excise tax on fuel, upon the recommendation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC). "Malaking bagay ang pag-suspend ng tax rate at binalik sa rate kung saan ang araw na na-suspend, hindi na aakyat. Yan, isang magandang solusyon (We can revisit the TRAIN Law and freeze the tax rate. That would be a sensible solution)," Lacson said in an interview on DZRH radio, noting world oil prices have shot up to as much as $90 per barrel. Such "freezing" of the tax rate would be a big help to motorists and others whose livelihood depends on oil prices, he said. Meanwhile, Lacson said a second option is the exploration of the energy sources, including joint exploration with other countries in our exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea, as we lack the resources to do such exploration on our own. This is so long as the foreign partner adheres to our Constitution that the Philippines have at least 60-percent equity. "Pag sila sumang-ayon sa ating Saligang Batas na joint endeavor at 60-40, ibig sabihin subliminally kinikilala nila na sa atin yan (If they agree to our Constitution's 60-40 rule, it means they subliminally acknowledge our sovereign rights over the EEZ)," he said. On the other hand, Lacson said other solutions may need more studying, including regulating the oil industry, as the government may lack the funds to subsidize fuel prices.
BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has replied separately to letters from Victoria Woodards and Dick Muri, mayors of Tacoma and Steilacoom of the U.S. state of Washington.

In his reply letters, which were sent on Monday, Xi pointed out that the Beijing Olympic Winter Games is a happy event for the Chinese people and a great event for the international Olympic cause.

With the support of the Chinese people and the international community, he said, China will certainly present a simple, safe and splendid Olympic Games, practice the Olympic motto of "Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together," and bring people across the world together for a shared future.

Xi also extended holiday greetings to all citizens of the two cities.

Woodards and Muri recently wrote to Xi separately, extending their Spring Festival greetings to the Chinese president and people and wishing the Beijing Winter Olympics a success.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Woodards said, it is fortunate for the whole world to have a responsible host country with great organizational capacity like China to hold a safe, healthy and successful Winter Olympics.

The people of Tacoma will watch the Beijing Winter Olympics and cheer for athletes and for Beijing, she added.

In his letter, Muri said that the Steilacoom people hold high expectations for the Beijing Winter Olympics and believe it will be well organized and successful.

He added that he and his family, as well as the 6,700 residents of Steilacoom, look forward to watching the wonderful performance of the athletes on television.

The two mayors also conveyed their wish that the Year of the Tiger will be a year of enhancing peace, friendship and unity. 
MERIDEN  Four New Haven teenagers were charged Monday with stealing a car, snatching a womans purse and attempting to break into cars at the Meriden Mall, according to police.

Police were called to the Citgo gas station on Cook Avenue just before 11 a.m. for a report of a purse snatching, according to the Meriden Police Department.

Video footage shows a black sedan pulling up to the gas station as a woman walks toward the stores front door. A person stepped out of the passenger side, approached the woman from behind, quickly grabbed her purse and ran back into the car. The woman can be seen briefly chasing the vehicle before it drove out of the lot, according to video footage supplied by police.

Police flooded the area searching for the car. The New Haven Police Department informed the Meriden Police that the vehicle was recently stolen from the city and was parked at the Meriden Mall. Officers made their way to the mall and received reports of youths trying to break into cars in the mall parking lot, police said.

Once police arrived at the mall, all four suspects fled on foot before officers caught them and took them into custody, police said.

Police said all four suspects were from New Haven. Three of the four suspects were juveniles ranging from 14 to 16 years old, and the fourth suspect was identified as 18-year-old Harlem Smokes.

The four suspects were each charged with second-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit second-degree robbery, third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny, two counts of fifth-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit fifth-degree larceny, illegal use of a credit card and conspiracy to commit illegal use of a cred it card.

Smokes was held on a $75,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court March 12, police said.

Two of the three juveniles were released to their parents. The third juvenile was transferred to the juvenile detention center in Hartford, according to police.

liz.hardaway@hearst.com
NEW HAVEN  New Haven and Hamden neighbors opposed to the APT Foundations plans to move its headquarters and a methadone clinic from 1 Long Wharf to the former Achievement First Elm City College Preparatory in Newhallville have collected more than 550 signatures so far, organizers said Tuesday.

Were just over about 550 digital signatures and have petition forms with room for 1,000 more signatures currently in circulation, said Kim Harris, media coordinator for what neighbors are calling Newhallville - Hamden Strong.

Members of the organization have met via Zoom each of the past two Saturday evenings to follow up on an initial Jan. 12 meeting and are planning a press conference for noon Saturday at the proposed site at 794 Dixwell Ave., organizers said.

Hamden is coming on strong as an ally, said Harris. That includes the town of Hamden, with full support from the mayor and all of her council members.

Were waiting to see what their next moves are going to be, Harris said, referring to the APT Foundation.

Were not anti-treatment, at all. Thats not what we are, Harris said. Its just that Newhallville  were just starting to come into our own.

Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett didnt immediately return a call for comment.

Hamden Legislative Council member Justin Farmer, D-5, said the APT Foundation purchased the building and a parking lot, but they didnt engage Newhall community members or Newhallville community members first.

Neighbors take issue with the developers who feel they can build whatever they want without engaging the community, Farmer said.

Since the initial meeting, people are very active, knocking doors, calling people, posting on social media ... saying this is the straw that broke the camels back, Farmer said. ...Were fed up.

The APT Foundation bought the former school building on Dixwell Avenue for $2.45 million in December.

More than 140 people from Newhallville and nearby neighborhoods in southern Hamden  including the mayors of New Haven and Hamden, alders, council people and municipal and state legislative leaders from both New Haven and Hamden  packed the initial Zoom meeting.

APT Foundation CEO Lynn Madden, who answered questions at the Jan. 12 virtual meeting, said she has met since then with Newhallville Alder Devin Avshalom-Smith, D-20, Farmer and Hamden Legislative Council members Abdul Osmanu, D-3, and Laurie Sweet, D-At Large.

She said she was not clear that there was a petition drive against the plan, but I did invite all of them to tour our facility at 1 Long Wharf.

The APT Foundation did not file an application to get on the February City Plan Commission agenda, opting instead to wait until we have time for more meetings with members of the community, Madden said.

Im very much hoping that the alders and the Town Council members can come and take a look around, Madden said. That will really help. She said there is a relatively low volume of patients and the facility is primarily an office venue.

As often has been the case with APT Foundation proposals in the past, virtually everybody who spoke at the Jan. 12 community forum appeared to oppose the plan.

Many peppered Madden with questions, which she fielded one-by-one. Others just shouted down the proposal and said the APT Foundation should find a more suitable spot. Some even suggested the city or the state should buy the property back, even though neither was involved in the sale.

The proposed site, the onetime St. Johns Church school just a few yards from the Hamden line, is on a commercial strip that is surrounded by homes.

Madden said later that she wasnt surprised by the community apprehension, which she said often is the case when the foundation proposes a new facility, but believed in retrospect that I could have done more to reach the community.

She has said the effort to move the facility is part of a larger plan to get out of leased space and into property it owns. The APT Foundation also operates methadone clinics and treatment centers at 495 Congress Ave. in the Hill section, as well as on Front Avenue in West Haven and State Street in North Haven.

The proposed Dixwell Avenue facility has more in common with the Congress Avenue facility, which also is on a busline and in the middle of a residential, largely Black and brown, neighborhood, than either do with the West Haven facility at 184 Front Ave. or the North Haven facility at 352 State St.

Both suburban locations are in largely industrial areas, with a few homes nearby. Patients largely arrive by car.

Madden has said that what is now the Long Wharf facility is by far the smallest of the four methadone clinics APT operates, with a total census of 395 people and an average of about 85 patients a day for all of the facilities services, including methadone.

mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com
After one of Connecticuts biggest testing partners pulled out of the COVID-19 business, leaving 15 sites without a contractor, the state has found four labs to serve as replacements.

In December, Stamford-based Sema4 announced it was withdrawing from COVID-19 testing by Jan. 31 to focus on its core business, which lies in gene testing, leaving the majority of Connecticuts two dozen testing sites without an operator.

Chris Boyle, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Health, said this week the state was able to secure agreements to split up 14 of the 15 sites between Quest Diagnostics, the publicly traded lab giant headquartered in New Jersey, Progressive Laboratories, and Connecticut labs Genesys Diagnostics and Wren Laboratories.

All of the companies already had contracts to provide COVID-19 testing for Connecticut.

Mark Kidd, the laboratory and scientific director for Wren Labs in Branford, said the company took over testing sites in Willimantic, Kent and Plainfield on Tuesday after they were vacated by Sema4.

The state did ask us, and we did agree to help, said Kidd, adding that the three sites will increase Wren Lab's processing volume from around 2,500 tests a week to nearly 4,500.

Kidd said Wren has enough supplies for about five weeks of testing at that pace, and has already placed orders for more tests.

One testing location, in Killingly, does not yet have an operator, Boyle said, but the site will only open on Saturdays.

Representatives for Danbury and Norwalk, where Quest Diagnostics has taken over management, said testing at the sites in their cities continued unhindered by the change in contractors. Laoise King, chief of staff for the City of Norwalk, said the municipality has been working with the new contractor over the last two weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

"We are currently seeing less of a demand for COVID-19 testing than what we were experiencing in late December and early January," King said in a statement. "We believe this is due to the steady decline in cases and the increased availability and use of at-home tests."

That's true across Connecticut. In the beginning of the year, the Department of Public Health was reporting close to 34,000 COVID tests across the state, from all laboratories. By the last day of January, the weekly total was 13,000.

Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist for Hartford Healthcare, said testing demand across the hospital network is robust but manageable, and Sema4s withdrawal is unlikely to impact testing turnaround times.

Boyle said the state health agency does not plan to cut back the number of sites it is funding, although hours can be reduced in line with the level of community demand.

As of Tuesday, Sema4 was the second-highest paid COVID-19 testing contractor. Sema4s contract with the state drew controversy last year when it was revealed that Oak HC/FT, a Greenwich-based venture capital firm co-founded by Gov. Ned Lamonts wife, Annie Lamont, was among its investors.

Though Lamont recused himself from any state transactions with companies that his wifes fund invested in, critics argued that the state should not have entered a contract with Sema4 for COVID-19 testing.

Bob Stefanowski, one of Lamonts Republican challengers for governor, issued a statement this week calling for a third-party independent probe into the matter.

It is incredibly frustrating that after nearly two years, there are more questions than answers when it comes to the state of Connecticuts relationship to Sema4 and its contracts for COVID testing, Stefanowski said.

Sema4 had been reimbursed $17.2 million by the state for testing from the beginning of the pandemic through late September, according to data provided by the Office of the State Comptroller.

Among all COVID-19 state testing contractors, the total reimbursement amount is second only to Quest Diagnostics, which Connecticut has paid $85.3 million. The states data doesnt detail how many tests each contractor has performed.

The states testing data published by the Department of Public Health does not account for at-home tests, which have become increasingly common as the federal government launches its effort to mail 1 billion tests directly to Americans in their homes.

While the United States Postal Service is not releasing state-by-state figures on the distribution of those tests, the White House said last week that more than 60 million tests have been shipped.

Already tens of millions of tests have gone out the door and households around the country are already receiving tests so that people have tests on hand if a need arises, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday.

Citing recent increases in inventory, a CVS spokesperson said Tuesday the companys pharmacies in Connecticut had removed restrictions on the number of tests customers can purchase. Walgreens, meanwhile, is continuing to impose a four-test limit on purchases, according to a spokesperson.

Lamonts administration has also continued its efforts to reduce the strain on the states testing capacity by delivering another 900,000 at-home tests in the last week, bringing the total number delivered by the state since late December to 4.5 million.

Those tests have been delivered to teachers, students, first responders and other residents through a network of churches, towns and other organizations that are working with the state to distribute the kits.

In the latest round of distribution, nearly 60,000 tests were delivered to the University of Connecticut to be picked up by students in Storrs and other regional campuses in the coming days, according to university spokesperson Stephanie Reitz.

Lamont said the state is preparing to deliver thousands of additional tests across the state this week.
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WEST HAVEN  Revelations about former Democratic state Rep. Michael DiMassa approving city payments to close associates has raised new questions about West Havens financial controls and processes, though the mayor says she already had become aware of those payments.

The chairwoman of the City Councils Finance Committee, however, was shocked by the news, and said they were unaware.

DiMassa, who was arrested in October 2021 and federally charged with wire fraud after allegedly stealing $636,000 of federal pandemic relief funding, was a City Hall employee entrusted to manage the CARES Act grant from which he is accused of stealing. Documents published by the CT Mirror show that two women  his newlywed wife Lauren Knox and friend Erika Pocock  received more than $182,000 in combined invoices approved by DiMassa.

About one week before DiMassas arrest, West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi told the public in a video statement that, while reviewing the citys finances, she discovered potentially fraudulent expenditures. After FBI officials visited City Hall a day prior to DiMassas arrest, Rossi has declined to provide many specifics, citing ongoing investigations.

The documents obtained by the CT Mirror regarding the payments to Knox and Pocock, however, were known to Rossi, she said.

This is old news that came up now because of an (Freedom of Information request), this is not a recent breach and not something that happened last week, she said.

Knox, Pocock, DiMassa and West Haven Finance Director Frank Cieplinski did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Rossi said City Hall became aware of the payments to Knox and Pocock after the alleged CARES Act impropriety was discovered last year, and its all under investigation.

However, Councilwoman Bridgette Hoskie, chairwoman of the City Councils Finance Committee, said she had been unaware until the CT Mirror posted the documents.

I am just shocked, she said. Its all very interesting and sad.

Following the allegations from federal investigators against DiMassa, Hoskie introduced a resolution to the City Council that none of the citys American Rescue Plan Act money be spent before the council receives a plan and a grant manager is hired by the city to oversee the grant. The resolution passed unanimously.

However, it appears some of the payments to Knox and Pocock came from the citys General Fund, which is most closely managed by the City Council. A $27,750 payment to Pocock, to her company Koda Lane, for tote bags, face masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizer wipes was paid through the General Fund, according to checking information published by the CT Mirror; Rossi confirmed that thats what it looks like.

The expenditure bears both DiMassas signature and a signature for the finance director.

Knox was paid $147,000  through invoices signed by DiMassa  for allegedly administering a youth violence prevention program funded through a grant from the state judicial branch. The invoices date back to July 2020, prior to when the City Council approved DiMassa and Cieplinski as acceptable designees of CARES Act spending. According to checking information published by the CT Mirror, the funds came out of the citys General Fund.

Based on hearing that yet another account was compromised, its clear that the lack of internal controls at City Hall is a systematic issue across the board and not an exception, said state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, a former colleague of DiMassa who worked to obtain the funding prior to DiMassas resignation from the state House, in a text message. While the forensic audit is going to uncover what was going on with the City Hall finances, the Mayor should not be waiting for that audit to be completed to let the public know exactly what steps are being taken now to assure that this is not going on today will never go on again.

Joseph Viola, vice chairman of the West Haven Republican Town Committee, said he believes the latest revelations mean there should be a deeper look, not just as city budgets, but also at DiMassas campaign spending for his former seat in the 116th District.

According to information on the State Elections Enforcement Commission website, Knox received $7,450 in wages for working on DiMassas 2018 campaign, and $150 in 2016.

When asked about whether the revelations would encourage any personnel decisions, Rossi said she has made decisions to make hires to the citys Finance Department to increase oversight and productivity.

The controls obviously were not good and thats what the problem is and we are doing things to fix that: hiring additional personnel, a purchasing director, and an administrator. A three-person purchasing department, Rossi said.

The city has interviewed candidates for the director role, but has not yet received approval to do so. The issue has appeared on the City Councils agenda multiple times, but council members have declined to act because of what they see as a lack of information.

Were still moving ahead, Rossi said. This is an initiative of us and the (state Municipal Accountability Review Board), and the MARB is all-in on us increasing our staff.

On disciplining City Hall staff for any oversights, Rossi said she must wait until investigations are concluded, including a forensic audit initiated by the state Office of Policy and Management.

You cant automatically fire somebody without due process or without knowing everything, she said.

On Nov. 8, 2021, city resident Diana McManus wrote a letter to the City Council urging the city to place Cieplinski on leave.

I cannot speak for every resident but as a person who has worked in the banking industry for 25 years, I do not believe that a person so closely connected to this suspected fraudulent activity by approving the questionable expenditures should still have any power to do so at this time, she said.

Cieplinski has not attended City Council meetings or special meetings of the Finance Committee since the McManus letter was read aloud at the early November meeting. On Wednesday, McManus questioned why he was not answering the councils questions.

In an emailed statement, OPM Secretary Melissa McCaw said the department may consider strengthening its oversight based on the findings in the forensic audit report.

OPM has referred tips and complaints regarding West Haven to the auditing team and law enforcement and we are assured all relevant information is being reviewed and considered. We remain steadfast in our mission to ensure that all misuses of public funds are identified and are prepared to take the appropriate steps, including strengthening internal controls, to prevent this from happening again, she said. Presently, we are cooperating fully with the ongoing federal investigation and CohnReznicks audit has been underway since they were hired in October 2021. Once the audit and investigation is complete, we will take all necessary steps, which could include the strongest level of state oversight.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
A few years ago I had occasion to compare the contents of a famous 1946 State Department document about the Soviet Union with what colleagues and I observed while working in Ukraine 58 years later. Arguably, the mirror images contribute to an understanding of the current standoff in Eastern Europe as Russia and Belarus have isolated themselves from their western neighbors. The government document was the long telegram of former Ambassador George Kennan, then stationed in Moscow

Kennan wrote that: At bottom of Kremlins neurotic view of world affairs is traditional and instinctive Russian sense of insecurity. They had come to suffer from an inferiority complex that convinced them that their system of government and conduct was inferior to others. They would shun contact with other nations. Further, the rulers of Russia did not want their subjects to learn of other peoples and foreign ways.

Our Peace Corps contingent taught Conversational English with American History and Culture to college and high school students respectively in western Ukraine for four semesters between 2003-2005. On an almost daily basis we were asked by our students to tell them about America. What they thought they knew about America stemmed from what little they had been taught by their native teachers and from the type of newspapers one encounters at the grocery store checkout counter. Our students brought an eagerness to learn about the U.S. while some of the older generations, in particular the bureaucracy and police folks, were suspicious of why we were in Ukraine, or they were alumni of the old Communist Party. The latter folks retained strong feelings of the Cold War which many in the West had considered to be over with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.This reflects what Kennan had written about the Russian rulers being paranoid, not necessarily the ordinary people.

Now 17 years after returning home, we can remember the earnestness of our young students in their facial expressions; the seventh-graders spoke with their eyes! These young folks had had no experience with Americans being their enemy since they were just being born, or in elementary school, as the Soviet Union was dissolving and Ukraine was gaining its independence.

The director of my school served as an example of the bureaucrat that Kennan had described in 1946; for Russian rulers have invariably sensed that their rule was relatively archaic in form, fragile and artificial in its psychological foundation, unable to stand comparison or contact with political systems of Western Countries. Without going into all the details, whenever we attempted to introduce new methods, book donations or computer equipment to our schools, we were met by initial resistance. As Kennan put it, Russian rulers have always feared foreign penetration, feared direct contact between the western world and their own, feared what would happen if Russians learned the truth about the world without.

In summary, any troubles that we experienced came from the bureaucracy, whether train conductors, local militia or border officials, the latter two looking for bribes. But as Kennan would appreciate, we felt welcomed by ordinary citizens, our students; we were invited to many homes, treated courteously by merchants. As we learned and as the literature advises, the people of Ukraine trust first in themselves, then their families, then close friends. They do not rely upon Rudy Giuliani, Paul Manafort or Hunter Biden for guidance.

Ukraine is the largest European country that is located totally in Europe. It approximates France or Texas in physical size. Ukraine comes from a Slavic word meaning Borderland. That is part of the problem. Ukraine has been invaded many times over the course of centuries, particularly in World War II when the Nazis committed terrible atrocities from 1941 to 1943. Parts of Ukraine have been ruled by a number of countries. Also, the Dnipro River flows through the capital of Kiev and pictorially divides the country in two. While the population is bilingual, people east of the city tend to speak Russian while their fellow countrymen to the west tend to focus on Ukrainian. The church service that we attended in the west was led by a Franciscan priest who prayed in Hungarian.

Since gaining independence in 1991, the population of Ukraine has declined from 52 million people to just over 43 million. When we lived there the population was about 47 million. On average the country has lost approximately 250,000 to 300,000 people per year. Emigration rates are high. Many young women and men seek employment or academic opportunities in Western Europe or in the United States.

Ukraine is bordered by Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. Of these seven, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia are members of the 27-nation European Union; Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and Russia are not.

Belarus is bordered by Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are in the European Union, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine no. In terms of the 30 NATO countries of which Russia and Belarus claim to be afraid, only Latvia, Lithuania and Poland border Belarus.

Russia, with a population of 146 million people, is bordered by 14 countries. Other than adjacent Belarus and Ukraine, neither of which are in NATO, of the other 12 only five are NATO members: Lithuania, and Poland to the south, Norway to the north, and Latvia and Estonia to the west touch Russia.

Query: When was the last time that Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland or Norway flexed their military might to invade Russia?

I dont know how the current tempest will be resolved. Growing up during the Cold War, I can remember the arrival of three refugees from Hungary in our sixth-grade class during that countrys revolution when Russian tanks entered Budapest. I am tired of Russian threats, cruelty, jailing of dissidents, prior military incursions in Ukraine, and continual threats to other nations.

Ukraine itself needs to continue its reform efforts. We were witnesses to the controversial presidential election of 2004. The initial returns were overturned in court because of fraudulent practices, particularly in eastern Ukraine. The eventual winner was severely poisoned during his campaign, known as the Orange Revolution, allegedly by Russian operatives. Because of huge demonstrations, physical assaults on innocent citizens and on several of our volunteers and further threats of violence, we were put on evacuation alert by the Peace Corps.

I do know that there have been moments of progress over the past 35 years. For one, former Russian President Gorbachev and President Reagan were able to get along, signing an arms control agreement in 1987. I also know that a former first lady of Ukraine, Kateryna Yushchenko, was a U.S. citizen with degrees from the University of Chicago and Georgetown University. And that she worked in the Reagan White House and in the first Bush administration. In recent years, the largest Peace Corps delegation in the world has been headquartered in Kiev. But Russian people are still left with the question posed by the famous novelist Leo Tolstoy: How then, shall we live?

The current threats against Ukraine by Russia and the junior varsity of Belarus occur in part from the history of an inferiority complex on Russias part and from its historical reluctance to open up its own country and to acquaint itself, if not adopt, the value systems of other parts of the world.

Admittedly I am partial to the Ukrainian people who seek a better life for their families  one not burdened with the fear and terror from past generations.

Tom Hogan is a resident of Litchfield.
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Vehicles move in snow in Anchorage, Alaska, the United States, on March 15, 2021. A heavy snowfall hits Anchorage on Monday. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

Vehicle automation and assisted driving programs have been proposed as technological solutions to making roads safer, but those developments may be years if not decades away.



NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. traffic deaths surged at a record pace in 2021, with 31,720 people dead from causes related to motor vehicles in the first nine months, a 12 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the latest official data.

The data represented the highest number of fatalities during the first nine months of any year since 2006 and the highest percentage increase in the history of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which has been in use since 1975.

Releasing the data on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) projected that fatalities increased in 38 states, remained flat in two states and decreased in 10 states and the District of Columbia during that period.

"This is a national crisis. We cannot and must not accept these deaths as an inevitable part of everyday life," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was quoted as saying in the release. "People make mistakes, but human mistakes don't always have to be lethal."

Vehicles run on a road with snow in New York, the United States, on Feb. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Steven Cliff, NHTSA's deputy administrator, said in the release that "we have to change a culture that accepts as inevitable the loss of tens of thousands of people in traffic crashes ... This will require a transformational and collaborative approach to safety on our nation's roads."

Buttigieg also said that "the good news is we now have a strategy, as well as the resources and programs to deliver it, thanks to the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The National Roadway Safety Strategy is America's first-ever national, comprehensive plan to significantly reduce deaths and injuries on our roads."

The new estimates came days after the U.S. Department of Transportation released the federal government's first-ever National Roadway Safety Strategy, a roadmap to address the national crisis in roadway fatalities and serious injuries.

"Vehicle automation and assisted driving programs have been proposed as technological solutions to making roads safer, but those developments may be years if not decades away," reported major U.S. news portal Axios. 
Eric Smith, 14, listens as his lawyer cross examines a forensic psychiatrist on Aug. 11, 1994 in Bath, where Smith was on trial for the murder of 4-year-old Derrick Robie. (AP Photo/John Hickey, File)
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Leilani Chestnut and Amarianna Doctor pose with a cutout of Harriet Tubman after a lecture at the Underground Railroad Heritage Center in 2017. The center is set to open on May 4.
Signs can be seen throughout Plattsburgh supporting the New York State Nurses Association labor union in contract negotiations with Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, a major regional employer.
Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, says politicians are taking the south for granted on the issue of zoning the presidential ticket to the r...

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, says politicians are taking the south for granted on the issue of zoning the presidential ticket to the region.

He said this on Monday during a meeting of stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital.

According to a statement by Kelvin Ebiri, his spokesperson, Wike said members of the PDP, irrespective of the region they come from, must work together towards achieving positive results in the 2023 elections.

Please, discountenance anything youre seeing and hearing; all those social media posts, he was quoted as saying.

The south will make a statement very soon. It is not about youll be vice-president to this or these people are consulting. The day the south makes a statement, Nigerians will know that we are not joking.

Its not to come out to say youre consulting. Youre consulting, yet, youve declared. Is it not after consultation that you declare? Youve already declared and you say youre consulting. What are you consulting again then?

And people take the south for granted, saying that they are not together. No problem. If we didnt know yesterday, today we know. We are assets. We are not a liability. When we say we are going to support the party, we support the party with everything we have. We are not in America where you do television campaigns.

When we come out, we will choke them. They know it. So, everybody should relax. Let the south do their homework and then, theyll make a proper statement.

What is necessary is how the party must be cohesive; to make sure that the party gets it right. When you threaten that it must be north, then youre not trying to make peace or when you threaten it must be south, youre not trying to make peace.

Its a matter of sitting down and understanding; look at this and that. That is the way its supposed to be.

Wike also urged party supporters to disregard the recent comment made by Raymond Dokpesi, former chairman of Daar Communications and a PDP chieftain, on the zoning of the presidential ticket to the south in 2027.

On January 24, Dokpesi, who heads Atiku Abubakars presidential campaign technical committee, said the former vice-president is the shortest cut to a south-east presidency.

The PDP chieftain had said if elected president, Atiku would serve for a single four-year term, then work towards handing over to someone from the south-east in 2027.

Forget about Chief Dokpesi, with all due respect. If we follow the kind of statement that Dokpesi is making everyday, by now the party would have been destroyed. But we said no, Wike said.

Concerning Rivers governorship election, Wike said he would not choose any aspirant as his successor, adding that he hopes the best candidate emerges.

I am not anointing anybody. All Ive said to God is that help me that a better person will emerge that will move this state forward, he said.

I urge all of you to be calm. It is still early for us to say it must be this person or that person.
Former presidential candidate and Revolution Now convener, Omoyele Sowore, has described as dead on arrival the presidential ambition of a...

Former presidential candidate and Revolution Now convener, Omoyele Sowore, has described as dead on arrival the presidential ambition of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, that of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi.

Recall that Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, had in January declared his interest to contest in the 2023 presidential election. This was after a visit to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the State House in Abuja.

Reacting, Sowore, in a post on Facebook, said, Three weeks ago you would think the election had been decided when Jagaban of Corruption, Bola Tinubu declared his intention to run but soon as he discovered that his ambition was Dead on Arrival, he took his ambulance and fled to London! said Sowore.

On Osinbajo, who is believed to be nursing presidential ambition, Sowore said hope is fading away for the Vice President due to his current abysmal assignment.

He said, Then #MinimeBuhari showed up, I am referring to the cowardly VP Professor Yemi Osinbajo, you would think hed won the election but soon as he was challenged about his current abysmal assignment, hope began to fade for the law professor who constantly claimed his hands are tied.

On Obi, who was the running mate to former vice president Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election, Sowore said his presidential ambition is also dead on arrival. This is despite no official declaration by the former governor of Anambra.

He said, It is now, the turn of the #Chinese Pandora PaPer man, Peter Obi! Ah, hes gonna open a Gofundme to finance his campaign after all the funds looted from Anambra during his tenure as Governor! This too is dead upon discovery just as transparent dodo!

The truth is that weve changed course, no more hanging our patrimony to deceitful, decrepit conmen that ruined Nigeria. We are not apologetic about it. The organic structures have taken over from the criminal transactional structures of the terminators.
Manchester United striker, Mason Greenwood, has been released on bail pending further investigation. Greenwood was questioned on a...

Manchester United striker, Mason Greenwood, has been released on bail pending further investigation.

Greenwood was questioned on allegations of rape, s3exual assault and threats to kill.

Greater Manchester Police on Sunday said it was aware of social media images and videos posted by a woman reporting incidents of physical violence and confirmed that a man in his 20s had been arrested.

Greenwood spent three nights in custody after Greater Manchester Police were granted additional time to question him.

On Tuesday afternoon, they also confirmed that the England international had been further arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and threats to kill.

Following that extra time for questioning, Greater Manchester Police have now confirmed that Greenwood has been released from custody pending further investigation.

A 20-year-old man arrested on suspicion of the rape and assault of a woman has been released on bail pending further investigation, a police spokesperson said.

Greenwood remains suspended by Manchester United until further notice.

The 20-year-old made his debut for the Red Devils in 2019 and he signed a four-year deal worth 100,000-a-week in 2021.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R) poses for a photo with Catherine Russell of the United States at her swearing-in as the new executive director of the UN Children's Fund at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 1, 2022. Catherine Russell of the United States took office on Tuesday as the new executive director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), becoming the fourth woman to lead the organization. (Mark Garten/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Catherine Russell of the United States took office on Tuesday as the new executive director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), becoming the fourth woman to lead the organization.

"It is an honor and a privilege to join UNICEF and help lead its remarkable work for children at such a crucial moment," said Russell in a press release. "At a time when millions of children globally are still reeling from the impact of the COVID pandemic and other crises, UNICEF is leading the call to protect their rights and their futures. I look forward to the work ahead."

Russell succeeds Henrietta Fore of the United States, who resigned in July 2021 to attend to a family health issue but offered to stay on until her successor is appointed.

Before her new position at the United Nations, Russell served in the U.S. government as assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel under President Joe Biden. From 2013 to 2017, she served as ambassador-at-large for global women's issues in the U.S. Department of State. Previously, she served as deputy assistant to the president at the White House under President Barack Obama.

Russell holds a Bachelor's degree from Boston College and a Juris Doctor degree from the George Washington University Law School. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L) swears in Catherine Russell of the United States as the new executive director of the UN Children's Fund at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 1, 2022. Catherine Russell of the United States took office on Tuesday as the new executive director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), becoming the fourth woman to lead the organization. (Mark Garten/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
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Activists gather during a vigil in Lafayette Park for nurses who died during the COVID-19 pandemic, on Jan. 13 in Washington, D.C. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images/TNS
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 63F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Low 42F. Winds light and variable.
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ANKARA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Ukraine will sign a free trade agreement during the Turkish president's visit on Thursday in a bid to meet the target of 10-billion-U.S.-dollar trade between the two countries, the Turkish trade minister said.

"We are taking a very important step in our trade relations with Ukraine in order to reach the 10-billion-dollar trade target set by the presidents of the two countries. Tomorrow, we will sign a new free trade agreement with Ukraine," Trade Minister Mehmet Mus said Wednesday at a press conference in the capital Ankara.

The commercial ties between Turkey and Ukraine are very strong and the bilateral trade was in a rapid upward trend in 2021 by a 59-percent increase to 7.4 billion dollars, the minister added.

The trade between Turkey and Ukraine covers steel, the shipping industry, yachts and services, air conditioning, furniture, automotive industry, tobacco, fresh fruit and vegetable products, and defense industry.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky will meet in Kiev for the 10th high-level strategic cooperation council meeting with the participation of ministers and senior officials, aimed at enhancing bilateral ties. The gathering will also mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

The meeting comes amid NATO member Turkey's mediation efforts to defuse tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Erdogan also invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey.

Ankara repeatedly warns against any conflict in the region amid a crisis that erupted after Russia deployed more than 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine.

The military deployment has raised fears among NATO members that Putin has plans to invade eastern Ukraine, despite Moscow's denial.

Turkey and Ukraine have recently stepped up cooperation in the defense industry, and Kiev has been purchasing Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones since 2019, and also signed an agreement to purchase Turkey's warships.

Russia says Ukraine uses Turkish drones to attack pro-Russian forces in Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. 
Each year, Bywater Bakery (3624 Dauphine St., 504-336-3336) goes big for the start of Carnival season, which for bakeries of course means king cake season. The neighborhood shop hosts a block party on the Epiphany with a lineup of local musicians worthy of its own small festival and, naturally, lots of its king cake.

This year, the omicron surge forced that party to be postponed, but this weekend, it is back. Bywater Bakery is holding the festivities on Sunday, Feb. 6, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with some timely additions.

The event doubles as a fundraiser for the New Orleans Musicians Clinic Makin Groceries program, which provides food to vulnerable members of its community. The bakery contributes bread and other food to the program throughout the year.

Bywater Bakery is known for a wide variety of specialty king cakes. New to the lineup this year is the brownie bomb, a chocolate version, and the Bywater bourbon cinnamon swirl, made with sweet potato dough and bourbon from the local Seven Three Distilling Co.

Bywater Bakery has also built a niche for savory king cakes, including versions with boudin, crawfish au gratin and spinach and artichoke.

Sundays music lineup includes Deacon John, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, John Boutte, Herlin Riley, Bruce Sunpie Barns, Soul Brass Band, David Torkanowsky, Josh Paxton and Washboard Chaz.

COVID-19 testing, vaccination and booster shots will be available at the event, along with a blood drive.

Faubourg turns beer into funding for Mardi Gras Indians

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Collaborations have become common in the craft beer world, with brewers and other businesses teaming up for special limited-edition releases.

Faubourg Brewing took a different approach for its latest collaboration. The New Orleans East-based brewery has a new box of 12-packs of its flagship beer, Faubourg Lager, featuring Mardi Gras Indians on the artwork. During Carnival season this year, the brewery is pledging proceeds from sales of this specially packaged beer to the Mardi Gras Indian Council, a community group that represents many different Mardi Gras Indian tribes around the city.

Faubourg also created a poster featuring a Mardi Gras Indian, which it is selling online at faubourgbrewery.com. Poster sales proceeds are also pledged to the council.

The brewery called the promotion the beginning of a partnership between the company and the council that will grow in the future.

Faubourg Brewing is the new name for what was known for more than a century as Dixie Beer. The company is owned by Gayle Benson, owner of New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans franchises, among other businesses under the Benson and umbrella.

Chef collaboration brings Cafe Reconcile to Vyoones for James Beard dinner

At the Warehouse District restaurant Vyoones, chef Sidney Montrel serves a menu of French bistro flavors. In Central City, chef Martha Wiggins serves modern soul food at Cafe Reconcile, a nonprofit that uses the structure of a neighborhood cafe as a teaching platform, surrounding it with mentoring and social services.

On Feb. 16, theyll cook together for a dinner produced in conjunction with the James Beard Foundation. It is part of the groups Open for Good campaign, a support program for independent restaurants developed in response to the pandemic. All proceeds from the dinners go to the participating restaurants.

Their menu includes a grilled baguette bread course, seared scallop with butter bean cassoulet, classic coq au vin (or vegan couscous coq au vin) and white chocolate bread pudding. The dinner includes wine pairings and beverages from Rabbit Hole Distillery and White Claw Hard Seltzer.

The Feb. 16 dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. at Vyoones (412 Girod St., (504) 518-6007), with indoor and outdoor seating available.

Tickets are sold in pairs, starting at $300 for two, with tables of two, four or six available. For tickets and details see jamesbeard.org/events.
For several years, WWL-TV anchor Karen Swensen has operated a side business based on the brand "Life's About Change."

She's now decided to practice what she preaches.

After an award-winning 30-year career in local news, most of it spent at WWL-TV, Swensen is stepping down in late February to focus on other pursuits, including travel and further developing her Lifes About Change retail merchandise line.

Its time, Swensen, 52, said Tuesday. I want to do these other things while I still can. Im trying to teach my daughter that if you have a dream, go for it.

The decision was not an easy one. My best friends have come from this station, Swensen said. But its time to do something else.

WWL-TV executive news director Keith Esparros is sorry to see the popular anchor of the Eyewitness News at 5 and 6 p.m. go.

I have worked in local news for 42 years, Esparros said. I have never worked with anybody more talented, more devoted to her community and her craft, than Karen Swensen. Her sense of caring for the city she lives in and the people who live here is boundless. Her entire career has been trying to make things better for them. Im going to miss that voice in the newsroom.

Swensen first broached the subject of leaving several weeks ago.

"Its something that has been nagging at me for quite a while, Swensen said. If you cant get that little whisper out of your head, you have to listen to it.

Esparros said he tried to talk her out of this with everything from guilt to alcohol  sometimes both. Weve had some good and honest talks about work and life and whats important. At the end of it, how do I tell her no, dont do this - even though I wanted to tell her, No, dont do this.

Ultimately I want her to be happy. Shes been through a lot. She remained a pro through some very difficult times.

Swensens husband, John Ronquillo, who spent 30 years with the New Orleans police department and later worked as an investigator for the Jefferson Parish district attorneys office, died of cancer in 2018 at age 64.

Since then, Swensen has worn her late husbands wedding ring on a necklace while on the air. I feel like hes close by, she said.

When Swensen was growing up, her father worked for the FBI, so the family moved around to his various postings. She earned a political science degree from Penn State followed by masters degree in journalism.

At the time, her father was based in New Orleans. She came down for a weekend visit and was hooked. WWL legend Phil Johnson gave her a job doing overnight news briefs on weekends.

I think my mother was the only person watching, Swensen said.

Hoda Kotb, already an established WWL anchor who now co-hosts the Today show, served as her mentor. The two eventually became, and remain, close friends.

During her time at WWL, Swensen earned five Emmy Awards and six Edward R. Murrow regional awards for investigative journalism, writing and feature reporting.

She has moderated gubernatorial, U.S. Senate and mayoral debates. She was the only female WWL-TV anchor to report from New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina hit, and to cover the storms immediate aftermath.

In February 2006, she left New Orleans for a morning show job at NECN in Boston, in order to have more time with her young daughter. Her husband spent the next five years as a stay-at-home dad.

Leaving New Orleans and her WWL "family" for Boston was "the hardest decision I've ever made, and the most painful," she said. "But my daughter got five quality years with her father."

The family returned to New Orleans in 2011 when Swensen was offered the evening news job, a post that also gave her time with her daughter.

For WWLs annual early-morning Fat Tuesday live broadcast from the parade route, she joined her colleagues in elaborate themed costumes. One year she was Prince Charming while her male co-hosts dressed as princesses.

She could never convince them to costume as gumbo ingredients. So this year, shell be a civilian in a crawfish costume.

Ill be a crawfish in the crowd, she said.

She plans to keep her house in Lakeview. Her daughter, Catherine, is a freshman at New York University but plans to bring friends to New Orleans for Carnival.

WWL-TV is leaving open the door to possibly collaborate with Swensen down the road. If an opportunity presents itself for an occasional something-or-other, wed love to do it, Esparros said.

Much of her energy will be spent building her Lifes About Change brand. Initially, she sold T-shirts and donated net proceeds to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where her husband was treated. When her husbands cancer returned, the company fell by the wayside.

One of the doctors who treated him encouraged her to revive it. Now Lifes About Change has grown to include a line of candles and other retail products marketed through her web site, lifesaboutchange.com.

The torso of its mascot, a sketched little girl named Delta, consists of a triangle, the mathematical symbol for change.

The overall intent, Swensen said, is to promote positivity and help others navigate change in their lives, while trying to forge my own new path.
Peter Nguyen had them at the oyster Rockefeller po-boy.

In 2015, Christian Lombardo and his partner Arleth Blanco discovered Banh Mi Boys, an unconventional banh mi and po-boy shop tucked next to a gas station on Airline Drive in Metairie. We went there embarrassingly often, recalls Lombardo, whose automotive business has a presence close to the shop. The food became a passion for us.

The flavor combinations were so different, Blanco adds. We daydreamed about opening our own location.

They did just that in December, opening the first local Banh Mi Boys franchise at 3244 Magazine St., a space formerly occupied by a Reginellis Pizzeria.

Banh Mi Boys is Nguyens brainchild. In his early 20s, he had zero restaurant experience, but he had an idea to go against tradition by stuffing banh mis and po-boys with lip-smacking combos like Korean-style bulgogi, bang bang shrimp and spicy Asian brisket. The menu at the original restaurant offered the traditional dishes of Nguyens Vietnamese heritage, including vermicelli and rice bowls topped with fresh herbs and grilled pork or shrimp spiked with lemon grass. But he wanted to do more.

Despite his moms resistance, Nguyen knew he was onto something. She didnt go along with it at first, but when I said I wanted to do my own thing and start paying rent, she threw me the keys and said, OK, go for it. Almost seven years in, his moms retirement was powered by Banh Mi Boys, and shes a believer.

Besides starters like grilled pork or tofu spring rolls, crab Rangoon and house-cut fries are big sellers. Beyond the usual cheese fries, there are cheeseburger fries, roast beef debris fries and the oyster Rockefeller fries that also are adapted to a po-boy. K-Town fries are a belly-busting combo of marinated bulgogi steak topped with green onions, cilantro and kimchi mayo.

Wings are served in eight flavors that hopscotch between traditional Buffalo and Korean barbecue to a pho-inspired version made with a rub Nguyen created with star anise, cinnamon and cardamom.

Banh Mi Boys in Uptown What Banh Mi Boys Where 3442 Magazine St., (504) 354-8502; facebook.com/banhmiboysuptown When 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday How Takeout, dine-in and outdoor seating available Check it out Creative banh mi sandwiches in Uptown

While there are familiar Vietnamese banh mi filled with pork meatballs, grilled lemon grass chicken and steak and egg topped with a fried egg and pork pate, the specialty banh mi is the restaurants calling card. Spicy Asian barbecue brisket is prepared with a dry rub, cooked for 12 hours and served with a tangy sauce, cilantro and julienned daikon and carrots. The honey Sriracha shrimp sandwich features fried local shrimp in the sweet heat of honey and Sriracha. Banh mi are served on Dong Phuong bread, while the New Orleans po-boys are served on Leidenheimer bread. An array of specialty drinks include Vietnamese iced coffee, Thai and taro milk tea and green matcha milk tea.

Figuring out how to make this first franchise succeed has been the teams focus since they worked out an agreement in August. Nguyen created a banh mi bible for them to use. Im really just a home cook, measuring by eye, he says. So, I broke every recipe down and measured everything to create formulas so there would be consistency.

Lombardo and Blanco brought in their friend Josh Gould as a partner to run the business. Gould cut his teeth at Waffle House, working his way up and eventually becoming a district manager. He then ran a Slidell seafood franchise and worked at Dragos in Metairie. Gould spent a month working side-by-side with the Metairie Banh Mi Boys team, mastering the preparations.

Being an owner now, thats really amazing, he says.

Blanco, grew up in her familys restaurant business in Costa Rica, in a suburb outside San Jose. Ive always worked in customer service, and front of the house, she says. I know how I like to be treated. We are customers, too.
3501 River Road, Jefferson Parish

Ellis Marsalis Sr., a successful Black businessman in the New Orleans area, took a property once part of a plantation with enslaved people and turned it into a thriving motel, restaurant and lounge that served as a meeting place for some of the most prominent Black civil rights activists, politicians and musicians during segregation.

Marsalis got his start opening an Esso filling station with his business partner in 1936. Less than a decade later, he bought a house with a barn on the Mississippi River levee. He originally planned a quiet family life with his wife and two children, Yvette Marsalis Washington and Ellis Marsalis Jr., who would go on to become a famous jazz pianist and teacher, The Times-Picayune reported. But racist segregation laws created a need for a place where Black people coming to town could meet and stay.

He soon converted the chicken barn into the glamorous 40-room Marsalis Mansion, which he ran from 1944 to 1986. He counted among his guests the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Ray Charles, Etta James, Dinah Washington, Ike and Tina Turner and Nat King Cole, according to the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail and various news accounts.

Marsalis was a civil rights activist himself. He started the Boosters Club, which helped register Black people to vote and raise money to send Black students to college. One of those students was Dutch Morial, who would become New Orleans first Black mayor, according to The Times-Picayune. He was also active in the Republican Party, serving as a delegate to the Republican Presidential Convention in 1964, according to Tulanes Amistad Research Center.

When segregation ended and the motel was no longer one of the only in the area open to Black people, business declined and it closed. The motel deteriorated, and the building was demolished in 1993. Marsalis continued living in the house on the property until his death in 2004. Three years later, the house was demolished as well.

In 2014, the Jefferson Parish Historical Commission put up a historic marker at the site of the former motel which today can be found in front of what is now a doggy daycare called Pawlins. A sign from the motel hangs at the nearby Rivershack Tavern.
More than a month after an exploding turbine rocked the Sewerage & Water Boards Carrollton power plant, injuring three workers and sending literal shockwaves that broke nearby windows, agency officials have still not answered questions about what caused the motor to blow up.

Regardless of the cause, it's unlikely that the more than half-century-old Turbine 5 will ever be brought back into service, Executive Director Ghassan Korban told the S&WB's board of directors Wednesday.

The announcement marks one of the first concrete steps in what could be a radical shift for the utility, a move away from spending millions to keep its own archaic power system limping along  including extensive repairs to Turbine 5 just two years ago  and toward a greater reliance on power from Entergy New Orleans.

Such a move has been discussed for years and probably will be outlined in a master plan that's expected to be drafted in the coming months. Meanwhile, the two utilities are moving toward the construction of a substation at the main water plant that would allow the S&WB to begin transitioning to using Entergy as its main power supply.

"That's the point of no return," Korban said of the substation.

Korban said officials were close to ruling out operator error as the cause of the December explosion. But definitive answers likely wont come until the utility gets a report from an outside firm that was brought in to investigate. Officials did not say how long that study will take.

General Superintendent Bob Turner also declined to provide any details on what happened, and the agency has failed to fulfill a public records request submitted more than a month ago for documents about the explosion.

Anything I would say now would be totally speculative, said Turner, who said more information would have to come from the analysis commissioned by the utility to provide an outside objective look.

+15 After S&WB turbine explosion, Mayor LaToya Cantrell renews call for new Entergy substation Sewerage & Water Board officials said Wednesday that a turbine that exploded at the agency's Carrollton power plant over the weekend will 

The turbine, one of five that power the S&WBs systems, blew up on Dec. 14 when it was being turned on to replace Turbine 4, which was taken offline because of a compressor problem. The blast shook nearby neighborhoods but did not damage the rest of the utilitys power equipment.

The loss of the 20-megawatt turbine leaves the utility with the ability to generate about 66 megawatts of electricity to power its pumps. Thats about 20 megawatts more than is needed to run all of the pumps, but it leaves the utility with less backup power in case of problems with its other equipment.

Now we have less redundancy, but we still have more than what we need, Korban said.

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Turbine 5 is a natural gas-fired turbine that was built 61 years ago and is the last of that model still in use, Turner said. It underwent nearly a year of repairs after failing during the 2017 summer floods. Though it is supposed to be able to use diesel as a backup fuel source, it failed two tests with that alternative after it was brought back into service.

Despite repeated requests, the S&WB has declined to provide the cost of the repairs made on the turbine in recent years.

Turner said the agency is coordinating with its insurance company and GE, which performed the repairs. The utility would also not answer questions about the insurance policy covering the turbine.

In the meantime, the S&WB has contracted with the ABS Group, a Houston consulting firm that was brought in to study the 2017 floods, to determine what caused the turbine to explode, Korban said. The study will be limited to the immediate cause of the accident, not the broader problems plaguing the S&WB.

You could delve very deep and wide and spend a lot of money to tell us what we already know in terms of lack of funding and things like that, so were trying to be very surgical in what we assess as we move forward, Korban said.

Years of neglect, broken drainage system the culprit in 2017 floods, report confirms New Orleans officials long failed to respond to the growing threat posed by a broken drainage system, and that neglect contributed to the seve

For decades, the S&WB has poured tens of millions into its own power supply, in some cases keeping obsolete equipment running by manufacturing parts itself. The drive to keep sometimes century-old turbines running came, in part, from the fact that half of the pumps that drain the city run on an old and largely abandoned standard known as 25-cycle power, while Entergy uses a different standard.

That meant massive investments, particularly in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, including pouring more money into rehabbing Turbine 4 than it would have cost to simply buy new equipment.

It has also left the system vulnerable. A lack of working turbines or their failure has been blamed both for issues with the drainage system and for pressure drops in the water system.

In forgoing efforts to repair Turbine 5, the S&WB would be moving away from that model.

Its a massive inflection point because what weve done in the past is repairing and repairing, board member Poco Sloss said.
After Entergy confirmed last week it was no longer committed to financing a power substation for the Sewerage & Water Board, city leaders attention has turned yet again to one of New Orleans critical infrastructure needs: supplying reliable power to the system of drainage pumps that prevent street flooding during storms.

Entergy New Orleans said uncertainty concerning Hurricane Ida damage costs had forced it to ice plans, announced in June, to front $34 million for substation construction. While searching for other funding possibilities, officials have acknowledged that a substation won't be finished in 2023 as originally planned.

That means at least two hurricane seasons loom with an S&WB power system that Executive Director Ghassan Korban acknowledges just barely got through Ida.

But Korban says that the S&WB drainage network is in better shape than last hurricane season and is poised for upgrades that should put it in a more secure position in 2023.

"I'm confident that everything that we are charting is realistic, reasonable, and we're confident we're going to deliver," Korban said in an interview last week.

The S&WB's biggest concern ahead of this years hurricane season is supplying power to the utility's century-old pumps that make up about half the citys drainage capacity. These older pumps run on antiquated 25 hertz energy and are primarily powered with three equally outdated turbines.

A newer turbine that generates modern 60hz energy can also supply the older pumps by using frequency converters that dumb down the power. The S&WB also has a set of emergency generators that can feed the old pumps.

All told, the emergency generators, old turbines and the new turbine with frequency changers can supply the pumps with up to 80 megawatts, which is more than enough to keep everything running during extreme weather, so long as nothing breaks. Officials believe the system needs a maximum of 48 megawatts.

The problem is that the old turbines fail regularly. Despite Entergy's reversal, the S&WB's long-term goal is still to replace its fragile constellation of self-generated power sources with a single, 60 megawatt substation, which would deliver modern Entergy power to the old pumps with the help of frequency converters.

The S&WB would then upgrade its older pumps to receive 60hz power over about 20 years.

Newer turbines, like the one already in place, would back up the substation in case of Entergy transmission failure. A second new turbine is set to be up and running by mid-2023.

Korban said the two new turbines, along with additional frequency converters, can also serve as a stopgap while plans for the substation are worked out.

They combine for as much as 44 megawatts, just a few megawatts short of what is needed during peak demand. Once up and running, the S&WB would only need one of its other antiquated power sources or its backup generators to get by.

Korban cautioned that a major rain event  like that on Mothers Day in 2019, which at one point dumped over three inches in an hour in some areas of the city  could cause flash flooding no matter what.

Until the new turbines are both operational, the S&WBs two primary turbines, known as Turbine 4 and Turbine 5, will need to provide the lions share of energy needed during storms and other periods of peak demand.

Both were down in the weeks leading up to Hurricane Ida. Workers rushed to finish repairs and did so in the nick of time.

You have no idea how lucky and close the city got, Korban said. If we didn't have T4 and T5, the city is kaput. There's no water, theres no sewer treatment, theres no drainage.

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Turbine 5 recently went down again and was repaired, making the system fully operational for now. How long it remains that way is anyones guess, as is the length of time it will take to make any future repairs. When the turbines go down, S&WB usually needs to tap outside experts to figure out what happened and get them running again.

Sometimes that help is immediate. Sometimes it is not, Korban said.

While officials work on revising the substation deal, the temporary plan to convert power from the two new 60 hertz turbines  known as Turbine 6 and Turbine 7  is a vast improvement over the current scenario, said Councilmember Joseph Giarrusso, but it's still too reliant on outmoded technology.

Having (T6 and T7) is an incredible shot in the arm for 2023, Giarrusso said. But you need at least one other turbine operational to be in that completely secure position.

Korban said that new turbines shouldn't be a permanent alternative to a substation, which would allow S&WB to retire turbine power except in emergencies.

I do not want to diminish how crucial it is to have the substation, Korban said. If you let that schedule slide, youre recreating what you have.

The substation deal, announced in June, called for Entergy New Orleans to provide upfront construction costs, estimated at about $34 million, with S&WB to repay it over 15 years. Entergy would have been entitled to a defined profit on its construction of the substation, and would then own and operate it.

The combined payments of S&WBs annual debt service and power purchases would be about $1 million less than what it is currently paying for its gas and power, according to S&WB estimates.

The city was to kick in $22 million for new frequency converters from a bond issuance, and those plans remain intact. Another $20 million in state construction financing and S&WB funds would pay for additional equipment.

But the deal was never signed, and at some point Entergy New Orleans balked on its commitment. That development was revealed only after S&WB officials discussed it at a public board meeting on Jan. 19.

The company said in prepared statements that uncertainty over recovering Ida-related damage costs made it impossible to deliver financing for now, despite the S&WB guarantee.

The company has reiterated that it remains committed to the goal of modernizing S&WBs power, but it has been vague about what role it might play.

Ramsey Green, Mayor LaToya Cantrells infrastructure chief, said the city needs more information from Entergy on what they are willing to contribute and when.

Entergy has to explain its timeline. If it can't do $30 million now, when can it do $30 million and when can the substation come online? said Green. We need very clear communication from Entergy on where they stand.

Councilmembers Giarrusso and Helena Moreno want to tap federal stimulus money from the American Rescue Plan Act to fill the gap left by Entergy. Green said the administration is open to using ARPA funds, but it first needs to consider all the ramifications.

The city would be using pandemic relief funds to build a $30 million piece of infrastructure, give it to Entergy New Orleans, and then pay Entergy New Orleans for the power that comes from that substation, Green said. Ownership is a question. That's a big question.
Entergy Corp. said Wednesday it is seeking $450 million in federal grants to pay for eight south Louisiana projects aimed at making the electricity infrastructure less vulnerable to super storms.

The utility's Louisiana and New Orleans subsidiaries are seeking the money, together with the state's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program. The grants would cover work not already included in the estimated $4 billion needed to repair Entergy's south Louisiana infrastructure, after the record storms that hit the state in 2020 and 2021.

+5 Entergy's shares slump after Ida as regulators circle and climate risks spook investors Entergy Corp. shares have fallen sharply in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, a signal that investors are concerned about recent scrutiny from r

Entergy said the proposed FEMA-funded projects would include strengthening the overhead distribution lines that run from its Derbigny substation, near the Caesars Superdome.

Most of New Orleans was left in the black for more than a week after Hurricane Ida cut all the transmission lines to the city on Aug. 29, and extensively damaged the distribution infrastructure. Before Ida, Derbigny was knocked out of action in July, cutting power to about 7,000 customers for several hours, when a squirrel got into the equipment.

The FEMA-funded project for Derbigny would replace existing distribution poles and lines with ones that are designed to withstand winds of up to 140 miles per hour.

Entergy New Orleans drains storm fund to cover some of Hurricane Ida's $150M cost Entergy New Orleans has told the City Council that it drained the storm recovery account this week to cover some of the estimated costs of Hur

Other projects include:

Building flood protection barriers at substations in Calcasieu and St. Charles parishes to withstand a storm with a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in any given year, a so-called "500-year storm"

Installing substations and distribution lines in lower Plaquemines Parish to withstand winds of up to 150 mph. Lower Plaquemines was the hardest hit by Ida, with power not restored there for months.

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Entergy Corp. told its investors in September that repairs for Hurricane Ida will cost $2.1 billion to $2.6 billion, with Entergy New Orleans' share running $120 million to $150 million. The utility also has told state legislators it would look to recoup $2.1 billion from Entergy Louisiana ratepayers for Hurricane Laura, which hit the southwest part of the state 17 months ago. That estimate also covers costs from hurricanes Delta and Zeta, and the winter ice storm at the end of 2020 and into 2021.

Overall, Entergy Louisiana customers are on the hook for a total of about $4 billion for the storms of the past two years. Without any federal money to help mitigate the cost to ratepayers, that would mean an average of $30 a month extra on customers' bills for the 15-year life of the bonds issued to pay for the work.

Entergy says most residential customers would pay less than the average. The company's spokesman, Brandon Scardigli, notes that typical Louisiana residential ratepayers use about 1,250 kilowatt hours a month and would see a rise of about 10% in their bills.

The average cost for Entergy New Orleans customers from Hurricane Ida alone would be about $3 a month.

Last month, the state Bond Commission approved Entergy's application to borrow as much as $3.2 billion to cover storm costs. The Louisiana Public Service Commission is expected to vote on it this month.

Entergy and government officials also have been lobbying the state's congressional delegation to secure money from the $1 trillion infrastructure act that passed last year.

FEMAs Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program distributed about $700 million in the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the first year it was in operation. Only four of the 29 applications from Louisiana were selected for review, the others being rejected or determined to be ineligible. Entergy's proposal for about $30 million to help pay for upgrades to four transmission substations  two in Calcasieu Parish, one in lower Jefferson and one in St. Charles - was rejected.

The deadline for the latest round of grant applications was Friday. The and winners are to be announced this summer. FEMA said it plans to distribute as much as $1 billion in the current fiscal year.

This article has been updated to include information from Entergy about what kind of surcharge "typical" residential users might see on their monthly bills.
OCHSNER HEALTH: Cardiologist Carl Chip Lavie recently ranked among the most cited researchers in the world according to the Google Scholar Citations database. Dr. Lavie is recognized as the top world expert in obesity by Expertscape and had his 1,000th paper recorded on PubMed in December. His research focuses on exercise, obesity, cardiac rehab and other areas of preventive cardiology. He is medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute.

FREE OVERDOSE RESCUE PACKS: Jefferson Parish has partnered with University Medical Center New Orleans, the Spirit of Charity Foundation, St. Bernard Parish and Orleans Parish to offer free overdose rescue packs to anyone over the age of 18. The packs include one dose of intranasal naloxone, along with instructions on how to identify an overdose and administer the medication, which is designed to rapidly reverse the life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose. The packs can be obtained Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at these locations:

Fire Station No. 13: 4642 Calumet St., Metairie

Fire Station No. 26: 115 Hickory Ave.

Fire Station No. 31: 10423 Jefferson Highway, River Ridge

Fire Station No. 39: 401 Vintage Drive, Kenner

Fire Station No. 76: 4040 U.S. 90, Avondale.

LSU HEALTH: The Precision Medicine Laboratory at the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine has been fully accredited by the College of American Pathologists. The $2 million laboratory, conceived to bring Next Generation Sequencing technologies to the clinical arena, was built and launched over the past two years. The co-directors are doctors Gordon Love and Lucio Miele. The lab has been sequencing positive coronavirus patient samples to determine what strains of the virus are circulating in the New Orleans area.

HOPE HOUSE: The clinical director of the Children's Advocacy Center-Hope House is the 2021 mental health counselor of the year for the Louisiana Mental Health Counselors Association. Stacy Faulkner was chosen for demonstrating clinical excellence while maintaining the highest degree of ethical standards. Childrens Advocacy Center-Hope House provides forensic interviews and ongoing therapy to all child abuse victims in St. Tammany and Washington parishes.

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RIDING FOR IMMUNITY: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is sponsoring free Blue Bike rides for people traveling to COVID-19 vaccine and booster appointments. Riders can use the code BoostUpNola for free, 30-minute rides to and from their appointments until Feb. 15. Download the Blue Bikes NOLA app and tap on your name in the upper-left corner and pull up account options. Tap on "promo codes," which will take you to the code redemption screen.

AUTISM INDICATORS: People on the autism spectrum now have the option to have an autism indicator added to their driver's license, appearing under the driver's picture. Verification of the diagnosis of autism by a mental health professional is required. LA Wallet users can display the autism indicator on their license in the LA Wallet app. The purpose of the indicator is to ease interactions between law enforcement officers and people with autism.

AL-ANON: People whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking may find help through an Al-Anon family group. These family groups bring together relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experiences to solve their common problems. For information about support groups in the New Orleans area, visit www.neworleansafg.org.

ALATEEN: Teenagers whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking may find help through an Alateen support group. For information about support groups in the New Orleans area, visit www.neworleansafg.org.
The Northshore Community Foundation is seeking nominations for their fifth annual Dick Knight Award in honor of the late Richard F. Dick Knight, a foundation founding member. The winner will be announced in conjunction with Covingtons annual Dick Knight Day on March 21.

The $5,000 award recognizes individuals for their commitment and service to the charitable, nonprofit sector in the four-parish north shore region. The spirit of the award is intended to recognize nonprofit staff who have significant tenure in service-based work and a body of accomplishments that reflect success through diligence, resiliency, vision and excellence.

We can think of no better way to honor (Dick Knight's) quiet, steady leadership, authenticity and commitment to service than by giving back to other dedicated members of this philanthropic and service community, said Susan Bonnett Bourgeois, CEO of the Foundation.

Community members can submit nominations of qualified candidates through March 4. The names of nominators are not disclosed, but in order to be eligible, a nominee must be a current staff member of a 501(c)3 organization operating in St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington and St. Helena parishes.

Previous winners include Dianne Baham, of STARC; Myrna Jordan, of Our Daily Bread Food Bank; Ola Magee, of Regina Coeli Child Development Center; and last year, the Rev. Stephen Holzhalb II, of Christwood Community Center.

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To learn more or to nominate an individual, visit northshorefoundation.org/knight-award.

The Northshore Community Foundation began 15 years ago as a way to leverage generosity by uniting human and financial resources to enhance the quality of life on the north shore. In that time, the foundation reports moving more than $60 million in philanthropic fuel through their doors.

Lentz reappointed to rehab council

Gov. John Bel Edwards has reappointed Covington resident Suzanne S. Lentz to the Louisiana Rehabilitation Council, which listens to the concerns of those with disability issues; reviews, analyzes and evaluates the state rehabilitation program; and collaborates with other state agencies, organizations and consumer groups.

Lentz, the founder of TASS Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center, will represent business, industry and labor.
Two Slidell area men were arrested Monday after St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's deputies answered a complaint about illegal drug activity turned up nearly a kilogram of suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of $90,000 along with other drugs.

Deputies were answering a complaint that someone was selling drugs at the home in the 37000 block of Desoto Street., according to a news release. After getting a search warrant, detectives found the cocaine as well as suspected heroin, suspected Adderall, suspected Tramadol, drug paraphernalia that's used to package and sell narcotics, $6,232 and a handgun.

The weapon, a Smith and Wesson 40 Caliber handgun, had been reported stolen by the Plaquemines Parish Sheriffs Office.

Detectives also seized several expensive vehicles that are believed to have been bought with drug money, a Lexus and a T-Rex RR.

Detectives arrested 37-year-old Jermaine Augustine, a convicted felon with an extensive arrest record, and 32-year-old Deja Buckhalter. The two had recently moved to Slidell from New Orleans.

Augustine was were booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail on possession with intent to distribute a Schedule II drug, cocaine; possession of Heroin, possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a stolen firearm, transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Buckhalter was booked on possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, possession of heroin, possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a stolen firearm, transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, possession of Adderall, possession of Tramadol, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
CHANGCHUN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- It has been 12 years since China celebrated the Year of the Tiger -- a time when the wild Siberian tiger was forecast to vanish from the country. But now, 12 years later, the nation has triumphed in rescuing the endangered feline.

In the Chinese culture, the tiger is a symbol of courage and strength, and thus many Chinese couples wish to have babies in the tiger year falling on Tuesday this year.

In 2010, 13 tiger-range countries committed to doubling the global population of wild tigers by 2022. Nowadays, China has run ahead of schedule when it comes to protecting Siberian tigers, also known as Amur or Manchurian tigers.

SETTING UP A NATIONAL PARK

Feng Limin, a member of a Beijing Normal University research team that monitored these tigers for a decade, noted that with a high demand for territory, the felid will still be disturbed in traditional nature reserves, where land is always scattered and certain human activities still exist.

In October 2021, China officially designated the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, which spans an area of over 1.4 million hectares in the northeastern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang.

The latest data shows that the population of wild Siberian tigers in the park has expanded to 50, compared to 27 in 2017, when the pilot project of the park was launched.

The park has implemented a series of measures to protect the wildlife, such as withdrawal of factories and mines and forest vegetation restoration.

"It is a turning point of the Siberian tiger's fate," said Feng.

Chen Xiaocai, director of the park administration's comprehensive department, said that five spreading channels of tigers and leopards have been identified. Monitoring data indicates that the forest growing stock in the park increased by 5.2 percent during the pilot period.

SMOOTHING HUMAN-TIGER CONFLICTS

"It snowed heavily that year, and I was walking to the village when a tiger suddenly appeared dozens of meters away. I was scared to run, but it was too late," Qu Shuangxi, a local from Guandaogou Village of Hunchun City, Jilin Province, said recalling when he was knocked to the ground by a tiger.

Nearly 100,000 residents live in the park, said Li Dongwei, with the park administration's Hunchun bureau, adding that the administration has been reinforcing wild tiger tracking, early warning and emergency response.

Early in 2006, the Jilin provincial government started to promulgate measures for compensation for personal and property damage caused by protected wildlife.

"We are not worried. If the land was ruined by wild boars, if the cattle were eaten, there would be state compensation," said Chen Limin, another villager.

Authorities said that the park will introduce a commercial insurance mechanism for compensation for such injuries and damage.

For those who gave up forest-related life and production, the park also managed to help them find other jobs and alternative cash cows, such as beekeeping and becoming forest rangers. 
A Jefferson Parish jury took less than an hour to convict a New Orleans man in a 2016 Harvey armed robbery-turned-slaying.

Michael Adams, 37, was found guilty on Friday of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm after a five-day trial, according to court records.

Authorities had accused Adams of being the gunman who robbed Alfred Hill, 31, of Franklinton, and then shot Hill twice in the back of the head.

Adams' alleged co-conspirators, Charles Johnson, 30, and Jerryco Johnson, 26, brothers, have not yet gone to trial on the same murder and robbery conspiracy charges.

The hold-up occurred just before noon on Nov. 18, 2016. Hill, a barber and chef, received a call on the morning of the murder directing him to the back parking lot of an apartment complex in the 4200 block of Lac Couture Drive in Harvey, according to authorities.

+11 1 arrested in Harvey shooting that killed Franklin man: JPSO A 32-year-old New Orleans man was arrested Wednesday morning (Nov. 23) on one count of first-degree murder in the Friday slaying of a man in H

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Witnesses and evidence uncovered by Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office detectives revealed that it was Adams who lured Hill to the parking lot and spoke briefly with the victim before pulling a gun, court records said.

Adams threatened a woman who'd accompanied Hill in his pick-up truck to the parking lot, and she ran. Adams then ordered Hill to the ground and rifled through his pocket before shooting him twice in the back of the head, authorities said.

Adams then ran off with a duffel bag that belonged to Hill, according to court records.

Two men later identified as the Johnson brothers were seen by a witness standing near a champagne-colored sport utility vehicle that was caught on surveillance video fleeing the scene after the shooting, authorities said.

Around the time of the homicide, Adams was dating the Johnson brothers' sister. The pair is accused of acting as lookouts during the robbery, according to authorities.

Adams faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for the second-degree murder conviction. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 7.

No trial date has been set for Charles and Jerryco Johnson.
A thief stole a woman's vehicle while she was filling it with gasoline Tuesday at Costco in New Orleans, and ran over her during the getaway.

The woman, 45, was unconscious when taken to a hospital. Details of her medical condition were not known Tuesday night.

Police said the victim was pumping fuel on the passenger side of her SUV at the store in the 3800 block of South Carrollton Avenue at about 2:50 p.m. when a man climbed into the other side and started driving away. The woman held onto the vehicle as the thief left, and the car rolled over her.

+3 'Devastated': New Orleans mourns beloved trumpeter allegedly slain by his grandchild's father After his childs mother took their young son to her fathers home following an argument, a 21-year-old man went to the house Monday afternoon

Besides arriving at the hospital unconscious, she had injuries to her face and arm, investigators said.

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The theft came the day before Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson are set to appear at a news briefing to discuss their response to the rising number of violent crimes.

Carjackings, homicides and other violent crimes have spiked to start 2022, leaving Ferguson, District Attorney Jason Williams and other local criminal justice officials pressured to communicate a plan to rein in the carnage.

Mayor Cantrell, police chief to address crime Wednesday as City Council ratchets up pressure Mayor LaToya Cantrell and New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson will appear at a news conference Wednesday to discuss vi

After recording the fewest murders in almost half a century in 2019, New Orleans saw a 64% increase in 2020. The 218 killings recorded last year were the most since 2005. Carjackings have increased 160% since 2019.
More than 60 years ago, three little girls in freshly-pressed dresses and hair ribbons walked through crowds of protesters and up 18 steps into McDonogh 19 Elementary School, accompanied by U.S. Marshals.

Known as the "McDonogh Three," Leona Tate, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost  along with Ruby Bridges at William Frantz Elementary  integrated New Orleans public schools in 1960, six years after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruled that segregation was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education.

Within a few days, White students had left the school and for about a year and a half the girls continued to learn inside McDonogh, eating lunch together under the protection of the stairwell and playing inside during recess. The windows of their first grade classroom were covered with paper for their safety.

On Tuesday morning, Tate and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser unveiled a marker outside the former McDonogh Elementary on St. Claude Avenue, adding it to the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail, a patchwork of historically significant places in the civil rights movement. Other sites include Little Union Baptist Church in Shreveport, Dooky Chases Restaurant in New Orleans, and the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge.

The three girls had been chosen from 135 Black families who applied to have their children transferred into the all-White school system in 1960. Six children were eventually chosen for that school year, two of whom dropped out before it started. The students and their families faced harrassment and resentment.

"You just dont know how many people weve gone to that didnt know the history of what happened in this building, Tate said Tuesday morning. It takes a lot  and I dont like talking about it  to tell them the story. But were here and well have some racial healing in this building.

Nungesser, who has been spearheading the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail initiative for about two years, said he "didn't learn this in school. I didn't know what took place at this school, or the bus boycott."

Terri F. Love, chief judge of the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, spoke at the unveiling, calling the girls and their parents "courageous."

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"We must continue to tell all generations their story of how in 1960 three little girls in New Orleans were the impetus for many of the future civil rights," Love said.

Lisa Alexis, director of New Orleans' Office of Cultural Economy, said the McDonogh Three were "true trailblazers and heroes to us all. You led the path to educational equity, which I am a product of."

Tate has said in previous interviews with The Times-Picayune that the racism she faced at school worsened later in elementary school, when the marshals no longer escorted her and the other Black students. In one interview she recalled a boy spitting in her hair on the school bus.

Tate has embarked on a mission to educate people about racism and discrimination, forming the Leona Tate Foundation for Change. The foundation has transformed the McDonogh 19 Elementary School building into the Tate, Etienne, Prevost Center, which will open later this month as the first dedicated civil rights museum in the state.

Visitors will soon be able to walk up the 18 steps that Tate, Etienne and Prevost climbed and learn about their contribution to the civil rights movement. The Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum will also move into the building, which will include 25 affordable housing units for people 55 or older.

After the memorial was unveiled, Tate stood in front of the marker -- a steel silhouette of a woman with a plaque in front -- and posed for photos. Her great-granddaughter slept peacefully in her sons arms, only feet away from the building where her great-grandmother made history.

Editor's note: This story initially said the school was integrated more than 65 years ago. It was actually more than 60 years ago.
The proposed 30.6-mile-long Upper Barataria hurricane levee system -- designed as protection from storm surges for portions of seven parishes west of the existing West Bank and Vicinity levee system -- has been approved by the head of the Army Corps of Engineers, clearing the way for Congress to potentially fund its construction.

Lieutenant Gen. Scott Spellmon, chief of engineers for the Corps, told Army Secretary Christine Wormuth last week that the new system will cost $1.55 billion, with the federal government paying 65% of that cost and Louisiana paying 35%. Construction could begin as soon as 2026.

In his report, Spellmon said the new levee would save an average $104 million a year in reduced flood damage, equal to an estimated $2 in reduced storm damage for each $1 of the levee system's cost.

"The Upper Barataria Basin Risk Reduction Project is one of the most important projects in the states coastal Master Plan, said Chip Kline, chairman of the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which oversees coastal levee projects.

"Todays announcement marks a major milestone and moves us one step closer to congressional authorization and federal funding to provide hurricane protection to this region. CPRA worked hand-in-hand with (the Corps) and our congressional delegation to advance the project to this critical point.

The new levee system would be designed to block hurricane storm surges that have a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year, a so-called 100-year storm. That's the same risk reduction standard that is required for the main New Orleans east bank and West Bank levees.

First lifts along the path of the system from Luling to Raceland would elevate existing and new levees and floodwalls to 14 feet above sea level, with two segments to be raised to 16 feet. By the end of the levee system's 50-year official lifetime, the levees would be elevated to 16 and 18.5 feet, largely to deal with expected sea level rise caused by global warming. The system's earthen levees would be topped by a 10-foot-wide concrete path.

Upper Barataria Risk Reduction levee This map shows the path of the Upper Barataria Risk Reduction levee project. The state expects to pay part of its share of the $2 billion cost

The project would provide additional flood protection to portions of Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes, and is expected to reduce the number of times that U.S. 90 floods during storms in segments between Raceland and Luling.

The system also will include a 270-foot barge gate across Bayou Des Allemands, two tidal exchange structures, two more gates, and five drainage structures.

The project also sets aside enough money for the potential buyout of about 270 residential and five non-residential structures in the towns of Gheens, Mathews and Bayou Gauche. Those towns are located on the flood side of the new levee system, and will likely see higher water levels during surge events because of water building up on the new levees.

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Spellmon said the buyout alternative is a "worst-case future scenario," and that the Corps will first determine whether existing levees around one or more of those communities might be improved or other alternatives might be found to avoid the high water.

A Corps spokesman said no mitigation was needed for other communities farther away from the levee system, such as Jean Lafitte and Barataria, because modeling did not show they would be affected by increased water levels.

The project also includes $93.3 million to pay for mitigation of the environmental damage caused by the system's construction, with the money likely to be used to purchase credits in "mitigation banks," privately owned projects that will restore marshes, swamps and hardwood forests.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves is expected to push for the project to be added to to the next Water Resources Development Act this spring. That bill is the vehicle by which Congress authorizes major Corps construction projects; if legislation is approved this year, construction funding could then be added to upcoming appropriation bills.

Rather than just making our homes worthless by charging unaffordable flood insurance rates, the solution is to build better protection and make our families safer. The Upper Barataria hurricane protection project does just that, Graves said in a news release.

Spellmon's report is based on a third project study and environmental impact statement that was completed in December. The new study resulted in the project's price being reduced by about $500 million. A Corps spokesperson said the change came after more in-depth modeling and analysis, which improved the accuracy of the system's costs.

Louisiana, as the non-federal sponsor of the project, will be required to pay for land, easements, rights-of-way, relocations, and any dredged or excavated material disposal areas the project requires. The Corps estimates that will cost about $132.3 million, including $84.2 million that might need to be spent on building buyouts.

Once complete, the state or local levee authorities will be required to pay for operation, maintenance and repairs, which the Corps estimated would total about $2.2 million a year.

In his report, Spellmon emphasized that the levee is designed to reduce the risk of property damage, but does not completely eliminate that risk. Surges caused by major hurricanes, Category 3 and above, might cause overtopping and flooding behind the new levee system. And the state, local governments and individuals will still be required to evacuate before major storms, he said.
The New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board is moving ahead with a plan to repair a turbine that exploded last year and to buy a new turbine and other power equipment that would let its Carrollton Plant continue provide electricity to the pumps, officials said Tuesday.

The plan, expected to cost at least $39.7 million, is intended as a stop-gap while the S&WB works on a five-year proposal to switch its electrical supply to Entergy New Orleans.

S&WB officials laid out the plan for members of the City Councils Public Works, Sanitation and Environment Committee. But while the infrastructure proposal received accolades from council members, committee Chair Joe Giarrusso sharply criticized the public utilitys continuing billing problems and threatened to take action if improvements arent made.

Electricity issues have long plagued the S&WB, which relies largely on aging turbines to provide power at the archaic standard that is used by about half of its pumps but that is not available from typical commercial electrical companies. As it now stands, the utilitys five turbines and five large generators can provide enough power to run the system but lack redundancy to allow the pumps to continue working if there are significant problems.

Thats become an issue in multiple storms when turbines went offline.

Giarrusso said the current proposal represents tangible progress by an agency that many in New Orleans view warily. Transitioning to Entergy power has been recommended multiple times over the years, both to provide a more reliable source of electricity than is now available from the turbines and because buying electricity from Entergy would be cheaper than generating it in-house.

Sewerage & Water Board will likely not repair turbine damaged in December explosion More than a month after an exploding turbine rocked the Sewerage & Water Boards Carrollton power plant, injuring three workers and sendin

Now we can look at the public and say look in the next several months here are some power changes that are upcoming. This deserves the lauding as well," Giarruso said. "Its something that we have been asking for since before we came into office. These have been chronic problem."

The S&WB has five turbines, though their designations confusingly run up to six because Turbine 2 was decommissioned years ago. Each has faced significant limitations in the past and caused problems for the agency.

Under the timeline discussed Tuesday, the first project to be completed would also be the cheapest: a $700,000 fix to Turbine 6, its newest piece of power generating equipment, to allow it to operate in cold weather. The turbine, originally provided to the S&WB by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2013, was not designed to run when air temperatures are below 45 degrees, a limitation that prompted a boil water advisory in 2018 when temperatures dropped while it was powering the S&WBs water system.

Those repairs would be paid for through money secured for the S&WB in Mayor LaToya Cantrells infrastructure deal with the hospitality industry last year.

Later next spring, the S&WB expects to bring a new frequency changer online to allow the power from Turbine 6 to be changed over to the frequency used by the systems older pumps.

Next would be repairs to Turbine 5. That generator exploded in December, causing enough damage that officials initially said it would likely never be worthwhile to repair it. But an inspection showed damage was not as severe as feared and that insurance on the equipment would largely cover the $5 million to $6 million to bring back online, minus a $1 million deductible.

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S&WB billing issues are bubbling up again during coronavirus: 'It's craziness' Tami LaGraize was quite shocked when she received her March bill from the Sewerage & Water Board for her boat house on Lake Pontchartrai

At one point I kind of dismissed it as I dont want to repair an old piece of equipment, Executive Director Ghassan Korban said. But the fact of the matter is we have an insurance company that is willing to help with some of the costs of bringing it back to life. Damage was minimal inside.  we can bring it back in a much timelier fashion.

Turbine 5 could be up and running in six to eight months.

Then theres the plan to buy a new turbine, which would be designated Turbine 7, for $18 million to $20 million. About $13 million of that would come from the federal government, the rest from the infrastructure deal.

The proposal calls for Turbine 7 to be operational in 12 to 14 months.

S&WB: Many New Orleans water bills over-estimated, and you should pay what you normally would As many as 60% of water bills in New Orleans are being estimated, the Sewerage and Water Board said Thursday, as the utility struggles to hire

With all those pieces in place, the S&WB would be able to take Turbines 1 and 3 offline completely, Korban said. Those turbines, powered by steam, are considered to be particularly problematic.

While all that was underway, the S&WB would also be working on an $8.5 million Entergy substation at its plant for the eventual transition to commercial utilitys power. That project is primarily being funded by Louisiana state government.

At the same time, Giarrusso had harsher words for the S&WB when it came to its billing problems, saying there has been little progress made in recent years on a series of issues that have led customers to be overcharged and to endure through complex and often frustrating appeals processes.

The longstanding issues have re-emerged this year, as the coronavirus pandemic cut the S&WBs meter-reading staff, leading to an explosion of estimated bills. Those estimates can be among the most problematic bills sent out by the utility.

S&WB hires outside firm to read meters -- at three times the rate it pays its own employees The Sewerage & Water Board has hired a private contractor to bolster the ranks of its meter reading staff and make recommendations on rout

Giarrusso demanded improvements in three months, the next time the S&WB is scheduled to appear before council members, and said that if there isnt concrete progress by then he would propose ordinances to bring the S&WBs billing problem to heel.

The S&WB currently estimates about 45% of customer bills, instead of billing for actual use, and Korban said efforts to improve that figure are underway. Those include staffing up internally and bringing in outside contractors, efforts he said have already improved the situation from a low point when only about 30% of customers bills were being read each month.

We agree wholeheartedly that estimates are not the right way to do business, he said.
The national search for a new Jefferson Parish Inspector General has been hobbled due to a quirk in parish ordinances that requires that candidates be certified inspectors general at the time they are appointed.

That provision has left the parish's Ethics and Compliance Commission, which oversees the inspector general and will appoint a new one, with only two candidates out of 10 who originally applied to replace David McClintock when his term ends next month.

A third candidate, a corporate compliance officer from Philadelphia, withdrew Tuesday and criticized the search process after he was told he would need a letter from the Association of Inspectors General confirming that he could be enrolled in a March course to obtain certification.

The ECC voted in November not to renew McClintock's contract, which ends March 17. At the time, Board Chairman Howard Maestri said McClintock had not done all that the parish charter demanded of the office and that the commission would conduct a national search for a replacement, as parish ordinance also requires.

McClintock became the parish's first inspector general in 2013. His contract was renewed in 2018. At the time his contract was not renewed, the commission said McClintock could apply for the post. He has not.

Jefferson Parish Inspector General David McClintock voted out; here's how it happened The group that oversees Jefferson Parish Inspector General David McClintock voted Wednesday to not renew McClintock's contract, meaning the pa

The commission's search netted 10 candidates. Five met most of the qualifications. Only two met all the required qualifications, longtime Jefferson Parish OIG staffers Kim Raines Chatelain and Susan Andrews, Maestri said.

The search drew three external candidates, but none were certified inspectors general, and only one responded to queries about obtaining an IG certification. That candidate, A. Benjamin Mannes, withdrew his name Tuesday after he grew frustrated with requests coming from the commission.

"It was very rushed, it was not a national search," Mannes said Tuesday. "The process itself wasn't conducive to national and global best practices."

Mannes noted in his email withdrawing his candidacy that the search appeared focused on certain candidates.

"Appointments at this level would have normally conducted a national search months in advance, and if needed, appointed an interim Inspector General to run the office if the role is vacated during that search period," he wrote.

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Mannes, who has a background in corporate and public integrity investigations, said the request for a letter from Association of Inspectors General was a red flag. In order to enroll in an AIG course that meets in the second week of March, Mannes would need to be either a sitting inspector general or senior staff in an inspector general's office, according to the AIG website. But Mannes, who is a corporate compliance officer, couldn't enroll in the school without the ECC's blessing.

"It's a chicken and the egg thing," he said. The request, "gives the appearance ... that the Chairman was actively trying to prevent certain candidates from applying."

Jefferson Parish's requirements differ from the other two inspector general offices in Louisiana. In New Orleans and for the Louisiana Inspector General, the requirement is only that the IG be certified within a year of appointment.

+2 Jefferson Parish Council, inspector general reach compromise on law limiting IG's power Following a flurry of last-minute negotiations, the Jefferson Parish Council on Wednesday adopted an ordinance that will limit the investigati

Maestri said the commission was hamstrung by the certification requirement.

"It's unfortunate, but that's the situation we find ourselves in," he said.

Maestri said commission members had discussed asking Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng's office to help get the ordinance changed to remove the certification requirement, but that could take some time.

"Would we have liked to interview all five? Yeah," he said.

Similar changes were proposed in 2012, before McClintock was hired. But they were never approved.

The commission will meet Thursday to interview Chatelain and Andrews. Commission members will also discuss whether the ordinance should be amended and "consideration of additional interviews," according to the agenda.

The commission is expected to make its selection later this month.
Wind-whipped flames are marching across more of New Mexicos tinder-dry mountainsides, forcing the evacuation of area residents and dozens of patients from the state's psychiatric hospital as firefighters scramble to keep new wildfires from growing. The big blaze burning near the community of Las Vegas has charred more than 217 square miles. Residents in neighborhoods on the edge of Las Vegas were told to be ready to leave their homes. It's the biggest wildfire in the U.S. and is moving quickly through groves of ponderosa pine because of hot, dry and windy conditions that make for extreme wildfire danger. Forecasters are warning of extreme fire danger across New Mexico and in western Texas.
I was all set to write about it when I received an email from a friend and former colleague (who is now a professor at Georgetown University in Washington DC). He told me hed been reading these columns and appreciated the good news that Ive tried to convey.
Now that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has received full FDA approval, the company is transitioning to the licensed brand name for the vaccine: Spikevax.

According to a local UPMC spokesperson, the two names are "one and the same"; they refer to the same vaccine. "Under the EUA, it was simply referred to as Moderna COVID-19 vaccination (no brand). Now (with FDA approval) they are just moving to the brand name," said Tyler Wagner, Senior Manager, Public Relations, UPMC.

As of yesterday, the FDA-approved vaccine will be marketed as Spikevax for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. Spikevax is the second vaccine to be fully approved by the FDA; Pfizer's Bio-N-Tech vaccine received approval on Aug. 23, 2021.

Key points:

Spikevax meets the FDAs rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality required for approval.

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine has been available under emergency use authorization (EUA) for individuals 18 years of age and older since Dec. 18, 2020.

The FDAs approval of Spikevax is a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the second vaccine approved to prevent COVID-19. The public can be assured that Spikevax meets the FDAs high standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality required of any vaccine approved for use in the United States, said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D.

While hundreds of millions of doses of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine have been administered to individuals under emergency use authorization, we understand that for some individuals, FDA approval of this vaccine may instill additional confidence in making the decision to get vaccinated.

Spikevax has the same formulation as the EUA Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and is administered as a primary series of two doses, one month apart. Spikevax can be used interchangeably with the EUA Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to provide the COVID-19 vaccination series.

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine remains available under EUA as a two-dose primary series for individuals 18 years of age and older, as a third primary series dose for individuals 18 years of age and older who have been determined to have certain kinds of immunocompromised systems, and as a single booster dose for individuals 18 years of age and older at least five months after completing a primary series of the vaccine.

It is also authorized for use as a heterologous (or mix and match) single booster dose for individuals 18 years of age and older following completion of primary vaccination with a different available COVID-19 vaccine.

The FDAs medical and scientific experts conducted a thorough evaluation of the scientific data and information included in the application pertaining to the safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality of Spikevax. This includes the agencys independent verification of analyses submitted by the company, our own analyses of the data, along with a detailed assessment of the manufacturing processes, test methods and manufacturing facilities, said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

FDA Evaluation of Effectiveness Data for Approval for Individuals 18 Years of Age and Older

The Spikevax biologics license application (BLA) builds upon the data and information that supported the EUA, such as preclinical and clinical data, as well as details of the manufacturing process and the sites where the vaccine is made.

The FDA evaluates and conducts its own analyses of the data to determine whether the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine has been demonstrated and meets the standard for approval, and whether the manufacturing and facility information assure vaccine quality and consistency.

The approval of Spikevax is based on the FDAs evaluation and analysis of follow-up safety and effectiveness data from the ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded clinical trial that supported the December 2020 EUA for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and information from post EUA experience to further inform safety and effectiveness.

The updated analyses to determine effectiveness of Spikevax included 14,287 vaccine recipients and 14,164 placebo recipients 18 years of age and older who did not have evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to receiving the first dose.

The data used for the analyses were accrued before the Omicron variant emerged. These data demonstrated that Spikevax was 93% effective in preventing COVID-19, with 55 cases of COVID-19 occurring in the vaccine group and 744 COVID-19 cases in the placebo group. The vaccine was also 98% effective in preventing severe disease.

FDA Evaluation of Safety Data for Approval for Individuals 18 Years of Age and Older

The FDAs safety analysis of Spikevax included approximately 15,184 vaccine recipients and 15,162 placebo recipients 18 years of age and older, more than half of these participants were followed for safety outcomes for at least four months after the second dose. Approximately 7,500 participants originally assigned to receive Spikevax in the blinded phase of the clinical trial completed safety follow-up for at least 6 months after the second dose.

The most commonly reported side effects by clinical trial participants were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, chills, nausea/vomiting, swollen lymph nodes under the arm and fever.

Additionally, the FDA conducted a rigorous evaluation of the post-authorization safety surveillance data pertaining to myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of tissue surrounding the heart) following vaccination with the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and has determined that the data demonstrate increased risks particularly within seven days following the second dose, with the observed risk highest in males 18 through 24 years of age.

Available data from short-term follow-up suggest that most individuals have had resolution of symptoms. However, some individuals required intensive care support. Information is not yet available about potential long-term health outcomes. The Spikevax Prescribing Information includes a warning about these risks.

The FDA conducted its own benefit-risk assessment using modeling. Using data on COVID-19 related deathshow many symptomatic COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and deaths from COVID-19 the vaccine in individuals 18 years of age and olderthe FDA compared outcomes: whether deaths could be prevented or not.

FDA has determined that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis in individuals 18 years of age and older.

The FDA is requiring the company to conduct postmarketing studies to further assess the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination with Spikevax. These studies will include an evaluation of long-term outcomes among individuals who develop myocarditis following vaccination with Spikevax.

In addition, although not FDA requirements, the company has committed to conducting additional post-marketing safety studies, including conducting a pregnancy registry study to evaluate pregnancy and infant outcomes after receipt of Spikevax during pregnancy.

The FDA granted this application Priority Review. The approval was granted to ModernaTX, Inc.

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DAMASCUS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- When Syria's largest dam, the Tabqa Dam, was struck in 2017, people living in the region first thought it was another terror act carried out by the Islamic State (IS) group which was then in control of Tabqa city and the dam.

However, it later turned out that it was a U.S. strike against the strategic Syrian dam, also known as Euphrates Dam, which held back a 40-km-long reservoir.

"When the IS militants were in control of Tabqa and its dam, we thought they would bomb out the dam if they had to, but it never occurred to us that it was the Americans who did it as they depicted themselves as forces fighting against terrorism," Muhammad Ani, a 27-year-old resident of Tabqa city, told Xinhua.

The bombing on March 26, 2017 of the dam caused the failure of crucial equipment. The river could not pass through and the reservoir began to rise, sparking evacuations downstream.

People of Tabqa were living in fear, as a humanitarian catastrophe would arise if the dam should collapse, Ani said.

"Is attacking IS militants a reason enough to put the lives of civilians at risk?" Ani asked.

After the strike, Ani left Tabqa and sought refuge in Hasakah Province in northeastern Syria. He felt unsafe even though some repair work was later carried out in the dam area.

Khaled Abu Ahmad, also a local resident, chose to stay in Tabqa after the sudden U.S. strike on the dam.

"When the 2017 U.S. strike took place, it shook our areas. We left our homes to see what had happened and we found huge damage in three neighborhoods in Tabqa ... The damage of civilian properties was so obvious," said the 54-year-old man.

Ahmad recalled that a bus carrying civilians was trying to flee Tabqa after the strike but "the U.S. warplanes went after and struck it."

"The city lived unforgettable horror during the strikes and people feared that the dam would collapse and kill every living thing in its perimeter," he said, describing the days following the strike as "black and bitter" because people lived without electricity, food or any other life necessities.

Time passed and the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces took over the dam following the defeat of the IS. However, such bleak memory has lingered on and even been strengthened by the recent U.S. airstrikes against the neighborhood of Gweiran in Hasakah under the pretext of targeting IS fugitives from a Kurdish-controlled prison in the area.

Osama Danura, a political expert based in the capital Damascus, told Xinhua that during the Syrian war the United States disregarded the lives of civilians and sometimes intentionally targeted civilians, particularly those who resist its "occupational project."

"As long as the U.S. still considers itself above the international law, such things will repeat for sure in many more places," he said, noting what happened in Raqqa "could be tantamount to war crimes."

Slamming the so-called war on terror by the U.S. forces in Syria, Danura said the U.S. campaign didn't completely end the IS or other like-minded groups, calling on the U.S. forces to stop using fighting the IS as an excuse to continue occupying parts of Syria. 
Hughesville, Pa.  A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Hughesville man who allegedly assaulted a woman in a motor vehicle.

According to the arrest affidavit, Dakota L. Engle, 25, was driving on Route 118 around 8:30 a.m. Jan. 24 with a female passenger when he became angry and began assaulting her. Engle, who was traveling in a blue Honda Accord, allegedly accused the woman of cheating on him.

He turned onto Beaver Run Road in Franklin Township. He began punching the center console, calling the victim derogatory names, allegedly grabbing her by the hair and hitting her in the back of the head, according to the police affidavit.

Engle is accused of hitting the woman a number of times with a closed fist, according to the affidavit written by Trooper Stephen Schramm of Pennsylvania State Police at Montoursville.

When police talked with Engle later that morning, he appeared visibly intoxicated and admitted to drinking alcohol early in the day. Engle told police he became angry about messages on the victims phone and hit her on the head and face at least 20 times with a closed fist, Schramm wrote.

Police also spoke with the accuser, who said Engle also had accused her of cheating on him on Dec. 6 and pointed a loaded gun at her head while threatening her, according to the affidavit.

Engle was charged with a felony of aggravated assault, two misdemeanors of simple assault, terroristic threats, summaries of harassment, and related traffic summaries. Charges were filed at the Muncy magisterial office.

Docket Sheet

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Harrisburg, Pa. -- Pennsylvania has been experiencing a shortage of police department officers in recent years, ultimately causing strain to resources. Now, Attorney General Josh Shapiro has reached out to state legislators with proposals to address the staff and resource strain in local police department policies across the Commonwealth.

"This problem is impacting cities and towns in every region of Pennsylvania," according to Shapiro, whom cited data from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission (MPOETC).

One third of MPOETCs accredited law enforcement agencies report their departments alone have 1,229 officer vacancies. A survey of Pennsylvanias 911 call centers show one in five positions are unfilled with at least 350 openings statewide.

"These vacancies are impacting every region in Pennsylvania," said Shapiro. "We must help the next generation of officers for local police departments to return to their intended size."

Since Shapiro's office first requested emergency assistance for law enforcement agencies last June, they report having "heard directly from local police chiefs and patrol officers about the costs of failing to act: applications have fallen, recruitment classes have shrunk, and vacancies have increased."

Every night, men and women are working overtime in stressful conditions to provide basic patrol services and respond when Pennsylvanians call 911.

Shapiro offered the following proposals to address the department vacancies:

 A $6,000 sign-up bonus for new officers and public safety personnel who join local forces in need. We need to jumpstart interest in public safety careers and a sign-up bonus will attract candidates and make clear we value police and public safety personnel. By helping departments fill vacancies with a state-funded sign up bonus we can reduce wasteful competition between departments, tackle todays shortage, and ensure a pipeline of highly trained, experienced officers for departments of all sizes.

 $1,200 in hero pay for first responders and 911 operators to recognize and retain the honorable police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel we have today.

 Expand and guarantee Act 89 funding to cover the cost of training cadets. Currently, Act 89 only covers a portion of the cost local police departments incur to send cadets to a municipal police academy to receive their Act 120 training.

The funding has an annual cap, so MPOETC may not be able to maintain their current levels of support if police chiefs successfully recruit the number of cadets needed statewide. Guaranteeing state support and covering a greater portion of these costs will help police departments recruit officers. The state should explore similar programs for other public safety professions.

 Create new scholarships up to $8,500 for Act 120 training to expand and diversify recruitment efforts. Tuition at municipal police academies can be a barrier for people who cannot afford to start a public safety career. Establishing law enforcement scholarships could attract more people to the profession and create a more diverse pool of applicants for departments to recruit from.

 Expand outreach and recruitment efforts to attract the next generation of first responders, from police officers to social workers. Strained departments often cannot take officers off patrol duty to attend a career workshop or job fair. The Commonwealth should establish a grant program to fund recruitment and outreach efforts to introduce young adults to public safety careers.

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Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and 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Country

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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
HONG KONG, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong recorded 116 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, according to data from the Center for Health Protection on Wednesday.

The newly reported cases include 103 local cases, 30 of which have unknown sources.

Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), on Wednesday met with anti-epidemic personnel and extended her Lunar New Year greetings to them during a visit to a site of sewage sampling in Kennedy Town.

"Hong Kong is the first city in the world to adopt large-scale sewage surveillance in tandem with compulsory testing to trace infection cases with success," Lam said.

In the face of the risks posed by the highly transmissible variants amid the fifth wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong, the HKSAR government is racking up and distributing rapid test kits to the people who have been exposed to infection risks to achieve "early identification, early isolation, and early treatment," she said.

Since the launch of a mass inoculation program in February 2021, about 5.35 million people, or 79.4 percent of the eligible population in Hong Kong, have taken at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, while over 4.81 million, or 71.4 percent of the eligible population, have taken two doses.

Meanwhile, 954,073 people in Hong Kong have taken their third booster shot as of 8:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) Wednesday. 
Country

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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, 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Country

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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and 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Country

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Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, 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Napoleon, OH (43545)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High 62F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Napoleon, OH (43545)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High 62F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Napoleon, OH (43545)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High 62F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
We are only a week away from Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event, where the company is tipped to announce the Galaxy Tab S8, Galaxy Tab S8+ and the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, among other devices. In the meantime, two leakers have revealed prices, memory configurations and connectivity options for the trio, as have full specification sheets. One of the leakers has also offered a look at the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra in its Book Cover Keyboard case.
VIENNA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, announced on Wednesday that it would stick to existing plans for a moderate oil output increase of 400,000 barrels per day in March despite surging crude prices.

OPEC+ reconfirmed "the decision to adjust upward the monthly overall production by 400,000 barrels per day for the month of March 2022," according to a statement released after the 25th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting.

In recent weeks oil prices have been hovering near multi-year highs driven by geopolitical tensions in eastern Europe and the Middle East. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude were both trading above 88 U.S. dollars a barrel before Wednesday's OPEC+ meeting, and last week saw both benchmarks hit their highest levels since October 2014.

In July 2021, the OPEC+ countries agreed to raise oil output by 400,000 barrels per day each month to gradually offset the production cuts made at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The oil cartel has since been sticking to the plan despite calls from top consumers, including the United States, to further boost supplies to rein in soaring oil prices as demand recovers from the pandemic-induced slump.

Some OPEC+ countries have reportedly been struggling to meet the planned production quotas due to years of underinvestment.

A recent Bloomberg survey showed that OPEC added only 90,000 barrels of output per day in December 2021.

The 26th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting will convene on March 2. 
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, 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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, 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Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (1st L) arrives to attend a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2022. The United States will deploy additional troops to Europe, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, citing tensions on Ukraine's borders. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The United States will deploy additional troops to Europe, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, citing tensions on Ukraine's borders.

The deployment includes 1,000 troops currently based in Germany to be repositioned to Romania and another 2,000 troops to be sent from the United States to Germany and Poland, John Kirby, the Defense Department's spokesman, said during a press conference at the Pentagon.

"These are not permanent moves. They are moves designed to respond to the current security environment. Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine," Kirby said.

"These movements are unmistakable signals to the world that we stand ready to reassure our (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies and deter and defend against any aggression," he added.

The United States has already put some 8,500 troops on "heightened alert," in preparation for what it claimed to be an "imminent" Russian invasion of Ukraine. The measure will enable the troops to be deployed on short notice if NATO decides to activate its rapid response force known as the NRF.

Kirby said the troops being deployed are separate from those put on high alert. They will operate on a bilateral basis with their host countries, and will be under U.S. command -- not NATO command - since the alliance has yet to activate the NRF.

Repeatedly declining to say whether the deployment was in response to fears that Russia could attack a NATO country, the spokesman said the U.S. troops could be augmented by additional deployments in the coming days or months, noting that other NATO countries - including Britain, France and Denmark - have also moved to shore up the alliance's eastern flank.

President Joe Biden said Friday he "will be moving U.S. troops to Eastern Europe and the NATO countries in the near term." The president has maintained that no U.S. forces will be sent directly to Ukraine, which is not a NATO member. 

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives to attend a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2022. The United States will deploy additional troops to Europe, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, citing tensions on Ukraine's borders. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives to attend a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2022. The United States will deploy additional troops to Europe, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, citing tensions on Ukraine's borders. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (1st L) arrives to attend a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2022. The United States will deploy additional troops to Europe, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, citing tensions on Ukraine's borders. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
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Indiana and Illinois saw some of the nation's biggest jumps in gas prices last week amid international tensions that have caused crude oil prices to surge.

Gas prices rose 10 cents to $3.25 per gallon in Indiana and 6 cents to $3.52 per gallon in Illinois last week.

Prices at the pump are up across the nation because of skyrocketing crude oil prices, which are nearing $90 per barrel as Russia threatens Ukraine. Investors fear the international tensions could result in sanctions that would lead Russia, an OPEC+ member, to deliberately withhold crude oil from the marketplace.

At the moment, only one person knows why Russia is threatening Ukraine, and thats Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Molly Hart, spokesperson for AAA  The Auto Club Group. And the tensions along the Ukrainian border have helped push crude oil prices higher almost daily.

Nationally, the average price of gas rose to $3.36 per gallon last week, a 3 cents per gallon increase, according to AAA. That's 94 cents per gallon more than a year ago.

Domestic crude stocks rose by 2.4 million barrels to 416.2 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. The crude stock level is down about 13% year-over-year, restricting supply and putting upward pressure on prices.

The average gas price in the Chicago metropolitan area, which includes Northwest Indiana, is $3.618 per gallon, up from $3.558 per gallon a week ago and $2.657 per gallon a year ago, according to AAA.

Gasbuddy.com estimates gas costs around $3.20 a gallon in most of Lake County, reaching as high as $3.29 in eastern Lake County near the Porter County line.

The price of oil pushed into territory unseen in over seven years as WTI crude hit $88 per barrel, which continues to drag gasoline prices higher. With continued concerns over geopolitical tensions and crude oil supply, the small yet noticeable increases are likely to continue, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. The only factor keeping gas prices from rising more substantially is that gasoline demand remains low as winter storms keep motorists closer to home. Once the weather starts to turn and warm gradually, well lose the only restraint to larger price increases.

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South Shore Arts will host a virtual lecture on manga next week and is seeking visual arts instructors

The next South Shore Arts Art in Focus lecture will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 7. It will cover the Japanese art forms of manga and kawaii.

"Director of Education Natalie Heath and her guest, popular South Shore Arts instructor Fawn Syzmoniak, will describe and discuss the characteristics of manga as a style of Japanese sequential story illustration," South Shore Arts said in a press release. "Syzmoniak, whose specialties include fantasy, kawaii, anime, and manga-styled art, and who has published more than 10 novels and 15 graphic novels of her own, will provide examples of her work and discuss why manga and kawaii have such a worldwide appeal."

It's part of a series of free lectures hosted by South Shore Arts. It will be live-streamed on the South Shore Arts website and YouTube channel.

"Art in Focus is for adult learners of all ages who are interested in the arts and its impact on our world, past, present, and future," South Shore Arts said in a press release. "Art in Focus is part of an ongoing series of free arts presentations that provide insight into the work of artists and the multitude of artistic forms that they express. An important aspect of the program is the thoughtful dialogue between program facilitator, guest speakers and the attendees. These interactive presentations allow for South Shore Arts presenters to bring the experience directly to the audience in the comfort of their own homes, gaining access to artistic experiences that might otherwise be out of reach."

The Munster-based arts organization also is seeking qualified arts instructors to teach art classes to the public. Painters and other artists are needed to teach fine and visual arts for all ages, including courses for children and seniors.

"Be a part of a community of learners, educators, and artists that thrive within two spacious studios accommodating multi-level ceramics, painting and drawing, photography, printmaking and more at the Center for Visual & Performing Arts, located at 1040 Ridge Road, in Munster, Indiana," South Shore Arts said in a press release. "Personal and ongoing art practice is a plus. Teaching or relevant experience is required."

Proof of vaccination is required to teach in-person classes.

For more information, call 219/836.1839, ext. 101, email natalie@SouthShoreArtsOnline.org or southshoreartsonline.org.

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CROWN POINT  A 74-year-old former Hanover school bus driver pleaded guilty Tuesday to a reduced count alleging he sexually battered an 11-year-old girl last year while she was riding his bus.

Peter A. Bishop, of Crown Point, declined to give a statement before Lake Criminal Court Judge Gina Jones sentenced him to 18 months in jail, suspended in favor of probation.

Bishop was initially charged with child solicitation, a level 5 felony. The Lake County prosecutor's office agreed to drop that charge in exchange for Bishop's plea to sexual battery, a level 6 felony.

Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Arnold said the girl and her parent wanted Bishop to be required to register as a sex offender. His plea agreement requires him to register for 10 years.

Defense attorney Jesse Harper said Bishop served about four months in jail after his arrest last year and has never been arrested or convicted of a crime before.

Jones agreed to accept Bishop's plea agreement and encouraged him to accept the help he would be offered during probation.

"What you did changed not only your life, but a child's life," she said. "I need you to remember that."

According to charging documents, the Hanover Community School Corp. fired Bishop in November 2021, several days after the girl reported him to officials at an after-school program.

The girl told police she boarded Bishop's bus after school, and before departing he sat next to her and asked if she could keep a secret.

At another stop, Bishop again sat close to her, asked if she had a boyfriend, again asked if she could keep a secret, told her she had a "sexy body" and said he "would like to teach her something," court records state.

The girl FaceTimed a friend for help and notified officials at the after-school program after arriving there. The after-school program notified the school district, the girl's parent and police.

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CROWN POINT  A judge sentenced a 29-year-old man Tuesday to 59 years in prison for killing his grandmother and setting her home on fire in 2018.

Kyle A. Gray, of Gary, also was ordered to serve six years on probation following his release from prison.

Lake Criminal Court Judge Gina Jones told Gray that the crime was gruesome and that she didn't find him to be particularly remorseful for killing 79-year-old Barbara Walker in June 2018 at the home they shared in the 3400 block of Johnson Street in Gary.

People often forget there are consequences for every choice they make, the judge said.

"There is a debt you owe for your actions," Jones said.

A jury convicted Gray in September of murder, murder in perpetration of arson, arson causing serious bodily injury and arson.

Evidence presented at trial showed Gray smothered Walker until she fell unconscious, poured gasoline throughout their home and lit the residence on fire. Walker died from smoke inhalation and asphyxiation due to smothering.

Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Burke recommended a sentence of 75 years in prison. Gray deserved a longer sentence because Booth depended on him for care and transportation, she was older than 65 and she was having mobility issues because of a recent surgery, the deputy prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Scott King said Gray was emotionally struggling because of the death of his father in May 2018 when he killed his grandmother June 28, 2018.

King said a sentence of more than 45 years would be inappropriate, because Gray had no prior criminal history.

Gray became estranged from his mother at age 14 and, following the death of his father, felt he had no shoulders on which to lean, King said.

"At the end of the day, this was a troubled young man who went through a heck of a lot of emotional trauma," the defense attorney said.

Gray apologized to both sides of his family.

"I didn't want or intend for any of this to happen the way it did," he said. "Honestly, it was almost like a blur."

Theresa Cox-Patterson, Walker's sister-in-law, said Gray held a special place in Walker's heart.

Walker took Gray to church with her, and he sang in the choir, she said.

"He was going places, so I just don't understand how this happened," Cox-Patterson said.

Shirley Booth, Walker's daughter and Gray's aunt, said Walker loved her children, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren and taught them to be the best people they could be.

Booth said Walker's homicide "didn't have to happen," and she would have done anything to help sort out whatever problem led Gray to kill his family's matriarch.

When she looks at Gray, she sees his father in him, she said. She still loves him because he's family.

"Ain't nothing more powerful than love," Booth told Gray, as she left the witness stand.

Jones gave Gray credit for more than 3.5 years of jail time he served while awaiting trial. She ordered him to complete an anger management course and 100 hours of community service as part of his probation.

Jones also granted Gray's request to appoint an appellate public defender.

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CROWN POINT  In 2017, 64% of U.S. farmers were male, and the average size of a farm in Lake County was 293 acres, but as the number of female, urban growers rises, Purdue Extension is working to support the changing face of farming.

Annie's Project, a national nonprofit, has been leading classes catered to supporting female farmers and ranchers since 2003. Last spring, Purdue Extension decided to conduct an Annie's Project class with an "urban twist." After an all-virtual program in 2021, Lake County Extension Educator Rebecca Koetz said she is excited to gather in-person this year. That is why Koetz applied for a grant from the Indiana Farm Bureau that will drop the registration price from $65 to $33.75 for eight participants.

While we have to charge for programming in order to meet our needs, a lot of times these urban growers do not necessarily have the funding to pay for something like this," Koetz said.

Extension is hoping to create "a community of urban growers," where participants can learn important skills and develop a network of support. Participants will meet every Monday at 5 p.m. from Feb. 7 to March 14 in the Lake County Extension Office located 2293 N Main Street, Crown Point.

The decision to focus on female farmers growing in urban settings was driven by the demand Purdue Extension has seen, Koetz said. While in the past, Extension has focused on working with more "traditional" farmers, Koetz said there has been a shift over the past two years.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2017 the average age of a farmer in the U.S. was 57.5. The majority of farmers also had a wealth of experience with the average length of time producing on their current farm being 21.3 years. However, in recent years Extension has seen growing interest among younger farmers, and a 2018 study found that over the past 30 years, urban agriculture has increased by 30%.

In an effort to "meet the need," Extension launched three programs: the Urban Farming Signature Program, Annie's Project and the Beginning Farmer Workshop, Koetz said.

We are still meeting the needs of our traditional audience, but we are definitely having to rethink how to create programming," Koetz said. Our food system maybe looks different than it did in years past. ... There is more of a focus on local food systems."

Annie's Project places special emphasis on creating a "safe space" for female growers to ask questions and learn, Koetz explained.

Last year the 20 participants created a Facebook page where they have kept in touch, and this summer Extension will be hosting tours at some of the former participant's farms. At the end of the program there will be a panel of female farmers so students can ask questions and meet other women in their field.

Adding an urban twist to Annie's Project means bringing in specialists to discuss growing in areas that may not be zoned for agriculture, lessons on direct-to-consumer marketing, grant writing and more.

Women in ag definitely have specific needs that are really well-met when the program is catered to women, Koetz said. "Having a space that is at least primarily women creates this safe space and a lasting bond.

Registration for the six-week-long program closes Feb. 4 and costs $75, sign-up at cvent.me/WYgrYW. Participants interested in the discount can contact Koetz at busser@purdue.edu or 219-755-3240.

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Its a scary thing for people. We dont know a lot about the brain and dont want to think that it might not go back, Dr. Barha said. But it doesnt need to go back. It shouldnt go back because its changed. Its evolved.

Yes, we might have trouble recalling certain words or remembering the name of an obscure actor, but there are plenty of silver linings to the ways mothers brains change, Dr. Barha said. The upsides can include a heightened capacity to stay calm and focused during stressful situations, the ability to interpret what different newborn cries mean, and enhanced vigilance around potential dangers.

Ms. Tucker cited a study published in 2016 that found that mothers who showed the biggest drops in gray-matter volume also reported the warmest relationships with their babies. Were paying attention to this nonverbal creature and are entirely focused on that, Ms. Tucker said.

I hadnt considered that perspective. My baby isnt looking for me to have a robust vocabulary at this stage. Shes relying on me for comfort, protection and care  to pick up on her myriad nonverbal cues.

Still, that doesnt mean that mommy brain isnt frustrating or even frightening when it happens. I sometimes worry about how these cognitive changes might impact my work performance and know other mothers who share similar concerns.

Dr. Galea and Dr. Barha, who both live in Canada, where maternity leave is much longer than the 10-week average in the United States, said those fears are valid. Still, they urge new mothers to try not to worry too much about their cognitive abilities. I think we need to get away from that idea that these changes are bad, Dr. Galea said. When you look later on in life, you actually see some really positive changes that occur in terms of memory and in terms of the plasticity of the brain.

In a study published in 2019, Dr. Galea, along with researchers Paula Duarte-Guterman and Benedetta Leuner, discovered that female rodents got better at completing mazes after they weaned their pups, which suggests that, with time, mothers brains improve. This is one of the major messages: Our brains actually get better, Dr. Galea said.
Putin blames the U.S. for the crisis in Ukraine

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow yesterday, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said that the U.S. was trying to pull Russia into an armed conflict over Ukraine that Russia did not want. He signaled he was prepared to engage in more diplomacy, even as he insisted that NATOs presence in Eastern Europe threatened world peace.

Their most important task is to contain Russias development, he said of the U.S. Ukraine is just an instrument of achieving this goal. It can be done in different ways, such as pulling us into some armed conflict and then forcing their allies in Europe to enact those harsh sanctions against us that are being discussed today in the United States.

Russia has amassed 100,000 troops at Ukraines borders, and Putin has threatened to take unspecified action if his demands are not met. They include a promise from NATO that Ukraine will never join the alliance. U.S. and European officials have dismissed such demands.

Diplomacy attempts: Italys prime minister, Mario Draghi, warned Putin by phone on Tuesday of serious consequences. Splitting sharply from his NATO allies, Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, said that Russian security demands were reasonable.
This surprised me as I have a strong interest in the direction of the college, evidenced by my application, and this person will at some level become my supervisor and control how resources are allocated. As a faculty member, I have no input into the hiring decision; that decision is made by the college dean and upper administration, and I no longer have a conflict because I have been removed as a candidate. I admit I am offended; it is as if there is a concern that I might not behave professionally in a public forum. I assure you that I have no history which suggests my behavior would be anything but exemplary. Is there any ethical reason that I should recuse myself from participation? Name Withheld

The reference to a conflict of interest, I agree, is puzzling. Given that youre no longer in contention for the job, the only stakes you have in what happens are the legitimate concerns of a member of the faculty. What private benefit would come to you from undermining (or advancing) a candidate? Talk of recusal here seems just confused. If the implication is, as you suggest, that your resentment at not having been made a finalist would lead you to be discourteous to candidates, youd be justified in taking offense. I would write back and say that, because you are not aware of any conflict of interest, you are not going to recuse yourself from the normal involvements of a faculty member in meeting candidates for the deanship. And you might want to discuss what happened with representatives from your union (should you be represented by one).

My friend had her knee replaced. My husband is a radiologist. Despite his reluctance to be involved, my friend often sends her X-rays to him. Recently she sent a set of X-rays to me, and I forwarded them to him. He immediately noticed her femur had been cracked through the marrow, suggesting the surgeon made an intraoperative mistake. He checked with a colleague, who agreed this was an unusual finding and is likely wrongful.

My husband is furious with me for involving him and refuses to allow me to inform my friend of his interpretation. But neither her doctor or the facility have disclosed anything, and her recovery will be longer and possibly more painful. Do I have any obligation to my friend to tell her what I know, or even just to suggest that she should go over the X-ray in person with the surgeon? Name Withheld

What should we make of the fact that your husband looked at the images and took the trouble to confirm his suspicions with a colleague, but wants to keep the patient from learning that she may have a problem? It sounds as if he was willing only to provide reassurance and doesnt want to get entangled in a case of malpractice. He would share good news but not bad  and thats not a choice he can ethically make.

A patient is entitled to seek a second opinion in the interpretation of diagnostic evidence. Its true that your husband isnt your friends doctor, but hes evidently a medical professional qualified to render a judgment, and so was the colleague with whom he consulted. She was taking advantage of your friendship, but in a not-unreasonable way. Your husband would have been within his rights to refuse to look at the post-op X-rays. Yet once he analyzed them, he had a piece of information relevant to your friends treatment that she was entitled to have, too.

If youre a doctor who has grounds for suspecting that a patient has not been informed of facts pertinent to her care, you have, as the American Medical Association agrees, a duty to report it to the relevant clinical authorities. Given that the facility where the surgery was performed has not disclosed this problem to your friend, theres reason for concern that shes being treated without a proper understanding of her situation. (Female patients are at particular risk of the kind of fracture you describe, as it happens.) Medical experts Ive consulted do say the condition could have implications for clinical treatment and management. And if her doctors are aware of the problem but havent told her, theyd be violating the ethical standards of their profession.
The story of how newly literate rural women became investigative journalists is chronicled in a new documentary, Writing With Fire, which made the Academy Awards shortlist this year.

If it wins, it will make history as the first film about India directed by Indians to receive an Oscar. It will also give a boost to democracys unsung champions at a time when democratic norms are under threat around the world. The movie opens with Meera, the chief reporter, interviewing a woman who recounts being raped in her home on six separate occasions in a single month. The womans husband tried to file a complaint, but police officers refused to take it. In the film, Meera walks into the police station and demands an explanation.

Journalism is the essence of democracy, she says afterward. When citizens demand their rights, it is us journalists who can take their demands to the government.

The married team that made the film, Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas, who are not Dalit, began shooting footage in 2016, the year Khabar Lahariyas reporters made the leap to digital news. In the film, women, some of whom dont have electricity in their homes, unwrap boxes of brand-new cellphones gingerly, like bricks of dynamite. By the end of the film, Meera and her colleagues are pushing through crowds at political rallies with their cellphone cameras rolling. Although the staff members are from marginalized groups  Dalits, tribal people and the so-called backward castes  they dont see themselves as part of any political movement. First and foremost, they are reporters who claim objectivity and independence as core values.

A lot of people say: Where do you think they get this crazy courage from? Is it that they have nothing to lose? Ms. Thomas told me. I dont see it like that. Each one of them is so aware of how rare it was to have had access to education and how much it means to people whose voice they have become. They know that if they dont show up reporting that story, nobody else will.
NEW YORK, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 death rate in the United States is higher than expected because the vaccination campaign is slow and its system of medical supply distribution is far from efficient as the situation requires to deal with emergency, said major U.S. news portals this week.

U.S. LAGS

Two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus is killing Americans at far higher rates than people in other wealthy nations, "a sobering distinction to bear as the country charts a course through the next stages of the pandemic," reported The New York Times on Wednesday.

With American lawmakers desperate to turn the page on the pandemic, as some European leaders have already begun to, the number of dead has clouded a sense of optimism, even as Omicron cases recede. And "it has laid bare weaknesses in the country's response," said the report.

"Death rates are so high in the States -- eye-wateringly high," said Devi Sridhar, head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who has supported loosening coronavirus rules in parts of Britain. "The United States is lagging."

"Despite having one of the world's most powerful arsenals of vaccines, the country has failed to vaccinate as many people as other large, wealthy nations. Crucially, vaccination rates in older people also lag behind certain European nations," the report noted.

PATCHWORK SYSTEM

U.S. doctors and patients are trying to figure out how to obtain COVID-19 treatments under a patchwork system set up by states that are directing the distribution of limited supplies, reported The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

"A shortage of antiviral pills and effective antibody drugs -- and difficulties obtaining them -- are frustrating efforts to keep COVID-19 patients out of overwhelmed hospitals." it said.

States said that they are getting a fraction of what they need to meet demand for treatments that can prevent the disease from progressing to the point of hospitalization. "It really is a shot in the dark," said a Dallas physician assistant.

That is a concern for some hospitals that are dealing with staffing shortages and a daily crush of sick patients, even as the wave of cases driven by the Omicron wave recedes elsewhere, added the report.

CHILD SYNDROME

Although overall child COVID-19 case counts are on their way down in the United States, the January numbers were 3.5 times higher with the Omicron variant than what was seen with the previous Delta surge, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The increase in cases has resulted in more pediatric hospitalizations and the rise of a dangerous inflammatory disorder called MIS-C, or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. MIS-C is a condition leading to inflammation in the body affecting organs like the heart and lungs.

It occurs about four weeks after infection and can cause high fever, rash, and in some children, other serious health outcomes. It can affect healthy children and one out of every 1,000 kids who contract COVID will experience MIS-C, reported USA Today on Wednesday.

John Vanchiere, president of the Louisiana Chapter of the AAP and chief of LSU Health Shreveport's Department of Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Section, was quoted as saying that about 6,000 cases of MIS-C have been documented nationwide. It has also contributed to about 55 documented deaths. 
For many years I lived across the street from Stuyvesant High School, Manhattans elite public school, and I would sometimes get a ride from a father of one of the students. He was a cabdriver from Pakistan, a man who liked to strike up conversations with his passengers. Usually we talked about two things: his pride in his academically gifted kids (another child was already at Cornell) and his dismay at the state of affairs in Pakistan.

Eventually, the child at Stuyvesant went on to another elite university, and I saw less of my friendly driver, and then I moved out of the city. But Ive been thinking about him again in connection to the two best things Ive read about immigrants in recent months  and what both say about our never-ending debates over American values.

The first was Michael Powells luminous report How It Feels to Be an Asian Student in an Elite Public School in The Times last week. The second is Roya Hakakians book A Beginners Guide to America, a Tocquevillian gem of sociological and psychological analysis that explains, to a mainly American readership, just how strange this country can be to a newcomer, even  or especially  in what seem like the most banal aspects of life.

Powells story looks mainly at Stuyvesants sister school Brooklyn Tech, where 61 percent of the schools nearly 6,000 students are of Asian descent, as against just 15 percent who are Black or Latino. This is nearly the exact reverse of the ethnic composition of New Yorks public schools, leading to charges that schools like Brooklyn Tech  where admission is gained by scoring well on a standardized test  are functionally racist.
METROPOLITAN

An article on Sunday about 16 men who died in New York City jails last year described incorrectly a ruling made by the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner in the death of a detainee, Esias Johnson. The cause of Mr. Johnsons death was still pending. It also misstated the month in which Amanda Velasco told police that her husband, Javier Velasco, broke into her apartment, stole property and sent her threatening text messages. She made that report in September 2020, not February 2021. (Mr. Velasco was jailed and released in February 2021, when he sent her more threatening texts and was jailed again.)

The Big City column on Sunday about Mayor Eric Adamss plan to end gun violence in New York City misstated the number of shooting incidents in the city in 2021. There were 1,562 shooting incidents, not 1,877; the second number refers to the number of shooting victims.

BUSINESS

An article on Monday about inequality in China misstated the source of data showing that the top 10 percent of income earners control 68 percent of Chinas wealth and that the bottom half control about 6 percent. It was the World Inequality Database, not the World Bank.

ARTS

A review on Tuesday of the play Intimate Apparel misstated one of the days on which Chabrelle Williams performs the lead role of Esther. She performs at the Wednesday and Saturday matinees, not the Wednesday and Sunday matinees.

OPINION

An article on Tuesday about the troubles facing Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain misquoted an emailed invitation to a gathering organized by one of his aides. It read, Bring your own booze, not Bring your own bottle. The article also misstated the number of coronavirus deaths in Britain as of April 16, 2021. The government had registered 127,457 by that date, not more than 150,000.
Its the suitcase, or the coffin, he says, referring to his ancestors forced wandering as he may be about to emulate it. (One of the plays most fascinating aspects, though an underexplored one, is how these characters represent two strands of French Judaism: Marcelles Ashkenazi ancestors have been rooted in France for centuries, while Charless are Sephardic Jews who lived in North Africa for generations before relocating from Algeria in the 1960s.)

The Benhamous have spirited arguments that have the urgency of life-or-death decisions: Should they stay or should they go? What does it mean to be Jewish in France? (The plays title refers to a prayer that has been said in French synagogues since the early 19th century.)

Some of the shows concerns, including the temptation of appeasement via assimilation  a position embodied by Marcelles brother, Patrick (Richard Topol)  echo those Harmon explored, in a much more comic vein, in his blistering debut, Bad Jews, from 2012. That show was dominated by a hurricane-like character named Daphna, and she now has a marginally milder-mannered relative in Elodie, who injects volatile energy every time she opens her mouth.

Incidentally, Ranson was also in Bad Jews and once again finds herself on the receiving end of impassioned, and often wickedly funny, tirades and put-downs that have the biting rhythm of New York Jewish humor rather than a French sensibility. (A faux pas: The Benhamous buy croissants in an American-type cardboard box rather than the paper bags used in French boulangeries.)
A gunman fatally shot a police officer and a campus safety officer at Bridgewater College in Virginia on Tuesday afternoon after they responded to reports of a suspicious person near a campus building, the authorities said.

The assailant, identified by the Virginia State Police as Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, shot the two officers around 1:20 p.m. after college employees called the police after he startled them, Corinne Geller, a police spokeswoman, said in a news briefing on Tuesday night. The officers died on campus.

Mr. Campbell ran off and waded through a river, where he ended up on a small island, Ms. Geller said. He was captured at 1:55 p.m. after a massive search operation involving local, state and federal law enforcement officials, the college said in a statement.

He sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, although it was not clear if it was self-inflicted or if he had been shot by a college police officer, Ms. Geller said. He was taken to a hospital and was later transferred to Rockingham County Jail, where he was being held without bail on two counts of capital murder and related charges.
Below Im sharing some of the tracks that made the latest cut as well as your arguments for inclusion. Ill post more of your submissions in the newsletter in the coming weeks.

You can peruse the full list of 101 California songs here or listen here.

But before we proceed, my pick: Rilo Kileys Let Me Back In, from 2013. Its an ode to Los Angeles that centers what Ive always loved about this city  that almost anyone can feel at home here.

Happy listening.

Lights by Journey (1978)

Journey is a Bay Area staple. Lights is a love song to the city of San Francisco. The Giants will play Lights in between the seventh and eighth innings (if the Giants are winning) and the whole ballpark sings and sways to the music. It is wonderful!  Robin Blair, Palo Alto

California Gurls by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg (2010)

Im 64 years young, born and raised in Southern California, and if theres another song that so aptly describes life during my younger years, I dont know what it is. Ive retired to Arizona but Southern California will always be home!!  Cheryl Brown, Surprise, Ariz.

Where the Streets Have No Name by U2 (1987)

This is a song that anyone who has been out to the Mojave and has experienced the heaviness of the universe and fragility of their mortality would agree is about the spiritual growth that occurs there. Not to mention the album is called Joshua Tree.  Ana Macias-Serpa, Arundel, Maine
It is alarming that the former president apparently seriously contemplated extraordinary and legally not permitted courses of action to seize voting equipment from states and localities, said Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California and a member of the committee.

The panel for weeks has been studying the actions of Michael T. Flynn, a former national security adviser to Mr. Trump who investigators say was involved in discussions about seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency and invoking certain national security emergency powers, including during a meeting in the Oval Office on Dec. 18.

Mr. Flynn also gave an interview to the right-wing media site Newsmax a day earlier in which he talked about the purported precedent for deploying military troops and declaring martial law to rerun the election.

At the Dec. 18 meeting, Patrick Byrne, the former chief executive of Overstock.com who funded many of the efforts to challenge the election, said he, Mr. Flynn and Ms. Powell decided they would get into the White House without an appointment by hook or by crook to present their plans to Mr. Trump. He said a junior staffer let them in the building, and eventually they got close enough to the Oval Office that Mr. Trump saw them and called them in.

Once inside, the group pitched Mr. Trump on their plans for him to sign an executive order for the National Guard to take control of voting machines and for Ms. Powell to be appointed a special counsel overseeing election integrity.

We pointed out that, it being Dec. 18, if he signed the paperwork we had brought with us, we could have the first stage (recounting the Problematic 6 counties) finished before Christmas, Mr. Byrne wrote of the episode in a book, referring to portions of contested swing states that Mr. Trump had lost.

Mr. Byrne wrote that Mr. Flynn had drafted a beautiful operational plan that just needed one signature from the president. He described various versions of the plan, including an option for the U.S. Marshals to intervene and another for Mr. Trump to have the National Guard rerun the elections in those six states.
He submitted a notarized account of watching Nazi guards herding his mother and sisters into a gas chamber. In his book, he recounted his last conversation with his father:

 Your mother and sisters are   He paused a moment, unable to go on. And you must not torture your minds about their fate. Yes, yes. Look! There! And he pointed to the flaming chimneys. The vision of mother, Etu and Magda being burned alive made me feel faint, he continued. My head began to spin. I wouldnt accept it. I wanted to run, but where? I started to rise, but father laid a restraining hand on me.

 And itll happen to us, too, he added quietly. Then more firmly he said, But if we stay apart, at least one of us will live to tell.

The revisionist institute refused to pay the reward, insisting that Mr. Mermelsteins sworn account was insufficient proof. He hired William John Cox, a public interest lawyer (and later in the proceedings, Gloria Allred), and sued in Los Angeles County Superior Court for breach of contract, anticipatory repudiation, libel, injurious denial of established fact and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Mr. Cox invoked two legal issues. One was a technicality that entitled Mr. Mermelstein to sue for breach of contract because the back and forth with the institute had been conducted through the mail. The other drew on English common law: that which is known need not be proven.

In a pretrial determination, Judge Thomas T. Johnson declared: This court does take judicial notice of the fact that Jews were gassed to death at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland during the summer of 1944. It is not reasonably subject to dispute. And it is capable of immediate and accurate determination by resort to sources of reasonably indisputable accuracy. It is simply a fact.

On Aug. 5, 1985, Judge Robert A. Wenke entered a judgment requiring the institute and several other defendants to pay Mr. Mermelstein the $50,000 reward and an additional $40,000, and to issue a letter of apology to him and to his fellow survivors for the pain, anguish and suffering caused to them. Mr. Mermelstein received the money.
Senator Ben Ray Lujan, Democrat of New Mexico, suffered a stroke last week and is expected to make a full recovery, his chief of staff said on Tuesday.

Mr. Lujan, 49, checked himself into a hospital in Santa Fe, N.M., on Thursday after experiencing dizziness and fatigue, before being transferred to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, said Carlos Sanchez, his chief of staff.

Senator Lujan was found to have suffered a stroke in the cerebellum, affecting his balance, Mr. Sanchez said in a statement posted to the senators Twitter account. As part of his treatment plan, he subsequently underwent decompressive surgery to ease swelling.
Albert Bourla, Pfizers chairman and chief executive, said in a statement that ultimately, we believe that three doses of the vaccine will be needed for children 6 months through 4 years of age to achieve high levels of protection against current and potential future variants. But he said that if two doses are authorized in the meantime, parents will have the opportunity to begin a Covid-19 vaccination series for their children while awaiting potential authorization of a third dose.

Pfizer and BioNTechs study of younger children was intended to measure immune responses, not the vaccines efficacy in preventing infections or severe cases of Covid-19. But because some children in the trial became infected, researchers got indications of how well the vaccine worked to stave off the virus, two people familiar with the study said. A similar development occurred in the companies study of their vaccine in 5- to 11-year-olds, which overlapped with a crushing wave of the Delta variant.

One person familiar with the data, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said children 2 to 4 years old who were given two shots were infected at a rate 57 percent lower than the children in the placebo group. Children 6 months to 2 years old who got shots were infected at a rate 50 percent lower than the placebo group. There were fewer than 100 cases of symptomatic infection  a small fraction of the participants overall  and the margins of error were wide, that person said.

The data also suggested that the vaccine better protected the children against infection from Delta than from Omicron. Omicron is better than Delta at evading the protection of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in adults.

The regulators strategy seemed based in part on the likelihood that the Pfizer-BioNTechs three-dose trial would prove successful. Several experts, including Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a Stanford professor of pediatric infectious diseases, said the history of vaccines suggested that a third dose would, in fact, enhance the immune response.

Theres almost no conceivable hypothesis where a third dose would be worse, said Dr. Maldonado, a lead investigator at the Stanford site of Pfizer-BioNTechs pediatric vaccine trials. At worst it could be no different. So it might just be that two doses is the best youre going to get.

Dr. H. Cody Meissner, another member of the F.D.A. advisory committee and chief of the pediatric infectious diseases division at Tufts Childrens Hospital, said he was open minded about the F.D.A.s approach. But he said he worried about whether rare side effects might be missed in small-scale trials. The Pfizer-BioNTech trial included about 1,200 children younger than 2, and about 1,500 between 2 and 4, according to people familiar with the studys design.
WASHINGTON  The White House dispatched its top cybersecurity official to NATO on Tuesday in what it described as a mission to prepare allies to deter, and perhaps disrupt, Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine, and to brace for the possibility that sanctions on Moscow could lead to a wave of retaliatory cyberattacks on Europe and the United States.

The visit by the official, Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, underscored recent intelligence assessments that an invasion of Ukraine would almost certainly be preceded by renewed cyberattacks on Ukraines electric grid, its communications systems and its government ministries.

All of those systems have been Russian targets in the past six years. Ukraine has often been President Vladimir V. Putins testing ground for Russias arsenal of cyberweapons.

We have been warning for weeks and months, both publicly and privately, that cyberattacks could be part of a broad-based Russian effort to destabilize and further invade Ukraine, the White House said in a statement announcing Ms. Neubergers arrival at NATO headquarters in Brussels. After speaking with the North Atlantic Council, NATOs main policy body, she will go on to Poland, where she will meet with Baltic officials responsible for cyberdefense.
Lacson: There's Always a Second Chance in Love, Life

More at: https://pinglacson.net/article/lacson-theres-always-a-second-chance-in-love-life

In life and in love, Filipinos must never lose hope that better days will always be ahead.

Partido Reporma chairman and presidential bet Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson shared this advice with Filipinos who continue to face challenges in their everyday lives - as well as their love lives this February.

"Huwag mawalan ng pag-asa. Habang may buhay, may pagasa. Huwag patayin ang puso kasi dapat laging buhay yan, kasi laging may second chance (Don't lose hope. So long as there is life, there is hope)," Lacson said in an interview on Bombo Radyo, when asked by program co-anchor Jane Buna for his thoughts and advice for Valentine's Day.

"Maging sa pang-araw araw nating mga problema o hinaharap lalo sa pag-ibig, meron laging second chance (Whether it's the problems we face in love or in life, there is always a second chance)," he added.

For this year's Valentine's Day, Lacson said he will gift his wife Alice with roses and chocolates, as he has done every year.

Lacson and his Vice Presidential bet, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, are hoping to give Filipinos hope for a better life with their programs themed on fixing the ills of government (Aayusin ang Gobyerno, Aayusin ang Buhay ng Bawat Pilipino) and running after thieves especially in government (Uubusin ang Magnanakaw).

Also, Lacson said he would pray daily that the Philippines and Filipinos would see better days ahead, especially in the wake of the devastation caused by the pandemic on our health and economy.
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Airlines, Africa's largest aviation group, flew its Boeing 737 MAX jet for the first time on Tuesday after a tragic crash in 2019.

"Ethiopian Airlines has returned its Boeing 737 MAX back to the skies today with the airline's board chairman and executives, Boeing executives, ministers, ambassadors, government officials, journalists and customers onboard the first flight," the group said in a press release.

"Safety is the top most priority at Ethiopian Airlines and it guides every decision we make and all actions we take," said Tewolde Gebremariam, Group CEO of the Ethiopian Airlines.

On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after departing Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, killing 157 people on board.

The incident prompted Ethiopia's flag carrier, along with many other airlines worldwide, to ground Boeing 737 MAX jets. 
The Biden administration has pledged to no longer invoke statements made by a prisoner during his years in C.I.A. custody in his death-penalty proceedings, repudiating an earlier effort to use evidence obtained from torture in a case at Guantanamo Bay.

Last year, the veteran chief prosecutor for war crimes, Brig. Gen. Mark S. Martins, had argued that such evidence could be used in pretrial proceedings, before a jury was chosen. He left the job in September after disagreeing with lawyers for the Biden administration over the pretrial litigation tactic.

Now the Justice Department has rejected that interpretation. A 37-page filing submitted Monday night at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the law governing military commission trials at Guantanamo Bay prohibits the admission of statements obtained through torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment at all phases of a military commission.

The filing, however, did not entirely foreclose the possibility that a future U.S. government might choose to interpret the law that governs military commissions differently, and try to use evidence obtained through torture. Instead, the Justice Department asked the appeals court to step aside and let military judges at Guantanamo Bay decide the question as it comes up.
A series of new remarks by Donald J. Trump about the aftermath of the 2020 election and new disclosures about his actions in trying to forestall its result  including discussing the use of the national security apparatus to seize voting machines  have stripped away any pretense that the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were anything but the culmination of the former presidents single-minded pursuit of retaining power.

Mr. Trump said on Sunday that Mike Pence could have overturned the election, acknowledging for the first time that the aim of the pressure campaign he focused on his vice president had simply been to change the elections result, not just to buy time to root out supposed fraud, as he had long insisted. Those efforts ended at the Capitol with a violent riot of Trump supporters demanding that Mr. Pence block the Electoral College vote.

Over the weekend, Mr. Trump also dangled, for the first time, that he could issue pardons to anyone facing charges for participating in the Jan. 6 attack if he is elected president again  the latest example of a yearslong flirtation with political violence.

And, ignoring what happened the last time he encouraged a mass demonstration, Mr. Trump urged his supporters to gather in the biggest protests we have ever had if prosecutors in New York and Atlanta moved further against him. The prosecutor examining Mr. Trumps efforts to overturn the election in Georgia immediately asked the F.B.I. to conduct a risk assessment of her buildings security.
Tonga went into lockdown on Wednesday evening after recording its first community transmission of the coronavirus, weeks after being battered by a powerful volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami. The eruption shrouded buildings in ash, swamped the island with water, cut off digital communication and prompted an international humanitarian aid effort.

Two workers who were helping to distribute aid shipments at the Tongan wharf tested positive for the virus on Tuesday, prompting Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni to announce a lockdown that night. Three more positive cases were recorded on Wednesday among relatives of the workers, who are asymptomatic and in quarantine, local news media reported.

The outbreak occurred despite efforts by countries and aid groups to deliver relief without direct contact with the island nation, which had managed until now to remain mostly coronavirus-free.

The initial two cases were detected in Nukualofa, the capital, during routine testing of frontline wharf workers, local news media reported.
The report also detailed repeated racism and xenophobia, with messages between officers that mocked the Black Lives Matter movement and non-Christian religions, insulted people with disabilities and included homophobic comments.

The investigations were initiated in 2018, long before the national outcry over policing that followed Ms. Everards death, but have since taken on new resonance.

The evidence uncovered in the report included a series of messages between officers in WhatsApp groups, with highly offensive and openly racist commentary, as well as disparaging comments about women.

In one exchange, two officers talked about domestic violence, with one officer writing about women, Knock a bird about and she will love you. Human nature.

In another exchange, a male officer told a female officer, I would happily rape you.

The report said that the casual exchange and blase nature of this communication indicates a culture where officers were comfortable to make these comments, suggesting it was part of a status quo rather than an exception to the norm. It added: the messages appeared to be sent without fear of repercussion or consequence.

The report offered 15 recommendations aimed at tackling the underlying cultural issues in the force, which included recommending that it publicly commit to being an anti-racist organization with a zero-tolerance policy toward sexism, misogyny, bullying and harassment.

Bas Javid, the deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, said in a statement that he was angry and disappointed to see officers involved in sharing sexist, racist and discriminatory messages, and it was clear more work needed to be done to eradicate bullying and discrimination from the force.
Nestled in the Atlantic Ocean, five miles off the coast of the picturesque town of Port Clyde, Maine, lie two rugged islands with stories to tell. Allen and Benner, as they are called, have witnessed a string of inhabitants over the centuries, from the Abenaki people and English colonists to homesteading lobstermen. And then came Betsy and Andrew Wyeth  mid-coast Maine locals and the most high-profile members of what many consider the first family of American art.

After the death in 2020 at age 98 of Betsy James Wyeth, the notoriously formidable adviser, collaborator, business manager, muse, and wife of the realist painter Andrew Wyeth, a polarizing figure in American art history, the keys to the castle are now passing to a far younger generation. (He died in 2009 at 91.)

Colby College of Waterville, Maine, around 75 miles inland from the islands, is set to announce it has acquired Allen and Benner from the familys two foundations, Up East and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. The Colby connection could breathe new life into a name that has been lacking in youthfulness for some time.
It feels like this is where I can take a deep breath and start my life at 60, said Guest, seated in the gallery and surrounded by the works, the first time he was seeing them hung together. A Japanophile who has traveled extensively in that country, he was clad in a kimono as usual  he paints in one, too.

The eight works, mostly battle scenes and portraits animated by thickly painted areas, rely on a palette of black, a gray-blue and a dirty orange, colors that Guest devises and mixes himself, generally eschewing assistants. They depict the Buffalo Soldiers, the all-Black U.S. Army regiments that served on the Western frontier after the Civil War, and who got their nickname from the Indigenous tribes they frequently fought against. That two marginalized groups were pitted against each other, Guest said, was a painful irony for him.

For some prestige TV fans, part of the shows poignancy may be that the model for the figures in the works was the much-mourned, Emmy-nominated actor Michael K. Williams, most famous for his role as Omar on The Wire, who sat for Guest in late August and died some two weeks later of an overdose. (On Wednesday, authorities in Manhattan announced the arrests of four men who are accused of selling fentanyl-laced heroin to Williams.)
The fun thing about conceptual art is that its totally easy to create. You can say something about the increasingly virtual way many of us experience the world, and the explosive popularity of NFTs (nonfungible tokens)  or seem to say something profound, anyway  just by staging a Central Park happening around a knee-high cube of 24-karat gold.

At least, thats what the German pop artist Niclas Castello has done. His Castello Cube, cast from more than 400 pounds of Nevadan gold, appeared in a patch of icy slush opposite the Naumburg Bandshell on Wednesday, preceded by an over-the-top marketing campaign that included a wraparound ad in that mornings edition of The New York Times. Related NFTs from the artist and even a new digital currency, Castello Coin, will drop later in the month. The artist did privately presell enough of the coins to finance this project, according to Marina Dertnig, a member of the production team. The cube is not solid all the way through: it has a hollow core. But the gold alone is worth more than $10 million at current prices. And Castello, 43, underlined the rarity of the cube as an art object by displaying it for only a single day, and by promising that it wouldnt be sold.
In the two years that the New York-based curator Cecilia Alemani had to organize the 59th edition of the Venice Biennale  during which the pandemic forced a one-year delay and 400 studio visits had to happen on Zoom  the world changed around her.

People grappled with large existential questions about the purpose of life, problems of inequity and the health of the planet. There were moments of dystopian doom and hopeful reinvention.

These issues informed Alemanis iteration of the Biennale  the worlds longest-running major survey of contemporary art  the details of which were revealed on Wednesday.

There is a majority of female and gender-nonconforming artists, a choice that Alemani, in her official announcement, said reflects a deliberate rethinking of mans centrality in the history of art and contemporary culture.
But Frank is not the only character with access to magic. Tokarczuk gives him a counterpart, his cousin Hayah, known within her circle as a great prophetess. As the book opens, a dying Yente swallows a piece of paper on which is written Hamtanah, the Hebrew word for waiting. Halfway to the other world, Yente freezes. Hayah has cast the spell, at her fathers behest. Hes hosting a big wedding, and Yentes death would ruin it.

And so Yente waits. Not just until after the wedding, but indefinitely. What does she wait for and how long must she wait? We dont know, and thats appropriate: Waiting is the central issue in Jewish messianism, and in this novel.

Normative Judaism asks Jews to accept two contradictory principles: that the Messiah is coming to rescue the Jews from exile and misery, and that a Jew must never expect the Messiah to come. The Messiah is, after all, the one on whom the world must wait forever, say the big-city Jews who scoff at Jacob and his army of villagers. By contrast, Nahman, a Kabbalist, believes that Frank has gathered together the holy sparks scattered across a broken world and that they have shed new light on old words, revealing new meanings. The laws a dead letter. The wait is over. Now is the time to annihilate the old order.

The Books of Jacob juxtaposes not just orthodox and apocalyptic Judaism but other creeds as well. Theres Polands primary religion, Catholicism, whose Messiah debate was settled long ago. A significant portion of the novel, perhaps too much, recounts the machinations of priests who edge Frank toward baptism. Theres also a more benevolent, literary priest whose relevance I dont quite understand.

The other faith hides in plain sight. Call it a belief in everyday life. Its disciples are women, mostly, and its ethos is pragmatic: Sustain life patiently, persistently and without hope of redemption save through the renewal of generations. Women perform the mundane rites of life-maintenance, such as scrubbing menstrual blood out of dresses or cooking chickens while husbands pore over texts. Even the high priestess Hayah nurses back to health a half-dead runaway serf who becomes a sort of family golem. What is the art of reading from books written by men when the whole world is a book written by God? Yentes mother asks. I dont mean to imply that Tokarczuk romanticizes the domestic; she is honoring the work of women in that time and place.

And it is not just women who cherish the real. In Hayahs town lives a young doctor named Asher Rubin. He does the best an 18th-century physician can do; aside from bloodletting, he offers compassion. He knows how to sit with the suffering, including a merchants wife who, he understands, is being driven mad by having been reduced to a human ornament. Rubins medical interest lies in the restoration of sight  he treats cataracts and becomes a successful optician  but his meditations on seeing rise to the level of Cartesian philosophy. Walking at night through a village whose Jews fight endlessly over real and false messiahs, Rubin wonders: What would happen if we were to really open our eyes? If we were to see by some miracle the reality that surrounds us? What might that be like?

It might reveal a quality that interests Tokarczuk: tenderness, which she has called the most modest form of love, and without which, in her opinion, no story is well told. Tokarczuk often speaks of a tender narrator who can pay a loving attention others cannot. Yente, who sees all and judges nothing, is the most obvious candidate for the role in The Books of Jacob, but tender narration occurs whenever we peer through the eyes of an unselfish, nonfanatical character. Even Nahman, Franks apostle, can write tenderly about his frenzied master, whom he adores, although his love is not requited. I dont think its an accident that the scraps of paper on which Nahman records Jacobs life (against his wishes) are never read after his death.

This is a novel that affirms life while exploring the nihilistic disregard for its unglamorous fundamentals. Indeed, the power and beauty of Tokarczuks writing, which shine through Jennifer Crofts ebullient translation, lie, in part, in how tenderly she recreates the material as well as psychic reality of the actors in this strange, implausible drama, making them substantial, sympathetic, impossible to dismiss. She spent years ensuring the historical accuracy of every detail. Her credo might be summed up by another slip of paper given to Nahman by a former teacher, the founder of Chasidism, the Baal Shem Tov. It reads, If you can destroy, you can also build. Tokarczuk celebrates those who build, humbly, discreetly, outside the spotlight of history. They uphold the world.
10. And finally, six more weeks of winter  maybe.

Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his tree stump in Pennsylvania this morning and saw his shadow, predicting a longer winter. His counterpart in New York, Staten Island Chuck, signaled warmer weather ahead. No matter which tea leaves you prefer to read, Groundhog Day remains the one day in the U.S. that is earmarked for an animal.

Beyond their troublesome garden reputation, not much is known about Marmota monax. But a study of groundhogs in Maine, now in its third decade, is shedding light on their social habits: These groundhogs arent solitary, as many assume. They form a loose-knit clan with subtle, kinship-based relationships. Researchers hope the work may help people understand the benefits of complex social networks.

Have a friendly night.

Jennifer Arnow compiled photos for this briefing.

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Here are todays Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. If youre in the mood to play more, find all our games here.
KINSHASA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 50 people were killed by rebels of the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) in a camp for displaced people in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to local sources reached by Xinhua.

Militiamen of the CODECO launched the attack late Tuesday against a site for displaced civilians in Bule village of the Djugu territory, in DRC's northeastern province of Ituri, killing at least 50 civilians, said the local sources.

An official of the Caritas Internationalis, an organization in charge of the site under attack, confirmed the tragedy when reached by Xinhua, stressing that there are several bodies of the displaced found Wednesday morning.

CODECO is an armed group structured around a religious sect in Ituri. The group is accused of being behind the violence that has been engulfing this gold-rich region since late 2017, after a 20-year lull. The province of Ituri and the neighboring North Kivu province, long troubled by insecurity, have been under siege since May 6 due to violence by armed groups. 
The European Union said on Wednesday that it would label some nuclear power and natural gas plants, under certain conditions, as transitional green investments in order to drastically cut the continents greenhouse gas emissions.

The landmark legislation is a signpost for private investment and an important step in the transition to a climate-neutral economy, said Mairead McGuinness, the blocs commissioner for financial services. As governments and public authorities we cannot do this alone; we need the private sector to play its full part.

The move, which can be blocked if enough member states or lawmakers in the European Parliament oppose it, is expected to steer private and public investments into new nuclear plants and gas-fired power stations.

Proponents say nuclear power and natural gas must be supported as bridges until renewable technologies  like solar, wind or eventually hydrogen  can generate enough power to replace fossil fuels.
ITAMI, Japan  In his early 70s, Koji Uchida began to vanish.

The first time, the police found him sitting in front of a vending machine 17 miles from home. He began to go missing regularly, once wandering for two days before turning up at a strangers apartment, hungry and barely able to remember his name, his mind clouded by dementia.

At a loss for what to do, his family asked the local government to put Mr. Uchida under digital surveillance.

In Itami, the suburb of Osaka where Mr. Uchidas family lives, more than 1,000 sensors line the streets, each unit emblazoned with a smiling cartoon figure bracketed by Wi-Fi squiggles. When Mr. Uchida went out walking, the system recorded his location through a beacon hidden in his wallet and sent his family a steady stream of alerts. When he veered off course, the family could easily find him.

Itami is one of several localities that have turned to electronic tracking as Japan, the worlds grayest nation, confronts an epidemic of dementia. The programs offer the promise of protecting those in cognitive decline while helping them retain some independence, but they have also evoked fears of Orwellian overreach.
John C. Koss, a trumpet player and onetime teenage bandleader who with a friend invented stereo headphones and provided people with a new high-quality  and personal  way to listen to music, died on Dec. 21 in Milwaukee. He was 91.

His son Michael confirmed the death.

Koss headphones became standard equipment for music listeners, disc jockeys and recording artists in the studio  even for members of the House Judiciary Committee when they heard White House tapes in 1974 during President Richard M. Nixons impeachment inquiry. For many years they were virtually all Mr. Kosss company made, until an unsuccessful expansion into other audio products in the 1980s nearly put it out of business.

Mr. Koss and his friend Martin Lange Jr., an engineer, developed a portable stereo phonograph in 1958 that they called a private listening station. It had a turntable, speakers and a privacy switch that let users plug headphones into a jack. But most of the headphones available, like those used by telephone operators, shortwave radio users and pilots, were incompatible and not stereophonic.

So they rigged up cardboard cups that contained three-inch speakers and chamois pads from a flight helmet, and they attached them to a headband made of a bent clothes hanger covered with a rubber shower hose.
In the United States, rising gasoline prices  currently averaging $3.40 per gallon, a dollar higher than a year ago  have been a drag on the approval ratings of President Biden, who is struggling to persuade Congress to pass climate policies aimed at reducing fossil-fuel emissions. At the same time, the Biden administration has defended moves to issue new oil and gas permits on public lands, although those efforts have been slowed by federal courts.

But high oil prices arent always bad news for clean energy. They can also depress oil demand by, for example, pushing people to buy electric vehicles that dont require gasoline. Last year, electric cars made up 20 percent of all new sales in Europe and 15 percent of new sales in China, according to BloombergNEF, a research group.

A Gas Shortage Roils Europe

In recent months, the world has struggled with spiking prices for natural gas, a fuel used in both power plants and home heating, that has caused ripple effects across the globe. Utility bills have soared from Italy to South Korea, while fertilizer plants in Britain and Germany have had to curtail operations. (Natural gas is a key ingredient in nitrogen-based fertilizer.)

The causes of the gas crunch are numerous: Global demand has rebounded faster than supply since the pandemic began; lower output from hydropower dams in China and Brazil have led to a surge of gas imports; a cold snap last spring across Europe increased demand and reduced gas inventories.

The crisis is particularly acute in Europe, where natural gas prices are now five times as high as they were a year ago. Officials are racing to procure new shipments of gas from overseas in case Russia, which provides one-third of Europes natural gas, curtails supplies in the event of a conflict over Ukraine.

There are also signs the gas crunch could undermine unity within the European Union over policies to fight climate change.

Officials are currently debating a sweeping new set of clean-energy measures aimed at cutting emissions by 2030. Some nations, like Spain, have called for a faster shift away from fossil fuels to reduce Europes exposure to gas markets. But others, like Poland, have urged a delay in stricter climate action amid the crisis.
I still have that HATE shirt in my closet to remind me, Rinella told me. We were sitting in his backyard at the home he shares with his wife, Katie, and their three young children in an upscale neighborhood in Bozeman. The leaves on the aspen tree out front had gone riotously golden, and the branches were festooned with dozens of antlers and animal bones strung up like Christmas-tree ornaments. Rinella is away from home a lot, following the hunting seasons like some kind of migratory superpredator, often with cinematographers in tow. In November, he hunted black-tailed deer and caught shrimp in Alaska and then white-tailed deer in Nebraska; in December, he shot ducks in Louisiana. January means hunting Coues deer in Mexico; February, the piglike javelina in Arizona; March, Osceola turkeys and cobia fishing in Florida; April, wild turkeys in Mexico, Wisconsin and Michigan; May, black bears back in Montana. Summer means bowfishing and spearfishing in Florida and Louisiana; fall means moose in Alaska and elk in Colorado. His fans are constantly stopping him in airports.

After graduating from high school, Rinella was set on becoming a commercial fur trapper, selling muskrat, beaver, mink, fox and raccoon pelts to be made into fur coats and hats. But things didnt go as planned. Fur prices were falling. He supplemented his meager earnings by cutting and selling firewood and picking up graveyard shifts at a nearby green-bean-processing plant. Later, hed get an M.F.A. in creative-nonfiction writing at the University of Montana and realize that his experiences as a scrappy, working-class kid who wanted nothing more than to be outside gave him a unique voice as a storyteller, on the page and eventually on the screen. But in those years after high school, he was still a fledgling fur trapper going into debt. One day one of his older brothers  both of them lifelong hunters who were by then studying wildlife biology in college  gave him a dog-eared paperback copy of Aldo Leopolds A Sand County Almanac. That was the beginning of my conservation awakening, Rinella told me.

Most people read Leopold as belonging to the pantheon of American environmental writers, with the likes of Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson and John Muir. Rinella reads Leopold as a fellow hunter. Leopold, his wife and his children all hunted, often with bows, and he derived many insights about the natural world and humans place in it from hunting. A Sand County Almanac was published in 1949 and has since sold more than two million copies and been translated into 14 languages. In one of the books essays, Thinking Like a Mountain, Leopold describes shooting a wolf and her pups in Arizonas Apache National Forest when he was a 22-year-old forest ranger, a standard practice at a time when the government was busy trying to eradicate wolves and other predators. Leopold watched the wolfs eyes go dead. I was young then and full of trigger-itch, he writes. I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf, nor the mountain agreed with such a view. Watching the wolf die certainly didnt stop Leopold from hunting. And reading about it didnt stop Rinella from hunting, either, but it did force him to grapple with Americas ignoble past when it came to the slaughter of its wild animals. I had no idea that wed killed all the deer, and the turkeys and the ducks and then brought them back, he told me. Without knowing all that, I never thought to apply any kind of reverence toward wildlife; it was just there.

When European settlers arrived in the New World, they quickly set about killing animals with a similarly prodigal mind-set. They hunted for food, fur, hides and, in the case of buffalo, as part of a genocidal strategy to starve Indigenous inhabitants and claim the land. Before white people landed, some 50 million bison roamed North America; by 1889, there were just 1,000 left.

The precolonial population of white-tailed deer crashed from an estimated 62 million animals to as few as 300,000. The Canada goose disappeared almost entirely. Wealthy hunters noticed the decline in species they were keen to hunt and, in the interest of maintaining free-roaming prey, set about trying to protect these animals and their landscapes. In 1887, more than a decade before Theodore Roosevelt became president, he founded the Boone & Crockett Club, Americas first conservation organization. Membership was restricted to 100 men who had each shot at least three different megafaunas from a list that included bear, bison, caribou, cougar and moose. These elite sportsmen were instrumental in passing the nations first wildlife-protection laws, starting with the Lacey Act of 1900, which made the interstate trafficking of illegally harvested wildlife a federal crime.

As president, Roosevelt went on to designate 230 million acres as public land, creating 150 national forests, 51 bird sanctuaries and five national parks, in no small part because of his love of hunting. In 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt, influenced by the earlier conservation work of his cousin, whom he admired, signed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, a federal tax on guns and ammunition. A similar federal tax was later placed on fishing equipment. For more than 80 years, that money has made up the bulk of states conservation budgets, supplemented by sales of hunting and fishing licenses. Spend any amount of time among hunters, or even state wildlife biologists, and youll inevitably hear the claim that hunting is conservation.

Tony Wasley, president of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife, explained to me what that actually means. We have to take care of 895 commonly occurring species in Nevada based on funding that comes from peoples desire to recreationally pursue 8 percent of those species, he said. His email signature: Support Nevadas Wildlife ... Buy a Hunting and Fishing License.
New mayors like to pick their own deputies, and no one wants an adversary for a partner. Last summer, though, after Eric Adams won the Democratic primary, he told the local news channel PIX11 that he was not planning to replace every commissioner and mentioned Bankss work. When Adams won the election, a person close to the Adams campaign and transition told the news organization City Limits that it was a done deal that Banks would continue in his role. Even if you dont like him, you have to keep him on, the person said. (The Adams administration and Banks declined to comment.) But Banks decided to get out. In November he announced that he would lead the pro bono practice at the law firm Paul, Weiss, which litigates public-interest cases nationwide. Adams promoted the administrator of the Human Resources Administration, Gary Jenkins, who had worked for Banks.

The mayors that Banks fought at Legal Aid would argue that they couldnt end homelessness without a state and federal government willing to help. They may have been right in a very narrow sense, but they were wrong where it counted. If you want to end homelessness, you need the other two levels of government working with you rather than against you, Banks said. But that doesnt let the city off the hook. The de Blasio administration was the first in 40 years to have fewer people in shelter on its last day than on its first. Weve shown what the city can do with a social-service response, Banks said. He has also shown, he says, how beholden the Department of Social Services is to other systems that create the need for shelter. The cost of their failures appear in the shelter budget.

When we brought McCain, Banks said, referring to the right-to-shelter case he argued for nearly three decades, we couldnt make a claim for permanent housing because all of the case law said there wasnt a right to permanent housing. The right to shelter was the limit to what the law would allow. The language in the state constitution that anchors it is vague  it says little more than that the aid, care and support of the needy are public concerns, and shall be provided by the state  and had lay dormant for nearly 50 years. What brought it to life, Banks said, was modern mass homelessness. New Yorkers were freezing to death in the streets or losing limbs to hypothermia, and Banks and his colleagues thought that the social circumstances should change the way that the courts interpreted the law. Their work, eventually, showed that they were right.

Over the past two years, our social circumstances have been reordered again. A pandemic still not under control has been shown to spread more rapidly in overcrowded housing. Is that not a public concern? Banks asked. Additionally, he said, federal law already provides a right to housing assistance  if you own your home. There are tax deductions available to mortgage holders and a suite of subsidies open to homeowners. The path to prosperity in America  to the kind of wealth that can be passed from one generation to the next  runs through housing, and for the bulk of the last century, it also ran through discriminatory policies, like redlining and segregation, that governed homeownership. This means it has also been a way for intergenerational wealth to be denied. Yet the tax code continues to reward homeowners and ignore renters. Were at a moment of racial reckoning, Banks said. Isnt there an argument to be made that now is the time to undo the impact of current law that provides a right to housing assistance if you own your home, but not if you dont?

The moral argument for a right to housing, cynics might say, remains naive; it has always been too idealistic to catch on widely. But the grounds for a legal argument may have just taken shape, and Banks has made a career of moral arguments spoken through the language of the law.

Let me put it this way, Banks said. I look forward to returning to the practice of law, and it would be a great case to bring.

Alex Carp is a research editor for the magazine. He has written for The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books online and The Believer. Ahmed Gaber is a photographer who works to capture stories of everyday people and experiences. Originally working in his homeland, Egypt, he now lives and works in New York.
The cohorts presence is easily felt on social media, as it was within hours after The Times contacted more than 30 donors for comment last week.

Heads up #CuomoArmy! one woman posted. Another accused the reporters of predatory behavior, comparing requests for comment on the Cuomo supporters public donations to calling old ladies and calling for their Social Security numbers, or sexual harassment. Another woman posted a screenshot showing that she had made a new donation to Mr. Cuomo in response.

Mr. Cuomos team and many of the leaders of the online movement say they do not coordinate. Several women active in Mr. Cuomos defense said any hint of payments or back-room-strategy sessions would undermine their credibility.

Weve been called fake bots or paid aides in some way, said Anna Vavare, a former social worker and psychologist in Ontario, Canada, who runs social media for We Decide New York, Inc. Someone suggested we are all Rich Azzopardi, she added, referring to the political operative who was Mr. Cuomos spokesman as governor. I object to that strongly. I dont want to be him.

But there is a clear internet-enabled feedback loop. Many of the accounts  some with names like Italians for Cuomo and Cuomo News That Isnt reported  appear to hang on every word of Mr. Cuomos lawyer, Rita Glavin, echoing arguments she relays in sparsely watched public briefings that challenge the credibility of key accusers or Ms. James. And after reporters began contacting Cuomo donors, prompting several women to tweet about it, Mr. Azzopardi reached out to find out what the reporters were working on.

There are many people who see right through the A.G.s sham report and appreciate the decades of service the governor dedicated to the people of New York, as well as his leadership during Covid, Mr. Azzopardi said later. We appreciate their continued support and thank them for their friendship.
Now lawyers for detainees who say they have been denied adequate care are demanding that the Department of Correction be held in contempt for failing to comply with a court order requiring such care.

[Medical Care at Rikers Is Delayed for Thousands, Records Show]

Veronica Vela, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Societys Prisoners Rights Project, said the city could not show that it was meeting its obligations to provide access to care. The Legal Aid Society is representing the detainees along with Brooklyn Defender Services and the law firm Milbank LLP.

The lawyers say that inmates risk extreme sickness and pain when treatable medical problems go unattended. Sometimes stab wounds and burns are left untreated. Sometimes bug bites swell to grotesque proportions.

And delays compound the problems. My colleague Jonah E. Bromwich writes that it took the city nearly a year to get a man with a toothache to a dentist. By then, he was in agony. His mouth had become infected and was leaking blood and pus, according to court records and the lawyers. He was told that he would need extensive surgery.

Another man said that despite being bitten in the face by another detainee, he had not received medical care for more than a week, and a correction officer falsely recorded that he had refused care.
People have died in record numbers from drug overdoses across the United States as the coronavirus has raged, according to preliminary Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Health experts believe the increase in fatal overdoses reflects a convergence of an array of issues, including a deepening of mental health challenges for some people and the widening availability of dangerous street drugs.

One such drug, the synthetic opioid fentanyl, can be several dozen times more powerful than opioids derived from natural sources. The drug, which can be prescribed legally to treat pain, is cheap to make and has spread underground as a potent heroin alternative.

There has been a pronounced jump in overdose deaths in New York City, with more than 2,300 in the 12-month period that ended last March, according to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York; about six people died of overdoses each day in recent months, the office has said. The vast majority of those deaths involved fentanyl, heroin or some combination of the two, according to the office.

Before his death, Mr. Williams had also openly discussed his personal fight to overcome drug addiction.

The Wire, which aired on HBO over five seasons in the 2000s, explored the underworld of crime and drugs in Baltimore and how it intersected with institutions like City Hall, the police and schools. The series is widely viewed by critics as among the best in TV history, and Mr. Williamss character  a vicious killer with a surprising soft side and a strict code of honor  was among the most popular with viewers.

The investigation into Mr. Williamss death relied on sustained detective work, license-plate readers and surveillance video, the complaint makes clear.

The police, responding to a report of an unresponsive man at Mr. Williamss apartment on Sept. 6, found him dead, with what were later determined to be narcotics and related paraphernalia on a table, the complaint says.
When scientists in South Africa noticed an uptick in Covid-19 cases in the Gauteng Province last November, they began investigating the source. These researchers and others in Botswana quickly discovered the Omicron variant and heroically shared their discovery with the rest of the world. And yet it was still too late  Omicron was already rapidly infecting people across the globe.

The question for a world enduring the variants astonishing surge is how can we discover the next one early enough to stop its spread. Currently, the hunt for coronavirus variants is too slow and sporadic. Scientists in a handful of countries  South Africa, Botswana, the United States and others  monitor patterns in case counts and regularly sequence samples of the virus from infected people to see whether there are notable genetic changes. The results of these analyses can be shared within a global network, such as GISAID, an international community of scientists who openly share data on disease variants, to compare coronavirus sequences from around the world.

By the time this happens, variants are often already spreading in a community and most likely beyond it. This analysis process is like testing every piece of hay in a stack to see whether its a needle  or, really, the equivalent of choosing and testing just 1 percent of the haystack.

But there are places to look that may help scientists find new variants even faster: sewage and the air. People can shed the coronavirus in their feces and their exhaled breath. As a result, the virus can be spotted before people have been tested or developed symptoms.
PRETORIA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) - South Africa is committed to just transition to cleaner energy, but coal will for some time be vital for the country's economic growth and employment creation, said Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe on Tuesday at the coal colloquium in Pretoria.

Mantashe said coal accounts for about 70 percent of the primary energy consumption, 75 percent the electricity generation, and 30 percent of petroleum liquid fuels in the country's energy mix.

"The transition must speak to the contribution of coal to energy security, sizeable contribution to the gross domestic product, large contingent of employees, and other relevant economic factors. Our climate change agenda cannot afford to ignore these national interests. They must be integrated into our plans to move from high carbon emissions to low carbon emissions," said Mantashe.

He called on the captains of industry to demonstrate the commitment to just transition and the country's national interests in coal mining and coal power stations.

Mantashe said there is a potential for the country to export coal to China.

"Strong international coal prices of around 130 U.S. dollars per tonne have raised the attractiveness of exports, with most of South Africa's export coal going to India and Pakistan. China is also reopening opportunities for imports from South Africa," he said. 
Since the 18th century, the concept of deterrence has been based on the swiftness, certainty and severity of punishment. The research backs up district attorneys like Mr. Bragg who are betting that their predecessors overrated the effectiveness of severe penalties.

On the other hand, swiftness and certainty of punishment, which hinge on the probability that a crime is detected, are important in holding down crime. The evidence shows, not surprisingly, that when more police officers are around, people are more likely to believe theyll be caught if they commit a crime. But, more important, police presence can deter crime without increasing arrests overall.

Increasing misdemeanor arrests produces little value in public safety while disproportionally affecting Black residents, which helps explain why far more Black than white people report fearing the police  even to the point that some say theyd rather be robbed than questioned by an officer without good reason.

Relying on the police and prosecutors to prevent crime, as many cities have more or less done for decades, is a mistake, argue some public safety experts. City governments can provide as much, if not more, safety as police, without the unavoidable toxicity that comes with force when they work with residents and local organizations to strengthen the social fabric of neighborhoods, according to Elizabeth Glazer, a director of Mayor Bill de Blasios Office of Criminal Justice, and Patrick Sharkey, a sociologist at Princeton, in a 2021 report for the Square One Project, a justice reform group.

They call for continuing efforts to expand youth employment programs, mental-health services, the deployment of neighborhood workers trained to stop disputes from escalating into violence, and the redesign of public spaces. Studies have shown that planting grass and trees on vacant lots is associated with significant drops in gun violence. If people feel safe, then theyre more likely to be out and about, serving as eyes on the street. And the stronger the connections are among residents, the more likely they are to look out for one another.

New York had a rough 2020 and 2021, when homicides and shootings rose, as they did across the country in the pandemic. The fatal shootings so far this year, including the killing of two police officers who were responding to a 911 call in Harlem and a teenager working at Burger King, have prompted the new mayor, Eric Adams, to pick up the old law-and-order tools  a police crackdown and a call for prosecuting 16- and 17-year-olds caught with illegal guns as adults if they dont disclose where they got the weapon. (The New York Legislature raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18 in 2017.)

But Mayor Adams is ignoring the lessons of his own city. The Brooklyn district attorneys office under Eric Gonzalez, another progressive, runs a voluntary diversion program for young people caught with guns that has lowered the rate of rearrest and conviction for those in the program compared to their peers who went to prison. Participants plead guilty and then, instead of being locked up, get the help of a social worker to find a job or go to school.
And that idea and self-image have remained a potent aspect of the right-wing imagination even as the old Nixon and Reagan majorities have diminished and disappeared: With every new age of grass-roots activism, from the Tea Party to the local-education revolts of today, the right reliably casts itself as small-d democrats, standing boldly athwart liberal technocracy singing Yankee Doodle.

Against this complicated backdrop, Trumps stolen-election narratives should be understood as a way to reconcile the two competing tendencies within conservatism, the intellectual rights skepticism of mass democracy and comfort with countermajoritarian institutions with the populist rights small-d democratic self-image. In Trumps toxic dreampolitik theres actually no tension there: The right-wing coalition is justified in governing from a minoritarian position because it deserves to be a true electoral majority, and would be if only the liberal enemy werent so good at cheating.

So seen from within the right, the challenge of getting out from under Trumps deceptions isnt just a simple matter of reviving a conservative commitment to democracy. Trump has succeeded precisely because he has exploited the rights more democratic impulses, speaking to them and co-opting them and claiming them for himself. Which means a conservative rival cant defeat or replace him by simply accusing him of being anti-democratic. Instead the only plausible pitch would argue that his populism is self-limiting and that a post-Trump G.O.P. could win a more sweeping majority than the one his supporters want to believe he won already  one that would hold up, no matter what the liberal enemy gets up to.

But if that argument is challenging to make amid the smog of Trumpenkampf, so is the anti-Trump argument that casts American liberalism as the force to which anyone who believes in American democracy must rally. Because however much the rights populists get wrong about their claim to represent a true American majority, they get this much right: Contemporary liberalism is fundamentally miscast as a defender of popular self-rule.

To be clear, the present Democratic Party is absolutely in favor of letting as many people vote as possible. There are no doubts about the mass franchise among liberals, no fears of voter fraud and fewer anxieties than on the right about the pernicious influence of low-information voters.

But when it comes to the work of government, the actual decisions that determine law and policy, liberalism is the heir to its own not exactly democratic tradition  the progressive vision of disinterested experts claiming large swaths of policymaking for their own and walling them off from the vagaries of public opinion, the whims of mere majorities.

This vision  what my colleague Nate Cohn recently called undemocratic liberalism  is a pervasive aspect of establishment politics not only in the United States but across the Western world. On question after controverted question, its answer to Who votes? is different from its answer to Who decides? In one case, the people; in the other, the credentialed experts, the high-level stakeholders and activist groups, the bureaucratic process.
In an email, Nexon elaborated:

There is definitely a transmission belt of ideas between the U.S. and European right; for various stripes of conservatives  reactionary populists, integralists, ethnonationalists  Hungary is becoming what Denmark is for the left: part real-life model, part idealized dreamscape.

Trump and Orban, Nexon continued,

are both opportunists whove figured out the political usefulness of reactionary populism. And Trump will push the United States in a broadly similar direction: toward neopatrimonial governance. During his first term, Trump treated the presidency as his own personal property  something that was his to use to punish enemies, reward loyalists and enhance his familys wealth. If he wins in 2024, were likely to see this on steroids

Trump, in Nexons view, will be unable to match Orban  by, for example, installing a crony as president of Harvard or forcing Yale to decamp for Canada  but

its pretty clear that hell be better at installing absolute loyalists at the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense. So, if Trump succeeds, well be able to find a lot of similar parts, but it wont be the same model. I suspect it will be worse. The U.S. is a large federation with a lot of capacity for private violence, a major international footprint and a multitrillion-dollar economy. Hungary is a minor player in a confederation dominated by democratic regimes.

Cooley stressed in an email the active networking among right-wing political associations and groups with Orban, citing the Jan. 24 endorsement of Orbans re-election by the New York Young Republican Club:

Today, both the United States of America and countries in Europe like Hungary face an existential crisis. The ruling elite and political establishments failed leadership and ideology have eroded the meaning and purpose of citizenship. For those against this ideology and for the preservation of Western civilization for all countries in the West, it is imperative that we stand in support of one another as national communities.

Orbans appeal to the right flank of the Republican Party, in Cooleys view, lies in an

ideology  which rests on redefining the meaning of the West away from liberal principles and toward ethnonational ideals and conservative values  and his strategy for consolidating power is to close or take over media, stack the courts, divide and stigmatize the opposition, reject commitments to constraining liberal ideals and institutions and publicly target the most vulnerable groups in society  e.g., refugees.

Orban has described Hungary under his rule as an illiberal democracy. In 2019, Freedom House downgraded Hungary from free to partly free, making it the first country in the European Union that is not currently classified as free, according to the Budapest Business Journal.

I asked a number of European scholars about the agenda Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress would be most likely to push in 2025.

In a March 2021 paper, Authoritarian Values and the Welfare State: The Social Policy Preferences of Radical Right Voters, Philip Rathgeb, a professor of social policy at the University of Edinburgh, and Marius R. Busemeyer and Alexander H.J. Sahm, both of the University of Konstanz, surveyed voters in eight Western European countries to determine what kind of welfare state voters of populist radical-right parties want and how their preferences differ from voters of mainstream left- and right-wing parties.

Rathgeb and his co-authors found that populist European voters

want a particularistic-authoritarian welfare state, displaying moderate support only for deserving benefit recipients (e.g., the elderly), while revealing strong support for a workfare approach and little support for social investment.

Rathgeb wrote in an email:

From an ideological perspective, it wouldnt surprise me if Trump prioritized Medicare over Medicaid, given that the former is targeted at the deserving poor, i.e., the elderly and disabled. A pro-elderly outlook is very typical of the radical right in Europe too, because the beneficiaries of schemes like Medicare are typically native (white) citizens who have demonstrated their willingness to work hard over their lifetime, thus being deserving of welfare support. By contrast, I expect little support, perhaps even cuts, for Medicaid.

Rathgeb noted that populist parties oppose social investment policies because such programs are often based on

progressive gender values and a commitment to lifelong learning. For example, public provision of child care helps working women to reconcile work-family life (versus the male breadwinner model), while training and education foster social mobility in the knowledge economy (e.g., high-end services). These ideological considerations are reinforced by material interests, as the main target groups of social investment policies (i.e., the new middle classes, including women and the young with high levels of education) are distant from the typical radical-right voter, who usually displays lower levels of formal education.

In an email, Busemeyer described some of the differences and similarities between Trumpism and European populism:

In Europe, the welfare state and social policy more generally are much ingrained in peoples minds. This means that in the U.S., Trumpism goes along with criticism about the welfare state in general (see the attempts of the Trump administration to get rid of Obamacare), whereas in Europe, its really more about welfare chauvinism, i.e., protecting the good old welfare state for deserving people, namely hard-working natives.

In addition, Busemeyer wrote, there is a strong corporatist element in the Trump movement (i.e., business elites), whereas in European right-wing populism thats typically not the case.

The right-wing populist movements on both continents, he continued,

are similar in their rejection of a liberal attitude toward globalization, both regarding the economic side as well as the identity part of globalization. Also, they both subscribe to a traditional role model in the family and traditional gender roles.

Cecile Alduy, a professor at Stanford who studies French politics and the far right, wrote in an email:

If in 2024 Trump or a Ron DeSantis wins the presidency and Republicans control both the House and Senate, the general agenda would be a backlash against any anti-discrimination, against inclusive policies implemented by the Biden administration, for an attempt to shift further the Supreme Court pendulum toward anti-abortion, for originalist constitutionalists, for implementing voter suppression policies and for federal funding limitations on some forms of speech (critical race theory, the teaching or research of segregation, antisemitism or racism in the States) as well for as a return to extremely restrictive anti-immigration policies (rebuilding the wall, for curbing down further visa and green cards and for increasing deportations).

The Republican agenda, Alduy argued,
Astronomers have discovered a captive asteroid shadowing Earth in its orbit.

The asteroid, known as 2020 XL5, is only the second of its type ever seen, shepherded by Earths gravity into an orbit that is locked in synchrony with our planets. It has not shared our orbit for long  a few centuries, probably. And it will not be there in the far future. Simulations indicate that 2020 XL5 will slip out of Earths grasp within 4,000 years and head into the wider solar system.

But its presence offers a tantalizing glimpse of what else might be out there in the local gravitational whirlpools. Some bits might date back to the beginning of the solar system  shades of the building blocks that coalesced into our planet.

These objects are not as exotic as we think, said Toni Santana-Ros, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona in Spain and an author of a paper describing the discovery, which was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. (A separate team of astronomers came to a similar conclusion in December.)

When two objects orbit each other, there are five points, known as Lagrange points, where the gravity of the two essentially balance, and a much smaller mass can sit there in equilibrium. Two of the five Lagrange points, known as L4 and L5, are stable: If a small body there is nudged slightly, it remains at that point. At the three unstable Lagrange points  L1 through L3  a nudge will push the small body away for good.
Late last month, Ashley Flowers, 33, the producer of more than a dozen true crime podcasts, was racing between her home and her office in Indianapolis, preparing for the arrival of two babies. The first, her daughter Josie, was born Jan. 28. The second, due this week, is a new podcast shes hosting called The Deck.

Like her hit show Crime Junkie, The Deck delves into true stories about murders and missing people. But for the new show, rather than drawing on crime stories in the news and suggestions from listeners, Ms. Flowers and her team have sought out cases represented in playing cards that law enforcement agencies print with the photographs of victims, then distribute in prisons in the hopes of turning up new leads. (Similar podcasts have come before.)

These cards are kind of an agencys last Hail Mary pass in trying to get very cold cases solved, Ms. Flowers said last week in a virtual production meeting she conducted from her office at Audiochuck, the true crime media company she runs.

Ms. Flowers knows that its important to give her listeners the sense that their communities are represented in her shows. Thats why she challenged Emily Mieure, the lead reporter for The Deck, to find a deck from every state in the country.
We are an example of the consequences, said Michal Feix, a former chief executive of Seznam, who now leads its policy and legal work as an outside consultant. Without the new laws, he said, you just cant compete.

Google said its success in the Czech Republic was the result of building a superior service. Czechs choose our products because they help people find the information theyre looking for  and because we make thousands of improvements every year, Google said in a statement.

In the Czech Republic, Seznams history traces to early enthusiasm about the internet.

Ivo Lukacovic, the founder and owner of Seznam, recalled a childhood without much money; his family had no car or color TV. As a teenager in 1989, when the country was still part of Czechoslovakia, he joined classmates in mass demonstrations, known as the Velvet Revolution, that contributed to the fall of the ruling Communist Party.

The regime collapsed, and the era of economic freedom began, Mr. Lukacovic said on a recent blustery morning outside Prague. Since I played with computers, I went to university, he added.

At 22, Mr. Lukacovic dropped out of Czech Technical University in Prague after creating Seznam, which means list in Czech. It started as a recommendation site of 10 or so Czech websites to visit. A search engine was added in 1998; email, maps and other services arrived in the years after.

The company continued to grow after Google opened in the country in 2006. Seznams search engine was tailored to Czech speakers, and it added services like unlimited email storage to keep up with Googles offerings. In 2008, the Czech Republic, whose population of 10.5 million is about the size of North Carolina, was the only place in the 31-country European Economic Area where Google was not the leading search engine.

By 2010, Seznams position began to change. Google had invested considerably in improving its non-English language services and tried to endear itself to Czech citizens through efforts like digitizing the ancient books held at the 18th-century Baroque library in Pragues Old Town.
After about a week of testing the cleaning tech, I concluded that there are convenient ways to fit these gadgets into our lives. Heres a guide.

The Dyson Laser Vacuum

The V15 Detect, unveiled last year, is the latest stick vacuum from Dyson. Getting started is simple: You charge the battery, attach a cleaning head to the stick and press a button.

The device comes with seven cleaning heads for sucking up dust and dirt on hardwood floors, carpets and smaller areas like crevices. The roller attachment for hardwood is the one with the laser. It makes night vacuuming a thing  the darker it is, the more visible the laser. An attachment for carpet includes a cutter to slice up hair, which reduces the need to do maintenance on the head.

Stick vacuums have been popular because of their lightweight and cordless mobility, which makes cleaning less of a hassle than schlepping an upright corded vacuum around. Generally, though, the sticks have served as a secondary cleaner to a full-size vacuum because of their short battery life and relatively weak suction.

I can confirm that the stick vacuum has come a long way. The V15 Detect has a significantly more powerful motor, with stronger suction, than my Dyson V6 stick vacuum, which was released in 2015. Its battery lasted about 40 minutes before needing a charge, enough time to go through my modestly sized home. (My V6 lasted about 15 minutes.)

Lastly, the Dysons suction was not as strong as my extremely powerful Miele bagged vacuum. But after two weeks of vacuuming hardwood floors and carpets with the stick, I didnt feel a need to plug in the full-size vacuum.

The Robots

It takes a while to get accustomed to the Roomba J7+, the $850 robot vacuum, and the Braava Jet M6, the $450 robot mop, both from iRobot. The devices rely on cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence to create a map of your home. Once a map is created, you can label each room and tell the robots to clean specific areas or to clean everywhere.
In federal cases, victims have a reasonable right to confer with prosecutors and the right to be informed of any deal. But prosecutors must weigh a host of other factors including the strength of their evidence, the interests of justice and ensuring that similar crimes be met with similar punishments. A plea deal can ensure that a defendant will suffer some consequences, even if a victim views them as too lenient, while a trial may result in a full acquittal. And, prosecutors do not represent victims.

If youre a federal prosecutor, your client is the United States, said Michael J. Moore, an Atlanta lawyer who served as the U.S. attorney for middle Georgia from 2010 to 2015. Those lines, when you have a victim of a crime, can become blurry. Theres the human side of you thats very empathetic to the victims situation, and then theres maybe the more academic side and professional side, and professional obligation, that has to guide your conduct.

Sometimes victims are on the side of mercy. When Dylann Roof killed nine members of a predominantly Black church in Charleston, S.C., federal prosecutors successfully sought the death penalty despite the churchs opposition to capital punishment.

In the Arbery case, Travis McMichael, 36, his father, Gregory McMichael, 66, and a third man were charged with murder and convicted in state court. Federal prosecutors pursued other charges, including hate crime charges and attempted kidnapping. Georgia did not have a hate crime statute at the time of Mr. Arberys death.

Ms. Vance, the former prosecutor, said the deal that federal prosecutors struck in the Arbery case had been a good one. Hate crimes are difficult to prove at trial, she said. The deal ensured that the McMichaels would serve significant time even if their convictions in state court were overturned on appeal, and it barred them from appealing the federal case. That was a conviction that would stand for all time, she said.

In court, the Arbery family objected to the deal at least in part because it would have allowed the McMichaels to serve time in federal prison, which is generally regarded as having better, safer conditions than state prisons. This may be especially true in Georgia, where last fall the Justice Department began an investigation of state prisons, citing a high rate of murder and assault.
ST. PAUL, Minn.  The federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyds civil rights was postponed on Wednesday after one of the former officers tested positive for the coronavirus, court officials said.

Judge Paul Magnuson, who is hearing the case, did not say which of the three defendants  J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane  had tested positive, but speculation centered on Mr. Lane, who was the only one of the three who was not present in court Wednesday morning.

Mr. Lanes lawyer, Earl Gray, did not respond to a request for comment. Shortly before the judge announced the delay, however, Mr. Gray had approached a reporter and said, Wait until you hear this, as he walked out of the courtroom.

Judge Magnuson said the trial, which began last week, would pause at least until Monday.

The three former officers face both federal and state charges in connection with the killing of George Floyd on a Minneapolis street corner in May 2020. Their state trial is scheduled for later this year.
On Monday, at least seven H.B.C.U.s, including Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, La., and Delaware State University in Dover, Del., received bomb threats.

At least 10 other historically Black colleges, including Spelman and Howard University in Washington, reported threats on Tuesday.

Howard also received bomb threats on Monday and on Jan. 5, when at least eight H.B.C.U.s received threats, its president, Wayne A.I. Frederick, said.

While Dr. Frederick declined to share details about the threats, he said they definitely included language that suggested it was motivated by hate.

One threat this week was made to the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, and the second went directly to the universitys command center, he said. Both were made over the phone.

The threats were particularly insidious considering that it is Black History Month, he said.

The people who have come before us have experienced this, and given their lives in some circumstances, to give us the opportunity to experience this again, in a different form, he said. We need to respect and honor what they have had to traverse. We must stand tall in this moment as well.

Although Morehouse College, the mens college that neighbors Spelman, did not receive a threat, students said they were worried because of their proximity to Spelman and because of their friends there.
ADDIS ABABA, Feb.1 (Xinhua) -- A head-on collision between a lorry and a police vehicle in Ethiopia's central Oromia regional state has left nine people dead, an Ethiopian official said on Tuesday.

Muktar Hussein, Assistant Inspector General, Goba district police peace division, Bale zone of Oromia regional state, said the traffic accident which occurred on Monday afternoon left four others seriously injured, reported state media outlet Ethiopia News Agency (ENA).

Hussein further said the driver of the lorry has been arrested and is currently under investigation.

The injured are currently receiving medical treatments in nearby healthcare facilities.

Although Ethiopia has one of the lowest per capita car ownership rates in the world, deadly traffic accidents are fairly common, with the blame put on bad roads, reckless driving, a flawed driving license issuance system and lax enforcement of safety rules. 
A shooting outside a school in a Minneapolis suburb left one student dead and another in critical condition on Tuesday afternoon, according to the authorities, who said several hours later that two suspects had been arrested.

The gunfire erupted around noon near the entrance of the South Education Center in Richfield, Minn., a school that serves about 200 students with special and alternative-learning needs from prekindergarten to age 21 that is about 10 miles south of Minneapolis, the police said during a news conference.

It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting or whether the students had been targeted. The victims, whose names had not been released by Tuesday evening, were found on the sidewalk. the police said.

Shortly after 6 p.m., police executed search warrants at two locations in Minneapolis in connection with the shooting, police said. Officers arrested two suspects and recovered a handgun, and were not looking for additional suspects, the police said. The authorities did not release the names of the suspects.
Alexander Vindman, the Army colonel who was a chief witness in President Donald J. Trumps first impeachment trial, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Mr. Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr.; Rudolph W. Giuliani; and two other top Trump White House aides, accusing them of running a coordinated intimidation and retaliation campaign to stop him from testifying.

The suit, which was filed in federal court in Washington, said that the defendants had spread false claims that Mr. Vindman was a Ukrainian spy, leaked classified information to undermine his credibility, falsely accused him of perjury and had him and his twin brother fired from their White House positions.

This campaign of intimidation and retaliation has had severe and deeply personal ramifications for Lt. Col. Vindman, the suit said, adding that Mr. Vindman had sustained significant financial, emotional, and reputational harm for testifying against Mr. Trump at the impeachment trial.

The suit, which did not say how much money Mr. Vindman was seeking, added: It also left a stain on our democracy.
Senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday evening that the White House would not be announcing any new funding commitments, but insisted that there would be robust funding going forward. Mr. Biden called on Congress to appropriate money to create a health research initiative modeled on the Pentagons Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA.

The White House billed the event as a fresh push by the president to reignite the moonshot program and end cancer as we know it. Specifically, Mr. Biden set a goal of cutting the age-adjusted death rate by more than half over the next 25 years. But there were few specifics about how that goal would be achieved.

These are audacious goals, and I have no doubt there will be mechanisms to achieve them, said Ellen V. Sigal, the founder of Friends of Cancer Research, which works to support cancer research and deliver new therapies to patients, who was briefed on the plan.

Mr. Biden has already named Danielle Carnival, who worked on the moonshot program during the Obama administration, to help oversee the new version of the effort. Now, the president said, the cancer cabinet will coordinate the work of multiple government agencies.

The White House says more than 9.5 million cancer screenings were missed in the United States as a result of the pandemic. Mr. Biden is calling on the cancer institute, a branch of the National Institutes of Health, to coordinate with cancer treatment centers to offer screenings around the country, and to develop a program to fast-track the development of tests that can detect multiple types of cancer at once.

The new blood tests that are said to detect all cancers are still unproven and there are currently no plans to do the sort of very large studies that could determine if they actually prevent deaths and are not harming people with unnecessary treatment. But companies interested in them were thrilled with Mr. Bidens announcement.

New Developments in Cancer Research Card 1 of 6 Progress in the field. In recent years, advancements in research have changed the way cancer is treated. Here are some recent updates: Pancreatic cancer. Scientists are exploring whether the onset of diabetes may be an early warning sign of pancreatic cancer, which is on track to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. by 2040. Chemotherapy. A quiet revolution is underway in the field of cancer treatment: A growing number of patients, especially those with breast and lung cancers, are being spared the dreaded treatment in favor of other options. Prostate cancer. An experimental treatment that relies on radioactive molecules to seek out tumor cells prolonged life in men with aggressive forms of the disease  the second-leading cause of cancer death among American men. Leukemia. After receiving a new treatment, called CAR T cell therapy, more than a decade ago, two patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia saw the blood cancer vanish. Their cases offer hope for those with the disease, and create some new mysteries. Esophageal cancer. Nivolumab, a drug that unleashes the immune system, was found to extend survival times in patients with the disease who took part in a large clinical trial. Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer in the world.











Making early cancer detection more affordable and accessible, especially for traditionally underserved groups, is the next leap forward in reducing cancer death rates, Francis deSouza, the chief executive of Illumina, a medical device company, said in a statement.
WASHINGTON  As the United States saw a nearly vertical increase in coronavirus cases in late December and a growing backlash over a shortage of rapid tests, President Biden promised that his administration would mail 500 million of them to Americans, free of charge.

There was a major hitch: The administration had yet to secure a single test kit for the program. The announcement sent officials hunting for stockpiles in warehouses around the country and uncommitted supply from large manufacturers.

Today the federal government is mailing tens of millions of rapid tests requested through a new Postal Service website that has sustained heavy traffic, with roughly 60 million households ordering the tests so far, according to the White House. The nation has a little more than twice that many households overall, suggesting enormous interest. Orders are limited to four per household for now.

Testing shortages have bedeviled the government since the beginning of the pandemic, and the resurgent supply of at-home tests, which deliver results in about 15 minutes, may be coming too late, given that the Omicron variant has already peaked in many regions. But the home deliveries, and broadened access to tests overall, represent a striking turnaround for an administration that had struggled to meet demand as it focused largely on vaccination.
Their bill  which would mandate that lawmakers put investments into a blind trust and ban the trading of individual stocks  has been joined by separate measures written by Senators Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, and Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska. Mr. Sasses version, drafted in 2018 and reintroduced on Wednesday, would go further, requiring presidents and vice presidents to release their tax returns and Congress to make public sexual harassment settlements, which have often been struck in secret.

The stock trading push stems from a string of recent accusations that senators from both parties traded health care stocks after closed-door briefings on the coronavirus pandemic. The issue was front and center in the two Senate races in Georgia in 2020, and Mr. Ossoff hit his Republican opponent, the incumbent David Perdue, on it with brutal efficiency.

I saw all this trading during the pandemic massively erode confidence in Congress, Mr. Ossoff said. Members of Congress have an unfair advantage when theyre making investment decisions. Whether or not it rises to the level of criminal insider trading, we know what legislation is likely to become law. We can draw inferences.

The lawmakers caught up in the accusations still bristle. None were charged with insider trading, nor did they face repercussions from the House or Senate ethics committees.

Former Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, who lost re-election to Raphael Warnock, defended her innocence on Sunday in the conservative Washington Examiner, blaming a left-wing blog and hypocritical Democrats who refuse to look at the investments of Ms. Pelosis affluent husband, Paul Pelosi, for what she called false accusations of insider trading. She suggested that the new bills banning stock trading were partisan efforts to deflect attention from Ms. Pelosi.

But at least one of the lawmakers, Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, who was investigated by the Justice Department after he dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock early in the pandemic, has said he welcomes the effort. Ill support whatever they come up with, said Mr. Burr, who was never prosecuted and is retiring at the end of his term.
WASHINGTON  A panel of experts assembled by the Biden administration concluded on Wednesday that stress or psychosomatic reactions could not explain some of the incidents of Havana syndrome they had reviewed, and said that radio waves could have caused some of the injuries among C.I.A. officers and diplomats.

The panel, which included both government scientists and outside experts, did not try to determine who was responsible for the incidents, and officials said the conclusions did not contradict interim findings by the C.I.A. that unexplained incidents were not the result of a sustained global campaign by Russia or another adversary.

But there are tensions between the panels work and the C.I.A.s conclusions. The panels findings could bolster the arguments of victims and lawmakers who believe a hostile foreign nation could have caused at least some of the injuries associated with Havana syndrome, perhaps by using a listening device.

The panels conclusions also undercut the arguments of some outside experts that mass hysteria, stress or psychosomatic reactions were the cause of the incidents. The panel found that stress reactions could have contributed to ongoing symptoms, but that no so-called functional illness or mass hysteria could explain the initial injuries in the cases that were the focus of its investigation.
The disclosures illustrate the foothold that establishment conservatives and well-funded political action committees still hold among the partys donor class, despite Mr. Trumps continuing grip on the Republican base. They also reflect how the former presidents endorsements, which he has dangled as threats over Republican lawmakers he deems insufficiently loyal to him, have yet to translate into significant donations for the candidates he backs.

By contrast, Mr. Trumps political operation is doing far better than his party in raking in money, having raised more than $51 million in the second half of 2021 and entering 2022 with more than double the cash on hand of the Republican National Committee.

The massive fund-raising hauls of some of these incumbents reflects a lot of peoples support for the positions they took, said Alex Conant, a veteran Republican political strategist. Theres only a handful of them, but they have a huge donor pool to draw from. And Trump has always struggled to translate his political capital to others.

Even with their hulking war chests, the Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump last year for his role in inciting the Capitol riot are expected to face grueling primary battles after inflaming the wrath of conservative voters. Some may still opt to retire, joining three of their colleagues who also voted to impeach Mr. Trump and already said they would not run for re-election in 2022.

Mr. Upton said in a statement on Wednesday that he saw his fund-raising numbers as evidence of a hunger for restoring civility and solving pressing problems that was resonating with people across America, but added that he was still deliberating over whether he would run for re-election.
The Tennessee State Senate voted on Wednesday to remove a senator from office because of her conviction on federal wire fraud charges, the first time the chamber has removed a senator since at least the Civil War.

The senator, Katrina Robinson, 41, who was convicted of wire fraud involving federal grant money, was removed from the legislature after a 27-to-5 vote. The tally fell along party lines, with 27 Republicans voting for expulsion and five Democrats voting against, and split over arguments about whether the Senate should continue to let Ms. Robinsons court case play out. One Democrat was absent for the vote, said Eddie Weeks, the legislative librarian.

While the expulsion of a Senator for the first time in history was not something any of us wished to see, it was a necessary action, Randy McNally, the Senate speaker and a Republican, said in a statement after the vote.

Ms. Robinson has consistently denied any wrongdoing, said Brandon Puttbrese, a spokesman. In an interview on Wednesday, Ms. Robinson, who is Black, denounced the vote, calling it racist.
The idea that I had gone to a boarding school was kind of so outlandish to some people, that thats just sort of how I started telling those stories. I would always tell them in this sort of Aha! Thats how that happened way, in order to mask the insidiousness of what was really going on.

At some point in my senior year, the boys in one of the dorms decided to start peeing in bottles and dumping it out the dorm windows. I just remember one day, during English class, we all ran over to the window, because I think one of the bottles had landed on someone, or very close to someone, on the sidewalk.

So stories like that, I would tell with humor. And it kind of makes those stories a little bit more palatable for outsiders, and for people who arent used to these things.

After you graduated from Taft, you started working at an organization that helped students of color go to boarding schools. How do you feel about that now? Do you think Taft, and other schools like it, have changed?

I think that they have changed. They now know the word microaggression. That said, I do think that the incidents in schools are very cyclical. Because they happen, the school has to mount a very large response, but then it sort of all dies down. Those same incidents then happen again, a few years later.

I think that there is more of a desire, at a place like Taft, to want to do better. Its just a matter of making sure that the work is ongoing and continuous.

So much of this book is really a coming-of-age story. And Im curious, what do you think your life would look like had you not gone to Taft but to your local high school in Maplewood, N.J.?
More than 2,100 flights were canceled nationwide, according to FlightAware, a tracking website, and Amtrak paused train service across the Midwest and the South. Forecasters said that ice could make travel impossible in the Missouri Bootheel, the southeasternmost part of the state, and that up to an inch of ice could form in Memphis, where the possibility of falling trees and power outages loomed. Other areas of Tennessee prepared for the prospect of flooding.

Any ice around here is uncommon and could cause glazes and road issues, said Faith Borden, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Nashville. We are not used to that around here. That could be a problem.

That icy cocktail of precipitation had many residents bracing for the worst.

Everyone is dreading the power going out, said Chris Gilbert, an employee at an Ace Hardware store in Germantown, Ohio, south of Dayton, where customers were rushing to buy shovels.

Around Dallas and Oklahoma City, some schools had called off classes for Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday night, ahead of the brunt of the weather, Judge Clay Jenkins of Dallas County filed a disaster declaration, which would expedite additional supplies and personnel to emergency workers.

As road conditions began to deteriorate across parts of Oklahoma, Police Departments in Oklahoma City and Norman said they would stop responding to collisions that did not result in injuries.

In Kentucky, forecasters warned of tree damage and treacherous driving conditions. And in Arkansas, where temperatures fell by 10 to 15 degrees in a 30-minute span in some places, the National Weather Service gave tips about what to do if the power went out.
LAGOS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A total of 1,192 people were killed and 3,348 others kidnapped in 2021 in a spate of attacks by gunmen who have been on the rampage in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kaduna, according to official data released by Tuesday.

In a security report for the year 2021, the Kaduna government also confirmed that 891 people sustained varying degrees of injuries, while 45 victims, including 29 minors, were raped during the period under review.

The report, according to Samuel Aruwan, the state's commissioner for internal security and home affairs, covered various attacks, including banditry, reprisal attacks, kidnapping, and cattle-rustling in the state.

Aruwan added several gunrunners were intercepted and arrested with arms and ammunition seized. 
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo  The families had fled their homes and farms to escape attacks by marauding militants, taking refuge in a makeshift camp for displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

But a militia found them anyway as they slept in the white tents of the Plaine Savo camp in Ituri province on Tuesday night, shooting and hacking to death at least 60 people  many of them women and children.

The heinous act of violence shook Africas second-largest nation, where a surge of attacks has left communities displaced, devastated and in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

The assault was one of the biggest in almost a year to hit the countrys restive eastern region, which is beset by poor governance, weak security and rampant corruption. More than 120 armed groups operate in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, according to the Kivu Security Tracker, which records violence and human rights violations in eastern Congo.
ZARANJ, Afghanistan  From their hide-out in the desert ravine, the migrants could just make out the white lights of the Iranian border glaring over the horizon.

The air was cold and their breath heavy. Many had spent the last of their savings on food weeks before and cobbled together cash from relatives, hoping to escape Afghanistans economic collapse. Now, looking at the border they saw a lifeline: work, money, food to eat.

There is no other option for me, I cannot go back, said Najaf Akhlaqi, 26, staring at the smugglers scouring the moonlit landscape for Taliban patrols. Then he jolted to his feet as the smugglers barked at the group to run.

Since the United States withdrew troops and the Taliban seized power, Afghanistan has plunged into an economic crisis that has pushed millions already living hand-to-mouth over the edge. Incomes have vanished, life-threatening hunger has become widespread and badly needed aid has been stymied by Western sanctions against Taliban officials.
BEIJING  As the United States moves to exert maximal pressure on Russia over fears of a Ukraine invasion, the Russian leader, Vladimir V. Putin, has found relief from his most powerful partner on the global stage, China.

China has expressed support for Mr. Putins grievances against the United States and NATO, joined Russia to try to block action on Ukraine at the United Nations Security Council, and brushed aside American warnings that an invasion would create global security and economic risks that could consume China, too.

On Friday, Mr. Putin will meet in Beijing with Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics that President Biden and other leaders have pointedly vowed to boycott.

Although details of any potential agreements between the two countries have not been disclosed, the meeting itself  Mr. Xis first in person with a world leader in nearly two years  is expected to be yet another public display of geopolitical amity between the two powers.
Shintaro Ishihara, a Japanese author turned firebrand nationalist politician who served as the governor of Tokyo and famously stoked diplomatic tensions with China over disputed islands, died on Tuesday in Tokyo. He was 89.

His death was confirmed by his sons, who told reporters in Tokyo that Mr. Ishihara had suffered a relapse of pancreatic cancer in October. He led an era, his son Yoshizumi Ishihara said.

A contentious figure in the otherwise wan world of Japanese politics, Mr. Ishihara was governor of Tokyo for 13 years beginning in 1999, carrying out a staunch right-wing campaign that he believed would reinvigorate the nation and free it from servility to the United States.

He called for the development of nuclear arms in a nation still traumatized by the bombings of World War II, and for the abolition of constitutional provisions imposed by the United States that prohibit Japan from waging war.
LONDON  Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to change the subject on Wednesday, hoping to replace the public image of himself as a heedless partygoer with that of a confident global statesman and a farsighted nation builder.

The prime minister highlighted a call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Hours earlier, his government rolled out details of an ambitious, multiyear plan to spread prosperity, or level up neglected parts of the Midlands and north of England with more affluent London and the southeast.

But Mr. Johnsons reset was eclipsed by news that three more Conservative Party lawmakers called for a no-confidence vote in him. It was further evidence that his political support was melting away amid the outcry over alcohol-fueled social gatherings in Downing Street that breached lockdown restrictions during the pandemic.

Mr. Johnsons hectic day was meant to telegraph both Britains relevance on the world stage after Brexit and his commitment to the countrys rust belt, where voters embraced his vow to get Brexit done in 2019. Their support propelled his Conservative Party to the greatest landslide since that of Margaret Thatcher in 1987.
ISTANBUL  Twelve migrants died on Wednesday in Turkey, most of them found with little clothing in a freezing field near the border with Greece, according to several Turkish officials.

A Turkish government minister said they froze to death and accused Greek border guards of stripping the migrants and forcing them back across the frontier before they died.

The Greek migration minister, Notis Mitarachi, said the deaths were a tragedy but denied the Turkish accusations, calling them false propaganda.

Turkeys interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said in a Twitter post written in English: Twelve of the 22 migrants pushed back by Greek Border Units, stripped off from their clothes and shoes, have frozen to death.
When he spoke about Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time in over a month, President Vladimir V. Putins signal that Russia was open to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis seemed to cool temperatures  at least for the moment. But it also illustrated the vast gulf between Moscows demands and what Western nations are even willing to discuss.

As NATO continues to ferry military support to Ukraines Eastern European neighbors, and with Russia planning more extensive drills this week on the European Unions doorstep in Belarus, the danger of the moment has not passed. President Biden has also approved the deployment of about 3,000 additional American troops to Eastern Europe, administration officials said on Wednesday.

But so far this week, much of the focus has shifted to diplomacy, beginning with an explosive clash between U.S. and Russian diplomats at the United Nations Security Council. Those diplomatic efforts continued with a flurry of meetings on Tuesday in both Moscow and Kyiv: Mr. Putin talked with Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain visited President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
We are making it clear that we are going to be prepared to defend our NATO allies if it comes to that, Mr. Kirby said.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in explaining the deployment that there was no question that Russia and President Putin has continued to take escalatory, not de-escalatory steps.

The initial response from Moscow was negative. The unfounded destructive steps will only fuel military tensions and narrow the field for political decisions, Aleksandr V. Grushko, a deputy foreign minister, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

The developments came as top European leaders pushed a diplomatic outreach to Mr. Putin. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain spoke with him by phone, and Mr. Johnsons office said they had agreed on the need for a peaceful resolution and that aggravation was in no ones interest.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, who has spoken with Mr. Putin at least twice in the past week, spoke with Mr. Biden later Wednesday. In a readout of their phone call, the French presidency said the two leaders had shared the same logic of de-escalation. Mr. Macron is scheduled to talk with the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Poland on Thursday.

Olaf Scholz, Germanys new chancellor, told the German broadcaster ZDF that he planned to meet with Mr. Putin soon but did not specify a date.

Moscow issued its security demands in mid-December, as the West sounded alarms about a potential invasion of Ukraine. Among the most contentious were Russias insistence that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic of 44 million, never be allowed to join NATO, and that the West scale back its military presence in Eastern Europe to mid-1990s levels.
Who Are the Key Figures of Interest in the Jan. 6 Inquiry? The list of names being scrutinized by the House committee for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol keeps growing. Image The members of the House select committee met on Dec. 13, as part of their investigation into the causes of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times Published March 9, 2022 Updated April 6, 2022 A House select committee is scrutinizing the causes of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The riot occurred as Congress met to formalize Joseph R. Biden Jr.s election victory amid efforts by President Donald J. Trump and his allies to overturn the results. The panel, which has said that there is enough evidence to suggest that Mr. Trump and some of his allies might have engaged in a criminal conspiracy, does not have the authority to pursue charges, but it can make criminal referrals to the Justice Department. Here are some of the key people and groups included in the panels investigation:

Trump, His Family and His Inner Circle President Donald J. Trump spoke at a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, shortly before the riot at the Capitol. Credit... Pete Marovich for The New York Times

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Ivanka Trump The daughter of the former president, who served as one of his senior advisers, is among the highest-ranking Trump White House officials to testify before the committee. The panel said that it had gathered evidence that she had implored her father to call off the violence that occurred when his supporters stormed the Capitol.

Rudolph W. Giuliani Mr. Trumps personal lawyer and three members of his legal team  Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Boris Epshteyn  pursued conspiracy-filled lawsuits that made claims of voter fraud and played central roles in the effort to use courts, state legislatures and Congress to overturn the results.

Stephen K. Bannon The former Trump aide is under scrutiny by the committee for comments he made on his radio show on Jan. 5, 2021. The committee points to this as evidence that he had some foreknowledge of the attack. Mr. Bannon has been charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena; he claimed protection under executive privilege even though he was an outside adviser.

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Michael T. Flynn Mr. Trumps former national security adviser attended an Oval Office meeting on Dec. 18, 2020, in which participants discussed seizing voting machines and invoking certain national security emergency powers. Mr. Flynn has filed a lawsuit to block the panels subpoenas.

Kimberly Guilfoyle The fiancee of Mr. Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has said she raised millions of dollars to help fund the rally that preceded the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The committee said that it would compel Ms. Guilfoyle to testify after she abruptly ended a voluntary interview with the panel.

White House Officials Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, arrived in the East Room for an election night address by Mr. Trump. Credit... Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images

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Mark Meadows Mr. Trumps chief of staff, who initially provided the panel with a trove of documents that showed the extent of his role in the efforts to overturn the election, is now refusing to cooperate. The House voted to recommend holding Mr. Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress for defying the panels subpoena.

Mike Pence The former vice president could be a key witness as the committee focuses on Mr. Trumps responsibility for the riot and considers criminal referrals, but Mr. Pence has not decided whether to cooperate, according to people briefed on his discussions with the panel.

Marc Short Mr. Pences chief of staff, who has firsthand knowledge of Mr. Trumps pressure campaign on the vice president to throw out the election results, testified before the panel under subpoena. He is the most senior person on Mr. Pences staff who is known to have cooperated with the committee.

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Peter Navarro The White House adviser, in his book and interviews, said he was involved in what he called an operation to keep Mr. Trump in office by getting Congress to reject the results of the 2020 election. Mr. Navarro said he would not comply with the committees subpoena, citing Mr. Trumps invocation of executive privilege. The House voted to recommend criminal contempt of Congress charges against Mr. Navarro for defying the subpoena.

Dan Scavino Jr. The committee said that the former deputy chief of staff had worked with Mr. Trump to spread false information via social media regarding election fraud and had recruited a crowd to Washington on Jan. 6. The House voted to recommend that Mr. Scavino be held in criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the panel.

Members of Congress Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader. He has refused to cooperate with the congressional inquiry into the Jan. 6 riot. Credit... Tom Brenner for The New York Times

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Kevin McCarthy The panel has requested an interview with Mr. McCarthy, the House Republican leader, about his contact with Mr. Trump during the riot. A California representative who could become speaker of the House after the midterms in November, Mr. McCarthy has refused to cooperate.

Outside Advisers and Groups Roger Stone in December 2021, after a meeting with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Credit... Al Drago for The New York Times

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Roger J. Stone Jr. The longtime political operative, who promoted his attendance at rallies on Jan. 5 and 6 and solicited support to pay for his security, has become a focus of the panel as it digs further into the planning and financing of rallies before the attack. Mr. Stone has sued the panel to block access to his cellphone records.

Virginia Thomas In the weeks before the Jan. 6 riot, the longtime conservative activist and wife of Justice Clarence Thomas sent several text messages imploring Mr. Meadows to pursue a plan to overturn the 2020 election. The committee is likely to reach out to Ms. Thomas to request that she sit for an interview, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Phil Waldron The retired Army colonel has been under scrutiny since Mr. Meadows turned over a 38-page PowerPoint document that Mr. Waldron had circulated on Capitol Hill. The document contained plans that detailed how to overturn the election.

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John Eastman The academic and conservative lawyer has become the subject of intense scrutiny since writing a memo that laid out how Mr. Trump could stay in power. In a civil suit over Mr. Eastmans documents, the panel said it had accumulated evidence demonstrating that Mr. Eastman, along with other Trump allies, could potentially be charged with criminal violations. The federal judge in the case ruled that Mr. Eastman most likely committed felonies.

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Outside lawyers At least six other lawyers  Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro, Christina Bobb, Katherine Friess, Kurt Olsen and Phillip Kline  who promoted false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 election and worked to overturn Mr. Trumps loss have come under scrutiny from the panel.

Far-Right Figures Members of the Proud Boys burned a Black Lives Matter banner torn from a church in Washington, D.C., in December 2020. Credit... Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

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Alex Jones The conspiracy theorist helped organize the rally that occurred before the riot, and said that White House officials told him that he was to lead a march to the Capitol, where Mr. Trump would speak, according to the committee.

Media Entities Sean Hannity, the Fox News host. Credit... Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

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Big Tech firms The committee has criticized Alphabet, Meta, Reddit and Twitter for allowing extremism to spread on their platforms. The panel has said that the four social media companies have failed to adequately cooperate with the inquiry.

And a Key Event The Willard Hotel in Washington, where several Trump allies met on the day before the riot. Credit... Drew Angerer for The New York Times
Two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus is killing Americans at far higher rates than people in other wealthy nations, a sobering distinction to bear as the country charts a course through the next stages of the pandemic.

Cumulative U.S. Covid-19 deaths per capita are highest among other large, high-income countries Several countries had higher per capita Covid-19 deaths earlier in the pandemic, but the U.S. death toll now exceeds that of peer nations. United States Cumulative deaths throughout the pandemic Cumulative deaths during the Omicron wave United States Belgium Britain 200 deaths per 100,000 20 deaths per 100,000 France Germany France Belgium Sweden Britain Germany Netherlands 100 10 Netherlands Canada Canada Australia Sweden Japan Australia 0 0 Japan Jan. 22, 2020 Jan. 31, 2022 Dec. 1, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Cumulative deaths throughout the pandemic United States Belgium Britain 200 deaths per 100,000 France Sweden Germany Netherlands 100 Canada Japan Australia 0 Jan. 22, 2020 Jan. 31, 2022 United States Cumulative deaths during the Omicron wave 20 deaths per 100,000 Germany France Belgium Britain Netherlands 10 Canada Australia Sweden 0 Japan Dec. 1, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Cumulative deaths throughout the pandemic United States Belgium Britain 200 deaths per 100,000 France Sweden Germany Netherlands 100 Canada Japan 0 Australia Jan. 22, 2020 Jan. 31, 2022 United States Cumulative deaths during the Omicron wave 20 deaths per 100,000 Germany France Belgium Britain 10 Netherlands Canada Australia Sweden 0 Japan Dec. 1, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Sources: New York Times database of reports from state and local health agencies (U.S. deaths); The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (world deaths); World Bank (world populations); United States Census Bureau (U.S. population) Note: Countries shown are those with the highest gross national income per capita among countries with a population of more than 10 million people.

The ballooning death toll has defied the hopes of many Americans that the less severe Omicron variant would spare the United States the pain of past waves. Deaths have now surpassed the worst days of the autumn surge of the Delta variant, and are more than two-thirds as high as the record tolls of last winter, when vaccines were largely unavailable.

With American lawmakers desperate to turn the page on the pandemic, as some European leaders have already begun to, the number of dead has clouded a sense of optimism, even as Omicron cases recede. And it has laid bare weaknesses in the countrys response, scientists said.

Death rates are so high in the States  eye-wateringly high, said Devi Sridhar, head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who has supported loosening coronavirus rules in parts of Britain. The United States is lagging.

Some of the reasons for Americas difficulties are well known. Despite having one of the worlds most powerful arsenals of vaccines, the country has failed to vaccinate as many people as other large, wealthy nations. Crucially, vaccination rates in older people also lag behind certain European nations.

The United States has fallen even further behind in administering booster shots, leaving large numbers of vulnerable people with fading protection as Omicron sweeps across the country.

U.S. vaccinations lag behind other large, high-income countries Despite beginning Covid-19 vaccinations months earlier than countries like Japan and Australia, a smaller share of people in the United States are now fully vaccinated. Other large, high-income countries Share of population fully vaccinated Share of population with booster dose Belgium Britain Germany Netherlands United States 60% 45% France Canada Sweden 40 30 Australia United States 20 15 Australia Japan Japan Canada 0 0 Jan. 16, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Aug. 1, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Other large, high-income countries Share of population fully vaccinated United States 60% 40 20 Australia Japan Canada 0 Jan. 16, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Share of population with booster dose Belgium Britain Germany Netherlands 45% France Canada Sweden 30 Australia United States 15 Japan 0 Aug. 1, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Share of population fully vaccinated Other large, high-income countries 60% United States 40 20 Australia Japan Canada 0 Jan. 16, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Share of population with booster dose Belgium Britain Germany Netherlands 45% France Canada Sweden 30 Australia United States 15 Japan 0 Aug. 1, 2021 Jan. 31, 2022 Sources: Our World in Data (world vaccinations); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. vaccinations) Note: Vaccination and booster data in some countries are available infrequently. Sweden data for booster doses is available only from Jan. 20, 2022.

The resulting American death toll has set the country apart  and by wider margins than has been broadly recognized. Since Dec. 1, when health officials announced the first Omicron case in the United States, the share of Americans who have been killed by the coronavirus is at least 63 percent higher than in any of these other large, wealthy nations, according to a New York Times analysis of mortality figures.

In recent months, the United States passed Britain and Belgium to have, among rich nations, the largest share of its population to have died from Covid over the entire pandemic.

For all the encouragement that American health leaders drew from other countries success in withstanding the Omicron surge, the outcomes in the U.S. have been markedly different. Hospital admissions in the U.S. swelled to much higher rates than in Western Europe, leaving some states struggling to provide care. Americans are now dying from Covid at nearly double the daily rate of Britons and four times the rate of Germans.

The only large European countries to exceed Americas Covid death rates this winter have been Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic, poorer nations where the best Covid treatments are relatively scarce.

The U.S. stands out as having a relatively high fatality rate, said Joseph Dieleman, an associate professor at the University of Washington who has compared Covid outcomes globally. Theres been more loss than anyone wanted or anticipated.

As deadly as the Omicron wave has been, the situation in the United States is far better than it would have been without vaccines. The Omicron variant also causes less serious illness than Delta, even though it has led to staggering case numbers. Together, vaccines and the less lethal nature of Omicron infections have significantly reduced the share of people with Covid who are being hospitalized and dying during this wave.

In Western Europe, those factors have resulted in much more manageable waves. Deaths in Britain, for example, are one-fifth of last winters peak, and hospital admissions are roughly half as high.

But not so in the United States. Record numbers of Americans with the highly contagious variant have filled up hospitals in recent weeks and the average death toll is still around 2,500 a day.

Chief among the reasons is the countrys faltering effort to vaccinate its most vulnerable people at the levels achieved by more successful European countries.

Twelve percent of Americans 65 and over have not received either two shots of a Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or one Johnson & Johnson shot, which the C.D.C. considers fully vaccinated, according to the agencys statistics. (Inconsistencies in C.D.C. counts make it difficult to know the precise figure.)

And 43 percent of people 65 and over have not received a booster shot. Even among the fully vaccinated, the lack of a booster leaves tens of millions with waning protection, some of them many months past the peak levels of immunity afforded by their second shots.

In England, by contrast, only 4 percent of people 65 and over have not been fully vaccinated and only 9 percent do not have a booster shot.

Its not just vaccination  its the recency of vaccines, its whether or not people have been boosted, and also whether or not people have been infected in the past, said Lauren Ancel Meyers, the director of the University of Texas at Austins Covid-19 modeling consortium.

Unvaccinated people make up a majority of hospitalized patients. But older people without booster shots also sometimes struggle to shake off the virus, said Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Brown University, leaving them in need of extra oxygen or hospital stays.

In the United States, cases this winter first surged in more heavily vaccinated states in the Northeast before moving to less-protected states, where scientists said they worried that Omicron could cause especially high death tolls. Surveys suggest that the poorest Americans are the likeliest to remain unvaccinated, putting them at greater risk of dying from Covid.

Americas Omicron wave has also compounded the effects of a Delta surge that had already sent Covid deaths climbing by early December, putting the United States in a more precarious position than many European countries. Even in recent weeks, some American deaths likely resulted from lengthy illnesses caused by Delta.

But Omicron infections had edged aside Delta by late December in the United States, and epidemiologists said that the new variant was most likely responsible for a majority of Covid deaths in the U.S. today.

These are probably Omicron deaths, said Robert Anderson, the chief of mortality statistics at a branch of the C.D.C. And the increases were seeing are probably in Omicron deaths.

Still, the United States problems started well before Omicron, scientists said. Americans began dying from Covid at higher rates than people in western European countries starting in the summer, after the United States had fallen behind on vaccinations. During the Delta surge in the fall, Americans were dying from Covid at triple the rate of Britons.

By tracking death certificates that list Covid as a cause of death or as a contributing factor, Dr. Anderson said, the C.D.C. is able to ensure that it is counting only those people who died from Covid  and not those who might have incidentally tested positive before dying for unrelated reasons.

It is too early to judge how much worse the United States will fare during this wave. But some scientists said there were hopeful signs that the gap between the United States and other wealthy countries had begun to narrow.

As Delta and now Omicron have hammered the United States, they said, so many people have become sick that those who survived are emerging with a certain amount of immunity from their past infections.

Although it is not clear how strong or long-lasting that immunity will be, especially from Omicron, Americans may slowly be developing the protection from past bouts with Covid that other countries generated through vaccinations  at the cost, scientists said, of many thousands of American lives.

Weve finally started getting to a stage where most of the population has been exposed either to a vaccine or the virus multiple times by now, said Dr. David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Referring to American and European death rates, he continued, I think were now likely to start seeing things be more synchronized going forward.

Still, the United States faces certain steep disadvantages, ones that experts worry could cause problems during future Covid waves, and even the next pandemic. Many Americans have health problems like obesity and diabetes that increase the risk of severe Covid.

Risk Factors for Severe Covid-19 The population of these 10 high-income countries differ in many demographic factors that are associated with an increased likelihood of severe Covid-19 illness or death. Share of population not fully vaccinated United States 36% Netherlands 29% Britain 28% Sweden 27% Germany 26% France 23% Belgium 23% Japan 21% Australia 20% Canada 20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Share of population age 65 and older 28% Japan 22% Germany 21% France 20% Sweden 20% Netherlands 19% Belgium 19% Britain 18% Canada 17% United States 16% Australia 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Share of adult population with obesity 36% United States 29% Canada 29% Australia 28% Britain 22% Germany 22% Belgium 22% France 21% Sweden 20% Netherlands 4% Japan 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Share of population not fully vaccinated United States 36% Netherlands 29% Britain 28% Sweden 27% Germany 26% France 23% Belgium 23% Japan 21% Australia 20% Canada 20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Share of population age 65 and older 28% Japan 22% Germany 21% France 20% Sweden 20% Netherlands 19% Belgium 19% Britain 18% Canada 17% United States 16% Australia 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Share of adult population with obesity 36% United States 29% Canada 29% Australia 28% Britain 22% Germany 22% Belgium 22% France 21% Sweden 20% Netherlands 4% Japan 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Sources: C.D.C (risk factors and U.S. vaccinations); World Health Organization via Our World in Data (obesity data); United Nations (age distribution data); Our World in Data (world vaccinations) Note: Age distribution data is the estimated population for 2020; data is as of 2019. Obesity data is the age-standardized estimate of obesity prevalence among adults; data is as of 2016.

More Americans have also come to express distrust  of the government, and of each other  in recent decades, making them less inclined to follow public health precautions like getting vaccinated or reducing their contacts during surges, said Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

A study published in the scientific journal The Lancet on Tuesday by Mr. Bollyky and Dr. Dieleman of the University of Washington found that a given countrys level of distrust had strong associations with its coronavirus infection rate.

What our study suggests is that when you have a novel contagious virus, Mr. Bollyky said, the best way for the government to protect its citizens is to convince its citizens to protect themselves.

While infection levels remain high in many states, scientists said that some deaths could still be averted by people taking precautions around older and more vulnerable Americans, like testing themselves and wearing masks. The toll from future waves will depend on what other variants emerge, scientists said, as well as what level of death Americans decide is tolerable.

Weve normalized a very high death toll in the U.S., said Anne Sosin, who studies health equity at Dartmouth. If we want to declare the end of the pandemic right now, what were doing is normalizing a very high rate of death.
BISSAU, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Several automatic weapon fires were reported on Tuesday afternoon near the government palace in Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau.

Gunshots were reported near the Palace of the Government of Guinea-Bissau, where the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers was being held. The president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and the Prime Minister, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, are inside the building, a source said on condition of anonymity.

The situation is completely under the control of loyalist forces. President Embalo and Prime Mnister Nabiam are safe, according to the security source.

There are reports of unidentified dead inside the government palace.

Around 1 p.m. local time, the crackling of automatic weapons triggered panic among the population.

So far, there is no news from the government palace, and no one has come out of this place.

At the moment, there are constant movements of patrols of armed soldiers in military vehicles in the streets of the capital Bissau.

Since the news spread in the capital, in the city center, all the shops, restaurants and banks have lowered the curtains. Officials, pupils and students have gone home.

The situation remains confused in the capital Bissau where everyone wonders what is happening at the moment in the government palace.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), issued a statement on Tuesday evening, saying the regional bloc is following developments in Guinea-Bissau with great concern characterized by military fire around the Palace of the Government.

ECOWAS condemns this coup attempt and holds the military responsible for the physical integrity of Umaro Sissoco Embalo and the members of his government, it said.

ECOWAS calls on the military to return to their barracks and maintain a republican posture, it added. 
Chateau Erken, in the Russian Federations Kabardino-Balkaria autonomous republic, looks like an extremely well-preserved medieval castle, but in reality, this architectural wonder is just over a decade old.

Located in the vineyard-dominated countryside of Kabardino-Balkaria, Chateau Erken is a tourist attraction unlike any other in Russia. Not only does it mimic the fortress-like design of European medieval castles, but its location in the middle of a man-made lake full of fish and wild birds is just as impressive. People from all over the country come to this rural area in Southern Russia to see Chateau Erken in person. Photos and videos of this amazing castle have been doing the rounds on social media for years, but some people still cant believe it exists and that it was built not by a king, but by a legendary businessman.

The name Tembulat Erkenov is synonymous with the wine industry of Kabardino-Balkaria. After graduating from the Faculty of Agronomy, he was sent to work in a communist collective, but quickly rose through the ranks and eventually became Deputy Chairman of the Government of Kabardino-Balkaria. Later in life, he went on to found his own winery, Chateau Erken, which is recognized as one of the best in Russia.



Inspired by the castles he visited during his many travels through Europe, Erkenov decided to build his very own medieval castle; not just a small-scale replica, but an actual life-size castle. And if the sources I checked are to be believed, this architectural wonder was completed after only two years, in 2010.

Today, the main operations of Chateau Erken are located inside this magnificent castle, but the place serves as a local tourist attraction as well. Those who want to see the inside of the place have to pay for a tour, but there is plenty to see from the outside as well, considering that the castle is located in the middle of a man-made lake populated with fish and wild birds.

Tembulat Erkenov passed away in 2017, leaving his son to handle the affairs of Chateau Erken. The five-story castle he built also remains as a testament to his lifes work.

Chateau Erken is located near the village of Chernaya Rechka, close to the highway leading to Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria. (coordinates: 43.593156, 43.819854).
Implementing Gas Market Reform in Brazil

Insights from European experience

The Novo Mercado de Gas (New Gas Market) reform programme is set to enhance the physical flexibility of the gas system, enable gas to be delivered more quickly, foster competition and facilitate the integration of a higher share of intermittent renewables into the Brazilian energy system. In the longer term, an open, competitive gas market can more easily adapt to a multi-gas system that includes and deploys low-carbon gases. At the request of the Brazilian government, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has been providing technical advice based on international experience to inform and shape the countrys gas market reform programme from day one. This current white paper follows the report Towards a competitive natural gas market in Brazil: A review of the opening of the natural gas transmission system in Brazil, published in September 2018. It aims to share best practices from Europe in terms of gas market design and reforms, including commercial and practical implications. This white paper includes a section on the role of natural gas and low-carbon gases in Brazilian clean energy transition.
Aldi Ireland has launched its 2022 Community Grants programme, inviting charities and community groups across counties Laois and Offaly to apply for funding through their local Aldi store.

Aldi staff will distribute more than 160 500 bursary grants through the programme this year, totalling over 80,000 worth of funding for Irish causes that contribute vital work and services to their local communities.

Four grants will be distributed amongst Laois and Offaly charities and community organisations. Staff from each of Aldis Laois and Offaly based stores will select a charity or community organisation in their local area to award the bursary to, enabling Aldis staff to help the local good causes they care about.

Charities wishing to put themselves forward for the bursary donation can apply at their local Aldi store.

The initiative was launched by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, at Aldis Carrickmacross Store, Co. Monaghan.

Welcoming the initiative, Minister Humphreys said: Our charities and community groups have gone above and beyond in recent months, supporting some of our most vulnerable citizens during the middle of a pandemic.

I really welcome the announcement that Aldi will be supporting even more local causes through its Community Grants programme in 2022. These grants represent an important contribution for many of these organisations who continue to play a critical role in the communities they serve.

Supporting and recognising the work of local community organisations is a priority for Government and underpins our five year rural development strategy, Our Rural Future. It is fantastic to see Aldis staff directly helping local good causes that they are clearly passionate about.

John Curtin, Group Buying Director, Aldi Ireland said: While the past two years have certainly been challenging for many charities and community groups across the country, it is important now as we return to some normality that we continue to support the local organisations that make such a difference to the lives of so many in our communities.

By the end of 2022, Aldis Community Grants programme will have donated 537,000 to over 1,000 local charity branches and community groups across Ireland since its inception in 2016. Receiving charities and organisations have ranged from rescue teams to animal sanctuaries, disability support to mental health support, and everything in between.

Operating 149 stores around Ireland, Aldi is deeply involved in the local communities its stores serve. To date, Aldi has donated a total of 2.35 million meals to FoodCloud, 440,000 (raised from Aldi stock sold in-store, on-pack donations, voucher donations, partnership support and staff/customer donations) to Barnardos since partnering in November 2020, and will have raised 537,000 through its Community Grants programme by the end of the year.
The musical society within Colaiste Iosagain in Portarlington has paid tribute to Offaly native and beloved teacher Emily Seery who passed away earlier this week.

Emily, from Edenderry, was a French and German teacher at the Portarlington school for 11 years and was heavily involved in the school's musical productions in that time.

Her colleagues there have described her as "the brightest star in the show" and remembered her "passion" and "devotion" to both the shows and the students she directed in them.

Colaiste Iosagain Musicals posted a poignant tribute to Emily on Tuesday evening. Emily passed away suddenly, aged 34, on Monday morning, January 31, hours before she was due to greet her colleagues and students at Colaiste Iosagain.

"It is with sad and heavy hearts that we pay tribute to Colaiste Iosagain's brightest shining star Ms Emily Seery," they said.

"Emily Seery was first and foremost a language teacher having started in Colaiste Iosagain in 2011, but her true passion in life was singing, dancing and drama. During her 11 years in our school, Emily Seery brought that passion to school life through her involvement in the musical productions, Grease, Hairspray and Clueless.

ABOVE: Emily (centre) with her colleagues planning one of her cherished musical productions

"Emily's love of directing the school musicals was evident in all rehearsals. She devoted countless hours of her time to these productions, staying late into the winter evenings and coming to school on weekends and through midterms to ensure that the best possible show was produced," her colleagues recalled.

"Emily's attention to detail was extraordinary. She analysed each and every performance and strived to make improvements for every show. Her dedication to each production was very obvious. Her acting skills were her huge forte. She was a born actor and could transform on stage.

ABOVE: Emily is presented with flowers from one of her students and performers

"In particular, Emily's development of character stands out, how her tone of voice and body language could switch from Danny in Grease to Sandy in a split second. She was able to get into the shoes of any character in the show and display it so simply to the students. Emily brought out the best in all the students, encouraging them to achieve their full potential on stage.

Emily especially loved the production of Grease as she had previously performed as Frenchy when she was a student in school.

"She was also especially good at keeping Mr Mitchell calm when he got high or excited about different aspects of rehearsals and production," they joked.

They remembered that Emily loved nothing better than show night and said she is fondly remembered for her "invigorating pre-show pep talks."

"During the show, you would find her in the pit reciting the script line by line. She will always be remembered for the glamour and style she brought to each show night.

ABOVE: Emily embraces one of her students after a show

"Emily Seery's radiance was infectious. She was a born performer, the brightest star in the show. She had amazing character and spirit. She was a great woman to tell a story and make us all laugh. She was the style queen, an actress, an inspiring teacher and a great colleague and friend who will be missed by us all.

"We are devastated to have lost a member of the dream team, our teacher, our colleague, our friend.

"We offer our sincerest condolences to her husband Vinny, her son Louie, her parents, family and friends. Ar dheis de go raibh a h-anam," they concluded.

ABOVE: Emily (centre in the gold jacket) with her colleagues and students during the production of Grease at Colaiste Iosagain

Funeral Arrangements:

Emily will be sadly missed and forever remembered by her loving family, her husband and best friend Vinny, her adored son Louie, parents Gerry and Yvonne, brother Billy (R.I.P.), parents-in-law Olive and Reggie, brother-in-law David, grandmother Colette, extended family, relatives and friends.

Emily will repose at her parent's house Fennville, Carrick Road, Edenderry (Eircode R45 DT68) this Wednesday from 12 noon to 6pm. Please wear a face covering. Emily's Funeral Mass will take place on Thursday at 2.30pm in St. Mary's Church, Edenderry followed by burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. You can also take part in Emily's Funeral Mass on the Edenderry Parish Webcam via HERE.
Children born through surrogacy are disadvantaged in a range of areas as they do not have a legal relationship with one of their parents, an academic has warned.

Dr Lydia Bracken, from the University of Limerick, said that legislation needs to ensure intending parents are recognised as legal parents.

Ireland has no laws governing surrogacy.

Biological fathers of children born through surrogacy have more rights than the surrogate childs intended mother or second parent.

The joint Oireachtas committee debated childrens rights in surrogacy, as a Bill to regulate surrogacy is before the Oireachtas.

Currently, parents of children born through surrogacy have to fight for recognition of parenting rights before the courts.

Mothers or the second parent do not have basic rights.

Dr Bracken told the committee: This regulation needs to ensure that the intending parents who care for the child from birth can both be recognised as legal parents; that the childs right to identity is safeguarded; and that the child does not experience discrimination due to the circumstances of their conception.

The current situation is that, without regulation, children born through surrogacy are disadvantaged in a range of areas as they do not have a legal relationship with one of their parents, either the intending mother or second intending father.

Professor Conor OMahony, the special rapporteur on Child Protection, said that surrogacy is entirely unregulated in Irish law.

The impact of this position on children born following surrogacy arrangements has been repeatedly highlighted, including by the Supreme Court, which has called on the Oireachtas to fill this legislative vacuum, he added.

He said that domestic surrogacy legislation should allow for a court application to be made before the conception of the child.

Addressing international surrogacy arrangements, he said that legislation should make provision for the intending parents to apply to the High Court for parentage and parental responsibility.

He said this should grant nationality and citizenship to the child and that such applications should be made before the child is brought into the jurisdiction.

Prof OMahony has also recommended that retrospective declarations of parentage should also be provided for.

He said it is unlikely the courts will strike down the legislation as unconstitutional, as the Supreme Court said surrogacy issues are a matter for the Oireachtas.

Addressing the issues surrounding domestic and international surrogacy, he said: What you want to create is a pathway that gets people to the same place, which is full recognition of family and full parentage and protection for right to identity.

Dr Bracken warned there are some areas that are omitted from the proposed legislation.

Theres a handful of pathways that are very clearly omitted from the legislation, in particular non-clinical donors fall outside of the framework in the 2015 Act, she added.

It raises childrens rights issues in regards to the childs right to family life and having a legal relationship with the other parent, which the law does not recognise having legal rights to the child.

That is an area we should be fixing.

Labour TD Ivana Bacik said: This is a deeply complex area and the current lack of regulation is not sustainable and leaves many families without recognition or protection in law.

We have to change and legislate it.
WEDNESDAY, February 2, 2022 marks 100 years to the day since the Leinster Regiment departed Birr, never to return. While historically significant, the event is not widely known and there are some misconceptions about what actually happened.

On Thursday, February 2, 1922, the remaining members of the Leinster Regiment depot staff, departed Birr Barracks for Colchester, England, where they would join up with the 2nd Battalion (the 1st Battalion was in India at the time).

The regiment along with four other historic southern Irish regiments were earmarked for disbandment, a result of the recently agreed Anglo-Irish Treaty and along with downsizing and cutbacks in the British Army after World War One.

The regiment had a fine record of service, having first been formed in 1881 with the amalgamation of the old 100th and 109th Regiments of Foot, which formed the 1st and 2nd Battalions, Leinster Regiment.

The local militia, the Kings County Royal Rifles, became the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, along with the militias of Queens County and Meath becoming the 4th and 5th (Militia) Battalions.

These changes in organisation were part of the Childers reforms of the British Army, named after the then Secretary of State for War, Hugh Culling Eardley Childers.

The regiment would have a fixed depot, which was Birr, and its recruiting area would consist of Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Kings County and Queens County.

In the regiment's 41 years of existence, it served all over the British Empire and saw a detachment of the 1st Battalion see active service in the bloodless Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War (1895-1895); the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions, saw active service during the Second Anglo Boer War (1899-1902); and during World War One, the regiment raised two service battalions for Kitcheners New Armies, with four battalions in total serving in various overseas theatres including, France, Belgium, Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine.

The 2nd Battalion saw peace keeping duties in Silesia after the war, and the 1st Battalion assisted with the suppression of the Malabar Rebellion (1921-1922) in India.

The Leinster Regiment contingent from the depot consisted of two officers, 64 other ranks, two women and eight children.

The members of the regiment were greeted by a large crowd as they left Birr Barracks for Birr train station. They then then made their way to the North Wall, Dublin and then onto Colchester.

A small detachment of soldiers from the Northamptonshire Regiment remained behind in the barracks, to oversee the auction of the government stores.

The auction was scheduled to take place on February 3 and consisted of 7,000 lots of furniture, sporting requisites, surgical and medical appliances.

It is possible that many of these items from this auction still reside in Birr, the history of their origin long forgotten.

On February 6 the barracks was formally handed over to Commandant General Michael McCormack of the 3rd Southern Division (not Felix Cronin which is sometimes incorrectly stated). There were about 50 members of the National Army in total present at the handover.

There are no images of the event and very little is recorded about the handover in the newspaper of the time. The National Army would use Birr Barracks as the headquarters for the 3rd Southern Division. (See below IRA members at the barracks in February 1922. It was burned by anti-treaty forces during the Civil War)

Despite the departure and relatively short existence of the Leinster Regiment, it built strong links with Birr.

While it is unfair not to acknowledge other regiments which called Birr home for the duration of their stay in the barracks, the Leinsters' link has endured the past century with many people having ancestral connections to the regiment.

The memorial window in St Brendans Catholic Church, which was unveiled in 1964, also commemorates all those who served in the regiment and is a fitting honour.

Stephen Callaghan is an independent historian with a keen research interest in Birr Barracks. In 2014 he compiled a database of burial grounds in Offaly for Offaly County Council, and was involved with the excavation of World War 1 era trenches in Birr in 2018. His latest book 'Birr Military Cemetery' took an in depth look at the history of the cemetery attached to Birr Barracks and the people buried there.
JUST four months after he saw his life's work go up in flames, Vincent Cleary and Glenisk are back in the yogurt business.

The Offaly company founded by the late Jack Cleary in Killeigh grew to become a concern which dominated the Irish organic milk and yogurt market and last year was launching on the supermarket shelves in Germany.

Everything changed on September 27 last when a fire in the plant at Newtown wrecked the entire factory and threatened the future of the company, 90 Glenisk jobs, and numerous farmer suppliers.

Glenisk pledged to retain their employees, resumed milk collections, got milk back into the shops, and vowed to rebuild the yogurt production facility.

From this week (Wednesday, February 2), two of Glenisk's yogurts will be available in stores again after a remarkably quick recovery from the ground up.

Speaking on Tuesday, Glenisk managing director Vincent Cleary recalled how he felt when the blaze broke out.

It was one of those days where you're standing there and your life's work is going up in flames in front of you. It's hard to fathom, he said.

As he watched two of the Glenisk products rolling off a new production line he said: Of course we're joyous and we're elated but relief is possibly one of the emotions that's coming because we're back in business and we're back giving our customers products that are sorely missed on the shelves.

It was important for us and our full complement of staff to get back into production as quickly as possible. And for our farmers and everybody and anybody.

It's a brilliant day for us. Although it's a smaller version of what we had before, the machines are smaller, it's the first step back onto continuing our business, picking up our business where we had left it off on that disastrous day on September 27th.

The yogurt section of the factory was hit worst by the fire and Glenisk decided to build a new facility.

The two pots of natural yogurt first off the production line are among the company's most popular (an organic wholemilk yogurt and an organic Greek style natural yogurt), and their immediate reintroduction this week will see Glenisk recover between 20 and 25% of its pre-fire sales.

A further roll-out will then take place. It's going to be a series of baby steps. This is the first initial and important and critical step. And then by the end of this week we're hoping to do some low fat natural and as the weeks pass we'll be adding more to the ranges as we go. Pre-fire we had 105 different pots of everything and anything so we're starting with two so we've a long way back.

Before September last year Glenisk were producing 500,000 pots a week. I'd say we'll do about 100,000 pots this week, said Mr Cleary.

Though he missed his ambitious target of getting back into production in three months, Mr Cleary is delighted with the new facility and thanked stainless steel fabricator, Kilcormac man Donal Spain, Finbarr Kelly, builder, and Mark Cahill, concrete, for their amazing support.

Donal Spain and his team were back on the job two days after Christmas in an effort to get the plant up and running.

Mr Cleary also said FBD Insurance had been with the company every step of the way.

The new yogurt production facility also forms part of the company's campaign to become carbon neutral.

This is part of the baby steps, we've eliminated plastic from the packaging. Even the tray now is cardboard. We are hoping that by the time we complete our new factory that will be totally carbon neutral and free from plastic. So we've started that journey, said Mr Cleary.

With the yogurts now returning to the Irish market, Glenisk is also now returning its attention to Germany.

A deal to supply stores there was being implemented in September when the fire broke out but the German customers quickly told Glenisk to come back when they were ready.

We'd be confident we'll pick that up where we left it off in the coming weeks, said Mr Cleary.

We had just started with them pre-fire. It will be interesting to see how Germany goes because if Germany is successful that will open the door to other countries.

Glenisk retained its workforce since the fire, no staff were laid off, all staff were paid throughout the period and many were redeployed temporarily into new roles.

Many of the staff have been with Glenisk for more than fifteen years.

This fantastic, dedicated and skilled workforce were central to our success in becoming the top selling yogurt brand in Ireland, and are central to our recovery as we try to rebuild from scratch, said Glenisk commercial director Emma Walls.

Our Plan B manufacturing site is less automated and more labour intensive than our original factory. Simply put, it requires more staff to produce less yogurt. Glenisk continued to collect and pay for milk from our organic cows milk and goats milk farmers throughout. These are specialist agricultural sectors and the small family farms who produce this milk depend on Glenisk.

Glenisk is continuing to encourage new farmers to convert to organic and see demand for organics growing.

The company also commented on the overwhelming response from the public with good wishes, prayers, rosaries, Masses, offers of labour, equipment, crowdfunding suggestions, and lots of offers of pocket money from young children.

We asked that offers be channelled to our partner, Self Help Africa and the #OneMillionTrees climate campaign, which had been funded from sales of Glenisk yogurt up to the fire on 27 September. Thanks to the generosity of Irish people, Self Help Africa successfully reached the milestone of two million trees planted in Africa and 100,000 native trees planted in Ireland, said Ms Walls.
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DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least six people have been killed and three others have been injured in a fight between farmers and livestock keepers in Tanzania's eastern district of Kilindi in Tanga region, police said on Monday.

Safia Jongo, the Tanga regional police commander, said the farmers and livestock keepers fought on Sunday using traditional weapons, including spears and machetes.

"The situation is now calm in Elerai and Kibirashi villages where the fighting erupted," Jongo told Xinhua in a telephone interview, adding that three of the dead were farmers.

Jongo said among the dead were a woman and a child, both from the livestock keeping community.

The inspector general of police, Simon Sirro, and the Tanga regional commissioner, Adam Malima, visited the villages affected by the fight on Monday and held a reconciliation meeting with the villagers, a journalist with state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation told Xinhua.

"The conflict between the farmers and livestock keepers in Elerai and Kibirashi villages has been simmering for the past 20 years," said Abel Busalama, the Kilindi district commissioner.

The fight started when farmers in the two villages tried to drive away young Maasai herders who had invaded their farms, said Busalama. 
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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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The Food and Drug Administration will soon meet to consider Pfizer's request, which, if successful, would make it the first COVID-19 vaccine available to children aged six months to five years.
 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd.

All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
Police are investigating 12 different gatherings at the heart of the British state for breaches of the governments own COVID-19 public health laws following an internal inquiry.
ATAGI has given its nod of approval to boosters for teenagers aged 16 and 17, Ben Roberts-Smiths defamation case is back in court and the US is sending 3000 troops to Europe amid tensions along Ukraines border.
Upworthy 14 Feb 2022

Whoopi Goldbergs time on the morning talk show was paused for two weeks after she made some unfortunate comments regarding the..
CANBERRA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Australia reported more than 40,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday when more than 50 million doses had been delivered in total during the vaccine rollout.

Nationally there were 70 deaths reported on Wednesday, including 27 in New South Wales, 25 in Victoria, 16 in Queensland and one each in the Northern Territory (NT) and South Australia, according to official figures from states and territories.

According to Department of Health data published on Tuesday night, there were 4,954 cases being treated in hospitals nationwide, including 375 in intensive care units.

Health Minister Greg Hunt on Wednesday announced that Australia has surpassed 50 million coronavirus vaccine doses administered, including more than eight million booster doses.

Health authorities in NT said it was approaching the peak of the current wave of coronavirus infections.

The NT health officials on Wednesday reported more than 1,000 new coronavirus infections and the NT's third COVID-19 death.

Charles Pain, NT acting deputy chief health officer, said that pressure on the health system was "significant at the moment" but that he was optimistic the caseload would reach its peak within days.

"We hope that it will peak in the next few days, the next week or so," he told reporters on Wednesday.

In South Australia (SA), some students began to return to school on Wednesday after the summer holidays were extended amid surging COVID-19 infections.

SA Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said returning to school was "a safe thing to do."

"Our modeling does show that we expect to have increases in paediatric admissions, but it's not a high number, and so we're expecting to have a little blip," she told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

"But we're still overall expecting to have our numbers decrease every day over this period of time." 
US President Biden said he will send some 2,000 soldiers to Europe. The move comes shortly after the leak of documents showing Washington is ready to discuss troops and missile reductions with Moscow.
President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 troops from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Poland and Germany this week and shifting roughly 1,000 Germany-based soldiers to Romania, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration asked to review Pfizers data on two doses now, while the company continues to assess whether three doses would be more effective.
British Airways has praised its pilots after one of the companys Airbus A321 airliners was forced to abort its landing at Heathrow Airport on Monday when faced with strong winds as a result of Storm Corrie.
New Zealand Herald 09 Feb 2022

Prince Andrew's birthday will still be marked by the flying of the Union flag from council buildings.The Duke of York - who no..
Tamworth Herald 02 Feb 2022

The ITV Britain's Got Talent star, who is currently shooting rehearsals and auditions at the London Palladium with his fellow..
Michael Gove defended the funding of landmark levelling-up promises launched on Wednesday as he insisted the Government will change the economic model of this country.
Talk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is a fantasy and there are no facts on the ground to support it, the countrys ambassador to Ireland has said.
Intelligence assessments suggest that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be preceded by cyberattacks on Ukraines electric grid, its communications systems and its government.
The Baltic states may be on high alert for a possible Russian attack on Ukraine, but Lithuania has another battle on its hands. The tiny country picked a political fight with China over the naming of its new, de facto Taiwanese embassy. The move has become costly in terms of trade  not just for Lithuania, but for the entire European Union.
President Joe Biden has approved the deployment of thousands more US troops to Poland and Germany in the coming days amid fears Russia will invade Ukraine, an administration official says.
The federal trial for three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd's civil rights in a deadly 2020 arrest has been paused until at least next Monday.
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All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
ODN 13 Mar 2022

Communities Secretary Michael Gove says he wants 'safe and stable' homes for Ukrainian people coming to the UK, and there will be..
SUVA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Tonga reported three new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total COVID-19 infections to five in the South Pacific island nation, while a nationwide lockdown will start at 6 p.m. local time (0500 GMT) on the same day.

According to Tonga's news website Matangi Tonga Online, Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni confirmed the new cases on Wednesday afternoon, telling a press conference that all five infected people had been put under quarantine, and some of them began to show symptoms like fever.

Meanwhile, Tonga's Minister of Health Saia Piukala confirmed that the three new cases included a 29-year-old woman and her two children, all close contacts of the previous two cases.

He said that the highest priority in Tonga now is to find out the close contacts of these positive cases and whom they interacted with since Saturday.

On Tuesday night, the Tongan government confirmed that two COVID-19 positive cases were discovered when the Ministry of Health tested 50 frontliners who had been working at the port of Nuku'alofa, capital of Tonga, with the aid shipments arriving in the country following the volcanic eruption and tsunamis caused by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano on Jan. 15.

Tonga had reported its first positive COVID-19 case last year after an Air New Zealand flight arrived from Christchurch, a city of New Zealand, but this case was deemed to be a historical case.

Tonga has maintained border restrictions since March 2020 while a national vaccination campaign has fully vaccinated over 83 percent of the eligible population (about 60 percent of the total population) against COVID-19 up to Jan. 6.

This means 64,047 people out of a total of 76,911 eligible people over the age of 12 years are protected against COVID-19.

Currently, telecommunications are yet to be re-established in most of Tonga, with no outsiders being able to make mobile or phone calls into the Vava'u and Ha'apai group of islands.

Most Tongans will have no internet connectivity at home during this first COVID-19 lockdown to prevent COVID-19 transmission after the recent disaster. 
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Do you appreciate the work we do as the only independent media outlet dedicated to serving OU students, faculty, staff and alumni on campus and around the world for more than 100 years?

Then consider helping fund our endeavors. Around the world, communities are grappling with what journalism is worth and how to fund the civic good that robust news organizations can generate. We believe The OU Daily and Crimson Quarterly magazine provide real value to this community both now by covering OU, and tomorrow by helping launch the careers of media professionals.

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MANISTEE  A majority of people who spoke during a recent public hearing for the Hampton Inn in Manistee were in favor of the project.

A Commercial Rehabilitation District for the hotel, which is planned for 101 Lakeshore Drive, was unanimously approved by the Manistee City Council Tuesday during its regularly scheduled meeting.

A public hearing was held for citizens to speak about the project. Four of five people spoke in support of the project in its current iteration.

Gini Pelton, of Manistee, said she was happy with the project.

"Even if you are adjusting the taxes for this type of development, I believe it is still a win-win situation for our community. We will still be getting all of the resources that they're going to bring to our community back into our community," Pelton said.

She noted the amount of money that the city was able to collect in taxes on the former Lakeshore Motel, which was located on the same property, is nowhere near the amount of taxes that the Hampton Inn will generate when it is completed.

"Everything they're going to develop down there will be good. And for those who maybe aren't aware 101 S. Lakeshore (Drive) when it was a motel was paying taxes at the rate of around a $200,000 home in the community or less; I didn't get a chance to look up the exact numbers today. So if you think you're losing money on the deal, you're not losing money. We're always we're going to be ahead of this game that water and sewer ... jobs ... everything. Anyway, I totally support this."

Of the three others who spoke, all hand a part in the project getting off the ground: Manistee County Board of Commission chair and Economic Development Council chair Jeff Dontz; Marc Miller, director of Economic Development for the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce; and Peter Beukema of Hotel Ventures Manistee LLC., the development company for the project.

Dontz noted the Manistee County Board of Commissioners was heavily supportive of the commercial rehabilitation district when it came before the members in December after being approved by the Manistee City Council in November.

He said the project has changed from the original proposal and those changes were very positive.

"And as we've all gathered for this development, if the community has asked for a much larger lift from what was originally proposed from the planning commission, I can tell you I support that. I think it was a positive change in the development of what we're getting comparable as originally proposed," he said.

However, Dontz said changes to the project mean changes to finances also.

"This is to recognize the fact that the community has asked for those changes. Everybody's endorsed it and now it's time to try to help give a little bit back. In the process of that, (we're getting) 11 times more tax incentive than what we got," he continued.

The tax increase on the current property is in everyone's best interest, he said.

"So I'm definitely in support of it. And I think it's going to be a unique operation, and it's probably one of the most unique going all the way from Chicago up to the Straights (of Mackinac)," Dontz said. "It's just to have a hotel close to Lake Michigan, it's just not around. So with that I strongly support it."

One person was less supportive of the project. Liz Laskey opposed the council accepting the tax abatement for the full 10 years, and noted that the state of Michigan allows for cities and municipalities that use the commercial rehabilitation district to give the tax abatements in a year-by-year process. She said that would give the city the option to review how the abatement is working and either renew the abatement or not. She said it was a bad idea to give a 10-year commitment up front.

Laskey said though the developers have made promises, they aren't the first to come to Manistee and not be successful. She noted that the abatement would transfer if a change of ownership happened, that if the Hampton Inn changed to condos or timeshares, that would end up costing taxpayers $4 million.

Both Miller and Beukema countered saying the 10-year abatement is needed to get the project "over the hump." Mayor Lynda Beaton also cited data from 2020 on Commercial Rehabilitation Districts established that year across the state and noted the majority accepted them at the 10-year level.

"There were 39 certificates that were issued in the state of Michigan, covering all sections of the state," Beaton said. "So, I looked at them all and... out of the 39 certificates that were issued 32 were or accepted at the 10-year request that they had."

During the meeting, the council voted 7-0 to approve the commercial rehabilitation district request from Hotel Ventures Manistee LLC at the full 10-year-level for the tax abatement.

Dontz noted the importance of the unanimous vote at the end of the meeting.

"Something I should have said prior and I did not, is when we have votes like this tonight, seven (to) zero, (in) regard to development (is that) development follows a path of least resistance and we all know we've got a little bit of a reputation for having a little resistance here. And as those guards come down and we embrace it, we're going to have more development," Dontz said.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Collin Periatt.

Monday, Jan. 31

7:04 p.m.  A deputy spoke with a 48-year-old Ogemaw County man whose juvenile daughter lost a phone that was possibly stolen in Midland County. The man tracked the phone to Saginaw and drove to the home to speak with the unknown person, who denied knowing of the phone's existence. The Ogemaw County man was referred to the Michigan State Police to follow up on the matter.

4:22 p.m.  Officers investigated a call of threats being made on West Ellsworth Street.

2:04 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched with EMS and firefighters regarding a 30-year-old man who had overdosed. The man was transported to MyMichigan Medical Center for treatment.

1:53 p.m.  A 47-year-old man reported he was the victim of a check fraud. The approximate total loss is $3,190.00. This incident remains under investigation.

12:54 a.m.  Deputies conducted a traffic stop at a Lincoln Township location. They made contact with the 47-year-old male driver. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the man didn't have a valid driver's license. The man was arrested for operating while intoxicated and lodged at the Midland County Jail without incident.
The Midland Conservation District, at 954 E. Isabella Road in Midland, has seen its share of changes over the years.

Established in 1950, the MCD has gone through name changes, location changes, changes of vision based on who was on the board of directors, great successes, and unexpected failures.

In 1990, the Midland Soil and Water Conservation District won the coveted Goodyear Award for exceptional achievement. But in 2012, Lansing shut the entity down for invalid elections and lack of funds.

And then, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development stepped into the picture. In 2014, a board of directors was in place and one of those on the board was Karen Thurlow. The board of directors suggested that she be the new administrator. Thurlow said, I got kicked upstairs.

If you arent familiar with conservation districts and their importance, a little history may help. In the early days of our country, the land and resources of the continental United States seemed limitless. But 300 years of ever-expanding growth eventually took its toll. Forests were cut down and not replanted. The advent of factories to supply our ever-growing needs and the ever-increasing growth in population began impinging on our clean water supply and on the availability of that water supply. The soils that produced endless harvests began to wear out, with little being put back into the soil to replenish it. And by 1931, farmers were face to face with the Dust Bowl.

The grasslands of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas had been converted from thick fields of sod to growing wheat. Grasslands for livestock became overgrazed. And then, in 1931, a drought began that would last for the next seven years. By 1937, hundreds of farms were nearly buried in sand, fields were left useless for farming, and families who had known only farm life were now desperately loading their belongings onto cars and trucks, heading for someplace else to find work and start over again.

The Dust Bowl years were ones of dramatic impact on our country. Particles of soil suspended in the air resulted in brownouts, and lamps were lighted in the middle of the day to provide light to see by. Animals and people caught in the open during a dust storm had their lungs badly damaged or, worse, became lost and died.

So many people fell victim to pneumonia from inhaling the dust that doctors labeled it dust pneumonia. Dust storms struck so swiftly that cattle died in the fields, choked to death by the dust before they could find shelter from the storm. Dirt had to be shoveled out of houses and away from barn doors.

The farmers were trapped by the Dust Bowl. And by that time, the Great Depression was also in full force across our country. But in 1935, a man named Hugh Hammond Bennett stepped into the picture. Bennett had realized that help had to be extended to local farmers and that the government was too slow to be effective. His vision was to establish small conservation districts in every state and county. On October 29, 1937, Soil Conservation Districts were created to give farmers help at the local level.

The Soil Conservation Service and the local conservation districts began working with farmers on a one-to-one basis. New methods of plowing were explored. No-till farming was tried, and terracing of farmland was begun. Trees were planted around farm fields and homes to break the force of the wind in the wintertime and to cut down on soil erosion in the summertime. Fertilizer was added to depleted soil. Slowly, farming began turning around.

In Midland County, farmers sought to establish a soil conservation district, and on April 14, 1950, a petition for the organization of the Midland County Soil Conservation District was signed by 295 land occupiers and filed with the office of the State Soil Conservation Committee. Each township in Midland County was represented, and farmers stated what they hoped to get from the establishment of a soil conservation district.

James Secor, Sr., of Edenville, needed assistance in erosion control, in maintaining the fertility of his soil, and in planning crop rotation. In Hope, George Maxwell wanted to know what land was suitable for pasture and what land should be reforested. In Larkin, John Miller felt that the planting of more trees, restocking streams and rivers with fish, and crop rotation were to be focused on.

In Homer Township, Gerald Hoffman wanted to know how sewage disposal was going to be handled with the rapid increase in population, and Elmer Hockemeyer wanted to learn how to control flood and residue problems on the river flats where he farmed. Eldon Witkovsky, of Warren Township, wanted help in changing his method of farming, in converting wild pasture to tame pasture, and in changing from cultivated crop farming to grassland farming.

On April 27, 1950, the State Soil Conservation Committee determined that there was a real need for a soil conservation district in Midland County. On May 26, 1950, a referendum was held showing that a majority of the votes cast were in favor of the creation of a soil conservation district. On June 27, 1950, the State Soil Conservation Committee determined that the Midland County Soil Conservation District was now an official governmental subdivision of the State of Michigan and a public entity. Five officers were elected on June 17, 1950: Ross Thayer, George Maxwell, William Baker, Floyd Goodyear and Arthur Clark.

The first annual meeting of the Midland Soil Conservation District was held on January 16, 1952, at the UMWA building on South Saginaw Road in Midland. Forty-five people attended. Treasurer William Baker gave the financial report for 1951; the district had $73.70 on hand.

Almost immediately, the problem of supporting soil conservation districts became an issue. Only limited funds were available from the state office in Lansing, and eventually the districts began selling tree seedlings as a means of financing their work with landowners. A District Conservationist assigned to each county was a federal employee and the federal government also paid for the office. But it was up to the district to cover the expense of additional workers in the office, which meant that many functioned on a part-time basis only.

Soil Conservation Districts throughout Michigan kept a low profile until the latter part of the 1970s, which marked the start of a growth spurt for the next two decade. A young man named Gerald Laurenz was elected to the Midland board of directors on January 24, 1978.

And the local district began to take a new direction. A farming family in Porter Township, Gerald and his wife Carolyn had three sons and one daughter. A dynamic leader, his personality left an indelible mark on what the district achieved during his 13-year tenure, climaxed in 1990 by the district winning the coveted Goodyear Award for exceptional achievement.

(This story will conclude with Part II on Feb. 16.)
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A diverse group of about 100 people rallied in front of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Greater Michigan in Midland on Tuesday morning. They called for the resignation of the companys statewide president, Jimmy Greene, following his alleged dismissal as bogus of a lawsuit citing obscene racism and discrimination against six former workers.

Six plaintiffs of a federal lawsuit filed Jan. 20, deemed the "United Six," are former employees of Lansing-based United Electrical Contractors (UEC). They filed a lawsuit citing rampant racism and discrimination at UEC. The plaintiffs, five of whom are minorities, allege that UEC supervisors and employees routinely discriminated against them based on their color and used names like the N-word and wetback, and made comments like such as Hurry up before I pull out my whip and Go back to your plantation.

The six workers said they were also given severely disparate treatment, training opportunities and compensation in relation to white workers. UEC fired the workers allegedly after they raised concerns.

After the six filed their lawsuit, one of the attorneys on the case, Richard Mack of Miller Cohen, P.L.C, said Greene reportedly deemed the lawsuit bogus about three hours later. Mack said Greene didnt even investigate the claims against United Electrical, which is a member of ABC, a trade association of non-union contracting companies.

A statement released by ABC Greater Michigan Chapter on Jan. 20, entitled "Bogus Lawsuit Filed against United Electrical Contractors," begins with this paragraph: "In a weak attempt to oust United Electrical Contractors from numerous construction projects that were rightly won, IBEW has created a false narrative with former employees filing federal suit claiming racism. In response to the unfounded and false claims bolstered by the IBEW against United Electric, ABC of Michigan Chapter President Jimmy Greene states: 'It has come to my attention that building trades unions are using disparaging and libelous accusations of racism or racist behaviors directed at United Electrical. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have been CEO & President of Associated Builders & Contractors for 13 years and lead the State of Michigan's contractors not just on policy and workforce issues but in developing a culture embracing diversity and I lead that initiative across the nation.'"

At times during Tuesday's rally, protestors shouted, Shame on you, Jimmy Greene.

I didnt dismiss anything, Greene told the Daily News in an interview Tuesday.

I deplore racism, said Greene, who is Black. I deplore people who practice it."

One of the plaintiffs, Jordan Shank, said Tuesday, Today, I hope we get our point across to Jimmy Greene and that racial slurs wont be tolerated in the workplace.

Greene noted the complaints werent even against ABC, they were against United Electrical Contractors, which he said is one of about 1,000 members of ABC.

When asked if he would be willing to meet with the six plaintiffs, Greene said he "absolutely" would.

Shank, who is white, said he worked for UEC from 2019 to 2020. In April 2019, he said he was injured on the job and upon returning to work he was demoted from his foreman position. He said during his UEC time, the white employees received preferential treatment and he heard another foreman using the n-word to address Black employees.

Shank, along with the five other plaintiffs, all reported observing racial discrimination in the workplace.

This is a Jim Crow-era novel, and for these six people, they cant close the book, Mack said.

In addition, Mack said if Greene had investigated the complaints and had not immediately dismissed them and had not come out saying that he too was Black, the nearly 100 protesters would not have been out there on Monday.

Lamarr Jones drove all the way from Detroit for the protest. He said the issue was bigger than the mileage he had to put on his car.

This is a huge issue, Jones said. He (Greene) denounced the lawsuit before he even did an investigation.

Jones suggested that one imagine getting their dream job and going to work and having their boss grope them daily  then having to put up with that to keep their job. He compares the analogy to what the six workers went through.

Theres so much wrong here, it hurts my conscience and goes to my soul, said Bay City NAACP President Darold Newton.

The time is right to do whats right, he said. It saddens me that in 2022 were still trying to get equal rights in the workplace.

International Brothers of Electrical Workers (IBEW) member Laurie Thybault, of Traverse City, was also at the rally.

It could have been me, Thybault said. Ive been an electrician for 26 years.

She said she's been discriminated against by others during her years of service.

"It's happened to me, but my (fellow employees) stood up for me until I could for myself.

Its unbelievable its still happening, she added.

She suspects more people will come forth as the lawsuit becomes better known.

How could there not be? she asked. None of the guys knew each other and all have the same stories.

Thybault said it is hideous and horrific that people had to work in such conditions and be slighted for their race or ethnicity.

Its unbelievable its still happening, she said.

Also speaking at the rally was plaintiff Tyler Richardson of Lansing, who talked about enduring racism while working as an apprentice electrician for UEC in 2020.

While working at UEC, I heard so many racial slurs and epithets directed towards me and other Black people. The n-word was used by white employees, including members of management, countless times, he said in a statement.

Richardson said while on job sites, employees would bring up politics and make negative comments about Black people. He also witnessed employees making derogatory comments towards Hispanic employees. Richardson said the employees said management did nothing or laughed or both when being told of the complaints.

Micah Perkins of Grand Rapids was there protesting to support his union brothers and sisters. He said there is no place for racism in the workplace and it sickens him that it happened to these people.

I hope the United Six get the justice they deserve, Perkins said.

Ryan Husse, of the IBEW, said the protest was about bringing awareness of injustice to people and to ask for Greenes resignation.

He has no interest in addressing the situation at hand, Husse said of Greene, saying that the ABC president only wants to protect his pet contractor.

Also attending was IBEW Business Manager Local 692, Ryan Charney, who said people were attending to stand up for the fellow workers and because "discrimination needs to stop.

A similar rally was held in Ann Arbor after the filing of the lawsuit. More rallies are planned, including in Lansing, where Greene's ABC office is.

UEC did not immediately return calls from the Daily News seeking comment about the lawsuit.
Press Release

February 2, 2022 Senate ratifies bicam report on PSA amendments Sen. Grace Poe hailed the ratification of the proposed amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA), saying she hopes this would be "start of the era of inclusive economic gains and development" in the country. "Our overarching goal is to enhance competition, provide better quality services and create jobs," said Poe, the chairperson of the Senate committee on public services and sponsor of the bill. "The country's top economic and legal experts have thrown their weight behind this bill. The data will bear us out. Not only will the passage of this measure speed up the country's economic recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic, but it will also make our country competitive when it comes to attracting foreign direct investments which we sorely lack and need," Poe stressed. The Senate on Wednesday night gave the nod to the bicameral conference committee report, which harmonized the conflicting provisions between Senate Bill No. 2094 and House Bill. No. 78 proposing changes to the over 85-year-old PSA to make it more responsive to the needs of the times. The ratified measure will go to Malacanang for the President's signature. The measure identified public utilities as follows: (1) distribution and transmission of electricity; (2) petroleum and petroleum products pipeline transmission systems; (3) water pipeline distribution systems and wastewaterpipeline systems, including sewerage pipeline systems; (4) seaports; and (5) public utility vehicles. Any industry not included in the list will remain as public services and will be liberalized, the measure said. "By easing the foreign equity restrictions in such industries, we are confident that our economy, which is lagging even behind our ASEAN neighbors, will thrive and grow, and that more jobs will be created for our kababayans," Poe said. The senator pointed out that liberalizing some industries is not an invitation for foreign countries to take advantage of the country's resources. "Adequate safeguards and security provisions are in place, including giving authority to the President to suspend or prohibit any proposed merger or acquisition transaction, or any investment in a public service that will grant control to a foreigner or a foreign corporation," Poe said. She emphasized the presence of a provision prohibiting foreign state-owned enterprises from owning capital in any public service classified as public utility or critical infrastructure. Foreign nationals are also not allowed to own more than 50 percent of the capital of entities engaged in the operation and management of critical infrastructure, unless his or her country accords reciprocity to Philippine nationals. "The ratified measure made its intentions clear and unequivocal by adding a provision that says that 'nothing in the bill shall be interpreted as a requirement for legislative franchise where the law does not require any'," Poe said. The measure also said that "no person shall be deemed a public utility unless otherwise subsequently provided by law." The proposed measure has also instituted penal provisions for violations. Bicam report sa pag-amyenda sa PSA, niratipikahan ng Senado Ikinatuwa ni Sen. Grace Poe ang ratipikasyon sa panukalang pag-amyenda sa Public Service Act (PSA) na inaasahang magiging simula ng panahon ng pagyabong ng ekonomiya at pag-angat ng bansa. "Ang ating layunin ay palakasin ang kumpetisyon at magbigay ng mas dekalidad na serbisyo bukod pa sa paglikha ng mga trabaho," pahayag ni Poe, chairperson ng Senate committee on public services at sponsor ng panukala. "Suportado ng top economic at legal experts ng bansa ang panukala. Madidipensahan din ito ng mga datos. Sa pagpasa ng panukala, hindi lamang napapabilis ang pagbangon ng ekonomiya mula sa negatibong epekto ng pandemya kundi ay magiging competitive din ang bansa sa panghihikayat sa mga dayuhang pamumuhunan na sadyang kailangan natin ngayon," diin ni Poe. Inaprubahan ng Senado nitong Miyerkules ng gabi ang bicameral conference committee report kung saan niresolba ang magkakaibang probisyon sa pagitan ng Senate Bill No. 2094 at House Bill. No. 78 na nagsusulong ng pagbabago sa 85-taon nang PSA upang mas makatugon sa pangangailangan ng panahon. Isusumite sa Malakanyang ang niratipikahang panukala para sa lagda ni Pangulong Duterte. Alinsunod sa panukala, idineklarang public utilities ang (1) distribution at transmisyon ng elektrisidad (2) petrolyo at petroleum products pipeline transmission systems; (3) water pipeline distribution systems at wastewater pipeline systems, kabilang na ang sewerage pipeline systems; (4) mga pantalan; at (5) public utility vehicles. Ang mga industriyang hindi kasama sa talaan ay mananatili namang public services. "Sa pamamagitan ng pagluluwag ng foreign equity restrictions sa mga industriyang ito, kumpiyansa tayong lalago ang ating ekonomiya na sa ngayon ay napag-iiwanan maging ng mga kalapit-bansa sa ASEAN at mas maraming trabaho ang maiaalok para sa ating mga kababayan," saad ni Poe. Nilinaw naman ng senadora na hindi ito nangangahulugang iniimbitahan ang mga dayuhang bansa na pagsamantalahan ang kayamanan ng Pilipinas. "May sapat na proteksyon at seguridad sa panukala, kabilang na ang pagbibigay ng awtoridad sa Pangulo na suspendihin o ipagbawal ang mga isinusulong na merger o acquisition transaction, o anumang pamumuhunan sa public service na magbibigay sa dayuhan o dayuhang korporasyon ng lubos na kontrol," paliwanag ni Poe. Binigyang-diin pa nito na may probisyon din sa panukala na nagbabawal sa foreign state-owned enterprises na magmay-ari ng anumang public service na nasa ilalim ng klasipikasyon bilang public utility o critical infrastructure. Hindi rin papayagan ang mga dayuhan na magmay-ari ng mahigit 50 porsiyentong kapital sa operasyon at pamamahala ng critical infrastructure, maliban na lamang kung ang kanyang bansa ay magbibigay din ng kahalintulad na awtoridad sa mga Pinoy. "Binigyang-linaw sa niratipikahang panukala ang magandang intensyon sa pamamagitan ng pagdaragdag ng probisyon na nagsasaaad na walang anumang probisyon sa panukala ang dapat na ituring bilang requirement para sa legislative franchise kung hindi naman itinatakda ng batas,"paliwanag ni Poe. Nakasaad rin sa panukala na walang sinuman ang ituturing na public utility maliban na lamang kung itinatakda ng batas. Nakapaloob rin ang pagpataw ng parusa sa mga lalabag sa mga probisyon nito.
COLOMBO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's National Industrial Exhibition, which will open on Thursday, is expected to create investment opportunities, state media reported on Wednesday.

Organized by Sri Lanka's Industrial Development Board, the exhibition at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo will feature over 300 stalls representing 20 fields of industry.

"The main objective of this national industrial exhibition is to create both local and foreign investment opportunities for local industrialists as well as to open up new market spaces," Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa was quoted by the Daily News as saying.

Weerawansa also said that the exhibition is intended to introduce people to local Sri Lankan industries and inspire youth to become entrepreneurs.

Industries including construction contributed to 26.2 percent of Sri Lanka's gross domestic product in 2020. 
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According to Midland County, the most common local hazards are weather-related.

This includes floods, severe storms, and winter storms. Other potential hazards are man-made incidents which can include a variety of things, such as chemical emergencies and power failures.

Emergency preparedness is the recommended starting point for all Michiganders during anticipated winter weather conditions. Several local agencies offer a variety of winter preparedness tips for Midland-area residents to stay safe.

How can I stay updated on local conditions?

Midland County Central Dispatch communicates alerts with the public through Everbridge Nixle.

Residents can receive text message and email alerts by registering online at at local.nixle.com/register or by texting their zip code to 888777.

Midland County recommends that everyone pay attention to weather watches, warnings or advisories from the National Weather Service.

The National Weather Service has a regional station based near Detroit, which encompasses Midland and surrounding communities. The weather service also collects weather data at the MBS Airport in Freeland.

If a potential disaster is anticipated within the region, Michigan 211 can connect residents with local emergency shelters, supplies, clothing, financial support, and more. The agency is available by phone; dial 211 to connect with a representative.

For more information on the service, visit mi211.org and search "Disaster Services."

Ahead of an alert, ensure these items are accessible

Regardless of the potential threat or hazard, local residents should be prepared for any emergency by making a plan and creating an emergency preparedness kit.

To be prepared for a winter storm, Midland County advises putting the following items in your household kit:

Battery-powered flashlight

Extra food that requires little or no preparation, and bottled water

Battery-operated radio

Extra blankets and lots of warm clothes

The county also notes that a "travel emergency kit" with many of these items could be beneficial when you are traveling. Midland County recommends the following items in your vehicle kit:

Shovel

Blankets

Windshield scraper

Container of sand

Booster cables

Tow rope

Flashlight

Battery-operated radio

First aid kit

A change of clothing

High-energy snacks.

Some residents are able to access emergency heating sources such a fireplace, wood stove, space heater or a back-up generator.

Midland County says emergency generators are great tools for winter emergencies, but homeowners should contact a licensed electrician about what type and size of generator will work best for the property. An electrician can also provide electrical wiring service to accommodate the household.

According to Midland County, an electrical service properly designed for your generator will also eliminate the problem of back-feeding the power grid, which is a hazard to power company employees working to restore service.

During a winter storm

Amid poor weather conditions, residents should execute a preparedness plan.

Midland County recommends the following steps when residents face potential poor winter conditions:

Save heat: Within a household, close off unneeded rooms, cover windows at night and block cracks under outside doors with towels.

Eat right: Maintaining adequate food and water intake makes it possible for your body to store and use energy for producing its own heat.

How can I be safe while I'm stranded outside, in a vehicle?

If stranded in a vehicle, call for help with your cell phone. Here's what you can do while help is on the way:

Attach a brightly colored cloth to your antenna or somewhere on the vehicle to attract attention.

Run the engine about 10 minutes each hour for heat.

Open your window slightly for fresh air and make sure your exhaust pipe isn't blocked with snow.

Turn on your emergency flashers when the engine is running in order to attract attention.

Exercise by moving arms, legs, fingers and toes to keep blood circulating and to keep warm.

If stranded outside, try to stay dry and cover all exposed parts of your body. Prepare a windbreak or snow cave for protection from the wind. If possible, build a fire for heat and to attract attention.

Don't eat snow; this could lower your body temperature. It should be melted prior to consuming.

Those seeking shelter should connect with the following agencies:
To the editor:

The second Mobile Food Pantry (MFP) of this year by the Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network was hosted on Thursday, Jan. 27 in the parking lot of Wheeler Road Church of Christ at 1123 E. Wheeler in Midland (across the road from Plymouth Park). Because of the pandemic guidelines, our mobile food pantry events continue outside as drive-thru, on-contact distributions.

The giveaway of approximately 7,583 pounds of food was provided at no cost (i.e., federally-sponsored) from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan in Flint. The 42 volunteers served 95 families with canned vegetables, potato flakes, tomato soup, rolled oats, black beans, fresh potatoes, assorted produce, cabbage, frozen meats, breads and sweets. After the distribution at the church, six cabbages were shared with Midland's Open Door for their meal program.

The Network is very grateful to the many donors of food, money and time to the Network's mission of "Always food in every home." The next drive-thru MFP is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 28 in the parking lot of the Faith United Methodist Church at 203 E. Jefferson St. in Coleman. Midland County residents in (financial) need of food during the year may dial 211 and request the Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network for food assistance or may dial the Network directly at 989-486-9393 and press "1" to leave a message.

SALLY ANN SUTTON

Midland County EFPN
Director of Content and Operations

Spencer McKee is OutThere Colorado's Director of Content and Operations. In his spare time, Spencer loves to hike, rock climb, and trail run. He's on a mission to summit all 58 of Colorado's fourteeners and has already climbed more than half.
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Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High near 75F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Isolated thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 63F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High near 75F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Isolated thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 63F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
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BERLIN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- To offset the effect of rising energy prices, the German government decided on Wednesday to provide a one-time heating allowance to around 2.1 million people in the country.

Support would be provided in particular to housing benefit recipients and students receiving financial support, it said.

Housing benefit recipients who live alone would receive 135 euros (153 U.S. dollars), two-person households would get 175 euros, while students are to receive 115 euros, according to the government.

Pensioners, single parents or people with little income "have not been able to easily shoulder the rising energy prices," Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Construction Klara Geywitz said. These people should receive "tangible support with the heating cost subsidy."

The one-time heating allowance would be paid in summer, when heating or utility bills are usually due, according to the government. The draft law is now to be presented to the Bundestag (lower house of Parliament). (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollars) 
Palestine, TX (75801)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Thunderstorms could be strong and possibly severe during the afternoon hours. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 78F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
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This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions
Afghanistans top porn star doesnt scare easily.



Yasmeena Ali, 28, says she feels empowered by her kinky occupation  despite her own father purportedly trying to have her killed over it.



In an interview with The Post, the porn star opened up about the risks shes taken to pursue sex work after leaving behind her religion and family. But for women like her, who have denounced sexually oppressed cultures to reclaim their bodies, the work is worth it  for both the erotic freedom and the paycheck.



I was surprised when I first started working in this industry with how well women are paid compared to their male co-stars, Ali told The Post. A lot of times women in other industries with higher qualifications and experiences do not get the same paycheck or respect as their male colleagues.



Read Full Story .... nypost.com >>> :

















Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Eight out of the 12 suspects arraigned at an Accra Circuit Court in connection with the recent violent clashes between two youth groups at Nima and Mamobi have been granted bail.



This was after the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Dennis Terkpetey, amended the charge sheet to include Farouk Dawda, who was arrested recently.



In the new charge sheet, the suspects have been charged with conspiracy to riot with weapons, rioting with weapons and causing harm.



Eight



The eight are Abdul Gafaru Mahama, Atarouwa Bassam, Abdul Mumuni Gariba, Mohammed Saabi Barinu, Bashiru Ganiru, Illiasu Salim, Ibrahim Moro and Issah Seidu.



They were admitted to bail in the sum of GH80,000 with two sureties each.



As part of the bail conditions, they are to report to the police twice a week.



Two remanded



Meanwhile, Aziz Suleman and Farouk Dawda aka Omoni were denied bail after the prosecution had argued that granting them bail would interfere with investigations.



The two, together with the eight who were granted bail pleaded not guilty to the charges when they appeared at the court presided over by Ms Rosemary Baah Tosu.



Ali Awudu, aka Bombo, and Ibrahim Husain, aka Kumodzi, are said to be on the run.



They are to re-appear on February 15, 2022.

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Dean of the School of Performing Arts and Linguistics Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Agyekum, has called on President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to intervene in the UTAG strike.



UTAG and the National Labour Commission (NLC) will on Thursday battle out their case in court as UTAG has refused to comply with a directive by the NLC to call off their strike.



The University lecturers have laid down their teaching materials until their demands are met.



They complain about poor conditions of services and want the authorities to heed their grievances or they stay on their strike action.



The Universities across the country risk being closed if the lecturers do not resume work.



Briefly reacting to the impasse, Prof. Kofi Agyekum, popularly called ''Opanyin Agyekum'', noted that it is about time the President and the National Peace Council played their roles in the dispute settlement.



''I plead with the President to step in. This is the time we need the National Peace Council. I know when it's tough and the parties cannot reach a concensus, the National Peace Council steps in to settle the dispute," he said on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo''.







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
An Accra High Court has ordered counsel for Manasseh Azure, Edwin Appiah, Sulemana Braimah and Media Foundation for West Africa to furnish it with their affidavit in opposition to an application for contempt of court initiated against them by the Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI).



This was after the court presided over by Justice Harriet Akweley Quaye had indicated that the court had not received its copy of the statement of defence which counsel for the defendants, Samson Anyenini, said was filed last Friday, January 28, 2022.



Appearing before the court, Kwaku Paintsil, counsel for LCI indicated to the court that he was informed by the defendants counsel that they had filed their affidavit in opposition but added that the plaintiff had not been served.



He therefore, inquired from the court whether it had been provided with its copy of the statement of defence and Justice Jane Akweley Quaye answered in the negative.



The court was expected to give directions in the matter but was unable to do as it did not have the affidavit in opposition.



Mr. Paintsil also requested from the court if could take a look at the defendants copy and give directions but the trial judge said she cannot give directions without having the response.



She therefore, ordered counsel for the defendants to ensure that the court gets its copy of their affidavit in opposition and subsequently adjourned the case to February 14. 2022.



The Church cited the three for publishing what it described as publishing highly prejudicial articles and commentaries as well as made conclusive statements of facts on unresolved issues which are yet to be determined by the High Court.



The motion which was filed by Kweku Paintsil of Goshen Chambers on behalf of the church is urging the High Court to commit the respondents to prison for contempt of court for the publications.



LCIs application for contempt of court against Manasseh and the other defendants stems from separate suits initiated by six former pastors of the church over Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions.



They are also seeking a compensation to cover some alleged investments they made in schools, churches of the LCI and for rental of cars while in the service of LCI as well as monies they spent on accommodation.









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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The Bishop of the Wenchi Diocese of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Right Reverend Alfred Appiah Andam, has expressed concern about the recent brawl in Parliament and called on Members of Parliament (MPs) to set good examples for the youth to emulate.



"It is unfortunate that our MPs have resorted to using their fists to settle their differences. This will send wrong signals to the youth and let them think that it is right to use their fists to settle scores," he stated.



Rt Rev. Andam, who was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the 2022 Camp Meeting of the Diocese in Techiman last Sunday, said, "If this is what we are witnessing in Parliament, then we have a long journey to cover."



The three-day camp meeting which was attended by about 2,000 members from the 14 circuits of the dioceses located in the Bono and Bono East regions, was held on the theme: Living a transformed life in Jesus Christ.



Agree to disagree



Rt Rev. Andam said since MPs were considered as part of the top leaders of the country, they should always bear in mind that people were watching them from all over the country.



"Let us use appropriate means to resolve our differences. We should agree to disagree. It is not a sin for anybody to belong to a political party of his or her choice and hold a different view or opinion," he said.



He stated that with the current composition of Parliament, both sides of the House should build consensus in order to arrive at decisions on issues in the interest of the country.



National interest



"Let us think about the interest of the country first before our parochial, political or personal interests," Rt Rev. Andam stated.



He added that it would be commendable for politicians to endorse good policies that would ensure the development of the country whether they belonged to either the ruling or opposition party.



He said Ghana had come a long way in its political dispensation and it was important for all Ghanaians to forge ahead in unity instead of allowing political differences to be a stumbling block to development.



Prophecies



Preaching on the theme of the meeting, Rt Rev. chastised religious leaders who called themselves prophets for always putting fear in their followers through prophecies.



"It is unfortunate that the actions of these so-called prophets deliberately put fear in people," he stated.



Rt Rev. Andam explained that if those people were real prophets of God, then they should allow God to give them messages for their followers instead of telling them what they themselves wanted for their selfish gains.



Truth



For his part, the Municipal Chief Executive for Techiman, Mr Benjamin Yaw Gyarko, thanked the Methodist Church for how it had provided social services alongside the preaching of the gospel at all corners of the country.



He, however, advised Christians to hold on to the truth not only in the church but in their social and political lives.



Mr Gyarko said it was unfortunate that notwithstanding the numerous good policies being implemented by the government, people were peddling lies to throw dust in the eyes of the populace.



Mr Gyarko, therefore, urged Christians to always stand by the truth and give commendation or point out faults whenever necessary.









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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If need be, Ghanaians should be bold and question the President on some of the appointments he makes, a stalwart of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Kwame Pianim, has said.



He indicated that the 1992 constitution has empowered Ghanaians to question the President if they find some of his his decision problematic.



The economist said this while delivering the guest speech during the launch of the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage at the Cedi Conference Centre at the University of Ghana on February 1 2022, under the theme: The man John Evans Atta Mills  10 years on.



I do not believe that those who are saying , we need a new constitution. The constitution we have , with a few judicial adjudications can be brought to light, a few changes.



We dont need to overhaul or get a new constitution. What is wrong with the constitution are us Ghanaians. The president has too much powers but the president doesnt pass laws.



There are 275 MPs sitting there , they are supposed to approve the ministers not the president. So we say yes they are the Ministers, we have the Council of state who are supposed to make certain appointments in consultation with or on the advise of.



I dont know what documents they say the president should bring when it is in consultation with them or on the advise of. So it is not the president who has too much powers, it is us to stand up and be courageous to say, Mr President this persons you want to occupy this position is not good enough, they are not experienced enough.



During the event, Former President John Dramani Mahama urged all Ghanaians to emulate the peaceful nature of the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills.



Mr Mahama said Prof Mills was truthful and had integrity. He was also a moral political colossus.



These attributes he said are worth emulating.



I call on each one of us Ghanaians to uphold truth and integrity and the peaceful nature of Prof Mills. Let us stay united even in the face of adversity, let us uphold tolerance yet we must endeavour to proceed in unity and in truth, we must also strive to defend the cause of freedom and we must fervently the public course to protect our democracy.



Prof Mills was such a moral political colossus and there can e no limit on the vehicles and instruments that eulogises his memory and history in the hearts and minds of Ghanaians, he said.



Mr Mahama further stated the rationale behind the Heritage, saying it seeks to inspire humanity for a better society,



The Heritage seeks to inspire humanity for a better society, a virtue that President Atta Mils lived and died for. Prof Atta Mils simply was a good man. It therefore gladdens the hearts of many millions of people who loved him that this decision was taken to launch the Atta Mills heritage here on campus of our Alma Mata, University of Ghana.



This is because it was right here this university grounds, the hail of knowledge and the nations hope and glory where we are taught to proceed on integrity and truth which prof Mills stood for.



Mr Mahama further noted the Professor Mills grew the economy to an unpresented level.









Source: 3news.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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Heavy gunfire was heard on Tuesday February 1, the capital of Guinea-Bissau near the presidential palace where a cabinet meeting was being held amid fear of a Coup.



Armed men surrounded the government palace, where President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were believed to have gone to attend a cabinet meeting.



The state broadcaster reported that the shooting has damaged the government palace, which is located close to the airport, and that invaders are holding government officials.



Al Jazeeras Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dakar in neighbouring Senegal, said it was unclear whether the gunfire was the presidential guards trying to protect the president, or if there was an attack on the government palace.



The whereabouts of the president and the prime minister remain unknown at this time, he said.



People were seen fleeing the area, the local markets were closed and banks shut their doors, while military vehicles laden with troops drove through the streets, according to AFP news agency.



If confirmed, this would be the second coup in West Africa in as many weeks after the military seized power in Burkina Faso last week.



The West African regional bloc ECOWAS condemned what it described as an attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau, which has a history of political instability.



ECOWAS is following with great concern the evolution of the situation in Guinea-Bissauwhere military gunfire is taking place around the government palace, the organisation said.



ECOWAS condemns this attempted coup and holds the military responsible for the safety of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and members of his government.









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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HELSINKI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Requirement of COVID-19 vaccinations among health care professionals working in close contact with the elderly or other vulnerable groups took effect in Finland on Tuesday.

According to professional statistics, some 80,000 academically educated nurses and 140,000 practical nurses are employed in the country.

Parliament approved the change in the infection ailments act in December.

From Tuesday, the employer will have the right to ask employees who work with the elderly for their vaccination information. Nurses who refuse cannot be dismissed, but if no suitable work will be found for them, their salaries can be suspended, reported National broadcaster Yle. It will be the employer's responsibility to first offer other tasks to those who do not want to take the vaccine.

Vaccination rates among health care professionals are higher than the general population in Finland. According to Yle, 95 percent of the nurses of the Helsinki-Uusimaa health district have got two vaccine shots, and 69 percent three, while the respective figures for the general population in the area are 69 percent and 40 percent.

To date, some 2.49 million people in Finland have been vaccinated three times, representing 44.8 percent of the total population or 50.8 percent of those aged 12 and over.

The country's Institute for Health and Welfare on Tuesday reported 3,244 new COVID-19 infections, raising the national tally to 493,114 since the start of the pandemic. 
Former President John Mahama has recounted publicly, for the first time, the events that led to the death of his late boss, President John Evans Atta Mills almost a decade ago.



On that dull and hazy day of 24 July 2012, death unexpectedly snatched him from us, leaving a shocked nation in deep sorrow, anguish and in tears, Mr Mahama said at the launch of the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage at the University of Ghana, Legon, on Tuesday, 1 February 2022, is aimed at inspiring humanity  including the youth of Africa for a better society.



Before retelling the story of Prof Mills death, Mr Mahama told the gathering:  The following reminiscences are the first time I am talking publicly of this sad event.



He went on: That fateful day, I had been alerted that I would be asked to act because Prof. was likely to travel to Nigeria. I was informed by his Secretary Sir Bebaako-Mensah that he had requested specifically that I stand in for him at the official launch of the Brand Ghana project at the International Conference Centre. I attended the function with the Chief of Staff Mr. John Martey Newman.



Upon my return to the Castle, which was then the seat of Government, as I proceeded to my office, I asked the Chief of Staff to inform Prof that I was going to come over and see him to discuss a few important issues after meeting with a former President who was waiting in my office. Moments after our return, the Chief of Staff called me frantically and said Prof has been rushed to 37 Military hospital in an emergency. I wrapped up my meeting and prepared my staff to rush to the hospital. It was then Sir Bebaako-Mensah entered my office and delivered the devastating news, he retold.



Prof dead? How? How can Prof die? the late Presidents Vice at the time, recollects asking.



He said: The world came to a standstill! Nothing in my political life and experience had prepared me for a moment like this. The shelter of working under Prof had been a wonderful experience. His death left me in trepidation of stepping up to the plate, realizing the huge responsibility one was stepping into and that the buck stopped with me and not someone else.



Mr Mahama said the enormity of the situation unsettled him.



The swearing-in ceremony was a blur and I struggled to complete my acceptance speech without breaking down in front of the whole nation. When I left the podium, I missed my way and sat back in my Vice Presidential seat until the uproar from the MP's reminded me that I had sworn the Presidential oath and should move to the Ceremonial Presidential seat. The rest is history to be narrated at another time.



Professor Mills was my boss, my comrade, my mentor and my friend. He was tolerant, kind, fair, but firm. I am proud to have honed my political skills at his feet. I know there are many who also revere Professor Mills as their teacher and mentor. He taught for over 25 years and contributed to producing many astute legal practitioners from the Faculty of Law; and also, fine business minds from the then School of Administration, now University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Mr Mahama said.



Read his full speech below:



REMARKS BY HE JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA TO UNVEIL THE LOGO AND LAUNCH THE JOHN EVANS ATTA MILLS MEMORIAL HERITAGE



Cedi Conference Centre  University of Ghana Tuesday, February 01, 2022.



Introduction



Thank you, Mr. Alex Segbefia, as Chairman of the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage, for the invitation on behalf of the Board of Directors to unveil and launch the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage. Appropriately, the Heritage seeks to inspire humanity for a better society, a virtue President Atta Mills lived and died for.



Professor John Evans Atta Mills was a good man! It, therefore, gladdens the hearts of the many millions of people who loved him, that this decision was taken to launch the Atta Mills Heritage here on the campus of the University of Ghana.



This is because it was right here; on this very universitys grounds  the "Hill of knowledge, and the nation's hope and glory"  where we are taught to proceed in integrity and in truth, that Professor John Evans Atta Mills honed his distinct values and also laid the foundation for the ultimate mantle of leadership that God placed on him in the latter stages of his life. He earned his enviable reputation on this very campus even before his call to higher office.



Prof. left a lasting legacy here through his teaching, mentoring, rigorous, intellectual endeavour and physical activity through sports. As a matter of course, Prof. became an organic part of our alma mater's history. He lived by the ethos of integrity that the University advocates when he eventually entered national politics as Vice President and ultimately as President of the Republic of Ghana.



Unfortunately, this Philosopher King and Servant Leader of a President did not live with us as long as we would have wished.



On that dull and hazy day of 24th July 2012, death unexpectedly snatched him from us, leaving a shocked nation in deep sorrow, anguish and in tears.



And the following reminiscences are the 1st time I am talking publicly of this sad event. That fateful day, I had been alerted that I would be asked to act because Prof. was likely to travel to Nigeria. I was informed by his Secretary Sir Bebaako-Mensah that he had requested specifically that I stand in for him at the official launch of the Brand Ghana project at the International Conference Centre. I attended the function with the Chief of Staff Mr. John Martey Newman.



Upon my return to the Castle, which was then the seat of Government, as I proceeded to my office, I asked the Chief of Staff to inform Prof that I was going to come over and see him to discuss a few important issues after meeting with a former President who was waiting in my office. Moments after our return, the Chief of Staff called me frantically and said Prof has been rushed to 37 Military hospital in an emergency. I wrapped up my meeting and prepared my staff to rush to the hospital. It was then Sir Bebaako-Mensah entered my office and delivered the devastating news.



Prof dead? How? How can Prof die?



The world came to a standstill! Nothing in my political life and experience had prepared me for a moment like this. The shelter of working under Prof had been a wonderful experience. His death left me in trepidation of stepping up to the plate, realizing the huge responsibility one was stepping into and that the buck stopped with me and not someone else.



The swearing-in ceremony was a blur and I struggled to complete my acceptance speech without breaking down in front of the whole nation. When I left the podium, I missed my way and sat back in my Vice Presidential seat until the uproar from the MP's reminded me that I had sworn the Presidential oath and should move to the Ceremonial Presidential seat. The rest is history to be narrated at another time.



Professor Mills was my boss, my comrade, my mentor and my friend. He was tolerant, kind, fair, but firm. I am proud to have honed my political skills at his feet. I know there are many who also revere Professor Mills as their teacher and mentor. He taught for over 25 years and contributed to producing many astute legal practitioners from the Faculty of Law; and also, fine business minds from the then School of Administration, now University of Ghana Business School (UGBS).



Celebrating President John Evans Atta Mills



Our gathering here today to celebrate, once again, a man who sacrificed his very life for humanity, for academia, for his country and Jesus Christ, proper and befitting. I believe the launch of the Atta Mills Heritage, which is anchored on his values and principles, and is aimed at inspiring humanity  including the youth of Africa for a better society  will further emphasise his legacy. Already, Prof's name is befittingly assigned to a significant number of national infrastructure across the country.



They include the John Evans Atta Mills High Street in Accra, and the FPSO John Evans Atta Mills, which extracts oil from the TEN fields, which are both named after him. Similarly, the Community Day Senior High School at Otuam  the first of the E-Block initiatives to be completed, which I commissioned as President  was also named after him. Here at the University of Ghana, the School of Laws modern building is named after both Professor Akua Kuenyehia and Professor Mills in appreciation of their collaborative effort in the construction of the edifice and their remarkable contribution to law practice.



Unprecedented Economic Growth



While I was serving as Profs Vice President and Head of the Economic Management Team, President Mills grew Ghana's economy to a level that remains unprecedented (borrowing his own word) in 2011. That year, Ghanas economy grew by over 14%, with both non-oil and oil growth contributing equitably to this feat. Typical of him even before this growth would be realised, the gracious Prof. had earlier paid homage to his predecessors in his first State of the Nations Address to parliament in February 2009. In the Chair was the Rt. Hon. Joyce Bamford Addo, Ghana's first and so far, only female Speaker of Parliament nominated by President Mills in his quest for gender parity.



And I quote him here: Madam Speaker, Kwame Nkrumah laid the foundation for oil and gas exploitation in Ghana. Jerry John Rawlings created the institutional framework for its exploration and exploitation. The oil and gas was struck in commercial quantities in the period of John Agyekum Kufuor. Actual commercial exploitation is beginning in the period of John Evans Atta Mills. In between, others have played their part...



Nana Chair, this is the man we celebrate today: magnanimous, gender-sensitive, a unifier, peaceful and God-fearing. As a Pan Africanist, he never hid his distress over historical and contemporary exploitation, of Africa, which propelled the growth of Europe and America leaving Africans in poverty. Therefore, as President, he was determined to utilise Oil and Gas revenue for the greater benefit of Ghana and all Ghanaians, irrespective of background. This is why he passed the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) through which the ABFA, Heritage and Stabilization Funds were created.



These have helped us immensely in managing our oil revenues and even only recently during COVID, money accumulated during my administration in the Stabilization was used to provide funds for financing Government's initial response to the pandemic.



Investing in People



As a Social Democrat who believed in social justice, he laid a robust foundation for the socioeconomic advancement of Ghana. President Mills purposefully invested in Ghana's greatest assets  the citizens, particularly the youth. Seeing great potential in Ghanas future through education, he encouraged the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through the Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme (MASTESS) for secondary and tertiary students.



He also actively involved eminent scientists in his quest for science education, research and development and innovation for national development. His partners in this endeavour included Professor Emeritus Francis Nkrumah, son of the Founder and first President of Ghana; Professor Ewurama Addy, the first Ghanaian female Professor of natural science, and Professor Francis Kofi Ampenyin Allotey.



As President, Professor Mills increased the Capitation grant introduced by President Kufour by 50%, enhanced the School Feeding Programme, and embarked on an ambitious construction of infrastructure in secondary schools. Under his leadership, the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in the Volta Region and the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in the then Brong-Ahafo Region were started. In the health sector, President Atta Mills also equipped our national emergency response system with 160 new ambulances and initiated numerous health infrastructure projects.



They include the 100- bed hospital with a Malaria Research Centre at Teshie; the rehabilitation of the Tamale Teaching Hospital, the Adenta Community Hospital, several Polyclinics and Health Centres.



President Atta Mills and Humour



Prof. was also witty. He could provide on the spur of the moment intelligent answers that could make you smile or laugh. Do you recall many ways of killing a cat? A journalist asked President Atta Mills at a press conference about it and his savvy and witty response was, Look at me, come closer do I look like a cat hunter?



He believed in the genuine and true independence of the judiciary and was ready and willing to protect the judiciary and the justice delivery system. Do you also recall Dzi wo fie asm during the Ivorian crisis? That was also pregnant with humour, but most importantly, it is a statement that requires interdisciplinary research into the origins and nuanced meaning of the rich Fanti proverb, Dzi wo fie asm.



Prof detested comrades undermining each other. He had a practice of detaining the person who had come to make a negative report about a colleague to him. He quickly had the colleague about whom the report had been made brought to his office quickly. He then asked the one who had made the report to repeat what he had just told him.... Come and see stammering.



Conclusion



Nana Chairman, my brothers and sisters, these and many more recollections of this inspirational son of the land are the reasons Prof was and is still loved so much by many. For those familiar with the anthem of this great University, where President Atta Mills studied and worked, you will realise the earlier part of my speech drew on our motto, Integri Procedamus.



To wit, proceeding in integrity. Integrity sounded loudly and was defined Prof. in all he did. As I conclude, I call on each one of us  Ghanaians  to uphold truth and integrity and the peaceful nature of Prof.



Let us stay united even in the face of adversity. Yes, we must endeavour to proceed in unity and in truth. We must also strive to defend the cause of freedom. And we must fervently uphold the public cause to protect our democracy.



This is why Legon, the hallowed ground upon which we stand today, always calls on her products and all Ghanaians to arise and arise and arise to defend the cause of freedom and proceed in truth and integrity to make our nation proud. Refreshingly, these attributes of the University of Ghana intersect harmoniously with President Mills personal values  his quest was for peace (Asomdwehene), excellence and integrity, transparency and accountability, commitment to the well-being of all Ghanaians and inclusivity.



I am glad the Heritage seeks to build on from where he left off in a non-partisan manner. Above all, these values are what made President Mills a true Ghanaian. He embodied that ideal Ghanaian we yearn for to collectively transform our country.



Let his values lead us! Professor Mills was such a moral and political colossus and there can be no limit put on the vehicles and instruments that eulogize and ingrain his memory and history in the hearts and minds of Ghanaians.



The Unveiling of Logo and Launch of the JEA Mills Memorial Heritage



On this note; on this auspicious day; and on this hallowed grounds  the University of Ghana, Legon, where Prof., our teacher, our mentor and our President taught for over 25 years after attaining his Ph.D. at age 27  I unveil the logo of the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage  And I declare this noble and dignifying Heritage, The John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage duly launched.



Thank you very much.

God bless us all.









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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Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has supported a call for Rt. Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin to step down as Speaker of Parliament.



Following Mr. Bagbin's sick leave to Dubai on Friday, 7th January, 2022, the former General Secretary of the Convention People's Party (CPP), James Kwabena Bomfeh, popularly called Kabila, has asked the Speaker to resign from his position.



He argued; ''If we need to save the Speaker, let save the Speaker by asking him to resign quietly so that somebody who is healthy and stronger can occupy the space. After all, when he resigns today, he's entitled to all the things that he is entitled to till he dies.



''He swore that he won't allow anything to become an impediment in the function and functioning of Parliament. Mr. Speaker, by your own word [on your honor] these your travels on health grounds are becoming an impediment to functioning of that second arm of government, the Legislature. With the greatest respect, in the name of your own words and on your honor, I'm pleading with you 'save Speaker Bagbin' by resigning and let's get a new Speaker.''



The Speaker is currently in the United Arab Emirates seeking medical review.



I have been directed by the Clerk to Parliament to inform you about the arrival of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, in Dubai to undergo a medical review, a letter issued on behalf of the Clerk of Parliament to the Head of Mission of Ghana Embassy in UAE read.



This is the second time the Speaker has traveled to Dubai on medical grounds.



Kwamena Duncan, making submissions on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', described the Speaker's trips as a security risk to Ghana, therefore asked the Members of Parliament to consider the call for him to resign.



"Speaker Alban Bagbin's Dubai trips, it is a major security risk area for this country. So, imagine tomorrow there is a very serious matter to be considered by Parliament, one where the sides don't see eye to eye with one another just as on the issue of e-levy to the extent that they are saying we should wait for the Speaker to return after the one and half or two months he will be spending in Dubai before the e-levy hearing will be held, there is a serious matter on the table to be considered," he said.







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Actor, Majid Michel has denied reports he was poisoned while filming in Nigeria. According to him, it was not true that there was an attempt on his life.



Earlier reports alleged that someone tried to poison him hence he has no longer been frequenting the West African country for movies.



In an interview on TV Africa on Wednesday, he said it was false reportage and described Nigerians as hospitable people.



That is not true. Nigeria is one of the most welcoming and hospitable places I have ever been. The people always want you to feel good. They want you to enjoy their country as a guest when you come, he indicated.



It was never true. No one tried to ever poison me in Nigeria. Never, he added. According to him, he has rather been turning down movie roles from both Nigeria and Ghana because he was on a search to find more about Jesus Christ.

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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New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh responds to a question during a news conference, Dec. 7, 2021 in Ottawa. Singh is preparing to give his backing to a bill decriminalizing the possession of drugs for personal use this week, in a bid to prevent overdoses and toxic drug deaths. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
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Anti-mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. Obscured by blowing snow, about 100 commercial trucks, pedestrian vehicles and camper vans continued Monday to block a busy U.S. border crossing in protest of public health measures. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
SOFIA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has been in self-isolation after his wife Desislava Radeva has tested positive for COVID-19, the press office of the president said in a statement on Wednesday.

Radeva is in good general condition, the statement said.

"The president is in good health and his coronavirus test today was negative," the statement said.

The president has canceled the meetings scheduled for the next few days, it added.

Radev has self-isolated for the second time since the beginning of this year. On Jan. 11, he did so because Parliament Speaker Nikola Minchev tested positive for COVID-19 hours after a meeting of the country's Consultative Council on National Security where Radev also participated.

A total of 963,108 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Bulgaria so far, including 11,143 in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. 
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Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon. High 58F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

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Gierse Gets His Hands on a Massive $1.24 Million Prize!

February 02, 2022 Matthew Pitt Editor

Marius Gierse helped himself to a gigantic $1,242,190 prize after becoming the last player standing in the latest Super MILLION$ event online at GGPoker. This week's Super MILLION$ acted as the Main Event of the week long series of the same name, and featured an $8,150,000 prize, far larger than the advertized $5 million guarantee.

Gierse's first Super MILLION$ victory pushes him up the tournament's all-time lists. He has now won the fifth-most money of all Super MILLION$ players courtesy of his $3,500,079 earnings from this event alone.

Super MILLION$ Season 2 Episode 28 Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Marius Gierse Austria $1,242,190 2 Diego "Ushuaia1" Zeiter Austria $957,859 3 Wiktor Malinowski Macau $738,610 4 Ole Schemion Austria $569,546 5 Audrius "Audrii" Stakelis Austria $439,180 6 Daniel "Vanessa23" Montagnolli Austria $338,654 7 TonyLin008 Hong Kong $261,138 8 Neel "Neel" Joshi India $201,365 9 Mikita Badziakouski Thailand $155,273

Wiktor Malinowski sat down at the final table eighth in chips but won a huge pot early into the action to put him among the chip leaders. "TonyLin008" flopped a set of queens and decided to slow play, which ultimately resulted in Malinowski hitting a one-outer on the river to improve to a winning set of aces.

Mikita Badziakouski was the first of the finalists to bow out. He was left with less than four big blinds when his ace-queen failed to connect with the board in an all-in preflop hand against TonyLin008, who held pocket kings. The rest of Badziakouski's stack went in after Malinowski raised to 550,000 from under the gun during the 125,000/250,000/30,000a level. Badziakouski three-bet all-in for 874,594, start-of-the-day chip leader Diego "Ushuaia1" Zeiter four-bet to 2,125,000, and Malinowski mucked. It was pocket fours for the all-in player and jacks for Zeiter. The jacks held and Badziakouski was gone.

India's Neel "Neel" Joshi was the next casualty. Joshi's stack was only 998,857 (3.3 big blinds) when he pushed his chips into the middle from early position with queen-ten in the hole. Everyone folded to Daniel "Vanessa23" Montagnolli in the big blind who would have probably called anyway but definitely did thanks to having a pair of aces! A jack-high board resigned Joshi to an eighth-place finish.

Gierse claimed his first scalp of the evening by sending TonyLin008 to the rail in seventh place. Gierse raised a shade over two big blinds to 660,000 from the button with king-seven. TonyLin008 opted to defend his big blind with nine-six offsuit despite doing so leaving him with eight big blinds. TonyLin008 flopped two pair on the six-nine-eight flop, and checked to Gierse, who bet enough to put his opponent all-in; TonyLin008 called off his stack. A five on the turn gifted Gierse a straight, and TonyLin008 failed to fill up on the river.

Montagnolli's first-ever Super MILLION$ tournament ended with him crashing out in sixth place for $338,654. His exit hand played itself. Gierse min-raised to 800,000 with pocket aces, Malinowski somehow folded pocket sevens on the button from a 15 big blind stack, but Montagnolli was going nowhere in the big blind because he held pocket tens from a 20 big blind stack. Indeed, Montagnolli three-bet all-in, and Gierse snap-called as you would expect. Gierse's hand remained true and his stack now tipped the scales at 34.7 million some 10.2 million more than his nearest rival, Zeiter.

Audrius Stakelis

Audrius "Audrii" Stakelis received $439,180 when his tournament ended abruptly in fifth place. Stakelis had pocket aces cracked by Zeiter's straight flush, which left him nursing 7.5 big blinds. That short stack went into the middle with king-queen of diamonds against Malinowski's king-nine of spades, and the latter flopped a nine to reduce the player count further.

A battle of the blinds resulted in Ole Schemion ducking out in fourth-place for $569,546. Schemion never really got going at the final table so should be delighted with getting this far. His tournament ended when the action folded to him in the small blind and he ripped in his last ten big blinds with king-eight. Gierse beat him into the pot with a call thanks to holding the dominating ace-king. Ace-high was good enough to send Schemion to the showers.

Wiktor Malinowski

The remaining three players were relatively even in terms of chips, but Zeiter pulled ahead over the next 30-minutes of play, mostly at Malinowski's expense. Indeed, it was Malinowski who was the next player eliminated. Gierse opened to 1,500,000 from the button with the big blind set at 600,000. Zeiter folded, but Malinowski moved all-in for 5,402,636 in total. It was ace-eight of hearts for Malinowski and king-nine of spades for Gierse. The latter flopped two pair, and Malinowski headed for the exits with $738,610 in tow.

Zeiter held a 20 big blind advantage over Gierse going into heads-up, which he extended in the early confrontations, but then Gierse put his foot firmly on the gas. The lead exchanged hands several times in an exciting spectacle of a one-on-one battle, but it was Gierse who eventually came out on top.

With blinds at 400,000/800,000/100,000a, Zeiter limped in with nine-six, and Gierse checked with eight-four. A four-eight-nine flop gave Zeiter top pair but Gierse flopped two pair. Gierse check-raised Zeiter's 800,000 continuation bet to 3,200,000 and was called. The turn was the deuce of clubs, and Gierse moved all-in for 13,877,834 effective with the pot weighing in at 8,200,000. Zeiter made the call and failed to connect with the river. Zeiter padded his bankroll with a career-best $957,859, leaving Gierse to walk away with the title of champion and a most impressive $1,242,190.
TALLINN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots "Bing Dwen Dwen" and "Shuey Rhon Rhon" won the hearts of Tallinn residents at the Chinese New Year celebrations on Tuesday.

Alongside traditional sculptors, dragon dancers, drummers and fire show from the Estonian side, Chinese culture was also displayed on the screen instead of performed live on-site due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gifts from the Chinese embassy in Estonia also attracted crowds at the Town Hall Square during the 13th Chinese New Year celebrations in Tallinn.

The woman who received "Bing Dwen Dwen" made a "hand heart" gesture to express love, while another who received both mascots smiled while displaying them.

Chinese Ambassador to Estonia Li Chao, and Tallinn Mayor Mihhail Kolvart offered their best wishes to Estonian athletes for the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Li applauded the strong development of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Estonia more than 30 years ago.

He voiced the expectation for a post-pandemic exchange of visits from representatives of various fields in the two countries to be resumed as soon as possible.

The Estonian national team for the Beijing Winter Olympics consists of 26 athletes, who will compete in eight disciplines.

The celebrations were organized by the Culture Department of the Tallinn city government, and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

The Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 1 this year, which is the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese zodiac. 


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The Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office is warning residents that Irish travelers from the North Augusta area are commuting to the county to conduct paving scams.

A community of Irish travelers is located off Interstate 20 at Exit 5 near North Augusta in an unincorporated community called Murphy Village.

In October 2017, 24 residents of Murphy Village pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy.

"It appears they are starting earlier than usual this year, and we would like to take this opportunity to warn citizens to be skeptical of anyone who may show up at their residence unannounced with a deal that appears too good to be true," the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office said in a release on Tuesday.

Often, the paving scam centers around an out-of-state person offering to pave a driveway at a bargain price, taking money and leaving the job before finishing or using substandard materials, according to a previous Aiken Standard article. The elderly are a common target.

"Citizens are also reminded to call us if they ask that salesman to leave, and they either delay or decline," the Spartanburg Sheriff's Office said in the release.
COLUMBIA  School choice may become a reality for students across South Carolina under a Statehouse proposal that creates a framework for open enrollment in K-12 public schools.

Debate for the school choice bill kicked off Feb. 2 in a Senate Education subcommittee meeting. If passed, the measure would give students the opportunity to choose schools that offer unique programs or more rigorous academics than schools in their current attendance zone.

The bill is not a new idea for South Carolina. Some of the largest school districts across the state, including Greenville and Charleston, already have school choice programs. The idea is to give students the chance to take ownership of their education, said Sen. Dwight Loftis, R-Greenville, who sponsored the bill.

More Coverage To read more in-depth stories from The Post and Courier's Education Lab, go to postandcourier.com/education-lab.

Loftis was inspired to draft the bill after his grandchildren had their own experience with school choice. The senator's granddaughter was able to attend middle and high schools outside of her attendance zone through the Greenville County School District school choice lottery system. It ultimately enabled her to pursue and interest in robotics, which wasn't offered at schools in her attendance zone.

"It offers a greater opportunity for children to move to the things they enjoy," Loftis said Feb. 2.

The bill received support from education organizations across the state, including the S.C. Association of School Administrators, the Palmetto State Teachers Association and the S.C. School Board Association.

But representatives of those organizations said they'd like to see the bill include more clear deadlines and structures for school districts.

As it stands, the bill allows students to choose a new school or district only if capacity allows. Districts have 10 days to notify students of their acceptance or denial for transferring. The bill doesn't include any requirement for schools or districts to provide transportation for students who attend schools outside of their zone.

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For the bill to properly serve all students it should include a clear deadline for open-enrollment programs, a solution for transportation and requirements that students of all backgrounds are notified of their choices, said Kathy Maness, executive director of the teachers association and a candidate for state superintendent.

Maness added the bill should specify open enrollment can't result in overcrowded classrooms.

"Students and families benefit from the opportunities to identify learning environments that best align to the student's needs and passions," Maness said at the meeting.

Some committee members expressed concerns about the bill's lack of information on the impact to local funding. As written, state and federal per-pupil dollars would follow a student to their new district or school, but local per-pupil funds continue to flow to the schools where the student lives. Sen. Rex Rice, R-Easley, said he'd like to see a more detailed plan for how a change would impact local funds.

The subcommittee didn't take any action in the Feb. 2 meeting but plans to spend the next few weeks digesting it.

It has a long way to go for passage into law, needing to pass through the full Education Committee, the Senate and the House, and receive final approval from Gov. Henry McMaster.
COLUMBIA  South Carolina legislators are renewing their call for the state to pass a hate crimes bill after the effort has stalled in the Senate.

Flanked by members of the legislative Black Caucus and other Democrats, state Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston, asked his colleagues in the Statehouses upper chamber to take up debate on the legislation that passed the House by a wide 79-29 margin last year.

Though it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, the bill remains stalled on the Senate calendar. As of Feb. 1, eight Republican senators had placed objections to the bill, preventing it from being heard on the Senate floor.

We realize one thing, Gilliard said in a Statehouse press conference. Just because it passed the House, that was not a moment. We declared then and we declare now that the victory was the movement from one side of the house to the other.

We have great senators over there, he added. But now we need them to stand up. Show a little backbone. We can't wait on Washington. We're here to take care of our state among ourselves.

South Carolina is one of two states to not have a hate crimes law on the books. The other is Wyoming, which gained national prominence following the murder of a gay University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard, in 1998.

Gilliard, who once sponsored legislation to label the Ku Klux Klan a terrorist organization, has pushed the General Assembly to pass hate crimes legislation for years. The proposal lacked serious momentum until the 2019 legislative session. That's when Gilliards long-standing effort to establish hate crimes as a separate charge was pared down by Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Columbia, to be an enhancement to a crime that had already been committed.

Named the "Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crimes Act" after the former Charleston lawmaker and pastor murdered by white supremacist Dylann Roof at Emanuel AME Church in 2015, the current iteration of Gilliards bill bears a close resemblance to Bernsteins proposal.

If it is believed a violent crime was committed because of the victims race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, political opinion or other traits, a prosecutor could attempt to pursue additional penalties up to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine  a charge proponents believe could serve as a deterrent to bias-based crime.

Because hate crimes target victims for their actual or perceived identities, these crimes go well beyond the individual, Bernstein said. They terrorize the entire community that individual belongs to. If these problems go unaddressed, it can cause entire communities to feel isolated, disenfranchised, angry and scared.

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, South Carolina law enforcement agencies reported 110 bias-based crimes in 2020, nearly double what it experienced in 2019.

With bipartisan backing in the House of Representatives and strong support from the states business community, that bill passed the House in May 2021 and received a favorable nod from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

While organizations like the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce have spearheaded lobbying efforts to enact a hate crime law, the group was absent from the Feb. 1 press conference, drawing criticism from Gilliard.

I want to see more pressure from business, definitely, he told reporters afterward.

He cited the expediency in which lawmakers passed rideshare safety legislation following the 2020 murder of University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson, and called on lawmakers to take up similar urgency with his bill, citing the racist murders Roof had committed in Charleston.

We had all agreed to one thing, Gilliard said of that bill. It was wrong what happened to that young woman. Nobody should ever meet their demise in such a way. But when you look at the Mother Emanuel nine, we have this bill that has been waiting patiently now for six years.
Santee Cooper officials announced a new grant program to promote the use of electric vehicles in Berkeley and other counties in its coverage area.
A long-running Aloha State-based restaurant chain is bringing its first South Carolina location to the Charleston area.

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue plans to open at 4950 Centre Point Drive next to Carolina Crab House in the Shoppes at Centre Pointe near Tanger Outlets.

The new North Charleston restaurant tentatively plans to open in mid-April, but a spokeswoman said the opening timeframe depends on deliveries and any unforeseen delays.

L&L has been serving "plate lunches," Hawaii's version of comfort food, since 1952. It began offering franchises in 1991 and now has more than 210 locations. Its home office is in Honolulu.

South Carolina franchise owners are Kalvin E. Nutt and Sofia V. Buenviaje-Nutt of Charleston. Kalvin, an Army veteran, works for Boeing SC in quality assurance. Sofia, originally from the Philippines, recently left her job as a cashier monitor in Global Financial Disbursing with the U.S. State Department to concentrate on the new dining venture.

They hope to add more restaurant sites within a couple of years.

L&L's closest locations to the Lowcountry are in Concord, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla. Plans are underway to open in Savannah, according to the company's website.

Lights out

A popular downtown Charleston restaurant with Italian fare has turned off its ovens after a 13-year run.

Monza at 451 King St. announced on Facebook that it is now closed.

"After 13 years of business, Monza's time has come to an end," the restaurant posted on social media late Feb. 1. "Thank you, Charleston, for your enduring support and goodwill  it was a joy to serve so many customers over the years. Though our ovens have served their last pizza, we won't soon forget all of the incredible memories made within these walls."

Last fall, the restaurant noted its staffing shortages in a Facebook post and said it would be closed "until such time as we are able to staff the restaurant in a manner commensurate with the quality experience we strive to provide."

The restaurant did not elaborate on the staffing problem in its closing statement.

New perk

A new eatery is ready for its debut in Mount Pleasant.

The Front Porch Coffeehouse and Creamery will open Feb. 7 at 3510 Park Avenue Blvd. in The Bend at Carolina Park across from Costco.

The Front Porch, the new home of Charleston Pops, is a veteran-owned venue that specializes in artisan frozen, baked and custom desserts. Owners Diana and Webb Cheshire, a Marine, share a combined 20 years of experience in the restaurant and catering business with culinary training in France.

The dining spot also offers take-out and dine-in options, as well as catering services and a place for parties and other social gatherings.

It will be open 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m-7 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

The Bend will include five buildings for retailers, restaurants and service-industry providers when it is completed. Three of the structures have been finished.

New threads

A new children's clothing shop is coming to the Lowcountry.

Lexington, Ky.-based Beaufort Bonnet Co. plans to open its second corporate store in the spring, It will be in the Harris Teeter-anchored Freshfields Village Shopping Center between Kiawah and Seabrook islands.

The 850-square-foot shop will offer a mix of baby and children's apparel, in addition to its signature bonnets and bucket hats.

The retailer's hallmark bonnet originated from a generations-old pattern in Beaufort on the South Carolina coast.

Last fall, Little Palmetto Pearl, one of the company's four signature stores, opened in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre. Other locations are in Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia.

The company's flagship store recently opened in Miramar Beach on the Florida Panhandle.

Beaufort Bonnets products are carried in about 400 retail locations, including a half-dozen specialty shops in the Charleston area.

Other fresh starts

Also on the way or recently opened in Freshfields are several other new shops, with one expanding.

Jewelry, clothing and handbag shop Spartina 449 and Salt Marsh Animal Hospital are now welcoming customers.

Coming soon are Cafe Eugenia with dining and a gourmet market, and two clothing and accessories shops: Luminary and Johnny Was. Opening dates have not been announced.

Athletic apparel retailer Lululemon plans to relocate to Freshfields Drive between Cantina 76 and Village Optical, nearly doubling in size to 2,331 square feet.

Unique, upscale brands are finding that resort retail enclaves, like Freshfields Village, have turned into year-round shopping experiences," said Ward Kampf, president of Northwood Retail, the shopping center's operator. "With evolving remote work models, these properties are no longer simply seasonal destinations."

Expansion-minded

A downtown Charleston restaurant wants to expand slightly.

Chubby Fish at 252 Coming St. wants to expand to 254 Coming. The move would displace one on-site parking space and add 234 square feet of outdoor space and 586 square feet of inside space without providing five additional parking spaces.

What's cooking?

A Mount Pleasant-based restaurant group that is adding a new venue on the peninsula now offers longer hours and a new menu at one of its East Cooper locations.

Kiki & Rye, part of Free Reign Restaurants owned by Ryan and Kelleanne Jones, is now open continuously from late morning until the evening and offers a new all-day menu that caters to more casual dining, according to spokesman Jesse McCann.

The restaurant, at 656-G Long Point Road in Belle Hall Shopping Center, previously was closed during the afternoon, but its new hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday with menus for brunch and regular offerings. It's closed on Monday.

The restaurant also has a new head chef. Dominique Hase was formerly sous-chef at sister dining venue Community Table in I'On in Mount Pleasant.

Free Reign Restaurants plans to open a new concept called Southbound at 72 Cannon St. beside Ladles in downtown Charleston.

Originally targeting February as the tentative launch, the owners are now looking at the spring for an opening after delays and staffing shortages brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, McCann said.

Pet project

A former West Ashley cafe is being transformed into a veterinary practice.

Charleston Animal Eye Specialists plans to open in the spring at 1716 Ashley River Road where Black Magic Cafe closed last fall.

The locally owned and operated ophthalmology practice will exclusively treat pet ocular conditions, according to veterinarian Dr. Hannah Visser.
South Carolinas greatest strength has always been its history  and the people who made it.

This is the land of William Moultrie and Mary Moultrie. One defended the city from British invasion in 1776, the other defended Charleston hospital workers from being criminally underpaid in the 1960s.

It is the home of a patriot named Isaac Hayne, who went to his death rather than fight his countrymen in the Revolution. And its the home of Septima Clark, an educator who stood beside Martin Luther King Jr., taught adults to read  and was part of a group of South Carolinians who forced the most momentous Supreme Court decision of the 20th century: desegregating public schools.

And this state is the birthplace of John C. Calhoun, South Carolinas most accomplished statesman  and one of the most influential American figures of the early 19th century.

Point is, our states history has seen more than its share of the good, the bad and the ugly on our journey to create a more perfect union. In a state as diverse as this, some of that invariably brushes up against issues of race.

So, itd be a shame if some cynical elected officials and perpetually perturbed malcontents prevent future generations from ever hearing those stories.

See, state lawmakers are promoting a series of bills allegedly to ban critical race theory from South Carolina schools. What they actually want to stop is the teaching of history.

Critical race theory is an academic concept mostly taught in law school (and in no South Carolina public schools), and concerns racial bias baked into institutions  redlining in the banking industry, etc. Few people understand that. Even these misguided lawmakers concede they didnt know exactly what CRT is.

So they made up their own definition.

In one House bill, the first line of the definition says public schools arent allowed to teach that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.

So these geniuses are inadvertently banning Calhoun, who once said, The Whites are an European race being masters, and the blacks are the inferior race and slaves. Thats according to William Montgomery Meigs The Life of John Caldwell Calhoun  published in 1917.

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Some of this is pandering and plain ignorance, but mostly its about courting voters who also dont know what critical race theory is, but they sure are mad about it.

Fact is, they want to ban anything that presents African Americans or Native Americans as victims of discrimination. They fear unvarnished history, as opposed to the whitewashing it got back when we (and they) were in school.

This is happening in many places today; the Florida legislature wants to bar teaching anything that causes white discomfort. Which sounds like one of the side effects of those nebulous pharmaceuticals advertised on TV.

Who is so sensitive they melt down anytime they hear that someone in the past, with no relation to them other than skin color, did something bad? Identity politics much?

Truth is, history is messy, and doesnt fit neatly into any one box. A few years before South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond ran for president as a Dixiecrat on a pro-segregation platform, he was honored by the NAACP for his role in prosecuting a Greenville lynch mob that took a black man out of a jail and killed him.

The people who cry that moving Confederate monuments erases history now want to do that exact thing where it matters most. Some even want to ban books, when anyone who really knows history realizes that book banners are never the good guys.

All this is stirring because race is again center-stage in our national shouting match (debate is too dignified a word). Even Charleston City Council is having a tough time creating a Commission on Human Affairs and Racial Conciliation.

Council members have been bashed by folks who falsely claim that the committee is intent on paying reparations and defunding the police. Which is baloney.

Fact is, this proposed commission is clearly meant as a compromise to those low-information voters. When an ad hoc commission did recommend such radical ideas last year, City Council wouldnt even take official possession of the report that included them. Proposing a more modest, and moderate, commission  like cities around the country have had for decades  was a polite way to show the first group the door.

But thats not good enough for people who believe only what they choose, what matches their narrow worldview. Those people clearly dont know history  and therefore are doomed to repeat it.

Too bad they want to drag everyone else into that scarcely illuminated safe space with them.
COVID-19 quarantines and case numbers are starting to drop in South Carolina schools as the omicron variant's impact on the community wanes, though they still remain far above pre-omicron levels.

More Coverage To read more in-depth stories from The Post and Courier's Education Lab, go to postandcourier.com/education-lab.

Over the week of Jan. 24, 28,525 South Carolina students were quarantined after being exposed to COVID-19, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. This is an 18 percent decrease from the previous week.

Another 10,612 students were confirmed positive for the virus, which is a nearly 30 percent decrease from last week.

The state has also reported around a 35 percent drop in staff cases and quarantines during the same period.

The decline in cases mirrors an overall decline in community spread, Dr. Brannon Traxler, DHEC's director of public health, said at a Feb. 2 news conference.

"We're seeing that we have peaked and are hopefully well on our way to continue dropping rapidly," Traxler said.

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But the numbers are still much higher than they were before the omicron wave hit the state. During the week of Jan. 24, the number of combined cases among students and staff was 30 percent higher than the first week of January. The total number of quarantines was up 15.8 percent over the same period.

Traxler said she hopes the number of quarantines among students will drop more quickly as schools adopt the department's test-to-stay program. The program allows for students to remain in school by taking rapid at-home tests after being exposed to a person with COVID-19. The student can remain in person as long as they don't show symptoms and test themselves five to seven days after exposure.

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The same protocol applies to teachers, though only when schools are in crisis staffing situations. Since adults are probably more likely to spread the virus than students, Traxler said, it's important for teachers to stay home after being exposed whenever possible.

"We have the same goal as the school districts across the state  creating safe environments so in-person learning can continue without teachers or students getting sick," she said.

The department has ordered more than 1,600,000 rapid at-home tests to support the program. Schools will receive 300,000 of those tests by Feb. 4. Many of the state's largest school districts, including Charleston County and Berkeley County, have already adopted the program.

The test to stay is only one part of COVID-19 prevention. Traxler said that other measures like masking, handwashing, physical distancing and remaining home when sick are important in keeping students in school.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Two officers were shot and killed on the campus of Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, eastern U.S. state of Virginia, on Tuesday.

A male shooter was taken into police custody, said the college on its website.

In an email sent to students and staff, the college identified the victims as campus police officer John Painter and campus safety officer J. J. Jefferson.

Police responded to a report of an active shooter on the Bridgewater College campus on Tuesday afternoon, and the suspect was arrested a short time later not far from the campus.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares have been briefed on the situation. 
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wants to give pandas their freedom.

Or at least, that's how Mace, who represents the coastal district stretching from Charleston to Beaufort, characterized legislation she introduced in Congress this week to stop the shipment of U.S.-born giant pandas to China.

Mace, who toured Japan, Korea and Taiwan late last year with a group of lawmakers, said in an interview the trip opened her eyes to China's aggressive stature towards its neighbors. That seeded the idea for two nearly identical pieces of legislation, she said  a resolution introduced in the House on Feb. 2 and a Feb. 1 amendment to the America COMPETES Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation aimed at improving the United States' own technological capabilities and supply chain security to keep in step with China.

Both of Mace's measures would stop U.S. zoos from sending panda cubs born here to China, where they are native. Conservationists in the country have a longstanding practice of loaning the iconic black-and-white bears to zoos abroad for a fee, and requiring that any resulting offspring are later sent to China.

For example, the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. has one panda pair, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and pays a $500,000 annual fee to keep them. Since they arrived at the zoo in late 2000, the pair have had four living children. The most recent cub, Xiao Qi Ji, was born in 2020 and will be shipped to China by the end of 2023.

"(China takes) a very gentle and cuddly creature, and they're trying to rebrand their communist policies through this," Mace told The Post and Courier.

Mace's legislation cites China's oppression of the Muslim Uyghur minority and intimidation of Taiwan as motivations. She also claimed stopping panda shipments would make more of a statement than President Joe Biden's recent move to bar diplomats from attending the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing.

"I do think it hits them where it hurts, period," Mace said.

The Chinese Embassy to the United States did not respond to multiple phone calls and email messages.

There's actually a common phrase for the phenomenon Mace describes: "panda diplomacy." In a 2013 paper, researchers from Oxford University identified panda gifts and loans as a key ingredient in China's relationship-building with certain trade partners.

The animals have been a component in the country's relationship with the United States since President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972, and the Chinese government gifted the National Zoo its first panda pair: Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing.

Three U.S. zoos have panda pairs: the nation's capital, Atlanta and Memphis, Tenn. Asked whether staff had consulted panda conservationists before Mace filed the legislation, spokeswoman Barbara Boland wrote in an email that "Like all legislative initiatives our office undertakes, we engage with the relevant stakeholders."

Pamela Baker-Masson, a spokeswoman for the National Zoo, declined to comment on Mace's legislation specifically. But she said that at the federally-funded zoo, "We have nothing but success with our giant panda program."

Panda breeding is notoriously difficult and requires a finesse on par with international diplomacy. Female pandas are only able to become pregnant once a year, for a period of less than 48 hours, Baker-Masson said. Scientists at the zoo closely watch for that brief window.

Recent surveys and media reports, including from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's International Affairs office, indicate there are around 1,800 pandas left in the wild, while there may be around 400 pandas in captivity.

At the National Zoo, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have never bred naturally; all four of their surviving cubs were the result of artificial insemination. On multiple occasions, Chinese scientists have helped with that procedure.

Then there's the issue of a pseudopregnancy, or a period in which a female panda appears from all indicators to be carrying a fetus when she does not actually have a viable pregnancy. This may be in part because a fertilized panda egg can float in the uterus for up to 90 days before it actually becomes attached to the lining and is able to develop, Baker-Masson said.

Until ultrasound technology improved more recently, for some of her earlier cubs, "We did not know until (Mei Xiang) gave birth that she was actually truly pregnant," Baker-Masson said.

Right now, Xiao Qi Ji, whose name means, "little miracle," is the only cub at the zoo. He recently delighted watchers of the zoo's panda cam by playing in a Jan. 3 snowfall that blanketed D.C.

Some of the pair's other offspring, once returned to conservationists China, have had children of their own. Scientists there are working to re-introduce the animals back into the wild, Baker-Masson said.

But keeping the fluffy, rotund bears stateside instead is Mace's priority.

"Give freedom to the pandas and allow them to stay here in the United States," Mace said in a speech on the floor of the House.
GEORGETOWN  After receiving feedback from the public on proposed changes to the district's academic calendar for the next two years, the Georgetown County School Board has voted to take a step back and rethink its plan.

There were a lot of comments that were very positive and supportive; there were a lot of comments that were not, Superintendent Keith Price said at the Feb. 1 school board meeting.

If the proposed calendar had been passed, students would have seen more days off but they also would have started school earlier, which Price said many parents opposed.

Instead, Price said he has tasked the calendar committee to go back and work on a more traditional-type version for the 2022-23 school year to be presented at the next school board meeting.

Under the current school years traditional calendar, teachers went back on Aug. 11 and students started on Aug. 18. The first semester ended after the Christmas holiday break in mid-January and school is scheduled to end for summer break on June 3.

Additionally, Price said that he wants to have public meetings with citizens to get feedback that will help officials come up with the best plan for the district before any calendars for the 2023-24 school year are drawn up.

Let us do some more work and some more research about the concept of a modified calendar as we move forward to see whether or not that is a good fit for Georgetown County, Price said.

School board member Mike Cafaro suggested to the district to research the idea of the year-round school idea for possibly one of the elementary schools or creating a magnet school.

We always talk about the summer lag, and unfortunately, like every other county, we have students who lag behind during the summer months and even in the intervals of Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations, Cafaro said. So it may not be a bad idea, but once again I dont want to misconstrue anything, Im not saying we are going year-round school, but it may be worth looking into.
Walmart's plan to open its largest grocery distribution center to-date in Spartanburg County was the second-largest capital investment into South Carolina in 2021.

The Arkansas-based superstore released in late October 2021 that it would invest $450 million to build a distribution center for moving fresh and frozen food to nearby stores by 2024. The 720,000-square-foot facility in Lyman will bring 400 jobs to the county.

In 2021, South Carolina brought in 153 projects totaling approximately $5.7 billion in capital investment and more than 18,000 new jobs, according to a report on recruitment results from the state Department of Commerce.

Walmart was topped only by Google, which announced it would spend $500 million to expand its Berkeley County campus. Just behind Walmart, E&J Gallo Winery plans to spend $423 million in Chester County for a packaging and distribution center.

The Upstate hit the top 12 list four more times.

In fifth place, tactical vehicle manufacturer Oshkosh Defense announced it would invest $155 million and create 1,000 jobs in Spartanburg County to support the company's United States Postal Service Next Generation Delivery Vehicle program.

The logistics operations expansion at BMW Manufacturing came in ninth at $100 million. The expansion will include a 1 million-square-foot facility and two private bridges spanning across Interstate 85.

In 10th and 12th were orthopedic technology company Arthrex's $100 million plans to expand its operations in Anderson County, and the $100 million project to expand the Cherokee County Nestle factory.

The Upstate made the top 10 list five times for job creation announcements: 1,000 jobs for Oshkosh Defense in Spartanburg County (2nd); 500 jobs for Arthrex in Anderson County (4th); 450 jobs for Transcom in Greenville County (7th); 425 jobs for Pall Corporation in Spartanburg County (8th); and 400 jobs for Walmart in Spartanburg County (9th).

In other news ...

About 2,800 miles of high-speed fiber cables will soon provide internet access to underserved parts of Anderson County thanks to Upcountry Fiber, an internet service provider created by Blue Ridge Electric and West Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative. The endeavor will cost approximately $175 million.

Atlanta-based dry van full truckload (FTL) carrier company Ascend acquired Greenville-based Dedicated Transport Solutions. The acquisition expands the company's footprint and increases its coverage of the the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Ohio. Ascend has gained more than 1,000 tractors and over 3,000 trailers in the acquisition.

The Platform at Greer, an entrepreneurial program of Greer Development Corporation, is launching a mentoring program for business leaders. A group of entrepreneurs and small business owners will be matched for each cohort. Members of the first mentoring cohort are Creative Tempest, Bobby's BBQ and Catering, Gates Technology, Greenville Christmas Trees and Upstate Smart Home Solutions. The Platform at Greers goal is to give local business and entrepreneurship resources so that they can grow, according to a news release. Participants will receive personalized mentoring for six months. Mentors will provide advice to newer entrepreneurs on how to deal with business challenges.

Thats all for this week. Email your thoughts, tips, releases and newsy bits to smirah@postandcourier.com.
Charleston, SC (29403)

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Kingstree, SC (29556)

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Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 89F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 89F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.
Frustration about long delays at Charleston County's Register of Deeds office came to a head at a County Council meeting where the council was asked to make the office  which is up for election this year  an appointed one.

Meanwhile, in Columbia, legislation was introduced the same day Feb. 1 by state Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms, to establish requirements for the register of deeds position, including relevant experience and a four-year degree.

Charleston County Register of Deeds Michael Miller, a former school board member who owns a barber shop, was elected in 2018. His office is in charge of recording property sales, liens, mortgages, powers of attorney and other legal documents.

Long delays there have prompted restricted office hours and a lawsuit seeking court oversight. Another lawsuit accuses Miller of firing a senior employee who describes herself as a whistleblower.

The Charleston County Bar Association warned in 2021 that the delays could result in property tax bills being sent to the wrong people and in January took the unusual step of asking County Council to consider making the register of deeds an appointed office rather than an elective one.

"Everybody recognizes that we have a mess in the Register of Deeds Office," Roy Willey, a member of the association's executive committee, told council members at the Feb. 1 meeting. "It's not getting better by the day, it's getting worse."

The association said County Council has the authority to make the register's post an appointed position, but the South Carolina Association of Counties and County Attorney Natalie Ham disagreed. Ham said only the legislative delegation could change the law.

Council members mostly agreed there are serious problems at the Register of Deeds Office but disagreed about whether Miller is to blame. Miller sat silently in the audience throughout the meeting.

I dont want to see this issue happen anywhere in South Carolina ever again," said Councilwoman Jenny Honeycutt. She proposed the council adopt a resolution supporting state action since the county doesn't have the authority. Her motion passed on a 6-3 vote.

Voting against the non-binding resolution were council members Henry Darby, Anna Johnson and chairman Teddie Pryor.

Some council members were concerned Miller is being unfairly blamed, or felt it should be up to voters to decide who holds the position.

If the public elects someone, how can that person not be qualified?" said Darby. If we are going to put qualifications on this office, we should put them on every one."

Johnson also defended Miller, a Democrat who is now in his fourth year in office.

Are we giving the new person (Miller) a chance to do his due diligence and bring his work up to par?" she said. I hear he has a plan to catch up, and I say give him a chance."

Miller has declined to comment on recent news reports about problems at the office.

I think the problem is that managing the workload is a problem, and the large turnover thats occurred in that office since Mr. Miller came in," said Councilman Herb Sass. I just think weve got to do something about this."

Robert McIntyre told council members that he worked in the register's office for 26 years and retired early because of his frustrations after Miller took over.

If every four years we have an elected official with no knowledge of that office were starting all over again," he said.

Campsen's Senate bill would not make the office an appointed one but sets minimum qualifications  one of them being not having failed to record documents within the time state law requires. The rules would not apply to anyone serving as a register of deeds when the legislation was introduced.

I know the governor is hearing from people, the legislative delegation is hearing from people, and Im hearing from employees who have left," said Councilman Brantley Moody.

State Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, wrote at length about what she called "the register of deeds debacle" in her Feb. 1 newsletter, writing that "in my senatorial role, never have I gotten so many complaints from real estate lawyers, developers and bankers due to an unprecedented backlog of old-timey actual paperwork filings."

"We are prepared to take action if necessary to set better qualifications, and possibly, to make the job an appointed one, but does County Council even want the appointment power?" she wrote.

That question went unanswered at the council meeting.

Miller declined to comment as he left.

Council's resolution urges the Legislature to establish minimum qualifications to be eligible for the office, as Campsen's bill would do.
A 30-year-old man was sentenced to seven years in state prison for serving as an accessory in the 2017 killing of a fellow homeless person underneath a Charleston highway overpass.

Quinton Capers pleaded guilty Feb. 1 in the 9th Judicial Circuit to accessory after the fact of murder in the killing of Larry Thompson. As part of a negotiated plea, Circuit Court Judge R. Ferrell Cothran Jr. sentenced the Charleston man to 10 years in prison, with three years suspended from the sentence to be served on probation.

Capers shaved 1,544 days, or a little more than four years, off his prison time by sitting in jail awaiting trial in the case.

Thompson's body was found the morning of Nov. 2, 2017, under the Interstate 26 overpass at Huger Road, according to a sentencing memorandum.

An autopsy showed the 63-year-old homeless man suffered approximately 150 stab wounds, as well as a crushed skull and broken bones.

Thompson's genitals were exposed when police found him and authorities performed a sexual assault kit on the body, recovering DNA samples.

A blood-stained piece of concrete was found near Thompson's body. Investigators suspected he was stabbed with a Phillips-head screwdriver based on the shape of the puncture wounds.

Capers, then 25, came to the attention of Charleston police after he was admitted to MUSC on Nov. 9, 2017, with a broken foot. He said he had dropped concrete on it.

Capers declined to provide a statement to investigators without an attorney, but police found clothes and a screwdriver, both stained with blood, after searching his backpack. DNA tests later revealed it was Thompson's blood.

Cellphone records revealed the last call Thompson made was to Capers during the early morning hours of Nov. 2, 2017.

Capers was originally charged with murder in the case, but 9th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Nina Savas said at Tuesday's plea hearing DNA testing revealed others may have been involved in the crime.

The DNA of three individuals was found on Thompson's body, but none of it was tied to Capers. Saliva from a bite mark was matched through a federal DNA database to one man, Jimmy King, but King was fatally shot in North Charleston only days after Thompson's killing.

King's death remains unsolved, according to North Charleston police Deputy Chief of Investigations Ken Hagge.

A second DNA profile from the bite mark was for an unknown individual, the memo states. Material collected in the sexual assault exam also had an unknown source.

Capers had expressed feelings of sorrow in a journal police found in the backpack, but he may have felt bad for not seeking medical attention for Thompson, or taking the murder weapon, the sentencing memo notes.

Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said in an email the state had strong evidence Capers was at the scene of the crime, but she did not feel prosecutors could prove beyond a reasonable doubt who actually committed the homicide.

Public Defender Megan Ehrlich said at the plea hearing Capers is receiving treatment for schizophrenia. He intends to reside with family in Mount Pleasant after he is released from prison, she said.

Thompson's case was unusual, but violence against the homeless is not.

A 2014 study by the National Coalition for the Homeless, a D.C.-based advocacy group, found that nearly half of the 500 homeless people contacted reported experiencing violence while living on the streets. A longer duration of homelessness and being older correlated to a greater risk of being violently attacked, the study found.

Marion Platt III, executive director of Star Gospel Mission in Charleston, said violence unfortunately comes with the territory of being homeless.

"One of the concerns I have for the Charleston homeless population is that there doesn't seem to be enough refuge spaces for them to be safe  physically, emotionally and mentally safe," Platt said.

He said Star Gospel Mission has a homeless dormitory for 22 men, as well as eight transitional housing units. He said he is heartened that the city of Charleston is developing a Hope Center, which would provide resources for homeless men and women.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic has made the problem worse. Many homeless people rely on jobs in the service industry in Charleston for work, but disruptions to hospitality and tourism have made those jobs harder to find.

"If we do not see, really take the time to even interact or smile with our homeless neighbors, it is easy to pretend they don't exist," Platt said. "And that is a kind of danger, as well."

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct who received credit for time served in jail awaiting trial.
LONDON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- London has some of the most deprived communities in Britain, the capital's mayor said Wednesday as the British government unveiled the long-awaited plan to level up the country.

Mayor Sadiq Khan, responding to plans to direct more investment to the northern area of England, said: "Levelling up the UK must not be about levelling down London and withholding the funding and investment our capital city desperately needs. London has some of the most deprived communities in the country and they deserve support and funding just as much as other parts of the UK."

"I am determined that our capital city plays its role in helping to level up parts of the country that have been left behind for too long. When London succeeds our whole country benefits - and vice-versa. That is why I want to work with the government, other regions and business, to help level up London and every other town, city and region in the UK," Khan said.

The government flagship strategy announced by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove earlier on Wednesday includes 12 national missions that will shift government focus and resources to Britain's forgotten communities throughout the 2020s.

Gove described it as the biggest shift of power from Whitehall to local leaders in modern times, saying every part of England will get "London style" powers and mayor if they wish to.

Domestic public investment in research and development will increase by at least 40 percent across the North, Midlands, South West, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, he said.

"Not everyone shares equally in the UK's success. For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline," he said.

"The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine. Levelling Up is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery," he said. 
Jeff Moore, former longtime director of the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association, said at a rally in 2018 that it's time for the Legislature to "get over its paranoia" and pass a law allowing regulated medical use of marijuana. Seanna Adcox/Staff
It's no longer news that the isolation borne of COVID-19 has taken a toll on the mental health of young people, in much the same way that sending children home to sit in front of computers for weeks on end stunted their educational development.

Indeed, the most important clarion call we received about our initial pandemic-induced retreat to online learning came from pediatricians, who reported seeing alarming increases in anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies among their young patients in response to being cut off from their social networks.

And as The Post and Couriers Zharia Jeffries reports, the new wave of school closures and quarantines that followed omicrons march into the classrooms after Christmas break has created a cascade of worsening mental health problems across South Carolina.

So we welcome Gov. Henry McMasters focus on improving mental health services for children.

The governor noted in his budget that two out of three S.C. children with a treatable mental illness didnt receive treatment from a mental health professional even before COVID-19 increased the number needing help. And he declared in his State of the State address that students must have access to professional mental health counseling and services.

Of course, what most people heard in the State of the State wasnt the call for additional funding but the announcement that his Medicaid agency was studying the states mental health funding and delivery system, and his call for legislators to consider privatizing the services provided by the Department of Mental Health.

The first thing to know about this is that the governor hasnt provided any indications, in his budget, his address or his executive order authorizing the study, that privatization would solve any of the problems we face.

Columbias State newspaper reports that Mr. McMasters focus was borne of complaints from parents who got billed for school-based counseling services once in-person classes resumed, after remote services had been provided for free early in the pandemic.

State law requires Mental Health to charge for any counseling its therapists provide to students, and some insurance companies cover such counseling when its done in a medical setting or remotely from home but not when its at school. Theres nothing about privatizing the services that would change insurance companies' policies or the state's refusal to cover the cost itself.

The second thing that needs to be said about the idea of privatization is that just as there's nothing inherently right about it, theres also nothing inherently wrong with it, assuming we have reason to believe it would improve the services, reduce the price or increase the availability, without damaging the others  and assuming the state is willing to be a smart consumer.

After all, providing mental health services at school isn't a core state function like, say, providing a public education to all children. And as Mr. McMaster noted in his executive order, the Mental Health Department is providing clinicians in fewer than half the states public schools now.

Its hard to imagine that it would be cost-effective to have a clinician working 40 hours a week at every school. And while it might make sense to have someone responsible for several nearby schools in urban and suburban areas, many rural areas likely lack the number of patients to justify even that. And thats the classic scenario for privatizing  or contracting out  a service.

Indeed, it makes sense to think about privatizing government services the same way businesses think about whether to hire employees for certain tasks or contract out: Some jobs are central to the mission, so of course mortgage companies hire full-time employees to make loans, and restaurants hire chefs to make the meals, and auto dealers hire a sales force to sell cars.

But does it make sense to do payroll in-house or contract it out? Do you have someone on your staff who can repair printers, or do you call a company for such repairs? Do you have an employee who keeps up your grounds, or do you hire a lawn service? Those answers vary for every business.

When a business contracts out for payroll, though, it doesnt just sign the contract and walk away. It monitors the arrangement to ensure its getting the service it expects. If it isnt, it makes a change.

Thats what South Carolinas government often fails to do. As South Carolinas first inspector general noted a few years back, privatization or outsourcing seems to be viewed as automatically preferential to adding State employees, when in fact it puts the state at high risk because of the difficulty of managing contracts.

Agencies have a tendency to view their job as essentially complete upon approving a contract/grant, he wrote, when in fact outsourcing requires heightened skills in contract/grant monitoring and engaged risk-based oversight to ensure value received by the State.

It might turn out that it makes sense to contract out or privatize the states mental health services in schools and even beyond, but only if the state is willing to cancel those contracts if the contractors dont provide the quality and quantity of services they agreed to.

Such a change is not something that could be done overnight, even if the need were clear. Meantime, as Mr. McMaster told legislators about students mental health needs, This crisis is here, right now. Legislators need to address it right now.
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SPARTANBURG  For the past five years, Mark Monaghan has used Airbnb to earn additional income renting out his property in the city's Park Hills neighborhood.

He's accustomed to hosting guests from across the country, visiting the city for a variety of reasons  businessmen on extended stay, or traveling nurses who need a place to live while working in the area.

"I love having them here," Monaghan said. "I just love being able to provide that service."

Short-term rentals in residential districts using Airbnb and similar online companies could be coming to an end inside the city limits. City Council voted 4-3 on Jan. 24 in favor of amending a zoning ordinance to prohibit renting personal property for commercial use in residential districts.

On Feb. 14, the council is scheduled to consider a final reading of the proposed ordinance.

City Attorney Robert Coler said the purpose of the proposed amendment was to clarify the city's position on Airbnb and similar online companies operating in residential neighborhoods.

Monaghan expressed frustration and confusion as to why the city would want to ban short-term rentals. He has already booked future guests, including one from Alaska wanting to stay in April to visit her parents.

"You can't compare it to a hotel," Monaghan said. "My guests want to walk down my sidewalk and have a neighborhood experience."

Monaghan said his two houses, including a duplex, are a short-walking distance from Morgan Square. If the proposed ordinance passes on final reading, he said it would be economically detrimental to the city's economy with fewer options for people to stay.

"Airbnb people spend money," Monaghan said. "They have money for fine dining. They shop."

Debbie Powell of Spartanburg also uses Airbnb to rent property in the Converse Heights neighborhood. Powell said Airbnb and similar online companies bring "value" to the city and opposes the proposed ban.

"A lot of families stay at my places while they are house hunting and end up buying a house in the area," Powell said.

Powell said she provides parking space for her guests and doesn't allow last-minute bookings. Powell said bookings need to be balanced with short-term rentals of 30 days or less and rentals for longer periods of time.

"I have bookings out through August right now," Powell said. "I can't just cancel on these people. It gives you a bad mark on Airbnb."

City Council members Jamie Fulmer, Meghan Smith, Ruth Littlejohn and Mayor Jerome Rice voted for the proposed amendment on Jan. 24. City Council members Rob Rain, Janie Salley and Erica Brown voted against the proposed amendment on first reading.

Littlejohn said she had received complaints from South Converse residents about people renting homes short-term in a residential district. She didn't believe it was fair for property owners who rent their homes for commercial use to be paying lower taxes than hotels and motels.

City Communications and Marketing Manager Christopher George told The Post and Courier short-term rentals in residential districts have presented problems, including having a large number of people at a residence, too many vehicles and noise.

Salley told the newspaper Feb. 1 she voted against the proposed ordinance because she doesn't believe a complete ban is necessary.

"I don't understand why we can't allow it (Airbnb) to be there and to have an Airbnb in a neighborhood or downtown," Salley said. "You have to think about the people. I don't think we need to govern someone's property and in a matter of saying you can't do this.

"If someone wants to rent their house, just to rent their house, you don't put a stipulation on them. Why put a stipulation on Airbnbs?"

Salley said Airbnb and similar online companies provide a valuable service in the city and should continue to be allowed with some regulation.

Fulmer told the newspaper the ban should be implemented.

"I heard from many constituents," Fulmer said. "It's a concern in our residential neighborhoods. We need to be careful how we regulate these things. I certainly think there is a place for Airbnb-type establishments in parts of our city, but I think we need to be careful about it in our lower-density areas."

Fulmer said the city's zoning codes need to be modernized to reflect the way people conduct business. He said the city's existing zoning code doesn't specify restricting Airbnb and similar online companies from short-term rentals and should be updated.

Rice said the city aims to update the zoning ordinance to clarify rentals of less than 30 days.

"We as a city need to get up to code with new standards," Rice said. "Airbnb has been in use for some time now, and it is not indicated in our ordinance. We need to take a fresh look at it."
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero made a number of requests to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which convened a hearing "to examine the state of U.S. territories" on Wednesday, Guam time.

"This committee has a long-standing history covering territorial policy, and I look forward to discussing the challenges and priorities for your respective territories and how the committee can help advance your goals," said Sen. Joe Manchin, the committee chairperson. "The territories make valuable contributions to our nation, and I want to recognize that each territory is an integral part of the United States."

Leon Guerrero touted Guam's 94% rate of vaccination for COVID-19, and thanked both Congress and the White House for "ensuring that states and territories have the resources to continue to combat this virus."

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But Guam's chief executive laid out some of the ongoing challenges facing the island as it tries to recover from the ongoing pandemic, and asked for more congressional aid to specifically target island economies that are lagging due to a decline in visitor arrivals.

"Before COVID-19, one out of three jobs was tourism-related," she said. "Now, arrivals have decreased by 92%, and thousands have lost work. With a full recovery not expected within the next three years, I ask this committee to consider passing an additional relief package specifically for territories to address previous federal aid disparities and our prolonged hardship due to reliance on international tourism."

Guam's governor also is pushing for Congress to extend a 2023 deadline for the federal government to approve foreign worker visas related to the realignment of Marines to Guam. Leon Guerrero asked the committee to consider expanding the allowable visas to include workers supporting civilian construction and non-construction industries.

"I ask you to extend the exemption to 2029 and establish a Guam-only temporary need criteria within the H-2B program that would recognize 'other qualified need' as determined by the governor of Guam. There is congressional precedence for such a program to be developed and I hope that we can explore this further as such a program would need congressional action," Leon Guerrero said.

Compacts of Free Association

Longstanding issues between the federal government and the islands in Micronesia also came up during the hearing.

The governor once again requested that Guam play an active role in upcoming treaty negotiations on the Compacts of Free Association, which expire in 2023 for the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and in 2024 for the Republic of Palau. Guam previously was only granted an observer status, and could not directly participate at formal meetings.

She said her administration wants to include new benefits for communities like our island into the newly negotiated compacts:

 Full reimbursement for future expenses borne by Guam attributed to compact migration.

 Debt swap of past unreimbursed expenses.

 Screening of citizens of the freely associated states prior to arrival in Guam.

 Extension of Medicaid coverage to FAS citizens in their home nations.

 Expansion of low-income housing tax credits to developers in Guam.

The government of Guam has calculated that it spends $150 million annually directly due to the compacts, according to the governor.

Guam and other identified host jurisdictions including the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Hawaii have shared a total subsidy of just $30 million each year to offset the financial impacts of the federal government's agreements with America's freely associated states.

Self-determination

The governor is also seeking congressional approval for the island to hold a vote on self-determination.

"I have previously requested the Biden administration's support for congressional legislation to address the continued denial of the right to self-determination, as caused by the Davis v. Guam case, which barred Guam from holding a political status plebiscite in the manner it had planned," Leon Guerrero wrote, in extended written testimony submitted to the committee. "The people of Guam remain committed to advancing a process that will allow us to articulate our desired political status, and the federal government has expressed its commitment to this endeavor. Please do not allow that pledge to remain unfulfilled."

Adelup clarified the legislation the governor is seeking to advance through Congress would be "reflective of current local law."

That statute would only allow those considered native inhabitants of Guam, or people who can trace back their ancestry to someone in Guam who became a U.S. citizen through the signing of the Organic Act.

Limiting the vote to only these people was deemed unconstitutional by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2019, through the case cited in the governor's testimony. That provision, however, has not been changed by lawmakers since GovGuam's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied in May 2020.
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Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- One student died and another was critically injured after being shot outside a school in Richfield, midwestern U.S. state of Minnesota, on Tuesday.

The shooting occurred around noon at the South Education Center, an alternative school that serves about 200 students from pre-K to age 21 in the region, police said.

Officers discovered that two students had been shot on the sidewalk near the school's front entrance, and the suspect fled the scene immediately after the shooting.

Both injured students were transported to hospital. One student succumbed to his injuries, while the other remained in critical condition.

Richfield, a suburban city in Hennepin County, is about a 20-minute drive south of Minneapolis, a major city in Minnesota. 
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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The Biden administration, having opened the Southern border to a massive wave of illegal immigration, is covertly distributing migrants around the country. The State of Florida has now told the administration that enough is enough.

Embedded below is a letter from Governor Ron DeSantiss General Counsel, Ryan Newman, to the Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The letter tells HHS that Florida will no longer participate in the federal governments Unaccompanied Alien Children program. Newman writes:

The Federal Government has chosen to be the caretaker of UAC [Unaccompanied Alien Children] arriving at the border; it must take full responsibility for that choice.

Florida is unhappy with how the Biden administration is administering the UAC program. The burden is distributed unequally among the states, and Florida has been sent a disproportionate number of minors (or alleged minors). Worse, the Biden administration has failed to vet the individuals it ships to Florida:

Federal policies that incentivize the trafficking of UAD are not only a burden on states but are also dangerous for the unaccompanied minors. Many of these UAC are trafficked to the southern border by cartels and other illicit actors. After taking custody of the minors, the federal government then, in effect, completes the human trafficking scheme by delivering the minors to persons across the country, many of whom are unknown or poorly vetted, involved in the trafficking conspiracy, or themselves in the country unlawfully.

Newman points out that according to news reports, the government seems to have lost track of around one-third of unaccompanied minors after they enter the country. But thats not all:

The UAC program is also a hazard to Floridians. Most UAC are male teenagers nearing adulthood, and some are gang members when they arrive or later become gang members.  Unfortunately, the Federal Governments failure to verify the age of UAC released into the United States can have deadly consequences. Late last year, a Florida man was murdered by an adult foreign national who entered the country illegally claiming to be an unaccompanied minor.

The letter concludes that Florida will no longer participate in this highly flawed federal program unless significant changes are made:

Under the emergency rule, DCF has no obligation to enter into any cooperative agreement with the Federal Government, and it does not intend to do so unless the Federal Government restores the immigration enforcement policies of the prior administration or implements similar such policies. Faithful enforcement of federal immigration law to secure the border, deter illegal immigration, and prevent the surge of illegal aliens at the border, including UAC, is a baseline prerequisite to any future cooperative agreement involving the resettlement of UAC in Florida.

The letter concludes:

So long as the Biden administration continues its irresponsible immigration policies, Florida no longer wishes to be involved in the Federal Governments UAC resettlement program. DCFs change of policy makes clear that the Federal Government, not the State of Florida, is solely responsible for the care and safety of the UAC that it has chosen to bring into the country.

The letter also addresses legal and regulatory issues. Here it is:

Florida has become the leader in advancing conservative principles and standing up to federal government bullying. If the 2024 presidential election were taking place today, Ron DeSantis would have my vote.
The Electoral Count Act (ECA) has become a subject of controversy. Theres a bipartisan movement to amend it. Donald Trump baselessly invokes that movement as support for his claim that Mike Pence could have overturned the 2020 presidential election.

The ECA was a response to the election of 1876. In that contest, between Republican Rutherford Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden, Congress was presented with two slates of electors by three southern states. The outcome of the election turned on which slates were recognized, plus the resolution of a dispute over one Oregon elector.

The matter was settled by a special commission and, effectively, by the decision of one Supreme Court Justice, Joseph Bradley. The commission sided with Hayes and Congress accepted that outcome.

Who should have won the election? When I read up on it years ago, I came to the following conclusions, for what they are worth:

First, Tilden won more votes, correctly counted, in the three southern states than he needed to win the electoral vote. Technically, he should have been declared the winner.

Second, Tildens superior vote count in these states (or at least some of them) was the result of denying the vote to a substantial number of black voters, nearly all of whom would have voted Republican. The magnitude of the voter suppression likely exceeded Tildens margins.

I dont mean voter suppression in the sense the left talks about it now  requiring voter identification and refusing to allow people to vote every which way without regard to preventing fraud. I mean flatly not permitting some Blacks to vote and enforcing the prohibition through violence or threats.

Third, therefore Hayes victory was the just outcome.

But fourth, the white supremacist vote suppressors got their way because Hayes victory was probably sealed with a promise to pull federal troops from the south, and thereby end Reconstruction.

Fifth, Reconstruction was destined to end soon in any event. After years of military engagement with the south  first a war, then an occupation  the country had lost its will to see Reconstruction through.

* * * * * * * *

Heres my understanding of the process that led to Hayes victory: The dispute over the outcome of the election created so much bitterness that there was talk of violence and even another civil war. To resolve the matter peacefully, President Grant proposed creating a bipartisan commission to decide the matter. Congress agreed.

The commission consisted of 15 people: five Republican members of Congress, five Democratic members of Congress, and five Supreme Court Justices. Of the five Justices, two were Republicans and two were Democrats. The fifth Justice, David Davis, was considered an independent, but he was expected to side with the Democrats.

However, Davis was elected by the Illinois legislature to the Senate and resigned from the Court. He was replaced on the commission by Joseph Bradley, the least partisan of the remaining Justices, but still a Republican.

In the accounts I read, Bradleys vote wasnt a knee-jerk partisan exercise. He gave the matter some thought and may have even agonized over his decision. In the end, though, his vote was in Hayes favor.

That didnt end the matter. The Democrats refused to accept the result. They filibustered in the Senate, hoping to push the matter beyond Inauguration Day, so that the House might decide the election in Tildens favor. However, these efforts failed after the Hayes forces apparently agreed in late February that federal troops would leave the south if their man took office.

* * * * * * * *

Finally, a note about the role Roscoe Conkling, and possibly his mistress Kate Chase Sprague, played in this drama. Conkling was a giant of a man and the giant of the Senate. He exerted enormous influence thanks to his unsurpassed oratory, intellect, force of personality, and vindictiveness. In addition, Conkling was Grants man in the Senate.

Kate Chase Sprague was the daughter of Salmon Chase, who had been a Senator, a Governor, Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court until his death in 1873. Kate, a great beauty, was married to William Sprague, a former Senator, but the two were estranged.

There is no question that Kate had a long affair with Conkling. It is believed that they were lovers by 1876. In any event, they were close friends by then.

Conkling was a spoils man and, as such, an enemy of Hayes, who backed civil service reform. Tilden was something of a reformer, too, but had confined his efforts to fighting Tammany Hall, the Democratic machine in New York City. Conkling, an upstate New York Republican, had no problem with that.

Kate Sprague was an enemy of Tilden. She blamed him for her fathers defeat at the Democratic convention of 1868. Salmon Chase, knowing that the Republicans would nominate Grant, had switched parties (not for the first time). Kate, who as the queen of social life in Washington D.C. knew everyone who was anyone, managed his bid for the nomination.

The bid failed when the New York and Ohio delegations went for a dark horse, Horatio Seymour of New York. (Seymours sister, by the way, was Conklings wife.) Kate blamed Tilden for what she considered a betrayal and never forgave him.

Grant wanted the special election commission and expected his close allies Conkling and James Garfield to support its creation. Garfield balked because, as noted, it looked like the body would favor the Democrat. Conkling appeared to be on the fence. He wanted to back his party, but also wanted to support the president. And unlike Garfield, he did not want Hayes to win.

In the end, Conkling delivered an oratorical masterpiece in favor of creating the commission, and the Senate voted to do so. Beforehand, Kate told a reporter of Conklings intentions, after swearing the journalist to secrecy. This suggests that she was involved in Conklings deliberations, but also that she was not the driving force in his decisions. Had she been, its likely that Conkling wouldnt have given a speech that seemed at the time to favor Tildens interests.

The plot thickened after the commission went for Hayes and the Senate had to decide whether to accept that result. Tildens friends knew that Conkling favored their man, and urged him to oppose the outcome determined by the commission. Kate, on the other hand, wanted him to close the door on her old enemy, Tilden.

If Conkling had delivered a speech in favor of overriding the commission, its possible he might have persuaded enough Republicans to go along with this. But Conkling was a no-show on the day of the critical vote.

He was in Baltimore, supposedly visiting a friend. Rumor had it that Republican leaders persuaded Kate to invite him there for an encounter at a friends house.

Did Kate Chase Sprague cause Roscoe Conkling to stand aside an let his enemy, Rutherford Hayes, become president? Maybe. My guess, though, is that Conkling stood aside because intervening on behalf of a Democrat at this stage of a knock-down-drag-out presidential race would have endangered Conklings political future.

Going to Baltimore was a great solution for him, and not just because of Kates charms. It enabled him to maintain his standing with Republicans without being party to elevating his enemy  the man he would call Rutherfraud Hayes  to the presidency.

NOTE: The final portion of this post draws liberally from the book American Queen, a biography of Kate Chase Sprague by John Oller.
Thats the title of a long article in The Atlantic by George Packer about the Biden administrations handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Even if youre already as disgusted as I am by the betrayal  Donald Trumps decision to turn over the whole country to the Taliban and, especially, Bidens scandalous handling of the pullout  the article is well worth reading in full. It should be required reading for any Democrat who still has confidence in Biden.

David Von Drehle provides a good summary of the non-anecdotal portions of Packers piece. He writes:

[Packers] indictment takes aim at the apparently willful failure to offer an orderly exit from Afghanistan for combat interpreters, embassy support staff, intelligence informants and so on. Many of these individuals have been denounced as traitors and are at risk of death  if they havent been killed already. Biden is quoted saying more than once that the United States had no duty to protect those who relied on or worked beside us. And so advocates of honorable assistance met one brick wall after another. A proposal to relocate Afghans to the U.S. territory of Guam while processing their visa applications went nowhere. Bipartisan delegations of U.S. veterans beseeched the White House for action  but concluded that they were being ignored. Further, they surmised that, considering the multitude of humanitarian policy promoters at senior levels in the administration, the cold shoulder could only be coming from the very top.

Von Drehle continues:

Though no one from the White House would say so on the record, Packer reports that Bidens people continue to claim there was no way they could have foreseen how quickly the Taliban would complete its takeover. But it was foreshadowed, notably by Dexter Filkins in the New Yorker in March of last winter. His report portrayed a robust Taliban and an Afghan government already collapsing. The Taliban controlled Afghanistans highways, operated de facto governments in the provinces and maintained an open, armed presence even in the capital, Kabul. Meanwhile, the Afghan army couldnt fill its ranks even by dangling money, and the public had given up on the corrupt administration of feckless Ashraf Ghani, the former president who fled the country. Failure to plan equals planning to fail, the saying goes  and it was true. Bidens failure to plan for an honorable, orderly retreat from Afghanistan produced the very scenes of chaos and abandonment he had hoped to avoid.

Packer acknowledges that Kabul fell faster than anticipated. However, he condemns the Biden administrations failure to plan for a worst-case scenario.

What about the administrations claim that however ugly it might have been, the airlift from Kabul was ultimately a great success? Its nonsense:

By one estimate [that of Human Rights First]. . .90 percent of Afghans eligible for relocation were left behind. Most of those who did get out were rescued only by the initiative of conscience-stricken troops and diplomats in Kabul, and by a loose network of tireless volunteers working around-the-clock stateside.

In other words, had matters been left solely to Team Biden, the failure rate probably would have exceeded 95 percent.

Von Drehle concludes with this:

Bidens approval rating plunged during the days so grippingly recounted in Packers article. So far, it hasnt recovered. The more one learns about the pullout from Afghanistan, and the willful betrayal of our friends, the more perceptive and just that judgment appears.

Right. But unfortunately the stain of the pullout extends beyond Biden. In my opinion, its a stain on Americas international reputation and, above all, our honor.

The last word goes to Packer:
Electricity experts have called for the review of pricing of prepaid meters, port congestion, political risks and other policy issues as the first phase of the National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP, begins.

The experts, who lauded the efforts of the government on metering, said the pricing of prepaid meters as part of the procuring process was very key.

The experts spoke at a programme tagged Power Dialogue, with the theme Assessing the Progress of the National Mass Metering Programme, NNMP.

Speakers at the event, drawn from federal institutions, electricity distribution companies, DisCos, and metering companies, noted that despite some challenges, the NMMP Phase 0, targeted at delivering one million prepaid meters to consumers, was successful compared to past efforts on metering.

In his speech at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, New Hampshire Capital Limited, Odion Omonfoman, explained that the NMMP has been quite successful in terms of the number of meters installed for Nigerians.

He said: The NMMP is directly responsible for a rapid increase in local capacity in metering, particularly local meter manufacturing and assembly capacity and meter installation capacity.

I would score the NMMP Phase 0 high. The NMMP is not the first metering intervention by the Federal Government. In fact, there were several mass metering interventions under the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN. There were also others under the former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathans governments, but none of them was able to make so much positive impact.

However, Mr Omonfoman argued that despite the success of the Phase 0, it recorded some issues, including the incorrect declaration of meter quantities in-country by a few meter vendors, difficult logistics of clearing meters at the ports, inaccurate customer data and rejection of the meters by some customers and poor remuneration of meter installers.

He noted that lessons should be learned from the imperfection of the fist phase, to enhance the implementation of the NMMP.

Meter installation is very important, he said.

The meter installer is as important as the local meter manufacturer. Based on our experience, we need to engage competent and experienced installers for Phase one and their remuneration needs to be prioritized as a key component of the pricing for both the MAP and the NMMP so that there are enough installers who are dedicated to rolling out the meters.

He also called for policies that could address potential risks, including foreign exchange for the procurement of meter components, port congestion, litigations with local meter manufacturers that could arise in the future, and the risk of bad behavior by local meter manufacturers and DisCos.

These, he said, must be put into consideration in the next phase.

In his intervention, Special Assistant to the President on Power Regulation, Office of the Vice President, Ali Yusuf, highlighted the gains and achievements of the NMMP, as well as some of the challenges in Phase 0, adding that it would serve as learning points in the implementation of Phase 1.

He noted that the procurement process under phase 1 had already commenced, and that consultants have been engaged to visit and assess the meter manufacturing and assembling capacity of each local meter manufacturer. This is meant to ascertain the true local manufacturing capacity and prevent the false declaration of their meter capacity.

Mr Yusuf was optimistic that the NMMP would meet its target of installing 4 million meters by the end of the programme, noting that the NMMP was not the only option available to DisCos to meter their customers. He enjoined DisCos to take advantage of other structures in the Regulations such as the MAP and vendor financing, to ensure that the metering gap is closed.

The consultant, Strategy and Corporate Planning, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, Bode Longe, on his part commended the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for its intervention, adding that the apex financial institution has done well in funding the nations metering programme.

The CBN recently said that it has disbursed N47.66 billion to DISCOs under its mass metering scheme, which led to the acquisition of 858,026 meters.

Speaking at its Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, added that the DisCos have also received another N37.6 billion for the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF-2).
President Umaro Embalo of Guinea-Bissau has addressed the media after a coup scare in the West African country on Tuesday, New York Times has reported.

Speaking to the media, President Embalo said many members of his own security forces had been killed in what he termed a failed attack against democracy.

He said some of the perpetrators had been arrested.

It wasnt just a coup, he said. It was an attempt to kill the president, the prime minister and the entire cabinet.

Armed attackers tried to enter the building but were repelled. They were well prepared and organized and could be related to people involved in drug trafficking, he added.

The presidents reaction came hours after soldiers fired heavy gunfire near a government compound where the president had been chairing a cabinet meeting.

There have been at least six coup attempts in African countries since 2020, raising concerns democracy was under threat in the region.

Regional bodies and the United Nations have issued statements condemning the attack by the military in Guinea-Bissau.

ECOWAS is following with great concern the evolution of the situation in Guinea-Bissau  where military gunfire is taking place around the Government Palace, the regional body said in a Tuesday statement.

Also, the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Mahamat, in a statement, said he is following the situation in Guinea Bissau with great concern.

He calls on the military to return to their barracks without delay and to ensure the physical integrity of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and the members of his government and to immediately release those among them who are in detention. Mr Mahamat said.

Antonio Guterres, UN chief, said the situation pointed to a worrisome trend.

We are seeing a terrible multiplication of coups, and our strong appeal is for soldiers to go back to the barracks, and for the constitutional order to be fully in place, he said.

Guinea-Bissau has weathered at least four successful coups, the last in 2012, and about a dozen attempted ones since it gained independence from Portugal 48 years ago.
Hundreds of students of the D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori, Ogun State, Wednesday blocked the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway after two of their colleagues were reportedly abducted by gunmen.

The students were abducted around 1 a.m. at their hostel in Afowowa, Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The protesting students said they were angry over the alleged refusal of the police to respond to their distress calls, saying the attack lasted for almost four hours.

A protester simply identified as Damilola told PREMIUM TIMES that in addition to the gunmen operating unchallenged, they also carted away laptops, money, and other valuables.

We called the police but there was no response. Later, the police said their vehicle was not in good condition, said Mr Damilola.

ALSO READ: NANS disassociates self from planned protest by students

When they finally arrived, they said the students should lead in facing the gunmen. One of the students was shot in the leg and others were badly injured. That is why we took to the street to protest.

The students, who had earlier marched to the police station, have now barricaded the main road linking Abeokuta with Sango-Ota and Lagos.

It was gathered that some police vans were stoned at the beginning of the protest.

Contacted, spokesperson of the Ogun State Police command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said he was yet to be briefed of the cause of the protest.
A coalition of Nigerian Muslim women, on Tuesday, called on the Nigerian government and its relevant ministries, agencies and institutions to help to end the discrimination against hijab-wearing Muslims.

It urged the government to see hijab as a symbol of inclusiveness and freedom which needs to be protected, while also calling on the National Assembly to quickly pass the Religious Discrimination (Prohibition) Bill.

We urge you (the National Assembly) in strong terms, to speedily pass the Religious Discrimination (Prohibition, Prevention) Bill, 2021 which passed second reading since March 2021, and prevent it from entering the basement of discarded bills.

The passage of this one will surely be worthwhile for posterity, Marham Ahmed, a representative of the coalition, said.

Mrs Ahmed spoke at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday in commemoration of the 2022 World Hijab Day.

The World Hijab Day is marked every February 1 to galvanise support for hijab wearers, campaign against its prohibition, and speak against the maltreatment of its wearers across the world.

It was first marked in 2013. This years edition, therefore, makes it its ninth and it is expected to be marked in at least 190 countries of the world.

This years edition is with the theme, Hijab is our crown, not a crime.

Mrs Ahmed, who lamented the discrimination often faced by hijab wearers in different parts of the country, said there was the need to create more awareness for mutual respect among global citizens and to disclaim bigotry and prejudice against Muslim women.

They should guarantee the sanctity of Nigerian laws of freedom of worship, association and expression for all persons devoid of sentiment, she said.

She also urged the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) authorities to introduce an optional set of uniform for Muslim female corps members that desire to appear in modest clothing.

She also called for the setting up of a monitoring mechanism at orientation camps to ensure that no corps members is denied the right to protect the sanctity of their beliefs.

The coalition also called on governments at all levels to create and provide services that cater for all, including those whose appearance is defined by their belief and obedience to a command.

It called on ministries of education at the federal and state levels to pay attention to unnecessary victimisation of students which they said had become a recurring decimal in schools and institutions.

Documented discriminations

Mrs Ahmed noted that the coalition documented some cases of anti-hijab sentiment locally and internationally in 2021. These cases, she said, are indicators that more work needs to be done.

She said the coalition recorded in March 2021, how Christian groups allegedly mobilised and barricaded some schools to protest the directive announced by Kwara State Government that all public schools should respect the rights of Muslim students to wear the head covering, if they choose to.

Another case she cited was that of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, where, in November 2021, a ban was said to have been placed on the use of hijab and niqab by Muslim female students on campus based on the excuse of the need to identify each student on campus.

The coalition also said it recorded a case where a Muslim youth corps member posted to Akwa Ibom State was harassed and prevented from using hijab by the Camp Officials until Muslim groups and government authorities intervened.

In the light of these, the coalition called on all people, institutions, leaders in positions of authority to see the hijab as an enabler rather than as an inhibitor.

We are saying we are OK, we symbolise nothing but the good and wants to be addressed as we have dressed, Mrs Ahmed stated.

Others speak

Maryam Sanni, a member of Women in Dawah, in her advice to Nigerian Muslim women, said it was not just about putting on the Hijab but also how to act right when putting on the hijab.

We have to show that Islam is a religion of peace, she said.

READ ALSO:

Another member of the Coalition, Rahma Musa-Sanni ,urged everyone to support Muslimahs as they obey their creator. She added that not obeying Allah is why the country is in crisis.

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The coalition

The Coalition of Nigeria Muslim Women was formed as a collaboration platform for various Muslim women organisations and institutions in a bid to promote and propagate issues of concern that affect the private and public life of women especially Muslim women and girls.

The coalition is made up of groups such as Federation Of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Women in Daawah, Ansaruddeen,

They also include: Al-Habibiya, JADAFIA, Abuja Muslim Forum, Al-Muminat, An-nisa Foundation, Sisters of Jannah, The Criterion, Initiative for Muslim Sisters, Hidaya Islamic Charity, and many more.
The Ogun Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said on Wednesday that two persons died in a tanker explosion on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Sector Commander of the FRSC, Ahmed Umar, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota, Ogun, that the accident occurred at about 6.05 a.m. near CDK Company.

Mr Umar explained that the tanker, with no registration number and laden with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), was inbound Lagos-Ibadan Expressway when it exploded some few kilometres after the Sagamu interchange.

The Sector Commander said that eight male adults, three vehicles and a Bajaj motorcycle, were involved in the incident.

Mr Umar said that two persons died, while six other persons came out unhurt from the accident.

The corpses of the dead have been deposited at Idera Morgue, Sagamu, he said.

The FRSC boss blamed the accident on excessive speeding on part of one of the truck drivers.

He said that the inferno had been put off by firefighters and traffic has also been diverted to ease the free flow of traffic.

Mr Umar implored motorists to cooperate with the FRSC personnel and other sister agencies to reduce the time spent in the gridlocks.

(NAN)
JUBA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least five aid workers were killed in South Sudan last year, bringing the total number of humanitarian worker deaths to 129 since 2013, the United Nations agency for humanitarian affairs said Tuesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in its latest report that humanitarian organizations faced continued and widespread access challenges in 2021, with an increase in incidents reported to and verified from 580 in 2020 to 591 in 2021.

"The five aid workers killed in 2021 lost their lives while delivering life-saving assistance to people in Jonglei, Lakes, Unity and Eastern Equatoria," the UNOCHA said.

It said the increase in incidents, albeit moderate, was triggered by active hostilities, sub-national violence, and violence against humanitarian workers and assets and severely hindered humanitarian operations and disrupted program delivery, and assistance to vulnerable people.

The report says incident severity increased substantially in 2021 given that 58 percent of reported incidents were significant in severity, compared to 44 percent in 2020. 
Binance Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, has explained that the controversial restriction of accounts on its platform is due to ongoing measures to prevent fraudulent activities.

In a statement addressed to the Nigerian community, published on Sunday, Mr Zhao said 281 Nigerian cryptocurrency accounts were affected by these proactive measures.

Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement, he said.

Mr Zhao emphasised that the Nigerian community is one that brings great pride, adding that since the inception of Binance, Nigeria and Africa at large have been very special markets to us and for crypto.

The CEOs comment came days after many traders of cryptocurrencies took to Twitter to vent their anger and grievances over the various unusual activities they noticed on their wallets on the Binance platform.

Many users of the platform, especially Nigerians and other Africans, last Wednesday alleged that they had been deprived of access to their wallets (account) without significant reasons.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where digital currency holders can transact seamlessly in a peer-to-peer (P2P) pattern.

On hearing the concerns raised by the community, I decided to write to re-emphasize our commitment to you, Mr Zhao said in his statement Sunday.

While apologising for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests, Mr Zhao stated that user security remains our top priority.

He said: We love and are devoted to our Nigerian community, but we must ensure that our users are safe. As such, protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented.

This is a global approach applied in every country.

Ongoing efforts

According to the statement, Mr Zhao said regardless of the bitter experiences, we owe it to you, our users, to deliver the experience you deserve.

In its bid to rebuild the trust of Nigerians on its brand, Mr Zhao said the company is ensuring speedy resolutions of ongoing user cases tied to account restrictions.

Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks, he said.

He noted that the company is devoting more customer service personnel to the region, and that it will dedicate additional risk agents with a great understanding of the Nigerian market.

Rest assured, we are working hard to attend to all customer service requests, he explained.
Activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has filed two rights enforcement suits against the police at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Mr Sowore, through his lawyer, Tope Temokun, sued for N50 million damages and asked for public apology from the police in each of the suits.

He demands the total N100 million damages as compensation for various alleged violations of his rights at different times in Abuja last year.

In one of the suits marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1238/2021, Mr Sowore alleged that he was shot at by a chief superintendent of police, Altine Daniel, during a peaceful rally at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, on May 31, 2021.

Mr Sowore, in the second suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1239/2021, is seeking a redress for being illegally arrested, harassed, brutalised, and subjected to degrading treatments, around the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 26, 2021.

Apart from manhandling him, Mr Sowore said the police prevented him from witnessing and reporting the days court proceedings in cases involving the leader of the proscribed leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and five youth activists who were earlier arrested on July 4, 2021 by the State Security Service (SSS).

The five youths were arrested at Dunamis International Gospel Centre by the SSS for wearing T-shirts with Buhari-Must-Go inscription to the church.

How my rights were violated

Mr Sowore narrated how his rights were allegedly violated in the separate supporting affidavits he filed along with the suits.

He said he was shot at by Ms Daniel, during a sensitisation rally on May 31, 2021 at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, preparatory to last years June 12 anniversary.

Mr Sowore recalled that there had been previous encounters with Ms Daniel when she allegedly threatened to kill him on different occasions prior to the day of the rally.

The activist said on his arrival at the rally ground to exercise his constitutional rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, police officers besieged the venue to prevent the gathering and stop him from addressing the demonstrators.

Amid the police invasion, Mr Sowore said, Ms Daniel shot at him at close range with a federal riot gun with a projectile.

That the shot tore my thigh and I lost my balance and fell and was carried by courageous citizens at the scene to the hospital, Mr Sowore said, as he made refences to snapshots filed as exhibits showing him at the scene after the alleged shooting.

He sued the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in the FCT, and Ms Daniel as defendants in the suit.

In the other case, Mr Sowore stated that his right was violated by the police at the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 26, 2021.

Mr Sowore said he had visited the court to witness the proceedings in the case of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and that of five Nigerian youths who were arrested for wearing T-shirts with Buhari Must Go inscriptions.

He said he was denied access and arrested at the court gate.

I was taken forcefully to be detained at the Federal Secretariat Police Station, Abuja, by police officers in furtherance of the instructions and purpose to deny me access into the court that day, even while some other citizens and journalists were granted free access into the court, Mr Sowore stated.

He added that he was brutalised, subjected to beatings, humiliated and was eventually bundled into a police vehicle in violation of his rights.

He sued the Nigeria Police Force, the IGP, and the FCT police commissioner, as well as the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the defendants in the suit.

Prayers

In the first case, the plaintiff sought among other prayers, the courts declaration that the firing of the gun shot at him allegedly by Ms Daniel at Unity Fountain, Abuja on May 31, 2021, constitutes a violation of his right to dignity of human person, right to freedom of expression and the press, right to peaceful assembly and association.

He cited various provisions of the Nigerian constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act protecting his allegedly violated rights.

In the other suit, he similarly urged the court to declare that his arbitrary arrest, detention, harassment, brutalisation, seizure of his reporting device on July 26, 2021 at the Federal High Court in Abuja constitutes a breach of his various constitutional rights.

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He maintained that the various acts of the police officers acting under the police authorities violated his constitutional rights to personal liberty, dignity of person, freedom of expression and the press, as well as his right to freedom from discrimination.

In the two suits, he sought an order directing the police authorities to apologise to him via a publication in two reputable national daily newspapers.

He also urged the court to award him N50 million as general and exemplary damages and make an order prohibiting a further violation of his rights by either the defendants or their agents, in the two suits.

The defendants have yet to file their defence, although Mr Sowores lawyer, Mr Temokun, announced that the cases have been assigned to a judge, Inyang Ekwo.

Background

Mr Sowore was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) in August 2019 after calling for a Revolution Now protest against bad governance, corruption and worsening insecurity in the country under President Muhammadu Buharis watch.

Despite his ongoing trial on charges of reasonable felony filed against him in the aftermath of his arrest, Mr Sowore continues to lead or participate in protests against the Buhari administration.

But in the last two years, Mr Sowore had on numerous occasions, raised the alarm over repeated coordinated attacks on him by alleged hired thugs during protests and appearances in court.

He recently raised the alarm over the deactivation of his National Identification Number (NIN) by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

He issued a seven-day ultimatum to the agency to restore his NIN within seven days or face a legal action.

He announced on Monday that his NIN had been restored following his threat to sue NIMC.
An Oyo State High Court in Ibadan, presided by Ladiran Akintola, has fixed March 11 for hearing in an enforcement of fundamental human Rights suit.

The suit was instituted by 11 female Muslim Students of University of Ibadan International School Ibadan (ISI) over the use of Hijab.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the students parent on behalf of their children dragged the institution to the court for infringing on their childrens fundamental human rights for not allowing them to wear hijab on their school uniform.

The claimants are Farida Moshood, Halia Dopesi,Haliyat Adebayo, Iqlas Badiru, Maridiya Yekini, Mamuda Babarinde, Amdalat Opeyemi and a Civil Society Organisation, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), among others.

The other respondents in the suit are the School Principal, Phebean Olowe; the Chairman, Board of Governors, Abideen Aderinto; and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) office, Olalekan Jeremiah; Babatunde Okolo; Lukman Ajibade; Tunde Aro; and Fatumise Abey.

At the Wednesday proceedings, Counsel to the claimants, Hassan Fajimite, informed the court that he received counter affidavits from all the respondents except one.

Mr Fajimite told the court that he needed time to respond to the counter affidavits of the respondents and requested for an adjournment.

READ ALSO:

Mr Fajimite urged the court to declare the continuous denial of the authority of ISI to allow the female Muslim students from wearing hijab as wrongful and unconstitutional

Olalekan Tani, Counsel to the PTA, informed the court that he was bringing an application to substitute the name of Dr Olalekan Jeremiah and Lukman Ajibade, who are the association Chairman and Secretary.

Mr Tani informed the court that necessary adjustments would be done before the next adjourned date.

Magnus Ejelonu and M. H. Okeji are the counsels to the school principal and the school Governing Board.

It would be recalled that the applicants counsel in his originating summon said, the action of the authority of ISI violates the applicants right to freedom of thought, religion and right to education as contained in Section 38 (1)(a) and 42(1)(a) of the Constitution.

(NAN)
Health advocates have applauded the Nigerian government for improving budgetary provision for sub-sectors of the national health including health security and infectious diseases, but insisted that budgeting alone cannot be enough except accountability is ensured.

This was part of the deliberations at a one-day multi-sectoral review forum which was held at the weekend in Abuja, Nigerias Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and organised by the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL), a non-governmental organisation.

The forum was organised to review the health security financing and accountability framework which the organiser launched in 2021 as part of its Prevent Epidemics (PE) project, and funded by Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).

The aim of the initiative, the group said, is to boost domestic spending on Epidemic Preparedness and Response (EPR).

Themed: Appraising the Accountability Framework for Health Security Financing in Nigeria What Can We Do Differently?, the organisers said the workshop focused on ensuring transparency and proper utilisation of health security funding.

LISDELs PE project director, Gafar Adewole, said the advocates engagement campaign with the National Assembly and other relevant stakeholders paid off evidently in the improved budget for health security related programmes such as routine immunisation.

He said; We started this campaign last year and we have made progress which is evident in the improved budget at the national level and at the level of one of the states.

You discover the efforts translated to improved budget for NCDC. At the state level, we engaged relevant stakeholders and supported workshops that saw to the improvement in the budget line for health security in Kano state.

Mr Adewole said the event was aimed at identifying loopholes in the implementation and utilisation of funds which he noted has been identified as a major impediment to health security financing.

We are here to appraise the framework used in improving accountability look at what has worked and what has not worked. We are brainstorming with the stakeholders to look at the weaknesses in the framework and how to continue to have access to data, he added.

The programme coordinator said while there was an improvement in funds approved, there are still gaps between what is needed and what was appropriated.

Also speaking, the chairman, committee on finance, Kano State House of Assembly, Magaji Dahiru, said the synergy between the state legislators and LISDEL, Budgit, NCDC, among other relevant development partners was the driver for epidemic response advocacy.

Health Security

Health security aims to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats. In practice, this is limited to specific activities, including strengthening surveillance systems and improving risk communication.

In 2018, Nigerian authorities began developing the National Action Plan on Health Security (NAPHS) with the launching of the International Health Regulations (IHR).

NAPHS is a comprehensive multi-sectoral document that sets out a strategy for strengthening health security of the country. Developed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in collaboration with other relevant government agencies, NAPHS is a five-year strategic plan to be executed from 2018 to 2022.

Some of the key issues raised and action plans activated during the LISDEL workshop were centred on implementing the NAHPS.

READ ALSO:

Participants proffered solutions on how legislations can be channelled towards increasing investment in health security with the private sector complementing governments effort.

Iniobong Usen, senior research and policy analyst with Budgit, during his presentation on data mining for the accountability framework, explained the importance of data in advocacy for transparency in health security financing.

He said the major challenge in getting disaggregated data include unwillingness of relevant authorities to provide them.

Nigerias 2022 health budget

The Nigerian government has voted approximately N725 billion for health in the recently approved 2022 budget, providing nearly N70 billion for health security programmes and for reinforcing efforts towards curbing the COVID-19 pandemic among other infectious diseases.

Health advocates acknowledged the additional funding for health security and the fight against infectious diseases as a step in the right direction but said that alone is not enough.

It is not just about putting in money, it is more about how it is utilised, said Mr Adewole.

Role of media

Organisers of the event recognised the media as a key stakeholder in raising the accountability for EPR financing.

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They concluded that brave, critical, and balanced reporting on the use of funds for EPR will generate conversations capable of putting the government under pressure to improve transparency and funding. Moji Makanjuola, veteran journalist and broadcaster, said thgis in her remark.

She urged attendees at the event to channel strategic plans towards making health funding a major campaign tool ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The Anambra State Government said it was responding to four major Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), endemic in the state as every local government area is affected by one or more of the diseases.

Vincent Okpala, the state commissioner for health, disclosed this at a news conference on NTDs Interventions to mark the 2022 World NTDs Day, in Awka on Wednesday.

World NTDs Day is marked every January 30 to re-energise the drive to end the suffering from the NTDs that are caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins.

The Theme for this years World NTDs Day is Achieving health equity to end the neglect of poverty-related diseases.

Mr Okpala, a medical doctor, identified River Blindness, Elephantiasis, Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis, which includes Roundworm, Whipworm and Hookworms, as the NTDs endemic in the state.

He described NTDs as preventable communicable diseases prevalent in areas with poor sanitation, inadequate safe water supply and sub-standard housing conditions.

According to him, the diseases are considered neglected because they enjoy little funding, are almost absent from the global health agenda and are associated with stigma and social exclusion.

The commissioner said the state had been partnering with the Carter Center since 1995 to control and eliminate NTDs in communities in the state where over five million individuals were at risk of being infected with one or more diseases.

NTDs are currently posing significant health challenges in various communities in the state.

About 16 LGAs are endemic for River Blindness, 21 LGAs are endemic for Elephantiasis, 11 LGAs are endemic for Schistosomiasis and 12 LGAs are endemic for Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis.

More researches are still needed to identify other endemic communities not currently captured so they can be included in the treatment plan, he said

Mr Okpala said the state in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Carter Center, organised an annual NTDs programme to treat 80 per cent of the state population of over five million projected to be at risk.

READ ALSO: Nigeria to get revised guidelines to tackle NTDs

We recognise that among the consequences of NTDs are pain, blindness, disability, disfiguration, death, stigmatisation, low or no income, social withdrawal and poor standard of living for the affected individuals.

To prevent these consequences, we distribute NTD preventive medicines and community-based treatments annually in these endemic areas.

Health equity is a must for us. Attention must be given to rural dwellers to ensure that they receive quality and affordable health care services. Potable drinking water should be provided to them.

Also, grassroots sensitisation is the key. Let the neglect of these diseases stop in Anambra, he said.

The commissioner urged residents to report any case of Elephantiasis, River Blindness, Dog bite and Snakebite to the nearest health centre.

While encouraging the public to sleep inside mosquito bed nets to prevent vector transmitting diseases, Okpala advised them to go receive NTD drugs as the drugs are free, safe, and effective, he said.

(NAN)
The management of Prince Abubakar Audu University, formerly Kogi State University, Ayingba, Kogi State, has said the institution never at any time presented N2000 and N5000 cash gifts to best graduating students and those who made first-class during the recently concluded 6th combined convocation ceremonies.

The university blamed the reports of such a presentation in circulation to mischief-makers, saying such had never been the practice of the university.

The university was reacting to the report in some sections of the media that suggested such prizes were announced for the best graduating students, with an accompanying ridiculing comments that suggested Nigerias poor rewarding culture for academic excellence but social life.

But the management of the institution, which has just been renamed Prince Abubakar Audu University, has described the report as misinformation, in a statement signed by its vice-chancellor, Marietu Tenuche, a professor.

The university said it would soon announce its rewards to deserving graduates at the appropriate time.

Automatic employment

Mr Tenuche said the tradition of the university since inception was to offer automatic employment with an option of rejection to all first-class graduates in the institution, a policy he said has not been changed.

The vice-chancellors statement reads in part; For the records, it has been the tradition of the PAAU to offer automatic employment to her best graduating and overall best students with the option of refusal.

The best and overall graduating students who made first class at the 6th convocation ceremony held at the weekend of 29th January, 2022, could therefore not have been treated any less.

The PAAU had at no time, and did not after the 6th convocation, offer such reward to her best graduating and overall students who made first-class after painstaking and rigorous efforts to distinguish themselves.

Personal donations

The university said the monies given to the students were personal donations by individual lecturers and departments to appreciate academic excellence.

It explained that while the institution is yet to make a pronouncement of rewards for the students, the tradition was for donation by individuals to best graduating students to be paid into the universitys prizes account, while the university thereafter issues cheques to the deserving recipients.

The VC added; The reward to the students that is being misunderstood is only symbolic and a recognition by the individual lecturers as a way of appreciating their best students. This is a development considered a very rare privilege by lecturers and some individuals which ought to be commended. Sadly, it has been misread as the reward coming from the university.

It may interest those behind the misleading information to note that while the university is yet to make a pronouncement on the reward for the best graduating and first-class students, we are not unmindful of the fact that some individual lecturers in some faculties and departments of the students who excelled, with particular reference to the faculty of agriculture, made personal efforts to appreciate their best graduating students.

This should not be misconstrued to be the reward from the university administration, as a corporate entity.

New name

As of the time of its establishment in 1999, the institution was known as Kogi State University, but was changed to Prince Abubakar Audu University in 2002 and then back to Kogi State University in 2003.

In the last week of January 2022, Nuhu Ahmed, registrar and secretary to the governing council of the university, announced that Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has changed the name of the institution back to Prince Abubakar Audu, in honour of the founding father and the first democratically elected governor of the state.

This new step reportedly followed the passage of a bill to repeal and re-enact the law to establish Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba by the Kogi State House of Assembly and assented to by the governor.
Renowned rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana; a retired professor of Botany and pioneer member of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Omotoye Olorode, and the national president of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Godiya Ishaya, are among discussants to appraise strategies towards ending the frequent frictions between the Nigerian government and the labour unions.

The event, a symposium being put in place by the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), is part of activities scheduled to mark the associations first quarter meeting which holds Saturday, February 5 and Monday, 7.

According to the president of the association, Jumbo Aniefiok, organisers of the event, the programme is scheduled to hold both physically and virtually.

Some of the themes of the symposium include; Professionals, Political Struggles and Strikes- The Past, the Present and the Future; No Work, No Pay: Professionals, the Law and the Burden of Social Responsibility, among others.

Why such themes?

Speaking on the phone with our reporter, Mr Aniefiok said the effort is to highlight ways of averting frequent conflicts between the government and the unions of professionals in the interest of the Nigerian masses.

He said the speakers have been carefully selected considering their records of contributions to national struggles and labour movements the country and beyond, and their patriotism to the Nigeria project.

He said; We want to know steps to take in engaging the government as professionals so as to find ways to avoid going on strike if possible. Embarking on strikes frequently has not helped the doctors, patients and the government. That is why we want the speakers to enlighten us and the general public on how to engage in dialogues as professionals.

Mr Aniefiok said the meeting will also focus on examining the legality and steps to take when the government raises the no work, no pay rule.

That is why we are bringing in the human rights lawyer, Mr Falana, to educate us on how to take legal steps in such situations, he added.

NARD strike

Resident doctors across public health facilities in Nigeria were on strike for over 60 days between August 2, 2021 and October 6.

It was the third time the medical practitioners were on strike in 2021 alone over demands for allowances for treating COVID-19 patients and increment in basic salary.

At the root of the strike actions is usually the governments constant failure to honour agreements reached with NARD over its demands.

But since the strike was called off in early October in 2021, several engagements between the authorities and the doctors appear to be yielding positive results with the government approving about N50 billion for the payment of hazard allowance for health workers.
The founder of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, on Wednesday, celebrated the 33rd anniversary of Stanbic IBTC.

Stanbic IBTC is a financial institution that offers banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, institutions, and corporations in Nigeria and abroad.

In a tweet Wednesday, Mr Peterside noted that Stanbic IBTC was founded on February 2, 1989, when he was 33 years old.

Exactly 33 years ago, IBTC now @StanbicIBTC was founded when I was 33 years old, he wrote on the social media platform.

That was on 02 February 1989. Today, 33 years later I thank God for the lives of all those who played a part in building this great institution and in making it possible for me to look back 33 years

The company, listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange market on November 28, 2012, has outstanding shares of N12.9 billion.

Like other financial institutions, Stanbic IBTC has evolved with about eight subsidiaries.

Stanbic IBTC Pension is one of the major pillars of the groups assets.

Mr Peterside holds the position of non-executive director on the boards of Standard Bank Group Ltd and The Standard Bank Of South Africa Ltd.

The IBTC group recently announced its decision to establish a fintech firm to be christened Stanbic IBTC Financial Services Limited.
Nigerias Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, has called for a complete reorientation on the exercise of regulatory authority in the country because over-regulation is killing businesses.

According to him, for businesses and investors to thrive in the country, regulatory requirements need to be reduced and certification processes need to be faster.

According to a statement signed by Laolu Akande, Mr Osinbajos spokesperson, the VP said this on Tuesday, after receiving a report of an Ad-Hoc Committee of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC, on Agro-Export and the presentation of a National Action Plan 7.0 at the Presidential Villa.

He lamented that people who want to export cannot export as a result of too many regulatory requirements.

He said: There are too many regulatory requirements. Too many regulations kill output. We have to take a second look at how we regulate. Over-regulation is killing businesses. It kills investments. An agric exporter cant export perishable produce after months.

The statement said the Vice President also lamented that there are also processes of product certifications that take so long on the regulatory queues in Nigeria, while businesses from outside the country with swift regulatory regimes will then bring the same products into the country to sell.

He argued that because our certification processes are slow, others from outside nations (from neighboring countries based on an ECOWAS agreement) with faster processes can bring their products and sell here, while our own businesses are still on the queues of regulatory agencies.

The PEBEC Secretariat had earlier presented a report of the Ad-Hoc Committee of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council on Agro-Export where it was revealed among others that the exportation flow as regards payment and verification is extremely cumbersome.

It was also revealed that exporters complained about the imposition of the NAFEX rate on export proceeds, which limits their access to foreign exchange and their inability to utilize their export proceeds. It was alleged, for instance, that dollars domiciled in exporters accounts cannot be utilized for freight payment for export.

Other complaints include multiple physical cargo examinations by Pre-shipment Inspection Agencies, as well as overlapping documentation requirements from government regulatory agencies, among others.

The statement said the council resolved to approve an Agro-Export Action Plan that will remedy the situation and also approved a 60-day National Action Plan 7.0 that continues the ease of doing business reforms of the Buhari administration.

The new Plan kicks off on February 7, the statement said.
The seven aggrieved All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants in the just concluded primary election in Ekiti have said they would not leave the ruling party in spite of their grievances.

The Senator representing Ekiti Central, Opeyemi Bamidele, and Femi Bamisile, a member representing Ekiti South at the House of Representatives, who spoke on behalf of others, said this on Wednesday at a press conference in Ado-Ekiti.

They alleged the breach of partys constitution and vowed to address it politically and legally to serve as deterrent for future recurrence.

While addressing his campaign team across the 16 local government areas earlier, Mr Bamidele insisted on rejecting the outcome of the exercise which produced Biodun Oyebanji as the APC flagbearer for the June 18 election.

Mr Bamidele said, None of us is contemplating defection from APC, this is our party. We have contributed so much to it from the days of Alliance for Democracy (AD).

He, however, said as much as they would not dump the party, they would not hesitate to seek redress of the alleged electoral fraud perpetrated against them.

All we are asking for is justice. We are waiting for the national leadership to take the right step and this must start by them submitting a dummy name to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and use the two weeks window available as contained in the electoral act to do what is right in this matter.

I can be quoted that the name that will be taken to INEC in Abuja will be dummy name, so those celebrating should do that in moderation.

If it is part of their calculation that we will leave the party for them, they are making a mistake. We are still waiting for the national leadership on our collective position.

We have filed petitions and if they endorse that impunity they called primary, it will be clear that we have exhausted all the internal mechanisms for crisis resolution and we can then return to the court of law, Mr Bamidele said.

He alleged that the exercise was hijacked with the distribution of election materials a day before, changing of collation centres and arbitrary appointment of officials to do Mr Oyebanjis biddings to compromise and subvert the will of the people.

He narrated how campaign managers, sponsors and promoters of Biodun Oyebanji were appointed and saddled with the responsibility as Returning Officers in the 16 LGAs for the exercise.

Out of the 16 Returning Officers appointed, 11 of them were with Oyebanji when he collected his expression of interest form at the party secretariat in Abuja.

In several of our local governments, the venues of our collation centres were changed. At the appropriate time, we will give evidence that will put all of us in public court and that will be useful in the court of law.

Available INEC report shows that there was no voting, no valid primary election in Ekiti.

One thing I can assure you is that the last is yet to be heard about the Ekiti governorship primary. We will not stop at anything seeking for justice, he said.

Speaking on the matter, Mr Bamisile warned the security agencies against threatening people with arrest over the APC governorship crisis, saying such will not work.

This is our state, we are fighting for what we believe in, this is a democracy where everyone has the right to support whoever they like.

Nobody should threaten us with arrest, the only thing they can do to stop us is to allow justice in our party, he said. (NAN)
President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration is committed to honouring promises made to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) towards averting strikes, engender uninterrupted academic programmes and improve funding of education institutions.

A statement signed by Mr Buharis special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, noted that the President made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja when he recived members of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC).

NIREC members were led to the meeting by their co-chairmen, Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, and the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Samson Ayokunle.

Mr Buhari said he has directed the chief of staff, Ibrahim Gambari, a professor; ministers of labour and employment, and education, Chris Ngige and Adamu Adamu respectively, to make resolving this issue with ASUU a priority.

He said the government regards ASUU and the services they provide to the nation, even as he urged them to bear with the government and consider the economic realities the country is currently grappling with.

The statement read in part: Commending the leadership of NIREC for intervening in the year-long strike by ASUU and holding consultations with the parties, the President said no society which wishes itself well neglects its educational system and all its component parts.

President Buhari urged NIREC that in its subsequent consultations with members of ASUU, it is important that they share with them that the Government regards them and the service they provide to the nation very highly.

However, they should be cognizant of the fiscal pressures that we are currently facing. Nevertheless, we remain committed to honoring our promises.

For their part, I would like to encourage ASUU to continue to work with us towards finding resolutions to the challenges that confront us. My administration is committed to this engagement and dialogue, and I urge them to stay the course towards a joint resolution in the best interest of our children and nation.

Strike

ASUU, in December, exactly one year after it suspended a nine-month prolonged industrial action, threatened to commence another indefinite action if eight issues it identified remained unresolved by the government.

ASUU accused the government of failing to implement the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with the government to end the strike in 2020.

The union, however, suspended the planned strike following interventions by NIREC and other concerned Nigerians.

ASUUs Demands

A part of ASUUs demands had included the issue of sustainability of the autonomy of universities, which it said the introduction of IPPIS violates.

ASUU has, however, said it is pleased with the ratings of NITDA on UTAS, saying it wondered why it took NITDA a year to come up with a report on the solution.

NIREC pleads with the government

CAN President, while speaking on behalf of the Council, said the meeting with the President was on the single point of averting strikes in the universities and the challenges of ASUU, which they consider to be of national interest.

Mr Ayokunle told the President that from NIRECs meeting with ASUU on January 10, 2022, the university lecturers outlined that the bone of contention between the union and federal government centred on eight issues including inconclusive renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, UTAS, IPPIS and distortion in salary payment challenges.

According to him, other contentious issues are reports of visitation panels to federal universities, funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowance, poor funding of state universities and promotion arrears.

NIREC leadership, while acknowledging that some of the issues have been addressed by the government, appealed to President Buhari to direct the immediate return to the table to conclude the re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement.

If the renegotiation process continues to conclusion, issues that the government is not comfortable with can be re-negotiated with a view to reaching only implementable agreements. We believe that with renegotiation in place, other issues will be adequately addressed along the line, he said.

Progress report

In his response, Mr Buhari expressed his commitment to meeting ASUUs demands highlighting several payments made to the university lecturers and moves to address all of their demands.

He said funding has been provided for infrastructural development across several public universities and that several of them have begun drawing down on this facility to improve their level of infrastructure.

He said the adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS) developed by ASUU to replace the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) has also reached an advanced stage.

The President said: Finally, and perhaps the most contentious of issues regarding the decision to use either the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS) or the University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS). As you may be aware, IPPIS was introduced as a means of blocking leakages. Through IPPIS, the federal government was able to save over N100 billion annually from the core civil service alone. In view of the resistance from ASUU we devised UTAS which is now on the table.

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I have also been informed that the System Assessment Report conducted by NITDA has been shared by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to all stakeholders including ASUU, and they are to make the appropriate modifications and report their recommendations.
The National Assembly caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sign the revised Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law.

The lawmakers said the president no longer has a reason to delay or decline assent to the bill because the National Assembly has given him what he wanted.

They made this call during a meeting with members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

The PDP caucus is one of many groups urging the president to quickly sign the bill into law so that the electoral reforms can be implemented.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the bill was transmitted to the president for assent on Monday  one week after the Senate and House of Representatives made final changes to the legislation.

They amended the controversial Clause 84 of the bill, which deals with the mode of primary election to be used by political parties to select candidates for elective offices, and also the Clause Mr Buhari complained about.

In the previous version, the lawmakers prescribed that political parties use only the direct mode of primary. But Mr Buhari rejected it, citing insecurity, the cost of conducting direct primaries and infringement on the rights of Nigerians to participate in governance as his reasons.

He, however, promised to sign the bill if changes are made to the Clause, to include other options.

The Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, who led the caucus, was the first to make the call.

He stressed that the president has no reason to delay assent to the bill after the lawmakers have bent backwards for him.

The president, in rejecting the earlier one transmitted to him in November last year, said indirect and consensus mode of primary elections were added to the new one as requested by President Buhari.

Now that we have bent backwards, no excuse or reason should be given again. Provisions of the bill are very critical for expected credibility of the 2023 general elections.

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, also alleged that some governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress are lobbying the president not to sign the bill.

This, he said, will be met with great resistance by the PDP and many Nigerians generally because of other very important provisions in the bill like section 52 which deals with electronic transmission of election results.

The plan of using mandatory direct primaries to scuttle the bill has failed because the National Assembly has widened the scope as requested for by the President.

No other unresolved issues or observations is left in the bill transmitted to the President on Monday this week. No more excuses, no more delay, it should be signed in the interest of credibility and sanctity of electoral process in the country, he said.

The Caucus also mocked the APC for setting up a 133-member campaign committee, inclusive of 16 serving governors, for the forthcoming Area Councils Election in FCT  an election he said the APC will not get.

He said instead of the APC to focus on holding its National Convention that has been postponed several times, it is carrying hammer to kill ant by enlisting 16 serving governors, 12 serving ministers and countless numbers of other public office holders at the federal level to militarise Area Council Election in FCT.

This, to us in PDP, is laughable because throughout the 16 years we were in power at the centre, there was no time such a busy body campaign council was set up for FCT Area Council election.

Unfortunately for APC, the 133- member campaign council it set up, cannot deliver FCT for it because there is no way aliens or strangers in any place, will displace landlords.

Both the National Assembly caucus and the BoT assured party members and Nigerians that the party will work to reclaim the country and restore all that was lost.
Thousands of Nigerian investors who purchased MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTNN) shares during its initial public offering in December are qualified for the companys newly declared dividend for 2021.

Primary Offer, an online platform that allows investors buy into offers in the Nigerian Capital Market, said this in a note to investors Wednesday. The platform is operated by the Nigeria Exchange Limited, NGX.

The notice followed the Securities and Exchange Commissions approval of the allotment of shares from the sales, which investors oversubscribed by 139.5 per cent.

All shares allotted under the offer for sale are eligible for the proposed dividend which will be paid on 28 April, it said.

MTNN closed its Series 1 offer for sales of shares to the public, culminating in an allocation of 661.3 million shares to retail investors following a book-build last year.

MTNN made 575 million shares available but received a total application for 802 million units.

The public offer was first made known on November 26, 2021, which drew applications from 126,720 retail investors.

Primary Offer said subscribed shares will be credited to investors CSCS accounts on February 18.

MTN Nigeria announced its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021, and proposed a final dividend of 8.57k per share.

It advised shareholders who are yet to receive their CSCS numbers to log in to www.primaryofferng.com and check their profile or contact their stockbroker.

The promotional offer 1 free share for every 20 purchased (subject to a maximum of 250 shares) will be allotted to investors who hold their shares for 12 months till 31 January, 2023, it said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned Tuesdays coup attempt in Guinea-Bissau, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a press release.

The President condemned the attempt to subvert the established constitutional order in Guinea Bissau, Mr Shehu said.

The Nigerian leader also congratulated President Umaro Embalo of Guinea-Bissau on surviving the coup attempt.

He commended the loyal troops in Guinea-Bissau for the show of patriotism leading to their spectacular victory over the disloyal elements of the military.

According to the statement, Mr Buhari on Tuesday evening spoke with the Guinea-Bissau leader shortly after the military attempt to overthrow his government.

Extending goodwill and support to President Embalo, the Nigerian leader said, I look forward to working with you to strengthen the existing bilateral ties between our sisterly nations, and the defence and promotion of democracy and its values throughout the sub-region, and the entire continent.

Attempted Coup

Soldiers on Tuesday fired heavy gunfire near a government compound where the president had been chairing a cabinet meeting.

Both regional bodies and the United Nations condemned the act, describing it as an attempted coup.

President Embalo, hours later described it as a failed attack against democracy.

He said many members of his own security forces had been killed while some of the perpetrators had been arrested.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, imposed a fine of N200, 000 on the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, for scuttling the trial of four former co-defendants of Nnamd Kanu.

The four defendants  Bright Chimezie, Chidiebere Onwudike, Benjamin Maduagwu and David Nwaurusi  were until February 2018 co-defendants in the same case with Mr Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Binta Nyako, the trial judge, on February 20, 2018, ordered a separate trial for Mr Kanu, who had then stopped attending trial and fled the country for months following the invasion of his house in Abia State by the military in September 2017.

Mr Kanu, who was brought back to the country under unclear circumstances by the federal government in June last year, is now facing terrorism and treasonable felony charges alone in a separate case.

On Wednesday, Mrs Nyako ordered that each of Mr Kanus former co-defendants be paid N50,000 by the AGF for the inconveniences they suffered as a result of the absence of the lead prosecutor from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Shuaib Labaran.

Mrs Nyako, who was visibly angry at the way the trial was scuttled on Wednesday, ordered that the total sum of N200, 000 must be paid to the defendants before the next trial date fixed for March 17.

Hardship

The defendants had, through their lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, complained about the hardship they suffered to raise funds for their transportation to Abuja. They usually travel to Abuja for their trial from their various places of residence in the South-east region of the country.

There was no legal representation for the federal government at the time their case was called on Wednesday.

The judge was about to adjourn the suit when a lawyer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Adewumi Aluko, came in to apologise that the governments lead lawyer was out of the country.

Mrs Aluko informed the judge that two witnesses were in court, but would not want the case to proceed in the absence of the lead counsel. She then sought an adjournment.

Her apology did not go down well with the judge who warned the federal government to be more serious in the trial of the defendants.

Similarly, Mrs Nyako advised the defence lawyers to stop using frivolous applications to delay the trial which started since 2015.

Backstory

The four defendants were charged along with Mr Kanu, who later stopped attending trial and fled the country after the Nigerian army invaded his Afara-Ukwu Ibeku home in Abia State.

Messrs Chimezie, Onwudiwe, Madubugwu and Nwawuisi, aged between 33 and 45, who are facing three-counts charge of conspiracy to commit treasonable felony and illegal possession of firearms, were arrested in 2016.

They were initially charged along with Mr Kanu, but the judge, in February 2018, ordered the separation of their trial from that of the IPOB leader, whose absence was found to be unduly delaying the case at the time.

Mrs Nyako in granting them bail, said she had carefully considered the consolidated application for bail submitted by their counsel and the number of years they had spent in prison custody.

She added that the defendants are not allowed to travel outside the country, that they are to deposit their travelling documents with the Federal High Court registrar.

The judge ordered that they were not to be seen in any gathering at any time or grant interviews to journalists or any other person.
A Nigerian student has narrated how some police officers at gunpoint extorted over N1 million from him.

The incident reportedly happened around 1 p.m. on Saturday in Benin, Edo State, Nigerias South-south.

The student, Clement Ehinomen told PREMIUM TIMES, Monday, that about four officers inside a bus used their vehicle to abruptly block his car  a Mercedes Benz GLK  in the middle of the road, and then forced him, and a male relative, out of the car.

All the officers were armed and were pointing their guns at him, Mr Ehinomen, 24, said.

The bus was not painted with police colours and the officers were not wearing police uniform, which made Mr Ehinomen to be confused if they were really police officers or robbers.

They wore black t-shirts and jeans trousers. I was scared, I was crying. They operated like armed robbers, he said.

I dont smoke, I dont drink, and I dont drive recklessly. They asked me for my drivers licence and car particulars, I gave them. They checked my car, checked the spare tire, everything was intact.

After the car was searched and nothing incriminating was found, the officers took Mr Ehinomen and his relative, whom he said was feeling unwell, to a lonely police facility in the outskirts of Benin were they were detained in a police cell.

Mr Ehinomen said the officers forced him to call friends and relatives to wire money into his bank account so he could hand it over to them.

They told me to start calling people who could give me N7 million or else they would not leave me, Mr Ehinomen said. They started taking me around the town.

Mr Ehinomen said he called a friend who transferred N1 million to his account. One person sent N50,000, while another sent N14,000.

Apparently to avoid the money being traced to them, the officers refused to have it transferred to them electronically, they preferred cash.

They (the officers) said they would not receive the money in their account, so they took me to a POS to withdraw all the money. When I was withdrawing the money, the person (the POS operator) asked me why I was withdrawing a huge amount of money.

The police (officers) saw me talking to the person, they came out from their vehicle and started slapping me.

They collected the money from me, took me to the police station and released me and my brother.

That was around 8 p.m.

The student, not knowing who to report the incident to, took to Twitter to share his ordeal, and was fortunate to attract the intervention of individuals and groups, including Segun Awosanya, a human rights activist, popularly known as Segalink.

From there, Mr Ehinomen got a call from the spokesperson of the police in Edo State, Bello Katongs.

Mr Katongs, Tuesday, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES but said the police wanted to be sure the people who did it were truly officers.

Mr Katongs said he met with the victim, Mr Ehinomen, and that they were planning to go out with him to identify if the people are truly police officers.

He got back his money

Mr Ehinomen on Monday uploaded on twitter a photo showing wads of naira notes on a table.

We thank God. I have received my money and the officers have been detained. I saw them, he wrote.

PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Ehinomen why he thinks the officers targeted him.

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They started profiling me because they saw me drive a flashy car, he responded.

With the way they acted, theres no hope for anybody in this country. I would definitely demand they should be dismissed (from the police), he added.

Mr Awosanya, in his twitter post on the extortion, advised Nigerians to avoid generalisation when discussing corruption in the police.

The same police institution have officers ready to assist in fighting crime within the system provided we report with evidence, he said.

The police spokesperson in Edo, Mr Katongs did not respond to further calls and a text message seeking to know what action the police would take against the erring officers.
Five members of the family of the chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) at Federal University Gusau, Abdurahman Adamu, have been abducted by suspected bandits.

A worker at the bursary department of the university, Alhaji Abbas, was also abducted during the raid of their Damba Estate in Gusau on Tuesday night.

The estate was built for state government workers but later sold to individuals.

A worker of the university, Anas Sani, told Premium Times that the bandits had targetted the ASUU Chairman.

They were there for him but fortunately for him he didnt sleep at home. Five of his family members were abducted, he said.

ALSO READ: Police rescue four abducted university students

Premium Times learnt that the victims include a brother, niece, nephew and two sisters-in-law of Mr Adamu.

No contact has been made for ransom as of the time of filing this report.

The house of the bursary staff, who is a neighbour of the ASUU Chairman, was also attacked but none of his family members was taken.

When contacted by Premium Times, the police spokesperson in the state, Mohammed Shehu, said he had no details of the attack yet.

Im presently at the venue of the screening for new recruits, give me 30 minutes to get the details of the attack. I need to go to the office before I can do that, he said over the phone.
The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill to increase jail time for bankers that breach the asset declaration law.

Section 1 of the Bank Employee Act provides that Every employee of a Bank shall, within fourteen days of the commencement of this Act, make full disclosure of all his assets.

In the case of a new employee, he shall within fourteen days of assuming duty with the Bank make full disclosure of all his assets at the time of his assuming duty; and for the purpose of this subsection, a transfer or secondment from one Bank to another shall be treated as new employment.

The bill, sponsored by Francis Waive (PDP, Delta), was debated on Wednesday and passed for second reading.

Mr Waives bill intends to amend sections 5 and 7(2) of the bank employee act.

Amendment to Section 7(2) of the Bill seeks to increase the punishment for not declaring assets from 10 years imprisonment in the principal Act to 20 years.

Any employee guilty of an offence under subsection (1) of this section shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for twenty years and shall, in addition, forfeit the excess assets or its equivalent in money to the Federal Government, he said.

In addition, the alteration to section 5 proposes to mandate Chief Executive Officers to provide movement of workers in the banking sector within 12 months.

The Chief Executive of every bank shall once in every year, but not later than 7th January submit to the appropriate authority a list of all employees who joined or left the employment of the bank in the immediate proceeding 6months expiring on 31st December of the proceeding year, it reads.

Debate

Mr Waive said the proposed amendment will provide data to monitor the movement of employees to stem the fraud perpetrated by bankers.

He noted that section 5 seeks to make sure that employees of banks can be fully accounted for at any time.

It is no longer news that computer fraud which includes hacking of peoples accounts forms part of a majority of the fraud perpetrated in our country in recent times and has consistently been on the rise.

It is also true that most of the online fraud carried out are perpetuated with bank staff as collaborators. And in some cases involving staff who is no longer in the employment of the Bank, he said.

Uzoma Abonta (PDP, Abia), while speaking in support of the bill, said directors should also be classified as employees of the bank.

READ ALSO: Reps consider prohibiting bankers from operating foreign accounts

Directors of banks, for this purpose should be interpreted to be employees of banks. We see directors assessing loans without collateral.

Bank owners, anybody who is related to the bank should be dimmed to be an employee of the bank so that the directors of the bank will not be richer than the deposit owners.

If you look at it, for example, most banks that failed, the directors will simply form another bank and then they move on and then NDIC will give people N500,000, he said.

Ahmed Gagdi (PDP, Plateau), also contributed to the debate. He said banks in Nigeria are frustrating customers.

Speaking against the bill, Robert Tyough, said the 20years proposed by the bill is too much for a fraud case and the annual declaration of assets is too tedious.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency after it was put to vote by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.
At a time insecurity is ravaging Nigeria, critical stakeholders must continue to do everything possible to address youth unemployment, one of the factors aggravating the countrys security challenges.

With white-collar jobs are becoming rare luxuries in modern-day Nigeria, emphasis has since shifted to promoting entrepreneurship, skills and talent development among the youth.

To drive socio-economic growth, and address the problem of unemployment, many economic experts are of the view that imparting requisite entrepreneurial skills, especially in the youth must start from tertiary institutions, preparatory to the graduation of students.

At the moment, entrepreneurship development is fully studied or better still offered as a course in most Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, which attach a great premium to boosting entrepreneurial studies, and equally offer this as courses.

While a university is a high-level educational institution in which students study for degrees and academic research is carried out, a polytechnic is a technical educational institution focusing on practical and skills-oriented training, especially in the field of engineeering, technology, among others.

A college of education competes with normal schools in the preparation of teachers. Teacher education, curriculum building, and instruction remain the core offering of colleges or schools of education.

Recently, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) challenged polytechnics and colleges of education in the country to redouble their efforts in entrepreneurship and skills development.

The Executive Secretary of the Fund, Professor Suleiman Bogoro, made the call at a capacity building workshop for heads of selected institutions and staff of TETFund Centres of Excellence.

Bogoro called on the Centres of Excellence in the polytechnics to focus on skills development, entrepreneurship and the enabling of relevant start-ups, even as he lamented that most of the low and medium-skilled jobs in the country are being handled by people from Francophone countries.

Speaking in the same vein, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Professor Idris Muhammad Bugaje said polytechnics must wake up to their responsibility of producing skilled manpower for the country.

The NBTE boss expressed serious concern that most major infrastructure projects in the country are being dominated by skilled personnel from other countries.

There is need for our polytechnics to be focused on skills training, that is why we say from 2023, NBTE shall never go for the accreditation of any polytechnic where there is not a single skills training centre, Bugaje said.

There are indices globally associated with Centres of Excellence, especially in bringing about innovation and development. Higher institutions of learning, especially the polytechnics should focus more on skills development and the support of entrepreneurship, start ups, among others.

In the areas of competitive advantage, skills development is central and fundamental. Polytechnics should have the capacity to develop skills or the entrepreneurial ability of students and researchers.

It is worrisome and embarrassing to observe that in some construction sites there are more foreigners than Nigerian workers, despite the fact that our polytechnics are churning more than enough skilled manpower on engineering and technical for the construction industry.

We should recall that TETFund had recently established Centres of Excellence in six polytechnics and six colleges of education.

The beneficiary institutions selected equally from each of the six geo-political zones in the country are: Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, Nasarawa State; Federal College of Education, Pankshin, Plateau State (North Central); Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Bauchi State; Federal College Education, Yola, Adamawa State (North East); Federal Polytechnic, Kaduna, Kaduna State; and Federal College of Education, Zaria, Kaduna State (North-West).

Also, the South-East has Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State and the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, Imo State. The South-Souths beneficiaries include Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State and Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, Rivers State.

Yaba College of Technology, Lagos and Adeyemi College Education, Ondo State made the list for the South-West.

At a time insecurity is ravaging Nigeria, critical stakeholders must continue to do everything possible to address youth unemployment, one of the factors aggravating the countrys security challenges.

TETFunds charge to our polytechnics and Colleges of Education to aggressively boost entrepreneurship and skills development could not have come at a better time.

Rahma Olamide Oladosu writes from Abuja.
Today, a plethora of smart devices and the rise of artificial intelligence are transforming public safety technology into an autonomous partner that can help keep society safe.

Digital technology is a vital tool in helping public safety institutions to prevent and fight crime more efficiently and effectively and serve citizens better. It has the potential to transform the way public safety is delivered in our communities.

The digitisation of police and other public safety institutions is helping in facilitating effective, efficient, and proactive policing.

Through public safety technology, law enforcement and safety institutions provide more data  accurately and transparently  as a fundamental step in creating true community policing that brings officers, citizens, and decision-makers together.

Public safety involves protecting the people, communities, and the economy against crimes, disasters, and other potential dangers and threats to their wellbeing and prosperity.

Essentially, the primary goals of public safety institutions are to protect, prevent, detect and respond proactively to solve incidents/threats by ensuring effective coordination among relevant agencies during and after such incidents.

Law enforcement officers, firefighters, ambulance and rescue personnel, those in drugs and narcotics control, road traffic controllers, communications and dispatch manpower, public employees, and emergency service providers are among prominent public safety professionals.

With the effect of the global coronavirus pandemic, both citizens and safety leaders are more ready than ever to embrace technology for public safety and security.

For effective public safety and security, China has developed an AnBot to patrol banks, airports, and schools. In Dubai, touchscreen-equipped robot officers now patrol tourist attractions.

It is reported that the deployment of Artificial Intelligece (AI) is helping the city of New Orleans to analyse evidence from more than 325 cameras. This has helped police in 70 per cent of cases by providing relevant video and information, and saving the department more than 2,000 hours of manual labour.

Smart streetlights with cameras, microphones and sensors, smart traffic signals, smart intersections, smart emergency vehicles, and smart buildings are among the numerous public safety technologies that use computers to gather intelligence about traffic, accidents, and crimes.

Today, a plethora of smart devices and the rise of artificial intelligence are transforming public safety technology into an autonomous partner that can help keep society safe.

Smart streetlights with cameras, microphones and sensors, smart traffic signals, smart intersections, smart emergency vehicles, and smart buildings are among the numerous public safety technologies that use computers to gather intelligence about traffic, accidents, and crimes.

Others are audio, video, and other sensory data from smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as drones, body-worn cameras, facial recognition equipment, biometrics, voice technology, robots, and automatic license plate recognition tools.

These improve communications, create transparency and strengthen a communitys ability to respond to crises, helping to make them safer and more resilient.

These public safety technologies are also giving first responders and emergency managers near real-time awareness and a vast knowledge base for policy decisions, training, and continuous improvement.

Globally, communication technologies are pervading every sector and bringing significant improvement in the ways we gather, process, and share information.

The emerging Fifth Generation (5G) technology and its revolutionary connectivity capabilities are at the vanguard of this transformation. This new technology provides higher speed, lower latency, and greater capacity than the existing 4G networks.

Its high connectivity speed is expected to drive emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and IoT, among many others.

Designed to increase transmission, 5G is expected to boost public safety communications that would help create smarter, safer and more sustainable communities.

the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) will not only suffice but it would also serve as the hub for the development of indigenous innovative solutions to our domestic public safety and security challenges.

Nigeria is among the developing economies that have initiated a national policy for the deployment of the 5G communication networks to consolidate its national digital agenda and the digital economy.

Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered all security and safety-related institutions to immediately leverage the emerging Fifth Generation (5G) technology to tackle insecurity in the country as soon as it is deployed.

The president declared that the Federal Government has resolved to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by 5G to improve the countrys economy, national security, and well-being of the people.

To this end, he directed the minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mallam Isa Ali Pantami, to supervise the implementation of the policy being carried out by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), alongside other government institutions.

Apart from the Nigerian armed forces, other public safety institutions are the Police, Department of State Services (DSS), the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC); the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Fire and Ambulance Services, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), just to name a few.

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From the foregoing, it is evident that technology plays a pivotal role in the management of public safety and security, and Nigeria needs to embrace emerging technologies to tackle the situations in the country.

As much as the effort of the government remained commendable, there is an urgent need for the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to liaise with NCC and NITDA to implement the adoption of emerging technologies in the public safety and security sector.

Public safety and security professionals need to embark on lifelong learning to keep abreast of technological development in their areas of specialisation.

On this point, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) will not only suffice but it would also serve as the hub for the development of indigenous innovative solutions to our domestic public safety and security challenges.

Inyene Ibanga writes from Wuye District, Abuja; email: inyeneibanga@yahoo.com.
Press Release

February 2, 2022 Senate ratifies bicam report on SIM card registration bill The bill that would curb fraud and other crimes aided by subscriber identity module (SIM) cards is now closer to becoming a law. This, as the Senate ratified Wednesday, (Feb. 2) the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 2395 and House Bill No. 5793, or the proposed SIM Card Registration Act. Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services who led the upper chamber's contingent to the bicam, said the conferees were able to reconcile several conflicting provisions of the two legislative proposals. "The bicameral conference committee agreed to use the House version as the working draft but made use of a lot of the Senate provisions," Poe reported to her colleagues during Wednesday's hybrid plenary session. Among the agreements settled by the bicameral panel, according to Poe, is to mandate all public telecommunications entities (PTEs) to require the registration of SIM cards as a prerequisite to their sale and activation. Similarly, all social media networks must also require the real name and phone number of users upon creation of account, the bicam report stated. All existing SIM card subscribers with active services shall register within 180 days from the effectivity of the proposed law. PTEs will be authorized to deactivate SIM card numbers that have not been registered within the prescribed period. Poe said that lawmakers have clarified that the sale of SIM cards to foreign nationals shall be allowed, provided that they comply with certain requirements, such as their passport and proof of address in the Philippines, among others. Data collected from registration shall be forwarded and kept by the concerned PTE to a centralized database, which shall strictly serve as a register for the processing, activation or deactivation of subscription, and shall not be used for any other purpose. "Whatever information obtained in the registration process cannot be disclosed to any person except in compliance with any law authorizing disclosure, such as in the case of the Data Privacy Act; or in compliance with a court order or any other legal process; or with the written consent of the subscriber. No waiver of absolute confidentiality is allowed," Poe assured. She said the bicameral conference committee likewise added an important provision mandating PTEs and social media providers to keep relevant data and information for 10 years from the time the end-user deactivates his or her mobile number or social media account. "We hope that by legislating this measure, we would be able to eradicate mobile phone, internet or electronic communication-aided criminal activities. This has been a long time coming but I hope that the passage of this bill will result in a safer and more secure mobile-use and cyberspace here in our country," Poe said. Bicam report sa SIM card registration bill pinagtibay ng Senado Malapit nang maging batas ang isang panukala na susugpo sa panlilinlang at iba pang krimen gamit ang subscriber identity module (SIM). Ito'y matapos ratipikahan ng Senado noong Miyerkoles, (Pebrero 2), ang bicameral conference report sa mga pinagtagpong mga probisyon ng Senate Bill No. 2395 at House Bill No. 5793, o panukalang SIM Card Registration Act. Ayon kay Sen. Grace Poe, Senate public services committee chair, napagkasunduan ng mga kasama sa bicam ang ilang magkasalungat na probisyon ng dalawang legislative proposal. "Napagkasunduan sa bicameral conference committee na gamitin ang bersyon ng Kamara bilang working draft subalit mas ginamit ang maraming probisyon ng Senado," pahayag ni Poe sa kanyang ulat sa hybrid plenary session. Ilan sa mga napagkasunduan sa bicameral panel ayon kay Poe ay ang mandato na lahat ng public telecommunications entities (PTEs) ay inoobligang magparehistro ng SIM cards bilang prerequisite sa kanilang pagbebenta at activation. Bukod diyan, nakasaad din sa bicam report na lahat ng social media network ay dapat hingan ng tunay na pangalan at phone number ng mga user sa pagbuo ng account. Lahat ng umiiral na SIM card subscribers na may active service ay kailangang magparehistro sa loob ng 180 araw mula sa pagiging aktibo ng naturang batas. Ang PTEs ay pinahihintulutang mag-deactivate ng SIM card numbers na hindi narehistro sa loob ng itinakdang panahon. Sabi ni Poe, nilinaw ng mga mambabatas na pinapayagan din ang pagbenta ng SIM cards sa mga dayuhan basta't sumusunod sila sa ilang requirement tulad ng passport at pruweba ng kanilang address sa Pilipinas, bukod sa iba pa. Ang mga datos na nakolekta mula sa pagpaparehistro ay ipapasa at itatago ng PTE sa isang centralized database na magsisilbing rehistro para sa proseso, activation o deactivation ng subscription at hindi dapat gamitin sa anumang layunin. "Anumang impormasyon na makukuha sa registration process ay hindi maaaring ibunyag sa sinuman maliban na lang kung pagsunod sa anumang batas na nag-aatas sa pagbunyag nito, tulad ng Data Privacy Act'; o pagsunod sa court order o anumang legal process; o written consent ng subscriber. Hindi pinapayagan ang waiver of absolute confidentiality," pagtitiyak ni Poe. Idinagdag din ng bicameral conference committee ang isang mahalagang probisyong nag-aatas sa PTEs at social media providers na itago ang mga makabuluhang datos at impormasyon sa loob ng 10 taon mula sa panahon na nag-deactivate ang end-user ng kanyang mobile number o social media account. "Umaasa kami na sa pamamagitan nito, masasawata na ang mga mobile phone, internet o electronic communication-aided criminal activity. Inaasahan nating magkakaroon ng mas ligtas na mobile use at cyberspace sa ating bansa," diin ni Poe.
The chasm between Unitary Federalists and the Restructuralists emanate from the conflicting outlooks regarding the process of handing down the 1999 Constitution to the protection of the federal character principle, and the division of responsibilities between the Federal Government and sub-national units, as outlined in the 1999 Constitution.

Two contending perspectives have emerged in response to one of Nigerias most pressing public policy challenges: Restructuring. These may be classified as the Unitary Federalists and the Restructuralists. The term unitary federalists is an oxymoron. But that is the puzzling juncture where Nigeria is ensconced: Operating a unitary system behind the facade of federalism. The genesis of Nigeria devolving from the federal system adopted in the Independence (1960) and Republican (1963) constitutions to a unitary federalist system is traceable to 29 years of serial military interventions.

The chasm between Unitary Federalists and the Restructuralists emanate from the conflicting outlooks regarding the process of handing down the 1999 Constitution to the protection of the federal character principle, and the division of responsibilities between the Federal Government and sub-national units, as outlined in the 1999 Constitution. The unitary federalists seem content with the current arrangements on all issues. By insisting on maintaining the status quo, the unitary federalists are not unaware of existing structural defects, nor do they deny the problems posed by the current system. Instead, they seem certain that these problems would be resolved ultimately, without providing a roadmap for doing so and seemingly oblivious of the strains that the current political arrangements impose on Nigeria.

The point of divergence for the Restructuralists begins with comparing the political processes leading to the enactment of the 1979 and the 1999 constitutions. They acknowledge that the adoptions of both constitutions were preceded by the establishment of constitution drafting committees composed of eminent Nigerians. There the similarity ends. The Restructuralists note that while the key recommendations from the constituent assembly of 1978 were largely incorporated into the 1979 Constitution, the key recommendations from the 1994-1995 Constitutional Review Conference were omitted from the 1999 Constitution. An important example was the omission of the rotational presidency, which had been incorporated in section 229 (1) of the stillborn 1995 Constitution, leading to the lingering national discontent on equitable power sharing.

The Restructuralists also complain about the deviations from several provisions of the 1999 Constitution, especially with regard to the protection of the principle of federal character. Specifically, the Restructuralists maintain that the letter and spirit of sections 14 (3) and 171 (5) of the 1999 Constitution have been breached in the appointments to and composition of leadership positions in several agencies, thus undermining the constitutional commitment to promoting national unity. Not surprisingly, the Restructuralists deem the 1999 Constitution as being of dubious provenance.

With subtlety, the Restructuralists hint that the Unitary Federalists are culpable for the non-implementation of the reports of the 2005 National Political Reform Conference and the 2014 National Political Conference, which would have addressed a myriad of the outstanding political issues. However, this charge leveled by the Restructuralists fails to stand close scrutiny in so far as preoccupation with their self-interests

The Restructuralists make their case for reforms on the basis of the experience in the pre-military federal constitutions and are inspired by best practices of other countries around the world that operate functional federal systems of government. Hence, they canvass for the devolution of powers from the federal to the sub-national levels in carefully selected areas. These include areas such as state policing, natural resources control and management, corporate registration, public utilities supply, and judicial reforms, which all seek to strike a new balance between the states and the Federal Government.

With subtlety, the Restructuralists hint that the Unitary Federalists are culpable for the non-implementation of the reports of the 2005 National Political Reform Conference and the 2014 National Political Conference, which would have addressed a myriad of the outstanding political issues. However, this charge leveled by the Restructuralists fails to stand close scrutiny in so far as preoccupation with their self-interests, rather than commitment to a set of deeply held values and ideology, animates the actions of political leaders on both sides of the debate. This explains why most political leaders are restructuralists and progressives, when out of power, but become unitary federalists and conservative, when in power.

While inertia on constitutional and political reforms persists, the contest for Nigerias presidency has become a convenient modality which aspirants use for promising desired constitutional reforms. Incorporating pledges on restructuring in the platforms of political parties has become the default approach in making the electorate look forward to major structural political reforms. More often than not, those pledges on restructuring are disowned or discarded upon the coming to power.

At issue is how best to manage the countrys diversity through a political process that is fair, equitable and generates a deep sense of belonging in all citizens. The failure of the political process to deliver on these national objectives has led to pervasive discontent. Whenever these issues have generated much political tensions, pessimists are quick to point to the danger of national disintegration.

The forthcoming 2023 presidential election is likely to follow a similar trajectory, marked by a surfeit of promises on constitutional and political reforms. The intensification of the political rhetoric on the zoning arrangement for the presidency only heightens these probabilities. Already, various groups from the North and South have staked claims on their turn to contest the presidency, leading to increased political acrimony. This is at once evidence of national dissonance arising from unresolved issues of equitable power and resource sharing, as it is indicative of the lack of elite consensus, one of the most important issues of national interest.

At issue is how best to manage the countrys diversity through a political process that is fair, equitable and generates a deep sense of belonging in all citizens. The failure of the political process to deliver on these national objectives has led to pervasive discontent. Whenever these issues have generated much political tensions, pessimists are quick to point to the danger of national disintegration. Nigeria has, however, always managed to pull back from the precipice. As one of us posited elsewhere, the cumulative effect of these episodes of national political brinksmanship is analogous to a person who has suffered from a series of strokes or heart attacks: the physical health is never steady or normal thereafter.

Nigerias political leaders, in their moments of exuberance, declaim that Nigeria will emerge stronger from every crisis it has encountered. Nigerias history has not borne out that affirmation. Instead, its experience mimics a serial sufferer of strokes and heart attacks, emerging weaker after each episode. This is why Nigeria is weaker than it would have been without those episodic bouts of political crises. Lurching from one political or security crisis to another is not a recipe for resilient nation building. If Nigeria must fulfill her aspirations for a united, prosperous and peaceful country, anchored on justice and equity, and thus re-claim her leadership role, transformative leaders  statesmen/women  need to emerge in place of transactional political leaders.

Ejeviome E. Otobo is a non-resident senior expert at the Global Governance Institute, Brussels, while Oseloka H. Obaze is managing director and chief executive officer, Selonnes Consult in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.
It was a different era. The Village Headmaster was for a different era. But even that is up in the air. Is Oja village, where everybody is a stranger, situated on a no mans land of the past, present or the future? Is Oloja of Oja of the past, present or the future? Does Bassey Okon belong to the past or present? Does Amebo belong to now or then? What do we make of Chief Odunuga, the sole kingmaker, and his overbearing influence on Oloja? Is he of the past, the present or the future?

I was combing through the stretch of books on the shelf last week in search of a particular book, when I caught sight of the slim title, The Village Headmaster by Segun Olusola. I pulled it out. Long time, I found myself saying, knowing I had not set eyes on the book in a looonnng time. I could not even imagine how long until I opened it and realised it was autographed by Chief in 1996. Over 25 years ago. How time flies! I was as shocked upon realisation that it will soon be ten years since the Village Headmaster himself, Segun Olusola, passed on.

The book brought back a bit, in terms of memory about the man, the giants past, the TV series of the same title and how times have changed between our recent past and now. Thinking about it now, I wonder what might have been if we had not lost course; what The Village Headmaster might have made of today and the zazuing, zeing, yahooing, killing and the upscaling of the phenomenon of ise kekere, owo nla to that of if you no get money, hide your face. I wonder if we would have been here if we had kept to the narrow gauge and not give up on ours, from that from abroad. I wonder about globalisation and how that might have helped the slide into nothingness, with souls frozen in desperate pursuit of the material.

Chief Segun Olusola belonged to a completely different generation, in terms of values and outlook on life. Even among those of his generation, he stood out for a number of reasons, even as we agree that it was a bit easier to stand out then and get by, while placing greater value on culture and community than power and money. We live in different times now. No matter how accomplished you are in your field, you are not deemed a success until you have been so certified by virtue of one political position or the other. We live in an age in which a professor or journalist, who had risen through the ranks to the top, is only deemed made by appointment into a position of public service.

It was a different era. The Village Headmaster was for a different era. But even that is up in the air. Is Oja village, where everybody is a stranger, situated on a no mans land of the past, present or the future? Is Oloja of Oja of the past, present or the future? Does Bassey Okon belong to the past or present? Does Amebo belong to now or then? What do we make of Chief Odunuga, the sole kingmaker, and his overbearing influence on Oloja? Is he of the past, the present or the future?

Chief Segun Olusola was a truly wonderful man, who was also very accommodating and incredibly generous. After his years in broadcasting (he was the first Nigerian TV producer), he was appointed as Nigerias Ambassador to Ethiopia, where he distinguished himself. He retired to set up the African Refugees Foundation (AREF), while equally serving as patron or board member of numerous charity organisations

The Village Headmaster was written in 1964 as a half-hour series by Chief Olusola, building on his radio feature of 1958 of the same subject. He pitched the idea to his friend and boss, Dr Christopher Kolade, who bought into it, but production did not commence until 1968, shortly after Mr Sanya Dosunmu (now Olowu of Owu) was engaged as a producer by the then NBC-TV. Chief Olusola handed over to him the series description, the principal cast-list and a list of willing writers. However, the script for the first episode, Reception for an Alumnus was written and produced by Mr Sanya Dosunmu.

I met Mr Dosunmu and got to relate with him over a period in the early 90s, before he became an Oba and his recollection of events leaned more towards not having received enough recognition for his role on The Village Headmaster as much as he felt he deserved. But there was no dispute of the fact that the series was created by Chief Segun Olusola. The original play, which was not produced, was published in book form in 1977.

The list of those involved in the early production of the series was quite a rich one. There were Fela Davies, Nelson Olawaiye, Alex Akinyele and Demola James as writers. Ted Mukoro, Elsie Olusola, Jab Adu, Jimmy Solanke, Albert Egbe, Rosaline Birch, Thompson Okorote, Comish Ekiye, Molara Marquis, and Yinka Oginni were actors in the first episode. And a long list of names was to be made over the years, with some of the notable names becoming kings in real life.

Such was the nature of the man. Selfless. Completely sold out on the good of all and that of the community. Such men are hard to come by. The Village Headmaster might have been written in 1964, but something tells me that the Oja village of his imagination was not just of the past but of the future. Like the people of Oja, we are all strangers in a no mans land, afterall.

Chief Segun Olusola was a truly wonderful man, who was also very accommodating and incredibly generous. After his years in broadcasting (he was the first Nigerian TV producer), he was appointed as Nigerias Ambassador to Ethiopia, where he distinguished himself. He retired to set up the African Refugees Foundation (AREF), while equally serving as patron or board member of numerous charity organisations at the same time.

He was the go-to daddy for many of us in the arts community. He would, without hesitation, offer himself  space, time and sometimes, money  to support all sorts of arts and charity-related initiatives. His home was open to all. He served as chairman of all our events, arriving on time, and holding the audience spellbound with his rich voice and command of English, just as he would flawlessly deliver in Yoruba. He was a pensioner and did not have money to throw around, but he gave much more than money. His name opened doors. That name he put to use for many, writing one recommendation letter or the other. When the Lagos State government gave out a portion of the Old State Secretariat to his organisation for use, he opened the doors of the space to other civil society organisations, turning the place into a hub where some of the NGOs and/or practitioners today found their feet.

Such was the nature of the man. Selfless. Completely sold out on the good of all and that of the community. Such men are hard to come by. The Village Headmaster might have been written in 1964, but something tells me that the Oja village of his imagination was not just of the past but of the future. Like the people of Oja, we are all strangers in a no mans land, afterall. The Village Headmaster is about us rediscovering the fact that we have more in common than we assume. Hopefully, we will do so soon. We should be putting more into pulling together than pulling apart.

Simbo Olorunfemi works for Hoofbeatdotcom, a Nigerian Communications Consultancy and publisher of Africa Enterprise. Twitter: @simboolorunfemi
Despite lacking the constitutional power to do so, the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, ordered a restriction of movement in Ile-Ife, Osun Sttae, from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.over incessant criminal activities.

It was gathered that armed robbery, among other criminal activities, is gradually becoming the order of the day in the town.

The development was reported to have forced the traditional council members and some local security to keep vigil in some areas through the night, last Friday.

The Ooni, in a statement, through the Lowa of Ife, Abraham Ademola, had ordered restriction of movement in the town since Saturday night.

The Imperial Majesty, Oba Ogunwusi, has ordered lockdown from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.in Ife township from today, (Saturday).

No vigil, no night party, night prayers in all churches and mosques, among others.

This is because robbers and bandits presence in Ile-Ife is on high which is causing the community sleepless nights.

The police with the local securities are now in the community to ensure security. Anyone caught within these hours will be treated as such. The restriction is till further notice.

Oonis constitutional power

Monday Ubani, a former vice president of the Nigerian Bar Association, said he is not aware of any part of the Nigerian Constitution empowering a monarch to declare curfew anywhere in the country.

Curfew is within the power of a civil government, it is not within the power of any traditional ruler. Only the President, can declare a curfew, Mr Ubani said.

The 1999 Constitution, in sections 305 to 308, only recognises the powers of the president to declare a curfew in some parts, or the whole nation at large, due to threats to life, or security, or health emergencies, and that by law, a governor can not declare a curfew on his own.

Repeated attempts to speak with the police in Osun State were unsuccessful. Phone calls and text messages remained unresponded.

No curfew in any part of Osun

The Secretary to the Osun State Government, Wole Oyebamiji, said in a statement that there is no restriction of movement in any part of the state.

He, however, cautioned residents to avoid reckless movements especially at odd hours of the day.

The Government of the State of Osun wishes to inform the public that there is no curfew of any nature in any part of the state, the statement read.

The government is assuring citizens that Osun remains safe regardless of the activities of a few criminal elements. This government has never and will not fold its hands while a few criminal elements decide to violate the rights of other citizens.

Those found culpable of disrupting the peace of Osun will face the full weight of the law if apprehended. Anyone who has found delight in being a trouble maker has the option of relocating elsewhere if they cannot do without fomenting trouble.

Citizens are advised to cooperate with the government and security agencies by raising the alarm about suspicious movements within and around their communities. Citizens are also advised that, while going about their legal activities, they should avoid night crawling and moving about at odd hours of the day.
Budding trees and blooming flowers.

The return of robins, loons and other migrating birds.

The return of bees, butterflies and frogs.

Melting snow and lake ice.

Longer days and light in the evening.

Shedding the winter garments.

The myriad scents of flowering trees and plants.

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Budding trees and blooming flowers.

The return of robins, loons and other migrating birds.

The return of bees, butterflies and frogs.

Melting snow and lake ice.

Longer days and light in the evening.

Shedding the winter garments.

The myriad scents of flowering trees and plants.

Vote

View Results
Budding trees and blooming flowers.

The return of robins, loons and other migrating birds.

The return of bees, butterflies and frogs.

Melting snow and lake ice.

Longer days and light in the evening.

Shedding the winter garments.

The myriad scents of flowering trees and plants.

Vote

View Results
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Commenting on the new carbon tax and other policies emanating from the Green New Deal, which will significantly change the energy market not only in the EU, but also in the partner countries, former member of the German Bundestag Alexander Neu noted that there are still too many questions regarding the specific roadmaps to evaluate how effective the transition will be and if alternative energy sources could actually cover the needs of customers and industries.

Waldemar Herdt, former member of the German Bundestag says: "Energy security is the most important issue in peaceful times. Of course, if there would be a military conflict, that would be the topical issue, but now when we talk about energy security, it's not only about regular customers and social security, but also for production. The decisions taken now might lead to social unrest due to growing prices and to decrease in production. Nuclear energy is the cleanest type of energy and it can ensure necessary amounts, yet now it falls out of the "green list". It's clear that autonomous energy supply for Germany isn't in the interests of Ukraine, as transit gave them negotiation space and allowed to keep some of the transit gas for their own needs. The relations between Germany and USA can not be called a partnership, it's more like relations of a master, who dictates the rules, and a slave. The US aren't interested in Russian-German cooperation, so they push against it. It's quite clear that North Stream 2 gas is a cleaner energy source than liquefied gas brought in by tankers, yet the "green" are against it".

Christoph Horstel, publicist and federal chairman of Die Neue Mitte, says that North Stream 2 project has been politicized, which doesn't allow to see the actual benefits it could bring, moreover, without external supply and delivery from Gazprom Germany could end up "in its underpants", which means that there is no energy security at the moment, also given the fact that "alternative sources known and applicable today are not sufficient and are fundamentally unsuitable for creating the basic security needed due to extremely high costs and high risks".

Normunnd Grostins, the head of Latvian Future Research Institute, added that energy security of EU, and particularly, Germany, is threatened by political decisions that are taken without necessary pragmatic evaluation, and this could lead to further economic problems and social unrest.

"In 2022, the geopolitical agenda will still dictate the energy security supply. For the EU, the path towards a greener energy mix is still a remote target. Brussels is always looking for reliable and affordable energy supplies like renewables but EU countries still see nearly 90 % of the oil needs and 70 % of gas to be covered by imports (figures from 2020). As it turns out, even with more renewable energy, imported gas is likely to remain key in the EU's energy mix for decades to come" - says Professor Roberto de Primis, diplomat, representative of Belgium in the UN.

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SOURCE Deutsche Tagesspiegel
American political journalist Stephan Ebert called the Baltics a "troublesome area", which was caused by the issues the countries had with the Soviet Union and NATO membership. Despite of that, and despite of complicated political relations, trade with Russia has been very intense, which is a positive indicator, he added. Stephan highlighted the fact, that there is no need to be too concerned about the Russian troops being close to its borders as historically the only point when the troops were pulled away was in 1941, right before the Nazi invasion. He also pointed that the map of Hitler's "Greater Germany" looks very similar to the map of NATO today in Europe, which explains why Russia could be concerned by the situation around its borders. Escalations might be taking place, Ebert says, as "it seems that Ukrainian president Zevensky has a "get out of jail free" card from the West, allowing him to provoke Russia to fire across the border and get out with impunity, similarly to what happened in Georgia with president Saakashvili".

International relations expert Rishabh Sethi focused on the potential of cooperation between European and Asian countries in the emerging multipolar world and the strong partnerships that are being created between China, India, South Korea and EU countries. He highlighted the importance of investment, and visa-free travel for academic exchange and tourism development. India, is his opinion could offer collaborations in digital technologies and production.

Lithuanian publicist Kristoferis Voishka pointed out that the Baltic states are not independent in terms of their foreign policy, that largely depends on the EU and the USA making them "a buffer zone against Russia". Yet, he said, the geographical location of the Baltics could allow them to have constructive economic relation with both Europe and Asia, thus creating a mutually beneficial exchange.

Head of Latvian Future Research Institute Normunnd Grostins added: "for centuries our geographical location was used for logistics and trade between East and West, and now due to political problems, Finland, that has a less favorable geographical situation is benefiting from trade with Russia and China".

Member of Estonian parliament Oudekki Loone called for "no panic", as, in her opinion, it's quite clear that it is not in the Russian interests to cause any military conflict. "Keep calm and carry on", she said, "let's try to limit as little as possible the contacts between ordinary people, let them reestablish the economic and cultural ties, that have always been there in the region, let people's democracy take its course. I'm sure that in some years our ordinary people will improve the situation, and we will see the reality where diplomatic agreements between states are again possible."

Experts concluded that the current political tensions go against the strategic interests of the Baltic states and do not allow them to overcome the consequences of the pandemic in a fast and effective way through cooperation with the Eastern neighbors, including Russia.

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SOURCE RICIBAS
Fanplayr's proprietary, patented predictive marketing technology, using artificial intelligence, enables unprecedented consumer segmentation based on user behavior to drive their clients' growth in eCommerce channels or within their clients' own site. Brands will also benefit from the extension of Fanplayr products that follow up even after a consumer has left the website: emails, SMS notifications, offers and other content of interest.

Even in an uncertain year of COVID and supply chain failures, clients of Fanplayr increased their digital business with Fanplayr products allowing them to improve the conversion rates of their websites for the sale of products or services.

At the head of the Spanish division of Fanplayr is Juan Sevillano, an experienced professional in the AdTech industry for more than two decades. Sevillano has worked for companies such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Amazon and Tradedoubler, including working for Amazon Spain as Head Of AdTech within the Amazon Advertising division. Most recently, Sevillano has served as general director for Spain and Portugal for the Rocket Fuel programmatic purchasing platform and for the global multi-channel ad server Sizmek.

"Our clients are delighted with Fanplayr's behavioral prediction technology," says Juan Sevillano, General Director of Fanplayr in Spain. "The analytical view of customer data coupled with its segmentation capabilities helps customers develop attractive campaigns that achieve a significant increase in their conversion rate, as well as have a profound impact on their overall results."

Simon Yencken, co-founder and CEO of Fanplayr, points out: "Spain is a sufficiently mature market to welcome our predictive technology in key business and financial sectors. And I am sure that the implementation in this region will be something very beneficial for all the innovative brands that operate in Spain and want to offer the best digital experience for their customers."

Media Contact:

Nick Mitsis

[email protected]

MULTIMEDIA:

Print image for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/22-0202-s2p-fp-Sevillano-300dpi.jpg

Image caption: Juan Sevillano, General Director of Fanplayr in Spain.

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE Fanplayr
Today, AMPATH announced new partnership sites in Ghana and Mexico to meet the global need for strong health systems. Tweet this

The AMPATH global network builds partnerships between universities and academic health centers to strengthen health systems and tackle health disparities in low- and middle-income countries, train future global health leaders and foster healthcare innovations to improve health worldwide.

"At the core of the AMPATH partnership model is the belief that long-term, sustainable global health partnerships are the key to improving health around the world," said Adrian Gardner, MD, MPH, executive director of the AMPATH Consortium of 14 academic health centers from around the world led by Indiana University. "Academic medical centers working with ministries of health are uniquely positioned to be accountable for the health of a community and to lead with care in a way that empowers training and research," he continued. AMPATH's 30-year partnership in Kenya created one of Africa's most successful HIV care and control programs and has evolved to support a comprehensive population health model including economic empowerment, a seamless care system and universal health insurance.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Ghana's University for Development Studies (UDS) and Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) lead the new partnership site in Tamale with more than US$6.7 million over three years in initial funding from The Helmsley Charitable Trust and US$600,000 from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation over four years.

The Puebla site in Mexico brings together Dell Medical School at The University of Texas Austin and Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla (BUAP) Faculty of Medicine as the leading academic health centers working with the Ministry of Health of the State of Puebla (Secretaria de Salud Estado de Puebla  SSEP) with more than US$2.8 million in funding from Lilly over four years.

"For more than three decades, AMPATH has provided an opportunity for both Kenyans and North Americans to improve care and deliver training and research opportunities that are mutually beneficial to all members of the partnership as well as the populations we serve," said Dr. Paul Ayuo, AMPATH Replication Ambassador from Moi University, Kenya. "We look forward with great anticipation to building those same benefits with our colleagues in Ghana and Mexico."

The Helmsley Charitable Trust's support of the partnership in Ghana began with earlier funding for planning purposes. "Helmsley is committed to building resilience that can lead to sustainable change across Africa, and this can only happen with stronger health systems," said Walter Panzirer, trustee at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. "AMPATH's approach and partnership framework will build on the strengths of Ghana's existing healthcare system and serve as a resource to Ghana's health and education leaders. Importantly, the knowledge developed through this collaboration has the potential to extend far beyond Ghana."

Ghana's UDS School of Medicine (SoM) trains more than 1,000 medical professionals with a focus on care for the poor. "We are committed to the health of our fellow citizens and education of the next generation of healthcare providers," said Professor Stephen Tabiri, MD, PhD, FGCS, FACS, FWACS, Med (Adm), dean of UDS-SoM.

"We look forward to working in partnership with our new AMPATH colleagues to advance these goals and create innovations that can be used around the world to improve health for others as well," said past dean of UDS-SoM, Professor Francis Abantanga, MD, PhD.

"People of northern Ghana will receive enhanced care and trainees using TTH as a training centre will have access to world-class training modules developed through this partnership," David Ahadzi, MPH, PMP, head of TTH's Policy Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Department said. "We are looking at improved health outcomes for all our clients."

Rajesh Vedanthan, MD, MPH, MS, director of the Section for Global Health at the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity and associate professor in the Department of Population Health leads NYU Grossman School of Medicine's involvement in AMPATH. "The goals of our new partnership in Ghana align with AMPATH's mission to strengthen public sector health systems by partnering in the delivery of health services; strengthen and develop sustainable human capacity for health care through training and education; advance research to improve population health; and promote global health equity," he said.

Earlier this year, the AMPATH Ghana partnership facilitated a donation of nearly US$5 million in personal protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits from the City of New York to TTH in Ghana.

"For twenty years, Lilly has partnered with AMPATH to help make lives better. Their work to strengthen healthcare systems in Kenya continues to be transformational," said Leigh Ann Pusey, senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications at Lilly. "Lilly's additional contributions to the AMPATH model exemplify our commitment to supporting this important work to bring health and hope to millions more people living with noncommunicable diseases in Ghana and Mexico."

The University of Texas prestigious President's Award for Global Learning, an initiative of Texas Global, supported a collaborative partnership with BUAP to conduct a comprehensive household-level assessment of health needs, determinants, and resources in four low-income communities in the area surrounding Atlixco, in the state of Puebla. Preliminary results reveal a high chronic disease burden and significant barriers to healthcare access in these communities. The assessment also provided a deeper understanding of community health perceptions and priorities and a survey of various socioeconomic determinants and needs.

BUAP is the public, state university of Puebla, and is located in the state capital, the city of Puebla, which is the fourth-largest city in Mexico, about two hours southeast of Mexico City. BUAP hosts more than 7,800 students educated by more than 380 faculty members. During the signing of the MOUs between the universities, Luis Vazquez de Lara Cisneros, MD, PhD, dean of BUAP Faculty of Medicine emphasized, "Both institutions, through this academic model and with the support of the Ministry of Health, will contribute to improving access to health in the most vulnerable population in our surrounding areas."

"Our hope is that the partnership between UT Austin and BUAP in Mexico will create the needed infrastructure and relationships to generate mutually beneficial outcomes in research, training and health services, as well as improve the health of individuals and communities in Mexico and Texas," said George Macones, MD, interim dean of Dell Med.

"Texas and Mexico have much in common. They share a border, history, culture, and people. They also share a similar disease burden, specifically diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease," said Tim Mercer, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Global Health in the Department of Population Health at Dell Med. AMPATH Mexico has the potential to impact approximately three million people in the State of Puebla.

As the coordinating secretariat for the AMPATH partnerships, Indiana University Center for Global Health provides administrative and regulatory support service; promotes and facilitates the exchange of ideas; coordinates exchange of faculty members, residents, students, and other individuals among all of the participating institutions and takes a lead role in monitoring and evaluating AMPATH as a whole. The Lilly Foundation also contributed $520,000 to support the Center's role as the coordinating secretariat for AMPATH Global. A portion of The Helmsley Charitable Trust's contribution to AMPATH Ghana also supports the Center's secretariat work.

SOURCE AMPATH Global
MORGAN HILL, Calif., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Anritsu Company introduces the MS27201A Remote Spectrum Monitor series that includes the industry's first remote spectrum monitor that covers 43.5 GHz to support new satellite downlink bands. Combining high RF performance with supporting PC software, the MS27201A series delivers a unique package for long-term monitoring in a variety of commercial and regulatory environments.

Anritsu's MS27201A is the first remote spectrum monitor to cover 43.5 GHz to support new satellite downlink bands. Tweet this Anritsu's new MS27201A Remote Spectrum Monitor series includes the industrys first remote spectrum monitor that covers 43.5 GHz to support new satellite downlink bands.

The MS27201A series includes 9 GHz and 20 GHz remote spectrum monitors, in addition to the 43.5 GHz model. A wide 110 MHz measurement bandwidth to support common satellite downlink spans complements the 43.5 GHz model. With a displayed average noise level (DANL) of -164 dBm and a third-order intercept point (TOI) of typically +20 dBm, all the remote spectrum monitors assure accurate signal detection and measurement integrity.

A standard PC GUI with the familiar Anritsu spectrum analyzer interface allows users to control multiple instruments and view current spectrum from a single location. As an alternative, Anritsu can have the remote spectrum monitors interface with the MX280001A Vision software. Common trace capture and data storage applications are included in Vision software, eliminating the need for users to develop custom software.

Anritsu also supplies an IQ capture feature that allows users to conduct detailed off-line post-processing on signals of interest. Optional LTE and 5G demodulation software further expand monitoring capability, as does VSA software that allows modulation quality measurements to be made on narrowband signals in accordance with industry standards.

The MS27201A series ensures reliable, 24/7 continuous spectrum monitoring over a wide geographic area. A built-in watchdog timer resets the instrument in the event of a software interruption. Should a power disruption occur, the instrument will resume immediate operation with no user intervention required.

The MS27201A spectrum monitors are standard 19-inch rack wide and 2U tall, so they can slot directly into test system racks using minimal space. The instruments are powered from a supplied 15-Watt power block that minimizes rack temperature gain.

Designed for Multiple Spectrum Monitoring Environments

The MS27201A series is targeted at the increasingly demanding requirements of spectrum owners and spectrum regulators. The remote spectrum monitors deliver stable performance in a variety of applications, including spectrum clearing, shared spectrum monitoring, satellite ground station monitoring, critical site security, interference monitoring, and regulatory enforcement.

About Anritsu

Anritsu is a provider of innovative communications test and measurement solutions. Anritsu engages customers as true partners to help develop wireless, optical, microwave/RF, and digital solutions for R&D, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance applications, as well as multidimensional service assurance solutions for network monitoring and optimization. Anritsu also provides precision microwave/RF components, optical devices, and high-speed electrical devices for communication products and systems. The company develops advanced solutions for emerging and legacy wireline and wireless technologies used in commercial, private, military/aerospace, government, and other markets.

To learn more visit www.anritsu.com and follow Anritsu on Facebook , LinkedIn , Twitter , and YouTube .

SOURCE Anritsu Company
Receipt of New Menankoto Permit

Exploration on the Menankoto Permit expected to commence by February 15, 2022 , initially with two drill rigs and additional drill rigs to be deployed shortly thereafter, with drilling continuing on the Bantako North permit (which together with the Menankoto Permit comprise the Anaconda area)

, initially with two drill rigs and additional drill rigs to be deployed shortly thereafter, with drilling continuing on the Bantako North permit (which together with the Menankoto Permit comprise the Anaconda area) In 2022, the Company will continue drilling to infill and extend the saprolite resource area and to follow up on the sulphide mineralization at the Anaconda area, including the Mamba, Adder and several other targets below the saprolite mineralization in 2022. The good grade and width combinations at the Anaconda area continue to provide a strong indication of the potential for Fekola-style south plunging bodies of sulphide mineralization, which remains open down plunge below the saprolite

Preliminary planning by the Company has demonstrated that a pit situated on the Anaconda area could provide saprolite material to be trucked to and fed into the Fekola mill commencing in late 2022, subject to obtaining all necessary permits and completion of a final mine plan

The Company has budgeted $33 million in 2022 to facilitate Phase 1 saprolite mining at the

Anaconda area

Cardinal Zone Mineral Resource Update

Significantly increased updated Mineral Resource estimate for Cardinal Zone (as at December 31, 2021 ) with an initial Indicated Mineral Resource estimate of 8,000,000 tonnes at 1.67 grams per tonne (" g/ t") gold for 430,000 ounces of gold, and an updated Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 19,000,000 tonnes at 1.21 g/t gold for 740,000 ounces of gold, constrained within a conceptual pit run at US$1,800 per ounce gold

) with an initial Indicated Mineral Resource estimate of 8,000,000 tonnes at 1.67 grams per tonne (" t") gold for 430,000 ounces of gold, and an updated Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 19,000,000 tonnes at 1.21 g/t gold for 740,000 ounces of gold, constrained within a conceptual pit run at per ounce gold The oxide mineralization within the updated Indicated Mineral Resource for the Cardinal Zone, which is currently being mined, is a low-cost source of mill feed to the Fekola Mine, with approximately 50,000 ounces budgeted to be produced from the Cardinal Zone in 2022 (and has been included in the Fekola Mine's 2022 annual production guidance), and has the potential to add an average of approximately 60,000 ounces per year of sulphide mineralization over the next 6 to 8 years to Fekola's annual gold production

Gold mineralization at the Cardinal Zone extends over 3.5 kilometres along strike and intersected up to 350 metres vertically below surface, with mineralization remaining open at depth and down-plunge

Receipt of New Menankoto Permit

In December 2021, B2Gold and the Government of Mali were pleased to reach an agreement in principle relating to the dispute on the Menankoto Permit, where the Government of Mali agreed that it would grant a new exploration permit covering the same perimeter as the Menankoto Permit to a new Malian subsidiary of B2Gold, and B2Gold would withdraw the international arbitration proceedings that its Malian subsidiary commenced against the Republic of Mali. B2Gold's Malian subsidiary has now received the new Menankoto Permit, issued by the Government of Mali in compliance with the procedures and requirements set out under the Malian 2019 Mining Code (previous permit had been issued under the Malian 2012 Mining Code), which provides for an initial term of three years and renewable for 2 additional three year periods. B2Gold's Malian subsidiary has now withdrawn the international arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Mali.

Click here to view B2Gold's West Mali tenements map

With the receipt of the Menankoto Permit, exploration on the Menankoto Permit is expected to commence by February 15, 2022, initially with two drill rigs operating, which will build on the $27 million that the Company has spent to date on Menankoto Permit, with additional drill rigs to be deployed shortly thereafter. The Company plans to continue focusing on upgrading and expanding the existing saprolite Mineral Resource estimate of 21.6 million tonnes at 1.11 g/t for 770,000 ounces for the Anaconda area (originally released in June 2017). An updated Mineral Resource estimate based on the results from the extensive 2020 and 2021 infill and exploration drill program is expected in the first quarter of 2022 and will feed into engineering studies currently underway. This updated Mineral Resource estimate will also include an initial Mineral Resource estimate for the sulphide material below the saprolite. Additionally, the Company has completed environmental and social studies to support permitting efforts.

In 2022, the Company will continue drilling to infill and extend the saprolite resource area and to follow up on the sulphide mineralization at the Anaconda area, including the Mamba, Adder and several other targets below the saprolite mineralization. The good grade and width combinations at the Anaconda area continue to provide a strong indication of the potential for Fekola-style south plunging bodies of sulphide mineralization, which remains open down plunge.

The potential to truck material from the nearby Anaconda area in late 2022 (comprised of the Menankoto Permit and the Bantako North permit) is currently being developed and is not included in Fekola's production guidance. The Fekola Mine has not included the Mineral Resources from the Anaconda area in the current Fekola life of mine plan. Preliminary planning by the Company has demonstrated that a pit situated on the Anaconda area could provide saprolite material to be trucked to and fed into the Fekola mill commencing in late 2022, increasing the ore processed and annual gold production from the Fekola mill, subject to obtaining all necessary permits and completion of a final mine plan, with the potential to add an average of approximately 80,000 to 100,000 ounces per year to Fekola's annual gold production. In 2022, a total of $33 million has been budgeted to facilitate Phase 1 saprolite mining at the Anaconda area. The Company plans on commencing a Phase II study when the updated Mineral Resource estimate on the sulphide material becomes available and based on 2022 exploration drilling results to review the project economics of trucking sulphide material to the Fekola mill as compared to constructing another stand-alone mill near the Anaconda area.

This additional feed from the Anaconda area to the Fekola Mine has the potential to provide immediate value to B2Gold and the State of Mali, B2Gold's 20% partner at the Fekola Mine, and communities near the project, and create significant long-term benefits for the Government of Mali as well as employment opportunities and value generation for the communities located both near the Menankoto deposit, regionally and nationally.

Since the Company commenced its investment in Mali, B2Gold has enjoyed a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with the Government of Mali. Most recently, B2Gold partnered with the Government of Mali to assist the people of Mali facing challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its impact on the mining sector. B2Gold continues to explore additional ways in which it might help both B2Gold's stakeholders and the Government deal with the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

Updated Cardinal Zone Mineral Resource Estimate

(at December 31, 2021, reported on a 100% basis)

Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate (including $1,500/oz Au sensitivity case)



At US$1,800/oz Au At US$1,500/oz Au Domain Tonnes Gold

Grade (g/t Au) Contained

Gold

Ounces Tonnes Gold

Grade (g/t Au) Contained

Gold

Ounces Oxide (Saprolite and Saprock) 1,000,000 1.45 50,000 1,000,000 1.46 50,000 Sulphide 7,000,000 1.70 380,000 4,900,000 1.80 290,000 Total Indicated Mineral Resources 8,000,000 1.67 430,000 6,000,000 1.75 330,000

Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (including $1,500/oz Au sensitivity case)



At US$1,800/oz Au At US$1,500/oz Au Domain Tonnes Gold Grade (g/t Au) Contained Gold

Ounces Tonnes Gold Grade (g/t Au) Contained

Gold Ounces Oxide (Saprolite and Saprock) 1,900,000 0.75 50,000 1,600,000 0.80 40,000 Sulphide 17,100,000 1.26 690,000 4,100,000 1.45 190,000 Total Inferred Mineral Resources 19,000,000 1.21 740,000 5,700,000 1.27 230,000

Notes:

Mineral Resources have been classified using CIM Standards. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. All tonnage, grade and contained metal content estimates have been rounded; rounding may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade, and contained metal content. Mineral Resources are reported on a 100% project basis. The State of Mali hold a 20% interest in the Fekola Mine, which is located on the same mining permit as the Cardinal Zone. The Qualified Person for the resource estimate is Tom Garagan , P.Geo., B2Gold's Senior Vice President, Exploration. The Mineral Resource estimates for Cardinal Zone assumes an open pit mining method. Mineral Resources are reported within conceptual pit shells run with a gold price of $1,800 /oz, a metallurgical recovery of 94%, and operating cost estimates of US$1.50 - US$2.00 /t mined (mining), US$7 .26US$12.00/t processed (processing), US$0.50 /t processed (haulage), and US$0.33 /t processed (general and administrative). Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t gold for oxide material, and a cut-off grade of 0.40 g/t gold for sulphide material.

Sensitivity to Mineral Resources

The Mineral Resource estimate for oxide mineralization is resilient to a lower gold price as the sensitivity case shows. The sensitivity case is reported within a pit shell run with a gold price of US$1,500 per ounce (as compared to the base case at US$1,800 per ounce gold), and the same operating costs and cut-off grades as the base case.

Cardinal Operations

Initial open pit mining operations at the Cardinal Zone have commenced and will continue to ramp up. To December 31, 2021, 164,340 tonnes at an average grade of 1.66 g/t have been mined at the Cardinal Zone. The oxide mineralization within the updated Indicated Mineral Resource for the Cardinal Zone, which is currently in production, is expected to be a low-cost source of mill feed to the Fekola Mine, with approximately 50,000 ounces budgeted to be produced from the Cardinal Zone in 2022 (and has been included in the Fekola Mine's 2022 annual production guidance), and has the potential to add an average of approximately 60,000 ounces per year from the sulphide mineralization over the next 6 to 8 years to Fekola's annual gold production.

Cardinal Exploration Program

In 2021, B2Gold continued exploration of the Cardinal Zone as part of its $27 million exploration program in Mali. Concurrent drilling programs by the Fekola exploration and mine geology teams completed more than 50,000 metres of RC and diamond drilling towards the conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources to the Indicated category, for input to mine planning and the expansion of the known resource area, which remains open at depth.

The updated Mineral Resource estimate upgraded 430,000 ounces from Inferred to an Indicated category (initial Inferred Resource estimate was 640,000 ounces of gold in 13.0 million tonnes of ore at 1.54 g/t gold), which provides a more robust model for mine planning, while at the same time increasing the total Inferred Mineral Resource estimate to 740,000 ounces (an increase of 100,000 ounces to the initial Inferred Mineral Resource estimate).

The Cardinal Zone comprises multiple, sub-parallel, west-dipping shear zones with an average width of approximately 10 metres for the main Cardinal zone. The 2021 exploration program has shown that the Cardinal/FMZ system persists at depth, with holes such as FKD_610 (2.69 g/t gold over 21.40 m, from 253.80 m, including 5.31 g/t gold over 9.50 m) and FKD_594 (3.96 g/t gold over 20.50 m) returning excellent grade-width intersections below the reported resource and indicating further potential, down dip of recent drilling.

Select results from the 2021 Cardinal Zone drill program include:

Target Hole ID From To Metres Au (g/t) Cardinal FKD_521 231.30 242.20 10.90 3.78 Cardinal FKD_558 268.20 292.30 24.10 2.39 Cardinal FKD_565 270.00 295.70 25.70 2.02 Cardinal Incl 274.50 285.00 10.50 3.51 Cardinal FKD_570 286.10 311.40 25.30 2.08 Cardinal Incl 288.00 300.60 12.60 3.44 Cardinal FKD_572 269.30 291.60 22.30 2.90 Cardinal Incl 276.10 280.00 3.90 6.91 Cardinal Incl 285.00 291.60 6.60 4.83 Cardinal FKD_594 330.80 351.30 20.50 3.96 Cardinal FKD_598 221.30 251.72 30.42 2.12 Cardinal Incl 236.00 251.72 15.72 3.49 Cardinal FKD_610 253.80 275.20 21.40 2.70 Cardinal Incl 258.60 268.10 9.50 5.31

Composites are reported above 0.6 g/t gold cut-off, including intervals, above 1 g/t gold.

Metallurgical test work completed at SGS Lakefield confirmed the metallurgical response is aligned with previous test work and plant results confirming that the Cardinal zone mineralization is amenable to the Fekola plant operating conditions.

2022 Exploration Program

The 2022 Cardinal Zone exploration campaign will focus on expanding the known resource down dip and down plunge to the north, where the Cardinal/FMZ system intersects the Fekola Mine trend. In 2022, approximately $27 million is budgeted to be spent on exploration in Mali, focusing on the Anaconda area, Cardinal/FMZ, Fekola Deeps and Fekola North, with a total of 112,500 metres of diamond and RC drilling planned.

Resource Model Methodology

The updated Cardinal Zone Mineral Resource model was prepared in-house by B2Gold personnel. Lithology in the Cardinal Zone area is dominantly interbedded mudstones, siltstones and diorite intrusions, with bedding dipping 35-50 to the west. Shear zones associated with mineralization at the main Cardinal deposit are oriented NNE, dipping moderately to the west; shear zones associated with FMZ structures are oriented NNE, with most dipping steeply to the west. Three-dimensional mineralization domain models, which are used to control gold grade estimates, are supported by pyrite content, alteration, stratigraphy, and shear zone structures. There are 23 mineralization domains modeled.

The exploration drill data cut-off for the Cardinal Zone Mineral Resource estimate was December 31, 2021 and the drill data cut-off for RC drilled by the Fekola Mine was December 18, 2021. A total of 1,193 drill holes (130,794 metres) were used in the estimate including 146 core holes (37,577 metres), 415 exploration RC holes (49,988 metres), 33 holes (10,074 metres) that are pre-collared with RC and completed with core, and 599 RC holes (33,155 metres) drilled by the Fekola Mine geology department. Assays were capped by mineralization domain, or groups of domains, ranging from a cap level of 3 g/t in the low grade (waste) domain to 5 to 30 g/t in the high-grade domains. Gold assays were capped prior to compositing to 2 metres. Grades were estimated into the block model using Ordinary Kriging with searches dynamically controlled along mineralization zone directions.

The block model estimates were validated by visual comparison to composite grades, comparison of global block statistics to declustered composites, swath plots by domain to check for local bias and comparison to change of support distributions. More than 10,000 bulk density measurements using the water-displacement method on air-dried core samples were used to assign density in the Cardinal Zone area. Density was assigned to the block model based on averages by mineralization domain and regolith. Nominal targeted drill hole spacing for Indicated Mineral Resources is 40 by 40 metres, and 80 by 80 metres for Inferred Mineral Resources.

QA/QC on Sample Collection and Assaying

The primary assay laboratories for exploration samples are SGS Laboratories in Bamako, Mali, and the Fekola Mine laboratory. Bureau Veritas Laboratories in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire was used as an alternate lab for a short period in 2020. Samples from RC drilling completed by the Fekola Mine geology department are assayed at the Fekola Mine laboratory. At each laboratory samples are prepared and analyzed using 50-gram fire assay with atomic absorption and/or gravimetric finish. Umpire assaying of exploration samples is conducted on a quarterly basis.

Quality assurance and quality control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the sample sequences. The results of the control samples are evaluated on a regular basis with partial batches re-analyzed and/or resubmitted on exploration samples, as needed. All results stated in this announcement have passed B2Gold's quality assurance and quality control protocols.

Qualified Person

Tom Garagan, Senior Vice President of Exploration at B2Gold, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this news release.

About B2Gold Corp.

B2Gold is a low-cost international senior gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Founded in 2007, today, B2Gold has operating gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines and numerous exploration and development projects in various countries including Mali, Colombia, Finland and Uzbekistan. B2Gold forecasts total consolidated gold production of between 990,000 and 1,050,000 ounces in 2022.

On Behalf of B2GOLD CORP.

"Clive T. Johnson"

President & Chief Executive Officer

For more information on B2Gold, please visit the Company website at www.b2gold.com or contact:

Ian MacLean Katie Bromley Vice President, Investor Relations Manager, Investor Relations & Public Relations +1 604-681-8371 +1 604-681-8371 [email protected] [email protected]

The Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American LLC neither approve nor disapprove the information contained in this news release.

Production guidance presented in this news release reflect total production at the mines B2Gold operates on a 100% project basis. Please see our Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2021 for a discussion of our ownership interest in the mines B2Gold operates.

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, including: projections; outlook; guidance; forecasts; estimates; and other statements regarding future or estimated financial and operational performance, gold production and sales, revenues and cash flows, and capital costs (sustaining and non-sustaining) and operating costs, and including, without limitation: total consolidated gold production of between 990,000 and 1,050,000 ounces in 2022 the potential upside to increase Fekola's gold production in 2022 by trucking material from the Anaconda area, including the potential to add approximately 80,000 to 100,000 per year to Fekola's annual production profile, and for the Anaconda area to provide saprolite material to feed the Fekola mill starting in late 2022; the potential for production from the Cardinal zone to add approximately 50,000 ounces in 2022 to the Company's production profile and approximately 60,000 per year over the next 6 to 8 years; and the completion of an updated mineral resource estimate for the Anaconda area in the first quarter of 2022. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", "intend" or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made.

Forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond B2Gold's control, including risks associated with or related to: the duration and extent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effectiveness of preventative measures and contingency plans put in place by the Company to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to, social distancing, a non-essential travel ban, business continuity plans, and efforts to mitigate supply chain disruptions; escalation of travel restrictions on people or products and reductions in the ability of the Company to transport and refine dore; the volatility of metal prices and B2Gold's common shares; changes in tax laws; the dangers inherent in exploration, development and mining activities; the uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates; not achieving production, cost or other estimates; actual production, development plans and costs differing materially from the estimates in B2Gold's feasibility and other studies; the ability to obtain and maintain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for mining activities; environmental regulations or hazards and compliance with complex regulations associated with mining activities; climate change and climate change regulations; the ability to replace mineral reserves and identify acquisition opportunities; the unknown liabilities of companies acquired by B2Gold; the ability to successfully integrate new acquisitions; fluctuations in exchange rates; the availability of financing; financing and debt activities, including potential restrictions imposed on B2Gold's operations as a result thereof and the ability to generate sufficient cash flows; operations in foreign and developing countries and the compliance with foreign laws, including those associated with operations in Mali, Namibia, the Philippine and Colombia and including risks related to changes in foreign laws and changing policies related to mining and local ownership requirements or resource nationalization generally, including in response to the COVID-19 outbreak; remote operations and the availability of adequate infrastructure; fluctuations in price and availability of energy and other inputs necessary for mining operations; shortages or cost increases in necessary equipment, supplies and labour; regulatory, political and country risks, including local instability or acts of terrorism and the effects thereof; the reliance upon contractors, third parties and joint venture partners; the lack of sole decision-making authority related to Filminera Resources Corporation, which owns the Masbate Project; challenges to title or surface rights; the dependence on key personnel and the ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; the risk of an uninsurable or uninsured loss; adverse climate and weather conditions; litigation risk; competition with other mining companies; community support for B2Gold's operations, including risks related to strikes and the halting of such operations from time to time; conflicts with small scale miners; failures of information systems or information security threats; the ability to maintain adequate internal controls over financial reporting as required by law, including Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; compliance with anti-corruption laws, and sanctions or other similar measures; social media and B2Gold's reputation; risks affecting Calibre having an impact on the value of the Company's investment in Calibre, and potential dilution of our equity interest in Calibre; as well as other factors identified and as described in more detail under the heading "Risk Factors" in B2Gold's most recent Annual Information Form, B2Gold's current Form 40-F Annual Report and B2Gold's other filings with Canadian securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which may be viewed at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively (the "Websites"). The list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect B2Gold's forward-looking statements

B2Gold's forward-looking statements are based on the applicable assumptions and factors management considers reasonable as of the date hereof, based on the information available to management at such time. These assumptions and factors include, but are not limited to, assumptions and factors related to B2Gold's ability to carry on current and future operations, including: the duration and effects of COVID-19 on our operations and workforce; development and exploration activities; the timing, extent, duration and economic viability of such operations, including any mineral resources or reserves identified thereby; the accuracy and reliability of estimates, projections, forecasts, studies and assessments; B2Gold's ability to meet or achieve estimates, projections and forecasts; the availability and cost of inputs; the price and market for outputs, including gold; foreign exchange rates; taxation levels; the timely receipt of necessary approvals or permits; the ability to meet current and future obligations; the ability to obtain timely financing on reasonable terms when required; the current and future social, economic and political conditions; and other assumptions and factors generally associated with the mining industry.

B2Gold's forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management and reflect their current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof. B2Gold does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits or liabilities B2Gold will derive therefrom. For the reasons set forth above, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE B2Gold Corp.
Michigan Body and Mind branded Dispensary Opening and Vertical Operations In Development

Long Beach Dispensary Completes Rebrand to Body and Mind Operation

LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Body and Mind Inc. (CSE: BAMM) (OTCQB: BMMJ) (the "Company" or "BaM"), a multi-state cannabis operator, is pleased to announce completion of the first stage of the vertical strategy to expand into the rapidly growing Michigan market. This will be the fifth state with Body and Mind operations with additional wholly owned licenses in development.

The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, has received all licenses and approvals and will open the Body and Mind branded dispensary on February 2, 2022 to serve medical patients and recreational customers in Muskegon, Michigan.

"We're excited to have our first Body and Mind branded dispensary opening today in the rapidly expanding Michigan market," stated Michael Mills, CEO of Body and Mind. "This was another license win for Body and Mind and our development group moved quickly to advance the opportunity. Our team worked closely with the City of Muskegon to secure and develop the social equity opportunity for this jurisdiction, and we look forward to supporting the community and our new customers as we continue to grow in Michigan. Growth in the overall Michigan market has been impressive with December sales across the state up 66% from a year ago and annual sales of $1.79 billion in 2021 (up roughly 82%) as reported by the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency. Roughly $246 million was collected in cannabis taxes in Michigan with $131 million supporting various initiatives such as infrastructure and public education and $115 million supporting the general state fund."

"Body and Mind excels at building community relationships, which is a core value of the Company. We are highly confident that we can partner with the City of Muskegon to utilize its social equity program to build awareness and financial assistance to the disproportionately affected minority community and individuals," said Trip Hoffman, COO of Body and Mind.

As part of the Company's vertical growth strategy in Michigan, the previously announced, fully funded 57,000 square foot, two phase cultivation and production facility has commenced construction (see press release dated September 21, 2021.) The Company will provide ongoing construction updates as the facility moves through the development process.

View the Michigan video at https://vimeo.com/672598281

Long Beach, California Dispensary Rebranding

The Company's wholly owned Long Beach dispensary has been transitioning from the original ShowGrow brand to ShowGrow by BaM and has now completed a rebrand of the operations to become a Body and Mind dispensary. The Company has secured nearby billboard advertising and is focused on marketing the Body and Mind brand in all consumer channels for the Long Beach area.

Seaside Dispensary Transition

The Company announced a definitive agreement to acquire the fully operational The Reef dispensary in Seaside California (see prior press release dated December 1, 2021) and assumed management effective December 1, 2021. Local and state approvals for transfer of the ownership have been received.

"We have been very impressed with the deep cannabis knowledge, customer service and dedication of the Seaside team," stated Trip Hoffman, COO of Body and Mind. "We are looking forward to growing the retail and delivery operations and achieving economies of scale from our expanding California dispensary strategy.

The Company is pleased to announce it has renewed engagement with Stonegate Partners for $5,000 per month to provide social media, client outreach and strategy for the Company.

About Body and Mind Inc.

BaM is an operations focused, multi-state operator investing in high quality medical and recreational cannabis cultivation, production and retail.

BaM continues to expand operations in Nevada, California, Arkansas, Ohio and Michigan and is dedicated to increasing shareholder value by focusing time and resources on improving operational efficiencies, facility expansions, state licensing opportunities as well as mergers and acquisitions.

Our wholly owned Nevada subsidiary was awarded one of the first medical marijuana cultivation licenses and holds medical and adult-use cultivation and production licenses. BaM products include dried flower, edibles, oils and extracts as well as GPEN products. BaM cannabis strains have won numerous awards including the Las Vegas Weekly Bud Bracket, Las Vegas Hempfest Cup, High Times Top Ten, the NorCal Secret Cup and the Emerald Cup.

Please visit www.bodyandmind.com for more information.

Instagram: @bodyandmindBaM

Twitter: @bodyandmindBaM

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.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements" as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other 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 should be viewed as "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of activities, variations in the underlying assumptions associated with the estimation of activities, the availability of capital to fund programs and the resulting dilution caused by the raising of capital through the sale of shares, accidents, labor disputes and other risks. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that 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 contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release.

Certain matters discussed in this news release and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may constitute forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities.

SOURCE Body and Mind Inc.
TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Canntab Therapeutics Limited ("Canntab" or the "Company") (CSE:PILL) (OTCQB:CTABF) (FRA:TBF1), the leading innovator in cannabinoid and terpene blends in hard pill form for therapeutic applications, is pleased to announce the closing of a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of secured convertible debentures of the Company ("Debentures"), pursuant to which the Company issued and will issue Debentures for gross proceeds of $1,312,000. The proceeds will be used to fund working capital for the Company, and for general corporate purposes.

The Debentures are convertible into common shares of the Company (each, a "Share") at a conversion price of $0.70 per Share (the "Conversion Price"), and will mature two years from the date of issuance (the "Maturity Date"). Beginning on the date that is four months and one day following the closing date of the Offering (the "Closing Date"), the Company will have the right to prepay or redeem a part or the entire principal amount of the Debentures plus any accrued and unpaid interest at any time by providing a minimum of 20 days and a maximum 60 days of redemption notice prior to the redemption date. The Conversion Price will be subject to customary adjustments in certain events.

The Company also has the right to force the conversion of all of the principal amount of the then outstanding Debentures at the Conversion Price upon giving the debenture holders not less than 30 days advance written notice, should the volume weighted average trading price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange be greater than $1.05 per Share for the preceding 15 consecutive trading days.

The Debentures shall bear interest at a rate of 10% per annum from the Closing Date, paid upfront in cash for the initial 6 months, thereafter payable quarterly in cash on the last business day of each calendar quarter. Any accrued but unpaid interest is convertible into Shares, at the option of the holder at the Conversion Price at any time following the Closing Date.

The Debentures are secured by way of an agency and interlender security agreement made in favour of a collateral agent acting as agent for all of the holders of the Debentures, and ranking pari passu with the secured convertible debentures issued by the Company on December 30, 2020 (the "2020 Debentures"), granting a security interest in substantially all of the Company's assets.

On closing, the Company issued to the purchasers of the Debentures one Share purchase warrants (a "Warrant") for each Share underlying the Convertible Debenture purchased. The Warrants are exercisable for a period of two (2) years from issuance into Shares of the Company with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one Share at an exercise price of $0.90 per Share (the "Exercise Price"). The Warrants are subject to an acceleration right exercisable by the Company at its option if, for the preceding 15 consecutive trading days, the volume weighted average trading price of the Shares is greater than $1.05 per Share. If the Company provides notice that it intends to exercise its acceleration right, the accelerated expiry date of the Warrants will be the 30th calendar day following the date of such notice of exercise.

The Offering constituted a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") as First Republic Capital Corporation ("FRCC") subscribed for an aggregate of $200,000 of Debentures pursuant to the Offering. Richard Goldstein, the Company's Chief Financial Officer and Director, is President of FRCC. The Company is relying on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the participation in the Offering by insiders does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company, as determined in accordance with MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction at least 21 days before the closing of the Offering, which the Company deems reasonable in the circumstances so as to be able to avail itself of the proceeds of the Offering in an expeditious manner.

There were no broker warrants issued or commission paid in connection to the Offering.

All securities issued pursuant to this Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the closing date of the Offering.

Warrant Expiry Extension

In addition, the Company announces the extension to the expiry date of a total of 5,687,000 outstanding common share purchase warrants (the "Prior Warrants") originally issued as part of a private placement that closed on February 27, 2020 and on March 12, 2020. The Prior Warrants entitle the holders to purchase one Share per Prior Warrant at a price of $0.75 per Share until February 27, 2022 and March 12, 2022, respectively. The Company has amended the expiry date of the Prior Warrants to May 18, 2022. All other terms of the Prior Warrants will remain unchanged.

Prior Warrant holders are advised that replacement warrant certificates will not be issued and that the original warrant certificate must be presented to the Company in order to effect the exercise of such Prior Warrants.

An insider of the Company holds an aggregate of 244,000 Prior Warrants. The insider Prior Warrants extension is exempt from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101") by virtue of the exemptions contain in section 5.5(a) and 5.7(1) (a) of MI 61-101 in that the fair market value of the Prior Warrants held by the insider does not exceed 25% of its market capitalization.

Corporate Update

The Company would like to further announce that Barry Polisuk has resigned as corporate secretary of the Company which will reduce the extent of his administrative duties. The Company has appointed Richard Goldstein, the Company's current CFO to fill the vacancy of corporate secretary. Mr. Polisuk remains active with the Company as its Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Furthermore, pursuant to the terms of the 2020 Debentures and the warrants issued pursuant to that prior offering (the "2020 Warrants"), the conversion price for the 2020 Debentures have been adjusted to match the Conversion Price, and the exercise price of the 2020 Warrants have been adjusted to match the Exercise Price. All other terms of the 2020 Debentures and the 2020 Warrants remain unchanged.

ABOUT CANNTAB THERAPEUTICS

Canntab Therapeutics is a Canadian phytopharmaceutical company focused on the manufacturing and distribution of a suite of hard pill cannabinoid formulations in multiple doses and timed-release combinations. Canntab's proprietary hard pill cannabinoid formulations provide doctors, patients and consumers with medical grade solutions which incorporate all the features one would expect from any prescription or over the counter medication sold in Canadian pharmacies. These will include the following formulations: once a day and extended release, both providing an accurate dose and improved shelf stability. Canntab holds a Cannabis Standard Processing & Sales for Medical Purposes Licence, and a Cannabis Research Licence from Health Canada.

Canntab trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol PILL, on the OTCQB under the symbol CTABF, and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol TBF1.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION DISCLAIMER

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. Certain information in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or negatives of these terms and similar expressions. Forward- looking statements are based on certain assumptions, including that the Company will meet its short term and long term goals, continue to grow revenues through domestic channels and international expansion, and general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties will not prevent the Company from conducting its business. The Debentures, if converted upon the term thereof, can result in substantial dilution to investors.

While Canntab considers these assumptions to be reasonable, based on information currently available, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies and they may prove to be incorrect. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements also necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including without limitation, risks related to capital markets, general economic conditions, loss of markets, future legislative and regulatory development, the regulatory approval process, and the medical and recreational cannabis industry in Canada and internationally in general. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements 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 from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Except as required by law, Canntab disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. Securities laws.

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

SOURCE Canntab Therapeutics Limited
The FW PARK app, powered by ParkMobile, is already widely used in Fort Worth for on-street parking and the same app can now be used to reserve parking at the Convention Center, National Cowgirl Museum, Arts Fort Worth, Museum of Science and History, or Will Rogers Memorial Center. Now, there's also a dedicated website for users to book parking reservations.

ParkMobile has approximately 195,000 users in Fort Worth and 1.9 million in Texas. ParkMobile is readily available across the state in other major cities like Austin, Dallas, Houston, and El Paso and the app can also be used to pay for parking at many Texas Universities, including Texas A&M, University of North Texas, Sam Houston State, Southern Methodist University, and at the UT Austin and Arlington campuses. Beyond the state, the app is available in over 500 cities across the country.

"Parking is an important part of the experience for our guests when attending an event or convention," says Peter Elliott, Parking Manager for the City of Fort Worth. "As we get back to larger crowds at our venues, it is important that we offer a safe contactless option for all guests who are attending events."

"ParkMobile is excited to now offer event parking reservations through the FW PARK App in Fort Worth," says ParkMobile CEO, Jeff Perkins. "With close to 200,000 users in the city, FW Park now provides an easy way to reserve parking when going to events at the Convention Center, the National Cowgirl Museum, Arts Fort Worth, Museum of Science and History, or Will Rogers Memorial Center."

About ParkMobile

ParkMobile, LLC is the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America, using a contactless approach to help millions of people easily find, reserve, and pay for parking on their mobile devices. The company's technology is used in thousands of locations across the country, including 8 of the top 10 cities as well as college campuses, airports, and stadiums. For more information, visit ParkMobile.io or @ParkMobile on Twitter.

ParkMobile Contact: Mark Lister, SVP of Marketing, [email protected]

Fort Worth Contact: Peter Elliott, Parking Manager, [email protected]

SOURCE ParkMobile
LONE TREE, Colo., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH), the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, announced today the winners of the 20th annual Graeme Clark and the 11th annual Anders Tjellstrom Scholarships. The scholarships, named after two pioneers of the hearing implant industry, recognize Cochlear Nucleus Implant, Cochlear Baha System and Cochlear Osia System recipients in the United States and Canada who uphold the Cochlear ideals of leadership and humanity, and demonstrate high academic achievement. The scholarships enable Cochlear hearing implant recipients to further accomplish their goals through education.

Cochlear recognizes winners of the 20th annual Graeme Clark and the 11th annual Anders Tjellstrom Scholarships. Tweet this Congratulations to the 2022 Cochlear Graeme Clark and Anders Tjellstrom Scholarship winners, recognizing exemplary academics in young leaders throughout the hearing loss community.

"We are privileged again this year to have received so many outstanding scholarship applications," said Rene Courtney, Vice President & General Manager, Recipient Services, Cochlear Americas. "Each applicant's story moves us in some way as they share their challenges, successes and the pursuit of their dreams as part of the application process. In support of our mission to raise awareness of hearing health and implantable hearing solutions around the world, we are again honored to recognize this year's eight new scholarship winners and help share their stories."

The five 2022 Graeme Clark Scholarship winners are:

Carys Jackson , ( University of Vermont ) from Northampton, Mass.

, ( ) from Grace Kowal , ( Tufts University ) from Washington, D.C.

, ( ) from Jennifer Magno , ( University of Nevada, Las Vegas ) from Las Vegas, Nev.

, ( ) from Benjamin Scher , ( Yale University ) from Madison, Wis.

, ( ) from Rayona Silverman , (Queen's University, Ontario ) from Charlotte, Vt .

"Growing up, I was constantly told by teachers and peers that I would not get into an Ivy League school, especially on account of my status as a disabled person, but I would not let anyone hinder my life," said Scher, Nucleus Implant System recipient, Graeme Clark Scholarship winner, studying economics. "I now attend Yale University, and my future goals are to graduate with distinction, move to New York City, work in investment banking, and travel around the world. I regularly find myself marveling at what this technology has provided me, and I live my days with a greater sense of appreciation for all that I can do with my cochlear implant."

The three 2022 Anders Tjellstrom Scholarship winners are:

Jose Aguirre , Baha recipient, ( California State University, Stanislaus ) from Atwater, Calif.

, Baha recipient, ( ) from Ava Earl , Osia recipient, ( Northwestern University ) from Girdwood, Alaska

, Osia recipient, ( ) from Kevin Yang , Osia recipient, ( University of California, Berkeley ) from San Jose, Calif.

"Just before I graduated high school, I experienced sudden, profound hearing loss in my right ear. Despite immediate medical attention and weeks of treatment, my hearing could not be restored," said Earl, Osia recipient and Anders Tjellstrom Scholarship winner, studying biology and music. "As a young person who hopes to make a life in music, it was a frightening experience for me, but I was absolutely thrilled the first time I played a gig with the Osia System. While I experience life a little differently now, I have decided that's no reason to give up on music, the thing that drives me."

About the Scholarships

The Graeme Clark Scholarship is named after Professor Graeme Clark, the inventor and pioneer of the multi-channel cochlear implant. The Anders Tjellstrom Scholarship is named after Dr. Anders Tjellstrom, the research physician in the department of otolaryngology at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden who collaborated with Per-Ingvar Branemark, a pioneer of osseointegration, and Bo Hakansson, to treat the first patient with a Baha device.

Each of the students will receive $2,000 per year for up to four years at an accredited college or university, providing $8,000 to each student and $64,000 in total scholarship funds given by Cochlear Americas for this year's winners. Since 2002, Cochlear Americas has awarded $960,000 to 120 college students.

A total of 144 applications were received this year. An esteemed panel of judges helped review and select the scholarship winners:

Jamy Claire Archer, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT

Montgomery Speech, Language & Hearing Clinic at the University of South Carolina

Chelsea A. Conrad, Au.D.

Cochlear Implant & Pediatric Hearing Coordinator, Henry Ford Health System

Barry E. Hirsch, M.D.

Director, Division of Otology/Neurotology

Professor, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neurosurgery, Communication Sciences and Disorders

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

For more information about the scholarships, visit Cochlear.com/us/Scholarship.

About Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)

People have always been Cochlear's inspiration, ever since Professor Graeme Clark set out to create the first multi-channel cochlear implant after seeing his father struggle with hearing loss. Since 1981, Cochlear has provided more than 650,000 devices in more than 180 countries, helping people of all ages around the world to hear. As the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, Cochlear connects people with life's opportunities, and welcomes them to the world's largest hearing implant community.

Cochlear has a global workforce of more than 4,000 people, with a passion for progress, who strive to meet the needs of people living with hearing loss. The company continually innovates to anticipate future needs, investing more than AUD$2 billion to date in research and development to push the boundaries of technology and help more people hear.

www.cochlear.com/us

Please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information. Views expressed are those of the individual. Consult your health professional to determine if you are a candidate for Cochlear technology.

 Cochlear Limited 2022. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Cochlear Limited
CATALINA ISLAND, Calif., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With bids starting at a single Ethereum, the first and only BowieBanc Non-Fungible Token ("NFT") featuring the digitized art of rock & roll icon/iconoclast David Bowie (United Kingdom,1947-2016) goes to auction on February 7, 2022 thru February 11, 2022 at https://opensea.io/accounts/DaystromNFT. The auction is sponsored by Emmy-winning DAYstrom, the Mindshare behind "BowieBanc" and progenitors of contemporary digital art that incorporates deconstruction as art itself ("Free Comb", Basquiat) by the 1st Amendment of the United States.

BOWIE DECENTRALIZED

We're thrilled to sponsor sale of the original BowieBanc "Artist Proof", a one-of-a-kind primordial NFT featuring the authenticity and individuality of Ethereum's decentralized blockchain platform. The winning bidder will receive an encrypted tokenized NFT of Bowie's original Artist Proof captioned "BowieBanc Card" (mixed media/financial instrument - 2000) along with possession of the only physical rendition of the artwork ever created, with supplementary provenance by way of authentication.

The winning bidder acquires the BowieBanc NFT and may thereafter direct DayStrom to deconstruct the original physical work in a streamed broadcast. That broadcast shall in itself be memorialized as an NFT on the blockchain and provided at no additional charge to the winning bidder.

Mindshare said anonymously; "A techno-genius whose rarified life was fueled with industrial strength creativity and tremendous intellectual horsepower, David Bowie is among the most powerful social media icons to have lived on our planet. Decades before the advent of blockchain, he anticipated NFT's as a talisman for the financial services industry, a method of transferring value above and beyond the grasp of conventional banking networks. The bank card he personally and meticulously designed portrays his own self-image, exactly as made widely available to BowieBanc users beginning 2001. In the event the winning bidder directs deconstruction of the original work, Daystrom shall take steps necessary and appropriate to eliminate and destroy the original work, ensuring the NFT remains the only version of the art to exist thereafter."

1) MasterCard and related financial network branding are subject to Trademark;

2) The Card has no financial value and will not function on any financial services network in either digital or physical environment

Media Contact:

Day Strom

(856) 209-5673

SOURCE DayStromNFT
KARIYA, Japan, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DENSO , a leading mobility supplier, today released its financial results for its third quarter, ending December 31, 2021, for its 2022 fiscal year, ending March 31, 2022. The company also shared updates and progress it has made to advance its Two Great Causes: Green and Peace of Mind.

"Everything we are doing  the products we're creating, the business portfolio shift we're making and the collaborations we're forging  is intentional and necessary to achieve not only our business goals, but also our longer-term vision to build a better future for all," said Yasushi Matsui, a senior executive officer and chief financial officer at DENSO Corporation.

New updates and recent progress include:

Developing its Global Safety Package 3 to improve vehicle sensing. The product, which is used in the Hino Ranger, the Lexus NX, and the Toyota Noah and Voxy, can help eliminate accidents and achieve stress-free mobility.

Enhancing the performance and functions of a small stereo image sensor that contributes to improving the safety of mini vehicles, which are increasing in numbers in Japan .

. Celebrating the cumulative production of 20 million inverters, an indispensable part for electric and hybrid vehicles. DENSO will continue to produce inverters for customers and provide value in the areas of safety and sustainability.

Researching and testing the viability of combining blockchain and QR code technologies for traceability, a key component to ensuring supply chain transparency.

Reaching an agreement to sell its fuel pump module business to Aisan Industry Co., Ltd.. This will help strengthen the companies' competitiveness in powertrain and future mobility growth areas.

Announcing changes to its organization, executive structure and personnel that will help DENSO achieve its Long-Term Policy 2030 and pursue its Green and Peace of Mind values.

Community efforts include:

Donating $250,000 to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts after storms devastated parts of the South and Midwestern U.S. in December 2021 .

to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts after storms devastated parts of the South and Midwestern U.S. in . Partnering with the U.S. Army to provide priority hiring status to qualified soldiers at DENSO's thermal manufacturing facility in Battle Creek, Michigan . DENSO is committed to supporting military service members and providing rewarding long-term careers to people of many backgrounds and skillsets.

. DENSO is committed to supporting military service members and providing rewarding long-term careers to people of many backgrounds and skillsets. Receiving an Automotive Innovation Award with Ford Motor Company for producing respirators for frontline workers battling COVID-19. The speed and collaboration required to help those in need were unprecedented.

In this fiscal year and beyond, DENSO will continue to reimagine is processes, the products it manufactures and the energy it uses to create a greener and safer future for all.

About DENSO

DENSO is a $44.6 billion global mobility supplier that develops advanced technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model on the road today. With manufacturing at its core, DENSO invests in its 200 facilities to produce thermal, powertrain, mobility, electrification, & electronic systems, to create jobs that directly change how the world moves. The company's 168,000+ employees are paving the way to a mobility future that improves lives, eliminates traffic accidents, and preserves the environment. Globally headquartered in Kariya, Japan, DENSO spent 10.0 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. For more information about global DENSO, visit https://www.denso.com/global .

SOURCE DENSO
HOUSTON, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Black female entrepreneur and accomplished author and owner of Opportune Independent Publishing Company, Shanley Simpson, is pleased to announce the global launch of You Go Girl greeting cards, a new specialty greeting card company catering to women of color around the world, on Feb. 2, 2022 via ShopYouGoGirl.com.

You Go Girl Greeting Cards

Simpson is taking the reins to fill a missing sector in the greeting card industry with her new inspiring line of beautiful and unique greeting cards. As a seasoned serial entrepreneur with a decade of experience working in publishing, she is the sole founder and CEO of this new venture and is excited about crossing into unchartered waters. Shanley defines her new endeavor this way; "You Go Girl is a greeting card company dedicated to 'melanated' women and girls who deserve a special note, just for them. This greeting card company has been curated to fill the space on many retail shelves that do not represent the person purchasing it and/or receiving it." The mission statement of You Go Girl is succinctly put into three little words: "To represent her."

With nearly 22 million black women in the U.S., many have found it difficult to find cards that represent their culture or heritage Until now. "It can be a daunting task to find the perfect card that represents the flavor of the African American experience. Most cards do not depict people of color in any way. Americans purchase approximately 6.5 billion greeting cards each year, but sadly, most cards don't cater to the often overlooked, underrepresented people of a darker hue," Simpson said.

Simpson has developed an array of greeting cards that will remedy this problem. "You Go Girl greeting cards, in print and digital formats, are made for mature, 'melanated' women. We will also offer several greeting cards that highlight young, little girls of color as well. Helping people show love for women of color is my ultimate goal," said Simpson, who is a Florida A&M University Alumna.

Authentic representation in the greeting card industry is needed. "Melanin greeting cards should be in the hands of everyone that wants them," Simpson relayed. To learn more, please visit www.ShopYouGoGirl.com. Follow You Go Girl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yougogirlcards/.



Media contact:

Samantha Savory

[email protected]

305-582-5997

SOURCE You Go Girl
HOUSTON and WILLOW PARK, Texas, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Flotek Industries, Inc. ("Flotek" or the "Company") (NYSE: FTK), a leader in technology-driven, specialty green chemistry solutions, announced today it has entered into a long-term agreement with ProFrac Services, LLC ("ProFrac"), the largest private North American provider of hydraulic fracturing services, to provide its full portfolio of sustainable chemistry solutions to a dedicated portion of ProFrac's hydraulic fracturing fleets.

The partnership creates a compelling, vertically integrated solution to enable E&Ps to more sustainably develop natural resources, while reducing the total cost of ownership. The agreement leverages ProFrac's leading market position and new technologies that significantly reduce greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions and increase efficiency with Flotek's green chemistries that reduce the environmental impact of energy by increasing customers' operational and ESG performance beyond existing sustainability practices.

Under the terms of the contract, Flotek will provide full downhole chemistry solutions for a required minimum number of fleets for three years. This creates an immediate expected contracted backlog of revenue greater than $230 million, based on estimated chemical volumes and pricing, and is anticipated to represent annual recurring revenue in contrast to traditionally transactional purchases.

Key Contractual Highlights:

Scope: Full downhole chemistry for the greater of 33% of ProFrac's crews or 10 crews as a minimum

Duration: Three years

Protections: Flotek will receive 25% of the difference between the committed volumes and the shortfall should the defined scope not be achieved

In exchange for entry into the multi-year revenue commitment, ProFrac will receive $10 million initial principal amount of notes that are convertible into Flotek common stock (as described below). In addition, ProFrac will be permitted to designate up to two new directors to Flotek's board of directors.

Simultaneously, Flotek entered into a Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) transaction with a consortium of investors to secure growth capital for the Company. Pursuant to the PIPE transaction, Flotek will issue $21.2 million aggregate initial principal amount of convertible notes for net cash proceeds of approximately $19 million. The investors are ProFrac Holdings, LLC, Burlington Ventures Ltd., entities associated with North Sound Management, certain funds associated with one of Flotek's directors including the D3 Family Fund and the D3 Bulldog Fund, and Firestorm Capital LLC. The notes issued to ProFrac and in the PIPE transaction accrue paid-in-kind interest at a rate of 10% per annum, have a maturity of one year, and are converted into common stock of Flotek (a) at the holder's option at any time prior to maturity, at a price of $1.088125 per share, (b) at Flotek's option, if the volume-weighted average trading price of Flotek's common stock equals or exceeds $2.50 for 20 trading days during a 30 consecutive trading day period, or (c) at maturity, at a price of $0.8705.

John W. Gibson, Jr., Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Flotek stated: "We are excited to establish this long-term strategic partnership with ProFrac. We believe the relationship creates a compelling ESG solution for the industry and delivers long-term mutual benefit for both companies' customers. Together, we have the opportunity to reduce emissions and establish green chemistry solutions, thereby protecting air, land and water. This transformative agreement creates a comprehensive completions solution merging operational efficiency congruent with ESG objectives."

Matt Wilks, President and CFO of ProFrac stated: "Flotek is a great company that we're privileged to work with. We believe this transaction presents a unique opportunity to create mutual value as we each expand."

Ryan Ezell, Ph.D, President of Flotek's Chemistry Technologies segment, said: "Our innovative partnership with ProFrac will deliver differentiated performance for operators, while reducing the total cost of ownership and environmental risk. We are honored to collaborate with an established industry leader, furthering our strategy to rebuild our indirect channels to market with service companies, significantly accelerating our revenue growth and the industries adoption of ESG principles."

Piper Sandler is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Flotek.

About Flotek Industries, Inc.

Flotek Industries, Inc. creates solutions to reduce the environmental impact of energy on air, water, land and people. A technology-driven, specialty green chemistry and data company, Flotek helps customers across industrial, commercial, and consumer markets improve their Environmental, Social, and Governance performance. Flotek's Chemistry Technologies segment provides sustainable, optimized chemistry solutions that maximize our customer's value by elevating their ESG performance, lowering operational costs, and delivering improved return on invested capital. The Company's proprietary green chemistries, specialty chemistries, logistics, and technology services enable its customers to pursue improved efficiencies and performance throughout the life cycle of its desired chemical applications program. Major integrated oil and gas companies, oilfield services companies, independent oil and gas companies, national and state-owned oil companies, geothermal energy companies, solar energy companies and advanced alternative energy companies benefit from best-in-class technology, field operations, and continuous improvement exercises that go beyond existing sustainability practices. Flotek is a publicly traded company headquartered in Houston, Texas, and its common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "FTK." For additional information, please visit www.flotekind.com.

About ProFrac Holding Corp

ProFrac is a growth-oriented, vertically integrated and innovation-driven energy services company providing hydraulic fracturing, completion services and other complementary products and services to leading upstream oil and gas companies engaged in the exploration and production ("E&P") of North American unconventional oil and natural gas resources. Founded in 2016, ProFrac was built to be the go-to service provider for E&P companies' most demanding hydraulic fracturing needs. ProFrac is focused on employing new technologies to significantly reduce "greenhouse gas" ("GHG") emissions and increase efficiency in what has historically been an emissions-intensive component of the unconventional E&P development process. For more information, please visit https://profrac.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements set forth in this press release constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of tile Securities Exchange Act of 1934) regarding Flotek Industries, Inc.'s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Words such as will, continue, expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements in this press release. Although forward-looking statements in this press release reflect the good faith judgment of management. such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known to management. Consequently, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results and outcomes may differ materially from the results and outcomes discussed in the forward-looking statements. Further information about the risks and uncertainties that may impact the company are set forth in the Company's most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 10-K (including, without limitation, in the "Risk Factors" section thereof), and in the Company's other SEC filings and publicly available documents. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward -looking statements, which speak only as of the dale of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect, any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this press release.

SOURCE Flotek Industries, Inc.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate Sustainability: Does It Make A Difference?, the #1 New Release in Green Business on Amazon, examines why seemingly ambitious company goals haven't led to meaningful global progress. "Companies the size of nations are announcing sustainability goals, but greenhouse gases are still increasing, child labor is unabated, biodiversity is disappearing, racial and gender equity remains an uphill battle," said the book's author, David Sarokin. "It's a matter of too little, but hopefully not too late."

Corporate Sustainability: Does It Make A Difference?

Giant firms like Walmart, Amazon, Coca Cola, Freeport McMoran, Archer Daniels Midland, Bayer, Vale and others have thus far done little to advance sustainability, but these global-scale companies can achieve the United Nations sustainability goals if they ramp up their corporate responsibility programs beyond current modest measures.

"Companies have been talking up sustainability for 30 years, ever since the 1992 Earth Summit," Sarokin said, "but it's only recently they have begun moving beyond baby steps."

The world's 500 largest corporations account for a huge fraction of the global economy, but their limited sustainability vision means the world continues to fall further behind in meeting the United Nation's 17 sustainability goals.

Coca Cola and Ferrero (makers of Nutella) still rely on child labor in their ingredient supply chains even while seriously studying the issue

and (makers of Nutella) still rely on child labor in their ingredient supply chains even while seriously studying the issue ExxonMobil won't target Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions even as rival Shell aims for net zero

won't target Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions even as rival aims for net zero HSBC Bank strives to increase the proportion of Black executives from a mere 0.7% to a slightly less mere 1.3%

strives to increase the proportion of Black executives from a mere 0.7% to a slightly less mere 1.3% Freeport McMoran exempts its Indonesian copper mine (the world's largest) from their CO2 reduction goals

exempts its Indonesian copper mine (the world's largest) from their CO2 reduction goals Amazon sells clothes from factories blacklisted by other retailers

Corporate Sustainability examines the social responsibility programs of major companies, focusing on a key question: will corporate efforts be enough to move the needle forward in the coming decades. "These companies are large enough to have historically done great damage to the planet. It's past time to reverse course, so their enormous influence can make rapid, substantial improvements," Sarokin said.

The book concludes with the necessity of "reinventing capitalism" to create compelling incentives for advancing corporate sustainability, and provides concrete examples of what improved company goals and actions would look like.

The e-book is available at Amazon for a remarkably low introductory price: only $3. "I want to make it as widely available as possible without creating financial barriers," said Sarokin. The e-book is viewable on phones, laptops as well as e-readers like Kindle.

https://mybook.to/CorpSustainability

About the author

David Sarokin is an environmental scientist, right-to-know specialist, and author with decades of experience working in Congress, EPA, state governments, international organizations and NGOs. Contact him via email, text, Linkedin or phone for a review copy of the book or for any additional information:

[email protected] 202-607-4160

SOURCE David Sarokin
DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "COVID-19 Vaccines - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

After months of what seemed to be a receding pandemic supported by vaccines and adherence to new COVID appropriate protocols as the new normal, the world is witnessing the ghosts of the past rising once again. Barely months after the Indian strain called the Delta, or B.1.617.2 which was 40-60% more transmissible than Alpha and almost twice as transmissible as the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2 took over the world as a dominant strain, a new variant dubbed as Omicron (B.1.1.529) has emerged. Originally detected in South Africa in mid-November 2021, Omicron is now spreading across the globe with Asia, Europe, and North America reporting infections from this strain.

In addition to acquiring the mutations of the delta variant, the Omicron variant has over 50 mutations with 32 of them seen on its spike protein, two times higher than Delta, indicating that the virus has further adapted to the human species. Even more worrisome and unsettling is the fact that the variant also includes the vaccine-resistant alterations seen in Beta variant. The worst variant the pandemic has thrown up till date and carrying the mutations P681H and N679K, Omicron is feared to reduce vaccine effectiveness by close to 40% to 50%. There are fears that this strain is capable of outsmarting monoclonal antibodies, such as Regeneron's treatment, since these therapies target parts of the virus that have now mutated. Currently classified as `variant of concern`, fears over the spreading Omicron have once again pushed countries across the globe to re-impose international and domestic travel restrictions.

Omicron is now expected to displace the circulation Delta and other variants. It's only a matter of time before a newer more competitive virus emerges. With Europe already battling fourth and fifth waves of infections, the new Omicron variant is bringing back ghosts of the past year. Fears are again rising over possible increase in infections, mortalities, overburdened hospitals, healthcare systems and lockdowns resulting in yet another economic nightmare. Lockdowns, travel and movement restrictions will be back once again if infection from this new strain fails to be controlled. India which is just recovering from the intense second wave with hopes of the disease reaching an endemic state, the new variant is reigniting fears of a possible third wave.



With several countries facing repeated waves of infections, the world is up against a new challenge in this war against the virus. An uphill challenge confronts governments in rapidly stepping up efforts to accelerate the pace of vaccine administration, despite numerous challenges. It's a race against time and to successfully end the pandemic, mass vaccination drives must outpace the speed with which the coronavirus is currently mutating. After a sharp drop in cases throughout the second half of the year 2021, cases have begun to spike again led by infections from the Delta variant.

This variant now accounts for the vast majority of new infections. With the rise in vaccination rates especially in developed countries, measures designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 like mask mandates and capacity limits have been relaxed. The subsequent relaxation strengthened consumer confidence and allowed economic activity to return to normalcy. However, with the COVID-19 virus rapidly mutating, new variants have emerged in many parts of the world, posing a threat of potential future waves. Different parts of Europe are currently witnessing fourth and fifth waves of infection spread. These new variants are more deadly than the original virus, more easily transmissible and can impact the effectiveness of vaccines.



Prolonging pandemic and new mutant strains means that immunity among vaccinated population is beginning to slip, throwing the focus on booster doses. The leading vaccine makers, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca announced plans to pursue development of booster shots to address the emerging threat of new virus variants. The booster shot will be essential to keep the immune system to the optimum level. A number of wealthy countries like the US, Germany and Israel are considering booster shots to increase protection against COVID-19.

Germany is expected to roll out booster shots to vulnerable individuals. mRNA-vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna will be offered as booster shots, regardless of the vaccine administered previously. In India, Bharat Biotech, the makers of Covaxin, received regulator's approval for conducting trials for a third shot that will be administered as a booster dose. While a booster dose is typically an exact replica of the initial vaccine, it can also be tweaked. Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer are working on variant-specific booster shots. Recently, Moderna announced positive initial data from its ongoing phase 2 study.



The data revealed that the booster dose increased neutralizing antibody responses against the original virus as well as B.1.351 and P.1, in previously vaccinated individuals. Studies suggest that a third dose can boost antibodies even in immunocompromised patients. The rapid pace at which new strains capable of evading antibodies are rising is throwing the focus on vaccine tweaking and researchers are already working on updating vaccines with the new spike proteins to prepare for new variants with a new version of the vaccine. This however requires additional clinical trials, more time consuming research work, and regulatory approvals. The time-to-market remains a main challenge with the process taking six to eight months before vaccines can be updated and commercialized. This time-consuming development process is a major setback when compared to the rapid rate of infection spread from new strains.



In this race against virus evolution, swift and rapid vaccinations are the need of the hour to limit the spread of mutant strains, notwithstanding the fact that vaccines themselves are contributing to virus mutations. Rapid mass vaccinations will make the mutation process and threat more manageable. It is an undeniable fact that vaccines will see a slow erosion in efficacy and effectiveness over the long-term. Therefore it is important to slow the spread of the virus by vaccinating as many people as possible at the earliest. To end the pandemic, which currently seems to have received yet another setback will require more dedicated focus on vaccine equality, international cooperation in COVID research, more transparent information transfer and alert systems on new emerging strains, waiver of IP on vaccines, and science-based swift decisions regarding travel bans. All of these are vital to prevent squandering away hard won gains achieved against the virus over the last 2 years.



Select Competitors Profiled (Total 358 Featured)

Moderna, Inc.

Pfizer Inc./BioNTech

AstraZeneca/ University of Oxford

Johnson & Johnson

CanSino Biologics, Inc.

China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Sinopharm)

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

Novavax, Inc.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals

Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline

Gamaleya Institute

Market Dynamics

Rise of Vaccine Passports: Key to Ease COVID-19 Restrictions & Ensure Public Safety

Developments Regarding Digital Certificates

COVID-19 Vaccine Passport: Insights & Progress

Regions/Countries Planning to Seek Vaccine Passport

mRNA Vaccines Offer More Protection Against Newer Variants

Vaccine Companies Stress on Booster Dose

Longer Interval between the Two Doses of Pfizer Vaccine to Boost Antibody Levels

Mix and Match is the New COVID-19 Vaccine Mantra

Long-Haul COVID-19 Holds Potential to Become a Public Health Issue

Vaccine Alliances Ensure Supplies for All

Licensing and Partnership Deals Worldwide Propel Vaccine Production

Focus on the Frontrunners

Moderna, Inc. ( USA )

) Pfizer Inc./BioNTech (US/ Germany )

) AstraZeneca/ University of Oxford (The UK)

(The UK) Johnson & Johnson ( USA )

) CanSino Biologics, Inc. ( China )

) China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Sinopharm) ( China )

) Sinovac Biotech Ltd. ( China )

) Novavax, Inc. ( USA )

) Inovio Pharmaceuticals ( USA )

) Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline ( France /UK)

Initiatives for Equitable Distribution of Vaccines

Fair Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccine

Vaccine Nationalism Hampers Equitable Distribution of Vaccines

COVAX Created to Ensure Fair and Universal Access to COVID-19 Vaccine

COVAX Inks Additional Deals for Global Rollout of COVID-19 Vaccines

African Countries Become Part of the COVAX Facility for Timely Access to Successful Vaccines

COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC)

World Economic Forum to Push COVID-19 Vaccine Production Capability

Pushing Manufacturing Capacity to Fulfil Global Demand

Technology Transfer and Other Payments

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4ghzrc

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

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SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Smart Meters - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global Smart Meters Market to Reach US$29.8 Billion by the Year 2026

The global market for Smart Meters estimated at US$19.9 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$29.8 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 7.2% over the analysis period.

Growth in the global market is set to be fueled by increasing focus on energy efficiency, favorable government policies and critical role of smart meters in enabling reliable power grids. Market growth is bolstered by government mandates and initiatives to promote installation of these devices in commercial and residential settings.

These initiatives are also intended to raise user awareness about efficient and smart usage of electricity through these meters. Environment and energy policies and legislations across countries like the US, Japan and South Korea focus on 100% penetration of these meters.

The market growth is augmented by increasing focus on smart cities and smart grids, requiring utilities to push distribution efficiency. Global deployment of smart meters is favored by increasing digitalization to transform the power sector. Utility companies are increasingly relying on the smart meter technology to cut transmission and distribution losses. These devices allow companies to efficiently monitor consumption and usage for gaining insights into losses.

Electric, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 7.3% CAGR to reach US$17.7 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 Water segment is readjusted to a revised 8.4% CAGR for the next 7-year period. For utilities aiming to modernize their grid operations with advanced solutions, smart electricity meters have emerged as an effective tool that can flawlessly address their various energy T&D needs in a simple and flexible manner.

Smart electricity meter, being a specially designed electronic measurement device, automatically captures energy consumption patterns of a utility customer and seamlessly communicates the captured information for reliable and accurate billing, while considerably decreasing the need for manual meter reads.

Smart electricity meters enable energy regulators, policymakers and governments to reduce environmental footprint and move towards energy independence. Smart water meters are witnessing increased demand influenced by the roll out of stringent government regulations.



Gas Segment to Reach $8.6 Billion by 2026

Amid the backdrop of declining revenues, gas producers, utilities and distributors are turning to reliable, accurate and more convenient measurement solutions including smart gas meters to gain a more comprehensive understanding about distribution systems and ensure system integrity, thereby opening the doors for advanced gas meter vendors.

In the global Gas segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 5.4% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$4.6 Billion in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$6.9 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$1.7 Billion by the year 2026.



Key Topics Covered:



I. METHODOLOGY



II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



1. MARKET OVERVIEW

Pandemic Causes Significant Disruption to Smart Meters Supply Chain

COVID-19-Induced Financial Crisis Aggravates an Already Large Global Infrastructure Spending Gap: Government Smart Meter Programs Weaken in 2020

Amidst the Pandemic, Energy Infrastructure Investments Take a Direct Blow

Smart Meters: Welcome Developments Indicating Unabated Progress in Future

An Introduction to Smart Meters

Types of Smart Meters

Why Now is the Time for Smart Meters in a World Where Energy is the Building Block for Socio Economic Development

Global Market Prospects & Outlook

Automatic Meter Reading: Leading Technology Segment in Smart Meters Market

Residential Segment Leads Global Market

North America Holds Enviable Base of Smart Meters due to Early Mover Advantage

Smart Meters Witness High Adoption in Europe as Countries Embark on Smart Metering Initiatives

as Countries Embark on Smart Metering Initiatives Asia-Pacific Exudes Tremendous Potential for Adoption of Smart Meters

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS (Total 181 Featured)

Aclara Technologies LLC

Apator SA

B METERS UK Ltd

Datamatics Global Services Ltd

Diehl Stiftung GmbH & Co. KG

Eaton Corporation Inc

EDMI Ltd

Honeywell International

Flonidan A/S

Itron, Inc.

Jabil, Inc.

Kamstrup A/S

Landis Gyr

Neptune Technology Group, Inc.

Quadlogic Meters Canada, Inc.

Sagemcom

Schneider Electric SE

Sensirion AG

Siemens AG

SIT S.p.A

SmartMeterQ Srl

SunTront Technology Co., Ltd.

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Environmental Concerns, Reduction in Energy Wastage, and Need for Energy Efficiency Drive Adoption of Smart Metering Technology

Government Policies Drive Smart Meters Adoption

Energy Theft Losses Reinforces the Need for Efficient Smart Metering Technologies

Here's Why the Environment & Sustainability Will be Top Priorities After the Pandemic

How Smart Meters Can Reduce the Carbon Footprint?

Emerging Trends to Transform Smart Metering Market

Growing Intelligence of Smart Meters

Rise of Smart Cities and Focus on Smart Energy Management Opens Up Opportunities for Smart Meters

Smart Electricity Meters: Reliable, User-Friendly, Cost Effective, and Energy Efficient Technology for Power Utilities

Myriad Benefits of Smart Electricity Meters to Drive Global Adoption

Spiraling Demand for Electricity and Inefficient Infrastructure Drives Utilities to Deploy Smart Meters

Residential Sector Dominates Smart Electricity Meters Market

Growing Deployments of Smart Grids: A Strong Business Case for Smart Electricity Meters

Smart Electricity Meters Emerge as Vital Components for Efficient Energy Use & Consumption Control in Smart Cities

Renewable Energy Integration: A Promising Application of Smart Electricity Meters

Persistent Power Quality Issues Drive the Importance of AMI & Smart Meters in Outage Management Systems & Service Restoration

Smart Electricity Meters Gain Prominence in Distribution Automation

Government Policies Critical for Smart Electricity Meters Adoption

Integration of Electric Vehicles and Smart Meters Enable Shift towards Sustainable Economy

Need for Water Utilities to be Energy-Efficient and Responsive Propels Demand for Smart Water Meters

Unique Challenges Facing Water Utilities Amidst COVID-19 Outbreak Bring Forth the Importance of Technology Solutions

Growing Prominence of Smart Water Networks Boosts Demand for Smart Water Meters

Smart Meters Enhance Water Management Efficiency

With Water Utilities Focused on Increasing Investments in Digital Solutions, Smart Water Meter Adoption Poised to Grow

Smart Water Meters: An Important Component of Smart Cities Worldwide

Evolution of Smart Water Grid Emerges as a Fundamental Factor Driving Penetration of Smart Water Meters

Innovations in Smart Water Meters Propel Market Growth

Demand Rises for Two-Way Communicating Meters in Water Industry

Integrated Digital Water Meters Find Increased Acceptance

Smart Water Meters to Make Major Contributions to Efficiency Levels in the Agricultural Sector

Blockchain Technology for Smart Water Meters

As Gas Utilities Come Under Pressure to Curb Wastages & Ensure Accurate Billing, Smart Gas Metering Solutions Rise in Popularity

Energy Conservation and Regulatory Mandates Compel Modern Gas Utilities to Switch to Smart Gas Meters

Utility Modernization & Upgrade Programs Create Highly Conducive Environment for Smart Gas Market

Residential Vertical Remains the Dominant Segment for Consumer-Grade Smart Gas Meters

Smart Gas Meters Gain Traction in Commercial & Industrial End-Use Domains

Wireless Communication Systems Gain Traction in Smart Gas Networks

Regulations & Standards Drive New Demand for Smart Gas Infrastructure Solutions

IoT-based Smart Metering to Create Smarter and Connected Cities

IoT-Based AMI Platform: A Key Building Block of Smart Meter Infrastructure

Increasing Investments in Smart Home Technology Solutions to Fuel Demand for Smart Meters

LPWANs to Become a Standard Approach in Smart Water Meters

Big Data Analytics to Provide Actionable Insights from Smart Meters-Generated Data

AI Presents Immense Opportunities to Tap Smart Meter Data

Blockchain to Mitigate Data Safety and Privacy Concerns for Smart Meters

Cloud Computing Transforms Smart Metering Market

increasing Integration of Cellular Technology in Smart Meters

Population Growth and Demographics Drive Need for Smart Utility Infrastructure, Supporting Demand for Smart Meters

Key Issues & Challenges Hampering Widespread Adoption of Smart Meters

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE

IV. COMPETITION

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/f3w2ab

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
Course Overview Duration : 3 months Schedule: 6 biweekly sessions starting April 16 (Sat) from 9am - 12pm (PST) Teaching Method: 100% live interactive sessions Special Guest Lecturers: Tracy Gopal , Founder & CEO of Third Arrow Strategies; and Phil Terry , Founder at Collaborative Gain and Co-Author of Customers Included Apply Here: https://glob.is/3qRRoiK

With a focus on the practical over the academic, GLOBIS courses are designed for both beginners and seasoned businesspeople to enhance their ability to analyze situations, solve problems, and make decisions. Over the course of twelve weeks, participants will enjoy interactive discussions, become familiar with key frameworks, and develop the fundamentals of management strategy. Case studies will align learners with the mentality that top and middle management face in diverse scenarios. All courses are taught by professionals with years of experience in their fields.

GLOBIS USA hosted two events in January to reach out to prospective learners for its spring term. The first was an MBA Online Information Session on January 25, during which participants learned about GLOBIS programs, application processes, and scholarship opportunities. The second, held on January 27 was a trial class, "Leading through Change," which introduced concepts from Organizational Behavior and Leadership. GLOBIS courses are currently offered in Tokyo, Singapore, and Bangkok. Additional courses for learners in North America offer a wider range of selection for those in different timezones.

To give prospective learners a taste of the MBA experience and showcase upcoming courses, GLOBIS holds free online trial sessions regularly. The next trial class will be Organizational Behavior and Leadership on February 9, followed by a kokorozashi seminar on February 19. In the kokorozashi seminar, GLOBIS MBA alumni residing in the United States will be featured as panelists. Those interested in joining these events can sign up here: https://glob.is/3FOjEXK

Stay up to date on future trial classes, events, and increased Pre-MBA course offerings by visiting the GLOBIS USA website: https://glob.is/3tOYned

GLOBIS USA

GLOBIS USA, Inc. was founded on April 1, 2021 and serves as a hub for Pre-MBA (basic management) courses, corporate training programs, and the GLOBIS Unlimited online learning platform. The San Francisco location is also positioned to help support portfolio companies of GLOBIS Capital Partners, widening their reach as global ventures. GLOBIS USA marks an important step forward in the GLOBIS vision to become the world's No.1 Business School in the Technovate Era.

About GLOBIS

Since its foundation in 1992, GLOBIS has fostered a vision to create and innovate societies by fostering management ecosystems of people, capital, and knowledge. Today, the company is involved in a range of activities, from higher education and corporate training to venture capital. GLOBIS also operates the G1 Institute and the KIBOW Foundation, both non-profit organizations to promote creativity and innovation in society. The GLOBIS MBA and corporate training programs are offered both online and in person across Japan, Shanghai, Singapore, and Thailand. GLOBIS University is the proud home of Japan's No. 1 MBA and is rapidly growing to claim this title for all of Asia.

GLOBIS:

GLOBIS University

English (Part-time MBA, Online MBA, and Full-time MBA)



Japanese (Part-time MBA and Online MBA)

GLOBIS Corporation

GLOBIS Executive School



GLOBIS Management School



Corporate Training



GLOBIS Insights



GLOBIS Unlimited

GLOBIS Capital Partners

GLOBIS China



GLOBIS Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.



GLOBIS Thailand Co. Ltd.



GLOBIS USA , Inc.

Other activities:

G1 Institute

KIBOW Foundation

Contact:

GLOBIS Corporate Communications

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +81-3-5275-3870

FAX: +81-3-5275-3890

SOURCE GLOBIS Corporation
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Piemonte Holding and the Private Credit business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management announce they have completed an investment in Elea Digital, an ecosystem of six data centers across different Metro-Areas in Brazil.

The deal is aimed at boosting growth of Elea Digital, a Brazilian interconnected platform of edge data centers. An investment agreement between Piemonte Holding and the Private Credit business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management was reached last October and Brazilian antitrust and telecom regulators (CADE and Anatel) issued transaction approval last December.

The capital increase is aimed to accelerate the standardization and improvement of existing infrastructure, located in Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, as well as further develop Elea Digital's geographic footprint.

About Elea Digital

Founded by Piemonte Holding in 2019, Elea Digital is a data center infrastructure platform in Latin American with a differentiated wide geographical spread and interconnection focus across Brazil.

Elea Digital's six data centers are at the edge of the central cloud regions in key Brazilian metro-areas: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Brasilia.

Currently Elea Digital's core revenues are derived from colocation and cross-connectivity infrastructure services provided to a wide range of customers, mainly concentrated in the information technology, telecom, banking, media, and public sectors.

About Piemonte Holding

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Piemonte Holding is a financial group founded in 2012. Piemonte Holding deploys highly sophisticated transaction skills to invests capital and to foster a sustainable digitalization of the economy.

Piemonte Holding endeavors to excellence and core values in any deal it engages with, employing above benchmark competences to design and manage large scale projects, driven by technological innovation as well as infrastructure and economic development.

About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit

Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world's leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and marketoverseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of September 30, 2021. Driven by a passion for our clients' performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Established in 1996, the Private Credit business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management is one of the world's largest private credit investors with over $75 billion in assets across direct lending, mezzanine debt, hybrid capital and asset-based lending strategies. Our deep industry and product knowledge, extensive relationships and global footprint position us to deliver scaled outcomes

SOURCE Piemonte Holding
MEXICO CITY, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Comercial Chedraui, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: CHEDRAUIB) ("Chedraui") announces its inclusion in Bloomberg's 2022 gender equality index (GEI). The inclusion shows the Company commitment to ensure a fair and equal workplace to everyone.

Bloomberg's gender equality index focuses its analysis across five pillars: i) female leadership & talent pipeline, ii) equal pay & gender pay parity, iii) inclusive culture, iv) anti-sexual harassment policies, and v) pro-women brand. In 2022 the index contains 418 companies, including 10 Mexican companies, among which, proudly stands Chedraui.

Chedraui reaffirms its commitment to enable best-in-class practices in gender equality, social responsibility and sustainability. Even though there is still work to be done, the strong fundamentals that have been implemented in the past allows us to be recognized through the addition to the index for the first time in its history.

About Grupo Chedraui

Grupo Comercial Chedraui S.A.B. de C.V. trades on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CHDRAUIB"; the Company as of December 31, 2021 was operating 715 stores in both Mexico and the US.

Contact:



Humberto Tafolla Nunez

Chief Financial Officer

Tel. + 52 (228) 8-42-11-10

[email protected]

Jesus Arturo Velazquez Diaz

Investor Relations

Tel. + 52 (228) 8-42-11-17

[email protected]

SOURCE Grupo Chedraui
GetInsured created this role at a time when public sector healthcare and human services agencies are grappling with finding solutions to handle the crisis that will result from the eventual end of the public health emergency and sunsetting of the health insurance subsidies provided by the American Rescue Plan. Driven by the pandemic, there is also unprecedented demand across government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels for modern IT infrastructure solutions that will better serve consumers. President Biden's recent executive order makes improving service delivery and the customer experience fundamental priorities for health and human services agencies. Korbulic will be focused on leveraging GetInsured's expertise and innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology to address these emerging challenges.

"We support three-quarters of state-based exchange enrollments and work with human services agencies in nearly half of all states, so we have a real stake in helping Americans better access all the healthcare and safety net benefits they are eligible for," said Chini Krishnan, co-founder and CEO of GetInsured. "Heather's experience directing the successful Silver State Health Insurance Exchange and her work advancing Governor Sisolak's policy priorities give her a unique perspective as states prepare to face significant challenges and to modernize their health and human services operations. Her understanding of the needs of consumers, challenges faced by health and human services agencies, and the benefits of technology will be invaluable as we continue to partner with state agencies across the country."

Korbulic spent six years at the helm of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (SSHIE), where she oversaw the transition of Nevada from the Federally Facilitated Exchange to a state-based exchange. As one of the first states to make this transition, Nevada serves as a blueprint for many states that have established, and plan to transition to, state-based exchanges. Under Korbulic's leadership, SSHIE (aka Nevada Health Link) experienced one of the highest increases in enrollment for the 2022 plan year.

In 2020, during the pandemic, Korbulic was tapped by Governor Sisolak first to serve as the Interim Director, Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, where she launched the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, automated traditional unemployment insurance processes, and connected tens of thousands of eligible Nevadans to unemployment benefits. Subsequently, in 2021, Korbulic served as the Interim Policy Director, Office of Governor Steve Sisolak where she was the Governor's senior policy advisor and lead liaison with cabinet heads, agency directors, and Nevada legislators. She returned to serving as the executive director of SSHIE at the end of her term with the Governor's office.

"I am delighted to join GetInsured and help advance their mission to use technology for good," said Heather Korbulic. "Today, to apply for health and human services benefits, consumers have to navigate multiple government systems that do not speak to each other in any way. Having a fractured system delays the delivery of essential benefits that millions of consumers urgently need. Modern technology can enable states to integrate these systems and offer a streamlined solution to apply for, process, and receive benefits. With the end of the public health emergency and essential coverage for millions hanging in the balance, it's critical we work to modernize systems now  it can quite literally help save lives."

To hear Korbulic discuss her new role, click here.

A leader in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for state-based health insurance exchanges, GetInsured is expanding its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to the full spectrum of human services agencies. In addition to Korbulic's hiring, Vimo (dba GetInsured) recently acquired Change & Innovation Agency (C!A), a leading provider of business process redesign and service delivery optimization solutions for human services agencies and safety net programs.

About GetInsured

GetInsured, a Vimo company, is a leading technology provider for state-based exchanges, offering an ACA-compliant cloud-based SaaS technology platform and integrated consumer assistance center operations. GetInsured's roster of clients includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada, California, Minnesota, Idaho, and Washington. The award-winning SaaS platform processes enrollments for 2.7 million consumers, which represents approximately three-quarters of all state-based marketplace enrollments.

SOURCE GetInsured
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HPIL Holding (the "Company") (OTC: HPIL)

The previous Press Releases that some shareholders may have missed are here: https://www.hpilholding.ca/latest

The company expects to have the financials to correspond with the recent Disclosure filings along with an Attorneys letter filed by the weekend, along with the company is simultaneously working on the audit for the 10K year end.

The Company also would like to announce a shareholders meeting that will be held by Stephen Brown, David Postula and the Apogee team live on February 24th at 2:PM PST. The zoom link will be posted at www.hpilholding.ca five days prior to the call. The company is open to receiving questions via email at [email protected] until February 23rd.

"We are aggressively working on both "ZIPPA" and our Metaverse project "MALLHALLA" and will be giving substantial updates and milestones on the conference call", said Stephen Brown CEO.

Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (The "Act"). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "pleased," "plan," "confident that," "believe," "expect," or "intend to," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any of the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market conditions, general acceptance of the Company's products and technologies, competitive factors, the ability to successfully complete additional financings and other risks described in the Company's SEC reports and filing.

For more information:

HPIL Holding

1720 650 West Georgia St

Vancouver, BC V6B 4N8

Contact: Stephen Brown, CEO

www.hpilholding.ca

[email protected]

Ph: (778) 819-1956

SOURCE HPIL Holding
LONDON, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LetterOne, the holder of a 19.8% economic interest in Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (the "Company" or "Turkcell") through its ownership of all depositary receipts issued by International Mobile Telecom Investment Stichting Administratiekantoor ("IMTIS"), today announces that IMTIS Holdings S.a r.l. ("IMTIS Holdings"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMTIS, has exercised its shareholder right and formally requested the Board of Turkcell to convene a General Assembly of shareholders meeting no later than 30 April 2022, with an agenda which includes among other items, proposed changes to the composition of the Board, amendments of Turkcell's articles of association and a dividend payout of 75% of FY2021 net income. LetterOne urges shareholders of Turkcell to support these proposals at the General Assembly.

LetterOne is a committed long-term investor with real optimism about Turkcell's future. However, under the stewardship of the current Board and governance framework at Turkcell, operating performance, strategic direction and valuation have all suffered. This cannot be allowed to continue. A more robust approach to governance, starting with the refreshment of the Board and changes to the articles of association, is the foundation upon which to address Turkcell's fundamental failures. The proposals are an important first step to enable Turkcell to achieve its operational and valuation potential and become a leading international telecommunications company.

IMTIS Holdings has proposed the appointment of four highly experienced international and Turkish candidates unaffiliated with Turkcell's shareholders, who will bring the industry, strategic and operational experience, and commitment to internationally recognised corporate governance practices necessary to allow Turkcell to achieve its long-term operational and financial potential. Shareholders are urged to take this critical opportunity to dismiss the four incumbent directors not nominated by the Turkey Sovereign Wealth Fund and elect the nominees proposed by IMTIS Holdings.

The proposals for the amendments to the Company's articles of association will materially improve accountability and disclosure and address the very serious concerns raised by ISS, Glass Lewis and institutional shareholders at the 2021 General Assembly, where 94% of them voted against the proposal to ratify the appointment of current directors. IMTIS Holdings' proposals will ensure that director elections are conducted on an individual basis and disclosures provide the necessary transparency on key governance practices.

The proposal to set 2021 fiscal year dividend at 75% of FY2021 net income will bring Turkcell closer in line with its peers and impose discipline to its capital allocation process.

Ben Babcock, Managing Director at LetterOne, commented:

"LetterOne is a committed, long-term investor and believes Turkcell can deliver substantially more economic and social value for the benefit of all stakeholders. LetterOne has now repeatedly sought engagement with the Board of Turkcell to discuss its concerns and proposals. The Board has inexplicably chosen not to engage with us.

Given the pervasive strategic, operational and governance issues we have raised, non-engagement does not protect or advance Turkcell shareholders' interests. LetterOne encourages Turkcell's shareholders to hold the Board to account and to support the new board of directors nominees, governance and dividend proposals at the forthcoming General Assembly."

A copy of LetterOne's Public Letter, along with an Investor Presentation which includes full details of IMTIS Holdings' proposals, among other things, can be found here: www.improveturkcell.com

For further information, call:

Josh Hardie, Corporate Affairs Director, LetterOne +44 (0) 20 3815 3385

Jennifer Renwick, Jake Thomas, Billy Clegg, Camarco +44 (0) 203 757 4980

Notes to Editors

LetterOne is an experienced long term, supportive and committed investor in the TMT, energy, health and retail sectors. It has held an economic interest in Turkcell for the past 16 years. LetterOne initially invested $1.6 billion and made a further investment of more than $330 million as part of the ownership reorganisation in Turkcell which took place in 2020.

SOURCE LetterOne
BOSTON, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Indo-American community, Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) New England, along with partner organizations imbued with great patriotic zeal and fervor, celebrated the 73rd Republic Day on January 26, 2022, at Grand Worcester Union Station MA. Due to Covid restrictions, the event was a combination of Zoom/YouTube/Facebook live in front of the 75 invited guests, and more than 1000+ online guests.

(Indian Flag has unfurled by diversified Indian groups: From top left to right clockwise Dr. Zainab Nawab, State Senator Michael O Moore, FIA President Abhishek Singh, Sardar. Amarpreet Singh Sawhney, Pandit Subrahmanyam Bulusu, Robert Lancia, FIA,NE team. Photo courtesy Anil Nair & VSSP photography) https://fianewengland.org/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/26january https://www.facebook.com/FIANewEngland/ (with State Senator Michael O Moore, FIA President Abhishek Singh, Author Shantanu Gupta, along with Indian-American Community. Photo courtesy Anil Nair & VSSP photography)

The event commenced with the unfurled by Senator, Michael O. Moore, Scientist Terric Andey, Dr. Zainab Nawab, Mr. Amarpreet Singh Sawhney Dr. Sujaat Sayed Ali, ex-State Representative Robert Lancia,& Pandit Subrahmanyam (Subbu) Bulusu, and received the blessing letter from Congressman Jim McGovern, State Representative Hannah Kane, Received a special video message from 4terms ex. U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district & American attorney and politician, Joe Kennedy III, & Consul General of India New York, Randhir Jaiswal Ji followed by the singing of the National Anthem of both the countries., and a powerful welcome speech by Abhishek Singh, Founder of Indo-American community & President of Federations of India Association, New England.

In his address, Mr. Abhishek Singh lauded India (Bharat) for being the oldest example of Unity in Diversity. It is in the same spirit, Indian diaspora from different regions and religions gathered to celebrate Indian Republic Day. He also emphasized the relevance of January 26th, which is a day of pride and honor for all Indians, and the core values enshrined in the Indian Constitution which are Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. He further reminded the audience, "Life can become smoother if rights and duties go hand in hand and become complementary to each other"

Consulate General of India, New York (USA), Randhir Kumar Jaiswal, and State Representative Hannah Kane conveyed messages to audiences supporting the Indian diaspora's role in Indo-American relations and wished the FIA, as well as the entirety of the Indian American community, a very happy 73rd anniversary of the Republic of India.

"This day represents freedom from oppression as well as official adoption of the Indian Constitution, serving as a reminder of a long, hard battle fought by the Indian community. This special opportunity is also an opportunity throughout New England and honors the integral role and importance in our local town and cities" said Hannah Kane, State Representative.

Republic Day celebrations witnessed mesmerizing and remarkable dance performances by the students of well-acclaimed choreographer and dancer Kalaimangai Anabalgan from Amudhasri Dance School.

75 guests, including dignitaries of different faiths and cultures as well as members of the Indian community from New England, attended the event. More than 1000 people of Indian origin and friends of India attended the event virtually and in person.

Media contact:

Aashita Shekhar

[email protected]

573-821-1785

SOURCE 73rd Republic Day of India
DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "E-Axle Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global E-axle market reached a value of US$ 2.88 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 9.42 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 21.49% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, they are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor



An electric axle (e-axle) is an electro-mechanical propulsion system integrated into an axle structure of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to deliver power for turning the wheels. It is manufactured using lightweight and high-strength metal like aluminum and includes bearings, shafts, pinions, and gearing components. It combines power electronics, electric motors, and transmission into a unified compact system, which reduces complexity and makes it possible to customize power, torque, and installation space according to end users' requirements. Presently, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are relying on e-axle solutions to make optimum use of the internal volume of vehicles for extra battery capacity, passenger space, and other features



The increasing use of hybrid electric cars (HEVs), commercial vehicles, and trucks on account of rapid urbanization, inflating income levels, and expanding global trade represents one of the key factors impelling the market growth. This can also be attributed to the increasing awareness among individuals about the harmful effects of fossil fuel-based automobiles on human health and global climate. In line with this, governing agencies of numerous countries are banning the sales of fossil fuel passenger cars to reduce vehicle-based carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

This, in turn, is positively influencing the demand for e-axles across the globe as they assist in improving energy efficiency and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) performance. They also support high-performance scalability for a broad spectrum of applications for various types of vehicles. Apart from this, leading manufacturers are developing advanced products that are equipped with high-strength casings and can accommodate both high torque and input speeds. This is projected to drive the market in the coming years

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being AVL List GmbH, Axletech International (Meritor Inc), Borgwarner Inc, Continental AG, Dana Incorporated, GKN Plc (Melrose Industries), Nidec Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH, Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG and ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Zeppelin-Stiftung)



Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global E-axle market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global E-axle market?

What are the key regional markets?

What is the breakup of the market based on the component type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the vehicle type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the drive type?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global E-axle market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the industry?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology

3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global E-Axle Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Component Type

6.1 Combining Motors

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Power Electronics

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast

6.3 Transmission

6.3.1 Market Trends

6.3.2 Market Forecast

6.4 Others

6.4.1 Market Trends

6.4.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Vehicle Type

7.1 ICE Vehicles

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Key Segments

7.1.2.1 Passenger Vehicle

7.1.2.2 Commercial Vehicle

7.1.3 Market Forecast

7.2 Electric Vehicle

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Drive Type

8.1 Forward Wheel Drive

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Rear Wheel Drive

8.2.1 Market Trends

8.2.2 Market Forecast

8.3 All Wheel Drive

8.3.1 Market Trends

8.3.2 Market Forecast



9 Market Breakup by Region



10 SWOT Analysis



11 Value Chain Analysis



12 Porters Five Forces Analysis



13 Price Analysis



14 Competitive Landscape

14.1 Market Structure

14.2 Key Players

14.3 Profiles of Key Players

14.3.1 AVL List GmbH

14.3.1.1 Company Overview

14.3.1.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.1.3 Financials

14.3.2 Axletech International (Meritor Inc)

14.3.2.1 Company Overview

14.3.2.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.3 Borgwarner Inc

14.3.3.1 Company Overview

14.3.3.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.3.3 Financials

14.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis

14.3.4 Continental AG

14.3.4.1 Company Overview

14.3.4.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.5 Dana Incorporated

14.3.5.1 Company Overview

14.3.5.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.5.3 Financials

14.3.5.4 SWOT Analysis

14.3.6 GKN Plc (Melrose Industries)

14.3.6.1 Company Overview

14.3.6.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.6.3 Financials

14.3.7 Nidec Corporation

14.3.7.1 Company Overview

14.3.7.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.7.3 Financials

14.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis

14.3.8 Robert Bosch GmbH

14.3.8.1 Company Overview

14.3.8.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.8.3 Financials

14.3.9 Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG

14.3.9.1 Company Overview

14.3.9.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.9.3 Financials

14.3.10 ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Zeppelin-Stiftung)

14.3.10.1 Company Overview

14.3.10.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.10.3 Financials

14.3.10.4 SWOT Analysis



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vibgji

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
Since its establishment in 2012, itel has maintained a steady geographical expansion, adding Honduras as its 9th location in only 10 years of operation. After exceeding its initial hiring goal in the country, filling 250 vacancies last year at its site in San Pedro Sula, itel is now entering into a new wave of expansion, aiming to secure 134 new hires in the first few weeks of recruiting.

Luis Restrepo, Country Manager for itel Honduras, explains the company's interest in the region, underscoring its attractiveness as a nearshore destination.

"We are in love with Honduras' culture, people, traditions, and talent. The country definitely aligns with itel's corporate values and its family atmosphere. Honduras has all that it takes to become one of itel's centers of excellence, and we are eager to achieve our targets," said Restrepo.

itel currently operates out of Altia Smart City, a state-of-the-art business center, where it services the outsourcing needs for a large North American retailer, among others. itel has quickly become an employer-of-choice due to its vibrant company culture and benefits. The attractiveness of its diverse client base and opportunities for career growth has strong appeal for the local talent pool, which is gravitating away from a saturated offering of customer support jobs within the telecommunications sector.

The company has also recently expanded into Colombia, another rising technology hub, where a team of software engineers are developing an Innovation Lab, which will offer clients new, cutting-edge technologies, tailored to the customer experience industry.

For more information about itel, visit www.itelinternational.com

Contact:

Melissa von Frankenberg

+1 876 478 4052

SOURCE itel
"Our parents were farmworkers in Washington's Yakima Valley who immigrated from Michoacan, Mexico. Our family taught us early on the value and labor in cultivating real food and drinks," says Rosalinda Mendoza.

"Today who is drinking and how they are drinking are changing. Consumers seek connection with the products they consume. We want to forge a mezcal culture in the United States that honors our history, the 400 years of mezcal artisanship, and the power of a shared experience to bring people together," adds Elizabeth Mendoza.

Mocel uses two ingredients - 100% agave and water - and distills the mezcal in a wooden still unique to the Michoacan region. The distillation process is time-honored and time-intensive, resulting in limited, small batches, each with a distinct flavor profile. Mocel's artisanal mezcales are then bottled in stunning, handmade ceramic bottles featuring artwork inspired by textile patterns native to Michoacan. The Mendoza sisters are part of a Michoacan co-op distillery of mezcal producers and agave farmers.

"Just like our mezcal, each ceramic bottle is crafted by Mexican artisans to be beautifully distinct," says Rosalinda Mendoza.

Mocel offers two distinctive sipping mezcales:

Cupreata 2020 Expression

Made with Michoacan's distinctive Cupreata (locally known as Chino). Strikes the right balance with a delicate herbaceous profile.

Made with distinctive Cupreata (locally known as Chino). Strikes the right balance with a delicate herbaceous profile. Ensamble 2020 Expression

A masterful blend of three regional agaves, Cupreata, Inaequidens and SP (Espadincillo), ranging between 8 to 15 years to maturity prior to distillation, this Ensamble evokes bright floral and sweet notes.

Customers can pre-order a bottle of Mocel at mocelmezcal.com.

ABOUT MOCEL

Mocel is an ultra-premium artisanal mezcal crafted to share and connect with the people you love. Distilled using artisanal methods refined over the course of 400 years, Mocel's artisanal mezcal is time-honored and time-intensive, resulting in limited small batches, each with a distinct flavor profile. Mocel is now available for pre-sale online at mocelmezcal.com in select U.S. states. To learn more, visit mocelmezcal.com and follow @mocelmezcal on Instagram.

Contact: Rosalinda Mendoza, [email protected]

SOURCE Mocel
DALLAS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), the global leader in cloud security, has published new research* revealing that persistently low IT/C-suite engagement may imperil investments and expose organizations to increased cyber risk. Over 90% of the IT and business decision makers surveyed expressed particular concern about ransomware attacks.

To read a full copy of the report, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/explore/en_gb_trendmicro-global-risk-study

Despite widespread concern over spiralling threats, the study found that only around half (57%) of responding IT teams discuss cyber risks with the C-suite at least weekly.

"Vulnerabilities used to go months or even years before being exploited after their discovery," said Eva Chen, CEO of Trend Micro. "Now it can be hours, or even sooner. More executives than ever understand that they have a responsibility to be informed, but they often feel overwhelmed by how rapidly the cybersecurity landscape evolves. IT leaders need to communicate with their board in such a way that they can understand where the organization's risk is and how they can best manage it."

Fortunately, current investment in cyber initiatives is not critically low. Just under half (42%) of respondents claimed their organization is spending most on "cyber-attacks" to mitigate business risk. This was the most popular answer, above more typical projects like digital transformation (36%) and workforce transformation (27%). Around half (49%) said they have recently increased investments to mitigate the risks of ransomware attacks and security breaches.

However, low C-suite engagement combined with increased investment suggests a tendency to 'throw money' at the problem rather than develop an understanding of the cybersecurity challenges and invest appropriately. This approach may undermine more effective strategies and risk greater financial loss. Less than half (46%) of respondents claimed concepts like "cyber risk" and "cyber risk management" were known extensively in their organization.

Most (77%) want to hold more people in the organization responsible for managing and mitigating these risks, which would help to drive an enterprise-wide culture of "security by design." The largest group of respondents (38%) favored holding CEOs responsible. Other non-IT roles cited by respondents included CFOs (28%) and CMOs (22%).

The study follows previous Trend Micro Research revealing a worrying cybersecurity disconnect between business and IT leaders  perpetuated by self-censorship from cyber experts and disagreements over who is ultimately responsible.

*Trend Micro commissioned Sapio Research to interview 5321 IT and business decision makers from enterprises larger than 250 employees across 26 countries.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.TrendMicro.com.

SOURCE Trend Micro Incorporated
By joining Noble, clients will have 24/7 access to self-guided curriculum, or Roadmaps, that can be assigned by mental health professionals to clients between sessions for consistent, achievable opportunities for connection, personal growth and healing. Each Roadmap  covering topics like anxiety, addiction, depression, parenting, infidelity and more  is rooted in evidence and thoroughly reviewed by clinical data scientists and certified therapists, featuring high-quality videos and thoughtful assessments to track progress.

"We believe the mental health profession is the most noble of professions," said Eric Red, co-founder of Noble. "In my own life, I've experienced the impact of suicide, addictions and other mental health issues. I know first-hand that these issues are not only tough to overcome, but are also tough to support. Therapists and other mental health professionals don't get the credit they deserve or support they need. Our goal is for this new app to revolutionize the mental health care system and enhance the client relationship by helping mental health professionals get to the root of mental health issues sooner and build deeper connections."

As they journey through their Roadmap, individuals are encouraged to reflect on what they are learning through journaling prompts, flag areas where they need more support and message their mental health professional directly through an in-app communication feature. Mental health professionals can then respond to messages, and future app updates will allow them to set communications settings to receive batched patient messages at specified times, creating intentional time to focus on patient communications and helping improve work-life balance.

The app is also available to businesses looking to proactively prioritize employees' mental health. With 77% of full-time U.S. workers reporting that their productivity at work was impacted by their mental health in the past year,3 the Noble app offers access to quality mental health resources and professionals to help employees to thrive personally and professionally.

While developing the app, Noble co-founders Eric Red, Dr. Kevin Skinner, and Danny Jackson leaned on their own experiences running their Lindon, Utah-based therapy clinic, Addo Recovery, as well as interviews with dozens of therapists to ensure the app is as beneficial and user-friendly as possible. All revenue from patient subscriptions to the app goes directly to the mental health professional, allowing them to earn a passive income and take more time off, so they can take care of their own mental health and continue taking care of others.

"As therapists, we so rarely take time off to care for ourselves, leading to an acceleration of burnout," said Dr. Kevin Skinner, LMFT, CSAT, EMDR, and co-founder of Noble. "Having been a therapist for over 20 years, I've had challenges struggling with burnout and have seen the urgent need for mental health support, which is higher now more than ever. Fortunately, the mental health resources and support we need are available, and we don't have to combat the mental health crisis alone. By taking care of ourselves, therapists are able to recharge and re-energize, so we can continue dedicating our time to helping people be the best versions of themselves."

To learn more about Noble and stay up-to-date on the many more offerings to come, visit www.noble.health .

About Noble

Noble is an innovative, mental health-focused app that offers therapist-created, research-backed Therapy Roadmaps designed to help individuals find healing through connection and habit-building. Noble helps increase the effectiveness of one-on-one therapy sessions by providing automated, between-session content, individualized assignments, and thoughtful assessments for clients. In turn, Noble aims to reduce burnout for mental health professionals by creating an opportunity to earn a passive income and providing access to supplemental tools and resources for mental health professionals to offer a more consistent, interactive client experience. For more information, please visit www.noble.health.

Media Contact:

Paige Procknow

Marketing Manager

(512) 423-3118

SOURCE Noble
ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Due to the ability of quartz to offer a glossy finish to commercial and residential constructions, quartz has been increasingly used in different applications such as covering, flooring, and masonry walls of buildings. Hence, rise in infrastructure development activities and expansion of the construction industry are favoring the growth of the global quartz market.

A study by Transparency Market Research (TMR) notes that the quartz market is prognosticated to attract growth at a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period of 2021 to 2031.

The quartz market in Asia Pacific is expected to gather notable growth avenues on the back of rising use of quartz material in regional end-use industries such as electronics & semiconductor, building & construction, and medical industries. Furthermore, the Asia Pacific quartz market is driven by many factors such as increasing industrialization, presence of densely populated nations, and existence of numerous well-entrenched companies in the region. Moreover, presence of many emerging economies such as China and India plays a crucial role in the growth of the Asia Pacific market, according to a TMR report on the quartz market.

Get PDF Brochure for More Insights  https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=84239

Quartz Market: Key Findings

In the semiconductor industry, products manufactured using high purity quartz are being utilized at a large scale, owing to their excellent purity and quality levels. Hence, rise in use of high purity quartz in the semiconductor industry for the production of crucibles and quartz glass products, including rods, tubes, and windows is creating revenue-generation opportunities in the market. Moreover, increasing use of quartz for the manufacturing of silicon metal, which serves as a base for semiconductor wafers, is resulting in promising revenue gains for players operating in the quartz market.

With rapid urbanization in many emerging economies, they are mainly focusing on infrastructure development activities. As a result, there is a substantial increase in building and construction projects across these nations, which, in turn, is generating ample opportunities in the global quartz market.

In many developing and developed nations, the spending power of major consumers is improving. Moreover, rising trend of single-family homes, increasing and easy availability of financial options, and changing lifestyles of people are anticipated to support the growth of the quartz market during the forecast period.

Ask for Special Discount on Report  https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=84239

Quartz Market: Growth Boosters

Surge in the use of quartz for glassmaking, kitchen countertops, crucibles, and gemstones creates profitable opportunities in the global quartz market

Rise in the number of infrastructure development projects and surge in the use of quartz material for varied applications in the development of commercial and residential buildings are expected to boost the sales of quartz in the near future

Increase in the use of quartz across optical fiber & telecommunication and solar industries is driving the growth prospects of the global market

Quartz Market: Competition Landscape

Several enterprises are strengthening their production capabilities in order to cater to the rising market demand

Many players in the global quartz market are focused on the expansion of their businesses in new regions using different strategies, including collaborations with small competitors

Companies operating in the quartz market are increasing R&D activities in order to develop superior quality products

Request a Sample  https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=84239

Quartz Market: Key Players

Some of the key players profiled in the report are:

Quality Quartz Engineering

The Quartz Corporation

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Saint Gobain Group

TXC Corporation

Kyocera Corporation

Swift Glass Co., Inc.

Abrisa Technologies

Caesarstone Ltd.

Industrial Quartz Corporation

Quartz Market Segmentation

Type

Engineered Quartz Stones

Quartz Sand

Quartz Pebbles

Quartz Crystals

Others (Quartz Glass and Fused Quartz Crucibles)

End-use industry

Building & Construction

Medical

Semiconductor

Solar

Optical Fiber & Telecommunication

Region

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

Buy an Exclusive Research Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=84239<ype=S

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:

Transparent Quartz Tube Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/transparent-quartz-tube-market.html

Synthetic Quartz Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/synthetic-quartz-market.html

About Transparency Market Research

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.

For More Research Insights on Leading Industries, Visit our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8e-z-g23-TdDMuODiL8BKQ

Contact

Mr. Rohit Bhisey

Transparency Market Research

State Tower,

90 State Street,

Suite 700,

Albany NY - 12207

United States

USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Press Release Source: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/quartz-market.htm

SOURCE Transparency Market Research
The retail technology platform will provide CRM, retail execution and business analytics solutions. Tweet this

"With Repsly's powerful operational platform and their Insights Dashboard business intelligence solution, we'll be able to assess our wholesale execution plans with real-time and trended data on sales performance, promotion execution and more. These data-driven insights will allow our team to learn and pivot on a dime as feedback comes in from their field," said Patrick Larkin, SVP of Sales at Curaleaf.

"Our team at Repsly is obsessed with helping our customers win by executing perfectly at all aspects of retail, every day," said Matthew Brogie, CEO at Repsly. "Knowing that we have the opportunity to help Curaleaf navigate competitively in one of the fastest growing consumer industries, and that we can support Curaleaf and their portfolio of brands in their next generation plans is extremely energizing for our team! We're looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and working hard to demonstrate that Repsly is the right partner to support Curaleaf in this amazing growth journey."

Curaleaf will begin to roll out the Repsly platform in February 2022.

About Repsly

Repsly, Inc. is a retail execution software that empowers CPG teams to make data-driven insights and achieve peak performance in the field. Repsly helps global brands like Kraft Heinz, Adidas, L'Oreal, Spindrift, Beyond Meat, Mattel, and AB InBev control compliance at the brand level, improve coverage at the territory level, and execute at the store level. Repsly is the only retail execution solution to connect store-level activities with their impact on sales. Headquartered in Boston, MA with offices globally, Repsly works with over 800 brands in 80 countries around the world.

About Curaleaf

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf") is a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis with a mission to improve lives by providing clarity around cannabis and confidence around consumption. As a high-growth cannabis company known for quality, expertise and reliability, the Company and its brands, including Curaleaf and Select, provide industry-leading service, product selection and accessibility across the medical and adult-use markets. In the United States, Curaleaf currently operates in 23 states with 125 dispensaries, 25 cultivation sites, and employs over 5,200 team members. Curaleaf International is the largest vertically integrated cannabis company in Europe with a unique supply and distribution network throughout the European market, bringing together pioneering science and research with cutting-edge cultivation, extraction and production. Curaleaf is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol CURA and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol CURLF. For more information, please visit https://ir.curaleaf.com.

Media enquiries to:

Cait Will ( [email protected] )

Stephanie Pojatina ( [email protected] )

SOURCE Repsly Inc.
NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Oak Street Health, Inc. (NYSE: OSH) between August 6, 2020 and November 8, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important March 14, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Oak Street Health securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Oak Street Health class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2210.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than March 14, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. 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.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Oak Street Health maintained relationships with third-party marketing agents likely to provoke law enforcement scrutiny; (2) Oak Street Health was providing free transportation to federal health care beneficiaries in a manner that would provoke law enforcement scrutiny; (3) these activities may be violations of the False Claims Act; (4) as such, Oak Street Health was at heightened risk of investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and/or other federal law enforcement agencies; (5) as a result, Oak Street Health was subject to adverse impacts related to defense and settlement costs and diversion of management resources; and (6) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about Oak Street Health's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Oak Street Health class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2210.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
CHICAGO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Spaulding Ridge, a global cloud advisory and implementation firm, has expanded its Salesforce offerings to include a full-scale Revenue Lifecycle Management Practice to tackle the needs of high-growth SaaS organizations.

The practice, in conjunction with Spaulding Ridge's cloud advisory team, focuses on assessing and improving SaaS organizations' revenue lifecycle value chains, including industry-leading cloud transformation health checks to accelerators and proprietary intellectual property (IP) solutions. As part of this launch, Spaulding Ridge has created a proprietary accelerator that manages the lifecycle of recurring subscriptions and smoothly connects sales and finance operations. This service enables SaaS companies to allocate and properly recognize revenue in multi-year enterprise-level agreements.

"There's so much value to capture if you get this right  the impact can range from improved sales volume and speed-to-cash to reducing revenue leakage and working capital risk," says Ron Dimon, Partner and Head of the Spaulding Ridge Cloud Advisory Practice. "And now, more than ever, organizations need repeatable, data-driven processes to help them scale."

"As more companies move to subscription-based models to follow consumer demands, the largest hurdle we see our clients facing is managing the complexity of revenue," Eric Jacobson, Associate Partner in Spaulding Ridge's Salesforce practice, says. "A full RevOps tech stack integrating Sales and Finance teams through Salesforce, with an in-depth financial planning solution, is the marker of a scalable subscription-model business. This expansion helps our clients avoid the common pitfalls that come with moving to this model type while unlocking immense revenue potential."

About the Spaulding Ridge Salesforce Practice

With more than 100 Salesforce consultants globally, Spaulding Ridge offers experience and engagement services around sales, service, and community clouds across 27+ industries, which include healthcare and life sciences, high tech, and manufacturing. Spaulding Ridge consultants are also skilled in financial modeling, close processes, and accounting principles across best-in-cloud services.

"Subscription-model businesses are a reaction to consumer needs and our growth into this area is a natural progression  we've been advisors to the CFO office for years now," Spaulding Ridge Partner Kyle Boston says of the Revenue Lifecycle Management Practice.

Spaulding Ridge's Salesforce Practice is known for its expertise in Revenue Cloud (CPQ & Billing products) and is one of the first firms to implement CPQ and Billing for end-to-end Revenue Recognition solutions. The expansion into Salesforce Revenue Lifecycle Management strengthens its offerings for total business transformation across organizational needs.

About Spaulding Ridge

An award-winning provider of Cloud solutions and advisory services, Spaulding Ridge helps leading companies deploy Best-in-Cloud solutions on a global scale. Spaulding Ridge enables organizations to accelerate operational efficiency, drive digital transformation, and increase competitive advantage.

Spaulding Ridge partners with digitally savvy companies to help:

Finance gain control: Increase top-line revenue, gross margins, and profits through better insight. Connect financial planning to strategy and automate financial close processes.

Increase top-line revenue, gross margins, and profits through better insight. Connect financial planning to strategy and automate financial close processes. Sales increase productivity: Manage quota and territories more consistently and effectively, automate customer contracts and onboarding.

Manage quota and territories more consistently and effectively, automate customer contracts and onboarding. Operations drive efficiency: Improve supply chain agility, automate strategic sourcing and purchasing, deliver superior customer service experiences.

To learn more, visit spauldingridge.com.

SOURCE Spaulding Ridge, LLC
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Soaak Technologies, Inc. welcomes nationally recognized business leader, Mike Pitcher, as President of its Global Business Division.

Soaak Technologies

"I have known Mr. Pitcher for over 30 years, and his track record speaks for itself. We are honored to have him lead our Global Business Division as President," says Soaak CEO, Henry Penix. "Now more than ever, the need for proven mindfulness, mental health, and wellness solutions in the workplace is at an all-time high. We are confident that Mr. Pitcher will successfully deliver Soaak Business Solutions in the U.S. and abroad."

Mike Pitcher is the former President of Pitney Bowes Credit Corp (Aus.), SVP of Dell (DFS), President of Efficiency Enterprises, and CEO of LeasePlan USA. Under Mike's leadership at LeasePlan, the company was twice-recognized as the best mid-sized company to work for in the City of Atlanta, as well as one of the best mid-sized companies to work for in the USA, by Forbes.

"I am honored to accept this position with Soaak," says Soaak Global Business Division President, Mike Pitcher. "Upon recognizing the need for this type of technology in the workplace, I decided to rethink my retirement plans. After using and proving the technology myself, joining this team was an easy decision."

About Soaak:

Soaak Technologies, Inc. provides positive outcomes and solutions supporting mindfulness, mental health, and wellness while boosting mood and increasing productivity in the workplace. Created from five years in-clinic, where symptoms of anxiety, depression, low energy, insomnia, and more were successfully addressed, Soaak now offers these same solutions and positive outcomes on its web-based platform, iOS app, Android app, and any Alexa-enabled device. Soaak is HSA and FSA authorized.

Media Contact: Madison Fournier, 918-521-7655, [email protected]

Website: Soaak.com/business

Social: @dailysoaak

Additional information: [email protected]

SOURCE Soaak Technologies
DALLAS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) (the "Company") today announced several Leadership promotions across the Company.

Elizabeth Bryant is promoted from Vice President Southwest Airlines University (SWA U) to Senior Vice President of People, Learning, & Development. This promotion is the first step to bringing together the efforts of the Company's People Department and Southwest Airlines University. Together, People and SWA U are charged with effective and timely hiring, training, and the long-term development and care of the People of Southwest Airlines, including the critical responsibility for onboarding the thousands of new Employees the airline is actively hiring. Since joining Southwest Airlines in 1997, Bryant has served in various leadership roles, including Manager of Leadership Development, Director of Leadership Development, and Senior Director of Talent Development. Bryant holds an undergraduate degree in Communication Studies from California State University Sacramento, and a Masters in Speech Communication from Indiana University.

Reid Grandle is promoted from Vice President to Senior Vice President Strategy & Planning. In addition to continuing to oversee Financial Planning and Analysis and Corporate Strategy, Grandle will also be responsible for formulating, facilitating, and communicating the strategic initiatives and future goals of the Company in collaboration with the Executive Leadership Team. Grandle joined Southwest in 2014 as a Director in Financial Planning & Analysis and has served as Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Innovation, and, most recently, Vice President of Strategy & Planning. Prior to joining Southwest, Grandle was a Principal in Oliver Wyman's aviation practice, where he advised companies on strategic, commercial, and operational issues. Reid holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Julia Landrum is promoted from Managing Director to Vice President Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A). Landrum will continue to lead the Financial Planning & Analysis Department and is responsible for ensuring the Company's business plan and budget remain in line with major Company initiatives, evaluating future trends and opportunities, and providing economic and industry analysis. She joined Southwest as a Senior Director in the Financial Planning & Analysis Department, supporting the Commercial organization. Prior to joining Southwest, Landrum served as Vice President, Revenue for Studio Movie Grill, and held leadership roles at The Home Depot, United Airlines, and Ernst & Young LLP. She holds a Master's of Business Administration degree from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Southern Methodist University.

Matt Louis is promoted from Senior Director Revenue Management Yield to Vice President Revenue Management and Pricing. Louis steps into this position as Kay Weatherford moves to an Executive Advisor role. Louis will oversee the Department that is responsible for optimizing all Southwest Airlines' passenger ticket revenue while supporting the carrier's low fare brand. During his tenure in Revenue Management, Louis has held several leadership roles and has had a hand in driving several large initiatives to improve revenue management processes and systems. He has a degree in Finance from Texas Christian University and joined Southwest Airlines as a fixed asset accountant in the Finance Department in 2002.

Wally Devereaux is promoted from Managing Director to Vice President Cargo & Charters. Devereaux leads the Cargo and Charters Team, which is dedicated to providing exceptional service and Hospitality to these unique and important Customers of Southwest Airlines. He joined Southwest in 1992, as a Customer Service Agent at Dallas Love Field. Devereaux held various positions in the Ground Operations, Public Relations, and Marketing Departments before joining the Cargo and Charters team in 1999, where he has held a variety of positions in the department. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Adam Carlisle is promoted from Senior Director to Vice President Labor Relations. Carlisle steps into this position as Russell McCrady moves to an Executive Advisor role. He will be responsible for the oversight of Labor Relations, working with the numerous labor organizations that support and represent Southwest Employees. Carlisle started at Southwest in 2007, and has since held a number of positions in Financial Planning & Analysis, Inflight Operations, and Labor Relations. Most recently, he served as Senior Director, Labor Relations and oversaw contract negotiations for several of the union-represented workgroups. Carlisle has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Baylor University.

Steve Christl is promoted from Senior Director Regulatory Operations to Vice President Operations Strategy & Implementation. This newly-created role is part of the Strategy & Implementation function under Senior Vice President Operational Strategy & Design Justin Jones. Christl will drive two core strategic priorities that are part of the Company's five year plan: modernize the operation and maintain Southwest's low cost position. Captain Christl joined Southwest in 2004 as a Pilot, and since then has held a number of roles in Flight Operations and our Network Operations Control (NOC), serving most recently as the Senior Director, NOC Regulatory Operations.

Justin Rucker is promoted from Senior Director Technical Operations (Tech Ops) Planning to Vice President Tech Ops Planning and Performance. Rucker will be leading strategic planning and heavy maintenance planning, maintenance reliability, training, contract services, aircraft appearance, and business intelligence, supporting Southwest Airlines' fleet of 730 Boeing 737 aircraft. In his 17 years with the Company, Rucker has held a number of roles in Revenue Management & Pricing and Financial Planning & Analysis. He earned his BBA from the University of Texas at Austin Business Honors Program with a degree in Management Information Systems.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. Celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2021, Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline1. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its more than 55,0002 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among as many as 130 million Customers carried a year. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years3 of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest continues to develop tangible steps toward an environmental sustainability goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, including offering an opportunity for Customers to contribute toward helping Southwest offset its carbon emissions. For more information, please visit Southwest.com/wannaoffsetcarbon. Learn more at Southwest.com/citizenship about how Southwest Airlines leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world.

1) U.S. Dept. of Transportation most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded

2) fulltime-equivalent active Employees

3) 1972-2019 annual profitability

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.
DALLAS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InvestmentNews reports that according to an industry insider, GWG Holdings may have issued up to $2B of high-yield junk bonds in recent years. While Emerson Equity is the managing broker-dealer for the GWG Issuer, there may have been hundreds of other broker-dealers that also sold L-Bonds to investors.

In a January 15, 2022, filing with the SEC, GWG disclosed that it hasn't been able to issue $13.6M in principal payments and interest that it owes to L Bond investors. The Dallas-based-alternative asset manager has a 30-day grace period to complete the payments or risk default.

GWG Holdings is an investor in life settlements. It is under investigation by a non-public fact-finding probe involving the SEC's Enforcement Division.

Our private placement lawyers at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) are investigating claims of GWG Holdings junk bond losses by investors. Contact us today for your free, no-obligation case assessment.

What are L Bonds?

L bonds are private placements and high-yield junk bonds that were issued by GWG Holdings from 2012 to 2021. With an $8.5% yield, these 7-year bonds are considered very appealing to investors. Through money pooled from bond investors, the L bonds financed the purchase of life insurance policies.

These policies were found on the secondary market and paid policyholders more than the surrender value of the policies.

In April 2021, GWG Holdings voluntarily suspended its L Bond offerings. This was after delaying the filing of its Form 10K due at the end of December 2020. This was while the firm worked to resolve accounting questions with the help of auditors and the SEC's Chief Accountant.

GWG Holdings went on to submit that form in November 2021 and resumed selling its L Bonds in early December 2021.

It has since suspended its sale again, notifying investors of this in a letter to shareholders on January 26, 2022. The Dallas-based firm also said that it was going to keep deferring redemption requests.

Emerson Equity and other broker-dealers sold GWG Private Placements to investors. If you are an investor who has suffered losses in GWG Holding's L Bond series, you may have grounds for a FINRA arbitration case.

Call SSEK Law Firm at (800) 259-9010 for a free, no obligation case assessment.

Email: [email protected]

www.investorlawyers.com

SOURCE Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP
CHICAGO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For the sixth year in a row, the communication blog produced by The Grossman Group, a Chicago-based leadership and communications consultancy, has recently received the top honor from Feedspot, an RSS feed reader that aggregates favorite blogs in one place.

The top communication blogs were selected from thousands in Feedspot's index, with rankings-based criteria such as traffic, social influence, domain authority, quality and consistency, and Feedspot's own editorial review. The Grossman Group blog has earned the recognition as the #1 communication blog annually since 2017. David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, has been writing the blog since 2010. Occasionally, the blog also features guest posts from leadership and communications experts, including thoughtpartners at The Grossman Group and others in the industry.

"After the seismic shift in work and life from the pandemic, the landscape has transformed for companies today. There is a workplace revolution at hand, which is having a significant impact on how professionals lead and respond. Those who aren't paying attention and strategizing accordingly risk being left behind," says Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, CSP. "With leaders prioritizing a strategic communications approach, we were very conscious to meet them at their point of need. We wanted to outline outcome-driven solutions to help our readers meet their strategic priorities and solve the challenges they're experiencing in their organization."

Based on David Grossman's research, consulting, and experience, he shares insights on the importance of meaningful leadership and communication in today's business climate, including high-level tips and strategies on:

Leading with authenticity, empathy, and humanity, what Grossman defines as Heart First Leadership

Employee engagement, culture, and retention, particularly through The Great Resignation

Leadership effectiveness, planning, and communications

Building and maintaining trust

Communicating effectively through periods of change, business transformation and crisis

Internal communications planning, assessment and measurement

A variety of other topics on the minds of leaders and communicators.

Here is a selection of top leadercommunicator blog posts readers found most helpful in 2021:

Subscribe to the leadercommunicator blog here.

About The Grossman Group

The Grossman Group is an award-winning Chicago-based communications consultancy focusing on organizational consulting, strategic leadership development and internal communication. A certified diversity supplier, The Grossman Group has partnered with Fortune 500 companies and other leading organizations including Abbott Laboratories, Allstate, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Lockheed Martin, Medstar Health, Novartis Gene Therapies, SC Johnson, and Tecomet, among others.

About David Grossman

A leading consultant, speaker and author, David Grossman ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, CSP is one of America's foremost authorities on communication and leadership inside organizations. He is Founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based leadership and communications consultancy that focuses on organizational consulting, strategic leadership development and internal communications for Fortune 500 clients. A frequent media source, David provides expert commentary and analysis on employee and leadership issues. He's been featured on "NBC Nightly News," WSJ.com, Today.com, in the Chicago Tribune, the World Economic Forum, LA Times, and CBS MoneyWatch, among others. His latest award-winning book, "Heart First: Lasting Leader Lessons from a Year that Changed Everything" features interviews with 30+ leaders inside a variety of organizations, each of whom share extraordinarily candid insights and unique leadership lessons.

Contact: Kayla Ellsworth

The Grossman Group

312.927.4588, [email protected]

SOURCE The Grossman Group
FOXBOROUGH, Mass., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thrive , a premier provider of NextGen Managed Services, has acquired Preemo , a responsive, award-winning technology services firm based in Miami, FL. The acquisition will provide South Florida businesses with comprehensive cybersecurity, cloud and digital transformation solutions to increase their technology (ROI) return-on-investment.

Preemo has been providing top-quality IT services and proactive, innovative solutions to South Florida companies for nearly a decade, currently serving more than 200 businesses across a multitude of different industries but specializing in the legal and private equity spaces.

"Preemo has a tremendous reputation built upon a customer-centric focus and premier IT support," said Rob Stephenson, CEO of Thrive. "Thrive has a large number of customers in the Northeast United States moving or expanding to South Florida that will benefit from Preemo's team of exceptional technologists. Their clients will benefit from Thrive's 24x7x365 SOC, cybersecurity practice, and digital transformation products and services."

"Over the past 13 years, Preemo has grown into a leader in the Southeast Florida market, delivering comprehensive managed IT services, public and private cloud, and cybersecurity solutions," noted Ivan Mladenovic, CEO of Preemo. "Now, under Thrive's umbrella, we will expand both our service offering and our geographic footprint, to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience for our clients in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. We're thrilled about this new partnership and look forward to our strategic growth this year and beyond."

Preemo establishes a strong presence for the company in the Florida region. Working with leading small to mid-sized enterprises across multiple industries, Thrive delivers comprehensive NextGen managed services and unmatched expertise to drive digital transformation efficiencies with advanced cybersecurity best practices.

For more information on Thrive, visit thrivenextgen.com.

About Thrive

Thrive is a leading provider of NextGen managed services designed to drive business outcomes through application enablement and optimization. The company's Thrive5 Methodology utilizes a unique combination of its Application Performance Platform and strategic services to ensure each business application achieves peak performance, scale, uptime, and the highest level of security. For more information, thrivenextgen.com .

Thrive: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram

About Preemo

Preemo has been a trusted leader in South Florida for over a decade, providing proactive, innovative solutions for a variety of businesses, including law firms, medical offices, accounting firms, and manufacturing & distribution companies.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Patrick Reilly

Zer0 to 5ive, for Thrive

[email protected]

732-687-4683

SOURCE Thrive
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year Timeshare Users Group releases our sales and rental numbers from ads in the industry leading Online Timeshare Marketplace , where TUG proves year in and year out that owners can successfully sell or rent their Timeshares themselves without paying large upfront fees or commissions!

The top rated Timeshare Resales & Rentals for 2021

With successful statistics like these that continue to grow even despite the impacts COVID has had on the vacation industry, it's easy to see why TUG has been around for nearly 30 years providing real solutions for owners who are looking for help but afraid of being ripped off by the scammers that specifically target owners desperate for help with their Timeshare!

Every year since 2008, we have released the data showing the most popular Timeshares sold and rented on the website, and we have just released this data for 2021 that you can view here:

Top 25 Most Sold and Rented Timeshares in 2021

We provide this data to anyone each and every year for owners to provide a unique view of the resale and rental market and how it changes from year to year! Owners can go back more than 10 years to view the historical changes year in and year out!

The simple fact is that any Timeshare owner that finds Timeshare Users Group will be amazed at the wealth of information and help available to them, all created and shared by owners just like you! Come visit TUG today and see why we are the absolute best resource for Timeshare information on the internet and have been since 1993!

About Timeshare Users Group

The Timeshare Users Group (TUG) was the very first Timeshare website on the internet and has been Providing the truth about timeshares to owners for over 29 years!

Started in 1993 by a group of Timeshare Owners just like yourself, is a family run self-help organization providing an unbiased source of consumer-oriented information and advice on Timeshares and the Timeshare concept. Here at TUG, you get the truth about timeshares for FREE!

You can visit Timeshare Users Group at https://tug2.net , or find us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Youtube , Google or LinkedIn .

Media Contact:

Brian Rogers

904-298-3185

[email protected]

SOURCE Timeshare Users Group
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) ("Trulieve" or "the Company"), a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the United States, is hosting a statewide celebration commemorating the re-branding of its Maryland retail locations, formerly branded as Harvest. On Saturday, Feb. 5, Trulieve invites registered medical marijuana patients and their caregivers to join the celebration at each retail location across the state.

Trulieve will kick off the day of celebrations at 9:00 am with a ribbon-cutting event at its flagship Rockville dispensary located at 12200 Rockville Pike. There will be additional in-store activations including exclusive promotional deals and complimentary branded merchandise at the Halethorpe (3531 Washington Blvd Suite 112-113) and Lutherville (1526 York Road) locations.

"We are honored to provide Maryland's patients with a broad selection of high-quality medical cannabis products at each of our dispensaries across the state," said Kim Rivers, Chief Executive Officer of Trulieve. "Our local teams are committed to delivering approachable and personalized cannabis experiences to the state's growing medical community."

In stores and online, patients will find a wide variety of THC and CBD products including whole flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates, tinctures, topicals, vaporizers, and accessories.

For more information on store events and locations, please visit https://www.trulieve.com/dispensaries/maryland or visit local Facebook and Instagram @Trulieve_MD.

About Trulieve

Trulieve is an industry leading, vertically integrated cannabis company and multi-state operator in the U.S. operating in 11 states, with leading market positions in Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Trulieve is poised for accelerated growth and expansion, building scale in retail and distribution in new and existing markets through its hub strategy. By providing innovative, high-quality products across its brand portfolio, Trulieve delivers optimal customer experiences and increases access to cannabis, helping patients and customers to live without limits. Trulieve is listed on the CSE under the symbol TRUL and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol TCNNF. For more information, please visit Trulieve.com .

Facebook: @Trulieve

Instagram: @Trulieve

Twitter: @Trulieve

Investor Contact

Christine Hersey, Director of Investor Relations

+1 (424) 202-0210

[email protected]

Media Contact

Rob Kremer, Executive Director of Corporate Communications

+1 (404) 218-3077

[email protected]

SOURCE Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United States Generic Drugs Market, By Type (Small Molecule Generics v/s Biosimilars), By Application, By Mode of Drug Delivery, By Form, By Source, By Distribution Channel, By Region, Competition, Forecast and Opportunity, 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The United States Generic Drugs Market was valued USD70.78 billion in 2020 and is forecast to grow at CAGR of 9.43% during the forecast period and may achieve the market value of USD126.74 billion by the year 2026.

Factors like cost effective nature of generic drugs and increasing demand from the developing economies are majorly responsible for this futuristic growth estimation of the United States Generic Drugs Market in the upcoming five years. Generic drugs do not require extensive research and development as in case of prescription drugs and patented drugs.

Market players and research institutes invest heavily on patent pharmaceuticals. Also, FDA approvals for the generic drugs are not required since generic drugs contain same composition as that of previously patented drug and thus supports the growth of the United States Generic Drugs Market in the next five years. United States healthcare industry, in terms of the generic drugs, has grown from registering 80% growth in 2020 from previous growth of 20% in 2015.



Increased export of generic drugs to the developing economies like Kenya, India, etc. is also substantiating the growth of the United States Generic Drugs Market in the future five years.



The United States Generic Drugs Market is segmented based on type, mode of drug delivery, form, source of manufacturing, application, company and regional distribution. Based on type, the market can be split into small molecule generics and biosimilars. Small molecule generics are anticipated to register largest revenue shares of the market and dominate the market segment in the upcoming five years on the account of its simpler and easier manufacturing processes.

Generic drug manufacturers during the production of small molecule generics are required to prove that the final product contains identical chemical compounds as that of the patent drug. With similar pharmacokinetic functions and properties, the small molecule generic is accepted. Moreover, the demand for the cost-effective generic drugs is anticipated to further support the growth of the United States Generic Drugs Market in the future five years.



Based on application, the market can be fragmented into cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurology, oncology, infectious diseases, and others. Cardiovascular diseases are expected to dominate the market segment while registering largest revenue shares of the market in the upcoming five years on the account of increasing instances of cardiovascular diseases in the United States.

Moreover, increased demand for the treatment and prolonged medication protocols drives the growth of the sub-segment cardiovascular diseases meanwhile supporting the growth of the Untied States generic drugs market in the next five years.

Increasing researches and pharmaceutical developments for the oncology disease is anticipated to drive the growth of the oncology sub-segment and drive the growth of the United States Generic Drugs Market in the future five years.

Major market players in the United States that lead the market growth of generic drugs include:

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA , Inc.

, Inc. Pfizer Inc

Sandoz US

Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Aurobindo Pharma USA , Inc.

, Inc. Abbott Laboratories Inc.

Eli Lilly and Company

Sun Pharma Inc.

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.

Report Scope:

Years considered for this report:

Historical Years: 2016-2019

Base Year: 2020

Estimated Year: 2021

Forecast Period: 2022-2026

United States Generic Drugs Market, By Type:

Small Molecule Generic

Biosimilars

United States Generic Drugs Market, By Application:

Cardiovascular Diseases

Diabetes

Neurology

Oncology

Infectious Diseases

Others

United States Generic Drugs Market, By Mode of Drug Delivery:

Oral

Parenteral

Topical

Others

United States Generic Drugs Market, By Form:

Tablet

Capsule

Injection

Others

United States Generic Drugs, By Source:

In House Manufacturing

Contract Manufacturing Organizations

United States Generic Drugs Market, By Distributions Channels:

Retail Pharmacies

Online Pharmacies

Hospital Pharmacies

Others

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k9pvax

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vision Films, Inc. ("Vision") announces the North American VOD release of the sci-fi feature The Prototype on March 8, 2022. Vision negotiated the North American deal with global distributor Fantastic Films International ("FFI"). A limited theatrical run begins February 25 at Harkins Theatres across Arizona, followed by the VOD in the US and Canada.

The Prototype Sci-Fi Thriller Movie Poster

The Prototype was written, produced and directed by Italian-Argentine filmmaker Marcelo Grion through his production company, Energia Films. The Phoenix, AZ based filmmaker filmed on location in Italy, California, and Arizona. Grion wrote his first screenplay at age 11, studied at Fundacion Universidad del Cine (FUC) and wrote, produced, and directed the short films, Jaque Mate, Luz de Amor, and El Extrano. He came to Los Angeles to produce this sci-fi script while in film school and persevered despite language and visa barriers and while working a myriad of jobs.

When a government agent uncovers an alien conspiracy to conquer Earth, he is captured and subjected to experimentation with a mysterious blue liquid as the aliens attempt to make humans stronger for use in their own armies. He wakes up 300 years into the future without his memory to find that the aliens have destroyed Earth and now he is now the only hope for mankind.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/28JzHv7iDb4

Lisa Romanoff, CEO & Managing Director of Vision Films says, "The Prototype is a sci-fi film with a unique take on revitalizing our planet in a post-apocalyptic world."

Filmmaker Grion shares, "Being a filmmaker allows me to create new worlds and to live forever, and I wanted my first feature film to be in the science fiction genre. With just my passion and burning desire for filmmaking, The Prototype, was born."

The film stars Mark Vasconcellos (Being Rose), Frank Spinelli (The Marriage Ritual), Victoria De Mare (Killjoy's Psycho Circus), Theresa Tilly (The Evil Dead), Bryan Kent (Final Redemption), John Marrs (Heart of the Gun), Juan Antonio Devoto (When The Bough Breaks)

Follow The Prototype on social and learn more at:

facebook.com/film7maker

twitter.com/marcelogrion

instagram.com/film7maker

Youtube.com

IMDB

About Vision Films

Vision Films is a leading independent sales and VOD aggregator specializing in the licensing, marketing, and distribution of over 800 feature films, documentaries, and series from some of the most prolific independent film producers in the world. Led by Lise Romanoff, Managing Director/CEO Worldwide Distribution, Vision Films releases 2-4 films a month across Theatrical, VOD, DVD, and television platforms. visionfilms.net

About Fantastic Films International (FFI)

FFI executive produces and licenses quality independent films and series internationally. Led by Roxane Barbat and Fred deWysocki, FFI is passionately committed to selecting, developing and promoting films that encompasses their "Fantastic" brand ensuring independent excellence. For additional info (including theatrical interest or inquiries outside of USA/Canada) visit: fantasticfilmsinternational.com.

Contact:

Andrea McKinnon

(818) 415-9442

[email protected]

SOURCE Vision Films, Inc.
PROVO, Utah, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivint Smart Home, Inc. (NYSE: VVNT), a leading smart home company, and New American Funding, one of the nation's largest independent mortgage companies, are proud to announce a strategic partnership that will help homeowners and homebuyers protect their dream homes.

Through the partnership, New American Funding customers will be eligible to receive unique and exciting offers from Vivint to protect and automate their homes. Additionally, Vivint will assist the new homeowner to quickly set up home services such as internet, TV, phone service, and more. Customers will also be eligible to receive a free Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro with installation  up to a $450 value  with the purchase of a Vivint smart home system. Vivint's system was recently named 'Best Professionally Installed Home Security System of 2021' by US News & World Report.

"New American Funding and Vivint are similarly focused on helping customers feel secure in their home  which makes this an ideal partnership," New American Funding Co-Founder and CEO Rick Arvielo said. "Supporting our clients is the most important part of what we do as a company. Vivint is the best partner in the business, and we believe this partnership is incredibly advantageous to our borrowers."

"We're so glad to partner with New American Funding to help more homeowners protect their most valuable asset," said David Bywater, CEO of Vivint. "The first step many homeowners take after completing their home financing is making sure it's connected and secure, so joining forces with New American Funding to make that process easier for their customers makes this a natural and exciting fit."

About New American Funding

New American Funding is an independent mortgage lender with a servicing portfolio of over 221,000 loans for approximately $58.1 billion, 167 nationwide locations, and about 4,500 employees. The company is a 2021 Mortgage Professional America 5-Star Retail Lender and has made Inc. 5000's list of Fastest-Growing Companies in America seven times. It offers state-of-the-art career training and provides its branch Loan Officers with innovative technologies to streamline the mortgage process.

About Vivint Smart Home

Vivint is a leading smart home company in North America. Vivint delivers an integrated smart home system with in-home consultation, professional installation and support delivered by its Smart Home Pros, as well as 24-7 customer care and monitoring. Dedicated to redefining the home experience with intelligent products and services, Vivint serves over 1.8 million customers. For more information, visit https://www.vivint.com.

Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements concerning the potential benefits to customers of the strategic partnership between Vivint Smart Home and New American Funding. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning the Company's possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "forecasts," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "plans," "scheduled," "anticipates" or "intends" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions regarding future events and business performance as of the date of this press release, and they are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in Vivint Smart Home's Amendment No. 1 to its Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 12, 2021 (the "Form 10-K/A"), as such factors may be updated from time to time in Vivint Smart Home's periodic filings with the SEC, that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Although Vivint Smart Home believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in those statements will be achieved or will occur, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Vivint Smart Home does not undertake and expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. You should read the documents Vivint Smart Home has filed with the SEC, including the Form 10-K/A and Vivint Smart Home's other periodic filings, for more complete information about the Vivint Smart Home. These documents are available on both the EDGAR section of the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of Vivint Smart Home's website at www.vivint.com.

SOURCE New American Funding
TROY, Mich., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ziebart International Corporation, the leading provider of vehicle appearance and protective services, is hitting the ground running in 2022 with the advancement of their executive team. The international automotive aftermarket franchise just announced the promotion of Naji Younes to Vice President of International Business Development and Larry Stewart to Vice President of Information Technology.

In just six years at Ziebart, Naji Younes has proven to be an incredible leader in international business development. Starting as a business consultant before moving into a Director role, Younes will now be working as Vice President of International Business Development. In his most recent role, Younes sold nine new master franchises for the brand, which significantly increased the geographical reach of Ziebart internationally. In his new role, Younes will work to expand the franchise into new markets as the automotive aftermarket industry experiences tremendous growth, due in part to the chip shortage.

Larry Stewart has dedicated eleven years to Ziebart, most recently serving as the Director of Information Technology since 2018. In Stewart's new role as Vice President of Information Technology, he will take on the responsibility of leading the development and rollout for all Ziebart's information systems, including monitoring the security of the company's private information. Stewart's experience in the technological space will help lead the brand's internal and external innovation strategies.

"Our successful, strategic growth over the past year is due to the hard work of our talented employees," said Thomas A. Wolfe, Executive Vice President of Ziebart International Corporation. "Naji and Larry have shown their ability to innovate and anticipate trends throughout their time with Ziebart. As the automotive aftermarket industry continues to grow amid challenges, we are confident our leaders will help us meet the needs of our franchisees and consumers."

Amid an automotive chip shortage, Ziebart's in-store sales and franchise interest has only continued to grow. According to the Auto Care Association, the automotive aftermarket is expected to grow to $477 billion by 2024. In 2021, Ziebart experienced a year-over-year increase of 40% in retail leads as consumers are turning to the brand more than ever to protect their vehicles.

Backed with more than 60 years of experience in automotive aftermarket franchising, Ziebart is actively seeking qualified franchise prospects to join its growing global network.

About Ziebart

Founded in 1959, Ziebart is the worldwide leader in detailing, films and structural protection services, providing complete car care solutions. Ziebart International Corporation operates over 400 locations, with 1,200 service centers, in 36 countries. As an established automotive enthusiast brand, Ziebart has been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as a Top 500 Franchisor as well as a Top 200 Global Franchise. Ziebart is continuing to grow through franchising, offering a best-in-class investment for qualified prospects. For more information about owning a Ziebart franchise, please visit www.ownaziebart.com.

SOURCE Ziebart
ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg Law announced today the publication of its 2022 Outlook on Privacy & Data Security, which provides a detailed review of key activity in recent months and anticipated developments for the global and domestic regulatory landscape. The new report features exclusive content including the latest news coverage, in-depth perspectives from expert analysts, and ready-to-use Practical Guidance documents. A complimentary copy is available for download at http://onb-law.com/1bFF50HKqM7.

The 2022 Outlook on Privacy & Data Security includes:

The report features exclusive content including the latest news coverage & in-depth perspectives from expert analysts. Tweet this

A collection of articles from Bloomberg Law's news desk on the outcome of new state privacy legislation, the latest on ransomware attacks, the challenge for social media platforms in verifying age without violating privacy, the growing popularity of Global Privacy Control (GPC), Congress's debate over a national privacy law, and regulatory activity around facial recognition systems.

from news desk on the outcome of new state privacy legislation, the latest on ransomware attacks, the challenge for social media platforms in verifying age without violating privacy, the growing popularity of Global Privacy Control (GPC), Congress's debate over a national privacy law, and regulatory activity around facial recognition systems. Analysis pieces examining new contract obligations for consumer data, as well as an in-depth look at China's new Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL).

examining new contract obligations for consumer data, as well as an in-depth look at new Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL). Practical Guidance including an annotated checklist of key data security questions when reviewing vendor contracts, as well as a glossary of key terms related to the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA).

"Privacy and data security issues continue to play a central role in the global and domestic legal landscape," said Joe Breda, President, Bloomberg Law. "Bloomberg Law provides distinct resources to privacy and data security practitioners to navigate complex regulatory and compliance initiatives as part of our integrated platform."

About Bloomberg Law

Bloomberg Law combines the latest in legal technology with workflow tools, comprehensive primary and secondary sources, trusted news, expert analysis, and business intelligence. Our deep expertise and commitment to innovation provide a competitive edge to help improve attorney productivity and efficiency. Bloomberg Law is the only legal research provider to include continuous enhancements to its platform at no cost to existing subscribers. For more information, visit Bloomberg Law.

SOURCE Bloomberg Law
BANGALORE, India, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Adas Market is segmented By Type - Hardware, Software, By Application - PC, LCV, Buses, Trucks. Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2022 - 2028. It is published in Valuates Reports under the Autos & Vehicles Category.

ADAS market size is estimated to be worth USD 29740 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 57760 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 11.7% during the review period.

Major Factors Driving The Growth of The Adas Market Are

The ADAS market will be driven by compliance with upcoming safety mandates, rising demand for semi-autonomous driving systems and consistent improvement in hardware and software technology. The growing need to reduce the number of car accidents in order to prevent deaths and injuries is expected to propel the ADAS market forward.

Browse The Table Of Contents And List Of Figures At https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-621/global-advanced-driver-assistance-systems-adas

TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF THE ADAS MARKET

Customers' demand for assistive driving systems is increasing as the need for safer driving conditions grows, propelling the ADAS market forward. Advanced driver assistance systems have a number of benefits, including a reduction in property and life loss, a reduction in the number of accidents, and so on. ADAS is a set of safety features designed to improve pedestrian and passenger safety by reducing the severity of motor vehicle accidents. Advanced driver assistance systems warn the driver of impending danger and assist the driver in maintaining control in order to avoid or reduce the severity of accidents.

The ADAS market will benefit from increased awareness of vehicle safety ratings and lower component costs due to the widespread use of cameras and radars. ADAS solutions are being adopted by major automakers in order to achieve higher safety ratings and attract more customers. As a result, leading automakers either standardize safety systems across models or offer them as options. As a result, during the forecast period, demand for components such as cameras, radar sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and LiDAR will increase due to the increasing penetration of advanced driver assistance systems features.

The introduction of self-driving cars is expected to further drive the growth of the ADAS market. With features like lane monitoring, emergency braking, stability controls, and others, ADAS technologies have significantly reduced the complexity of driving. To collect data, autonomous vehicles use advanced technologies and systems like LiDAR, radar, ultrasonic sensors, and high-definition cameras. An onboard smart autonomous driving system analyses this data in order to safely maneuver the vehicle.

Get Your Sample Today: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-621/Global_Advanced_Driver_Assistance_Systems_ADAS_Market

ADAS MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

Based on application, the passenger car segment is expected to be most lucrative during the forecast period. The passenger car segment contributes significantly to the ADAS market. Improved road safety standards, supporting legislation, and consumer awareness are all contributing to increased demand for safety systems in emerging markets.

Based on region, the Asia Pacific ADAS market is expected to be the most lucrative. In the Asia Pacific region, China, South Korea, and Japan account for the majority of the ADAS market. The market's expansion in the Asia Pacific can be attributed to Japan, South Korea, and China's high vehicle production and increased use of advanced electronics.

Inquire For Customization: https://reports.valuates.com/request/customisation/QYRE-Auto-621/Global_Advanced_Driver_Assistance_Systems_ADAS_Market

Market By Region

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Adas Market By Company

Aisin Seiki

Autoliv

Bosch

Continental

Delphi Automotive

Denso

Freescale Semiconductors

Gentex

Harman International

Hella

Hyundai Mobis

Magna International

Mobileye

NVIDIA

Panasonic

Joyson Safety Systems

Texas Instruments

TRW Automotive

Valeo

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JERSEY CITY, N.J., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The newly published report titled "Global AI-Enabled E-Commerce Solutions Market By Trends, Industry Competition/Company Profiles Analysis, Revenue (US$ Billions) and Forecast Till 2030." features in-depth industry analysis and an extensive market study, exploring its significant factors.

According to InsightAce Analytic's latest market intelligence research report, the global AI-Enabled E-Commerce Solutions Market size was valued at US$ 3.71 Billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach US$ 16.8 Billion in 2030, record a promising CAGR of 15.7% from 2021 to 2030.

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Software development can be easier with ML and A.I. technologies, making predictive analytics more accurate. The AI-based platform enables a retailer to increase its sales target by reaching the right customer with critical analysis based on the information collected. E-commerce A.I. has transformed the online shopping field with features such as image search, customer-focused search, re-identifying potential customers, visual assistants, and bid data analytics. Newly developed A.I. applications consider various parameters such as purchasing history, product searches, and demographics of customers to measure future buying trends and make product recommendations based on browsing patterns, likely to drive the market growth.

The fast implementation of cloud-based platforms, reduced rate of manual errors in development processes, surging use of machine learning-based applications, cost-effective procedures, rapid adoption of advanced technologies, easy access to real-time data, quick resolution of complaints through artificial intelligence-enabled chat boxes, and increasing government support for the R&D of AI-based platforms are estimated to drive the AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market over the projected period. Additionally, the recent emergence of Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market as it has created the need for warehouse automation and management. However, factors such as the complex and time-consuming development procedures, high cost of A.I. solutions, and the lack of skilled professionals may hinder the market growth in the upcoming years.

In terms of Region, North America will dominate the AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market in upcoming years. It will continue its trend over the forecast period 2022-2030, attributed to the fast adoption of advanced technologies, rising online shopping trend, easy access to cloud applications or platforms, increasing R&D investments, and entry of new players in the market. On the other hand, in Europe, growing partnerships within key players and fast adoption of cloud-based platforms will help bloom the market. Asia-Pacific's market is going to expand faster during the forecast years. This growth is attributable to changing lifestyles, technology advancement specifically in Artificial Intelligence, and the increasing rate of online shopping due to digital transformations.

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Major players included in the AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market are Riskified, Reflektion, Inc., Shelf.ai, Osaro, Sift, AntVoice SAS, Appier Inc, Eversight, Inc., Granify Inc., LivePerson, Inc., Manthan Software Services Pvt. Ltd., PayPal, Inc., Sidecar Interactive, Inc., Tinyclues SAS, Twiggle Ltd., Celect, Inc., Cortexica Vision Systems Ltd., Crobox B.V., Deepomatic SAS, Dynamic Yield Ltd., Emarsys eMarketing, Systems AG, Satisfi Labs, Inc., Staqu Technologies Pvt. Ltd., ViSenze Pte Ltd., and Other Prominent Players. Product innovations, acquisitions, collaborations, partnerships, and R&D activities are key strategies used by players in this market.

In July 2021 , LivePerson, Inc. acquired German conversational A.I. company e-bot7. The strategic acquisition propels LivePerson's self-service capabilities  empowering brands of all sizes to quickly launch AI-powered messaging experiences  as well as its continued growth across Europe .

, LivePerson, Inc. acquired German conversational A.I. company e-bot7. The strategic acquisition propels LivePerson's self-service capabilities  empowering brands of all sizes to quickly launch AI-powered messaging experiences  as well as its continued growth across . In February 2021 , LivePerson, Inc. launched A.I. Annotator, a new tool automating brand-consumer conservations faster than ever by harnessing agents' expertise to improve Conversational A.I.

, LivePerson, Inc. launched A.I. Annotator, a new tool automating brand-consumer conservations faster than ever by harnessing agents' expertise to improve Conversational A.I. In August 2019 , Nike acquired Boston -based predictive analytics company Celect (A.I. platform), marking its latest acquisition in a string of deals to bolster its direct-to-consumer strategy. This acquisition allowed Nike to integrate their inventories with the website and app of the company.

, Nike acquired -based predictive analytics company Celect (A.I. platform), marking its latest acquisition in a string of deals to bolster its direct-to-consumer strategy. This acquisition allowed Nike to integrate their inventories with the website and app of the company. In August 2017 , PayPal launched new Innovation Labs at the Chennai and Bangalore Tech centres. The lab is the first by PayPal in India and it is third after the USA and Singapore . The lab works as a platform to promote innovation which is a core value for PayPal globally. The labs support Machine Learning, A.I., Data Science, IoT, AR, V.R., and basic robotics projects.

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AI-Enabled E-Commerce Solutions Market Segments

AI-Enabled E-Commerce Solutions Market Size (Value US$ Bn) & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2022 to 2030 based on Technology

Deep Learning

Machine Learning

NLP

AI-Enabled E-Commerce Solutions Market Size (Value US$ Bn) & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2022 to 2030 based on Applications

Customer Relationship Management

Supply Chain Analysis

Fake Review Analysis

Warehouse Automation

Sorting and Placing



Inventory Storage

Merchandizing

Facets and Filter Selection



Multi Device Interaction

Product Recommendation

Customer Service

Chatbots

AI-Enabled E-Commerce Solutions Market Size (Value US$ Bn) & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2022 to 2030 based on Deployment

On-Premise

Cloud

AI-Enabled E-Commerce Solutions Market Size (Value US$ Bn) & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2022 to 2030 based on Region

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

North America AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market revenue (US$ Million) by Country, 2020 to 2030

The U.S.

Canada

Europe AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market revenue (US$ Million) by Country, 2020 to 2030

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Russia

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market revenue (US$ Million) by Country, 2020 to 2030

India

China

Japan

South Korea

Australia & New Zealand

Latin America AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market revenue (US$ Million) by Country, 2020 to 2030

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

The Middle East & Africa AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market revenue (US$ Million) by Country, 2020 to 2030

GCC Countries

South Africa

Rest of the Middle East & Africa

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Significant investments, mergers & acquisitions in the AI-enabled E-Commerce solutions market industry

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Other Related Reports Published by InsightAce Analytic:

Global Next-Generation Personalized Beauty Market

Global Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) In Beauty and Cosmetics Market

Global Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market

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RAIPUR, India, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratview Research announces the launch of a new market research report on Aircraft Circuit Breakers Market by Aircraft Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Helicopter, Military Aircraft, and UAV), by System Type (AC and DC), by Voltage Type (High Voltage, Medium Voltage, and Low Voltage), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Size, Share, Trend, Forecast, & Industry Analysis: 2021-2026.

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's aircraft circuit breakers 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 and investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market and formulate the growth strategies.

Aircraft Circuit Breakers Market: Highlights

Circuit breakers are electrical devices that mechanically interrupt and isolate a circuit during the flow of excessive current. It is a switching device that can be operated manually or automatically to control and protect an electrical power system. The modern aircraft electrical power system largely deals with a huge power network and a large number of associated electrical equipment. In the absence of a circuit breaker, an abnormal or excessively high current may flow through the aircraft electrical equipment and power network during an electrical fault or short circuit fault, which may damage the aircraft electrical equipment permanently.

Presently, the aerospace industry has been battling with several unforeseen challenges. The grounding of the B737 max first paused the industry growth trajectory, affected the entire value chain for a short period of time. The industry stakeholders were hammering hard to realign the industry wheels on the track, but the onset of the pandemic derailed the industry to almost a decade back. Other noticeable setbacks are the temporary halt in the production of B787 and delays in the market entries of B777x, C919, and MC21 that subdued the recovery trajectory. The impact of these challenges has been recorded in the entire aerospace ecosystem including the circuit breakers, a small but extremely useful electrical device. The market for circuit breakers in the aerospace industry recorded a massive decline of over 20% in the year 2020.

However, the industry stakeholders are still optimistic about the quick recovery, close to the year 2024 or 2025. Narrow-body aircraft may record prompt recovery supported by the increase in the production rate of A320 and A220 paired with the resumption in B737Max deliveries. Furthermore, entries of C919 and MC-21 assist the market to log the faster recovery. On the other hand, wide-body aircraft, the fatty aircraft category, may undergo a couple of more challenging years in the wake of B787 challenges paired with delays in B777x entry. Overall, the aircraft circuit breakers market is likely to grow at a significant CAGR of 7% in the long run to reach a value of US$ 135.1 million in 2026.

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Based on the aircraft type, commercial aircraft is expected to remain the dominant as well as the fastest-growing segment of the market during the forecast period. An expected increase in production rates of key aircraft programs, such as A320 family and A220; re-entry of B737Max; and introduction of variants of existing and upcoming aircraft programs, such as A321XLR, Irkut MC-21, and COMAC C919, are likely to create a strong demand for circuit breakers in the commercial aircraft segment over the next five years. Furthermore, both, Boeing and Airbus, are optimistic about the market recovery and have been projecting over 40,000 commercial and regional aircraft deliveries over the next twenty years, assuring a healthy demand for circuit breakers in the long run.

Based on the system type, the aircraft circuit breakers market is classified as AC and DC circuit breakers. The AC circuit breakers segment is expected to remain the larger and the faster growing segment in the market during the forecast period, owing to the reason that they are the primary source of electrical power in an aircraft.

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In terms of regions, North America is expected to remain the largest market for aircraft circuit breakers during the forecast period. The region is home to many aircraft manufacturers, driven by a strong supply chain network and extraordinary technological capabilities. The USA is the growth engine of the region's market. Canada, a relatively small market, is also likely to contribute to the region's market growth, mainly propelled by the A220 assembly base in the country.

Asia-Pacific is an emerging market with immense growth potential in China, Japan, and India. China has been an apple of the eye of the entire industry stakeholders, mainly because of growing air passenger traffic paired with flourishing indigenous aircraft infrastructure. All the major companies are establishing assembly plants in the country to tap the growth potential. India, a minuscule market, is likely to exhibit huge growth potential in the coming years, particularly in the commercial aerospace and military aircraft categories. Furthermore, the governments are taking several initiatives to build a strong industry infrastructure within India to grow the Indian aerospace industry.

Most of the circuit breaker manufacturers for the aerospace industry are extremely diversified with the presence in several other products. Circuit breakers account for a fraction of their revenues, leading the overall competitive rivalry to the downside. The following are the key players in the Aircraft Circuit Breakers market:

Safran Group

Collins Aerospace (Raytheon Technologies Corporation)

Eaton Aerospace

Sensata Technologies, Inc.

AMETEK.Inc.

Crouzet

Astronics Corporation

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 global aircraft circuit breakers 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:

Aircraft Circuit Breakers Market, by Aircraft 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)

, , , and RoW) Helicopter (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Military Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

UAV (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aircraft Circuit Breakers Market, by System Type

AC (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

DC (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aircraft Circuit Breakers Market, by Voltage Type

High-Voltage Circuit Breakers (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Medium-Voltage Circuit Breakers (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Low-Voltage Circuit Breakers (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aircraft Circuit Breakers Market, by Region

North America (Country Analysis: The 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 , Saudi Arabia , and Others)

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PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. ("Alexandria" or the "Company") (NYSE: ARE) today announced that it is commencing an underwritten public offering, subject to market conditions, of two tranches of senior notes (the "notes"). Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and RBC Capital Markets, LLC will act as joint book-running managers in connection with the public offering. The notes will be unsecured obligations of the Company and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P., an indirectly 100% owned subsidiary of the Company.

The Company expects the net proceeds from the first tranche in this offering will be used initially for general corporate purposes, which may include the reduction of the outstanding balance on the Company's unsecured senior line of credit, if any, the reduction of the outstanding indebtedness under the Company's commercial paper program, if any, the repayment of other debt and selective development, redevelopment or acquisition of properties. In addition, following the initial allocation of the net proceeds described above, the Company intends to allocate an amount equal to the net proceeds from the first tranche to fund, in whole or in part, recently completed and future eligible green projects, which are defined as certain development, redevelopment or tenant improvement projects that have received or are expected to receive Gold or Platinum LEED certification, including the development and redevelopment of such projects. The net proceeds from the second tranche in this offering will be used for general working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include the reduction of the outstanding balance on the Company's unsecured senior line of credit, if any, the reduction of the outstanding indebtedness under the Company's commercial paper program, if any, the repayment of other debt and selective development, redevelopment or acquisition of properties.

The notes are being offered pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3 that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's notes, nor shall there be any sale of the notes in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Copies of the prospectus supplement relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained by contacting: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, at 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, by telephone at (866) 471-2526, by fax at (212) 902-9316 or by email at: [email protected]; BofA Securities, Inc., NC1-004-03-43, Attn: Prospectus Department, at 200 North College Street, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001 or by email at [email protected]; Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Attn: Broadridge Financial Solutions, at 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by toll-free telephone at (800) 831-9146 or by email at [email protected]; or RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Attn: Syndicate Operations, at 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10281, by toll-free telephone at (866) 375-6829, by fax at (212) 428-6308 or by email at [email protected].

Alexandria, an S&P 500 urban office real estate investment trust, is the first, longest-tenured and pioneering owner, operator and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, agtech and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations. Founded in 1994, Alexandria pioneered this niche and has since established a significant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland and Research Triangle.

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's offering of the notes and its intended use of the proceeds. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's present intent, beliefs or expectations, but forward-looking statements are not guaranteed to occur and may not occur. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by the Company's forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties detailed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update this information. For more discussion relating to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the Company's forward-looking statements, and risks and uncertainties to the Company's business in general, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

CONTACT: Sara Kabakoff, Vice President  Communications, (626) 788-5578, [email protected]

SOURCE Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Altamont Capital Partners (Altamont) today completed its acquisition of Houston-based Bishop Lifting Products, Inc. (BLP)  a market-leading, value-added distributor of lifting products and solutions  from SBP Holdings. The transaction encompasses the entire BLP business.

Altamont's approach is to invest in companies with strong business models and great teams that have opportunities for tremendous growth. Altamont has extensive experience partnering with middle-market companies like BLP, supporting management and providing resources to enable them to grow and succeed.

"We are thrilled to join with the BLP team to solidify their position as a leading value-add distributor of lifting and rigging products and position the company for near- and long-term success," said Randall Eason, Managing Director at Altamont. "As a market leader with a strong core product and service offering, a track record of successfully integrating prior acquisitions, and a world-class team, the partnership between BLP and Altamont is a great fit."

"We are excited by this partnership and look forward to working with Altamont to strengthen and grow our business," said Harold King, CEO of BLP. "We are in a great position to build and improve upon the areas of our business that are already thriving as we continue to provide excellent service and products for all of BLP's clients."

As part of the transaction, King will continue as CEO of BLP going forward and BLP will retain all its current employees.

"The partnership between Altamont and BLP will allow us to build from the robust foundation that has already been laid by Harold and the rest of the team. We're excited to support BLP's current operations while also looking to grow stronger through adding new customers, end markets, and capabilities, including through the pursuit of strategic acquisitions," added Chase Beeler, Principal at Altamont.

Jefferies, LLC acted as financial advisor to Altamont. PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC served as accounting advisor to Altamont for the transaction and Ropes & Gray, LLC and Morrison & Foerster, LLC served as their legal advisors.

About Bishop Lifting Products, Inc.

Founded in 1984, Bishop Lifting Products, Inc. (BLP) is one of the largest providers of wire rope, slings, rigging, and related products in the United States. Bishop's dedicated employees help leading companies across all industries solve their lifting and industrial needs. Presently, there are 26 strategic branches located across the country that allow customers to have the advantage of accessing Bishop's large breadth of products from any location. In addition to Bishop, the BLP family of brands includes Delta Rigging and Tools, Morgan City Rentals, Matex, Woods Logging, American Wire Rope and Sling, Western Sling, and Louisiana Crane.

About Altamont Capital Partners

Altamont Capital Partners is a private investment firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area with more than $4.0 billion of assets under management. Altamont is focused on investing in middle market businesses where it can partner with leading management teams to help its portfolio companies reach their full potential. The firm's principals have significant experience building business success stories across a range of industries, including consumer, restaurants & multi-unit, financial services, healthcare, industrials, and business services.

Media Contact:

Greg Blair

[email protected]

SOURCE Altamont Capital Partners
PARIS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Extensive surveys of France's Jewish, Muslim, and general populations reveal the extent of unabated antisemitism threatening the country's Jewish population, the largest in Europe. The three surveys were conducted by IFOP, a leading polling firm, for AJC in partnership with Fondapol, a major French think tank.

85% of French Jews say antisemitism is a widespread phenomenon in France today, and 73% say it has been increasing over the past ten years. In contrast, only 64% of the general population see antisemitism prevalent and rising.

Three-quarters, 74%, of French Jews have been victims of antisemitic acts during their lives. Assaults have included derogatory remarks (68%), threats on social media (28%), verbal threats (24%), and physical violence (20%).

More than one-third, 37%, of Jews say they feel threatened because of their religious affiliation. 35% say they have avoided wearing a style of dress that identifies them Jewishly, and 41% have avoided displaying mezuzas and other religious symbols.

"Fearing for one's own safety and for children's security has tragically become the new normal for most French Jews, leading many of them to choose to hide their Jewish identity and to tell their children to do so as well. This is simply unacceptable in any democracy that is supposed to protect all of its citizens," said Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Director of AJC Europe.

55% of Jewish parents ask their children to not wear yarmulkes or Stars of David.

45% ask their children to not tell others they are Jewish.

This follows on the experiences of Jewish children in schools.

32% of parents say their children have been the targets of antisemitic insults.

18% of parents have children who have been physically attacked.

Schools are the setting where there is little difference between Jews wearing distinctive items  59% -- and those who do not  57% -- who have been verbally abused or threatened.

In public places  the street, workplace, public transportation, social media  individuals who are more visibly Jewish are assaulted at a higher rate than those Jews who do not wear or carry items that convey their Jewish identity. For example, 68% of the victims of antisemitic acts in the street wore distinctive signs and 36% did not, while 57% of the victims in public transportation did and 16% did not.

With the persistence of antisemitism over many years, there is an apparent lack of confidence among Jews in bringing those responsible to justice. 80% of those who experienced an act of antisemitism did not file a complaint with French authorities, and 76% did not report it to a community association, such as the Jewish Community Protection Service (SPCJ).

Concurrence of Jewish, General Population Views

77% of the Jewish and 73% of the general populations agree that antisemitism is a concern for all French society. Only 19% of Jews and 8% of general say antisemitism is solely a Jewish problem.

One-third, 34%, of the general French population say antisemitism is not talked about enough, while 51% say it is enough and 15% say too much.

Significant numbers of the French public respondents to the survey reported they have witnessed at least one incident of antisemitism, with 48% saying it was on social media, 38% on the street, and 36% in their workplace.

On the primary causes of antisemitism in France, there also is consensus:

62% of Jews and 53% of the general population say it is the rejection or hatred of Israel .

. 45% of Jews and 48% of the general population say Islamist ideas.

35% of Jews and 37% of the general population say conspiracy theories.

28% of Jews and 36% of the general population say extreme right-wing ideas.

21% of Jews and 13% of the general population say far left ideas.

Muslim Views

The Muslim population, however, has a very different perspective on the sources of antisemitism in France.

49% say the extreme right wing.

46% say conspiracy theories.

20% say Islamist ideas.

13% say far left ideas.

36% of Muslims say there is too much talk about antisemitism, compared to 15% in the general population.

15% of Muslims admit to feeling antipathy towards Jews, compared to 5% of the general French population.

Ingrained Antisemitism

More than one-quarter of French people hold prejudices that are classic antisemitic tropes.

30% agree with the statement "Jews are richer than the average French person."

26% agree with the statement "Jews have too much power in the field of economics and finance."

24% agree with the statement "Jews have too much power in the media."

30% agree with the statement "Jews use their status of victims of the Nazi genocide during the Second World War to their own advantage."

The same views are more deeply ingrained among the Muslim population.

53% agree with the statement "Jews are wealthier than the average French person."

51% agree with the statement "Jews have too much power in the field of economics and finance."

54% agree with the statement "Jews have too much power in the media."

40% agree with the statement "Jews use their status of victims of the Nazi genocide during the Second World War to their own advantage."

However, young Muslims seem to be less inclined to hold certain antisemitic stereotypes than the older generation. While 60% of Muslims 50 years and over say that "Jews hold too much power in the media," 40% of those ages 18-24 agree. And while 59% of Muslims older than 50 say believe Jews hold too much power in the field of economics and finance, 34% of the younger cohort do.

Holocaust Remembrance

Only 39% of France's general population say that commemorating the Holocaust is essential, while 45% say it is important but not essential, and 16% say it is not important.

Asked if Holocaust remembrance prevents the commemoration of other tragedies in history, 65% said no and 35% said yes.

The AJC surveys of the French Jewish, Muslim, and General populations, ages 18 and over, were conducted by the polling firm IFOP on behalf of AJC in partnership with the Fondation pour l'inovation politique (Fondapol). IFOP polled 1,509 individuals representative of the general population, from December 16-20, 2021; 521 French Jews from November 24, 2021 to January 10, 2022; and 501 French Muslims from December 5, 2021 to January 10, 2022.

AJC, Fondapol and IFOP conducted similar surveys in France in 2019.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee
BOSTON, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Avidien announced today a new financing round of $4M from BroadOak Capital Partners. The investment will help Avidien expand its product roadmap, scale commercial production, and better serve research and pharmaceutical clients.

Avidien CEO and Founder Rich Cote said, "The partnership with BroadOak is exciting and ushers in the next phase for Avidien by creating the opportunity to quickly scale up the business with investments in new products, sales, marketing, and manufacturing."

Avidien's flagship product, the microPro 300, provides precision semi-automated 96 and 384 channel pipetting to hundreds of biotech, medical testing, and research laboratories worldwide. The compact and portable liquid handling platform has built a loyal customer base thanks to its innovative design, intuitive interface, and industry-leading capabilities. The microPro 300 fills gaps in automation workflows by streamlining repetitive pipetting tasks and ensuring accurate, repeatable liquid transfers.

BroadOak Capital Partners is a life sciences focused financial institution with a track record of supporting companies at the forefront of major industry trends. "Aviden's affordable pipette automation platform sets a new standard for common research methods and is at the cutting edge of laboratory automation technology. We're proud to partner with the Avidien team to help them achieve even greater growth," said Bryan Poltilove, Operating Partner at BroadOak Capital Partners. Mr. Poltilove is also joining Avidien's Board of Directors to guide the company's next phase of business expansion.

About Avidien Technologies

Avidien Technologies is a Massachusetts based company that manufactures innovative and precision liquid handling solutions that are deployed in life science labs around the world.

Learn more www.avidien.com

About BroadOak Capital Partners

BroadOak Capital Partners, with headquarters in Washington, DC and San Francisco, is a life sciences focused financial institution that provides direct investment and investment banking services to companies in the research tools and consumables, diagnostics, biopharma services, and adjacent markets. BroadOak has led or participated in investments in more than 50 companies across multiple funds and investment vehicles. For more information, visit www.broadoak.com .

SOURCE Avidien Technologies
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America Corporation today announced the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on Bank of America common stock of $0.21 per share, payable on March 25, 2022 to shareholders of record as of March 4, 2022.

The Board also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.75 per share on the 7% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, Series B. The dividend is payable on April 25, 2022 to shareholders of record as of April 8, 2022.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 67 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,200 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs, and award-winning digital banking with approximately 41 million active users, including approximately 33 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for email news alerts.

Investors May Contact:

Lee McEntire, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.388.6780

[email protected]

Jonathan G. Blum, Bank of America (Fixed Income)

Phone: 1.212.449.3112

[email protected]

Reporters May Contact:

Jerry Dubrowski, Bank of America

Phone: 1.646.855.1195 (office) or 1.508.843.5626 (mobile)

[email protected]

Christopher P. Feeney, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.386.6794

[email protected]

SOURCE Bank of America Corporation
NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest analysis from BizVibe, a leading company insights platform, provides detailed insights for hundreds of grain harvesting companies and thousands of crop production support companies worldwide. BizVibe's grain harvesting company insights highlight the strong influence that harvesting mechanization is expected to have in the coming years for market participants.

Get free insights for 100+ grain harvesting companies

Snapshot of key trend impacting BizVibe's grain harvesting industry group.

Key Industry Trend  Mechanization of the Harvesting Process

Harvesting mechanization is a key strategy for grain harvesters in both developing and developed countries. In regions where large, complex machinery like tractors and harvesters is difficult to access and afford, simpler mechanical tools can be invaluable for easing strain on grain harvesters and improving crop production exponentially. In richer areas, harvest automation is being explored in order to counter rising labor costs.

Regardless of region, there are opportunities for grain harvesting companies to take advantage of the need for mechanization, whether with high-tech, expensive equipment or simpler tools that can be adopted widely.

Trend Geographic Relevance  High Relevance in Asia-Pacific and North America

There is high demand for grain harvesting mechanization in Asia-Pacific. The region has a growing need for food security and low penetration of agricultural technology, so grain harvesting equipment is essential to improving output.

Conversely, North America has a high saturation of harvesting machinery and is the largest regional market for it. Demand in this part of the world is largely for replacing old machinery, either due to the age of the equipment or the desire for more technologically advanced machines.

View All Grain Harvesting Company Insights on BizVibe

Detailed analysis of 100+ grain harvesting companies

Risk of doing business for all grain harvesting companies

Industry trends and challenges expected to impact grain harvesting companies

Regional, national, and global competitors/similar companies

Key products and services for each grain harvesting company

List of key executives and decision makers for each grain harvesting company

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About BizVibe

BizVibe is transforming the way buyers and sellers do business online. Our supplier intelligence and sales intelligence tools provide best-in-class company insights to help businesses discover, track, monitor, and evaluate companies of interest. BizVibe's platform contains more than 30 million company profiles, each packed with 50+ unique insights. For more information, please visit www.bizvibe.com or start your free trial today.

CONTACT:

BizVibe

Jesse Maida

Email: [email protected]

+1 855-897-5880

Website: https://www.bizvibe.com/

SOURCE BizVibe
NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon Investment Management, a leading global asset manager with US$2.4 trillion1 in assets under management, commissioned one of the largest independent2 global studies examining investment attitudes and behaviors, and today releases its findings.

As the first in a new series addressing diversity, Pathway to Inclusive Investment sets out to understand the barriers preventing higher levels of female investment participation and the potential impact if investing was more accessible to women. The research surveyed 8,000 respondents across 16 markets, as well as 100 asset managers, with combined assets under management of nearly $60 trillion3.

Pathway to Inclusive Investment reveals that women are less likely to invest than men, compounding any existing financial disadvantages and limiting women's collective influence as investors. It also shows that women want to invest in a way that has a positive social and environmental impact, and that if women invested4 at the same rate as men there could be more than $3.22 trillioni of additional capital to invest globally, with over $1.87 trillionii flowing to more responsible investments.

BARRIERS THAT STOP WOMEN INVESTING

The research identified three key barriers to women investing:

The income hurdle : On average, globally women believe they need $4,092 of disposable income each month  or $50,000 per year  before investing some of their money.

: On average, globally women believe they need of disposable income each month  or per year  before investing some of their money. The perception that investing is inherently high-risk : Only 9% of women report they have a 'high' or 'very high' level of risk tolerance when it comes to investing, while 49% have a 'moderate' level and 42% have 'low' tolerance for risk.

: Only 9% of women report they have a 'high' or 'very high' level of risk tolerance when it comes to investing, while 49% have a 'moderate' level and 42% have 'low' tolerance for risk. The engagement crisis: Globally, just 28% of women feel confident about investing some of their money. The industry needs to look at how to better engage and inspire more women to invest, which in turn could increase investment confidence and participation.

Hanneke Smits, Chief Executive Officer of BNY Mellon Investment Management, said: "Looking at the research, it's clear that increasing women's participation in investment is critical for their personal prosperity and to help shape a more equitable future for all. Doing so will also potentially help increase the allocation of capital for the benefit of society and the environment.

"Inclusive investment means ensuring the investment industry is accessible to all. BNY Mellon Investment Management is committed to doing our part to engage women more effectively. We will be using the insights from this research to ensure meaningful change takes place. By doing this, we also hope to promote the investment management industry as an attractive career option for women."

WOMEN WANT TO INVEST IN BUSINESSES THAT CAN HAVE A POSITIVE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENT IMPACT

The research found that women are looking for more than just a financial return on their investments  they also want to see a positive impact on society and the environment.

Encouraging greater levels of female investment could see even more capital flowing to funds with social and environmental goals. Over half of women (55%) would invest  or invest more  if the impact of their investment aligned with their personal values, and 53% would invest  or invest more  if the fund they invested in had a clear purpose for good.

This is even more pronounced among younger women. According to the research, seven in 10 women under 30 (71%) who already invest prefer to invest in companies that support their personal values, compared with 53% of women over 50 who invest.

BUILDING A MORE INCLUSIVE INVESTMENT INDUSTRY

The asset manager research highlights the extent to which the investment industry is still oriented towards men. Almost nine in 10 asset managers (86%) admit that their default investment customer  the person they automatically target with their products  is a man.

Nearly three quarters of asset managers (73%) believe the investment industry would be able to engage more women to invest if the industry itself had more female fund managers, who could also be important role models. However, half of the asset managers in the survey revealed that just 10% or less of their fund managers or investment analysts are women.

Anne-Marie McConnon, Global Chief Client Experience Officer at BNY Mellon Investment Management, said: "As women, we all have different hurdles to overcome to meet our individual financial goals. Some of these are influenced by demographics and personal circumstances but some is a result of how the investment industry has traditionally engaged with women.

"We believe it is in everyone's interest for more women to invest. Not only will it be good for the future, but also wider society. Pathway to Inclusive Investment emphasizes the traditional stereotype of the person who is interested in investing is outdated. Young women are interested in investing too, but they need to be inspired to do so."

As part of a company that touches every part of the investment cycle  we believe BNY Mellon Investment Management is in a strong position to make a difference. We aim to effect change at the grassroots through early engagement about money via our partnership with Inspiring Girls International, a global charity dedicated to raising the aspirations of young girls around the world. We can examine how to inspire the circa 20,000 women in our own organization to participate and invest more. We will review our approach and assess how we can improve engagement with women and work with intermediaries and the wider industry to make a difference.

To download the report in PDF, please click here

To view the interactive overview of the report, please click here

Media Contacts

For any media enquiries, please contact us on [email protected]

Alternatively, please contact a member of the Investment Management press team at https://www.bnymellon.com/us/en/about-us/newsroom/media-resources.html

About the study



Throughout 2021, BNY Mellon Investment Management commissioned one of the largest ever global independent consumer studies examining investment attitudes and behaviors. The research was conducted by Coleman Parkes Research and included 8,000 respondents across 16 markets*  comprising consumers who already invest as part of their future financial planning, and those who currently do not invest. To provide an industry perspective, 100 global asset managers representing asset management firms with nearly $60 trillion (as at Q2 2021) of combined assets under management were also interviewed. To complement the global opinion research, the research included a series of in-depth discussions with an international advisory panel who provided their perspectives on the research and their ideas on making investment more gender inclusive.

*The 16 markets included in the study were: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

About BNY Mellon Investment Management

BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's largest asset managers, with $2.4 trillion in assets under management as December 31, 2021. Through an investor-first approach, BNY Mellon Investment Management brings to clients the best of both worlds: specialist expertise from eight investment firms offering solutions across every major asset class, backed by the strength, stability, and global presence of BNY Mellon. Additional information on BNY Mellon Investment Management is available on www.bnymellonim.com.

BNY Mellon Investment Management is a division of BNY Mellon, which has $46.7 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration as December 31, 2021. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.

AllBright

As part of the move to address barriers to more inclusive investing, BNY Mellon Investment Management and partner AllBright are hosting a two-day virtual summit on 29th  30th March 2022. Open to everyone globally, the summit will feature workshops and panel discussions with leading founders and investors. To find out more about the sessions, speakers and to sign-up, visit: www.AllBrightCollective.com/AllSt

AllBright is the leading global careers network for women, founded by Debbie Wosskow OBE and Anna Jones. Combining digital-first resources, with a physical club in London, AllBright offers working women an inspiring space to connect, develop, and supercharge their careers  all while building their confidence along the way. Driven by a mission to empower a thriving global sisterhood, AllBright is uniquely positioned to support women at all ages and stages of their careers with a toolkit that includes online training, events, exclusive content and unrivalled networking opportunities.

Inspiring Girls International

Inspiring Girls International is a charity, founded by Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, dedicated to raising the aspirations of young girls around the world by connecting them with amazing female role models. We introduce young women to the full variety of careers and options in life and inspire them to aim high! For more information visit www.inspiring-girls.com.

This material is issued by BNY Mellon Investment Management to members of the press and media and the information contained herein should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation of any investment strategy. It does not constitute an offer or solicitation of securities or investment services or an endorsement thereof in any jurisdiction or in any circumstance in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful or not authorized.

The survey results from the study contain the opinions of the respondents and not those of BNY Mellon. They are for illustrative purposes only. The information has been provided without taking into account the investment objective, financial situation or needs of any particular person. BNY Mellon and its affiliates are not responsible for any subsequent investment advice given based on the information supplied. This is not investment research or a research recommendation for regulatory purposes. Information and opinions presented have been obtained or derived from sources which BNY Mellon believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed to its accuracy. BNY Mellon accepts no liability for loss arising from use of this material.

BNY Mellon has no affiliation with Coleman Parkes Research.

Investing involves risk including possible loss of principal.

1 As at December 31, 2021

2 Research conducted by Coleman Parkes Research

3 As at Q2 2021.

4 Investment in stocks, bonds and other financial products that are not savings accounts.

i This calculation was made using the data from the research on the average volumes of investments held by men and women to find the difference. Data from Cerulli was the used to calculate the size of the retail investment market in each of the geographies within the study and applied the difference between male and female investment volumes to that number to show how much more investment would be available if female investment volumes matched male. It is impossible to know exactly what percentage of the individual retail investors in each market are male and female, so the calculation assumes that there are equal numbers of each, in line with population averages. Because typically more men invest than women this number can therefore be viewed as a conservative estimate of the total investment uptick that would be seen if the gender investment gap were closed (which is why the report references this number as "at least" $3.22 trillion).

ii The research also provided data on the share of investments made by men and women that are responsible  i.e. investments that are qualified according to either their positive impact on society and the planet or at least their absence of a negative impact. The average share of female investments that are responsible was then applied to the overall uptick in investment volumes to reveal the percentage of those investments that can be expected to be responsible.

SOURCE BNY Mellon Investment Management
PROVO, Utah, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BYU Law, a global law school focused on leadership in legal theory and practice, today announced it will hold its seventh annual Law and Corpus Linguistics Conference Feb. 3-4 via hybrid (in-person and virtual) format. The event, sponsored by Schaerr Jaffe, LLP, will convene prominent legal and linguistics scholars, judges and industry professionals interested in furthering the discipline of corpus linguistics  the methodology for understanding the meaning of words at the time they were written by analyzing language in large collections of texts called "corpora."

"In addition to hosting this conference annually since 2013, BYU Law has developed pioneering legal research corpora and tools to analyze the ordinary meaning of words and help make legal decisions more transparent," said D. Gordon Smith, dean, BYU Law. "A primary focus of this year's conference is how to move corpus evidence from theoretical tools to useful evidence in the courtroom, including linguists as expert witnesses and effective strategies for using corpus linguistics in amicus briefs."

2022 Conference



During BYU Law's seventh annual Law and Corpus Linguistics Conference, panelists and participants will discuss best practices in corpus methods, interpretation applications and related topics. This year's keynote presenter is Judge Amul Thapar of the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, an advocate for including corpus linguistics in the judicial toolkit. Judge Thapar took notice of corpus linguistics during a 2019 pension case that relied on corpus linguistics in a concurrence  the first known instance of a federal judicial opinion doing so.

The first panel session, moderated by corpus linguistics expert Jesse Egbert, assistant professor of applied linguistics at Northern Arizona University, will address "Corpus Linguists as Expert Witnesses." The second panel, titled "Best Practices for Corpus Linguistics in Amicus Briefs," will be moderated by James Heilpern, senior law and corpus linguistics fellow at BYU Law and author of an amicus brief in the Rimini Street v. Oracle Supreme Court case. This session will also include a presentation by Clark D. Cunningham, law and ethics professor at Georgia State University College of Law (and coauthors) on corpus linguistics research presented in a murder case before the Georgia Supreme Court addressing the topic, "What does it mean to search a cell phone?"

The event will conclude with a panel titled, "The Domain of Law and Corpus Linguistics: Factors Affecting the Utility of Corpus Tools in Legal Interpretations," moderated by Utah Supreme Court Justice Thomas Lee. A pioneer and expert in the use of linguistic theory and tools for interpreting the language of the law, Lee has taught classes on law and language with an emphasis on principles of corpus linguistics at BYU Law and Harvard Law School.

For more information about the conference, including the full agenda, visit https://corpusconference.byu.edu/2022-home/conference-info/ or click here to register. The hybrid conference offers remote participants the opportunity to comment and ask questions via live Zoom chat.

Linguist Workshop

The seventh annual Law & Corpus Linguistics Conference will include a workshop for any attending linguists on Thursday, Feb. 3 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (MT). This workshop, led by BYU law and linguistics faculty, is meant to introduce the field of law as well as describe issues those in the legal field often encounter that corpus linguistics has been or could be used to address. It will touch on constitutional and statutory interpretation as well as communication between the legal community and the public (e.g., Miranda rights, jury instructions, immigrant interviews, etc.). Practicing linguists, graduate students and early career scholars who are interested in applying linguistics to legal issues are encouraged to attend. Interested attendees, please complete the registration form.

In addition to hosting this annual conference, BYU Law develops pioneering legal research corpora, and fosters influential scholarship and training using this method. In 2021, BYU Law released the public version of its law and corpus linguistics platform and search interface. Available at lawcorpus.byu.edu, the database has been used by thousands of researchers, including federal and state justices, and appellate attorneys. The platform enables legal professionals to analyze the meaning of words that can be applied to current cases, with several of the corpora having been referenced in legal opinions.

About BYU Law School

Founded in 1971, the J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU Law) has grown into one of the nation's leading law schools  recognized for innovative research and teaching in social change, transactional design, entrepreneurship, corpus linguistics, criminal justice and religious freedom. The Law School has more than 6,000 alumni serving in communities around the world. In its most recent rankings, National Jurist recognized BYU Law as the #1 best-value law school in its 2021 ranking. For more information, visit https://law.byu.edu.

SOURCE BYU Law
DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CAI, a global consulting company that provides technical, operational consulting, and project management services to life sciences, data centers, and process manufacturing industries, today announced the addition of Luisa Puglisi to the CAI Swiss leadership team.

"We are pleased to welcome Luisa to our growing European leadership team," said John Henchion, CAI Vice President Europe. "Luisa is an operations executive with more than 20 years of experience in major pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs, with FDA and EMEA approval. She brings to CAI a multidisciplinary work experience and focus on business strategy, which will be a critical factor supporting our customers and promoting the growth of our business in Switzerland. Welcome to the team, Luisa!"

Luisa holds a mechanical engineer degree from Vergata University in Rome with a master's in business administration from Politecnico, Milan. She has the certification in Production and Inventory Management from APICS and she is currently working on the PMP certification with the Project Management Institute.

Luisa held leading roles in manufacturing operations, engineering/investment master planning, project/program management, new products introduction, Lean and operational excellence, maintenance and contractor management. She has a successful track record using a holistic approach to effectively manage change, leading the transition of organizations to the desired future states, including performance turnaround and restructuring.

"CAI is global brand with a large base of stable clients, with standard of excellence and leading expertise in helping customer to improve operational readiness and excellence," said Luisa. "I am excited to join CAI's leadership team and to establish of CAI's permanent team in Switzerland."

ABOUT CAI

Since CAI was founded in 1996, we have delivered nearly a billion dollars in services for hundreds of clients across thousands of projects globally. With offices in the US, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Korea, Switzerland, India, Ireland, Italy, China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, we are an international team of over 800 professionals providing local support from a global company. Our engineering, technical, and quality consulting services are fashioned to deliver mission critical facilities with a high level of performance and reliability. When operational readiness and startup are critical, CAI delivers to a higher standard. www.cagents.com

Contact:

David Shenberger

+13177219847

[email protected]

SOURCE CAI
DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CAI, a global consulting company that provides technical, operational consulting, and project management services to life sciences, data centers, and process manufacturing industries, today announced the promotion of Zagros Barazenda to the European leadership team.

"We are pleased to announce Zagros Barazenda as the UK Country Manager. Zagros brings extensive technical commissioning, qualification, validation, and project and client management experience, in addition to an incredible motivation and drive. His appointment further solidifies our position in the UK market at the forefront of the data center, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries," said John Henchion, CAI Vice President for Europe.

"CAI's standard of excellence in both its offerings and culture is well-positioned to deliver leading expertise on mission critical facilities and manufacturing regulation in the UK," said Zagros. "I am excited to lead CAI's mission in expanding to the UK, with a focus on building a world-class culture and fostering an inclusive environment to attract, develop, engage, and retain the best talent to serve our clients in both bio-pharmaceuticals and data centers."

Zagros has a primary degree in Biotechnology from NUI Galway and has years of experience in lab, medical devices, and bio-pharmaceutical industry working in multinational companies such as Medtronic, Regeneron, and Thermo Fisher. During his career at CAI, he has held a variety of senior leadership roles and has been responsible for the development of client relations and recruitment of key talent.

ABOUT CAI

Since CAI was founded in 1996, we have delivered nearly a billion dollars in services for hundreds of clients across thousands of projects globally. With offices in the US, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Korea, Switzerland, India, Ireland, Italy, China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, we are an international team of over 800 professionals providing local support from a global company. Our engineering, technical, and quality consulting services are fashioned to deliver mission critical facilities with a high level of performance and reliability. When operational readiness and startup are critical, CAI delivers to a higher standard. www.cagents.com

Contact:

David Shenberger

+13177219847

[email protected]

SOURCE CAI
Max Porterfield, President and CEO, stated, "We are eager to drill test these exciting new targets and more to come as we continue to outline our 2022 exploration plans. Induced Polarization coupled with borehole pulse electromagnetics was key to discovering the high-grade Rainbow Deposit in 2020." Mr. Porterfield continued, "We have now expanded that same exploration approach on a regional scale with the recent IP and EM surveys announced today."

The high-grade Rainbow Deposit ("Rainbow") was discovered by drill testing targets derived from Abitibi Geophysics OreVision IP chargeability isoshells located within favourable geology and subsequently vectoring to the copper, zinc, gold and silver bearing volcanogenic massive sulphides ("VMS") utilizing a Borehole Pulse Electromagnetic survey ("BPEM") down the drill hole ( Pine Bay Project 3D View Looking Down and West , Pine Bay Project 3D Long Section ).

JJ O'Donnell, Exploration Manager, stated, "The major exploration efforts completed since the Rainbow discovery has provided the Callinex team with a better understanding and the tools needed to continue to add value to the extensive Pine Bay land package. With this multi-discipline approach, our team is excited to test the new high-priority targets."

Jim Pickell, member of Callinex's technical team, added, "When coupled with Callinex's ongoing modern 3D rethink of the geological and geochemical patterns at Pine Bay, it's great to see a new geophysical technique being successfully employed and adding several obvious high-priority exploration targets to the mix. I especially like where these emerging IP targets are located in the overall Pine Bay geological setting."

Target Area 1 - Rainbow South

Target Area 1 was highlighted for drilling based on a large 250m by 650m, moderately strong chargeability isoshell (>25 mV/V) that may be associated with a pyritic footwall alteration envelope as at the nearby Rainbow. The northern edge of the IP chargeability high is also semi-coincident with a SPEM anomaly that was targeted for testing by drill hole PBM-120. Drill hole PBM-120 intersected highly prospective, strongly sericitized felsic volcanics starting at its 1,149 metre mark and which are immediately along strike to the south from similarly altered volcanics hosting Rainbow. A subsequent BPEM survey was conducted but was unsuccessful due to the overwhelming masking effects of a near-surface formational conductor intersected early in the hole. The Company will attempt a new BPEM survey with a modified loop layout in the near future prior to drill testing.

Target Area 2 - Sourdough North

Target Area 2 is targeting a 750m long by 150m wide, locally very strong IP chargeability isoshell (>50mV/V) coincident with two newly identified SPEM anomalies modeled from surveys completed in 2021. Drill hole SDB-007, a shallow 294.5m hole drilled immediately to the south, intersected coarse heterolithic debris flows dominated by large felsic volcanic clasts along with the occasional sphalerite-pyrite-chalcopyrite clasts. A subsequent BPEM survey was conducted and identified an off-hole anomaly to the north that is coincident to the newly identified IP chargeability and SPEM anomalies.

Target Area 3 - Sourdough Down Plunge

Target Area 3 is targeting the down plunge extension of the historic Sourdough deposit, which a previous operator prepared a historic resource estimate of 291,150 tons at 1.46% copper ("Cu"), 1.71% zinc ("Zn"), 1.03 g/t gold ("Au") and 29.8 g/t silver ("Ag")*. The recently completed IP survey revealed the top of a chargeability isoshell that coincides with the two deepest and most recent intersections in the Sourdough deposit, SDB-001 and SDB-004. Drill hole SDB-004 intersected 4.85m of 1.70% copper equivalent ("CuEq") consisting of 1.04% Cu, 0.6 g/t Au, 8.47 g/t Ag and 0.45% Zn including 0.65m of 3.81% CuEq (2.11% Cu, 1.09 g/t Au, 21.60 g/t Ag and 2.01% Zn).

A subsequent BPEM survey completed on SDB-004 modeled a plate that is 200m wide by 575m deep and suggests the deposit continues at depth. Based on the recent near surface intercepts at the Rainbow the Company believes there is strong potential for the grades of the Sourdough deposit to improve at depth.

The Company is developing a 2022 exploration program for these high priority targets and targets soon to be outlined along the interpreted growth fault corridor that hosts Rainbow and five other deposits, three of which have seen some level of historic production.

About the Pine Bay Project

Callinex's Pine Bay Project encompasses the majority of the Baker Patton Complex (BPC), the largest exposed felsic (rhyolitic) volcanic accumulation in the Flin Flon portion of the Flin Flon-Snow Lake Greenstone Belt. This is especially important since the majority of the VMS deposits occurring within the Flin Flon Belt of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are almost always hosted by rhyolitic flows and volcaniclastic rocks within predominantly mafic terranes. Of additional importance is that these felsic (rhyolitic) rocks only account for a small portion of the total volcanic pile (5-10%). Of particular exploration interest to Callinex's Pine Bay Project, is the very large exposure of intensely altered (chloritic, sericitic and silicic alteration) felsic rocks that have collectively been called the Baker Patton Alteration Zone, encompassing an area with a minimum of a 700m by 1000m footprint. A very large footwall alteration system such as this would normally be expected to be accompanied by a large VMS system and has consequently been the target of many exploration companies preceding Callinex.

J.J. O'Donnell, P.Geo, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

Historical Resource Estimate on Sourdough Deposit

In 1963, a Keys report disclosed a historical resource estimate of 291,150 tons at 1.46% Cu, 1.71% Zn, 1.03 g/t Au and 29.8 g/t Ag at the Sourdough deposit. The historical resource estimate is mentioned for historical purposes only and uses terminology not compliant with current reporting standards. The reliability of these historical estimates is unknown but considered relevant by the Company as it represents a significant target for future exploration work by the Company. The assumptions, parameters and methods used to calculate this historical resource estimate are not known to the Company. The qualified person has not made any attempt to re-classify the estimates according to current NI 43-101 standards of disclosure or the CIM definitions. In order for these resources to be current, the Company will be required to conduct additional drilling at the Sourdough deposit. The Company is not treating this estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves as defined in NI 43-101.

About Callinex Mines Inc.

Callinex Mines Inc. (TSXV: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the rapidly expanding Rainbow Discovery at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District. The second asset in the portfolio is the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick. A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ($128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc. The third asset, 100% owned Point Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland, is located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada. Callinex prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), an pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead).

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.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete the proposed drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Callinex does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Callinex Mines Inc.
SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Capewell, a global leader in engineering aviation and life support solutions, announced it has established Capewell Europe, a subsidiary in the United Kingdom, to provide continuing support to allied warfighters in Europe.

"We are creating this subsidiary within the context of AUKUS, which is an enhanced trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US," said Gregory Bloom, Capewell's CEO. "It is also as a result of ongoing defence interoperability efforts and our national focus on allies and partners."

Lieutenant General (retired) Edward Davis, CB, CBE, has been named Capewell Europe's Strategic Director. Davis served for 35 years in the Naval Service as a Royal Marines Officer, was the 63rd Commandant General Royal Marines and Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces, and served as the Deputy Commander of NATO Land Command Headquarters. In January 2016, upon retirement from the military, he was appointed by Her Majesty The Queen as the 67th Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar, completing this tenure in February 2020.

Lt Gen Davis expressed his delight at Capewell's commitment to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and its service members. "Having recently established Capewell Europe as a subsidiary company in the UK, Capewell is determined to offer the UK MoD world-leading capabilities that enable the Nation's Armed Forces to continue to make a decisive contribution to international peace and stability in our dynamically changing world," said Davis. "It is a challenge we relish and are determined to meet."

Capewell Europe will enable real-time, in-country expertise in solution development, coordination, and synchronization with the Ministry of Defence and other defence entities.

"Capewell is currently engaged with the UK MoD in providing unique, mission-tailored solutions for UK Defence Forces," said Davis. "Our passion is centered on innovative engineering solutions and premium products that save lives and increase mission success across the globe, and our history of support to the Ministry of Defence validates this passion."

"We are proud to bring over 140 years of performance and expertise to our allies in the UK, supporting global freedom and liberty," added Bloom. "Capewell Europe is a significant step forward for Capewell's global expansion efforts, and it's both appropriate and fitting that our longest and most trusted ally is the home of our first overseas subsidiary. Delivering capabilities to UK service members that increase survivability and enable mission accomplishment is at the heart of what we do."

About Capewell:

Founded in 1881, Capewell is the global leader in the custom engineering and manufacture of critical aerial delivery systems and combat water survivability solutions for the United States government and its partner nations. Capewell's foundational mission  to protect people who operate systems in dangerous environments in support of national security  continues to this day. Operating out of South Windsor, Conn., and Meadows of Dan, Va., the company offers four core product segments of mission-critical components and systems: Aerial Delivery & Parachute Systems, Aerial & Marine Life Support & Safety Hardware, Operator and Maintainer Training and Logistics, and Engineering Services.

SOURCE Capewell
MIAMI, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida International University alumni Tina Vidal-Duart and Carlos Duart have made a $1.2 million gift to the FIU Honors College to establish two student scholarship endowments. It is the largest gift the Honors College has received from its alumni to date.

"We are humbled to be in a position to make this gift," said Tina Vidal-Duart. "Carlos and I credit our success to our origins at FIU and are committed to ensuring future generations of students are afforded the opportunity of an incredible education and life-changing experience."

Duart and Vidal-Duart both received their bachelor's and master's degrees from the FIU College of Business, and Vidal-Duart is also a graduate of the Honors College. Duart serves as president of CDR Maguire, Inc., a national consulting firm specializing in engineering and emergency management. Vidal-Duart, his wife, is CEO of the company's affiliate, CDR Health Care, Inc. that specializes in disaster health and medical services.

Attributing much of their success to their FIU education and the professional connections they made during their studies, the couple have long served the university in various capacities. Duart was recently appointed to FIU's Board of Trustees by Governor Ron DeSantis and previously served on the FIU Foundation Board of Directors as well as advisory councils in the College of Engineering & Computing, College of Business and Honors College. He is the recipient of FIU's Torch Award and College of Business Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. Vidal-Duart is a recipient of the FIU Alumni Association Torch Award for Distinguished Alumni and a member of the FIU Foundation Board of Directors. She previously served on the Honors College advisory board and the FIU President's Council.

The Vidal-Duart Scholarship Endowment will support the Honors College's general student population; and the Vidal-Duart First Generation Scholarship Endowment will support the college's Pell grant-eligible students who are among the first generation in their families to attend college. Preference will be given to engineering and business majors for both scholarships, which are expected to be awarded beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year. Additionally, recipients will be offered the opportunity to complete internships at CDR Maguire and CDR Health Care.

"Tina and Carlos' gift is transformational. Their generous donation will allow students to realize their professional dreams," said Juan Carlos Espinosa, dean of the Honors College. "This is part of their FIU legacy and made even more special for me as Dean because Tina is an alumna of the Honors College."

The Honors College is home to 2,400 ambitious, curious and open-minded FIU students from every academic college and major. The college's curriculum, taught by a diverse and multidisciplinary faculty, is designed to complement all majors to encourage students to think critically and broaden their perspectives. Every Honors student is guaranteed an internship opportunity, and 70 percent major in areas of strategic emphasis for the state of Florida, including STEM and other fields that meet critical workforce and economic development needs. Additionally, Honors students have completed more than 35,000 hours of community service.

"Carlos and Tina have proved time and again that they are committed to the success of FIU and its students. They are exemplary alumni who are leading the way by providing opportunities to FIU students for generations to come," said George Corton, vice president for development and innovation philanthropy at FIU.

This gift benefits the Next Horizon campaign to raise $750 million in support of student success and research excellence at FIU.

Media Contact:

Lourdes Perez

(305) 345-6944



SOURCE Florida International University
Stock Market Symbols

GIB.A (TSX)

GIB (NYSE)

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MONTREAL, Feb. 2, 2022 /CNW Telbec/  CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB) announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the renewal of its Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB"), subject to approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX").



CGI's management and Board of Directors believe that the purchase for cancellation of the Company's Class A subordinate voting shares ("Class A Shares") is a proper use of funds, and the NCIB will provide the flexibility to purchase Class A Shares from time to time as the Company considers it advisable, as part of its efforts to increase shareholder value.

At the close of business on January 24, 2022, there were 216,915,512 Class A Shares outstanding, of which approximately 87% were widely held (representing a public float of 187,819,817 Class A Shares as calculated in accordance with the rules of the TSX).

Under the terms of the NCIB, subject to TSX approval, the Company may purchase for cancellation on the open market through the facilities of the TSX and the New York Stock Exchange and through alternative trading systems, as well as outside the facilities of the TSX pursuant to exemption orders issued by securities regulators, up to 18,781,981 Class A Shares, representing approximately 10% of the Company's public float as of the close of business on January 24, 2022. The average daily trading volume of the Class A Shares on the TSX for the six-month period ended December 31, 2021 was 359,459 (the "ADTV"). Consequently, and in accordance with the requirements of the TSX, the daily purchase limit under the NCIB on the TSX will be 89,864 Class A Shares, representing 25% of the ADTV. All Class A Shares will be purchased at their market price at the time of acquisition, except for purchases effected outside the facilities of the TSX pursuant to exemption orders issued by securities regulators which will be at a discount to the market price as provided in such exemption orders. All Class A Shares purchased under the NCIB will be cancelled.

Repurchases of Class A Shares may commence on February 6, 2022 and will end on the earlier of February 5, 2023 or the date on which the Company has either acquired the maximum number of Class A Shares allowable under the NCIB or otherwise decided not to make any further purchases for cancellation under it.

Under its current NCIB that commenced on February 6, 2021 and will end on February 5, 2022, the Company received the approval of the TSX to repurchase for cancellation up to 19,184,831 Class A Shares. As at January 24, 2022, CGI has purchased 11,518,331 Class A Shares by means of open market transactions, through the facilities of the TSX, other markets and through alternative trading systems, and by way of private agreements under issuer bid exemption orders issued by securities regulators, at a weighted average price of $101.86 per Class A Share, for a total consideration of $1,173,222,997.

CGI has implemented an automatic share purchase plan with its designated broker in connection with the NCIB in order to allow, if deemed advisable by the Company, for share purchases for cancellation during self-imposed blackout periods.

About CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world. With 82,000 consultants and professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results. CGI Fiscal 2021 reported revenue is $12.13 billion and CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Learn more at cgi.com.

Forward-looking information and statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable United States safe harbours. All such forward-looking information and statements are made and disclosed in reliance upon the safe harbour provisions of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. Forward-looking information and statements include all information and statements regarding CGI's intentions, plans, expectations, beliefs, objectives, future performance, and strategy, as well as any other information or statements that relate to future events or circumstances and which do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts. Forward-looking information and statements often but not always use words such as "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "foresee", "plan", "predict", "project", "aim", "seek", "strive", "potential", "continue", "target", "may", "might", "could", "should", and similar expressions and variations thereof. These information and statements are based on our perception of historic trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other assumptions, both general and specific, that we believe are appropriate in the circumstances. Such information and statements are, however, by their very nature, subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, of which many are beyond the control of CGI, and which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from our expectations expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not restricted to: risks related to the market such as the level of business activity of our clients, which is affected by economic and political conditions, other external risks (such as pandemics) and our ability to negotiate new contracts; risks related to our industry such as competition and our ability to attract and retain qualified employees, to develop and expand our services, to penetrate new markets, and to protect our intellectual property rights; risks related to our business such as risks associated with our growth strategy, including the integration of new operations, financial and operational risks inherent in worldwide operations, foreign exchange risks, income tax laws and other tax programs, our ability to negotiate favourable contractual terms, to deliver our services and to collect receivables, the reputational and financial risks attendant to cybersecurity breaches and other incidents, and financial risks such as liquidity needs and requirements, maintenance of financial ratios, and changes in creditworthiness and credit ratings; as well as other risks identified or incorporated by reference in this press release, in CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A and in other documents that we make public, including our filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators (on SEDAR at www.sedar.com) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (on EDGAR at www.sec.gov). For a discussion of risks in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, see Pandemic risks in section 10.1.1. of our annual MD&A and section 8.1.1. of our quarterly MD&A. Unless otherwise stated, the forward-looking information and statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. While we believe that our assumptions on which these forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are based were reasonable as at the date of this press release, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking information or statements. Furthermore, readers are reminded that forward-looking information and statements are presented for the sole purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding our objectives, strategic priorities and business outlook as well as our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Further information on the risks that could cause our actual results to differ significantly from our current expectations may be found in the section titled Risk Environment of CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A, which is incorporated by reference in this cautionary statement. We also caution readers that the above-mentioned risks and the risks disclosed in CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A and other documents and filings are not the only ones that could affect us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial could also have a material adverse effect on our financial position, financial performance, cash flows, business or reputation.

SOURCE CGI Inc.
Stock Market Symbols

GIB.A (TSX)

GIB (NYSE)

www.cgi.com/newsroom

Q1-F2022 performance highlights1

Revenue of $3.09 billion , up 2.4% year-over-year or 6.8% year-over-year in constant currency;

, up 2.4% year-over-year or 6.8% year-over-year in constant currency; Adjusted EBIT of $521.5 million , up 5.2% year-over-year;

, up 5.2% year-over-year; Adjusted EBIT margin improved by 50 basis points year-over-year to 16.9%;

Net earnings of $367.4 million , for a margin of 11.9%;

, for a margin of 11.9%; Diluted EPS of $1.49 , up 12.9% year-over-year;

, up 12.9% year-over-year; Net earnings excluding specific items* of $369.4 million and diluted EPS of $1.50 ;

and diluted EPS of ; Cash from operating activities of $484.3 million , representing 15.7% of revenue;

, representing 15.7% of revenue; Bookings of $3.60 billion , for a book-to-bill ratio of 116.5%;

, for a book-to-bill ratio of 116.5%; Backlog of $23.58 billion or 1.9x annual revenue.



*Specific items in Q1-F2022 include: $2.0 million in acquisition-related and integration costs, net of tax; Specific items in Q1-F2021 include: $3.7 million in acquisition-related and integration costs, net of tax.





Note: All figures in Canadian dollars. Q1-F2022 MD&A, interim condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes can be found at cgi.com/investors and have been filed with both SEDAR in Canada and EDGAR in the U.S.

To access the financial statements  click here (PDF)

To access the Q1-F2022 MD&A  click here (PDF)

MONTREAL, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB) reported Fiscal 2022 first quarter results this morning.

"CGI is off to a strong start in fiscal 2022 with accelerating revenue growth, strong bookings, and double digit EPS accretion" said President and Chief Executive Officer, George D. Schindler. "With a net increase of 6,000 employees year-over-year, our plan remains to deliver revenue growth and double digit EPS accretion for the year."

Q1-F2022 results

For the first quarter of F2022, the Company reported revenue of $3.09 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 2.4% when incorporating unfavorable impacts from foreign currency fluctuations. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew by 6.8% year-over-year.

Adjusted EBIT was $521.5 million, up 5.2% year-over-year, with an EBIT margin of 16.9% representing an improvement of 50 basis points from 16.4% in the same period last year.

On a GAAP basis, net earnings were $367.4 million, up 7.0% compared with the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share, as a result, were $1.49 compared to $1.32 last year, representing an increase of 12.9%.

Excluding acquisition-related and integration costs, net of tax, net earnings were $369.4 million, representing an increase of 6.4% or $22.2 million year-over-year and a margin of 11.9%. On the same basis, diluted earnings per share expanded by 12.8% to $1.50, up from $1.33 from the same period last year.

Bookings were $3.60 billion, representing a book-to-bill ratio of 116.5%. As of December 31, 2021, the Company's backlog stood at $23.58 billion or 1.9x annual revenue.

Cash provided by operating activities was $484.3 million, or 15.7% of revenue. Over the last twelve months ending December 31, 2021, cash provided by operating activities was 2,002.8 million, or 16.4% of revenue.

In millions of Canadian dollars except earnings per share and where noted Q1-F2022 Q1-F2021 Revenue 3,092.4 3,019.4 Growth 2.4% (1.2%) Constant currency growth 6.8% (3.6%) Adjusted EBIT 521.5 495.7 Margin 16.9% 16.4% Net earnings 367.4 343.5 Margin 11.9% 11.4% Net earnings excluding specific items* 369.4 347.2 Margin 11.9% 11.5% Diluted earnings per share (diluted EPS) 1.49 1.32 Diluted earnings per share excluding specific items* 1.50 1.33 Weighted average number of outstanding shares (diluted) 246.8 260.4 Net finance costs 25.6 27.2 Net debt 2,687.9 2,672.5 Net debt to capitalization ratio 27.8% 27.1% Cash provided by operating activities 484.3 597.5 Days sales outstanding (DSO) 45 44 Return on invested capital (ROIC) 15.3% 12.4% Return on equity (ROE) 20.3% 16.6% Bookings 3,603.6 3,396.6 Backlog 23,577.2 22,768.6

* Specific items in Q1-F2022 include: $2.0 million in acquisition-related and integration costs, net of tax; Specific items in Q1-F2021 include: $3.7 million in acquisition-related and integration costs, net of tax.

As at December 31, 2021, net debt stood at $2.69 billion, up from $2.67 billion at the same time last year. The net debt-to-capitalization ratio stood at 27.8% at the end of December 2021.

With cash of $1.2 billion on hand at the end of December 2021, and a fully available revolving credit facility, the Company has $2.7 billion in readily available liquidity to pursue its Build and Buy profitable growth strategy.

Normal Course Issuer Bid

On February 1, 2022, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the renewal of its Normal Course Issuer Bid, which, subject to approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange, allows for the purchase for cancellation of up to 18.8 million Class A subordinate voting shares over the next 12 months, representing approximately 10% of the Company's public float as of the close of business on January 24, 2022. The current program will terminate on February 5, 2022 and repurchases of Class A subordinate voting shares under the renewed program may commence on February 6, 2022. For further information, please refer to the Company's press release regarding the renewal of its Normal Course Issuer Bid.

Q1-F2022 results conference call

Management will host a conference call this morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss results. Participants may access the call by dialing 1-800-590-6590 or 1-438-802-6860 Conference ID: 7425436 or via cgi.com/investors. For those unable to participate on the live call, a podcast and copy of the slides will be archived for download at cgi.com/investors.

Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

This morning the company will hold its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. The meeting will be held at 11:00 a.m. (EST) via live webcast at www.icastpro.ca/xp8zto (Password: CGI2021).

About CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world. With 82,000 consultants and professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results. CGI Fiscal 2021 reported revenue is $12.13 billion and CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Learn more at cgi.com.

1Non-GAAP and other key performance measures

Non-GAAP financial metrics used in this press release: Constant currency growth, adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBIT margin, net debt, net debt to capitalization ratio, ROIC, net earnings excluding specific items, net earnings margin excluding specific items, and diluted EPS excluding specific items.

CGI reports its financial results in accordance with IFRS. However, management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors regarding the company's financial condition and results of operations as they provide additional measures of its performance. These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers and should be considered as supplemental in nature and not as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS. Additional details for these non-GAAP measures can be found on pages 3, 4 and 5 of our Q1-F2022 MD&A which is posted on CGI's website, and filed with SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

Key performance measures used in this press release: bookings, book-to-bill ratio, backlog, DSO, net earnings margin, and ROE. The composition of these measures can also be found on pages 3, 4 and 5 of our Q1-F2022 MD&A

Forward-looking information and statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable United States safe harbours. All such forward-looking information and statements are made and disclosed in reliance upon the safe harbour provisions of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. Forward-looking information and statements include all information and statements regarding CGI's intentions, plans, expectations, beliefs, objectives, future performance, and strategy, as well as any other information or statements that relate to future events or circumstances and which do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts. Forward-looking information and statements often but not always use words such as "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "foresee", "plan", "predict", "project", "aim", "seek", "strive", "potential", "continue", "target", "may", "might", "could", "should", and similar expressions and variations thereof. These information and statements are based on our perception of historic trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other assumptions, both general and specific, that we believe are appropriate in the circumstances. Such information and statements are, however, by their very nature, subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, of which many are beyond the control of CGI, and which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from our expectations expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not restricted to: risks related to the market such as the level of business activity of our clients, which is affected by economic and political conditions, other external risks (such as pandemics) and our ability to negotiate new contracts; risks related to our industry such as competition and our ability to attract and retain qualified employees, to develop and expand our services, to penetrate new markets, and to protect our intellectual property rights; risks related to our business such as risks associated with our growth strategy, including the integration of new operations, financial and operational risks inherent in worldwide operations, foreign exchange risks, income tax laws and other tax programs, our ability to negotiate favourable contractual terms, to deliver our services and to collect receivables, the reputational and financial risks attendant to cybersecurity breaches and other incidents, and financial risks such as liquidity needs and requirements, maintenance of financial ratios, and changes in creditworthiness and credit ratings; as well as other risks identified or incorporated by reference in this press release, in CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A and in other documents that we make public, including our filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators (on SEDAR at www.sedar.com) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (on EDGAR at www.sec.gov). For a discussion of risks in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, see Pandemic risks in section 10.1.1. of our annual MD&A and section 8.1.1. of our quarterly MD&A. Unless otherwise stated, the forward-looking information and statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. While we believe that our assumptions on which these forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are based were reasonable as at the date of this press release, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking information or statements. Furthermore, readers are reminded that forward-looking information and statements are presented for the sole purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding our objectives, strategic priorities and business outlook as well as our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Further information on the risks that could cause our actual results to differ significantly from our current expectations may be found in the section titled Risk Environment of CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A, which is incorporated by reference in this cautionary statement. We also caution readers that the above-mentioned risks and the risks disclosed in CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A and other documents and filings are not the only ones that could affect us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial could also have a material adverse effect on our financial position, financial performance, cash flows, business or reputation.

SOURCE CGI Inc.
NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The fast food industry maintained its sixth place ranking in the second year of the pandemic according to MBLM's Brand Intimacy COVID Study, which analyzes brands based on emotional connections during the pandemic. Brand Intimacy performance has increased by 8 percent since the beginning of the pandemic, daily usage has also risen by 8 percent, and willingness to pay 20 percent more for fast food products and services has increased by 43 percent compared to last year's COVID study.

Top 10 Fast Food Brands in MBLM's Brand Intimacy COVID Study

For the second year in a row, Chick-fil-A held the top spot as the fast food company with the strongest levels of Brand Intimacy, which is defined as the emotional science behind the bonds we form with the brands we use and love. Starbucks and Dunkin' ranked second and third, respectively. The remaining fast food brands in the top 10 are McDonald's, Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Wendy's, and Subway.

"Despite having to shut down at some points and weather significant supply chain challenges recently, the fast food industry has drawn consumers closer and created stronger emotional bonds over the last year." said Mario Natarelli, managing partner, MBLM. "Brands in this industry have been able to capitalize on mobile ordering and digital drive-through lanes during the pandemic. This has created a new reality within which fast food brands provide even more comfort and convenience to stressed consumers  a position they can effectively continue to reference as we increasingly return to 'normal life' in the year ahead."

The highest-performing fast food chains in terms of Brand Intimacy also enjoyed strong sales. According to Restaurant Business, McDonald's $40 billion in sales now account for 13 percent of fast-food chain sales across the U.S., while Starbucks held the number two spot in terms of popularity  in spite of losses of more than 13 percent in systemwide earnings last year. Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, meanwhile, saw sales rise 13 percent in 2020 to $13.7 billion.

Additional significant fast food industry findings include:

Fast food continues to perform better with men than with women, and with younger versus older consumers.

More than 32 percent of consumers have an increased positive emotional connection with fast food brands since MBLM's 2020 COVID study.

Starbucks is the top brand with men, while Chick-fil-A is the top brand with women.

MBLM also analyzed the industry in an article entitled "The Booming Business of Fast Food". The piece looks at the industry's successful efforts to draw consumers closer during the pandemic, with mental health, safety, and hunger prevention among the top themes in their communication.

To view the fast food industry findings, please click here. Additionally, MBLM offers Custom Dashboards providing extensive data for brands included in its Brand Intimacy COVID Study. To download the main Brand Intimacy COVID Study report or explore the Rankings, click here.

About MBLM: MBLM invented Brand Intimacy, the emotional science behind the brands we use and love. For our clients, we deliver expertise and value through our agency insights, services and software offerings.

With offices in five countries, our multidisciplinary teams invent, transform and enhance brands for businesses of every kind. We deliver marketing that creates stronger emotional connections with stakeholders. These bonds create better performance and long-term returns. To learn more about how we can help you create and sustain ultimate brand relationships, visit mblm.com.

RUBENSTEIN PUBLIC RELATIONS

CONTACT: FAITH SAMSON, 212-805-3071

[email protected]

SOURCE MBLM
The FW PARK app, powered by ParkMobile, is already widely used in Fort Worth for on-street parking and the same app can now be used to reserve parking at the Convention Center, National Cowgirl Museum, Arts Fort Worth, Museum of Science and History, or Will Rogers Memorial Center. Now, there's also a dedicated website for users to book parking reservations.

ParkMobile has approximately 195,000 users in Fort Worth and 1.9 million in Texas. ParkMobile is readily available across the state in other major cities like Austin, Dallas, Houston, and El Paso and the app can also be used to pay for parking at many Texas Universities, including Texas A&M, University of North Texas, Sam Houston State, Southern Methodist University, and at the UT Austin and Arlington campuses. Beyond the state, the app is available in over 500 cities across the country.

"Parking is an important part of the experience for our guests when attending an event or convention," says Peter Elliott, Parking Manager for the City of Fort Worth. "As we get back to larger crowds at our venues, it is important that we offer a safe contactless option for all guests who are attending events."

"ParkMobile is excited to now offer event parking reservations through the FW PARK App in Fort Worth," says ParkMobile CEO, Jeff Perkins. "With close to 200,000 users in the city, FW Park now provides an easy way to reserve parking when going to events at the Convention Center, the National Cowgirl Museum, Arts Fort Worth, Museum of Science and History, or Will Rogers Memorial Center."

About ParkMobile

ParkMobile, LLC is the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America, using a contactless approach to help millions of people easily find, reserve, and pay for parking on their mobile devices. The company's technology is used in thousands of locations across the country, including 8 of the top 10 cities as well as college campuses, airports, and stadiums. For more information, visit ParkMobile.io or @ParkMobile on Twitter.

ParkMobile Contact: Mark Lister, SVP of Marketing, [email protected]

Fort Worth Contact: Peter Elliott, Parking Manager, [email protected]

SOURCE ParkMobile
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Management and technology consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors today announced it is kicking off a year-long celebration to commemorate the firm's 20th year in business.

"I speak for the entire company when I say that on this anniversary, we are feeling excited, proud, honored and humbled," said Scott Sommer, chief executive officer of Cornerstone Advisors and one of the firm's founders. "Excited and proud because together, this team of amazing professionals has created a firm with an exceptional reputation for helping midsize banks and credit unions achieve their goals and successfully grow their businesses. And we're honored and humbled by the trust 1,300 financial institutions have put in us over the years."

Bankers Trust in Des Moines, Iowa, is one such institution. "The Bankers Trust team sincerely congratulates Cornerstone Advisors on achieving this 20-year milestone," said Kip Albertson, SVP and CFO at Bankers Trust. "We have a long history of working together and appreciate the partnership that has helped evolve our strategic plan, research industry trends, and provide advice on many important topics to our business."

A few key highlights in Cornerstone's history:

2002: Cornerstone Advisors founded by four partners to serve midsize banks and credit unions; four enthusiastic followers join the team

2003: Published The Cornerstone Report , an exclusive compilation of peer-comparison performance benchmarking data

, an exclusive compilation of peer-comparison performance benchmarking data 2007: Contract Negotiations service line launched

2014: Acquired Abound Resources, enhancing firm's Technology Services practice

2015: Gonzobanker, Cornerstone's blog and "alter ego," posted 300th article

2016: Noted industry analyst Ron Shevlin joined firm, published first What's Going On In Banking research report

joined firm, published first research report 2021: Acquired Coastline Analytics, resulting in new Data Sciences division

2021: Acquired Next Step, expanding existing core banking systems, implementations, and contract negotiation offerings

2021: Surpassed $1.5 million in charitable contributions

"From day one, giving back to the communities that serve us has been one of our goals," said Terence Roche, Cornerstone founder and partner. "The success that enables us to do that  and make it a team-wide effort  is one of our proudest accomplishments." As part of Cornerstone Advisors' Charitable Giving Program, each team member is given the opportunity to designate a charity to which Cornerstone will make a donation in his or her name.

"It's been incredible watching this company grow from a handful of people using upturned boxes as desks to 140 people delivering value all over the country," said Cate Pitts, editorial director at the firm and one of the original "enthusiastic followers." "Cornerstone 'gives back,' and the team's passion and commitment to service reflect that."

As one of the firm's earliest clients, Space Coast Credit Union in Melbourne, Fla., has looked to Cornerstone for direction on more than 50 engagements. "We have always found Cornerstone Advisors' guidance and input to be on point," said Timothy M. Antonition, SCCU president and CEO. "Whether it be a merger, core system conversion, contract negotiation or strategic planning, we always find value in what Cornerstone has to offer."

Steve Williams, Cornerstone founder and president, said: "It has always been our vision to see Cornerstone become the nation's most trusted financial services advisory firm. To achieve this reputation as part of a team that holds fast to a Gonzo culture  that is, a culture firmly based on truth, integrity, and reliability  is a life dream realized for us."

Cornerstone Advisors, a management and technology consulting firm, shows banks, credit unions, and fintechs how to reach the next level of performance through smarter technology decisions, reengineered critical processes, and meaningful business strategies.

Media Contact:

Cate Pitts

480-425-5203

[email protected]

SOURCE Cornerstone Advisors
DENVER, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- cQuant.io, an energy analytics company, has worked with Microsoft to scale its cQuant energy analytics solution, helping customers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with reliable renewable energy purchases.

As organizations move forward to reduce their carbon footprint, the procurement of renewable energy often becomes a key strategy. This procurement usually includes long term Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) wrought with uncertainty around price and generation which the industry calls risk. cQuant's cloud-native energy analytics platform is now using the power of Microsoft Azure. "A modern energy analytics platform requires significant computing resources, which makes working with Microsoft a natural choice," said David Leevan, CEO of cQuant. "The high-performance computing and scalability inherent in the Azure cloud platform in combination with the cQuant's advanced analytics platform has helped to deliver timely results to our clients."

The cQuant energy analytics solution provides insightful and powerful information to companies in moving towards a carbon-free footprint. Companies on this journey often find that this process is complex and look for vendor solutions that support their internal teams to identify the best path forward. With cQuant, companies can individually analyze and manage their renewable assets and get a holistic view of their complete energy portfolio, allowing for smarter decision making.

"Microsoft is committed to partnering with organizations that have the shared value to reduce their carbon footprint," said Brent Morgan, Director, Energy Risk and Innovation at Microsoft. "Analytic tools and the insight they provide are a key component for companies looking to rely more heavily on renewable energy sources. Companies on this journey are confronted with many options and aligning the resulting choices to company goals is important."

Analytics are a key piece to decoding the ever-evolving mission to becoming carbon-free and both cQuant and Microsoft look forward to moving together in the same direction while supporting other organizations and companies in their journeys along the way.

About cQuant.io

cQuant.io is an industry leader in analytic solutions for energy and commodity companies. Specializing in Total Portfolio Analysis, cQuant's cloud-native platform enables physical asset, financial contract, market simulation and risk management analytics in one place. cQuant is the leader in analytics for renewable, storage and other clean energy technologies. cQuant's customers have greater insight into their financial forecasts and the drivers of value and risk in their business. For more information or to schedule a demo, visit https://cquant.io/.



Media Contact:

Noelle Demo

Phone: +1-888.313.0303

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE cQuant.io
MAUMEE, Ohio, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dana Incorporated today announced that its Spicer Electrified motor and inverter system will be featured on the custom performance vehicles competing in the new Ultra4 electrified vehicle (EV) racing series. The announcement was made during the annual King of the Hammers event held Jan. 27-Feb. 5 in Johnson Valley, California.

"Dana has been at the forefront of developing and manufacturing electrified vehicle powertrains for trucks and off-road vehicles, making partnering with the Ultra4 racing series an excellent showcase for our products," said Seth Metzger, senior vice president of electrification for Dana. "This program raises awareness of the unique capabilities of electrification and provides an opportunity to inspire the next generation of enthusiasts, racers, and engineers as electric vehicles become more attainable for everyone.

"As a leading supplier in the light-vehicle-truck market, Dana developed the powerful Spicer Electrified TM4 SUMO LD motor and inverter system to be durable and tough. It is ideal for the rugged off-road vehicles that will compete in this exciting new series," continued Metzger. "Together with our integration partner Hypercraft, we are looking forward to the chance to showcase how well electrification performs in the extreme conditions that Ultra4 Racing presents."

With the TM4 SUMO LD system, vehicles can reach peak power of up to 270 kW, peak torque of up to 950 Nm, and operating speed up to 8,600 RPM. Designed and validated as per axle mount requirements, the TM4 SUMO LD system also offers seamless integration into Dana axles. The system is designed to interface directly with standard rear differentials, and/or gearboxes, and/or e-axles and consists of multiple high torque permanent magnet motor and inverter combinations that offer cost-effective solutions to vehicle electrification.

For the Ultra4 racing series, Dana joined forces with integration partner Hypercraft, an electric vehicle industry supplier of complete, turn-key electric vehicle powertrain systems for manufacturers of high-performance vehicles. Their mission is to show the world that electric vehicle technology is viable today, eliminating pollution, noise, and maintenance costs associated with gas-powered engines.

The King of The Hammers event takes place each year in February on public lands in Johnson Valley, California. The race has evolved from 12 teams racing for bragging rights and a case of beer, to more than 500 teams competing before more than 50,000 fans in person and nearly three million watching online. Due to the incredible success of King of The Hammers event, Hammerking has created an Ultra4 racing series with eleven races held throughout the country. The first electrified vehicle race will be held later this year.

About Dana Incorporated

Dana is a leader in the design and manufacture of highly efficient propulsion and energy-management solutions that power vehicles and machines in all mobility markets across the globe. The company is shaping sustainable progress through its conventional and clean-energy solutions that support nearly every vehicle manufacturer with drive and motion systems; electrodynamic technologies, including software and controls; and thermal, sealing, and digital solutions.

Based in Maumee, Ohio, USA, the company reported sales of $7.1 billion in 2020 with 38,000 associates in 33 countries across six continents. Founded in 1904, Dana was named one of "America's Most Responsible Companies 2022" by Newsweek for its emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility. The company is driven by a high-performance culture that focuses on valuing others, inspiring innovation, growing responsibly, and winning together, earning it global recognition as a top employer. Learn more at dana.com.

SOURCE Dana Incorporated
ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rise in application of disposable gloves for hands protection while handling chemicals, reactive unhygienic materials, and medicines is generating profitable opportunities for companies in the disposable gloves market. Hence, the market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.7% during the forecast period of 2021 to 2031, note analysts at Transparency Market Research (TMR).

In the healthcare industry, disposable gloves are also used in dentistry, surgeries, and examinations. Hence, increase in the number of these activities is likely to create high product demand, thereby fueling the growth of the disposable gloves market during the forecast period.

The disposable gloves market in North America is expected to gain sizable business opportunities and expand at a CAGR of 39.2% during the forecast period. The market is anticipated to be driven owing to rise in awareness about health and hygiene among regional population due to recent outbreaks such as SARS, COVID 19, and H1N1. Moreover, increased focus of many health-associated organizations, including The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on encouraging people to follow safety and hygienic guidelines at workplaces is leading to revenue-generation opportunities in the North America disposable gloves market.

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Disposable Gloves Market: Key Findings

Use of latex and powder-free nitrile gloves has increased in the agriculture industry for different agriculture activities. Moreover, the product is also suitable for milking activities, owing to its different advantages such as sturdy nature, durability, and ambidexterity. Hence, in order to cater to rising product demand, players in the global disposable gloves market are strengthening their production capabilities in latex and powder-free nitrile gloves. Companies in the disposable gloves market are ensuring the availability of their products through online distribution channels, including ecommerce sites. These efforts are anticipated to help in the overall market growth during the forecast period.

With increase in the prevalence of different infectious diseases, the use of disposable gloves has increased for handling different food products in order to prevent microbial activity. Moreover, government authorities of many countries around the world are executing stringent regulations pertaining to the food safety. As a result, the global disposable gloves market is experiencing notable sales prospects from the food industry.

High performance mechanic gloves are increasingly being used in the automotive industry, owing to their ability to assist in providing maximum comfort and improving performance in different automotive applications. Hence, players in the global disposable gloves market are providing specialized rubber gloves that offer exceptional chemical resistance and protection against abrasions, wear, and tear. Furthermore, these products ensure user safety in automotive applications and are puncture resistant. Besides, manufacturers are offering disposable mechanic gloves that are easy to apply and remove, notes a report on the global disposable gloves market.

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Disposable Gloves Market: Growth Boosters

Rise in application of disposable gloves in handling fuel oil, pesticides, agriculture produce, and chemicals is driving global market

Increased demand for disposable mechanic gloves from the automotive industry creates revenue-generation opportunities in the global disposable gloves market

Rise in prevalence of transmittable diseases such as coronavirus is resulting in soaring demand for disposable gloves in the healthcare industry

Increasing global population and improving disposable income of major populace are supporting the growth of the global disposable gloves market

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Disposable Gloves Market: Key Players

Some of the key players profiled in the report are:

Hartalega Holdings Berhad

Latexx Partners Berhad

Ansell Limited

Granberg AS

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Disposable Gloves Market Segmentation

Material

Natural Rubber

Vinyl

Nitrile

Neoprene

Others

End-use

Medical

Food & Beverages

Agriculture

Metal Fabrication

Automotive

Chemicals

Others

Region

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

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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:

Agricultural Gloves Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/agricultural-gloves-market.html

Polyphenylene Ether (PPE) Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/polyphenylene-ether-ppe-market.html

About Transparency Market Research

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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Transparency Market Research

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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
CHICAGO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Drug Discovery Services Market by Process (Target Selection, Validation, Hit-to-lead), Type (Chemistry, Biology), Drug Type (Small molecules, biologics), Therapeutic Area (Oncology, Neurology) End User (Pharma, Biotech) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global market is projected to reach USD 31.4 billion by 2026 from USD 16.1 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 14.3% during the forecast period of 2021 to 2026.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Drug Discovery Services Market"

249  Tables

54  Figures

281  Pages

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=138732129

The Growing R&D expenditure in the pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical industry, increasing demand for outsourcing analytical testing services, initiatives for research on rare diseases and orphan drugs, and the high cost of in-house drug development are creating new revenue pockets in the drug discovery services market. On the other hand, stringent regulations governing drug discovery and animal usage are expected to restrain market growth to a certain extent. The shortage of skilled professionals poses a challenge for drug discovery service providers.

The chemistry services segment accounted for the largest share of the type segment in the drug discovery services market in 2020.

Based on type, the market is segmented into chemistry and biology services. The chemistry services segment commanded the largest share of this market in 2020. Growth in this market segment is largely due to the widespread application of chemistry in various early drug development phases to deliver robust candidates. The extensive usage of chemistry in academics, biotechnology companies, and large pharmaceutical companies also supports market growth.

The Hit-to-lead identification segment accounted for the largest share of the process segment in the drug discovery services market in 2020.

Based on process, the market is broadly classified into target selection, target validation, hit-to-lead identification, lead optimization, and candidate validation. Hit-to-lead identification segment accounted for the largest share of the drug discovery service market in 2020. Due to its vital role in drug discovery, hit-to-lead identification is the most revenue-generating process, and currently, many CROs are offering these services to pharmaceutical companies.

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The Asia Pacific region is the fastest-growing region of the drug discovery services market in 2020.

Based on the region, the drug discovery market is segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The Asia Pacific market is estimated to register the highest growth during the forecast period primarily due to expanding pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry, rising number of CROs, implementation of favorable government policies, increasing number of newly established R&D and manufacturing facilities, and the presence of less-stringent regulations for drug discovery processes (especially in terms of using animals for research) in several APAC countries.

Key players in the drug discovery service Market include Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (US), Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (US), WuXi AppTec (China), and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (US).

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Browse Adjacent Markets: Pharmaceuticals Market Research Reports & Consulting

Browse Related Reports:

Drug Discovery Informatics Market by Function (Target Data, Sequencing Data Analysis, Docking) Solution (Software, Services), Application (Drug Development), End User (Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Contract Research Organizations)-Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/drug-discovery-informatics-market-64537381.html

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Drug Discovery Market by Component (Software, Service), Technology (ML, DL), Application (Neurodegenerative Diseases, Immuno-Oncology, CVD), End User (Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology, CRO), Region - Global forecast to 2024

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/ai-in-drug-discovery-market-151193446.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

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MarketsandMarkets INC.

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Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/drug-discovery-services-market.asp

Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/drug-discovery-services.asp

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Excelerate Energy (Excelerate), a U.S.-based LNG company, today announced donations to support humanitarian relief efforts in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Minas Gerais. Excelerate partnered with the Brazilian Red Cross and Caritas Brasileira to deliver aid, including shelter, food and water, first aid, and hygiene promotion.

"We wanted to express our support and concern for the residents of Bahia and Minas Gerais who have been affected by the heavy rains, floods, and landslides," said Steven Kobos, President and CEO of Excelerate. "Immediately supporting recovery efforts was a priority, and we are thankful for our partnerships with the Brazilian Red Cross and Caritas Brasileira who will provide much-needed assistance to the region."

As of January 17, local authorities have reported at least 52 deaths and more than 965,000 people affected across the two states, with 92,400 people displaced in Bahia and 55,250 in Minas Gerais.

"We are facing a critical situation in Brazilian regions that have been hit by heavy rains and floods in recent weeks. The support of partners, willing to help thousands of victims, has been extremely important for the expansion of humanitarian aid in the affected areas," said Julio Cals, President of the Brazilian Red Cross. "We are very grateful to Excelerate Energy for looking out for the country and helping with donations at this difficult time."

Excelerate's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program is guided by the company's core values: Stewardship, Accountability, Improvement, and Leadership. With the company's CSR focus on health, education, and climate, Excelerate is committed to the long-term success of the communities where it builds and operates projects.

"When thousands of Brazilian families are suffering the consequences of the floods in Bahia and Minas Gerais, Caritas Brasileira wants to thank the important and significant contribution of Excelerate Energy," said Carlos Humberto Campos, Executive Director of Caritas Brasileira. "This donation has very important value as a concrete gesture of sharing and solidarity. It will reinforce our emergency campaign #SOS BAHIA and MINAS GERAIS: Solidarity That Overflows. Along with other aid, it will assist the most vulnerable families who do not have access to government social assistance."

For more information about Excelerate Energy, the company's core values, mission, or projects, visit ExcelerateEnergy.com.

About Brazilian Red Cross:

The Brazilian Red Cross is one of more than 190 National Societies that make up the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Founded on December 5, 1908, it is a civil association, with a philanthropic and independent nature, declared by the Brazilian government as being of international public utility, providing voluntary assistance, assisting public authorities and, in particular, military health services. The organization's mission is to alleviate human suffering without distinction of race, religion, social status, gender, and political opinion.

About Caritas Brasileira:

Caritas Brasileira is an organization of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) working in human rights and sustainable development. Its diverse activities include five priority areas: Environment, Risk and Emergency Management; Migration and Refuge; Social and Solidarity Economy; Living with Biomes; Childhood, Adolescence, and Youth Program. Founded on November 12, 1956, it is one of the 170 member organizations of Caritas Internationalis. Its origin lies in the mobilizing action of Dom Helder Camara, then General Officer of the CNBB. The guidelines of the Second Vatican Council marked the action of Caritas which, since then, lives under the values of transforming pastoral care.

About Excelerate Energy:

Excelerate Energy L.P. is a US-based LNG company located in The Woodlands, Texas. It is part of a privately held U.S. energy group founded by George Kaiser. Excelerate Energy is changing the way the world accesses cleaner forms of energy by providing integrated services along the LNG value chain with an objective of delivering rapid-to-market and reliable LNG solutions to customers. Excelerate offers a full range of flexible regasification services from FSRU to infrastructure development to LNG supply. Excelerate has offices in Abu Dhabi, Antwerp, Boston, Buenos Aires, Chattogram, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Manila, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, and Washington, DC.

SOURCE Excelerate Energy L.P.
CAMAS, Wash., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fisher Investments, one of the world's largest independent, fee-only investment advisers, was named to the 2022 Top Workplaces USA list for the second consecutive year. Leading employer research firm Energage, LLC manages the Top Workplaces USA program, which is based entirely on anonymous employee survey feedback. The award spotlights organizations that have strong connections with their employees and a culture of success.

"We're honored to be recognized by Top Workplaces again, particularly because it is based directly on employee feedback," said Fisher Investments' CEO Damian Ornani. "The recognition reflects our values of building rewarding, lifelong careers and always doing what's best for our clients and employees."

Fisher Investments earned Top Workplaces USA recognition based on feedback from the firm's thousands of US-based employees. Energage, LLC analyzes anonymous employee feedback gathered through a survey of 15 areas measuring an organization's workplace culture and success. Scoring well indicates a healthy and productive culture, highly engaged employees and superior business results. To participate, companies must have at least 150 employees and achieve a survey response rate of 35% or higher. Those with the highest overall average scores (in comparison to like-sized companies) qualify as Top Workplaces.

Fisher Investments is hiring for a variety of unique roles in its Camas, Washington; Plano, Texas; and Tampa, Florida offices. Fisher Investments is dedicated to creating a welcoming and inclusive work environment where every employee can thrive and enjoy a rewarding career. Candidates from all education and experience backgrounds are encouraged to apply. The firm offers an award-winning benefits package that includes a 50% 401(k) match up to the IRS maximum and 100% coverage of medical, dental and vision premiums for employees and dependents. Please visit FisherCareers.com to learn more about Fisher Investments, explore career opportunities and apply.

About Fisher Investments

Fisher Investments is an independent, fee-only investment adviser. As of 12/31/2021, Fisher Investments and its subsidiaries manage over $208 billion in assets globallyover $163 billion for private investors, $42 billion for institutional investors and $2 billion for US small to mid-sized business retirement plans. Fisher Investments maintains four principal business groups: US Private Client, Institutional, Private Client International and 401(k) Solutions, which serve a global client base of diverse investors. Not all strategies are offered/sold in all jurisdictions. Founder and Executive Chairman Ken Fisher wrote the Forbes "Portfolio Strategy" column from 1984 through 2016, making him the longest continuously running columnist in the magazine's history. In recent years, Ken's columns have run consistently in major media outlets across almost every Western European country as well as material Asian countries, spanning more countries and more volume than any other columnist of any type in history. Ken has also authored 11 books, including four New York Times bestsellers on finance and investing. For more information on Fisher Investments, please visit www.fisherinvestments.com.

SOURCE Fisher Investments
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Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices.

Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation on pros and cons of prevalent pricing models.

Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers.

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Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers:

Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Barley market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Barley pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfil their category objectives.

For more insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers, www.spendedge.com/report/barley-market-procurement-research-report

Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth:

The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers.

Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the market expects a change of 2%-5%.

Identify favorable opportunities in Barley TCO (total cost of ownership).

Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes.

Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities.

SpendEdge presents a detailed picture of this procurement market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our Barley market procurement report covers the following areas:

Some of the top Barley Market suppliers listed in this report:

This Barley market procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Archer Daniels Midland Co

Bunge Ltd

Louis Dreyfus Co. BV

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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.

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SOURCE SpendEdge
FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 19; Released: January 2022 Executive Pool: 2634 Companies: 152 - Players covered include Albemarle Corporation; British Plastics Federation; Buckman Laboratories International, Inc.; BWA Water Additives; Champion Technology Services, Inc.; Chevron Oronite Company LLC; Dow Inc.; Ecolab, Inc.; Kemira Oyj; Lanxess AG; MilliporeSigma; Neste Oyj; Nouryon; RB Fuels; Renewable Energy Group, Inc.; Suez SA; TUBI THOR SPA and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Feedstock (Vegetable Oils, Animal Fats, Other Feedstocks); Application (Transportation Fuel, Power Generation, 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 Biodiesel Market to Reach US$40.2 Billion by the Year 2026

Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable, and free from sulfur and aromatic compounds. Biodiesel can be used in all diesel engines, is known to release lower air pollutants and greenhouse gases, and also reduces toxic carbon-dioxide emissions. Biodiesel is made from renewable feedstock such as animal fats, and vegetable oils. The global biodiesel market is driven by the increasing need for clean and renewable fuel sources. There is rising environmental consciousness leading to a preference for environment-friendly fuel. The soaring prices of non-renewable sources of energy such as due to their limited resources are driving focus onto alternative fuels. The main factor which influences growth is the rising concern over gas emissions by fossil fuels. Government policies favoring the promotion of sustainable projects that save energy and protect the environment are important drivers of growth in the biodiesel market. Advanced biofuels and ethanol are being promoted by the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) through mandates and regulations. There is a growing demand for biodiesel for use in commercial cars to reduce usage of crude oil. Fuel oil blended biodiesel fuel blends are being researched to reduce dependence on petroleum in the transportation sector. Also favoring market growth is the continuous focus on research activities aimed at developing biodiesel products that can replace crude oil.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Biodiesel estimated at US$30.7 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$40.2 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4.6% over the analysis period. Vegetable Oils, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 4.7% CAGR to reach US$33 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 Animal Fats segment is readjusted to a revised 4.3% CAGR for the next 7-year period. Vegetable oils are easily available, renewable, biodegradable, easy to transport, and provide high heat content. Most of the companies use vegetable oils to produce biodiesel on account of its higher yield and renewability.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $5.2 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $2.2 Billion by 2026

The Biodiesel market in the U.S. is estimated at US$5.2 Billion in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 16.2% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$2.2 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 5.9% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Canada and Europe, each forecast to grow at 4.2% and 3.9% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 4% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$6 Billion by the end of the analysis period. Europe represents the leading region in the global biodiesel market. The region's large share is due to the several government initiatives and regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiesel fuel consumption is on the rise in Europe on account of the government laws and programs and energy taxation regimes. The US is among the major producers and consumers of biodiesel. Increasing use of biodiesel in the United States is mainly driven by the presence of favorable legislations. Asia-Pacific region represents a promising market for biodiesel. Due to rapid industrialization and increase in demand for liquid fuel in power and transport sectors in emerging countries such as Indonesia, China, India, Thailand, and Malaysia, Asia Pacific will witness high growth in the coming years.

Transportation Fuel (Application) Segment to Reach $20.6 Billion by 2026

Biodiesel is increasingly playing a role as a fuel in automobiles, railways, agriculture, and maritime operations. Biodiesel has improved efficiency compared to gasoline and is useful for compression-ignition engines. Biodiesel is used in its pure form i.e. B100 or in the form of a blend with conventional petroleum diesel. Some of the blends of biodiesel include B2, B5 and B20, referring to 2%, 5% and 20% of biodiesel content, respectively. In the global Transportation Fuel (Application) segment, USA, Canada, China and Europe will drive the 4.9% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$10.1 Billion in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$13.8 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$2.9 Billion by the year 2026, while Latin America will expand at a 5.9% CAGR through the analysis period. More

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DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) Market - Forecasts from 2021 to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Companies Mentioned

Carre Technologies inc (Hexoskin)

AliveCor, Inc.

BL Healthcare

Honeywell International Inc.

Neurometrix

Medtronic

Boston Scientific Corporation

Meru Health, Inc.

VitalConnect

Bioserenity

The global Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.55% over the forecast period to reach a market size of US$257.162 billion in 2026 from US$55.324 billion in 2019.

The IoMT is a connected infrastructure of medical devices, software applications, and health systems and services and while a growing pool and general adoption of IoT technologies are benefiting many industries, it's a wave of sensor-based tools - counting wearables and independent gadgets for distant patient checking - and the marriage of web associated clinical gadgets with patient data that eventually put the IoMT environment aside.

The ascent of IoMT is driven by "an expansion in the quantity of associated clinical gadgets that can produce, gather, break down or send wellbeing information or pictures and interface with medical care supplier organizations, communicating information to either a cloud store or interior workers," the Deloitte report notes.

Eventually, this availability between clinical gadgets and sensors is smoothing out the clinical work process on the board and prompting a general improvement in persistent consideration, both inside care office dividers and in far-off areas.

The development of the IoMT market can be authorized to the capacities of IoMT like the arrangement of more exact findings when contrasted with that of conventional strategies.

This prompts fewer mix-ups and lower expenses of care, along these lines, saving lives and broad measures of cash. Combined with cell phone applications, the innovation permits patients to send their wellbeing data to specialists to watch sicknesses and follow and forestall persistent ailments more readily.

Indeed, an examination led by analysts from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA exhibits the capacity of Fitbit action trackers to assess patients more precisely with ischemic coronary illness by recording their pulse and accelerometer information all the while.

This kind of innovation isn't just assisting with improving the patient experience by taking out the requirement for in-person clinical visits, but at the same time, it's assisting with decreasing expenses that said, another positive effect of IoMT is on drug management via the introduction of "smart pills" that contain microscopic sensors, which, once swallowed, can transmit data to connected devices.

Some digital medicine companies, such as Proteus Discover, have focused their smart pill capabilities on measuring medication treatment effectiveness to improve clinical outcomes. Others, such as HQ's CorTemp, are using the pills to monitor patients' internal health, wirelessly transmitting data such as core temperature - measurements that can be critical in life-or-death situations.

Thus, with the increasing capabilities of IoMT as well as the increase in the innovation of IoMT by the different market players, the IoMT market is expected to experience significant growth during the forecast period.

However, factors such as patient privacy, the lapse in data security resulting due to security breaches, and the high cost of IoMT devices are expected to hinder the market growth during the forecast period.

Growth Factors.

Growth of the smart wearable device segment.

A large portion of the development of the IoMT market can be accredited to the development of the shrewd wearable gadget fragment of IoMT, comprehensive of smartwatches and sensor-loaded keen shirts.

This space of IoMT is ready for much further development as man-made brainpower is incorporated into associated gadgets and can demonstrate equipped for the constant, far-off estimation and investigation of patient information. The IoMT biological system extension is making ready for other new advances as well, for example, stands that give availability to mind suppliers.

These booths will further empower clinicians to screen and treat patients distantly - a consistently developing requirement for patients in provincial networks as they battle to enlist and hold clinically trained professionals. Notwithstanding a patient's area or condition, the development of the IoMT biological system will turn out to be progressively effective. And surprisingly the most far-off areas will profit with better admittance to mind as associated clinical gadgets keep on discovering their way under the control of the two patients and clinicians, which is all normal to further drive the IoMT market in the upcoming years.

COVID - 19 impact on IoMT market.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a positive impact on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) market growth as due to the outbreak, the healthcare industry came under extreme pressure and is expected to undergo a major technological transformation.

The lack of capacity across healthcare organizations and end-users ' preference for consulting and taking treatment through digital medium owing to the prevention from the infection and spread of the virus has increased the demand for IoMT. Moreover, the government's emphasis and the healthcare service provider's preference for the remote monitoring of patients' acting as a growth catalyst to the industry.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/955213

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets
Last fall, the drill program at El Favor East was focused on following the zone along strike to the east with drill pads built along the historical road to the Constancia mine workings. The first phase of drilling has cut wide zones of high-grade mineralization at vertical depths near 300 metres from surface (see Figure 1). Phase 2 of the drill program will progressively drill both the fill-in holes along strike and the up-dip holes required for the 2022 Mineral Resource estimation. Crews are currently building the roadways and drill pads required to drill the new holes to follow-up on the zones discovered in holes LRGF-21-107 and LRGF-21-109.

"The results from these new holes demonstrate the importance of the El Favor East zone," said Brad Langille, President and CEO. "With these high grades and widths at depth as shown in holes 107 and 109, we have the opportunity to quickly increase the mineral resource by simply drilling the zone up to surface. 2022 will be another year of aggressive resource expansion in the Los Ricos district."

Table 1: Drill Hole Intersections

Hole ID Area / Vein From To Length1 Au Ag AuEq2 AgEq2



(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) LRGF-21-102 El Favor East 36.1 36.7 0.6 0.51 179.8 2.91 218.1

and 262.5 264.3 1.8 0.08 105.1 1.49 111.4

and 305.2 315.6 10.5 0.05 72.3 1.01 76.0 LRGF-21-104 El Favor East 30.5 31.3 0.9 0.35 88.8 1.53 114.8

and 67.2 69.6 2.4 0.14 66.4 1.03 77.0

including 68.0 68.6 0.6 0.30 177.5 2.66 199.7

and 154.1 157.5 3.4 0.68 101.4 2.04 152.6

including 154.6 155.3 0.7 1.75 230.1 4.82 361.1 LRGF-21-106 El Favor East 243.3 269.5 26.3 0.43 106.6 1.85 138.8

including 256.1 268.5 12.4 0.79 184.2 3.24 243.3

including 259.7 260.5 0.8 2.52 593.0 10.43 782.3 LRGF-21-107 El Favor East 249.3 275.0 25.7 1.55 776.4 11.90 892.3

including 250.1 271.2 21.2 1.87 938.0 14.38 1,078.5

including 258.4 262.7 4.3 8.65 4,163.8 64.17 4,812.8

including 259.1 260.2 1.0 18.23 9,940.1 150.76 11,307.3 LRGF-21-108 El Favor East 223.2 228.3 5.1 0.17 69.2 1.09 81.8

including 223.2 224.8 1.6 0.43 155.0 2.49 187.0

and 357.9 366.0 8.1 0.46 90.2 1.66 124.5

including 358.5 359.6 1.1 2.52 353.5 7.24 542.6 LRGF-21-109 El Favor East 49.5 53.2 3.7 0.34 157.9 2.45 183.4

and 223.6 287.2 63.6 0.23 109.0 1.69 126.4

including 262.2 265.2 2.9 2.36 1,109.2 17.15 1,286.0

including 264.3 265.2 0.8 4.17 2,261.9 34.33 2,574.8

1. Not true width 2. AqEq converted using a silver to gold ratio of 75:1 at recoveries of 100%

The exploration team has been moving east of El Favor with drilling stepouts in the eastern end of El Favor, beginning with discovery hole 48, and continuing to intersect wide strong mineralization. This area is known as the El Favor East zone, and a mapping and drilling program has extended the presence of mineralization 900m to the east of hole 48 (El Favor East zone discovery hole), as shown in Figure 2. To date, approximately 800m of El Favor East has been drilled showing the strong mineralization. The drill holes in this release were not included in the initial Mineral Resource Estimate for Los Ricos North released on December 7, 2021, hole LRGF-21-094 was the final drill hole included in that resource.

Table 2: Drill Hole Locations

Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Length LRGF-21-102 586505 2336784 1320 180 -50 444 LRGF-21-103 586723 2336748 1291 180 -45 383 LRGF-21-104 586751 2336780 1269 180 -50 236 LRGF-21-105 586608 2336751 1344 180 -45 431 LRGF-21-106 586631 2336743 1341 180 -43 433 LRGF-21-107 586425 2336743 1321 180 -44 343 LRGF-21-108 586574 2336750 1344 180 -45 446 LRGF-21-109 586454 2336740 1325 180 -45 329

In September, the company commissioned TMC Exploracion to complete an IP survey using the Pole:Dipole array on the El Favor property. The grid consists of a network of 28 N/S profiles spaced every 100 m from L-2W to L-25E ranging in length from 0.85 to 2.0 km. The survey outlined several high chargeability anomalies representative of the sulphide mineralization along the El Favor  El Favor East zone. A geophysical map showing anomalies and drilling targets is included as Figure 3 below.

El Favor is located approximately 800 meters along strike to the east of the El Orito deposit. The longitudinal section in Figure 5 below shows that the combined systems cover approximately 2.9km in mineralized strike length over a 3.7km distance. At El Orito, wide zones of precious and base metal mineralization were cut by drill holes at El Orito at elevations between 600 to 900m. The drill holes at El Favor have cut primarily silver-gold mineralization with trace to minor amounts of base metals at a higher elevation in the system, between 1,050m to 1,400m, compared to the semi-massive to massive base metal sulphide mineralization seen deeper in the El Orito deposit.

VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation

VRIFY is a platform being used by companies to communicate with investors using 360 virtual tours of remote mining assets, 3D models and interactive presentations. VRIFY can be accessed by website and with the VRIFY iOS and Android apps.

The VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation for GoGold can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/decks/10437 and on the Company's website at: www.gogoldresources.com.

Los Ricos District Exploration Projects

The Company's two exploration projects at its Los Ricos Property are in Jalisco state, Mexico. The Los Ricos South Project began in March 2019 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on July 29, 2020 which disclosed a Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource of 63.7 million ounces AgEq grading 199 g/t AgEq contained in 10.0 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 19.9 million ounces AgEq grading 190 g/t AgEq contained in 3.3 million tonnes. An initial PEA on the project was announced on January 20, 2021 indicating an NPV 5% of US$295M.

The Los Ricos North Project was launched in March 2020 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on December 7, 2021, which disclosed an Indicated Mineral Resource of 87.8 million ounces AgEq grading 122 g/t AgEq contained in 22.3 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 73.2 million ounces AgEq grading 111 g/t AgEq contained in 20.5 million tonnes. The Company has a drill program for an additional 100,000 metres of drilling for 2022 in place.

Procedure, Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification

The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one half of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining half portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work.

The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ActLabs facility in Zacatecas, Mexico. ActLabs crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 50-gram charge by fire assay (Code 1A2-50) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 1A3-50). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code 1F2 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 8-Ag FA-GRAV Ag).

Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed GoGold's QA/QC protocols.

Mr. David Duncan, P. Geo. is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information of this release.

About GoGold Resources

GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD) is a Canadian-based silver and gold producer focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring high quality projects in Mexico. The Company operates the Parral Tailings mine in the state of Chihuahua and has the Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North exploration projects in the state of Jalisco. Headquartered in Halifax, NS, GoGold is building a portfolio of low cost, high margin projects. For more information visit gogoldresources.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy of any of GoGold's securities in the United States.

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Los Ricos South and North projects, and future plans and objectives of GoGold, including the intention to undertake further exploration at Los Ricos North, and the prospect of further discoveries there, constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions in connection with the continuance of GoGold and its subsidiaries as a going concern, general economic and market conditions, mineral prices, the accuracy of mineral resource estimates, and the performance of the Parral project. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from GoGold's expectations include exploration and development risks associated with GoGold's projects, the failure to establish estimated mineral resources or mineral reserves, volatility of commodity prices, variations of recovery rates, and global economic conditions. For additional information with respect to risk factors applicable to GoGold, reference should be made to GoGold's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with securities regulators, including, but not limited to, GoGold's Annual Information Form. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date of this release.

SOURCE GoGold Resources Inc.
DETROIT, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grand Circus, a Detroit-based learning institute and technology training academy, today announced that they are partnering with Apple to offer introductory iOS app development courses to Michiganders throughout 2022.

Apple's Foundation Program offers month-long courses that give learners a unique firsthand experience on the Apple platform and give them an opportunity to learn about careers in the tech industry. Students will be introduced to the Swift programming language, basic app design and development principles, and will have the opportunity to prototype an original app idea. The courses will be led by a team of local Grand Circus instructors and conducted remotely in small groups with small learner-to-mentor ratios. Tuition is free, and Apple will also provide devices to learners for the duration of the program.

The Apple Foundation Program is designed to support diverse communities with the critical resources to be part of the App Store ecosystem, which supports more than 2.1 million jobs across the United States. Michigan supports close to 50,000 iOS app economy jobs.

For students interested in further pursuing a career in technology and the app economy, the Apple Foundation Program can serve as a springboard to the Apple Developer Academy in Detroit.

"We believe coding is the language of the future and can open the door to a world of new opportunities in the fast-growing software development sector by offering people the chance to create, engage, and think in entirely new ways," said Alisha Johnson, Director of Apple's Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. "We're thrilled to work with Grand Circus to offer new coding courses for learners from all backgrounds, providing access and opportunity for more Michiganders to gain the skills and experience to join the thriving iOS app economy."

Grand Circus will run the Apple Foundation Program with their team of local instructors via remote technology. Since 2013, Grand Circus has prepared over 2,500 graduates through its after-hours and day-time coding bootcamps and specializes in training learners of all coding skill levels for in-demand positions in the technology sector. Grand Circus also has an employer partner network of over 350+ organizations in Michigan and throughout the Midwest and celebrates a 90% job placement rate for bootcamp graduates.

"We are thrilled to partner with Apple and to create another pathway for broader participation in the app economy," said Damien Rocchi, founder and CEO of Grand Circus. "This is a unique opportunity for students to acquire critical skills and get hands-on experience within the Apple iOS ecosystem. The next breakthrough app could come from anywhere, and that's why it's so critical to empower learners from all walks of life with the tools they need to bring their ideas to the world."

Detroit residents and Michiganders of all levels of coding experience are encouraged to apply for the free program, though space is limited. Applications for the initial cohort, slated to begin March 2022, are open now. Those interested can visit grandcircus.co/apple to learn more.

About Grand Circus

Grand Circus is a Detroit-based learning institute that teaches high-demand technology skills and connects the region's employers to exceptional talent. Its full-stack software developer bootcamps produce graduates with the latest technical knowledge and soft skills required to thrive in the region's growing tech sector. Grand Circus also offers advanced workshops and both reskilling and upskilling solutions for companies of all sizes.

Since launching in 2013, Grand Circus has maintained strong partnerships with big tech and local government entities to ensure that the latest and most advanced training is universally accessible to students of all backgrounds. To date, more than 2500 bootcamp graduates now work at over 350 companies across the region. For more information, visit grandcircus.co.

SOURCE Grand Circus
CHICAGO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Halo Investing, Inc. ("Halo") is pleased to announce that Terry Jenkins, former President of KeyBank Wealth Management and former President and CEO, US Wealth Management of BMO Harris Bank in Chicago, has joined as an Advisory Board Member to the Company. Halo is an award-winning technology platform for protective investment solutions. Through the Halo platform, financial advisors and investors can easily access structured notes, market-linked CDs, buffered ETFs, and annuities, as well as a suite of tools to educate, analyze, customize, execute, and manage the most suitable protective investment product for their portfolios.

Mr. Jenkins has deep experience in all segments of the wealth management business and across banking, RIA, and Broker-Dealer channels. He also is known for his client-focused approach that is inclusive of technology solutions.

"Modern digital solutions and technology are now a requirement in the financial industry. Done well, this delivers both trust and confidence for clients. Halo is a financial technology leader that does just that. Their advanced technology platform offers wealth management providers a range of protective investment solutions unlike any other," says Terry Jenkins.

"Terry is one of the best leaders in the wealth management area. He is a strategic thinker who understands the technical nature of the profession, the importance of a disciplined execution, and the value of building client relationships," says Jason Barsema, the Co-Founder and President of Halo. "Halo is grateful to have him as part of the impactful and important journey we're on and his banking expertise, reputation, and technology-forward mindset are great benefits."

Terry Jenkins joins a distinguished set of advisors on Halo's Advisory Board including Jeb Bush, 43rd Governor of Florida, Author and Founder of ExcelinEd; Dr. Neal M. Soss, Credit Suisse Group AG's former Vice Chairman, Investment Strategy and Research, and Global Chief Economist; and Jack Selby, a founding member of PayPal and Managing Partner at Thiel Capital Management.

Mr. Jenkins retired from Key Private Bank in 2021, capping a six-year association with the Bank. During his tenure, Mr. Jenkins directed all aspects of KeyBank's Wealth Management businesses including Key Private Bank, Key Family Wealth, Key Investment Services, and Key Institutional Advisors.

Prior to KeyBank, Mr. Jenkins spent 14 years at BMO Harris Bank in Chicago, where he directed all US Wealth Management businesses, including a large family office platform, a national high net worth business, and a mass affluent broker dealer. He also was the business head for all Canadian-based private banking businesses, including asset management, trust, and banking.

Mr. Jenkins also led wealth management businesses at the Royal Bank of Canada for 12 years, including the global banking, trust, and investment management businesses, serving Canadian clients operating worldwide.

Mr. Jenkins earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Toronto, with a major in Commerce, and his Master's Degree in International Management from McGill University in Montreal.

About Halo Investing

Halo Investing is an award-winning technology platform for protective investment solutions. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices in Abu Dhabi, Zurich, Dubai, and Singapore, Halo was co-founded by Biju Kulathakal and Jason Barsema in 2015 with a mission that focuses on putting "impact before profits," providing access to impactful investment opportunities previously unavailable to most investors. Through the Halo platform, financial advisors and investors can easily access structured notes, market-linked CDs, buffered ETFs, and annuities, as well as a suite of tools to educate, analyze, customize, execute, and manage the most suitable protective investment product for their portfolios. Halo has received a growing number of honors and was recently named one of Fast Company's Ten Most Innovative Companies of 2021. For more information, please visit: http://www.haloinvesting.com

Halo Investing is not a broker/dealer. Securities of ered through Halo Securities LLC, a SEC registered broker/dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC. Halo Securities LLC is af iliated with Halo Investing. Halo Securities LLC acts solely as distributor/selling agent and is not the guarantor of any structured note products.

Media Contact:

Halo Public Relations [email protected]

SOURCE Halo Investing
Strava, the #1 App for runners and cyclists with a global heatmap of 95 million athletes, will feature a Hapbee-branded challenge commencing Feb 7, 2022

MONTREAL, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Hapbee Technologies, Inc. (TSXV: HAPB) (OTCQB: HAPBF) (FSE: HA1) ("Hapbee" or the "Company"), a leading provider of wellness wearable technology, is pleased to announce that the Company will partner with Strava, one of the world's most engaged community of athletes to host a sponsored challenge, titled " Hapbee Choose Your Challenge ". The challenge commences on Monday, February 7, 2022, and runs through Sunday, February 20, 2022.

The Strava mobile app enables millions of athletes all over the world, and across many walks of life, to inspire each other to new heights and higher goals in their quest to unlock their full fitness potential. With more than 95 million users, and growing at approximately 2 million new athletes per month, Strava is among the largest and fastest growing communities of athletes in the world.1

"Strava is a perfect fit with our brand messaging and aligns well with our mission to improve people's lives through better sleep, physical performance and recovery," said Yona Shtern, CEO of Hapbee. "The fitness community is a focal point of our outreach. Garnering exposure within the premier mobile app for athletes is a fantastic opportunity to increase Hapbee's growing brand awareness and benefits among active fitness enthusiasts. We look forward to delivering a fun challenge that inspires members of Strava's community and ours to enhance their wellness habits with the help of Hapbee's headband and library of digital wellness blends."

The sponsored challenge aims to expose Hapbee to a growing and captive segment of the fitness and wellness market, providing the Company with the opportunity to significantly broaden brand visibility on a top-tier wellness platform. The challenge has been designed to promote a healthy lifestyle while incentivizing Strava members to try Hapbee with a special offer.

To participate in the sponsored challenge, Strava members will need to log a minimum of six hours for any workout on the app over the course of two weeks. Members who complete the Company's sponsored challenge will have the opportunity to receive a $100 discount offer for the Hapbee Headband and a bonus three-month free all-access subscription to the Company's library of digital wellness signal blends.

About Hapbee

Hapbee is a leading wearable wellness technology platform provider aiming to help people improve their wellbeing and enhance how they feel. The Company is the creator of the Hapbee Headband, which is powered by patented ultra-low radio frequency energy (ulRFE) technology and delivers low-power electromagnetic signal blends designed to help improve users' sleep, productivity, recovery, and relaxation. Hapbee has offices in Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles.

Hapbee is available for purchase at Hapbee.com and through authorized Hapbee dealers.

For more information about Hapbee, please visit hapbee.com .

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (also known as forward-looking statements). Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and may cause actual results, performance or achievements or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "feel", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "subject to", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect current expectations regarding future results or events. This news release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Any statements about Hapbee's product marketing and development initiatives; are all forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Company's ability to meet its planned product, marketing and development initiatives.

Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, delays in marketing programs, production, manufacturing, collection of data from customer use, or the Company may not be able to achieve its targets as anticipated or at all; changes in legislation and regulations; increase in operating costs; equipment failures; failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations; litigation;. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. Readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information involves significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking information. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to: that Hapbee will be able to complete its business objectives as anticipated; the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian and global economy, Hapbee's industry and its business, which may negatively impact, and may continue to negatively impact, Hapbee and may materially adversely affect its investments, results of operations, financial condition;

The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Hapbee. The forward-looking information is stated as of the date of this news release and Hapbee assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Hapbee Technologies Inc.
"Wailea Realty is an iconic company and it's an honor to have them join forces with Hawai'i Life. We have a lot in common, from the same deep roots in the communities we serve to strong independent identities," said Hawai'i Life CEO Matt Beall. "They're already taking full advantage of our in-house marketing, advertising, inside sales and agent services teams."

Operated by Bradley MacArthur and Tom Tezak, Wailea Realty holds the third largest market share, behind Hawai'i Life, in the master-planned resort community of Wailea. Since the acquisition, 53 brokers and salespeople from Wailea Realty Corporation have joined the Hawai'i Life team, expanding the company's presence and breadth of service on the island of Maui.

"We spent a lot of time considering the best direction for both our clients and our salespeople," said Wailea Realty President and owner-broker Bradley MacAurther. "Hawai'i Life is an internationally recognized brand that offers our clients extraordinary exposure to potential buyers, and it was very meaningful that they're a locally owned and operated company."



Owner-broker Tom Tezak, who ranked No. 6 in total sales for agents on Maui in 2021, plans to leverage Hawai'i Life's founding membership of Forbes Global Properties, a global consortium of top-tier real estate firms around the world. "Several companies entered the market this past year touting various claims, so we wanted to strengthen the position of both our agents and our clients with something legitimate. The access to the Forbes audience is really impressive," said Tezak.

MacArthur and Tezak will work alongside the sales team at Wailea from the same office locations, located in The Shops at Wailea within the Wailea Resort and Rainbow Mall in Kihei, joining Hawai'i Life's four other offices on Maui and locations across the island chain.

About Hawai'i Life

Founded in 2008, Hawai'i Life is a 100% locally owned and operated real estate brokerage and the State of Hawai'i's leading firm in high-end listings and sales. The company reached $3.68 billion in Hawai'i property sales in 2021. Hawai'i Life is the exclusive Hawai'i member of Forbes Global Properties  and is one of Luxury Portfolio International's  global network of premier, locally branded real estate companies. To learn more about Hawai'i Life, please visit the state's most trafficked real estate website at hawaiilife.com .

SOURCE Hawaii Life
RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hilb Group announced today that it has acquired the Mark E. Malvaso Agency, building upon the company's presence throughout New York State. The transaction became effective January 1, 2022.

Based in Elbridge, New York, the Mark E. Malvaso Agency specializes in full personal, business and agriculture services for its clients. Agency Principal Mark Malvaso will join the Hilb Group's Tri-State regional operations as a producer.

"This is an exciting step for us as we partner with the Hilb Group," said Mark Malvaso. "We are particularly pleased by the potential for growth through added resources and offerings, and ultimately delivering even greater solutions and value to our customers."

"We are thrilled to welcome Mark to the team," said Hilb Group CEO Ricky Spiro. "This addition is a perfect complement to our growth strategy of teaming with strong partners who have deep relationships in the communities we serve."

About Hilb Group: The Hilb Group is a leading property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Hilb Group is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. Hilb Group seeks to grow through strategic acquisitions and by leveraging its resources and expertise to drive organic growth in its acquired agencies. The company has completed more than 125 acquisitions and now has over 100 offices in 22 states. Hilb Group is rated as one of the Fastest Growing Brokers by Business Insurance, a Top P/C Agency by Insurance Journal, and one of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Inc. 5000. For more information on Hilb Group's growth as well as career opportunities, please visit our website at http://hilbgroup.com.

Media Contact:

Peter Lobred

804.548.4629

[email protected]

M&A Contact:

Ryan Havermann

804.414.6508

[email protected]

SOURCE The Hilb Group, LLC
HOUSTON, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Husam Issa, MD, is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Distinguished Infectious Disease Specialist for his work in the Medical field and in acknowledgment of his work at Clear Lake Specialties.

Husam Issa, MD

Dr. Issa is passionate about his work, saying, "Infectious diseases is a very exciting area of medicine that involves diagnosing, treating, and developing treatment plans that take into account the entirety of a patient's condition while treating their specific needs. Our mission is to provide specialized expertise in treating infections of today, and preventing them for tomorrow."

As an experienced professional, he has worked as the Medical Director of Paragon Infusion Care from 2010-2015, and served as a Chairman of P&T and IC Committee at the Bay Area Regional Medical Center.

Dr. Issa currently works at Clear Lake Specialties in Webster, TX. As an Infectious Disease Consultant and Antibiotic Stewardship Champion Physician at Clear Lake, he manages antibiotic usage with physicians who refer their patients to the practice and offers his consultation. Dr. Issa is involved with PCP clinical research. Dr. Issa is also a Partner at Clear Lake Specialties, where he has been practicing for 11 years.

He is affiliated with Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, UTMB, Clear Lake Houston Methodist, Clear Lake Hospital, Cornerstone Hospital, Kindred Healthcare Clear Lake, and Post Acute Care Hospital. He is the Infection Control Director at Methodist St. John's Hospital, and the Medical Director and Infection Control Director at Cornerstone Hospital.

Outside of his clinical work, Dr. Issa worked as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Alpert Medical school of Medicine until 2008. He now teaches as an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at UTMB. In 2015, Dr. Issa began working as a Professional Speaker for Allergan, Actavis, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, and Merck.

Before starting his career as a doctor, Dr. Issa first attended the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jordan, earning his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree in 1995. After moving to the United States, Dr. Issa completed an internship and an Internal Medicine residency at Scranton-Temple in 2002. He then attended the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where he did a Fellowship in Infectious Disease in 2005. Dr. Issa is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and is board-certified in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).

As a testament to his professional excellence, Mr. Issa has been awarded The Dean's Teaching Excellence Award, Excellence in Teaching Award, Consultant of the Year, The Dean's Teaching Excellence Award, SHEA CDC Infection Control Course, Professionalism Award, Recognition Award for Achievements as Chief Medical Resident, Golden Stethoscope Award for Best Resident as a Teacher, Physical Diagnosis Course Instructor, and Intern of the Year Award.

In his free time, he enjoys camping, swimming, working out, and exercising fluency in both Arabic and English. Dr. Issa loves to spend quality time with his four children.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who
Surface drilling is targeting the expansion of mineralization at depth below, and to the north of, the mine workings at Granite Creek. The high-grade results received to-date from SPZ have exceeded expectations and suggests potential to substantively expand mineral resources on the Property. To-date, results have been received for the first of eleven (11) holes of sixteen (16) drill holes now completed to test the SPZ target with all drill holes that have reached the target returning impressive gold grades and widths of mineralization. Owing to the early success of the expansion drilling, the 2022 program has been expanded to ~30,000m of drilling and additional drill rigs have been added both on surface and underground.

Highlight results from SPZ drilling:

17.2 g/t Au over 3.8 m and 22.0 g/t Au over 3.4 m in hole iGS21-07

10.5 g/t Au over 3.8 and 8.0 g/t Au over 4.8 m in hole iGS21-08

17.2 g/t Au over 4.2 m in hole iGS21-10

25.5 g/t Au over 5.5 m in hole iGS21-11

11.0 g/t over 9.1 m including 15.5 g/t over 5.5 m in hole iGS21-12

Drilling of the SPZ has been elevated to the primary exploration target on the Property with multiple drill rigs completing delineation drilling as well as step-out drilling designed to continue to expand mineralization along strike and at depth where the deposit remains open. It is anticipated that SPZ will be included in a resource update following the 2022 drill campaign. High-grade mineralization occurs at the contact of the Upper and Lower Comus Formation rock units, and also associated with interpreted north to northeast striking splay faults resulting in multiple intercepts in some holes and remains wide open at depth and along strike to the north (see Figures 1 and 2).

"The consistency of high-grade gold mineralization in the South Pacific Zone is truly impressive as the ongoing drill program continues to demonstrate the significant upside opportunity at Granite Creek," stated Ewan Downie, Chief Executive Officer of i-80. "Including programs at Ruby Hill and McCoy-Cove in 2022, we expect to drill in excess of 50,000 metres in 2022 with a goal of expanding our already enviable resource base."

High-grade mineralization at Granite Creek occurs in a near-identical geological setting as that at Nevada Gold Mines' ("NGM"), multi-million-ounce Turquoise Ridge Mine that is located immediately to the north (see Figure 3); proximal to a major regional fault (the Getchell or Range Front fault) on the eastern edge of the large Osgood Mountains intrusive complex. The Granite Creek deposit remains open at depth and along strike from the existing underground workings.

It is expected that refractory mineralization mined from the underground operation at Granite Creek will initially be trucked to Twin Creeks for processing, pursuant to the agreement with NGM, until such time that the Company's Lone Tree facility is operational.

Table 1  Summary Assay Results from SPZ Drilling

New 2021 Drill Results from SPZ at Granite Creek, estimated true widths 70-80% Drillhole ID Type From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) iGS21-07 Core 352.0 355.9 3.8 17.2 iGS21-07 Core 368.1 371.6 3.4 22.0 iGS21-08 Core 356.2 360.9 4.8 8.0 iGS21-08 Core 419.7 423.5 3.8 10.5 iGS21-08 Core 517.6 522.1 4.6 6.3 iGS21-08 Core 535.5 537.5 2.0 11.9 iGS21-09 Core 390.1 391.5 1.4 6.2 iGS21-09 Core 422.5 423.5 1.1 5.9 iGS21-10 Core 424.6 428.8 4.2 17.2 iGS21-10 Core 433.1 434.0 0.9 12.6 iGS21-11 Core 416.4 417.6 1.2 9.7 iGS21-11 Core 436.5 442.0 5.5 25.5 iGS21-12 Core 389.5 391.1 1.5 5.4 iGS21-12 Core 441.8 451.0 9.1 11.0 Including Core 442.6 448.1 5.5 15.5

Previously released 2021 Drill Results from SPZ at Granite Creek, estimated true widths 70-80% Drillhole ID Type From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) iGS21-01 Core 386.6 392.7 6.1 12.8 iGS21-03 Core 391.4 398.5 7.1 16.3 iGS21-04 Core 288.0 289.6 1.5 37.36 iGS21-04 Core 326.3 329.8 3.4 16.4 iGS21-04 Core 336.7 337.9 1.2 44.14 iGS21-04 Core 468.3 478.5 10.2 14.7 iGS21-05 Core 398.4 403.7 5.3 16.5 iGS21-05 Core 444.7 451.4 6.7 5.1

Table 1a Collar Coordinates UTM Drillhole ID East m North m Elevation m Azimuth Dip NAD83 Zone 11 iGS21-01 478579 4554235 1466 308 -46 iGS21-03 478323 4554119 1556 352 -55 iGS21-04 478323 4554116 1556 340 -64 iGS21-05 478327 4554119 1554 351 -59 iGS21-06 478325 4554119 1554 338 -59 iGS21-07 478541 4554160 1472 315 -46 iGS21-08 478541 4554161 1472 311 -48 iGS21-09 478578 4554235 1466 315 -45 iGS21-10 478579 4554416 1550 280 -67 iGS21-11 478579 4554414 1550 286 -73 iGS21-12 478580 4554411 1549 265 -67

The Granite Creek Property is strategically located proximal to Nevada Gold Mines' Turquoise Ridge and Twin Creeks mines at the north end of the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend, at its intersection with the Getchell gold belt in Nevada.

QAQC Procedures

All samples were submitted to Paragon Geochemical Assay Laboratories (PAL) of Sparks, NV, which is an ISO 9001 and 17025 certified and accredited laboratory, independent of the Company. Samples submitted through PAL are run through standard prep methods and analyzed using FA-Pb30-ICP (Au; 30g fire assay) and 48MA-MS (48 element Suite; 0.5g 4-acid digestion/ICP-MS) methods. PAL also undertake their own internal coarse and pulp duplicate analysis to ensure proper sample preparation and equipment calibration. i-80 Gold Corp's QA/QC program includes regular insertion of CRM standards, duplicates, and blanks into the sample stream with a stringent review of all results. Historic holes were assayed by various accredited laboratories. Refer to the November 9th, 2021 Granite Creek Mine Project Preliminary Economic Assessment NI 43-101 Technical Report for information on historic assays.

Qualified Person

Tim George, PE, is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.

About i-80 Gold Corp.

i-80 Gold Corp. is a well-financed, Nevada-focused, mining company with a goal of achieving mid-tier gold producer status through the development of multiple deposits within the Company's advanced-stage property portfolio to complement existing gold production from the Ruby Hill open pit.

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including but not limited to, the expansion or mineral resources at Granite Creek and the potential of the Granite Creek project, . Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.

Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to: material adverse changes, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.

SOURCE i-80 Gold Corp
As part of the initial scope of the collaboration, InCore Bank integrated AlgoTrader's digital asset trading platform into its existing infrastructure. A growing number of banks and institutional clients already using InCore Bank's brokerage and custody services for digital assets now benefit from a fully automated 24/7 execution service for a broad number of cryptocurrencies and tokens.

The service is seamlessly integrated into the core banking solution of Finnova and into online banking applications, paired with near-real-time rates and valuations. As a further step in the implementation of its strategy, InCore Bank will offer at a later stage direct market access for banks, asset managers and UHNWI in combination with its banking-grade Swiss custody service.

Best execution and deeper liquidity

InCore Bank is now capable of establishing automated execution across a range of liquidity venues, including exchanges, brokers and OTC desks, using advanced trade execution strategies. This enables InCore Bank's clients to benefit from best price execution for every trade. Furthermore, trading via WIRESWARM also offers a larger variety of instruments, giving clients access to a broader range of assets. This fits InCore Bank's strategy to offer tokenized assets to institutional clients by using the Tezos and Ethereum blockchain.

AlgoTrader founder and CEO Andy Flury said 2021 was a record growth year for cryptocurrencies as institutional interest in crypto and digital assets surged. As such, the collaboration between AlgoTrader and InCore Bank aims to serve the continuously increasing demand while attracting more participants from the banking sector to the digital asset space. We also look forward to exploring ways of supporting emerging digital asset classes, such as tokenized real-world assets, in the future.

Making digital assets accessible for institutional clients

InCore Bank CEO Mark Dambacher said We are delighted to enhance our existing digital asset offering thanks to this cooperation with AlgoTrader. InCore Bank clients now have 24/7 access to deeply liquid global cryptocurrency markets through a range of venues, providing faster trading and settlement and supporting a wider range of assets. By making blockchain and cryptocurrencies more accessible and attractive to banks, there's vast opportunity for future growth.

AlgoTrader is the global leader in institutional-grade trading infrastructure, while InCore Bank is a one-stop business-to-business transaction bank offering a modular range of services for traditional and digital assets. Both organizations share the goal of making it easier for banks and institutions to onboard digital assets in a safe and compliant way.

About AlgoTrader

AlgoTrader is the global leader in institutional trading technology for digital assets that covers the entire trade lifecycle from pre-trade risk checks to order generation, automated settlement and custody reconciliation  offering best-in-class infrastructure for financial institutions. By supporting direct market access, seamless custody and core banking integration as well as full trade lifecycle automation, the AlgoTrader platform streamlines digital assets trading. Developed by a team of trading system veterans and crypto asset experts, AlgoTrader offers integrated infrastructure solutions that meet the highest institutional needs. To learn more, visit www.algotrader.com.

About InCore Bank

InCore Bank is a one-stop business-to-business transaction bank founded in 2007, providing banks, securities dealers, asset managers and fintech companies first-class transaction banking and outsourcing services. As a Swiss corporation with a banking and securities firm license, InCore Bank offers a comprehensive and modular range of services covering transaction banking for traditional and digital assets, business process outsourcing, tailor-made white-label investment products and other services. This offering enables market participants to reduce complexity and focus on their core business.

www.incorebank.ch

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1738112/Algo_Trader_InCore_CEO.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1624442/AlgoTrader_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Algo Trader
PHOENIX, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inter-Growth, a health and human services consulting firm today announced the company's complete rebrand to The Human Priority. The rebrand effort includes a new name, logo, and website to better align with the company's mission of putting people  employees and customers  at the forefront of every process, interaction, and service.

President and CEO Zohreh Yamin said, "This was a natural progression of our more than 20 years' experience. We know how important people are in everything we do. Putting that philosophy into action takes a thoughtful approach that can be challenging to sustain. Customers and employees want to be seen and heard. They want to trust the companies they purchase from and work for. If you connect with them, they will champion your brand. If you don't, they will quickly make a switch. Our new name underlines how important we feel this shift is to thrive in today's unpredictable market."

The Human Priority has grown from a firm working with small non-profits in Arizona to one working with nationally recognized companies across the U.S. While the company has typically assisted clients in health and human services, designing systems that honor the human experience translates across industries.

Chief of Staff Stacey Yawn said, "Now the clients and partners who have always been an important part of our identity have new ways to collaborate with us as we expand our reach and services."

Yamin added, "The evaluation and analyses we designed have been the catalyst for positive change and growth for our clients. Our new name symbolizes what we all know, but can easily forget in the day-to-day flurry of activity: Business is about the people, and truly successful companies tap into the power of people."

The company offers an array of services to help businesses grow and create a workplace culture that improves retention and job satisfaction. From communication strategies that resonate to supporting companies in undergoing changes, The Human Priority's service lines are anchored in understanding and connecting people to achieve success.

About the Human Priority

The Human Priority is an organizational consulting firm that helps elevate the experience of your customers and employees in practical ways. The result: happier people, a stronger company future. Visit www.TheHumanPriority.com to learn more.

Contact: Zohreh Yamin, CEO

tel:855.996.2247, cell:602.930.8470, [email protected] or i[email protected]

SOURCE The Human Priority
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- International Education Corporation (IEC) and the Building Talent Foundation (BTF) have partnered in a new effort aimed at helping students at IEC schools in Arizona, Florida, and Texas connect with future employers.

Skilled trades programs like the HVAC training at UEI College are essential to addressing the talent shortage.

The partnership will provide a wide range of networking, employment, and continuing education support to students graduating from skilled trades programs in order to address the severe talent shortage affecting the residential construction trades  trades such as Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Electrical Technician.

"The Building Talent Foundation seeks to address the severe and persistent talent shortage across skilled trades by improving talent supply, training, and retention," said Branka Minic, CEO of BTF. "Founded by the 20 leading residential construction companies in the U.S. in 2019, BTF brings together employers, educators, and all other market players in regional skills collaborations to catalyze, accelerate, and synchronize joint projects for building the sector's workforce of the future."

"At BTF, our mission is to advance the education, training, and career progression of young people and people from underrepresented groups so they can advance in the skilled trades. One way we do this is by serving as a line of communication between companies and training providers," Minic said. "This new partnership aligns with that mission and will allow BTF to work with UEI College and Florida Career College to strengthen the pipeline of well-trained workers in skilled trades."

"We are thrilled to partner with the Building Talent Foundation to support our students in the skilled trade programs," said Joan Yourstone, Vice President of Career Services at IEC. "Working with BTF will allow us to create a strong link with local employers to better understand their hiring and training needs, and ultimately benefit students."

The new partnership will create several benefits for students, including on-campus recruitment events with BTF partner employers; access to BTF's JobsToBuild career platform that facilitates connections between job seekers and employers; and developing work-based learning opportunities among BTF partners.

"In addition to these wonderful benefits to our students, IEC also welcomes the collaboration with BTF and partners to ensure that our curricula remain timely and relevant through Program Advisory Committees," said Dr. Fardad Fateri, IEC President & CEO. "We take great pride in our training programs, which are hands-on, practitioner-oriented, career-focused, and developed by subject matter experts who are being advised directly by industry leaders through these committees."

Last year, leaders at Florida Career College in Orlando worked with the Building Talent Foundation to develop a special training module in the HVAC program designed specifically to meet the needs of Strada Services. The resulting enhancements to the HVAC curriculum, and the building of a new on-campus simulation lab that provides additional hands-on training for students, has to-date led to 15 FCC graduates being hired by Strada.

"Being able to work with a school to help train qualified candidates who are taught the core skills that we need is a tremendous opportunity for us," said CEO Joe Strada.

About Building Talent Foundation

Building Talent Foundation (BTF) is a non-profit organization founded by the Leading Builders of America, 20 of the largest residential construction companies in the United States. BTF's mission is to advance the education, training, and career progression of young people and people from underrepresented groups, helping them develop into skilled technical workers and business owners in residential construction. For more information, visit buildingtf.org.

About International Education Corporation

Since 1982, International Education Corporation (IEC) has been a national leader in postsecondary career education, offering short-term career training programs in high-demand verticals such as healthcare, skilled trades, business, technology, and criminal justice. Headquartered in Irvine, California, IEC is the parent company for Florida Career College, U.S. Colleges, United Education Institute, and UEI College. As an employee-owned organization, International Education Corporation and its subsidiaries are dedicated to the success of our students, our employees, and the communities we serve. We strive to drive personal and community transformation by empowering students to make a positive and enduring life change. We do this by preparing our students with the knowledge and skills they need  both personal and professional  to work in today's most promising and in-demand career fields. To learn more visit ieccolleges.com.

Media Contact:

Joseph Cockrell

(949) 812-7749

[email protected]

SOURCE International Education Corporation
Farming and fishing communities have been particularly hard-hit. "Tulungan niyo akong mapagawa ko ang bangka ko para makapag-hanapbuhay kami. Walang-wala na talaga. Ang bahay ko, sira na," Ricky Viguella shared. He is one of the fishermen in Siargao who struggles to make ends meet after his fishing boat was destroyed, stripping him off of the only source of income he knows.

Fishing boats, gears, and seaweed farms in Siargao and Palawan, among others, were damaged or lost  leaving fishing communities with little to no livelihood or food sources. According to survivors, most donations they receive are food, water, medicine, clothing, and shelter. These are good short-solutions, but Island Pacific wants to create a long-term and more sustainable impact to help these fishermen restart and recover.

Project Simon Peter aims to help fishermen restart and recover.

Island Pacific's Project Simon Peter targets to replace damaged and lost boats. This will help fishermen rebuild their lives as they go back to the only source of livelihood they know  fishing.

The cost of a new bangka in Palawan ranges from $1,000 to $1,500 for small to medium-sized boats that can fit two to four fishermen. Large, engine-powered boats in Siargao cost $2,000. Any amount will be helpful in the recovery of these fishermen and their families. Interested individuals may bring their donations to any Island Pacific branch. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to building boats and rebuilding lives of affected fishermen in Palawan and Siargao.

For those who want to sponsor an entire banka, they may get in touch with a manager at any Island Pacific store near them. Their names will be imprinted on the boat to honor their generous contribution.

Island Pacific partners with local residents and Petix Productions to bring donations to the Philippines.

Island Pacific has partnered with Petix Productions in Palawan and Richard Sharpe, a local in Siargao, to make sure the donations from Project Simon Peter reach the fishermen. On top of the Filipino supermarket's fundraising efforts, Petix Productions is also raising funds for construction materials like plywood, marine epoxy, and bronze nails to repair some boats.

Typhoon Odette is more destructive than Yolanda.

Nine days before Christmas, Super Typhoon Odette hit the Central Philippines. According to the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), Typhoon Odette is the world's second most destructive disaster in 2021 next to the earthquake in Haiti. Odette is more destructive than Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 in terms of areas affected. Typhoon Yolanda hit four areas (North Cebu, Panay, West Leyte, and East Leyte), while Typhoon Odette ravaged eleven regions. In just a few hours, the storm impacted 9.9 million lives and brought $262 million (P13.4 billion) worth of agricultural damage and affected 2.2 million workers. Learn more here

[Island Pacific is supermarket chain dedicated to promoting Filipino Food and Seafood to the rest of the world. It is headquartered in Walnut, California and currently has 16 supermarket branches serving communities in California and Las Vegas.]

SOURCE Island Pacific Market
Press Release

February 2, 2022 Senate ratifies bicam report on SIM card registration bill The bill that would curb fraud and other crimes aided by subscriber identity module (SIM) cards is now closer to becoming a law. The Senate ratified Wednesday, February 2, the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 2395 and House Bill No. 5793, or the proposed SIM Card Registration Act. Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services who led the upper chamber's contingent to the bicam, said the conferees were able to reconcile several conflicting provisions of the two legislative proposals. "The bicameral conference committee agreed to use the House version as the working draft but made use of a lot of the Senate provisions," Poe reported to her colleagues during Wednesday's hybrid plenary session. Among the agreements settled by the bicameral panel, according to Poe, is to mandate all public telecommunications entities (PTEs) to require the registration of SIM cards as a prerequisite to their sale and activation. Similarly, all social media networks must also require the real name and phone number of users upon creation of account, the bicam report stated. All existing SIM card subscribers with active services shall register within 180 days from the effectivity of the proposed law. PTEs will be authorized to deactivate SIM card numbers that have not been registered within the prescribed period. Poe said that lawmakers have clarified that the sale of SIM cards to foreign nationals shall be allowed, provided that they comply with certain requirements, such as the presentation of their passport and proof of address in the Philippines, among others. Data collected from registration shall be forwarded and kept by the concerned PTE to a centralized database, which shall strictly serve as a register for the processing, activation or deactivation of subscription, and shall not be used for any other purpose. "Whatever information obtained in the registration process cannot be disclosed to any person except in compliance with any law authorizing disclosure, such as in the case of the Data Privacy Act; or in compliance with a court order or any other legal process; or with the written consent of the subscriber. No waiver of absolute confidentiality is allowed," Poe assured. She said the bicameral conference committee likewise added an important provision mandating PTEs and social media providers to keep relevant data and information for 10 years from the time the end-user deactivates his or her mobile number or social media account. "We hope that by legislating this measure, we would be able to eradicate mobile phone, internet or electronic communication-aided criminal activities. This has been a long time coming but I hope that the passage of this bill will result in a safer and more secure mobile-use and cyberspace here in our country," Poe said.
"The opportunity in Fintech is as massive as ever," says Jay. "Covid-19 and the current Pandemic has fueled immense growth for consumers searching and deciding online from the comfort of their own homes. Due to the opportunity and industry growth I see ahead for the FinTech Space, I have made the decision to focus my full attention and time on the technology sector for the foreseeable future."

About Jay Modi

Born in London, United Kingdom, Jay Modi moved to Canada in 1997. He attended Western Canada High School in Calgary, Canada, and subsequently went onto the University of Calgary. Jay started his first business, a household goods trading company while he was in high school and went on to creating an Organic Pasta Company while attending the University of Calgary. Jay then launched a real estate "fix and flip" company which subsequently took off and was very successful. Jay made the decision to focus on that business, and not to complete his degree, which he sites as one of the best decisions he ever made. That decision blazed a path forward and led to Jay now having more than 20 years of business experience under his belt within multiple business sectors. Jay has been involved in Foods Manufacturing, Asset Management, Movie Production, Real Estate and now focuses heavily on the FinTech and Technology Industries.

About The Canadian National Business Awards

The Canadian National Business Awards are designed to recognize and applaud the contribution that business owners provide to Canada's economy. Canadian entrepreneurs are more than just business owners of a successful company, they are the innovators of our country. Through their flourishing businesses, they push our economy to the next level and are what our communities are structured on. The business awards represent excellence and accomplishment for entrepreneurs because it recognizes and validates all the hard work they have put into making a successful business. The awards also represent several opportunities for businesses, including increasing their credibility to investors and customers. When an entrepreneur takes home a business award, it solidifies their reputation  enhancing trustworthiness in the eyes of others.

SOURCE BFC Media Corp.
NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jewish National Fund-USA encourages everyone to show the world the real Israel as the organization calls out Amnesty International for its relentless campaign of delegitimization and hate against the Jewish homeland.

"Every day, we show the world why the land and people of Israel continue to be a light unto the nations and a force for good," said Jewish National Fund-USA CEO, Russell F. Robinson. "We must continue to respond to hate by celebrating Israel's vibrancy and the beauty of Zionism."

Visitors to Israel experience a melting pot of cultures in Israel's north at JNF-USA's Western Galilee Now Tourist Information Center Students see Israel with their own eyes at JNF-USA's Alexander Muss High School in Israel

Jewish National Fund-USA provides numerous ways to learn about the land and people of Israel and Jewish people everywhere. "If you want to know the real Israel, watch ZTV featuring our Conversations on Zionism series and see why people across the political spectrum are reclaiming the narrative and are proud to call themselves Zionists." said Robinson. The next Conversations on Zionism episode will air on February 15 and feature South African Olga Meshoe Washington, the CEO of Defend Embrace Invest(in) Support Israel (DEISI). Register to watch the episode at jnf.org/convos.

"If you want your teenagers to become informed and proud of their connection to Israel, there's no substitute to experiencing Israel in person. Through our Alexander Muss High School in Israel American semester-abroad experience, high school teens are empowered to see Israel with their own eyes in an environment of academic excellence. Then, when they reach college, they feel proud of their Zionism and serve as advocates for the Jewish people and Israel while combatting disinformation, dishonesty, and delegitimization," added Robinson.

Jewish National Fund-USA is also calling on everyone to come home and visit Israel. Through JNF-USA Travel & Tours, individuals, families, and groups can experience Israel's melting pot of cultures and people. Aspiring chefs and foodies can sign up to experience a culinary region like no other at the soon to be launched Galilee Culinary Institute by JNF-USA, while the organization's Western Galilee Now Tourist Information Center is ready to showcase Israel's multicultural north to the world.

Through philanthropic investments, Jewish National Fund-USA remains committed to helping Israel serve as a light unto the nations. Every year, the organization brings thousands of students from developing countries to Israel to learn about sustainable agriculture and water technologies. In addition, environmental students from surrounding countries and territories are brought together in the Arava to address pollution and related challenges. World-class universities also continue to partner with Israel through initiatives like the JNF-USA Joint Institute for Global Food, Water, and Energy Security, which is an exciting collaboration between the University of Arizona, the Arava Valley, and Jewish National Fund-USA that addresses the major environmental challenges facing the African continent.

"Because of the campaigns of disinformation, dishonesty, and delegitimization led by organizations such as Amnesty International, there's never been a more important time for people beyond the Jewish faith to see the real Israel," said Robinson. "That's why Jewish National Fund-USA has brought 1,014  and counting -- university faculty members and college leaders to Israel through its Faculty Fellowship Program in Israel and Caravan for Democracy Student Leadership Mission. Participants experience all facets of Israeli society and learn about the country's politics, culture, religion, and so much more."

While there will always be hate in this world, we can combat it in the most powerful way by showing pride in our Jewish identity and Zionism. As long as we remain united, nothing will hold us back from realizing our people's right to self-determination in our homeland, Israel.

To stand-up against hate and celebrate Israel's positive contributions to the world, visit jnf.org/donate.

Media contact: Stefan Oberman, [email protected], 212-879-9305 x222

SOURCE Jewish National Fund-USA
ATLANTA, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a leading provider of data, analytics and technology for the insurance industry, now offers U.S. insurance carriers superior assistance in linking and connecting disparate customer records through LexID for Insurance. LexID is the unique identifier built from proprietary linking technology, more than 35 years of referential data and thousands of data sources to match disparate identity information and help insurers create the sought-after single customer view across their enterprise. For auto, home and life insurance carriers that aggregate tremendous amounts of data to optimize risk-decision making and meet rising consumer expectations, legacy systems, fragmented data and organizational silos have made customer data management (CDM) one of the insurance market's biggest impediments.

"Insurance carriers are moving from a policy-centric approach to an enterprise customer-centric approach to be able to better understand the household's insurance needs, offer more personalized options to consumers, and ultimately retain these consumers as long-time customers," Robert McConn, senior director of product management, insurance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said. "Insurers understand that the quantity of data they're managing is growing exponentially, and to deliver a great marketing, underwriting or claims experience where the consumer feels appreciated, they have to implement an effective customer data management strategy. As a result, LexID can be integral to helping carriers remain competitive in a rapidly changing digital insurance environment."

A CDM program using LexID for Insurance allows insurers to collect, manage and analyze consumer data from various sources to form a single, comprehensive view of each customer. Disparate consumer records can be linked into a common LexID consumer identifier using LexisNexis Scalable Automated Linking Technology, a patented method of linking and clustering data. By pulling together data from multiple touchpoints  marketing, quote, renewal and claims  insurance providers can build a comprehensive and accurate representation of their customer. Not only can LexID for Insurance improve data accuracy across the enterprise, but it can also assist carriers with delivering products and services better suited to the needs of their customers.

"While customer data within an insurer is the lifeblood of its business  one of its greatest assets and competitive advantages, insurers of all sizes face the hurdle of harnessing their data and using it to its full potential," said Mark Breading, partner, Strategy Meets Action. "The financial costs are obvious, however, other consequences of inaccurate or unused data can run deeper such as customer service inefficiencies, missed opportunities, fraud and even harmed brand reputation. Centralizing the management of customer information is critical for a business's continued success."

"In addition to helping drive profitability and a differentiated customer experience, an effective CDM strategy can also serve as a catalyst for reviewing compliance processes in a world of evolving customer privacy laws and regulations," said McConn.

Data continues to fuel the future of consumer engagement for insurers. A proven matching solution, LexID has been the foundation of LexisNexis Risk Solutions products and services for over a decade and can help bring sense and order or organization to insurance provider-held customer databases. Visit our LexID for Insurance page or LexID video for more information.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit www.risk.lexisnexis.com and www.relx.com .

Media Contacts:

Chas Strong

LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Phone: +1.706.714.7083

[email protected]

Mollie Holman

Brodeur Partners for LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Phone: +1.646.746.5611

[email protected]

SOURCE LexisNexis Risk Solutions
CHICAGO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LineDrive is excited to announce their new partnership with Mechanix Wear, a global leader in the design and manufacturer of premium work gloves and one of the most respected brands in the PPE category. With LineDrive as Mechanix Wear's national sales agency in the commercial industrial sector, this multi-year partnership will accelerate hand protection and fire-resistant apparel solutions to users and distributors across the U.S.

LineDrive is a nationwide sales and marketing organization specializing in making industrial users and facilities safer. Tweet this Mechanix Wear

The partnership complements Mechanix Wear's current commercial industrial sales force, allowing for full coverage and accelerated safety solutions in manufacturing, commercial construction, energy, transportation, utilities & foundry applications.

As the leading national industrial sales agency, LineDrive will focus on growing and developing distribution partnerships, extending the reach of the coveted and innovative Mechanix Wear brand to users, as well as furthering the expansion of its recently acquired fire-resistant apparel solutions company, Chicago Protective Apparel (CPA).





"We are extremely excited about our partnership with Mechanix Wear  we share a lot of similarities around culture, leadership, and passion for growth and innovation. Mechanix Wear's strong brand recognition in hand protection and FR apparel combined with LineDrive's industry leading sales & marketing process will create a major impact for our distribution partners and our end-user customers" commented Michael Abdella, LineDrive's CEO.

"As Mechanix Wear accelerates its commercial strategic plans in the United States and enhances the products and offerings for workers in the industrial, oil and gas, and mining markets, we are pleased to join forces with LineDrive," said Michael Hale, Mechanix Wear CEO. "Our partnership with the LineDrive organization extends our reach and resources in the channel in a very structured way that will allow us to grow together in a sustainable way for the future."



About LineDrive

LineDrive is a nationwide sales and marketing organization specializing in making industrial users and facilities safer and more productive. Defined by industry leading innovation and consistent growth, LineDrive utilizes a suite of technology-enabled services designed to achieve the greatest possible solution for industrial manufacturers, distributors, and end-users. LineDrive is trusted industry and nationwide for Making Meaningful Connections. For more about LineDrive's services and solutions please visit: https://www.linedriveu.com/how-we-can-help

About Mechanix Wear

Since the debut of the Original work glove at the 1991 Daytona 500, Mechanix Wear has built a reputation as the leader in automotive, construction, industrial, and tactical hand protection. Headquartered in Valencia, California, the Company sells its products across various channels in more than 70 countries. Our mission is to look beyond conventional ideas and continually innovate the most advanced gloves for working hands. The Tool That Fits Like a Glove. For more information, visit www.mechanix.com.



Media Inquiries:

Bob Varzino EVP Sales and Marketing: [email protected] P: 630 215-4546

Julie Trottier Vice President of Marketing: [email protected] P: 661 388-9321

SOURCE LineDrive
Prosecutors used testimony from a psychiatrist Dr. Kohn to discredit woman reporting sexual assault; Dr. Kohn doesn't appear in searches. Tweet this

"Dr. Kohn" doesn't appear in searches of the Maryland Board of Physicians or Psychologists or the National Provider Identification (NPI) Database, the Maryland Sexual Harassment Team said.

According to documents provided to courts by prosecutors, "Dr. Kohn" was assigned to give a psychological assessment of the woman who reported sexual assault and his testimony was used to discredit her.

Repeated requests for "Dr. Kohn's" information from the Baltimore County Prosecutor's Office and Maryland Attorney General's Office have gone unanswered. The Maryland Sexual Harassment team is asking for the public's help in locating "Dr. Kohn" for a deposition.

The Maryland Sexual Harassment team asks anyone with information about this "Dr. Kohn" to contact them by emailing [email protected] or calling or texting the Maryland Sexual Harassment team at 667-334-8332.

The Maryland Sexual Harassment team is capturing the personal stories of women and men who have been sexually harassed or assaulted in Maryland, and reported it to the Baltimore County Police Department or the Baltimore County State's Attorney's office. If you have a story you would like to share, please visit www.marylandsexualharassment.com .

Media Contact

Karen Campbell, call or text 667-334-8332

or email [email protected]

SOURCE Maryland Sexual Harassment
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, announced today that the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Atlantic has selected the Baker-AECOM Environmental Compliance Joint Venture (JV) to provide Architecture and Engineering (A&E) services for its environmental compliance programs. The Baker-AECOM Environmental Compliance JV will work with the Navy, Marine Corps and additional Department of Defense (DOD) Installations, as well as Federal Agencies, to prepare studies, plans, specifications, designs, reports and cost estimates and perform all associated engineering services. Michael Baker will lead the JV, which also includes AECOM, in the execution of the five-year, $75 million maximum value indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract.

"For more than 20 years, Michael Baker has been supporting the Navy's environmental compliance mission to conserve, protect and restore the environment and natural and cultural resources for future generations and ensure compliance with federal, state, local and host nation regulations," said John Alberghini, P.E., Senior Vice President and Federal Lead, Navy at Michael Baker International. "Our JV team has a long-standing history of delivering innovative solutions to NAVFAC's most challenging engineering issues and we look forward to continuing to support the Navy's mission around the world."

NAVFAC is the Naval Shore and Expeditionary Systems Command that plans, builds and maintains sustainable facilities and delivers environmental, utilities and other base operating services. As a major Navy Systems Command and an integral member of the Navy and Marine Corps team, NAVFAC delivers timely and effective facilities engineering solutions worldwide. NAVFAC Atlantic encompasses four facilities engineering commands: NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic, NAVFAC Southeast, NAVFAC Washington and NAVFAC Europe Africa Central.

About Michael Baker International

Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services with Practices that encompass all facets of infrastructure, including design, civil engineering, planning, architecture, environmental, construction and program management. For more than 80 years, the company has been a trusted partner to commercial clients, all branches of the military and federal, state and municipal governments, providing comprehensive services and solutions. Embracing emerging technologies and the latest innovations  like intelligent transportation and design-build project delivery, Michael Baker is an industry leader that delivers expertise and quality. The firm's more than 3,000 employees across nearly 100 locations are committed to Making a Difference for clients and communities through a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement while Reimagining Michael Baker to become a full-service engineering and consulting firm over the next five years. To learn more, visit https://mbakerintl.com/.

Contact:

Julia Covelli

[email protected]

(866) 293-4609

SOURCE Michael Baker International
OSLO, Norway, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MPC Container Ships ASA ("MPCC" or the "Company", and together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") is pleased to announce that its board of directors has resolved to distribute a dividend of NOK 3.00 per share, in total NOK 1.33 billion, based on the Company's approved annual account for the financial year 2020. The decision is based on an authority granted by the Company's extraordinary general meeting on 28 January 2022. An announcement of key information relating to the dividend payment will be published separately.

Constantin Baack, Chief Executive Officer of MPC Container Ships commented: "Over the past quarters we have continued to execute on our chartering strategy and portfolio measures in terms of vessel sales and purchases, whilst constantly optimizing the Group's balance sheet. In tandem, these measures have paved the way for the implementation of the Company's distribution plan.

Today marks another important milestone for MPC Container Ships as we announce the first event-driven distribution to our shareholders of NOK 3 per share or around USD 150 million in total. As previously communicated, the Company will be prioritizing returning capital to investors and it is further planned to also commence with recurring quarterly dividends in March 2022.

In a continuously strong container charter market with increasing forward fixtures, charter periods and historically strong charter rates we will continue to adhere to the principles of transparent, active and rational capital allocation, as demonstrated since the inception of the Company."

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This stock exchange announcement was published by Andreas Nguyen, Investor Relations at MPC Container Ships ASA, on 2 February 2022 at 11:16 CET.

For further information, please contact [email protected].

About MPC Container Ships ASA:

MPC Container Ships ASA (ticker code "MPCC") is a leading container tonnage provider with a focus on the feeder segment below 5,000 TEU. Its main activity is to own and operate a portfolio of container ships serving intra-regional trade lanes on fixed-rate charters. The Company is registered and has its business office in Oslo, Norway. For more information, please see our website: www.mpc-container.com.

Forward-looking statements:

This announcement includes forward-looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business, the markets in which it operates and its restructuring efforts. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's regulatory filings and periodical reporting. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/mpc-container-ships-asa/r/mpc-container-ships-asa---dividend-of-nok-3-00-per-share,c3497088

SOURCE MPC Container Ships ASA
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The CurlyKids HairCare campaign was photographed by renowned husband-and-wife team Creative Soul Photography, whose bestselling 2020 book Glory: Magical Visions of Black Beauty champions the celebration of culture and the beauty of black children.

Step Out in Style with CurlyKids HairCare; Amari McCoy, Sydney Lake, Kyrie McAlpin, and Taylor Lia Kyrie McAlpin and Taylor Lia for CurlyKids HairCare

"Our mission as photographers is to empower kids of color around the world by showcasing their beauty, uniqueness and creativity. Our clients have come to know and love the CurlyKids HairCare brand because their products are developed to handle the diverse range of textures for curly-haired children. Our parents know that this is a brand that they can trust for all of their curly haircare needs." -Kahran & Regis Bethencourt, CreativeSoul Photography

"The idea that CurlyKids HairCare was founded upon is that black is beautiful and curl texture should be celebrated. As a brand, our hope is to help change the way black children view their natural hair.

We want to help African American youth feel more confident about their natural hair, and inspire black children through representation to show their bold, beautiful personalities and dynamic hair styles.

As a mother first, and then a business owner, having a front row seat to see children embrace their natural hair with our products, some doing so for the first time, is an uncontested joy. It honors everything we set out to do as a family business."

 Sandy Williams co-founder CurlyKids HairCare

The CurlyKids HairCare latest campaign features four recognizable kid models donning exquisite hair styles perfected by Shanna Anise and makeup artistry by Ashlie Doxey.

Our models; Kyrie McAlpin , actress on Amazon series, "Them" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2". Sydney Lake Bradley , H.E.R. music video, actress and runway model. Taylor Lia , actress / model and daughter of actor Richard Nevels. Amari McCoy , model / actress and Disney voiceover actor.

Celebrate your curls; Step out in style with CurlyKids HairCare.

About CurlyKids Mixed Texture HairCare:

CurlyKids Mixed Texture HairCare is a black-owned and family-operated business based in Los Angeles, CA. Since 2010, CurlyKids Mixed Texture HairCare has continued to support children's hair journeys with affordable, quality products. Curly Kids Mixed Texture was developed for Curly, Kinky, Coily, Wavy, and Frizzy Hair. Their products are sulfate and paraben free and are available at select Burlington, Citi Trends, Kroger, Sally Beauty, Target, and Walmart stores or online at http://CurlyKidsHairCare.com

For exclusive event invites, model castings, contests and giveaways follow CurlyKids on Instagram and Twitter, become a fan on Facebook and subscribe on YouTube.

Media Contact:

Delia Douglas

310-740-7122

[email protected]

SOURCE CurlyKids HairCare
NanoB&K will utilize FIDO to lower both One-Time-Password (OTP) costs, and fraud around customer digital banking interactions.

SAN MATEO, Calif. and Mauritius, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - NanoB&K , the FinTech arm of Anglo African , a technology-focused investment Group, announced today that it has signed an agreement with LoginID , to integrate its FIDO-certified passwordless authentication into NanoB&K subsidiaries. NanoB&K was set up in 2017 with the aim of solving the financial exclusion problem on the African Continent. The integration of FIDO2 biometric authentication as a part of NanoB&K platforms will improve security across multiple services such as their digital banking, payment, lending and KYC offerings. The partners will initially launch in Mauritius, and then expand into other countries where NanoB&K owns operating licenses, or supports partners who license their platforms.

The African market is a sizable opportunity for emerging technology solutions to help drive inclusion in banking. As recently as 2019, there was an estimated 1.2B unbanked according to a panel conducted at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town .

"This is very strategic for us on a number of fronts", said Ali Jamaloodeen, Director NanoB&K, and CEO, Anglo African Group. "NanoB&K and its subsidiaries will now be able to ensure that the end customer will be the correct person and not a fraudster who has taken over an account. As we start to offer more banking and nano-lending services, we can secure client accounts upon setup, and ensure the highest level of security any time clients move money or make any important transaction."

"We are very excited about supporting NanoB&K, its subsidiaries and the Anglo African Group at large. Given the market growth of customers on the African continent setting up new banking accounts, right from their initial account creation they will have a simple, very secure experience around any digital payments or services. It will also be far more economical compared to the costs of using SMS for OTPs", said Thierry Siminger, Head, Telecom Business Unit, GM MEA at LoginID.

About Nano AA Ltd

NanoB&K is the FinTech arm of Anglo African Group. It was set up in 2017 with the aim of solving the financial exclusion problem on the African Continent. NanoB&K specializes, through its various subsidiaries, in developing and operating solutions for the Financial Services Industry, which are Faster, Safer, and Cheaper. The solutions Portfolio includes: Digital Banking, Digital Wallet, Digital Payment, Digital Lending, Digital Onboarding, Fully Automated KYC/AML/Compliance Monitoring, Dynamic Scoring and Robotics Process Automation, currently operational in 6 countries in Africa.

About LoginID

LoginID is a San Mateo/Toronto based company focused on bridging the gap around authenticating users and securing their information. This is facilitated through its FIDO2 and UAF certified strong customer authentication, privacy and tokenization platform. The team is funded by strategic investors such as Visa , and is composed of seasoned executives with decades of experience, across global brands, helping commercialize products around security, cryptography, payments and mobile. For further information contact: [email protected] .

SOURCE LoginID Inc.
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amsted Automotive Group's MVT business unit has produced the first of several highly advanced metal-formed products: transmission production parts for the all-new, highly advanced nine-speed automatic transmission for a customer with premium off-road vehicles built for the Chinese market.

MVT produced five clutch carriers for the all-new automatic transmission. Two of the five clutch carriers were developed on a GROB T12 machine, making MVT the first company in China to use the GROB processes and equipment. Among the technology used by MVT to produce the clutch carriers for the highly advanced 9AT transmission were stamping preform, GROB spline form, finish stamping in transfer press (trim-pierce), and machining of tight-tolerance features on parts. GROB intermittent forming sheet metal allows for extremely efficient production of complex components, such as through shorter cycle times.

The MVT joint venture united the metal-forming and joining expertise of Transform Products, a Means Industries business unit, with VT Industrial Technology's proficiency in complex tooling manufacturing. The formation of MVT in 2021 expanded Amsted Automotive's global presence to include the Chinese automotive market and its escalating need for next-level powertrain and advanced metal forming precision. In addition to the China market, MVT will serve the metal forming and tooling needs of the European and Japanese markets.

About Amsted Automotive Group

In 2021, Amsted Automotive Group brought together Means Industries Inc., SMW Manufacturing, and Burgess-Norton Mfg. Co., Inc. to form a new and innovative technology team. The integration provides an expanded global presence with 21 facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia to serve the global automotive customer base with a robust manufacturing footprint, producing over 100 million components and assemblies annually. The group combines design and engineering expertise, strategically aligned to be a nimble leader in advanced metal-forming and powder metal manufacturing with electro-mechanical clutch design capabilities for electrified propulsion solutions and builds on Amsted Automotive Group's integral role in global advanced automatic transmissions designed in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Contact: Cole Quinnell

248-877-0590

[email protected]

SOURCE Amsted Automotive
The study, which was produced with the support of WeWork (NYSE: WE ), surveyed business leaders (director and C-suite level) and employees (manager level and below) between August and October 2021 on how new hybrid working habits affected their personal and professional lives. Both survey samples were drawn from ten cities 1 in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Singapore and Australia, and across a range of industries.

Only a quarter of employees reported a positive effect on their productivity levels and less than a third on maintaining a healthy work-life balance during the first 18 months of the pandemic, compared to six in ten business leaders who reported a positive impact on both productivity and work-life balance.

For business leaders, flexibilitywith the opportunity to work remotelyis key for their own work-life balance. For employees, visiting the office is an important way to help maintain boundaries between work and their personal life as well as engage in face-to-face interaction for learning, development and career progression.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, when a huge number of the global workforce were forced to work from home, employees in less senior roles really suffered both in terms of their work-life balance and their productivity. Business leaders, on the other hand, seemed to benefit: they reported better work-life balance and increased productivity," said Jonathan Birdwell, Regional Head (EMEA), Policy & Insights at Economist Impact.

"The discrepancy may be explained by employees reporting less flexibility during the pandemic compared to business leaders, less access to remote working equipment and ascribing a greater importance to having an office to help maintain separation between their personal and professional lives," added Birdwell.

Key findings from the research that provides insight into priorities and work-life balance in a hybrid working environment include:

Employees in less senior positions display a "segmentor" mindset, preferring to keep their work and personal lives separate. 2 Over half (56%) of employees enjoy going to the office because it allows them to keep their professional and personal obligations separate. However, regional and demographic disparities suggest companies should take a tailored approach that considers different cultural needs and expectations.





Over half (56%) of employees enjoy going to the office because it allows them to keep their professional and personal obligations separate. However, regional and demographic disparities suggest companies should take a tailored approach that considers different cultural needs and expectations. Workers at all seniority levels who are offered flexible working arrangements that include working remotely at least three days a week report more positive work-life balance. A majority (59%) of business leaders who reported a flexible working arrangement of working remotely at least three days a week during the pandemic reported a positive effect on their work-life balance, compared to only 23% of those who did not have a similar arrangement. The effect was similar but smaller for employees in less senior roles: a third (30%) of employees with flexible arrangements that included at least three days working remotely reported a positive effect compared to only a fifth without such an arrangement.





A majority (59%) of business leaders who reported a flexible working arrangement of working remotely at least three days a week during the pandemic reported a positive effect on their work-life balance, compared to only 23% of those who did not have a similar arrangement. The effect was similar but smaller for employees in less senior roles: a third (30%) of employees with flexible arrangements that included at least three days working remotely reported a positive effect compared to only a fifth without such an arrangement. Businesses can expect more demands for greater flexibility from staff at all levels. The top priorities for workers post-pandemic, in terms of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, include greater flexibility over working hours and the ability to work remotely.





The top priorities for workers post-pandemic, in terms of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, include greater flexibility over working hours and the ability to work remotely. Workers at all seniority levels with hybrid working arrangements display the highest level of satisfaction with their company's return to office plans for the future. Eight in ten employees (81%) and over three-quarters of business leaders (77%) who have flexibility over how many days they are expected to work in the office feel that their organisations are striking a good balance between work hours and personal hours. Among those required to work fully remotely or in the office full-time, only 54% of employees and 48% of business leaders are satisfied with their company's workplace strategy.





Eight in ten employees (81%) and over three-quarters of business leaders (77%) who have flexibility over how many days they are expected to work in the office feel that their organisations are striking a good balance between work hours and personal hours. Among those required to work fully remotely or in the office full-time, only 54% of employees and 48% of business leaders are satisfied with their company's workplace strategy. Businesses need to prioritise office safety and give managers the right technology and training to make hybrid models work. Time in the office is important to workers at all levels, but the majority of workers want flexibility over how often they go into the office. Policies around offices and workspaces need to ensure that they are addressing employees' concerns about feeling safe in busy offices. Senior managers charged with the responsibility for managing hybrid workforces need skill-based training and technologies to help manage a remote workforce.

Explore Economist Impact's Work-Life Balance Barometer , which provides a snapshot of the new world of work in ten cities; London, Berlin, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, DC and New York City.

About Economist Impact

Economist Impact combines the rigour of a think-tank with the creativity of a media brand to engage a globally influential audience. We believe that evidence-based insights can open debate, broaden perspectives and catalyse progress across three core areas of expertise and leadership including sustainability, new globalisation and health. The services offered by Economist Impact previously existed within The Economist Group as separate entities, including EIU Thought Leadership, EIU Public Policy, Economist Events and SignalNoise.

Our track record spans 75 years across 205 countries. Along with creative storytelling, events expertise, design-thinking solutions and market-leading media products, we produce framework design, benchmarking, economic and social impact analysis, forecasting and scenario modelling, making Economist Impact's offering unique in the marketplace. Visit www.economistimpact.com for more information.

_____________________________

1 London, Berlin, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC and New York City

2 Research on work-life balance from University of Pennsylvania Professor Nancy Rothbard, who was on the Advisory Board for this project, deploys a spectrum of employee preferences: on one side of the spectrum are employees who prefer to integrate work and personal life ('integrators'), whereas on the other side of the spectrum are employees who prefer to keep work and personal life separate ('segmentors'). https://cccba.org/flyer/2020/2020-ed-series/2020-education-series-7-materials.pdf

SOURCE Economist Impact
"The increasing complexity of cybersecurity and digital privacy is a growing challenge worldwide. We believe that this industry requires radical simplification and ease of access, both for consumers and businesses. Together, Nord Security and Surfshark create the largest internet security powerhouse in the market, ready to bring advanced solutions for customers," says Tom Okman, the co-founder of Nord Security.

"Consolidations in the global consumer cybersecurity market indicate the industry's maturity. They also bring new competitive challenges. Nord Security and Surfshark joining forces will set the ground to scale in different digital security dimensions, which is necessary to meet the growing requirements of our customers," explains Vytautas Kaziukonis, founder of Surfshark.

The closing of the signed agreement marks the end of the process that started in mid-2021. Both companies concurred after evaluating the current industry landscape and synergies. This partnership provides the businesses with new leverage in their shared mission to secure people's digital lives.

The idea behind the deal is to streamline resources towards common goals while preserving the autonomy of both companies. Founders highlight that this strategic business move will serve as a springboard towards more rapid development and innovation while maintaining the uniqueness of both brands that customers learned to appreciate over many years.

The merger will solidify both companies' offerings in different market segments and diversify the geographical reach. Both companies will continue to focus on developing distinct solutions to cover various areas of cybersecurity, among which are personal data protection, device security, file security, and others.

Details of the transaction are not disclosed as both companies are privately owned entities.

About Nord Security:



Nord Security is home to advanced security solutions that share the Nord brand and values, including the world's most advanced VPN service NordVPN , the next-generation password manager NordPass , encrypted cloud storage NordLocker , and the advanced network access security solution NordLayer , and a freemium VPN provider Atlas VPN . Established in 2012, Nord Security now has more than 1000 employees and serves 15 mln users worldwide. More information: nordsecurity.com .



About Surfshark:

Surfshark is a cybersecurity company developing humanized software solutions to protect people's digital lives. Powered by over 200 employees, the company seeks to deliver people the most up-to-date means to control their digital presence by combining several cybersecurity tools into one place. The Surfshark One suite bundles an award-winning VPN, an antivirus, a private search tool, and a data leak detection system Alert to bring back a sense of security into people's daily lives.

SOURCE Surfshark; Nord Security
Each episode of The Fix will feature a conversation with thought leaders across the range of skilled trades, such as plumbing, manufacturing, electrical, HVAC, commercial construction and more. The guest line-up for season one includes tradespeople, educators, trade organization leaders, Oatey's own experts and more. Through these conversations, The Fix explores careers in the trades, discussing solutions to combat the growing labor shortage, as well as demonstrate how rewarding and lucrative skilled trades careers are. Guests share their unique take on the industry, including career advice, jobsite experiences, how to overcome common misconceptions, promoting diversity and more.

"At Oatey, we're passionate about the skilled trades, and we're committed to doing our part as a manufacturer to ensure the vitality of this essential industry," says Katherine Lehtinen, Oatey's Senior Vice President of Brand & Digital Marketing, who co-hosts The Fix alongside Technical Applications Manager & Master Plumber Doug Buchan. "This podcast is all about having important, challenging conversations about the trades and their future  sharing stories, advice and ideas with current and future tradespeople, all while highlighting the strong talent, opportunities and benefits that continue to exist within the trades."

"The Fix is intended to be more than a podcast, but rather a community," continues Lehtinen. "If our conversations motivate even one individual to give the trades a try, then we're one step closer to reaching our collective goal."

The first three episodes of season one are now available on all major podcasting platforms. New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. To learn more about The Fix, click here.

ABOUT OATEY CO.

Since 1916, Oatey has provided reliable, high-quality products for the residential and commercial plumbing industries, with a commitment to delivering quality, building trust and improving lives. Today, Oatey operates a comprehensive manufacturing and distribution network to supply thousands of products for professional builders, contractors, engineers and do-it-yourself consumers around the world.

Oatey is based in Cleveland, Ohio, and has locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China. For more information, visit www.oatey.com, call (800) 321-9532 or follow Oatey on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

SOURCE Oatey Co
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In the latest chapter of their continuing mission to fight SARS-COV2, Bio Detection K9 (BDK9) announced that throughout the month of February all canines assigned to the company's COVID-19 detection program will be receiving updated training. Bio Detection K9 is the leader in canine COVID-19 detection worldwide and this training program, which will ensure that the dogs can accurately detect the now-dominant Omicron strain, will last at least 30 days. To simulate real world conditions, human test subjects will be involved.

During this training exercise, the company intends to obtain hard evidence that their trained canine team is capable of detecting the SARS-COV2 Omicron variant with the same high levels of accuracy (greater than 97%) observed for other COVID variants. The Omicron strain is currently responsible for 95% of all new COVID-19 infections in the United States.

The Omicron variant is the most divergent variant to date. The mutations in the Omicron variant should not change the scent profile of the viral particles significantly, but the changes have definitely altered the biology of the virus. The retesting and retraining efforts are necessary to make sure that the Bio Detection COVID detector canines recognize the scent of the Omicron variant, but also to determine if the search protocols used by Bio Detection still work. Dr. William Schneider, BDK9's Chief Research Scientist, will be conducting a rigorous study to confirm this.

Employing proprietary technology, he will synthesize a harmless training aid based on the Omicron strain and train the dogs to recognize the scent. The goal is to assure that the dogs detect the Omicron variant with 97-99% accuracy  a level of accuracy that matches the results of previous Beta, Gamma and Delta strain trials. Then, the Omicron trained dogs will screen a number of human volunteers to check the effectiveness of the search protocols.

By simply sniffing a person's hand, a Bio Detection dog's sensitive nostrils can identify the presence of COVID-19 virus shed through the skin within a matter of seconds. This new detection technique provides an additional layer of screening, thereby enhancing the efficacy of safety measures against COVID-19 and other dangerous pathogens.

"When they graduate from this updated training program, these Bio Detection canines should be equally effective at identifying a range of COVID-19 strains," commented Jerry Johnson, BDK9 President. "That said, we will continue to assess the situation as new variants arise. By doing so, we can offer our clients the utmost assurance that our unique, technology-augmented canine screening service is cost-effective, accurate and reliable."

About Bio Detection K9

Bio Detection K9 (BDK9) is the world leader in human host and precision agriculture pathogen bio detection. Led by a veteran USDA virologist, BDK9 works with canines and cutting-edge technology to identify disease in both humans and agriculture. Their dogs are trained to isolate individual pathogens with unparalleled accuracy and specificity. All training is performed safely and Bio Detection Canines are unharmed during the process. BDK9 is not only at the forefront of precision pathogen detection through this unique combination of technology and training, but their services are efficient, cost effective and non-invasive. For more information, please visit www.bdk9.com.

Media Contact :

Alyson Brodsky

Matrix Partners

312-648-9972 x133

[email protected]

SOURCE Bio Detection K9
Parent Market Analysis

Technavio categorizes the global online tutoring market as a part of the global education services market within the global consumer discretionary market.

Technavio uses the total revenue generated by manufacturers to estimate the global online tutoring market size. External factors influencing the parent market's growth potential in the coming years have been thoroughly investigated in our research analysis, to know more about the levels of growth of the online tutoring market throughout the forecast period, Download a free sample .

Online Tutoring Market Value Chain Analysis

To maximize profit margins and evaluate business plans, an end-to-end understanding of online tutoring is required. The report will help vendors drive costs and enhance customer services during the forecast period.

Inputs

Operations

Marketing and sales

Support activities

Innovations

To unlock information about vendor drive costs and customer service, download our free sample report.

Vendor Insights

The online tutoring market is fragmented, and the vendors are deploying various organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. To make the best of the opportunity, the market vendors should focus more on the fast-growing segment's growth prospect while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the online tutoring market, including some of the vendors such as Ambow Education Holding Ltd., China Distance Education Holdings Ltd., D2L Corp., iTutorGroup, K12 Inc., Pearson Plc, TAL Education Group, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., Varsity Tutors LLC, Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd.

Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the online tutoring market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile, and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

Product Insights and News

Ambow Education Holding Ltd. - Offers K-12 education, career education, and other tutoring services.

Offers K-12 education, career education, and other tutoring services. China Distance Education Holdings Ltd . - Provides learning simulation packaged software to its customers located in PRC. It includes Xiamen NetinNet and its subsidiaries, NetinNet Finance, and Beijing NetinNet.

. Provides learning simulation packaged software to its customers located in PRC. It includes Xiamen NetinNet and its subsidiaries, NetinNet Finance, and Beijing NetinNet. D2L Corp. - Offers LMS such as Core Engagement and Performance Plus to corporates. It offers services and add-ons for its products.

The online tutoring market forecast report offers in-depth insights into key vendor profiles and offerings  Download Free Sample Report

Geographical Highlights

The online tutoring market share growth in APAC will be significant during the forecast period. In APAC, China and Japan are the two most important markets for online tutoring. The market in this region will expand faster than the markets in MEA and South America.

The increasing investments from private equity investors in online tutoring companies in India are driving the expansion of the online tutoring industry in India. In India's online tutoring business, BYJU's and Vedantu are the two most prominent sellers. BYJU's has received about $240 million in funding from a variety of sources. This funding, according to BYJU, will enable it to expand into international markets and provide instructional goods for kids all across the world. As a result of these increased investments in online tutoring organizations, the online tutoring market in India is expected to grow throughout the forecast period.

Moreover, countries like China, the US, India, the UK, and Germany are the key market for the online tutoring market in APAC, owing to the growing popularity of online microlearning and the availability of apps and wearables for online tutoring in this region.

To unlock the top strategies practiced by the maximum growth generating region, View Sample Report

Key Market Dynamics-

Online Tutoring Key Market Drivers:

The growing importance of STEM education

A major driver driving the growth of the worldwide online tutoring market is the growing relevance of STEM education among students, parents, and various educational stakeholders around the world. STEM combines various topics into a single learning approach focused on real-world applications. It prepares students for jobs in the STEM industry by providing them with the necessary training. One of the main reasons for the growing popularity of STEM courses among students throughout the world is the growing number of career prospects in the sector. During the projected period, STEM job opportunities are expected to exceed non-STEM job possibilities.

Online Tutoring Key Market Trends:

Apps and wearables for online tutoring

In the worldwide online tutoring market, advanced technology such as mobile apps and wearables are new trends. Virtual reality (VR) is being used in tutoring to create a unique learning experience. Tutors are boosting their sessions with numerous mobile apps in addition to using VR in online classes. The demand for mobile learning apps is being fueled by the proliferation of smartphones and the increasing penetration of the Internet. In virtual classrooms, VR and smartwatches are projected to be the most popular technologies. The capacity to readily exchange content is the main advantage of these technologies. As a result, more vendors are projected to implement such technologies in their systems during the projection period.

Download a free sample for highlights on market Drivers & Trends affecting the online tutoring market.

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Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights into this market report. Our analysts can also help you customize this report according to your needs. Our analysts and industry experts will work directly with you to understand your requirements and provide you with customized data in a short amount of time.

We offer USD 1,000 worth of FREE customization at the time of purchase. Speak to our Analyst now!

Related Reports:

Education Consulting Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

K-12 Game-based Learning Market by Product, School Level, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Online Tutoring Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 16% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 153.07 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 15.10 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 44% Key consumer countries China, US, India, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Ambow Education Holding Ltd., ArborBridge Inc., China Distance Education Holdings Ltd., Club Z! Inc, D2L Corp., Fleet Education Services Ltd., Growing Stars Inc., iTutorGroup, John Wiley & Sons Inc., K12 Inc., My Tutorweb Ltd., New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc., Pearson Plc, Preply Inc., Providence Equity Partners LLC, Sylvan Learning LLC, TAL Education Group, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., Varsity Tutors LLC, and Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd. 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.

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Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

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Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
SAO PAULO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, 180 Seguros, an insurtech created with the purpose of transforming how insurance is distributed and consumed in Brazil, announced it has secured a $31.4 million Series A. The round was led by 8VC, already an investor in the company, and followed by Dragoneer, Monashees, Atlantico, Quartz, and Norte. The investment is one of the largest Series A rounds ever raised by an insurtech in Latin America, demonstrating the massive market opportunity of the space and the power of technology to transform it.

Founded in 2020 by Mauro Levi D'Ancona, Alex Korner and Franco Lamping - with previous experiences at Nubank and Santander, 180 operates through a B2B2C model, providing a turnkey solution for companies to be able to sell insurance products in an innovative and digital way. With its proprietary methodology, focused on the latest technologies, 180 analyzes each distribution channel, identifying opportunities to create unique products combining insurance products in the customer's journey in order to offer the best customer centric experience through embedded insurance.

"It is tremendously exciting to be transforming the insurance industry in Brazil, using our technology to both identify market opportunities and to better meet the insurance needs of individuals," said 180 Founder and CEO Mauro Levi D'Ancona.

"We are very bullish on the insurance space in LatAm and the technology 180 is building. We have known Mauro since his time at NuBank and he is an extremely impressive entrepreneur. 8VC has been increasingly active in the region and we see Mauro and a key player in the technology ecosystem," said 8VC Founding Partner Jake Medwell.

"Digital transformation is a necessary process that has been redesigning the insurance industry in recent years. It has always lagged a bit behind compared to the financial industry in Brazil, but with the digitalization forced by the pandemic, this has become an urgent and strategic agenda for insurers and also for new distribution channels that need to diversify their revenues," added 180 CIO and Co-founder Alex Korner.

With the funding, 180 plans to continue to grow its 50-person teamprioritizing attracting top talent and continuing to create an exceptional culture. Also, 180 will seek to create joint ventures as well as expand the number of strategic partnerships with startups, retailers and companies in general who are interested in adding digital insurance experiences for their partners and customers. 180 intends to maintain the insurance-as-a-service strategy, with a focus on product development and the best experience for all customers.

Since its founding, 180 has launched nine new products and services in eight different channels, among the highlights, the first home insurance in the country with a points-based assistance program; and the first insurance with intermittent coverage in Latin America for vehicle belongings for only 0.49 BRL (about $2.69) made with Loft and Zul+, respectively.

About 180 Seguros

180 Seguros is an insurtech that was created with the purpose of transforming the model of consuming and distributing insurance in Brazil. Founded by Mauro Levi D'Ancona, Alex Korner and Franco Lamping, 180 operates in a B2B2C model with insurance products, connecting insurers and consumer assistance companies with technology, rethinking the product distribution model with innovation, simplified communication, less bureaucracy, and humanized service. For more information, please visit https://www.180s.com.br

About 8VC

8VC is a leading technology investment firm, investing in visionary teams and backing industry-transforming companies. The partners have a proven track-record as founders, engineers, and operators of successful companies including Palantir, Addepar, Affinity and OpenGov, amongst others. 8VC was founded in 2012 and manages $3.6 billion in committed capital. The firm invests primarily in smart enterprise platforms across industries including financial services, healthcare, logistics, Bio-IT, and others. For more information, please visit http://8VC.com

SOURCE 8VC
"The office in 2022 and beyond needs to have a purpose and meaning," said Gynjer Peck, chief design and experience officer at PeopleSpace. Tweet this

A recent industry survey of office workers found employees are experiencing virtual fatigue and want to get back to the office while still maintaining flexibility.

63% of respondents want to alternate between different places of work.

The findings also reveal work-life balance is now the No. 1 workforce priority, ahead of salary.

"The office in 2022 and beyond needs to have a purpose and meaning," said Gynjer Peck, chief design and experience officer at PeopleSpace. "Employees are asking for work-life balance and a feeling of belonging, so they feel comfortable and motivated to return."

In response, PeopleSpace is creating more welcoming environments with open spaces for collaboration and quiet areas for focus work. Rows of workstations are now being replaced with sofas, booths, and outdoor working spaces to provide the inspiration and connectivity employees crave.

To support this forward-thinking approach, PeopleSpace has appointed several new leaders in the organization.

Gynjer Peck has been named chief design and experience officer. She oversees a team of designers, specifiers, project managers, and researchers dedicated to improving the client experience. Prior to her new role, Peck served as design director for the company.

Pamela Escobedo has been promoted to chief logistics officer, overseeing project coordination, installation services, quality assurance, and logistics coordination. Throughout her 17-year career with PeopleSpace, Escobedo has demonstrated operations expertise and leadership.

has been promoted to chief logistics officer, overseeing project coordination, installation services, quality assurance, and logistics coordination. Throughout her 17-year career with PeopleSpace, Escobedo has demonstrated operations expertise and leadership. Michael Fisher , with over 15 years of brand strategy, commercial design, and consulting experience, is assuming the role of workplace strategist. He helps translate an organization's culture and business vision into strategic spatial concepts and compelling design.

"Now more than ever, it's important to be intentional about emphasizing company culture and values within the workspace," said Brian Airth, PeopleSpace's co-founder and chief business development officer. "We're guiding our clients down this exciting path and collaborating together to create workplace ecosystems that support employee productivity and well-being."

To provide employers with guidance and insights on what employees are seeking in 2022, the campaign will include employer-focused educational materials, case studies, webinars, upcoming events, and tours at PeopleSpace's Customer Experience Centers throughout the West Coast.

Amplified by a partnership with Haworth, PeopleSpace is recognized as a Best in Class dealer, awarded to less than 10% of Haworth's global dealer network. "Only through outstanding dealerships like PeopleSpace is Haworth able to provide the exceptional service experience our customers deserve," said Franco Bianchi, CEO of Haworth.

Using its proprietary six-step design and procurement process, PeopleSpace stands apart in its approach to place the customer experience at the center of its operations. With a single corporate point of contact for each client, PeopleSpace provides a streamlined, customer-centric process that integrates best practices, cutting-edge technology, and innovative tools to enhance the business space-planning experience from start to finish.

ABOUT PEOPLESPACE

PeopleSpace is a service-based company and West Coast leader in workspace strategies and commercial furniture solutions with over 22 years of success in creating environments to improve employees' well-being, culture, engagement, and retention. With five Customer Experience Centers (Irvine, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay area in California; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington); a custom furniture manufacturing and design studio; an architectural interiors/demountable wall specialty subcontractor; and three installation, warehousing, and service facilities, PeopleSpace delivers a comprehensive, streamlined customer experience. For more information visit: www.peoplespace.com.

Media Contact:

Michelle Sample

PeopleSpace Marketing

[email protected]

949-701-1927

SOURCE PeopleSpace
INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2021, Indiana's life sciences industry experienced strong growth in the attraction and expansion of companies across the state. Twenty-three companies committed to invest over $500 million and hire 2,100 employees. Of those 23 companies, nine committed to invest over $10 million each and two others will invest over $100 million in new Indiana facilities. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies collectively contributed 75% of the new life sciences job commitments and 94% of the projected capital expenditures.

"Indiana continues to experience extraordinary growth in life sciences, thanks in part to the state's strategic partnership with BioCrossroads," said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers. "There is still enormous potential to exponentially augment 2021's industry investment of $500 million because of Indiana's innovative initiatives, nationally-ranked universities, and low cost of living."

Two companies, new to Indiana, account for the largest investments: Stevanato Group of Italy and List Biotherapeutics, a subsidiary of South Korea's Genome & Company. These companies plan to build manufacturing facilities for pharmaceuticals and related delivery devices.

Statewide Growth

New or expanded operations occurred in eleven Indiana cities:

Brownsburg Carmel Charlestown Columbia City Fishers Indianapolis Knightstown Noblesville Pierceton Terre Haute Warsaw



Orthopedics Leadership

Indiana's global leadership in the orthopedics sector continues with four companies committing to hire over 230 new employees and invest over $70 million in the Warsaw area. Indiana's orthopedics footprint expanded with TOMZ, a Connecticut-based company, which built a facility in Knightstown.

Foreign Direct Investment

Indiana was the recipient of inbound investment from eight life sciences companies headquartered in six countries: Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and South Korea.

Radiopharmaceuticals

Four companies in the fast-growing radiopharmaceutical sector announced new or expanded facilities in 2021. The companies, which leverage Indiana's pharmaceutical industry supply chain, central location and logistics infrastructure, plan to invest $30 million in new and expanded facilities and hire 160 new employees.

"Indiana's life sciences sector continues to experience significant growth," said Brian Stemme, senior vice president of engagement at BioCrossroads. "World-class companies have taken note of our innovation and workforce, and they are expanding and building new facilities here to take advantage of our strengths."

Major announcements in 2021 included:

Stevanato Group [NYSE:STVN], an Italian life sciences company, is planning to establish its new U.S. hub in central Indiana . The company will invest up to $145 million to build and equip a 370,000-square foot manufacturing facility in Fishers, Ind. and create more than 230 jobs by the end of 2025. The company, which provides drug containment, drug delivery and diagnostic services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries, will use the facility to support the expansion and production of its EZ-Fill solutions.

. The company will invest up to to build and equip a 370,000-square foot manufacturing facility in and create more than 230 jobs by the end of 2025. The company, which provides drug containment, drug delivery and diagnostic services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries, will use the facility to support the expansion and production of its EZ-Fill solutions. List Biotherapeutics, a subsidiary of South Korea -based Genome & Company [KOSDAQ: 314130], will invest $125 million in Fishers, Ind. to establish a new 110,000-square foot contract manufacturing facility. The company plans to hire 210 employees in the areas of biologics manufacturing, quality, and regulatory compliance.

-based Genome & Company [KOSDAQ: 314130], will invest in to establish a new 110,000-square foot contract manufacturing facility. The company plans to hire 210 employees in the areas of biologics manufacturing, quality, and regulatory compliance. Exelead, a manufacturing partner of Pfizer for mRNA vaccines - which recently announced its acquisition by Merck KGaA, - committed to creating more than 130 jobs and investing $41 million in its Indianapolis manufacturing facility.

in its manufacturing facility. J. Knipper and Company, a Charlestown -based biologistics company, announced the expansion of its distribution center. The expansion will consist of an additional 150,000-square feet of space. The company anticipates making a capital investment of $17.4 million and increasing its workforce by 38 employees by the end of 2024.

-based biologistics company, announced the expansion of its distribution center. The expansion will consist of an additional 150,000-square feet of space. The company anticipates making a capital investment of and increasing its workforce by 38 employees by the end of 2024. Genezen Labs, a contract development and manufacturing organization supporting cell and gene therapy companies, will invest $40 million to upgrade its cGMP lentiviral and retroviral production facility in Fishers, Ind.

to upgrade its cGMP lentiviral and retroviral production facility in TOMZ Corporation, a manufacturer of implantable medical devices based in Connecticut , announced the opening of a manufacturing facility in Knightstown, Ind. The company will hire 150 workers and invest $35 million in its new Indiana plant.

, announced the opening of a manufacturing facility in The company will hire 150 workers and invest in its new plant. Paragon Medical, a global provider of orthopedic products, announced a new additive manufacturing facility in Pierceton, Ind. Located on its existing campus, Paragon will invest $35 million in manufacturing and operational space. The 34,000-square foot facility will be dedicated to 3D printing, leveraging Paragon Medical's existing machining based across the globe.

Located on its existing campus, Paragon will invest in manufacturing and operational space. The 34,000-square foot facility will be dedicated to 3D printing, leveraging Paragon Medical's existing machining based across the globe. Curium, a nuclear medicine company, manufactures and distributes radiopharmaceutical products for medical imaging and therapies. The company plans to invest $10 million in its Noblesville, Ind. facility and add 34 jobs over next three years.

in its facility and add 34 jobs over next three years. Orano Med, a radiopharmaceutical company headquartered in France , has chosen Brownsburg, Ind. for its second U.S.-based manufacturing facility. Orano Med plans to initially invest more than $15 million to acquire and equip the building. The facility will be used to manufacture and distribute radiopharmaceuticals to treat cancer.

Data compiled by Indiana Economic Development Corporation and BioCrossroads.

About BioCrossroads

BioCrossroads (www.biocrossroads.com) is Indiana's initiative to grow, advance and invest in the life sciences, a public-private collaboration that supports the region's existing research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development. BioCrossroads invests capital and provides support to life sciences businesses, launches new life sciences enterprises (Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, 16 Tech, Indiana Health Information Exchange, and OrthoWorx), expands collaboration and partnerships among Indiana's life science institutions, promotes science education and markets Indiana's life sciences industry.

SOURCE BioCrossroads
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pimera Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing breakthrough medicines for cancer and other diseases with high unmet medical need, announced today that the Company and its collaborators Dr. Luc Furic, Head, Translational Prostate Cancer Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Professor Ross Hannan, Centenary Chair in Cancer Research and Head of the ACRF Department of Cancer Biology and Therapeutics, Associate Dean Research (Biomedical and Translational) at Australian National University, have been awarded a Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) grant from the Department of Defense to advance its lead program PMR-116 to the clinic for prostate cancer.

Pimera is developing PMR-116, a novel inhibitor of RNA polymerase I (Pol I), a transcription factor for MYC driven cancers, for the treatment of multiple solid tumor oncology indications. The grant award, which totals more than $1 million, will support efficacy studies of PMR-116 in patient-derived models, identification of novel combination therapies, and identification of biomarkers of response from the ongoing Phase 1 study of PMR-116.

"PMR-116 is a very exciting program with a novel mechanism of action and an encouraging efficacy and safety profile to date. In preclinical studies, we observed robust efficacy in several MYC-driven models, including those that are resistant to standard-of-care therapy. In the ongoing Phase 1 study, PMR-116 demonstrated favorable target engagement and early clinical efficacy signals in multiple solid tumor patients," said Mustapha Haddach, Ph.D., President and CEO of Pimera. "This recognition from the DOD on the potential of PMR-116 further validates our approach with PMR-116 to improve care for cancer patients, and in particular, prostate cancer, which is one of the leading causes of cancer death in men in the US. We look forward to advancing PMR-116 through dose escalation, expanding into additional indications, and into Phase 2 to address several large cancer markets and improve patient outcomes."

"PMR-116 suppresses the ability of cancer cells to synthesize the machinery required to express the high level of proteins required for cancer growth. What we've demonstrated in pre-clinical models of CRPC and NEPC with PMR-116 is a powerful new way to inhibit proliferation in the most advanced stages of prostate cancer," added Dr. Luc Furic, Head, Translational Prostate Cancer Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. "The significant support from this DOD Award will allow us to further characterize biomarkers of response to PMR-116 and perform the ground word required to bring PMR-116 to the clinic for prostate cancer patients."

This grant was supported by the Department of Defense of the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition under Award Number FY21-PCRP-TSA. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Defense.

About PMR-116

PMR-116 is our lead therapeutic in clinical development for multiple cancer indications including solid tumors. PMR-116 acts through a novel mechanism of action, targeting the RNA polymerase I, or POL I, a transcription factor for MYC driven cancers and other diseases with high unmet medical need. In preclinical studies, PMR-116 has demonstrated robust preclinical efficacy in multiple MYC-driven models, including those that are resistant to standard-of-care treatments. PMR-116 is currently in the dose escalation stage of a Phase 1a/b clinical trial being conducted in Australia. Pimera intends to expand the development of PMR-116 in patients with MYC overexpressing solid tumors in a tumor type-agnostic approach. For more information about the ongoing clinical trial, please visit ANZCTR.

About Pimera Therapeutics

Pimera Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing breakthrough therapeutics for cancer and other major unmet medical needs. Pimera's lead program, PMR-116, is designed to target dysregulated RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription in MYC-driven cancers. Pol I transcription of ribosomal RNA genes is tightly regulated downstream of oncogenic pathways, and its dysregulation is a common feature in cancer and other human diseases. Pimera is advancing PMR-116 through dose escalation in a Phase 1a/b clinical trial.

For more information on Pimera, please visit www.pimeratx.com and engage with us on LinkedIn.

Media and Investor Contact:

Amy Conrad

Juniper Point

(858) 366-3243

[email protected]

SOURCE Pimera Therapeutics
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PlantFuel Life Inc. (CSE: FUEL) (OTC: PLFLF) (FSE: BR1B) ("PlantFuel" or the "Company") announces today it has completed its listing on the U.S. trading market with its common shares being posted on the OTCQB under the symbol "PLFLF". The company will continue to trade on the CSE under the Symbol "FUEL".

The Company has chosen to trade on this US marketplace to provide current and future US-based investors with greater access, ease of trading, home country disclosure, current financial disclosures, and Real-Time Level 2 quotes on www.otcmarkets.com.

"Listing on the OTCQB venture stage marketplace is an important milestone for the Company," said Brad Pyatt, CEO of the Company. "Qualifying for OTCQB demonstrates our commitment to increasing our investor base while providing our current and future U.S. investors convenient access to the same ease of trading, timely news and information enjoyed by investors in Canada."

To purchase shares of PLFLF, consult a brokerage firm or an online broker that allows OTC trading.

About PlantFuel Life Inc.

PlantFuel Life, Inc., is a scientifically focused, plant-based wellness company managed by successful entrepreneurs with extensive experience in the areas of consumer-packaged goods, manufacturing, logistics, and distribution. https://plantfuellife.com/

The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. 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.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE PlantFuel Life Inc.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Verified Market Research recently published a report, "Polyolefins Market" By Type (Polyethylene (PP)  HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, and Polypropylene), By Application (Films and Sheets, Blow Molding), By End User (Packaging, Automotive, Construction). According to Verified Market Research, the Global Polyolefins Market size was valued at USD 132.16 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 348.60 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 12.76% from 2021 to 2028.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/download-sample/?rid=157061

Browse in-depth TOC on "Polyolefins Market"

202 - Pages

126  Tables

37  Figures

Global Polyolefins Market Overview

Increasing demand for Polyolefins in automotive, electrical and electronics, food and beverage, and consumer goods is driving the market growth. Some of the properties are high rigidity, good moisture, and chemical resistance make polyolefins fitted for industrial uses, mainly for packaging automotive and electrical spare parts. Whereas, in the automotive industry, manufactures are focusing on improving the efficiency of vehicles by decreasing the weight of the vehicles. Polyolefins material is most preferable because of its lightweight, easy processability, sealing, and stiffness properties.

In the food and beverage industry, the consumption of polyethylene is multiplying due to the rising demand from the production of packaging materials for food and beverage. It is also used in fashion, sports, and toys because of its properties that oppose physical stresses, durability, provide flexibility in packaging, and allow easy moulding of products. Environmental crises and government regulations for Polyolefins are plastic. They have become a big problem for the environment. It takes many years to decompose. It is also collected in water bodies and adversely affects aquatic and human ecosystems.

Moreover, because of the increasing environmental concerns, governments of many countries have made specific regulations to regulate plastic usage in the countries, hampering the global market growth of polyolefins. An increase in technological and innovations in product developments by many industries in the market is increasing the opportunities for market growth. The expansion of bio-degradable and bio-based plastics will further increase the market growth of the global Polyolefins Market in the coming future.

Key Developments

On November 2019 , LyondellBasell started commissioning work on its new high-density polyethylene plant in La Porte, Texas . LyondellBasell's proprietary Hyperzone technology produces 500,000 tons of HDPE per year at their new plant.

, LyondellBasell started commissioning work on its new high-density polyethylene plant in . LyondellBasell's proprietary Hyperzone technology produces 500,000 tons of HDPE per year at their new plant. On March 2020 , LyondellBasell Industries NV signed a 50-50 joint venture with Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group in Panjin, China , to build a 1.1 million-tons/year ethylene cracker and associated polyolefin derivatives complex.

Key Players

The major players in the market are Sinopec Corporation, Lyondellbasell Industries Holdings N.V., Exxonmobil Chemical, Petrochina Company Limited, Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation, The DOW Chemical Company, Braskem S.A., Total S.A., Arkema S.A., and Borealis AG.

Verified Market Research has segmented the Global Polyolefins Market On the basis of Type, Application, End-User, and Geography.

Polyolefins Market, By Type

Polyethylene (PP)  HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE



Polypropylene



Others

Polyolefins Market, By Application

Films and Sheets



Blow Molding



Injection Molding



Fibers



Others

Polyolefins Market, By End User

Packaging



Automotive



Construction



Pharmaceuticals/Medical



Electronics & Electricals

Polyolefins 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:

Polyolefin Pipes Market By Type (Polypropylene Pipes (PP), Polyethylene Pipes (PE)), By Application (Power And Communication, Waste Water Drainage), By End-User (Agriculture, Industrial), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

Adhesion Promoters Market By Type (Silane, Maleic Anhydride, Chlorinated Polyolefins), By Application (Plastics And Composites, Paints And Coatings, Rubber, Adhesives), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

Amorphous Polyalphaolefin (APAO) For Hot Melt Market By Product (Homopolymers and Copolymers), By Application (Paper & Packaging, Bookbinding, Personal Hygiene, Woodworking, Product Assembly), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

Cyclic Olefin Copolymers Market By Grade (Film & Resin), By Industry (Packaging, Healthcare, Electronics, Optics), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

World's Top 7 Epoxy Resin Manufacturers building a stronger foundation for internationally operating industries

Visualize Polyolefins Market using Verified Market Intelligence:-:

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SOURCE Verified Market Research
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pure NZ is a bottled water brand that has been operating a high-speed bottling plant outside of Auckland, New Zealand for the past several years. The company is well aware of the negative press that bottled water consistently receives  which is why its entire manufacturing model is focused on setting a new standard of sustainability for bottled water brands. While Pure NZ has held to these environmentally conscious standards ever since its inception, recent research has shown how important the need for sustainable bottled water truly is.

A new study conducted in Barcelona, Spain, analyzed the impact of drinking bottled water and tap water. This is a worthwhile comparison, particularly in an area like Europe, where water quality has been an issue for time out of mind. Urban centers in many areas of the continent have gone through periods of time where local water quality was very poor, pushing inhabitants to turn to bottled water as a clean alternative source of hydration.

While bottled water answers the need for clean water, though, it raises the ancillary question of how this uptick in plastic waste impacts the environment. The results of the study have shed new light on this inquiry, and the data isn't pretty.

The Barcelona study was able to extrapolate that if the entire region of Barcelona exclusively drank bottled water rather than tap water, it would be 3,500 times more damaging to the environment. What's more, it also would lead to a 1,400 times larger impact on ecosystems.

These results drive home the negative aspects of using bottled water  especially when it's made using PET plastic. PET plastic is virgin plastic, which means the entire bottle is blown from never-used-before material.

Pure NZ has been working for years to avoid this clearly pollution-prone manufacturing mindset. Instead, the company has created an elite facility that can utilize rPET plastic. This means each Pure NZ bottle uses recycled material, which dramatically reduces its impact on the environment.

Greater availability of public tap water is clearly important for a sustainable future. However, there are always going to be times when bottled water is needed. For Pure NZ, the solution to the latter is simple. Using rPET plastic bottles ensures that the impact of staying hydrated remains as low as possible  regardless of if the water comes from a faucet, a fountain, or a bottle.

About Pure NZ: Pure NZ is owned by NZ Drinks and is one of the top beverage brands in New Zealand. NZ Drinks owns one of the largest bottling plants in the country and has received accolades from the Australasian Bottled Water Institute, Inc, the Waikato District Council, and others for its sound business methods. Learn more about these certificates and the various Pure NZ products available at nzdrinks.co.nz .

Please direct inquiries to:

Sylvan Crust

(954) 756-6235

[email protected]

SOURCE Pure NZ
PARSIPPANY, N.J., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Reckitt, the maker of Lysol, is donating 4 million packs of Lysol Disinfecting Wipes to 16 Los Angeles-based community organizations. The donation will aid local hygiene and disinfection efforts amid the latest COVID-19 surge, as well as cold and flu season.

Part of the campaign includes a public art project driven by Reckitt and the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health (IIGH) to encourage L.A.-area residents to learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and boosters through the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative's GetVaccineAnswers.org, part of their COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative which provides accurate, reliable and CDC-vetted answers to the top questions Americans have about the vaccines.

"USC has been an important partner in Los Angeles County's efforts to combat COVID-19," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. "We are grateful to Reckitt for joining in our fight against the virus and stepping in to provide Lysol Disinfecting Wipes and much needed vaccination education for our community."

DISTRIBUTION OF LYSOL WIPES TO L.A. COMMUNITY

USC IIGH will help distribute the Lysol Disinfecting Wipes, primarily in partnership with Operation USA, LA Food Bank and Shelter Partnership, to the underserved, homeless, educators and youth across the greater Los Angeles area.

Recipient organizations will leverage the Lysol disinfecting products to help prevent the spread of illness-causing germs in their centers of work to help keep students, employees, customers, volunteers, and community members protected.

"Operation USA is proud to have worked diligently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver much-needed personal protective equipment, health care tools and preventative cleaning supplies to partners in need across our community and the countryand we can't do this important work without the enthusiastic support of our corporate partners," said Richard Walden, president and CEO of Operation USA. "We are so grateful to both IIGH and Reckitt, maker of Lysol, for this very generous donation, which will bolster too often overlooked and under-served community partnerswho might not otherwise have access to the material aid they needas they continue working to overcome ongoing challenges."

Reckitt has similarly focused its pandemic relief efforts on under-resourced communities through its HERE for Healthy Schools Initiative. Throughout the pandemic, the brand has worked closely with education partners to provide millions of disinfecting supplies and educational materials to Title 1 schools across the country, helping schools safely return to in-person learning.

"Lysol's mission is rooted in helping families keep their loved ones illness-free," said E. Yuri Hermida, EVP North America Hygiene for Reckitt. "That's why, at the onset of the pandemic, we knew we had to step up to help combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Through this new partnership with USC's IIGH, we look forward to continuing our efforts to provide resources to those hardest-hit by the pandemic and encourage people to educate themselves about the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters."

http://www.reckitt.com/thisisreckitt

About Reckitt:

Reckitt* exists to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We believe that access to the highest-quality hygiene, wellness and nourishment is a right, not a privilege.

Reckitt is the company behind some of the world's most recognisable and trusted consumer brands in hygiene, health and nutrition, including Air Wick, Calgon, Cillit Bang, Clearasil, Dettol, Durex, Enfamil, Finish, Gaviscon, Harpic, Lysol, Mortein, Mucinex, Nurofen, Nutramigen, Strepsils, Vanish, Veet, Woolite and more.

Every day, more than 20 million Reckitt products are bought globally. We always put consumers and people first, seek out new opportunities, strive for excellence in all that we do and build shared success with all our partners. We aim to do the right thing, always.

We are a diverse global team of more than 43,000 colleagues. We draw on our collective energy to meet our ambitions of purpose-led brands, a healthier planet and a fairer society. Find out more, or get in touch with us at www.reckitt.com

* Reckitt is the trading name of the Reckitt Benckiser group of companies

About Lysol -- For more than a century, Lysol has been protecting families from the spread of illness-causing germs. We believe there is nothing more important than keeping our loved ones safe and healthy. For Lysol, just as it is for parents, protection is an instinctive act of love: an unconditional combination of strength and heart.

Community Partners impacted by Lysol's product donation include:

City of Los Angeles , Parks and Recreation Crypto Arena Dream Center Exposition Park Labor Community Services LAC+USC Medical Center Foundation, Inc./The Wellness Center Los Angeles Community College District Los Angeles Police Department Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Occidental College Operation USA San Gabriel Mission Church Food Pantry Shelter Partnership The Salvation Army Los Angeles Red Shield Community Center YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles Los Angeles Unified School District

SOURCE Reckitt
MIAMI, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Red 6, a revolutionary technology firm at the forefront of synthetic air combat training, is proud to announce it has been awarded a contract from Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI), an implementation of the U.S. Air Force SBIR/STTR Supplemental Funding Pilot Program. "We continue to be encouraged by the U.S. Air Force's confidence in both the Red 6 solution and our mission to revolutionize training for our warfighter," said Daniel Robinson, Founder and CEO of Red 6.

Red 6 has redefined how warfighters will train by developing Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS). ATARS enables real pilots, in real airplanes to train against, and interact with synthetically generated entities, up in the sky. By allowing users to engage in complex training such as air-to-air refueling, formation flying and air combat maneuvering, this technological breakthrough will transform the quality, cost, and safety of airborne flight training. This award was granted in support of the continued integration of ATARS into the Air Force T-38 Talon. "Red 6 is ushering in a new era of training, and with the support of the U.S. Air Force, we aim to deliver an extraordinary increase to readiness, proficiency, training capacity, and capability," said Robinson.

The 2018 U.S. National Defense Strategy identified the need to develop the U.S. 'National Security Innovation Base' that involves heavy reliance on dual-use solutions. To accomplish these objectives, strong partnerships must be developed between USAF end-users, USAF acquisition professionals, and the private-sector portion of the National Security Innovation Base. The purpose of the TACFI pilot program is to catalyze those relationships and to bridge the capability gap between current SBIR/STTR efforts. "Continued transformation of our pilot training system is vital to the Air Force's future. We're excited to see continued investment in this arena," said Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, 19th Air Force Commander.

The mission of the U.S. Air Force is to fly, fight and win  with airpower, anytime, anywhere. Red 6's revolutionary technology supports this mission by training warfighters more effectively and efficiently to win in future conflicts. Building upon the success of the T-38 integration, Red 6 plans to integrate into the T-45, followed by fourth generation aircraft including the F-16 and F-15E. "ATARS represents a transformational leap forward in Augmented Reality technology and by applying this capability to military flight training, we are ushering in a new paradigm in training that will ultimately scale to all warfighters, across all domains," said Robinson.

About Red 6

Red 6, founded in 2018, is the creator of Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) and Combined Augmented Reality Battlespace Operational Network (CARBON). Red 6's Systems are the first wide field-of-view, full color demonstrably proven outdoor augmented reality solution that works in dynamic outdoor environments. They allow Virtual and Constructive assets into the real-world by allowing pilots and ground operators to see synthetic threats in real-time, outdoors, and critically, in high-speed environments. By blending augmented reality and artificial intelligence and using both the indoor and outdoor space around us as a medium, Red 6 has redefined the limits of how the world will experience, share, and interact with its information.

SOURCE Red 6
DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The lingering effects of COVID-19 and the growing impact of climate change have shaped the behavior of travelers recently and will force the travel industry to evolve. These are the findings in a new report from CarTrawler, the leading B2B technology provider of car rental and mobility solutions to the global travel industry, that surveyed 2,000 adult travelers across the U.S. and U.K. to understand how travel has transformed over the past year.

The report accompanies the launch of CarTrawler's new brand identity, as the company continues its high growth trajectory powering car rental and mobility for some of the world's largest travel brands.

According to the report, "The Evolution of Travel: CarTrawler's Consumer Trends for 2022", people love to travel, but are also eager for safer options, sustainable alternatives, and greater convenience when traveling.

The bottom line: despite COVID-19 health concerns, travelers have an overwhelming sense of wanderlust, with 77% expressing positive emotions around travel. They are also more environmentally-conscious than ever, with 73% of travelers willing to pay more to rent an eco-friendly car  up to $22 more per day more  and 52% preferring airlines that have pledged to be carbon neutral. Travelers are also eager for mobile offerings that ease the booking process and allow them to manage their entire itinerary.

"The last two years have forced the travel industry and travelers themselves to adapt and evolve," said Cormac Barry, CEO of CarTrawler. "Beyond the pandemic, the industry must recognize and adjust to the behaviors of today's travelers. People are more tech- and environmentally-savvy and expect the brands they engage with to be the same. CarTrawler's purpose is driving successful partnerships and as CarTrawler sets out to define the future of human travel tech, we hope this report delivers valuable insight into what is driving consumers' decision making, and can act as a blueprint for brands as they adapt to the new realities of travel."

From Cabin Fever to New Adventures

Travelers across the U.S. and U.K. feel good about travel - more than half of those surveyed (51%) expect to do more domestic leisure travel over the next year, while 43% expect to travel internationally. However, travelers also have mixed feelings about health regulations.

Fifty-three percent think travel providers are sharing enough  and being more than transparent  about their COVID-19 policies. Meanwhile, more than a third (37%) would like more clarity around policies.

Interestingly, new rules and regulations, such as cleaning, instilled more confidence in flying among 34% of travelers, and 41% say that it feels safer and cleaner to fly now than before.

Sixty-percent of travelers whose last trip was greater than a year ago say they are concerned about their health and physical safety if they were to travel now or in the near future, compared to only 36% of travelers who've taken trips within the last year.

Despite this, travelers are still looking for more flexibility, with 73% saying they would be willing to spend more for flight insurance now than before.

Convenience is King

Over the course of the pandemic, especially with the transition to remote and hybrid work, people have become more accustomed to using cloud services and applications. The travel industry should accommodate this shift by offering travelers more options for convenience and flexibility.

Sixty-one percent of travelers want an easier booking process; more than half (51%) wish there was a single mobile app they could manage all parts of their trip from.

Nearly half (49%) of travelers say they would purchase a single travel app if it contained all of the essential elements for travel, including tickets, itineraries, passports and vaccine passports.

More than half of travelers (55%) say they would like to book flights and rental cars at the same time.

When it comes to using mobile travel apps, the generational divide is quite stark  43% of Millennials, 36% of Gen Z and 31% of Gen X have used an airline- or car rental-owned mobile application to book transportation, compared to only 15% of Boomers.

Going Green

Travelers in the U.S. and U.K. are increasingly interested in more eco-friendly options, and are willing to pay a premium.

More than half of travelers (55%) would rather rent an eco-friendly car than a gas guzzler, and a third (33%) prefer renting electric vehicles.

Experience with eco-friendly car rentals has been generational  69% of Gen Z and 68% of Millennials have rented sustainable vehicles, while only 40% of Gen X and 8% of Boomers have.

On average, U.S. travelers said they would be willing to spend $22 and U.K. travelers 14 more per day on top of the standard price to rent an eco-friendly vehicle.

and U.K. travelers 14 more per day on top of the standard price to rent an eco-friendly vehicle. However, two-thirds (66%) of travelers say that rental car companies should not charge more for eco-friendly options.

Jet Setters vs. Road Trippers

When asked about their preferred modes of transportation, air travel narrowly beat out personal vehicles. However, travelers might be doing a three-point turn - since the beginning of the pandemic, 85% of travelers have gone on road trips.

Gen Z (74%) and Millennials (72%) who have been on a road trip say that the first time they've rented a car rather than using a personal vehicle happened during the pandemic, compared to 49% of Gen X and 16% of Boomers.

For more information about CarTrawler, visit www.cartrawler.com .

About CarTrawler

CarTrawler is the leading global B2B provider of car rental and mobility solutions to the travel industry. Our purpose is to drive successful partnerships.

CarTrawler's end-to-end technology platform expands our airline and travel partners' offering to their customers, creating substantial ancillary revenue opportunities. We provide unrivalled breadth and depth of content worldwide, including car rental, private airport transfer and ride-hailing services.

CarTrawler creates innovative, data-led solutions for some of the largest travel brands in the world, including United Airlines, American Express, easyJet, Alaska Airlines, SWISS, Hotels.com and Emirates. As a B2B company we focus solely on helping our airline and travel partners build their brands, not our own.

SOURCE CarTrawler
James brings over 16 years of medical device sales and sales leadership experience to Retia. Prior to joining Retia, he held positions of increasing sales leadership responsibility at Rockwell Medical, Cheetah Medical, Baxter/Gambro and GlaxoSmithKline. During that time, he played an integral role in numerous commercial product launches and developed strong expertise in building and scaling commercial organizations. Mr. Ferreira is driven by his ability to build genuine connections with people at all levels, motivating sales teams to achieve consistently higher levels of success while creating relationships of trust and confidence with clients. Mr. Ferreira received his BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.

About Retia Medical

Retia Medical's Argos Cardiac Output Monitor, with its Multi-Beat Analysis (MBA) algorithm, eliminates a critical problem with older cardiac output technologies. By analyzing multiple heartbeats (MBA) and not just a single beat at a time, the Argos Cardiac Output Monitor provides consistently accurate hemodynamic measurements to help guide therapy decisions and prevent major complications. Additionally, the Argos Cardiac Output Monitor system is unique in its class by not requiring costly disposables to monitor each patient, and is available at a low, fixed-capital cost. Setting up the minimally invasive Argos Cardiac Output Monitor requires a single cable connection and takes less than two minutes to start monitoring.

Retia Medical is proud to positively impact patient care in the U.S. and internationally as more hospitals continue to incorporate the Argos Cardiac Output Monitor into their standard of care.

For more information, please visit www.retiamedical.com

Media Contact:

Carla Benigni,

(847) 951-7430,

[email protected]

SOURCE Retia Medical LLC
HENDERSON, Nev., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The College of Nursing at Roseman University of Health Sciences has expanded its offering of nursing degree programs with the launch of a 9-month (35-week) RN to BSN program. The college is now enrolling its first class to start in September 2022.

"Roseman University's new RN to BSN program is structured to support working nurses in completing their baccalaureate nursing education while continuing their day-to-day responsibilities," said Brian Oxhorn, BS, MS, PhD, dean of the College of Nursing. "This offers nurses the opportunity to expand their clinical and theoretical skills and knowledge, so they are better positioned to advance in the profession."

Like all Roseman University's academic programs, the RN to BSN program utilizes Roseman's Six-Point Mastery Learning Model, which allows students to master content at very high levels. The block curriculum allows students to take only one class at a time, focus intently on that content area, and master the content before proceeding to the next block or course. The RN to BSN program consists of eight blocks each taught online by expert faculty with a myriad of clinical, educational, and professional backgrounds. Students are assigned to groups for specified learning activities to develop leadership, communication, and team skills. Students will also complete projects that enhance their previous clinical experiences.

According to the 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey, nurses with a bachelor's degree routinely made more per year than those with an associate degree.

"Another advantage to earning a BSN is that it can broaden career opportunities. These include working in leadership roles, case managers or in quality assurance. BSN preparation provides nurses with the competencies needed to address the increasing complexity of the healthcare system over a broad range of areas," said Oxhorn.

Oxhorn also adds that many hospitals prefer hiring nurses with a BSN as a criterion for achieving Magnet status. The American Nurses Credentialing Center gives this title for nursing excellence, innovations in nursing practice, and quality patient outcomes.

The RN to BSN program, along with the College of Nursing's existing Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, offered with two learning modalities, on-campus or hybrid-online with four cohorts per year, and a 23-month full-time online Master of Science in Nursing  Family Nurse Practitioner program with two cohorts per year, offer nursing students educational and career advancement opportunities in numerous stages of their careers.

"Graduates of the College of Nursing RN to BSN program will join the nearly 2,700 Roseman nursing alumni who are now working in Nevada, Utah and across the US delivering high levels of compassionate care," said Oxhorn.

Roseman University College of Nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Information about the Roseman University RN to BSN program can be found online at nursing.roseman.edu.

About Roseman University of Health Sciences

Founded in Henderson, Nevada in 1999, Roseman University of Health Sciences is a non-profit, private institution of higher learning training the next generation of undergraduate and graduate level health care professionals that serve, collaborate, and set new standards in their communities and within their professions. With campuses in Henderson and Summerlin (Las Vegas), Nevada and South Jordan, Utah, the University is comprised of the College of Dental Medicine, offering an Advanced Education in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics/MBA residency and Doctor of Dental Medicine program; College of Pharmacy, offering a Doctor of Pharmacy and Professional Continuing Education; College of Nursing, offering an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing/Family Nurse Practitioner; and College of Graduate Studies offering a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences. Roseman University of Health Sciences will also offer a Doctor of Medicine through its College of Medicine once it becomes accredited. More than 7,000 Roseman graduates are caring for patients, conducting research, and engaged in public health and policy in Nevada, Utah and across the country. Roseman University is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. www.roseman.edu

SOURCE ROSEMAN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, A NEVADA NON-PROFIT CORPORATION
Jon Ferrando, Chief Executive Officer and President of RVR stated, "We are excited to expand into the Jacksonville market with our 8 th store in Florida. Jacksonville is one of the largest RV markets in the United States and the #2 market in Florida. This is a major facility investment to serve our customers in sales and service in this market for the next years and decades. The store has a state-of-the-art facility with over 200 inventory display spaces, a large 2-story showroom, and a significant service facility."

"The store will be branded RV One Superstores to complement the other seven RV One Superstore locations we have in the Florida market and will be part of our East Region run by Don Strollo, East Region President," added Jon Ferrando.

"RV One Superstores Jacksonville will feature a good mix of motorized and towable RVs with strong brands like Jayco, Airstream, Forest River, and Heartland," said Don Strollo. "We are excited for the new location in this incredible RV market. We welcome all the new team members of RV One Superstores Jacksonville to the RV Retailer family."

RV One Superstores Jacksonville is in Jacksonville, FL on the west side of I-295 just east of downtown Jacksonville. The local area has over 20 RV parks in the immediate area located around the St. Johns River.

To learn more about RV One Superstore Jacksonville and RV Retailer, please visit: https://www.rvone.com or https://www.rvretailer.com/

About RV Retailer, LLC

RV Retailer, LLC is a leading recreational vehicle retail company in the United States with a focus on providing an outstanding experience for recreational vehicle customers in new and used sales, service and parts, and customer financial services. RV Retailer has 94 RV stores in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming. Regional store brands include: RV One Superstores, Motor Home Specialist, ExploreUSA, Sonny's Camp-N-Travel, Cousins RV, Camper Clinic, Lifestyle RVs, Family RV Group, Northgate RV, Tom's Camperland and Blue Dog RV, which sell a wide range of new and used RV brands with thousands of RVs in inventory.

RV Retailer is led by co-founders Jon Ferrando, Chief Executive Officer and President, and John Rizzo, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Jon Ferrando and John Rizzo were instrumental in building America's largest automotive retailer from start-up to over $20 billion in revenue. RV Retailer's leadership team has over 250 years of automotive and RV retail industry experience.

SOURCE RV Retailer, LLC
SASKATOON, SK, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Saskatchewan Polytechnic is the primary provider of technical education and skills training in the province of Saskatchewan for over 28,000 students, oering programs that touch every sector of the economy. Their priority is to ensure that students have access to a high-quality, innovative post-secondary education, and employers have access to a highly skilled and qualied workforce that contributes to the prosperity of the province of Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic identied that their incoming students have a numeracy skills gap that has a negative impact on the performance in their math courses. Many students don't have the pre-requisite math skills and lacked the level of condence required to succeed in their math courses  a common experience at post-secondary institutions across the country. To overcome these challenges, institutions were creating their own assessments and supporting materials with the aim to bridge the numeracy gap that exists for students entering their post secondary education.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic opted to pilot and implement the assessment-for-learning platform (called OCMT) which was designed by the 24 publicly funded Ontario Colleges as part of the College Math Project (CMP) and the subsequent College Student Achievement Project (CSAP). The CSAP conducted over a decade of research and eld trials with over 10,000 students, leading to the development of the OCMT that has been eectively implemented to raise the level of numeracy for students at numerous post-secondary institutions across Canada.

In the Summer of 2020, Saskatchewan Polytechnic piloted the OCMT with about 200 students who were enrolled in their engineering and technology mathematics courses. The platform was introduced through Learning Services at the institution and integrated with the Learning Management System to provide students with single sign-on capabilities to access the platform.

The OCMT presented students with a diagnostic assessment that would help them identify their strengths and areas for improvement. Based on the results from the diagnostic assessment, students could upgrade their numeracy skills using interactive, voice-enabled modules. Upon completion of the modules, they could assess their progress through a comprehensive summative assessment.

The results of the pilot led to modications in the delivery of the platform to increase engagement and eectiveness. These included the ability for students to receive a certicate on successfully completing the OCMT. They were also awarded 5% marks in their respective courses on this achievement.

In the Fall of 2021, the OCMT was rolled out to a larger group of students enrolled in the engineering, technology, and trades mathematics courses. With periodic communication to incoming students from Learning Services, program heads, and math instructors, student usage on the platform increased signicantly. Additionally, data visualizations showed that once students were on the platform, many of them worked their way through all the upgrading modules and achieved high scores in the summative assessment. Student data on every topic area showed an overall increase in scores from the diagnostic to summative.

The success of these pilots have encouraged Saskatchewan Polytechnic to identify ways in which the OCMT can be made available to all students across the institution to raise the level of numeracy and prepare students for success in their math courses.

To learn more about how Saskatchewan Polytechnic is bridging the numeracy gap at their institution, feel free to reach out to their learning and assessment technology partners, Vretta, at [email protected]. For information on the OCMT, visit ocmt.mathsuccess.ca.

SOURCE Vretta Inc.
NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. ("Goodness" or the "Company") (OTCQX: GDNSF), in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by Verano Holdings Corp. ("Verano") (OTCQX: VRNOF). Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, each holder of Goodness subordinate voting shares will receive 0.22652 of a Verano Class A subordinate voting share (a "Verano Share") for each Goodness subordinate voting share held and each holder of Goodness multiple voting shares and Goodness super voting shares will receive 22.652 Verano Shares for each Goodness multiple voting share and Goodness super voting share held, respectively. The transaction is valued at approximately $413 million.

If you own Goodness 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/gdnsf

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) Goodness's board of directors acted in the best interests of Company shareholders in agreeing to the proposed transaction, (ii) the per-share merger consideration adequately compensates Goodness'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
ANNAPOLIS, Md., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Significance Inc. announces today the recent award of a contract to lift and shift from on-premises Hyperion Planning and Budgeting to Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Cloud for WAPA's primary budgeting system. This prime contract teams Significance with Huron to provide the DOE with the following key services:

Lift and shift from on-premises Hyperion Planning and Budgeting, to Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Cloud

Analysis, recommendations, and alternatives to modify application design to take advantage of EPM's expanded capability for integrations and allocations

Setup and configure EPM Cloud environment for items such as forms, workflow, security, calculations, dimensions, distributions, aggregations, and versions

Execution of unit testing, system integration testing, functional testing, and user acceptance testing

Migrate and populate budget formulation data to Oracle EPM Cloud

Creation of training documentation and training delivery to WAPA personnel

"Significance has been providing financial services to the federal government since our inception. This contract and opportunity to work with Huron to deliver this important capability to WAPA demonstrates our proven expertise and reflects our commitment to expanding the services we offer to our federal customers," said Mary Ahern Snyder, founder and President of Significance.

Significance has an extensive list of partners to support its many DoD clients but this contract represents its first contract with the DOE. The DOE's Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) mission is to market and deliver cost-based hydroelectric power and related services to millions of consumers in 15 western states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming). WAPA operates and maintains over 17,000 miles of transmission lines, more than 300 substations and other related facilities in a service area that covers 1.3 million square miles.

About Significance Inc.

Significance Inc. is designated an Economically-Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business with offices in Alexandria, VA and Annapolis, MD. Founded in 2014 by Mary Ahern Snyder, the company provides government consulting services in the areas of Financial Management & Audit Support; SAP; Business Systems; Program & Project Management; Advanced Analytics & Decision Support; Transformation & Strategy; and Systems Support Training. To learn more, visit www.significanceinc.com

SOURCE Significance Inc
Solidarity Microfinance, a non-profit program of Iowa Community Capital, creates economic opportunities through providing small business loans, training and support, and savings services. Recognizing that many Iowans face barriers in the success of their operations, including imperfect credit histories, language barriers, immigration status, and educational background, the program has served over 400 residents, resulting in over 1,400 issued loans.

This newest initiative builds on Bank of America's ongoing work in Iowa to address the underlying social issues individuals face to gain access to capital and reach economic success, particularly in communities of color, who have been disproportionately impacted by the current health crisis. The grant is also part of the bank's expanded $1.25 billion, five-year commitment to advance racial and ethnic equality, and create economic opportunity.

"Bank of America is devoted to helping build on the achievements of meaningful organizations who create real change in our communities and serve those who may otherwise not have adequate access to financial education and resources," said Heidi Parkhurst, President, Bank of America Iowa. "This grant will help provide the tools needed for those of all backgrounds who are seeking to start or grow their business."

The funding will be distributed to clients such as Monica Akuein of Des Moines, who owns and operates a local catering business, sharing the rich traditions of her Sudanese culture through food and celebration. When Akuein immigrated to Iowa in 1998, she saw the need for this type of service in the Des Moines metro and has since participated in various programs offered through Solidarity Microfinance to bring her love of cooking and hospitality to the community. While she says the COVID-19 pandemic has created unavoidable obstacles, her business has continued to build a reliable additional stream of income for her family, thanks in part to the assistance she has received.

"Solidarity Microfinance has given me several opportunities to build revenue from something which was previously only a hobby," says Akuein. "I cannot say enough positive things about how important it has been to have an approachable source who cares about my success as I continue to embrace my passions."

Additionally, both Juana Castellanos, owner of a small food business, and Azucena Trujillo, owner Sussy Bienestar y Salud, a nutrition and skin care business. Both entrepreneurs are located in Des Moines and started participating in programs offered by Solidarity Microfinance in 2015.

"After joining Solidarity Microfinance, I was able to buy more equipment, and my business grew by more than 60%," said Castellanos. "This grant from Bank of America will further help those in my position grow their businesses as well."

"I was given the opportunity to rent a location and grow my business because of this program," said Trujillo. "Not only have I been able to expand my education and receive a certificate to offer more services, but I have also gained valuable skills in business administration."

Solidarity Microfinance

Solidarity Microfinance provides a supportive and collaborative environment empowering low-income individuals to grow their small businesses and take the first steps toward creating a financially stable future for their families. We provide the tools to help people become small business owners through loans, training, and savings services. Our program and services are based on a high level of trust, respect, and integrity. Solidarity Microfinance is a program of Iowa Community Capital, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.

Bank of America

At Bank of America we're guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We're delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It's demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com , and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

For more Bank of America news (NYSE: BAC), including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for email alerts .

Reporters May Contact:

Bill Halldin, Bank of America

Phone: 1.916.718.1251

[email protected]

SOURCE Bank of America Corporation
DALLAS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today was named to FORTUNE's 2022 list of World's Most Admired Companies. The carrier is ranked at No. 28 and is also ranked No. 5 on the industry list. Southwest has been featured consistently on the World's Most Admired Companies list since 2009.

"What a wonderful tribute to the People of Southwest Airlines to be recognized with this prestigious honor, and especially in the midst of the challenges brought on by a global pandemic," said Bob Jordan, Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Airlines. "These past 23 months have been the most challenging time in our Company's history, but our People are the differencethey put their Heart into our business, our communities, and serving our Customers and it shows! My sincere thanks and deep gratitude go to each of themthey make it happen."

To create the list, FORTUNE collaborated with partner Korn Ferry to survey 15,000 senior executives, outside directors, and industry analysts to identify the companies that enjoy the strongest reputations within their industries and across industries. The World's Most Admired Companies are then rated on nine attributes. This year, 635 companies in 52 industries were surveyed.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. Celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2021, Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline1. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its more than 55,0002 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among as many as 130 million Customers carried a year. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years3 of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest continues to develop tangible steps toward an environmental sustainability goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, including offering an opportunity for Customers to contribute toward helping Southwest offset its carbon emissions. For more information, please visit Southwest.com/wannaoffsetcarbon. Learn more at Southwest.com/citizenship about how Southwest Airlines leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world.

1) U.S. Dept. of Transportation most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded

2) fulltime-equivalent active Employees

3) 1972-2019 annual profitability

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.
"We continue to find opportunities to develop Class A multi-family properties throughout the state of Texas, and we believe that this fund will allow our team to provide value for our qualified investors, as well as our business partners," said Charlie Amato, SWBC Chairman and Co-founder.

"Texas is one of the states that continues to experience record growth," said Gary Dudley, President and Co-founder of SWBC. "We are excited about offering a fund to certain qualified investors to help us capitalize on the opportunities that exist due to that growth."

SWBC RE FUND I will leverage SWBC Real Estate's experience in developing and selling multi-family properties within close proximity to one of the four major markets within the state  Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

"The real estate development team at SWBC Real Estate has a strong record," said John Tuohy, CEO of SWBC Investment Company. "They have operated in all market conditions, consistently producing high-quality housing solutions and delivering for investors along the way."

"SWBC Real Estate is excited about this partnership opportunity with SWBC Investment Company for this new real estate fund," says Stuart Smith, COO of SWBC Real Estate. "This partnership will allow SWBC Real Estate to focus on the assets that we develop and operate while allowing the investment team to focus on the investors. This structure is different from many other real estate funds as we will have our own in-house real estate group and the fund manager under the same corporate umbrella," says Smith. "We view this as an advantage for investors in many regards, as we will have our own private pool of capital for all suitable future developments and potential acquisitions."

U.S. persons that are accredited investors and otherwise meet the suitability requirements of SWBC RE FUND I and that are interested in learning more about SWBC RE FUND I, may contact John Tuohy, CEO of SWBC Investment Company at [email protected].

About SWBC

As a diversified financial services company, SWBC provides financial institutions, businesses, and individuals a wide range of services, including insurance, mortgages, wealth management, employee benefits, and more. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, SWBC has partners and divisions across all 50 states and manages business around the world. No matter how wide its reach, SWBC always listens to its customers' needs, analyzes their current situations, and recommends customized solutions. For more information about our approach to personalized service, visit SWBC's website at swbc.com.

This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities, including securities of SWBC RE FUND I. Offers to make an investment in a security in SWBC RE FUND I will only be made to certain qualified investors who meet the suitability requirements of SWBC RE FUND I (including the requirement to be an accredited investor) by delivery of a Confidential Private Placement Memorandum (as supplemented from time-to-time, the "Memorandum"), the Limited Partnership Agreement (as amended from time-to-time, the "Limited Partnership Agreement"), and a Subscription Booklet (which will require verification of status as an accredited investor and impose other suitability requirements). Past performance of SWBC Investment Company, SWBC Real Estate, or their affiliates is no guarantee of future results. Potential investors should read the Memorandum, the Limited Partnership Agreement, and Subscription Booklet of the fund carefully for information about the fund's investment strategy, risks of investing in SWBC RE FUND I, fees payable to SWBC Investment Company and its affiliates and other expenses that will be borne by investors. Investment in SWBC RE FUND I involves a high degree of risk, and any investor acquiring interests in SWBC RE FUND I must be able to bear the economic risk of loss of some or all of their investment. A potential investor should consult the Memorandum for a discussion of the principal risks and conflicts in connection with an investment in SWBC RE FUND I and should consult with its own investment, tax, and/or legal professionals about the merits of such investment. SWBC Investment Company does not make any representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information presented in this release. Any financial information or projections are as of 1/1/2022, may be initial estimates, and may be subject to change without notice to recipient. Value consists of disposed of assets, as well as the current internal valuation of currently held assets as of 1/1/2022. An independent third party may not have reviewed the values and they may be internal projections. Securities offered through SWBC Investment Services, LLC, a registered broker/dealer. Member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services offered through SWBC Investment Company, a Registered Investment Advisor.

SOURCE SWBC
PARIS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TEHTRIS, global leader in the automatic neutralisation of cyberthreats and publisher of the leading European platform, XDR (eXtended Detection and Response), is going to open subsidiaries in Spain and Germany this year and has new European partnerships, already active in Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

TEHTRIS will have recruited 160 people in 2021 and posted double-digit revenue growth after raising a record 20 million Series A funding in 2020.

In 2022, TEHTRIS would like to recruit 200 people to support European businesses and administrations in their technological arms race, with the aim of protecting a cybersphere that has become a complex combat zone.

TEHTRIS is therefore announcing the opening of its new offices in Germany and Spain, with the recruitment of local teams in each of these countries to develop the implementation of this unique technology in Europe.

In parallel, TEHTRIS technologies continue to be deployed, chosen and supported by the company's European partners, notably Capgemini, Orange CyberDefense, Nomios, Expleo Group, Sopra Steria, Post (Luxembourg), Approach (Belgium) and Eyra Group (Switzerland).

Neutralise cyberattacks, without human action: Sovereign by nature, Security & Ethics by Design.

According to the ANSSI, the number of ransomware attacks in France increased by 255% in 2021, mainly in the health and education sectors.

To counter this complex threat, French companies and public services need to hyper-automate detection tasks in order to concentrate their security teams on high added value missions.

In this context, TEHTRIS has developed TEHTRIS XDR Platform, the first XDR solution designed in Europe and the only one in the world to be coded natively. Detection, analysis and neutralisation of ransomware, cyberattacks and unusual or malicious behaviour is anticipated and performed autonomously and instantaneously for both known and new threats without human action (no click required). It is the most open platform to market solutions via its APIs.

TEHTRIS XDR Platform is by nature a sovereign platform. Protecting the files and data of its international clients without reading their content, it is developed and hosted in France and in Europe. Through its collaboration with OVHCloud's Open Trusted Cloud, TEHTRIS offers solutions hosted on a sovereign cloud.

TEHTRIS XDR Platform is already used across the world by international groups, public services (ministries, local collectivities...) and has been awarded the Cybersecurity Made in Europe label. TEHTRIS is also the only publisher in the European Union that is recognised by Gartner as a representative XDR supplier in the Market Guide for Extended Detection and Response 2021.

"Our international development strategy is based on our holistic and hyper-automated solution: the TEHTRIS XDR Platform. This solution enables organisations to fight against cyberespionage automatically to deal with unknown threats, whilst preserving their Digital Sovereignty," comments Elena Poincet, co-founder and CEO of TEHTRIS.

Beyond Europe, TEHTRIS continues to expand with the installation of teams in Vancouver and Singapore, thereby completing its publisher support offer in all time zones.

About TEHTRIS

TEHTRIS is a world leader in the automated, non-human neutralisation of cyberattacks with the TEHTRIS XDR Platform. With its "Security & Ethics by design" engineering, this solution provides cybersecurity specialists with data confidentiality. Thanks to its technology, TEHTRIS positions itself as a European trusted third party. With its international partners, TEHTRIS XDR Platform monitors, analyses, detects and neutralises threats in over 100 countries for key players in industry, transport, engineering and public services and administrations. By constantly monitoring cybercrime and listening to our clients, we strive to reduce the risks as much as possible, in order to deal with the unexpected.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1739001/TEHTRIS_Logo.jpg

Press contacts:

AxiCom

[email protected]

Ingrid Sollner

[email protected]

SOURCE TEHTRIS
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cost-effective and circular energy storage is needed to utilize renewable energy and move away from fossil fuels. Markets like California have reached the end of the road; it is not possible to add more wind and solar power to California without adding an energy storage solution. TEXEL and the Port of Los Angeles based innovation hub, AltaSea, have teamed up to demonstrate TEXEL's long duration energy storage technology in Los Angeles.

TEXEL energy storage battery technology was named "the success story beyond lithium-Ion batteries" at the energy storage summit at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Silicon Valley by innovation X-Labs. In a report produced by Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and Department of Energy (DOE); it stated that the TEXEL technology will potentially become more than 90% more cost effective than Lithium-Ion in large scale and long duration energy storage solutions.

AltaSea, at the Port of Los Angeles was founded with the primary purpose of accelerating scientific collaboration, advancing an emerging blue economy through business innovation and job creation. On 30th January 2022, AltaSea signed an agreement with TEXEL Energy Storage to demonstrate a large new scale energy storage/battery technology with the purpose to cover three different important market segments.

"We are happy and proud to announce the collaboration with AltaSea, as our joint mission is to find technology solutions to replace the usage of fossil fuels, decrease CO2 and by doing so prevent further global warming. This is an urgent matter, and we need to bring solutions to the market now, not tomorrow," said Lars Jacobsson, founder and CEO of TEXEL Energy Storage.

TEXEL and AltaSea will work together to bring in commercial stakeholders, such as utilities, to demonstrate the long duration energy storage solution. The aim is to demonstrate TEXEL's technology in three consecutive steps, where each step has a specific role in the future energy market.

TEXEL Gen I - Electric Only  The large volume electric grid market will grow as increasing industrial volumes cut energy storage unit cost. Segment constitutes large buyers of storage solutions customers ranging from energy companies to local and state governments. This market size is estimated at a minimum of $4 trillion .

. TEXEL Gen II - Combined Heat & Power (CHP)  Industry and residential buildings is another enormous market segment with many mid-sized and large customers reachable through retail or similar distribution channels. The system will create the opportunity to create independence behind the meter for American households.

TEXEL Gen III - CHP Hybrid  Microgrids, covering critical buildings such as hospitals and fire stations and the automotive industry, ranging from cars, trucks, heavy work machines, buses, ferries and other vessels. This market segment is sometimes referred to as the "optimal solution", with an included power backup system.

"One of our research and commercialization clusters is focused on renewable energy from waves, offshore wind, and other ocean-related sources, so finding new ways to store and use that energy efficiently is a key goal for AltaSea," said Terry Tamminen, President/CEO of AltaSea. "As our state and the world experience the growing challenges of climate change and other natural disasters, we urgently need innovation in energy storage that makes us more self-reliant and resilient, such as the TEXEL technology."

"TEXEL and AltaSea look forward to a fruitful cooperation as they progress to bring TEXEL's new long-duration energy storage technology to the market. We are now engaging in discussions with other partners across California to deliver this exciting solution," added Jacobsson.

CONTACT:

Daniel Wilke

Head of PR

[email protected]

+46736329827

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/texel-energy-storage/r/texel-and-altasea-to-bring-urgently-needed-new-energy-storage-technology-to-the-california-market,c3496697

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE TEXEL Energy Storage
"Alternative citizenship gives you all the freedom of traveling visa-free to a lot more places. Apart from this, investing in real estate and setting up a business without much hassle acts as the extra icing, if Caribbean citizenship by investment is their choice," says CEO CTrustGlobal.

"If you are someone who is not dependent on a Job and is Independently Wealthy with an interest in Travel and Business investments, "Investment migration" is Your best way out," says CTrustGlobal CEO.

Most countries have citizenship by investment Program - all that differs is the time and price to secure it. One must go through all the research and base their decision according to the requirements and budget.

Where are the wealthy moving these days?

"Without a doubt, it's the Caribbean islands - Caribbean passports that offer visa-free travel to nearly 140 to 160 countries," says the CEO, CTrustGlobal.

Let's look at the secrets that make this region so attractive.

A Strong Economic Bounce-Back

The Caribbean is a tourist-dependent region. It remains one of the most prominent destinations in the world. And yet, it's situated in the eye of the storm.

Hurricanes have passed through with high frequency and intensity. Some of them are utterly destructive for tourist operators. But many have adapted to the bitterness of rising again from the ashes.

COVID-19 impact may have been even greater to these regions. It struggled with border closures, flight cancellations, and a near-fall of the cruise-ship market. The human impact of the virus affected tens of thousands.

A report by the Caribbean Tourism Organization shows a drop in tourism arrivals in 2020 in comparison to 2019. The decline was estimated to be at 65%, the biggest in the region.

Despite these challenges, more and more HNWIs are eyeing the region. It makes one wonder what secret lies here. One of the reasons is the region's quick adjustment to situations.

Experts indicate that Caribbean countries were quicker to implement measures for the pandemic. Tourists returned faster compared to other destinations. It outperformed many other parts of the world, which experienced even steeper drops.

Such a strong economy would attract different investors. It's one of the reasons why HNWIs come here.

The Caribbean enjoys some of the highest levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) globally. Many of its economies have FDI to GDP ratios above 10%.

Although the 2008 financial crisis greatly reduced its FDI flow, the region has witnessed a considerable recovery recently. It's still one of the significant economic destinations around.

The Best CBI Programs

Citizen-by-Investment is the process of obtaining a second citizenship and passport through investment. One can buy a property in a host country to acquire citizenship. It's a much faster way of becoming a citizen than the traditional immigration method.

The investor does not need to visit or reside in the host country. CBI is the best way for HNWIs to invest in other opportunities globally.

An applicant can have approval roughly within three months. They will receive permanent citizenship, a valid passport, and visa-free travel, among other benefits.

This is what investors from third-world and developing countries look for. It's no longer just a luxury, but rather a necessity.

Let's look at the two countries that have the highest number of investments in the Caribbean:

India

A press release the Business Standard mentions a rise in the number of Indian HNWIs investing in the Caribbean. They are looking for a better way of diversifying their wealth.

This country faces uncertainties around the healthcare industry, primarily influenced by the pandemic. Also, essential tax rules are affecting their investments. Affluent Indians are therefore looking for a better life for their families and more stable financial assets.

CTrustGlobal reports a sharp increase in the Indian upper class investing in other countries. India has close to 7,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals and over 100 billionaires.

The Global Wealth Migration Review report indicates that close to 5000 millionaires migrated abroad in 2020 alone. A larger percentage of them ended up in the Caribbean.

The Indian government has created flexible policies that allow HNWIs to invest abroad in the past few years. This has allowed them to get citizenship in these countries.

Caribbean countries offer the best CBI programs for Indians. It's no wonder the Indian community is growing steadily. More and more affluent Indians are coming here for business and wealth diversification and a better life for their families.

Nigeria

Despite having vast resources, the Nigerian HNWIs community faces too many global travel restrictions by the Nigerian passport. It grants visa-free access to only 54 destinations, which already includes other African nations.

This is a very small number compared to her neighbors like Ghana, Cameroon, and Cote d'Ivoire. Passports from these countries grant access to other high-end destinations like Europe and the USA.

Investing in Dominica citizenship is the best move. Pairing the Nigerian passport with a Caribbean passport opens doors to more than 150 more destinations globally. This includes the UK, the USA, Russia, and China, which are considered to be economic superpowers.

The CBI process is quick and straightforward. The process will take about three months to complete. Once done, the individual enjoys a wide range of benefits, including expanded visa-free travel to over 200 countries.

Also, investing in the Caribbean passport opens access to tax exemptions from different incomes, gifts, inheritance and wealth, and the best educational institutions. It's a great opportunity for any African investor looking for easy access to the global economy.

Other Reasons

There are several other reasons why the Caribbean has become a favorite destination for HNWIs. Consider the following:

A safe environment

The stable economic development of this region makes it an excellent place for investment. The entire region has been enjoying steady economic growth of about 5% per year, majorly from tourism.

Flexible tax policy

Caribbean countries like Grenada don't impose a foreign income tax, property tax, gift tax, wealth, or inheritance tax on investors. They offer corporate tax incentives to attract more investors, exempting all import taxes too. Also, there is no limit to the flow of capital and profits back home. These are attractive offers for HNWIs investors.

Excellent quality of life

The Caribbean CBI program allows investors to own dual nationality. With this comes the lowest-paid family costs in places like Grenada and Dominica. One can also migrate to the USA using the E2 visa, which allows them to establish, advance, and operate businesses. Besides, their spouse will have the rights to work, and the children can attend the school of their choice.

Final Thought

Investing in the Caribbean CBI is an excellent move for HNWIs who needs access to better business opportunities. The use of FDI promotion policies is more extensive and prevalent here than any other place. It's evidence of stable economic growth. With such a welcoming environment, there is no questions why it is so attractive to investors.

SOURCE ctrustglobal.com
BERWYN, Pa., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Triumph Group (NYSE:TGI) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Stuart, Florida Aerostructures business to Daher Aerospace. The sale includes the Stuart, Florida business and the transfer of Stuart employees.

"Upon closing of the sale of the Stuart operation, Triumph will have exited its structures business and is moving forward as a leading, pure-play provider of systems and aftermarket services," said Daniel Crowley, Triumph's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited to partner with Daher who will benefit from the Stuart site's experienced workforce, significant capabilities, and strong customer relationships."

The Stuart operation specializes in the assembly of large, complex metallic structures such as wing and fuselage assemblies, and has approximately 400 employees. Since 2016, Triumph divested 16 non-core businesses, including the Stuart business addressed in today's announcement, as part of its transformation efforts to enhance shareholder value and position the company for long-term success.

This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first half of the calendar year. Lazard acted as exclusive financial advisor to Triumph on the transaction.

About Triumph Group:

Triumph Group, Inc., headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, designs, engineers, manufactures, repairs, and overhauls a broad portfolio of aerospace and defense systems, components and structures. The company serves the global aviation industry, including original equipment manufacturers and the full spectrum of military and commercial aircraft operators.

More information about Triumph can be found on the company's website at http://www.triumphgroup.com.

SOURCE Triumph Group
NEW YORK and INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and UNICEF have today announced a new collaboration to help improve health outcomes for 10 million children and adolescents living with chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through 2025.

Lilly has committed $14.4 million in support of UNICEF's lifesaving work to address NCD risk factors, strengthen health systems, and enhance the ability of health care workers to care for patients in Bangladesh, Malawi, Nepal, the Philippines and Zimbabwe1. The countries were selected based on the diversity of geography and the potential to strengthen country-level health systems and models that provide care and support for children and adolescents with chronic conditions.

Based on data from the Global Burden of Disease Study, every year nearly one million people under the age of 20 die from often treatable non-communicable diseases, including type 1 diabetes, cancer, congenital and rheumatic heart disease, sickle cell disease and asthma. These deaths account for 15 percent of overall mortality for this age group.

"No child should die from a treatable disease because of inadequate care or treatment. Non-communicable diseases undermine a child's right to health, nutrition, education and play," said Karin Hulshof, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF. "We are grateful to Lilly for this collaboration to help strengthen health care systems children rely on and ensure health care workers are well-equipped and confident in providing care and treatment to children living with chronic conditions."

This four-year commitment reflects the respective efforts of Lilly and UNICEF to work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

"UNICEF's relentless work to reach disadvantaged children, combined with Lilly's experience and deep commitment to bettering people's lives and society, serve as the foundation of this collaborative effort," said David A. Ricks, chair and CEO of Lilly. "This critical, lifesaving work by UNICEF is aligned to the Lilly 30x30 initiative to provide improved access to quality health care for 30 million people in resource-limited settings, annually, by 2030."

Interventions in the five countries will include strengthening data and health information systems for NCDs; establishing and strengthening prevention, care and treatment of NCDs within primary health care and referral facilities (e.g., capacity building of local health care providers including training, mentorship, remote patient monitoring, etc.); and capacity building of service providers for the screening and improved management and treatment of NCDs.

About Lilly 30x30

Through investments in people, medicines and health systems, we aim to improve access to quality health care for 30 million people living in limited resource settings annually by 2030. We call this global effort Lilly 30x30. To achieve our goal, we have structured Lilly 30x30 as a company-wide effort in strategic collaboration with valued external partners. Lilly 30x30 initiatives include activities across three areas of impact: pipeline, programs and partnerships. In each of these areas, we are leading cross-functional teams to develop high-impact, scalable projects and solutions.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global health care leader that unites caring with discovery to create medicines that make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at lilly.com and lilly.com/news .

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook

UNICEF's work is funded entirely through the voluntary support of millions of people around the world and our partners in government, civil society and the private sector.

UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product or service.

This press release contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). For further discussion of risks and uncertainties of the company, see Lilly's most recent respective Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Lilly undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release.

For more information, please contact Carrie Munk, [email protected] , or Sohini Roychowdhury, [email protected] .

1 Donations from Lilly will go directly to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the tax-exempt organization that supports UNICEF's global work.

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company
California has the highest Asian population in the United States, and many patients will feel more welcome communicating in their native language. Visiting a hospital can be intimidating, even more so when communicating in a second language.

"With the critical shortage of nurses and frontline workers, our Univaleo team is capable of filling immediate staffing needs in California and across the country," states Univaleo owner Mika Kugawa. "Our current job opportunities include medical receptionist, nurses, medical assistant, dental assistant, dental hygienist, physician assistant, home health aide, caregiver and physicians." Univaleo also provides expert advice and guidance for new workers coming to the U.S. including Visa consulting and support.

Univaleo's parent company in Japan is Hoken Kagaku which was established in 1955 in Yokohama. With over 2,000 employees, Hoken Kagaku was the first clinical lab in Japan and is a widely respected medical company and medical staffing agency across Asia.

https://hokenkagaku.wixsite.com/corporateinfo

Book a complimentary screening today at (424) 457-2853 or email [email protected]

Univaleo, Inc. is located at 9701 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1105 in Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Follow us on Facebook and Linkedin @univaleo

SOURCE Univaleo, Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - International Battery Metals Ltd. (the "Company") (CSE: IBAT) (OTC: IBATF) (FSE: 8RE) the Company announced today that it has received notification that its patent Number 11,229,880, titled "MODULAR EXTRACTION APPARATUS" has been issued by the United States Patent Office. This is a key patent that covers the Company's Mobile Extraction Plant which is currently in the final stages of fabrication. The Company continues to file and prosecute additional patents to reinforce and protect its proprietary technology.

Dr. John Burba stated that "this patent issuance is a major milestone for the Company. It provides intellectual property protection for our mobile extraction technology."

IBAT began construction of its first Mobile Extraction Plant in April 2021. Completion is expected in February, 10 months from the beginning of construction. This plant is designed to produce between 2500 and 5000 MT/yr LCE depending on the lithium concentration of the ultimate feed brine. IBAT's licensee and partner in Chile and Argentina, Ensorcia Metals Corporation and its affiliate Sorcia Minerals LLC are currently determining which of its salars will host the plant.

Factory acceptance testing is expected to begin in March at a facility in Lake Charles, La. This will be followed by extensive testing of key performance and environmental protection aspects of the plant design.

As part of this testing, the company plans to extract lithium chloride from large volumes of brines that will be shipped to Lake Charles from Texas and Argentina. Due to the limitations associated with brine transportation, the company will operate at less than 10% of the design capacity. However, this will be sufficient to demonstrate basic performance parameters of the equipment. Dr. Burba stated that "we plan to operate at brine flow rates of around 24,000 gallons per day. This is only about 8% of the plant's total capacity. However, it will be sufficient for us to test certain design criteria and to demonstrate the efficiencies of the plant's lithium chloride extraction and water recycle operations.

During the testing process, adjustments and refinements will be made to fine tune the unit. The equipment will then be shipped to its destination in South America. We anticipate that the equipment will be producing commercial quantities of LiCl this year.

IBAT is an advanced technology company focused on the extraction of lithium chloride from a wide variety of brine resources and the production of high purity lithium carbonate and hydroxide.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Dr. John Burba"

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Forward  looking and cautionary statements

This press 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 securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein 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 registration requirements. This release may contain statements within the meaning of safe harbour provisions as defined under securities laws and regulations.

This release may contain certain forwardlooking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of the Company and certain of the plans and objectives of the Company with respect to the same. There is no assurance that the company's apparatus will be able to commercially produce lithium at the stated capacity. The purpose of the tests is to determine if it will be able to do so and successful completion of the tests cannot be assured as they are subject to risks and uncertainties associated with any new mineral processing method and characteristics of the material being processed.

By their nature, forwardlooking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forwardlooking statements.

SOURCE International Battery Metals Ltd.
Adoption of supportive initiatives, policies, and programs by the government authorities & public organizations to improve the access to affordable vision care is anticipated to drive the market size during the estimation timeframe. For instance, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness launched VISION 2020 to accelerate the prevention of blindness activities. The program included the World Sight Day, an initiative that helps in promoting awareness regarding blindness and vision impairment. This initiative also urged several governments to increase the funding for prevention of blindness and eye care programs. Numerous developed nations assisted developing economies through eye care NGOs and corporations from different countries. Thus, the adoption of supportive initiatives by government authorities and public organizations is expected to fuel the business growth.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/3417

The vitrectomy probes segment is anticipated to surpass USD 121 million by 2028 growing at a CAGR of over 3%. This segment share is growing significantly owing to subsequent technological advancements in vitrectomy probes. Novel vitrectomy probe designs and technology have enabled duty cycle performances of around 100% and enhanced flow control. The miniaturization of these equipment, leading to smaller vitrectomy diameter that offers clinical advantage as it can be positioned in the narrow spaces, enables the membrane dissection and facilitates the vitrectomy procedure.

Some major findings of the vitreoretinal surgery devices market report include:

Government initiatives and funding to improve vision care is further expected to amplify the market demand.

Some of the major industry players operating in the vitreoretinal surgery devices industry include Alcon, Inc., Bausch & Lomb, Inc., OCULUS Optikgerate GmbH, MedOne Surgical, Inc., Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Designs for Vision, Inc., Peregrine Surgical, and D.O.R.C. Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center (International) B.V. among others.

Competitors are emphasizing strategic activities such as product launches, partnerships, and geographical expansion to gain significant revenue share and cater to larger customer base.

Browse key industry insights spread across 100 pages with 128 market data tables & 12 figures & charts from the report, "Vitreoretinal Surgery Devices Market Statistics By Product (Photocoagulation Lasers, Illumination Devices, Vitreoretinal Packs, Vitrectomy Machines, Vitrectomy Probes), End-use (Hospitals, Specialty Clinics, Ambulatory Surgery Centers), COVID-19 Impact Analysis, Regional Outlook, Application Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2022  2028" in detail along with the table of contents:

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/vitreoretinal-surgery-devices-market

Vitreoretinal surgery devices market from specialty clinics segment exceeded USD 531 million in 2021. This notable segmental revenue is primarily attributed to access to extraordinary expertise and specialized care. Enhanced functional independence, improved clinical outcomes, minimal surgical complications, and advanced technical resources offered by specialty clinics increases the preference for vitreoretinal procedures performed at these facilities. Many specialty clinics concentrate on delivering the best care path and offer efficient approach to conduct vitreoretinal surgeries. The surging demand for eye care services pertaining to an upsurge in the target population is projected to drive the demand and preference for vitreoretinal surgery devices in specialty clinics.

China dominated the Asia Pacific vitreoretinal surgery devices market in 2021 and is expected to reach over USD 240 million by 2028. This high market share is primarily attributed to rising prevalence of eye disorders and adoption of facilitative initiatives by the governing authorities in the country. According to the Lancet Public Health Journal, the eye-related conditions such as uncorrected refractive error, cataract, and macular degeneration leading to vision impairment surged exponentially in China. From 1990 to 2019, the number of people affected with moderate vision impairment surged by 133%, people suffering from severe vision impairment rose by 147%, and those suffering from blindness surged by 64%. In order to curb the spread of these diseases and promote awareness regarding eye care to prevent these diseases, the Chinese government adoption supportive initiatives.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission of China proposed a 5-year National Plan for Eye Health. The plan aims for the facilitation of optical and optometric services in China, further concentrating on refractive error in children. This initiative also plans to limit and treat eye disorders such as refractive error, diabetic eye disease, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and low vision. Thus, the high target population base in China and adoption of facilitative initiatives by the government is anticipated to propel the regional market statistics.

Browse the Toc of this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/vitreoretinal-surgery-devices-market

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:

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Corporate Sales, USA

Global Market Insights Inc.

Phone: 1-302-846-7766

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Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Global Market Insights Inc.
Co-initiated by Wire as part of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Working Group which includes members from Cisco, Mozilla, Google, Facebook, Twitter, the University of Oxford and INRIA, MLS is a new protocol designed to bolster the security of enterprise messaging platforms by using end-to-end encryption within group communication.

Driven by the lack of an open standard for end-to-end encryption, the MLS protocol aims to make secure messaging in (large) groups more efficient. It addresses the fact that while personal messaging systems are increasingly adopting end-to-end encryption, corporate messaging has been slow to follow. MLS is on track to become the premiere open standard for secure and efficient collaboration for businesses, governments, and the wider public.

MLS allows users to communicate across devices, within the cloud, while offering maximum fluidity, as it exists within a federated environment, with no central cloud needed for its implementation. This opens up the possibility of using multiple devices in a secure environment, relying fully on an open standard, something that many business or government employees have been doing for some time in insecure environments.

Another important feature of MLS is scalability, something that Wire is demonstrating in the latest release of its conferencing solution. Wire now supports voice and video calls for up to 100 people, fully end-to-end-encrypted, from every single call to every single message. This is a major milestone in video conferencing and it is the first of its kind for such a large number of users, something which has been made possible through a new way of handling and exchanging encryption keys, powered by MLS.

Alan Duric, COO/CTO & Co-Founder at Wire says: "This is a major milestone for Wire and also for me personally. I believe that MLS will revolutionize the way we communicate, as security will no longer have to be a concern when choosing a communication tool. Wire is starting to take the MLS protocol outside of the IETF working group and make it available for its thousands of global customers in a federated environment. We will be using the new standard to help continuously improve our platform and the way we enable businesses and governments to collaborate and communicate securely and confidentially."

Wire is committed to helping organizations - especially governments and highly targeted critical industries - fight the rising cost of cybercrime, which is estimated at over $10.5 trillion annually. The platform's secure infrastructure neutralises the threat of 'man-in-the-middle' attacks, attempts to steal sensitive data, and its enhanced conferencing capability will continue to prevent video conferencing-based attacks, which have been rife throughout the global pandemic. Wire has over 1,800 government and enterprise customers worldwide, including the German federal administration , which Wire works with to ensure that Federal authorities can use modern messaging solutions. Wire has also received a preliminarily approval for VS-NfD by the BSI and currently undergoes an evaluation for an VS-NfD approval. Additional clients of Wire include five of the world's G7 governments as well as large enterprise customers such as Blackrock, Softbank Robotics, EY and UNICEF.

You can find more information on MLS here .

About Wire

Wire is the most secure collaboration platform, transforming the way businesses communicate at the same speed that our founders disrupted telephony with Skype. Headquartered in Berlin with offices in Switzerland and San Francisco, Wire's award-winning collaboration and communications platform counts over 1,800 enterprise customers worldwide. Recognized by IDC, Forrester, and Gartner as one of the most secure collaboration platforms, Wire offers messaging, audio and video conferencing, file-sharing, and external collaboration - all protected by the most advanced end-to-end encryption.

For more information, please visit: wire.com

Contact: Leila Iranmanesh, +41 78 212 02 21

SOURCE Wire
ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Withings , the leader in at-home connected health, today announces the acquisition of 8fit , a worldwide health, fitness, and wellness app with more than 40 million downloads. Available in 6 languages, 8fit offers efficient workouts, customized meal plans, and self-care guidance to users. Its capabilities further strengthen Withings' ongoing strategy to develop personalized programs that combine sophisticated data with actionable insights that empower users to modify behavior. The company intends to invest more than $30 million in the next three years to accelerate the development of this personalized support.

This news follows last month's announcement of the acquisition of Impeto Medical, a specialist in R&D, manufacturing, and distribution of innovative medical devices for physicians. Both are part of the company's ongoing investment to improve health through data from innovative connected health devices coupled with insightful expert advice based on behavioral science.

In the context of rising health concerns worldwide, users' expectations and behavior have shifted towards a need for even more personalized support, through digital solutions such as health & wellbeing apps: acquiring 8fit is the first step in Withings' ambition to provide value-added support to users.

"In recent years, users have shown a growing need for solutions to help them (re)gain control over their health. Not only do people seek to understand their health by monitoring key health metrics, they also need to be supported, engaged and motivated throughout their journey to better health. We now feel it's key to enter the era of the "product-service-data", combining personal health data with personalised wellness plans, and further deliver on our mission to empower anyone to be healthier in the long-run. With the acquisition of 8fit, we are well placed to deliver a strategy that combines elegantly designed health devices, enhanced health data and experienced advice that is simple to adopt and designed specifically for our customers. " said Mathieu Letombe, CEO of Withings.

Withings integrates 8fit into its health offering to strengthen personalized wellness capabilities

Launched in 2014, 8fit promotes healthy lifestyles by providing personalized nutrition, physical activity, and mindfulness programs that address all aspects of its users' health to help them achieve their goals. The app offers thousands of supervised and customizable workouts such as HIIT, boxing, Pilates, yoga or meditation, and hundreds of balanced, healthy, and easy-to-prepare recipes. Like Withings, 8fit puts the user's health at the center of its personalized plans. Far from being a sports performance app, 8fit shares with Withings a vision focused on long-term health.

"From the services we offer, it's clear that Withings and 8fit are aligned to help users achieve their health goals. We are excited to combine Withings' expertise in connected health devices that collect accurate, quality data with our fitness and nutrition plans. Together, we will provide our users with a more holistic health offering to help them lead healthier, happier lives," said Lisette Fabian, CEO of 8fit.

Device and Advice

Since introducing the worlds' first connected scale in 2009, Withings has continually innovated and built the largest connected health ecosystem in the market, comprised of smart scales, blood pressure monitors, smartwatches, sleep monitors, and thermometers. Its devices capture 20 vital health parameters such as blood pressure, ECG, weight, heart rate, activity levels, and sleep patterns to help people achieve health goals and detect changes in their health status.

Withings' easy-to-use and non-invasive devices offer best in class health metrics that support a longitudinal understanding of holistic health. On average, Withings' scales users weigh themselves every 3 days, suggesting strong engagement already with the device. When combined with behavior change nudges, users will be supported and motivated to make behavioral and lifestyle changes that improve outcomes.

The move to pair personalized health insights with Withings health data was first announced at CES 2022, with the unveiling of Body Scan, a sophisticated health station with the ability to monitor segmental body composition, assess nerve activity and assess heart rhythm using a 6-lead ECG. Going beyond weight management, when launched in H2, 2022 Body Scan will also come with in-app access to personalized, holistic plans encompassing sleep, physical exercise, nutrition, and stress reduction, as well as clinical specialists for those who require more support.

About Withings

Established in 2008, Withings , is a world leader in connected health technology. Its team of engineers, data scientists, and healthcare professionals have enthused every day, elegant lifestyle objects with medical and wellness capabilities to efficiently track health vitals. Its range of in-home devices can monitor more than 20 health parameters and are used daily by millions of people worldwide. Its portfolio of devices includes connected scales, hybrid watches, smart thermometers, blood pressure monitors, and sleep trackers to empower individuals to take control of their health and track medical and wellness data.

About 8fit

Launched in 2014, 8fit simplifies healthy living by providing tailored guidance in one easy app. 8fit provides thousands of guided, customizable workouts that can be done anywhere, and hundreds of, healthy, easy to make recipes curated into a customizable plan. Based in Berlin, 8fit is a global leader in the health & fitness space with over 40million downloads.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Withings
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodruff Sawyer, one of the largest independent insurance brokerages in the US, today announced Keeley Sidow has joined the firm as Cyber Practice Director. Prior to joining Woodruff Sawyer, Keeley served nine years at Aon, where most recently, she led the cyber practice for the Western region.

As the Cyber Practice Director, Keeley will continue to build upon Woodruff Sawyer's expertise in cyber liability, an increasingly vital line of insurance, manage a dedicated team of cyber insurance experts and support the growth of the cyber liability practice at Woodruff Sawyer. She will be based in the San Francisco office.

Sidow says, "I joined the team at Woodruff Sawyer because it's always been a fierce competitor and I was impressed with their deep expertise in cyber, which enables the delivery of unique client solutions. Combined with the team's camaraderie, collaboration and excellent client first service, I'm really looking forward to digging in and being a part of the growth of our cyber practice."

Dan Burke, Woodruff Sawyer Senior Vice President and National Cyber Practice Leader adds, "Keeley is a true expert in cyber risk and brings phenomenal experience to the Woodruff Sawyer team. We've long recognized her ability to provide creative solutions to clients, her dedication to service and willingness to tackle any challenge - skills that are a necessity in today's difficult cyber insurance market. We are thrilled to have her join us at Woodruff Sawyer and look forward to the positive impact she will bring our clients."

About Woodruff Sawyer

As one of the largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the US, Woodruff Sawyer protects the people and assets of more than 4,000 companies. We provide expert counsel and fierce advocacy to protect clients against their most critical risks in property & casualty, management liability, cyber liability, employee benefits, and personal wealth management. An active partner of Assurex Global and International Benefits Network, we provide expertise and customized solutions where clients need it, with headquarters in San Francisco, offices throughout the US, and global reach on six continents. For more information, call 844.972.6326, or visit woodruffsawyer.com.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Woodruff Sawyer
DUBLIN, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Health Insurance Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global health insurance market reached a value of US$ 1,590 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 2426.6 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.2% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, they are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor



Health insurance protects an insured individual against financial losses arising due to a medical emergency. It covers medical treatment expenditures, such as ambulance charges, doctor consultation fees, and hospitalization, medicines and daycare procedures costs. The payout is generally either made on actual expenses incurred in the hospital using original medical bills or diagnosis of diseases without submitting bills. Health insurance also provides easy access to medical treatment with a cashless facility at network hospitals of the insurer. Apart from this, health insurance also provided tax benefits for a vast array of medical conditions. Nowadays, various health insurance companies are offering coverage for domiciliary treatment, wherein medical supervision is provided at home for specific diseases



The increasing costs of healthcare services, in confluence with the growing prevalence of diabetes, cancer, stroke and kidney failure, represent one of the key factors escalating the demand for health insurance worldwide. Moreover, governing agencies of several countries are making it necessary for employers to provide health insurance to their employees. These agencies are also enforcing laws that mandate international health insurance for tourists. Apart from this, the rising geriatric population is promoting the adoption of government health insurance programs or schemes offered at low premium rates. Furthermore, growing health awareness and improving healthcare infrastructure are other factors bolstering the market growth. Besides this, various companies are providing cover for medical expenses incurred during the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). They are also focusing on digitizing claim processing and policy management, which is anticipated to influence the market positively in the coming years



The market is further driven by the widespread adoption of social media for the promotion of health insurance products by various players. Social media platforms provide them with a diverse customer reach, which is anticipated to provide numerous growth opportunities for the players. Additionally, digitizing various processes in the health insurance market also aids customers in comparing multiple plans offered by numerous vendors. This enables transparent communication between the insurers and companies and provides effective disclosure of pertinent information to ultimately help the individuals make an informed decision, thereby creating a positive outlook for the market



The rising integration of health insurance with Big Data analytics aids insurance companies in diversifying their models and strategies in an attempt to recognize the ever-evolving consumer demand. The escalating deployment of predictive analysis and scenario-based modeling in the market also enables the companies to devise customized solutions for their clientele at varied pricing options.

Also, the rising adoption of cloud-based services and the increasing penetration of high-speed internet connection across the globe has facilitated real-time consultations with experienced industry experts who can help provide insightful recommendations to the customers. This rapid outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent mandatory lockdowns imposed by the governments of numerous countries have provided an impetus to the demand for online insurance consultations across the globe.

Some of the other factors contributing to the market growth include the widespread preference for family floater health insurance among the masses, increasing penetration of healthcare services and health insurance in the rural sections of the developing economies, and the introduction of policies that offer the benefit of free annual/bi-annual check-ups with additional customization at low premium rates



Key Market Segmentation:

The publisher provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global health insurance market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2022-2027. Our report has categorized the market based on provider, type, plan type, demographics and provider type



Breakup by Provider:

Private Providers

Public Providers

At present, private providers dominate the market globally, accounting for the majority of the total market



Breakup by Type:

Life-Time Coverage

Term Insurance

Among these, life-time health insurance holds the largest market share



Breakup by Plan Type:

Medical Insurance

Critical Illness Insurance

Family Floater Health Insurance

Others

Medical insurance represents the leading plan type in the market



Breakup by Demographics:

Minor

Adults

Senior Citizen

Adults represent the leading demographics segment, account for the largest market share



Breakup by Provider Type:

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)

Point of Service (POS)

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)

Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPOs)

In 2021, PPOs represented the largest provider type in the market



Breakup by Region:

North America

United States

Canada

Asia-Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Australia

Indonesia

Others

Europe

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

Russia

Others

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Others

Middle East and Africa

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has been examined in the report with the detailed profiles of the key players. Some of these key players include Aetna Inc. (CVS Health Corporation), AIA Group Limited, Allianz SE, Aviva Plc, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Cigna Corporation, International Medical Group Inc. (Sirius International Insurance Group Ltd.), Prudential Plc, United Health Group Inc. and Zurich Insurance Group AG



Key Question Answered in this Report

1. What is the size of the global health insurance market?

2. What is the expected growth rate of the global health insurance market?

3. What are the key factors driving the global health insurance market?

4. What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global health insurance market?

5. What is the breakup of the global health insurance market based on the provider?

6. What is the breakup of the global health insurance market based on the type?

7. What is the breakup of the global health insurance market based on the plan type?

8. What is the breakup of the global health insurance market based on the demographics?

9. What is the breakup of the global health insurance market based on the provider type?

10. What are the key regions in the global health insurance market?

11. Who are the key players/companies in the global health insurance market?



Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Health Insurance Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Provider

6.1 Private Providers

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Public Providers

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Type

7.1 Life-Time Coverage

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 Term Insurance

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Plan Type

8.1 Medical Insurance

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Critical Illness Insurance

8.2.1 Market Trends

8.2.2 Market Forecast

8.3 Family Floater Health Insurance

8.3.1 Market Trends

8.3.2 Market Forecast

8.4 Others

8.4.1 Market Trends

8.4.2 Market Forecast



9 Market Breakup by Demographics

9.1 Minor

9.1.1 Market Trends

9.1.2 Market Forecast

9.2 Adults

9.2.1 Market Trends

9.2.2 Market Forecast

9.3 Senior Citizen

9.3.1 Market Trends

9.3.2 Market Forecast



10 Market Breakup by Provider Type

10.1 Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)

10.1.1 Market Trends

10.1.2 Market Forecast

10.2 Point of Service (POS)

10.2.1 Market Trends

10.2.2 Market Forecast

10.3 Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)

10.3.1 Market Trends

10.3.2 Market Forecast

10.4 Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPOs)

10.4.1 Market Trends

10.4.2 Market Forecast



11 Market Breakup by Region



12 SWOT Analysis

13 Value Chain Analysis



14 Porters Five Forces Analysis



15 Price Analysis



16 Competitive Landscape

16.1 Market Structure

16.2 Key Players

16.3 Profiles of Key Players

16.3.1 Aetna Inc. (CVS Health Corporation)

16.3.1.1 Company Overview

16.3.1.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.1.3 SWOT Analysis

16.3.2 AIA Group Limited

16.3.2.1 Company Overview

16.3.2.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.2.3 Financials

16.3.2.4 SWOT Analysis

16.3.3 Allianz SE

16.3.3.1 Company Overview

16.3.3.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.3.3 Financials

16.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis

16.3.4 Aviva Plc

16.3.4.1 Company Overview

16.3.4.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.4.3 Financials

16.3.4.4 SWOT Analysis

16.3.5 Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

16.3.5.1 Company Overview

16.3.5.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.5.3 Financials

16.3.5.4 SWOT Analysis

16.3.6 Cigna Corporation

16.3.6.1 Company Overview

16.3.6.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.6.3 Financials

16.3.6.4 SWOT Analysis

16.3.7 International Medical Group Inc. (Sirius International Insurance Group Ltd.)

16.3.7.1 Company Overview

16.3.7.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.8 Prudential Plc

16.3.8.1 Company Overview

16.3.8.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.8.3 Financials

16.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis

16.3.9 United Health Group Inc.

16.3.9.1 Company Overview

16.3.9.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.9.3 Financials

16.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis

16.3.10 Zurich Insurance Group AG

16.3.10.1 Company Overview

16.3.10.2 Product Portfolio

16.3.10.3 Financials

16.3.10.4 SWOT Analysis

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/p4xwyq

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets
Vodafone

Vodafone PLC has struggled to get revenues moving forward in recent years but showed some progress at the half-way point.

The telecom giant also upped its earning target for this year although the headlines recently have been more around possible deals both for and by the company.

Reports last week said it made an approach to buy rival 3 and it is talking to Italian group Iliad.

A merger of its Vantage Towers arm with Deutsche Telekoms mast business has also been mooted.

Vodafone itself meanwhile is said to be a private equity target, which has sparked a modest share rally but done little to improve the dismal long-term performance.

Some decent numbers in Wednesdays third quarter update would be handy if it wants to quieten the chatter.

Glencore

Fans of announcements with tables full of figures are in for a treat when Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) (Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN)) releases its 2021 production report.

There is sure to be some commentary from chief executive Gary Nagle as well and some guidance on 2022 production levels, just to break up the wall of stats.

The commodities trader and miner told investors last month that there is a generally steady overall production profile in the 2022-2024 outlook period, with zinc volumes lower in 2024, in line with mine closures.

Wednesday 2 February

Trading announcements: Glencore PLC (Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN)), Severn Trent PLC (LSE:SVT) (Severn Trent PLC (LSE:SVT)), Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) (Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD))

AGMs: Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, Imperial Brands Group, Premier Miton Group PLC (AIM:PMI) (Premier Miton Group PLC (AIM:PMI))

Economic data: MBA Mortgage Application (US), ISM Manufacturing (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US), BRC Shop Price Index (UK)
Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) said its performance in 2021 was in line with expectations in a challenging year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its production guidance for the current year is unchanged from the December update, when the commodities trader and miner said there is a generally steady overall production profile in the 2022-2024 outlook period, with zinc volumes lower in 2024, in line with mine closures.

Glencore said own sourced copper production declined by 5% to 1.19mln tonnes in 2021, due to the Mopani disposal, lower copper grades at Antapaccay and lower copper by-products from the company's mature zinc and nickel mines.

The company is forecasting 1.15mln tonnes of copper for 2022.

Own sourced cobalt production increased by 14% to 31,300 tonnes last year after a limited restart of production at Mutanda.

The forecast for the current year is 48,000 tonnes of cobalt.

Own sourced zinc production dropped by 4% to 1.12mln tonnes in 2021, reflecting a decline at the Maleevsky mine in Kazakhstan, due to the slower-than-expected ramp-up of replacement Zhairem mine tonnage.

Zinc production was also impacted by Mount Isa producing additional metal from ore stockpile drawdowns and Kidd lower grades (13,800 tonnes).

These factors were partly offset by stronger zinc production at Antamina, which was suspended for part of 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Forecast zinc production for 2022 is 1.11mln tonnes.

Nickel production fell by 7% last year to 102,300 tonnes due to a lengthy scheduled statutory shutdown and maintenance issues at Murrin Murrin.

Glencore expects nickel production of 115,000 tonnes in the current year.

Attributable ferrochrome production totalled 1.46mln tonnes in 2021, up 43% on 2020 when South Africa was in a national lockdown. The company is forecasting a similar output in 2022.

Coal production of 103.3mln tonnes was 3% lower than 2020, reflecting Prodeco's care and maintenance status and lower domestic power demand and export rail capacity constraints in South Africa. These factors were offset by higher production at Cerrejon, following a Covid suspension and strike in 2020.

Glencore expects coal production to rise to 121mln tonnes this year.

Entitlement interest production increased by 34% to 5.3mln barrels of oil equivalents (boe) last year, primarily because of the start of the gas phase of the Alen project in Equatorial Guinea.

Glencore noted that the purchase of the remaining interest in Cerrejon was completed in January 2022, a few months earlier than expected.

"The operating environment remained challenging in 2021, with the COVID-19 pandemic again dominating the daily lives of many of our colleagues, families, local communities and society at large," said Glencore chief executive officer Gary Nagle.

"Maintaining production in 2021 became increasingly important as many of our products, so crucial for decarbonisation, energy supply and industrial output, saw higher levels of demand.

"Overall, our operations largely performed in line with guidance expectations. We completed the Cerrejon acquisition and Ernest Henry disposal in January, such transactions being consistent with our continued strategy to simplify and align our portfolio with the materials needed for the energy transition and the responsible decline of our coal business."


MetalNRG PLG said it is pleased by the progress being made by partner EQTEC on the recommissioning of the Italia MDC plant in Tuscany.

The site is now fully cleaned and relevant components disassembled and cleared, said MetalNRG, whose directors visited operations last month it said.

The 1MWe plant will convert multiple types of biomass feedstock into heat, power and/or fuel for local businesses and residents.

Once operational, Italia MDC is expected to generate annual plant revenues of 2mln, with plant EBITDA (underlying profits) of 750,000.

Rolf Gerritsen, MetalNRGs chief executive, added: "Good progress is being made toward recommissioning the Italia MDC plant in 2022 and we look forward to our ongoing working relationship with EQTEC.

The partnership is a solid development opportunity and investment, allowing us to support the social, environmental and economic improvements that a sustainable approach to waste-to-energy can have."

MetalNRG currently owns 26.6% of Italia MDC.
Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) shares have been double-upgraded by Credit Suisse as its new robot technology is expected to lead to more fruitful partnership deals with bricks-and-mortar supermarkets.

Earlier this month, under the banner of 'Ocadao Re:Imagined', the FTSE 100 online grocer presented its vision for the future to investors and analysts, including its new faster, cheaper and lighter 600 Series bot, a new robotic arm and improvements to its automated despatching system.

Following this, Credit Suisse said it now has "greater confidence in the depth of existing partnerships" and sees a potentially higher total addressable market (TAM) "for new and more flexible solutions".

Furthermore, Credit Suisse told clients that a 50% share price fall in the past 12 months reflects some concerns about the business and suggests that further downside is "limited".

Adding the new Re:Imagined features into its forecast model resulted in a 17% increase in the target price to 1,750p from 1,500p, the bank hiked its rating to 'outperform' from 'underperform', and for clarity explained "we believe current levels offer a buying opportunity".

"Re:Imagined is designed to address more shopping missions and allow deeper relationships with existing partners," the bank's analysts said.

They now expect Ocado's partnership with US supermarket chain Kroger to target US$14bn in sales fulfilled within the Ocado partnership, which would be around 10% of 2022 revenues, and "see fewer risks to capacity ramp-up with other partners".

On the broader, TAM, the new tech platform is now seen as resulting in a higher likelihood of several, "likely small", partnerships being signed in coming years, on the basis that the new platform can be combined with in-house web solutions, does not require large warehouses and requires less than U$50mln initial capital expenditure.

Next week's full-year results are expected to be "uneventful" apart from revised guidance hitting future forecasts, while risks include a persistent legal battle with rival Autostore.
Allergy Therapeutics PLC (AIM:AGY) has inked a new 10mln financing facility with its bank, Natwest, expanding upon a prior 7mln overdraft.

It is a three-year facility, expandable for another two years, and the company said it can provide additional security to its current credit facilities.

The company noted that its prior loans, held via its Spanish subsidiary, totalling 2.9mln remain in place.

Allergy Therapeutics shares rose strongly last week after US regulator The Food & Drug Administration gave the green light for trials to begin on its short-course peanut allergy vaccine candidate.
Investors in FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies should expect more shake-ups from activist investors this year, if recent activity is anything to go by.

Last weekend, it was revealed that Vodafone PLC is the latest FTSE 100 company to have been targeted by these interventionist funds.

The stake taken in the telecoms giant by Swedish hedge fund Cevian Capital makes it nine companies in Londons blue chip index that have activists on their shareholder register, along with several peers on the FTSE 250.

While many directors and some shareholders too view these funds as a pest, most investors both large and small are likely to welcome their presence at the minimum jolting management into action and at the other end of the scale, forcing major boardroom shake-ups and corporate actions.

Several observers have also hailed activists for challenging bosses and being a catalyst for healthy debate between management and shareholders.

Whats more, companies like Shell and BHP have also been targeted by climate and environmental activists, such as Market Forces in Australia and Milieudefensie in the Netherlands, though they dont buy a large stake in the companies they are putting pressure on at AGMs or in the courts.

There have also been public criticisms from major institutional investors of companies such as Spire Healthcare, G4S (LSE:GFS), Aggreko (LSE:AGK) and William Hill, while companies on AIM have also been targeted by activists and shareholder dissent.

Various reports have cited a rise in activist activity in the UK, including from more generalist funds, with a 29% surge in shareholder votes against director re-appointments at FTSE 350 companies last year, according to a report last month from Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI).

Compare this with the US, the home of activist investing, where the number of campaigns and amount of investment was flat year on year in 2021, according to Lazards annual review, with valuations already pretty stretched.

As countless observers have noted, UK shares are very very cheap or exceptionally cheap according to who you ask, which as well as sparking increased activist activity, has also made London the scene for plenty of M&A activity.

Activists on shareholder register of at least 12 companies in the FTSE 350

Aviva (Cevian Capital)

Countryside (Browning West)

SSE (Elliott Advisers)

GSK (Elliott Advisers, Bluebird)

Pearson (Cevian Capital)

Playtech (Gopher Investments)

Rolls-Royce (Causeway Capital)

Shell (Third Point)

Taylor Wimpey (Elliott Advisers)

Unilever (Trian Partners)

Vodafone (Cevian Capital)

WH Smith (Causeway Capital)

Several others have been targeted in recent years, including Barclays, BHP, Whitbread and FirstGroup (LSE:FGP), while Just Eat Takeaway still is being pursued by activists but has dropped out of the Footsie as it moved its HQ to Holland.

In December, Adviser Alvarez & Marsal trumpeted the golden age of activism, with 21 UK companies in the crosshairs, more than any other country in Europe.

The report also saw 148 European companies at risk of being targeted by activists, of which more than a third were listed in London.

Indeed, London companies relatively lowly valuations are a substantial part of why London is being targeted.

A study of the 100 largest activist campaigns around the world, published this year, found Britain was the third most active country.

However, as noted in the FT today, activists have had to adapt their tactics in London and be more aggressive, while also requiring long-term investors to support the campaign and its aims.

Whats more, the main aims of most activists are solely to drive short, or at most medium-term share price gains, not necessarily for the benefit of society or the planet.

Maybe its time the UK had its own ESG-focused activist investors.
Latin Resources Ltd (ASX:LRS) has recapped its environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives across the December quarter.

The mineral exploration company, which is advancing several assets across Latin America and Australia, previously committed to make ESG disclosures in line with the World Economic Forums 21 core Stakeholder Capital Metrics.

Now, in its first-ever quarterly ESG disclosure report, Latin has reviewed its work across key aspects of its business, such as governance, planet, people and prosperity.

The companys ESG purpose statement is Developing minerals to provide the planet with environmentally sustainable products.

You can read the full ESG disclosure report here.

About Latin Resources

Latin Resources is a minerals explorer-cum-developer at the Cloud Nine Halloysite-Kaolin Deposit, 300 kilometres east of Perth in Western Australia.

The Cloud Nine deposit has a maiden mineral resource estimate comprising 207 million tonnes of kaolinised granite, made up of 123 million tonnes of bright white kaolinite and 84 million tonnes of halloysite-bearing material.

Both of Cloud Nines key resources have varied properties. On the one hand, kaolinite is a plate-like clay with a wide range of uses including paper and ceramics.

In contrast, halloysite has a unique property and occurs as halloysite nanotubes (HNT) and maintains several key environmentally friendly properties.

For one, it can help manage greenhouse gases and can be mined with extremely low environmental impact.

Latin considers Cloud Nines development a key component of its ESG purpose statement.

As part of its evolving emissions project, the company has secured an agreement with CRC CARE Pty Ltd to develop innovative methane reduction technologies to exploit the clay mineral halloysite from Cloud Nine.

In addition, Latin is committed to developing its lithium spodumene project in Brazil.

The battery mineral is a crucial element in many of the electric vehicles and battery storage technologies that are helping decarbonise the world.
Shree Minerals Limited (ASX:SHH)s exploration studies have highlighted strong prospectivity including for lithium at its Dundas Project in the Albany Fraser Orogen, Western Australia.

The project is interpreted to occur along strike of the well-endowed Boulder Lefroy Fault Zone and the Zuleika Shear.

World-class lithium in pegmatite deposits are spatially related to these mineralised structural corridors to the north of Shrees exploration licences.

Pegmatites have been recorded from historical drill logs within Shrees tenure while magmatic mafic-ultramafic intrusions of the Nova Bollinger type may have been discovered immediately to the south of Shree's tenure, again in these structural corridors.

Several aeromagnetic anomalies within Shrees tenements resemble these intrusive bodies and have the potential to contain nickel sulphides.

Historical drilling intersections up to 3 g/t gold remain open and the associated soil geochemistry suggests the mineralisation is much more extensive than indicated by drilling.

Broad zones (30 metres) of highly anomalous base metal sulphides occur in Shrees exploration licence application.

Investors have expressed their approval of the Dundas prospectivity, driving shares 118% higher to $0.024, a new high of more than seven years, with almost 175 million changing hands.

Delighted with outcomes

Shree Minerals executive director Sanjay Loyalka said: We are delighted with the outcomes of technical studies at the Dundas Project that have concluded the presence of gold mineralisation and the identification of numerous coarse-grained pegmatite intersections from past explorers has significant implications for additional discoveries within our tenements.

Shree considers the Dundas tenements to be ideally located within a major regional structural corridor containing world-class deposits of gold and lithium.

Prospective mafic and ultramafic rocks and untested gold and base metal and silver drilling intersections and geochemical soil anomalies lay adjacent to major regional structures.

Their location in an under-explored region leads Shree to rate the exploration potential of the project as very high.

Liontowns world-class Buldania Lithium Project is only 25 kilometres away.

The structural setting at Buldania (adjacent to Zuelika Shear) resembles the same settings within Shrees tenements, highlighted by major regional structures, as suggested from aerial magnetic images.

Dundas Project

The Dundas Project consists of two exploration licences (E63/2046 and E63/2048) and one exploration licence application (E63/2136) within the inferred SE extensions of the mineralised Norseman-Wiluna Belt of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton.

It comprises a tectonostratigraphic assemblage of mafic, ultramafic and sedimentary dominated units.

A major northwest-trending fault system transects the tenements and may represent southeast extensions of the prolifically mineralised and regionally continuous Zuleika and Boulder-Lefroy Fault systems.

Due to the widespread but thin, transported cover seen within the tenements, Shrees exploration strategy is built upon the geophysical and geochemical characteristics of these targets.

Lithium occurrences

Shree has compiled a geological database of the structural controls and lithological characteristics of lithium occurrences within the Dundas Goldfield.

The largest is the Buldania Lithium Project, which contains a mineral resource of 14.9 million tonnes at 0.97% lithium dioxide and 44 ppm tantalum pentoxide and occurs in a greenstone belt within the Zuleika Shear, which is interpreted to continue through Shrees tenements.

Within Shrees tenement areas, aeromagnetic images display linear features suggestive of Archaean greenstone stratigraphy  mafic, ultramafic or Banded Iron Formation rock type.

Pegmatitic intrusions are often associated with Archaean greenstone stratigraphy and their presence has been recorded in the historical drilling.

Reconnaissance traverses of RAC and RC drilling by Pan Australian Exploration Pty Ltd in the 1990s intersected gold mineralisation associated with the remnant greenstone belts.

Many of the holes drilled also intersected pegmatites but these were not the target of the exploration at the time and were not assayed for lithium or lithium pathfinder elements.

Gold mineralisation

Only very limited historical exploration has been carried out in the area due to the thin blanket of transported cover.

One kilometre spaced auger soil traverses undertaken by AngloGold Ashanti (ASX:AGG) Australia and a localised RAB/RC drilling program by Pan Australian Resources during the 1990s identified the presence of gold mineralisation hosted by mafic rocks in E63/2046.

Reported intersections include:

 2 metres at 3.5 g/t gold from 23 metres;

 1-metre at 2.1 g/t from 87 metres; and

 1-metre at 1.2 g/t from 53 metre.

Shrees Dundas Project is 16 kilometres east of Metal Hawk Limiteds Breaker Prospect, within the Albany Fraser Province, illustrating the prospectivity of the Dundas area that is a poorly exposed and lightly explored greenfield area.

Base metal, silver and gold

In 2011-2012, Ausquest Ltd conducted wide-spaced (>800 metres) reconnaissance RAB and RC drilling in the southern areas of Shrees tenements.

The drilling reported anomalous gold (up to 4.1 g/t) with associated copper (up to 0.26%), zinc (0.42%) and silver (up to 26 g/t).

Some intersections are associated with thick downhole (~30m) intervals of anomalous base metal sulphides.

Better intersections include:

 4 metres at 1.2 g/t gold from 51 metres, followed by 1-metre at 1.6 g/t gold from 89 metres (EOH);

 1-metre at 3.7 g/t gold from 29 metres and 1-metre at 13 g/t gold from 30 metres; and

 1-metre at 2.3 g/t gold from 46 metres.

The base metal results are considered highly encouraging, given the thickness of the intersections, the metal associations and that only limited drill testing was completed on the targets, which extend for at least 1 kilometre in length based on early RAB drilling.

Nickel

In December 2021, Dundas Minerals completed two close-spaced infill gravity surveys across priority nickel and copper targets to enable more precise modelling.

The exploration model for the two prospects is magmatic sulphide mineralisation associated with mafic-ultramafic intrusions, similar to the Nova-Bollinger deposit which is around 150 kilometres to the north-northeast.

At Jumbuck, a series of RAB holes drilled by Ausquest Ltd in 2011 intersected up to 0.5% nickel in ultramafic rocks and have highlighted a discrete target area, which is also earmarked for gravity surveys by Dundas Minerals.

The prospects may be spatially related to extensions of the regionally significant Zuleika Shear and the Boulder Lefroy Fault Zone, that may strike through the Dundas Minerals tenure.

Exploration program and next steps.

Shree applied for the two tenements E63/2046 & E63/2048 in June 2020 and has worked on processes to get the tenements granted.

These included preparation of a conservation management plan (CMP) as the tenements are within the Dundas Nature Reserve.

Shree received notification in November 2021 that these two tenements have been granted following acceptance of the CMP by Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).

A flora & fauna survey was carried out in November.

Shree is coordinating with Ngadju Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (NNTAC) to have Heritage surveys conducted in autumn this year as it has been advised that survey activities would resume after the summer season.

RAB and aircore drilling is planned in E63/2046 in the southern portion of the tenement initially, around and along strike of historical drillholes with recorded pegmatite intervals.

Samples will be assayed for gold and lithium pathfinder elements.

Anomalous gold and lithium pathfinder geochemistry will then be tested by reverse circulation (RC) drilling.

Shree Minerals plans to infill the soil contours in E63/2048.

Soil sampling will be conducted with a powered auger over the geochemical anomalies to refine and prioritise these target areas.

Auger drilling will target a buried carbonate layer that has been a successful sample medium in outlining gold mineralisation at Dundas and elsewhere in the southern goldfields of WA.

Samples will be assayed for gold, nickel, base metals and lithium pathfinder elements.

Anomalous soil geochemistry will then be tested by RAB and RC drilling.

These drilling programs are expected to commence following the completion of statutory surveys.

Shree has made a further application for E63/2136 in end August 2021 and is working on processes to get the tenements granted.
Chase Mining Corporation Ltd (ASX:CML) has identified a new large-scale rare earths and base metals project area during a geochemical and geophysical review on the northern Barkly Tableland within the North Barkly Project in the Northern Territory.

The Barkly region has been subject to intensified geophysical, geochemical and geological investigation by Geoscience Australia over recent years, leading to the recognition of the potential for repetitions of the large mineral deposits such as those mined at McArthur River and in the Mount Isa area.

Looking ahead, Chase proposes to define the sources of the stream sediment metals and rare earths by conducting more detailed sampling with drilling to take place after the targets are well defined.

Shares have been trading as high as $0.017 intraday, up 22% from the previous close.

Rare earths deposit

Project EL applications with fine fraction Neodymium (ppm) results on magnetics.

Chase has examined the large volume of data and has identified this area as having the strongest indicators of a major rare earths deposit.

A peak rare earths trend runs northwest to southeast through the project area and is strongly supported by peak niobium, scandium, tellurium, palladium and cobalt values in the centre.

The project area is characterised by a lack of outcrop and strong weathering, features conducive to rare earths enrichments in the near-surface.

Base metals potential

Geoscience Australia Tempest Airborne EM Section 117002 N-S through hole MD1A.

Base metals potential also exists within the project with the tuffaceous black dolomitic pyritic shale intersected by BHP in MD1A being the preferred host rock for major base metals deposits in this region.

The base metal sulphides indicate that a mineralising process has occurred locally, and viable grades may be found in a more favourable site nearby.

The Geoscience Australia geophysical data demonstrates that this prospective conductive horizon underlies the entire project area, generally at about 350 metres depth.

Proposed exploration program

After exploration licensing is granted, Chase Mining proposes to define the sources of the stream sediment metals and rare earths by conducting more detailed sampling.

The current and any future Geoscience Australia data will also be examined in more detail, in particular the geophysics.

Further, the BHP MD1 drill core will be located and, if possible, be analysed for more elements, including rare earths with drilling to take place once the targets are well defined.
Group Eleven Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ZNG) revealed that it has extended mineralization via reconnaissance drilling at the northwest (NW) extension at the Carrickittle prospect on its PG West project in Ireland and told investors that 2022's annual drill budget is its largest to date.

At Zone 1 at Carrickittle, the latest drill highlights included one hole, which extended the mineralization there by 30 metres (m) such that the zone is now 130m long. The hole hit a length of 9.33m starting from 78.93m depth, grading 0.48% zinc and lead and 8.1 grams per ton (g/t) silver. That included a narrow high-grade zone of 0.10m of 20% zinc and lead and 6.6 g/t silver.

The same hole also threw up a separate copper-silver bearing zone, showing 2.77m of 0.10% copper, 20.4 g/t silver and 0.40% zinc and lead, noted Group Eleven. Follow-up drilling is currently being finalized to test if mineralization widens further towards the north-west in an un-drilled area measuring 750m by 950m, immediately north of Zone 1.

"Along with our extension of Zone 1 by 30% to a strike of 130m, our northerly holes add further evidence that the mineralizing system seen at Zones 1-4 likely continues NW and beyond," said Bart Jaworski, the explorer's CEO in a statement.
Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd (ASX:WMC, OTC:WMXCF) has made further headway at its namesake WA gold plant as it advances a multi-stage development strategy.

The West Aussie gold miner spent the December quarter targeting growth activities across its portfolio, which represents one of the largest gold districts in Australia under single ownership.

Wilunas operations generated A$8.3 million in net cash over the quarter (before treasury and overhead expenses), bringing the total for the year to date to A$19.4 million.

Looking ahead, WMC will continue to advance the Wiltails gold mine towards commissioning, complete a key scoping study and pursue a London Stock Exchange listing.

Wiluna ended the year with A$41.6 million in cash and bullion  more than double the A$18.1 million in the bank at the end of the September quarter.

Wiluna Mining Operation

The Wiluna Mining Operation is currently in development with a staged, three-year program underway to transform Wiluna from a modest, cashflow positive producer of free milling ore via a conventional Carbon-In-Pulp (CIP) plant to a multi-circuit operation producing roughly 200,000 to 250,000 gold ounces per annum.

The staged development plan, on completion, will enable Wiluna to treat all the ore types at Wiluna through four processes including:

An existing 2.1 million tonne per annum CIP process plant;

A 750,000 tonne per annum flotation concentrator, which is now complete and was successfully commissioned in December 2021, scaling up to 1.5 million tonne per annum capacity by FY24;

A gravity circuit that produces gold dore; and

A tailings retreatment plant that links tailings reclaim and reslurrying with the existing CIP circuit to produce gold dore.

Wilunas Stage 1 development is defined at a targeted production profile of 100,000 and 120,000 ounces per annum.

The final size and shape of the Stage 2 development at the Wiluna Mining Operation will depend on the conclusions from a feasibility study currently taking place.

Growth activities

Much of Wilunas activity in the December quarter centred on preparing for future operations by advancing development opportunities.

The company made a A$46.7 million net investment during the quarter (compared to the A$41.9 million seeded in the September quarter), and cash primarily went towards mine development and completing Wilunas concentrator.

That capital is already paying off: The projects Stage 1 concentrator was successfully commissioned during the period and is now outperforming nameplate capacity.

With the concentrator in full swing, Wiluna is targeting a full production run rate of 100,000 to 120,000 ounces per annum by end of June 2022.

Development metres (including rehabilitation) for the quarter were 2,739 metres, YTD 5,012 metres.

Wilunas underground sulphide development remains on schedule, with 88,731 ore tonnes mined in the financial year to date.

The company had around 139,000 tonnes of sulphide ore stockpiled and ready to process as at December 31, 2021.

In addition, 1,159 wet tonnes of gold concentrate is ready for export with an average concentrate grade of 69 g/t.

Meanwhile, construction work at the Wiltails gold mine is ongoing, with 20% of the scheme now complete ahead of its scheduled commission in May 2022.

According to Wiluna, Wiltails will contribute a material increase in gold production over a long life.

Work on the companys Stage 2 feasibility study continues, with completion expected by quarters end.

Resource development and discovery

Wilunas resource base is sitting pretty after the company completed an MRE upgrade during the quarter.

Total mineral resources now stand at 5.53 million ounces at 2.19 g/t gold, including 4.51 million ounces at 3.9 g/t at the Wiluna Mining Centre.

It may not be long before further tonnage is added to the resource.

Wiluna plans to kick off a discovery drilling program this month, comprising 40,000 metres of exploration, targeting high-grade shoots at Wiluna.

Corporate activities

Wiluna enters the new year off the back of a A$53 million capital raise to support future development activities.

Roughly A$5.2 million in proceeds came through last month, meaning it was not included in the December quarter cash and bullion figures.

In terms of other financial news, the companys Mercuria tranche two debt repayment commencement has been extended for three months and will now kick off in April 2022.

Gold hedging contracts as at December 31, 2021, were for 156,500 ounces at US$1,820 an ounce (equivalent to roughly A$2,509 an ounce), with a negative mark-to-market position of A$5.0 million.
Noxopharm Ltd (ASX:NOX) had a highly productive December quarter, making significant advances across its main activities, which include advancing its cancer drug R&D pipeline, trialling Veyonda in both cancer and septic shock and progressing its Pharmorage platform.

The company recently moved from COVID-focused uses of its assets back to cancer. The basis for the refocus is the lower risk of lung-associated toxic shock in this phase of the pandemic, while on the cancer front, NOX is on the verge of major clinical breakthroughs, particularly in the realm of pancreatic cancer.

NOX was also active in the patent space during December, applying for and securing several patents to protect its assets.

The companys cancer clinical trial program made solid progress this quarter with patients under treatment in the IONIC and DARRT trials, and the CEP trial ready to begin patient recruitment.

Financial update

NOXs cash outlook is healthy, with the company sitting on A$16.7 million as the year closed. It received an additional boost shortly after, garnering an ATO research and development rebate of A$5.9 million on January 7.

A post-rebate cash position of around A$22.6 million will meet the companys forecast funding needs for the next 12 months.

Expenses were also up, with net cash used for operating activities during the quarter totalling A$6.9 million, compared with A$4.4 million in the September quarter. The company made payments for R&D of A$5.5 million during the quarter, compared to A$2.9 million in the previous quarter.

The increased expenditure reflects the significant milestones being met in current clinical trials.

Pivot from COVID to cancer

Noxopharm is poised to reactivate its NOXCOVID strategy should the public health need arise, but for the moment has restored its pre-pandemic focus on developing Veyonda as a highly promising anti-cancer drug candidate.

The company will also build on the discovery, announced last year, that the prime value of Veyonda as a treatment for cytokine storm and septic shock in COVID-19 lies in the ability of idronoxil (IDX) to block the inflammatory marker, Tank-binding kinase 1 (TBK1).

This asset is already marked as a key player in the development of autoimmune disease, and now recently identified as a key moderator of the cytokine storm and septic shock in COVID-19 patients.

NOX will pursue this strategy via the Pharmorage TBK1 inhibiting drug program, an opportunity already recognised by a grant of $50,000 from the NSW Department of Health.

Advances in pancreatic cancer

The pancreatic cancer program made the most noteworthy progress this quarter and NOX regards it as potentially ground-breaking, with the strong prospect of a breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, which for most patients is highly aggressive, has a poor response to chemotherapy and therefore poor survival outcomes.

NOX is targeting a drug that eliminates the cause of aggressive growth in pancreatic cancer, converting pancreatic adenocarcinoma into a slow-growing tumour better able to be managed on a long-term basis by chemotherapy.

The company is sponsoring an Australian university to discover how to grow human pancreatic cancer biopsies in the laboratory in a way that preserves all components of the cancer tissue, including stromal cells, a connective tissue which research indicates produces chemical signals that drive the aggressive growth of cancer cells and block access by chemotherapy drugs.

This world-first development, currently attracting global attention, gives scientists the ability to measure the effect of drugs on stromal cells. And NOX scientists have developed drugs that are able to block the action of these cancer-associated stromal cells.

This quarter saw this program take a major step with NOX drugs being added to cultured biopsies of pancreatic cancer collected during surgery and evaluated for their ability to both block the growth of cancer cells and to reduce the scarring effect.

Key to mRNA vaccines

In November, NOX announced the in-licence of a new RNA drug technology platform developed by Hudson. The result of more than 15 years of work, the technology is designed to block inflammation at its source by blocking the sensors in a cell that trigger inflammation, offering an entirely novel approach to the treatment of acute and chronic inflammation.

This licensed technology is already well advanced, with drug candidates ready to undergo in vivo preclinical studies. Pharmorage is focused on these drug candidates as treatments for autoimmune disorders such as lupus or psoriasis.

NOX believes that these novel molecules hold the key to making mRNA vaccines safer, more effective and cheaper to produce, placing Pharmorage at the forefront of the fast- growing market of RNA drugs and vaccines.

Studies underway

NOXs current studies involve prestigious cancer centres in the US, Europe and Australia, with more sites coming online over the coming quarter.

Lockdowns and the emergence of the Omicron variant have had an impact on hospital workforces worldwide, affecting the availability of hospital resources to conduct clinical trials. The company is nevertheless confident it will meet its budgeted timelines for full patient recruitment across all its trials.

Ionic program

The Ionic program is currently in Phase 1, studying around 30 patients with a range of tumour types across several Australian sites. Treatment combines Veyonda with the Bristol Myers Squibb checkpoint inhibitor, nivolumab (Opdivo). The first site for this trial started enrolling and treating patients in December.

DARRT program

This Phase 2 clinical trial in around 100 patients across multiple sites in the US, Europe and Australia combines Veyonda with low-dose radiotherapy for the treatment of prostate, breast and lung cancer. The first dose cohort has reached the end of the first treatment cycle.

In the December quarter two leading US cancer centres  MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Beverly Hills Cancer Center  began recruitment. The first Australian site for the trial, Macquarie Private Hospital, opened for patient recruitment, with further sites expected to follow soon.

CEP program

This is a Phase 1 study in approximately 30 patients with soft tissue sarcoma who are being treated with a combination of Veyonda and the chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin.

During the December quarter the first of several major US sites  Los Angeless City of Hope Cancer Center  opened for enrolment, with additional US sites to be added shortly.

LuPIN program

This program is investigating Veyonda to enhance the responsiveness of men with late-stage prostate cancer to PSMA radioligand (theranostic) therapy.

In the December quarter a compassionate-use program, now involving 100 Australian and overseas patients, continued to be offered in Australia as part of an effort to determine the optimal patient cohort to benefit from the use of Veyonda in combination with 177LuPSMA in real-world conditions.

NOX has been approached by a European clinical group for access to Veyonda for further clinical investigations and negotiations are ongoing.
Anson Resources Ltd (ASX:ASN) has added a further 8.1 square kilometres of lithium prospective tenure to its Paradox Lithium Brine Project in Utah, US, targeting geological formations and units from which lithium brine has previously been recovered.

The four new strategic blocks are immediately adjacent to the project, considered state ground controlled by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and granted to Anson by the Utah Government.

Resource expansion plans

Anson is focused on delivering a resource estimate upgrade for the Paradox project in the first half of 2022, designed to support feasibility studies and develop the project into a substantial lithium-bromide producing operation.

It is hoped that the new tenure will add new resources to the proposed upgrade, the key focus of which will be the re-entry of the Long Canyon No.2 well on the eastern side of the project.

Anson hopes to upgrade the existing inferred resource in the clastic zones hosted at Long Canyon, converting them to the indicated category alongside well Clastic 31 in the Paradox Formation.

The Paradox Formation and Mississippi Units within the project and new tenure area will be the target of further exploration, as these geological features have been shown to host lithium brine in other areas of the project.

Anson will provide updates on its resource expansion program as the details are finalised and the company prepares to implement it.

About Anson Resources

Anson Resources is developing its flagship Paradox Basin Brine Project in southern Utah in the US for the recovery of valuable chemicals from a unique salt brine resource.

Besides the brine project, Anson is also exploring base metal projects in Western Australia with a strong focus on the Bull Project, which is along strike of Chalice Minings high-grade nickel-copper-PGE Julimar discovery.
The company has struck an agreement with Medicibis, operators of Mendocannabis.ca to facilitate the transfer of its registered medical patients to Medicibis

Lifeist Wellness Inc. (TSX-V:LFST, OTCQB:NXTTF), previously Namaste Technologies, has announced a strategic move to realign its resources on near-term opportunities, particularly its business-to-business (B2B) recreational cannabis distribution and manufacturing business, and its recently launched nutraceuticals.

The Toronto-based company said that streamlining of its wellness strategies with higher growth and profitability potential represents a continuation of a renewed commitment by Lifeist to create shareholder value.

We were proud to be one of the first companies in Canada to enter the online business-to-consumer (B2C) medical cannabis space, but the time has come to realign our focus. The regulatory and consumer conditions for medical cannabis in Canada have evolved such that achieving success would require significant and ongoing investments without a growth trajectory and near-term returns to support it, Lifeist CEO Meni Morim said in a statement.

READ: Lifeist Wellness' Cannabis 2.0 Roilty brand wins Canadian LP Brand of the Year award at 2021 ADCANN Awards

We have moved decisively to realign our resources on more promising near-term opportunities, particularly our cannabis B2B distribution and manufacturing businesses, and our nutraceutical initiative, each of which enjoy a clearer path to growth with higher near-term profit potential, he added.

Lifeists portfolio includes CannMart, which operates a B2B wholesale distribution business facilitating recreational sales to Canadian provincial government control boards; CannMart Labs, an extraction facility to produce high margin cannabis 2.0 products; and the CannMart.com marketplace, which provides Canadian medical customers with cannabis products.

CannMart CEO Daniel Stern said the firm struck an agreement with Medicibis, operators of Mendocannabis.ca to facilitate the transfer of its registered medical patients to Medicibis.

CannMarts B2B recreational cannabis platform (as opposed to its B2C medical platform), which includes the distribution and logistics business together with CannMart Labs, is the overwhelming driver of our cannabis business, said Stern. Its growing to be about 90% of our cannabis revenue and has been delivering substantially all of the gross margin contribution, making the B2C business less relevant and no longer core to our long-term strategy. Formalizing this shift enables CannMart to put resources where it can create the most value.

Meanwhile, Jay Schwartz, Chief Operating Officer of Mendo, said that providing Canadian cannabis patients a platform to purchase their medicine will always be Mendos focus.

We understand that change is hard, and we look forward to earning the trust of every single CannMart patient that transitions to our platform through our compassion pricing, diverse selection of products, and unparalleled service, added Schwartz.

Mendo said it is delighted to give patients that choose to transfer a new home. It will offer CannMart patients a discount of 10% on two orders of the new member's choice to ease the transition. If a patient's medical document is expired or is expiring this year, Mendo said it will cover the cost for renewal on transfer to their platform.

B2B recreational cannabis focus

Within cannabis, Lifeists is focused on being the top value-added distribution platform and manufacturer of higher margin cannabis products.

As a distributor, CannMart has supply agreements with provincial government cannabis control boards in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan. It has recently added Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which constitutes access to around 73% of adult Canadians.

It is now the distribution partner for 10 LPs and 21 brands in addition to in-house brands Roilty and Mezzero and 3 licensed brands. In addition, CannMart has added J2 Science, Embark Health, TorrCann, JMF Growers family and Loosh Brands to its list of partners. TobaGrown is also under a license agreement with the firm.

Meanwhile, CannMart Labs began commercial production in November 2021 with live resin products and is now planning to develop new formats. CannMarts B2B revenue stream represented around 90% of Lifeists cannabis revenue for the nine months ended August 31, 2021, said the company.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
Hapbee Technologies Inc has announced that it will partner with Strava, one of the worlds most engaged community of athletes to host a sponsored challenge, titled 'Hapbee Choose Your Challenge'.

The challenge commences on Monday, February 7, 2022, and runs through Sunday, February 20, 2022.

Hapbee noted that the Strava mobile app enables millions of athletes all over the world, and across many walks of life, to inspire each other to new heights and higher goals in their quest to unlock their full fitness potential. With more than 95 million users, and growing at approximately 2 million new athletes per month, Strava is among the largest and fastest-growing communities of athletes in the world.

Strava is a perfect fit with our brand messaging and aligns well with our mission to improve peoples lives through better sleep, physical performance and recovery, said Yona Shtern, CEO of Hapbee in a statement.

The fitness community is a focal point of our outreach. Garnering exposure within the premier mobile app for athletes is a fantastic opportunity to increase Hapbees growing brand awareness and benefits among active fitness enthusiasts. We look forward to delivering a fun challenge that inspires members of Strava's community and ours to enhance their wellness habits with the help of Hapbees headband and library of digital wellness blends," he added.

The sponsored challenge aims to expose Hapbee to a growing and captive segment of the fitness and wellness market, providing the company with the opportunity to significantly broaden brand visibility on a top-tier wellness platform. The challenge has been designed to promote a healthy lifestyle while incentivizing Strava members to try Hapbee with a special offer.

To participate in the sponsored challenge, Strava members will need to log a minimum of six hours for any workout on the app over the course of two weeks. Members who complete the companys sponsored challenge will have the opportunity to receive a $100 discount offer for the Hapbee Headband and a bonus three-month free all-access subscription to the companys library of digital wellness signal blends.

Hapbee is a wearable wellness technology company that aims to help people enhance how they feel. Powered by patented ultra-low radiofrequency energy (ulRFE) technology the company's product delivers low-power electromagnetic signals designed to produce sensations such as Happy, Alert, Focus, Relax, and others.

The company has offices in Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle and Phoenix.

Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com
Cabral Gold said Cuiu Cuiu is rapidly emerging as a significant gold district, containing multiple zones of near-surface gold mineralization in proximity

Cabral Gold Inc (TSX-V:CBR) has revealed impressive assay results from several trenches recently excavated immediately west of the main Machichie target within its Cuiu Cuiu gold project in northern Brazil.

The Vancouver-based junior resource company highlighted Trench CT35A, located 285 meters (m) west of the most westerly drill hole at the main E-W trending Machichie main zone, which returned 5m at 8.3 grams per ton (g/t) gold, including 1m at 37.8 g/t gold.

The mineralization in CT35A is on strike and interpreted to represent the western extension of the E-W trending main Machichie mineralized structure. This could potentially represent a 60% extension to the known mineralized zone at Machichie, noted the company. This suggests that the Machichie main zone could extend for at least 800m along strike, while still being open to the west.

READ: Cabral Gold identifies third gold-in-oxide blanket at Cuiu Cuiu project with drilling

Meanwhile, Trench CT36 completed 100m to the NE of CT35A also returned encouraging results in a new parallel structure at Machichie, including 0.6m at 12.9 g/t gold, 1.5m at 1.6 g/t gold, and 0.7m at 1.1 g/t gold.

Further trenching in both areas is in progress before planned follow-up drilling, said the company.

In a statement, Cabral CEO Alan Carter commented: "The results from recent trenching west of the main E-W trending Machichie mineralized zone suggest there could be a significant extension to the zone as we currently know it, indicating a possible 60% addition to the strike length of the known mineralized structure.

He added: While further trenching is ongoing and drilling is planned, this is a major development in our efforts to determine the size and scope of the mineralized zones at Machichie, which is located just 500m north of the MG gold deposit. It also adds further support to previous drilling which identified numerous near-surface high-grade vein structures in this area of the Cuiu Cuiu property.

Carter noted that with the existing two gold deposits at MG and Central, the recent discovery of three near-surface gold in oxide blankets, and a new hard-rock mineralized zone at the PDM target, Cuiu Cuiu is rapidly emerging as a significant gold district, containing multiple zones of near-surface gold mineralization in proximity.

The Machichie target is located 500m north of the MG gold deposit and it was initially discovered in 2019. Previous drilling at Machichie identified a persistent mineralized zone.

As a result of the encouraging results, the trenching program at Machichie has been expanded, the company said and a planned program consisting of an additional 19 N-S trenches totaling 950m has started.

In addition, 10 diamond-drill holes are planned to follow up on the trench assay results. Drilling is expected to kick off in March.

Meanwhile, the company said RC (reverse circulation) drilling at Central is also in progress above the northern end of the Central gold deposit and results are currently pending on nine holes. Diamond drilling is also in progress at the recently discovered mineralized zone in basement granitic rocks at the PDM target located 2.5 kilometers northwest of Central, said the company.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
Empower Clinics CEO Steven McAuley joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has added Dr. Tyler Coupal, MD as its British Columbia Medical Director. McAuley telling Proactive Dr Coupal will lead the launch of COVID-19 testing services within the province of B.C.

Dr Coupal is a registered physician and a specialist fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American Board of Radiology. He completed his medical internship and residency at Royal Columbian and Vancouver General Hospitals. HE also completed his clinical fellowship at Harvard University's Massachusetts General Hospital before returning to Vancouver for his practice.
Washington, Feb 2 : At least 12 historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) across the US reported to have received bomb threats.

Morgan State University tweeted early on Tuesday morning that "access to campus will be closed" due to a bomb threat.

"Everyone on campus should shelter in place until further notice," the university in Baltimore, Maryland wrote. "All instruction will be remote and all employees should telework." Universities and colleges in other states such as Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, as well as two institutions in Washington, D.C., have also issued alerts, Xinhua news agency reported.

The bomb threats were made on the first day of February, dedicated as Black History Month to honor achievements and struggles of African Americans throughout US history.

Earlier, police had responded to reports of bomb threats against at least six HBCUs in the US on Monday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki had said on Monday that US President Joe Biden is aware of the latest bomb threats at HBCUs.

"I will say that these are certainly disturbing," Psaki told reporters during a daily briefing. "The White House is in touch with interagency partners, including federal law enforcement leadership on this." There are more than 100 colleges in the US that are identified by the US Department of Education as HBCUs, institutions of higher education founded to educate African American students.

In the 19th century, when many colleges and universities in the US refused to admit African American applicants, HBCUs offered them a route to higher education.
Kiev, Feb 2 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that his country will set up a new tripartite alliance with the UK and Poland, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.

"We are creating a new format of political cooperation in Europe between Ukraine, Great Britain, and Poland," Zelensky told the parliament.

Later in the day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Facebook that the new alliance is aimed at boosting the cooperation between the three countries in such areas as security, trade, investment and energy, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to Kuleba, the new format is part of Ukraine's foreign policy strategy of creating small alliances.

Ukraine and Poland are already cooperating within the Lublin Triangle alliance that also includes Lithuania. Last year, Ukraine also set up the Associated Trio with Georgia and Moldova.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The Healthcare industry experts have expressed mixed reactions to the Union Budget 2022.

Some experts have welcomed the provision for National Digital Health Ecosystem in the post vaccination first budget while some have opined that other essential services have been ignored.

K. Sujatha Rao, former secretary, Health Ministry, termed the budget "disappointing" for health and education. She tweeted, "A disappointing budget 4 health & education. Need to remember that roads and ports don't make sense if people are illiterate and sick! And such disdain for these human capability sectors after the trauma we have faced due to a poor health system is simply being irresponsible".

Meanwhile, Sudarahan Jain, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceuticals Association, said that this is India's first post vaccination budget and the policy consistency is maintained. The planned increase in capital expenditure is likely to boost economic growth and employment, he added.

"There is a thrust on macro areas like digital, VC-ecosystem, ease of doing business and supportive measures for R&D and industry-academia collaboration with Pharma included in the Sunrise sectors. The extension time limit for the commencement of business to claim benefits of concessional tax regime for manufacturing companies has been extended by a year to 31 March 2024. This will support the investment in pharma manufacturing. Details are being examined and the implementation will be key going forward," said Jain.

"The budget has not addressed many of the issues highlighted by large parts of the Healthcare industry like streamlining of GST and reduction of Customs Duty. The rolling back of the health cess is other demand which will help us preserve jobs which are instrumental in making the healthcare workers become patient ready", said Pavan Choudary, Chairman, Medical Technology Association of India.

Choudary added that some demands have not been accepted, but still budget is reflective of the realisation that healthcare is a vital sector. The focus on Gati-Shakti will bolster infrastructure and increase overall competitiveness of the industry and is therefore most welcome.

Satyender Goel, Founder & CEO, India Health Link, said that the National Digital Health Ecosystem in the age of digitation and rollout of 5G technology would make healthcare accessible to the needs of over 1.4 billion population in India.

"The digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities provided under the National Digital Health Ecosystem will provide access to healthcare digitally in the remotest of areas," he added.
Washington, Feb 2 : One student died and another was critically injured after being shot outside a school in Richfield, midwestern US state of Minnesota.

The shooting occurred around noon on Tuesday at the South Education Center, an alternative school that serves about 200 students from pre-K to age 21 in the region, Xinhua quoted the police as saying.

Officers discovered that two students had been shot on the sidewalk near the school's front entrance, and the suspect fled the scene immediately after the shooting.

Both injured students were transported to hospital. One student succumbed to his injuries, while the other remained in critical condition.

Richfield, a suburban city in Hennepin County, is about a 20-minute drive south of Minneapolis, a major city in Minnesota.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : A major fire broke out in an oil tank at a factory in Ghuman Hera area of southwest Delhi on Wednesday.

Fire Department received a call about the incident at around 5 a.m. Fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot following the information.

A senior official of the department said that the fire had broken out in an oil tanker and it could have turned into a major incident.

Considering the gravity of the matter, immediately more fire tenders were called. Around ten fire tenders were pressed into service to extinguish the fire.

The fire was brought under control within two hours.

The factory was emptied by the fire department to avoid casualty and no one was hurt in the incident. Local police had also reached the fire site to assist the fire officials.

"Fire was in electric transformation oil and electric cable. By 7:30 it was totally under control. No one was hurt in the incident," said the fire official.

The local police is estimating the cost of total loss in the incident and are recording the statement of the factory owner.

The fire official said that a short circuit might have caused the fire.
Wellington, Feb 2 : The New Zealand government on Wednesday decided to reduce the interval between a person's primary Covid-19 vaccination course and the booster from four months to three months so that more people can take their booster jabs as soon as possible.

A million more people above 18 years of age will be eligible for their boosters from this Friday when the decision takes effect, Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins told a press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

The government has considered advice from the Director-General of Health and the Covid Vaccine Technical Advisory Group, Hipkins said.

"This is a significant step in our response to the Covid pandemic" as it now means more than 3.06 million people aged 18 and above -- two thirds of the population -- will be eligible for their boosters from this weekend, he said, adding more than 1.3 million people have already got boosters.

"We are in a race against Omicron and the more people who are boosted the more we can reduce the impact of the outbreak," Hipkins said.

Bringing forward the booster timing will help those who have been immunised more recently. It will mean more people, especially Maori, will be able to receive a booster before Omicron takes hold in communities, he said.

To date, about 94 per cent of the eligible people in New Zealand are fully vaccinated with at least two doses. That is close to 4 million Kiwis, over a quarter of whom have now also had their booster shots, according to the minister.

New Zealand recorded 142 new community cases of Covid on Wednesday, with 103 in the largest city Auckland, 12 in nearby Waikato, five in Bay of Plenty, two in the Lakes region, and 11 in Northland, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Chennai, Feb 2 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written a letter to his counterpart Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan urging him to direct the Kerala irrigation officials to maintain the water level at Siruvani dam at its full capacity.

Stalin in the letter written on Tuesday said that this was to ensure regular supply of water to Coimbatore corporation and surrounding areas.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister in the letter alleged that the Kerala irrigation department has been maintaining the level in the dam at 877 m, instead of its full capacity of 878.50m despite heavy rains in the past three years. Stalin said that this was affecting the regular supply of water to Coimbatore corporation and was creating drinking water problems in Coimbatore and surrounding areas.

He said that by lowering the level of storage by 1.5m , only 85 MLD of water could be supplied instead of 101.40 MLD. Stalin said that despite repeated requests from Tamil Nadu officials, Kerala irrigation department officials have not taken steps to maintain the level of the Siruvani dam in its full capacity.

Stalin said that Kerala and Tamil Nadu had entered into an agreement in 1973 to supply 1.30 tmc annually (from July 1 to June 30th) to Coimbatore for 99 years from Siruvani dam.

In a related development, Tamil Nadu water resources minister and senior leader of DMK, S. Duraimurugan said that the state will take legal steps to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu in the Mullaperiyar dam issue. He also took exception to the Central Water Commission's recent statement regarding a new examination on the security of the dam. The veteran leader in a statement on Wednesday said that the Tamil Nadu government will file a response to the Central Water Commission by February 4 and will put forth its arguments before the Supreme Court.

The Tamil Nadu Water resources minister also said that the Supreme court and other agencies of the central government had earlier reiterated that the Mullaperiyar dam was strong and its security was intact.
Lucknow, Feb 2 : Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has said that the 'cycle' (poll symbol) of the Samajwadi Party stands punctured and the 'hand pump' (poll symbol) of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has become redundant.

"The cycle has been punctured and the people no longer need a hand pump because water is now supplied to every house through pipeline," he told reporters.

Responding to RLD president Jayant Chaudhary's statement that he would not flip like a coin, Maurya said that in 2019, the people had already flipped away the alliance by voting the BJP to power.

Maurya further said that in 2022, the 'bua' (Mayawati) and 'Babua' (Akhilesh) are contesting separately and were aware of their impending defeat.

He said that in Mainpuri, the BJP would win all seats.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the Karhal assembly seat in Mainpuri and is sure of his easy win since Mainpuri, besides being a SP stronghold, is also his father Mulayam Singh Yadav's parliamentary constituency.

The BJP has fielded union minister S.P. Singh Baghel to challenge Akhilesh Yadav in Karhal.

The deputy chief minister further said that "No amount of campaigning will help Akhilesh who has been pursuing the policy of anarchism.

"His cycle will disintegrate into pieces and his Samajwadi Party will turn into 'Samaptwadi Party'," he added.
San Francisco, Feb 2 : The US competition watchdog will review Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Call of Duty (CoD) maker gaming company Activision Blizzard, the media reported.

Lina Khan-led Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will scrutinise whether Satya Nadella-run tech giant's move to expand its video game business will "substantially lessen competition", The Wall Street Journal reported late on Tuesday, citing sources.

"All proposed mergers of substantial size must be submitted for government antitrust review, which is conducted by either the FTC or the Justice Department," the report mentioned.

Khan is known as an antitrust advocate and has earlier taken on Big Tech like launching a probe last year into Amazon's $8.45 billion acquisition of movie and TV studio giant MGM.

Microsoft's acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard is yet another play by the tech giant to secure its stake in the nascent Metaverse and bring more intellectual property (IP) under the Xbox and Game Pass umbrella.

When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.

Following on the 2014 acquisitions of Mojang (makers of Minecraft) and 2021 acquisition of ZeniMax Media/Bethesda (makers of Doom, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout), Activision Blizzard brings IP like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush to Microsoft's portfolio.

Japanese giant Sony is also acquiring Bungie, the developer of Destiny and the original creator of the hugely popular Halo franchise, for $3.6 billion.

Halo was one of Microsoft Xbox's flagship franchises but after a few sequels, Bungie was spun out into an independent company.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The financial services industry is evolving at a rapid pace, with shifting consumer expectations, new technologies, and developing regulatory requirements. Cloud technology is a key enabler for firms looking to improve performance across a broad range of activities.

Broadridge Financial Solutions, a global Fintech leader with $5 billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that powers investing, corporate governance and communications for leading financial institutions. 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.

IANS spoke to Niladri Ray, Chief Technology Officer, Broadridge Financial Solutions India Pvt Ltd to get his insights on Broadridge's digital transformation journey and cloud strategy as well as how technology is disrupting the capital markets and wealth management ecosystem.

Excerpts of the interview: Q: The pandemic compressed the digital transformation journeys of many enterprises. As a leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions, can you tell us how you adapted to growing demands from your customers & some of your priorities for 2022? A: Thanks to a stellar relay chain led by our associates across our delivery capabilities globally, we were able to move from a reactive to a strong collective pre-emptive mode very quickly; all this while helping our customers scale unprecedented business volume surges and peaks.

Our Cloud Transformation journey and our partnership with AWS has been very helpful towards pushing the envelope on our already in-progress digital transformation journey. We pushed towards more workloads on the cloud to minimise efforts towards migration and maintenance and with the remote model.

To that effect, Amazon Workspaces helped as we scaled our operation bringing in new talent into the fold. This was backed by a thoughtfully worked-out framework backed by cloud engineering standards and best practices devised over the past few years.

Another handy lever was the managed services of AWS plus we used RDS, Lambda services, Glue, Redshift, and many other managed services. We went with Autoscaling features and ECS to address hosting and scaling demands.

Q: We have seen a spike in trading activity and record participation by retail investors in the financial markets globally. The capital markets & asset management firms are likely to witness stellar growth. As a CTO, what role do you see Broadridge playing as these trends accelerate? A: Yes, the trading activity has seen an unusual surge all across; we are no exception. We have best in class platforms for our capital markets, wealth and investor communications & governance areas and these have been resilient and steady as volumes through them have gone through the roof in this interim.

We are betting on our wealth platform built on top of an assortment of leading-edge technologies backed by an event-driven architecture that suits next-generation trading practices. AWS is one of our key technology contributors in this journey.

The wealth platform is designed to host monetisable decentralised and highly secure APIs for B2B and B2C segments at planet scale. We also have sound plans to ensure high availability and best in the class disaster recovery as we migrate workloads to the cloud.

We are one of the few successful franchises to successfully execute an extraordinary volume of repo transactions on the Blockchain, and are helping our customers transform through introduction of super agile solutions on Cognitive AI around intelligent exceptions processing and improved user experiences.

Our onboarding processes ensure reusable services are part of enterprise-wide shared libraries at the time of acquisition or ideation. Our architectures are being designed with a fusion of cloud based managed services and our shared services models to enable onboarding new clients with lesser incremental efforts, in a hybrid SaaS (software-as-a-service) offering format Q: How are you using the ABCDs of innovation -- Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cloud and Digital -- to understand and cater to the needs of your customers better?

A: We have been keen on cutting edge technologies and newer features of all popular products. We partner with all major vendors to experiment with those features as part of our innovations. We'd used Artificial Intelligence algorithms and native services provided by Amazon on some of our key products and earned top-up assignments from major banking clients.

Likewise, we used Blockchain in a unique way to drive secure and highly trustworthy trading. We see a steady rise in clients for this platform as well. We currently have more than 150 products and multiple workloads on the cloud at various SDLC stages.

We practically used all popular services in AWS cloud from EC2, RDS to ECS/EKS, Glue, Redshift to Textract, Sage Maker, Comprehend, and more. We pushed Amazon cloud and extended their service limits as the architecture demanded, services such as Redshift, Batch, Glue, Database migrations, UI Streaming, API management etc. We have great interest to containerise most workloads and automate deployments as part of modernisation.

Q: How important is modernising legacy applications in the transformation strategy you're leading in India? Can you talk about some of those modernisation activities such as the move to the newer stack of cloud-based technologies? A: Unlike wine, cheese, and artworks, antiquity doesn't raise the value of digital assets. The sooner a company upgrades its applications, the more relevant it becomes to contemporary business. We are very aware that smaller players win segments just betting on the technology trends. We would not want to take a chance on delaying modernisation. Our product roadmaps always have modernisation listed as one of the top priorities.

We're several decades old in Fin business with our specialties in customer communication, capital markets, and wealth in general. Our functionality has been added over decades across our many fortress applications as we have scaled this across customers globally. One of our primary tenets in modernisation initiative is to break monoliths and granularise functionality so that businesses, designers, and operations find it flexible to organise availability.

We had taken a fool-proof approach to port our applications to the cloud. We started with a thorough fitment study and made sure no security condition was breached while defining our modernisation plan.

We also took advantage of the transformation journey to streamline CI/CD and governance processes. All our applications migrating to the cloud follow the same set of checks and quality/security gates before they land on the cloud. This made our governance simplified, and deployments were consistent and operations efficient.

With Well-Architected Reviews (WAR) and Broadridge wide design standards, the application architects found it elegant to put together a reliable architecture that stands the test of time. We built scores of reusable services and artifacts on the cloud to save re-invention efforts.

Architects refer to the shared libraries before proposing a new component or service on the cloud. Similarly, infra cost management became much more transparent by leveraging perfectly tuned pre-built IaaC modules that generally take care of cost and security aspects.

With this, developers need to focus on implementing business logic and operations to ensure high availability. We scale easily now; signing up new clients is a hassle-free experience with cloud hosting.

Q: In terms of business outcomes, what benefits have you experienced by leveraging cloud technology? A: Our business processes have been redefined for Cloud and refined with each learning. We have a very granularly defined process today with clear checks and quality gates: 150+ products have successfully onboarded with these processes we believe we have gone through some of the hard yards in our cloud journey as we move from our Implementation part of our journey to realising the optimisation levels in our maturity.

We have invested time and entire energy to ensure we can scale on all fronts. We used IaaC and efficient CI/CD processes to improve the time to market. One of the recently delivered products planned to initially deliver a cloud version for 3 European clients -- within a few weeks, we had demand to deliver similar functionality for 3 more clients, and it hardly took a couple of weeks to onboard new clients. This is such magic, unimaginable in on-prem days.

We run Well-Architected Review (WAR) on all applications onboarding to cloud, and we ensure recommended IaaC artifacts meticulously configured for Broadridge are used in every project. That way, the cost levers, security settings, and scaling policies are all uniform, and usage is effective.

Our time to spin up new stacks has improved quite significantly, thanks to CI/CD pipelines in combination with hosting flexibility on Cloud. We propelled the logging and monitoring features of AWS by integrating with popular services such as Splunk, Datadog, Grafana, APM. The aggregated insights and synthetic monitoring features have given us perspective to help visualise our operations better.
Ramallah, Feb 2 : Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye has called upon the UN to provide protection to the Palestinian people in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

He said in a press statement on Tuesday that all the reports of international, Palestinian, and Israeli human rights non-government organisations have warned against the practices of the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian people wherever they are, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Due to the Israeli practices and violations of international law and human rights in the Palestinian territories, the UN is demanded to provide protection to the Palestinian people," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "the UN is obliged to heed the compelling evidence presented by all leading human rights organisations and hold Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinians." "Equally and urgently, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) must investigate Israel's crime against humanity without delay," the statement said.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are claimed by the Palestinians, in the 1967 Middle East war, and has controlled them ever since. The Palestinians have been seeking to establish an independent state on these territories together with the enclave Gaza Strip.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : As per the announcement of Afghanistan's Ministry of Higher education, public universities are set to reopen on Wednesday (February 2).

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a Twitter post applauded the move as crucial, saying that every young person has equal access to education.

"UN welcomes the announcement that public universities will begin re-opening 2 February to all female and male students," said the Twitter post of UNAMA.

Based on the announcement of the Ministry of Higher education of Afghanistan, universities in non-tropical provinces will resume in March while the new educational year in all provinces is supposed to begin in April, reported Khaama Press.

A total of 150 public universities across Afghanistan were closed for six months after the Taliban takeover that affected the studies of thousands of students in the country.
Mumbai, Feb 2 : Arjun Kapoor has started shooting for the last schedule of his next film 'Kuttey', a dark comedy.

The actor says he feels he has become a better actor by being on the sets of this film that also has outstanding actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma, Tabu and Radhika Madan in it.

Arjun says, "Kuttey' is an incredibly special film in my body of work. It is a special feeling when you can't wait to be back on the sets of a project and 'Kuttey' is that film for me." "I just couldn't wait to be back and surround myself around the ocean of talent that this film boasts of." The actor adds, "I feel like it's my day one in the film industry every time I'm on this set because every day is just amazing learning experience, seeing these outstanding performers push each other and me to deliver the best that we can on screen with every scene." "I have a two-week schedule to wrap Kuttey and I know I have become a better performer by just being on this set." The movie' is directed by Aasmaan Bhardwaj, son of the critically-acclaimed filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj.

Apart from 'Kuttey', the other films in Arjun's bag include Mohit Suri's 'Ek Villain 2', 'The Lady Killer' with Ajay Bahl, and the yet-untitled Jagan Shakti directorial.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Srinagar, Feb 2 : An encounter has started between the terrorists and security forces in the Nadigam area in South Kashmir's Shopian district, officials said on Wednesday.

"Encounter has started at Nadigam area of Shopian. Police and security forces are on the job," police said.

The gunfight broke out after a joint team of the police and the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about the presence of terrorists.

As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where the terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter.
Kolkata, Feb 2 : In the midst of the simmering differences between its generation next leaders and a section of old guards, the much-hyped organisational polls of Trinamool Congress is taking place in the iconic Netaji Indoor Stadium on Wednesday where the party MPs, MLAs, Councillors and district leaders will be choosing their Chairperson, All India President and members of the National Executive Committee.

The party has invited all the other political parties but the BJP, to see the election process.

Partha Chatterjee, Returning Officer of the election, said the party had invited leaders of other political parties to see the election procedure. Trinamool leaders in other states like Tripura, Goa, Punjab, Haryana and Meghalaya have been invited to attend the election.

Apart from the post of chairperson where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be nominated uncontested, the party leaders will elect the All-India National President and members of the national working committee. Political experts are of the opinion that the election will lead to several crucial decisions regarding the formation of the new working committee as well as increasing the authority of the party's national president within the party.

Though there are a lot of speculations about the formation of the national working committee, the prominent names expected to be part of the committee are TMC Rajya Sabha member and the former CM of Goa, Luizinho Felioro, Sushmita Dev and Mukul Sangma among others. "Many surprises are expected in the new national working committee," said a senior Trinamool Congress leader on condition of anonymity.

Political experts are also of the opinion that the address of Trinamool's chairperson on Wednesday is important as it will give a direction on how to run the party in a better way. Trinamool, now a national party, has moved beyond West Bengal and will contest the Assembly elections in other states too.

Under such a situation, Mamata Banerjee's instruction to the party leaders working in other states is important. Trinamool has given stress on transparency and Banerjee has mentioned over and again that any anti-party activity or attempt to malign the image of the party will be dealt with seriously. Under this backdrop, her address to the party leaders is immensely important, they opined.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, Feb 2 : As the fastest-growing smartphone brand realme gears up to launch its much-awaited 9 Pro 5G series in India, the upcoming devices will feature an industry-leading Light Shift Design feature on the rear panel.

To achieve this feat, the company gathered photographs of the sunrise from realme fans around the world in nine different time zones.

The designers then extracted the most classic changing colour in the sky from a quiet blue to a blazing red. This fleeting change was then replicated and imposed on the rear of the phone panel, according to the company.

The Light Shift Design applies to Sunrise Blue finish. Under normal sunlight or ultraviolet light, the back cover will become completely discoloured from blue to red in about 3 seconds; under no sunlight, it will fade in 2-5 minutes.

According to the company, not only did realme look into the thickness of the colour-changing layer but also the colour-changing form, the binding strength when adhered to the glass, working temperatures, and the lifespan of conversion times, along with the material that had to undergo synthesis tests at different steps.

It took over 200 attempts to successively vanquish difficult problems such as devising a way to 'alter' the molecular structure to make the material change colours and fade more rapidly, and repeatedly adjusting the concentration in order to attain a balance between the colour result and the thickness of the colour-changing layer.

The process works on the photochromic principle, which is a reversible reaction under the action of light where a coating with organic photochromic materials is added with OCA.

Image Source: IANS News

It can also change colours when exposed to ultraviolet rays.

The realme engineers creatively added an organic composite layer to the photochromic layer and glass, which not only guarantees the viscosity but also increases the colour rendering rate by 40 per cent - among the highest in the industry.

The design includes all three colors using a ground-breaking 3-layer grain process that creates a stunning colour-filled shine with a vibrant vertical beam that gleams from every angle, just like a mystical wonderland on the back of the phone.

The perfect superposition of the dual-layer coating and one reflective layer interlaces the tens of thousands of nano-textures, ensuring that the vertical beams and star points are dazzling, no matter what angle the user looks at it from, said the company.

The company is launching the 9 Pro 5G series (above Rs 15,000) at a time when according to Strategy Analytics realme's number series was ranked No 4 (as of Q3 2021) among the 'New Age Smartphone Families'.

In Q3 2021, realme became the fastest brand ever to ship 100 million units globally.

As one of the fastest-growing Android smartphone series to reach 40 million shipments, the realme Number series has achieved this milestone in only 14 quarters - the realme 1 was launched in 2018.

-- Syndicated from IANS
New Delhi, Feb 2 : With no relief in sight despite coal stocks running critically low and production disruptions looming across the Indian aluminium sector, the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) has approached the Ministry of Coal, urging the immediate resumption of adequate coal rakes for the highly power-intensive Aluminium industry.

In its representation to the Ministry, the AAI has lauded the combined efforts by the Ministry of Coal and Coal India Limited in reviving domestic coal production, which has helped ease the coal supply crisis for the Power Sector. The steps undertaken by the Ministry increased the overall daily rakes dispatched from 242 rakes/day in September 2021 to 289 rakes/day in December 2021. This has drastically strengthened the coal stocks of the Power Sector to around 10 days, a marked improvement from a mere 2-3 days in the months of September-October last year.

However, this has come at enormous cost to the Captive Power Plants (CPP)-based industry and the worst impacted is the Indian aluminium industry, which continues to see depleting coal stocks of only 3-4 days, abysmally low compared to the prescribed level of 15 days for the sector. Struggling to cope with this prolonged crisis since the second quarter of this fiscal year, the AAI has now sought the Ministry's support to ensure adequate supplies to the CPPs by earmarking at least 25-30 coal rakes per day to ensure viable industry operations.

The need for the CPPs is especially urgent, given that Aluminium production is a continuous process that requires huge volumes of uninterrupted quality power supply. This quantum can only be met only through the in-house CPPs set up by all the aluminium smelters plants to meet this specific requirement. Accordingly, the industry has established Captive Power Plants of 9,400 MW capacity (comprising 34 per cent of the cumulative thermal CPPs capacity domestically) to supply continuous power for Aluminium operations.

Even though the Government has reiterated that there is now an improved availability of coal in the country overall, the non-availability of rakes for the non-regulated sectors remains a major concern. Curtailing coal supplies to Captive Power Plants (CPPs) has directly resulted in a coal crunch situation for the Aluminium Sector. Any power interruption in an aluminium smelting operation for more than 2 hours can lead to the freezing of molten aluminium within the smelting pots, which takes a minimum of 6 months to fix, and then almost a year to once again begin yielding the desired metal output, causing enormous production, cost and supply disruptions. With the continued crisis, it will take over a year's time to clear the backlog of rakes, and for the CPPs to build and maintain adequate coal stocks for sustainable operations. The crisis further aggravates with the last-minute cancellation of coal auctions for NRS, giving no relief for the domestic industry to secure coal for manufacturing and CPP-based industries.

With the ongoing revival of the economy and increased post-pandemic industrial activity, the CPP-based industries are highly dependent on uninterrupted coal supplies which is vital for sustainable operations and the continued cost-competitiveness of power intensive industries vis-a-vis global players. Any production curtailment by this sector will have cascading effect on consumption and downstream supply chain, thereby adversely impacting the nation's GDP growth.

The AAI representation has gone on to highlight that since August 2021, the Non-Regulated Sector has been facing uncertainties in securing sufficient coal rakes for continued operations, with supplies limited to just 40-50 per cent of the required coal. This has led to a backlog of over 6000 coal rakes as most of the available coal and rakes are being diverted to the Power Sector as "Priority Coal Supplies", even despite their coal inventory situation drastically improving.
Saharanpur : , Feb 2 In a shocking development, the students of the Glocal Medical College have written to President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking his permission for euthanasia.

The students are troubled by the closure of their university which has been de-recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

In their letter, the students said that the city-based Glocal Medical College admitted 66 students for its MBBS course in 2016. However, just three months later, the institute was de-recognised.

The letter claimed that the college management kept them in the dark about this, and continued the course for five years.

They said that after exercising all possible options, including moving the Allahabad high court, the students are hopeless, and, therefore, seek to end their lives.

Responding to these allegations, Glocal University vice chancellor Aqeel Ahmed claimed that though the college wants the students to complete their degree, it was, in fact, on the appeal of these students that the MCI cancelled the No Objection Certificate (NOC) granted to it.

"They filed a writ petition in the high court, and then in the Supreme Court. On both occasions, the plea was dismissed. Despite this, we continue to stand with our students," Ahmed said.

As per the reports, the MCI had debarred the Glocal Medical College owing to its poor infrastructure.

In September 2020, the UP government had sought directives from the Union Health Ministry for the transfer of MBBS students from this medical varsity to other colleges.
Mumbai, Feb 2 : Actress Waluscha De Sousa has shared the first look of her character from her upcoming show 'Crackdown 2'.

On Tuesday, the actress took to her Instagram and shared an image of her character Garima Kalra from the second season of the show.

She wrote in the caption, "Garima Kalra... Unfiltered".

In the picture, he can be seen dressed as an Army officer with a fierce and feisty look on her face waiting to go all guns blazing. The show, directed by Apoorva Lakhia, also stars Saqib Saleem, Rajesh Tailang and Shriya Pilgaonkar.

Waluscha was last seen in the song 'Bollywood Wala Dance' and in the song 'Chingari' from 'Antim: The Final Truth', where she took up the folk dance of Lavani and received positive response.

The actress will soon be seen in 'Penthouse' directed by duo Abbas Mastan and in 'Escaype Live' on Hotstar.
Chennai, Feb 2 : AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister, O. Panneerselvam (OPS) has urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin to contain the rising price of river sand.

The former Chief Minister in a statement on Wednesday said that the DMK government had made an electoral promise of containing the rising river sand prices. He said that despite this the price of river sand is rising and that the government is not initiating any steps to contain it making the construction industry bleed.

He said that the price of river sand is hovering at Rs 13,500 per unit leading to untold miseries for lower and middle-income group people. He said that the DMK government had recently made a promise that it would make sand available at quarries at Rs 1000 per unit for a specified time but said that the promise has not been kept.

He said that there is a black market for sand in Chennai and other places of the state and called upon the government to take stringent action against those who are indulging in raising the price of river sand uncontrollably.

The former Chief Minister said that the transportation cost of river sand is one of the factors for the rise in prices and asked Chief Minister Stalin to take appropriate steps to bring the price down and to increase the availability of sand including quarry sand so that the construction work of lower and middle-income group people is not affected.
Sindhudurg : , Feb 2 (IANS) The Maharashtra Police have booked former MP Nilesh Rane, the son of Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane, for alleged 'misbehaviour' with the police a day before in the Sindhudurg Court premises, officials said here on Wednesday.

Among other things, he and at least four others have been slapped with charges for arguing with the police, illegal gathering in the court precincts, violating prohibitory orders, and disturbing peace in a public place.

The Sindhudurgnagari Police Station at Orose late on Tuesday booked Rane and others hours after they reached the court with many supporters when the Sindhudurg Court Additional Sessions Judge R.B. Rote was hearing the bail application of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane in an attempt to murder case.

The police had reached the court in riot gear and managed to evacuate scores of supporters of the Rane siblings after the court rejected Nitesh Rane's regular bail plea.

Shiv Sena MLA from Kudal-Malvan constituency, Vaibhav Naik also shot off a letter to the District Superintendent of Police saying Nilesh Rane and over two dozen of his supporters had gathered at the courtroom around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Contending that they had prevented public servants from doing their duty and abused the police, a probe should be conducted and action must be taken against the accused.
Chennai, Feb 2 : Director H Vinoth's eagerly-awaited action entertainer 'Valimai', featuring actor Ajith Kumar in the lead, will release on February 24, its makers announced on Wednesday.

Boney Kapoor, who is producing the film along with Zee Studios, took to Twitter to make the announcement.

He said: "Actions speak louder than words. The wait is well & truly over. Feel the power on 24 Feb, in cinemas worldwide." The film was supposed to have originally hit screens on January 13 for Pongal.

However, it was postponed after the government imposed restrictions to contain the spread of the third wave of the pandemic.

While announcing the decision to postpone the film due to the pandemic, Boney Kapoor had said, "Given the steep rise in Covid infections across the globe, and abiding by the regulations of the authorities, we have decided to postpone the release of our film, 'Valimai' until the situation normalises." Now, with the government relaxing restrictions, the team has chosen to release the film.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Bengaluru, Feb 2 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is all set to meet top central leaders on inter-state river linking projects announced during the presentation of budget on Thursday, according to high level sources.

Water experts have expressed apprehension that the river linking projects will help neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and not Karnataka.

CM Bommai has sought appointments with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP Party President J.P. Nadda to explain the fears regarding the projects. The water experts in the state have feared that the announcement of river linking may prove detrimental to the interests of the state.

The CM on Wednesday said that he would visit New Delhi. "I would meet MPs and senior advocates who represent the state on the issues of inter-state water dispute most probably on Thursday." Talking to IANS, Prof C. Narasimhappa, water expert stated that the river interlinking project will not benefit Karnataka at all. The interlinking of rivers will benefit Tamil Nadu state and Andhra Pradesh will be benefited to an extent. Andhra Pradesh has interlinked River Godavari to River Krishna. The interlinking of projects would benefit Tamil Nadu to a maximum extent, he stated.

Captain Raja Ram explained said that the state should see to it that its share is announced before the DPR is done for interlinking of rivers. The basic idea of interlinking of rivers is to provide water from river basins which have surplus water to deficit basins. "Our state should not sit quietly and demand and get our share of water otherwise we should not agree to the project." The directions have already been given to MPs from the state to gather inputs in this regard as well as collect information on departmental wise allocation for the state.

CM Bommai has stated that before the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared, the state's share of allocation of water from respective rivers has to be finalised. At that point of time, the state will vouch for its share.

"The Centre has stated that the project of interlinking of rivers Cauvery, Pennar and Krihsna would be taken up if there is consensus among the states on DPR. We have to get clarity on the state's share of water. Earlier, DPR prepared by the UPA government allocated less share of water and it was objected to," he explained.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced implementation of Godavari-Krishna, Krishna -Pennar and Cauvery-Pennar River linking projects, once the consensus is reached between the respective states. Experts in the state say that these projects will not benefit Karnataka.

Experts explain that Godavari River has to be deviated from Nasik and linked to Krishna River near Doodhganga and there is no benefit from this to the state. Krishna River is going to be interlined with Pennar near the region 25 kilometers away from Mulbagal town. Pennar River flows only 20 kilometers in the state. The interlinking will only benefit neighbouring states.

The state has sought an additional 80 TMC of water share in the interlinking of Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery Rivers from the union government with an intention to bring 8 lakh hectares of agricultural land into irrigation. However, the union government has not agreed to it and the state has been objecting and raising its demand. Now since this ambitious project has been announced in the budget and since BJP is in power in both states as well as at the centre, it is expected that Karnataka will at least get 50 TMC of water share.

If consensus is not reached at the DPR level, it will create inter-state disputes. The matter will again reach the courts. During these times of ecological imbalance, the availability of water in the rivers can't be predicted and it is going to create more rifts among states.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday said in the Rajya Sabha that the criminalisation of marital rape will end the institution of marriage.

During the question hour, the BJP lawmaker also asked if the government was in favour of criminalising marital rape.

Responding to the query, the Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that this matter is sub-judice, so she cannot elaborate on the matter.

The CPI MP Binoy Viswam had asked a question about the sexual violence within marriages during the Question Hour.

Responding to the CPI Member, the Minister said that to condemn every marriage in the country as violent and every man as a rapist is not advisable. "The matter of marital rape is sub-judice. There are over 30 helplines in the country which have assisted women. Protection of women and children is a priority of the government," Smriti Irani said. However, Viswam also clarified that he never meant every man is a rapist.

Apart from this, several other questions were also raised in the Rajya Sabha. Replying to the questions on Panchayati Raj system on the Panchayat's inclusion in the digital campaign, the Minister of States Kapil Moreshwar Patil said that many Panchayats have been linked in the e-gram swaraj, and the ones which are not linked are in the process of being linked.

The Minister also said that remuneration to the Panchayat members is an issue of the states' governments and they can take decisions on Panchayati Raj issues.

Responding to a question of the BJP lawmaker Rakesh Sinha, the Minister further said that various state governments send their elected Panchayat representatives to those Panchayats which are working better.

On a question on the state of the capital of Andhra Pradesh, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that the capital of Andhra Pradesh is Amravati, and the issue of three capitals of the State will be resolved soon.

During the Zero Hour, the Rajya Sabha Members raised the issues of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)A and appointment in the Railway.

Raising the issue of non-renewal of FCRA license of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, the V. Vijaisai Reddy Member of YSR Congress Party said that the Devasthanam needs the foreign funds.

Raising the recent issue of Railway recruitment, the NCP Member Fauzia Khan said that this has exposed the unemployment and failure of the education system.

BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi said there should be one exam for Group D and there is no need for two examinations. AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that the students should not be treated as enemies and they were beaten up in Prayagraj and Patna and over a thousand FIR have been registered against these students.

Earlier, when the House assembled at 10 a.m., the Chairman Venkaiah Naidu read the obituary message and said that the Indian government has announced humanitarian aid to Tonga after it was hit by Tsunami.

Naidu began the session with obituary references to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and David Sassoli, former President of the European Parliament, who passed away recently.
Sydney, Feb 2 : The emergency department in Western Australia (WA) has issued warnings of two separate bushfires in the state's southwest and the capital Perth.

The blaze in Perth started in the suburb of Canning Mills and it has burned at least 96 hectares of land so far, Xinhua news agency reported.

The bushfire in WA's southwest town Kirup is also at emergency warning level, which is moving "slowly" in a northwestern direction.

The state's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said the bushfire warnings were initially issued on Tuesday, and more than 200 people were on-site battling the blaze.

The two fires are currently stationary compared to the beginning, but the warnings remained in place due to the wind intensity.

"The wind intensity has increased overnight and put pressure on containment lines," the DFES said.

"It is (still) not contained or controlled. There is a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is approaching in the area and conditions are changing." The DFES advised people to leave now for a safer place, otherwise, they should seek shelter in their homes and keep water running through the indoor settings if possible.

"Choose a room with two exits and water such as a kitchen or laundry," the DFES warned.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday informed the House about the passing away of Archbishop Emeritus of South Africa and former serving President of the European Parliament and the House observed silence as a mark of respect in the memory of the departed.

"Hon'ble Members, I refer with profound sorrow to the passing away of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu of South Africa and His Excellency David Sassoli, the then serving President of the European Parliament," Naidu said.

He also said that the Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu passed away on December 26, 2021, at the age of 90 years. Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Tutu was a global leader and a human right activist who always emphasized the importance of equality and human dignity.

"Influenced by Gandhiji, he brought spiritual values to the anti-apartheid struggle and upheld the noblest ideals of humanity. He was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2005 in recognition of his invaluable contribution towards social and political transformation in South Africa and thereby contributing to World Peace," the Chairman further said.

Archbishop Tutu was a guiding light for countless people globally. His emphasis on human dignity and equality will always be remembered, he added.

Making an obituary reference for David Sassoli, Naidu said that Sassoli passed away on January 11, 2022.

"He will fondly be remembered for his efforts to deepen India-EU Parliamentary engagement and we hope to carry forward his vision of enhanced parliamentary ties between India and the European Parliament, the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

The House joins the bereaved families, the Government and people of South Africa and the European Parliament in mourning the passing away of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu and His Excellency David Sassoli and conveys its heartfelt condolences to them, he added further.
New Delhi, Feb 2: The appointment of Pakistan's career diplomat Masood Khan, who also served as 'President' of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), as Islamabad's ambassador to the United States of America, has run into rough weather on account of his unapologetic support to several designated terrorist organisations. These include Salahuddin's Jamaat-e-Islami backed Hizbul Mujahideen which has been operating in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990.

The US Department of State declared Salahuddin as a "global terrorist" in June 2017 while his Hizbul Mujahideen was declared as "specially designated global terrorist" (SDGT) in August 2017.

After Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter in Kashmir's Anantnag district on July 8, 2016, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif praised him as a "popular leader" in his speech at the United Nations. It ruffled many feathers as Wani had, in a video released in August 2015, called for the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate in Kashmir. For the first time, it was directly in conflict with the Kashmiri militants' populist slogan of 'azaadi'.

In the video, Wani identified himself with the pan-Islamist cause espoused by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda -- the global terrorist organisation universally held responsible for September 11, and many other attacks on the American interests. "We will not stop until an Islamic caliphate is established," Wani said in the video, inviting the Kashmiri youths to fight for the creation of an Islamic State in the region.

The six-minute video, which showed Wani in combat fatigues and flanked by two armed guards with Quran beside him, was released by the same unit of militants which had previously circulated a picture of Wani and his unmasked guerrillas in a South Kashmir orchard.

At a commemoration event at Muzaffarabad on 7 July 2021, 'President' Masood Khan said: "We grieve today for Burhan Wani. . . . He lives on . . . in our hearts. He sacrificed his life for a cause." Khan said that the history of Kashmiris' struggle would remain incomplete without the chapter of Burhan Wani "a hero and a glittering star of the liberation struggle, which has been continuing for the last seven decades." He said that Wani at his young age had "devoted himself to the Kashmir liberation movement and had carried forward the liberation struggle with his valour, wisdom, and vision in a way that he had become the role model for the liberation movements across the world." "Wani's martyrdom was certainly a loss of the freedom-loving people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, but his martyrdom would also continue to give a new impulsion to the movement for the right to self-determination of the oppressed Kashmiri nation", Khan added.

In his statements, Khan has been a sworn supporter of Hizbul Mujahideen. From Burhan Wani to Junaid Sehrai, he has glorified many of the organisation's commanders as "heroes" and "freedom fighters" without regard to the US State Department's designations. He called sanctions against Salahuddin as "unjustified" A statement issued by Khan's office in 2020 said: "Paying homage to top Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Junaid Sehrai, and his associate, Tariq Ahmed for offering the supreme sacrifice of their lives for the freedom of their motherland, President (Masood) Khan said all the martyrs and their sacrifices are an asset for the liberation movement. He reiterated Kashmiris' resolve to accomplish the mission of their martyrs at all costs".

In 2019, Khan participated in the All Parties Kashmir Solidarity Conference in Islamabad. He shared the stage with Fazlur Rehman Khalil, founder of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), which the U.S. State Department designated as a terrorist organization in 1997. In 2014, the US government had designated Khalil as SDGT for "maintaining close relationship with al-Qaeda, including with Usama Bin Laden (UBL) prior to his death". Khalil was a key member of UBL's International Islamic Front and a cosignatory of UBL's first fatwa issued in 1998 calling for attacks against the United States.

According to an article in the American publication 'National Review', Khan is also "a supporter of the violent South Asian Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami, whose killing squads helped the Pakistani military carry out acts of genocide against Bangladeshis in 1971". Statements published on the Presidential website in PoK featured excerpts of the speeches Khan gave at Jamaat-e-Islami demonstrations and events, in which he "paid tributes to Jamaat Islami Pakistan for playing an active role in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir." In 2019, journalist Abdullah Bozkurt tweeted photos of Masood Khan "visiting Turkish intelligence linked charity outfit #IHH that is accused of sending arms, supplies to al-Qaeda linked jihadist groups in #Syria & #Libya,"adding that "IHH runs operations in Kashmir area." Branches of the IHH have been designated as terrorist organizations in Germany, the Netherlands, and Israel.

While Khan served as the 'President' of PoK, extremist charities such as Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) repeatedly enjoyed praise from him and his office, which declared its commitment to "cooperation" with the group. According to Sam Westrop in National Review, HHRD is a leading American proxy for Jamaat-e-Islami.

In 2017, HHRD openly partnered with designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were murdered. HHRD also funds and partners with Jamaat-e-Islami's welfare arm, Al-Khidmat Foundation, which is closely involved with Hizbul Mujahideen, and which proudly boasts of funding Palestinian terrorist group Hamas for its 'Jihad'.

In 2019, the Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan addressed a conference organized by a leading American Islamist organization, Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). In 2018, the Canada Revenue Agency suspended a branch of ISNA after the organization transferred $136,000 (Canadian) to Kashmir, where it is suspected to have fallen into the hands of Hizbul Mujahideen.

While Khan's credentials are being submitted to White House, Congressman from Pennsylvania Scott Perry has written a detailed dossier and urged President Joseph R. Biden to reject his appointment.

"I write with grave concern about the appointment of Masood Khan as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States. Imran Khan's nomination of a bona fide terrorist sympathizer working to undermine our interests in the region - as well as the security of our Indian allies - can only be described as a breathtaking lack of judgment at best, and a demonstration of Islamabad's unmitigated contempt for the United States at worst," Perry has written.

"Masood Khan has praised both terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations - including Hizbul Mujahideen - in stark and unsettling terms. He has encouraged young men to emulate jihadists like Burhan Wani, a former commander of Hizbul Mujahideen who dedicated his life to a holy war against India. In 2017, Mr. Khan lashed out at the United States for designating the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen for sanctions, calling those sanctions unjustifiable," Perry has written further. He has referred to Khan's love and liaison with SGDTs Khalil, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, LeT and al-Qaeda besides Jamaat-e-Islami.

"This unscrupulous individual also called on the United States to free would-be mass murderer Aafia Siddiqui. In 2010, Siddiqui was convicted of attempting to murder American Troops; since then, jihadists have regularly clamouured for her release - to include the perpetrator behind the anti-Semitic hostage crisis in Colleyville, Texas earlier this month," Perry has written to Biden.

"I urge you to reject any diplomatic credentials presented to you by Masood Khan and reject any effort by the Government of Pakistan to install this jihadist as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States," Perry has written.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
New Delhi, Feb 2 : Delhi Police has arrested three people in a road rage incident in which three persons were shot at and injured by armed assailants near Red Fort area of north Delhi, an official said here on Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Shehzada Farid, Shadaab (who fired shots) and Shahbaaz alias Badshah.

Furnishing details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (north Delhi) Sagar Singh Kalsi said the firing incident took place between 9-10 p.m. on Monday when one Mohammed Shahid, an automobile spare parts dealer, was returning home after dinner with his wife on a motor-cycle.

When the couple reached Angoori Bagh area, their two-wheeler met with a small collision with another bike after which an argument ensued between both the parties. The complainant Shahid demanded compensation from the other party, however, the argument soon turned violent and the bikers called their associates from Seelampur area.

"After some time 3-4 boys reached on 2 two-wheelers among which one person fired several shots on the public and all fled from the spot," the DCP informed.

Three people, identified as Abid (Shahid's brother), Dilparaz and Aman, were injured during the incident. "All of them are recovering and currently out-of-danger," the official said.

Kalsi said they have recovered the country-made pistol used in the crime along with a mobile phone and two scooties on which the accused came.

Further probe is on and several teams have been deployed to nab other associates of the accused, the official added.
Mumbai, Feb 2 : The second season of the web series 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein' starring Tahir Raj Bhasin, Anchal Singh, Shweta Tripathi, Saurabh Shukla and Anantvijay Joshi was announced on Wednesday.

The series, designed as a pulpy romance thriller, tells the story of a simple guy torn between the love of his life and the girl, who pursues him out of desire. The show will soon go on floors.

Commenting on the success of season 1, creator, producer, director and writer, Sidharth Sengupta said, "'Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein' is a project which is extremely close to my heart and it is truly humbling to see it not only come to life but also being loved by audiences all over the globe." "This journey would not have been possible without each and everyone who has worked so hard on this project." Expressing his gratitude towards his co-writers, Sengupta said: "I am thankful to have such an enriching working relationship with my co-writers Anahata Menon & Varun Badola who helped carve out the intriguing plot and the multilayered characters." "Tahir, Shweta and Anchal along with the ensemble cast who have beautifully brought these amazing characters to screen with such powerful performances and every member working behind the camera without whom this project would not have been possible." The director also spoke about his collaboration with the streaming giant Netflix through this series.

"I am grateful to have collaborated with Netflix to bring out such an engaging story and it is overwhelming to know that such a vast audience not only in India but also across the world have enjoyed and appreciated the show. We are excited to get working on season 2 of aYeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein' and bring itA for the fans soon," he said.

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin shared his excitement, "I'm delighted with the unanimous love and praise that 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein' has got. I'm also thrilled that people have loved my performance." "The decibel level of appreciation has been loud and clear and it's amazing that we have announced the second season of 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein' when the first season is still being discussed and watched by so many people."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, Feb 2 : Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday referred to the devastation in Malaysia and Tonga, which have recently been badly hit by the torrential rain and Tsunami respectively, and observed silence as a mark of respect to the memory of those who lost their lives in these tragic incidents.

"Hon'ble Members, between December 17 and 19 last year, Malaysia was hit by severe torrential rains causing severe flood calamity in several parts of the country which was one of the most devastating floods in hundred years in Malaysia, causing displacement of 70,000 people and reportedly 50 people lost their lives," Naidu said. The unprecedented floods wreaked extensive damage to the property and livelihoods of the people, he added.

He further said that in another tragic incident that took place on January 15, 2022, a massive underwater volcanic eruption near the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa, triggered 1.2-1.5 meters high Tsunami waves causing flooding in the island Kingdom of Tonga. "The country is reported to have suffered significant infrastructure damage and more than 80 per cent of the country's total population is said to be affected by the eruption and tsunami," the Chairman said, adding that people have also reportedly lost their lives in the disaster.

Naidu further said that as an immediate measure, an assistance of US Dollar 200,000 is being announced by the Indian government while the Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR), including relief and reconstruction efforts, are also being ascertained.

Describing that the loss of precious lives and extensive damage to property in these tragic incidents are indeed painful and unfortunate, the Rajya Sabha Chairman said, "This House joins me in expressing our heartfelt condolences as well as deep sympathy and sorrow on the losses suffered by the people of Malaysia and the Kingdom of Tonga and reiterate India's stand of solidarity with them."
Washington/Seoul, Feb 2 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has condemned North Korea's recent missile tests in a telephone conversation with his Japanese counterpart Hayashi Yoshimasa.

The top US diplomat on Tuesday also vowed cooperation with South Korea and Japan to completely denuclearise the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported citing state department spokesperson Ned Price.

"Secretary Blinken condemned the DPRK's recent ballistic missile launches, which were in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and committed to trilateral cooperation with Japan and the Republic of Korea towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," Price said in a press release.' The Blinken-Hayashi call came after North Korea launched an intermediate range ballistic missile on Sunday (Seoul time) that it later identified as a "Hwasong 12-type ground-to-ground intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile." The launch marked the North's seventh missile test this year.

Price on Monday said the US will continue to seek diplomacy with North Korea but also steps to hold the North accountable for its actions.

Earlier reports said the US has called for a UN Security Council meeting to be held this week to discuss North Korea's recent series of missile tests.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also denounced the North's recent missile launches as "escalatory" and "destabilising" in a three-way conversation with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts on the day.

"Deputy Secretary Sherman denounced the DPRK's recent and escalatory ballistic missile launches as violations of UN Security Council resolutions and destabilising to the region and discussed ongoing efforts to achieve the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," Price said of Sherman's call with South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo.

"The Deputy Secretary highlighted the US' continued readiness to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy with the DPRK in order to make tangible progress," he added in a press release.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

Sherman and her Japanese and South Korean counterparts highlighted the importance of cooperation between their countries in dealing with regional challenges, according to the department spokesperson.

"The Deputy Secretary and vice foreign ministers reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation between the US, the ROK, and Japan in tackling pressing challenges in the region and across the globe," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

In a separate press release on the trilateral talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said that Choi, his US and Japanese counterparts urged the North to stop escalatory actions and take a "path of dialogue and diplomacy." The three-way conversation also came after US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, held discussions with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, separately, over the weekend.

During his talks, the US special envoy condemned North Korea's recent missile launch, but also stressed US readiness for serious and sustained diplomacy with the North, the state department said.
"The central government is trying to collapse democracy by acquiring a technology platform like Pegasus for reportedly a Rs 15,000 crore deal. Phones of journalists, judicial officers, politicians, businessmen, industrialists were tapped. Such rampant spying by the central government is dangerous for democracy," Patole said.

Panaji, Feb 2 (IANS) By acquiring a sophisticated spying software like Pegasus, the central government is trying to trigger a collapse of democracy in India, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole said here.

"The central government is trying to collapse democracy by acquiring a technology platform like Pegasus for reportedly a Rs 15,000 crore deal. Phones of journalists, judicial officers, politicians, businessmen, industrialists were tapped. Such rampant spying by the central government is dangerous for democracy," Patole said.

Patole is in Goa to campaign for the Congress party ahead of the February 14 polls.

"Now, when a foreign newspaper publishes a report on Pegasus, the central government accuses the newspaper of being 'suparibaaz'. People also know what 'godi' media in India is doing," he said.

Patole also said that the aggressive response of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its cadre to the Opposition's Pegasus charge was understandable.

"BJP will be affected by the Congress charge on this issue and that is why their workers are confronting our workers. The BJP is aggressive because their real face has been exposed to the people, which involves invading people's personal space, their lives and blackmail comes to the fore. The BJP is bound to react aggressively," he said.
Panaji, Feb 2 : Country liquor outlets and beer vends were promoted in rural Maharashtra when the then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government was in power in the state, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole has said.

Asked about Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's indicative comment on the Maharashtra government's decision allowing sale of wine in supermarkets, in which the veteran politician suggested that he would be okay if the decision was reversed, Patole said on Tuesday that it was up to the government to take a call on the issue.

"The government can take the decision. Mumbai dance bars which were shut down during the alliance government, were reopened when the Fadnavis government came to power. Country liquor and beer shops in villages were opened under Fadnavis regimes. This is BJP's culture," Patole said.

Patole is in Goa to campaign for the Congress party ahead of the February 14 polls.

The Maharashtra state Congress chief also said that the state government there had allowed sale of wine in supermarkets following a central government norm, which had allowed sale of wines in supermarkets.

"According to the central government directives, wines could be sold in malls. The state government followed it. It will not make aAdifferenceAif the decision is reversed," he said.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Dr Bhagwat Karad made a sensational revelation that Finance Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Rao Pawar, who is also the deputy Chief Minister of the state, was absent in state finance ministers' pre-budget meeting called by Union Minister of Finance Nirmala sitharaman to know the budget expectations from the state governments.

"He (Ajit Rao Pawar) was not present in the pre-budget meeting of all the finance ministers of state governments. we sent invitations to all, others were there, sans Maharashtra's finance minister. This was an important meeting as the union finance minister wanted to know the budget expectations from all the state governments, it's the platform where all state governments participate and let the union finance ministry know about their financial requirements, but unfortunately Maharashtra's finance minister Ajit Rao Pawar didn't attend the meeting, even after repeated calls", revealed MoS Dr Bhagwat Karad.

This verbal spat started after Ajit Pawar commented that his state got nothing in this union budget-22, despite having a Union minister of state for finance from Maharashtra. This was actually a direct comment on MoS finance Karad, who hails from Maharashtra.

Dr Karad specially pointed out the pre-budget consultations with the Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories (with Legislature) for Union Budget 2022-23, chaired by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman on December 30. The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Finance, Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, Finance Ministers, Ministers and Senior Officers from the States and Union Territories (with Legislature) and the Union Government.

"He (Ajit Pawar) is the finance minister of Maharashtra, why didn't he come when he had an opportunity to convey his state's expectations before the Union finance ministry regarding the union budget-22? They sent an IAS officer, who didn't have any idea about the budgetary expectation of the state, what is the use?" added Karad.

Karad also mentioned one more meeting, where Ajit Pawar was invited as the deputy CM of Maharashtra, called by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman via virtual conference on November 15, with a view to enhance the investment climate in the country in the wake of strong recovery and the opportunities accorded by a shift in geo-political realities post pandemic.

The states like Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi sent their deputy CMs in the meeting as their CMs were not available or the Deputy CMs have finance portfolios, but from Maharashtra, it was attended by state officials.

"I can understand that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray was not keeping well at that time, so he was not in condition to attend the meeting, but what about the deputy CM of the state, Ajit Pawar? Remember, along with holding the finance portfolio, he is also the Deputy CM, but he didn't attend", said Karad.
Lucknow, Feb 2 : As electioneering in Uttar Pradesh touches a crescendo and barbs fly thicker and faster, one question that is hounding the BJP and its supporters is that whether Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be able to break the 'Kalidas' jinx.

While the Noida jinx has been a topic of discussion in political circles for decades, the Kalidas jinx has been very quietly whispered in the corridors of power in Lucknow.

The UP chief minister's official bungalow is located on Kalidas Marg - 5, Kalidas Marg, to be precise-and a look at history shows that no chief minister since 1950 has continued living here for a second consecutive term.

Though several chief ministers have enjoyed multiple terms in office, none has had the privilege of spilling into the second term while living in this bungalow.

Mashoor Ahmad, 91, who had worked as a maintenance staff during the regime of Kamlapati Tripathi in early seventies, recalls, "Even at that time, people used to murmur about the bungalow having a curse. Tripathi ji used to get 'puja' done at regular intervals but it is not known whether they were performed to remove the curse. It is a fact that while parties like the Congress returned to power after elections, the same chief minister did not make a comeback. Some chief ministers like N. D. Tiwari, Mulayam Singh, Mayawati and Kalyan Singh occupied this bungalow several times but never in succession." A retired IAS officer, on the other hand, said that the Kalidas curse was that the occupant would make some mistake during his tenure which would show him the exit door.

"According to a popular fable, Kalidas was once sitting on a branch of a tree on the wrong end and was sawing it. When he finally sawed through the branch, he came down with it. Similarly, chief ministers living here often tend to make mistakes that lead to their exit," he said.

The retired officer further said that the bureaucrats had informed some chief ministers, including N D Tiwari, but they took it lightly.

"I am sure if someone had told Yogi Adityanath about this, he would have changed the name of the street," he added.

The 5, Kalidas Marg bungalow is one of the best maintained and largest government bungalows in Lucknow.

Having multiple bedrooms, the bungalow has been renovated several times. Each chief minister has made additions and changed to the bungalow to suit his or her needs.

Mayawati, as chief minister renovated the Janata Darshan Hall and made many other changes and additions to the bungalow.
Panaji, Feb 2 : Weeks after Congress party candidates took a public oath in front of religious deities against defecting to other political parties after elections, candidates of the AAP in Goa on Wednesday signed affidavits against switching political parties after the February 14 polls.

At a press conference in Panaji, Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also said that the issue of defections had reached "world record" proportions in Goa, calling for the strengthening of anti-defection laws in the country.

"Goa's politics is such that it has a history of defections. I think it must be a world record that 15 of the 17 elected MLAs of one party switch sides to another. This pledge is a legal document and if any of our candidates go against their pledge they can be prosecuted for breach of trust and swearing a false oath," Kejriwal told a press conference in Panaji, during which the party's 39 candidates posed with their signed affidavits.

Kejriwal was referring to the exodus of Congress party MLAs to the BJP between 2017 and 2022. Two of the three MLAs from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party also switched to the BJP during that period.

"We have chosen all good candidates, when choosing we have chosen based on who is clean and honest. We have chosen them well, yet we have felt the need for this affidavit because not only should you be honest, but you should also be seen to be honest. People have to be reassured (that) If I work dishonestly or change my party you can file a case against me," the Delhi Chief Minister also said.

"Anti defection laws need to be strengthened in India. Especially in the case of Goa. If an MLA wants to defect for reasons of 'defection' then they need to go back to the people. This is a confidence building measure that we are giving you in writing that we will not change. Today we are the only party that is bringing a statement of oath before the people," Kejriwal said.
Mumbai, Feb 2 : In a major climbdown, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane, son of Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane, will surrender before the Maharashtra Police, his lawyers said here on Wednesday.

Advocate Satish Maneshinde said that Nitesh Rane's bail application before the Bombay High Court has been withdrawn with a statement that he would give himself up to the Sindhudurg Police.

Nitesh Rane said at his home in Kankavali, Sindhudurg that he was shortly going to surrender before the court.

"The bail application is withdrawn with a statement that the applicant (Nitesh) Rane is surrendering before the Investigating Officer (IO), even though 5 more days of protection by the Supreme Court are left, as he wants to face the investigation," Maneshinde said.

The development came a day after Sindhudurg Court Additional Sessions Judge R.M. Rote rejected Nitesh Rane's bail application citing various grounds and saying his custodial interrogation was necessary.

Nitesh Rane reacted by posting a picture of how Amit Shah was arrested by the CBI in 2010 when P. Chidambaram was the Union home minister, and in 2019 the CBI arrested Chidambaram when Shah is (currently) the Union Home Minister.

Alongside is a caption: "Time is Powerful, Humans are unnecessarily arrogant." Rane Jr. is charged for the alleged December 18, 2021, attack on a Shiv Sena activist Santosh M. Parab while campaigning for the Sindhudurg District Cooperative Bank polls on December 31, though the BJP leader has consistently denied any involvement.
Press Release

February 2, 2022 "This is an agriculture crisis" - Zubiri on high price of fertilizers and farm inputs Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri has been alarmed by the unabated hike in prices of agricultural inputs, particularly of fertilizers, that has almost tripled in just 18 months. "This is by far, the worst scenario that is besetting our farmers and I've been getting cries of help, particularly from the sugar industry sector," Zubiri said. The senator said that as early as October last year, he sounded off at the Department of Agriculture about the skyrocketing price of fertilizers. "In fact, I approved the DA's budget for 2022, with a colatilla that the DA should submit to the Senate a plan on how to address the problem on high fertilizer prices, and what concrete steps they should make to ensure a cap on fertilizers' prices," Zubiri said. The DA was expected to come up with an immediate plan, and medium term and long term plans for the entire agriculture sector and "we even discussed about the possibility of increasing fertilizer subsidies to farmers," he said, but acknowledged that additional funding for that may entail hundreds of millions. Zubiri said that he has received numerous calls from sugar industry leaders who are worried about the tripling of cost for farm inputs, especially with sugar planting set to begin in a couple of months. "Something must be done and I expect the DA and the Department of Trade and Industry to work together to address this," the senator said. He said it is quite "scandalous" that the two agencies tasked to oversee concerns of the agriculture sector has not done any intervention about the rising cost of farm inputs. "I am especially worried about the small sugar farmers that comprise more than 80 percent of our sugar producers. How can they recover from this, let alone be able to till their land for the coming crop year," he said. He added that all the gains to aim for increasing productivity will go down the drain because of our failure to protect our small farmers. "I have long pushed for the DA to come up with alternative solutions like organic fertilizers. Furthermore, the DA and DTI must explore the possibility of a public-private partnership in fertilizer production as part of the medium and long term plans." "I am committed 100% to ensure that the agriculture industry stays afloat. This is the industry I grew up in as a young boy in my Dad's farm in Negros Occidental, and as a young man in the fields of Bukidnon. I will continue to protect the agriculture sector," Zubiri added. Sen. Zubiri reminded the DA that our national policy is to help increase productivity by government subsidizing fertilizers, seeds and farm machineries. Sadly, our sugar farmers say government has fallen short of their promises. They cannot continue paying P2,500 per bag of urea, among others, any longer. A price freeze should be considered in tandem with a government to government import at very low prices."
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The Supreme Court has granted bail to Paresh Chauhan, one of the accused in the multi- crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) billing scam, saying the accused cannot be detained indefinitely in custody.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh said: "We are of the view that the appellant cannot be indefinitely detained in custody more so having already undergone a period of 25 months of custody when he can be sent behind bars for maximum five years. It is almost 50 per cent of the sentence. Complaint has been filed".

Chauhan's counsel submitted that his client has been in custody for 25 months out of a total period of 5 years for which he can be sentenced, and the investigation has not been completed so far. Chauhan was arrested by the state goods and service tax department in December 2019. He moved the top court seeking bail.

The accused counsel emphasized that the proceedings arising from evasion of GST were preceded by a search operation where the officers concerned occupied a house for more than a week with lady members , which was adversely commented upon by the high court.

The counsel further argued that the endeavour of the officers is only to teach his client a lesson for having initiated proceedings which resulted in adverse orders against them. The counsel also drew the attention of the bench on the counter affidavit filed by the Gujarat government where the allegation against his client is that he played an important role in execution of the scam and that confidential investigation is still under way in order to identify these persons and the role played in the execution of the scam.

Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju opposed Chauhan's bail plea saying that he is a habitual offender who has earlier also been engaged in violation of the law as per earlier provisions. "His submission is that a number of accused are absconding and only on their being taken into custody would the root of the problem be detected where the evasion of duty is to the extent of 64 crores", noted the bench.

The top court, in its order passed on February 1, said: In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, we are inclined to grant bail to the appellant on terms and conditions to the satisfaction of the Trial Court. We have put to learned counsel for the appellant that the appellant must be careful not to indulge in any such activities in the future".
Mumbai, Feb 2 : In a huge loss of face, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane -- son of Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane -- surrendered before a Sindhudurg Court, here on Wednesday afternoon.

The development came hours after his lawyer Satish Maneshinde said that Nitesh Rane's bail application before the Bombay High Court was withdrawn with a statement that he would give himself up to the Sindhudurg Police.

Soon afterwards, Nitesh Rane said at his home in Kankavali, that he was shortly proceeding to surrender before the court and slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for allegedly trying to arrest him illegally.

"The bail application is withdrawn with a statement that the applicant (Nitesh) Rane is surrendering before the Investigating Officer (IO), even though 5 more days of protection by the Supreme Court are left, as he wants to face the investigation," Maneshinde added.

The surrender came - amid tight security - a day after Sindhudurg Court Additional Sessions Judge R.M. Rote rejected Nitesh Rane's bail application citing various grounds and saying his custodial interrogation was necessary.

Observing that Rane was not "falsely implicated due to political reasons", Judge Rote said the he is the 'main accused' and his prima facie involvement has been shown, a conspiracy was hatched to teach (Santosh M. Parab, complainant) a lesson, and hence his "custodial interrogation" was necessary for proper and effective investigation.

Rane Jr is charged with the alleged Dec 18, 2021 attack on a Shiv Sena activist Santosh M. Parab while campaigning for the Sindhudurg District Cooperative Bank polls though the BJP leader has consistently denied any involvement.

According to Parab's police complaint, when he was returning home that evening, his motorcyle was hit by a SUV without number plates, one person stepped out and assaulted him with a paperknife.

Later, the assailant allegedly was overheard saying that Gotya Sawant and Nitesh Rane should be informed of (this) incident, called up someone and sped off in the SUV.

The police subsequently arrested 6 accused - Chetan Pawar, Karan B. Kamble, Anil Nakka, Karan D. Kamble, Deepak N. Waghode and Sachin Satpute - all from Pune, while two other accused Dnyaneshwar D. Devnur and Dheeraj Jadhav are still absconding.

As per the probe, Karan B. Kamble revealed the weapons used in the offence which were recovered and the attack was commissioned by Devnur and Jadhav for Rs 150,000 of which they were paid Rs 20,000.

The probe revealed that Satpute and Nitesh Rane had hatched the conspiracy on Aug 28 last year with the latter wanting to teach Parab a lesson for targeting the Rane family.

Remaining 'incommunicado' for several days earlier, Nitesh Rane reacted to today's fast-paced happenings by posting a picture showing how Amit Shah was arrested by the CBI in 2010 when P. Chidambaram was the union home minister, and in 2019 the CBI arrested Chidambaram when Shah is (currently) the Union Home Minister.

Alongside is a telling caption: "Time is Powerful, Humans are unnecessarily arrogant."
San Francisco, Feb 2 : A Chinese national has been sentenced to 26 months in a US prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Apple out of more than $1 million with counterfeit iPhones, reports said.

According to AppleInsider, Haiteng Wu, 32, immigrated to the US in 2013 to study engineering. He received his Master's Degree in 2015 and secured employment two years later.

However, the Justice Department said that, at the same time, he embarked on a three and a half year scheme to defraud Apple, the report said.

The scheme involved receiving shipments of counterfeit clones from Hong Kong that had spoofed IMEI and serial numbers corresponding to authentic Apple devices.

Haiteng, together with other conspirators, would then return these inauthentic devices to Apple, claiming that they were legitimate devices still under warranty. The goal was to receive authentic iPhone devices as replacements.

Those authentic replacements models were then shipped back to conspirators overseas, including in Hong Kong.

Haiteng recruited others, including his wife Jiahong Cai, to take part in the scheme, the report said.

In addition to the conspiracy itself, he also secured fake identification documents, opened multiple commercial mail receiving mailboxes and arranged for members of the scheme to travel through the US.

In total, Haiteng acknowledged that he had defrauded Apple out of nearly $1 million, adding that he intended to continue the scheme. He and his conspirator were arrested in December 2019. He has been in custody since.

He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in May 2020. On Tuesday, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan sentenced him to the 26 months he has already served in custody and ordered him to pay $987,000 in restitution, and an identical amount in a money forfeiture judgment.

Like her husband, Jiahong also pleaded guilty to one county of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in May 2020.

The case was investigated by the US Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the US Postal Inspection Service.
Kiev, Feb 2 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met in Kiev on Tuesday to discuss security issues, in particular Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border, the presidential press service said.

In a joint statement after their talks, Zelensky and Johnson warned that any further Russian incursion in Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and have a stark humanitarian cost, Xinhua news agency reported.

The leaders said that Ukraine and Britain agreed to work together to strengthen Ukraine's security and the ability to defend itself. They also expressed their commitment to strengthen Ukraine's energy security and support its efforts toward a green transition.

At the briefing after the talks, Zelensky said that although he does not support all the provisions of the Minsk agreements, it is the "only format that works." "We must do something that can de-occupy our territories in particular, protect our state in one form or another," Zelensky said.

He also said that Britain will allocate some 2 billion British pounds (around $2.7 billion) for joint infrastructure and energy projects with Ukraine.

For his part, Johnson announced that Britain will also provide 88 million pounds (around $119 million) of new funding for Ukraine to help it reduce the reliance on Russian energy supplies.

Johnson arrived in Kiev earlier in the day for a working visit. According to local media reports, later this week, he will hold phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Since November, Kiev and some Western countries have accused Russia of assembling heavy troops near the Ukrainian border with a possible intention of "invasion." Russia denied the accusation, saying that Russia has the right to mobilize troops within its borders to defend its territory as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's activities constitute a threat to Russia's border security.
Kolkata, Feb 2 : In a bizarre incident just a day before the re-opening of schools in West Bengal, two teachers -- a headmaster and an assistant teacher -- of a government school in Nadia district got engaged in a physical brawl over personal dues.

The other teachers and employees had to rush in to bring the situation under control.

The incident took place at Krishnanagar Collegiate School where headmaster Monoranjan Biswas and assistant teacher of geography, Nimai Majumdar, got involved in a fight in front of the headmaster's room on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Majumdar, he had asked for his salary slip which the headmaster refused following which he went for a sit-in-demonstration in front of the headmaster's room with a placard in his hand.

"The headmaster physically assaulted me," Majumdar told the media.

However, eyewitness to the incident said that when Majumdar was sitting in demonstration in front of the headmaster's room, Biswas was trying to give clarification to other assistant teachers.

"Suddenly Majumdar came and slapped Biswas on his head. Biswas turned around and replied with a blow. The other teachers rushed in and handled the situation," an assistant teacher present on the spot said.

Several teachers complained that the two teachers were in conflict with each other over petty issues but today the matter reached an extreme stage.

"He (Biswas) has been indulging in different kinds of wrong practices in the school. I have been protesting against this for a long time. I don't know how he can stay in the school after this," Majumdar told the media.

The incident has raised several questions regarding the re-opening of schools in the state. The West Bengal government has announced plans to start classes from VIII to XII, but parents have raised questions that if the teachers fight with each other before the opening of schools, then what is the future of the students?
Addis Ababa, Feb 2 : A head-on collision between a lorry and a police vehicle in Ethiopia's central Oromia regional state has left nine people dead, an Ethiopian official said.

Muktar Hussein, Assistant Inspector General, Goba district police peace division, Bale zone of Oromia regional state, said the traffic accident which occurred on Monday afternoon left four others seriously injured, Xinhua reported citing state media outlet Ethiopia News Agency (ENA).

Hussein further said the driver of the lorry has been arrested and is currently under investigation.

The injured are currently receiving medical treatments in nearby healthcare facilities.

Although Ethiopia has one of the lowest per capita car ownership rates in the world, deadly traffic accidents are fairly common, with the blame put on bad roads, reckless driving, a flawed driving license issuance system and lax enforcement of safety rules.
Mumbai, Feb 2 : 'Anek', a political thriller directed by Anubhav Sinha, is all set to release on May 13.

The film marks the second collaboration between Sinha and Ayushmann Khurrana after their highly acclaimed venture, 'Article 15'.

Earlier, the film was scheduled for release in late March but considering the public health condition owing to the third wave of the pandemic, the makers decided to shift the release to May.

Talking about the release date, Anubhav Sinha says, "'Anek' is based on a subject that concerns our country at a deep- rooted level. The film is set in a certain social context and aims to celebrate the diversity of our nation. It was an incredibly difficult film to make. We shot it in locales hard to navigate and in times that were the most difficult. But the film feels like a triumph of our spirit and I am so proud of what we've created." The producer of the film, Bhushan Kumar adds, "'Anek' is a celebration of diversity and an important subject that needs to be brought into the limelight. That's what made me want to be a part of it. This is a new benchmark Anubhav is setting for the industry by telling such a passionate story." The film touches upon a subject which has not been explored by many filmmakers in the country, and has been shot in picturesque locales of the North East.

The filmmaker refers to the film as his most ambitious project, and is his most expensive project till date.

Ayushmann Khurrana, who will be playing the role of Joshua in the film, posted a snazzy picture of his look on Wednesday.

'Anek', jointly produced by Bhushan Kumar's T-Series and Anubhav Sinha's Benaras Mediaworks, is all set to release on May 13, 2022.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Bengaluru, Feb 2 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said that he won't discuss the issue of cabinet reshuffle in public, indicating the pressure he is facing over the issue.

Answering a question to reporters whether the issue of cabinet reshuffle would be taken up during his New Delhi visit post the union budget, Bommai curtly said the issue can't be discussed in public. "I don't want to have any open discussion on the matter," he said.

Ruling BJP legislators in Karnataka have raised their voice for sacking of sitting ministers who are not responsive and providing them an opportunity to serve as ministers in the interest of the party ahead of 2023 assembly elections.

Though the High Command is occupied with elections of five states, senior BJP legislators like Tippa Reddy, Abhay Patil, Basavanagouda Patil Yatnal and M.P. Renukacharya have demanded immediate cabinet expansion and have also stated that if it is not done in two months, then it is not required.

Bommai is in a fix over the issue as cabinet rejig will have direct consequences on the elections. To his comfort, senior cabinet ministers K.S. Eshwarappa and Bhyrathi Basavaraj have said that they are ready to step down if the party asks them. However, sources in the party say that it is going to be a roller coaster ride for CM Bommai as well as the party.

CM Bommai was supposed to go to New Delhi on Thursday and has stated that on the request of MPs, he is taking a trip to the national capital on coming Monday. Four posts in the cabinet have been kept vacant and senior leaders are aiming for them. Some of the legislators are demanding the Gujarat model of cabinet reshuffle of resting old horses and providing opportunities to young faces.

Knowing well about the consequences, Bommai had earlier stated that the matter is seized with high command and they are aware of the demands by legislators. Whenever he is being called to discuss it, he will convey the concerns of the BJP leaders.
Bissau, Feb 2 : Several automatic weapons shots were reported near the Palace of the Government of Guinea-Bissau where an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers was being held.

The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon, when the president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and the Prime Minister, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, were inside the building, Xinhua news agency reported.

The situation is completely under the control of loyalist forces. President Embalo and Prime Mnister Nabiam are safe, according to a security source.

There were reports of unidentified dead inside the government palace.

Around 1 p.m. local time, the crackling of automatic weapons triggered panic among the population.

So far, there is no news from the government palace, and no one has come out of this place.

At the moment, there are constant movements of patrols of armed soldiers in military vehicles in the streets of the capital Bissau.

Since the news spread in the capital, in the city centre, all the shops, restaurants and banks have closed. Officials and students have gone home.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), issued a statement on Tuesday evening, saying the regional bloc is following developments in Guinea-Bissau with great concern characterized by military fire around the Palace of the Government.

ECOWAS condemns this coup attempt and holds the military responsible for the physical integrity of Umaro Sissoco Embalo and the members of his government, it said.

ECOWAS calls on the military to return to their barracks and maintain a republican posture, it added.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to consider a plea by gangster Abu Salem that his imprisonment cannot extend beyond 25 years, according to the terms of his extradition from Portugal by the Indian government.

Advocate Rishi Malhotra, representing Salem, submitted before a bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul that the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court did not agree with the contention that it was bound by assurance given by the Indian government to the Portugal government during his client's extradition. He emphasized that the apex court has the power to grant him relief in the matter.

After hearing arguments, the bench also comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh sought Centre and Maharashtra government's response on Salem's plea. The plea contended that the 2017 judgment of a TADA court, sentencing Salem to life imprisonment, was contrary to the terms of the extradition treaty.

According to the plea, Indian government, on December 17, 2002, gave a solemn sovereign assurance through Deputy Prime Minister to the Portugal government that if Salem is extradited for trials in India, he would neither be conferred with death penalty nor be subjected to imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years.

Pointing at another error committed by the TADA court, the plea said: "Error committed by the TADA Court was with regard to the issue of 'Set Off'. According to the appellant though he was in custody for some offences of passport violation in Portugal since September 18, 2002 and was undergoing a sentence of 4 and half year, yet, the appellant was detained also on September 18, 2002 in pursuance to the Red Corner Notice issued by the Designated Courts, Mumbai".

The plea added that even if the said date is not to be taken into consideration for the purposes of "set off", the ministerial order of March 28, 2003, of the Ministry of Justice, Portugal by which it had admitted the extradition request of the Indian government to be tried for various offences ought to have been taken into consideration. "The TADA Court however, held that since the appellant was released in the Portugal case on October 12, 2005, therefore, the custody for the purposes of Set Off would be counted from October 12, 2005. The error lies in not taking custody from the Ministerial Order dated March 28, 2003".

Malhotra submitted that his client as per the imprisonment certificate has undergone around 17 years of sentence by counting his set off period from November, 2005 whereas his set off period should be counted from March 28, 2003.

Salem was brought to India in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
Hyderabad, Feb 2 : An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter made an emergency landing in a village in Telangana's Siddipet district on Wednesday.

The helicopter (ZA449) had to land in fields at Jagadevpur village due to some technical snag. Both the pilots in the chopper were safe.

The helicopter from Air Force Academy Hakimpet on the outskirts of Hyderabad was on a training sortie when it developed some technical glitch.

Police rushed to the spot and provided security as a large number of curious villagers had gathered closed to the chopper.

Alerted by the pilots, the official at Air Force Academy sent another helicopter to the emergency landing site with technicians. After the repair, both the helicopters returned to the IAF Academy.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), the renewable energy arm of the diversified Adani Group, on Wedensday announced the financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2021.

The company posted robust growth in revenue from power supply, backed by strong growth in capacities and improved solar and wind CUF.

The continued growth in EBITDA from power supply and cash profit is supported by increase in revenues and cost efficiencies brought in through analytics driven O&M.

Increase in sale of energy in 9M FY22 is backed by capacity addition of 2,460 MW and improved solar and wind CUF.

Solar CUF improvement in 9M FY22 is backed by integration of high-quality SB Energy portfolio, consistent high plant availability of around 100 per cent and improved grid availability of 99 per cent. Wind CUF improvement is backed by technologically advanced and more efficient newly added Wind Turbine Generators (WTG), improved plant availability of 96 per cent, improved grid availability of 100 per cent, and improved wind speed.

"The continued robust operational performance and improving visibility of growth with firm PPAs demonstrate that we are well on track to become the largest renewable player by 2030," said Vneet S. Jaain, MD & CEO, Adani Green Energy Ltd.

"Our commitment towards ESG is only getting stronger with the global recognition of our efforts to light up the world with green energy and to further incorporate the best ESG practices on all fronts." AGEL has become the first Indian member of GRI South Asia charter strengthening its commitment for sustainability imperatives as per UN SDGs 7, 9, and 13.

Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) has received approval for being a member of the GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives. AGEL became signatory to the charter in April 2021. Firming up further, the company has now submitted a declaration with clearly identified UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) where it can make an impact in following years. Pursuant to this submission, AGEL received the approval to become a member.

The commitments are towards SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). AGEL has announced a target of having operating renewable energy generation capacity of 25 GW by 2025 and 45 GW while keeping the average tariff below national Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC). The cost reduction will be achieved by improvement of technology, optimisation of resources using Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning related digital interventions.

The GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives - a unique creation by GRI South Asia Hub - is a clarion call for business and its stakeholders. It is anchored to a framework of transparency and disclosure, as enshrined in the GRI Standards, and provides an ameliorating way out of the quagmire. The Charter serves as an important stimulus to implement sustainability-oriented imperatives that help realise the UN Sustainable Development Goals by the end of the current decade.
Itanagar, Feb 2 : The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) that handed over Arunachal Pradesh youth Miram Taron to the Indian Army on January 27 -- nine days after he was allegedly abducted, had tortured the teenager while he was in its custody, Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao claimed on Wednesday.

Gao, who represents the Arunachal East constituency, said that the PLA had tortured Miram, and kept him blindfolded, tied his hands, gave electric shocks, adding the teenager was also subjected to other inhuman treatments.

"Violating the international law, the PLA cruelly tortured Miram Taron in their custody. Earlier, several PLA personnel, Chinese citizens including woman were captured in the Indian territory, but the Indian Army immediately handed over them to the Chinese authority with full dignity," the parliamentarian told IANS.

He said that the Indian authority must look into the matter and take appropriate action and resolve the border dispute with China.

"The Indian border villagers in Arunachal Pradesh often went to the remote mountainous areas for hunting, collection of medicinal plants, other herbs and daily needs from the forested areas of the Indian territory but the PLA often kidnapped them and took them to their areas. These must be stopped," the BJP MP said.

Earlier, Miram's father Opang Taron also made similar allegations, saying his son seemed to be "mentally disturbed".

"Till minutes before Miram was handed over to the Indian Army, the PLA kept him blindfolded with his hands tied," Opang had told the media.

"One day he (Miram) was kicked in the back thrice by the PLA personnel. But he was provided food properly," Opang added.

Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao (BJP) on January 19 had spoken Miram going missing on his social media account.

The Indian Army then immediately approached the PLA on a hotline to trace and secure the safe return of the boy and shared the identity details of Miram with the PLA.

On January 27, the PLA handed over Miram, a Kendriya Vidyalaya dropout, to the Indian Army at Damai Border Personnel Meeting Point.

The Army after following the formalities including Covid protocols on Monday handed over Miram to his family four days after the PLA handed over him to the Indian Army.

Miram, who went missing while hunting along the India-China border since January 18, was accorded a grand reception by the Tuting (Zido) villagers after he was handed over to his family in the presence of the local leaders and Upper Siang District Additional Deputy Commissioner Starlie Jamoh.

A resident of Zido village in Upper Siang district, Miram, 19, went missing while hunting from Shiyung La in Bishing area of the Indian territory.

The Arunachal Pradesh government and Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju had earlier approached the Centre and the Indian Army to get Miram back from across the border.

The Chinese Army allegedly abducted Miram from the Indian territory where China had constructed a 3-4 km road in 2018.

Miram 's friend Jhonny Yaying, who managed to escape, reported the matter to the authorities and brought it to the notice of MP Tapir Gao.

Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,080-km border with China.
Los Angeles, Feb 2 : "Encanto" co-writer Jared Bush reveals the animated movie had a post-credits scene scrapped because it didn't fit the mood of the ending.

The writer shared a clip of the funny moment on Twitter and explained they decided not to include it because of the "emotion and joy" of the film's ending, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

He wrote: "We considered an after credit joke to end the movie, but ultimately felt going out on the emotion and joy of the family coming back together was the way to go... but the hilarious @darrinbutters animated it!! "So here you go! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR WATCHING WITH US!! #ENCANTO (sic)"

Meanwhile, Bush also responded to news the movie's song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" has hit the top of the Billboard charts.

This means it's tied with "Aladdin" classic "A Whole New World" as the highest charting Disney animated song ever.

Replying to an article about the achievement, he wrote: "This headline is overwhelming! Huge congrats to our incredible cast for their unforgettable performances (literally unforgettable) @Lin_Manuel, Mike Elizondo and our brilliant team of musicians, editors, brilliant musical minds, support staff & ALL OF YOU AMAZING FANS! (sic)" Miranda, who composed eight musical numbers for the film, which centres on a magical Colombian family, previously opened up about his goals with the film.

He said: "I wanted to help put a huge Latino family on screen and to widen the doors in my own corner of the world.

"But it's not some kind of grand academic thesis statement as much as it is keeping promises to your inner child."
Patna, Feb 2 : Two Maoists were killed in Bihar's Jamui district after an intense encounter with CRPF's Cobra battalion, SSB and STF on Wednesday morning.

The team was headed by district SP Sushil Kumar. The encounter took place in the jungle of Ghoghi Korasi area under ultra dominated Piribazar police station.

"We learnt that the attack wing of hardcore Maoists Baleshwar Koda, and Arjun Koda are present in the jungles of Ghoghi Korasi village. Accordingly, a joint team of Cobra squad, SSB and STF initiated combing operation," Kumar said.

"Maoists realized that they might be cornered by the sleuths, and started firing at us. In retaliation, we also fired at them. After an intense battle of over an hour, firing was stopped from the ultra's side. We believed that they fled from the spot," he said.

"We launched a search operation in the area and soon found two dead bodies of Maoists. They are identified as Jagdish Koda and Virendra Koda. We have also recovered an SLR rifle and a sophisticated pistol and several rounds of live cartridges," the SP said.
Mumbai, Feb 2 : A Mumbai court on Wednesday directed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to appear before it on March 2 in connection with a case lodged against her by a Bharatiya Janata Party functionary.

BJP Mumbai secretary Adv Vivekanand Gupta had filed a complaint with the Magistrate Court, Mazagaon, seeking a first information report against Banerjee for allegedly disrespecting the National Anthem.

"In a public event, on Dec 21, 2021, Banerjee sang the first two verses of the National Anthem sitting, and later stood up and sang the rest. Thus she committed offence under Prevention of Insult to National Honours Act, 1971, Section 3 and Home Ministry orders of 2015," Gupta told IANS.

Following his complaint, Metropolitan Magistrate P.I. Mokashi issued the process against the West Bengal Chief Minister and asked her to appear before the court on March 2, he added.

The alleged incident happened at the YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai where Banerjee was seen sitting and singing the National Anthem, then stood up to sing the remaining verses and abruptly stopped singing.

Gupta said he had lodged a complaint with the Cuffe Parade Police Station but since no cognisance was taken, he moved the Magistrate Court.

"It is a prima facie evident from the complaint, verification of statement of the complainant, video clip in the DVD and video clips on YouTube links, that the accused (Mamata Banerjee) sang national anthem and stopped abruptly and left the Dias which prima facie prove that the accused has committed offence under section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971," said Magistrate Mokashi's order issuing the process.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : Stuck over necessary permission required to offer its services in India, Elon Musk's Starlink, the satellite internet division of SpaceX, has been granted the right to operate in Brazil.

Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) allowed Musk to enter the country, saying that the consumers will be able to get access to the satellite-based broadband through companies buying capacity from the satellite network, or if existing sector players obtain an authorisation to operate.

"It is in the company's interest to provide internet access to customers throughout the Brazilian territory, which will certainly be very opportune for schools, hospitals and other establishments located in rural and remote areas", said Emmanoel Campelo, Anatel's interim President.

In India, the government had told Starlink to stop "booking/rendering the satellite internet service" in the country without a licence.

Sanjay Bhargava, India Director for Starlink, stepped down earlier last month amid the government pressure.

The Elon Musk-owned company also informed some individuals in the country that it will refund their pre-orders.

According to Musk, there are now 1,469 Starlink satellites active, with 272 "moving to operational orbits currently".

A recent report said that the satellite internet division of SpaceX now has more than 1,45,000 users across 25 countries globally.

Until November 2021, SpaceX had added roughly 11,000 users per month since beginning service in October 2020.

Musk at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) conference last year said Starlink should have roughly 500,000 users within the next 12 months.

He said Starlink is already running in 12 countries and expanding.
Bhopal, Feb 2 : After a large number of cows were found dead at a gaushala run by a local BJP worker in Bhopal, the opposition Congress has decided to take up the issue to corner Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. The Congress, which has started its campaign - 'ghar chalo, ghar ghar chalo', has decided to highlight the issue of cows during its campaign.

Senior Congress leader Jitu Patwari addressing a press conference at party office at Bhopal on Wednesday, accused the BJP of doing politics over cows. "BJP always claimed to be cow protector but in the last five years, 5,577 cows were killed in Madhya Pradesh. These numbers are from government's record," Patwari said.

Meanwhile, the Congress has formed a committee under former minister P.C. Sharma to prepare a report on killing of cows in the state. The committee has been tasked to collect reports on reasons that are resulting in death of cows. The committee will also find the amount allocated to different cowsheds from the government.

On Sunday, several cows were found dead at a private gaushala located around 40 km from Bhopal. Along with dead cows, a large number of skeletons of cows were also found at a place adjoining the gaushala.

The Bhopal district administration has booked a BJP worker - Nirmala Devi Shandilya, the proprietor of the cowshed in Bairasia.

Shandilya had been running a cow shelter in Bairasia for the past 30 years. The matter came to light on Sunday after some villagers shot videos of the carcasses that were left abandoned in a dry well near the cowshed and posted them on the social media. Later, a team led by district collector Avinash Lavaniya visited the shelter.
Tokyo, Feb 2 : Tech giant Sony on Wednesday said it shipped just 3.9 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the festive quarter of 2021.

According to The Verge, it is a slight bump over the previous quarter's figure of 3.3 million, demonstrating how the electronics giant is still struggling to meet demand during the ongoing global supply chain crunch.

As per the report, 17.3 million units in total have been shipped as of December 31, nearly three million fewer than the PlayStation 4 had managed at the equivalent point after its release.

The gaming division's revenue was down 8 per cent year on year (YoY) to 813.3 billion yen ($7.09 billion), but operating profit rose 12.1 per cent to 92.9 billion yen ($810 million).

Sony's crucial image sensor division had a good quarter, with sales increasing 22 per cent year on year to 57.8 billion ($504 million).

Operating profit was up 26 per cent to 13.3 billion yen ($116 million), though Sony attributes 12 billion yen of that to the weakening yen.

Sony said the revenue jump was thanks to higher sales of image sensors for smartphone cameras, a larger portion of which were premium products.

The movie division saw a huge increase in revenue, jumping 141 per cent YoY to 461.2 billion yen ($4.02 billion).
Pong Dam : , Feb 2 (IANS) A total of 110,309 waterbirds of 110 species were recorded in a two-day census in the 307 square km Pong wetlands, one of the largest man-made wetlands in northern India, in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district, it was announced on Wednesday.

Out of them, 100,018 of 59 species were migratory and 10,291 of 51 species resident. The total population of the flagship species, the bar-headed geese, one of world's highest-altitude fliers, stood at 47,598, an official statement said.

The other dominant species were the Eurasian coot (23,143), the northern pintail (4,665), the common teal (4,558), the common pochard (4,493), the Eurasian wigeon (4,149), the little cormorant (3,616), the northern shoveler (2,869), and the great cormorant (2,100).

The other uncommon species reported in the Pong wetlands are the greater white-fronted goose, the lesser white-fronted goose, the red-crested pochard, the ferruginous pochard, the pied avocet, the northern lapwing, the peregrine falcon, the common kestrel, the Eurasian hobby and the Eurasian spoonbill, smong others.

During the counting exercise from January 31 to February 1, one bar-headed goose with number marked as H74 was spotted.

The annual waterbird census was conducted under restrained conditions owing to Covid-19. The exercise was conducted by involving the field staff of the Hamirpur Wildlife Division of the wildlife wing. On January 29, the pre-census briefing was conducted online for the field staff regarding briefing and preparation of exercise.

On February 1, an exclusive estimation of larks and pipits was also carried out.

Eight species of larks and pipits were spotted. As per the estimation, among the larks and pipits, the sand lark was reported in the highest number (1,222), followed by the crested lark (331), the oriental skylark (265), the Eurasian skylark (231), the paddy field pipit (181), the tawny pipit (21), the Richard's pipit (six) and the rosy pipit (two).

Compared to 2021, the population of birds has increased from 108,578 to 110,309, while the number of species has increased from 96 to 110.

The most noticeable increase in the population of the bar-headed geese has shown an increase from 40,570 to 47,598 over the last year's count.

According to the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), the Pong wetlands are the one wintering grounds in the globe to hold such a large congregation of bar-headed geese.

Population of birds and number of species is expected to increase in coming days during return journey to their breeding grounds as birds from northwest, central, and south India will start arriving at the Pong wetlands.

Most of the wetlands in India have been regularly getting bar-headed geese every winter, but Pong holds the largest influx every winter, a BNHS ornithologist told IANS.

Most of these birds migrate from their breeding places in trans-Himalayan region in Tibet, Central Asia, Russia and Siberia. Over the last few years, the Pong Dam wetlands, a Ramsar site, has become an ideal destination for winter sojourn for many species of migratory birds.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav on Wednesday said in the Rajya Sabha that there is no need to provide a booster dose for Covid-19 in the country and only the vaccine companies are being benefited by this drive.

Slamming the government, he said that he was supporting the Motion of Thanks on the President's address because it's a tradition but he was doing it unwillingly as this address did not reflect the reality of the country.

Yadav said that when the parliamentarians asked the Union Health Secretary and DG of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) about the booster dose, they said that the Additional DG of ICMR will reply and he (ADG of ICMR) said that there was no necessity to provide booster doses in the country. He said "Only vaccination companies are being benefited because of this drive, and it was not needed." Speaking further on the President's address, Yadav said that the President's speech was far away from reality. However, he said that he agreed that the frontline workers have done a commendable job during the pandemic and he appreciated these workers.

Talking about the record vaccinations in the country, he said that India has a huge population of over 126 crore and that is why the government has vaccinated such a large number of people. "The record was made by Israel which vaccinated all its citizens last year, this is called a record", Yadav quipped.

Mentioning Aayushman Bharat, he said that the scheme is good but there is a huge shortage of doctors in the country. The government has set up over 80,000 wellness centres but there are no doctors available in these centres.

Yadav added that the mover of the Motion of Thanks, BJP Member Geeta alias ChandraPrabha and another BJP MP Shwait Malik who seconded the Motion of Thanks, both were absent from the House after their speech. This is against the Parliamentary tradition and they should remain in the House today while the discussion is on, he added.

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva while participating in the debate, said that the government was ignoring the farmers of the country. "The country was an agrarian economy, but now it is becoming a corporate economy," he said.

Calling the BJP government as anti-regional languages, Siva said that it is imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States.

"The BJP government came to power with the mantra of minimum government, maximum governance, but now there is only maximum government and no governance," Siva added.

The debate on the Motion of Thanks remained inconclusive and will be taken up again on Wednesday.

The proceedings of the House were also adjourned for the day
Srinagar, Feb 2 : Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu on Wednesday gave one month's salary to the family of acid attack victim.

Mattu handed over his salary to the family of Srinagar acid victim, the 24-year old woman who was attacked with acid by unknown persons in Hawal area of the city.

Police has arrested three accused persons after registering an FIR into the incident and subsequent investigation done by a special investigation team (SIT) constituted to deal with the heinous crime.

The Mayor has also commended Srinagar police for arresting the accused swiftly.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The Supreme Court on Thursday will hear a plea seeking review of its May 15, 2018 verdict, where it let off Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu with a mere Rs 1,000 fine in a 1988 road rage case in Punjab, where a Patiala resident had died.

A bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul will hear the plea of the family of victim, Gurnam Singh, seeking review of its order.

The top court had let off Sidhu saying there was no sufficient evidence to prove the harsher charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against him.

Sidhu was charged under section 323 of the Indian Penal Code for voluntary causing hurt, however he was let off with just fine. The top court had observed that the incident was more than 30 years old, and there was no past hostility between accused and victim. The court also noted that no weapon was used by the accused.

The top court had set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court order, which convicted Sidhu of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced him to three-year jails. The top court noted that Sidhu was wrongly convicted, after examining all evidence, including medical records.
Hubballi, : Feb 2 (IANS) Shri Ram Sena Chief Pramod Muthalik's statement that students insisting on wearing a hijab to the classroom showed their terrorist mindset and they should be kicked out of the schools, has triggered a controversy in the state.

Muthalik had stated on Tuesday that this stubborn mindset on wearing a hijab to the classroom will take students to terrorism. Now, they start with the hijab, later they ask for burqa and afterwards they will demand namaz and mosque. Is this your religious centre or school? Muthalik questioned.

He urged the government not to allow any public debate or discourse on the issue. The students who are insisting on wearing a hijab should be issued transfer certificates and be kicked out. This mindset is dangerous, he maintained.

"You have freedom to wear clothes of your choice at home. But, once students enter the school premises, one has to abide by regulations. "Are you making India, a Pakistan or Afghanistan? If you demand a burqa or a hijab you can go to Pakistan," he said.

The statements have stirred a controversy in the state which is already coping with the hijab row. The students agitating over wearing a hijab to class in Udupi Pre University College have approached the High Court seeking relief. The government has set up a committee to decide the issue. Until then the government has asked students not to wear a hijab. However, the students have defied the order and say that wearing a hijab is their constitutional right.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The All India Wine Producers Association has welcomed Maharashtra government's decision to permit selling of wine in supermarkets in the state.

On January 27, the state government permitted all supermarkets and walk-in stores to sell wine manufactured in the state as part of its new wine policy.

The country's wine industry is estimated to be worth around Rs 1,000 crore with Maharashtra, a pioneering state in this sector, contributing nearly two-third to the revenues.

"This development for the wine industry will have a huge impact on the overall region and will play a major role in rural development and employment in rural and semi urban Maharashtra," the association said in a statement.

The AIWPA is an apex body of wineries in India, having more than 70 members, including all the major Indian wineries and wine producers.

"It is noteworthy to say that grapes for wines gives the highest realisation to farmers, between Rs 40 and Rs 80 per litre consumed, versus beer at Rs 12 and spirit at RS 4," it said.

Maharashtra can tap its "Wine Tourism" potential and earn foreign dollars if given the right environment, it added.

Around 600 walk-in stores and supermarkets throughout Maharashtra are eligible to apply under the new wine policy, the association said.
New Delhi, Feb 2: China could unveil its H-20 stealth bomber by November this year-a move, when fitted into the big picture, could message the United States, that its era of dominance of the Pacific is receding fast.

But the Chinese conclusions could be premature as the United States is working on its B-21 stealth bomber, the ultimate in stealth technology, which could assuredly counter whatever gains the Chinese may make in their capacity to target US assets in the Indo-Pacific.

Nevertheless, there are two main reasons why the Chinese H-20 project should be taken seriously. First, Beijing's new bomber is expected to have target range of 8,500 kilometres, according to Pentagon's "China Military Power Report" of 2019. The bomber's reach can be further extended, in case it is refuelled in mid-air. If that happens, the plane would be able to fly beyond the first island chain, enabling the bomber to target the Philippines, Japan, Guam and Australia.

The first island chain-a part of the three-island chain strategy-- was activated after World War-II to keep China boxed in, and prevent Beijing from using military force far beyond the mainland.

Historically, the emergence of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 and the onset of the Cold War, led John Foster Dulles, a former US Secretary of State, to develop the "island chain strategy" of besieging China and the former Soviet Union from the sea. Dulles's doctrine, aired during the heat of the Korean War in the early fifties, had three layers.

Of the three island chains, the "first island chain" was the most important. The lengthy network starts from Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's Far East and weaves its way into Japan. Then, from the southernmost part of the Japanese mainland, it passes through Okinawa, a part of a larger Ryukyu Island chain which ends with Taiwan. From Taiwan, the "first island chain" heads towards the Philippines and the island of Borneo, before looping towards the tip of the Malay Peninsula. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first island chain has begun to increasingly focus on China.

Second, the H-20 supposedly has advanced stealth features. The exterior of the plane does appear stealthy. It appears to have an embedded engine, blended wing body, and absence of vertical structures. Its engine air ducts appear to be woven into the frame underneath the fuselage. All these features make it difficult for radars to pick the plane, while it is engaged in undertaking its strike missions. China is already working on fifth-generation radar.

Yet, despite its advanced features, the H-20 will compare poorly with the B-21 bomber of the United States and even the upgraded B-2 plane.

The stealth features of the B-21 are far more sophisticated than the B-2.

For instance, the B-21 appears to have little or almost no external exhaust pipes, raising the question as to whether it incorporates new thermal management or heat dispersion technologies-a feature that would make it virtually impossible for the B-21 to be radar detectable. Senior US Air Force leaders have said the platform contains a new generation of stealth technologies and can "hold any target at risk in the world at any time," says an article in the National Interest. **The writeup points out that US Air Force officials may have a "high measure of confidence" that the B-21 will be virtually "undetectable".

The Chinese H-20 even compares poorly with the upgraded B-2 bomber of the United States.

Apparently, the B-2 is now incorporating a Defensive Management System sensor. This is designed to pick up locations of enemy air defence hotspots, allowing the plane to circumvent them.

On the electronic side, the B-2 is being fitted with a new computer sensor, which is a thousand times faster than the one currently in use. Consequently, it can integrate new weapons platforms such as the modern, upgraded B-61 Mod12 nuclear bomb, says the National Interest report. Both the B-2 and the B-21 can fire long-range nuclear and conventional cruise missiles, such as the US Air Force's emerging Long-Range Standoff Weapon.

Both the B-2 and B-21 are built around an "open architecture," which would allow multiple upgrades during their life-cycle.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
New Delhi, Feb 2: Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman, the leader of the 'Gwadar Ko Haq Do mass movement, also known as the, give rights to Gwadar movement, has threatened to initiate the long march to Quetta if the government does not implement the demands of the Baloch people.

Addressing a press conference at the Quetta Press Club, the popular leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) emphasised that one of the main demands of the Baloch people was the release of Baloch missing persons. The issue of enforced disappearances or people kidnapped by Pakistani security forces, is an emotive issue among the Baloch community.

The Balochistan Post reports that the press conference was attended by senior JI leaders.

The 'Gwadar Ko Haq Do' movement saw thousands of protestors demand an end to the issues festering in Gwadar for the past several years. People from other places in Balochistan like Turbat, Ormara, Pasni and other cities flooded Gwadar to lend solidarity to the protest.

The Baloch leader reiterated other demands made by the people during the month-long agitation in December 2021. He emphasised on the removal of security check-posts, eliminating drug trafficking and ending the misuse of the natural resources of Balochistan.

Maulana Baloch said that Balochistan should get its due share in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the profits from the joint China-Pakistan project go to China, followed by Pakistan. The local Baloch community has not benefited through the giant CPEC project as the people still face shortage of basic amenities like water and power.

Pakistan watcher and geopolitical analyst Mark Kinra told India Narrative that the Maulana's charisma and initiating a mass movement can be termed a success but the results of the Gwadar Ko Haq Do Movement do not seem to be yielding results.

Kinra adds: "Earlier as well, on December 21, Maulana Baloch had threatened to start a million march to Quetta over enforced disappearances, but this topic was never part of the agreement between the Maulana and the Balochistan government. Even his main demand of preventing illegal trawlers in Balochistan waters hasn't seen any progress. It would be interesting to see what will Maulana Baloch do next".

The local people have been deprived of jobs as Chinese projects have taken away their coastal lands as well as fishing rights in the Arabian Sea. The large-scale Gwadar protests were also against Chinese security policies due to which the movement of Baloch people has been severely restricted in Gwadar.

Feeling discriminated and deprived, Baloch nationalists have also upped their attacks against Chinese projects as well as Pakistani security forces.

The issue of the dignity of the Baloch has assumed importance. The Maulana said that Pakistani security forces are still humiliating the people at the check posts in Gwadar and illegal fishing by foreign trawlers continues along the Makran coast.

The Chinese government also took notice of the protests in Gwadar where it is engaged in building the Gwadar port. A foreign ministry spokesperson labelled the protests as fake news.

The protests against the CPEC have caught Pakistan on the wrong foot. The government is caught between loyalty to China and public opposition to the CPEC. Prime Minister Imran Khan plans to visit Beijing this week to resolve multiple issues that plague the CPEC projects.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Itanagar, Feb 2 : At least three road construction workers were kidnapped at gunpoint by the suspected NSCN (K-YA) militants from Arunachal Pradesh, and taken to neighbouring Nagaland, the police said on Wednesday.

Police said that one of the three captives subsequently released and two others remained in the hideout of NSCN (K-YA).

The security forces have launched a manhunt to nab the extremists and to rescue the captives.

Police officials said that Bangphua Wangpan, Ramasish Mahato and Hiren Konch, a JCB operator, were engaged in the construction of the Pumao-Langkhow road in Longding district and were staying at a camp near the construction site from where the militants kidnapped them late on Tuesday evening.

The other workers had to walk 5-6 km to inform the police about the abduction.

Bangphua Wangpan, a resident of Langkhao village of Arunachal Pradesh was subsequently released.

The two others -- Hiren Konch and Ramasish Mahato - are from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal.The villagers informed the police that the NSCN (K-YA) cadres are extorting money from businessmen for the past several months. Earlier the militants kidnapped many people including the construction workers in Arunachal Pradesh, but subsequently the guerillas released the abducted people after extorting money.
Dhuri : , Feb 2 (IANS) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab chief minister candidate Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday conducted a door-to-door campaign for the Dhuri assembly seat from where he is in the fray and which falls in his home turf of Sangrur.

Wooing the voters, Mann said, "Till February 20 our responsibility is yours and after that all your responsibilities will be ours." "The fight is not to save some political families but to save Punjab, the farmers, the agriculture, the industry and the youth. Owing to lack of employment and better education infrastructure, our youth is moving abroad. We will stop our talent from migrating by providing them adequate employment opportunities," the second-time Lok Sabha member from Sangrur said in his folksy style.

Mann, 48, who is also the AAP's state president, is the party's prominent face in the state that will go to the polls on February 20.

On the issue of farmers, Mann said the previous governments had given a lot of pain to the farmers owing to poor marketing of their produce. "After working hard, farmers' crops are getting spoiled in the mandis and they have to bear the loss. The AAP government will not let the farmers bear the brunt of crop loss at any cost." He assured the farmers that once the crop reached the market all the responsibility for the crops would lie with the government. "Farmers won't have to bear the loss if the crop gets spoiled due to rain, and they will be compensated with full payment within 24 hours." Slamming his bete noire and Congress state President Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is trying to convince the party to declare him the chief ministerial face ahead of the polling, Mann said, "A person who can't take care of his mother, how will he serve the people of Punjab?"

Training his guns at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), comedian-turned-politician Mann, whose satirical speeches are a huge hit in the rural areas, said Parkash Singh Badal has been urging people to cast their vote in favour of the party for his last three terms, saying as this is his last election.

"Now he (Badal) is not of the age to serve, but his greed for power forced him to contest at the age of 94." Mann said power in Punjab is limited to a few political families. "However, our government will take out the power from those families and take it to the common man. The government of the Aam Aadmi Party will be the government of all sections of Punjab." He said being an MP from Sangrur he has always raised the voice of Punjab in Parliament. "Similarly, on becoming Chief Minister I will work round the clock to resolve the problems and protect the rights of every section." Mann, who joined the AAP in 2014 and won the Sangrur parliamentary seat by 211,721 votes, took over the reins of the party unit in 2019. He retained his parliamentary seat in 2019 by 111,111 votes.

Formerly a popular comedian-actor, Mann, known for his trademark 'basanti' turban, a colour associated with Shaheed Bhagat Singh, has had his fair share of controversies in recent years, especially linked to his drinking habit.

In this poll, Mann, 48, has been pitted against Congress candidate and sitting legislator Dalvir Singh Goldy, 40, who has challenged his main rival for an open debate on the issue of development work.

"I see Mann as a comedian, not a serious politician," Goldy, who has been trying to build a narrative of a battle between an 'outsider' versus 'Dhuri da putt' (son of Dhuri) as he's a resident of the constituency, told IANS.

The SAD-BSP alliance has fielded former Sangrur MLA Parkash Chand Garg from this seat, while Sarbjit Singh Alal is the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha candidate and Randeep Singh Deol is the BJP's.

Unlike Goldy, the candidates of all other prominent parties are outsiders, belonging to other Assembly segments.

In 2017, Goldy won Dhuri by defeating his arch-rival and AAP leader Jasvir Singh Jassi Sekhon with a margin of 2,811 votes. Sekhon polled 46,536 votes against Goldy's 49,347.

With 74 villages, the constituency is mainly rural and Dhuri is the only town. The constituency has 164,322 voters, including 77,721 women.

In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, the Congress won 77 seats in the 117-member House, while the SAD-BJP alliance could win only 18 seats. The AAP emerged as the second-largest party with 20 seats.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
Moscow, Feb 2 : It is "far too early" to talk about the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge has said.

"Definitely, we cannot say that this is the end of the pandemic. This is far too early. This virus has surprised us greatly more than once - for example, the Delta virus. But yes, this is a cause for optimism. But, we should not relax," Kluge told TASS news agency in an interview.

However, the current wave of infections with the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus will be strong but brief, he said..

According to Kluge, there are five pandemic stabilisers: vaccination, boosters, masks, ventilation, particularly of classrooms, increase in access to treatments.

"These are the five pandemic stabilisers, but we see based on the experience in countries, which have already reached the peak, that the wave will be strong but short, and the priority is to protect (shield) the vulnerable people," he said.

The WHO Regional Director also said that although those infected with the Omicron variant have a milder form of the disease, it still causes post-Covid syndrome like any other strain.

"We definitely shouldn't say - let the Omicron (variant) affect us, we do not need vaccination, it is milder. No, because there is also a syndrome which is called long-Covid. Up to 30 per cent of people with Covid-19 will suffer for months and months. We should not play with modern nature," Kluge emphasised.

Kluge also called for revaccination against Covid-19, the report said.

"I encourage all people to get vaccinated, get boosted. Vaccines have already allowed us to avoid 500,000 deaths in our region," he noted.

He stated that with vaccination "there is hope for optimism that we will get out of the acute phase of the pandemic".

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Mumbai, Feb 2 : Frustrated over the Opposition's attempts to 'ferment' its proposal to permit wine sale through supermarkets and large shops in the state, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), lock, stock and barrel, and labelled it as a party of 'drunkards'.

As the state government on Wednesday formally uncorked the wine policy, MVA leaders slammed the BJP leaders for their hypocritical and 'fake' opposition to the new proposal, which is touted to benefit and spell 'cheers' for the fruit farmers in the state.

Slamming the BJP, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) national spokesperson and state minister Nawab Malik questioned the 'double-standards' of the BJP vis-a-vis the new wine policy.

"If this policy can be implemented in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Goa, then why not in Maharashtra? In MP, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has even permitted bar licences for people at home," Malik said, referring to the three BJP-ruled states.

Going a step further, the NCP leader said: "The BJP is the country's biggest party of 'alcoholics'. Their leaders, including Union ministers, own liquor manufacturing factories, run bars and liquor shops, but are indulging in bigotry mow." Joining the debate, Congress state spokesperson Atul Londhe said that BJP leaders not only love liquor, but their Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur is even promoting alcohol with her comments 'thodi thodi piyo' (drink moderately), and MP has already become a 'madya-state' (liquor-state).

"The BJP must discard its dual standards and if they are really serious about this, they should en masse surrender all their liquor licences to the government immediately, or else support the MVA policy which is taken for the farmers' welfare," Londhe said.

Claiming that the BJP's dichotomy and anti-farmer stance stands exposed, the Congress leader said that in the Union Budget 2022-2023, the government has slashed the provisions for rural development, agriculture, irrigation and even veterinary sectors.

Kishore Tiwari, Shiv Sena's farmer face who has been accorded MoS status, attacked the BJP for its "one-point agenda" of targeting the MVA without looking into its own backyards like MP, Haryana and Goa, or without knowing the difference between "wine and liquor".

The Sena leader said that if the BJP leaders are genuinely opposed to alcohol, all their top leaders should go to Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi at Raj Ghat (New Delhi) and take an oath to implement "total prohibition" in the BJP-ruled states before commenting about other states.

"I openly challenge the BJP Leaders of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar to make a demand to MP Chief Minister Chouhan, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Goa CM Pramod Sawant to withdraw their free-for-all liquor policies before playing 'wine politics' in Maharashtra," Tiwari said.

On January 27, the state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took a significant decision to allow the sale of wine (ONLY) manufactured in the state to be sold through a single counter in supermarkets or retail outlets admeasuring minimum 1,000 sq ft or above.

The proposal has whipped up a foamy storm in the state with the BJP labelling it as the "MVA's special love for the liquor industry" and warning that it would not permit Maharashtra to degenerate into a 'wine-state', while AIMIM MP Syed Imtiaz Jaleel threatened to vandalise such outlets, among others.

Even the nearly-forgotten anti-graft crusader, Anna Hazare (84), sprang to life and joined the 'anti-wine party' and flayed the MVA move, terming it as "unfortunate, sad, intended to ruin the masses, etc." (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)
Hyderabad, Feb 2 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's call for rewriting the Constitution has evoked strong reaction from both Congress and BJP, which called for protests against his remarks.

A day after the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) mooted the idea of a new Constitution to bring a qualitative change in the country, both the opposition parties expressed their strong displeasure and alleged that he insulted architect of the Indian Constitution Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

State Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy announced a 48-hour protest programme from February 3 and called upon the party cadre to participate in it in large numbers.

Revanth Reddy, who is also an MP, said the demonstrations would include burning of the CM's effigy in front of Ambedkar's statues across the state.

The Congress leader alleged that KCR spoke the language of BJP as the saffron party has the plans to bring a new Constitution to deprive Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of reservations. Revanth Reddy also demanded that the Chief Minister should apologise for his remarks.

The Congress leader also questioned KCR's backing of AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi for fielding his party candidates in Uttar Pradesh elections. He alleged that the TRS leader has brokered a deal for ensuring the BJP's win in UP.

Meanwhile, BJP state chief and MP Bandi Sanjay alleged that KCR insulted the Constitution and announced that he will sit on a protest at BJP state office in Hyderabad on Thursday.

He alleged KCR's talk of new Constitution is a ploy to deny reservations for SCs and STs. "BJP abides by Dr.B.R Ambedkar's Constitution and will never allow it to become vulnerable to the machinations of megalomaniacs like KCR," Sanjay said.

"KCR's behaviour is bordering on insanity. In his frustration, which has reached a peak, he even insulted Dr.B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of our Constitution," the BJP leader said.

He also strongly condemned the abusive language allegedly used by KCR against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy has also slammed KCR for using objectionable language against the PM. He said the Chief Minister's remarks show that he was feeling insecure ever since the defeat of TRS in by-elections to Huzurabad Assembly seat.

The BJP leaders reminded KCR that he and his party are enjoying power due to the vision of Ambedkar who incorporated the right for creation of smaller states in the Constitution.

They said even after seven years KCR has not fulfilled his promise to install a 125-feet statue of Ambedkar in Hyderabad.

"Telangana CM is anti-Dalit as he has not made a Dalit the Chief Minister as promised, denied them three acres of land, removed a Dalit Deputy CM and has deceived them further with his non-starter Dalit Bandhu scheme. Even boycotting the President's address to both houses of Parliament is showing disrespect to the first citizen of the country who is a Dalit," he said.

Meanwhile, TRS leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari lashed out at BJP leaders calling them successors of Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

He said the successors of Godse had no right to talk about Dr Ambedkar. He said KCR called for rewriting the Constitution to meet the aspirations of people and to ensure that the country develops at a rapid pace and emerges as a superpower.

Srihari said there should be nation-wide debate on the need for a new Constitution and pointed out that many countries rewrote their Constitutions in tune with the changing times and needs.
Chennai, Feb 2 : Even as mishaps constantly rock firecracker units in southern Tamil Nadu including Virudhunagar and Sivakasi claiming several lives, social activists and NGOs working among the firecracker unit workers in Tamil Nadu have alleged that these units are under-reporting the actual number of workers employed in the units to deny benefits to the workers.

Sivakasi is the capital of the Indian firecracker industry with most of the people in the town engaged in this business fetching more than Rs 700 crore revenue annually. Sivakasi is known for selling firecrackers across the country. However, accidents have been leading to gory deaths. In the past two years alone Sivakasi and Virudhunagar have witnessed more than 120 deaths and since January 2022, more than 7 people have lost their lives in mishaps in firecracker units.

According to data from the EPFO and the Department of Industrial Safety, there are around one lakh workers employed in the 938 firecracker units in Virudhunagar district alone. However, trade union activists and officials with the labour department said that more than 3 lakh workers are in fact employed in these factories with the actual number not being shown anywhere and no registration cards or labour cards are given to employees.

Veera Perumal, a social activist, has moved the Madras High Court urging the court to take 'suo moto' cognizance of the grave tragedy the families of the accident victims are going through. He said the laws must be made more stringent to ensure that cracker units follow all labour regulations.

Most of the workers are illiterate and very poor so that they are not in a position to verify whether they were included in the Provident Fund or the Employees Welfare Fund or whether the factory managements are providing them with labour cards.

Muniamma, 65, a worker with a firecracker unit at Virudhunagar, told IANS, "We don't complain as we fear that our job will be gone. At least we can have three square meals a day. We don't know whether our owner has included us in PF or EWF or under the state government labour department list. Me and my 72-year-old husband are least bothered as we can fill our stomachs with this job." She however said that the job involves high risk and that they are paid extremely poorly but they have no other option other than to continue with the factory. Both Muniamma and her husband Shekar were farmhands but the intermittent weather and regular rains have led to major crop losses leading to farmers reducing their cultivation and farming. This has led to loss of jobs but the old couple said that the firecracker unit job though risky provides them food.

Kathir of NGO 'Evidence' which works among the downtrodden while speaking to IANS said, "We have visited the firecracker units where explosions have taken place and have given detailed reports to the concerned authorities but no action has still been taken. Government must immediately act and include all the workers under the Labour Act which will fetch them money if an accident occurs." He said that in most cases accidents take place as the factories work beyond their capacities. Kathir said that in most cases, the family of the deceased employee is not interested in taking the matter further as the owners of the factories or their relatives would have settled the matter outside.

Labour department officials are sceptical about the workers and their families approaching the department to get compensation as in most cases the owners of the factories settle the compensation (a meagre amount) outside the court.

Joint Commissioner, Labour, Tamil Nadu, L. Subramanian, told IANS, "Each and every factory that employs more than 15 workers is liable to be covered under the EPF and ESI Act but in most cases, they are not covered. The Workmen's Compensation Act is another major measure through which the family of the deceased will receive Rs 15 lakh but only after the kin approaches the court." The labour department is also sore that in most cases the firecracker unit owners association enters the scene and tries to arrive at a consensus on the compensation.

Data reveals that the employees are not properly covered under any of the acts and this is directly affecting the families of those who die in the accidents at the units as the family gets only a meagre compensation given by the owner of the unit.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : Brokerage house Centrum Broking has given a 'buy' call for Godfrey Phillips India and UPL shares.

Godfrey Phillips India is an FMCG company which sells cigarette brands like Four Square, Red & White, and Cavanders.

"International business including unmanufactured tobacco saw weak growth. Despite key markets such as Gujarat/Maharashtra and north saw disruption, Q3 volumes saw good uptick led by Marlboro (introduced Rs 6 price point)," the brokerage said.

The brokerage kept the target price at Rs 1,482, against Rs 1,154 on Wednesday's close.

For UPL, the target is at Rs 960 as compared to its current price of Rs 786.

"UPL registered strong growth in all its international markets including North America, Europe, Latam and Rest of World (RoW). Indian operations remained flat on YoY basis. In US market, herbicides were key growth driver. Also, better commodity prices, tight supply of key products and favorable channel stock supported the growth." The agrochemicals company's realisations are favorable on account of better commodity prices, it added.

Besides, the brokerage has given 'add' call for Mold-Tek Packaging with a target of Rs 808. On Wednesday, the shares settled at Rs 760.

The company's capacity expansion plan would support its shares, the brokerage added.
Hyderabad, Feb 2 : The teaser of Samantha, Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi's 'Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal' (KVRK) will be out on February 11.

Director Vignesh Shivan, who took to Twitter to make an announcement regarding the same, also unveiled a brand new poster of Samantha, Nayanthara and Vijay from their much-hyped movie 'Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal'.

"Reporting at 2.22 on 2.2.2022 Teaser from 11.2.2022. April release only in theatres. #KaathuVaakulaRenduKaadhal #teaser from 11.2.22," Shivan wrote.

The new poster features all the three lead actors of the film, Samantha, Vijay and Nayanthara. As they are lost in each other's eyes, the trio is seen wearing matching white outfits.

The makers also confirmed the release time of the upcoming movie. The Tamil romantic comedy will have a grand release in April 2022, though the exact release date is yet to be confirmed.

'Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal' aka KVRK is helmed by Vignesh Shivan and produced by Rowdy Pictures and Seven Screen Studios.
Amaravati, Feb 2 : Five tribals died after consuming adulterated liquor in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at Lododdi village in Rajavommangi mandal of the district.

A police officer quoted villagers as saying that the five men complained of stomach pain and vomiting. They were rushed to two hospitals, where all five of them died.

Two persons died at the Government Hospital in Eleshwaram, while three others succumbed at the Government General Hospital in Kakinada.

The police rushed to the village and collected samples of the liquor consumed by the victims. They were trying to identify the shop from which the liquor was purchased.

Four of the deceased have been identified as Vema Lovaraju (28), Chedala Sugriv (70), B. Sanyasi Rao (65) and Patturi Gangaraju (36).

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has expressed shock over the death of the five tribals due to adulterated liquor.

Naidu conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families, and said that it is unfortunate that the YSRCP government is not even responding to the tragedy which claimed the lives of innocent tribals.

He demanded Rs 25 Lakh compensation each to the families of the deceased, and said that TDP would extend all necessary support to the hapless tribal families.

The TDP chief blamed the state government's unacceptable liquor policy for such tragic incidents in the past three years. He said the government started treating liquor sale as a source of revenue for the treasury, which resulted in such tragedies.

Naidu expressed concern that the state government led by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is not changing its 'ruthless' policy despite innocent people dying in large numbers.
Hyderabad, Feb 2 : Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) will manufacture and supply Konkurs-M anti-tank guided missiles to the Indian Army.

BDL and the Indian Army on Wednesday signed a contract worth Rs 3,131.82 crore for manufacture and supply of Konkurs-M. The contract will be executed in three years.

According to BDL Chairman and Managing Director Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd), Konkurs-M is being manufactured by BDL under license agreement with a Russian OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). He stated that the missile has been indigenised up to maximum extent. BDL is also offering Konkurs-M missile for export to friendly foreign countries.

Konkurs-M is a second-generation, mechanised infantry anti-tank guided missile, to destroy armoured vehicles equipped with Explosive Reactive Armour. The missile can be launched either from a BMP-II tank or from a ground launcher. It has a range between 75 to 4,000 metres with a flight time of 19 seconds.

BDL has augmented its manufacturing capacity to meet the domestic as well as overseas demand for Konkurs-M. As a part of its global outreach, BDL is also offering man portable anti-tank guided missiles, Nag, Milan-2T and Amogha, in addition to Konkurs-M, for exports.

The order book position of BDL stands at Rs 11,400 crore net including the Konkurs-M contract.

BDL is laying a lot of thrust on indigenisation of its products manufactured under transfer of technology with foreign OEMs. The public sector defence manufacturer said the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission has given momentum to the indigenisation efforts of the company.

BDL is also strengthening its in-house R & D capabilities to take up product innovation in order to mitigate Indian armed forces' product dependency on foreign countries.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has arrested a businessman, Anas Ahmed, in a money laundering case related to fraud committed through mobile phone-based apps.

An official said that Ahmed is partner in two accused firms namely H&S Ventures Inc and Clifford Ventures. These two firms are responsible for collection of Rs 84 crore from the people. Ahmed has Chinese links and is suspected of being the mastermind of the whole racket.

The official said that the ED initiated money laundering investigation into the operations of accused entities that induced the public to invest certain amount through such fraudulent apps by assuring to remit interest on daily or weekly basis on the investment made.

The accused entities closed their purported business after collecting huge sum of money from gullible public and went incommunicado.

"The accused entities neither paid interest nor returned the principal amount to the public and withheld the investment made by public which has resulted in commission of cheating," said the ED official.

Ahmed indulged into corrupt and illegal activities through his partnership firms by deviating from the declared line of business/activity of gaming and has collected money from public under the guise of investment schemes through fraudulent apps.

The proceeds generated through criminal activities have been layered through a number of shell entities to remit out of India and also invest in crypto currencies.

Currently, Anas Ahmed is in judicial custody and lodged in Puzhal Central Prison, Chennai, in the predicate offence booked by CB, CID, Chennai.

Principal City Civil & Sessions and Special Judge for PMLA cases, Bengaluru had granted 6 days of custody of Anas Ahmed to ED on January 20, 2022 for enquiring into the fraud.

The official said that further investigation in the case is underway.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea for modification of bail conditions by journalist Rajeev Sharma, who was arrested under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly passing on secret information to Chinese intelligence.

A bench of Justice Mukta Gupta, which had granted bail to the freelance journalist last month, was hearing Sharma's plea for modification of the bail condition, in which he was directed to appear before the Investigation Officer on the first Monday of every month, for the next six months.

Observing the declining trend of Covid cases in Delhi and opening up of institutions, the court said that it finds no ground to modify Sharma's condition and dismissed the plea.

Sharma was arrested by the Delhi Police's Special Cell on September 14, 2020, and granted bail by the Delhi High Court in December 2020. However, on July 1, 2021, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Sharma in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the espionage case.

Sharma had moved the High Court following the dismissal of bail plea by the Sessions Court. He had also submitted that he is suffering from various ailments, including acute sinus for which he had undergone two surgeries, putting him at a high risk of Covid-19 infection.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : While listening to music, how many of us think about what actually goes into making a career in music? What are the struggles, what is the kind of infrastructure does this field need? What needs to be done for instrument makers, and how can the music makers who enable the magic to reach us flourish? These are questions posed by musician and actor Durga Jasraj, who recently launched the Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation along with Neeraj Jaitley in memory of her late father.

Stressing that the core values of the foundation are the ones she imbibed from her late father Jasraj, Durga, who has been running her company 'Arts & Artist India Private Limited' for the past 25 years, says the foundation will help remember not just the late maestro's contribution to music, but for what he did to the sector in totality.

"He was probably the only person of his generation who promoted the next generation in a manner that they didn't need to be his disciples or belong to his gharana. Musicians across genres were encouraged by him in every way," she says.

For someone who also co-founded the Indian Music Academy decades back, she says that at that time she felt that a body for the musicians, of the musicians, and by the musicians would help the music industry.

"But it was a very romantic idea that musicians will help each other. For everybody to flourish and prosper and penetrate deep into the masses, you need the rest of the world to help you out. The Indian Music Academy didn't have any gate open for any CSR funds. With Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation, ATG exemption has already been received.

"We have people like NK Singh - Chairman, 15th Finance Commission and President, Institute of Economic Growth; Mukul Mudgal - Former Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court; and bureaucrats like Jayesh Ranjan and Anjani Kumar onboard," she says.

Durga feels that while there may be several festivals for the young, what is missing in the ecosystem is the presence of good curators -- people actually qualified to design a festival.

"It is a completely different skill-set. And I think our company has contributed immensely. When we were on Doordarshan channels with 'Jalsa', it was not just about classical music, but Indian traditional music and folk music. You have to take the onus of sticking your neck out -- hear the person for two minutes," she adds.

Lamenting that unlike abroad, heritage and culture are never a priority for major corporates in India when it comes to philanthropy or CSR budgets, she says, "As per the data of last many years, the spend on this area is negligible. Major corporates need to understand their social responsibility and contribute towards arts in the form of scholarships and funding institutions etc. Sponsoring or supporting programmes which are related to training and education can have immense impact."
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The security situation in Pakistan has not improved in the first month of the New Year, as the total number of causalities from terrorist attacks increased. Slightly fewer militant attacks occurred in January 2022 than in December last year, Friday Times reported.

According to statistics released by Islamabad-based think-tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the number of violent attacks in January 2022 decreased to 24 from 28 the previous month, although the rate of deaths and injuries increased by 15 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively, as compared to December 2021.

In January 2022, militants carried out 24 attacks, in which 42 people were killed, including 22 security forces personnel, 16 civilians, and four militants, while 79 people were injured, of which 62 were civilians and 17 were security forces personnel.

The majority of attacks last month took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), followed by Balochistan and erstwhile-FATA.

PICSS recorded 12 militant attacks in KP in which 15 people were killed (9 civilians; 5 security forces) and seven people were injured (4 security forces; 3 civilians).

In Balochistan, militants carried out six attacks in which 17 people were killed, most of whom were security forces personnel (14 security forces; 3 civilians), and 32 people were injured, mostly civilians (26 civilians; 6 security forces).

In erstwhile-FATA (tribal districts of KP), four militant attacks killed two civilians and two security forces personnel, while four security forces personnel were injured.

In Punjab, only one attack took place in Lahore's Anarkali market, in which three people were killed, including one from the security forces, while 33 civilians were injured.

One militant attack was reported in Islamabad in which a police officer was killed, and three more were injured. No militant attacks were reported in Sindh in January.

In December 2021, militants had carried out 28 attacks across the country, in which 36 people were killed, including 13 security forces personnel, while 47 people were injured, of which 10 were from the security forces.

In 2021, militant attacks in Pakistan went up by 56 per cent as compared to 2021.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday said it has recovered cash of Rs 13.40 lakh during searches in connection with a case related to allegations of fraudulent settlement of EPF claims into bogus accounts.

Searches were conducted at four places in Mumbai which also led to recovery of incriminating documents.

The accused EPFO official allegedly committed a fraud of over Rs 18 crore by diverting the PF into bogus accounts.

A senior CBI official said that a case was registered on complaint from EPFO, Head Office, New Delhi against 10 persons including officials of EPFO.

"Former Senior Social Security Assistant, then Social Security Assistant (SSA), Data Processing Assistant, three Assistant Provident Fund Commissioners, Accounts Officer, Section Supervisor, who were working with EPFO, Regional Office, Kandivali-East, Mumbai were named as accused in the case," said a senior CBI official.

A cash of Rs 10 lakh was recovered from the premises of then Section Supervisor and Rs 3.40 lakh from the premises of then Social Security Assistant.

It was alleged that officials of EPFO entered a conspiracy with each other and in furtherance of the conspiracy, they had settled fraudulent claims in 712 bogus PF accounts and caused loss to the tune of Rs 18,97,43,150 to the EPF corpus maintained by EPFO.

It was also alleged that the accused adopted a unique modus operandi and created bogus PF accounts in the name of certain persons of closed companies, showed credits of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh against each account and withdrew the amounts from these accounts by filing fake claims.

It was also alleged that the claims were found to be settled to the members with bank accounts in different parts of country.

After receiving the complaint, the CBI filed an FIR and formed a team of its elite official to look into the case.

The CBI officials recorded the statements of the victim and after deciding the case with senior officials, it conducted raids at the office and different premises of the accused Further investigation into the matter is underway.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday said power distribution companies (discoms) cannot be permitted to change their decisions in connection with power purchase agreement at their whims and fancies, as it imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Power Company Ltd (APSPDCL).

A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai said: "We have no hesitation to hold that the appellants - discoms, could not be permitted to change the decision at their whims and fancies and, particularly, when it is adversarial to the public interest and public good. The record would clearly show that the change in decision is arbitrary, irrational and unreasonable." It noted that discoms are instrumentalities of the state government and every action of a state is equally required to be guided by public interest, and every holder of a public office is a trustee, whose highest duty is to the people of the country.

The top court judgment came on an appeal filed by APSPDCL and others challenging the January 7, 2020, judgment passed by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), allowing the appeal of Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd (HNPCL).

The bench upheld the APTEL decision and cited that the state government had given assurance procuring 100 per cent power from the project of the HNPCL.

In the 82-page judgment, the bench said: "We ask a question to ourselves, as to whether public interest, which is so vociferously pressed into service in the present matter by the appellants - discoms, lies in purchasing the power at the rate of Rs 3.82 per unit from HNPCL or by purchasing it at the rate of Rs 4.33 per unit from KSK Mahanadi".

"We strongly deprecate such a conduct of the appellants - discoms, which are instrumentalities of the state. The appellants - discoms, rather than acting in public interest, have acted contrary to public interest... we could very well have initiated the action against the officials of the appellants - discoms for having committed contempt of this court, but we refrain ourselves from doing so." The bench said the documents placed on record would show that though the HNPCL had given its estimation of project cost, which was received by the discoms without prejudice to their rights to contest the same on every component before the state commission. It noted that documents placed on record would clearly show that Andhra Pradesh has, on more than one occasion, expressed that it was interested in buying 100 per cent power from the project of the HNPCL.

"The MoA signed between the appellants - discoms and HNPCL dated May 17, 2013, would clearly show that it was agreed between the parties that the entire capacity of HNPCL project and all the units of the power stations shall, at all times, be for the exclusive benefit of the discoms and the discoms were to have the exclusive right as well as obligation to purchase the entire capacity from the project." The bench added that perusal of the orders of the State Commission on September 26, 2015 and August 6, 2016, would clearly reveal that the discoms also stood by the position that the 100 per cent power generated in the power plant of HNPCL was to be purchased by them. "Not only this, but after the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh, the appellants entered into a Continuation Agreement dated 28th April, 2016, reiterating their stand." The dispute started after HNPCL was discarded from the bidding process, though it had emerged as the successful LA2 bidder. The State Commission dismissed the petition filed by HNPCL in 2015.

On January 31, 2018, the State Commission allowed withdrawal of plea filed by the discoms, seeking approval of power purchase agreement (PPA) and dismissed plea by HNPCL seeking determination of tariff. The HNPCL moved APTEL challenging this order.

"As such, the stand of the appellants - discoms, that the revival of the project of HNPCL was as a merchant power plant and therefore, the appellants cannot be compelled to purchase power from it, is self-contradictory," noted the bench.

"In the result, the present appeal is dismissed with costs, quantified at Rs 5,00,000 (Rupees five lakh only). Pending IAs, if any, shall stand disposed of."
Sindhudurg : , Feb 2 (IANS) BJP Maharashtra MLA Nitesh Rane, the son of Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane, on Wednesday surrendered before a court in the state's Sindhudurg, in an attempt to murder case, and was sent to police custody.

The development came hours after his lawyer Satish Maneshinde said that Nitesh Rane had withdrawn his bail application before the Bombay High Court with a statement that he would give himself up to the Sindhudurg police.

"The bail application is withdrawn with a statement that the applicant (Nitesh) Rane is surrendering before the Investigating Officer (IO), even though 5 more days of protection by the Supreme Court are left, as he wants to face the investigation," Maneshinde added.

Soon afterwards, Rane left his home in Kankavali, to surrender before the Sindhudurg court and took the opportunity to slam the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for allegedly trying to arrest him illegally.

Rane's surrender came - amid tight security - after Sindhudurg's Additional Sessions Judge R.M. Rote on Tuesday rejected his bail application citing various grounds and said his custodial interrogation was necessary.

Observing that Rane was not "falsely implicated due to political reasons", Rote said the he is the "main accused" and his prima facie involvement has been shown, a conspiracy was hatched to teach complainant Santosh M. Parab a lesson, and hence his "custodial interrogation" was necessary for proper and effective investigation.

Rane is charged for the alleged December 18, 2021, attack on Shiv Sena activist Parab while campaigning for the Sindhudurg District Cooperative Bank polls on December 31, though the BJP leader has consistently denied any involvement.

According to Parab's police complaint, when he was returning home that evening, his motorcyle was hit by a SUV without number plates, one person stepped out and assaulted him with a paperknife.

Later, the assailant allegedly was overheard saying that Gotya Sawant and Nitesh Rane should be informed of the incident, called up someone, and sped off in the SUV.

Police subsequently arrested the 6 accused - Chetan Pawar, Karan B. Kamble, Anil Nakka, Karan D. Kamble, Deepak N. Waghode, and Sachin Satpute - all from Pune, while two other accused Dnyaneshwar D. Devnur and Dheeraj Jadhav are still absconding.

As per the probe, Karan B. Kamble revealed the weapons claimed to have been used in the offence which were recovered and the attack was commissioned by Devnur and Jadhav for Rs 150,000 of which they were paid Rs 20,000.

The probe revealed that Satpute and Nitesh Rane had allegedly hatched the conspiracy on August 28 last year with the latter wanting to teach Parab a lesson for targeting the Rane family.
New Delhi, Feb 2 : A total of 42 terror outfits have been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and 13 organisations declared unlawful associations, the Parliament was told on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to a question by Rajya Sabha member A. Vijayakumar, said that 42 terrorist organisations have been listed in the first schedule under the Act, while 31 individuals have been listed as terrorists under the fourth schedule.

He also said law enforcement agencies of the Centre and the states keep continuous watch on the activities of all such organizations and individuals and take action against them as per the law.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 has added the provision of designation of individuals as terrorists, thereby reducing the chances of regrouping of the leaders/members of the banned organisations under other names, Rai added.
Mumbai, Feb 2 : Veteran Bollywood and Marathi cinema actor, director and producer, Ramesh Deo, whom film buffs will remember for his roles in hits such as 'Anand' and 'Mere Apne', died here of a heart attack on Wednesday.

Deo was 93. He was not keeping well for some days, his son and well-known Marathi actor Ajinkya informed the media.

He leaves behind his wife, Seema, also an actor, and two sons, Ajinkya and Abhinay, the film director who helmed 'Game' and 'Delhi Belly'.

The handsome actor, born in Amravati, Maharashtra, on January 30, 1926, celebrated his 93rd birthday three days ago and a number of his well-wishers went on Twitter to celebrate the fact.

The character actor is best remembered by Hindi film fans for his role of a doctor in 'Anand' (1971), the Hrishikesh Mukherjee film starring Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, and in Gulzar's 'Mere Apne' (1971), where Meena Kumari, Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha played the lead characters.

Over five decades, Deo essayed a number of roles in a wide range of Hindi films, right up to 'Jolly LLB' (the black comedy with Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani) in 2013 and Sunny Deol's 'Ghayal Once Again' in 2016.

Deo's main love, however, remained Marathi cinema. His debut film, where he had a cameo, was 'Patlachi Por' in 1951. His actual innings in a lead role started with 'Andhala Magto Ek Dola' in 1956.

Deo worked in more than 250 films, produced over a dozen of them and directed several others. He had several awards to his credit, including the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 11th Pune International Film Festival in 2013.
Amaravati, Feb 2 : The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday sought to know how can the state government ban a play just because one of the characters is portrayed in bad light.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by YSRCP rebel MP Raghu Ramakrishna Raju against the state government's recent ban on the staging of 'Chintamani', a popular Telugu play staged across Andhra Pradesh since 1920.

Stating that the play has great significance in the society, the petitioner's counsel contended that it is being enacted for long, and banning it constitutes a violation.

The government counsel responded that the ban was imposed in response to a representation from a section of the society.

The court asked the state government as to how it could ban staging of the play when there is no ban on the book on which it is based.

The court directed the government to submit the representation it had received in this regard. The hearing on the matter has been scheduled for next Tuesday.

On January 17 this year, the Andhra Pradesh government banned 'Chintamani'. The play scripted by pre-Independence era social crusader Kallakuri Narayana Rao deals with prostitution. It had celebrated its hundredth anniversary only last year.

While the play revolves around the central character of Chintamani, a prostitute who attains salvation through repentance, it is the character of Subbi Setti, a Bania or merchant community member who descends to abject poverty, is at the centre of the current controversy.

The state government's move to ban 'Chintamani' had come following representations from the Arya Vysya community in Andhra Pradesh.

The Telugu merchant community, known as 'Banias' in north India, has long been up in arms against the play in which the character of Subbi Setty is portrayed in extremely poor light.

However, the ban has been opposed by the literary and art fraternity who see it as an assault on creative freedom.
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Join us for the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project, or APAEP's, first meeting of 2022 in our continuing series discussing various aspects of the carceral system.

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, Dena Dickerson of the Offender Alumni Association will be moderating a conversation about barriers that people face when exiting prison and offering some solutions to the collateral consequences of longterm incarceration. Come, learn and ask questions!

Community Conversations with the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project

Feb. 2, 2022 at 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Link to join is available here.
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South Africa: Academic year promises to be less disrupted: Nzimande

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Blade Nzimande, says 2022 is promising to be an academic year less disrupted by COVID-19 lockdown periods and restricted access to classes, if no new waves or variants surge again.

Nzimande noted that the last two years have been extremely tough for the Post School, Education and Training (PSET) sector, however, the system has remained resilient, despite the numerous challenges of funding constraints, COVID-19 restrictions and new forms of teaching and learning.

The PSET system has been immensely creative and adaptive in the management of our response to the pandemic through our Save Lives, Save the Academic Year, and Science and Innovation and campaigns, Nzimande said.

Nzimande was addressing the media on the state of readiness for the Post School Education and Training sector for the 2022 academic year on Tuesday.

A special Cabinet meeting held on Monday approved changes to the Adjusted Alert Level 1 COVID- 19 regulations. This follows the meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and the Presidents Coordinating Council (PCC) which received updates on the management of the pandemic in the country.

Nzimande said with the COVID-19 restrictions eased, more and more contact learning and teaching is possible [and] as levels of vaccination increase, more students will have access to on-campus services.

In line with the approach of the NCCC and Cabinet, Nzimande has encouraged everyone in Higher Education and Training community to get vaccinated.

As we move towards full contact learning and teaching and on-campus activities, and full return to residences, it is necessary to ensure that staff and students have access to safe campus environments, which is greatly assisted by a high level of the population being vaccinated, the Minister said.

Guidelines on vaccination and academic year management

Meanwhile, Nzimande said the HIGHER HEALTH, which is an implementing agency of the department that is guiding institutions on the management of the pandemic, is currently consulting scientific experts in drawing up guidelines that institutions can follow in determining various matters around vaccination, the Minister said.

While awaiting the finalisation of the guidelines in relation to management of the academic year, Nzimade urged all institutions to ensure that the policies and procedures they put in place have been widely consulted upon.

We must [however] point out that the Deputy President is leading a process of consultations on the issue of vaccine mandates. However, it is important that in navigating this situation we must know that in terms of our Constitution there is no right that is absolute.

Those who assert their right not to vaccinate, must also know that those who choose to vaccinate also have their rights to be protected against possible infection. In addition, the guidelines that I will release will take into account the latest national regulations and how they will impact on PSET institutions, Nzimande said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-02-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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An aurora appears over Uppsala, Sweden, in late January, 2021. Such phenomena can result when plasma jet occur in Earth's magnetosphere. CREDIT Kjell Carli/KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Even though Earth's magnetic field shields us from solar wind and space weather--it doesn't always offer complete protection.

Researchers have discovered a new mechanism in Earth's space environment that can allow solar particles to slip through the planet's first line of defense.

The constant interaction between Earth's magnetic field and the sun's supersonic particles sometimes results in small-scale plasma jets that can weaken the barrier's protection against space weather effects, which not only produce glorious aurorae, but can also cause disruption of power grids and satellite communications.

Publishing in Nature Communications, researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm identified and explained the mechanism by which these high pressure jets occur when the speed of supersonic solar wind is blunted by the bow shock of Earth's magnetosphere.

Lead author Savvas Raptis, a doctoral student at KTH, says that the results can apply universally. "The findings could be fundamental in shocks," Raptis says. "They may also exist in other similar plasma environments, which can be found everywhere in universe, from astrophysical objects to other planets, as well as here at Earth."

As plasma travels at supersonic speed toward Earth, it crashes into the magnetic field that emanates from the planet's core and slows down abruptly, forming a bow shock, beyond which lies a transition zone known as the magnetosheath. That's where compressed and heated plasma remains relatively uniform for the most part, but where downstream and upstream waves and particles interact and evolve--sometimes giving way to new phenomena. One consequence of this dynamic is the formation of jets with dynamic pressure greater than that of the solar wind itself.

Using the instruments aboard NASA's four Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) satellites, the researchers followed the formation of these downstream jets from the bow shock--and traced their origin as a direct consequence of the upstream wave evolution and the bow shock reformation, Raptis says.

Raptis says focusing on small-scale research is necessary to understand the details on how the space environment of Earth is configured. "Most research in recent decades has focused on the large-scale changes caused by macroscale phenomena connected to solar activity," he says. "But as we discover more and more smaller-scale phenomena, we see that environments such as the Earth's bow shock and associated phenomena like magnetosheath jets play a very important role."

He says the research also underlines the importance of missions like MMS, which in 2015 launched four spacecraft into Earth's orbit to travel in tetrahedral formation around the planet and enable high-resolution observations of the magnetosphere at work. KTH researchers such as Raptis' co-authors Tomas Karlsson, professor of plasma physics, and researcher Per-Arne Lindqvist, contributed to the MMS mission with the design of components, and they continue to perform research on the data the mission produces.

"We were able to observe previously unexplored parts of the Earth's surrounding space environment" Raptis says, "We showed how useful such space missions are for understanding and explaining nature. The evolution of shocks and how it is connected to the generation of jets is a necessary piece to understand the Earth's space environment."



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Outkast Blue Chip cruised to the lead despite the second-tier starting spot and put away his competition to win the $10,000 Horses & Geldings Preferred 3 Pace on Tuesday (Feb. 1) at The Raceway at Western Fair District.

A Positive Hanover pushed for the lead from the pylon post alongside Prestige Seelster while Outkast Blue Chip settled in third. Once Prestige Seelster backed away from A Positive Hanover, driver Marc St Louis Jr. hustled Outkast Blue Chip from third into a :28.1 first quarter to take over the lead coming past the stands. He clicked by the half in :57 before accelerating into the backstretch, darting by three-quarters in 1:24.4 and opening his advantage to the final turn. Off the turn and through the stretch, Outkast Blue Chip widened his lead to pass the beam five lengths better than A Positive Hanover in a 1:54.3 mile. Racemup finished third, another four lengths behind, with Hes Got Swagger fourth.

An eight-year-old gelding by Rock N Roll Heaven, Outkast Blue Chip won his 30th race from 164 starts, pushing his earnings to $361,204. Daniel Mead owns the $3.30 winner.

To view Monday's harness racing results, click the following link: Monday Results - Western Fair Raceway
Trish Dooling of Portugal Cove, Nfld. is the photographer behind the lens for the February photo in Standardbred Canadas Heart of Harness Racing Calendar.



On a cold winter day, Dooling captured the photo of retired standardbred Katenamy enjoying her retirement in the paddock at her father, Jim Doolings farm.

Trish, a regular contributor to the Heart of Harness Racing Calendar, was basically born at the track. Both her parents' families were involved in harness racing, giving Trish no choice but to jump right in. She has stayed involved throughout her life, becoming an advocate for the sport and was named the I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Clubs Ambassador of the Year in 2015.



Standardbred Canada has asked Trish some Rapid Fire questions to gain a little bit more insight into her harness racing history and favourites.

Q: How many years have you been involved in harness racing?

A: Since birth! Almost 40 years.

Q: Are you a harness racing fan, owner, groom or trainer?

A: Current fan. Former owner/groom.

Q: What is your favourite racetrack?

A: Red Shores Racetrack at Charlottetown Driving Park

Q: Who is your favourite horse of all time?

A: Yuste (my first Standardbred that I ever owned).

Q: What is your favourite subject to photograph aside from horses?

A: My dog (Bubba) and my goats!



Q: Where is your favourite spot to take photos?

A: My father's farm.

Q: Favourite harness driver?

A: Jody Jamieson.

Q: If you could take photos for one day anywhere in the world, where would it be?

A: Dubai - bucket list destination.

Q: One racetrack that you want to attend that you have never been to?

A: The Meadowlands.

Q: The last picture you took on your phone?

A:

Q: Favourite race?

A: The Gold Cup and Saucer!

Q: First place you are going to visit once travel restrictions are lifted?

A: Florida most likely!

The calendar project is supported by many tracks and associations, and Standardbred Canada would like to thank this month's calendar sponsor, Trot Magazine.
Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at 1:00PM

With less than a week until nominations, Claudio Alves and Elisa Giudici discuss Best International Feature

Italy's THE HAND OF GOD

Claudio Alves: Before we delve into the finalists for Oscar's Best International Feature Film competition, I must comment on the fact that we each come from a record-holding country in this category's history, albeit opposite ends of the success spectrum. As far as victories, Italy (your home) is the all-time champion, having won this prize 14 times. On the other hand, Portugal (mine) is still waiting for its first nomination, being the unnominated country with the most submissions. In fact, we've never even gotten as far as the shortlist stage (cries inconsolably)!

Anyway, since we're on the topic of our countries, I'm interested in knowing whether you think it's safe to predict Paolo Sorrentino's return to the Academy's favour with The Hand of God. I can't say I'm entirely convinced about the picture's merits...

Elisa Giudici: My brutally honest take on Sorrentino & Academy: The Great Beauty was carefully designed to be noticed (and to please) international audiences and an American audience in particular, while The Hand of God is a title Sorrentino made to face his demons. In the end, The Great Beauty is an iconic Fellini remix, isnt it? and Federico Fellini remains the most beloved Italian director in history, and not just at the Oscars, while great colleagues (such as Visconti) are much less remembered and revered.

My prediction is that The Hand of God will make it to the final shortlist but as the fourth or fifth candidate, helped by Sorrentinos previous victory and the huge support Netflix provides. The other ontenders don't see to be campaigning as hard, do they? I think Sorrentino's movie is less easy to digest than his Oscar winner (for several reasons that I've previously discussed). But in the absence of a real spotlight on very many easy to watch / easier to love movies I think Italy will collect yet another nomination.

Claudio Alves: I guess designing The Great Beauty for international audiences worked because I remember loving it. Though, despite the obvious reference to Fellini's post-Neorealist 60s films, I felt its approach to the ideas of empty aestheticism and the beauty of nothingness more related to Visconti than the director of La Dolce Vita.

Japan's DRIVE MY CAR

Elisa Giudici I am curious to know if you think there is a real front runner this year. Drive My Car is aiming to be the next Parasite and end up in the Best Picture race, too. But I am not convinced, even with its impressive list of victories.

Claudio Alves: On Drive My Car, I confess myself a passionate fan of Hamaguchi's three-hour epic. Nevertheless, I'm surprised by the picture's awards success and feel similarly unconvinced by its frontrunner status. It feels too arthouse somehow, and it's not like the Academy has ever shown any support to works of slow cinema. Still, a nomination seems secure. As far as victory goes, I could imagine a number of other contenders taking the gold, perchance riling up campaign efforts during the final voting period. If it's part of the lineup, I can see Norway's The Worst Person in the World going all the way, and the same can be said about Iran's A Hero. Despite Farhadi's complicated feelings about representing Iran, I doubt most Oscar voters are particularly attuned to such tricky intersections of international politics and art.

Finland's COMPARTMENT NO. 6

Speaking of films gaining steam as we get closer to voting, Finland's Compartment No. 6 seems like a stronger contender by the day. Honestly, I can picture it nabbing the award out of nowhere. Am I nuts?

Elisa Giudici: No, you arent. Sitting on a movie like Compartment No. 6 until the very end: that was nuts! Lets be honest -- it's the safer alternative to The Worst Person in the World, at least by Academy standard. It is a movie about being a young adult but with a reassuring, sweet, traditional approach. Based on the nudity ratio alone, it is a stronger contender than Joachim Triers latest, which is more artsy and risque in its sense of humor and way of describing life, love and everything between. I dont think the stellar year the newly ascendant Russian movie star Yurij Borisov had in 2021 can help this title as it should (the other films haven't hit the US), but I am glad to hear Compartment No. 6 is gathering steam.

In my limited experience non cinema buffs (aka normal people) and older people tend to prefer Compartment to Worst Person while cinema buffs and younger people prefer Worst Person. My feeling here is Academy will let one in and one out. There is already so much Europe (too much?) in the long list. Do you think they will reserve a place for a non-European movie aside from Drive My Car or Hamaguchis will be alone again Old Continent titles*? Geopolitical balance is not a trivial matter in this category.

*Farhadi is not European but he isFarhadi? I mean, he has already won two Oscars.

Denmark's FLEE

The there is Denmark with its impressive variety of movies making so many shortlists in the last decade. Denmark seems to be very good at picking its Oscar submission and meeting Academys expectations, but they are not as strong in the festival circuit and other international competitions. I saw Flee campaigning for Best Picture too. I don't think it can take the role of front runner from Hamaguchi's hands.

Claudio Alves: While I prefer The Worst Person... to Compartment No. 6, I'm colder on both than most. However, I can see your proposed scenario happening, whereupon the Academy only goes for one Nordic contender. Of course, AMPAS has little concern for geopolitical niceties if their customary Eurocentric selections are anything to go by. Plus, as you point out, there's Farhadi to consider. A Hero and Drive My Car are already taking up two-fifths of the lineup. If the Academy picks one more non-European film, we'd have a majority non-European race. That seldom happens. Last decade, it only occurred thrice, and two of those times involved Canada.

Continuing this mathematical musing, Flee feels like a sure thing. Denmark is AMPAS' favorite country as of late, having accumulated a grand total of six nominations and two victories since 2010. However, despite such number-based assurances, I can't shake a gut feeling that the film is heading into a shocking Oscar morning. Its attempt at broaching three different "specialty" categories seems bound to divide votes. I can't imagine it getting into all three. Indeed, I can picture a sad reality where it gets into none. Denmark's Oscar numbers keep those fears away but don't obliterate them.

Panama's PLAZA CATEDRAL

All that being said, this category is known for surprises, so maybe this appeal to statistical authority is wrong-headed. After reading predictions and reactions from Nathaniel and Abe, I'm starting to see a scenario where Lunana and Plaza Catedral crash the party. One thing's for sure, they both have strong narratives on their side. Bhutan's submission is the little flick that could, a loveable underdog that came back from a disqualification last year to make the shortlist this time around. As for Panama's selection, it offers an easily digestible purview of class divides while also bringing with it a searing real-life tragedy. Knowing that the adolescent leading man died after getting shot on the street a reflection of one of the narrative's plot points  may lead to Academy members casting a eulogizing vote.

Re-reading my words, the glaring cynicism makes me feel uneasy. However, awards can be cynical in their workings, political as hell, and utterly divorced from artistic merit. Could you envision one or both of those films getting surprise nominations?

Mexico's PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN

Elisa Giudici Glad you paved the way to some cynical scenarios: here's mine. I was going to suggest a what-if one based on the sense of guilt alone. I think at a certain point someone will raise a hand and suggest locking a place for a representative candidate to avoid negative reactions. In representation of what is the real question. One answer as you suggested could be countries never/seldom represented or in other words someone outside Europe and well-established middle or Far East countries (Iran and Japan). In 2022, another good answer could be a woman director. I am eyeing Mexico's Prayers for the Stolen, a perfect answer to both questions. I am really curious to see Maria Schraders I'm Your Man (Germany's finalist), but again, its a European title, and a weaker one in buzz and reviews.

I know its old news but speaking of women I am always surprised how bad the French commission is at playing the Oscar game: the Italian record would have been broken years ago if they weren't since they still get nominated frequently despite their missteps. Titane's submission is a perfect example of a great movie that's just suitable for the Academys taste, while Petite Maman would have been perfect. Its short, its lovely and sweet, and bonus points for adorable young child protagonists. Moreover, Celine Sciamma is not unknown to Americans: I think she has a silent but growing fanbase even within the Academy.

Germany's I'M YOUR MAN

Claudio Alves: Regarding the matter of a "representative candidate," I could see that happening once upon a time, when the voting for this category was more restricted. Nowadays, it's open to any member who has seen all shortlisted titles, making such conspiratorial conversations/decisions much more implausible. All that being said, I hope your Prayers for the Stolen wish/prediction comes true. It's one of my favorite films of the year, and Tatiana Huezo currently tops my own Best Director ballot. Regarding I'm Your Man, I heartily recommend it, both for an ingenious script and superb performances.

I don't think the French film industry is especially fond of Celine Sciamma, considering how Petite Maman was unilaterally shut out of all Cesar categories. Happening would have been the best submission, I think, even though a lack of American release might have swayed the selection committee away from it. Titane was my favorite of the three French finalists for submission, but I agree that it's the kind of cinematic experience that was never going to work with the Academy.

Elisa Giudici: I want some French cinema insider voice on the "Sciamma-gate because year after year I get contradictory pieces of news and gossip about it. Being the Cannes winner is a huge plus in France, thats for sure. I think Petite Maman would be amazing Oscar material because it lacks any kind of controversial theme, while Happening is still a movie about abortion. I would love to dismiss it as not a problem, but...

Speaking of almost-sure nominations jeopardized by national commissions, what do you think of Spain's choice to snub Pedro Almodovar's Parallel Mothers? I think it would have helped Penelope Cruz's chances, too.And yet The Good Boss made it to the international longlist am I underestimating Javier Bardem's star value? For the record, I think he is much better in The Good Boss than in Being the Ricardos.

Spain's THE GOOD BOSS

Claudio Alves: Spain is a prickly issue. I'm not sure I ever divulged this on the blog, but I lived in Spain, specifically Madrid, between 2018 and 2019. Indeed, I was in a relationship with someone who, like Milena Smit's Ana, comes from a family that prizes a particular apolitical stance regarding the country's fascist past. Many of the issues Almodovar brings up in Parallel Mothers are still controversial nowadays, his repudiation of a rule of silence being especially destabilizing. Hell, when I was in Madrid, there was polemic surrounding the Municipal Assembly's move to change the name of certain streets still baptized after Franco's generals. In summation, I think the committee might have chosen the option bound to cause less trouble at home. Plus, The Good Boss dominated the Goyas, proving how much the Spanish film industry loves it. Personally, I don't share that adoration (AT ALL) though I agree that Bardem's much better here than in Sorkin's latest prestige flick.

Moving on to a more joyous subject, I'm happy to see that the Great Freedom, Austria's finalist, is gaining more fans all the time. Sebastian Meise's film would be a surefire nominee if it were up to me, but I don't want to let my preferences cloud the punditry. Do you think that gay drama has a chance at a surprise Oscar nod?

Elisa Giudici: I dont think it is possible to be *that* good in predicting the outcome of this particular category because there are so many elements to consider both inside the Academy and outside. Fom the very start -- the choice of the candidate to submit! I was naive not seeing the possible issues with Parallel Mothers. I tend to forget sometimes commissions have other things in mind than maximizing chances to get a nomination. Your take on The Good Boss is not that uncommon. For this reason, for me The Good Boss was one of the biggest surprises in the finalist list: I thought it went unnoticed outside Spain. As people living outside LA and NY, it can be extra difficult to make predictions: sometimes you just miss the buzz.

Iran's A HERO

I have to confess I am quite fond of good (?) old calculated conspiracy within this category. Yet it seems to me this year there are very few locked titles, while there are a lot of strong contenders and well-deserving underdogs. Youre right in pointing out that the larger size of the voting audience has to be taken into consideration. I would say Drive My Car is the only 100% sure bet, followed by A Hero. Then there is a crowded group of strong contenders with a "but" attached. In theory, Flee should be a sure thing, but I share your concerns. I would call it a bad feeling.

Austria's GREAT FREEDOM

Like Compartment No.6, Great Freedom is joining the party late in terms of buzz  maybe too late? Though it has a small following I assume the Austrian gay drama will be the first one left out when voters consider the movies after 'the big ones'.

At this point in our volley, I'm feeling a little bit paranoid!

I have just checked a couple of notes on last year's Oscar race: I felt sure about 3 titles, but I was soooo wrong about one (yet I read correctly read the vibe around Tunisias entry). Do you think the current race is harder or easier to predict than last year?

Claudio Alves: I feel you on the paranoia. The tone of our chat is gradually devolving into a 70s thriller, full of Gordon Willis shadows and deadly conspiracies. I'm half-expecting Warren Beatty to pop out of nowhere at any moment.

But seriously, I agree with you regarding the inexistence of locks beyond (maybe) Drive My Car. Even A Hero feels vulnerable, considering the sheer amount of high-profile titles it's competing against. Indeed, that seems to be the most significant difference this time, is that usually there are only a couple of 'major' flicks and then a wide variety of more obscure finalists to choose from. Looking back at my notes from 2021, my final predictions missed two out of five. I thought Dear Comrades and Night of the Kings were going to make it instead of The Man Who Sold His Skin and Better Days. The biggest surprise was surely the Hong Kong submission succeeding, which makes me wonder about a possible nomination for Belgium's Playground, another harrowing tale of school bullying.

Bhutan's LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM

Still, it's time to stop second-guessing and commit to a set of predictions for the sake of our volley. These guesses might still change until Oscar nomination morning but, for now, I'm predicting:

DRIVE MY CAR , Japan (the only contender I'd call a sure thing) A HERO , Iran (actors are the Academy's most extensive branch, and actors love Farhadi) THE HAND OF GOD , Italy (for all its regional specificity, I think AMPAS is ready to give Sorrentino and Netflix another nod) COMPARTMENT NO. 6, Finland (our chat convinced me of its chances compared to Norway's title) LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM , Bhutan (it was just released in the US, and Nathaniel's prediction has convinced me it's this year's surprise nominee)

Though, if I were to choose the nominees from Oscar's finals, they would be Austria's Great Freedom, Denmark's Flee, Germany's I'm Your Man, Japan's Drive My Car, and Mexico's Prayers for the Stolen. How about you, Elisa? What do your predictions and dream ballot look like, as of now?

Elisa Giudici: My predictions here and now (2 AM in the night here in Italy, the perfect time for conspiracy theories, paranoia, and Oscar guesswork) are:

DRIVE MY CAR, Japan - Hamaguchi can sleep soundly A HERO, Iran WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD, Norway - I am counting on younger Academy members here THE HAND OF GOD, Italy - I am obliged to fully endorse the Italian entry COMPARTMENT NO. 6, Finland

Flees exclusion is such a risky prediction. I daresay in a better world, some of these films would also be locked up in the Best Picture race, too.

Norway's THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

More Oscar Volleys

Nathaniel's Best International Film Oscar Predictions
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson will visit Azerbaijan on February 4 to discuss the issue related to the additional gas supplies to the EU, Trend reported citing the European Commission Spokesman for Climate Action and Energy Tim McPhie.

"The negotiations on gas supplies will continue. European Commissioner Simson will visit Azerbaijan on February 4 to attend a ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council," the spokesman said.

The spokesman also noted that Kadri Simson and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell will visit the U.S. on February 7, to attend the meeting of the U.S.-EU Energy Council.

Earlier Josep Borrell has said that the European Union is negotiating possible gas supplies with the U.S., Qatar, and Azerbaijan in case Russia cuts its gas deliveries.

To recall, Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on December 31, 2020.

The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is an extension of the Southern Gas Corridor that takes Azerbaijani natural gas to European markets, has transported 8.1 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe in 2021. Of the total amount of transported gas, over 6.8 billion cubic meters reached Italy and approximately 1.2 billion cubic meters were delivered to Greece and Bulgaria.

Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in his interview stated that about 19 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas will be exported in 2022. Of this volume, more than 8 billion cubic meters will be exported to Turkey and more than 7 billion cubic meters to Italy. The remaining gas will be divided between Georgia, Bulgaria, and Greece.

The Southern Gas Corridor is an initiative of the European Commission for a natural gas supply route from Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe. The route from Azerbaijan to Europe consists of the South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP and TAP.




Hong Kong: CE visits anti-epidemic personnel

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today visited Kennedy Town, a laboratory at the University of Hong Kong and Kwun Tong Community Centre to meet anti-epidemic personnel during the Lunar New Year.

Before the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic emerged, the Drainage Services Department (DSD) had set up more than 100 stationary points of surveillance, covering a population of about five million people.

Since the outbreak of this new wave, the DSD and the Environmental Protection Department have also been conducting tests through temporary mobile points to collect more sewage samples upstream to strengthen the tracing of invisible transmission chains in the community.

Accompanied by Secretary for the Environment KS Wong, Mrs Lam visited a stationary site of sewage sampling in Kennedy Town this morning to learn about the latest situation of on-site sampling.

She then visited the universitys Environmental Microbiome Engineering & Biotechnology Laboratory where she received a briefing on the treatment of sewage samples and testing process, as well as the ways to analyse the positive results therefrom.

The goal of sewage surveillance is to help the Government zero in on places for imposing restriction-testing declarations, issuing compulsory testing notices and distributing rapid test kits, having regard to the risk level of the districts concerned.

Mrs Lam thanked the relevant government departments, the universitys team and sampling contractors for working closely together to arrange for sewage sampling at various points in different districts across the city within a very short period of time.

Such efforts, she pointed out, included delivering the samples to laboratories for virus testing and striving to have the test results within the same day to assist the Government in tracing the possible infection cases in the community early.

The Chief Executive also took the opportunity to inspect the site in Pok Fu Lam where the university planned to construct facilities for technology research and learn about the project's progress.

She said she hopes the project would help the university further strengthen its research capability and attract more international talents in an effort to promote the development of technology research in Hong Kong.

Afterwards, accompanied by Acting Secretary for Home Affairs Jack Chan, Mrs Lam visited Kwun Tong Community Centre to meet more than 100 volunteers who assisted in packing the COVID-19 rapid test kits.

She expressed her gratitude to the Kwun Tong District Office and the various district service organisations, as well as the volunteers mobilised by them, for carrying out the packaging work during the festive season.

Mrs Lam noted that Hong Kong is the first city in the world to adopt large-scale sewage surveillance in tandem with compulsory testing to trace infection cases with success. Such an accomplishment, she added, is also testimony to the effective combination of achievements in technology research with real-life application.

In the face of the risks posed by the highly transmissible variants amid the fifthe wave of the epidemic, the Government is racking up and distributing rapid test kits to the residents and those working in the districts who have been exposed to infection risks to undergo testing on a voluntary basis to achieve early identification, early isolation and early treatment.

To combat the fifth wave of the epidemic, the district offices under the Home Affairs Department have been stepping up co-ordination with various district service organisations to mobilise thousands of volunteers to assist in packaging and distributing more than 500,000 sets of rapid test kits.

This story has been published on: 2022-02-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Trend

Equinor sees Azerbaijan as a world-class source of oil and gas, Al Cook, executive vice president for Exploration & Production International at Equinor said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

I am in Azerbaijan this week to focus on the future. Weve had fantastic 30 years of development around the two great fields in Azerbaijan: Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) and Shah Deniz. When we look at the future of Azerbaijan, we see it as a world-class source of oil and gas, a world-class petroleum basin, as we say in this industry. We want to play a role with Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR, our partner, with the state of Azerbaijan in order to develop those resources in a way that creates value, he said.

Cook noted that the developments of the future may be smaller than the huge fields of the past.

We need to work together in a way which is agile, nimble, smart, and fast to develop those smaller fields to make sure those come through, those come into production and those continue to create revenue and wealth in this country, even as the large fields begin to decline. Thats what we will be focusing on at the moment, he explained.

Equinors EVP went on to add that the company also believes in Azerbaijan as a world-class country for exploration.

Equinor is one of the worlds great explorers. We remain proud of that. Were drilling more than 30 exploration wells around the world this year. As we look at Azerbaijan, we see interesting potential in the Caspian Sea for further exploration . Were proud to have made the first oil discovery in Azerbaijan in 20 years on the Karabagh field a couple of years ago. We now say Right, weve made that discovery, weve discovered how these systems work. How could we apply that knowledge onto more exploration activity? How can we find more fields like that in the acreage that SOCAR, our great partner, and Equinor own together? So thats a real focus as well. Were working together to see how we can move forward on exploration and project development. We can build on what Azerbaijan, Equinor, our partnership with SOCAR have developed over the past years, said Cook.

Talking about prospects for cooperation in the energy transition, he recalled a meeting with Azerbaijans minister of ecology Mukhtar Babayev in Glasgow on the occasion of COP26 climate summit back in November last year.

That was a time when, I think, we really wrestled with this challenge of how do we meet the worlds demand for energy which is increasing over time and how do we tackle and get on top of the climate crisis that is emerging so fast. I do believe that Azerbaijan and Equinor display a very responsible way to developing oil and gas. We understand that the world will continue to need oil and gas for decades to come. But at the same time, we understand that we must produce that oil and gas with the lowest emissions possible. Weve been working together with our partners here to look at ways in which we can improve the energy efficiency of the oil and gas operations. We can reduce the emissions of the oil and gas operations here so that we can drive down towards the net zero future that we all want to be part of, said Equinors EVP.

Cook believes that any discussion over oil and gas needs to also consider a future beyond the oil and gas.

Were very proud in Equinor to be positioning ourselves at the forefront of that transition. Were developing wind farms, solar, hydrogen around the world to look beyond oil and gas. So at the same time as we recognize that oil and gas has a really important role to play in providing energy to the world over the next few not just years, but decades, we also look forward even further that, towards the time when renewable energy will provide the energy that the world needs, he said.

He noted that it has been an amazing journey of over 30 years that Equinor has been a partner in the transformation of Azerbaijan.

It is so incredible to see the value that has been created out of the natural resources in this country. It is such a pride for Equinor to be a part of that storyline. Were a shareholder in the great Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field in the Caspian Sea here in Azerbaijan and also in the pipeline that takes that oil to markets around the world. Weve seen that develop well over the last few years. Weve been proud to see how well the fields have performed and, in particular, how successful weve been in keeping our promises to each other. I think as we look back over 30 years, the reason weve been successful is that Azerbaijan has always been a country that has kept its promises to its investors and in turn, the investors have delivered on their promise to develop the incredible natural resources of Azerbaijan. It is a success story. Last December, 500 million tons of oil flowed through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline out into the markets. We did that just as the world needed that energy more than ever before, with demand for oil and gas rising so high, Cook concluded.




Specialists from the Ministry of Health (Minsa) explain that the Omicron variant displaced Delta in a short time, as the former is easily transmitted from person to person.





But, how long will the COVID-19 third wave last and how much will it affect us?





Executive Director of Public Health Surveillance at Minsa, Dr. Cesar Munayco, suggests that the third wave will be shorter because infections occurred very quickly and have affected a large percentage of citizens, compared to the first and second waves, when infections occurred at a slower rate.





"This exponential increase of thousands of infected people in such a short time will make the third wave last less time compared to the first and second waves, when infections occurred progressively," he told Andina news agency.





Munayco explained that, due to the fact that there is a high percentage of infected people, the possibility for Omicron to find a non-infected person is significantly smaller, so the third wave is believed to end quickly.





The Minsa specialist noted that the country is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases at the moment and has not yet reached the peak of infections, except in some regions such as Cusco, which is showing a clear decline in infections after a dizzying peak of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the population.





However, in Metropolitan Lima, the districts seeing a slowdown in new COVID-19 cases are Miraflores, San Isidro, La Molina, Surco, and downtown Lima.





Return to in-person classes





On the other hand, the expert urged parents to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19, especially now that Peru is facing a third wave and that the return to face-to-face classes is about to take place.





He emphasized that, although children with SARS-CoV-2 infection do not develop serious illness, they can experience some symptoms for a prolonged period of time.





(END) ICI/LIT/RMB/MVB

End-of-the-year gatherings and the relaxation of biosafety measures caused a dramatic and rapid increase in COVID-19 infections in just a few weeks, which prompted the Government to announce, on January 4, that Peru is facing a third wave of the pandemic Published: 2/2/2022

Premier Valer: Hemos tenido una reunion con el ministro del @MindefPeru, el jefe del @CCFFAA_PERU y los comandantes generales de los 3 institutos armados de nuestra patria para tratar sobre las fronteras vivas y el desarrollo nacional del pais, subrayado la de Peru con Brasil. pic.twitter.com/vm9MSEvvLb
Presidente @PedroCastilloTe: "Ademas de la infraestructura, este hospital tendra personal idoneo para estar al servicio de la poblacion. No solo venimos a colocar la primera piedra, tambien de asegurar que se invierta todo el presupuesto".#SiempreConElPueblo pic.twitter.com/Ktp2aBN7eQ
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria Alexander Schallenberg and his delegation visited today the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, accompanied by Armenias Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute said.

Director of the Museum-Institute Harutyun Marutyan introduced the guests on the history of the creation of the Memorial.

The Armenian and Austrian Foreign Ministers laid wreaths at the Memorial and flowers at the Eternal Flame, by paying tribute to the memory of the innocent victims with a moment of silence.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Vakhtang Gomelauri. Police Chief of Armenia Vahe Ghazaryan also attended the meeting, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Greeting the guest, the PM said, I am very happy for the new dynamics in the relations between our countries. A few days ago, the Minister of Justice of Georgia was here, but unfortunately I could not meet him because of the Covid. Our Police Chief had paid a visit to Georgia before. We summed up last year with the sitting of the Armenian-Georgian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in Tbilisi. Before that, I had several meetings with the Prime Minister of Georgia, my friend Irakli Garibashvili. And I think it's very important that our law enforcement systems establish close cooperation. It is important for the security of our countries, for the protection of the rule of law. Nikol Pashinyan asked to convey his heartfelt greetings and wishes of health to the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili, who has contracted the coronavirus.

Vakhtang Gomelauri thanked for the reception, conveying to the Armenian PM the warm greetings of the Georgian PM. "Armenia is a very important partner for Georgia, it is a neighbor and a friendly country. I always emphasize that Armenians and Georgians are the nearest and dearest peoples, we are very close, with similarities in traditions and cultures, we are close in every aspect.

As for our cooperation, let me say that just after the first meeting we have already made friends with the Police Chief. I would like to express our readiness for further cooperation. You should know that we are always ready to support and are also ready to consider your experience, which is quite extensive. What you have just undertaken, I am particularly about the Patrol Service, is a very laudable and important program. I wish you a successful completion."

Prime Minister Pashinyan highlighted the continuous strengthening of the effective cooperation between the law enforcement systems of the two countries.

The interlocutors exchanged views on sectoral reforms in Armenia and Georgia, shared information on the results of the patrol service reform process. Both sides highlighted exchange of experience and constant communication in the spirit of Armenian-Georgian friendly relations.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. Clarification of the parameters of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, development of that agreement and its subsequent signing can take place through the political settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict or as a result of it, the correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan said at a press conference, answering the question of an Austrian journalist about the red lines of the Armenian side in the issue of signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan.

In response to the question, the Foreign Minister first of all stressed the fact that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is unresolved, emphasizing that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship is the international format that was created, endowed with the sole and exclusive mandate to find a political settlement to Naorno Karabakh conflict, and as long as the settlement is not reached, the sides should continue talks in that format.

"I repeat, the way to find a political settlement or one of its results is to clarify the parameters of a comprehensive peace agreement, to develop that agreement and, consequently, to sign it. I also want to say here that it is very important to remember the principles that this Co-chairs have developed over the years, and one of those principles is the rights of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, in particular, the right to self-determination. And another of those principles, for example, is the non-use of force, which, unfortunately, we saw in 2020 was grossly violated, and now not only Armenia, Azerbaijan, not only the people of Nagorno Karabakh, but the whole world must decide whether non-use of force remains a fundamental principle in the world, or states can allow the use of force to decide the most important issues, the fate of peoples, because if the rule is violated for one, it probably opens the door for others to follow that path," Ararat Mirzoyan said.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg expressed support to the establishment of peace and stability in South Caucasus, noting that Vienna will continue to care and show its dedication to the region and Armenia.

February 2, 2022, 16:12 Armenia-Turkey normalization to be big step for entire region  Austrian FM

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 2, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: FM Schallenberg was speaking in Yerevan at a joint press conference with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan.

FM Schallenberg said Austria encourages the solution of conflicts in the region and welcomes the new dialogue between Armenia and Turkey for normalization. The Austrian FM said that the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey will be a big step for the entire region.

We must work for easing tensions and building trust in the region. In my opinion the element which is very interesting is that very conscious steps are being made in the direction of normalizing relations with your neighbor Turkey, which would be a big step for the entire region and for the people of Armenia, the Austrian FM said.
Ukrainian authorities rule out providing special status and veto power to Donbass, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in an interview for Rzeczpospolita, published Wednesday, Tass informs.

February 2, 2022, 16:26 Ukrainian Foreign Minister rules out special status for Donbass

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 2, ARTSAKHPRESS: "No Ukrainian region will have a right power for national state decisions. This is set in stone! There will be no special status, as Russia imagines it, no voting power," he said.

"We are carrying out a very deep de-centralization reform, and we are ready to work on the implementation of the Minsk agreements. But the Minsk Agreements begin with security issues. The political part is in second place. So, everyone must first focus on security," the Minister added.

The peaceful settlement in Donbass is based on the Minsk Agreements, which imply ceasefire, withdrawal of forces, amnesty, restoration of economic ties, and a dialogue with representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics (DPR and LPR) on a deep constitutional reform, which must result in a de-centralization with a special status provided to certain parts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine.
U.S., Turkish presidential advisers discuss 'Russian aggression' in Ukraine FILE PHOTO: White House National Security Advisor Sullivan addresses the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Ibrahim Kalin, chief adviser to the president of Turkey, spoke on Tuesday and discussed their commitment to "deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine", the White House said in a statement.

Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber said Kalin told Sullivan that Turkey would provide "all forms of support" to resolving the Ukraine crisis and a Thursday visit there by Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan would "contribute to solving the issue with diplomacy".

Turkey offered in November to mediate in the crisis. Diplomatic sources said last month both Russia and Ukraine were open to the idea of Ankara helping.

Turkey is a maritime neighbour of both Ukraine and Russia, in the Black Sea, and has good ties with both. It has called on them to avoid any military conflict and warned Russia that an invasion of Ukraine would be unwise.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of deliberately creating a scenario designed to lure it into war and ignoring Russia's security concerns over Ukraine.

TRT Haber said Kalin and Sullivan had also discussed talks between Turkey and Armenia to normalise ties after decades of animosity.

Ties between NATO allies Turkey and the United States have been strained over a host of issues in recent years, including Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems and policy differences in Syria and the eastern Mediterranean.

The allies have agreed to put aside differences and focus on areas of cooperation but that has yielded little public improvement.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Editing by Robert Birsel and Ece Toksabay)
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) sold funds in the amount of $727 million at foreign currency auctions in January, the funds press service has reported.

To recall, the amount of funds sold at foreign currency auctions in December 2021 made up $989.1 million.

Fund's revenues from the major oil and gas fields amounted to $6.8 billion in 2021. Of these, revenues from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block of fields, which are the largest oil fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, amounted to $5.9 billion, while the fund's revenues from the Shah Deniz field, which is among the worlds largest gas-condensate fields, amounted to $884.7 million.

Additionally, the fund's budget revenues amounted to AZN 15.9 billion ($9.4 billion), while the budget expenditures constituted AZN 11.3 billion ($6.6 billion) last year.

Established in 1999, SOFAZ is a sovereign wealth fund, which accumulates and preserves Azerbaijans oil and gas revenues for future generations.

The fund accumulates income from the sale of oil contracts, and in 2003 it started to make transfers to the state budget of Azerbaijan. As for now, SOFAZ's contribution to the countrys GDP is over 80 percent.
The painting that earned an Auburn High School senior top honors at a state art show was finished at the last minute.

Bryn Whitman, 17, a senior at Auburn High School, was one of four students to receive an American Vision Award for best of show at the 2022 Central New York Scholastic Art Awards in January. Thousands of high school and junior high school students across 14 counties submitted work for the show, which was judged by 40 art professionals.

Whitman told The Citizen she finished her winning painting, "Sunny Mountains," on Dec. 23, the day before the deadline to turn in work. Staying after school with art teacher Cari Parkman that day, the last before winter break, Whitman worked on the piece as Parkman gave notes. She was surprised at the acknowledgement her work received, including a gold key, or first place.

"I really didn't expect much. I was like, 'Oh, I just kind of put it together at the last second.' I didn't expect it was going to win anything," Whitman said.

Although she personally didn't think the piece was quite at the level she wanted it to be by the time she turned it in, as she admits she is a perfectionist, Whitman was nevertheless happy to hear about the award. Her piece is featured in an exhibit of the awards' top artwork at the Whitney Applied Technology Center at Onondaga Community College through March 4.

Despite the success of "Sunny Mountains," Whitman had never done an oil painting in that style before. She described the piece as "very impressionistic, sort of abstract-looking." Whitman had seen that sort of work from artists on social media, she said, and wanted to try her hand at it.

"When you're up close to it, you can't really tell what's going on. So you literally have to stand back and look at it and then you see everything coming together like the mountains in the background, there's a tree in the front," she said.

Parkman wasn't surprised by the painting's success, saying it was "an exceptional work." Having worked with Whitman on an independent study credit course for years now, Parkman said she could see the painting's potential as Whitman worked on it.

"Her style has evolved immensely, but she always has this energetic brushstroke, and the way that she puts it on a canvas or a piece of paper, it's never the same. It's always unique, but it's always there," Parkman said. "The way she was doing her painting, I knew that she just needed to continue it because it was going to be fantastic."

Out of the 11 pieces Whitman turned in for the contest, three received honors. "Sunny Mountains," along with the other first place entries, will advance to a national competition in the spring. Parkman noted that previous work Whitman has submitted for the Scholastic Art Awards has placed since she was in 10th grade.

Whitman has been good at art since she was little, she said, and she appreciates that it can be interpreted in different ways.

"I don't necessarily like to tell people what my art means. I kind of want them to look at it and be like, 'Oh, this reminds me of' whatever moment from their life, because I think that's important, for people to find their own meanings to different things. I think that's kind of a fun way to look at it," she said.

Whitman hopes to attend college and pursue a graphic design and illustration degree, though she is still narrowing down where she would like to go. Parkman believes the winner's future is bright.

"She will go as far as people allow her to go, and then she'll go further," Parkman said.

Several Cayuga County-area students win CNY art awards Thousands of students in 14 counties submitted work for the 2022 Central New York Scholastic Art Awards, and hundreds have been recognized aft

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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Billed as the largest farm equipment show in the Northeast, the New York Farm Show is returning to the state fairgrounds.

The exhibition will be held Feb. 24-26 and host more than 400 exhibitors displaying the latest farm equipment, tractors; seed and crop protection products; robotic milking technology and animal handling equipment; and many additional farm supplies and services.

Showcasing new products and featuring a list of seminars and workshops, the goal of the show is to provide farmers with the tools to reach greater productivity and profitability. This years show highlights include dozens of new products on display, including calf hutches, mixer wagons, Unverferths new Raptor strip tillage tool, the T-series Ag Baggers from RCI, the Puck Force Feed unit and more. The event will also include a full line of educational sessions from the New York beef producers.

The farm show is located at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes. Admission is free by visiting a Northeast Equipment Dealer by Feb. 15; otherwise, it is $5 at the door. For additional information, visit www.NewYorkFarmShow.com and follow New York Farm Show on Facebook.

The Bob Watson New York State FFA Alumni and Supporters Toy Auction will take place on Friday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. Proceeds this year will support a scholarship fund for students pursuing a career in agriculture and agricultural education. For more information on donations or to consign items for sale contact Roger Barkman at Rogerbarkman@yahoo.com. If you would like to support FFA & agriculture education, contact Paulette Schiebel at pschiebel@tds.net.

Were excited to be back and ready to open our doors, show manager Scott Grigor said in a news release. As the biggest technology showcase in the Northeast, theres no better place to network, grow your knowledge of the latest farm products, and to share the farm legacy with family and friends.

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A major winter storm is expected to dump 9 to 12 inches of snow on an area that includes Cayuga County on Thursday.

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for an area of upstate New York from early Thursday morning through Friday afternoon. All of Cayuga, Seneca and Onondaga counties are included in the warning area.

The heaviest snowfall is expected Thursday afternoon through Friday morning, but difficult driving conditions are predicted for the commute on Thursday morning, in addition to Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

"Begin needed preparations at home or with your vehicle," the NWS said. "Travel may become difficult, so plan accordingly."

If the predictions of up to a foot of snow are realized, it will be the heaviest single-storm snowfall for Auburn so far this winter season, according to NWS records.

The heaviest snowfall occurred on Jan. 17 and 18, when 8.2 inches were measured at the Auburn water filtration facility.

So far this season, Auburn accumulated 37.2 inches through Tuesday morning, well below the normal level of 64 inches.

One aspect of the local weather that has been notably winter-like is the temperatures. For January, the average temperature Auburn was 18.5 degrees, compared with a normal of 23.3 inches.

The average low temperature in January was 8.7 degrees while the average high was 28.3 degrees.

For the latest Cayuga County-area weather information  including NWS alerts, long- and short-range forecasts and live radar  visit auburnpub.com/weather.

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WASHINGTON  Watertown might be about to get a new congressman from Orchard Park, and Hamburg might be about to get a new congresswoman from the Utica area.

Those once-fanciful scenarios started to look possible  and maybe even likely  on Monday, as two upstate Republican members of Congress made their accommodations with a new district map drawn by Democrats to minimize the GOP's chances.

Erie County would be split among three congressional districts under remap While the Buffalo-based district in the proposed plan would be largely Democratic, the other two districts including parts of Erie County consist largely of smaller communities and rural territory and are most likely to be represented by Republicans.

Rep. Chris Jacobs, an Orchard Park Republican, said he plans to run for re-election in the newly drawn 24th district, a heavily Republican enclave that would meander from the northernmost shores of the Niagara River to the Thousand Islands region  a driving distance of 256 miles  while bypassing most of metro Rochester. Jacobs, who moved to Orchard Park two years ago to run in a district vacated by former Rep. Chris Collins, would have to move again to run in the 24th district because Orchard Park is in the district to the south.

That district, the 23rd, will be getting new representation, too  and it may well come from someone who has to make an even bigger move. Democratic mapmakers eliminated the Utica-based district served by Rep. Claudia Tenney, an Oneida County Republican, so she announced Monday that she will be running for re-election in the heavily Republican, Southern Tier-based 23rd district.

Here's a look at the two new districts and the incumbent lawmakers who want to represent them:

Chris Jacobs to run in district stretching from Lewiston to Watertown Two sources close to Jacobs said early Monday that Jacobs plans to run for re-election from the newly proposed 24th District, which would meander from the northernmost shores of the Niagara River to the Thousand Islands region  a driving distance of 256 miles  while bypassing most of metro Rochester.

The Lake Ontario District

This district, the 24th, is the one that most closely resembles Jacobs' current district  yet it's also a district unlike any that upstate New York has ever seen, running the length of Lake Ontario, save for a carve-out for a Democrat-dominated district in metro Rochester.

The new district includes some of the most populous communities in the current 27th congressional district, such as Lancaster and Clarence in Erie County, Lockport in Niagara County and Batavia in Genesee County.

"The renumbered NY-24 contains over 400,000 constituents I currently represent, and I am excited to get to better know a few new communities," Jacobs said in a statement.

In contrast, the redrawn 23rd District in the Southern Tier consists mostly of territory Jacobs has never represented, either in Congress or as a state senator.

The new 24th District, however, also includes plenty of new territory for Jacobs, given that it runs from Porter to the Thousand Islands region. It is one of four largely Republican districts in the Democrat-drawn map.

RRH Elections, a Republican elections blog, calculated that voters in the new 24th district favored Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Joe Biden by 31 points in the 2020 election.

Jacobs made sure to cater to those Republicans in announcing his election bid.

"The coming elections are a chance for conservatives to elect majorities in Congress who will check the Biden administrations disastrous policies, re-implement the successful policies of the Trump administration, and put our country on a solid foundation once again," he said in his statement. "I am committed to fighting for your constitutional rights, your economic prosperity, and our future  just as I have for the past two years.

Jacobs had $334,154 in cash on hand at the end of September, but will likely have to raise considerably more to run television ads in a district that now spans the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse television markets.

Jacobs announced his plans to run in the 24th before other candidates could jump into the race, said a Republican political consultant who asked not to be identified by name.

"He was smart to get ahead of this thing," the consultant said.

Utica-area congresswoman to run for Southern Tier seat Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Utica-area Republican whose district was divided up in a redistricting plan released by Democrats on Sunday, said Monday that she plans to run for re-election in the newly redrawn district that stretches from southern Erie County nearly to Binghamton.

The Southern Tier district

Like Jacobs, Tenney said she fits in with the new district she has chosen, even though she's not from there.

"I have a strong conservative record of advocating for our upstate values, fighting for our small business community  including our local farmers  defending election integrity, fighting for our Second Amendment rights, supporting the natural gas industry, and holding the Biden Administration accountable," said Tenney, 60, of New Hartford, in Oneida County. "I look forward to meeting and earning the support of even more New Yorkers and getting to work for our region in Congress."

Tenney, an attorney and small business owner, won the congressional election in New York's current 22nd District in 2016, only to lose it two years later. But in 2020, she reclaimed the seat in a narrow victory over Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi.

The current district Tenney serves stretches from Oswego in the north through Binghamton and to the Pennsylvania line.

The new 23rd District, in contrast, is a horizontal Southern Tier district similar to, but larger than, the current 23rd District served by Rep. Tom Reed, a Corning Republican who is retiring from Congress. The new district includes Hamburg, Orchard Park and the rest of the Erie County Southtowns.

And while it might seem surprising for a Utica-area representative to want to serve the Southern Tier and the Buffalo suburbs, Tenney noted in a statement that she has ties to the eastern end of the new district.

"My family business has been owned and operated in Chenango County since 1946, creating jobs for hundreds of people in our community over the years and contributing to our Southern Tier economy," Tenney said.

Tenney is the co-owner of Mid-York Press, a commercial printing and manufacturing firm that employs about 80 people in Sherburne, in Chenango County. Sherburne is in the proposed 19th District, a heavily Democratic enclave that stretches from Binghamton eastward all the way to the state line.

Tenney enters the 23rd District race with one huge advantage: money. She has $1.15 million in her campaign account.

That may help ward off other potential candidates in the heavily Republican district.

"If this is the map, I'm not going to primary Claudia," said Joe Sempolinski, a former aide to Reed who announced his candidacy for the seat several months ago.

State Sen. George Borrello, an Irving Republican, said he was interested in running for Congress, but he added: "Now that Claudia Tenney has announced, all I would say is that we will have to see what the final district maps look like. Things may change."

Cattaraugus County Republican Chairman Robert Keis said he spoke to former State Sen. Cathy Young of Olean on Monday, and that she continues to weigh a candidacy. He expects her decision by the end of the week.

Keis said he backs Young, but acknowledged that Tenney's cash advantage could scare off Young.

Unfortunately, money counts almost as much as votes, Keis said.

News political reporter Robert J. McCarthy contributed to this report.

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Changan Auto made multiple noteworthy movements in the past year. Its joint venture with Mazda merged with the other Mazda joint venture in China, FAW Mazda.

Later on, Changan Auto and NIOs former 50/50 joint venture experienced several actions and concluded as a brand-new EV brand, the AVATR. On the other hand, the automakers wholly-owned brands saw exceptional sales results in 2021.

UNI-T; photo credit: Changan Auto



Let us take a look at what Changan Auto was up to during the past year.

Changan Auto 2021 sales volume rises 15% YoY to 2.3 million vehicles

Chinas major automaker, Changan Auto, reported a prominent year with its annual sales volume growing in each aspect in 2021 compared to a year ago.

The automaker sold 178,019 vehicles in December, decreasing 11.26% year on year. In 2021, Changan Auto sold a total of 2,300,530 vehicles, representing a 14.82% increase from a year ago.

The cumulative annual sales volume of the companys wholly-owned brands summed up to 1,754,707 vehicles, rising 16.7% compared to 2020. Meanwhile, with 1,204,203 vehicles sold, the groups wholly-owned passenger vehicle sector managed a 23.08% jump from a year ago.

Changan Auto, ZongmuTech extend partnership for ADAS application

Changan Auto announced that it had joined hands with Chinas autonomous driving developer, ZongmuTech, for advanced intelligent driving applications.

The two companies will dive into the intelligent driving field, exploring and planning the integrated applications of new intelligent driving technologies and new products in the park/drive scenarios.

Changan AVATR brand officially makes premiere in Shanghai

Today, Changan Autos Avatr Technology launched its subsidiary brand officially, AVATR, as the automakers high-end EV line and unveiled the brands first EV model, the AVATR 11, in Shanghai.

Avatr Technology, formerly known as Changan NIO, was established as a joint venture between Changan and NIO in 2018. In May this year, its name was changed to Avatr, and started its independent operation.

Changans Avatr adds CATL as new investor, NIOs stake reduced

Avatr Technology (Chongqing) Co., LTD, plans to increase investment with 6 new investors, including Chinas battery giant CATL, Chongqing Changan Auto Company, Avatrs parent company, said in a statement.

Avatr was established as Changan NIO, a joint venture between Changan and NIO, in 2018. In May this year, its name was changed to Avatr and started its independent operation. Its business scope covers development of automotive parts, sales of vehicles, including new energy vehicles.

Horizon Robotics, Changan-FAW-Dongfeng venture establish AI chip lab

Edge-AI technology developer Horizon Robotics teamed up with China Automotive Innovation Corporation (CAIC) to build a collaborative next-generation AI chip innovation development laboratory.

The co-founded lab is positioned as a "synergetic innovation platform, high-tech incubator, talent cultivator" that focuses on organizing a top-tier technical team for AI chip and algorithms, supporting the supply chain development of the intelligent driving segment.

Changan Auto expects annual NEV sales to surpass 1 million units in 2025

Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (Changan) plans to launch 21 all-new intelligent all-electric vehicle models within five years and expects its annual new energy vehicle (NEV) sales to reach 1.05 million units by 2025, Wang Jun, President of Changan, said at the 2021 World New Energy Vehicle Congress (WNEVC).

The expectation on the NEV sales is in line with the sales target Changan announced in late August at its 2021 Tech Ecosystem Summit. The automaker claimed then it aimed to sell 3 million vehicles in 2025, 35% of which would be NEVs.

Changan Auto partners with Chinasoft International for auto industry digitalization

Chongqing Changan Automobile Co.,Ltd. (Changan Auto) and Chinasoft International Limited (Chinasoft International), a Hong Kong-listed software and information technology services provider, recently formed a strategic partnership to co-boost digital transition for the automotive industry, according to an announcement Chinasoft International issued on Aug. 25.

Under the agreement, both parties will co-work on the software innovation for intelligent-connected vehicle (ICV)-related full-scenario mobility services, which pivot on 5G technology, Internet of Vehicles (IoV) big data, intelligent cloud, intelligent cockpit, smart mobility, and other smart services.

Changan Mazda introduces FAW Group as new shareholder

Changan Mazda, currently a 50/50 joint venture between Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (Changan Auto) and Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda), will be restructured by introducing FAW Group as a new investor, signifying the final solution to the long-rumored combination of Mazda's two Chinese joint ventures.

According to a statement jointly issued by Changan Auto, Mazda, and FAW Group on Aug. 24, the Changchun-based state-owned automaker will acquire 5% stake in Changan Mazda at an assessed consideration of the 60% equity interests it holds in FAW Mazda Motor Sales Co. Ltd. (FMSC). After completion of relevant regulatory procedures, the equity proportion of two existing shareholders will be each diluted to 47.5%.

First vehicle of Changan-backed Avatr Technology armed with Huawei HI solution

The first vehicle model of Avatr Technology Co.,Ltd., whose forerunner is Changan Automobile and NIOs joint venture Changan NIO, will be a mid-sized SUV code-named E11, Changan Automobile revealed on May 26.

The SUV will rides on a new-generation smart EV platform and is armed with Huawei HI (Huawei Inside) smart car solution. Its design prototype has already come off the assembly line, the automaker said.

Changan Suzuki changes name to Lingyao Automobile

Chongqing Changan Suzuki Automobile Co.,Ltd. (Changan Suzuki), formerly the joint venture between Changan Automobile and Suzuki, has changed its name to Chongqing Lingyao Automobile Co.,Ltd. (Lingyao), according to the corporate data platform Tianyancha.

Lingyao has a line of businesses including the production and sale of cars, engines and auto parts, the supply of after-sales services, and the R&D of relevant products and technologies, according to Tianyancha.
LOS ANGELESAdult superstar and Wicked Sensual Care resident sex educator Jessica Drake is featured in the Jan. 16 New York Times Magazine cover story by Maggie Jones, "The Joys (and Challenges) of Sex After 70."

To read the article, click here.

With a focus on seniors with fulfilling sex lives, the author shares about her own experiences while interviewing Drake on the set of her award-winning sexual self-help release Jessica Drake's Guide to Wicked Sex: Senior Sex. The project was created in collaboration with acclaimed author and senior sex authority Joan Price, whose books include The Ultimate Guide to Sex After 50, Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud About Senior Sex, and Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty.

In a statement, the editors detailed the article's genesis: "Over the course of three years, Ms. Jones and Ilena Silverman, a deputy editor at the magazine, discussed doing a story on the sex lives of seniors. During that time, Ms. Jones interviewed nearly 50 people over age 70 about marriage, dating, and hooking up, and discovered that not only were octogenarians having sex, but some were having the best, most meaningful sex of their lives. The feature tells the story of a diverse generationmarried, single, straight and queer people of different raceswho are finally investing in their pleasure."

In addition to serving as a contributing writer for New York Times Magazine, Maggie Jones teaches writing at the University of Pittsburgh. She has been a Nieman fellow at Harvard University and Senior Ochberg fellow at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.

The article comes after Jones accepted an invitation in 2019 to visit the Los Angeles set for Jessica Drake's Guide to Wicked Sex: Senior Sex, where she joined Drake and Price for the interview.

"When I met Joan Price years ago, I realized immediately the impact she was making not only on seniors worldwide but also the educational community," Drake said. "She has a gift of authenticity that few can match. Id wanted to collaborate with her for quite some time to make an educational resource for older adultsgenerations that missed out on sex education growing up.

Guide to Wicked Sex: Senior Sex explored a variety of topics, including relationship communication, discussion of trigger words and acceptable terminology between partners, along with expert advice and unique insights from Drake and Price. The project featured people age 50-plus in explicit demonstrations and sex scenes illustrating positions and techniques to enhance the sexual experience.

"Making Senior Sex with Joan Price was an incredible learning experience," Drake said. "Our castBonnie, Joel, Marlene and Galenwere incredible to work with. And I'm very grateful to my awesome crewBarrett Blade, Rae Threat, Triton, Jenna Valentine and Jofor all their hard work and creative effort."

It was an exhilarating experience to make this film with Jessica Drake, the cast of sexy seniors, and the top-notch crew, Price said of the production. Everyone worked together with a united purpose: to produce the highest-quality educational film about senior sex. I am so grateful to Jessica and everyone involved for sharing my vision and bringing it to reality.

Originally released August 7, 2019, the instructional video was covered extensively by media outlets such as Yahoo! Finance, Synergy, Jezebel, Fast Company, SHE, Adult Video News and, currently, New York Times Magazine. Jessica Drake's Guide to Wicked Sex: Senior Sex went on to be named Best Niche Production at the 37th Annual AVN Awards in January 2020. It subsequently won the 2020 American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) Audio Visual Award.

Jessica Drake's Guide to Wicked Sex: Senior Sex is available for purchase at select retailers and at joanprice.com.

For more information about Wicked Sensual Care products, visit WickedSensualCare.com or e-mail [email protected].
AUSTIN, TexasSex tech expert Bryony Cole has joined the makers of the MON social audio app as an adviser.

Cole will lend her expertise and industry experience to the team behind the new app. She will help with innovation and development of the platform as it connects sex positive communities and adds leading voices to the conversation.

Im thrilled to be working with Caleth Jones and the team to further the conversations around sex and sexuality in a way thats never been done before! Cole said.

The MON App, based in Austin, Texas and a portfolio company of Capital Factory, is a live social audio app that promotes conversation, exploration and education through expert-led panels and user-generated rooms.

The apps recent launch has brought together well-known influencers as featured users, which include experts, doctors and enthusiasts.

Im honored to be working alongside Bryony Cole, whose industry insights and experience are unmatched in the space, said MONs Jones. In our mission to provide a safe and inclusive space to talk about sex, its imperative we have diverse perspectives contributing at every level.

Cole is known for speaking globally about the impact of technology on intimacy. Her podcast and event series "Future of Sex" reaches thousands of listeners every month to explore the merging worlds of sex and tech.

For more information, visit www.themonapp.com.
A Beatrice man will serve a federal prison term for distributing methamphetamine in southeast Nebraska.

United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Michael Hawkins, 58, was sentenced in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

A press release stated that Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Hawkins to 60 months imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release.

During the conspiracy, Hawkins was purchasing methamphetamine in Lincoln and redistributing the methamphetamine to several individuals in Beatrice. On April 8, 2019, Beatrice Police Department executed a search warrant on Hawkinss residence and seized four grams of methamphetamine.

Cooperating witnesses were willing to testify that Hawkins was purchasing methamphetamine in Lincoln and taking it to Beatrice where he would sell it to several individuals.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and Beatrice Police Department.

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By Trend

The U.S. will be participating in the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council events on February 4 in Baku, Azerbaijan, U.S. Embassy Spokesperson told Trend.

The United States will be represented in-person by a delegation from the U.S. Embassy including Ambassador Litzenberger and members of the Economic and Energy team, added the spokesperson.

The Southern Gas Corridor, which is comprised of Shah Deniz 2, the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion, the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) became fully operational on December 31, 2020.

Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG confirmed on Dec. 31 the commencement of gas flows from Azerbaijan. The first gas has reached Greece and Bulgaria, via the Nea Mesimvria interconnection point with DESFA, as well as Italy, via the Melendugno interconnection point with SNAM Rete Gas (SRG).

TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.

The first meeting of the SGC Advisory Council was held on February 12, 2015, the second meeting - on February 29, 2016, the third meeting - on February 23, 2017, the fourth meeting - on February 15, 2018, the fifth meeting  on February 20, 2019, the sixth meeting was held on Feb.28, 2020 and the seventh meeting on Feb.11, 2021.
PICKRELL -- The Pickrell Picnic group is a committee of the Pickrell Historical and Betterment Association. The group of volunteers work together to improve the community.

Were a small community and we try to do fun things to bring out our neighbors so they can get to know each other, said Sheri Pieper, President. COVID has made things a little more difficult, but not impossible.

The group will host a pitch tournament in January and February at the Community Center with funds raised going to the renovation of the building.

Weve updated the park and have some handicap accessible picnic tables, said Pieper.

The PHBA websites note the following accomplishments:

 Replacement of the old park shelter with a larger facility, complete with a kitchen serving area and restrooms.

 Refurbishment of older play equipment and installation of new play equipment.

 Installation of decorative lighting within the park.

 Replacement of older, diseased trees and shrubbery.

 Construction of a new Veterans Memorial, located in the southwest corner of the park.

Sometimes well try to help a family that has suffered a hardship in our community. In December, all the money raised at the Hillmark Christmas went to the Ideus family after Glenn and Tracy Hoffman-Ideus died from complications related to Covid, said Pieper.

The event was for families, with Santa and a tree lighting ceremony. We sold raffle tickets, had a beer and wine tasting, and decorated to make it look like something out of a Hallmark movie, said Linsey Gronewold, event organizer. We have a lot of great community volunteers and hope to do it again next year."

The annual Pickrell Picnic will be held June 11-12 , 2022. Although the event has changed, it has taken place for over 100 years.

Were just starting planning, but we try to do some different tournaments, bouncy houses for the kids, a car show, and a band on Saturday," Pieper said. "On Sunday we have a church service in the park and serve lunch.

Weve done Easter Egg hunts, hosted Goldenride which is a bike ride from Lincoln to Beatrice and back in a weekend, and help with the annual tractor pull. Its really about community,."

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Yellowstone County reached a grim milestone in its battle against COVID-19 Wednesday when the county surpassed 500 COVID-19 deaths following a surge of cases as the omicron variant of the disease tears through Montana.

The county has now recorded 506 deaths since the pandemic began in early 2020 with recent reports of 10 more county residents succumbing to the illness, according to a statement released by RiverStone Health Wednesday afternoon. Eight of those 10 were discovered by death certificate review and the remaining two died at Billings hospitals.

In all 10 cases, the victims had underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness, RiverStone said. They ranged in age from 50s to 90s. Three deaths occurred in December, six in January and one in February.

The deaths included: An unvaccinated man in his 60s, who died at a Billings hospital Tuesday. An unvaccinated man in his 70s, who died at a Billings hospital Monday. A man in his 70s, who died at a local care facility in late January. He was vaccinated but didnt receive a booster. An unvaccinated man in his 50s, who died at a Billings hospital in late January. An unvaccinated man in his 90s, who died at a residence in late January. An unvaccinated woman in her 90s, who died at a residence in mid-January. An unvaccinated woman in her 60s, who died at a residence in early January. An unvaccinated man in his 50s, who died at a Billings hospital in late December. An unvaccinated man in his 60s, who died at a residence in late December. An unvaccinated woman in her 80s, who died at a Billings hospital in early December.

As of Wednesday, Billings hospitals had 84 COVID-19 patients. A total of 51 were unvaccinated and 33 were vaccinated. Among the hospitalized, 16 were in intensive-care units and eight were on ventilators, according to RiverStone Health.

Vaccine hesitancy has continued to plague the state and has contributed to increasing cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Only 54% of Montanans age 5 and over have been vaccinated against COVID-19. In Yellowstone County the vaccination rate is even lower with only 53% of the eligible population fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccines are available at local medical clinics and pharmacies. RiverStone Health will offer a free, walk-in community COVID-19 vaccination clinic for people age five and older: Thursday, Feb. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Shrine Auditorium at 1125 Broadwater Ave.

Free COVID-19 vaccinations can be scheduled by appointment with the RiverStone Health Immunization Clinic at 406-247-3382. Vaccinations also can be scheduled with RiverStone Health Clinic at 406-247-3350.

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Montana is among eight states that sued the federal government last week over an immigration program allowing children and certain family members from parts of Central America to join parents living legally or seeking asylum in the U.S.

Montana joined Texas, Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma in asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to find the Central American Minors Program, or CAM Program, unconstitutional.

The states argue that the program, designed to bring children and caregivers from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to the U.S. to join parents living here legally, was unilaterally created and later expanded under President Joe Biden rather than authorized by Congress. The states allege harm in terms of public services provided to immigrants living in the country illegally.

To the extent that it provides benefits outside of those provided in law by the Refugee Admissions Program, the CAM Program is an unlawful artifice of the Biden Administrations imagination, never authorized by Congress, the lawsuit states.

MTN was first to report the lawsuit.

El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are known as the Northern Triangle of Central America. The United Nations calls the region one of the most dangerous places on Earth, due to gang violence, extortion, persecution and sexual violence. More than 500,000 people have migrated from the countries in recent years and another 250,000 have been displaced in-country, according to the UN.

The CAM Program was created in 2014 and allows children to join parents living in the U.S. legally and be designated as refugees. In 2017 the program was ended by the Trump administration, but then reauthorized by Biden last year. The program now includes allowance for a parent or guardian of a child to also come. It also expands those eligible to parents in the United States that are seeking but not yet granted asylum.

"Strengthening collaborative migration management, which includes creating legal pathways, including CAM, is one of the pillars of the president's blueprint for a fair, orderly and humane immigration system," the administration told The Hill in September.

Expanding the program to include those that have not yet been given refugee or parole status and are still seeking asylum invites abuse of the program, the states argue.

No sovereign nation would reward those who break the law by permitting family members abroad to join them in living in the sovereign territory unlawfully, particularly with the assistance of the government itself, the lawsuit states.

Attorney General Austin Knudsen pointed to the surge in immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and tens of thousands seeking asylum there. The situation has consumed resources including Border Patrol from looking for drugs, he said, calling it willful neglect at best by the administration.

We are in the middle of an unprecedented border crisis that is bringing illegal drugs and overdoses, human trafficking and violent crime into Montana communities, he said in a statement. President Bidens own DHS secretary says the crisis at the border is as bad as its been in decades, and maybe ever. The Biden administrations Central American Minors Program is making the problem even worse by encouraging illegal immigration into the United States.

Last November, Knudsen was one of three attorneys general to sue the administration over its guidelines for deciding when to deport immigrants living in the country illegally. The administration limited deportations to those with certain aggravating circumstances, such as representing a threat to national security, public safety or border security.

Tom Kuglin is the deputy editor for the Lee Newspapers State Bureau. His coverage focuses on outdoors, recreation and natural resources.

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Montana's recreational cannabis market topped $12.8 million in sales its first month, putting the Treasure State on pace to meet the state's projections of $130 million in sales in 2022.

Add in January's $9.7 million in medical marijuana sales across the state, and Montana raked in $2.9 million in tax revenue from cannabis in 31 days, according to the Montana Department of Revenue's Cannabis Control Division. The recreational market's opening weekend accounted for $1.5 million of the month's sales.

"It feels like the start of an industry," said Bobby Long, owner of Flower, which has dispensaries in Missoula and Kalispell.

Long said sales have been consistently growing for his dispensaries week after week in the new market. Roughly half of Flower's sales are flower, or flower-related products, like joints. About 30% of sales are concentrates, 10% have been edibles and the remainder has been tinctures and other specialty products.

The experiences between providers has been varied as each market represents different opportunities. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle on Sunday reported sales at some dispensaries have slowed to the point of concern after a rush of new business Jan. 1. The market there is saturated: Gallatin County is home to more dispensaries than any other in Montana, and the city just lifted a 20-store front cap that will allow even more providers into the market.

Numbers provided by the Montana Department of Revenue show recreational cannabis sales statewide stayed roughly level through January, between $2.6 million and $2.9 million week after week.

Long said the weed market is "oversaturated, overtaxed and over-regulated," but his business has been battle-tested through eight years in the medical marijuana industry before recreational sales began, and he has been a provider since 2008. The medical industry, which Montana voters approved in 2004, felt less like a business and more like a sacrificial passion project, he said, having to hurdle the constant changes and challenges to the industry.

"Now it feels more like a business exercise," Long said. "The revenue is coming in healthier and it allows us to do more things.  It helps buffer and maintain operations."

The Governor's Office of Budget and Program Planning last year projected $130 million in recreational sales in 2022, climbing to $195.5 million in 2023 once the moratorium on new businesses sunsets. The moratorium was installed as a way for Montana providers who have established themselves in the medical industry to stake out the recreational market before Big Weed flocks into the market from out of state.

The first $6 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales will go toward the Healing and Ending Addiction through Recovery and Treatment (HEART) Fund, a new substance abuse disorder treatment and addiction recovery program. The fund was first proposed by Gov. Greg Gianforte, who touted the program Tuesday in a joint press conference with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office, and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

"Successful prevention and treatment programs help people who have hit rock bottom regain their health, rebuild their lives and become vibrant, productive members of our community," he said.

The program uses a portion of revenues from recreational marijuana, tobacco settlement payments and Medicaid to boost that $6 million into $25 million for community substance abuse programs.

Some communities are without coordinated prevention programs, as well as programming to support people who are leaving treatment, Gianforte said Tuesday.

"It's critical that we close these gaps," Gianforte said.

Of that first $6 million pool, $500,000 will be allocated to Indian Health Services in Montana. Once the HEART Fund bucket is filled, 20% of the remaining funds go to Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks to fund wildlife habitat; state parks, trails and nongame wildlife accounts each receive 4%; 3% goes to a special state account for veterans and surviving spouses; $150,000 goes to the Montana Board of Crime Control and the rest goes to the state general fund.

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Republican Ryan Zinke and Democrat Cora Neumann both extended early fundraising leads over their primary opponents for Montanas new western congressional district in the final months of 2021, according to recent reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Three Republicans and four Democrats have so far announced their candidacies for the new district Montana picked up after gaining enough residents in the last 10 years, according to the 2020 census results. One Democrat, Rep. Laurie Bishop of Livingston, dropped out of the race in November.

Zinke, a former Montana congressman and secretary of the interior, raked in $582,000 over the final three months of 2021, for a total of nearly $1.4 million in contributions over the past year. He had spent $661,000 of that total by Dec. 31, more than half of that during the last quarter.

Zinke is also the only candidate so far to receive significant contributions from political committees, which have poured $259,000 into his campaign.

Neumann, a nonprofit executive who lives in Bozeman, picked up $302,000 in the last three months of 2021, for a total of $856,000 last year. After spending $141,000 in the final quarter, she has $771,000 in leftover cash.

Former state Sen. Al Olszewski, a Kalispell Republican, raised $113,000 during the last quarter of 2021, a slower pace than his previous fundraising totals. His total for the year was $413,000.

Monica Tranel, a Missoula lawyer and former Public Service Commission staff attorney, added $176,000 in contributions, for a year-end total of $420,000. She spent $260,000 through Dec. 31.

Kalispell resident Mary Todd, the most recent Republican to announce her candidacy, reported raising $114,000 last year, including a $53,000 loan to her campaign. She has spent $31,000.

And the last Democrat to jump in the race, former state Rep. Tom Winter, of Missoula, reported raising $53,000 last year, including a $10,000 loan to his campaign. He has spent about half of that total.

Montanas primary election is June 7.

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Calling "smoking gun" evidence rare in cases of discrimination, a Great Falls judge blocked a motion filed by the University of Montana asking the court to dismiss one of the plaintiffs claims filed in a Title IX suit accusing the university of sex-based discrimination.

The lawsuit, filed in early August in federal court in Missoula by three former and one current UM employees, accuses the university and Montana University System of sex-based discrimination and Title IX violations.

Saying UM fostered a toxic environment where women were discriminated and retaliated against, the four plaintiffs  Catherine Cole, Barbara Koostra, Mary-Ann Sontag Bowman and Rhondie Voorhees  describe treatment from the university they say is part of the good ol boys club. They also specifically point to President Seth Bodnar creating a campus environment adverse to women.

Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

UM and the MUS have since said the claims lack legal merit and are not based on facts.

On Oct. 18, UM filed a response refuting the allegations and asking for Sontag Bowman's claims to be thrown out of the suit, saying they are false and fail to establish a viable claim under Title IX.

On Monday, Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris rejected the universitys motion to dismiss, saying Sontag Bowman makes sufficient allegations to make a plausible Title IX claim as part of the suit.

Sontag Bowmans claims stemmed from her time working in the School of Social Work, saying an environment that discouraged female leadership was fostered. Specifically, Sontag Bowman says she felt discouraged to apply for a chairperson leadership position.

Since Sontag Bowman did not apply, UMs argument is that Title IX does not apply in this situation. In order for a Title IX complaint to have merit, there needs to be an adverse action on the part of the defendant, and Sontag Bowman fails to identify such adverse action on the universitys part, UM spokesman Dave Kuntz said at the time.

Defendant's argument fails to recognize that an adverse action need not be a formal rejection or dismissal, but can be the constructive equivalent, Judge Morris writes in his order.

Victims of discrimination seldom can prove their claim of discrimination by direct evidence, as perpetrators of discrimination rarely leave smoking gun evidence attesting to discriminatory intent, the judge continues.

Sontag Bowman will still have to prove her claims in court. If she is not able to, UM has the option to raise the issue on summary judgement.

The order does not reflect an indication that the claims have merit, but simply allows the plaintiffs an opportunity to conduct fact finding and present evidence in support of their proposed claims. The University is eager for the facts to rise to the surface and we stand by our position that these particular claims lack merit," Kuntz said in a statement to the Missoulian on Tuesday.

The plaintiffs are represented by Hillary Carls and Sherine Blackford of Blackford Carls P.C. in Bozeman.

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In a strange quirk of ongoing pandemic-related shortages, there has hardly been a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey to be found at any bar in western Montana for nearly two months.

That's according to multiple bar owners and liquor store managers.

Even in Butte, with its rich Irish history, the upcoming St. Patricks Day celebration will most likely not feature the coveted spirit.

We only have two precious bottles left that weve been saving for St. Patricks Day, said Lacey Clements, a bartender at Maloneys, an Irish bar on Main Street. Itll be first-come, first-served. All of the liquor stores are out and theyve told us any more bottles are still a month or so away.

James Pops Jones, a co-owner of The Press Box bar and liquor store in Missoula, said hes been out of Jameson for about a month and a half.

We get all of our stuff from Grizzly Liquor, so whatever theyre out of we dont get, he said. Grizzly Liquor gets their inventory from the state. Ive heard theres nothing coming in soon. Theres no light at the end of the tunnel. Some of the other bourbons have been out for six months.

Jones has other Irish whiskeys like Tullamore D.E.W., but he usually sells about 10 12-bottle cases a month of Jameson.

We usually go through a bottle of Jameson every other day, depending on the time of year, Jones explained.

Adie Smith, a bartender at the Thomas Meagher Bar, an Irish pub in Missoula, said theyve also been out of the original Jameson for over a month. They have plenty of the other Jameson products, like Black Barrel and an aged stout edition, so she said customers are being forced to try new flavors of the whiskey.

Still, she said, they get a request for the original almost every day.

Jackson Satt at Grizzly Liquor, a state-contracted liquor store in Missoula, said Jameson ran out before Christmas.

We are one of two state stores in Missoula  the other is KrisCo Liquor, he explained. We get our inventory on a semi every week and it comes from the state warehouse. They dont have an estimated date of when they would have Jameson.

People come in almost every day looking for Jameson, he said.

For a lot of the bars in town, Jameson is really important for bar sales, he said. A lot of places use Jameson for their beer and a shot thing around town. So its really affecting alcohol consumption. We go through probably a dozen cases, easy, every week at least.

By law, any spirit must mature on the island of Ireland for three years to be able to call itself Irish. Jamesons website says their original Irish Whiskey is aged at least four years, but theres no acknowledgement of any shortage.

The problem appears to be unique to Montana. The Idaho State Liquor Store on Sherman Avenue in Coeur dAlene had Jameson on Wednesday, as did Discount Liquor in Evanston, Wyoming. Not everywhere in Montana is sold out, either. A bartender at Cassidys Bar and Lounge in Plentywood, in the far northeast corner of the state, said they had plenty.

The Missoulian sent an email to the Montana Department of Revenue, which controls liquor distribution in Montana, asking why Montana cant get hold of the stuff. A spokesperson said she would try to get information but that didnt happen as of press time Wednesday.

Montana is one of 17 alcoholic beverage control states, where the state government regulates liquor, beer and wine sales by acting as the only wholesaler of alcoholic beverages in addition to issuing licenses. However, in Montana, the state is only in charge of wholesale operations for distilled spirits. Idaho and Wyoming are also control states.

Many states are experiencing liquor shortages during the pandemic, according to a report by National Public Radio last year. Thats due to supply chain issues, like increased shipping costs, but also because producers have to anticipate demand many years in advance.

Jones at the Press Box in Missoula said the Jameson shortage is just another headache caused by the pandemic.

We couldnt get jumbo chicken wings for a while either, he said. Theres a lot of things like that on the restaurant side of it. Its ridiculous. Its been an interesting couple years, Ill tell you that.

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By Trend

Azerbaijan exported building materials to Georgia through the Azexport portal, Head of Azerbaijans Azexport project Aykhan Gadashov told Trend.

According to him, in this regard, a contract has already been signed between the Georgian company and the Azerbaijani side.

This contract has good prospects, and I hope that it will be long-term, Gadashov said.

The project manager noted that detailed information on the agreement between the Azerbaijani and Georgian companies will be provided in the coming days.

The resource Azexport (www.azexport.az) was created in accordance with the Decree of the Azerbaijani president "On establishing a single database of goods produced in Azerbaijan" dated September 21, 2016.

For 60 months of its activity, the Azexport portal has fulfilled orders for the supply of products from Azerbaijan to 145 countries in the amount of $2.72 billion.
Its easy to take homeschooling for granted in 2022. Easy, that is, if you havent been watching the legislative action in Montana over the last 40 years. The opportunities homeschoolers have today are the result of thousands of families joining forces and speaking up, time and again, for the right to choose their childs education.

This National School Choice Week (Jan. 23-29), the uphill climb for homeschooling in Montana is a reminder that expanding choices for our children requires hard work and stick-to-it-tivity.

Just think back 40 years. Nearly 10,000 Montana students identified as homeschooled last school year, but in the early 1980s, school choices were few and far between. Parents like us who wanted to home educate their children faced big legal challenges. This didnt change until 1983, when an extraordinary bill provided an "exemption" from public school enrollment for students attending nonpublic or home schools. Parents from across our state filled the hearings to overflowing, showing support for the flexibility and opportunity afforded by school choice. The Legislature overwhelmingly supported the bill too.

Imagine how the recent pandemic  when the rate of Montana households homeschooling jumped from 8% to 18% in a six-month span  would have hit families even harder if we hadnt stood up for that choice then. Both then and now, when families freedom to choose the best educational fit for their children expands, its worth celebrating. But it also requires commitment for educational freedom to last. Community organizations and regular meet-ups can be invaluable ways for parents to stay invested in preserving and expanding learning opportunities. In fact, thats why other parents and I originally formed the Montana Coalition of Home Educators in 1988.

As a case in point, just a few years after the coalition formed, a bill was introduced that would adversely affect homeschoolers. In response, we worked together to draft a bill spelling out our God-given right to be responsible for the educational philosophy, curriculum, instruction and testing of our children.

What took place in that 1991 session has not been forgotten by those who were there. Our bill (with 48 co-signers, both Democrats and Republicans), passed out of the Senate and into the House. Again, the room was filled with supporters from across the state. Through the hard work and commitment of those willing to speak up for choice, our bill passed in the House, was signed into law with zero changes, and is an important component of Montana homeschooling law today.

The battle for greater educational opportunity continues for Montana families. Encouragingly, in 2021, the door was opened for private and homeschool students to participate in public school extracurricular activities. This bill received support from both sides of the aisle. It represents a growing recognition that families need flexible learning arrangements, and hearkens to a future where hybrid learning opportunities will be more widespread.

These good developments, which recognize that families know their kids learning needs best, dont come from thin air. They require steadfast commitment, like that of the more than 4,000 supporters of homeschooling who showed up in the 2007 session, making it the largest hearing turnout in our states history.

Challenges to parental rights in education remain. Parents, educators and legislators must come together and continue the task of refining education law and policies. We must always appreciate and defend our freedom to be the primary educators for our children. At heart, thats who the battle for school choice is fought for: our children, the next generation.

Steve White is a homeschool father and founding member of the Montana Coalition of Home Educators. He has led the effort to pass positive home education bills in legislative sessions over the past 30-plus years.

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If you've become lost in the woods, what should you do? If youve taken Hunter Education, or any outdoor training, you know what to do. STOP: Sit. Think. Observe. Plan.

That is what Montana hunters want the Fish and Wildlife Commission to do at their February 4 meeting on elk season setting. Just STOP. The public process to date has been unclear, the proposed solutions do not match any stated goal, and everyone is exhausted from the chaos.

Last summer the FWP director embarked on a series of public listening sessions with the stated goal of hearing from Montana hunters and anglers. His decision at the end of that process was to push a set of very unpopular proposals that drastically change elk hunting in Montana for the worse. It's as though he didn't listen at all.

Fortunately, elk hunters pushed back. Hard. They spoke up so strongly against that proposal that the Commission told the director that they would not be voting in support.

Unfortunately, the director came right back with a brand new set of elk management proposals that no one had asked for. Hunters who showed up to try to stop the first set of bad proposals got whiplash from a different set of bad proposals. Public comment and the Commission vote on elk regulations were delayed until February 4, this Friday.

Please join me in asking the commission to once again resist these extreme proposals. Just STOP. Default to the existing elk hunting guidelines. Sit and think about how to chart a future for elk hunting that protects Montanans hunting heritage. Observe what Montana hunters are saying. Plan for responsible management of this treasured resource that doesnt sell our elk to the highest bidder.

Montanas elk management plan is nearly 18 years old. Instead of rushing blind into far-reaching changes, FWP should focus on getting stakeholders together and honestly identifying problems. FWP will never come up with collaborative solutions if it doesnt listen to the Montanans who will feel the biggest impacts from their decisions. Weve been hearing different proposals for privatizing wildlife from FWP, but were not hearing a well-considered set of goals and strategies.

FWP and the seven appointed commissioners are entrusted with a valuable resource: our wildlife. They hold the future of Montanas hunting heritage in their hands. The director and the commission must remember that they work for resident Montana hunters, not non-resident, wealthy landowners. Wildlife belongs to all Montanans and Montana hunters have spoken loudly, clearly, and in unison to reject these proposals. Its time to STOP.

State Rep. Marilyn Marler of Missoula represents HD90.

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North Dakota's Health Department on Wednesday reported eight more coronavirus-related deaths after confirming 14 the previous day.

The two-day count pushed January's total to 87, making it the eighth-deadliest month in North Dakota during the pandemic that has moved into its 24th month with the start of February. January deaths are on pace to eclipse December's total of 95, as death certificates can lag for up to 10 days under state law.

Active COVID-19 cases in North Dakota recently spiked amid the omicron variant wave, and health officials say declines in deaths and hospitalizations typically lag behind sliding case numbers because those categories are the later consequences of disease.

Active cases in the state on Wednesday declined for a third straight day, to 5,122, with about one-fifth of them in Burleigh-Morton counties.

COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide also dropped slightly, to 174. The most recent state data showed about 9% of staffed inpatient hospital beds available statewide and about 6.5% of intensive care unit beds open. In Bismarck, CHI St. Alexius Health had no open general care beds and one available staffed ICU bed; Sanford Health had no open beds listed in either category.

There have been 226,742 confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Dakota since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, including 1,249 new cases reported Wednesday on the state's virus dashboard. North Dakota's reported 14-day rolling test positivity rate fell for a sixth straight day, to 18.33%. The state target is less than 5%.

There have been 219,505 pandemic recoveries in North Dakota, 7,549 hospitalizations and 2,115 deaths.

The state no longer publicly reports the county, sex and age range of newly confirmed deaths. The virus dashboard death totals for Burleigh and Morton counties were unchanged Wednesday, at 290 and 138, respectively. Cass County, home to Fargo, saw its total rise by three, to 314.

More information

North Dakota has one of the worst COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Agency data shows 64.9% of adults in the state being fully vaccinated. The rate for all vaccine-eligible people in the state -- age 5 and older -- is 58.1%.

The CDC also recommends COVID-19 booster shots for all adults; 46.9% of North Dakota adults have received one, according to state data. The federal agency earlier this year also recommended that adolescents ages 12-17 receive boosters as well. North Dakota's vaccine dashboard shows 17.8% of state residents in that age group have received one.

The coronavirus transmission risk is considered high in all of North Dakota's 53 counties, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker website. The CDC recommends people in that risk category wear masks in public indoor settings.

People can go to https://www.ndvax.org or call 866-207-2880 to see where COVID-19 vaccine is available near them. A list of free COVID-19 testing offered by local public health units is at health.nd.gov/covidtesting. For more detailed information on coronavirus in North Dakota, go to www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus. For more information on coronavirus variants, go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html.
North Dakota is challenging the federal governments awarding of lucrative mineral rights under a Missouri River reservoir to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, otherwise known as the Three Affiliated Tribes. The state attorney generals office said Friday that it notified the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., that it plans to intervene in the tribes lawsuit against the federal government. The Interior Department ruled in February that the tribes own the rights, in what has been a long-running dispute. At stake is an estimated $100 million in unpaid royalties and future payments certain to come from oil drilling. The government dammed the river in the 1950s, flooding more than a tenth of the tribes' reservation and creating the reservoir.
These are strange times in the United States. We are now living under the second consecutive presidency whose legitimacy is disputed by a significant proportion of the American people. The typical debates about taxation and foreign policy have been eclipsed by arguments about identity politics. And once unquestionedand unquestionableconstitutional principles such as the importance of privacy and due process are increasingly contested. To these we can add threats to freedom of religion, which is scarcely a surprise in a culture where the larger category of freedom of speech is being challenged. What is surprising, however, is the emergence of significant doubts about freedom of religion within the very communities one might assume regard themselves as benefiting from it: conservative Catholicism and Protestantism.

There have been some fringe groups in the religious world skeptical of freedom of religion for some time. Among Protestants, the theonomists, a group whose polemical volume belies their small number, have been around since the 1980s. More recently, the integralist movement has reemerged within Catholicism, calling for a close relationship between State and the (Roman Catholic) Church and boasting some significant intellectual advocates such as Adrian Vermeule. And in recent weeks there has been debate around what influential evangelical pastor John MacArthur did or did not say on the issue. One need not take a side in the discussion of how to interpret MacArthurs words to sense that there may well be some ambivalence toward freedom of religion emerging within the ranks of mainstream conservative evangelicalism, even Baptistsan interesting development, given the importance of Baptists to the history of religious of freedom.

As with freedom of speech, freedom of religion has never been an absolute, unqualified right in the U.S. If someone were to rehabilitate the cult of the god Moloch and start sacrificing children, such action would not be protected under the First Amendment because such would be highly damaging to the children involved and thus to society in general. The government would therefore have a compelling interest in outlawing Moloch worship in a way that it would not have such a compelling interest in outlawing, say, groups celebrating the Latin Mass, baptism by immersion for believers, Passover, or Ramadan. To borrow from Jefferson, as long as the religious belief or practice picked no ones pocket and broke no ones leg, it was not to be considered a problem for the government to solve.

The question of why religious freedom is now under pressure from both the nonreligious and the religious is an interesting one and does not permit of a single answer, although there is a connection between the objections of both sides. For secularists, religion is now a problem because the notion of harm has extended beyond the issue of physical well-being and ownership of property to which Jeffersons quip about picking pockets and breaking legs points. Modern Western culture places as muchif not moreemphasis on psychological harm as on these more traditional categories. And that means that words and ideas have the constant potential to become weapons. When you add to that the fact that society no longer has any broadly assented to basis upon which to adjudicate moral and ethical issues, then a heady, volatile, and dangerously subjective mix emerges.

Nations such as the USA are built upon the notion of individual freedom and rights, specifically those of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The problem is that the latter in particular becomes a highly subjective and indeed rather nebulous concept once a psychological notion of selfhood becomes normative. What one person publicly affirms as true might be deemed as psychologically damaging to happiness by another. Thus, for example, a public reading of Romans 1 in a worship service would be seen by a traditional Christian as a legitimate act of religious freedom; but a gay person might see it as an act of hate directed against his person causing significant harm. Such examples abound in contemporary America, and not simply with regard to religious speech. And as fewer and fewer people are themselves religious and consider religion to be of any great importance, the pressure grows for such speech to be denied protection by the First Amendment. Indeed, opposition to the First Amendment in general increases.

There is nothing particularly surprising in the narrative above. But why is the question of religious freedom becoming a talking point within religious circles?

One reason is no doubt reaction to the moral chaos we see around us. The First Amendment may be sweeping in its provisions, but the Founders were no doubt assuming that such freedom would be understood to operate within a broadly agreed-upon moral framework. They did not want the federal government legislating on, for example, the practice of baptism, but they assumed that the populace would be in sync on the basic moral framework necessary for a free society. Christian social morality was therefore safe and the question of whether it was rooted in Trinitarianism, deism, or even an atheism that still considered the basics of that morality correct was irrelevant. Now Christians see that in a post-Christian, postmodern world, the First Amendment can actually be used to delegitimize traditional Christian morality, especially with regard to such things as sex. The desire to enforce a sacred order for morality, whether Catholic, as in the case of integralism, or Protestant, as in the case of theonomy, is thus understandable.

Understandable but hardly practical. Given that the Roman Catholic Church in the West is in such a pitiful state that it does not even grip the imaginations of the vast majority of baptized Catholics, it is hardly poised to assist in the building of a nationwide cultural imagination that might provide the context for a common foundation and framework for moral reasoning. In light of this, integralism even at its most impressive is nothing more than the sophisticated glass-bead game of a handful of intellectuals, of no practical relevance to the future at all. And if that is true of Roman Catholicism, it is no less true of Protestantism. The Moral Majority is now a contradiction in terms; evangelicalism lacks any generally agreed-upon theological core and controls no institutions of significant cultural influence; and the handful of theonomists in existence are irrelevant to Protestantism broadly considered, let alone to the nations politics as a whole. Repudiation of freedom of religion today will not look like some form of Christendom. It will look more akin to a militantly enforced secularism.

A second objection to religious freedom from the religious might be that it facilitates error and allows the propagation of false religious teaching. It is hard to deny that, but two points must here be considered.

First, much as Christians might want the whole world to be Christian, the state has neither the power nor indeed the competence to make this so. And nothing in the New Testament suggests that it does. The propagation of the gospel is the task of the church. A confusion of powers and competencies in this regard will prove disastrous. Would a Catholic state punish Baptists? Would a Presbyterian state sanction Catholics? For the Baptist, the state allowing freedom for infant baptism is surely for the state to allow errorvery serious error from a Baptists perspective in the case of Roman Catholic (or for that matter Lutheran) baptism. And for the Catholic, toleration of credobaptism is permission for error, and again very serious error. Denial of religious freedom by a Christian state is only attractive if it is your particular party that happens to be the one in charge and the errors that are not tolerated are those with which you happen to disagree.

Second, on a positive note, religious freedom safeguards the true nature of religious belief. It is not something that can be forced from the outside. It is something that (perhaps more than anything else) speaks to human beings who find their meaning and fulfillment in seeking the truth as free citizens rather than being forced outwardly to conform to it. To deny religious freedom is to deny this basic anthropological point, that men and women are freenot free so much in the Rousseauean sense that denies our innate status as born into a network of natural obligations and dependencies, but free in the sense of having agency and of realizing those obligations and dependencies in freely chosen actions. To deny religious freedom is to make the state the most important social agent, with all those other relationshipsto family, to neighbor, to Godsubordinate to that larger, practically totalitarian vision.

This is not to say that religious freedom is not rendered highly complex and practically more ambiguous in a world where the moral imagination is no longer in continuity with that of the broad Christian tradition as was assumed by the American Founders. Our pluralist and psychologized world raises all kinds of problems that the Founders could not have anticipated. But it is to say that the alternative remains worse. Much, much worse. Given the pitiful state of the Catholic Church and the anarchic mess that is Protestantism in its various traditional varieties, Christian leaders might do well to remember that.
Last October, a Washington State Patrol trooper who opposed the state's vaccine mandate told Governor Jay Inslee to "kiss my ass." He then quit his job, caught Covid, and died.

"This is my final sign-off," Robert LaMay said into his radio, sitting in his patrol car. "After 22 years of serving the citizens of the state of Washington, I am being asked to leave because I am dirty.  this is the last time you'll hear me in a state patrol car, and Jay Inslee can kiss my ass."

Over the summer LaMay said he had never received a vaccine as an adult, according to MSN, and that "vaccines go against his religious beliefs." His death was announced on Friday at only 50 years old.
Jeff Zucker today announced his resignation from CNN, confessing that he failed to fully disclose his relationship with a subordinate at the company.

"As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo's tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years," Zucker told employees in a memo. "I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today."

Zucker did not name his colleague, but the relationship is with Allison Gollust, his key lieutenant for the last two decades. Gollust is remaining at CNN.

Zucker and Gollust began working together at NBC in 1998. They rose through the ranks at the network together, and when Zucker joined CNN, Gollust was among his first hires. Just before coming to CNN Gollust had worked briefly as communications director for Andrew Cuomo. She is currently executive vice president and chief marketing officer at CNN.
When it begins to rain in California, termites emerge from the ground and take flight on wings that will fall off in hours. Hopefully, for them anyway, they've found a mate and are ready to build a new underground colony and take their thrones as king and queen. From KQED Science's Deep Look:

Once a pair of flying termites have hooked up, they lose their wings, dig underground, mate and lay thousands of eggs. They will be the king and queen of their colony. The worker termites they make will then leave the nest to forage for sources of cellulose, like a dead tree, or wood in a house. When they return to the nest, these workers will feed the colony's king and queen, as well as the young termites[]

If you see termites flying out inside your house, they could be a sign of infestation. But the more common signs of a subterranean termite infestation are tubes made from earth that worker termites build at the bottom of your house connecting wooden structures to the soil. Termites build these so-called shelter tubes from mud, saliva and even bits of wood or drywall. The insects desiccate easily and need these covered shelter tubes to stay moist.
Tesla's agreement with the state, part of the Buffalo Billion economic development initiative, only requires the company to have a certain number of jobs in Buffalo. It does not include any provisions on the type of job or how much they pay.

"While navigating the challenges of the pandemic, Tesla managed to grow its operation by diversifying to include work on charging systems and Teslas autonomous and self-driving vehicle initiatives  demonstrating its commitment to building the Gigafactory into a world-class advanced manufacturing center while expanding its business throughout New York State," said Pamm Lent, a spokeswoman for Empire State Development.

Tesla's report to the state also did not break down how many people are working on each portion of the work being done at the Buffalo plant. But the report does provide new details on the types of products that are being made there.
By Trend

Azerbaijan is a promising tourism market for Bulgaria, Bulgarian Tourism Minister Hristo Prodanov said at a meeting with Azerbaijani Ambassador to the country Huseyn Huseynov, Trend reports referring to the Bulgarian ministry of tourism.

Azerbaijani tourists also prefer Bulgaria as family vacation destination, the minister said. Azerbaijan is an important strategic partner of Bulgaria. COVID-19 crisis has had a negative impact on the tourism sector, but we must continue to work to achieve results.

In turn, the Azerbaijani ambassador stressed that the main priority in his work is to strengthen ties between the two countries.

As for tourism, I think that it is the best way to bring peoples together as it gives people the opportunity to view the culture, customs and taste national dishes of our countries, Huseynov said. We have many opportunities for cooperation and the only obstacle now is COVID-19 pandemic.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed the pace of vaccination against COVID-19 in both countries, the possibility of holding meetings with representatives of the tourism sectors of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria in the future.

The sides also raised the issue of resuming Baku-Sofia-Baku flights, suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The worst of the Omicron wave could be over for Western New York hospitals.

Local hospital officials said Tuesday they are cautiously optimistic that Covid-19 hospitalizations will continue to decline from a mid-January peak.

The latest state data showed 525 Covid-19-positive patients hospitalized Monday in the five-county region, a 25% decrease from the all-time high of 701 set on Jan. 18. Forty-four percent of those hospitalized locally were admitted for reasons other than Covid-19, but also happened to test positive for the virus.

The drop has helped ease some of the capacity crunch at local hospitals. For example, staffed hospital beds, which were 96% full Dec. 8 during the region's battle with the Delta variant, now have an occupancy rate of just under 85%, according to state Health Department data.

The crunch on intensive care beds for the sickest patients also has alleviated a bit, with 88% of the region's ICU beds now occupied, down from a peak of almost 98% on Dec. 7.

"We've seen a precipitous decline over the last couple of weeks for sure, which is great," said Martin Boryszak, Catholic Health System's senior vice president of acute care.

Or, as Dr. Sam Cloud, Erie County Medical Center's associate medical director and an attending physician in the emergency department, put it: "I think pretty soon Covid for this winter is going to be in the rearview mirror."

But while the pandemic outlook appears more hopeful, the major challenges faced by the region's hospitals will linger for many months.

That's because the virus is just one factor straining the industry and further stressing an exhausted workforce.

While the percentage of available beds for the entire region is improving, certain hospitals remain near, at or beyond staffed capacity, grappling with a worker shortage that won't abate anytime soon and struggling to discharge patients into settings such as nursing homes that are dealing with their own workforce challenges.

Even if Covid-19 hospitalizations keep declining, as expected, that only signals what would be the start of a long recovery for the region's hospitals and their employees.

Cautious optimism

In recent days, Erie County Medical Center has been admitting only four new Covid-19 patients a day, a figure that was 12 to 15 daily two weeks ago.

In all, the hospital had 110 Covid-19 patients hospitalized Monday, down from its peak reached Jan. 18 of 148.

Similarly, Catholic Health had 104 Covid-19-positive patients in its hospitals Tuesday, which Boryszak said was down from about 225 in mid-January.

Kaleida Health, meanwhile, reported 210 Covid-19 inpatients Monday, a number that has plateaued recently, but is down from the post-holiday peak of 257 on Jan. 11.

"Last year, it was pretty clear that the numbers dropped after Jan. 1, and that continued through the spring," said Michael Hughes, Kaleida's chief administrative officer.

WNY health care providers seeing record employee Covid-19 cases, straining staffing resources The fast-spreading Omicron variant also is hitting health care workers, with several hundred out sick with the virus as of Tuesday.

Another optimistic sign is that the number of employees testing positive, which sends a worker home for a minimum of five days, appears to have peaked earlier on in January, Cloud and Boryszak said.

Catholic Health said it hopes to begin easing restrictions on elective surgeries.

Restrictions on elective surgeries at Kenmore Mercy Hospital were lifted this week, though Catholic Health's other three campuses remain subject to a state order limiting nonessential procedures, Boryszak said.

"It's getting to the point that more of these cases that you put off as elective are truly becoming non-elective anymore," he said. "It becomes worse for the patient, the longer they wait."

Challenges will linger

While the availability of staffed acute care beds and intensive care unit beds has improved, several hospitals here remain tight when it comes to capacity.

Every staffed acute care bed was full Monday at Sisters of Charity Hospital and ECMC, state data shows.

ECMC's inpatient census on Monday stood at 527  a figure the hospital wants to see well below 500. The hospital remains over capacity, with 35 patients being held in the emergency department Monday because they were waiting for a bed to open up upstairs.

A sustained issue for ECMC has been discharging patients into settings such as nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. Cloud said the hospital has about 70 patients who could leave right away if ECMC had somewhere to send them.

"The only reason we're over capacity today  the only reason  is because we can't get patients out," Cloud said.

More state, federal help

Gov. Kathy Hochul was at North Central Bronx Hospital on Tuesday to thank health care workers, along with military medical personnel who have been dispatched by the federal government to help overburdened New York hospitals.

"The cavalry have arrived," she said. "These are the people that are lifting our spirits."

The Defense Department sent 71 members from three military teams, and they've been deployed to ECMC, Coney Island and North Central Bronx Hospital, where she was speaking. Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and SUNY Upstate University Hospital also are set to receive assistance.

The 23-member military medical team at ECMC, Hochul said, has had its deployment there extended until March 10.

The Democratic governor met Monday with President Joe Biden, who asked her what New York needed to fight the pandemic.

"I need bodies," Hochul said she told Biden. "I need people to supplement people who are in there, right now."

Hochul visits White House, garners more pandemic aid Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the federal government will be sending more resources to upstate hospitals starting Feb. 7 to help them cope with the stresses they've felt amid the Omicron wave.

Those staffing issues won't go away soon.

"What is going to be a persistent issue is going to be the health care workforce. That's not going away," Cloud said. "That problem is not going to go away nearly as quickly as Covid will. There's going to be a hangover effect.

"So, I think the hospitals are going to still struggle operationally for several months, if not a couple of years, as we're trying to attract staff back and kind of recover from the monstrous financial burden that this has been on hospitals like ECMC."

News Staff Reporter Maki Becker contributed to this story.

Jon Harris can be reached at 716-849-3482 or jharris@buffnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByJonHarris.

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Feb. 1, 2022

New York's mask mandate in effect while state appeals ruling that struck it down

A New York appellate court ruled Monday that the state's mask mandate can remain in place while the state appeals a lower court ruling declaring the mandate null and void.

The Appellate Division, Second Department, granted the stay pending a hearing and determination of the appeal by New York State.

State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademacher in Nassau County ruled Jan. 24 that the December order by State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett requiring face coverings in public places was not properly enacted. He ruled that the mandate violated the State Administrative Procedure Act, which the Legislature enacted in March in response to the measures taken by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo after he declared a disaster emergency in the early days of the pandemic in 2020.

New York appealed that decision and was granted a temporary stay, but the ruling caused confusion throughout the state on whether masks were still required. The confusion was felt particularly in schools, where some children in Western New York went to school without masks, although County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said Erie County's mask requirement remained in effect.

On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul extended the requirement to wear face masks in all indoor public places unless the business or venue implements a Covid-19 vaccine requirement to Feb. 10. She said the requirement would be reviewed in two-week increments.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

The latest statistics: Covid-19 statistics from state and county departments of health, as well as new data from the New York Times' national Covid-19 tracking project. Read more

Anti-mandate attorney says he will challenge Jacobs in primary: Todd J. Aldinger, most recently associated with litigation against Erie County mask mandates considered but never filed by the Village of Williamsville, said he looks to face Rep. Chris Jacobs in the Republican primary for the 24th Congressional District. Read more

Postponed two years by the pandemic, Buffalo's St. Patrick's Day Parade returns March 20: Buffalos St. Patricks Day Parade, on hold for two years because of the pandemic, is finally going to march again. The United Irish American Association, which organizes the parade, announced that it will return to Delaware Avenue on March 20. Read more

Have thoughts on this newsletter? Email feedback@buffnews.com.
Whether you prefer a cozy coffee shop or upscale lounge, some places just seem to feel extra special for Valentines Day. Each of these locales provides a unique setting for you and your partner to enjoy time together or, perhaps, start a new annual tradition. No matter when or how youre celebrating, grab your Valentine and check out one of these spots that offer romance all year long.

Coffee

Daily Planet Coffee Company, 1862 Hertel Ave. (716-551-0661)

This corner cafe beckons with comfortable chairs and couches for you and your date to get cozy. Superhero-inspired breakfast and lunch options are available to enjoy, or you can opt to split a homemade dessert. Classic coffee fare aside, try one of the specialty lattes, like the chocolate dipped strawberry or caramel coconut dream. Grab a board game from the shelf and get comfortable as weekend patrons are treated to open mic and live music performances.

Brunch

Mon Ami Restaurant, 20 Cathedral Park (716-551-0472)

Trade the city of good neighbors for the city of love by whisking your date off to this Parisian bistro brunch. This contemporary European restaurant combines French fare and local favorites with a chic ambiance that makes you feel totally transported. Weekend brunch satisfies with sweet and savory options such as the mixed berry crepe or Buffalo quiche. Take the opportunity to try both with your Valentine. Specialty mimosas include blueberry, strawberry pineapple and watermelon mint.

Lunch

Ricks on Main, 687 E. Main St., East Aurora (652-1253)

This refashioned house feels like home, with exposed brick walls and a two-story dining room. Most known for its high-end dinner service, Ricks lunch offers upscale vibes at a reasonable price point and slower pace. Tuck into a table for two and enjoy quality soups, sandwiches and salads big enough to share. Standout entrees include a banana pepper burger and a fall creek salad. Come back for dinner and reserve one of the outdoor patio igloos.

Dinner

Lucky Day Whiskey Bar, 320 Pearl St. (716-322-0547)

For a more private experience, look to Lucky Days 18th-century British-inspired whiskey bar. Open only for dinner service, this restaurant focuses on using seasonal ingredients, specializing in steak, seafood and pasta  classic date cuisine. A literal whiskey library of 500 choice libations welcomes you, complete with a ladder in which the bartenders use to retrieve selections. Imbibe and indulge with your date at this English hideaway, where tapestries between tables can be drawn for even more privacy.

Dessert

Antoinettes Sweets, 5981 Transit Road, Depew (684-2376)

With 1950s classics crooning through the speakers, this sweet shop is a time capsule of days gone by. The cozy wood-paneled walls welcome you with selections of homemade candies, chocolates and ice cream. Sundaes are large enough to be split, especially when topped with scratch-made whipped cream and famous hot fudge. The perfect date concludes in one of their bygone wooden booths, sharing a milkshake or ice cream soda.

Cocktails

Bittersweet Piano Lounge at Hotel @ the Lafayette, 391 Washington St. (716-331-3654)

The Bittersweet Piano Lounge is a quiet, intimate escape for you and your date. Open Thursday to Saturday, musical selections range from jazz to classical renditions of modern favorites, along with rotating lounge singers. The lighting is low and the setting includes some cozy spots for two. The art deco furnishings invoke a 1920s Gatsby vibe, with cocktails to match. Pucker up with The Flapper, which combines champagne, dry gin and lemon juice, or the Fox Trot, fusing green chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, aged gin and fresh lime juice.

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The attorney behind several lawsuits against Covid-19-related mandates said Tuesday he will challenge Rep. Chris Jacobs for the new 24th Congressional District.

Todd J. Aldinger, most recently associated with litigation against Erie County mask mandates considered but never filed by the Village of Williamsville, said he looks to face Jacobs in the Republican primary.

Aldinger said Jacobs has not sufficiently stood up against the state on various mandates, and added on Facebook that one of his first priorities in Congress would be to abolish the Centers for Disease Control.

My plan is to run and win, he said. Chris Jacobs has been silent on the extension of executive power, voting while in the State Senate to give Cuomo those powers in the first place.

Aldinger has represented several Western New York clients in opposing mandates for masks, restaurant hours and gym regulations imposed by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his successor, Kathy Hochul.

Aldinger said Tuesday he has not spoken to any party leaders about his plans, vowing to run with or without their support. He also acknowledged the financial advantages Jacobs will enjoy in an expanded district that now includes the increased costs of four television markets, but said he can prove competitive.

Ill raise the money, he said.

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Mark Sommer News Staff Reporter Mark Sommer covers preservation, development, culture, the waterfront and more. He's also a former arts editor at The News. Follow Mark Sommer Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

In the classic movie "Beast of 20,000 Fathoms," a fictional black-and-white dinosaur wreaks havoc after a nuclear test awakened it from its frozen arctic state.

It sounds preposterous, but the movie got one thing right: Scientists believe polar regions hundreds of millions of years ago were part of a supercontinent in the southern hemisphere that included Africa, South America and other land masses where dinosaurs flourished.

An exhibit that opens Saturday at the Buffalo Museum of Science explains more about that.

"Antarctic Dinosaurs: The Exhibition," in Buffalo for a seven-month engagement, tells the story of how this frozen tundra of snow and ice was once home to dinosaurs and what researchers have learned about them despite unyielding climate and ground conditions.

More than a year ago, the science museum booked the touring exhibition from the Field Museum in Chicago with the expectation that people would be anxious to attend after a long period of dealing with Covid-19, said Marisa Wigglesworth, the museum's president and CEO.

"We really wanted to bring an exhibit to the community that would generate excitement and get people out of their houses," Wigglesworth said. "It's a terrific exhibit. It's deeply educational  and there are dinosaurs."

The largest "terrible lizard" in the exhibition is Cryolophosaurus, a 25-foot-long predator said to be the largest and most complete Early Jurassic theropod in the world. The pompadour-like crest on its head earned it the nickname "Elvisaurus."

Exhibition text panels, in English and Spanish, explain that the Cryolophosaurus appeared early in the Jurassic period, some 190 million years ago. For perspective, more time passed between Cryolophosaurus and the time of Tyrannosaurus rex than passed between the time T. rex roamed the earth and today.

A life-size skeletal model of a Cryolophosaurus created from a digital scan of the fossil bones is also on display, along with a skeletal recreation of a small Sauropodomorph.

A model of the large sea monster Taniwhasaurus is also on display.

Bones and fossils of dinosaurs are displayed throughout the exhibit, all excavated from Antarctica's Mt. Kirkpatrick, also known as "Dinosaur Mountain."

There is an upper arm bone from a pterosaur, and a 30-inch-long thigh bone from a Crylophosaurus that a geologist found.

"Somebody saw it poking out of the ground," said David Cinquino, director of exhibits, facilities and capital projects. "It's amazing to think you're walking along and all of a sudden you go, 'I think that's a long bone of a dinosaur.' "

There are nearly 50 specimens in all, including the first fossils found in 1902 by American artist Frank W. Stokes when little was known about the mysterious continent.

The exhibit uses immersive models, interactives and atmospheric soundscape and lighting elements to inform and entertain. It begins with a history of field research in Antarctica, including a doomed British expedition in which five explorers perished in 1912 on their way back from the South Pole.

There are displays of survival gear through the years needed to withstand the extreme temperatures and a sledge once used to transport provisions.

The inside of the fuselage of an LC-130 used to transport of expeditions to the ice-laden dig site base camp is shown, and synchronized videos are presented on how to excavate fossils when doing field work.

Today, that means using power tools running on gas from a generator to dislodge blocks of rocky matrix that can easily weigh hundreds of pounds. Another video demonstrates how the material is further excavated in a laboratory.

The exhibit is not all about dinosaurs.

There are displays on how scientists go to Antarctica to study other disciplines, including climate change. Through ice cores, scientists are able to see the levels of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases dating back 2 million years.

Among the warning signs, a text panel informs: The level of Co2 increase every 10 years is what it used to take 1,000 years to accumulate.

"This exhibit lets us talk about science in the way science really works," Wigglesworth said. "The topics we have divided science into really do intermingle and inform one another.

"We're talking about geology at the same time we're talking about archaeology and, at the same time, chemistry and work in the lab," she said. "Too often, we think about science in industry silos and, in fact, this is a much better reflection of how science advances our knowledge."

Tickets for the exhibition, which runs until Sept. 4, are $24 for adults and non-museum members, $21 for children, students and members of the military. Museum members receive a discounted admission rate of $6 per person.

Advanced purchase is encouraged due to timed entry and limited capacity. For more information, go to sciencebuff.org.

Mark Sommer covers preservation, development, the waterfront, culture and more. He's also a former arts editor at The News.

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When asked Tuesday if Buffalo's snow-clearing efforts this week will be better than last month's performance, Public Works Commissioner Michael Finn did not answer with a definitive yes.

It is not an idle question.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo issued a winter storm watch for all of Western New York for Wednesday evening through Friday afternoon, forecasting heavy snow with accumulations of 9 inches or more.

The snow will come with many residents still frustrated over the citys response to the last snowstorm that dumped about a foot-and-a-half of snow on Buffalo. Many streets had not been plowed two days after the storm. Delivery and other trucks and vehicles got stuck in snow-piled streets. Cars were covered in snow on both sides of many residential streets. And Council members were flooded with calls from angry constituents.

Were continuing to track that and make sure that were able to implement the snow plan as it applies to that," Finn said of the upcoming snowfall. "The forecast is still developing, and were monitoring and tracking that and making sure that were ready to go.

After record snowfall, frustration mounts as city residents wait for plows Snowed-in residents are not happy with City Hall's response in the wake of the snow storm that hit late Sunday night and covered Buffalo with a record amount of snow.

At a Common Council committee meeting Tuesday, Finn said the main challenges during the last storm were illegally parked cars and the amount of snow. Freezing temperatures that immediately followed also meant none of the snow melted.

Suggestions at the Community Development Committee meeting included:

 Upgrading the citys GPS system to pinpoint snow plow locations and show where problems are developing.

 Asking New York State and Erie County crews for more help.

 Revising the snow removal plan, which focuses on average snowfall of up to 10 inches.

Niagara Council Member David Rivera brought up allowing residents to use city lots for free and working with owners of private lots to use their lots when officials see a snowy forecast.

Parking Commissioner Kevin Helfer said he would work with Common Council members to identify private lot owners to approach.

But parking in neighborhood parking lots as a way to relieve street parking congestion to make snowplowing easier is not new, Helfer said, citing the Residential Area Parking Program.

Its been a program the citys had around for quite a long time, every bit of 15 to 20 years, he said.

But the city charges parking fees for four of the Residential Area Parking Program lots, and unless we had a major snowstorm where we put something out saying Go park there; were not going to charge, those still are chargeable lots. But the rest ... are free to park," Helfer said.

The first storm of the winter happened in January. It probably won't be the last. Another round of lake-effect snow could hit as soon as early next week, as temperatures plummet, with lows in the single digits and some days seeing highs in the teens.

Reminding residents they can park in those lots and assuring them they will not get snowed into those lots would be helpful, said former Lovejoy Council Member Richard Fontana.

The Residential Area Parking Program lots were put in his district by the Council member who represented Lovejoy before Fontana, back in the 1980s.

If the city wants to use them within snow emergencies  and the public is told that, then theyll do that, Fontana said. The fear of being snowed in would be another reason why they wouldnt. So, as long as the citys going to assure them that a truck will run through there to plow out the entrances and exits, I think its a good idea.

North Council Member Joseph Golombek said he wants $45,000 approved in the upcoming city operating budget to upgrade the citys GPS technology. The technology would improve operations and communications among different departments such as Streets and Parking, as well as the public.

Syracuse started such a program last year, Golombek said. Residents would be able to go to the citys website to find out where plows are working and where the problems are developing. And it could be set up to identify where cars are parked illegally and send that information to parking enforcement.

So, while the plow driver goes around and does other streets, the tow trucks could go and start nailing these people that are parked illegally, and I think the biggest problem (last storm) was that there were so many illegally parked cars, Golombek said.

The technology upgrade could also assist other departments such as the Water and Sewer authorities at different times of the year, he said.

Finn said a proposal will be put together to be included in the Public Works budget that includes an upgrade to the GPS system.

Also, the Council and Finn will update the city's 65-page snow plan. It now focuses on an average snowfall up to 10 inches and extreme snowfall like the snow wall that hit South Buffalo in 2014. Finns department will revise the plan for how to handle above-average snowfall short of the extreme.

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WASHINGTON  Members of Congress often use campaign funds to rent cars to travel around their districts, but former Rep. John Faso suggests that the new lawmaker from New York's redrawn 3rd congressional district might want to try another form of transportation to navigate  and he means navigate  the territory he or she represents.

"I don't know if that district comes with a sailboat or a yacht," said Faso, a Republican lawyer who is working on a pending legal challenge that could upend the new congressional map that Democrats in the State Legislature are scheduled to vote on Wednesday.

New congressional map sparks gerrymandering outcry "The fact that New York could end up with such an egregious congressional map represents a failure for the states new redistricting process," wrote Nathaniel Rakich, a senior elections analyst at the FiveThirtyEight election blog.

The 3rd district is a prime example of why Faso thinks the courts should throw out the map. Currently a compact land mass on the northwest shore of Long Island, the redrawn 3rd district would connect communities on both the north side and the south side of Long Island Sound.

Yes, the same district connects parts of Suffolk, Nassau, Bronx and Westchester counties, so maybe the new member of Congress would want to sail around the district. After all, it's 35-mile drive from Glen Cove in Nassau County to Rye in Westchester County  but it's only an 8.6 mile boat ride.

The 3rd district is by no means the only oddly shaped district in the map Democrats drew to maximize their chances in New York's congressional elections this fall. Several analysts have said the map could trim the number of Republicans in the state's House delegation in half, to only four  that is, if the plan withstands legal challenges.

Erie County would be split among three congressional districts under remap While the Buffalo-based district in the proposed plan would be largely Democratic, the other two districts including parts of Erie County consist largely of smaller communities and rural territory and are most likely to be represented by Republicans.

Faso thinks it won't, thanks to a 2014 constitutional amendment New York voters approved banning partisan redistricting.

Without that constitutional amendment, "I think they could have gotten away with this under state law," Faso said. "But now we have a constitution that says you can't do that. So really, the question is going to be, both on the congressional and the legislative map, whether the courts pay attention to the the amendment that the people put in the Constitution."

That constitutional amendment created an independent commission to draw up New York's new districts. That commission failed at its job, leaving the map-making in the hands of the heavily Democratic State Legislature.

But lawmakers still have to abide by other provisions of the constitutional amendment, which say:

 Each district shall consist of contiguous territory.

 Each district shall be as compact in form as practicable.

 Districts shall not be drawn to discourage competition or for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring incumbents or other particular candidates or political parties.

The new 3rd district doesn't look contiguous or compact to Faso, who said it's just one of several districts Democrats drew up that, in his opinion, are designed to elect Democrats. Among the most egregious, he said, is the 22nd district in Central New York, which unites Syracuse and Ithaca.

To do that sort of thing, map-makers jammed as many Republicans as possible into four districts: the 23rd and 24th in Western and Central New York, along with districts in the North Country and Long Island.

That left Republicans in misshapen districts like the 24th, where Rep. Chris Jacobs, an Orchard Park Republican, plans to run. That district stretches from the shores of the Niagara River to the Thousand Islands region.

Chris Jacobs, Claudia Tenney plan to move to represent new districts Watertown might be about to get a new congressman from Orchard Park, and Hamburg might be about to get a new congresswoman from the Utica area.

That district "is extremely non-compact, and doesn't serve the public interest to have a district where a congressman has got to traverse 250 miles in four hours to come from one end to the other end," Faso said.

Democrats, however, dismiss such complaints as partisan Republican carping. Mike Gianaris, the deputy majority leader of the State Senate, Tuesday defended the remap as an attempt to right historical wrongs.

"As we unravel the gerrymanders of the past, it doesn't make it a gerrymander of today," Gianaris said Tuesday on WNYC radio. "These are districts drawn fairly."

As for the limits on partisan gerrymandering approved by voters in 2014, Gianaris said: "Our lawyers have looked at this backwards and forward so we have great confidence that what we did is appropriate."

Independent experts aren't so sure.

While the maps don't violate the federal Voting Rights Act, "the rest of the lines are so heavily gerrymandered they will be non-competitive," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, which advocates for fair voting laws. "It's a major disservice to the voters."

Michael Li, redistricting and voting counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, said it's unclear how state courts would handle a challenge to the map's constitutionality, given that they've never ruled on a case involving that 2014 constitutional amendment.

At the same time, he said some districts do seem like Democratic gerrymanders, such as one that links Syracuse with Ithaca and another that renders the Staten Island district Democratic by linking it with Park Slope and other liberal parts of Brooklyn.

Courts will be up against the clock in ruling on any case against the remap, Li added.

"Litigation takes time, so even if they're successful, it may not be successful for 2022," he said.

Faso said, though, that the June primary could be moved back to as late as September if a court orders the map to be redrawn.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday that she will review the congressional map after the state Legislature votes on it.

But at a news conference in the Bronx, she seemed most interested in getting the map approved as quickly as possible.

"We need to make sure that the redistricting process is moving forward at a rapid pace so we can answer these questions: What do the districts look like? Who is running?" she said. "So we don't want to see further delays in this."

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Lekeeta Holloman just dropped off her 3-year-old daughter at a West Side daycare and was walking back to her car parked a few blocks away.

Within minutes on the morning of Nov. 15, 2019, Holloman lay on the sidewalk on Maryland Street with blood pooling beneath her from a gunshot wound to the back of the neck.

Ex-boyfriend charged in November killing on West Side A Buffalo man has been charged with fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend in November on the citys West Side, the Erie County District Attorneys Office said Wednesday. Clarence L. Bryant, 41, was indicted by an Erie County grand jury and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Lakeeta Holloman, 23, who was shot Nov. 15 near Prospect Avenue and

Buffalo Firefighter Kevin Kwiatkowski, who testified Tuesday at the start of the murder trial of Clarence Lamont Bryant, arrived at the scene to find Holloman screaming for help.

"She kept relaying to us that she's not able to breathe, that she's going to die," Kwiatkowski said, "and she was just begging, basically, for someone to help her."

Before emergency responders loaded her into an ambulance, Kwiatkowski asked Holloman who shot her.

"She just responded with Lamont Bryant," he told the jury.

Within the hour, Holloman, 23, was dead. She was one of a dozen domestic violence homicide victims in Erie County that year.

Bryant, 43, Holloman's ex-boyfriend, is on trial on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

In opening statements Tuesday, county prosecutors encouraged the jury to use "common sense" when reviewing evidence in the case, which includes extensive video footage.

Emily Trott and Robert Cutting, Bryant's defense attorneys, unsuccessfully challenged the admission of Holloman's dying declaration as evidence. State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller ruled prosecutors could introduce it, noting it was an exception to the rules of evidence that typically preclude hearsay.

The video will show a person in a hoodie commit the murder, according to prosecutors, who said Holloman's sister also identified Bryant as the man in the videos.

But Trott told the jury "independent identification is crucial," noting they, as jurors, will receive instructions from the judge about how the dying declaration can be considered.

"There is a reason why they should be looked at with some skepticism," Trott told jurors in her opening statement.

The prosecution's case relies on video, but jurors must determine what they believe they see in the images, Trott said.

"At the end of this case, this all comes down to one issue  identification," she said. "And I would ask you please don't speculate."

Prosecutors told jurors Bryant had been drinking coffee and waiting more than a half-hour inside a McDonald's across the street from the daycare. He watched Holloman enter with their daughter and leave alone, Assistant District Attorney Ashley Morgan said.

As Holloman walked down Maryland, Bryant followed. He ran across traffic, eventually grabbing her from behind. After a struggle that lasted more than 15 seconds, Bryant fired a shot.

"He left her for dead, thinking he had silenced her for good," Morgan said. "But she wasn't dead and she didn't stay silent."

Three days before Holloman's killing, the couple was in Erie County Family Court. Bryant was trying to get full custody of their daughter, Morgan said.

Holloman and Bryant had been together for four years, but Holloman left with their daughter in the summer of 2019. She started dating another man, Morgan said.

Prosecutors will be showing the jury video taken from multiple vantage points: inside the McDonald's on the corner of Niagara and Maryland streets; the daycare center; a Tops gas station; a city police camera; and from a Prospect Avenue home, which captured the shooting.

"You will see the video footage, the story of how it happened," Morgan said. "Everything Lakeeta didn't have a chance to explain to us."

Bryant was arrested two months after the killing at a homeless shelter in Rochester, Morgan said.

Police recovered a spent, .40-caliber shell casing at the shooting scene on the northwest corner of Maryland and Prospect Avenue, Buffalo Police Crime Scene Unit Detective Ellen Nowadly testified.

The trial continues Wednesday.

...

Where to turn for help

The Family Justice Center is a one-stop center for victims and their families to safely escape abuse. Call 558-7233 or go to fjcsafe.org.

Child and Family Services operates a 24/7 domestic violence hotline: 862-HELP. For help finding shelter, call 884-6000.

For information about Child and Family Services' Haven House, go to cfsbny.org/programs/haven-house/.

Reach Aaron at abesecker[at]buffnews.com or 716-849-4602.

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Former State Sen. Cathy Young said today she will not compete for the open seat in the new 23rd Congressional District, strengthening the bid by Rep. Claudia Tenney of the Utica area to become the Republican candidate.

Young told The Buffalo News on Wednesday that she had received an "overwhelming outpouring of support" from a variety of people urging her to run, but decided against seeking the Southern Tier seat being vacated by the retiring Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning.

"Representing the Southern Tier in the state Senate for so many years, and deeply understanding and fighting on behalf of our people and communities in Western New York has been the greatest honor of my life," Young said. "I will not be a candidate in 2022 because the timing is not right for me, and instead will continue to focus on advancing economic development and job opportunities across the state through my position at Cornell University.

After failing in a bid to become Senate minority leader in 2019, the Olean Republican resigned to become executive director of the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at the Cornell University facility in Geneva.

Young had been viewed as a major figure in the competition for the new seat, especially given a long record of representing the area in both the Assembly and Senate. As recently as Tuesday, sources close to the situation noted she was calling in search of the party support needed for a race. Indeed, most Republican leaders viewed her as the favorite until Tenney said Monday she would move into the district to run.

Though others have also expressed interest in the newly reapportioned district, Tenney now appears to dominate the race after congressional mapmakers drew unfavorable lines for her current, Utica-based territory. An attorney and small business owner, she is 60 years old and lives in New Hartford, Oneida County. She won the congressional election in New York's current 22nd District in 2016, only to lose it two years later. But in 2020, she reclaimed the seat in a narrow victory over Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi.

Tenney's current district stretches from Oswego in the north through Binghamton and to the Pennsylvania line. The new 23rd District, in contrast, features a familiar horizontal orientation, but is larger than the current territory.

Tenney now faces the major challenge of introducing herself to much of Western New York, in a new district that includes Hamburg, Orchard Park and the rest of the Erie County Southtowns.

Tenney also enters the 23rd District race with one huge advantage: $1.15 million in her campaign account. That caused Joe Sempolinski, a former aide to Reed who announced his candidacy for the seat several months ago, to withdraw early in the week.

State Sen. George Borrello, an Irving Republican, has also indicated his interest, but has adopted a "wait and see" position since Tenney's announcement.

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New York Republicans are howling over new State Legislature lines released late Tuesday following a Democrat-controlled reapportionment process that stands to reduce even further the GOP's already weak influence in Albany.

Major conflicts include pitting incumbent Democrat Timothy M. Kennedy of Buffalo against incumbent Republican Edward A. Rath III of Amherst in a new 63rd Senate District. And in the Assembly, Democrat Monica P. Wallace of Lancaster is breathing easier, say GOP observers, after the neighborhoods of potential Republican opponents this fall are absent from her newly drawn district.

Task force reveals redrawn NY Senate, Assembly districts While nobody expected any approval from the Republican Party, GOP officials are promising a court challenge in conjunction with Thursday votes on the State Legislature's redistricting plan for New York's Senate and Assembly districts, writes The News' Robert J. McCarthy.

Most observers predict an uphill fight for Rath against Kennedy in a Democratic district, but the senator's office said late Tuesday that "regardless of what the district lines look like, Senator Rath will continue to represent the best interests of all New Yorkers as he has since taking office in 2021.

While nobody expected any approval from a Republican Party now vastly outnumbered in the Capitol, GOP officials are promising a court challenge in conjunction with Thursday votes on the plan (votes for congressional lines are Wednesday). The GOP response reflected a general complaint that Democrats were violating at least the spirit of a 2014 state constitutional amendment calling for an Independent Redistricting Commission to draw new districts on a non-partisan basis.

That panel, made up of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, deadlocked, and the responsibility shifted to lawmakers in Albany, where Democrats control both the Assembly and State Senate.

"Democrats closed door map making is a shameless, partisan example of gerrymandering at its worst," said Senate Minority Leader Robert G. Ortt of North Tonawanda. "We anticipate a court challenge, and are confident that a challenge will ultimately be successful."

State Republican Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy said the plan subverts the intent of the 2014 amendment.

"If allowed to stand, these lines will draw a stake through the heart of democracy and put their one-party supermajority rule on steroids," he said, "albeit ensuring New Yorks total and permanent destruction.

New congressional map sparks gerrymandering outcry "The fact that New York could end up with such an egregious congressional map represents a failure for the states new redistricting process," wrote Nathaniel Rakich, a senior elections analyst at the FiveThirtyEight election blog.

And Jesse Prieto, executive director of the Erie County Republican Party, called the maps a "heinous attempt at legalizing rigged elections by gerrymandering towns."

"It is abundantly clear that massive GOP gains across Erie County in 2021 have scared Democrats from Larkinville to Albany enough that they diced up towns like Lancaster and buoyed districts to Buffalo to try and tilt the scales," he said. "Id add that it is shameful for Tim Kennedy and Sean Ryan to knowingly cut a WNY Senate District when our end of the state needs every voice it can get to shout down New York City interests."

Congressional remap faces likely legal challenge While the maps don't violate the federal Voting Rights Act, "the rest of the lines are so heavily gerrymandered they will be non-competitive," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York.

Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner said late Tuesday he had not yet studied the maps and would reserve comment.

Some other highlights of the new plan, which could be delayed if Republicans file lawsuits as promised, include:

 Republican Sen. Patrick M. Gallivan of Elma is now compacted entirely into Erie County after previously extending into Wyoming and Livingston.

 Kennedy remains safely ensconced in friendly turf, even while losing the Democratic stronghold of Cheektowaga. Gallivan, while appearing to remain generally strong, faces a new challenge by picking up Cheektowaga.

 Republican Sen. George Borrello of Chautauqua County moves into Erie for the first time with new territory in the county's southern towns.

 Democrats strengthened Assemblyman Patrick B. Burke of Orchard Park by splitting Orchard Park. His address in the town now aligns with friendly areas in South Buffalo, while Republican David J. DiPietro inherits many GOP voters in the town's southern half.

 Veteran Republican Assemblyman Steve Hawley of Genesee County moves into Erie for the first time with a presence in Newstead.

 Democratic Sen. Sean M. Ryan's Buffalo address is linked to Lackawanna and Hamburg by a narrow strip along the Buffalo waterfront that extends very slightly inland.

The Legislature's new maps follow the work of the Independent Redistricting Commission resulting from the 2014 amendment aiming to reduce partisan gerrymandering when district lines are redrawn every 10 years. The process resulted in different sets of maps drawn by the two caucuses, with no members willing to break ranks. In that case, the amendment then requires the Legislature to submit its own version of the state and congressional maps.

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By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

A civilian has been killed as a result of the cluster munition blast in Azerbaijans Yevlakh region, Trend reported on February 2.

A resident of the Aran settlement, twenty-six-year-old shepherd Ismayil Mikayilov has died as a result of the incident.

It was noted that the police officers, along with prosecutors inspected the scene and the body, and conducted forensic medical examinations.

The exploded cluster bomb was used by Armenia during the 44-day war in late 2020.

Starting from September 27, 2020, the Armenian armed forces did not suffice to deliberately and intensively attack civilian areas in Azerbaijan located far from the conflict zone through the use of internationally banned munitions, including operational-tactical missile complexes, and continued its war crimes by committing atrocities, which may lead to serious environmental damages in the region and Europes energy security.

On October 6, 2020, Armenia fired a forbidden cluster missile at the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in Yevlakh region. The bomb landed 10 meters away from the pipeline. Over 300 cluster bomblets ejected around as a result of the attack.

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan takes Azerbaijani energy resources to European markets via Georgia and Turkey and is the largest strategic project in the region that plays an important role in Europe's energy security.

Armenia deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security, and cooperation.

On December 9, the Prosecutor-General's Office reported that 29 civilians and seven military servicemen were killed, as well as 109 servicemen and 44 civilians received injuries of varying severity as a result of mine explosions in the countrys lands since November 10, 2020.

Previously, on June 12, Azerbaijan handed over 15 Armenian prisoners in exchange for a map detailing the location of 97,000 mines in formerly-occupied Aghdam.

On July 3, Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan maps of about 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines planted during the occupation of Fuzuli and Zangilan regions.

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.
National Fuel has again asked federal regulators for an extension of the deadline to complete its long-delayed Northern Access natural gas pipeline.

Although the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has usually ruled in National Fuel's favor on the project, a pipeline opponent said Tuesday she hopes President Biden's new appointees to FERC may produce a different outcome.

"We're definitely holding out hope this will be denied," said Diana Strablow, vice chair of the Niagara Group of the Sierra Club, which has opposed the project since it was first proposed in 2013.

However, National Fuel spokeswoman Karen Merkel said the company expects to receive an extension of the completion deadline from Thursday of this week to Dec. 3, 2024.

In December 2020, FERC refused to grant an extension of the completion date to December 2024. FERC said the request was premature at that time, but it allowed National Fuel to ask again later.

Friday, National Fuel did so. Tuesday, FERC announced a 15-day public comment period that expires Feb. 16. The commission promised action on the extension within 45 days.

The $500 million project calls for laying a 97-mile pipeline 2 feet in diameter from McKean County, Pa., through Allegany, Cattaraugus and Erie counties, to carry fracked natural gas to a connection with the Trans-Canada Pipeline beneath the Niagara River off Chippawa, Ont.

The company's package also includes some addition to existing gas infrastructure in Niagara County: two miles of pipeline and a gas compression station in Pendleton, and a gas dewatering plant in Wheatfield.

The Pendleton project in particular drew loud but ultimately unsuccessful public opposition.

In fact, National Fuel won every lawsuit in state and federal court over the Northern Access project, except for a ruling that temporarily blocked it from using eminent domain power to seize land along the pipeline route in Allegany County. That ruling was reversed on appeal.

The litigation ended last March, when the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated the state Department of Environmental Conservation's 2017 rejection of a stream-crossing permit sought by National Fuel.

The company and the DEC had agreed to a 36-day extension of the legal deadline for a ruling on that permit request.

Although the Second Circuit found that National Fuel "flim-flammed" the DEC by challenging a deadline extension the company itself had agreed to, the court decided that the federal Clean Water Act doesn't allow such side deals, and thus FERC was within its rights to ignore the DEC's permit rejection and approve the project.

The DEC could have appealed the Second Circuit ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it didn't. The appeal deadline was Aug. 20.

A DEC spokeswoman said the project "would fail to meet state quality standards and we will continue to vigorously defend our authority to protect New York States water quality resources. DEC is assessing all legal options to prevent this project from impacting New Yorks environmental resources."

"Nothing is being done to protect the waterways the DEC denied this over," Strablow said. "The protection of our waterways should not depend on a one-month technicality."

"Although the litigation has been resolved in our favor, due to the passage of time, we expect we will need to refresh some of our other federal authorizations," Merkel said.

The Army Corps of Engineers granted some permits for the project, but a spokesman said the Corps has not been contacted about extending them.

"In addition, as we noted in our extension request, we have not ordered long lead-time items, such as pipe or compression, and the project itself is about a yearlong construction process," Merkel said. "Putting that all together, we are now looking at the end of 2024 for this project."

FERC's notice Tuesday warned pipeline opponents that it's not interested in hearing about whether the pipeline is a good idea. The permit, called a "certificate of public convenience and necessity," will stand.

"The Commission will address all arguments relating to whether the applicant has demonstrated there is good cause to grant the extension. The Commission will not consider arguments that re-litigate the issuance of the certificate order," the notice said.

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The Delta variant reigned as the most infectious coronavirus strain in the Buffalo Niagara region before Christmas week.

That changed dramatically as friends and families gathered to celebrate the holiday, and the far more contagious Omicron variant supplanted Delta within days.

By the end of January, 95% of positive Covid-19 test samples sequenced in a University at Buffalo lab hailed from the Omicron lineage.

The biggest question now: Will a more contagious subvariant spreading in Ontario, Asia and Europe show up in force across Western New York, and, if so, when?

We'll see over the next few weeks how things play out, said Jennifer Surtees, a UB biochemist who has led the university Covid-19 variant sequencing team since spring 2020.

Thousands of samples from PCR tests collected across the region have been sequenced since spring 2020 with the help of researchers from the UB Genomics and Bioinformatics Core. The testing shows the spread of Omicron.

 Samples collected during a little more than a week through Dec. 20 and sequenced by the related researchers showed 18% were Omicron and almost all the rest were Delta.

 Of more than 200 samples collected during the last half of December, 60% were Omicron and 35% were Delta.

 Samples collected from Dec. 30 to Jan. 6 showed 91% Omicron as the variant gained steam in the new year.

 Sequencing of the latest 200 samples collected from Jan. 4 to 20, completed Monday, showed that 95% were Omicron.

A small percentage of results continue to be Delta sublineages, Surtees told The Buffalo News on Tuesday.

New Covid, better treatments: Weapons and tactics used for Omicron, variants to follow If you do get sick with Covid-19  and your condition goes south  new medications and treatment strategies have continued to improve since the early months of the pandemic.

UB is one of four sites across the state sequencing Covid-19 tests to build a better understanding of how different variants spread and affect virus-related illness, treatments and vaccines.

Sequencing dozens of tests generally takes several days. Results for the end of January are expected by early next week.

The latest prolific variant  called Omicron BA.1 in scientific parlance  was discovered in early November in South Africa. It raced around the globe within six weeks. It is considered three times more contagious than the Delta variant it overwhelmed, but less deadly.

So far, positive test samples in the region have shown a characteristic common to Omicron: the absence of one of three genes that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests target when confirming infection.

The BA.1 version accounted for nearly 99% of sequenced cases worldwide as of early last week, according to a virus tracking system called the Global initiative on sharing all influenza data (GISAID). The database, started in 2006 to monitor changes and spread of flu viruses, tracks the virus that causes Covid-19.

Three Omicron subvariants  BA.2, BA.1.1.529 and BA.3  also have been recently reported in the database. Though closely related, mutations in each can change how they behave.

BA.2 has become the most common. The global database reports 10 sequenced test results out of 20,000 since mid-December in New York, as well as 29 out of 4,000 samples in in Ontario, Surtees said. It has also been detected in Asia, South Africa and parts of Europe.

Trevor Bedford, a computational virologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, shared his calculation on Twitter on Friday that it accounts for roughly 82% of cases in Denmark, 9% in the United Kingdom and 8% in the United States.

I would not be surprised if the same thing that happened with Alpha and then Delta and then Omicron happens with the BA.2 variant, as well, Surtees said. We have a version that's more competitive and eventually makes its way to us and takes over.

The UB lab can differentiate between subvariants that cause Covid-19, she said.

SARS-CoV-2 tests, including those taken at home, can determine these subvariants are part of the Covid-19 family, but are not precise enough to confirm which variant or subvariant caused a coronavirus infection. That is why more detailed genetic sequencing is important.

Danish health officials estimate BA.2 may be 1.5 times more transmissible than the original Omicron variant, Reuters reported last week, though it does not appear to cause more severe disease.

Surtees is among researchers concerned about reports that those previously infected with the first Omicron strain have come down with a BA.2 infection as soon as six weeks later.

If previous BA.1 infection does not protect against BA.2, "this could be sort of a two-humped camel kind of wave," Dr. Egon Ozer, an infectious disease expert at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, told Reuters.

Surtees agreed.

After that?

I think there's reason to be hopeful, she said, but we don't want to throw everything open and decide everything's over. We've learned multiple times during this pandemic that things can change.

She urged those in the region to continue to keep tabs on positive test rates, hospitalizations and deaths in Western New York and beyond. They are trending down in the region since the height of the latest surge about a month ago, but continue at higher levels than most of the last year.

One thing that worries me is this characterization of Omicron as mild, which I think is misleading, Surtees said. It is still as bad as the original virus, but comparisons are really complicated by the fact that we have variable vaccination rates."

By percentage, she said, not as many of those infected are ending up in the hospital, "but that doesn't mean they're not getting really sick.

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Two of the three wage-board members who voted last week to lower the number of hours farm workers work before they qualify overtime, we suspect, have little sense about the demands of farm life. State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon should reject the proposal, and for several reasons.

For one, the timing is wrong. More significantly, the change is all but guaranteed to put unbearable stresses on some farms while hurting, rather than helping, the workers whom the change purports to help.

Start with the timing: A state law known as the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, took effect in 2020, giving agriculture workers new labor protections, including time-and-a-half pay on work over 60 hours in a week. The law also required the three-person Farm Laborers Wage Board to discuss whether to change the overtime rule, reducing it to 40 hours per week, as labor activists are demanding.

But the Covid-19 pandemic overwhelmed everything in 2020, and, two years later, it remains a threat. Theres been no time to evaluate the change in any informative way. In legal circles, the maxim is that hard cases make bad law. That is, you dont change laws based on extreme cases, just as you dont routinely build infrastructure to withstand a 100-year storm.

Yet, in this case, proponents are recklessly pushing to dramatically change an already sweeping measure, even though there has been no chance to evaluate its impact in the midst of a 100-year pandemic. Any changes need to be based on a year or more of typical conditions. Whats the rush?

As to the meat of the issue, its also a mistake to cavalierly apply the standards of the manufacturing world to those of agriculture, especially if New Yorkers want to continue benefiting from an abundance of locally grown food. As labor costs rise, Western New York farmers say they would have to consider changing what they grow or where they grow it.

For example, a study done by three researchers at Cornell University found that two-thirds of the dairy farms represented in the interview said that an overtime threshold of 40 hours would cause them to drop milk production or leave agriculture entirely. Half of the fruit and vegetable farms represented said they would have to shrink operations or leave the industry. Some would consider switching to a crop whose harvest is less labor intensive.

Perhaps most significantly, 70% of guest workers  the very people the change is supposed to help  said they would consider going to another state if hours were further capped in New York. Why? Because they would work fewer hours.

So why, again, does the Farm Laborers Wage Board want to change a law when they havent been able to evaluate the last change? It seems a reflexive wish to apply manufacturing standards to an industry dependent not on supply chains and assembly lines, but on nature: the attributes of the animals and crops that farmers tend and the way that weather and the seasion affect them. Agriculture in that way is predictably unpredictable.

The law that took effect last year was chancy, though farmers seem to have adapted. Some will argue they can similarly adjust to a 40-hour week. That is a cavalier approach to such an important industry and, in any case, its not something to experiment with during so aberrant a period.

The decision rests with Reardon, the labor commissioner, and Reardon works for Kathy Hochul, the governor from Western New York. Hochul has made herself familiar with the challenges that come with farming. She knows, better than the two wage-board members who voted for this unwise change, the challenges faced by the states farmers.

Whats more, she has an easy out. Under the best of circumstances, it would be too soon to change this law and those circumstances  far from the best  have been historically abnormal. Thats more than enough cause for Hochul and Reardon to take more time before making so significant a change. This is no time to turn New Yorks farmers into guinea pigs.

  

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Russia and China to discuss closer gas, financial ties during Putin visit, says Kremlin FILE PHOTO: Russian President Putin meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Orban in Moscow

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia and China will discuss closer gas and financial ties during President Vladimir Putin's trip to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, and a long-held idea for a new gas pipeline to China is being examined.

Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will have lunch together on Friday, and could sign more than 15 agreements, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, with lots of new deals being prepared in relation to natural gas.

Competition got underway in the Beijing Winter Olympics on Wednesday as the shadow of war in Ukraine and the impending arrival of Putin, who will attend Friday's opening ceremony, loomed over an event already transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ushakov said the possibility of Russia building a new gas pipeline to China through Mongolia was being looked at, a project that has been discussed for a long time and would take years to be fully realised.

Deliveries via an existing pipeline, the Power of Siberia, a 4,000 km (2,485 miles) project that transfers gas from eastern Russia to China, began in 2019. It took around a decade to reach an agreement on supply terms.

Some experts doubt that a second gas pipeline from Russia to China, which recently overtook Japan as the worlds largest importer of sea-borne liquefied natural gas, will come to pass.

But Putin's visit comes at a time when the reliability of Russian gas supplies to Europe is being questioned by some Western politicians and when Moscow is keen to show it potentially has other options even if they are not realistic overnight.

"It is worth noting that the Chinese gas market is the most promising and fastest growing in the world," said Ushakov.

Spot gas prices in Europe reached all-time highs in December amid soaring demand and limited supply.

Russian gas supplies to Europe have come under scrutiny as thousands of Russian troops have massed near the border of traditional gas transit nation Ukraine, raising fears of an invasion, something Moscow denies planning.

Story continues

Western nations have threatened a slew of sanctions should Russia make an incursion onto Ukrainian territory. Ushakov said China supported Russia's effort to extract security demands from the West.

Ushakov also said Moscow and Beijing were making serious efforts to create joint financial infrastructure that could safeguard Russia-China cooperation from potential sanctions from third countries.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov and Igor Sechin, CEO of oil major Rosneft will be among the Russian delegation, Ushakov added.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin Writing by Alexander MarrowEditing by Andrew Osborn)
By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is reviewing contingency plans for disruptions to gas supply, although countries' storage and infrastructure should buffer against major shocks, the EU's energy policy chief said on Wednesday.

Escalating tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine have raised concerns about Russian gas flows to Europe, prompting the European Commission and the United States to investigate alternatives.

Kadri Simson, energy commissioner for the 27-nation bloc, said results of the review were due later this month.

"It is important that all member states work on preparedness and review contingency plans to ensure they are fit for purpose," Simson told the European Parliament's energy committee. "The commission is conducting an assessment of the situation at European level in liaison with member states."

EU rules require member countries to each have a plan to respond to a gas crisis, including market-based measures like requiring suppliers to quickly seek alternatives, and government interventions such as instructing companies to switch off industrial facilities.

"We think that the available gas stocks in the EU and our good network of LNG terminals will protect us against major security of supply problems," Simson said.

She said the "political question" was whether Europe could withstand prolonged high prices, which have soared in recent months amid lower-than-expected imports from Russia - and prompted EU governments to roll out tax breaks, subsidies and other measures to shield consumers from higher bills.

Russia supplies around 40% of EU gas.

European liquefied natural gas imports hit a record high in January at 11.8 bcm, with nearly 45% coming from the United States.

Analysts have said that a further increase in LNG deliveries may be limited by global liquefaction capacity and suppliers' existing contracts to send cargoes to Asia.

Story continues

Qatar, one of the world's top gas exporters, said this week it could not unilaterally replace Europe's energy needs in case of a shortage.

Europe's gas storage caverns are currently less than 40% full, down by more than 10 percentage points compared with a year ago, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett, additional reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
U.S., Turkish presidential advisers discuss 'Russian aggression' in Ukraine FILE PHOTO: White House National Security Advisor Sullivan addresses the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Ibrahim Kalin, chief adviser to the president of Turkey, spoke on Tuesday and discussed their commitment to "deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine", the White House said in a statement.

Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber said Kalin told Sullivan that Turkey would provide "all forms of support" to resolving the Ukraine crisis and a Thursday visit there by Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan would "contribute to solving the issue with diplomacy".

Turkey offered in November to mediate in the crisis. Diplomatic sources said last month both Russia and Ukraine were open to the idea of Ankara helping.

Turkey is a maritime neighbour of both Ukraine and Russia, in the Black Sea, and has good ties with both. It has called on them to avoid any military conflict and warned Russia that an invasion of Ukraine would be unwise.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of deliberately creating a scenario designed to lure it into war and ignoring Russia's security concerns over Ukraine.

TRT Haber said Kalin and Sullivan had also discussed talks between Turkey and Armenia to normalise ties after decades of animosity.

Ties between NATO allies Turkey and the United States have been strained over a host of issues in recent years, including Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems and policy differences in Syria and the eastern Mediterranean.

The allies have agreed to put aside differences and focus on areas of cooperation but that has yielded little public improvement.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Editing by Robert Birsel and Ece Toksabay)
(ESI)

Vodafone boss Nick Read today backed his growth strategy after the mobile phone giant delivered quarterly results in line with expectations.

Read is under increased scrutiny following a poor share price performance and this week's disclosure that activist investor Cevian Capital has built a stake in the group.

Vodafone's third quarter results showed revenues growth of 2.7%, up from 2.4% in the previous three months and a performance that Read said showed the sustainability of our growth strategy and medium-term ambition.

FTSE 100 Live Wednesday

Vodafone shares rise after update

Alphabet earnings lift tech spirits

Playtech sale under threat

Ocado shares jump

Aristocrat bid for Playtech collapses after falling short of shareholder voting threshold

15:04 , Brian McGleenon

Today Playtech shareholders held a Court Meeting and General Meeting to decide upon the acquisition offer from Aristocrat.

However, the total votes in favour of the Aristocrat bid were 56.13% at the Court Meeting and 54.68% at the General Meeting, which was below the minimum threshold 75% needed to agree on the offer.

As a result, Playtech is no longer in an offer period as defined by the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.

Read more

Nasdaq opens up 1% after Alphabet and AMD earnings results

14:49 , Brian McGleenon

Google-parent Alphabet and semiconductor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) stocks surged following strong quarterly results.

The S&P 500 (.SPX) rose 19.78 points, or 0.44%, on the opening bell.

S&P 500 opened at 4566.39a.

The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) rose 148.5 points, or 1.03%, to open at 14494.472 points.

Nasdaq poised for gains after strong 2022 sales outlook from Google and AMD

14:22 , Brian McGleenon

The Nasdaq is poised to open higher today after increased revenue announcements for the fourth quarter of 2021 from both Google and semiconductor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

Fourth-quarter results for AMD saw revenue of $4.8 billion, which was up 49% year-over-year and 12% quarter-over-quarter.

Story continues

The profits were due to its Ryzen processors and Radeon graphics processor sales.

AMD said it expected $21.5 billion in sales in 2022.

This was ahead of analyst expectations of $19.26 billion.

That would see a 31% increase over 2021s sales.

Bank poised to put rates up

13:54 , Simon English

Is the Bank definitely going to put rates up?

It will be a big surprise if they dont. The City expects the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to increase rates from 0.25% to 0.5%, the first back-to-back interest rate rises since 2004.

It increased rates in December from 0.1% -- that was a more controversial decision. The Bank said then it could no longer ignore inflation, something that until it had tried to present as a passing issue.

Read more here

Wall Street ready to open strong following stock gains across Asia and Europe

13:26 , Brian McGleenon

US stock futures rose on Wednesday with Google helping the Nasdaq futures rise by 1.5%.

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) had a premarket surge of 10.4% before the Wall Street opening bell

This was after the company reported soaring profits at an earnings call late on Tuesday.

Shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 3% in the premarket ahead of its earnings announcement later today.

Stocks gained across Asia and Europe today.

Trading in London saw the FTSE 100 rising by 0.76%, Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.35% and the CAC 40 in Paris up 0.54%.

The Nikkei in Japan was rose 255 points today, up 1.68%.

What is Cevians game plan at Vodafone?

12:47 , Oscar Williams-Grut

Cevians targeting of Vodafone is a head-scratcher.

The Swedish money manager is an activist fund, specialising in investments where it thinks it can add value. Before taking a position, it commits considerable time and resources to develop a deep understanding of the businesses it goes after. It looks for opportunities among Europes unloved businesses.

Vodafone is certainly unloved but it is hard to see what new Cevian can bring to the table.

Read todays City comment on the Voda/Cevian situation.

FTSE in the green, up 67.04 points, here are the main risers and fallers

12:24 , Brian McGleenon

The FTSE 100 is up 0.89% today amid the news that Eurozone inflation has hit a record high of 5.1%.

The green gains look set to spread across the Atlantic with US stocks set for a positive start.

Among the risers, Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) is up 2.25% following its latest update, now at 130.83p.

Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) is another riser, up 7.03%, now at 1,531.61p

Another gainer was Auto Trader Group PLC (LSE:AUTO), 3.7% higher today, ow at 700.6p.

Those that fell into the red as of lunchtime today included Antofagasta plc (LSE:ANTO), down 3.53%, now at 1313.5p.

BAE Systems plc (LSE:BA) took a drop of 0.93%, down to 574p.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HIK) fell 0.58%, down to 2050p.

Eurozone inflation hits 5.1% putting pressure on the ECB to raise interest rates

11:56 , Brian McGleenon

Inflation in the Eurozone jumped 5.1% last month, breaking through a forecasted increase of 4.4%

The record-high inflation is putting pressure on the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, to implement an aggressive tightening of monetary policy.

In contrast to the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve, the ECB has so far refrained from following suit with an interest rate rise of its own.

Lagarde insists inflation within the bloc will prove short-lived.

Inflation in the eurozone has had risen 5.1% from a year ago, from measurements in January.

The price growth has been inflamed by a spike in energy costs.

Metaverse SPAC raises 115 million

11:37 , Oscar Williams-Grut

The co-founder of Games Workshop has successfully raised 115 million for one of Londons first SPACs  a cash shell targeting takeover deals.

Sir Ian Livingstone, who helped set up the fantasy figurine retailer, chairs Hiro Metaverse Aquisitions, a SPAC targeting a company in the gaming, connected fitness or metaverse space.

Hiro today raised 115 million in only the second SPAC IPO on the London Stock Exchange. SPACs  special purpose acquisition companies  exploded in in the US in 2020 but have since seen their star fade. Fans say they offer a cheaper and quicker route for firms to join public markets but critics argue SPACs are a fad.

Auto Trader drives tech sector revival

10:40 , Graeme Evans

Auto Trader shares hit the road to recovery today as another broker upgrade heightened interest in its potential as a long-term tech winner.

Shares rose 4% to 702.3p in the FTSE 100 index after Jefferies upped its price target to 870p and backed the classifieds business as a strong play on the theme of online car retailing.

Counterparts at Liberum took a similar view yesterday after raising their estimate to 825p, pointing out that the emergence of digital players Cazoo and Cinch has fundamentally shifted how consumers purchase cars.

Auto Trader was one of a number of tech and growth-focused stocks to see a resurgence in fortunes as investors regained their risk appetite following January's volatility.

The resilient mood was helped last night by Google parent company Alphabet reporting better-than-expected fourth quarter results. The Google search and YouTube ads division lifted revenues 32% and there was a growing contribution from cloud operations.

AJ Bell's investment director Russ Mould said: The technology sector started 2022 with some of the biggest question marks over it since the dotcom crash more than two decades ago.

However the largest and highest quality US tech names continue to deliver the answers the market wants with big earnings beats.

Other top flight tech stocks doing well today included industrial software business Aveva, while financial services business Abrdn lifted 6.9p to 247.5p after analysts at HSBC unveiled a buy recommendation and 330p target price.

The FTSE 100 index returned to near a two-year high after climbing 56.39 points to 7592.46, with the domestic-focused FTSE 250 index up 211.45 points at 22,378.21 after cyber security firm Darktrace rallied 18.6p to 408p.

Molten Ventures, whose investments include Cazoo and banking app Revolut, also surged 5% as it stuck by guidance for valuation growth of 35% in the year to March.

Chief executive Martin Davis said: The European technology venture market continues to thrive despite the wider fluctuations in public markets. Molten is well-positioned to take advantage of this disconnect.

Shares in the FTSE 250-listed company, which used to be known as Draper Esprit, rose 41p to 825p but still trades at a discount to November's net asset value of 887p.

Vodafone boss eyes deals

09:57 , Oscar Williams-Grut

Vodafone boss Nick Read is eying more deals in his push to improve performance and is said to have held talks about buying UK mobile operator Three.

He declined to comment on the specifics but said consolidation more generally made sense.

We think this is the right time for consolidation, he told the Standard. Its needed to accelerate investment. The UK and EU are falling behind on 5G.

Policymakers understand the need for a new balance between: yes, we want competitive prices but we also need investment. Through the pandemic they woke up to the fact that we are critical infrastructure.

Read said Vodafone was evaluating a range of possible targets: Its going to come down to are they pragmatic, are they reasonable on price and are they aligned on strategy.

Read more on the companys update.

Playtechs sale set to collapse

09:47 , Oscar Williams-Grut

Playtechs 2.7 billion sale to Australian slot machine maker Aristocrat is on the verge of collapse.

The London-listed gaming group warned that proxy votes received to date show the deal is unlikely to win investor approval. The final results of a shareholder vote will be announced later today. The Australian gambling groups offer is now expected to lapse, forcing Aristocrat to accelerate alternative plans.

Playtech first warned that the takeover was in doubt last month. If the deal does collapse, the Playtech board said it will evaluate other proposals received in recent months. Options include a deal to take it into the fast-growing US betting market.

Aristocrat said a number of material investors who have not engaged meaningfully were effectively blocking the deal. CEO Trevor Croker said he was disappointed and called the situation highly unusual and largely beyond Aristocrats control.

Read the full story.

Upgrades lift Ocado and Auto Trader

09:08 , Graeme Evans

European markets are higher for a third session in a row, with the FTSE 100 index up 0.5% or 37.34 points to 7572.19.

The two biggest rises in the top flight were the result of broker upgrades for Ocado and Auto Trader.

Shares in grocery warehouse technology business Ocado rallied 7% or 99.5p to 1530.5p on the back of an outperform rating and new price target of 1750p from Credit Suisse. Online portal Auto Trader added 21p to 696p, a gain of 3% after Jefferies lifted its target price to 870p.

Defensive stocks were lower as some of the volatility came out of markets. BAE Systems fell 10.4p to 570p and British American Tobacco dipped 9p to 3164.5p.

The FTSE 250 index rose 159.46 points to 22,327.40, with technology investor Molten Ventures among those higher after it stuck by guidance for year-end valuation growth of 35%. Shares in the Cazoo and Trustpilot backer rose 30p to 814p.

Vodafone grinds towards higher growth

08:24 , Graeme Evans

Commenting on Vodafone's third quarter results, Interactive Investor's head of markets Richard Hunter said the mobile phone giant has continued its grind towards higher growth.

He said: For all the progress Vodafone has become a company which has yet to fulfil the potential provided by its scale, cash generation, experience and global sprawl.

Hunter highlights the extraordinary expense of 5G participation, net debt of over 44 billion euros (37 billion) and the ferocity of competition as factors working against Vodafone.

Recent reports of stakebuilding by an activist investor and a potential partner tie-up within its troubled Italian market have refocused interest in the shares, which have seen a rise of 11% since the beginning of the year.

However, Hunter said this bounce does not repair the longer term underperformance despite a dividend yield of 5.9%.

He said: Over the last year the shares have risen by just 1% as compared to a hike of almost 16% for the wider FTSE 100. Further back the performance worsens, with the shares down by 15% over the last two years and by 34% over the last five years.

Despite the possibility of Vodafone becoming the perennial underperformer and jam tomorrow stock, its supporters remain resolute on prospects, and the market consensus of the shares as a strong buy remains defiantly in place.

Vodafone shares were 2.5% higher at 131p following todays results.

Alphabet impresses as revenues jump

08:05 , Graeme Evans

Alphabet's core Google Services business, which includes Google Search and YouTube ads, lifted revenues by 32% to $69.4 billion (51.3 billion) in the final three months of 2021.

This meant Alphabet delivered better-than-expected fourth quarter revenues of $75.3 billion (55.6 billion) and helped operating profits to improve 29% to $21.9 billion (16.2 billion). The Google Cloud operation posted revenues of $5.5 billion (4.1 billion).

Shares were 7.8% higher in after-hours trading, having been one of the tech sector's more resilient performers in the recent turbulence.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said: The sector is unlikely to have seen the worst of the pain, and Alphabet is by no means immune from that.

However, a company with well over $100 billion (73.9 billion) of net cash swashing around the balance sheet, while not protected from taking on some muddy water, is more than capable of staying afloat as macro tides change.

Lund-Yates added that Google Cloud has the potential to do what Amazon Web Services has done for the retail giant  revolutionise the earnings engine driver.

She said: From a profit perspective, Google Cloud has a little way to go before it can pad out the bottom line, although losses are narrowing. And once the costs of the new mammoth infrastructure are covered, operating leverage dynamics means earnings will jump, pretty much instantly.

Wall Street recovery lifts FTSE 100

07:42 , Graeme Evans

The momentum behind London's FTSE 100 index is set to continue after Wall Street markets finished in positive territory last night.

Futures trading also points to a strong session for US investors after Google owner Alphabet's better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings sent its shares 8% higher in dealings after the closing bell.

Alphabet's performance extends the improved mood around the tech sector after Netflix and Tesla shares rebounded sharply on Monday. Comments from Federal Reserve policymakers have also helped after they suggested that markets have got ahead of themselves in their outlook for future interest rates.

The sector's recovery benefited London investors yesterday, with Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust one of the biggest risers in the FTSE 100 index. The top flight index rose 1% on Tuesday and is expected to add another 45 points to 7580 today, according to CMC Markets.

Other key developments include the start of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee meeting, with members tomorrow expected to announce an increase in interest rates from 0.25% to 0.5%.

OPEC+ ministers are also considering whether to raise production quotas in March by more than the current plan of 400,000 barrels. Brent crude futures stood at $89 a barrel today.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar have discussed the prospects of military cooperation between the two nations, the ministry reported on February 1.

Prospects for the development of regional security, as well as cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey in military, military-technical, military education and other fields, were discussed at the business meetings, the ministry said.

During the meeting of two delegations, Hasanov expressed gratitude for the moral and political support provided by brotherly Turkey in the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020.

The Azerbaijani Defence Minister stressed the exceptional impact of the cordial relations between the heads of state of the two brotherly countries on military cooperation, as well as in other areas.

Welcoming the guests, the Turkish Minister stressed that the strategic alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkey is based on friendly and fraternal relations. Akar expressed confidence that cooperation based on mutual trust, confidence and support will continue to develop successfully.

Highlighting the experience gained by the servicemen of two countries in joint drills, the parties noted the importance of holding such events on a regular basis.

It was stressed that Azerbaijan is expanding military cooperation with Turkey to increase its defence capabilities, which is one of the main factors ensuring stability in the region.

Following the solemn welcoming ceremony at the Turkish National Defence Ministry, Hasanov signed the book of memory. Afterwards, the top officials answered the questions of media representatives.

As a part of his working visit to Turkey, Hasanov was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Defence Ministry reported in a different report. The Turkish National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar also attended the meeting.

Later, Hasanov visited the park named after the national leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev in Ankara and paid tribute to his memory.




The Winter Olympic Games in Beijing are just days away, but the Biden administrations campaign to orchestrate a diplomatic boycott, so far joined by only seven allies, is already failing to meet certain expectations.

It seems as if the criterion for success was to get a sizeable group of countries on board to shame China into improving its human rights conditions.

Theres no question that Beijings horrendous acts against the Uyghurs and other minorities in China are atrocious. But policymakers would be deeply misguided to think that such a symbolic gesture, even if perfectly executed, can trigger any meaningful change in Beijing. There are better ways to counter the Chinese Communist Partys forced labor violations than merely checking symbolic boxes.

Consider some successful boycotts in Olympics history. In 1980, America led a boycott, joined by more than 60 countries, of the Moscow Games in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union didnt withdraw from Afghanistan because of the boycott, but generous critics would say that the gesture nevertheless eroded the Kremlins prestige and might have even contributed to the regimes demise about a decade later. But maybe the administration should ask the Ukrainians how they feel about Russian aggression.

Others might claim that the tactic was a success when more than 20 African countries sat out the Montreal Games in 1976, protesting New Zealands continued sporting relationship with apartheid South Africa, particularly on the rugby field. One might argue that the boycott made a difference because, a year later, New Zealand joined the Gleneagles Agreement, a pledge among Commonwealth states to discourage any sporting contacts with South Africa. But New Zealand and South Africa still held several more rugby tours throughout the remaining years of the apartheid regime.

Even this limited success required conditions that are not applicable to China today. In 1969, anti-apartheid activists in New Zealand formed the group Halt All Racist Tours to protest the countrys rugby engagement with South Africa. Their efforts continued until the end of the atrocious regime and successfully stopped several rugby tours between the two countries. But in todays China, not only are there no anti-genocide demonstrations but, thanks to Beijings effective propaganda and information control, the typical Chinese person likely doesnt know that the current boycott is because of forced labor in their country  if they know about the forced labor at all.

Some people in power may want you to believe that symbolic gestures go a long way and, hence, they have done something. But what really makes a difference is the power of the people. There are more effective ways for the American people to counter the Chinese Communist Partys forced labor practice in Xinjiang, should they choose to exercise their power.

I previously wrote about the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act that became law late last year. Intended to block such goods from entering the U.S. market, the legislation has some potential to put meaningful pressures on Beijing. But some important details are yet to be finalized. The Department of Homeland Security is now seeking public comments on how to best do this, and Americans can choose to speak up.

But the most powerful weapon the people have lies in how they make their daily choices. Some international corporations may not want to clean up their forced labor-tainted supply chains because that would cross Beijing and hurt their bottom line, but some may. And if any company does, it would likely be because the vast number of consumers care enough about the issue to change their buying practices. In recent years, ethical consumerism has made significant strides in phasing out conflict diamonds, elephant ivory and child labor-made chocolates in the marketplace. It, too, can make a difference in combating Chinas human rights abuses.

Some might say that boycotting the Beijing Games is nevertheless a worthwhile moral gesture. Perhaps. But the gravity of Chinas human rights violations demands much more from our morality than any feel-good measures.

Weifeng Zhong is a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a core developer of the open-sourced Policy Change Index project. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 1) Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon is considering filing an impeachment complaint against fellow official Aimee Ferolino for the delayed release of the resolution on the disqualification cases against Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos.

"I will wait for the next election. Because you know, since she is for Bongbong Marcos, if he wins what's the use of me filing an impeachment complaint?" Guanzon told a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines on Tuesday.

Guanzon did not explain further, but in a later interview with CNN Philippines, she said Ferolino's action violates Section 3 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

"This is betrayal of public trust," she said.

The Constitution states that Comelec commissioners are impeachable officers. Ferolino, who was appointed in November 2020, will serve in the poll body until 2027.

'Defeating our votes'

Guanzon, the presiding commissioner of the First Division handling the consolidated petitions against Marcos, also threw fresh allegations against Ferolino during the forum.

She said the delayed release of the ruling would mean "defeating" her and Commissioner Marlon Casquejo's votes.

Guanzon, who had voted to disqualify the son of the late dictator from the May polls, is set to retire this week. Casquejo, meanwhile, is expected to transfer to the poll body's Second Division.

"So it's not just my vote that's being defeated by our junior member - both senior commissioners' votes are being defeated because this way, we cannot cast our vote. Why? Because Commissioner Casquejo is moving to the Second Division as presiding commissioner and therefore cannot vote starting Feb. 3," Guanzon explained.

"Maybe they suspect also that Commissioner Casquejo's vote is a DQ (disqualification)," she added, but stressed that she still does not know the latter's decision.

Guanzon also said Ferolino was able to work on other cases assigned to the First Division even though the petitions against Marcos were raffled first.

"We took note that there were cases that were raffled after Marcos and yet she was able to release them and have me and Commissioner Casquejo sign it. So, her delay is really unacceptable, and under our rules, it's only 15 days," she said.

Guanzon likewise reiterated her claim that there may be a "powerful" personality meddling in the case. "If she was not paid or bought off, she should already release her resolution," she argued.

Ferolino has yet to issue a reply to Guanzon's new comments, but the commissioner earlier refuted claims she's intentionally delaying the release of the resolution, saying she was working "well within the timeline."

'Re-raffle the case'

After Guanzon's retirement, Commissioner Socorro Inting is set to take her post as presiding commissioner of the First Division.

And with movements expected, Guanzon called on the poll body to re-raffle the case  and let another commissioner pen the much-awaited decision.

"Because there is this reshuffling of commissioners, this case should be re-raffled. It should no longer be in Commissioner Ferolino's hands," Guanzon said.

"She already lost the privilege of writing a draft resolution, while the two of us are in office. It should be re-raffled so that another commissioner of the First Division will be handling, writing the draft resolution."

In the CNN Philippines interview, Guanzon also questioned Ferolino's competence, saying the junior commissioner "doesn't have legal practice experience in the court" after passing the Bar exams.

"That's the trouble, eh. That's why the reform I want is for constitutional commissioners to go through, pass the Judicial and Bar Council for interview and testingThese problems can be avoided by vetting by the Judicial and Bar Council," she added.

Guanzon earlier released her separate opinion on the Marcos case, where she cited the former senator's non-filing of income tax returns, among others, as ground for disqualification.

READ: Guanzon on Marcos' DQ cases: Non-filing of ITR constitutes moral turpitude, 'serious defect' in moral fiber
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  Vice President Leni Robredo is the "biggest victim" of disinformation on social media while her fellow presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos benefitted the most from false or misleading content online, according to a fact-checking initiative.

"Majority of those are directed against presidential candidate and Vice President Leni Robredo. So marami po talaga (There's really a lot). Every week, she is the biggest victim of disinformation or negative messaging, whether it has to do with the typhoon, with all sorts," UP Journalism professor Yvonne Chua told a Senate hearing, citing their recent report from Tsek.ph.

"We also see a substantial significant volume of false or misleading claims about presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., in which case, these are largely positive favor, seeking to promote him," she added.

Chua also said Facebook is still the number one driver of disinformation this election season.

"Misinformation and disinformation can be both positive messaging or negative messaging," she said. "Unfortunately, the trend persists despite efforts into stemming disinformation. A lot has come out ahead of the May elections based on our initial analysis."

Robredo's running mate, Senator Kiko Pangilinan, said social media platforms should be held accountable "for what they are allowed to spread."

"Traditional media platforms may be held liable when they allow this or hate speech, defamatory content to be aired or printed. Ganyan din dapat online (It should be the same online)," Pangilinan stressed.
When you think globally, really, it is depressing. Were in a very dark place, said Jane Goodall. At 87 years old, the English primatologist and anthropologist has witnessed how humanity has ignored and become concerned with environmental issues. Goodall made a name for herself as the foremost expert on chimpanzees, known for her decades-long work studying the social dynamics of these primates and the role they play in the worlds biodiversity. In the recently concluded 2022 Sustainability Summit by consumer goods brand P&G, she emphasizes that the work is far from done.

In conversation with P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard, Goodall mentioned how she believes that humans need to remember how closely dependent we are on the environment. I think for one thing, if we go back further in our evolution, I think we were as hard wired as any other species to live in harmony with the natural world. Because we are part of it, and we depend upon it. And we find, with the indigenous people around the world, they still have this worldview, that they are part of nature.

Its in more recent times that weve gotten caught up in this materialistic society, where money and power are valued over and above protecting the environment for the future. Goodall says, [There is] a crazy idea that there can be unlimited economic development on a planet with finite natural resources. [That] annual growth of GDP is more important than your great grandchilds future.

Pritchard goes on to ask her about what companies like P&G can do to champion the environment through their work, and Goodall believes in the pragmatism of working with corporations to address the issues of climate change, rather than go against them for that very reason. In the late 80s, Goodall made the controversial decision to team up with petroleum company Conoco to build the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in Congo.

I was attacked by animal rights organizations, Goodall recalls. [They said] You cant take money from them, because theyre harming the environment. Actually, they were then, the most environmentally sensitive oil and gas company Ive ever heard of. I flew out here to Congo. I flew on an airplane that was using their product. How hypocritical if theres a company thats trying to do better, and you refuse to take their money [because] it might make them look good? On the other hand, if theres a company thats doing a lot of greenwashing, then you have to be very careful not to get your name associated with them.

As for P&G, the multinational corporation has made it clear in their Sustainability Summit that they are well on their way to making a bigger commitment to reducing their carbon footprint. The brand plans on achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its operations and supply chain by 2040. By 2030, their goal is to reduce emissions across their operations by 50%, and reduce emissions across their supply chain by 40%.

View the video below to get an exclusive view into Goodall and Pritchards chat during the P&G Sustainability summit.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life, Jan. 31)  Start your February by tuning into the CNN Philippines Election Forums, listen to a new song by indie band The Geeks, pre-order books from a new small press run founded by Conchitina Cruz and Adam David, indulge in bite-sized treats from Krispy Kreme, and listen to a podcast by writers Glenn Diaz and Edgar Calabia Samar.

Embed:

Watch the CNN Philippines Election Forum series

For the past three Sundays, CNN Philippines has been airing its Senatorial Forum series with the aspirants vying for a position at the Senate this May. Last Sunday, they aired the third round of the forum hosted by CNN PH Anchor Ruth Cabal featuring Chel Diokno, Samira Gutoc, and Neri Colmenares. On Friday (Feb. 4), they will be holding the Presidential Forum.

Catch up on the past videos and tune in to the upcoming ones to find out how the aspirants react to questions about whether or not a SALN should be made public, mandatory military enlistment, peace talks with communist rebels, and other key issues.  CNN PHILIPPINES LIFE STAFF

Watch round one of the Senatorial Forums here, round two here, and round three. Tune in to the next few forums live on Facebook and CNN Philippines (Free TV ch. 9, Cignal ch. 10, Sky Cable ch. 14).

Listen to The Geeks new single All My Favorite Songs"

Quezon City-based indie band The Geeks is releasing a new single on Feb. 4. Composed of vocalist/guitarist Jam Lorenzo, drummer Brian Sangco, guitarist Nigel Cristobal, and bass player Mags Borbon, the band has earned a reputation in the gig circuit for its brand of slacker rock music. Mix and mastered at the now-closed Redverb Studio, All My Favorite Songs, is a track that the band says vaguely explores how it feels like to grow old in the middle of a pandemic.  CNN PH LIFE STAFF

Pre-save the single here.

Pre-order books from Paper Trail Projects

Paper Trail Projects is dedicated to poetry and other investigations in language driven by the poetic impulse. The new small press is founded by Conchitina Cruz and Adam David, whose works have challenged the local publishing scene with their experiments on text and imagery. The initial offering of Paper Trail Projects includes six books: Cruzs Modus and Dark Hours, Davids El Bimbo Variations, Faye Curas Punan, Mabi Davids You Are Here, and Glenn Diazs When the World Ended I was Thinking About the Forest.  DON JAUCIAN

You can pre-order the books now here. Books will ship in mid-March.

Starting at 215, the new Minis boxes come in Original Glazed, Dark Chocolate Glaze, Chocolate Sprinkles, and Strawberry Sprinkles flavors. Photo by GABY GLORIA

Indulge in a bite-sized doughnut treat with Krispy Kreme

When work gets hectic on a daily basis, theres nothing that says you deserve this more than indulging in a small treat on a tough weekday. Krispy Kremes new bite-sized doughnut variants are perfect for that serotonin rush. Starting at 215, the new Minis boxes come in Original Glazed, Dark Chocolate Glaze, Chocolate Sprinkles, and Strawberry Sprinkles flavors. Trust me when I say these sweet snacks might be just what you need to get through the work day. Theyre only available until Feb. 28, so grab a box while you can.  GABY GLORIA

Pick a box of Minis up in store or have them delivered by calling 888-79000 or through krispykreme.com.ph or your favorite delivery app.

Listen to the podcast Anong Kuwento Natin?

Aside from the basic Filipino literature classes, Ive never had any in-depth look at our own literature. So I am glad that there are podcasts like Glenn Diaz and Edgar Calabia Samars Anong Kuwento Natin? to keep me on track when it comes to appreciating and dissecting Filipino works. The show is 35 episodes in and theyve discussed a variety of works, such as stories from Lualhati Bautista, Rolando Tolentino, Pedro S. Dandan, and Norma O. Miraflor (whose story Sulat mula sa Pritil is featured in their martial law episode). Watch through Samars Youtube channel or listen on podcast streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.  DJ
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2)  With three commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) stepping down from their posts, it is still uncertain when a decision on presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos' disqualification case will be handed down.

Comelec chairman Sheriff Abas, and Commissioners Antonio Kho Jr. and Rowena Guanzon are retiring on midnight of Wednesday, Feb. 2, leaving the fate of the election cases to the remaining members of the en banc.

Prior to her retirement, Guanzon disclosed that she voted in favor of the petitioners seeking to disqualify Marcos due to his tax conviction. But without an official ruling by the First Division from ponente Aimee Ferolino, Guanzon's vote will not be counted.

What will happen next?

Comelec's next move

The poll body will now be left with Commissioners Marlon Casquejo, Aimee Ferolino, Rey Bulay, and Socorro Inting, possibly sitting as interim chairperson, according to Guanzon.

The initial members of the First Division handling the disqualification case are Guanzon, the presiding commissioner; along with Ferolino and Casquejo.

Kho, Inting, and Bulay are from the Second Division, which earlier ruled to junk a separate petition to cancel Marcos' bid.

Since Casquejo will be transferred to the Second Division as its presiding commissioner effective Feb. 3, he will now be unable to vote on the DQ cases. At least two votes to disqualify Marcos are needed to formalize the First Division's decision.

Inting will be replacing Guanzon as presiding commissioner of the First Division, but she has the option to either let Ferolino handle the case and set a deadline for a ruling, or simply re-raffle the case and let another commissioner pen the decision.

Scenario 1: DQ case stays under Ferolino

Ferolino and Inting are now left to solve the consolidated disqualification cases. The latter may assign a third member to the First Division to break a potential tie.

"They (the divisions) have two commissioners each, so they can resolve the cases," Guanzon told CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday. "In case theres a tie, the acting chair, who will probably be Commissioner Inting, on Feb 3 will assign a third member to the division."

"In case let's say Commissioner Inting and Ferolino have a tie, then the acting chair can assign a third member  probably Commissioner Bulay or Commissioner Casquejo," she added.

Scenario 2: DQ case will be re-raffled

Guanzon earlier stressed that it would be much better to re-raffle the case because Ferolino already "lost the privilege" of drafting the resolution while she and Casquejo were still under the division.

However, the decision of the raffle will still up be up to the discretion of Inting, she also said.

What's in it for Marcos?

Marcos is currently leading in the pollster surveys of preferred candidates. So far, he can still participate in the campaign period pending the decision but there is still a possibility of him getting disqualified before or after elections.

Even after Comelec's two divisions issue resolutions on his cases, they are still appealable before the en banc and even the Supreme Court.

Scenario 1: Marcos gets disqualified anytime during campaign period until noon of May 9

Under Comelec Resolution 1017, "the substitute for an aspirant/candidate who died or was disqualified by final judgment may file a COC up to mid-day of election day; provided that, the substitute and the substituted aspirant/candidate have the same surnames.

This means Marcos' wife, Liza Araneta-Marcos, or his sister, former Sen. Imee Marcos, can replace his bid, regardless of their chosen political party.

Guanzon told CNN Philippines it would be much better for Marcos to be disqualified prior to the polls and have someone take his place, so that his supporters "will not be confused and frustrated" after entrusting their vote to their chosen bet.

Scenario 2: Marcos refuses substitution, gets stray votes

If Marcos refuses to invoke his right of substitution, votes to his name will be considered stray votes and will not reflect in the canvassing tally, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez earlier said.

Commissioner Kho also previously noted: "We will release the necessary order telling our election officers....na dapat if there were votes received by a particular candidate, that will be considered stray, will not be considered in the counting."

Scenario 3: Marcos is disqualified after proclamation, replaced by VP

Jimenez said that if Marcos gets the highest number of votes on May 9, his victory may still be invalidated even after his proclamation.

"There will be (election) lawyers who will tell what the actions will be, but in effect, that will invalidate his win," Jimenez said. "Sisipa rin diyan ang rules of succession (The rules of succession will also come in), from president to vice president."

RELATED: LIST: Petitions against Bongbong Marcos' 2022 presidential bid

Key aspirants that will fight head-to-head in the upcoming elections are the tandems of Bongbong Marcos-Sara Duterte, Leni Robredo-Kiko Pangilinan, Ping Lacson-Tito Sotto, Manny Pacquiao-Lito Atienza, Isko Moreno-Willie Ong, and Leody de Guzman-Walden Bello.

CNN Philippines Correspondent Mel Lopez contributed to this report.
(CNN)  Last year was a historic one for American jobs. A record number of workers quit their jobs while US employers had more positions to fill than ever before.

In December, 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs, down slightly from the record 4.5 million in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

While millions of workers left jobs for cash incentives, better pay or better benefits, people also left the labor market to care for children or elderly relatives during the pandemic. Meanwhile, older workers retired early either because they could or because age discrimination forced them out of the labor market.

The number of workers quitting last month fell in health care and social assistance jobs, as well as restaurants, hotels and construction. Quits went up in nondurable good manufacturing.

Even though a record number of people quit their jobs last year, the US labor market still recorded a net employment gain of 6.4 million.

In total, 75.3 million workers were hired last year, while 68.9 million quit, were laid off or discharged. Out of these so-called separations, 47.4 million were voluntary quits.

In line with that, the number of layoffs hit a new record low at 1.2 million in December, showing that the negative impact from the Omicron variant didn't fully hit the labor market at the end of last year.

Job openings stood at 10.9 million in December, compared with the data series high of 11.1 million recorded in July.

Worker shortage continues

For US companies, the labor shortage is still as real as it was in the summer. Home Depot has a plan to address the challenge: speedy job offers.

The world's largest home improvement retailer said Tuesday that job applicants "could receive an offer within one day of applying."

Home Depot said the "accelerated" hiring process is part of its plan to hire more than 100,000 new associates ahead of its busy spring season.

"In today's climate, jobseekers are shopping for the best opportunity," Eric Schelling, Home Depot's vice president of global talent acquisition, said in a statement.

To attract workers, Home Depot said it offers jobseekers various incentives, including upskilling programs, tuition reimbursement, a cash bonus program and discounted stock purchases.

The pandemic has forced a rethinking of how we work. A new study released Tuesday by the University of Michigan shows college-educated workers prioritize work passion over financial security, forcing companies to reassess what they offer their employees.

--CNN's Matt Egan contributed to this report.

This story was first published on CNN.com 'A record number of Americans quit their jobs in 2021'
(CNN)  Denmark has lifted all COVID-19 restrictions within the country, with coronavirus no longer considered a "socially critical sickness," according to the government.

This means that an indoor mask mandate, the use of a "Covid pass" for bars, restaurants and other indoor venues, and the legal obligation to self-isolate if you test positive are all ending.

"No one can know what will happen next December. But we promised the citizens of Denmark that we will only have restrictions if they are truly necessary and we'll lift them as soon as we can," Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke told CNN on Monday. "That's what's happening right now."

Denmark is the first country in the European Union to lift all restrictions. The move comes at a time when it has the second-highest infection rate, or seven-day average of new infections, of any nation in the world, according to Our World in Data.

Widespread vaccination and boosters have helped the country open up again, said Heunicke, adding that the number of hospitalizations and patients in intensive care is decreasing every day, "thanks to vaccination."

According to Our World in Data, 81% of Denmark's population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Asked about vaccine mandates, Heunicke said: "Luckily we don't need that in Denmark ... I'm really happy that we don't need it because it's a very troubling path to move that way."

Sren Brostrm, director-general of Denmark's Health Authority, agreed that the number of Covid-19 cases in the country was very high, but told CNN that the link between infections and severe illness had been broken.

"At the same time as infections are skyrocketing, patients admitted to intensive care actually going down," he said. "It's around 30 people in ICU beds right now with a COVID-19 diagnosis, out of a population of 6 million."

Brostrm said he did not think vaccine mandates were necessary.

"I do not believe in imposed vaccine mandates," he said. "It's a pharmaceutical intervention with possible side effects. You need as an authority to recognize that. I think if you push too much, you will have a reaction -- action generates reaction, especially with vaccines."

Danish authorities continue to recommend taking an at-home test before coming into contact with groups of people, especially those who are vulnerable, according to the health minister.

And PCR tests will continue to be available to the public in order to confirm Covid-19 cases.

Some travelers -- primarily those who have not been vaccinated or previously infected with Covid-19 -- will still have to test on entry to Denmark, and quarantine measures remain in place for those arriving from high-risk countries, but these are the only pandemic restrictions that remain.

On January 26, the country's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she expected spring, summer, and early autumn to be "an open Denmark with hugs, parties and festivals."

The government has warned that later in the autumn and into the winter, another season of increased infections -- which may require additional vaccinations -- is expected. Frederiksen said the government would not rule out the possibility that a fourth shot could be necessary for everyone.

Denmark first lifted all Covid-19 restrictions in September 2021, but later reinstated them in the face of a third wave of infections.
(CNN)  Pfizer and BioNTech are requesting emergency use authorization for their two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children age 6 months up to 5 years, the companies said Tuesday.

Pfizer and BioNTech said they have initiated a rolling submission of data to the US Food and Drug Administration after a request from the agency. They expect to complete the EUA submission in the coming days and say they will also submit clinical trial data to the European Medicines Agency and other agencies around the world.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is already authorized for use in people as young as 5 and would be the first Covid-19 vaccine available for the youngest children. The companies are continuing to test a three-dose version of the vaccine in this younger age group.

The move comes "in response to the urgent public health need in this population," the companies said in a news release.

Since the start of the pandemic, at least 11.4 million children have tested positive for Covid-19, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported Monday, with over 3.5 million cases reported in January alone. Children made up 22.8% of the total reported weekly cases for the week ending January 27.

In December, Pfizer extended its vaccine in trial in younger children after two child-sized doses of the vaccine did not produce the expected immunity in 2- to 5-year-olds, although it did so for the babies up to age 2.

The companies said data on a third dose given at least eight weeks after the second dose is expected in the coming months, which will also be submitted to the FDA.

"As hospitalizations of children under 5 due to COVID-19 have soared, our mutual goal with the FDA is to prepare for future variant surges and provide parents with an option to help protect their children from this virus," Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said. "Ultimately, we believe that three doses of the vaccine will be needed for children 6 months through 4 years of age to achieve high levels of protection against current and potential future variants. If two doses are authorized, parents will have the opportunity to begin a COVID-19 vaccination series for their children while awaiting potential authorization of a third dose."

For people 12 and older, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine dose is 30 micrograms of vaccine, and for kids ages 5 to 11, it was stepped down to 10 micrograms. The dose for the youngest children is even lower: 3 micrograms.

CNN reported earlier Tuesday that Pfizer was encouraged to seek authorization for the two-dose vaccine by federal regulators, who hope the EUA can be granted by late February. Waiting on data for three doses could extend the wait until March.

"If the goal of the vaccine is to get baseline immunity in the kids -- to prevent really bad outcomes and you're really not using the vaccine as a tool to prevent infection in the first place -- two doses could do that," Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner and current Pfizer board member, said on CBS on Sunday. "I think that may be why federal health officials are rethinking this."
By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani-U.S. relations have been successful in terms of development, friendship, and partnership over the last 30 years, presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has said.

He made the remarks at the Caspian Policy Center's webinar titled "30 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Caspian region".

During the webinar, Hajiyev stressed that Azerbaijan has proven to be a good friend to the U.S. over the past 30 years.

He emphasized Azerbaijan's military and logistical assistance to the United States following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This support has been confirmed as an important component of regional security.

Hajiyev also noted Azerbaijan's support for U.S. missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join the global anti-terror coalition assembled by the U.S. government. Azerbaijan opened its airspace to the allied forces and assured its agencies would cooperate and provide information that would assist in American-led efforts.

Azerbaijans contributions to the U.S.-led anti-terror campaign also included deploying a peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan. Azerbaijani peacekeepers began serving there in November 2002, and by 2021 the contingent consisted of 120 servicemen. They left the country more than a week after the Taliban seized power on August 15, 2021.
HARRISBURG  A Pennsylvania judge who recently conducted a hearing on more than a dozen competing proposals for a redrawn map of the states congressional districts told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday her decision will be ready in a few days  if they do not yank the case away from her.

Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCulloughs one-paragraph statement was among a flurry of filings in the case on Tuesday. Democrats urged the Democratic-majority high court to take over, while Republicans said the judge, also a Republican, should be allowed to make a decision that can then be appealed.

The Supreme Court put McCulloughs case on hold on Monday while it considers whether to exercise its authority over the process.

McCullough said her decision and opinion will be ready by Friday at the latest and will include changes to the timeline for candidates to circulate nominating petitions  a three-week process that would otherwise begin Feb. 15.

McCullough is sorting through the competing proposals for a new map because Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a set of congressional districts produced by the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

New congressional districts must take into account the loss of a single seat because of Pennsylvanias comparatively slow population growth. The states congressional delegation is dropping from 18 to 17 members.

In their filing, Republican legislative leaders said reversing course deep into the 11th hour of these proceedings, and assuming extraordinary jurisdiction of this case at this phase, will not speed up the case and that McCullough has created a factual record and reviewed copious scientific and lay evidence.

Wolf argued that the Supreme Court stepping in now is the fastest route to get a final map and said the justices were better positioned to make changes to the election calendars deadlines.

The governors filing also noted the Legislative Reapportionment Commissions work on redrawing the General Assemblys district lines has not wrapped up, although the five-member panel could cast a final vote at a meeting scheduled for Friday in Harrisburg. Appeals of their decision could take more than a month.

The primary is set for May 17 but could be delayed if the legislative maps arent finalized in time.

The Department of State has said elections officials need two or three weeks to prepare for the start of the nominating petitions circulation period, so that candidates have sufficient notice about their districts new boundaries. If the primary has to be delayed, the agency has said, the new date should apply to both the legislative and congressional races.
Bees are an essential part of our food supply chain and having these beehives were one way we were helping to address the declining bee population here in our hometown community, said Jessica Groves, Giant Co. community impact manager
Cumberland County last week issued its Magisterial District Reestablishment Report for 2022 to 2031, and while no district courts will close, some criminal and traffic cases on major highways will be covered by different courts.

In the report, which was made public Jan. 28 and will be available for public comment for a period of 30 days, the county would move all criminal and traffic cases generated by Pennsylvania State Police on Interstate 81, Route 581 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Carlisle, Middlesex Township, North Middleton Township and Lower Frankford Township to be filed with Magisterial District Judge Vivian Cohicks office in Newville.

The county would also move all criminal and traffic cases from State Police on the same highways in Hampden and Silver Spring townships to be filed with Magisterial District Judge Michael Sanderson in East Pennsboro Township.

The county said the changes were based on workload calculations from 2019 and should bring the districts within the 15% threshold for cases.

Cumberland County is required to participate in the reestablishment of magisterial districts every 10 years and is directly related to the federal Census. The county receives guidelines and statistics from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts to submit recommendations to that office for its district courts.

The report is available on the county website at www.ccpa.net, and comments regarding the report may be sent to District Court Administrator Melissa Calvanelli, 1 Courthouse Square, Room 301 in Carlisle, or emailed to mcalvanelli@ccpa.net with the subject line 2022 MDJ Reestablishment.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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HARRISBURG  Cash is pouring in to Pennsylvania's race for U.S. Senate, as wealthy and well-connected candidates moved in from out of state, followed by millions of dollars going into TV ads and super PACs.

Filings posted online by the Federal Election Commission before Monday night's deadline showed Mehmet Oz  best-known as daytime TV's host of "the Dr. Oz Show"  loaned himself $5.2 million. He already spent nearly all of it in his quest for the Republican nomination.

Meanwhile, a super PAC supporting a Republican rival of Oz's, former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, is tapping into the world of finance for cash. That included $5 million from conservative billionaire donor Ken Griffin, CEO and founder of Chicago-based Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund, and founder of financial services giant Citadel Securities.

Because McCormick entered the race in January, he did not have to file a year-end campaign finance report.

In the Democratic primary race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman kept a strong cash advantage  $5.3 million to $3 million  over his nearest rival, Conor Lamb, a third-term congressman from suburban Pittsburgh.

Fetterman raised $2.7 million in the last three months of 2021, but spent more than half of it, while Lamb raised $1.3 million and spent a little less than half, according to the filings.

Three other rivals in each party's primary each raised in the six-figures in the last quarter of 2021. The primary election is May 17.

The race for the seat being vacated by two-term Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania is expected to be one of the nation's premier Senate contests this year.

McCormick, who grew up in Pennsylvania and spent a decade of his adult life in Pittsburgh, has lived in Connecticut the past 12 years, where he helped run one of the world's largest hedge funds, Bridgewater Associates.

Oz has lived in New Jersey the past two decades after going to medical school in Philadelphia.

Oz apparently views McCormick as his primary rival for the Republican nomination.

Oz, a heart surgeon, has traded on his status as perhaps TV's best-known doctor to portray himself as in a better position to deal with questions about the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I'm running for Senate because Washington got COVID wrong," he said in an introductory TV ad.

But Oz and his super PAC have steadily attacked McCormick in a series of TV ads that attempt to paint McCormick as a creature of Wall Street, an outsourcer and soft on China because of his hedge fund's portfolio that catered to Chinese investors investing in China.

McCormick, in his TV ads, has adopted the slogan "battle-tested, Pennsylvania true" and focused on burnishing his Pennsylvania ties.

A couple ads focus on McCormick's growing up in Bloomsburg, his service in the Gulf War and fighting for "American capitalism, not socialism," as he puts it in one ad.

In another, he says, "I was born here, and I'll die here." Perhaps as a nod to Oz's attacks, McCormick in that same ad says "Like Trump, I've dealt with China and will never back down," a reference to McCormick's service as a high-level Treasury Department official in the administration of former President George W. Bush.

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SCRANTON  A new, intensive state program aims to help former inmates stay out of prison by giving them access to loans, educational programs and drug and alcohol treatment, state officials said Tuesday.

The court-supervised STRIVE, or State Transition Reentry Incentive Validating Endeavors, program will serve former inmates in northeastern Pennsylvania by connecting them to a bank, a community college and a behavioral health provider, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections said in announcing the pilot program, which had its first meeting last week.

The period following incarceration can be daunting for reentrants, particularly if they lack support, Kelly Evans, deputy secretary for reentry at the Corrections Department, said in a written statement. By helping put them on a path to success, the STRIVE partners are not only reducing the risk of recidivism, but also strengthening local communities.

The program is modeled on an existing federal court initiative for central and northeastern Pennsylvania inmates leaving the U.S. prison system. The same private institutions that participate in the federal CARES Program will be involved in the new state program.

ESSA Bank & Trust, a Stroudsburg-based community bank, will offer money-management classes and loans of up to $15,000 to be used for housing, transportation or education. Additionally, Northampton Community College will provide English language-learner, adult basic education, GED and college-level classes, and Pyramid Healthcare Inc., behavioral health services.

Officials said the program is focused on the Lackawanna County area for now, but has the potential to launch statewide.

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An energy company already charged with violating Pennsylvania environmental laws during construction of a multibillion-dollar pipeline system is facing more legal trouble after prosecutors filed a new criminal case alleging its negligence led to the explosion of a different pipeline near Pittsburgh.

ETC Northeast Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Energy Transfer LP, botched construction of the Revolution pipeline, a 42-mile pipeline that runs from Butler County to a natural gas processing plant in Washington County, the attorney general's office alleged Tuesday. The company was charged with nine misdemeanor counts under the state's Clean Streams Law.

A 2018 landslide along the pipeline's route in Beaver County triggered a gas explosion and fire that destroyed a home, a barn and several cars, collapsed six high-voltage transmission towers, and prompted an evacuation. The family whose home was destroyed awakened to a loud roar and saw an "orange glow bright as day" but managed to escape, a grand jury wrote in a report issued Tuesday.

The pipeline failed just two weeks after being placed into service. An investigation found the landslide was triggered by ETC's failure to install adequate erosion control equipment at the hillside site.

The "explosion happened because of Energy Transfer's negligence as they built the Revolution pipeline," Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a written statement.

Energy Transfer said it looks forward to resolving the case. A conviction could result in fines and restitution.

The charges "come as no surprise to us, as these are not new or additional claims," said a company spokesperson, Vicki Granado. She said Energy Transfer has been discussing the case with Shapiro's office "and will continue to work with them and look forward to getting these issues resolved."

The state Department of Environmental Protection previously levied a $30 million civil fine on Energy Transfer after determining the company violated numerous regulations during construction of the Revolution pipeline.

The financial penalty was part of a 2020 settlement agreement between the environmental agency and ETC in which the state agreed to lift a moratorium on construction permits it had imposed on Energy Transfer nearly a year earlier.

That allowed the company to resume construction on its much larger Mariner East pipeline network, which takes natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale gas field in western Pennsylvania to an export terminal near Philadelphia.

In October, Shapiro filed 48 criminal counts against Energy Transfer, accusing the company of illegally releasing industrial waste at 22 sites in 11 counties during construction of Mariner East. Shapiro said Energy Transfer ruined the drinking water of at least 150 families statewide. A spill of thousands of gallons of drilling fluid contaminated wetlands, a stream and part of a 535-acre lake at Marsh Creek State Park outside Philadelphia.

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This was supposed to be redistricting week in the Missouri Senate, but things didnt turn out quite as planned. Last week, the House of Representatives approved a new map of Missouris eight congressional districts, based on the latest U.S. Census data. Tuesday, the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting took up the House bill and heard testimony from citizens and groups for more than three hours. As a member of the redistricting committee, I was struck by how little of the testimony had anything to do with our constitutional obligation to draw districts that were nearly equal in population, compact and contiguous.

Witness after witness told us we needed to send more conservatives to Washington, D.C. As a conservative, I certainly share this desire, but that is not the committees job. I was especially taken back by witnesses who wanted to make the redistricting map a pro-life litmus test. I have a nine-year voting record that proves Im pro-life, but thats not what redistricting is about. Redistricting is about representation, and its supposed to be nonpartisan.

Nearly all of the testimony we heard was focused on gerrymandering, not providing proper district boundaries to fit the constitutional obligation that we took an oath to uphold. Not bearing false witness against your neighbor, is as relevant today as it was when it was written. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Yes, that is an important one as well. So, I took great offense to political folks coming into the committee room and questioning the pro-life beliefs of members of the House of Representatives who voted for the map. As a Christian, I take the ENTIRE Bible into account. It is, and will remain, my compass.

Honestly, in southeast Missouri, this debate wont have much effect. Every resident of my state senatorial district is also a member of the Missouris Eighth Congressional District, and that wont change under any of the maps being discussed. A number of senators from urban and suburban areas have more at stake, however, and their concerns led to a lengthy filibuster that brought progress on redistricting to a halt. Well take the bill up again next week, and Im confident well get it done. We have to finish before candidates start filing for office in February.

While all that was going on, I introduced a bill Im really excited about. As chair of the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, one of the things that concerns me is the number of homeless teens in Missouri, many of them living on the streets or in make-shift encampments. On days like weve had lately, when the temperatures have been so frigid, people living outdoors die. Thats inhumane, and we need to do something to help.

Ive started researching what other states are doing about homelessness, what works and what doesnt work. Some years back, they thought the solution was to provide permanent housing for homeless people, but that has not been successful. Homelessness continues to grow. Just giving somebody a house doesnt solve the root problems. One UCLA study I read showed that 75% of homeless people have a serious mental illness. Likewise, the study found three-quarters of them also have substance use issues. Theres growing evidence that the best approach to addressing homelessness is to provide temporary housing that is tied to mental health and addiction recovery services.

This week, I filed Senate Bill 1106, legislation that envisions just that: facilities where homeless people can escape their current situation, get healthy and start on a path toward self-sufficiency. My legislation may not cross the finish line this year, but I hope I can start a conversation about homelessness in Missouri. Through the committee hearing process, well bring in experts and those with more experience on this issue and come up with solutions that work.

On a more immediate horizon, next week my Senate Bill 691 is on deck in the Senate Education Committee. This legislation requires a background check for adults who attend public school classes alongside regular high school students. I first learned about this issue when a teacher in one of the technical programs at a high school in my district informed me that an adult with a criminal record was enrolled in one of his classes, and was sitting alongside 16-year-old students. We require a criminal background check for anyone who volunteers at our schools, and I think we should know if there are potentially dangerous students in the classroom, as well. This bill is not to prevent folks from getting a second chance, but to move them to a more appropriate time slot for their technical class. They should attend class with other adults only, not next to our children while they are in their normal classroom setting. We almost got this bill across the line last year, but we ran out of time. Im hopeful we can get it passed this session.

I always appreciate hearing your comments, opinions and concerns. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-2459. You may write me at Holly Thompson Rehder, Missouri Senate, State Capitol, Rm 433, Jefferson City, MO 65101, send an email to Holly.Rehder@senate.mo.gov or visit www.senate.mo.gov/Rehder.

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The right to life is one of the most sacred rights we have. Last week, our nation marked the 49th anniversary of the fateful day that the Supreme Court made its devastating decision on Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion throughout our country. That decision has resulted in the loss of more than 60 million innocent lives to date. Each and every one of these aborted lives was denied the opportunity to make their unique mark on this world. How many future Presidents will we never know? How many doctors, and future leaders never had a chance?

As a person of faith, protecting the unborn is something I will never stop fighting for. No matter the politics of the day, I will always stand up for life. I was encouraged when I spoke with over a hundred Missourians who had made the trek to our nations capital last week to make their voices heard. So many of them were young, which encouraged me that the fight to protect life will continue across generations.

This year, those trying to protect life are hopeful that the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade will be the last. The Supreme Court has heard a key case, and a decision is expected later this year, that could give states like Missouri new freedoms to protect the unborn.

Knowing that a potential change in law is on the horizon, it becomes even more important for those of us who choose to protect life to remember that a change of hearts, not merely a change of law, must be the goal of the pro-life movement. Abortion is ultimately a question of the heart, a question of recognizing the beauty of each human life.

One person who I think changes a lot of minds is Gianna Jessen, a pro-life advocate that I met in Cuba, Missouri. Gianna survived her planned abortion, and despite facing uphill battles from that experience, she is now a passionate advocate for the unborn, sharing her personal experience in an effort to affect those hearts. She has told me, God has a way of making the most miserable things beautiful.

Because of how strongly I feel about defending the right to life, I have introduced legislation that protects and promotes the sanctity of life. On January 25, I was proud to introduce the Child Tax Credit for Pregnant Moms Act. This legislation would make pregnant mothers eligible to claim the child tax credit while their baby is still in the womb. Motherhood isnt an experience that begins with the birth of a child  mothers begin investing in their childrens health and well-being long before they take their first breath. I believe our tax code should recognize this reality.

Additionally, Ive authored the No Abortion Bonds Act, a bill that would close a loophole that allows pro-abortion organizations to utilize tax-exempt bonds to finance abortion provider offices and clinics. This is undoubtedly an exploitation of taxpayer dollars in support of abortion.

I am also incredibly proud to be a co-author of a very important bill, the Born Alive Abortion Survivor Protection Act, which would protect babies who survive an abortion procedure by ensuring that the baby receives immediate medical care and is admitted to a hospital. This bill will save the lives of defenseless infants who cannot defend themselves.

For years, there has been bipartisan agreement that whatever ones views on abortion, taxpayers who disagree with abortion shouldnt be forced to fund it with their tax dollars. But Joe Biden and radical Washington Democrats have proposed changing this longstanding agreement by trying to remove that provision, known as the Hyde Amendment from our annual spending bills. This is unconscionable, and something I will fight against as hard as I possibly can.

Every single human life has such profound value, meaning, and purpose beyond anything we can imagine. No matter what, I will be steadfastly working in Congress to protect the unborn and ensure Missourians values are protected.

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Dear Friends,

As members of the Missouri House, we have approved legislation that renews key programs designed to support and promote agriculture in the state. With bipartisan support, the House approved HB 1720 to continue several agriculture programs that are priorities for the agriculture community in Missouri.

Agriculture is the number one revenue-producing industry in the state, generating almost $94 billion in economic contributions. One in ten jobs in the state of Missouri are directly related to the agriculture industry.

The bill will extend existing credits available under the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority. These credits have supported projects in 103 counties and have generated direct and indirect benefits of more than $260 million since 2000.

Under the bill, the New Generation Cooperative Tax Incentive, which expired Dec. 31, 2021, would be extended until Dec. 31, 2028. The incentive exists to induce producer member investment into new generation processing entities that will process Missouri agricultural commodities and agricultural products into value-added goods, provide substantial benefits to Missouris agricultural producers, and create jobs for Missourians. The program produces a return on investment of $5.66 per dollar invested.

The Meat Processing Facility Investment Tax Credit will also be extended to Dec. 31, 2028, under the bill. The program was originally created to stimulate investment in the meat processing industry in Missouri and enable the livestock industry to capture more value in the form of processed meat products. The program has produced a return on investment of $5.77 per dollar invested.

Additionally, the bill extends the Agricultural Product Utilization Contributor Tax Credit until Dec. 31, 2028. The program provides tax credits to induce contributions for financial or technical assistance to rural agricultural business concepts.

HB 1720 also expands the Family Farm Livestock Loan Program so more Missouri farmers will qualify. The program is currently limited to farmers with less than $250,000 in gross sales per year. The bill will double that amount to allow farmers with less than $500,000 in gross sales to qualify. The bill will also double the maximum amount of the loan for each type of livestock. The loan program has a return on investment of $7.85 per dollar invested.

The bill creates the Ethanol Retailers Incentive to provide a tax credit to retail dealers selling higher ethanol blends at the dealers service station, as well as a biodiesel tax credit for retail dealers selling a biodiesel blend and a credit for Missouri biodiesel producers. Missouri ranks in the top third of states for biodiesel consumption. The credits go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

HB 1720 also expands the Wood Energy Tax Credit until June 30, 2028, and consolidates all regulations dealing with anhydrous ammonia into the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which will reduce regulations on retailers of the substance that is the foundation for all nitrogen fertilizers.

Finally, the bill ensures the soybean producers assessment, also known as the soybean checkoff, continues at the state level even if the program is discontinued statewide. Soybean producers participate in the checkoff by contributing at a rate of 0.5 percent of the market price per bushel. Dollars are then invested in a multitude of projects designed to strengthen the soybean industry.

As one supporter of the bill said, The question was brought up on who exactly would benefit from this bill and I have narrowed it down, and it will only benefit the people who drive or eat.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

HB 2162 enhances opioid addiction treatment and prevention services

We voted in the Missouri House to give initial approval to legislation that gives the General Assembly greater flexibility when appropriating funds to fight opioid addiction. The bill, in anticipation of a settlement with opioid distributors, is designed to allow lawmakers to allocate funds to programs that provide resources to victims of addiction.

In July the Missouri Attorney General announced the state had reached a settlement with Johnson & Johnson and multiple opioid distributors. If all municipalities in Missouri sign onto the proposed settlement, the state will receive just over half a billion dollars. These funds would be used for addiction treatment, recovery, and intervention programs throughout the state.

The legislation modifies the Opioid Addiction Treatment and Recovery Fund so the legislature can allocate funds to all of the state departments and agencies that play a role in providing addiction treatment. Currently, the General Assembly has the authority to appropriate funds to the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Department of Social Services and adds to that list the Department of Corrections, the Judiciary, and the Office of Administration.

The bill gives the legislature the authority to request and appropriate funds if there is a need for them, and encourages collaboration among departments in state government in order to make sure the funds are used to combat the ill effects and the consequences of opioid misuse.

In 2020, 1,842 people in Missouri lost their lives to drug overdoses. The majority (73 percent) of the drug overdose deaths involved opioids. The bill received strong bipartisan support in the House and requires an additional vote before moving to the Senate.

The Bipartisan Citizens Commission files final House redistricting plan

The House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission recently approved a final state redistricting plan. The final plan, which was approved unanimously by all 20 commission members, is the first plan approved by a House Commission since 1991.

The final redistricting plan has an overall difference in population of 5.8 percent between its largest and smallest districts. The commission has posted the final plan for public viewing that can be accessed from the Redistricting Offices website at https://oa.mo.gov/budget-planning/redistricting-office. The page will include an interactive map as well as the official filing documents submitted to the Secretary of State, and other supplemental maps and tables.

The commission was formed for the purpose of redistricting the 163 districts in the Missouri House of Representatives. It held public hearings throughout Missouri last fall. The commission had until Jan. 23, 2022, to finalize its plans.

The Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission failed to submit a tentative plan to the Secretary of States office by the Dec. 23, 2021 deadline. Per the Missouri Constitution, the Missouri Senate will now be redistricted by a new commission of six members appointed from among the judges of the appellate courts by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Representative Mike Henderson and I appreciated talking with Bill Henson and John Kramer and discussing the priorities they would like to see for all veterans. Our district is fortunate to have veterans like Bill and John doing what they can for those who have served our country.

Wednesday was Advocacy Day at the State Capitol for awareness of sheltered workshops. Managers throughout the state were at the Capitol to promote the success and the continued need to keep sheltered workshops as a viable part of local communities.

Sheltered workshops are a win for those with disabilities; enabling them to be a productive member of their community and a win for the businesses who benefit from the work that is done for them. My thanks to all managers who devote their time to making a better place for all!

An official website of the United States government  COVIDtests.gov  offers free at-home COVID-19 tests

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order #4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. Order your tests now so you have them when you need them.

Click on this link to place your order: Order Free At-Home Tests

Any questions you may have on any state matters or to voice your opinion on any legislation that is being heard, please contact my office via email or by phone at 573-751-3455

My best to all of you!

Rep. Dale Wright

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Earlier this week, many area residents began buying extra groceries, sidewalk salt and shovels in anticipation of the forecasted dump of rain, ice and snow.

On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Mike Parson signed Executive Order 22-02 declaring a State of Emergency in Missouri and activating the Missouri National Guard in preparation for the severe winter storm forecasted to affect most of the state over the next two days, including significant accumulations of snow, sleet, and ice Wednesday morning into Thursday.

Area superintendents were already discussing plans Tuesday regarding the rest of the week. North County R-1 Superintendent Katie Bockman said its usually a wait-and-see, but the MAAA superintendents keep in touch with their thoughts and they keep an eye on the afternoon forecasts.

We cover 144 square miles with our buses, traveling into Washington, Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve counties, she said. We know some might think we call off too often, but we not only consider the rural bus routes, we have to consider the high school kids who drive themselves to school. We tend to not want to take chances.

North County and other districts were beginning to make the calls to cancel Wednesday school early Tuesday evening, shortly after the governor declared the state of emergency, which expires March 1.

"Severe winter weather isn't something we are strangers to here in the State of Missouri, but we must be prepared for the worst," Gov. Parson said. "By signing this order, we enable our emergency management professionals to have every tool and resource available to aid Missourians, protect lives, and respond to this winter storm.

"We encourage all Missourians to be vigilant and take precautions to avoid hazardous road conditions and keep themselves and their families safe."

The governor has cancelled his planned travel on Wednesday and Thursday, while keeping his travel schedule intact on Friday.

Executive Order 22-02 activates the State Emergency Operations Plan, which allows state agencies to help local jurisdictions with emergency preparation and response. Anticipating travel disruptions, members of the Missouri National Guard are activated to be positioned around the state and help the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) with stranded motorists if the need arises.

The MSHP Troop C spokesman, Cpl. Dallas Thompson, said the patrol will be on high alert and in full force for extra accidents. Like Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) salt trucks, theyll be covering the roads and highways the best they can in any adverse conditions.

We are adjusting our manpower allocations throughout Troop C, which covers St. Francois, Washington and Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Jefferson County, all the way up north, Thompson said. We're kind of moving our manpower around to accommodate coverage. We're going to be employing 12-hour shifts, providing 24-hour coverage so we can have every available trooper out on roadways and available to respond to accidents and issues.

Thompson said if the snow levels sour road conditions as weather forecasters predict, schools calling snow days will help diminish the chance for accidents, as will anyone who can work from home.

If they have to go to work, they need to remember the roads are probably going to be snow-covered. MoDOTs going to be doing the best they can to get them cleared, but they're not going to be able to clear them totally. So they need to adjust their travel time, if it takes you normally an hour to get somewhere, give yourself two hours. And if you show up an hour early, thats great, at least you show up. Slow down, watch the hills and bridges that can have slick spots or if it's totally covered, just slow down and drive safely.

Thompson said if one does slide into the ditch or have an accident, they need to stay in their car, call *55 and 911, and leave the car running to stay warm.

Do NOT get out of the car, because if you slid into a ditch, its possible someone else might slide as well, and you stand a better chance of surviving being hit by staying IN the car, rather than standing outside it, Thompson said.

Thompson reiterated, its best to give MoDOT crews a chance to work and to stay off the roads if it can be helped.

Current road conditions throughout Missouri can always be checked on the Traveler Information Map at www.modot.org, or through MoDOTs smartphone app, available for iPhone and Android phones. MoDOT also gives updates on Facebook and Twitter, or people can call 888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) to speak with a customer service representative 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

MoDOT Southeast District Engineer Chris Crocker said crews will have been out from 11 p.m. Tuesday night and on into the rest of the weather event, monitoring conditions.

I was told by our supervisor that hell have crews out around the clock, beginning Tuesday night when theyre monitoring for when the rain begins to ice up, he said. Because of the rain, theres no pre-treating that can be done. Well salt and cinder the secondary routes, add in calcium chloride with a salt brine mix on US 67 and the more major routes. If the ice is bad, the crews put chains on their tires to keep traction.

Also chaining their tires if the roads get especially icy will be area tow truck operators like Kevin Bess, who owns Marler Towing in Farmington.

With this ice coming in, we're getting chains out and stuff, because if, say, a MoDOT salt truck or a fire truck or ambulance gets stuck in a ditch, weve got to get them out quick, Bess said. So we got chains on our wreckers for big trucks.

And as big and powerful as the wreckers are, well, Bess admitted, tow trucks can also have their own challenges if the weather conditions are severe enough.

The problem with ice is, it's dangerous for us and the officers responding to accidents. Give you a for-instance, we were in Desloge on 67, and that storm (in which local roads turned to black ice in a matter of hours) and I was picking up a car. And a Desloge officer was sitting on the bridge directing traffic, but the traffic was having a hard time slowing and stopping, he said.

Ice is a disaster. It's cold and it's nasty and it's brutal, but we don't have a choice, we have to go out there and keep people moving, especially the first responders. We try to rotate guys, to keep them fresh, let some guys go and sleep -- because it don't stop, he said. Theres good and bad in everything, but Id just as soon it never snowed or iced. Its dangerous for everyone involved.

Sarah Haas is the assistant editor for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at 573-518-3617 or at shaas@dailyjournalonline.com.

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By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

First Deputy Defence Minister Col-Gen Karim Valiyev has praised young Azerbaijani soldiers and officers for their highly professional and reliable protection of the country, the Defence Ministry reported on February 2.

He made the remarks during the event on the occasion of February 2 - Youth Day, which was organized at the Training and Education Center of the Azerbaijani Army.

"Our young people serving in the military, as a leading force in society, are deeply aware of their sacred duty to the motherland and the people. Thanks to the high professionalism of our officers and soldiers serving in trench and combat positions, the territory, sea and airspace of our country are reliably protected, Valiyev stressed.

He stated that the Azerbaijani youth are proud to serve in the army and fulfill all the tasks with dignity.

Valiyev noted that the Azerbaijani president pays great attention to improving the knowledge and skills of young people, their patriotic education, education abroad, as well as the formation and development of youth organizations.

"The preparation of young people for military service, their intellectual, physical and moral education on the basis of national and moral values is always in the focus of our President. It was the love of the homeland that prompted the Azerbaijani youth to join the battles for the liberation of our lands and the restoration of the territorial integrity of our country, Valiyev underlined.

The deputy defence chief said that the state youth policy, founded by national leader Heydar Aliyev, has left a deep mark on the development of Azerbaijani youth, and this policy is being successfully pursued by President Ilham Aliyev.

Furthermore, the memory of national leader Heydar Aliyev and the martyrs was commemorated. Valiyev conveyed Defence Minister Zakir Hasanovs greetings and congratulations to the participants, wishing them new achievements in their services.

The personnel of the Baku Garrison military units, as well as members of the families of martyrs and war veterans, attended the event.
Demolition of the old County Mart grocery store building has been underway this year in Downtown Park Hills.

City workers have been hard at work clearing the buildings interior and hauling out its contents in preparation for the demolition of the city-owned structure.

The city agreed to purchase the property in June 2020 for $100,000, making annual $25,000 payments for four years. The city council plans to clear the parcel of the deteriorating building and potentially use the space during future community events.

The building has been vacant since 2007 when the business relocated into its present-day location on the adjacent property and was rebranded as Country Mart. The store was rebranded again in 2020 after the grocery store chain was acquired by Harps Food Stores.

City Administrator Mark McFarland explained that demolition efforts began after a Cape Girardeau company completed asbestos abatement. The city paid $26,000 for the asbestos abatement services.

After the asbestos was removed, McFarland said the Missouri Department of Natural Resources had to reinspect the building for any loose asbestos before the demolition could proceed.

The 23,547 square foot building was constructed in 1970, and original owner William Bill Dugal opened Dugals Big Star at the location. The business would later become a Piggly Wiggly brand grocery store in 1990.

A year later, in November 1991, the supermarket opened for business as County Mart. The grocery store featured a deli, bakery, and video department at the time. The first store manager was Joe Pogue, who cut the ceremonial ribbon at the stores grand opening.

Throughout its many years, the store served the community in many ways. It was a convenient place to get everything from food items, household necessities, and even movie rentals. Patrons could sit and enjoy coffee or meals in the deli area. Area residents could also pay their utility bills at the store.

The business hosted multiple fundraising efforts for school trips and Project Graduations over the years. Students would often collect donations at the entrance or bag groceries for tips in hopes of raising money for their causes.

With no new tenants since the mid-2000s, the building fell into a state of disrepair after sitting vacant for more than a decade. City officials have been making steady efforts to beautify the Downtown area and address derelict properties, leading to the decision of tearing down the County Mart building so the property could be better utilized in serving the community.

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com

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A group of parents of students with disabilities, including two parents from Albemarle County, filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday against Gov. Glenn Youngkin, alleging his executive order allowing masks to be optional for schoolchildren violates the Americans With Disabilities Act and other federal law.

This is the third lawsuit filed against Youngkin and state officials since he issued the executive order on Jan. 15, the day he was sworn in.

The children of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit have illnesses like cancer, cystic fibrosis, asthma, Down syndrome, lung conditions, and weakened immune systems. Because of that, the parents allege that Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares and other officials are excluding their children from access to a public education.

The Executive Order shows a reckless disregard for students with disabilities across Virginia, said Kaitlin Banner, the deputy legal director of the Washington Lawyers Committee said in a news release. The Order prevents schools from taking reasonable steps to make sure their students can go to school and enjoy the same educational experiences as their friends.

The lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit are two Albemarle parents, Christopher Seaman and Elizabeth Allison Lyons, who have a third-grader at Brownsville Elementary, identified as C.S. The boy has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to the filing. Treatments for leukemia, including a bone marrow transplant, have left him immunocompromised. Because of his disability, hes at risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

They joined 11 other families in challenging the order.

If there is no longer a mask mandate in Albemarle County School District, C.S.s parents will have to choose between sending C.S. and his younger brother to school, which puts C.S.s health and safety at heightened risk, or withdrawing them from school and risking their educational progress, attorneys wrote in the complaint.

The Albemarle County School Board has elected to keep its mask mandate in place, citing state law that requires the division to offer in-person instruction in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.

Lyons spoke at a recent Albemarle School Board meeting in support of that stance along with several other parents.

I really want to express appreciation for how much Brownsville has done for him to keep him safe over the past three years and keep his brother safe in order to not transmit COVID to him prior to going through his bone marrow transplant, she said at the Jan. 27 meeting.  If we change our policies without thinking about it ahead of time, we could actually provide inequitable care to our students and shortchange them.

The first lawsuit against Youngkins mask order was filed in the Supreme Court of Virginia three days after he was sworn in. A group of Chesapeake parents allege Youngkin doesnt have the power to suspend a 2021 state law that requires schools to adhere to federal COVID-19 mitigation guidance as closely as possible; that guidance currently recommends masking.

And then a week ago, seven school boards, including Richmond, filed a lawsuit against Youngkin in Arlington County Circuit Court. Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for Wednesday, also arguing that the state Constitution gives local school boardsnot the governorthe power to determine school safety rules.

Youngkin and Miyares assert that a different state law gives parents rights to make decisions about their childrens education and health.

The order divided school divisions across the state. Some opted to make masks for children optional, as the governors order directs. Others opted to keep their rules requiring masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Chesterfield Countys school board, for example, voted last week to make masks optional, prompting some parents to keep their children home and some teachers to call in sick. In the capital region, masks are also now optional in Hanover County schools, but required in Richmond and Henrico schools.

Daily Progress reporter Katherine Knott contributed to this report.
Bumps along the campaign trail during a trip to Texas last week have not derailed Kimberly Lowes Republican bid for U.S. Congress in Virginias Ninth District, she said this week.

Im getting attacks from the left and the right, said Lowe, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. So I must be doing something right.

Accusations of assault arose last Friday surrounding a scuffle involving Lowe and officials at the National Butterfly Center, a wildlife sanctuary located on the United States southern border in Mission, Texas. The center has been a focus of right wing-based conspiracy theories, one claiming the center is involved in sex trafficking.

Video of the altercation previously available on Lowes campaign social media was removed due to a police investigation which has since cleared her of wrongdoing, she said. Police in Texas did not respond to requests for an account of what happened at the sanctuary.

Im getting death threats and everything else from this crazy stuff, Lowe said. Press from everywhere has been contacting me.

The resulting coverage in local and national media caused Lowe to be excluded from the We Stand America rally, a border security event that she drove from Virginia to attend with her children.

They removed me from the event because of what I had done, Lowe said. Whats cool is that shows I was making waves. Im such a danger, because I was exposing the truth of whats happening.

The event website said illegals are beholden to their Marxist overlords, and advertised among its speakers was former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to making false statements to the FBI (and was later pardoned by then-President Donald Trump), and the rock n roll 2020 Republican candidate for president, Ted Nugent.

Its obviously a political attack, Lowe said of the Butterfly Center happenings. Thats just smoke and mirrors to detract from whats really happening at the border.

Meanwhile, the Butterfly Center closed over the weekend for what it said were credible threats from the United We Stand rally.

As for her rejection from the three-day border security rally, Lowe said: It tells me that those people are there for themselves, and not to save the country. Theyre just there for their power, and theyre not there for the right reasons.

She said people coming to cross the United States southern border represent a humanitarian problem that should receive bipartisan support.

Its not a safe journey, Lowe said. Its not humanitarian in any way, shape or form.

She said it is easier for people to cross into the United States illegally than it is for them to enter through legal methods.

Its just allowing anybody to come into the country, Lowe said. There has to be better immigration laws.

Lowe is running against Griffith in a race to be decided in a June primary. Griffith seeks his seventh term in Washington.

Through 2021, Griffiths campaign fundraised about $278,000, whereas Lowe raised about $28,000, according to data made available Tuesday from the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Stay off the roads if possible. TxDOTs Drive Texas map https://drivetexas.org/#/11/32.9548/-96.8491?future=false is a color-coded map that shows the conditions of major roadways. Bookmark it and view it before driving anywhere.

Emergencies can happen at moments notice. Being informed and in the know can be the difference between safety and disaster.

The City of Dallas developed the DallasAlert program to enhance the emergency notification system. DallasAlert allows for additional communication options including cell phone and email. Public safety officials will send alerts about emergencies such as severe flooding, chemical emergencies, or a pandemic. Emergency alerts will be sent 24 hours a day based on severity.

This is an OPT IN system. The DallasAlert system will only send messages if you sign up and will only use your information in case of emergency.

Power Outages

Customers can report outages and receive updates by registering for MyOncor text alerts by texting REG to 66267, downloading the MyOncor App and following Oncor on Facebook and Twitter, or by calling 888.313.4747. Safety is our priority; if you see a downed power line, stay away, keep people away and call 911 immediately

Parkland Hospital COVID-19 Testing Sites

Parkland Health is taking proactive action to ensure the highest level of safety and minimize risk to patients, staff, and visitors by announcing all Parkland clinics and the COVID-19 testing center at Amelia Court Clinic, 1936 Amelia Court, Dallas, 75235 will be closed on Thursday, Feb. 24.



Parkland clinics that will be closed include:

 Community Oriented Primary Care health centers (COPCs)

 Acute Response Clinics (ARCs)

 Women's Health Centers

 Youth & Family clinics

 Moody Outpatient Clinics

 Hospital-based outpatient specialty clinics

 Ron J. Anderson, MD Clinics

 Homeless outreach locations (HOMES)

 Comprehensive Breast Center

 Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic



Temporary Inclement Weather Shelters (TIWS)

The Office of Homeless Solutions will activate the opening of TIWS Wednesday through Thursday, Feb. 23 and 24, 2022 in the City of Dallas based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric forecast, in accordance with Chapter 45 of the City Code. Applicants wishing to offer Temporary Inclement Weather Shelter can watch the training on how here. Individuals experiencing homelessness are encouraged to seek shelter at any one of the City's existing, overnight shelter provider locations. If those shelters are at capacity, guests can seek shelter at one of two, temporary inclement weather shelters  Oak Lawn United Methodist Church (UMC) and OurCalling.Oak Lawn UMC is located at 3014 Oak Lawn Avenue (Council District 14) and OurCalling is located at 1702 S. Cesar Chavez Blvd. (Council District 2). Intake hours at Oak Lawn UMC are 5 to 9 p.m. OurCalling is accepting residents throughout the night.



Dallas Water Utilities

Inclement weather could result in individual residential water line breaks or city-wide issues related from power outages or water main breaks. Dallas Water Utilities' water quality is excellent and the system is stable. However, should an issue arise that necessitates water service disruption, be prepared. The following steps are recommended as a precaution: Fill pots on the stove with water for cooking.

Fill a couple of buckets with water for washing.

Fill potable water containers for drinking. Assume about one gallon of drinking water per person and animal per day.

In the event a pipe bursts or a main breaks, please call 3-1-1. If you dont know where your private shut-off valve is, visit bit.ly/3rxGQnf for tips where it might be. Sanitation Thursday and Friday recycling and garbage collections may be delayed due to unsafe weather and street conditions. Sanitation is closely monitoring conditions, and our crews will begin collections as soon as it is safe to do so. Please continue to follow your normal set out schedule. You may leave your roll carts at their usual collection point until serviced. Brush and bulky item collection for 3rd Monday Week areas is still running on schedule at this time.



Cold Weather Tips

Due to below-freezing temperatures, frozen pipes are a significant concern. Common signs of frozen pipes: little or no water from one or more faucets; or a pipe has frost on it or feels exceptionally cold. Tips on what to do from American Red Cross: http://rdcrss.org/3psBsiK



If you have no water at all, the main water supply line in your home may be frozen. Much of the damage from frozen pipes occurs after they thaw, since burst pipes can flood inside your home. You may need to turn off the water to your home. If you dont know where your private shut-off valve is, visit bit.ly/3rxGQnf for tips where it might be.



If you cant find it, DWU can shut water off at your meter. Use the OurDallas mobile app, call (214) 651-1441 or contact 311. As a reminder, everything from the meter to the home is private plumbing, which is the responsibility of the homeowner. DWU is responsible for the water meter and everything on the street side of the meter.

Heat your Home Safely To reduce the risk of heating-related fires, the Red Cross recommends these steps:

All heaters need space. Keep children, pets and things that can burn (paper, matches, bedding, furniture, clothing, carpets, and rugs) at least three feet away from heating equipment. If you must use a space heater, place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface (such as ceramic tile floor), not on rugs, carpets or near bedding or drapes. Plug power cords directly into outlets - never into an extension cord. Never leave a fire in the fireplace unattended, and use a glass or metal fire screen to keep fire and embers in the fireplace. Never use a cooking range or oven to heat your home. Turn off portable space heaters every time you leave the room or go to sleep.

Staying Safe During Winter Weather

Wear layers of clothing, a hat, mittens and waterproof, insulated boots. Be careful when tackling strenuous tasks like shoveling snow in cold temperatures. Check on your neighbors, especially elderly people living alone, people with disabilities and children. Bring pets indoors. If they can't come inside, make sure they have enough shelter to keep them warm and that they can get to unfrozen water. Watch for hypothermia and frostbite. Hypothermia symptoms include confusion, dizziness, exhaustion, and severe shivering. Frostbite symptoms include numbness, flushed gray, white, blue or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, or waxy feeling skin.
After nearly two years preparing, Benton County commissioners are now locked into a tight timeline to build the new justice center of their dreams. There was no sugar-coating that fact at the Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Weve reached a point where it can no longer be business as usual, said Nick Kurth, Justice System Improvements Program project manager. He presented a timeline with several entries in red to indicate those steps are behind schedule.

The milestones to hit, which are predicated on previous steps in most cases, include securing new courthouse funding agreement by month's end, already-late crisis center construction, hiring a market strategist and a communication coordinator in March, requesting design consultant proposals in April, public polling in May and public engagement in June.

I want to highlight that a year from now  and I mean literally a year from now  we are done, Kurth said. Thats a very finite timeline.

The Board of Commissioners chose the site for a new courthouse, jail and center for the sheriffs office and emergency operations, on Jan. 21, unanimously voting on the McFadden Ranch property on Second Street near HP Inc. over one on Reservoir Road near the Benton County Fairgrounds and the Grand Oaks neighborhood.

Given the tight deadlines, one delay in one of the steps could have serious, rippling consequences, Kurth said.

He listed off whats at stake for the county: buying an expensive site that might not be used as intended, being stuck with an aging and undersized jail, borrowing challenges from being financially leveraged, losing the opportunity for a bond measure, and millions of dollars out the door on assessments and predesign.

Theres a whole slew of new levies and bonds in line behind us, he said. Were not going to be able to turn around and go back to the voters; we may not ever be able to turn around and go back to the voters.

If a justice improvements bond measure fails, a capital savings plan earmarking $5 million to $10 million a year over 10 to 20 years could be an option, according to Kurth. He said the county would be in a really tough situation if the bond fails.

If we are forced into a situation where we have to have a capital savings plan of the magnitude that would be required, thats going to hit every budget, he said. Were not just going to turn to (the Benton County Sheriffs Office) and say, 'Its your problem.'

The property acquisition could be 20 or 28 acres and could cost an estimated $5.6 million to $7.9 million. County officials have discussed using eminent domain to acquire it. In the predesign phase now, the county expects to open doors at the new facilities between 2025 and 2027.

The overall justice system improvements are expected to run between $106 million and $136 million. County officials are planning a bond measure of up to $100 million to cover most of the project. The bond would cost property owners an estimated 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

So far, the county has $23.25 million in place. The new jail could cost up to $50 million, replacing the 40-bed jail with an estimated 120-bed building and adding rehabilitation programs. Renovating the old courthouse could cost up to $20 million.

The new courthouse is estimated at $35 million, with $20 million in state matching funds already approved. The crisis center is estimated at $6 million to $7 million, with $2.25 million secured. The sheriffs office and emergency operations center is estimated at $15 million to $24 million, with $1 million secured.

We cant afford to lose, Commissioner Pat Malone said, echoing Kurths presentation. Its all on the line.

Cody Mann covers Benton County and the cities of Corvallis and Philomath. He can be contacted at 541-812-6113 or Cody.Mann@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @News_Mann_.

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By Trend

Institutional preparations for applying the "Foster Family" model, including draft legal acts, are underway in Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of Azerbaijan Republic told Trend.

The ministry noted that special attention is paid to the application of Turkey's experience in this area.

To this end, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Azerbaijan's Population, and the Ministry of Family and Social Services of Turkey conduct a regular exchange of best practices. The foster family model provides for the transfer of children left without parental care to foster families as an alternative to living in state institutions, and the creation of relevant conditions for this.

Experience has shown that the family uses an individual approach to children, and unlike traditional children's social institutions, this environment has a more positive impact on children's development and integration into society.
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Mozambiques state-owned telecommunications company Tmcel has begun the second phase of a project to modernize and expand its mobile network across the country.

According to a statement from the telecommunications and Internet service provider in Mozambique, the project, which is scheduled to last until 2023, began in the province of Maputo.

As part of this project, Tmcel will proceed with the installation of new 2G and 3G equipment, as well as the extension of 4G and 4.5G technologies throughout the national territory. The public company also plans to modernize and increase the transmission capacity of the entire fibre optic backbone.

"Born in January 2019 from the merger of the companies Telecomunicacoes de Mocambique (TDM) and Mozambique Cellular (Mcel), Tmcel has ever since multiplied initiatives to develop its network coverage and strengthen its quality of service. The company wants to be the leader in the national market," it said.

According to local media reports, this initiative is part of Tmcel's ambition to conquer the national telecom market.

The company which wants to become the main telecommunications company in Mozambique in the next few years, ahead of Vodacom and Movitel, carried out the first phase of modernization of its network in 2019.

The operation focused on the installation of 4G technology in the cities of Maputo and Matola. An investment that has contributed to the improvement of voice and data services in the areas covered.

For this second phase, Tmcel will rely on the technology and expertise of equipment manufacturer Ericsson, with whom an agreement was signed in November 2020. This agreement has a duration of five years.
Moscow, ID (83843)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. High 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 43F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Moscow, ID (83843)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. High 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 43F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
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The UK branch of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has provided structured financing of AED100 million ($27 million) for a supermarket asset to support investors with their Islamic financing needs in the UK.

This is the fourth supermarket investment transaction that ADIB has financed in the UK in the last 12 months which demonstrates the continued strong demand for prime supermarket property investments given the sector resilience demonstrated during the Covid pandemic.

The transaction supported Urbium Capital Partners (UCP) with their acquisition of a Sainsburys store in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The property comprises an 85,961 sq ft prime food store and a 12 pump petrol filling station occupying a 4.6 acre site, constructed in 2013.

The property is let to Sainsburys Supermarket Limited on a 25-year full repairing and insuring lease with 16.5 years unexpired (no tenant break options) and 5 yearly upwards only open market rent reviews.

The property occupies a highly prominent site offering excellent accessibility and visibility, benefiting from a large and affluent catchment area with a population of 250,000 within 3 miles.

Paul Maisfield, Head of UK Real Estate at ADIB, said: This high-quality asset not only provides long term secure income, but also benefits from all of the attributes of a store capable of performing an omnichannel function, thus future proofed against changes in the sector. We look forward to helping support UCP execute their UK commercial real estate investment strategy targeting well located core assets with good income visibility and strong tenant covenants, with a focus on cash yield.

Suliman Al Aujan, Managing Partner at Urbium Capital Partners, said: The prime subject asset forms part of Sainsburys dynamic omni-channel network and benefits from strong trading fundamentals.

UCP will strive to build a defensive portfolio of assets that target income as the principal driver of attractive risk adjusted returns while looking to achieve capital growth through active management.

According to Savills, the UK supermarket sector saw investment volumes reach circa 1.57 billion in 2021. The CBRE Prime Benchmark Yield for Supermarkets was reduced to 4.0% in December 2020, reflecting the continuing strength of the market. It was improved again to 3.75% in April 2021 and now sits at 3.50% and trending stronger, reflecting the ongoing improvement in demand during 2021 and its impact on pricing.

ADIB has a strong track record in offering bespoke and competitive Sharia-compliant property financing solutions for its clients in the UK. The bank closed over AED1 billion in senior financing transactions in 2021 including AED260 million financing for a major Saudi investor to acquire the PWC HQ in Belfast.

ADIB was recognised as the Best Islamic Bank in the Middle East at the MEA Finance Awards 2020. It was previously named the Worlds Best Islamic Bank by FTs The Banker Magazine.-- TradeArabia News Service
During the January term at the Baptist College of Florida (BCF), BCF Theology Division Chair Richard Elligson typically leads a team of students to assist with church planting efforts somewhere in the state of Florida.

This year, January 8-14, Elligson took students Wilberdo Antoine, Hugo Garcia, Billy Harrison, Hannah Hodge, Maison Fulton, and Cher Moo to Miami, where the team worked with three church planters, two Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCMs), two private Christian schools, and the Florida Baptist Childrens Home (One More Child).

After being hampered by the pandemic for the last few years, it was great to reconnect with our Florida Baptist partners and get back to work, Elligson said in a press release. The teams days were filled with yard work, furniture assembly, painting and more.

Added to that was new church promotion, evangelism, relationship building, and connecting with local college students.

Mixed throughout the schedule were designated teaching times as well as opportunities to share Gods word. After painting a room at one Christian school, the group was invited to return the following morning and lead devotional time for the students. We were given a whole hour where we were in charge, explained BCF Freshman Cher Moo, a Missions major. The teachers were helpful, but it was up to us to fill the time. What a great opportunity we had.

Later, the team was asked to speak with approximately 80 middle-schoolers at another school. That took the form of a round-table discussion with the theme of Making Good Choices.
For 10 years, locals have gathered in small groups to shape bowls out of clay as part of a fundraiser for the Wiregrass Area Food Bank.

Empty Bowls Dothan, started by local potter Lynn Koning, will return this Saturday to the Cultural Arts Center in Dothan. From 10 a.m. to noon, shoppers will have a chance to purchase bowls that have been crafted over the past year by area residents of all ages.

Bowls will sell for $10 each, and each bowl sold will provide the food bank enough money to feed a family of four for one week. There will be 400 bowls for sale.

We try to keep the number at 400, Wiregrass Area Food Bank Assistant Director Julie Gonzalez said. It seems to be our magic number. One year we had 200 bowls and we sold out within the first hour, and then the year we had 500 bowls we only sold half of them. Every time weve made 400 bowls, weve sold every bowl weve had, so were sticking with that number.

Due to the high number of COVID-19 cases currently in the community, Empty Bowls Dothan will not feature a free bowl of soup with a purchase nor will it include the art show that has been held in the past. Attendees are encouraged to wear masks, and the event will be held in the Cultural Arts Centers main auditorium to provide more space.

While this is the 10th year of bowl sales, Gonzalez said organizers dont plan to celebrate until they can host the full event again.

Empty Bowls was first held in Michigan in 1990 and today is an international movement that raises awareness about hunger and raises funds for local food banks.

The Cultural Arts Center has been home to the Empty Bowls Dothan project since it started locally. The arts center hosts bowl-making and glazing sessions throughout the year. Koning teaches pottery classes at the center and donates her time to the Empty Bowls Dothan project. Five Star Credit Union sponsors Empty Bowls Dothan, covering the cost of clay, glazes, supplies, and other expenses for the project.

The event, Gonzalez said, has become popular for those who enjoy making the bowls and those who want to support the food bank by buying a bowl. Even when she thought the fundraising event would have a rocky start, it did better than she ever imagined it would.

This event has exceeded my expectations from the very beginning, Gonzalez said. The first year we did this we had 200 bowls and we sold out within the first hour. We planned a four-hour event and sold out within the first hour, and then just served soup for three hours.

Peggy Ussery is a Dothan Eagle staff writer and can be reached at aussery@dothaneagle.com or 334-712-7963. Support her work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com.

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The City of Dothan wants to leverage state environmental infrastructure dollars to tackle $65 million in critical sewer and water projects ahead of schedule, tacking on more long-term debt.

City commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the submittal of a pre-application form under the Alabama Department of Environmental Managements (ADEM) Clean Water State Revolving Fund with a debt forgiveness element through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation.

They asked for $41.3 million to invest in the rehabilitation of major sewer basins and trunk lines, some that run through downtown Dothan that Dothan Utilities Director Billy Mayes said were in pretty bad condition.

Also during the meeting, commissioners agreed to submit another request for $24.9 million under ADEMs Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for improvements to the water distribution loop under Ross Clark Circle and old pipes throughout the service area that cause drinking water to turn a reddish color.

Were in a good position to apply for these grant funds, Mayes said to city commissioners. If we submit the applications, it will get us in the system. The applications will be reviewed by ADEM, who will let us know whether or not theyre approved and to what degree the loan will be forgiven.

City Manager Kevin Cowper said they can approve debt forgiveness for up to 50% of the total loan  the rest of the loan can be financed at rates as low as 1.99%.

The City of Dothan is continuing to make payments on $120 million in loans procured many years ago to fix the citys failing sewer system and get back in the good graces of the states environmental regulation body. Last year, the consent order was allowed to expire, but the city is still continuously working on improving the aging infrastructure.

All the bond monies have been used up on relevant rehabilitation projects and Dothan still owes over $70 million on that debt service.

However, some of that utility debt will fall off next year as the citys yearly payments are slated to be reduced by $1.6 million. Other debt payment will fall off in approximately five years  giving the city some wiggle room in its budget to finance more debt without depending on new or additional revenues.

Projects included in the proposal have previously been identified in the citys long-range plan as priority projects  the city had to determine which ones were eligible for funding to increase the likelihood of acceptance from the decision-making agency.

If accepted, city leaders can choose whether or not to actually move forward with the proposed projects.

Its items that we already have listed to do; this would just put us ahead. We hope this money will actually give us a leg-up, Mayes said.

In other business, Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba proclaimed February Career and Technical Education Month and Chris Duke, Dothan City Schools director of career technical education and workforce development, gave commissioners a peak at many upcoming opportunities students would be presented with this month to celebrate the occasion.

Also, city commissioners heard annual update presentation from the Dothan Downtown Redevelopment Authority, Visit Dothan, Wiregrass Museum of Art, and the Dothan-Houston County Library System.

In other action, city commissioners:

Approved an application for a Restaurant Retail Liquor License (on premise) for Davids Catfish House, 1708 Westgate Parkway, by Parker Armstrong.

Approved an application for a Lounge Retail Liquor License  Class I (on or off premise) for Just The Tip, 460 East Main Street, by George Dunn.

Rezoned property owned by Cliff Sloop/Alabama Electric located at 403 and 405 Metropolitan Court from R-1 (residential single-family, low density) district to O-I (office/institutional) District.

Declared certain properties as creating a nuisance, constituting a hazard to the public health, safety, and convenience of the citizens of the City of Dothan, and authorized the demolition and removal of the said structures.

Declaring certain city-owned parcels of land as surplus and no longer needed for public or municipal purposes and agreed to receive sealed bids for the sale of said parcels of land.

Appropriated $45,000 to the DDRA for assistance in funding downtown improvements.

Declared certain personal property as obsolete and no longer needed for public or municipal purposes and authorized the disposal of said property by whatever means is determined to be in the best interest of the city.

Appointed Adam Dozier as a supernumerary member of the Planning Commission.

Sable Riley is a Dothan Eagle staff writer and can be reached at sriley@dothaneagle.com or 334.712.7915. Support her work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com .
Two 20-bed isolation tents for the City of Dothan and medical equipment for Wiregrass Medical Center in Geneva were among the requests funded with $6.75 million in coronavirus relief money.

In all, nearly $1.6 million was awarded to Wiregrass communities.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced the awards on Wednesday. The grant money is what remains from $40 million in Community Development Block Grant funds allocated to Alabama under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Grants were awarded to 19 Alabama cities and counties for projects intended to address to strains caused by COVID-19 and prepare for future infectious diseases.

These grants will go a long way in providing needed support to our communities, Ivey said in a news release. I am pleased to support each of these projects which will benefit residents.

Locally, Dothan received $484,625 to purchase two 20-bed isolation tents that will serve as portable on-site hospitals. As previously reported in the Dothan Eagle, the isolation tents can be deployed by a trained person in 10 minutes. Once operational, the tents are equipped with negative pressure rooms and reduce the transmission of contagions. They also include air conditioners and oxygen and can be deployed to hospitals to handle patient overflows during a crisis. The Dothan-Houston County EMA and area hospitals would help plan how to best use for the tents during those times.

Other local projects receiving funds include:

- The Geneva County Commission received $485,000 on behalf of the Wiregrass Medical Center in Geneva. The grant will cover equipment purchases such as patient beds to increase the hospitals inpatient capacity while adding to its ICU capacity by creating a four-bed COVID overflow ICU. The hospital also plans to upgrade its endoscopy equipment with high-definition endoscopes.

- The City of Opp was awarded $400,000 to purchase personal protection equipment for emergency responders and renovate the Opp Fire Department, which serves as a COVID testing and vaccination center.

- The Pike County Commission received $214,693 to purchase emergency equipment for ambulances owned by Troy Fire Department, which also serves the county.

Projects around the state included the purchase of COVID-related medical equipment, construction of testing and vaccination sites, renovations to EMA facilities around the state, and purchasing specialized cardiac emergency equipment for fire and police departments.

During the original grant cycle, some Alabama governments opted not to apply or submitted applications for projects that were not eligible, according to the governors news release. The funds were made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is administering the grants.

As the administering agency for these grants, ADECAs goal has been to see that local governments apply for projects that will best benefit their residents and, if at all possible, have a lifespan beyond this pandemic, ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said.

Peggy Ussery is a Dothan Eagle staff writer and can be reached at aussery@dothaneagle.com or 334-712-7963. Support her work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com.

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Sheriffs and police came to the Alabama State House Tuesday to urge legislators to reject a bill repealing the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed handgun.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said the permit requirement helps police remove criminals from the streets and protects the public and law enforcement officers.

Were here because were concerned that one of the tools that we use every day to remove stolen weapons from the street, to remove individuals who should not be on the streets with weapons and individuals that are committing crime that have evil intent in our communities, were here to keep it from being easier for them to do just that, Jones said. Thats our concern. Simple as that. Were here for the citizens of Alabama. Were here for the men and women and the children in our communities.

Alabama law requires people to buy a permit to carry a concealed handgun or to carry a handgun in their vehicles unless it is unloaded and locked out of reach.

For years, the Legislature has considered bills to repeal that requirement. Advocates for constitutional carry legislation say the permit requirement infringes on Second Amendment rights. They say people should not have to buy a permit to carry a gun or carry one in their vehicles to protect themselves and their families.

Bills to repeal the permit requirement have stalled in the House. But this year, the House Republican caucus, which holds almost three-fourths of seats, supports the repeal.

Several bills are in the works. Lawmakers resumed their regular session Tuesday.

Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, sponsors the bill in the Senate. The House sponsors include Reps. Shane Stringer, R-Citronelle, and Andrew Sorrell, R-Muscle Shoals.

Stringer is the former police chief in Satsuma. He lost his job as a captain with the Mobile County sheriffs department because of his differences with Sheriff Sam Cochran on the permit issue. Cochran persuaded the Mobile County Commission to approve a statement saying they opposed the legislation to repeal the permit requirement.

Stringer co-wrote an opinion column submitted to AL.com about why the repeal would be good policy. It said predictions that crime would increase have not been accurate in other states that have passed constitutional carry.

The column, co-written with John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, said:

The most significant change from constitutional carry is how quickly people can carry a gun if needed. Right now, it takes about a month for Alabama to issue a concealed handgun permit after someone has met the requirements. If a woman is being stalked or threatened, the harm from that threat may have already occurred well before a month is up.

But police and sheriffs who spoke at the State House said repealing the permit requirement would be the wrong move at a time when violent crime is plaguing Alabama cities.

Gulf Shores Police Chief Edward Delmore, who said he has been in law enforcement for 42 years, said the permit requirement is common sense.

No one up here is anti-Second Amendment, Delmore said. Thats absolutely not the case. Some have said that. That cant be further from the truth. But this bill doesnt comply with common sense.

Ive had the ability for the last 30 years to teach street level police officers throughout the United States. And Ive worked as a police officer all those many years and I can tell you this bill will make it more dangerous for those officers and more dangerous for the citizens of this state. This is a bad bill.

Baldwin County Sheriff Hoss Mack talked about Deputy Scott Ward, who was shot to death on duty in 2012 by a man who had been repeatedly committed to facilities for mental illness. Baldwin County Sgt. Curtis Summerlin, who was wounded that day, also spoke today and said the background checks required for a permit could help prevent such tragedies.

Had he applied for pistol permit at that time we would have been able to flag him and know exactly what we were dealing with and how violent he could be, Summerlin said. Instead, he went and purchased a weapon on the street and use it against us that day.

Montgomery interim Police Chief Ramona Harris talked about the level of crimes involving guns that is plaguing the Capital City.

In 2021 the Montgomery Police Department investigated a record-breaking 77 homicides, Harris said. Out of those 77 homicides, 69 were committed with a firearm. Thats a fact. In 2021, the Montgomery Police Department investigated approximately 330 assault with firearm cases. Thats a fact.

Harris said Montgomery police have already investigated eight homicides this year, all involving guns.

It is clear that access to firearms is a public safety concern when they fall into the hands of dangerous offenders, Harris said. She said the ability of law enforcement to control that is a vital function of our police department and public safety.
In response to Dothan Eagle Editor Terry Connors Jan. 30 column Digital delivery a great choice for content, I wanted to give my public endorsement.

I have been a subscriber to the Dothan Eagle for more than 50 years and a reader (starting with the comics) back when I was 7 in 1956 when my Dad first subscribed to the Eagle. For more than 45 of those years, I read the paper edition delivered to our home in Headland. However, as we are traveling quite a bit visiting our children in various states -- I'm in Kentucky now -- it's great to be able to read the Dothan Eagle via its digital edition so I can keep up with what is happening in the Wiregrass and Alabama state politics.

In addition, I subscribe to some national newspapers via their digital editions. In order to be a knowledgeable citizen, you need factual information from legitimate sources, which means those with editorial oversight. Now I may not agree with everything on the opinion page, but I can put my trust in the other parts of the papers which adhere to journalistic standards.

It is critically important in this age of disinformation that we follow the lead of our nation's founders who put the free exercise of the Press' in the 1st Amendment. They understood the need to have someone looking over the shoulders of our elected officials.

I encourage everyone to get on board with receiving your newspapers via email. It's convenient and it saves trees!

Luke Douglas

Headland
Like many modern observances, Groundhog Day can trace its origin from a few different directions.

February 2 is Candlemas. In the Catholic Church, it is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, and many sources suggest that candles were introduced in the celebration of the feast during the 5th century.

Even before that, February 2 marked Imbolc, a Gaelic festival recognizing the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

Through the centuries, songs and poems developed around the event, similar to this English verse of legend:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Come, Winter, have another flight;

If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,

Go Winter, and come not again.

Through time, celebrations and folklore evolved and spread across Europe, ultimately becoming tied to the animal world. In Germany, if a badger or hedgehog saw its shadow on Candlemas, winter was expected to continue.

German settlers brought their folklore to the New World, and a similar animal was found to continue the tradition, a groundhog.

Several groundhogs, from Sir Walter Wally in North Carolina to Chattanooga Chuck in Tennessee, have gained popularity. But in Virginia, the groundhog stories are not quite as neat and tidy.

On February 2, 1914, a practical joke led a couple thousand people to gather on Capitol Square to watch for a groundhog that never appeared. And in 1954, right before making his prognostication, Virginias official groundhog killed himself trying to get out of his cage at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

The most famous groundhog resides in the small western Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, where they have been celebrating this tradition since 1887. Phil is such an icon in Pennsylvania, that the state uses a groundhog in its lottery ads (Keep on scratchin'). Although to keep the two creatures distinct from one another, the advertisers named their groundhog Gus.

Whether or not Phil has been correct over the years is a matter of perspective, and how one subjectively defines winter.

According to NOAA and the record keepers in Punxsutawney, Phil has forecast six more weeks of winter 105 times since 1887.

The debates and discussions are all good fun. After all, how do you define an early spring, or a continuation of winter? One straightforward method uses average temperatures for the months of February and March. If the average temperatures are above normal for those months, it would qualify as an early spring. And vice versa.

Using that method, Phil is only right about 40 percent of the time. Perhaps that's not the best track record. But in the end, it doesnt matter; we love our folklore and how it ties us to the natural world.

And we love a reason to celebrate. The parties will continue every February on those cold Pennsylvania mornings, with people coming together to celebrate winter's annual turning point, just like their ancestors did centuries ago.
The international community is rightly alarmed by the large, unprovoked build-up of Russian military forces on and near the border with Ukraine. The United States has pledged, in conjunction with its Allies and partners, there will be massive consequences if Russia rejects diplomacy and moves into Ukraine with military force again.



As Secretary of State Antony Blinken has noted, however, there are other dangerous, non-military moves that Russia is already planning or executing against Ukraine. One is an operation where Russia creates a provocation inside Ukraine and then uses that as justification to take pre-planned aggressive action.



There are also ongoing influence activities, directed by Russias intelligence services, namely the FSB, designed to destabilize Ukraine. To expose and disrupt these activities, the United States has imposed sanctions on four individuals engaged in them.



Two are current Ukrainian members of Parliament, Taras Kozak and Oleh Voloshyn. The U.S. Department of Treasury said in a statement that Kozak controls several news channels in Ukraine and has supported the FSBs plan to denigrate senior members of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys inner circle, falsely accusing them of mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. His platforms also amplified false narratives around the 2020 U.S. election.



Voloshyn has worked with Russian actors to undermine Ukrainian government officials and advocate on behalf of Russia. He has also worked with U.S.-designated Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian national with ties to Russian intelligence who was sanctioned for attempts to influence the U.S. 2020 presidential election at the behest of Russia.



The other two designated individuals are former Ukrainian parliament members Volodymr Oliynyk and Valdimir Sivkovich. Oliynyk worked at the direction of the FSB to gather information about Ukraines critical infrastructure. The Treasury Department noted, Repeated cyber operations against Ukraines critical infrastructure are part of Russias hybrid tactics...designed to pull Ukraine into Russias orbit. Sivkovich worked with a network of Russian intelligence actors to carry out influence operations, including efforts to get Kyiv to cede Crimea to Russia.



Secretary of State Blinken noted the designations of these four individuals are separate and distinct from the severe financial and economic measures the United States and its Allies and partners are prepared to impose on Russia if it were to further invade Ukraine. However, he wrote, The United States, will continue to take steps, including through actions like this one...to identify, expose and undercut Russias destabilization efforts in Ukraine.
ELKO  Officers serving a temporary protection order got more than they bargained for.

Graydon A. Jolliff, 43, was being served Friday evening when he reportedly admitted to police that he had a gun in his pocket. One of the officers recognized him as a suspect in a burglary case involving stolen firearms, and immediately realized the .22 magnum revolver was similar to one taken in the theft.

While being placed under arrest for the stolen firearm, Jolliff was also found to be in possession of amphetamines and cocaine, along with six pieces of drug paraphernalia, according to an Elko Police Department officers statement.

He was booked into Elko County Jail on charges of possessing stolen property; owning or possessing a gun by a prohibited person (due to being in possession of drugs at the time); felony possession of a controlled substance; and drug paraphernalia. His bail was listed at $45,640.

Jolliff was also arrested last September on charges of attempted burglary at a downtown auto repair shop on June 6. He was pulled over by police with three passengers shortly after the incident.

One of those passengers was also arrested Friday evening when police were serving the order on Jolliff. Tamara Reese, 59, of Elko faces charges of attempted burglary of a structure, felony possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance by a prisoner. Her bail was listed at $15,000.

Kimberly S. Pierce, 53, of Plain City, Utah, was arrested in November on the same attempted burglary charge. Police believe she was standing lookout while the three others broke into the building. The fourth suspect, David A. Hampton, has yet to be arrested.

Jolliff was also arrested in January 2019 on charges of domestic battery by strangulation, and coercion with force or threat of force.

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The Saudi British Bank (SABB) has signed an agreement with global technology giant Siemens to provide smart building services new headquarters in Riyadh.

SABB said it appointed Siemens to supply the services in line with its plans to make the 30-storey tower a model of digitally-enabled efficiency, comfort, and sustainability.

The Siemens solution includes a workplace experience platform with an employee app, an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor network, systems integration and energy analytics.

The agreement supports SABBs aspirations of becoming a fully digitally enabled bank, making operations at SABB Tower more efficient and enhancing employees productivity and well-being.

The end result will be an employee-centric and energy-efficient design that can become a model for other buildings in the Kingdom.

"Our ambition is to become Saudi Arabias leading, digitally enabled bank and most sought-after employer, and smart building services from Siemens will help us realize this goal, said Tony Cripps, Managing Director, SABB.

This project will enhance our employee experiences while delivering actionable data about our headquarters and improving operational results, he added.

Siemens Saudi Arabia CEO Engineer Ahmed Hawsawi said the company looks forward to putting workplace technology in the hands of SABBs employees and facility managers and connecting them in real time to the physical and digital worlds around them.

"With our holistic approach to integrating smart technologies, well create a simple, efficient, user-friendly and secure environment for the banks staff and clients," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
ELKO  Revitalizing downtown Elko is still on track for most businesses that received a storefront improvement grant in the past few years.

The Redevelopment Advisory Council met on Jan. 27 to review several businesses that won approval for a portion of $372,000 to revitalize their storefronts.

Out of seven businesses, a building at 717 West Idaho St. owned by Braemar Construction had its funding terminated but is allowed to reapply to the Redevelopment Agency, according to a unanimous vote by the RAC.

According to City Planner and Redevelopment Manager Cathy Laughlin, owner Dusty Shipp said the business was operating from their location less than full time, citing the uncertainty of future plans. The board approved a motion to terminate the funding and allowed Braemar to file for future grants.

Other businesses had paperwork issues and some had not filed for reimbursements, such as Rubies and OC Restaurants LLC, which owns the Commercial Hotel.

In 2018, OC Restaurants was awarded $25,000 to construct a new exterior at the Commercial Hotel for Old Chicago Pizzeria. However, plans changed, and RAC eventually approved an amendment for the owners to paint the White King polar bear and improve signage and the facade of the structure.

Laughlin said the business had applied for reimbursement on Jan. 27, hours before the RAC convened. However, the application contained errors and needed to be sent back for corrections and proof of payment for the construction work before the reimbursement could be approved, which is crucial for the City in distributing grant money.

We need to look at it as our auditors are going to look at it, and we have to make sure everything is in there, Laughlin added, noting that OC Restaurants was in danger of having the City terminate the grant and requested a 30-day time limit.

After discussion among board members, staff recommended a 60-day time frame to return the corrected paperwork with receipts. The RAC board unanimously approved the motion.

Rubies Bar owner Lori Ayala also had a similar issue and was granted 60 days to correct errors in the reimbursement application and return it to the City.

The RAC also approved an extension for Living Stones, which was required to complete their improvements by Jan. 28, 2021. Laughlin reported the project had undergone some changes to its approved plan for exterior remodel, going from a brick facade to a metal siding and hiring different contractors.

Laughlin said staff recommended funding to continue; however, the RDA would have to approve the substitutions for materials and contractors. Also, Living Stones would need to obtain a permit to change the installation method.

Garret Kamps, the executive pastor at Living Stones, explained that the brick exterior to be applied to the facade was deemed unsafe after the Wells earthquake, prompting the change. So far, $150,000 has been spent on building materials, but the result would be worth it, he said.

The longevity of it should be amazing. There will be awnings, it will be lit, and there will be good signage, Kamps said. Were really excited about it.

He also thanked the RAC and RDA for making concessions that allowed Living Stones to participate in the grant.

We think this is going to be a beautiful addition to downtown Elko. I think that corner has been pretty rough for many years, Kamps said. Our hope and intentions are that it becomes a nice shining example of what the storefront grant can accomplish in association with responsible business owners.

For a building at 618 Idaho St. owned by Dr. Todd and Marin Wendell, the RAC approved a motion to grant a nine-month extension, requiring them to complete the project on June 26, 2023.

Permits from Scott Ygoa for the Star Hotel and the Tedesco Foundation at 240 Seventh St. were issued, and each business was deemed in compliance with the grant program. They have 12 months to complete their projects.

Laughlin said the grant program was set up for five years at $50,000 each year, but the City approved $250,000 in four years and received an extension from the RDA for another five years for $50,000 each year.

At times, the RDA has approved more than $50,000 each year, so the money has gone out quicker than it has come in, she continued.

If businesses were deobligated or had funding rescinded by the RDA, it would go back into the storefront grant opportunities and the RDAs budget to extend it for five years, she added.

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ELKO  The Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority has been notified by the U.S. Department of Commerce that Lander, Eureka, Elko and White Pine counties have been designated as the Economic Development Administrations newest Economic Development District.

EDDs are multi-jurisdictional entities, commonly composed of multiple counties that help lead the locally based, regionally driven economic development planning process through participation and involvement of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to establish a strategic blueprint for regional collaboration. Aside from planning, the designation enhances a regions ability to secure funding from the EDA for various public works and infrastructure-related projects.

We began this process back in 2019 with the development of a regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, which to our knowledge was the first to be completed in Northeastern Nevada, said NNRDA Board Chair Terri Clark. The CEDS, according to Clark, was the first requirement necessary to apply for the EDA designation. It was a major undertaking, but Mr. (Sheldon) Mudd, his staff, and our board jumped in. Mudd is executive director of NNRDA.

The designation process became a three-year effort because of disturbances associated with COVID-19.

COVID was not even on our mind when this concept first came to the NNRDA board, Clark said. There was a lot of discussion as to whether this effort would be worth the time and resources required to pursue it as our communities have historically struggled to secure grant funding due to our higher median incomes.

After some deliberation, the NNRDA board referenced the 2017 flood that eventually resulted in parts of Northeastern Nevada being deemed a disaster area and qualified for funding that had not previously been made available.

We came to the conclusion, Clark explained, that we didnt know what the future may hold, so we should prepare for potential emergencies. Little did we know that by March of 2020, all of Nevada would be in a state of emergency.

After a year of workshops and planning, the NNRDA working with the University of Nevada Reno College of Business, completed a total of seven county and community CEDS documents along with a 165-page collective regional document. In October of 2020, the NNRDA submitted the application along with supporting documentation to the EDA for review and approval. According to Mudd, COVID appeared to play a major role in delaying the EDAs approval.

We expected approval in February or March of 2021 at the latest and we did everything we could to try and fast track this effort, he said. We were pleased that our new CEDS would open up funding opportunities for our communities, but we didnt want to miss out on anything that could be provided through the EDD.

Regardless of the 15-month wait, Mudd stated that he doesnt believe any Northeastern Nevada communities missed out on any major funding opportunities. Or at least I hope not, he quipped.

Mudd, said the collaborative effort put forth by individuals and organizations at the community, regional, state and federal levels in support of the initiative was outstanding. Citizens within various communities participated, often for several hours and into the evening, in workshops in order to provide insights and information. City Councils and County Commissions provided letters of support towards the initiative.

Director, Michael Brown, Deputy Director Bob Potts, and former Rural Director, Patty Herzog of the Governors Office of Economic Development provided routine aid and assistance, and more than anyone, according to Mudd, Dr. Fred Steinmann of the UNR College of Business provided hundreds if not thousands of pages of narrative, data, and information needed to get us to the finish line. Further, Mudd explained, Even our Congressional delegation, on both sides of the aisle, jumped in to give us a hand, and for that we are certainly grateful.

At the end of the day, Mudd stated, were simply trying to establish methods by which we can see our hard earned tax dollars returned to the communities where they were generated. If we can do that, then perhaps we can bolster our infrastructure, generate new and diversified economic opportunities, and enhance our overall quality of life in Northeastern Nevada.

The Northeastern Nevada Economic Development District is only the second designated in Nevada and the first ever in Nevada to be formed by a Regional Development Authority.

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Officials have confirmed that the United States will move 3,000 American soldiers to Eastern Europe in response to Russian troops gathered on the Ukrainian border after President Biden approved the measure on Wednesday.

For weeks the Russian military has amassed a considerable military presence on its border with Ukraine, as well as stationing troops in the neighbouring nation of Belarus. Of the number sent by Biden, 2,000 will move from the US to Poland and Germany, while another 1,000 troops currently stationed in Europe will move to Romania, Pentagon officials have confirmed.

President Biden has formally approved additional military deployments to eastern Europe. The Pentagon is expected to announce this a.m. that the troops will deploy in the coming days, US officials tell @NatashaBertrand and @barbarastarrcnn.  Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 2, 2022

The White House is yet to comment on the decision but Pentagon press secretary John Kirby is expected to make an announcement at 10am (Eastern). Officials have reiterated that the move should not be seen as the precursor to any military intervention in the region, but is simply an effort to reassure Ukrainian forces.

NBC News quotes a Pentagon official as saying: These forces are not going to fight in Ukraine. They are not permanent moves. They respond to current conditions.

Read more

Will the American forces fight on the Ukrainian border?

The United States had maintained a policy of de-escalation in response to President Putins advances in the region and todays news marks the first effort made by the White House to bolster the military presence.

Mulitple reports have claimed that around 100,000 Russian troops are currently stationed around Ukraine, a nation with deep cultural and political links to Russia, with advanced weaponry and additional support from the sea to the south.

General Mark Milley, Chair of the Joint Chief of Staff US Army, told reporters last week: Given the type of forces that are arrayed, the ground manoeuvre forces, the artillery, the ballistic missiles, the air forces... If that was unleashed on Ukraine, it would be significant, very significant, and it would result in a significant amount of casualties.

BREAKING: President Biden will be sending in 3,000 American troops to Eastern Europe in response to Russia's threat on Ukraine.



"President Biden is actively deterring President Putin from that invasion" by sending in troops, says Ambassador Bill Taylor. pic.twitter.com/xH1bA6HY4z  Stephanie Ruhle Reports (@RuhleOnMSNBC) February 2, 2022

With this in the mind the White House is understandably cautious about anything that could be viewed as an offensive measure, but Bidens approval of a considerable troop deployment has reiterated that the situation is deteriorating.

Earlier this week Pentagon leaders confirmed that Putin had amassed enough troops and military hardware near Ukraine to mount an invasion.

That area of Eastern Europe marks a point where NATO members like Germany and Poland meet with former members of the Soviet Union and attitudes towards Russian expansion remain complex.

Lt. Col. Tony Semelroth, spokesperson for the Pentagon, confirmed that the United States actions in the Ukraine-Russia conflict would support fellow NATO countries: Our rotational forces are deliberate and defensive in nature and allow us to remain agile and flexible with our NATO allies to address the complex and dynamic security environment in which we operate.
Chinese scientists on Tuesday said they have discovered flower fossils preserved in amber dating back 100 million years, providing evidence for the study of the evolution of flowering plants in Southeast Asia and plate movement relations.

The discovery showed that some flowers found living today in South Africa have remained unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs.

The research team from the Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), working with experts from The Open University in the UK and other institutions, found the flower fossils were nearly identical to the modern Phylica species, which is part of the Cape Fynbos flora.

The QUST team studied 21 pieces of amber found in Myanmar, which were formed about 100 million years ago, and discovered that the flowers showed high adaptability to frequent wildfires.

The study has been published in Nature Plants, a scientific journal that publishes primary research papers concerned with all aspects of plant biology, technology, ecology and evolution.
Vietnamese Ambassdor to Egypt Tran Thanh Cong speaks at the get-together (Photo: VNA)



Addressing the event, Ambassdor Tran Thanh Cong briefed participants on the socio-economic situation in the homeland, Vietnams achievements in the fight against COVID-19, and remarkable developments in the Vietnam - Egypt relationship in 2021.



He highlighted the traditional relationship between the two countries, saying that there are good prospects for Vietnam and Egypt to further promote the bilateral relations in the time to come.



The diplomat expressed his hope that the two sides will focus on stepping up the cooperation in their strong fields such as agriculture, textiles, aquatic processing, aquaculture, and electronics.



He added that the two countries should also promote the implementation of cooperative agreements between their localities, thus making it easier for their businesses to access each other's markets.



The ambassador took the occasion to praise efforts and contributions of the Vietnamese community in Egypt to strengthening the friendship between the two countries.



In Russia, a New Year celebration has been held for Vietnamese workers at Sarlanter garment factory in Kirzhach, a town about 100km from Moscow.



According to the owners of the factory - Do Van Tieu and Le Thi La, despite the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, the company has managed to maintain stable jobs and incomes for about 40 Vietnamese workers.



All the employees expressed their joy at welcoming the traditional Tet of Vietnam here, saying that they hope for a new year of happiness and prosperity./.
CoderSchool, a startup providing online training in programming, has recently announced that it has raised 2.6 million USD in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Monks Hill Ventures.



Earlier, English learning app ELSA successfully called for 15 million USD at the Series B round co-led by Vietnam Investments Group and SIG.



Illustrative image (Source: Equest)



Revealing the reasons to invest in Vietnamese edtech, Justin Nguyen, Director of Monk's Hill Ventures highlighted that Vietnam is an attractive market with a fast growing young middle-income class where education receives great attention, and great efforts are being taken by the Government to draw investment in the sector. These are factors making its edtech market attractive to investors, he said.



He noted that since 2008, the Vietnamese Government has spent 15-20 percent of public investment on education, one of the highest levels in the world and only after Malaysia in the Southeast Asian region. Therefore, although the countrys edtech market is still young, it is vibrant with startup founders looking to tap unexploited opportunities through renovation to improve learning efficiency, he said.



According to Le Hoang Uyen Vy, CEO of Do Ventures that has invested in online learning platforms of Vuihoc and Manabie, the online learning market of Vietnam boasts huge potential with more than 23 million students, rising income of the middle class and one of the highest ratio of Internet users in the world. She noted that Vietnamese people spend 30 percent of their income on education, and parents are willing to pay more for higher quality education for their children.



Despite the bright future, startups in the field have a long way to go to rise stronger in edtech area. Amid the pandemic, many startups have grown strongly, but none have been able to clinch an overwhelming position in the market, keeping the door open for investors, she said.



Michael Ngo, ELSA Country Director in Vietnam said that online education will become a new standard in the future, especially amid the pandemic. Digital technologies help reduce cost and increase peoples access to high quality education.



Currently, no domestic edtech firm is valued at 100 million USD. Experts said that Vietnamese edtech firms still lack breakthrough technologies to grow stronger.



Vy said that the Vietnamese edtech market is still in its infancy, which means Vietnamese start-ups need time to catch up with the development speed of other companies in larger markets in the region. She advised edtech start-ups to develop healthy revenue models towards sustainable growth./.
The Ukrainian-Dutch agreement on the organization of business missions will help open up new areas of interstate cooperation, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said after a meeting with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, who arrived in Ukraine on a visit.

"We appreciate the consistent support of the Netherlands as one of the largest investors in the Ukrainian economy. Our agreement to organize business missions will not only increase investment, but also open up new areas of cooperation with the Netherlands," Shmyhal wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
The United States, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and Canada have launched the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine worth GBP 35 million.

"Today, we are launching the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine. This is not another work and not another beginning. This is what is very important for us today  public support and trust of both partners and each other. We understand how important it is and, most importantly, it is timely to start such projects right here, right now. It is important for our people in the east and south of the country, it is important for all Ukrainians to know and believe that we are not alone, we stand shoulder to shoulder," Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereschuk said at an event devoted to the announcement of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine in Kyiv on Wednesday.

She said that the fund has GBP 35 million at the start for the first projects that will be sent to communities, their sustainability, people who need support from both the state and the international community.

"On my own behalf, as Deputy Prime Minister, I can promise: every pound, every invested energy and motivation will be used effectively. We will do our best to make our efforts bear fruit this year," Vereschuk said.

Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ukraine Melinda Simmons said that the partners, along with the government of Ukraine through this fund, are committed to supporting the victims of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine. The U.K. will contribute GBP 11.5 million to the fund over three years, she said.

Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation Matilda Ernkrans said that the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine would make its contribution to strengthening Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

Ernkrans said that she hopes that this fund will fill the gap in support for Ukraine and we will be able to respond quickly, flexibly to the needs that Ukrainians will have in such difficult circumstances caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires, ai Kristina A. Kvien announced that the United States, through USAID, intends to increase its contribution to the fund from $5 million to $10 million.

Kvien said that her government unwaveringly supports a strong, prosperous, secure Ukraine within its borders. This project provides an important pathway to that goal. Ukraine has the full support of the U.S. government and the entire U.S. Embassy team in Kyiv to make this a reality, she said.

Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Larisa Galadza said that Canada is providing between CAD 10 million and CAD 15 million to the fund to contain the escalation.

She said that Canada is teaming up with national, regional and local institutions, as well as civil society, to focus on the needs of people, their communities, build trust and social cohesion.

Swiss Ambassador to Ukraine Claude Wild said that despite the fact that everyone is now focused on the threat on the border of Ukraine, there is a reality of conflict, Russian occupation and hybrid warfare that affects Ukrainians.

Sweden's partnership primarily addresses this reality by providing Ukrainians in the most affected regions with the means to consolidate their communities and build a future based on the values of freedom and democracy  values that must prevail throughout Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, he said. Security and stability Ukraine is our security and stability, Wild added.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the stabilization of the hryvnia and the absence of risks for it due to the actions of Ukraine and the allied countries.

"Regarding the hryvnia, I believe that today, we have managed to control the situation, despite that panic. We have taken many different steps, stabilized the hryvnia and calmed the markets. Today, the national currency is strengthening," he said at a joint briefing with Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mark Rutte on Wednesday.

According to him, the actions of the allied countries of Ukraine, which opened financial guarantees, had a great influence on the stabilization of the hryvnia, which gave a signal to the markets and investors that it was not worth withdrawing money.

The visits of the leaders of European countries also reduced the risks at the foreign exchange market of Ukraine, Zelensky said.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Turkey at a government meeting on Wednesday.

According to First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, the agreement will bring an additional 2% of GDP annually.

"The basis of the agreement is the zeroing of duties by Turkey for 10,337 commodity items. This is 95% of the total number of goods. Another 1,348 commodity items will be subject to tariff quotas or duty reduction," she said, presenting the draft FTA Agreement with Turkey at the government meeting.

Currently, Ukraine exports 1,100 commodity items to Turkey, since Turkey has one of the highest levels of customs protection in the world, she said. At the same time, the level of Ukrainian customs duties is one of the lowest.

"In recent years, we have begun to observe that Ukrainian duties have generally ceased to be a barrier to Turkish goods, while Turkish duties for our goods have been an impenetrable wall for entering their market," Svyrydenko said.

According to her, Ukraine reserves the right to apply a duty on the export of scrap metal.

"At the same time, Turkey opens the domestic market for our metal. Duties for another 130 commodity items of metallurgy goods have been partially reduced... And additional quotas have been established for 160 metallurgy goods," Svyrydenko said.

According to her, Ukraine will retain duties on the import of used cars, setting transitional periods of three to five years for vehicles and light industry products. As for the latter, Svyrydenko announced state support in the form of affordable loans for the modernization of equipment for Ukrainian light industry companies.

At the same time, the parties reserve the right to restore the effect of duties through the mechanism of bilateral safeguard measures.

As Svyrydenko said, the review of the agreement shall take place no later than two years later.
Saudi Public Transport Company (Saptco) has signed a contract worth more than SR150 million ($40 million) with the Eastern Province Municipality for a major public bus transport project.

The project will be implemented in Dammam City and Al Qatif governorate within a period of five years, said Saptco in its filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

The project is expected to have a positive impact on the companys revenues during the first half of 2022, it added.
Ukrainians can generate a COVID booster dose certificate in the Diia app from February 1, 2022.

As reported on the website of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine on Tuesday, the booster dose is displayed in international certificates.

After receiving the booster dose, you need to re-generate your certificates in Diia - the third dose of the vaccine will be displayed, and the certificate validity period has been changed to 270 days (as was previously accepted in the EU).

"The generation algorithm remained unchanged: select the Services section in the application, the COVID certificates item and the document you need. After a few clicks and a few minutes, you will receive an updated certificate. Without trips, long waits and contacts with people," Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov is quoted in the message.

According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Diia has already generated more than ten million "green" COVID certificates.

The project was implemented by the Ministry of Digital Transformation together with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the National Health Service and with the support of the Delegation of the European Union in Ukraine, the EU4DigitalUA project and the EGAP Program, implemented by the Eastern Europe Foundation and funded by Switzerland.
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova has instructed to register criminal proceedings against MP Oleksandr Trukhin (Servant of the People faction).

"Without delay, I gave instructions to register criminal proceedings. Unfortunately, it is no longer just about participation in an accident. It is quite obvious that there are many more questions to study. The investigation is determined for NABU," Venediktova wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

Later, the Prosecutor General's Office clarified that information about the MP offering bribes to law enforcement officers had already been entered into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations.

"The Prosecutor General has entered into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations information about the proposal to provide an illegal benefit to a law enforcement official by the MP. Criminal proceedings have been initiated under Part 1 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the Prosecutor General's Office clarified to Interfax-Ukraine.

The pretrial investigation is entrusted to NABU detectives.

As reported, journalists of the Ukrayinska Pravda ezine published a video from the cameras of police officers who recorded an accident with the participation of MP Oleksandr Trukhin (the Servant of the People faction), where the fact of offering law enforcement officers a bribe of $150,000 for the opportunity to leave the scene of the accident was recorded. In the video, Trukhin addresses the policeman with the words "let me go quietly deep into the forest," and then promises to "talk" with Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine noted that criminal proceedings involving deputies as suspects belong to the jurisdiction of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI).

"Therefore, we emphasize that all attempts to present the essence of the case in such a way that allegedly MP of Ukraine Oleksandr Trukhin tried to 'negotiate' something with the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine do not correspond to reality," the Interior Ministry stressed.

The accident involving Trukhin occurred on the Boryspil highway on August 23. An Audi car drove into a Ford car at a high speed, which, in turn, rammed a Daewoo car. Six people were injured, including two children.

A number of media outlets then reported that Trukhin was driving Audi, but this information was subsequently deleted.

On August 31, the National Police announced that the case would be investigated by the State Bureau of Investigations.

Acting Director of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) Oleksiy Sukhachev said that the investigation into the accident involving MP Trukhin had not yet received information that would help establish who was driving the car during the incident.
There are no reliable theoretical dates for the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, none of the available information allows make even an assumption about a date, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

"There are no reliable theoretical dates for the start of Russian aggression. It all exists in social networks, reflections of our experts, citizens. But none of the available information allows make even an assumption about a date," Kuleba said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

According to him, Ukraine has complete information about the maneuvers and what is happening along the border of Ukraine, and if the exercises of Russia in Belarus "start to evolve into something else, Ukraine will instantly see this and prepare."
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who canceled her visit to Ukraine due to coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, said that she would go to Kyiv as soon as possible, and also plans to visit Moscow.

"She expressed her deep disappointment at being unable to travel to Ukraine this week, but hopes to reschedule her visit soon and said she plans to visit Moscow shortly," according to a press release posted on the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's website, following a conversation between Truss and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

Truss herself also said on Twitter that she would travel to Ukraine "as soon as possible."

The British and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers discussed, in particular, "how responding decisively and strongly to the Kremlin now will help deter future as well as present Russian aggression."

On Monday, Truss said she had infected with COVID-19 and would work from home during the lockdown. That is why she was not able to accompany British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his visit to Ukraine on Tuesday, as previously planned.

On January 30, the prime minister's office said that Truss would pay a visit to Moscow in the next two weeks.
On Monday, February 7, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host roundtable talk entitled "Rising of struggle for power in Ukraine. When to expect high point." Participants include political analyst Valentyn Hladkykh; Director of the Institute for Global Strategies Vadym Karasiov; Director of the Ukrainian Barometer sociological service Viktor Nebozhenko; Doctor of Political Sciences, political expert Ihor Petrenko (8/5a Reitarska Street). The broadcast will be available on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine, the speakers can be asked questions in the broadcast chat. Due to quarantine restrictions, the number of seats in the press center is limited. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot.





SSH, a leading master planning, infrastructure, building design and construction supervision company in the Middle East, said it has completed the project work on the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations in Kuwait.

SSH was responsible for the design as well as construction supervision on the project which was completed early this year.

The new headquarters building is located on a site plot of 30,000 sq m in the South Surra Ministries area.

According to SSH, the key facility boasts a dynamic yet clean-formed architectural massing that comprises a main office block, an auditorium with dormitories, and an interrogation building.

With a built-up area of 100,000 sq m, the five-storey office blocks are formed by two curved-in plan parts that are joined by a canyon-shaped atrium which is the focal space, showcasing dramatically changing volumes enriched by glazed elevators, free-standing towers, and bridges connecting both parts of the office block at various levels, stated the master planning expert.

The elevations are declined at both ends to become gradually inclined in the centre, emphasising the main entry to the building. Two levels of underground parking can accommodate 850 cars, it added.










The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), the highest authority leading the capitals transformation into one of the top ten global city economies, has announced a partnership with Aldenham Education Group (Aldenham), to bring one of the oldest British schools to Riyadh.

Opening in September 2022, Aldenham is the third school to be established in Riyadh under the RCRCs International Schools Attraction Programme.

It will initially launch a preparatory school (ages 3-11), to be soon followed by the senior school (ages 11-18).

The RCRCs International Schools Attraction Program, launched in partnership with Saudi Arabias Ministry of Investment and Ministry of Education, aims to contribute to the transformation of the capital into one of the worlds most competitive and liveable cities by 2030.

RCRC Head of Education Sector Mazen Tammar said: "Riyadh is building a future filled with possibility for all, by welcoming families to come build with us."

"With its prestigious heritage and commitment to best practices in teaching and learning, Aldenham joins the growing network of globally-respected educational institutions RCRC is building to offer world-class educational opportunities to citizens and expatriates alike," stated Tammar.

"Aldenham has an impressively long history and has been a pioneer in delivering all-round teaching and learning that blends traditional values with a modern approach to education. This approach aligns with our objective to provide young Saudis and our expat resident students with the necessary skills in preparation for the future which requires constant innovation," he added.

British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Neil Crompton said Aldenhams arrival would further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the education sector.

"This represents another building block in the strong bilateral education relationship between our two countries. Aldenham School encompasses a high-quality British education, and we are proud to support the establishment of another British independent school here in the Kingdom," remarked Crompton.

"Aldenham Prep School Riyadh, in partnership with the Royal Commission of Riyadh City, will deliver a British-international curriculum and support young people to develop the skills to excel throughout their academic years and beyond," he added.


Mali's junta said France no longer has a "legal basis" for carrying out military operations in the country after Bamako quit key defence accords, in the latest round of a spat between the two former allies.
Amnesty International on Wednesday accused a powerful Libyan armed group of abuses against migrants and Tripoli residents.
France's left-of-centre parties on Wednesday reached an alliance deal for June parliamentary polls, aiming for a strong enough showing to hinder President Emmanuel Macron's controversial reform plans.
Egyptian film critic Ahmed Shawky was chosen last week to head the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) competition at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival.
Sall voiced Senegals full support to the Egyptian peoples eternal rights in the River Niles water and the Senegalese endeavor to highlight this support in the events related to the AU and the UN

Senegals President Macky Sall said finding a radical solution to the GERD crisis between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will be on top of the African Unions (AU) priorities in 2022 during his countrys presidency of the grouping.

At a meeting with Egypts Trade Minister Nevine Gamea in Dakar on Saturday, Sall voiced Senegals full support to the Egyptian peoples eternal rights to the Nile River and the Senegalese endeavour to highlight this support in the events related to the AU and the UN, a statement by the Egyptian trade ministry read.

Sall noted that prioritizing a radical solution to the GERD crisis aims to preserve the historic rights of the Egyptian people, affirming that this is the right approach that all parties have to stick to.

Rounds of African Union-sponsored talks have reached a deadlock under the presidency of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2020 and incumbent chair Antoine Tshisekedi of DR Congo.

The two downstream countries have blamed the failure of talks on Ethiopias intransigence and desire to impose fait accompli.

As per the request of Egypt and Sudan, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held a session on Thursday to discuss GERD. The two countries affirmed that their movements in the UNSC aim to enhance the African track to resume the negotiations and reach a binding solution.

Despite the concerns and objections of the two downstream countries, Ethiopia notified them last week that it started the second phase of filling the mega dam without a legally-binding agreement, a step that was highly condemned by Egypt and Sudan.

Gamea, Egypts trade minister, delivered a message from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Sall, hailing the level of coordination and continuous communication between the two countries around regional and international issues of mutual concern.

Sisi, in the message, expressed Egypts aspiration to work with Senegal to enhance the bilateral relations in various fields with the aim of achieving prosperity of the two countries peoples, Gamea said.

Sisis message affirmed Egypts aspiration that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect in January, would boost trade exchange between Egypt and the continental states in general and Senegal in particular.

Sall expressed appreciation of the special relations gathering Egypt and Senegal and the friendship between the leadership of the two countries.

Sall said he looks for fostering the joint work with Egypt to push forward their bilateral relations into broader prospects during the coming period, especially in the economic field.

The Senegalese president underscored his countrys aspiration to enhance economic partnership with Egypt and benefit from the great Egyptian experience in numerous development and economic fields as well as the health care field especially the treatment of Hepatitis C Virus patients.

He also called for enhancing trade exchange and joint investments between the two countries private sectors.

Sall affirmed his preparedness to coordinate with the Egyptian side to launch direct sea and air navigation routes and cancel the need for entry visas to facilitate the entry of their investors to each of the two countries.

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Here are some of the key moments that have defined Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne.

1952: Princess to Queen

Princess Elizabeth, then aged 25, was visiting Kenya with her husband, Prince Philip, when her father, king George VI, died aged 56 on February 6, 1952.

She cut short the trip and rushed back to Britain.

1953: The Coronation

Queen Elizabeth II's coronation did not happen until the following year. She was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, in front of 8,500 assembled guests.

The ceremony was the first major televised international event and led to a surge in sales for television sets.

1977: Silver Jubilee

The Queen's 25 years on the throne saw her reaffirm the vow of lifelong service to Britain and the Commonwealth she had made in a speech aged 21 in 1947.

She toured the country and the Commonwealth. Celebratory street parties provided some respite from the economic gloom at home, marked by industrial decline and strikes.

1992: 'Annus horribilis'

The Queen's eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, separated from Princess Diana, and her second son, Prince Andrew, split from his wife, Sarah.

Her only daughter, Princess Anne, divorced her husband, Mark Phillips. Windsor Castle, her favoured home west of London, was also seriously damaged by fire.

The Queen called the 12 months her "annus horribilis".

1997: Death of Diana

Diana's death in a car crash on August 31, 1997 rocked the royal family to the core, provoking rare criticism of the Queen for staying at her Balmoral estate in Scotland.

She eventually returned, the Union Jack was lowered to half-mast at Buckingham Palace, and the Queen made a televised tribute to Diana, helping to calm public anger.

2002: Golden Jubilee

Celebrations for the Queen's 50 years on the throne came in the same year as the deaths of her own mother and younger sister Margaret, and showed public support for the monarchy.

Huge crowds gathered on The Mall in central London to watch Queen guitarist Brian May play the national anthem from the roof of Buckingham Palace after a star-studded pop concert.

2011: Ireland state visit

The Queen's visit to Ireland was the first by a British monarch since the Republic of Ireland won independence in 1922 and saw the republic's biggest-ever security operation.

An address in Irish, plus other symbolic gestures, helped galvanise reconciliation and cement the peace process in Northern Ireland, after years of conflict over British rule.

2012: Olympics and Diamond Jubilee

The Queen and other senior royals visited every region of Britain to mark her 60 years on the throne. Beacons were lit across the country, and a river pageant was held in London.

A surprise cameo for the monarch alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig was a hit at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

2021: Covid, Philip, health fears

The coronavirus pandemic forced the ageing Queen into self-isolation at Windsor, from where she made public appearances over video conference.

Prince Philip died aged 99 in April 2021, while later that year fears grew for the Queen's own health after she spent a night in hospital and was forced to cut back her duties.

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Egypt targets lowering the budgets overall deficit to below 6.7 percent by end of FY2021/2022 and to below six percent in FY2022/2023, down from 7.4 percent in FY2020/21, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced on Wednesday.

Egypts FY2022/23 begins in July 2022.

Maait made his statements during a meeting held with a segment of the industry sector representatives organized by the Egyptian Manufacturers Society.

Maait stated that FY2022/23 includes greater spending on development projects and gives a broader role to the private sector in the countrys economic activity, in accordance with the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for the sake of inclusive and sustainable development.

In addition, Maait noted that the government managed to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio to below 90 percent by end of current FY2021/22 and intends to bring it down to less that 85 percent over the coming three years, down from 108 percent recorded in FY2016/17.

Maait told the industry sector representatives that the government is keen on extending further incentives to the sector and boosting local manufacturing, noting that 50 percent of taxes the manufacturers pay were deducted for the sake of stimulating investment.

He also said that the law that governs micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) activity introduces tax and custom incentives for these projects.

Under this law, project owners with annual sales worth EGP 250,000 would pay EGP 1,000 in tax, while those with sales up to EGP 500,000 would pay EGP 2,500 and those with sales up to EGP 1 million would pay EGP 5,000 per annum.

In cases where sales range EGP 1 million, the owners would pay 0.5 percent of the sales value, while those with sales that range EGP 2-3 million would pay 0.75 percent and those with sales that range EGP 3-10 million would pay one percent of the total sales value.

During the meeting, the minister pointed out that the new law, approved during the week by parliament, includes amendments to the VAT and stamp duty laws, noting that it involves fresh incentives for the industry sector and extends tax waivers for the sake of boosting national manufacturing.

He also noted that the ministry is currently considering a number of proposals submitted by the industrial community regarding revisiting the real-estate tax on factories, noting that it will be decided before end of June in a way that fulfills the industrial sectors demands.

For the export sector, the minister disclosed that EGP 31 billion of the exporters arrears have been disbursed under the cash repayment initiative launched in 2019.

In this respect, Maait revealed that the government is considering launching a new repayment initiative with an accelerated payment discount of eight percent, instead of five percent as in the previous one, in collaboration with the banking sector and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Help us in merging the informal activities into the formal sector in order to collect the states public treasury receivables, increase the GDP and entrench the fair competitiveness in the local market. We also looking forward to your proposals regarding any new industries that need extra support to stimulate the economic activity, Maait urged the industry sector.

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The Egyptian Cabinet has issued a decision which lowered the prices of coronavirus tests accredited by the health ministry for travellers to and from Egyptian airports by 30 percent, a statement said on Wednesday.

Egyptians will pay EGP 650 instead of EGP 900 for the PCR test, while foreigners will pay EGP 750 instead of EGP 1,200, according to the statement.

As for the Antigen Rapid test, Egyptians will pay EGP 175 instead of EGP 250, and foreigners will pay EGP 225 instead of EGP 320.

The cabinet decision comes 10 days after the country started implementing new coronavirus-related restrictions at airports, seaports, and land crossings as part of a plan to contain the spread of the Omicron variant amid a rise in infections.

Since 22 January, Egyptian and foreign travellers arriving in Egypt, except children below the age of 12, are required to carry certificates of World Health Organisation-approved or EDA-approved coronavirus vaccination, either the single-dose vaccine or the last dose of a two-shot vaccine at least 14 days before arrival.

If travellers are not vaccinated, they must present the results of a negative coronavirus tests  the PCR test, the Antigen rapid test or the ID NOW test  issued within 72 hours before arrival.

Travellers whose coronavirus tests or vaccine certificates do not conform to established standards will have to take Antigen rapid tests at the airport. If the test is positive, they will have to self-quarantine at their hotel or residence for five days. On the sixth day, they will undergo a PCR test and will be allowed to end the quarantine if they test negative and show no symptoms of illness.

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Potentially game changing findings of a newly published study by an international team of experts on Indias Ganga River could be used to help tackle pollution in large bodies of water and protect precious water resources around the world, said a report.

One of the worlds largest and most important river systems, River Ganga flows over 2,500 km from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, through one of the worlds most densely populated areas.

Water quality in rivers is affected by underpinning natural hydrogeological and biogeochemical processes, as well as interactions between people and their environment that are accelerating stress on water resources at unprecedented rates.

Pollutants can move at different speeds and accumulate along rivers where the mix of the complex cocktail of chemicals that is making its way towards the ocean is constantly changing, a new study reveals.

The 'Water Research' is being conducted by the international research team, which includes experts from the University of Birmingham, the University of Manchester and other Indian and UK collaborators.

Besides these, the other articipating institutions include Indian institutions - Mahavir Cancer Sansthan and Research Centre; National Institute of Hydrology (Roorkee); Indian Institute of Technology (Roorkee); National Institute of Hydrology (Patna) and Bose Institute - in addition to University of West of England (Bristol); UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (Wallingford); University of Lincoln and British Geological Survey, Wallingford.

Researchers found characteristic breakpoints  often found when a tributary joins the main river or significant point sources exist  can change the behaviour of some compounds, causing the concentration of these chemicals to change drastically, depending on where they are on their journey down the river.

Experts discovered the phenomenon after piloting a new, systematic approach to understanding hydrogeochemical dynamics in large river systems along the entire length of the Ganga, from close to its source in the Himalayas down to the Indian Ocean.

This new research approach, proven successful at the Ganga, can be applied to other large river systems across the world  potentially helping ecologists and authorities to tackle the global challenge of aquatic pollution by multiple interacting contaminants.

The study reveals that chemicals including nitrate, chloride, sulfate, calcium, sodium and strontium are cut and boosted in different proportion by a series of breakpoints along the Ganga.

They found that mixing, dilution, and weathering are key processes controlling major hydrochemistry, identifying four major breakpoints that alter the concentration of at least four chemicals in the river.

Five minor breakpoints affect the water mix of two to three chemicals, with two single locations impacting on just one parametre.

Stefan Krause, Professor of Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry at the University of Birmingham, said: "Large river systems, such as the Ganga, provide crucial water resources with important implications for global water, food and energy security. Understanding the complex dynamics of such systems remains a major challenge."

"The breakpoints we have identified in India change the behaviour of some compounds, altering the composition of the cocktail of chemicals flowing down the Ganga to the ocean," he explained.

"Breakpoint analysis could be a game changer in understanding how pollutants travel along major watercourses  allowing us to identify the hotspots which will shed new light on the behaviour of aquatic pollution and how better to tackle this global challenge," he added.

Informed by a 2019 post-monsoonal survey of 81 bank-side sampling locations, researchers identified five major hydrogeochemical zones - characterised, in part, by the inputs of key tributaries, urban and agricultural areas, and estuarine inputs near the Bay of Bengal.

Dr Laura Richards, the studys lead author from the University of Manchester, said:

"Our research helps to understand the downstream transitions in the chemistry of the River Ganga providing important baseline information and quantification of solute sources and controls."

"In addition to improving the understanding of a river system as environmentally and societally important as the Ganga, the systematic approach used may also be applicable to other large river systems," he added.

The researchers novel research approach brings systematic insight into the factors controlling key geochemistry in River Ganga, according to the report.

As a major source of livelihood, the river is a key water source to more than 400 million people and very important to many social and religious traditions in India, but faces increasing environmental challenges associated with rapid development, climate change, increasing urbanisation, water demand and agricultural intensity, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and Egypts Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launched on Tuesday the Esna Tourism Promotion Campaign in Luxor to support Egypts tourism sector.

The campaign is part of the $8.6 million US investment that restored historic landmarks and revitalized Esnas tourism infrastructure, and will showcase Esna as a prime tourist destination to tour operators, investors, and the public, the US embassy in Cairo said.

The United States has contributed more than $100 million (EGP 1.57 billion) to preserve dozens of cultural heritage sites throughout Egypt. Last year, we inaugurated the renovated Wakalet El-Geddawy in Esna; and today, I am very excited to launch the Esna Tourism Promotion Campaign. This campaign will put Esna back on the tourism map and engage the private sector to explore investment opportunities and partnerships, said Leslie Reed, the USAID mission director.

The campaign is expected to hold exhibitions, photography competitions, and folkloric events over the coming months to highlight Esna's attractions, the US embassy explained.

The embassy also said that USAIDs work in Esna is revitalising cultural tourism, creating jobs, and increasing public and private investment, and it is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Ministry of International Cooperation, Luxor governorate, and local partners including Takween Integrated Community Development.

Since 1978, the US, through the USAID, has invested over $30 billion (EGP 471 billion) to support Egypts economic development.

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The amendment also cancelled the requirement that global credit rating agencies be a shareholder in such a company in order for it to be established.

Chairman of the FRA Mohammed Omran said their action was undertaken to stimulate the creation of these companies in the domestic markets non-banking sector, which will enhance the sectors capabilities and create an atmosphere of competitiveness.

He added that the action also backs the countrys increasing number of bond issuances  24 in 2021  a number that is expected to grow in 2022 in response to a recently approved law regarding securitisation and Egypts anticipated issuance for the first time of sustainable bonds in line with its Vision 2030.

Credit rating agencies main activity is to evaluate the credit risk of corporations and governments as borrowers and the issuers of fixed-income securities and their ability to repay their financial obligations to the international financial institutions (IFIs).

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Senegal's President Macky Sall said on Tuesday that Egypt's hosting of the coming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh is "a historic" opportunity, in which Africa should speak with one voice.

"It is not acceptable to always remain in the position of those who pay the price for pollution caused by others," said Sall, who is set to take over the presidency of the African Union within days.

Africa is not a highly industrialised continent and therefore "global warming is not our fault, and all African countries together cause no more than of four percent of the global emission of carbon dioxide, he said in an interview with Al-Ahram daily's Editor-in-Chief Alaa Thabet

Sall, who is visiting Egypt currently, asserted that over 600 million African people still do not benefit from electricity, so Africa should not be held accountable for the harms of global warming.

As for the decade-long dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Senegal's president said his country has "broad" expertise in this field, giving an example of Senegal's four-decade experience in cooperating with the countries bordering the Senegal River.

The quartet of Mauritania, Mali, Guinea and Senegal have established a regional body tasked with facilitating the investment and management of the Senegal River in a way that guarantees cooperation between the four countries in sharing the river water, he added.

He also noted that his country is a member of another regional body tasked with facilitating the investment and management of the Gambia River.

He said his country could share this expertise with Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

"We believe that the solution of GERD issue can be reached through dialogue," he noted, adding that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia must continue consultations to reach "fair and transparent" agreement.

He said that the World Water Forum that will start in March will be an "a good" opportunity to share the positive experiences around the world in the field of water management, revealing that he has asked President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during the pair's meeting on Saturday to send a delegation to participate in this conference.

He added that his visit to Egypt witnessed the signing of agreements, and an invitation to the private sector in the two countries to work together, especially since Egypt is an industrial African country that has the potential to be involved in the market in Senegal and Africa generally.

He also called for activating the African free trade zone agreement, assuring that it represents "great and promising" economic opportunities for all African countries.

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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Wednesday that the US "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran has ended in abject failure in the face of resistance and perseverance.

Raisi made the remarks during a visit to the mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to the Iranian presidency's website.

The Iranian president noted that the failure of the US pressure policy was an outcome of the Iranians' resistance and perseverance. "If we fulfill our duty and great responsibility correctly, the obstacles will be removed," he said.

Over the past 40 years, good measures have been taken and good services provided in different sectors in the country, as the enemy is still making every bid to prevent Iran's Islamic establishment from fully stabilizing and developing, Raisi added.

"They, however, have so far failed to achieve success, and will not succeed either in the future," the Iranian president concluded.

He called on the entire Iranian nation to join hands and help his administration to solve the country's challenges and problems.

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Egypts Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a meeting on Tuesday with a delegation of European experts and health officials and representatives of the European Unions mission in Cairo to discuss boosting bilateral cooperation on vaccine manufacturing.

A delegation of technical experts from EuroHealthNet are on a visit to Cairo from 31 January and 3 February to learn about Egypts production capacity, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Belgium-based EuroHealthNet is a non-profit partnership of organisations and bodies that works on promoting health and health equity.

This first exploratory visit of its kind seeks to determine the production requirements for vaccine manufacturing in Egypt, the ministry said.

The visit aims to formulate the best cooperation frameworks between the two sides for vaccine production in Egypt to meet local needs and export vaccine doses to African countries, according to the statement.

The visit also comes as part of the European Unions initiative to allocate 1 billion euros for a program that seeks to build vaccine manufacturing hubs in African countries in a way that contributes to achieving self-sufficiency in vaccine supplies in the continent, the ministry said.

Egypt has manufactured millions of doses of Sinovacs coronavirus vaccine as per agreements signed with the Chinese company in April last year. The country aims to produce 60 million Sinovac vaccine doses per year.

Egyptian officials have also revealed intentions last year to locally produce the American Moderna and Russias Sputnik V vaccines.

Ambassador Ihab Nasr, the assistant foreign minister on European affairs, chaired the Tuesday meeting. Officials from the Egyptian ministries of health, trade and industry, higher education and scientific research, and international cooperation attended the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by officials from the Egyptian Drug Authority, the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines, and the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement, Medical Supply and the Management of Medical Technology.

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Egypts Public Prosecution has referred a judge and his wife to trial after 1,503 historical artefacts were discovered in their apartment in the upscale Cairo neighbourhood of Zamalek.

The defendants face charges of trading in antiquities and illegally possessing artefacts.

Related Egyptian businessman to stand trial over financing illegal excavation of antiquities

The artefacts date back to the ancient Egyptian and Islamic eras as well as the Mohamed Ali dynasty, the prosecution said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the defendants were in possession of 119 artefacts from Egypts khedival period.

Mohamed Ali Pasha was the Albanian de facto ruler of Egypt between 1805 and 1848 after the French occupation under Napoleon.

The seized pieces were not registered with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, which is in charge of protecting Egyptian heritage, the prosecution said.

The defendant

The case dates back to May when police found a large quantity of ancient artefacts and rare jewelry in a Zamalek apartment owned by judge Ahmed Abdel-Fattah while executing an unrelated warrant against his son, Karim.

The accused judge, who works in Kuwait, is the son of Abdel-Fattah Hassan, a former interior minister under King Farouk, the ruler of Egypt between 1936 and 1952 and the last ruler from Mohamed Ali's family.

In a statement circulated by local media at the time, Abdel-Fattah asserted that he had inherited the artefacts from his family.

According to Egyptian law, anyone who comes in possession of ancient artefacts must inform the relevant authorities within 48 hours.

Some media outlets have published photos of the seized items, which include rare paintings, jewelry, boxes inlaid with precious jewels, and other artefacts. Located on 20 Mansour Mohamed St., the apartment has been sequestrated and placed under supervision of the prosecution.

Renowned lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr is representing Abel-Fattah in the case. Abu Bakr led the negotiating committee on behalf of the Suez Canal Authority last year in the case of the Ever Given incident, where the giant container vessel ran aground in the Suez Canal and caused the international trade route to lose billions in revenues.

The prosecution said in its Wednesday statement that it has ordered the release of Abdel-Fattah on EGP 1 million bail, while assuring that the decision was in no way influenced by the defendants job.

The prosecution has also ordered the arrest of Abdel-Fattahs wife, who is a fugitive inside the country. Both defendants have been placed on the travel ban list, the statement said.

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Air pollution in Greater Cairo and the Nile Delta is down by 25.5 percent as of December compared to the same period the previous year, Egypt's Minister of the Environment Yasmin Fouad said on Wednesday in a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly where she reviewed the report on the environmental agenda for 2021.

Air pollution has been a challenging problem for Egypt for years, particularly in heavily populated regions like Greater Cairo and the Nile Delta.

Fouad noted that the ministry's efforts to reduce air pollution include the construction of 114 monitoring stations, up from 90 stations in 2016, to observe the quality of ambient air, a statement by the cabinet said.

The minister added that the efforts also included linking 85 industrial facilities to the National Network for Monitoring Industrial Emissions with 418 chimneys, changing the exhaust system on more than 17,000 vehicles, and establishing 38 noise monitoring stations in 13 governorates.

Minister Fouad also said that a green nursery was established on five acres in the city of Kharja in the New Valley Governorate, and the Al-Tabin area saw the planting of 3,000 trees in order to reduce pollutants.

Also, the ministry provided environmental support by planting 20,000 trees and seedlings for schools, universities, institutes, NGOs, and neighborhoods, in addition to supplying more than 106,000 trees a part of the Presidential Initiative Decent Life.

The minister pointed out that 5,726 programs and activities have been implemented to raise environmental awareness.

This is in addition to the launch of a new advertising campaign to raise awareness of the danger of using single-use plastic bags and to introduce environmentally friendly alternatives.

Environmental inspections were conducted on 4,270 establishments working in various environmental fields, and the environmental status of 300 facilities was inspected to ensure their emissions did not exceed permissible limits, Fouad said.

Egypt has been speeding up its transition to a green economy and increased its efforts to reduce emissions as it prepares to host the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27).

As part of Egypt's commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and COP26s outcomes, President El-Sisi has assured that Egypt would seek during COP27 to enhance international climate action and achieve the goals of the Paris agreement.

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In the early 1980s, Wassim joined an incredible team of Al-Ahram photographers. In his early years, he worked with big names whose photos documented the country's major events from the 1950s onwards. With a passion for photography and a desire to work with prominent photo-journalists, Wassim, like others of his generation, was challenged to excel and to find his own place.

A photo by Wassim for a football game of 1986 Africa Cup of Nations

Wassim (centre) receiving a Press Syndicate award in 2018

Early on, Wassim mostly contributed to the Features page of Al-Ahram daily, which covered the big stories at the time. However, his passion for arts prompted him to often contribute to Al-Ahrams last page that always dedicated a considerable leading slot for pictures.

Other than arts, Wassim had a passion for profiling people giving interviews to Al-Ahram journalists. He would look for a certain glance or a certain facial expression to capture what he thought was the essence of the moment.

Upon the launch of Al-Ahram Weekly in 1991 and that of Al-Ahram Online in 2010, Wassim, along with other photographers at Al-Ahram, contributed immensely to the coverage ran by the weekly and its sister portal service.

Throughout his career, Wassim worked with veteran photo-journalists who had been on the job for years and those who had just started and were still trying to find their way around the profession. In both cases he worked at his own rhythm without worrying too much about being compatible with anyone else.

Wassim with Al-Ahram Weekly colleagues in 2013

We are not doing the same job," he once said about his relationship with journalists, "we do different jobs that require different energies and different tempos. He hated that some journalists thought that they had the upper hand on the job. He thought photos mattered a lot  sometimes even more than the stories  because they were the first thing that the readers would see when they pick up a newspaper.

This was perhaps one key reason he opted to join Al-Ahram Weekly, which always gave prominence to the work of its photo-journalists. He worked closely with Sherif Sonbol, who had joined Al-Ahram around the same time and who had enormous respect for Wassims style of photography.

Wassims photos appeared in all the publications of Al-Ahram that were issued in the 1990s under the then chairman-of-the-board Ibrahim Nafie. He always kept friendly, but rather distant relations with the staff at each publication.

A photo by Wassim for Al-Tahtib performance in 2011

Wassim was a loner who enjoyed spending hours on end with a parade of small glass cups of Turkish coffee and a smoke  he much preferred shisha to cigarettes  as he would look carefully at pictures printed in magazines.

He lived a peaceful and unpretentious life that came to a sudden end this week to the great grief of all his colleagues, whether they had known him for long or short.

Wassim, right, on assignment in 1987

A photo by Wassim for a National Theater performance in 1984

A glance at Sayyeda Aisha Flyover in 1985

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Turkish warplanes carried out strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and Syria, the Turkish defence ministry said Wednesday, with authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region reporting "casualties".

"Turkish warplanes targeted several positions of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters" on Tuesday, including in the Makhmur and Sinjar regions, Kurdish counter-terrorism services said, without specifying the number of dead or wounded.

The Turkish defence ministry said it carried out strikes in "the regions of Derik, Sinjar and [Mount] Kararak in northern Iraq and Syria" targeting suspected bases of the PKK and the People's Protection Units (YPG), a US-backed Syrian Kurdish group that Ankara considers a "terrorist" offshoot of the PKK.

"Shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots and alleged headquarters and training camps" were targeted, the ministry said.

Viewed as a "terrorist" group by Turkey and its Western allies after a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, the PKK has bases and training camps in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq and on the mountainous border with Turkey.

"Turkish military aircraft bombed six PKK positions in the Karjokh mountains," said the Kurdish counter-terrorism services statement.

It said Turkish jets carried out strikes on "two other positions in the Sinjar mountains and the adjacent area in Syria".

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, reported a "strike by a Turkish drone" on a Syrian Kurdish position near the Rmeilan oil field in the Kurdish-controlled northeast.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened to "clean up" parts of northern Iraq, accuses the PKK of using the mountainous border area as a springboard for its insurgency.

Turkish forces routinely conduct military strikes against suspected PKK hideouts in the area, straining Ankara's relations with Baghdad.

In December, Turkey carried out retaliatory air strikes in northern Iraq after three Turkish soldiers died in a PKK attack.

Ankara has mounted successive air and ground offensives targeting rear bases of the PKK rebels, whose insurgency has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1984.

Turkey also has a military presence in neighbouring Syria, where it has seized swathes of territory in successive military operations since 2016.

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Some public universities opened in Afghanistan on Wednesday for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August, with a trickle of women attending classes that officials said would be segregated by sex.

Most secondary schools for girls and all public universities were shuttered when the hardline Islamist group stormed back to power, sparking fears women would again be barred from education, as happened during the Taliban's first rule, from 1996-2001.

"It's a moment of joy for us that our classes have started," Zarlashta Haqmal, who studies law and political science at Nangarhar University, told AFP.

"But we are still worried that the Taliban might stop them."

One analyst said the reopening of universities was a "critical marker" on the Taliban's road to international recognition.

Officials said universities in Laghman, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Nimroz, Farah and Helmand provinces opened Wednesday.

More were scheduled to resume operations elsewhere in the country later this month.

An AFP correspondent saw one small group of women, wearing the all-covering burqa, enter Laghman University early Wednesday.

The men who attended, ferried to the campus in local taxis and buses; were dressed in traditional tunics known as shalwar kameez.

Attendance was very light and Taliban fighters guarded the entrance, a tripod-mounted machine gun resting on a boom gate.

Most students declined to offer their thoughts on returning to class, with some saying they had been warned by authorities not to speak to the press.

Journalists were prevented from entering the Laghman campus and universities in other provinces.

'Critical marker'

The Taliban have said they have no objection to education for women, but want classes to be segregated and the curriculum based on Islamic principles.

"We were told that the classes will be held according to the Sharia law," said Malik Samadi, a 23-year-old mathematics student.

"I hope that they keep all the courses, because society needs them."

"Education is the foundation of a country," said civil engineering student Munsefullah at Helmand University, expressing joy at returning to his studies.

On Tuesday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the reopening of universities was an "important step" as it offered equal access to education for all.

The reopenings come a week after a Taliban delegation held talks with Western officials in Norway, where they were pressed on improving the rights of women to unlock billions of dollars in seized assets and frozen foreign aid.

The halting of aid has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, which has already been devastated by decades of war.

No country has yet recognised the new Taliban regime, which has promised a softer version of the harsh rule that characterised their first stint in power.

The regime has imposed several restrictions on women, including banning them from many government jobs.

The Taliban say all girls' schools will reopen by the end of March.

"The reopening of public universities, would bode well for the return of girls (to school) around the country," United States Institute of Peace analyst Andrew Watkins told AFP.

"This is the Taliban taking a step that would be a critical marker in moving closer towards recognition."

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Almost eight out of 10 respondents of a survey in the UAE were extremely worried that becoming seriously ill would deplete their savings.

More than half of the respondents stated that they believed they could only manage for up to three months financially faced with a loss of income due to a serious illness, according to 'Critical Illness Survey Report' issued by Zurich International Life (Zurich), part of Zurich Insurance Group, and YouGov, a market research agency.

The responses were gathered from 502 employed UAE residents aged between 24 and 45 years and without dependents on how they would cope financially should they be diagnosed with a serious illness.

The report also sought to raise awareness of the adverse impact of a critical condition such as cancer or a heart attack on financial security, especially among young professionals. According to the research, more than six in 10 respondents were very or extremely worried about falling victim to a serious illness in the future.

Dr Khatchik Kinoyan, Chief Underwriter at Zurich International Life, commented: "We commissioned this survey to understand perceptions around financial security in the unfortunate event of suffering any form of critical illness, a growing concern among a very high percentage of young professionals. The process of diagnosis, treatment and recovery from a critical illness could take a long time. A serious illness like cancer or heart attack may result in a prolonged treatment and recovery period. During this time, one may be unable to work which may result in a reduction or loss of income."

The survey findings also identified that only four out of 10 expect to be able to keep their current job or continue to run their business in case of a lengthy treatment or recovery phase with more than half requiring a family member to fly to the UAE to care for them while they recover.

Dr Khatchik continued: "We are conscious that these are difficult situations with implications on physical and emotional but also financial health. We are committed to delivering a brighter future built on informed optimism. Critical illness protection can provide a layer of financial security in scenarios where the majority of medical insurance provided by employers will often only cover treatment costs."

Critical illness protection pays out the insured sum to replace income and provide financial security during a prolonged treatment and recovery period if diagnosed with a severe illness.

The money can also cover ancillary costs associated with the illness (such as flying in a family member) and lifestyle changes that employers or personal medical insurance do not cover.

A nine-question survey of 502 UAE residents in October 2021 was conducted using the YouGov's proprietary panel as online interviews.-- TradeArabia News Service
Historic rivals Turkey and Armenia were due Wednesday to resume their first commercial flights in two years as part of cautious efforts to normalize strained ties.

Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations, a closed land border, and a long history of hostility rooted in the mass killing of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

But in December, the two countries appointed special envoys to normalize relations, spurred by support from regional powerbroker Russia and Turkey's ally -- and Armenia's arch-foe -- Azerbaijan.

The special envoys met in Moscow last month for what they described as "constructive" talks.

The first flight run by Moldova's low-cost carrier FlyOne, which has a branch in Armenia, was expected to land on Wednesday evening at Istanbul Airport from Yerevan.

Another flight run by Turkey's Pegasus airline was due to take off from Istanbul's second airport, known as Sabiha Gokcen, late on Wednesday, for the Armenian capital.

A Pegasus spokeswoman said the budget airline will fly three flights to and from Yerevan a week.

Aram Ananyan, FlyOne chief in Armenia, told AFP there would be two weekly return flights between Yerevan and Istanbul.

Analysts called the resumption of flights a positive but cautious first step in the difficult journey of normalizing the sides' acrimonious ties.

"This is, of course, good news but it's also just a restoration of a previous situation," Thomas De Waal, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe think tank, told AFP.

"The involvement of Pegasus, a regular Turkish carrier, rather than charter flights as previously is a positive step but not a revolutionary one," he said.

"So though I welcome this very much I would hesitate to give it too much political significance," he added.

The flights between the two capitals were interrupted after the low-cost Turkish company Atlasglobal -- which had several flights per week -- filed for bankruptcy in February 2020.

Passengers were then forced to transit via Georgia.

The land border between Turkey and Armenia has been closed since 1993, forcing trucks to travel through Georgia or Iran.

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France on Wednesday loosened several of the restrictions imposed to curb the latest Covid surge, with authorities hoping a recent decline in daily cases will soon ease pressure on overburdened hospitals.

The move has divided experts after authorities reported record coronavirus infections just last month, with critics accusing the government of making a hasty bet on a return to normality.

But President Emmanuel Macron is betting that widespread vaccinations will curb the pandemic, with proof of inoculation now required for the health pass used to access everything from bars and restaurants to cinemas and long-distance public transport.

The government says more than 90 percent of adults are vaccinated, and booster shots or proof of recovery from Covid will be required to retain the new health pass, a recent negative test result is no longer accepted.

From Wednesday, wearing face masks outdoors will no longer be mandatory, and audience capacity limits have been lifted for theatres, concerts, sporting matches and other events.

Working from home is also no longer required, though it remains strongly recommended.

A second stage of easing is set for February 16, when nightclubs can reopen after being shut in December, and standing areas will again be allowed at concerts, sporting events and bars.

Eating and drinking will also be permitted in stadiums, cinemas and public transport from that date.

Macron also suggested in a press interview published Tuesday that restrictions imposed for schools, which include face mask requirements, could be eased after the winter breaks scheduled for later this month.

Cautious optimism

Authorities view the threat of the Omicron variant as less dangerous than previous strains of the virus, even though it is more contagious.

"We have seen a weak reversal of the trend over the past few days, with fewer cases declared each day than seven days earlier," government spokesman Gabriel Attal told France Info radio Tuesday.

An average of 322,256 cases were recorded over the previous seven days, according to latest figures, down from 366,179 a week ago.

Attal called it a "very encouraging signal" but said officials "remain cautious" because of a "very contagious" sub-variant of Omicron, BA.1, that appears to have delayed the peak of infections in other countries.

France also still has some 3,750 Covid patients in intensive care, above the government's target of 3,000, and on average the country is seeing 261 Covid deaths at hospitals every day.

"We've clearly passed the peak, we hope the decline will be quick. But we're coming from stratospheric levels, so this wave is still far from over," the epidemiologist Mahmoud Zureik told French daily Le Parisien on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, France had recorded 131,312 Covid deaths since the beginning of the outbreak.

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The United States could be willing to enter into an agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine, according to a leaked document published in a Spanish newspaper on Wednesday.

The daily El Pais published two documents purported to be written replies from the United States and NATO last week to Russia's proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe. U.S. officials could not be immediately contacted to confirm that one document is authentic.

In reference to the second document, NATO said that it never comments on ``alleged leaks.'' But the text closely reflects statements made to the media last by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as he laid out the 30-nation military organization's position on Russia's demands.

The U.S. document, marked as a confidential "non-paper,'' said that the United States would be willing to discuss in consultation with its NATO partners ``a transparency mechanism to confirm the absences of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland.''

That would happen on condition that Russia "offers reciprocal transparency measures on two ground-launched missiles bases of our choosing in Russia.''

Aegis is a system for defending against short or intermediate-range missiles. But Russia has claimed in the past that the US could attack with Tomahawk intermediate-range missiles from Aegis Ashore sites. The US document said Washington would have to consult with NATO allies on the potential offer, particularly with Romania and Poland.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the leaked documents, saying only that "we didn't release anything.'' In comments to the state RIA Novosti news agency, Russia's Foreign Ministry also refused to confirm or deny that the documents published by El Pais were authentic.

Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have mounted in recent months, after President Vladimir Putin deployed more than 100,000 troops to areas near Ukraine's borders, including in neighboring Belarus, backed by tanks, artillery, helicopters and warplanes. Putin says he does not intend to order an invasion.

The U.S. underlined after its written proposals in the leaked document that "progress can only be achieved on these issues in an environment of de-escalation with respect to Russia's threatening actions towards Ukraine.''

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President Joe Biden ordered Wednesday the deployment of several thousand more troops to bolster NATO forces in eastern Europe, ratcheting up the US military response to fears that Russia could invade Ukraine.

With Russia refusing to pull back 100,000 troops poised on Ukraine's borders, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said 1,000 US soldiers now in Germany would deploy to Romania, and another 2,000 in the United States would be sent to Germany and Poland.

"The current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on NATO's eastern flank," Kirby said.

"President Biden has been clear, the United States will respond to the growing threat to Europe's security and stability."

Kirby stressed that the move was to demonstrate US commitment to the NATO alliance and that no American troops would be sent to fight in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded guarantees that Ukraine will not join the alliance, and has implicitly threatened the former Soviet state with the massive military buildup along the two countries' frontier.

Russia also wants NATO and the United States to foreswear the deployment of missile systems near Russia's borders and to pull back NATO forces in eastern Europe.

Russia Claims Chinese Support

The US announcement came one day after Putin, in his first major remarks on the crisis in weeks, suggested Washington was using Kyiv as an instrument to potentially drag Moscow into a war.

The West is seeking to contain Russia, he said, and "Ukraine itself is just a tool to achieve this goal."

Putin left the door open to talks, saying he was studying Western proposals and that he hoped that "in the end, we will find a solution."

The Kremlin said Wednesday it had Beijing's support in the standoff, and that would emerge when Putin meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday.

"China supports Russia's demands for security guarantees," the Kremlin's top foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov told reporters.

Diplomatic Efforts

Both sides continued to weigh proposals exchanged for de-escalating the increasingly tense situation, but there was no sign of compromise Wednesday.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the latest NATO leader to visit Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky.

After the talks, Zelensky said Ukraine was focused "only on peace", but insisted it has the right to defend itself.

"It is essential for dialogue to continue between Russia and the United States, between Russia and NATO," said Rutte.

NATO welcomed the new US troop deployment, with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg saying "NATO will do whatever is necessary to protect and defend all allies."

Citing leaked documents, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Western proposals to Russia include arms control and trust-building measures to defuse the situation.

While a guarantee against Ukraine joining NATO was not offered, the documents proposed "reciprocal commitments by both the United States and Russia to refrain from deploying offensive ground-launched missile systems and permanent forces with a combat mission in the territory of Ukraine," El Pais reported.

"We did not make this document public," Kirby said.

Nevertheless, he said, it confirms that "NATO and its partners are unified in their resolve and open to constructive and serious diplomacy."

Russia 'Adding Forces'

But Kirby said Moscow has shown "no signs of being interested or willing to de-escalate the tensions."

"Mr. Putin continues to add forces, combined arms, offensive capabilities, even over just the last 24 hours. He continues to add in western Russia and Belarus and ... the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic."

Tensions have been further aggravated by plans for joint military exercises between Russia and neighboring Belarus, where Washington claims Moscow is preparing to send 30,000 troops.

Video footage released by the Russian defense ministry on Wednesday showed tanks speeding across snowy fields in Belarus and combat helicopters flying overhead as units from both countries practiced ahead of the February 10-20 drills.

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Annual exports of Egyptian food increased by 19 percent in 2021, recording $4.1 billion, compared with $3.45 billion in 2020, Chairman of the Food Export Council Hany Barzy said on Wednesday.

Barzy, in a statement by the Council, noted that the exports of June 2021 were the highest, recording $393 million.

He pointed out that Arab countries topped the list of international groups importing processed foods from Egypt. Exports to the Arab markets amounted to $2.225 billion, representing 54 percent of the total food exports during the year, Barzy explained.

In a previous statement, Egypts Trade and Industry Minister Nevine Gamea noted that the most important Egyptian agricultural crops exported include rice, grains, onions, garlic, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, citrus fruits, and peanuts, for which Russia, Saudi Arabia, Britain, and the United Arab Emirates are the most important markets for such Egyptian exports.



The European Union came second in the list with a value of $634 million, with a growth rate of 29 percent and representing 15 percent of Egypt's total food exports, Barzy said.



It was followed by non-Arab African countries with the value of food imported from Egypt amounting to $404 million, representing 10 percent of the total.



The value of food exports to the US upped by 23 percent to $223 million, representing 5 percent of Egypt's total food exports.



The rest of the international groups recorded $616 million worth of food imports from Egypt during 2021, which represents 15 percent of the total Egyptian food exports in the year.

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Jonathan Broxton, a veteran music critic with Movie Music UK, has included the Pharaoh's Golden Parade music by Hisham Nazih in his choices for best works of 2021.

Broxton is a Los Angeles-based British film music reviewer who for over the past two decades has written reviews published on Movie Music UK, an internationally renowned online platform dedicated to monitoring and writing about new developments in film music.

Each year, Broxton, who is also a member of the International Film Music Critics Association, sums up the year and picks his favourite works from the film industry from all around the globe.

In his latest entry titled Movie Music UK Awards 2021, Broxton highlighted the Pharaoh's Golden Parade with music by Egyptian composer Hesham Nazih.

In April 2021, 22 royal mummies of ancient Egyptian kings and queens were transferred from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to their final destination at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Fustat, in a large ceremony that was broadcast live internationally.

As Broxton explains in his review, "the whole thing was a grand, spectacular celebration of Egyptian culture, featuring light and laser displays, and parades of men and women in traditional dress accompanying these ancient rulers to their new resting places."

Speaking about the United Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Egyptian conductor Nader Abbasi, Broxton calls Nazih's music a "spectacular orchestral and choral glory, bold, dramatic, intense, thematically rich, and mesmerizing when combined with the visuals of these long-dead kings and queens making their journey through contemporary Cairo. There are layered vocals with men and women intoning in superb call-and-response fashion, vivid cello ostinato, swirling string figures, bold explosions of brass. The music becomes magical, sweeping, almost operatic, as the convoy of pharaohs circle the obelisk, and rises to a rich and epic version of the theme heard at the beginning of the work as the pharaohs disappear from view. Its all just utterly magnificent; there are echoes of Miklos Rozsa, Alfred Newman, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and several others echoing through the work. Its that good."

Receiving the attention of an international critic who offered Nazih his 'Special Award', the Egyptian composers is placed next to several other names picked by the British film music reviewer.

Broxton gave Score of the Year to a new take on the ballet Coppelia written by Anglo-Italian composer Maurizio Malagnini, Composer of the Year to James Newton Howard, Breakthrough Composer of the Year to Spanish composer Oscar Martin Leanizbarrutia, and Best Original Song to Tribulation from the comedy show Schimigadoon written by Cinco Paul and performed by Kristen Chenoweth.

Born in 1972, Nazih is an Egyptian film and television series score composer. His career has involved composing music for a number of successful films, including Hysteria, Sleepless Nights (2003), Tito (2004), Ibrahim Labyad (2009), Elfeel El-Azraq (The Blue Elephant, 2014), The Treasure (2017), The Treasure 2 (2019), Sons of Rizk (2019), among others.

Nazih also wrote the music for Born a King, a 2019 historical coming-of-age drama film directed by Agusti Villaronga. The film was a coproduction between the UK and five Arab countries.

His scores for the television series include Sharbat Louz (Almond Nectar, 2012), Niran Sadiqa (Friendly Fire, 2013), and Al-Aahd (The Covenant, 2015).

Over the years, he collaborated with a number of well-known directors including Sherif Arafa and Marwan Hamed, with whom he worked on several occasions.

Nazihs work for El-Asliyyin (2017) brought him the Best Music award at the Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema (2018). For his contribution to the film music scene, he was also awarded the Faten Hamama Excellence Award at the 40th Cairo International Film Festival (2018).

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The Ukraine crisis is the biggest challenge Europe has faced for decades and its fallout will have international repercussions, not least on the Middle East, writes Manal Lotfy from London

Europe appears singularly ill-prepared for a crisis of the magnitude of the one unfolding in Ukraine. European leaders may repeatedly assert that they are presenting a united front, but their reassurances cannot paper over the cracks. While the continents major powers  Britain, France, and Germany  have in the past tended to coordinate their policies during major crises in Europe, today there is no disguising the fact they are adopting different approaches towards Moscow and the Ukrainian crisis.

So far, Britain has taken the lead in the crisis, threatening to double the number of British troops in Ukraine and send more military equipment. Perhaps as a distraction from the enormous domestic political pressure he is facing, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thrown himself into the fray and on Tuesday headed to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The British government insists it will press ahead with its deterrence and diplomacy strategy towards Russia. In a speech to parliament, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the government was considering options for further deployments of our armed forces to reassure and protect allies on NATOs eastern flank.

She also said London will consider supplying NATO with more fast jets, warships, and military specialists.

Johnsons internal problems, including a police investigation into breaches of Covid-19 restrictions at the prime ministers official residence 10 Downing Street, have limited his ability to make any effective intervention. Indeed, he was unable to make a high-stakes scheduled call with Russias Vladimir Putin on Monday because he was battling to keep his own job in the face of an outraged public and calls he should resign.

When Downing Street requested that the call with Putin be rescheduled to Tuesday, the Kremlin refused, suggesting Wednesday instead, leaving Johnson to head to Ukraine without speaking to Putin.

While British involvement in the Ukraine crisis may have removed doubts in Germany and France about Londons commitment to European security post-Brexit, Britains active diplomatic engagement is not exactly a cause for celebration in Paris and Berlin. The convergence of London and Washingtons positions on the crisis has reinforced Londons strategic importance as a close ally of Washington in Europe, leading to discomfort among European powers. France and Germany do not like to see a country outside the European Union (EU) coordinate with Washington more closely on European security than the EU itself.

Europes uneasiness is reinforced by the fact that Berlin and Paris have yet to put in place clear policies. In contrast to Londons threats to Moscow of diplomatic isolation and wide-ranging sanctions, Berlin and Paris have adopted a more cautious language. France and Germanys relations with Russia are complex and intertwined. Last week, speaking before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, French President Emmanuel Macron called on EU countries to maintain a dialogue with Moscow and present European proposals to build a new security and stability order.

Macrons speech was grounded in the French presidents belief that Europeans must assume responsibility for their own defence and security, a position that has, if anything, hardened in the wake of the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the catastrophic humanitarian and strategic legacy of the Iraq war.

Berlin and Paris are not alone in believing the Biden administration will eventually reach a compromise with Moscow to prevent the escalation of tensions. While Washington has not given Moscow any pledges that Ukraine will not join NATO, Moscow and Washington are likely to reach a compromise on this that practically eliminates the prospects of Ukraine joining NATO in the foreseeable future. Biden alluded to this a few days ago when, addressing the conditions under which Ukraine could join, he noted that there are differences within NATO.

Facing his own presidential election in April, Macrons instincts are to use behind-the-scenes diplomacy to pave the way for a settlement regarding Ukraine, and in the process enhance his appeal at the polls. Tellingly, after the phone call between Putin and Johnson was postponed, Macron stepped in and spoke with the Russian president.

The Ukraine crisis has come at the worst possible time for Berlin. Germanys ruling coalition is only a few weeks old, and is divided over how to deal with the crisis. The Social Democratic Party, the coalitions largest partner, holds NATO and the US partly responsible for the escalation. For more than two decades it has watched askance as NATO extended its borders and Washington concluded security arrangements with Central and Eastern European countries without involving Moscow. In the eyes of many, the US unilateral security arrangements can no longer be sustained. The ruling coalitions junior partner, the Green Party, however, disagrees with the narrative that NATO is the aggressor and Russia the victim.

In addition to differences within the coalition, there is the simple fact that Germany imports 55 per cent of its natural gas from Russia, and any sanctions on Russia that include the energy sector will force a large increase in gas and oil prices. Berlin, as a consequence, is leaning towards a diplomatic dialogue and time-buying approach rather than having to confront the huge contradictions between its immediate economic interests and European security, though Berlins ambiguous position may come under pressure when German Chancellor Olaf Schulz meets with Biden in Washington on 7 February to discuss the crisis.

The UKs calculations are straightforward compared to those of Berlin and Paris. What Britain wants is to reassert its role as Americas closest ally in Europe, and to confirm that Brexit has not detracted from its international role or its involvement in European security.

Paris and Berlin worry that Londons enthusiasm to play an assertive role is fuelling tensions. Paris also suspects that London is seeking to form an alliance with several countries, including the Baltic states, that will weaken the EUs French-German axis, and threaten Macrons ambitions to forge a coherent European defence policy.

Instead of demonstrating the unity of the Western stance, the Ukrainian crisis has served to reveal the contradictions within Europe, and is foregrounding European states concerns about Americas waning hegemony. For major European powers such as France and Germany, ignoring Russias national security concerns while resolutely expanding NATO is a lose-lose situation.

While the Ukraine crisis is a European crisis, its implications will be international. Capitals in the Middle East and Asia will be watching closely to see if Biden gives ground and accommodates some of Putins demands, especially after Biden confirmed that America will not go to war with Russia over Ukraine.

Should Russia succeed in halting the expansion of NATO to its borders, Moscow may well be tempted to try and rearrange the security order in the Middle East to protect its interests, with Iran and Syria among the likely beneficiaries.

Putin has chosen to play poker, and his timing is perfect. America is mired in internal problems, Europe is divided, and no one has any appetite for a new cold war.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 3 February, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The interim phase in Libya appears to have unlatched itself from the UN-sponsored roadmap that was to culminate in parliamentary and presidential elections on 24 December 2021.

On Monday 31 Jan, the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) announced that it would be accepting candidates for a new prime minister on 8 February in accordance with the newly adopted nomination mechanism. If it goes ahead, the process will further confuse an already complicated political process.

Libyan government officials who spoke with Al-Ahram Weekly from Tripoli said the incumbent prime minister, Abdul-Hamid Al-Dabeiba, will only hand over the government to another elected authority. Observers fear an east-west standoff over this question could drive the country back to the intense polarisation that had prevailed before the current government was formed.

To compound tensions, militia factions from Misrata and Zawiya have amassed forces around the capital, Tripoli. For the moment at least, sources in Libya feel confident that the situation will not deteriorate back into war, primarily because the problem this time is not related to the clash between rival chiefs of staff in Tripoli and Benghazi.

Nevertheless, a security breakdown is always a possibility given the east-west institutional bifurcation. The situation could become particularly volatile if the HoR elects a prime minister from the west, as observers predict will happen. That could usher in an unprecedented problem. On top of rival governments in the east and west, there would be rival premierships within the west.

Anticipating this, HoR Speaker Aguila Saleh has proposed turning Sirte into the new administrative capital, thereby keeping the new government aloof from the tugs-of-war in Tripoli.

It is still not clear whether political forces will support the new government and, accordingly, what bases of legitimacy it would have, apart from the HoR. As of writing, not even the east based general command of the Libyan National Army (LNA) has expressed a view on the matter, though it is likely to support the HoRs actions.

Early January brought about an unexpected rapprochement between the LNA Commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar who is based in Benghazi, former interior minister Fathi Bashagha and former vice-chairman of the Presidency Council Ahmed Maiteeq who hail from Misrata. The three are believed to be the most likely candidates to head the new government.

At the same time, there is no love lost between Haftar and Dabeiba. That said, the army general command still has to go through Tripoli for crucial administrative and financial matters. In this context, it is noteworthy that shortly before the HoR announced the opening of nominations for a new prime minister, Dabeiba met with the Governor of the Libyan Central Bank (LCB) Saddek Omar Elkaber and with the Chairman of the Presidency Council Mohamed Al-Manfi to discuss the reunification of the bank.

This suggests that, under any new arrangements, the unified LCB will continue to work with the current caretaker government and will have no official relationship with the new government formed by a prime minister elected by the HoR.

It is doubtful that the new government will garner support from abroad. The UN has already expressed concerns regarding the creation of a new government. The UN Special Adviser on Libya Stephanie Williams believes that moves towards that end work against Libyan priorities which are an end to endless interim phases and a stable and accountable government.

She has stated that it is still possible to hold general elections in June 2022 in line with the UN-brokered roadmap and that forming a new government would hamper this. Williams believes that some Libyan officials are manoeuvring to remain in power and therefore working together to obstruct the political process by orchestrating a musical chairs game.

In addition to opposing the direction taken by the HoR she is clearly uncomfortable with the new political alliance that has brought former officials in the west (Bashagha and Maiteeq) into alignment with Haftar and Saleh. But nor does she support Dabeiba whom she accused of violating a moral pledge when he nominated himself as a candidate for the presidency in contravention of the roadmap and the commitment he made when he became prime minister.

More generally, she believes that such existing government institutions as the HoR and its counterpart in Tripoli, the High Council of State (HCS), have lasted long beyond their sell-by date and need to be changed. Elections by no later than June are the only way forward for the Libyan people who thirst for elections, she said.

Creating a new government would raise another question, namely what to do about the Presidency Council which was formed at the same as the government. Although the Presidency Council did not require a parliamentary vote of confidence, it is still a governing body associated with the current roadmap.

Forthcoming political developments in Libya will undoubtedly be shaped by reactions to the creation of a new government to replace Dabeibas, if indeed that occurs. Some sources predict that the HoR will not even be able to summon the quorum needed to hold a vote on a new government.

The HoR is deeply divided and many MPs are expected to boycott next weeks session because they support Dabeiba or favour the continuity of the current government and roadmap. It is conceivable that the boycotters will return to convening separate sessions in Tripoli, as occurred during the battle over the capital in 2020. On the other hand, in the HoR session on 31 January, Saleh warned that he would dismiss boycotting MPs and those who work in embassies and other positions.

As Al-Ahram Weekly goes to press, other international stakeholders in the Berlin process have yet to declare an official stance on the HoRs decision to form a new government. That silence speaks of considerable confusion even if statements from Washington and European capitals continue to stress the need to sustain momentum leading to elections as soon as possible for fear that they will be put off indefinitely.

In Cairo, observers are concerned by the situation in Libya. Last week, the Egyptian and Algerian presidents stressed the need for Libyans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections simultaneously, signalling that Cairo and Algiers are in line with the position of the UN. However, the above-mentioned developments, which have occurred since Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebbounes visit to Cairo on 24 January, show that the main Libyan stakeholders are not interested in holding elections in the foreseeable future.

Cairo, for its part, is keen to preserve the progress that has been made in Libya since the ceasefire reached in October 2020. Egypt was instrumental in preparing the ground for the ceasefire and has since been a key actor in helping Libyans build on the understandings reached and realise the aim of durable stability. In this regard, Bashagha and Saleh visited Cairo simultaneously shortly after a visit by Stephanie Williams in mid-January, but no clear or convincing plan has emerged to contain the crisis that set in following the cancellation of elections in December.

The road ahead for Libya is very foggy indeed. Not only is the HoR in the process of launching a new political process, but the roadmap committee that was formed after 24 December 2021 also favours amending the constitution and holding a referendum on it before holding elections.

This process followed by new arrangements for the elections based on the new constitutional provisions would extend the current interim phase to around two years. It also means that the roadmap committee would effectively take over from the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum which had formulated the current roadmap. That would give rise to even more uncertainties, tensions and issues. In short, there is nothing to inspire confidence that Libya will find a safe road to stability.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 3 February, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Egypt signed two memoranda of understanding this week to enhance cooperation with Senegal and South Korea in the field of archaeology and museums

Egypt signed two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Senegal and South Korea this week that are intended to contribute to the establishment of sustainable conservation policies for cultural properties, the support of mutual cooperation in the fields of archaeology and museums, and the exchange of experts and expertise between specialists in these fields, reports Nevine El-Aref.

The first was between Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the Museum of African Civilisations run by the Ministry of Culture in Senegal. It was witnessed by president Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall.

The MoU aims to exchange experiences in the fields of the restoration and maintenance of discovered artefacts, museum management, exhibition design, documentation, and archiving, as well as to develop the educational and cultural role of museums in both countries to raise awareness among citizens.

Supporting cooperation initiatives in the field of cultural property preservation and joint scientific research in the field of antiquities preservation are other goals of the MoU, in addition to organising temporary antiquities exhibitions, archaeological events, lectures, conferences, seminars, workshops, and specialised training courses aimed at building the capacities of archaeologists and curators.

The two countries will also cooperate to combat the illicit trafficking in cultural and archaeological properties and work within the framework of the regulations governing the protection of antiquities and intellectual property in Egypt and Senegal.

The MoU was signed by Khaled El-Enany, minister of tourism and antiquities, and Aissata Tall, the Senegalese minister of foreign affairs and Senegalese abroad.

The second MoU was signed between the SCA and the Cultural Heritage Administration of South Korea and aims to enhance cooperative projects in fighting the illicit trafficking of cultural properties, developing official development assistance projects in the fields of archaeology and museums, exchanging expertise in the fields of cultural heritage administration and the management and operation of services at archaeological sites and museums, and organising joint training sessions, workshops, seminars, conferences, and educational programmes.

It also aims to support the exchange of excavation missions, including the execution of archaeological research, surveys, conservation, preservation and the protection of cultural properties and the organisation of temporary exhibitions. It will help to ensure the exchange of expertise in applying the latest technology in the inscription of archaeological sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List and in the preparation of relevant studies and nominations, as well as in the field of underwater archaeology.

After signing the MoU, a joint Egyptian-Korean mission will restore the first pylon of the Ramesseum Temple on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 3 February, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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While households that own more than five homes increased from 137,899 in 2015 to 160,172 in 2019, those that do not own any home also grew from 8.41 million to 8.89 million and now account for 43.6 percent of all households, according to Statistics Korea.

The overheated housing market starkly reflects the growing gap between rich and poor in Korea, the latest figures show.

The most vulnerable people who do not own their homes are the elderly. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has found that 42.8 percent or 3,796 households who lived in squalid one-room flats last year are over 65. Others live in small, low-rent rooms for students studying for exams or in boarding houses.

The number of senior citizens who have to work to make ends meet is also increasing. The so-called economic participation rate of people aged 65 to 69 grew from 39.9 percent in 2008 to 55.1 percent last year.

Ku In-hoe at Seoul National University said, "The biggest worry among senior citizens living alone is housing. We urgently need to increase the number of senior citizens eligible for housing support and benefits."
Saudi Arabia today (February 1) announced more than $6.4 billion in investments in future technologies and entrepreneurship that will further secure the kingdoms position as the Mena regions largest digital economy.

The announcements were made during the opening day of LEAP, the international technology platform, which is taking place in Riyadh until February 3.

The investments and initiatives include the launch of Aramco Ventures Prosperity7 fund with $1 billion, and a billion dollar investment from Neom Tech & Digital Company with a focus on future technologies.

As part of its investment, Neom announced the launch of the worlds first cognitive metaverse, XVRS that will serve residents and visitors of the smart giga-project, and M3LD, a personal data management platform that gives back control of data to the user.

The kingdom's top telecom company stc has launched Mena Hub, a $1 billion investment in regional connectivity and infrastructure, which will support Saudi Arabias rapidly expanding digital and cloud sector.

LEAP also saw the launch of The Garage, a new platform for start-ups, investment and entrepreneurship by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). The Garage will create a full-service environment for local and international start-ups, to help them grow to become the leading technology companies of the future.

J&T Express Group, one of the world's fastest-growing logistics companies, announced an investment of $2 billion with eWTP Arabia Capital and other partners.

The investment will see J&T establish its Mena headquarters in Riyadh, and set up an extensive network of smart logistics and distribution facilities that will extend Saudi Arabias reach as the regional center for advanced logistics.

Saudi Arabia is the largest technology market in the Mena region, with a technology sector worth more than $40 billion.

The new investments announced at LEAP22 are part of the Kingdoms ongoing plans to transform into an innovation-based economy, which have already seen the country become one of the fastest-growing new markets for Fintech and digital content in the region.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 2, 2022 - 18:50 | All, Japan, World

Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin on Wednesday warned that Japan's plans to adopt punitive measures against Russia in line with tougher sanctions imposed on Moscow by some Western nations in the event of military aggression in Ukraine would be "counterproductive."

The envoy's remarks came after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged during a virtual summit with U.S President Joe Biden late last month to take "strong action in response to any attack" on Ukraine by Russia, which has increased its military presence on the border fueling concern about a possible invasion.

"I think that these remarks about so-called strong actions against Russia are counterproductive," Galuzin told a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo. "They would not contribute to the creation of good atmosphere, positive atmosphere in a dialogue between Russia and Japan."

On Tuesday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference that Tokyo will give consideration to what kind of action it can take.

Any sanctions by Japan would "contradict the agreement between our leaders to develop all-round relations between Russia and Japan," Galuzin said, referring to a bilateral agreement in 2018 to accelerate talks toward concluding a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities based on a 1956 joint declaration by the two countries.

The declaration mentioned the transfer to Japan of two of four groups of islands seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war, over which Japan and Russia have a decades-old dispute concerning their sovereignty. The territorial row has prevented them from signing a peace treaty.

Galuzin implied that Japan's policy against Russia over the Ukraine issue could affect future negotiations regarding a peace treaty.

The Russian ambassador also condemned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastward expansion as creating a "deep and systematic crisis."

"All the U.S. and NATO want is to prevent natural brother-like coexistence of our two states and people."

Asked about the intention of recent joint military exercises by Russia and China, Galuzin said it is "natural for two neighboring countries" to strengthen their security cooperation.

"Taking into account that Russia and China are strategic partners, they are just doing their job, and the job is to protect the national interests of Russia and China, respectively, and the area of security to defend our borders," the envoy said.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 3, 2022 - 09:20 | All, World

The United States on Wednesday announced plans to deploy thousands of additional troops to Europe in coming days to assure its allies in the region amid fears that Russia may further invade Ukraine, a move that triggered a backlash from Moscow.

The administration of President Joe Biden has also approached several major natural-gas importers in Asia, including China and Japan, about sending fuel to Europe to address any energy shortages that may occur in the region, which is dependent on Russian supplies, according to Bloomberg.

Tensions are simmering with Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has amassed around 100,000 troops on the border of Ukraine.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. government would not describe a potential Russian incursion into Ukraine as being "imminent," but added that it believes President Vladimir Putin could make a decision at "any time."

To reassure allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United States will send around 2,000 troops to Poland and Germany "in the next few days," while 1,000 soldiers currently based in Germany will be moved to Romania, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a press conference.

The forces are separate from the 8,500 troops which the Defense Department said last week have been placed on "heightened alert," mainly to become part of the NATO Response Force. Currently, the troops on high alert have not been activated for deployment to Europe, according to Kirby.

He emphasized that the just-announced additional military deployment is "not permanent" and that the troops are "not going to fight in Ukraine," which is not a member of NATO, although it aspires to join.

But the spokesman said the deployment is designed to "respond to the current security environment." He cited "clear evidence every day" that Putin "continues to destabilize the environment by adding more forces into the western part of his country and along Belarus."

Kirby did not rule out the risk of any conflict between Russia and Ukraine spilling over into neighboring countries, saying that armed conflict is "difficult to predict with any great specificity" and that the United States wants to clearly signal that it will not tolerate aggression against its NATO allies.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Washington's decision to send troops to Europe is a "destructive" step that fuels military tension, according to Interfax news agency.

The latest development came as talks between the United States and Russia to find a diplomatic path to resolve the situation failed to show significant progress.

Putin expressed his disappointment on Tuesday that the United States and NATO had "ignored" Russia's key security concerns, such as its demand to preclude NATO's expansion to Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.

On efforts to beef up energy security in Europe should a conflict over Ukraine erupt, Bloomberg said the Biden administration has reached out to officials in Japan, South Korea and India as well as China for cooperation. The engagement with China has been limited, the news agency added, citing people familiar with the matter.

The United States and its European allies have been warning Russia of the "severe consequences" it would face, including economic and financial sanctions, if it uses military force against Ukraine.

But concerns remain that Moscow may cut supplies to the region as a possible retaliatory measure, using its leverage as a supplier of about 40 percent of Europe's natural gas.

The United States has also been talking to major natural gas producers to see if they can surge output and allocate the additional volume to European buyers.

But unlike with oil, the global gas market has little spare capacity and no producer has said it can pump much more at short notice, according to Bloomberg.

Related coverage:

Japan's sanctions over Ukraine "counterproductive": Russian envoy

Putin says U.S. "ignored" key security concerns amid Ukraine standoff

Japan to move some embassy staff from Ukraine amid tensions
KYODO NEWS - Feb 2, 2022 - 13:05 | All, Japan

The Japanese and U.S. foreign ministers agreed Wednesday to closely cooperate toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, amid repeated North Korean ballistic missile launches since earlier this year, the Japanese government said.

In their telephone talks, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also shared their "grave concern" over Russia's military buildup along its border with Ukraine that has sparked concern about a possible invasion, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

North Korea's missile launches "threaten the peace and stability of Japan and the international community," Hayashi told reporters after the phone talks.

Blinken condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches as violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.S. State Department said. He also told Hayashi that the United States will cooperate with Japan and South Korea to completely denuclearize the peninsula.

Also Wednesday, the vice foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and South Korea held phone talks, agreeing to continue to work closely together in dealing with the North Korean nuclear and missile issues, the Japanese ministry said.

The moves came after North Korea on Sunday fired what its state-run media identified as a Hwasong-12 missile, apparently the first launch of an intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile since November 2017 that marked the seventh round of missile testing by the country since the beginning of the year.

In mid-January, Pyongyang hinted at the resumption of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

As for Ukraine, Hayashi and Blinken discussed "the need to deter Russia from further military action or other aggressive acts," the State Department said.

Several hours before talking with Hayashi, Blinken held phone talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in which Blinken urged an "immediate" de-escalation and withdrawal of Russian troops from the border with Ukraine, according to the U.S. government.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 2, 2022 - 09:24 | All, World

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday slammed the United States and its European allies for having "ignored" key security concerns raised by Moscow amid the ongoing standoff over Ukraine but signaled his intention to continue talks.

Russia has amassed around 100,000 troops on the border of Ukraine, triggering fears of a further incursion into its neighbor since 2014. While the West has been calling for a de-escalation, Moscow has demanded security guarantees, such as precluding NATO's expansion to Ukraine.

"It is already clear...that the fundamental Russian concerns were ignored," Putin said at a news conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to Russian media.

He also insisted on a halt to NATO's eastward expansion, saying Russia would have to engage in "war" with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the event that Ukraine is admitted to the alliance and seeks to recapture Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

While maintaining that NATO's door remains open to any country, the United States has suggested room for discussions with Russia on setting reciprocal limits on military exercises in Europe and the placement of offensive weapons.

In a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for an "immediate" Russian de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine's borders, according to the U.S. government.

He also reiterated a warning that further aggression against Ukraine would be met with "swift and severe consequences," including economic and financial sanctions, and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path, the U.S. government said.
Local students perform martial arts during a ceremony to mark the Chinese New Year at the Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia, on Jan. 31, 2022. The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia held a ceremony to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

by Elias Shilangwa

LUSAKA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia held a ceremony to mark the Chinese lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival.

The ceremony, held on Jan. 30, on the outskirts of Lusaka, the country's capital, attended by the Chinese community in Zambia and some local people, was characterized by a display of Chinese Kungfu by local students and their masters.

The audience was later taken on a conducted tour of the facilities before taking part in a Buddhism ceremony. Fireworks, the burning of incense and the ringing of the bell characterized the event.

Yan Tao, one of the masters, said the Spring Festival was an important period in the Chinese calendar as it signals the end of a year and the start of a new year.

He said the Temple decided to hold the ceremony in keeping with the Chinese tradition and as a way to appreciate the previous year and the New Year.

The Temple opened its doors to the public and started conducting its training in January, with an initial 15 local students.

Apart from teaching them Chinese Kungfu, the students are also being taught the Chinese language, culture which includes how to prepare Chinese dishes.

Victoria Nakazwe is a 22-year-old student who has decided to start learning Chinese martial arts at the Temple and is so far happy with what she is learning.

Nakazwe, who has always dreamt of learning Kungfu after watching Chinese Kungfu actors in films, said she intends to use the knowledge acquired to open her own school and impart the knowledge to others.

"I have always liked Kungfu since my childhood. Whenever I watched the movies and watched the Chinese actors, I always wanted to be like them," she said.

She has since encouraged other young people, especially girls, to consider learning Kungfu, as it will not only help them to have self-defense but to be disciplined as well.

She further said she is enjoying the teachings on how to prepare Chinese food.

Justina Banda, 22, says she decided to join the training because she has always loved Chinese Kungfu.

Banda, who has been undertaking Chinese training for the past year, said she decided to join the training at the Temple because she wanted to perfect her skills and become a trainer of her colleagues in the future.

Construction works of the Temple started in April 2019 and were completed in July 2021. Four monks from the Shaolin Temple in China are at the Temple to conduct the teachings.

Yan Lun, the headmaster of the Temple, said the objectives of the project include teaching Shaolin Kungfu, Chinese culture, helping understand the African culture as well as enhancing the China-Africa friendship. 

A local student performs martial arts during a ceremony to mark the Chinese New Year at the Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia, on Jan. 31, 2022. The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia held a ceremony to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

People ring a bell during a ceremony to mark the Chinese New Year at the Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia, on Jan. 31, 2022. The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia held a ceremony to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)
Local students perform martial arts during a ceremony to mark the Chinese New Year at the Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia, on Jan. 31, 2022. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

by Elias Shilangwa

"I have always liked kungfu since my childhood. Whenever I watched the movies and watched the Chinese actors, I always wanted to be like them," says Victoria Nakazwe, a 22-year-old student at the Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia.



LUSAKA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia held a ceremony to mark the Chinese lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival.

The ceremony, held on Jan. 30 on the outskirts of Lusaka, the country's capital, attended by representatives of the Chinese community in Zambia and some local people, was characterized by a display of Chinese kungfu by local students and their masters.

The audience was later taken on a conducted tour of the facilities before taking part in a Buddhism ceremony. Fireworks, the burning of incense and the ringing of the bell characterized the event.

People ring a bell during a ceremony to mark the Chinese New Year at the Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia, on Jan. 31, 2022. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

Yan Tao, one of the masters, said the Spring Festival was an important period in the Chinese calendar as it signals the end of a year and the start of a new year.

He said the Temple decided to hold the ceremony in keeping with the Chinese tradition and as a way to appreciate the previous year and the New Year. This year's Spring Festival fell on Feb. 1.

The Temple opened its doors to the public and started conducting its training in January, with an initial 15 local students.

A local student performs martial arts during a ceremony to mark the Chinese New Year at the Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia, on Jan. 31, 2022. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

Apart from teaching them Chinese kungfu, the students are also being taught the Chinese language, culture which includes how to prepare Chinese dishes.

Victoria Nakazwe is a 22-year-old student who has decided to start learning Chinese martial arts at the Temple and is so far happy with what she is learning.

Nakazwe, who has always dreamt of learning kungfu after watching Chinese kungfu actors in films, said she intends to use the knowledge acquired to open her own school and impart the knowledge to others.

"I have always liked kungfu since my childhood. Whenever I watched the movies and watched the Chinese actors, I always wanted to be like them," she said.

She has since encouraged other young people, especially girls, to consider learning kungfu, as it will not only help them to have self-defense but also be disciplined as well.

She further said she is enjoying the teachings on how to prepare Chinese food.

Justina Banda, 22, says she decided to join the training because she has always loved Chinese kungfu.

Banda, who has been undertaking Chinese training for the past year, said she decided to join the training at the Temple because she wanted to perfect her skills and become a trainer of her colleagues in the future.

Construction of the Temple started in April 2019 and was completed in July 2021. Four monks from the Shaolin Temple in China are at the Temple to conduct the teachings.

Yan Lun, the headmaster of the Temple, said the objectives of the project include teaching Shaolin Kungfu, Chinese culture, helping understand the African culture as well as enhancing the China-Africa friendship. 
Photo provided by Reyhan Hamamcioglu shows her, an 18-year-old student of the Chinese Language and Literature Department at Istanbul University in Istanbul, Turkey. (Xinhua)

by Zeynep Cermen

ISTANBUL, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- "My greatest dream is to continue my life in China. I want to move there, get a job, and start a family may be, and live there," Reyhan Hamamcioglu, an 18-year-old Chinese language student from Turkey's western province of Izmir, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Hamamcioglu began to find growing interest in China during her high school years, when she was looking for more information about China, realizing that this vast Eastern Asian country has well preserved its origins and authenticity.

"Even though every country changes and does resemble each other, I think China will always preserve its essence. I want to witness this originality," she said.

It first came as a surprise for Hamamcioglu's parents when she told them about her plans of moving to China, but they said they were "happy and proud" about her intention to go to "a country of the future."

The young Turkish student is currently attending the prep class in the Chinese Language and Literature Department at Istanbul University in order to lay a stronger language foundation for her planned trip to China.

"As China is the largest and most established country in Asia, I want to learn more about its language, culture, history, and literature. Therefore, I chose to study the Chinese language and literature," Hamamcioglu explained.

Noting the good and improving relations between Turkey and China, she told Xinhua that the increasing number of Chinese companies operating in Turkey has boosted demands for translators and teachers.

Zhou Yanquan, leader of the Chamber of Commerce for Chinese Enterprises in Turkey, recently said there are more than 30 Chinese digital companies with investment or partners in Turkey's market.

Take China's tech giant Huawei and telecommunication company ZTE Corporation. The former's research and development center in Istanbul, Turkey's financial hub, is its largest overseas, while the latter has become a shareholder of a Turkish systems integration provider. In addition, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, such as Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo and Tecno Mobile, have established production facilities in Istanbul.

Eyup Saritas, head of the Chinese Language and Literature Department at Istanbul University, said that in the last 15 years, there has been a palpable interest in Chinese culture and Chinese learning among Turkish university students.

"Thanks to the scholarships provided by the Confucius institutes, the Chinese government, Chinese universities, and the municipalities of some big cities, this interest is dynamically sustained," the professor told Xinhua.

In Saritas's view, students who start learning Chinese usually want to visit China to learn more about the country and its culture.

"After going to China ... they express that there is not much difference between China they dream of and the China they find," he said. 

Eyup Saritas, head of the Chinese Language and Literature Department at Istanbul University, is interviewed with Xinhua in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Shadati)
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed concern over reports of heavy fighting near the government palace of Guinea-Bissau, said his deputy spokesman.

"The secretary-general is deeply concerned with the news of heavy fighting in Bissau. He asks for an immediate end to the fighting and for full respect of the country's democratic institutions," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman, in a statement.

Several automatic weapon fires were reported on Tuesday near the government palace in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau.

The gunshots were reported near the government palace, where an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers was being held. The president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and the Prime minister, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, were inside the building. There were reports of unidentified dead inside the government palace. 
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN aid programs in embattled Yemen are running out of funds, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.

"As of January, almost two-thirds of major UN aid programs had already been reduced or closed due to funding gaps," the office said. "Further cuts are expected in the coming months unless additional support is urgently received."

OCHA said in a release that food aid cuts come in the face of alarmingly high hunger rates. Next month, 11 million people will rely on reduced food rations, with only 2 million receiving full rations.

The office said water and sanitation services might be cut in 15 major cities, affecting 4.6 million people. More than 1 million women and girls will soon no longer have access to reproductive health and gender-based violence services.

Millions more people stand to lose access to other vital services, including essential health care, nutrition, shelter, cash assistance and education, OCHA said.

"More must be done in the long term to sustainably reduce humanitarian needs, including through concerted efforts to stabilize Yemen's economy," the office said. "But in the meantime, urgent funding is essential to maintain the humanitarian operation and avoid a sudden surge in people's suffering."

Yemen has 20.7 million people in need -- out of a total population of about 30 million -- with 16 million of them targeted for relief, requiring 3.85 billion U.S. dollars in funding, said OCHA's 2022 humanitarian overview.

On Friday, the UN emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, authorized 20 million dollars from the global body's Central Emergency Response Fund for 270,000 people caught up in the effects of hostilities in Marib, al-Jawf and Hadramout. 
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso receives an interview with Xinhua in Quito, Ecuador, Jan. 31, 2022. (Ecuadorian presidential palace/Handout via Xinhua)

QUITO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Reactivating the economy is key to Ecuador's post-pandemic recovery, and China's support is vital, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has said in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Lasso, who is set to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing during his four-day visit on Feb. 3-6 to China, said that he was "very honored and thrilled" to participate in the celebration, which he predicted will be "exemplary" given China's knack for organizing large-scale events.

The Beijing Winter Olympics will mark the first time an Ecuadorian female Olympian takes part in a Winter Olympic competition as Sarah Escobar will be on stage in the women's giant slalom, and Lasso wished her the greatest success.

Lasso said he has been looking forward to visiting China. This will be Lasso's first official visit to China after taking office in May 2021, though he had traveled there as a tourist in 1994.

Noting that he was "very impressed by that dynamic Chinese growth and development," he said that today he continues to marvel at "China's thriving development based on this model of openness towards investment and towards the world."

Expecting to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he said Ecuador shares Xi's vision of promoting people's well-being.

As regards bilateral trade and investment, Lasso said, "there is a chance that Ecuador will increase its exports to China and there is a chance that Chinese investment will increase in Ecuador. There is no doubt that it will only lead to deepening ties between the Chinese and the Ecuadorian people."

Referring to China's support for Ecuador's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, he said his country appreciates China's supply of equipment, medicine and vaccines, adding that more than 60 percent of COVID-19 vaccines in Ecuador were provided by China.

The vaccines "allowed us to vaccinate about 82 percent of Ecuadorians with both doses, thus protecting us from the new Delta and Omicron variants," Lasso said.

Saying "Happy New Year" in Chinese, Lasso extended congratulations and best wishes to the Chinese people, and wish the New Year -- the Year of the Tiger, a symbol of strength, courage, and an end to misfortune -- brings China peace, well-being, health, happiness and prosperity. 
Global services trade posted a 25% year-on-year increase in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021, said the World Trade Organisation (WTO), noting that the rise has yet to represent a full recovery from pre-pandemic levels, as services trade remains 5% below levels recorded in Q3 2019.



Digitally deliverable services such as computer, financial and business services were the main drivers of trade growth as well as transport, which was boosted by surging shipping rates. Unequal distribution of vaccines, the emergence of new variants and border restrictions continue to weigh on international travel.



The third quarter services trade growth has kept pace with growth in trade in goods (24%) in the same period.



World transport services, in particular, rose 45% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2021, and by 12% compared with the same period of 2019. Recovery was boosted by soaring consumers' demand for goods due to lockdowns, the shift from services requiring physical proximity, and fiscal stimulus measures in advanced economies.



The surge in demand coupled with pandemic-related restrictions resulted in port bottlenecks, misallocation of containers worldwide, and delays, which led to a strong increase in shipping rates. In the third quarter of 2021, Asia's transport exports rose by 71% year-on-year, and by 46% compared with the third quarter of 2019.



By contrast, the recovery of air passenger transport continued to lag, due to restrictions, remaining well below pre-crisis levels. Global international travellers' expenditure in the third quarter of 2021 grew 54% year-on-year from a very low base in 2020. However, it remained 52% below the value in the third quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.



European countries saw the lowest declines (-32%) compared to pre-crisis levels as travel restrictions were eased in the continent in the summer and cross-border movement was facilitated by COVID-19 vaccination passes. Asia travel exports, in comparison, were 81% below pre-pandemic values as several countries remained closed. Cambodia, the largest exporter among least-developed countries (LDCs), saw travellers' expenditure fall 97%. LDCs' travel exports in the first half of 2021 were 67% below their value in the same period of 2019 according to preliminary estimates.



Transport, travel and other services trade



"Other services" - such as construction, recreational, legal and financial services - increased on average by 15% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2021. As a group, these services were less affected by the pandemic, with exports contracting by only 1% in 2020 on an annual basis.



Other services by main sub-sector



Computer services continued its impressive rise in January-September 2021, with cumulative exports up 34% compared with the same period of 2019. Rapid growth was recorded both in developed and developing economies: computer services exports increased 29% in the United States, 42% in Mauritius, 51% in Ireland, 63% in Ukraine, and 68% in Bangladesh.



Internet traffic peaked during the pandemic due to remote working, learning, entertaining as well as e-commerce. International Internet bandwidth expanded by an estimated 30% in the world in 2021 according to the International Telecommunication Union. Nevertheless, the value of telecommunications services fell by 4% in the first nine months of 2021 compared with 2019, reflecting steady declines in global prices, especially for bundled communication services.



By contrast, construction remains one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic. In 2020, world exports contracted by 18%. In the period January-September 2021, global construction exports were still down 12% compared with the same period of 2019. In the European Union and China, the largest builders, exports were down respectively by 19% and 4% compared with 2019. Rising prices of essential inputs which cannot be easily substituted - such as steel (which faced supply chain bottlenecks) and labour (which saw shortages) - resulted in delays or cancellations of building projects.



According to the latest figures, the cumulative value of services exports in the period January-November 2021 remained below 2019 levels in many economies, with the sharpest decline recorded in Australia (-35%). In Africa, Morocco's and Uganda's services exports were 20% lower than in 2019. By contrast, services exports from China increased by 37% and from the Republic of Korea by 12% supported by transport services.



Other Asian economies such as Pakistan and India exported more than before the pandemic owing to computer services. European countries showed differing trends. Luxembourg's services exports were up 21% due to financial services while large tourism exporters in the region continued to see a contraction.  TradeArabia News Service
JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The South African police on Monday arrested a 40-year-old man who tried to smuggle 11 pieces of rhino horns to Malaysia, said the police on Wednesday.

The man was arrested after the airport staff discovered suspicious objects in his luggage at a check-in point and called the police.

"Upon arrival, police discovered five rhino horns wrapped in a foil, concealed in sweets and green tea boxes. A further investigation directed authorities to the airplane where the suspect's second luggage was dispatched," said Gauteng Hawks spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mulamu.

"The investigation team discovered six more rhino horns. The suspect was immediately arrested and charged. Investigation continues and more charges cannot be ruled out," Mulamu added.

The suspect would be charged with contravention of the National Environmental Management Act and illegal dealing in rhino horns. 
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Strong collaboration is needed as the number of food insecure people on the African continent increased as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation, Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has said.

The UNECA chief made the remarks during the opening session of the Executive Council on Wednesday, bringing together foreign ministers of African countries at the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia' capital Addis Ababa for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-day meeting is being held under the theme of the year "Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: Accelerate the Human Capital, Social and Economic Development."

"Africa is not on track to meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets to end hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round and to end all forms of malnutrition," Songwe said.

"Sadly, almost one in five Africans goes hungry every day. The number of hungry people on the continent reached 282 million in 2020," she added.

The UNECA chief cited the FAO food price index which indicated that food prices have been on the rise hitting the highest in a decade at 133.7 points by December 2021.

"The rising food prices pose threats to the purchasing power of the poor that may provoke social unrest, as has been the case during the 2007/8 global spike in food price. Progress on several SDGs may be at stake, particularly those on poverty and hunger, but also on access to social services and decent jobs," she said.

She stressed that ensuring adequate food availability requires improved trade, in which intra-regional trade can help improve stability of supply and lower prices.

An ECA analysis showed that agri-food accounts for a substantial share of Africa's trade with around 16 percent and 17 percent of the value of Africa's total exports and imports, respectively. The ECA said since 2000, Africa has turned into a net agri-food importer.

Songwe said the bulk of Africa's imports and exports are oriented towards the rest of the world, in which 81 percent of Africa's imports of agri-food come from outside the continent while 78 percent of Africa's exports are directed to the rest of the world.

"In this context, it is important to leverage intra-African trade in agri-foods by 42 percent, services by 40 percent and industry by 39 percent," Songwe said.

Songwe said Africa, like the rest of the world, needs to build resilience against a number of threats, which include climate change, cyber security risks and pandemics and infectious diseases, weak governance and conflict.

"The health pandemic caught Africa like the rest of the world unprepared," she said, adding "our insurance systems were not deep enough and as a collective we needed to come together to respond."

According to the UNECA chief, addressing Africa's major challenges requires multiple partnerships and interventions in public and private sectors, at local, national, regional, continental and global levels.

"We need to target interventions in key areas that include climate resilient agriculture, climate resilient infrastructure investments, especially in roads, renewable energy and access to electricity and telecommunications, innovative financing, development of market infrastructure and fostering a conducive business environment; and leveraging the AfCFTA," she said.

The Executive Council meeting, which brings together foreign ministers of African countries, is expected to consider the draft agenda of the 35th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, slated to be held from Feb. 5-6. 
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation with China in the areas of education, science, technology and innovation anchored through the broader framework the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a senior African Union (AU) official has said.

The remark was made by Hambani Masheleni, the Acting Head of the Education Division in the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation at the AU Commission.

"With regards to our cooperation with China and what we are doing in these areas (education, science and technology), of course there are many. We collaborate with China through a broader framework of the FOCAC that brings China into the rest of Africa together," Masheleni said.

Masheleni made the remarks in a press conference on the sidelines of the opening session of the AU Executive Council on Wednesday, which brings together foreign ministers of African countries at the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia' capital Addis Ababa for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-day meeting is being held under the theme of the year "Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: Accelerate the Human Capital, Social and Economic Development." 
New Delhi:

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a key ally of the ruling BJP in northeast, has taken a u-turn on the Citizenship Act, days after supporting it in Parliament. The AGP will now move the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Act, that seeks to grant Indian citizenship to illegal non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The changes in their stand was announced by the AGP on Saturday after a key meeting of senior party leaders.

The AGP is a key ally of the BJP-led Assam government headed by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and has three ministers in the state cabinet. The party has also decided to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversial act that led to instability in northeastern states.

Following the violent protests across Assam, several state BJP leaders have also quit the party to oppose the amended Citizenship Act. Senior BJP leader Jagadish Bhuyan and Assamese superstar Jatin Bora have resigned from the BJP over the act.

"I don't accept CAB. My identity of Jatin Bora is because of the people of Assam and I am with them on this issue," Bora, who had joined the BJP in 2014, said.

The controversial act has triggered a wave of violent protests in several states, including Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal. While protests are being held in most parts of the country, they are more visible and violent in north-eastern states.

People in northeastern states claim they will be 'overrun' by migrants from Bangladesh. Thousands of troops have been deployed and at least two protesters were shot dead by police in Guwahati.

Internet and SMS services in Assam have been suspended with a curfew in Guwahati and Shilong. Opposition parties across India say the bill is discriminatory and violates the Constitutional ethos. Congress President Sonia Gandhi says the Bill will destroy the soul of India.

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New Delhi:

The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Friday approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump setting up the impeachment vote. The articles approved are abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The US Congress moved one step closer to impeaching Donald Trump after the House judiciary committee voted on Friday to move two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives, one of the two houses of the United States Parliament, will now discuss and vote on whether to impeach the president.

The voting in the House judiciary committee, a crucial final stage before impeachment itself, was on a straight party-line vote. While the Democrats voted for approving the articles of impeachment, Republicans voted against it. The committee approved the two articles of impeachment, charging Trump with abuse of power and obstructing Congress, on votes of 23-17. A full House vote on whether to impeach the president was expected to be taken as early as Tuesday.

Trump would be the third president in American history to be impeached.

A Senate trial to decide whether to remove Trump from office would follow early next year, with the expectation that the Republican majority in the Senate would acquit Trump.

Democrats, who are in majority in the House of Representatives, accuse Trump of abusing his power for his own political benefit and at the expense of US national security. They allege that Trump tried to pressure Ukraine into opening an investigation into former vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, using military aid and an Oval Office meeting as bargaining chips. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

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New Delhi:

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday filed a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. This came amid massive protests across country over the new Act. According to the amended Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and face religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. President Ram Nath Kovind had given assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on Thursday night, turning it into an Act.

Earlier, Owaisi launched a blistering attack on the Union government over the Bill, saying it was aimed at making Muslims "stateless" and will lead to another partition.

Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, Owaisi said he was called Mahatma after he tore the discriminatory citizenship card in South Africa, and the Hyderabad MP then ripped the copy of the bill to highlight his protest, inviting sharp reactions from the treasury benches which described his act an "insult" to Parliament.

The is an insult to India's freedom-fighters, he said, accusing the BJP-led government of working to marginalise Muslims in the country. "The bill is against the Constitution.... It is a conspiracy to make Muslims stateless," Owaisi said, questioning the government as to why it had not included countries like China, which occupies parts of India and other countries. "Are you afraid of China?" he asked.

Meanwhile, the Naga Students Federation (NSF) has called a 6-hour bandh on Saturday to protest against Act. The bandh began at 6am.

Pursuant to the resolution adopted in the Emergency Executive Council Meeting of NSF, held on Friday at the Federations Headquarter, it was unanimously decided to call for a six-hour total bandh in all the Naga inhibited areas, starting from 6am to 12 noon on December 14, a NSF statement said.

The bandh has been called to express the resentment of the Naga people against the passing of the contentious CAB in the Parliament, much against the interests and the sentiments of the Indigenous people in the North East states, the statement said.

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New Delhi:

Violent protests erupted in Lucknow's Nadwa College against the brutal police crackdown on students of Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University, who were protesting against the controversial Citizenship Act, that grants Indian citizenship to illegal non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The students of Nadwa College clashed with police personnel, who were trying to enter the campus. The protesting students closed the gates of the campus and started hurling stones at the police.

The protests were held in solidarity with the students of Delhi's Jamia University and AMU where police launched a brutal crackdown on Sunday night. From Kolkatas Jadavpur University to Hyderabads Maulana Azad National Urdu University, students have begun their agitation against the authorities.

"There was stone pelting for about 30 seconds when around 150 people had come out to protest and raise slogans. Situation is normal now. Students are going back to their classrooms," Superintendent of Police Lucknow, Kalanidhi Naithani said.

Students across Indias top universities are protesting against police aggression shown to their peers in Jamia. From candlelight vigils to marches, students in Hyderabad, Varanasi and Jadavpur are showing solidarity for their friends in Jamia. Meanwhile, students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences have also decided to boycott the Monday classes over the police action.

Also Read | Citizenship Act Protests Live: Clashes Between Police, Students At Lucknow's Nadwa College

While the Delhi Police maintains that the action was needed to curb the violence as stones were being pelted on them from inside the university, the students claimed that tear gas was lobbed inside the Jamias central library and some of them were dragged, thrashed by the cops.

In UPs Aligarh, the Aligarh Muslim University administration on Sunday night announced that the institution will remain closed till January 5 after clashes broke out between police and students protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act near the campus gate.

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New Delhi:

Rahul Gandhi's attempt to use Savakar's name to attack archrivals BJP ended up upsetting newfound ally Shiv Sena. The former Congress president, who is under attack from the BJP over his 'Rape In India' remark, said he will die but never apologise for speaking truth as he is a Gandhi and not a Savarkar during his party's rally in New Delhi. However, his remarks drew immediate disapproval from Shiv Sena which said that the Hindutva icon should not be insulted. The BJP too hit back at Rahul Gandhi, saying a "more appropriate" name for the Congress leader is "Rahul Jinnah" as his "Muslim appeasement" politics makes him a worthy legatee of the Pakistan's founder.

Their reaction came after Rahul Gandhi mocked Vinayak Damodar Savarkar while addressing the 'Bharat Bachao Rally' in Delhi.

"The BJP asked me to apologise. My name is not Rahul Savarkar, it is Rahul Gandhi, and I will never apologise for speaking the truth."

"I will die, but I will not apologise for speaking the truth and nor will any Congressman do so. It is Narendra Modi and his assistant Amit Shah who have to apologise to the country for destroying India's economy," he asserted.

The BJP had demanded that Rahul Gandhi apologise after the Congress leader, while attacking the Modi Government over the issue of crimes against women, had said at an election rally in Jharkhand that instead of 'Make in India', it was nowadays "rape in India" in the country.

Rahul's comment was a veiled attempt reference to the accusation levelled at Savarkar by his critics of tendering apology to the British government to secure release from jail when India was under the colonial rule.

Veer Savarkar An Icon Of India: Sanjay Raut

Sanjay Raut, leader of Shiv Sena which recently left the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the Congress in Maharashtra, tweeted that Savarkar should be respected as he dedicated his life to the country like Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi and there "is no compromise on this".

"Veer Savarkar is a god ("daivat") of the whole country and not just Maharashtra. The name Savarkar denotes national pride and self-respect. Like Nehru and Gandhi, Savarkar too dedicated his life to the country. Every such god must be revered. There is no compromise on this," Raut wrote in Marathi on Twitter.

"We respect Gandhi and Nehru. You should not insult Savarkar. Enough said," he tweeted further.

BJP Attacks Rahul Gandhi

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also launched a scathing attack against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his Sarvarkar remark. Fadnavis took to Twitter and wrote, "Rahul Gandhis statement is absolutely condemnable! He is nowhere close to even a single good deed of Veer Savarkar & his greatness. Not just this,he should not even do the blunder of considering himself as Gandhi!One cannot become Gandhiby just keeping his surname as Gandhi."

Targeting Gandhi, BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said, "The more appropriate name for you Rahul Gandhi is Rahul Jinnah. Your Muslim appeasement politics and mindset makes you a worthy legatee of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, not Savarkar."

Another party spokesperson Sambit Patra said Rahul Gandhi can never be 'Rahul Savarkar' as Savarkar stood for "patriotism, bravery and sacrifice", while the Congress leader is somebody who spoke in Pakistan's language on issues like the citizenship bill, Article 370 and surgical strikes.

Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell head, tweeted that the former Congress president was right that he can never be Rahul Savarkar.

"For once Rahul Gandhi is right. He can never be 'Rahul Savarkar'. Veer Savarkar is a national icon, who has had a civilisational impact on India's polity and will continue to be revered for generations to come. 5 generation of Nehru-Gandhi family can't measure up to his legacy," he said.

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New Delhi:

The Jamia Millia Islamia University turned into a battlefield on Friday after police and students, who wanted to march to Parliament House to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act, clashed with each other prompting AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan to reach the spot to take stock of the situation.

Fifty students were detained following a clash between police and students after the protestors were stopped at the varsity gate and prevented from carrying out their march.

The students, who were baton-charged by police personnel, alleged that the police also used tear gas to quell their march. The students also resorted to stone-pelting. However, the protestors alleged that police resorted to stone-pelting first and students threw stones in response to the attack.

Videos circulated by students on social media showed police caning the protestors. The police had cordoned off the road and protestors were seen climbing onto barricades. The Universitys gate was later closed.

We were marching peacefully and police stopped us from marching. First, they lathicharged us asking us to move backwards. Then they pelted stones in response to which students picked up stones too, Onaihza, a law student at Jamia, said. Another student alleged that police resorted to pelting stones and then used tear gas that resulted in many students being injured. Police, however, denied the allegations.

Students started their march. We had placed barricades which they broke and tried to jump over them. Then they threw stones at us forcing us to use teargas shells. The students have been detained and taken to Badarpur police station, a senior police official present at the stop said.

Area MLA Amanatullah Khan from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. As a precautionary measure, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) closed the entry and exit points at Patel Chowk and Janpath metro stations following Delhi polices advisory. As advised by Delhi Police, entry & exit at Patel Chowk and Janpath have been closed. Trains will not be halting at these stations, DMRC said on twitter.

The stations were opened an hour later.

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New Delhi:

PSTET Admit Card is released and candidates can download the same by visiting the official website of Punjab TET. All candidates who applied for the Punjab Teacher Eligibility Test need to visit the official website, i.e. pstet.net to download the Punjab TET Admit card. The Punjab TET admit card is a mandatory document that candidates need to carry at the time of examination. In addition, candidates must make sure to check all the details mentioned in the admit card and inform the concerned authority in case of discrepancy. The Punjab TET Admit Card will include details such as exam center address, exam name and roll number of the candidate.

The Punjab TET exam is going to be held on December 22, 2019. In order to download the Punjab TET admit card, candidates need to follow the below mentioned steps:

First, candidates need to visit the official website of Punjab TET, i.e. pstet.net

Navigate, and lick on the registered user login link

A new page will open

Enter the required details and click on the submit button

The Punjab TET Admit Card will be displayed on the screen

Download and take a printout of the Punjab TET admit card
Mycrane, a business-to-business digital platform for crane rental procurement, has strengthened its team with the appointment of four experienced executives.

Joining the global B2B platform, all with many years of experience in the lifting industry, are:

Erik Altena as Head of Strategic Development; Alan Faulds as Managing Director of Mycrane in the UAE and Oman; Igor Dobrovolskiy as managing director of Mycrane in Russia and Alexander Kouklev as business development director for the Far East of Russia and Asia-Pacific (Apac).

Commenting on the new appointments, MyCrane founder Andrei Geikalo said: "Alongside growing our global network by appointing franchise holders to operate our service, MyCrane is investing in our core team to grow our portfolio and introduce new products and services. Our new appointments will help us to do exactly that."

"I am delighted to welcome such highly experienced professionals to the MyCrane family, all of whom share my passion for digitalising the crane rental business," stated Geikalo, himself a former commercial director at global engineering specialist Mammoet.

Erik Altena entered the lifting industry after earning a masters degree in Civil Engineering at the Delft University of Technology. Thereafter, he joined Mammoet at the companys global HQ in Utrecht, Netherlands, as a project engineer.

In recent years, he was in Mammoets Global Market Development & Innovations Department, working on technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to help the end-customer optimise crane utilisation. He developed a new product, CraneFact  a device that uses smart sensors to track crane movements and the utilisation of heavy equipment on site.

He joins MyCrane to focus on the strategic development of MyCranes global partnerships, including franchises. He will work on new products and services, and coordinate MyCranes cooperation with other start-ups innovating in the crane industry.

Alan Faulds was formerly employed by Sarens, Alan was Manager of Site Operations at the Tengizchevroil (TCO) project in Kazakhstan.

He began his career with Mammoet, working in Southern Africa for several years at all levels of lifting operations before moving to Dubai as Mammoets Head of Operations for Middle East and Africa. Alans work has also taken him to Australia and Europe.

"I joined MyCrane after realising this is exactly what the sector is crying out for. Modernisation and digitalisation are long overdue and have been met with great enthusiasm from both clients and suppliers," stated Faulds.

As Managing Director, he will lead the development of MyCranes business in the UAE and Oman. Faulds holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.

Igor Dobrovolskiy is an engineer specialising in the development and operation of oil and gas fields. His extensive industry experience has seen him work in numerous regions in Russia, holding senior positions at top Russian oil and gas companies such as Lukoil, Transneft and Slavneft.

"Knowing all the challenges of the crane procurement process from the client perspective, I decided to join a start-up business because I can see huge potential to change the industry," stated Dobrovolskiy.

As Managing Director, he will lead the development of MyCranes business in Russia.

Alexander Kouklev had spent 16 years working at Mammoet, where he served as General Director at Mammoet Sakhalin, responsible for the development of all business activity in Sakhalin region and other locations in the Russian Far East. He has held other roles at Schlumberger and Exxon Neftegas Limited.

His skills include project management, heavy lifting and transportation engineering and operations, equipment planning/repair/maintenance, logistics and procurement.

For MyCrane, Kouklev will handle business development and sales in the Far East of Russia and the APAC region, and will also support the platforms marketing activities.
New Delhi:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday held emergency meeting with top police officers, administrative and asked them to be on high alert after violent protests erupted in some part of the city against the Citizenship Amendment act. Internet services were suspended in five districts of West Bengal, amid violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act across the state, a senior government official said.

According to the official, the government has decided to shutdown Internet services in Malda, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas districts to prevent rumour-mongering and circulation of fake news, especially on social media.

"Despite several requests, a few communal outfits have been carrying out violent protests. In view of the situation, the administration has decided to temporarily suspend Internet services in five districts of the state," the official told PTI.

Earlier today. a state BJP delegation met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday and apprised him of the law and order situation in West Bengal, amid violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act.

The delegation, led by party state general secretary Biswapriya Roy Chowdhury, met Modi at Andal airport in Paschim Bardhaman district where he had a stopover on his way to Jharkhands Dumka for an election rally.

We had a very short time. But we briefed him about the ongoing violence and arson in the state for the last three days. We have told PM Modi, how the state government is doing nothing to control the situation, Roy Chowdhury said.

Protests continued in various parts of the state for the third consecutive day as incidents of violence were reported from Nadia, Birbhum, North 24 Parganas and Howrah districts.

Three railway stations were set on fire on Saturday and at least 25 buses have been torched.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who resolutely opposed the amended Citizenship Act, has appealed for peace and warned of stern action against those indulging in violence.
New Delhi:

Amid violent protests in northeast and other parts of the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday dropped a big hint that "some changes" can be made in the amended Citizenship Act, that seeks to grant Indian citizenship to illegal non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, according toa report in The Times Of India.

"Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya chief minister) and his ministers met me on Friday and informed me about the problems they are facing... I tried to make them understand that there is no issue. When they insisted some changes need to be made to the law, I asked them to meet me after Christmas. I have assured them we will hold constructive discussions on the matter and come up with solutions to Meghalayas problems," Shah said at a rally in Jharkhands Giridih.

The controversial act has triggered a wave of violent protests in several states, including Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal. While protests are being held in most parts of the country, they are more visible and violent in north-eastern states.

People in northeastern states claim they will be 'overrun' by migrants from Bangladesh. Thousands of troops have been deployed and at least two protesters were shot dead by police in Guwahati.

Also Read | As Assam Continues To Singe Over CAB, Modi-Abe Guwahati Summit Postponed

Internet and SMS services in Assam have been suspended with a curfew in Guwahati and Shilong. Opposition parties across India say the bill is discriminatory and violates the Constitutional ethos. Congress President Sonia Gandhi says the Bill will destroy the soul of India.

The government, on the other hand, alleges that the Congress party is behind the violence. During a rally Dhanbad, Shah had Saturday accused Congress of instigating violence in northestern states.

"When we tabled the CAB, Congress seemed to have got a stomach ache. For years, people who faced religious persecution in other countries were living like refugees. Shouldnt they be made citizens? Congress says we are anti-Muslim We brought in CAB and they instigated violence in the northeastern states," the home minister said.

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New Delhi:

An empty Pakistani boat was on Saturday early morning seized by Border Security Force (BSF) troops from the Ravi river in Punjab's Ajnala sector. It is to be noted that the seizure comes at a time when there is heightened vigil in border areas due to increasing tension between India and Pakistan.

Soon after the boat was captured along the International Border, the BSF troopers beefed up the patrolling in nearby areas due to the possibility of infiltration. However, the BSF troopers have so far not found any trails of intruders.

This comes at least two days after BSF seized an abandoned Pakistani fishing boat from Harami Nallah in Sir Creek area off Gujarats Kutch coast. In a statement, BSF said that the seizure of the single-engined wooden fishing boat was made at around 1:30 PM and a check of the vessel and the vicinity had not thrown up anything suspicious as yet. There was an icebox and five jerry cans on board, it added.

Also Read: Boat Carrying 80 People Capsizes In Assam's Jamugurihat, Several Missing

It is worth mentioning here that Harami Nallah is a sluggish, shallow channel in the Sir Creek area, a 96-kilometre water strip that separates Kutch from Pakistans Sindh province. Previously, on October 4, an abandoned Pakistani boat was seized by BSF troops from the Ravi River in Punjabs Amritsar district.

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patna:

Several police personnel were injured, and an outpost and some vehicles were torched by a mob that turned violent while taking out a procession in protest against the amended Citizenship Act in the Bihar capital on Sunday, police said.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna, Garima Malik said an FIR has been registered against the miscreants, who were being identified with the help of CCTV footage of the violence and arson that gripped the Kargil Chowk area of the city for close to an hour.

The demonstrators comprised mostly students of the Patna University, youths from some neighbouring towns and people owing allegiance to social and political outfits.

They raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and vented their ire at the Citizenship Amendment Act which has put several parts of the country, including the national capital and the far-off north-east, on the boil.

They also alleged that the legislation "targeted Muslims in the name of granting citizenship to immigrants belonging to other communities.

Anti-social elements had made their way into the procession who indulged in violence and arson. A police outpost and four vehicles parked nearby have been set afire. About a dozen police personnel who were involved in maintaining law and order have received injuries, Malik said.

Those involved in the lawlessness are being identified and named FIR is being lodged against them. They will soon be nabbed and brought to book, she added.
New Delhi:

Citizenship 'Chaos': Jamia Crackdown Triggers Massive Protests In Hyderabad, Varanasi, Jadavpur

Jamia Millia Islamia, the prestigious Central University, became the epicentre of Delhi Polices brutal crackdown against Citizenship Act protesters on Sunday. While situation remains calm-yet-tense in this posh south Delhi locality, the police action has triggered massive protests by students across India. From Kolkatas Jadavpur University to Hyderabads Maulana Azad National Urdu University, students have begun their agitation against the authorities. Read here

Jamia Students Not Alone In This Fight: VC Najma Akhtar In A Solidarity Message

The Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia on Monday in a video message said she stands in support of the students after the prestigious Central University, became the epicentre of Delhi Polices brutal crackdown against Citizenship Act protesters on Sunday. Over 50 students were detained after police entered Jamia without permission from university officials. Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar said, "I am hurt by the way my students were treated. I want to let my students know that they are not alone in this fight. I am with them. I will take this matter forward as long its possible." Read here

'Hollow Dictatorship': Priyanka Gandhi On Crackdown Against Students Opposing Citizenship Act

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday slammed the Narendra Modi government over the police crackdown against students in Delhi, who were protesting against the Citizenship Act. Gandhi said that the government was being "cowardly" as it feared to hear the voice of people and was making its presence felt through "oppression" on students and journalists. Read here

Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Fourth Phase Polling Begins, 221 Candidates In Fray

Polling for the fourth phase of the five-phased Jharkhand Assembly election began in 15 constituencies on Monday. The voting began at 7 am, Election Commission (EC) officials said. It will conclude at 3 pm at Jamua, Bagodar, Giridih, Dumri and Tundi, while for the rest of the seats, the voting will continue till 5 pm, they added. A total of 221 candidates, including 23 women nominees, are in the fray in the elections, Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said. The highest number of 25 candidates will lock horns in the Bokaro seat while the least number of eight nominees will contest the Nirsa constituency, he said. Read here

India Asked To Provide List Of Illegal Bangladeshis, If Any, On Its Soil: Bangladesh Foreign Minister

Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen on Sunday said his country has requested India to provide a list of any Bangladesh nationals living illegally in the country and it will allow them to return. Responding to a question on Indias National Register of Citizenship (NRC), Momen, who cancelled his visit to India on Thursday citing his busy schedule, said Bangladesh-India relations are normal and very sweet and they will not be affected. Read here

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New Delhi:

SAIL Recruitment Notification has been released for manager posts in several disciplines. All interested and eligible candidates need to apply through the prescribed format on the official website, i.e. sail.co.in. It is to note that the last date to apply for the Manager post is January 4, 2020. In addition, candidates must make sure to go through the official notification and eligibility criteria carefully before applying for the respective posts.

A total of 11 vacant managerial positions are going to be filled through this recruitment drive out of which 2 posts are for Manager E-3 Grade, 1 post each for Manager (Secondary Refinery Unit), Manager (Converter Operations), Manager (Mechanical Maintenance of SRU) and Manager (Mechanical Maintenance of Converter), 3 posts are for Manager (Mechanical Maintenance of Hydraulic System) and 2 posts are for Manager (Mechanical Maintenance of Caster Area).

In order to apply for the Managerial positions, candidates need to have B.E./B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering/Metallurgy from a government recognized university with at-least 7 years of experience in the relevant field in an integrated steel plant. Candidates in the General/OBC/EWS categories need to have 65 percent marks and candidates in SC/ST category need to have 55 percent marks in their qualifying examinations.

The upper age limit for general candidates is 35 years whereas 5 years and 3 years relaxation are given to SC/ST and OBC candidates respectively. The salary package of shortlisted candidates will be in the scale of Rs 32,900  Rs 58,000 along-with other allowances as applicable.

All candidates need to apply by visiting the official website of SAIL, i.e. sail.co.in. After visiting the official website, candidates need to click on the career link and apply accordingly. Candidates will be selected on the basis of interview. However, if the ratio of applicants for the post increases a written test will also be held.
New Delhi:

The health of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Sunday deteriorated following which she was shifted to the nearby Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. Maliwals who has lost around 7-kg weight so far, fell unconscious on Sunday. The DCW chief is on a hunger strike for over 10 days to demand capital punishment for rapists.

On Saturday, Maliwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding immediate implementation of Disha Bill in the entire country, which mandates disposal of cases of atrocities against women within 21 days and handing out the death penalty.

Delhi: Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief, Swati Maliwal who is on a hunger strike demanding death penalty for convicts in rape cases within 6 months, taken to LNJP hospital after she falls unconscious. pic.twitter.com/WUvc5yT0zI  ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2019

The Delhi Commission for Women chief also expressed sadness over the indifferent attitude of the central government till date over the issue of womens safety.

If the Andhra Government can take this historic decision (of passing Disha Bill), why cant the Central Government show the same urgency and concern. I fervently appeal to you to immediately enact the Disha Bill for the entire country, Maliwal said.

"Today is 12th day of my indefinite fast. I wrote to you on 1st day, seeking immediate action. I'm deeply saddened to note that despite this alarming situation and demands from across the country, there has been hardly any response from you to these appeals," letter further reads.

On Friday, the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the bill.

The proposed new law has been named the Andhra Pradesh Disha Act Criminal Law (AP Amendment) Act, 2019 as a tribute to the veterinary doctor who was raped and murdered recently in neighbouring Telangana.

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New Delhi:

In relief to vehicle users across the country, the Narendra Modi-led government has extended the deadline to get FASTags by 30 days. Earlier, government had made FASTag mandatory from December 15 for all vehicles to make electronic payment on toll booths. However, a day before the deadline, the government extended the date by a month citing "shortage of supply" of the radio frequency identification (RFID) stickers. The government also announced that it will convert up to 25 per cent of FASTag lanes at national highway toll plazas to hybrid lanes for a month. The hybrid lane will accept FASTag as well as other modes of payment.

In a letter to the NHAI, the ministry of road transport and highways said, "Considering the request of NHAI and further the citizens are not put to inconvenience... it is decided that depending on the traffic pile up at high traffic volume fee plazas, not more than 25 per cent 'FASTag lane of fee plaza' may be temporarily converted to hybrid lanes."

"This is to be considered on a case to case basis," it added.

The ministry further said, "A daily evolution of such cases be made to take necessary corrective action." It should be ensured that the least possible number of the declared 'FASTag lane of Fee Plaza' be converted into the hybrid lanes temporarily it is clarified that it is a temporary measure to be adopted for 30 days only to facilitate smooth flow of traffic so that no inconvenience is caused to the citizens," the ministry wrote.

The NHAI had earlier sent a letter to the ministry seeking an extension of 45 days for the conversion of all lanes to FASTag lanes. The authority stated that there was a deficit in the supply of the tags after the Centres announcement of giving them free of cost until December 15.

"It has been realised that the chip used in the RFID tag is imported which has a lead time of 6 weeks and the average total production capacity of all manufacturers is in the range of 30-50,000 per day," NHAI wrote.

The banks and other selling platform supply of FASTag is contingent upon the production capacity and at present approximately 18 lakh tags inventory is available in the market. With lead time due to the import of the chip and subsequent production of the tag, there is a supply deficit in the market and all citizens have not been able to obtain FASTag, it said.

What is FasTag?

FASTag is a device that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly while a vehicle crosses the toll plaza. Affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle, FASTag enables a customer to make the toll payments directly from the account linked to it.

FASTags are being issued by 22 certified banks including Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC, SBI, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank Of Baroda, and others. FASTags can also be availed by various channels such as Point-of-Sale (POS) at National Highway toll plazas.

Interestingly, FASTags are also available on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. For any assistance related to FASTags, one can call on the helpline number issued by the government  1033.

Also Read: FASTags Compulsory From Tomorrow, Heres All You Need To Know

It is worth mentioning here that the FASTag offers the convenience of cashless payment along with benefits like - savings on fuel and time as the customer does not has to stop at the toll plaza.
New Delhi:

Protests over Citizenship law turned violent in the national capital on Sunday with protestors setting ablaze three buses in the South Delhi area. Four fire engines have been rushed to the spot to douse the fire. According to reports, students of Jamia Millia Islamia and locals tried to damage the fire tenders. Violence erupted on Mathura Road following a clash between police and Jamia students. Police used batons to disperse the protesters.

According to Saimon Farooqui, national secretary of Congress affiliated National Students' Union of India, the protesters were peacefully sitting on Mathura Road when policemen tried to "trouble" a couple of protesters, who resisted.

Delhi: Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses set ablaze by protesters near Bharat Nagar over #CitizenshipAmendmentAct. One fire tender was rushed to the spot. Two firemen also injured. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/j6vH9tG8O4  ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2019

Group of Jamia Millia students issues statement disassociating themselves from violence during protest against Citizenship Act. "We have time and again maintained that our protests are peaceful and non-violent," the statement by group of Jamia Millia students reads.

Protests are being held at Jamia Nagar in Delhi against the amended Citizenship Act. Delhi Traffic Police tweeted that the vehicle movement was closed from Okhla Underpass to Sarita Vihar due to the demonstration. The demonstrators blocked Mathura Road opposite New Friends Colony, the traffic police said.

Traffic from Badarpur and Ashram Chowk was diverted to alternative routes due to the road blockade.

The varsity had turned into a battlefield on Friday with the students and the police clashing after the protesters wanted to march to the Parliament against the contentious amendment to the Act.

Earlier on Friday, Jamia Millia Islamia turned into a virtual battlefield when students and policemen clashed with each other as students tried to march to Parliament in protest against the legislation.

Police have registered a case of rioting and obstructing government servants from performing duty against unidentified persons in connection with the protest.

A senior university official said all exams at the university have been postponed and new dates will be announced in due course. The official said a vacation has been declared from Dec 16 to Jan 5 and the university will reopen on Jan 6 next year.

"The university would like to clarify and put the incident in proper perspective as to who were involved and why this happened. Thousands of people from nearby localities assembled at the site of the protest along with a section of students.

"The outsiders who have nothing to do with the university clashed with the police and not the students. In fact, the students tried to stop them from doing so. Students were caught in clashes resulting in injuries to some of them," the university official said.

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New Delhi:

Protests over the Citizenship Act 2019 spilled over to West Bengal on Friday, while situation in Assam continued to remain tense for the third consecutive day as a total of eight columns of the Army and Assam Rifles were deployed in the state to keep situation under control. The curfew imposed in parts of Shillong following violent protests was relaxed on Friday for 12 hours, beginning 10 am, with no untoward incident being reported from the areas, officials said.

Meanwhile, protests against the amended Citizenship Act continued to rage across northeast, with students' unions in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday boycotting their examination to hit the streets across cities, seeking immediate revocation of the law. A rally demanding the Meghalaya governor's nod to a proposed ordinance seeking mandatory registration of outsiders entering the state turned ugly as the agitators clashed with the police in front of the Raj Bhavan which left 25 injured. The curfew imposed in parts of Shillong following violent protests was relaxed on Friday for 12 hours, beginning 10 am, with no untoward incident being reported from the areas, officials said.

A large number of protesters, including Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind leaders, protested at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Friday against the amended citizenship law, which they described as "anti constitutional" and "divisive", and demanded its immediate withdrawal. Separately, Jamia Millia Islamia University students held a protest against the law at the university. A third protest was organised by the Delhi Congress in Seelampur area of East Delhi.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah cancelled his visit to two Northeastern states -- Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh -- on Sunday and Monday next, officials said.

In West Bengal, agitators resorted to violence and arson at railway stations and thoroughfares across the state, seeking immediate revocation of the law. People in the minority-dominated districts of rural Howrah, Murshidabad, Birbhum, parts of Burdwan and North Bengal hit the streets in the morning, raising slogans against the Modi government, according to police sources. Some of them even attacked local BJP workers and leaders, prompting the saffron camp to allege that the attacks were masterminded by the ruling TMC.

Mamata Banerjee Urges Calm

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged people to maintain peace and warned protesters to refrain from taking law into their hands. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar also made a similar plea. Banerjee, one of the foremost opposition voices against the Citizenship Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), declared the amended law will not be implemented in West Bengal. However, Dhankhar opposed her reluctance and said a person holding a constitutional post cannot oppose a law.

In Murshidabad district, bordering Bangladesh, protesters set fire to Beldanga railway station complex and thrashed RPF personnel deputed there.

"Several parts of the station, RPF kiosks were set on fire and the tracks vandalised. Services have come to a halt here," a senior RPF official said.

In Raghunathganj area of the district, the agitators set vehicles on fire and tore copies of the amended Act. They blocked National Highway-34 and ransacked vehicles and shops.

Several people were injured when their vehicles were pelted with stones.

A huge police contingent was rushed to Beldanga and Raghunathganj to control the situation. The police had to resort to lathicharge in Beldanga to disperse the mob.

Similar incidents were also reported from Uluberia and Diamond Harbour, both minority-dominated areas, as agitators blocked railway tracks and vandalised stations, leaving several passengers stranded during the day. The affected trains included the 12841 Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Express, 22897 Howrah-Digha Kandari Express and suburban locals.

The demonstrators, numbering around 250, obstructed the Up and Down lines at Uluberia station and hurled stones at the stranded trains, injuring a driver, South Eastern Railway spokesman Sanjoy Ghosh said.

The railways has sought adequate forces from the state government to protect the station premises in violence-hit areas of the state.

The anti-Citizenship Act demonstrators also blocked NH-6 and burned tyres and tubes at Uluberia. With national flags in hands, they gathered at the Uluberia check-post around 2.30 pm and blocked the highway, one of the arterial roads that connect Kolkata with the rest of the country.

Idris Ali, TMC MLA from Uluberia, said he was visiting Kolkata for medical reasons and would take stock of the situation on his return.

"We do not want India to be divided; we want to protect the Constitution. We are in favour of a secular West Bengal and against the amended Citizenship Act and NRC," said Maulana Ghulam Mustafa of the local Boro Masjid, who was leading the agitation in the area.

People Stage Protests In South and Central Kolkata

In Kolkata, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Park Circus seven-point crossing, seeking the revocation of the law. They shouted slogans against the BJP-led government and burnt tyres on the thoroughfare, leading to traffic congestions in the southern and the central parts of the city.

In Kharagpur section, too, railway tracks were blocked, affecting long-distance train services. Protesters poured out on the streets in Birbhum and East Midnapore, and shouted slogans against the BJP, demanding that the amended Act be immediately scrapped.

In Hoogly's Arambagh area, protesters came down to the streets and ransacked a police vehicle and thrashed a police officer.

West Bengal BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu's car was attacked by the trouble-mongers in Kanthi area of East Midnapore district. According to local sources, Basu, somehow, managed to drive past the area.

A total of 25 express and EMU trains were detained at various stations due to the ongoing violence in the South Eastern section. Around 26 local trains on Howrah-Kharagpur section have also been cancelled. But around 10 PM, train services resumed on Howrah-Kharagpur route.

At Uluberia station, which bore the brunt of the protest, train services resumed but it would take some time to normalize services, railway officials said.

Later, railway officials and police personnel rescued passengers from some of the stranded trains.

Intellectuals Appeal To Maintain Peace

Several noted intellectuals of West Bengal Friday appealed to maintain peace and urged people not to take law into their own hands. The Trinamool Congress leadership blamed the central government's "draconian" Citizenship Act as the main reason behind the violence.

The BJP termed the allegations "baseless" and blamed Banerjee for "fuelling protests" in Bengal. It said the CM was trying to instigate people by spreading misinformation.

West Bengal CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra said the violence is being deliberately instigated by both TMC and BJP to communally polarize the politics of Bengal.

Situation Remains Tense In Assam

The situation in Assam continued to remain tense for the third consecutive day against the controversial Citizenship Act. Eight columns of the Army and Assam Rifles have been deployed in Assam, including capital Guwahati to control the ongoing violent protests.

Defence Public Relation Officer Lt Col P Khongsai said the Army and Assam Rifles were requisitioned by the civil administration in Morigaon, Sonitpur and Dibrugarh districts besides Guwahati to arrest the deteriorating law and order situation. The Army was called out on Wednesday as the protestors turned violent over the Bill.

"Till now, a total of eight columns have been requisitioned which include one in Bongaigaon, one in Morigaon, four columns in Guwahati and two in Sonitpur," he said.

All Army and Assam Rifles columns have managed to restore normalcy in the areas they were deployed and have been continuously working to aid the civil administration, Khongsai added.

Assam is witnessing one of the most violent protests by the people in its history with three railway stations, post office, bank, bus terminus and many other public properties being set ablaze or totally damaged.

Several towns and cities were placed under indefinite curfew, including Guwahati, the epicentre of protests, besides Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Dhekiajuli. Night curfew was imposed in Jorhat, Golaghat, Tinsukia and Charaideo districts.

10 Police Officials Transferred In Assam

The Assam government has transferred 10 officials in the rank of superintendent of police in the wake of the violent protest across the state over the amended Citizenship Act, an official order said.

SP (SB) Aparna N was posted as SP Majuli district in place of Hitesh Ch Ray, who is shifted as Commandant 9th APBn Barhampur, Nagaon. The Commandant of 9th APBn Barhampur Rajmohan Ray has been shifted to Guwahati Police as the DCP (Operations). Mugdhajyoti Dev Mahanta, the SP of Cachar district, will be the new SP of Sonitpur, the order said. Sonitpur's SP Kumar Sanjit Krishna is posted as SP of Karimganj in place of Manabendra Dev Ray, who will be the new SP of Cachar.

Rajveer of the Railway Police's SP has become the SP of Lakhimpur, while Harekrishna Nath will move from Lakhimpur to 2nd APBn Makum as its Commandant.

The Commandant of the 2nd APBn Makum Singharam Mili is transferred to Bongaigaon as the new SP, while Subodh Kumar Sonowal will move as SP of Railway Police from SP Bongaigaon. Three Additional Director General of Police and several Superintendents of Police were transferred on Thursday.

President Ram Nath Kovind had on Thursday given his assent to the bill, turning it into an Act. According to the amended Act, non-Muslim refugees, who escaped religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and moved to India before Dec 31, 2014, will be granted Indian citizenship.

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Illustration comparing the sizes of sub-Neptune exoplanets TOI-421 b and GJ 1214 b to Earth and Neptune. Both TOI-421 b and GJ 1214 b are in between Earth and Neptune in terms of radius, mass, and density. The planets are arranged from left to right in order of increasing radius and mass. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and D. Player (STScI)

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is getting ready to give us the best view yet of worlds beyond our own solar system, commonly known as exoplanets.

Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley will be among the first to observe the cosmos with Webb, and they're looking for clues about how exoplanets form, what they're made of, and whether any could be potentially habitable.

On Jan. 24, 2022, the telescope reached its destination, an orbit about one million miles from Earth around a location called Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, also known as L2. Now, Webb is one step closer to launching its scientific mission to transform our understanding of the universe.

Filling a Planetary Knowledge Gap

When we look for exoplanets, scientists often use the worlds we know best as reference - our own, and our neighbors in the solar system. But most planets out there aren't quite like any of our neighbors.

"The diversity of planets we've discovered within the galaxy far exceeds the diversity of planets within our own solar system," said Natasha Batalha, a research scientist at Ames who is a co-investigator on several Webb programs. "In our solar system, we have the inner rocky worlds and outer gas planets - but the most common exoplanets we see are actually in between."

Batalha's team will use Webb to study 11 of those "in between" planets, larger than the Earth but smaller than Neptune, to learn more about how they formed and have evolved through time. Getting a basic sense of what this planetary population looks like - are they rocky, or made of gas? - is the start. Much of Ames' exoplanet research enabled by Webb will be focused on that kind of basic knowledge-building, giving scientists more pieces to puzzle together what the population of planets beyond our solar system looks like and if such worlds could harbor potential life.

Thomas Greene, an astrophysicist at Ames who has contributed to the development of Webb's instrumentation and analysis techniques for over 20 years, is leading a study on nine planets that are less massive and cooler than many studied by previous telescopes. His study will focus on the chemical makeup of the atmospheres surrounding those worlds, the abundances of heavier elements in their composition compared to their host stars, temperatures across each planet's surface, and more.

Searching for Atmospheres and Potential Habitability

Another type of planet that is in need of further study are small rocky worlds in orbit around cool dwarf stars. These planets are often very close to their suns, but because their suns are small and cool, they lie within the habitable zone. However, very little is known about these worlds - including whether they are capable of maintaining atmospheres at all, let alone whether they could harbor life.

Though most of the worlds in Greene's study are made of gas, one is rocky - TRAPPIST-1b. It is the innermost planet in the TRAPPIST-1 system, a group of seven rocky, roughly Earth-sized planets that orbit close to a small, cool dwarf star. With so little known about the makeup of the planet, including if it has an atmosphere or not, the data gathered by Webb could reveal it to be a dead and barren world, or even one with the potential for hosting life.

"A planet's atmosphere is essential for the possibility of life as we know it," said Greene. "We've developed Webb's instruments to be able to give us the data we need to not only detect atmospheres, but to determine what they are made of."

Greene's team will be taking a close look at the spectrum of the planet - to see what kind of light it emits, which gives a view into its chemical composition. The study will focus on the planet's infrared emissions and search for signs of carbon dioxide. If there are signs an atmosphere is present, and especially carbon dioxide, then TRAPPIST-1b could have formed and evolved like the rocky planets in our own solar system that also have carbon dioxide - Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Batalha is also contributing to two Webb programs focused on characterizing five similar rocky worlds, including two in the same system - TRAPPIST-1h and TRAPPIST-1e, the latter of which is in the habitable zone. Those programs will determine how many of those worlds have atmospheres, and if they do, what they are made of. Many of Webb's targets are hundreds or even billions of light-years away, but some of the exoplanets closest to us are these same small, rocky worlds. Proxima Centauri, the star closest to us at just over four light-years away, is an M dwarf and potentially home to two such worlds. Learning about distant worlds could help us understand the prospects for habitability closer to home.

The Webb telescope is the largest astrophysical space observatory and the most technically complex science mission NASA has ever built.

"It's a humbling experience to be part of such a massive endeavor," said Batalha. "About 10,000 people have contributed to this telescope, and thousands more across over 400 institutions will be analyzing data from its first cycle. It's an amazing opportunity to get to do science on this scale."

Astrobiology

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Neom Tech & Digital Companys new half-billion- dollar venture ZeroPoint DC will offer global technology giants end-to-end gateway to Saudi Arabia and the GCC.

The hyperscale data centre joint venture is part of a substantial investment by Neom Tech & Digital Company  amounting to nearly $1 billion this year alone  in AI-driven products and hyperconnected, autonomous solutions that will provide competitive advantage and enable the next generation of cognitive enterprises and cities.

On the back of announcing two products at Leap technology event, Neom also unveiled the range of services it will offer at the new data centre formed in partnership with digital infrastructure developer Ezdihar Advanced Company for Information Technology (EzdiTek).

The ZeroPoint DC suite of services includes co-location, allowing organisations to rent out fully built data centre space and power, with the option to eventually build and operate their own data centres (subject to Neoms guidelines).

Facility management, daily data centre operation, fit-out and smart/remote hands services will also be offered to customers. ZeroPoint DC is also nearing completion of a cognitive digital platform for customers to browse, compare, select, provision, and monitor multi-cloud services while providing comprehensive financial analyses.

Speaking at Saudi Arabias flagship technology event, newly appointed ZeroPoint DC CEO Fabio Fontana said: The regions first next-generation hyperscale data centre will be instrumental in powering M3LD, Neom Tech & Digital Companys groundbreaking, five-layer data-consent management platform, and XVRS, our own take on the metaverse. ZeroPoint DC will support these unique cognitive solutions, and others that follow in their footsteps, by providing fast, effective, high-capacity connectivity, computing power and data storage.

ZeroPoint DC is strategically placed to serve the Middle East (including the Levant), Africa and Eastern Europe, and aims to be operational in the first half of 2022.

It is the first step in a planned Cognitive Connectivity Hub strategy that will offer global technology giants and cloud, networking and internet providers an end-to-end gateway to Neom, Saudi Arabia and broader GCC markets.

Sultan Fawaz AlHokair, CEO of Ezdihar Holding, EzdiTeks parent company, said: We are proud to be part of such a bold partnership that reflects a shared belief that data is the key to unleashing sustainable human potential. This venture, enabling us to push boundaries in the innovation of digital infrastructure, will be vital to our goal of contributing to the realisation of the Vision 2030 technology ambitions.

Joseph Bradley, CEO of Neom Tech & Digital Company, said: ZeroPoint DC is crucial to our ability to offer our partners unparalleled access to cutting-edge network capabilities across the region and beyond. The hyperscale data centre will drive wider network opportunities and future partnerships and is a testament to the innovation at the heart of Neom.

ZeroPoint DC will support three data centres with a capacity of 36MW and significant room for further expansion. At the nexus of terrestrial and sub-sea cable connections, the plan is to enable direct access to multiple cables, providing rapid, highly secure and carrier-neutral connectivity, in addition to a progressive regulatory framework and access to 100% sustainable energy.

ZeroPoint DC earlier announced multinational cloud infrastructure developer Oracle as its first tenant. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) will provide customers across Saudi Arabia with the capacity to develop high-performance autonomous services, integrated security and serverless computing power.

--TradeArabia News Service
The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia held a ceremony to mark the Chinese lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival.

The ceremony, held on Jan. 30 on the outskirts of Lusaka, the country's capital, attended by representatives of the Chinese community in Zambia and some local people, was characterized by a display of Chinese kungfu by local students and their masters.

The audience was later taken on a conducted tour of the facilities before taking part in a Buddhism ceremony. Fireworks, the burning of incense and the ringing of the bell characterized the event.

Yan Tao, one of the masters, said the Spring Festival was an important period in the Chinese calendar as it signals the end of a year and the start of a new year.

He said the Temple decided to hold the ceremony in keeping with the Chinese tradition and as a way to appreciate the previous year and the New Year. This year's Spring Festival fell on Feb. 1.

The Temple opened its doors to the public and started conducting its training in January, with an initial 15 local students.

Apart from teaching them Chinese kungfu, the students are also being taught the Chinese language, culture which includes how to prepare Chinese dishes.

Victoria Nakazwe is a 22-year-old student who has decided to start learning Chinese martial arts at the Temple and is so far happy with what she is learning.

Nakazwe, who has always dreamt of learning kungfu after watching Chinese kungfu actors in films, said she intends to use the knowledge acquired to open her own school and impart the knowledge to others.

"I have always liked kungfu since my childhood. Whenever I watched the movies and watched the Chinese actors, I always wanted to be like them," she said.

She has since encouraged other young people, especially girls, to consider learning kungfu, as it will not only help them to have self-defense but also be disciplined as well.

She further said she is enjoying the teachings on how to prepare Chinese food.

Justina Banda, 22, says she decided to join the training because she has always loved Chinese kungfu.

Banda, who has been undertaking Chinese training for the past year, said she decided to join the training at the Temple because she wanted to perfect her skills and become a trainer of her colleagues in the future.

Construction of the Temple started in April 2019 and was completed in July 2021. Four monks from the Shaolin Temple in China are at the Temple to conduct the teachings.

Yan Lun, the headmaster of the Temple, said the objectives of the project include teaching Shaolin Kungfu, Chinese culture, helping understand the African culture as well as enhancing the China-Africa friendship.

Turky, Lebanon PMs pledge to enhance cooperation

South Africa has pledged to switch from coal to clean energy.

Ukrainian president meets British PM on security issues
Islamabad: A case of shot dead a Hindu businessman has come to light in Pakistan. The deceased has been identified as Satan Lal. The incident happened on Monday. Satan Lal has been shot near Daharki town in Ghotki district of Sindh province. The accused are said to be related to the Dahar community. A few days ago, Satan Lal had talked about getting death threats in a property dispute and leaving Pakistan and going to India.

Property dispute is being said to be the reason for his murder. In protest against the murder, the agitated people blocked the highway. Mukhi Anil Kumar, a friend of Satan Lal, told the media that, 'The cotton factory and flour mill were about to be inaugurated on Satan Lal's land. During this, some people shot him. Earlier it appeared that aerial firing was done to welcome the spiritual leader of the community, Sen Sadharam Saheb.'

Satan Lal had alleged a few months ago that he has been threatened and told that if he wants to live, he should leave Pakistan and go to India. Its video also went viral on social media. In this he said that 'They are threatening to kill me, tear out my eyes and cut off my arms and legs. They are asking me to leave Pakistan. I belong to this country and I would like to die here, but I will not surrender. The land on the side of the road is mine and why should I leave it.' Satan Lal had urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan and other officials to bring him justice in this case. However, no action was taken on this.

Unique method for murder! Drink a lot of wine first, then...

Indore: Blood-shocked body found on the road near Marimata, investigation started

Heroin worth Rs 3 crore recovered from a flat in Delhi, three girls arrested
NEW DELHI: The Union Budget 2022-23 allotted Rs 1,02,668 crore to the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Central Police Organizations (CPOs), an increase of 12.98 percent.

In 2021-22, the overall allocation for CAPFs and CPOs under the Ministry of Home Affairs was Rs 90,888.41 crore. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the largest CAPF or paramilitary force, which is responsible for internal security and is also deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for counter-terrorism, has been granted Rs 29,324.92 crore, up from Rs 27,307.42 crore the previous year.

The Border Security Force (BSF), which is deployed on Pakistan's and Bangladesh's borders and is also responsible for internal security in some regions of the nation, has been awarded Rs 22,718.45 crore, up from Rs 21,491.14 crore in 2021-22.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which patrols the India-China border, received Rs 7,461.28 crore, up from Rs 6,965.02 crore in the previous budget.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is responsible for protecting important assets, government buildings, and numerous airports and metro networks, has been awarded Rs 12201.90 crore, up from Rs 11,372.54 crore in 2021-22.

Ayush Ministry gets Rs 3,050 cr in Budget 2022

Tomar praises boost in allocation for agriculture in budget 2022

Budget FY23: A plan to make border communities more "vibrant" announced
Masood Khan, a career diplomat who also served as the 'President' of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), has been appointed as Islamabad's ambassador to the United States of America, but his appointment has been met with opposition due to his unabashed support for several designated terrorist organisations. Salahuddin's Jamaat-e-Islami-backed Hizbul Mujahideen, which has been active in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990, is one of them.

Salahuddin was identified as a "global terrorist" by the US Department of State in June 2017, and his Hizbul Mujahideen was designated as a "specially designated global terrorist" (SDGT) by the US Department of State in August 2017.

After Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy, was murdered in an encounter in Kashmir's Anantnag district on July 8, 2016, Pakistan's then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lauded him as a "popular leader" in a UN speech. It ruffled many feathers because Wani had advocated for the formation of the Islamic Caliphate in Kashmir in a video published in August 2015. For the first time, it clashed head-on with Kashmiri militants' populist slogan of "azaadi."

Wani defined himself in the video as a supporter of the pan-Islamist cause championed by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, the worldwide terrorist organisation internationally blamed for September 11 and several other attacks on American interests. "We will not stop until an Islamic caliphate is formed," Wani declared in the video, urging Kashmiri youths to join him in fighting for the establishment of an Islamic state in the region.

Israeli army develops laser-based missile defence system

Japan considers harsh restrictions to counter cyberattacks

Israeli army set to build a laser-based anti-missile shield
Indore: In MP's Indore, a fashion designer committed suicide in the bathroom. She went to the bathroom after taking a bath and there she hanged herself. She told her father that Papa, I was going to take a bath. Don't disturb. When it did not come out for a long time, the gate was broken and the body was recovered. Why he did this is not yet known.

According to the information received, the case is of Bhanwarkuan area. Nandini's father Ramesh Solanki (26) was a fashion designer. His father Ramesh Solanki works in a private company in Zambia, South Africa. The health of Nandini's mother is often poor, due to which the father came to Indore from Zambia 4 days ago. In the meantime, the accident took place, which left the family members in a state of shock. Police said nandini had spoken to her father for the last time before khudkhushi. He said, 'Dad, I'm going to the bathroom to take a bath.' Don't disturb. ' Even after a long time, when Nandini did not come out of the bathroom, the parents were upset. He called out, but there was no answer. When the bathroom gate was broken, Nandini's body was hanging on the snare. The family removed the body from the trap and took it to the hospital, but doctors declared it brought dead.

Why the same Nandini khushishi did herself, it has not been revealed. Her mother said that no one knew why she did it. In the suicide note, it is only written that I am taking this step of my own free will. Don't disturb the family. According to the girl's relative Vivek, Nandini was happy. On Sunday, when they came to meet the family, Nandini had laughed for hours. There was no conflict in the family either. In such a situation, after Nandini's happiness, questions are being raised as to why she took this step. Police said that apart from extracting the call details of Nandini's mobile, they will also question her friends. An investigation is being carried out by the police.

Mob of 100 people set fire to two private buses, passengers flee and save their lives

Two girls held hostage and raped for years, now victims rescued by police

Sikkim: Man arrested for murdering girlfriend in Gangtok
According to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's Ministry of Higher Education, public universities in all of Afghanistan's tropical provinces will resume today (Wednesday), February 2, 2022.

In a tweet, the United Nations Assistant Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the decision, adding that every young Afghan has equal access to education.

"The United Nations applauds the announcement that public colleges will reopen to all female and male students on February 2nd." According to UNAMA's Twitter post. According to the IEA's Ministry of Higher Education, universities in non-tropical provinces will start classes in March, while the new academic year in all provinces will begin in April.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, 150 public colleges around the nation were forced to close for six months, disrupting the studies of tens of thousands of students.

World Wetlands Day 2022: India gets 2 new Ramsar sites

PM Putin and Italian PM Draghi discuss the Ukraine crisis

WHO advises countries to ease Covid measures' slowly and steadily'
New Delhi: The relatives of Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was brutally murdered in Afghanistan by the terrorist organization Taliban, issued a statement on Tuesday. He has alleged that the authors of a photo book named 'Hum Dekhenge' have made their alleged claims in interviews and added my son Danish Siddiqui's name in the project, for this they did not even ask permission from us. Actually, photographs of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests and anti-Hindu Delhi riots have been used in the 'Hum Dekhenge' photo book. The journalist's family members said that Danish's suggestion for the 'Hum Dekhenge' photo book raises questions about his professional ethics and credibility.

Let us tell you that last year's photo book titled 'Hum Dekhenge' by Mohammad Mehrban and Asif Mujtaba contains photos of events from December 12, 2019 to March 22, 2020. Meherban graduated from Jamia Millia Islamia and was involved in the Mujtaba Shaheen Bagh sit-in protest. Dedicating this book to his mentor Danish Siddiqui, he said that it was the thinking of the late photojournalist. This book contains a total of 223 photographs, taken by 28 photographers. Danish's father Akhtar Siddiqui said that the book's authors have dedicated it to the late Danish photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was assassinated in 2021 during an assignment in Afghanistan. Moreover, during the interview, the authors have also claimed that the book was Danish's thinking.' Now Danish's family has clarified that they have associated Danish's name with their project, which is completely wrong.

Danish's father said, 'We would also like to point out that my son Danish has upheld the freedom and integrity of the press during his life and career as a journalist. He never tried to go beyond his limits. He covered the Shaheen Bagh movement with complete impartiality and neutrality. His professional ethics and credibility are being questioned by showing him as a liar. We are already sad, but the writers have hurt us even more by doing this.' Let us tell you that Danish Siddiqui was a photojournalist associated with Reuters news agency and had gone to the war zone of Afghanistan because of his assignment. On 16 July 2021, news came that he was assassinated by the Taliban. However, during that time media persons like Ravish Kumar, without blaming the terrorist organization Taliban, continued to curse the bullets which hit Danish in the chest.

Recruitment for over 4000 master cadre posts in this state, apply soon

Over 7000 jobs in animal husbandry department, 10th pass youth can apply

Mandaviya says, National Digital Health Ecosystem will improve 'Ease of Living.'
Home  Just In  No one knows how many martyrs are there in Nepal, but everyone knows these 4. Why?

Today is National Martyrs Day, a day devoted to all the martyrs of Nepal. On this day, Nepalis remember and honour the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the establishment of democracy in the country.

In Nepal, probably no one knows how many martyrs are there in Nepal as every year the government keeps on declaring new martyrs. A few years ago, the demand to declare someone a martyr used to be a joke.

Nonetheless, most of the Nepalis have read about four great martyrs of the country, who were killed by the Rana regime in 1941 while struggling for the establishment of democracy in the country. In fact, Martyrs Day is celebrated in January in memory of these four martyrs.

So, why did they achieve special status among thousands of martyrs? Here are your answers.

1. Shukra Raj Shastri

A statue of Shukra Raj Shastri at Teku

Shukra Raj Joshi (Shastri) was born in 1894 in Varanasi, India. His parents, Madhav Raj and Ratna Maya, were originally from the Kathmandu valley but were living in a forced exile there.

Educated in Varanasi, he earned the title of Shastri after he passed the Shastri degree in Sanskrit literature from India. He has published many books in Nepal Bhasa and Nepali languages.

He joined the revolutionaries after returning to Nepal and started campaigning against the autocratic Rana regime. Shastri, who was an active member of Arya Samaj, was arrested and sentenced to imprisonment for six years for strongly voicing against the Rana regime and demanding the rights of the people during a demonstration at Indra Chok, Kathmandu.

Afterwards, the then government accused him of eight false charges and hanged on the night of January 24, 1941, on a tree at Pachali, Teku, of Kathmandu.

2. Dasharath Chand

The statue of Dasharath Chand Thakuri at Shobha Bhagawati

Dasharath Chand was born in Baskot, Baitadi in 1903. He was educated in different places of Uttarakhand like Nainital, Almora, and Kumaon. He passed his intermediate level from Banaras.

Impressed by the freedom movement of India, he actively participated in the Satyagraha initiated by Mahatma Gandhi there. Subsequently, he started writing articles against the Rana regime of Nepal from India under the pseudonym of Sewa Singh.

Tanka Prasad Acharya and Dharma Bhakta Mathema were actively working in their efforts to start a political revolution against the Rana regime. They started the Nepal Praja Parishad in the leadership of Acharya and Chand was one of the active cadres of the party.

The party started to work actively and distributed pamphlets to the general public about the arbitrary Rana regime. This act of the party was noticed by the Rana rulers and they announced a big sum of money as an announcement for the revealing the name of the people/party involved in this act. Tempted by the reward, one of the members of the same party revealed the names. And, two active leaders of the party, Dasharath Chand and Ganga Lal Shrestha, were arrested and were tortured severely in prison.

The Rana rulers asked them to beg pardon for their acts, but they did not. Consequently, on January 25, 1941, Chand and Shrestha were shot dead at Shobha Bhagawati.

3. Dharma Bhakta Mathema

A statue of Dharma Bhakta Mathema at Siphal of Kathmandu

Dharma Bhakta Mathema was born in 1908 in Kathmandu. His father Adi Bhakta was an employee of the ruling Rana family for many years. But, after the exile, Adi Bhakta Mathema went to Kolkata and Assam of India.

Dharma Bhakta Mathema completed his primary level education from a school in Darjeeling and later went to Scottish Church College in Calcutta for his intermediate level degree. Then, he returned to Kathmandu and established a gym here as he was also a professional bodybuilder.

He was also a personal trainer of King Tribhuvan. King Tribhuvan had appointed him after being impressed by his physical fitness and bodybuilding prowess shown at Tundikhel on the occasion of Ghode Jatra festival.

But, he was also active in politics. He also took part in the struggle for the independence of India. After returning to Nepal, Nepal Praja Parishad, an underground political party fighting against the Rana regime, was founded in his house.

He along with many members of the party were arrested during a secret party meeting held in Lainchaur, attended by King Tribhuvan himself, after the then Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher got informed about this meeting. Subsequently, on January 24, 1941, Dharma Bhakta Mathema was hanged on a tree at Siphal of Kathmandu at midnight.

4. Ganga Lal Shrestha

A statue of martyr Ganga Lal Shrestha

Ganga Lal Shrestha was born in 1919 in Ramechhap district where his father Bhakta Lal was posted as the chief of the Revenue Office.

He completed his secondary level from Durbar High School securing the first division. He also went to Kolkata to study for a few years before enrolling in Durbar High School. He studied science at Trichandra College at his intermediate level.

Shrestha was an activist of Mahavir Sanstha, where anti-Rana discourses were discussed, and also actively involved in the Nepal Praja Parishad party.

He was arrested by the Rana government for addressing the same demonstration at Indra Chok. He was released then. But, after the secret of the party was disclosed by one of the partys members, he along with other members were arrested in October 1940. On January 28, 1941, he was shot dead along with Dasharath Chand by Nara Shumsher Rana at Shobha Bhagawati.

From the archives.
Home  Just In  Wetlands in Nepal are in a sorry state. Loss of birds there is an alarm bell

It has been a few years that conservationists and stakeholders have been speaking about the diminishing state of wetlands in Nepal. They observe being a country that is rich in water resources has not helped Nepal overcome the threats, protect the wetlands or stride towards a better future. As the world celebrates World Wetlands Day and 51st anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands in Ramsar, Iran, conservationists say there is so much more to do for wetlands in Nepal.

Of the global wetlands, over 90 per cent have been degraded since the 1700s. The condition of wetlands in Nepal is not different either as they have been degrading for various reasons. For now, Nepal has over 5 per cent of wetlands, but the future is in limbo. One of the indications that the threat against wetlands in Nepal has been out of control is the gradually decreasing number of birds, both migratory and resident ones.

Big worries for birds

Migratory birds godwit and greenshank. Photo: Sanjay Shrestha

Wetlands in Nepal have been a haven for birds. Every year, tens and thousands of migratory birds reach Nepal in search of food and for breeding purposes. But, in recent years, the country has been seeing a decline in the overall number of birds.

According to Hem Sagar Baral, a senior ornithologist, any water body plays an important role in the birds ecosystem. There are about 900 species of birds, out of which 200 are wetland birds and 150 are waterbirds. Of the 150, more than half are migratory birds. They take shelter and find food in and around water bodies helping the ecosystem boost. He highlights, Any degradation in the quality or quantity of the wetlands in Nepal directly impacts the birds. We have seen many such signs including a decline in bird numbers.

Nepal started doing an annual bird census in 1987. On a yearly census, some sites might report more birds whereas others might report less. But, overall, in the past 10 years, there has been a decline in the number of birds, inform Juddha Bahadur Gurung, a member of the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission.

In Nepal, we now see a constant 60,000 birds annually. But since the 1990s, Koshi Tappu has been the biggest loser. At its peak saw some 15,000 birds in one flock. Now, even with systematic counting, we see only 10,000. The resident birds are also in decline there, Baral informs, On the other hand, the biggest gainer is Jagadishpur, one of the most important wetlands in Nepal. At its peak, we saw 23,000 birds, but now, we see about 9,000. It has been constant, which is good, but the declining trend is worrisome, Baral informs.

At one time, about 100s of Eurasian curlew could be seen while seeing one in 10 years is a matter of excitement now. Black-bellied terns and river terns that were once seen in a number of some 50-60s are now just five or six. So, the situation has been dire, stresses Baral, highlighting the need to conserve wetlands in Nepal.

Migratory bird Pacific golden plover. Photo: Sanjay Shrestha

Serious threats

The decline in the number of birds is thanks to many threats that have been looming around wetlands in Nepal and elsewhere. Some threats are nation-bound whereas many factors are also affected by different global factors, says Baral. In this, climate change and its impacts have a big role to play.

Many birds we see in Nepal are migratory, which means they stop all over the world year-round. So the degrading quality or quantity of wetlands anywhere in their route can affect their presence in Nepal.

Another ornithologist Krishna Prasad Bhusal adds, The loss of wetlands in Nepalin number or sizeand the human interventions have been the cause. Acts like sedimentation, poaching and hunting of birds and haphazard land-grabbing or plotting have posed a grave threat.

He adds that building large infrastructures, use of concrete and commercialisation around the wetlands in Nepal have also increased the threat. Bird species we see around the wetlands are not just water-dependent, eating fish or smaller organisms in the water. Many also go food hunting in nearby forests or fields, he explains, But, with urbanisation, there are houses instead of fields or forests, cottages surrounding the hills and constant noise and light pollution, all interfering with the birds behaviour or habitat. If we threaten their habitat, the number is sure to drop further.

Baral says wetlands in Siberia, China and Mongolia that act as breeding centres and stops also are facing the same kind of problems.

We are using wetlands in Nepal as a recreational spot for boating, picnics, view towers, and we are getting near the fish like in Taudaha. The surrounding areas are all concrete, intercepting other biological ecosystems of other species, says Bhusal.

The degrading quality of the wetlands in Nepal is another issue. Wetlands can dry up and ecosystems change locations naturally too. But, human intervention has polluted the ecosystemwith the dumping of plastic and sewage, and use of insecticides, says Gurung.

Weak governance

Winter migratory birds Northern shoveler. Photo: Utsab Jung Thapa

Apart from that, the coordination gap between the three government levels and the lack of policy implementation have been degrading the status of wetlands in Nepal. Our policies are very well drafted but not implemented. Neither have any management policies or action plans drafted been followed. So it is natural for the gap to be there, shares Gurung.

Research about wetlands in Nepal is also minimal. Lack of research can be seen during infrastructural development in accordance with the wetlands. Meanwhile, the Wetlands Act is yet to be formulated.

We do not have a single governing body. As many wetlands and Ramsar sites are within the areas of the national parks, the wetlands in Nepal are monitored by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC). But, not all local governments, government divisions and departments have been held responsible or been active to preserve and maintain wetlands, says Gurung.

Baral and Gurung underline the bureaucracy is not aware of the importance of wetlands. The new political system is still adapting to the changes. Any development or lack thereof has been credited to the local leadership than the policies, hopes Baral.

Migratory bird Kentish plover. Photo: Sanjay Shrestha

Can increasing the number of wetlands in Nepal be a solution?

Nepal, being a rich country in water resources, has an ample number of wetlands including rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps, etc. Wetlands are very essential not just to birds but to human civilization too, naturally, socially, culturally, spiritually and psychologically. So can increasing the number of wetlands in Nepal solve the pressing issues?

Many local units have shown initiatives and set up wetlands in their areas, mainly for irrigation purposes. But, these areas [like Jagadishpur] have fostered new ecological systems, informs Gurung.

On the other hand, Bhusal says, More than increasing the number of wetlands, a more important issue is that they are being made for commercial purposes only. Meanwhile, commercialising has become problematic as it has overlooked the ecological balance and brought humans close to wetlands.

But, Gurung defends commercialisation is necessary. If we fail to join wetlands areas to economic factors, the sustainability can be questioned too. Wetlands in Nepal are being taken as the quickest way for local units to get their revenue, so many wetlands have been set up for such purposes. So it is crucial that we give some economic benefits to the locals if we want them to participate.

Bhusal accepts the concept but says there needs to be some distance. By creating a distance, we can enjoy nature and let nature foster itself without human intervention.

A screenshot from the National Ramsar Strategy and Action Plan [2018-2024] showing all 10 Ramsar sites in Nepal.

Meanwhile, Nepal is also constantly trying to increase the number of Ramsar sites. So far Nepal has 10 Ramsar sites, but according to the National Ramsar Strategy and Action Plan [2018-2024], by the end of 2024 Nepal aims to declare up to 20 Ramsar sites. According to the conservationists, Tilicho and Damodar Kunda are in the process of getting enlisted.

Again, the question is: does Nepal need that many Ramsar sites?

Some argue that there is a need for more wetlands in Nepal to get listed as Ramsar areas. So far, there has been no river enlisted in the Ramsar sites while it continues to be encroached and polluted by human interventions.

Meanwhile, Baral says the country is already at its optimum level. There are many wetlands to foster wetland-dependent birds. Nepal has a few high-altitude wetlands with unique ecosystems. They are enough for Nepal to qualify and declare more Ramsar sites.
Give grace with failed New Years resolutions

Media Contact: Trisha Gedon | Communications Specialist | 405-744-3625 | trisha.gedon@okstate.edu

A new year leaves people feeling invigorated to make changes in their lives. Resolutions such as losing weight, saving more money, learning a new skill or decluttering the house often top the list.

For many, one month into the new year, those goals have gone by the wayside, said Rachel Morse, Oklahoma State University Extension mental health specialist with the Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development program.

Theres nothing wrong with setting lofty goals for yourself, but its important to keep them realistic in order to be successful. Often, when people dont see results right away, they quickly give up on the idea of attaining their goal, Morse said. However, it doesnt have to be an all-or-nothing deal. Dont give up on your goals; just readjust them to make them more attainable.

Its important to set goals using the SMART acronym: Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Timely.

Its one thing to say you want to lose 50 pounds in a month, but that isnt achievable or even realistic, she said. Setting goals you can measure and seeing the progress will help keep them on track, and you wont get so discouraged. Keep a written log so you can see what steps youre taking to achieve a certain goal.

Those who want to exercise more can keep track of how much time they spend exercising. Again, be specific. Instead of planning to exercise more, make it a goal to exercise 15 minutes, three times per week. Once that becomes a habit, either increase the duration or the number of times per week. If saving money is important, keep a log of how much you spend. Keep a food log to identify how much your caloric intake should be reduced to reach personal health goals.

Morse said one of the keys to achieving goals is to build flexibility into the plan.

Approach your goals with baby steps. Make small changes that soon become habits. Tweak your plan as you go along, she said. Babies learning to walk fall often, but they always get back up and keep going. Its the same with setting goals. Just because you fall down isnt any reason to give up. Get back on your feet, dust yourself off and start again the next day.

Morse said it is important to break tasks into manageable chunks. For example, if a goal is to clean the house, instead of looking around at everything that has to be done, divvy up the chores into easier-to-achieve tasks. One day, tackle cleaning the floors. The next day, concentrate on the bathrooms. De-cluttering the kitchen counter can be done the following day. By the end of the week, the house is clean.

We must give ourselves grace when it comes to our goals. You simply cant beat yourself up because you fall short one day, or even several days in a row, she said. Wipe the slate clean and start over. Its OK to struggle sometimes, but its not a reason to give up.
Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis has become the first hotel in the UAE to officially monitor and assess air quality after receiving a Four Star AirZones air quality rating.



Dubai-headquartered AirZones is the worlds first Indoor Air Quality Star Rating Standard, ensuring healthy environments for customers. Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis joins AirZones mission to make Dubai one of the healthiest cities on earth  ahead of the 2040 target.



Stuart Birkwood, General Manager, Radisson RED Hotel Dubai, said: This rating means we have great quality indoor air in our hotel. We believe the guest experience should extend to the air we all breathe  and knowing our air has a four-star rating means we have a fantastic competitive differentiator  who would rather stay somewhere without an air rating, or with low quality air?



According to the World Health Organisation and the United Nations, air pollution is now responsible for 7.2 million deaths per year. Ensuring good quality clean air in venues such as hotels, offices, schools and homes is now imperative.



Birkwood added: Weve always put guest comfort uppermost in our company aims and vision. Having an air quality assessment means we can proudly tell our guests and staff that Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis is a healthy, comfortable environment. To us, this is a clear and simple differentiator.



The hotels general manager underlined that delivering high air quality is another way to reassure guests the group is doing everything possible to ensure a clean, safe environment for all, on top of its world-class Covid-19 health and safety measures.



For business travellers, holiday makers and family guests alike, air quality makes the difference between having a good stay and a great stay. Air quality affects mood, cognitive ability, productivity and helps ensure a good nights sleep, for example.



After monitoring the air at the DSO site for a month, the raw data was analysed, and an independent four-star air quality rating given. AirZones is now offering advice on how to improve air quality even more, by advising Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis how to remove any excess pollutants and further enhance the air quality for all.



AirZones spokesman and company co-founder, Chris Leighton said: We are already being described as the Trust Pilot of air quality. Were delighted to be working with such a globally-renowned brand as Radisson in ensuring its clientele and staff enjoy high quality air.



In doing this, Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis is showing it truly cares about its guest experience and welfare  not to mention its staff health. Right now, this might be a step thats seen by many as above and beyond the norm, but we are seeing growing public expectation of an air quality rating for everywhere they live, work, dine and stay. Radisson is making a stand as an innovator in the hospitality sector with its air quality assessment.  TradeArabia News Service
OLDWICK, N.J., February 02, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "aa" (Superior) of the property/casualty (P/C) insurance subsidiaries of Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CFC). Concurrently, AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term ICR to "aa" (Superior) from "aa-" (Superior) and affirmed the FSR of A+ (Superior) of The Cincinnati Life Insurance Company (CLIC), which is now part of CFC as a life insurance subsidiary. The ratings of CFCs subsidiaries have been extended to CLIC given the strategic importance of CLIC to CFCs overall strategy. Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of "a" (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR) of CFC, the companies publicly traded parent. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. All companies except The Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance Company (CSU) are domiciled in Fairfield, OH. CSU is domiciled in Delaware. (See below for a detailed listing of the P/C companies and Long-Term IRs.)

The ratings of CFC reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. CFC maintains the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), supported by consistently favorable reserve development, a comprehensive reinsurance program, favorable liquidity and financial flexibility. While stock holdings consist of dividend-paying stocks, which augment investment income, they expose surplus and risk-adjusted capitalization to equity market fluctuations; however, CFC has shown the ability to weather these fluctuations, AM Best believes capitalization will remain supportive of CFCs ratings. Additionally, CFC, which is predominantly a property/casualty group of insurers that markets its products primarily through independent insurance agencies, has recorded underwriting profits in each year since 2012 and through the first three quarters of 2021. Overall, CFCs operating metrics generally outperform its peers.

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Although there remains uncertainty surrounding potential litigation and losses stemming from business interruption claims, losses from the pandemic have been manageable to date and CFC management has publicly stated that it believes that its policies do not cover business interruption losses from a pandemic. AM Best will continue to monitor this situation.

The FSR of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICR of "aa" (Superior) have been affirmed, each with a stable outlook, for The Cincinnati Insurance Company (CIC) and its P/C subsidiaries:

The Cincinnati Indemnity Company

The Cincinnati Casualty Company

The Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance Company

The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed, each with a stable outlook:

Cincinnati Financial Corporation

-- "a" (Excellent) on $28.0 million 6.90% senior unsecured debentures, due 2028

-- "a" (Excellent) on $374 million 6.125% senior unsecured notes, due 2034

-- "a" (Excellent) on $391 million 6.92% senior unsecured debentures, due 2028

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2022 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005996/en/

Contacts

Elizabeth Blamble

Senior Financial Analyst

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5603

elizabeth.blamble@ambest.com



Michael Lagomarsino, CFA, FRM

Senior Director

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5810

michael.lagomarsino@ambest.com



Christopher Sharkey

Manager, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com



Jim Peavy

Director, Communications

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644

james.peavy@ambest.com
James Gibson

James Gibson

James Gibson

Dallas, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Associa, the industrys largest community management company, is pleased to announce that James Gibson has joined the company in the role of regional sales director, West Region.

Mr. Gibson has more than 20 years experience in sales, organizational operations, and public speaking. He has served several business and charitable organizations in various roles, including commercial broker, operations manager, sales executive, and marketing manager.

Mr. Gibson joins Associa with previous community management experience as the vice president of business development for a property management firm, and as the chief executive officer and managing owner of HOA Board Member Magazine. Beyond his professional commitments, he also served the HOA industry as the past president and vice president of the Community Associations Institute Nevada chapter.

Our team has always been focused on developing close-knit, lasting partnerships with community associations and their boards of directors. Bringing James on to join the Associa family is an extension of that commitment, stated Leslie Baldwin, CMCA, AMS, Associa vice president of sales. James has association management industry experience as both an employee and volunteer. More importantly, he is a passionate, people-driven leader, and we cant wait to see where his vision takes our sales team in the future.

Mr. Gibson graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.

About Associa

With more than 200 branch offices across North America, Associa is building the future of community for nearly five million residents worldwide. Our 10,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise, and trailblazing innovation. For more than 43 years, Associa has brought positive impact and meaningful value to communities. To learn more, visit www.associaonline.com.

Stay Connected:

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CONTACT: Tom Womack Associa 214-272-4107 tom.womack@associaonline.com




Members will receive 24/7 online access to Canadian-licensed general practitioners and healthcare professionals through Maple

CAA South Central Ontario (CAA SCO) and Maple are proud to announce a new partnership that offers members discounted or free 24/7 online access to Canadian-licensed general practitioner and healthcare professionals. (CNW Group/CAA South Central Ontario)

THORNHILL, ON, Feb. 2, 2022 /CNW/  Getting medical care for you and your family just got faster and easier. CAA South Central Ontario (CAA SCO) and Maple are proud to announce a new partnership that offers members discounted or free 24/7 online access to Canadian-licensed general practitioner and healthcare professionals.

With Maple, CAA members and their entire household can instantly connect with a general practitioner from their phone, tablet or computer and receive treatment for many common medical conditions. They simply describe their symptoms and connect with a general practitioner through text, video or audio chat. They can receive a diagnosis, prescription or, for an additional cost, a quick referral to a specialist.

"This new CAA membership benefit reinforces CAA's mission to keep our members safe," said Jay Woo, chief executive officer, CAA Club Group. "Being a CAA member means having peace of mind wherever life takes you and we are so excited to add even more value to our members' day-to-day lives by partnering with Maple."

Members can use the service from anywhere, providing families the flexibility and choice to get an opinion from a Canadian-licensed general practitioner regardless of their location. Prescriptions are not available internationally.

"We're proud to partner with CAA, an organization that shares our value of supporting Canadians, anytime, anywhere," said Dr. Brett Belchetz, CEO and co-founder of Maple. "Using Maple, CAA members will be able to access high-quality virtual healthcare, whether they are close to home or travelling far from their regular medical care."

The benefit is based on membership type and is available to a member's entire household. Basic and A la Carte members and their families receive unlimited general practitioner consults per year at a 20 per cent discounted rate. CAA Plus and Corporate members receive two free general practitioner consults per year and Premier members receive five free general practitioner consults per year.

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Members can begin accessing the new benefit February 1, 2022 using their CAA membership card number at www.caasco.com/maple. Maple registration is open to CAA primary account holders. Once registered, you can add family members within the Maple platform.

About CAA South Central Ontario

For over a hundred years, CAA has been helping Canadians stay mobile, safe and protected. CAA South Central Ontario is one of eight auto clubs across Canada, providing roadside assistance, travel, insurance services and Member savings for over 2.2 million Members.

About Maple

Maple is a technology platform that tackles some of the world's most meaningful issues in healthcare, starting with timely and convenient access to doctors and other healthcare providers including dermatologists, psychiatrists, and oncology navigation experts. It allows patients to connect directly with doctors and specialists for medical care in minutes from their smartphone or computer 24/7, and also provides custom technology solutions for employers, insurers, hospitals, and clinics. Learn more at getmaple.ca.

CAA South Central Ontario (CAA SCO) and Maple are proud to announce a new partnership that offers members discounted or free 24/7 online access to Canadian-licensed general practitioner and healthcare professionals. (CNW Group/CAA South Central Ontario)

CAA South Central Ontario (CAA SCO) and Maple are proud to announce a new partnership that offers members discounted or free 24/7 online access to Canadian-licensed general practitioner and healthcare professionals. (CNW Group/CAA South Central Ontario)

SOURCE CAA South Central Ontario

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2022/02/c3964.html
OPELOUSAS, La., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: "CLST") (the "Company"), the parent company for St. Landry Homestead Federal Savings Bank (the "Bank") (www.stlandryhomestead.com), announced today that Jacques Bourque, CPA, has been named Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") of the Company and Bank.

Jacques Bourque

"Jacques is a rising star in the CPA profession due to his high level of technical proficiency and ability to engage others," said Joe Zanco, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Bank. "Having just turned 29 in November, he becomes the youngest public bank CFO in the country. Jacques has already demonstrated his dynamism and proficiency to us, and we expect him to build systems within our company that give us insight and reporting capabilities rarely seen in companies our size."

"We have an outstanding financial team focused on producing high quality information to help us invest our resources effectively," said Bourque. "Couple that with the incredible character, energy and drive throughout the bank, and we have great confidence in our ability to build a company that has significant impact across Acadiana."

Mr. Bourque joined the company as Treasurer in October 2021. Previously, he served as Senior Accountant for Home Bank, N.A., where he played a key role in financial reporting and analysis. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in accounting from Louisiana State University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is an officer for the Acadiana Chapter of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants and serves as the Emerging CPA Council Representative for the chapter.

Jutta Codori, the Company and Bank's previous CFO, will transition into the Senior Administrative Officer role where she will focus on human resource management and Board of Director's administrative duties.

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About St. Landry Homestead Federal Savings Bank

Founded in 1922, St. Landry Homestead Federal Savings Bank is a federally chartered savings bank serving the banking needs of customers in the Acadiana region of south-central Louisiana. We serve our customers through six full-service branches located in Carencro, Eunice, Lafayette, Opelousas, and Port Barre. Our team is focused on fueling business and improving lives across our region. By working together, we can grow our economy and provide our children with the opportunity to raise their families in Acadiana.

For more information:

Joe Zanco, President and CEO

(337) 948-3033

(PRNewsfoto/St. Landry Homestead Federal Savings Bank)

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SOURCE Catalyst Bancorp, Inc.
The TechCrunch Global Affairs Project examines the increasingly intertwined relationship between the tech sector and global politics.

As Russian troops stand poised to yet again invade Ukraine, much attention has been focused in recent days on how to avoid escalation of the conflict. Recent (and likely ongoing) escalations in cyberattacks on Ukraine suggest that this conflict will be unfortunately severe in the digital domain. And unlike a ground invasion, the U.S. government has warned that the digital conflict zone may expand to include the United States, as well. Years of Russian cyber probing and "preparing the environment" could well culminate in significant and potentially destructive attacks against private-sector American interests in the coming weeks and months.

If this level of vulnerability feels intolerable, good  it should. But how did we get here? And what are the moves needed to avoid disaster? To start, its critical to understand how President Vladimir Putin has experimented with 21st Century technical methods to contribute to achieving his longstanding vision for Russia.

Past as cyber prologue

Russias motives are conventional enough. In April 2005, Putin called the fall of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century and a genuine tragedyfor the Russian people. This core belief has guided many of Russias actions since. Today, the drums of war are unfortunately beating loudly in Europe, as Putin seeks to forcibly return more of Russias periphery back under formal control and push back on perceived Western encroachment.

Read more from the TechCrunch Global Affairs Project

While there are a number of factors driving why Russia has chosen now as the time to increase its aggression against Ukraine  and assert itself in Europe more broadly  its asymmetric capabilities in areas like cyber certainly give it a broader set of tools to shape the outcomes in its favor.

Russias geopolitical position  with a waning population base and woeful economic situation  drives its leadership to find ways to reassert itself on the global stage. Russian leaders know they cant compete conventionally, so they turn to more easily accessible and, as it turns out, immensely powerful and effective asymmetric tools. Their disinformation campaigns have done much to contribute to the pre-existing societal fissures here in the United States, exacerbating our fracturing politics in keeping with standard Russian intelligence practices. Indeed Russian leadership likely sees an opportunity with the West as distracted by the COVID pandemic and internal turmoil that it sometimes helps sow.

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But Putins long embrace of asymmetrical methods means Russia has been preparing for this moment for years. There is a familiarity to these activities: old means and tools from the Soviet era that have taken on a new face through the manipulation of twenty-first-century digital tools and vulnerabilities. And in recent years, it has used Ukraine, Libya, the Central African Republic, Syria, and other contested spaces as testing grounds for its information operations and damaging cyber capabilities.

The bear gets prickly

Today, Russian actors have deployed a vast array of techniques for active measures to confuse, sow doubt, and delegitimize basic democratic institutions. The mercenaries and clandestine agents Russia is deploying into Ukraine have honed their skills in hybrid battlespaces abroad, using a mix of deception and kinetic action, deftly mixed with deniable influence operations and offensive cyber actions.

In cyberspace, Russia has graduated from its then-unprecedented 2007 cyberattack on Estonia and later NotPetya-style cyber attacks, which targeted Ukrainian utilities, ministries, banks, and journalists, which spilled over into one of the most costly cyberattacks in history to date. Russian intelligence services have been found hacking into U.S. critical infrastructure systems for some time now as wellyet, to date, without significant kinetic or deleterious impact or actions (unlike in Ukraine and elsewhere as detailed in books like Andy Greenbergs Sandworm). Theyve tested the reactions of the United States and its Allies, learned what they can get away with, and are pressing ever further as NATO countries debate what to do about Ukraine.

In sum, Russia has done its reconnaissance and likely pre-placed tools it may want to use against countries like the United States on a rainy day. That day may soon arrive.

When war in Europe hits American networks

As Russia ramps up its aggression against Ukraine, the United States has threatened a devastating economic response as part of the escalatory ladder (how nations methodically raise the stakes in the hopes of deterring an adversary in a conflict) toward an ever-increasingly more dangerous and likely violent resolution. What often goes unsaid is that Russian cyber capabilities are attempts at their own form of deterrence. Those preparatory activities Russia has engaged in over the years, as noted above, would allow those cyber eggs to hatch  and the consequences to come home to roost here in America.

The U.S. government has explicitly and broadly warned that Russia may attack American private industry in response to those potentially severe U.S. sanctions. It is highly unlikely, knowing the sophistication of Russian actors in this space, that these attacks would be brazen, or even immediate. While they can be sloppy and imprecise at times (see NotPetya), their capabilities will likely allow them to meddle with our critical infrastructure and private industry via supply-chain attacks and other indirect and difficult-to-attribute means. In the interim, companies and service providers could face significant damage and deleterious downtime. If the past has been a nuisance, the near term portends potentially much greater negative economic impact as Putin and his oligarchs continue to press their longstanding agenda.

Hope remains that Russia will not continue to ramp up its aggression, and will indeed find off-ramps, avoiding these various scenarios. We should all hope that none of this will ever unfold. It is prudent however, indeed overdue at this point, that industry ensure that it takes the appropriate steps to protect itself from what we must now consider a potentially highly likely attack  doubling down on multi-factor authentication, segmenting networks, maintaining backups, gaming out crisis response plans, and closing off access to only those with real need. What is happening with Ukraine seems a world apart, but with a few clicks, the impact may end up right here at home.
Democratic Rep. Dan Rayfield of Corvallis was elected speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives on the opening day of the 2022 legislative session Tuesday, the first time a new speaker has been elected since 2013.

Later, initial public conversations about the more than 250 bills under consideration began in virtual committee hearings as hundreds outside protested masks, COVID-19 vaccinations and pandemic-related restrictions.

The rally ended in a march around the Capitol and an eventual standoff with Oregon State Police officers at one of the Capitol's entrances as protesters attempted to enter without face coverings, which is against Oregon's indoor mask mandate.

Protesters who put on masks were allowed through the doors, and the standoff ended when police began allowing individuals indoors who were able to state a religious or medical exemption. Most protesters removed their masks once they made it past the security checkpoint.

Protesters are confronted by Oregon State Police after refusing to put on masks to enter the state Capitol for the first day of the legislative session Tuesday.

Republican lawmakers, particularly in the House, also spoke out against the building's rules requiring mask wearing.

But others tried to start session with a nod toward cooperation.

In his acceptance speech, Rayfield said this session is the most important in the state's history, and called on his colleagues to legislate with empathy toward one another as they all work to improve the lives of Oregonians still struggling with the effects of the pandemic.

"We're at a critical point in our recovery from the pandemic," Rayfield said. "During the next five weeks, we will have the opportunity to support the people and the communities that were impacted the most the last two years."

Want to participate?: Here's what to expect when visiting the Oregon Capitol this session

Rayfield recounted his troubled youth. He grew up in a divorced household, traveling between Oregon and southern California, splitting time between his Dan Quayle-supporting Republican father and his Democrat mother, who was once arrested protesting at a Nevada nuclear test site.

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Rayfield said the "chaos" of his childhood followed him into adolescence where he experienced scholastic failure, abuse, drinking, drug use and arrests on charges including DUI and criminal mischief.

His rock bottom was getting fired from a job at Disneyworld; his life was dominated by feelings of failure and lack of self-confidence. But it was then when he started to put himself on a path that would lead him to the Oregon Legislature.

"There are so many Oregonians that find themselves where I was two decades ago," Rayfield said. "I stand before you as living proof that the worst moment of our lives doesn't have to be our destiny. I believe you are not defined by your failures but instead how you move forward. We can, and must, see the positive potential in people."

Newly sworn-in Speaker of the House Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, speaks in the House of Representatives on the first day of the session.

Rayfield went on to attend Western Oregon University and then Willamette University College of Law, according to his legislative biography. He is currently a partner in a law firm, representing individuals with consumer and civil rights cases against corporations.

During his speech, he also touted his experience navigating different political perspectives, which began with his parents.

Time for a new generation: 2 Oregon titans head into their final legislative session

Rep. Wlnsvey Campos, D-Aloha, nominated Rayfield to the position, saying his collaborative work on the Legislature's budget-writing committee demonstrates why he would make a good presiding officer.

"Many of our colleagues can attest that he has spent time listening and learning about the priorities of the different communities we represent and has demonstrated that he is someone who values all voices in this chamber," Campos said.

Rayfield was elected with 32 votes. Two other representatives were also nominated for speaker: House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, who received 18 votes, and Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Clackmas, who received four.

Bynum had previously expressed her interest in serving as House speaker, but a majority of Democrats decided to support Rayfield during a private vote in mid-January.

The votes Bynum received signified the first time in Oregon's history a Black person received votes for speaker of the House.

This session's agendas

The first day of the session is also marked by caucuses releasing their agendas.

House and Senate Democrats have pledged to tackle: housing costs, support for educators, workforce training and development, childcare availability, access to health care services and climate change resiliency.

The pandemic continues to show us the important work we must do, watching out for those struggling around the state, Senate Democratic Leader Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, said. Oregon Senate Democrats are committed to making sure every community in the state gets the support they need during these challenging times."

House Republicans said their priorities include: restoring the state's educational standards, enabling law enforcement to do its job, removing barriers to health care access and rebalancing the power of the executive and legislative branches.

But some said they were hopeful new leadership in the House could lead to more productive dialogue about legislation.

Previous Democrat leaders lost the trust of House Republicans and Oregonians because of broken promises and partisan power-plays," House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with their new leadership, but will be judging their actions and not their words.

Jitters on the first day

Meanwhile, across the Capitol, first-day bugs were being ironed out.

In the Senate, the Republican and Democratic caucus leaders had trouble remembering the correct parliamentary order for their various motions and statements.

Senate staff struggled with having the correct items listed on the digital board that displays what lawmakers are currently considering.

Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, accidentally avoided going through the metal detectors when he entered the Capitol in the morning by using his building ID card to scan through an adjacent door after getting inside.

He later contacted Oregon State Police and legislative administration about his mistake. Building staff said their focus right now is educating people about the new security checkpoint, which went live Thursday. The door Bonham walked through has since been locked.

"I wasn't even paying attention," Bonham said.

House staffers said their side of the building feels particularly unsettled as the session gets underway with inexperienced leadership, a raft of new lawmakers, an upcoming election and new security protocols.

Staff also said they are still getting re-accustomed to seeing members of the public wandering through the legislative offices and seeing some former frequent flyers for the first time in nearly two years.

Reporter Connor Radnovich covers the Oregon Legislature and state government. Contact him at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich.

Support local journalism by subscribing to the Statesman Journal.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: First day of session: Call for empathy followed by public mask protest
Vito Corleone-Venisee seen here in a photo provided by family (Provided by family to The Miami Herald)

A Florida teen who was shot and left paralysed by a Miami-Dade Police officer has been charged with aggravated assault.

Vito Corleone-Venisee had previously been charged with possession of a firearm by a minor and resisting an officer without violence. The additional charge was handed down on Friday night.

The 15-year-old is also facing charges for failing to appear at two court dates late in 2021 relating to 2020 arrests by different law enforcement agencies for attempted burglary and robbery.

Mr Corleone-Venisees attorney Jarlens Princilis revealed the identity of his client, a minor, to local media .

When you have a teenager whose back is facing the police officer, who is running away from the police officer, said Mr Princilis, We ask how could this teenager have possibly posed a threat to this officer to the extent that he has to use deadly force in making this arrest?

Miami-Dade Police withheld the name of the officer under Marsys Law which characterises him as the victim and therefore shields his identity.

However, The Miami Herald cites law enforcement sources as confirming the officer is Luke Marckioli, an experienced and decorated veteran sergeant.

Mr Corleone-Venisee was shot on 16 January while police searched for a stolen vehicle amid a heightened law enforcement presence in the area following the shooting of a Brownsville rapper.

He and two others were in a 2021 Dodge Challenger and on their way to meet friends and show off their cars.

According to arrest reports and law enforcement sources, Police said the stolen vehicle, a Dodge Charger, was spotted next to the one containing Mr Corleone-Venisee. While they are the same make, a Charger is a four-door sedan and a Challenger is a two-door muscle coupe.

The Herald reports that when officers ordered the vehicles to stop, police said both cars took off and police gave chase. The Charger, the stolen vehicle, escaped. The Challenger eventually crashed through a fence and into a tree before coming to a stop.

Mr Corleone-Venisee and the two other occupants ran. While they got away, the teen was shot.

He is now paralysed from the neck down and recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE: FMAN

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 2, 2022 /CNW/ - Freeman Gold Corp. (CSE: FMAN), (OTCQB: FMANF), (FSE: 3WU) ("Freeman" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its Lemhi Gold Project ("Lemhi"), Idaho. Further to the announcement dated October 27, 2021, initial drilling at Lemhi commenced at the newly identified Beauty Zone ("Beauty Zone") during Q4 2021. Three diamond drill holes (FG21-001 to 003) totalling 328 meters were completed and have now been sent to the laboratory for analysis.

Freeman Gold Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Freeman Gold Corp.)

After completing drilling at the Beauty Zone, the diamond drill was moved to the Lemhi Gold Deposit. Thus far three drill holes totalling 797 meters as part of the designed Phase 2 drill program have been completed. All three drill holes were step outs to the west of the deposit (FG21-004, 005 and FG22-001  85m step out, 93m step out, and 17m step out respectively). Continuation of Phase 2 drilling is currently underway.

Freeman has signed a second diamond drilling contract with Major Drilling America, Inc. to provide two additional coring rigs in Q1 2022. This will bring the total operating rigs during Q1 to three to accelerate the resource expansion drill program and increase the total planned meterage to over 10,000 meters.

All drill core samples will be sent to ALS Minerals Division, Vancouver, BC, an independent and fully accredited laboratory in Canada for analysis for gold by Fire Assay and multi-element Induction Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy (select holes). Freeman has a regimented Quality Assurance, Quality Control program where at least 10% duplicates, blanks and standards are inserted into each sample shipment.

The Company has granted 1,150,000 stock options to consultants of the Company with each stock option exercisable into a common share of the Company (a "Share") at a price of $0.50 for a period of five years and 1,800,000 stock options to certain directors and officers with each stock option exercisable into a Share at a price of $0.50 for a period of five years.

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About the Company

Freeman Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the development of its 100% owned Lemhi Gold property (the "Lemhi Project"). The Lemhi Project comprises 30 square kilometers of highly prospective land. The project hosts a near surface, shallow, high grade oxide gold resource. The pit constrained National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant mineral resource estimate is comprised of 749,800 oz gold ("Au") at 1.02 grams per tonne ("g/t") in 22.94 million tonnes (Indicated) and 250,300 oz Au at 1.01 g/t Au in 7.83 million tonnes (Inferred). The Company is focused on growing and advancing the Lemhi Project towards a production decision. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dean Besserer, P.Geol., VP Exploration of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

On Behalf of the Company

William Randall

President and Chief Executive Officer

Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to statements relating to its future business plans. 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 from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law.

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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SOURCE Freeman Gold Corp.

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Government of Canada supports the expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Park and boosts conservation efforts

Government of Canada supports the expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Park and boosts conservation efforts

Canada NewsWire

GATINEAU, QC, Feb. 2, 2022

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada

GATINEAU, QC, Feb. 2, 2022 /CNW/ - Expanding conserved and protected areas around the world is one of the most important actions countries can take to curb the ongoing loss of nature and biodiversity, and mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

Today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, and Chief Peter Powder of the Mikisew Cree First Nation announced a large expansion of the Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Park in Northern Alberta. Through $5.3 million in funding under the Canada Nature Fund, the Mikisew Cree First Nation and the Government of Alberta have expanded the park's existing western border. This collaboration expands the park by 1,438 km2 and significantly adds to the largest connected area of protected boreal forest in the world.

The newly protected area will expand protected habitat for species at risk, including the threatened Ronald Lake wood bison herd and boreal caribou, as well as the endangered whooping crane. The expanded portion of the park also fulfills an objective of the Mikisew Cree First Nation's land use plan to conserve an ecologically and culturally important watershed.

By working closely with Indigenous leaders in conservation and provincial and territorial partners, the Government of Canada is making progress toward its conservation targets. The expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Park marks another important milestone in the government's goal of conserving 25 percent of land and oceans in Canada by 2025, and working toward 30 percent of each by 2030.

Today is also World Wetlands Day, a day that annually recognizes the critical importance of wetlands for the health and wellbeing of many species, including humans. Moreover, World Wetlands Day reminds us of the vital role of conservation and nature-based climate solutions to address climate change in Canada and around the world. Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Provincial Park increases the protection of waters flowing into the Peace-Athabasca Delta, a globally recognized wetland and one of the largest freshwater deltas in the world.

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Quotes

"This project, which expands the largest connected area of protected boreal forest in the world, would not be possible without the leadership of Mikisew Cree First Nation and the collaborative efforts between governments. Together, we are making a difference for species at risk, combatting climate change and helping to increase the amount of land that is protected and conserved so we can all enjoy a healthier environment."

 The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"It is great to see this expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Park become a reality. Expanding this protected area is part of our vision for protecting the Peace-Athabasca Delta, North America's largest inland river delta, and important resources like woodland caribou and wood bison. We respectfully acknowledge our elders for the wisdom they shared in helping us identify these watersheds for protection and are proud that future generations will benefit from their foresight. The Canada Nature Fund helped us chart the collaborative strategy that allowed us to achieve this significant outcome with the support of our neighbouring nations, the provincial and federal governments and many partners in industry. We've proven that we can achieve great things when so many partners work together."

 Chief Peter Powder, Mikisew Cree First Nation

"The expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Provincial Park is a major achievement in conservation. Through this collaborative effort, vital wetlands and boreal forest habitat in Northern Alberta are now protected for future generations."

 The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre

Quick facts

In 2019, the Mikisew Cree First Nation received $2.1 million and the Government of Alberta received $1.7 million in Quick Start funding to establish the Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Park.

The Canada Nature Fund is a key part of the historic Nature Legacy investment of $1.3 billion in 2018, which was enhanced in 2021 with another $2.3 billion over five years.

Nature-based solutions and maintaining natural infrastructure are ways to protect biodiversity and provide wildlife habitat protection, promote climate resilience and provide leisure and economic opportunities for local communities.

One third of the world's remaining boreal forests are in Canada.

On February 2, 1971, the Convention on Wetlands was adopted as an international treaty. Each year, World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2 nd to mark the anniversary and raise awareness about these important ecological systems.

The expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenene Wildland Park further contributes to protected areas around Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site. Together with Wood Buffalo National Park, these areas improve landscape connectivity for species and ecosystems, support ecological integrity of the region, and will continue to provide improved protection for lands and species on which Indigenous Peoples depend.

Associated links

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Facebook page

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada
OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 1, 2022 /CNW/ - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The Governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island are committed to supporting PEI potato farmers impacted by trade disruptions. PEI potato growers have a long history of producing high quality potatoes for Canadians and international consumers, and we are doing everything we can to restore market access to the U.S. for this vital industry.

Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, along with Prince Edward Island Minister of Agriculture and Land Bloyce Thompson, announced details on the Surplus Potato Management Response plan. As part of this plan, the Government of Canada will provide up to $28 million and the Province of PEI up to $12.2 million.

The Surplus Potato Management Response will be cost-shared between the federal and provincial governments, with a goal of diverting as many potatoes as possible to processors, packers and food banks, and minimizing the amount of surplus potatoes that must be destroyed. Producers will also receive support to assist with the costs of environmentally-sound destruction of surplus potatoes. Producers will receive up to 8.5 cents a pound for the disposal of potatoes.

Through the Surplus Potato Management Response Plan, an estimated 2.90 million cwt (290 million pounds) will be diverted to processors, packers, dehydrators, food banks and other markets. Current estimates suggest that 3 million cwt (300 million pounds) will need to be destroyed, representing just over 10 per cent of PEI's total 2021 production. The PEI Potato Board will deliver the plan on behalf of the governments to manage potatoes that have been rendered surplus.

These efforts are helping PEI producers to sell their potatoes into the marketplace while also providing high-quality food to Canadians in need. PEI's Department of Agriculture and Land's Potato Wart Navigation Service remains available to producers with general questions about Potato Wart, and programs that are offered through the Provincial Government.

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Both levels of government are working tirelessly to restore trade of PEI potatoes and to support the industry. As part of the ongoing efforts to engage with American counterparts, last week Minister Bibeau and the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament for Cardigan, met with United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who agreed for the United States Department of Agriculture to expedite their risk assessment of PEI table stock potatoes. Secretary Vilsack also committed to rendering a decision on exports to Puerto Rico within two weeks of the meeting.

We will continue to take a Team Canada approach and deal with our trading partner on their science-based concerns, which is our best chance for reopening the potato market in the United States as quickly as possible.

Quotes

"Prince Edward Island potato growers and their families are going through an extremely difficult time. Working with the province and the Potato Board, we are doing everything we can to divert surplus potatoes, support our growers and quickly re-establish trade in PEI table potatoes to the United States. We are confident that we have the science to encourage the Americans to reopen their market as soon as possible."

- The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"We knew that each day that passed in our current landscape meant that we were one day closer to having to dispose of our quality PEI potatoes  and unfortunately that day is now upon us. I am certainly encouraged that my Department and federal colleagues could come together in supporting our producers in a time of need, and we will continue to work in stride so that our growers, producers, packers and operators can return to the business they know best as soon as possible."

- Bloyce Thompson, Prince Edward Island Minister of Agriculture and Land

"The PEI Potato farmers appreciate the funding, which will help offset some of the costs of destruction that farms will experience due to the border closure. This is a very difficult time for farmers, and having to destroy the potatoes we worked so hard to grow is the last thing our farmers want to do".

- John Visser, Chair of the PEI Potato Board

Quick facts

This funding will support food banks in purchasing and transporting surplus potatoes, and will assist producers with costs of diversion to facilitate the movement of potatoes to dehydration plants, processors and other markets.

Under the Surplus Potato Management Response plan food security organizations including Food Banks Canada, Second Harvest and the Salvation Army will be using at least $3 million from the Emergency Food Security Fund to procure surplus potatoes. These organizations will leverage their existing networks of food banks across the country to provide surplus potatoes to those facing food security issues.

In 2020, PEI's exports of table stock and processing potatoes to the United States were valued at approximately $103.4 million.

Associated Links

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn

Web: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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Saudi Arabia's Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al Khateeb has announced a three-year Digital Tourism Strategy, as the next step in the Kingdoms continued reform of the sector.

The announcement was made at LEAP, Saudis largest-ever tech event held in Riyadh yesterday (Feb 1).

The Ministry of Tourism is pioneering nine innovative programmes consisting of 31 core initiatives by 2025  positively impacting residents, visitors, investors and the public and private sectors. These programmes will accelerate the kingdoms National Tourism Strategy and Vision 2030 targets, including 100 million new visits and tourisms 10 percent GDP contribution.

Al Khateeb said: "The Digital Tourism Strategy will help us to redesign tourism in the Kingdom and achieve our ambitious Vision 2030 objectives of making Saudi Arabia a world-leading tourist destination. The Kingdoms execution of this strategy over the next three years will inspire the tourism sector globally."

Application of the Strategy aims to provide tourists and stakeholders with a more seamless experience, that enables a thriving tourism sector. The strategy focuses on a number of areas:

* Seamless Travel: Providing digital solutions to simplify travel procedures

* Ease of Doing Business: Launching a unified platform to connect tourism service providers and applications

* Innovation: Creating an experimental environment that will allow technology innovators to test new digital tourism solutions

* Digital Travel: Supporting tourism related extended reality applications (e.g. virtual or augmented reality)

* Encouraging Sustainability: Rewarding tourists for eco-friendly behaviours

* Informed Decision Making: Building solutions that gather data and provide analytics for the tourism sector

* Skilled Digital Workforce: Creating a generation of tourism professionals and entrepreneurs

Investor Attraction: Establish & engage a network of tourism investors through digital platforms

To achieve this, the strategy will deliver programmes that promote a Kingdom-wide culture of innovation and future-proof regulations. It will boost workforce skills to strengthen the labour market and attract global innovators by providing a safe and supportive environment to explore and experiment their work. A dedicated programme will target upskilling and reskilling the tourism workforce to increase Saudi Arabias tourism sector employability rate and enable the next generation of entrepreneurs, he said.

The Ministry of Tourism will also pioneer new digital business models to increase market demand for service providers. The new models will include disruptive regulations for smart hotels and streamlined methods of digital travel, creating a frictionless seamless travel experience for tourists, businesses, and governments.

A smart ecosystem will be developed to support and enable the sectors digital transformation, particularly for stakeholders. This will feature an interconnected, inclusive platform to answer the needs of Ministry of Tourism stakeholders, with customer centricity at the heart of its services. By adopting new technologies, the Ministry will enable informed decision-making, maximising the value of data and creating opportunities to matchmake investors.

The strategy will also encourage the creation of new service offerings and start-ups by establishing a tourism marketplace. The marketplace will leverage AI and data to attract investors, accelerate destination readiness and showcase investment opportunities.

Above all, the strategy will initiate ministry-wide programmes to create an agile and resilient organization that supports the sectors digital transformation and fosters a culture of innovation. In line with this, the Ministry of Tourism will lead the development of a Global Digital Tourism Index to drive competitiveness within the global sector.

Al Khateeb added: "We must embrace the opportunities that the digital era presents us. We are welcoming the most innovative, disruptive minds in the world, to create better digital tourism regulations. We want travelers and investors to have certainty that smart regulations are being adopted across the sector.

"Saudi Arabia will continue to pioneer and lead these efforts at a national and global scale, ultimately creating more jobs, more prosperity and bringing more visitors into the Kingdom."

The strategy was built in consultation with Digital Government Authority, the National Digital Transformation Unit, and a Global Advisory Board of 22 subject matter experts in digital transformation and tourism.

Throughout the strategy's development, the Ministry aligned with entities across the tourism ecosystem, including the Saudi Tourism Authority and the Tourism Development Fund. The strategy has been endorsed by the UNWTO, World Bank and digital partners such as Microsoft and CISCO.

This announcement builds on the Ministrys strong track record of achievements. Last year, the Ministry of Tourism launched an effort to attract 100,000 Saudis into the sector through the Your Future in Tourism programme. In addition, the Ministry is working with the UN World Tourism Organization to establish a Tourism Academy to train young people entering the sector workforce. The Ministry of Tourism has also developed a series of 31 new standards to enhance the quality of the Kingdoms tourism training.

Additionally, the Ministrys tourism training and education e-portal was activated earlier this year, with registrations exceeding 226,000. The platform has assisted with the training and upskilling of more than 110,000 employees and jobseekers so far. The Saudi tourism ecosystem has also expanded its global presence and recognition, winning 28 global awards, and the Saudi Tourism Authority has also established 12 international offices across 7 key markets, the ministry said. - TradeArabia News Service
Two bills aimed at relieving the states teacher shortage, at least in the short term, advanced out of a Senate committee Tuesday.

The Senate Education Committee unanimously endorsed two bills that would allow retired teachers to work as substitutes more days in a school year without losing any of their pension benefits.

We all know that teacher the shortage is significant and it had been prior to COVID, and we were already trying to find a solution, said Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, the Senate majority leader. But once COVID hit, its exacerbated because of the social distancing that's required. Many school districts have classrooms that have far too many children in them, which is requiring that additional staffing.

Earlier story: Attracting, hiring qualified teachers becomes more difficult for Illinois school districts

Lightford was speaking in favor of Senate Bill 3201, by Sen. Napoleon Harris, D-Harvey. In its current form, it would extend the return-to-work limit for downstate teachers in the Illinois Teachers Retirement System to 150 days from its current 120 days. But Harris said he intends to amend the bill to drop the proposed limit to 140 days to satisfy concerns from teachers unions.

Allowing retired teachers more flexibility to return to work was one of the recommendations of the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools when they released their annual survey in January in which 88% of the districts responding said they had a shortage of full-time teachers, while 96% said they had a shortage of substitute teachers.

But that would only be a short-term solution. A similar bill is pending in the House that would extend the return-to-work limit only through June 30 of this year. Harris, however, said he thinks it should be extended through the 2022-2023 academic year as well.

I'd like to keep it until the following school year due to the fact that this school year is pretty much almost over, he said.

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Illinois disaster declaration: Governor issues disaster declaration, activates National Guard in response to winter storm

He said extending it through June 2023 would give the school districts and administrators time to navigate the teacher shortage that is happening all across our state and the country.

The committee also advanced SB3465, by Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, which would offer a similar option for teachers who retired from Chicago Public Schools. It would allow those retired teachers to return to work in subject shortage areas through June 30, 2024, without losing pension benefits.

Martwick said the bill is identical to one that passed last year that applied only to downstate teachers.

This extends the same provisions to the Chicago Public Schools, Martwick said. It would allow them to hire back retired teachers, but they would have to go through a whole process that would declare them as an area suffering a shortage.

Illinois State Sen, Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, right, speaks with Illinois State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, on the floor of the Illinois Senate at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday, June 1, 2021. [Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register]

Both bills advanced out of the committee on 13-0 votes, although Harris said he plans to bring his bill back with an amendment.

Mondays hearing was held virtually. Although lawmakers had been planning to return to in-person meetings this week, those plans were canceled due to an impending severe winter storm that was expected to hit central Illinois today and Thursday.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IL Senate panel approves bills that would address teacher shortage
- Turkcell has a weak governance regime

- These problems have led to poor operating and strategic performance, low valuation and loss of investor confidence

LONDON, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LetterOne, the holder of a 19.8% economic interest in Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (the "Company" or "Turkcell") through its ownership of all depositary receipts issued by International Mobile Telecom Investment Stichting Administratiekantoor ("IMTIS"), today announces that IMTIS Holdings S.a r.l. ("IMTIS Holdings"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMTIS, has exercised its shareholder right and formally requested the Board of Turkcell to convene a General Assembly of shareholders meeting no later than 30 April 2022, with an agenda which includes among other items, proposed changes to the composition of the Board, amendments of Turkcell's articles of association and a dividend payout of 75% of FY2021 net income. LetterOne urges shareholders of Turkcell to support these proposals at the General Assembly.

LetterOne is a committed long-term investor with real optimism about Turkcell's future. However, under the stewardship of the current Board and governance framework at Turkcell, operating performance, strategic direction and valuation have all suffered. This cannot be allowed to continue. A more robust approach to governance, starting with the refreshment of the Board and changes to the articles of association, is the foundation upon which to address Turkcell's fundamental failures. The proposals are an important first step to enable Turkcell to achieve its operational and valuation potential and become a leading international telecommunications company.

IMTIS Holdings has proposed the appointment of four highly experienced international and Turkish candidates unaffiliated with Turkcell's shareholders, who will bring the industry, strategic and operational experience, and commitment to internationally recognised corporate governance practices necessary to allow Turkcell to achieve its long-term operational and financial potential. Shareholders are urged to take this critical opportunity to dismiss the four incumbent directors not nominated by the Turkey Sovereign Wealth Fund and elect the nominees proposed by IMTIS Holdings.

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The proposals for the amendments to the Company's articles of association will materially improve accountability and disclosure and address the very serious concerns raised by ISS, Glass Lewis and institutional shareholders at the 2021 General Assembly, where 94% of them voted against the proposal to ratify the appointment of current directors. IMTIS Holdings' proposals will ensure that director elections are conducted on an individual basis and disclosures provide the necessary transparency on key governance practices.

The proposal to set 2021 fiscal year dividend at 75% of FY2021 net income will bring Turkcell closer in line with its peers and impose discipline to its capital allocation process.

Ben Babcock, Managing Director at LetterOne, commented:

"LetterOne is a committed, long-term investor and believes Turkcell can deliver substantially more economic and social value for the benefit of all stakeholders. LetterOne has now repeatedly sought engagement with the Board of Turkcell to discuss its concerns and proposals. The Board has inexplicably chosen not to engage with us.

Given the pervasive strategic, operational and governance issues we have raised, non-engagement does not protect or advance Turkcell shareholders' interests. LetterOne encourages Turkcell's shareholders to hold the Board to account and to support the new board of directors nominees, governance and dividend proposals at the forthcoming General Assembly."

A copy of LetterOne's Public Letter, along with an Investor Presentation which includes full details of IMTIS Holdings' proposals, among other things, can be found here: www.improveturkcell.com

For further information, call:

Josh Hardie, Corporate Affairs Director, LetterOne +44 (0) 20 3815 3385

Jennifer Renwick, Jake Thomas, Billy Clegg, Camarco +44 (0) 203 757 4980

Notes to Editors

LetterOne is an experienced long term, supportive and committed investor in the TMT, energy, health and retail sectors. It has held an economic interest in Turkcell for the past 16 years. LetterOne initially invested $1.6 billion and made a further investment of more than $330 million as part of the ownership reorganisation in Turkcell which took place in 2020.

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SOURCE LetterOne
The Great Lakes region is North Americas most dominant auto industry cluster and Tesla Inc. is on a mission to disrupt it.

So far, the region's response to electric cars  from organizations like Midwest Evolve and Charge Up Midwest and state grants and collaborations led by utilities like DTE and Ameren to build more charging stations  isnt going to salvage our supply chain.

It may take decades for the shift to electric from internal combustion vehicles to fully unfold. But business strategies devised now  as the shift is gathering momentum  are the difference between long-term economic success and failure.

We have a fabulous supply base, manufacturing base and great engineering but were at risk because the technology is shifting, says Brett Smith, technology director at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

If we dont prepare, were going to lose.

The Great Lakes regions auto industry lost ground to southern states, Mexico and others in the last few decades. But its nowhere near dead.

Its still the dominant auto-producing region in North America and it still attracts the lions share of investments, says John Holmes, emeritus professor at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and North American auto industry expert.

Between remaining production and a heavy concentration of highly skilled design, research and development and product engineering talent, our region is still a heavyweight. Thats why European and Asian companies with North American assembly capacity have R&D and engineering in Detroit. And its why global parts makers need to be here.

But without rapid change as new technologies evolve, our part of the auto industry will go the way of buggy whips, harnesses and carriage shafts.

There are about 40% fewer parts in an electric vehicles propulsion system, Smith says. Nearly 590,000 U.S. employees work in motor vehicle parts manufacturing, with almost 150,000 making internal combustion powertrain components, according to a 2019 report by the Congressional Research Service.

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Almost 14.5 million cars were sold in the U.S. in 2020. The engine and transmission of an internal combustion vehicle have a combined average weight of about 600 pounds. Thats 4.3 million tons of metal in one year that was processed, cast and machined  much of it in the Great Lakes region  that wont be needed in electric vehicles. Not to mention the fuel, oil, engine repair and maintenance of the 280 million vehicles already on our roads.

Elon Musk, Teslas CEO, is building an Austin, Texas-centric electric vehicle supply chain, borrowing from ours when needed. Indiana-based Steel Dynamics, for example, whose facilities are clustered around the Great Lakes, is constructing a $1.7 billion plant in Sinton, Texas, thats rumored to be supplying steel for Teslas new Cybertruck.

Midwest utilities may gain some revenue from powering charging stations, but that will be dwarfed by the revenue theyll lose if our regions auto industry suppliers become obsolete and shut down.

Its Musk vs. us  and the only way for the Midwest to survive is with better technology.

So what stands out in this production region centered in Michigan and including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Ontario and Wisconsin?

Michigan is the top state for patents in many vehicle-related categories, although many cover internal combustion rather than the electro-chemical engineering and software technologies key to electric vehicles.

Jennifer Granholm, Michigans former governor and strong advocate for electric vehicles, has been nominated to be the Biden administrations energy secretary.

Electric vehicle assembly plants in the region include Fiat-Chrysler's Windsor, Ontario, plant; Fords Oakville, Ontario, plant; electric truck startup Rivians operations in the old Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois; GMs Factory ZERO in Detroit; and Lordstown Motors operations in the old GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

Three big battery research centers: Argonne Labs Joint Center for Energy Storage Research; GM Battery Lab and University of Michigan Battery Lab.

China, with its planned economy, leads the world in electric vehicle production. In the modern, high technology environment its important to establish tightly integrated supply chains across multiple business organizations.

We need borderless cooperation in the Great Lakes region to support our big automakers, allocate resources and focus the combined efforts of leading businesses on winning instead of just competing.

Look at what the Reno-Northern Nevada region has accomplished. Ten years ago it wasnt even a player in automotive manufacturing, but it developed a strategic plan to attract such businesses, according to a 2020 article by Dennis Cuneo, a site selection consultant. The result: Teslas first electric vehicle battery Gigafactory, which employs more than 7,000 people.

Despite COVID-19, Detroits big three automakers in 2020 continued to rapidly step up their investment into electric vehicle product development.

If we as a region dont adapt with them, somebody else will, Smith said.

Read previous columns by Kathleen Gallagher here.

Kathleen Gallagher was a business reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Milwaukee Sentinel for 23 years. She was one of two reporters on the team that won a 2011 Pulitzer Prize for the One in a Billion series. Gallagher is now executive director of 5 Lakes Institute, a nonprofit working to grow the Great Lakes region's high technology entrepreneurial economy and culture. She can be reached at Kathleen@5lakesinstitute.org.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kathleen Gallagher: Tesla threatens the Midwest's auto industry
My name is Donna, and I am a retiree in Canton.

I want to thank Sen. Sherrod Brown for fighting for fair representation and my voting power.

I want to hold Sen. Rob Portman accountable for his position that the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act is federal overreach.

It is the states, Sen. Portman, that are overreaching.

Gerrymandering districts to maintain power is state overreach.

Taking supermajorities of seats when winning election vote margins (54% to 46% in Ohio elections) do not warrant such, is state overreach.

Dark money contributions are state overreach.

Limiting the number of drop boxes or the hours of drop box availability is state overreach.

Election subversion actions are state overreach.

The only federal overreach is that coming from our Senate where the filibuster has been weaponized to obstruct legislation supported by a majority of the people and, in the process, giving the minority party majority power.

The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act would get dark money out of politics, stop gerrymandering, strengthen the Voting Rights Act, and ensure all eligible voter voices are heard.

To Sen. Brown and all those senators who stood up for our democratic republic form of democracy and the millions of American voters who knew they could count on them ... Thank you.

To the senators who voted "No," this fight for our democratic republic and democracy in which the vote is our power as citizens is far from over.

No elected official has the authority to grant or deny our vote power. In America, elected officials govern by consent of the governed.

The time to reform the filibuster is now. The date is today.

 Donna Plunkett, Canton

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Letter to the editor: Support the John R. Lewis Act, reform the filibuster
OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 2, 2022 /CNW/ - The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, and the Chair of the Regina Airport Authority, Trent Fraser, will participate in a virtual news conference to announce new funding to support the Regina International Airport.

Minister Alghabra and Trent Fraser will be available to answer questions from the media following the announcement.

For media participation:

Media are invited to email Transport Canada Media Relations at media@tc.gc.ca no later than 8:00 a.m. CST on Thursday, February 3, 2022, to receive a link to participate in the virtual event.

Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022 Time: 9:30 a.m. CST Location: Virtual





Live stream: The event will be streamed on Transport Canada's Twitter account. Please note that only media registered for the event will be able to pose questions during the question and answer period.

SOURCE Transport Canada

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Robotic prostatectomy performed by Doctor Alexandre Mottrie at Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Ziekenhuis (OLV) in Aalst, Belgium

DUBLIN and AALST, Belgium, Feb. 2, 2022 /CNW/ -- Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT), a global leader in healthcare technology, and OLV Hospital Aalst today announced that the first clinical procedure in Europe was performed with the Hugo robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system. The robotic prostatectomy was performed by Prof. Alexandre Mottrie, M.D., head of urology at OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium, and chief executive officer and founder of the Belgium-based ORSI Academy, a multidisciplinary center for training, research and development, and data analysis to improve minimally invasive surgery best practices.

The Hugo system is a modular, multi-quadrant platform for soft-tissue robotic-assisted surgery.

"Performing Europe's very first procedure with the Hugo RAS system is a career highlight for me," said Dr. Mottrie. "With more than two decades and 4,000 robotic-assisted surgery procedures under my belt, I am intimately aware of the barriers that have kept the benefits of surgical robotics from physicians, hospitals, and patients. Now, I believe we are entering a new era filled with greater access and flexibility."

A form of minimally invasive surgery, robotic-assisted surgery offers fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, faster return to normal activities, and smaller scars than open surgery.13,

"This is an exciting and important moment for healthcare in Europe and we're proud to share it with Dr. Mottrie and the team at OLV," said Megan Rosengarten, president of the Surgical Robotics business, which is part of the Medical Surgical Portfolio at Medtronic. "Dr. Mottrie has left a meaningful mark on our program over the many years we've worked together, and now, through our partnership with OLV, Medtronic's journey to bring the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery to more patients in Europe is well underway."

The Hugo RAS system  Medtronic's solution to historic cost and utilization barriers that have kept surgical robotics out of reach for many hospitals  is a modular, multi-quadrant platform designed for a broad range of soft-tissue procedures. It combines wristed instruments, 3D visualization, and Touch Surgery Enterprise, a cloud-based surgical video capture and management solution, with dedicated support teams specializing in robotics program optimization, service, and training.

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In 2021, Medtronic announced the first urologic and gynecologic procedures with the Hugo system in Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Those procedures and cases in Europe will become part of the Hugo RAS system patient registry, which is collecting clinical data to support regulatory submissions around the world.

"The Hugo RAS system introduces the long-awaited power of choice in the category and will redefine all that robotic-assisted surgery can make possible," said Henk Westendorp, senior country director Benelux at Medtronic. "Medtronic thoughtfully designed the Hugo RAS system with surgeons in mind and patients at heart to tackle today's barriers to adoption in a future-proofed way. We know that by innovating real solutions for the way surgeons want to work  alongside partners like OLV Hospital Aalst who share our passion for advancing patient care  we can make a substantial impact."

"We're incredibly proud to have left our stamp on medical history as the very first center in the region to embrace surgical robotics in 1999," said Peter Verhulst, chief executive officer, OLV Hospital Aalst. "Decades later, we are delighted to be recognized as a robotic surgery center of excellence, leaving another indelible mark as the first hospital in all of Europe to offer the Hugo RAS system and the first in the world to have Medtronic's two RAS platforms  the Hugo system for soft tissue and the Mazor system for spinal surgery. The OLV Hospital closely monitors innovation in the medical world and often plays a pioneering role in the introduction of new minimally invasive techniques. The worldwide reputation of our OLV doctors in the field of robotic surgery and other minimally invasive procedures is a result of this. With the Hugo RAS system, we are again at the forefront, with the latest medical innovation that is designed with the patient at heart."

The Hugo RAS system is commercially available in certain geographies. Regulatory requirements of individual countries and regions will determine approval, clearance, or market availability. In the EU, the Hugo RAS system is CE marked. In Canada, the Hugo RAS system has a medical device licence. The Hugo RAS system is approved in Australia. In the U.S., the Hugo RAS system is an investigational device not for sale. Touch Surgery Enterprise is not intended to direct surgery, or aid in diagnosis or treatment of a disease or condition.

For more information, visit medtronic.com/hugo.

About OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium

The OLV Hospital offers a wide range of medical consultations, examinations, interventions, treatments and aftercare - both in the outpatient center and inpatient setting - at the campus in Aalst, the branch in Asse and the medical centre in Ninove. OLV Hospital always strives to limit the impact of an intervention on the patient as much as possible so that a quicker recovery is possible. As a result, OLV Hospital is also a pioneer in the field of minimally invasive techniques and precision surgery with the support of the operating robot. The physicians and staff at OLV Hospital do everything possible to provide Top in Care. Besides the physical health of patients, they also want to look after their well-being in all its aspects and in every stage of life.

With 2,554 employees and more than 300 doctors and independent care professionals, OLV Hospital is the largest employer in the region, and with 959 beds (114 of which in outpatient care) and more than 90,000 admissions (hospitalisation and outpatient care) per year, OLV Hospital is one of the largest non-university hospitals in Flanders.

About Medtronic

Bold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission  to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life  unites a global team of 90,000+ passionate people across 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for our world. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), visit www.Medtronic.com and follow @Medtronic on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

Compared to open surgery. 1. Fitch K, Engel T, Bochner A. Cost differences between open and minimally invasive surgery. Managed Care. 2015;24(9):4048. 2. Tiwari MM, Reynoso JF, High R, Tsang AW, Oleynikov D. Safety, efficacy, and cost effectiveness of common laparoscopic procedures. Surg Endosc. 2011;25(4):1127-1135. 3. Roumm AR, Pizzi L, Goldfarb NI, Cohn H. Minimally invasive: minimally reimbursed? An examination of six laparoscopic surgical procedures. Surg Innov. 2005;12(3):261287.

Contacts:





Gary Jeanfaivre Ryan Weispfenning Public Relations Investor Relations +1-203-833-2104 +1-763-505-4626

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SOURCE Medtronic plc

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NIAGARA FALLS, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / Net Zero Renewable Energy Inc. (TSXV:NZRE) ("NZRE" or the "Company"), a global leader in renewable energy combining solar and wind technologies has entered into a Letter of Intent ("LOI") with World Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. ("MultiGensolutions Australia") to launch an innovative Sola Hydra Cube design for domestic and commercial Atmospheric Water Generation ("AWG"), more popularly known as "Water-from-Air" technology.

Video Representation of the Sola Hydra Cube: https://youtu.be/p8YkbJfzRNw

"The combination of Net Zero's renewable energy fabrication technology coupled with MultiGensolutions' proprietary air to clean drinking water technology within a solar powered cube will provide many regions with the ability to produce clean drinking water fully powered by renewable energy," says Jerry Foster, President of NZRE.

"We are proud to partner with another innovative manufacturer to add to our distribution footprint and deliver real world solutions. The unit is perfect for many NGO's, hospitality, and rural and remote areas where access to power is limited to fossil fuels and access to clean drinking water is complex," added Foster.

"The various scaled design applications of MultiGensolutions' state-of-the-art technology integrated with Net Zero's solar cube fabrication system will provide a solution for various customers not only in Australia but other regions globally," says Water Ivison, CEO of World Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd.

The ever increasingly growing crisis with respect to clean drinking water is also coupled with the need to reduce reliance on fossil fuel-based power generation systems. The Sola Hydra Cube provides a viable option for both.

MultiGensolutions has shipped their AWG products to NZRE to be integrated within the Sola Hydra Cube design for sale in Australia and surrounding countries. The Company expects to ship finalized Sola Hydra Cubes to customers in the second quarter of 2022.

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Today, 771 million people - 1 in 10 - lack access to safe water https://water.org/our-impact/water-crisis/ and water scarcity continues to increase due rapidly growing urban areas placing heavy pressure on neighbouring water resources https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/scarcity/.

Net Zero's AWG Partner Network

The Sola Hydra Cube is another "Sustainable Renewable Energy Fabrication Innovation" by NZRE. In August, NZRE signed a Joint Venture with Cinergex Solutions Ltd. ("CSL") a leading company providing economical, scalable and environmentally sustainable water solutions through innovative technology. CSL is the authorized distributor of Watergen products for over 30 countries including the Caribbean, Canada and throughout the U.K. Together NZRE and CSL have developed the first of its kind, mobile "air-to-water" solar system called SolaStream. The first unit will be delivered by the end of February with additional sales expected now that covid-19 travel limitations have been reduced in the U.S.

The addition of MultiGensolutions to Net Zero's partner network adds Australia among other countries to the Company's growing sales footprint across global industries. Companies are looking for new technologies to sustainably power their products and Net Zero has the innovative solutions they need.

For further information please contact:

John Gamble

Chief Executive Officer

Net Zero Renewable Energy Inc.

Tel: 289-488-1699

Email: info@nzre.ca

About Net Zero Renewable Energy Inc.

Net Zero Renewable Energy delivers proprietary, turn-key energy solutions which are intelligent, bankable and sustainable. NZRE stands above its competitors by combining a full suite of solar PV, wind and battery storage solutions, which can deliver energy 24 hours per day in both small-scale and large-scale format. In addition to traditional support to established electrical networks, NZRE excels where no electrical grid exists. The organization supplies advanced solutions for various industries in combination with energy saving and energy generation solutions. NZRE's expertise includes the development of module structures with full integration of smart energy solutions. These are processed through NZRE's production technologies into attractive applications: modular homes, cold storage facilities, schools, residential and commercial outbuildings and emergency/temporary shelters. The Windular Research and Technologies Inc. (WRT) division provides leading edge wind technology to the global telecommunication market whereby the WRT system can be implemented directly on any configuration of existing or new towers. WRT provides a renewable source of power in remote and rural locations where the primary source of power is diesel. WRT's innovative system provides clients with a lower overall operating cost as well as a reduction in their carbon footprint.

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.

The statements herein that are not historical facts are forwardlooking statements. Forward-looking information relating to sales of the products (the "Opportunities") involves risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, for the Opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although NZRE believes that the assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking information on the Opportunities outlined in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. NZRE disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Net Zero Renewable Energy Inc.





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The number of guests staying in 3- to 5-star hotels in Oman jumped 43 per cent to around 1.219 million last year, up from 850,000 a year earlier, a report quoting the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) said.

The hotels generated a revenue of RO101.668 million, a 19.2 per cent increase compared with RO85.292 million in 2020, said the Oman Daily Observer report.

Hotels occupancy too went up by 44.9% from 26.5% to 38.3%, it said.

Arab countries accounted for 47,644 guests (97.3% increase compared to 24,154 guests in 2020); Asian visitors totalled 141,136, an increase of 93.5% compared to 72,930 in 2020; and European numbers fell by 40.3% to 105,558 from 176,820 in 2020.
UnitedHealthcare, the state's former health plan administrator, was a no-show at a Monday hearing about how thousands of workers' data was stolen during a breach of Rhode Island Public Transit Authority's computer networks.

"Its extremely unfortunate," said Sen. Louis DiPalma, the chair of the Senate Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight Committee. "I'm extremely disappointed. Its a slap in the face to 20,000-something Rhode Islanders."

But the oversight committee hearing did yield a number of revelations  among them, that the breach affected about 22,000 people.

Here's what we've learned:

A breach of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority's computer networks affected some 22,000 people, including about 17,000 people who don't work for RIPTA but received health-care insurance via the state's plan.

Why has the number of people impacted by the breach grown?

Letters mailed out to victims in December indicated that the breach affected about 17,000 Rhode Islanders. The new, larger figure incorporates everyone impacted by the breach  including both past and present state workers and their beneficiaries.

Of the roughly 22,000 individuals affected, about 5,015 were RIPTA employees whose personal health information was in the file, officials said on Monday. The other 17,000 had received health care through the state's plan but were not employed by RIPTA.

RIPTA data breach: State senator DiPalma wants answers on how the breach happened  so there isn't a repeat

RIPTA notified the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights that 5,015 of its employees were affected, but was not legally obligated to notify the federal agency about the other 17,000 state employees, said Steven Colantuono, RIPTA's chief legal counsel.

Colantuono also noted that some individuals might have been counted more than once because of duplicate information. He himself received two letters, one addressed to "Steven Colantuono," and another addressed to "Steven A. Colantuono."

In such instances, the decision to mail out two notices was made "out of an abundance of caution," he said.

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How did the data end up on RIPTA 's servers in the first place?

Colantuono said that RIPTA staff responsible for dealing with health-care billing and health plan enrollment for the transit agency's employees could access a UnitedHealthcare portal via a secure link sent to them in an email, which then allowed them to "reconcile the numbers with the health care bills being paid."

Files that were downloaded were automatically saved to a server that gets backed up every night, added RIPTA chief technology officer Gary Jarvis.

Previous coverage: RIPTA data breach linked to file wrongly stored on employee's hard drive: union call

RIPTA executive director Scott Avedisian similarly said that the data "was provided to reconcile the books, and to make sure we were only paying for employees that are RIPTA employees."

According to Avedisian, the files that were available to download were "filtered," so that only certain information was visible on the page.

"You would have one name, and then four inches down the page, another name," he said. "In between those names were filtered files."

Avedisian said he didn't know if it would be possible for someone to "unfilter" those files and see the hidden information. "I'm not a computer person," he said.

DiPalma told the Journal that it sounded like the files might be in an Excel spreadsheet, or something similar, with specific rows or columns hidden from view.

Did that violate the state's policy for handling sensitive data?

One major takeaway from the hearing, DiPalma said, was that "we have a statewide policy for protecting and securing data, but its not really statewide."

Top officials from the state Department of Information Technology testified that a policy adopted in 2018 requires personally identifiable information, personal health information and federal tax information to be encrypted.

Attorney general: AG will probe whether RIPTA's handling of data breach complied with the law

But RIPTA isn't among the state agencies or quasi-state agencies that the Department of Information Technology assists or supports  so the mandatory encryption policy wasn't in place within the transit agency.

If it had been, "we wouldn't be here tonight," DiPalma said at the Monday hearing.

Sen. Louis DiPalma on UnitedHealthcare's absence from Monday's hearing: "I'm extremely disappointed. Its a slap in the face to 20,000-something Rhode Islanders."

Clearly, the policy needs to apply to all agencies, including all 21 quasi-state agencies, DiPalma told The Journal later on. He said he plans to talk to fellow lawmakers about how to make that change happen, and whether it will require passing new legislation.

Why did it take RIPTA so long to notify people that their data might be compromised?

Hackers removed more than 40,000 different files, in numerous different formats, Jarvis said. Those files had to be searched manually to determine whether they contained sensitive personal information.

Only a small number of people were involved in that review process, a decision aimed at preventing personal data from being exposed further.

"The more people are looking at it, the more that now have it," Jarvis said.

Still, RIPTA could have done a much better job of communicating with the public, several oversight committee members and other speakers at the hearing said.

Hacker hit RIPTA: Here's why over 17,000 state employees discovered their data was stolen

Patrick Crowley, secretary-treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, said that unions representing state workers should be notified about future breaches.

After RIPTA mailed out notification letters, members of the AFL-CIO and other labor organizations started calling their union officers with questions, "and we didnt have any help or information to give them, because we were learning it at the same time," Crowley said.

Matthew Gunnip, the president of SEIU Local 580, added that workers had tried calling the hotline that RIPTA set up for people affected by the breach, but found that people working for the out-of-state call center had "little knowledge or answers."

RIPTA should "bring that hotline in-house," he said.

Will anyone face consequences?

Investigations led by the Rhode Island Attorney General's office and the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner are under way.

Additionally, RIPTA expects an investigation at the federal level. The HHS Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Justice are currently deciding which of the two agencies will handle it, Colantuono said.

"It's not an 'if,' '' Colantuono said. "It's a matter of which one."

The ACLU of Rhode Island is also considering litigation, said executive director Steven Brown.

UnitedHealthcare cited the attorney general's ongoing investigation as justification for skipping the Monday hearing, DiPalma said.

The company's vice president of external affairs had committed to attending, he said, but later backed out after being told that the company's corporate office wouldn't allow it.

DiPalma noted that RIPTA executives attended the hearing and answered questions despite being subject to the same scrutiny from the Attorney General's office.

While it's possible for the General Assembly to subpoena witnesses, that power is rarely invoked because it's usually not necessary, he said.

"We are working directly with the Attorney Generals office on their investigation and cannot provide further public comment until they complete their review," a UnitedHealthcare spokesman said in a statement.

"Protecting member privacy is a top priority and we are working with multiple parties to understand the data breach that impacted the Public Transit Authoritys computer system," the statement said. "We were privileged to serve the State of Rhode Island employees and their families until December 2019 and will continue to cooperate with the Office of the Attorney General as they investigate this matter."

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Rhode Island has 21 quasi-public agencies, not 31.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIPTA data breach: 22,000 employees affected; UnitedHealthcare absent
Students For Liberty, with funding from Prometheus Foundation, launches fellowship to equip students with the best education and mentorship to launch their careers

Prometheus Fellowship Program

Students For Liberty's Prometheus Fellowship Program accepts applications until March 15, 2022.

Students For Liberty's Prometheus Fellowship Program accepts applications until March 15, 2022.

McLean, Virginia, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Students For Liberty (SFL) is launching a fellowship program for its most exceptional student volunteers to study Ayn Rands philosophy of Objectivism and its practical applications. This program is made possible by the generous support of Prometheus Foundation, which has committed an initial $2.3 million to fund the first two years of the program.

This highly-selective multi-year global program will launch with an inaugural class of SFLs top 50 student volunteers in the fall of 2022. The once-in-a-lifetime fellowship will feature individual and partner study of selected material, group study sessions led by world-class experts, in-person seminars twice each year, and a mentorship program with successful leaders in a wide range of fields. A second class of 50 fellows is planned to be added in 2023.

Dr. Wolf von Laer, CEO of Students For Liberty, said, We are beyond grateful to the Prometheus Foundation for enabling this life-changing program. The Prometheus Fellowship will allow us to invest heavily in our most promising student volunteers and enable them to become highly effective leaders of tomorrow.

The goal of the program is to educate students in rational philosophy, Objectivism, and the practical skills necessary to become leaders of liberty in their chosen professions. Students For Libertys programs have produced vice-ministers, congresspeople, entrepreneurs, founders of over 83 non-profits, and so much more. The Prometheus Fellowship will increase SFLs capabilities and enable the organization to focus our efforts more intensely on the development of the next generation of leaders for liberty.

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Carl Barney, funder and founder of Prometheus Foundation, said, I am pleased to fund this fellowship program to teach SFLs top students about Ayn Rands philosophy. Rand encouraged advocates of liberty to understand its moral and philosophical roots, and to embrace these fundamentals. If she were alive today, I think she would be happy to see the largest liberty-oriented student organization in the world teaching its top students Objectivism in depth.

The Prometheus Fellowship applications open on February 2, 2022, which marks the 117th birthday of Ayn Rand, founder of the philosophy of Objectivism.

More information about the program and a fellowship application are available now at prometheusfellowship.org.

About Students For Liberty: Founded in 2008, Students For Liberty has rapidly grown to be the largest pro-liberty student organization in the world, with students active in 117 countries. With a multi-million dollar budget and 70 full-time staff members, we educate, develop, and empower pro-liberty students in their pursuit of becoming leaders of liberty. We accomplish this by identifying the top students and training and empowering them to be agents of change in their communities.

About Prometheus Foundation: Prometheus Foundation is an independent, nonprofit enterprise whose mission is to promote Ayn Rand and advance her philosophy, Objectivism. We achieve this mission by finding and funding organizations and individuals who have good ideas, work smart, follow through, and get things done. For more information about the Prometheus Foundation, visit our website, PrometheusFdn.org, or email Annie Vinther Sanz, avsanz@prometheusfdn.org.







Attachment

CONTACT: Julia Kril Students For Liberty (786) 685-6356 jkril@studentsforliberty.org




The University of Florida's administration building, Tigert Hall.

Concerned about UF

The University of Florida has become less than what it used to be. Never would our family have imagined this once-strong university at one point suppressing free speech and academic freedom, apparently due to political interests. Now UF is turning students literally out on the street within hours of testing positive for COVID, not offering a quarantine option and telling them there is no alternative to leaving campus.

There are some students in very strained financial circumstances. Do they spend the night on the street or possibly stay with friends off campus, furthering the possibility of virus spread? In the past we learned of and helped an engineering student who could not afford textbooks, borrowing from friends to study and with not enough money to eat three meals a day. We delivered food to his dorm. The university is quoted from an email stating that UF is not required to and does not provide alternative housing.

Universities should be protected places of learning, of discernment and critical thinking, and respect for individuals and for humanity, not a conduit for a political agenda  which it appears is happening to UF. We have supported UF for many years with financial contributions. Sadly we may need to reevaluate this in the future if the current trend continues.

Suzanne Dunk, Gainesville

More letters:

Readers comment on an abortion bill and more

Readers comment on selling GRU, racism and more

Readers comment on the GRU general manager's firing and more

Political pandering

As reported in local news, 99% of recent Florida COVID infections are the omicron variant. U.S. health officials say COVID-19 antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly are unlikely to work against omicron after the drug makers themselves said their drugs are less effective. Consequently, the Food and Drug Administration is revoking emergency authorization for both drugs. The FDA decision was supported by several independent studies, including a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Nature.

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A consortium of European researchers tested the monoclonal antibody drugs concluding that Lilly and Regenerons antibodies were inactive against omicron. The nations largest physician group, the American Medical Association, said it agreed with the FDA decision and issued a statement that read: Limiting the use of these treatments will help ensure patients receive the best available therapy.

Nonetheless, Ron DeSantis and his medical lapdog are convinced that these drugs work and prevention with masking, vaccines and testing is ineffective and unnecessary. The director of Orange County's Department of Health, Dr. Raul Pino, was placed on administrative leave for advocating vaccinations.

This type of political pandering to his personal freedom base is reprehensible. DeSantis is not fit to be a governor or any role that requires intelligent leadership.

Ron Kamzelski, Cedar Key

Below many states

In "Florida physicians call on Gov. Ron DeSantis, Ladapo to drop politics from public health, you print a quote: "Florida has been at the bottom when it comes to hospitalizations and death.

As of Jan 27, Florida was 18th nationally in COVID death per capita, despite having the second-oldest population. Is that data so hard to look up? Am I the only one who finds it funny to see someone lamenting politicization and then literally making up statistics?

Objective reality still exists, and the reality is despite fewer mandates, Floridas mortality rate is below many states who had harsh restrictions. There is room for disagreement over which approach has a greater cost, but Florida is near the bottom in death is just objectively false.

Dan Richman, Gainesville

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville letters to the editor for February 1, 2022
Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2022) - Red Metal Resources Ltd. (CSE: RMES) (OTC Pink: RMES), a mineral exploration company with copper-gold assets in Chile, is pleased to announce that Minera Polymet Ltda, Red Metals' wholly-owned Chilean subsidiary, has signed a rental agreement (the "Contract") with Herman Eleazar Varas Torres (the "Miner"), a Chilean artisanal miner, on the Company's Farellon 1 al 8 mineral concession (the "Farellon Concession").

Under the terms of the rental agreement the Miner will commence activities on the Farellon 1 -8 Concession under a Chilean small miner permit to excavate up to 5,000 tonnes per month of mineralized rock. All mineralized rock will be sold to Empresa Nacional de Mineria ("ENAMI"), an independent processing facility owned by the Chilean government. The net sales royalty is defined as a percent of the total amount paid by ENAMI for the mineralized material. Under the Contract, the Miner will pay a 10% net sales royalty (the "NSR") of all sales of material to ENAMI, and the 10% NSR will be split by Red Metal and a previously existing NSR holder for the Farellon Concession. Red Metal's portion of the NSR will initially be held back by ENAMI to recover costs for certain payments made by ENAMI.

The Miner plans to focus activities in the north part of a 1.5 kilometre-long zone drilled in 1996, 2009, and 2011 and previously mined by an artisanal miner from 2014-2017. Between December 2014 and February 2017, a previous artisanal miner delivered mineralized material to ENAMI, including a total of 12,905 tonnes of sulphide-mineralized material with an average grade of 1.82% Cu, 5.1 g/t Ag, and 0.19 g/t Au, as well as 1,813 tonnes of oxide mineralized material with an average grade of 1.56% Cu. Contract artisanal operations at the time were completed on seven levels to a depth of approximately 95 metres below surface, as show in the chart below.

Table 1: Summary of Previous Artisanal Mining

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Level Oxide or Sulphide Tonnes Cu (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) 1 to 3 Oxides 1815 1.57 N/A N/A 4 Sulphides 2500 1.74 N/A 0.22 5 Sulphides 2253 1.45 5.56 0.40 6 Sulphides 3072 2.06 8.52 0.35 7 Sulphides 5080 1.98 9.62 0.15

Caitlin Jeffs, P.Geo., President & CEO of Red Metal, stated, "Red Metal will gain valuable geological information from the underground mining activities and have access for sampling and mapping purposes. Red Metal also has the right to purchase material directly from the Miner at any time to submit for metallurgical analysis."

Qualified Person

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and verified by Caitlin Jeffs, P. Geo., President and CEO of the Company and the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43- 101.

About Red Metal Resources Ltd.

Red Metal Resources is a mineral exploration company focused on growth through acquiring, exploring and developing copper-cobalt-gold assets in Chile. The Company's projects are located in the prolific Candelaria iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) belt of Chile's coastal Cordillera. Red Metal is quoted on the CSE and on OTC Link alternative trading system on the OTC Pink marketplace under the symbol RMES.

QA/QC

Drilling in 2009 and 2011 drilling completed under the supervision of the Caitlin Jeffs with QA/QC procedures to comply with industry best practices for sampling, chain of custody and analyses. Certified copper, gold and silver reference standards, blanks and duplicates were inserted at the sample processing site as part of the QA/QC program in addition to the control samples inserted by the lab. Samples were prepared and analyzed Acme Labs laboratory in 2009 and Geoanalitica Ltda laboratory in 2011, Both labs are located in Coquimbo, III Region, Chile. Samples are analyzed for gold using Fire Assay-AA techniques and for copper and cobalt using four acid digestion-AAS. All results reported from 2009 and 2011 have passed QA/QC protocols.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws including, without limitation statements related to the description of its exploration plans. Red Metal provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to exploration findings, results and recommendations, ability to raise adequate financing, receipt of required approvals and unprecedented market and economic risks associated with current unprecedented market and economic circumstances, as well as those risks and uncertainties identified and reported in Red Metal's public filings under its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Red Metal has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Red Metal disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.

The CSE has not approved or disapproved the contents of this news release or passed upon the merits of any of the transactions described herein.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information, visit www.redmetalresources.com

Contact:

Red Metal Resources Ltd.

Caitlin Jeffs, P.Geo, CEO

1-866-907-5403

www.redmetalresources.com

invest@redmetalresources.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/112454
The gallows at the Old Logan County Jail was the site of the execution of Arthur Tillman in July 1914, and was the final execution by hanging in the state of Arkansas.

One of the most discussed crime and punishment stories in the state involved the death of young Amanda Stephens and the subsequent trial and hanging of Arthur Tillman. The story contains every element of a dime-store novel. A young girl, product of a poor and motherless family, is found dead in a deserted well near the small community of Delaware, Arkansas.

Young Amanda disappeared on March 10, 1913, and her body was found in the dug well of a local farmer two days later. The autopsy revealed that she had been shot with a .22 rifle, her body tied to a rock by a telephone cord and thrown into the well. It also indicated she was three months pregnant. Attractive and outgoing, she had dated several young men in the community, the latest being Arthur Tillman, the son of a local farmer.

Tied to the crime by the circumstantial evidence that he was the boyfriend, he possessed a .22 rifle, and he had been observed sneaking around the neighborhood where the body was found, a warrant was issued for Tillmans arrest. Tillman escaped arrest at his uncles house in Knoxville, but was eventually arrested in Fort Smith.

His first trial, held in Booneville, resulted in a hung jury. Tillmans primary defense was that Amanda had other male friends and that one of them was the guilty party. On his way to the state penitentiary to await a retrial, Tillman escaped by jumping from a moving train. He was recaptured a short time later. When questioned about his escape attempt, he replied, I wasnt trying to escape, just trying to kill myself.

He was retried in Paris in October 1913 and sentenced to die on the anniversary of Amanda Stephens death. He again attempted to escape while being delivered back to the state penitentiary. Breaking the chains that bound him, he made it to the train door before being overpowered and delivered to jail, bound hand and foot.

His family and over 1,000 friends begged the governor for clemency, only to be refused. He was returned to the Old Logan County Jail to await his final sentence.

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As the day approached, Tillman continued to profess his innocence. Mr. Ray, the Methodist Circuit minister, begged him, Arthur, for Gods sake, tell the truth right now. I want to know if you're guilty so I may pray with you for forgiveness. If youre innocent, I want to know the whole truth.

"I am not guilty, replied Tillman. If I should confess to that crime when I did not do it, I would die with a lie on my lips. You dont want me to die that way, do you?

His last night on Earth was a sleepless event. He failed to eat his chicken dinner but, around midnight, requested a watermelon, which he ate ravenously. Early the following morning, services were held in the jail cell and his prayer was long and emotional, primarily begging God to be with his mother and family.

Two deputies assisted him as he walked from the cell to the gallows. Given a last word, he again confessed his innocence but asked for forgiveness and mercy for those who persecuted him. His last words to the uncle who was him, Tell mama I am certainly going to heaven this morning.

During the trial, Arkansas passed a law that all subsequent executions would be by electric chair, making Tillman the last man hanged in the state.

One hundred years have passed. Two young people, many family members and people of the region were forever changed by these tragic events. The Old Logan County Jail still stands in Paris with makeshift gallows erected on the lawn. A sense of sadness prevails the area and the main storyline yet remains: guilty or innocent?

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Timepiece: The execution of Arthur Tillman
(Amara Bullough)

After Alex's death, I assumed I would automatically morph into the character from the Scottish Widows advert  the wind blowing her black hooded garment. Shes strong, shes alone and shes loaded. But when my partner died, I was absolutely skint having spent the best part of 80,000 trying to have a baby, using the equity from my flat, which had gone up in value after the property boom.

What was I meant to do now? Give up? After all Alex had done to help make this possible, could I really throw the last living piece of his DNA away? It turns out that having his children after his death was not that simple to orchestrate  emotionally or logistically.

I was still reeling from the shock of Alex taking his own life  and losing my soul mate  and mourning the dream of growing old and grey together. Still, days later, I was down at a London IVF clinic checking out the legalities of having a dead mans child. Luckily, the IVF doctor returned to confirm that I had the go-ahead after checking the paperwork.

Feeling very emotional, I announced the joyful news to his family that there was no barrier to having his children, despite his death. I dont think his mum really believed it was going to happen  even though she is a doting grandmother these days. Why would anybody think it was going to happen? Was I mad? This was my tenth attempt. Was I becoming an IVF addict? One is too many and a thousand is not enough as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous. It certainly felt unmanageable and like I was gambling with my life savings.

Once I came out of the operating theatre and woke up to be told they had not retrieved any eggs. Luckily, the general anaesthetic had not worn off and I was still numb. Another time I waited for a phone call to hear about the embryos' welfare, asking the lab assistant to give them a kiss from me, only to be told they were all duds.

I was on the merry-go-round of one negative pregnancy test after another  when was this going to stop? I went to a top doctor, the former royal gynaecologist who cost a fortune, to review my plan of action. He told me that my progesterone levels were so high that even a top-grade embryo wouldn't have thrived if implanted. But exactly why were they so high, especially when the levels deplete as you age, was a mystery to the doctors, who started to run some tests. Nothing was going my way it seemed but I kept on going.

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I knew it was going to be hard, aged 40, with my fertility falling off a cliff, but with the added fear of running out of sperm, the idea of having Alexs children became even more elusive. Given the situation could go on for years, some genius lab person came up with the idea that we wouldn't need to use a whole sample during an IVF round and could get the mini icepick out to chisel away at my potential future, taking little bits at a time. But soon the financial burden became too much: I needed to get treatment in Europe, where IVF and the medication was, shockingly, half the price.

Wondering why this was the case and starting to think that IVF was a huge con by the pharmaceutical companies to exploit women at their most vulnerable time, I started to lose all confidence in it.

I finally was granted permission by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the police force of sperm and eggs, to take his sperm and some of my eggs to Spain. I was really happy when I heard that his sperm had reached the sunny shores of Alicante and went to the clinic for a day to meet the doctors, packing a suitcase with my shades and suncream, even spending a few hours on the local Costa Blanca beach.

It turned out that Russia was the cheapest place and I had always wanted to go to St Petersburg anyway  America was just too far away

Meanwhile, it turned out that some unlicensed fertility supplements I was on from America  which supposedly improved egg quality, and called the fountain of youth  were raising my progesterone levels through the roof. No doctor had spotted this until an IVF buddy by accident told me she had been told to stop taking them. This was a game changer.

But then I got another shock: I was told I had to get Alexs sperm out of Alicante immediately because the law in Spain states that it can only be kept for a year after a partners death. In a total panic that they were going to bin my future children, I called around different clinics in the US, Cyprus  even Croatia  to find them a safe haven. It is quite complicated explaining that I wanted to transport a dead mans sperm, especially as we were not married. It was even harder to get a birth certificate at Chelsea Town Hall with his name on it  instead of it taking 20 minutes  it took weeks.

It turned out that Russia was the cheapest place and I had always wanted to go to St Petersburg anyway  America was just too far away.

I remember the night Alexs sperm and my eggs travelled to Russia. It was an edge-of-your-seat nerve-wracking time. When Serge from Russia turned up in Alicante to collect them from the clinic, the paperwork was still not ready. That night I was at a press screening in London of Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender. I fainted dramatically in front of the cinema screen.

The film's PR dragged me out by my legs. She thought it was because the battle scenes were too violent. She sat me down with a glass of water, and then I got the text from Sperm Serge (as he is entered in my phone): Made it. We are in Moscow. Will take sperm to St Petersburg in morning.
Trulieve's three Maryland medical marijuana dispensaries hosting onsite activations

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) ("Trulieve" or "the Company"), a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the United States, is hosting a statewide celebration commemorating the re-branding of its Maryland retail locations, formerly branded as Harvest. On Saturday, Feb. 5, Trulieve invites registered medical marijuana patients and their caregivers to join the celebration at each retail location across the state.

Trulieve logo (PRNewsfoto/Trulieve Cannabis Corp.)

Trulieve will kick off the day of celebrations at 9:00 am with a ribbon-cutting event at its flagship Rockville dispensary located at 12200 Rockville Pike. There will be additional in-store activations including exclusive promotional deals and complimentary branded merchandise at the Halethorpe (3531 Washington Blvd Suite 112-113) and Lutherville (1526 York Road) locations.

"We are honored to provide Maryland's patients with a broad selection of high-quality medical cannabis products at each of our dispensaries across the state," said Kim Rivers, Chief Executive Officer of Trulieve. "Our local teams are committed to delivering approachable and personalized cannabis experiences to the state's growing medical community."

In stores and online, patients will find a wide variety of THC and CBD products including whole flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates, tinctures, topicals, vaporizers, and accessories.

For more information on store events and locations, please visit https://www.trulieve.com/dispensaries/maryland or visit local Facebook and Instagram @Trulieve_MD.

About Trulieve

Trulieve is an industry leading, vertically integrated cannabis company and multi-state operator in the U.S. operating in 11 states, with leading market positions in Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Trulieve is poised for accelerated growth and expansion, building scale in retail and distribution in new and existing markets through its hub strategy. By providing innovative, high-quality products across its brand portfolio, Trulieve delivers optimal customer experiences and increases access to cannabis, helping patients and customers to live without limits. Trulieve is listed on the CSE under the symbol TRUL and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol TCNNF. For more information, please visit Trulieve.com .

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Facebook: @Trulieve

Instagram: @Trulieve

Twitter: @Trulieve

Investor Contact

Christine Hersey, Director of Investor Relations

+1 (424) 202-0210

Christine.Hersey@Trulieve.com

Media Contact

Rob Kremer, Executive Director of Corporate Communications

+1 (404) 218-3077

Robert.Kremer@Trulieve.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trulieve-celebrates-statewide-retail-rebrand-in-maryland-on-february-5-301473458.html

SOURCE Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
When Sergio Mendes reflects on the amazing journey he calls life, from his formative years at the forefront of a bossa nova revolution through his Oscar-nominated work on "Rio" to the recent documentary on his life in music, there's a word he likes to use.

"I use a lot the word serendipity," Mendes says.

"Because I think it's the perfect word to describe all those times in my life where things happened that I didn't expect to happen. And they all turned out to be great things."

The Brazilian bandleader is speaking by phone in advance of an Arizona Musicfest performance Monday, Jan. 31, at Highlands Church in Scottsdale.

How Mendes first came to the U.S.

It was serendipity that brought the young piano player from Brazil to New York City for a bossa nova concert at Carnegie Hall with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Luiz Bonfa and American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz in November 1962.

He was 21 at the time and had never been to the United States. Or even left Brazil.

"It was an incredible emotion," he says.

"And meeting all my idols, people that I never thought I would meet, like Dizzy Gillespie and Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderly and Stan Getz. I was in total awe of being there and playing there and all that. It was an amazing serendipity."

He met Adderly at Birdland, where the legendary saxophonist suggested they record together.

Two weeks later, he was in the studio with Adderly, playing piano and contributing a song called "Groovy Samba" to "Cannonball's Bossa Nova."

Mendes started playing piano as a child in Rio de Janeiro

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Mendes learned to play piano as a child of six or seven. He'd been diagnosed with the bone disease osteomyelitis in one of his legs and his mother felt piano would be good for him.

"I couldn't play ball, or bicycle, none of that stuff," he says. "So when the piano came to the house, it was a joy for me to be able to sit down and play and learn piano. It was the perfect thing for me."

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At first, he played classical music. He was 12 when a friend introduced him to jazz.

"Somebody played me the David Brubeck record, 'Take Five,' and I fell in love with that," he say.

"So pretty soon I'm listening to Art Tatum, Horace Silver and all that. And then I put together some trios and quartets and things like that. And then I started playing in nightclubs in Rio."

How Mendes got in on the bossa nova trend

As he was getting deeper into jazz, bossa nova was beginning to develop in Brazil.

"That whole world of jazz and bossa nova came together," Mendes says. "And I was totally in love with it. That's how it started, really."

To Mendes, the appeal of bossa nova was both obvious and instantaneous.

"The melodies and the harmonies were so different," he says.

"I was playing the Bottles Bar in Rio, where all the musicians used to get together. That's when I meant Antonio Carlos Jobim. And it was fantastic because the melodies were just so beautiful. That turned me on."

Mendes had recorded his first album for Atlantic Records, "The Swinger From Rio," by the time he moved to the United States in 1964.

Unrest in Brazil led Mendes to move to the U.S.

"In early '64, we had a military coup, and everybody was getting arrested," he says.

"I was arrested also, for a minute, and interrogated because they thought I was a communist and part of the whole thing  blah, blah, blah, the usual military stuff. So after that, I said, 'You know, I think it's time for me to leave.'"

His son Rodrigo had been born that year, which made him even more inclined to get away. So he reached to the best man at his wedding, a Brazilian diplomat, and made arrangements to fly to California with his wife and child.

"It was a great emotion," Mendes says. "Because that was my dream, first of all. So it was a great feeling to be here. It was all new to me. It was all fresh. And again, serendipity."

He formed a group called Brasil '65 and cut two albums released in 1965  "In Person at El Matador" on Atlantic and "Brasil '65" on Capitol.

Despite the optimistic title of "The Great Arrival," an instrumental album on Atlantic, it wasn't until he hitched his sail to A&M, a independent label launched a few years earlier by trumpeter Herb Alpert and his partner Jerry Moss, that Mendes hit the mainstream.

By that point, Mendes had become quite close to Ahmet Ertegun, who'd seen him playing in a club in Rio and invited him to make a record for Atlantic in New York.

"When Herb and Jerry came to see me here in LA and said, 'We want to sign you. We're starting a label,' it was love at first sight," Mendes recalls. "I said, 'The problem is I have a contract with Atlantic Records.'"

So he called and ran the offer past Ahmet's brother Nesuhi.

As Mendes recalls, "He said, 'Sergio, this is the best thing that could happen to you. I wish I could do what they're going to do for you. But... you still owe me three instrumental records.' Which I did, by the way. It was...."

Mendes pauses.

"This is the last time I'm going to use the word serendipity."

His first release on A&M, "Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66," which peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's album chart and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.

The sound behind 'Mas Que Nada'

It also spawned a breakthrough single in their sultry reinvention of the Jorge Ben song "Mas Que Nada."

A lot of the magic of those songs was in the vocal blend of Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel.

"I love the sound of two girls singing together," Mendes says.

"So that became my trademark and a sound that I've kept until now. It had the beautiful lyrics that people would understand what we were talking about. And everything combined  the sensual sound of the voices, the freshness of it, all of that."

Suddenly having a hit record was a joyful experience.

"I heard it on the radio," Mendes says. "We're doing all the television specials. Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Fred Astaire. Then the tour with Sinatra. It was great."

"Mas Que Nada" was followed by a string of even bigger U.S. hits in 1968  "The Look of Love" hit No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100, followed by inspired bossa nova reinventions of the Beatles ("The Fool on the Hill") and Simon & Garfunkel ("Scarborough Fair").

He scored perhaps his biggest U.S. hit in 1983 with "Never Gonna Let You Go," which four weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts.

"It was a few years without really having a huge hit record, you know," Mendes says.

"Then we went back to A&M and had a No. 1 record again with 'Never Gonna Let You Go.' So it was a very nice ride."

It would be difficult, he says, to look back on a ride as nice as that and pick a favorite era.

"Every moment was so beautiful and nice," he says.

"And I don't remember a point where I said, 'Well, I'm gonna give up and go back to Brazil. Because I'm always thinking forward to tomorrow."

Mendes keeps exploring

He likes to try new things. That's how he came to score a global hit in 2006 with yet another reinvention of his breakthrough single, "Mas Que Nada," this time in collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas.

"I got a call from a record company that this kid wanted to come to the house and meet me," Mendes says.

"And that was Will.i.am. So again, that was another encounter that was fantastic and for me exciting because it's fresh. It's something that I've never done it before."

It was part of an album called "Timeless" that also found him collaborating with Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest and Stevie Wonder.

Mendes got to relive many highlights of his life, including classic TV footage from the '60s, when director John Scheinfeld screened his aptly titled documentary "Sergio Mendes: In the Key of Joy."

He hadn't watched the filming of the interviews, he says, "because I felt it would be weird to see people talking about me." So Scheinfeld called him in to see the final cut when he felt it was ready.

"I saw that and I cried," Mendes says. "I said, 'Wow, what a beautiful job he did, putting all that together.' He captured all the moments."

Sergio Mendes at Arizona Musicfest

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31.

Where: Highlands Church, 9050 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale.

Admission: $49-$84.

Details: 480-422-8449, azmusicfest.org.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sergio Mendes reflects on Brasil '66 and the bossa nova revolution


Anwari Begum was given the ticket by the Congress after the party announced in October last year that 40 percent of its candidates in the UP elections would be women. She was the lone Muslim candidate from Bijnor, which has 35% Muslim population out of 3.89 lakh voters.

Aas Mohammad Kaif | TwoCircles.net

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UTTAR PRADESH  The candidature of Anwari Begum, Congress candidate from Uttar Pradeshs Bijnor district has been canceled. Anwari Begum (58) is the mother of Suleman, a 24-year-old civil services aspirant who was killed in police firing during the anti-CAA protest in Nehtaur region of Bijnor district in 2019. Following Sulemans death, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi had visited his house.

Anwari Begum was given the ticket by the Congress after the party announced in October last year that 40 percent of its candidates in the UP elections would be women. She was the lone Muslim candidate from Bijnor, which has 35% Muslim population out of 3.89 lakh voters.

Returning Officer of Bijnor assembly seat Vikramaditya Singh confirmed to TwoCircles.net the cancellation of candidature of Anwari Begum. The symbol Form B of Congress candidate Anwari Begum was not signed by the party. Due to this deficiency, her application was rejected, he said.

On hearing the news of cancellation of the form, an atmosphere of despair has enveloped Sulemans house. Shoaib Ahmad, Sulemans elder brother, told TwoCircles.net, that he was informed on February 28 that the application does not contain the signature of the state president.

Ahmad said that the family got the document signed but the following day a party representative told his mother that her candidature was canceled. The family is surprised and is unable to understand why this happened. The family is apprehending that the administration may have taken a decision after meeting with the Opposition.

Ahmad said that the family was hopeful that had they won the seat, they could file a case and seek justice for his brother, Suleman.

The case is still being fought in the Supreme Court but our hopes are crushed, he said.

Sulemans mother, Anwari Begum told TwoCircles.net that, I am a housewife. I am not educated and know nothing about politics. A week ago, she had received a call from Priyanka Gandhi who proposed making her a candidate from Bijnor. She recalled Gandhi telling her that she must gather the necessary courage to fight against her slain sons unjust killing. I am often troubled by remembering Suleman, Anwari said.

According to the family, the police have refused to register a case and probe Sulemans killing.

Despite the fact that she will not be able to contest the election, Anwari said she had full faith in Priyanka Gandhi. No one stood with us except her! she said.

On December 20, 2019, during the anti-CAA protests in the state, lakhs of people had taken to the streets after Friday prayers leading police to open fire in which two youths were killed in Nehtaur, Bijnor. Nehtaur is a major town in Bijnor district with 75 percent Muslim population.

Sulemans sister, Sana, was pursuing BSc at that time. She dropped out. Sana told TwoCircles.net that no one in the family intended to enter politics, but when the Congress party approached her mother, the family saw in it an opportunity to get justice.

People listen to you if you are in power, she said.

Salim Mahgir, a local from Bijnor told TwoCircles.net that he wanted to support Anwari Begum and he was saddened by the news of cancellation of her candidature.

We have to fight the battle of oppression ourselves, he said.
If Art First Gallery and its members celebrate Glamour and Pearls a little more than is customary for an exhibit opening, they have good reason.

This year is the gallerys 30th anniversary.

The shows title came out of the custom of giving pearls as gifts to mark 30th anniversaries, said Linda Warshaw, a member of Art First since its beginnings in King George County.

We have to work this theme into our work, somehow, in our own way. What do you do with pearls? Warshaw said. Ive made mine into the form of a cartoon, and since Im a horsewoman, my cartoon is a lady horse wearing a dress with pearls all around it. Its an interesting way to challenge your thoughts on how to interpret these two words.

If youre creative and open-minded, you find a way to meld it together, Warshaw said of working within a theme. Either through shape or color, size. I have texture, color and shape in my piece. What makes it interesting is your approach. Im looking forward to seeing what other people didhow they interpreted it.

Glamour and Pearls, with 50 pieces representing 20 artists, will open at 6 p.m. Friday, with a reception until 9 p.m. The show will run through Feb. 27.

Nicole Freemans painting Pink Champagne and Pearls, with pearls nestled at the base of a champagne glass in front of a sparkly background, joins the exhibit of photographs, mixed media, acrylic and pulp paintings, along with Judy Greens Cheers to Us, a painting with champagne bubbles forming on pearls immersed in a champagne glass on a silver tray.

Art First Gallery was born out of a group of artists in King George County led by professional artist Jack Darling. The group, which called themselves North Windsor Artists, met at Darlings house in Dahlgren.

The group eventually moved to Fredericksburg where they found an old building on Hanover Street, complete with a bar, bar stools and a stage.

The idea to move to acquire an art space in Fredericksburg came from this group of artists, and it was Jane Woodworth who headed this unique project, Warshaw said. She sat on the edge of that stage, and she looked around and she said, Why wont it work? I thought, Boy, thats being positive, I never forgot those words. It was a space that only an artist could love. It had potential.

Warshaw said in the early days she didnt entertain the notion that the gallery would be around in 30 years.

Hope springs eternal. I really didnt think about it. I just did art, Warshaw said. Whether you sell or not, that rent comes due.

The gallery took off after it moved to Caroline Street about 10 years ago.

There are streets that are better than other streets as far as foot traffic. It was a big deal, Warshaw said of the move.

Jennifer Galvin, a member of the gallerys publicity and membership committee, said she admires Art Firsts longevity.

I believe Art First is the oldest gallery in Fredericksburg and its the 30th anniversary, so we really wanted to make it special to show that its amazing that you can have a cooperative gallery where its just a group of artists working together, said Galvin. She joined the gallery in 2020 and has several pieces in the show.

People who visit the gallery, which is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will find a range of art and prices.

We have small works starting at about $30 all the way up to thousands of dollars. If you cant afford the original art, there are prints, Galvin said. Its a fun place to go.

Warshaw said she learned from other artists and benefitted from the fellowship of the gallerys artists over the years.

Some of the big names in the art community have passed through its doors, she said. Were kind of a family. We help each other. We share ideas and things that we know. We support each other and we learn from each other.

The increasing list of galleries in the Fredericksburg area pleases Warshaw, and she likes seeing art in Fredericksburgs coffee shops, restaurants and other establishments.

We are part of an art community thats growing. I think thats really important, she said. Its nice to see that its throughout Fredericksburg.

Warshaw said the First Friday opening and celebration will be joyful.

Were supposed to be semi-formal, so I got special shoes, and I got a special dress. In fact, my dress is the same dress I put on my cartoon character, she said.
A Stafford County couple is facing felony charges as the result of an animal cruelty investigation involving two malnourished dogs, police said.

The investigation began on Jan. 25, when Deputy O.J. Hepperle went to a townhouse in England Run for a welfare check on a dog. In the home, she found an extremely thin 6-year-old mixed breed, medium-sized dog named Gracie, Sheriffs Maj. Shawn Kimmitz said.

In the backyard, she found a 2-year-old pit bull named Dean that was in worse shape. The dog was emaciated and could barely stand.

Hepperle took both dogs to the White Oak Animal Hospital. Dean had to be carried into the building, and an examination revealed that the dogs organs were shutting down and his chances of survival appeared slim.

Gracie was taken to an animal shelter, where she remains, while Hepperle took the pit bull home to care for it. She took Dean to Virginia Veterinary Center on Thursday after noticing labored breathing, and received a call early the next morning that Dean was rapidly declining and was facing possible euthanasia.

Kimmtz said the dogs heart rate increased when Hepperle returned to the hospital room and Dean is still receiving around-the-clock care. Kimmitz said residents wishing to contribute toward the dogs mounting medical costs can visit the Friends of the Stafford County Animal Shelter's website at foscas.org.

The dogs owners, Ryan and Crystal Wood, have each been charged with one count of felony animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count. They were arrested Monday and released by a magistrate on an unsecured bond.

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Legislators are beginning to remember why eliminating the sales tax on groceries has been hard to do, after decades of trying.

The Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee balked on Wednesday at acting on a bill that would partly fulfill the campaign promise that Gov. Glenn Youngkin made in running for governor last year. The panel deferred a vote until next week because of bipartisan concern over a proposal for state tax funds to replace a portion of the tax that now goes to local school divisions.

The proposal would distribute the state funds through the local composite index, based on a locality's ability to pay instead of student enrollment, as the money from the 1% share of the tax is now distributed to school divisions.

"This is a pretty significant policy change involved," said Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City, who added that "my comfort level is increasingly discomfort."

Virginia eliminated most of the sales tax on grocery almost 20 years ago. Youngkin campaigned on eliminating the final 2.5% of the tax - 1% for localities, 1% for the state to distribute to K-12 school divisions, and 0.5% for state transportation projects.

During the campaign, Youngkin estimated the cost of eliminating the tax at $225 million a year, but legislators are faced with an estimated cost of more than $1.2 billion over two years, most of it dedicated to local governments who rely upon it.

Former Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat who had campaigned on repealing the tax in 2017, proposed to eliminate the state's portions of the tax, including the 1% distributed to school divisions and the half-percent for transportation, and pay for it in his proposed budget.

The Senate and House of Delegates are grappling with how to eliminate the tax without hurting localities, especially public school divisions, and the state's transportation program. The House Finance Committee is scheduled to consider one of the proposals on Wednesday afternoon.

Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, a close political ally of the governor, proposed to eliminate the tax entirely, including the 1% local option tax. His proposal would cost the state more than $700 million over two years, on top of the money that Northam included in his budget to pay for the state's share for public education.

"I think that every single one of us understands that this is a regressive tax and we need to do something about it. ... My hope is that we would get rid of all the tax," Newman said.

Deputy Secretary of Finance Charles Kennington said the governor agrees with Newman that the state should "eliminate all the grocery tax, including the local portion."

Instead, the finance committee proposed a substitute that tracks Northam's approach to eliminating the tax by leaving the local option in place and using state money to replace about $500 million that would go to local school divisions over the next two years.

Norment called the proposal "a double whack" on the state budget.

The substitute would not replace the lost transportation money, but members of the panel say they're looking for ways to do so.

But the attempt to protect local school divisions from losing money would change the way the new state funds are distributed to local school divisions, which alarmed two senators from Fairfax County, which has the largest school enrollment in Virginia.

"We're not going to suddenly change a funding formula on the fly like this," said Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City.

Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, said the proposed change in the funding formula would badly hurt Fairfax, which would receive only 28 cents for every $1 lost if the state used the local composite index to replace the portion of the tax that local school divisions currently receive based on student enrollment.

"We'd only barely get a little more than a quarter back," Saslaw said.

The issue is further complicated in the Senate by including Newman's bill and related legislation in Senate Bill 451, proposed by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, to eliminate the sales and use tax on menstrual products and other personal hygiene items, including diapers.

Her proposal would cost the state $3.5 million in revenue over two years, on top of the $1.8 million that Northam included in his two-year budget to eliminate a portion of the tax on hygienic products.

Newman agreed that eliminating the sales tax on groceries without hurting localities isn't easy to do.

"It is not cheap" he said, "but it is the right thing to do."
Charter Boards

are not a good idea

Virginia politics is a patchwork, with people from diverse backgrounds with equally diverse ambitions and ideas all calling the same state home. Our elections reflect this diversity, too. Thats one reason I find Senate Bill 125 and House Bill 356 to allow for politically appointed Charter Boards so concerning. These bills in our General Assembly would strip power away from locally elected school boards and hand that off to unelected regional boards filled with people who are appointees of whatever administration is in power.

These new, unelected boards could override locally elected school boards in deciding where to put charter schools. They could force taxpayers to fund them, at the expense of local public schools, without giving the taxpayers any say in how these charter schools are run. And if that is not enough, there is an additional bill, SB 598, that would allow the state board to approve charter schools on college campuses by disguising them as lab schools.

This sounds reasonable, but would allow for-profit businesses to run their curriculum. Without the oversight of school boards and communities, these corporations could put the interests of shareholders above those of Virginias students.

Charter boards with no local accountability are a bad idea anywhere, but especially in a state like Virginia. You may like the idea today because your party is in charge, but are you going to like it in four years when the other folks might be in power? No governor, regardless of party, should have that much power over what we decide is best for our own schools.

Please call your elected officials in the Senate and House of Delegates and urge them to oppose SB 125, SB 598 and HB 356.

Kathy Freise

Beaverdam
The Dodge County Assessor reminds area residents that the Nebraska Personal Property Return and Schedule (along with a copy of your IRS depreciation worksheet) must be filed on or before May 1, 2022, with the county assessor where your personal property is located.

The Nebraska Personal Property Return and Schedule must be filed for all depreciable tangible personal property that is: Owned or held on Jan. 1, 12:01 a.m. of each year; or leased from or to another individual.

Personal property not reported by May 1 will be subject to a 10% penalty on the tax due on the value added.

Returning filers can access their individual personal property returns at: Dodge County (nebraskaassessors.com). Forms for new filers are at the Assessors Office or online at: Nebr_Personal_Prop_Return-1.pdf (nebraska.gov). All questions may be directed to Susan at 402-727-3916 or susan.severson@dodgecounty.ne.gov.

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In Afghanistan's Panjshir Province, former police officers and soldiers scrape together a living by digging emeralds out of the frigid Hindu Kush Mountains.

These men are sifting through piles of stone on the hunt for glistening green emeralds that will eventually adorn jewelry.

The gem-rich Hindu Kush Mountains flank the Mikeni Valley, which lies around 130 kilometers northeast of Kabul, and have been mined systematically since the 1970s.

One of the miners told AFP that he used to head an anti-terrorism unit of the Afghan police. When the Western-backed government collapsed in the face of the Taliban's advance last summer, he tried selling used clothing on the street but says "it didn't work out" and he soon headed to the hills to hunt for emeralds.

Each emerald is sold on-site to dealers for between 50 cents and $1.50. In Western markets, finely cut and polished emeralds can sell for several thousand dollars each.

According to AFP, many former soldiers and policemen have fled to the Hindu Kush Mountains to eke out a living mining emeralds.

The Taliban has publicly proclaimed an amnesty against former servicemen, but human rights groups say many have been executed or have disappeared.

Panjshir Province was the last region to fall to the Taliban last year. Gem hunters in the area say Taliban fighters climbed to the emerald mines and inspected people's hands to identify newcomers whose hands were not calloused by labor and who might be former military or police in hiding.

One of the emerald miners who spoke to AFP says that, despite his background in the security forces for the toppled Western-backed government, the Taliban has invited him to work for the militants on account of his computer skills.


Out of 17 journalists arrested in the country in 2021, J&K topped the number of arrests followed by Delhi, Maharashtra and Manipur.

Snobar | TwoCircles.net

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NEW DELHI  At least 6 journalists were killed and 121 media houses were targeted in India in 2021, according to an India Press Freedom Report 2021 released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) on Wednesday.

Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura topped the list of states and Union territories where journalists and media houses were targeted in 2021, according to the RRAG report.

The highest number of journalists or media organisations targeted was in J&K (25), followed by Uttar Pradesh (23), Madhya Pradesh (16), Tripura (15), Delhi (8), Bihar (6), Assam (5), Haryana and Maharashtra (4 each), Goa and Manipur (3 each), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal (2 each), and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala (1 each), the report stated.

In 2021, FIRs were registered against 44 journalists. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest registration of FIRs with nine; followed by six each in Delhi and J&K; and three in Bihar; among others, according to the report.

In 2021, at least 24 journalists were allegedly physically attacked, threatened, harassed and obstructed from doing their professional works by public officials, including police, across the country. The police assaulted 17 of them, the report notes.

The widespread attacks on the press freedom from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to Tripura are an indicator of the continuing deterioration of civic space in the country. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 is an affirmation of the governments intent to crackdown on media freedom, Suhas Chakma, Director of the RRAG said.

He said the spotlight on attacks against media freedom during 2021 remained on Jammu and Kashmir. Out of the 17 journalists arrested in the country, J&K reported the highest cases of arrest and detention with five journalists; followed by Delhi (3); Maharashtra, Manipur and Tripura (2 each); and Assam, Chhattisgarh and Haryana (1 each), he added.

Snobar is an intern with TwoCircles.net. She tweets at @Snobar19.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct the number of the state's 13 community colleges with nursing programs that have been accredited, which were incorrectly reported by the Colorado Community College System during a media event Tuesday morning.

Three years after gaining authority from the state to offer a bachelor of science in nursing degree, the community college system is seeking to expand that program.

Lawmakers will next week tackle a bill that would permit community colleges to offer a bachelor's degree to licensed practical nurses who have qualified for their licenses through certificate programs rather than an associate's degree.

Advocates say the proposal will help fill Colorado's critical shortage of nurses by allowing students to obtain the four-year degree faster and at a lower cost.

In 2018, Pikes Peak Community College wanted to offer the bachelor's degree, part of a collaboration with Memorial Health. That required a change in statute since community colleges generally offer two-year associate's degrees, not the four-year degree program.

Pikes Peak, and the rest of the community college system, battled their way to passing the Bridge program, which allowed them to offer the bachelor's to those who had already earned an associate's or two-year degree.

Senate Bill 3 would open up the Bridge program to those who hold a licensed practical nurse state certification, which is a one-year certificate program, rather than the two-year associate's degree. They would then go through a three-year program to earn the bachelor's degree.

While a registered nurse can also earn an associate's degree for that license, hospitals increasingly require nurses to obtain the four-year degree.

Some of the four-year institutions with nursing degrees, primarily the University of Colorado, Mesa State and Regis University, initially opposed the 2018 bill, sponsored by then-Rep. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora. They raised concerns over "mission creep"  the attempt by community colleges to offer four-year bachelor degrees. They also questioned whether the community colleges' programs could obtain accreditation.

Then-Gov. John Hickenlooper wasn't a huge fan of allowing community colleges to offer the four-year nursing degree, either, but he allowed the bill to become law without his signature.

Currently, the nursing programs at five of the state's 13 community colleges have been accredited, with another on its way to accreditation. But advocates say a gap still exists and the critical shortage of registered nurses persists  problems exacerbated by the pandemic four years later.

Rep. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, an emergency room nurse who is the House sponsor of Senate Bill 3, said he has seen the problems firsthand.

Shortages are across the board, and something of a trickle-down effect is magnified when it comes to emergency rooms, he told Colorado Politics.

He explained it this way: When there aren't enough nurses in the hospital, the ER staff can't send patients up to the floors, and they wind up staying longer in the emergency room waiting to be admitted. In turn, that takes up beds for those coming into the emergency room and leads to delays in their care.

The problem affects both rural and urban emergency rooms, he added.

The problem, including burnout, has gotten worse during the pandemic, he said, adding the heavy workload gets compounded every time a nurse quits, leaving the rest of the staff to handle even more responsibilities.

"It's a brutal cycle," he said.

Buckner, the Senate sponsor of SB 3, said the state continues to face a devastating shortage of health care providers, including nurses, and SB 3 will allow LPNs to obtain the bachelor's degree faster and at a lower cost.

Buckner said students reached out to her after the 2018 bill became law, saying they appreciated they were able to start their degree at a community college, which was more affordable than some of the other options.

Co-sponsor Senate President Pro Tem Kerry Donovan, D-Vail, said the Western Slope is experiencing the same shortage issues, and that causes longer wait times for health care.

Community College of Colorado system spokesperson Fiona Lytle said the bill is permissive and doesn't require all the community college to offer the proposed next generation of the Bridge program. She said probably three colleges will start offering the expanded Bridge program, with other community colleges following suit. The expansion is mostly likely going to begin at Community College of Denver, Pikes Peak and Front Range Community College.

Buckner said she has been meeting with those who have concerns and doesn't anticipate the road to the governor's office to be as difficult as it was in 2018.

"When you have a new program, its trial and error," she said, adding the trial under the 2018 law has turned out to be important and very positive.

Outside the Capitol, the biggest hurdle is finding clinical training, as well as the staff to supervise the students at those clinical facilities, Lytle said.

For the Community College of Denver, however, Denver Health and Kaiser both have committed to providing clinical spots for the trainees in the program.

Inside the Capitol, the biggest hurdle is concerns raised by some of the same opponents in 2018 over such issues as who will teach the courses in those four-year programs. Opponents also raised this issue in 2018.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported 1,637 faculty vacancies in a 2019 survey of 892 nursing schools with baccalaureate or graduate programs nationwide. More than 80,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing schools in 2019 because of the shortage of nursing faculty, the AACN said.

SB 3 is scheduled for a hearing with the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 9.
Alan Gottlieb is editor of Denver-based public education watchdog boardhawk.org. Gottlieb covered Denver Public Schools as a newspaper reporter in the mid-1990s, worked as an education program officer for The Piton Foundation and co-founded Education News Colorado and Chalkbeat.
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The city of Colorado Springs will pay $175,000 to settle an excessive force lawsuit filed in July by a Black Lives Matter protester against two Colorado Springs police officers.

Celia Palmer sued the city, Sgt. Keith Wrede and another officer, Wesley Woodworth, after the officers allegedly "ambushed" Palmer and her friend, "tackling both of them," then "slammed" Palmer to the ground on June 2, 2020, during a Black Lives Matter protest.

Wrede was suspended without pay for 40 hours and reassigned to a different unit within the department during he summer of 2020 after he used the pseudonym Steven Eric on Facebook and commented KILL EM ALL and KILL THEM ALL on a livestream video of the Black Lives Matter demonstration on I-25.

Beyond the payout, the settlement includes an update to the Colorado Springs Police Department's policy handbook in regards to dispersing crowds, which requires officers to give a verbal warning to a crowds before using less lethal tools or force.

"If the warning is related to deadly force, the officer will specifically warn of the impending use of firearms or other deadly physical force, if possible," the settlement states. "A warning must be given with sufficient time for the warning to be observed."

However, officers are not required to give warnings if they are at risk of injury or death, the settlement read.

The updated language is required to be a part of the department's policies by March 1.

The settlement also asserted that the city was not liable of any "wrongdoing" or "misconduct."

The city of Colorado Springs chose to settle this case in the interests of its taxpayers," the City told The Gazette. "The cost of litigation is a consideration in making settlement decisions. In regard to this matter, no court found any wrongdoing by the officers involved.

Andy McNulty, attorney for Palmer, said in an interview with The Gazette that while he and Palmer wanted to see more discipline for Wrede, the settlement was good for everyone.

"It's a win for the community, honestly," he said. "Colorado Springs Police Department policy should have reflected these changes before our settlements. It's common sense that officers shouldn't be able to ambush people from behind without warning; it's common sense that officers have to identify themselves as police officers."
A Colorado Springs man accused across different cases of murder, wrestling a gun away from a detective before escaping custody, and attempting to murder peace officers is expected to see his murder trial delayed three months due to the ongoing suspension of jury trials, a judge said in a Tuesday afternoon hearing.

Randy Bishop, 37, was scheduled to go to trial for murder Feb. 7, and attorneys announced at a Jan. 18 pre-trial hearing they were ready to go to trial. Hes accused of murder in the November 2019 slaying of Thomas Anthony Faircloth.

That hearing, however, was continued due to attorneys and Fourth Judicial District Judge Marcus Hensons concerns over the suspension of jury trials, at the time saying they would come back to reassess at a date closer to the beginning of trial.

The judicial districts Chief Judge William Bain in a Jan. 27 order extended the suspension through Feb. 11 due to elevated case rates in El Paso and Teller counties, prompting Henson on Tuesday to suggest the trial begin Feb. 14.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys, however, had schedules that conflicted with that proposed date, including defense attorney Josh Tolinis participation on the Letecia Stauch case, expected to begin March 28 and to last roughly six weeks. Neither party objected to a declaration of a mistrial due to scheduling conflicts.

Henson said the earliest he could declare a mistrial was Feb. 7. He said the court would reconvene then on that matter, when he could set a firm date for trial, but told all parties to plan to begin in early May.

At this point Im anticipating this case to go to trial on [May 9], he said after apologizing to Faircloths family, who appeared via Webex, adding the delay was wholly out of the control of anybody in the courtroom and a matter of safety for potential jurors.

Bishops other cases, including the case in which he's accused of wrestling a gun away from a detective and another in which hes accused of shooting at police officers, were previously set to trail his alleged first-degree murder case, which involves the most serious charge. He pleaded not guilty to murder in August.

Faircloth, 27, was found Nov. 2, 2019 in a vacant lot at Galley Road and Powers Boulevard with suspicious injuries. Further details on the case havent been released, including how police tied Bishop to the crime, with the probable cause affidavit sealed.

During a November 2019 chase, police rammed Bishops car and he was taken to UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central downtown. Police say he escaped from a CT scan room and stole a detectives gun in a hallway struggle, during which two shots were fired inside the hospital. No injuries were reported.

Police said Bishop stole a car at the hospital and fled. They caught up with him again Jan. 11, 2020, but he dodged arrest again after firing at officers, wounding one. He was captured Jan. 26, and charged in jail with first-degree murder in April 2020.

Bain's orders extending the suspension of jury trials have come in roughly 10-day increments. In the Jan. 27 order, he cited state health department data reflecting two-week incidence rates per 100,000 people for El Paso County over 2,700 cases and over 2,000 in Teller County, but noted that local public health department data graphs "also show for the first time that a rapid decline in incidence rates has begun over the last week."

State data currently show that Teller County's incidence rate has dropped to nearly 1,554, and that El Paso County's rate has dropped to around 2,244.

Bain in January said the extended suspension of jury trials will contribute to a backlog caused by previous pandemic trial suspensions the judicial district had slowly whittled down from as many as 5,000. Bishops expected mistrial, if declared, could add to that number of delayed trials.
A man was taken into custody on Tuesday in Boulder after allegedly sending a threatening email to the University of California, Los Angeles that included an 800-page manifesto with "thousands of references to violence" on Monday night.

Matthew Christopher Harris, 31, was arrested around 11 a.m. after a nearly three-hour standoff, said Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold. Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said it was too early in the investigation to determine specific charges, but said federal and local entities were investigating.

Harris allegedly sent a "concerning email and posting" to UCLA's police department and officials on Monday night. The manifesto was attached to the threatening email and an initial investigation into the threats tracked Harris to Boulder, Herold said during an afternoon news conference.

"Upon reviewing parts of the manifesto, we identified thousands of references of violence, stating things such as killing, death, murder, shootings, bombs, school yard massacre in Boulder and phrases like 'burn and attack Boulder outside of the university,'" Herold said.

UCLA canceled in-person classes late Monday night because of the threats.

An investigation with local, state and federal authorities began and officials tracked Harris to an apartment complex in the 900 block of Broadway in Boulder. The county's regional SWAT team was activated and surrounded the apartment complex just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, Herold said.

Authorities evacuated University Hill Elementary School and several sorority and fraternity houses at the University of Colorado Boulder during the standoff.

Reverse 911s were sent to 65 homes in the area to inform residents of a mandatory shelter in place, police said.

The order was lifted around 12:45 p.m.

"The importance of having collaboration at the federal, state and local levels was critical to the swift resolution to this incident this morning," Herold said.

Police did not disclose Harris' connection to Boulder or UCLA. The Los Angeles Times reported it obtained emails sent to students and faculty showing Harris, a former UCLA lecturer, made threats to individuals at the university's philosophy department.

Reviews of Harris as a professor were low on bruinwalk.com, a website where UCLA students can post anonymous reviews of professors and other staff members. He had a 1.0 overall rating as of Tuesday afternoon.

One review written this winter said Harris was "extremely unprofessional," while another person wrote, "I have no idea how this guy is still teaching."

Harris completed his dissertation, "Continents in Cognition," at Duke University at 2019, according to The Associated Press.

Authorities said Harris unsuccessfully tried to buy a handgun in Jefferson County in November. Dougherty said it could have been denied because of a California-based protection order.

After Harris was taken into custody, UCLA released a statement announcing in-person classes would resume Tuesday.

"The threats made yesterday were frightening for many of us and caused our community to feel vulnerable at an already challenging time," said a statement signed by assistant vice chancellors Suzanne L. Seplow and Michael Deluca.
El Paso County is boosting spending this year on federal lobbying focused on keeping U.S. Space Command from moving to Huntsville, Ala. in 2026.

The county spent about $33,000 on a partial year of federal lobbying to retain the command last year and voted Tuesday to spend $50,400 this year as part of an annual contract with Potomac Partners totaling $150,000, county documents show. The firm is a Washington D.C.-based company that represents other local governments.

El Paso County commission Chairman Stan VanderWerf said he felt the community's efforts to retain the command  including work by the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation and the state's federal delegation  is competitive with Huntsville's efforts to attract the command. Federal records show both communities are spending on federal lobbyists.

The future of the command's long-term home is uncertain and under investigation by the Pentagon's Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office.

Former President Donald Trump said he single-handedly named Huntsville as the future home of Space Command on a radio show in August, contradicting Pentagon statements that Huntsville was picked by a process that fairly evaluated Colorado Springs and other communities on their merits.

While the investigations have not been completed, that has not stopped the communities that could benefit from the economic powerhouse of the command from making their case to legislators.

The command  which oversees military missions in space for all armed services  employs 1,400 military and civilian personnel and pumps more than $450 million a year into the state's economy, the Gazette reported previously.

In addition to county spending, the city of Colorado Springs spent $70,000 with the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to lobby on Space Command issues during the second half of 2021, according to Open Secrets, a database that compiles lobbying reports to the U.S. Senate. The city could not say how much it has budgeted specifically for Space Command lobbying this year.

The chamber did not hire a federal lobbyist to work on these issues, although it has been collaborating closely with the city and county, said Andrea Mensink, a spokeswoman for the chamber.

Huntsville spent $60,000 last year on lobbying efforts through Washington D.C. firm 535 Strategies that included work on defense issues and other priorities. The filings did not mention Space Command specifically, unlike Colorado Springs filings. The lobbyists working for Huntsville include former U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer and former Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security Rebecca Halkias, according to a ProPublica database that relies on filings to the U.S. House of Representatives and Secretary of the Senate.

Since the disappointing announcement about Space Command leaving, Colorado Springs has had wins in the striving to keep the command, VanderWerf said, noting that Congressman Doug Lamborn successfully backed efforts to block funding that could have put the move to Huntsville in motion. Representatives of the community have also had 20 meetings with federal representatives, senators and their staff members over two trips last year to make the community's case.

The move to Huntsville doesn't make economic sense because it could cost billions, including training, building new facilities and putting in secure communication infrastructure in Huntsville, he said.

A new command building in Huntsville could cost $1.2 billion and rebuilding specialized communications infrastructure could cost $2 to $3 billion, said Jamie Fabos, a Colorado Springs city spokeswoman. The cost of the communications infrastructure was not considered in the cost analysis when the decision was first made, she said.

Colorado Springs did rank low in some logical areas, such as the high cost of housing, according to an Air Force document dated February 2021. The housing problem has continued to worsen since then.

Fabos said the communities' high cost of living are an indication of the area's "desirability and ability to attract and maintain a qualified workforce."

While it's unknown when a decision might be reached, the uncertainty is not hurting the defense contracting industry in town, Mensink said.

"Our assessment is that it has not hampered industry growth in Colorado Springs and El Paso County, with Northrop Grumman, The Aerospace Corporation, Bluestaq, and others growing here, as well as development at Peak Innovation Park. National defense firms see value in our homegrown companies," she said.
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The El Paso County Sheriff's Office expects to build a new multimillion-dollar substation to serve the Falcon area over the next two years as the prairie fills up with new homes and hundreds of thousands of residents.

Sheriff Bill Elder presented plans for the office to the El Paso County commissioners Tuesday and highlighted the need for the building planned for the intersection of Stapleton Drive and Meridian Ranch Boulevard to serve the booming northeastern portion of the county.

"We've been excited to do this for a number of years," he said.

In the coming months, the Sheriff's Office expects to place a modular office building on the site next to a Falcon Fire Protection District station to temporarily serve deputies and provide access to some services, such as law enforcement records and concealed carry handgun permitting, he said. The $100,000 building has already been purchased and was more affordable than leasing space in Falcon until the permanent building goes up, he said. When the new building is complete the modular office building will be moved to the county's firearm range to serve as a classroom.

The office expects to build a new $3 million to $5 million substation on the site over the next two years that can also provide space to the county Clerk and Recorders' Office and the Assessor's Office, Elder said. More exact estimates on the substation's cost are not available because the building has not been designed, he said.

The building will sit on 2 acres valued at $3 million, he said. The Falcon fire department is donating the property to the county for the office, Elder said.

The property was originally set aside by the developer for public safety purposes and the fire district doesn't need it, said Chief Trent Harwig.

"We are just glad we were able to hear about this need and have this extra land that we have no use for," he said.

The sheriff's office expects the new location will increase the presence of law enforcement in the area, but it won't immediately trigger additional patrols, Elder said. The office currently has a patrol car in the area around the clock, he said.

Additional patrols in the area will depend on the budget, staffing and calls for law enforcement in the area, Elder said.

The new station may not lower response times because deputies may not be responding from the office. They spend much of their time in their vehicles on patrol, he said.

The department currently has 50 to 60 openings and like many other law enforcement agencies in the state has had trouble filling positions, he said.

The office expects to use dedicated public safety tax revenues to pay for the new substation. The office has some money set aside for the project but not the full cost. Elder said the office doesn't expect to ask the commissioners for additional funding for the office.

Elder is term-limited and a new sheriff who will be elected in November will oversee the completion of the project.

The county commissioners applauded the project and the work between the independent Falcon fire district and the sheriff's office.

"It is not always that we find such great cooperation," Commissioner Carrie Geitner said.

She also noted the substation is a good step whether or not Falcon decides to incorporate into a town, a hot topic within the community.
The state agency that licenses amusement park rides on Wednesday slapped $68,000 in fines against the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, where a 6-year-old Colorado Springs girl was killed over Labor Day weekend.

Additionally, the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safetys amusement rides and devices program ordered the Haunted Mine Drop ride where Wongel Estifanos died to remain padlocked until it is re-inspected and employees have been properly trained to operate it, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Gazette.

The fines are the largest assessed by the agency for at least a decade and follow an extensive investigation into Estifanos death on Sept. 5. She died after plummeting more than 100 feet in the makeshift mine shaft because she wasnt properly belted into her seat. Garfield County prosecutors have said they are reviewing possible criminal charges in connection with the death.

Investigators determined two different employees  a wrongful death lawsuit filed Wednesday by the family identifies them as Toby Williams and Steve Ochoa  failed to notice the girl was sitting on the two safety belts when they overrode a security system warning of a problem and sent the ride on its fatal plunge.

The fines include a pair of $1,000 assessments against the parks ownership, Glenwood Caverns Holdings LLC, for each employees failure to ensure Estifanos was buckled in.

The other $66,000  a $1,000 fine for each day of a 66-day period  is for the parks failure to properly train all operators of the Haunted Mine Drop, including in its safety and warning systems.

Findings indicate that training for all ride operators of the [Haunted Mine Drop] did not appear to emphasize the inherent risks of the ride, nor did it include reviewing the manufacturers operating manual, according to the violation notice.

By law, the park has 30 days to either pay the fines and comply with the enforcement order or go through a formal enforcement proceeding. If the required fixes are not made, the state can issue additional fines or shut down the park.

A spokesperson for the amusement park did not immediately respond to The Gazettes efforts seeking comment.

The girls parents, Estifanos Dagne and Rahel Estifanos, filed their lawsuit in Denver District Court, claiming the adventure park employees were reckless in not seeing that Wongel was sitting on her lap belts. The girl had taken the tail of the belt and held it over her lap. It had remained fastened from the previous ride because the seat was unoccupied, according to the states investigation report.

Rather than physically check each belt, one of the operators reset the ride  turning off a warning system that noted there was a problem  and sent the platform on which Wongel and five of her relatives sat on its way down the 110-foot shaft.

It wasnt until the platform reached the bottom that Wongels uncle went to ask if she enjoyed the ride and saw she was gone. Seeing her crumpled body on the ground before them, the family struggled to reach her, but the platform automatically whisked them up the shaft, according to the lawsuit.

The park has had at least two complaints  neither of which were shared with state regulators at the time  about employees failing to notice riders of the Haunted Mine Drop were not buckled in. One of those complaints, from 2019, was turned over to investigators but the other, from 2018, was not, officials said.

Investigators say they learned of the earlier incident, in which a woman pleaded with ride operators not to send the platform into its plunge because a teenager was unbelted, after an attorney for the family shared the information from someone who had come forward.

State regulators said they were told the park did not have a method of recording or keeping complaints from customers. The park also told them that the 2019 emailed complaint went unnoticed because of a system problem, according to the states investigation report.

The ride was intentionally designed without safety harnesses  a mainstay feature on other vertical drop rides  to make it more exciting.

It relies on two lap belts: one that is like a safety belt in a motor vehicle and the other with a special bolt on its end that fits into a monitored locking mechanism.
The family of a 6-year-old Colorado Springs girl killed Labor Day weekend at a Glenwood Springs amusement park lashed out Wednesday at a prosecutor's decision not to charge workers of the ride she died on with a crime, calling it "cheap and meaningless."

"Once again our daughter's life has been treated as cheap and meaningless. First by the amusement park and now by the DA," the parents of Wongel Estifanos said in a statement issued by their attorney, Dan Caplis. "We never wanted the people who killed our daughter to go to jail. But for the DA to let them off with nothing says our daughter's life was worth nothing."

The parents, Estifanos Dagne and his wife, Rahel Estifanos, added: "What a terrible message to send. That in Glenwood Springs someone can recklessly kill a child and not even get a ticket."

Ninth Judicial District Attorney Jefferson Cheney issued a decision letter Jan. 25 that determined he didn't have sufficient evidence to prove which of two employees at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park was responsible for not affixing Estifanos's safety belt before she fell more than 100 feet from the park's Haunted Mine Drop ride.

Cheney said he could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt any one person or entity acted with criminal negligence or was criminally reckless beyond a reasonable doubt, according to a copy of Cheneys letter obtained late Tuesday by The Denver Gazette.

He declined to charge either of the two workers  identified as Toby Williams and Steve Ochoa in a civil complaint filed by Estifanos family  with criminally negligent homicide or manslaughter.

Cheney said he understood the family's reaction.

"I dont have anything to offer except that I am saddened for their loss and empathize with their grief," he told The Denver Gazette in an email Wednesday.

Neither of the workers could be reached by The Denver Gazette.

Park founder Steve Beckley said in a statement that he is "so sorry for their loss and while I understand that my words cannot touch their grief, my heart continues to ache for them.

He added: "As I have said before, safety is and always has been our top priority. ... One accident is one too many, and we are taking steps to be sure that nothing like that can ever happen again.

Estifanos's parents challenged Cheney's decision, noting the workers weren't given drug tests following the incident.

"We want the full truth," the statement reads. "We want justice for our daughter. ... The criminal system failed our daughter. We will now go to civil court and prove it on our own."

The family filed a wrongful death claim in Denver District Court in October claiming the adventure park employees were reckless in not seeing that Wongel was sitting on her lap belts. The girl had taken the tail of the belt and held it over her lap. It had remained fastened from the previous ride because the seat was unoccupied, according to the states investigation report. The case is pending.

The Colorado agency that licenses amusement parks in October fined the business $68,000 after investigators determined the employees failed to notice the girl was sitting on the two safety belts when they overrode a security system warning of a problem and sent the ride on its fatal plunge. The park was ordered to close and workers were required to undergo additional safety training.

The fines included a pair of $1,000 assessments against the parks ownership, Glenwood Caverns Holdings LLC, for each employees failure to ensure Estifanos was buckled in. The other $66,000  a $1,000 fine for each day of a 66-day period  is for the parks failure to properly train all operators of the Haunted Mine Drop, including its safety and warning systems.

The ride was intentionally designed without safety harnesses  a mainstay feature on other vertical drop rides  to make it more exciting. It relies on two lap belts: One that is like a safety belt in a motor vehicle and the other with a special bolt on its end that fits into a monitored locking mechanism.

Rather than physically check each belt, one of the operators reset the ride  turning off a warning system that noted there was a problem  and sent the platform on which Wongel and five of her relatives sat on its way down the 110-foot shaft.

It wasnt until the platform reached the bottom that Wongels uncle went to ask if she enjoyed the ride and saw she was gone. Seeing her crumpled body on the ground before them, the family struggled to reach her but the platform automatically whisked them up the shaft, according to the lawsuit.

The park has had at least two complaints  neither of which were shared with state regulators at the time  about employees failing to notice riders of the Haunted Mine Drop were not buckled in. One of those complaints, from 2019, was turned over to investigators but the other, from 2018, was not, officials said.

Investigators say they learned of the earlier incident, in which a woman pleaded with ride operators not to send the platform into its plunge because a teenager was unbelted, after an attorney for the family shared the information from someone who had come forward.

State regulators said they were told the park did not have a method of recording or keeping complaints from customers. The park also told them that the 2019 emailed complaint went unnoticed because of a system problem, according to the states investigation report.
The Garfield County prosecutor has decided he cant prove whos responsible for the death of a 6-year-old Colorado Springs girl who plummeted more than 100 feet to her death over Labor Day at a Glenwood Springs amusement park and will not file criminal charges.

In a two-page letter issued Jan. 25, Ninth Judicial District District Attorney Jefferson Cheney said he doesn't have sufficient evidence to prove which of two employees at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park was responsible for not affixing the safety belt of Wongel Estifanos before she fell from the parks Haunted Mine Drop ride.

Cheney said that he could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt any one person or entity acted with criminal negligence or was criminally reckless beyond a reasonable doubt, according to a copy of Cheneys letter obtained late Tuesday by The Denver Gazette.

He declined to charge either of the two workers  identified as Toby Williams and Steve Ochoa in a civil complaint filed by Estifanos family  with criminally negligent homicide or manslaughter.

Neither of the men could be reached late Tuesday by The Gazette. An email to park officials was not immediately returned.

Estifanos family said it would have a statement about Cheneys decision on Wednesday. Their attorney, Dan Caplis, could not be reached late Tuesday.

The Colorado agency that licenses amusement parks in October fined the business $68,000 after investigators determined the employees failed to notice the girl was sitting on the two safety belts when they overrode a security system warning of a problem and sent the ride on its fatal plunge. The park was ordered to close and workers were required to undergo additional safety training.

The fines included a pair of $1,000 assessments against the parks ownership, Glenwood Caverns Holdings LLC, for each employees failure to ensure Estifanos was buckled in. The other $66,000  a $1,000 fine for each day of a 66-day period  is for the parks failure to properly train all operators of the Haunted Mine Drop, including its safety and warning systems.

The ride was intentionally designed without safety harnesses  a mainstay feature on other vertical drop rides  to make it more exciting. It relies on two lap belts: One that is like a safety belt in a motor vehicle and the other with a special bolt on its end that fits into a monitored locking mechanism.

The girls parents, Estifanos Dagne and Rahel Estifanos, filed their lawsuit in Denver District Court, claiming the adventure park employees were reckless in not seeing that Wongel was sitting on her lap belts. The girl had taken the tail of the belt and held it over her lap. It had remained fastened from the previous ride because the seat was unoccupied, according to the states investigation report.

Rather than physically check each belt, one of the operators reset the ride  turning off a warning system that noted there was a problem  and sent the platform on which Wongel and five of her relatives sat on its way down the 110-foot shaft.

It wasnt until the platform reached the bottom that Wongels uncle went to ask if she enjoyed the ride and saw she was gone. Seeing her crumpled body on the ground before them, the family struggled to reach her but the platform automatically whisked them up the shaft, according to the lawsuit.

The park has had at least two complaints  neither of which were shared with state regulators at the time  about employees failing to notice riders of the Haunted Mine Drop were not buckled in. One of those complaints, from 2019, was turned over to investigators but the other, from 2018, was not, officials said.

Investigators say they learned of the earlier incident, in which a woman pleaded with ride operators not to send the platform into its plunge because a teenager was unbelted, after an attorney for the family shared the information from someone who had come forward.

State regulators said they were told the park did not have a method of recording or keeping complaints from customers. The park also told them that the 2019 emailed complaint went unnoticed because of a system problem, according to the states investigation report.
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
Entrepreneur and small business owner Richard Skorman served on Colorado Springs City Council from 1999 to 2007 and 2017 to 2021 and as Colorado Springs Vice Mayor.
Click or tap here for the latest list of closures.

A snowstorm moved into the Colorado Springs area Tuesday evening. The storm could drop 5 to 9 inches of snow overnight, officials with the National Weather Service in Pueblo.

According to the National Weather Service, Wednesday's forecast calls for a high near 14 degrees with up to a 100% chance of precipitation until 4 p.m.

Multiple school districts have closed Wednesday including District 49, District 11, District 2 and District 20.

10:45 p.m. update

Closures Wednesday Feb. 2:

Cheyenne Mountain School District 12

10:20 p.m. update

Wednesday Feb. 2:

Fort Carson: Fort Carson delayed reporting. Non mission essential personnel report time 10 a.m.

Huerfano Re-1: Remote Learning Day.

Fort Carson: Fort Carson delayed reporting. Non mission essential personnel report time 10 a.m.

Huerfano Re-1: Remote Learning Day.

10:00 p.m. update

El Paso County Office and and affiliated agencies closed Wednesday.

Employees with the proper equipment should work remotely. This closure applies to:

El Paso County Public Health

El Paso County Department of Human Services

El Paso County Clerk and Recorder

El Paso County Assessor

El Paso County Treasurer

El Paso County Courts

4th Judicial District Attorneys Office

CSU Extension

Pikes Peak Workforce Center

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

9:30 p.m. update

Wednesday Feb. 2:

Colorado Springs Housing Authority: Closed, but essential staff report

Cotopaxi Fremont RE-3: Closed for in-person instruction. Transition to remote learning.

Chavez/Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy: Closed. No E-Learning Day

Colorado Military Academy: Colorado Military Academy and Rocket Club closed Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Pikes Peak Library Dist.: All locations closed on Wed., Feb. 2.

The Navigators US Headquarters: Navigators Headquarter Building Closed UPDATE

9:20 p.m. update

Family of Christ: Part Day Classes Canceled/Full Day Childcare Open at 10 AM

Hope Montessori Academy - Chuckwagon: Closed

Hope Montessori Academy - Falcon: Closed

Church For All Nations: Offices Closed UPDATE

The Navigators US Headquarters: The Navigators Headquarter Building

YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region: All YMCAs will open at 8:30 am, The COS Senior Center will open at 10:00 am.

8:45 p.m. update

Hope Montessori Academy - Chuckwagon: Closed

Hope Montessori Academy - Stetson Hills: Closed

Focus on the Family: Remote Work Day

Security Public Library: Closed

7:45 p.m. update

Closures Wednesday Feb. 2:

Academy District 20: Closed

Calhan RJ1: Closed

Edison 54JT: Closed

Pikes Peak Christian School: Closed

The Colorado Springs School: All classes and activities at The Colorado Springs School have been canceled. eLearning will not take place.

The McClelland School: Closed

The Vanguard School: Closed

Security Public Library: Closed (Effective tomorrow - Wed Feb 2nd)

7:40 p.m. update

Closures Wednesday Feb. 2:

Ellicott 22: 2 Hours Late, No AM preschool

Harrison Dist. 2: Closed More Info Here

Pikes Peak BOCES East (Calhan): Closed

Widefield 3: Closed. No Virtual Learning

CPCD Head Start: Closed

Chavez/Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy: Closed. No E-Learning Day

Divine Redeemer Catholic School: Closed

Fountain Valley School: 10:00 a.m. Start

St. Mary's High School: Closed

The McClelland School: Closed

Upper Arkansas Area Council of Gov.: Closed but operating remotely

First Presbyterian Church : Closed, No AM preschool. All programs Wednesday canceled, campus is closed.

7:30 p.m. update

Closures Wednesday Feb. 2:

Colorado Springs Dist. 11: Closed

Elizabeth Sch. Dist.: Closed

Lewis-Palmer Dist. 38: Closed

Manitou Springs SD 14: Closed

Miami-Yoder Sch. Dist. JT-60: Closed

Pikes Peak BOCES and SOE: Closed

Monument Acad. Charter Sch.: Closed

Thomas MacLaren School: Closed

New Life: Closed, opening 10am Wed, Wed morning prayer canceled

Falcon Baptist Church: No Awana Feb 2nd. Grand Prix will be rescheduled for next week.

6:30 p.m. update

Closures Wednesday Feb. 2:

Colorado Springs Christian Schools: Closed with On-line Instruction Day

St Patrick Catholic Church: Closed. All activities canceled

6:10 p.m. update

Pikes Peak Community College: All campuses will move to remote instruction and work at 8 p.m.

Closures Wednesday Feb. 2:

Evangelical Christian Acad.: All campuses closed

St. John Neumann Catholic School: Closed

Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind: Closed

Woodland Park Re-2: Closed

Handprints Early Education Ctr: Closed

Lake George Charter School: Closed. Traditional snow day. No remote learning.

4:30 p.m. update

Several schools and organizations had by Tuesday afternoon already announced plans for closures or delays Wednesday. Here is the updated list.

The forecast

Colorado Springs and southern El Paso County are under a winter storm warning until Wednesday night by the weather service, which says that the area could receive between 4-8 inches of snow. "The heaviest snow will fall over the western half of El Paso county, including the entire Colorado Springs metro area," it added.

Snow is forecast to start arriving after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

An arctic air mass will move into the region today, bringing unseasonably cold air along with widespread moderate to locally heavy snowfall across the entire region through the end of the work week. #cowx pic.twitter.com/zQ85q0jO95  NWS Pueblo (@NWSPueblo) February 1, 2022

Last month, Colorado Springs received 4.3 inches of snow.

Temperatures are expected to drop to the teens Wednesday, the weather service says. Colorado Springs could see a low of minus-6 degrees that night before temps rise to the 20s on Thursday and 30s on Friday.

The coldest temperatures this week will occur Thursday morning and Friday morning. During these times, area wide sub-zero temperatures and well below zero wind chills are expected over most of southern Colorado. #cowx pic.twitter.com/Xv8x63kQMe  NWS Pueblo (@NWSPueblo) February 1, 2022

Here's the upcoming forecast from the National Weather Service.

Tuesday: Snow likely, mainly after 5 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. East wind 5-10 mph becoming south southeast 10-15 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tuesday night: Snow. Low around 10. Wind chill values between -5 and 5. Southeast wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Wednesday: Snow. High near 17. Wind chill values between -5 and 5. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Wednesday night: A 20 percent chance of snow before 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -4. Wind chill values between -10 and -15. Southeast wind 5-10 mph becoming west after midnight.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 21. West wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 36. West northwest wind 5-10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Here are the snow totals for the Colorado Springs area, according to Gazette news partner KKTV and the National Weather Service in Pueblo, as 
Here are the snow totals for the Colorado Springs area, according to Gazette news partner KKTV and the National Weather Service in Pueblo, as 
North Central Iowa Genealogy will be hosting a meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12. The meeting will be held at the Genealogy Library in the Masonic Temple in Mason City at 75 South Georgia Avenue.
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Hate getting stuck at railroad crossings? Well so does the Mason City Council.

On Tuesday, the council reviewed a proposal to perform a feasibility study on two streets in Mason City. The study will examine the possibility of placing an overpass or underpass at railroad crossings on South Illinois Avenue and South Kentucky Avenue.

"This is not something new, looking at Illinois or Kentucky," Mark Rahm, Mason City engineer, said. "Over the past several years  10 or 15 years  the city has often considered looking at those areas and doing something to provide an access over the railroad."

The reason the project is beginning to pick up steam after so many years of discussion is an increased level of traffic.

"I get pretty regular calls about how difficult the crossing on Kentucky is for residents," Mason City Administrator Aaron Burnett said. "As it continues to develop I think it'll become a larger and larger problem."

Both Burnett and Rahm believe that as the subdivisions located south of the railroad crossing continue to develop, the problem will only get worse.

The problem had gotten to a point where the council chose to make addressing it a goal for the city during its year-end strategic planning session in December of 2021.

Mason City Council reflects, seeks more aggressive goals for 2022 The theme of Wednesday night's strategic planning session was about getting the goals of prior years scratched off the to do list.

South Kentucky Avenue already intersects with the railroad between Ninth Street SE and 13th Street SE, but South Illinois currently does not extend to the railroad.

As part of this project, were it to be undertaken, South Illinois Avenue would be reconnected across the railroad with the portion of the street beginning after 15th Street SE.

Rahm noted that the theoretical intersection at South Illinois Avenue would be best for an overpass crossing, while at South Kentucky Avenue an underpass crossing is likely the better option.

This project would be very similar to those undertaken at 12th Street NW and 19th Street SW, where overpass bridges were created built over railroad crossings, according to Rahm.

To perform the feasibility study, the council reviewed a professional services agreement with WHKS & Co. in an amount not to exceed $58,000. The agreement will be funded by the road-use tax funds.

The council unanimously approved the professional services agreement with WHKS, 5-0 with council member Will Symonds absent.

According to Rahm, entering into a professional services agreement and conducting a feasibility study, would also put the city in a better position to apply for funding for the project.

Rahm highlighted the Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program (ICAAP) as a potential avenue for the city to seek funding. ICAAP awards grants to projects with the highest potential for reducing transportation-related congestion and air pollution. The overpass bridges on 12th Street NW and 19th Street SW were funded partly through ICAAP.

While major strides were taken Tuesday night towards actualizing the project, council member Paul Adams said that the project is likely still a long-term project and won't be completed "in the near future."

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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A 75-year-old man was injured in a single-vehicle crash in rural Rockwell on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities say that Daryl Norman of Hansell was northbound on Highway 65, just south of Rockwell, when road conditions caused him to lose control of his 2007 Ford Ranger, rolling it into the ditch.

Norman, who was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, was taken by ambulance to Franklin County Hospital for evaluation, according to a press release from the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office.

Rockwell-Swaledale EMT, Rockwell Fire Department, Mason City Fire and Ambulance and Franklin County Ambulance assisted at the scene.

The incident remains under investigation.

Lisa Grouette is the Local News Editor and Photographer at the Globe Gazette. Reach her at 641-421-0525 or lisa.grouette@globegazette.com. Follow Lisa on Twitter @LisaGrouette

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When the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2020 data, it confirmed that Iowas population growth has been anemic. Our overall population increased by 4.7%, but the report acknowledged that most of these gains occurred in a few metros and suburbs, while 68 of Iowas 99 counties lost people. In fact, two-thirds of our counties hit their peak population in the 1950s or earlier. To add to our population issues, we are facing the most acute worker shortage in a generation. Eventually, if Iowa employers cant find qualified workers here, they will relocate elsewhere. Thats a sobering fact for those of us that enjoy calling Iowa home.

The Iowa Business Council focuses on efforts that help attract, retain and re-engage a talented workforce. We know addressing important issues such as rural broadband, affordable child care and workforce housing will play a critical role in making our state a better place to live and work. However, there is one major policy initiative that has the potential to accelerate Iowas path to a much stronger future. That opportunity is tax reform.

Iowa currently ranks 38th nationally in overall corporate and individual tax climates. To be more competitive, lawmakers must focus on providing a simple and transparent tax structure that will grow Iowas economy. Governor Reynolds proposed flat tax on individual income would make Iowa one of the 15 most competitive states to live and work in the country. Under the plan, individual rates would start gradually reducing in 2023, culminating in a 4% flat tax for all by 2026.

On the corporate side, the Governors plan provides a pathway to an eventual 5.5% flat tax while codifying specific revenue performance standards and guardrails before reductions can occur. For every fiscal year in which net corporate income tax receipts exceed $700 million, the surplus will be used to lower the top line tax rate for the following year. This is a prudent approach to begin addressing one of Iowas most distressing economic realities. From a corporate rate perspective, only New Jersey and Pennsylvania charge more than we do. This is a major barrier to entry for prospective businesses that might otherwise consider locating in our state and for current Iowa businesses looking to expand.

Taken together, this tax reform proposal is great news for employees and job creators alike. Businesses of all sizes and all individuals will benefit from the new flat tax policies. If enacted, good news like that doesnt stay quiet for long. It will be a major recruitment tool for attracting businesses to Iowa, while ensuring we retain the companies that have kept our communities thriving.

Modernizing our tax system will not only save current residents hard-earned money, it will make Iowa a more attractive place to live and do business. Our state is in a strong economic position. Iowa has a $1 billion budget surplus and $1.2 billion in its taxpayer trust fund. The time is right to advance tax cuts for all Iowans.

Joe Murphy is the executive director of the Iowa Business Council.

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The Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History is now part of the historic U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

Officials announced the museums designation as a site on the trail Tuesday morning inside the museum.

The U.S. Civil Rights Trail debuted in 2018 and includes more than 120 sites  churches, schools, courthouses, museums  across 15 states, mostly in the South.

The sites are places where activists challenged segregation and inequality in the 1950s and 1960s to advance social justice.

The stories of Danvilles civil rights belong to us all, said Elsabe Dixon, the museums executive director, during remarks.

The Sutherlin Mansion, which houses the museum, used to be the Main Street whites only library. It was the site where a group of Black high school students staged a sit-in on April 2, 1960, as a first step toward integration, according to information provided by the museum.

Sixteen Black students entered the library and began working on school assignments. Twenty minutes later, the librarian closed the library and Black teenagers were refused service at the library days later.

The city closed both the whites only Main Street library and the segregated Black library on May 20, 1960. Both libraries were reopened and integrated the following September after a federal court ruling, but the chairs had been removed so patrons could not sit and spend time at the libraries.

In 1971, the city passed a bond referendum that funded construction of a new library  what is now the Ruby B. Archie Public Library  downtown.

The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History started in 1974 and grew to include the Swanson Studio located in the firehouse behind the museum.

Danville played a critical role in the civil rights movement, so we are extremely proud to be added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, Dixon said in a prepared statement. Inclusion and diversity are cornerstones of the Danville museums experience.

Danville is one of three locations in Virginia with sites on the trail. The other sites are in Farmville and Richmond.

The museum applied last summer for inclusion as a site on the trail.

We cannot think of any greater honor for us ... than to to be added to the National Civil Rights Trial, said Justin Ferrell, with the museums executive committee.

Mayor Alonzo Jones, in a letter of support for the application, stated, Danville has made great strides, and I am excited about our future, but we must not forget that our citys heritage also is rich with struggle  a struggle that I believe is significant to the civil rights movement.

During his remarks, Jones added, To be recognized for the critical role this city played in the civil rights movement, and what happened here changed life as we know it, ... Im excited about our future and we must not forget that our citys heritage also is rich with struggle.

Danville is home to some of the most poignant moments that changed the fabric of our nation, said Justin Reid, Director of Community Initiatives for Virginia Humanities and a member of the Virginia Tourism Corporation Board of Directors.

This city is home to some pretty extraordinary stories from people who fought for justice and helped change the course of history, Reid said. So it is only fitting that, today, we honor them by announcing the addition of Danville to the Civil Rights Trail.

Torrey Dixon, who submitted a letter with the museums application for being added to the National Civil Rights Trail, told the Danville Register & Bee on Tuesday morning that it meant a lot to him to see the 16 African Americans recognized.

Its especially meaningful to me because, as a native of Danville and also give then work I was able to do while in school there researching the Civil Rights movement, that of course, had an impact on me, said Dixon, who is now a special deputy attorney general with the state of North Carolina.

U.S. Civil Rights Trail sites must:

Be associated with events that made a significant contribution to the civil rights movement during its height (1950s and 1960s); or

Be associated with the life of a person(s) who was significant in the civil rights movement; or

Embody the distinctive characteristics of a tourism site, including but not limited to being open to the public or public view as a tourist attraction, providing guided or self-guided experiential activities, or displaying a series of commemorative markers that communicate context for the history of the civil rights movement.

Located at 975 Main St. in downtown Danville, the main part of the museum is in what was the Sutherlin Mansion and then the Danville Public Library.

In August 2019, the museum installed the first long-term civil rights timeline available to the public, The Movement: Danvilles Civil Rights.

The exhibition details the events that took place in Danville during the 1960s, the work done by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1958 to establish support and Martin Luther King Jr.s visits to Danville.

Also, the museum features the Camilla Williams exhibition, which highlights the relationship this New York City Opera diva had with her hometown, Danville, and explores the difficult path to fame in a racially divided South during the civil rights protests.

For more information about the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History and its exhibits, visit DanvilleMuseum.org. For more information about the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, visit CivilRightsTrail.com.

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A Tuesday morning fire ravaged a Danville home.

Crews with the Danville Fire Department were called to 868 Valley St. shortly after 9 a.m to find heavy smoke coming from the home, a news release reported.

The blaze started in the basement but quickly engulfed the entire home.

Prior to fire suppression activities the house back-drafted and blew debris onto the ladder truck, fire officials wrote in a news release.

Crews first started fighting the flames from outside because of the intensity. The home suffered extensive damage.

The two occupants werent home when the fire occurred, the fire department reported. No injuries were reported.

The Danville Fire Marshals Office was still investigating the cause late Tuesday evening. Firefighters stayed on the scene for more then fire hours.

The American Red Cross is providing assistance to the occupants.
A local NAACP activist is accusing Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, of threatening violence against him during a meeting about proposed casino legislation, quoting Morrissey as saying: Ill rip your heart out of your chest.

Lafayette Jefferson, the president of the Petersburg chapter of the NAACP, said the threat came during a meeting Monday afternoon inside the office of Del. Kim Taylor, R-Chesterfield, that started off as a constituent meeting about a Morrissey bill that the group opposes.

Jefferson said in an interview that after he expressed opposition to Morrisseys bill, which would let Petersburg voters approve a casino in their locality through a referendum, Morrissey confronted Jefferson about a 2019 Facebook post in which Jefferson compared the senators relationship with his wife to that between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, who was enslaved at Monticello.

Morrissey, in an interview, confirmed he made the threat to Jefferson. He put a posting that referred to my wife being concurrently and continually, and I'm going to spell it because there's a lot of little ears around, [raped], Morrissey said. And I'll repeat it again. If he ever does anything that threatens my wife or children, that's exactly what I'll do.

Capitol Police confirmed they responded to an incident on late Monday afternoon involving a dispute between a lawmaker and a citizen, and that the citizen reported being physically threatened. The incident, the agency said, occurred on the fourth floor, where Taylors office is located.

"Arriving officers determined that an argument had occurred during a meeting that involved a senator, a delegate and a citizen. The citizen alleged that the senator made a statement that the citizen interpreted as a physical threat, said Col. Anthony S. Pike, the Capitol Police chief.

"Capitol Police are continuing to gather information, and the investigation is ongoing."

Taylor declined a request for comment. Another NAACP official who was in the room, Chioma Adaku-Griffin, confirmed Morrisseys threat in a signed account provided to the Richmond Times-Dispatch by Morrisseys office. In the same document, Adaku-Griffin said Jeffersons Facebook post was extremely rude and offensive.

Morrissey was convicted in 2014 for a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor due to his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old law firm assistant who later became his wife. Morrissey and his wife, Myrna, are now raising four children.

Then-Gov. Ralph Northam pardoned Morrissey last month shortly before Northam left office.

By law, Virginia lawmakers cant be prosecuted for crimes while the General Assembly is in session, barring some exceptions, like treason.

Jefferson said the threat by a sitting lawmaker inside a government building violates general decorum and sends a signal to constituents that they should hesitate before lobbying their lawmakers.

Coming from a city lacking good representation, we cannot afford for individuals or organizations from Petersburg to be afraid to approach their state representative with concerns they have, Jefferson said. I want people to know that what he did was wrong and irresponsible.
EDEN  Six people, including two FedEx employees, face charges in what police say was a scheme to trade packages for drugs.

Investigators learned last week that FedEx drivers in the Eden area were possibly trading packages for narcotics instead of delivering them, police said in a news release.

During the investigation, police searched four locations in the city between Thursday and Monday. They recovered more than $10,000 worth of FedEx packages at the four sites, with drugs also found at three of them. The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office assisted in one of the searches.

The following people, all from Eden, have been charged:

 John Paul Southard, 29, a FedEx employee, accessing computers to defraud and larceny by employee, both felonies. Bail set at $7,500. Next court appearance is Feb. 10.

 Robert Earl Wilfong, 55, conspiracy to commit larceny by employee, receiving stolen property, possession of a schedule II-controlled substance, all felonies, and misdemeanor possess drug paraphernalia and animal cruelty. Bail set at $12,500. Next court date is Feb. 9.

 Michelle Leigh Doyle, 50, a Fedex employee, accessing computers to defraud, larceny by employee, and possession of a schedule I controlled substance, all felonies. Bail set at $10,000. Next court date is Feb. 17.

 Christopher Jay Nipper, 38, conspiracy to commit larceny by employee, receiving stolen property and possession of a schedule I-controlled substance, all felonies. Bail set at $10,000. Next court date is Feb. 17.

 Phillip Elon Nipper, 44, aid and abet larceny by employee, a felony. Bail set at $5,000. Next court date is Feb. 17.

 Quantez Deonte Moore, 30, conspiracy to commit larceny by employee and receiving stolen property, both felonies. Bail set at $7,500. Next court date is Feb. 17.
Every day, Ted Anderson sits on his porch and watches the American flag that Wayne Jenkins and his sons planted in his front yard nearly a year ago.

It puts a sense of pride in my life, said the 76-year-old Vietnam veteran. When I get up in the mornings and look out and see the flag, it reminds me of what the flag is all about. I sit here drinking my coffee and think about all these soldiers that lost their lives in this war.

Anderson credits being in the Air Force in 1966 while in Vietnam as the reason he returned home when many other Americans gave their lives.

It was tough on the Marines and the Army over there.

Neighbors, Donna and David Zimmerman, also a Vietnam veteran, had Jenkins install their flag first and that whetted Andersons interest.

Flags For Our Fathers got me more interested in the flag, he noted.

To landscape his flag, Anderson planted camellias, ornamental shrubbery, and small flags around it.

Its going to be beautiful in three or four years, he said. I had a big time working around it last summer when I was able.

Five flags now fly along the gravel road where the two men live.

Anderson was so proud of his, he had Jenkins put one in the yard of his neighbor, Brandon Bledsoe. Bledsoes daughter, Abigail, was responsible for raising the flag at her school every day so Anderson wanted her to have her own.

Whats so pretty about is the flag is when the wind blows, Anderson said. The wind and flag work hand in hand. A lot of people dont realize what the flag is all about. The ones that came home are lucky to be here. So many thousands didnt.

I probably appreciate it more now than I ever have, Anderson said. Its not just a flag ... Its what all has gone behind it. Its about the heroes that didnt make it.

Since planting the first flag last March, Marine Veteran Jenkins has planted 32 others in the yards of veterans throughout the county through Flags For Our Fathers.

I am just grateful for the honor to serve others, said Jenkins, who was deployed to Iraq in 2004-2005.

So many organizations do a lot for people after they die, he said. I wanted to do something to honor veterans that they can enjoy every day while they are still living. Something to give them hope and inspiration.

While researching a project for veterans, Jenkins realized many did not have flags at their homes. He established Flags For Our Fathers, and reached out to veterans who wanted a flag. Some veterans have older flag poles in need of repair or replacement, which Jenkins does. He also provides them new flags in some instances when the only thing needing replacement is an old, tattered one.

Ronnie Pehowic of Browns Summit was Jenkins first recipient of a flag. Pehowic, who served in Vietnam, is disabled due to Agent Orange and other issues arising from his time in the Army, Jenkins said. Not only did Pehowic help set up his 22-foot flag pole, but he assisted Jenkins in installing them for other veterans, despite being wheelchair-bound.

Planting each flag costs about $85, Jenkins said, noting they are set in an 80-pound concrete form that he preforms and plants at his home before taking the flag to a veteran.

I let them fly at home for a couple of days to make sure everything is okay, he explained, adding he disassembles the flag and loads it in his truck. At his destination, Jenkins digs a hole and plants the pole, often as the veteran and/or their family watch, helping when they are able.

Once the pole is installed, the Jenkins family leads the veteran and their friends and family in a short ceremony, including the Pledge of Allegiance and/or the National Anthem as the vet raises his or her flag for the first time.

It is not unusual for the veterans to be emotional, said Jenkins, who has made Rockingham County his residence since purchasing a house in Wentworth in 2008. He was born in Seattle, Wash., enlisting in the Marines in 1992 after graduating from high school. When discharged in 1998, Jenkins became a heavy equipment technician with Caterpillar Inc. in Raleigh.

In 2004, Jenkins re-enlisted so he could serve in Iraq. He still uses the laptop he carried throughout his time in the war zone.

Since Jenkins final duty station was at Camp LeJeune, he remained in the area, taking a job in 2006 with an Ohio company traveling and servicing office equipment in North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, one of his customers operated his sign business out of a mothers cottage on his Wentworth property. While servicing the equipment, Jenkins learned the property was on the market.

I thought it would be a perfect place to raise a family so I went ahead and snatched it up, he said.

Shortly after he and the former Kayren Lance of Greenville, S.C . married, they began fostering children in 2009. A year later, they adopted two sisters, Amonie, now 15, and Anna, 17.

During that same period, the couple opened Waycup Coffee shop in the newly built shopping strip at the N.C. 87 and 65 intersection.

Their family grew again a year later as they fostered, then adopted, twins, Lance and Alan, now 11, bringing them home from the hospital after their births.

The couple closed the coffee shop in 2011, a year after Wayne began working as an office equipment technician for Kelly Office Solutions in Winston-Salem.

He recently resigned to become a driver for Millis Trucking out of Eden.

Jenkins is a life member of the VFW, and belongs to the American Legion and AL Riders Group. He also served with the Rockingham County Honor Guard.

Each Christmas since 2009, he and his family participate in numerous activities collecting donations for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots.

In the summer of 2019, Jenkins joined Walking Marine Terry Sharpe on his 300-mile trek to the White House to raise awareness for the number of veterans who commit suicide each day.

The flag is something everyone can relate to especially service members. Jenkins explained about his project. Its a symbol of what they fought for and something I can do on my own.
DANVILLE, Va.  Sovah Health is treating more COVID-19 patients this week despite a slight decline in the overall infection rate in Danville and Pittsylvania County, exasperating an already strained health care system operating at capacity.

On Friday, there were 70 people undergoing treatment for COVID-19 across facilities in Danville and Martinsville, a 16% jump in a week and nearing the all-time high of 75 patients in mid-January last year.

A pause on elective and non-emergent procedures  originally planned for 14 days  will enter a fourth week Monday after officials evaluated the current capacity at the Danville campus, Dr. Sheranda Gunn-Nolan, market chief medical officer, told the Register & Bee on Friday.

As we have shared before, hospital capacity is fluid and changes rapidly, she said, referencing an ongoing increase in emergency room visits. Sovah Health-Danville continues to operate at or near the top of capacity, she said.

Sometimes this means the facility goes on whats known as diversion, a situation first brought to light during the delta wave of the pandemic. This means a hospital isnt able to accept any patients for admission, however they will care for emergency situations and try to stabilize a patient.

Gunn-Nolan stressed this shouldnt be a sign for residents to avoid coming to the hospital if they need critical care.

We implore our patients: do not delay emergency care, she wrote in an email Friday. Community members experiencing a medical emergency should still call 9-1-1 or always go to their nearest emergency room.

However, if a situation isnt life-threatening, the hospital asks individuals to go to an urgent care clinic or a primary care providers. This will allow the ER staff to focus on the most critical needs, she said.

In one week, the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District added 1,200 new cases of COVID-19, data from the Virginia Department of Health shows.

A dip suggests the peak of the omicron wave may have past, but it also shows daily cases are still 42% higher now than during the 2021 wave before vaccines were readily available to the public.

In Pittsylvania County, more than half of the people who take a COVID-19 test yield a positive result. Known as the positivity rate, its a way health experts gauge the pandemics impact on the local community. At 53%, the countys rate is among the highest in the nearly three-year-long pandemic.

Danvilles figure  45%  also is at record levels. By comparison, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention views a figure above 5% to indicate the virus is spreading uncontrolled in a community.

Wearing face masks properly and socially distancing are important to reducing the spread of the virus, Heather Conner, a COVID-19 District Epidemiologist with the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, said. This variant is highly infectious, so it is not possible to say one particular variable is causing the spread and surge in cases.

Because of the extreme number of cases, the Virginia Department of Health has ceased contact tracing individual cases. That practice involves getting a list of close contacts from someone whos tested positive for COVID-19 and alerting those people theyve been exposed to the virus.

Instead, health officials will focus on outbreaks and infections in high-risk settings.

The omicron variant accounts for nearly all of new cases, health officials report.

Outbreaks

An outbreak at Piney Forest Health and Rehabilitation Center reported Jan. 20 has infected 26 people. A dozen cases are related to an outbreak reported to health officials Jan. 11 at Chatham Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Thanks in part to high vaccination  and booster  rates among facility employees and residents, the rate of hospitalization is much lower compared to the delta wave, health officials said.

Some residents, although testing positive for COVID-19, show no symptoms.

In all, six new outbreaks with 345 cases were added in the last week. Two of those were in congregate settings, a catch-all category that includes everything from businesses to community events. The figure marks the highest weekly jump in outbreak cases for the district.

Deaths

Three new deaths were recorded this week in the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, but the fatalities likely occurred at least weeks ago. Thats because the health department uses a strict process to verify a death was caused by COVID-19.

The new deaths  one woman and two men  involved a person in his or her 50s and two people in their 70s.

Deaths are known as a lagging indicator in the pandemic. At total of 363 residents of Danville and Pittsylvania County have died of COVID-19 since the first local fatality was reported in March 2020.

Vaccinations

Vaccination remains the key strategy to avoiding/minimizing illness or its serious consequences, said Dr. Scott Spillmann, the director of the local health district.

However, only half of residents in Danville and Pittsylvania County are considered fully vaccinated and only about 1-in-5 have received a booster.
Human Rights Activists to Protest and Sit-in at NBC Headquarters in New York City, Calling for Them NOT to Broadcast the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games Because of China's Human Rights Abuses and Uyghur Genocide

Reverend Mahoney Being Arrested in Tiananmen Square During the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution

Feb. 2, 2022



NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- By broadcasting the 2022 Beijing Olympics worldwide, NBC is complicit in China's genocide and human rights abuses.



The protest/sit-in will be on Saturday, February 5, 12:00 PM at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.



The protest is part of a global campaign called, #LeastWatchedOlympics , with the goal of making the 2022 Beijing Winter Games the least watched Olympics in history.



This unique global #LeastWatchedOlympics boycott is being organized by Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution, a women's advocacy and educational group that works on issues of human rights and justice which empower and inspire women. It is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare which has life-affirming women's health clinics in America and internationally.



This campaign gives people the opportunity to make the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics the least watched Olympics in history, while sending a powerful message to the Chinese government that the world stands against China's tragic human rights abuses and Uyghur genocide.



#LeastWatchedOlympics will encourage athletes, human right's organizations, faith leaders, politicians, world leaders, citizens, people of good will, celebrities, and political and religious dissidents to participate in this global Olympic boycott.



It is unconscionable for NBC to broadcast the Beijing Games while China is committing genocide against the Uyghrus, oppressing Hong Kong, bulldozing churches, persecuting all religious minorities and trampling free speech and human rights against their own citizens.



Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Chief Strategy Officer for Stanton Public Policy Center has been an outspoken critic of the human rights abuses in China for over 40 years. In 2008, he was involved in an effort to boycott the Beijing Summer Olympics and was arrested in Tiananmen Square (pictured above) during the Olympics speaking out for human rights. He was threatened with six months in prison and is currently banned from China.



Rev. Mahoney states; "It is unconscionable for NBC to broadcast the Beijing Olympic Games while China is committing genocide against the Uyghrus, oppressing Hong Kong, bulldozing churches, persecuting religious minorities and crushing free speech and human rights against their own citizens.



"By broadcasting the 2022 Beijing Olympics worldwide, NBC is complicit in China's genocide and human rights abuses.



"We call upon NBC not to give the Chinese Communist Party an international propaganda platform before billions of people worldwide for a China that does not exist. The 'real China' is one that the government would never allow NBC to broadcast. That is, a country where Uyghurs are living in concentration and forced labor camps and facing genocide, Hong Kong democracy leaders are sitting in prison with no bail, Christian Churches are bulldozed, while political and religious dissidents are daily being brutalized and persecuted.



"As the global community participates in the #LeastWatchedOlympics campaign, we are sending a clear message to the Chinese government we stand against China's human rights abuses and will not be a part of the CCP's attempt to use the Olympic Games as a propaganda tool.



"Simply stated, our goal is to make the 2022 Beijing Winter Games the least watched Olympics in history." Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center, adds, "NBC must stand against the human rights abuses of the Chinese government toward their own people. This is especially true concerning the brutalization of Uyghur women. They are facing genocide, forced pregnancy checks, medication that prevents menstruation, forced abortions, surgical sterilizations, rape and genocide. It is imperative that America and the free nations of the world publicly confront these attacks.



"In response to these horrific atrocities, Stanton Public Policy Center is launching the global campaign called #LeastWatchedOlympics. It will send a clear message to the Chinese government that the world stands in solidarity with Uyghur women and all those who are being brutalized in China, as we refuse to participate in the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. We call upon NBC to join with us." For more information or interviews call

Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741



SOURCE Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution



CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741



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REIDSVILLE  Dr. Joe Guarino of Reidsville Occupational & Urgent Care spoke to members of the Reidsville Kiwanis Club during their Jan. 27 meeting and stressed how vaccines for COVID-19 can prevent hospitalizations and deaths.

Guarino gave a power point presentation that detailed the nature of COVID-19, and highlighted the number of lives COVID-19 has claimed thus far in North Carolina. The states population is 10.7 million and 0.19% of residents have died from the novel coronavirus in the past 22 months since the start of the global pandemic.

One of his charts showed the infection and fatality rates by sex and age groups, revealing that people age 80 and up having the highest number of deaths with men at 10.825% and women at 5.759%. Rates were also high for those age 65 to 79 in N.C., he said.

Dr. Guarino described a problem he said is occuring nationwide called patient abandonment when physicians will not allow patients to come into their offices for fear of their COVID symptoms. Guarino said there is some bias against necessary early treatment of COVID-19, too.

He pointed out that other countries, far less advanced than the U.S., are doing a much better job with treatment of the disease.

His presentation included details about the positive and negative things known about available vaccines, and stressed that vaccination and boosters can prevent hospitalizations and deaths, especially for those with risk factors, such as advanced age, underlying medical conditions and a suppressed immune system.

The doctor stressed seeking treatment early because many deaths are preventable with early intervention. Still a problem for the nation: many COVID-19 cases go unreported, he said, saying there are still some dark days ahead.

The Reidsville Kiwanis Club meets each Thursday at noon at the Main St. Methodist Church Fellowship Hall with food catered by Cafe 99. Visitors are always welcome.
REIDSVILLE  An veteran fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, Elnora Neal, reached her record high in 2021 by single-handedly garnering $10,255.

The 93-year-old Neal, who began fundraising for the cancer group 17 years ago, was born in Reidsville but moved north as a young woman to pursue her dreams of entrepreneurship. She owned several businesses before returning home.

Neal had lost four very close relatives to cancer within three years: her father, two sisters and a brother.

She began work with the ACS as a captain fundraiser when her then-pastor, the Rev. Thurman Pinnix, seeing how cancer had personally touched her family, suggested she join the fundraising efforts.

Tenacity like Neals is needed in fundraising, for cancer is on the rise in the U.S. with 1.6 million cases diagnosed per year and about 600,000 deaths annually. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the nation, second to heart disease.

In North Carolina, an estimated 65,320 people will be diagnosed with cancer in the Tar Heel State during 2022 with a forecast of 20,480 deaths this year, according to the state Department of Health and Human Servcies.

Neals approach to raising funds is direct and it involves homemade cakes.

Neal composes a letter asking for donations that she mails at her expense to relatives, friends, and businesses. Sometimes she follows up with telephone calls and occasionally visits to talk about how ACA is funding cancer research and resources for patients.

When she first began, she set a donation amount that would qualify donors for one of her delicious cakes. And for many years, Neal baked cakes too numerous to count as rewards for her patrons.

Her work has gone rewarded with 5 plaques from the ACA recognizing her outstanding fundraising efforts.

Dedicated volunteers like Mrs. Neal are the reason the American Cancer Society is able to continue to fulfill its mission to save lives from cancer, said Danielle Sowell, senior development manager for the ACSs Southeast Region in Charlotte.

Her efforts over the years have made such an incredible impact on the lives of those touched by this terrible disease, and were so grateful for her continued support.

Neal said she would like to express her sincerest gratitude to every donor that has supported her efforts.

She finds her work in raising money for the American Cancer Society very rewarding and says she never tires of talking to people about her cause. because shes fueled by her desire to see a cure for cancer and determined to work toward that cure.
RALEIGH

Perhaps we should follow the science and abolish North Carolinas pre-kindergarten program.

After all, the largest and most-sophisticated scientific evaluation ever attempted of a statewide pre-K program has just reported its latest findings  and they are damning. The pre-K program run by our neighboring state of Tennessee doesnt just fail to accomplish its stated goal of improving academic and behavioral outcomes. It actually seems to worsen those outcomes.

That is, children who attended Tennessees pre-K program have lower scores and worse behavior by the time they reach the sixth grade than do otherwise comparable children who didnt attend pre-K. At least for poor children, it turns out that something is not better than nothing, said one of the evaluators, Vanderbilt University professor Dale Farran. The kinds of pre-K that our poor children are going into are not good for them long term.

Okay, then. If we abolished North Carolinas pre-K and related programs, that would save us hundreds of millions of dollars a year while also protecting our children from potential long-term harm.

If you find my conclusion implausible and my recommendation outrageous, your brain may well be on overdrive coming up with questions about the Tennessee studys design, validity, and relevance to North Carolina. Good for you! Readers ought to greet any sweeping claim of scientific authority with caution. A skeptical mind is a healthy mind, as long as the skepticism doesnt dissolve into cynicism or conspiratorial thinking.

For example, you might point to previous studies that show positive associations between preschool intervention and outcome measures for at-risk students. Those studies certainly do exist, and many policymakers have found them persuasive in the past. Thats one of the main reasons North Carolina, Tennessee, and other states adopted preschool programs of various kinds over the past three decades. Its why many progressive activists and Democratic politicians have spent years trying to enact universal pre-K nationwide, most recently as part of the Biden administrations now-defunct Build Back Better legislation.

Nearly all prior studies, however, fall into one of two categories. The first is observational. The researchers assemble publicly available data and try to tease out the effects of preschool interventions by holding variables such as family structure and income constant and then looking for statistical correlations between, say, preschool spending and subsequent student performance.

The other, more-valuable kind of study is experimental. Researchers identify a group of needy preschoolers and then pick at random only some of those children to attend the pre-K program in question. The others comprise the control group. By tracking all the children as they proceed through school and beyond, researchers look for persistent differences between the two groups.

The multi-year Tennessee study is experimental, not observational. Two factors set it apart from prior experiments, however. One is its sheer scale. Most long-term studies of preschool intervention involve small groups of students attending a single program or set of programs. They are essentially laboratory experiments, providing interesting information but not necessarily assessing what would really happen if a promising idea were scaled up to a statewide program.

The other distinguishing factor is the Tennessee studys recency. Some of the most-powerful findings in the preschool-intervention literature come from tiny experiments that began in the 1960s or 1970s. Both safety-net programs and the market for day care look very different today than they did back then. As Grover Whitehurst, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, once observed, concluding that findings from these studies demonstrate that current and contemplated state pre-K programs will have similar effects is akin to believing that an expansion of the number of U.S. post offices today will spur economic development because there is some evidence that constructing post offices 50 years ago had that effect.

Now, I dont really think North Carolina policymakers should or will respond to the Tennessee study by abolishing our pre-K programs. But should we vastly expand them, as progressives routinely demand?

No. That wouldnt be following the science.

John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member and author.
WASHINGTON  Todays Federal Reserve illustrates this axiom: When a government entity cannot, or would rather not, adequately perform its primary function, or when it feels that its primary function is insufficiently grand, the agency will expand its mission, thereby distracting attention from its core inadequacy.

Next Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee will hold confirmation hearings for two presidential nominees to the Federal Reserve Board  Lisa Cook, to a seat on the Feds Board of Governors, and Sarah Bloom Raskin, to be vice chair of the board for bank supervision and regulation. Both would ratify the current Feds penchant for mission creep  actually, mission gallop. The Senate should tell both to express their abundant political passions through more suitable institutions.

Cook is a Michigan State University professor whose peer-reviewed academic writings pertinent to monetary policy are, to be polite, thin. The White House noted that she is on the Board of the Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She was put there two weeks before Biden proposed promoting her. But she strokes progressivisms erogenous zones: She appears to favor racial reparations. And, evidently, defunding the police: When a University of Chicago economist criticized this idea in 2020, she termed the criticism racial harassment for which he should be fired as editor of the Journal of Political Economy and denied access to students.

Putting Cook on the Feds board would be a travesty akin to President George W. Bushs 2005 nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. Raskin, of the Duke University School of Law, has different monomania: climate risk threatening the financial system.

Does she mean huge, abrupt and unpredicted weather events that will (herewith the flavor of her rhetoric) flatten the economy and grind it to dust? Or decadeslong climate changes that she knows the system cannot adapt to?

As part of a broader reimagining of the economy, the professor favors starving traditional energy companies that are hungry for credit: She advocated making fossil fuel companies ineligible for participation in the lending overseen by the Fed under the 2020 Cares Act. She anticipates climate risk data guiding the Feds asset purchases. And she hopes for reimagined fiduciary duty rules. And capital allocation toward government-approved, non-carbon, non-fossil fuel investments. There are many definitions of socialism, but its essence always is government, meaning political, allocation of capital.

As the Fed in Washington wades waist-deep into politics, trickle-down politicization spreads into its regional banks. For example, Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, is campaigning for an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that would create a fundamental right to a quality education and declare it a paramount duty of the state to ensure quality public schools.

This is not partisan politics because it does not involve support for a particular party, but it is politics, for two reasons: It involves a policy agenda of public spending. And its patent motivation is to shift political power away from Minnesotas legislature, toward courts that, by defining the word quality, would impose policies, thereby elbowing aside the legislature.

Kashkaris agitating for the amendment violates the Minneapolis banks code of conduct, which says that although an employee may participate or may become involved in issues of general public concern or debate, the employees association with the Bank must not be publicized in connection with any political activity. The Minneapolis Feds website proclaims the bank a partner of those campaigning for the amendment, which would enable lawsuits through which courts can construe quality public education as something requiring more money than the legislature is appropriating.

A Minneapolis Fed spokesperson blithely says Minnesotas educational disparities are unacceptable because they impede the Feds mandate to achieve maximum employment. There you have it: The Fed, having slipped the leash of its primary job  to preserve the currency as a store of value  now claims a roving commission to do whatever it wants.

The Federal Reserve is an admirable reservoir of talent: Its economists constitute one of the worlds finest economic faculties. Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell should be mortified that political activists like Raskin and Cook are being insinuated into the Feds operations. And that Kashkari, who was once California Republicans gubernatorial nominee, feels free to bend the Fed to his political activities.

When you ask for trouble, the world often obliges. Powell has invited trouble by sailing the Fed obedient to the winds of Washington fashion. Under him, the Fed is becoming the governments Swiss Army knife  an all-purpose tool. But with too many purposes to do its primary job adequately.

George Wills email address is georgewill@washpost.com.
GREENSBORO  N.C. Supreme Court Associated Justice Anita Earls  a possible U.S. Supreme Court pick for President Joe Biden  told a gathering at N.C. A&T on Tuesday she has seen an erosion of civil rights legal victories over her career.

Weve increasingly returned to a system where the legal system is used to reinforce private acts of discrimination, the former civil rights attorney said.

Earls recorded a video message for A&Ts annual sit-in movement anniversary celebration, which was held in the Deese Ballroom at the student center.

The celebration marks Feb. 1, 1960, the day four Black A&T students sat down at the downtown Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter that the store had limited to white people. Their action drew in many other protesters and sparked a national sit-in movement that energized the larger civil rights struggle.

Joseph McNeil, one of the four A&T students that started the sit-in, was among those attending Tuesdays campus event.

Earls served as keynote speaker this year after having received one of the universitys highest honors, its Human Rights Medal, during last years Feb. 1 celebration.

Before joining the court, Earls was a civil rights attorney for 30 years in private practice in Charlotte, in the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice during Bill Clintons presidency, and at the UNC Center for Civil Rights at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2007, she founded and served as executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a legal advocacy nonprofit in Durham, where she lives.

A Democrat, Earls was elected to the N.C. Supreme Court in 2018 for an eight-year term that ends in 2026.

The Yale Law graduate has told other news organizations she is honored to be considered for the U.S. Supreme Court position, but did not bring up the topic in her speech Tuesday.

Biden promised during his presidential campaign that he would nominate a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court if a seat came open during his term. He made that pledge again last week after Justice Stephen Breyer announced he is stepping down at the end of the courts current term.

Some national news outlets, such as the Washington Post and National Public Radio, have reported Earls is one of the Black women Biden is considering, though their coverage has focused more on three other possible picks.

Earls told Tuesdays audience that shed learned about the sit-in movement during her time as an undergraduate at Williams College in Massachusetts. She said it inspired her to go on a hunger strike and to sit-in at her colleges administration building as part of a movement calling for divestment from South Africa during apartheid.

A&Ts celebration Tuesday was titled: 62 Years in the Making: Increasing Our Stride. Earls suggested that in thinking about increasing stride, it makes sense to figure out whether you are going in the right direction.

We have to be striding toward a society where everybody is treated as a human being, she said.

She said as a law student, her goals were to, advance the law and improve the law.

But she said that in her 30 years as a practicing civil rights attorney, she found herself playing defense, trying to sustain the gains that other civil rights attorneys had made during their careers.

What I saw was that I was just trying to push against efforts to dismantle those precedents, she said.

Earls listed three trends she sees as impeding legal progress toward everyone being treated as equal humans.

One, she said, is a failure of legal doctrines to fully recognize how laws or policies can be discriminatory in how they impact a group of people, even if they are not written with the express purpose of discriminating.

Second, she said, is a failure to recognize discrimination against people on the basis of lack of wealth.

Lastly, she described what she sees as the legal system reverting toward protecting private discrimination.

I think we should drop this distinction between what the government does and what private businesses, individuals, and institutions might do, that if we are discriminating on the basis of race, that should not be enforced by the legal system, she said.

She said one example of past private racial discrimination is the Woolworth whites-only lunch counter policy. The sit-ins, she said, brought national attention to it, and helped people wake up to the harm going on.

We increase our stride when we make injustice visible, she said. Whether we do that through culture, through arts, through lawsuits, through public advocacy, I think everyone in this room can probably very creatively think of a way that they can identify injustices they see occurring and think of ways to make them visible.

Contact Jessie Pounds at 336-373-7002 and follow @JessiePounds on Twitter.

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Melissa Montalvo is a reporter with The Fresno Bee and a Report for America corps member. This article is part of The California Divide, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequity and economic survival in California.

Fresno Bee/Fresnoland reporter Cassandra Garibay contributed to this story.
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The warplanes of the Turkish occupation launched 15 air raids on the Sengal area, and the bombing is still going on, and on the Mexmour refugee camp in Southern Kurdistan(Basur)

Drones are also hovering over the skies of the Kobani and Al-Shahba cantons and the outskirts of the occupied Afrin canton.

The Turkish bombing of Sengal, northern and eastern Syria, and the Mexmur refugee camp came in conjunction with the announcement of the defeat of ISIS mercenaries who launched an attack on the city of Hasaka on January 20.

The co-chair of the Democratic Green Party, Luqman Ahmi, explained in a statement to our agency, commenting on the attacks of the Turkish occupation state, that the Turkish occupation state is now taking revenge on ISIS mercenaries who were defeated in Hasaka, and said: "It is known to everyone that the Turkish occupation state and wherever ISIS is defeated, it takes revenge on them."

Luqman Ahmi stressed that Turkish policy has become well known and the international community should know well that Turkey does not want ISIS mercenaries to be defeated, and said: "Turkey is now launching attacks against everyone who defeated ISIS. Turkey is resentful of ISIS' recent defeat."

'Turkey is well aware that the our resistance is an obstacle to its plan'

Ahmi noted that Turkey has a plan to revive the Ottoman Empire through ISIS mercenaries, and said:Turkey is well aware that the resistance of the people of the region stands as an obstacle to its ISIS-Ottoman scheme."

Luqman Ahmi explained that the main goal of the Turkish attacks is to revive ISIS, and said: "Our people should realize well that defeating ISIS means defeating Turkey, and Turkey will not stand idly by. Therefore, all of our people must rally around our military and security forces and deter Turkish attacks, as the Turkish attacks have been defeated." ISIS for the second time in a row.

Luqman Ahmi stressed the need for public opinion in the world to rise up to deter the Turkish attacks, because countries are weak in this matter as a result of their international interests. He said, "All our people must take the principle of revolutionary war as the basis for their struggle from now on."

A

ANHA
Yesterday evening, the Turkish occupation army launched large- scale of attacks by using warplanes and UAVs on the areas of Deirk and al-Shahba in North and East Syria and the Shengal regions, and the Rustam Judi Refugee Camp in Southern Kurdistan, which coincided with the announcement of the defeat of ISIS in the attack on al-Hasakah Sinaa Prison on January, by heroic resistance by Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, Internal Security Forces, ISF.

ANHAs held an interview with the co-chair of the Movement for Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), Ghraib Hesso, talking about the repeated attacks on NE, Syria, Mexmur (Maxmur) and Shengal, and linked these attacks to the failure ISIS in Sinaa Prison in al-Hasakah City, the great victory that had been achieved by SDF and NE, Syria peoples in Peoples Hammer Campaign, and defeat ISIS again, that shocked Turkey of inflicting harsh blows with Turkish occupation and its schemes.

"The defeat of ISIS revealed the papers and secrets of the Turkish occupation and its allies one by one."

At the outset of its occupation on NE, Syria, Turkish occupation army has expanded its brutal attacks on ground and air attacks on the area, but last night it intensified them on the areas of al-Shahba, the villages of Deirk and Mexmur (Maxmur), as well as on Shengal, which have been subjected to a series of raids. All this shows that they are trying to avenge the defeat of ISIS.

The Turkish occupying state has not assumed the strength of the will of the peoples of NE, Syria, in particular the components of the al-Hasakah region. It has therefore launched and continued brutal attacks on the region.

Hesso added, "Everyone knows that Turkey is a member of NATO, but unfortunately we see that a NATO country is helping ISIS mercenaries, supporting mercenaries to launch an attack on Sinaa Prison to sabotage ISIS leadership from prison, expanding its attacks on the region, but their scheme has failed."

He explained Turkey's audacity in continuing its crimes against the people of the region: "The leaders of the Global Coalition and NATO have never held Turkey accountable for its crimes. On the one hand, it is a member of NATO and on the other, it supports mercenaries." Hesso stressed that Turkey should be held accountable for its crimes, particularly after the attacks on al-Hasakah Sinaa Prison. "Turkey must be tried for this because it commits massacres against the people of the region."

Hesso explained that the Turkish occupation is trying to exploit its attacks in various ways. It is trying to retaliate against ISIS and damage and besiege the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).

Ghraib Hesso appealed to the people of North and East Syria to join forces to counter the occupation attacks: "Like the Movement for Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), we call upon our people in North and East Syria to hold a united position in the face of these attacks. Just as the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Internal Security Forces supported us to thwart the ISIS attack, in the spirit of this victory and in the spirit of 121 martyrs, we will address these attacks in order to preserve our gains.

T/S

ANHA
" " Many members of San Francisco's South End Rowing Club swim to Alcatraz and back regularly. Tony Gilbert (not pictured) has been swimming in the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay for 11 years. Frederic Larson/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

It's a brisk morning at the sandy shore of San Francisco Bay. Goosebumps cover Tony Gilbert's body, bare except for his uniform of a pair of swim trunks, swim cap, earplugs and goggles. He wades into 46-degree Fahrenheit (7-degree Celsius) water and swims out into the murky bay. He returns to shore 40 minutes later, exhilarated.

Gilbert isn't a former Olympian swimmer. He's not part of a super-athlete team, though he knows swimmers like that. He's a hobby cold-water swimmer. For 11 years he's been doing it, and he's never looked back.

"It's really cold! But we wouldn't do it if it wasn't fun. It's invigorating really!" Gilbert says. "You're taking a bite out of life. The first few minutes are still the worst, then you get going, the endorphins kick in, and you love it."

Gilbert is one of the brave members of the South End Rowing Club, founded in 1873, who regularly take dips in the frigid bay  for fun. The waters, by the way, average around 56 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius).

These swims aren't a one-off of the polar plunge; they're regular events for the group. Gilbert's swims range from 20 to 40 minutes, but he swims as long as 90 minutes. Curious onlookers might wonder how he doesn't experience hypothermia, or why he enjoys swimming in such cold waters?

Turns out that the human body has evolved to take on some pretty helpful tools to acclimate to different kinds of cold stress. In fact, some of those acclimations to cold stress might even help prevent diseases like Type 2 diabetes.

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Getting in the Habit of Being Cold

As we mentioned, our bodies have evolved to get used to cold temperatures when necessary. There are three ways our bodies cope with cold:

cold habituation : reduction in response to cold; higher skin temperatures metabolic adaptations: creating heat by responses like shivering insulative adaptations: conserving heat via things like fat layers

Habituation is the most common response to cold found in humans. This is what most of us experience any time we are out in the cold repeatedly because it doesn't have to be lengthy. We experience habituation even on a cold freezing morning, during a 10-minute dash to the local cafe for a cortado.

Habituations are like memorization. Instead of wasting valuable bodily energy sending up red flag neurons to your central nervous system every time your body is exposed to the same cold event, it remembers it and responds less. You won't shiver as much and your body gets used to the temp and keeps the skin on extremities, like our hands, warmer for longer.

That's why the more Gilbert swims, the longer his sessions can be, over time. Even after 11 years of swimming, though, it always takes a few minutes for him to get comfortable in the water, he says. "Of the hundreds of swims I've had, still to this day, the first few minutes in that cold water is the worst, and I have initial doubts. But you stay in, and you get used to it. Then after about five to 10 minutes, it's like a runner's high; you're euphoric."

"Getting used to it" is one way to describe that the body notices the stimuli  in this case cold temperature  isn't going away and adjusts.

Even the best, most adjusted swimmers get too cold and must stop when their body tells them it's time. "Your body keeps warm at the core, so your extremities can get cold, especially your fingers or toes," Gilbert explains. "On longer swims, you'll even see some people get a 'claw hand,' or some people get numb in the lips for a few minutes and slur their words when they get out of the water."

Vasoconstriction, another habituation mechanism, is what causes claw hands when blood supply is drawn away from the body's extremities to conserve heat. But a swimmer can't adjust to swimming long lengths in the cold waters of the bay on their first trip; it also requires a process of acclimation.

" " A quick polar plunge like this one in Chicago in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan doesn't require acclimation the way cold-water swimming like Gilbert does in the San Francisco Bay. Scott Liebenson/Flickr/(CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Acclimation vs. Adaptation

Acclimation and adaptation are often used interchangeably; however, they're not the same. Acclimation is a slow, physiological change to the body that allows it to handle a different environment  in this case cold temperatures. Acclimation can take place over a few days, weeks or even months. Adaptation, however, is the genetic process by which an entire population must change to accommodate environmental factors. Adaption can take generations to develop.

After years of swimming in the Bay, Gilbert's body has acclimatized and now he can go on swims for more than an hour. If he had tried that on his first go, he could have died from hypothermia.

"You have to be regular, consistent with cold water swimming, to stay acclimated," Gilbert explains. A fellow swimmer who leads a clinic for beginners, got Gilbert hooked on cold swimming. "She said you have to swim two to three days a week to stay acclimated. And the few times I did have a break or fall off schedule, I would start back at square one, start with a short 10-minute swim one day, then the next day try 15, 20, and then back to 30 or 45 minutes," Gilbert says.

Acclimation happens when our body's core temperature is driven down for a prolonged period of time, repeatedly. That's when we see more long-term insulative adaptations (better blood flow, fat layers) that help our bodies conserve heat.

Within the recent decades, scientists have discovered that there's a very special kind of fat that is responsible for keeping our bodies warm, especially in repeated cold stress. Brown fat.

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Brown Fat: The Fireplace in Your Body

Brown adipose tissue  aka brown fat or BAT  is the kind of fat that you want on your body because it helps maintain body temperature. Zhiqiang Lin, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the Masonic Medical Research Institute (MMRI) in Utica, New York. The goal of the "Lin Lab" is to study the genetic programs that control brown fat growth and function.

"Brown fat refers to brown adipose tissue that consumes fatty acids for heat production," says Lin, who helped develop new technology for studying brown fat. "Compared to white fat (white adipose tissue), brown fat cells have more mitochondria and less lipid contents. Brown fat serves as a fireplace in our body to keep us warm."

Brown fat transfers energy from food into heat, which is why it plays an important part in keeping our bodies warm.

Some scientists argue that brown fat evolved early on in mammals, and helped give us a leg up from other species. Human babies are born with a lot of brown fat, to protect them from cold at birth, but it's cold stress that builds up BAT in adults.

"Regular cold stress may increase innervation in brown fat and skeletal muscles," Lin explains. "Therefore, individuals regularly exposed to cold (such as winter swimmers) have higher heat generation efficiency than normal healthy individuals."

Not only does brown fat help keep people exposed to cold stress warmer, but recent studies also suggest it plays a role in maintaining our metabolic homeostasis, which can protect us from metabolic diseases, like Type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases, Lin explains.

"During cold exposure, nerves under the skin transduce a cold signal to the brain, which then sends out signals to brown fat or skeletal muscle to generate heat," he says. "Therefore, regular cold exposure potentially increases calorie consumption and may be beneficial for preventing obesity."

" " Studies have shown that people who are exposed to cold temperatures regularly  also known as cold stress  may have more 'brown fat,' which plays an important role in keeping our bodies warm. Alex Ratson/Getty Images

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Do We Inherit Cold Adaptations?

Indigenous peoples who are acclimatized to cold environments typically show adaptations that keep their bodies warmer longer, according to studies on human adaptations to cold stress.

In studies of the Inuit peoples of the Arctic and Norwegian Lapps, the types of responses they experienced due to whole-body cold stress were the same as people in warmer climates. If it gets really cold, they'll shiver, for example, but their responses were less pronounced. Meaning that it could get a lot colder before they would start to experience the same responses that we get walking from our car to our office in freezing temperatures.

On average, their skin was warmer, their blood flow to their extremities was greater, so they lost less heat from their hands. However, when the study looked at children of those groups, they were not as acclimated to the cold stress as adults.

The study suggested that cold acclimation was not inherited, but rather a result of exposure over time. Other studies have shown that there are genetic factors to cold adaptations, too. Recent studies have found that groups indigenous to cold climates have genetic markers that are involved in active BAT.

While many mechanisms are similar to groups not exposed to cold stress, there may be genetic aspects at play for groups or individuals, too.

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Does Being Cold Make Us Healthier?

For most of us in modern society, we experience cold habituation not complete acclimation because we change our behaviors by wearing more clothes, living in heated houses, driving heated cars and working in warm offices. But research topics like Lin's brown fat studies on metabolic disease, and research into the health benefits of cold exposure like cold water plunges or cold showers, are proving that adaptations to cold can improve our health when done safely.

And Gilbert, though he isn't a scientist, knows that the nippy waters of the Bay offer an experience unlike any other. "Cold water swimming feels like you're taking a bite out of life! There's nothing else like it," Gilbert says.

Now That's Crazy Honorary South End Rowing Club member, Lynne Cox, is the first person to swim the frozen waters of the Antarctic Ocean without a wetsuit. Her swim, which lasted more than 30 minutes, was in 32-degree Fahrenheit (0-degree Celsius) water and went on for 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers). She is one of only two people on record in the world known to survive that kind of cold.
Montana is among eight states that sued the federal government last week over an immigration program allowing children and certain family members from parts of Central America to join parents living legally or seeking asylum in the U.S.

Montana joined Texas, Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma in asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to find the Central American Minors Program, or CAM Program, unconstitutional.

The states argue that the program, designed to bring children and caregivers from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to the U.S. to join parents living here legally, was unilaterally created and later expanded under President Joe Biden rather than authorized by Congress. The states allege harm in terms of public services provided to immigrants living in the country illegally.

To the extent that it provides benefits outside of those provided in law by the Refugee Admissions Program, the CAM Program is an unlawful artifice of the Biden Administrations imagination, never authorized by Congress, the lawsuit states.

MTN was first to report the lawsuit.

El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are known as the Northern Triangle of Central America. The United Nations calls the region one of the most dangerous places on Earth, due to gang violence, extortion, persecution and sexual violence. More than 500,000 people have migrated from the countries in recent years and another 250,000 have been displaced in-country, according to the UN.

The CAM Program was created in 2014 and allows children to join parents living in the U.S. legally and be designated as refugees. In 2017 the program was ended by the Trump administration, but then reauthorized by Biden last year. The program now includes allowance for a parent or guardian of a child to also come. It also expands those eligible to parents in the United States that are seeking but not yet granted asylum.

"Strengthening collaborative migration management, which includes creating legal pathways, including CAM, is one of the pillars of the president's blueprint for a fair, orderly and humane immigration system," the administration told The Hill in September.

Expanding the program to include those that have not yet been given refugee or parole status and are still seeking asylum invites abuse of the program, the states argue.

No sovereign nation would reward those who break the law by permitting family members abroad to join them in living in the sovereign territory unlawfully, particularly with the assistance of the government itself, the lawsuit states.

Attorney General Austin Knudsen pointed to the surge in immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and tens of thousands seeking asylum there. The situation has consumed resources including Border Patrol from looking for drugs, he said, calling it willful neglect at best by the administration.

We are in the middle of an unprecedented border crisis that is bringing illegal drugs and overdoses, human trafficking and violent crime into Montana communities, he said in a statement. President Bidens own DHS secretary says the crisis at the border is as bad as its been in decades, and maybe ever. The Biden administrations Central American Minors Program is making the problem even worse by encouraging illegal immigration into the United States.

Last November, Knudsen was one of three attorneys general to sue the administration over its guidelines for deciding when to deport immigrants living in the country illegally. The administration limited deportations to those with certain aggravating circumstances, such as representing a threat to national security, public safety or border security.

Tom Kuglin is the deputy editor for the Lee Newspapers State Bureau. His coverage focuses on outdoors, recreation and natural resources.

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A Richland County judge on Tuesday denied a request to block a Montana law barring businesses from requiring employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 or any other disease while a legal challenge plays out.

The lawsuit, filed by a law office in Sidney, made several arguments that the new law violated the state Constitution's right to a clean and healthful environment and equal protection clause, among other claims.

While the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 may be vaccination, it is not the only way, District Court Judge Olivia Rieger wrote in the Tuesday order.

House Bill 702, passed by Republican lawmakers and signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte last year, prevents workplaces and customers from discrimination based on their vaccination status. The lawsuit from the Netzer Law Office was the second one challenging the law. It is against Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Commissioner of Labor and Industry Laurie Esau.

Joel Krautter, an attorney at the law firm, filed the complaint. Krautter is a former Republican state lawmaker, having served a single term as the representative from House District 35 before losing to a 2020 primary challenger.

In the order, Rieger said that while vaccines were an effective way to prevent illness and death from COVID-19, they were not the only options available to Donald L. Netzer, an employee and majority shareholder in the firm.

While Netzer argued the new law impeded his right to a clean and healthful environment, the judge disagreed.

The statute prohibits employers from hiring/firing employees based on vaccination immunity status. The statute does not, as the plaintiff argues, prevent employees from implementing health and safety regulations to ensure a clean and healthful environment for all owners, current employees, future employees, clients and future clients regardless of vaccination for immunity status," the judge wrote.

Donald L. Netzer is entitled to a clean and healthful environment, but it is an impossibility for that right to depend solely on a persons vaccination status."

Riegers order said Netzer had not demonstrated the law would lead to a serious threat to his life by increasing his exposure to deadly diseases because he has not shown that without the prohibitions, his exposure would decrease as vaccinated individuals can still carry viruses.

(The new law) does not prevent Donald L. Netzer from adopting and implementing health and safety measures, it prevents him from implementing the health and safety measures he wants, which is to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals differently."

The judge wrote that while the vaccines available against COVID-19 are effective against hospitalization and death, no vaccine will ever be 100% effective against a disease because each persons body reacts differently.

The judge also found that the law firms economic harm did not meet the requirements to issue a preliminary injunction.

Netzer Law alleges future economic injuries in the form of office closures, reduced business development opportunities, required non-discriminatory remote work policies, and potential liability due to possible outbreaks, the judge wrote. These potential injuries could occur whether individuals are vaccinated against infectious disease or not.

While the law firm argued that requiring vaccinations or having those who are not vaccinated wear masks or work from home would best protect the health and safety of employees and clients, the judge wrote that rapid testing, wearing a mask, washing hands and working from home are measures that can be applied equally to individuals regardless of vaccination status.

In making an equal protection claim, the law firm argued that some businesses had a carve out from the new law, like long-term care facilities that could lose their federal funding if they did not comply with any federal vaccine requirements, but theirs did not.

But the judge wrote that those facilities were different from a law office.

Those facilities traditionally serve vulnerable populations and in the case of health care facilities are available 24 hours a day without the option of working remotely, the judge wrote.   While Netzer Law serves a wide variety of clients Netzer Law is also afforded the discretion to refuse clients.

In a statement Tuesday, the Attorney Generals Office welcomed the order.

No Montanan should be forced by their employer to receive a vaccine they do not want. Attorney General Knudsen will continue to fight to uphold our states groundbreaking human rights law and protect Montana workers from discrimination, press secretary Emilee Cantrell said in an emailed statement.

In another statement, Netzer Law Office said it was looking toward whats next.

We are disappointed in the courts ruling in this first round, but were encouraged by the courts determination that the constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment applies to both the indoors and outdoors. We will be reviewing the decision further as we identify our next steps, the firm wrote.

While federal efforts to require vaccinations for employees at businesses with more than 100 workers have stalled, a mandate for health care facilities that receive funding from the federal government is being implemented.

 Reporter Sam Wilson contributed to this story.

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WASHINGTON  The NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, on Tuesday urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to bring federal civil rights charges against the white Chicago police officer who fatally shot Black teenager Laquan McDonald.

A letter to Garland, sent by NAACP President Derrick Johnson, comes days before former officer Jason Van Dyke is scheduled to be released from prison after serving less than half of his state prison term of six years and nine months. Van Dyke was convicted of murder in October 2018 in the killing of McDonald and is scheduled to be released from prison on Thursday.

The 2014 shooting prompted massive protests in Chicago after a judge forced the city to release video that showed Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. Many of the shots were fired when the 17-year-old was already on the ground. The police superintendent was subsequently fired, the county's top prosecutor was voted out of office and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was widely criticized for his handling of the case, decided not to run for reelection.

The Justice Department opened a wide investigation into the practices of the Chicago Police Department after McDonald's killing, which resulted in a blistering report that found Chicago officers routinely used excessive force and violated the rights of residents, particularly minorities. The agency also opened a federal probe into the shooting.

But years after the announcement, civil rights leaders, including Johnson, want the Justice Department to move now to bring federal charges against Van Dyke.

"Given the egregious nature of his crime, the NAACP believes that at a minimum, the murderous officer should be charged with a federal civil rights violation under Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242  Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law," Johnson wrote in the letter to Garland.

To bring federal civil rights charges, federal prosecutors must prove that an officer's actions willfully broke the law and were not simply the result of a mistake, negligence or bad judgment. It has been a consistently tough burden for federal prosecutors to meet across both Democratic and Republican administrations.

"Throughout our 113-year history, the NAACP has advocated for a fair and equitable justice system that holds those fully accountable for their actions," Johnson wrote. "We have seen unfair and inequitable favor given to law enforcement officers who unjustly take the lives of members of the Black community and have fought fervently in opposition to such favor."

U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, D-Ill., and the Rev. Jesse Jackson have been among those objecting to Van Dyke's release and have also called on the Justice Department to bring federal charges.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One of McDonald's relatives, his great-uncle the Rev. Marvin Hunter, said he believes Van Dyke should have received a much longer state prison sentence. But he said he would be against charging Van Dyke in federal court.

"If you set this precedent of reconvicting people because you don't think he got enough time, then hundreds of thousands of Black men in Illinois alone could be harmed," Hunter said. "They will use this case as a way to keep them incarcerated. This is a back door to perpetuate slavery. We should be very careful of this kind of precedent."

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The good news is Im feeling a lot better than I did on Sunday.

The bad news is that despite being vaxxed a year ago and boosted about ten days ago, Ive come down with COVID. I, my wife Colleen and my son, his wife and one of their young kids have just caught the omicron variant  or its caught us.

I guess you could say were on the COVID family plan.

To say the least, its been a real kick in the butt. For almost two years my wife and I listened to the science and the people in charge and did everything youre supposed to do to protect yourself and prevent the virus from spreading to others.

But it turns out it doesnt matter whether youre vaccinated or unvaccinated, masked or unmasked, the virus is a virus and one of its variants eventually is going to get you.

Im not worried though. I heard Dr. Fauci say well have a vaccine for omicron by March.

Meanwhile, from my couch I see that President Biden is in a serious squabble with Vladimir Putin over his threat to invade Ukraine.

Biden and Putin have exchanged testy messages, with Biden threatening severe economic sanctions against Russia if Putin doesnt cool his invasion plans.

The Biden-Putin showdown reminds me of a talk I had with my father the night he lost the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford. Alone together in a hotel room, I asked, Why in the world would you even want to run for the presidency of the United States?

You know, Michael, he said, for so long Ive watched American presidents sit down with secretary-generals of the Soviet Union and watched them ask us to give up something to get along with them.

I want to be the first president to say Nyet to a Secretary-General of the Soviet Union.

That was in August of 1976.

My father didnt even know he was going to seek the GOP nomination again because, as I always joke, Nancy hadnt told him yet that he was going to run again in 1980.

Then in 1986  ten years after he told me that story  he was called to Reykjavik by Mikhail Gorbachev to sign a nuclear weapons agreement. My dad arrived in Iceland and Gorbachev said to him, Im only going to sign if you give up the Strategic Defense Initiative (aka, Star Wars, the outer space-based missile defense system then in early development).

Most everyone in my dads cabinet thought that signing the treaty would be Ronald Reagans greatest legacy and they wanted him to do what Gorbachev wanted.

But Ronald Reagan was not thinking of his legacy. He was thinking of America and freedom. He knew that if he signed on to that deal and gave up the Strategic Defense Initiative, it wouldnt make America and the world safer and freer.

So he said Nyet and turned and walked away from the summit  as I knew he would.

My father stood strong and did the right thing in 1986 and a year later he and Gorbachev had their historic weapons agreement that began the end of the Cold War.

We now have a weak president who wants to get along with the Russians and Putin knows it. What Biden needs to do is make it crystal clear to Putin that although he paid no price for his annexation of Crimea in 2014, hell pay dearly if he invades Ukraine.

That means major economic and financial sanctions and energy policies designed to do what my father did to the old USSR  bankrupt Putins Russia.

The rest of the world is watching to see how Biden and the United States respond to Putins tank rattling at Ukraines border.

If Biden shows a backbone and puts Putin in his place, it may turn out to be the big foreign policy decision of his administration  his Missiles of October moment.

Mr. President, the whole world  especially its dictators and terrorist thugs  is watching to see if you can say Nyet.

Michael Reagan is a columnist for Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

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New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High around 85F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 64F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High around 85F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 64F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
ABINGDON, Va.  A popular Italian restaurant in Abingdon has reopened after a five-month renovation project.

Mamma Mia Italian Restaurant, located near the historic train depot in town, opened for business last week, receiving rave reviews from customers on social media.

I am so excited that its done, said the owner and chef Baset Aybb. Everyone loves it.

David McLeish of Meadowview has been waiting on the restaurant to reopen. The food is just as spectacular as the renovations. I cannot wait to try some of the dishes in the near future, he said.

We love Mamma Mia, said Cindy Fields, director of the Virginia Highlands Small Business Development Center. The food is wonderful, but most of all I love supporting small businesses who have such kind owners focused on great customer service.

Aybb said the newly designed space lends a cozy, homelike atmosphere, showcasing new color schemes, gas log fireplaces, furniture and wall art.

My goal is to make my customers feel comfortable. Going to a restaurant shouldnt be just a visit to eat. Its an adventure the moment you walk in.

Several inconveniences in the nearly century-old building prompted Aybb to start creating a new design for the restaurant about a year ago.

One of the best changes, he said, is a new waiting area for customers. An outdoor space between the restaurant and the adjacent buildings was enclosed to create a new spacious entrance that can also be used by customers while waiting on an order or to be seated.

The new entrance eliminates an outside door that opened directly to the main dining area, sometimes causing customers to be bothered by a draft and street noise.

The enclosed area also provided for three additional seating booths and a table, increasing the number of seats in the dining area.

Aybb said he also wanted to give the dining room a new, innovative look.

Im a firm believer that you have to shake things up every once in a while. You have to change the look for your customers so they wont tire of the same scene, he said.

The new dining area includes pendant speakers that hang from the ceiling, projecting music within small seating areas. Customers who prefer to dine with no sounds can request the speakers near their tables to be turned off.

The dining experience is an educational adventure, he said.

Dining tables are finished to reveal numerous famous inspirational quotes from Malcolm X to Martin Luther King Jr.

One of his favorite quotes on a table is Be the change you want to see in the world.

If you put inspirational quotes in front of people to read, especially young children, theyre always going to remember them, Aybb said.

Walls in the restaurant are decorated with colorful posters that highlight the components of a pizza, such as the olive oil, flour and tomatoes. The owner said the posters are meant to be informative and entertaining for customers and their families while waiting on their orders.

The construction work was a blessing in disguise for Aybb, who said he had taken only four days off since he opened the Abingdon restaurant four years ago.

During the remodeling phases, Aybb and his family seized the opportunity to travel to his homeland in Dijon, France, to visit his elderly parents, whom he hadnt seen since opening the business in 2017.

While in France, Aybb enrolled in classes at a school combined with his familys pizza restaurant to further his education in making authentic Italian pizzas.

The business owner said he is ready to begin a new adventure in town, offering the same quality Italian foods people in town have come to expect.

He described his menu as simple without a lot of preparation time.

Many of his authentic recipes originate from Aybbs sister, Moungia, and brother-in-law, Luigi, who operate an Italian cooking school in France.

Customer favorites include three special recipes named for his family members. Luigi Ravioli and Luigi Manicotti are both made with fresh homemade pasta stuffed with fresh spinach, ricotta and mozzarella cheese.

Moungia Eggplant Parmigiana is a classic meatless recipe. Without a doubt, its our bestseller, said Aybb.

Other entrees are baked spaghetti with meat sauce; fresh homemade lasagna; fettucine Alfredo cooked with cream sauce, Parmesan cheese, grilled chicken and broccoli; and meatball Parmigiana. Aybb also serves stromboli, calzones and pizzas.

Mamma Mia Italian Restaurant, located at 134 Wall St. in Abingdon, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Check out Mamma Mia Italian Restaurant on Facebook.

Carolyn R. Wilson is a freelance writer in Glade Spring, Virginia. Contact her at news@washconews.com.
Ten Carroll County residents died this past week from COVID-19, according to the county health department, even as the number of virus cases slowly has decreased since the height of the latest surge.

The death rate for county residents who died of COVID-19 in January was nearly five times higher in those not fully vaccinated when compared to people who were fully vaccinated, according to the health department.

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As of Tuesday, Carroll Hospital had 145 total patients, 22 of whom tested positive for COVID-19. In the Critical Care Unit, eight patients were being cared for, three of whom are COVID positive. Five critical care patients are using ventilators, and two patients outside the unit also are on ventilators.

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The hospital reported that 18 of the 22 patients with COVID-19 had not been vaccinated.

While we believe the hospital has passed its peak in the number of patients with COVID  we are cautiously optimistic, said Garrett Hoover, president of Carroll Hospital. We have begun to reopen various outpatient services that we temporarily had to close during this last wave due to bed and staffing constraints. We strongly urge people to remain vigilant in protecting themselves against this highly contagious virus and future variants by getting vaccinated.

Carroll Countys positivity rate was 13% as of Tuesday, a slight decrease from last week but still a level of high transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Tuesday, Carroll County had 430 active positive COVID-19 cases reported. The countys overall case count to date is 19,879.

According to Chris Winebrenner, a spokesperson for Carroll County government, there are no plans at this time to change the countys masking policy. The policy requires anyone visiting a county building to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status.

The Carroll County Health Department offers a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at the Agriculture Center in Westminster, where they are able to offer about 280 tests each day. Tests at the Ag Center do not require an appointment and are no longer limited to people who were exposed to the virus or have symptoms.

Carroll County Breaking News As it happens When big news breaks, be the first to know. >

The drive-thru site is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. For updated information, visit cchd.maryland.gov/covidtesting or call 410-876-4848.

The health department is also hosting vaccination clinics at Carroll Community College for residents age 12 and older. Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccinations for COVID-19 are available. Registration is at https://cchd.maryland.gov/registration-links/.

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Clinics at the college will be held 3:30-7:30 p.m., on Wednesdays, Feb. 2, 9 and 16, and 2-5 p.m., on Fridays, Feb. 4 and 11.

Vaccines will be offered to 5- through 11-year-olds who are immunocompromised 3:30-7:30 p.m., on Feb. 27 at Carroll Community College.

In partnership with the health department, the Carroll County Public Library system has been distributing free COVID-19 home-test kits at branches and its headquarters, which can be reserved online on Tuesdays and picked up on Wednesdays.

Test kits also may be requested through the federal government online at covidtests.gov. One set of four tests is available per mailing address.

If an individual tests positive for COVID-19 with an at-home test kit, the Maryland Department of Health is asking for results to be submitted to covidlink.maryland.gov/selfreport.
A Charlotte-based developer with a history in Hickory is looking to expand the company's presence with a new residential development in northeast Hickory.

Lat Purser & Associates has been involved in several major projects over the last few years, including the Preston Ridge development off Startown Road and One North Center in downtown Hickory as the third-party management and leasing agent.

The company now has plans for roughly 19 acres of land in northeast Hickory off N. Center Street and 42nd Avenue Drive NW. The land is located near the Moores Ferry neighborhood.

The company unveiled its proposal at a community meeting at the SALT Block on Tuesday night.

The plans presented called for up to 258 units in three housing styles: multifamily homes, town homes and cottage-style dwellings.

All units at the property would be market-rate rentals, Lat Purser Senior Vice President Jack Levinson told the group of 40 or so neighborhood residents who gathered for the meeting.

There was also mention of at least two amenity areas. One would be in the barn currently on the property, which would be renovated to house a lobby, fitness area and meeting rooms. Another potential recreational area would be in an area of green space that could be the site of a pool or outdoor game area.

The project would have three entrance and exit points: two onto N. Center Street and one onto 42nd Avenue Drive NW.

The developer is seeking a rezoning from the current R-2 zoning  which allows four units per acre  to a planned development.

Its an agreement with the developer and with a planned development, the city knows what were getting, Hickory Planning Director Brian Frazier said. The developer knows what theyre providing and what they have to provide and the public knows specifically what theyre going to get in terms of density and type of housing.

The Hickory Regional Planning Commission is set to consider the rezoning request and hold a public hearing on Feb. 23. That meeting will start at 6 p.m. at City Hall at 76 N. Center St.

The Hickory City Council is expected to hold its public hearing on the matter in March. An annexation of the property is expected to be heard by the city council at a later date, Frazier said.

You lost me. Im out

Several of the residents who came to the meeting expressed concerns over the plans.

Arabela Balan asked what plans there were for buffers to separate and block the view from existing houses.

What are you guys going to do as a barrier? Balan asked. Because right behind here is a really high, prestigious neighborhood.

A representative working with the developers said there would be a 30-foot buffer of trees and shrubs. Balan asked if more could be done and Levinson said they would look into it.

She also said she is concerned over the traffic impact as the parent of young children.

We share that 42nd (Avenue Drive NW), thats our entrance into Moores Ferry, Balan said. Were going to have an additional amount of vehicles. What about, like, a stoplight there? Are you guys talking about a stoplight there now?

Another person in the crowd added: Its very congested.

Other comments focused on worries about bringing in housing that is all rental. One person said they felt that people would be less likely to keep up the property if they did not own it.

Levinson responded that setting up the homes as rentals would make it easier for the company to get rid of people causing problems.

Another resident, Byron Bean, echoed the concern about the rentals and said he is disappointed the proposal was not more high-end.

This is too many people in this location, Bean said. This is an upscale area on both sides of the road. Its not like down Startown Road, so I would prefer you go back to the drawing board and redo this totally.

Noah Geoghegan said he felt the project would not be good for the neighborhood.

The draw for this community is our neighborhood, plain and simple, Geoghegan said. So for us, its a net loss. For you, its a net win. Thats the way I see it. You would have had me if there was owners here. Theres no owners; theyre all renters. You lost me. Im out.

Ditto, a person in the crowd responded after Geoghegan finished speaking.

Kevin Griffin is the City of Hickory reporter at the Hickory Daily Record.

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NEWTON  Catawba County Library System will celebrate the 11th annual Take Your Child to the Library Day on Saturday, Feb. 5, with free crafts and activities for children and families.

Launched in Connecticut in 2012, Take Your Child to the Library Day has blossomed into an international celebration with nearly 1,200 participating libraries from 49 states and five countries. The brainchild of retired Waterford childrens librarian Nadine Lipman, the event was developed to spotlight libraries as vital community resources that enrich, educate and entertain  and to encourage families everywhere to take their children to their local libraries.

Take Your Child to the Library Day is a free, fun, family-friendly event supported by the Connecticut Library Consortium and endorsed by the Association for Library Service to Children (a division of the American Library Association). For more information, visit www.takeyourchildtothelibrary.org.

Special crafts are being planned at each branch of the Catawba County Library system, and families can join in on the fun during the normal operating hours:

 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Main Library in Newton, Sherrills Ford-Terrell Branch Library and St. Stephens Branch Library;

 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Claremont Branch Library, Conover Branch Library, Maiden Branch Library, Southwest Branch Library.

For more information about the Catawba County Librarys resources and services, visit www.catawbacountync.gov/library, call 828-465-8665, email mylibrary@catawbacountync.gov, or visit www.facebook.com/catawbacountylibrarysystem.
" " Black History Month has its roots in the celebration of Negro History Week, introduced in February 1926 as a way to honor the contributions of African-Americans throughout American history. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Americans have officially celebrated Black History Month since February 10, 1976, when President Gerald R. Ford established it as a national observance in an address that lauded its founder, African-American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and the "impressive contributions of black Americans to our national life and culture."

But why February? Was it chosen willy-nilly or does February have special significance? It definitely does.

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The Father of Black History

We owe the celebration of Black History Month to Woodson, who made it his life's work to increase public awareness of African-American history and culture. Known as the father of black history, this son of former slaves worked his way out of the Kentucky coal mines to became a Harvard-educated historian and journalist. Disheartened to discover that history books excluded the black experience in American life beyond ways that portrayed black people as socially inferior, he took on the challenge of writing a proud and true African-American history into America's national consciousness.

Woodson believed that, "those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history." With that in mind, in 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and the seminal Journal of Negro History in 1916. In February 1926, he introduced the celebration of Negro History Week as a way to shine a light on the myriad contributions of black people throughout American history.

Woodson and the ASALH chose the second week in February to launch Negro History Week because it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, whose 1863 Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery, and of Frederick Douglass, the former slave turned social reformer who became a national force in the abolitionist movement. Other February events of historical merit included the birth of civil rights icon W. E. B. Du Bois and the passing of the 15th Amendment on Feb. 3, 1870, which gave African-Americans the right to vote.

The notion of expanding Negro History Week to a month evolved over the decades leading up to and during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Freedom Schools in the South incorporated Negro History Week into curricula and by the mid-1960s many colleges and universities across the country began to transform the week-long event into a month-long celebration on their campuses. Leaders of the Black United Students organization at Kent State University proposed expanding it to a month, and in 1970 they celebrated Black History Month for the first time on their campus. By the time President Ford made it a national observance in 1976, many mayors had already endorsed it as a municipal celebration.

Each iteration of the event since its inception in 1926 has had a specific theme as stated by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING A black man named Crispus Attucks was the first fatality of the American Revolution, shot and killed in the Boston Massacre of 1770. Reputed to be the architect and ringleader of the bloody event, it was a topic of debate for more than a century whether Attucks was a heroic patriot or an instigator. Nevertheless, history has eulogized him as "the first to defy, the first to die."

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Originally Published: Feb 20, 2018
" " Henry David Thoreau moved into a cabin on Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts, on property owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson, to live out the ideals of transcendentalism. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Today, a lot of Americans feel strongly about issues such racial justice, women's rights and protecting the environment, and many believe in the power of nonviolent civil disobedience to achieve progress towards a better, fairer world. And while not all of them realize it, in many ways they take after a group of mid-19th century New England intellectuals such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller, Frederic Henry Hedge, among others, who espoused a philosophy known as transcendentalism.

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What Is Transcendentalism?

The transcendentalist movement, which emerged in the mid-1830s early nineteenth century, had a straightforward idea at its core. The New England transcendentalism adherents argued that every person possessed the light of Divine truth and should look within himself or herself to find it, rather than simply conform to whatever the powers that be wanted them to think. But from that notion of spiritual self-reliance, a lot of other ideas blossomed, from reverence for nature to the view that everyone in America was entitled to freedom and equality. That led transcendentalists to become an important part of other activist movements in America that sought to abolish slavery and achieve women's suffrage.

It was inspired in part by thinkers on the other side of the Atlantic, like the new Biblical Criticism in Germany touted in the writings of Herder and English and German Romanticism. The actual name of the movement "transcendental," came from the Critique of Practical Reason (1788) by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Emerson was a great admirer of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, both of whom he met when he traveled to Europe and helped shape his future writings. Frederick Henry Hedge, a Unitarian minister who studied in Germany and knew the German language well brought German philosophy to Americans through Hedge's Club to begin discussions of current topics through a German philosophers lens.

These emerging ideas eventually transferred over to the eastern United States, "Transcendentalism became the first distinctly American philosophy, because it fused several different currents, all of which converged only here in the U.S.," Laura Dassow Walls explains in an email. She's the William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame, and author of the acclaimed 2017 biography, "Henry David Thoreau: A Life."

"So, even though the underlying philosophy first emerged in Europe, it was in America that it took hold as a philosophy one could actually commit to and live by," she says. Emerson urged in his essay "The American Scholar" for Americans to stop looking to Europe for inspiration and imitation and to be themselves.

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Individualism and Equality For All

According to Walls, one of transcendentalism's key influences was the religious faith of New England's Puritans, who believed that every person stands before God and must read the Bible for himself or herself. "This gave us the bedrock notion of individualism," she says.

Another important ingredient was the American Revolution, which promoted equality as an American ideal  even if the new country didn't actually afford that status to a lot of its people, including women and Blacks. "The transcendentalists, whose parents had grown up fighting the Revolution, believed it was their turn to continue the Revolution, that is, to continue the political revolution by igniting it as an intellectual revolution," Walls says. When the United States government under President Van Buren wanted to remove Cherokee from their native lands, Emerson wrote them in protest. He wanted social reform that protected the rights of all.

" " Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882) in a photo by Mathew Brady, circa 1856. One of the most influential members of the New England Transcendentalists. Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)

Those ideas mixed together with another rising early 1880s influence  European Romanticism, a literary and artistic movement that emphasized feeling and emotion rather than the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and order.

"All through the war years  the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1812  Americans found it virtually impossible to go to Europe or even to access European books," Walls says. "But after the Paris peace treaty of 1815, suddenly travel to Europe was wide open again. A whole generation of ambitious young American men sailed to Europe to continue their education at European universities, above all in Germany. The books and ideas and teachings they brought back with them  Kant, Goethe, the Humboldt brothers, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron and Shelley, and on and on  infused American colleges and universities with an exciting new wave of European literature and philosophy." It was "a wave which swiftly spread into the popular imagination, inspiring a widespread confidence that a new age was born, an age in which the individual could intuit truth for him- or herself by an inward search for meaning."

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Finding Community in the Transcendental Club & Brook Farm

A small group interested in these ideas like George Putnam, Amos Bronson Alcott, Frederic Henry Hedge, and more began meeting together in the mid-1830s, first at a hotel and then in the Boston home of a minister named George Ripley, forming what became known as the Transcendental Club. The group eventually published a magazine, The Dial, which was edited by Fuller. Elizabeth Palmer Peabody was the business manager of the magazine and in 1860 established the first English-language kindergarten in the USA.

Later, some of the transcendentalists even created a short-lived utopian community in Boston based upon their ideas  Brook Farm, whose residents shared the agricultural work and operated a school.

While the transcendentalists were a rebellious fringe, a lot of their transcendental philosophy ideas eventually became an accepted part of the American mainstream. "As Emerson said, 'In self-trust, all the virtues are comprehended,'" Walls explains. "This notion of self-trust became the foundation for American self-reliance, another term coined by Emerson."

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Henry David Thoreau and the Transcendental Life

Thoreau, former schoolmaster turned poet and philosopher, bought into transcendentalist philosophy ideas and endeavored to live them. As this article from the Constitutional Rights Foundation details, in 1845, he built a cottage on Walden Pond, on property owned by Emerson, and spent several years living off the land, meditating and contemplating nature. Thoreau stopped paying his taxes in protest against legal slavery in the U.S. and the U.S. war against Mexico in 1846. That led to him being arrested by the local constable for tax delinquency. He spent a night in jail before a benefactor paid off his debt. The experience led Thoreau to publish his influential essay "Civil Disobedience," in which he argued that people should defy the government rather than support policies they saw as unjust. Thoreau advocated nonviolent action but later a letter in support of violent actions of John Brown, who murdered unarmed pro-slavery settlers in Kansas.

"Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it," Thoreau wrote.

" " Henry David Thoreau (18171862), pictured here around 1855, was an American author and naturalist whose most famous and enduring work was "Walden, or a Life in the Woods." Hulton Archive/Getty Images

"Thoreau gave us the classic examples  first in his uniquely individualist form of social protest, civil disobedience, and then in pursuing his Utopian search for truth by living in solitude at Walden Pond  striking out alone to 'enjoy an original relation to the universe' as Emerson said," Walls says. "It's good to remember that this 'original relation' included the universe of human history  world literature, the world's religions, modern science, philosophy all the way back to the ancient Greeks, Plato above all  but also, famously, the universe of the outer world, or nature, which the transcendentalists regarded as the embodiment of divine reason, hence the key to universal meaning."

According to Walls, the transcendentalists "interpreted truth not as something that one could find, single and static, but as something one lived, dynamic and always evolving and changing."

That unending search for the truth also led the movement's members to become activists in big causes of their day. The transcendentalist belief that every person carries God within him or her meant that politics, economics, organized religion and the schools, with their tendency to sort people into hierarchical ranks, needed to be overhauled or at least reformed.

"The American educational system was their first target  education should be free to all, of all ages, men and women alike, and all ethnicities, races and creeds," Walls says. "Many of the transcendentalists were teachers, and several  Bronson Alcott, Elizabeth Peabody [and] Thoreau  founded innovative, progressive schools, which embraced literacy and education for everyone, including women and African Americans." Their ideas still influence education today as we all deserve access to education as human beings.

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Transcendentalism, Feminism and the Abolitionist Movement

Transcendentalists also took up the fight against slavery  "led, notably, by women, who took up the cause starting in the 1830s by founding anti-slavery societies at the local level and organizing anti-slavery activism at all levels, local, regional and national," Walls explains. Emerson and Thoreau gave speeches against slavery. Another transcendentalist minister, Theodore Parker, not only preached abolitionist sermons but actually formed a vigilance committee to protect free Blacks in Boston from southern slave-catchers. "Thoreau daringly acted as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, and went on to inspire the northern movement in support of John Brown," Walls notes.

Members of the American transcendentalism movement also were early advocates of equality for women. Margaret Fuller's 1845 book "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" contained what for the time was a daring proclamation: "What woman needs is not as a woman to act or rule, but as a nature to grow, as an intellect to discern, as a soul to live freely and unimpeded, to unfold such powers as were given her when we left our common home." Fuller's influence was felt a few years later in the Seneca Falls Convention, the 1848 conference that's widely recognized as the beginning of the women's rights movement.

" " Margaret Fuller (18101850) was a journalist, editor, critic, translator and women's rights advocate active in the American transcendentalist movement. Library of Congress/Getty Images

The transcendentalist movement eventually began to fade in prominence, but its ideas never really went away and manifesting into later reform movements. In the 1960s and 1970s, for example, there was a resurgence of enthusiasm for Thoreau, as antiwar activists and hippies found that his ideas about resisting the power structure were relevant to them. Today, when climate activists argue that environmental protection and social justice for poor people and minority communities aren't separate issues but are actually inseparably linked, they're drawing upon Thoreau's belief that we need to get off the shoulders of others, Walls explains.

"Interest in Thoreau's ideas is stronger today than ever before; certainly students in my own classes resonate to his message more urgently than ever," Walls says. "They identify with Thoreau's fear that we're living lives of 'quiet desperation,' and many respond with intense hope to the solutions he offers. For one reason, his is an individualist form of hope; you can take on his ethical project by yourself, on your own, no matter who you are or where you live. In other words, he offers a sense that even today we can exert at least some control over our lives, learn to live by a higher ethical standard and so at the least make our own lives better  a place to start the ethical project of making all lives better."

Now That's Interesting Walden Pond, where Henry Thoreau lived for two years, also was the place where Boston entrepreneur Frederic "Ice King" Tudor harvested ice, cutting blocks and shipping them to faraway countries, according to the New England Historical Society. "Thus it appears that the sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, or Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well," Thoreau wrote in 1854.
The Nebraska women's gymnastics team claimed a Big Ten win at home, outscoring Illinois, 195.500-195.375. The Huskers came from behind in the final rotation for the Big Ten win.

Kynsee Roby and Makayla Curtis led NU in the win. Roby claimed the balance beam title while Curtis earned the floor exercise title. Seniorsandled NU in the win. Roby claimed the balance beam title while Curtis earned the floor exercise title.

Rotation One

Kaitlyn Higgins started the night off with a 9.725. Emma Spence followed with a 9.675 while Ayzhia Hall notched a season-high 9.800. Kinsey Davis earned a 9.775. Makayla Curtis tallied a 9.725 while Katie Kuenemann made her collegiate debut on the event with a 9.700. The Huskers started on vault, earning a team score of 48.725.started the night off with a 9.725.followed with a 9.675 whilenotched a season-high 9.800.earned a 9.775.tallied a 9.725 whilemade her collegiate debut on the event with a 9.700.

The Illini started on uneven bars and earned a team score of 49.150. Mia Takekawa led Illinois with a 9.900, claiming the event title.

Rotation Two

Kathryn Thaler started the Huskers off with a 9.725 while Genesis Gibson followed with a 9.700. Clara Colombo earned a 9.275. Spence matched her season-high with a 9.850. Kynsee Roby followed with a 9.800. Davis finished NU off on bars with a 9.875. Nebraska had a strong second rotation, posting a team 48.950.started the Huskers off with a 9.725 whilefollowed with a 9.700.earned a 9.275. Spence matched her season-high with a 9.850.followed with a 9.800. Davis finished NU off on bars with a 9.875.

Illinois competed on vault earning a 48.925. Takekawa earned a 9.850, claiming the event title.

Rotation Three

On beam, the Huskers earned a team score of 48.900. Spence started NU off strong with a 9.800. Hall followed with a 9.725. Higgins earned an 8.825. Davis notched a 9.750 while Thaler earned a season-high score of 9.775. Roby rounded out the rotation with a season-high 9.850, claiming the event title.

On floor, the Illini earned a team score of 48.900. Illinois was led by Amelia Knight who earned a 9.825.

Rotation Four

Halle Rourke finished the night with 9.350. The Huskers finished on floor with a season-best team score of 48.925. Spence led the Huskers off with a 9.825, a season-high. Kuenemann followed with a 9.650. Hall earned a season-high 9.825. Curtis added her season-best, finishing with a 9.850, and claiming the event title. Higgins followed with a 9.775 whilefinished the night with 9.350.

The Illini finished the night on beam, earning a team score of 48.400. Takekawa led Illinois with a 9.800.

All-Around Competition

Illinois gymnast, Takekawa, claimed the all-around title with a 39.250. Spence finished in second in the all-around, earning a 39.150.

Up Next

Nebraska returns to competition next Monday, Feb. 7, against Ohio State. The meet is set to start at 7 p.m. CT at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, and will be live on the Big Ten Network.
Ann Street United Methodist Church

335 Ann St., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Randy L. Wall. In person and Facebook Live worship at 11 a.m. at Ann Street Church. Sermon: Whats Right With the Church: Church Leaders. Scripture: II Timothy 1:1-14.

Bethpage United Methodist Church

109 Fellowship Ave. at West C Street, Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Gary MacDonald. Christian education at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. Everyone is encouraged to wear masks and follow social distance protocols during indoor worship. Sermon: Three Simple Questions: Who Is God? Scripture: Acts 17:22-34.

Bogers Chapel United Methodist Church

1775 Flowes Store Road E., Concord. Pastor: Eric Shaver. Weather permitting we will be in the sanctuary for the ones who feel comfortable to attend. Mask wearing and maintaining social distance will be mandatory. In-person worship or Facebook at 10 a.m. Sermon: Holding On. Opening reading: John 3:10-21. Scripture: Luke 5:1-11. Childrens Singing/Poem Reading: When I Say I Am a Christian by Carol Wimmer.

Crossroads Church

220 George W. Liles Parkway, Concord. Pastor: Lowell McNaney. Live worship streamed on Facebook, Crossroads Concord Church app or mycrossroads.co website at 9:30 a.m. and 11:11 a.m.

Eastside Missionary Baptist Church

199 Elgin Drive, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Stephen Burrow. In-person services: Sunday school is at 9:30 a.m. and worship services are at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Recorded worship services and other information can be found at EastsideMissionaryBaptist.org. You will be welcomed. Practice social distancing.

Epworth United Methodist Church

1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Bill Roberts. Church has reopened its 10 a.m. worship service for attendance. Epworth UMC continues to follow the appropriate COVID-19 social distancing guidelines as outlined by the governor and the CDC. We welcome you to join us in worship. Sermon: The Greatest of These. Scripture: I Corinthians 13:1-13.

Forest Hill United Methodist Church

265 Union St. N., Concord. Senior pastor: Rev. Mandy Jones. Associate pastor: Rev. Wes Judy. We are open for in-person worship. Contemporary worship is at 9 a.m. Sunday school/small groups are at 10 a.m. Traditional worship is at 11 a.m. Both the contemporary and the traditional worship services will also be livestreamed at foresthillumc.org or facebook.com/foresthillumc.

Harmony United

Methodist Church

101 White St. NW, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Thad Brown. Service is held in the sanctuary at 11 a.m. Masks are not required at this time. Social distancing is requested. Sermon: Justifying Grace. Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-9; Romans 3:21-25. We welcome you to join us in worship. Service is live on Facebook.com/HarmonyUnitedMethodistChurch. For more information, call the pastor at 704-791-2883 or the church at 704-782-8237.

Jackson Park United Methodist Church

715 Mable Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor: Laurie Knoespel. Adult Sunday school is at 9:15 a.m. In-person worship service is at 10:30 a.m. Nursery will be provided during worship service. Service replay on Facebook on Monday at 5 p.m. Sermon: Jesus is REALITY. Scripture: Psalm 138; Luke 5:1-11.

McGill Baptist Church

5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, in-person services. Pastor: Rev. Steve Ayers. If you have not taken the COVID-19 vaccine, wear a mask. McGill will stream a worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. on www.facebook.com/mcgillbaptistchurch/ and on YouTube. The services will be live and also available on recording afterward. Sermon: Following Jesus. Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-13; I Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11.

Midway United Methodist Church

108 Bethpage Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Craig Allen. Come join us on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. for Sunday school and 10:30 a.m. for worship. At this time, masks are required and congregants are asked to social distance in the pews as COVID-19 precautions are in place. Our service is also livestreamed on the web at midwayunitedmethodistchurch.org or facebook.com/midwayUMC. Sermon: Calling to the Ministry. Scripture: Psalm 138; Luke 5:1-11. Suggested Hymns: UMH 140, Great Is Thy Faithfulness; UMH 344, Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore.

Mount Mitchell United Methodist Church

6001 Old Salisbury-Concord Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Joel Locklear. Sunday school is at 10 a.m. (adult and children classes). Worship is at 11 a.m. in person or on Facebook. Masks are optional and social distancing requested. If you have not taken the COVID vaccine, wear a mask.

Multiply Church Concord

150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. N., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Douglas Witherup. 8:30 a.m. service held at 280 Concord Pkwy S., Suite 15, Concord. Services at 150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. N., are worship and sermon at 9:30 a.m. and worship and sermon at 11:15 a.m.

New Gilead Reformed Church

2400 Old Salisbury-Concord Road. 9:40 a.m. is Bible study. Childrens Bible school is at 10 a.m. and at 11 a.m. is inside worship, Facebook worship and drive-in worship at 1600 AM radio.

Oak Grove Baptist Church

200 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. Pastor: Rev. Franklin D. Watkins. 10 a.m.: In-person worship service and Facebook Live. Youth Minister: Michael G. Stafford.

Second Presbyterian Church

1578 Dale Earnhardt Blvd., Kannapolis. Assistant minister: Rev. Aaron Price. Worship is at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary and on Facebook Live. Sermon: A Study of the Book of Philippians. Scripture: Philippians 2:12-13.

St. Johns Reformed Church

901 N. Main St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Chris King. Sunday school has been temporarily discontinued due to increased COVID numbers in the community. Sunday morning worship is in person and online at 10:30 a.m. Adult Bible study is at 4 p.m. Sunday. Sermon: The Names of God (Part 4)  Jehovah  Rohi. Scripture: Psalm 23.

Information for Sermon Topics must be submitted by 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Email your topic to jstamey@independenttribune.com.
Recently our Pastor preached through the Book of Joshua. The beginning of the book was at the time in the history of the Israelites that God had not allowed Moses to enter The Promised Land and Joshua was given command. God spoke to Joshua---Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over the Jordan, you and the people, into a land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses --- No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I am with you. I will not leave you or forsake you (Joshua 1:3, 5-6, ESV). What a wonderful assurance God gave to this new commander as he took the rein to lead the people into Canaan, the Land God had promised the people while they were still in Egypt.

Many years ago I read the resume of a young pastor being considered for the senior pastors position. As I perused his background and read of his qualifications, I wondered how his wife and he felt about going to a new location and how much prayer did he put into the move in letting God make the choice rather than just wanting to change locations. This is a major decision in the life of a pastor, and that pastor, his family and both congregations are involved. All need guidance from the one who is above who is the head of all churches, the Lord Jesus Christ. More is needed than an emotional knee jerk desire for brighter lights.

Most all of us have heard that pastors do not have a career but are called by God to go where God leads. The Bible tells us And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2, NKJV). Men of God should not leave their assignments unless they are absolutely certain the order is from God.

At the same time the leadership at the churches in need of a pastor must pray strongly that the candidates are compatible for the task as led by God. Throughout history the model used by Baptist churches and some other denominations in search for a new pastor was that the congregation elect a pastor search team (committee). The team yields themselves to Gods Holy Spirit to lead them to the right pastor.

Some larger churches are using business models in using employment agencies to search for a pastor. I disagree with that approach because Gods church does not need a hired headhunter to do the job. Churches of today still belong to God and He still provides their leaders as He did when Joshua was chosen to replace Moses. God is still in the business of leading His flocks.

Thus, churches who need pastors must take it to God for somewhere in the world God has chosen the right person. The whole church congregation in need must continue to pray and trust God throughout the process.
Mask mandate lifted; still required in public buildings and schools

On Tuesday, County Executive Calvin Ball signed an executive order immediately lifting the mask mandate in Howard County that had been in effect since Dec. 23.

During the past month, weve seen our metrics decrease significantly, and more of our residents got their vaccines and booster shots, Ball said in a statement. Our residents should still use caution in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status. Due to omicrons virulence, we still recommend the use of high-quality masks, such as N95s and KN95s especially for residents who may be at higher risk.

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Masks are still required in all Howard County public buildings and facilities as well as on public transit, including the RTA. Businesses and organizations may also choose to require masks.

The Maryland Department of Education still requires masks to be worn in all public schools and on school buses.

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As of Tuesday, Howard Countys positivity rate was 8.47%, a 70% decrease from its peak, Ball said, and its case rate per 100,000 was 34, an 83% decrease from the peak.

The single most effective way to prevent severe disease and hospitalization from COVID-19 is to get vaccinated and boosted, Ball said in the statement, as it may make the difference in keeping our family and friends out of the hospital.

Approximately 86% of county residents ages 12 years and older are fully vaccinated, according to the statement, although 44% of those eligible still had not received a booster.

Anne Arundel Countys mask ordinance expired on Monday. Baltimore and Harford counties lifted their mask mandates in all buildings, including government buildings, on Tuesday.

Grassroots, county Fire and Rescue partner in opioid response

Howard County Times: Top stories Weekdays Daily highlights from Howard County's number one source for local news. >

Opioid-related patients in Howard County can now be transported directly to Grassroots New Beginnings Crisis Stabilization Center in Columbia, instead of to the hospital, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced Monday.

A partnership between Grassroots, a nonprofit offering behavioral health, crisis and homeless services for individuals and families, and the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, the program allows patients with opioid-related symptoms who are stable and consenting, to be transported to New Beginnings instead of a hospital so they can receive placement in recovery programs and access to multiple resources including food, clothing and health care, Ball said.

Our success means more lives, mores families, are saved, Ball said. We continue to work together across public and private entities to reduce harm, get people the help they need and bring an end to this crisis.

In 2020, Howard County experienced a 43% increase in opioid-related deaths compared to 2019, part of national and statewide trend as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated opioid and substance misuse, Ball said. In 2021, nonfatal overdoses in the county decreased by nearly 10% and fatal overdoses decreased by 57%. In 2020 Howard County reported 47 fatal overdoses, compared to 20 in 2021. Narcan was administered in every non-fatal overdose in 2021.

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The partnership is part of the State Opioid Response program at Grassroots.

We are grateful that our county has been leading the way identifying the strategies and resources to support individuals seeking help for opioid related disorders, Grassroots Executive Director Mariana Izraelson said. We are glad to be in partnership with Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue in this valuable initiative. It allows us to provide immediate care.

Howard County Fire Chief Louis Winston said that there is still more to be done to help those suffering addiction, and the partnership with Grassroots is another tool to give people the chance to heal and start on the path to recovery.
URBANA  With water quality guidelines compelling more farmers to act on nitrogen loss, cover crops and split nitrogen applications are becoming more common in the Midwest. But new University of Illinois research shows these conservation practices may not provide environmental benefits across the board.

As researchers, we tend to look at one type of pollution at a time. Ours is one of the first studies to evaluate the nitrogen cycle more holistically. Conservation practices relating to water quality have gained a lot of attention lately, but its also important to know how they might affect emissions of nitrous oxide, an important greenhouse gas contributing to climate change, says Giovani Preza-Fontes, who worked on the study as a doctoral student in the Department of Crop Sciences at U of I. Preza-Fontes is now a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University.

As greenhouse gases go, nitrous oxide is a doozy. With a potency 298 times that of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide is released when soil microbes metabolize nitrogen, an essential nutrient required to grow corn. When soils warm up in the spring and summer, microbes get to work on any nitrogen not taken up by crops, turning a portion into the powerful greenhouse gas.

Some farmers have moved away from the fall anhydrous application, splitting nitrogen between early spring and mid-season. Proponents say this split application is more precise, delivering the exact amount of nitrogen crops need in the moment and leaving less in the soil to be lost in drainage water. Similarly, farmers plant cover crops to take up any excess nitrogen after crops are harvested.

But how do these practices perform in terms of nitrous oxide emissions?

Preza-Fontes, along with assistant professors Laura Christianson and Cameron Pittelkow (now at UC Davis), measured nitrous oxide emissions in corn fields across three seasons. They mimicked various conservation practices, including a pre-season nitrogen application only; split nitrogen applications in spring and at the V6 or V7 corn growth stage; split nitrogen plus a cereal rye cover crop; or no added nitrogen.

They found shifting from pre-season to in-season split nitrogen application did not influence nitrous oxide levels in any of the three years.

Instead, nitrous oxide spiked in plots with cover crops.

For all three years, we saw greater daily spikes in nitrous oxide emissions with the combination of in-season split nitrogen application and cover crops, but those spikes did not translate into greater cumulative emissions, except for one year. I think this pattern indicates there is a potential for greater nitrous oxide emissions when we incorporate a cereal rye cover crop into our cropping systems, Preza-Fontes says.

Why would cereal rye increase nitrous oxide emissions? Simply put, it can create the perfect conditions for nitrous oxide production. The dead plant matter is a massive dinnerplate for soil microbes, providing extra carbon for microbial activity. The plant residue also helps to create an oxygen-limiting environment, a key condition for nitrous oxide production.

Interestingly, the spikes came in the summer, not immediately after cover crop termination.

Nothing is going on in the field, operations-wise, in July or August. The cover crop has been dead for months at that point. So, for future research, well want to figure out management strategies to do in the spring to help reduce the spikes that come with the cover crop later in the summer, Christianson says.

The study used a burndown glyphosate treatment to kill the cover crops. The researchers say a different termination method, timing, or cover crop species could change the potential for nitrous oxide emissions, but they dont yet know how.

Preza-Fontes adds, We shouldnt rely on only one practice to solve every environmental problem. I think knowing the limitations and advantages of each practice will be the most appropriate way of moving forward.

The study was done at the Dudley Smith Farm. Christianson and her colleagues plan to host a field day in Taylorville on Feb. 10, where they will discuss continuing research on farm conservation practices and water quality. Register at extension.illinois.edu/events/2022-02-10-dudley-smith-farm-winter-meeting

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CHAMPAIGN  The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service is announcing several new and expanded opportunities for climate-smart agriculture.

Updates include nationwide availability of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Conservation Incentive Contracts option and added flexibilities for producers to easily re-enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

These improvements to NRCS working lands conservation programs, combined with continued program opportunities in Illinois, are part of the Biden-Harris Administrations broader effort to support climate-smart agriculture.

Climate and weather issues are real, and Americas agricultural communities are on the frontlines, NRCS State Conservationist Ivan Dozier said. We have to continue to support and expand the adoption of conservation approaches to support producers in their work to address the extreme weather conditions and build more resilient operations. We are continuously working to improve our programs to ensure were giving Illinois farmers the best tools to conserve natural resources.

EQIP Conservation Incentive Contracts: Conservation Incentive Contracts address priority resource concerns, including sequestering carbon and improving soil health in Illinois. Through these contracts, NRCS works with producers to strengthen the quality and condition of natural resources on their operations using three management practices: cover crops, nutrient management, and residue and tillage management/no-till. Conservation Incentive Contracts are five years long and offer producers annual incentive payments to implement management practices.

CSP Re-Enrollment Option: NRCS updated CSP to allow an agricultural producer to immediately re-enroll in the program following an unfunded application to renew an existing contract. Previously, if a CSP participant did not re-enroll the year their contract expired, they were ineligible for the program for two years. This ineligibility was imposed on CSP participants even if their failure to sign a renewal contract was due to the unavailability of funds, which is beyond their control. USDA is now waiving this two-year ineligibility restriction for all CSP applications.

Applicants with unfunded fiscal 2022 CSP renewals will receive letters this month, notifying them they are automatically eligible to apply for future CSP funding opportunities, rather than needing to wait two years to reapply.

How to Apply: NRCS accepts applications for conservation programs year-round including EQIP and CSP--however producers and landowners should apply by the application deadline to be considered for each years funding. The deadline is March 4, 2022 for Conservation Incentive Contracts and February 4, 2022 for CSP. To apply, producers should contact their local USDA Service Center at www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/il/contact/local/

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Illinois State Police said in a news release that Everett B. Williams, 62, was eastbound on Interstate 70 near milepost 89, when his vehicle left the roadway, struck a guardrail and came to rest in the right lane of traffic. The crash happened around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Cook County prosecutors agreed to the dismissal of 20 convictions connected to notorious ex-Chicago police Sgt. Ronald Watts and his crew, and indicated they would oppose efforts to throw out another 15 cases, attorneys said in court Tuesday.

At future court dates this month, prosecutors will agree that at least 30 more Watts-related convictions should be vacated, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx told reporters Tuesday.

More than 130 such convictions have been dismissed in recent years, according to the Cook County states attorneys office. Foxx said the effort was crucial to restoring trust so that citizens are comfortable cooperating with police and prosecutors.

This is integral to public safety, I cannot say it enough, she said. We ask every day for members of the community to step up and work with us  if they dont believe the system is fair and just and in fact that the system is designed to hurt them, they wont help us, and we need them.

Judge Erica Reddick, acting presiding judge of the Criminal Division, formally vacated 20 convictions for 19 people at the end of a lengthy hearing Tuesday. The Watts era was clearly shown to be a blight on the criminal justice system, she said from the bench.

Prosecutors did not agree Tuesday to the request that 15 other convictions should be tossed out. Those cases may be headed for further hearings at which a judge will decide whether the convictions should stand.

Watts and his crew of tactical officers have been accused of orchestrating a lengthy reign of terror at the now-razed Ida B. Wells public housing complex on the South Side, systematically forcing residents and drug dealers alike to pay a protection tax and putting bogus cases on those who refused to do so.

When Watts was finally caught, in 2012, it was on relatively minor federal charges of shaking down a drug courier who turned out to be an FBI agent. Watts and Officer Kallatt Mohammed both pleaded guilty, and Watts received 22 months in prison. He was released in 2015.

Tuesdays hearing was the latest in a string of mass exonerations related to Watts and his crew, the first of which made headlines in 2017 as the countys first en-masse dismissal.

Prosecutors are committed to reviewing each case separately, rather than simply throwing out all cases with any connection to the crew, Foxx told reporters.

We have to talk about them on an individual basis, it depends on who was working on the cases, the time period were looking at, the sufficiency of the evidence, or other evidence, she said. It is a process that has been painfully slow but one that we believe must be done meticulously.

Attorneys for Watts accusers, however, told reporters they cannot see any differences between the cases that prosecutors have chosen to dismiss and maintain.

Each one of these people has presented the same evidence of innocence, said Joel Flaxman, who represents several of the people whose cases were heard Tuesday. ... Were going to be back in court on each one of the cases, and I hope that well be able to convince the states attorney. Failing that, we will have hearings where we convince a judge of the innocence of all our clients.

Tuesdays hearing was the first of three scheduled court dates at which prosecutors will announce whether they will fight to keep dozens of Watts-related convictions intact. Further proceedings are scheduled for later this month.

The hearings are a response to an expansive joint effort last summer by attorneys for 88 people with Watts-related convictions, who filed petitions en masse asking that those cases be thrown out.

It was a bold move, seemingly intended to force Cook County prosecutors to announce a decision on the cases after prosecutors ongoing review of such convictions had, in the view of some Watts accusers attorneys, stalled out.

Prosecutors said in November they would not oppose the dismissal of five of those cases.

Since there were still dozens of cases from last summers petition that had not yet been resolved, Reddick agreed to split the list of cases into three parts, so as not to overburden the schedule.

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BELLEVILLE, Ill.  A former Southern Illinois preschool employee accused of punishing children by making them stand naked in a closet has pleaded guilty to four felony charges.

Shavonda L. Willis, 44, of Fairview Heights, pleaded guilty on Friday to three counts of unlawful restraint, one count of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge, said Chris Allen, spokesman for the St. Clair County state's attorney's office. Five other charges she had faced were dismissed.

Willis pleaded guilty 10 days before her jury trial was set to begin, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 19.

Willis and Mary M. Agbehia, 29, of the Chicago-area community of South Holland, both had worked for a federally funded Head Start program operated by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis.

Authorities said in 2019 that four or five children ages 5 years and under were subjected to the punishment of being forced to stand naked in a closet at the preschool for five or 10 minutes with the door open before they could put their clothes back on and rejoin class.

Agbehia pleaded guilty to five felonies in July, three days before her trial was set to begin. She was sentenced in September to one year in prison and 24 months of probation.

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SPRINGFIELD  Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster declaration Tuesday in anticipation of a winter storm that could dump more than one foot of snow across wide swaths of central and southern Illinois.

Pritzker, in a press conference at the Illinois Emergency Management Agencys operations center in Springfield, also announced the activation of 130 Illinois National Guard members to assist state agencies with the storm response.

I want to assure county and local officials and everyone in the path of the storm that my administration will provide resources every step of the way," Pritzker said. "... We are ready to assist anyone in any community that is in need. We are one Illinois.

State officials compared the possible snow event to the Snowmaggeden blizzard that rocked the state in 2011, which left motorists stranded on highways across the state.

The message was clear: do not travel unless it is absolutely necessary.

If you don't have to go out in this weather, stay at home, said Illinois State Police director Brendan Kelly. This will free up state resources to handle emergency calls  and we're going to be getting those emergency calls.

Illinois National Guard troops will be deployed to a handful of state police districts across the state to assist with the rescue of stranded motorists.

The Illinois Department of Transportation will deploy more than 1,800 trucks and equipment to plow and treat roads and respond to emergencies.

The storm has already caused disruption to what was supposed to be a major week on the state legislative calendar with Pritzker expected to deliver his combined state of the state and budget address to state lawmakers at the Capitol Wednesday.

However, the House and Senate canceled scheduled session days for the rest of this week, citing the "difficult if not impossible" driving conditions.

The governor's office announced that Pritzker will plow ahead with a live speech on Wednesday, but instead deliver it at the Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield in front of a much-smaller audience.

"I was excited to have the legislature back in and be able to speak to a live audience," Pritzker said. "... But nevertheless, here we are. And what I am excited about is delivering the message and, of course, it will be delivered to the people of Illinois, and all the legislators no doubt will be tuning in."

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Conditions will be deteriorating dramatically across Central Illinois late Tuesday night and across Southern Illinois on Wednesday afternoon. Here's the latest breakdown of what to expect over the next few days.

Tuesday Night

Rain has begun transitioning to freezing rain across Central Illinois. Freezing rain will be followed by sleet and then snow. Bloomington may already make the transition to snow shortly after midnight. Meanwhile, Decatur and Mattoon will likely be in the freezing rain and sleet zone during the overnight hours. All rain is expected across Southern Illinois with no ice accumulation just yet.

Wednesday

Decatur will have made the transition to snow to start the day Wednesday, but the transition may take until 12 p.m. for the Mattoon area. Ice accumulations will range from zero to 0.15 inches across Central Illinois, with the highest totals likely around Mattoon. It's also around 12 p.m. that Carbondale is expected to switch over from rain to freezing rain. For the rest of the afternoon and the rest of the storm, it will be all snow for Central Illinois. Winds will be gusting from 25 to 30 mph across the area causing any snow that falls to be blown around, further reducing visibility.

Wednesday Night

Snow, heavy at times, will continue across Central Illinois along with gusty winds. For Southern Illinois, freezing rain will transition to sleet during the evening hours. Total ice accumulation around the Carbondale area is expected to range from 0.10 inches to 0.20 inches. With more time spent with sleet than freezing rain, Carbondale now looks to avoid the threat of power outages, but roads will still be quite icy. Winds will gust around 25 mph.

Thursday

Snow still looks likely for Bloomington, Decatur and Mattoon during the morning hours. Carbondale will also make the transition from sleet to snow at this time. The snow will become more scattered in nature and begin to lose its intensity during the afternoon. Expect a windy day with gusts 30 to 40 mph. The snow may end around Bloomington by 6 p.m.

Thursday Night

Snow showers will come to an end from north to south across the region with the last of the flurries expected to exit Southern Illinois by sunrise Friday. Winds will continue to gust 20 to 25 mph.

When it's all said and done, forecast models currently project 11 to 15 inches of snow will have fallen around Bloomington-Normal. Snow totals will be smaller farther south, but will still be very high. Decatur is forecast to see 10 to 14 inches and Mattoon is forecast to see 9 to 13 inches. Due to the extended period of sleet, Carbondale will see less, with the current forecast calling for 3 to 7 inches of snow.

For Central Illinois, travel should be avoided late Tuesday night through the day Thursday. The combination of heavy and blowing snow will cause near whiteout conditions at times. Most roads will become snow covered. A thin layer of ice could be hidden under the snow on roads and other surfaces, especially in Decatur and Mattoon. If you must venture out, use extreme caution. Vehicles could become stranded. Carry a fully charged cell phone with you so you can call for help if needed. Travel will likely still be difficult Thursday night and through the day on Friday, especially on secondary and neighborhood roads, as crews work to clear the ice and snow.

For Southern Illinois, travel should be avoided Wednesday afternoon through Thursday night. While visibility won't be as bad as in Central Illinois with less snow expected, travel will be just as difficult with many icy roads expected from the freezing rain and sleet. Road conditions will likely remain poor through the day on Friday and possibly into Saturday.

Matt Holiner covers weather and climate across the Midwest. Matt has eight years of professional meteorology experience and has forecast every type of weather for cities across the country. He holds the National Weather Association's Seal of Approval.

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GREENSBORO  N.C. Supreme Court Associated Justice Anita Earls  a possible U.S. Supreme Court pick for President Joe Biden  told a gathering at N.C. A&T on Tuesday she has seen an erosion of civil rights legal victories over her career.

Weve increasingly returned to a system where the legal system is used to reinforce private acts of discrimination, the former civil rights attorney said.

Earls recorded a video message for A&Ts annual sit-in movement anniversary celebration, which was held in the Deese Ballroom at the student center.

The celebration marks Feb. 1, 1960, the day four Black A&T students sat down at the downtown Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter that the store had limited to white people. Their action drew in many other protesters and sparked a national sit-in movement that energized the larger civil rights struggle.

Joseph McNeil, one of the four A&T students that started the sit-in, was among those attending Tuesdays campus event.

Earls served as keynote speaker this year after having received one of the universitys highest honors, its Human Rights Medal, during last years Feb. 1 celebration.

Before joining the court, Earls was a civil rights attorney for 30 years in private practice in Charlotte, in the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice during Bill Clintons presidency, and at the UNC Center for Civil Rights at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2007, she founded and served as executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a legal advocacy nonprofit in Durham, where she lives.

A Democrat, Earls was elected to the N.C. Supreme Court in 2018 for an eight-year term that ends in 2026.

The Yale Law graduate has told other news organizations she is honored to be considered for the U.S. Supreme Court position, but did not bring up the topic in her speech Tuesday.

Biden promised during his presidential campaign that he would nominate a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court if a seat came open during his term. He made that pledge again last week after Justice Stephen Breyer announced he is stepping down at the end of the courts current term.

Some national news outlets, such as the Washington Post and National Public Radio, have reported Earls is one of the Black women Biden is considering, though their coverage has focused more on three other possible picks.

Earls told Tuesdays audience that shed learned about the sit-in movement during her time as an undergraduate at Williams College in Massachusetts. She said it inspired her to go on a hunger strike and to sit-in at her colleges administration building as part of a movement calling for divestment from South Africa during apartheid.

A&Ts celebration Tuesday was titled: 62 Years in the Making: Increasing Our Stride. Earls suggested that in thinking about increasing stride, it makes sense to figure out whether you are going in the right direction.

We have to be striding toward a society where everybody is treated as a human being, she said.

She said as a law student, her goals were to, advance the law and improve the law.

But she said that in her 30 years as a practicing civil rights attorney, she found herself playing defense, trying to sustain the gains that other civil rights attorneys had made during their careers.

What I saw was that I was just trying to push against efforts to dismantle those precedents, she said.

Earls listed three trends she sees as impeding legal progress toward everyone being treated as equal humans.

One, she said, is a failure of legal doctrines to fully recognize how laws or policies can be discriminatory in how they impact a group of people, even if they are not written with the express purpose of discriminating.

Second, she said, is a failure to recognize discrimination against people on the basis of lack of wealth.

Lastly, she described what she sees as the legal system reverting toward protecting private discrimination.

I think we should drop this distinction between what the government does and what private businesses, individuals, and institutions might do, that if we are discriminating on the basis of race, that should not be enforced by the legal system, she said.

She said one example of past private racial discrimination is the Woolworth whites-only lunch counter policy. The sit-ins, she said, brought national attention to it, and helped people wake up to the harm going on.

We increase our stride when we make injustice visible, she said. Whether we do that through culture, through arts, through lawsuits, through public advocacy, I think everyone in this room can probably very creatively think of a way that they can identify injustices they see occurring and think of ways to make them visible.

Contact Jessie Pounds at 336-373-7002 and follow @JessiePounds on Twitter.

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Howard County police have charged Howard County Public School System employee Michael K. Williams, 60, of Cooksville with second-degree assault against a student at Howard High School.

The charge follows a Dec. 2 incident at Howard High School during which a 17-year-old male student assaulted other students in the cafeteria, according to the Howard County Police Department.

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Williams, who was employed as a security assistant at the high school, physically engaged with the student to stop the attacks, police said.

A video of the incident surfaced on social media in early December. The video showed three adults, an administrator dressed in a suit and two other adults in uniforms holding down the student on the floor of the cafeteria. One of the adults in uniform can be seen punching the student in the head twice and holding onto his hair while the other adult appears to hold the students arms down. A third adult in uniform, with the words police lettered on his back, can be seen holding down the students feet.

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The incident caused the school to go into a temporary lockdown.

After a detailed police investigation and review by the Howard County States Attorneys Office, it was determined that Williams actions, which included striking the student, warranted a criminal charge, according to the police department.

The student was charged as a juvenile in December with assault against the other students, police said.

The other adults involved in the incident, including a school administrator and a school resource officer, were also investigated related to the incident. It was determined that they would not be charged criminally as a result of their actions that day, police said.
The massive fire at the Winston Weaver Co. Inc. plant in Winston-Salem appears to affect about 36 employees.

The privately-held companys website has limited historical information other than to say the company was founded in 1929 in Norfolk, Va., and the Winston-Salem plant opened in January 1940. It was incorporated in 1993.

The fire began Monday night at the 65,423-square-foot plant at 4440 N. Cherry St., causing Winston-Salem Fire Department officials to order an evacuation of a one-mile radius around the 8.46-acre site.

Winston Weaver officials could not be reached for comment about the fire, whether the plant was insured and if/how they plan to resume business. The voice mail at the companys office was not accepting messages.

Company representative Andrew Carroll released a statement Tuesday through the city of Winston-Salem that read that there have been no injuries or loss of life to any employees, fire responders or citizens at this time.

We will continue working with first responders and relevant officials to ensure safety of the community, and we will participate fully in the investigation into the cause of the fire.

Winston Weaver is not a member of Greater Winston-Salem Inc.

The latest Dun & Bradstreet report on the company, updated in December, listed it with 35 employees overall and annual sales in the $19 million to $20 million range.

According to the latest corporation filing with the N.C. Secretary of States office, Michael Carroll is listed as company president, G. Dallas Barnes Jr. as vice president and Joshua Abrahams as chief financial officer.

Carroll is listed as executive with Meherrin Fertilizer Inc. of Severn, according to Meherrins website.

A Lexus-Nexus search for Barnes lists him as an executive or official with three companies in eastern North Carolina: president of Halifax Fertilizer Co. Inc. of Enfield; vice president of Meherrin; and a member-manager with Rogersrun Farm LLC of Margarettsville.

Carroll and Barnes have not returned messages left at their Meherrin offices. Severn and Margarettsville are in Northhampton County.

Winston Weaver specializes in all-purpose plant food and specialty fertilizer. Its products are sold at Lowes home-improvement stores throughout the Southeast.

The fire, however, will not disrupt the fertilizer supply chain for Lowes, the company said.

We source this product from other locations and suppliers, and dont anticipate any supply interruptions, Lowes spokesman Steve Salazar said.

Commissioners thoughts

Mike Causey, the states insurance commissioner, appeared at a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the bequest of Winston-Salem Fire Department chief Trey Mayo.

Causey said the department has two investigators from the state Office of Fire Marshals, along with a drone, at the plant site.

There are just a lot of unanswered questions, Causey said.

Causey said the department is gathering information on whether Winston Weaver had insurance on the plant.

Thats going to be a key to the business getting back on its feet, Causey said.

It depends on what type of insurance coverage it had, if they had a business interruption policy.

Causey drew a comparison to the Dec. 18 QVC distribution center fire in Rocky Mount in expressing theres no guarantee the company will choose to rebuild the plant.

QVC announced it was closing the facility, affecting 1,953 employees, citing the cost of rebuilding. In a WARN Act notice filed with the N.C. Commerce Department, QVC said it would be laying off employees starting Tuesday.

Its too early to tell if it is a total loss, but what I have heard from the fire chief is that there has been tremendous structural damage, most of the structure consumed by the fire, Causey said.

Causey said a major factor in Winston Weavers decision on whether to rebuild is the cost of a brand-new structure compared with a building that predated most, if not all, business codes, in particular requiring sprinklers in commercial buildings.

Many times, when a business is destroyed like this, it tends to disappear, Causey said.

The fact that Winston Weavers parent company has other fertilizer facilities in eastern N.C., and whether they can absorb the local production volume in the long term, could determine whether it makes sense to rebuild, Causey said.

Ive been told theres already a fertilizer shortage in the country, and the destruction of this plant just further adds to that shortage, Causey said.

The Winston Weaver plant fire may be the largest fire in or near downtown Winston-Salem since August 1998.

What was described at that time as a raging inferno of wind, flames and smoke destroyed a vacant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Building No. 256, and severely damaged several old tobacco factories.

That includes Albert Hall, which was singed but still left standing, that was rebuilt to become an early anchor of Piedmont Triad Research Park, which is now branded as Innovation Quarter.

In all, 500,000 square feet of prime downtown factory space was leveled by the fire.

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Winston-Salem fire officials are taking extensive safety measures in the wake of a massive fire at the Winston Weaver Co.s fertilizer plant that prompted an effort to evacuate thousands of residents, Chief Trey Mayo said Tuesday.

Mayo described the fire as potentially the most dangerous one in the citys history.

Three companies of firefighters are monitoring the scene, Mayo said at a news conference Tuesday.

The fertilizer plant at 4400 N. Cherry St. in the citys northern section contained nearly 600 tons of ammonium nitrate, which is commonly used in fertilizer but is potentially explosive when stored in large quantities.

The fire department is allowing the fire to burn off the remaining ammonium nitrate at the plant. The scope of the fire was smaller Tuesday than the massive fire that started Monday night, Mayo said.

We do not know what the rate of consumption is, Mayo said. We just need it to burn out of fuel.

The danger of explosion at the plant remains until 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, Mayo said.

Ive been in this business for 33 years, Mayo said. When I learned how much ammonium nitrate was on the site last night, I felt as uneasy at a fire site that I have ever felt.

The fire at Winston Weaver was reported just before 7 p.m. Monday and quickly spread. No injuries were reported.

The companys 36 employees are safe and have been accounted for, said Ed McNeal, a city spokesman.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Ammonium nitrate is one of the worlds most common fertilizers and is a key component in many types of explosives used in mining. To create blasts, ammonium nitrate is mixed with fuel oil and detonated by an explosive charge.

A group of 60 city firefighters initially responded to the fire Monday night, Mayo said. That number was reduced to 21 firefighters Tuesday.

At some point, we will be able to get in there and completely extinguish the fire, Mayo said.

The fire department will maintain its one-mile evacuation radius as a precaution, Mayo said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will monitor the air quality from the fire.

A crew with Piedmont Natural Gas Co. shut off the valves of two gas lines that run into the fertilizer plant to prevent an explosion, Mayo said.

Aerial surveillance showed that the fire didnt pose a heat threat Tuesday to an adjacent railcar containing about 100 tons of ammonium nitrate, Mayo said.

The fire department last inspected the plant Dec. 21, and no violations were found.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a quarterly inspection of the facility Jan. 3 and reported no violations. A three-year compliance report from the agency listed no violations from the first quarter of 2019 through the most recent inspection.

The EPA monitors air emissions, impacts on water quality and any releases of toxic chemicals. The agency does not regulate plant safety, however.

The wind was expected to blow from the northwest Tuesday night, and residents who live in the areas northwest of the plant will smell the smoke in what Mayo described as spent fireworks.

The smoke contains compounds of sulfur and ammonia, which are irritants, but are not particularly toxic, Mayo said.

We recommend folks who have sensitive respiratory systems to avoid being outside (and) remain indoors and keep doors and windows shut, Mayo said. We dont encourage folks exercising, running and walking if they can see smoke and smell the products of combustion.

At an earlier news conference Tuesday, Matthew Smith of the N.C. Regional Hazardous Materials team, also said that fire didnt pose an immediate danger to peoples lives and health.

There is a 36-hour window that will run through (Wednesday) morning, Smith said. We cant go anywhere near it for at least 36 hours.

City and state officials have asked residents who live in the one-mile radius of the fire to voluntarily evacuate from their homes, Mayo said.

Mayo stressed that the evacuation is not mandatory.

We live in a free country, Mayo said. Our capacity to force people to leave their homes is limited.

Gov. Roy Cooper released a statement Tuesday, saying that he and other state officials are in contact with local leaders, such as Mayor Allen Joines, and first responders.

State officials are offering the support necessary to protect people and help put out the fire, said Cooper, who will be in Winston-Salem on Wednesday.

This dangerous fire is extremely concerning, Cooper said

A spokesman for Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant issued a statement Tuesday afternoon through city officials.

Andrew Carroll, a company representative, said that the fire started at the plant at approximately 6:30 p.m. Monday, and fire officials were immediately contacted.

There have been no injuries or loss of life to any employees, fire responders or citizens at this time. We are grateful for the outstanding, rapid work last night and ongoing support from fire officials, as well as the volunteer services who have supported our employees and plant neighbors, Carroll said in the statement.

We will continue working with first responders and relevant officials to ensure safety of the community, and we will participate fully in the investigation into the cause of the fire.

North Hills Elementary School, which is in the one-mile evacuation zone, moved to remote learning on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, the school district opened the Education Building on Bethania Station Road for students who want an in-person option.

North Hills staff will lead lessons for those students and help students learning remotely.

Mike Causey, the N.C. commissioner of insurance and the state fire marshal, described the fire as a tragedy.

Its a dangerous situation and still very volatile, Causey said.

The state fire marshals office deployed a drone and two investigators at the scene, Causey said. There is an investigation to determine how the fire started, said August Vernon, the director of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Emergency Management.

The fire will result in the loss of fertilizer, worsening a current statewide shortage of that product, Causey said.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the residents who had to evacuate for safety reasons, Causey said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mayo said that local firefighters want to prevent the scenario that happened in a 2013 explosion at the West Fertilizer storage and distribution plant in West, Texas, that killed 15, injured more than 150 and destroyed more than 150 buildings.

There were 240 tons of ammonium nitrate on site (in Texas), Mayo said. There are 600 tons on site here. If that doesnt communicate the gravity of the situation, I dont know how to verbalize that.

A few mini-explosions were heard (and felt) Monday night, Mayo said, but nothing significant since. The danger of a larger explosion is what caused officials to pull firefighters away from the plant.

City officials used a reverse 911 system Monday asking residents living within a 1-mile radius to evacuate. A half-dozen or so people went to an emergency shelter opened at the Carolina Classic Fairgrounds.

State officials ordered the evacuation of a nearby Forsyth Correctional Center and Wake Forest University voluntarily evacuated some students and staff before canceling classes for the day Tuesday.

Fire investigators havent determined an estimate of the damage at the plant, Mayo said. The plant has a property tax value of $1.3 million, according to Forsyth County tax records.

Company officials will assess the plants damage, but that will take several days, Mayo said.

Michael Hewlett and John Deem contributed to this story. 336-727-7481 @scottsextonwsj

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An author with Guilford County connections has won a raft of national awards for her latest childrens book.

The question is: Will children be allowed to read it?

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, by Carole Boston Weatherford, received the most recognition from the American Library Association this year among all books for young people. Weatherford, a former longtime High Point resident, and illustrator Floyd Cooper each won a Coretta Scott King Award this year.

Published in 2021, Unspeakable also was named a Caldecott honor book and a runner-up for the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal.

Among its other honors and distinctions: Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List 2022-2023; Eureka! Childrens Book Award winner (2021); Notable Award winner, New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Childrens Book (2021); BookPage Best Books of the Year winner (2021); winner, New York Public Library Best Books for Kids 2021  and, well, so on.

Kirkus Reviews called Unspeakable a somber, well-executed addition to the history.

Even so, Weatherford, a former High Point resident who teaches at Fayetteville State University and now lives in Johnston County, expects that some school boards and libraries may just say no to it.

Thats because Unspeakable speaks truth about the worst single instance of racial violence in U.S. history.

In 1921, a heavily armed white mob in Tulsa, Okla., invaded Greenwood, one of the most prosperous Black communities in the country, laying waste to 35 square blocks, killing as many as 300 and sending another 800 to hospitals. They attacked from the ground, with guns and torches, destroying an estimated 1,256 homes, as well as schools, churches and businesses. And they attacked from air, firing rifles and dropping firebombs from airplanes.

For decades the incident was effectively erased from Tulsas history, until, under mounting pressure, the city and this country faced up to it.

Given attempts in some communities across the country to remove books that address unflattering chapters in Americas racial past, could Unspeakable suffer a similar fate?

Of course, she said by phone last week. Books about Black history had a harder time as it was, said Weatherford, who has written 60 books.

Books about Black-oriented topics arent considered mainstream to begin with, she said. The culture wars have only made it worse. These types of books will be even less desirable than they were before.

As for why theres suddenly a hue and cry about critical race theory, Weatherford didnt mince her words. (Im too old to act like I dont know whats going on, she said, chuckling.)

In order to have minority rule first you have to control the flow of information. And that includes the kind of information thats getting out in the classroom. They would like to have us think that Black people are broken  that Latino people are broken. That theres not anything thats systemic.

So now we have bills like ones in Florida and Georgia that would make it against the law to make white people feel discomfort or guilt when being taught about racism and discrimination.

And an executive order from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin that bans the teaching of any inherently divisive concepts in Virginia schools.

And some parents in Tennessee who want to ban a childrens picture book by Ruby Bridges, who as a 6-year-old girl integrated an all-white elementary school in New Orleans.

The thing is, Weatherford said, white children typically dont feel uncomfortable when reading and discussing Unspeakable. But they do have lots of questions: Did that really happen? Why did that happen? And why did white people treat Black people so unfairly?

So here we are, a hop, skip and a jump away from banning books not because they arent factual, but because some of us dont want to hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Or for anyone else to hear it, for that matter.

The thing is, part of Weatherfords talent is her graceful storytelling. The books depiction of the raw violence of the massacre, in both her words and Coopers illustrations, is restrained. And it ends with an image of Black and white people locking arms in a circle, with a call for us to realize the responsibility we all have to reject hatred and violence and to instead choose hope.

It would be a shame if some parents and politicians were to render such books untouchable because of closed eyes and small minds.

Allen Johnson is the Journals executive editorial page editor.
SHELTON  Larry Brannagan has worked in a grocery store for most of his life.

His father, also Larry, owned and operated Mr. Bs Grocery Store in Wood River. Brannagan followed in his dads footsteps and has owned and operated his own store, Larrys Market, in Shelton for 35 years with his wife, Joanne.

My dad always wanted to own a grocery store. He bought that store in 1980. I kind of learned it from him. We were interested in the same things, Larry said.

Larry attended Kearney State College to study business while continuing to work at Mr. Bs. While he was in college, the Shelton grocery store owner approached the Brannagans about purchasing the Shelton store.

When this one came up, (my dad) was like, Well, I cant buy it unless you are going to run it. Joanne and I were going to get married anyway so we both decided that would be something we could try, Larry explained.

The Brannagans purchased the store, and Larry and Joanne have operated the business since. Working with his dad and his wife has been one of the best parts of working at the store.

Its been great. We are a good team. We work well together. Joanne has her departments that she orders and stocks and takes inventory on, and I have mine, Larry said.

Larrys Market is housed in a massive, stately building in downtown Shelton. The age of the building  sections were built in the late 1800s and others in the early 1900s  is one of the challenges of owning the store.

Our building is so old. Its hard to update that. Its been more maintenance than anything, Larry said.

As the only full-time employees at the store, the Brannagans dont often take vacations. However, they take trips to eastern Nebraska to visit their two daughters and three young grandchildren. Sometimes they even leave after work to have dinner with their kids and head home the same night.

That is our vacation, Larry said with a laugh.

Vacation or even a day off were even more difficult to come by when the pandemic hit in early 2020. When it first began affecting the area, the Brannagans told their employees that if they were uncomfortable working, they didnt have to come to work.

Most of them took that time off. A couple did stay.  During that period when it first was bad, it was just me and Joanne pretty much all the time, Larry said.

The store also saw an increase in deliveries, and if anyone was quarantined, Larry was the one to drop the groceries on their doorstep.

Since opening their store 35 years ago, the Brannagans have seen other businesses come and go and more residents traveling out of town for employment.

If people are going to work, they go to Kearney or Grand Island to work. So while they are there its easy to get groceries. I think if we had more employment in town, we would all be better off, Larry said.

Working and living in the small town has been worthwhile for the couple and their family.

Im from Grand Island so Im familiar with the area, and my family is all close. That is one thing I like. Shelton is a great small town. We are really involved in the school and sports, Larry said.

Larry and Joanne have thought about retirement, but its not something they are seriously considering quite yet. Being able to work with family and their employees has helped them build a successful career and business.

We have had some really good employees along the way.  Our good employees have been the best memories, and working alongside my dad was a good memory. Its been great, Larry said.

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NEW YORK (AP)  When the Irish dance troupe Riverdance kicks off its 25th anniversary North American tour later this year, someone special will be in its high-stepping cast: the troupe's first Black female dancer.

Virginia-born Morgan Bullock, who says she's been mesmerized by the dance style since she first saw it at age 10, will be making her professional U.S. stage debut in the production. She recently completed a United Kingdom tour with the show.

"Irish dancing in general is just something that I've felt deeply since the first time that I saw it  it was something that I was supposed to be doing," she says. "For one reason or another, it has stuck with me."

The tour starts March 4 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and will make stops in cities including Boston; Springfield, Illinois; Pittsburgh; Buffalo, New York; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Toledo, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City, Missouri and Birmingham, Alabama.

"I just feel so honored and so excited to be a part of the show as it's returning to American audiences," says the Virginia Commonwealth University graduate who studied at the Baffa Academy of Irish Dance. "I hope that the tour reaches even wider audiences."

While Bullock was known to producers since she attended a Riverdance summer school in Boston as a teenager, her profile exploded when TikTok videos of her high kicking and tapping to hip-hop songs like Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage" and Doja Cat and SZA's "Kiss Me More" went viral. Those videos helped serve as her audition tape.

"Besides the talent that she is, her personality and what she stands for as a human is what we're all about," says Padraic Moyles, the show's executive producer and director. "That is one of the major reasons why we felt it's time for Morgan to be in the show."

Bullock's inclusion has been widely cheered, though she initially faced some online snark and even racial abuse from those accusing her of cultural appropriation.

"I think what's so special about Irish dancing is that it does transcend cultural borders, and it's something that can be enjoyed by literally anyone, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like, no matter if you even have an Irish connection," she says. "It's a beautiful cultural art form. I think because it has Irish in the name, people think you have to be Irish, but that couldn't be further from the truth."

"Riverdance" first premiered on the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest as a seven-minute segment and opened at Dublin's Point Theatre on Feb. 9, 1995, at a time of renewed Irish optimism and pride surrounding the onset of the booming "Celtic Tiger" economy. It has toured the world many times over.

The two-hour "Riverdance" show is loosely based on the story of Irish culture and mass immigration to America, the story woven through music and dance styles including flamenco and tap. Most of the dancing is drawn from traditional Irish step dancing, in which the arms and body move little while the feet create the sound and action.

"Though the style itself might seem rigid in its traditional form, I use it as an outlet to express myself," Bullock says. "Almost everything about it is mesmerizing to me. There's something about Irish dancing that I feel like resonates with anyone who watches it."

Moyles, who danced in the show for years, says the creators of Riverdance  Moya Doherty and John McColgan  always hoped that one day it would include dancers from all over the world. Currently, it has performers from the United States, Iran, Australia, Israel, Japan, Mexico and Canada.

"If you're good enough, if you have an open mind to try something and work hard at it, then we in Riverdance will welcome you with open arms," he says.

Bullock is part of a sisterhood of women who have recently shattered barriers on American stages, including Emilie Kouatchou, who became the first Black woman to play Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway, and Brittney Johnson, who is poised to become the first Black woman to play Glinda in "Wicked."

Moyles says he was particularly impressed by the professionalism and maturity Bullock showed facing online haters. "Morgan is there because she's fantastic first and foremost. And because of the type of person that she is and how she represents or blends with the culture that is Riverdance."

Bullock looks forward to a family reunion on, appropriately enough, St. Patrick's Day. She'll be performing at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., not that far from her family home in Midlothian, Virginia.

"I have a lot of family and friends planning on coming out to that," she says. "I got really, really excited about that when I saw that on the schedule."

***

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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A 51-year-old Lincoln man accused of hitting a man with a heavy pole and killing him in the middle of the day near one of the busiest intersections in town in October has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Brian Adams Sr. hasn't yet been given a trial date in connection to the death of Trevious "Trey" Clark, 29.

Police said a 911 call shortly after 3 p.m. Oct. 18 sent police and Lincoln Fire and Rescue to an apartment house at 26th and Vine streets where Clark had been struck in the head during a fight in the driveway.

When police arrived 3 minutes later, people on the scene were performing CPR. Clark was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Police arrested Adams at a home in southwest Lincoln a few hours later, and he was hospitalized for injuries suspected to have been from the fight. He was later released and taken to the county jail.

Prosecutors later charged him with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.

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An 18-year-old Lincoln woman was arrested early Wednesday after she allegedly chased her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend with a steak knife, threatening to kill the woman.

Lincoln Police Sgt. Chris Vigil said Valea Lewis first showed up to her 20-year-old ex-boyfriend's house at about 2 a.m. Wednesday and threatened to kill his 21-year-old girlfriend before she forced her way inside the house, where she grabbed a steak knife and chased the couple into the parking lot.

After the couple retreated to the man's car, Vigil said, Lewis stabbed at the car's hood and continued to hurl threats at the occupants.

Lewis left the area, near the 2400 block of North 56th Street, after the man called police, Vigil said. She was taken into custody a short time later at her home near 70th and Adams streets.

She was arrested on suspicion of terroristic threats and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and taken to the Lancaster County Jail.

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The University of Nebraska-Lincoln began handing out four free KN95 masks to every student, faculty and staff member Wednesday.

Mask availability was spurred by a request from the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska and is possible because of a partnership with the State of Nebraska.

Taylor Jarvis, ASUNs internal vice president and a student representative on the chancellors COVID-19 Task Force, contacted fellow task force members to explore options to acquire masks. Task force members from Student Affairs and the Office of Research and Economic Development pursued multiple avenues, including reaching out to state officials.

Taylors request and our throwing a Hail Mary to the state came together at the perfect time, said Tony Rathgeber, associate to the vice chancellor in Student Affairs. Our campus community now has access to 150,000 free KN95 masks. That should be enough to get us through this most current wave of COVID-19 infections.

With proper care, each of the KN95 masks can be worn for up to 40 hours, or five days.

Both KN95s and N95s filter 95% of air particles, but N95s are approved for medical settings, generally with head straps, and are produced in the United States.
When Peter Licata departed Florida by plane Monday, he could already tell where he was headed simply from the people on board.

The passengers were hospitable. Patient. Typical Midwesterners headed, like himself, to the heart of the country. And when the plane landed, something else struck him, too: a gorgeous sunset framing the sky  and the unpredictable Nebraska weather.

"When I left Palm Beach County, Florida, it was 36 degrees. And I got on the airplane and it was 54 when I landed here," he said Tuesday.

Not the rude awakening a lifetime south Floridian like Licata might have expected this time of year.

Thermometers and beautiful vistas aside, Licata, the current deputy superintendent in Palm Beach County, wants to make a home in Nebraska to help grow a "thriving" community as Lincoln Public Schools' next superintendent.

Licata, the lone finalist from outside the Midwest, is among four candidates interviewing for the position with the Lincoln Board of Education this week. He spent Tuesday meeting with staff, parents and students before an evening public forum with board members.

His leadership experience during booming growth in Palm Beach County  where he oversees 65,000 students in the district's south region  is something he says he can bring to LPS, which is set to open two new high schools over the next two years.

"Lincoln is a great place. It's a great city, it's a great community," the 57-year-old Licata said. "As a lifetime South Floridian ... my wife and I want to make a stopover  and a final stopover  to a place that's going to give us an opportunity to even (make) bigger impacts on education."

He talked about his priorities: making sure children are reading on grade level, raising the graduation rate and opening up opportunities to students when they leave LPS. Licata pointed to his work raising the graduation rates at nine high schools he oversees even as the pandemic disrupted classrooms.

Those impacts are still ongoing, and it starts with mental health, said Licata. If a child is not in a classroom thinking about learning, they cannot succeed, he said.

Licata, who began his career as a teacher and later middle school and high school principal, went on to serve in a number of administrative roles in Florida.

Those include stints as a secondary curriculum director, quality-assurance administrator and assistant superintendent overseeing career and technical education programming before becoming deputy superintendent in Palm Beach County.

Last week, Licata was named as a finalist for superintendent of Broward County Public Schools in Florida, but he withdrew from consideration, the Palm Beach Post reported. Licata said he and his wife's desire to move to a place like Lincoln convinced him to pull his name.

"So if you ask me, 'Why Lincoln?' Why not with all those great things they have?"

Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @zach_hammack

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A high school student has been arrested in the killing of James Blue, an Amtrak conductor and the husband of a Baltimore Police lieutenant, city police said Wednesday.

Police connected 18-year-old Sahiou Kargbo, a student at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, to the Jan. 25 fatal shooting through witnesses and surveillance video from the neighborhood. Video from the school showed Kargbo leave the Northeast Baltimore high school just before they say he fatally shot Blue outside a rowhouse he was renovating, according to charging documents.

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City schools officials confirmed that Kargbo is a student at the school.

Blue recently had purchased the home in the 1400 block of Walker Ave., and was in the process of fixing it up, family said. He was waiting outside in his car for a refrigerator to be delivered, and was talking on the phone with his son when he was killed.

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Baltimore Police have not provided a motive in the killing. Deputy Commissioner Brian Nadeau, who oversees the Public Integrity Bureau where Blues wife is assigned, said previously that investigators did not believe Blue was targeted because of his wifes work as a police officer.

Kargbo is facing armed robbery charges in Baltimore County for an incident Jan. 6 at a Parkville Wendys. County police wrote in charging documents in that case that Kargbo is a member of the Harford & 28 street gang and is known to carry a gun. At the time of Blues homicide, he had an open warrant in Baltimore City for discharging a firearm in November, county police said.

Police wrote in charging documents that Kargbo walked up to Blues car and started shooting the rear of the vehicle. Blue got out and Kargbo then stood over Blue and continued to fire upon him, according to the documents.

Police said Kargbo ran east, toward Loch Raven Boulevard.

Video footage from the area shows the suspect, later identified as Kargbo, dressed in khaki pants, a white shirt and black jacket get out of a white Hyundai Tucson and walk toward Walker Avenue before the shooting, and several minutes later run back to the vehicle, the document said.

A day before the killing, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent was doing surveillance in the 6200 block of Loch Raven Blvd. The agent later told city police that three men were seen placing three large bags into the trunk of the white Tucson, and were seen going in and out of a home on Walker Avenue. The agent thought the activity looked suspicious and took pictures of the vehicle, which police said is the same vehicle Kargbo was seen getting out of and back into the day of the homicide.

Officers from the Regional Auto Theft Task Force found the vehicle unoccupied the next day behind a home on Cliftmont Avenue in East Baltimores Belair-Edison neighborhood.

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Meanwhile, detectives learned from a witness that a man named Shaq had been loading stuff into the vehicle. The witness also identified the man Shaq in a photo array.

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Video pulled by police from Mergenthaler showed Kargbo leaving school in clothes matching the description of the suspected shooter, according to documents.

In the Jan. 6 robbery, Baltimore County Police arrested Kargbo that day, charging him with armed robbery at a Wendys restaurant in Parkville, where he made off with $1,200.

County police identified Kargbo as the suspect in that case after detectives noticed he was picked up and dropped off by different vehicles, detectives wrote in charging documents.

Noting that neither vehicle was seen speeding to or from the restaurant, county police subpoenaed Uber and Lyft ride-sharing services, and received a response from Lyft, identifying a user named Shaq K. Lyft records show the same user had purchased rides to and from the Wendys at the same time that the robbery occurred. The users profile picture also showed a man wearing the same jacket as the suspect in the restaurant surveillance video.

Police said he was a former employee of the restaurant.

County officers executed a search warrant for Kargbos home in the 1500 block of Northwick Road, near Morgan State University, where they recovered two handguns. Police said one of the guns, a Glock, was identified as being used in the shooting of Blue.
Before he led large urban school districts on both coasts, it was in the middle of the country that Antwan Wilson first learned about the importance of education and the doors it can unlock.

It's those same opportunities Wilson, who grew up in Lincoln, wants to give to all students as Lincoln Public Schools' next superintendent.

"I'm focused on every student being successful," said Wilson, a graduate of Lincoln High School and Nebraska Wesleyan University. "There are no students that we can afford to just dismiss."

Wilson, an assistant professor at NWU and CEO of an educational consulting group, is one of four superintendent finalists meeting with the Lincoln Board of Education and community members this week.

Answering questions Tuesday at the school district's central office, he offered a vision of the future at LPS that's collaborative, open and diverse  where all students, teachers and community members see themselves as part of the educational process.

"If you hold me to one thing, I'm a servant/leader," Wilson said. "So I understand that my success comes through helping the people that I work with achieve success."

As an educator, Wilson said he understands the challenges teachers have had to navigate amid the pandemic and ongoing workforce shortages and said he wants to create an "intentional pipeline" for students in LPS to get into education, like he did.

Wilson, after years as a Lincoln High Link, taught at Lincoln Northeast and schools in North Carolina and Kansas before becoming an instructional coordinator at Lincoln High.

He went on to be a middle school principal in Kansas and high school principal in Denver before serving as assistant superintendent for post-secondary readiness in Denver.

Wilson then made the jump to superintendent  first in Oakland, California, for three years and then in Washington. But Wilson's tenure in D.C. was short-lived after he resigned a little more than a year into the job amid a controversy over the district's competitive school lottery process.

It was learned that Wilson's daughter was improperly transferred to one of the district's top-performing schools over other students on a wait list, violating a policy Wilson put in place.

On Tuesday, Wilson said he was proud of his work in D.C., where he worked to close achievement gaps in a district of 48,000 students. In moving his daughter to a different school, Wilson said he was simply looking after her emotional well-being and had not taken the time when they first moved to find her the right school.

In that process, Wilson said he did not hide anything but regretted the attention it took away from the district.

"I understand people having pause around that," he said. "But, ultimately, I'm an open book, and I would be proud to be the superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools."

Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @zach_hammack

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Margaret Reist Local government reporter Margaret Reist is a recovering education reporter now writing about local and county government and the people who live in the city where she was born and raised. Follow Margaret Reist Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

File this under better safe than sorry.

Dave Shively, Lancaster County's election commissioner, is buying 70,000 envelopes for absentee voter ballots for the upcoming primary May 10, a significantly larger number than he purchased for the last gubernatorial primary in 2018  which, frankly, seems like a lifetime ago.

The pandemic changed absentee voting patterns in a big way: There were more than 80,000 requests for absentee ballots in the May 2020 primary and more than 90,000 locally for the general election in November.

Compare that to 21,000 requests for the 2016 presidential election and 18,000 requests for the last gubernatorial race.

Shively said its hard to know what to expect now  both with the pandemic and how voters preferences might have changed.

Plus, there are contested GOP races for governor and Congress heating up, as well as a few contested races for county offices, most notably public defender and one of the county board seats.

So Shively wants to be sure hes prepared, because its impossible to get additional envelopes quickly. And any unused envelopes can be used for future elections.

The issue is that I cant afford to run short, he said.

Race to recruit nurses

A loan forgiveness program is the latest salvo in the race to recruit and retain nurses in a growing shortage exacerbated by the pandemic.

The carrot to lure nurses comes from the county's 16-bed Mental Health Crisis Center. Not long after Lancaster County raised its wages for nurses who work at the crisis center, the state upped the ante.

It offered retention and sign-on bonuses for some health care and food service positions at 24-hour facilities, and in October state officials announced an agreement with the Nebraska Association of Public Employees that included pay raises for 24-hour employees.

Scott Etherton, director of the countys crisis center, said county officials decided to offer a loan forgiveness program, which they hope will both recruit and retain nurses.

The county will forgive loans of applicants who have debt up to $45,000, if they agree to stay on for three years, and up to $75,000 for nurses who agree to stay on for five years.

The crisis center has four full-time nurse positions, plus a nursing supervisor and additional on-call nurses, Etherton said. It hasn't been fully staffed since summer.

Hed like to hire one full-time nurse and maybe a part-time nurse to help fill the 24-hour crisis center's needs.

The center paid more than $89,000 in overtime during the 2020-21 fiscal year and has paid $49,600 in the first six months of the current fiscal year, Etherton said.

That overtime includes all staff, not just nurses, he said. But direct mental health care worker positions have been more stable, though there has been some recent turnover.

With the recent change in classification for the crisis center nurses, the salary ranges increased from $28,396-$36,371 to $32,710-$41,898.

Juneteenth now a holiday

The City Council made it official Monday: Juneteenth is now a city holiday, a move that follows the federal governments decision last year to make it a federal holiday.

The move will codify the holiday in municipal code and ensure that all city workers get June 19 off to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.

Last year, the holiday was included in labor negotiations. The change ensures unrepresented employees also get the day off, though last week during a public hearing on the issue, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird spoke to the wider significance.

Juneteenth affords all of us an opportunity to acknowledge a fuller history of our nation and to reflect on how that history continues to shape society today, she said. Juneteenth encourages all of us to demonstrate our continued commitment to advancing racial equity and to building a local community that is ever more just.

Moving south

If driving south on 84th Street past Yankee Hill Road doesnt convince you of Lincolns growth to the southeast, a couple of annexation proposals might.

Developers of the Rokeby Ridge subdivision want the city to annex about 25 acres of land northeast of 84th Street and Rokeby Road, expanding the existing subdivision.

Apartments originally planned for another part of the so-called community unit plan will be built on the newly annexed land, and two-family and town house units will be built to the west.

The council will vote on the request next week.

On Monday, the council approved annexing nearly 40 acres to expand Woodlands at Yankee Hill, a development bordered by Yankee Hill and Rokeby roads, 70th and 84th streets. The expansion  on the east end of the subdivision near 84th Street  will allow for 82 more homes and apartments, as well as 65,000 square feet of commercial space.

That will increase the number of possible housing units in the area from 1,407 to 1,489 and commercial space from 744,000 to 809,000 square feet.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSreist

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A Grand Island man, who was in a head-on collision Sunday morning after fleeing a traffic stop in Hamilton County, died of his injuries Tuesday, the Nebraska State Patrol announced.

Angel Pojoy Domingo, 18, was ejected in the crash that happened shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 80 near Aurora.

Domingo had been eastbound on I-80 in a Toyota Corolla near mile marker 318 when an Aurora Police officer tried to stop him for alleged reckless driving, according to the State Patrol.

As the officer initiated the stop, Domingo turned his car around and drove west in the eastbound lane of the interstate, crashing head-on into a Lincoln Navigator about a mile from where the officer tried to stop the Corolla, according to the patrol.

Domingo was transported with life-threatening injuries to St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island, where he died Tuesday evening.

Jose Ulloa, a 40-year-old Oklahoma man, was driving the Lincoln. Ulloa was flown to Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha where he remains in stable condition.

Four passengers in the Navigator were treated for minor injuries.

The crash remains under investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley

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Sen. Deb Fischer objected Wednesday to the Biden administration's decision to hold a closed, rather than open briefing with senators on Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Fischer, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and top Republican on its subcommittee on strategic forces, attended the meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"I am frustrated," Fischer stated in a news release.

"This briefing should have been open to the public. Instead, it took place behind closed doors, and administration officials purposely stonewalled, limiting senators' opportunities to ask important questions."

"Nebraskans have not forgotten the terrorist attack at the Kabul airport that killed one of our own," Fischer said. "No one has been held accountable.

"The American people deserve to hear from those responsible for what the U.S. faces now in Afghanistan and with the ongoing situation in Ukraine."

The Pentagon said Wednesday that Biden was ordering 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 more from Germany to Romania, demonstrating America's commitment to NATO's eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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Jim Pillen and Charles W. Herbster, front-runners in the Republican primary race for Nebraska governor, are facing criticism for failing to commit to an upcoming debate hosted by two local news outlets.

Editors at KMTV and the Omaha World-Herald have been planning a debate among the top four Republican candidates, aiming to broadcast the debate live before early voting starts for the May 10 primary. KMTV took the lead on coordinating and communicating with the campaigns.

Geoff Roth, news director at KMTV, reached out to the campaigns for Pillen, Herbster, state Sen. Brett Lindstrom and former Sen. Theresa Thibodeau on Dec. 28 to schedule the event for March 21.

The email included a tentative set of rules: A journalist from each outlet would serve as moderator, it says, and ask "serious, issue-oriented questions." The candidates would each get a minute to respond, and there could be follow-up questions. Any candidate whos personally attacked would have a chance to respond.

The candidates would not be allowed notes or prepared statements, the rules read, but could take notes.

Roth said he received the Lindstrom campaigns acceptance within a week and Thibodeaus a few days later. But he never heard back from Herbster or Pillen after that email or a follow-up.

Last week, Roth said he called both campaigns. Pillens never followed up, he said, and Herbsters said the date wouldnt work. When Roth asked for alternative dates that would work, the staffer cited a busy schedule and also never followed up, he said.

At that point, Roth said organizers made the assumption that neither wanted to participate. So, he emailed the Lindstrom and Thibodeau campaigns Monday to tell them the event was on hold.

In the three years that Ive been the news director here, weve done several debates, Roth said, noting congressional and mayoral races. And weve never had top candidates running for a major office just not accept a proposal to do a debate.

Thibodeau was quick to condemn her opponents apparent dodge in a statement posted to Twitter.

Jim Pillen and Charles Herbsters unwillingness to participate in an open debate proves that they cannot adequately address the critical issues facing our state, she said.

As candidates who seek to lead Nebraska, we are responsible for communicating our positions to the voters. Pillen and Herbsters refusal begs the question: If they are incapable of a public debate, are they committed to addressing the concern of Nebraska voters.

In the statement, Thibodeaus campaign said the two front-runners wouldnt debate unless questions were provided in advance. However, Roth said that was never part of the discussion  the candidates' unwillingness to commit was interpreted to mean they didnt accept.

Lindstroms campaign said in a statement that the senators focus remains solely on the people of Nebraska  not any political distractions.

We look forward to upholding our commitments by participating in the debates ahead of us, answering the tough questions directly and meeting with the great people of our state throughout the campaign and beyond to share our message of a New Generation of Conservative Leadership, campaign manager Tori Mahoney said.

Pillen was questioned about the decision not to debate at a news conference in the Capitol on Tuesday. He was there to announce another big-ticket endorsement, this one from the Nebraska Farm Bureau. Gov. Pete Ricketts recently endorsed Pillen at a similar event.

Asked about the decision not to debate, Pillen, a University of Nebraska regent and livestock producer, mentioned debates at a Farm Bureau forum in December, a Cow Country Gubernatorial Forum at Hyannis High School in January, and another forum coming up this week in Lincoln.

Were getting our message out across the state, he said. And were getting it out eyeball-to-eyeball.

In a prepared statement after the news conference, campaign manager Kenny Zoeller said the two forums Pillen has participated in so far didnt provide questions in advance.

"Jim is the only candidate in this race to have campaigned in all 93 Nebraska counties, Zoeller said. We have never requested questions in advance as a condition of participation in a debate, and any assertion to the contrary is false.

Herbster campaign manager Ellen Keast also said the campaign never asked for questions and said they "technically never declined to participate in the debate." Asked if they were willing to participate in a debate, Keast said she had no comment.

Among other gubernatorial forums held so far was a town hall in Weeping Water that Pillen and Herbster did not attend, and a Lincoln County Cattlemen forum that Herbster attended but Pillen did not, according to KNOP-TV. Herbster and Pillen also did not attend a forum in November hosted by the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, according to the online news site Sandhills Express.

The state GOP announced in October that it would hold three debates, but has not announced any details.

Thursday, the Nebraska Chamber is hosting a forum in Lincoln for which candidates have been provided questions in advance. All four of the candidates are slated to attend, along with Democratic candidate Carol Blood and another Republican candidate, Breland Ridenour.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in letters to seven governors, including Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, is reaffirming the need for members of their states' Army and Air National Guards to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine.

In nearly identical letters signed last week, Austin tells the governors that the virus takes our service members out of the fight, temporarily or permanently, and jeopardizes our ability to meet mission requirements, according to copies obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The letters, which have not been publicly released, come as the military services begin to ramp up the number of active-duty troops being discharged for refusing the vaccine. Nearly 600 Marines, airmen and sailors have been thrown out of the military or dismissed from entry-level training at boot camps as of last week.

Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska filed lawsuits challenging the militarys vaccine mandate, but a federal judge has already rejected the Oklahoma challenge. Five Republican state leaders sent a letter to Austin asking him not to enforce the mandate on National Guard troops, including Ricketts and governors from Alaska, Wyoming, Mississippi and Iowa.

The latest letters were to those five governors, along with Idaho and Texas.

Austins response to them mirrors the letter he sent in late November to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, defending the departments vaccine mandate as necessary to maintain military readiness and the health of the force. At the time, he warned that failure to get the vaccine "may lead to a prohibition on the members participation in drills and training and could jeopardize the members status in the National Guard.

In the new letters, Austin changed a key word in that sentence, telling the governors that failure to get the vaccine will lead to prohibiting members from participating in drills and jeopardize their status.

To ensure that we maintain a healthy and ready military force capable of accomplishing our mission to defend this nation and to protect the American people, vaccination against COVID-19 is an essential military readiness requirement for all components and units of the military, including the Guard, he said.

In Nebraska almost 92% of the nearly 1,000 Air National Guard airmen have fully complied with the vaccination order, Maj. Scott Ingalsbe, a Nebraska National Guard spokesman, said Tuesday.

There are 55 pending requests for exemptions, which have yet to be determined at the Secretary of Air Force level, he said.

Nearly 72% of Nebraska Army National Guard members have received both shots and another 7% have gotten at least one dose. The deadline for Air Guard members to get the shots has passed, but Army Guard members have until June.

Ingalsbe said 100% of Nebraska National Guard members currently deployed under federal orders  in locations that include Qatar, Djibouti, and the U.S.-Mexico border  are fully vaccinated.
When the Legislature overrode his veto to abolish the death penalty in Nebraska in 2015, Gov. Pete Ricketts invested his trust in voters  and $200,000 of his own money  in a petition drive to reestablish the death penalty.

The will of the people decided one of the weightiest issues a society can wrestle with.

But now, it appears, the governor and some lawmakers are less interested in the will and wisdom of the people.

Sen. Bruce Bostelman's LB1046 would strip power from the people and invest it in the governor to appoint a majority of the members of the state's two largest public power district boards.

Additionally, the governor would pick the CEO of the Nebraska Public Power District and the Omaha Public Power District.

Nationally, according to an Omaha World-Herald report, about 30% of public power board members are appointed.

Bostelman told the Legislature's Natural Resources Committee in a hearing last week, "Things are changing and there's huge challenges ahead. We need to have a different way of putting people with that working knowledge, that skill-set on the board."

If Bostelman's plan is to get even more qualified people on these boards, it's curious that the bill does nothing to detail necessary qualifications. Whether it's a lack of forethought or a lack of transparency, Bostelman's claim that he didn't want the bill to be overly directional rings hollow.

Simply putting one's self out there as a candidate and qualifying to be on a ballot provides a hurdle only cleared by people with a passion for the work. Serving at the pleasure of voters creates accountability to the real owners of public power.

This comes on the heels of an ongoing petition drive to abolish the elected state Board of Education where members represent regions and replace it with a department that answers to the governor.

And then there's Sen. Rob Clements' bill to remove local control of health policy in Lincoln and Lancaster County and turn it over to the state, like the rest of the state's health districts. Why wouldn't supporters of limited government go the other direction, supporting local control and governance on the lowest level possible?

It's a curious thing to see: A state filled with politicians worried about federal power grabs now seeking to grab power itself from the people. If legislators can't see the problem with this, then let's hope voters can the next time we elect lawmakers.

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Two students were shot, one fatally, outside a suburban Minneapolis school on Tuesday, police said.
MOUNT PLEASANT  A Mount Pleasant man has been accused of downloading child pornography.

Jose A. Perez-Cabrera, 27, of the 300 block of South Newman Road, was charged with six felony counts of possession of child pornography.

According to a criminal complaint:

On Monday, an investigator and other members of the Racine Police Department executed a search at the 300 block of South Newman Road for suspected child pornography videos being uploaded and downloaded.

There were six videos and they contained child pornography of girls between the ages of around 5-15. During the investigation, Perez-Cabrera was identified and taken into custody. He admitted to uploading and downloading child pornography for some time using the Kik app.

Perez-Cabrera was given a $20,000 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 10 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show.
CALEDONIA  A South Milwaukee man who was allegedly involved in a drunk driving crash was found asleep in his damaged car after the crash in northeastern Racine County.

James Allen Rhodes Jr., 38, was charged with seven misdemeanor counts of bail jumping in addition to misdemeanor counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence as a second offense, operate motor vehicle while revoked and failure to install ignition interlock device.

According to a criminal complaint:

On Sunday, an officer was sent to the intersection of highways 38 and H for a crash.

Upon arrival, the officer saw a damaged car and made contact with the driver, Rhodes, who was asleep in the running car. The officer woke him up. After rolling down the window, Rhodes admitted to drinking and said he was coming from a bar in South Milwaukee. He said he drank six shots of tequila and had two beers. A preliminary breath test yielded a result of 0.11, above the legal limit of 0.08. An empty beer bottle was also found in the car.

Rhodes was given a $1,000 signature bond and a $500 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Monday. A status conference is set for March 28 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show.

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A 26-year-old Baltimore County man was shot and killed late Monday night in Westminster and a search is underway to find a suspect, police said.

Maryland State Police said in a news release Tuesday that Kevin Lamont King of Pikesville was killed. His body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

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Just before 11:15 p.m. Monday, state police said, officers from the Westminster Police Department were sent to the 100 block of S. Center St. for a shooting.

Police said King was found on the ground in front of the building suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. He died at the scene.

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The state police homicide unit was requested to respond and take the lead on the investigation.

Anyone with information about the crime is urged to contact Maryland State Police Westminster Barrack at 410-386-3001. Callers may remain anonymous.
RACINE  Diamond Wade, a Milwaukee transgender woman, was held in a mens pod for almost two months in the Racine County Jail, where she said she has faced sexual harassment and her complaints going unheard.

During a bond hearing Friday, Wades attorney Sophia Dolan filed a motion for Wades $400 cash bond, which she felt was quite high for someone who qualified for a public defender, to be changed to a signature bond. Then, it would be possible for Wade to be transferred to the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility. The motion was granted. Wade, who is facing two felony charges for alleged car theft and a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana, is now being held on a $1,500 signature bond. But, due to a hold by the Department of Corrections, Wade is not able to leave custody, but could be transferred to MSDF.

As of Tuesday, Wade was being held in segregation, meaning she is on lockdown 23 hours a day. Dolan is hopeful that Wade will be transported to MSDF in the next week.

Policies and practice

MSDF has clearer policies in place to better care for transgender people, according to Dolan, which is why they are trying to move Wade there.

Lt. Michael Luell, public information officer of the Racine County Sherriffs Office, said that Racine County Jail does have similar policies in place during the intake process.

New inmates are asked if they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex or nonconforming and if they answer in the affirmative to any of those questions, then theres an additional process where a part of the jail called Classification will have further conversations with them and try to determine where the appropriate housing unit would be, Luell said in a phone interview. We also have our mental health department speak with them.

According to Dolan, Wade has:

Not received her preferred undergarments as a transgender woman.

Faced sexual harassment due to her housing situation.

Been unable to file complaints to outside organizations in accordance with the

. PREA was passed unanimously in 2003 in Congress to provide for the analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape in federal, state, and local institutions and to provide information, resources, recommendations and funding to protect individuals from prison rape.

In the jail, Dolan explained that there is what is referred to as a vis box, which allows inmates to take video calls from family, or sometimes, lawyers. Due to a malfunction with the technology, Wade was unable to finish filing a PREA violations report. However, Luell shared that PREA information is freely available throughout the jail.

PREA information is posted throughout the jail, Luell said in an email. PREA information is posted on the walls in the hallways, on the wall in intake, on the walls when you get off the elevators, in the jail handbook, in the dayrooms, on the pockets of the jail uniforms, and it is accessible through the inmates tablets. All COs, jail staff, and contract workers receive training on PREA. Inmates can call the PREA office free of charge to make a complaint, and/or the inmate can contact an outside agency called Sexual Assault Services.

In the pod where Wade was being held, inmates beds are not separate cells but rather are in an open format, with dozens of bunk beds in a larger single space.

One example of repeated, daily harassment by Wades lower bunkmate was described to The Journal Times by Dolan. The Journal Times is not publishing the details due to the graphic nature of the harassment.

Luell did confirm that a complaint by Wade was being investigated, but said he could not provide further comment on an open investigation.

Before being moved into segregation, Wade was supposed to have been able to ask for a female deputy to escort her to a separate area to shower. When still living in the male pod, Wade would shower in the middle of the night to avoid showering with men in her pod, as shes been told a female deputy is not available every time she asked, Dolan said.

Gender dysphoria

Referring to the undergarments provided to Wade, Dolan said Its not this huge thing, but I feel that for somebody who is experiencing gender dysphoria, to be continued to be invalidated, it affects her.

Gender dysphoria, according to Mayo Clinic, is the feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics.

Dolan was concerned for Wade, stating that Wade is not only facing a struggle as a transgender woman, but as a transgender woman of color, a sentiment shared by Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Megin McDonell.

The harms of discrimination and violence that transgender people experience are multiplied for trans people of color, especially black and Latinx transgender women, McDonell said in an email.

Wade, however, has been receiving some support, according to Dolan, in the form of her Wades probation agent.

Miss Wade was facing revocation, Dolan said, which means her previous probation may be revoked for possibly violating one of its conditions. She (Wade) is currently on a period of supervision. Her agent is also very aware of her transitioning, and has been very supportive and helpful with providing resources in the community with with regards to mental health and medical things like getting hormones and stuff like that, Dolan said. So, probation has been pretty helpful for Miss Wade and this whole incident has put that into jeopardy at this point.

Dolan and Wades agent are working to come to a resolution so Miss Wade is at least safe, wherever she ends up.

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RACINE  Since 1883, there has been some form of public transportation in the City of Racine: from buggies to trains to streetcars to now, primarily, buses.

In 2022, that tradition could have come to an end. But it wont. Its here to stay.

The company that has operated RYDE Racine since 2010, First Transit, informed the city last year that it was planning on not renewing its contract after First Transits parent company sold First Transit to a Swedish investment firm.

That news came out during city Transit Director Trevor Jungs first week on the job, which he called A baptism of fire. The city spent weeks looking for a new private contractor to do the work, but none came forward.

We were at a moment where the threat of buses not running was real, Jung said. That could have been a big problem for hundreds if not thousands of people in the Racine area, not to mention the dozens of workers who would be laid off.

Before the pandemic, RYDE Racine was providing 1.2 million rides a year, just shy of 3,300 rides a day; thats down to about 1,800 per day now as the pandemic continues to rage.

Without the buses, those thousands of riders could struggle to get to work or school or doctors appointments or the grocery store.

Jung, bus drivers themselves and a local union leader credited Mayor Cory Mason, as well as City Council President John Tate II, with preventing that crisis.

There were two things the mayor made very clear, Jung said. No. 1: We are going to continue transit service in the City of Racine. And No. 2: We are going to honor workers rights.

Earlier this year, when First Transit sent letters to its 70-plus Racine employees to inform them they were going to be let go Feb. 1, those letters came packaged with another, hand-signed letter from Mason. It assured those workers they would be able to keep their jobs, that the city would hire them, and their union would remain in place.

We thought it was going to collapse at first, until we saw the mayor the letter wrote, said Pete Cortez, a bread-winner who is a father of three and grandfather of 14 who has been driving buses in Racine for 12 years. That calmed everything down.

Weeks after the letters were sent, the City Council unanimously voted to hire the workers and approve their union. On Tuesday morning, Mason signed those pieces of legislation.

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1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Thunderstorms could be strong and possibly severe in the afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 78F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Clear. Low around 60F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Thunderstorms could be strong and possibly severe in the afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 78F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Clear. Low around 60F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Thunderstorms could be strong and possibly severe in the afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 78F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Clear. Low around 60F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Fox News host Tucker Carlson discusses 'Populism and the Right' during the National Review Institute's Ideas Summit at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. Carlson talked about a large variety of topics including dropping testosterone levels, increasing rates of suicide, unemployment, drug addiction and social hierarchy at the summit, which had the theme 'The Case for the American Experiment.' (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In Fox world, as White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki observed on a recent podcast, linking Joe Biden to urban crime has become a far more urgent topic than, for example, a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. So, naturally, The Fox News Channels most arrogant and condescending host, Tucker Carlson, turned his attention to Baltimore Tuesday to make the matter seem more in Mr. Bidens backyard and, in classic Carlson fashion, make the pitch both racist and absurd.

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Whatever you do, dont go to Baltimore, the host warned. Baltimore is a major American city. Its only about 40 miles from where Jen Psaki lives. Its one of the worst places in the Western Hemisphere. Its a little bit of Haiti in the Mid-Atlantic. Baltimore is exactly what happens when you apply Jen Psakis ideas to governing.

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Now, normally we would ignore such off-the-rails bloviation, as jaw-dropping as those words may be. One can almost feel the IQ points slipping away if you try to follow his reasoning down into the hidey hole of extremism. Tucker Carlson used to be a respected politically conservative writer working for respectable publications. He then went to Fox in 2009 and got rich by giving himself over to the Bill OReilly audience of disaffected white Americans looking for scapegoats. What binds them all together appears to be a deep hatred of the liberal media and an ardent fondness for news twisted to confirm certain misinformed views  and, apparently, shouted at them by a 52-year-old man. In recent years, hes gone full clown, including cozying up with the paranoid anti-vaccine types.

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But this was especially egregious for several reasons. The first and most obvious is that it wore its racism so proudly and overtly. Haiti? Lets see, what does Baltimore have in common with Haiti. If his point had been to raise concern about Baltimores high homicide rate, it was off the mark; even within the Caribbean, Haiti falls short of Jamaica for murder. Could it be our susceptibility to hurricanes? Probably not. More likely, Mr. Carlson turned to Haiti as an impoverished and struggling majority-Black nation (with 95% of the population of African ancestry). Baltimore is a majority-Black city dealing with an array of social ills, too. Oh, so this is about low-income people who dont look like Mr. Carlson. Got it.

And then theres the matter of video. To make his point, the host offered some choice segments courtesy of WBFF Fox45, the Baltimore Fox Television affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, observing both low public school performance and the citys high homicide rate. For those who havent watched Fox45 in years, take note. It is no longer the plucky news operation of the past, but more like a mini-FNC that prefers repeating the same right-wing narratives (Baltimore public schools are irredeemable and wasteful is an especially popular theme), often with a reporter shouting questions at an exasperated official walking away. There is no serious consideration of the role poverty, police misconduct, racism, historic redlining, substance abuse or mass incarceration has played in events. Not even in student absenteeism. That kind of nuance is so mainstream media.

The formula here is not original, of course. Donald Trump targeted Baltimore in the summer of 2019 in an effort to embarrass then-Rep. Elijah Cummings calling it disgusting and rat infested. The congressman may have passed, but the willingness of right-wing media to tear so viciously into Baltimore for the amusement of its predominantly white audience has not. Make no mistake, Baltimore has its share of serious problems, including Januarys brutal homicide count. But, alas, we cant muster the Fox News level of simple-mindedness required to heap all of the blame for it on Jen Psakis doorstep. The day Tucker Carlson or his ilk, national or local, want to have a thoughtful, honest conversation about how to address this citys long-standing and complex problems  whether it involves murder, public education, public corruption or terrible public transportation  were all ears. But dont dump your race-baiting contempt on us and tell us its journalism or even informed opinion. Its surely none of those things.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Thunderstorms could be strong and possibly severe in the afternoon. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. High 78F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Clear. Low around 60F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

View Results
KEARNEY  Zion Lutheran School students celebrated their 100th day of school with a 100-year-old car.

Students hopped inside the 1922 Velie and took turns honking the cars horn. They giggled as they piled in the spacious backseat and began to explore different parts of the old car.

Kindergarten teacher, Jamie Nikodym, had the idea to bring the antique vehicle to the school to help students conceptualize 100 years, she explained.

Jamies father, John, has about 40 antique cars, and she grew up around the vehicles.

John enjoys collecting what he calls oddball cars like the Velie, that were made from 1908 until 1929. John regularly participates in car tours, often taking his children with him. He has driven in 48 states and Canada.

Jamie asked her dad last year if hed bring a car for the 100th day of school celebration. He tells each class a little bit about the vehicle, and they all get the chance to sit in the Velie and honk its horn.

John explains to the fifth-, sixth- and seventh-grade students that the car typically cost about $1,200 in 1922. The Velie had no windows on the doors, and passengers would use curtains to stay warm in the wintertime, John told the group. Fully enclosed vehicles didnt become popular until 1925, he added.

Some students peppered him with an array of questions and told him about their own experience with classic cars. Hes often surprised by how in-depth the students questions are, John said with a laugh.

Its an awesome experience, Jamie said about having the car  and her father  at the school.
Bridgewater College in Virginia tweeted Tuesday that "an individual is in police custody" after reports of a possible active shooter on campus.

A shelter-in-place order is still in effect for the campus, according to the college, but the city of Harrisonburg said the order around the college had been lifted.

The college said Tuesday afternoon that law enforcement officials are moving through the buildings.

"For additional safety purposes, law enforcement officials will be moving through buildings. Do not be alarmed. listen to officers' instructions," the college tweeted.

There have been no confirmed injuries in this incident.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he's been briefed.

"I have been briefed on the situation at Bridgewater College," Youngkin tweeted from his account. "The shooter is in custody and state and local police are on the scene."

A dispatcher with the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office confirmed to CNN that it responded to an active shooter call at the college.

In a tweet, the Washington field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also confirmed they will be responding to the incident.

CNN is reaching out to Virginia State Police for more information.

The-CNN-Wire

 &  2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

CNN's Jenn Selva contributed to this report.

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There are three candidates running for the Westby Area School District Board of Education Seat #7 At-Large Representative. The candidates on the spring primary ballot on Feb. 15 are Eric Thunstedt (incumbent), Geniece Easterday and Kelly Nickelotti.

Editors note: The Vernon County Times publishes the questionnaires from the candidates as we receive them and in their entirety. Candidates are invited to submit a photograph to be published with their profile.

Eric Thunstedt

Name: Eric Thunstedt

Occupation: Clinical Exercise Physiologist in the Cardiopulmonary Diagnostics and Rehabilitation department at Vernon Memorial Healthcare.

What elected office you are vying for?: After serving 2 consecutive terms on the Westby Area School Board as Seat #7 At-Large Representative, I am seeking my 3rd term.

Other previously elected offices: None.

Community and group affiliations: I serve on the Diabetes Advisory Committee at Vernon Memorial Healthcare. I am the internship coordinator for the Cardiopulmonary Diagnostics and Rehabilitation Department. I am a Deacon at the Viroqua Church of Christ.

Why are you running for office?: Having served 2 consecutive terms on the Westby Area School Districts Board of Education, I feel I have an agenda free motive to serve without bias, think critically based on my own as well as the experiences of others, and the ability to refrain from making emotional decisions without appropriate facts. Having said this, Id like to continue my work in supporting and serving the school district and community.

What do you think are some of the more important issues facing the Westby School District?: The Westby Area School District has been faced with many important issues such as the COVID pandemic and its impact on schools and community, lower open enrollment in vs. higher open enrollment out numbers, state funding, better funding for special education, improved compensation for teachers and staff, teacher and staff retention as well as working with the community to help our students obtain professional work experiences.

Are there any issues currently being handled that you would handle differently?: The Westby Area School Districts Board of Education has been diligent and informed when making decisions that affect everyone. The School Board strives to have transparency while engaging teachers, staff, parents, and community for input through meetings and surveys to help guide decisions.

Geniece Easterday

Name: Geniece Easterday

Occupation: In home childcare

What elected office you are vying for?: Westby School Board

Other previously elected offices: None

Community and group affiliations: When I made the decision to become a self-employed daycare provider, I havent had as much time to be as involved with as many groups as when I worked in the private sector. While I worked for Wal-Mart, there was about a four-year period that I sold baked goods to my fellow employees to fundraise for Toys for Tots. One Hundred percent of the proceeds from those year-round sales were used to purchase toys during the Wal-Mart Black Friday Sale and were immediately transported to the Viroqua Police and Fire Department for donation.

Recently, Ive helped a close friend as much as I am able to, donating time to help fundraise for the Chaseburg Sole Burner.

My husbands line of work revolves around public safety so I also do what I can to help the organizations he is affiliated with, such as the Westby-Christiana Fire Department.

Why are you running for office?: I am running for office to represent not only the parents that feel they dont have a voice or say in their childrens education, safety, or general wellbeing while attending Westby Area Schools, but also the taxpayers who feel there are questionable decisions being decided solely on political affiliation.

What do you think are some of the more important issues facing the Westby School District?: There are many issues that can face a school board in general without the current obvious problems were are trying to face together as one society. Covid-19 is obviously a major topic involving many different issues alone, so Ill touch on what I feel is currently the biggest. In the meetings that I have attended, one policy alone is the topic of much conflict, and that is masks. While there was much spirited testimony for keeping the children in masks no evidence is brought to how the masks are helping or if at all. I would like to discuss this topic further.

Are there any issues currently being handled that you would handle differently?: I would like to get the more involved with the decisions being made on the parents and taxpayers behalf. While yes, meeting minutes are publicly posted, you never hear why or how the decisions are made.

Kelly Nickelotti

Name: Kelly Nickelotti

Occupation: I worked locally for Westby Co-op Credit Union as their Indirect Lending Coordinator for seven years. Most recently, I have accepted a position working from home as a Software Implementation Consultant for Meridianlink, assisting credit unions and financial institutions across the country implementing their loan origination and account opening software and other 3rd party vendor integrations. My husband Lorenzo and I also own Nickelotti Trucking.

What elected office are you vying for?: Westby School Board Director Seat #7

Other previously elected offices: During my time at WCCU, I was the Vice President of the 7 Rivers Chapter of Credit Unions for the span of my career.

Community and group affiliations: Westby Booster Club, Wisconsin Credit Union League Young Professionals Network, CUNA Management School, and St Marys Parish Coon Valley

Why are you running for office?: I believe having a current parent of children in the district is vital to the decision making process whereas the board is largely composed of former educators and retirees far removed from the existing challenges the district is facing. My experience throughout my career includes serving on risk and strategic planning committees, advocating for financial literacy, and servant leadership. Creating a safe environment for all students and more opportunities for our youth is paramount to our growth as a community.

What do you think are some of the more important issues facing the Westby School District?: Unfortunately, these issues are facing many districts, and its our job to do what is best for our community. Were facing curriculum changes and seeing bills passed around the country in regards to critical race theory. Bullying, social media and cell phone access while in class are hindering the ability for learning, indoctrination is looming, there are many disagreements with covid, and we cant seem to keep politics out of the classrooms.

Are there any issues currently being handled that you would handle differently?: Im a proponent for education, literacy, building a safe and healthy environment for our youth, and as a mother of three children entering the district, I want to make sure we are fostering and environment of learning and respect for all.

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Just as the plan to add more apartment units to Farnam Flats was back on track, its been put on hold again, now that a potential commercial tenant is interested in the first floor space.

Farnam Flats developers had requested to convert its first floor into four additional apartments after unsuccessfully finding any businesses to move in.

But that may change now, and the Judiciary & Administration Committee approved another 30-day referral for the rezoning at its meeting Thursday.

The reason for the referral would be to get a potential tenant some time to button up some loose ends and get things figured out with Farnam Flats, said council member Chris Woodard, who represents the district.

The first floor of the building was originally intended to be a commercial space, and was required through its original development agreement. Developers had until the end of 2021 to secure commercial tenants before it could pursue converting the space to residential.

In a letter to the city, Farnam Flats officials cited the pandemic as the barrier to finding a tenant.

Officials said the neighborhood is hopeful to fill the space with a business of some kind.

I know when I was asking folks at the neighborhood association, it sounds like the whole neighborhood really, really wants to see ... retail of some form in there, and so I would really like to see that move forward as opposed to turning them into residential spaces to live, said council member Mackenzie Mindel.

Mindel said it would be good for the Powell-Poage-Hamilton Neighborhood and called this referral and potential tenant one last hope before the building becomes entirely apartments.

The project was on hold for a month prior to this while officials worked out the details of a grant.

This latest pause comes just one day after the City Plan Commission approved the rezoning to move forward again.

Woodard said stakeholders have a meeting on Thursday, but wanted to give those involved enough time with a month-long pause. No details of the potential tenant were shared at Tuesdays meeting.

The referral will need to be approved by the La Crosse Common Council next week.

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JERUSALEM  The Israeli military said Tuesday it would reprimand a senior officer and remove two others from leadership roles over the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian who was dragged from a car, bound and blindfolded after being stopped at a checkpoint.

In a rare statement acknowledging error, the army said the soldiers believed Omar Assad, who has U.S. citizenship and lived in Milwaukee before moving back to his home village, was asleep when they cut his zip-ties and left him facedown in an abandoned building where he had been detained with three other Palestinians last month. The other detainees said they did not know he was there until after the army left.

Its unclear when exactly Assad died. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead after the other detainees found him unconscious.

The investigation concluded that the incident was a grave and unfortunate event, resulting from a moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers, the military said in a statement. A separate criminal investigation by the military police is still underway.

Assad, who lived in the U.S. for four decades, still has family living in the United States. Even after Israel announced the soldiers would be reprimanded and high-ranking leaders weighed in with criticism, the U.S. said Tuesday it remains concerned over his death.

The United States expects a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability in this case, and we welcome receiving additional information on these efforts as soon as possible, said State Department spokesman Ned Price in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking him to launch an investigation into Assads death and whether the soldiers involved used equipment procured with American aid.

The Israeli military says it thoroughly investigates such incidents.

The military commander, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi called the soldiers conduct immoral and reprehensible, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed sorrow over Assads death.

But the Israeli human rights group BTselem pointed out that Israel rarely holds soldiers accountable for the deaths of Palestinians and said Assads case likely got special attention because of U.S. pressure and his American citizenship.

Investigations usually take years and usually close with nothing, said Dror Sadot, the groups spokeswoman. This is very unusual.

Even in the most shocking cases  and those captured on video  soldiers often get relatively light sentences. Palestinians say they suffer systematic mistreatment living under military occupation. BTselem is tracking more than 30 open investigations into the killings of Palestinians in the West Bank, Sadot said.

Heart attack

A Palestinian autopsy said Assad died of a heart attack caused by psychological tension due to the external violence he was exposed to. It said he suffered from underlying health conditions but also found bruises on his head, redness on his wrists from being bound, and bleeding in his eyelids from being tightly blindfolded.

Assad was stopped at around 3 a.m. on Jan. 12 at a temporary checkpoint in his home village of Jiljiliya, in the occupied West Bank. The military said he did not have any form of ID and refused to cooperate with the security check. Its investigation found there was no use of violence apart from when (Assad) was apprehended after refusing to cooperate.

It said the soldiers did not identify signs of distress when they released the detainees a half-hour later. They assumed that (Assad) was asleep and did not try to wake him.

The military said the commander of the battalion will be reprimanded and that the platoon commander and company commander will both be removed from their positions and barred from commanding roles for two years.

A cousin of Assad who lives in the West Bank said the armys response was totally unacceptable but that there was nothing the family could do unless Assads relatives in the U.S. take further action. The cousin asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.

40 years in US

Assad was born in Jiljilya but spent about 40 years in the United States. He became a U.S. citizen before he returned in 2009 to retire with his wife, Nazmia, his family in the U.S. told The Associated Press. They spoke before the military released its findings.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the territory, but its 2.5 million residents live under Israeli military rule. Israeli soldiers often carry out nighttime raids, which they say are necessary for arresting Palestinian militants, and set up temporary checkpoints where Palestinians are stopped and searched.

Assads nephew, Assad Assad, said his uncle and aunt left Jiljilya for Chicago in 1969 in hopes of finding better work. They moved to Milwaukee in 1974 and prospered, opening convenience stores and a restaurant, he said.

They were among dozens of Jiljilya residents who have returned to the village over the years to build retirement homes, Assad Assad said.

They built mini-castles to retire in, he said. Very quiet, all you see is olive trees. At night, because were high in the mountains, you smell the orchards of oranges.

Generous soul

Omars nephew and his son, Hane Assad, both described him as a philanthropist who was the life of the party. Hane Assad told the AP his father would often hand out money to the poor.

He just loved everybody, no matter what race you were, what culture you came from, he said.

His favorite dish was maqluba, a mix of rice and meat  and he loved playing cards, Assad Assad said. He was coming home from playing cards with a cousin when the soldiers stopped him, he said.

Hane Assad said his mother and father were set to visit him at his home in Chesapeake, Virginia, before his father died. Assad said his father was too old and weak to fight anyone, let alone a group of soldiers.

He was very weak, Hane Assad said. He walked with a cane.

Assad said hes always afraid when he returns to Jiljilya because the Israelis who operate the checkpoints are rude and disrespectful. He said he was once detained for four hours on the way to his grandmothers funeral. The troops laugh at his American citizenship, he said.

Every time we got stopped, Dad would say, Whatever they ask for, give it to them. Just be calm, Hane Assad said. I cant believe they did that to my dad. Almost an 80-year-old man. All the soldiers there couldnt handle him? This is uncalled for. You dont treat no elderly person like that.

Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman and Matt Lee contributed to this report.

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A former Anne Arundel County councilman who once promoted Southern secession has hopes of becoming Marylands next attorney general.

Michael Anthony Peroutka, a retired debt-collection attorney who served one term on Anne Arundels council, filed candidacy paperwork this week to run for attorney general as a Republican.

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Peroutka will face Jim Shalleck, a former prosecutor and elections official, in the Republican primary.

Peroutka did not respond to phone and email messages on Wednesday.

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For years, Peroutka belonged to the League of the South, a self-described Southern Nationalist organization that advocates for preserving the traditional culture of the South for Southerners of European descent.

The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the League of the South as a hate group for white people that aims to establish a Christian theocratic state and politically dominate black people and other minorities.

Peroutkas activities in the League of the South included playing the Confederate song Dixie at a convention in 2012 and calling it the national anthem.

Peroutkas League of the South membership came under scrutiny from Democrats and Republicans alike in the 2014 race for county council. Though he first said he wouldnt cut ties with the League of the South, he eventually did shortly before the general election.

Peroutka ended up winning the election to represent a conservative-leaning district that includes the communities of Severna Park, Millersville, Arnold and Broadneck.

As Peroutka served on the Anne Arundel County Council, the countys Democratic Party urged him to resign, citing his close relationship with Roy Moore, the former top judge in Alabama and Republican U.S. Senate candidate who was accused of inappropriate sexual conduct against multiple girls and women.

Peroutka did not resign from the county council, but he lost a reelection bid in the 2018 primary.

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Peroutka also ran a long-shot campaign for president with the Constitution Party in 2004 and donated a $1 million dinosaur skeleton to Kentuckys Creation Museum, which promotes biblical creationism over the scientific theory of evolution.

Shalleck, the other Republican running for attorney general, said he didnt know much about Peroutka and declined to discuss him.

Shalleck said it doesnt matter who he runs against, hell keep focused on his pledge to expand the attorney generals involvement in prosecuting violent crimes with an approach of no plea bargaining, no deals.

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This is my message, and if the public agrees, hopefully Ill win, said Shalleck, who lives in Montgomery Village. It doesnt matter who I run against. Its totally irrelevant who my opponent is because my message wont change.

Shalleck says his experience includes prosecuting homicides in New York City and serving as a white-collar crime prosecutor with New Yorks attorney generals office. He came to Maryland in 1989 to work for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Maryland Policy & Politics Weekdays Keep up to date with Maryland politics, elections and important decisions made by federal, state and local government officials. >

When he entered the race, Shalleck resigned from a position as chairman of Montgomery Countys Board of Elections. Hes previously run unsuccessfully for states attorney, judge and county executive.

Patrick Armstrong, the Democrat who was defeated by Peroutka in the 2014 election, said he expects voters will have the sense not to vote for a man with such a problematic history.

Peroutka was defeated by sensible Republicans in 2018 and I have no doubt that when facing the Maryland electorate statewide, voters will have no interest in a Peroutka-Roy Moore-Donald Trump candidate for attorney general, Armstrong said.

Peroutkas entry into the attorney generals race was first noted on The Duckpin blog.

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The Democratic primary features two well-funded candidates: recently-retired Baltimore Judge Catherine Katie Curran OMalley and U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown.

The current attorney general, Democrat Brian Frosh, announced plans to retire.

The deadline for candidates to file candidacy paperwork is Feb. 22 for the June primary elections.
The Crispus Attucks Community Center, a part of the Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County, is celebrating Black History Month with a series of events promoting African American heritage.

The slate of events includes grab-and-go lunches, cooking workshops, interviews with local leaders in the faith community, a fashion show and more.

The Crispus Attucks Community Center, which has been a part of the Lancaster County community for nearly a century, will host all events at their location at 407 Howard Avenue in Lancaster, except for Soulful Sundays events and a Quiz Bowl event, which will be livestreamed.

Heres whats happening:

Say Their Name art display: an outdoor collaborative collage art display by Lancaster-based artist Keisha Finnie will be on exhibit at 407 Howard Ave. throughout the month of February.

Soul Food Thursdays: free grab-and-go lunches every Thursday in February from 11 a.m. to noon. Meals include smothered chicken, red beans and rice, green beans and potato on Feb. 3; jambalaya, fried cabbage and corn bread on Feb. 10; chicken liver, mashed potatoes, collard greens on Feb. 17 and fried chicken, baked mac 'n' cheese and sweet potatoes on Feb. 24.

Taste of Africa cooking workshop: a free cooking workshop in partnership with Nutrition Education / SNAP-Ed on Mondays Feb. 7,14, 21 and March 7 and 14 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Registration is required. Email vsmith@caplanc.org to register and find more info.

Soulful Sundays: An interview series with local leaders in the faith community will be broadcast over YouTube and Facebook on Feb. 6 (Just As I Am Ministries) and Feb. 20 (Bright Side Baptist Church). Broadcasts will air at 1 p.m.

Fashion Show: A free fashion show takes place on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.

Quiz Bowl: A Black history-themed trivia competition takes place over Zoom on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. The prize for student division is a Nintendo Switch and the prize for the adult division is $500 to the charity of their choice. Register to compete by sending an email to vsmith@caplanc.org.

Find more info at caplanc.org/aahistory.
More than 500 School District of Lancaster students could move to a different school in the 2022-23 academic year with a proposed change to the districts elementary and middle school boundaries.

At a Tuesday night board meeting, Drew Schenk, assistant director of business operations in the district, presented recommendations to balance class sizes and optimize building usage through the rezoning of as few students as possible.

The next phase of the process will be gathering community feedback which includes direct and online communications with families that would be affected, as well as in-person and virtual forums. A final vote on the proposals adoption for the next school year is expected to come in March or April.

In 2018, the district commissioned the WXY Studio of New York for an original study, which was completed and presented to the board just a few days before COVID-19 shut down schools in March 2020. WXY Studio consultants reevaluated the study following a sharp decline in enrollment prompted by the pandemic.

Since October 2021, the Lancaster city district has lost 175 students at the elementary school level and 136 at the middle school level. From 2019 to 2020, enrollment dropped from 11,080 to 10,880  the lowest district enrollment and largest drop since 2012.

Prior to the 2018-19 study, the district had not comprehensively reviewed its boundaries since the 1980s.

On Tuesday night, Schenk presented estimates that rezoning the district would move 392 K-4 students to different elementary schools and 116 students in grades 5-7 to a different middle school.

An interactive map showing proposed boundary changes for the 2022-23 school year is available at lanc.news/sdl_maps.

One of the largest changes would come to Wharton Elementary School, which would absorb a large chunk of the Smith-Wade-El Elementary School zone and part of the Martin School zone. This, in part, would come if the Dual Language Immersion program is eliminated from Wharton, leaving vacant classroom space, Schenk told LNP | LancasterOnline prior to the meeting.

Board member Molly Henderson asked how the district would help students with the transition to an unfamiliar school. Superintendent Damaris Rau said building principals already welcome new students throughout the summer through orientation and other social activities.

Only 4.7% of the districts students would have to transition to a new school if the proposal is adopted.

The small change, however, brings all but two of the districts 13 elementary schools and two of its five middle schools to optimal building usage, according to the study. Martin, a K-8 building, is counted separately as an elementary and middle school in this assessment. This means enrollment at most buildings should be around 80%-90% of its capacity.

Wharton, for example, would increase its building utilization from 66% to 91%. Martin K-5, on the other hand, is expected to decrease from 109% to 96% of its capacity.

Shifting students throughout the districts will not significantly change the demographic make-up of each building, Schenk assured the board. The School District of Lancaster is known as the largest and most economically diverse district in Lancaster County  62% of students are Hispanic and 16% are Black, according to district data.

Adoption of the proposal would also remove use of modular classrooms (classroom structures built outside of the building) and move more students to within walking zones for their school.

At the elementary level, a walk zone is anywhere within 1.5 miles of the school and, at the middle school level, it is anywhere within 2 miles of the school. Students outside of those distances are bused to school.

This is good for all kids, for all teachers, for all families, and Im really excited about that, said board member Mara McGrann, adding that she is happy to remove modular classrooms which have no place in any district.
Three months after a beloved Lancaster pediatrician was struck in a downtown crosswalk, police charged the driver who hit him and said he was unlicensed.

Rodolfo Paradas, 51, of Lancaster, was charged Tuesday with several crimes, the most serious of which  accidents involving death or personal injury  is a second-degree felony that carries a mandatory sentence of three years in prison and $2,500 fine.

Paradas was driving a van south on Prince Street and turned left onto West Chestnut Street, when he struck Steven Killough about 5:45 p.m. Oct. 29, according to police. Killough was crossing in the crosswalk with the walk signal.

Lancaster Safety Coalition surveillance video showed Paradas getting out of the van, but then getting back in and leaving without providing information or notifying police as required by law, according to charging documents.

It is not clear from the documents how long Paradas stayed before leaving, but police previously said it was after an ambulance arrived to take Killough to Lancaster General Hospital.

Officer Ziyi Skatz was dispatched to the hospital after Killough was hit and interviewed him. He told her he was crossing with the walk signal when the van struck him, causing him to fall backward and hit his head.

Killough, 66, died of a traumatic brain injury on Nov. 12.

Paradas was not in custody as of late Tuesday afternoon and online court documents did not list an attorney for him. His address on charging documents is a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Lancaster Township; a reliable cell phone number could not immediately be located and a Facebook message sent to a Rodolfo Paradas on Tuesday afternoon was not immediately answered.

Skatz tracked the 2006 GMC Savana van through its license plate to Jose Caraballo-Castillo. He told her Paradas was his friend and employee and usually drove the van.

Though it is not clear why, and a police spokesman declined to elaborate when asked by LNP | LancasterOnline, Skatz learned Paradas had been admitted to Lancaster General and interviewed him there. Charging documents do not say when that took place.

Paradas admitted driving and said he did not have a license because it had been revoked, according to charging documents.

A man who identified himself as Caraballo-Castillo to LNP when a reporter called a number for a contracting business with his name hung up when asked if he knew Paradas. When LNP called back, the man said he did not speak English and again hung up.

Paradas is also charged with accidents involving death while not property licensed, driving with a suspended license, failing to give right of way to a pedestrian and a turn signal violation.

Killough was a pediatrician with Lancaster Pediatric Associates for more than 30 years and "has cared for and touched the lives of thousands of children," the practice wrote in a Facebook post after his death. "If you or your child were a patient of Dr. Killough's please know that his greatest honor was the privilege of caring for you."
Early Edition is a guide to help you jumpstart your morning, get the news you need to know and catch up on what you missed.

Its published Monday through Friday, between 6 and 7 a.m.

Heres the Early Edition for Wednesday, February 2, 2022.

It's Groundhog Day: What's the prediction?

Punxsutawney Phil and local prognosticators gave their predictions this morning.

Click here to see what the verdict is.

Freezing fog possible this morning, rain tonight

Freezing fog is possible this morning throughout Lancaster County, but should clear up after 9 a.m.

Today will be mostly cloudy with a high near 44 and a calm, light wind.

There's a 30 to 60% chance of rain tonight, according to the National Weather Service in State College. Rain will continue through Thursday.

Click here to see the seven day forecast.

New boundaries could shift students in SDOL

Changes in the School District of Lancaster's district boundaries could shift 500 students in the 2022-23 academic year.

The move in boundaries was recommended at a Tuesday night board meeting in hopes to balance class sizes and optimize building usage.

A final vote is still a month or two away, however. The next step is gathering community feedback.

Click here to read the full story.

Ephrata Township man who led local protests against 2020 election challenges Aument for senate

An Ephrata Township man backed by groups convinced that elected Republicans failed to do everything possible to overturn the 2020 election is expected to run for senate, challenging second-term senator Ryan Aument.

Aument currently represents the northern half of Lancaster County.

According to social media posts, Michael Miller plans to start collecting signatures this month to get his name on the May primary ballot.

Click here to read the full story.

How to watch thousands of snow geese migrate at Middle Creek

You don't need to be at Middle Creek to take in the scenes of snow geese migration this March.

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area is a place of gathering for photographers and bird spectators ever February and March, but for those who live too far away, or prefer to watch from the comfort of their own home, there's another way.

HDOnTap is streaming the migration live on it's website. As of Tuesday morning, there were about 2,400 snow geese at Middle Creek and about 240 tundra swans and 2,100 Canadian geese.

Click here to read the full story.

Northern Lebanon boys upset Elco Tuesday night

A guide to county's international grocery stores

Lancaster County is home to more than a dozen international grocery stores, specializing in ingredients, cookware and packaged and prepared food from at least four different countries.

We've compiled a list of 14 international grocery stores from across Lancaster County.

Click here to see what they have to offer.

Through the archives: Groundhog Day 50 years ago

The 'patron saint of the Slumbering Lodge of Groundhogs" predicted an early spring in 1972.

In this front-page photo from the Lancaster New Era, two men adorned with top hats sneak a peek at the whistlepig making the call.

Click here to explore more in the archives.

Today's Obituaries

Click here to read today's obituaries.

Here's what other people are reading this morning on LancasterOnline:

- Multiple injuries reported in 6-vehicle crash involving tractor trailer in Drumore Township Tuesday night

- Officers shot man who threw cement bricks, threatened them with blow torch during warrant service: police [update]

- 8 of the highest-trafficked Lancaster County bridges rated 'poor'; here's where they are
A man being held in Lancaster County Prison was hospitalized after he was found unresponsive in his cell Tuesday morning, according to authorities there.

The man was found unresponsive during a routine check of his cell at 11:46 a.m., county commissioners said in a news release. Prison staff conducted CPR and used a defibrillator on the man and called 911.

First responders conducted lifesaving efforts on the man, who was eventually transported to Lancaster General Hospital.

Prison officials did not provide the mans name, only stating that he was admitted to the prison on Jan. 29 on charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and retail theft.

Lancaster city police are investigating the incident.

County commissioners stated they would not provide any further comments on the issue.

An attempt to reach a city police spokesperson Tuesday afternoon were not immediately successful.
What started as U.S. Marshals serving warrants at a residence in East Earl Township early Tuesday morning resulted in officers shooting a man accused of driving his vehicle toward them as he tried to escape.

Before the man identified by the Berks County Sheriffs Office as 38-year-old Zachary Robert Gilbaugh tried to flee, he threw cinder blocks at the officers serving the warrant and threatened them with a blow torch, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.

Gilbaugh was wanted on numerous charges stretching back to December.

Heres what we know  and dont know  about Tuesdays shooting.

What time did this happen?

The shooting happened about 7:30 a.m., but law enforcement, including the United States Marshals Eastern District Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force, went there around 6 a.m. and EMS and fire police were called in around 6:51 a.m. as a precaution.

What is the United States Marshals Eastern District Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force?

The unit's mission, according to its website, is to locate and apprehend fugitives throughout Philadelphia and its surrounding counties and "prides itself in arresting the most violent offenders while ensuring the safety of the citizens and the community."

Members of the task force are state and local police officers who receive special deputations for the task force. While on a task force, these officers can exercise U.S. Marshals authorities, such as crossing jurisdictional lines. State and local law enforcement agencies refer cases for investigation by a fugitive task force, which adopts cases at the discretion of a task force supervisor.

What happened when officers arrived?

Officers found the man in the basement in a small crawlspace area, but he refused officers commands and instead threatened them with cinder blocks and a small blowtorch, according to the DA's office. Officers then deployed a Taser and a ballistic sponge round, but they were ineffective. Officers retreated and got everyone out of the house.

What happened next?

The man then came of of the front door holding a large circular-saw blade and the blowtorch. He got into a tan Chrysler minivan parked facing the street as five officers converged and gave commands, which he ignored.

As officers retreated, the man got into a vehicle and drove toward two officers. Thats when multiple officers shot at the vehicle, according to the DAs office.

The minivan crashed across the street and officers got the man out. He was then taken to a hospital.

How many times was the man shot? What is the extent of his injuries?

The district attorney's office would only say the man was shot multiple times. He was in stable condition in an intensive care unit under guard at a hospital.

What is the mans name?

A clerk with the Berks County Sheriffs Department has identified the man as 38-year-old Zachary Robert Gilbaugh. The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office has not yet named him publicly.

Why hasn't the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office identified him?

District attorney Heather Adams said the subject involved is a suspect and charges are pending. No charges had been filed as of Wednesday evening.

What warrants did Gilbaugh have?

Gilbaugh, 38, was wanted for stalking, violating a protection from abuse order, criminal trespass, burglary, motor vehicle theft and other offenses, according to East Earl Township police.

Reading city police had also charged Gilbaugh for 16 different offenses including burglary, retaliation against a witness and terroristic threats they say were committed between Nov. 16 and Dec. 25.

What is Gilbaugh accused of that resulted in the warrants?

Gilbaugh, whose last known address was in Honey Brook, had warrants that stretch back to several incidents in Lancaster County that police say happened in December and into January.

He sent near-daily texts to a woman threatening to kill her, showing up at her East Earl Township workplace on Dec. 17 and Jan. 4 with the intention of confronting and terrorizing her, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The woman, who had a protection from abuse order placed against Gilbaugh in November, told police she lives in constant fear of him. Gilbaugh also threatened the woman inside her Berks County home Dec. 25, police said.

On one occasion, Gilbaugh plowed his truck into the passenger-side door of the womans vehicle in a parking lot in the 1200 block of East Earl Road in East Earl Township around 4:40 a.m. on Dec. 17, police said. Gilbaugh then waved at the woman as he drove away.

Police spotted Gilbaugh in East Earl Township again around 9:15 p.m. on Jan. 4, this time speeding in the 4600 block of Division Highway. Gilbaugh abruptly slammed on the brakes as he turned onto East Earl Road, according to the affidavit.

Officers began following Gilbaugh, who at this point had numerous warrants for his arrest, but lost track of him in a business parking lot. His van was later found crashed in the 700 block of Wallace Road just after 10:30 p.m.

Now on foot, Gilbaugh broke into a home, again near the 1200 block of East Earl Road. A man and woman were watching television inside when Gilbaugh burst through the unlocked front door, appearing wide-eyed and out of breath. The couple twice ordered Gilbaugh out of their home before he ran away toward the womans workplace.

Gilbaugh stole at least two different vehicles as police continued searching for him, first taking a Yamaha four-wheeler before abandoning it for a Mercedes Benz. Police believe the Yamaha became caught in a nearby electric fence, heavily damaging it and causing one of the fences electric lines to be stretched across the road before it was abandoned.

The Mercedes Benz was found abandoned in the 2400 block of Long View Drive in Caernarvon Township around 10:50 p.m., having struck two mailboxes and a large rock in what appeared to be a low-speed crash, according to the affidavit. Police searched the area but were unable to find Gilbaugh.

Gilbaugh was charged Jan. 10 with criminal trespass, stalking, flight to avoid apprehension, burglary, two counts of theft by unlawful taking, loitering and prowling at nighttime, agricultural vandalism and a summary traffic violation. He was also charged with violating the protection from abuse order, stalking and simple assault for the Dec. 17 offenses.

What happens next?

Adams will work to make the final determination of the use of force used by officers at the scene. Her office is the lead investigating agency and Pennsylvania State Police is helping.

"There are numerous witnesses to be interviewed who were participating on the task force and this investigation will take time," she said.

For comparison, the investigation into the officer-involved shooting of Ricardo Munoz in 2020 took about one month. But that shooting involved only one officer, who was cleared.
LNP|LancasterOnline publishes submitted obituaries in each of its daily editions and in a searchable format online at lancasteronline.com/obit
THE ISSUE

Lancaster County parents and students in a few school districts have voiced dissatisfaction with a reduction in mitigation efforts during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but they have not been successful in convincing school boards to adopt more stringent measures, LNP | LancasterOnlines Ashley Stalnecker wrote in the Sunday edition. All but three Lancaster County school districts have adopted a mask-optional stance since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out Gov. Tom Wolfs mask mandate for students (in December). Meanwhile, many districts are relaxing COVID-19 isolation procedures in accordance with new guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After a winter surge fueled by the omicron variant, reported COVID-19 cases now seem to be declining in Lancaster County school districts.

A sad lesson of this pandemic has been that the loudest voices are the ones school officials are more likely to heed.

The same behavior that would get students in trouble in the classroom  shouting for attention  is rewarded in the boardroom.

Expertise seems to matter less than grievance and anger these days. The cliche about the squeaky wheel has never been truer  because school board members are elected officials and they can count. So when anti-maskers flock to school board meetings, they notice  even though, according to a Franklin & Marshall College poll in October, 64% of voters favored requiring masks in public schools.

Were glad that parents pressing for COVID-19 mitigation measures finally are getting organized. We urge school boards to give them a fair hearing. What theyre saying is important.

Unfortunately, the parents say they mostly have been ignored. If this is the case, this is unacceptable. (If they complained about a book in the library theyd likely get more attention.)

As Stalnecker reported, Kayla Cook organized pro-masking parents in the Warwick School District because I wasnt hearing a voice that represented my own. The other voice was so loud.

The mother of four sent 40 emails to the district  most of which she said have gone unanswered. She began a Facebook group, Warwick Pro C.A.R.E. Work Group, encouraging others to do the same.

Dee Strunk, a mother of two Manheim Township students, told Stalnecker that she is experiencing similar frustration. She has spoken at several school board meetings; other parents wrote to the board in support of a mask mandate.

At a January school board meeting, Stalnecker reported, Manheim Township High School junior Teagan Harris shared results of a poll she conducted on mitigation efforts she said was completed by 272 fellow students. Over half of the respondents indicated a mask mandate would make them feel safer and nearly 70% felt mandatory quarantines would be similarly effective.

These efforts proved to be for naught.

I just think they had made up their mind before hearing any of the numbers about how the cases (then) were rising and the concerns, Strunk said.

In a column published in the Jan. 23 Sunday LNP Perspective section, Elizabeth Rickard summarized the argument of the parents who support COVID-19 mitigation strategies: School districts should take every precaution possible to prevent COVID-19 in schools. Lower infection rates among students, educators and staff mean schools can safely remain open  and parents can go to work, rather than staying home with sick children. Healthy students wont bring illness home to their families, keeping our community rates lower. Workers stay in the workforce, and local businesses stay open; a healthy community leads to a healthy economy.

Unfortunately, Lancaster County school boards dont seem to be interested in COVID-19 safety, wrote the Conestoga Valley School District mother of two school-age children who helped to organize two groups: Conestoga Valley Stands Up and COVID Safety for Lancaster County Schools.

As first the delta variant and then omicron surged and sent local infection numbers soaring, so many educators were absent that area schools were begging for substitute teachers, Rickard noted, and students were arriving late to school because of bus driver shortages. And parents needed to stay home with sick children, risking their jobs and exacerbating the staff shortages in local businesses.

Its impossible to say just how much of that could have been avoided had school districts continued to make masks mandatory. All we know is that the American Academy of Pediatrics and physicians at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health had recommended mandatory masking at school, and we would have followed the advice of those experts. Because we know scientific guidance is imperative during a lethal pandemic.

Dr. Alexandra Solosko, a pediatric hospitalist, cares for children hospitalized with COVID-19.

As Stalnecker reported, Solosko withdrew her daughter from Hempfield School District  and didnt even consider re-enrolling her for the second half of the year  because the environment surrounding COVID-19 mitigation is too politically charged.

We should undertake COVID mitigation strategies not because were being legally forced to, but because we know that its the right thing to do for the health, safety and well-being of our students and staff, Solosko told Stalnecker.

Elizabethtown Area School District parent Timothy Runkle told Stalnecker that districts board seems to ignore community feedback and data from medical professionals.

He noted that the board receives a packet of medical recommendations each week from Lancaster General Health. They have this information in front of them but then they have this conversation about their feelings and they never talk about what the data looks like, he said.

Runkle filed a Right-to-Know request for a letter that was sent to the Elizabethtown board from Shawn F. Phillips, a family physician with Penn State Health.

Dr. Phillips recommended a mask mandate, noting, Data has shown that districts that have maintained mask mandates have had fewer cases of COVID within their schools.

Nevertheless, the Elizabethtown board has stuck with a mask-optional policy.

Alarmingly, when Runkle emailed board member James Read about that policy and the boards decision to loosen isolation requirements after COVID-19 infection, Runkle said Reads response had the word pandemic in quotation marks. It also stated bizarrely and falsely that the COVID-19 vaccines are not a real vaccine, but an experimental treatment.

That, right there, should concern every Lancaster County resident.

Schools are required to teach science; school board members should be required to know it and heed it. They should be making decisions pertaining to the health of children based on data and expert medical guidance. Their personal politics and daffy anti-science beliefs should not hold sway.

No wonder some parents are worried.
While we applaud the investment in hospital front-line health care workers passed last week by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, nursing homes continue to be ground zero for the pandemic. Our members staff, residents and their families continue to reel under the pressure of the pandemic and its impact on our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians.

A lack of funding is creating a harrowing trend that weve pointed out repeatedly during the pandemic: High-quality, nonprofit nursing homes are closing or being forced to sell to out-of-state corporations.

In January, the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg joined the list. Since 2020, nursing homes in Pittsburgh, Erie, Allentown, Berks and Montgomery counties have closed or sold. While hospitals are battling front-line issues now, the trouble for nursing homes started long before the pandemic.

Nursing homes rely on Medicaid to care for residents who can no longer afford to pay for their care. Pennsylvanias Medicaid reimbursement rates have been routinely flat-lined in state budgets. In 2017 alone, Pennsylvania nursing homes suffered a staggering $631 million shortfall. Facilities used to rely on their rainy day funds to cover the shortfall, but the pandemic has drained these accounts.

Hospital care during COVID-19 makes headlines, but nursing homes cannot be forgotten. Lawmakers and the Wolf administration must release emergency funding  and provide a robust increase in Medicaid funding in the upcoming 2022-23 fiscal budget. Without this, history shows more nursing homes will close their doors.

Bob Bertolette

Interim president and CEO

LeadingAge PA
The Ethical Imperative of Serudj Ta: To Repair, Renew and Remake the World

The ancient African ethical imperative of serudj ta, to repair, renew and remake the world, remains as relevant today and perhaps more urgent for us and all human beings, given the times in which we now live and the damage, devastation and dangers we sense and see all around us.

This sober and sobering assessment is drawn from a close, depthful and continuous reading and reflection on the conditions of the world and the Husia the sacred texts of our ancestors in the Nile Valley civilization of Kemet, i.e., ancient Egypt.

It was during my studies for my second doctorate that I developed and formally introduced the concept of serudj ta, in an 804-page dissertation titled Maat, The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt: A Study in Classical African Ethics (1994).

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As with my philosophy Kawaida, the Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles), and Kwanzaa, I first shared, discussed and further developed the concept with advocates (members) of my organization Us, an invaluable circle of intellectual collaborators, co-workers and co-combatants in our varied projects and practice of striving and struggling for African and human good and the well-being of the world.

In my book, Maat, I posed serudj ta and continue to pose it as an ethical imperative and practice for our times in a relational, societal and environmental sense. For it addresses relational alienation and antagonism, societal structures and policies of oppression, and environmental degradation through human plunder, pollution and depletion of earth, waters and sky.

The term serudj ta appears in Pharaoh Ramses IIIs enumeration of his good deeds (akhu) for the Divine, earth and human beings. He says as one of these good deeds, I restored the whole land (serudj ta) with trees and vegetation.

Moreover, he makes these declarations of doing good in the world in the midst of restorations of temples, walls, groves and the city itself. Also, he says that he restored the land to rightful order where it was laid waste. And elsewhere, he relates as part of his akhu, his restorative actions, that he brought peace, freed prisoners, ensured security and shared abundance.

Given the Maatian conception of the interrelatedness of the Divine, the natural and the social, these good deeds, this doing of good in and for the world, are not only physical acts, but also moral and spiritual acts of repairing, renewing and remaking the world. In modern Kawaida Maatian ethics, building on this ancient concept and practice, it is put forth as an ethical imperative to repair, renew and remake our relations, society and the world in the interest of African and human good and the well-being of the world. In a word, it is an ongoing moral, social and ecological or environmental practice.

This coincides with Kuumba (Creativity), the Sixth Principle of the Nguzo Saba, which I authored years before, i.e., the moral imperative to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

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And as we know, we are, as Africans, human beings (watu), and world beings (walimwengu), and thus, our community is not only our local, national and world African community, but also our world human community. Thus, we are to work and struggle for good within both the small and large circles of our lives.

Using the language from the abundance of references in the Husia, the sacred texts of Kemet, Kawaida Maatian ethics poses as our duty in the practice of serudj ta: to raise up what is in ruins; to repair what is damaged; to rejoin what is separated; to replenish what is depleted; to set right what is wrong; to strengthen what is weakened; and to make flourish that which is fragile, insecure and undeveloped.

Clearly in repairing, renewing and remaking the world, we cant start overseas or in another city. Indeed, we cannot save humanity if we cannot and do not save ourselves. And we must do this self-saving not in isolation or achieve it fully before we act for others. For it is emphasis, not exclusiveness, we speak of here.

Indeed, as Lady Ta Aset teaches us, we do good knowing that the good we do for others we are also doing for ourselves. For we are building the good, reciprocal, caring and supporting community, society and world we all want and deserve to live in. So, we must begin with ourselves, but not end there.

Thus, beginning and continuing emphasis must be placed on the quality of our own lives without neglecting what we can do for others to end the evil of poverty, suffering, aggression, war, injustice and oppression, and help build a new world of shared good and flourishing for all.

We must, then, begin by building ourselves, our families, our communities, and all our essential relationships as sites and sources of mutual respect, genuine caring, reciprocal support and shared goods of all kinds.

And we must together, in small and large circles, develop not only ways to repair, renew and rebuild our relations with each other, but also to strengthen and expand our capacity to achieve full freedom, real justice, and the good and meaningful life. In a word, so we can be ourselves and free ourselves and come into the fullness of ourselves.

The Black Freedom Struggle, by any honest measure, has been a critical formative factor in the reconception and transformation of American society since our first contact with the colonialists, enslavers, segregationists, racists and others of the worlds rogue gallery of oppressors. And we remain obligated to finish the unfinished and ongoing fight for freedom, justice, equality and other human goods.

It is our legacy and as Nana Dr. Martin Luther King tells us, This is our challenge and overwhelming responsibility. And the repair, renewal and remaking is not the saving of the soul of America, but saving, securing, freeing and uplifting the peoples of America as a moral imperative, a material necessity and a central political goal.

Likewise, we are to honor the ancient African moral imperative to bear witness to truth and set the scales of justice in their proper place, especially among the voiceless and devalued, the disempowered, degraded and downtrodden, not only in society, but also in the world.

Indeed, Nana Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune rightly reminds us of our serudjic duty to repair, renew and remake the world. She tells and teaches us in word and deed that Our task is to remake the world. It is nothing less than this.

For clearly the problems in U.S. society are reflected in the same and similar problems in the world: issues of unnecessary and undeserved poverty and suffering; insecurity of persons and peoples; fractured and false claims of peace; continued enslavement and human and sex trafficking; the absence and inadequacy of healthcare and housing; unemployment, and the grossly immoral, unequal and inequitable distribution of personal, communal and public wealth; and ultimately the planetary threats and devastating results of environmental degradation: climate change, extreme weather events, drought and flood, famine and forced migration, and cycles of suffering that are severe and sustained among humans and also for the whole world and all in it.

It is in this context of great damage already done and continually being repeated and expanded that we must center and strengthen ourselves, recommit ourselves to our highest values and best practices as African persons and peoples, and actively embrace the awesome relational, societal and ecological task of repairing, renewing and remaking the world, ever conscious of our role as a key moral and social vanguard in this country and the world.

And as the sacred texts say, we are to make the world more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. For it is a legacy left us born of righteous and relentless struggle that we are obligated to leave for those who come afterwards.

But again, it is also a sacred good to be achieved for us now, so that even in our time and no matter in what land or place, we and all others can self-consciously participate in creating and living well in a radically repaired, renewed and remade world in a real moral, material and political sense.

And we must engage this world-encompassing and world-transforming task remembering the sacred Husitic of our ancestors that every day is a donation to eternity and even one hour is a contribution to the future.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, California State University-Long Beach; Executive Director, African American Cultural Center (Us); Creator of Kwanzaa; and author of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture; The Message and Meaning of Kwanzaa: Bringing Good Into the World and Essays on Struggle: Position and Analysis, www.AfricanAmericanCulturalCenter-LA.org; www.OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org; www.MaulanaKarenga.org.
Mas

 Copyright 2017 Grupo Editorial La Verdad.

Todos los derechos reservados.
Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Summary discipline is not warranted for a misdemeanor conviction, according to a decision of the Oklahoma Supreme Court

Respondent is an attorney licensed to practice law and a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association. This proceeding was commenced by the Oklahoma Bar Association pursuant to Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings (RGDP), Rule 7.1, due to respondent's conviction for the misdemeanor of false reporting a crime in violation of 21 O.S.2011,  589. Rule 7.1 states a lawyer shall be subject to summary professional discipline when the lawyer is convicted of a crime "which demonstrates such lawyer's unfitness to practice law." The Oklahoma Bar Association seeks public censure as summary professional discipline for respondent, although the Bar Association also states respondent's conviction does not demonstrate unfitness to practice law. We conclude respondent's conviction does not demonstrate unfitness to practice law and deny the Oklahoma Bar Association's application for summary discipline.

Facts

The McAlester Fire Department arrived at a residence to extinguish a fire in its kitchen. An adult female left the residence after stating to a fireman she needed to pick up children at school. A fireman checked for additional fire or persons while moving through the residence and he observed "a possible handgun" on a bed near "drug paraphernalia." The fire department requested the presence of a police officer because of this observation. The fire department continued to work at the scene.

A responding police officer from the McAlester Police Department arrived and was told an adult female resident previously left the open premises. The police officer was led into the open residence and shown the location of the observed handgun and drug paraphernalia. The police officer exited the residence and telephoned an investigative officer so that the investigator could obtain a search warrant.

The woman who left the residence telephoned the owner of the residence, S.D., and the owner arrived at the residence accompanied by another individual, B.B., who was identified as a purchaser of the residence. The owner did not reside at the residence at that time. Firemen and police officers were at the residence when S.D. and B.B. arrived, and both individuals were denied access to inside the residence while the police and fire personnel were securing the residence and working the scene of a fire.

The respondent arrived at the residence and he had a discussion with S.D., B.B., and a police officer. The police officer informed respondent what had been observed in the residence and a police investigation had commenced. The officer directed respondent to leave the premises. Respondent stood on the street adjacent to the residence and telephoned his law partner. Respondent's law partner went to the Pittsburg County Courthouse and appeared before an Associate District Judge for the purpose of making objections to the application for a search warrant of the residence. The judge signed the search warrant after hearing an informal argument from respondent's law partner.

The respondent returned to the residence from the adjacent street, learned a search warrant had been obtained, and he asked a police officer for a copy of the search warrant for the non-resident owner of the residence. The police officer told respondent a search was commencing, declined to give respondent a copy of the search warrant at that time, and respondent was told he should leave the residence or be arrested.

Respondent returned to the adjacent street and telephoned the McAlester Police Department. He identified himself as the caller and the owner of the residence as the complaining party for the purpose of his telephone report. Respondent requested a trespass charge be lodged against the police officers executing a search at the residence because he requested a copy of the search warrant and was not provided a copy from the officers at the residence. Respondent then spoke briefly with an investigator at the residence, and respondent left the scene while the police officers continued their search.

The search occurred on September 16, 2020. A few weeks later on November 3, 2020, respondent was arrested by several McAlester police officers inside the Pittsburg County Courthouse as he left a courtroom after appearing for a client in a different matter. A jury trial of four days was held in the District Court of Pittsburg County on two misdemeanor counts against respondent, obstructing an officer (21 O.S.  540) and false reporting a crime (21 O.S.  589). The jury found respondent guilty of the misdemeanor of false reporting a crime. A five-hundred dollar fine and court costs were imposed. Respondent was acquitted on the charge of obstructing an officer. The judgment and sentence was entered in March 2021, respondent paid the fine, and he did not appeal the conviction.

The court's view of the conviction

Respondent's telephone call to the McAlester police officers included respondent's name, identification of his client, and a stated reason or purpose for the telephone call. The McAlester police officers were not impressed with respondent's stated reason for the telephone call, i.e., his assertion of a trespass. No trespass charge was made against a police officer. After respondent's telephone call to the McAlester Police Department, an investigator at the scene informed of the telephone call simply told respondent to go away or be arrested. Respondent's telephone call was unsuccessful for respondent's stated purpose and he left the scene.

Respondent was found guilty of making a false report of a crime by a jury where he practices law. The jury acquitted respondent on the obstruction charge. We agree with the Bar the facts related to respondent's conviction do not show deceit causing serious consequences for law enforcement as in Ezell. We conclude respondent's conviction does not demonstrate unfitness to practice law.

Kane, V.C.J. (by separate writing); Combs, (by separate writing), and Kuehn, JJ., dissent.

Kane, V.C.J., with whom Combs and Kuehn, JJ., join, dissenting: "I would follow the Bar's recommendation and publicly censure for the conviction involving the false reporting of a crime."

Combs, J., dissenting: "I would not have considered the filings of the Sheriff in this disciplinary proceeding." The court kept two documents under seal. (Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2022/02/summary-discipline-is-not-warranted-for-a-misdemeanor-conviction-according-to-a-decision-of-the-oklahoma-s-upreme-court-res.html


A letter written to a 12-year old girl in Lithuania was delivered in December, almost 51 years after it was sent.

Now in her 60s, Genovefa Klonovska said after being handed the letter, "I thought that someone was pranking me."

A prank is a trick that is done as part of a joke.

The letter included a handmade, colored rose and two paper dolls. It was sent to Klonovska by a young girl in Poland. They exchanged letters in what is known as a pen pal program  when people write letters to each other without actually meeting.

The letter, together with 17 others, was discovered this past summer when a wall was taken down in a former post office in Vilnius.

Jurgis Vilutis is the owner of the building.

"The workers suggested we throw the old letters away, but I called the post office instead," Vilutis explained. "I'm so happy they got interested."

The letters, from the late 1960s and early 1970s, were likely hidden by a postal worker after he searched them for money or valuables, Vilutis said.

Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union then. The senders were family members or pen pals from places such as Australia, Poland, or Russia.

Street names and their numbering have changed in Vilnius.

Post office workers spent months looking for the people who were supposed to receive the letters  the recipients.

Only five recipients were found. In several cases, children of dead recipients were handed a lost letter.

Deimante Zebrauskaite, head of the customer experience department at Lithuania Post, said "We felt a moral duty to do this.

Zebrauskaite added, "One lady compared the experience to receiving a message from a bottle thrown into sea. People were emotional. Some people felt they saw a part of daily life of their deceased parents."

In the letter to Klonovska, sent from Koczary in Poland and stamped in 1970, a girl named Ewa complains buses no longer reach her village, forcing her to walk in -23 Degree Celsius cold. She also asks for pictures of actors.

Now in her 60s, Klonovska has no memory of Ewa. She probably wrote Ewa after finding her address in an advertisement for pen-pals in a newspaper. Their relationship stopped after the letter was not delivered.

"The loss was not life-changing," said Klonovska. She then asked, "What if they delivered a lost letter from a suitor to his love, and their wedding never happened?"

I'm John Russell.

Andrius Sytas reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English.

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Words in This Story

deceased  adj. no longer living

suitor  n. a man who wants to marry a particular woman






A nationwide strike in Myanmar marked the one-year anniversary of the armys takeover of the government.

Protests and violence across the Southeast Asian nation have raised international concern over the struggle for power.

Images and video on social media showed that a silent strike was taking place Tuesday in Myanmar's largest city of Yangon and other towns. People stayed home and businesses shut their doors in a show of opposition to military rule.

Violence was also reported. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, faces a rebellion that some United Nations experts are calling a civil war.

Local media said an explosion killed at least two people and injured many more. It happened at a pro-military demonstration in a town on the eastern border with Thailand. The cause of the explosion is not clear.

The military took over Myanmars government on February 1, 2021. It ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Her League for Democracy party was about to begin a second term in office. The party had won a large victory in the election of November 2020.

Widespread nonviolent demonstrations followed the armys takeover. But armed resistance arose after protesters were faced with deadly force. About 1,500 civilians have been killed. But the military government has been unable to stop the opposition.

The U.N. human rights agency says at least 11,787 people were illegally detained in the past year, including 8,792 who continue to be held.

The anniversary has gained international attention, especially from the United States and Western nations critical of the military takeover. The U.S., Britain and Canada on Monday placed new sanctions on the military. The U.S. also joined other countries calling for an international halt to arms sales to Myanmar.

Pro-democracy demonstrations were held in several towns and cities before the start of the nationwide strike on Tuesday. At that time, security forces are less likely to be out on the streets. Protesters carried signs and shouted anti-military slogans in Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing. State-operated media reported that many business owners, who had announced plans to close Tuesday, were arrested.

"We might be arrested and spend our life in jail if we're lucky. We might be tortured and killed if we're unlucky," said youth activist Nan Lin.

Opposition fighters also claimed to have carried out bombings Tuesday in 11 areas of Yangon. The bombings targeted a police station and homes of military officers, among other sites.

In Tachileik in eastern Myanmar, an explosion at a pro-government event killed two people and injured at least 37 others. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Early in the day, leaders of the opposing sides released speeches online to mark the anniversary of the army's takeover.

Duwa Lashi La is acting president of the opposition's National Unity Government (NUG). He said his group will carry on with the people's revolution against military rule. The NUG was created by elected lawmakers and considers itself the countrys legitimate government.

General Min Aung Hlaing is leader of the military-ruled government. He promised in a speech to work toward a democratic system in Myanmar.

Myanmar's military said it took power because there was widespread cheating in the 2020 election. Independent election experts say they have seen no serious evidence for this claim.

Tom Andrews is the U.N. special diplomat on the situation in Myanmar. He said the international community must take steps to limit the militarys access to weapons and money.

Andrews added that Myanmar's military had carried out mass killings, attacks on hospitals and humanitarian targets, and the bombing and burning of villages.

Im Caty Weaver.

Dan Novak adapted this for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press and Reuters.

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Words in This Story

sanctions  n.(pl.) actions taken to force a country to obey international law by limiting or stopping trade or cutting economic aid

slogan  n. a word or phrase that is easy to remember and is used by a group or business to attract attention

legitimate  adj. permitted under rules or laws

escalation  n. becoming worse or making (something) worse or more severe
A strike of lightning that stretched across three American states has been identified as the longest ever recorded.

The United Nations weather agency announced the finding on Tuesday.

The lightning strike, or bolt, was recorded on April 29, 2020, the World Meteorological Organization, WMO, said. It covered an area of 768 kilometers across the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The old record, set in 2018, was a lightning strike in Brazil that covered 709 kilometers.

WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said the new record demonstrated the speed by which lightning can strike. "That trip by air(plane) would take a couple of hours and in this case the distance was covered in a matter of seconds," Nullis told Reuters.

The new record was confirmed using new satellite tracking technology, the WMO said. The technology permits weather officials to effectively measure the size and duration of lightning bolts across the world.

The agency also announced another record, for the longest duration of a single bolt. That strike happened during a storm over Uruguay and northern Argentina on June 18, 2020. It lasted 17.1 seconds. The old record for duration was 16.7 seconds for a bolt that hit over northern Argentina on March 4, 2019.

Arizona State Universitys Randall Cerveny is the chief of record confirmations for the WMO. He told The Associated Press that lightning normally does not stretch farther than 16 kilometers. It usually lasts less than a second.

Cerveny called the two lightning bolt records extraordinary. He noted that both record strikes happened between clouds hundreds of meters above the ground, so no one was in danger.

Cerveny said the areas where both strikes were recorded are two of only a few places on Earth that experience the kind of intense storms that can produce what scientists call megaflashes.

The WMOs Nullis said that while the two record bolts never touched the ground, they should serve as a warning about the dangers of lightning. Hundreds of people die from getting struck by lightning each year.

"We reiterate our message: when thunder roars, when you see lightning  go indoors, Nullis said.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press, Reuters and the World Meteorological Organization reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

track  v. to record the progress or development of something

duration  n. the amount of time that something lasts

reiterate  v. to say something again so that people take notice of it

thunder  n. the sound that follows a bolt of lightning that is caused by a sudden expansion of air

roar  n. a loud, deep sound

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The city of Corvallis is rolling out its first-ever gaming convention. The C3 GameCon is set for Feb. 18 and 19 at the Corvallis Community Cen